Wow!

Okay, so I apologize for all of my recent posts being all about coupons, but that's just what I'm doing now a days. My days are usually filled with clipping and searching for coupons and then planning and shopping. Who wouldn't love to see huge savings when shopping for food? I know I do.

And today was no exception.

So, in our small town we have two grocery stores. A national store (Food Lion) and a local store. As many of you may know, Food Lion is closing all of their stores in the state. This really makes me sad because I loved the deals I could get there. They were the only store to offer a half price deal if you only wanted one BOGO item. Not sure why others don't, but it's the one thing I will miss the most. Especially since many coupons require you to buy and odd number of items.

That leads me to my shopping trip today. I was tipped off last night that they were going to be marking down all items to 50% retail. Had I known this two days ago when I went in, I would have waited to buy the stuff I did. Let's just say it threw my savings percentage for a loop. But back to today, I woke up ready to go save some money. I knew there were a lot of items I have really good coupons for so I wanted to go get them before they were gone, like most of the other items in the store. I made it there around 10:30am and the parking lot was full. Thankfully a sales associate was willing to go get me a cart because there were none to be found in the store.

First, I hit up the frozen section. I know (from my previous trip) that most of the items were either gone or really picked through. I figured I'd go in and do a quick search through the cases and try to match up as many coupons as I could. I was amazed when my cart quickly became full of really cheap items. After that I decided to go straight to the baby care isle. I knew I could get a really great deal on diapers, since I was holding on to some really good coupons waiting for a deal like this. And that I did. I also scored big with baby food. A doesn't eat much since she's over a year old now, but I do like to buy the veggies and mix them in to her food for added (hidden) nutrition.

After that I decided to head home to unload my loot since I knew it would take me forever to go through the rest of the store and I didn't want my frozen food to spoil.

So what did I get? Here it is. I'm very pleased with my success, although I'm sure there are others who could have done better.

(2) boxes Freshetta Pizza- $3.00 each

(2) boxes Steak-um Burgers- $4.98 each

(2) 1lb packages FL Shrimp- $4.98 each

(4) packages Oscar Mayer Carving Board Meat- $1.65 each

(1) package Land 'o Frost Wrap Kit- $2.50 each

(2) packages Lunchables (with fruit) $1.20 each

(2) packages Butterball Turkey Hot dogs- $1.90 each

(1) box Fillo Dough- $1.90 each

(2) packages Hot Pocket Snackers- $1.00 each

(1) bag Tyson Anytizers- $2.85 each

(1) box Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sandwiches- $1.95 each

(1) box Super Pretzel- $1.10 each

(2) boxes Aunt Jemima Pancakes- $1.35 each

(3) packages Huggies Slip-on Diapers- $3.25 each

(2) packages Pull-Ups- $3.40 each

(2) packages Huggies Wipes- $3.49 each

(2) 6 packs Pediasure- $3.50 each

(2) bottles Childrens Advil- $1.00 each

(2) boxes Beech Nut Cereal- FREE

(4) jars Beech Nut Stage 2.5- $.08 each

Total Spent: $90  62% Savings

Once I got home and got everything unpacked, I searched online for a few more useful coupons (mainly baby food) and then headed back to the store for another round. This time I was focusing on items to fill the pantry and some personal care items as well. 

Round two looks something like this (warning: this is a really long list):

(6) packages Bird's Eye Veggies- $.92 each

(10) boxes Weight Watcher's Smart Ones- $1.20 each

(2) jars Planter's Peanut Butter- $.95 each

(2) jars Smucker's Sugar Free Jam- $.65 each

(1) bottle French's Dijon Mustard- $.75 each

(1) bottle Red Hot Hot Sauce- $.50 each

(1) bottle Red Hot Thick Hot Sauce- $.75 each

(2) bottles Kraft Salad Dressing- $1.12 each

(4) cans Dole Pineapple- $.60 each

(3) cans Veg-All- $.43 each

(2) 4 packs Dole Fruit Crisp Cups- $.50 each

(3) cans Hunt's Tomatoes- $.70 each

(2) jars Newman's Own Salsa- $.90 each

(2) boxes FL Cornbread Stuffing- $.85 each

(1) bottle V8 Smoothie- $.95 each

(2) bottles V8 Fusion- $1.45 each

(4) cans FL Condensed Soup- $.75 each

(3) cans Campbell Healthy Harvest Soup- $.86 each

(2) boxes Barilla Spaghetti Noodles- $.35 each

(2) jars Prego Pasta Sauce- $.92 each

(3) packages Uncle Ben's Ready Rice- $.81 each

(4) boxes Hamburger Helper- $.80 each

(2) cans Swanson Chicken Breast- $.72 each

(1) package Millstone Coffee- $2.85

(1) bottle FL Pure Vanilla- $3.24

(2) bottles Lou Ana Peanut Oil- $1.35 each

(1) container Truvia Sweetener- $2.75 each

(1) box FL Pancake Mix- $1.75 each

(1) bottle Axe Body Spray- $1.70 each

(1) bottle Secret Clinical Strength Deodorant- $3.00 each

(1) bottle Gillette Deodorant- $1.69 each

(1) bottle Gillette Body wash- $1.65 each

(1) pack Children's Toothbrushes- $2.50 each

(1) box Tampax Compact Tampons- $4.50 each

(1) box Advil Congestion Relief- $ 2.90

(2) bottles Benefiber- $1.65 each

(1) box Cepacol Throat Drops- $1.00 each

(2) boxes Honey Nut Cheerios- $2.00 each

(3) Beech Nut Little Steamers- $.81 each

(9) jars Beech Nut Stage 2.5- $.02 each

Total Spent: $94  66% Savings

Although I spent more than my usual budget, I did stock up my pantry and freezer for quite a while. However, I do plan to go back in a few days to see if they have lowered prices again and will probably just get anything I can. I figure at that point most items will be around 75% off, so no coupons are really needed, although I won't completely go without them, just in case there's a great deal to have. Ah, so glad to have this out in the open. I'm always so excited on shopping day and just want to tell everyone what I found! Like I said before, it's a new addiction. Well, at least I'm saving money and not spending any. Right?