Questions,questions,questions.

What do you do when you aren't on snap and you don't have any sum of money at a time to stock.
The sad truth is there are a lot of people on this world, and each one of us has a different personality.    There are two kinds of people that land on snap.   There is the person that has just lost their job, had a baby, or fell on temporary hard times, and the person that is a generational welfare person, and probably some that are in between the extremes.    I would venture to say that there will b some people that are too lazy for whatever reason to make the effort to put nutrition on the table with little resources.   Sometimes , it is because they don't know any better, sometimes it may be because of mental illness.   I won't try to address the latter, I'm no expert by any means.  If it is just because they don't know how to cook, or don't know how to find bargains, or what to buy, or are overwhelmed by the magnatide of their situation, I can at least steer people on the right direction.  

We , in this area, have a dollar tree in every neighborhood, usually next to a Safeway store or a grocery outlet.   If I was trying to save gas, or had little resources, I would pick one that was near a grocery outlet.  That would be 130th and aurora in Seattle or in Kenmore.   You can go a long way to put food on the table shopping at these two stores,matching the ads, and finding coupons.   There are coupons on the Internet, but also in the paper and even of you don't have the buck for the paper, you can probably find the ads and coupons if you ask around,  often they are just put in people's recycle and they would gladly give them to you.  

As a rule of thumb, I would stay away from ready made and processed foods.   Myself, I try to limit our intake of processed foods to once a week.   If you have an completely empty pantry, I would, however resort to some boxes.  The deal breaker for me is if a box is cheaper than I can make it from scratch.   If a recipe calls for an expensive item ( a special sauce or creamed soup for example) I find a way to substitute.   Cream soups can be substituted with a cream soup base mix you make yourself, Google "taste of home/ cream soup mix.".

That being said. There are things at the dollar tree that can easily make a meal on the cheap.  

Top ramen is 5-6 packages for a dollar.  There is also bags of frozen stir fry vegetables and vegetable oil or a olive oil blend.   You can stir fry vegetables mad add the cooked noodles.  Save the flavor packet.

Add the flavor packet to some milk and flour and make a thickened sauce.  Dollar tree has tuna and noodles for a dollar a piece.  

Uncle bens rice mixes are a dollar.   There is a coupon for 1.00 on four .  That makes them .75 each.  

Grocery outlet has cheese for a buck for 8 ounces  often.   You can add cheese to any starch and add protein.  

With a coupon, pepperoni is  .50.    Even without it. 1/2 a dollar bag of cheese, a dollar pepperoni, and a dollar pizza crust from the dollar store will make a pizza .  Add part of a can of tomato paste, or there is pizza sauce at the dollar tree.  Use part of it for a pizza and add the rest with cheese and macaroni for a casserole.   I have got mixed peppers for as low as fifty cents at grocery outlet.  

Bread is a dollar, peanut butter is a dollar.   jelly  is a dollar also.  

For a treat, there are chocolate striped shortbread cookies!    Cereal is a dollar, try for the least sugar coated one,   And juice drinks are four for a dollar.  As well as applesauce.  

Oatmeal is cheapest on the canister at grocery outlet.  

I got a bag of Foster farms chicken tenders cheap at grocery outlet.    They can be cubed , cooked, and added to any casserole.  

I have gotten pancakes , just add water, for fifty cents.   And sometimes you get is near the pull date and can be had for pennies.  

Being flexible and having a watchful eye for bargains can go a long way to put food on the table for pennies, even of you don't have a lot of money at a time.  

Meal plans from shopping trip

Yesterday my daughter and I went to Costco.    I got cucumbers, peppers, and butter.  
I am still under budget.  

Meals from shopping trip

1. roast pork tenderloin , oven roasted potatoes, carrots, peppers, radishes.   
2. Pizza from crust bought at grocery outlet and cheese from Costco.   
3. Fish packets ( spinach, rice, white beans. Tilapia, green beans.   
4. Egg cups made with tortillas and eggs, spinach and cheese, fruit ( use spinach left over from fish packets) 
5. Pork and vegetable stir fry ( use ramen noodles only ) and stir fry veggies.  Add spinach!   
6. Meat loaf, baked potatoes, salad.   ( peppers and cucumbers ) 
7. Out / leftovers 

Notes : 

1) Pork tenderloin was four dollars with a coupon.    Peppers are a dollar ( sometimes .50 at grocery outlet) and radishes are .50 at Fred Meyers.    Meal 4.00

2) pizza ( 1.50 crust, .50 cheese ( grocery outlet) tomato paste .10) total 2.10

3) fish packets ( tilapia 2.50, bens .50, rice, green beans .50.   4.00

4) eggs, tortillas, spinach , cheese - 1.62 

5) pork ( from #1) top ramen .40, stir fry veggies 2.00. Total 4.40

6) meatloaf 6.34, potatoes .30, salad 1.50.   8.14 

7) leftovers. 

Total. 3.38 per meal.  

Add a bag of salad 2.68, cucumbers 1.00, spinach 1.00, tomatoes 3.00.   1.28 per meal.   

Total  4.66.    

Under five dollars a meal based on six meals.    

Fred Meyers bargains

This is going to be short and sweet.  
Fred Meyers

Grapes 1.28
Milk .99@@
Oranges .99
Bread 3/4@@
Bumble bee tuna. 2/1. Limit 6@@
Cucumbers, green onions, radishes 2/1.  Note don't buy from Mexico now.   Recall alert.  
Good ground beef 3.99
Nalley chili .99@@

That's about it.  

Bye!  

Jane

This and that

Groceries on the cheap doesn't have to be depriving yourself of good food.   It does mean that you change your priorities to not eating out a lot and not eating the most expensive cuts of meat.    We do still eat meat, those of us that choose to.    It takes a bit more time than that person that goes to one store and puts what they want or need on the basket and checks out.    There's nothing wrong with that if you have the money and it isn't your priority to save.   If you don't have the money, you are on a position temporarily that you have to use SNAP, or you just want to stretch what you do have, a little time can give you great payoffs.   If that payoff is nit running out of S NAP allotment before you run out of month and having food in the cupboard, that's a good thing,  it may mean that you can free up money to pay for your meds, or make both ends meet.   

Pairing all available ways if cutting your food costs is an easy way to save.    Planning your trip and finding ways to cook the meals quickly to make up the time works for me.  Basically, I get paid in savings to shop, I don't get paid to cook.   As long as the food is good, and people like it, it works for me.  

Yesterday's trip.    I am writing this to show an example, not to boast of my shopping skills.  I am just an ordinary person without any special talent.    I have done this for years, even when I was holding down two jobs and had three kids at home.    

I digress 

SAFEWAYS and dollar store.   

Dollar store first because it would have no perishables.    Our dollar tree and SAFEWAYS are close together.   Many others in the area either have a SAFEWAYS or a grocery Outlet near them.   It makes for a easy way to plan trios to save gas.   

Basic bounty paper towels 1.00 less a .50 coupon made the roll .50 

Dawn detergent, small bottle ( I got it for stain removal) was 100 with a coupon made it .50. 

Betty Crocker a gratin potatoes were a buck with a .50 coupon for two made the. .75.  

I got a book marked 27.95 and well worth it for a dollar.  

Four pure Apple juices were a dollar.  ( a splurge because anything in individual boxes is high, but worth it so granddaughter can help herself.  ) 

SAFEWAYS : 

SAFEWAYS had a meat sale.   A lot of it was processed, but it has far out pull dates and I allow it for a garnish type addition to a meal and once a week.    It saves a lot of time and money,   Sometimes by seven o'clock when I can cook dinner, my body doesn't want to cooperate.    

Sirloin tips in gravy was five dollars : less than buying the meat and cooking it 

BBQ beef was five dollars.  - ditto 

Ham cubes were five dollars -   I can get four meals from a package.  

Pork tenderloin was five dollars and I had dollar off coupons.   So,e from last month and some from this, all cutrrent dated.   We can get two meals on a tenderloin and that makes a meals meat 2.00.  That was my budget when my oldest was three ( 43 years ago). .   

Tilapia filets were five dollars a bag.    

Black olives were BOGO. 

Corn 2/1 

Strawberries 2.00

Bread was 1.25 , bins .88 and there was an .20 ibotta on each.   

Most of it was either on sale really cheap, or cheap with a coupon, sale, ibotta ir a combination,   

This is the time of the month that the coupons are up on  coupons.com .  That takes me about half an hour to print two coupons for the things I may want.    They are filed in a binder under categories so I can find them fast.   0ther than that, I spend about ten minutes a week looking at favado to see if anything at the stores I am going to is matched with a coupon.    The coupon inserts are dated and placed on a file folder so I can quickly pull the coupons if they work.   Note the dollar three match ups are not always correct.   You have to pay close attention to the size of the packages and not all dollar trees carry the name brands.   Ibotta takes about two minutes while I unpack the groceries 

I generally can save an additional six dollars or so a week besides the regular sale prices.  Certain stores have better buys on certain things.  It os to your benefit to know what is cheapest regularly at which store. I never buy bananas anywhere but Costco.  The experts will tell you it is a waste to buy organic bananas.  Cheese is cheapest at grocery outlet and Costco.   I buy tillamook blocks whenever they are 250 a pound or less. 

Stocking affords you the luxury of only buying what's on sale.  This week, it was mostly protein next week, it may be frozen veggies and a chicken or hamburger.   It lets us eat well on less money.    My average for four of us is 75.00 a week.    That is half the USDA stats for thrifty cooking and we eat meat and facilitate a vegetarian and a diabetic diet.   

Thanks for stopping by

Please share 

Jane 

Retailers dirty little secrets.

If You know their tricks, you can  beat them at their own game.   I used to work for a non profit that helped small companies to bring their food products to market.    It is really tough for small companies to get onto larger stores.    Shelf space is at a premium.  

1. Manufacturers pay slotting fees ( basically rent ) for shelf space.   The eye level shelves are most desireable and command the highest "rent ".  It's not too far of a stretch to expect that they are going to factor  their rent into the price of their product.   Save:  look up and down.   
2. Most of a grocery stores profit lies in impulse buys.   Write  yourself a list of sale items and stick to it unless something shouts I really can use that and the price is right.   You don't really NEED M and Ms-- that hamburger that is priced at two dollars a pound because tomorrow is the pull date, however, can be a bargain to be wreckened with.   Take it home and cook and freeze immediately.
3. It is No accident that the toys are on the same isle as the sugar coated cereal or the candy and gum are near the checkouts.    First of all, avoid taking children to the store with you.   Some husbands can be just as bad.LOL. Leave the kids home if you can possibly find a way.   You will be less distracted and can make better decisions.   Try swapping babysitting with a friend or neighbor.    Leave them with dad or grandma....
4. It is also no accident that some retailers change their stores around what seems like weekly.   Costco is notorious for that.   The longer you spending a store, the more money you are going to spend.   The bigger the cart, the more money you are likely  to spend.   If you have to look for something, you are likely to go down every isle.   Costco does not mark their isles.  
5. When walking around the store, the  outside perimeter of the store has most of the dire necessities : dairy, bakery, produce, and meat departments.    The inside isles have sundry items and canned, boxed goods.    Don't go down a isle unless  there is something you need down it.   
6. Don't touch anything unless you are going to buy it,   Statistics show of you touch it, you are probably going to buy it.  
7. Retailers use, music, lighting, and smells to draw you in and keep you there .   They have studied shopping trends.  Focus on your list.   
8. Pricing is another way to disarm you.   Just because something is 10/10 doesn't mean you have to buy ten.   Some smaller packages of cheese are price low until you do the math,   And find out they have exorbitant prices.   It helps to learn basic figures in your head .  If something's 3/2 it is .67 each.   3/5 is 1.67 each.   There are 16 ounces in a pound, but a cup of grated cheese is four ounces.    Go figure.    
9. Ten dollar off fifty dollars. Those coupons are meant to get you in the store.   The more you spend over the fifty dollars, the less percentage you are getting off your purchase.   If the products are 125 percent of retail, you haven't saved a thing.   Do the math, and plan your trip.  If you have coupons, factor them on and try to stay as close to the fifty dollars ( or whatever the amount is ) I shop with a plan and my husband adds our purchases with a calculator from the dollar store.    
10. Buy six save three.   Do the math.  check the bottom line,  if all the products on  their list are highly processed junk food, it's not a bargain at any price.  It all boils down to the first basic tool you need to do groceries on the cheap!    

KNOW YOUR PRICES.   Every item in that store has a RBP.   You can really score if you know what that RBP is and use coupons or rebates to get prices as low as possible.  Remember, the store doesn't care if you use coupons. They get reimbursed for the coupon and are paid a fee for processing them.   

I do these off the top of my head.   There are more articles on the subject on earlier posts.   

Thanks for stopping by 

Please share 

Jane 

The ads 9/2 15

Traditionally, holiday weekends are not the times to find good bargains except on BBQ food.  

QFC
Grapes 1.28
Cheese 5.99
Butter 2/5
Buns 4/5
Ice cream bars 2.49
Cool whop .99



Buy 5, save 5.  Net prices
BBQ beef 2.99
Cereal 1.99


Hebrew national 2/7

SAFEWAYS

apples .99
Grapes 1.28
Hot dog buns .88@@

Five dollar Friday
Hormel dinners
Tilapia
Lloyds BBQ beef
Soup .79@@
Corm 2/1

ALBERTSONS
APPLES .99
Grapes 1.28
Corn 2/1

Haggens
Ten dollars off of fifty
Apples .97
Corn 6/2



That's about it.    



thanks for stopping by

Please share,

Jane

2nd week of meals

I did notice that a lot of the last meals had processed meats in them.m some of them were just flavoring, token amounts.

2nd set of meals

1. Mac and cheese ( extra fiber macaroni .46 with Fred Meyer Catalina and ibotta . Add .50 worth of cheese at 2.00 a pound  ( grocery outlet) mixed veggies .50.   2.50
2. BBQ chicken parts ( wings, thighs, legs  (1.50) corn on to cob. 1/2 ears .66 (Fred Meyers)  salad 1.50   3.66
3. Bean soup - 3.00 ( scratch) rolls 1.60.  4.60
4. Pork chops 3.40 BOGO last week at QFC ,  bread, Apple stuffing    Chopped broccoli  4.40
5. Sloppy joes, oven fried potatoes , salad    .88  ( bums - Winco, sauce (scratch) .25, 2.25, salad 1.50, potatoes,1.00.   4.38
6. Shrimp stir fry.   Shrimp 5.00, ramen noodles, stir fry veggies 1.50.   6.90
7. Vegetarian pizza.      2.00 crusts. .10'tomato paste.  .50 cheese,  black olives .70, 25 peppers.   3.55, saladm150. 5.05

31.49/7= 4.50 a meal.     .

That's about it 

Jane 

How to meal plan

We went grocery shopping yesterday.  I hit the grocery outlet and Costco.    We hadn't spent a lot so far  this month and needed to replenish stock.    I am still at 70.00 a week.   Our USDA stars  are 147.00.   Do the math.   4 people at four dollars a day is 16.00 a day.  Sixteen dollars times 30 days is 480.00.   70.00 x4 equals 280.00 or 10.00 a day and my costs do not reflect my ibotta money.m.
In other words ,

USDA per person per day is 5.25 a day
Quoted snap is 4.00 a day
Ours is 2.50 a day

Now, a caviat  is that my daughter and granddaughter eat at school during the week , so there is no breakfast or lunch eaten during the week.  And, to be fair, most school aged kids on snap  get free lunches and breakfast  at school.      Still, the difference in cost goes a long ways to exemplify the benefits of stocking, couponing, and only buying at RBP.

How to plan a menu.   I made a work sheet up to facilitate the process.    It has seven squares for menus , one for my matrix. And two columns : one for things we have,  with things that need to be used first marked, amd one column for need to buy to fill in.

You could also go at it in a different direction and theme your nights.

1. Pizza night 
2. Soup night
3. Sunday dinner 
4. Mexican 
5. Breakfast for dinner
6. Pasta 
7. Fish and chips or some kind of a sandwich ( hot dogs, sloppy joes)

Anyway you approach it, having an outline goes a longways to make the process faster and easier.   

I have a matrix of 2 beef, 2 chicken or pork, 2 vegetarian , and 1 fish  or shellfish.   

I look at the list, making note of things we need to use up first ( a highlighter helps) and start writing down meals paying close attention to any day when dinner needs to be a quick one , or one that is easy like in the crockpot.    

Note any speciality items that you might need to fill in.   

1. Split pea soup with ham cubes in freezer.   3.25 ( ham cubes 5.00/4 meals , split peas and a biscuit mix .   ( I would make cheese biscuits from scratch. This is some can cost it. ) 
2. Pizza 2.50. Green salad with tomatoes 1.50 or 4.00 ( pepperoni is .50 with a coupon at dollar store , cheese at 2.00 a pound at grocery outlet, part of a tomato paste can, and 150 pizza crust from grocery outlet . 
3. Roast beef a jus sandwiches , green salad.   Salad 1.50, roast beef 4.00 (Costco) rolls 2.00.  - 7.50
4. Salmon noodle casserole.   3.00 salmon, noodles 1.00, white sauce mix.-stock, peas and carrots free from QFC.    4.00
5. Hot dogs, buns, pasta salad, fruit.    Hot dogs, free from QFC, buns .88 (Winco) salad .75 with coupon.   Bananas 1.39/2.- .70-----2.33
6. Eggs, bacon, yogurt parfaits, pancakes.    Eggs (1/2 doz 1.00, bacon 1.00 ( Jennne-0 dollar store) pancake mix .50( grocery outlet) yogurt .40. Blues .30, granola - too little to count ( chez at dollar store) 3.20
7. Potato soup. 1.60 ( potatoes at Winco - on sale with ibotta) milk a dollar at Fred Meyers, bacon from dollar store package.  

Average 3.63 a meal.   Note : I didn't go to all those stores in the same week. That's what stocking does for you.   I usually go to two chains a week.  I go to the dollar store and grocery outlet when we are in that area for something else.    Costco is on a need to go basis and is in our backyard practically.   lol.  Winco is when I can't find good proces at the stores that are in our area.   We are,supposed to get a Winco next year.   

Thanks for stopping by 

Please share.   

Jane 

The ads

We have all the ads today, most of them are not very good.  

Safe ways

Lettuce .99
Cantaloupes 3/5
Ground beef 10 percent  3.99
Chicken noodle soup .69@@. Limit 6

Five dollar Friday
Cream cakes
Quilted northern
Brawny
5/5 brownie mix or cake mix
Safeway pods (12)
There are coupons for some of these



Yo plait 10/5
Cucumbers 1.00

T he evil twin....LOL.   Albertsons
15 percent ground beef 3.99
Cantaloupe  3/5
Dryers BOGO
Lettuce .99
Berries 2/6

Haggens

Cantaloupe .47 lb
Pearsv2.00
Oranges 1.00
London broil 3.99
Haggens tina 2/1@@
Top round roast 3.99

QFC

Apples .99
Peppers 1.00
Quilted northern/ brawny 2/10. $$$
French bread 1.00
Lettuce 1.00
Pan bread 2.00


Thanks

Fred Meyers, rite aid, grocery outlet, dollar tree, gas station, Costco, amd my daughters work.

All in two and a half hours.    

Grocery outlet had pizza crust for 1.28.  They also had a tin of Keebler soda crickets 1-3/4 pounds for two bucks.    Pam ale mom, confetti, just add water for .50.   And applesauce 2/3 . 

Rite aid has wet and wild cosmetics 3/200 with a dollar reward of you buy two units.   There was supposed to be coupons to make out .03 , but they aren't in our smart source.   Still 1/2 price is  good.    

Dollar tree had my sugar free parfait for a buck, a good book on southern cooking , ( they also have one on costal outdoor living) 

Fred Meyers has bumble bee tuna for a buck.   Rontini pasta - extra fiber is a buck, with a additional dollar Catalina and a twenty cent ibotta.    

Many veggies and fruit at good prices.   Milk is a buck as well as sour cream.   

Costcos bananas are on a .2o ibotta , 

That's about all.   

Fred Meyer

Fred Meyers ads for today.   Fred Meyers ads run from Sunday through Saturday.    

New crop apples .99

Heritage  farms chicken breast 1.99. ( note this is Tyson  brand and comes from Arkansas.  ) 

Corn 3/1 

Milk 1.00@@

Zucchini .99

Grapes 1.49

Oranges 1.49

Frozen veggies 1.00  (10/12'ounces). Winco is always 1.99 for two pounds.   

Sour cream 1.00

Bumble Bee tuna 1.00

Suddenly salad 1.00

Smart taste pasta 1.00

Kroger  pepperoni 1.00.  ( note of hormel has a coupon, it is .50 at the dollar store.   ) 

Angel soft tissue is a dollar and there is a .45 coupon out there.   

That's it.    

Winco haul. 8/22/15

We finally got out of the house  to do a Winco trip.

I digress.   I bought all the things that are cheaper at Winco.   I spent almost fifty dollars, but considering the other weeks of the month I averaged forty dollars, that is not bad.  

In addition, I used coupons and Ibottas on potatoes, Yoplait, and Betty Crocker brownie mix totaling 1.40.  48.53.  

Chicken noodle soup was .88.   Yoplait was .50 less .30  in Ibottas and coupons equals .20 each.
I got diced tomatoes, refried beans, and sliced black olives all cheaper than the other stores.   Usually Costco is cheapest for refried beans.    Sometimes I get tomatoes and regular beans  for fifty cents at Freddie's.    English cucumbers were .78 and peaches were .98 a pound; they were a dollar each at Costco.   A large bag if lettuce was 2.38.   Mission tortilla chips were 2.38.   Cream puffs were 4.38.   The same ones were 6.99 elsewhere.  
Coupon savings were 4 percent.   I got a dollar off of two picante sauces and a dollar off of Yoplait.
Picante sauce netted 1.28.  

That's about it.

Blog series...what to do with eggs - Vol 5

Note: I have already done hamburger. But not on this series.

Eggs have doubled in price.   They are still a good buy.   There seems to be a grave difference in prices in other parts of the country.   I am not talking about, free range, no GMO , organic chicken eggs.  I am talking about the regular eggs I grew up with.    I can find them for two dollars a dozen.  We used to get them a few months back at Fred Meyers for a dollar.  That's .17 an egg.   Two egg servings for four people is 1.36 for protein a meal.  I am finding them for two dollars at Costco.   I had to buy five dozen for that price.   If you have breakfast for dinner once a week, we can use them up before the pull date that is a month out.  

Last week we had a dinner of confetti pan cakes, bacon, and yogurt parfaits.   Dinner on a bare bones basic budget should be five bucks for the proverbial family of four-- two adults and two school aged children.  

Note: some of this was really hard to cost out.

Confetti pancake mix ( just add water) .50 at grocery outlet
Bacon - turkey bacon is a dollar for 5  ounces at dollar tree - jenne-0
Yogurt parfaits - 3 vanilla yogurts I paid twenty cents for , blueberries .83. Granola is misicule price.  I got it at the dollar store ( chex ) and just sprinkled the top with it.
Total 2.93.  
Dinner two:
Pork chops were BOGO at QFC this week.   Four pork chops were 3.30.  
Add frozen potatoes from the dollar store ( from USA)
Add mixed vegetables from QFC ( I got them free) but the cost 1.00 ( 1/2 a package )
Cost 4.80.  

Average for the two meals 3.87 a meal.  
You can have good food for five dollars a dinner.  
You can't have food from Mars, but you can have good food.  
 I digress.  

Ten things you can have with eggs:

1. Quiche ( aka impossible pie.   Most of them take two eggs and milk amd Bisquick.  You can out anything in it you please, just create the bulk of whatever the recipe says.   In other words, if it calls for a cup of meat, you need sometching that is going to take the same amount of space.  Veggies work that have been partially cooked. You don't want them to give off water.    
2. Scrambled eggs 
3. Egg English muffins.  A quick breakfast is a bear up egg in a glass measuring cup, 35 seconds in the microwave ,  put between a split English muffin.   Out the door!   
4. Waffles , CHOCOLATE waffles!    
5. Eggs Benedict 
6. Deviled eggs 
7. Omlettes, my mother used to separate the eggs, whip the whites and finish it off on the oven. I just beat the eggs, add a little milk or sour cream into them, put them in a greased pan and cook them on a medium heat, scraping the sides with a rubber spatula letting the raw eggs flow to the outer edges of the pan, cook eggs thoroughly and use the same precautions as meat.  
8. Egg muffins ( grocery outlet- "Feed your family in 4 dollars a day"  free at grocery outlets .   
9. Fried rice.   
10. Nievos rancheros   ( I'm sorry, I probably butchered the spelling  - Mexican eggs!     Yummy!   

I, sure there is more, this was just off the top of my head!   

Thanks for stopping by 

Please share 

Jane 

The ads

OK, I'm getting more disappointed at the merge of Albertsons, Safeways and
Haggens.  I used to be able to get good buys at Safeways.    Now, not so much.   Safeways and Albertsons ads are beginning  to look the same and Albertsons high  prices are mostly prevalent. Meanwhile, Haggens prices are higher than the proverbial giraffe male anatomy.    LOL

Albertsons

Betty Crocker scalloped potatoes, suddenly salad, brownies and cake mix 1.00
7 percent fat hamburger 3.99


Haggens

Lettuce 1.00
Avocados 1.00
Hebrew national 4.99**

Safeways
Foster farms chicken .99
Milk 2/5@@
Lipton tea bags 2.99@@

QFC is last weeks ad

I got pork chops BOGO.
Chicken is a buck
I had coupons for free Hebrew national , regular price 3.99
And frozen veggies
Smart carb elbows were a buck
Kroger pasta was a buck amd I had a .45 coupon.  
Kroger pasta sauce in jars is a buck
Grapes were I believe 1.28.  

That it.

I shopped cautiously.  

I didn't have the ads yet.   We went to the dollar store where I bought jello. And some hair accessories for my granddaughter, foil sheets, and Jennie O turkey bacon.  

I went to Safeways, read the ad, and walked out.  

I went to the goodwill and found shorts for baby for 1.60.  I also found sequins for 1.60..the equivalent  of more than twenty five 3.00 bags at today's prices.    

Then I went and spent 28.00 for food....all totaled 1/2 off  and I haven't checked ibotta yet.  

No ads! Thoughts

We had no ads in the mail yesterday. Our  mail person leaves a lot to be desired.    LOL.   The FAVADO ads say next week.   I don't know of that means they got the wrong date and the right ads, or they have all next weeks data.   LOL.    I'm in the dark.  

Last night we had yogurt parfaits ( vanilla yogurt, blueberries, and granola in a short footed glass) , confetti pan cakes I got form.50 at grocery outlet, and bacon.    Easily a less than five dollar dinner.    And fun!  

Eating n the cheap doesn't mean boring, or eating beans until you could fly to the ,oin on your own power!    LOL.  

Tomorrows rite aid and Fred Meyer ads

Tomorrows ads, today!      

Fred Meyers doesn't have a lot of things in their ad.    What they do have is good.  

Peaches .99
Canned veggies or to,a toes .49@@ limit 6
Brawny paper towel 4.99@@ see below
Cottage cheese 2/4
Frozen veggies 1.00- 10-12 ounces.    (I'd rather have 16  ounces.   )

RITE AID
Scott paper towels Mega. 7.49 - .50 coupon - 5.00 when u buy 2.  Nets 4.49
If there are brawny coupons, it would be as cheap.  

70 ounces Xtra laundry detergent 2/4, less 1.00 on two coupon. Less 1.00 points makes it 100 a bottle.  

Milk is. 2.69. It's a dollar a half gallon at QFC.  



That's about all.

Thanks for stopping  by
Please share and follow

Jane

Just a vent.....

Someone on another blog thread made the statement that couponing is just a way to fill a void and build ones self esteem!

It probably shouldn't effect me, I probably shouldn't take that personally.   But it made my blood boil.

Couponing only fills the want for us to have toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, soap, and laundry soap without spending our hard earned money or dipping into savings.  

There is a certain amount of pleasure when you walk out of a store with 22.00 worth of things you really need and suddenly it clicks in your husbands brain, he stops dead on his tracks, and says, we paid 1.09 for that!    You can get that stuff cheaper than retail at Costco, or Walmart. But I doubt you would get it for 1.09!

I don't spend a lot of time couponing.   Some of that  time is spent also watching a three year old play.
I do make a lot of money doing it.   Ibotta takes a couple of minutes while putting the groceries away.   It also should make toilet paper arrive on my doorstep for FREE!   There is something about the word  FREE that excites me, when it is not a free water bottle from the fair!   LOL.


FREE means I don't have to spend money on some of our necessities , so we can have some luxury items, like a date night with friends or an outfit from the Goodwill!

To say someone is sick and a hoarder  for stockpiling so they can make both ends meet is just plain over reacting to outrageous reality TV that not reality.   Like, OMG, I have two boxes of Bisquick!

One time, our family was in crises on a holiday.  My husband and children ate the holiday dinner at Denny's .   I never want  to be in a position, that I can't feed family because I don't have food in the house.    I wrote this blog because I know some people on snap don't know how to cook and shop and run out of money before they run out of month.   No child should suffer the insecurity of having empty cupboards.    SNAP is there to alleviate the problem; it only can work if people can know how to manage their grocery money.    Writing cookbooks will help-- only of the food is regular food--not food from MARS that the family won't eat!  

The statement I heard that said they told their toddler they didn't have fruit because they were saving to buy organic doesn't resonate with me........any fruit is better than no fruit!  



Just saying....

Really cheap inspiration for meals.

I always watch  for ideas for low cost dinners .  These cookbooks were 40.00 retail and I got them for a dollar each at the Dollar Tree.  Remember you can omit or substitute ingredients that are pricey, or make scratch white sauce imstead of expensive soups.

Blog series: what to do with pork loin - VOL4

Ok. Pork loin can be found at this period on time for 1.79 to 2.00 a pound.   I try to stay close to two dollars a pound average for protein.   Some things are higher, some not so much.   If you buy one bulk thing a week when it is on a true sale and buy enough for a months worth of THAT meal, you will save money and time.    I try for a half a loin because three of us eat pork.   If there are only full loins on Sale ,consider splitting the cost with family or a friend.  

Pork loin is  versatile.  The difference is that some things I buy, I cook ahead.   Some of the pork, I do not.  

Five things to make with Pork loin :

1. Cut a 1/2 inch slice if the end, and set aside, the cut enough pork chops for a couple of meals.   There are a lot of crock pot and other recipes out there for pork chops.  My favorite is to make a stuffing with a little chicken broth, dry bread cubes, and a chopped up apple, poultry seasoning.   Put in a greased baking dish.   Brown the pork chops on both sodes, and add to the baking dish . Finish  off in a 350 degree oven I til the pork chops are done and the stuffing is warm.   
2. Cut off a two pound section for a roast.   You can roast that the day you bring it home or shortly after.  More later.   *
3. Cut the first slice and the end pieces into cubes for stew
4. Pot pie,
5. cooked cubes  over rice,potatoes, or noodles.   ( same as stew beef)
6. Sweet and sour pork over rice  ( same as chicken ) 
7. Fried rice 
8. * After you have a dinner of roast pork! slice it thin and make BBQ pork sandwiches.   

You can freeze the pork sliced thin, or use it for a second meal the same week.   

Pork chops can be frozen as well as the cubes with some of the juice from baking.   

Thanks for stopping by 

Please share, and follow 

Jane 

Chicken pizza on five dollar dinners

Dinner: chicken and peppers pizza 

Ingredients 

Individual pizza crusts (2.00 for 4) 

Olive oil 

4 tsp tomato paste 

1 tsp Italian seasoning 

Mild peppers , chopped 

1 large slice cooked chicken breast, cut  into small cubes.  

White cheese 

Hear oven to 450 while assembling pizzas. 

Turn oven DOWN to 425 and bake 7-10 minutes, or until crust is brown on bottom and cheese is melted.