Weekly Totals 3/1 – Share Your Savings!

Happy Friday everyone!

I didn’t get a chance to shop last week, so I wanted to hit the Italian Days sale before it ended. I was a little bummed that the mushrooms were not as good of a deal as we have seen in the past. But…some savings is better than none. I typically stock up for the whole year but they were a bit too expensive to grab as many as I would have liked. I generally like to use fresh but like to have the jar mushrooms on hand for casserole and other recipes.

After a little pantry accident last week where I knocked over an entire shelf, I decided that I was going to try to use up things I have on hand for the next couple of months. I don’t consider myself too extreme when it comes to stocking up. But, things can get out of hand quickly if you don’t pay close attention to your inventory. Even buying just a few of the best deals each week can really add up. As an example…I rarely use boxed potatoes so having 10 on hand (each box has two pouches) means that I need to make them at least 2 times each month or they will go bad! That goes for the rice mixes, stuffings and other boxed sides that I have a ton of – but rarely use!!

I sent my husband down to the deep freeze to put away my frozen items and he returned telling me to “Stop shopping!” Even my freezer is filled to the max. So–this will probably be the last big list you see for a while. I have to use what I have. I am hoping that this will help me get more creative with meals and I can focus my budget on perishable items that we will need each week.

I will be honest, the idea of not shopping for the best deals makes me a bit uneasy. I don’t want to get into a situation where I have to pay full price for items that I could have got when they were on sale. I hope to spend a few hours this weekend coming up with a big list of meals that I can make using what I have. That way I can schedule them based on sales and use up what I currently have.

Ore-Ida Fries x 3 = $5
Alexia Bread x 2 = $0 (two $2.50/1 Alexia IP)
Hillshire Farm Sausage x 4 = $9 (two $1.50/2)
Jimmy Dean = $1.69 ($2 wyb JD & OJ)
Johnsonville = $2 ($1/1 IP)
Seapack Shrimp = $3.59 ($2/1 IP)
Sea Cuisine x 2 = $2.70 (two $2/1 IP)
Pepperidge Farm Texas Toast x 2 = 90¢ (two $1/1 IP)
Milk = $3.29
Go-gurt = $1.39 ($0.50/1 IP)
Tropicana = $3
Tomato = 77¢
Bananas = $1.15
Apples = $4.99
Green Giant Shrooms x 12 = $12.99 (three $1/4 Publix coupons)
Green Giant Canned veggies x 8 = $3.16 ($1/4 PQ)
Pop Tarts x 3 = $2.98 ($1/3 TQ & IP)
Ronzoni x 2 = $1.59
Hunt’s Tomatoes x 6 = $1.97 ($2 wyb hunts & alexia)
Duncan Donuts Coffee = $6.99

I spend a little over $72 this week. Since I didn’t shop the week before it will even out. Hopefully I will not need to spend a lot of money for quite a while.

How did you guys do this week? Leave a comment or link to your weekly totals.