1/2 price.

A little disappointed I didn't plan ahead for Cyber Monday. I saw everything on NY&Co. is 50% off; I probably missed out on good deals. I don't have a lot of Christmas shopping to do though, and I did snag a John Piper bundle for $10. (4 books.) Pretty excited about that.

After a long weekend, I was very glad to be back at work today. 4 days away, and I missed it! Very productive day on the project. Finished WKS preschool and started on children's WKS. I anticipate finishing by lunch tomorrow ... or soon after, depending if my morning meetings will actually last 2 hrs. There are still some discs MIA, but considering I'm pulling close to 500 archived activities, I'm not stressing too much about the dozen or so I've yet to locate. I'm finding that I very much enjoy doing things that I am good at. And in addition to editing, I am good at grocery shopping.

Kroger's sales the last couple of weeks have been pretty disappointing, and I didn't shop except for milk and eggs. I was surprised by their sale this week that hasn't even been mentioned on the two money saving blogs I read. But basically this week, Kroger has turned into a dollar store. I made a trip tonight and bought 38 items worth $78.11 for a total of $39.45.

That's a savings of $38.66, averaging the cost about $1 an item. Here's what I bought:

Betty Crocker cookie mix (-.80) = 1.20
4 Martha White muffin mixes (-1.00) = .75/ea
French's french fried onions (-1.00) = 2.00
Dole canned pineapple (-1.00) = FREE
3 Lean Pockets (-1.00) = 1.67/ea
2 pasta bowls (-1.00) = 1.50/ea
4 Wrigley 3-pk. gum (sale) = 1.00/ea
Quaker Quakes rice snack (-1.00) = FREE
Kroger hashbrowns (sale) = 1.67
6 Pillsbury refrigerated cinnamon rolls (-2.60) = .57/ea
Secret deodorant (-1.00) = 1.49
Fleischmann's yeast strip (-1.00) = 0.49
2 Barilla pasta (sale) = 1.00/ea
2 Rice-a-Roni (sale) = 1.00/ea
2 Kroger peanut butter (sale) = 1.00/ea
Kroger 6-pk. popcorn (sale) = 2.00
Kroger soap refill = 3.86*
Hunts ketchup (sale) = 1.19
Pillsbury cake mix (sale) = .94
Betty Crocker frosting (-1.00) = .67
Kroger salad dressing (sale) = 1.00

*liquid soap was the only thing I bought that wasn't on sale, but that will fill up my soap dispenser at least 6 times. Which is like buying the pump version for 0.64 every time.

Here are some rules I stick to:
1) Sale. New Kroger ads are online on Sundays. My grocery list centers around the sale ad. Also, Kroger doubles coupons. This is a BIG deal and is why I don't buy groceries at Walmart or Target.
2) Stock up. If you can get it cheap and you have room in your budget, buy multiple. This is why I bought 2 jars of peanut butter, 4 packs of gum, and 6 cans of cinnamon rolls. They have long shelf lives.
3) Store brand. So you don't have to pay for the advertising and fancy packages. Most of the time the quality is the same. I agree sometimes (and only sometimes, I would even dare to say rarely) it's not as good, but I'm pretty sure frozen vegetables are all the same no matter how good the packaging looks.
4) Coupons. Coupons. Coupons. I don't get the Sunday paper, but my mom clips coupons for me and mails them. If I find a great sale, sometimes I will print coupons off the Internet. (I get my printer ink for a low price here.)
5) Budget. And stick to it. I allow $120/mo. for groceries, which is a lot for one person, but I include anything I buy at Kroger (including shampoo, soap, Tylenol, TP, etc.) in this category and usually don't hit my limit.
6) Self-control. Don't impulse buy. Stick to your list. If you really, really, really want it, pass it by. You probably won't even want it tomorrow. If you do, consider your budget first before going back to make the purchase. I also tie this one into motive. You should be a good steward of your God's money.
7) Attention to detail. Sure that $1 pack of 2 Dial soap bars sounds like a good deal, but is it? Stores provide this tiny piece of information on the prices, so pay attention. It's called price per oz. Even if it is $1, don't pay 18.8 cents per oz. when you can get the 6 pk. for 12 cents per oz. Soap keeps.
8) Wear your seatbelt. OK, this has nothing to do with shopping. But seriously, wear your seatbelt.
9) Don't lower your standards. I refuse to pay more than $2 for a box of cereal, more than 25 cents per can for soda, more than $1 for a carton of eggs, or $1.50 for a 3-pk. of gum. Sometimes this means simply not buying something I don't really need, or waiting until there is a sale. Even if it means waiting for weeks. Patience, grasshoppa.

I'm still pretty stocked up from last month. I think I'll try to live on what I have this month. The portion sizes for those pasta bowls are huge, so I can split them and have 4 lunches for .75/ea. (And they have meat in them!) And I don't even really like pineapple, but how can I turn down a free can? It would probably be good in the stir fry vegetables and rice frozen mix I bought a couple of weeks ago for 0.88. Mmm. Now I need to stop eating popcorn for dinner and start cooking!