Here’s our Big Family Grocery Spending for August 2024 post!
Check out how I went way over budget this month. Then read how I feel 100% fine about this. :)
Big Family Grocery Spending for August 2024
1. Costco
August 2, we were out of fresh produce and several other staples. So we headed to Costco for a big stock up trip. Since it’s Back-to-School time, we grabbed lots of sale items like Ziplock bags and Kleenex on sale. Food wise, we filled the bottom of our first cart with fruits and veggies: Strawberries, Carrots, Blueberries, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Spinach, Spring Mix, Bananas, Apples, Broccoli, and Nectarines.
We got Ground Beef, Brats, Pepperoni, White Queso, Chips, Oatmeal, Ranch, Fruit Cups, Fruit Bars, Granola, Eggs, Meatballs, Creamer, Chicken Nuggets, Shredded Cheese, and some drinks (Celsius, Izze, Water).
Total for food at Costco: $427.07
2. Hy-Vee Pick-Up
The first week of August a decision was made to move our five-year-old Bonus Buddy into our home for a while. So we put a few other things on hold while we went full throttle getting him enrolled in school with our other kids, making sure he had everything he needed, and getting his bed ready.
I decided to try Hy-Vee Pick-Up for our WIC items because going to the store during those days wasn’t a possibility. Eva was wonderful and picked it up for us – a huge help!
I forgot to take a picture until almost everything was put away, but we got several boxes of cereal and whole grain pasta, fresh greens, Caesar salad kits, broccoli, frozen green beans and peas, grapes, lunch meat, and snacks for Auggie.
Total out of pocket at Hy-Vee: $29.09
3. Aldi
When Bonus Buddy moved in, a friend offered to help in any way so I sent her an Aldi list. She got everything in multiples – true Coppinger style. :) She grabbed 6 tubs of Whole Milk Vanilla Yogurt, several jars of our favorite Salsa, bags of Veggie Straws, boxes of Crackers, bags of Cube Cheese for kids’ school lunches, and a restock of Fruit/Veggie Pouches for Auggie.
Total from Aldi: $106.27
4. Sam’s
I went to Sam’s on August 9 to get bacon and peanut butter – two items that meet specific preferences for us that I can only find at Sam’s. I also loaded up on cream, hamburger meat, hot dogs, sale items, school lunch items, and lots of fresh produce.
Total for food at Sam’s: $504.35
5. Wal-Mart
August 23, I went to Walmart to finish up our WIC cards for the month. I also picked up three big bags of Caesar salad and Matt’s favorite coffee creamer.
Total out of pocket at Walmart: $27.87
6. Aldi
After Walmart, I ran to Aldi for Fruit/Veggie Pouches for Auggie and four gallons of milk. I always check for sales while there and was very excited that Grass-Fed Hamburger was only $3.99/pound again! I got twelve pounds plus six pounds of Strawberries that were also on sale for $1.89/pound. I grabbed a few other odds and ends – Granola, Onions, Grapes, and Pear Cups.
Total at Aldi: $125.09
7. Costco
After Aldi, I went into Costco for some necessities and sale items. I restocked our Frozen Pizza stash (much cheaper than ordering pizza). For school lunches, I picked up Canned Chicken to make Chicken Salad, Peanuts to put into baggies for lunch bags, and Fruit/Veggie Pouches. We needed Tortilla Chips plus I got Potatoes, Bananas, Blueberries, Spring Mix, Broccoli, and Shredded Cheese. For convenience, I picked up a case of Shredded Hashbrowns to have on hand for an easy side dish.
Total for groceries at Costco: $214.14
8. Amazon
I got a few items from Amazon: GoGo Squeeze Applesauce and Yogurt plus Pizza Crust and Annie’s Mac and Cheese. I didn’t remember to take a picture. :)
Total at Amazon: $31.62
9. Azure Standard
Every few months, I use referral credit I’ve accumulated at Azure Standard to get some of our favorites. This time, I got a case of Tortillas, a bag of Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, a case of Frozen Cubed Potatoes, and a case of Mandarin Oranges.
Total after credit used at Azure Standard: $6.87
10. Sam’s
Toward the end of the month, I knew we were over budget but we were also out of a few essentials. Goodness how we are going through the fresh fruit these days! So we went and bought what we needed plus a few sale items. We got Spring Mix, Spinach, Apples, Carrots, Grapes, Eggs, Butter, Pears, Strawberries, Blueberries, Bananas, Yogurt, Sour Cream, Half and Half, Fish Sticks, Almond Butter, and Chips.
Total for food at Sam’s: $134.45
Total food spending for August: $1,611
As you can see, I went $200+ over budget this month. With a new kiddo moving in, we spent a good deal of time and energy getting everyone settled. This means that I bought and used more convenience foods than is typical for us. I also bought some pre-packaged lunch box items to help us as we settled all the kids into a new school routine. All of this added up.
We’ve been significantly under budget most months this year, so our overall family budget isn’t negatively affected by my spending this month. In fact, over all, we are still under budget for groceries. (Average spending for the first eight months of 2024= $1,193.)
I’ve learned that loving and caring for people matters much more than…anything. I overspent because I needed to. And yay, we survived August and all the BIGGNESS that came with it.
Running totals for 2024:
January: $1,178
February: $849
March: $1,356
April: $1148
May: 1091
June: $1,121
July: $1,190
August: $1,611
I love this attitude! We went over budget in August as well – I went back to work after being home for 7 years and my kids started
(all day, 5 day a week) school for the first time in their lives so we found fun (healthy-ish) food at Costco to pack for lunches. I want them to feel excited when they open their lunch boxes.
I am so grateful that God is providing for you guys as you follow Him into the messy, hard, and good He has for your family. I would be interested in a one month comparison of the approximate amount of food you get for “free” (by God’s goodness and provison) from wic or the leftover food from food distribution. How much would your grocery bill increase if you didn’t have those available? I say this with a voice of curiosity- I was a math major in college and I LOVE numbers and seeing how God shows up there.
I’ve figured that we get around $200 in food from WIC every month – though if we didn’t receive these benefits, I would definitely not buy all the cereal it allows. So without WIC, our bill would go up quite a bit, but not by $200. :) I’ve never figured out an Food Distribution estimate as it’s different every time and we also come home with goodies that I would likely not buy at the store (special bottled drinks, packaged desserts, premade sandwiches). BUT, because of this lovely weekly perk in which we get to bring home some freebies, I have not had to buy bread, buns, or bagels for an entire year. SO NICE! Plus some of the random items we get fill in gaps to send in lunches for the adults in our house and to add to our Sunday Lunches where we host quite a few guests. While I don’t know how to put a number on this, we’ll just say $100+ every month. It’s a wonderful help to us!
Look at you replying so quickly! Food budgets (and budgets in general) are so fascinating to me – what people buy and how they spend their money. I love that you detail it out. Best of luck on continuing to find good deals and filling all those bellies with as much nutrients at they are willing to eat. We are cheering you guys on!!