Freebies:
3 packages of WASA crackers from my mom
1 bag of apples our friends picked at a local farm
24 bags of frozen Green Giant whole potatoes
Aldi Shopping Trip:
3 bags chocolate chips
5 cantaloupe
Peaches, plums, nectarines, avocados
4 bags of frozen veggies
5 big bags of whole chicken breasts
1 loaf of bread
Other Purchases:
2 dozen farm-fresh eggs
2 jars of Organic Raw honey from Tropical Traditions
2 loaves of fresh bread from a local bakery (using a Groupon)
All totaled, we spent just under $80 on groceries this past week. We used some of our leftover grocery money from the last two weeks to make the raw honey purchase and the chicken stock-up.
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Did you snag any great deals or bargains this week or save money in other ways? 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 and/or money you were able to save this week. In order to keep this weekly round-up focused on helping and inspiring others in their efforts to save money, links which have little-to-no content other than promoting affiliate links, etc. 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.
Thanks for the linky, I love to see how everyone is doing on their savings. I always get some great ideas and tips this way.
I added your savings linky to the Weekly Savings Linky Collection @ Frugality Is Free.
I have been reading your blog for a few months, but I don’t see you mention buying paper towels or toilet paper? I watch for sales and use a coupons, but I just never see mention of it. Thanks! I love all your great advice and tips!
We don’t use paper towels: https://moneysavingmom.com/2009/03/is-it-really-a-necessity.html and I did a huge stock-up of toilet paper a number of months ago through an online deal so I’ve not had to buy it for quite a while.
Are you going to make guacamole with those avocados? I am loving guacamole lately and really want to try making my own. And since my 3rd babe will be starting solids soon, I’ll know we’ll have plenty of avocados in the house.
I’m just eating them on salads. I love fresh avocados!
YOur email link is not working here or from your facebook page.
I thought this was a pretty hot coupon. coupons.com has a coupon for a whole dollar off any one Dannon 32 oz yogurt. It’s new and it’s a big value.
Thanks so much, just posted this!
We would eat all that cantaloupe LOL! I amwondering if you ever buy organic chicken? I don’t really like to buy frozen packaged chicken.
I did some babysittting for a woman who raises bees and she paid me in local HONEY! Can you believe it- like liquid gold!
I like to buy Smart Chicken when I can get a good sale on it, but I’ve not found one recently.
We get to double our coupons here in Genesee County MI so we end up getting many things free when there is a sale. Now of course I do the samples and I love getting things in the mail -free.
I’ve just started writing to companies I really likeand they have sent me coupons in return.
vickie
So healthy! You go girl!
That is neat! We get alot of free things too to add to our grocery trips, but not usually things from the grocery store. I think they are available for you out there if you look for them or are willing to work for them. I get an entire winter stock of potatoes for free or really cheap every year. My friends pay like $100 for a huge trailer load of potatoes from a potato farm every year and it divides between a whole bunch of families and it ends up pennies for potatoes, or free because it is divided so many times. There are alot of apple and plum trees here, ask the small produce stands for their seconds…….
I am not like Crystal with all the coupons, but I still get alot of stuff for free, but i do work a bit for it.
Crystal, your shopping list reminded me of a recipe i have for a honey garlic roasted chicken and potatoes recipe i used to make!! it was so yummy and easy!
Awesome! I love how you demonstrate eating healthily does not have to be expensive, contrary to popular belief. Whenever I hear that from people (which is often), I refer them to your site to learn otherwise!
What are you going to do with all that cantaloupe? You can’t possibly be eating it all fresh before it goes bad, can you? I can’t stand the stuff but my husband and daughter love it so I usually buy it precut. But our neighbor just gave us a whole one. What else can I do with cantaloupe?
@Jenn, I am not a fan of it either but one of my sons is, so if I buy and have leftover , I will freeze it in small chunks to use as filler in smoothies (usually with frozen peaches and other fruits). Once it is frozen though, you can’t eat it thawed. It turns to mush. OK for smoothies though.
Actually, yes. 🙂 We ate it up in less than four days! We took dinner to a family so that used up two and we ate the remaining three in the next two days. I wished I would have bought 10 because it was such a good deal and the children couldn’t get enough of it. I’ll know better next time!
I didn’t do a Saturday post, but I walked over to a church rummage sale and got myself an Old Navy zip up hoodie, hoodies for my kids, a bugs learning kit, a space learning kit, a US States learning kit, a Richard Scarry book, and six new photo frames that I’ll use to frame family portraits to give grandparents / great grand parents for the holidays… all for $4! And since I walked there, I also got a nice workout and didn’t use any gasoline!
Do you have any criteria when buying chicken? I just go with the cheapest for the week, but lately I’ve been wondering this. thanks
Just wanted to say something about the honey. My son has bad allergies and was on Singulair for a long time. I noticed no improvement whatsoever, so I told the doctor I was stopping it. In the meantime, I discovered a source for LOCAL raw honey and we started using it in/on everything. I realized my son’s allergies were really improving. My dh also noticed an improvement. Then I read that using LOCAL raw honey will help allergies bc the honey is being produced off the plants in your own area which are causing the allergies to begin with (or something like that 🙂 )
Now I make a special place for my raw honey. I buy it $18 for a half gallon. I figure it is way less than the doctor bills and medication. I am not super-all-natural, but this I will swear by, bc I have seen with my own eyes.
@elizabeth, Elizabeth ~ thank you for posting this about the honey and allergies. I have been battling allergies with my son and meds really not helping as well. I know a local farmers market I will be hitting up soon. Thanks again, really!!!
@elizabeth,
I had heard the same thing, but we didn’t get much results from it. We were doing a couple tbsp/day. Does it need to be more?
@Theresa, i am not exactly sure of how much he is taking in, I would guess possibly 3-5 tablespoons a day? Maybe more. I put it on a rice cake, into his oatmeal, and in a sweet tea every day for him. I didn’t do it on purpose, but noticed that after he started using it, his allergies improved a lot. Maybe it doesn’t work for everyone 🙁
Just a random question: I’ve noticed y’all usually buy bagged frozen chicken breasts instead of fresh. Is there another reason for this or is it just because they’re a little bit cheaper? I used to buy chicken breasts that way, but I discovered the taste and texture isn’t nearly as good as with fresh, raw breasts. Maybe it’s just the brands they sell around here?
I really appreciate the link up Crystal!
Personally I like seeing the freebies not included in the total. Before I started couponing, I never realized just how much there was out there for “free” if you really hunted. Gives me something to strive for. Now I might never get 25 bags of free potatoes, but I can probably find 25 things total for free (or close to free) if I looked for them!
Oh YUM!! I would so love to be a house guest this week based on the groceries in your home 🙂
This subject came up recently when I was talking with a friend. It’s terrific for Crystal that companies offer her freebies in return for her evaluation, and she’s worked hard to be in a position where this happens for her. But this is not going to happen for most of us.
So I wonder if it would be more useful for the readership if a blogger who gets freebies because s/he is a blogger, included the price of the item in his/her budget roundup. Or say how much it would be if s/he had paid for them.
Thoughts?
It’s an interesting concept to consider, however, I give the vast majority of free stuff which comes my way away so it’s not something which changes the equation much for us more than possibly a few dollars each week. I love to be able to bless others in this way!
In the case of the potatoes, we did use four or five bags for the evaluation/review and then have given quite a few of the rest away and are looking for homes for the rest (anyone else want potatoes?!).
@Crystal,
I’d love some potatoes!
One more thing, I think there are lots of opportunities to get free stuff without being a blogger. Sign up for the free coupons/freebies available and then write to companies whose products you love and ask if they have any coupons available.
Between doing just these two things regularly for a few years (when I had more time than money!), I got hundreds of dollars worth of freebies — many of which helped make a good dent in our grocery bill.
wow–what an amazing picture!! A Fantastic shopping day!