Never Underestimate the Power of Sales and Coupons!

I could end this entry with just the title. Too many times people don't think to clip that coupon, or scan that aisle looking for unadvertised sales.

Check out the reduced shelf at your grocery store as well - a reduced price combined with a coupon is extra extra savings!

I will list today's shopping list. It was not purchased at a markdown/dent/bulk store. Around here, Shaws is one of the more costly stores.

1 stir-fry pan $21.23 **
1 Tex muffin pan $7.43 **
1 regular muffin pan $7.43 **
1.69 lbs red peppers $2.18 **
1.55 lbs bananas .76 **
1.98 lbs tomatoes 2.56 **
6 (7oz) Kraft mozzarella shredded cheese $19.74 **
1 (8oz) storebrand montery jack shredded cheese $2.69 **
6 International Delight liquid creamer $27.54 **
4 Cracker Barrel cheddar blocks $14.76 **
4 Del Monte diced peaches 4pks $13.80 **
2 Prince rotini primivera $2.70 **
2 Prince bowtie pasta $2.70 **
6 Kellogs blueberry muffin mini wheats $22.14 **
3 Cheerios cinnamon burst $11.07 **
4 JollyTime microwave popcorn $8.76 **
5 Aah Bistro chicken gravy granules $22.95 **
1 storebrand childrens vitamins $6.49 **
1 malt vinegar $4.87 **
4 Classico spagetti sauce $11.96
6 Zataran rice $11.94
1 Old El Paso enchilada sauce $1.19 **
1 storebrand hard candies $1.50 **
1 Osem mini croutons $6.50 **
3 Aah Bistro beef gravy granules $14.07 **
1 AngelSoft 12pk toilet paper $7.99 **
1 storebrand carmel popcorn cakes $2.49 **
2 Cambell's healthy select soup $5.58
2 Perdue chicken breasts 5pks $19.98 **
1.69 lbs ground pork $3.02
.97 lb steak $4.54
2 McCormick bearnaise sauce mix $2.38 **
11 McCormick cheesy taco mix $9.79 **
13 McCormick chili mix $11.57 **
4 McCormick one-dish mix $7.80 **
1 organic maple syrup $7.69 **

note: In Massachusetts, we do not pay tax on food (or clothes). The prices for the pans include the tax. ** indicates items at full sticker prices.

So, that's a pretty big list - $331.79 in total.

I did NOT pay that much, not even close! My out of pocket expenses was under $96.00.

Imposable? Not really. I had coupons for almost everything on that list, combined with a sale or clearance price, I was able to save around $235.00 today.

Some examples: I had a coupon for $1 off 3 boxes of Kellogs cereal - the mini wheats were on clearance for $1.50 a box making them $1.17 each instead of the normal price of $3.69. Another big helper was the coffee creamers, shredded cheeses, block cheeses and diced peaches were marked down to $1 each. The McCormicks taco and chili mixes were marked down to .25 each.

That is not ALL the mark-downs and sales, but it goes to show you that it CAN be done... if you take the extra time.