A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

This picture is worth $37.09. Above is the stash from Wal-mart from my shopping this AM. My out-of-pocket expense was $5.33. We are well-stocked with cereal.

I got some of these coupons (one per item) online. The napkin ones were in the paper a few weeks ago. I had 10 coupons (I did an identical trip to this one yesterday). I had a $1 off coupon for Dixie napkins, any size 160-count and up. I bought the 160-count size because they were $1.47 per packge. I would have saved $1 no matter when I used the coupon, but this way, I bought 10 packages for $4.70.

We're expecting a family of 11 any time now. They are staying with us for a few days. Better go do the last rounds and make sure all is ready.

~Joan

Clipping Coupons...is It Worth It? Well, That Depends

Went to Ingles today to shop. I normally don't find many of my bargains there. My WH had 2 co-workers here for the day (training, etc.). I told them about my shopping adventure when I popped into his home office to say "hi". One of them had never heard of Ingles and thought it must be some spectacular savings store. The other nearly fell out of his chair laughing. He assured her that there was nothing in Ingles in and of itself to make it a bargain-shopper's dream.

But I digress. I was in the checkout line at Ingles. The woman in front of my had about 6 bags of various items that I could not see because it was bagged when I arrived. Her total came to $162.something. She was ranting about the high price of food. Then she pulled out some coupons and her total went down to $150.something after they were scanned. She turned to me and said, "That's a lot better, isn't it?" I smiled and said she did well, and I was happy for her.

Let me pause to interject that I have so much to learn about this stockpiling while prices are rock bottom thing. I feel like the past 4 weeks of this type of shopping (email me for details) has been a whole education in grocery shopping.

Once all my items were rung up, my bill was $120.something. After the cashier scanned my Ingles card it went down almost $20. That reflects lower prices for those who have signed up and present their special card. That was great, right? Even better was my grand total due after my coupons were scanned...$37.86. I thought that was a bit high, but I did buy a few items that never go very low, even on sale. Plus, the coupons were not doubled like they are at two of the stores I shop at weekly.

Here's what I got with that...

~2 candy bars my son asked me to buy him for his brothers as a reward for helping clean up the room the 3 of them share (I will be reimbursed for that tomorrow). That was $1.46.

~20 4-packs of AA and AAA batteries (I will resell 16 packs of them tomorrow and be paid 50 cents more per package than I paid, netting me $8 profit).

~3 Benefiber (38 serving) powder (ditto on the resale, netting me $12).

~10 eight-ounce packages of luncheon meats (honey ham and grilled turkey to be exact). I will also be reselling most of these for I don't know how much yet.

~2 loaves of Italian bread (an extravagance...$1.68 EACH), but we can't do Italian w/o it.

~the big priced item...ground chuck @1.78 a pound. I bought 9-1/2 pounds. This is a good price around here. I brown and drain it all at once, then pack it into sandwich baggies, one pound per bag, and freeze it. Instantly ready for spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes, tacos, cheeseburger soup, etc.

I did fairly well overall. The cashier asked, "Why in the world did you tell the woman in front of you that she did well and you were happy for her?" I replied that I thought she did, and I was. Besides...she didn't know who she was up against ;)

~Joan

Grocery List ~ by Request

No pictures for this post. I've had some write and ask me what in the world I bought at the store today (for the receipt shown in the last post). Here is a complete list for that store (normal shelf price in parenthesis)...

6 Mott's Juice for Tots ($2.49 each)
10 Knorr's Side Dishes (rice and pasta mixes...$1.29 each on special 10 for $10)
4 BBQ sauces ($2.19 each)
10 Hellmann's mayonnaise ($3.99)
6 Worcestershire sauces ($2.95)
9 Grill blends (rubs for meats...$2.45)
9 Chef Boy-Ar-Dee pizza mixes ($2.94)
2 dozen eggs ($2.09)
1 Suave Deoderant ($2.19)

Email me for the "secret" to shopping for these items and how I ended up paying $17.66. There is a method.

~Joan, who is stockpiling everything she can at rock-bottom prices

Grocery $aving$

Some of you have wondered why I haven't been posting as much as when I started the blog back on December. What am I doing with my time? Why don't I make a new queen-sized quilt every week (that's for you, Marcie!)? Well, I am devoting myself to making shopping an art form.

Notice the above close-up of one of my receipts from this AM. That's me in the lower picture, displaying my mile-long receipt (over 2/3 of it was coupons).

Email me if you want details, ladies. I can get you on the road to grocery savings. Glory to God for grocery savings!

~Joan