Super Savings Saturday!

As most of you know, we have some friends staying with us for 2 weeks right now. Because of this, the grocery budget is definitely a little different. First of all, my friend Blake and I both really love cooking, so when she comes we tend to go all out on the meals. Also, I don't use coupons as much, because I want to spend time with our friends. Finally, I don't menu plan as much, because we tend to kind of plan as we go.

What I've decided to do is still stick to my weekly grocery budget of $35, but I also set a "vacation fun budget" for while they are here. This is money we have set aside for the past month or so. So the extra food expenses for groceries will come out of that budget.

So here is the most recent trip I made to Publix, before our friends came in town. We have since gone grocery shopping for additional items to make meals, but that came out of the extra vacation budget.

Here's what I got at Publix (pictured above):

1 gallon milk
1 Florida Natural orange juice
2 Vitamin Waters
1 Bertolli oven-baked meal
4 packages Juicy Juice boxes
1 bunch of bananas
4 boxes Cheez-Its
4 boxes Frosted Mini-Wheats
4 jars Emerald peanuts
1 container strawberries (16 oz)
2 packages Back To Nature granola (YUM!)
2 packages Wheat Thins Toasted Chips
2 packages Chex Mix
1 A&W Root Beer 2-liter
1 7-UP 2-liter
1 water (2.5 gallon)
1 package Cottonelle toilet paper

Total Before Sales and Coupons: $116.36
Total saved from sales: $47.45
Manufacturer coupons used: $21.00
Store/Competitor coupons used: $12.00
Total amount saved: $80.45
Total paid after all sales and coupons: $35.91

I went $.91 over the weekly budget, but I have extra left over from previous weeks when I was under budget. This is the last grocery trip for December! See below for the totals...

December Totals:

1st week: $36.15
2nd week: $29.73
3rd week: $27.86
4th week: $26.97
5th week: $35.91

Total spent for month of December so far: $156.62
Total savings for month of December so far: $494.06

Looks like we're under budget for the month! We have $18.38 left over! (which went towards part of the vacation budget mentioned above).

I always like to look at my savings at the end of the month, and consider how much I would be spending if I didn't coupon. This month's grocery bill was only $156.62, but it would have been $650.68 if I hadn't couponed. WOW!

New to saving money on groceries? Try this series for helpful information on how to save.

Not sure how to use coupons? Try this post for couponing basics!

Want to start saving at Publix? Check out the Publix Basics post to learn all about it!

What about you? How did you do this week? Share your deals and scenarios below! If you are new to saving money, I invite you to e-mail me with a picture and explanation of a great deal you got, so that I can share it with everyone! Go here to see some readers' savings. They do so great! We're all in this together!!! =)