Friday Finals 10/21/11

Wowee wow wow! I have such exciting news to share today. First, I am a guest blogger at Grocery Cart Challenge. I am very excited and honored to be chosen. I came across Gayle’s site and notice she was feeding a family of six with $60.00 a week. I knew I could do this too! A few years back I was trying to feed a family of three on $30.00 a week. It was difficult, but I was able to do it. The most important thing I learned was how to cook from very few ingredients and make great meals.

The second piece of exciting new I have to share is I was accepted to the Top Mommy Blogs. In order to vote for my blog and check out other exciting blogs just click the brown button located on the left or the link provided. I just received the email last night. It would be very exciting to get at least one vote.

Now on to shopping! I didn’t stick to my budget very well this week. I was kind of winging it again. I didn’t have a great plan. We were out of some items I have been searching for the past couple of weeks and needed to purchase this week. I was able to get cheese and oil on sale, but purchasing both was a bit expensive. My husband and I were dying for some wings since it has been cold and it is football season. So I splurged for wings. I have been looking for weeks and just couldn’t find any on sale. In case you were wondering, yes, they were so delicious. Still cheaper than going out and buying wings at a restaurant.

I went to Kroger twice without much savings.

Kroger 10/16/11

2 Capri sun Juice $1.29 each – I need to buy juice for my daughters soccer game

4 Kettle Chips $2.50 each – 4 $1/1 Kettle Chips RP 09/25/11

            -Final $1.50 each

1 Kroger Tortilla chips $1.00

1 Pilgrims Wings $10.49 – Shelf price said $8.19 $2/1 Pilgrims Pride Chicken

            -Final $8.49 – Should have been $6.19

2 Mission Tortillas $1.00

1 Zapps Chips $2.19 – Splurge item for my hubby

I spent $22.47 and saved $11.14 on $33.61 worth of retail. I had two major splurge items this trip the wings and the Zapps chips. This change in weather has gotten me a little off my game. I am still looking for cheap snacks for soccer. If anyone know of any great sales, please share in the comments.

Kroger 10/18/10

2 Gallons Milk $2.49

2 lbs Cheese $6.99 – Best price I have found. Cheaper than Wal-Mart

4 Progresso Soups $1.25 - $1/4 Progresso Soup Coupon GM 09/11/11

            -Final $1.00 each

1 Huggies Slip on Diapers $9.85 - $2/1 Blinkie in Store Slip on Diapers

            -Final $7.85

2 Bertolli Olive Oil B1G1 store deal $10.49 I was nearly out of oil

            -Final $5.24 each

3 Kroger Sweet Corn $0.88 each – I had an eQ for $0.60/3 that did not scan. Not Happy

            -Final $0.88 each

1 Kroger Oatmeal $1.39 on sale – Daughter wanted Oatmeal for the cooler weather.

4 Dr. Pepper 10 $1.00 each – 4 FREE coupons for Dr. Pepper 10 SS 10/09/11

            -Final FREE

I spent $40.39 and saved $24.44 on $64.83 retail. Milk went up again $0.10 a gallon. I have to say I loved it when milk was a $1.00 a gallon. I would buy four gallons a week and we would drink it all. Now I have to ration it a little at the house. I need to make sure little Face gets his share every day.

Sprouts

4.18 lbs Gala Apples @ $0.69/lbs - $2.88

3.88 lbs Golden Delicious @ $0.69/lbs. - $2.68

3.47 lbs Onions @ $0.49/lbs - $1.70

Bag Credit -$0.10

I spent $7.16 and saved $0.10 on $7.26 worth of produce. I plan on making homemade applesauce and maybe some apple butter today. I have seen these on others sites and I am itching to try it. If I do, I will share on Wednesday. I didn't take a picture.

Overall I spent $70.02 and saved $35.68 on $105.70 worth of retail food and diapers. Not the best, but there were not very many good deals this week.  I needed to buy cheese and there have not been very good sales for the past couple of months and very few coupons. I had two splurge items that really put me over this week. But these will last a while for us. I can make it stretch.

If you are just starting out I am posting a series on how to coupon every Monday. You can read my first article here and my second post here. Looking to print coupons you can go to Coupons.com.

How did you do this week? Please share your shopping trips below with the linky. If you don't have a blog please share your shopping trips in the comments area. You can share more than one trip; however, I do ask to keep the trips current. The best way to learn to save money is to share so others can learn from you experience.