Frugal Forward

TL;DR – We spent a lot in October, but our purchases set us up for success in November and December. Also, these abundance boxes from the food rescue organization are saving us.

Here’s what we got to round out October:

Trader Joe’s (Total Spent $68.47)

My daughter went to Trader Joe’s again for me. I forgot to take a picture before putting everything away, but here’s what we got:

• 2 bags of whole cashews ($8.49 each)
• 1 bag of almonds ($5.99)
• Almond Cashew Macadamia Milk ($2.49)
• Half gallon of milk ($2.59)
• Blueberries, 11 ounces ($4.49)
• 2 containers of greek yogurt, 32 ounces ($5.49 each)
• 3 packages of gluten free hamburger buns ($4.99 each)
• 2 loaves of gluten free sandwich bread ($4.99 each)

Food Rescue Group Abundance “Box” ($55 Spent)

This week’s abundance box was pretty crazy. I will be giving away at least half of it. But, here’s what was in the box:

• 8 heads of iceberg lettuce
• 2 huge bags of buns/rolls from Checkers/Rally’s
• 1 bag of hamburger buns
• 6 boxes of the Trader Joe’s Hold the Cone waffle cone tips filled with dark chocolate
• 1 bag of red bell peppers
• 2 bags of Pepperidge Farms Milano cookies
• 1 bag of baby goldfish crackers
• A handful of mayo packets
• 3 Lunchables
• The white bag by the Lunchables is Yoplait vanilla yogurt and it came with a pouch of granola (above the red bell peppers)
• A box of Fiber One bars
• A bottle of hot sauce
• A pouch with chicken and rice
• A pouch of fruit puree
• A bag of grain free granola
• A box of Keurig coffee pods
• A restaurant sized bag of seasoned French fries
• 2 bags of 505 tortilla chips
• 1 bag of pizza dough balls
• 1 bag of whole wheat dinner roll dough
• A huge bag of potatoes
• Under the potatoes is a flat of mangos (So. Many. Mangos.)
• A bunch of pouches of sliced oranges
• A bag full of goldfish graham crackers
• 6 packages of Oscar Meyer hot dogs
• 5 packages of rotisserie chicken deli meat (came frozen)
• 2 small bottles of Mexican crema
• A huge bag of chestnuts (no idea what to do with these)
• A bottle of brewed iced tea
• A case of energy drinks

Honestly, not bad!

Final Tally for October

Before this week, our monthly total was $1,281.73. We spent a total of $123.47 this week, which brings our October total to $1,405.20. Considering $668 of that was for meat from Butcher Box to get us through the end of the year and a bunch of food I was able to give away to people who need a little help, I think we did pretty well and are in good shape going into November.

Honestly, these abundance boxes are a life saver.

How did you fare in October? It’s scary times, man. I’m cheering you on!