Meijer Savings Week of 8/8 - Had to Do Some Math on this One

This week taking my husband and kids to Meijer with me may have been a bit of a mistake.  I have had them join me on my couponing adventures before but there must have been something in the air that made us spend money and my kids crazy.

In order to reflect the actual money spent on what what I typically buy, I had to subtract the additional items from my bill.  I left the unplanned food items on as that is a realistic view of what can happen at the store when impulse food is purchased.  I ended up subtracting $108.38 from my total amount spent as we ended up buying some planned and unplanned home goods items. 

What we bought for $108.38:  1 bulb for my tail light, 1 gal jug for hubby's iced tea, 2 storage ottomans, 5 plastic totes, 1 pair of silicone tongs, 2 honey/sugar bottles, 2 insulated soup jars, and 3 Kitchen Aid knives.

My total bill for Meijer was $129.24, when I subtract the $108.38 I only spent $20.86 on my food and household items this week. 

Items Purchased:
1 small can potato sticks (Evan was starving)
1 bag of Entenmanns donuts (hubby snuck these in)
1 small bag M&Ms
1 Milky Way bar
5 cans Campbell's Healthy Request Soup
4 jars Ragu pasta sauce
2 1/2 gallons Smart Balance milk
1 1/2 gallon Rice milk
2 jars Skippy Natural peanut butter
1 pack popsicles

The items I planned on purchasing cost $17.83 before coupons, my total coupon savings was $16.44 which means the planned items only cost $1.39 out of pocket.  I planned on buying the soup, pasta sauce, smart balance milk and peanut butter. 

The remaining items were impulse buys these impulse buys cost $19.47.  This is how most people shop and how I used to shop. I had a vague idea of what I needed, I may have even had a list but I didn't shop the sales or with my coupons.  This meant I had lots of impulse buys and not very much to show for it.  I typically ended up spending $150-$200 in one store per week and most of the items went bad because I didn't use them.  Not only am I more dedicated to stretching my budget through smart shopping and stockpiling, my husband and I are more dedicated to eating what we have at home. 

It can be a challenge, we both noticed we have had fast food more times over the past week than we are comfortable with.  He started a new job and my work has been very busy so it has made us lazy in our eating habits. We both agreed that we need to get back on track this week.  The food usually tastes better and is better for you when it comes from home.