Grocery Savings

Tonight was that magical time where we are 3 days away from pay day, and we, of course, ran out of a few key items that would be needed before grocery day this weekend.

I checked out the blogs, and Savings Angel, found some coupon deals, and off I went.

I needed:

Bread
Trash Bags
Paper Towel
Lunch Baggies

I wanted:

Coffee mate Creamer
Spaghetti-o's

So, what all did I end up with?

Bread- $1.50 (ugh)
4 cans of Spaghetti-o's- $.50 each, plus a coupon for $1/4, so end price- $.25 each
3 liquid flavored Coffee Mate creamers- $.99 each, plus 2 coupons for $1/1, and 1 coupon for $1/2, for 3 FREE creamers
3 18-count boxes of Peppermint Candy Canes- $.39 each (these are for a Valentine's Day project, in which you melt two together into a heart shape, add a candy stick, and wrap them up as Valentine's Suckers)
1 2-Pack of Viva Paper Towel (My favorite!) on sale for $2.99 (this was cheaper than the store brand, and the rolls were bigger!)
1 box of lunch baggies- $1.50
1 box of trash bags- $2.99
Egg Nog- clearanced out at $1 for being close to the sell-by date (it won't last through tomorrow, let alone all weekend to the sell date)
Nutrigrain Yogurt bars- $1.49 on clearance
Yogos- $1.20 on clearance
Fruit by the Foot- $1.24 on clearance.
1 package of 6 sheets of Christmas Stickers for next year- $.37?

I wound up spending $18.21, and saving $19.96.

I got a coupon for $1 off 2 packs of fruit snacks. When I go back this weekend, I'll grab more of the clearance one's if I can. If I buy 3, I'll get a catalina for $1.50 off my next shopping trip. I've currently got 2 $1 coupons like that. So, if I buy 3 of them at $1.20-$1.24, save $1 off the immediate price, plus the 2 $1 coupons I have, I'll get 3 for the price of $.60-.72 total, and still have $1.50 off my next purchase. 

It pays to look around before going in to the store. I wouldn't have picked up the creamer or the Spaghetti-o's if I hadn't seen the sale price, and found the printable coupons. But, for $1, I got 4 cans of spaghetti-o's and 3 containers of creamer, which Nick goes through pretty quickly. It's expensive, though, for how fast it gets emptied out, so it's a treat.

Now, I spend $20 a month on my Savings Angel membership, but I saved $20 in just 1 visit, and it wasn't even my big visit. On top of that, I earn a $10/month commission because I have had 2 people sign up for SA under me. So, really, I spend $10/month is all. And, when the referral signs up and pays for their membership, you earn a $10 commission, so I was given $20 this month for those two members- so this month was free!

What deals have YOU found lately on groceries?

Grocery Savings

Today, we're a watching our money even more so than normal. Pay day is Thursday, but we need to make sure we have enough money for gas on Thursday in case Nick gets his check after the bank closes. We're not sure yet what time the bank closes on Thursday, as they have not posted times.

I knew we could use some lettuce, tomato, and mayo for BLT's twice this week, since we had a package of bacon already. We also could have used cheese slices and bread, for grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids this week. Then, of course, I was hoping to grab a few extras for treats to make this week.

I did some research first, using Savings Angel, to match coupons online with sale prices. On hand, I don't have many coupons. I've been neglecting them way too much. We added up cash on hand, with a check I have to cash tomorrow, and what we have in our checking account. We deducted gas money Nick needs tomorrow, and money for gas later in the week, then decided how much of the left over we should allot for groceries.

I decided I could probably get by with $15, which still leaves a decent amount in checking for my good buddy, Justin Case.

Here's what I wound up with-

Dark Brown Sugar, $.95
Saltine Crackers, $1.12
Lettuce, $1.19
White Bread, $1.19
Generic Miracle Whip, $1.49
Real Butter, $1.50
Andes Mints, $1.79
Jello Mousse Snack Packs (4), $2.57 ea
Tomato, $1.61
Grands Biscuits, $.99
Cheese Slices, $1.00
Kraft Chunk Cheese (2), $1.49ea
Kraft Shredded Cheese (2), $1.49ea
Chocolate Chips, $1.68
Trop50 OJ, $2.29
Ritz Crackers, $2.50

The subtotal was $34.61 after sale prices.


Coupons on hand:
$1 off Jello 6 pack, Meijer coupon (x2)= -$2.00
$.50 off Jello 6 pack, MFC coupon (x2), doubled = -$2.00
FREE Jello 6 pack, MFC coupon (x2), = -$5.14
Meijer coupon for $2 off purchase= -$2.00
Meijer coupon for 5% off Groceries = -$1.48
Meijer coupon for $1.50 off Trop50 = -$1.50
Kraft Coupon for $1/2 (x2) = -$2.00
Free Ritz Crackers Store Promo= -$2.50

Total Spent out of pocket $16.92.

I saved a total of $24.55 between sales and coupons.

There was another deal- buy any 3 Jello refrigerator packs, get $2 OYNP. Buy any 4, get $3 off, buy any 5 or more, get $4 OYNP. I bought 4, so I was able to get a coupon for $3 off my next purchase!

Not bad! I was able to buy food for lunches & dinner this week to supplement what we have on hand. I also was able to get the items to make 2 different Christmas candies this week- Christmas Crack, & Peppermint Crack.

For Peppermint Crack, I needed Andes candies, Ritz crackers, and Peppermint candy canes (which I had on hand, pre-crushed from a stepped on box incident).

For Christmas Crack, I needed dark brown sugar, real butter, saltines, and chocolate chips. I was going to just make this one, as I'm not personally a peppermint fan, but the Peppermint Crack looked so easy! Plus, the butter was $.50 cheaper than budgeted, the cheese slices were $1 cheaper than budgeted, the chocolate chips were $.32 cheaper, and the Ritz crackers were free. Since I saved $1.82, I used $1.79 of it on the Andes mints. Not bad!

I didn't beat the $15 mark I had in mind, but I definitely beat the $20 mark I had hoped to beat, and I have $3 to use later this week if I have any Justin Case moments at the store.

Sarah's Deals- Find Great Deals Online!

I have a friend online, Sarah, who started a blog a while ago that helped show people how to match coupons with sales, and find good deals, including online coupons. She runs the group out of the Grand Rapids, Michigan area, but posts quite a few deals good all around the country for nation wide stores, and online shopping.

Take a moment to look her blog up!