Challenge: To trim down the grocery bills by at least 33%

According to the US Department of Labor, the average American family of four spends $8,513 per year on groceries. This statistic breaks down to $177 per person a month. My family is not the traditional nuclear family. In addition to me and my husband, we have four children -- three teenagers, a two-year-old, and a mother-in-law. Applying the above figures, our grocery bill for a family of seven should approximate to $1239 per month. And astonishingly, it has regularly fluctuated in the range of $1000- $1300. My goal is to trim this monthly pile of receipts down to $830,(including diapers, wipes, hygiene products, and restaurant bills) if not less. Being able to frugally feed my nutrition-conscious husband and appease the voracious appetites of my teenagers will be my main challenge!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Everything Organic Festival at Wegman's

I am thoroughly enjoying the little coupon booklet sent out by Wegman's a couple weeks ago.  For only a minimum purchase of $10, I was able to redeem a coupon for a free 11.5 ounce bag of potato chips and a bag of frozen vegetables.  Also, by the pharmacy, $1 coupons for frozen organic vegetable bags were available, making these nutritious veggies only a dollar.

According to their free January issue of "Nature's Marketplace" (found in the organic food section), which includes a couple of great coupons, there is an upcoming Everything Organic Festival on January 21st and 28th from 11am-3pm where one can "sample Wegmans organic products," "learn more about organics," and "spin the Wheel of Fun for a chance to win a basket of organic products."

Sounds like a great time to plan a Saturday grocery shopping trip!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Heads Up on Free School Supplies

After perusing the http://www.howtoshopforfree.net/, I am looking forward to some early morning shopping tomorrow.  Avery heavy duty binders, banker's boxes, and portable file boxes can be bought and credited 100% in Staples Rewards.

This website is wonderful in finding all the free little items at Walmart and all of the various pharmacies.  If you get a chance, check it out.

A Quick Run to the Stores

Because of an afternoon nap and two free teenagers on hand, I was able to make some quick stops at some stores today without lugging around a toddler.  At Aldi's I picked up six 3 pound onion bags for only 99 cents each, four 10 pound golden potato bags for only $2.99 each, and 3 dozen eggs for only $1.09 each.

At the Dollar Tree I grabbed some Brillo boxes, brooms, and sponges.  At Walgreens I picked up a 24 Dasani water bottle pack on sale for $3.99.  I then swung by Taco Bell to buy a $20 gift card and get a free soda and chicken flatbread meal.  That promotion is over now, but the manager took my order and allowed the free incentives to ring through anyway.

And finally, my stop at Target was 'excite'ing -- five holiday boxes of Axe Excite, Dark Temptation, and the Shower pack originally $9.99 reduced to $6.98.  I used five $3 coupons, bringing down each gift pack to only four dollars, the regular price of a deodorant stick.  My boys will love this, making it worth the babysitting today, perhaps?