April 2011 grocery budget week 1

This week we went to the Super H mart 30 minutes from our house. We spent about $85 there. The majority of the expense was 30 lbs of brown rice (15 lbs sweet rice, 15 lbs medium grain rice). We also spent $11 on beef for bulgogi and $7 on mandoo (we had friends over for lunch on Sunday, and we have to serve American-friendly food when we're introducing Korean food to someone).

Other items we bought at H mart: Korean pear, roasted seaweed (a gift for a friend - no, really), rice flour, sweet red bean paste, 6 lbs napa cabbage (w00t, 6lbs of kimchi in the fridge!), Chinese chives, green onions, apples, garlic, ginger, tofu, eggs, and a family pack of Shin Ramyun (JunkMale insisted I treat myself, for some reason).

We also took a trip to Kroger to get more American staples for the week: peanut butter crackers, hummus, yogurt, juice, basil, granola bars, green onions, mushrooms, fruit cups, and potatoes. This cost us $36.

I don't usually count bulk-purchased staples like rice in our monthly budget - 15 lbs of medium grain rice lasts us 4-6 months and 15 lbs of sweet rice lasts even longer, so it seems unfair to include a 6-month expense in a monthly budget. Obviously you could abuse this by labeling too many foods "bulk staples", but I really only count non-perishable things like grains, sugar, etc, and only when it will last us more than 4 months without stocking up again. Thirty pounds of rice certainly counts. Quick note: if you cannot afford more than your monthly grocery budget, you shouldn't use this method. Our grocery budget was designed with this in mind. :-)

The cost of the rice (minus tax) was $29.98, so I will subtract $30 from our total. This means we have spent $91 so far this month on groceries - 30% of the total budget. We will have to be careful the rest of the month not to average no more than $52 each week. But with 6 lbs of kimchi in the fridge and 30 lbs of rice in the pantry, we shouldn't have too much trouble.