See all those groceries? We paid $19 for all of those! Our receipt said we saved $86, but that doesn't include the money saved on mark-downs. If I were to include those prices as well, it would have been around $100 saved. Of course, I would never pay $100 for those groceries, but it's still fun to realize the savings that using coupons combined with sales produces!
I was especially excited about scoring all of those Colgate toothpastes and toothbrushes for free as well as getting paid $2.50 per tub of baby wipes I bought. The Barbara's cereals were reduced to $2.05/box plus I had $1/1 coupons making them only $1.05/box–which is a great price in my book for organic, all-natural cereal!
If you have a Dillons nearby, you can see more details on the deals I scored and other deals here.
We also made a trip to Aldi earlier in the week to buy some more baking/cooking staples and a bunch of produce. I usually don't make more than one shopping trip per week, but I was so energized this week to bake that I decided to use some of my leftover grocery money from the last few weeks to stock up in order to completely stock our freezers.
So I spent $39 at Aldi this week, in addition to the $19 above for a total of $58 spent on groceries this week. I didn't quite make my $40-$45 goal I was shooting for, however, I used leftover grocery money from the last few weeks budgets so I'm still well under budget for the month of March.
And the good news? We now have about 20 dinners in one freezer for after the baby comes and another freezer stocked with baked goods for the next few weeks. Having our freezers well-stocked is certainly going to save us quite a bit of money over the next few months while I'm especially tired or lacking in energy. Instead of getting carryout or turning to more expensive convenience foods, we can just pull something out of the freezer!
Did you snag any great deals or bargains this week? If so, be
sure to post about them on your blog and leave your link below. Please
remember that this weekly round-up is to share deals you personally got
this week and/or money you were able to save this week. Links which do
not specifically relate to this will be deleted. Also, to make it easy
for everyone to navigate quickly through
the links, your link must link directly to your Super Savings Saturday
post.
kansas mommy says
I tried to do the Huggies Wipes moneymaker again yesterday. I did it last week at our local Dillon’s no problem. Yesterday the cashier called over the manager who said that it is not possible to make money off of coupons (ha!) She said the best you can get an item for is for free. I told her that I did it all of the time and had used these same coupons last week. She was not very happy and pretty rude. She said that was Dillon’s policy. So I just kindly left with my other items. Frustrating!
Beth says
Wow!! (The 2 Kroger’s I’ve been to recently haven’t been stocking the 4-pack cottenelle either. Has anyone else noticed this?)
I sent a message but it never came through. I asked the person that does the ordering and Cottonelle has discontinued their 4pk so whatever is out there is all that is left. I have been to 3 different Krogers and they are out. Unfortunately, they said it is their biggest seller, but I guess they got tired of giving away free toilet Paper ;o) The lady said they did this two years ago. It was supposed to be a temporary/promotional item.
flutemom says
i just freeze my butter/margarine in the boxes the way they are sold in the store. i don’t know how many months it stays in my freezer, but i’ve never had problems with it “going bad”.
Marianne @The New Frugal Mom says
It’s a good feeling to have all those dinners ready before baby gets here, isn’t it?
😉
Thanks for the chance to link up (as always) and I hope you get a bit of a chance to rest before the little one arrives. Take care!
TracyH says
Thank you for the tip on the Huggies wipes!! I also went in with two copons and walked out with them giving me $5 towards my other purchases. I went in and saved 69% on three different transactions!! VERY EXCITING!!!
Catrina Fernandez says
Thank-you so much for your blog! I started here about a year ago and took my first steps as a couponer. Now I have been training the ladies in my church and have started my own blog! The Lord new I needed to learn this, especially with the change in our economy, and be able to teach others also!! We have many families hurting from job losses and it is a joy to be able to help them! Also, thank-you for allowing us to share our goodies we have found each week with your viewers!! God Bless you!
Lisa says
What a great trip! Nice job.
Wolf says
they’ve stopped carrying the 4-pack cottonelle at my kroger too…so, i’m keeping an eye out for deals…
as for the freezing butter, is there a specific way that works? i’m noticing that margarine, etc., is on sale at kroger and would like to stack up if i can, but never thought i could before so i didn’t. it would sure save me some money if i could freeze it right!
Katie says
I’m suppose to be writing an article as the deadline is very close only my brain has stopped working due to my pregnancy hormones. I decided instead to pop here for more money saving tips and wow at your shopping trip purchases. Coupons in the UK are pretty rare and not the norm – I have managed to print off a few from product websites but then I get bombarded with emails after registering. I did manage to get some free teabags and a breakfast cereal though. If we had coupons in the UK like you do I would use them all the time – I love beating the system.
Chelsea says
Thank you for pointing out the “gentle care wipes” with overage. As I don’t have children (yet), I wasn’t planning to print or use the $5 coupons. However, a $2 overage per pack (they were $2.99 here in So Cal) was well worth it!
Cecilia says
Amazing job!! Your hard work inspires me to find great deals and save my family money.
ginger says
Oh! forgot to mention- my kroger had cascadian farms gronola cereal saran wrapped in a two-pack and marked on sale for 3.99, with a buy 2 boxes of cereal get 1 cascadian farms snack bar free. I had a coupon for a dollar off- not bad!
Alicia says
Hi! Great Job! Do you mind erasing #20? I didn’t specify where I had shopped so I re-posted it on #99 will be #98 when you erase it!!
Thank you!!
Sceaming Meme says
I want to thank you for having such an awesome blog…I use your blog on a weekl basis and have saved alot because of you…Thank you!
I’d love to interview you for my new blog..Project: {Create A Home}…I think women could be inspired through your knowledge and blog! Let me know!
Ohhh and ….Hi, Im Meme from Screaming Meme…:)
I want to personally invite you to a new blog I created to share with inspiring women…We are having our Grand Opening on Monday and would love for you to stop by…There will be giveaways,surprises and a whole lot of fun! Hope to see you there! Meme
http://www.thescreamingmeme.blogspot.com
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Tiffany Adams says
That is awesome! Congrats on getting everything lined up in the freezer for when the little one comes. I still haven’t mastered that yet. It’s just my husband and me. I’m afraid of things getting freezer burned. Oh well, wish me luck. Thanks for the inspiration!
Jill says
I’m glad you acknowledge how technically you saved $100 but really you would never spend that much anyway. I find that it’s tempting to inflate our actual coupons savings, which can be misleading. One really should only factor into saving the amount that you would spend on such a thing normally. If it is something you wouldn’t buy normally, you really didn’t save that much. That’s not to say you shouldn’t buy it, but so many frugal blog sites track YTD savings, which I’m always skeptical of.
jessica says
The Walgreens Huggies deal was awesome this week. I did it 5 times- 3 times with what I had on my giftcard and then 2 more times to use up those remaining register rewards.
Anna says
Wow!! (The 2 Kroger’s I’ve been to recently haven’t been stocking the 4-pack cottenelle either. Has anyone else noticed this?)
Carrie says
This makes me really want to figure out a way to justify a drive to our area Kroger sometime. I’m sure an errand will come up in that area one of these days. Your savings there are phenomenal!
Claire at Choyster Cash says
I love the toothpaste!!
You did great this week on the deals – and good tip on the butter freezing. Interesting that it goes bad after 3-6 months…
JC says
wow i need to keep my eye out for good toothpaste deals. i always pay 3 bucks / squeeze tube
Chelsea says
I have a quick question. Do you know what day/time is the best for snagging mark-down items, especially dairy and produce? I always seem to go either too early or the wrong day and I really don’t mind using mark-down products.
Carolyn says
That’s amazing! Isn’t it fun to add up how much you save? That’s probably my favorite part of shopping! Unfortunately, we have 2 Krogers in town, and both have phased out carrying the 4-pack of Cottonelle, so no more free toilet paper. I’ll just have to see what other deals I can work.
$5 Dinner Mom says
Great week girl! I put the wrong link up earlier 🙁 Can you delete it?!? #13 Thanks!
Erin
Wolf says
can you freeze butter?
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Money Saving Mom here: Absolutely! I freeze butter quite often, especially if I’m able to snag it at a good deal. It keeps for at least 3-6 months in the freezer.
Patricia says
Hi!!
It’s amazing and unbelieveable!
I’m sorry I keep reading you every single day but still dont get it! I don’t know how you do it….
Where do you get the coupons mostly?
Could you be so kind to explain me what the $1/1 means? I try hard to learn but I just don’t know how to…
thanks and congratulations on your coming baby =)
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Money Saving Mom here: Keep reading here and keep slowly trying things out yourself and it will eventually come together. I promise!
I’ve been at this for a number of years so the time and practice has definitely helped me be able to to slowly get better and better at lowering my grocery budget.
I get coupons from a variety of sources but my current rule is to never pay for them, aside from printer ink. I print many of the printable coupons off, if I know it’s something we’ll use and will make a good deal.
I also get coupons in the mail from free samples or a free All You subscription someone gave me. And a few friends save their coupons for me that they don’t use and pass them onto me. I also pick up any and all coupons I find in the blinkie machines at the store and I go to our newspaper recycling bins a few times per month and get leftover inserts from there.
A $1/1 coupon means you get $1 off 1 item. Make sense?
My biggest rule of thumb is to stock up on items we need and use when they are at their lowest prices. For instance, the Colgate toothbrushes and toothpaste go on sale here for $1 every few months. I save all of my $1/1 coupons to use then so I can stock up on a 3 or so month’s supply of toothpaste and toothbrushes for free to last us until the next sale.
I do this same thing with many, many other products so that we almost always pay pennies on the dollar for everything we buy. It takes some time and practice to build up a stockpile of groceries/household items, but it pays off tremendously in the savings.
Hope that helps a little bit!
Christy says
You had an amazing trip this week.
Liz @ Hoosier Homemade says
Awesome work! Thanks for hosting!
nanasewn says
Wonder if you might speak to how to wrap things to put them in the freezer. Freezer burn sure kills the flavor and probably the nutrients. Thank you
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Money Saving Mom here: I just use Ziploc freezer bags for most everything. Make sure they are sealed tightly and press out all the air. I’ve never had a problem with freezer burn by doing things this way.
ilena says
WOW! I am in awe!
Bethany says
Ok, I am drooling here and totally intrigued.