Just For Fun: Chain Store Maps

Check out these maps! These are the locations of some of the national grocery and drug store chains.

Albertson's

Aldi

CVS

Kroger

Meijer

Rite Aid

Target

Walgreens

Wal-Mart

Whole Foods

Where do you shop?

Just For Fun: My Coupon Binder

Standing 2.5 inches high and weighing nearly 5 pounds, here it is in all it's glory...my coupon binder!

There are lots of different ways to organize coupons. I have chosen the whole insert method. Each Sunday when I get my paper, I take out the inserts and write the date on the front of them. When I need coupons for my shopping trips, I go to the date of the insert and cut out only the coupons I am going to use. This saves me so much more time than clipping each and every coupon.

I kind of have 6 sections in my binder, but they are not really labeled. The first part houses store coupons. I use these binder sheet protectors from Staples. Each pocket has a sticky note on it for each store I shop. I use this section to plan for my weekly trips. When I am ready to go to the store, I just grab the coupons for that store from the pocket.

Next, I have whole inserts in standard sheet protectors. They are in date order.

I also have empty sheet protectors ready for new inserts when I get them in the paper.

For loose coupons, I use currency sheet protectors that I bought on ebay. I have them in 4 x 2...

2 x 3 (fits catalina coupons nicely)...

and 3 x 1 (fits printable coupons).

On the first of every month, I go through my binder and take out the expired coupons and move empty sheet protectors to the back. I have been using this method for over a year now and it has worked really well for me.

Just for Fun: My Stockpile

Well, here it is...my stockpile! We finally bought some shelves to put everything in one place instead of having it all scattered all over the house. It is so much easier to just go to the shelves to pick out what I need. You'll notice these are all non-food items. My stockpile is upstairs, so it's not very convenient to store our groceries. Also not pictured is our stash of laundry detergent. I ran out of shelves so it is stored in the laundry room. Also, the cardboard box on the right is my Donation Box. I put things in there that I know we won't use...usually they are moneymaker items.

Anyone that knows me knows that I have a slight obsession with Excel, so naturally, I use spreadsheets to keep track of my savings. I have them separated by grocery savings and drugstore savings.

We have budgeted $200/month for groceries, so about $50/week. My goal is to save 50% each trip. We grocery shop at Meijer and Kroger. Here are my stats for 2013:
Average Weekly Spending: $52.61
Grand Total Worth: $1,938.05
Paid Out of Pocket: $1,209.92
Savings: $728.13
Total % Saved: 38%

We don't have a budget for drugstore items, but my goal is 75-90% savings each trip. We primarily shop at CVS, but also at Rite Aid, and Walgreens. Here are my stats for 2013:
Grand Total Worth: $839.36
Paid Out of Pocket: $218.53
Savings: $620.83
Total % Savings: 74%

I'm not quite where I want to be, especially with groceries, but still not bad. Check back in December to see if I've improved!

Just for Fun: Using NuVal® to Buy Healthier Foods

Have you ever looked at a food nutrition label? Do you know what it means? Which is better for you: original, lite, low-fat, or fat free? How about whole grain, multi-grain, or whole wheat? Don’t know? Let me introduce you to NuVal®.

What is NuVal®?
The NuVal® Nutritional Scoring System is a food scoring system that gives foods a score from 1 to 100 based on the food’s nutrition. The higher the number, the more nutrition the food contains. Any type of food can have a NuVal® score, from fresh fruit to processed cereal. The system helps people choose healthy foods quickly and easily because it is a simple number instead of the many numbers listed on a food nutrition label.

How it Works
Each score is calculated using the ONQI^TM (Overall Nutritional Quality Index) Algorithm that a group of twelve nutrition and medical experts created. For each food, they take the nutrients with favorable effects on health (i.e. iron, vitamins, potassium, calcium, etc.) and divide them by the nutrients with unfavorable effects on health (i.e. sodium, sugar, cholesterol, etc.) to get a single number that represents the overall nutrition of the food. The higher the number, the more nutrition it contains.

How to Use NuVal®
The first time I started to look at the NuVal® scores, I was shocked to see that the lite version of my family’s favorite brand of salad dressing was actually more nutritious than the fat-free version that I usually purchased. As I paid more attention to the scores, I noticed some of the foods I have been buying have a NuVal® score in the single digits! Now that I pay attention to the scores, I don’t think I will ever go back. It is so quick and easy to just look at a single number to choose which products I want to buy. I don’t have to take the time to compare different products and I feel like I am purchasing the most nutritious foods for my family. I also like that even fresh fruits and vegetables have NuVal® scores.

Examples of NuVal® Scores
While there is not a running list of NuVal® scores posted for the public, but there are a few listed on the NuVal® website. Here are some examples:

• Skinless Turkey Breast - 48
• Broccoli - 100
• General Mills Whole Grain Cheerios - 37
• Keebler Townhouse Bistro Multi Grain Crackers - 3
• 1% Milk - 81
• Shrimp - 75

Stores that Have NuVal®
The NuVal® System is currently used in the following stores: Amigos United, Bel Air, Big Y, Brookshire’s, City Market, Coborn’s, Festival Foods, Food City, Market District, Giant Eagle, Hy-Vee, Just Save, King Kullen, King Soopers, Kroger, Lowes Foods, Lunds and Byerly’s, Market Street, Meijer, Nob Hill Foods, Price Chopper, Price Cutter, Raleys, Reasor’s, Robert Fresh Market, Scolari’s, Super 1 Foods, Tops, and United Supermarkets. If your store is not listed, you can ask your store manager about it or suggest a store to NuVal® on their website.

Where to Find NuVal® Scores in the Store
The NuVal® scores are right next to the price of the item. It looks like two blue hexagons connected together on one side with a number over the top of them. The number is the product’s NuVal® score.

If your store uses the NuVal® system, I challenge you to check out some of the products you usually buy for your family to see what their NuVal® score is. Maybe you could even try only buying foods with a NuVal® score over 50!

Just for Fun: Grocery Store GPS

Just For Fun: How Long Does Food Last?

[Source: Daily Savings from All You]

Just For Fun: What Kind of Couponer Are You?

Source: coupons.org