[Lfwh]

Just got back from Shaws. Ugh!!! I did so badly today. All time low (or high as in the final total).

I had my list all planned out and thought I would spend maybe $50 on groceries but when I got to the check out, I ended up paying $102!!!! I saved about $50 between sales and coupons but the final total was high. And I'm only shopping for my husband and myself.

I seem to do okay on individual items (paid .90 for Land O'Lakes butter, .50 cents on the Chinette plates, .50 cents on cake mix and frosting etc...). But my overall bill was more than I wanted or expected to pay.

Granted I did buy some extras I don't normally buy like a b-day cake for my Mom and a b-day card and Sam Adams Octoberfest.

On the up side, all my coupons that were under .99 cents doubled. The cashier never even looked at them, she just scanned them through.

[rachelhale]

Hmmm...blame it on those items that you normally don't buy, the beer and cake. I like to tease my husband that his Long Trail is about 1/3 of our grocery bill...but its the truth! BTW-how did you get .50 cake mix, is there q's out there for it...I couldn't find any.

[Katlady]

Sam Adams will definitely bring up your total-I their summer ale. On a side note, a have a story about the summer ale. Since they're changing over to the Octoberfest, most of the stores no longer have the summer ale. I was so happy when I found some at Hannaford last Sunday. I was taking it down to the pantry when the side handle on the box let go and the box tumbled end over end down the cellar stairs. What a mess! Anyway, I opened the box and 9 of the 12 bottles actually survived. Of course, there was beer everywhere and my basement smelled like the guys' dorm at the college I went to on a Sunday morning. Thank goodness for a stockpile of cleaning supplies and Febreeze.

Sorry for the hijack-Most people would be thrilled to save $50!

[Lfwh]

Originally Posted by rachelhale

Hmmm...blame it on those items that you normally don't buy, the beer and cake. I like to tease my husband that his Long Trail is about 1/3 of our grocery bill...but its the truth! BTW-how did you get .50 cake mix, is there q's out there for it...I couldn't find any.

I think there was a q for $1 off when you buy one BC cake mix & frosting. I can't even remember now.

Originally Posted by Katlady

Sam Adams will definitely bring up your total-I their summer ale. On a side note, a have a story about the summer ale. Since they're changing over to the Octoberfest, most of the stores no longer have the summer ale. I was so happy when I found some at Hannaford last Sunday. I was taking it down to the pantry when the side handle on the box let go and the box tumbled end over end down the cellar stairs. What a mess! Anyway, I opened the box and 9 of the 12 bottles actually survived. Of course, there was beer everywhere and my basement smelled like the guys' dorm at the college I went to on a Sunday morning. Thank goodness for a stockpile of cleaning supplies and Febreeze.

Sorry for the hijack-Most people would be thrilled to save $50!

You're right, I am happy to save $50 and to have all my q's doubled.

And your story about the beer did hit close to home about the beer all over the basement LOL. I feel for you. Thank goodness 9 of the 12 survived.

We don't buy beer that often. This six pack will last us probably until Dec. when the Winter Lager comes out LOL. I'm more of a Cosmo girl on the weekends LOL. Octoberfest is for special.

[momtoemryab]

did you do cat deals? in multiple transactions?
i do 3 transactions minimum.

[Lfwh]

I did the cat deal but just one. I'm not coordinated enough to do multiple transactions LOL. I'd probably end up making Shaws computer system crash or something LOL

[CMmem]

If you bought meat on sale, check your receipt. A few weeks ago, I bought London Broil on sale for $1.99 but when I got home, I saw that for just one of them, they charged the full price of $4.xx. I called CS, she said 'Oh yeah, sometimes they don't scan right'; I saved the sticker & had it adjusted when I went back - but was frustrated. A few register goofs can add up quickly. New cashiers don't always use the correct produce codes and that can add unwanted dollars.

[jessl]

I would go down your reciept and figure out what happened. $50 is a lot to be off by. Maybe something rang up wrong? Or maybe you just got a lot of things that were 50 cents each and it added up.

[Lfwh]

I don 't even want to look at my receipt LOL. Too traumatized LOL.

Seriously, that is a good idea. I'll have to have one of those Sam Adams Beers first though to ease the pain LOL.

[Ibis]

Originally Posted by Lfwh

Just got back from Shaws. Ugh!!! I did so badly today. All time low (or high as in the final total).

I had my list all planned out and thought I would spend maybe $50 on groceries but when I got to the check out, I ended up paying $102!!!! I saved about $50 between sales and coupons but the final total was high. And I'm only shopping for my husband and myself.

I seem to do okay on individual items (paid .90 for Land O'Lakes butter, .50 cents on the Chinette plates, .50 cents on cake mix and frosting etc...). But my overall bill was more than I wanted or expected to pay.

Granted I did buy some extras I don't normally buy like a b-day cake for my Mom and a b-day card and Sam Adams Octoberfest.

On the up side, all my coupons that were under .99 cents doubled. The cashier never even looked at them, she just scanned them through.

I think we all try to stock up when things are cheap so that we never have to pay full price for anything. So that's one of the things you can do to keep your overall costs down. Of course, that can mean that some weeks all you're buying is toilet paper and avocados! LOL, this week at Price Chopper all I bought were cookies, sun chips, pb and frozen pizza. (Lots of each.)

Pretty much everything I buy is on sale with a coupon. If it's not on sale and/or I dont have Qs, then I usually will try to plan my meals around what I have in my stockpile.

We've been buying most of our produce from a local farmer's vegetable stand, which is so much better and also cheaper than the grocery store. The farm is a little bit out in the sticks, but I have to go through there once a week for a meeting anyhow.

As for the cake and the Sam Adams, have you checked Costco? The cakes are so much cheaper there, and so is the Sam Adams. Maybe you can find someone to go halvsies with you on the beer, and split a case? If you don't have a Costco membership, try going with a friend. (That's what I do.)

Sam Adams can also be cheaper at the convenience store. I sometimes buy soda, beer, wine, milk at convenience store when they have sales.

You can also shop at more than one grocery store. I do two, plus Rite Aid and occasionally Walmart and Target. I also read the Sunday flyers and if I find a good deal on something I need somewhere else, then I'll go just to pick-up that item.

If you're not sure who has the best prices for the stuff you buy, you might want to think about keeping a price book for a few months. I've never done it because I just save my old grocery lists to look up prices. (I make my list online on the store website and print.)

I buy all my birthday cards at either the dollar store, Big Lots, Walmart, or Christmas Tree Shop. I also buy cards at Paper Factory, an outlet that sells cards half off. They have a greeting card program-- you get your card punched for every greeting card you purchase. When the punchcard is fully punched, you get a free greeting card. I don't like to pay more than $2 for a card, and prefer to spend half that. Sometimes I find nice cards 2/$1 at the dollar store, and I stock up.

good luck!

[Lfwh]

Thanks Ibis for the tips. Yesterday, I felt like I had studied all week for a test and when I went to take it, I failed LOL.

I looked over my receipt last night (with a Cosmopolitan to ease the paid ) and discovered that in addition to the cake, the b-day card (which was $5.99-electronic type), the beer; none of which I would buy regularly, hubby grabbed the wrong Edwards frozen dessert.

Edwards singles were on sale and I had q's for them. While in the frozen foods section, I asked hubby to grab 2 Edwards singles while I went to get the GG veggies. Well he grabbed a carrot cake which was not part of the sale. It was $7.99!!!

Oh well, I guess we all make mistakes.

[Lestagirl]

Aw Lisa I feel your pain! I have not done so well lately either I just did a quick shop at MB and had no coupons and spent over $50 for almost nothing, well I did get two joints of meat and burgers, but it seemed so little! But 50 is kinda high, but I bet it is easy to add it up, but you said a six pack well that wouldnt be too much right? $8 or so.
I just got back from CVS with my goodies so I am happy, but grocery shopping is a struggle for me, but I do have three big teenagers who eat me out of everything along with all their pals!

[Lfwh]

Originally Posted by Lestagirl

Aw Lisa I feel your pain! I have not done so well lately either I just did a quick shop at MB and had no coupons and spent over $50 for almost nothing, well I did get two joints of meat and burgers, but it seemed so little! But 50 is kinda high, but I bet it is easy to add it up, but you said a six pack well that wouldnt be too much right? $8 or so.
I just got back from CVS with my goodies so I am happy, but grocery shopping is a struggle for me, but I do have three big teenagers who eat me out of everything along with all their pals!

Thanks Lesta. I know, I'm the same way with groceries. I score better at CVS and Wags too.

Today I did redeem myself a little with some great deals at Target. Guess we just have to take the good with the bad. It's a good learning experience.

[Katlady]

O.K.-What are the deals at Target? I haven't been much lately-Love the store, but have been too lazy to check.

[Katlady]

Lisa, you should also look into the Hallmark card programs for your computer. We bought one-It was $10 after rebate. Doesn't take long to pay for itself.

My husband's weakness if the olive bar at my store-$5 for a tiny container of mixed olives. That's just wrong.

[Lfwh]

Originally Posted by Katlady

O.K.-What are the deals at Target? I haven't been much lately-Love the store, but have been too lazy to check.

Nothing too exciting. I got 4 Huggies Wipes ($1.99 bef. q's) and a Kelloggs deal ( buy 4 get a $5 gc from Target). They were on sale too. So I feel like I sort of got my groove back LOL.

Originally Posted by Katlady

Lisa, you should also look into the Hallmark card programs for your computer. We bought one-It was $10 after rebate. Doesn't take long to pay for itself.

My husband's weakness if the olive bar at my store-$5 for a tiny container of mixed olives. That's just wrong.

Great idea.I'll look into that.

[thatgirldawn]

Hi there! I think that happens to the best of us from time to time!

I think the best suggestion I have is to use a spreadsheet to plan your trips, this will take the umm factor out of shopping.... You will know exactly how much you should be spending and it will help you identify when something is really messed up, like a missed coupon, if something rang in wrong or if you grabbed the wrong sized product. Hope that helps a bit..

Happy shopping!

[Katlady]

A spreadsheet-Wow, the only spreadsheet I have is for my budget. Would you please shop for me?

[thatgirldawn]

Originally Posted by Katlady

A spreadsheet-Wow, the only spreadsheet I have is for my budget. Would you please shop for me?

Sure, I would love to shop for you

I just use a very basic excel sheet, but it helps me wonders! I print it out and bring it with me, also makes me think twice before grabbing something frivolous!

[jessl]

What I do is as I shop I write down the actual prices next to the item on my list (so if they are $1 after coupon and I buy five I write $5. I quickly add it up towards the end and if my total is off by more than a few dollars I spend some time figuring out what happened.

[Lfwh]

I used to keep a price book of the items I purchased but I stopped doing it (too much else to keep up with in my life LOL). Now the prices have changed so I don't follow it anymore.

[Ibis]

Originally Posted by Katlady

Lisa, you should also look into the Hallmark card programs for your computer. We bought one-It was $10 after rebate. Doesn't take long to pay for itself.

But doesn't the ink get expensive? Yikes, when I was making cards on the computer, we went through tons of color ink. The cartridges were over $30 each at Costco (which was the cheapest place to find it-- even cheaper than online.)

My husband's weakness if the olive bar at my store-$5 for a tiny container of mixed olives. That's just wrong.

Lol, I know what you mean. But I'm also a firm believer that you don't have to go without the luxuries. Part of the reason why I do the couponing is to bring down the costs of my other groceries tghat do have coupons so that I can afford the items that don't have coupons. You might find a way to get the olives cheaper. Costco sells jars of gorgeous specialty mixed olives, which might be cheaper. I think it's okay to enjoy some luxuries as long as you're not over doing it. You have to prioritize them and not do them all at once, too.

[Ibis]

Originally Posted by Lfwh

Yesterday, I felt like I had studied all week for a test and when I went to take it, I failed LOL.

You shouldn't look at it that way. Consider how much your grocery order would have been without the sale prices and without the coupons. See? You still saved a LOT. You did better than you think you did.

[Katlady]

Originally Posted by Ibis

But doesn't the ink get expensive? Yikes, when I was making cards on the computer, we went through tons of color ink. The cartridges were over $30 each at Costco (which was the cheapest place to find it-- even cheaper than online.)



Lol, I know what you mean. But I'm also a firm believer that you don't have to go without the luxuries. Part of the reason why I do the couponing is to bring down the costs of my other groceries tghat do have coupons so that I can afford the items that don't have coupons. You might find a way to get the olives cheaper. Costco sells jars of gorgeous specialty mixed olives, which might be cheaper. I think it's okay to enjoy some luxuries as long as you're not over doing it. You have to prioritize them and not do them all at once, too.

We don't seem to go large amounts of ink-We bought a new printer in February so the ink isn't too expensive. If we made tons of cards, then you're right about the ink prices.

You're also right about the luxuries-Using coupons allows me buy the special items once in a while and not feel guilty-It just bugs me the when my grocery total is $15-$20 and $5 of that is a small container of olives. Maybe I obsess too much.

[Ibis]

Originally Posted by Katlady

You're also right about the luxuries-Using coupons allows me buy the special items once in a while and not feel guilty-It just bugs me the when my grocery total is $15-$20 and $5 of that is a small container of olives. Maybe I obsess too much.

Lol, well $5 was a third of that total, so it was rather conspicuous!


And I think we all take turns obsessing too much. I remember a few times, freaking out a couple of days after shopping because I found an IP in my email inbox that I could have used, but hadn't checked my email for a couple of days.