It's been so long since I have grocery shopped you are all probably wondering if we have eaten at all in the last few weeks. I finally made it to Publix Thursday after about two weeks of surviving on things from the freezer and eating down our fridge. We also recently made a change to our grocery budget that has helped me avoid the grocery store as well.
As you may know, We have a weekly cash grocery/household items budget of $80. (Read more about it HERE) I supplement that budget with gift cards from blog promotions or rebates as well. Many weeks we are way under $80 so I just roll that cash into "excess grocery money" and save it in case we go over in the future. I also use that extra cash to pay for our twice a year Zaycon chicken order too.
We found that we were ending up with lots of extra grocery cash which was great because we used it to visit the farmers' market or pay other bills. Recently we had an opportunity to join an organic produce share and we decided to try it for awhile. We get our share every other week and pay $45 for each share. We are loving it so far. We may not have a ton of extra cash in our household budget but the chance to have a variety of produce every other week is well worth it.
Not only do we get fresh organic produce but it working out to be a much better deal financially than buying everything at Publix. We are having to think outside the box recipe wise but it has been fun. It was a good time to introduce it into our budget as well since I had $75 in Publix gift cards from My Blog Spark promos so I have been able not spend any cash for groceries lately (this week included) which is allowing me to build up some reserve cash to cushion the expense of the produce over the next few weeks.
Here is what we got this week:
- Sweet Baby Broccoli
- Red Bell Peppers
- Brussels Sprouts
- Baby Garnett Sweet Potatoes
- Yellow Onions
- Zucchini
- Collards
- Baby Kale
- Romaine
- Slicing Tomatoes
- White Mushrooms
- Kiwi Berries
- McIntosh Apples
- Ruby Grapefruit
- Cantaloupe
- Bananas
I only spent $25 of my gift cards this week and I was very happy to replenish our yogurt supply and grab a few super deals too. Our fridge is looking full again and our freezer will be very full in two weeks when our fall Zaycon order arrives. I am really hoping to get back on schedule for real this time and get back to my weekly Thursday trips and posts.
Breakdown of Thursday's Publix trip:
Total retail vaule $82.97
Total spent (paid with gift card): $24.53
Total saved: $58.44
Percent saved: 70%
What I got with sale/coupon match ups:
- 1 Yucatan Guacamole, retails for $2.99
- Used a $3 off Facebook coupon
- Made it FREE
- 3 Pillsbury Grands Biscuits, retails for $2.29 each, on sale for $1.25 each
- Used a $1/3 printable coupon (zip 77477)
- Stacked with a $2/3 Publix coupon from the Make It Italian Publix Booklet
- Made them .25 cents each
- 2 DiGiorno Pizzas, retails for $7.49 each, on sale for $5.00 each
- Used a $2/2 Printable coupon
- Stacked with a $1.50/2 Target Catalina coupon
- Made them $3.25 each
- 4 bags of Green Giant Veggie Chips, retails for $2.65 each, on sale for $2.00 each
- Used four .50 cents off printable coupons
- Stacked with a $2/4 Publix coupon from the Green Ad. Flyer
- Made them $1.00 each
- 1 box of Chobani Champion Greek Yogurt tubes, retails for $2.89, on sale for $2.00
- Used a $1 off coupon
- Made it $1.00
- 2 Marzetti Simply Dressed Salad Dressings, retails for $3.69 each, on sale BOGO ($1.84 each)
- Used two $1 off printable coupons
- Made them .84 cents each
- 2 McCormicks Gourmet Spices, retails for $3.79 each
- Used two $2 off printable coupons (use zip 33033)
- Used a $1.50/2 Publix green ad. flyer coupon
- Made them $1.04 each
- 4 Chobani Greek Yogurts, retails for $1.25 each, on sale for $1.00 each
- Used four .55 cents off printable coupons (use zip code 30187)
- Made them .45 cents each
- 3 bags of Publix Steamer Bags of Brown Rice, retails for $1.39 each, on sale for $1.00 each
- 1 package of Mission Tortillas, retails for $2.79, on sale for $1.99
- Used a .55 cents off peelie
- Made it $1.44
- 5 Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurts, retails for $1.20 each
- Used a $1/5 blinkie coupon
- Made them $1.00 each
- 2 cartons of Swanson Chicken Broth, retails for $2.69 each, on sale BOGO ($1.34 each)
- Used a .50/2 printable coupon
- Made them $1.09 each
- 1 half gallon of Silk Almond Milk, retails for $3.35
- Used a $1 off printable coupon ( no longer available)
- Made it $2.35
- 1 carton of All Egg Whites, retails for $2.79
- Used a .75 cents off Publix coupon from the Green Ad. Flyer
- Made it $2.04
