My Mom helped me clean out my freezer on her recent visit and we were able to eat out of our pantry and freezer for a full week! I realized how lazy I've become at this grocery thing.
I am continually inspired and amazed at how much Crystal can get for her dollar! So, over this past weekend - I decided to peruse all the local grocery ads. After that, I chose two where I could do the best and made my menu plan for two weeks. I will need some produce to supplement next week - but here is what I bought, how much I spent and what I will serve.
Note: In all fairness, I must include that my father-in-law's hobby is grocery shopping. He brings groceries over frequently and I know that my budget would have to increase if he wasn't doing this. I say this just to be honest and open.
Menu:
Monday:
B: Cereal
L: Cheese Tortillas; fruit
D: Hamburgers and Oven Fries
Tuesday:
B: Bagels
L: Honey Sandwiches; Fruit
D: Pizza with out of town family
Wednesday:
B: Cereal
L: Cheese and Crackers; Fruit
D: Grilled Chicken; Salad; Potato Packets
Thursday:
B: Apple Muffins
L: Mini Pizzas
D: Chicken Enchiladas; Chips and Salsa
Friday:
B: Apple Muffins
L: Grilled Cheese; Fruit
D: driving to NC for weekend
Saturday-Tuesday lunch - traveling
Tuesday:
D: Triple Decker Club; Chips; Fruit
Wednesday:
B: Cereal
L: Cheese Tortillas
D: Applesauce Pancakes; Bacon
Thursday:
B: Muffins
L: Macaroni and Cheese
D: Ranch Chicken; Corn; Salad
Friday:
B: Leftover Muffins
L: Honey Sandwiches
D: Calzones
Saturday:
B: Donuts
L: Wraps
D: Tacos or Enchiladas
Sunday:
B: Bagels or English Muffins
L: Steak; Potato; Veggie; Bread
D: Leftovers
Monday:
B: Cereal
What I bought this week:
CVS:2 Sure Deodorant: $2.69 each; two $1/1 coupons; mail in rebate for $2.69 = 0.69
4 Oral B Toothbrushes: $1.99 each; two $1/2 coupons; $1 Extra Buck each = 1.96
1 Colgate 360 Toothbrush: $3.99; $3.99 Extra Bucks = free
1 snack size M&M's: 0.88
Total: Used $3/$15 coupon and $11.37 Extra Bucks; spent 0.06 out of pocket and received $7.99 in Extra Bucks and $2.69 mail-in-rebate
0.06 spent
Walgreens:
3 boxes Kleenex: on sale for 0.89/box; used 0.50/1 coupon = $2.17
2 cans mandarin oranges: on sale for 2/$1
Bush's beans: 0.79
Bic Lighter (long - great for grill!): on sale for $2.99 - $1/1 coupon = $1.99
Reynolds Aluminum Foil: on sale for $2.50 - 0.75/1 coupon = $1.75
Total: Used $6 in Register Rewards and $2.29 rebate gift card
0.00 spent
Rite Aid:
Orajel Plaque Revealing Gel
got2B mousse
got2B gel
All free after Single Check Rebate
Paid with gift card from Prescription Transfer
0.00 spent
Kroger:
Hunt's Ketchup: $2.69 - $2.69 mail-in-rebate = Free
Ivory Liquid Detergent: $4.99 - $2.00 coupon - up to $3.00 mail-in-rebate = Free
Huggies Diapers: bought 3 at $9.49 - $4.00 instant savings - $5.00 in mfr. coupons - $5.00 mail-in-rebate = $14.47
Tortilla chips: $2.29
Steak: Bought 2 filets at 3/$10 for Sunday Dinner
Kraft Salad Dressing: $1.69 - free coupon = Free
Cream Cheese: $1.15
Chicken 3 lb.: $5.99
Ground Beef 5 lb.: $9.95
Turkey Lunch Meat: $3.50
Two boxes General Mills Cereal: 2/$4 - $1/2 coupon = $3.00
Total Spent: $49.38
Publix:
Huggies Baby Wash and Lotion: $3.29 each - BOGO store coupon - two $1/1 coupons = $1.29
Animal Crackers: $1.00 - free coupon = Free
Beech Nut Rice Cereal: $1.59 - free coupon = Free
Plum Tomato: 0.83 - $1 off produce coupon = free plus overage
Lemon: 0.67 = 0.50 (taking into account overage from produce coupon)
Lender's Bagels: 2/$2.03 sale price - 0.50/2 coupon = $1.53
Doritos: BOGO - bought one at $1.90
Total Spent: $5.75 paid with gift card from a previous rebate; total spent out of pocket: $0.00
Total: $49.44
Note: If you live near a Publix, please make sure to sign up for the Baby Club - they send out great coupons every few months until your baby is two years old!
19 comments:
WOW!! I am impressed! I have read about the CVS and Walgreen deals. I have never tried them myself. I get a little confused by them.
Hey Monica,
I think grocery shopping has been on the mind of lots of people lately as the prices are rising so fast!!! You are so right it seems meal planning is the best route to go. Great Job and thanks for this post!!! tammyp
Good job! I'll be interested to hear how this works for you. :) Love, Mom
Monica, I am very impressed with your purchases - and your menu sounds lovely!
I, too, need to get better at planning menus for my family. You've done a lot of work here.
One question about your Kroger purchases. We don't have Kroger anywhere near us. You mentioned mail-in-rebates for several items. Are they specific to Kroger or can the products come from any store? If they're not Kroger specific, where do you find the rebate information?
Wow! You did great. That must have taken a lot of thought.
Great job! This is an area that I am also trying to improve. It can be fun when you see all of your savings!
With very limited time to shop over the winter, I had gotten rather lazy with grocery shopping myself. Sure, I stayed in budget and used my menu plan, but I wasn't getting as much bang for my buck as usual! I am getting back into it now and hope to revive my tired and somewhat sparse little pantry!
You are not alone! :-)
Wow, I don't know how you do it, I was doing really well (with the help of Crystal's blog) to pick up most of the best weekly deals before I had the baby, but now I just can't bring myself to load & unload the kids at all those stops! So I have resorted to hitting BJ's every 2 weeks, stocking up, and bulk cooking. It is still cheaper than what I was doing a year ago, but I know I am missing out on a ton of savings! If you have any secrets for shopping days with the kiddos I am sure I am not the only reader who would love to hear about it!
I try to hunt and save...but I still struggle in this area. I try to plan my meals in advance and I've been doing Menu Plan MOndays but I don't think I've been very successful.
Great job! You continue to amaze me!
It is really hard to be frugal these days, isn't it? I keep fighting the temptation to do my shopping fast and easy, instead of more cheaply. (The store nearest to us is expensive. The discount store is 20 minutes away.)
I hope your plan works out well.
Also, I think you have a lovely blog header.
great job-? about your kroger trip-i have several of those rebates too-how will you send for more than one from one orig receipt? did kroger print you extra copies of your receipt? thanks...
Julie - the rebates I had were not store specific except for the Huggies deal. I watch for mail-in rebates in the Sunday coupon section, in fliers that come in my mail box, etc...
Kelly - as far as the receipts, I paid separately for each item that needed a receipt to be mailed in. You are right that you need to be careful not to lump all the items on to one receipt!
Monica,
I enjoyed reading about your deals. Due to moving, I've been using the pantry method for meals, and told Eric next month will be a big shopping trip as we get re-stocked!
wow, you rock at spending and utilizing your gift cards. I work for a company that manages gift cards, and we blog about saving money and gift card topics on savvywallet.com. I'm just amazed how with a little planning and organization, you are able to purchase all those goods, with such frugality. Thanks!
Hey, thanks so much for sharing your menu and shopping lists! It helps me a lot b/c we are getting ready to head back to the States for 6 months after being out of the country for 4 years. We have been talking about our food budget, etc., and I had no idea what to base it on, so this is helpful. The recipes were helpful, too, as I have had to change my habits here with no convenience foods available. Can't wait to try some of them soon! Thanks for taking the time to add the links! Have a great weekend.
You have done a fantastic job of stretching your grocery dollars, and planning some great meals! I recently posted some budget recipes on my site. Lots of creative things that you can do with eggs for breakfast, lunch or supper.
I enjoy your site.
Blessings!
HomeSpun Granny
I had to laugh Monica at the contrast between what you can feed your little girls, and what I must feed my BIG high school and college boys!!! I can't imagine the looks on their faces if I was to simply put out crackers and cheese for lunch!!!LOL Enjoy it while you can, Samuel is on his way, lol.
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