Couponing to Disney

Every now and then it’s nice to be reminded about why we stick to our routines.

I was at High School Church Camp last week and we didn’t get back until Friday, which means I missed my prime grocery shopping day, Thursday. And what with unpacking and cuddling my littles and cuddling my husband and doing laundry of all my stinky camp clothes, I didn’t get to to the grocery store until Sunday.

Now, Sunday afternoon has a bad rep as far as grocery shopping goes, but how bad could it really be? After all, I’ve survived getting sick at the grocery store and the entire store being rearranged, so I figured I could handle this. I did make Mr. B come along for back-up, just in case. And good thing too, because, y’all. What even is Sunday shopping?

It was bananas. We saw a friend from church in the fruit aisle and she literally said, “Shopping on a Sunday, too, huh? And with the kids? Good luck, guys.”

If last week was my grocery shopping training wheels, this was my trial by fire. There were people everywhere, hiding behind cheeses and snatching up all the good manager’s specials. The selection was low, on account of all the people and their snatching. Southern Peaches were on sale for 67 cents a pound and by the time I got to them there were literally eight left. That I snatched.

We managed to get through it, and I even felt some of the old smart shopping muscle memory returning. Here was the moment I knew I was getting back into the shopping groove. Before we left, I was looking at the receipt and I realized the Deli had charged me for Roast Beef even though I had gotten Turkey. Roast Beef is about $2 more a pound, so that wasn’t going to fly. THEN I saw that one of my Free Friday Download coupons didn’t go through. A few weeks ago, in a similar spot, I just ate the difference. But this week? I was back in fighting form. Or an approximation thereof. So back to customer service we trooped.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that when a grocery store is crazy, the customer service will be the eye of the storm. The gal manning the customer service desk had clearly been put through the ringer that day. She had that look in her eye like she was all done with the day. I couldn’t blame her. I was all done too. But a SavEar has got to do what a SavEar has got to do.

ME: Hello! I bought some Turkey at the Deli, but the sticker they put on it was for Roast Beef, which is more expensive.

HER: Do you need to go get the Roast Beef?

ME: No, thank you, I don’t want Roast Beef. I’d just like to get the correct label for my turkey and refunded the difference.

HER: Do you want me to go get the Roast Beef for you?

ME: No, thank you. I don’t want Roast Beef.

HER: You want to return the Roast Beef?

ME: No, I don’t have any Roast Beef. I have Turkey. Which is mislabeled as Roast Beef.

HER: Ok. I’m just going to refund you the Roast Beef.

I ended up getting my Turkey for free, which was great. But then I also ended up with a craving for Roast Beef.

• Albans Gummy Bears (2)-$4. They totally got me with a display of these gourmet gummy bears. I mean, c’mon, pink grapefruit gummy bears? Done.
• Bananas, .55 lb-$1.01.
• Blueberries-$2.88.
• Boar’s Head Pepperoni, .5 lb-$3.28.
• Clementines, 3 lb-$3.99.
• Dove Ice Cream Bar-$2.50. $1 off with a *Digital Coupon*.
• Ghiradelli Caramel Squares-$0. Free Friday Download *Digital Coupon*!
• Heritage Farm Chicken Breasts, 10.28 lbs-$17.39. Rare in-store sale on my fave chicken, $1.69 a lb!
• Kroger Cream Cheese (2)-$1.79.
• Kroger Rice-$1.19.
• Kroger Vanilla Extract-$5.99.
• London Broil Steak, 2.3 lb-$10.37.
• Red Gold Canned Tomatoes (2)-$1.78.
• Roma Tomatoes, 1.62 lb-$2.09.
• Romaine Lettuce, 1.07 lb-$1.59.
• Simply Organic Chicken Broth-$1.99.
• Simply Organic Coriander-$2.34. *Digital Coupon* for .50 off.
• Simply Organic Paprika-$2.67. *Digital Coupon* for .50 off.
• Sour Patch Kids-$0. Another Free Friday *Digital Download*!
• Strawberries-$2.99.
• Strip Steak, .5 lb-$3.82.
• Vidal Onions, 2.19 lb-$2.17.
• Watermelon-$2.99.
• Yellow Peaches, 3.20 lb-$2.14. $.67 a pound! A steal!
• Apps I’ll Submit to: Fetch Rewards, Ibotta (.50 off 2 Red Gold Tomatoes, .25 off Any Item)

                     Total Budget: $82.71

                     Total Spent: $80.31

                    Total Saved: $28.44

                    Rolled Over to Next Trip: $2.41

Do you ever brave Sunday shopping? Are you craving Roast Beef now, too? Tell me about it in the comments!

Kristen B. is wife to the best Prince around, mama to the spunkiest little princesses, and lover of all things Disney. She started her savings  journey three years ago and is now dedicated to making her family’s wishes come true one coupon at a time. She is so excited to take her love of saving to the next level and share her journey with you! Click here to catch up on Kristen’s Savings and join in on your own savings adventure!