My $50 “A Full Cup” Challenge
May 6, 2009 by Karen Weideman
Filed under coupons, groceries, saving money
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I was challenged to use A Full Cup to see how much money I could save and how much I could get for $50. Well, take a look at these pictures!
A Full Cup is a free online forum where others write about deals, coupons, and savings. You can find coupon match-ups, printable coupons, and lots of information on saving money.
All of the items here were purchased from Harris Teeter using buy 1 get 1 free sales, coupons, and triple coupon deals. The items were purchased during two separate visits to the store.
With my experience, everything went pretty smoothly. There were a few disappointments with my transactions. 1) I purchased the three boxes of Jose Ole’ products because they were buy 1 get 2 free. I was really excited about getting three boxes for about $6 and my husband enjoys eating the taquitos. I bought the boxes and then in the Sunday paper there was two coupons for the products. I didn’t have room in my freezer to go back and get more. Oh well. 2) The other disappointment was with Harris Teeter’s coupon policies. They are only accepting two printable coupons for like products. I had to put back some of my cereal and All detergent. Boo!
I probably could have gotten more for the money, BUT sometimes you have to weigh things. I asked myself, ‘Would I rather get the small French’s mustard for free just so that I could say it was free . . . or would I rather get the large French’s mustard with a bonus 40% more for $.50?’. I had to make this decision on several items. Sometimes it is worth it to pay a little more for the better deal.
The bottom line: Yes, there is some junk food here (please don’t cast stones), but it will be consumed in moderation. Overall, I got things that our family can use and I was able to get a lot of groceries for about $51-52. All of this would have cost me about $140 without the coupons and sales. I’m pleased with my bargains.
Have you tried A Full Cup?
image (c) Karen Weideman
Great shopping! I love a good deal on products I would buy. I do find lots of coupons are for processed foods, so I gave up on bothering looking for them. It really is too bad there are hardly any coupons for fresh produce. I would be jumping up and down for a free bag of apples with purchase of gallon of milk
Also I wish we had double coupons in Seattle might make it worth to start clipping again.
Thanks. I understand what you’re saying about processed foods. I try to stockpile fresh chicken, strawberries, blueberries, and things such as that when they’re rock bottom prices and freeze them. We can always pick up some bananas, yogurt, and juice and make some great tasting smoothies. My hubby makes yummy smoothies. We make our own fresh salsa, guacamole, and other similar foods too.
I was able to find good deals on items such as Egglands Best eggs, Skippy Natural peanut butter, and Osmar Meyer turkey. Just about anyone can use All detergent, Spray n Wash, dishwashing detergent, and baby wipes. There are coupons out there for things most people use.
Thanks for dropping by and commenting.
great job!!!! other than very rare offers at the grocery store for free and steeply discounted produce, the only place i’ve ever seen it is at target. alot of times they’ll have a coupon for $1 off a pound of fruit or veggies and then have them on sale for $1 a lb. we go through so much cereal that i’m always on the lookout for a great deal.
now….keep track of how long that food last in your house and report back…lol. amazing how much growing kids can eat.
haha You know I can’t keep my 11-year-old with enough food. He is constantly hungry!
I think you did good- as far as all the junk food. I buy a lot of junk food because I have 5 children. I also buy a lot of fruits and vegetables- we cook a lot using all fresh ingredients and no processed foods. Without having junk food in the house, I couldn’t get the kids to eat a good variety of fruits and vegetable or home cooked dinners. You have to just balance it and I don’t judge people by what’s in their cart. I have shopped hungry before and came home with some real crazy stuff.
Looks great for $50.
Thanks. I didn’t buy any produce at Harris Teeter because it’s so expensive (unless on sale). After I left HT this week, I went to Wal-Mart and bought two gallons of milk, bananas, lettuce, tomatoes, applesauce, orange juice, apple juice, and other stuff like that. I use coupons to get things at rock bottom prices and then fill in with the fresh fruits and veggies.
By the way, I am itching to plant a garden. This is the first week I’ve had time and we’ve had a lot of thunderstorms this week. I love picking fresh vegetables off the vine!
I am a big fan of A Full Cup because I am a SuperTarget shopper. They have a lot of store coupons to print off and you can combine the with manufacturer coupons for even more savings. They also have some geat forums where people share the deals they found. It’s a great tool!
I would never cast a stone at another mother. I live in a ‘glass house’ myself. As far as the junk food. I say so what. You are feeding a family on a budget and buying things your family will eat. So what if it is frozen or the cereal has some sugar. Those things are legal. Blessings.
Have you ever checked out http://www.taylortownpreview.com? it tells you what coupons are coming out before the newspapers are out, that way you can find out if you should wait until having them in hand before doing your weekly groveries.
Also, I use http://www.hotcoupoworld.com ALOT, I highly recommend the site. Last week I spent $14 at my grocery store and saved $170!!!! thanks to sales and coupons.
I use A Full Cup, The Coupon Mom, and check out the Taylortown Preview. Between those sites, I do pretty well every time. You did good, Karen.
Thanks. So far we’ve eaten the two loaves of multigrain bread and the McCormick marinade. I used the blueberry muffin mix for teacher appreciation gifts. I’ve started using the Huggies wipes and Spray n Wash. I’m pleased with the deals. I keep such a large stockpile that we don’t consume it all in one week. The turkey will be nice for sandwiches this weekend.