Wednesday, January 5, 2011

My Sweet Savings on Groceries

We did our grocery shopping yesterday. We shopped at 3 different stores so we could get the best deals from each store. Here's what we ended up with.


Ralphs
The common misconception is that you can only get unhealthy boxed foods from coupons and sales. That is definitely not true. We got a ton of produce on this trip. One way we saved on this trip is through recycling. We save our bottles and cans and then turn them into the recycling center at Ralph's. They give us 5 cents per item. So we used our credits today towards our groceries. We had almost $20 worth of credit. That was a huge savings on our purchase. We paid $3.62 for $55.01 worth of groceries! We saved $51.39. That's 93%!!! That is a record for our family!


Here's the Breakdown:

Quaker Instant Oatmeal
      Normally $4.99
      On Sale for $1.99
      I had coupons for $1.00 off
      Final Price $0.99 each
Aleve

      Normally $4.99
      On Sale for $1.99
      I had a coupon for $1.00 off
      Final Price $0.99 each

Oral B Glide Dental Floss
      Normally $4.99
      On Sale for $1.99 with 4 item purchase
      I had a coupon for $0.75 off
      The coupon was doubled to $1.00 off
      Final Price $0.99 each
Baby Carrots

      Normally $4.99
      On Sale for $0.99

4 packages of Blueberries

      Normally $4.99
      On Sale for $1.50
2 Mangos
      Normal price- $1.49 (I actually paid full price cuz I want them for my new juicer!)


5 Oranges

      Normally $1.69/lb
      On Sale for $0.47/lb

6 Kiwi
      On sale $0.50 each

So we got all those sweet deals then used our $20 in recycling Ralphs credits and got all that for under $3.62! 22 items for an average of $0.16 per item!

______________________________________________________________


Vons 
We got $81.04 worth of groceries for $35.09. We saved $45.95- a savings of 58%! Here's what we got at Vons:






Here's the Breakdown:

4 Hormel Beef Roast Au Jus (super yummy and is ready in 4 minutes!)
     Normally $7.99
     On Sale Buy One Get One Free
     I had coupons for $0.75 off
     The coupons doubled to $1 off
     Final Price $2.99 each
Eggs
     Normally $2.99
     Store coupon save $1
     Final Price $1.99
Pillsbury Quick Banana Bread
    Normally $3.09
    On sale for 1.49
    I used a manufacture coupon for save $.40
    The coupon doubled to $.80 off
     Final Price $.69
Smuckers Jelly
    Normally $5.69
    On sale for $2.50
    Store coupon
    Manufacture coupon
3 Kleenex
    Store Coupon for $.99 each
    Manufacture coupons for $.25 off
    Doubled to $.50 off
    Final Price $.49 each
Fructis Shampoo
   Normally 4.79
   On Sale for $2.99
   Coupon for save $.75
   Doubled to $1.00 off
   Final Price $1.99
Sierra Mist
   Normally $4.79
   On sale for $2.99
   Coupon for save $1
   Final Price $1.99
Cascade Dish Detergent
   Normally $6.19
   On sale for $3.99
   Coupon save $.75
   Coupon doubled to save $1.00
    Final Price $2.99
2 Oral B Toothbrushes
   Normally $1.99
   On sale for $.99
   Manufacture Coupon for save $.75
   Coupon doubled to save $1.00
   Got toothbrushes for FREE!
3 Mr Clean Magic Erasers (seriously, those things are magical)
  Buy 2 get 1 free
  
Not too shabby, huh?

______________________________________________________________



Albertson's
I'm not that proud of this shopping trip since we only saved 40%. We usually save an average of about 55% off. But I thought it was worth sharing since there are some good deals in this mix. We got $91.84 worth of groceries for $55.04. We saved $36.80- a savings of 40%.




Here's the Breakdown:

 Gallons of Milk
    Normally 3.49
    On Sale for $2.69
Huggies Diapers
    Normally $11.99
    Got it FREE since I had a coupon for a free package I received for calling to complain about leaking diapers
Minute Maid Juice
    Normally 2.49
    Sale Price 1.99
Dole Juice
    Normally 4.19
    Sale Price $3.00
Land O Lakes Butter
    Paid full price since I was almost out $2.69... bummer
Tyson Frozen Chicken Breast
    Normally $8.99
    On Sale for $7.99
    Coupon for save $1
    Final Price $6.99
6 Hamburger Helpers
    Normally $2.49
    On Sale for $1
    Manufacture Coupons for Save $.75 on 3 boxes
    Final Price $.75 each
Knudson cottage cheese
    Normally $3.29
    Coupon save $1
    Final Price $2.29
Nature's Own Bread
    Normally $3.49
    Sale Price $2.49
Sara Lee Bagels
    Normally $4.29
    Sale Price $2.49
2 Langers Apple Juice
    Normally $3.29
    On Sale for $2
    Manufacture Coupon for save $1 on 2
    Final Price $1.50 each
2 Albertson's Brand Ice Cream (you know I just HAD to get some ice cream!)
    Normally $4.49
    On sale for $3.00
Parmesan Cheese
    Normally $4.99
    On Sale for $4.49

______________________________________________________________



So to sum it all up, I paid $93.75 for $227.89 worth of groceries. I saved a total of $134.14. I'd say that's pretty darn good! Now some people may argue that they don't have the time to deal with coupons. I will admit that it does take time, but I personally think it's all worth it. I think we spent about 2 hours preparing the shopping list, cutting and gathering coupons
2 hours shopping and about 2 hours preparing for the shopping trip. So about 4 hours of work, I saved our family $134.14. That's an average of $34/hour plus a ton of food. For a stay at home mom, I'd say that making $34 an hour is awesome pay.

When you buy things when they are at their lowest prices, you will always have a full pantry with items that only cost you pennies on the dollar.

No comments:

Post a Comment