Last weekend I had some friends over for a board game day. Since I’ve set a goal to myself aim for at least 1 consciously frugal thing each week, I fed them on a budget. Usually I would order pizza or wings or something. My friends generally feed guests when we go over their houses, so it was my turn. Instead of ordering out, I cooked Sloppy Joes, Crock Pot Mac and Cheese, and some Hormel Cream Cheese Dip.

The most expensive thing was the ground beef. I spent around $40 all in on what would have probably cost me around $50 or more in ordered food. I also found the cheapest meat at Meijer was 3 pounds so I put the 3rd pound into a Ziploc and froze it like we normally would. I had ground beef in the freezer but ended up buying everything I could fresh for the party. Sadly I can’t find my receipts to take a picture.

3x Burger Buns: $1.65 each = $4.95
2x Aldi Sloppy Joe Can: $0.95 = $1.90
1 Can Aldi No Bean Chili: $2.55
1 Block Cream Cheese: $1.65
12 oz shredded Mexican blend: $2.99
2 boxes Rotini Noodles: $0.85 = $1.70
1 Bag Big Dipper Chips: $2.15
1 Bag Pretzels: $2.19
1 Gallon Whole Milk: $2.49
1 Can Evaporated Milk: $1.09
3 lb Ground Beef: $15 (was on sale, normally $18.99)
1 Box Meijer Party Melt (Velveeta): $5.89
[Since I’m in Ohio, there was $0 sales tax on the groceries.]
Total: $44.55

Well dang that’s closer to $50 than I would like…but 1 lb of meat went into the freezer. And SURPRISE! I already owned the cream cheese, milk, no bean chili, and the shredded cheese. Which drops us down to $32.87 spent last Friday for the party on Saturday. This fed roughly 8 people both lunch and dinner and I still have leftovers. Friends brought some more drinks to refill my soda fridge for another game day, as well as desserts.

What did you do to save money this week?

~~Miniwing~~
Stoic, Pennypincher, Parent