I spent the last couple of days reading Jeffrey's $1 a day coupon challenge over on Grocery Coupon Guide. I'd seen it referenced a couple of times on this site but just hadn't got around to reading it. It was very interesting. I think I could do that, but I like to eat out a couple of times a week and would have to change the challenge a little so those times were exempt. I couldn't do it next month - too many social events. Couldn't do it in January since that's my bday and expect to get lots of free meals, so that would be cheating. Maybe next March or April, I might try it.
The problem like Jeffrey said would be the luck of finding sales and coupons to combine at the right time. The other major problem is getting a baseline of food, especially condiments that add so much to the flavor of what you eat. I'll think about doing it sometime next year as a challenge.
From reading the $1 challenge I was taken to the Penny Experiment. Another site hosted by Jeffrey. He found a penny and is trying to use it to donate $1 million of food to food banks. He asks others to donate also and post the donations on his website. I'm going to start doing that with all my food pantry donations.
Today I went to Safeway and picked up 3 more of the Thanksgiving coupon books. I'll use those coupons to get more free stuff to donate.
I went to Walgreens and got the following to donate:
3.98 - 2 small boxes Wheat Thins
-2.00 - 2 $1 q's
-2.00 - .99 in-ad WAG q
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.02 moneymaker
I had to absorb the .02 cents and they were out of the .39 cent mushrooms so I got a can of the .39 cent mandarin oranges
Total spent .37 - all donated to food pantry
I picked up another prescription at King Soopers. Spent $1.60 and used another $25 pharmacy coupon, so another $25 was added to my King Soopers card for free groceries. I have over $75 on my card still.
While there I got the following
1.59 - 1/2 gal milk
.94 - 5 bananas
.19 - 2 stalks celery
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2.72
-1.00 - ecoupon from cellfire $1 off anything
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1.72 - used my pharmacy rewards, so free
I finished reading my book Curse the Dawn by Karen Chance. Paranormal - pretty good.
Penny Experiment
November 22nd, 2010 at 09:57 pm
November 23rd, 2010 at 08:15 am 1290500132
As for the $1 a day challenge, I would never suggest that people go to that extreme -- it is more of a way to show that you can save a lot on groceries that you might not have reailized.
Now back to figuring out much of a disaster the $1 Thanksgiving meal I have to cook for six is going to be