Anyway, 'nuff about noodles! This is what we got:
ALL together!
FYI: - fruit in the background is not ours - it belongs to one of the roommates
This is the list:
Two packages Arnold Buns: on sale for $1.88 each or $3.76 total --> I thought these were a remarkable deal, and DH and I love the Arnold brand bread because it is HFCS free!
Bob Evans Italian Sausage $3.33 after $0.35 coupon - This was probably a bit of an indulgence.
4 cans Blue Diamond Almonds $9.96 after $2.00 coupon - this was also a bit of an indulgence, but I think we can justify it if we eat a only small amount each day. These little things are favorites of ours.
Gold-n-Plump All Natural Chicken on sale for 2 for 4.00 - The per pound deal on this was to tough to pass up.
Iceberg Lettuce - $0.69
Driscoll's 2lb Strawberries - $4.99 - mmmm... STRAWBERRIES - my roommate confirmed this was an okay deal too
Pepperoni 8oz - $3.59 - this was from the deli and was surprisingly cheaper/oz than the Hormel brand, which was even on sale. It was also enough for two pizzas
Frozen Spinach -$.95 - I picked this up, because it is a pretty much a favorite vegetable of ours, however I was otherwise unimpressed with prices in the frozen vegetables section. In the past I have been able to get these for $0.47
Jose Ole Taquitos - $3.99 (after coupon) While these were a decent-ish deal, they are fairly processed [and by fairly I mean very], however I thought they would be a good option for convenience eating.
Cottage Cheese - $2.49 - for use in the Lasagna or just eating.
Cottage Cheese - $2.49 - for use in the Lasagna or just eating.
Dozen Large Eggs - $1.58 - skipped Extra Large or Jumbo
Coffee Creamer - $2.04 - This is certainly a luxury item, but with the coupon it was reasonably priced. Also, it is still way cheaper than electing Caribou or Starbucks.
Which means as of today the average spent/day is $8.14 - this is "too high", but I'm not worried because well for one I've got a "few tricks up my sleeve" and for two we just went shopping... so there are plenty of days left before the next trip to even things out.
To purchase all of these 21 items I had a handful of coupons at the register. Some were in store and some were manufacturers coupons. Do you guys use coupons? This last time when I handed over my coupons I felt like the cashier was visibly annoyed with me. What do you to avoid this from happening? or Has it happened to you? Also, if you do use coupons - how do you keep track of them all? I seem to struggle at the store to maintain them in my cart. They need a coupon slot in the cart I think.
Just a tiny thing, I am sure you meant the coffee creamer was $2.04 (which is an ok price, in my opinion) and not 42.04.
ReplyDeleteOnto your question, about coupons... yes, some cashiers are kind of picky about it because it means more work for them and it might hold the line for an extra minute or so. But do not feel embarrassed or bothered by this. You are the customer (not saying that you have the right to hold the line), but just be nice and pleasant. I usually try to talk with them outside the "hello, how are you?" and "nice weather", and talk about something else (like recipes, or current happenings about town or sales that are going on). Or you could compliment them, if you see/think that they may be/become visibly annoyed, and that usually softens them up enough to get you through the line as painless as possible—especially during big shopping trips where you’re using many different coupons. All in all, don’t be too personally bothered by it. As someone once told me, “kill them with kindness”.
And I’m loving your blog! It would really be interesting to see the value of your pantry and how that affects your ‘real’ total. I can definitely see that you’re changing with the experiment and discovering good things that you’ll be keeping even after the experiment is over. That’s the stuff that makes it all worth it—not the crash and burn of X days, but the things you will carry with you once the ‘restrictions’ are gone. Keep it up.
-TJ
Do not worry what other people think when you check out. Yesterday my DH and I went to Giant Eagle and ended up with 9 boxes of pasta, 6 pillsburg cinnamon rolls, 1 bag of shredded cheese.... for drumroll - 75 cents TOTAL!!! Yes we each had to check out, got lots of looks from the other customers, and annoyed the cashier... but hey look what I got for 75 cents. Made it all totally worth it!
ReplyDeleteJessica, Dayton PA
jbish@iup.edu
@TJ - Thanks I fixed that error. It was indeed $2.04 - not bad. Also, good tips on navigating with coupons. I certainly don't plan on stopping because of it, but always good to find ways to make life more pleasant.
ReplyDeleteI also hoard pasta. I keep a bin with about 100 pounds of surplus pasta, plus 10 pounds or so on the pantry shelf. You're not alone in this!
ReplyDelete