I am SO thankful that since I've become a mom, I haven't had to work full-time. I've worked 12 hour shifts, both day and night, but never more than 2 a week. Now, I work 2 days a week for a pediatrician, but only from 8:30 to 5. This is perfect for me right now. Having two kids under three, both still in diapers, is wonderful but draining. It allows me time away (yes, going to work feels like a vacation from the mommy job!) and gives me adult interaction with the working world. It also helps me remember how lost the world is without Christ, as I often get trapped in my bubble of being home and taking care of my family.
I haven't really posted about my couponing on this blog because there are SO many good coupon blogs out there. Also, I started this blog for our family to see pictures when we lived far away. So, I didn't want to change the atmosphere too much.
But, I do want to start sharing a little about how we save money in this tough economy, and how we try to pay off debt so I can stay home more and more with the kiddos. So, I will quit "talking" and show you this picture and the price breakdown.
First, I went to Winn-Dixie. I got 4 boxes of cereal (1 Rice Krispies, 4 Raisin Bran Crunch) for $2.50 each. If you bought four, you got a free gallon of milk. I had 3 coupons for $1 off a box of Kellogg's cereal, and one coupon for a free box of Rice Krispies. So, I paid $4.50 for 4 boxes of cereal and got a gallon of milk for free! I also got 2 jars of Ragu Spaghetti Sauce, which was on sale $2.59 Buy One Get One Free (BOGO) and had a coupon for $0.60 off of 2 jars. So, the jars were $1 each. Birds Eye Frozen Veggies were 10/$10 and I had two $0.50 off of 1 bag. So I got the veggies for $0.50 each. Breakstone's sour cream was also 10/$10 and I had a $0.55 coupon, so that was $0.45. Activia yogurt was 2/$4 and I had 2 $1 coupons. So the 4-packs were $1 each.
Next was Albertsons. They had Dole Canned Pineapple for $0.88. I had a $0.50 coupon, so that was $0.38. I got two Birdseye Steamfresh Green Beans for $0.88 each and had a $0.50 coupon for each. So they were also $0.38 each . Huggies Baby wipes were $1.99 for the 64 count container. I had two $0.75 coupons, so they were $1.24 each, which is less than $0.02 per wipe, which is my target price.
Finally we went to Publix. There I got 9 boxes of Hamburger Helper. (I know my mother is falling out of her chair right now as I swore I'd never cook this stuff. But, I've learned that it's great when you're in a bind or you can give them away.) They were 10/$10 and I had a $0.75 off of 3 coupon. (I actually had 3 of these coupons, but the checkout lady wouldn't take the two expired ones.) So, I paid $8.25 for 9 boxes of Hamburger/Chicken/Tuna Helper. They also had Fiber One Yogurt (the Key Lime Pie flavor!) for $2.50 BOGO. I had one $1 and one $0.50 coupon. So, I paid $1 for TWO four-packs of yogurt. I also got one box of Betty Crocker Potatoes that was 10/$10 and I had a $0.25 coupon, so that was $0.75.
I will say that I think all of these stores are overpriced when you just go in and buy. However, they run good sales and if you combine those with coupons, you can get some great deals! If I have no time for coupons then I will shop at Aldi or Wal-Mart and know that I will come out cheaper than shopping at the grocery stores without coupons. I will also add that this is nearly impossible with two kids in the car. On this particular trip, Mallory kept John Mark and I only had Amelia. She's a great shopper!
From all three stores, I spent $22.35 and saved $52.86! My dad jokingly accuses me of stealing this food as he can't see how I could get it for so cheap! This trip did take about 2 hours of planning, scanning ads, finding coupons, etc but to save $50 for 2 hours- that's like working for $25 an hour, which is pretty good pay if you ask me!!!! And, I got to do it while playing with my kids!
I'd love your feedback on this- would you like to see more of my shopping trips or could you care less?
4 comments:
Way to go, Amy! Yes, SHOW US MORE!!
Good job on the coupon front, Amy! I used to coupon, but haven't the past 6 months or so because 1) the papers in AK don't have many coupons in them, and 2) couponing is great when you can stockpile, but not as useful when you can't. It's definitely worth the time and planning though...I used to feed Shannon and myself for $50 a week by taking the time to plan our menu for the week and shop the sales.
So...good job! I wish you many more successful shopping trips. It's great when you feel like the stores pay you to shop there!
Thanks, Katie, for the encouragement!
Michelle- I agree that stockpiling isn't an option if you have a move in the near future. When we moved to Florida, we didn't buy groceries (aside from produce and dairy) for nearly 6 weeks as we just ate off our pantry. It was also about the time Amelia was born, so we had lots of meals from church members, too! I had stocked our freezer well during my "nesting" time, so we had plenty! I go through seasons where I do lots of couponing, and then some where I don't do any and just shop at the cheap stores. Thanks for commenting!
Amy, I was only kidding about sealing. You are a good wife, mother & daughter. I love you bunches. Papa John
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