Our Cupboards are Stocked and the Freezer is Overflowing

I spent a painful amount of money on groceries this week. Scott and I are re-thinking the way we do our budget each month. Instead of having a certain amount of money each week, we are using a certain amount each month (the amount stays the same; we are just distributing differently). This gives me a bit more freedom to stock up when the sales are especially good, or when the cupboards are getting a bit bare.

We have been living off our stockpile for a while now, only buying absolute necessities and fillers, and I was feeling the need to do a major grocery trip. That happened this weekend. Though I spent more than usual, I feel really good about the deals that I got, and I think that I can keep costs to a bare minimum for the rest of the month.

Here is the breakdown.

I started at Kroger because the Publix sales weren't that great

4 Lean Cuisine Pizzas
4 Stouffer's Paninis
2 packs of Activia Yogurt plus cereal
1 pack of Kroger flour
2 boxes of Pillsbury Toaster Strudel
1 bag of dried 16 bean soup
1 box of Kroger brand ranch dressing mix (3 packs in a box)
1 bag of Kroger brand cheddar
6 loaves of Pillsbury garlic bread
4 Freschetta Pizzas
1 loaf of Arnold whole grain sandwich bread
2 bags of Fritos corn chips (to go with Taco Soup)
1 bag of Kroger hashbrowns (for corn and potato chowder)
1 pack of Kroger taco seasoning
1 pack of Tyson split chicken breasts
2 cans of Kroger black beans
1 lb of ground beef
1 pack of stew meat (marked down for quick sale--I was super excited!!! We haven't had beef stew in AGES)
2 cans of Glory brand butter beans (I really love these, so I bought them just to have on hand)
2 cans of Kroger pinto beans
3 cans of Kroger corn

Total OOP=86.93
Total Saved=56.00

Obviously, the spending/saving ratio is not nearly as good as what it usually is at Publix, but Kroger was having a great frozen food sale, so I used this week to stock up on things that I normally don't buy.

Okay, so next I went to Walgreens for the AMAZING Huggies deal that is going on right now. If you haven't already, you need to print your 5.00 and 3.00 Huggies coupons and head to Walgreens.

So at Walgreens

2 packs of Huggies diapers @ 10.00 each
1 pack of Huggies wipes @6.00
2 Red Baron Pizzas @2.50 each
4 cases of Diet Coke @3.25 each

-1 5.00 Huggies cpn
-2 3.00 Huggies cpns
-1 1.00/2 Red Baron coupon
-1 2.00/4 Diet Coke coupon

Total OOP=32.36
Total Saved=30.91
AND I got back a total of 13.00 in Register Rewards
10.00 from spending 25.00 on Huggies
and 3.00 from buying 4 cases of Diet Coke. This is the best part of all. Publix allows you to use Walgreens Register Rewards at Publix, and I already had 10.00 worth of RR from buying eight trial size Dove Deodorants last week. This means, I went into my Publix trip with 23.00 worth of RRs on top of the coupons and BOGO deals.

Okay, final grocery trip, Publix

2 Ora Idea Steam in Mash Potatoes
2 Yo Crunch Yogurts
1 gallon of Publix Milk
3 cartons of strawberries
2 boxes of Chex Mix bars
2 bottles of Ken's Steak House Ranch Dressing
2 bags of Ruffles potato chips
1 box of Maxwell House coffee
1 jar of Jiff Peanut Butter
2 boxes of Banana Nut Cheerios
1 pack of Publix cookies (penny item)

Total OOP=8.18
Total Saved=61.91

Okay, so grand totals

OOP=127.47
Total Saved=148.82

I got 276. 29 worth of groceries for 127.47. I LOVE couponing. Our cupboards are stocked, our freezer is overflowing, and I am feeling good about the month's budget. Things are looking up, ya'll. (And the beach is only a couple of months away--woo-hoo!!!)