My Monthly Grocery Budget for Two (October 2024 Recap)

Monthly Spending Recap

This month I had set the goal to stay under $400 and I'm a bit disappointed to say that I was $55.22 over. Womp womp.

However, I ended up making a few good bulk buys and in the long term, I think it was a good choice.

Plus, all things considered, ~$91 per week to feed two people in 2024 isn't bad. That works out to roughly ~$2.17 per meal per person for the month.

What I Bought This Week ($146.93)

This week I shopped at three stores:

1. Walmart
2. Costco
3. Grocery Outlet

Walmart ($34.44)

This haul cost me $34.44 and covered everything I needed to complete my meal plan, except jackfruit.

Costco ($88.54)

I ended up going to Costco twice because I forgot I needed vinegar for laundry, and picked up some orange juice on my second trip (pictured below). I had run out earlier this month and been making my breakfast smoothies with soy milk – not nearly as good!

This haul was all bulk buys and cost me $108.20. Add in the orange juice from the second trip and Costco cost me $121.39. However, I applied a $32.85 Costco ShopCard I earned earlier this month when I was reimbursed for a price adjustment to drop the price. I paid $88.54 out of pocket.

• Organic cashews ($13.49)
• 3 pounds peeled garlic ($16.99)
• Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base ($8.99 each)
• Peanut butter ($11.79)
• Pitted dates ($11.99)

All of these items are on my Costco Staples list, except the medjool dates. I had to stock up on the Vegetable Bouillon because they haven't had it in so long! Now I won't run out for the next several months.

Grocery Outlet ($23.95)

This haul (minus the orange juice) cost me $23.95. Here's the price breakdown:

• 20 ounce cans jackfruit ($1.99 each)
• 14.5 ounce cans crushed tomatoes ($0.50 each)
• 15 bean soup mix ($1.50 each) – half the price compared to my Walmart!
• Non-dairy Lindt truffles ($3.99 each) – my husband's splurge purchase lol

What I Cooked This Week

Breakfast

I ate a lot of high-protein toast for breakfast this week. We had a half loaf of multigrain bread in the fridge I wanted to use up, and this was an easy way to do it.

Each slice of bread packs an impressive 9 grams of protein per slice, so this ended up being 27 grams of protein.

Monday: Refried Bean Tacos

This is my favorite extra-lazy dinner to make, especially when it's just me having dinner.

I forgot to take a photo, but I made it with 4 random corn tortillas we had in the fridge and some leftover shredded non-dairy cheese from last week. Then I dipped them in a mix of salsa and leftover vegan sour cream.

Pretty much the definition of a cheap, delicious dinner!

Tuesday: Crockpot Cabbage Roll Soup

This was a third round of testing for a new Crockpot Cabbage Roll Soup recipe. I was very happy with this test, so next I'll see how it does after freezing in Souper Cubes!

I had originally tested it as a dump freezer meal, but raw cabbage does not freeze well (the texture changes!). Thankfully cooked cabbage tends to freeze a lot better, so fingers crossed it defrosts nicely.

Wednesday: Crockpot Minestrone Soup

This soup is an existing blog recipe that I need to republish with full step by step photos. Ideally I'd like it to be a dump-and-go freezer meal, but I'm not confident it will fit nicely in a freezer bag! We will see 🤔

Thursday: Parmesan Crusted Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner

This is where our meal plan went a little rogue. We were originally supposed to have Pumpkin Soup and grilled cheese, but we're feeling very souped out.

Instead I got creative with what I already had and ended up making this exactly with Violife parmesan cheese (we're both lactose intolerant – the reason I have so many Homemade Dairy-Free Staples on the blog!) and yukon gold potatoes.

I pretty much never cook chicken because it's so expensive, but we had two frozen chicken breasts in the freezer from months ago so I made it tonight. Turned out great and would make again…in the rare event we buy chicken again! 😂

Friday: Buffalo Cauliflower & Chickpea Casserole

I was supposed to make this Green Chile Stew as a re-test, but it's still a little too close to soup. Instead, I made this Buffalo Cauliflower Chickpea Casserole by From My Bowl.

I've made this recipe about 100 times (it's one of my Top 30 Recipes for Two on a Budget!), but this was the first time I made it with white rice. I reduced the cook time to 40 minutes, doubled the chickpeas, and used frozen cauliflower and it turned out perfectly.

Served topped with shredded cabbage leftover from making the Cabbage Soup and a drizzle of my Ibotta super sale vegan ranch dressing! It's still on sale on Ibotta if you want to grab it! I'd buy more but I'm out of room in the fridge lol.

Saturday: Leftovers & Cookies!

Saturday afternoon we were out to lunch for my mother in-law's birthday, so we ate leftover Buffalo Cauliflower & Chickpea Casserole for dinner. We also baked a batch of my husband's favorite Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies. 🍪

Freezer Meals I Made

All I froze this week was leftover Cabbage Roll Soup and Minestrone Soup, but it still made quite a few servings! (These are the 2-Cup Souper Cube Trays)

I don't typically like to freeze soups with pasta, but this minestrone actually freezes better than most because the pasta is not a super prominent ingredient.

November Strategy

In the coming month of November, my goal is to spend just $35 a week on groceries, or $140 for the month. This won't include Thanksgiving – that will be an additional cost. And if I need it, I'll cash out my Ibotta rewards as my get out of jail free card.

But for the rest of the month, my goal is to stick to this low budget.

This will force me to get creative with what I have on hand in my pantry and freezer, help me rotate through things, and reset for 2025. Thanks to my habit of making freezer meals and freezing leftovers in Souper Cubes, I have several meals that I can pull from throughout the month.

It will still be a challenge no doubt, but I'm excited to give it a try. Leave a comment down below and let me know what you spent in October or what you want to spend in November!

Meal Planning Ideas

If you're planning your meals for the week, I have several meal ideas here on the blog. Some of my favorite collections to browse include,

• Vegan Dinners with Potatoes
• Vegan Crockpot Dinners
• Vegetarian Black Bean Recipes
• Overnight Oat Recipes for Fall
• Vegan Stir Fry Recipes

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