Had a wonderful shopping trip though I think that the cashier gave me a case of pop/soda for free.

Starting $78.43

• Sprite 24pk $6.89 (coupon on for $1 off; and funny thing is there is also listing for a $6.89 off!)
• 3 12pks of Sprite 3/$9.99 (saving 37c on each)
• Meat:
• Package of Jenni-O Turkey bacon $2.35
• Cooked Shrimp (no tails) 61-70ct $7.99
• 4.41 lbs of Arm Roast ($1.98/lb) $8.73
• 4.43 lbs of Arm Roast $8.77
• 5.22 lbs of Arm Roast $10.34
• Lean Angus Ground Chuck (85%) 6.66lbs @ $2.18/lb $14.52
• Lean Angus Ground Chuck (85%) 7.18lbs @ $2.18/lb $15.65
• Produce: 1 green pepper 69 cents / Roma tomatoes ($1.59/lb) $1.43 / Collard greens (bunch) $1.29

Did buy a Press n Seal for freezer to put the roasts in ($3.19).

Divided up ground chuck into qt. sized freezer bags (uff da was it a lot!).

Used up Food Stamps so balance is now $0 (until the 13th).

Out of pocket total for trip $4.43!   I still think the cashier gave me the pop for free. Will go back and verify when I have FS to cover it. (My normal grocery store is in that area anyway).

Great job, Luvd_Lioness!

My $162 came in today, & I had $30.85 left over from April, SO I had $192.85 in all as Food Stamps.  Today, I went to Safeway & only bought things that were on sale or loss-leaders.  (There wasn't anything on sale that I had a coupon for, unfortunately.)  I spent $41.23, so have $151.62 left.

I bought salad fixings -- which I usually eschew as being too expensive for the likes of me.  I got a cucumber, artichoke hearts, romaine hearts, & sugar snap peas.

I got 5lbs of Gala apples for $6.  (All other kinds were $2/lb, except for organic Cala, which were $1.50/lb on sale.  The 5lbs for $6 price is cheaper.)

Safeway generic grapefruit juice is cheaper by 17cents than it is at Cala/Ralphs/Kroger, I found.  So I got 2 bottles.

I bought another bottle of canola oil & another canola oil spray, both generic.  Now I feel that I have enough stored (I have 2 extras of each now, besides the ones I am now using.).

I bought 4 more lbs of brown rice (Uncle Ben's this time) for a total of $5. 

My nicest buy was 18-bags of Stash green tea with pomegranate & raspberry, B1G1, @ $3.73.  That's less than Celestial Seasonings for ONE box.  (Yes, CS is a 20-count box, but even so, @ about $4.25/box for CS, I still had a bargain -- & excellency to boot!).

I got Ortega taco shells, not the best value, but they were the only kind that was Kosher.

All in all, I am pleased with what I got.  My next shopping trip will be for avocados at Cala/Ralphs/Kroger, & then I'll be going to Whole Foods the next time that I get the chance.

Yours in Him, Deb

Deborahmichelle:

18-bags of Stash green tea with pomegranate & raspberry, B1G1, @ $3.73.

That sounds good!!

You also had a good trip too!!

I get reviewed for stamps next Thursday so it was good of me to stock up on items... just in case. 

Dear Luvd_Lioness, Has the time passed so quickly that you have reached the one-year mark?  In CA, cases are reviewed only once a year -- unless, by random drawing, one is audited (that happened to me last month; my real review will be in June, a yeaer from the last one.).  Or, maybe, in your State, there is an earlier review necessary DURING the 1st year of having Food Stamps.  Let us know.  Yours in Him, Deb

I guess it has flown by... I can never remember when I sign up for things. They only do one year reviews unless you have change in status.  I'll post the decision on here... don't worry!

Good luck, my dear Luvd_Lioness!  Yours in Him, Deb

Luvd_Lioness, What is going on with your disability claim?  Yours in Him, Deb

Deb,

Right now it's sitting in IL waiting for review. I did call down to the guy who has my case, several weeks ago and he hadn't gotten my medical records yet, to add to the case that I now have fibromyalgia so it is now documented. So it may be awhile before I hear anything...

 You all must be better at stocking up than I am. On FS day I have to go out and resupply everything and I do not walk away from the stores with out spending $200. :(

 On another bad note I either left a giant package of ground beef in the cart or it slipped under the seat in the car and am out the $12 I paid for it. That is BAD!

Kissesmomof4 -

what I do for a strategy, since I have several grocery stores to choose from, is buy from the cheapest when I am around there... I don't have a price book but a mental memory of #'s when it comes to $, just knowing which store has what best price on what...

regarding stocking on meat, I wrote to the store's corporate and asked when they were going to be having their big 1 day meat sale several months ago (all I heard was around May) so I was able to scrimp on other months to save up the FS to buy more meat when it was at a good price... I now should be stocked well for another 6 months (it's just me eating here)

idea for if you have a family... stick to a list and scour the ads... use your pantry as a resource... save your reciepts so you can do a price comparison on regular prices vs. sale prices and do a book (I just have a good memory for #'s), don't be afraid to e-mail the store HQ and ask if they have any big sales coming up (and don't be afraid to mention that you are on food stamps and wanting to save)

Hope this helps a little!  

And sorry for the $12 loss...