Here’s our Big Family Grocery Spending for June 2024!
With the kids home all day for summer break, running and playing hard, I feel like all they want to do is eat. We’re going through lots of fresh fruit and popcorn between meals. :)
Here’s what our total food costs looked like for June…
Big Family Grocery Spending for June 2024
1. Walmart
On June 5 we picked up some of the kids’ WIC items. While there, we stocked up on our favorite Walmart brand ice cream (Breyer’s knock-off) so we could enjoy fun treats at home during the upcoming weeks.
Total at Walmart: $24.27 (worth of ice cream, ha!)
2. Costco
Also on June 5 we went into Costco to take advantage of a diaper sale. I had a list of other items we needed, plus I searched aisles for sales on items we always use. That day I picked up two kinds of apples, pears, blueberries, raspberries, baby carrots, mandarin orange cups, applesauce pouches, ketchup, ranch, pickles, frozen green beans, pistachios, coconut rolls, sliced Havarti cheese, crackers, butter, whipping cream, half and half, coffee creamer, cream cheese, and shredded parmesan cheese.
Total for food at Costco: $227.44
3. Aldsco
Eh?? Well, Justus and Kelsey were out shopping one day and I asked them to grab us a watermelon and grapes from Costco for our Sunday lunch. They went to Aldi too and kept texting me about great produce prices there. So they grabbed cantaloupe, mushrooms, blackberries, and blueberries for us too. Great prices on fresh food for our summer meals!
Total for fruits and veggies from Aldi and Costco: $27
4. Ivanna Cone
We surprised the kids with a Trolley Ride downtown to get ice cream – a very rare treat! We told Elias and Malorie to pick whatever they wanted. For all the littles, Matt, and me – we bought a quart then divvied it up to share. This saved money and made feeding the kids much easier. (One scoop was $4+ but the quart was only $11 – so nine of us ate from that for just $1.22 each.)
Total for Ice Cream with Tip: $22
5. Sam’s
Mid-June I went to Sam’s to stock up on fresh fruit and veggies. I picked up some meat markdowns for Father’s Day, pasta sauce, hotdogs, yogurt, heavy whipping cream, avocado cups, oatmeal, cocoa powder, and water bottles.
Total for food at Sam’s: $287.59
6. Walmart
Right after Sam’s, I ran next door into Walmart for Caesar Salad (2 family-sized bags), Eggs (5 dozen), Milk (4 gallons), and Hashbrown Patties (x2). Tip: I’ve found that milk is cheaper at Walmart and Aldi compared to Sam’s and Costco. 5-dozen packs of eggs are the same price and I was out of space on my Sam’s cart that day!
Total for food at Walmart: $42.35
7. Walmart WIC
June 17, I went to Walmart and got the little girls’ WIC benefit items. They get fruits and veggies, yogurt, cheese, eggs, cereal, beans, pasta, and juice – around $190 worth of groceries. A great help to us!
8. Aldi
June 20, I went to Aldi to stock up on Fruit-Veggie Pouches that BabyBoy#11 can eat well. Grass Fed Beef was on sale for $3.99/pound, limit 4, so I grabbed those. I also picked up some Chicken Tenders and Ice Cream Sandwiches for Josie’s birthday plus Chips, Watermelon, Zucchini, Crackers, and lots of Canned Fruit/Fruit Cups in 100% juice.
Total at $124.86
9. Hy-vee
Someone blessed us with a gift card to Hy-Vee, a store I don’t normally frequent because its prices are higher. But it sure was nice to enjoy the gift card, grabbing food to meet regular needs of our household plus a few treat items for an upcoming road trip.
Total after $100 gift card: $12.12
10. Costco
The last week of June, we loaded all the kids and headed to Costco for a few Fourth of July food items plus some fun food to enjoy on a road trip. Chips were on sale, which we enjoyed on the trip plus we’ll have for upcoming picnics and summer gatherings. Our favorite Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola was available so we got it (four bags, thank you very much) while we could. I picked up Chicken Legs, Apples, Mandarin Orange Cups, Yogurt, Havarti Cheese, Half and Half, Coffee Creamer, Guacamole, Mayo, White Queso, Tuna, Mac and Cheese, plus a variety of Snacks.
Total for groceries at Costco: $319.21
11. McDonald’s
We took a two-day trip to Kansas for a family reunion and on our way home, we put in an order at McDonald’s so we could feed everyone during our last stretch. We had chips and applesauce in the van so we just picked up two 20-piece nuggets to hand out to the kids to round out their meal. Then we got burgers and chicken sandwiches for Matt, Elias, and Malorie.
Total at McDonald’s: $32.87
Total Food Costs for June: $1,121
NOTE: Without WIC and the Hy-Vee gift card: Our June total out of pocket would have been $1,421. (<— Though actually, there are items at Hy-Vee I wouldn’t have picked up had they not been a gift. And without WIC benefits I would not be buying as much cereal.) I thought it was fun to calculate that so everyone could see that even if we were paying out of pocket for all of our groceries, we still would have been right about at our new grocery budget for 2024.
Running totals for 2024:
January: $1,178
February: $849
March: $1,356
April: $1148
May: 1091
June: $1,121
Nicely done, Laura! (And I liked how you included both amounts for us to see.) Thanks for sharing good ideas of how to shop and what to eat. I have found it helpful for our family, as well.
I am really interested in what a day’s meals/snacks look like, as well as types of dinners you guys regularly have. I have three bigs and two littles (with those two on WIC) and I probably still go through more funds monthly! I’d love to know how you do it!
Every week (on Sunday) I share a huge Food and Fun post that details what we eat for our meals. Here’s an example: https://www.heavenlyhomemakers.com/big-family-food-and-fun-july-14-20-2024