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Well I finally decided to get control over my Frugal Burnout this week, and it certainly has paid off.
I spent an entire day organizing my coupons once an for all. One I had them all transfered over into their neat binder I was ready to go.
I’ll be honest and say I wasn’t too sure about the new method, especially after how much time it took me to finally get it finished.
But after taking my binder into the first store on my trip, I knew this was going to be a wonderful relationship.
It is so much easier to look for a coupon on the fly, and it takes so much less time than it did when I had to go through a whole pile of yogurt coupons.
You can read how to make a coupon binder here.
So here’s what I got.
Meijer
Bananas
Pillsbury Cake Mix
Fish Fry Batter
1 Box of Pasta
1 Box of Vermicelli
3 Cans of Red Gold Tomatoes
Butter
Simply Asia Seasoning Packet
10 Pounds of Potatoes
1 Jar of Basil Pesto
1 Jar of Classico Vodka Sauce
12 Jars of Classico Pasta Sauce
2 Lunchables Subs
2 Dole Southwestern Salad Kits
1 Spinach Caesar Salad Kit
TOTAL $21.37
Kroger
1 Package of Hormel Pepperoni
1 Box of Kashi Blueberry Cereal
1 Canister of Coffee
3 Bags of Kroger Shredded Cheese
2 Bags of Flour
TOTAL $7.91
Aldi’s
1 Bottle of Hazelnut Creamer
1 Bottle of Canola Oil
2 Packages of Bagels
1 Box of Freezer Bags
1 Bottle of Dishwasher Detergent
1 Package of TP
TOTAL $16.85
CVS
1 Gallon of Milk
2 Bottles of Pop
Total $.28
Oak Ridge
1 Bottle of Sunny D
1 Canister of Quaker Oats
2 Cartons of Danimals Crush Cups
2 Cartons of Edy’s Ice Cream
2 Rolls of Bounty Paper Towel
TOTAL $2.88
I stayed within my $50 budget and I know it is because I have overcome my frugal burnout.
I have to say that I have come to really love shopping at my local Spartan Stores.
Oak Ridge and Shopper’s Market are two stores that I know I will walk out of having spent very little for the food I take home.
They both double coupons up to a dollar, and when combined with a great sale equals FREE (or almost free) food!
I love the small neighborhood feel to these stores.
They might be smaller and a bit outdated, but that doesn’t matter once you have shopped there. You’ll soon come to enjoy the atmosphere of a smaller grocer, especially after shopping at a large chain super market.
Here’s my Spartan Stores Whrrl Story.
Do you have a Spartan Store near you? Do you shop there, and why or why not? I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts on Spartan Stores. Have you had the same experience as I have?
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* I was compensated for my review of Spartan Stores, however the opinions expressed are fully mine alone.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks so much for the coupon book linky
You’re welcome, thanks for the great coupon binder post!
I'm very impressed! I do shop with coupons and bargain shop as much as possible, but I've never had that kind of success.
Holy heavens! Way to go on the savings!!!
How wonderful!
Can you tell me what meals you made for a week out of the items that you purchased for under $50.00. How many people in your family.
Thanks
Thanks for asking, I have a family of four.
I currently have a freezer full of meat and cupboards stocked with other staples. So the stuff I bought this week will be added to what I already have on hand for our dinners.
Also the pesto and vodka sauces I bought because they were a great deal with coupons and we love it. I’ll add it to my cupboard stash for another week.
You can see this weeks menu here
http://savingdollarsandsense.com/2010/03/08/menu-plan-38.html
I think it is great the way that you can save with your coupons, but I have a big challenge in that I live 20 miles from the nearest grocery store. I am limited to that towns local grocery store. I can’t get the flyers and my coupons are limited to an expiration date of 2 weeks from when they come out. I’m not sure how to get past this challenge, I use my coupons when I can, but if I have to drive to stores in my area I’m putting on almost 40 miles every grocery trip. Any suggestions that you have would be great.
My mom lives in a similar area and her closest grocer is very over priced regularly.
Here are some tips you can try to bring your costs down as much as possible given your situation.
You didn’t say why you can’t get the flyers? Maybe you could ask to speak to the manager and explain that you’d like to get them and see if it would be possible to have them mailed to you.
Also, is it possible for you to make 1 or 2 big trips a month to stock up?
The biggest thing I do to save money is plan out my menus. This keeps me from buying anything I don’t need and has been one of the biggest money saving habits I’ve forced myself to do. I also try to choose dinners that are low cost and made using meat I’ve bought when it was marked down.
I hope these help, please don’t hesitate to ask anything!
I realize this is a very late comment but I just found this blog. I’m going to guess that you’re not far from me because I also live near a couple of Oak Ridge Markets and I love that they double coupons up to $1.00. There’s a Spartan store near me called Ferndale Foods (www.ferndalefoods.net) that also doubles coupons up to $1.00. Where is this “Shopper’s Market” you mention in this blog entry? Thanks!
Never mind… I just Googled “shopper’s market warren” and found what I was looking for. I love having so many options near where I live–Ferndale Foods, Oak Ridge, Kroger, Meijer, Hollywood, and perhaps Shopper’s Market will be added to the list as well!
Grrr… Oak Ridge decided to revise their double coupon policy so that $1.00 coupons will no longer be doubled. What a shame. They’re going to lose some of my business that way.
I know I’m disappointed and don’t really see much need to shop there now.
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