Thursday, June 18, 2009

Grocery Smart

So a few months ago I went to a grocery shopping class to learn how to save money. The class was about clipping coupons and stocking up while things are on sale. There is a web site (www.grocerysmarts.com utah password g84cjh) that will tell you what is on sale at each store and what coupns to use to make the sale even better and they also rate each item to let you know how good the sale really is. Along with this I have subscribed to the Sunday paper and each Sunday morning if you drive by my house you will see a pile of 5 papers sitting on the driveway. If you are buying the paper for the coupons the newspapers will give you bulk deals (I think we pay somewhere around $12/month for the paper). I used to be horrible with grocery money, I just bought what I needed when I needed it. Now I buy things that are on sale and I stock up, that way I have them when I need them. So far in the few months that I've been doing this I have saved about $200/month and I still have tons to learn in the coupon world.
Yesterday I went to the store to get my groceries for the week. The total came to $55.39 and this is what I got for that:
1 Bottle of Murphy's Oil Soap
2 Cans of Pam Cooking Spray
3 Boxes of Kellogs Raisin Bran
3 Boxes of Kellogs Frosted Flakes
2 Loaves of Bread
1 Bag of Hamburger Buns
1 case of Bottled Water
10 cans of Manwich
10 boxes of Pillsbury Brownie Mix
1 gallon of Milk
3 Dozen eggs
5 packs of Danimals yogurt
4 Angus Beef Steaks
3+ LBS of Bananas
2 LBS of Red potatoes
2+ LBS of Granny Smith Apples
1 Onion
1 bag of baby carrots
Not only was all of that only $55, I also have $10 coupon to spend on my next shopping trip.
After looking at the list you may wonder why I didn't buy any "real" food, well I have already stocked up on my chicken, roast, lunch meat, cheese, etc. It may be a little time consuming, but it is very exciting, this girl likes a challenge, and it is fun to see how cheap I can get things for.

6 comments:

Wendy said...

Wow...that is awesome, I am impressed! I really need to work on using my coupons!

Kearl said...

So, does the store let you use 5 coupons for one item or is it 5 coupons for 5 items?

Kearl said...

Do you have to have a freezer to really do this?

Amara said...

No kidding! I'm impressed. Now I know why Becky had 5 papers sitting in her driveway too.

Jacobson Five said...

It is 5 coupons for 5 items. It is helpful to a have a freezer for meats, but other then that just a large pantry or a food storage area. We don't have a big freezer, we do have 2 fridges, so 2 freezers as well.

Ali said...

I am seriously addicted to coupon shopping. I even have a blog to share some of my trips and tutorials at couponclippincutie.blogspot.com

Keep it up! You are doing great!!!