Saturday Shopping

So I went shopping this past Saturday.  It was unusual that I ended up going so late in the week.  I regularly shop on Wednesdays or Thursdays right after the sale flyers come out, otherwise all the good coupon stuff is usually gone.  It still turned out to be a pretty good trip.  Our Harris Teeter store has been running a promotion where if you shop for 14 out of 16 weeks and spend 40 dollars at once and you also sign up your VIC card for their e-VIC program, at the end of your 14 weeks they will give you a 50 dollar gas card.   I decided to go for it.  I had missed the first week already when I heard about the promotion, but have successfully completed 12 shops.  Only 2 more to go over the next 3 weeks.   I decided in order to make this most worthwhile I needed to try to spend as close to the 40 dollars as I could each week.  With the exception of triples week where I did multiple shopping trips, I have pretty much done that. This week was no different.  I spent $41.65.  $1.05 of that was tax.  (You have to be over the 40 dollars after coupons and before taxes.)  During this process I have discovered several things that I feel will come in handy even when this promotion is over.   Here they are and hopefully they will help you too.

-Plan a menu.  If you start with what you have at home, you are most likely going to spend less.  Only buy what you need to fill in for your meals.  I often check the ads to see what is on sale that would compliment what I already have at home. This way you are going to get more bang for your buck.

-Shop for good coupon deals.  After I have my menu decided, I use the leftover money to see what good deals I can get with my coupons. I look for items that are free or close to free.  Many times these are things like salad dressings, sauces, side items that can be used later on to help make meals.   Cereal is also a good coupon item.  I don't buy cereal unless it is on sale, I have a coupon,  and it is less than a dollar a box. 

 

-Look for on sale stock-up items.   After I have figured out what coupons I am going to use.  If there is still room to play in the budget, I look for items that are on sale that I can stock up on.  These are things like flour, sugar, chocolate chips, oatmeal, pasta, etc.  Stuff that won't go bad.  It is much better to get these things when they are on sale than to have to buy it at regular price when you have run out.  Stocking up is very beneficial when it comes to help saving money.  

-Look for discounts in your store.  I often leave about 5 dollars of play room in my grocery list for bargains that can be found at the store.  You can often find discounted meats, salads, produce items, etc.  The meat can be eaten right away or frozen.  There have been times when we have gone to the store and found bananas on sale for 19 cents a pound.  That is a lot of bananas for five dollars.  We bought them though, cut them up and froze them.  Our 11 month old daughter loves to eat them.  Just pop them in the microwave for a few seconds and they are good to go.  This was A LOT cheaper than buying baby food bananas.  We saved a ton of money right there. 

-Stick to your plan.   It definitely helps when you go to the store knowing what you are going to buy. I am fortunate that our store has an online shopping program where I can go to their website and check the prices of items before I ever leave the house.  I go, knowing exactly what I am going to buy and how much it is going to be. I don't alter my list unless something that I planned on purchasing is out or unless I have left room to shop for meat or produce that is discounted once I get to the store.  Even then, I know how much I have to spend on that, and I stick to it.

I am considering sticking to the 40 dollar a week grocery budget even when this promotion is over.  Even on 5 week shopping months, that is only 200 dollars a month for food.  (My husband gets all the other stuff with his drug store shopping.)  This is way under our allotted food budget for the month and leaves room for emergencies or special sales (like triples) once they come up.  

Do you have any good ideas for saving money when you go to the grocery store?? What kind of plan do you have/use?

Coupon Organization Tips

There are many different ways to organize your coupons and I am not sure whether there is any one way that is better than the other.  You just have to work with whatever fits you and your personality best.  For me, I like to have the coupons where I can see them as I am going through the store or comparing them to the ads when I am at home. I don't like to have to shuffle through a handful at a time. So I keep my coupons in a photo album, the kind with multiple slots per page for pictures that you can just slide them into.  I have them organized according by categories such as baking items, frozen foods, salad stuff, etc.  This works great too for going to the grocery store. I just stick the book in the cart and if I run across a sale, I have all of my coupons right there with me.   You can also use a three ring binder with baseball card holders.  This is what my husband does with all of his coupons.  (Yes, he does couponing too!!)  He does all of our shopping at CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid for drug items, paper items, and personal care items.  He has baseball card holders for each letter of the alphabet and puts the coupons in there by the first letter of the product name.  

What about you? Do you have any ideas for organizing coupons or tricks you are willing to share with us??

Harris Teeter Triples: Trip 2

Day two of triples - This time I was more focused on buying stuff that were essentials rather than just the stuff that was free or close to free. Most of that stuff was gone so I was glad that I went for that on the first day.   The cake mix, coconut and bread are for things I have to make this weekend. I didn't want to have to make a separate trip to the store. I also didn't have coupons for them.  Those three things alone added about 5 dollars to my bill.  

Here is the breakdown of what I bought and the coupons used:

4 Zatarains Rice 1.25 each $.75/2 (2) 0.50 for 4

1 Chex Mix Bars 2.50   0.60 0.70

2 Lipton Tea Bags 1.35 each 0.50(2) FREE

6 Sargento Cheese 2.00 each 0.75/2 (3) $1.75 for 2

1 Frozen corn  $2 0.55  0.35 

2 Sausages 2.50 each 0.35  (2) 1.45 each

2 Butters 3.69 each 0.55  (2) 2.04 each

2 Sugars 2.79 each 0.65/2 1.81 each

2 Choc chips 2.79 each 0.75/2 1.67 each

3 baby meals 2.00 each 0.75  (3) FREE

2 frostings 1.99 0.55 (2) 0.34 each

1 black pepper 1.65 1.00 0.65

1 coconut 1.97 1.97

1 bread 0.97 0.97

1 cake mix 1.99  1.99

Total Spent: $28.82

Total Saved (with coupons and sales): $52.24

Acquiring Coupons

There are many places to get coupons - online, newspaper, magazines, regular mail.  If you utilize all of these resources, pretty soon you will have more coupons than you know what to do with.

ONLINE -  There are many good coupons sites that you can visit.  Some that I like are Coupons.com, smartsource.com, couponbug.com, couponloop.com and afullcup.com.  There is also an online coupon database at hotcouponworld.com.  

Another great way to get online coupons is to go to the websites of products that you use a lot.  On many of these sites, you will find coupons. You can also sign up to receive their emails which also many times contain coupons. In order to avoid getting a bunch of these emails in your regular email, I suggest setting up a gmail or yahoo account solely for the purpose of getting coupons.  

Be sure to note that you can print most online coupons twice.  After you have printed it once, hit the back button and refresh to print it again.  There are a few coupons that you can print unlimited, but those are not found very often.

NEWSPAPER -  Sunday newspapers are great for coupons and a quick way to build up your supply. You easily make back your money from the cost of the paper with one or two good coupons. If you get a paper and see that it has great coupons that particular week, it is a good idea to get one or two more.  We are supplied by my in-laws and neighbors with extra copies so we aren't spending any extra out-of-pocket other than the one we buy.  Maybe you know someone who doesn't use their coupons who would be willing to share with you. 

MAGAZINES - Here is another great resource. There are many magazines out there that you can sample for free and even some that you can subscribe too.  Be sure to check inside for coupons. There have been several times I have received a magazine only to forget to read it and months later find a bunch of coupons inside that have already expired!

REGULAR MAIL -  There are many websites and blogs out there (like goodorfreedeals.blogspot.com or moneysavingmom.com) that tell you about free samples that you can get.  Many times a coupon is included with the sample. There are also many offers that you can sign up for where the company sends you a coupon through the mail. I have received coupons for several "Try me free" things.  

Harris Teeter Triples : Trip 1

Harris Teeter is tripling coupons(up to 99 cents - 20 at a time) starting today and running through Tuesday.  I find triples a great time to stock up on "extra" and "side" items.  These are things like condiments, quick lunches, sides (like rice, boxed potatoes, pastas), cleaning supplies, and stuff that I wouldn't ordinarily buy  but will if it is free or close to free.  You can often get really cheap cereal during this time.  

I went first thing this morning.  Here is what I bought:

3 Betty Crocker Warm Delights 1.89     55 cents (2IP)     0.24 each

  50 cents (1) 0.39 each

2 Frosted Mini Wheats 3.39(BOGO) $3 off 2(1) 0.39 for 2

3 French's Fried Onions 2.00 75 cents off(3) FREE

3 Beech Nut Banana Cookies 2.00 75 cents off(3) FREE

2 No Yolk Egg Noodles 2.39 75 cents off (2IP) 0.14 each

3 Totino Pizza Rolls 1.09 35 cents off(3) 0.04 each

6 Sargento Cheese 2.00 75 cents off 2 (3) 1.75 for 2

6 Green Giant Vegetables 10 for $10 $1 off 2 (2IP) 0.50 ea. for 4

1.00 ea.for 2

3 Grands Biscuits 0.78 50 cents off (3) 0.28 each

2 Veg-All Frozen Vegetables 2 for 2.00 55 cents off(2) FREE

Grand Total:  8.08

Amount Saved with coupons and sales:  74.30

(***An extra 4 dollars was immediately taken off my total because I bought 10 of the items on one page of the ad. I think it is on page 3.***)

The prices I listed are the current price.  Some of these items were on sale.   You definitely maximize your savings if you can match up a coupon to an item while it is on sale!!

The numbers in parentheses after the coupon amounts are the number of coupons I used.  If it says IP after it, that means it is an internet printable coupon and it is possible you can get that same coupon too.  If you are interested, I can help you find it if you will email me and let me know.  

Why the blog??

 I love finding a deal! Yes, I know that I am probably known as a coupon geek, but I really don't care.  I taught middle school math for 7 years and my favorite chapter of all to teach was the one on comparison shopping.  I even took the kids to a local grocery store on a field trip to practice comparing prices firsthand.  You could probably say it is just in my veins.  After taking a few years off to get married and have kids, couponing is now becoming a regular part of my life.  It does take time. It is a lot of work. It is very rewarding.  For me, it has become a part of my stay-at-home job description.  Savings during a single visit to the grocery store can at times be equal to what I would make subbing for a day, minus the transportation and child care costs.  I realize that couponing isn't for everyone and I don't expect you to do it.  But, if you have questions or want help, I am here for you! I have learned a lot from reading other people's blogs and would like to share that information with you. It is amazing how much can be saved with a little bit of extra work and some planning.