Gotta love club cards

I haven't done too well staying within my grocery budget this month. On Thursday, I had to take David to the doctor, so I was on an AFB which meant I was by a commissary. There were simply some deals that I couldn't pass up, so I stocked up on some stuff. (If you've never been to a commissary, here's the scoop - you never know what the price will be. We as the consumer pay whatever the commissary paid plus a 5% surcharge, no tax. Sometimes, even with the surcharge, it is still much cheaper than at the grocery store. However, it is always hit or miss when it comes to prices. A deal is usually a really, reallly good deal and no deal means it's probably cheaper elsewhere....and you never know what you will find or when you will find it at that price again.) Here were a few of my steals:

• Campbells Cream of Chicken soup...60¢/ea
• Creamora (35oz) ...$2.79
• Theraflu Severe Cold...$3.42 - $2 coupon = $1.42
• 2 Celestial Seasonings teas...$2.78 - $1.55 in coupons = $1.23
• 2 Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats....$3.98 - 2 $1 coupons = $1.98
• 2 5# bags Gold Bread Flour...$3.20 (that's $1.60 each!!)

So as you can see, some of the groceries I got were really good deals...but I'm more proud of my Safeway trip yesterday. As I said, I haven't stayed in budget. But Thanksgiving is coming up...hopefully without holidays, I'll do better. (Sorry, no pictures of my well-planned shopping trip, but I'll lay it out with full prices to show you what I saved!)

• case of water $3.77 + CRV $1.20
• 2 Safeway "cool whips" $5.78 (paid $3.50)
• Pkg of hamburger buns $4.38
• 9.86 pounds of oranges $18.63 (paid $6.81)
• 3.13 pounds of Roma tomatoes $6.20 (paid $3.10)
• 14.57 pound turkey $14.42 (paid $5.99)
• 14.91 pound turkey $14.76 (paid $5.99)
• 20.25 pound turkey $20.05 (paid $7.99)
• 20.70 pound turkey $20.49 (paid $7.99)

I looked at the total of $111.40 and then handed her my club card and it magically said $50.72. Then I handed her my "Save $10 on any purchase of $50 or more" coupon and my grand total became $40.72!!! (And that included 70+ pounds of turkey!!) I had a savings of 63%.

As I said, gotta love club cards!