$50 weekly grocery challenge

I've been clipping coupons and combining deals for a while now, but this year, I've got to be harder on myself when it comes to groceries. Every time I go to the store, I don't buy anything without a coupon (some exceptions, like milk, fruits, and veggies). While I've done really well this summer, I found that I was really buying more than we needed, while still spending our normal $85ish per week. I realized that method wasn't really saving us any money, I was just getting more for that same amount.

That's when I decided that this week would be my first week on a $50/week grocery budget. And when I say groceries, I'm including household items and toiletries. I spent probably 2 hours this morning getting my Kroger and CVS lists ready, and I think I did pretty good for the first week! The total before my Kroger card and coupons was $118.66, and I spent $51.46 after tax! That was 39 items, so that averages to just over $1 per item! I went over my goal of $50, and I still haven't gotten to CVS, but I'm pretty sure that my CVS bill will be less than $5 when I'm done.

So, first week and I'm about $5.00 over my goal...I'm happy with that!

Some things I didn't get on major sale or with a coupon:
2 gallons of milk
cantaloupe
2 lb. chicken
fresh broccoli
sour cream
frozen pancakes
bread
salad mix
coffee

I'm hoping I can do better next week, but fairly proud of my first attempt!

I need to get to CVS, but I hate to take all 3 kids out for a 10 minute trip...too much trouble to load and unload. This is my first time attempting CVS in multiple transactions...usually I just use my ECB the next week. But with this challenge, I need to spend as little as possible at the moment!

If you're interested, here are my plans for CVS:

1st transaction:
Blink Tears (7.99); Coupons for $1.50 and $1.00, 3ECB from last week;
SO, I'll pay $2.49 and get $7.99 ECB back

2nd transaction:
Zegerid OTC (9.99); Coupon for $3.00 = $6.99 ***Get $7.99
Crest floss (3.49); Coupon for $0.75 = $2.74 ***Get $2.50
Total: $9.73-$7.99 ECB from 1st transaction = I pay $1.74, and get $10.49 ECB back

3rd transaction:
Covergirl face/lip products (Spend $15, get $5ECB); Coupons for $4.00 off =$11.00
$11.00-$10.49ECB from 2nd transaction = I pay $0.55, and get $5.00 ECB back

Grand total paid: $4.78, and I'll have $5.00 to start next week's deals!