Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Kroger and Rite Aid Trips

One of my first steps to being more frugal was to implement menu planning. I started off by just thinking about what I wanted to eat and planning that meal for the week. This method made grocery shopping easier, but it didn't really save me any money.

My next step in my quest for frugality was to do a quick sweep of my cabinets and freezer, checking to see what ingredients I already had and planning my meals around those items. This was really a money saver! Before I started checking my cabinets and freezer, I would come home with items that I already had! My freezer was like a bottomless pit of frozen veggies. Now, I know what I have, and I only buy things that I need. When I do buy things, I try to only buy them when they are on sale, or I have a coupon.

I have also started to stockpile foods that I use most often. We eat lots of canned tomatoes. Almost every meal we eat has a can of tomatoes in it. I know I will always use tomatoes, so when I find a good deal, I stock up. This saves me money because I am only buying tomatoes when they are on sale, instead of getting a few cans every week at a crazy expensive price.

This week Hubbie had the idea to do 2 weeks of shopping. Normally we only do 1 week of shopping because I'm just not prepared enough to plan two weeks worth of meals. This week, to my delight, Hubbie sat down with me and helped me do 2 weeks worth of menu plans! I'll probably have to go back to the store to get more bananas for snacks and baking, but I'm excited about the time it will save to only go grocery shopping once every two weeks!


Kroger

4 Half Gallons Kroger Milk $6.00 (These went on sale the day after we went shopping, I was so bummed)
1 Kroger Sour Cream $1.05
1 cut veggie tray $3.94
1 Bird’s Eye Broccoli $2.35 -used $0.35 coupon, doubled to $0.70
.34 lb garlic $0.91
1.85 lb bananas $1.09
1 Barilla Spaghetti $1.39 - We only eat whole wheat pasta, so our pasta prices tend to be a little expensive. Since we don't eat meat, whole wheat items are a good way to get extra protein.
1 Ronzoni Lasagna noodles $2.49
1 Imagine Vegetable Broth $3.29 -used $0.55 coupon
1 Ole Corn Tortilla Shells $1.69
1 Dish scrub pads $ 1.39
1 Kroger Old Fashioned Oats $2.39
5 cans Red Gold Tomatoes $4.00
2 Kroger Tortilla Chips $2.00
2 Ragu Pasta Sauce $3.40 -used $0.75/2, $0.50 Kroger Card ecoupon
1 Kroger Vegetable Oil $2.97
1 Kroger Tomato Sauce $0.34
5 Johnson’s Buddies Soaps -used $2.00/2, $1.00/1, $1.00/1 coupons

used $1.00 off any Kroger purchase coupon
I also had another $1.00 credit on my receipt. I can’t remember what this was from.

Total Before Coupons: $46.14
Total Saved: $8.50
Total OOP: $41.58 for two weeks of groceries

Rite Aid: Week of 1/25-1/31
I also did my Rite Aid shopping on the same day. I got some pretty good deals this week that I was very excited about.

Rite Aid Transaction #1
1 Listerine Total Care $4.99-used $2.00 Rite Aid coupon
1 Always Infinity 18 ct $5.99 -used Free Infinity 18 ct coupon
1 One Touch Ultra 2 Meter $19.99 -used $19.99 off of one coupon
used $5 off $25 Rite Aid coupon

Total Before Coupons: $30.97
Total Saved: $32.99
Total OOP: $0.52

Rite Aid Transaction #2
1 Listerine Citrus $ 4.99 -used $2.00 Rite Aid coupon
1 Dove Body Wash $2.89 -used $1.00 of any Dove body wash coupon
1 One Touch Ultra 2 Meter $19.99 -used $19.99 off of one coupon
used $5 off $25 Rite Aid coupon

Total Before Coupons: 27.87
Total Saved: $28.00
Total OOP: $2.25

Rite Aid Transaction #3
2 Listerine Total Care $ 9.98 -used two $2.00 Rite Aid coupon
1 One Touch Ultra 2 Meter $19.99 -used $19.99 off of one coupon
used $5 off $25 Rite Aid coupon

Total Before Coupons: $29.97
Total Saved: $29.00
Total OOP: $3.74

The Listerine is part of an ESR for February, and I will get back $10.00 for buying 4 Listerine.

Value of Items: $88.81
Coupons Value: $89.99
Total Spent: Rite Aid: $6.51
Profit this week after ESR: $5.49

I'm not too crazy about the Rite Aid deals this week, so I'll probably just skip it all together. Check back later this week to see how my Walgreens trip went!

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