Ok, so I was feeling a little Grinchy at the start of this shopping trip. First, the parking lot was packed. Which I shouldn’t have been cranky about because it’s always packed, but it was super cold because Indiana is super cold. I had no coupons. And when I say none I don’t mean no good coupons. I mean literally no coupons. My children were grumpy because we had just come from the Post Office, where I demanded they behave for exactly 12 minutes. They did it, but they weren’t thrilled about it. Did I mention it was cold?
Here we come, three little Scrooges, here for the basics and not much else. Next week is going to be a week of big meals and I’m still ankle deep in boxes from the move, so meal wise I’m playing it safe this week. Did I mention I had no coupons? Like, no coupons.
We’re at the end of our shopping trip, and my little snowgirls have mercifully kept it together. I’m passing the clearance aisle, and out of the corner of my eye I see my husband’s favorite organic candy. (Mr. B loves black licorice. I have tried to explain to him that licorice is more medicine than it is candy, but he won’t hear it. At Christmas time, I let his weird candy choices slide.) This fancy schamancy licorice is marked down from $5.49 to $2. What? Gimme all your licorice!
Look at all those treats!
And then I took a good look at the clearance aisle. Ya’ll, it was all organic, sugar free, and non GMO food. A Christmas miracle! If you’ve got a special needs diet, you know all too well that these kinds of foods can really bust a grocery budget. But hark, do I hear angels sing of Cliff Bars for .57? I grabbed a ton of licorice and Clif bars for Mr. B’s stocking. Which I did not include on the grocery trip budget. I used a separate account so that it came out of my Christmas budget.
After being under budget and leaving with some high value treats, my heart grew three sizes that day. As we grow closer to the 25th, I hope your shopping trips are filled with empty parking lots and great clearance finds.
- Bananas, 1.82 lb-$1.
- Blueberries, pint (2) -$5.98. In store sale, down from $4.50.
- Boar’s Head Pepperoni, .5 lb-$3.16.
- Clementines, 5 lb-$4.99. In store sale, down from $6.99.
- French’s Organic Ketchup-$1.99.
- Green Pepper (2)-$1.98.
- Honey Bunches of Oats (2)-$3.98.
- Kroger Canned Tomatoes (4)-$1.96.
- Kroger Chicken Broth-$1.29.
- Kroger Milk, .5 Gal-$1.19.
- Onions, 2.78 lb-$2.75.
- Pssssst Nutmeg-$1.
- Roma Tomatoes, 1.14 lb-$1.13.
- Top Round London Broil, 4.67 lb -$18.67.
- Zatarain Rice Mix (3)-$4.47.
- Apps I’ll Submit to: Fetch Rewards, Ibotta (.25 off Any Item)
Total Budget: $94.69
Total Spent: $65.57
Total Saved: $17.06
Rolled Over to Next Week: $29.12
Check back in with me next week for the big Christmas Feast shopping trip!
Have you ever done grocery clearance for shelf stable items? Do you ever venture over to the organic food sections? Tell me all 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!