Shopping with a purpose!

I've been attending a shopping class over the last few months! It has been enlightening, to say the least! I've carefully taken my notes. Sat on the edge of my seat listening. absorbing.. drinking in the wisdom of a mother of 7! YES a Mother of 7 who spends $400 a month on her groceries! So she shops for a grand total of 9, plus she finds gifts, plus all cleaning supplies for her budget of $400 per month while I was spending the same (and often going over) for my family of 4! I'm guessing I've got your attention now! :)

I thought I was getting it! I was concentrating on every word. My first shopping trip AFTER taking the classes I really thought I was ready to save! There was a big sale on chicken at 1.99 a pound and we did stock up on the chicken at this price.. but that wasn't my problem. My $200 budget for this grocery trip was blown without that investment being considered. OK. So, after applying ALL I learned... I spent nearly $280 with a savings of $27.00. I felt like I just didn't get it!

The next meeting I was proud of my chicken bargain and my $27 savings - but I also felt like I failed BIG time! Then our teacher offered the unthinkable! She offered to take us shopping one by one! I took the next Saturday. That was our next grocery trip and I KNEW I needed the assistance! I cut up coupons, I studied the paper. Friday was all about my list, the ads and coupons! I wanted to be ready to save and learn on Saturday morning!

We met at 7 AM at our nearest Walgreens. (She wanted to show us her method for scoping 3 specific stores - normally you don't need to go to ALL of these stores to get the results we did.) We opened Walgreens by the way! We slowly walked down each aisle as she explained how and what to look for - the bargains that is! We left Walgreens - after MUCH learning and time - with my spending $50 and saving $47 and with a rebate earning of $24 and a $1 coupon (like money) to spend on my next trip! I was overwhelmed with all I learned and I really didn't GET what all we did - I just obeyed my teacher. :) I've always been a good student! I will tell you that I ended up walking out with 5 bags of cough drops (and many other things we didn't "need") and they ended up paying me to buy them!

Our next stop was Publix. My peanut butter crackers that I ate for breakfast were a distant memory. We again walked the aisles but with a different method. I really thought I got the principles she shared. I thought 'OK, I have my coupons and the item is on sale - boom! that = a deal!' I quickly learned that I had MUCH to learn. We walked the aisles and I cannot remember the number of times she saw coupons or deals and tried to see if I saw it and I NEVER DID!! I felt like every question was another opportunity to show my lack of understanding. But I pressed on! I need to learn this! We ate the little meal they cooked in the store as an appetizer - bought bargain after bargain. I even bought stuff just because she was (because if SHE was buying it - that meant it was a deal) and she was giving me coupons. She at one point asked me if I had pie filling, I said no. She said then how will you make the dump cake? I said - "I don't plan on making the dump cake." She said "then why did you buy the mix?" Ok I said. I need pie filling! We laughed! Ok, so after spending around $70 I saved $80!!!! I was amazed!

We went to Wal-Mart - only out of absolute need. Wal-Mart is not the place for bargain shopping unless you need something badly and there are no coupons or sales! Then Wal-Mart is worth the trip. Another good use for Wal-Mart is for ad matching. If you have an ad from a store you don't frequent bring in their ad to Wal-Mart and you can still get the deal. So we used our ad matching for coffee, grapes, tomatoes, and several other deals. I will tell you a specific incident that occurred. We were getting grapes and I just picked up the pre-packaged grapes from the pile. She said "No, no, no. That is NOT how we buy grapes!" I dropped those grapes like a child caught by their mommy! I then asked... "How do we shop for grapes?" She opened the pre-packaged grapes.. we took out the big bunch that were attached to the vine still and left the little pieces that had fallen behind. Great tip huh??!! So we didn't buy the mushy little icky grapes! Not much savings at Wal-Mart. We are talking maybe $10 or so of savings.

Then on we went to another local chain. We scoped the stores and learned how they mark their products down. We bought several sale items and the remaining products on my list.... we ended the day with my spending $78 and saving $54. My ticket was a little high here because I bought a lot of ground meat at $1.99 a pound. I was stocking my freezer.

I arrived home at 4:30! Yes I shopped from 7 am - 4:30 pm and spent about $230 and saved over $180 and had $24 rebates coming my way! I still went over but this time I can tell you that my meat stocking did take me over budget. Not to mention that I brought home DOUBLE the groceries I usually bought. I felt like I had been through a marathon and I also felt like I won! We grocery shop twice a month and so I am now due for my next shopping trip after that one - alone. I am a little excited yet afraid I will blow it!

I know I do not look at the grocery store the same way as I did before my adventure! It was truly a life-changing experience. The principles she shared stuck this time. When she would say she never spent over $1 on certain items - I thought "Wow! Maybe one day I will find a deal like that." I thought it was a chance thing. I cannot tell you how many things we spent LESS THAN .50 cents on! There is a science to it! I will share more after my next trip. This savings work gets into your blood before you know it! It becomes a badge of honor! I hope I save tons like I did before! It took me weeks to process this experience so that I could put it into words. I am still overwhelmed by it all! We shopped on March 15th and I am still trying to understand how we bought so much for so little! By the way, she spent $80 and saved $120! I want to keep my savings UP!! It is addicting! I feel like I am awake now in the grocery store - rather than shopping from my list!

I didn't share dollar amounts to reveal anything private, but to show you a before and after example. If you have questions for me - ask! I would love to help you save too! I am still trying to process my experience! I will be shopping tonight! I hope I have great savings to share with you! My goal is to save as much as I spend, at the least!! Ask away! This could be fun!