Meijer Week #1

I am not going to lie...I love to coupon...but I hate bringing it all home and taking care of it!  All good things have their downfalls right?! :)

My trip to Meijer this week started out quite eventful!  I stopped to grab some allergy med coupons from my friend (which I didn't even use because Meijer brand was still way cheaper than using the coupon) and talked her into going with me!  Ran a couple other quick errands to only realize I forgot my wallet.  Shopping officially started at 10:30...WAY too late for this girl to think straight :)

The best thing I ever did was organize my coupons into a binder.  I use 26 sections in a binder full of baseball card holders that each house as many coupons of like kind that I have.  It takes me 10 minutes on Sunday to cut them and put them where they go and saves me hours finding and cutting them before I head to the store.

Tonight my 7 year old sat by my side as I gathered my coupons and I was able to teach him a few things about getting the most for the money you work hard for.  Before he headed to bed he said, "it's no wonder you protect these coupons with your life, they are just like free money!"  That's right babe...that's right! :)

I was a little worried about how much I was going to spend at Meijer this week as one of my rules is no purchasing anything unless its on sale and I have a coupon.  I needed a few things that I didnt' get a HUGE deal on, but I am OK with that.  It's going to take a month or so to get a great deal on everything I need...or adapting to only use what I can find for a really good price. 

My 3 favorite deals from Meijer this week:
3. Chicken: Rarely do you see meat coupons...but my mom gave me one this week that was for $2 off any $10 meat purchase.  I found chicken on sale for $.99 a pound so I got over 10 pounds of chicken for $8. 
2. Ocean Spray Blueberry juice.  This item was on sale for $2.  I had a $1 off coupon from the manufacturer.  Making them $1/each.  When you buy 2 you got a 4 pack of 12 ounce cans of sparkling juice.  They are pretty much carbonated juice...the boys will love these! :)
1. KC Masterpiece (28oz) was on price drop for $2.29.  If you buy 2 they give you $2 off instantly at the cash register.  I also had a $1 off coupon so I paid $.29 for each and I got 4.  That is one item we go through a lot around here

So this trips' overview:

Total Product: $332.00
Total out of pocket expense: $154.00


I feel pretty accomplished about how much money we actually consumed in meals today...! 
Breakfast:
Toast (because they boys love it, not because that's all I am willing to feed them) :)  Which I got a loaf of bread for $.90 which gets us through 3 mornings...! 
Butter $.75 a tub which lasts us 2 weeks or so. 
Juice $.75  per jug lasts 2-3 days

Lunch:
Lunch meat: $1 per lb
Chips $2 per bag
Banana: $.29 lb
Cheese: $2 lb

Dinner:
Hot Dogs: $.98
Mac & Cheese: FREE
Juice: $.79
Apples: $2.50 lb


I am really excited to see where this frugal adventure takes me and what it teaches me and my kids! :)