Couponing in the OC

How you can easily stretch $100 at the grocery store.

Paying for groceries is something that I use to dread.  I looked at my cart filled with food and thought of all the shoes that I could have bought instead; however, CPS (so I’ve been told) frowns upon parents who don’t feed their children.  So with tears in my eyes, I would slide my debit card through the machine and leave with a few bags and about $100 less in my account.

Eventually I got a little bit smarter and started clipping coupons.  I thought coupon shopping would be a waste of time until I started to see how much I could save.  On a typical day (before coupons) I would walk into a grocery store and spend about $60 and leave with a few items for dinner and a couple miscellaneous items.  Now, I sit down for a few minutes and go over what’s on sale; from that list I make a meal plan (planning out your meals for the week helps save a LOT of money) and then I clip my coupons (there are many options on how to do this, if you are interested in my ideas then I can make a blog post about that on another day) and head out to the store.  On average it takes 30-60 minutes to prepare for the store and I do it all in the evening when the kids are in bed, then you can find me at the grocery store around 9-10pm maybe once or twice a week.   

To find the deals, I go on MANY different blogs.  I started in the beginning with a basic website called thegrocerygame.com where you pay a set amount (around $15 every couple of months) and they do almost all the work for.  But now that TLC has come out with their coupon show, it seems like every day a new blog starts with the same information for free.  One of my “Go To” websites for Orange County deals is OCDealMama.com.  It’s a great resource for finding regional deals.

So here is my most recent “score”.  This isn’t “Extreme Couponing” like you would see on television, but it’s a basic shopping trip. Most the items I purchased are to be stored for the upcoming school year (yes, I am admitting it on the internet for all to read… occasionally I will give my children a Pop Tart when we are running late to school.  This huge lot of Pop Tarts will last a very long time, so stop judging). 

The breakdown from my grocery store trip at Alberstons:

3-    Everyday Essential Fruit Snack
6-    Mott Applesauces (6 packs)
9-    Kellogg Cereals
3-    Olympic/Kellogg’s Cereal Bowls
4-    Honey Nut Cereals
9-    Frozen OJ
8-    Popsicles
3-    Tyson Chicken Strips
4-    Jennie O Lean Ground Turkey
12-  Pop Tarts
2-    Snackwell Cookies
4-    Gallons of Distilled Water
5-    Minute Maid fruit punch/lemonade
2-    Anthony’s Pasta
4-    Capri Suns
3-    Blue Bunny Ice Cream
2-    Jamba Juice (the frozen mix packs)
2 doz-    Large Eggs
3lbs-      Plums
2lbs-      Peaches

Total Spent:        $99.94
Total Saved:       $176.35

I love to save money.  I’m not the very best at it, but I try to save as much as I can on all purchases (big and small).  In upcoming blog posts I will share with you what works best in our home for saving money.  Now again, I’m not the best… but I’m still surviving staying-at-home in Orange County even with a freshly squeezed budget, so I can’t be that bad!

Are you a coupon shopper?  Do you use online websites?  If so, what websites do you like best?

Pin It