Couponing: September Round-Up

Here we are, at the end of September already! Good grief! Well, this week was my last shopping trip for September and it is freezer week again.  I usually shop at Safeway, but earlier this month I got an amazing coupon book from Target that I couldn't ignore.  The book included about 20 coupons that were all general in nature - $1 off a meat product, $1 off a fruit purchase, $1 off a frozen item, etc. These are so rare because typically coupons are brand specific.  Since these were so general, I was able to match them with manufacturer coupons or buy the cheaper generic brands and save even more.

Meal Plan
Monday: Baked chicken with onion, garlic and tomatoes, served with mashed potatoes (this is the 1 fresh meal this week, however, I got enough to make a 2nd meal for the freezer)
Tuesday: Lasagna (frozen) with salad (fresh)
Wednesday: Chicken schnitzels (frozen) with frozen veggies
Thursday: Meatball sandwiches (meat: frozen, bread: fresh) with cole slaw (fresh)

Deals

Since Target doesn't have a loyalty card and they don't layout their receipts the same way Safeway does, I'm going to be more general with my savings descriptions.

Bagged Salad: $1 off, total cost = $1.50
Grape Tomatoes: $1 off, total cost = $1.99
Chicken Leg Quarters, about 6 pieces: $2 off, total cost = $2.99
Pasta: $.50 off, total cost = $.57
Barilla Pasta sauce: $1.00 off manuf. coupon, total cost =$1.44
Hoagies from the bakery: $1 off, total cost = $1.69
Cheerios: $1 off, total cost  =$2.04 for the big box
Bananas: $1 off, total cost = $.57
DiGiorno Pizza: $1 off frozen item, $1 off manuf. coupon, total cost =$3.29

Then there was a bunch more produce, a few lean cuisines for lunches, pop, and a few other small things.

Total Cost Before Coupons: $74.12
Total amount of coupons: $16.90

Total Cost: $57.22

Total Savings: 23%

September Totals:

Week 1: $89.93
Week 2: $44.99
Week 3: $63.19
Week 4: $57.22
Incidentals: $14.51 (I had to make some cupcakes for a bake-sale, so this was an extra shopping trip)

GRAND TOTAL FOR SEPTEMBER: $269.84

TOTAL AMOUNT OF SAVINGS: $149.32

TOTAL SAVINGS PERCENTAGE: 35.6% with coupons

Hooray! October here I come!