Saturday Savings

Ahhh, it feels good to be back! The last several weekends have been so nutty, I haven't really been able to sit back and check out my savings. This week there are some killer deals on snack type foods and cheese. Considering Nick's favorite time of the year is upon us (March Madness!), it's important to have plenty of things on hand for him to munch while he watches his bracket either fall apart or remain awesome. Everything you see below cost me $67.54.

You'll notice there's no milk, bread, bananas, etc on the table. That's because I made a quick run to Aldi Thursday night (I needed baking supplies ASAP) so bought some produce, bread, rice, etc. then as well. Later today I'll pick up flour and eggs at Hen House as both are on sale for .99 this week. I'm holding off on buying more milk as the boys still aren't drinking it right now (don't want to upset their tummy's again) so why buy it just to let it go bad? Here's what's on the table...

HyVee:
Chex Mix - 3 bags
Pompeian Pure Olive Oil - 2 bottles at 16oz each
Town House Crackers - 4 boxes
Wheatables Nut Crisp Crackers - 1 box
Hyland's Homeopathic Kid's Cold Medicine
Dawn Plus Handcare Soap - 1 bottle
Dawn Dish Soap - 1 bottle

Price Chopper:
Kraft Shredded Cheese - 6 bags
Honeysuckle Turkey Breast - 6.26 pounds
Special K Fruit Crisp Bars - 1 box
Best Choice Macaroni and Cheese - 6 boxes
Handi Wipes
Lay's Chips - 3 bags
Alpha Bits Cereal
Honeycomb Cereal
Tide Laundry Detergent - 2 bottles
Guacamole Mix
Avocados - 4
Clementines - 5 pound box

The Deals: Price Chopper has a fantastic deal on Kraft Cheese through tomorrow! Shredded and chunk cheese is on sale for $1.49 each and most Price Chopper's currently have a coupon dispenser in the cheese section that's spitting out save $1 on two Kraft Cheese's coupons! If you're lucky enough to snag a few coupons from the machine you can get Kraft Cheese for .99 each (70% off). Other Price Chopper deals I really liked - Tide detergent for $3.99 each after my two coupons (58% off), turkey breast for .99 a pound, Clementines for $3.99 (60% off), Mac 'n Cheese for .33 each (47% off), Lay's chips for $1.69 (58% off) and avocados for .68 each (55% off).

HyVee also had some fantastic snack-type stuff sales. The Chex Mix was between $1 and $1.25 each (60% off) and the Town House Crackers were $1.49 each (63% off). I snagged the Dawn Hand Renewal soap for $1.28 (thanks to a $1 off coupon I got in the mail), the Wheatables Crackers were .85 and the Olive Oil for only $1.99 (67% off). Buying the Hyland's Homeopathic cold medicine for the boys at $5.88 definitely shot my total up a bit, but I need those kids healthy so I'm willing to try anything right now!

I'm sure the items I bought look a little funny to some of you, but this just demonstrates the beauty of stock-pile shopping. Because I "stocked up" (meaning I bought more than I needed at the time) in previous weeks when pasta, meat, fish, etc. was on a great sale, I still have plenty of food in my cupboards and freezer to make lots of healthy meals.

One last thing - someone commented on my post last week about The Grocery Game and wondered how it's any different then the free sites out there (like couponmom.com). Sites like Coupon Mom do match up sales and coupons and it's a great free resource, however they post every single deal whether it's the "right" time to buy or not. The Grocery Game only tells you to buy when the price is rock bottom, which maximizes your savings. It's worth it to me to just pay the $7.50 a month to have the list ready for me to glance at, select what I want and print.

Total Before Sales, Coupons & Tax: $139.03
Total After Sales & Coupons: $63.64 - 55% off