$108.59

Not bad, eh? Not amazing either, but it's real, solid progress. Our grocery spending was getting a little out of control, and bringing it closer to $100 is a much more reasonable weekly budget for a family of four. Here's a shot of our grocery cart about midway through: 

This week is all about trying and experimenting. The hardest part for me was limiting variety. It was hard when I was preparing the grocery list, and it was really hard in the actual grocery store. Silly went with me and kept pointing to yummy fruits and vegetables and suggesting we add them to our cart. I realized that I usually say "yes" to anything that is healthy. It was hard telling her "no brussel sprouts this week" and "we can get plums next week, honey". In fact, it was more than hard - it sucked. We have been very spoiled by the variety we enjoy in our diets.

But let's be clear: I intend to continue offering the same variety, but not on a daily or meal-to-meal basis. For instance, we will totally change it up next week. No apples and bananas. Perhaps grapes and plums. And no carrots and green beans. Maybe squash and brussel sprouts. But it'll take some getting used to - that's for sure. It's cheaper to buy in bulk. Buying a bag of Organic Pears is a fraction of the price of buying 2 Organic pears, 2 Organic apples, a small bunch of Organic grapes, and 2 Organic bananas.

Also, if the item on my list had an organic option, that's what I bought. This fact probably increased my grocery bill by about 30% at least. Some things, like milk and butter were nearly 40% more for organic. The walnuts were only about 10% more. I guesstimate I could bring our grocery bill down to about $70 if I were willing to forgo organic eating. But, well, I'm not.

Lastly, I worked on being flexible. For example, I had apples on my list. But in fact, I saw a better deal for a whole bag of Organic Pears. It was only $3.89 for a big bag. That's a great deal. Apples are available pretty much all year, but Pears are special - seasonal. Also, the stores are packed with Pumpkins right now, so I'm going to incorporate that ingredient into next week's menu. Pumpkin muffins? Pumpkin curry? Who knows! But being in the store, seeing what's in season, was very helpful.

Oh, and just so everyone knows, that $108 included a few staples, like olive oil spray, as well as a small potted rose bush. Silly insisted on getting her dad some pink roses. I couldn't convince her otherwise, so getting a plant rather than the cut flowers was our compromise. Now we have pretty little rose bush in our bathroom! I'll update tomorrow with a picture.