Costco Haul Vlog - February 2017 - (PLUS a look at our overboard grocery spending)

Yet another big grocery trip - we spent almost $300, PHEW! But we hadn't been to Costco in a full month, and it was time. Here's my vlog of my Costco haul:


For $300, we bought lots of snacks, a bunch of fresh fruit and veggies, some frozen stuff, some pantry items (my kid is set for mac and cheese for at least a month, if not more), and some health and beauty items (I'm particularly excited to see if the Kirkland contact lens solution is acceptable - which I suspect it is - because that will save me quite a bit of money over Target's house brand). The video has details AND prices, so please watch.

According to Mint, we definitely went a bit overboard with grocery shopping in February, and I'm trying to figure out exactly how we went off the rails. We started off the month with a big trip to Trader Joe's, and that certainly didn't help. This was also the month I discovered Aldi and my pantry shows it - I think that my spending at Aldi will come down as I get used to it (and I also bought a $20 steam cleaner there). There was a trip to Whole Foods, but that was primarily vitamins, and another trip to Rainbow Natural Foods, but that was mostly for household items.

What really got us, of all things, were quick little trips to Kroger - we made ELEVEN trips to Kroger in February, and that includes me going for a short walk and spending $3-$8 in a trip, but it adds up for sure. I also bought food to bring to work, which is new - frozen meals and snacks to keep me away from restaurants, food delivery, and vending machines.

We didn't go to YDFM at all in February because I'm the one who usually goes but instead I was at work and my husband was busy and didn't have time. I think we need to do more YDFM and less Kroger though.

I used all the rebate apps, but most of that cash still hasn't come in yet because of cash-out thresholds. Still, that saved us or will eventually save us money. (I really like Mobisave because it's an instant cash out - even if it's just 10 cents.)

I want to keep our spending for our family of three to about $100-$150/week, and we busted that, but I guess what I'm writing around is that some of our spending at grocery stores wasn't food, and I probably should figure out if our grocery budget means "all spending at any grocery store" or "food only."

In any case, we had a lot of fun at Costco and hopefully we're set for groceries for a while to come.