We've Moved

Okay, so the ward took a break from the food storage meetings for a bit, and then we actually moved to Cheyenne, WY! Total and complete 180 degree change ... I started blogging again on a different blog (it seemed wrong to blog on the ward blog still). It's Food Storage 365. See you there! :)

Kraft Promo - Free Food! -

Since starting the couponing, we have been able to really stock up on groceries, while keeping the same monthly budget on food. This promotion is really awesome that Kraft is offering! Buy $25 worth of groceries at Albertsons (pre-tax), here is the link to the list of okay groceries to pick up. When you check out, a $5 catalina coupon will print up for your next check out. I picked up milk & corn (it's on sale for 4/$1 right now), my out of pocket total was $0.78!
Then you mail the rebate form that prints up after check out, along with the receipt to this address:

Kraft Foods-SuperValu Back-to-School MIR Offer #511-5
P.O. Box 753854
El Paso, TX 88575-3854

Then within 6-8 weeks you will get a $20 rebate back in the mail! So you spend $25, and Kraft will give you back $25! There is a limit of 1 rebate per household.
I went on Saturday and a lot of the groceries were at the same price I would generally pay at Wal-Mart for the name brand, so it's not really any extra out of pocket then I would have paid (if I bought name brand that is). This promotion is going on until the 23rd of this month (which is also the day you HAVE to have your rebate form in the mail by as well). So go pick up some free groceries!

Saving us Money

Okay, so Bishop is encouraging us to learn to grocery shop on a budget ... so I am going to start posting again (baby #4 sure takes it out of me!) and write about the deals I see for each week. We try to keep our grocery budget around $75 - $85 a week. Some weeks I am better than others, and some weeks I don't grocery shop at all with the struggle it can be with the kids. So it usually evens out pretty well.
The first post is about the grocery produce. I usually only buy my produce at Sunflower Market. I love their store layout and Wednesdays are double ad days (where last week's and next's weeks ads over lap), so Wednesday is usually the only day I go there. Most weeks their produce is as good (if not better) of a deal than the other grocery stores right by us. You can check their weekly ads here. Looking thru them, these are the things that jumped out at me.

Last week's Ad (if you want these deals, you have to go tonight or tomorrow):

• Blueberries - 99 cents each
• Potatoes (10 lb. bag) - $2
• Pineapples - 99 cents each
• Baby carrots - $2 for 2 lbs.
• Broccoli Crowns - 88 cents each
• Pork sausage - $1.97 / lb. - this is a fun treat for us with bbq season
• Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts - $1.67/lb. - This is an awesome, awesome deal! I will probably stock up on a good 20-30 lbs and individually freeze them. It will cost more this week, but save me a TON in the long run.
• Tomatoes on the vine - 99 cents / lb.

Next Week's Ads:

• Raspberries - 99 cents / lb.
• Nectarines - 67 cents / lb.
• Cauliflower - $1.50 each
• Celery - 49 cents each
• Cucumbers - 50 cents each
• Green Bell Peppers - 50 cents each
• Limes - 10/$1

Their produce is always really fresh and I love stocking up on a good amount of produce and then "struggling" to use it all up each week.

Best Deals for April 28th - May 5th

I keep promising to do this and today seemed like a great day to start! Remember you can print two copies of each coupon on each of your home computers.
I try to limit my shopping to two stores (sometimes three if the sales are really good), just because of time/children constraints. Food 4 less had some great deals, but the other stores had more. Looking thru the ads here are the best deals I found:


Albertson's

*Coupon on front for (4) 12 packs of coke/pepsi/7 up (pair that with the $1 coupon found here)
* Coupon on front for 99 c flour tortillas
* There is a promotion going where you buy 10 Kellogg's, Keebler, Eggo or Sunshine products & you will get 2 free movie tickets:
- Purchase 10 boxes of Kellogg's cereal (on sale 2/$5) and use the Kellogg's $1 off coupons found at coupons.com - Makes it $15 for 10 boxes of cereal & 2 movie tickets!!! --If you want to get more than two movie tickets, remember to have seperate transactions for each ten items, otherwise it will only give you one set of coupons/movie tickets --
* Produce:
- 19 cents/lb. seedless watermelon (on sale only Friday - Sunday)
- 3 for 99 cents white corn (on sale only Friday - Sunday)
- 99 cents fresh express garden salad (on sale only Friday - Sunday)
- 2 for $1 red bell peppers (on sale only Friday - Sunday)


Vons
* Hamburger is on sale for 99 cents per pound - I generally buy 30-40 lbs. when this happens. Cook & freeze some in individual lb. sections, make meatloaf, etc.
* Keebler Fudge Shoppe Cookies - 99 cents each (limit 3)
* Mini Baby Peeled Carrots - 2 lb. bag for $2.50


Smith's
* Food Storage Item of the Week!!!
- Peanut Butter (Kroger brand) creamy or crunchy - $1 for 18 oz. - Remember the suggested storage amounts are 4 lbs. per adult, this is the best price I've seen since we stocked up on peanut butter last April!
* Gatorade - 88 cents each
* Sunny D - $1 for 64 oz. - this is the only price I buy juice at.
* Navel Oranges - 50 cents/ lb.
* Red, Seedless Grapes - 89 cents/ lb.
* Apples - 99 cents/lb.
* Pork Chops - 99 cents/ lb.


Smith's gets shipments in of food nearly every day, so hit them in the morning if they are out of something you want, or get a rain check for next week if you need to. We've been bulk buying long enough now to be able to limit most of our shopping to just the best deals and the produce and call it good each week. I check out a thrifty mom's site, deal seeking mom & southern savers for links to some awesome coupons & ways to shop cvs/walgreens!!! Another great coupon to print up: purell hand sanitizer ($2 off of 2).

Pandemic Prevention

As I began to read a bit about the swine flu that is going around, one article even made the comment that this could be a pandemic. Personally, I am going to believe that it won't get that far. It's a flu/cold and will be okay. But ... it got me thinking. Where am I on my 3 month supply? If I needed to stay home for an extended period, could I? Between the cereal deals and such, we are definitely covered on breakfast ... but snacks, lunch/dinners, medicines for colds and even diapers get sketchy.
The church recently added a new section on pandemics. It's definitely worth taking a look over. Here's the link, hope you find some of the information helpful! :)

Thrifty Deal on Cereal @ Albertson's!!!

Okay, so remember the rule about never paying more than 10 cents an ounce for cereal? Well, this week you can get your cereal for less than 5 cents an ounce at Albertson's!!! How?

Well, after checking out with 5 boxes of Post Cereal @ the $1.57 price, a $5 coupon will print up for your next check out. Then buy another 5 boxes @ the $1.57 price, and scan that $5 off coupon for the next check out. This will take the price of the cereal down to 65 cents a box! Each check out (as long as you check out with 5 boxes of the POST cereal), a new $5 off coupon will print up for you.

Trying to eliminate any annoyance, I just did the self-check out. Just remember, that most debit/credit cards will limit the number of transactions you can do in a single day (Cumorah Credit Union is 10 per day), so don't go too crazy!

One other thrifty deal for the week ...

One of the things that I've been trying to focus on is my 3 month supply. While working on that, I realized the little things add up quickly! Cleaning supplies, tooth brushes, tooth paste, etc. can get pricey. So here's some coupons to help you get at least one cleaning item.

Remember, you can press your back button and print two copies of each coupon on your computer. This last week (and the coupons are still good thru the 11th at Target), I picked up Pledge multi-surface spray for about $0.59 each. I tried it today (so much fun cleaning with a new, almost free cleaner!) and it worked great on the windows, electronics, and mirrors in my home. Here's the pledge coupon (link here), and you can stack it with a Target coupon (link here) - just scroll down a little-.