All of this cost $64.63 after tax!

I love Kroger. We are so lucky that Houston Kroger stores double and triple coupons. It’s an easy way to rack up some super quick and very valuable savings.

I had to do 2 transactions this week. They are running a special where you can get a $3 off catalina (the coupon that prints at the register) when you buy 10 of something (in combination with other items is fine). I take note as I go through the store to make sure that I end up with a multiple of 10 when I check-out. Last week, I got 4 catalinas at check-out. I used 2 tonight. I’ll use the other 2 next week.

TRANSACTION #1
10 Gatorade G2 (the low-cal)

Total Before Coupons = $9.65
TOTAL AFTER COUPONS = $3.65 (Savings of $6.00 or 63%)
Here I used a $3 coupon I earned last week, plus a $3 savings of buying 10 of this item! A great way to use an in-store promotion while you are building a coupon stash!

TRANSACTION #2
2 dozen large eggs ($1/dz this week)
2 bags of mini carrots ($1/bag this week)
4 bags of PopChips ($1/bag this week)
2 lbs of bananas
2 large bags of Pedigree Dog Food
1 gallon of 1% milk
10 lbs of Roast (saved $22 on the meat alone!)
3 bags of Mission Tortillas (these are going in the freezer)
1 box Kroger Snack bags
1 pound Kroger low-fat Turkey lunchmeat
1 packet Bumblebee Tuna
1 box Nice N Easy Color Foam ($10 value, free from Facebook promo)
3 6-pks of Dannon Yogurt
1 bag Pillsbury Brownie Bites
6 cans of Campbell’s Select Harvest Soup
2 cans of Kroger Sliced Peaches
1 100-ct box of Excedrin Migraine
1 2L Diet Coke
6 tubes of Colgate Toothpaste
6 8-ct cans of Grands Biscuits
1 box Kroger Lowfat Granola Cereal
3 cans of Chef Boyardee Pasta
1 canister of Peter Pan Peanut Butter

TOTAL BEFORE COUPONS =$164.63
TOTAL AFTER COUPONS = $60.98 (Savings of $103.65 or 63%)
I used another $3 catalina that I earned last week; a $2 catalina that I earned last week on a cereal promotion; $55.05 in coupons (printable & from the Sunday paper); and I received an additional $48.30 off with just Kroger sale prices.

One of the big keys to shopping the way that I do is to match a store sale with a coupon. That’s the secret – it a nutshell. Knowing when to use your coupons and when to hold onto them. Do I always hold the coupons until a sale? No. Tonight, I had 2 high-value coupons for dogfood (the only brand my dog will eat). They were going to expire tomorrow. I’ll need dogfood again soon, so I bit the bullet and bought 2. Pick those battles and don’t be easily swayed. Sometimes you need to do it, but don’t feel like you have to use the coupon JUST because it’s going to expire.

And, to give full disclosure, I use The Grocery Game. I pay a very small amount of money to have all the sale items at my store sent to me. It also tells me how to match up coupons and which items are at their lowest price. I could not get the savings that I do AND work full-time in my career without this tool. Check this link to read more about it.

Happy shopping! I hope this is the week that you decide to give couponing a try!