The ads

Here are the ads for this week.  

ALBERTSONS

Turkey BOGO.  1.19 gross price with a 35.00 purchase not incl turkey

Ham 1.99
Butter 2/5@@
Tomatoes, cup, 3/10

Coupons
Coffee 7.99
Triscuit 3/5
Cake mix .99
Canned veggies 2/1


10 lens potatoes ,99


QFC

Turkey .69 with 30 dollar adtl  purchases
Broccoli .99
Tillamook cheese 5.99
Blues 2.99
Pie 3.99
Butter 2.99


SAFEWAYS
Turkey .69 with 35.00 purchase adtl
Free with 150.00 purchase
Green beans 1.99
Red Barron pizza 3/10
Barilla pasta 1.00

Five dollar Friday
Grapes 3/5
Cheese pizza
Eng muffins 3/5
Ice cream 2/5
Shrimp
Chicken broth 10/5

That's about it


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Jane

Saving time in the kitchen

The holidays are approaching , sooner than we think or possibly want.   


There are many ways to save time and energy getting food din the table.   The one basic concept that works the best for me is to batch cook whatever protein that is the best special of the week.  The meats vary , but usually bought in bulk saves a lot of time and money.

You are buying the "meat " at rock bottom prices, cooking it once, amd portion controlling it onto batches just big enou for a nights meal.   There is no waste and you have saved labor and energy cooking it.

Stair stepping ingredients for meals helps a lot too.   Making a double batch if rice so that you split it and have Spanish rice with tacos, and rice under a stirfry the next day.   Roce and beans have a short fridge life, so don't hold them too long.

The crockpot is your best friend,   The is something  very therapeutic about coming home to dinner cooked.  I imagine the smell is glorious.   Simplest pot roast ever. Put  pot roast in the crockpot.   Slice a peeled onion and out on top. Salt and pepper.  Pour a beer over top.  Add enough beef stock or water to almost cover.   Set on low for 8-10 hours.,  I. Microwave potatoes and carrots until tender and put in the pot with the cooking liquid the last 1/2 hour.  

There is a method out there called freezer cooking,  we used to call ot marathon cooking.   Basically you shop once a month and cook a months worth of meals in a day.   It's hard work.   It works for some people.   I can see it working for a mom with a weird shift at work.  Meals would be  ready for  another family member to heat up when dinner time came,

Personally, I  don't have the stamina to cook for eight to ten hours straight. I would prefer batch cooking.   You have to pick what works for you on a long term basis.  

I just Re read a cookbook called, " don't panic,dinner  is in the freezer.   " I got it as a e book from amazon I think.   Even of you dint want to marathon cook, it has some really good scratch recipes.  It's also breaks down a recipe for number of batches you wish to cook.   A good go to if you need to cook for a crowd.,

Whatever works for you.  

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Jane

turkey prices in a nutshell,

Turkey prices -  the price in everybody's  mind .  

QFC .69 with thirty dollar purchase not including turkey
SAFEWAYS .69'with thirty five dollar purchase not incl turkey
Fred Meyers.   Free if you spend  150.00
                        .45 if u spend 100.00
                        .69 if u spend fifty.    All not including the turkey
With coupon in ad.

Apples .99
Eggs. 4/5@@
Triscuit 3:5@@
Mayonaise 2/5@@
Tyson bacon 2.99@@
Sausage 2/5@@
Truffles 2/5@@
5!lbs potatoes .99
Pears .99
Frozen entrees .88

That's about it .

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Jane
.
                       

Venting. On food

The USDA has a food pyramid that we all grew up with.  Our great grandmothers used it  by intuition.
Our mothers and their  siblings live to be ninty.   I don't think I want to live to be ninty, I won't have enough money.   LOL.

The point being people believe every propaganda that comes their way. It is popular to take on every fad diet to be special and fit in with the crowd.   It  used to be a symptom of the young.  Now the not so young are on the band wagon.   And, they are passionate about it.

The truth is,  whenever you take a food group out of your diet , you are throwing the good out with the self perceived bad.   Unless you are really  disciplined  and have a degree in nutrition, you are playing with fire.  A lot of diseases are based on vitamins and minerals that our diets are lacking and it's not always the best to get them out of a bottle.


If three percent of the farms in the us are organic certified, who is going to eat the other 97 percent of fruits and veggies .  Are you really princess enough to believe that you should be entitled to the top three percent!    And, if is pesticide free, does that mean you get the pests!  And, most families on a budget can't afford five dollars a gallon for milk!   Most organic I have found is twice the price of regular food.

Just eat a balanced diet in moderation.    The simple truth is that our ancestors have been using the food pyramid for years, intensional or not.  It works.   If it ain't broke, don't fix it.


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Jane

The ads. And notes

Here are the ads for the week.   There is no QFC because they do bi weekly ads.

ALBERTSONS

Turkey BOGO. With a 35.00 purchase not including the turkey

London broil 3.99
Apples .99
Ice cream 2.49@@
Eggs 4/5@@

Coupons !!!!
Cake mix, brownies .99
Frozen entrees .69
Coffee creamery.99
Veggies,canned .50
Pasta .99
Skippy peanut butter $$?
Salsa 3.99



Dollar veggies oranges
Pears
Tomatoes
Salad
Zucchini
Bean sprout

SAFEWAYS

Turkey .69-  buy 35.00. Additional

Five dollar Friday

Cake
Pudding cake 2/5
Berries 2/5
Salmon

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Jane

The Fred Meyer ads , and misc notes

Just a note.   I recently heard of a discount grocery store not in the PNW that sells things for cost plus ten percent,   It's in Richmond Virginia and is called shoppers value.   I don't know of there are more shoppers value stores in other parts of the country , but it is worth checking out.  We have grocery outlet here.  Some things are a good buy and others aren't.   It, as I have been saying all along, really pays to know the prices of things that are on your stock list.

Typically we tend to make the same few meals often.   It's easier and we know that our family will eat them.  Your stock list shouldn't vary much.   That means, typically your proce list should be about 10-15 items.

Betty Crocker this time has a whole section  on 20 minute casseroles.  Just in time for the busy fall season.  

Fred Meyers

Oranges .69
Milk 4/5@@ ) 1/2!gal
Bread 3/4 @@
GM cereal 3/5@@ $$
Coffee creamerv2/4@@ attn darling daughter!
Vegetables .79
Cottage cheese sour cream 2/4

That's about all.

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Jane

The ads and notes

Thos os the time of year when baking staples go on sale.   In addition, there is a coupon for c and h sugar in the insert that came with the ads.   Also a coupon for a dollar off two Kellogg's cereals .   That's about all the real food I found!

Fred Meyers had an in ad coupon for .50 cream soups just in time for green bean casserole!   Limit six.  Also fifty cent cucumbers and two dollar berries.

QFC -two weeks through nov 18.
Beef sirloin roast 3.99
Milk 2/3. ( note ot os 1.25 with in ad coupon at FM.


Buy 10, save 5

BREYERS ice cream 2.79
Green giant broth, veggies .49
Butter 2.49
Cream of mushroom soup .79 ( note vs fm until Saturday)
Diced tomatoes .49
Cranberry sauce .99
C and h sugar 2.49 ( note there is an additional coupon in the insert) nets 2.09.
Kleenex or hefty bags .99 ( ch for hefty coupons )

ALBERTSONS
Cod 2.99
Milk 2/5@@

Buy 4, save 2

Kellogg cereal $$

SAFEWAYS
Turkey .69
BREYERS 2.99
15 percent ground beef 4.99
Pork loin 2.79
Grapes 1.99

Five dollar Friday
Grapes 3 lbs
Cake
Strudel 10 ct
Ice cream (2)
Pasta sauce ( glass jar) (5)
Olive oil
Canned salmon (5)
Brownie mix (5)

That's about all.  Note the price differences and why you need to shop at two stores.  Fortunately our chain stores that are left are close to each other and there is a dollar store nearby.  If they were not, I would plan trips around oh her places I routinely go during the week.  The gym?  The doctor or PT?
The kids school?   Soccer practice?   You get he idea!  

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Jane

Shopping trip and notes

One of the ways to save at the grocery store os to be flexible.  I never make meal plans until I have shopped.   Case in point.  I used to get huge pizzas from SAFEWAYS when it was five dollar Fridays.   Thos time, the five dollar pizza was kale and feta cheese and was small.   It would be no bargain for our family,   I don't even think that vegetarian daughter would be so inclined.   I did find grapes for. 3/5, and beef tips for 4.75 on just for u.   A gratin potatoes were .99 and I had a coupon and minute steaks were cheap enough to for into the budget.   Cheese was five dollars.   If you buy it every time ot os five dollars, you never get stuck with eight dollars a brick.   We have been grating our own and freezing it.  I only spent 3800 and got a lot of protein.

At ALBERTSONS, I got Yoplait for .34 I used  the in ad coupon and a paper coupon from the newspaper.

This is the time to print coupons,the new batch is released today.   The big ones go faster.
You can print two per item.   Please don't print any you wouldn't use. They are limited. Leave them for someone that will use them.  I only pick real food usually.

I bought some sprinkles from Joanne's for reindeer food.   I want to use edible things on case some kid decides he's going to try it.   I thought I would do reindeer food instead of snowman soup this year.   All I have to buy now is some food grade small bags.   I'm thinking the dollar store.

The USDA has stats on several budget types for different age groups and gender.   Google USDA cost of food at home.


http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/CostofFoodSep2014.pdf

It's a good benchmark.   We spent more last month because it was a good time to stock up on canned and frozen.  Come fall the new crop is packed and the old crop is put on sale.  


I guess that's all.

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Jane

The ads, oct 29-nov 4th

SAFEWAYS
Peppers .50
Ice cream -SAFEWAYS 2.88
Tomatoes 1.99
Milk  2.99
Cheese 4.99, limit 1
Bread .99
Salsa 48 pz 5.00
Canned veggies .59@

5 dollar Friday
Pizza
3 lb grapes
Pumpkin pie 2/5
Shrimp

QFC
Clementines 3.99
Apples .99
Pears .99
Milk 2/3
Frozen veggies 10/10 10-12 oz

ALBERTSONS
Buy 4, save 4. Wed -fri

Red Baron pizza 2.49
Digiorno 3.99


Yoplait .38 @@

Buy 5,save 5
Skippy peanut butter 1.99
Ice cream 2.49


K cups 4.99
Salsa 3.99 67 pz
Tomatoes 1.99

That's about it. Some things just don't fit in a bare bones budget, but I put them in for those readers that have a bit more to spend.   K cups are 4.99.  Ingest two cups from one k cup.   At the cost of coffee and if you are prone to waste coffee, not needing a full lot, it might be cheaper.  

Roma tomatoes are cheaper and better because they have less seeds and more fruit.  

The five dollar SAFEWAYS  pizza is a better buy for us because we can  add our toppings and get two meals out of it.,,, ditto Costco when they are on sale.  

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Jane


I

Terrific Tuesday --the basics

  I heard  a lady the other day say that she didn't want to read any blogs that talked about saving money.   She was interested in economy in the kitchen, but not about spending money.  I have yet to see a little elf that made food magically appear  in my cupboards.  When a mother has 375.00 to feed her family of herself and two children, it has to start with wise choices when purchasing food.   Most busy moms need to save money and time,   Thus our byline. better, cheaper, faster.  

It's getting harder and harder to put a dinner on the table for five bucks.  ( the dinner, not the plate).  The average per person allotment for SNAP ( food stamps) is 125.00 per person per month.   That is the latest stats for 2013.  Since then, they have cut food stamps I think.   It all has to start at the grocery store.  

Groceries on the cheap takes a different approach to buying groceries.   Instead of going to the store and buying just what you need for the week, you identify the staples you family needs to make your typical meals and buy them in bulk at rock bottom prices.   After you are up and running, you never have an empty pantry and you have spent half as much money.   This takes a little planning, but once you are set up it is actually less hectic.  You are never running out of something and having to run to the store on the middle of cooking dinner.

• Identify the inexpensive sources of protein  your family will eat.   I used to use two dollars for a benchmark, That  is getting pretty hard to do.   I am probably up to 2.50.   
• Write down 7-14 entrees that you can make from these sources.   Fourteen is better for variety.  I use a matrix of 2 beef, 2 chicken or pork, 2 vegetarian, and one fish or shellfish.  Your matrix may be different.   
• Now, establish the staple ingredients that you need to cook these meals.   At our house that is, diced tomatoes, corn, beans, green beans, instant mashed potatoes, pasta, pasta sauce ( hunts) tuna, chilli.   I keep mixed veggies, French fries, and meat in the freezer.   
• Find the cheapest price that these staples cost on a rock bottom sale.  In the fall, the new crops are being canned or frozen and often you get the best buys.   RBP is rock  bottom price.  When you find a sale, buy a) as many as the store will let you, b) as many as you can afford to buy or c) as many as you need to bring yourself up to your self regulated unit, whichever comes first.   I keep six months supply of key things.     Many people keep 8-12 weeks supply.   Many sales go in a 8-12 week cycle.   
• When the store ads come out, I take a piece of printer paper out of the recycle and separate  it into sections for each store.   I wrote down what is in sale of our staple things and perishables  that fill out the food groups.   Cross off anything that is higher than at another store and check your coupons for any that apply.  Cross off anything you don't need or need to replenish.   Some weeks there will be no staples, some weeks a lot.  Don't try to stay to a weekly budget per say, but be mindful of how much you are over or short of your weekly target.   I keep a spread sheet of the week and the stores total.   
• There are coupon matchup sites on the Internet,  they match up sales in your area with coupons in the paper and on line.   ( another topic later) 
• Now pick the two best stores.  Go with your list, get your list and get out of the store.  The more time you spend at the store, the more money you will spend. The more people tat go with you, the more you will spend.  If you are hungry, you will spend more.   Stick to a list and only deviate if there is an unadvertised special on what you normally buy.  One time I walked into QFC and found chickens for .50 a pound.  I took them home and cooked them.   
• Pick the "loss leader" of protein for the week and buy enough  bulk for that protein for a month.   Rotate the meats. When you get home, cook it if appropriate, and/or break it down to meal sized portions.  This is a lot more efficient and saves money/ no waste.  
• Our Fred  Meyer ( Kroger) has a rotation for dairy.   I just get a months supply of anything with a good pull date.   Milk doesn't last that long, but sour cream and eggs do.   Costco is another good place for dairy.   
• Don't overlook non traditional grocery stores.   I find  good buys at the dollar store, big lots ( overstock store) , the grocery outlet, and sometimes the drug store.  I can't emphasize enough to know your prices.  My mother had an expression, " some people wouldn't know a bargain if it got up and bit them in the butt!"  Don't  be that person!!! 
• You have to stay on or under budget, you don't have to waste money!   
• There is no place for ready made food and mixes ( with few exceptions ) and snack foods in a bare bones budget.   Stick to real food.   Popcorn is a good snack if made in a air popper.   Also small apples are food for kids.   They are usually cheap in a bulk bag.   Muffins are easy to make and you can make minis or regular ones.   Children can help.   
• Children can also help rotate stock so that the oldest is in front.  

That's about all

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Jane 

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Fred Meyers

We went to Fred Meyers .  The specials were not all that great.   Chicken is .97, but true to form, they didn't have any.   Apples were, 1.79 .  Nalleys chili was .89'with an in ad coupon. The 24 ounce sour cream and cottage cheese was 2/4.   Frozen potatoes  were 3/5.   Good hamburger wasm15.00 plus, for three pounds.  

Yoplait was .60.  One ofmthemways to save is to be flexible.   I got cottage cheese instead.  I still get my calcium. But am not locked into full price.   I can stock shelf ready or frozen foods, but I can't stock perishables.   Your best bet os to buy what's in season and buy just what you think you will use before they go bad and be flexible and buy what's a reasonable price . It's all about supply and demand.   Dairy goes on sale on a rotating basis.   I try to buy as much when it is on sale as we can ise before the expiration date.   Taking inventory of the fridge  a couple tomes a week helps .  You can incorporate anything close to it's date in the next few days meal plans.   There are web sites that allow you to plug on the item you need to use up and give you ideas of what to cook.  

I made a loaded potato soup for dinner a few nights ago. ( Betty Crocker) . I  adjusted it because it was too loaded with fat and I wanted it to be adaptable for the semi- vegetarians in the family.   I deleted the ham, held the bacon to the side for garnish, and used 1/2 of the sour cream  and cheese. It was still very good.   I served it with brown and serve bread sticks.    I keep them in the fridge and they last well beyond a pull date.   Discressionary advised! LOl

I think a lesson I learned is that unless itmos a baking recipe, you can certainly adjust ingredients and methodology to suit your needs.   Cranberries can substitute blueberries.   Craisens for raisens,   Etc.
my husband won't  eat mushrooms and hates to bite into an onion.   I adjust accordingly using other vegetables for the bulk in a recipe and running the onion on a micro plane instead of shopping it.   Or I add it to a dish almost whole so  I can pull it out before I serve it.  

Being flexible goes a lomg ways to help stretch a budget!


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Jane










 






We went to a restraunt because it was my daughters birthday.

Most common mistakes that tank your budget

Most common mistakes

I have been watching grocery hauls on the Internet. Mostly young gals are doing them. I am beginning to see a picture that is all telling.

The most common mistakes grocery shopping to be on the cheap instead of spending the whole paycheck are

1. Buying  8  gallons of drinks.  Buy tea bags, herbal if you wish, and some crystal light type mix at the dollar store or big lots.  Water is a good hydrater.  .  Buy a lemon to add a slice to it and chill it.  
2. Buying ready made mixes and meats.  Take on one meat at a time, and learn to cook it.  The savings are remarkable.  If you don't have the pans to cook it, go to the goodwill and find one.  if you don't have a roasting rack, pile rough chopped carrots / and or potatoes or onions  on the bottom, and roast your chicken on top.  
3. Buying tons of junk foods.  Buy popcorn it's cheap and relatively healthy.  The savings more than make up for the price of an air popper on sale.  I got mine for 14.00.  
4. If your passion is sweet, find easy and inexpensive recipes for brownies or another cake or cookie.  There is a recipe on the Internet for a mixture of 2 cake mixes that cooks in a few in the microwave.  Or make muffins or quick breads.  They can be healthy and satisfy your sweet tooth.  
5. Not Sticking to your meal plans and not thinking things out. don't come home without the things you need to make them or you have wasted your time and need another costly trip to the store.  
6.  The worst mistake is to go to the store hungry, with screaming kids that need a nap, and buy 
7. anything in the store that looks good to you.  It's stressful and expensive.  you shouldn't come home broke and ready to drop from the grocery store! LOL  

Take a look at your grocery receipt and break it down as to how much is drinks, how much snack food and desert, and how much fruit and veggies.  The most percentages should be fruit and veggies and proteins.  Less than ten percent should be snacks and drinks.  

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Jane 

The ads and notes

The ads for the week of oct 22 to 28th

ALBERTSONS

Apples 1.78
GM cereals 1.88 when you buy 5. You should be able to find coupons
Apple juice .99@@
Bread .98@@
7 percent ground beef 3.99@@

Quarters sale
Muffin mix .25
Frozen entres .50
Tuna .75
Tomato sauce .25

QFC
Grapes 1.68
Craisens 1.00

Dollar sale
12 oz bfrozen veggies
Refried beans
Cream cheese
Kings Hawaiian rolls


SAFEWAYS

Satsumas 4.99
Pears .99
Apples 1.99
Raspberries 2.99
Ice cream 2/5. Safeway brand

Five dollar Friday
Pumpkin cake
BREYERS 2/5
Cod  per pound
Lloyd's ribs


That's about all

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Remember there is just for you electronic coupons at Safeway
@@ means in ad coupon is needed
Remember to check a match up web site of you care to coupon.  You can use a store coupon and a manufacturers coupon .  

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Jane

Terrific Tuesday

I am happy to say that my husband has found a part time job.   That takes a lot of stress off our budget.  It's probably only temporary, but every little bit helps.   I'm still staying close too ur regular biggest, sometimes cheaper even though the cost of groceries has risen.  

The USDA has increased it's  stats, but not appreciably.   When I was buying 5.50 a pound hamburger, I remarked to a lady that I remember when it was .88.  Yes,  she said, and that wasn't all that long ago.   LOL.

I tried to get bulk yeast at Costco yesterday, they were out.   They said that they had five in the morning and they all sold.   That surprises me of Costco.   I might try the business one since we have to go that direction today anyway.  

Last night we had nachos for dinner.   I try to keep a log of our meals, but have been lax the last week.  

My daughter and I rotated stock in the pantry last weekend.  It's important to do that of the item is something that you don't use up quickly.   I wanted to count stock and rotate it before I went to Fred Meyers for .60 cent diced tomatoes.  

I ise diced tomatoes more than any other tomato product because it simplifies things.  If I want a tomato purée, I can always put ot in the blender.  Ot also works, no well, but it works when you are I a pinch for tacos.  It also makes salsa in a pinch when tomatoes are out of season.  I had to pay 2.50 a pound for a tomato.  I bought one.  Roma tomatoes are usually a Better  buy. They cost less and have more tomato and less seeds.  

Large bags of carrots are a better buy than the baby carrots too.  Unless you are making a veggie tray for company, you are better off using regular carrots.  You can scrub them with a vegetable brush of you aren't into peeling,  

I bought a bag of small apples this time because they were no dollar a pound apples.   I try for a buck a pound for veggies.  I don't always succeed and I feel like we need veggies and fruit for a well balanced diet.   I am not found of a lot of canned fruit and vegetables.  I buy green beans and corn.  
Frozen veggies are a buck all the time at the dollar store.   Sometimes  they are cheaper at the chain grocery stores.  You have to watch the size of the package.   I got mixed veggies with cauliflower, carrots and snap beans from the dollar store..  The carrots were  jullianed.  . The snap beans were little pieces and the cauliflower was irregular on size.  Some were small. Some were big. They tasted just fine, but not something I. Would feed  company.
I got the instant mashed potatoes for .88 from Fred Meyer.   They have some really interesting flavors.  We like four cheese and some with peppers and bacon, but there are all kinds of baby reds, some that are like twice baked, and the list goes on.  

In our house, we don't go through regular potatoes fast enough so many tomes they bombard before they are used up.   So it's easier and less wasteful to have instant on hand.   I got frozen French fries for a buck on sale at Fred Meyers.   I filled the freezer bin.   They are cooked on the oven and when cooked on convection, they have a crispy outside.  

The darker the lettuce and the more red the grape, the more food value they have.  

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Jane

No ad, I lost it. , the facts about ground meat

 I did go to Fred Meyers yesterday.  Unfortunately, my husband had the ad and misplaced it.

So,from memory, here goes

Pumpkin pie was 3.99

There is a big .88 sale

Tuna
Ice drinks
Mac and cheese and other entres I'm the frozen section.
The tangerines looked discussing for five dollars.
Acorn squash was a buck.  Last time they charged me for two, I got one.  You have to stand in line to get your money back.

There are more sales, but off hand I can't remember them.  I spent forty dollars, so I know there was more than that.  


On another note,  I had noticed that when I did the dishes after my daughter had cooked ground turkey, it had more saturated fat than I have when I cook good hambirger.   That lead me to some research.   There is no negilagible difference between the fat content between ground turkey and good hamburger.   Turkey has 18/100 less fat in a standard serving.


The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Food Sources of Selected Nutrients” table for iron lists 30 of the foods highest in the mineral. Of that list, five of the foods are cuts of beef. Turkey does not make the USDA’s list of top iron-rich foods. The top beef selections are 3-ounce portions of chuck roast, bottom round, rib roast, ground beef and top sirloin. These beef selections provide between 2 and 3 milligrams of iron per serving.

A serving of prime rib has no sodium.   The price of turkey and good beef is just about the same.  I have found good beef cheaper than the five bucks for 20 ounces that I usually see it for.  

Dragnet quote , just the facts!  


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The ads

Time for the ads again.

Our selection of grocery stores is shrinking.   There are two companies that own the majority of grocery stores , chain wise now.   I will be glad when Winco comes I to our neck of the woods.
SAFEWAYS was bought by ALBERTSONS I hear and QFC is Kroger which also owns Fred Meyers.

SAFEWAYS

Kraft  Mac and cheese .49@@ ( not something I buy, but popular with the kids)

Turkey breast 1.29
Hamburger 15 percent 4.99
Tomatoes 1.99

Baking supplies B1G2
Chocolate chips
Cake mixes
Crisco oil
Pumpkin
Flour
Sugar


Pears .99

Five dollar Friday

Pizza
Boston cream cake


ALBERTSONS

Apples, pears, 100
Avocados 1.00
Ice cream 2/5@@


1.00 veggies

English cucumbers
Baby carrots
Pie pumpkins
Kale
Bean sprouts

QFC

Mandarins 4.99 box
Milk 2/3 ( 1/2 gal)
Yogurt 10/5$$
Pumpkin pie 3.99
8 percent hamburger 5.99

Kraft singles 2.19
Sour cream 2/3
Pumpkin 1.00
Flour 2.79



That's about it.

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Jane

Fred Meyer - ad

I might note that the paper is a buck at the dollar store.  

Milk is 4/5@@
Foster farms chicken breast is 1.28, along with grill packs and thighs.  The breasts will probably be hard come by.  
Canned tomatoes .60
Pumpkin pie 3.99
Lettuce .99
Yoplait 10/5 $$


Not much there.  The canned tomatoes are worth mentioning.  As well as the chicken breasts if they have them.  Fred Meyers tends to only bring out a few items a day.   They are frequently out of the sale items.   The last time they had no grill packs and I had to get someone to hint for one package of thighs.   Drumsticks are not meaty enough for me.  You are paying  for a lot of bone and you can't eat bone!   I would prefer the breasts or  the grill pack so I can debone the breasts myself.  

The last time they would not let me use two coupons for two batches of Yoplait. There are coupons for Yoplait.   ($$)   Some things have an in ad coupon (@@)

That's about all.

Please comment if you have any topics you would like discussed.  

Thanks for stopping by

Jane

SAFEWAYS

Yesterday,we went to SAFEWAYS and the dollar store.   I had a four dollars off forty electronic coupon.   Taking advantage of five  dollar Friday deals and the fact that pork loin roast was 2.29' a pound. I spent just a little more than the forty dollars.,

Apples were a buck, I splurged and got jalapeño bread and cheese was five bucks, olive oil was BOGO.  

Pork loin was my stock meat for the week.   But, I also got 4 dozen  eggs, cheese, American cheese, and sox steaks.

I filled the empty spaces in the pantry with canned goods.  
My husband went to Costco and got pop corn .  A small jar was over five dollars at SAFEWAYS, a giant jar was six at Costco.   Some things are just a lot better buy at Costco.  

I am over budget this week by a few dollars.   I was under last month.  I did get a lot of staple things. Next week will even it out.  

Know your prices

Take advantage of sales

Buy in proportion to what your family will eat in a timely manner.  

Plan meals.   -- even a rough idea of the main dish for a week will help a lot.  
Have a few emergency menus on the shelf to pick up when things go wrong and your attention is directed in another endeavor.   Last week, my identity was stolen and we tracked down a package that was delivered to us by mistake.   Stuff happens!   Be prepared.   It saves going for take out.  

Use coupons judiciously.    If they are for something you normally buy, it's a bargain.   I can save about sox dollars a week if I get a good coupon sale.   It doesn't always happen.   I'm not willing to spend forty hours a week couponing to buy a closet full of soda pop.   I am, however, willing to spend a few minutes to get ten percent or more off my food budget.  

We all like the work free.  

Last week, we out a lot of stuff out for free.  We got a umbrella stand for the deck table and a sox pack of expensive juice for free.  

Thanks for stopping by

Please share and join

Jane

ALBERTSONS Trip

We went to ALBERTSONS today.  I  spent forty dollars and  saved 59 percent. There  were a lot of good buys on staples.  It's fall and the new pack is going on to production,so canned goods are on sale.  

Steak was buy one,get two  free.
Libby vegetables are .50 with a coupon.  
Healthy soups, pasta sauce and diced tomatoes were .80 ( buy 10 mix or match )
Eggs were 4/5 with a coupon.  

Buying what you can when it is on sale is a good way to stretch your budget.  

Thank you for stopping by

Please share and join

Jane

This weeks ads , oct 8th

QFC s ad is the same as last week.  Not much there.   I wound up going to Fred Meyers.    I stocked on canned veggies .  

SAFEWAYS
Apples .99
Grapes 2.99
Pork loin 2.29
Bottom round 3.99 or pot roast
Brownie mix .99

Five dollar Friday
Cream pie
Bratwurst
Ice cream 2/5
Tillamook cheese *****
Pasta sauce . Glass jar 5/5
K kips 5.00

Just for you has four dollars off of forty dollars.  


ALBERTSONS
K cups 5.00
Sausage 2.49$$@@


.80 sale
Pasta sauce
Tomatoes

Canned veggies 2/1@@
Jif 1.49@@
Cereal 1.99$$
Yoplait .50$$
Grapes 1.48
Eggs 4/5@@
Halloween candy 4/8@@
Double layer cake 5.00@@ ( birthdays? )


That's all.  It's a better stock day this week.   The prices are more than I like,but prices have gone up and I suspect I have to face the reality that my RBP is going up too.  


Thanks for stopping by

Please share and join.

Jane


Note:   Last week, pasta was .80 at SAFEWAYS.  There are coupoms out there that made it as low as .38.   Add an .80 can of pasta sauce ( ALBERTSONS this week) and you have a main dish for 1.60.  That's plenty of room for a salad, homemade Italian bread ( or brown and serve from the bread store) and a pudding for desert.   And still be under 5.00.   Add parm that has been grated with a micro plane.