Food Lion 5-25-11 & Flowers Bread Store May 25, 2011

NO PHOTO…

Only bought fresh produce & eggs…

Spent:  $21.36

Saved:  $1.54!

Bought 3lbs Zucchini,

bunch broccoli

3lbs bananas

sliced mushrooms

4 roma tomatoes

green bell pepper

green leaf lettuce

3doz eggs @ $5.

It is easy to save money on packaged items, but it is difficult to have well rounded & balanced meals from all the pre-packaged stuff.  So in my mind I “spend” my coupon savings to be able to afford fresh produce, milk & meat.

BREAD STORE

$7.00

Saved easily $10…I bought

2 packs sub rolls

1- 12 pack hamburger buns with seasame seeds

*Hotdog buns

Harris Teeter Triples 5-25-11

Spent:  $57.03

Saved:  $128.67

Total Value:  185.70

69% savings

Triples x 2…we have been out of town so when I went out tonight I did shopping for a friend.

It was CRAZY…of course being the last night the stores were out of most of the REALLY CHEAP OR FREE ITEMS.  That is part of why my total was so high…and I also spent $15 or so on Boston Butt Roast meat.

I didn’t have a lot of freebies tonight– the only things that come to my mind are:

1 Comet bath cleanser

2 Ritz Crackerfulls

2 packs M&M’s

Other stuff:

*Soy Sauce $.35

*Texas Pete Chili Sauce $.30…LARGE BOTTLE!

*Ballpark BEEF hotdogs BOGO @ $4.99 or $2.49 each x 9 – after my various Q I averaged $.94 each

*Country Crock Sticks $.37 each–

butter has gotten so expensive, so I try to cook/bake with margarine was much as possible and save the butter for when it really matters.

*4x Domino Powder Sugar 1lb box@ $1.29 each= $5.16-after Q= $.17 a box

*2x Dixie Crystal $.99 each after Q

*Fiber One Eggo Waffles $1.25 each

*betty Crocker brownie mix $.50

*Duncan Hines brownie mix $.50

*Duncan Hines Muffin Mix $.94 each

*4x Keebler Pie Crust $.75 each

*Johnson & Johnson Baby items $1.50 each

*Band Aids $1.00

*Planter Nutrition $1.25 each

*Cherry Pie filling $2.50 each…not super cheap, but we make lots of cherry cobbler during the summer!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/dump-cake-i/Detail.aspx

I have never added nuts, but that might be yummy!  Top warm cobbler with cool whip or vanilla ice cream 🙂

This is an easy recipe and the 4 ingredients – crushed pineapple, cherry pie filling, cake mix & margarine can all be bought with Q for really cheap…I think I might average $3.- $3.50 on this dessert depending on how much I spend on the pie filling & pineapple.  It makes a nice large 9×13 pan plenty for sharing with guests!

*Gillette Shave Gel- $.79

I think- my goal for decent shaving cream is less than $1…I can afford to donate to my church’s homeless shelter at that price.

Harris Teeter & Bread Store 5-16-11

Spent:  $14.31

Saved: $35.90

Total Value:  $50.21

72% savings

4x Bryers YoCrunch @ $.50 each

(I know I was technically over the limit of 3, but I was no where near my 20 Q limit, so I decided to try it.  If item #4 had been rejected I would have had it taken off.)

2x Natures Own Bread BOGO & 2 $.55 Q= $.80 each or so

2 Smart Balance milk $7.98 – 2x $1.50 Q ($3.00)- evic BOGO  special $3.99= $.97 for a gallon milk!

Hotdog buns $.89 each

Hormel Chili- $.70 each (I know would have been cheaper during triples!)

Texas Pete Chili $.33 each

Flowers Bread store Jaemstown

Spent $5

Saved: easily $10

Total Value:  $15

66% savings — savings were probably higher, but I am just guessing based on getting stuff from HT or Walmart.

CVS 5-18-11

Spent:  $9.71

Saved:  $11.28 (ECB from previous weeks)

Total Value:  $20.99

54% savings

UGH!!!!  I showed up to the store with the WRONG COUPONS.  I had 2 x  $2 off Q for AVEENO, but Neutragena was on sale instead!  My total would have been $5.71 if I had caught it earlier 😦

Oh Well– we were leaving that night to go to the beach, so we would be needing sunscreen regardless!

The upside is I got $10 ECB for spending $20 on Neutragena Sunscreen!

A little of Everything for our vacation!

5-18-11 Sam’s $38…

3 large packs of deli meat – Ham, Turkey & Roast Beef 22oz each

1 large pack Provolone Cheese

Sounds expensive, but buying lunch meat meant we could easily pack picnic lunches while on vacation.  Sure we could have eaten Peanut Butter & Jelly for our picnics, but Brad isn’t so fond of PB& J and it was a real nice change in routine!

Thursday 5-19-11

Food Lion Beaufort, NC

Spent $28 or so…stocked up on fresh produce & bread and a few other things we forgot to pack for the week.

Saved $5

Saturday 5-21

Small island grocery store Harker’s Island…

$8.

Strawberry Picking 5-7-11 May 12, 2011

Spent:  $73.

I also bought 2 tomatos & a cuccumber so really spent $70 or so on strawberries!

56lbs x $1.25= $70

Savings… not so much since they regularly go on sale for $1.25-$2. lb this time of year.

My real savings comes from the jam that I make.

We made 48 pints (16oz) of jam:

*Strawberries: 45lbs or so= $56.

*roughly 10lbs sugar$1.98 (bought 2 yrs ago @ $.99)

*15 packs of pectin $25 (bought last year Walmart)

*1 & 1/2 bottle white grape juice $3.50

________________________________________

roughly $87 for 48 pints jam:

If I were buying for everyday consumption I would only buy Polaner All Fruit-  it is one of the few on the market that doesn’t contain High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Polaner goes on sale frequently for $2 a TEN oz jar so I would need 77 jars to equal my 48pints.

77 jars x $2= $144.  so my savings would be $57.

Now I might find some coupons here and there, but for a large family that can easily consume 1 pint a week that is difficult to depend on with HT limits on number of coupons I can use.    Another added benefit is knowing where our produce came from, how it was prepared & REALLY IT JUST PLAIN TASTES BETTER!

We spent about 7 hours picking and processing our jam so we averaged making $8 an hour for our work, no that isn’t the best pay out, but trust me if you ever eat our jam  you would understand it is worth far more than Polaner’s.   We aren’t talking Smuckers or Welch’s quality- this is like what your grandma would have made.  It is just plain delicious!

Walmart 5-10-11 May 11, 2011

Spent:  $8.

Saved:  $2

total Value: $10

20% savings!

I went in looking for Monkey’s in a Barrel and since this pregnant woman had no desire to make another stop for Ice Cream to go with  Ethan’s birthday cake I settled for an okay price on Blue Bunny Ice Cream instead of driving myself & all 4 kids to another store for the best price!

* 2 cartons Ice Cream $2.95 each after Q

*3 1/2 lbs banans

Harris Teeter 5-1-11 Super Doubles May 4, 2011

Spent:  $72.18

Saved:  $151.66

Total Value:  $223.84

68% savings

Not such a high percentage of savings tonight b/c I bought produce & meat.

I have a $10 Rebate for the BOGO Stew Meat I bought so that paired with the sale will be nearly 7 lbs FREE!

*Hefty Bags x 8 FREE–

I thought last weeks price @ $1 per pack was good, and it was better than Sam’s, but since my store was out several times I got a RainCheck…

HELLO SUPER DOUBLES.   My coupon was for $1/ off 2 so last week I paid $.50 a box, but this week that coupon double to $2/off 2 or FREE!!!

*Mission Tortilla $.50 each

*Mission Tortilla Chips FREE

*tostito Salsa– FREE

*Tostito chips FREE

*Pepsi FREE with purchase of 1 tostito chips & 1 salsa 🙂

*Bailey’s Coffee Creamer $.19

*Country Crock sticks $.67 each…I can get the tubs for nearly free,

but not the sticks  or REAL BUTTER which are better for baking

*did the Meal deal 2x = $8

*Vidalia Onions a lot— $.49lb

*Ortega Salsa $1.50

*Ortega Beans $.50

*Mission Tortilla $.50 each!

*Wholly Gaucomole $1.79

(I know the small packs would be free, but we don’t like the plan we like the Pico de Gallo)  I have read on their website it could be frozen which means I can stock up during Super Doubles and we can afford to have it more often 🙂

*Eggrolls $1.00

*UGH PAID FULL PRICE for Philly Cooking Cream…I left my Q in the car and was trying to be quick and I had run in without my binder.  My total should have been $3 lower 😦  On the plus side I had a Q for $1.50 off Chicken when buy cooking Cream so 2 pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken $3.50

Overall it has been a very expensive week of super doubles.   I think I have spent nearly $250, but really is it any different than the way I shopped before.  I would make 1 big trip a month to Sam’s, Aldi and fill in any gaps @ Walmart.  I would average $300-$400 during that big shopping week and then I would budget for $75-$100 a week the rest of the month.  My current goal is to spend $500 a month including everything.  My goal isn’t working out very well!  Part of that is b/c we easily spend $50-$75 a month to feed our 2 large black labs & our 4 cats.  I have also been trying to fill my freezer with dinners for when we have new guy in July so I have been spending more on meat and extras that we aren’t eating right now.   I am sure it will balance out some when I am not shopping as much during July & August except buying milk, bread & fresh produce; but right now it is expensive!

Harris Teeter Super Doubles Saturday 4-30-11

Spent:  $63.78

Saved:  $151.65

Total Value:  $215.35

70% savings

FREE********FREE***********FREE

All of the above were FREE after Sale & Coupon Matchups!

I got lots of other stuff tonight.  This has been an expensive week, but I have been averaging +65% savings.  This hasn’t been a week of buying fresh produce, but of stocking up on pantry, freezer & cleaning items.

Here is the pic of the meal deal I have been doing all week.

Even if you don’t like frozen fish it was a GREAT DEAL to get EVERYTHING for $4.  Aside from the frozen fish which I buy occasionally- I normally buy everything else.  So I wasn’t just buying stuff b/c it was a good deal.  Ortega tacos are vacuum sealed in a plastic tray so they stay fresher longer than any other tacos I have bought.  So even though I bought a lot they aren’t going bad next month.

A few other things I bought tonight:

*Rhodes Rolls $.39

*town House crackers $1.50 each

*Polly O Riccotta Cheese $1.59 x 4

*Lysol Pourable Concentrated cleaner $2 x 2

Okay I had a huge realization that I really like the spray bottles of this cleaner.  Well I was reading the label and discovered the pourable bottle is highly concentrated.  That means I dilute it 2 oz cleaner to 30 oz water.  As in I can refill my spray bottles nearly 20 times.   REALLY….SERIOUSLY…I can get one bottle for $2 = 20 refills or get 1 spray bottle for $1= NO REFILLS!   How have I never noticed this before???

*BarbQ Sauce$.50 b/c I needed some!

*Ghiradelli Chocolate Bar $1 x 2

*Ritz Crackerful snacks $1 x 2—

my goal is to get individual wrapped snack items for $1 to $1.50 a box or maybe $2 for Nature Valley granola bars