I didn’t do much grocery shopping last week, by usual standards.  I made my monthly trip to Shaw’s/Star Market to stock up on a few things I can only get there (Ginger Ale was on sale so I grabbed that too.)

Later in the week I went to Wegman’s.  I hadn’t (and still haven’t) received their new coupon booklet in the mail so I got one from the service desk.  I spent way more than the $25 required to use their coupons, but there was a lot I needed.

This was more of a complete grocery trip than I’ve ever done there.  The broccoli was the one item not on my list.  It was one of the coupon items this week and I am getting low so I took advantage of that.

Next week will be more complicated.  Tuesday I’ll be at Target (where I’ll pick up a few groceries while getting other things) and BJs.  I haven’t sorted what I’m doing at Stop & Shop, but I’ve got a bunch of extra gas points to get if I spend in $50 increments.  I’ll have to see what’s on sale.  I’ll be going there and Wegman’s on Wednesday.

Last week I explained how I prepare to grocery shop.  It’s a pretty quick task.  Since I’m not publishing menus right now I thought I’d take some time to go through what I purchased last week, why, and how I could have done better (with little additional effort).

I went to Wegman’s first.  To use all my coupons I needed to spend $25.  I spent $42 so I could have left things out.  Some combination of the Gatorades, brie, and sandwich would have been the best candidates.  But, (1) we’re using all of those things; (2) though they usually come a few weeks at a time, as of now I don’t have another set of Wegman’s coupons for a future week; and (3) I have a backlog of things I didn’t get at Stop & Shop – more on that later – to cover the $25 coupon if I do get another one.

Second I went to BJs.  Nothing particularly remarkable here.  I last went on a Sunday so I still had a bit more milk left, so I bought less of that than usual.

I used the fish for dinner that night and we had one of a very few nice family dinners this month.

Now for the big discussion.  To recap, I had a lot (by my standards) of coupons to use at Stop & Shop such that I needed to head to the register with my self scanning unit showing at least $71.  I thought this was going to be a challenge to get up to, but it ended up reading $86.45.

1. At the register, this came to $64.57 ($43.19 savings total, some of which appear on the self scanner and some of which don’t).  Taking out the P&G deal, $43.11 of this was food (see photo).
2. The hot dog buns, pizza dough (still the new terrible consistency – I really need to get my act together and find a recipe I like), and bananas were not on sale.  Everything else was.
3. I skipped the buy 12 and get them for $0.84 deal.  There was actually a better deal on the store brand tomatoes, which are fine.  And, I don’t really need tomatoes right now and if I bought them I’d have to find someplace to put them.  Most importantly, I didn’t need them to get to $71.  I did buy one mustard we needed; it was on sale for $1 instead of $0.84 because I didn’t buy 12.
4. All the underlined items on my original list were going to be cheaper elsewhere so I skipped them in favor of a future Wegman’s (or Target) trip.
5. My 300 gas points coupon is worth between $4.50 & $6.00 depending on how much gas I have left when I fill up.
6. I could have done better.  I spent $15.45 beyond what was needed.  I had another set of Tide coupons.  I could have bought another Tide for $8.99 and another grape juice or goldfish (or mushrooms which I determined after I got home I should have bought, though they’re not critical), therefore crossing the $25 line again.  So, ideally I would have shopped for non-perishable items (it was hot) until I just ticked over $71.  Paid, put those items in the car, and gone around again with another set of store & manufacturer Tide coupons which could have been used if I’d spent $25 or a total of $96.

Did I lose you in the analysis?  I feel like I did pretty well.  But, I should have thought about it more, bought the expensive stuff first to see where I stood, and gone around again.  Instead I followed my normal progression through the store which meant produce was first and P&G was almost last.  So, yes, I could have done better.

If you’ve thought at all about groceries and finances, you’ve probably heard have a price book, make a list, and stick to it.  I readily admit that I did check all my prices at one point in the past; now they’re mostly in my head.  But, since Wegman’s moved in and its been many years since I last checked everything, next fall I need to do this again.  I can shop with kids in tow (and a list); I cannot make/maintain a price book.

So, how do I make my list and why do I keep referring to needing to spend X to use all my coupons (example) when I’ve said many times I’m not a “couponer?”  Well, both Stop & Shop and Wegman’s have weekly “spend $25, get X” coupons, sometimes for other amounts.  So, to use those, which are often quite valuable, one has to spend the requisite amount after using all other coupons.  The key for me, therefore, is to maintain a constant $25 level of spending to maximize the number of times I can use those coupons.  (Obviously some weeks I will go higher based on sales/needs.  And, some weeks I skip said store altogether if I’m not going to make use of the coupons.)

So, this week I had $5 off a $25 purchase at Wegman’s (plus $2 off Health & Beauty and $1 off produce if I spent $25).  The best deal here was the kid’s toothpaste which was $2.59 or $0.59 after the coupon.  I’ll include the photo of my groceries next Monday.

The more significant trip this week is Stop & Shop because I have to spend $71 to use all my coupons.  Here’s what I’ve got:

$2 off a whole watermelon with $25 purchase (store coupon)
2 x $1 off three Old El Paso products (manufacturer coupon from coupons.com)
$2 off Tide with $25 purchase (store coupon)
$1 off Tide (manufacturer coupon from newspaper insert)
$1 off Duracel (manufacturer coupon from newspaper insert)
$3 off 2 Pampers bags (manufacturer coupon from newspaper insert)
$5 off $50 purchase (store coupon)
300 gas points with $50 purchase (store coupon)

Plus, if I spend $25 on P&G products I get an extra $5 at the register, no coupon required.  1 Tide + 1 Duracell + 2 pampers makes $25.  Sum total of coupons to stay above $50 and get the gas points = $71.

Normally this is easy to keep track of at Stop & Shop because Scan It allows you to scan as you go.  The trick this week is that they have a bunch of stuff available for $0.84 each if you buy 12.  This won’t correct until I get to the register so I’ll have to do the math in store to figure out how much above $71 I need to spend with this factored in.

Here’s my list:

It’s a little messy, but my system is the same every week.  It’s on an envelope where I can put my coupons.  The total I need to spend is in the upper right; it gets changed as I find more relevant coupons.  Stars are items on sale; parentheses indicate quantity and whether there is a coupon.  An underline means I don’t need it now, but will soon (these items help keep my spending level) or they’re fun, well priced items to make the spending amount.  Grape juice & goldfish are bracketed as these are items I can essentially buy an infinite supply of so I have a number I will buy, but I’ll get more to get to $71 if necessary.  Mustard and tomatoes are bracketed because I need to buy a total of 12 of these items.  Duracell, Tide, and Pampers are bracketed because they go together also.  Finally, I have the best price elsewhere for a few items that I’m unsure of Stop & Shop’s price on so I know whether or not to buy them.  A few cents high and I probably will because of the value of making it to $71; but $1 high (which may well happen) and I’ll leave them for another store/another day.

In summary, I do use coupons if they come my way, but I don’t spend large amounts of time hunting for them.  And, I do shop with a list, but it has some flexibility.  I’ll let you know Monday what I actually bought.