You are here: Home / Archives for $40 weekly grocery budget

Thrifty Thursday: What I’m willing to pay for things

January 14, 2010 by

I have gotten several requests from people asking what good “stock up” prices are for items I buy. Please keep in mind that I have been doing this for awhile and so I already have a pretty good stockpile of things and can wait for the next time these items go on sale. In other cases, my family goes through some things pretty quickly (my husband loves crackers and granola bars), and I don’t have space to stockpile as much as I’d like of these items, so I have a “stock up” price, but I also have what I’m willing to pay when these items are not at “stock up” prices. I also have grocery stores that will double and triple coupons which helps A LOT!

As you are starting out, you will probably have to invest a little more money at first, but once you get your stockpile going, you should be able to get things at these prices, too!

I hope that you will find this helpful! In most cases, these are for “name brand” items. If I missed an item, please feel free to leave a comment or send me an e-mail and I’ll add it to the list!

After reading comments and e-mails, I wanted to add a few more disclaimers:

*These are not “standard” prices in my area. Items go on sale for these prices every 3-6 months (depending on the item). I stock up at these times and make them last until the next big sale.

*Also, even if your area does not double and triple coupons, don’t be discouraged. I have been able to get many of these items at Target by using store and manufacturer’s coupons (cake mixes, canned vegetables, canned fruits, granola bars, cookies, crackers, pasta sauce, and peanut butter).

BABY CARE:

*Baby shampoo/conditioner ~ free to $1 (we use Johnsons and I try to get this only when there are deals where it is free or close to free)

*Diapers – I try not to pay more than $5-6 for a jumbo pack of diapers and/or Pull-Ups using coupons/RRs/ECBs. But, I usually try to buy them when there is a “deal” so I pay even less. I have a big stockpile of diapers (13 jumbo packs of diapers and 13 packs of Pull Ups currently), so I only buy them when they are at really good prices

*Infant/children’s Tylenol – free to $1-$2 per bottle (I was able to snag two bottles for free at Walgreens a free a few weeks ago, so that is always the idea, but not always possible!)

*Wipes – I stockpile wipes, too. I got such a good deal on Huggies wipes in December of 2007 that they have lasted me until this point. There was a good deal at Target a few months ago where I was able to snag them between .50 and .80 per tub, so I’m stocked up again for awhile!

GROCERY: (I’m not including produce prices because that varies a lot by location and by “season”…I just buy what is on sale and in season typically)

Baking

*Brownie mixes – free to $.20/box

*Cake mixes – free to $.50/box (I have been able to get cake mixes for free several times using coupons and sale prices)

*Chocolate chips – no more than $1 per bag (this is for Nestle brand)

Canned Goods

*Canned fruits – $.50-.75/can

*Canned vegetables – $.25-.40/can

*Chef Boyardee – no more than $.65/can

*Soups – $.70/can for “cooking” soups (cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, etc. because I use the 98% fat free and it’s hard to find “deals” on that…you can get the regular for a lot less) and $.50-.75/can for soups like Progresso or Campbell’s Chunky/Select

Convenience foods (cookies/crackers/chips/granola bars/fruit snacks/etc.)

*Cookies – $.50/package (this is typically for the Keebler line)

*Crackers – $.50-$1 per box (this is for Sunshine, Keebler, or Nabisco)

*Fruit snacks – $.35-.50 per box (this is for Betty Crocker or Kellogg’s)

*Granola bars – $.35-.50 per box for Nature Valley and $.50-$1 per box for Quaker (the Quaker ones are my husband’s favorites and it’s not as easy to find “deals” on them)

*Juice – $.50-.75/bottle (this is for Juicy Juice or Mott’s apple juice)

*Pasta – preferably free, but no more than $.50 per package – Barilla comes out with $.50/1 coupons which double at my grocery store, so when there are 10/$10 sales, I can usually get this for free and I stock up!

*Pasta sauce (jarred or bagged) – no more than $.70/jar (this is for Ragu, Prego, or Barilla)

*Peanut butter – no more than $.75/jar

*Pop Tarts – $.50/box for 8 ct and $1/box for 12 ct

Dairy

*Cheese – $.49-$.99/package (when Kroger has their Mega sales, I can usually get the bags for $.49/each using coupons and the expiration dates are usually several months out, so I stock up and wait for the next sale)

*Cream cheese – $.99/package (this is for Philadelphia)

*Eggs – no more than $.99/dozen (I don’t stockpile these, though I have heard of people freezing them…)

*Sour cream – free to $.99 (when Kroger has their Mega sales, I can usually get Daisy sour cream for free or close to free using coupons and even when there are not Mega sales going on, I can usually get it for a decent price using a coupon that doubles or triples – the Daisy sour cream coupons don’t seem to ever come out in the inserts in my area, so I have to buy them other places and when I stock up, I look for expiration dates that are about 3 months out so I will be set until the next sale…this DOES NOT freeze well!)

*Yogurt – $.25-$.35 per cup (this is for Yoplait)

Meat (There are LOTS of ideas for stockpiling meat on a budget in this post here)

Beef:

Beef roasts – $.99/lb (yes, you can really get it for that cheap on sale – I’ve got several roasts in my freezer right now to prove it)

Beef round steak – $.99/lb

Ground beef – we ONLY use the 93/7 lean beef, so $1.99/lb is a “stock up” price on this for me

Chicken:
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts – $.99-$1.69/lb (it’s hard to find it for $.99/lb these days although it does happen every now and then…so, I consider $1.69 to be my “stock up” price when I’m getting low) – I know that “bone in” chicken or whole chickens are much cheaper but this is much more convenient for me, so I’m willing to pay more

Split chicken breasts (these typically have the bone) – no more than $.99/lb

Pork:
Pork chops (again I buy boneless) – $1.39/lb

Pork spare ribs – $.77/lb

Pork roasts – $.99/lb

Turkey:
Ground turkey – $1.99/lb (again we buy the 93/7)

HEALTH & BEAUTY ITEMS: (if you have a Walgreens or CVS, you should be able to get most of these items for free or close to free)

*Band Aids – free (there are so many coupons and RR/ECB deals for these that you should never pay for them!)

*Body wash – free (whenever a new body wash comes out, it seems like there is a way to get it free with coupons/ECBs/RRs and I stock up – we’re not brand specific at all on this stuff)

*Contact solution – free (in about August, CVS/Walgreens both tend to offer deals on contact solution so you can get it for free after RRs/ECBs. I stock up at this time and I have more than a year’s supply stockpiled right now)

*Deodorant – free (my husband and I each have a specific brand that we use, and I have at least a year’s supply stockpiled for each of us and only get it when I can get it for free or close to free using ECBs or RRs)

*Feminine Hygiene products – free (from my experience, the best time to stock up on these is during the summer months and then during January)

*Over the Counter cold, cough, and flu meds (Theraflu/Triaminic/Tylenol/etc.) – free (for two years now, I’ve managed to get a HUGE stockpile of this stuff for free)

*Pain relievers – free (we’ve got Advil, Excedrin, and Tylenol ~ we use Excedrin the most, but our stockpile of that is dwindling, so I’m hoping for a good deal soon so we can stock up again!)

*Razors – free (my husband uses Gillette razors and I use Schick razors and I can’t remember the last time I’ve spent real money to actually buy either one…the “catch” is that you sometimes have to use a new razor rather than buying refills – the Gillette cartridges seem to go on sale at CVS in December and I stock up them, but sometimes we can’t make it through the whole year on that)

*Shampoo/conditioner/stylers – free (I’m not really “brand specific” when it comes to shampoo although I am currently in love with the Infusium 23 that I got at Walgreens recently – we have at least a year’s supply stockpiled for our family and I only get this when I can get it for free or close to free using ECBs and RRs)

*Shave gel – preferably free but up to .50 (I really don’t like paying for shave gel, but there aren’t really good “deals” on it as often as I’d like, either. So, if we’re getting low, I try not to pay more than .50 per can using coupons or ECBs/RRs and sale prices)

*Toothpaste – free (even if you’re just starting out, if you’re not brand specific, you should be able to easily get a stockpile of toothpaste for free or close to free pretty quickly because it’s on sale almost every week at either Walgreens or CVS)

*Vitamins – this varies, but I typically like to buy them during BOGO free sales when I can use coupons on top of the sale – I was able to stock up for this year at the Nature’s Bounty BOGO free sale at CVS a few week’s ago and got all of our vitamins for free! (with the exception of “kid” vitamins which are much harder to find deals on)

HOUSEHOLD SUPPLIES: (Here’s a tip ~ There aren’t a lot of ECB/RR deals on household cleaners, but there seem to be a lot of BOGO free deals, so I use those to stock up and use two coupons – one for each item – to bring the price down!)

*Bathroom cleaners/toilet cleaners – no more than .75-$1 each (I typically buy Lysol toilet bowl cleaner and Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaners)

*Dish soap (liquid) – free to $.50 (I buy Dawn or Palmolive, whichever is on sale and you can get it fairly often at CVS or Walgreens for these prices when you use coupons and take advantage of ECB/RR deals)

*Dishwasher tabs – free to $.99 (high dollar Electrasol coupons come out fairly regularly where you can get these for free or up to $.99)

*Dryer sheets/fabric softener – free (I can’t remember the last time I’ve had to pay for these…I use either Bounce or Snuggle and have a pretty good stockpile of both that I’ve gotten for free)

*Hand soap – free (I have two grocery stores that triple coupons and I am usually able to get the Softsoap hand soap for free when they go 10/$10 using coupons)

*Kleenex – no more than $.50/box (this is for the actual Kleenex brand)

*Laundry detergent – $1-2 (I usually buy All or Tide – this price is for the liquid, 32 loads)

*Multi-purpose cleaners – no more than $.75/$1 each (I typically buy Fantastik or the Windex Multipurpose)

*Paper towels – .25 per roll (I never pay more than $.25/roll…my grocery store has the Bounty paper towels 10/$10 pretty regularly and they triple coupons so I’m able to use the $.25 coupons to get them for $.25)

*Toilet paper – free to .30 per roll (this was a hard one for me because it’s been so long since I’ve paid for toilet paper, but I know people want to know good “stock up” prices, and so I would say no more than $.30/roll)

For more Thrifty Thursday ideas, check out Coupon Teacher and Life as a Mom.

Feel free to link up with your own Thrifty Thursday ideas below!

Filed Under: Thrifty Thursday Tagged With: ,

Menu Planning Monday: My menu for the week of 1/10

January 11, 2010 by

You can read more about my $40 weekly budget in this post here. You can see pictures (and the breakdown) from my latest weekly shopping trip here.

If you have blogged a menu plan for the week (or even just a favorite recipe), please feel free to comment and share your link. I’m always looking for new ideas and inspiration and will be happy to share a link to your blog if we try your recipe!

If you need inspiration, check out the weekly meal plans here at Organized Junkie.

SUNDAY ~ Fajitas and beans – The fajitas are from a pre-made mix (our HEB grocery store had a deal where you bought the marinated fajitas and you got all of the “fixings” for free). Here’s the recipe for the beans (it’s a new one that I’ve never tried):

Slow Cooker Cowboy Beans: (from Gollygoshdarnscurvy on BBC)

3 cups dried pinto beans, washed
1/2 lb. or so diced ham
1 onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 teaspoons chicken bouillon, or substitute chicken or vegetable broth for cooking water
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained (like rotel, and I usually use 2)

Place beans in slow cooker and soak overnight. In the morning, pour off water and and cover with new water to within three inches of top. Add ham, onion, garlic and bouillon. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours, or until beans are fork tender. In the bowl of a blender, process tomatoes with juices. Add to beans; season mixture to taste with salt and pepper.

MONDAY ~ Peppered steak – this was supposed to be our dinner on Saturday, but I forgot to pull the meat out to defrost, so I ended up making Sweet & Sour Pork on Saturday instead. Here’s the recipe (I got it originally from my mother in law)

Ingredients:
3 cups hot cooked rice
1 lb lean beef round steak (cut into 1/2 inch thick strips)
1 T Paprika
2 T butter
2 cloves garlic, crusehd
1 1/2 c. beef broth
1 cup sliced green onions
2 green peppers, cut in strips
2T cornstarch
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 lg tomatoes (cut in eighths)

Pound steak to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 1/4 inch wide strips. Sprinkle meat with paprika. Let stand. Brown meat in butter. Add garlic and brother. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in onions and green peppers. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Blend cornstarch, water and soy sauce. Stir into meat mixture. Cook, stirring until clear and thickened, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and stir gently. Serve over beds of fluffy rice. Serves 6.

TUESDAY ~ Pork sammies (slow cooker) – except for the rolls, this is all coming from our stockpile!

Ingredients:
2-3 lbs. boneless pork roast
2 onions, chopped (I omit this!)
12 oz. BBQ sauce of your choice
1/4 c. honey
rolls

Directions: Place meat in slow cooker. Add onions, bbq sauce and honey. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. At that time the pork should break apart easily and shred with a couple of forks. After you shred it, serve it on rolls.

*Serving suggestion! Place provolone cheese slices on bolillo rolls along with mayonnaise. Toast the rolls open faced with cheese and mayo in a 350 degree oven for about 5-6 minutes before adding the pork and serving.

WEDNESDAY ~ Meatloaf on a bed of potatoes (slow cooker) – simple to make and totally kid friendly!

From BabyCenter Cooking for Your Family

By: Sandy~Bettyinthekitchen

2 T olive oil
3 large russets, cut into 1 to 1-1/2” chunks
2 lb ground sirloin
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup crushed saltine crackers
3/4 cup ketchup
2 T dehydrated onions (optional)
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Topping
3/4 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp Dijon mustard

Combine oil and potatoes in crock pot, toss to coat. Spread in an even layer on the bottom of the crock.

In a large bowl, combine beef, eggs, crumbs, ketchup, onion, salt and pepper. Mix gently, do not compact. Shape into oval or round, place on top of potatoes. Spread with topping.

Cover and cook on High for 1 hour. Reduce heat to Low and continue to cook for 6-7 hours, or until a meat thermometer reads 160º to 165ºF.
Sandy’s notes: I used plain ketchup for the topping since that is my family’s preference. To make the meatloaf easier to remove: Take two long pieces of foil and fold them into two strips. Place them across each other over the potatoes and set the meatloaf on top. Use as handles to remove when the meatloaf is done.

**My notes: When I make this, I sprinkle parsley and Mrs. Dash seasoning over the potatoes.

THURSDAY ~ Black Bean & Chicken burritos (slow cooker)

Ingredients:
1 taco/fajita seasoning packet
2 cans black beans, drained
2-3 chicken breasts
1 can green enchilada sauce

Place chicken breasts in bottom of the crockpot and then add remaining ingredients. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Shred chicken before serving and serve in tortillas. We add cheese, sour cream, etc. to the tortillas. We sometimes add rice (cooked rice to the mixture once we’re ready to serve, not in the crockpot!). This is also really good if you use beef instead of the chicken!

FRIDAY ~ Foil baked Asian chicken – This comes from the April 2009 issue of All You Magazine. It’s super easy to make and family friendly!

Ingredients:
8 tsp olive oil
4 cups baby spinach
4 4 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
8 oz white mushrooms, sliced
4 tsp teriyaki sauce
salt

Preheat over to 450 degrees. Tear off four 10-inch square sof aluminum foil (great sure for all that foil I stocked up on at Walgreens last week!). Brush each square with 2 tsp olive oil. Place 1 cup spinach on each square, slightly off center. Top with a chicken breast half and some mushrooms. Drizzle 1 tsp teriyaki sauce over each portion. Sprinkle with salt.

Fold each piece of foil over to cover chicken and vegetables. Crimp edges together tightly to seal. Place packets on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot.

SATURDAY ~ Taco soup (slow cooker)

Ingredients:
1 1/2-2 lb. ground meat
1 packet Ranch dressing seasoning mix
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can corn
1 can pinto beans
1 can Ranch style beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can Rotel
1 can water

Brown the meat and then add combine the meat and other ingredients in a crock pot and to cook it on low all day. When we’re ready to eat, I will serve it with tortilla chips, sour cream, and cheese.

NOTES: With just one can of water, it will be very thick. Add more if you want it thinner. I drain the corn and pinto beans before adding them. I don’t drain the Ranch style beans because they are seasoned!

Filed Under: Menu Planning Monday Tagged With:

Savings Saturday: My $40 weekly shopping trip

January 2, 2010 by


This week I combined all of my purchases into one picture. You can see my coupon match-ups and scenarios for CVS here, Kroger here, Target here, and Walgreens here.

My total out of pocket for everything pictured was $37.91. My total savings was $239.70.

I don’t normally include diapers and vitamins in my weekly grocery budget, but they were all free, so I decided to include them in the picture! I plan to take the $2.09 that I have left and buy 3 boxes of Chex cereal at HEB (it is 3/$5 and I have $3/3 peelie coupons which will make it $2 for 3 boxes!)

CVS: I purchased 3 Nature’s Bounty Vitamin C ($11.49/each), 1 Nature’s Bounty Vitamin B-12 ($10.99/each), 2 Nature’s Bounty Vitamin D ($10.49/each), and 2 packages of Gold Emblem cashews (.99 and .49 because they are buy one, get on 50% off).

The Vitamin B-12 and the Vitamin D were free. I used a $5/20 CVS coupon, 4 $5 Nature’s Bounty coupons, and a $1/2 CVS CRT for Gold Emblem nuts along with my $9 ECB from my previous Nature’s Bounty transaction. I paid $.95 OOP (on a gift card). I received a $9 ECB. My total savings was $66.47.

Kroger: I bought 4 Freschetta pizzas ($3.99/each), 3 Lean Cuisine meals ($1.79/each), Roma tomatoes (.58), 3 bell peppers (.50/each) , 2 cucumbers (.50/each), carrots (.74), baby carrots ($1), 10 lb bag of potatoes ($2.77), 2 packages of El Monterey taquitios ($7.99 – BOGO free), and soy sauce.

I used 4 $1/1 Freschetta coupons, a $1/3 Lean Cuisine coupon, and 2 $1 El Monterey coupons. My total OOP was $31.51. I saved $33.28.

Target: I bought a Mott’s apple juice ($1.79), Oscar Mayer lunch meat ($2.79), 2 Ore Ida french fries ($2.59/each), 2 Market Pantry hashbrown potatoes ($2.69/each).

I used a $1 Mott’s Target printable, a $1 Oscar Mayer Target printable, and a $1.50/2 Ore Ida printable. The Market Pantry potatoes were free (there is a promotion this week where you get a free Market Pantry potatoes with the purchase of Ore Ida potatoes). I paid $6.26 OOP. I saved $17.78.

Walgreens: I purchased 2 Schepp’s milk ($2.19/each), 2 boxes of Cinnamon Toast Crunch ($2/each), 5 packages of Papermate mechanical pencils ($.19/each), 2 packages of Pampers diapers ($10/each), and one Bayer blood glucose monitor ($14.99)

I used the following coupons ($1/1 Schepp’s milk, 2 $1/1 Cinnamon Toast Crunch printables, 2 $2 Pampers coupons, Save up to $30 Bayer monitor coupon – deducted $14.99, 2 $8 RRs, 3 $2 RRs). I paid $.14 OOP and saved $122.17. I received a $2 RR (cereal), $3.50 RR (diapers), and $5 RR (monitor).

Filed Under: Savings Saturday Tagged With:

Items to Stockpile this week: applesauce, apple juice, cereal, and refrigerated biscuits

October 4, 2009 by

If you’re new to stockpiling, I thought I’d give you a “heads up” on a few items that you can stockpile this week and still stay within your budget:

*Applesauce and apple juice: This week Target has a deal where you get a $5 gift card when you buy 5 Mott’s applesauce or apple juice products. These ranged in price from $1.69 (for the “natural” items) to $1.75 at my store. Hopefully you already have a Target gift card on hand from a previous deal!

If you do, here’s how it breaks down ~

Buy 5 Mott’s applesauce – $1.69/each

Use $5 Target gift card

Spend $3.45 OOP, get a $5 Target gift card – you get the applesauce for $.69/each!

Buy 5 Mott’s apple juice – $1.75/each

Use $5 Target gift card

Spend $3.75/each, get a $5 Target gift card – you get the juice for $.75/each!

*Cereal! Randalls has Kellogg’s cereal on sale (the ad runs through Tuesday in my area) for $1.49/each when you buy 5 selected varieties (varieties priced at $1.49 included Apple Jax, Fruit Loops, Raisin Bran, Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies, and Crispix). There were also several varieties that are $1.99/each when you buy 5 (this included the flavored varieties of Frosted Mini Wheats and Raisin Bran Crunch). There were $1/2 Kellogg’s cereal “blinkie” coupons right in front of the cereal. There were also $2/2 coupons in the 8-30 RP insert and several $1/1 Rice Krispie coupons and one coupon for a free box of Rice Krispies that I had gotten from Vocalpoint.

I got 20 boxes of cereal for $7.01 this weekend. I bought a variety of Apple Jax, Fruit Loops, Raisin Bran, Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies, and Crispix. I used several of the $2/2 coupons (thanks Martha!), my $1/1 Rice Krispie coupons, and the free box (and they took off the full $3.79 for the free box, which was the amount BEFORE any discounts!). That’s .35/box and we won’t have to buy cereal again for a LONG time.

Even if you don’t have the $2/2 or Vocalpoint coupons, you could still buy 10 boxes for $9.90 using the blinkie coupons found in the cereal section, which still ends up being less than $1 per box!

*Refrigerated biscuits – This week, Kroger has Pillsbury biscuits, crescents, or rolls – 3/$5 (through Tuesday in my area – check your ad for details)
$1/2 Pillsbury Grands shortcuts.com e-coupon
$1/2 Pillsbury Grands cellfire.com coupon
$1/2 Pillsbury crescent rolls shortcuts.com e-coupon (there are two separate ones if you loaded them on your card perviously!)
$1/2 Pillsbury sweet rolls shortcuts.com e-coupon
.50/2 Pillsbury sweet rolls shortcuts.com e-coupon (no longer available to load)
$1/2 Pillsbury Grands printable on coupons.com
$1/2 Pillsbury sweet rolls on coupons.com
.35/1 Pillsbury Grands biscuits from 7-12 SS insert (will triple)
.30/2 Pillsbury Grands from 8-9 SS insert (will triple)
$1/2 Pillsbury Crescent rolls 9-13 SS insert
.50/2 Pillsbury Grands sweet rolls 9-13 SS insert (will double)
.40/2 Sweet rolls or Grands sweet rolls – smartsource.com (will double)
.30/2 Grands biscuits – smartsource.com (will triple)

Check out my post here for $1/1 crescent rolls printable (there are two separate links, so you should be able to print a total of 4 coupons from one computer)

Between 10/5 and 11/1, buy any Pillsbury refrigerated baked goods:
Buy 3, get $2 OYNO
Buy 4, get $2.50 OYNO
Buy 5, get $3 OYNO

SCENARIO: (will work Monday/Tuesday only)
Buy 3 Pillsbury crescent rolls
Buy 2 Grands biscuits

Use $1/2 crescent rolls e-coupon
Use $1/2 Grands e-coupon
Use 3 $1/1 crescent rolls IPs
Use $1/2 Grands IP

Spend $2.33 OOP, get a $3 OYNO catalina (it’s like paying .46/can of biscuits!)

Then….
Buy 3 Pillsbury crescent rolls
Buy 2 Grands biscuits

Use 3 $1/1 crescent rolls IPs
use $1/2 Grands IP
Use $3 OYNO catalina

Spend $1.33 OOP, get a $3 OYNO catalina

(you should be able to continue to “roll” this catalina and get more)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

My weekly big stock-up trip

September 19, 2009 by

Here’s a summer of my Saturday morning shopping trips. I spent a total of $49.17 for 70 items, which is about .70/item.

Here’s the breakdown:

Randalls: Randalls has a GM promotion right now where select cereal (Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Cheerios, Trix, Honey Grahams, and Chex), Nature Valley Granola bars, and Betty Crocker fruit snacks are 4/$6 (after the instant $4 savings when you buy 4). There are a lot of great printable, loadable (Cellfire/Shortcuts), and insert coupons that match up nicely with this. If you need cereal, granola bars, or fruit snacks, it’s a great time to stock up! You also get a catalina for a free box of Capri Sun on your next purchase for every 4 items you buy. (There is a limit of 20 items per household)

5 boxes Nature Valley granola bars
(used 4 $1/1 coupons – thanks Martha! and 1 .50/1 coupon that doubled along with a .40/1 Shortcuts coupon and a .40/1 Cellfire coupon)
3 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal
(used 3 .55/1 IP coupons)
1 box Trix
(used 1 .55/1 IP coupon and one .55 Shortcuts coupon)
2 boxes Cheerios
(used one .75/1 coupon from a Pampers mailer and one $1/1 IP coupon from e-mail)
2 boxes Chex cereal
(used one $1/2 coupon)
3 boxes Betty Crocker fruit snacks
(used on .50/2 coupon which doubled and one .40/1 coupon that doubled along with 2 .40/1 loadable coupons and three .50/1 loadable coupons from Shortcuts and Cellfire)
2 cans Safeway green beans
(used free coupon from hurricane flier in store)
4 boxes Capri Sun
(used 4 “free” catalinas from the cereal/fruit snacks/granola bars and a .55/1 loadable coupon which almost covered the tax)

Total OOP = $8.85, total savings = $50.52

Kroger: Kroger is having a Mega sale right now that mainly applies to Nabisco and Kraft products. You get an instant $5 off for every 10 participating items you buy. There are some great manufacturers and insert coupons that match up well with this promotion! (There does not appear to be a limit to the # of times you can do the promotion in one visit)

3 DiGiorno pizzas
(used 3 $1/1 coupons)
2 Velveeta Shells & Cheese
(used .75/1 catalina coupon)
2 Ritz Crackers
2 Nabisco Crackerfuls
(used 2 FREE when you buy Ritz crackers coupons)
1 Capri Sun
(used .50/1 coupon from Kraft Magazine which doubled)
2 Oscar Mayer wieners
(used $1/2 coupon)
3 Wheat Thins
(used 3 $1/1 IPs)
4 Kraft cheese slices
(used $1/2 coupon from Kroger mailer, .75/2 coupon from Kraft magazine, and $1/2 Shortcuts coupon)
2 Oreo cookies
(used $1/2 coupon)
1 Nabisco Teddy Grahams
(used .50/1 coupon from Kraft magazine which doubled)
1 Dreyer’s fruit bars
(used $1/1 coupon)
2 Hot Pockets pizzeria
(used .75/1 coupon)
5 Philadelphia cream cheese
(used $1/2 coupon from home mailer)
3 Buitoni pasta
(used 3 $1/1 IPs)
10 Kraft Easy Mac
(used 5 .55/2 tear pad coupons)
2 Campbell’s 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
(used $1/2 IP)
3 Old El Paso taco seasoning
(used .60/2 IP, .60/2 loadable, and FREE WYB 2 peelie) – earned a $1 OYNO catalina

*Received an instant $20 off as a part of the Mega Sale promotion

Total spent = $40.32, Total savings = $73.56 (and I earned a .10/gallon fuel reward)

I went over budget by $9.17, but I only spent $25 of my $40 last week and I will get back $20 from a Nabisco mail in rebate I qualify for based on my purchases today.

I also thought I’d answer a few “frequently asked questions” that often come up when I post this type of a post:

*Do you really need that many boxes of cereal, granola bars, crackers, and fruit snacks? What are you going to do with all of that stuff?

I don’t need that many boxes of any of that stuff right now, but stockpiling changes your way of thinking. You don’t shop based on what you need right away (unless it’s the basics). You shop based on what is on sale so that you don’t have to buy those items until they go on sale again. For example, I last stockpiled Capri Suns almost a year ago. We have gone through two seasons of soccer (fall and spring), several school parties where I volunteered to bring drinks, and my daughter’s birthday party and we are just now finishing off our last box. Since I had a stockpile of Capri Suns that I got for super cheap, I didn’t have to bust my budget when it was my turn to supply them for soccer games or school parties.

*Are you really going to use that much stuff? Doesn’t some of it go to waste?

I make sure that none of my stockpile goes to waste. If I have more than we will use, it means I can trade items with other people for things I need or that I can donate generously to our local food bank or other agencies. We have a local youth group that does a scavenger hunt for donations about twice a year and I always love the look on their faces when I am able to fill a couple of bags with donations for them.

*I don’t see any meat, fruit, or veggies. What about that stuff?

I stockpile meat when it goes on sale, too, so I have a freezer full to get me through on weeks when I want to spend money on other things. Last week, Randalls had a great deal on chicken breasts, so I chose to stock up then. I also have a bunch of canned and frozen fruit and veggies to help get us through on weeks when I can’t do a major stock up on fresh items.

What about milk?

I got my milk for free at CVS this week using ECBs and earned ECBs in return.

Filed Under: Savings Saturday Tagged With: