Taking stock and what I have to have

Grocery list Have to's

8 gallons Milk- this is for drinking, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.
Spinach/Lettuce- mines not big enough so this will have to do til then.
Chicken Feed
Dog Food
Cat food
Cat litter
Laundry Soap
Worcestershire Sauce
2 jars lemon juice
Tea Bags
Onions
Potatoes
Dawn dish washing liquid( on sale 1.79 this week.  Only need 1)

The items crossed through have already been purchased this week.  I'm starting out with way less than I thought.  Yikes.  For now $70 dollars after the two marked through items, and that's taking a little from savings.  That covers the have to list above (plus I am getting the 5 Dawns.  That's a good price.  Cheaper than even Aldi brand), so I'm thankful.  Any Etsy sales I make this week or over the next month will go toward other items I either forgot about, ran out of, or some of the want to's below.  It'll be a tight month, but with what I have on hand and the time to make the things I need, it should be doable.  Looking forward to next month getting the full grocery allotment so I can begin rebuilding the pantry some.

Grocery want to's

Other fresh fruit or veggies
Frozen fruits or veggies
Butter (on sale this week for 1.99 limit 5)- Don't have to have it.  I already have butter, but this is a good stock up price
Dawn Dish washing liquid.  There's a limit of 5 on the sale price above.  This is a good stock up price.
Pastured pork side meat- I cure this at home with salt and celery seed (the celery seed provides the good nitrates for preservation.  It's $4 lb. That's a bit high for us right now, but I get the bacon and the bacon fat for cooking.  So still on the list.

Plan to make today- gottem made.

Loaf bread
Granola
Cookies of some sort.

Plan to make Saturday

Pizza crust
Dog treats
Yogurt


Items used from stock (Items I always make sure I have on hand in large supply)

Flour-  5 lb bag only because I'm using up what I have to switch to only fresh ground organic non-GMO wheat from berries I grind.
Wheat Berries
Sugar- again, once this is gone, my plan is to transition to mostly maple syrup, raw honey, and maybe Stevia, but maybe not Stevia.  Don't know yet.  May keep a little sugar around for coffee, and granola.
Maple syrup
Spices-
Oats
Coffee
Canned veggies (from garden and some from store)
Home frozen veggies- squash, peppers
Home canned pear sauce
Home frozen black berries
Frozen blueberries
Chocolate chips
Cocoa powder
Dried beans
Meat in the freezer- the turkey, some ground pork, pork chops, 4 lbs ground turkey, a whole chicken, and some already cooked and de-boned chicken, a roast, and 1 pkg of Italian sausage.
Fresh carrots-bought a huge amount last month on a good deal so have plenty left over.

Before you guys say "well she doesn't need much", remember, I keep a pantry for this occasion.  I normally restock it as it runs down past a certain limit.  For example, coffee.  I keep 6 cans on hand at any given time.  When the 6th can is opened, I add coffee to my list to get one to replace the one I just opened.  Kwim?  I am not doing that this month, and am down to 4.  Next month is where things will really get interesting because I will need to replenish some of what I use this month plus get the normal stuff.  Meat will more than likely be gone from the freezer then, or at least mostly, as will any frozen veggies or fruits.  Pantries are not just for apocalyptic scenarios.  They're for the unexpected bill, illness, lay off, etc.  It's like another emergency fund in that your actual emergency cash doesn't have to be used for food.  Instead this is your emergency stash.  You get these items when on sale for a good price, and buy extra for a rainy day.  This past month of home repairs has hit hard, and you add to that the $ 445 power bill and it's a bit of a pickle.  Fortunately, we've managed to maintain the minimum $1000 emergency fund as well as our other funds.  So no one think we're destitute.  We're not.  This is a choice we're making in order to maintain our funds for a time when they're really needed.  Over the next month, I'll pass on some recipes I'm making, the items I'm creating at home rather than buying, and other ways through.  This is more of a frugal maven thing,  but when it all comes down to it, money is a part of everyday living so they kind of intersect.

Stay tuned.