I've decided to go big or go home...

[RubyRed]

I'm a teacher assistant in special education and don't get my measly paycheck in the summer. So, we have started couponing to build a stockpile and I've been couponing since August. Problem is, we eat it as we buy it.

So, I'm going extreme, buying much larger quantities than normal. I feel I did pretty well today... what do you think?

I spent $55 and saved $72, and got:

-16 boxes of General Mills cereal
-8 cans of Campbell's soup
-About 25 cans of store-brand vegetables (48 cents/can)
-About 8 cans of store-brand beans (48 cents again)
-Two Tyson whole chickens

We put some of it into the pantry for use in the near future, and are saving about 2/3 of it for the summer. Do you think I got a good deal? If I wait for 99% savings, I'll wait a long time.

[Gardencook]

So, I'm going extreme, buying much larger quantities than normal. I feel I did pretty well today... what do you think?

I spent $55 and saved $72, and got:

-16 boxes of General Mills cereal
-8 cans of Campbell's soup
-About 25 cans of store-brand vegetables (48 cents/can)
-About 8 cans of store-brand beans (48 cents again)
-Two Tyson whole chickens

We put some of it into the pantry for use in the near future, and are saving about 2/3 of it for the summer. Do you think I got a good deal? If I wait for 99% savings, I'll wait a long time.

Don't know what prices you paid individually on most of the items, but veggies and beans at 48 cents a can is a decent deal around here.
Once in a GREAT while a canned bean Q lines up with a great sale, but the stores are usually out. That happened on the S&W Q here several weeks ago. Had I wanted to drive 25 miles one way, I could have gotten them for 16 cents a can on a one day sale, but our store didn't have them. Instead I saved the gas and paid a little more for the beans later.
Expecting 99 percent savings isn't realistic most of the time and will only lead to discouragement. Then you'll be tempted to give up the savings you're getting now.
Basically, any amount you save is a good deal if you bought items you would normally purchase anyway for a higher price. And if having food stored stops the temptation to run out and grab fast food -- you saved a LOT more than that.
What you saved still represents a 57 percent savings! That's nothing to sneeze at!
Keep up the good work. It will get easier with time!

[Doglover8180]

I think you did great! Good job!

[RubyRed]

Thanks to you both! Gardencook, I'm sorry you have to go so far to get some of your coupon deals. My local Shoprite is less than a mile away, and they are never out of stock. They had this huge sale this week and you could barely move around because they put out pallets and pallets of things they had on sale.

With coupons, the cereal was $1.17/box and the soup was 29 cents. The beans, like the veggies, were store brand. The chicken was 99 cents/pound.

Thank you for the encouragement. My goal is to have that deep freezer stocked with meat and the kitchen full of extra food so that I don't have to buy much food this summer. And you're right - no fast food temptations!

[Gardencook]

With coupons, the cereal was $1.17/box and the soup was 29 cents. The beans, like the veggies, were store brand. The chicken was 99 cents/pound.

Thank you for the encouragement. My goal is to have that deep freezer stocked with meat and the kitchen full of extra food so that I don't have to buy much food this summer. And you're right - no fast food temptations!

Sounds like you did fine! Cereal has been getting a lot higher recently with inflation. We're well stocked, so haven't been buying any, but the sales we've had here wouldn't have netted cereal for anything close to that. Any sort of soup at 29 cents is a bargain, and as I mentioned our beans and veggies would be a good price here. We have one store that puts house brand beans and veggies on for 50 cents quite frequently, but other stores are usually higher.

As far as driving for sales, unfortunately we're used to it. I drove to a city much farther away on the day previous for another sale. However, I knew double coupons were coming the next day and saw the beans on sale in a neighboring city. However, I couldn't buy them and get doubles that day and when I went to our local store the next, they hadn't even bothered to stock the sale beans. Our store got them a week or two later (it was a one month sale) but no double coupons once they arrived.

[JulieDB]

That's great if you can eat it all before it goes bad. We don't eat much cereal here. So I pretty much buy it on an as needed basis but we also have food allergies and are limited as to what we can eat. So if I see a good price on something we will eat, I might get a couple of extra boxes. But I do have to be very careful. Cereal is one thing I have in the past thrown out a lot of.

You might consider getting a small chest freezer if you have the space for one. I got one this past summer and it has allowed me to save a LOT of money. I often get coupons for frozen foods. And before I got the freezer, I often couldn't buy those things. It also allows me to do things like make tons of meatloaf when I get a good price on meat, veggies and chili sauce. I make individual ones, bake them then bag and freeze them.

I buy some of my canned veggies at Costco. I buy cases of corn, green beans and tomatoes and tomato sauce there because we use those things all the time. They recently had a coupon for B1G1F on canned tomatoes. I can't use two cases before they go bad so I donated one case to our food bank which was looking for tomato products at the time.

Other things I always keep extras of are rice, pasta, instant potatoes, canned chicken and tuna and condiments like ketchup, mustard and salsa.

If you have a Big Lots near you, they can be a good source of cheap food. I've gotten really good prices on canned veggies there. I have also found gluten free cereal and recently gluten free pasta. It is not our favorite pasta but at 1/3 the price of the stuff we prefer, we can find a way to eat it.

My big problem time of the year is through the winter and into Spring. Not only do I have Christmas presents to buy but we have a lot of birthdays. My heat bill can be horrid! We are having very mild weather this winter so I don't think it will be a worry this year. Then I need to save up money for dance pics, recital tickets and last minute things for recital like new makeup, eyelashes, tights and new shoes. Then most years she goes to dance camps and takes summer lessons so I have to pay for those things prior to June.

Summer isn't so bad for me. Yes, I do have to save some for school pics and supplies. But I am lucky in that I never bought my daughter much in they way of new shoes and clothing for school so she hasn't come to expect it and doesn't ask for much. Her big growth spurt was usually in June. Her birthday is in July. So I would usually have to buy her new stuff then. She prefers not to dress seasonally. Yes, when it is cold she will put on a coat. But her year round wardrobe currently is sweat pants and T-Shirts.

[RubyRed]

GardenCook, why oh why do stores pull that stunt? I expect empty shelves from Wal-Mart and the drugstores, but the local supermarkets should stock what they advertise! I am glad that there are tons of stores near my home and work. There is not a lot of driving involved. Otherwise, I would. go. crazy. with the cleared shelves.

JulieDB, thanks for the advice. Now, I will definitely keep an eye on the cereal expiration dates! The kids eat a lot of it, and when I've stocked up on it in smaller amounts, it would go quickly. We were saving 12 boxes for the summer, but I'm gonna look at all the expiration dates today just in case. We just got a chest freezer two months ago, and I've already put some veggies, a turkey, chickens, hot dogs, in there for the summer. I've just been buying extra, if it's a good sale, when I can.

Our tough time is definitely also in the fall because we have to play catch-up on bills from the summer. Hopefully, this food will allow us to pay more bills then. I was just thinking yesterday exactly what you said - the 60 degree January weather is really going to help us out this month, too!

I like your idea for school clothes. I usually buy them each one or two items every payday, rather than one "big" back-to-school purchase. My son grows so quickly that his stuff doesn't last long anyway. Our clothes come from Wal-Mart or Gabriels. I don't know if Gabriels is everywhere, but it's overruns and slightly damaged to really damaged, but all new, clothing. You have to look merchandise over carefully there, but you can get a lot for your money just buying clearance.

[joshmamabear]

I think you did well on this trip. Just some add'l tips for you to try:

1. Campbells condensed soup (if that's the one you bought) go on sale several times @ .39/can and there are coupons to go with them. if you have a store that doubles up to a certain amount (campbells has low value coupons like .40/3 or .40/4 but when Qs are paired with a loss leader sale, it is possible to get them really cheap.

2. if you're going to buy oats or pasta, beware of weavels in them. very often, when they are not stored properly, you'll find critters crawling out of their boxes and you end up tossing them and there goes all your savings.

3. if you're buying Kelloggs cereals, check current rebates online where you get $10 prepaid gas card when you submit 10 qualified UPCs, no receipt needed (not all Kelloggs cereals qualify so you have to read the requirements carefully).

keep up the good work. As long as you're saving money on what you're buying, that is something to be happy about

[joshmamabear]

I forgot to say the advantage of ad match (combined with coupons). If you have WM nearby and have stores having those loss leader sales, I suggest you gather your ads (don't rely on their NO ADs needed) and bring them there for one stop shopping. WM prices are not ALWAYS the lowest, so make sure to know prices of things you buy often.

[Ggbwg]

You did pretty well. I would have waited to for veggies to be a bit cheaper myself. I won't stock veggies unless it is $0.30-$0.25 a can.

How much were the fryers ? Walmart usually has them for $0.99 lb so i try no to get them unless they are that price or less. Sometimes they go on sale for $0.89 lb here.

If you break your cost down $72 divided by 59 items your cost is $1.22 per item

Maybe where you live prices are higher though.