SAFEWAY
Spent $6.60 for all of this.
Savings: $43.23
FRED MEYER
Spent $4.62 for all of this.
Savings: $27.13
I have my meal plan for the week in place. We are mostly cooking from the freezer and pantry. We’ll buy milk, bread, and fresh produce - but not much else. Our grocery bill should be right around $25 for the week. Probably even less. That’s
exciting! Even though we aren’t doing any major grocery shopping, I did decide to stock up on some deals that are about to end.
These bargains were from using coupons that I printed out online and then getting (and using) Catalina coupons (these print out with your receipt after you pay), which I could use on my next purchase. I made two purchases at each store, the first one was the one I spent money on, getting a Catalina. The second one, I then purchased similar items, and used the Catalina from my first purchase AND coupons, which had the cashier either looking at me all bewildered like, because the register said to give me .62 cents back. Or, I paid something small out of pocket, like $.62 cents.
I am new to the Catalina thing, but I found some good detail on how these work and what these are over The Krazy Coupon Lady blog. You have probably gotten them before and either threw them at the bottom of your purse or just tossed them out. Some of them can really help lower your grocery bill so watch for them! This is a brief description, taken from TKCL:
Catalina: Sometimes abbreviated as “CAT”, Catalina coupon machines located at register, dispense long receipt-like coupons that may be used on a future purpchase. Catalinas, refer to the coupons themselves which may be manufacturer or store coupons. Some Catalina coupons are advertised and some are generated based on consumer behavior.
I know these aren’t great deals on real necessities, maybe even considered as “junk” by some standards - but it’s nice to have these on hand for snacks, sports, school events, etc. I don’t stack the boxes in the pantry and tell the kids to help themselves. These will LAST quite awhile over here! The regular price of Betty Crocker Fruit By The Foot at Safeway is $2.99. Goldfish crackers… $2.39. Are you kidding me? I get queasy thinking about paying full price like that for any of this stuff. That is nutty. Without a sale and coupon, they would not be in my home… EVER!
I feel like the grocery bill is the easiest bill to cut back on out of all the ones we have. And, of course, who can’t use a little cutting back right now? We are constantly looking at corners that can be cut, expenses that can be scaled back on, things we can do without, etc. I cut back, but it doesn’t mean I cut everything out. Store sales and manufacturer’s coupons/rebates are there for me to take advantage of, and that I will — just takes a few minutes of my time to match them all up! 
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