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.
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Whew, it’s kind of a bad feeling to almost blow through your whole monthly grocery budget in just one weeks time! I’m so grateful I have some good cushion right now from staying under budget in previous months.
Total Spent: $188.25
Total Saved with Coupons: $41.50
Total Saved with Sales: $27.67
Total Saved: $69.17
Giant: $51.76
Saved with Coupons: $20.50
Saved with Sales: $19.91
Um, yes, I really did buy 13 boxes of ice cream plus a bunch of ice cream treats. And yes, I really do think we eat healthy even so. 🙂 Here’s why I bought so much. We love Turkey Hill All-Natural ice cream- it’s made with real ingredients and doesn’t have all sorts of other additives in it like many ice creams do. We also happen to have lots of freezer space thanks to a couple of chest freezers, which allows me to stock up on deals like this. Basically, after coupons/sales/gas rewards, the ice cream ended up costing me $0.79/box. Since the ice cream will easily be good for a long time, I figured I might as well stock up on it and save some money in the process. We’ll also soon be having a birthday party for our son and will likely go through 3 or so boxes then.
The Snickers Ice Cream Bars and Minute Maid Frozen Lemonade? They’re not something I usually buy either, but as occasional treats, I will, especially when I can get them for free like I did these. I do love Snickers Ice Cream bars and they work perfectly to make an easy, delicious cake too! We’ve never had frozen lemonade before, but they sure look good. My husband has a thing for lemonade, so I kind of bought these with him in mind. Oh, and the Ben & Jerry’s cup was free after a Saving Star offer as well.
The refried beans were free after coupons and sales too (actually I made $0.50 on them). I usually make my own refried beans simply because the bought variety always has so much sodium. I’m kind of thinking I’ll just donate these to the food bank.
BOUGHT:
- 13 Turkey Hill All-Natural ice cream $3.79 each
– used seven $1.00 Turkey Hill coupons received from manufacturer
– used six $0.50 Turkey Hill coupons received from manufacturer
– got back $0.20 via Ibotta (good on any ice cream) - 3 Minute Maid Frozen Lemonades $2.50 each
– used 3 Minute Maid coupons from Sunday newspaper coupon inserts (2 of them doubled to $1.00) - 4 Snickers ice cream bars $3.00 each
– used two $1.00 Snickers coupons from the previous Snickers ice cream bar package
– used two $1.00 Snickers coupons from Sunday newspaper coupon inserts - 2 Old El Paso refried beans $1.00
– used two $0.50 Old El Paso printable coupons (doubled to $1.00 each)
– got back $0.50 via Saving Star - Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cup $1.29
– got back $1.29 via Saving Star - Banana $0.20
– got back $0.20 via Ibotta
CVS: $2.98
Saved with Coupons: $21.00
Saved with Sales: $7.76
We love almonds around here, both for snacking and as a fun kid-approved salad topping. I was really happy to get these two cans for just $0.50 this week thanks to a $2.00 printable coupon. For some reason I could only get the coupon to print with my computer and not from my husband’s, otherwise, I could have bought another two cans for that price.
The Colgate and Tena were free after coupons/sales. And the All detergent was just $1.00 each. I was running low on detergent, so this sale was very timely for me! I actually use Fullerbrush laundry detergent for most things, but since it’s a bit more expensive, I like to have a cheaper detergent to use on my husband’s work clothes (he works in construction so they are perpetually stained and that’s okay) and a few other random loads that don’t matter as much. (If you are interested in purchasing the Fuller detergent, let me know. The Amazon price is reasonable, but the shipping is much higher than what I could give you.)
BOUGHT:
- 2 Blue Diamond almonds $2.50 each
– used two $2.00 Blue Diamond printable coupons - Tena pantiliners $5.98 total (on sale buy one, get one half off)- used rain check
– used two $2.00 Tena printable coupons - 2 Colgate toothpaste $3.00 each
– used two $1.00 Colgate printable coupons - 2 All detergent $3.49 each
– used two $1.50 All printable coupons
OTHER COUPONS USED:
- $8.00 in Extra Bucks coupons earned by purchasing items previously at CVS
GOT BACK:
- $2.00 Extra Bucks coupon for purchasing the Tena (can be used on next purchase of any item)
- $2.00 Extra Bucks coupon for purchasing the All (can be used on next purchase of any item)
Aldi: $11.71
I was in the middle of making granola and realized that I was out of canola oil. I needed to go to Giant anyway and thankfully, Aldi is on the way there. So I did a quick stop and grabbed the oil as well as a couple of other things. It’s been a bit since I saw cream cheese for under $1.00, so when I saw Aldi dropped their price to $0.99, I took advantage of it!
BOUGHT:
- 2 canola oil $2.09 each
- Ranch dressing $1.29
- 5 cream cheese $0.99 each
- pretzel sticks $1.29
Sharp Shopper: $23.66
This little local discount grocery store is one of those places that can be a hit or miss when it comes to good deals. Even though I didn’t do as good as I sometimes do, this shopping trip was definitely a hit. We’ve been eating lots of sandwiches for lunch this summer and I was fast running out of lunch meat. So I was grateful to find these two big tubs of turkey breast for a decent price.
I did a double-take when I saw the sign for $0.99/lb. cherries! I was in a hurry and just grabbed one bag and later was kicking myself. I don’t like cherries, but my husband and kiddos love them and would have been very happy to eat more. As it was, we ended up sharing half of this bag with a neighbor friend of ours who enjoys cherries as much as the rest of my family does.
The grapefruit juice was a special buy for my husband. He loves fruit juice of any kind, but grapefruit juice is his favorite. Again, I should have bought more since it’s rare to find it under $1.00 (my buy price for juice). I could have easily frozen it to keep it longer.
My favorite purchase was the bacon- Market Place brand (Target) for just $1.99/lb! Sometimes “cheap” bacon is not that good. You know, really fatty etc. But this bacon wasn’t that way and has a great flavor. I bought a bunch and froze most of it to use in quiche and breakfast sandwiches. Because bacon tends to be so expensive, we rarely eat it by itself, but rather eat it in other dishes. But since I was able to get this for such a great price, we “splurged” (at least in our minds!) and enjoyed eating some the other night all by itself, along with eggs and bagels.
BOUGHT:
- cherries $0.99/lb
- grapefruit juice $0.99
- 5 bacon $1.99 each
- 2 black pepper $2.49 each
- 2 Oscar Mayer lunch meat $2.69 each
Vitacost: $19.48
I’ve been wanting to make more Easy 3 Ingredient Healthy Fudge, but was basically out of coconut oil. I finally got some ordered from Vitacost, my favorite place to buy it. I don’t really like coconut and therefore don’t care for the strong flavor that most coconut oil has. But a friend recommended this brand too me and said that it doesn’t have such a strong taste and I’ve found that to be true. It’s also a great price, which I’m of course a fan of! And when I placed this order, I was happy to notice that when you purchase the Vitacost brand coconut oil, your order will automatically ship free, even if you order other items as well!
So, when I saw that, I went ahead and got a bottle of Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar too since my bottle was nearly empty.
BOUGHT:
- Vitacost coconut oil 54 oz. $23.99
- Bragg vinegar $5.49
COUPONS USED:
- $10 account credit
Centerville Bulk Food: $78.66
I wanted to get more blueberries and so I made a trip to a local bulk food store and got two 20 lb. boxes for $33.75 each. We used about 10 lbs. fresh, and then I froze the rest of them. They were so deliciously sweet!
While I was there, I grabbed a few other things (apples, raw sugar, cheese and dried cranberries) too. But since it’s an Amish store and they don’t have registers that show what items you purchase I don’t have record of the cost breakdown.
Misc.: $0
My sister-in-law gave us more zucchini- yum! We’ve been eating a lot of zucchini quiche since we’ve been given so many zucchini, but we don’t mind at all since we all like it.
I also got some tomatoes from our two plants. It’s so fun to grow a few of our own things!
The lettuce was from our local farmers market and I actually got several heads. I used grocery cash to pay for it. And when I was writing this post, I realized that I keep forgetting to document the lettuce I buy weekly or bi-weekly. For some reason, it’s just hard for me to remember to include it in my posts, probably because we withdraw $20 at a time to use as grocery cash at market and then when I actually go buy the lettuce, it kind of is not on my radar because the cost was already recorded. (I hope that makes sense!) So, if you don’t see lettuce on these posts very often but notice in our menu plans that we eat a lot of salad, that is why!
Christine
Do you just shop once a month then? Or will you grab a few things each week if you need them? Looks like you did really well.
ThriftyFrugalMom
No, Christine, I actually shop weekly most of the time. I realize I didn’t make it very clear in this post, especially for people that aren’t regular readers of my blog. We budget $200 a month for our groceries, but throughout the late summer and early fall months, I tend to typically go over that amount due to buying lots of produce to can and freeze. So the first several months of the year, I try hard to stay well under budget to give me a bit of a “cushion” to use those summer months when I go over. In other words, we budget $200/mo. or $2400 a year for groceries. As long as I come in under budget at the end of the year and haven’t gone over our $2400 that we allot to that, I consider it a success. Does that make sense?
I just posted this past weeks What I Spent and Saved post and you’ll notice that I didn’t spend much at all simply because I really didn’t need much and there were very few grocery deals that I felt were worth doing. I also included a Monthly Budget Summary where I show my spending for the month as well as show the amount that I am over or under budget for the year (the $2400 amount). I still am under budget for the year by a bit, so that felt really good!
Thanks for asking questions. Sometimes it’s hard for me to think about what people might not understand about how I shop and make this budget thing work. So I love the questions!
Brittany Dickerson
I use to shop like this, but then I had my baby girl and just haven’t got back in the swing of things. People think you are crazy sometimes, but it really does save a lot of money. My husband wishes I would start couponing again, because our grocery bill has doubled.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Oh, a new baby always messes up the routines for a while! And then it’s so hard to get back into the swing of things. It always takes me a bit. Yes, I’ve had numerous people make interesting comments about how I shop, especially when I first started. I think it has really helped though now that I blog about it and they can see the huge savings it gives. Obviously though, it does take time and so I realize not everyone is going to be able to shop quite like this.
I find it very interesting that your grocery bill has doubled. I’ve often wondered how much more I’d spend if I stopped deal shopping. I bet my grocery bill would be about double too!
Alison
I got free refried beans last week too! 🙂 Six cans of them! If anyone analyzed my grocery hauls, they’d think we eat kind of odd too, but I like to stock up on things we use regularly when I find a good deal on them, especially if I have a coupon to pair with a deal 🙂
ThriftyFrugalMom
Must have been the week for cheap beans, eh? I know, shopping with a stockpile in mind just makes your shopping trips looks crazy. I sometimes wonder what people at the grocery store must think when they look at my grocery cart some weeks! 🙂 But it saves us so much money that I don’t plan to stop shopping this way any time soon.
Jessica S
Wanted to stop and say that we are kindred spirits! I found your blog on a link up( I think)… and love your grocery posts! I LOVE that you are just like I am and willing to shop around, hit specific stores for certain items etc! most *deal* bloggers I have found don’t want to do that! I got hooked on Savingstar thanks to your blog! Ibotta was down the day I tried.. need to do that again actually! The one thing I do NOT do is print coupons. In my past experiences most of the printing site wanted you to download a *bar* and that clogged up the computer. My husband is an IT tech and most of the people he got side work from had more issues due to downloads such as these.. so he doesn’t want me to.. I don’t.. and I have not found it to be an issue for me.
We also have a discount/salvage store locally and I LOVE it! So many fabulous deals can be found there, although it is truly hit or miss. You just have to be dedicated!
My question- you bought black pepper at $2.49/container. It has been a while since I had to buy any.. That felt high to me.. Was it a particular brand that you prefer? I last bought my can at Aldi.. I cannot remember the price. I keep the ground on hand for the kids and recipe use and I have a grinder filled with peppercorns for husbands preferance. I can buy just the amount I need of the peppercorns at a local grocer in their bulk organic section. Since I only buy enough to fill the container it is never more than $2.00!
Jealous over the bacon for sure! Might need to hit the discount store this morning!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Hi, Jessica! So glad to have you “find” my blog. I loved reading your comment….it’s always fun to hear how other frugal people shop and what they find helpful to them. Yes, sometimes shopping around can be a pain and in the last couple of years, I’ve gotten a lot pickier about it. I used to go to a store just for one deal, if I didn’t need to drive out of my way. I may still do that occasionally, but with 3 little ones and a busier life, I’ve tried really hard to prioritize more. Sites like Savingstar and Ibotta are favorites of mine because they are such an easy way to save and obviously you can combine them with other savings too. And that’s interesting that you say that about the printable coupons. I’ve used them for the last 6 or 7 years and haven’t noticed any issues, but maybe they’re causing problems I don’t know about. 🙂 I can believe that they slow down your computer a bit though. That would only make sense. But I love how you are honoring your husband in the whole thing and saving anyway! That’s just awesome!
Ah, the black pepper. Honestly, I’m not sure if it was an amazing price or not. I was needing more and had looked at Aldi, but only saw the peppercorns there. So I checked the bulk food store that I frequent and it was $9 or $10/lb there, which I thought was pretty pricey! Then when I was at Sharp Shopper, I saw these little containers and just decided to get them. I was in a hurry and didn’t bother to do the math, but thought it seemed like it was about the same price, maybe cheaper than the bulk food store and I was just ready to get some and cross it off my list. 🙂 But because your comment made me curious, I did the math and discovered that this pepper was about the same price as the bulk food store or possibly about 10 cents more a lb. (Not sure because I can’t remember the exact price there.) So that’s the pepper story! Obviously, I don’t always get the best buy on everything. 😉
Yes, I’m still grateful for that bacon deal! Yum, yum! Hope your discount grocery trip is just as successful.
Blessings!
Dorcas S
Just wondering how you get turkey hill manufacturs coupons?? Sunday paper??? We like their ice cream!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Dorcas, I usually try to mention that in these posts when I buy a lot of Turkey Hill ice cream and forgot, so thanks for asking! Actually, Turkey Hill is awesome about sending out coupons, if you simply request them. All you need to do is call 800-693-2479 (you can find it on the Turkey Hill website too) and say that you are calling to see request coupons. They’re always very obliging and you can request them once every 30 days. The packet that they send will have a wide variety of coupons, but typically at least 5 to 7 can be used for ice cream. Since Giant does these gas reward deals several times a year, I like to request the coupons every couple of months just to make sure I have plenty when they go on sale like this.
Hope that helps! And happy ice cream eating! 😉
Dorcas S
Awesome! Glad to know that! Thanks for taking the time to answer!