When to use Negotiation Strategies at the Grocery Store: The Grocery Game Challenge #3 May 18-24, 2015
INFLUENCE TO SAVE MONEY
Negotiation skills take time and practice so don’t be shy to haggle because you won’t become the master communicator you need to get the discounts you deserve.
It may sound deceiving when you use influence to get what you want but if you use the right negotiation skills it’s a win-win for both parties.
Often when we go grocery shopping there is a product we find that we are able to get reduced in price.
How?
If you saw a box of cereal where the box was crushed you’d likely just leave it on the shelf and find one that is not damaged. Right? Not us!
Throughout the day and night there is a stock person who goes around the store to stock and find products that are damaged or close to expiry and they typically reduce the price.
They don’t always find every product so it’s up to you, the consumer to make sure you negotiate the price you want to buy that product.
Besides, whenever you want to buy something you should inspect it for freshness, quality and expiry if the product is required to have one. This is the only way you will find out if you have ammunition to grab a deal.
Negotiation Process
So, you leave the cereal and we swoop in for the savings.
How to Negotiate…
You have to always be ahead of the negotiation process which means you have to know what you are talking about PLUS you must have alternative reasons why you should get a deal. I like to call this ‘power negotiating‘ because you aren’t sweating you’re waiting for their answer.
Think outside the box, if you can do that but in time it will come easy to you.
Why should you negotiate at the grocery store anyways?
Well, there is money to be saved and if you are on a tight grocery budget like most people the savings can add up to big dollars at the end of the year.
Mrs. CBB and I would first take that box of cereal provided it was on sale and a kind we like to a cashier. Once we get the cashiers attention we simply ask if it would be possible to reduce the price of the produce due to the damage.
Make sure you are pointing to the damage and looking the cashier in the eyes when you talk to him/her. He/She needs to know that you really want this product and besides they likely will reduce the price anyways or throw it out.
Since we can’t go dumpster diving in Canada (I wouldn’t) some people would be upset to see good food tossed in the bin for nothing. Sometimes it goes to feed animals as well but not likely cereal.
You could certainly use that as part of your argument if he/she were to say no but if there is a refusal of your negotiation you move on to set 2 in the negotiation process.
You ask for a manager.
I know it may seem petty at this point having to take a manager away from their busy schedule but don’t worry, it’s their job. They have the title manager to solve problems with-in the grocery store and this I’m afraid, is a problem that needs higher-up assistance.
Not all cashiers have the power to get involved with negotiations so don’t be alarmed if he/she declines to help you. I’m sure the cashier will be polite and let you know this isn’t territory he/she is able to have final say on.
Before you speak to the manager make sure you have your negotiation ready in your head. Know exactly what you will say.
Make sure to talk to the manager by looking at him/her, point out the problem, ask if he/she will reduce the price by x amount and that you would be willing to take it if he/she does.
We did this once with some vanilla packets we found at Zehrs. My wife knew they were expensive but they were in a section marked off strictly for reduced products with pink stickers (50% off). My wife took the vanilla to customer service who wouldn’t reduce the price.
My wife always asks for a manager or has even went as far as head office if she has to depending on how she is treated. There are always rude customers but we’ve also experienced rude employees.
When the manager asked her what she wanted she explained to him that the vanilla packets were not scanning via the in-store scanner and they were on the reduced rack.
He keyed in the UPC code and it came up with “not in the system” which apparently means they are getting rid of them.
He asked her what she wanted to pay for the box of vanilla and she said $3.00. They retail for about $0.99 for each little sachet of vanilla powder. There had to have been 100 little sachets in the box.
The manager was willing to take part in the negotiations and came back with $4.00 and at this point my wife knew that was reasonable because she knows her prices and agreed.
The manager was even cracking jokes and making my wife laugh. That was excellent customer service and the ideal situation however they don’t always go this easy.
If you are armed with a defective product which may be a dented can, opened package or damaged package always be prepared for rejection of negotiations but remember that there are always different layers of management or service reps.
You don’t have to wait for damaged products, close to expiry either to snag a deal. If you are buying in bulk at the grocery store, speak up. Talk to a manager and see if he/she can give you a better price.
Make sure to tell the manager how much you love the grocery store, you are a weekly customer and it’s your go-to store for the best deals. It’s not buttering them up if it’s the truth!
If you can get the manager to smile you should have no problems getting a discount even if it is tax-free or a percentage off the price.
This is why I always suggest to get to know your grocery store team so they know who you are and when you are ready to get involved with negotiations they already know who you are.
Always use their names and smile!!
Learning to Negotiate
The art of negotiation takes time BUT if you don’t do it you won’t get better at it. Don’t be shy because this happens all the time at the grocery store. If they view you as cheap so be it, you don’t know them on a personal basis so what’s the problem?
Even if we did know someone who worked at the grocery store that still wouldn’t stop us from negotiating to get a better price.
Another time we found milk that was 2 days away from expiry back when Zellers was open. We asked a sales clerk on the floor if she would be able to mark the produce down and she said no.
Once we asked for the grocery manager she came out and checked other products after we informed her there were more close to expiry.
She apologized as they typically mark them down but one of her sales associates were ill so it hadn’t been done. When we spoke to a floor clerk we attempted negotiations apparently with the health and beauty stock clerk who worked across the aisles.
Be mindful who you are talking to and if they even work in the same department because if they don’t know the first answer will be, no. You may get lucky and the sales clerk or stocker will tell you that it isn’t their department and recommend you to someone else.
Never give up but make sure you have valid reasons for wanting a product reduced. The last thing they want is you wasting their time. If there is a tiny dent don’t make a big deal over it.
Be reasonable when it comes to defective or damaged items because if it’s small it likely will stay on the shelf to be sold at full-price.
Your influencing skills are only as good as you want them to be. Make sure you are approachable and not acting like a total jerk, that won’t help your case. Most times managers have no problems offering a discount.
If you don’t get the discount you want you can try negotiating further but if no is no or a final price is final don’t push it. Make your decision to purchase the product based on the final offer price and be done with it.
Don’t forget the manager and cashiers will remember who you are so you don’t want to burn your bridges for the next time you come in and find something else.
The Negotiation Formula
- What are you negotiating?
- Who’s the best person to negotiate with?
- Keep your desired results with-in reason
- Go higher if you’re not happy with the result
- Settle/Compromise to get a result if necessary
- Always smile and be friendly
- = Savings
Negotiating at the grocery store is probably the best place to start perfecting your negotiating skills so you can move on to other things like negotiating a price on a new or used vehicle, negotiating while on vacation etc.
Are you ready to negotiate at the grocery store if you have to? What do you say and how do you prepare for the process to help others who are too nervous to speak up?
May Grocery Game Challenge posts
If you missed any grocery game posts for the month I will post the line-up for the month each week here in this section for you.
Join in the Grocery Game Challenge fun and post your grocery shop in the comment section of each blog post… here are the GGC rules!
- How to grocery shop 7 days a week and save money- The Grocery Game Challenge #1 May 4-10, 2015
- Top 5 Reasons Your Food Shopping Bill Is Expensive- The Grocery Game Challenge #2 May 11- 17, 2015
Grocery Saving Tips
Click, Save and Print. It’s that easy!
Free Money Saving Downloads are awesome lists that were created to get us on track to work towards reaching our budgeting goals and now we are sharing them with you.
I hope you take the time to get back on track and start the savings process in your grocery budget today.
Get organized with a FREE freezer inventory, meal plan, shopping list, price comparison list and much more all for FREE. CLICK HERE to download all the free lists and even our family budget spreadsheet for FREE.
NEW!! You can now download the FREE Canadian Budget Binder Budget Spreadsheet in Excel…Grab it while you can… It’s FREE! We use it to budget and in large part a reason we could pay our mortgage off in 5 years, check it out!
Ultimate Grocery Shopping Guide
Everything you want to know about grocery shopping in Canada is below with new information added monthly.
If you are new here and haven’t had a chance to read past posts grab yourself a beverage, sit down, relax and enjoy some educational reading material on ways to save money in your grocery budget.
If you missed a Grocery Game Challenge post some of the most popular posts are listed below or you can now find the posts listed on their own page called The Ultimate Grocery Shopping Guide.
If you know a topic that should be discussed send me an email.
2015 Grocery shop results
If you are a foodie like I am you will enjoy going through my Free Recipe Index where recipes from CBB Home Chef Nicola Don and myself are shared every Sunday on the blog. Check it out!
Yearly grocery budget for two 2015: $2820
(The above total does not include the stockpile budget of $240 per year or $25 per month.
Food Basics
- Cheerios cereal $4.79-50%
- PC Creamy Strawberry Yogurt $1.99
- 3 x Astro Coconut Yogurt $2.99-$1.00 coupon (one only)
- Bananas $3.21-50% +200 PC Plus points
- 2 x Extra Old Cheddar $6.29-50% and $5.31-50% plus 1000 PC Plus points
Total out-of-pocket $19.26
Points Overview (add any other sections you need to show us your savings)
- Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $190.03
- Total Grocery Budget with any carry-overs $190.03
- Total Gift Cards used to date: $0
- Total Rewards Points redeemed this week: $0
- Total Rewards Points used to date: $20.00
- PC Points Plus Earned to date: 77576
- Scanning Code of Practice (SCOP) to date $0
Coupon Apps (add any other apps you use to save money)
- Snap Groupon to date: $1.50
- Zweet to date: $6.50
- Cart Smart to date: $0
- Checkout51 to date: $4.50
GROCERY SHOP THIS WEEK (add any other sections you need to show expenses and savings)
- Total to spend this month $190.03 (this is minus overage $44.97 April)
- Stockpile budget 2015 ($25.00): (Jan/Feb) $50.00 +$0 (Mar)+$16.94+$25.00 (April)+$
- Stockpile budget used this month: $0
- Total coupons used this week: $8.00
- Total coupons used to date: $21.00
- Total in-store discounts this week: $9.30
- Total in-store discounts to date: $399.40
- Total spent this week: $55.60 (not including what I get back from coupon apps)
- Total spent so far this month: $46.57+$55.60+$19.26=$121.43
- Total over/Under spend this shop: under $under
- Total over/Under spend for the month: $n/a
- Total left to spend for the month: $68.60
- Total Spent To Date 2015: (does not include stockpile budget) Jan $166.49+ Feb $261.51+ Mar $231.02 + April $258.44+May $
Weekly Overview (your final thoughts) With my parents on the way I didn’t buy too much as we will go shopping next week. We have lots of meat in the freezer so mostly just vegetables, bread and fruits along with some milk is on the list.
Canadian Coupons Found This Week
Last week we found quite a few coupons so check last weeks GGC post if you missed reading it as I’ve scanned in all the great coupons found in Ontario stores right now.
Here are some great places you can find Canadian Coupons!
No coupons to report this week.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Grocery Game Challenge RULES: Read the rules first and if you have any questions email me or comment on this post with your question and someone will answer you as soon as possible.
- Do I have to be Canadian to post my Grocery Shop?: No, you don’t have to be Canadian to post your shops only to win a monthly prize. We have fans who post their grocery shop who live all over the world.
- When does the Grocery Game close each month?: The Grocery Game Challenge closes at midnight of the last Sunday of the last post for the month but you will still get a ballot when you post your shops even if they are late but I encourage you to stay on schedule. It’s a proven fact the minute we stop doing something that is scheduled that we end up forgetting to do it all together. Don’t let that be you! You can post your shops all month-long.
- Does your Grocery Budget include health and beauty and laundry products?:
YesNo, our Grocery Budget includes such items as shampoo, conditioner, laundry soap, fabric softener, dish soap etc. As of 2014-2015 we no longer include such items in our grocery budget so we can see actual food numbers at the end of the year so we can plan accordingly for our budget. We don’t mind stockpiling items that won’t be affected by expiry dates or have long expiry dates but not so much food any more. It’s just one way to help cut your budget to save money.
- Canadian Coupons: Where can I find Canadian Coupons?: Here are your latest Checkout 51 offers that you can use to help you save money in the Grocery Game Challenge. There are many great Canadian Couponing websites online that share weekly coupon match-ups so you can plan your grocery list.
- Best Coupon Apps: Coupons are slowly fading out but mobile coupon apps are the big rave these days. Just recently the popular coupon site that mailed coupons to households have gotten involved with their new mobile Save.ca app joining forces with the many apps that are already out there.
- What is an FPC?: An FPC is a free product coupon which means you can get a free product as described on the coupon.
- What is GGC?– The Grocery Game Challenge of course!
- How Do I Know what stores accept coupons?: If you are not sure it’s always best to call the store and ask.
- How Do I Grocery Shop?: I can tell you about grocery shopping and what we do in terms of shopping to save money and how it works for us. There are no wrong or right answers, just smart choices.
Over time you will gradually learn where you should and shouldn’t go in the grocery store or at least how to say no, I’m on a budget I need to buy this or that.
You may also substitute items in order to stick to your grocery budget to make it work. Nobody is perfect, heck we struggle with this part of our budget like many people do.
This is why the grocery game challenge was created to not only show you that we are like everyone else but to bring us all together to work as a team to get our budgets on track.
If you have just joined The Grocery Game Challenge 2015 get ready to dive deep into your grocery budget and learn just where you are spending, how much you are spending and what you are saving.
Feel free to read all the above posts that I linked to above which I feel are relevant to learning about the grocery budget and grocery shopping in general. If you are brave and want to learn everything I know about grocery shopping in Canada check out my Ultimate Grocery Shopping Guide! It’s FREE!
You’ve made a wise decision to take control of your grocery budget now show me your shops and let’s get saving!
Welcome to The Grocery Game Challenge 2015!
Join in and become money savers and take control of your grocery budget.
-Mr.CBB
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Our weekly budget is $125 making this month $500
Shoppers
$2.99-$1C Mazola oil
$2.50×2$1Cx2 alfredo sauce
$2.97-$1C&CO51$2 fleecy softner
$3.10-$1C 18% coffee creamer
$9.25 total oop
$5 total coupons
Sobeys
$7.96×4-$1.99&$7.96staff couponx2 poutine burgers 4pk & bacon cheddar burgers 4pk
$3.49×2-bogo staff coupon hinged burger buns
$3.99 2lb strawberries – raincheque
$3.49×2-$1Cx2 astro greek yogurt
$1.99-$1C spicy ranch salad dressing
$2.41×2-$1Cx2 pure leaf iced tea
$9.99×2-.75Cx2 907g brick bd cheese
$48.0 total oop
$25.91 coupons
Co-op
$2.99×3 1lb blueberries
$2.99×2-$1C 18pk eggs
$3.09-$1C 18% coffee creamer
$5.72-$1C 4L homo milk
$20.75 total oop
$3 total coupons
Superstore
$3.48×2-$2.50C old spice body wash -1500P
$1.10×2 mango iced tea -200P each
$8.59-$1C powder iced tea
$2.48 mushrooms -400P
$2.67 pc strawberry rice baby cookies
.57 bubble wand – clearance
$29.57 total oop
$3.50 total coupons
Walmart
$33.47 largest box of pampers
$1.80 five alive juice
$1 gummy treats
$1.10×2 chocolate milk
$4.50 4pk kabobs – clearance
$8.47 blueberry plant – wish I had bought two!!
$64.55 total oop
$172.62 weekly total oop
$37.41 weekly total coupons/discounts
$425.71 monthly total oop
$161.43 monthly total coupons/discounts
$2693.03 yearly total oop
$837.53 yearly total coupons/discounts
Really splurged on fruit this week and stocked up on a few things.
Hi Juanita,
What does the Mazola oil taste like? I’ve never bought it or tried it before. It’s a corn oil correct? You bought blueberry plants? Oh I want to see piccies how they make out. I’m sure you will get loads of a crop the way you love to garden. Then you won’t have to spend $3.99 to buy them haha~ All you need is a cow and you won’t need to buy milk… hehe! Is that a good deal what you paid for them? What on earth are Poutine burgers? Fries inside a burger with cheese curds? I make homemade fries and put them on a homemade burger… the recipe is on the blog. Great shop as always. You get ballot 3. Mr.CBB
1. Walmart (Canada)
2 Cheerios (390g), $2.97 each sale (reg $5)
Live Clean Baby Wash, $9.86 sale -$1coupon (reg $10.96)
Sippy cups, $3.97
Tortillas (10), $3.68
2 Bagels (6/bag), $3.88 each
2 Dozen Eggs, $2.64each –$1coupon wub2
Krema Yogourt, $4.44
Bananas ($0.77/lb), $2.10
Van Parlour Ice Cream, $2.97 sale (reg $5.49)
6 Corn Cobs, Sale $0.33 each sale (reg?)
– In-Store Discounts: $7.68+
– Coupons Used: $2
– Total Out Of Pocket: $46.01
2. Costco
Skim Milk (4L), $4.45 + $0.08crf + $0.25 deposit
Frozen Berry Blend (2kg), $12.99
Zavida Coffee Beans (0.9kg), $9.99 sale (reg $12.99)
Squirrely Bread (pkg of 2), $6.27
– In-Store Discounts: $3
– Out Of Pocket: $34.05
3. No Frills
2 Sloppy Joe Seasoning, $1ea (reg $1.57)
2 Taco Seasoning, $1ea (reg $1.57)
2 Danette Dairy Dessert (4/pkg), $2ea -2x$1 coupon (reg $3.48 ea)
STOCKPILE Chicken Breasts (Sale $2.97/lb), $26.06 (reg $3.78/lb)
2 Cucumber, $0.77ea
Mini Watermelon, $3.99
2 Red Peppers (4/pk), $2ea
– In-Store Discounts: $12.35
– Coupons: $2
– Out Of Pocket: $43.18
4. Superstore
2 Source Yogurt (454g), $2ea wub2 (reg $2.48)
2 STOCKPILE Purex Wash Detergent (4.5L), $7.77ea sale -$3 wub2 coupon (reg $12.73)
Onions (3lb), $1.77
Baby Sunscreen, $8.97 sale (reg $10.49)
Softsoap Refill, $2.48 sale (reg $3.28)
– In-Store Discounts: $13.24
– Coupons: $3
– Out Of Pocket: $31.16
5. Safeway
Homo Milk (2L), $3.79 + $0.08crf + $0.25 deposit
Pantene Shampoo, $3.99ea sale -$1coupon -$1Checkout51 (reg $5.99)
Pantene Conditioner, $3.99ea sale -$1coupon -$1Checkout51 (reg $5.99)
Pantene Hairspray, $3.99ea sale -$1coupon -$1Checkout51 (reg $5.99)
-$2Checkout51 wub3
– In-Store Discounts: $6
– Coupons: $8
– Out Of Pocket: $13.69
OVERVIEW
Grocery & Health/Home Budget for the Month: $500
Total Grocery Budget with any carry-overs $583.78
Gift Cards used to date: $34.07
Total Rewards Points redeemed this week: $0
Total Rewards Points used to date: $0
PC Points Plus Earned to date: 1700
Scanning Code of Practice (SCOP) to date $0
COUPON APPS USED TO DATE:
Checkout51: $10.50
Zweet: $1.75
Snap Groupon: $0
Cart Smart: $0
GROCERY SHOP THIS WEEK
Stockpile budget 2015: $225 ($25/month Apr-Dec)
Stockpile used this week: $38.60
Stockpile used to date: $69.26 (Apr$22.79+May$46.47)
Coupons this week: $15
Coupons to date: $67.30 (Apr$20.49+May$46.81)
In-store discounts this week: $42.27
In-store discounts to date: $105.50 (Apr$36.17+May$69.33)
Total spent this week: $129.49
Total spent so far this month: $347.74
Total over/Under spend this shop: $20.51 under
Total over/Under spend for the month: $
Total left to spend for the month: $152.26 + $83.78 carry-over from April
Total Spent To Date 2015: (not including stockpile budget): $763.90 (Apr$416.16+May$347.74)
Weekly Overview:
Sorry this post is so late. The flu went through our house 🙁 We discovered that even though red peppers were really cheap at No Frills this week, they weren’t worth it as they tasted like cardboard. Bleh.
Hi Megan
Great deal on the Cheerios. We’ve never bough LIVE CLEAN. Why do you prefer it? Eggs have been a great price with the sales and that fab coupon going around. Glad you were able to find it. The only problem with buying fruit and veg at discount stores is that it’s not the top grade. You risk getting a less than tasty product especially if it is out of season but that’s just about anywhere. You will pay for it though for out of season top grade produce. We tend to go to my father-in-laws garden in the summer haha but the best places are Ontario Farmers Markets. Great shop and hope you are all feeling better. You get ballot. 27
Thanks! We are feeling much better. Live Clean is an awesome product. We absolutely love it. It just smells so…clean! Haha! We switched to it after our son developed an allergic reaction to Johnson&Johnson products. No more crazy red rash with Live Clean 🙂 And yah, we LOVE our farmers market. Not necessarily the cheapest place to get produce, but definitely the tastiest. Our local farmers market starts this Saturday. Can’t wait!
Oh yes…I meant to tell you that we also love Live Clean, because the large size has a pump-top. It makes hanging onto baby in the bath with one hand and grabbing some soap with the other SO much easier. 🙂
I found the $1 off coupon here: http://www.canadianfreestuff.com/live-clean-canada-coupon/
Great to be back home. We have decided to stay home for the next year, so it will be interesting to see how long we can go, before we start having to actually pay for groceries. Yes, that NN margarine was a great buy…I actually bought the last 2 boxes, when we went back later in the week….since we know we will use them over the winter. Hamburg is the hardest for me to find on sale here. Yes, I do love those pink stickers 🙂
I look forward to seeing how your grocery shops all play out. Beef is so pricey and yes it’s hard to find on sale but if you do grab it while you can.
Yearly grocery budget for four adults and two cats -$7800.00
(The above total does not include the stockpile budget of $240 per year or $25 per month
Foodland #1
Bananas -1.44
1 jar pickles -1.79
1 jar relish -1.99
1 Certo pectin -1.99
1 pack SOS pads -2.59
1 yogurt -3.79
1 lb butter -3.99
1 Neilson ice cream -3.99
10 lbs potatoes -3.99
1 grated Parmesan cheese, grated -4.49
1 4l milk @4.88
3 Powerade @3/5.00
1 jug water -5.49
1 case ginger ale -6.59, 2.00 coupon
Tax -1.84
Total OOP -$56.74, 2.00 coupon
Foodland #2
2 cans tomato paste @2/1.00
4 cans pasta sauce @1.00
6 cans soup @2/1.00
2 pasta sauce @1.00
Bananas -1.10
1 yogurt -2.00
1 pack rotini pasta -2.00
2 w/w bread @2.99
2 bagels @3.00
1 lb butter -3.99
1 pack mushrooms -4.49, 50% sticker
2 4l milk @4.88
3 Powerade @3/5.00
1 jug water -5.49
1 lb ground chicken -5.49, 50% sticker
Tax -.78
Total OOP -$58.07, $5.00 discounts
Points Overview (add any other sections you need to show us your savings)
Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $634.77
Total Grocery Budget with any carry-overs $634.77
Total Gift Cards used to date: $0
Total Rewards Points redeemed this week: $0
Total Rewards Points used to date: $0
PC Points Plus Earned to date: 10550
Scanning Code of Practice (SCOP) to date $0
Coupon Apps (add any other apps you use to save money)
Snap Groupon to date: $3.00
Zweet to date: $20.75
Cart Smart to date: $0
Checkout51 to date: $18.50
GROCERY SHOP THIS WEEK (add any other sections you need to show expenses and savings)
Total to spend this month $634.77, this is with overage from the last two months
Stockpile budget 2015 ($25.00): Jan$22.20+ Feb$24.50+ Mar$22.18+ Apr$18.32+ May$17.97
Stockpile budget used this month: $17.97
Total coupons used this week: $2.00
Total coupons used to date: $77.03
Total in-store discounts this week: $5.00
Total in-store discounts to date: $68.13
Total spent this week: $114.81 (not including what I get back from coupon apps)
Total spent so far this month: $185.93+$124.86+$114.81=$425.60
Total over/Under spend this shop: under $43.88
Total over/Under spend for the month: $n/a
Total left to spend for the month: $209.17
Total Spent To Date 2015: (does not include stockpile budget) Jan $640.13+ Feb$572.63+ Mar$786.52+ Apr$515.95+ May$425.60
Weekly Overview (your final thoughts) I came in under for another week! I need some good sales in pop and especially meat in the coming weeks. I still have just over $200.00 left for the last week of May but June will be a 5 week month plus strawberries for jam and such. The Certo I got was to make a batch of dandelion jelly from a recipe the younger boy found online and wanted to try. I don’t think I would want to make a lot of it as it is quite labour intensive to get the flowers ready to go. Tastes good mind you. It made 6-250ml jars. He is happy as a clam with it. I have his recipe if you are interested.
Hi Christine,
Ah, I never even looked to see if June was a 5 week month. That will be challenging for us. Oh, you make dandelion jelly? I would love to see a photo of that when you open your next jar. Your son should become a chef or a gardener lol. I’d love the recipe!! With $200 left for the rest of the month I think you will be fine BUT will you survive June… that is the question ha! Nothing over the top this week with shopping I see. You did manage to find pink sticker mushrooms which are great. Do you ever buy the full case of powerade at the PC stores? It’s like $14.95 PC brand but it’s just as good. You get ballot 20. Mr.CBB
I’ll email you the recipe for the dandelion jelly. I’m still trying to figure out the new laptop and Windows 8.1. We still have not been able to move my music and photo files from the external hard drive to the new beast. I’ll have to look for those cases of PC powerade and see if the older boy likes it…..
Perfect thanks Christine!!We both hate 8.1. Just got an update for Windows 10 now..
Name Your Store: i.e. Superstore (Canada)
Total Coupons Used: $0
Total Out Of Pocket: $37.21
Week 15- 11-17 May 2015
NN coffee 3@4.49= $13.47 (2400 PC pts)
colgate toothpaste 3@$1.79 =$5.37 (900 PC pts)
speedstick deodorant 4 @ 2/$4.00 = $8.00 (1200 PC pts)
colgate tooth brushes 2 @ $1.99 = $3.98 (600 PC pts )
travel toothbrush/toopaste $3.29 (300 PC pts)
I spent $30.00 (3000 PC pts)
Name Your Store: i.e. Superstore (Canada)
Total Coupons Used: $0
Total Out Of Pocket: $0
NN margarine 3lb 3@5.89 =$17.67 – 50% pink sticker =$8.82
4L milk= $5.99
phil creme cooking herb &garlc $2.99 – 50% pink sticker = $1.49
phil crm three cheese $2.99 – 50% pink sticker = $1.49
2L ice cream $2.99
blueberries $3.00 (800 PC pts)
pork chops $1.96
naan bread 2 @ $1.99 = $3.98 (800 PC pts)
Do the above for each receipt you have then copy the template below and paste it to the bottom of your shop so we can see your results.
Points Overview (add any other sections you need to show us your savings)
Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $216.67 (averages $50 week)
Total Grocery Budget with any carry-overs $
Total Gift Cards used to date: $7.32+5.42+3.41+$5.77+$4.58=$26.50+$9.72 (11-17 May)=$36.22
Code of Practice (SCOP) to date $0
Coupon Apps (add any other apps you use to save money)
Snap Groupon to date: $0
Zweet to date: $0
Cart Smart to date: $0
Checkout51 to date: $0
GROCERY SHOP THIS WEEK (add any other sections you need to show expenses and savings)
Stockpile budget 2015 ($0.00): $0
Stockpile budget used to date: $0
Total coupons used this week: $1.68
Total coupons used to date: $1.68
Total in-store discounts this week:
Total in-store discounts to date: $65.82+$3.84=$69.66+$3.66=73.32+$3.95 (6-13 april)=$77.27+ $2.86 (13-20 april)=$80.13+$7.37=$87.50+ $1.35 (4-10 May)=$88.85+$11.85 (11-17 May)=$100.70
Total spent this week: $37.21
Total spent so far this month: $37.21
Total over/Under spend this shop: $
Total over/Under spend for the month $216.67 (under)-$37.21=179.46 (under)
Total left to spend for the month : $367.14-$12.26 = $197.77 (27Apr-03 may)+ $216.67(04-10 May)=$414.44-$37.21(11-17 May)=$377.23
Total Spent To Date 2015: (does not include stockpile budget) $80(23-29 March)+ $12.26 (30 Mar-5 April)=$510.35+$24.89=$535.24+$28.85=$564.09+$33.08 (6-13 April)=$597.17+$26.39 (13-20 april)=$623.56+$16.95=$640.51+$28.40=$668.91+ 0.00=$668.91 (04-10 May 2015)+ $37.21 (11-17 May)=$706.12
Weekly Overview (your final thoughts):
We actually paid for some groceries, because our PC deal was we needed to spend $30 (pre-tax) If we also bought $20 on health care needs (can always use toothpaste/toothbrushes/deodorant) we got even more points.We paid $37.21 but received 8400 PC pts. Very happy with that. Used a combination of PC points and gift card to ay for the rest.
Hi Kathryn,
How’s things back home now? My parents are here now too! Do you shop mainly for products with PC points? Great deal on the pork chops. I was just saying to another fan that we keep seeing pork mince reduced quite a bit lately too. That marg was an awesome deal. You like those pink stickers as much as we do too. I need to follow our PC plus points program a bit closer… I need the push because it’s hard to do after I load them because we don’t have a data plan on our phone.I need to make note of the deals on paper. Keep up the great work. You get ballot 19. Mr.CBB
May 8 – 21, 2015
Name Your Store: Superstore
Total Coupons Used: $0.00
Total Points = 11700
Total Out Of Pocket: $101.05
Human
3-750 g Frozen Vegetables – 3/$6.99 (or $2.78 each) = $6.99
Primo Spaghetti Sauce = $1.79
Minute Maid Rice = $5.28
NN Crunchy Peanut Butter = $3.97
2 NN Unsalted Crackers – 2/$3.50 (or $1.99 each) = $3.50
3 Pasta – (600 PC Points) = $6.51
2 Campbells Tomato Soup – $1.09 (PM Food Basics @ $0.79) = $1.58
Cheerios – (1000 PC Points) = $7.99
Certo Crystals – (400 PC Points) = $2.39
1 Kg Smooth Kraft Peanut Butter – $6.78 (PM Sobeys @ $2.99) = $2.99
Hellmans Mayo = $3.48
4 L NN Ice Cream – (1000 PC Points) = $4.87
4 Michelina’s – 1.77 (PM Wal-Mart @ 1.00) = $4.00
10 lbs Potatoes – (600 PC Points) = $3.79
Bananas – 1.235 kg @ $1.26/kg (200 PC Points) = $1.56
Celery = $2.49
Red Peppers – 0.290 kg @ $8.31/kg = $2.41
NN Wieners – (400 PC Points) = $2.99
Club Pack Chicken Legs = $8.30 + $8.02
6 Loaves WW Bread – $2.87 (PM No Frills @ $2.00) = $6.00
Cats
18 Kg Cat Litter = $8.98
Name Your Store: St. Jacobs Farmer Market
Total Coupons Used: $0.00
Total Points = 0
Total Out Of Pocket: $15.00 (Stockpile)
Human
Bushel of Apples = $15.00
Name Your Store: Walmart
Total Coupons Used: $0.00
Total Points = 0
Total Out Of Pocket: $80.90 (Stockpile)
Human
Peanut Butter Cheerios = $2.97
Frosted Cheerios = $2.97
3 Loaves – WW Bread – $2.17 = $6.51
2 Variety Pak Gum – $3.12 or 2/$5.00 = $5.00
Mint Peppermint Extract = $2.77
850 g Lean Ground Beef = $10.00
Honey Garlic Sausages = $10.00
Beef Burgers = $5.77
Milk Chocolate Chips = $2.22
Elbow pasta = 1.77
Muffin mix – 2.92
2 – 1.75L Fruitopia – $0.88 = $1.76
Pillsbury Biscuit = $2.86
Poptart = $1.44
Bananas – 1.33 kg @ 1.26/kg = $1.68
Garlic powder = $2.50
Shampoo & Conditioner – $2.98 = $5.96
Mini Carrots = $1.47
Hot Dogs = $3.47
Hamburger Buns = $1.97
3 Cobs Corn – $0.33 = $0.99
English Cucumber – $0.97 (PM No Frills @ $0.77) = $0.77
Ragu Spaghetti Sauce – $1.47 (PM No Frills @ $0.97) = $0.97
Cats
No shop
Grocery Game Challenge Results
Total Grocery Budget for the Human Year ($2080.00, for the pay period – $80.00)
Total Grocery Budget for the Cat Year ($390, for the pay period – $15.00)
Total Coupons Used this 2 Week Period: $0.00
Total Coupons Used To Date: $9.00
Total Discounts/SCOP this 2 Week Period: $0.00
Total Checkout 51 rebates this 2 Week Period: $0.00
Total Checkout 51 rebates to Date: $10.00
Total Snap rebates this 2 Week Period: $0.00
Total Snap rebates to Date: $1.00
Total Price Match for this 2 Week Period: $10.08 + 0.77
Total Price Match to Date: $202.25
Total Adhoc Stockpile this 2 Week Period: $80.90
Total Adhoc Stockpile to Date: $249.77
Total PC Points Received this 2 Week Period: 11700
Total PC Rewards Points Used this 2 Week Period:
Total PC Rewards To Date: 22765
Total Over/Under spend this Human shop: $10.90 over
Total Left to Spend for the Human Month: $69.10
Total Spent To Date – Human: Jan $69.59+$34.74+35.42+47.21+47.89+24.54; Feb $32.86+39.96+32.86; Mar $26.70+0.80+50.41+5.00+26.07+52.01; Apr $11.23+58.66+17.83+6.84+7.74+3.96+28.58+23.51 ; May $90.90 ; Jun $ ; Jul $ ; Aug $ ; Sept $ ; Oct $ ; Nov $ ; Dec $ = $812.68
Total Over/Under spend this Cat shop: $4.85 under
Total Left to Spend for the Cat Month: $19.85
Total Spent To Date – Cat: Jan $3.22+11.28+32.17+0+0.98 ; Feb $12.50+$0.00+9.58+4.59 ; Mar $16.04+0+13.06; Apr $9.58+11.77+1.96 ; May $10.15 ; Jun $ ; Jul $ ; Aug $ ; Sept $ ; Oct $ ; Nov $ ; Dec $ = $136.88
Overview: 1st week – This week, I blew the budget out of the water. I just couldn’t resist obtaining 7500 PC Points if I spent $75.00 or more. Now I’m back over the 20,000 PC Points and those will get used next week. Otherwise, things are back to normal in my world.
Overview: 2nd Week – Picked up another bushel of apples since the other ones were eaten instead. These will be made into apple sauce. Well those PC Points were not used this week, instead I used the market income from when my boss went on vacation the other week. Picked up some items that are not normally purchased so maybe I can convince my daughter to bake some brownies or muffins 🙂
Hey Dee,
So, what is Minute Maid Rice hahaha!! Loved that one. Those points sure are tempting.. so that’s $7.50 back in points? A great deal if you are able to find what you need up to that $75 mark. Hopefully they will be made into apple sauce hehe. What is your favourite apple? We like very crisp apples here. I say she should make some brownies!! I’m waiting for the chipits to on sale, the big massive bag for $6.99. Right now it’s $8.99. We have none in the house at all. What do you use the peppermint extract for? Great shopping this week. You picked up lots. You get ballot 17. Mr.CBB
The Minute Maid Rice was a slip of the fingers, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it 🙂 I did actually made apple sauce last Sunday. it took about 3 hours and we put 15 lbs of apple sauce into the freezer and ate the rest, which was very good. I don’t have a favourite but do know that I don’t like “delicious” apples. Don’t know where they come up with the names but I don’t think that these apples are delicious. My daughter wants to try and make apple sauce where you peel and core the apples first and then put them thru the food processor. I’ve tried telling her that the flavour of the apple sauce is in the skins when you are pushing the apple mash thru the sieve but we’ll see. I told her that the next batch will be done that way and then we’ll see which way taste better.
Actually now that you mention it, my daughter did actually make brownies and put the mint peppermint extract into it and boy do they taste good. You can definitely taste the peppermint and even smell it when you open the lid. My daughter also made me the muffin mix and added some (if not all) of the chocolate chips to make it triple chocolate muffins 🙂
Even though I do have data on my phone, I will incorporate the food that gives me PC Plus Points into my grocery shopping, that way I don’t have to remember what goods give me PC Points nor do I really care because I’ve taken into account what I can afford and need.
Haha, sure now I’ve heard it all. Too funny. We don’t mind delicious apples but not for apple sauce. I have to think of the names of some of the funky apples my wife likes. There are so many apple variations in Canada it’s more than I can handle lol. So you don’t peel the apples?
I”m not a huge peppermint fan but my wife would love them.
What bugs me is when we go shopping at Zehrs the very next day when they send the email to load the new points the products we just bought were on it. It’s frustrating… I should return it all then re-buy it lol. Do you ever find that happens?
The PC Points are always done on Friday and sometimes they will do some limited time bonus that expire within a couple of days. I typically don’t do my grocery shopping until Saturday or Sunday so I have my points before I shop.
The 1st time I bought apples they were Ida Red and the second ones (and were actually made into apple sauce) where Jona Gold. I’m not sure what will be purchased this week as I am wanting to make some jam or put some fruit/vegetables into the freezer.
Week 3 – May 17 – May 23
• Grocery budget to work with in May: $200
• Total coupons used this week: $0
• Total coupons used to date: $29.03
• Total RCSS gas coupons used this week: $.49
• Total RCSS gas coupons used to date: $7.89
• Total value PC Plus points redeemed this week: $0
• Total value PC Plus points redeemed to date: $130
• Total gift cards/certificates/gifts used this week: $25
• Total gift cards/certificates/gifts used to date: $38.76
• Total student discounts this week: $4.95
• Total student discounts to date: $92.51
• Total tax savings RCSS this week: $0
• Total tax savings RCSS to date: $9.57
• Total spent this week: $47.60
• Total spent so far this month: $136.50
• Total left to spend for the month: $50
• Weekly carry over: $2.40
• Total in carry over jar: $218.65
• Total Spent To Date 2015: $1124.95
RCSS: NN Sour Cream 2 x 2.00, Eggs 2 x 1.88 (PM), milk 3.97, Cheese whiz 2.97 (PM), Lettuce 2 x 1.00 (PM), grape tomatoes 3.98, cremini mushrooms 3.77, NN red delicious apples 4.98, baby carrots 2 lb 2.47 (PM), 10 lb potatoes 1.99 (PM), bananas 1.44, watermelon 2.97 (PM), celery 1.47 (PM), asparagus 2.56, cucumbers 2 x .77 (PM), less student discount 4.02: Total paid 39.85
RCSS: Croutons 1.88, Hellmanns Mayo 2.99 (PM), Peppers 4 pk 2.50, Bosc pears 1.79 (PM), less gas superbucks .49, less student discount .92: Total paid 7.75
Lots of price match this week. We needed lots of fresh veggies and fruit to work on staying healthy, my goal is to eat far better than I have been (eating cheaply I have baked too many bread products and have been filling up mostly on that). I wish we could have bought some meat, however, we do have a bit left, we are running very low. We do have the 2 dozen eggs for some protein. Looking forward to having so much fresh produce this week. We are working towards staying on budget. It has been successful so far, but I am still debating whether we can sustain it long-term at this point. My son has hit another growth spurt and it has been somewhat difficult to make sure we have enough healthy food on hand to make sure he gets what he needs. We anticipate that next week we may need to redeem some PC Plus points to get some meat. We have 4 hamburgers left from last week, lots of fish and one and half packs of hot dogs and perhaps something else if I dig a bit deeper. Since hubby isn’t a fan of fish, it makes it interesting. I am hoping lots of veggies done on the BBQ will offset the desire for meat.
Hi Super Shopper Angela,
Meat has been so pricey lately although I’ve seen tonnes of packages of pork minced marked down over the weeks. What are your debating about the long-term? What is your biggest struggle with it? How much is your son eating and what type of foods? Does your hubby like fish burgers? I made fish burgers with beans and fish last year.. bread crumbs, eggs, salt, pepper… Mushrooms are always a great alternative to meat, broccoli, chick peas, lentils… all great fillers. Keep at it… and good for you wanting to eat healthier. You get ballot 16. Mr.CBB
We have been waiting for our ideal deal on meat to stock up again. It is part of the design of the carryover jar besides PC Plus points. It will show in our final shop for May which is a doozy, but worth it. Long term, food budget is directly related to my struggle of staying on track so we can keep a roof over our head and not be forced to sell, rentals are more expensive than our mortgage unless we pick a very small apartment. It’s tough because we don’t have the additional funds and the house has hit a money pit year. Roof (leaked half the winter) must be replaced, picture window in the living room (rotted out) being replaced, deck (rotted out) and is demolished and will be adjusted to patio, and then you add the car into the equation which needed brakes and apparently a new motor (motor looks like it is still on warranty with deductible) It is so scary, we’ve had tough years before, but this is by far the worst and a true test on our family dynamic. I am trying to stay out of the food bank, but have not ruled it out as an option since hubby’s hours have been cut to 30 a week and I have one more year of school. Most importantly we need to remain healthy and the cheaper junk food needs to not be our main focus. Really can’t wait for the garden this year, even though I have had to reduce the size by half since we have to rip out the deck and I will lose all of the garden beds around it. I have been job searching, but I have to find something that will be accommodating to hubby’s retail hours and not cost an arm and a leg in day care. I know it will work out, but our funds have been depleted, cushion gone. Despite all of the life things that have been happening, we have been handling it reasonably well as a family. My son is seeing the biggest changes. Long story shorter, long term budget of $50 weekly is unrealistic to keep and we need to drop it again. However, I don’t know how to do that and still have food in the house. I’m working on it.
As far as my son’s eating, he eats more than I do. He is 9 (10 in July) and is steadily growing. My focus is on making sure he eats well, even if there isn’t much left for me to eat as well. Some of his favourites are cherry/grape tomatoes, pears, grapes, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, watermelon, celery, any and all fish, lettuce salad, chicken, rice, cheese, crackers, black olives, yogurt, yogurt raisins, pickles, pizza, subs, steamed carrots and hot dogs. However, he will eat most anything we put out for him. He is realizing these days that there isn’t other choices. Or at least many other choices that we used to have. He asks for something and we won’t have it, and of course his heart is set on it. It’s unfortunate, but unavoidable. We try to have other options that will satisfy him, but I know he’s disappointed. I do want him to be more independent about his food choices, but that is difficult because he wants what we don’t have. That is why he gets food choices over me. I would do anything for him.
MAY – Week #3 of 4- May 18-24, 2015
2015 GROCERY BUDGET / STOCKPILE BUDGET AND US RESERVE:
•Total Grocery Budgeted For Year: $190.00 x 12 = $2,280.00 for 2 adults
================================================================================================
REMARKS FOR THE WEEK:
As expected, we needed to do a little shopping on the Canadian side of the border this week. But, rather than face the cross-border line-ups of 4-5 hours each way, this long weekend – we are pushing back our shop to July 5th.
We needed a jug of milk and wanted one of chocolate milk – so we redeemed some more Save On Food points for the skim and paid cash for the chocolate. I have adjusted the grocery balances to reflect the points redeemed.
We took advantage of an Air Miles event at Safeway and earned ourselves 322 miles in one shop! It’s nice when there are in store bonus miles and printable coupon miles for everything! This also brought us to the 1,000 miles required to remain Gold for the year. Woo hoo!
Also, with it being a long weekend, it was a perfect time to keep our eyes peeled & grab a rain check for “mixers” for our summer celebrations! Nice to get them BOGO rather than full price. 🙂
Our spending did take us a little “into the red” this month but I’ll square that away at the beginning of next month by applying the funds that I would normally transfer to our US reserve to covering our overage. Our US reserve is rather hefty at the moment and really doesn’t need another cash infusion before our next shop.
We are well set though considering that I had thought we’d have a US shop and we didn’t. We may need a little more bread or milk before month-end but I am going to try and hold that off until June with “freezer diving”. 🙂
================================================================================================
OUR “CANADIAN” SHOPPING THIS WEEK:
Save On Foods – Maple Ridge
1 x 4L – 1% Chocolate Milk $5.99
1 x 4L Skim Milk $4.99 – $4.69 = $0.00 re 3,100 Points Redemption
•Total OOP: $5.99
• Grocery Budget OOP: $5.99
• Stockpile Budget OOP: $0.00
• Cash Hiding Spot: $0.00
• Points Redeemed: $4.69
** Earned 6 MORE Points on this shop **
** USED $0.00 in Coupons **
** SAVED $0.00 Loyalty Savings on this shop **
—————————————————————–
Safeway – Maple Ridge –
1 frozen GF Blueberry Muffins $6.99
1 frozen GF Double Fudge Muffins $6.99
8 Gala Apples $5.05
2 Bananas $0.68
8 Tomatoes on the Vine $3.18
1 Bag White Mushrooms $3.82
1 Celery $1.99
1 Green Onions $0.99
1 Green Cabbage $4.31
1 doz eggs $2.99
1 Loaf Asiago Cheese $2.99
1 Pkg Imitation Crabmeat $3.99
1 Pkg Imitation Crabmeat $3.99
1 Pkg Compliments Coleslaw $4.99
1 Pkg Compliments Coleslaw $4.99
1 Pkg Compliments Devilled Egg Potato Salad $4.99
1 Pkg Compliments Devilled Egg Potato Salad $4.99
4 x Becel Light 907 g Margarine $3.99 ea = $15.96
1 x Seedless Watermelon $4.99
1 Cottage Cheese $4.99
1 bag white potatoes $2.46
•Total OOP: $96.32
** Earned 322 Air Miles on this shop **
** USED $0.00 in Rain Check Coupons **
** SAVED $0.00 Loyalty Savings on this shop **
================================================================================================
OUR “US RESERVE” SHOPPING THIS WEEK:
OUR NEXT USA SHOP WILL BE July 5th!
================================================================================================
2015 Y-T-D GROCERY SAVINGS:
•Total Loyalty Card Price Reductions This Year:
Jan $3.58+ Feb $0.00 + Mar $14.54 + Apr $15.76 + May $0.00 = $33.88
•Total Coupons/Rain Checks Used This Year:
Jan $0.00 + Feb $0.00 + Mar $0.00 + Apr $0.00 + May $0.00 = 0.00
•Total Price Match Savings Used This Year:
Jan $0.00 +Feb $0.00 + Mar $0.00 + Apr $0.00 + May $0.00 = $0.00
•Total More Points Earned This Year:
Jan 22 + Feb 45 + Mar 140 + Apr 12 + May 6 = 225 Points
•Total Air Miles Earned This Year:
Jan 0 + Feb 0 + Mar 1 + Apr 1 + May 322 = 324 Air Miles
•Total PC PLUS Points Earned This Year:
Jan 1200 + Feb 900 + Mar 900 + Apr 1,500 + May 0 = 4,500 Points
•Total Optimum Points Earned This Year:
Jan 30 + Feb 40 + Mar 0 + Apr 0 + May 0 = 70 Points
================================================================================================
2015 Y-T-D GROCERY SPENDING:
•Total OOP Year-To-Date:
Jan $199.31+ Feb $180.69 + Mar $274.41 + Apr $105.59+ May (trf $25.00 Xmas Reserve+$35.00 to Summer + $17.50 trf to Re-Stocking Reserve + $20.00 trf to Borscht Reserve + $32.50 trf to US Reserve +$4.69 Points Redeemed +$5.99+$96.32= $237.00)= $997.00
•Total Year-To-Date Grocery Budget:
Jan $190.00+Feb $190.00 + Mar $190.00 + Apr $190.00 + May $190.00 = $950.00
•Total Over/Under on Year-To-Date Grocery Budget: $47.00 OVER < Rats! 🙁
================================================================================================
2015 UNUSED CANADIAN GROCERY RESERVE:
2014 Fwd $0.00+Jan $0.00+Feb $3.83+ Mar $32.09 + Apr $4.99 + May $4.69 = $45.60
================================================================================================
2015 RE-STOCKING RESERVE:
2014 Fwd $325.00+Jan $22.50+Feb $22.50 + Mar $17.50 + Apr $18.44 + May $17.50= $423.44
================================================================================================
2015 Y-T-D BORSCHT RESERVE:
2014 Fwd $412.50+Jan $12.50 + Feb $12.50 + Mar $12.50 + Apr $0.00 + May $20.00= $470.00
================================================================================================
2015 Y-T-D HOLIDAY SEASON RESERVE:
2014 Fwd $110.00+Jan $10.00 +Feb $10.00+ Mar $10.00 + Apr $10.00 + May $25.00= $175.00
================================================================================================
2015 Y-T-D SUMMER RESERVE:
2014 Fwd $90.00+Jan $10.00 + Feb $10.00 + Mar $15.00 + Apr $15.00 + May $35.00= $175.00
================================================================================================
• SUMMARY OF FUNDS Y-T-D:
$ 950.00 Grocery Budget JAN-MARCH
$ 45.60 Redeemed Points to Purchase Groceries
($ 0.02) Hiding Spot Cash – SPENT
($ 13.45) 2014 Costco Rebate Chq – SPENT
($305.94) Trf to Misc Reserves (Re-Stocking, Borscht, Xmas, Summer)
($ 202.50) Trf to US Grocery Reserve
($ 45.60) Set in a reserve to offset Redeemed Points
($ 475.09) Actual CASH SPENT
($ 47.00) OVER ON Y-T-D SPENDING
• VALUE POINTS REDEEMED Y-T-D:
$ 4.98 Skim Milk- 3,100 MORE Pts – JAN
$ 4.69 Skim Milk- 3,100 MORE Pts – FEB
$ 4.69 Skim Milk- 3,100 MORE Pts – FEB
$ 4.99 Whole Milk- 3,100 MORE Pts – MAR
$ 4.99 Skim Milk- 3,100 MORE Pts – MAR
$ 4.99 Skim Milk- 3,100 MORE Pts – MAR
$ 1.60 Sprouts- 1,000 MORE Pts – MAR
$ 4.99 Skim Milk- 3,100 MORE Pts – MAR
$ 4.99 Skim Milk- 3,100 MORE Pts – APR
$ 4.69 Skim Milk- 3,100 MORE Pts – MAY
$ 45.60 Total $ Value of Points Redeemed
So far $950.00 has been budgeted Y-T-D for 2015 and we have recorded these funds as “spent” and in fact they have been “saved”:
$423.44 Freezer Re-Stocking Fund
$470.00 Borscht Fund
$175.00 Holiday Season Fund
$175.00 Summer Season Fund
OUR TOTAL UNUSED RESERVES ARE $1,243.44 … that is a $937.50 carry-forward from 2013 & 2014 and $305.94 in NEW 2015 savings.
This also means that with $190.00 to start MAY less $97.50 transferred to the various savings reserves less $0.00 transferred for Points Redeemed = $92.50 less an overage carried forward from APRIL for $0.00 less an additional $32.50 saved in our US grocery reserve, we opened the month of MAY with $60.00 available to spend on the Canadian side of the border PLUS we have spent $107.00 on our groceries (cash & points) so far this month and have an overage of $47.00 to carry forward into the month of JUNE.
We have groceries that have been purchased using points redeemed, rather than the budgeted cash in the amount of $45.60. Available as an offset, we currently have $45.60 in our UNUSED CASH RESERVE. As at this moment, we need and additional $0.00 in the UNUSED CASH RESERVE. If our budget is truly sufficient, when we reach December 31st, the unused funds should still be equal to, if not greater than, the value of the points redeemed. It’ll be interesting to see if they actually are.
Note: Another reserve of $315.57 IS AVAILABLE for our next US shop currently scheduled for July 5th! < Mega Bucks! 🙂
Of the outstanding US Shopping Reserve $315.57:
$113.07 is carried forward from 2014
$202.50 is new 2015 Y-T-D savings
Less $0.00 that we’ve actually spent in 2015
= $315.57 US Reserve Available
================================================================================================
The valid rain checks I hold are as follows:
Safeway
4 Signature Café Pizzas @ 2 pizzas for $9.00- Good ‘til June 19/15
6 Ronzoni Sweet Onion Marinara @ 2 for $5.00- Good ‘til June 20/15
2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts @ $12 ea- Good ‘til July 4/15
6 Skippy Peanut Butter @ BOGO – Good ‘til July 11/15
12 Soft Drinks @ BOGO – Good ‘til Aug 18/15
================================================================================================
Hi Mary,
WOW, there’s no way I’d want to travel to the USA if it took that long to cross the border. It would take longer with me as I have to go in and sign paperwork bla bla and pay a fee. Is there a particular brand of chocolate milk that you both fancy? You are amazing with those Air Miles. We hardly ever get them but we have to shop at Metro and it’s too pricey over here. We haven’t been in there for ages. What are mixers? Great shop… you’ll catch it up no problem. You get ballot 15.
I always get 1% chocolate milk…the brand is less important. Mixers are things like various soft drinks, tonic water, club soda etc. Hubby likes the lemon lime flavor of Fresca. They are used in making summer drinks (with or without alcohol), hubby’s made-at-home slushies or for extending the amount of fruit punches. 🙂
Ah, Ok I get it now. My wife likes Fresca once in a while but she loves making homemade summer slushies with or without alcohol too! It’s a simple drink if friends come around to have a bevvie on the deck too.