couponing....sigh. :)

A lot of you have asked about my couponing/grocery shopping. I got started in couponing with the help of my friend Shelby. She is the coupon QUEEN! And so I, in a much needed effort to save money started learning. It's tricky. It takes time. It takes energy. BUT- you save money, become more organized and get freebies! I had blogged awhile back that Sunday's were my day to do all the couponing stuff. It still is- I just haven't blogged about it in awhile.

Recently, I joined "Menu Plan Mondays"- it's a great site that holds you accountable to your grocery list and menu plan. Like I said, I've been doing the couponing for awhile now, but just started planning my meals a month ago. Today marks that 1 month of menu planning- and I must say, I am pretty proud of myself for sticking to it! This past week was the one week we strayed from the menu- I ruined my Mexican Hotdish and we ended up getting Applebees. Rest assured, I am going to CONQUER that pesky hotdish this week! :) I HIGHLY suggest checking out THIS SITE if you're interested in menu planning. It's such a great resource! On top of planning out our meals, I then go through ALL the different grocery store ads and figure out where the deals are. By running all over town (Kroger, Meijer, Walmart) I've been able to keep our grocery bill around 50 bucks per week- this is with using coupons and getting the in store specials/savings. Yes, its a lot of busy work but I actually enjoy Sunday nights- going through my ads, figuring out dinners- it makes me feel like we've got a PLAN and a destination for the week. No more flying by the seat of our pants! :) Here is our menu plan for this week and here are my coupon/grocery store match-ups (and lucky for me- ALL my "deals" are at ONE store this week!!!) ...Meijer -oh and here is some coupon lingo for you- MM= Meijer Mealbox coupons located HERE Q= coupon!:

Monday-
Mexican Chicken Hotdish w/ yellow rice
-SNOW POPS will also be made (these are awesome little treats that are great for Maeve to snack on through the week... not the healthiest but she loves them)


Tuesday-
Chicken Parm. in the crockpot w/ salad

Wednesday-
Broccoli Casserole with chicken

Thursday-
Chicken Tortilla soup

Friday- PIZZA!

(can you tell there is a great deal on Chicken this week??? :)

And here is what my grocery list looks like along with matchups:
-CHICKEN, CHICKEN, CHICKEN! (3 packs) Tyson on special 1.99/lb. @ Meijer
-Dole Salad- using (1) 1.00 MM Q
-white chocolate (for my snowpops)
-cream cheese
-powdered sugar
-butter
-yellow rice
-2 cans diced tomatoes -using (2) 25 cent MM Q's
-2 onions
-1 can chicken broth
-5 cans corn (delmonte)-using (1) $1.00/5 MM Q AND combining w/ (1) $1.00/4 printable coupon found HERE
-2 cans beans
-velveeta cheese -using (1) 55 cent printable Q found HERE
-4 frozen broccoli (birdseye) -using (1) $1.00/4 printable Q found HERE
-brown rice (Minute) -using (1) $1.00 Printable Q found HERE
-milk
-goldfish (as many as I can get!) -using (????maybe 25????) MM q's for 1.00 off. GOLDFISH ARE ON SALE THIS WEEK FOR $1.00- making these FREEEEEEEEE!
-3 boxes of cake mix (Duncan Hines)- using (1) $1.00/3 Q from newspaper(10/11)
-2 tubs of oats (Quaker) -using (1) 1.00 off Quaker oats MM coupon
-4 boxes of cereal (Kelloggs) -using (2) 1.00 off Q's from newspapers
-4 cans cream of chicken/mushroom soup (Campbells) -using (1) $1.00/4 Q found HERE

Well... that's my list! Since having Henry, my grocery trips have to be QUICK and condensed! I usually make my list up, print/clip my coupons on Sunday night and highlight each item on my list that I have coupons for. That way, I am sure to use all my coupons. I'm not sure the total of this grocery bill- I will post a pic and all that info tomorrow.

***EDITING NOTE!***** Thanks to my fellow coupoining cousin MAL :) she corrected me with the goldfish deal :( Sorry to say but the coupon is for a larger size than the ones on sale... boooooo- no free fishies this week! THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW MAL!