Grocery Report

I went on my monthly grocery shopping trip last week and Kroger was one of my stops. I haven't made a coupon run in soooooooo very long but I thought I would share this little score with you. I had almost forgotten what is felt like to have such a coupon high! (smile)

 Here is the break down of my deals: Starting on the left

4 Notebooks on clearance: $.15 each

2 M&M's: manufactor $1 coupon

2 Snack packs $.50 coupon (tripled) paid .50 for both

5 Cake mixes: $.99 each

5 Kashi Cereal: $2.99 each

Because I bought the cake mix and the cereal equaling 10 back to school items I got $5.00 off my total

2 Cranberries

2 Ranch Dressing

1 Sugar: I had a manufacturer coupon and a Kroger coupon paid $.39

OJ: had a manuf. coupon and a Kroger coupon

eggs: FREE egg coupon from Kroger 

Peter Pan: Manf. coupon & Kroger coupon

Sour cream: Kroger coupon

2 Coffee Creamer: Kroger coupon

Facial Cleanser: Kroger coupon

Make up remover: Manf. coupon

watermelon, 2 strawberries, and $.39 a lb. bananas

1 head of lettuce

I also had a coupon for $1 off when I purchased $5 in the dairy dept.

Because of a mix up the manager accidentally have me another $5 off since she didn't think it took it from the back to school deal. We later discovered that it actually had...she said don't worry about and let me keep the $5 extra off my total!! How COOL is that! Blessing.....Blessing.

I SAVED $44 in coupons and discounts and SPENT $61....I was thrilled with that considering the items I bought!!!

In case your wondering about all those Kroger coupons....I got them in a mailer from them several weeks ago. If you do not receive these I'm sure you can go to their website and sign up for them, or call your local Kroger and ask them how you can get them.

Coffee-Mate Brew Crew!

FUN NEWS! I have been accepted to be a part of the Coffee-Mate Brew Crew! So you can expect to hear about new and upcoming products and specials first hand. If you haven't ever visited their site for coupons go HERE and enjoy some immediate savings!

DANIELLE

Monthly Report for June

Another month down!!! Wow is the year flying by faster or what????

Here is what I spent this month.....

Walgreens $35.62
# of items = 42
CVS $21.44
#of items= 21
Meijer $28.91
#of items=33
Aldi $ 25.65
# of items=19
Kroger $83.47
#of items= 107
TOTAL FOR JUNE $223.80

To be honest I am a bit disappointed with that total...We ate from the pantry/freezer for about half the month!! I expected out total to be WAY down.....But I guess if I look at grocery alone purchases, I was at $137.83 which is way below $200......I was really hoping to be below $200 with everything though.....Hmmmm I need to decide if my $200 has to include my CVS and Walgreens runs or whether I just want to allow myself a certain amount of money per month for that......I go back and forth with that decision...what do you all think?

Well this next month, JULY, Justin has decided he is meal planning for the month and shopping one time. He wants to break down how much we are spending per meal and what we ate.......just for fun really......In all honesty we kind of like to challenge ourselves and make this whole frugal living lifestyle a game. So I will let you know how it all turned out in my next report......in the mean time I am looking forward to not meal planning and making whatever he comes up with....oh that kinda scares me a little though.....but I am NOT going to complain...He's helping.....right....ya I think so!

Kroger 10/ 10 SALE!!!

Last night I went to Kroger to get in on some of their 10/10 sale before it ended.....I had not been grocery shopping for almost 3 weeks!!! I was taking a much needed break from sale watching, couponing, and running to my stores....so we in turn ate from the pantry and the freezer....worked out great, but it felt good snatching up some deals this week!!!
Well, I put 77 items in my cart and my total before any coupons was just over $80....after coupons I paid $63.22!!!!
Just to highlight a couple deals: I got 4 of the Santa Cruz organic juices..on sale for $1.50 and I have .75 off coupons making it only .75! A nice treat for us...I hardly ever buy juice, let alone organic!! I also got 10 FREE Kool-aid packets! I am thinking after this shopping trip that should get me through the end of the month!!! I can't wait to add up my small pile of receipts from this month and see how much below the budget I am since I chose to stay home an not shop!!
We shall see......

CVS & Walgreens Deals...

CVS didn't really have a whole lot I was interested in this week, but I was already out to stop at Walgreens (which is right across the street) so I thought I might as well.... Just stopped in to collect all this for free....I had some ECB's and I paid $13.64 oop and got back $13 ECB's....so it cost me .64!!! Worth the stop...also I got a coupon from the "magic coupon machine" for a FREE MILK this week...who doesn't need free milk??? I know I do!!! Here is my adorable hubby showing his excited over my deal shopping...I got 2 milks (not pictured), 4 boxes hefty quart bags, 4 Nabisco snacks, 2 deodorant, 1 baby powder, and 1 St. Ives and I spent $16.XX oop (3 transactions)....I ended up with $6 in RR when I left....but I think I messed up a bit this week.....$10 for all that is still to much b/c I made money on three things, and got the baby powder completely free.....The snacky things messed up everything, but I guess that is what I get for grabbing those unneeded things...Grrrrr! Oh well, I'll do better next week....
Just a little braggin' on y hubby....I am so thankful for a husband who supports me and my Coupon Craziness....always willing to keep the kids when I shop....helps carry things inside when I get home if I need it...get excited for me when I come home with lots of deals....And he tells me how much he appreciates how much money I save us each month......all while keeping our cabinets more stocked up than before......THANKS HONEY.......I AM SO GLAD YOUR MY HUBBY!!!

How I Did Last Month/ Grocery Run for the Week!

Well I did well last month!!! I had so much sharing how I did last month with you all I thought I would do it again this month......Here is the breakdown:

Walmart (I know don't fall off your chair I actually stop once in a GREAT while) $24.46
Aldi $38.81

Kroger $108.68 ( I spent more here than usual we decided before our 5-day camping trip to just make one stop here instead of running to several stores with ALL the kiddos.....)

Meijer $21.67

CVS $21.13

Walgreens $25.61 (I made more stops here than usual this last month...I MADE $35 in RR from all the Monitors I got.......)

GRAND TOTAL: $240.36

I was happy with that even though I try to stay within $200 for the month...We celebrated 2 birthdays last month and went on our little camping vacation.....So I think overall I did well and am pleased with that :)

How'd you do last month???? Is anyone else saving money shopping????? I would love for you to take a second to tell me...it encourages my heart!!!

Last night I made a Walgreens stop and did TWO transaction to use up my RR I made last month!!! Before I forget I got Johnson's & Johnson's Baby Powder FREE.....the 4oz bottle is $1.99 and then you get $1RR and then I also had a $1 MQ....so check that out....I had 2 items (puppy related) that I returned and then turned that money into a FREE pack of diapers and a pack of pull-ups :) After coupons my first total was .74 and then I got my $2 RR from the Ecotrin! Then the 2nd transaction total was $13.XX I had to get some things I needed while I was out sponges, snuggle softener sheets, the other things like honey, animals crackers, and fruit snack where just a nice treat for the kiddos....So I could've did it much cheaper....but I knew I had extra in the weekly budget to go ahead and get em'......

Next stop KROGER...I got FREE Quakers(coupon in the mail), FREE kitty food, FREE dial soap, FREE Oscar Meyer Franks (coupon in the mail).....MM dog treats!!! (Shortcuts had a $2.50 loadable coupon I had already loaded one on then they had another one available...then I had 2-$2.50MQ they cost $4.49 and I had $5 in coupons....LOVE THAT!!! I got pizza for $1.50 each By the time I deducted all my yoplait coupons I paid .29 per yogurt....I got .50 Bar S franks and Bologna...and cheap TP and bananas to round it up!!

Total $20.XX my total was $46.04 before Q's!!!!

Today while my loving MIL kept my kids I ran to MENARDS and scored some FREE after Rebate item...Saws were FREE, Safety glasses (in the back) FREE, Tarps FREE, Letter Coloring Book FREE, Batteries were .99 after rebate and the Duck tape was .49 after rebate...OFF was $2.XX after rebate...I only had one Q but I now we will use it!!!
After Menards I hit MEIJER....Not pictured is 2 cases of FREE water, and then I got 4 2 liter of pop and the chip for my SIL b-day party this weekend....2 FREE chex mix, FREE milk, 2 money making Pompeian Red Wine vinegars (Thanks Megan for that!!), FREE Go Lean waffles (coupon in the mail) There is a deal when you buy two Crystal Lights you get a FREE case of water..no limit...So I did two of these and there are coupons on Meijer's Mealbox and MQ you can use to make the 2 Crystal Lights and water $1.98 total!!! BONUS when I checked out I also got a $2 Catalina for my next purchase......I don't know if it was because I got 4???? But heads up with that!!! So I really got two Crystal Lights FREE also :) Kellogg's cereal was 4/$10 ($2.50 each) I got 3 of those then one that was $2.69 I had $1MQ for all of them and then because I bought 4 cereal I got the FREE milk!!! Ritz were .50 each after MBox Q and MQ combined....Then I had a coupon for 1 FREE box of Wheat Thins if you bought a box of Ritz (It was in this weeks paper I think) I was even able to get the BIG Family Size BOX.....and Tomato Basil are my FAV!!!!!

Grand Total was $20.XX My total before Q's was over $40!!!!!

So my grocery total this week was $53.00 only $3 over and since I had to extra stuff at Walgreens and another fun b-day party that works just fine!!!!

My Rebate Check Has Arrived!

Okay so I realize the picture didn't load right, but you get the point....I got my Rebate check from Unilever....Remember the Unilever deal where you buy $40 in their products and then they would buy you a Free Ham or Turkey.....Did anyone else take advantage of this deal???

Recent Grocery Trips

So this past Saturday I was in town for the Home school Convention and I made a stop at Meijer. Camping season is upon us so I got a few things that would not normally made the "list" on shopping day! Well I don't have the receipts handy with how many items I got and how much I spent...I do remember that I did very well and everything I got ended up costing me much less than $1 an item..."That's what I'm talking about!"

Okay, so this was a little trip I made at the ridiculous hour of 10pm last Wednesday night.....I had fighting with my computer for about 2 weeks...it didn't want to print my coupons....AHHHHHH!!! Well I just took advantage of cheap cereal, cheap crackers and yogurt....I got the Kraft BBQ sauce four of them....they were $1 each and then I had coupons for only one then I got $2 back at the register...So I spent $1 for all 4....good huh??? (Better if I could have got another Kraft BBQ coupon to print...grrrr!

So that it all the shopping I have done in the last two weeks...slim deals I thought in the previous weeks...so we have been eating from the pantry supply.....It is so nice to have that option :)

Sooooo how have you been doing at couponing????? Have any stories of how much you have cut your budget each month on groceries....GO AHEAD leave a comment and SHARE!!!!

Today ONLY!!!

Today only!!! Print a $2/1 for ALL detergent.....that's huge!! Money Saving Mom suggested pairing these coupons with a BOGO (buy one get one) and score a really sweet deal!!
Go here to print off your two coupons (click your back browser to print the second one).

Practical Tip Tuesday

My Practical Tip this Tuesday is about getting coupon inserts!
Okay so I have already told you about "Big City coupon inserts" and how there are always a ton more in these papers than in my small town Sunday papers. Well I used to be able to get the Chicago paper and that option is no longer an option....then I thought I could start getting the Indy star then that didn't happen as well!! Then Megan let me in on a website she found that we can purchase just the inserts from the "Big City" paper!!! I ordered my first batch of coupons you see here on Friday afternoon around noon or 1p and I got them in the mail at my house on my Monday mail!!!! I'm not sure they will always be that speedy...probably depends on the time of day you order and if that is a shipping day for her...keep that in mind! I just so happy that thanks to Megan we have discovered a way to get those inserts and have them delivered to US!!!! At Dede's site you can order coupons inserts and you order individual coupons also....I didn't check out anything else on the site yet. Her site is http://couponsDede.com
Just a little FYI, you need to become a member....which only means put in your mailing address and email address then you can look through the available items she has......also FYI if you would be so kind as to put my name (Danielle Gaerte) in the "how you found this site" box and my email address which is jdgaerte@hotmail.com then the next time I order I can get 10% off......I would be very thankful to you :)
Have a GREAT Tuesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Read All About It!!!!

I found out some GREAT information yesterday which should be help to any of you wanting to get a "Big City" newspaper!!!! Maybe you didn't realize it, but there is quite a difference between the coupon quantity in the smaller town newspapers compared to say the CHICAGO or INDIANAPOLIS newspapers. Since I started couponing I have been blessed with such a helping soul who has went and picked up two Chicago papers for me and brought them to my in laws each week then they give them to me....sounds a bit complicated but actually it worked out very smoothly! The deal with the Chicago was we couldn't get home delivery because we are to far out of the region...and the only other way to get it would be for them (the newspaper) to mail it to me....which would cost between $5-$6 per paper.....WOW!!!!!! Costing me $10-$12 for two papers...not happening!!!

Soooo the point being, now Megan found out that we can get the INDY Star each week mailed to out house (we should get them on Tuesday each week). The cost will be $3.50 a paper...making the cost $7! You might be thinking that $7 for two paper sounds like a lot of money....but really I assure you it's not!!! I would say on average that the number of coupons you get in these papers is DOUBLE sometimes TRIPLE of what is in your local Sunday paper!!!!!!

Here is the info to call and start up your subscription and this is what you need to tell them!!

* You can call 1-317-444-4000 or TOLL FREE 1-888-357-7827

* Tell them you would like the SUNDAY ONLY paper

* Make sure you tell them you need it mailed to you (unless you live around Indy.)

*Also if you want 2 papers be sure you remind them to send a note to the carrier about you wanting 2 papers!

***One quick side note....there are several Sunday's a year that the newspapers don't have coupons in them...due to holidays. For example Easter Sunday will be the next no coupon Sunday.....so if you go out and buy your own papers you'll want to skip that week. So for me I don't want to get $7 worth of newspapers from Indy that I don't need. For these certain Sundays you will need to notify the paper sometime during the week and let them know you want your paper put on Vacation hold for THAT Sunday only. Otherwise they will continue to delivery the paper and charge you for it. You might still get your paper by accident...but you shouldn't be charged for it since you put it on hold. You can also put your paper on hold and manage your account, voice delivery issues online at http://MyNewspaperService.com

----Hope this information is helpful....and helps you get more bang for your buck!!-----

Looks like it will be a great coupon week in Sunday's paper!! There should be three inserts: Smartsource, Red Plum, and Protor & Gamble!!!!!! Did you know you can preview the coupons that will be in the Sunday paper???? You can!! Go to http://taylortownpreview.com to check it out each week. When you log onto the page scroll down a bit and on the left you will be the dates listed...find the week you want to check and click on it. You need to wait until Wednesday to check for the preview on the coming Sunday's paper..Make sense??

Free Signature Generator

How to Reduce Your Monthly Grocery Bills...Part 1

I have been sharing all my great pics of my grocery runs each week, so I wanted to start sharing with you how I do it, and how YOU can easily do it too!!!

Okay so I also realize that not everyone is into the whole "Coupon Craziness" way of life that I thrive on! So I wanted to start off this series with a few money saving ideas for those of you that would like to decrease your monthly spending at the grocery store but not clip any coupons. As I progress through the series I will explain in detail my whole journey through learning how "Coupon Craziness" works for me and my family. It does work differently for each family. Each family has their own budget, and different quantity needs. PLEASE never feel like that the way I do things is the standard...never feel like my budget and what we spend it what your family has to spend. Simply use this information to learn how to get more for you hard earned money.
I also plan to share with you what I have learning through this whole process and thing reason why I think how we spend our money is so important...


Here are some ways you can save money without clipping coupons!!!


1. Meal Planning- I know I have mentioned this before, but I think this is one of the most steps you can take to save lots of $$$$$$. If decide to do nothing else throughout this series this step alone with save you bundles....and you will see immediate results!!!

2. Stick to Simple and Inexpensive Meals- I don't think you need to serve your family a 6 course meal each night in order to meet nutritional and health needs. Be creative think of simple and easy meals you can make with items you already have in your pantry.

3. Cook from Scratch as Much as Possible- This is something I am still learning to do, I am enjoying the fact that cooking from scratch doesn't have to be so scary and intimidating. I didn't grow up learning about cooking from scratch, so this is a challenge.

4. Shop Once per Week or Less- The simple fact of this step is the less you shop....the less money you spend!!

5. Shop Aldi-If you have an Aldi's in your area you really should be taking advantage of your staple items here. I also use their prices as my "Price Book prices". Which means I know what things cost at Aldi and then compare that to what I can buy things elsewhere. If I can get things cheaper somewhere else because of a sale and using coupons then I know I am getting a good deal.

6. If Aldi is not an option shop at a nearby store that runs sales. Plan your meals around the sale items.

7. Garden- For the first several years of our married life I had my own garden. As I started having babies I guess I ran out of time and energy to put out a garden (having 4 babies in 6 years does that I think!!) During these later years my mom and dad have graciously continued to put out a garden, much larger than they needed in order to let us reap the benefits at harvest time. (THANKS MOM AND DAD!!) This spring we are starting up our own garden again and I am very much looking forward to whole process of getting back into the groove!! So if you know you don't want to take on a garden yourself or maybe you don't have the space.....ask a friend to start a garden with you and share the responsibilities of taking care of it. Also you will the great joy in watching the garden grow and collecting things in the fall...at least know this could be an option.

These are the things we put up throughout the summer and fall:

*Corn, Green beans
*Spaghetti sauce, tomato juice, salsa
*Jams- strawberry and last year I did raspberry as well!
*Apple sauce and last year I tried pear sauce...yummy!
Another option is to go to U-pick farms and get your fruit when it is in season (saving you a bundle!) Then you have the option of freezing the fruit and keeping it for use later in shakes, smoothies, jam, baked goods, ect. I am hoping now that my kiddos are getting older this will become more of an option for us!! I am planning to U-pick some blueberries, strawberries, and maybe raspberries this coming year.

8. Hunting & Fishing- I also understand this is not a possibility for everyone but my husband, dad, and father-in-law all hunt and fish which helps to provide 90% of our meat supply. I know I don't need to explain to any of you how hard getting meat on a budget can be. Here are a few suggestions about saving money on meat.

*Get a cow butchered and split the meat and the cost between family or friends. If you aren't sure where to get a cow or how to go about this process ask around. I would recommend starting with a local butcher. I made a phone call last week to a butcher in my area and they offered this advice. (1) When you get meat from a local butcher whether it's a cow or whatever they can tell you where that meat came from, how it was raised, which can make a difference in the quality of meat. (2) They can package you meat to meet you families needs. For instance, if you buy some freezer beef they can put 6 steaks in a package or 2 steaks in a package whatever you need.
(3) If you don't want a full cow and you don't have anyone to split it with you can even buy a 1/2 of a 1/2 of beef!! I though that was a great option you might want to think about taking advantage of. The great thing about getting meat this way if you usually pay the same for hamburger that you pay for steak!!

Coupon Craziness Part 2

Here are a few more things you might want to know about what I do....
*At each CVS they have these little machines that spit out coupons for you when you scan your CVS card. You can sometime scan it up to three times in a row on a good day!!! Use these coupons to save even more money!!!
** At Kroger and Meijer you can use only two coupons at a time for the same item..Example: If I want to buy 4 or 6 bags of pizza rolls at Meijer (because you can get them free this week:) I will have to do 2 bags at a time....so I will do 2 or 3 transactions....Make sense??
***If you shop Kroger and you want to save even more go to http://shortcuts.com/ and then you can upload more coupons onto your Kroger card..It's easy and quick to do. You can now load 50 coupons on at a time!!! These ecoupons are only worth face value, they do not triple. BUT you can use MANUFACTURER coupons, which do triple, plus the KROGER ecoupons and save even more...EXCITING I KNOW!!!
****I always find out what the deals of week are from 2 sites. Feel free to check them out each week for the latest deals at Walgreens, CVS, Kroger and Meijer, an NOW MENARDS too.
http://dailyessentialsanddeals.blogspot.com http://moneysavingmom.typepad.com/
***** Last thing for today....make sure you have a good filling system for your coupons!! It is very important to be organized in my opinion. It saves so much time to be able to flip through your coupons and grap the ones you need for the week. For the last three weeks I have been trying to do a better job of cutting out my coupons the day I get them and file them. Makes life easier later :)

How is that possible??? $200 for six people for one month???

I have had several people ask me how in the world do I get all my groceries for a family of 6 on a $200 a month grocery budget......so I will do my best to explain how it has worked for me...

BACKGROUND INFO: A cousin, Megan, sparked me onto this whole "COUPON CRAZINESS" which is what my husband usually refers to it as. (Don't get me wrong he's not complaining about me slashing the grocery budget. He just thinks all the rules and how the game works is MIND BOGGLING). So she, Megan, explained the method a bit to me and said go to http://moneysavingmom.typepad.com/ and she will explain it all more...so I did and then I printed off the booklet ($9.95, I think I had to pay to print it). I read through it and then read through it again, and then I asked Megan probably a million questions!!!

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START COUPONING!!!!!

1. You will not cut you grocery bill in half the first, second, third , or even fourth month......it took me six. You may never cut it in half depending on your situation, but I do know you can knock off a good chunk of money your spending!!

2. I get my coupons fby getting one FW Sunday paper and two CHICAGO papers each week....Chicago papers are not available anywhere around Busco or Col. City that I know of, and you can't subscribe to the paper (unless you want to pay $4.55 per paper and even then I am not sure you would actually get one). Megan lives in LaGrange, she can get papers there. So she picks them up each Sunday and then gives then to Justin's parents at church and of course they then give them to me. Chicago papers run about 2.50 per paper (so I spend about $25 a month). My FW paper is $1.25 a week I think. They more than pay for themselves every month!! The thing about Chicago papers....they have way more coupons in them than the FW paper.

3. It takes awhile to stock pile all your coupons. The point being to have duplicate coupons to use those on the items when they go on sale. SALE PRICE - COUPON = FREE or NEARLY FREE STUFF. You want to be able to buy more than just one..so you can stockpile.

4. Here are the stores I shop at CVS, WALGREENS, MEIJER (not to often because I have to justify the gas and time and all), KROGER, and ALDI.

5. Each week CVS and Walgreens will run deals on items that you can get free. At CVS they might say buy Dawn for .99 and then get .99 ECB. ECB's are your friend!!! Basically it is cash to spend. At first you will spend money out of your pocket to buy these things, in order to build up your ECB's . The general idea is to spend those ECB on items that will replenish the ones you spent. At Walgreens the same concept is true, they call their rewards Register Rewards.

6. Krogers in our region TRIPLE coupons up to and including .50 coupons (so your .50 coupon is really a $1.50 coupon). Meijer doubles up to and including .50 coupons. So every week you would look for the sale items (10/$10 things especially) and then use your coupons to get them free. When those items go on sale you stock pile and slowly build up your pantry. (That is the reason you want more than one coupon, that is also why I get 3 papers.)

7. Anything that I don't get for free, I usually can get at ALDI.

8. If you are brand sensitive on things you might not find couponing as beneficial as our family does. I am only picky on a few things..detergent, peanut butter and that's really it.

9.Your pantry will not be stockpiled full immediately. But it also won't take to long, maybe a couple months.

10. It does require some time commitment..cutting out coupons and filing them. ( I use a binder with a zipper, and bought plastic baseball card inserts (9 count) and then label for each category.) I also look up what the upcoming deals are on Hot Coupon World each week then print it off and that saves me time..then I can know which coupons to pull...then check the ad on Sunday (for CVS, Walgreens, Meijer), or Thursday for Kroger and see what other thing I want to get that week.
If you would like to check out http://hotcouponworld.com/ click on the link and then scroll down to DRUG STORES (to check CVS and walgreens), then scroll to CVS hot deals, or Walgreens hot deals (which ever you are checking). Then you scroll down again until you find the weekly sales you want to view...They usually show about 2 weeks in advance what the upcoming sales will be. To check out Kroger or Meijer look on this same site EXCEPT go to GROCERY STORES instead of drug stores....just be aware that some of the sales might be regional so check carefully.

11. I spent lots of time at the beginning getting used to everything and looking online alot. Now I don't take much time at all..

12. I do not use many printable online coupons...I do use some if I see on some blog, or moneysavingmom that you can print a coupon on a sale item that I don't have a Manufacturer coupon for.

Well I think that is enough info for today...I don't want to overload you in one day!!! I know it can be alot to absorb in one day!! If you have questions just leave a comment, email, or call me. I will post more on "coupon craziness" next week!