Okay: we are in a recession. I get it. We appear to be in a fiscal “situation” unlike anything I have experienced in my 26 years on this planet. Rapidly growing costs in heating, shelter, gasoline, food, and “other” means I need to be especially conscientious about where my food dollars go. I mean I will still go out with friends on occasion, but rather than buying dinner, we may meet for a drink instead. To give you a little bit more background on me: I am part of a two person (plus two cats) household in the Minneapolis, MN metro area. I used to be scared of cooking, but over the last 18 months or so, I have really tried to find easy and cheap meals to make at home so that I may enjoy life’s other luxuries….like electricity(!). In time, I will share with you some of the better recipes I have found—-pictures, too I promise! And nothing too crazy, either—I detest dishes almost as much as I detest strange over-priced herbs from the pricey grocery stores….But I digress.On to the good stuff of today’s entry: my trip to Rainbow Foods Sunday afternoon (and the nearby Dollar Tree). For the sum total of $19.08, I purchased grapes, yogurt, milk, cheese, and a ton of soap (bath, hand, dishwasher), while saving a tidy $26.48 (Rainbow does us the favor of totaling both sale and coupon savings, while Cub totals only coupon savings). I would have saved more here, had I the patience to wait for Wednesday, wherein Rainbow is running a double-coupon event through the summer. Then there was my trip (on foot no less) to the Dollar Tree. Here I picked up some triple-blade razors (5/$1), plastic sheet protectors (20/$1), a box of mint tea bags (20/$1) and a few other things for a total of $6.33. Bottom line: my weekly grocery budget for the household is $40 (this includes cats and cleaning supplies), though I often fall short of my budget.
I clip coupons, I stock up when the “gettin’s good”, and I try to be mindful of prices. In the future, I would be happy to share my other finds and deals with y’all, and please feel free to drop me a line with your questions/comments/deals (penny@radiatortoast.com)—–together, we will get through this downturn!
~Penny
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