Ahoy there, Cap’n!

Did you know that Captain Crunch cereal is gluten-free? and my kids all love it.

But it is $4.49 a BOX.

Do you realize how much cereal three teenage boys can eat?

A box is approximately 2 days of breakfasts, and that is only because I am a Big Meanie who limits them to one bowl, and then insists they “fill in the edges” with yogurt or fruit or eggs, if they are still hungry.  Caleb today, looking at this giant stack, asked incredulously “I STILL can’t have two bowls?! Seriously?”

Cereal has become more mainstay than treat around here lately, because 3 days a week I am out the door by 5:30 AM, to slave away for that demanding boss of mine. Waffles and oatmeal are more nutritious and frugal but that just isn’t our season, right now.

Albertsons often has Quaker sales, where if you buy 10 boxes, it gets marked down to $1.00 a box. And did you know you can buy coupons on ebay? Seriously! People with more time than I have, clip newspaper coupons and sell them at volume. If you want to stock your pantry with a particular brand or item, go search for that. 

 One year I bought 2 dozen Libbys canned pumpkin coupons $1.00 off, waited until Thanksgiving sales and bought 24 cans of pumpkin at like .20 cents each!  Everyone got pumpkin bread for the holidays about five years ago, remember?

This time, I looked for Quaker coupons and bought a lot of 15 that were “$1.00 off of 2”. (I forget how much the coupons were on ebay but it was under $2). Make sure the expiration isn’t right away on your “stockpile” coupons, because you want to hold them until a sale comes up. I look for canned goods, cat food, and drugstore items like toothpaste, toilet paper etc. that will keep for a long time–you want to buy in bulk. I just bought 10 Loreal coupons so when my favorite shampoo and conditioner finally goes on sale, I’ll be ready. (I have too much hair to spend $7 a bottle but I love the sulfate-free stuff!)

The point: Sales are fine, coupons are fine but the way to really save dinero is to COMBINE the two.

That made it possible to buy 30 boxes of cereal for .50 cents each.

Totally worth the curious stares at the grocery store…