April $200 Grocery Challenge-Homeland

So, here we are, another month, another challenge. I started off the week by going to Homeland. They double $1.00 coupons and they were having some good sales, so I decided to go there on the way home one evening.

Here is the picture of my trip:

Before Coupons and Sales-$180.00 (rounding)

After Coupons and Sales-$30.00 (rounding)

Highlights: Free Fruit Chillers, FREE Vanilla, FREE Noodle Meals, FREE Chips, FREE Flour, FREE BBQ Sauce, FREE Chips, $0.33 Rice A Roni, $0.94 Jimmy Dean Breakfast Meals, $1.99 Blue Bell (this is $6.00 at Dillons!) and lots more!

*I have another trip planned for tonight if my coupons from Ebay come in! We shall see!

Total Left For April: $170.00

$200 March Grocery Challenge Wrap-Up

Sorry it has taken this long to get my wrap-up posted, but things have been a little crazy around here and I am on a computer that now feels like a complete stranger to me! Hopefully I can continue to figure this out or I may go crazy!

Last Check I had $43.42 left in my budget for March.

**Due to my computer crashing I don't have the picture from the shopping trip, but I spent $58.63.

I saved $59.34 (52%).

So my total was $215.21, that is $15.21 over.

Darn!

$200 March Grocery Challenge

I know I am not "technically" grocery shopping for another week, but I was able to get some extra coupons for things that were almost FREE, so I had to run in and grab those items!

Betty Crocker Potatoes-FREE, 1 was a $0.40 cent moneymaker w/ downloaded coupon!

Veggie Steamers-$0.28 each

Quick Oats-$0.29 each

**They had the blocks of cheese for $2.99 until tomorrow at 3:00 pm. They are regular $5.99 and we are getting low on cheese, so I grabbed these too!

Total- $8.75

Saved:$22.48

I also had to run and get Chicken Nuggets for Cooper as that is all he will eat-$8.25 (Big Sigh)
Total Spent So Far In March: $156.58
Money Left: $43.42

March $200 Grocery Challenge

Last night I ran to Dillons to try to grab some great deals going on with the Cart Buster Deal Event! Now, I am trying something new. I am going to try to only grocery shop every two weeks. I have to drive about 30 minutes to get into town and my car is a hug gas guzzler, so I need to save some money and I am getting tired of the drive! So, I sat down, planned two weeks worth of meals, made my list, matched up my coupons and headed out. I knew I had around $100 to work with, so I started my shopping trip with getting the essential items (those were the ones I had to have to make my meals. I had my calculator in hand so I added it all up and figured out how much I had after that to spend on "stockpiling" and sale items. I also found some great meat deals and took advantage of those. I also stayed UNDER budget! Here is the picture and break down of the highlights!

Before Coupons-$190.35

After Coupons- $97.01

Percent Saved-49%

Highlights:

Veggie Steamers: $0.28 after coupons. (Find coupon links in Monday Meal Plan Post) One package FREE after downloaded coupon.

Betty Crocker Potato Pouches- FREE after coupons. (Find coupon links in Monday Meal Plan Post)

Mission Tortillas-$1.00 after coupons

Teddy Grahams- $0.50 after coupons

Old El Paso-$1.00 and two items FREE with Peelies

Betty Crocker Desserts- $0.29 after Coupons and Downloaded Coupons

Raisin Bran-$0.99

Lucky Charms- Family Size-$2.49 (over my normal $1.50 limit, but it was a huge box and my son would be in heaven!)

Chips Ahoy- FREE with coupon

Turkey-2/$5

Hamburger- On sale for $4.98 for 3 pounds, that just $1.66 a pound!

Cake Mix-Free with Coupon

Peanut Butter-$1.49 for Huge Jar with coupon.

Flour-I swear the sign said $1.77, so with my coupon it should have been $0.77 cents, but it rang up at $1.99, so it was $0.99 cents. Can anybody let me know how much it is if they go shopping again in my area!

Pillsbury-$0.75-$0.95 after coupons.

Total Spent So Far In March: $139.58

Money Left: $60.42

Comment and let us know how much you saved with your shopping trips this week!

$250 February Grocery Challenge

I ran to Target and Dillon's this week to snag a few deals that I had coupons for that were too good to pass up. A few of my items were FREE, but a few things I did have to pay for.

Last week I had $36.32 left for the month.

Cheerios- FREE- Mailer from Dillons with Individualized Coupons

Kashi-FREE- Coupon from RecycleBank-go here for information.

Oreos (x2)-FREE- Coupon from Facebook Fan Page- no longer available

Rolls-Clearanced in Bread Section for $1.29-took half and stuck in freezer for later.

Mom's Best Oats (x2)-$0.29 after coupon here

Jimmy Dean Breakfast Bowls (x6)-Price Matched Walgreens Price of 2/$4, plus had $1.00 off 2 coupons, so each was just $1.50- a GREAT PRICE!

Deli Lunch Package-Price Matched Mize's Price of 2/$4, plus had a $1.00 off coupon, making it just $1.00!

Enchilada Mix-$0.50-my friend made Enchiladas for the Super Bowl and now I am craving them! Thanks Jen!

Bologna-$1.00-sale price at Dillon's

Hamburger-$3.95 and $3.84. No good deals on hamburger this week so I bought very little.

Sausage-$1.50 @ full price.

Pecans (x2)-On sale for $2.65 a bag, which is a pretty good deal and we go through lots of pecans! We love, love, love pecans!

Pizza Sauce-$1.22, I had to get for our Valentine's Day Dinner!

Herbal Essence-$0.97 for 2 products! Posted how to get this deal here. No problems for me either!

Toothpaste-$1.97@ full price.

Total: $32.12

Full Price: $63.03

Saved:49%

Left for February-$4.20

Well...hopefully I won't go too much over ;) LOL! I mean, I need toilet paper for goodness sake! I'm not willing to get that creative!

How is everyone else doing? Is anyone else taking on a Monthly/Weekly Challenge?

$250 February Grocery Challenge

This week I didn't really go on a shopping trip. We have lots of items still in our freezer and fridge from my last shopping trip to the Mega Event at Dillons and I also had a Freezer Cooking/Baking Day that gave us snacks and breakfast items for the next couple weeks. I probably won't go grocery shopping at all this month except for more milk, produce and dairy items. Which is good, because I don't have much money left! Only $36.32!!

Here is what I bought this week...

Ketchup-1.64

Toilet Paper-1.38 (x2)

Brown Sugar-.79

Dry Milk-2.39

Hershey's Syrup-1.99

Total- $9.57 + $.60 tax=$10.17

So that leaves me $26.15 for the next 3 weeks...duh, duh, duh (like my sound effects?) Stay tuned...

$200 February Grocery Challenge

Here we are for my second attempt at my $200 Grocery Challenge. I went over in January by about $40.00 and I plan to once again go over in February. Why do I know already? Well, because I hit the Mega Event at my local Dillons this weekend and have basically spent almost all my grocery money. Now, I knew I was going to do it and I know it's okay because I have stockpiled so many things, filled my freezer again, and bought quite a bit of meat and dairy to help us out for the next couple months. Whenever there is a Mega Event, I always spend more than normal. You can get things for dirt cheap, if not free, and stock up on lots of items you use everyday! So, this is going to be a long post...Sit back, grab a cup of your favorite beverage and enjoy!

Here are the before pictures of my refrigerator and freezer. It was sad, very sad. I think the dog was even sad and we don't even have a dog! It was that bad! It was screaming for a Mega Event and it came just in time!

Now for the good stuff. I actually did 7 Mega Event transactions where I bought 70 items that were participating and got $5 off each transaction or $.50 cents off each item. I then had $108.00 dollars just in coupons! You should have seen the stack and what was even better was the reaction from the lady behind me! Let's just say she is hosting a coupon class!!! To make things easier, we are going to go ahead and count toiletry items and household items as I bought a lot of those items and I don't want to refigure figures! SO, I am going to allow myself $50.00 more dollars this month for those items. Here is my shopping trip...

The total before coupons and store sales was $442.02. The total after my coupons and store sales and promotions was $213.68!!! I saved 53%!!! You should have seen how full my cart was!

Highlights-I put a (ME) before it if it was a participating Mega Event Item.

(ME) La Victoria Salsa-each jar was just $.49 cents after the Mega Event deal and coupons. The coupons are no longer available.

(ME) Chex Mix-$.29 cents after coupons here or in Sunday Inserts.

(ME) Johnsonville Bratwurst and Italian Sausage-$1.99 a package after coupons here after you sign up for the Enthusiast Club. I bought 6 packages at that price!

Dannon Yogurt- these were on sale for $1.88 a package. Use the various coupons for the Sunday Inserts and they will double to $1.00 off, making each package just $.88 cents!

(ME) Tide-$5.96 after coupons in Sunday inserts! Be careful because different scents were different prices. I would have paid an extra dollar just to have some Downy in my Tide!

Healthy Choice Meals-FREE! after coupons from here and downloadable coupons to my store card! They don't have the same coupons anymore, but here's $1.00 off two.

(ME) Edy's Ice Cream- $1.77 after coupon here. Some stores have not taken this coupon, but mine did just fine! I would have bought more as Ice Cream is my favorite thing in the world, but I had willpower on this trip!

Pillsbury Items(7)- $.93 cents each after coupons and Catalina for $4.00 off my next purchase!

Milk-I happened to be there when they were doing a WOW sale at just $1.99 a gallon. I stuck one gallon in the freezer. I also used my B2G1 Free 1/2 Gallon of Chocolate Milk coupon here when you enter the Great Gallon Give!

(ME) Electrasol Dishwasher Tablets-$.49 after coupons!

I got lots of other items for FREE or under $.50 but that is a few highlights. For a more detailed listing of prices and participating items visit Couponing 101!

Here are my AFTER pictures of my refrigerator and freezer!

So that means only $36.32 for the month. I am going to try my hardest at not going too much over. Stay tuned to see how I do!

Did you shop the Mega Event? Link pictures here so everyone can see!

$200 January Grocery Challenge-Wrap Up

Well, this challenge was quite the adventure I must say. I learned so much (like don't let you husband go to the grocery store) and will take that wisdom with me as I continue on.
I had to make a quick stop at the grocery store this week for 2 gallons of milk but that was about it. So my total for January was $238.53. So I was over by $38.53. Also, remember that I did not buy any household goods or diapers on this budget. Stay tuned for the $200 February Challenge! It will be interesting!

January $200 Grocery Challenge-Didn't Listen To My Own Advice!

Here are the last words out of my mouth last week and I quote, "Leave Your Husband At Home." Well, I didn't even take my own advice and this is what my husband came home with when I asked him to stop after work to grab the $1.00 bag of chips to go with my yummy salsa.

What Mom? Daddy wasn't supposed to buy these doughnuts? But they are so good!

So...onto the challenge...we have gone over our budget and I'm afraid I still need to buy milk this week!

I had to go to the grocery store for a 1/2 gallon of milk this week and thankfully a friend gave me an extra gallon of milk that was about to expire! Then my lovely husband made his purchase (uugghhh) and I had a party I was hosting for a friend so I had to buy some snack food. So, the total for all that was $21.92. I also just got my deer meat from being processed that I halved with another friend, so that was $35.00. This is what I got...

9 lbs of ground meat

1 package of deer tenderloin

6 packages of deer chops

So, I am over my $200 Grocery Budget by $32.16 cents! Plus, there will be at least two more gallons of milk and my hubby is mad because I am refusing to buy sliced cheese...I may have to so he doesn't go to the grocery store again!!! I will save money in the long run!!!

January $200 Grocery Challenge-Not Much $$ Left!

Well, I have been busy scoring some great deals and filling up our pantry and freezer, as they were VERY bare!!! I have almost spent my whole budget, but I think I can make it stretch and if I have to, go over just a bit for milk. Here is a picture from my Wal-Mart and Dillons trip I made this weekend.

For all of this I only spent $70.69 and got many items for under $.50! PLUS I was able to get Meat at this price too!

Here are some of the highlights!!

Tuna-FREE!

Pillsbury Crescent Rolls-FREE!

Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls-FREE!

Pillsbury Biscuits-under $.50 each.

Nabisco Crackers and Cookies-6 @$.25 each, 2 @ $.50 each.

General Mills Cereal-4 @ $.87 each

Dole Mandarin Oranges-Managers Special for the Big Cans just $.89 each!

Pillsbury Brownies-FREE!

Pillsbury Frosting-$.29

Steaks-$.68 for package

Yoplait Smoothie Package-FREE!

Quaker Old Fashioned Oats-$.50 each

Chicken-Clearanced to $2.83

Bar S Smoked Sausage and Bar S Bacon-clearanced to $3.78 for both, but I had a coupon for $1.00 off, so I got both for just $2.78!!!! The Smoked Sausage will probably cook two meals too! Watch for those meat clearance deals!!!

Cool Whip-$.50 each with Manager's Special!



Here is a picture of the items I got for less than $.50!!

I also went to Aldi's on Friday, but I forgot to take a picture because I had a little boy with strep throat and he was crabby and so I just got it put away quickly. I spent $31.26 there and then I made a trip to Dillons that day too to get stuff for guacamole I was craving and I spent $6.00 on that. I also went and got milk twice for a total of $10.12. So my total for this week is $118.07!!! I must say that is a lot for a week, but we are meal planned through the 25th and then only have one more week to go in our monthly challenge and there is still more in our pantry and freezer.

Total Spent To Date: $175.75...getting a little too close! That means I only have $24.25 left. I know I will be buying Milk for sure at least twice before January is over. We will probably be sticking to the pantry for the rest of the month! I am trying to remind myself that this is the first month for my challenge and I will learn more along the way and hopefully become better at it. I haven't paid for household or toiletry items with this budget either, which I would like to be able to do eventually.

Here is a BIG tip to keep on track with your grocery budget-LEAVE THE HUSBAND AT HOME! When my husband went to grab a gallon of milk for me, he came back with two packages of cookies...Next time, I will give him only a couple dollar bills instead of a $10~lesson learned!

January $200 Grocery Challenge-Dillons Shopping Trip

I went and completed my first shopping trip, calculator in hand, for my $200 Grocery Challenge that is underway. I had to run to the store the other day to grab some fruit (apples and bananas) a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk and a package of bagels. That cost me $12.27. I guess I didn't take a picture of it:(
I then went to Dillons last night to do my shopping trip for our Weekly Meal Plan next week, grab some bargains and a few extras for snacks, etc.
The above picture cost me $45.41. I was able to get all of the potato packages for FREE, all the cereal for FREE, and the fajita seasoning for FREE! Other highlights were the salad for $.79 and the sausage for $1.00. They also had a great deal on the Campbells soups with in-store sales and coupons that were in the paper last Sunday, so I stocked up! I did have to put a few things back and go over a little on the budget I was keeping in my head to get my Diet Dr. Pepper, but I figured my sanity was well worth the extra $4.00 this week!

So, the total for the week's shopping trips cost me : $57.68 I saved 56% at Dillons!!
I have $142.32 left for the month! I feel pretty good so far about our attempts at sticking to a budget and still being able to eat healthy meals and not eating Peanut Butter and Jelly all week!