Grocery shopping

I planned a grocery budget for March, and well, it's gone. It's been gone, and we're only 1/2 way through the month. The first week of the month, both Kroger & Meijer had incredible sales. I bought myself 20 bottles of Vitamin Water & Sobe Life water, which I'm still working on, but in reality, I am beginning to feel incredibly guilty about the plastic bottles. *sigh* I am planning to run errands tomorrow: banking, grocery shopping, & filling up the truck. I am planning on going to Aldi first. I need some fresh produce, and will check out their stock and will purchase what looks good there to take advantage of their super low prices. However, Meijer, which happens to be conveniently located across the road from Aldi, has 1lb. packages of strawberries on sale for 5/$5...I plan on getting at least 5 packages. We eat a lot of fresh strawberries in this house!! I have 2 packages in the fridge, leftover from last week's grocery shop, that I'll wash & slice up this evening. Here are my prospective lists for each store:

Aldi

• bottled water (for Brian's lunches)-  2 @ 2.49
• 10lb. bag of russet potatoes-                  3.00 (guesstimate-could be a little more or a little less)
• bananas (2 bags)- @ .39/pound (as long as they're not too ripe, otherwise will pick these up at Meijer or Kroger @ .54/pound)
• romaine lettuce-          1.99
• garlic toast-               1.64 (this is just like the Texas Toast that is 2.99 @ Meijer or Kroger)
• tomatoes on the vine- 2.49 for 5 or 6 medium size tomatoes
• Roma tomatoes-         1.99 for package of 6-8 depending on their size
• cheddar whales-       1.09 or .99/box (I can't remember)...this is Aldi's version of Goldfish crackers

This is all I could think of while making my list for Aldi. And as always, the produce that I purchase will depend on the availability and the quality of the produce. I'm picky about my produce!! And I'm just guessing at their prices, as they can fluctuate either way, from week to week!

Meijer

• Coke 24pks.- 2/$11
• fresh strawberries- 5/$5
• Meijer brand Italian sausage links- 2.50
• Meijer brand bulk sausage (Italian)- 2.50
• Laura's Lean ground beef- 3.49/lb. (not sure if I'll get any yet, but this is a decent sale price)
• Meijer frozen pizzas- 3.00 each
• Meijer brand 1/2 gallon jugs of no sugar added 1% chocolate- 2.19 each

After checking their ad one more time, as well as double checking my menu plan for the rest of this week, this is all I'll need from there. They have some Easter candy on sale, but will have to check the prices along with the coupons I have for certain types of Easter candy. The candy may wait til the first week of April.

Kroger

• Powerade 32oz.-   .50/bottle* (may pick up 10 of these, depending on sell by dates, to have on hand for baseball season)
• Vitamin Water 20oz. - .50/bottle *(again, not sure about these yet)
• Kraft salad dressings 16oz.- 1.49 each *
• white seedless grapes-  .97/lb
• cantaloupe- 2/$3
• red, yellow, & orange bell peppers- 4/$5
• hot house cucumbers (English cucumbers)- 10/$10
• Ronzoni Healthy Harvest pastas, select varieties 12-13.5oz.pkg.-  .49*each
• Wonder Smart Whole Wheat bread- 1.99 each
• Annie's Naturals dressings, select varieties, 8oz-  1.49*each
• 3lb. bag Pink Lady apples-  3.49
• Private Selection organic 2% milk; gallon-  5.29 each

After double checking their ad & my menu plan, I believe this is all I'll need to get this week from Kroger. The items marked with an * are items in Kroger's March to Savings campaign. For every 10 participating items you purchase, you get $5 off instantly with your Kroger Plus card. There are many other items listed in the ad, but these are the ones that are of interest to me. My hope was to spend $100 or less, but we'll see what happens...right now, I'm at around $120 or so. I'll post an update, hopefully tomorrow, with my shopping results!! Wish me luck!!

Love & hugs to you all!