Savings Saturday: My first week with my $40 grocery budget

My first week of my $40 grocery budget went better than I expected! I got all of this for $39.68.

Here’s the breakdown:

TARGET – Hillshire Farms lunch meat, Green Giant 5 lb bag of potatoes, 2 Old El Paso taco seasonings, Kikkoman Teriyaki sauce, 2 cans Bush’s black beans, Kraft string cheese

Used: $1 Hillshire Farms lunch meat coupon (it was a peelie on the container…I also have a MIR for this), $1 Target potatoes coupon, $1.10/2 Old El Paso printable, $1 Kraft printable

Total OOP spending = $11.26

KROGER – Sara Lee bread, package of stew meat, package of pork chops, package of sirloin steam, 2 bell peppers, 2 bags Fresh Express salad, 1 lb Roma tomatoes, 2 lbs bananas, Kroger Enchilada sauce, 6 containers Yoplait yogurt, 1 bag Granny Smith apples, 2 gallons milk, 1 package No Yolks noodles, 1 Kroger beef stew seasoning mix, one cantaloupe, one bag carrots

Used: 2 .75 Fresh Express salad mix coupons, $1 off when you spend $3 on fresh fruit Kroger coupon, $1 off when you spend $4 on fresh vegetables Kroger coupon, $1 off milk when you buy Sarah Lee bread coupon, .50 No Yolks printable (which doubled), .50 Yoplait yogurt printable (which doubled), $2.50 off a $10 beef purchase Kroger coupon

Total OOP spending = $28.42

TIP: look for Manager’s Special markdowns on produce and meat that is close to the expiration date. If you do buy a Manager’s Special item, make sure that it shows up on your receipt for the reduced price (I had to go to customer service after checking out because my salad mixes rang up at full price).

Comments

  1. Where do you get the coupons off Kroger fruits and veggies? Do they mail them to you?

  2. Yes, I get them in the mail. I get various coupon booklets from them with themes (baby, back to school, holidays, etc.) throughout the month and then about every 4-6 weeks, I get a booklet with coupons specifically based on the products I have bought there and it usually has store specific coupons get on meat, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, and then a $/$ store purchase coupon.