This Week's Menu and Great Buys

I confess I only cooked one meal for dinner this week. It's been kind of a crazy week, and I've also got a bunch of restaurant coupons that expire on Monday, so we've been eating out a lot. Here's the one meal I cooked on Tuesday:

• Spicy Beef and Sausage Ravioli:

- 2 bags Ravioli (purchased on sale w/ coupons last week): $5
- 1/2 Jar Ragu (B1G1 w/ coupons applied a couple of weeks ago): $0.73 worth

• Sister Shubert Rolls: on hand
  
• Green Beans: $0.70

Total Cost: $6.43
Fed 4 Adults

On a different note, I wanted to share with you some sweet deals we got on a couple of BIG purchases this month. We got into a wreck in July that totaled our Fusion. We ended up coming out of it with a chiropractor bill and a BIG settlement check. We were struggling with what to do with the money. We saught the advice of family and friends- half of them told us to be wise and pay off some debt, and the other half told us we should just spend it because when would we have this kind of money again? Well, we took both sets of advice. We paid off a credit card, and we took the rest of the money and "blew" it, but in a very smart way...

Purchase #1

Shane bought a new drum set. He has been teaching for over 5 years now, and has yet to own some nice music gear. He had 2 drum sets at one point this summer, but they were not very good kits. He sold one of them and the other is being rented by one of his students. So, we decided it was time for him to get a drum set that he liked and that was better than mediocre.

So, he shopped around and found a Gretsch set through Musician's Friend that he really liked that was on sale for $650. Before he made the big purchase, he emailed Musician's Friend to inquire a little about the set, and ended up getting a response that the one he wanted was sold out. Shane emailed the guy back and asked that they would at least give him a coupon for his next purchase since they were advertising something they did not have in stock. They agreed to give him a 5% off coupon. In the meantime, he emailed Gretsch and asked if they knew of where he could get this drum set he loved that was sold out. Well, they told Shane they made very few of this one set he wanted, and that according to their records, Musician's Friend should have at least 1 left in stock and Shane should have them look for it. Shane asked, and they found the 1 left in the back of their warehouse. So, Shane bought it and said, "Here's my coupon!" So, he ended up getting this sweet drum set worth over $1000 for $600 shipped!

Purchase #2

I struggled to figure out what I wanted to do with my part of the extra money. I always buy clothes in these kind of situations, but I wanted do be different this time. I wanted to purchase something that I would enjoy like Shane does his drums. I went with new cookware. When we got married, someone gave us Caphalon pots and pans (that were on our registry, and I am VERY thankful for having them the last 3 years), which are top of the line in the cooking world. Well, they were the non-stick kind, which I have decided that I hate and are not good for me to own because I will never spend the time handwashing that stuff. Through so many runs through the dishwasher, the non-stick stuff has come off and rusted. I cook a lot so it's important for me to have some decent cookware.

I noticed in the Bed, Bath, and Beyond ad this week that if you buy $300 of Caphalon products they give you a $50 gift card. I also found the set I wanted: Caphalon 13 Tri-Ply Stainless Steel piece set of pots and pans for $399.99. I also had a 20% off coupon to BB&B, so I went in last night and made my purchase. Well, not only did I get the set and a $50 gift card for $320, but they also threw in a Caphalon Dutch oven (worth $140 on it's own) for free! So, I got $590 worth of stuff for $320, plus a $50 gift card, and the pots and pans have a lifetime warranty! My omlet this morning has never tasted so good and come out so perfect. :-)


Not only have we been able to take our stretched dollars from Grocery money and buy more things, but we have been able to stretch our stretched out dollars! I don't think Shane and I have ever been able to have so much food on our table, give so much away, and buy ourselves nice things as much as we have this semester! It's because of GOD, and partly Shane doing well in the job world (because of God), but I feel a huge contributor has been coupons (it's a God thing I got into coupons so I it's really all from God)! I really look forward to calculating my costs vs savings for groceries after a year of blogging about them.

Are you convinced to coupon yet?

Couponing Week 5

I have broken a new personal record! I could kick myself in the pants though because I received 2 free $5 Publix gift cards in the mail last week and completely forgot to use them this trip! But I might print off more coupons and return to Publix this week, so I'll have to remember to use those gift cards then! Details are as follows...

Total Spent: $28.62

Total Saved: $60.83!

• 2 25 oz bags of Tyson Anytizers (B1G1 & $2 coupons): $6.99

• 2 Contessa Green Cuisine Meals (B1G1 & $4 Publix coupons): $3.99

• 2 bags Publix Salad Mix (2 for $5): $5

• 2 boxes Coles Bread Sticks (B1G1): $2.79

• 2 boxes Starbucks Ice Cream (B1G1 & $1.50 coupons): $2.29

• 2 bags Lenders Bagels (B1G1): $2.09

• 25 oz bag Beggin' Strips (B1G1 & $4 competitor and man. coupons): $1.50

• Taco Bell Dinner Kit (B1G1 & $1 coupon): $0.35

• Publix Peanut Butter (penny item): $0.01

• Barilla Pasta Sauce (B1G1): $1.29

• 2 boxes Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Pasta (B1G1 & $2 coupons): FREE!

• 2 boxes Cascadian Farm Granola Bars (B1G1 & $4 coupons): FREE!

• bananas: $1.99

So, it was a good week! The better I get at this, the harder it is to wait for the next week's sales ad to come in. It's like Christmas every Wednesday for me!

Couponed Menu Ideas for 10/18-10/22

Here are the meals I made this week based on food I purchased for cheap through sales and coupons at Publix the past couple of weeks.

Monday:

• Manicotti:

- Manicotti Shells (got at Walmart, no sale): $1.50

- 1 lb Ground Beef: $3
- 1/2 Big Jar Ragu (B1G1 a couple weeks ago): $0.73
- Mozzarela Cheese: $1.31
- Ricotta Cheese: $1

• Cole's Garlic Bread (2 for $3 last week w/ coupons): $1

• Dunkan Hines Brownies:

- Mix: $0.99
- Eggs: $0.10 worth
- Veggie Oil (on hand...we'll say it's free)

Total Cost: $9.63

Fed 3 with PLENTY left over

Tuesday:

• Meatloaf:

- 1 lb. Ground Beef: $3

- Brown Sugar, seasonings, ketchup: on hand

• Macaroni and Cheese:

- 1/2 box Mueller's Elbow Mac (B1G1 last week w/ coupons): $0.37

- sauce and seasonings (my secret recipe): on hand

- 1 bag Kraft Sharp Cheddar (on sale with w/ coupons last week): $1.31

• 1 Cole's Garlic Bread Mini Loaf (Sale w/ coupons last week): $1

• Salad (sale w/ coupons): $1.73

Total Cost: $7.41

Fed 4 Adults w/ left overs

Thursday:

• Wanchai Ferri Mongolian Beef Skillet Meal (B1G1 a few weeks ago w/ coupon): $2.49

• PF Changs Sweet and Sour Chicken Skillet Meal (sale a few weeks ago w/ coupons): $3

• Uncle Ben's Whole Grain White Rice with Veggies (sale w/ coupons this week): $0.75

• Nestle White Chocolate Chip Maccadamia Nut Cookies (sale w/ coupons this week): $0.60

Total Spent: $6.84

Cooked Enough for 4 Adults

This was another great week of complete family meals for under $10 each. Thursday night's meal was the least favorite though. I decided that when it comes to Chinese food, I should just leave it for the restaurants. I thought the Sweet and Sour Chicken from PF Changs was surprisingly gross, which my mother liked more than the Mongolian Beef. When Shane came home for dinner and saw the chinese food, he decided he would rather eat the left over Manicotti from Monday night. So, i'll probably end up throwing away the chinese food. I need to find a way to use up the big dish of left over mac n' cheese from Tuesday tonight!

Couponing Week 4

This was fat kid week at Publix, but get who FINALLY saved more then she spent? This girl, yeah!! Here's how I did:

Total Spent: $51.25

Total Saved: $57.70

• 2 Bags Buitoni beef and sausage ravioli (2 for $7 & $2 coupons): $5
• 2 big boxes TGI Fridays Chicken Quesadillas (b1g1 & $1.50 coupon): $7.50
• 1 small box TGI Fridays Cheeseburgers ($2 coupon): $4
• 2 bags Nestle ready to bake Cookies (b1g1 & $2 coupons): $1.29
• 1 Tombstone Pizza (B1G1): $2.87
• 3 Fun Size bags on Mars candy (B1G1 & $2.50 coupons): $12.50
• 2 bags Lay's Kettle Chips (2 for $5): $5
• 2 boxes of General Mills Cereal (B1g1 & $1.20 coupons...just noticed one box did not ring up as b1g1 :-/): $4.27
• Pepperidge Farm Cookies (B1G1 & $0.75 coupon): $0.95
• 1 bag Knorr Pasta Sides (B1G1): $0.65
• 2 boxes Uncle Ben's Garden Veggie Rice (2 for $3 and B1G1 coupon): $1.50
• Arnold 12 Grain Bread (B1G1 & $1 coupon): $0.95

I know I said last week that I was only going to the store this week if items were free or close to free, but I couldn't help myself. I did however configure my grocery list so I would have to save more then I spent, and I am one happy camper because of it. I do have to confess that I had to start stocking my groceries in my mother's fridge and pantry because I really don't have room for any more food! I am really looking forward to my grocery experience in two weeks because the Food World here in Pelham is going out of business and I should be able to get a lot of stuff for ridiculously cheap. I plan on going the day before they are scheduled to shut down so I can get the BEST deal possible!

I hope that you all have a good week grocery shopping and save lots of money! Btw, if you have kids, you should have them stop by my house for trick or treating on Halloween. I have SOOOO much candy to give away! Shane and I are also thinking about having a Halloween party. Let me know if that sounds like something you'd be interested in attending, and we'll plan it!

Weekly Menus Using Couponed Food

Southern Savers posts every week a couple of menu ideas based on the sales items at Publix, and I think it's a great idea; so much so that I decided to start filling you in every week on what I'm serving for dinners based on what I'm buying. Here's this week (Starting Tuesday since I already told you about the Chicken and Orzo soup served Monday):

Tuesday, October 12 2010

• Baked, breaded Pork Chops:
  

- 3 Boneless Pork Chops: $3 (I buy meat in bulk at Sam's)
- Shake N' Bake: $0.90

• Publix Chicken Flav. Rice: $Free (got it on the last buy theirs get ours deal)
• Zucchini Casserole:

- 2 Zucchini: $1.50
- Onion: $0.20 worth
- Ritz Crackers: $0.10 worth
- Cheese: $free (used mom's)
- Eggs: $0.12 worth
- Milk: $Free (used mom's)
- Butter: $0.10 worth (of one of the jugs I got for $0.39 2 weeks ago)

• Rolls: $1.24 (divided bag of them up between this and Thursday's dinners)

Total Cost: $7.16!
This meal fed 4 very hungry adults

Thursday, October 14 2010

• Jambalaya:

- Zatarain's Jambalaya Rice Mix: $0.75
- 1 Chicken Breast: $1
- 1/2 lb Cajun Sausage: $2

• Rolls: $1.24
• Salad Mix: $1.45
  

Total Cost: $6.44!
This meal fed 3 Hungry Adults (supposed to have 6 servings worth, haha)

I'll go ahead an conclude this week's with those 2 meals, and update with more depending on how much I cook this weekend (which is usually next to none). Other than couponing, I live frugally by eating dinner with my mom 3 nights a week and splitting the grocery bill with her. This saves the both of us a TON of money, and it's nice for me to have someone to eat with at nights, since Shane works until 8 or 9pm every night. On Tuesday nights, my mother's boyfriend comes to eat dinner with us and makes a little contribution. I actually made money off of this Tuesday's dinner!

Coupon Experience Week 3

I really thought that this week would be the week that I actually saved more than I spent. Not so, and I was disappointed, until Shane made me realize just how MUCH food I've been getting every week for a very low price. My cart is filled up to the max every week, and I don't think I ever spend more than $60 for it all. In fact, I have so much food stocked up, that I think next week I will only be buying stuff if it is free or close to free because I don't need anything! I also signed up for an Upromise Publix card today, which will give me money towards my student loans every week I buy groceries there, so I'm pretty excited about that. Anyway, here's how I did this week:

Total Spent: $52.46

Total Saved: $44.91 ($15 worth of coupons included)

Here's the breakdown:

- Publix Chocolate Almonds (Penny Item): $0.01

- Bag of Nestle Crunch (B1G1): $3

- 2 Gal Publix Drinking Water: $1.58

- 3 Gatorades (the big jugs: 3 for $5): $5

- 2 bags of Cape Cod Kettle Chips (2 for $5): $5

- 2 bags Ritz Toasted Chips (B1G1 & $1 coupon): $2.39

- Mueller's Elbow Mac (B1G1): $0.75

- 4 Zataran's Dinner Box Kits (B1G1 & $1 coupon): $3

- Duncan Hines Brownie Mix (B1G1): $0.99

- Publix and Planter's Honey Roasted Peanuts (Buy theirs, get ours free deal) $3.19

- Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce (B1G1): $1.18

- 2 Box New York Bread (2 for $5 & $0.80 coupon): $4.20

- Klondike Bars (B1G1): $1.80

- 5 things of cheese: 2 Phil. Cream Cheese, 3 bags Kraft Shredded Cheese ($5/5 coupon, $2 Target coupon, & $1 Publix Coupon): $6.55

- 2 Bags of Salad (B1G1 & $0.55 coupon): $3.45

- 2 Cole's Garlic Bread (2 for $3 & $1 coupon): $2

- 1 Pineapple (on sale): $2.99

My shopping deals this week were good, but nothing amazing to me. I do look forward to all the Zataran's meals I will be making within the next month. Speaking of meals, I made homemade Chicken and Orzo soup last week with Coffee Cake for dessert, and I realized it was the first meal I've cooked from scratch where I had purchased everything (minus the chicken and veggies, but I got those for cheap) on sale. The total cost was around $8 and it fed 4 HUNGRY adults! I look forward to more meals like that!

Anyway, I hope some of you are reading this and being encouraged to start couponing. If you are pro-couponers already, then I would appreciate your feedback and where you see I could improve on my deals. Thanks for reading!

Couponing Experience Week 2

I stole this pic from a Kroger ad. Apparently they have a card that all your coupons can go on now, instead of carrying and handling all your different coupons? Cool idea I suppose, although I like to throw all my coupons I'm going to use at the store in an envelope and surprise the cashier after she rings everything up! This also keeps the people in line behind me from getting pissed off :-)

Anyway, here's how I did this week. I'm not as impressed as I was last week or the week before, but I got some stuff I wasn't planning on getting and didn't have coupons for. I'm striving for the day where I can save more than I have spent. One lady commented on Southernsavers under the Publix ad this week that she got $120 of groceries and spent $40. I'm hoping for that day soon.

This week I spent $83.43 and saved $49.26 (16.73 of that was coupons) Here's the Breakdown:

- $25 Itunes Gift Card ($5 off Winn Dixie Coupon) $20

- 2 Gal. Publix Drinking Water (not on sale) $1.58

- 4 12 packs of coke (buy 3 get one free) $12

- 4 Powerades (b1g1) $2.50

- 2 Boxes Keebler Crackers/Snack Sticks (b1g1) $3.89

- 2 Jugs Swanson Chicken Broth (B1G1) $2.59

- Progresso Bread Crumbs (b1g1 & $1 off) $Free!

- Helman's Mayo (B1G1) $2.35

- Ronzoni Orzo Pasta (B1g1) $0.70

- Nabisco Munch Pack (B1G1) $3.00

- Publix Coffee (Penny Item) $0.01

- 2 cans Campbell's Chunky Soups (sale $1.29 each & $2 coupons) $0.58

- 3 cans Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup (3 for $5, didn't bring my coupons :-( ) $5

- Oscar Mayer Carving Board Turkey and Ham Deli Meat ($4.29/each Applied $2 man. coupons and $1 Target coupon) $5.58

- 3 bags Pillsbury Ready to Bake Cookies (3 for $6 and $1.55 coupons) $4.45

- 2 Gal. Publix Ice Cream (2 for $6) $6

- Kraft Montery Jack Cheese (no sale) $2.99

- Squash Zucchini (sale for 99 cents/ lb) $1.31

- Fresh Green Beans (sale for 99 cents/lb) $0.66

- 2 bags Thomas Bagels (b1g1 & $1 coupon) $2.99

So, not as good of a week as it could have been, but I'm very excited about two of the meals I'm making using the stuff I bought this week! I'm making that Party Chicken in the Publix ad this week (go to Publix and try it...it's real good!), and Chicken and Orzo soup. Shane will be happy because I haven't really been cooking since I started couponing since most the the good deals I get are on those frozen skillet meals and mexican food. I'm also looking forward to making something with the Zucchini squash I got!