My Trip to the Grocery Store

Well, I'm no pro, YET! But I plan on getting there soon.

This was the first time I planned my menu based on the store's sales and my coupons. I shopped at H-E-B because for the most part, they have the best prices in town. Occasionally Kroger will have something on sale that beats H-E-B's price but I am not going to make a special trip across town for one item, PLUS, most stores price match so I could always take Kroger's ad with me and get the same price at H-E-B.

For those of you who don't know, I just started clipping coupons about 3 weeks ago. We only grocery shop about every 3 weeks so today was the first time I got to use my new knowledge. I am quite proud of myself. My total before coupons was $170.47. My coupon value was $13.40 and my grand total was $157.07 for almost a month's worth of meals. We will have to refill on items such as milk, lunch meat, bread, and apple juice. If I save $13.40 every month, that's $160.80 saved a year!

That $157.07 includes T-bone steaks on sale for $3.97/lb and Pork Baby Back Ribs for $1.97/lb. It also includes an 18-pack of beer and some popsicles for the kids, all of which we normally don't buy but it's summertime! If you subtract those items, the total would have been $124.20 for a month's worth of food!

My coupon savings included:
Skintimate Shave Gel: $2.25. In-store coupon .75 AND a coupon from the paper for .75.
Final cost: $ .75

Voila Three Cheese Chicken Dinner meals: $3.49 each - $1.00 in store coupons
Final cost: $ 2.49 for a whole meal plus you can add some fruit. I stocked up on these. They come in handy on dance night.

Bird's Eye Bagged Veggies: $1.68 - coupon .40
Final cost: $1.28

Pillsbury Toaster Strudels: $1.89 each - $1.00 off 2 -in store coupon
Final cost: $ 1.39 each I bought 6 and I wonder if I should have gotten more.

I also used a few Pillsbury coupons that I planned my meals on such as .40 off pizza crust; .50 off any two- cinnamon rolls and crescent rolls; and .50 off any two- bread loaf and bread sticks.

If you are just getting started yourself, I want to mention that now I will sit down with my receipt and add the prices of the items I bought to my price comparison spreadsheet. It is very important to know your prices. I will be happy to email the spreadsheet to you so that you can see for yourself the price differences at HEB, Kroger, Walgreens, CVS, Target, and Wal-Mart. I sit down with the Sunday paper ads each week and add the prices that they have advertised.