Provident Living Spotlight- Shop Weekly Ads

September 30, 2010 The Provident Princess 0 Comments

I know a lot of people cut coupons. I also know a lot of people hate the thought of cutting coupons. The time and organization required are sometimes daunting. I don't cut coupons. We rent an apartment right now so we don't have the storage space needed to take advantage of the bulk deals I could get with cutting coupons.

I do, however, shop the sale ads that come out each week. I know I save about 1/3-1/2 the price by shopping the ads, but sometimes I pay only 1/3 the price.

This past week was an amazing time to stock up on canned goods. I usually buy the bulk of my canned goods during the case lot sales most stores hold twice a year. I usually don't mind the store brands of most canned goods. In fact, there are some things, like a particular store's brand of canned corn that I like better than the name brand (and I found out that it has less sugar and sodium than the name brand.)

Luckily, I didn't stock up on store brand cream of mushroom soup at the last case lot sale. I had been thinking in my head that Campbell's has a sale around once a year where you can get their cream of mushroom and chicken soup for 50 cents. So, I was trying to hold out to see if it would happen anytime soon. Usually, when they go on sale, it's for 79 cents so it makes a big difference.

As it happened, the sale happened when I was down to my last can of cream of mushroom soup. Campbell's wasn't the only thing on sale this week. In addition to the Campbell's soups, Swanson beef and chicken broth, 16 oz packages of pasta, and store brand canned veggies and fruits were all on sale for 49 cents a piece. That's a great deal! I remember stocking up on pasta when I found it last for 77 cents a package.

So, what do you think I paid for all of this?
1 case of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 case of Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup
15 cans of store brand canned corn
12 cans of Swanson Beef/ Chicken Broth
12 cans of Del Monte diced/ stewed tomatoes
4 cans of Campbell's Select Harvest Soups (they were .99 cents each)
16 packages of a variety of 16 oz pasta


Would you believe $46 dollars?

I would have paid over $140 dollars if I had bought all this at regular prices. I might not be able to buy things for pennies on the dollar like I could if I cut coupons. But with minimal effort, I can get amazing deals just by checking out the ads every week.

What are some great deals you've come across recently?