I did my weekly shopping today at Publix and boy did I get some good deals! Here’s a picture of what I purchased (minus the 12-pack of Coke to take to the church picnic tomorrow – I forgot I had already put it in the fridge when I took the picture):

I only paid full price for the…wait, I didn’t pay full price for anything! Even the stuff I needed that I didn’t have coupons for was on sale: eggs and breast milk storage bags. Score!

Here’s a recap of some of the best deals I got:

All laundry detergent: on sale for $2.99 each, plus I had 2 $2.00 off coupons = $0.99 each!!!

Cascadian Farms organic frozen fruits and vegetables: on sale for $1.99, add that to my 6 $1.00 off manufacturer’s coupons and my 2 $2.00 off store coupons = $0.32 each!!! These are normally anywhere from $2.50 to $3.50, so I was super excited about this deal.

Benadryl Allergy: (very timely sale, the pollen is unbelievable right now!) on sale for $3.99 each, add to that my $5.00 off two coupon = $1.50 each!!!

I scored other great deals too by combining coupons and sales, so my grand total (including $4.99 for the Coke) was

:::drumroll please:::

$43.39

My total before coupons was around $75, and my receipt says that between coupons and sales I saved a total of $60.66 off regular prices, including $35.16 in coupons alone!

I do need to once again mention that many of these items are not ones I would normally buy without getting a great deal, so the amount saved is a bit skewed for me but it was still a great trip!

Tell me about your savings, I love to hear about others who are taking advantage of coupons!

I find myself sitting here wondering what we’re going to have for dinner tonight. Why, you ask? Because for the past two weeks I have not done any sort of meal plan. After doing so well for the past few months, I can really see how it benefits us! It’s kind of stressful not having a plan, not to mention we don’t eat nearly as well when I don’t have a plan.

For instance, last night Katie and I ate green eggs (scrambled eggs with broccoli puree and cheese) and strawberries for dinner. Not the worst dinner in the world, but certainly not the best! And tonight? No idea. Maybe boxed potatoes (not the yummiest but Katie loves them!) and chicken fingers. Like I said, we won’t be eating as well as we would with a plan!

I can’t seem to get motivated to do it. I have the start of one in my head, which basically includes pot roast tomorrow. From there, who knows. And before I know it, it will be Sunday and time for next week’s meal plan. Maybe I’ll do one then!

This week’s shopping trip was a huge success! I’m happy to be back shopping the deals, instead of just getting the bare minimum of what can get us by. It doesn’t hurt that there were some great sales this week. One unexpected benefit of doing the Eat From the Pantry Challenge – going back to our normal $50 per week budget seems like a fortune! Combining some great sales with coupons allowed me to get all this…

…for a grand total of $45.93!

The only items I paid full price for were the milk, eggs, and produce (minus strawberries – they were majorly on sale!)

Here are a couple of the best deals I got:

Coffee Mate Creamer: I paid a total of $2 for 8! They were on sale BOGO and I had some great coupons. I normally don’t buy these but I couldn’t pass it up for $0.25 each!

Betty Crocker Au Gratin Potatoes: 6 boxes for $3!

Green Giant Chopped Spinach: 9 boxes for $6!

YoPlait Fiber One Yogurt 4 packs: 2 for a total of $0.50! That’s one of the best deals I got, thanks to IHeartPublix I found a great coupon to combine with the BOGO sale.

My receipt says I saved $62.05, but I have to say that I would not buy many of these items if it weren’t for sales combined with coupons, so that’s not a totally accurate figure. I can say that I had $20.80 worth of coupons, though!

Can’t wait to see what’s in store for next week! Thanks, IHeartPublix for posting all the weekly Publix deals!

…and got all this!

I’m so excited about the strawberries – they were picked this morning! That’s Swiss Chard over on the right, I discovered a really yummy recipe last time I bought this and we loved it – even Katie ate some!

Let me break down what I paid:

Strawberries: $1.00 per bowl, I bought two bowls

Bananas: $1.25

Tomatoes: $1.75 for both

Zucchini: $1.50 total

Squash: $1.50 total

Swiss Chard: $2.00 (grown organically and locally, so what a great price!)

Avocado: $0.75

I estimate that if I had bought all this at Publix, I would have easily spent $20, especially buying some of it organic. What a deal!