Here’s our Big Family Grocery Spending for September, 2025 post!
Curious how much we spent during the month of September and what groceries we bought? Here’s the breakdown!
Big Family Grocery Spending for September, 2025
1. Costco
On September 3, I filled up a cart at Costco! I got four bags of apples, a watermelon, 4-pounds of strawberries, 2 containers of raspberries, sweet peppers, oranges, bananas, spinach, cream, half and half, sour cream, butter, shredded cheese, three boxes of frozen pizza, crusted tilapia, laughing cow cheese for lunches, beef hotdogs, bacon cheddar brats on clearance, coffee, chips, barbecue sauce, cocoa powder, pancake mix, pepperoni, and sliced cheese.
Total for Groceries at Costco: $377.99
2. Aldi
I went to Aldi that same day, hoping my chance to score some meat markdowns. I didn’t find any, but the prices on several items were great per pound so I grabbed boneless chicken thighs ($2.49/pound) and grass-fed hamburger patties ($5.49/pound). We use Aldi’s sausage patties for breakfast sandwiches so I got two more bags of those and five gallons of milk.
Total at Aldi: $88.74
3. Sam’s
On September 6, I ran into Sam’s on our way home from a church event because it’s right on the path. I needed Peanut Butter and Bacon, and as you can see, I very much stocked up on Peanut Butter! This is our favorite kind and Sam’s is the only place I can find it. As I always do, I checked for mark-downs on meat. I scored BIG on hamburger patties and even BIGGER on racks of ribs. The ribs were marked down plus each package was an additional $5 off. And they were double packs. So I got two packages each of two racks of ribs for around $13 each. AMAZING.
Total at Sam’s: $196.45
4. Aldi
On September 10, I went to Aldi for our weekly milk plus a few other needed items. I do crack up at the fact that this is what my shopping trip looks like when I just need to “run into Aldi for a couple of things.” :) I got five gallons of milk, Caesar salad kits, cilantro, spaghetti sauce, cantaloupe, granola, lots of yogurt, chips, crackers, cumin, raisins, bananas, limes, frozen fries and tots, shrimp, lasagna noodles, fruit/veggie pouches, sliced pineapple, meat sticks, hamburger meat, and salami.
Total at Aldi: $147.32
5. Hy-Vee Pick-Up
On September 13, we got most of our WIC items for the month through Hy-Vee Pick-up. Acacia aged out of WIC last month, so we get fewer items now. Still, we are so blessed to get several boxes of cereal, some cheese, whole grain pasta, beans, eggs, and produce through Josie and Auggie’s benefits. I forgot to take a picture until most of our groceries were put away…
Total at Hy-Vee: $0 out of pocket
6. Costco
On September 17, I went to Costco and got shredded cheese, rolled oats, milk, sweet peppers, spinach, pears, strawberries, raspberries, meat sticks, graham crackers, potatoes, frozen meatballs, white queso, nectarines, sour cream, butter, chips, bananas, mandarins, chocolate chips, canned pumpkin, pickles, sliced ham, broccoli, and a Rotisserie Chicken.
Total for Groceries at Costco: $217.91
7. Sam’s
On September 24, I stocked up at Sam’s and found meat markdowns while I was there too! I bought 20-pounds of ground beef, three packages of chicken breast tenderloins marked down, plus spinach, spring mix, baby carrots, cream, half and half, oatmeal packets, butter, bacon, brown sugar, pickles, French fries, bananas, raspberries, apples, 10-dozen eggs, avocado cups, sliced cheese, chocolate chips, rotel, canned corn, sausage links, yogurt, honey, maple syrup, spaghetti sauce, egg noodles, minced onion, veggie straws, and some packaged snacks for lunches and soccer games (like granola bars).
Total for Groceries at Sam’s: $490.69
8. Wal-Mart
After I left Sam’s that day, I went next door to Wal-Mart. I forgot to take a picture, but I bought four gallons of milk, seven bags of frozen veggies, a big bag of frozen hashbrowns, three cans of pineapple tidbits, two packages of shredded coconut, two packages of cubed ham, and a pork roast marked down to less than $2/pound.
Total for Groceries at Wal-Mart: $52.63
9. Amazon
Also not pictured is three boxes of Go-Go Squeeze applesauce or yogurts that came in our subscribe-and-save order this month.
Total at Amazon: $31.42
Total for groceries September, 2025: $1,603
Our WIC benefits provide our littles with around $120 worth of groceries each month. You can read here to learn our 2025 Grocery Budget plus look over ways I’m able to keep our budget at this level.
Running Totals for 2025
January spending: $679
February spending: $1,459
March spending: $1,346
April spending: $1,364
May spending: $1374
June spending: $1,127
July spending: $633
August spending: $1,501
September spending: $1,603
This is very comparable to what we spend to feed two of us in Canada!
I saw the ground coffee in your cart and wanted to mention that, some time ago, I discovered that packaged ground coffee can contain all sorts of unwanted things like ground up bugs ?. Needless to say I’ve been buying only whole coffee beans since that time!
Love reading all about your grocery spending and yummy sounding meals! Yours is one of the few blogs I still read ??
That’s a bit of a jump. Do you feel like you bought more this month? We added some extra snacks this month for sports and activities and that always hikes the price a bit.
I think the jump came because I bought a lot of meat in September. Also, a couple of new friends have moved in recently (we rent out some of the extra rooms in our house, and their rent $ includes food), so we now have eight adults living here along with our seven younger kids. We’ll see if this increase lasts and means that I need to increase our overall budget. But I did some quick math and I’m still underbudget overall for the year. So I may be able to keep our budget at $1400?!?!
That is great for 15 people?? I spend $800 a month for 5 (but that does include supplements, toilet paper, cleaners, personal products, etc.) You are doing a great job! I’ve read your blog often over the years, but have never commented til now?