Bargain Grocery Shopping

With some help from my sister (using her advise on megansrecipesandmore.blogspot.com), and my crazy math skills acquired at Arlington High School, I've learned how to get MORE food for LESS money. It's a good idea to take advantage of the weekly sales at grocery stores. It's also a good idea to look for coupons on Coupons.com, manufacurer's sites (bettycrocker.com, pillsbury.com, kraftfoods.com, etc), or even on eBay!

... But it's BEST if you can find coupons to match those items that are included in the weekly sales at the grocery stores. For example, if you have two computers and a printer, you can complete the following steps to spend only $5.00 on $41.89 worth of groceries...SAVE $36.89!!!

1. Go to the following site and find a coupon for Cheerios Snack Mix: http://print.coupons.com/couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=13306&zid=iq37&nid=10. Select "<<< Clip", then click "Print Now" at the bottom of the page. If this is your first time to Coupons.com, you'll need to install their coupon printer software. Follow the prompts to do so and eventually a coupon will be sent to your printer. Click the "Back" button on your Internet browser (the page will probably not load). Click the "Refresh" button and another coupon will be sent to your printer.

2. Go to this site and download a Juicy Juice coupon (you might have to register with the website if it's your first time): http://www.juicyjuice.com/Coupon/Default.aspx?CouponId=58A75813-1F55-4D0C-9F85-686C57DC6BB7. Follow the prompts to download or print the coupon and the coupon will be sent to your printer. Click the "Back" button on your Internet browser (the page will probably not load). Click the "Refresh" button and another coupon will be sent to your printer.

3. Go to the following site and click the button that says "Get $2 Off", the coupon will be sent to your printer (you can't use the back/refresh buttons to print another one here): http://www.kraftfoods.com/honeybunchesofoats.

4. Repeat steps 1 - 3 on your next computer.

You should now have 10 total coupons for 4 Juicy Juice, 4 Cheerios Snack Mix, and 2 Chocolate Honey Bunches of Oats. Albertsons is having a deal where you get $5 off these items if you buy 10 of them, so take your 10 coupons to Albertsons and you'll be able to get the following discounts:

Cheerios Snack Mix: $2.99(reg price) - $.99(sale discount) - $1.00(coupon) = $1.00 each / Get 4 for $4.00
Juicy Juice: $4.49(reg price) - $1.99(sale discount) - $1.00(coupon) = $1.50 each / Get 4 for $6.00
Honey Bunches of Oats: $3.99(reg price) - $1.99(sale discount) - $2.00(coupon) = $0.00 each / Get 3 for FREE!!

Your total is now $10.00 but since you bought 10 of the promotional items, you get $5.00 off so you spend only $5.00!!! TOTAL SAVINGS: $36.89

Good, Better, Best II

After tucking the girls into bed tonight, I walked down the stairs and past my wife who was diligently entering another post on her blog. I tried to remember how long it had been since I started blogging, made two posts, and then quit. Sitting down next to her, I signed into my account and pulled up my blog. I couldn't believe it's been two months!

I started thinking about the number of times I've recommitted myself to a better study of the scriptures, writing in my journal, training for the St. George Marathon, reading a good book, eating better.... get the idea? It's so easy to get distracted! Too often we find ourselves so caught up in good activities that we never get to those better or best.

Dallin H. Oaks said it best: We should begin by recognizing the reality that just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives.

Several months ago I attended a Franklin Covey workshop called Focus: Achieving Your Highest Priorities. The Franklin Covey planning system is built around clarifying your values, identifying your roles and creating a personal mission statement. In a sense, you then plan your life according to that mission statement. If an activity doesn't fit with your mission statement, then it's probably something that is just "good".

This week I'm going to dust off the planner and try using it again. Hopefully this will result in a better study of the scriptures, writing in my journal, training for the St. George Marathon, reading a good book, eating better... and maybe even a few blog posts!