My old friend, the grocery store

I've said a couple of times that once you get into a rhythm with stocking up on various food, you can skip a week at the grocery store if the sales suck.

We skipped three weeks.  We hadn't been to the grocery store since November 30th.  Apparently I've stocked us up so well that I didn't really notice it had been so long until I used the last of our meat Monday night. 
Whoops!
So we needed to get some meat, and I needed a few things to make my Christmas Eve and Christmas dishes for the family get-togethers, so off we went tonight - absolutely positive that, being 4 days before Christmas, we'd have to contend with a madhouse.

Instead of a madhouse it looked much like a normal Tuesday night at Giant Eagle, which is to say there were people there but not too many.  We got our sale items, the ingredients for the holiday foods, and a few junk-food treats just for the hell of it.

Not pictured: 2 gallons milk, 5 bottles Diet Pepsi, 2 multipacks of Angel Soft TP

The only real super-deals were on the Birdseye Steamfresh ($1ea, I had a bunch of coupons for $.50/1 which doubled - free), the TP (came to $3.50 per pack after sale & coupon), the Country Crock ($.74 after coupon), and the Coffee-Mate ($.50 for three bottles after sale & coupon).  I was also pretty pleased to get some tortillas for $1 per pack - not a great price, but we use them quite a bit.  And, sadly, this is the last of my free Diet PepsiMax - those coupons expire on 12/31 so I used my last three to get 3 more free bottles.  I drank one which is why you only see two in the photo.  I'll play taps for the loss of that fun little freebie.
The Helluvagood dips were $.50 each after sale & coupon, and we got a bag of quasi-gourmet chips to go with them.  The dip price is great, the chip price...not so much!

Sweet potatoes, rotisserie chicken, pecans, crescent rolls, wooden skewers - all for the holiday creations.

Deli meat is so very expensive.  Oh dear, is it expensive.  That's why we rarely buy it, but sometimes I cave because I love sandwiches.  I caved tonight.  We got smoked turkey and two kinds of ham all on sale.  It was still $8 for all of it but.... *shrug*

Today's totals

Shelf price $119.08
Total $55.69
Rewards earned $2
Out of pocket $53.69 for a savings of $65.39, or 55%

Not one of my best trips, but it's still half off with meat, deli, TP, and some splurges included.  For not having shopped in 3 weeks, I think it's quite acceptable!

We've both gotten so spoiled at the drugstores, using various rewards to pay for everything but tax, that it's getting to be a shock when we have to spend real money!