Another Kroger Run!

So, I have to admit I am slightly obsessed with Kroger... I went for another run tonight to use some more pasta coupons so I can donate them to the pantry at church. Along the way I picked up a few other things as well. Today I received a few coupons for Philadelphia cooking cream. One was a coup for a free one and the other $1.50 off. They are in the mega event for 1.99 right now so I figured why not :)

For those of you wondering what a mega event is, they are WONDERFUL!!! :) Basically there are certain items in the store that if you buy a specified amount you get a $ off amount. In Kroger's case, this week if you buy 10 participating items than you get $5 off :) Many times, even without coups you get great deals!

Here is what I got tonight:
8 boxes of Ronzoni Pasta $.49 in the Mega deal
Print 2x's for each coup here or here

2 Philadelphia cooking creams $1.99 in the Mega deal

2 Packs of Kraft Singles $1.99 in the Mega deal
Print for $1 off 1 Kraft 2% singles here You can print this 2x's

1 Classico Light Alfredo Sauce $1.99 in Mega deal
There was a $1 off coup in the paper coup in the paper a few weeks ago

2 packs of BumbleBee Albacore Tuna $.49 in the Mega deal

2 Vitamin Waters $.49 in the Mega deal
I had a coupon that printed with my Kroger reciept a while back for $1 off 1 so I got 2 for free

1 Smart Balance cooking oil $2.12 in the Mega deal
$.75 off printable here and there was also one in the paper.

1 2 liter of Coke for the Hubby :) $.89 in the Mega deal

1 Dove Men+Care Deodorant $2.99 in the Mega deal
$2 coupon here but use zip code 60016
Also, go to Kroger's website and load their ecoupon onto your card for another $1 off, that way you get it FREE!!! :)

1 Gillette Fusion Shave gel Not on the Mega deal but it's $3.50
There is a $2 ecoupon on Kroger's website, put that with the $1 off one that was in the newspaper and you have some fantastic shave gel for $.50!!!

My TOTAL: $9.48 SAVED: $42.64!!! :) THAT'S 85%

I found another great deal on Tanner's formula!!! They have the 24oz cans of Good Start 2 Gentle formula on Closeout for $13. 29 and it's regular $19.99. I mixed that with a formula check for $3.75 and a coupon for $5 and got them both with tax for $19.89! :) I was very happy!!! (Not Pictured)

FOR MORE MATCH-UPS AND KROGER DEALS GO TO SOUTHERNSAVERS.COM

Meal Planning

Besides couponing, meal planning is possible the most effective way to lower the cost of your grocery bill. I have been meal planning since I first got married almost 4 years ago.

This is my method:

I always look at store ads first. I base it on either meats that are on sale or meats I already have stock-piled in the freezer. BTW, I will not spend more than $1.99 on chicken breast, $2.49 on 85/15 beef, or $1.99 on pork loin.
After I figure up the proteins for the meals I than decide what meals to make.

A big tip is to plan meals where they can domino off each other. Dominoing meals is shown through the meal plan example below but basically it means you use parts of one meal to make one for the next meal.

Here is an example of 5 days worth of planning for you to see:

Monday-
Breakfast: Cereal and milk
Lunch: Bread, lunch meat, carrot sticks, chips, and banana
Dinner: Crock Pot chicken- Whole chicken ($.79 lb FoodCity), spices,
potatoes,carrots, and onion. Sides- veggies from the crockpot, crescent
rolls,and green beans.

Tuesday-
Breakfast: Cereal and milk
Lunch: Left over Crockpot Chicken
Dinner: Spicy Chicken soup- left over chicken pulled from bones from crock
pot meal, onion, garlic, jar of salsa, 2 cans of diced tomatoes, 1 can whole
tomatoes, 1 can tomato soup, chili powder, 1 can of corn, 2 cans of chili
beans, 8oz sour cream.

Wednesday-
Breakfast: Cereal and Milk
Lunch: bread, lunch meat, carrot sticks, chips, and banana
Dinner: Left over soup for a quick meal before church

Thursday-
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Bread, peanut butter, jelly, yogurt, orange
Dinner: Spaghetti- ground turkey or ground beef, sauce, noodles Sides: Salad,
garlic toast

Friday-
Breakfast: Cereal and milk
Lunch: Left over spaghetti
Dinner: Italian Chicken- 2 chicken breasts cut in half, pepper, salt, italian
dressing, bag of frozen veggies, basil Sides- veggies already in the meal and
crescent rolls.

After you have made your list like so, go through your pantry, freezer, and fridge to see what you don’t have.
In my case I would need to purchase:
Salad
Bananas
Oranges
Milk
Bread
Sour Cream

All the rest I have stock-piled through couponing when I got it free or super cheap! :)

Stick to your meal plan. When you venture off is when you get into trouble with going outside your grocery budget.
Sometimes it's good to have a pantry clean out week of food. There are things that will continue to get overlooked in your pantry. Take a week and try to only cook and eat out of items you already have or have had for a while. I used to dread it but now I like it because you can get creative with coming up with new meals to add to your meal plans later on! :)

If I have left anything out or if you have any questions just comment below! :) Have a great night!

Coupons

So tonight I realized just how long it has been since I posted on here! Wow!

I have become coupon obsessed! I have always been a big couponer but since I had my son in May have blossomed into an extreme couponer ;) LOL

There are several sites I use to aid in my couponing; thekrazycouponlady southernsavers and hip2save

Tonight I made stops at CVS and Kroger.


Here is how my CVS trip went:
There are several good deals right now but I just wanted to pick up a couple things.



CVS had Dial Nutra Skin Lotion for $4.99. When you buy it you get $3.99 back in ExtraCare Bucks. There was a $2 off coupon in the Feb. 20th Redplum. Also, I picked up a couple bottles of Herbal Essences. They were 2.98 on sale but when you buy 2 you get $2 back in ECB's (ExtraCare Bucks). There was a coupon for Buy 1 Get 1 free in the paper this past Sunday and than I also use a $1 off 1 Herbal Essence along with it that was in my P&G $110 booklet they sent me.
I also had $4.29 in ECB's from my last trip.
After coupons, sales, and ECB's my subtotal was $.68 but my tax was $.92 so
TOTAL: $1.60 with $5 in ECB's for my next visit! :)
Oh, and I saved $14.09

Kroger:
I LOVE KROGER MEGA EVENTS! :)
There are some great coupons out there right now... a few freebies to pick up; Heluva sour cream dips (we tried the jalapeno cheddar and it was yummy!) Ronzoni pasta and many others! If there are any you would like to have coupons for that are in my post just comment below and I can try to give you links to print the coupons.
Okay, so here is what I made out with tonight. I got 30 items for $27.88 and SAVED $50.95!!! :)

I know there is a lot of pasta in the picture, I stock up when I can get it for free because it lasts so long! ;) Plus, the best part about couponing is that it makes donating a lot easier to do when your grocery/household budget is only $150 a month.