Grocery list time!

So today is REALLY slow in my office and I am blessed to have the freedom and flexibility to do a little bit of personal stuff on company time :) I have previously gone through my pantries (yes, I maintain two) and made a list of frequently used items with brands and quantities. While this original list took a bit of time it has been extremely helpful in the long run. I then took the list to my three favorite grocery stores and compared the regular prices. I then sorted the list by store so I know things like Cottonelle Brand Aloe and E toilet paper is cheaper at Meijer's regular price than Kroger's sale price. This way when I write my grocery list for my next shopping trip I can pretty quickly compare the sale prices with what I usually pay and factor in my coupons to see which store is really going to save me money. I also know which stores honor double coupons and have learned (without trying) my main grocery store's sale rotation schedule i.e. toilet paper and chicken go on sale every three - four weeks. Also, don't forget that a $0.75 off coupon at a store that doubles them up to $0.99 is worth more than a $1.00 coupon.

Also, I tend to read grocery store ads side-by-side (Kroger and Meijer usually) and really compare prices. If I know I have coupons for Pillsbury Crescent Rolls I look at both prices and really do the math on sales such as 4/$5, etc to see which unit price is cheapest.

For example: we have replaced one breast milk feeding per day on the days I work with Similac so that should I get stuck in traffic or be running late and our sitter is out of breast milk Little Bit is not miserable. I thought I had found a great deal at Kroger when ready-to-eat Similac Advance was on sale for $3.91 a bottle (regularly about $5.58). By chance I ran into Meijer to grab some items for work and stopped to check out their price on the same item. WOW! $3.84 was the Meijer regular price! I printed $3.00 off coupons from my favorite coupon site http://www.coupons.com/ and therefore paid $0.84 a bottle!

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