How I've Been "Doing" Real Food on a Real Budget

...or at least on a budget like mine!  I've been learning a lot about "real" food, food that is nutrient dense and as close to its natural state as possible and not full of chemical preservatives, colorings, and flavorings. And thanks to A Peasant's Feast eCourse through The Nourishing Gourmet, I'm also learning how to do it on a budget.

Read more here: Purposeful Nourishment

Soleil 100 Days

Soleil 100 Days: "There are thousands of fun, sharable prizes in the BIC® Soleil® 100 Days of Sunshine promotion. Join now! www.FeelTheSoleil.com"

How Much Didn't I Spend Today?

Jill Hale from over at CouponThrifty came to my house last night and did a coupon seminar. I had already attended one a few weeks ago, but I was so excited to host one and help my friends get a hold of this priceless information on couponing, CVS'ing and WAG'ing. And it was great to have a refresher course! If you're interested in learning how to do this, check out her website and send her an email. You can also look her up on Facebook.

Here's my deals today...

My first stop was at Walgreen's. First, I bought a Gillette Fusion Razor on sale for $9.89, used a $4 coupon from the Sunday paper a few weeks ago, and got $5 in Register Rewards. I used the RR to buy the Puffs (99 cents each minus 3 coupons from VocalPoint for 50 cents each), the Suavitel fabric softener (BOGO coupon in WAGS circular for $2.99) and the Dawn (99 cents minus a 25 cent coupon from the P&G Brandsaver insert at the beginning of June. My total OOP (Out Of Pocket) for this trip was:  $7.27...way better than the $19.83 without coupons!

Next stop, Target. I had several high value coupons to use plus some price matching:

FlameDisk ($4.99 minus FREE printable coupon thanks, DealSeekingMom!), three of the new Crystal Light Pure Naturals, $1.97 each minus three $2 coupons from VocalPoint (but Target only took off the $1.97), one Kraft Mayo with olive oil $2.64 minus FREE coupon from Taste of Kraft sampler package I requested, two Airwick Aqua sprays, $1.99 each minus two $1 coupons from Sunday inserts, and 4 Miracle Whips, $2.29 each, price matched to $1.65 (Dollar General circular) minus two $1.50 coupons from the Sunday inserts. My total OOP for this trip:  $7.15. Without the coupons and price matching, $26.68!

And finally, a stop at Meijer to use a couple coupons and pick up a few other items. Free bag of Green Giant Potatoes (came in the reusable shopping bag I requested on their Facebook page) made that $3.99 bag of spuds free! Plus, I found a Johnson's conditioner on clearance for $1.90 minus a $1 coupon I had for Johnson's products, and two packages of Oscar Mayer hot dogs, 99 cents each minus a $1 off of 2 coupon from the Sunday paper. My OOP for these items was $1.88, better than the $7.87 otherwise!. I got a bunch of Catalinas for diapers, hope I can turn those into some super deals before they expire.

All in all, I left the house today with $43 to finish the week's shopping for groceries and household items and came home with $54.38 worth of items, in addition to the nearly $20 I spent on other things. I only have one more to pick up, that will be a 14 cent tube of Colgate toothpaste (89 cents on sale at CVS minus a 75 cent coupon from the Sunday paper). I am beat! Went by myself and really enjoyed it, but I am very tired from staying up so late last night trying to plan my shopping trip today!