Countin' Out My Pennies at Wegmans

I was really, really nervous walking into Wegmans for this shopping trip. I only had $65 in my wallet for Wegmans. Since we've been doing the cash envelopes, there are no more impulse purchases at the grocery store. It makes me kind of sad. Wegmans has some really amazing stuff. What tempted me today? Whole vanilla beans and organic ice cream.  Had I indulged in these impulses I would have been out over $15.  I'll have to try again next week. Although it could be argued (rationalized?) that life is just not worth living without ice cream. 

Maybe everyone already knows this and I am late to the game -- but I had to buy several spices this week for an Indian dish I hope to make tomorrow. I found that many spices were much, much less expensive in the International Foods aisle than they were in the regular baking aisle.  

For example, whole cinnamon sticks cost $5.99 in the baking aisle, but they were only $2.69 next to the Mexican section. I also found ground ginger in a 7 oz bag for $3.49 with the Indian spices; in the baking aisle it was $4.39 for less than 1 ounce.  That's not extreme couponing -- that's a no-brainer!

That doesn't mean I shopped without coupons. Here are my best coupon deals:


Luna Bars -- $.99 each, free with $.50 off coupon (no longer available)
Simply Organic Spices -- $1 off with this coupon
Jasmati Rice -- $2.25 off with coupon (no longer available)
Wegmans Organic Frozen Vegetables -- $1 off using a coupon I found (no kidding!) in the parking lot. Some people bend down for change on the ground, I pick up coupons!


Ultimately, I didn't have to break out the debit card. I was able to stay under my $65 budget, although I paid for $1.36 of it in change.  So yeah, that's me. I'm that lady who is picking up stray pieces of paper in the parking lot and scrounging through her change purse to pay for groceries.  Should I feel bad? I don't think so.