Went to Bi-Lo this week and here’s my breakdown :o)
Subtotal : $151.02 Paid : $56.22
Bonus Card savings :$49.21 Coupon savings: $46.75
I love your website!!! I also took your class when you were in Greenville. Thanks for all your work

I made limited trips to grocery stores only this week. That saved a couple of $ in gas. My spending for the week came in at $70, which seems to be right around where my erratic spending averages. It seems to range from the mid-30′s (rarely, but becoming more frequent) to $120 (very rarely).

The stores I shopped at this week were mainly Food Lion and Bi-Lo, with a bit of Publix and Kroger thrown in, and milk from Aldi. That $70 covered the following for 8 adults/teens.

One week worth of:
Dairy products
Fresh leafy greens
Orange juice
Toilet paper
Frozen odds and ends

Two weeks or more of:
Red meat for over 2 weeks dinners if it were the main course.
Fresh fruits and vegetables, except fresh leafy greens
Breads
Freshly cut roast beef and various hams from the deli, if used for all lunches (which it won’t be)

A month supply of:
Breakfast products
Portable snack foods
Chips

Plus:
Fabric softener for a few months (5 bottles)
Several dozen eggs
50 lbs flour – half of it bread flour, half soft wheat (This may, or may not last until Christmas. We do a lot of scratch baking, even when it isn’t holiday season)
2 tee shirts
1 baseball cap
1 oven mitt
1 onesie
(These 5 items are all thanks to CABOT FARMS, makers of delicious color-free cheeses and butter)
8 bags of candy bars
Instant cocoa – Enough Special Dark Chocolate, Mocha-Cappuccino, and Marshmallow to last until the first of the year for the ones who really enjoy their daily special treat.

Of that $70 spent, only about $15 was for immediate weekly needs – dairy, produce, and bread. The rest was purely discretionary for THIS week. That *extra* $55 was very well spent, though. What makes it well spent money is that it was not only all for basic items that we definitely use and enjoy, each of the items also cost below what I expect it to cost again during the period we will use it.

Since it is not needed for immediate consumption, that $55 becomes a worthy investment. It adds to the diversity of what we have on hand. So, it extends the amount of time that we can wait for similar category items to be exceptionally priced. Having a variety on hand keeps us from getting in the rut of buying the same standard items week after week. I bet most of you know that rut. The listed savings were over 75%, which is greater than 40% more savings than what I would get if I shopped ONLY for a single week at a time by creating only couponless menus based on that week’s meat and produce specials and store brands. If the variety is on hand, we can mix those menus up and not wait for a sale to enjoy them.

Money saved by calculated shopping and short-term stockpiling is way greater than bank interest. Plus, it’s even greater since it’s not taxed the way interest or extra earnings are. The payoff is immediate, and can be used for other needs, wants, or to pay off interest bearing loans. A well-stocked household is also a personal emergency fund, since the stock can easily be drawn upon if expenses need to be tightened to free cash for other needs.

I’m ending this week much like it started – not NEEDing anything during the coming week other than short storage life perishables, except that now there are more things that I won’t need for a longer time. There are a couple non-food items that I’ll have to start restocking soon, though.

Not sure where I should post this….
Found a link for a free sample of Kashi Granola Bars.
http://kashi.com/tlc_chewy?utm_source=Burst_media&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=300×250&utm_campaign=tlc_chewy_trial

OK, I am pumped!!!! This was my best week EVER!!!!!!!!!!! I rocked Walgreens!

I bought Chapstick (2.99 – got 2.99rr), Dulcolax (7$ – 3$coupon and 4rr), Breeze 2 Meter (14.99 – $14.99 coupon and cost rebate mail in), 2 Tridents (2$ – 1$ coupon and 1rr), Dr Scholl insert (12.99 – 2$ coupon and 5rr), soft soap ensemble (base and refill totaling 10$ – 3$coupon and 4rr) and I had 9$ in rr (a 4$ and 5$).

So that means – my total was $99.14 but cost me $21.17out of pocket AND I got $17 in rr back AND I am mailing in my rebate for the meter for another $14.99. This means that I MADE $11 this week. Now I’m going to take some of those rr’s and go get 2 packs of diapers (bigi50) and I’m still going to have some left over. Your site ROCKS!!!!!!!!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!

Jenny, I am SO sorry you got lost last weekend. I am so glad you came to Cleveland though. I went to Rite Aid on Sunday & after the coupons & getting SCR I will make $.04. I got diapers for my niece & in the end, they will be free, how awesome is that??? Keep up the good work & thanks again for the workshop you did for us at Woodlawn, may God bless all you do.
Teresa Merck

What is a catalina?

Saved a TON at Publix and Target this weekend! The I-Motion Airwick Sprayers are only $2 with $4 coupon in today’s coupons. The Nestle Strawberry and Chocolate Milks are FREE with .50 coupon (Doubled) at Publix in today’s paper. Great deals to go around. Have fun shopping!