First Shopping Trip with Coupons

Store: Kroger
# Items Purchased: 59
MFG Coupon Savings:  $12.00
Store Coupons & Plus Card Savings: $57.54


Total Spent: $94.73
I came $5.27 under my weekly budget....I actually used this towards my next newspaper purchase.

I shopped what was ON SALE, used the few COUPONS I could find to MATCH the sales {the amount of Q's (coupons) I use will go up as I build my coupon stash}.
THIS IS HOW YOU SAVE!!!!
I just got that...after all these years making up a list of items that I WANTED and then buying them, with very little thought. Who taught us to shop like this? You save by buying what's on SALE, then plan your menu around what was on sale.

At the moment the family is eating out of our pantry/freezer/fridge. I am stocking up on what we will need for meals ahead.

I'm just gonna highlight some of the deals that got me excited....

Paid $94.73 for $164.27 worth of products.
(final price paid after sales and coupons in parenthesis)

(10)  Sargento Shredded Cheese 8 oz $1.49 ea ($.99 ea.)
     *the Kroger brand Bar or Shredded Cheese 16 oz at $2.99
(8) Ronzoni Pasta 16 oz at 79¢ ea (makes it 24¢ ea)
-$1/2 Ronzoni Healthy Harvest
-$1/2 Ronzoni Garden Delight
-$1/2 Ronzoni Smart Taste 

(4lbs) Red Delicious, Cameo, Jonagold or Braeburn Apples at $1 lb 
(2lbs.) Bosc or Anjou Pears $1 lb
(1 bag) Kroger Value Russet Potatoes 10 lb bag at $3.99 ea
(4) Kroger Dozen Large Eggs $1.18 ea 
(2) Garden of Eatin’ Tortilla Chips 9 oz at $2 ea
-$1 off Garden of Eatin’ product  (makes $1.00 ea)
(1 bag) Jumbo Florida Navel Oranges 8 lb bag at $5.99 ea
  

Printable Coupons, Where to get them.

Here's my list of links to where i get my coupons in general. Also many times links from @SouthernSavers takes you to company websites, requiring you to sign up to be able to print off their coupons. Their legit and you do need to sign up. I suggest using an email address that is just for couponing. I already had a junk-mail email @yahoo so I used it.

1. Yahoo! Mail: The best web-based email!
2. MSN Hotmail
   
3. Gmail: Email from Google
   
4. AOL Mail: Simp
   
   
   Coupon Sites:  You will need to download a coupon printing program that will allow your printer to print out these coupons in a special format.
   
   
   
   
   SmartSource
   Coupons.com
   RedPlum.com
   Publix Clubs 
   Shortcuts.com
   Unilever Rewards
   
   
   and I also registered at Cellfire.com
   to be able to load coupons directly onto my Kroger Savings Card. In all honesty...I haven't used many of the coupons on this as much as I thought I would, and the coupons are very sparse. But hey if I get one coupon out of it...it's still a savings.
   
   I love printing coupons...why?
   
   1. They are exactly for what I want to buy.
   2. I can print up to two, (sometimes more) for one coupon.
   3. Printables are usually higher value coupons.
   4. It's easy to cut out a bulk of coupons with my paper cutter at one time. I just line the sheets up.  The coupon program formats them to line up.