Sunday, October 12, 2008

Grocery Roundup Report: October 12th

This trip wasn't as stellar as some others I've had, but it's still pretty good. In all fairness, the store wasn't running any huge promotion, so I didn't have the chance to earn or use any big-time store register coupons. Still, my favorite thing for the week was the Manager's special on Smithfield sausages: they were on sale for $.99, and several of them had save-now coupons on them for $.50 each, meaning each package was only $.49! I hadn't been planning on getting that brand, but who can turn down a deal like that?! I'm sure they're Just Fine.

In summary:

-Number of coupons used: 32 (I think that's a record! The girlie at the register actually asked me if they were really all for this one trip!)
- Amount saved with coupons: $27.45
- Bonus coupons: $8.25
- Club (store sale) savings: $53.99 (there were several BOGO sales this week)
-Total savings: $89.69 (21% off)
-Total items bought: 139
-Total spent: $340.15
-Gas Points Earned: 160 (=$1.60 off each gallon of gas the next time I go)

I also have 378 grocery points: once I reach 800 I get another 20%-off-my-entire-trip coupon. I should finish earning those by mid-November, so the next really big trip for me will be just before Thanksgiving (which I'm pretty sure we're not having at our house this year).

I have definitely noticed prices going up. Granted, since I shop in two-week increments, this is really $170/week, but I *used* to buy a lot more organic items than I do now. I have recently limited my organic purchases to grape tomatoes (because they're easily available and not too much more expensive, and Patrick eats them like candy), milk and eggs, and this week I'm trying Stonyfield Farms yogurt (which is surprisingly tasty, I have to say), and our bill is *still* higher than it used to be. This is in addition to shopping at a less expensive store than I used to before the Weis opened nearby. I also didn't need any detergents or household cleaners this trip, or any puppy chow, or the bill would have been higher. I tried a new thing this time, and bought a bag of pre-frozen chicken breasts (I think they're Perdue), because it seemed less expensive, but when I went to use them tonight, they were veiny, so we lost a lot of the meat to trimming. Oh, well.

The other thing I did this week to help was I made out our two-week meal plan *before* I went shopping. Usually I do this after I've gone, and just get whatever is on sale and try to make meals out of it. This has worked with only varying success. I think this will work better. Also, I went through the flier with my coupon binder (which worked out very, very well on it's inaugural voyage, BTW; I spent significantly less time searching for tiny papers, and had handy pockets to put the used coupons in for the rest of the trip, to boot) before I went to the store to determine what I was going to get. I think this trip did take less time, too.

Several of you have said recently that you're going to give couponing a try. Anybody had any luck? Here's a starter for you: I saw in the CVS flier today that they're having bagged candy on sale for 2/$3.50, and there have been all kinds of candy coupons in the papers lately. It would be pretty easy to get each bag for less than $1. :)

8 comments:

creative kerfuffle said...

too cool that patrick eats toms like candy! i wish my kids would do that!

d e v a n said...

Good job! you've inspired me to cut coupons once we get home and I can go shopping without the kidlets and hubby again.

Not Your Aunt B said...

I have been cutting coupons since reading your post, but for me, the in-store buy-this-get-these-free promotions are where I save money. I usually spend $100/week with $7-10 in coupons/in-store savings. I *wish* we had bonus coupons, but they don't do that here. Even my husband is impressed.

We also don't get discounts on gas or points for using coupons. At Walmart you get better prices on gas if you pay with a Walmart CC or GC. It stinks. $1.60 off each gallon of gas is GOLDEN!

One day I will work up to a binder. For now it is just an envelope.

Cherish said...

Good for you! I spend significantly less on my groceries but I know that I could be doing a more efficient job if I were to incorporate some of your methods. I dont usually see any coupons so Im not sure if that would help me much. Ive also had the same four $1 off coupons in my wallet for yogurt for months. I always forget to use them.

Lately Ive been looking more into OAMC (once a month cooking) but on a smaller scale. Two weeks ago lean ground beef was 1.88/lb so I bought like 10 lbs and froze most of it. But I did make four meat loaves which only took me about an hour, even with all the kids running around. So then for about $10 total (including all of the other ingredients) I had four meals in the freezer that would also provide for left overs. I think if I can manage to buy up meats when they are on sale and learn to cook them and freeze them properly, it could mean a considerable savings in the long run. Do you do anything like that?

Anonymous said...

I actually thought of you today as I grocery shopped/couponed. I saved $38.21 and spent $226.

I don't suppose you'd be willing to give us a picture of your coupon binder? I was sorting through mine today and I am woefully unhappy with the accordian file type one that I have.

LoriD said...

I envy all your coupons. I get giddy when I'm able to more than one in a shopping trip! We don't get gas savings or BOGO deals either. *pout*

Astarte said...

Cherish - Yeah, I think about that cooking ahead thing. It sounds like such a good idea!!!!! Now that the kids are in school I would even have more time for that, but our fridge that we inherited in this house is TINY, like 18cu ft, and we don't have a chest freezer. We definitely need to get one of those, because it limits how much frozen stuff I can get on sale, too, or if I buy a little roaster, I have to cook it right away because it won't fit.

Shelly - $38 is great!!! You can see a picture of my binder here (I can't figure out how to link in the comment section, so you'll have to paste it in, sorry)!

http://themuddledsage.blogspot.com/2008/09/really-its-not-hard.html

Erin said...

I love your grocery reports. I am mediocre at coupon cutting. But we have a grocery store here that has $10 off day, when you get $10 off your purchase of $50 or more. Between me & my husband, we try to go three times in one day, and save at least $30. I split the list up as much as I can into $50 dry goods that can sit in my car all day while I'm at work, $50 that I can get on the way home, and $50 that my husband can get on his way home. It's a pain that day, but totally worth it.