New to this series? Don’t forget to read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3!
This was originally set to be the final part of this series…until I started typing and realized that it would be way too long of a post (and I’ve been sick since Tuesday afternoon and that part of the post requires more thinking than I can do right now). Part 5 should go up tomorrow! Sorry!
This part of the series takes you to the supermarket with me. When I say that I spend $50 per week, I only include the cash that I pull out of my wallet. As a reminder, I am in what I call “stockpile maintenance mode” and as I have said several time before (including in Part 3), I did not build my stockpile on $50 per week. In the span of 1 year, I went from about $150-$175 per week with a mostly empty pantry to $50 per week with a pantry and freezer that is so full that I put myself on a spending freeze for the month of February.
Here’s an approximate breakdown of where the $50 goes each week:
Milk: $7-$10.50 unfortunately, there is no getting around this cost or reducing it. We go through 2-3 gallons of milk per week and Pennsylvania sets minimum milk prices. A gallon of 1% is approximately $3.50. I am able to stretch it and only go through 2 gallons per week when I can get good deals on soymilk (for baking and my coffee) or evaporated milk (diluted and used for baking only. many recipes call for undiluted evaporated milk anyway, since it gives the recipe extra creaminess/body). I know that some people suggest powdered milk, but I can never bring myself to try it (it just skeeves me out). I envy people in other states where they allow sales on milk…in PA, a “sale” is selling it at the state minimum.
Bread: $2-3 I can usually get whole wheat sandwich bread on sale for $1-$1.50 per loaf. We go through approximately 2 loaves per week. I make “dinner breads” and muffins from scratch.
Eggs and Dairy: $5 I typically alternate these, as both will keep for 2 weeks or longer (seriously – check the expiration dates). One week I may get 3 dozen eggs for $4-5 (depending on sales and if those sales include Egglands, since I usually have coupons for Egglands). The next week I may get 15-20 Yoplait Yogurts for the same $4-5 after sales & coupons. Sour cream can usually be had for $.66 a pint (Daisy brand after sale & coupon). “Regular” cheese are purchased at stock-up prices and frozen and are not part of the normal dairy spending.
Fresh Produce: $12-15 whatever is in-season and cheapest. Right now, it is bananas (about $5 per week), apples (usually a 5lb bag will last 2 weeks and they have been $.99/lb lately), bagged salad when I can get it for free (Fresh Express on a 10 for $10 sale with a $.75 coupon that is doubled up to $1) or a head of Romaine. Baby carrots can always be found for $1-$1.50/1lb bag. A pint of grape tomatoes for $2.50. Potatoes & onions are always on sale for about $4/bag and will each last 2 weeks (alternate weeks with buying them).
Everything else/the stockpile: $17-20 per week + any Catalinas and Extra Care Bucks and gift cards. This includes frozen fruit & veggies, chicken broth, meats, cereals, cheeses, pastas, baking mixes, flour; toiletries and cleaning products at CVS, etc.
The $17-$20 goes to deals like this or this. In the weeks where I am unable to do these kinds of deals I will usually just carry the some or all of the balance over until the next week. For an example of a shopping trip where I just get a few stockpile items and don’t carry over a balance, click here.
As for cleaning items and toiletries? I have been rolling the same $40 Extra Care Bucks at CVS + about $1-2 cash per week for over a year now. I haven’t paid money out-of-pocket for toothpaste (except 1 certain one that only my older son uses), shampoo, conditioner, body wash, deodorant, shaving cream, razors, pain reliever or cold/allergy medicine since about a month after I started “CVSing“. The same is true for Rite Aid. The first month I did about $30 in deals, paid about $25 in cash (after coupons) and got a $30 Single Check Rebate. I simply took that check to RiteAid and converted it in to a Gift Card and I use that gift card to do more SCR deals. By repeating this process each month, I haven’t pulled a dime out of my wallet at Rite Aid in more than 6 months and have walked out with a whole bunch of products!
I take advantage of the $10-25 Gift cards for transferred prescriptions all the time (we just have a flouride prescription that we don’t have to pay for anyway)…every month I “make” $10-$25 at Rite Aid, CVS or a grocery store by “prescription surfing” for the gift cards (note: if you are going to do this and have multiple prescriptions and are put on a new and different one, you must tell the pharmacist about any other prescriptions you are taking!). Those gift cards go towards things that I need, but for which I sometimes can’t get a good deal (like toilet paper, paper towels, etc).
But by thinking ahead, I can always find good deals. For instance, back in June/July I purchased 70 boxes of Kleenex for $12.50 by combining a Catalina deal with coupons and doing the deal several times. People thought I was nuts for buying that many especially in the summer….but it’s February and that stockpile of Kleenex is still going strong (although I’ve put a serious dent in it this week!). I am down to about 30 boxes which means that I will actively start looking for the next Kleenex/Puffs deal to start replenishing. Dishwasher detergent? I have a 2-year supply of Electrasol by combining a $2.50 coupon with it being on sale for $2.99-$3.25 (the $2.50 coupon has come out twice in the last few months).
The bottom line?
It is very rare that I buy something that isn’t on sale (a real sale, not one of those “let’s knock $.09 off an item and call it a sale). It is also rare that I don’t use a coupon for those sale items (even rice, butter, sugar and flour have coupons that can be combined with a sale if you look hard enough).
Learn to live off your stockpile, replenishing when you get the deals. Meats freeze – so do cheeses, breads, etc.
Respect the stockpile by rotating it. Frozen bread is no good if it has freezer burn. Pancake mix is no good if it has been sitting in your pantry for a year. Use a “First In, First Out” system to avoid any waste and make your stockpile work for you.
Learn that food is nourishment, not emotional fulfillment. I don’t look for my food to give me happiness (well – except Snickers bars). When I want the “indulgent” food, we budget for it accordingly. When I want to give my family tasty food to give their bodies fuel for the day, I look online for recipes using what I have in the house. Believe me – grab almost any 3 items out of your pantry/freezer and Google the 3 of them in 1 search….you’ll find a recipe that uses them!
The next and final installment? A few weekly menus for our house with plenty of links to recipes and resources.
Have you seen any CVS perscription transfers lately? I’m ready to transfer the kids flouride from Target. And do you know if you can use a transfer coupon if you’ve already had that perscription at the pharmacy(particularly Rite-Aid).
i’m not sure where exactly you live, but i’m assuming upper bucks from some things you’ve said, i live in lower bucks. so i drive about 7 mins accros the bridge to a diary place in trenton called halo farms. they sell milk all varities in half gallons for $1.33 each, so that makes 2.66 for gallon of milk, when we go i buy 4 or 5 cartons to last the week. it has saved me so much $ and i don’t spend much in gas going there cause i don’t drive that far, but its probably alot further from you
There is a bread outlet not far to the West of us, near Wal-Mart, loaves of bread are typically about $.80 a loaf there, and can be frozen. I am fortunate to have a friend that drives by there for work so he picks up my bread for me. But if you have a cause to go by there that can help.
Unfortunately we aren’t close enough to get milk from NJ, but there are some farm stores where the milk is a little cheaper.
Thanks for this post. This makes me feel a lot better about where I am currently at. I just started actually couponing and doing the deals at Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid last August. I’ve tried to keep my budget to $400 a month and that is for a family of 6 with 2yo twins in diapers still. I’ve gone over a few times and get discouraged but I need to remember I’m still building my stockpile and it will get better!
I also go through about 5 gallons of milk a week and have just accepted it. I thought about powdered milk but haven’t tried it yet. Maybe if I mixed it with regular milk? We’ll see.
I do milk and produce at the farmers market. If you go in on a Wednesday, they often clearance their milk that is at it’s sell by date. In reality, that milk is fine for another week, it just can’t be sold anymore. It’s marked down to 99 cents. Can’t beat it. Produce is dirt cheap there – often much cheaper than even the best sales at the grocery store. I buy 2 lbs of carrots for a dollar, and just cut them into “baby carrot” sizes.
Then, I hit the pepperidge farm outlet where I can get bread for a dollar or so. I also end up picking up cookies/crackers/pretzels for snacks. Sometimes they have other things on deal, like yesterday, they had a chocolate mint frozen cake for a buck. I didn’t need it for any reason, but if I were having company, I’d totally have bought it. It would easily be dessert for 4-6 adults. The PF stop is never more than a few dollars out of pocket a week.
I go past these 2 places on my way home from work, so it’s not out of the way. I do better there than I can do at the grocery store unless a sale + coupons makes bread, goldish, or produce free.
I highly recommend that anyone who is worried about spending check out any places like that they may have near them. It’s well worth it, especially if you can lump trips together or it’s not out of your way.
I have really enjoyed your tips and was doing some of them and plan on implementing some of them now…
I just got an email from allrecipes and they have a new part to their web site called cooking on a budget….
didn’t look indepth at it yet but looks like it would be interesting and a good link. I love getting recipes off their site.
Powdered milk is good for baking or cooking, and I use it in my coffee much the same way you’d use powdered creamer. In desperate moments, I’ve mixed it up with water and used it for cereal, and it’s just ok. I’d much rather pay full price for milk to drink than drink powered.
Just my 2 cents since I saw a couple of people talking about it.
Oh, and canned milk is great for coffee, cooking and baking too, and you can usually pick that up cheap with coupons and a sale – especially around the holidays. I stock up on that and one of my favorite things is when I bake a have a little bit left over for coffee.
Just a tip for finding recipes with ingredients you have…allrecipes.com has an ‘ingredients’ search, including ingredients you WANT and don’t want.
I have very young kids…and mix their milk with powdered for a 50/50 split to stretch out the real milk. Some weeks I do it more than others b/c i am cooking with it or something.
All these do sound good, but I noticed no one said they go to the dollar stores, dollar tree have good products and some well known, for a dollar, its worth it, I try not to think that the only thing I can buy is well known products, today thats foolish, most have the same stuff in them just cheaper, what i use to do for my daughter she use to and still think like that so I would buy cereal and put it in tupperware she would eat it, I take a brillo pad and take the dates off the milk, because if its just a day expired she would pour it out or just wouldn’t use it and be in trouble. However I can save a dollar till it turn purple and a very good shopper, sometimes I spend less than 50, even when I have to buy paper products.
You may be getting all of these items for free, but somebody has to pay for them. All of your coupons and discounts and freebies add up to higher prices for those of us who don’t have the luxury of spending time clipping coupons and visitng four stores a week. It’s zero-sum game you’re playing, and someone else is paying the price.
I’m sorry that you feel that way Amanda….and I believe with every fiber of my being that you are wrong.
It’s not a “luxury” to clip coupons and match them up with sales. For many people, it is the only way to put food on the table and still be able to pay their bills.
Are you suggesting that nobody should use coupons? Or should we only use them when the item isn’t on sale? Why do you think that companies issue coupons in the first place?
UMMMMMMMMMMM I have to interject on this conversation
AMANDA I think you are just “jealous” of the savings
the way that these girls are shopping is thru LOSS LEADERS
they are items the store discounts and companies give coupons for that bring you to the store (in hopes you will buy more) and introduce you to products that you normally wouldn’t bother to try and maybe buy in the future,
YOU REALLY NEED TO BE EDUCATED ABOUT YOUR CONDESCENDING REMARKS, at least FIND OUT about a topic before you criticize others….
ANYWAY feel free to learn from US ! maybe you will thank us, later
people like you apparently DO HAVE LUXURIOUS TIME ON THEIR HANDS or why else would you keep coming back and commenting, I don’t have time for that because I am busy, clipping coupons and saving money!
WOW! bitter bitter bitter…….. I can taste it….. UGH
Companies issue coupons to encourage people to buy their products, and to try something that they might not otherwise buy. Similarly, stores like CVS offer their customer loyalty programs to reward those who spend money in their stores by giving them a little share of the profit margin.
I applaud many of your efforts at saving money. Stocking up on sale items, menu planning, price books, etc.–they’re all admirable. However, by gaming the system so that you never pay for items at some stores, you’re just shifting the burden from yourself to others. Proctor and Gamble can’t make toothpaste for nothing–somebody is paying for it. CVS can’t sell it for free, either–they had to pay the guy who delivered it to the store, the stockboy who put it on the shelf, and the cashier who rang it up. When you double a coupon and use points (earned with other items that you didn’t pay for) to get it for “free,” the burden is borne by everyone else who shops at CVS and pays full price (maybe because they worked a 12-hour shift and barely had time to get home and spend a little time with their kids before going to bed exhausted, only to wake up and do it all again the next day–that’s what I mean by having the “luxury” to clip coupons). And that full price is inflated above the cost to make that toothpaste, in part, to pay for your “free” toothpaste.
If you went out for lunch every week with a group of friends and always let someone else pick up the tab, I bet you wouldn’t stay friends for long. In my opinion, taking something without paying for it is stealing, now matter how you dress it up.
I respect your opinion, even though I vehemently disagree with it.
As for the “stealing” comment…I’ll say the same thing to you that I said to a cashier who accused me of stealing because I was using the system that her employer set up…….Call the police on me. I’ll wait!
I’m not going to call the cops, but I am going to write to CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens to recommend that they amend their policies regarding their loyalty programs. I’m not going to pay for your toothpaste.
have a nice day Amanda!
Not going to call the cops? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH Do they have toothpaste cops in big cities now?
Thanks for the giggle Amanda.
You’re welcome. I’m going to go back to being a productive member of society now. Have fun freeloading.
Sorry Amanda…my Spam filter caught your copies of emails/letters that you sent to CVS and Rite Aid (as it does automatically whenever a comment including 2 or more links is submitted)
After much thought, I’m leaving your comment where it belongs…in my Spam folder.
Good luck getting Rite Aid and CVS to get rid of the ECB program & the SCR program. They make a ton of money off of it (contrary to what you might think)
I’m sure they make a lot of money off of it. And they’d make a lot more if it weren’t for you. If you read my letters carefully, I did not suggest that they “get rid of the ECB program & the SCR program.” I recommended that they amend the rules to protect their paying customers and to prevent others from gaming the system.
I’ve read that Moody’s has predicted that Rite Aid will go bankrupt this year. You can take pride in knowing that you had a small part in that.
Yes – there is no limit to my Secret Evil Power!
Not only have I caused Rite Aid to go bankrupt, since I encourage people not to spend money they don’t have, the terrorists will win!
Then again, I recommend that people combine shopping trips to save gas, so I guess I’m doing my part to save the baby polar bears from floating out to the middle of the ocean on an iceberg.
But on the other hand, I encourage people not to use credit cards….everyone can now blame me for the crisis in the financial sector!
Amanda, whatever happened to you going back t being a “productive” member of society? Why would you continue to visit a “freeloaders” website and help increase her stats?
Shhhh!
besides – her head should just about explode in a few minutes….
Free toothpaste at Walgreens this week!
You’ve had your fun Amanda….go bother someone else.
Further comments from you will be deleted