It's Shopping Trip Time!
It has been a few weeks since we went shopping. We were out of town and well, life got too busy! That's why couponing is so essential to our lives, because we don't HAVE to shop when we can't. We just eat out of our stockpile (we did have to stop off for bread a couple times for sandwiches).
This is real life (you can't make this stuff up, right?!!): As I got to the checkout counter, I had Annabelle (our 13 year old) and Beier (our 6 year old) with me, and Beier wanted to hand all the coupons over to the cashier. So I carefully handed them to him and told him to be very VERY careful as he handed them to the cashier. But I turned around to continue unloading the cart and therefore missed the “handoff”. Because I used the new TrueCouponing App (on the iPad), I knew how much I was about to spend…and the total was off by about $25! So I quickly looked over my receipt and found that I was missing at least my $5/$30 coupon. Where did it go?? Well…after questioning things for about 5 mins…turns out, the cashier had accidentally knocked them off the register and they were shrewn all over the floor!! She nicely scooped them up and apologized and I took them over to customer service and got back my money. It amounted to almost $31 in coupons that were missed! Poor Beier who was initially blamed! So here's what we got:
Shopped at Publix (2 separate orders):{Since I shopped on the last day of the sale, I have separated out the items you can still take advantage of from the Yellow and Green Advantage Flyers!}
From Last Week's Weekly Ad:
(6) Halls Cough Drops assorted 30 ct (excluding Halls Defense), (BOGO $1.57) – $0.79 each
Used: (6) $0.55/1 Halls Drops, exp. 12/31/12 (Blinkie found in front of product!! WooHoo! Love when that happens) = $.24 each = $1.41
(8) Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom or Cream of Chicken Soup 10.75 oz, (BOGO $1.25) – $0.63
Used: (2) $1/4 Campbell's Soup printable = $0.38 each = $3.00
(6) Kraft Shredded Cheese assorted 7-8 oz, (BOGO $3.99) – $2.00
no coupon used = $1.70 each = $12.00
(10) Nestle Toll House Morsels assorted 10-12 oz, (BOGO $2.45) – $1.23
Used: (5) $0.75/2 Nestle Toll House Morsels, exp. 12/31/12 (SS 11/04/12) = $.85 each = $8.50
(2) Oscar Mayer Wieners: Regular, Jumbo or Bun Length assorted 16 oz (excluding 98% Fat Free and Cheese), (BOGO $3.59) – $1.80
Used: (1) $1/1 Oscar Mayer Beef Franks or Selects Hot Dogs, exp. 11/28/12 (Publix Stocking Spree Coupon Booklet )
Also Used: (1) $1/2 Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs MQ printable (zip code 77477) {Thanks for emailing me Tiffany R. SRQ!} = $.80 = $1.59
(2) Pompeian Imported Olive Oil, Extra Light Tasting or Classic Mediterranean 16 oz, (BOGO $5.99) – $3.00
Used: (2) $1/1 Pompeian Olive Oil or OlivExtra Plus printable = $4.00
(6) Wise Potato Chips assorted 6.75-7 oz, (BOGO $2.99) – $1.50
no coupons used = $9.00
(6) Domino Pure Cane Sugar Powdered Confectioners, Premium Dark or Light Brown Sugar 16 oz – $0.99
Used: (3) $0.50/2 Domino Brown Sugar, exp. 12/31/12 (RP 11/04/12) = $.74 each = $4.44
(2) Keurig K-Cups assorted 12 ct, Newman’s Own Organics 10 oz (excluding Folgers, Millstone and Van Houtt – $5.99
Used: (2) $1/1 Green Mountain Fair Trade K-Cups printable= $4.99 each = $9.98
(4) Nabisco Oreo Cookies, Fudge Cremes, Cakesters or Fig Newtons 8.04-15.9 oz or Oreo Creme Filled Brownies 15 oz, 2/$6 – $3.00
Used: (1) $1/2 Oreo Cookies, exp. 11/28/12 (Publix Stocking Spree Coupon Booklet )
Also Used: (2) $.50/1 Oreo Cookies 10-22.5 oz use zip code 77477 = $2.00 each = $10.00
(4) Silk Soymilk or Almondmilk 1/2 gal, 2/$5 – $2.50
Used: (2) $1/1 Silk Almond or Soy Milk printable
Also Used: (1) $1 off Nabisco Oreo Cookies and One Gallon of Milk printable = $1.75 each = $7.00
(2) Daisy Cottage Cheese: 2% or 4% Milkfat 16 oz, 2/$4 – $2.00
Used: (2) $0.35/1 Daisy Brand Cottage Cheese, exp. 12/31/12 (SS 10/21/12 R) = $1.65 = $3.30
(2) Angel Soft Bathroom Tissue Regular 24 ct, Double 12 ct or Triple 8 ct, 2/$10 – $5.00
Used: (2) $1/1 Angel Soft Bath Tissue @Target printable
Also Used: (2) $0.25/1 Angel Soft Bathroom Tissue, (RP 11/11/12 R) = $3.75 each = $7.50
(6) Dixie Plates or Bowls Soak-Proof Shield assorted 20-48 ct, 2/$4 – $2.00
Used: (3) $1/2 Dixie Regular or Ultra Plates or Bowls, (RP 11/04/12 R) = $1.50 each= $9.00
(3) Totino's Party Pizza – $1.15 (not on sale)
Used: (3) $2 off Frozen Pizza wyb (2) Dixie Napkins; Dixie or Dixie Ultra Paper Plates, exp. 11/23/12 (Publix Yellow Advantage) = $2.55 overage
(6) General Mills Cereal: Original, Honey Nut or Multigrain Cheerios 16.2-18 oz; or Cinnamon Toast Crunch assorted 20.25 oz, (BOGO $4.79) – $2.40
Used: (2) $0.50/1 Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal printable
Also Used: (2) $1/2 Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal printable = $1.90 each = $11.40 (this was not the best deal, but we were running low on cereal, and I wanted it to have along for afternoon snacks while out and about)
(1) Publix Tall Kitchen Bags w/Flap-Ties or Drawstring 13 gal 55-85 ct; or Lawn + Leaf Bags with Flap-Ties 39 gal 32 ct – $5.99
no coupons used = $5.99
(10) Nestle Toll House Morsels assorted 10-12 oz, (BOGO $2.45) – $1.23
Used: (5) $0.75/2 Nestle Toll House Morsels, exp. 12/31/12 (SS 11/04/12) = $.85 each = $8.50
(1) We were supposed to buy: Rico Thai Jasmine Rice 5 lb – $4.99, but instead we came home with Rice Selects Jasmati Rice $5.99
no coupons used = $5.99
From the Yellow Advantage Flyer:
(2) Ziplock Gallon Slider Bags $2.35 (not on sale) {we are totally out at our house…some things you just have to get, you know?}
Used: (1) $1/2 Ziploc Brand Bags or Containers Yellow Advantage
Also Used: (1) $1/2 Ziploc Bags, exp. 12/22/12 (SS 11/11/12) = $1.35 each = $2.70
(5) Hellmann's Mayonnaise 15 oz – $2.99
Used: (5) $1.50/1 Hellmann's Product, exp. 11/29/12 (RP 11/04/12) = $1.49 each = $7.45
(7) Morton Sea Salt 17.6 oz $2.39 (not on sale) {we needed this}
Used: (7) $0.75/1 Morton Sea Salt 17.6 oz (Publix Yellow Advantage)
Also Used: (7) $0.55/1 Morton Kosher Salt, Sea Salt Grinder or Mediterranean Fine or Coarse Sea Salt Canister, exp. 2/28/13 (RP 11/11/12) = $1.09 each = $7.63
(2) Publix Buttercrust Bread – $1.59 (not on sale)
no coupons used = $3.18
(2) Marzetti Refrigerated Dressing 12-15 oz, 2/$4 – $2.00
Used: (2) $1.25/1 Marzetti Refrigerated Salad Dressing, exp. 12/30/12 (SS 11/04/12) = $0.75 each = $1.50
From the Green Advantage Flyer:
(4) (I chose 2 Elastic Wraps and 2 Supports) $3.81 and $5.43 after 15% discount = $18.48
Used: (2) $1/1 Ace Brand Elastic Bandages printable
Also Used: (2) $2/1 Ace Brand Braces & Supports printable = $12.48
(2) Purell Aloe or Original Hand Sanitizer 8 oz, 2/$5 – $2.50
Used: (2) $1/1 Purell Sanitizing Item 8 oz or larger @ Target printable
Also Used: (2) $1/1 Purell Hand Sanitizer, exp. 2/4/13 (SS 11/04/12) = $.50 each = $1.00
(2) Sundown Vitamins, I got Vitamin D and B6 which costs $3.59 and $3.29 = $6.88
Used: (1) $5/2 Sundown Naturals Vitamins or Supplements
Also Used: (2) $1/1 Sundown Naturals Vitamins or Supplement Products, exp. 12/04/12 (RP 11/04/12) or (RP 10/21/12) = $0.12 overage
Grocery Grand Total: $326.29 (includes $3.18 sales tax)
I used (2) Winn Dixie $5/$30 Competitor Coupon (from the Enjoy the City Booklet). That is why I split up the order and had James pay separately. minus $10
Amount Paid after Coupons = $145.87
Final Outcome:
Total # of Items: 113 Spent Total OOP: $145.87 (Budgeted $160)
Total Saved: $180.42 Savings: 55% Price per item: $1.29 {yes, this is a little high, I bought quite a few items that were not at the lowest price (like the Sea Salt)}
I am a reasonable couponer…the one thing I want you readers to take away from this is that this is my REAL life. I don't shop coupon items separately to show off a good percentage. And I have a family of 6 to shop for, so that automatically causes our bill to be rather high. Here is the bottom line. My two week grocery budget is $160, I was under that by $15 ($12.48 of that really should have gone against our “sports” budget for the Ace Bandages). That is the goal here. To spend less than we have. Reasonably. It has to be a balance of time and money…yes, I could have spent more time paying attention at the store (the Rice mix-up) or hunting down better ziplock coupons. But, so long as I am under budget, that is what matters most to me at the moment.
~I hope you can be inspired to do this for your family too! Happy Shopping!
