Here we go again...

“Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.” ~unknown

We started deployment #3 this week. This one is a tad different. Lots will be missed - birthdays, holidays & anniversary. Previously we knew an approximate length. This one everything is up in the air. It will be months before there is a better idea of when they will be home. I think that's harder than dealing with the actual separation. We're used to that part by now. Even the kids. They are young but used to daddy coming & going. Only time will tell, though. R is old enough to have some sense of time. Before Mr left we took a family trip to San Fransisco. Had a good time & will blog about it another day with pictures. R & L started preschool last week. They seem to be enjoying it & meeting other kids. I know I am enjoying my time to get stuff done.

I <3 Henry's

I've got a few other subjects to blog about but they are long & this one is short & sweet.

Henry's is farmers market type grocery store out here in Cali. It has the best prices, tastiest fruits & veggies that don't go bad super quick. The kids LOVE going to Henry's. Today for $12 & a very small chunk of change we got 6 corn on the cobs, just under a pound of plums, a pound & 3 quarters of grapes, a dutch apple pie & 2 pounds of strawberries. I <3 Henry's!! If I worked there I don't think I would walk out with a paycheck - or much of one.

Ralphs Mega Event

I went to the grocery store to grab some deals & other items we needed. The grocery game is a learning lesson. My goal is to save 50% or more. Each trip to Ralphs I learn something knew to help me with my next trip. Last trip I realized that they only double the 1st coupon of a product. I went to get toothpaste. It was 4/$4. I had 2 - 50cent coupons & another 75cents off 2. I went in expecting to only pay $1 for 4 tubes of toothpaste. It was $1.75. Lesson learned there. I should have made multiple trips, but who wants to do that with 3 screaming kids? This time I was prepared. I had multiples of coupons so I did 2 transaction. Lesson learned in this trip? 1) My kids can actually behave in a grocery store & 2) Better organize the coupons that get put onto the store card from the internet. I need to print out a list instead of writing them down. My paper coupons were good to go - except I forgot to use 1. Example of the store card coupons - Part of the Mega sale deals were certain General Mills cereal. I had store card coupons (2) for a $1 off Honey Nut Cheerios. I forgot that I needed to grab HNC & instead just got regular Cheerios. I even had it written down!! Guess I was distracted.

I did good with the coupons. All but 4 of my items I had a coupon for & 3 of those items were store brand (milk, sugar, & marshmallows). I searched online for a coupon for the 3rd item but one was not to be found. I'm not going to list everthing I got, but will highlight the deals where I saved 50% or more. Oh, let me explain a Mega Sale. If you buy 10 products that tagged you get $5 off your total. This is also why I did 2 transactions. Doing them together would have not gotten me $10 off.

Transaction #1:
Total before: $38.69
Total OOP: $15.09
Total savings: $23.60 (39%)

Most of this transaction I saved 50% or more.
Betty Crocker cookie mix: $3.49, after sale & coupons - 79cents
Betty Crocker fruit snacks (rarely bought item for this house): $3.59, after $1.09 (x2)
Betty Crocker Warm delights (hold your granny panties for this one!! Too good to resist!): $2.49, after - I made 1cent!!!
Nature Valley Granola Bars: $4.29, after - 1.59 (x2)
Cheerios: $3.99, after $1.49 (x2... If I bought the HNC I would have only spent 49cents/box)


Transaction #2:
Total before: $76.50
Total OOP: $29.19
Total savings: $47.31(38%)

In addition to paper coupons & store card coupons I also had paper store coupons that were mailed to me.

Betty Crocker Warm Delights & Nature Valley Granola Bars are same as above.
Betty Crocker fruit snacks: $3.59, after $1.19
Trix: $3.99, after 94cents
Captain Crunch: $4.49, after $1.49
Golden Grahams: $3.99, after $1.99 (I should have repeated the Trix deal here instead.)
Pillsbury Grands!: $2.99, after $1.49 (x2)
liquid Coffeemate: $4.49, after $2.00
Nature Valley Clusters (Delish, btw!): $3.99, after 99cents (x2)
Wheat Thins: $3.99, after FREE!!
Mentos Gum: $1.25, after 25cents.

Commissary Shopping

For those of you who do not know what a commissary is, it's a military grocery store. Since we don't live super close to one I go about every 4 to 6 weeks & stock up. In between trips I will go to the local grocery stores nearby. I know what I can get cheaper at each place I go to & also study the weekly grocery ads along with my stack of coupons.

The commissary claims to save consumers about 30%. I've always wondered how true that is. For example I know I can get beef A LOT cheaper at the commissary than any sale out in town. But what about other items? I decided to do some comparing. This blog is just based off of my latest commissary trip. I plan on getting extra nerdy on you all & start a spread sheet tracking all items. Eventually being able to fill in price for each store. That will be an on going project. One note, the commissary doesn't charge sales tax BUT they do charge a surcharge. At times this surcharge can be comparable to tax. In California not all food is taxed. I bought a mix of food, cleaning supplies & other necessities. Too much work to figure out what my tax would have been if bought out in town.

On to my comparison...

I spent $224.24 before coupons were taken off (-$20.10)& the surcharge was added (+$11.64).

I compared my purchases to a local grocery store here, Albertsons. Albertsons tends to be a smidge pricier than other local grocery stores nearby. Also, these prices were based off their online shopping. I'm sure they up the prices a bit, just not sure by how much. If I bought my items there my bill before tax & coupons would have been $381.22. That's a $148.52 savings - 39%. So I did in fact save about 30%. If I couldn't find the same exact item I went to the store brand which was always still more expensive than the (name) brand I bought at the commissary. The commissary does not have a store brand. In between trips I will buy fresh fruits & veggies, milk & eggs out in town. A gallon of milk at the commissary is probably $2-something. I don't know the exact price because I have not bought milk there in a while. I can get it often for $1.99 from one of the local stores.

I have lost my train of thought, but I just wanted to share the comparison.