House of Lloyd

My total grocery bill today was $173.54 prior to BOGO and coupons. I paid $120.09 for a savings of $53.45. I could have done much better if I would have stayed out of the deli. I spent $20.86 on deli lunch meat when I could have purchased pre-packed meat for much less. I don’t feel too bad about it since I don’t make a habit out of buying deli meats, it is a once in a while treat that the family enjoys. I  actually had to pay for toothpaste for the first time in over a year, because I forgot to clip the coupon I needed. (more…)

I am getting back into the swing of shopping. I still can not shop alone because I am unable to lift anything over four or five pounds, so Caleb went with me today to help out. This week my total before BOGO and coupons was $175.52. I paid $112.20 which means I saved $63.32. (more…)

It has been four weeks since my last formal shopping trip. For the past several weeks we have lived off of our stock pile and the wonderful meals provided by the ladies of our church. I am very thankful for my friends and stockpile because they have enabled me to focus on recovery and not shopping. Today as I looked up sales on-line, matched, and clipped coupons I realized how much I had not missed this task. Coupon shopping takes time to organize and this type of shopping takes time to execute in the store. However, the savings I achieve from coupon shopping are well worth my time and effort. (more…)

Saturday I had fun shopping with the kids. I do not normally take the kids shopping with me but today I thought they needed to go. I took the kids because we were doing shopping for “Give a Kid a Chance.”  I like for the kids to do this shopping with me so that they can learn the importance of giving to others.  The purpose of “Give a Kid a Chance” is to provide children in our community with needed school supplies to start the year off right. In the economy we are currently experiencing there will be many families needing help with basic school supplies this year. As a teacher, Christian, former foster parent and mom I feel a huge desire to help with this cause as much as I can. (more…)

So it had to happen sooner or later, and it happened this weekend.  I had to go grocery shopping.  Our stock pile is starting to get really low since we have been living off of it for three weeks.  It has really been nice to not feel pressured to shop since I have been so busy with school.  Even without shopping my family was still able to have well balanced meals. This was NOT a great week for deals at the grocery store, but I still did pretty good with finding a few good deals today.

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My schedule has been jammed packed for the past two weeks I have NOT had time to grocery shop.  My shopping trips have consisted of just running in and grabbing milk, eggs, fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. It is a good thing that I have a stockpile of commonly used groceries in my home.  Without a stockpile I would not have been able to skip the actual shopping for two weeks in a row.  Of course, I probably have missed some really good deals because I have not shopped. However, missing a few good deals does not trump the time I have saved myself this week by living off of our stock pile.

The great thing about coupon shopping is the ability to purchase items at a cheaper price.  The even greater thing about coupons is saving them for use until the item is on sale so that you drive the purchase price down even lower.  I buy most items only when they are on sale and I have a coupon to further reduce the price.  Some people ask,  “why buy it if I don’t need it?”  You buy it when you can get it almost free and save it or stockpile it for when you need it. It takes about six to nine weeks to get a good stockpile of almost free groceries. Most grocery items have a long shelf life so you really do not have to be concerned with your purchases spoiling.

You never know when you will be unable to shop due to unforeseen circumstances, so it is a wise idea to have generous stockpile stored in your home.  During the past 6 months or so we have lived off of our stockpile several times due to illness and our busy schedules.  We have also been able to donate to others in need just by grabbing things off of our storeroom shelves to give as donations.  I love my stockpile.  I don’t know if I will have time for a formal shopping trip this week, but if I don’t it will be alright because I still have plenty in the storeroom.

Our church is helping to collect back packs and schools supplies for “Give a Kid a Chance.”  The goal is to provide back packs, and needed school supplies to those in need throughout our community.  I look forward to helping provide back packs for this event each year.  We make it a family event to go shopping for the supplies, and we stuff the back packs as a family.  Participating in this event has been one way for us to teach our children about giving to others in need, and giving with a joyful heart. We also, have used this time to teach about giving “quality.”  While I do love to save money, I do not skimp on quality when providing items for charity events. I will look for the best deals on items, but will not settle on the cheapest item if I must sacrifice quality.   We want to provide back packs, notebooks and other supplies that will last and not fall apart within the first few weeks of school.   (more…)

Every penny saved counts.  This was an awesome week for grocery shopping at Publix.  I was running low on rice and cereal and was able to stock up on both.  It was also a good week to stock up on ziplock bags.  My total before coupons and BOGO was $187.53, I paid $68.75. (more…)

My weekly grocery shopping trip helped to restock the pantry. We were running low on several items so I was glad to see sales on cereal and pasta. My total grocery bill came in at $232.52 however after coupons and buy on get one deals I only paid $56.75. Not too shabby. We needed a few items that I did not have coupons for so those pushed my total up a little bit. (more…)