Publix For Big Savings

I'm always intrigued by those people that can buy $200 worth of groceries for about $20 by using coupons and sales. That just doesn't work in my little world. I've realized that the deals out there aren't as slap yourself in the face good as they used to be, but there are still some deals to be had. I don't have the time to devote hours of my day to clipping and sorting coupons or scouring ads for the best deals ever. I tend to limit my grocery shopping to Aldi and Publix and a local Piggly Wiggly (if their ad is really good or I need something RIGHT NOW because they are on my way to and from work). I'll check out my Target's grocery department if I'm there anyway, but for the most part.... well, I'll spend maybe an hour per week working on my Publix couponing --- and that's plenty. I don't believe in having a couple years supply of anything stashed in my house. Anyway, here is what I picked up the other day....

2 Sea Pak Shrimp
1 Digiorno Frozen Pizza
2 Stouffers Family Size Entrees
3 Crystal Light
3 Voskos Greek Yogurt
2 Beneful Snackers Dog Treats
3 Boxes Publix Tampons
2 Bottles of Wine
1 20 oz Coke (free product coupon)
1 Reese's (Publix free product coupon when you buy a 20 oz coke!)

Spent: $44.83
Saved $44.54 or 49.8%





Spent: $44.83

Taking Care of Grocery Business

Popped in to Alid this week to pick up some lunch stuff and a few other things we were running low on. I just love that I can go in there and spend so little to get so much compared to other stores sometimes! So, this is what I picked up:

1 Lowfat Cottage Cheese
1 Fit & Active Deli Cheddar Slices
2 Ranch Dressing Mix
1 Fit & Active Ham Lunch Meat
2 Chocolate Weight Loss Shakes
1 Shredded Cheddar (16 oz)
1 Turkey Bacon
2 Mangoes
Bananas
1 Egg Noodles
2 Fit & Active Weight Loss Shakes (4 packs)
1 Cranberry Juice
1 Oat Bran Bread

Spent: $30.96

Baked or Fried?

I make quesadillas for dinner on a pretty regular basis. They are easy and you can make them with just about any meat you have leftover, and put just about anything in them. The Princess is always happy with quesadillas.

Generally, I cook them in a skillet, they get all golden brown and yummy and they are a fabulous dinner.... but doing them in the skillet is pretty time consuming. So, a few people at work were telling me they did them in the oven, and it was "just as good" but SOOO much faster.

So tonight, I gave it a try. Hands-on time was definitely reduced. But just as good? Meh. Not so much. They didn't get golden brown, they didn't blend inside the tortillas as well, and they didn't cut into wedges as neatly. I was not a fan. So, I told the Princess to be brutally honest about them.

I shouldn't have asked --- she LIKED the oven baked ones. Sheesh.

The Heat Is On (Literally)

This is the month of May. This is Alabama. I should NOT have to have the heat on in the month of May in Alabama. It's just not right. I was thinking towards the end of last week how nice it was that I'd gone a full week without having to use the AC or the Heat at all. That's what I get for thinking....

Saturday morning dawned rainy and cold. We managed to get through the morning a bit chilled, but not too bad before we headed out for shopping and then for my niece's graduation party. When we finally got home Saturday evening, the temp inside the house was 61. It was way chilly and dropping (and yes, we Southerners whine about 61 being COLD). So, I gave in and turned on the heat. IN MAY. IN ALABAMA. Grrrrrr.

I had hoped that by today, I'd be able to flip it back off. No such luck.... it is still rainy. And chilly. The kind that sets in on your bones. Is a real spring too much to ask? I'm starting to think maybe so!

 

Shopping With The Princess Is Dangerous

So, Friday we found out that my brother and his wife are expecting a little girl, due in September. We are absolutely tickled. Little girls' clothes are so fun --- and we haven't had a little girl in the family to shop for since The Princess. She's 18 now. I already knew that I could get myself into trouble shopping for baby clothes. What I didn't realize was how dangerous The Princess would be!

The Princess and I stopped at Target yesterday to each pick up a few things. We split up to get the stuff we each needed to get. After a bit the Princess called me saying that she was over in the "baby department". My mistake was going over there to meet up with her. Yikes.

We were flipping through the clearance racks..... and each of us were like "ooh! isn't this cute" and "awwww, how sweet". She did remark several times in a louder than necessary voice, "I think they will LOVE this!" --- I guess trying to make sure no one thought we were shopping for her! Ha! Anyway, after piling my cart full, we finally realized we were going to be late to where we were going and decided we needed to eliminate a few things..... that wasn't especially successful.
I just about stroked out when my total rang up at check out.

As we walked out to the car she said, "You know Mom, you really should know better than to go shopping with me." Yeah, well, NOW I know.....

Lesson learned: Do NOT take the Princess shopping with me! I mean I KNEW you don't take kids to the grocery store, but it never crossed my mind to not let her loose in the baby deparment!

Stress + Headache = Budget Busting

This has been a week.from.hell. Without going into a lot of detail, this just has NOT been a good week. All I can really say is that it has translated into huge headaches at the end of the day. Those headaches meant I did NOT want to cook dinner at all. Enter the budget busting. Wednesday night's headache translated to carryout pizza. $15 dollars worth. Last night's headaches meant $15 in Chinese food.

While $30 isn't really THAT much in the grand scheme of things, it does mean that I have very little left for dinners out this month ---- and I'd penciled in a couple of meet ups with some of my friends. Those will likely have to be pushed to June since with a birthday, Mother's Day and my niece's graduation.... well, May is pretty expensive as it is.

Oh well.... I guess I'll get out the pencil and calculator and start crunching numbers. That won't be stressful at ALL.

Just A Few Groceries

I love that lately Aldi has been running a lot of mark-down specials. Basically, they get products in for their "special features" that run on some sort of theme, and then a couple weeks later, run them deeply discounted to get them out the door. As a result -- I've seriously stocked up on their "Deluxe" versions of Mac & Cheese for .69/box. Anyway, I just needed a few things this week, but took advantage of some of those mark downs too. This is what I got:

4 Deluxe Mac & Cheese
2 Fit & Active Tomato Soups
Strawberries
Sweet Potatoes
Bananas
Onion Powder
Fit & Active Drink Mix (their version of Crystal Light)
Risotto
Pierogies
Sea Salt
Shredded Cheese
2 Fit & Active Weight Loss Shake (4 Packs - their version of Slim Fast)

Spent: $26.32