good shopping trip

So my husband and I went to Sams club on Saturday, and we found some pretty good deals, still spent a lot of money but we did pretty well. My parents are having a party this weekend and we are having one in 2 weeks so we bought 600 plastic forks for $9. We figure that this way we will have enough for birthday parties and other parties for a couple of years. Also we got 2lbs of string cheese for $7.50 wich is $1 more than I pay for a pound of it at Walmart. We found a few other things for a reasonable price.

After Sams club I went to Walgreens. I bought myself Dove shampoo and conditioner, My husband some Head and shoulders Shampoo, 4 jars of Ragu Pasta sauce, a thing of Q-tips, Gillette razors for my hsband, Degree deodorant, and a big box of Lipton tea. I had a coupon for every item plus the Razors, sauce , tea, Shampoo's and conditioner were all on sale. My total after Tax was $30.33 but I also got $10 dollares in register rewards to use at my next purchace. So my next trip will be even better, I can try to pair the $10 with other items that earn me more register rewards and couple them with more coupons. I will be going shopping Thurday so I will let you know how I do.

easy chicken

So I don't want this blog to be entirely about coupons and saving money at the store, I want to teach you how I save money at home too.

One of my favorite meals growing up was Shake and bake chicken and I still love it today. Well since I am trying to cut back where ever possible making my own shake and bake is a great way to do it. I am not even sure how much it costs in the store since I have been making it my self for so long but I'm sure it is cheaper my way.

I always have bread crusts left after the loaf is gone so i just set them aside and grind them up for bread crumbs and store them for times like this. I like to add a little bit of cornmeal to the bread crumbs for some flavor, then I add whichever seasonings I am in the mood for. From Italian seasoning, to dry ranch dressing mix(bought in bulk at Sams). I think tonight I am going to do Garlic, onion, and Italian seasoning with some Parmesan cheese mixed in. Add a little salt and pepper. Just dip the chicken (Leg and thigh quarter I bought for $0.49 lb) in milk then in the bread crumb seasoning then toss in around in an egg wash and bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 min. I am serving it with green beans fresh from my garden and some homemade applesauce. YUMMM!!!

Quick shopping trip for $10

So yesterday I had to find something quick for supper so I went to the store with $10 in my pocket.

I left with 3 steaks, 2 loaves of bread and a gallon of milk for $10.13, so I had to dig for a little change
The bread, with savings card, was $0.69 a loaf
he steaks were $3.56, $3.03, and $3.57 each, however they had been cut a few days ago so they each had a sticker for $1.00 off.
The Milk, with a coupon, was $1.69

Also Sunday when i was there I bought my husband 4 packs of Vitamin water (4 in a pack)for $9.99 and they are normally $5.19 a pack. They were on sale for $3.33 ( with savings card) a pack and if you bought it in quantities of 4 they were $9.99 so essentially I got to pick up an extra one for free just for taking 4. YAY for me!!!!

$20 at the store

So this morning I am heading to the grocery store with $20 in my pocket and here is a list of what I need.



1. A gallon of Milk

2. 2 frozen juice concentrates

3. A bag of Potatoes

4. 1 lb of fully cooked shrimp

5. 1 bag of apples

6. 1 bag of grapes

7. 3 Pears

8. Small loaf of Italian bread

I do have a coupon for the Milk and potatoes. The milk is on special (take advantage of those moments) so a gallon of milk is going to cost me $0.99 and 5lbs of potatoes for $.069 with the in store coupon and a $10 purchase. I am hoping I can get it all for $15 so I can buy My son a treat if he is good in the store.

OK so I'm back from the store $19.64 spent

Every thing I bought except for the fruit was on sale.

The Milk that I had coupon was out of stock they substituted it with a different brand, I still got the sale price of $1.99 but didn't get the $1 off. I did get the potatoes for $0.69 though. I also found frozen juice concentrate on sale for $0.99 instead of $1.45 so I bought 6 instead of 2 I also found an in store coupon for $2 off the shrimp. I also ended up with 2 bananas because my son asked for them. And I spent $1 to buy my son a bottle of Hog Wash juice as a special (way too sugary) treat. I also found the reduce bakery cart and got a Large loaf of French Bread for $0.99 instead of a small loaf of Italian for $2.99 I was planning to use it as a side with some steak rolls so it won't matter much. and I can take the left overs and make bread crumbs with it for a later date.

It did average at $1.40 and item which doesn't sound great but considering I had a bag of Shrimp and a gallon of milk which are higher ticket items it didn't seem too bad.

My total saving with coupons and the store savings card was $7.52 and that doesn't count the reduced bakery item because they just ring those in at the price listed. The price on the package said $1.99 and I got it for $0.99 so that was another $1 bringing my total saving to $8.52 which is 43% of what I spent.

shopping for meat

For me meats are a tricky item, my local grocery store has pretty good quality meat and we do have a butcher shop about 15 miles away but I don't get there often. I a few tipsI use for shopping for meats and not spending a ton.

1. I buy the lesser quality cut, unless you were planning something special Porterhouses aren't really necessary for a day to day meal.

2. Look for the meat that has been on the shelf a little longer and see if you can get it discounted. Our grocery store will put coupons on the stuff that has been on the shelf for 2 days.

3. Don't buy things like stir fry or stew meat they charge you extra because they cut the meat smaller.

4. Buy roasts you can use them as roasts, you can cut them into the stew and stir fry meats, you can also cut them into sandwich size steaks.

5. watch for sales on bags of frozen chicken instead of fresh.

6. also look for chicken that is sold as Leg and thigh still together those are sold here 2-3 times a year here for about 50 cents a pound in 10 lb bags, I just separate and freeze with a vacuum sealer.

7. Buy bone in pork chops they will cost less

There are so many things I watch for when it comes to buying meats and it saves me so much money. I bought 4 steaks the other day for less than $2 a steak and 1 steak will feed me, and Braxton for supper, plus I had enough left over to keep for lunch the next day so I could treat myself with a steak sandwich.

today is grocery store ad day

I thought today would be a fitting day to start this as today is the day I get my weekly ad for the local grocery store. I live in a very rural are and do not have the luxury of multiple stores for comparing prices and no large chains either. we have a Piggly Wiggly in town and Wal-mart is about 20 miles, and sams Club is about 55 miles, so these are my only real options for grocery shopping.

The one thing I can not stress enough is if your local store has any kind of a rewards card SIGN UP!!! Our Piggly Wiggly has a savings card that helps you get discounts and they are currently running a promotion with one of our gas stations where you buy certain items and you get money off per gallon of gas. It is like free money, I can buy certain items through out the store save anywhere from 1 to 20 cents off per gallon of gas. They can be used whenever so you can save them up. The only thing is that it is for up to 15 gallons at a time and if you only put in 10 gallons your points go back to Zero so watch the fine print.

My other Big thing is coupons. I love them and then use them as often as possible, now unfortunately our store won't double, but you can use coupons with their in store promotions so you can save a lot if you pay attention.

I would also like to make sure that people know with grocery stores and savings cards there may be more on sale than what is in the flier so make sure you take the time to look around while you shop. Another thing to really watch for is clearance or special pricing deals like 5 for 5 or 10 for 10 type deals. Also if you find something that is supposed to be on sale and the store runs out ask for a rain check most of the time you will get one unless they are 2 day sales those are normally first come first serve.

So today I get the flier and I go through it and will circle all the things that I need that are on sale this week. My big thing is meat, I only buy meat when it is on sale and I stock up on it when it is.

OK I'm off to see what I need. Happy shopping for now.