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!

Couponing: September, Week 3

This weeks theme was buy more and pay less.  A lot of the deals this week were based on buying 2 of a particular item to get maximum savings.

Meal Plan:
Monday: Dinner with a friend, so going out to eat
Tuesday: Salmon with artichokes
Wednesday: Spaghetti with meat sauce, salad and bread
Thursday: A twist on margarita pizza: Tomato, pesto and goat cheese, with salad

Freezer Meal:  Instead of a meal or a meat this week, I decided to stock up on some frozen veggies because what good is all that meat if there is no side dish? :) And there was a good deal on frozen vegetables this week.

The Deals:

Pop Secret Popcorn, 2 boxes: Original Price = $5.98 for 2
On Sale: -.98
E-coupon: -$2.02
Manuf. coupon: -.50
Doubled: -.50
Total Cost: $1.98 for two or .99 ea , Total Savings: $4

Prego Pasta Sauce, 2 jars: Original Price = $4.58 for 2
On Sale: -.80
E-coupon: -$1.20
Manuf. Coupon: -.50
Doubled: -.50
Total Cost: $1.58 for two or .79 ea, Total Savings: $3

Open Nature Cereal: Original Price = $3.49
On Sale: -.70
Catalina coupon: -$1.50
Total Cost: $1.29, Total Savings: $2.20

Lean Cuisines: Original Price = $3.19 ea (we bought 3, but only had a coupon for 2)
E-coupon: -$1.24
Total Price: $1.95 ea or $3.90 for two, Total Savings: $1.24 or $2.48 for two

Green Giant Frozen Vegetables with Sauce: Original Price = $6.58 for 2
On Sale for BOGO
Manuf. Coupon: -.50
Doubled: -.50
Total Cost: $2.29 for 2 or $1.14 ea, Total Savings: $4.29

Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom Cleaner: Original Price = $7.98 for 2, $3.99 ea
On Sale for BOGO
E-coupon: -$2.00
Manuf. Coupon (clipped out of the Food Network Mag.): -$2.00
Total Cost: FREE!!!! TWO bottles for FREE!, Total Savings: $8

Raspberries: Original Price = $9.98 for 2
On Sale for BOGO
Total Cost: $4.99, Total Savings: $4.99

Total Cost Before Coupons: $100.40
Total Amount of Coupons: $14.95
Loyalty Card Savings: $22.26
Total Savings: $37.21

Total Cost: $63.19
Total Savings: 38%

Couponing: September, Week 2

Ok here it is!

Meal Plan:
Monday: Breakfast for dinner - sausage, eggs and cinnamon rolls
Tuesday: Met Evan and his sister downtown to see a show, so we ate at a restaurant called Lou's Food Bar
Wednesday: Gouda and apple melts with fresh broccoli on the side
Thursday: Baked chicken with potato wedges and steamed mixed veggies

So, only 3 meals this week with no freezer meal.

The Deals:

Kellogs Cereal, 2 Boxes: Original Price = $7.98 for 2
On sale: -$1.40
Manuf. coupon: $1 off of 2
Total Cost: $5.58 for 2, Total Savings: $2.40

Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls, 2 tubes: Original Price = $4.98 for 2
E-coupon: -$1
Manuf. coupon: -.50
Doubled: -.50
Total Cost: $2.98 (or $1.49 ea), Total Savings: $2

ACT Mouthwash: Original Price = $4.99
On sale: -$1
Manuf. coupon: -$1
Total cost: $2.99, Total Savings: $2

Garnier Fructis Conditioner: Original Price = $3.49
On sale: -.50
E-coupon: -$2
Manuf. coupon: -$1
Total Cost: FREE!! Total savings: $3.49

Oscar Meyer Carving Board Ham: Original Price = $4.99
On sale: -$1.99
Manuf. coupon: -$1
Total Cost: $2, Total Savings: $2.99

Jimmy Dean Sausage: Original Price = $5.49
On sale: -$2.50
Manuf. coupon: -$1
Total cost: $1.99, Total Savings: $3.50

Total Cost Before Coupons: $69.39

Total amount of coupons: $10.52
Loyalty Card Savings: $13.88
Total Savings: $24.40

Total Cost: $44.99

Total Savings: 36%

Couponing: September, Week 1

Alrighty, here we go again....Ground beef was on sale at Safeway for buy one get one free extreme value packs.  So I got 8 lbs of ground beef, more details on that deal below. This will yield me 2 meals this week, 2 freezer meals and then some extra left over to freeze.

Meal Plan
Monday: Sloppy joes with cucumber salad (cucumbers provided by my brother's garden!)
Tuesday: Cod with balsalmic vinegar reduction sauce with asparagus
Wednesday: Meatloaf with corn on the cob and potatoes
Thursday: Sausage of some sort with potatoes and cabbage

Freezer Meals
Chili - at least 2 large containers to freeze
Extra ground beef to freeze, at least 1 lb.
Second rope of Hilshire Farm Sausage

Now on to the deals...cue the music:

Soda: (yeah yeah, I know, we should cut back. shut up.) Five 12 packs. Original Price = $30
It was on sale for Buy 2 Get 3 free, so that's why we got 5. :)
Total Cost: $12, Total Savings = $18

Cheerios: Original Price = $3.79
On Sale: $2.50
E-coupon: -.50
Total Cost: $2.00, Total Savings: $1.79

Reynolds Wrap Foil, 75 ft.: Original Price = $5.19
On Sale: $3.49
E-coupon: -.50
Manuf. coupon: -.55
Doubled: -.45
Total Cost: $1.99, Total Savings: $3.20

Lean Cuisines: Original Price = $2.49 ea or 6 for $14.94
On sale for $1.99 ea if you bought 5
We purchased 6 because I had a coupon for -$1.25 off of 6
Total Cost: $10.69 or $1.78 ea. Total Savings: $4.25


Land O'Lakes Spreadable Butter, 8oz.: Original Price = $2.79
E-coupon: -$1.30
Manuf. coupon: -.35
Doubled: -.35
Total Cost: .79, Total Savings: $2.00

Colgate Toothpaste: Original Price = $2.99
On sale: .99
Manuf. coupon: -.50
Doubled: -.49
Total Cost: FREE!, Savings of $2.99

Hilshire Farm Rope Sausages: Original Price = 2 at 4.99 ea, or $9.98
On sale for BOGO
Manuf. Coupon: -.75
Doubled: -.25
Total Cost: $3.99 for 2, Total Savings: $5.99


93% Lean Ground Beef, roughly 8lbs: Original Price = $44.74
On sale for BOGO
Total Cost: $22.51, Savings of $22.23

Produce: Apples, lemon, onion, asparagus, corn, dill, mushrooms, dried cranberries
Original Price = $12.88
Catalina coupon = $3 off a $10 produce purchase
Total Cost: $9.88

Then I got a whole bunch of canned vegetables for the chili, milk, and kleenex and that's pretty much it.

Total Cost Before Coupons: $160.74
Total amount of coupons: $7.24
Loyalty Card Savings: $63.57
Total Savings: $70.81

Total Cost: $89.93

Total Savings: 45%

So yes, this week was a bit more expensive than what I would like.  However, with taking advantage of my store's BOGO sales, I was able to get a ton of stuff for the freezer.  So this week's $90 will make 4 meals this week and 4 meals for the freezer - so essentially 2 weeks worth of meals in one.  I can live with that. :)

Grocery Spending: August Round-Up

So, here we are at the end of August. Oy! This past Sunday was my 3rd week of couponing to help reduce our monthly grocery budget.  Since it was the last week in the month, I had planned for this week to be the "freezer week."  Meaning, mainly eating meals that I had froze earlier in the month, or using ingredients (mostly meats) that were previously froze.  I did want to get one fresh meal this week, so this is our meal plan:

Monday: Shrimp rolls (think Lobster Rolls, but with shrimp) with chips - Fresh
Tuesday: Spaghetti with meat sauce (meat was frozen, sauce and noodles from pantry), garlic bread (bought, frozen) and salad (fresh)
Wednesday: Chicken enchiladas. Chicken is coming from the freezer, just had to buy some sauce, cheese and tortillas.  This will yield one batch for dinner and another for a future freezer meal
Thursday: South of the Border Quiche (freezer) with salad (fresh).

For this week's shopping trip I had a whole stack of coupons ready to use, but it turned out that the generic brand prices beat my coupon prices so I think I only used 1 coupon this week.  Since so many of the meals were already in the freezer, this was a very light week - as was the plan. 

This week's deals:

Safeway Brand Mexican Cheese: Original Price = $2.99
E-coupon: -$1
Total Cost: $1.99, Savings of $1


Mama Bella Brand Frozen Garlic Bread (2 loaves): Original Price = $4.29
On sale for: $2.99
Manuf. coupon: -.50
Doubled: -.50
Total Cost: $1.99, Savings of $2.30

Shrimp: Original Price = $5.06
On sale for: $3.22
Savings of $1.84

Told ya there was nothing exciting this week...


Total Cost Before Coupons: $54.41
Total amount of coupons and e-coupons: $2.00 (ha!)
Loyalty card savings: $13.70
Total Savings: $15.70


Total Cost: $38.71

Total Savings: 30%

AUGUST TOTALS:

Week 1 (hadn't started couponing yet) = $85.34
Week 2 (couponing begins!) = $64.21
Week 3 = $56.08
Incidental (Tide was on sale Friday only for $5, I had a $1 off coupon, so I made a special trip) = $4.00
Week 4 = $38.71

GRAND TOTAL FOR AUGUST: $248.34

Compared to July ($430.84): Reduced our grocery spending by $182.50!!
42% Reduction thanks to couponing and freezer meals!

Let's hope September brings some great deals and we can keep this up. And for fun, here is a picture of what it looks like when I plan for the week.  Surrounded by grocery ads, my coupon stack, my grocery list, a cookbook and my computer to look up e-coupons. Takes about 2 hours to complete my list.

Week 2 of Couponing

Alrighty, so week 2 wasn't as good as the previous week, but still a good amount of savings nonetheless.  One thing I forgot about last week was to give you my meal plans so you can see what we're eating compared to what it cost.  So this bill was for the week that just past, and here is the meal plan:

Monday: Homemade (well, mostly) pepperoni and mushroom pizza
Tuesday: Steak (cheap ones!) with fried zucchini and oven fries
Wednesday: Hot dogs with tomato and cucumber salad
Thursday: Typically, I would make a 4th meal here, but we had a dress rehearsal and just had to pick something up on the way.

Freezer Meal: South of the Border Quiche with mainly left over ingredients from the previous week.

Note: I was given the largest zucchini known to man by a coworker that we ate some of on Tuesday and the rest is now transformed into 3 (!!) zucchini breads which are in the oven as I type this.

Ok, on to the deals!


Orbit Gum: One pack was on sale for .69 and another was 1.39 = 2.08
Manuf. Coupon: -.50 off of 2 packs
Doubled: -.50
Total Cost: $1.08, Savings of $1.00

Wishbone Dressing: Original Price =  $3.39 each, $6.78 for 2
Sale: Buy one get one free
E-Coupon: -$2.00 when you buy 2
Manuf. Coupon: -.50
Doubled: -.50
Total Cost: $.39, or just .19 each! Savings of $6.39!

Pillsbury Pizza Refrigerated Pizza Crust: Original Price = $3.29
E-coupon: -$1.30
Manuf. Coupon: -.40
Doubled: -.40
Total Cost: $1.19, Savings of $2.10

Precious Brand String Cheese Sticks Pack of 16: Original Price = 5.99
E-coupons: -$3.00
Total Price: $2.99, Savings of $3.00

5lb Bag of Russet Potatoes: Original Price = $2.99
Safeway Mailer Coupon: .49 ea!
Total Cost: .49, Savings of $2.50!

Safeway Brand Wheat Bread: Original Price = $1.79
Coupon: -$1.00
Total Cost: .79, Savings of $1.00

Safeway Brand Hot Dog Buns: Original Price = 1.49
Coupon: -$1.00 (this was the same coupon as above for $1 off any safeway bread. 1 coupon that applied to multiple items)
Total Cost: .49, Savings of  $1.00

Athenos Feta: Original Price = $4.49
E-coupon: -$1
Total Cost: $3.49, Savings of $1.00

I also had a coupon on some cereal this week, but it was nothing spectacular.  Then I also had another $10 off Safeway mailer coupon which are always awesome.  Then we got the usual stuff: milk, stuff for lunches, fruit, some toiletries, etc. Here's what it boiled down to:


Total Cost Before Coupons: $93.68
Total amount of coupons and e-coupons: $26.40
Loyalty Card Savings: $11.20
Total Savings: $37.60

TOTAL COST: $56.08
TOTAL SAVINGS: 42%

Not So Extreme Couponing

Recently, I have been examining our budgets and spending, and realized that we spend a butt-ton of money on groceries.  For instance, in July, we spent $430 at the grocery store! We are only 2 people and I only cook 4 meals a week, what the heck is going on?  Now, this does also include toiletries and household items, so it's not just food, but it still seems like a lot.  I meal plan every week, almost always buy generic and rarely buy things that aren't on sale, but still can't seem to save enough money.

So I decided to try to make some changes.  I checked out a few books at the library that included topics like: Freezer meals, $5 dollar dinner ideas, strategic grocery shopping and 600 ways to reduce your grocery budget.  For the most part, all of the "tips" were either things I already did or were aware of, so nothing groundbreaking.  However, it did motivate me to try harder. My plan for the next few months will be this:

• Try to make one freezer meal a week or freeze an extra package of meat, etc. (by doing this, I am hoping that 1 week per month we can simply eat out of the freezer and only buy a few fresh things at the store)
• Try harder to match coupons with weekly sales
• Strive to use ingredients in more than one meal a week (if one meal uses cilantro, try to use that cilantro on at least one other meal to reduce waste and avoid buying more ingredients)
• Seek out different stores (Walgreens and Target) for toiletries and such because they tend to be cheaper than at our grocery store.

So this past weekend was my first shot at my new plan.  Some things to note: I had a BOGO coupon for some meat that my grocery store didn't carry (ANNOYING!), so I wasn't able to put something in the freezer this week.  Other than that, I had $5 dinner recipe on my list and was manned with some special store coupons from a Safeway mailer. Here are the highlights from my grocery bill:

Honey Nut Cheerios (big box): Original Price: 4.79 
-On sale for: 3.33.
-E-coupon my store loyalty card (will be referenced as "J4U" (just for you) from here forth) -.34
-Manufacturer coupon: -.75, "doubled" up to a dollar, so an additional -.25
Total Cost: $1.99, Savings of $2.80

Crunchy Nut Cereal: Original Price: 3.99
-Manu. coupon -.75, doubled for an additional -.25
Total Cost: 2.99 (ok, that wasn't that cool), Savings of $1.00


Soda: Coke was Buy 2, Get 2 free - and yes, we drink that much soda
Original Price for 4 = $24
Total Price: $12, Savings of $12

Freezer Sale: Buy $15 worth of frozen items and get $5 off
So we got 4 Lean Cuisines for lunches at $10
We got some 2 personal pizzas, again for lunches, $3
So, you're thinking, you didn't spend the $15. True, but we also bought ice cream (see below) that qualified us for the deal.  So, we really got all this for only $8. 

Breyers Ice Cream: Original Price = $5.99
On Sale for $2.99
E-coupon for $3 Off
Total Price: FREE! Woohoo!

Store Mailer Coupon: Every month or so, Safeway mails out these coupons that feature 1 item for 3 different meals.  This month it was bacon, so there were coupons for breakfast items, BLT items and loaded baked potato items.  Well, I'm only making the breakfast meal, but I can use some of the same ingredients of the other meals:

Safeway Eggs, 1 dozen: $1.24 with a -.75 coupon
Safeway Shredded Cheese: $.99 with a -1.50 coupon
Safeway Orange Juice: $1.50 with a -.50 coupon
Safeway Sour Cream, 16oz: $.88 with -.67 (??) coupon

Blueberries: BOGO
2 pints of blueberries, original price: $10
Total cost: $5, savings of $5

Catalina (printed at register) coupon from a previous shopping trip: $10 OFF

Then we got a bunch of other stuff, mostly produce, canned goods and some toiletries, but the above were the best savings.  Here's the grand total:

Total Cost Before Coupons: $116.34
Total amount of Coupons and E-coupons: $24.76
Loyalty Card Savings: $27.37
Total Savings: $52.13

TOTAL COST: $64.21

TOTAL SAVINGS: 46%

Certainly not the crazy 96% savings you see on Extreme Couponing, but this is a personal best for me! Almost half off my grocery bill is pretty dang good! Assuming I can keep this up for a month, I can reduce my monthly grocery bill by $200 a month.  Let's see if I can actually do it...stay posted!