The Great Grocery Challenge Week Three

It's time for another grocery challenge update!  This week has been super busy with happy and sad news so my mind has been occupied with things besides blogging. Such is life!

Employee Discount amount= $9.72

Paper Coupons= $18.92

Ibotta Credit: $8.25 plus 1.50 in bonus for a total of $9.75 that I transferred to my PayPal. I'm going to use this towards my Christmas shopping. I just started so I won't accumulate a ton by the end of the year but every little bit helps. So far I have a total of $21.00 and that's just in two weeks!

TOTAL= $38.39  Now that's a nice amount for really very little work. I also stocked up on some items that I won't be needing now for awhile. Sometimes people find it hard to stock up during good deals because they look only at the weekly budget but you really have to take a longer range approach. Now I don't stock up TONS....like you see some people doing where they have to rotate their stock, watch expiration dates etc. However if there's a good deal and it will "keep me" in something for 3-6 months (or even weeks) I go for it,

I'll give you an example. It's not even the most profitable one I've ever done but its one from this week.

Excedrin is a product we use on a fairly regular basis. I know some of you don't and that's fine, I'm simply using it as an example (insert whatever product you use regularly).

This is $ 9.74 at Walmart for the 100 count bottle but they happened to have some bonus bottles where you get 25 extra tablets PLUS I had $2.50 cents off coupons that were good for this week only. Now who really wants to spend $7.24 on a bottle of Excedrin? No one really BUT if you know it is something you are going to use you might as well "fork over" the money when you can get a good deal (25% more in each bottle plus the $2.50 coupon). I had two....I bought two....quite a hefty investment but guess what? I don't have to worry about buying it again for a LONG time.

You have to invest money to make money or in couponing you have to invest money to SAVE money. It's a mind set that I've had to work on. You also have to balance it. I don't need to buy four or six or ten bottles of Excedrin....even if they don't expire....you know WHY? Because by the time I run out of these two bottles there will be another good deal. I don't have to take up valuable shelf space. I just have to be aware of my families needs and buy accordingly.

Here are a couple smaller and more short term items.

Clorox Bleach Spray. I use it a lot in my kitchen/counter tops etc. I had a 75 cents off coupon that was going to expire. That made it a good enough deal to buy even though currently I am not "out" of it.  Same with Resolve stain spray for laundry. I had a dollar off that was going to expire. I still have a half full bottle but I used the coupon and bought another. This isn't a great stock up deal but still worth it.  Let me also say there were coupons getting ready to expire that I decided not to use on some other items. I left them on the shelves for others to snag if they needed them.

Overall I think my grocery challenge is going very well.  I'm saving between $30-40 dollars a week. That adds up!!

The Great Grocery Challenge

It's time for an update on the Great Grocery Challenge. This month the goal is to save 20 dollars a week with coupons, with an overall goal of cutting our grocery bill by 15%. When I look at it week to week it is hard to calculate the 15% so I am going to save that calculation for August and do it at the end of the month by totaling all bills and seeing if I met this goal.  The reason for this is some weeks I buy more (if there are good deals) and I really don't see the savings for those until future weeks (when I don't have to buy as much.)

This week I went to both Schnucks and Walmart. The goal is 20 dollars saved with coupons so let's take a look at that first. And remember I can't cheat and just buy something to count the coupon savings!

Schnucks: $5.40
Walmart    $9.50
Justin's Employee Discount: $6.21

Total: $21.11

I know not every one has an employee discount but my son does and so as immediate family we are entitled to use it. He has had it for years and I only started using it in the last 8-9 months. It is not good on food but it is good on pet products, personal hygiene etc. It is good on food from Thanksgiving till New Years Day which was a HUGE savings this past year.

Before we examine the Schnucks receipt let me say that Schnucks can be expensive. Honestly, most things are cheaper at Walmart (and of course you can price match). However the problem I am seeing increasingly at Walmart is they are slowly shifting over to carrying predominately Great Value products. I do use Great Value at times but I'd also like some variety and some choices which Walmart is quickly eliminating. I would roughly estimate that about 75% of what is in our local store is Great Value.  They profit twice (from me shopping their store and by me buying their Great Value brand). I don't want to live in a Walmart Only World and I think we are coming to that if something doesn't halt the corporate giant from gobbling up every other store out there.

Now let's examine that Schnucks' receipt. When going there I try to shop only sales, coupons, and special deals. If you have some self control you can get out of the store with quite a bit of product and at a good price. Here's how it breaks down:

Combo Savings $3.00. This was a cereal deal with THREE big boxes of General Mills cereal for $7.00 (regularly 10 hence the three dollar savings). I also had a dollar off coupon for two boxes so the final price ended up being 3 bucks a box. That's not ultra cheap but they were big boxes and will last us 4-6 weeks.

Meat Deal: 20.67  The deal this week was five dollar packages of selected meat. The savings you see listed is the extra amount it would have cost without the sale. You had to buy at least three for the five dollar a pack deal to kick in. I bought 8. (Two hamburger, One premade fresh hamburger patties, One bag of hamburger patties (frozen), Two bags of boneless skinless chicken breasts and Two boxes of Gorton's fish.)  Although Schnuck's meat can be higher than Walmart, I made sure I checked out prices and am sure the 5.00 a package was a good deal. There were other types of meat too but these are the ones I decided on.

Reduced Price Savings: $34.66  These are items that were on sale or marked down.

Bunny Bread 1.49 plus I had a 25 cents coupon that doubled making it a dollar/ (save 1.50 plus coupon savings)
Three Lean Cuisine Meals marked down to 2.00 a box (save 6.57)
One Stouffers meal marked down to 2.00 (save 1.79)
Red Cherries on sale (saved $2.46)
GoGurt Sale (save 1.96 on two)
Ajax Dish Soap (saved 60 (on two) (also used coupons that doubled so saved another 1.00)
Iced Coffee (saved .49) Used coupon so saved another dollar)
Yoplait Yogurt (on sale 10 for 4.00 saved 3.00) Plus 40 cent coupon that doubled for another .80 in savings)
Totinos pizza rolls 10 for 8.00 (saves 13.40 which I knows a little jacked up because the price was higher than it might have been elsewhere but they still came out to .80 cents a box which is a good price)

The rest of the receipt shows the MFR coupons and the ones they doubled. It wasn't a huge haul but with the meat I already have in the freezer we are set for the next 3-4 weeks. So even though I didn't see substantial savings this week this trip will provide savings over the next 3-4 weeks when I'm not buying meat.

I'm not going to post my grocery deals every week...I mean that might get a bit boring...but I'll provide you with updates every now and then. This week I walked away with 30 dollars of my budget to tuck away for "fun trips".

Walmart Deal of the Week

Do you still have your Scrubbing Bubbles coupon...from a couple a weeks ago? If so...hurry on in to Walmart this week and score some FREE Scrubbing Bubbles Auto Toilet Bowl Cleaner. Walmart has it for $3.97.....so with that four dollar coupon...you can get it free with 3 cents overage!

Another Great Kroger Deal

Now I have quite a collection of 2 and 3 dollar off coupons for Olay and Garnier face products but when they cost anywhere from 19.99 to 24.99 a jar those coupons aren't very helpful. So I have been on the lookout for any of these at a discount price that I could then use my coupon to save even more!

When I shop Kroger I bowse their health and beauty department for really knock down prices. Most of the time Walmart is cheaper on these products but I usually catch some good deals at Kroger too. Today I found this Garnier face cream....knock down price of 8.49....(regular 19.99) AND I had a two dollar off coupon on any ultra lift product....SCORE....a really nice face cream for 6.49!! At prices like this I'll NEVER grow old...LOL.

What A Snack Deal

Here's my candy and soda deal this week at Kroger!!

They have candy bars for 2/1.00 AND I had three candy bar coupons (2 for Three Musketeers and 1 for Milk Way (I had another Milk Way but I used it earlier when I had a craving! I LOVE the Dark Chocolare Milk Ways!)  The coupons were fifty cents off  two so once Kroger doubled the coupons ....the Candy Bars were FREE

Now for an even sweeter deal....I had some buy two candy bars get a FREE 20 ounce soda up to 1.59. So I also got THREE free sodas. The only draw back was the only kind on the coupon that Kroger had was the Sundrop. I picked these soda coupons up at a gas stop (Casey's I think) while we were on the way to South Dakota. Lesson: ALWAYS be on the lookout for coupons. I used one at the Casey's too...for a little trip treat but it wasn't near as good a deal as Kroger. :)

Speaking of Kroger, I want to put in a good word for our local Kroger. I have found some awesome coupon deals there. When I watch the sales and double my coupons I can get better prices than Walmart. Plus I like to throw some business to other local store than just MEGA GIANT Walmart. In addition, the cashiers are super friendly and helpful.

Coupons and Christmas in July!

So with all this couponing I have been doing, I decided to think about baskets that could be created with the great deals I have been finding. The picture above is sort of dark but behind the Degree twin packs of ladies deoderant are four deoderant/spray packs I picked up at Walmart. Here's how it worked:

Axe Deoderant (with a FREE spray attached) $3.44 ( I had a buy one get one free, so ended up with TWO...(so 2 deoderants and 2 free sprays) for $3.44

Since I had two of the B1G1FREE coupons....I ended up with four of the dual packs.

Axe is a great gift brand, you see the little gift packs around the holidays all cute and put together. Well I'm planning my own little gift baskets created with coupon discounts. :) They had the Axe Bodywash on sale and with coupons not too long ago but I missed those....so waiting for them to come around again so I can get some body wash....and then create some body wash, deoderant, spray gift packs. :) 

Nivea is another nice usually "pricey" item. Recently I got a couple really great deals. This is the Body Wash

It was at Walgreens for 2/$7 but you got a 2 dollar Register Reward making it like 2/$5. I also had two $2/1 coupons....so my final cost was 2/$1.00. These are nice BIG bottles so a great buy. I had some other Nivea coupons so I did the same deal again with another "scent/type" of Nivea Body Wash for Men. Two of them went into my stockpile and two went into the gift basket items. Now just watching for more Nivea products or some other items to include to round out the guys gift baskets!

I have two daughters and now that my bathroom cupboard is pretty well stockpiled with items we will daily, I will be on the lookout for similar buys to create them gitt baskets also. With the girls, there are so many more possibilities!

Moser's Deal 5-27-11

Here's a good deal at our local grocery store....not all the items are pictured because I bought multiples of some items.

Here's how it stacks up:

Cool Whip Season's Delight (Strawberry and Chocolate) 99cents. I had coupons :) Buy two get a dollar off....so my cost 50 cents each....I bought four!

Van Camps Pork and Beans Sale priced at 2/1.00  I had a coupon to get a dollar off four...so I ended up with four cans for a dollar!

Kraft Big Slices: They had them for 1.99. I had coupons....duh of course.....for a dollar off....so ended up being .99 cents for me. I bought four!

Oscar Meyer Hot Dogs: Sale 2/3.00....minus my dollar off two coupons so ended up being 1.00 a package! I bought four!

Bar S Franks: Sale priced at .89 cents.....minus my dollar off two coupon....so 69 cents each....I got two.

Hidden Valley Salad kit: Marked down to 2.29. and I had a dollar off....so 1.29

I also bought soda they had on sale with a store coupon ended up with two twenty four boxes for 10.00

Nice Deal.....and all stocked up on Cool Whip and Hotdogs for a while! I put the cheese in the freezer. I wanted to get it because I have a bunch of coupons which will expire in June....but I need to check Walmart tomorrow and see their prices...might pick up a few more!

Walgreens Bayer Deal

Here's another Walgreens Deal for this week...

Bayer Advanced Aspirin Walgreens Sale price 3.99 (20 tablets)
Use the 2.00 off coupon in their sales flyer
Use 1.50 coupon for Bayer
BRINGS the price down to .49
I bought two because I had two coupons!

I also had register rewards from a previous purchase...so no out of pocket cash this trip! :)

Coupon Match Ups and Menus

So how do all those coupons match up into menus...(I've gotten some good deals on health & beauty but what about REAL food!)

A weeks worth with coupons might look something like this!

MENU ONE
Oscar Meyer Hotdogs (.99 a package Walgreens sale plus coupon)
Ore Ida Fries (2.79 Kroger with a buy ten deal..no coupon)
Hot Dog Buns ( 1.00 Buy ten deal Kroger)
French's Mustard (Dollar General .70 cents a bottle with sale and coupon)
Total Cost= $5.48 (plus left over mustard)

MENU TWO
Chinese Meatballs (Armour Buy Ten deal at Kroger, can't remember exact price)
Rice (pantry)
Mixed Veggies (pantry)

MENU THREE
Lloyds Barbequed Pork (Buy one tub get one tub free plus .75 coupon=$3.15)
Hamburger Buns (buy ten deal Kroger 1.00)
Mashed Potatoes (Idaho packet of Loaded Baked) (with coupon on buy three=.66 cents)
Can of Peas (pantry)
Total Cost=$4.81 (plus can of peas cost)

MENU FOUR
DiGiorgno Pizza and Wings (Kroger buy ten plus 1.25 coupons= Pizzas $4.25) Use two!
Total Cost of Pizza and Wings $8.50

MENU FIVE
Spaghetti (pantry)
Hunts Sauce (buy ten plus coupon, forget exact price)
New York Garlic Bread (Schnucks Sale plus coupon .55 off= $ 1.45 for one box)

MENU SIX
Chicken Breast (on sale at Kroger)
Lawry's Garlic and Herb Marinade (Kroger sale and coupon .69 a bottle)
Idaho Mashed Potatoes (With sale and coupon .66)
Salad (fresh produce, no coupon this time!)

MENU SEVEN
Hamburger Helper (Schnucks Buy Ten plus coupon final cost = .50 a box (use two)
Hamburger (non sale 4.00)
Mix Vegs (pantry)
Total Cost=5.00 (plus can of vegs)

So for my first two weeks of really working the coupons...not too bad. I am starting to stock up slowly and once I have a pantry really built, it will be easier. I am currently looking for ketchup and meat deals. I found some Bob Evans sausage coupons and have some Eckrich Smoked sausage ones I want to use too before they expire. I have a couple others where you buy an item and get a dollar or two off meat so I need to see how those stack up! :)

Kroger Deal 5-20-11

Okay thanks to Clippin with Carie and Coupon Divas I got a nice savings at Krogers this week. I even missed a couple deals but (sigh) such is the world of couponing ...sometimes you just miss a deal!

Here's how it stacks up, including a couple non coupon items.

• DiGiono Pizzas with Wings or Cookies (Kroger Sale $5.99-.50 from a special buy ten get 5 off purchase on selected products) Kroger Cost $5.49 minus 1.25 coupons ...My cost=$4.24  I bought 4
• Cool Whip (Kroger costs minus same buy ten deal .99)  My cost .99 I had a coupon but they didn't have the specialty flavors.  I bought four!
• Ore-Ida Potatoes (Kroger costs minus same buy ten deal) My cost $2.79
• Country Time or Kool Aid Drink Mix 10/$10....I stocked up for the whole summer :) TEN
• French's Spicy Mustard (Kroger sale 1.69) minus a .50 coupon doubled= my cost 69 cents each. I bought three
• Lawry's Marinade (Kroger sale $1.69) minus a .50 coupon doubled=my cost 69 cents each. I bought three different flavors.
• Kraft 2% Milk Cheese Singles (Kroger Price $1.79) minus my 1.00 coupons. My cost=.79 each I had two coupons so I bought two!
• Franks Red Hot Wing Sauce (Kroger $2.49) minus a .50 coupon doubled. My cost=$1.49 Bought 1.
• Bread: Managers Special 89 cents. I picked up some last week for 49 cents and they were perfectly fine. Bought 1.
• Chicken Breast. I forget the exact price. Not on sale.

Total Retail Cost= $133.15

Minus Manufactors Coupons (10.50)

Minus Doubled Coupons (3.50)

Minus Kroger Plus Savings and the 5 off deal (64.00)

My Cost: $55.15

Total Savings=78.00

Missed Deals (in case your Kroger has them)

• California Pizza Kitchen plus appetizers (same as DiGiorno deal) there's some 1.25 coupons out too
• Wisk: On sale for 3.99 and there's a 2 dollars off coupon out there. :( I'm sorry I missed this one!)
• Texas Toast Kroger Sale 2.79 minus the 5 dollar off ten discount = 2.29 minus a 55 cent coupon. I didn't buy these because I had picked them up at Schnuck's for a slightly cheaper price.

I'm slowly stocking up. Over all I am working to cut about 40% off my grocery bill. Perhaps after doing it for a while I might be able to cut my current total bill by 50%. We will see. I figure for the first month or two I won't notice quite as much savings because I will need to get stocked up first.

***Footnote:

• Those three French's Spicy Mustards each had a fifty cents coupon on them I can use later. They don't expire until sometime in 2012!
• While I was in the store I picked up three 1.00 off any size Tide coupons that are good until the end of September 2011.

Happy Couponing!

Little vs Big Sizes

So here are six little bottles of Wisk laundry detergent I bought at Walgreens. Each one cost .99 and does 12 loads for a total of 72 loads. Right beside these little gems was a larger bottle of Wisk that did 48 loads....on sale for 6.99 minus a dollar register reward so 5.99.....Hmmm....seems in this case the little gems are the better deal PLUS.......

Each of those hang tags have a $1.50 coupon on the back, good for a larger size bottle thorugh July. BONUS! 

Now I will say I have a 2.00 off coupon so I might take another look at that larger sized bottle...bringing it down to 3.99 it might be a thrifty buy! :)

Walgreens Deal 5/15/11

Here's the way it stackd up.

Walgreen's Ad: Buy three Gillette Body Washes for 3/10 and get 3 in cash register rewards so 3/7
I used THREE $2.00 off coupons making the final deal 3/$1.00

Walgreens Ad: But a Dove Men's + Deoderant for 3.99 and get 3 dollars in register rewards so 1/.99
AND I had a buy one deodertant get one free so I ended up with 2/.99

Walgreen;s Ad: Colgrate Proclinical Toothpaste 2/$6.00 and you get 4 dollars in register rewards so 2/$2.00 AND I have two 75 cents off coupons so... 2/.50

Grand total with tax $3.18. Less than the cost of one of the items and I got 7 items!

I consider that a pretty good stacking of coupons and using the ads. That body wash will last the men in my household awhile and by then another deal will be out. :)

Coupons and Savings

When my children were little I did a lot of couponing and refunding to make ends meet but gradually over the years drifted away from it. Now with the economy the way it is and retirement looming. I decided it was worth another look. It's a whole new world out there with the internet and the ability to actually google and print specific coupons. It's still a challenge to find ones for products I actually use but it's like a treasure hunt. There are couple sites I really like. One is CouponDivas. They do a really good job of keeping track of coupons that are pritnable on other sites and they also mathc the coupons up with weekly sales at places like Walgreens, Krogers, Walmart and Target. For printing coupons RedPlum usually has a lot to offer. Most of the times they have printable versions of coupons that came in the Sunday paper so you can pick and choose to print extras of ones you know you will use by the expiration date. Coupon Cat has a list of coupons available so you can read the list and click on ones to print at other sites. Coupon Mom is a good source also along with Smart Source

So now that you have some great sources for coupons how do you store them and use them? I am setting up a binder. I actually want one of those large binders that zip shut but for now I am using a smaller one that I had on hand. The plactic inserts are actually baseball card holders. You can usually pick them up in the office supply section of Walmart pretty cheap. They are designed for baseball card collectors but work well for coupons. In the past I always just used a little file box...but that's a pain when you are digging for coupons. This way I can see them at a glance. If they are large I fold them so the expiration date/product is visible. You can also purchase similar protective sheets that are set up for photos and they are bigger slots on them.