Unplanned Surprises

Shopping is fun when you know going into the grocery store that you are going to save money. It's even better when you find extra ways to save more money once you get into the store. Today, I knew without a doubt I would be saving money on cereal. With the advertised savings discount on Kellogg's, and the sale on General Mills cereals, I would save at least 50%.

Fast forward a bit, and I managed to save $22 on cereal alone. That's a half a tank of gas. If you asked one of your non coupon friends if they wanted a $20 bill, they would say "Yes." If you asked them if they wanted a half tank of free gas, they would say, "Yes." Sometimes, even the veteran coupon users forget how much we get back when we check out at County Market. My total out of pocket was $49.63, my Coupons Total was $16.49, and my advertised savings (Thank you County Market) was $29.87. With some quick math, I save around 50% on my shopping ticket. I bought Produce, and some Farmland Bacon. Which I am going to file a produce rebate later.

Then I got to thinking about a friend of mine who just can't seem to make ends meet. She only uses coupons when I hand them to her. Yet, she'll walk in the store and buy cereal off the shelf each week at whatever the price may be because her kids eat 3 boxes per week. With my stock up on cereal this week, and my kids eating 3 boxes per week, my family will **CONSUME $11.88 in cereal this month, where her family will **CONSUME $41.76 in cereal just this month.

We're only talkin' cereal. Do the math on all her groceries, and we can easily see why she is having a difficult time managing her grocery bills. We are consuming the same amounts each month, yet she is paying 4x as much as I am for the exact same products. She's not having fun. I am having a blast! You are having a blast.

I had a bit more fun today. I stopped by the liquor department and found two new items. I picked up a Corona $10 rebate form on Beef, Seafood or Poultry. I still have my hamburger receipt from last week laying around so I'll get $10 there. It came as a peelie on the side of the box, and has $1.00 off any 2 Old El Paso coupon, and $1.00 off 2 Mission Chips. I posted the Catalina savings on Old El Paso that is starting, so I may just get some Old El Paso for free next week.

This is fun. Plain and simple, shopping and finding free deals, it's fun. If you haven't been treasure hunting in your County Market store, try it! Keep saving that money, and if you have a non coupon friend, send them to the blog. Maybe we can making shopping for fun for them too.

**CONSUME Quick note here. Sometimes we only look at what we spend per week, and not how much we are saving as we actually consume the products. It's a good feeling to remember as we use the groceries to remember that our attention to sales and coupons really put money in our pockets!