I didn't go to Aldi this week, even though milk is cheaper there. I used my gallons of milk to make it to $25 for one of my transactions in order to get my coupons to double, and because I had overage in that transaction, I ended up paying $3.78 for 8 packages of yogurt and 3 gallons of milk! Couponing CAN save you money on items you don't have a coupon for!
Items that were better than free: 12 packages of yogurt, Gerbera Daisy plant (I got a $5 off flowers catalina a few weeks ago, and the plant was only $3.99), and two 4-packs of Musselman's Totally Fruit applesauce. I also had a $3 OYNO catalina from last week that I used.
Items that were free: 3 cans of Muir Glen organic diced tomatoes.
Items that were $1 or less after sales and coupons: V8 Fusion juice, sour cream, eggs, hash browns, 2 packages of shredded cheese, 2 packages of Nestle refrigerated cookie dough, bananas, plum tomatoes, 5 lbs. of potatoes, Arnold bread, and 2 packages of turkey sausage links.
I also bought over 6 lbs. of ground beef, a beef roast, more cheese (we like cheese!), 2 packages of turkey pepperoni (normally $3.49 each, I got them for $1.28 each!), and apples.
My total for over $120 worth of groceries was $32.87, a savings of 73%.
October totals: $32.87, $72.29, $63.02, $31.36, $36.79
My total for October, which had 5 weeks, was $236.33, an average of $47 a week.
September totals: $47.69, $52.23, $46.86, $65.62.
My total for September was $212.40, an average of $53 a week.
My average weekly grocery spending for the past 9 weeks has been $50 a week for our family of 6. I wanted to point this out to show that this is not a fluke, it is how I regularly shop. To see my weekly shopping trips, click here. To learn how to shave money off your grocery bills, check out my Coupon 101 posts. Then slowly get started--I know you can do it!!
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5 comments:
Hi Jessica,
2 quick questions, because you seem to be on a roll lately with your shopping! 1) How much time do you spend figuring out your transactions each week before you go shopping? (I seem to spend over an hour each week getting it all together and was wondering if you are too!) 2) Are you using mainly internet printables or coupons from the paper too? (I am contemplately giving up on the paper to save myself some time.)
Thanks and way to go this week!
Hi Caela-
Good questions! I've been using the lazy approach to couponing lately, and it's been working for me! I write out my list based on what is on sale that I want to get and what else we might need that week, then grab my bundle of coupons (that I have printed and cut out at home, but not divided up or anything), and head to the store. I don't spend time dividing up transactions at home anymore, I do it all in the store as I go along. I add up the products as they go in the cart and decide as I go along how many coupons I will be able to double that day. I spend about 1 1/2 hrs shopping, incl. travel time.
Yes, I use primarily IP coupons. Our newspaper just doesn't have any of the good coupons! I sometimes get some $1 off yogurt ones, but rarely do I get other ones that are worth doubling, or that I can't find a higher value online. Many weeks I don't even get around to looking through the newspaper ones, then I'll go through like 3 weeks worth all at once. I'm not saving them anymore, as I found that to be a HUGE waste of time.
Thanks! Very helpful! I think I am giving up on the newspaper too from now on!
I am just getting started with coupons. Where do you find your great coupons?
Thanks!
Suzanne-
You can see my answer to Caela above, but I rarely use coupons from the paper anymore. The best ones are always found online. You can print MANY good ones from my blue coupon bar on the top of my blog, and I also search the coupon database if I am looking for a coupon for a particular product. The biggest online coupon sources are coupons.com, smartsource.com, and bricks coupons. I don't know if your store runs the same sales as mine, but I post coupon matches every week, usually on Tuesdays. Good luck with your couponing! Stick with it and you WILL save money! :-)
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