Saved $224.26 on groceries!

I put off our grocery shopping trip for one more day - we all had a case of the 'I don't wannas' and relaxed on Saturday. This gave me a little more time to work out what deals I wanted to take advantage of at Lowes Foods, having shopped Food Lion on Friday.

Edit: I should note here that this is not a routine shopping trip - this is a stock-up trip, brought on by the economic stimulus money we got. I try to keep our shopping trips around $300 every two weeks.

Well...we bought $617.03 worth of groceries for $392.77. Among the deals we took advantage of:

$1.99/lb Boneless beef chuck, about 15lbs
$1.99/lb Boneless center cut pork loin, about 6lbs
$1.99/lb Italian sausage, about 5lbs.

Cascade Action Pacs, 20-count $1.99
Betty Crocker Warm Delights $ .86
Pasta Roni Nature's Way FREE
Tide 2x laundry soap $4.19
Heluva Good dip FREE
Healthy Choice panini $2.00
Fruity Cheerios $ .50
Cinnamon Life $1.00
Dove bagged chocolate $1.25
Gorton's fish filets $1.30 each

There were lots of other deals, too many to list, and I stocked up on items with really good prices. I'm going to start a price book next, and these sales will help me get a decent baseline, I think.

I'm excited about this trip - we now have meat in the freezer for a while, and I shouldn't hear "There's nothing to eat in this house" for at least two weeks.

This family spends WAY too much on food, and I'm trying hard to curb it. Keeping Jeep Dad out of the store is the most effective way to do that, since his after-work trips to 'pick up a couple things' cost us an average of $40 a pop! With the price of gas at nosebleed levels and no relief in sight, I'm taking charge of all the shopping and maximizing the bargains.

I know I probably won't get us down to $100/week for groceries, but I can sure as heck try, and I can save us money in other areas by CVSing. It's a constant tug of war around here, and it happens because Jeep Dad works off the assumption that we have money, and I work off the assumption that we don't have money. Sort of backward from the traditional husband-groaning-over-wife's-spending, but that's where I am. At least I've convinced him to have $50 per check automatically put in savings!

Have a great week, and save lots!