This weeks grocery tally is a little different. I used a few coupons so I thought I would break down a my shopping trips so you could see how I used the coupons in case you wanted to get some of the same deals.
Also, I was talking to my neighbor Girly Girl last week and she wanted to know if there were any deals on milk and cereal so I went ahead and picked up a few things on her list from Safeway so that is why you don’t see the amount in my final tally. 🙂
Albertsons Shopping Trip $8.26
Yoplait Yogurt Cups, 6 oz $0.38 w/ in ad coupon {limit 10}
Use {1} $0.40/6 Yoplait Yogurt Printable Coupon
Use {1} $1.00/4 Yoplait Yogurt Cups 4-13-14 SS
Final Price: $0.13 each after coupons WYB 10
Dreyer’s Ice Cream, 1.5 qt $1.99 each WYB4
Use {2} $1.00/2 Dreyer’s Slow Churned Light Ice Cream or Grand Products, 1.5 qt or Larger 5-11-14 RP
Final Price: $1.49 each after coupons
Ronzoni Pasta 12 – 16 oz box $1.00
Use $1.00/1 Ronzoni Gluten Free Pasta Coupon
Use $1.00/2 Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Pasta Coupon
Use $1.00/1 Ronzoni Pasta Coupon 5/11/14 SS
Final Price: As low as free after coupons
La Brea Bread Baguette $1.99
Use $2.00/1 La Brea Bakery Product Printable Facebook Coupon
Final Price: Free after coupon
Safeway Shopping Trip $21.23 {I picked this stuff up for Girly Girl}
2 Liter Bottles of 7Up $0.88
Use $.88 Safeway Just 4UCoupon in weekly flyer
Use $1.50/2 Share and Save Coupon
Final Price: $0.13 each after coupons WYB2
Bull’s-Eye BBQ Sauce, 18 oz $0.99
Use $1.00/2 Bull’s Eye BBQ Sauce, 17.5 oz or larger Coupon 5/11/14 SS
Final Price: $0.49 each after coupons WYB2
Revolution Foods Meal Kits, 3.19 – 4.2 oz $1.99
Use $2/1 Revolution Foods Meal Kit, 2.8 – 4.2 oz Printable Facebook Coupon
Final price: Free after coupon
Hillshire Farm Products, 7 – 15 oz $2.99
$1.00/1 Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage Links 5/18/14 RP
Final Price: $1.99 after coupon
FREE Milk when you buy any {4} participating Quaker Products Mix & Match 4/$10.00
Use $1/2 Quaker Chewy Bars coupon from 5/4/14 RP
Final Price: as low as $2.00 per box
Winco Shopping Trip $13.63
The bulk bins at Winco are Da’ Bomb. I tend to stock up on spices and other bulk items there about twice a year when I’m in the area.
Smith Brother’s Milk Delivery $11.16
Having milk delivered is a HUGE time saver and knowing it comes on the same day each week is very helpful when it comes to meal planning.
How did YOU do this week? Did you find any deals?
And, what’s the most you are willing to pay for a box of cereal?
~Mavis
Total Spent This Week $33.05
Total Spent This Year $745.17
Total Spent This Year on Garden Seeds/Supplies $38.94
Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.
randy says
I really enjoy your batting sessions. I was watching older ones.. Sitting in Maine with rain and 45 degree weather it is really real up lifting.
Madam Chow says
We don’t eat cereal, we eat oatmeal. On the rare occasions we do buy a box, our cut off price is $2.50
Traci says
OK, I have planted green beans, thinking about the Kiwi Crate, your garden is way greener than mine ( I live two hours south of you!) cook from scratch and am still overwhelmed by the about of time you spend in the kitchen, the deer eat my rhodies, and I never shop at Winco, there are way to many aggressive homeless out front. But please tell us who won the tickets to Mother Earth News fair.
Did I miss it?
Sarah says
I love your blog. However, I often find it discouraging because I don’t have extra pockets of $$ I get for free…like a Panera gift card, Vitacost credit, Zaycon credit, etc…so it just seems unreasonable and hard to compare to what we actually do. I wonder if you might consider also having a tally for if you actually paid for everything? And, what about the cost of equipment, like freezers, jars, tools, rain barrel, greenhouse etc…and having extra land to grow on…I understand it feels free now, but there is still a cost, and being in a position of starting up a garden it’s actually very expensive, even when being mindful of costs and getting some things for free. There is also a cost to spending time doing something – I wonder how much it ‘costs’ to do all the planting, watering, harvesting, etc. Just some thoughts about trying to make a meaningful comparison to what my family and I do. Thanks!
Mavis says
Sarah,
I understand where you are coming from. It might seem like my situation is very different than yours so it’s hard to make a comparison, but I don’t think there would ever be a scenario I could pose that would fit everyone’s lifestyle. So I just stick to mine. I may ask for gift cards for Christmas and my birthday or get some Zaycon credit, but I also live in a small town with higher grocery prices. So there is always a trade-off that makes it very hard to compare apples to apples.
There are many start up costs associated with a garden, and since I’ve already incurred them years ago, I don’t include them in my totals. I do however include my seed and supply totals, which of course are relatively low because I’ve paid for the upfront costs a long time ago. I also don’t include or calculate the labor hours because to me, gardening is a hobby. I’d do it even if my garden didn’t yield any produce because it’s relaxing and therapeutic for me. The fact that I get a produce haul out of it is a complete bonus!
I know that makes it hard to compare your situation to mine, and I’m sorry about that. I’d love to try to break down my costs further, but just reporting like I currently do takes a heck of a lot of time as is. So taking the time to calculate what things might have cost me vs. what I actually pay would ultimately take more time than I’m willing to put into it. I hope you understand.
I’d say just keep on keeping on. Upfront garden costs aren’t awesome, but they are soo worth it, and they will be for years to come! Good luck with your garden.
Sarah says
Thank you Mavis for taking the time to post such a thoughtful reply, I’m sure you’re very busy. Yes, I certainly agree that once the money is spent (sunk cost), it’s hard to factor in. I think I’m always curious about whether what I’m doing is saving my family money, or costing us money. Certainly gardening is a hobby for us, and I love it no matter if we get food out of it or not…we have a sizable flower investment as well 🙂 – just wanting to see if my family can afford my hobby actually!
I’m more of an estimator anyway when it comes to budgeting so I guess I was thinking even an estimate of ‘other sources’ you’ve used would be useful (Panera $15, etc.). I try to make the same rough calculation when it comes to couponing (is my time clipping & sorting etc. worth the $50 I saved this week?) – there’s plenty of joy in seeing how much I’ve ‘earned’ by doing a bit of up front organizing for sure. In fact, for a while whatever I was able to ‘save’ went to a garden fund 🙂 Shopping local of course is great too – spent $32 a couple weeks ago at our farmer’s market on local tomato plants, herb starts, strawberry starts, and succulents…
Thanks again for all the info you post & my next decision is whether to invest in canning supplies…we won’t have a huge harvest this year, but even buying large amounts of organic produce from our local farmer’s market could make for a very fun weekend canning extravaganza! Take care & happy gardening!