Grocery Budget Buster: Forgetting the Groceries
I poured over the ads, coupons and multiple couponing blogs to put together an awesome list for Meijers and Kroger last week. I was stoked that I found multiple items for free and had survived the five hours of errands with my two children.
I quickly unloaded my bags of groceries for pictures and found I was missing a bag. Somehow I had left all of the Healthy Choice entrees at the store that I had gotten on sale for about $6 total. A whole week’s worth of lunches for Tim were either sitting in some forlorn cart or abandoned at the customer service center, where I had to visit to use my high-value $5/5 coupon.
I called Krogers and there was no trace of my bag. They offered to let me bring in my receipt and get new boxes, but I declined as nap-time was approaching and we had plans for the rest of the day. I doubted whether they would let me bring in my receipt the next day, and I was too timid to go back, thinking that they might not trust me.
Although I scored some great deals, especially at Meijer’s, I was a little bummed that I had forgotten food at the store and wasted money. The best way to stretch your grocery dollars is to use your food up, and that’s hard to do if you leave the food you’ve paid for at the grocery store.
Chock this to a lesson learned in frugality. To see more frugal posts check out Life As Mom’s Frugal Friday.
$79 Grocery Shopping Marathon
Grocery store savings are where I try to save the most money. My monthly budget is $180 for food and $30 for household, or about $53/week. I try to pay for groceries and household in cash so that we don’t go over budget and because I am more aware of what I’m spending with cash than what I spend on a debit card. Also, when I pay in cash I round up to the nearest dollar and put my change in a savings jar.
I usually split the month in half and allot myself $105 the first half and $105 the second. If there is money left over I add it to the next week in case a good deal comes up. I make two big shopping trips at the beginning and middle of each month. I usually spend all but $15-$25 which I leave for staples for the next week and for any good deals.
The grocery portion of our budget includes soy milk for our son (at $5/gallon we spend about $25-$30/month just on the milk), meats, produce and others. The only items it doesn’t include is bulk rice and oatmeal which I buy about twice a year for an exceptional price. We are also working on setting aside three months of food for emergencies and have budgeted a separate $40/month to build up our supply more quickly.
The household portion of the budget includes cleaning products, toilet paper, medicine, paper products, and hygiene items. It does not include diapers.
Yesterday was one of our big shopping days and I hit Krogers, Aldis, Trader Joe, WalMart and Target. I usually don’t go to more than three stores in one day (Kroger, WalMart and Aldis) but yesterday I made a couple of more stops. Here is what I bought and the totals below.
Kroger:
Total: $18.00. The only coupons I used were for the Cottonelle Toilet Paper.
Aldis: (The flour and tortilla chips accidently got in the picture)
Total: $33.00
WalMart: (We had already eaten one bunch of bananas before I took this picture)
Total: $22
Target: More details here
Total $1.00
Trader Joe: More details here
Total: $5.00
Grand Total: $79
This wasn’t the best week for me, but it wasn’t the worst. I couldn’t find many coupon deals but this is our typical shopping spending. We will round this out with food we already have in the cupboard and freezer. I am also excited that we have so much fresh produce to use.
Cellfire
Cellfire is similar to Shortcuts, a savings program you can learn about here. Just like with Shortcuts, with Cellfire you can load coupons onto your Krogers card. Through Cellfire you can also load coupons onto your cellphone for other businesses like Hollywood Video, Sears and 1-800-Flowers.
You need a cellphone number to sign up and receive a verification text message. After the initial text message you can manage all your savings online, except for those businesses linked solely to your cellphone.
Just like Shortcuts, Cellfire coupons won’t double but they can be used in addition to manufacturers coupons. Some coupons that I have currently loaded on my Krogers card through Cellfire include Kroger’s bar cheese, Colgate, Cottonelle, Huggies and others.
I would recommend printing out a list of Cellfire coupons to take with you to the store so you don’t forget what coupons you have. When you check out at the store, the register will automatically take off your Cellfire coupons.
I have only started using Shortcuts and Cellfire in the past few months but I already enjoy the hassle-free extra savings they give to my grocery budget.
Shortcuts
Shortcuts is a program that loads coupons onto your Kroger (or Kroger affiliated store) card so you don’t have to worry about the hassle of bringing coupons with you. These coupons don’t double but you can use these coupons in addition to manufacturers coupons. This post shows how Shortcuts cut my Kroger bill earlier this month.
The signup is quick and easy. You just fill out some personal information and then your Kroger card number. Shortcuts allows you to store over 25 different coupons on your card. The coupons have an expiration date similar to paper coupons.
The biggest trick with Shortcuts is remembering what coupons I have loaded in my card. I find it easiest to print out a list of the coupons that I can take with me and look at for quick reference.
My favorite Shortcuts deal is their Cottonelle coupon, which they frequently carry. The coupon is $0.50 off a 4-pk Cottonelle toilet paper which typically is priced at $1.00. That means you get 4 rolls of quality t.p. for $0.50. That beats even the Wal-Mart generic price.
Here’s one example of a deal at Kroger’s this week using Shortcuts. Kroger’s salsa is on sale for $1.00, but there’s a Shortcuts coupon for $0.50 off 1 salsa making the salsa $0.50.
Shortcuts is just one of the way that I save money on my grocery bill, leaving me more money to pay off debt and save.
$5.32 Kroger Trip
I went to Krogers today to pick up some sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving and decided to snag some of the great deals going on this week. Here are some of the bargains I got. These deals expire today.
To help you follow my paper trail, whenever I used a clipped coupon I put the date of the paper. My Krogers store will double any manufactures coupon up to $0.50
I also get some of my coupons from Cellfire and Shortcuts, where you can load coupons onto your Krogers card. These coupons won’t double but you can combine them with manufacturers coupons.
Here is my shopping trip:
2 4 pk Cottonelles $.99/ea
-.50/Cellfire
-.50/Shortcuts
-.50/.25 manufacturers coupon (11/16) doubled
=$0.24/ea or $0.48
Sweet Potatoes $1.76/6 lbs
Bananas $0.57 (my son ate 2 bananas before I took the picture)
8 oz Kroger cheese $1.67
-$0.45 Shortcuts
=$1.22
Betty Crocker Frosting $1.67
-$0.50 coupon (11/16) doubled
=$0.67
4 boxed green giant vegetables $1.00/ea
-2 ($0.50/two coupons) doubled (10/5 and 11/16)
-3($.50/2 coupons) shortcuts
=.125/ea or $.50/4
Tax=$0.12
Total = $5.32
Note: I had a $.50/off Betty Crocker Shortcuts coupon that didn’t go through. But I got such a great deal on everything else that I wasn’t too sad. If it had gone through my total would have been $4.82!
