Let's Go Krogering

. . . again. I posted an earlier "Let's Go Krogering" back in 2008.

Grocery shopping used to be simple. Now, it's a bit more complicated, but I can save in more ways than I used to. I use my Kroger card which gives me discounts on a lot of items.

The card also gives me money back if I get enough points. Plus, I can go online to www.kroger.com and download coupons directly to my Kroger card.

Besides the coupons I download, I cut coupons from the supplement in the Sunday paper, download other coupons from the Internet, and download lists of Kroger specials. I try to shop the specials, too, and I stockpile things like papergoods, detergent, pet food, etc., if I find especially good deals.

We take advantage of the senior citizen discount at Kroger on Tuesdays. That saves 5% on our bill. We also take our own bags to pack groceries. My favorites are these we bought at Tractor Supply for $1.49 each. They're really sturdy and they hold a lot.

At Kroger, my husband and I each get a cart. Shopping is faster if we go separate ways. Since we live 15 miles from town, we try to get all our groceries in one trip.

 I use my Kroger Mastercard so I can get points for discounts on Kroger gasoline. We save up our points all month—so we get between 70 cents and a dollar off a gallon—before filling up the truck and a dozen or so gas cans in the back of the truck. We usually get 60 gallons before the pump says we can't get anymore. The filled gas cans are used for the lawnmowers, two of the tractors, the ATV, etc.

I always pay off the balance of the Mastercard at the end of the month. I never let debt accrue, so I never have to pay interest. 

On the way home, we might stop at Wal-Mart or Lowe's, since they're not out of our way. Last week at Lowe's, I bought a small fountain for less than a third its original price and some mums for a dollar each.

Helpful hint: If you take the back seats out of a PT Cruiser, you can haul a lot more stuff.

Just sayin'.

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