Cutting Grocery Bill in Half: Part 4

I am starting this blog at midnight and this is really late for me. I usually try to get in bed by 10:30 or the latest by 11, but tonight I just could not sleep and had a lot on my mind. I am absolutely sure I will regret staying up this late tomorrow morning when I have to get up early with the munchkin. Setting my regrets aside, I must say I had a fabulous week shopping! I spent even less than I normally do, ended up making money on some of my purchases, and got a ton of product for my money. All of this is thanks to following my shopping tips and using coupons :). If you read my previous posts and started employing these tips, GOOD FOR YOU! You will definitely start to notice a difference in your grocery budget. But here is a WARNING: If you are not for couponing, reading the rest of this post is probably not for you. If you want to know how to coupon on the small scale, but save a TON of money, then read on follow the guidelines.

Note: I do not go crazy when couponing. I do not cut/ print out every coupon. I do not spend 40 hours a week following the sales and couponing. I spend a couple of hours a week gathering my sale papers, coupons, etc. and use websites to my advantage.

Here's the website I use to match up deals that I have not caught myself: http://thekrazycouponlady.com/category/extreme-couponing/   This website is for extreme couponers so just a warning it can be a little overwhelming! The great parts about this website are: the coupon printing database (they are listed alphabetically and makes it super easy to find what you are looking for), the search bar (you can search by the store and she lists all the deals for that store weekly!).

Here's what I do:
I buy the paper every week and get my coupons. I cut out the ones for products that I know I use. The rest I leave in the coupon insert. I organize my cut out coupons in a binder (not necessary, but I'm slightly OCD and like to be organized). I then save the rest of my insert in the back of the binder in case I need it for later. When they expire I recycle them! Next look at your sale's ads. See if there's anything on sale that you're going to buy that matches with the coupons you have cut out. Next go to her website and see if she has any coupons listed there that match with your sale's ads. Print those out and read her listing about the deals going on at the stores you shop. Simple as Pie! Now get to shopping!

This is how my awesome shopping week went: I spent a total of $59 with tax!
Commissary list: Just going to list what I had coupons for and my total at the end!

2 Salad mixes for free! (I had a coupon from the grand opening of the commissary for free bags of Fresh Express salad!)
12 Reach Dental Floss (Made $.25 off of each one I bought from a coupon!)
6 Kotex Pantiliners (Made $.16 off of each one that I bought because of another coupon!)
10 Beechnut baby food: $.49 for each one minus $1 off 10 coupon
Agave Nectar: $4.94 minus $.75 off coupon
Grapenuts: $3.85 minus $1 off coupon

My total before coupons at the commissary was $63.15. AFTER coupons: $36.51

• Each floss was $.76 and I had a $1 coupon for each one. The commissary will give you overages so I made 24 cents for each one just like the 16 cents I made with the pantiliners. So you're asking (like my husband did), what the heck do you do with all that floss, pantiliners, or anything else I get for free or make money on? My rule for free items or money making items on that I get in large quantities is: donation, donation, donation. I keep what we need, give some to my family (or my friends if they needed/ wanted), and then take the rest to the local food bank. I WILL specifically print/ cut out coupons for things I can get free at a store I am ALREADY visiting so I can donate them. I definitely believe in helping others less fortunate or going through hard times. 
• Now your wondering what was on the rest of my grocery list? I had fresh fruit and veggies (enough for the week), baby food, juice, and English muffins. So you're also wondering where the meat, cheese, milk, or any other foods are? Just wait I got those at Albertson's! I also have some food stocked up in the freezer like fresh meats, cheese, fruit for smoothies, etc. Whenever I find a great deal on something, I buy extra and freeze it.

Albertson's list: Original bill $53.42, paid $23.38!
Grapes: on sale for $.99/lb (got 1.97 lbs)
Pork rib cutlets: 10 lb box on sale for $1.39/lb ($13.90)
Disney Band-aids: on sale for $1.50 and had $.50 off coupons
FRS all natural energy drinks: on sale for $1 and had $.75 off coupons so only paid $.25 for each!
Texas Toast croutons: on sale for $1 a piece and had $.50 off coupons so I paid $.50 each for our favorite croutons!

• So why did I get a 10lb box of rib cutlets? Because they were on sale and I can freeze the rest! I don't leave them in the big box; I section them off into meal portion sizes for my family. 

Saving money and using coupons is not difficult! It does take a little extra effort, but it is so worth it when you can spend between $60-$80 a week and have a freezer full of food, get fresh fruits and veggies, and the usual staples. So get to shopping and couponing!

Cutting the Grocery Bill in Half: Part 3

Today was my sons first day at daycare. I plan on taking on a few extra hours at work and he will be in daycare for a few hours a week. This fact was STRESSING me beyond belief (I know pretty silly). But today, I decided to take him for a "trial" day and see how he would adjust while I was just across the street at the gym. He happened to do wonderful....while I, on the other hand, could barely focus on my workout. I was worried he would be crying uncontrollably, catch a cold, or fall. I kept checking my phone non-stop to look for a call from the daycare. To help myself focus more, I started thinking about what I would say in this post and the next so that I could wrap up these tips and ya'll could get to shopping! This is what I came up with! Enough about my son/ life and onto the shopping tips:

How could I not be in love with this little cutie!?!

It was so hard to leave this precious face...even for a little bit

This past week you should have been paying attention to the sales' ads, your favorite store's prices, and making any adjustments from the previous tips. Here's a quick recap of the tips from the previous posts:

• Pay attention to prices.
• Make a list of ONLY what you need and the items that are on sale that you would buy.
• Remember when buying sale items their expiration, if they can be frozen, or if you have storage for any multiples you buy. 
• Stick to your list!
• Decide if you will go to multiple stores or price match at your favorite store. Note: most grocery stores will not price match, but Walmart and Target will!
• Make sure you're only buying what you need (a lot of people over buy and end up throwing spoiled food away or letting it sit in the cabinet and go past its expiration date).
• Don't only buy name brands some of the store brands are good also!
• Don't buy things strictly out of convenience (baby carrots, snack packs, 100 calorie packs, pre-sliced or precooked foods). Saving money does take a little extra effort, but not much!
• Consider making some things at home: cleaners, food, etc.

A few more things to consider:

Check it out!

10th: Decide if your family could use a membership to a wholesale warehouse like Costco, BJ's or Sam's Club.

• I currently have a membership to Costco and love it! I decided to get it because they carried my contact brand for a really good price and because the cost of their gas is usually the cheapest in town. On top of that, I love some of their food deals! A few things I buy from Costco are even cheaper than on post at the Commissary. 
• What I buy: Maranatha Almond Butter, Kirkland EVOO, sliced almonds or other nuts, cottage cheese for my son, oranges for my husband, dried blueberries and apricots, Bounty paper towels, Quilted Northern toilet paper, honey, soy milk, eggs, cheese, and a few other things. Oh and Costco NOW sells FLAX SEED!!! This is great for us smoothie-making people!
• What's great about Costco: First of all....the SAMPLES....isn't that the reason we all go there around lunch time? Besides the samples, they usually bring you rock bottom prices directly from the retailers and they also put out GREAT coupons! Their coupons make the deals even better....so check it out!
• Note: I do not go to Costco every week! I wait until I need a certain amount of things from Costco and then make my purchases so that I do not ruin my budget.

11th: If you plan on buying extras or multiples, consider investing in another fridge or freezer in your garage. My husband and I found an extra fridge for FREE on craigslist. At first I wanted a freezer, but the fridge/ freezer comes in handy. A couple of weeks ago King Soopers had a great deal on soy milk. Since soy milk is good for a couple of months and since my husband drinks a ton of it, I was able to buy a lot and store it in the extra fridge space, not to mention all of the extra things I freeze. See if it works in your budget of for your family!

12th: Consider couponing AND doing some light drugstore shopping

• I DO use coupons, but I do NOT get excessive or spend 40 hours a week on it. IF you are willing to use coupons and do a little shopping at drugstores, you can get some great deals. 
• I will discuss this more in part 4!

Have fun working on your coupon deals while I try to deal with my daycare anxieties!