We got some big Thanksgiving dinner savings this year. Thanks to store sales and coupons, I have dinner for both Thanksgiving and Christmas in the bag. Having this off our shoulders leaves room in the budget for some fun holiday activities and it gives me time to do some of them.
Our yearly menu is pretty much the same. We have turkey, ham, dressing, mashed potatoes, corn casserole, green beans, dessert and rolls. Hubby insists on the almost mandatory cranberry sauce so I pick that up too. I also like to add a head of lettuce for salad.
Ingles and Bi-Lo had some really good sales over the past couple of weeks. There were some really snazzy grocery coupons both online and in the newspapers. Combining these with sale ads from Ingles and BiLo really made the difference.
Here's how we racked up the savings:
I found a Butterball coupon online for $3.00 off when combined with other items. The items happened to be among my regular grocery purchases, were on sale and I coupons for each. Plus, I have a mail-in rebate for five $1.00 off coupons on Butterball products to send in. Bi-Lo also had BOGO on canned veggies, bacon and rolls. And yes, I had more coupons for each of these.
I next steered the car toward Ingles (also on my regular errand route). At this store I was able to pick up BOGO chicken stock, gravy packets and other odds and ends that were on sale. I had coupons for nearly every item purchased here.
The end result is that we have both holiday meals, purchased and in the freezer/cabinets. We did it for less than the regular price of one meal. Combining the coupons with the sale items is definitely the way to go.
Keeping organized and alert is the key. Newspapers and online sites like grocerycouponcart.com helps. Manufacturers sites also often have coupons. Sorting through the sites and clipping the coupons takes me about an hour a week. For my family, the time is well spent.
Nice work!
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