My 2012 Grocery Bag Brag! (Ongoing updates with Pics and Tips!)

[$avvy$hopper]

Hi everyone! Thanks for following my quest to lower our $OOP on groceries! We saved A LOT in 2011 and look forward to even better savings in 2012. As you read, here's how things are organized:

Post #1 will show the totals for each month's groceries and all discounts/other money used to lower my actual $ spent out of pocket.

Post #2 will show the pictures and details of my most recent shopping trips and any surprise deals found.

Post #3 is a list of tips that have helped me stay organized while finding the best deals and coupon matches to get the best bang for our grocery spending dollars! Various links to other threads on SC are included to make life easier!
You're invited to share your own tips for inclusion in the list too!

____________________________________

MARCH 2012

Total Value of Groceries Purchased: $379.45
Total Coupons/Points Used: $185.69
Total Gift Cards/Other Money Used: $54.80

Total $OOP for March 2012: $128.94 ($32.23 each week)

That's pretty much $11 per person per week! Now that's math I can get excited about!

FEBRUARY 2012
After scoring some amazing deals on Feb 29 (Lucky Leap Day of Deals for me!) and accumulating A LOT of "Other Money", Feb's totals are fantabulous!!

Total Value of Groceries Purchased: $234.09
Total Coupons/Points Used: $83.47
Total Gift Cards/Other Money Used: $75.88

Total $OOP for February 2012: $74.74 which is approx. $17 each week!!!!!


JANUARY 2012
I've completed my shopping for the month and am happy to have a good stock of food to carry us into early Feb with no big shops required for a bit!

Here's how the monthly totals rolled out:

Total Value of Groceries Purchased: $293.09
Total Coupons/Points Used: $59.63
Total Gift Cards/Other Money Used: $59.50

Total $OOP for January 2012: $173.96 which is approx. $43 each week!!!!!

[$avvy$hopper]

April 7 The Free/Almost Free Grocery Spree!!
With some "other money" waiting to be used, I hit the stores with my list. I was going to buy more stuff but settled with what we needed just for the week. Besides, the stores were CRAZY BUSY..parking lots were even worse!



Walmart
1x Mushrooms $1.97
1x Eggs (extra large, brown) $3.47
1x margarine $0.95
1x Lettuce $0.77
1x Hellman's mayonnaise $2.97
Total $10.13
Less $10 GC from Ontario Health Survey!
Total $OOP: $0.13

Freshco
2x Minigo yogurt - $o.50 coupon = $1.48 (each had a $0.75 coupon on it!)
tomatoes $1.05
bananas $1.52
Total: $4.05
Total $OOP: $0 (paid with consignment money!)

Metro
2x Olymel chicken strips $4.99ea - 2x $2.50 coupons = $4.98
1x red onion $1.23
Sweet red peppers $1.71
Steak (2pk) $7.87
Pork Chops $5.32 (earned 2 bonus airmiles!)
Total: $21.11
Less $20 Metro voucher from Airmiles and balance of money from consignment
Total $OOP: $0!!

Food Basics
Sweet Potatoes $2.34
Pears $1.28
Strawberries $1.77
Baby Carrots $1.97
Whole Wheat Tortillas $1.99
Total $OOP: $9.35

SDM
2x Eggs @ $1.99 ea
Total $OOP: $3.98

Just over $13 out of pocket...I'm loving it!

[$avvy$hopper]

Free Product Coupons (FPCs)
You can usually find these right on a product or they can be earned through special offers and contests. Some will require a sign up or like (Facebook offers), others may require you to collect and enter codes/pins (Stouffers/Lean Cuisine, Pop n Win, icoke et al). The "Freebies" and "Deals" sections of SC can help keep you up to date on which FPCs are out there!

A shopping free-spree is lots of fun with the FPCs in hand, but of course SCers kick it up a notch by ensuring the FPCs not only earn them a free product but also earn another reward like Airmiles or Sobey's club points.

I'll use Metro as the example: When Metro has their Spend $60 earn 30 bonus airmiles or when they offer 10 bonus airmiles on a product (orange juice for example), you can use your FPCs as part of your purchase totalling $60...even though you'll spend much less after the coupons are deducted, so long as you had $60 worth of stuff in your cart you'll get the bonus airmiles. My best shop at Metro was getting $35 worth of groceries for free, used an FPC for every item, paid $0 and also earned 25 bonus airmiles. It was fabu.

See Koolaid's "shock and awe" rack up of Airmiles at Metro using her FPCs for Oasis juice during a product bonus event! She earned 117 airmiles and spent very little after the coupons and other deductions. You need 175 Airmiles to redeem for a $20 Metro grocery voucher from Airmiles Rewards so she's well on her way to cashing in again- super cool eh? Read it here if you haven't already seen it: http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/264824-...o-brag-canada/

Rexall and Sobeys also award airmiles/points on FPCs during bonus events. See manzervite's rack up of free stouffers AND $30 in Sobey's points using her FPCS: http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/269639-...obey-s-canada/. I'll spend more time going over the Sobeys flyer in the future for sure!

IGA runs various bonuses including a "free product when you spend $70" promo. 2010ontest has listed tips and examples in post #38 of this thread!

Products with Coupons on the Box/Packaging
I've just noticed this thread started by minouchefreedom http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/200052-...-offer-canada/. A few I knew of but a lot that I didn't know about. Check it out!


Meal Plans
This handy dandy template has saved me lots of time and facepalms. http://theprojectgirl.com/downloads/...alplanner2.pdf
No more "oh, I forgot to get the X" or "shoot, I still need 5 more ingredients for this new recipe I found". Ha ha! Those days are over! The meal planner helped us get organized in the kitchen (and test out new dishes), and it's helped me rotate my supplies (produce, pantry items) more often so there's less spoilage. New rule we adopted last year: unless it's a killer deal, no new stuff goes in til the majority of the current supplies are out. That's the rule for the fridge and pantry...freezer can hold more for longer but I try not to overstock it either. I keep a list on my fridge of items we need as I notice the supply running low, then I have it with me along with the meal plan during the "Friday Night Flyer Fight".

Mail In Rebates
Before SC I didn't do any MIRs, hadn't even noticed them in stores really. Boy, were my eyes opened! Jeniana has compiled a list here http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/104615-...ebates-canada/ and it's super helpful to stay on top of the latest promotions. I participated in several last year and have done 3 this month. When the rebates come in it'll help us pay for more groceries, though we've used them to top up bill payments and for dining out too! Why break the bank when you don't have to?!

MIRs are best used to boost your earning power for 20x the point days at SDM or bonus airmiles days. You earn the extra rewards for a later payday and you get the original product at a discount or for free. Some MIRs like the current "Pepsi/Tostitos" one will reward you with FPCs for future savings on your snacks! I'm still learning about them all; Jeniana's thread has lots more tips and answered questions to get you started.

I'll add more tips as I get them organized and welcome others to post their's in the thread...I'll ensure it gets added here for an easy read! thanks in advance!

The Weekly "Hot Deals with Coupons" and "Grocery/Produce/Staples" threads

Wonderful SCers compile weekly a few weekly threads that not only keep us on our toes about the best deals but also alert us to coupon you may or may not have known about. Another bonus is that you can compare flyer deals all in one spot - a great alternative to my Friday Night Flyer Fight!

See latest thread(s):
HOT DEALS: http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/273787-...h-23rd-canada/

GROCERY/STAPLE DEaLS: http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/274541-...7-23-a-canada/

Remember to check weekly for the latest threads- both are in the "Deals" section. I'll aim to update the links here too!

[Koolaid]

Go savvyshopper go!!!!!!

[$avvy$hopper]

Go savvyshopper go!!!!!!

I just read your Metro brag! AWESOME!!!

[coley3]

I am so glad to see this thread. It should be a wonderful year for all of us. I look forward to seeing your deals this weekend.

[KathyN]

wtg on the freebies!

[watergirl73]

Now if only I could master your art of grocery savings I would be set.. I look forward to your posts. Thanks for sharing~

[$avvy$hopper]

Thanks for the kind comments! Wishing you great grocery savings as too!

Well I won't need cereal for a while! See post # 2 re the awesome freebie from Kellogg's. I knew they'd go fast when the offer was posted so I signed my sis up for one too...she's overjoyed by the freebie- practically hugged me over the phone! LOL!

I can't believe it, it's only Jan 5 and already I've saved so much! Gotta figure out the prices on these so I can update the ticker.

[croman7]

wow, nice cereal package! your ticker looks good, but your siggy still says "Savings in 2011" . . . I'm fairly certain that someone like you has saved more than 17.34 in 2011! Time to update it!
also, curious, where do you get your FPCs from? that's one thing that I always see brags about, but I'm terrible at finding any! tips?

[coley3]

Wow on the free cereal. I missed that free promo too. Yikes. It was certainly a great promo.

[alicia]

This is one thread I was always reading last year so I am definitely glad it is back.

[hollyquaiscer]

Great job

[Rock Solid]

Awesome

[$avvy$hopper]

[QUOTE=croman7;4273242]wow, nice cereal package! your ticker looks good, but your siggy still says "Savings in 2011" . . . I'm fairly certain that someone like you has saved more than 17.34 in 2011! Time to update it!

Siggy is fixed! thanks for letting me know!

also, curious, where do you get your FPCs from? that's one thing that I always see brags about, but I'm terrible at finding any! tips?[/QUOTE]

Re FPCs: best places I've found them is right on a product. Kellogg's cereal has several of them, also Old El Paso taco kits, some Frozen Entrees (Healthy Choice had a contest "Steam and Win"), popcorn (OR popcorn has "Pop and Win"), Oasis shelf Juice has a promo tag on selected ones- redeem the pin for an FPC for more juice, Carnation hot chocolate had FPCs for Stouffers products and Aero chocolate. There are much more and you can find info about some of them in the "Deals", "Coupons" and "Freebies" section of SC..some may require a sign up/registration or pins/codes to be entered before you get the freebie, others are just with purchase. Also, it's good to check the Freebies section because A LOT of FPCs are being offered via Facebook and since I don't log on FB often, it's good to still catch the deal before it's over. Hope that helps. And I welcome others to share on this re other places to get FPCs.

And every once in a while, a kind SCer sends you some just to make your day! I've been recipient of such kindness and I'm happy to pay it forward! I just got two FPC's by mail this week...PM me and if you can use them they're yours!

Wow on the free cereal. I missed that free promo too. Yikes. It was certainly a great promo.

Thanks- we've tried the Cinnamon Pops and like 'em. Still partial to the original but the new flavour is a nice change. I've noticed in the original thread that even though the promo said Ontario residents only, some SCers in other provinces signed up not realizing that stipulation and they still got the package. Very kind of Kellogg's!