See the details of my $200 a month grocery shopping trips and learn the things that I do to save and live well on a low budget with my family of five!
There are affiliate links in this post – please read my full disclosure policy.
Some of you have wondered where I get my printable coupons. Here are the main coupon sites that I use: Coupons.com, Ibotta, and Fetch Rewards. Manufacturer websites and Facebook pages are also great sources.
If you are new here and unfamiliar with my weekly What I Spent & Saved posts, it probably is helpful to understand a bit about how I shop. I do something called stockpile shopping. This simply means that when I see an item at rock bottom prices that I regularly use or know that I can use, I’ll buy several of it. This might seem kind of crazy, but it honestly saves me hundreds of dollars a year! Simply put, by buying 6 bags of frozen veggies when I can get them for $0.50/bag with a coupon and sale instead of paying the full price of $1.50, I save $6.00. This savings adds up pretty quickly! Want to know more about this kind of shopping? Check out my post on How to Start Building a Grocery Stockpile.
I also buy meats and veggies in bulk. The meat I either can or freeze and then obviously have it on hand whenever I need it. I purchase large quantities of fruits and veggies when they are in season and I can get them at really great prices. By canning or freezing them, I save a lot and we are able to enjoy great produce for less cost all year long. I do still buy some fresh fruits and veggies too. In fact, every 7 to 10 days I go to our local farmer’s market and get several heads of lettuce so that we can enjoy salads at least 4 times a week.
I hope that helps you make sense of some of this. I realize at first glance it can look like we eat rather strangely but I think we really eat quite well! Of course, if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments! I’ll be more than happy to try to answer them.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Total Spent: $84.94
Total Saved with Coupons: $26.53
Total Saved with Sales: $12.21
Total Saved: $38.54
Giant: $26.07
Saved with Coupons: $12.28
Saved with Sales: $6.65
I know, I know. What was I thinking buying five deodorants? Well, it’s pretty simple really. I was thinking about making money. See, Old Spice deodorants were on sale, there were coupons for them too and they were also part of the gas rewards this week and so I got $10 back in gas savings for buying them. All told, I made $1.50 them- it’s not much, but it’s enough to buy me a bag of flour at Aldi! I kind of figure I’ll give the deodorant to our local rescue mission to share with the people there.
The Cheez-It’s were another gas deal that I made money on, this time $5.00. They aren’t something I typically buy, but I won’t deny that we do enjoy them. And when I can make money on them, it seemed to only make sense to buy them.
We love the Kettle brand potato chips and several months ago I contacted them and told them how much we love them. As a thank-you, they sent me some coupons, including these FREE products ones. That was pretty awesome, don’t you think?
I don’t avoid high fructose corn syrup in everything (I mean really, the Cheez-It’s probably have it in them!), but since ketchup has so much sugar in it, and since I can get high fructose corn syrup free versions fairly inexpensively, it’s one of the things that I’ve been trying to make a healthier choice on. Maybe that seems odd to you, but hey, we all have our things, right? 🙂
BOUGHT:
- Giant brand milk $3.61
– got back $0.20 via Ibotta (good on any brand milk) - 10 Cheez-It $1.00 each
– bought with rain check - Nature’s Promise organic ketchup $2.99
– used $0.50 Nature’s Promise coupon that I printed from the coupon kiosk at the front of the store - 5 Old Spice deodorant $2.50 each
– used four $1.00 Old Spice printable coupons - Giant brand tortillas $0.99
- 2 Kettle potato chips $3.79 each
– used two Kettle FREE product coupons received via manufacturer ($3.79 each)
GOT BACK:
- $10.00 in gas reward savings for purchasing the Old Spice
- $15.00 in gas reward savings for purchasing the Cheez-Its
Rite Aid: $0.41
Saved with Coupons: $14.00
Saved with Sales: $5.56
Ugh! As I was typing up this post, I realized that majorly overcharged for the Dove shampoo and conditioner. It was supposed to be $1.50 each, and instead, I was charged $3.00 and $3.99 for them. After the coupon that I used, it should have made it free. I’m hoping that they’ll make it right when I go back this week, but since I used a rain check for it, I’m not counting on it. Note to self: always double check receipts before leaving store!
The toothpaste was free after coupons and sales. Thanks to coupons, toothpaste is one of those things that I haven’t had to pay a penny for in years.
BOUGHT:
- Dove shampoo $3.00
– bought with rain check - Dove conditioner $3.99
– bought with rain check
– used $3/2 Dove coupon from Sunday newspaper coupon inserts - 2 Colgate toothpaste $3.50 each
– used two $1.00 Colgate printable coupons
OTHER COUPONS USED:
- $9.00 in Plenti Points earned by purchasing items previously at Rite Aid
GOT BACK:
- $6.00 in Plenti Points for purchasing the Colgate (can be used on next purchase of any item)
Aldi: $19.90
Just a typical stock-up trip to Aldi! Nothing of interest to note other than the fact that the red potatoes were a great price, which I was happy about since I needed some.
BOUGHT:
- 5 black beans $0.59 each
- canola oil $2.09
- mayo $1.89
- 4 brown sugar $1.19 each
- heavy whipping cream $1.69
- corn chips $0.79
- cucumber $0.29
- pretzels $1.29
- 2 sweet onions, 2 lbs. $1.19 each
- 5 lb. red potatoes $1.79
- bananas $1.27
– got back $0.25 via Checkout 51
Misc.: $44.85
* $44.85
I bought 1 ½ bushels of Baby Gold peaches from a local orchard. Baby Gold’s are a cling-stone peach that are only good for canning. A lot of people don’t like cling-stone peaches, but I have this nifty little tool that makes cutting the seeds out super easy, so I don’t really mind. What I love about Baby Gold peaches is that when canned, they have a wonderful, firm texture. They also aren’t as “stringy” as regular peaches and stay such a pretty peach color. They also are a tad cheaper than other peaches too, although not by much anymore. I guess more people have discovered their awesomeness and it’s driven the price up!
Credits: $6.29
I cashed out my Saving Star account. I just roll that money back into my grocery budget since I earned by buying certain groceries anyway.
Liz
200$ a month would be fabulous! I am a bit confused, looks like you spent almost 1/2 your budget and don’t have any meat, milk, etcetera. How or where do you purchase those staples?
Liz
Sorry I do see milk in the picture and see that you buy meat in bulk.
ThriftyFrugalMom
It’s okay, Liz! I know it can be kind of confusing, especially if you aren’t used to reading these What I Spent and Saved posts. Because if you go simply by what I buy in a weeks time, a lot of weeks it looks like we eat terribly. 🙂 And yes, I buy meat here and there as I find it at a good price and if I can, I’ll stock up when I find it $2/lb. or less, which is the price I aim for. I’ve had to go over that price a couple of times this past year since prices are rising, but thanks to Zaycon Fresh, a couple of discount stores in our area and part of a cow through my in-laws, I’m still able to hit that price most of the time.
If you want to know more about how I shop, you might find these posts interesting.
Eric Pemper from Florida
I searched about saving and found your post. I’ll follow your advice on how to save up on groceries. I think this is really inspiring. Everyone can benefit by following your ways.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Thanks for the kind words, Eric!
Kristen @ Joyfully Thriving
That’s a fun BzzAgent treat! I recently got the new Kelloggs Protein cereal and bars from them…and they were surprisingly good! I love BzzAgent for the change to try new things – for free! And I don’t think you have lots of sugar in your items! You buy eclectically with coupons (like I do), but it’s obvious that you feed your family healthy foods. You make so much from scratch – and even if there is sugar, it’s still so much better when it’s made from scratch. And funny thing about HFCS and ketchup, because that’s one of the things I’ve been trying to avoid and I can and do so in ketchup, too! 🙂
ThriftyFrugalMom
Yes, I love BzzAgent just for the simple fact that it is fun to be able to try new things for free.
And you’re right, I do buy quite eclectically, which confuses a lot of people. I try to clarify that at the beginning of my post, but it is so unlike how most people shop that I think it still seems strange.
Funny that you avoid ketchup with HFCS in too! From the comments you leave, I think we must think a lot alike on many things. 🙂
Kamber
Wow! i really need to change the way I shop. Any suggestions for stores in the southwest that you mainly can get produce/meat at? I mainly shop at Whole Foods, Sprouts and Trader Joes. I do use the coupons WF provides, but I have to drastically change my shopping habits as we just shut a 35 year business down, and 1 of us is working part time at the moment. Congrats to you for being so frugal with this. I am frugal every other way except groceries! It is only the 2 of us, and i must spend at least 4X the amount you spend. We eat out maybe 2X a year. I love to cook-everything is from scratch. (the way I was taught by my mom) Thanks for sharing a bit of your life with us!! 🙂
ThriftyFrugalMom
Kamber, first of all, I want to apologize for the awfully slow response. Something was up with my commenting and I just now saw this. 🙁
It sounds like you are doing a lot of money saving things already! Simply cooking from scratch and not eating out much are huge, obviously. Do you have an Aldi’s in your area? They are owned by Whole Foods but are much cheaper. If you like organic things, they have started carrying a decent small selection of organic produce. As far as stores to suggest, I live in Pennsylvania, so I’m not much help knowing what stores might be in your area. I assume you may have Kroger’s though and if so, I googled and found this blog that does coupon match-ups for that store. Not sure if that is helpful or not. Also, you could Google and search for a site that does coupon match-ups for Sprouts as well.
And if you are new to couponing, it may be helpful to check out my series where I share about how I make our $200 Grocery Budget Work.
Hope that helps! And blessings as you try to get on your feet again after going through such big changes.
Judy Lukas
Seems like lots of foods with sugar.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Thanks for your concern, Judy. I’m a bit puzzled by your comment, though. Yes, there is some sugar in the foods I purchased, but we aren’t diabetic so I don’t think it’s an excessive amount. Maybe you feel differently? We are by no means health nuts, however, we do try to eat healthful, nutritious meals. If you’d like to get an idea of what we eat, feel free to take a look at my Menu Plans. Obviously, what I purchased this week isn’t enough to feed us for a week and that’s because I keep my pantry and freezer/fridge well stocked, so I have lots to work from.
Rachel
I didn’t think there were a lot of sugary items here and it’s not like that is all your family is eating anyway. 🙂 That was a pretty good price for the brown sugar – is that Aldi’s regular price? I usually by my brown sugar at Sam’s Club for about $4 for 7 lbs, but stock up when my local Meijer has it on sale for a couple $ less than that. I wish we could get local peaches this year! Our Ohio peach crops have suffered some late frosts, so fresh local peaches have been hard to come by. I did see some listed in the Amish auction lists recently, though, so I’m hopeful I’ll snag some before the season is over.
Anyway, thanks for posting your lists and menus! We are a family of 5 (2 adults, and 8, 5, and 1 year olds), soon to be 6, and trying to get our budget down to $200 a month for a season due to some extra necessary expenses. It’s been tough. I was doing pretty good at our previous budget of $400, but this has made me work even harder to save and be conscientious of what I buy. Knowing other families (at least one!) are managing to make this work regularly encourages me to keep up the effort. 🙂
ThriftyFrugalMom
Yes, that is Aldi’s regular price, Rachel. Every once in a while I can find the Domino brand cheaper at Giant when I use coupons, but overall, Aldi’s price can’t be beat on their brown and powdered sugar (it’s also $1.19). And what a bummer that your peach crops got messed up. Fresh peaches are my absolute favorite fruit and I would be sad to not have any for fresh eating, let along canning and freezing! Do you live at all close to Holmes County? My brother-in-law lives there and I know someone from that area often goes to Georgia each year to get a bunch of peaches that they sell for a good price. That’s where my sister-in-law always gets hers.
And I’m so glad that my What I Spent & Saved and Menu Plan posts have been a blessing to you! There is no way that I’d be able to do $200 if I didn’t coupon as much as I do. It also helps that we live in an area where I can get lots of produce for great prices (hello, Amish country!). This year too, I was able to get 40 lbs. of chicken for free from referral credits that I had from Zaycon Foods. That helped a lot and almost makes me feel bad saying that we have $200/mo. grocery budget. But to explain that each time feels like it would get a bit complicated, although maybe I should put that disclaimer at the beginning of my posts. Anyway, blessings to you as you try to manage your budget and use your money well. And congratulations on baby #4! Hope your pregnancy and transition to having another baby goes smoothly.