Monday Grocery Savings

I wanted to share with you my yesterday’s grocery trips amounts and what special sales and discounts I managed to get. I won’t bore you with everything I bought, just the items I bought with special savings. I have been using The Grocery Game website like I mentioned in a previous post, but since then I have found Coupon Mom. A great website for free that tells you the sales and it has a coupon database that helps you locate the coupon for that particular item. I may end up canceling my subscription to the The Grocery Game as I am getting better at learning how to do this. I still recommend it thought for new people just starting out.

I didn’t buy much this week as the sales weren’t that great and I have been stockpiling so I didn’t need a whole lot. When the sales on name brand items are slim picking like they are this week it helps to have your stockpile of items so you don’t have to pay full price on things you use every week. I also buy store brand at Kroger unless I can get the name brand cheaper by combining coupons with the sale price.

At Walgreens I was able to combine store coupons with manufacturer coupons along with the sale price to get a good savings. (sorry that I can't get the numbers to line up under the name in columns. I can't figure out how to get it come through on the blog)

Name, Price, Sale Price, Coupon, Total Cost (ea.)
Huggies Swimmers, 8.49, 6.99, 1.00, 5.99
Excedrin Migrane(4), 2.50, 2.39, 1.00, 1.39
Mitchum Deodorant(2), 4.99, 1.00, .75, .25
Skintimate Shave Cream, 2.49, 1.99, 1.75, .24
Total, 18.47, 12.37, 4.50, 7.87
Walgreens was my best savings trip this week at a savings of over 50%! Notice I was able to buy four Excedrines and two Mitchums. It helps to have family save coupons for you or buy an extra paper or two allowing you to get more than one of the item at the special price.

When I went to Kroger’s I bought mainly Kroger brand items that were on sale. They had several 10 for $10 items, but here are the two name brand items I did get with coupons.

Name, Price, Sale Price, Coupon, Total Cost
Mrs. Dash, 3.69, 2.49, 1.00, 1.49
Propel (free coupon), 1.19, 1.00, free one, 0.00
Total(name brand items), 4.88, 3.49, 2.00, 1.49
Though there are only two name brand items bought, you can see how waiting to combine the coupon with the sale price pays off with the Mrs. Dash. The key is learning to do that with all your items.

WalMart – There are certain things I get from WalMart that I try not to buy anywhere else if I don’t have to because they have the best prices.

One is skinless, boneless chicken breasts. Perdue makes a natural chicken breast that WalMart sells for $1.78!! That is a huge savings since Kroger usually sells them for around $5-$6. The problem is getting them. They tend to run out fast and I have yet to find out when they stock it. I usually will season it and cook it all up, usually on the grill then I freeze it. That way it’s ready to defrost, heat and serve in whatever dish you want, saving a lot of time.

Second is ground beef. They sell 2.25 lbs of regular ground beef for $4.23. Another big savings. I then often times will make patties to freeze or will cook it up as hamburger then freeze to use later in spaghetti, tacos or whatever saving time.
Organic eggs, diapers, Chef Boardee and V8 Fusion I also buy there because of the huge savings.

Here’s a breakdown of just the items I had coupons for and the savings I earned from WalMart –

Name, Price, Sale Price, Coupon, Total Cost,
Kraft Ranch Dressing (2), 1.58, 1.58, 1.50, .08
Bandaids, 1.88, 1.88, 1.00, .88
Suave Deodorant, .97, .97, .50, .47
Ragu Sauce, 1.94, 1.94, 1.00, .94
Crest Rinse, 5.22, 5.22, 2.00, 3.22
V8 Fusion (3), 2.98, 2.98, 1.00, 1.98
Diaper Rash Cream, 1.62, 1.62, .60, 1.02
Total(name brand items), 16.19, 16.19, 7.60, 8.59
I saved almost 50%!! Now that does not include the chicken or ground beef I bought either.

WalMart does not have sales per say, but they are competitively priced. If they ever decided to do double coupons, they could give Kroger and Meier a run for their money. You have to compare their regular price to the grocery store price and see if the process of a double coupon is cheaper at the grocery store. Typically since stores only double coupons up to $1.00, if Walmart has the item cheaper and I have a coupon that is around a dollar I can get more savings at WalMart. You just have to comparison shop is all and do the math.

I am stocked up now for the year + on deodorant for both my husband and myself. I am also stocked up on toothpaste for over a year and around three months on toilet paper and paper towels. I buy non perishable foods as I get coupons and they go on sale allowing me to stockpile for when those items are not on sale. Since items go on sale at different times of the month and year, stockpiling allows you the freedom of being able to wait when it is at its lowest price. Add coupons to it and that is how you are able to save 50% or more off of your grocery bill every week. Just remember to save your coupon for when that item goes on sale thereby maximizing your savings.