A Good Day of Grocery Shopping

Last night I wrote about a few things we would do if we faced a loss of income and everything came together this morning for a great savings trip to the grocery store. Combining a big savings event, lots of coupons and careful planning, here is what I brought home.
6 big boxes Kleenex
1 pair cleaning gloves
2 multi-packs of kitchen scrubbers
4 scrub sponges
1 bag Halls
2 boxes hot cocoa mix
3 cans chili (food bank)
4 cans evaporated milk
4 bags frozen veggies (we'll cook these on the stovetop, not in the microwave bags)
1 frozen entree
1 bag chocolate chips
6 multi-packs of yogurt/yogurt smoothies
1 gallon organic milk
1 bottle Sunny D smoothie
1 bag pepperoni
1 tub spreadable butter
1 lb. Challenge butter
1 bag Ruffles
1 bottle salad dressing
2 boxes cheese crackers (will go in Chex Mix at Christmas)

All for the grand total of.....$21.30! My receipt says I saved $98.42. I know that is a relative number, though, since I would never have paid that much for the group of groceries. Keep in mind that this is not all we will be eating this week, but will add to our stockpile and be used over the next several weeks. And if you took the photo at face value you'd think we eat a lot of junk. But that is just part of the bargain method of grocery shopping, buying things at their lowest price and then using then over a longer period of time than if you just made a list of what you need for one week and then went out and bought everything off that list. The task of maximizing savings has been greatly lightened by the ad reviews I read each week on SpringsBargains.

It was a good day and I feel like the effort paid off. And I even had all three kids with me and it was a pretty good trip in that regard, too, which is not something I often say in regards to shopping with children.