Heavenly Homemakers

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My 2026 Grocery Budget Musings, part 2

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Here’s my My 2026 Grocery Budget Musings, part 2. Thank you for putting up with me.

Did you read part 1? Bless your heart. While I wrote that, I was verbally processing – with my fingers – as I typed. Thank you for reading. And as it turns out, my processing continued into this post also. Wowza. Are you ready for more?

My 2026 Grocery Budget Musings, part 2

THE FIRST DRAFT

The summary of we discovered in Part 1 is that I struggle to spend what my brain tells me is “unnecessary money,” therefore, I had to talk myself into increasing our grocery budget for 2026.

Yep, I’m frugal. Matt is too. Yay. That has served us well and brought us to this point. So here’s what’s great about this…We can now be more generous with others and also:

We can be generous to ourselves.

What if I were to “give” myself some extra budget money so that I can breathe a little bit easier as I feed a large household every day? This truly will be a gift.

We can afford it because we are frugal in other areas. We only buy what’s needed. So with that…

What if I could realize that ordering pizza sometimes actually is a NEED?

That’s a hard one for me – because even on the hard days, I can figure out a way to feed us without spending more than necessary. But what about my energy? My time? The needs of our children that take so much of both? I’m going to move forward with a new mindset. Or at least I’m beginning that journey.

Why all this jabber? What’s your new grocery budget, Laura?

I landed on: $1,600/month.

For 14 people; 7 adults, 7 kids.

There you go. The past two years, I’ve budgeted $1,400 and have spent an average of $1,250/month.

Kudos to me, but also…so what?

I guess I’ve taken pride in being able to feed so many people with such a small amount of money. I really, really like saving money. But I also really, really need to alleviate some of the mental load I carry. So I almost decided not to have a grocery budget at all.

Depending on how this year goes, I might do just that – scrap the whole idea of keeping track and just BUY WHAT WE NEED WHEN WE NEED IT, THE END.

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Take a breath, dear readers. Now you are about to read…

THE UPDATE

I wrote the above DRAFT on January 5 while I was able to have two solid, uninterrupted hours at Panera thinking, pondering, and writing.

I finished the final sentence, tucked away my computer, went to the potty – because…coffee – then planned to run next door to Costco before heading home to jump back into the evening grind with our family.

It was in the Panera bathroom stall (you did not need to know that part) that the words I’d just written spoke very clearly to me:

“…scrap the whole idea of keeping track and just BUY WHAT WE NEED WHEN WE NEED IT, THE END.”

Those words, and the very idea of doing exactly what I’d just written made me feel…

Beautiful Freedom

Imagine not thinking about money: spending, calculating, keeping track, posting about it – well. It suddenly sounded wonderful and I wondered why I’d needed to write almost two thousand words just to come up with it. (<– Because writing is therapeutic for me and God tells me things through my typing fingers, that’s why.)

With new resolve and a heart full of peace, I went next door to Costco. I threw everything I’d just thought about regarding grocery budget numbers out the window, and I simply put everything into our cart that would bless our family and allow me to take care of our large household of dear ones. And while I did, I didn’t overthink any of it. In fact, I felt great about it. I even grabbed a $100 pack of Valentino’s Pizza gift cards for $74.99 to keep on hand for a night I needed a break, and it felt very, very good.

Oh look at that. I got everything I would have normally bought anyway.

How much did I spend on these groceries? I don’t know. I don’t care. I threw away my receipt after leaving Costco because I had decided in the Panera bathroom to stop having a grocery budget.

Huh. How about that?

The day after

On January 6, the day after my writing, revelation, and non-overthinking shopping trip – this still felt great.

The reality is, I will likely still spend between $1,200-$1,600 on groceries for our household every month. I’m still frugal and I’m never going to stop looking for sales, meat markdowns, and great prices on groceries. To me, that’s just wise spending practices and I’ve learned how to be good at this.

But not keeping track of it all takes a little chunk of burden out of my head. Plus “giving myself permission” to order pizza or whatever else we might need on an extra hard day is a generous gift I can give to myself. What a weird form of self care. But I believe that’s what it is!

Ok, one tiny regret

Keeping track of every penny I spend on food, taking pictures of my shopping trips, calculating, documenting, and sharing it with you has been a blog feature here for quite some time. I think it’s been a good one, and if I have any “regret” it’s that for now, I’m leaving that behind.

But the need for a mental load shift for me is vital, and maybe, just maybe alleviating my monthly grocery spending feature will open up time for me to write about something else as God allows.

Also? While I don’t plan to keep specific track of everything I spend on food, I’ll probably throw all kinds of grocery store pictures into our weekly Food and Fun posts. And goodness if I find a great deal, how can I not share about that?!

Moving on…

Who we are feeding

In case you’re wondering where all the food goes, here’s what our home life looks like right now:

  • At the very least, I’m feeding nine people three meals a day plus snacks: Matt, myself, Brayden (12), Kiya (10), Keith (7), Anna (6), Acacia (5), Josie (4), and Auggie (3).
  • Five other adults live at our house: Elias, Malachi, plus three adults that rent rooms from us. All the adults are welcome to eat anything they would like that I buy and make, and most of them appreciate and take advantage of this. Food is included in their rent cost, as I found it easier to feed our wonderful housemates instead of expecting everyone to fend for themselves and try to cook in our kitchen in the midst of me trying to cook for our family. This has been a great arrangement! At the same time, all the adults are welcome to cook or eat out or do whatever they want to. They are adults, after all.
  • We host a houseful of guests (25-40 people) every Sunday Lunch and it is the biggest pleasure of my week to do this. We usually provide the main dish and some sides/desserts. Guests often bring sides/desserts. It’s the most wonderful thing to be a part of this!

Matt and I would love to host more guests in our home during the week, specifically for people in our neighborhood. As of right now though, we’ve not been able to add much more to our evenings because of all the ABA therapy happening in our home.

A huge thank you

Thank you, thank you, for supporting us and caring about our family. It was a blessing for me to write through all of my thoughts as I worked out a new budget – or non-budget – grocery plan for our family.

As time goes on, I’ll keep you posted about what it’s like to not focus on a grocery budget. I think I’m going to enjoy the mental freedom this brings as I do exactly what I’ve done for years but without the extra burden of keeping track of receipts!

How do you work out the grocery budget needs for your family?

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Big Family Grocery Spending for October, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Grocery Spending for October, 2025 post!

Curious how much we spent during the month of October and what groceries we bought? Here’s the breakdown…

Big Family Grocery Spending for October, 2025

1. Wal-Mart

On October 2, Matt got a few things for us at Wal-Mart: milk, frozen hashbrowns, spinach, spring mix, and cream. I didn’t get a photo of this. :)

Total for groceries at Wal-Mart: $52.27

2. Freddy’s

On October 4, we took the kids to Freddy’s to enjoy a free ice cream treat that they’d earned during the Summer Library Reading Challenge. We ordered some fries to go with our ice cream, plus we bought Elias and Malorie a treat.

Total out of pocket at Freddy’s: $15.16

3. Costco

On October 6, I went to Costco and got spring mix, bananas, apples, clementines, oranges, pears, potatoes, grapes, raspberries, sweet peppers, shredded cheese, yogurt, taquitos, chicken strips, chicken nuggets, tater tots, sausage links, Fritos, pepperoni, cream cheese, butter, barbecue sauce, ketchup, mandarin orange cups, chicken broth, peanuts, and milk.

Total for food at Costco: $272.36

4. Sam’s

On October 12, I ran into Sam’s on our way home from church. I was almost out of necessities for our daily smoothies, plus I grabbed pancake mix per Kiya’s birthday dinner request. :)

Total at Sam’s: $20.10

5. Costco Lunch

On October 14, we treated the kids to lunch at Costco during their Fall Break. They chose between pizza and hotdogs and we made a fine mess. :)

Total for lunch at Costco: $16.34

6. Aldi

On October 15, I filled a cart at Aldi with many of our needs and favorites. I got milk, sliced cheese, salsa, half and half, heavy whipping cream, hard salami, meat sticks, pear cups, peach cups, fritos, granola, whole milk yogurt, ground sausage, sausage patties, sliced ham, raisins, fruit/veggie pouches, French fries, pretzels, bananas, apples, mixed greens, spinach, grapes, strawberries, pickles, crackers, brownie mix, cake mix, onions, and carrots. I also found a big pork roast for just $1.79/pound so I grabbed it for an upcoming Sunday Lunch.

Total at Aldi: $271.00

7.Wal-Mart

On October 22, I ran into Wal-Mart to get milk, shredded potatoes, diced ham, and frozen fruit. I checked for meat markdowns and scored three packages of hamburger meat!

Total at Wal-Mart: $84.75

8. Sam’s

From Wal-Mart, we went straight to Sam’s. I got pork chops and a roast marked down. Plus I filled the cart with peanut butter, yogurt, spaghetti sauce, spring mix, spinach, grapes, raspberries, bananas, broccoli, golden kiwi, 10-dozen eggs, half and half, heavy whipping cream, avocado cups, shredded cheese, white queso, laughing cow cheese, tomato sauce, bacon, applesauce, applesauce pouches, brown sugar, minced onion, orange chicken, corn dogs, cereal, butter, egg bites, pie crust, turkey lunch meat, ham lunch meat, pickles, coconut oil, olive oil, and yogies.

Total for groceries at Sam’s: $428.23

9. Hy-Vee

On October 23, Eva picked up our WIC order at Hy-Vee on her way over to our house. We got cereal, cheese, eggs, beans, juice, whole wheat noodles, tuna, rice, and several bags of frozen fruits and veggies. This benefit for our kids is such a blessing! Arrow helped us put it away. :)

Total out of pocket: $0

10. Amazon

Our subscribe and save order this month provided us with several boxes of Go-Go Squeeze applesauce and yogurt plus Annie’s mac and cheese and Redmond’s Sea Salt.

Total from Amazon: $59.60

11. Wal-Mart

On October 29, I went to Wal-Mart to finish off the last few WIC items we still needed to pick up for the month. I also got three gallons of milk, 10 dozen eggs, sausage patties, bananas, spring mix, spinach, clementines, lasagna noodles, cottage cheese, cliff bars, coconut flakes, flax seed, a Caesar salad kit, and hamburger meat marked down.

Total out of pocket for food: $116.05

12. Sonic

We discovered a great deal on Halloween night for $0.50 corndogs so we asked Malachi to bring home 20 of them for our dinner that night before we headed out. It’s hard to pass up a deal like that!

Total at Sonic: $11.00

Total for groceries October, 2025: $1,347

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
October spending: $1,347

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Big Family Food and Fun: February 23-March 1, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: February 23-March 1, 2025 post!

Before I launch into this week’s Food and Fun, I’ll backtrack to share the tail end of last week. :)

Our family all gathered on Saturday evening to celebrate Justus’ birthday (a week late, thanks to illnesses). Justus requested Italian Cream Cheese Chicken and Butterscotch Bars and we were all excited about this meal!

There were 19 of us, and the meal was simple and good.

Being altogether was the best.

And that was our Saturday evening!

Big Family Food and Fun: February 23-March 1, 2025

We enjoyed our traditional Breakfast Cookie Bars on Sunday morning before church.

Last week, I had made a big pan full of Taco Rice Skillet, so I rewarmed it at a low oven temp for our Sunday Lunch gathering. I also warmed White Queso in my smallest crock pot, cooked Corn on the stove, plus got out tortillas, chips, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, and cheese. Friends who joined us that day brought Shredded Pork and Fresh Fruit. It was such a delicious feast!

HAVE I TOLD YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE SUNDAY LUNCHES?? (I love Sunday Lunches.)

There were 29 of us gathered to share our meal and share life together.

After such frigid days, we were all so invigorated by sunshine and warmer temps. All of our kids played outside (and got muddy but we didn’t care). It was so sweet to see the kids enjoying their time together. Meanwhile, we grown-ups got to encourage and support each other as we visited inside.

Matt and I enjoyed Community Group time later that afternoon (a small group of us who meet regularly to focus on what scripture says about Jesus’ life and how we can be more like Him). Elias and Malorie watched a movie with our kids during that time so that we could have uninterrupted adult sharpening time.

I baked four Frozen Pizzas for dinner that night for an easy way to end our full day.

Malorie came into the kitchen that evening to conduct some experiments for her online college classes. A small crowd gathered to participate.

Oh wait. A large crowd gathered. I’m not sure what Malorie would have done had she not had all this help to collect her data.

Monday was a very big day for our family. I had to get out the door early with Auggie, so I served a simple breakfast of Yogurt, Granola, and Berries for Parfaits before school.

An Auggie Update

Auggie and I drove to Omaha that morning for a follow-up visit to Children’s Developmental Pediatrics. This boy has gone to specialist after specialist during his two years of life as we seek answers and help to better meet his extra needs. Children’s Hospital has been everything wonderful for us, referring us to every doctor we’ve needed and never giving up or brushing off our concerns.

They’ve given him Feeding Therapy so that he could learn to eat. They’re giving him Speech Therapy so that he can learn to talk. And on this day, after yet another very thorough appointment, the Developmental Pediatrics team finally landed on a diagnosis for him: Autism Spectrum Disorder with Global Developmental Delay.

Yes, I cried when the doctor said the words. But they were tears of relief to finally have answers. We need this so that we can move forward to get more of the help he needs!

What a big, big morning for this precious little boy.

The day wasn’t over yet.

Matt and I spend the afternoon processing Auggie’s appointment and diagnosis and talking through next steps. We also worked on preparing for our evening. God had led us to a Christian Therapy Team – an answer to SO MANY PRAYERS as we’ve sought help for our kids. Monday night they were to come into our home for the first time to meet everyone and as we launch into participating in their Family Mending program.

To make this happen, I had dinner ready at 4:30 that afternoon: Crunchy Ranch Chicken Strips, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Beans. We tried to get everyone fed and into the living room by therapy time at 5:45.

Emotions were running HIGH for our kids that night – and they all either acted super squirrely or super naughty during our meeting. We actually appreciated that the therapy team could see some of their behaviors – because so often, our kids mask their true needs/struggles around others.

This night was just the beginning of many hours of therapy, homework, and guidance from the Therapy Team. I’ll share more as I learn more. It’s all a lot to process, but we welcome it so that we can help our family be all that God has planned for us to be.

Bedtime Snack

Somewhere in the afternoon, I’d taken several bruised apples (thanks to a kid who dropped an entire bag of them) and turned them into Applesauce Bread. We sliced a loaf to eat after the therapist team left, and tried to get all the hyped up kids calmed down for sleep that night. Phew, what a day.

Tuesday morning, I sliced the remaining loaf of Applesauce Bread for breakfast, plus got out Bagels for those who wanted that instead. I scrambled a dozen eggs and rationed them so everyone could have some.

Meanwhile, Anna was propping clementines into the small space between the countertop and the cabinet. ;)

Auggie and I headed off to Speech Therapy that morning. He was less cooperative than he typically is – likely because he was wary after his big Developmental Pediatric appointment the day before? By the end of the session, he’d finally warmed back up to spending time with Miss Marissa.

Little Sweetheart had joined the crew at home with Matt so when Auggie and I got home, I grabbed her up. She enjoyed many little bites of Lolli’s Applesauce Bread. :)

If Auggie could vacuum all day (and turn the switch on and off over and over), he’d be pretty pleased.

My niece was driving through Lincoln that afternoon on her way home from visiting family. She stopped by so we could meet her sweet new baby.

Eva and Arrow stopped by to say hi also. We got some cousin pictures, but my favorite, by far, is this one in which Arrow decided to try and take a bite out of his cousin to see if he was as sweet as he appeared to be.

Aww, here’s Pop having some Arrow playtime.

After school, I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to hand out food at our weekly Food Distribution site. There was a lot of food to hand out that day and a huge crowd that went through the line. The kids did great!

Back at home, Matt had fed the kids an entire pan of Burritos that I’d made with Sunday’s leftovers. He was working on this second pan of remaining pan of rice/meat mixture as we continued to put burritos together to feed kids. This meal was a hit, for sure!

We’d brought home several packages of buns from Tuesday’s Food Distribution, plus a very big and exciting bonus: EGGS. At the end of the evening after we’d handed out food to over 100 families, no one had taken a bag of pre-cooked eggs that had been donated by a restaurant. (Items are set on tables and clients can choose from a variety that we set out. The cooked/frozen eggs didn’t look very appetizing, I guess?)

We were blessed to bring them home, so on Wednesday morning, I set out the buns with the eggs along with sausage patties, ham, and cheese so everyone could build a Breakfast Sandwich.

Then, I used what was leftover to put together more Breakfast Sandwiches for the fridge and freezer for grab-and-go breakfasts. I was so shocked by how many eggs were in that bag! I got 22 sandwiches prepped for our freezer!

My friend, Charlene, came to visit that afternoon and we had a wonderful time catching up! That evening after homework, Brayden wanted to help make dinner. He cooked hamburger meat and added sauce. Then he put together two bags of salad.

I boiled noodles and warmed up leftover corn. Then we enjoyed a Spaghetti Dinner.

We all headed out for a short walk around the neighborhood so that we could take advantage of the nice weather before it got dark. Afterward, we came in and worked on our Family Therapy Homework. Our assignment/goal this week is to work together to establish Family Expectations (rules) so that everyone is on the same page and very clear on what behaviors are accepted. We are couching all of it in scripture so that we can emphasize that all we do is a reflection of Jesus’ love for us.

Thursday morning, I put a Melt-in-Your-Mouth Beef Roast with Carrots into the crock pot to slow cook all day.

I had a lot of fresh greens in the fridge, so I made a batch of Chocolate Cupcakes with Spinach, using 1/3 pound of spinach – which is a lot. Can you see how these are tinted green before they are baked?

But after they are baked, they look like regular chocolate cupcakes!

Mid-morning, we took the four littlest kids to a Sensory Storytime at a bookstore.

Eva and Arrow met us there, and Auggie went straight over for a hug.

The rest of the kids followed him to gather around one of their dear sisters-in-law and their favorite nephew. :)

When we got home, I made a double batch of Angela’s Egg-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies for our breakfast the next morning.

That afternoon, I spent time with Little Sweetheart while putting together an activity to help us continue to work through our Family Therapy Homework. Matt and I decided that a theme verse for the basis of the “Family Expectations” page that our therapist team asked us to put together is 1 John 3:16. If we can all recognize how much our Father loves us, we will move forward in love for others. I created this simple poster plus wrote the word LOVED on cards for the kids to put together as we met together that night.

Then, I cut the poster into puzzle pieces so that even the littlest kids could participate in our discussion time.

When the kids got home from school and finished homework, we enjoyed our Melt-in-Your-Mouth Beef Roast and Carrots. I buttered and toasted some rolls to help fill the kids’ bellies.

Later, we sat in the living room, talking through our L-O-V-E-D cards, which had scriptures to go with each letter. This was a loud event, not one that was calm and precious like one would hope. But it went as well as it could go, I think, with this many high need kids of such young ages. Brayden, Kiya, and Keith are at least catching on to what we are trying to teach.

Friday morning, we finally got to eat the Angela’s Egg-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies I’d made. The kids were so glad to finally dig into them!

After the elementary kids headed off to school, I spent time in the kitchen prepping ahead. I made a huge Lasagna plus a regular-sized one for our upcoming Sunday Lunch.

Meanwhile, I baked 14 pans worth of bacon to finish off a box I had in the fridge. Now we have lots of prepped bacon in the fridge for breakfasts or sandwiches.

Matt had taken most of the littles outside for a walk while I finished my work in the kitchen. Then Anna and I (plus Little Sweetheart, who had been dropped off somewhere in there) headed out to join them.

I took the girls inside to fix their hair before the preschool bus came for them. I asked Acacia to watch Little Sweetheart and keep her safe while I fixed Josie’s hair. Acacia took her job very seriously.

That afternoon, I headed out and got a haircut – which felt like a lovely treat. Then I went to Panera to have some quiet, alone work time. See those wrappers on the table? Yes, indeed, I had packed a couple of special chocolates in my computer bag to enjoy with my coffee.

Eva texted that day to share that she needed to use up some potatoes and cream, so she’d made a pot of this Potato Soup. YUM. I’ve been making this version of Ham and Potato Soup all winter, and kind of forgot about my original Potato Soup recipe. Now I’m hungry for the original and need to make it before the weather gets too warm…

I’m so thankful the moments of quiet I was able to snag that afternoon, because as soon as 4:00 hit, it was incredibly intense for Matt and me as we managed the evening. Two of our kids had appointments with their therapist right after school (this was good, but also a lot for them as they processed some hard memories throughout the rest of the night). Meanwhile, everyone was hungry at 4:30. Auggie had a very scream-y day/evening and we couldn’t figure out why. The three little girls were exhausted from their week and couldn’t regulate their emotions. Dinner, simple as it was, felt chaotic. (We made Orange Chicken with Sliced Pears and a Salad.)

To end our evening, we attempted to continue with our Family Therapy Homework. We reviewed our L-O-V-E-D cards, reminding them about how much God loves them and delights in them. Then we worked together to put together the scripture puzzle I’d created the day before. We practiced learning 1 John 3:16, reminding them that because they are so loved, they can live confidently in that love and therefore, love others – in our home and out of our home.

Saturday morning we ate Cereal for breakfast, plus I made a double batch of Peanut Butter Honey Puffs.

We took the kids to Library Sensory Storytime where they got to listen, play, sing, and dance.

We got back home to enjoy a crowd of Malachi’s friends who were gathering to spend the weekend together. These buys have been friends since they were all little boys. :)

Thanks, Allan, for being such a good sport and reading a book to Malachi’s little sister. :)

Lunch that day was an assortment of random leftovers. But I also made a big package of hotdogs to stretch our meal since we had several extra guys joining us.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning, giving kids their baths, and getting our home ready for our time of Sabbath rest. I’ll share more about our Saturday next week!

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Big Family Grocery Spending for December, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Grocery Spending for December, 2024 post!

Here’s how we spent our grocery budget for our large household during the month of December. We fed 12 people three meals each day, plus a lot of wonderful guests. In fact, because of Christmas and lots of birthdays and other fun get-togethers this month, we had many meals with more than 12 people. It’s been awesome!

Because of the larger meals and crowds, we’ve had more frequent grocery store trips so that we could keep up with food needs. And how did the budget fare? Well, we went over. But only by a little, somehow. :) Read until the end to see how our grocery budgeted averaged out during the entire year!

Big Family Grocery Spending for December, 2024

1. Aldi

On December 2, I ran into Aldi to grab all of our “Aldi essentials.” I got fruit/veggie pouches for Auggie, crackers, a case of salsa, whole milk yogurt, milk, canned corn (because it was on sale for $0.50), Caesar salad kits, blackberries, and sausage.

Total for groceries at Aldi: $116.36

2. Sam’s

December 3, I was halfway to Sam’s while at Speech Therapy for Auggie. So after his appointment, I took him with me to get some of our Sam’s essentials. We stocked up on our favorite peanut butter, plus got chips, potatoes, apples, grapes, pears, cheese sticks, yogurt squeezies, whole milk yogurt, rotel, and coffee creamer. I was excited to find chicken breasts and beef roasts marked down for quick sale so I grabbed those.

Total for groceries at Sam’s $213.59

3. Honest Abe’s

Remember how we used to have Elias take Brayden out for Bro Time? Elias has a new job now that is very intense as he deals with high need kids all day (kind of sounds like what Elias’ parents do all day, huh?). Because of this, we don’t have a regularly scheduled Bro Time any more. But we have started sending both Brayden and Kiya out with Elias and Malorie from time to time on Monday evenings for a special dinner out.

A local restaurant here in Lincoln called Honest Abe’s offers half price kids meals on Monday nights. This gives everyone a burger and fries and drink for right around $4.00! Amazing. On December 9, the four of them headed out to pick up their dinner. Elias and Malorie help the kids figure out what they want and give them the chance to order by themselves (a skill Matt and I don’t/can’t provide for them because eating out as a family with so many littles is too complicated and too expensive.

Overall, this is a WIN and the kids love this time with Elias and Malorie. This night, the restaurant was too crowded so they brought their food home to eat.

Total at Honest Abe’s: $27.35

4. Wal-Mart

On December 11, we took the four youngest kids to Walmart to pick up the girls’ WIC items plus a few other needed groceries. I found day-old (refrigerated) Rotisserie chicken marked down to just $2.02 each so I got two of those. We got lots of fruits and veggies, eggs, rice, pasta, cereal, milk, and cheese, all covered by WIC benefits. And I picked up some Caesar salad kits, pickles, and ham.

Total out of pocket at Wal-Mart: $32.50

5. Aldi

After we left Walmart that day, we went just up the road to Aldi. I ran in and got fruit/veggie pouches for Auggie, raspberries, oranges, zucchini, butter, yogurt, granola, baking items, sausage, deli ham, pasta sauce, fritos, and three large packages of boneless chicken thighs on sale for just $2.49/pound.

Total for food at Aldi: $155.95

6. Walmart 

On December 19, I ran into Walmart to get milk, sour cream, lime juice, a few last minute items for Christmas, plus the last of our WIC benefits. As always, I checked for meat markdowns and scored Boneless Chicken Thighs for just over $2/pound! I bought six packages.

Total out of pocket at Walmart: $57.67

7. Costco

From there, we went to Costco and semi-filled two carts. We needed Christmas celebration food plus regular groceries and produce. We got pears, apples, oranges, grapes, broccoli, blueberries, cream cheese, cream, half and half (marked down to $0.97!!), avocado mash, white queso, guacamole, crackers, two kinds of dips, several kinds of cheese, meatballs, chicken nuggets, tator tots, french fries, fish sticks, yogurt squeezies, applesauce cups, chicken broth, avocado oil spray, and frozen pizza.

Total for food at Costco: $395.59

8. Krispie Kreme

December 20 was Malachi’s 20th birthday. He and a bunch of his buddies spent the night at our house, and he requested donuts for breakfast. I didn’t get a photo of the whole crew, but I got this one when these two got home with the donuts.

Total for Malachi’s donuts: $14.99

9. Sam’s

On December 23, I braved the crowds and went to Sam’s for a few more Christmas food needs, everyday fruit and vegetable needs, and upcoming birthday meals. I got pasta sauce, apple sauce, hamburger meat, sliced cheese, shredded cheese, bacon, cucumbers, bananas, carrots, Caesar salad, mandarin oranges, spinach, veggie straws, coffee creamer, apples, brownie mix, cottage cheese, peanut butter, coffee, orange chicken, oatmeal, gluten free pizza, pickles, brown sugar, fruit strips, and coconut crisps.

Total for food at Sam’s: $310.19

10. Walmart

From Sam’s, I ran to the next parking lot for a few items at Walmart: lasagna noodles, gluten free nuggets, frozen hashbrowns, onion rings, ham, and fake oreos (for birthday brownies).

Total at $54.14

11. Cane’s

Our Christmas tradition has become: make Chicken Strips at home for Christmas lunch after opening gifts, and buy a big container of Raising Cane’s Sauce to go with the chicken. This makes for an easy meal for mom, a perfect meal to accommodate picky kids, and a special way to enjoy our family’s favorite sauce. I picked up a 32-ounce cup of sauce to put in our fridge for the big day.

Total for our Cane’s Sauce: $7.65

12. Arby’s Fries

Matt had some coupons in his wallet for $1 fries at Arby’s, limit 3. So we took advantage one day to treat the kids after an outing to the Children’s Museum.

Total for fries: $3.28

13. Walmart

On December 27, I went to Wal-Mart to check for Ham marked down after Christmas. I found some for $1/pound!! I picked up four, plus found hamburger meat ($3.34/pound) and ground chicken ($2.41/pound) marked down. I also needed Caesar salad, spring mix, and barbecue sauce so I grabbed those.

Total for food at Walmart: $101.77

14. Aldi

I went to Aldi that day also, getting fruit and veggie pouches for Auggie, fresh pineapple on sale, whole milk yogurt, and meat mark-downs. Two packages of boneless chicken thighs were marked down half-price making them just $1.75/pound. Two packages of boneless chicken tenderloins were half-price at $1.99/pound. Plus grass fed hamburger meat was on sale for $4.80/pound. Pork loin was on sale for $1.89/pound so I got one. It was a great meat day and our freezer got filled up!

Total at Aldi: $110.17

15. Wal-mart

Elias and Malorie went to a different Walmart a few days later and I couldn’t resist asking them to check for $0.50/pound hams. Sure enough, they had a bunch so they picked up four more hams for me. It’s hard to pass up such an amazing price for meat that gives us several meals or that will feed thirty people at a Sunday lunch!

Total for four spiral cut hams: $20.20

Total grocery spending for December: $1458

— > Without WIC, our total this month would have been closer to $1658. <—–

If you recall, at the beginning of this year, I decided to keep running totals of everything we spent on groceries each month. I also decided to increase our budget to $1,400/month for food because we feed so many people and my previous $1,200/month average was causing unnecessary stress.

We’ve had adults move in and out of our home all year long. Most of the year, we had 13 people living here, sometimes 14, and now there are 12.

Here’s the breakdown of what we ended up spending each month during 2024…

Summary/Average for groceries during 2024

January: $1,178
February: $849
March: $1,356
April: $1148
May: 1091
June: $1,121
July: $1,190
August: $1,611
September: $1,218
October: $1,345
November: $1,150
December: $1,458

Grand total for 2024: $14,715

That’s a lot of groceries. :)

Grocery Budget Plan for 2025

Watch for a post detailing what we’re planning to change and keep the same for our 2025 grocery budget!

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Big Family Grocery Spending for September, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Grocery Spending for September, 2024 post!

Here’s how we spent our grocery budget for our large household during the month of September. We feed 13 people three meals each day, plus we feed frequent guests…

Big Family Grocery Spending for September, 2024

1. Hy-Vee

Kelsey texted me while they were shopping at Hy-Vee over labor day weekend to let me know that Pork Butts and Watermelon were on sale. Did I want any? Sure!!

The roasts were just $2.49/pound and they are a great size for upcoming Sunday lunches. The watermelon was only $2.99 – a great deal.

Total at Hy-Vee: $38

2. Aldi

On September 6, we headed to Aldi to stock up on our favorites and sale items there. We got milk, whole milk yogurt, pears, grapes (on sale for $1.39/pound), strawberries (on sale for $1.89/pound), sausage, brown sugar, salsa, spaghetti sauce, frosting, cake mix, granola, fruit/veggie pouches for Auggie, cheese cubes, pear cups in 100% juice, instant oatmeal, chicken broth, tator tots, french fries, fresh peaches, hard salami, sausage patties, and pork loin.

It was quite a haul!

We had been blessed this summer to receive surprise EBT cards for our kids. Through their adoption subsidies, they will qualify for Medicaid until they become adults. (This is a huge blessing for them!) Because of this qualification, they qualify for free school lunches. And in Nebraska, apparently everyone who qualifies for free school lunches received a little EBT (Food Stamp) money this summer. This was such a nice surprise to receive in the mail and I used the benefits at Aldi that day.

Total cost: $164.08/ Total out of pocket: $0

3. Costco

After Aldi that day, we headed to Costco to get diapers, sale items, and staples we needed. We got shredded cheese, Go-gurt, pancake mix, fruit and veggie pouches for lunches, granola, granola bites, frozen green beans, crisp fried onions, sugar, eggs, tuna, barbecue sauce, ranch dressing, clementines, spinach, spring mix, frozen chicken strips, butter, broccoli, cauliflower, tortelloni, string cheese, almond butter, peanuts, heavy whipping cream, and bananas.

Total for food at Costco: $245.63

4. Wal-Mart

On September 13, I went to Wal-Mart to get some of our kids’ WIC items for the month. While I was there, I checked for meat markdowns but didn’t find any worth picking up. I did get some Caesar Salad Kits and a few other small items we needed.

Total out of pocket: $34.31

5. Sam’s

After I left Wal-Mart, I went next door to Sam’s to pick up the Bacon and Peanut Butter we can only get at this particular Sam’s. I got quite a few other necessities also including eggs, potatoes, pears, apples, grapes, cheese sticks, butter, yogurt, olive oil, ketchup, mac and cheese, and oatmeal.

Total for food at Sam’s: $328.32

6. Hy-Vee

Eva was sweet and picked up an order for me on September 18. I was able to get a lot of our girls’ WIC items in this order and just one other item that we paid for out of pocket.

Total out of pocket from Hy-Vee: $3.82

7. Costco

September 19, we loaded up the four youngest and went to Costco to prep for a weekend with company and to get lunchbox items for upcoming weeks.

We picked up Boneless Chicken Thighs, Chicken Drumsticks, Milk, Strawberries, Raspberries, Spring Mix, Grapes, Italian Dressing, Crackers, Sliced Havarti Cheese, Shredded Cheese, Coffee Creamer, Half and Half, Guacamole, Broccoli, Corn, Pork Loin (marked down $5/package!), Watermelon, Sweet Potato Chips, Mini Corn Dogs, Chicken Nuggets, Parmesan Cheese, Sliced Ham, Oatmeal Packets, and Frozen Pizza.

And diapers. Always diapers. :)

Total for groceries at Costco: $334.71

8. Amazon Subscribe and Save

I forgot again to take a picture when our Amazon order came in, but we got several boxes of applesauce and yogurt pouches plus some dehydrated apples we like to take for kids to snack on when we go to the store.

Total from Amazon: $48.61

9. Walmart

On September 27, I went to Walmart to get the last of our kids’ WIC items and scored big on meat mark-downs. I was amazed at all the meat I was able to pick up to restock our freezer for just $47!

Total out of pocket for groceries at Walmart: $47.28

10. Aldi

After I left Wal-mart that day, I went down the road to Aldi. I got fruit/veggie pouches for Auggie, milk, spaghetti sauce, fritos, asparagus, pears, potatoes, yogurt, granola, sausage, cake mix and frosting, and lasagna noodles.

Total for groceries at Aldi: $137.19

Total grocery spending for September: $1,218

— > Without WIC and the bonus EBT cards we received, our total this month would have been closer to $1,582. <—–

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
September: $1,218

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Big Family Food and Fun: July 21-27, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: July 21-27, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: July 21-27, 2024

Our week started off with a huge wonderful bang! (And wait until you see how the week ended!)

We’d been blessed to help organize a Heartlands Church ministry in which we’d be putting together 75 lunches to deliver to people in our neighborhood on Monday in connection with Atlas. Many families had signed up to help provide the food for this project and on Sunday we invited anyone who was interested to come eat lunch at our house after church then help us put the lunches together.

You guys!! People got so on board with this that FORTY-ONE people were at our house for lunch on Sunday. It was the most amazing thing to see so many say “yes!” to working together to help provide meals for our community!

How did I feed that many? I used my Grandma’s method of “adding more water to the soup.” As in – I made Pulled Pork and just made lots of side dishes to stretch the meal. It was easy, inexpensive, and everyone got full.

Saturday night I put this 6-pound pork butt into a crock pot with barbecue sauce to slow cook all night. Note that I’d gotten this marked down 1/2 price at Aldi so this huge chunk of meat cost only $5.77. What an amazing way to feed a big crowd!

We praise God that He gave us such a large and functional house to be able to easily host so many, so easily. We gathered in the living room, dining room, and kitchen to eat. Kids spilled out into the yard. Babies were passed around so all the grown ups could eat. It was all a picture of God’s beauty.

The lunch buffet was Pulled Pork, Baked Potatoes, Rice, Green Beans, Baked Beans, Rolls, Pickles, Watermelon, and Strawberries.

I had made several batched of Homemade Ice Cream which was a huge hit and so much fun to offer our guests. We gave them the choice of flavors: Peach, Oreo, Butterfinger, or Vanilla. And I’d tried out a dairy free version with coconut milk that turned out pretty good too!

After everyone was fed, we cleared away the lunch mess and set up stations to start putting together 75 sack lunches to give out the next day. We made sandwiches on our kitchen island.

Our dining room table was filled with lunch sacks for people to put in an apple or clementine, a bag of chips, and a treat. In our entry way, we set up a table where people were cutting carrots and cucumbers and bagging them.

With this many people working together, all the food was prepped very quickly. We put all the sandwiches and veggies into our two extra fridges and left the sacks on the table to be completed the next day before serving time.

After our friends left, we warmed up some leftovers to snack on for dinner.

Then I made some hoagie sandwiches to take with us on a walk. The kids had been asking to go to their school playground for an outing so that’s what we did Sunday night.

On the way, we stopped by and knocked on the door of one of Brayden’s friends to see if he could join us. They were so happy to see each other!

The kids played on the playground then we had our sandwiches before heading back to get ready for bed.

Monday morning I scrambled 15 eggs for our breakfast and made several sheets of bacon to eat and to have on hand for sandwiches.

We had a SUPER EARLY Spaghetti lunch so that we could make it to Atlas to had out sack lunches by 11:45.

We got the sandwiches and veggies from the fridge and loaded them into sacks, then piled kids and food into the van to head to Atlas.

Several people from Heartlands church and Atlas were there to give out lunches. Some stayed at Atlas House to give to people as they walked by. Two groups loaded lunches in wagons to walk around the neighborhood and give out sacks.

Brayden and Kiya headed out with a group while the five littlest stayed with Matt and me in our group.

It was wonderful to watch our littles handing out water bottles and sack lunches.

All said and done, there were only ten sacks left after our efforts to get them all handed out. Atlas held on to those to give to anyone who stopped by.

Right after we finished this, it was time to get the little girls to Ms. Kathi’s. So we dropped everyone else at home then I took the girls to have their afternoon fun while I went and had some fun of my own:

There are no words to describe how much I love being a Lolli.

Back at home, I made a simple early dinner of Pancakes with Sausage and Applesauce.

Anna had fallen asleep on the floor so BabyBoy#11 helped wake her up for dinner. :)

Then we loaded everyone up to stock up on food and diapers at Costco.

After Costco we ran to Walmart where I ran in, leaving the kids in the van with Matt and a snack. I found water bottles on clearance for a $1 and lots of marked down chicken!

Tuesday morning we had a very easy breakfast – Yogurt with Granola.

I took BabyBoy#11 to Occupational Therapy to work on his eating abilities. For lunch we made four boxes of Mac and Cheese, sprinkled in frozen peas to cool off our bowls, and added in some chopped ham.

We put the baby down for his nap while the other six and I headed outside to play while Matt got on the roof to do some repair work.

Then Brayden, Kiya, Keith, and I went to hand out food at our weekly Food Distribution. There was a bigger-than-normal crowd that day who got served.

Elias was serving out at church camp all week (along with Malachi and Malorie) so Matt was home on his own with the four littlest. I had made a bowl of Bean and Cheese Salsa Dip for an easy dinner so we pulled that out to eat with Chips, Carrots/Cucumbers, and Watermelon.

We played outside the rest of the evening. I can’t say this very often, but the night was wonderful and calm. Very rarely do all the kids play together peacefully as their trauma often creates struggles even during playtime. But this night, they did. The older kids were happily engaged in a game of make-believe. The younger ones rode bikes and took turns up and down the slide. Matt and I were so thankful for this gift of a peaceful evening.

Just before bedtime, Anna, who was pretending to be a mommy, brought out fruit cups, offering, “Does anyone need a snack before bed?” It was the sweetest.

Wednesday morning I baked a double batch of Bran Muffins and made Strawberry Parfaits for breakfast. As you can see, I also blended up the smoothie Matt and I drink every day.

I caught Acacia in the play room cooking food for everyone also. She called out, “It’s ready!!” as she finished making toast in her skillet. :)

We decided to have a morning at the zoo, so I packed a Salad for a Picnic plus I baked some Chicken Strips to eat with it so that we could have Chicken Caesar Salad.

When we arrived, our first stop was to say hello to the giraffes.

Then we played in the water for a long time until everyone was hungry.

We hurried everyone over to a picnic table so we could feed everyone lunch before hunger meltdowns started. Our Chicken Caesar Salad was a huge hit with everyone. We had the salad with fruit cups, cheese sticks, and a treat I’d snuck into the bag in case I needed salad-eating motivation. No motivation was needed, but they still enjoyed their treat.

Our last stop that day was the Butterfly Pavilion where everyone caught at least one butterfly. Brayden was the king that day with butterflies just begging to be caught by him. One even landed on his back.

I loved that a butterfly landed on Matt and everyone gathered around him in excitement!

For dinner that night, I made five cans worth of Tuna Salad for sandwiches. We put spinach on our sandwiches and that was pretty much our meal.

The kids had been wearing their swimming suits all day since the zoo, which had ultimately been a strategy for getting out the door for the Splash Park on time that night.

This was our third Wednesday for Popsicles in the Park with our church family. So much fun.

That afternoon, I had made a pan of Peanut Butter Honey Rice Krispie Treats for the kids to eat on the way home before bed. As we got everyone buckled in, I handed out bars and water.

I gave Keith a haircut on Thursday morning. Then we decided to turn on the water to wash off the excess hair and to cool all the kids off.

We ate leftovers for lunch then Tortelloni with sauce, cucumbers, and spinach for dinner.

I found this photo of Malachi, Malorie, and Elias all together at Nebraska Youth Camp on their Facebook page. SO MUCH FUN. I love that they have all been there serving together.

Friday morning Kelsey, Little Sweetheart, and I headed out on a plane for California to visit family. Justus and Kelsey had free flight points and they wanted to take me on a trip so that I had a chance to get some much needed rest. It was hard for me to feel like I could leave all the kids behind with Matt. But Justus moved in to help and Elias and Malorie planned to get back Saturday. So off we went!

Family time started out in the Fresno airport with Matt’s dad, Jim, meeting us.

We headed to Matt’s sister, Lori’s. Then to visit his mom, Joyce, and her husband Bill. What a gift all of this was!

The rest of the evening I mostly did this out by Lori’s pool:

Our sister-in-law, Kari, arrived after dinner! The goal for all of us was/is to spend time catching up and resting. We’ve been taking walks, swimming, and sitting with our feet up. Friday, I even took a nap.

I’ll share more next week, but for now, I’m super, super thankful for all the dear ones holding down the fort at home so that I can find refreshment and rest!

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5 Grocery Items I Can Only Find at Walmart

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This has been my experience: There are 5 Grocery Items I Can Only Find at Walmart.

Are these all random items? Absolutely, wait till you see! And would I surely be able to find them if I continued to drive all over Lincoln and see what my options were at all of our many different grocery stores? Maybe. But here’s what works for me:

  1. I do the majority of our grocery shopping at Costco, Sam’s, and Aldi. (None of the items I’m mentioning here today are found at those stores.)
  2. I don’t have time to check out other stores in town, especially since I’ve found my rhythm now that we’ve lived here for eight months.
  3. Even if I discovered any of these items at a different grocery store, it’s unlikely that the price would be much better and it’s not worth it for me to go to another store for just one or two items.
  4. And…while Walmart isn’t my favorite place to shop anymore (prices are overall much better at Costco, Sam’s and Aldi) – I do go to Walmart a couple of times each month.

Why do I go to Walmart every month if I don’t buy much there?

There are two reasons. One is to get these grocery items I’m about to tell you about. And the second is because our four youngest kids qualify for WIC benefits through their Foster Care or Adoption Subsidies. I’ve found that Walmart is the easiest place to shop for WIC items, especially because BabyBoy#11 has to drink Pediasure and Walmart is the only place we can find it so far.

So off to Walmart we go.

Are you ready to see the very exciting list of items I must get at Walmart? You aren’t ready for this level of excitement.

5 Grocery Items I Can Only Find at Walmart

1. Dry WHOLE Milk

There is Dry NONFAT Milk at other stores. But finding the whole milk variety was super exciting for me! Now I can make my favorite Peanut Butter Honey Puffs regularly – which I do. We love these.

This large package costs $12.44, which seems pretty expensive. But I’m still going strong on the first package I found a few weeks ago and there are many cups of this left in my pouch. This is saying something because I truly make this recipe at least once each week.

2. Jif Natural Individual Cups

Sam’s has these cups in the “regular” Jif variety – the kind with the hydrogenated oil we like to avoid. Those cups are cheaper at Sam’s, but I’m not willing to compromise on the unhealthy fat. So I pick up a couple boxes of these Jif Natural Cups at Walmart when we need them as they are fantastic to send in school lunches.

Did you know that baby carrots dipped in peanut butter is the only way to eat baby carrots? So says my eight year old daughter and I’ll certainly get behind it! Also? These don’t have to be refrigerated so typically one of these cups can be used for three of her lunches because she doesn’t eat the whole thing in one day. We just slip it into a baggie and send it back with her carrots the next day.

3. Wheat Germ

Costco, Sam’s, and Aldi don’t carry this in my area so I always get it at Walmart when I need it (which is rare). This jar lasts a long time and I use it when I make Mudballs.

4. Mr. Dell’s Shredded Hashbrowns

This 4-pound bag provides two or three casseroles or soups for us and only contain 100% frozen potatoes.

5. Walmart Markdowns

Ok, fine. Sam’s and Aldi have markdowns too. Plus Costco offers good clearance finds.

But there’s something about Walmart Markdown items that are unique and they are very fun to discover! Whenever we go to Walmart, if I have a few minutes, I walk up and down aisles to see what I can score. I also look in the refrigerated sections and end caps to see what’s waiting for me to snatch at a crazy low price!

Remember my $5.00 hams?? These were marked down after Christmas to just $0.50/pound!! Best deal on meat I’ve ever found!

During the fall, cans of Pumpkin were just $0.50/can so I bought 12.

A couple of weeks ago these super large pizzas were $6.88 or less each.

These Christmas Fudge Kits were marked down from $6.46 to just $1.50. Note that this box contained an entire package of Nestle chocolate chips which normally costs $2.98 (and the off-brand costs $2.32). So buying these kits at this price was worth it just for the chocolate!

I’ve gotten super cheap tomato sauce, marked down chicken and roasts, crazy low priced pork loin – these are all such fun finds!

Chicken breast for $1.76/pound!

It can be easy to be sucked in to buying something that’s marked down just because of the deal, so I’m careful to only get what we’ll use and what actually saves me money. But it’s very worth looking up and down (literally down as typically many of the clearance foods in the aisles are toward the bottom) to see what you might find!

Are you a Walmart shopper? What are your favorite items to get there?

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4 Grocery Items I Can Only Find at Sam’s

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I’m a big fan of Costco, Aldi, and Sam’s so those are the stores where are do the majority of my grocery shopping. Here are the 4 grocery items I can only find at Sam’s.

To be fair, when I say that I can only find these at Sam’s, I mean that I can only find these brands at these prices in these amounts. As in, there are certain items I can buy at Sam’s, Costco, or Aldi or any other grocery store. But there are four items I always and only buy at Sam’s because they are amazing and/or not specifically to be found at other stores.

Allow me to explain. Shall we begin with bacon?

5 Grocery Items I Can Only Find at Sam’s

UPDATE: The original post I wrote in February, 2024 didn’t include the fifth item that I added December 2024!

1. BACON

I’ve been so excited about this restaurant-style box of bacon I find and love from Sam’s. It is worth mentioning that we have two Sam’s Clubs in Lincoln but I can only find this box of bacon at one of the locations. So that’s the store I go to!

This is a 10-pound box of bacon for only $29.98. That’s a great price per pound for very good bacon, and a huge bonus is the cooking convenience this box provides. The bacon comes on parchment paper sheets (about 8 slices per sheet) so all I have to do is get out my cookie trays, place a sheet of bacon on each tray, and bake it as-is. SO EASY. And the bacon is delicious.

I usually cook eight or ten sheets of bacon in one cooking session so that we can eat some for our upcoming meal and then have leftovers in a bag in the fridge for sandwiches, breakfasts, and casseroles. I also save the bacon grease to flavor our green beans.

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2. PEANUT BUTTER

The ingredients in this peanut butter are very similar to this Homemade Peanut Butter I used to make. The price – $8.12 for 5-pounds of peanut butter – cannot be beat! And we love how this peanut butter tastes.

We go through a lot of peanut butter at our house so I usually buy two 2-packs each time I go to Sam’s. Here are 40 recipes we use regularly.

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3. WAFFLE FRIES

Sam’s carries this 4-pound bag of Waffle Fries for only $6.98. I pick up a bag of these every time I go to Sam’s and we love this treat!

With so many of us living here, we usually eat the entire bag for one meal. But what an amazing price compared to buying fries if we were to eat out! $6.98 to feed fries 10-13 people, depending on who is here, is fantastic!

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4. COLBY JACK CHEESE SLICES

Obviously there are packages of sliced cheese at just about every grocery store. But here’s why I always get it at Sam’s:

  • Costco’s Sliced Colby Jack is “reduced fat” and we prefer regular.
  • I love having a huge quantity to work with and Sam’s is the only place I find it like this.

This 42-pack costs $7.24 at Sam’s, and in case you’re wondering – the cost per slice is the same at Aldi. But there are only 11 slices in an Aldi package and that doesn’t go very far for us.

We love this cheese when we make Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and sometimes the kids like to eat a slice for a snack. It is worth mentioning that while we don’t like the Reduced Fat Colby Jack at Costco, they do have a sliced Havarti cheese that is incredibly good. So that’s the variety of sliced cheese we buy at Costco.

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5. GRASS FEED HAMBURGER MEAT

Costco has organic hamburger meat, but it doesn’t specify that it’s grass fed. Aldi has grass fed hamburger meat, but their price just tipped above Sam’s price by $1/pound. So each time I go to Sam’s, I get several pounds of their Grass Fed Hamburger Meat for $4.98/pound.

Beyond these five items, there are all kinds of groceries that overlap between Costco and Sam’s that I get at either store depending on where I am and what I need. I love having memberships for both warehouses because they are similar, yet different, and I’ve settled into needing both.

Have you found anything you always make sure you pick up at Sam’s?

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Costco or Aldi: Which Has Better Prices?

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Have you ever been curious about the bottom line here? Costco or Aldi: Which has better prices?

Back when we lived an hour away from both Costco and Aldi, at most I could hit each of these stores once per month. Now that we live in Lincoln, I can go wherever, whenever. Hahaha, I mean, if you don’t consider the fact that getting out of the house and to the store EVER is quite the feat.

How many carts does it take to contain all of the Coppinger children??

Two. And then let’s hope there’s still room in the carts for groceries.

If I move a few mountains, I can get out of the house all by myself to buy groceries. This still sometimes requires two carts, but that’s only because I don’t have kids with me and will therefore buy as much as I can because of the “convenience” of shopping on my own.

Our current grocery budget

There are currently 12 people living in our home and our grocery budget is hanging in there at $1,400/month. You can read details about this here.

Now that we’ve lived in Lincoln for over half-a-year, I feel like I’m finding my groove just a bit when it comes to knowing which prices are better at which store.

My favorite places to shop in Lincoln are: Costco, Aldi, Sam’s

I pick up our WIC items at Walmart because I’ve found that to be the easiest and because the three above-mentioned stores don’t work with our WIC cards.

There are a few items I can only get at Sam’s. This post details that info. But for today…

Costco or Aldi: Which Has Better Prices?

Now, it all depends on what you’re going for. In my experience, non-organic items at Aldi are less expensive than almost all Costco items. But the quality of most of those Aldi items are subpar and I’ve found that it’s not always worth the savings. I mean, have I really saved money if I buy cheaper grapes at Aldi but then have to throw half of them away because they got moldy right away?

Here are the items I’ve cost compared and where I’ve landed on purchase preference. Prices tend to fluctuate so I won’t share specific costs, but will instead note what I’ve learned about which store has the better overall price.

Grassfed Butter – Both stores have a Kerry Gold knock-off and wow are they good! Best price: Aldi

Tip: Watch for it to go on sale during the holidays and stock up. It freezes well!

Cream Cheese – As of 2024, I’ve stopped buying cream cheese at Aldi and have discovered that Costco’s brand of cream cheese is less money and delicious! Best price: Costco

Regular Butter – Best price: Depends on the day – watch for sales at both stores and stock up when they are discounted!

Shredded Cheese – Aldi has regular-sized pouches whereas Costco has bulk-sized (5-pound) pouches. Shredded cheese freezes well, so buying the bigger pouches works even if you don’t go through it quickly. Best price: Costco

Nitrite-Free Lunch Meat – Both stores carry a nice variety of healthier lunch meats. They freeze well so it works to buy in bulk. Best price: Costco

Organic Chicken Broth – Both stores have good quality organic broth that I like to have on hand for easy soups and casseroles. Costco’s price wins by a few cents per container. Best price: Costco

Organic Salsa – Both stores have tasty organic salsa, but Aldi’s is significantly cheaper. Best price: Aldi

Canned Corn – Cost per can of corn is about the same at both stores, but Costco’s is better quality. So in my book… Best price: Costco

Applesauce Pouches – By far every variety of these is cheaper at Costco. We go through these like crazy at our house! Best price: Costco

Why yes, I do buy my bulk in bulk…

Organic Pasta Sauce – Both stores have very tasty pasta sauces and both are high quality. Hands down though, Aldi’s is cheaper. I buy 6-12 jars at a time! Best price: Aldi

Rotel – Cost per can of Rotel at Costco and the Aldi knock-off are about the same. Because the price is the same, I prefer to buy a case at Costco because we go through a lot of it and it’s easier to buy by the case. Best price: Both

Organic Coconut Oil – There is no comparison on this one – Costco’s oil is much, much less per ounce compared to Aldi. Granted, Costco’s is an 84-ounce tub vs. Aldi’s 14-ounce jar. The bulk option saves a large amount of money! Best price: Costco

Organic Olive Oil – Again, you’ll have to buy a larger quantity to enjoy the savings. But I find that it’s worth it! Best price: Costco

Cage Free Eggs – I like to buy the 5-dozen packs at Costco because we go through eggs so quickly at our house. As it turns out, they are less money this way. Best price: Costco

Whole Milk – I buy many gallons of milk each week and while I know the cheapest price is at Aldi, I can’t go there every week. I just pick it up wherever I happen to be that week. But best price: Aldi

Half & Half – Do you want organic or non-organic? If you want organic, best price: Costco. If you aren’t particular and are ok with non-organic, best price: Aldi

4% Cottage Cheese – We like whole milk cottage cheese at our house and have found that price per ounce is less expensive at Aldi. Best price: Aldi

Grocery Shopping Cheat-Sheet

Here’s a quick summary of each item I mentioned above and what is cheaper at which store:

Costco

Shredded Cheese
Regular Butter
Nitrite-Free Lunch Meat
Organic Chicken Broth
Canned Corn
Rotel
Organic Coconut Oil
Organic Olive Oil
Cage-Free Eggs
Applesauce Pouches
Cream Cheese

Aldi

Grass-Fed Butter
Regular Butter
Organic Salsa
Organic Pasta Sauce
Rotel
Whole Milk
Half & Half
4% Cottage Cheese

Obviously this doesn’t cover every grocery item. And both Costco and Aldi carry specific products that the other doesn’t carry, making it impossible to compare.

I love and appreciate both stores! Hopefully these price comparisons are helpful to you as they are to me!

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What I Did With 30-Pounds of Hamburger

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I just took advantage of a fantastic deal on meat! Here’s what I did with 30-pounds of hamburger…

Meat prices have been rising, so I’ve really been watching out for good deals on meat. I’ve cut way back on beef and have instead been buying more chicken or pork because their prices per pound have been much less. ($0.98/pound for chicken legs at Costco and Sam’s?? Yes, please.)

So when I found ground beef on sale for $2.49/pound, I bought 30 pounds!

Why Did I Buy 30-Pounds of Hamburger?

Well, $2.49/pound is pretty much incredible for ground beef!

Gone are the days when I limit myself to buying only top-notch grass-fed beef. I do know that the quality of other meat is not as good and I have chosen not to overthink or worry over this. It is still meat and meat is real food. We have a lot of precious mouths to feed at our house (currently 11) so I’m choosing to be thankful for ANY source of meat that offers us nourishment.

One of our local grocery stores was featuring 10-pound tubes of meat at a high discount, and the best bang for my buck was their 80-20 meat. I bought 30 pounds for a total of $74.70 and felt like I’d hit the jackpot! (I also scored a great price on strawberries and bought four pounds – a favorite snack at our house.)

What I Did With 30-Pounds of Hamburger

I’ve never bought a huge tube of meat like this before, much less three of them. ;) So when I got home I decided to see how far I could get with prepping the meat into meals so that I didn’t have to freeze such huge tubes and then thaw them again before doing something with them.

Our infant was napping, so I prepped a container of strawberries for our littlest girls (ages 1, 2, and 3) to munch on. We told Alexa to “play Jesus Loves Me” and I got to work while the girls ate and listened to music. :)

First, I got out two of my largest pots. I put an entire 10-pound tube into one and an additional 8-ish pounds into another. It browned while I worked on making hamburger patties.

I ended up with 42 hamburger patties of various sizes, which is perfect because our adults and elementary-aged kids can eat regular-sized burgers and our littles can have munchkin-sized burgers. :) Oh look, I was drinking a green smoothie while I worked, ha. I realized that I was getting hungry and thankfully, I had some ready-made nourishment in the fridge. So I grabbed it and drank it directly out of the jar.

I had three layers of patties on one cookie sheet and put it into the freezer like this. After the patties froze, I transferred them to freezer bags to thaw and cook as needed during the next few weeks.

From time to time, I continued to stir the meat that was cooking on the stove. I also took time to pour off the grease into another pot because this much meat cooking at once created a good amount that needed to be removed.

I took the remaining ground beef, put it into a large bowl, and turned it into meatloaf. I pressed this mixture into two large pans (but forgot to take a picture because by this time, Keith was home from preschool and the girls had long since finished their snack so I had to stop quite a bit to care for their needs).

We stopped and ate lunch somewhere in there. Then while the kids played again (and our three-year-old peed on the floor in the girls’ room), I scooped some of the meat into a freezer bag to use as needed. I saw the pee-floor situation so she and I took time to clean it up. (Don’t worry I washed my hands and) then I stirred Sloppy Joe ingredients into the remainder of pot #1.

I divided it into four meal-sized portions and they went to the freezer.

I then seasoned the big 10-pound meat pot with taco seasoning. Once it cooled, I transferred it to gallon-sized freezer bags to use for a graduation party late in April. Elias and Kelsey (Justus’ wife) are both graduating from York University this month and we plan to have a party with a Potato/Nacho Bar. Having this meat ready (and finding it for such a great price!) is a huge relief!


With any leftover taco meat, or with the meat that I left plain and froze, we can make:

This makes me incredibly happy because I LOVE BEEF and I’ve been holding back because of the cost. And now I have to decide, should I go back before the sale ends to get more??? :)

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