I saved $104 on groceries and spent $167 – here’s how!

I saved $104 on groceries and spent $167 – here’s how!

As with many families on 1 salary (and most even with 2!) I’m on a budget when it comes to food shopping. I don’t decide “okay today I’ll go food shopping,” run into 1 store, buy a bunch of stuff that looks yummy, swipe the credit card and go home. My trips are planned by clipping/printing coupons, looking at circulars, calculating my budget, looking up recipes, making a list and then taking a day to shop at 3 different stores (carefully timed as my little girl still naps and can’t sit still for too long). Now before you say “yea okay! Who has the time for that?” and close your browser, please promise me you’ll read this whole post before making your conclusion.

Whether you’re a SAHM, SAHD, part-time worker, full-time worker, single parent etc – there ARE ways to save money every time you go to the grocery store. There are ways to save a crazy amount of money if you want to spend HOURS AND HOURS on coupons/shopping and you aren’t particular about what ingredients are in your food but that’s NOT me. As I’ve mentioned before, my husband has to eat gluten-free, I have to eat dairy-free and we eat almost all natural & organic foods. It’s not a cheap lifestyle but it’s what we make work and I want to show you how.

Thanks to following a handful of couponing blogs, visiting the websites of my favorite brands and buying the Sunday paper when necessary, my coupon collection is getting pretty big and it makes shopping prep very easy if you’re collecting coupons as you go rather than all the night before your trip. Tip: Clip and organize in your “free” time. It’s good to print coupons as you see them because some will disappear before you get to them if you wait.

 

So as to not repeat myself, I’m going to link to previous blogs I’ve posted about saving money and eating healthy:

Finding Coupons, Budgets and Eating Healthy, Easy Money Saving Tips and Special Eating Diets

 

 

Yesterday I shopped at 3 stores: ShopRite, Stop & Shop and Nature’s Pantry. All of these stores are regional but you can use the same methods/coupons in most stores (Stop & Shop and Giant are the same company actually).

Store #1: ShopRite. My morning trip/pre-nap time.

Why: I only recently added ShopRite to my shopping routine. It’s about 1 1/2 miles from my house which makes it the perfect “run to” place, they put out store coupons, they participate in their own savings programs as well as Cellfire, they double coupons up to .99, their gluten-free/organic aisle has a great selection, they carry organic produce at decent prices and are often putting items on sale that there are coupons for. At this time I use ShopRite as my mostly snacks/coupons for shopping but it’s possible that it may replace Stop & Shop with time.

Here was my trip:

2 – Kettle Chips – ($3.69 each) on sale 2/$5
1 – Mi-Del Gluten Free Ginger Snaps – ($3.79) on sale $3.19
1 – Bakers on Main Gluten Free Granola – ($5.49) on sale $4.99
1 – Kashi Crackers – ($3.19) on sale $2.50 (not pictured)
1 – Shop Rite Canola Oil - $3.59 (not pictured)
3 – HappyTot Organic Pouches – ($1.29) on sale .99 each
1 – Santa Cruz Organic Lemonade – ($2.79) on sale $1.50
1 – Santa Cruz Organic Mango Tea – ($2.99) on sale $1.50
2 – Shop Rite Seltzer - .40 each
1 – Sweet Onion - .76
6 – Gluten Free Larabars – ($1.79 each) on sale $1 each
2 – Luna Bars ($1.25 each) on sale $1 each
3 – Organic Barlett Pears - on sale $1.99/lb
1 – Olivia Organic Salad – ($4.19) on sale $3.29
Bananas - .69/lb
2 – YoBaby/YoToddler Organic Yogurts – ($2.99 each) on sale $2.69
6 – Various organic apples pre-packaged (discounted fruit) - $1.56
1 – Cantalope ($3.99) on sale .99
1 – Glutino Gluten-Free Cookies – $3.99
Coupons Used:
$10 off $50 Shop Rite Coupon (mailer)
$2 off Kashi Product (recyclebank.com)
2 – .75/1 Santa Cruz product (doubles to make free) (mambosprouts.com)
2 – .50/1 Luna bar (doubles to make free) (mambosprouts.com)
1 – $1/1 Olivia Organics (coupons.com)
2 – .75/1 YoBaby/YoToddler Yogurts (doubles) (mambosprouts.com)
1 – .50/1 Bakers on Main Product (doubles) (from their newsletter – sign up from their website)
.20 – used reusable bags (.5/bag)

Total Before Savings: $72.44
Total OOP (out of pocket): $31.96 and received a $2 catalina coupon for next trip from the ShopRite YourBucks program (sign up on their website)
SAVINGS: $40.48

 

Store #2: Stop & Shop. My after lunch trip.

Why: I’ve been shopping at Stop & Shop since I went food shopping with my parents as a kid. Then I worked there for almost 3 years in high school so I know the store’s layout with my eyes closed which helps. They have a great gluten-free/organic section which is never crowded, put a lot of food we eat on sale, have their own line of organic & natural foods (and meat), double coupons up to .99, have a program that every dollar spent goes to a discount gas program and put out bonus points in the circular every month (last month Chris used the points and got .50 off per gallon at Shell – that was $5 off!), and have low prices on Applegate products which we buy often. I’ve had recent problems with their organic produce going bad quickly so be careful of that.

Here was my trip:

1 – 18 ct Eggsland Best ($4.49) on sale $2.99 

1 – Nature’s Promise Organic Mexican Cheese – $2.99
1 - Nature’s Promise Organic Butter – $2.99
4 – Single Serve Simply OJ/Lemonade – ($1.50) – on sale $1
10 – Stonyfield Organic Yogurts – (.89) - on sale .60 each
2 – Half Gallon Stonyfield Organic Whole Milk – ($3.59) - on sale $3.49
2 – Nature’s Promise Organic Frozen Vegetables – $2.50 each
1 – Cat Toy Balls package of 4 – $1.99
2 – 50 oz All Liquid Detergent (for Sensitive Skin) – ($5.49) on sale $3.99 each
1 – Bounce Free & Clear Dryer Sheets – $4.99 (ouch but the store brand isn’t doing as good a job)
2 – Celestial Seasoning Teas – ($2.79) on sale $2.50 each
1 – Nature’s Promise Organic Apple Sauce – ($2.09) on sale $2
1 – Nature’s Promise Organic Diced Tomatoes – $1.50
1 – Purina One Cat Food Salmon & Tuna – $2.69
1 – Stop & Shop Mayo – ($3.25) on sale $2.99
4 – Single Serve Bowl Thai Kitchen Meals – ($2.19) on sale $1 each
2 – Applegate Natural Smoked Turkey – $3.79 each
1 – Nature’s Promise Ground Beef  - $6.97
1 – Nature’s Promise Whole Chicken – $9.47
1 – Nature’s Promise Turkey Burgers – $4.49
1 – Nature’s Promise Ground Turkey – $3.99
1 – Nature’s Promise Chicken Tenderloins – $6.35
2 – Nature’s Promise Organic Rice Milk – $1.69 each
1 – Nature’s Promise Organic String Cheese – $3.49
1 – Bob’s Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix – $3.79
1 – Lundberg’s Gluten-Free Risotto – $2.79
1 – Rudi’s Organic Bread – ($4.59) on sale $2.99
1 – HappyBaby Yogurt Melts – $3.29
3 – Pom’s Pomegranate Juice – (2.49) on sale $1.50 each
1 – 3 pack of Nature’s Promise Organic Red Peppers – $4.99
1 – Nature’s Promise Organic Scallions – .79

Coupons Used:

$2 peelie from turkey burgers (I always look for instant discounts on meat and adjust my trip/recipes)
4 – $1/1 Simply OJ coupons (coupons.com) – makes all 4 free!
1 – .50/3 Stonyfield Yogurts (doubles) (stonyfield.com puts out coupons each month and you get 2 prints/month of each)
2 – $1/1 Stonyfield Milk – Coupon here
2 – .75/1 All Detergent (doubles) (coupons.com)
1 – Purina One $2/1 (coupons.com)
4 – .50/1 Thai Kitchen Product (doubles) (from coupon book at Beacon’s Natural Market) – makes all 4 free!
2 – .75/1 Applegate Deli Meat (doubles) (from their website - different ones each month)
1 – .75/1 Lundberg Product (doubles) (from their website)
1 – $1/1 Rudi’s Organic Bread (from their website)
2 – .50/1 Pom Juice (doubles) (from their website)
.35 reusable bags
Received $1 off coupon in Celestial Seasonings box!
Total before savings: $155.61
Total OOP: $112.73
SAVINGS: $44.61

 

Store #3: Nature’s Pantry. My late afternoon trip.

Why: Nature’s Pantry is our local alternative grocery store and I’ve lucked out – it’s minutes from my house, the prices are very good, they accept coupons and put out their own, the store is big and organized just like a regular grocery store (many natural stores intimidate me and ultimately cause my anxiety problems haha), the staff is amazingly friendly and helpful, they put items on sale for a month at a time so you can plan easily and the selection is great!

 

Here was my trip:

Udi’s Gluten-free Whole Grain Hamburger Buns – $4.09
Ian’s Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets – ($6.99) on sale $4.99
Cascadian Farms French Fries – $2.39
Van’s Gluten-Free Waffles – $3.15
Amy’s Gluten-free, Dairy-free Frozen Pizza – $9.59
Thai Kitchen Stirfry Noodles – $2.15
Almond Mozzerella Cheese – $3.65
Thai Kitchen Pad Thai Sauce – $4.49
Eco-Planet Gluten Free Oatmeal – ($5.49) on sale $3.79
Luna Bar – ($1.49) on sale $1
Organic Brown Rice (from bulk bin) – $1.79/lb
Talenti Blood Orange Gelato – $4.19
Organic Tomato – .41
Coupons Used:
Nature’s Pantry Coupon – $5 off $25 purchase (from coupon magazine I got in the mail)
Thai Kitchen Coupon – .50/1 (from coupon book at Beacon’s Natural Market)
Thai Kitchen Coupon – .50/1 (from coupon book at Beacon’s Natural Market)
Talenti Free Gelato coupon – $5.99/1 (won from Living Rich with Coupons – thanks!)
Luna Coupon – .50/1 (mambosprouts.com)
Udi’s Coupon – $1/1 (Udi’s Website)
Amy’s Coupon – $1/1 (from free magazine at Nature’s Pantry)
Van’s Coupon – $1/1 (Van’s facebook page)
.20 using reusable bags
Total before sales and coupons: $53.48
Total OOP: $33.79
SAVINGS: $19.69
So after sales and coupons my total savings was $104.78! Of course you won’t be able to duplicate this exactly but hopefully it’ll get you thinking more and more about how YOU can save money on the products you buy. All it takes is some prep work and a bit of imagination (if your diet allows it!).
Good luck and I look forward to hearing about your trips!
Next post I will be linking to the coupon blogs I follow, the sites I visit for coupons and any other links that I think will help you out! Don’t forget to check back!
Posted on Sep 22, 2011 in Just Life Thoughts, Saving Money | 0 comments

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