It’s baaaaaack! Money Monday, that is (and I’m publishing this on a Monday, for once, with a few minutes to spare!!!).

And I’m jumping back in where I left off – tracking my spending at the grocery store. I know, so exciting.

I’m using the same spreadsheet that I used last time, from Couponing 101. Grab yours up here (you’ll have to adjust the dates for the current year since the spreadsheet was made in 2010).

So, first, let’s look at what I’ve spent so far in 2014 (more than I would have liked to, but a move will do that to you!) –

Year to date – $333.12
Savings to date – $64.15
Average weekly spending – $83.28

I actually think my savings is a little bit higher; that number only includes Kroger Plus Card savings, but I use coupons as well. I just can’t find my receipts (of course), so we’ll just have to go by that number.

What’s my plan for spending in 2014? I’m not exactly sure. In the past, our weekly goal was $75.00 and right now that isn’t doable with a toddler who eats like he’s hiding a body double in the closet (which is totally possible because sometimes I wonder where these mysterious messes and stains come from????).

But, just paying attention to how our spending has been lately, I think a realistic weekly goal is $100.00 – with the hope of eventually getting that down to $80. Because it’s no fun to just spend and spend with no goal in mind, huh?!

Another goal? Monthly trips for bulk essentials, and weekly trips for perishable essentials. This one’s kind of lofty, but I think it’s doable. It isn’t doable right now because (A) we are renting and have no real space to store items in bulk and (B) I really need to pay attention to usage habits for thinks like toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, etc…to get an idea of how much we would actually need. And these things may not even need to be purchased monthly in bulk (I would hope not anyway) so this might turn into a quarterly bulk trip or something like that.

And….why not toss in another goal? More CSAs, fresh veggie delivery services and farmers markets – less big box stores and out of season junk. This goal (all of them, actually) come from my Making Things Happen in 2014 goals and is really important to me. It’s dawned on me recently that I’m the caretaker – so to speak – of our family’s health because I make all the food we eat or, if I’m not making it directly, I choose to purchase it and stick it on our pantry shelf. That’s a big deal! And it’s a big responsibility. So, I’m committing to fresher food in general and sticking with what’s in season. I may fail at this, I may blow it out of the water. Only time – and this blog – will tell!

Oh hey, look another goal – Try one new recipe a week. I used to meal plan and go crazy, filling it with mostly all new recipes. That can lead to burn out and it can also lead to competition…both of which I’m trying to avoid. So, instead, I’m cutting myself some slack and only working on squeezing in one new recipe to try per week. So, at the end of the month, you can expect a recipe recap with at least four recipes (maybe more if I get a little crazy).

There ya go! My 2014 grocery goals. Please contain your excitement. And please cheer me on! 🙂

PSST – Did you know that Charmingly Modern will be launching a bi-monthly newsletter starting in February? It’s true! Check on the info on the sidebar to see why you would possibly want to get a newsletter from lil ole me and to also sign up! Because you want to sign up, don’t you? Of course you do!