Saved 61% on Meat at Albertsons!!!

It's week two of my war on the grocery stores! Have you joined my army? I am determined to save money on real food, healthy food for my family. That can be tricky when there are rarely coupons for meat and produce. That's why you should definitely take advantage of coupons that help you save on your overall purchase and apply them to transactions that include meat/produce at good prices...hence today's trip...

I spent $34.08, saved $52.77, a 61% savings!!! Here's what I got and how:

• Garbage bags- $4.79 (Not a great price, but we desperately needed them. I'll have to stockpile these soon.)

• 10 Oscar Mayer 1lb shaved lunchmeat $2.99
  Use 5 $1/2 Oscar Mayer shaved lunchmeat from SS 5/15, plus get $10 instant savings for buying 10
• 9 pounds Albertsons Chicken Drumsticks, Thighs or Whole Legs, or Whole Fryers- $1.00/lb (no coupon needed)
• 6 Boxes of Selected General Mills Cereal $1.88
  4 Bisquick Shake n’ Pour $0.75 (no coupon)
  Use 3 $1.00/2 – General Mills Cereal, Basic 4, Cheerios, Chex, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, or Cookie Crisp – (coupons.com)
  Final cost for all ten items after $5 instant savings : $11.28
• Used one "Double the Value" coupon- These came in your mailbox in a "savings booklet" about a week ago. As long as you're using at least one coupon that is $1 or more in value, this is essentially like using a $1 off your order coupon. It's just that simple. Put it in with the rest of your coupons. There is no need to tell the cashier which coupon to use this on. Just make sure there is a $1 coupon in your stack to maximize the savings.
• Used one $5/$25 order that I received for signing up for the Albertsons email savings program. (Get the link at www.thekrazycouponlady.com. You can receive up to 5 with referrals!)

Total before Club Card and coupons: $86.85 which still would've been a good deal,

paid just $34.08 after all was said and done!!!!!

Oh! And did I mention that each and every one of my Cheerios boxes had a $1.50/1 Pampers coupon on the box, and they don't expire for almost a year!!!

What are you waiting for? Go get some cheap groceries!!

Albertsons- spent $69, saved $150!! 70% savings!

If you're new to couponing, you probably focus mostly on the health and beauty products, but are mystified and intimidated by getting the same kind of savings on real groceries. Well, no more! I am declaring war on the groceries stores, and you should join my army! Above is a picture of my grocery haul for today. I spent $69 on over $220 worth of food. That's a 70% savings in a town with no double coupons!!!

Hopefully you know how to find the best prices in the store- use the weekly ad (in your mailbox) and match it up with your coupons, whether you already have them or you need to print them online. Many sights will do these matchups for you (www.saveathomemommy.com is great as she lives in Bakersfield and will give you local deals by store), but they mainly focus on the rock-bottom prices, and forget that you may not be able to eat off of 6 bottles of pasta sauce alone. So, you'll have to do your own homework as well. There are a few steps to making a money-saving list....

The key is to focus your shopping dollars into categories. First, plan to buy the items that are at "stock-up" prices- see www.thekrazycouponlady.com to learn more about stockpiling, its purpose, and -key- stockpile price points. Second, buy the items that are slightly higher than your stockpile price, but you have none of (this is obviously only for those who are just starting their stock like me.) It's better to pay a good, if not great, price now than to pay more later when you have to have it and you have zero stock. Third, buy the items you need to survive this week (or 2 weeks if that's how you shop). This will be determined by what you have on hand as well as what's on sale, combined to create menus. I know. This is getting complicated. Do your list in pencil, or like me, re-write it several times to check your numbers. If you feel you'll be over-budget, eliminate what you can from the 2nd and 3rd categories above. Try not to sacrifice the stockpile items, as this will pay off greater in the long run.

Now, I'm just starting out, so I can't claim to be an expert. That's why I encourage you to go check out my favorite sights listed above. I'm merely here to be an encouragement. They will show you the ropes.

For those of you interested, here's what I got today:

10- jars of baby food (coupon on 3 of them)

1- 12pack of toilet paper (sale, no coupon)

4- cans tomato sauce (sale, no coupon)

1- can diced tomatoes (sale, no coupon)

1- can coffee (sale, no coupon)

10- Lipton Knorr side dishes (sale plus coupon)

6- jars Ragu pasta sauce (sale plus coupon)

12- boxes Ronzoni pasta (sale plus coupon)

4- Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers (sale plus coupon)

8- bottles Wishbone dressing (sale plus coupon)

2- cans Las Palmas enchilada sauce (sale plus store coupon plus mfr coupon)

1- box Emerald Breakfast on the go (sale plus coupon plus doubler)

2- boxes of Lipton tea bags (sale plus coupon) > must have for my MIL when babysitting ;)

8- jars Peter Pan peanut butter (sale plus coupon) > not my preferred brand, but cheap!!

1- package of Weight Watchers cheese wedges >no sale or coupon, but needed for recipe

2- blocks of Albertsons cheese (store coupon in circular/weekly ad)

2- 1 lb packages of ground beef (store coupon from summer savings book)

1- 30 oz Rotisserie chicken ($0.99 with 10 Knorr sides purchase above)

2- yellow onions

1- 3lb bag of apples

What are you waiting for? Start saving money on real food!!