Articles

Jun 262012
 

2 – 35 packs of Water Not Shown

COPPS

Transaction #1

Spent $13.10  and saved $80.71 or $86%

Transaction #2

Spent $20.81 and saved $46.88 or 70%

Transaction #3

Spent $16.12 and saved $37.79 or 70%

Transaction #4

Spent $25.04 and saved $56.93 or 69%

Transaction #5

Spent $17.07 and saved $38.43 or 70%

 

Walmart =$20.35

2-35 pks water (PM Kmart=$3.50)

7 Crystal Light (PM Kmart=$2 used $2 coupon)

3 Cases of Pepsi Products (PM Festival=$3.99 used $.50 peelie)

2 Earthbound Organic Carrots ($.93 and used $.75 EB organic Coupon)

3 Eggs (PM Festival $.68)

 

Piggly Wiggly

Spent $34.97 and saved $35.69 or 51%

Most of the "money" that I spent was on 2 Siroin Roasts (about $15 worth) for Italian Beef Sandwiches for when we go up north in 2 weeks and 3 ($.99 Italian Bread Loaves and I got one day old for $.50) and 4($.89 wheat bread loaves).

Walgreen's=$6.52 OOP and $2 RR left for next week

4 Suave Shampoo/ Conditioner

1 Reynold Foil

1 Scotts 6pk Paper Towel

**And I gave my mom $13 for stuff that she had picked up for me earlier in the week (4 bags of Kitchen Kleen Potatoes, eggs and 2 Cases of Pepsi Products) She got some at Festival and Price Matched at Walmart!… (click here to keep reading)

 June 26, 2012  Posted by at 11:48 AM No Responses »
May 182012
 

Spent a total of $39.01 for all of this today.  What did I got:

Household

4 Liquid Purex

4 Purex Ultra Packs

5-128oz bleach

Meat

10 lb of Chicken Leg Quarters

4 Packages of Johnsonville Premium sausage (Andouille and Keilbasa)

2 Packages of Johnsonville Chicken Sausages

3+ lb of Ground beef…this was for my mom and not pictured…she needed it…I but my beef by the half of beefer.

Grocery

4 pkg of Sargento Ultra Thin Cheese Slices

4 Boxes of Ocean Spray Fruit Snacks

2 bottles of Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade

6 Bags of McCains Purely Potatoes

9- 4pks of Snack Packs Pudding

2 pkg of Kraft American Singles

4 Banquet Fruit Pies

2 pkg of Ortega Taco Seasoning

2 Gold Peak Teas

3-2lts of Coke Zero

Without the Ground Beef (as my mom actually paid for that) …$27.83!!!!!

 

 May 18, 2012  Posted by at 9:01 PM No Responses »
May 102012
 

 

One of the first things you learn when you begin to coupon is to say good bye to brand loyalty.  Big G, Post or Kelloggs Cereal…we like types from each of the brands, so when one brand is on sale we stock up of the kinds we like with in each brand name.  Buying what is on sale and combining that sale with great coupons (or better yet–double coupons) is the best way to build a stock pile and reduce your families grocery budget by 50%!  But what happens when you have fussy eaters or family favorites?  Is all that brand loyalty to be thrown out the window?  Not necessarily. 

My family is brand loyal ( or at least semi loyal) to a few products, including Sweet Baby Rays, Dawn Dish Detergent and Levis.  There isn't another bottle of dish detergent or BBQ sauce in the house.  Levi's probably count for atleast 50% off all jeans in our household.  We are brand loyal to Dawn because I believe it does the best job, is the best value and love the grease fighting power.  Sweet Bay Rays-simply because there is no better.  And Levis because they are a great quality at a great price and the fit is the best.  That is our families opinion…or mostly mine :) since I am the shopper and the buyer!… (click here to keep reading)

 May 10, 2012  Posted by at 9:44 AM No Responses »
May 032012
 

During the first week in May most stores run huge sales on their Mexican Products in celebration for Cinco de Mayo.

  • Salsa
  • Guacamole
  • Taco Shells and Tortillas
  • Roma Tomatoes
  • Avocados
  • Taco Seasonings & Sauces
  • Cilantro

As the weather warms and the Summer season gets closer we see better and better sales on items such as:

  • Allergy Meds
  • Sunscreen–we use about 1 spray bottle a month and about 1 bottle of lotion for the face for the 4 month period
  • Personal Bug Spray
  • Anti-itch products for bug bites and poison ivy.
  • Bug Spray
  • Gardening Supplies
  • Lawn Care Supplies
  1. Weed and feed
  2. Fertilizer
  3. Mulch
  4. Weed Killer
  • Camping Supplies
  • BBQ/ Picnic/ Outdoor Eating Supplies
  1. Ketchup
  2. BBQ Sauce
  3. Paper Plates
  4. Plastic Utensils
  5. Charcoal
  6. Paper Napkins
  7. Hotdogs
  8. Brats and other Sausages
  9. Ground Beef and Steaks
  10. Cheese Slices
  11. Soda
  12. Beer
  13. Wine Cooler Type Drinks
  14. Chips
  15. Sports Drinks
  16. Kool-aid, Crystal Light, MiO and the like

The Grilling Deals will get especially good the week before Memorial Day so be prepared for that. 

Mother's Day Cards for Next Year-The Week After Mother's Day!

 

My Stock Up Calculator: Figure out how much you will need for your family here.

To See My Lists of Stock Up Prices Click Here.(click here to keep reading)

 May 3, 2012  Posted by at 11:25 AM No Responses »
Apr 282012
 

A Great Weekend to restock the snacks and breakfast portion of my stockpile.

I hit 3 stores today.  Did 2 transactions at Kmart…one was just 2 hair colors…there was a limit of 2 so I had to do 2 back to back transactions to get the 4 haircolors.  Piggly Wiggly I did 2 individual transactions.  Pick N Save I did 4 transactions- 2-back to backs.  I left at 11am and I was back a few minutes after 2.  So three hours including my 24 minute drive!  I think that was pretty good.  Of course I dropped the kids off by Nana and that sped things up greatly :)   So you can find time to save money.

My families grocery budget is $250 a month…so after $78 today and $48 the other day on a meat stock up…it still leaves us plenty of room for the fresh produce, milk, and other meal fillers (which are already in the freezer and stock pile). Plus the $80 includes Sunscreen, TP and Hair Color that is not normally included in the grocery budget.

Kmart

Total: $31.55 but used $15 in Gift Cards that I got free from swagbucks with almost no effort.

So only $16.55 OOP for 4 Hair Colors, 4-12pk double roll toilet paper, 7- Gatorage G2 (on clearance for $.45!!!), 8 pk 100 Grand Candy bars (free with $25 purchase), and a 72 ct Pampers Wipes! 

Pick N Save

What did I get…

6 boxes of General Mills Cereal

2 boxes of Quaker Cereal (one not shown…gave one to my uncle b/c Cap'n Crunch is his favorite…always a kid at heart)

2 Containers of Cottage Cheese (kind of hidden behind cereal)

1 caramel sauce & 1 Hersheys Sauce

3 Refrigerated Jello Packs

2 Quaker Stilas

9 Roundy's Yogurts

3 Fresh Takes (goes great with the pork I got earlier this week at Econo!)

3 Milk Bites

4 Quaker Soft Bars

2 Tyson Anytizers

3 Banana Boat Spray Sunscreens

1 Schick Hydro Shaving Cream

1 Gallon of Whole Milk (not shown…in fridge already)

1 Edy's Tiny personal Ice Cream (free coupon printed during on of my transactions)

1Philadelphia Cooking Cream

2 Blue Bunny Sweet Freedom Ice Creams and 1 Blue Bunny Sweet Freedom Cones ( I was selected to host a party for Blue Bunny to try out their new product…they sent me 6 coupons for free products…didn't like the selection at PnS so I saved the other 3 coupons for later.  Sign Up and maybe you will get selected to host a party, not just Blue Bunny, new products mostly

Total OOP=.$32.60

Total Retail Value Of: $158.23 so I paid about 20% of retail.… (click here to keep reading)

 April 28, 2012  Posted by at 8:13 PM No Responses »
Apr 262012
 

As many of you should know by now, I buy my beef bulk and when I say bulk I mean as in a half a beefer.  It comes packaged in your preferred sizes and portions.  But because we do not eat pork and chicken nearly as often I buy pork & chicken bulk from the grocery store.  This week Econo had great prices on many of our families favorite pork cuts–Farmland if my favorite.  Many stores offer cheaper meat when bought in a family sized package.  The problem with buying bulk meat is that it isn't portioned to your families needs.  This is how I portion it and freeze it, making it easy to make more for extra guests or less when a member will not be joining you for the meal.

  1. First cut roasts into your family portion size or cut them into pork chops. (Roasts are often cheaper by the pound than the same thing sliced.  Save yourself $.10/lb this week by buying the pork sirloin roast for $1.89/lb and cutting it into pork chops instead of buying the pre-cut pork chops for $1.99/lb!)
  2. Place the cuts onto cookie sheets leaving space between each cut of meat, making them individually frozen.
  3. (click here to keep reading)

 April 26, 2012  Posted by at 7:17 PM No Responses »
Mar 272012
 


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 March 27, 2012  Posted by at 7:23 PM No Responses »
Mar 202012
 

I get questioned about my $200-$250 a month grocery budget often.  Most people are skeptical.  Can you really feed a family of five on an average of $7-$8.50 a day? Sure can.  Some days are $10 but some are $6…it all averages out.  Our Supper tonight is a perfect example.   We are having grilled Smoked Sausage, Italian Pasta Salad, and for dessert–Blue Bunny Ice Cream.  Doesn’t sound like we are skimping to you does it? 

Here is the break down:

1 Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage-$1.25
3/4 box Barilla Whole Wheat Noodles- Free
1/3 bottle Kraft Italian Dressing- Free
Sliced Black Olives and Green Olives- probably about $.40 worth
Package of Athenos Feta Cheese- $.50
½ container of Blue Bunny Ice Cream-$.50
2 qt Grape Sugar Free Kool-Aid-Free

Oh yeh…the baby will be having Beech Nut Garden Vegetables–yes they were free as well.

So the whole meal is costing us $2.65!  Well below our budget for supper meals. That means we can have a bit of a splurge another night!  Plus there is enough pasta salad for lunch for me tomorrow.

If you don’t think these prices can be done check this week’s Copps Coupon Match Ups–the Barilla Pasta is Free again this week and the Blue Bunny Ice Cream is $.99 –making ½ only $.50!… (click here to keep reading)

 March 20, 2012  Posted by at 5:43 PM No Responses »