Once a Month Grocery Shopping-A New Venture

I have been trying for a couple months to figure out how to handle our grocery budget.  I have had the same budget for about 3 years.  The only problem is my son is growing, while he doesn't eat a lot of different foods (he's quite picky) he eats a lot of fruit, peanut butter sandwiches, milk, and juice.  I also started babysitting another 2 year old 3 days a week so the juice and snacks dwindle faster. I've been having a really hard time sticking within my $30 budget in part because of this, the lack of sales on basics, the increase in food prices, and stores in my area no longer doubling coupons.  It is desperately hard for me to "stock up" on basics like canned tomatoes, canned veggies, flour, sugar, etc, because it seems most of the coupons I've been getting for these items are internet printable (which means I can only print 2, which usually means I can only buy 2 or 4 of the item depending on the coupon). 2 cans of tomatoes will last me about a week and if I'm lucky 2.  So while I might get a fantastic deal on a few cans I don't actually get a huge stockpile that's gonna last me months on end til the next great sale, which is what I have been able to do in the past with couponing.

Milk has also been an issue in our house, making it even more difficult to stay within a $30 budget. We go through about 4-5 gallons a week now and when it's not on sale it's $2.79/gal, that's a max of $14 a week just in milk and when you're trying to work with only $30 and another $10 of it goes to meat purchases, and $2 towards 2 loaves of bread a week (Grant will pretty much only eat peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast), that leaves $4.  Definitely not enough even for this couponer to get everything else we need for a weeks worth of meals.

So I've been looking into changing things up a bit.  Since I have only been going over budget by about $30-$40 a month (so about $10 a week)  I know I don't need to change the amount of money by too much, it's just making that amount work for us without needing more.  I've been looking into once a month grocery shopping and the only thing that's been holding me back is  the couponer in me.  I've helped my mom refine her couponing skills, and taught my aunt how to coupon, it's like it's in my blood now.  I can't bear to pay for toothpaste and paying over $1.50 for shampoo physically pains me.  So naturally this part of me says once a month shopping will never work for me.  It says I will miss out on the great deals and rock bottom prices I typically look for.  I'm fighting that part of myself.

We have a baby coming soon and the idea of grocery shopping with an infant and a 3 year old sends me into a small anxiety attack.  Especially with the idea of how I shop now, meaning the 3-4 stores I go to in one morning.  Getting Grant in and out and keeping him satisfied through each one is proving to be more and more of a challenge.  My patience isn't what it used to be and I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that for both his and my sanity the 3 stores in a single morning, getting a handful of items, and spending hours making and tweaking menu plans and grocery lists only to realize I can't get everything we actually need with our previous budget, is not working and needs changing.  I've seen many woman with 3 and 4 kids at the store, and you are rock stars, I just don't have it in me.

I've been reading how other's do their once a month shopping and I'm trying to figure out how to make it work for me and my family.  I still want to be able to get those stellar rock bottom coupon sales but I want to have the luxury of shopping for the bulk of what we need all in one trip.  Naturally since we live in a 2 bedroom apartment with no room for a deep freeze (oh how I miss our large chest deep freezer) I can't buy enough milk and bread in one trip to last us a month, which means I will have to make at least a weekly trip somewhere to get milk and bread.  But that small 5 minute trip into a store is a lot better than the normal hour or two.  I have noticed my weekly lists have a lot of the same items on it and it's only recently I've decided I'm really tired of shopping for the exact same items every week when I could just buy enough in the beginning of the month to last us until the end.  In the past my attitude has been "maybe that item will be on sale or there will be a great coupon out for it and I can get it cheaper, so I'll just get one this week and cross my fingers for next week".  Buying bulk for the month is one thing that is really difficult to do with a small budget.  Obviously with $30-$40 a week to spend there was no way I could spend $15 on a package of 36 rolls of toilet paper, or $13 on a 25lb bag of sugar.  It was too much of a dent in the budget so I've been buying these items every week to two weeks depending on our use.

So my plan, cuz I always have to have a plan, is to start the beginning of next month by making a monthly meal plan.  I specifically chose November to start this venture because my husband happens to get an extra check so I figure if I royally screw up, we have a little more leeway financially to fix my mistakes.  I also want to start now so if this does work for us I have a few months to master it and get a system down before baby comes, that way my husband will only have to make a small trip to the store for milk, eggs, and bread (Lord only knows what he would end up buying or spending if I sent him to the store with my normal list). 
I have already written down the basics of what we go through in a month.  Those basics being milk, bread, eggs, flour, sugar, toilet paper, and juice.  I wrote down all the meals I've made in the past and a few I've been wanting to try.   I still have to take inventory of our pantry and freezer to find out what we already have and how many of those meals I can make with most of those ingredients.  I'm hoping the list of our "needs" for the rest of the ingredients, and our basics, will be within our budget with enough for some wiggle room for those fantastic coupon sales that pop up throughout the week.

I'm really nervous but hoping this will simplify my life a little, right in time for the holiday season, and eliminate the problem of getting to the end of the month and realizing I have all of $10 left in my budget to buy toilet paper, 3 gallons of milk, 2 loaves of bread, a dozen eggs, and 2 bottles of juice.  I'll let you know how it all goes.

Week #6 Shopping- Grocery Challenge

Since we were out of town last week, and most of the week was consumed with unpacking, laundry, and getting back into our normal routine, shopping and menu planning were on the bottom of my list.  So we ate whatever I felt like cooking and whatever was easiest. 

This week we are right back to normal, and at first when I looked at the sale ads and coupon match-ups I was a little disappointed thinking the deals were not at all as good as I had hoped, but it turned out to be a pretty good week.

Friday morning shopping and here's what I came home with:

I hit two stores today Kroger and Aldi, and I didn't get my usual $10 worth of meat since there were no good deals on any and I refuse to pay more than I would normally.

 

2-Honey Nut Cheerios Crunch Medley $2.29 used coupon $0.85 that doubled to $1.70 = $0.59 each

2-Froot Loop Treasures $1.99 used $0.70 coupon that doubled to $1.40 = $0.59 each

2- Green Giant Veggie Chips $0.99 used $0.50 coupon that doubled to $1.00 making them both free

4- Bugles $0.99 used $0.50/2 coupon that doubled to $1.00 = $0.49 each (my husband likes these to take to work for his lunch)

1-Aloha Hawaiian Punch $2.29 used $1.00 coupon = $1.29

2- Canned Veggies $0.67 each since my sister works there we get a 10% discount on Kroger brand items making them $0.60 each

3- Gallons Milk $1.50 each on Manager's Special

1-Loaf Bread = $0.85

1-Hot Dog Buns= $0.89

1- Hamburger Buns= $0.89

10lbs Potatoes $2.99

2lbs Onions= $1.69

1-Tortilla Shells= $0.99

1lb Strawberries= $1.59

1 pint cherry tomatoes= $0.59

2 bags Carrots= $0.59

1 pint Mushrooms= $0.69

2- Canned Veggies= $0.49 each

1-Canned Diced Tomatoes= $0.79 each

 

TOTAL= $26.95 and I received a $2.00 catalina on a future purchase for buying 2 boxes of Cheerios which I had intended to used for 2 gallons of my milk but of course I got in line and completely forgot. 

 

 

Since I take all of my grocery money for the week from our first check of the month, if I find a great deal on meat, milk, bread, or eggs (the weekly essentials) I stock up for the weeks to come. I do not take money from future weeks for anything else.  I have found when you start doing this, the last week of the month inevitably ends up with hardly no money to spend.  When I went to the milk section of Kroger I noticed they had quite a few gallons marked down to $1.50 each!  Since we go through a minimum 3 gallons a week and the ones on sale had an expiration date of July 23 I knew they would last and I bought them up.  I ended up with 7 gallons, 3 for this week, 3 for next, and 1 for the week after that.  I took all but 1 of the manager special gallons, had I had room for more in my fridge I would have bought it too, but I'm so super excited about the savings.

 

 

Where I would normally spend on average $7.50 a week for milk, this week and next I spent $4.50,  saving $3.  To most $3 doesn't seem like much, and most don't probably wouldn't get a whole lot for $3 but depending on the sale and the coupons $3 can get you a lot when it comes to groceries.

 

The last of my $30 grocery budget this week will be spent on eggs and toilet paper.  Our Giant Eagle has a great deal on toilet paper and 1 dozen for $0.99 which of course I will be buying a months worth this week because they are usually $1.68/dozen.

 

I'm really fortunate to have so many grocery stores so close together so making multiple stops (even though it's not my favorite thing to do) is easy and doesn't cost a lot of extra gas money since I'm not having to go out of my way.

 

Week #4 Grocery Shopping-$30 Challenge

The meat for this week I already bought during Week 3 here.  So this week the budget leftover after the meat purchase is $20.  There were some good sales this week and alot of them to use coupons with, which I love.
It seriously bums me out to check out at the grocery store and not use any coupons.  It always seems like I bought a little of nothing and spent my whole budget.
It took me 2 hours yesterday to throw out expired coupons, print the ones I needed, clip all my new ones, make my list, and matchup my coupons to my list.  It is mornings like those that make me want to quit couponing, then of course I take a look at our grocery budget and I quickly realize that I can't quit.  I was super excited about this weeks trip because Kroger was having a great buy 10 get $5 off sale with many items I had coupons to match.  I always get my best coupon information from freetastesgood.com.  She is in the Ohio area so most of the time our sales match up really nicely.  There are exceptions though.  It seems at least once a month I plan for this great deal I have read about online, so sure that it's going to work, I make my list based off of this great deal and then it doesn't work.  Last week it was the bologna I thought I was going to get  a $2 catalina when I bought it, but the catalina didn't print and the store manager couldn't find anywhere on the website that there was supposed to be a catalina printing.  Needless to say, that week my trip didn't turn out as planned.

This week was one in the same.  I saw a great deal and catalina printout that was supposd to be for Bayer Aspirin.  They were $2.19 each, you buy 2, use a $4.00 off of 2 coupon and pay $0.38 for both, then get a $3 catalina printout.  It was a moneymaker!!  I was super excited and had planned on buying 4 and getting 2) $3.00 catalinas paying for my milk purchase.  However they did not have the smaller bottles of Aspirin and it was not a moneymaker with what they had in stock.  So no deal.  I was bummed.  All the other items were on the buy 10 get $5 off so if I eliminated 1, I would lose all the sale prices on everything else in my cart.  It was a lose lose so I ended up going $2.63 over budget.  I told my husband how aggravated that made me and he just laughed and said "Lisa, it's $2.  It's not a big deal."  Regardless I worked really hard to keep myself within budget and then to go over, it's like my work was for nothing.

Ok enough rambling and complaining, here's what I got this week:

 

4 containers of KoolAid drink mix $0.99 used 2) $1.00/2 coupons and paid $0.49 each

4 containers countrytime lemonade mix $0.99 used 2) $1.00/2 coupons and paid $0.49 each

1 Reynolds wrap foil 75sq ft $3.29 use $0.75 coupon that doubled to $1.00 and paid $1.79

7 containers Reynolds cupcake liners $0.99 used $1.00/1 coupon and they were all free

3 boxes Reynolds mini cupcake liners $1.09 used $1.00/1 coupon and they were $0.09 each

2 bags frozen green gant steamers$ 0.99 each

2 boxes multigrain cheerios $1.99 each used 1) $0.75 coupon that doubled to $1.50 making one of them $0.49 and  got a catalina printout or $2

2 boxes Trix cereal $1.99 used 2) $0.60/1 coupon and paid $0.80 each

1 box Hershey's Cookies and Cream cereal $1.99 used $0.75 coupon and paid $0.49

2 boxes Oatmeal Crisp $1.99 each used $0.75/1 coupon and paid $0.49 each



6- 1/2 gallons of milk on managers special for $1.00 each
1/2 gallon Turkey hill lemonade $0.75
Welch's Juice cocktail $2.09 used $0.75 coupon that doubled to $1.50 and paid $0.59
Flour $1.42
Coffeemate Creamer 32oz 2.49 used $0.55 coupon that doubled to $1.10 and paid $1.39
Jennie-O Turkey Franks $1.99 used $0.55 coupon that doubled to $1.10 and paid $0.89
Beechnut baby cereal $1.58 used $0.75 coupn that doubled to $1.50 and paid $0.08 (we don't have an infant in the house anymore but I have multiple family members with who just had babies that can get good use out of this and we all know how expensive babies are and every little bit helps when you're a new parent)

Total Spent- $22.63 ( I did 2 transactions using the $2 catalina from the cheerios to pay for 2) 1/2 gallons of milk, making them free.

Even though not getting the great deal I had planned is frustrating I'm really satisfied with my loot I brought home.  The lessoned learned here is to not base your list and total out of pocket spent on a catalina or deal you haven't seen for yourself in the store.

Menu Plan Week 3 -$30 Grocery Challenge

This week is going to be an easy one when it comes to meals for a few reasons.  1-We just finished the Relay for Life and I'm still not fully recovered, meaning the lower half of my body still aches, ALOT. 2- Our family reunion is this coming weekend and I'm planning on making a Maxwell shirt for Grant to wear.  3- The 4th of July is next week and I enlisted my sewing skills to make yet another Maxwell shirt (4th of July themed of course) to wear to the fireworks.  So I'm not over exerting myself on meals this week, so the preparation will be short, the cleanup will be quick, and I will have no excuse to not finish my projects.

Now on to the meal plan for the week:
1. Tuna Helper- I love Tuna Helper and I've made it from scratch quite a few times but I love to have the boxed mix on hand for quick meals when I'm busy or just feeling lazy.
2. Hot dogs and Kraft Homestyle mac & cheese
3. Pizza Buns- these simple little pizzas take me back to my childhood and daycare days, and Grant loves them.
4. Grilled Ham and Cheese sandwiches with potato wedges
5. Leftovers
6. Breakfast
7. Veggie stir fry with brown rice

One day I'm acutally going to get this meal plan up on Sunday like I keep planning on doing.  Until then......

Grocery Shopping Week 2 of the $30 Grocery Challenge

Here is week 2 and while last week seemed to take me extra time in the stores with the multiple transactions and multiple stores, this week has taken me extra time in the list process.
This week Meijer and Kroger are having similar promotions.  Meijer is having a Buy 8 get $8 off, Kroger is having a Buy 4 get $4 off.  Both of which are fantastic sales the problem I had was narrowing my list down to fit into my small budget.  There were so many fantastic deals I could have went over my $30 in the blink of an eye.  However I was good,  I kept things in check and narrowed my list down.

KoolAid Jammers- $0.99 used a$1.00/2 coupon paid $0.99 for 2

Skittles $0.50 each used a $0.50/2 coupon that doubled to $1.00=2 for free

Dove Chocolate bars $0.50 each used a $0.50/2 coupon that doubled to $1.00=2 for Free (I bought 4)

Kraft Homestyle Mac & Cheese $1.29 used a $1.00/1 coupon=$0.29 (I bought 2)

Miracle Whip $2.49 used a $1.00/1 coupon=$1.49

Philly Cream cheese $0.99 used $0.50/2 coupon doubled to $1.00=$0.99 for 2

A1 steak sauce $1.99 used $0.55/1 doubled to $1.10=$0.89 (I bought 2)

Kraft Cheese Singles $1.49 used $0.50/2 coupon doubled to $1.00=$0.99 each (I bought 2)

Jack's Frozen Pizza $2.50 used $0.75 coupon that doubled to $1.50=$1.00 (I bought 2)

Delifresh Lunch Meat $1.49 used 2-$1.00/2 coupon=$1.00 each (I bought 5 and received a $4 Catalina Coupon printout at checkout)

Oscar Meyer Hot Dogs $0.99 coupon $0.50/2 coupon that doubled to $1.00 (I bought 2)

Mott's Fruit Snacks $2.00 used $0.75 that doubled to $1.50=$0.50 (I bought 1)

Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage Links $1.68 used $1.00/1 coupon=$0.68

Nutella $2.49 used $1.00 coupon=$1.49 each (I bought 2)

Oscar Meyer Bologna $0.99 (I bought 3 and was supposed to get a $2 Catalina printout but aparently  that offer had ended without me realizing because I didn't get the printout and the customer service people couldn't find any information about it)

 Total=$23.38

**I used the $4.00 catalina that printed from the Delifresh lunchmeat purchase to buy

Angel Soft Toilet Paper $4.99 used $0.55/1 coupon that doubled to $1.10=$3.89

and Bread=$0.85 

Total=$4.99 (with tax)-$4 Catalina= $0.99

 

 

Pampers Wipes $0.99 used $0.50/1 coupon that doubled to $0.99 making all 5 I bought Free!

Cascadian Farms Cereal $1.99 used $0.85 coupon that doubled to $1.70 = $0.29 (I bought 2)

Smart Balance Butter Spread $1.59 used $0.50/1 coupon that doubled $1.00= $0.59 (I bought 2)

Juicy Juice $1.88 used $1.00/1 coupon= $0.88 (I bought 2)

3 Gallons Milk =$2 each (these were on sale at Giant Eagle)

2 lbs Grapes $0.97/lb

Total=$11.46

 

Total Spent at both stores = $35.83

 

The total was supposed to be $33.83 because I thought I would be getting a $2 Catalina for the Oscar Meyer Bologna which was going to be used to pay for the 2lbs of grapes I bought.  Whenever I need toilet paper or lots of toiletries I give myself no more than $5 wiggle room.  What is the reason for this you may be asking?  Well lets face it, its hard enough to buy enough food to get by for $30 but when you add toilet paper, laundry detergent, cleaning products, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc, it can be near impossible to not go over budget.  Another reason for the wiggle room is that I don't buy toiletries every week and the only thing I buy regularly is toilet paper, which depending on the sale and the week I can usually make it fit into the budget.  I make my own laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, cleaning products, and buy my shampoo, conditioner, bodywash, etc when it is at the lowest price possible and buy enough to last me 6 months to a year.  So when other people are spending $4/bottle for shampoo, I normally pay $1.00 or less.  Deodorant I don't pay more than $0.25 for women's and $0.49 for men's.  I never pay for toothpaste, and shave gel is not more than $0.49 for men's and $0.20 for women's.

 

Once you start couponing and start a small stockpile you will get a feel for the sales and what items you can get at certain prices.  I know I can get deodorant for under $0.49 so I don't buy it unless it's at that price.  When it is on sale I buy 4 which lasts me until the next time it's free or at the price I want to pay.  That's how you start saving the most, by stocking enough of the item to get you through until the next sale when the item's at the lowest price.

 

If you coupon for nothing else, which would be crazy might I add, coupon for toiletries.  These are the items that can take up the bulk of any budget during any given week and contributes nothing to the bellies of your hungry family.

 

Start Couponing and Start Saving

Couponing is one of the main ways I keep my grocery budget at a mere $30 a week.  I have been serious about it for the last year and have gotten pretty good, if I do say so myself.  I have yet to figure out how to get $500 worth of groceries for free but I also don't know what I would do with all those groceries anyways, so I thought I'd share just a few things I've learned.

Every couponer has their own way of doing things.  If there's one thing I have learned it's you have to do what makes sense to you.  I started out with a little accordian folder.  That got old really fast and I quickly switched to a binder with baseball card holders inside.

 

This was the only thing that made sense for me. I've seen other's use shoe boxes, accordian files, and even suitcases. Do what works for you.

 

I don't carry my binder with me, into every store, every day.  Cuz that would be crazy.  Instead I carrry a little 4x6 photo album that I use as a small coupon organizer.  I have slots labeled with the names of the stores, with the coupons I need for each store in those slots.

I also use envelopes if I need to do more than 1 transaction.  This keeps me more organized in the store.  I have my list with what I'm purchasing in each transaction and put those coupons in the envelope.

 

Then those envelopes go in the store's slot.

For easy quick access.

 

When I've taught a couple family members how to start couponing one of the questions I got was "how do I make my lists?"  Well here is how I start:

1st I visit my favorite coupon websites for their store match-ups.  While looking at those sites I make a list for the store(s) I plan on shopping at, the items at the lowest prices, and the coupons needed (to make sure I have them).

Here is what it looks like:

After I have my list of the best deals and their prices after coupons, I start figuring out what I'm actually going to buy with my whopping $30.

I have a few websites I check regularly for coupon match-ups, here are my favorites:

freetastesgood.com - this site is by Joni from Extreme Couponing and she lives in Toledo, Ohio so most of the deals and prices she lists are relevant for my area as well which is why her site is the one I check most frequently.  This is the one I use to make my weekly shopping lists.

krazycouponlady.com- this site is by Joannie from Extreme Couponing but she lives in California so some of the stores she lists and deals aren't good where I live.  She does have great deals for magazines.  I've gotten Rachel Ray and Taste of Home for under $4 a year the last couple years.

livingonacoupon.com-this site is by Jessica from Extreme Couponing and she lives in Idaho.  Once again many of the stores and deals aren't relevant to my area but she does post coupons and other deals the other sites don't have.

These sites are how I create my shopping list.  I generally write down all the best deals and then go through to pick what I need and what will work within my budget for that week.  I have had to pass up some great deals because of my small budget and what I need for that week, but we have never done without any necessities.

I get the Sunday paper delivered to my house every week, but unless it is full of loads of amazing coupons I don't normally buy any more than the 1.  Instead I go to coupon clipping websites and purchase multiples of the coupons I need.  This also gives me the opportunity to get regional coupons that I didn't get in my paper.

thecouponclippers.com based in Florida, and I've had great success with them.  They do have a minimum purchase of $3.96 which can be annoying when you only want a handful of coupons.

klip2save.com based in Tennessee.  I love them because I get the coupons the quickest and they have no minimum purchase, which is fantastic.  I can order 5 coupons or 50 and it's ok.

weclipusave.com based in Tennessee.  They have their coupons up the Wednesday before they actually get in your paper.  Haven't a clue how they do this but they do.  They also sell the whole coupon insert.  I've never needed to purchase the whole thing but it's nice to know I could if I wanted.

Couponing is kind of like a learned art form.  It's quite a bit of information to take in but go to the websites and start perusing through them.  Print a couple coupons, take them to the store, and save some money.   It takes practice and like anything else, the more you do it, the better you will get.  Then you too can make your $30 budget work.  I promise once you start saving you won't be able to stop, it's seriously addicting!

Grocery Shopping Week 1 of the Challenge

It took me a little extra time this week to work every thing in I needed to get this week and still stay on budget. 
Here was the haul I brought home on my first trip (yes, there were 2 seperate trips needed due to a cranky 2 year old boy and a cranky 27 year old mom).

 

Meijer:  Spent $11.77

Had the best price on meat this week. Pork Loin 1.79/lb mine cost $7.98

Pure silk shave gel $1.59 coupon $0.70 doubled to $1.40= $0.19each (I bought 4)

3 Musketeer bar $0.50 coupon $50/2 doubled to $1.00=2 bars for free

1/2 gallons Meijer brand orange juice $1.50 each coupon 1.50/2= $0.75each (I bought 2)

Propel Zero water (not pictured) $1.09, I had a store coupon for 1 Free

Pampers Wipes 72count $1.99 coupon $0.50/1 double to $1.00=$0.99

Total $11.77 with tax and after coupons

 

Giant Eagle: Spent $9.87

I did 2 transactions for this store to take advantage of a Catalina that printed off at the register.

Transaction#1

Milk $2.00/gal (I bought 3)

Grapes $0.99/lb mine were $1.60

International Delight Coffee Creamer $1.67 coupon $0.55/1 doubled to $1.10/1 =$0.57(bought 1)

Colgate toothpaste $1.00 coupon for $1.00/1=free

New York Garlic Bread loaf $1.50 coupon $0.75/1 doubled to $1.50=free

Activia yogurt $2 coupon $1.00/1=$1.00 (I bought 1)

Dole Pineapple 8oz cans $0.89each coupon $0.75/2 doubled to $1.50 I used 2 coupons making the 4 I bought =$0.56 *buying these 4 canned pineapple printed a Catalina coupon with my receipt for $0.50 to use toward my next purchase

Transaction #2

International Delight coffee Creamer $1.67 coupon $0.55/1 double to $1.10 = $0.57

I used my Catalina from the 1st transaction of $0.50

Total for this transaction $0.07

Total $9.80 with tax and after coupons

 

Walmart: Spent $0.09

Almay makeup remover pads 15count $1.14 coupon $4.00/1 (I bought 2)

**my walmart allows me to use overage from my coupons to apply it to the other items I buy.  Most stores do not allow this.

flour $1.82

Sugar 4lbs (not pictured above) $2.26

Sauerkraut $1.58

$8.09 after tax and before coupons

I paid $0.09

 

 

Trip #2

 

Kroger: Total Spent $5.88

Kroger had a Catalina printing this week for participating General Mills products, when you bought 5 items you got a $5 Catalina for your next order.

 

Transaction #1

Tuna Helper $1.50 coupon $0.80/4 doubled to $1.60=$1.10 each (Ibought 4)

Chex mix $2.00 coupon $0.50/1 doubled to $1.00=$1.00

Crest toothpaste $1.00 coupon $0.50 doubled to $1.00= Free



 Total $5.40 & got a $5.00 Catalina off my next order

 

Transaction #2

Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie mix $1.50 coupon $0.75/2 doubled to $1.50=$0.25each

Suddenly Salad $1.99 coupon $0.50/2 doubled to $1.00=$2.98

Green Giant Veggie chips $2.00 coupon $0.50/1 doubled to $1.00=$1.00

Total $5.48 used the $5.00 Catalina from transaction #1, paid $0.48 and received another $5 Catalina for my next purchase

 

Trip #3

 

 

 

Kroger:

I used the $5 catalina from the 2nd transaction and bought the following:

eggs $1.79

potatoes $1.98

Beef Boullion cubes $1.79

Tortilla chips $1.00

Bread $0.80

I used the discount my sister gets for being a Kroger employer which takes 10% off any Kroger products you buy.  My total came to $6.63

I used my $5 catalina and paid $1.63

 



 This week was not a usual week for me as far as making multiple trips and doing multiple transactions at each store.  Normally I go to, at most 2 different stores, and try not to do more than 1 transaction.  This week was exhausting and I definately had to work for my savings, but I'm glad I stayed on budget.  Next week will be easier and less work hopefully.

 

Total spent for the week: $29.24

 

 

 

The $30 Grocery Challenge

A few months back I had a conversation with my cousin about budgets and grocery shopping.  I told her my grocery budget was around $30-$40 a week and her mouth proceeded to drop.  She told me she spends about $100-$150 a week for her family of four and did not understand how I spent so little.  To which I looked at her and said, "you can't spend what you don't have".  With my husband starting a new job after we moved here our income was cut by more than half and sacrifices had to be made.  I couldn't do much about our regular bills, they were what they were, but I could control what I spent on food.

It occured to me that most people probably spend at least $100 a week and the idea of dropping that bill down to $30 seems impossible.  Anyone I have shared my budget with automatically asks what kind of stuff we eat.  They assume with a small budget I'm limited to spaghetti, mac and cheese, hot dogs, and the like.  While I am all about some hot dogs and mac and cheese, this is not an every week meal for us, and is usually more of lunch than dinner.

So this is how the $30 Grocery Challenge was born.  Like many others there are weeks I go over budget by a few dollars or somehow justify spending extra on this or that.  There are weeks I "forget" to meal plan and by Wednesday I'm scrambling to figure out what the heck we are going to eat.  This challenge is to help me stick to my budget and challenge everyone else to decrease their grocery bill.  Maybe $30 seems impossible when you're spending $100 but maybe $60 seems doable.  If even that much of a drop makes you nervous, start by decreasing your bill by $10 a week.  So If your budget right now is $100, next week make your budget $90, then the week after that try $80.  Having a small grocery budget forces us to not buy all the snacks, and junk food.  It makes us conscious of what we are putting in our shopping carts and makes us second guess buying all the little extras that "look good" in the moment.  It also makes us appreciate the food luxuries like Little Debbies, sodas, and chips.  These, I'm sorry to say, used to be staples in my weekly grocery trips and can increase your grocery bill buy $10-$20 easily.  I'm happy to say (and my hips are too) they are not any more.  I only buy snack cakes when I have a coupon and can get them at a great price (nearly free), soda is bought for special occasions like cookouts and parties, and chips are in our cabinet only when I've scored some free salsa or chip dip, and even then I refuse to pay $3 a bag.

Seriously, it's physically impossible for me to put a $3 bag of chips in my cart.

So every week I will post my meal plan for the week, grocery shopping list and total after coupons to prove how much I spend and that it can be done, and the recipes I use (if the meal requires one). 

Here are a few tips on how I make it on a $30/week grocery budget, and how you can decrease yours:

#1 Meal plan-this is essential!  There are so many times in the past I did not meal plan and just went to the store, bought some food, and spent a crapload of money.  Only to get home, look in the fridge and realize there's nothing to eat.

#2 Have a variety of recipes.  After you cook the same thing for so many weeks you get bored and that's when you start to stray and spend more in order to get a variety.

#3 Use your freezer to the fullest.  I'm in love with freezer meals.  They are fantastic and such a lifesaver for a busy family.  I also stockpile meat when it's on sale.  I don't buy 10 lbs but I buy family packs of whatever is on sale each week, divide it into meal portions in freezer baggies and that way I have it for future meals and don't have to pay full price.  For years I have had a large deep freezer to take advantage of, now that we live in an apartment we are limited to a regular refrigerator freezer.  Even with a small freezer you can still take advantage of freezer meals so don't let that deter you.

#4 stockpile/couponing.  No I don't mean stockpile like the people on the Extreme Couponing show.  You don't need a basement grocery store or a whole seperate room full of food to stockpile.  When items are at their lowest, with coupons, I try to buy about 4-5 of them.  For example, Quaker yogurt bars were on sale a few weeks back for $1.79 a box.  I had a coupon for $0.75 off of 1 which at my grocery store doubled to $1.50 making each box $0.29 each.  So I bought 5 boxes.  Occasionally when there is a really great deal on an item I can get for free I will buy up to 10 but no more than that.  Space in an apartment is limited and I only buy this quantity of items for things we go through quickly like ketchup, rice,cereal, etc.

#5 Plan ahead.  Our local pool was not opening for almost a month when I bought the yogurt bars but my first thought was how great they would be to take with us to the pool, park, zoo, etc.  The same thought occured to me when I bought 4 cases of Capri Sun juices a couple months back for $0.75 each.  These are regularly over $2 so I was so excited to get them so cheap.  During the summer months they are a necessity in our house.  If I had waited until I actually "needed" them, I may have had to pay full price or not get them at all.

Are you ready to start saving some money?  Are you ready to stop spending hundreds of dollars a month at the grocery store?  Start this week, take on the $30 Grocery Challenge!

Homemade Liquid Hand Soap

We were running low on liquid hand soap and for whatever reason (my husband calls it the, I'm cheap reason, but whatever) I really hated the thought of going out and buying more.  I knew there had to be a way to make it myself for a whole lot less than the $1 I would end up paying for the itty bitty bottle of soap that would no doubt last 2 weeks.

I got online and starting searching for a homemade recipe and what do ya know I found one, well a lot more than one, but it was so easy I kicked myself for not making some sooner.

All you need is the 3 ingredients and a couple supplies:

1 gallon of water
2T glycerin
1 bar soap-grated (I use a cheese grater from the dollar tree)
1 gallon jug
1 funnel

Use a stock pot if you have one but if not just 1/2 the recipe so you can use a regular large pot.  Pour 1 gallon of water into a stock pot and turn the heat to medium high.  Grate a bar of soap (I used Ivory that I bought using coupons and paid about $0.30 for each bar) and put it into the pot of water along with 2T of glycerin.  Stir until it's completely melted (do not bring to a boil or anything just melt the soap).
Once melted turn the heat off and let it sit for 10-12 hours.  It will be thick.  If it's too thick add a small amount of water (1/2 cup) and mix with a hand mixer until its the consistency of hand soap.  Use a funnel and pour by the cup full into a 1 gallon jug.

I actually made mine a little too runny but if you have one of those foam hand soap dispensers I think it would work great because the soap for it is more watere down.

I  found the glycerin in the first aid aisle at Walmart for $3.88.  Here is what it looks like (I like to know what I'm looking for when I go to the store).

There was no offbrand and I was hoping to get it cheaper but the bottle will last forever since all you end up using is 2T which was nothing.  With this one bottle I should be able to make enough hand soap to last a year.  I'm so excited to have found this recipe and a new way to save money. 

Up next, my mom has requested I find a recipe for liquid dishwasher detergent.  I have used the homemade powder in mine but it tends to clump up in her dish washer and leave spots.  I have found a few different recipes and as usual I plan on combining the different ingredients and trying them out in the hopes she will no longer have to pay $3.99 for Cascade that lasts no time at all.

Shop With Me Saturday

My trips to Walgreens did not pan out the way I had planned but I can't complain.  I got all this for under $10

I ended up doing 3 transactions which I didn't plan and I really don't like to do unless I have to.  I always seem to have someone impatient behind me who starts sighing or rolling their eyes when I start on another transaction or I end up forgetting/misplacing coupons.  Regardless my first transaction was as follows

Huggies wipes $2.49

  used $1 Walgreens coupon from the July coupon book

  and I used a $0.50 Hggies wipes manufacture coupon

Irish Spring Deodorant 2/$6

   buy 2 receive $4 register rewards

   use 2 $1 manufacture coupons

3 Muskateer Candy Bars-bought 2 @ $0.49 each

   used $0.50 off 2 3 muskateer candy bars

total a little over $6 after taxes and received $4 register rewards

 

I had planned on using register rewards from a previous purchase but didn't realize I had a coupon for every item I bought.  That is one thing to remember if you are shopping at Walgreens, their register rewards act as a manufacture coupon so you have to have more items than you have coupons, otherwise your rewards won't scan.  This confused me when I first started couponing because Rite Aid and CVS rewards are used like cash.

Transaction #2

2-12 roll packages Cottonelle toilet paper $5.00each

  buy 2 receive $3.50 register rewards

total a little over $10 after taxes.  I used $4 register rewards from Transaction #1 and a $2 register reward from a previous purchase and only ended up spending pennies over $2 out of pocket and received 3.50 register rewards

Transaction #3

3 bags Brach's candy $1.89 each

   used 2-$0.50 manufacture coupon

Index card case $0.39

Penway mini notebook $0.49

total after taxes a little over $6.00.  I used $3.50 register rewards from transaction #2 and $2 register rewards from a previous purchase and ended up spending $0.69 out of pocket.

 Rite Aid $2.00 out of pocket

Herbal Essence styler and shampoo 2/$5
  used $3 off any Herbal Essence styler when you buy any Herbal Essence product.
  and used $1 off any Herbal Essence shampoo/conditioner
Clean and Clear Face Wash 6.49
  use $2 in ad store coupon
  and used $2 manufacture printable coupon
Composition Notebooks $0.66 each
 buy 3 receive $1+up rewards
milky way candy bar (not pictured) $0.99
total 6.09.  used $4 +up rewards from a previous purchase and paid $2.09 out of pocket.  Received $1+up rewards.
total after taxes 6.09

Shop With Me Saturday

My new goal when shopping at CVS and Walgreen's is to keep my combined total from both stores under $10, this week was a success.

I went to Walgreen's the other day and bought all this for a total of $2.  Here's how:

Scott paper towels $5

   used a $2.50 off Scott Naturals coupon.

Bottled Water on sale for $1.99 each

m&m candy 2/$5

    used store coupon for $1from the July coupon book and 2- $1 off M&M pretzel (9.9oz) manufacturer     coupons

Oral B Indicator toothbrush 2/$2

    used $2 off 2 Oral B Indicators coupon

Cleaning Gloves $0.59

Used $11 in Register Rewards from previous purchases.

Total after taxes and before coupons -$20.32

Total after coupons-$1.82

Isn't it great being able to walk out of a store with a cart full of stuff and only pay a couple dollars for it.  It's great!

My CVS shopping trip ended up costing me less than $2 out of pocket

Lipton Tea- 5.99 buy one get $2 extra bucks

Always Infinity-3.99 buy one get $2 extra bucks

   use coupon $1 off 1 Always infinity

   pay $2.99 receive $2 extra bucks

Oral B Advantage Toothbrush- $3 buy one receive $1 extra bucks

   use coupon $2 off 1 Oral B Advantage toothbrush

   pay $1 receive $1 extra bucks (like getting it for free)

Dawn dishwashing soap- $0.99

   use $0.25 off 1 Dawn dishwashing soap

   pay $0.74

Total- 10.72 (before tax) I used my extra bucks from previous purchases and my total ended up being around $1.85, and I received $5.50 in extra bucks to use on future purchases (I have no clue why I received the $0.50 extra bucks print out, but I think it's some kind of promotion I wasn't aware of).

All My Loot

Well as you may know I have a small addiction to couponing, but I have to say if you're gonna be addicted to something is being addicted to couponing really that bad.  It's like being addicted to saving which I think we all of need to be a little with the way the economy is.

Here is my mini bathroom stockpile, and the amazing part is I aquired all of this in about a month without spending much at all.  I think all of it except the 2 dove deodorants (which I bought for $0.20 each, SCORE!) came from CVS and Walgreens.

Here is what I bought a couple weeks ago.  I had planned on posting it the weekend I bought it but ended up leaving for Ohio at 5am that Saturday morning. 

All this cost a little over $4.  I know it doesn't look like much but when it retails for over $25, that seriously excites me!

Every time I go to Ohio I end up grocery shopping and stocking up on different things.  There are quite a few grocery stores where my parents live which is great because they all compete with one another and have really great deals I don't normally find when I'm at home, and bonus! 3 of those stores double coupons up to 99 cents.  The only store I have that doubles coupons is Kroger which is 30 minutes away.

So here are my cabinets after my almost month long trip to Ohio (the pasta, and poptarts were already there).

This is my favorite cabinet to open because we never have snack stuff, never.  Occasionally I buy chips for Derrick's lunch but snack stuff is usually really expensive and I can't every justify buying it over meat, fruits, and veggies, aka the good stuff.  The most expensive thing in here were the Doritos at $1.77, everything else was $1 or less.

The lazy susan, which was practically empty pre-ohio.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love my deep freezer.  How oh how did I live without it before.

I honestly don't think I have had this much food in my house EVER, haha.  Now I rarely buy things without a coupon except for the basics like meat, fresh fruits and veggies.  Although I did luck out and buy 3 pineapples that were on sale for $1 each and used a coupon for $1.25 off 2, but that hardly ever happens.

My grocery budget for a normal week is about $40.  Most people  I tell that to get all big eyed and say "how do you live on that", but when times are tough you really don't have a choice.  I used to think there was no way I could create any kind of stockpile on $40 a week but it's totally possible.  I did go a little over my budget when I found ground chuck for $1.97/lb which I never ever find at home so I bought 8lbs.  Other wise I stayed within budget with all my purchases which made me feel so good.  Now I should be able to shop for meat and fresh food without having to purchase a bunch of random items that seem to normally break the budget.

My piece of advice to anyone reading this, START COUPONING!  Even if it's just for personal hygiene and toiletries at first.  It's the $4 shampoo, $3 bodywash, and $10 razors that seem to break the budget most of the time.  Especially when your budget is super tight.  When you have $40 and you need shampoo, toilet paper, and a razor all in the same week it can easily take up 1/2 your money.  By using coupons and shopping the sales you can eliminate that problem all together and who doesn't like that?

Wanna Be Extreme Couponer

Got word from the hubby that our internet set up finally arrived back home so I will actually be able to post some of the stuff I've been working so hard on lately.  During my time visiting my family I have been trying to take it easy, relax, and enjoy having company and help with Grant during the day.  The down side is missing my husband so I have thrown myself into my newest obsession, couponing.  I've mentioned it in some of my other posts but I am bound and determined to start getting groceries and household goods for free like the many women on Extreme Couponing.  Now I am not naive enough to think all the men and women on tv actually shop like that all the time, or that they save such a large amount on a regular basis.  Either way I want and need to master the art of couponing.

I have started my coupon binder.  When I first saw women on the show with their binders I thought "those women are crazy carrying that thing all through the store."  Now I must eat those words because I am one of them.  I started acquiring quite a collection of coupons when I started buying 2 Sunday papers, which meant double the coupons each week, and my little holder was just no longer working for me.  I spent so much time sorting and organizing and finding the coupons I needed it was ridiculous.  So now they are neatly organized in a binder with baseball card holder pages and I love it!  my husband and I were walking throught Target the other day, came across the clearence aisle were there were Suave proffessionals shampoo/conditioner multipacks for $3.50 each.  It just so happened I knew I had a Buy One Get One coupon for them.  I quickly ran out to the car to get my binder and ended up getting 9 bottles of shampoo/conditioner for $6.50 after coupons. SCORE!  Lessoned learned, always have your binder with you.

Some might be saying to themselves, why buy more than one Sunday paper when you just get the same coupons.  The women on TV say to buy 1 paper for each member of your household, and while I would love to have another set of coupons to cut and add to the collection, my papers are $2 each and I just can't justify spending $24 a month on papers alone.  After I started getting more serious about couponing I got online and saw a great sale on the razor my husband loves, it was buy one get one free and listed a coupon in the Sunday paper you could combine with a store discount and get each of them for $1.99 each.  Who can pass up such a deal?  The only problem was I only had one coupon and to get the best deal you needed two.  That's when I started buying 2 papers a week.  At least now I can purchase the items on sale for Buy One Get One and use 2 coupons for the best deal.

This week I am tackling CVS.  I had to purchase Oral B electric tooth brush heads last week and that purchase gave me $20 in extracare bucks.  It sucks to have to fork out that money initially but now its like having a $20 coupon in my pocket to spend on whatever I want.  So what does this wannabe extreme couponer do, she makes a list of all the best deals that also include receiving more extracare bucks.  I currently have a list of 15 items including huggies diapers, John Freda shampoo/conditioner, Crest mouthwash, razors, etc that come up to a total cost of less than $10 and receive approximately $14 in extracare bucks to spend next week.  JACKPOT!

I do so love coupons, and after this week I will have a mini stockpile going, I'm so super excited.  Extreme Couponing here I come, lol!

Guest Posting

Today I'm guest posting over at Small Fry and Co.  I absolutely lover Heather's blog and have been following it for over a year.  She decided to do an Unsung Creative Mom's Week, featuring quite a few amazingly talented women, so go over and check it out!

Here is the project I have contributed. 

A coupon organizer.  Being the wannabe extreme couponer I am, I'm super excited about my organizer, and BONUS this makes for a great little gift for Mother's Day.  My mom has been asking me to make her an organizer for quite a while, so yes this year she will finally get one, along with a few other little tidbits.

Extreme Couponing!

Has anyone seen this show on TLC.  I am officially obsessed.  The only problem is I don't get the channel with our cable.  I spent the other week in Ohio with my family and got hooked on it.  Now I am a coupon clipping fool.  My husband laughs at me when he comes home from work and sees me sitting on the couch, computer next to me and a stack of coupons in my lap.  For anyone else out there who is getting into the coupon craze here are a couple websites I found and love.

krazycouponlady.com

southersavers.com

both of these sites show the ads for the current week, list the items on sale and the coupons that correspond with them.  Then it shows the price you will pay.  Like last week Walgreens was having a sale and you could purchase Schick Hydro razors for $1.99 after the coupon savings. 

The only problem with getting into the coupon craze is it makes me want to go shopping and right now is not the best time to be spending money.  So in order to justify it in my mind I'm only going to buy the items that are at extremely low prices.  Here's something I didn't know, you can use two coupons on a buy 1 get 1 sale.  I assumed you could only use 1 coupon because the other item is "free".  However what I have learned is even though the other item is "free", you still pay taxes on that item so you can use a coupon with it.  If there are any doubts you can google the Walgreen's coupon policy and it's right there is black and white.  I did read some people have had problems with cashiers accepting the second coupon for the free item but I didn't have any issues when I purchased my 2 Schick Hydro razors and 2 bottles of Schick Hydro shave gel for a total price of $7 for a grand total savings of over $25. SCORE!

Something for you (whoever you are) to think about: every year my mom fills our stockings with items like razors, lotion, toothpaste, deodorant, tylenol, etc.  All the things we hate to buy but have to.  I informed her of these websites and that there are many coupons that do  not specify "excludes trial size".  If the coupon doesn't exclude it and its for $1.00 off deodorant and the trial size is $0.97 then you get it for free.  That's one less stocking stuffer pulling money out of your wallet, and we all know how fast those stocking stuffers can blow our Christmas budget.