Showing posts with label All You Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label All You Challenge. Show all posts

Friday, July 17, 2009

All You Grocery Challenge

I am working at this All You challenge. I don't think it's really too much of a challenge, except wouldn't ya know it, there's a lot of good deals on things I wouldn't normally buy (like energy drinks!)

I'm also not sure how to enter some of my receipts. Since household items don't count- only food. What about when you use household items to get overage to buy food? *headscratch*. At my last Publix shop, I used food to get overage to buy a gas card. I don't want to add those $70+ for the gas card, but the food didn't actually cost me anything- if anything, the food was negative- so do I subtract that from my total? Or just consider it zero? (I'm going with zero, although a negative balance would be really cool!)

At any rate, here's where (I think) I stand so far.
Monday: Food Lion $.15, Wal-Mart: $.48
Tuesday: Publix $4.75
Wednesday: Kroger $3.52
Thursday: Food Lion $.27
Friday: Publix $1.66, Whole Foods $1.31 {Burger King $5.87 <--I hate this, but that's what happens when you oversleep and are late for an appointment!}
Total so far: $18.01

examples of things we've eaten this week
Tacos, chips and salsa, diced avocado
Spaghetti, diced sauteed zucchini from the garden, corn on the cob
veggie dogs, peas, mac and cheese

If you're not familiar with this challenge, the All You WalMart magazine is challenging us to spend $25/person per week on groceries for the next 4 weeks (not including household items, beauty, etc. Basically all consumables, other than infant formula, count). Cakewalk.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Publix 7/14... no gas cards. :(

Made a trip to Publix today to get my FREE Kashi and also get another gas card. (Plus my Mom asked me to pick up a few things for her while I was there) Kashi entrees were picked over so I got a raincheck (thank goodness, since there's no room in my freezer anyway!) I had my scenarios all worked out and built up my overage to $40 to get my gas card for free. Then... no gas cards! They were all sold out! The manager said that the whole deal had been a fiasco, and the warehouse was on backorder. She said they will have them in by Friday and that they will be extending the deal through the next ad week, but you must have an original coupon from the paper to get the card. Apparently people were photocopying coupons and all sorts of who knows what and drama ensued.

Anyway, so Now here I am with a cart full of groceries, browsing up and down the aisles (where I ran into Jason- Hi Jason!) trying to decide what to fill my $40 with. I decided to go ahead and get another gift card, and finally settled on Sears since DH needs a new pair of work shoes, so he can use that toward new shoes.
Thank you Publix for helping get my husband new work shoes!

I did this in two transactions- way more than normal, but I expected to need one large one for the gas card order. Poor Ben (one of my fave cashiers) and poor Sharon (awesome manager) had to add and enter coupons, and approve... it took forever. But they were nice, smiling and friendly the entire time. (love Ben, he's awesome).

This was also the first time I asked the butcher to split up a pack of chops. I got the strangest look! I was apologetic, and said, I know it's a strange request, but I'd like to ring them up separately and be able to just toss them in the freezer as is. He said, um..ok. Then after he did it, I said, I know that was probably the oddest thing you've done. He said, it's no problem. I thanked him profusely. :)

This is also the third and fourth purchases that will go in my All You grocery challenge file. So far so good! I've spent $5.10 and saved... lots.

1 $25 Sears gift card
4 kashi entrees $1.89 ($2/1 mq $.50/1 Targetq= Free+)
12 Kashi pizzas $3.99 ($3/1 mq $.50/1 Targetq= Free+)
10 Kashi waffles $1.39 ($1.50/1 mq $.25/1 Targetq= Free+)
2 Kim & Scott's Pretzels $2.50 ($1/1 mq)
2 Ensure $6.99 ($3/1 mq) {for my grandfather}
4 Klondike bars $1.80 ($1.25/1 mq) {for my Mom}
6 First Aid travel kits $1.47 ($1/1 mq $5/3 Pxq= Free+)
14 Tylenol $3.48 ($2/1 mq $2/1 Pxq= free+)
3 Duracell AA $2.15 ($1.50/1 mq)
6 KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce $1.99 ($2/1 mq wyb charcoal= Free+)
6 13.5lb Matchlight Charcoal $7.99 w/raincheck ($4/1 mq, $3/1 FLip)
1 Ground chuck $2.87 ($2/1 mq wyb charcoal, $1/$5 beef FLip= Free+)
1 Ground Round $2.35 ($2/1 mq wyb charcoal, $2 beef Krogerq= Free+)
1 Beef cubed steak $2.89 ($2/1 mq wyb charcoal)
2 Mocha Cappuchino Bolthouse Farms 3.99 (no q's)
1.25lb sweet potatoes (no q's)
1 loin chops $.75 ($6/1 pork wyb charcoal= Free+)
1 loin chops $.69 ($6/1 pork wyb charcoal= Free+)
1 loin chops $.64 ($6/1 pork wyb charcoal= Free+)
1 loin chops $.75 ($6/1 pork wyb charcoal= Free+)
1 loin chops $.75 ($6/1 pork wyb charcoal= Free+)
1 loin chops $.69 ($6/1 pork wyb charcoal= Free+)
1 Pork country ribs $1.10 ($2/1 ribs wyb 2 KC Masterpiece= Free+)
1 Pork country ribs $.90 ($2/1 ribs wyb 2 KC Masterpiece= Free+)
1 Pork country ribs $.95 ($2/1 ribs wyb 2 KC Masterpiece= Free+)
1 Pork country ribs $1.01 (no q's- I had the butcher split up a 4-pack to satisfy my coupon requirements)
1 Tropicana OJ $3 ($1/1 mq) {for Mom}
total food tax: $6.62
total non-food tax: $10.56

Total oop: $4.75
Total saved: $366.07 (99%)