Savvy Shopping, Grocery Style

I have not written as much about savvy shopping as I intended to. 

I’ve got a grocery budget.  I’m sure you probably do too.  Every two weeks, bi-monthly I have a specified amount of money to spend on grocery/home items.

I like to make tasty meals for my family, I try to buy organic products, I try to buy quality products.  These things are harder to do with a tight budget.

Teenagers, well…they are ALWAYS hungry.

In order to buy the things my family wants/needs and stay within my budget I shop smart.

Shopping smart means using coupons when I can.

Here in Texas one of my “go to” grocery stores stopped doubling coupons (Kroger).

Ouch.

So, my shopping options narrowed a bit.

Yesterday I went to Tom Thumb (part of the Safe Way grocery chain) and bought groceries.

I shopped savvy, took advantage of the sales, used my coupons and the store coupons saved a lot!

Here is a copy of the picture I posted on my personal (read as Non-blog) Facebook page.

Grocery Store: Pwned

I bought 60 items. I spent $111.25 and I saved $116.76 which is 51%.  That breaks down to about $1.85 per item.

Here is what I bought.

Items I intend to donate are marked in Blue

• 2 turkeys (one 10 pound smoked and one 13 pound uncooked)
• 3- 1 pound packages of ground beef
• frozen fish
• 2 packages of salad mix
• 2 packages of fresh green beans
• cole slaw mix (just the veggies)
• cherry tomatoes
• 2- loaves of bread
• 4- twelve packs of soda
• 2- twenty-four packs of water
• 3 packages of Betty Crocker cookie mix
• 2 packages of Betty Crocker cake mix
• 2 packages of Muffin Mix
• 5 packages of frozen veggies
• Splenda
• chocolate syrup
• 3 packages of jello pudding
• Knorr concentrated chicken stock
• Mayonnaise
• 2 Carnation evaporated milk
• 5 cans of broth (chicken and beef)
• Pam Baking spray
• sugar
• 2 frozen side items
• ice cream
• Frozen Apple pie
• 2 pie crusts
• frozen cranberries
• butter
• 2 packages of Hawaiian rolls
• 2 packages of lunch meat (turkey and ham)

Not too shabby huh?

Some of the items I bought are for my monthly “Shopping with your community in mind” food donation.  It’s a long name, but I’ve not thought of a shorter name I like for what I do.

The idea of people in my community starving makes me a

Sad Panda

so I try to set aside a bit of my grocery budget each month to shop for those in need.

This month I have been buying more luxury items for my donations.  Things like cookie mixes and pudding.  I also bought a bunch of ketchup and salsa on sale two weeks ago, so my donation will be luxury item flush this month.

If you do not participate in food donating, I’d love to inspire you to begin.  Any little bit helps.  Food pantries (in my area) are always in need of peanut butter, rice, dried beans, and canned meats.

Do you shop with coupons?

Do you donate food to local food pantries?

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• Posted in: blogging ♦ Cooking ♦ couponing ♦ couponing for community ♦ Family ♦ food ♦ Frugal living ♦ grocery shopping ♦ How to ♦ just thinking ♦ Shopping with your community in mind ♦ Texas
• Tagged: Betty Crocker, blogging, cook, Cooking, Coupon, Family, food, frugal living, Grocery store, Home, homemade, Homemaking, Kroger, Recipe, Retail, SafeWay, Shopping, Texas, Tom Thumb