Grocery Shopping Day

I love to use coupons.  Especially when the item is on sale and I use a high value coupon and THEN get a cash reward catalina.  Jewel/Osco is celebrating dairy month with buy 5 get a $5 catalina towards your next shopping trip.  Yay!  One of their qualifying items: Dean's dip on sale for $1.99 + $1/2 coupon. I buy 2 for Father's Day. Almond Breeze on sale $2.45 + $1/1 coupon.  Kraft cheese + $1/1 coupon. Dean milk (no coupon, cometimes you have to suck it up).  Now I've bought 5 and I get a $5 catalina for next visit.   On to BOGOs: Cherub tomatoes BOGO +$.55/1    Jays potato chips (to go with the dip, natch) BOGO + $1/2 coupon.  We use a lot of shredded parm. The almost real stuff over by the deli in little tubs. The good news is it lasts a long time, so I stock up when it's on BOGO. Not only was it on BOGO - there were $1/2 coupons on the shelf!  I could hardly contain my glee.
Spent prior to Preferred Card: $74.09
After Preferred card: $58.68
After coupons: $46.56
After lst week's Catalinas: $36.56
Got Catalinas for next time: $5.00 cash plus coupons

Next stop: Aldi
I love Aldi.  Mine is new, clean and has very high quality produce, meats and cheeses.  The shelves are always well-stocked.  I spend a lot of money at Aldi a couple times a month.  This is where I stock up.  Today I spent $108. But, I got a TON of food including 90% lean ground beef, tilapia, dried fruit, fresh fruit, peppers, cucumbers, celery, cheese, olives, spices, cute paper plates and napkins for our BBQ and 3 packages of frozen chocolate covered fruit sorbet bars that my daughter assures me are to-die-for.  I had one for lunch - they are! You can't use coupons at Aldi, but no way I'll spend so little, even with coupons, anywhere else. 

Last stop: Butcher-on-the-Block
Real honest to goodness butcher.  I spent $60 on 6 steaks (2.3 lbs of filet mignon) for Father's Day. Bought nothing else there. It's a once or twice a year special occasion, clear-it-first with Walt type of place.  But worth it, SO worth it.