Use Overage to Pay for Food

This weekend I made a few stops to pick up a few staples and kept the prices down by using overage.  Overage is when you have a coupon for more than the price of an item.  Not all stores allow overage and most will not let your balance go below zero so it's good to have a few other items to make up the difference.

I picked up:

• 1 regular Twix @ FREE after ECB (extra care bucks)
• 2 Sun-Bird stir-fry seasonings (very excited to try) @ FREE after coupons
• 1 gallon Walmart brand milk @ $2.14 after taking into account the Overage from the Sun-Bird products
• 5 Chex Mix 8 oz@ $0.05 each after store and manufacturing coupons and catalina
• 2 Multi-Grain Cheerios 12.8 oz@ $0.98 each after store savings and coupons
• 3 Kikkoman soy sauce 5 oz @ FREE after coupons and catalina
• 4.6 lbs of chicken breasts with ribs @ $0.70 a pound after taking into account the Kikkoman Overage

Rolling Total to Date: $48.26

Half-way through the challenge and I'm under budget and probably eating better than I was before!  This challenge has forced me to think ahead for my meals, make an effort to cook (although I like cooking) and eat those items I have in my stockpile even if it's not my favorite.  I think I should try some new recipes to make it more exciting, but otherwise I'm pretty happy with where I'm at.  I know some people I've told about the challenge think I'm crazy or that it takes too much time to be worth the effort.  Other than reaping the benefits of home cooked food, I think it's important to have a firm grasp on my budget.  While I am blessed to have a good job that pays my bills, in this economy you never know when that may no longer be the case.  I know that if something happens I can survive a while without having to depend on loans from family and friends.  God has blessed me more than I can truly grasp and I can use this skill to help others.