Comments on: My $5.44 Dillon’s shopping trip–94% savings!

By: Sunshinesavings

Sunshinesavings — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 08:10:54 +0000

did you find the mambo sprouts coupon booklets at Dillon (kroger) or whole foods? thank you.

By: Lori Erickson

Lori Erickson — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 18:51:35 +0000

I am so glad you can spend so little and get so much But where i live in Iowa there are NO stores who double and triple coupons(at least in the Ames/Boone area) so your savings seem almost dreamlike to me.And the only Aldi in my area is 30 miles away in Ames so we go there once or twice a month. We usually spend anywhere from 90-120 a week on groceries where we live and thats with just plain old coupon redemption. But I do like your ideas and your website!! Have fun on vacation.

By: shannon

shannon — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:38:09 +0000

This definitely does inspire me to do better at the grocery store… I have almost mastered CVS but at the grocery store my totals are definitely way higher than I want (like generally around $80). I live in a super expensive area so the grocery prices are sky high (for example, a gallon of milk is $4.89), but I should still be able to do better. I guess I have to keep refining my technique!

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:27:39 +0000

Thanks for all of your hard work with this site!

I’ve always clipped coupons from the paper and combined them with sales, but I’m trying to get into printing online coupons. However, I’m concerned about downloading software to do so. Seems to me that so many sites require couponprinter.exe. Have you had any trouble with viruses, worms, or infestations? I did a quick search and some people are skeptical. Thanks!!!

By: L. Good

L. Good — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:36:27 +0000

We do not have a Kroeger’s. I live in the stix so sadly, alot of these GREAT deals are not at stores around here. No Albertson’s, No Safeway, No Kroegers. But we DO have a Dillon’s. So I am wondering if it is an affiliate of Kroeger’s do they often run the same sales? Thanks in advanceQ

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 06:45:28 +0000

Great trip Crystal! I love it when you share stuff like this. I think it also worth mentioning that I notice you don’t do overkill on the amount of stuff you buy. You get great deals but I think because you do it in modest amounts it isn’t taking up great amounts of time and planning. I have seen many who have grocery carts full of great deals, which of course would amount to a lot more planning time than just picking up a few items. I have learned to downsize my bargain shopping mainly because of the time issue. I am still getting great deals, just in more manageable quantities.Hope I am making sense S

By: Jenny

Jenny — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:19:56 +0000

Way to go! It’s so much fun to see your weekly shopping trips and how much you save. Thanks for posting them as encouragement to all of us!

Jenny

By: Jessica Williams

Jessica Williams — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 01:56:49 +0000

Can I just say I am so jealous that many of you ladies have stores that double coupons all the time?!

Great job Crystal!

By: KeriLyn@SheSave

KeriLyn@SheSave — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 01:03:13 +0000

ok…I am excited to hear how yummy the Starbucks Ice Cream is… since I have YET to find it anywhere in my area!! I have been carrying my free facebook coupon around forever …
way to go on your purchases!!!

By: Kay

Kay — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:55:51 +0000

thank you for the encouragement of this post — to keep at it and keep couponing until I become a whiz like you, and really start to save my family money! I have been trying for about a month to shop sale ads (especially CVS and Walgreens with their bucks back deals) but I feel like I am spending a lot to save a lot, if that makes sense? So I guess I’ll keep trying!!! By the way, what is “price matching?”

By: Jillian

Jillian — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:17:03 +0000

All You magazine is $15.00 for a year at Amazon!

By: Angela

Angela — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:03:15 +0000

Wonderful job, Crystal!
I just wanted to let you know that I tried price-matching at Target today. The only thing that was not ideal about it was that I had to go to Guest Services for them to price match; the regular check-out lanes couldn’t do it. Fortunately, I didn’t have a very large order so it wasn’t that big of a deal. This let me know that I either need to price match when I only have a small order, or pay for my “regular” stuff first, then go to Guest Services for price matching. It was well worth it, though, and the girl at the Guest Service counter congratulated me on saving so much money!

By: Frugal Girls!

Frugal Girls! — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:18:11 +0000

Fantastic job ~ woohoo!! Your shopping trips are always such an inspiration and motivation to save! Thanks for posting the pictures!!

By: Kristy Mack

Kristy Mack — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:08:01 +0000

Just saved 80% at Kroger tonight!! My Kroger doubles $1 coupons, so I get mega savings!!! Original total was $36 and I walked out the door paying just over $9. Thanks for all your tips and info!!

By: Kristen

Kristen — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:02:19 +0000

Thank you for all you do. My husband thinks I am coupon crazy now, but I have actually been able to fill our cupboards really wisely (and cheaply too!). Yes it takes time but hey cutting coupons while watching tv works just fine for me… Im just getting upset at some of the stores not taking certain coupons, my Target today wouldnt do the All or Tide Trial size because the coupon was more than the item and they wouldnt mark it down, they also wouldnt take the extra candy bar coupons.. one being b1g1 the other $1.00 off 2. Kind of frustrated me..but oh well, still found some good deals…Thank you again!

By: Deb H.

Deb H. — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:54:51 +0000

Great job! I have two questions: one- how much time would you “guesstimate” that you spend planning a shopping trip such as this one (assuming you make a plan and two- do you ever wrestle with “guilt” that you are taking time away from spending with your family? I wrestle with the guilt issue when I spend time clipping coupons, searching the internet, planning shopping trips, making the trips. I would guess I don’t spend as much time as some but I’m sure I spend more time than others! Anyway – how do you handle it?

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Money Saving Mom here: This shopping trip took me all of five (?) minutes to plan. I just grabbed the best coupons out of my box, stuffed them into an envelope and headed out the door. I have spent up to 30-45 minutes planning, prepping, and clipping coupons if it’s going to be a really big shopping trip, but I usually don’t spend anymore than 15-20 minutes maximum. I print out the high-value coupons as I run across them throughout the week and then it’s just a matter of checking to see what other things are on sale, adding anything extra to our running grocery list, planning a rough menu, and putting all the coupons I want to use in my envelopes. I’ve been coupon-shopping for around 10 years now, so it’s pretty simple to do these days!

I usually work on clipping and filing coupons while I’m doing something else (chatting with family/friends, on family movie night, etc.) so that’s not any extra work.

I usually shop with one or all of my children so it’s not taking time away from my family. On rare occasions, I go by myself, but those are very rare. I’m already involving our girls in the shopping and coupon-clipping as much as possible and they are eager to learn.

In addition, since we routinely save at least $50 per week for the bit of extra time I spend, it’s well worth the extra investment. Plus, my husband loves for me to save money at the grocery store. I don’t have an outside-the-home job, so it’s one way that I contribute to our home economy.

Now, if I were spending hours on this and neglecting my home and family to do so, leaving my children with sitters to go shopping for hours on end, and my husband could care less whether I saved a dime at the grocery store, I would definitely rethink whether this was a worthwhile thing to be investing my time into.

I think everyone needs to evaluate what is right for their own family and situation and then do that.

Hope that helps!

By: heather

heather — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:54:11 +0000

For the Rice Krispies – did Vocalpoint just send you a coupon, did you request it on their site, or what? Thanks!

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Money Saving Mom here: Vocalpoint just seems to randomly send out coupons to members. I’m not sure what their criteria is, but I typically get a packet of coupons from them for some item or another every 6-8 weeks. There is usually a coupon for a free item and then 4-6 other high-value coupons for that same item.

By: Frugal, Freebies and Deals

Frugal, Freebies and Deals — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:51:32 +0000

Could you imagine paying $65.28 for those groceries?- goodness, even if I wasn’t frugal I would go away sad.. lol

jen

By: Zsera

Zsera — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:48:26 +0000

That is amazing!!

By: Stefanie

Stefanie — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:46:14 +0000

That’s great, but the math seems off – if this is all you bought, shouldn’t you have paid $2.68 minus 35 cents from the overage on the healthy choice meal for a total of $2.33?

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Money Saving Mom here: Stefanie: I have to pay tax on my pre-coupon total. Some states don’t charge tax on food, but ours does, so that’s why I had to pay more than just $2.33. Hope that helps!