Secrets to supermarket savings - Part 5
I hope no one is bored of the grocery savings series yet because I still have a lot more to write! I'm hoping to be finished in about five more posts, but we'll see!
This series has helped me to refine some areas and motivated me to find even more ways to save. I am always of the mindset that I can do better and am constantly looking for ways to improve our savings. In the past two weeks, Jesse and I have switched to a cash-only system for most all of our purchases. We used to always use debit cards for everything and that worked pretty well since we were always pinching pennies and didn't have much extra to use. However, since our income has increased, we've found ourselves slipping in some areas - often using our debit cards for little purchases which weren't in the budget. We're trying to save everything extra we can for a home, so we wanted to nip this habit in the bud. That's when we decided to switch to cash. It has taken a bit of getting used to, but we both actually wish we would have done it sooner. It has really forced us to stick with the budget. I can't go a few dollars over on the groceries because I won't have enough cash to pay for them with! I'm also a very visual person so actually taking cash in an envelope with me does something for me to try and make every penny count! If you struggle with sticking to a budget, I highly recommend you consider switching to mostly cash only for expenditures like groceries, etc.
This week, I only went to two stores for my Monday grocery shopping. Since I'm pretty well stocked up, I only had to get a few necessities and then hit the sales. Here's what I got:
Store #1 (CVS):
I just started shopping at CVS (formerly Osco Drug - check their website to see if there is one in your area) in the last two weeks thanks to some people from a coupon forum I've recently been frequenting. So far, I been very impressed at the deals. It is located about a block away from the Kroger I usually shop at every week and right on my way. They have what's called an Extra Care card you can sign up for. You earn 2% back in all your purchases, plus they have weekly and monthly deals where you can earn Extra Care Bucks (basically like a gift certificate) for buying certain items. It appears that the more I shop there, the more I will be able to earn and save. My goal is to try and earn a little bit more Bucks each time I shop and to use the Bucks from my last shopping trip to pay for this shopping trip so that I don't pay much at all out of pocket. Since I'm just getting started and testing things out, I didn't do anything massive this week but I'm learning what works and how to make the most of it.
Here's what I bought:
1 Oral B clearance toothbrush - $0.99
1 Oral B clearance toothbrush - $1.03 (I got both of these toothbrushes because I had a coupon for $1/1 so was planning to get both for free however the cashier told me they can't take coupons on clearance items. From the research I've done, this is not the store policy, but since the cashier seemed very new and had trouble figuring out how to run my Bucks and coupons, I decided to just let it go. I didn't want to cause too much trouble for them!)
1 travel pack baby wipe on clearance - $0.43
2 Colgate Max Fresh toothpaste - on sale for $2.77 - used coupon for $0.75/1 for each plus, I will get the purchase price back ($2.77) in Bucks on my next visit. - so technically speaking, I got paid $1.50 for these
Total before coupons: $7.99
Total after coupons (Used $5.00 Buck from last visit, plus $1.50 Colgate coupons): $1.49
But, I got paid $2 in Bucks for it being my first visit to use Bucks, plus, I get $5.54 back in Bucks for purchasing the Colgate so I really got paid $6.05 for my visit (was that just all very confusing?!)
Store #2 (Nicer Kroger):
2 (8 oz.) blocks of cheese -on sale for $1.67 each
Butter - on sale for $1.88 (we basically always use butter - as is the case with most everything, we try to use the real thing, not a cheap substitute - it's much better for our health in the longrun. Butter is one item we rarely budge on. The only substitute I will get is the Land O'Lakes Spreadable butter which is made with real butter. I can usually get it on sale with coupons for $0.50/tub or less.)
1/2 gallon milk - on sale for $1.34
Bagged garden salad - reduced to $0.40
Mache (a type of leafy green that we like - usually pretty expensive so I only get it when it is reduced) - reduced to $1.50
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts - on sale for $5 with a $1 off coupon on them - $4.00 (I actually thought this was only $2.97 or I probably wouldn't have bought it - I read the label wrong. Oh well!)
2 Salmon filets - reduced to $1.63
2 Betty crocker mashed potatoes (I usually don't buy these unless they are really cheap since we much prefer homemade mashed potatoes, however I sometimes use these for thickening soups, which is what I used these for today) - on sale for $1/each - used $0.70/1 coupon - $0.30/each
2 Suave deoderant - on sale for $1 - used $1/2 - $0.50 each
Always pads small pack - $1.07 - used $1/1 coupon - $0.07
Nestle chocolate milk (my husband loves this in his lunch!) - on sale for $1.29 - used $1/1 coupon - $0.29
Softsoap handsoap - on sale for $1 - used $0.70/1 coupon - $0.30
16 cans Del Monte vegetables - on sale for $0.64/each, plus when you buy 12, you get $3.00 off, plus I had a $0.80/4 coupon, plus I had a rebate that if I bought 18 cans of Del Monte products in three categories, I would get $10 back- Free
Del Monte pears - on sale for $1.00 - Free (with rebate above - had to buy at least 1 can fruit)
Del Monte canned tomatoes - on sale for $1.00 - Free (with rebate above - had to buy at least 1 can tomatoes)
Nestle chocolate chips - on sale for $1.99 - used $2 off coupon - Free
Eggos Frozen waffles - raincheck for $1 each - used $1/1 coupon - Free
4 Totinos pizza rolls - raincheck for $1 each - used $1/1 coupon on each - Free
2 Aquafresh toothpaste - on sale for $1/each - used $1/1 coupon - Free
Franks hot sauce - $0.99 - used $1/1 coupon - Free
Total before coupons and reduced prices: $65
Total after reduced prices, sales, coupons, and rebate: $17.91
Saved: $47.09
Monday's totals before coupons, sales, rebates: $72.99
Total spent (after sales, coupons, rebates, CVS Bucks): $11.86
Total saved: $61.13
More tomorrow on how to get started couponing. I'm going to try and do a primer which will walk you through step-by-step to getting started, how to find coupons, how to organize coupons, places to shop, how to know what a good deal is, etc. i'll also be answering all the questions you've posed which I've not answered so far.
Do you see how fun this is? It's an exciting game for me! The more I save my family, the more we have to give to others, to save towards our house, etc. Not only do I have plenty of groceries for our family, I also always have plenty to share with others. In addition, as soon as we move, I'm planning to hold a garage sale and sell as much of our extra "stockpile" items that I can and then contribute that money towards our home savings as well. There are so many ways we benefit from couponing! My husband is absolutely tickled by it all and I'm thrilled to bless him and our family in this way!
This series has helped me to refine some areas and motivated me to find even more ways to save. I am always of the mindset that I can do better and am constantly looking for ways to improve our savings. In the past two weeks, Jesse and I have switched to a cash-only system for most all of our purchases. We used to always use debit cards for everything and that worked pretty well since we were always pinching pennies and didn't have much extra to use. However, since our income has increased, we've found ourselves slipping in some areas - often using our debit cards for little purchases which weren't in the budget. We're trying to save everything extra we can for a home, so we wanted to nip this habit in the bud. That's when we decided to switch to cash. It has taken a bit of getting used to, but we both actually wish we would have done it sooner. It has really forced us to stick with the budget. I can't go a few dollars over on the groceries because I won't have enough cash to pay for them with! I'm also a very visual person so actually taking cash in an envelope with me does something for me to try and make every penny count! If you struggle with sticking to a budget, I highly recommend you consider switching to mostly cash only for expenditures like groceries, etc.
This week, I only went to two stores for my Monday grocery shopping. Since I'm pretty well stocked up, I only had to get a few necessities and then hit the sales. Here's what I got:
Store #1 (CVS):
I just started shopping at CVS (formerly Osco Drug - check their website to see if there is one in your area) in the last two weeks thanks to some people from a coupon forum I've recently been frequenting. So far, I been very impressed at the deals. It is located about a block away from the Kroger I usually shop at every week and right on my way. They have what's called an Extra Care card you can sign up for. You earn 2% back in all your purchases, plus they have weekly and monthly deals where you can earn Extra Care Bucks (basically like a gift certificate) for buying certain items. It appears that the more I shop there, the more I will be able to earn and save. My goal is to try and earn a little bit more Bucks each time I shop and to use the Bucks from my last shopping trip to pay for this shopping trip so that I don't pay much at all out of pocket. Since I'm just getting started and testing things out, I didn't do anything massive this week but I'm learning what works and how to make the most of it.
Here's what I bought:
1 Oral B clearance toothbrush - $0.99
1 Oral B clearance toothbrush - $1.03 (I got both of these toothbrushes because I had a coupon for $1/1 so was planning to get both for free however the cashier told me they can't take coupons on clearance items. From the research I've done, this is not the store policy, but since the cashier seemed very new and had trouble figuring out how to run my Bucks and coupons, I decided to just let it go. I didn't want to cause too much trouble for them!)
1 travel pack baby wipe on clearance - $0.43
2 Colgate Max Fresh toothpaste - on sale for $2.77 - used coupon for $0.75/1 for each plus, I will get the purchase price back ($2.77) in Bucks on my next visit. - so technically speaking, I got paid $1.50 for these
Total before coupons: $7.99
Total after coupons (Used $5.00 Buck from last visit, plus $1.50 Colgate coupons): $1.49
But, I got paid $2 in Bucks for it being my first visit to use Bucks, plus, I get $5.54 back in Bucks for purchasing the Colgate so I really got paid $6.05 for my visit (was that just all very confusing?!)
Store #2 (Nicer Kroger):
2 (8 oz.) blocks of cheese -on sale for $1.67 each
Butter - on sale for $1.88 (we basically always use butter - as is the case with most everything, we try to use the real thing, not a cheap substitute - it's much better for our health in the longrun. Butter is one item we rarely budge on. The only substitute I will get is the Land O'Lakes Spreadable butter which is made with real butter. I can usually get it on sale with coupons for $0.50/tub or less.)
1/2 gallon milk - on sale for $1.34
Bagged garden salad - reduced to $0.40
Mache (a type of leafy green that we like - usually pretty expensive so I only get it when it is reduced) - reduced to $1.50
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts - on sale for $5 with a $1 off coupon on them - $4.00 (I actually thought this was only $2.97 or I probably wouldn't have bought it - I read the label wrong. Oh well!)
2 Salmon filets - reduced to $1.63
2 Betty crocker mashed potatoes (I usually don't buy these unless they are really cheap since we much prefer homemade mashed potatoes, however I sometimes use these for thickening soups, which is what I used these for today) - on sale for $1/each - used $0.70/1 coupon - $0.30/each
2 Suave deoderant - on sale for $1 - used $1/2 - $0.50 each
Always pads small pack - $1.07 - used $1/1 coupon - $0.07
Nestle chocolate milk (my husband loves this in his lunch!) - on sale for $1.29 - used $1/1 coupon - $0.29
Softsoap handsoap - on sale for $1 - used $0.70/1 coupon - $0.30
16 cans Del Monte vegetables - on sale for $0.64/each, plus when you buy 12, you get $3.00 off, plus I had a $0.80/4 coupon, plus I had a rebate that if I bought 18 cans of Del Monte products in three categories, I would get $10 back- Free
Del Monte pears - on sale for $1.00 - Free (with rebate above - had to buy at least 1 can fruit)
Del Monte canned tomatoes - on sale for $1.00 - Free (with rebate above - had to buy at least 1 can tomatoes)
Nestle chocolate chips - on sale for $1.99 - used $2 off coupon - Free
Eggos Frozen waffles - raincheck for $1 each - used $1/1 coupon - Free
4 Totinos pizza rolls - raincheck for $1 each - used $1/1 coupon on each - Free
2 Aquafresh toothpaste - on sale for $1/each - used $1/1 coupon - Free
Franks hot sauce - $0.99 - used $1/1 coupon - Free
Total before coupons and reduced prices: $65
Total after reduced prices, sales, coupons, and rebate: $17.91
Saved: $47.09
Monday's totals before coupons, sales, rebates: $72.99
Total spent (after sales, coupons, rebates, CVS Bucks): $11.86
Total saved: $61.13
More tomorrow on how to get started couponing. I'm going to try and do a primer which will walk you through step-by-step to getting started, how to find coupons, how to organize coupons, places to shop, how to know what a good deal is, etc. i'll also be answering all the questions you've posed which I've not answered so far.
Do you see how fun this is? It's an exciting game for me! The more I save my family, the more we have to give to others, to save towards our house, etc. Not only do I have plenty of groceries for our family, I also always have plenty to share with others. In addition, as soon as we move, I'm planning to hold a garage sale and sell as much of our extra "stockpile" items that I can and then contribute that money towards our home savings as well. There are so many ways we benefit from couponing! My husband is absolutely tickled by it all and I'm thrilled to bless him and our family in this way!
posted by Crystal Paine at 2:31 PM
20 Comments:
Just wanted to share that I found a website (www.save.ca) for any of those Canadians that are following Crystal's posts.
I am happy to say that last night at Walmart I was able to use 33.78 in coupons. Most of this was not food but toiletries and cleaning things but we needed them and are now stocked up. Yeah Me!
(I think I used almost all the coupons I had )
jennifer
I just love reading your posts on grocery savings! Just today I checked our local newspaper online and found that I can just print these coupons directly from the website. We also get them in the delivered Sunday paper too. So I'll have plenty of coupons for those hot sale items.
Do you find that the stores you go to limit you to doubling only (2) cents off coupons on the same item? For example, if you buy 3 prego sauces and have 3 coupons, only the first 2 will be doubled?
Thanks,
Trixie
Crystal~
I'm looking forward to your little primer on how to get started. I really am intimidated by the whole coupon thing. I hope to better my savings...can't wait!
Sommer
I wish my husband got excited about coupons! I come rushing home each week with my new total, exclaiming, "Honey, I could've spent 150, but I only spent $40!" and his reaction is to glaze over, or say "Did we need it?"
*sigh* But at least he responds, right? ;)
I'm really enjoying this series, tho' at first I was a bit discouraged, thinking I would never be able to spend so little and get so much. But then I began to notice your quantities...i.e. a half gallon of milk. I assume this will last you a few days? We go through that every day, and then some. 8 oz of cheese? Enough for one pizza for the kids. My husband has a physical job (loading trucks) and must eat lots to have energy. A bowl of oatmeal? A typical b'fast for the 6 of us is 1 1/2 pounds of bacon or sausage, 3-4 potatoes diced and fried, a dozen eggs scrambled, half a loaf of bread toasted and three 8 oz containers of yogurt, a few bananas, plus juice, coffee and milk. Etc, etc. When I look at our budget vs yours and "multiply" yours by these factors, I think I'm actually doing great to get by on $125 to $150 a week! I was so focused on the dollar amount, I was missing the quantities. :)
I am still looking forward to reading about finding these great coupons you use, especially the ones for non-food items. I think that is where I can really start to save.
Crystal - thank you SO much for doing this series! I am enjoying it immensely and am feeling so challenged! My problem is that we live in a very rural town - we have no "drugstores", and only two regular grocery stores and a Walmart. That is it within a 30 mile radius!! However, my husband and I go out of town frequently, so I am going to start using my trips out of town to help. Again - thanks! I know it is taking a lot of time for you to type this out and to figure out all of the confusing math. =) Out of curiosity, are you and Jesse going to be moving for his new job, or will you be able to stay in the same community? -Tiffany
I'm curious to see how CVS pans out. The bucks frustrate me because they don't print out until two days later, but then they only print out for a limited time and then they have an expiration date. CVS doesn't have good sales every week like Walgreens does (or not that I've seen) so I've let bucks expire waiting for something worth spending it on. I do try that method with Walgreens though, of using my rebate gift card to pay for the next rebate items.
I am loving this series. I wish you would post your deals every week, so I can see the ones I may have missed.
Crystal,
We also use real butter, but I do make my own spreadable butter. We use 1 lb of softened butter, 1/4 c powdered milk, and 2 cups of olive oil(could use any vegetable oil) then blend them together with a hand mixer. This helps stretch the butter to last longer and remains spreadable when refrigerated.
I am kind of excited about this! We have a family of 6 and with my calculations we should be able to eat for around $90 a week. We only have one grocery store within a 30 mile drive (very small town) but I think if we shopped every two weeks we could drive to the city and make a go of it.
I am SO EXCITED about your coupon post coming up!
Thanks for taking the time out to give us all a few pointers!
Thank you so much for this series! I am so excited to read how to get started couponing! I have wanted to do this for awhile, but have been very intimidated by it all. Please let us know where to find good coupons and if you've had trouble with certain stores not accepting online coupons, etc.
We are in Germany and I haven't lived in the States for a few years so I am wondering if things have changed. A few years ago, like 2003, coupons were mostly in 25 cent or 35 cent denominations with a 50 cent one now and then but I notice you use alot of $1 coupons. Have things changed in th US? Please include this in your primer. We mostly got our coupons in the flyers in the Sunday paper maybe you find your $1 coupons elsewhere. Please let us know.
Also, I know way back when I was a baby Christian and I did coupons I was constantly tempted. Many stores did not pay attention to whether you actually had the item or if the coupons said buy three vanilla and you could get away with getting other flavors, the clerk rarely noticed. I got so into saving that I found the devil tempted me to cheap here and there just to save. But the fact of the matter is even if the clerk doesn't notice, the Lord does and as Christians we are to satisfy every detail of what the coupon requires us to buy. It is just like any other sin, we must realize that the Lord doesn't take it lightly. If we bought two 32 oz. and the coupon requires two 48 oz. or the coupon is for sugar free popsicles and we bought the regular He notices.
Crystal,
I am very much enjoying these posts on grocery savings! We are certainly NOT bored! LOL! My only question is how you find reduced salad at Kroger all the time? I searched 2 different Krogers this week and not a reduced item to be found! I did love getting my Del Monte veggies for $0.35 a can though!
This has been such a helpful and inspiring series! We are in a tight time right now (my husband has been out of a job for over a month) and I've been looking for ways to save money. This week I tried Walgreens and got $40 of stuff for less than $3! I also was able to shave nearly $20 off of my usual grocery bill, just by being more careful about whether we really needed something or not. I tried to find coupons online but was not successful, so I'm looking forward to your coupon posts!
Thank you!
There is a forum and $1 trial(can subscribe for one month to get started with coupons and then unsubscribe) at www.thegrocerygame . Looked like an interesting site that might help folks in different areas of the US(can't say it was for other countries but there might be something similar for those folks). Used to get a magazine/newsletter type mailing on manufacturer's coupons that shared stories and pics of women that were stacking(store sales with manufacturer coupons) and stockpiling necessity items for little money to free. Can't remember the name as it was a while back and haven't been able to google it but will keep digging and share if located. :-)
We switched to a cash system years ago. We were always getting extra charges on our checking account for no reason! We never used debit cards, just good old fashioned checks, and kept an accurate account of expenditures.
We got fed up and switched to another banker. Sam experience. Even with the most basic simple checking account, we were finding ourselves overdrawn because of xyz....charges out of nowhere.
Solution? Closed up the bank account, got ourselves a mastercard debit card (pre-paid card you must put cash on first for purchases), and cut up ALL credit cards. Cash on the barrel, is our motto. If we don't have it, we don't buy it.
I cannot even begin to express how much easier our lives became since ending our days fighting with bank tellers and managers!
The only thing I do not do is drive out of my way to save a dollar here or there. I'm highly economical about gas usage, and very environmentally aware. I have a simplistic routine of shopping, and it's mapped out specifically to go to a....b.....and c.
Everywhere I shop, gives me the option of using public transportation as well, which really saves on gas money.
I realize however, not everyone has the option if they live outside of a city or a very sprawling city where stores are spread out.
Lucia
Crystal - I'm definitely not getting bored with your couponing! I'm excited to learn more and start it myself. Thanks for sharing!
-Jessica
Located the refunding newsletter I mentioned before(had to eBay message a person thought to have shared it to learn it was a sweet pastor's wife that lives in Alaska that initially directed gals from a dish collecting forum to there. Am now remembering her speaking of how she used the couponing for family and to minister to others in the community). The website is
www.refundcents.com
with info on deals at Amazon and others along with couponing. It is $12 for a year online and less for short term to check it out. The gal I messaged said she has participated on the site for 3 years and does great with stockpiling needed items(actually, she joked that she could eat and eat well and not have to shop for 6 months, maybe a little zealous a thought but some gals I remember from the newsletter did just that! There are Christian gals and non-Christians alike on the forum.).
One quick question...
What do you do with the annoying 55-cent coupons that the stores won't double? Why do manufacturers do that, anyway??!!
Tammy, my store will double it- but only up to a dollar. So if I had a coupon for 75 cents, the store will make it worth a dollar. Maybe your store will too. It can't hurt to check!
I also use www.groceryguide.com and www.couponmom.com for help with shopping lists/what's on sale, etc.
Love 'em both!
Post a Comment
<< Home