We stayed true to our word & shopped at Publix for this round of groceries. As you can see we bought a lot of canned goods and tried to squeeze in a bit of produce/frozen veggies. This round was more difficult because we needed a few staple items like eggs, bread, & peanut butter that we didn't need last week. Here are a couple of things we learned/realized this round:
1. Coupons don't do much for you if you can't buy in bulk or if you can't buy name brand. And you can't really buy in bulk or name brand if you are rocking a $21 budget (something that's even just $3 can really mess up your numbers).
2. Also, in order to actually use coupons you need to have access to the internet and know what you are doing--most people living on food stamps don't have this access.
3. Publix store brand products are cheaper than most coupons on name brand products. And when they have a BOGO you can still get only 1 of the product at the BOGO price. Way to go Publix!
4. It is nearly impossible to buy good, fresh produce on a food stamp budget. (this is where Aldi really comes in handy if you ask me)
We still went over by a dollar or two...I blame the salsa. However, we also tried to buy ingredients for at least 1 recipe this week instead of just buying randomly. Perhaps next week we will check out Food Smart.
Katie, I think it is so cool that you and Matt are doing this! Such an awesome way to put yourselves in someone else's shoes!
ReplyDeleteyeah - and at Publix it's important to use all the stupid flyers at the front, not just the newspapers - and who had time to go through all that every week. Also, you can use a manufacter's coupon and a Publix coupon both (for instance, I've used a $2 Huggies diaper coupon from the P.flyer and a $3 Huggies manufacter's one from the internet/newspaper for to save $5). At least most of the P. brand products are ok - I even have their peanut butter from when it was a 'penny item.'
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