I had a GREAT day at the grocery store today and I only used 1 coupon from the newspaper. I bought a bunch of food to donate to my church's food drive, bottled water for the Rescue Mission and most of the ingredients for the freezer meal exchange group I belong to. I also bought the ingredients for several meals for my family.
At grocery store #1 I bought
2 cases of water @1.99ea (Rescue Mission)
4 12pks of Coke @9.98 for 4
1 2lb, 8oz head of Napa cabbage
2 cans of tuna @ $.44 ea after in-store coupon (food drive)
1 salad dressing @ $.27 after in-store coupon + manufacturer coupon
1 peanut butter @.99 (food drive)
1 head of iceburg lettuce @ $.44 after in-store coupon
4 lbs of strawberries @ $3.88
2 red bell peppers @ $.99 ea (I hadn't planned on these, but my 3yo picked them out. I'll never discourage his love of fresh veggies)
2 Broccoli crowns @ $.99 ea (Again, I hadn't planned on these but my son asked for them and this Mommy won't complain about a toddler asking for broccoli!)
All told at this store I spent $25.54
I went to another grocery store as well this morning where I bought things that weren't on sale, but that I needed (coffee filters, 8x8 pans for my meal exchange, manicotti shells, frozen spinach, cans of crushed tomatoes, onions, garlic, Italian sausage, etc) and still saved a ton.
Grocery store #2 highlights
4 whole chickens @ $.49/lb. ($8.67 for all 4) The chickens actually on sale a couple of weeks ago, but I had a rain check since the store was out when I went to buy them. The chickens were already defrosted so I have 2 cooking now and will put two in later. Whole chickens are one of my favorite ways to save money. I'll write a blog on those another day.
Cantaloupe @ $.25/lb. Mine was just under 4lbs so it was $.94
Canned vegetables and canned beans were $.44/can. I ended up buying 12 cans of beans for our family + 22 cans of veggies for the food drive.
All told I spent less than $100 on food for my family + food to help others. Our freezer and pantry are overflowing and, except for items like milk, it may be weeks before I have to do any "real" grocery shopping.
See my next post for ways I will use today's bargains. Our grocery budget (family of 4) is $300 a month and I do almost all of the cooking from scratch.
The strawberries we don't eat before they start to turn will be made into smoothies and/or will be frozen.
Showing posts with label grocery deals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grocery deals. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Shopping to Bless Others
An added benefit of getting free (or nearly free) food is the way it allows me to bless others. Our church has a food pantry, and like many in the country, there is more food going out than coming in.
As I mentioned, with the correct coupon, Bashas' has had free pasta for the past week. I had one coupon from my own paper and then bought 20 others from a seller on e-bay. Bashas', like most other stores, has a policy only allowing 3 "like" coupons per transaction to be doubled, so I spent a lot of time at the grocery store over the weekend. Sure, I could keep all 21 boxes, knowing my family would eventually eat them, but others need the food more. I kept some of the boxes for our family, but then was able to take several boxes to church on Saturday night. I already have several bags of food ready to go next week, as well. This afternoon I realized we have a pretty well-stocked pantry (ok, we don't have an actual pantry so I've turned the linen closet into one---who needs towels?) and started cleaning out more food to drop off on Saturday night.
If there is a deal on something I may not use, but know our church's food pantry or ACTS ministry to the homeless can use I will pick it up. We have several toiletry items we are "brand loyal" to because of allergies, but when toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, etc are free or nearly free I will pick those up, as well. We can't use razors nearly as fast as there are deals on them so those go, too.
The boxes of pasta, cans of beans, cans of veggies, etc I drop off may be out of my excess but they will be an enormous blessing to someone else.
What can you do on your next shopping trip to bless someone else?
As I mentioned, with the correct coupon, Bashas' has had free pasta for the past week. I had one coupon from my own paper and then bought 20 others from a seller on e-bay. Bashas', like most other stores, has a policy only allowing 3 "like" coupons per transaction to be doubled, so I spent a lot of time at the grocery store over the weekend. Sure, I could keep all 21 boxes, knowing my family would eventually eat them, but others need the food more. I kept some of the boxes for our family, but then was able to take several boxes to church on Saturday night. I already have several bags of food ready to go next week, as well. This afternoon I realized we have a pretty well-stocked pantry (ok, we don't have an actual pantry so I've turned the linen closet into one---who needs towels?) and started cleaning out more food to drop off on Saturday night.
If there is a deal on something I may not use, but know our church's food pantry or ACTS ministry to the homeless can use I will pick it up. We have several toiletry items we are "brand loyal" to because of allergies, but when toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, etc are free or nearly free I will pick those up, as well. We can't use razors nearly as fast as there are deals on them so those go, too.
The boxes of pasta, cans of beans, cans of veggies, etc I drop off may be out of my excess but they will be an enormous blessing to someone else.
What can you do on your next shopping trip to bless someone else?
Thursday, March 11, 2010
God is still using fish to teach . . .
We don't observe Lent, but as a huge fan of seafood I look forward to this time of year because all of the grocery stores have sales on fish.
The most spectacular deal I've found this year has been cod, sold in "family packs" for $2.99/lb at Albertson's. For the past few weeks I have been buying several packages at a time and freezing them into meal-sized portions for our family.
As I was in the kitchen using my FoodSaver on all this fish I saw a postcard on our fridge that we'd received at church at the end of 2008. On it were several verses about honoring God with our money. I read "'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,' says the LORD Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it.'" Malachi 3:10
As I read that I was thinking (ok, whining) "God . . .what more do you want from us? We tithe, we give, what else? Why isn't our storehouse overflowing?" A few minutes later I took my 12lbs of cod I'd just prepared for the freezer and walked into the laundry room (where our spare freezer lives). I opened the freezer door, immediately looked at the fact it is completely stocked with freezer meals, meat I'd been able to stock up on during sales, etc. and was convicted. Our freezer IS overflowing with His blessings. I was so wrapped up in the things we don't have I had completely ignored the blessings He HAS given us. Thank you, Jesus, for Your provision, and for reminding me how truly blessed we are.
The most spectacular deal I've found this year has been cod, sold in "family packs" for $2.99/lb at Albertson's. For the past few weeks I have been buying several packages at a time and freezing them into meal-sized portions for our family.
As I was in the kitchen using my FoodSaver on all this fish I saw a postcard on our fridge that we'd received at church at the end of 2008. On it were several verses about honoring God with our money. I read "'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,' says the LORD Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it.'" Malachi 3:10
As I read that I was thinking (ok, whining) "God . . .what more do you want from us? We tithe, we give, what else? Why isn't our storehouse overflowing?" A few minutes later I took my 12lbs of cod I'd just prepared for the freezer and walked into the laundry room (where our spare freezer lives). I opened the freezer door, immediately looked at the fact it is completely stocked with freezer meals, meat I'd been able to stock up on during sales, etc. and was convicted. Our freezer IS overflowing with His blessings. I was so wrapped up in the things we don't have I had completely ignored the blessings He HAS given us. Thank you, Jesus, for Your provision, and for reminding me how truly blessed we are.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Sales and Freezer Meals . . . these are a few of my favorite things . . .
Here are a few things I will be buying at the grocery store this week, as well as a freezer meal I will be making.
At Sprouts a 5lb bag of Clementines is on sale for $2.99. Considering how fast my kids go through these I may need to buy one box early in the week and another later on.
I'm really excited about FREE PASTA at Bashas' this week. Barilla pasta is on sale for $1/box and there was a coupon in Sunday's paper for $.55 off of 1 box of Barilla Whole Grain pasta. Bashas' doubles coupons up to $1 so my $.55 off coupon becomes worth $1. I'm not great at math, but $1-$1=FREE! :) While at Bashas' getting my free pasta I will be picking up strawberries because they are 2lbs for $3
At Safeway 93% lean ground beef is $1.99/lb and a 5lb bag of red potatoes is only $.99! I am going to buy about 5lbs of ground beef and a bag of potatoes.
Here's a freezer meal I will be making after I go to Safeway: I will brown all the ground beef and turn all the potatoes into mashed potatoes. I will combine these with ingredients I have on hand already (carrots and frozen peas) to make 5 Shepherd's Pies. I will put one 8x8 pan in the oven for dinner and then seal the other 4 with my FoodSaver and freeze them. I LOVE making double (or quadruple) batches of foods like Shepherd's Pie and freezing them because I have a preservative free meal waiting in my freezer on nights I don't feel like cooking. I don't do "once a month" cooking because I don't want to spend an entire day cooking and doing dishes. By making a large batch and freezing the extras I'm only doing the work once and not spending any extra time in the kitchen than I normally would making dinner on a normal evening.
At Sprouts a 5lb bag of Clementines is on sale for $2.99. Considering how fast my kids go through these I may need to buy one box early in the week and another later on.
I'm really excited about FREE PASTA at Bashas' this week. Barilla pasta is on sale for $1/box and there was a coupon in Sunday's paper for $.55 off of 1 box of Barilla Whole Grain pasta. Bashas' doubles coupons up to $1 so my $.55 off coupon becomes worth $1. I'm not great at math, but $1-$1=FREE! :) While at Bashas' getting my free pasta I will be picking up strawberries because they are 2lbs for $3
At Safeway 93% lean ground beef is $1.99/lb and a 5lb bag of red potatoes is only $.99! I am going to buy about 5lbs of ground beef and a bag of potatoes.
Here's a freezer meal I will be making after I go to Safeway: I will brown all the ground beef and turn all the potatoes into mashed potatoes. I will combine these with ingredients I have on hand already (carrots and frozen peas) to make 5 Shepherd's Pies. I will put one 8x8 pan in the oven for dinner and then seal the other 4 with my FoodSaver and freeze them. I LOVE making double (or quadruple) batches of foods like Shepherd's Pie and freezing them because I have a preservative free meal waiting in my freezer on nights I don't feel like cooking. I don't do "once a month" cooking because I don't want to spend an entire day cooking and doing dishes. By making a large batch and freezing the extras I'm only doing the work once and not spending any extra time in the kitchen than I normally would making dinner on a normal evening.
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