I Finished My Binders

So after eight months of filing my coupons by insert, I have changed my system. I was inspired by two things; First on Extreme Coupons, Joanie had a system in her binder that I really liked and second I found that I had broke the cardinal rule of coupons when I went through to purge the 12/31 expiration's. I had missed valuable deals and to be honest it made me feel sick to my stomach in a way I never expected. These were things that I had been shopping and getting for free; butter, toilet paper, batteries, pasta, noodles...my list went on.

So that was it, it took me 3 days to organize and purge my coupons and I have already seen the bonus.

First I chose to have 2 zippered binders, one for food and one for non food products. Then I have 5 smaller wallets for separating store trips so that I am only using my binders in store for extra special deals. My food binder is separated in to 32 sections and my non food into 16. My wallets are labeled for ease in the store such as freezer, fridge, cans, meat, household etc. in each section I am using baseball card holders and have separated each section. Ie Dental, has a sleeve for toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, floss. Each folder has ended up being more than 4 inches thick and have already had success in Walgreens where I got over $200 for about $26 (plus came away with $6 in rewards). I love my new system as when I see a deal in the store I can easily see if I have a coupon to make it a better deal.

2010 Grocery Savings!

So I finally finished going through all my receipts and here are my totals that I spent and should have spent in groceries last year.


Shelf Price $17923.72
Out of Pocket Expense $2308.89
Saved $15614.83 85%

...Should have cost each week $344.68
Actually cost $44.40

Now I do factor in the cost of papers and the cost of my grocery game as well. So if you take off $8 a week on average for papers and the $2.50 a week for the Grocery Game its not looking too bad at all.

I am experimenting with a new site thanks to TLC's Extreme Couponers..

weusecoupons.com

This site is free and I am still getting used to it, a lot of friendly people and advice but I am not ready to give up my lists yet through Grocery Game as it does the work for you. I currently use it for Albertsons, Frys and Safeway but will use WUC for Target, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart etc.

This year I want to expand my stockpile and save even more money. I am currently working on getting paid to buy diapers from Target and I think I will pull it off.

Grocery Shopping

So last night we did our grocery shop and in total spent about $125. For this we got 30lbs chicken, 10lbs sirloin, a pot roast, 10 packs of Hillshire sausage, baby food, water, candy, bread, tortillas, peppers, onions, egg plant, apples, mushrooms, salmon, cheese, soda, pasta and so much more. The first picture is everything we got free!


These coupons give you $1 off meat and produce at Frys. It is how I got the peppers free.
http://www.frysfoodtatumshea.com/coupons10110/

The Cheerios were free thanks to a Safeway coupon they mailed to me, the 2ltr was a free coupon again from Safeway!

Arrowhead Aquapod Water was from Albertsons on sale for $1 and the red plum from 8/29 had a 75c coupon, which they doubled to a dollar.

Hershey's Bliss Chocolate Candy was on sale for 50c at Albertsons and there was a 55c coupon in the 9/26 Smart Source.

Mentos Sugarfree Gum was on sale 10/$10 at Albertsons and there was 2 $1 coupons in the 10/3 Smart Source.

The slices of cake were a surprise as they were offered free when we got to the counter at Albertsons!

Bestlife Buttery Spread was free at Frys, on sale 10/$10 there was a $1. in Red Plum 8/29

Tic Tac Candy was free from Safeway using a coupon from the 10/3 red plum.

I also have rain checks for free tuna and $2 packages of Jenni-o Ground Turkey!
I get all this info from the grocery game. I love the website. Its free for four weeks and I pay$20 every 8 weeks for detailed lists for 3 stores. In the last year I have got approx $10k of groceries for $1500. My husband was out of work for 3 months and thanks to the game we had food storage that meant we ate like he was working and within 2 months of him back to work we have 6months of storage in place.

If you join the grocery game please use me as a referral shygirl12009@live.com. I would like the free weeks :)

Last Weeks shopping

Last weeks grocery was great, including a few treats and wants rather than just what we needed.
Now with the baby coming soon this also included 4 packs of diapers, 2 cans of formula for the just in case after all we do want to breast feed, it is the best way!!! We got 4 things of steak. Its amazing what this can do for us...we have taken pics and I will add them soon just to prove how much stuff you get with this.

Albertsons
Shelf 159.53
OOP 46.39
Saved 113.14 71%

Frys
Shelf 221.71
OOP 73.12
Saved 148.59 67%

Safeway
Shelf 56.48
OOP 17.28
Saved 39.20 69%

Total
Shelf 437.72
OOP 136.79
Saved 300.93 69%

Month to date
Shelf Price $2931.36
OOP $800.84
Saved $2130.52 73%

Average Weekly Grocery before GG $130
Average Weekly Grocery with GG $88.98

Went Grocery Shopping

Grocery shopping used to scare me, I mean what if I cant buy enough and then the dreaded bare cupboard syndrome at the end of the week. 8 weeks ago my budget was $130 a week for 2 of us, let me explain. DH is a bigger guy and enjoys his food, five now four dogs, as well as I am 7 months pregnant and craving a lot of different things as well as have always shopped for the best things, fresh meat, organic veggies etc. Now also I will let you know that this is not just the food budget but if its used in the house its on this budget, food, cleaning, health, medicine, vitamins(the only ones that stay down are almost $50 a month, beauty and already prepping for baby as in I have diapers, baby wipes and special water for him to drink.

So with me not working anymore I set a budget at $50 a week, gotta still cover the baby things as well as cravings and plenty of food for hubby. So went in search of a solution after all we were struggling at $130 a week to keep food in the house and as I was about to give up hope of finding a way to do this, thinking great macaroni and cheese with hot dogs 5 times a week I found a website. If you contact me I will share this wonderful place which I am addicted to, the only thing I ask is that you give me the referral credit as the one who sent you there.

For the first time in years I have my fridge freezer, chest freezer, pantry and all my cupboards full and even though my weekly average isnt at the $50 mark yet, I made it this week with just over $5 to spare.

Whats the secret, coupons. Yes those pesky things that people use and hold up the line and spend forever cutting out. Only thing is it takes me less than an hour a week to set up to go shopping and I save $100's. Basically the website gives you a list and you find the coupon based on the date and insert, clip and take. It does cost though, the first 4 weeks are free right now and then I pay $25 every TWO months(I get the lists for 4 stores).

Today we went to 4 stores, all within 1/2 mile and got free air freshener, tissues, instant potatoes, deodorant, bacon and toothbrushes. Bags of frozen veggies for 25c a bag, orange soda for 17c a 2 liter(the pregnant craving, caffeine and sugar free), Cheeze-its for 23c a box, and boxes of 10 granola bars at 40c a box. We also got milk, cheese, cottage cheese, chicken, rice, hot chocolate and bell peppers for a grand total of $44.44 saving $252.43. Thats an 85% savings!!!!!! Plus got $5 in coupons of my next shop.

Now in the last 8 weeks we have got free soup, chicken, beef, hamburger, spaghetti sauce, pasta, cake mix, bread, salad, frosting, chex mix, fresh veg, fresh pineapple, granola, water, soda, toothpaste, toilet paper and lots more. The idea is when it is on sale stock up so you don't have to buy it at full price. I am so addicted to this its not even semi funny. I am so proud of myself right now its awesome!