A Good Steward

It is really important to me to be a good steward of all that we have, especially right now. Besides cleaning houses I really try and contribute by saving money on groceries. Travis and Reba are the ones who really inspired me to do this. Plus, I'm an old pro at couponing since one of my chores as a kid was to cut coupons....thanks mom!





This week was my best savings week yet. For 2-3 weeks of groceries, I spent $103 and saved $145. Erin and I have taken our grocery budget from $400+ to under $200/month. This includes toiletries and household items. Above are pictures of my loot from this week.

I have enough for 3-4 weeks worth of lunches for both Erin and I (including Lean Cuisine, Home-made Ranch Burgers, and left-overs), 2.5 weeks worth of dinner ingredients, 2 weeks worth of produce, Brita filters for 3 -6 months, and toiletries for a month.

Some of you have asked me for the details of my shopping trips. How do I find these savings?
1.) I check the following websites (and others) for coupon links and deals:
http://www.moneysavingmom.com/
http://www.thecentsiblesawyer.blogsot.com/
http://www.centsiblesavings.com/
http://www.coupons.com/
http://www.kroger.com/
2.) I sign up for every online freebie I can find. These are great because you not only get samples of products but they usually send valuable coupons in the mail with these samples. Walmart.com offers tons of samples every week.
3.) Pick up the circulars at your grocery stores and match the advertised specials with the coupons you have.
4.) Plan your meals around the deals. Do not vary from your set menu...just having a plan will save you tons of money plus take lots of stress off you since you won't have to decide every day what you're going to have. After planning your meals go directly to manufacturer websites to look for printable coupons for ingredients.
5.) Sign up online for the coupons that load directly onto your grocery card. Kroger is the best for this. Plus, every couple of months I get a big packet of coupons from Kroger that represent groceries I buy regularly. Its pretty awesome.

Here is a list of the deals and things I got this week.
- 5 12-packs of Coke/Dr.Pepper and 1 8-pack of bottles
*Kroger special: buy 3 12-packs and get an 8-pack free
*2 coupons for free 12-packs
- 4 boxes Hot Pockets
* Nestle deal (spend $20 bucks get $5 off)
* Coupons for $1 off of 2 - 2 coupons
- 7 Lean Cuisines
* Nestle deal (spend $20 bucks get $5 off)
- 1 South Beach Pizza Lunch
* Coupon $2.00 off
- Toilet Paper
* Coupon for $2.00 off and another for $1.00 off
- Kroger brand Nacho Cheese Doritos
- 2.5 lbs Fresh Chicken Breast
*Coupon: spend $7 in poultry get $2 off
- 1.25 lbs Ground Beef
*Kroger sale $1.99/lb for 97% fat free
- 1 lb Butterball Turkey Bacon
*Kroger sale - $2.5
*Coupon: $1 off
- Butter
- Crest Toothpaste
*On sale $0.88
- 2 Toothbrushes - Oral B
* On Sale $0.88 each
- Fresh Yellow Corn on the Cob
*Sale: 4/$1.00
- 5 Green Bell Peppes
- 2 Red Bell Peppers
- Celery
- Carrots
- Milk
*Sale: 1/2 gallon $1.77
- 3 lbs Fresh Ground Turkey
- 2 Old El Paso Stand and Stuff Taco Shells
* On sale 2 for $3.00
* Coupon: Buy 2 get $1.00 off
* Coupon: Buy 2 get Taco Seasoning packet free
- Taco Seasong
* Free: See above
- Kroger Crescent Rolls refrigerated
* On sale for $1.60
- South Beach Diet 7-pack "Tide me over" Drink Mix
* Coupon for $2.00 off
- Bread Crumbs
- 3 Lunchables
* On sale for $1.00
- Dozen eggs
- 2 packs Shredded Cheese
* on sale 1.90
- Brita Filter
* Coupon: $6.00 off
- Mac n Cheese
- 6 cans Chx Broth
- Parmesan Cheese
- Cilantro
- Mission Tortillas
* Coupon: $2.00 off
- Fresh Express Salad Mix
* Coupon $1.00 off
- 3 Packages Frozen Veggies
*Coupon: buy 2 get 3rd free
- Contessa Skillet Meal
*Coupon: $2.00 off
- Sour Cream
* On Sale $1.00
- Simply Orange juice
* On sale: $3.59
* Coupon: $1.00 off
- 2 Dial Hand Soaps
* On sale $1.00
- Hamburger buns
- Printer Paper
- 2 cans Ranch Style beans
- tomato sauce
- 3 cans diced tomatoes
- 2 cans Pillsbury biscuits
* On sale for $1.00
* Coupon for $1 off 2
- Organic Tortilla Chips
* Coupon: $1 off any Private Selection Organic
- 2 lbs Tenessee Pride Sausage
* On Sale: BOGO
* Coupons: $1 off 2 and $1 off 1
- On the Vine Tomatoes
* on sale: 1.99
- Rice a Roni
*Coupon: $.50 off
- Onions
- Cream Cheese