I was checking the blogs and going through my Giant Eagle ad to find the best deals this week. I have a difficult time finding a blogger that sufficiently covers Giant Eagle. I love Deal Seeking Mom for Kroger and Meijer match ups but am not finding any sites that are frequently updated and accurate for Giant Eagle shopping in Columbus, OH. If you find a site that you love, please share it with me.
I picked up Huggies this week. They are $19.99 per box but you also get $0.30 in Fuelperks when you buy two. I have some $3.00 coupons left but I can't find any of them anymore to share. You can get $2.00 off per box from Coupons.com.
2 boxes = $39.98
$4.00 off = $35.98
+ $0.30 in Fuelperks and the $35 counts toward your Fuelperks earnings
In order to maximize my savings, I had 2 orders at the check out this week. The first included the diapers and the total was $53.21 the second was only $3.89. The second is pretty amazing to me because for that $3.89 I was able to get: 4 cans of Tomato Soup, 3 Kraft Homestyle Mac & Cheese's, 2 bags of gummy lifesavers, 2 cucumbers and 1 box of Ronzoni pasta.
If you take the diapers out of the equation for the first order I spent $19.23 and here is what I purchased:
3 bags Kraft Homestyle Mac and Cheese
2 boxes Ronzoni pasta
2 bags Lifesaver gummies
2 jars Vlassic pickles
1 bag Texas Toast croutons
4 cans of Campbell's Tomato Soup
6 cans of Hunt's diced tomatoes
2 Vanish drop ins
1 box of Purex 3 in 1s
1 bottle of Purex laundry detergent (32 loads)
1 tube of Colgate toothpaste
Kraft Mac & Cheese: I was able to get a fantastic deal on the Mac & Cheese, it is a new product so that usually means sales combined with coupons. The blog I checked before heading to the store had these listed at $2.00 each. At my Giant Eagle they were $1.85 so combined with my $1 off coupons they were only $0.85 each! You can find the $1 off coupon in your Smart Source from 8/8 - I had 4 of them so was able to stock up on them. If you don't have the coupons from 8/8 you can also find the $1 off here: Kraft Homestyle Printable. Remember this is a Bricks coupon so you can hit your browsers back button to print it twice.
Hunt's Tomatoes: The Hunt's tomatoes were $1 each. I used two $1 off 3 coupons from the 8/1 Smart Source insert. This made them $0.67 each. I like to stock up on items like this because I add it to my spaghetti and chili when I don't have enough vegetables from my CSA.
Colgate Toothpaste: Colgate is $1, you can use the $0.50 off coupon from the 7/25 Smart Source and once the coupon is doubled the toothpaste will be FREE!
Lifesavers: Bags of gummy Lifesavers are $1 this week. Print the $0.50 off coupons and score free Lifesavers once it is doubled. The coupon can be found here: Lifesaves Printable. The link will take you to a promo page for Wal-Mart, just scroll to the bottom of the page to Sweet Savings and click on Get Special Savings Now.
Pickles: Some varieties of Vlassic pickles are $1.88 this week. Use this $0.55 off one printable and get pickles for $0.78 each. Pickles Printable
Soup: Campbell's soup is on sale this week 2 for $1. I used a printable $0.50 off 2 coupon. When doubled this was $1 off 2 so the soup was FREE! Campbell's Soup Printable
This is my first time posting match ups, I hope you find them useful and all the links work for you. I appreciate any feedback - positive or negative.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Save $0.75 on Coffee-Mate Creamer
Use this link to save $0.75 on Coffee-Mate creamer. When there is a sale, you can usually pick this up for free or less than $0.50.
They have a new Honey Vanilla Creme flavor that I might try with this coupon.
They have a new Honey Vanilla Creme flavor that I might try with this coupon.
Meijer Savings Week of 8/8 - Had to Do Some Math on this One
This week taking my husband and kids to Meijer with me may have been a bit of a mistake. I have had them join me on my couponing adventures before but there must have been something in the air that made us spend money and my kids crazy.
In order to reflect the actual money spent on what what I typically buy, I had to subtract the additional items from my bill. I left the unplanned food items on as that is a realistic view of what can happen at the store when impulse food is purchased. I ended up subtracting $108.38 from my total amount spent as we ended up buying some planned and unplanned home goods items.
What we bought for $108.38: 1 bulb for my tail light, 1 gal jug for hubby's iced tea, 2 storage ottomans, 5 plastic totes, 1 pair of silicone tongs, 2 honey/sugar bottles, 2 insulated soup jars, and 3 Kitchen Aid knives.
My total bill for Meijer was $129.24, when I subtract the $108.38 I only spent $20.86 on my food and household items this week.
Items Purchased:
1 small can potato sticks (Evan was starving)
1 bag of Entenmanns donuts (hubby snuck these in)
1 small bag M&Ms
1 Milky Way bar
5 cans Campbell's Healthy Request Soup
4 jars Ragu pasta sauce
2 1/2 gallons Smart Balance milk
1 1/2 gallon Rice milk
2 jars Skippy Natural peanut butter
1 pack popsicles
The items I planned on purchasing cost $17.83 before coupons, my total coupon savings was $16.44 which means the planned items only cost $1.39 out of pocket. I planned on buying the soup, pasta sauce, smart balance milk and peanut butter.
The remaining items were impulse buys these impulse buys cost $19.47. This is how most people shop and how I used to shop. I had a vague idea of what I needed, I may have even had a list but I didn't shop the sales or with my coupons. This meant I had lots of impulse buys and not very much to show for it. I typically ended up spending $150-$200 in one store per week and most of the items went bad because I didn't use them. Not only am I more dedicated to stretching my budget through smart shopping and stockpiling, my husband and I are more dedicated to eating what we have at home.
It can be a challenge, we both noticed we have had fast food more times over the past week than we are comfortable with. He started a new job and my work has been very busy so it has made us lazy in our eating habits. We both agreed that we need to get back on track this week. The food usually tastes better and is better for you when it comes from home.
In order to reflect the actual money spent on what what I typically buy, I had to subtract the additional items from my bill. I left the unplanned food items on as that is a realistic view of what can happen at the store when impulse food is purchased. I ended up subtracting $108.38 from my total amount spent as we ended up buying some planned and unplanned home goods items.
What we bought for $108.38: 1 bulb for my tail light, 1 gal jug for hubby's iced tea, 2 storage ottomans, 5 plastic totes, 1 pair of silicone tongs, 2 honey/sugar bottles, 2 insulated soup jars, and 3 Kitchen Aid knives.
My total bill for Meijer was $129.24, when I subtract the $108.38 I only spent $20.86 on my food and household items this week.
Items Purchased:
1 small can potato sticks (Evan was starving)
1 bag of Entenmanns donuts (hubby snuck these in)
1 small bag M&Ms
1 Milky Way bar
5 cans Campbell's Healthy Request Soup
4 jars Ragu pasta sauce
2 1/2 gallons Smart Balance milk
1 1/2 gallon Rice milk
2 jars Skippy Natural peanut butter
1 pack popsicles
The items I planned on purchasing cost $17.83 before coupons, my total coupon savings was $16.44 which means the planned items only cost $1.39 out of pocket. I planned on buying the soup, pasta sauce, smart balance milk and peanut butter.
The remaining items were impulse buys these impulse buys cost $19.47. This is how most people shop and how I used to shop. I had a vague idea of what I needed, I may have even had a list but I didn't shop the sales or with my coupons. This meant I had lots of impulse buys and not very much to show for it. I typically ended up spending $150-$200 in one store per week and most of the items went bad because I didn't use them. Not only am I more dedicated to stretching my budget through smart shopping and stockpiling, my husband and I are more dedicated to eating what we have at home.
It can be a challenge, we both noticed we have had fast food more times over the past week than we are comfortable with. He started a new job and my work has been very busy so it has made us lazy in our eating habits. We both agreed that we need to get back on track this week. The food usually tastes better and is better for you when it comes from home.
Kroger Savings Week of 8/8 - This Might be My Best Trip Yet!
 | |
| My cart when leaving the store today |
I get the coupons from: B1G1 Sobe Link. You have to play the unscrew the cap game, I always receive the coupon it is a Bricks coupon which means you can print it twice, just use your browsers back button after the first time printing. You can get the coupon once a day, I usually make my trip to Kroger on Saturday morning which means I can get 14 of these coupons throughout the week if I remember to log on each day to play.
Spent: $20.23
Saved: $76.31
Earned: $3 on my next order
When I initially saw my total of $96.00 I thought there was no way I would be able to get out of the store for less than $50. Once my Kroger Plus card kicked in and my coupons were scanned, I was very happy to see the savings.
Items Purchased:
3 boxes CoCo Puffs cereal
4 jugs of Sunny D
2 boxes Hefty Gallon storage bags
2 boxes Hefty Quart storage bags
16 bottles Sobe Lifewater
4 bags Quaker True Delight rice cakes
8 cans Progresso Soup (this earned my $3 OYNO as well as $4 of Mega Event savings)
2 jars Welch's jam
1 container Oscar Meyer Deli Lunchmeat
 |
| My receipt - the scanned coupons are almost as long as the items purchased |
CVS Savings Week of 8/8
This week at CVS ended up breaking my order into two transactions. I decided that since I have stopped nursing, I would like to go back on Alli. CVS had the refill kit (120 pills) for $49.99. I ended up paying $37.29 after using my coupons. I used a $5 off $25, and the $11 ECBs I earned last week. Now to the real CVS shopping which took place on my second order.
Spent: $12.44
Saved: $27.75
Earned: $7 ECBs
Used: $5 off $25
Items Purchased:
4 2-liters of Diet Coke
2 packs of Huggies wipes (216 wipes in each)
1 Schick Hydro 5 razor
1 Schick shave gel
The wipes were $6 each and if you spent $10 in Huggies products you received $3.00 ECBs. I also had coupons for $2.00 off each so I spent $8.00 out of pocket but received $3 back. This made the wipes $2.50 each.
The razor was another ECB special, with the purchase of 1 you received $4.00 in ECBs. The razor was $8.97 but I also had a $5 off coupon. This made the razor $3.97 out of pocket and then I received $4 for next time. I was also lucky enough to grab a razor with a tear off coupon that gave me a free shave gel with the purchase of the razor. I was able to pick this up for free, it had originally be $4.29.
Diet Coke was not a planned item for me, however I received a $1 of 2 from the Extra Care machine. Coke was on sale 2 for 3 and I found a bottle that had a coupon for a free 2 liter when you purchase 3. I grabbed 4 and ended up getting all 4 for $3.50 or $0.88 each.
I decided to go ahead with my Walgreens ban and it made my shopping this week much less stressful. I
Spent: $12.44
Saved: $27.75
Earned: $7 ECBs
Used: $5 off $25
Items Purchased:
4 2-liters of Diet Coke
2 packs of Huggies wipes (216 wipes in each)
1 Schick Hydro 5 razor
1 Schick shave gel
The wipes were $6 each and if you spent $10 in Huggies products you received $3.00 ECBs. I also had coupons for $2.00 off each so I spent $8.00 out of pocket but received $3 back. This made the wipes $2.50 each.
The razor was another ECB special, with the purchase of 1 you received $4.00 in ECBs. The razor was $8.97 but I also had a $5 off coupon. This made the razor $3.97 out of pocket and then I received $4 for next time. I was also lucky enough to grab a razor with a tear off coupon that gave me a free shave gel with the purchase of the razor. I was able to pick this up for free, it had originally be $4.29.
Diet Coke was not a planned item for me, however I received a $1 of 2 from the Extra Care machine. Coke was on sale 2 for 3 and I found a bottle that had a coupon for a free 2 liter when you purchase 3. I grabbed 4 and ended up getting all 4 for $3.50 or $0.88 each.
I decided to go ahead with my Walgreens ban and it made my shopping this week much less stressful. I
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Just Finished Sorting Coupons - Here's a Sneak Peek at What I am Buying This Week
I have made the decision to ban Walgreens from my weekly shopping trips. They had some great deals but have just become to restrictive and accusatory with their coupons policy that I am going to save myself the hassle and focus my couponing and spending my money elsewhere.
This week I plan on shopping at CVS, Kroger, Meijer, and Target. Kroger is my most extensive shopping trip of the week. The deals are pretty light in some of the stores. I do need to get out and find school supplies.
At Kroger this week I have the following items on my list: Sobe water, Progresso Soup, Welch's jelly, Ziploc bags, Sunny D, Quaker rice cakes, Gardettos snacks, and CoCo Puffs.
I am only getting All detergent, a Schick razor and Huggies wipes at CVS this week. I don't think the Vitamin Water is 10 for $10 again, if it is and I can repeat the ECB deal I will likely pick more up.
Meijer has a fantastic deal on Smart Balance milk this week. I have never purchased this before but I don't think my family will notice the difference and with coupons the 1/2 gallons are free so there better not be any complaining! I will be picking up 2 1/2 gallons of milk, Campbell's Healthy Request (also free), Campbell's tomato soup (Liam's go to for lunch), Lipton tea, Ragu spaghetti sauce, Revlon products, and Skippy peanut butter.
Lastly, I will be stopping at Target to pick up just a few items. My hubby needs a 1 gallon cooler/jug for iced tea at work so I will be picking one of those up - without a coupon!! Oh the shame! It isn't that bad since I should be getting the other two items for free and like to purchase something for possible overage and less suspicion of thievery. I will be picking up Scotch Tape, the rolls are advertised at $0.50 each and I have coupons for $1.50 off of 3 so they should be free. I bought tape the other week and kept thinking, why am I getting this? I then realized if it is cheap now is the time to stock up for the upcoming holiday season and with 3 kids we have lots of Christmas wrapping along with other gifting events throughout the year. I am also going to pick up Post It Notes. They are supposed to be $1 and I have coupons for $1 off so that should make them free!
Here is the $1 off 1 Post it Notes coupon $1/1 Post it Note and here is the Scotch tape $1.50 off 3 coupon $1.50/3 Scotch Tape. Both of these are pdf documents so there shouldn't be a limit on how many you can print.
Happy Shopping!
UPDATE: I went to Target yesterday and was unable to find $1 super sticky post it notes or the $0.50 scotch tape. I did end up getting Crystal Light drink packets for free - they were $1.97 each and I had 3 $2 off coupons.
This week I plan on shopping at CVS, Kroger, Meijer, and Target. Kroger is my most extensive shopping trip of the week. The deals are pretty light in some of the stores. I do need to get out and find school supplies.
At Kroger this week I have the following items on my list: Sobe water, Progresso Soup, Welch's jelly, Ziploc bags, Sunny D, Quaker rice cakes, Gardettos snacks, and CoCo Puffs.
I am only getting All detergent, a Schick razor and Huggies wipes at CVS this week. I don't think the Vitamin Water is 10 for $10 again, if it is and I can repeat the ECB deal I will likely pick more up.
Meijer has a fantastic deal on Smart Balance milk this week. I have never purchased this before but I don't think my family will notice the difference and with coupons the 1/2 gallons are free so there better not be any complaining! I will be picking up 2 1/2 gallons of milk, Campbell's Healthy Request (also free), Campbell's tomato soup (Liam's go to for lunch), Lipton tea, Ragu spaghetti sauce, Revlon products, and Skippy peanut butter.
Lastly, I will be stopping at Target to pick up just a few items. My hubby needs a 1 gallon cooler/jug for iced tea at work so I will be picking one of those up - without a coupon!! Oh the shame! It isn't that bad since I should be getting the other two items for free and like to purchase something for possible overage and less suspicion of thievery. I will be picking up Scotch Tape, the rolls are advertised at $0.50 each and I have coupons for $1.50 off of 3 so they should be free. I bought tape the other week and kept thinking, why am I getting this? I then realized if it is cheap now is the time to stock up for the upcoming holiday season and with 3 kids we have lots of Christmas wrapping along with other gifting events throughout the year. I am also going to pick up Post It Notes. They are supposed to be $1 and I have coupons for $1 off so that should make them free!
Here is the $1 off 1 Post it Notes coupon $1/1 Post it Note and here is the Scotch tape $1.50 off 3 coupon $1.50/3 Scotch Tape. Both of these are pdf documents so there shouldn't be a limit on how many you can print.
Happy Shopping!
UPDATE: I went to Target yesterday and was unable to find $1 super sticky post it notes or the $0.50 scotch tape. I did end up getting Crystal Light drink packets for free - they were $1.97 each and I had 3 $2 off coupons.
Giant Eagle Savings This Week
The Giant Eagle ads running Thursday to Wednesday always mess up my postings because I never know which week of savings to categorize them in. I do like that I don't feel obligated to hit Giant Eagle in my usual Saturday shopping trip as I can easily go there during lunch one day and pick up what I need when they aren't as busy.
This week I was able to score some decent deals on yogurt, applesauce and trash bags.
Here is the breakdown:
Giant Eagle
Spent: $12.28
Saved: $19.41
Earned: $0.20 fuelperks
Items Purchased:
2 boxes Hefty garbage bags
2 packs Musselmanns applesauce
1 Danimal crush cups 4 pack
1 Danimal 6 pack smoothies
2 4 packs YoCrunch 100 calorie (so yummy)
1 pack Breyers kids yogurt
1 pack Dannon kids yogurt
1 fresh salad from the salad bar ($1.48)
This week I was able to score some decent deals on yogurt, applesauce and trash bags.
Here is the breakdown:
Giant Eagle
Spent: $12.28
Saved: $19.41
Earned: $0.20 fuelperks
Items Purchased:
2 boxes Hefty garbage bags
2 packs Musselmanns applesauce
1 Danimal crush cups 4 pack
1 Danimal 6 pack smoothies
2 4 packs YoCrunch 100 calorie (so yummy)
1 pack Breyers kids yogurt
1 pack Dannon kids yogurt
1 fresh salad from the salad bar ($1.48)
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Coupon Savings Week of 8/1 - My Second Week Back in the Game
This week can be easily summed up as cereal week for me. I was able to get some great deals on cereal and replenish our supply that has diminished since March. I ended up with 19 boxes of cereal! To some of you this may seem excessive, however my family goes through cereal rather quickly. The boys usually have it for breakfast and a before bed snack (sometimes I join them). Daphne loves trying out her new teeth by eating dry cereal.
This week again reminded me how much I enjoy couponing and being able to save my family money. Our basement storage area is getting so full that we will need to add another set of shelves. I realize how fortunate we are to need more space for food storage, there are families out there that can barely get anything to eat. The food pantry at our church needed donations. It felt wonderful to be able to go into my basement and fill bags of food and personal items to donate. I am trying to be very mindful of when the amount of an item is getting out of control and then donate some of what I have purchased. Most of the items I donate were free or less than $1 so it is very little out of pocket for me but can make a huge difference for someone else.
This month I mostly donated meal kits, cereal, pasta, and deodorant. When I first started couponing I was able to get at least 20 bars of deodorant in the first few weeks. There is no way we would use all of that. I also accumulated a nice stockpile of cereal and pasta. All of the pasta was free and the cereal was fairly inexpensive. After shopping this week the storage area is looking full and in a few weeks will be ready for another round of donations. I am going to try to donate to the food pantry once a month.
Liam and Evan love to help me bring all my purchases down to the basement for storage. Liam is old enough now that he can go down to the "store" and pick what he wants. He always goes down and asks if anyone else wants something.
The only difficult part of having such a great supply of food is that I seem to be the only one that knows what is down there. I think if everyone in the family knew what we had, we would be enjoying the fruits of my labor much more. Anyone have tips for how to spread the word?
I made it to Meijer, Walgreens, Kroger, CVS and Target this week. Giant Eagle always throws me off since their ads run Thursday to Wednesday. It did make it nice since I didn't have to stop by there yesterday. I can easily run to Giant Eagle during lunch next week to pick up the few things that I need.
This week I spent $126.93 on all of our home, grocery and personal care needs. I saved $204.20. Summaries, spending breakdown by store, and what I purchased can by found below in my earlier posts.
This week again reminded me how much I enjoy couponing and being able to save my family money. Our basement storage area is getting so full that we will need to add another set of shelves. I realize how fortunate we are to need more space for food storage, there are families out there that can barely get anything to eat. The food pantry at our church needed donations. It felt wonderful to be able to go into my basement and fill bags of food and personal items to donate. I am trying to be very mindful of when the amount of an item is getting out of control and then donate some of what I have purchased. Most of the items I donate were free or less than $1 so it is very little out of pocket for me but can make a huge difference for someone else.
This month I mostly donated meal kits, cereal, pasta, and deodorant. When I first started couponing I was able to get at least 20 bars of deodorant in the first few weeks. There is no way we would use all of that. I also accumulated a nice stockpile of cereal and pasta. All of the pasta was free and the cereal was fairly inexpensive. After shopping this week the storage area is looking full and in a few weeks will be ready for another round of donations. I am going to try to donate to the food pantry once a month.
Liam and Evan love to help me bring all my purchases down to the basement for storage. Liam is old enough now that he can go down to the "store" and pick what he wants. He always goes down and asks if anyone else wants something.
The only difficult part of having such a great supply of food is that I seem to be the only one that knows what is down there. I think if everyone in the family knew what we had, we would be enjoying the fruits of my labor much more. Anyone have tips for how to spread the word?
I made it to Meijer, Walgreens, Kroger, CVS and Target this week. Giant Eagle always throws me off since their ads run Thursday to Wednesday. It did make it nice since I didn't have to stop by there yesterday. I can easily run to Giant Eagle during lunch next week to pick up the few things that I need.
This week I spent $126.93 on all of our home, grocery and personal care needs. I saved $204.20. Summaries, spending breakdown by store, and what I purchased can by found below in my earlier posts.
Kroger Week of 8/1 - A sale combined with coupon match ups = great deals!
Kroger:
Spent: $36.05
Saved: $82.60
Purchased:
2 bottles of All Free & Clear detergent
1 box Nature Valley Granola bars
2 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch
3 boxes Cherrios
4 boxes Fiber One bars
1 box CoCo Puffs
1 box Quaker Oat Squares cereal
1 box Life cereal
1 box Crunch Berries
1 bottle Tide detergent
2 boxes Quaker instant oatmeal
1 pack fresh strawberries
3 Cover Girl eye shadows
4 boxes Betty Crocker fruit snacks
2 boxes Golden Grahams snack bars
1 bag Nature Valley granola
Kroger had two deals running this weekend. They are continuing with the P&G $4.00 off if you by 4 of the listed items. I bought the Tide detergent and 3 eye shadows to qualify for the extra $4.00. The Tide was originally $10.99 the P&G deal made the price $8.99. I had a $1 coupon and a Cellfire coupon that gave me an additional $3.00 off. This made the bottle of Tide $5.99.
I keep getting an offer on the bottom of my receipt to sign up for the Rewards Mastercard. If you apply and are approved you get a $25 Kroger gift card. I am not really interested in using the card as we don't do that anymore, but would like the $25. What are your thoughts on doing this?
Spent: $36.05
Saved: $82.60
Purchased:
2 bottles of All Free & Clear detergent
1 box Nature Valley Granola bars
2 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch
3 boxes Cherrios
4 boxes Fiber One bars
1 box CoCo Puffs
1 box Quaker Oat Squares cereal
1 box Life cereal
1 box Crunch Berries
1 bottle Tide detergent
2 boxes Quaker instant oatmeal
1 pack fresh strawberries
3 Cover Girl eye shadows
4 boxes Betty Crocker fruit snacks
2 boxes Golden Grahams snack bars
1 bag Nature Valley granola
Kroger had two deals running this weekend. They are continuing with the P&G $4.00 off if you by 4 of the listed items. I bought the Tide detergent and 3 eye shadows to qualify for the extra $4.00. The Tide was originally $10.99 the P&G deal made the price $8.99. I had a $1 coupon and a Cellfire coupon that gave me an additional $3.00 off. This made the bottle of Tide $5.99.
I keep getting an offer on the bottom of my receipt to sign up for the Rewards Mastercard. If you apply and are approved you get a $25 Kroger gift card. I am not really interested in using the card as we don't do that anymore, but would like the $25. What are your thoughts on doing this?
Meijer Week of 8/1 - How did I spend $50 out of pocket?!
Meijer:
Spent: $57.55
Saved: $46.55
Purchased:
2 boxes of Huggies diapers ($19.77 each!)
2 tubs of Huggies wipes
1 1/2 gallon of Silk Vanilla Soymilk
10 bottles of Sobe lifewater
4 boxes of Post Raisin Bran
4 boxes of Cinnabon cereal
2 gallons milk
1 bottle of Soy cooking oil
1 box of Glad garbage bags
WOW! My trip to Meijer was expensive this week. Usually with a bill over $50, I am going to have a receipt that is as tall as me and a cart full of groceries. I kept looking at the total and then looking in the cart, until I realized the death of any mom's budget is the dreaded diaper! They are so expensive, I use coupons whenever I can but with 2 kids in diapers there isn't much I can do.
Daphne wears Gro Baby Diapers on the weekends and whenever I am home so that helps a little. I am also not a snob about which brand of diapers I use. In the past I purchased the store brands on occasion and didn't really have issues with them. I have found that I don't really like Luvs
because they aren't very absorbent. Using coupons and sales, I have been pretty good with getting Jumbos packs of Huggies
and Pampers
for around $4-$7 a pack. This week at Meijer if you purchased a box of Huggies diapers you received a free pack of wipes. I had $3off Huggies diapers and with my coupons I got $1.00 off the wipes. This made the price for two boxes of diapers and two tubs of wipes $31.54.
When I subtract the $31.54 for diapers and wipes the bill from Meijer seems a bit more reasonable for what I purchased. The 8 boxes of cereal, milk, etc...only cost me $26.01.
Spent: $57.55
Saved: $46.55
Purchased:
2 boxes of Huggies diapers ($19.77 each!)
2 tubs of Huggies wipes
1 1/2 gallon of Silk Vanilla Soymilk
10 bottles of Sobe lifewater
4 boxes of Post Raisin Bran
4 boxes of Cinnabon cereal
2 gallons milk
1 bottle of Soy cooking oil
1 box of Glad garbage bags
WOW! My trip to Meijer was expensive this week. Usually with a bill over $50, I am going to have a receipt that is as tall as me and a cart full of groceries. I kept looking at the total and then looking in the cart, until I realized the death of any mom's budget is the dreaded diaper! They are so expensive, I use coupons whenever I can but with 2 kids in diapers there isn't much I can do.
Daphne wears Gro Baby Diapers on the weekends and whenever I am home so that helps a little. I am also not a snob about which brand of diapers I use. In the past I purchased the store brands on occasion and didn't really have issues with them. I have found that I don't really like Luvs
because they aren't very absorbent. Using coupons and sales, I have been pretty good with getting Jumbos packs of Huggies and Pampers for around $4-$7 a pack. This week at Meijer if you purchased a box of Huggies diapers you received a free pack of wipes. I had $3off Huggies diapers and with my coupons I got $1.00 off the wipes. This made the price for two boxes of diapers and two tubs of wipes $31.54.When I subtract the $31.54 for diapers and wipes the bill from Meijer seems a bit more reasonable for what I purchased. The 8 boxes of cereal, milk, etc...only cost me $26.01.
Target Savings Week of 8/1 - Lots of freebies!
Target
Spent: $5.66
Saved: $20.52
Items Purchased:
1 fashion scarf ($1.98)
1 pair of shorts for Daphne ($1.98)
2 Lunchables
4 Clean & Clear face wash (trial size)
2 Reach Floss
6 Johnson & Johnson To-Go First Aid kits
4 packs of Bic pens (10 per pack)
2 packs of Papermate pens (10 per pack)
The big question on this trip is what items did I actually pay for? I paid for the scarf, shorts, and lunchables. Everything else was FREE!
The Lunchables were $1.25 each and I had $0.50 off so they were $0.75 each.
I had $1.00 off coupons for Clean & Clear and for Floss. The trial size Clean & Clear was $0.99 each and the floss was $0.97 each. It took a little convincing to get the cashier to accept the Clean & Clear coupons but once she and another cashier read them they saw that it did not specify a size and did not exclude trial sizes.
The first aid kits were also in the trial size section of the store. They are $0.99 each. I had coupons for $3.00 off 3. Which meant 6 kits for free!
The pens were also free after a combination of coupons. Target had the Papermate pens for $0.50 a pack and there was a Target coupon for $0.50 off any Papermate product. The Bic pens were $0.99 each. I had a manufacturer coupon for $1.00 off two packs, plus a Target coupon for $1.00 off two packs. You can stack a manufacturer coupon with a Target coupon. This meant I had $2.00 in coupons for two packs of pens. The pens were $0.99 each which means they were free!
Spent: $5.66
Saved: $20.52
Items Purchased:
1 fashion scarf ($1.98)
1 pair of shorts for Daphne ($1.98)
2 Lunchables
4 Clean & Clear face wash (trial size)
2 Reach Floss
6 Johnson & Johnson To-Go First Aid kits
4 packs of Bic pens (10 per pack)
2 packs of Papermate pens (10 per pack)
The big question on this trip is what items did I actually pay for? I paid for the scarf, shorts, and lunchables. Everything else was FREE!
The Lunchables were $1.25 each and I had $0.50 off so they were $0.75 each.
I had $1.00 off coupons for Clean & Clear and for Floss. The trial size Clean & Clear was $0.99 each and the floss was $0.97 each. It took a little convincing to get the cashier to accept the Clean & Clear coupons but once she and another cashier read them they saw that it did not specify a size and did not exclude trial sizes.
The first aid kits were also in the trial size section of the store. They are $0.99 each. I had coupons for $3.00 off 3. Which meant 6 kits for free!
The pens were also free after a combination of coupons. Target had the Papermate pens for $0.50 a pack and there was a Target coupon for $0.50 off any Papermate product. The Bic pens were $0.99 each. I had a manufacturer coupon for $1.00 off two packs, plus a Target coupon for $1.00 off two packs. You can stack a manufacturer coupon with a Target coupon. This meant I had $2.00 in coupons for two packs of pens. The pens were $0.99 each which means they were free!
CVS Week of 8/1 - Found a few surprises!
CVS
Spent: $15.82
Saved: $18.40
Earned: $11 ECBs
Received: coupon for $5 off $25 or more and offer for $4 off $20 for updating my email addres
Items Purchased:
10 bottles of Vitamin Water Zero
2 Thermacare Back wraps
3 packs Dentyne Gum
I went to CVS planning to buy just the back wraps because I need them but don't like to purchase them because they are so expensive. This week they were 2 for $12.98 + you received $5 in ECBs. I had one $3 off coupon, in hindsight I should have printed a second coupon to save even more but it slipped my mind.
As I was going through my coupons before shopping I found 2 $1.00 off Dentyne gum that were expiring on 8/7. I figured I could use those to get a pretty good deal on gum. Since CVS was my first stop, I checked the prices there first. I bought on pack of Dentyne Pure for $1.29. With my coupon it was only $0.29. Dentyne had the other gum B1G1 free so I was able to get a 2 pack for $0.29 with my coupon. This is only $0.15 per pack!
The surprise for me this week was Vitamin Water being 10 for $10. I usually wouldn't pay $1 for a bottle of water but if you bought 10 you received $5 ECBs. Jason and I both like the water so I know we will drink it and at $0.50 per bottle it is easier for me to buy them.
Lastly, I received the $1 ECB for using my Green Bag Tag. If you shop at CVS and aren't using this, you are missing out. You purchase the tag and have it scanned every time you make a purchase, including picking up prescriptions in the drive through. For every 4 scans you receive $1 ECB.
Spent: $15.82
Saved: $18.40
Earned: $11 ECBs
Received: coupon for $5 off $25 or more and offer for $4 off $20 for updating my email addres
Items Purchased:
10 bottles of Vitamin Water Zero
2 Thermacare Back wraps
3 packs Dentyne Gum
I went to CVS planning to buy just the back wraps because I need them but don't like to purchase them because they are so expensive. This week they were 2 for $12.98 + you received $5 in ECBs. I had one $3 off coupon, in hindsight I should have printed a second coupon to save even more but it slipped my mind.
As I was going through my coupons before shopping I found 2 $1.00 off Dentyne gum that were expiring on 8/7. I figured I could use those to get a pretty good deal on gum. Since CVS was my first stop, I checked the prices there first. I bought on pack of Dentyne Pure for $1.29. With my coupon it was only $0.29. Dentyne had the other gum B1G1 free so I was able to get a 2 pack for $0.29 with my coupon. This is only $0.15 per pack!
The surprise for me this week was Vitamin Water being 10 for $10. I usually wouldn't pay $1 for a bottle of water but if you bought 10 you received $5 ECBs. Jason and I both like the water so I know we will drink it and at $0.50 per bottle it is easier for me to buy them.
Lastly, I received the $1 ECB for using my Green Bag Tag. If you shop at CVS and aren't using this, you are missing out. You purchase the tag and have it scanned every time you make a purchase, including picking up prescriptions in the drive through. For every 4 scans you receive $1 ECB.
Walgreens Week of 8/1 - Is it time for Walgreens to go?
Walgreens
Spent: $11.85
Saved: $36.13
Items Purchased:
4 Stage 2 Gerber baby foods
2 Rolos
1 Walgreens Baby vapor bath
3 Hershey's 5th Avenue
Bars
Bars2 packs Overnight Pull-Ups
3 packs Huggies wipes
(72 wipes per container)
(72 wipes per container)I am on the verge of nixing Walgreens from my weekly shopping. This is the second time my printed coupons have been called into question and I have had to explain them to the cashier and manager. They keep telling me that their own store policy says they can't accept the internet coupons. It is too much hassle to get them to take them and they make me feel like a criminal when I try to use them. I might try another Walgreens next week to see if I get better service. If not, I won't be shopping there anymore. Is anyone else having issues at their local Walgreens?
I was very lucky at Walgreens this week and wish I would have stopped in before other shoppers raided the baby isle. There were many items significantly marked down as they are clearing out some of the products. I was able to get the Baby vapor bath for $0.82 and the Pull-Ups were only $3.19 per pack, marked down from $8.99 each. I also had coupons for $1.50 off each Pull-Up so I was able to get those for $1.69 each. The baby food was also on sale for $0.42 per two pack. I didn't have any coupons and Daphne is enjoying chunkier food but I plan on mixing what I purchased with cereal and using my food processor to add rice or noodles.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Savings Week of July 26th
Last week was my first week back to coupon shopping. My family was able to eat fairly well on what we had from my last bout with couponing that I just didn't feel the drive to get into it over the past month or so. My hiatus is over and I'M BACK!
I forgot how much I enjoyed the thrill of getting items for free and seeing a $100 total go down to $40.
I can't find my Kroger receipt from last week but I know the total paid was $40 and the initial bill was $100. If I can locate the receipt I will post my Kroger savings then.
Last week I went to Kroger, Meijer, Walgreens, and Target. I skipped CVS because there wasn't anything there that I really needed.
I had a little trouble at Walgreens with the cashier and my printed coupons. They said that their policy was to no longer accept them because they have been getting lots of forged ones. I assured them that I printed them at home none of them were forged. They finally accepted them, but I may stop shopping at Walgreens if this continues to be an issue.
Between Meijer, Walgreens and Target I saved $133.57. I spent $77.22. We purchased a few impulse items at Target that took our total up higher than I would have liked. With the $40 spent at Kroger I spent $117.22. When the Kroger savings of $60 is included, I saved $193.57.
It seems that spending $117 on groceries isn't much of a savings. My purchases included household items, diapers, laundry detergent, a board game, socks, formula, and groceries. In the past I would easily spend $150-$200 a week on groceries alone. When the other products are added in, I could have spent $250-$300.
Even though I am saving money, I would like to eventually get my weekly spending down to $40-$80 per week. It will be difficult while I still have two little ones in diapers and one on formula.
Here is a breakdown of money spent and saved at each store. I have also included what I was able to get for the money spent.
Meijer:
Spent: $28.28
Saved: $92.21
Items Purchased:
2 Rolos
3 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
1 Reese's Whipped
1 Pack of buns
1 4-pack Yo-Plus yogurt
1 4-pack Fiber One yogurt
8 boxes of GoGurt
4 bags of Chex Mix
1 loaf of bread
2 7 packs of boy's socks
1 6 pack of men's socks
2 packs of tortillas
6 Smart Ones Frozen meals
2 packs of bologna
4 boxes Totino's Pizza Rolls
4 boxes Kellogg's Fiber Plus cereal
2 bags Dole lettuce
3 pepperoni pizzas
Walgreens:
Spent: $4.09
2 rolls of 3M Scotch tape
3 mini composition books
3 cans Hunt's tomato sauce
2 cans black olives
1 game of Clue Secrets & Spies
($11.98)
4 8-packs Juicy Juice
4 Chef-Boyardee microwave meals
4 Kid Cuisine frozen meals
4 boxes Bagel Bites
4 bottles Sobe Lifewater
I forgot how much I enjoyed the thrill of getting items for free and seeing a $100 total go down to $40.
I can't find my Kroger receipt from last week but I know the total paid was $40 and the initial bill was $100. If I can locate the receipt I will post my Kroger savings then.
Last week I went to Kroger, Meijer, Walgreens, and Target. I skipped CVS because there wasn't anything there that I really needed.
I had a little trouble at Walgreens with the cashier and my printed coupons. They said that their policy was to no longer accept them because they have been getting lots of forged ones. I assured them that I printed them at home none of them were forged. They finally accepted them, but I may stop shopping at Walgreens if this continues to be an issue.
Between Meijer, Walgreens and Target I saved $133.57. I spent $77.22. We purchased a few impulse items at Target that took our total up higher than I would have liked. With the $40 spent at Kroger I spent $117.22. When the Kroger savings of $60 is included, I saved $193.57.
It seems that spending $117 on groceries isn't much of a savings. My purchases included household items, diapers, laundry detergent, a board game, socks, formula, and groceries. In the past I would easily spend $150-$200 a week on groceries alone. When the other products are added in, I could have spent $250-$300.
Even though I am saving money, I would like to eventually get my weekly spending down to $40-$80 per week. It will be difficult while I still have two little ones in diapers and one on formula.
Here is a breakdown of money spent and saved at each store. I have also included what I was able to get for the money spent.
Meijer:
Spent: $28.28
Saved: $92.21
Items Purchased:
2 Rolos
3 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
1 Reese's Whipped
1 Pack of buns
1 4-pack Yo-Plus yogurt
1 4-pack Fiber One yogurt
8 boxes of GoGurt
4 bags of Chex Mix
1 loaf of bread
2 7 packs of boy's socks
1 6 pack of men's socks
2 packs of tortillas
6 Smart Ones Frozen meals
2 packs of bologna
4 boxes Totino's Pizza Rolls
4 boxes Kellogg's Fiber Plus cereal
2 bags Dole lettuce
3 pepperoni pizzas
Walgreens:
Spent: $4.09
Saved: $17.39
Items Purchased:
2 2-packs of 3M Command wall hooks
2 rolls of 3M Scotch tape
3 mini composition books
3 cans Hunt's tomato sauce
2 cans black olives
Target:
Spent: $44.85
Saved: $25.97
Items Purchased:
1 can Similac Advance - Powder ($20.99)
1 game of Clue Secrets & Spies
($11.98)4 8-packs Juicy Juice
4 Chef-Boyardee microwave meals
4 Kid Cuisine frozen meals
4 boxes Bagel Bites
4 bottles Sobe Lifewater
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Coupon Savings Week of 5/16 - Meijer
This week was interesting for me at Meijer. My Sunday paper subscription had expired a few weeks ago and I have been so off the radar with couponing that I didn't even miss it! I am back on track and was going to call tomorrow to renew the subscription. As I was heading to the check out in Meijer today a representative from the Dispatch was signing up people for subscriptions for $9.90 a month (cheaper than what I had it for before) and he was giving $10 Meijer gift cards if you signed up.
I didn't have coupons for everything I purchased this week. Tomato soup was on sale 2 for $1 so that made my purchase bearable but I know if I had coupons for it I would have gotten a better deal. Oh well, it is the only thing Liam wants to pack in his lunch so I picked up 8 cans.
Check out summary:
Total spent: $50.40
Total savings: $65.07 (includes my $10 gift card)
Order summary:
8 cans Tomato soup
2 gallons 2% milk
2 Meijer little puffs
10 Lean Cuisine
2 boxes of Crystal Light single packs
2 Kraft salad dressings
2 bottles Bull's Eye BBQ sauce
2 Del Monte fruit chillers
1 pack of DanActive smoothies
1 pack of Danimals smoothies
1 bag Bird's Eye steam fresh veggies
1 box of Super Pretzels
1 pack of Sandwich Thins
2 jumbo packs of Huggies
4 12 packs of Diet Coke
2 Nerds ropes (for the boys)
I didn't have coupons for everything I purchased this week. Tomato soup was on sale 2 for $1 so that made my purchase bearable but I know if I had coupons for it I would have gotten a better deal. Oh well, it is the only thing Liam wants to pack in his lunch so I picked up 8 cans.
Check out summary:
Total spent: $50.40
Total savings: $65.07 (includes my $10 gift card)
Order summary:
8 cans Tomato soup
2 gallons 2% milk
2 Meijer little puffs
10 Lean Cuisine
2 boxes of Crystal Light single packs
2 Kraft salad dressings
2 bottles Bull's Eye BBQ sauce
2 Del Monte fruit chillers
1 pack of DanActive smoothies
1 pack of Danimals smoothies
1 bag Bird's Eye steam fresh veggies
1 box of Super Pretzels
1 pack of Sandwich Thins
2 jumbo packs of Huggies
4 12 packs of Diet Coke
2 Nerds ropes (for the boys)
Coupon Savings Week of 5/16 - CVS
I had a horrible experience at CVS this week. It was so bad that I ended up calling the number on my receipt and completed the survey. The cashier was completely rude and snippy with me. I tried to take advantage of the B1G1 on Cover Girl lip gloss by using the CVS sale along with the B1G1 coupon to end up getting them for free. She wouldn't ring them up for me. She then took all of my coupons and organized them in some funky order before scanning. It ended up that my $4 off a $20 order was at the end, I specifically put the coupon first because I wasn't sure if after all my other coupons the order would still be over $20. It wasn't but she took the $4 off anyway. This was when she got really nasty with me. Once it got below $20, I told her that I gave her the coupons in a certain order so I could use my $4 off. She basically yelled at me and said she would go ahead and take it off.
Check out summary:
Total spent: $14.58
Total savings: $17.00
Order Summary:
1 jumbo pack Huggies diaper jeans
1 jumbo pack Pampers
1 Listerine Smart Rinse
I couldn't resist the diaper jeans. I think they are so stupid but CVS had sent me a $2 CVS coupon so I was able to stack that with the $3 Huggies coupon, so I figured what the hell might as well see what the fuss is about.
I also had a $3 CVS coupon for the Pampers and I stacked that with a $1.50 off coupon so the diapers were pretty reasonable.
I bought the Smart Rinse for $5.99 and used a $2 coupon I got from the dentist. Liam had some major tooth issues and he is almost out of his mouthwash so I couldn't wait for an advertised sale. I was able to find a bottle that included a free travel size so it wasn't too bad of a deal for $3.99.
Check out summary:
Total spent: $14.58
Total savings: $17.00
Order Summary:
1 jumbo pack Huggies diaper jeans
1 jumbo pack Pampers
1 Listerine Smart Rinse
I couldn't resist the diaper jeans. I think they are so stupid but CVS had sent me a $2 CVS coupon so I was able to stack that with the $3 Huggies coupon, so I figured what the hell might as well see what the fuss is about.
I also had a $3 CVS coupon for the Pampers and I stacked that with a $1.50 off coupon so the diapers were pretty reasonable.
I bought the Smart Rinse for $5.99 and used a $2 coupon I got from the dentist. Liam had some major tooth issues and he is almost out of his mouthwash so I couldn't wait for an advertised sale. I was able to find a bottle that included a free travel size so it wasn't too bad of a deal for $3.99.
Coupon Savings Week of 5/16 - Kroger
I was able to stock up on juice and water at Kroger this week. My kids go through cycles where they will want juice all the time, to not really wanting it at all. We are at a juice all the time point in their drinking cycle so having this on hand for such a cheap price is great. I am dieting so I bought the Tropicana 50 juice which has less fat and calories, so if the kids don't drink it, I will.
Checkout Summary:
Total spent: $38.92
Total savings: $49.42
Earned: $5.00 toward next order
Order Summary:
10 Beechnut baby food jars
4 24 packs of Nestle water
1 2 liter of Diet Mt. Dew
2 Jumbo packs of huggies
2 packs Oscar Meyer light bologna
1 bag Dole salad
6 cartons Tropicana 50
1 box Kelloggs Blueberry mini-wheats
4 packs of blackberries
1 cucumber
1 bunch of green onions
Kroger sometimes sends me special coupons, I was able to get the salad and 1 pack of bologna for free. I had a coupon for $1.00 off of two Oscar Meyer meats and they were on sale for $0.98 each so I ended up getting both for free. I got the mini-wheats for free because I emailed a complaint to Kelloggs when one of the boxes of their mini-wheats was seriously lacking in frosting. They sent me the coupon as a thank you for my feedback.
Blackberries were $1 each, the cucumber was $0.55 and the green onions were $0.50. The baby food was 10 for $4.00. I didn't have coupons for any of these items but the prices were good and we will use them so I went ahead and picked them up.
I had 6 coupons for $1.00 off of Tropicana 50 juice. It was on sale this week for $2.38, using the $1.00 off made each carton $1.38 which is a pretty good price for juice.
The water was a pretty good deal. It was on sale for $3.34 a pack and I had coupons that were $1.00 off of 2 packs. There was also a Catalina deal which is how I got $5.00 toward my next order. That made the 4 packs of water $6.34 or $1.59 each. We usually don't buy bottled water but at those prices it is nice to have when we are on the go or when we have company.
Diapers and baby products make it difficult to keep a really low grocery bill. I know some of the bargain hunters are able to get all of their products for less than $40 a week. I have certainly lowered my grocery bill by using coupons and stock piling but I don't think I am that low.
I was able to get a good deal on diapers at Kroger this week. Huggies were on sale for $8.99 and I had 2 $3.00 coupons. This took the price for each pack to $5.99 which is a good price. Kroger was also running a promotion that gave you and instant $3.00 off your order if you purchase $15.00 in Huggies products. This made the diapers $4.49 a pack.
Checkout Summary:
Total spent: $38.92
Total savings: $49.42
Earned: $5.00 toward next order
Order Summary:
10 Beechnut baby food jars
4 24 packs of Nestle water
1 2 liter of Diet Mt. Dew
2 Jumbo packs of huggies
2 packs Oscar Meyer light bologna
1 bag Dole salad
6 cartons Tropicana 50
1 box Kelloggs Blueberry mini-wheats
4 packs of blackberries
1 cucumber
1 bunch of green onions
Kroger sometimes sends me special coupons, I was able to get the salad and 1 pack of bologna for free. I had a coupon for $1.00 off of two Oscar Meyer meats and they were on sale for $0.98 each so I ended up getting both for free. I got the mini-wheats for free because I emailed a complaint to Kelloggs when one of the boxes of their mini-wheats was seriously lacking in frosting. They sent me the coupon as a thank you for my feedback.
Blackberries were $1 each, the cucumber was $0.55 and the green onions were $0.50. The baby food was 10 for $4.00. I didn't have coupons for any of these items but the prices were good and we will use them so I went ahead and picked them up.
I had 6 coupons for $1.00 off of Tropicana 50 juice. It was on sale this week for $2.38, using the $1.00 off made each carton $1.38 which is a pretty good price for juice.
The water was a pretty good deal. It was on sale for $3.34 a pack and I had coupons that were $1.00 off of 2 packs. There was also a Catalina deal which is how I got $5.00 toward my next order. That made the 4 packs of water $6.34 or $1.59 each. We usually don't buy bottled water but at those prices it is nice to have when we are on the go or when we have company.
Diapers and baby products make it difficult to keep a really low grocery bill. I know some of the bargain hunters are able to get all of their products for less than $40 a week. I have certainly lowered my grocery bill by using coupons and stock piling but I don't think I am that low.
I was able to get a good deal on diapers at Kroger this week. Huggies were on sale for $8.99 and I had 2 $3.00 coupons. This took the price for each pack to $5.99 which is a good price. Kroger was also running a promotion that gave you and instant $3.00 off your order if you purchase $15.00 in Huggies products. This made the diapers $4.49 a pack.
Coupon Girl Returns
I'm back! I have been so busy since my husband left to work in Atlanta that I have barely even been grocery shopping. The prior weeks spent stocking up meant I was able to just pick up the necessities and not really anything else. It was nice, but I missed out on some good deals. There were a few times that I had to go to the store and buy items without coupons and I started to get twitchy.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Meijer for Under $10
I love having a nice stockpile of items because I don't feel bad when I can't make it to the store regularly. I was able to get some great deals at Meijer this week. They have another round of 10 for $10.
Spent: $9.65
Total Savings: $42.33
Items Purchased:
1 bottle Sunny D
4 Del Monte Fruit Chillers
1 bottle Planters Dry Roast Peanuts
1 Butter popcorn seasoning
2 boxes of Crystal Light packets
1 YoPlus Yogurt
2 TGIFriday's frozen mozzarella sticks
3 pouches Betty Crocker cookie mix
2 packs Del Monte Mandarin Orange Fruit cups
2 boxes Betty Crocker potatoes
2 boxes Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta
1 bag Quaker rice cakes
Spent: $9.65
Total Savings: $42.33
Items Purchased:
1 bottle Sunny D
4 Del Monte Fruit Chillers
1 bottle Planters Dry Roast Peanuts
1 Butter popcorn seasoning
2 boxes of Crystal Light packets
1 YoPlus Yogurt
2 TGIFriday's frozen mozzarella sticks
3 pouches Betty Crocker cookie mix
2 packs Del Monte Mandarin Orange Fruit cups
2 boxes Betty Crocker potatoes
2 boxes Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta
1 bag Quaker rice cakes
Monday, March 29, 2010
CVS for Less than $1.00
I went to CVS yesterday and made it out of the store paying $0.37 out of pocket and getting $2.00 in Extra Care Bucks. I wasn't supposed to get the $3.00 but they had a sign up that said $3 back for $10 spent in candy. I purchased enough candy but the ECB didn't print. Apparently the ECB deal had expired but since they still had the sign up they honored it and printed one for me.
Order Summary:
Spent: $0.37
3 bags M&Ms
2 bags Reese's eggs
1 bag Hershey eggs
2 bottles of Softsoap body wash
The body wash was B1G1 and I had 2 $1.00 off coupons for each of them. The were priced at $4.99 each. One was free so it ended up being $2.99 for two or $1.50 each. The candy was on special for $2.00 a bag. I purchased $12 worth of candy and used $3.00 in coupons.
Order Summary:
Spent: $0.37
Saved: $23.73
Used: $11.99 in ECBs
Earned: $3.00 ECBs
Purchased:3 bags M&Ms
2 bags Reese's eggs
1 bag Hershey eggs
2 bottles of Softsoap body wash
The body wash was B1G1 and I had 2 $1.00 off coupons for each of them. The were priced at $4.99 each. One was free so it ended up being $2.99 for two or $1.50 each. The candy was on special for $2.00 a bag. I purchased $12 worth of candy and used $3.00 in coupons.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
My Trip to Giant Eagle Felt Like Stealing
I didn't get anything from the Giant Eagle ad last week. Giant Eagle gets a little confusing to me because it is the only store that I go to with an ad that starts on Thursday instead of Sunday like the rest of them. Regardless, as I posted last week there just wasn't anything there that warranted a trip. This week, I was able to use the $18 I earned buying diapers. Using this and my coupons allowed me to walk out of Giant Eagle with bags full of food for only $11.04!! On top of that I earned $5.00 toward my next order.
Order Summary
Spent: $11.04
Saved: $47.08
Purchased:
1 box of Uncrustables
10 boxes of Yoplait GoGurt
5 boxes Kellogg's Chocolate Mini-Wheats Little Bites cereal
2 packs of Vanity Fair napkins
2 packs of Vanity Fair plates
1 pack of Dixie plates
1 pack of Dixie napkins
3 boxes of Splenda (with fiber)
1 French's mustard
1 bag of frozen spinach
You might think 10 boxes of GoGurt is excessive, but my kids eat the stuff like crazy. Evan loves them frozen and probably eats 2-6 of them a day. Jason said Evan was mad while I was at the store because we were out of GoGurts. Now our freezer and fridge are fully stocked.
I hadn't planned on purchasing more cereal unless the price was exceptionally low, however Jason tried a box of the Chocolate Little Bites last week and loved them. As I was going through the coupons in this weeks paper I saw that they had $2.00 off two boxes and $1.00 off one box. I had two sets of coupons (thanks Granny) so I used 2 $2.00 and 1 $1.00 at Giant Eagle where the cereal was 5 for $10. This made them $1 a box. Not as good as $0.50 per box I had a Target the other week, but Jason will be leaving for Atlanta again and I thought it would be nice for him to take his new favorite cereal with him. I am sure he knows I would DIE if he went to the grocery in Atlanta and spent the usual $3-$4 for a box of cereal.
The purchase of 3 boxes of Splenda is how I earned $5 toward my next order. Splenda was on sale 3 for $10 or $3.33 each, plus you earned $5 toward your next order if you purchased 3. I had $1.00 off coupons so I used 3 of them. This made the Splenda $2.33 a box or $6.99. After the $5 earned, I was able to purchase 3 boxes of Splenda for $1.99.
The spinach was on sale for $1.00, I had $0.50 off so it was free after the coupon was doubled. The napkins and plates were on sale 2 for $4. We only use paper plates for parties, but I usually end up running to the store a few days before the party and spending full price for them. With a little advance planning, I was able to purchase them for $1.00 a pack since I had $0.50 off coupons for the Vanity Fair plates and napkins. I saved even more on the Dixie plates and napkins since my coupon for both of those was $0.55 and it was doubled to $1.10.
GoGurt was 3 for $6 or $2 each. I had two different kinds of coupons. There were 4 $1.10 off of Simply GoGurt and 6 $0.40 off of one GoGurt. I wasn't sure if Simply GoGurt was included in the sale, thankfully it was. I used my 4 $1.10 coupons so those 4 packs were $0.90 each. The 6 $0.40 were doubled so I got $0.80 off each pack which made them $1.20 each.
To add to my savings I now have $0.80 off per gallon of gas at Get Go. Fuel perks are earned more slowly when I use my coupons because it take me a lot longer to spend $50 when I only spend $10-$20 a week in groceries at Giant Eagle. I still take advantage of the gift cards they offer and am sure to purchase them there whenever I need them.
Order Summary
Spent: $11.04
Saved: $47.08
$5 earned toward my next order
Used: $18 earned from my last tripPurchased:
1 box of Uncrustables
10 boxes of Yoplait GoGurt
5 boxes Kellogg's Chocolate Mini-Wheats Little Bites cereal
2 packs of Vanity Fair napkins
2 packs of Vanity Fair plates
1 pack of Dixie plates
1 pack of Dixie napkins
3 boxes of Splenda (with fiber)
1 French's mustard
1 bag of frozen spinach
You might think 10 boxes of GoGurt is excessive, but my kids eat the stuff like crazy. Evan loves them frozen and probably eats 2-6 of them a day. Jason said Evan was mad while I was at the store because we were out of GoGurts. Now our freezer and fridge are fully stocked.
I hadn't planned on purchasing more cereal unless the price was exceptionally low, however Jason tried a box of the Chocolate Little Bites last week and loved them. As I was going through the coupons in this weeks paper I saw that they had $2.00 off two boxes and $1.00 off one box. I had two sets of coupons (thanks Granny) so I used 2 $2.00 and 1 $1.00 at Giant Eagle where the cereal was 5 for $10. This made them $1 a box. Not as good as $0.50 per box I had a Target the other week, but Jason will be leaving for Atlanta again and I thought it would be nice for him to take his new favorite cereal with him. I am sure he knows I would DIE if he went to the grocery in Atlanta and spent the usual $3-$4 for a box of cereal.
The purchase of 3 boxes of Splenda is how I earned $5 toward my next order. Splenda was on sale 3 for $10 or $3.33 each, plus you earned $5 toward your next order if you purchased 3. I had $1.00 off coupons so I used 3 of them. This made the Splenda $2.33 a box or $6.99. After the $5 earned, I was able to purchase 3 boxes of Splenda for $1.99.
The spinach was on sale for $1.00, I had $0.50 off so it was free after the coupon was doubled. The napkins and plates were on sale 2 for $4. We only use paper plates for parties, but I usually end up running to the store a few days before the party and spending full price for them. With a little advance planning, I was able to purchase them for $1.00 a pack since I had $0.50 off coupons for the Vanity Fair plates and napkins. I saved even more on the Dixie plates and napkins since my coupon for both of those was $0.55 and it was doubled to $1.10.
GoGurt was 3 for $6 or $2 each. I had two different kinds of coupons. There were 4 $1.10 off of Simply GoGurt and 6 $0.40 off of one GoGurt. I wasn't sure if Simply GoGurt was included in the sale, thankfully it was. I used my 4 $1.10 coupons so those 4 packs were $0.90 each. The 6 $0.40 were doubled so I got $0.80 off each pack which made them $1.20 each.
To add to my savings I now have $0.80 off per gallon of gas at Get Go. Fuel perks are earned more slowly when I use my coupons because it take me a lot longer to spend $50 when I only spend $10-$20 a week in groceries at Giant Eagle. I still take advantage of the gift cards they offer and am sure to purchase them there whenever I need them.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Coupon Savings Week of 3/21 - CVS
I was able to make it to CVS today since my Granny came over to watch the kids while their swing set was being constructed in the back yard. I only had a few things on my list, but wanted to make sure I picked them up before the sale and ECBs on these items ended.
I had to get one unplanned item and that was children's cold medicine. Evan has been sick for days and I was running low on Triaminic. Thankfully, I had a $1.50 off coupon and CVS had an instant coupon of $2.00. Still the medicine cost me $8.50! I will be sure to keep my eyes out for good stock up prices on medicine for the kids so I don't have to pay retail when they get sick.
Order Summary:
Spent: $23.56
Saved: $25.94
2 Jumbo packs Pampers Cruisers Size 4
1 bottle Crest Pro-Health mouthwash
1 tube Colgate toothpaste
1 bottle Triaminic day time
1 bottle Triaminic night time
The diapers were on sale for $8.97 a pack and I earned $3.00 ECBs on the purchase of each pack. I also had a $2.00 off coupon. This made the diapers $3.97 a pack after coupons and ECBs.
The mouthwash was on sale for $3.99, I had a $2.00 off coupon and received $2.00 ECBs. This means I made $0.01 on the purchase of the mouthwash.
The Colgate was $3.99, I had a $1.00 off coupon and received $3.99 ECBs. This means I made $1.00 on the purchase of the toothpaste.
I made sure to scan my bag tag so I am now only 2 scans away from $1.00 of Extra Care Bucks. For those that don't know. If you purchase a bag tag at CVS and have it scanned each time you make a purchase, even when picking up prescriptions, you will earn $1.00 every 4 times you have the bag scanned. I keep my bag tag with my Extra Care card so I don't forget to have it scanned.
I had to get one unplanned item and that was children's cold medicine. Evan has been sick for days and I was running low on Triaminic. Thankfully, I had a $1.50 off coupon and CVS had an instant coupon of $2.00. Still the medicine cost me $8.50! I will be sure to keep my eyes out for good stock up prices on medicine for the kids so I don't have to pay retail when they get sick.
Order Summary:
Spent: $23.56
Saved: $25.94
ECBs earned: $11.99
Purchased:2 Jumbo packs Pampers Cruisers Size 4
1 bottle Crest Pro-Health mouthwash
1 tube Colgate toothpaste
1 bottle Triaminic day time
1 bottle Triaminic night time
The diapers were on sale for $8.97 a pack and I earned $3.00 ECBs on the purchase of each pack. I also had a $2.00 off coupon. This made the diapers $3.97 a pack after coupons and ECBs.
The mouthwash was on sale for $3.99, I had a $2.00 off coupon and received $2.00 ECBs. This means I made $0.01 on the purchase of the mouthwash.
The Colgate was $3.99, I had a $1.00 off coupon and received $3.99 ECBs. This means I made $1.00 on the purchase of the toothpaste.
I made sure to scan my bag tag so I am now only 2 scans away from $1.00 of Extra Care Bucks. For those that don't know. If you purchase a bag tag at CVS and have it scanned each time you make a purchase, even when picking up prescriptions, you will earn $1.00 every 4 times you have the bag scanned. I keep my bag tag with my Extra Care card so I don't forget to have it scanned.
Kroger TRIPLE Coupons!
This week Kroger had triple coupons which means that any coupon $0.50 or under will be tripled. I had my short list for Kroger but decided to take a little longer for shopping this week to make sure I maximized the triple coupon savings. As I sorted through my coupons for those that were expired, I pulled out the ones that were $0.50 or less. I had the organized by type when I went to the store and basically went down each isle looking at the coupons and item prices. I was able to snag a few more deals that had I stuck to my original list. However, the savings with triple coupons on most items was not as great as I had anticipated. Maybe they know what coupons are out there so they don't offer sales on many of the items that a coupon would apply to.
I had three orders this week. I made a mistake and put my Grands on separate orders, had I put them on the same order I would have earned $2 toward my next order. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. There wasn't really and logic to putting them on separate orders, just didn't think it through.
Order Summary:
Spent: $39.01
7 2 liters of Diet Coke
2 bottles Lysol all purpose cleaner
2 spray bottles Lysol bathroom cleaner
2 bottles Lysol toilet bowl cleaner
2 spray bottle Lysol antibacterial kitchen cleaner
1 bottle Sun laundry detergent
4 Pillsbury Grands biscuits
1 pack Arm & Hammer dryer sheets
2 Suave kids body wash
2 5 lb bags Gold Medal flour
2 cans Carnation evaporated milk
4 3 packs of Irish Spring
3 Secret deodorants
6 Betty Crocker warm delights
1 Oscar Meyer lunchable
1 French's Worchestershire Sauce
1 box Hefty kids cups
1 Betty Crocker frosting
3 Listerine pocket strips
1 Progresso light soup
2 Campbell's condensed soups
3 boxes 90 calorie Fiber One bars
3 boxes Chex Mix turtle bars
1 bottle Softsoap liquid
2 bottles Suave lotion
I also received a coupon for a free 2 liter of diet Mountain Dew. I will be sure to pick this up when I go Krogering next week!
I had three orders this week. I made a mistake and put my Grands on separate orders, had I put them on the same order I would have earned $2 toward my next order. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. There wasn't really and logic to putting them on separate orders, just didn't think it through.
Order Summary:
Spent: $39.01
Saved: $115.73
Purchased:7 2 liters of Diet Coke
2 bottles Lysol all purpose cleaner
2 spray bottles Lysol bathroom cleaner
2 bottles Lysol toilet bowl cleaner
2 spray bottle Lysol antibacterial kitchen cleaner
1 bottle Sun laundry detergent
4 Pillsbury Grands biscuits
1 pack Arm & Hammer dryer sheets
2 Suave kids body wash
2 5 lb bags Gold Medal flour
2 cans Carnation evaporated milk
4 3 packs of Irish Spring
3 Secret deodorants
6 Betty Crocker warm delights
1 Oscar Meyer lunchable
1 French's Worchestershire Sauce
1 box Hefty kids cups
1 Betty Crocker frosting
3 Listerine pocket strips
1 Progresso light soup
2 Campbell's condensed soups
3 boxes 90 calorie Fiber One bars
3 boxes Chex Mix turtle bars
1 bottle Softsoap liquid
2 bottles Suave lotion
I also received a coupon for a free 2 liter of diet Mountain Dew. I will be sure to pick this up when I go Krogering next week!
Friday, March 26, 2010
My Plans for Expired Coupons
I just cleaned out my coupons this week and wish I knew about this program before I put them all in the trash! Starting today, I am going to send all of my expired coupons to the Overseas Coupon Program for use by military families.
The information below was taken from the Overseas Coupon Program website.
Why would they want my expired coupons?
-military commissaries (grocery stores) overseas would accept manufacturer's cents-off coupons for up to six months past their printed expiration dates.
I only get the Sunday paper and don't have enough coupons to donate.
-There is no minimum. The average Sunday newspaper contains approximately $125 worth of coupons. Even the smallest donation, when combined with the donations of other individuals, will make a difference in the lives of many military families serving our country overseas.
Can I just send the Sunday inserts?
-It is better to clip the coupons prior to sending. By clipping the coupons, you save the volunteers at the base valuable time. Most organizations are short of needed volunteers. You also save yourself a lot of additional postage since most of the coupon circulars are wasted paper.
What type of coupons should I send?
-“Manufacturer’s Coupons” are the coupons of choice since they are accepted at any store. Coupons from the dispensers in grocery stores, from the internet and from your local newspaper inserts, and dozens of other places are good as long as those magic words are on them: "Manufacturer's Coupon." You do not need to send internet coupons because the military families have access to those and can print them.
You can read more in the FAQ section on the website.
Coupon Savings Week of 3/21 - Meijer
I made my second trip to Meijer after work today, my first was yesterday. I made Jason tag along to assist and see my mad coupon skills before he heads back to Atlanta. I had to stop there again today because I forgot my $1.00 off South Beach
bars coupons and Jason needed the bars to take to Atlanta with him. I bought 3 boxes, they were on sale for $2.50 each and with my coupon they were $1.50 each.
It was a slow week for items at Meijer. After the amazing deals I had last week with 10 for $10, it was a disappointment. I know I can't expect huge sales and deals each week, so I just have to wait in anticipation for the next weekly ad to come out.
Order Summary:
Spent: $16.45
bars coupons and Jason needed the bars to take to Atlanta with him. I bought 3 boxes, they were on sale for $2.50 each and with my coupon they were $1.50 each.It was a slow week for items at Meijer. After the amazing deals I had last week with 10 for $10, it was a disappointment. I know I can't expect huge sales and deals each week, so I just have to wait in anticipation for the next weekly ad to come out.
Order Summary:
Spent: $16.45
Total Savings: $30.14
Purchased:
1 box of Biz stain fighter ($3.99 had $2.50 coupon)
4 gallons 2% milk (on sale 2 for $4)
2 4 packs of Atkins shakes (2 for $10 had $1.00 off each)
2 packs of men's disposable razors ($5.24 each. Had $4 off 1 and $3 off the other)
3 boxes of South Beach bars ($2.50 each had 3 $1.00 coupons)
I also used the $10 I earned last week. No money toward my next order (catalina) deals were earned this week.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Coupon Savings Week of 3/21 - Walgreens
I had a good week at Walgreens. I did learn that you can only use two Register Rewards (RR) per order. I would have had my orders for close to free this week if I had been able to use all of the $30 I earned last week. I was able to stock up on diapers at a reasonable price, earn more Register Rewards and keep the remaining rewards to use next week. The rewards I earned last week expire on 3/31 so I need to be sure I use them or I am pretty much throwing away cash! The rewards I earned today don't expire until 4/8 so I have time to hold onto them.
In order to take advantage of the maximum amount of register rewards, I had two separate orders this week. Huggies diapers were $8.99 and you received $5 in RR with the purchase of 3. Planters Trail Mix was 2 for $3 and I had 3 $1.50 coupons and one $1 coupon.
Order Quick View:
Spent: $22.98
(20 diapers per pack)
1 pack Huggies size 3 diapers
(36 diapers per pack)
2 packs Huggies size 4 diapers
(31 diapers per pack)
4 bags of Planters Trail Mix
On the first order I used 3 coupons for $3 off one pack of Huggies. This made each pack $5.99 (total $17.97). Once the RR rewards of $5 are factored in, I was able to purchase the 3 packs of diapers for $12.97 out of pocket or $4.32 per pack. This is a pretty good price for diapers. I now have a nice stockpile of them since I also bought them at Giant Eagle two weeks ago.
Since I could only use two RR per order I still have $12 in RR earned last week. My total RR left to spend is $22.
In order to take advantage of the maximum amount of register rewards, I had two separate orders this week. Huggies diapers were $8.99 and you received $5 in RR with the purchase of 3. Planters Trail Mix was 2 for $3 and I had 3 $1.50 coupons and one $1 coupon.
Order Quick View:
Spent: $22.98
Total Savings: $48.38
Earned: $10 in Register Rewards
Purchased:3 packs Huggies size 6 diapers (20 diapers per pack)1 pack Huggies size 3 diapers
(36 diapers per pack)2 packs Huggies size 4 diapers
(31 diapers per pack)4 bags of Planters Trail Mix
On the first order I used 3 coupons for $3 off one pack of Huggies. This made each pack $5.99 (total $17.97). Once the RR rewards of $5 are factored in, I was able to purchase the 3 packs of diapers for $12.97 out of pocket or $4.32 per pack. This is a pretty good price for diapers. I now have a nice stockpile of them since I also bought them at Giant Eagle two weeks ago.
Since I could only use two RR per order I still have $12 in RR earned last week. My total RR left to spend is $22.
Coupon Savings Week of 3/14 (Part 2) - Meijer
I have been delaying this post for the past week, not sure why since it was possibly one of my best trips to Meijer so far. I went to Mejier once and realized that I missed out on a few deals during their 10 for $10 event. I went through my coupons did some more match ups and stopped at the store for one more shot at finding deals to stock up.
To maximize my money earned toward my next order, I broke my purchases up into four separate orders. I learned that Mejier only doubles the first two like item coupons so I wanted to be sure I only had two of each same item on each order.
Order Quick View (total items in all 4 orders):
Spent: $19.96
16 boxes of Betty Crocker fruit snacks
2 boxes Bagel Bites
3 Land O' Lakes spreadable butter
2 Betty Crocker potato packets
4 bottles fruit juice
8 bags of Green Giant frozen vegetables
I am not going to go into the specific detail of each order as I usually do because they were all pretty much the same. 2 veggies, 4 fruit snacks, 1 bottle juice, and as you can see from the numbers 3 had butter, 2 had bagel bites and potatoes. The total for three of the orders was $5.04 each and I earned $2.50 toward my next order for each of them. The fourth order was $4.84 and I also earned $2.50 toward my next order on that one.
With the money toward my next order the total for all of the above items was a little over $9.00.
The juice ended up being $0.17 a bottle. This was because I was able to stack a $0.50 Meijer mealbox coupon with a $0.50 manufacturer coupon (doubled). The juice was $1.67 and I received $1.50 off with my two coupons, so they were $0.17 each.
The bagel bites were free because they were part of the 10 for $10 and I had $1.00 off coupons. The vegetables were free as they were also part of the 10 for $10 and I had $0.50 off coupons that were doubled to $1.00. Same with the butter.
The potatoes were $0.20, they were part of the 10 for $10 but my coupon was only for $0.40. Still $0.20 for a side dish of potatoes is a pretty good price.
Lastly, the fruit snacks were $1.66 each (3 for $5). My coupon was for $0.50 off of two and when you purchased 4, you receive $2.50 toward your next order. I bought 4 boxes on each order, used two $0.50 coupons which made them $4.64 for the 4 boxes. Subtract the $2.50 earned and it was $2.14 for 4 boxes or $0.54 a box.
The kids are LOVING the fruit snacks and can't seem to get enough of them. I must admit I sneak a fruit roll up on occasion as well. Having the large supply saved me from running to the store the night before Liam's snack day at school.
To maximize my money earned toward my next order, I broke my purchases up into four separate orders. I learned that Mejier only doubles the first two like item coupons so I wanted to be sure I only had two of each same item on each order.
Order Quick View (total items in all 4 orders):
Spent: $19.96
Total Savings: $56.12
Earned: $10 on my next order
Purchased:16 boxes of Betty Crocker fruit snacks
2 boxes Bagel Bites
3 Land O' Lakes spreadable butter
2 Betty Crocker potato packets
4 bottles fruit juice
8 bags of Green Giant frozen vegetables
I am not going to go into the specific detail of each order as I usually do because they were all pretty much the same. 2 veggies, 4 fruit snacks, 1 bottle juice, and as you can see from the numbers 3 had butter, 2 had bagel bites and potatoes. The total for three of the orders was $5.04 each and I earned $2.50 toward my next order for each of them. The fourth order was $4.84 and I also earned $2.50 toward my next order on that one.
With the money toward my next order the total for all of the above items was a little over $9.00.
The juice ended up being $0.17 a bottle. This was because I was able to stack a $0.50 Meijer mealbox coupon with a $0.50 manufacturer coupon (doubled). The juice was $1.67 and I received $1.50 off with my two coupons, so they were $0.17 each.
The bagel bites were free because they were part of the 10 for $10 and I had $1.00 off coupons. The vegetables were free as they were also part of the 10 for $10 and I had $0.50 off coupons that were doubled to $1.00. Same with the butter.
The potatoes were $0.20, they were part of the 10 for $10 but my coupon was only for $0.40. Still $0.20 for a side dish of potatoes is a pretty good price.
Lastly, the fruit snacks were $1.66 each (3 for $5). My coupon was for $0.50 off of two and when you purchased 4, you receive $2.50 toward your next order. I bought 4 boxes on each order, used two $0.50 coupons which made them $4.64 for the 4 boxes. Subtract the $2.50 earned and it was $2.14 for 4 boxes or $0.54 a box.
The kids are LOVING the fruit snacks and can't seem to get enough of them. I must admit I sneak a fruit roll up on occasion as well. Having the large supply saved me from running to the store the night before Liam's snack day at school.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
How the Roku Changed Our Television Habits
In August of 2009 my husband and I made a decision to cancel our satellite tv subscription. This decision did not result in us replacing it with cable, we decided to *gasp* go without tv. That's right, we didn't have tv at all for a month or two. No cable, no premium channels, and no local channels. We figured that with the amount of DVDs we had and the kids had, it would be no problem to go without.
We didn't have tv for months and still survived to tell the tale. I am a complete reality tv junkie and was able to watch almost all of my shows online. Sure I didn't get to watch them the night they aired, but I was recording most of my shows with the DVR and watching them later anyway so it wasn't that big of a change for me.
I then looked into subscribing to Netflix so we could get DVDs and watch some items instantly online. We did this for about a month until I found out about the Roku player. With this tiny device we would be able to watch all of the instant programming from Netflix on our tv! How exciting. I have loved watching Law & Order
since law school and now I had so many seasons of SVU
and Criminal Intent
I didn't know what to do with myself. It was like having A&E again when they were running a Law & Order marathon.
Not only was I enjoying the programs, my husband was able to add South Park
, Sherlock Holmes shows, and his new favorite the IT Crowd
. The boys love watching Thomas, Blue's Clues, Spongebob, and tons of kids movies. Liam especially loves watching Wall-e
, iCarly
and Mythbusters
.
The system is so simple to use that Liam (our 5 year old) can easily use the remote and find the programs he wants to watch. He dominates the Roku in the family room that we have decided to buy a new one for the family room and give him the old one for the bedroom he shares with his brother Evan.
We used to have one Netflix account for $14.99 a month. We decided to add another account and downgrade the original account to the $8.99 a month accounts. This will allow us to have one Roku linked to the family room tv where we will have all of the grown up shows and a few for the kids in the instant queue. The second account will be linked to the boys Roku and we can put all of the kid shows they love in the instant queue. We have total control over their queue and can make sure they are only watching shows we approve for them.
This means we now spend $17.98 a month for entertainment when we used to spend over $100 a month on satellite. Getting rid of our satellite subscription also allowed us to cancel our home phone which we were spending at least $40 a month on. We kept the high speed internet because we both use it for work and now as our primary source of entertainment, news, etc.
I love that we no longer see commercials. The boys don't watch regular tv so they are asking for items advertised during their shows less. They still watch regular tv at the babysitters or when visiting family. They aren't in a bubble so they do know what new toys are out there, but it isn't a constant saturation like we had before.
Roku and Netflix are offering a special deal, you can get $20 and FREE shipping with the purchase of a Roku player and set up of a Netflix account. If you already have Netflix, you will still qualify for FREE shipping. If you use the provided link, you can help me earn rewards for the referral. Click HERE to order now!
Feel free to send me an email (CouponGirlSaves@gmail.com) or leave a comment with questions and I will be happy to answer them as best as I can.
We didn't have tv for months and still survived to tell the tale. I am a complete reality tv junkie and was able to watch almost all of my shows online. Sure I didn't get to watch them the night they aired, but I was recording most of my shows with the DVR and watching them later anyway so it wasn't that big of a change for me.
I then looked into subscribing to Netflix so we could get DVDs and watch some items instantly online. We did this for about a month until I found out about the Roku player. With this tiny device we would be able to watch all of the instant programming from Netflix on our tv! How exciting. I have loved watching Law & Order
since law school and now I had so many seasons of SVU and Criminal Intent I didn't know what to do with myself. It was like having A&E again when they were running a Law & Order marathon.Not only was I enjoying the programs, my husband was able to add South Park
, Sherlock Holmes shows, and his new favorite the IT Crowd. The boys love watching Thomas, Blue's Clues, Spongebob, and tons of kids movies. Liam especially loves watching Wall-e, iCarly and Mythbusters. The system is so simple to use that Liam (our 5 year old) can easily use the remote and find the programs he wants to watch. He dominates the Roku in the family room that we have decided to buy a new one for the family room and give him the old one for the bedroom he shares with his brother Evan.
We used to have one Netflix account for $14.99 a month. We decided to add another account and downgrade the original account to the $8.99 a month accounts. This will allow us to have one Roku linked to the family room tv where we will have all of the grown up shows and a few for the kids in the instant queue. The second account will be linked to the boys Roku and we can put all of the kid shows they love in the instant queue. We have total control over their queue and can make sure they are only watching shows we approve for them.
This means we now spend $17.98 a month for entertainment when we used to spend over $100 a month on satellite. Getting rid of our satellite subscription also allowed us to cancel our home phone which we were spending at least $40 a month on. We kept the high speed internet because we both use it for work and now as our primary source of entertainment, news, etc.
I love that we no longer see commercials. The boys don't watch regular tv so they are asking for items advertised during their shows less. They still watch regular tv at the babysitters or when visiting family. They aren't in a bubble so they do know what new toys are out there, but it isn't a constant saturation like we had before.
Roku and Netflix are offering a special deal, you can get $20 and FREE shipping with the purchase of a Roku player and set up of a Netflix account. If you already have Netflix, you will still qualify for FREE shipping. If you use the provided link, you can help me earn rewards for the referral. Click HERE to order now!
Feel free to send me an email (CouponGirlSaves@gmail.com) or leave a comment with questions and I will be happy to answer them as best as I can.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Shopping for the Upcoming Week
Jason made it home on Sunday and I have been sick since last Thursday so the focus o/n my coupons has been drifting. I checked out the ad for Giant Eagle that ends tomorrow and there aren't any screaming deals for me. The only freebie is Softsoap that is 10 for $10 or $1 each. There was a $0.50 coupon in my All You magazine, but I can't find it. I think I may have already used it.
Regardless, a trip to Giant Eagle isn't warranted for a free soap valued at $1. I thought about picking up some Pierogies since they are $2 each and I have $1 off two boxes, but my freezer is fairly stocked and my coupon isn't going to expire anytime soon.
I still have to post my amazing savings from my second trip to Meijer last week. I plan on checking out the blogs before Saturday so I can hit the rest of the stores on Saturday morning while my hubby stays home with the kids :)
Regardless, a trip to Giant Eagle isn't warranted for a free soap valued at $1. I thought about picking up some Pierogies since they are $2 each and I have $1 off two boxes, but my freezer is fairly stocked and my coupon isn't going to expire anytime soon.
I still have to post my amazing savings from my second trip to Meijer last week. I plan on checking out the blogs before Saturday so I can hit the rest of the stores on Saturday morning while my hubby stays home with the kids :)
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Coupon Savings Week of 3/14 - Kroger
Order Quick View: Spent: $35.99
9 Tyson Anytizer frozen snacks
2 Oscar Meyer bacon
2 Capri Sun packs
4 Ronzoni pasta boxes
3 Flintstones Gummy vitamins
1 Bumblebee Tuna pouch
1 4 pack light bulbs
1 Macaroni Grill meal helper
2 Turtle Chex Mix
3 Del Monte Fruit Naturals
1 King Size Reese's Cup
1 20 oz. Coke Zero
2 Warm Delights
4 Snickers
7 2 liters Diet Coke
1 large bag Reese's Pieces
This week I had three orders and two trips to Kroger. The two trips was not by choice. I stopped there before dropping off the kids to pick up drinks for Liam's snack day. The plan was to complete my list while I had all 3 kids at the store. Thankfully, the sitter called and was able to take them so the first trip included only the 2 packs of Capri Sun and the 2 packs of Oscar Meyer bacon. I had $1.50 each pack of bacon and they were on sale for $2.99. I didn't know there was a catalina deal as well where I received $1.00 off my next order with the bacon purchase. With the price, coupons, and $1 this made the bacon $0.99 a pack.
When I went back to Kroger later in the afternoon, I was able to split my purchases into the two separate orders that were originally planned. I did most of my coupon match ups on my own using the Kroger ad. I had a tip from the blogs on the Ronzoni pasta which I used a $0.75 coupon on each of the 4 I purchased.
I made sure to buy 8 of the required items on each order to get the benefit of the March to Savings event. This gave reduced prices on certain items and $4.00 off at the end of the order. Tyson frozen anytizers were part of the sale, once you purchased 8 items the price was $2.49 I had a few $1 off coupons, 1 $1.50 off, and some $0.55 coupons. This made the price of them $1.50, $1, and $1.40. I had one for dinner last night and it was pretty good. I like having items like this to have around for a quick dinner.
I had coupons for $0.50 off two Snickers and Kroger had them 2 for $1. After the coupon and it being doubled, they were free.
My boys really like the Flintstones Sour Gummy vitamins, they are usually pretty expensive but Kroger had them on sale for $4.99 and I had a few $1 off coupons. This let me pick up 3 bottles of the vitamins for $3.99 each.
Details for the three orders are below:
Kroger Order #1
Spent: $6.90
2 packs Oscar Meyer bacon
2 boxes of Capri Sun
Kroger Order #2:
Spent: $16.11
4 2 liters of Diet Coke
4 Tyson Anytizer snacks
1 Turtle Chex Mix
1 Warm Delights
1 bottle Flintstones vitamins
2 Snickers
1 Bumblebee tuna pack
2 boxes Ronzoni pasta
Kroger Order #3:
Spent: $12.98
Purchased:
5 Tyson Anytizer snacks
1 Turtle Chex Mix
1 Warm Delights
2 Snickers
2 boxes Ronzoni pasta
1 Romano's Macaroni Grill meal helper
2 bottles Flintstones vitamins
3 2 liters of Diet Coke
3 Del Monte Fruit Naturals
1 large bag Reese's Pieces
1 King Size Reese's cup (won in the Kroger march to savings online sweeps)
1 box light bulbs (had coupon for one free box from Kroger)
1 20 oz Coke Zero (won in the Kroger march to savings online sweeps)
On this last order I used $10.50 earned last week after purchasing all the fruit snacks and getting $3.50 for every 5 boxes purchased.
Total Savings: $93.75
Earned: $1 on my next order
Purchased:9 Tyson Anytizer frozen snacks
2 Oscar Meyer bacon
2 Capri Sun packs
4 Ronzoni pasta boxes
3 Flintstones Gummy vitamins
1 Bumblebee Tuna pouch
1 4 pack light bulbs
1 Macaroni Grill meal helper
2 Turtle Chex Mix
3 Del Monte Fruit Naturals
1 King Size Reese's Cup
1 20 oz. Coke Zero
2 Warm Delights
4 Snickers
7 2 liters Diet Coke
1 large bag Reese's Pieces
This week I had three orders and two trips to Kroger. The two trips was not by choice. I stopped there before dropping off the kids to pick up drinks for Liam's snack day. The plan was to complete my list while I had all 3 kids at the store. Thankfully, the sitter called and was able to take them so the first trip included only the 2 packs of Capri Sun and the 2 packs of Oscar Meyer bacon. I had $1.50 each pack of bacon and they were on sale for $2.99. I didn't know there was a catalina deal as well where I received $1.00 off my next order with the bacon purchase. With the price, coupons, and $1 this made the bacon $0.99 a pack.
When I went back to Kroger later in the afternoon, I was able to split my purchases into the two separate orders that were originally planned. I did most of my coupon match ups on my own using the Kroger ad. I had a tip from the blogs on the Ronzoni pasta which I used a $0.75 coupon on each of the 4 I purchased.
I made sure to buy 8 of the required items on each order to get the benefit of the March to Savings event. This gave reduced prices on certain items and $4.00 off at the end of the order. Tyson frozen anytizers were part of the sale, once you purchased 8 items the price was $2.49 I had a few $1 off coupons, 1 $1.50 off, and some $0.55 coupons. This made the price of them $1.50, $1, and $1.40. I had one for dinner last night and it was pretty good. I like having items like this to have around for a quick dinner.
I had coupons for $0.50 off two Snickers and Kroger had them 2 for $1. After the coupon and it being doubled, they were free.
My boys really like the Flintstones Sour Gummy vitamins, they are usually pretty expensive but Kroger had them on sale for $4.99 and I had a few $1 off coupons. This let me pick up 3 bottles of the vitamins for $3.99 each.
Details for the three orders are below:
Kroger Order #1
Spent: $6.90
Total Savings: $9.00
Earned: $1 on my next order
Purchased:2 packs Oscar Meyer bacon
2 boxes of Capri Sun
Kroger Order #2:
Spent: $16.11
Total Savings: $29.27
Purchased:4 2 liters of Diet Coke
4 Tyson Anytizer snacks
1 Turtle Chex Mix
1 Warm Delights
1 bottle Flintstones vitamins
2 Snickers
1 Bumblebee tuna pack
2 boxes Ronzoni pasta
Kroger Order #3:
Spent: $12.98
Total Savings: $55.48
5 Tyson Anytizer snacks
1 Turtle Chex Mix
1 Warm Delights
2 Snickers
2 boxes Ronzoni pasta
1 Romano's Macaroni Grill meal helper
2 bottles Flintstones vitamins
3 2 liters of Diet Coke
3 Del Monte Fruit Naturals
1 large bag Reese's Pieces
1 King Size Reese's cup (won in the Kroger march to savings online sweeps)
1 box light bulbs (had coupon for one free box from Kroger)
1 20 oz Coke Zero (won in the Kroger march to savings online sweeps)
On this last order I used $10.50 earned last week after purchasing all the fruit snacks and getting $3.50 for every 5 boxes purchased.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
New Moon from Target for $4.99!
This week Target is running a special on Kellogg's cereal and Pop Tarts. When you purchase 4 of these items, you receive a $5 gift card. On the three transactions the 4 boxes of cereal were: $10.16, $11.54 and $10.08. I used $3.00 in coupons on two of the orders and $2.50 in coupons on the other. I paid the following out of pocket for each of the orders: $7.16, $8.04, and $7.08.
I did this in 3 separate transactions to make sure I received the $5 gift card for each of them. After the gift card my final prices for each order of 4 boxes of cereal were: $2.16, $3.04, and $2.08. That made them $0.54, $0.76 and $0.52 a box!
Now I have $15 in Target gift cards to use toward my purchase of New Moon. Now I can enjoy my movie and we can all eat cereal for dinner :)
Coupon Savings Week of 3/14 - Walgreens
Order Quick View:
Spent: $31.14
3 tubes Colgate toothpaste
3 Sudafed cold medicine
1 Sudafed nasal spray
2 Tylenol cold
6 padded mailers
2 5 lb. bags Gold Medal flour
3 Reese's peanut butter cups
1 Revlon Colorsilk hair color
1 Neosporin
2 boxes Band-Aids
I split my purchase into 3 orders to maximize the register rewards.
There were 2 orders with 1 Colgate and 2 Sudafeds each. Both of these orders were $9.95 out of pocket. I earned $9 in register rewards for each so the total amount spent was $0.95 for each order. The Colgate as $3.99, I had $1 off and received $4.00 in register rewards (I received this for each order). The Sudafed was $4.99 a box, I had a $2 coupon for each box, this made the boxes $2.99 each. I then received $5 in register rewards for the purchase. No more running out to the store when one of us gets a stuffy nose and paying $5+ for cold medicine.
On the final order I used $10 register rewards earned last week and spent $11.24 out of pocket. I earned $12 in register rewards on this order, with this I technically made $0.76. This order included 1 Colgate and I received the same deal on Tylenol cold as I did on the Sudafed. I also purchased 2 5 lb bags of Gold Medal flour. Walgreens had a coupon in the ad that made these 2 for $3. I had 2 $0.75 off coupons, Walgreens doesn't double coupons so the final price was $0.75 each. Still a decent price for flour. I learned that you can freeze the flour and then store properly. Once that is done it will not expire.
I was able to gain more register rewards with the purchase of Neosporin and Band Aids. The padded mailers were 3 for $1 using a Walgreens coupon from the weekly ad. The Reese cups were on sale for $0.89 each and I had a $0.55 coupon. The hair color was $1.99 using a Walgreens coupon, I also had a $1 manufacturer coupon which made it $0.99.
With $30 in register rewards, I am confident I will spend very little out of pocket over the next 2 weeks. I noticed that they expire quickly (03/31), however if I keep checking the weekly ads and making purchases with my register rewards that yield more register rewards I should be able to keep my expenses very low.
Spent: $31.14
Total Savings: $63.89
Earned: $30 in Register Rewards
Purchased:3 tubes Colgate toothpaste
3 Sudafed cold medicine
1 Sudafed nasal spray
2 Tylenol cold
6 padded mailers
2 5 lb. bags Gold Medal flour
3 Reese's peanut butter cups
1 Revlon Colorsilk hair color
1 Neosporin
2 boxes Band-Aids
I split my purchase into 3 orders to maximize the register rewards.
There were 2 orders with 1 Colgate and 2 Sudafeds each. Both of these orders were $9.95 out of pocket. I earned $9 in register rewards for each so the total amount spent was $0.95 for each order. The Colgate as $3.99, I had $1 off and received $4.00 in register rewards (I received this for each order). The Sudafed was $4.99 a box, I had a $2 coupon for each box, this made the boxes $2.99 each. I then received $5 in register rewards for the purchase. No more running out to the store when one of us gets a stuffy nose and paying $5+ for cold medicine.
On the final order I used $10 register rewards earned last week and spent $11.24 out of pocket. I earned $12 in register rewards on this order, with this I technically made $0.76. This order included 1 Colgate and I received the same deal on Tylenol cold as I did on the Sudafed. I also purchased 2 5 lb bags of Gold Medal flour. Walgreens had a coupon in the ad that made these 2 for $3. I had 2 $0.75 off coupons, Walgreens doesn't double coupons so the final price was $0.75 each. Still a decent price for flour. I learned that you can freeze the flour and then store properly. Once that is done it will not expire.
I was able to gain more register rewards with the purchase of Neosporin and Band Aids. The padded mailers were 3 for $1 using a Walgreens coupon from the weekly ad. The Reese cups were on sale for $0.89 each and I had a $0.55 coupon. The hair color was $1.99 using a Walgreens coupon, I also had a $1 manufacturer coupon which made it $0.99.
With $30 in register rewards, I am confident I will spend very little out of pocket over the next 2 weeks. I noticed that they expire quickly (03/31), however if I keep checking the weekly ads and making purchases with my register rewards that yield more register rewards I should be able to keep my expenses very low.
Coupon Savings Week of 3/14 - CVS
Order Quick View:
Spent: $23.73
4 Degree for Women
2 Degree for Men
1 Aussie Volume Conditioner
3 6 packs of Scott mega paper towels
2 Purex 3 in 1 laundry sheets
I finally remembered to buy a reusable bag and bag tag this week! With my first scan, I am only 3 away from $1 in extra care bucks.
I didn't do as well as I would have liked at CVS. Mostly because of the $2.00 spent on the bag and tag. I also bought the Purex 3 in 1 sheets that were B1G1. They were $10.39 each and even though one was free and I had $2.00 off, it was still $8.39. I don't typically use this type of laundry soap but found them a godsend when we went to Myrtle Beach. They were much easier to pack and use than liquid soap and dryer sheets.
I was able to get a nice supply of Scott paper towels as well. They were on sale for $4.99 each and I had $1.00 off. For $3.99 a pack I was able to get 6 of the mega rolls that are pick your size. The purchase limit on these was 3 so that's what I bought.
Aussie haircare products were on sale for $2.99 and you received $1 ECB with your purchase. I used a $1 off coupon so this was like getting conditioner for $0.99. Not the best price but I wanted to try the product.
Lastly, I purchased more deodorant. Most of what I got for free or $0.50 each over the past two weeks has been Right Guard for men. I have no issues with using mens deodorant but when presented with the opportunity to get some Degree for women at a good price, I jumped at it! Degree was 2 for $5. I had coupons that gave $3 off of two. This took the price to $1.50 each. CVS was also offering $5 ECB for $15 spent. I had 3 $3 coupons so I bought 6 sticks at 2 for $5. With the coupons and ECB the price for all 6 was $1.00, roughly $0.17 a stick.
I was also able to use my $9 in ECB from last week to make the total for my order (with tax) $23.73. I earned another $6.00 in ECB to use if there is anything good next week.
Spent: $23.73
Total Savings: $58.53
Earned: $6 ECB
Purchased:4 Degree for Women
2 Degree for Men
1 Aussie Volume Conditioner
3 6 packs of Scott mega paper towels
2 Purex 3 in 1 laundry sheets
I finally remembered to buy a reusable bag and bag tag this week! With my first scan, I am only 3 away from $1 in extra care bucks.
I didn't do as well as I would have liked at CVS. Mostly because of the $2.00 spent on the bag and tag. I also bought the Purex 3 in 1 sheets that were B1G1. They were $10.39 each and even though one was free and I had $2.00 off, it was still $8.39. I don't typically use this type of laundry soap but found them a godsend when we went to Myrtle Beach. They were much easier to pack and use than liquid soap and dryer sheets.
I was able to get a nice supply of Scott paper towels as well. They were on sale for $4.99 each and I had $1.00 off. For $3.99 a pack I was able to get 6 of the mega rolls that are pick your size. The purchase limit on these was 3 so that's what I bought.
Aussie haircare products were on sale for $2.99 and you received $1 ECB with your purchase. I used a $1 off coupon so this was like getting conditioner for $0.99. Not the best price but I wanted to try the product.
Lastly, I purchased more deodorant. Most of what I got for free or $0.50 each over the past two weeks has been Right Guard for men. I have no issues with using mens deodorant but when presented with the opportunity to get some Degree for women at a good price, I jumped at it! Degree was 2 for $5. I had coupons that gave $3 off of two. This took the price to $1.50 each. CVS was also offering $5 ECB for $15 spent. I had 3 $3 coupons so I bought 6 sticks at 2 for $5. With the coupons and ECB the price for all 6 was $1.00, roughly $0.17 a stick.
I was also able to use my $9 in ECB from last week to make the total for my order (with tax) $23.73. I earned another $6.00 in ECB to use if there is anything good next week.
My Truck, My Trunk, My Super Full Trunk
I went shopping today and stocked up on fruit snacks (again), frozen vegetables, and more cereal. Here is a picture of my trunk before I brought everything into the house:
I did the math and after all of my money earned toward future orders, I spent $85 this week on all my grocery, home, and drug items. This does not include the dog food which I purchased at Sam's Club. I haven't figured out how to save on that (yet).
I did the math and after all of my money earned toward future orders, I spent $85 this week on all my grocery, home, and drug items. This does not include the dog food which I purchased at Sam's Club. I haven't figured out how to save on that (yet).
How Are You Doing This?
I frequently get asked how I am saving so much money at the store. This is a result of posting notes on Facebook about my couponing adventures, my status updates discuss the savings, and now this blog. I rely mostly on money saving bloggers and facebook friends to let me know where the sales are and what the best match ups for the week will be.
This week was the first week I attempted the match ups myself with my Meijer trip. I knew I wanted to stop there on Monday, the ad was out but none of the websites had posted the match ups yet. Most of them were fairly obvious. Chex Mix was 10 for $10, I had $0.50 coupons that are doubled so the Chex Mix was free.
My grocery savings post from earlier this week reflected that trip to Meijer. One of my favorite bloggers, Happy Homemaker Cindy posted the match ups for Meijer and I realized there were a few I missed. I made a second trip to Meijer today to pick up those few items.
Here is where I am getting my information:
-weekly grocery store ads (Giant Eagle, Meijer, Kroger)
-weekly drug store ads (CVS & Walgreens)
-weekly national store ads (Target)
-blogs:
-Happy Homemaker Cindy
-BeCentsable, LLC
-Deal Seeking Mom
-Meijer Meal Box Coupons - these are store coupons that can be used with manufacturer coupons to increase savings. They can also be found on Meijer's website.
-E-Coupons for use at Kroger: through the Kroger website you can link to Cellfire and Shortcuts to add coupons to your Kroger shopper card. I have found that the e-coupon comes off one item in addition to a manufacturers coupon.
-I have become a fan of some of the deal hunters and information about deals and freebies appear in my news feed on facebook. These have been valuable because it alerts you early when there is a high value coupon or a giveaway that you need to take advantage of quickly since there are only a certain number of coupons that can be printed or items given away.
-Coupon Geek
-Money Saving Mom
-Freebies 4 Mom
-The Centsable Lady
-Deal Seeking Mom
I personally don't find going to multiple stores an issue. I am lucky enough to live in an area where the stores I find the best deals at are within minutes from each other, many are often just across the street. If going to multiple stores doesn't work for you, then use the reference above to find out how to save the most at your favorite grocery/drug store and continue to shop at just one place.
My time spent in the actual store had decreased dramatically. I am spending more time at home planning the shopping trip and less time in the store. I like this approach much better than how I previously shopped. I used to spend hours at Sam's Club and sometimes the other grocery stores picking up items without thinking of the price. If we needed it, I bought it. If I had a list, I always bought more than what was on the list.
Now I go into the store with my list in hand and coupons ready. I only buy what I have on my list and that usually includes a coupon or good sale price. I also figure out how many of each item I can put on an order to maximize the double coupons or catalina deals that give me money on my next order.
I often have 2-4 separate orders when I get to the register. I keep them straight by using a cart but then putting the baskets you carry in the cart. You can easily fit 3 of these baskets. I then fill them with the items from my list for each order and put the on the belt at the register when checking out. I let the cashier know each is a separate order and haven't had any issues.
This week was the first week I attempted the match ups myself with my Meijer trip. I knew I wanted to stop there on Monday, the ad was out but none of the websites had posted the match ups yet. Most of them were fairly obvious. Chex Mix was 10 for $10, I had $0.50 coupons that are doubled so the Chex Mix was free.
My grocery savings post from earlier this week reflected that trip to Meijer. One of my favorite bloggers, Happy Homemaker Cindy posted the match ups for Meijer and I realized there were a few I missed. I made a second trip to Meijer today to pick up those few items.
Here is where I am getting my information:
-weekly grocery store ads (Giant Eagle, Meijer, Kroger)
-weekly drug store ads (CVS & Walgreens)
-weekly national store ads (Target)
-blogs:
-Happy Homemaker Cindy
-BeCentsable, LLC
-Deal Seeking Mom
-Meijer Meal Box Coupons - these are store coupons that can be used with manufacturer coupons to increase savings. They can also be found on Meijer's website.
-E-Coupons for use at Kroger: through the Kroger website you can link to Cellfire and Shortcuts to add coupons to your Kroger shopper card. I have found that the e-coupon comes off one item in addition to a manufacturers coupon.
-I have become a fan of some of the deal hunters and information about deals and freebies appear in my news feed on facebook. These have been valuable because it alerts you early when there is a high value coupon or a giveaway that you need to take advantage of quickly since there are only a certain number of coupons that can be printed or items given away.
-Coupon Geek
-Money Saving Mom
-Freebies 4 Mom
-The Centsable Lady
-Deal Seeking Mom
I personally don't find going to multiple stores an issue. I am lucky enough to live in an area where the stores I find the best deals at are within minutes from each other, many are often just across the street. If going to multiple stores doesn't work for you, then use the reference above to find out how to save the most at your favorite grocery/drug store and continue to shop at just one place.
My time spent in the actual store had decreased dramatically. I am spending more time at home planning the shopping trip and less time in the store. I like this approach much better than how I previously shopped. I used to spend hours at Sam's Club and sometimes the other grocery stores picking up items without thinking of the price. If we needed it, I bought it. If I had a list, I always bought more than what was on the list.
Now I go into the store with my list in hand and coupons ready. I only buy what I have on my list and that usually includes a coupon or good sale price. I also figure out how many of each item I can put on an order to maximize the double coupons or catalina deals that give me money on my next order.
I often have 2-4 separate orders when I get to the register. I keep them straight by using a cart but then putting the baskets you carry in the cart. You can easily fit 3 of these baskets. I then fill them with the items from my list for each order and put the on the belt at the register when checking out. I let the cashier know each is a separate order and haven't had any issues.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Coupon Savings Week of 3/14 (Part 1) - Meijer
I started my shopping week off at Meijer to take advantage of their 10 for $10 sale. The 11th item purchased as part of the 10 for $10 was also free. This made some of the items I had coupons for free and the money off applied to the bottom line on my order. With coupons I was able to get 13 bags of Chex Mix for free and 3 bags Goldfish crackers for free.
Total Spent: $27.29
13 bags of Chex Mix
6 bags of Goldfish
5 lb pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
5 1 lb packs of ground turkey
8 cans of Manwich
1 Nivea for Men body wash
2 Johnson's Buddies bath soaps
3 Renuzit Air Freshners
2 Gallons 2% Milk
12 boxes of Green Giant frozen vegetables
4 cans Del Monte diced tomatoes
4 cans Pillsbury Grands biscuits
Total Spent: $27.29
Total Savings: $79.85
What I purchased:13 bags of Chex Mix
6 bags of Goldfish
5 lb pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
5 1 lb packs of ground turkey
8 cans of Manwich
1 Nivea for Men body wash
2 Johnson's Buddies bath soaps
3 Renuzit Air Freshners
2 Gallons 2% Milk
12 boxes of Green Giant frozen vegetables
4 cans Del Monte diced tomatoes
4 cans Pillsbury Grands biscuits
The Hazard of Cheap Fruit Snacks
I shared a post about all of the great deals I have received on fruit snacks over the past two weeks. My kids have been enjoying this bounty and I realized this morning that they may be enjoying it a bit too much. When I went to get my middle child (Evan, 2) ready for the day I discovered what I thought was a major head wound, but turned out to be Gushers fruit snack smashed into the side of his head.
The boys had their before bed snack upstairs since they were watching a movie and Evan must have fallen asleep without finishing the Gushers. I didn't see them around him when I tucked him in so I honestly have no idea how it ended up in the bed.
I will have to spend this evening using all of my cheap laundry detergent to clean the sheets.
Here is what his head looked like:
The boys had their before bed snack upstairs since they were watching a movie and Evan must have fallen asleep without finishing the Gushers. I didn't see them around him when I tucked him in so I honestly have no idea how it ended up in the bed.
I will have to spend this evening using all of my cheap laundry detergent to clean the sheets.
Here is what his head looked like:
Coupon Savings Week of 3/7 (Part 2)
I finished my grocery shopping for the week with stops at Meijer, Giant Eagle and Walgreens today. I think the grocery gods were against me in terms of time, however they were on my side when it comes to savings. Seems that every store I went to had issues with barcodes on products, scanning coupons, registers out of ink or tape, and slow cashiers. On the plus side, I even impressed the cashier when my total at Meijer was $5.28.
Walgreens was a decent trip as I was able to stock up on cold medicine which I am confident we will use without any problem.
I spent more than I would have liked to at Giant Eagle this week, but I stocked up on diapers, paper towels and toilet paper. Hopefully, my savings at the other stops this week make up for the extra expense. I used my Kroger method at Giant Eagle and had three separate orders to maximize the money toward my next order. This week at Giant Eagle if you spend $30 in certain baby products you get $6 toward your next order. This combined with their sale on diapers and coupons gave me an opportunity to stock up.
I did really well at Meijer this week. I purchased one item that I didn’t have a coupon for and that was a 2 lb. bag of baby carrots for $2.50. Since my final total was $5.28, it means I spent $2.78 for everything detailed below (except for the carrots).
Meijer:
What I spent: $5.28
Total Savings: $26.81
What I purchased:
7 Johnson’s Bath Buddies kid soap
8 Ocsar Meyer lunchable sub kits (no drink)
1 bag of Snyder pretzels
2 Dial foaming hand soap
2 jugs Clorox bleach
1 2lb. bag of carrots
Walgreens:
What I spent: $21.28
Total Savings: $34.97
Received $10 register rewards for my next purchase. Including this $10 I spent $11.28.
What I purchased:
4 NyQuil Liquid Caps
1 DayQuil Liquid Caps
1 box puffs tissues
3 bottles Dawn dishwashing liquid
3 bottles Listerine
6 full size Nestle Crunch bars
I had three orders at Giant Eagle because I wanted to get $6.00 back in diapers purchases on each order.
Giant Eagle Summary:
Spent: $121.36
Received $18.00 toward my next order, which makes my total at Giant Eagle for this week $103.36.
Order 1:
What I spent: $40.20
Total Savings: $39.05
Received $6.00 toward my next order.
What I purchased:
5 boxes Fiber One cereal
4 boxes Betty Crocker cake mix
3 tubs Betty Crocker frosting
1 Endust Free
1 Angel Soft mega pack of toilet paper
1 box of Luvs diapers
2 jumbo packs of Huggies diapers
Order 2:
What I spent: $48.21
Total Savings: $31.63
Received $6.00 toward my next order.
What I purchased:
6 cans Campbell’s Tomato soup
3 packs of Keebler cookies
6 Right Guard deodorants
1 pack of Sparkle paper towels
1 Angel Soft mega pack of toilet paper
1 box of Luvs diapers
2 jumbo packs of Huggies diapers
Order 3:
What I spent: $32.95
Total Savings: $26.61
Received $6.00 toward my next order.
What I purchased:
1 pack of Pampers diapers
2 Philly Cream Cheese minis
4 sticks Right Guard deodorant
2 jumbo packs of Huggies diapers
2 packs of Keebler cookies
1 Angel Soft mega pack of toilet paper
Walgreens was a decent trip as I was able to stock up on cold medicine which I am confident we will use without any problem.
I spent more than I would have liked to at Giant Eagle this week, but I stocked up on diapers, paper towels and toilet paper. Hopefully, my savings at the other stops this week make up for the extra expense. I used my Kroger method at Giant Eagle and had three separate orders to maximize the money toward my next order. This week at Giant Eagle if you spend $30 in certain baby products you get $6 toward your next order. This combined with their sale on diapers and coupons gave me an opportunity to stock up.
I did really well at Meijer this week. I purchased one item that I didn’t have a coupon for and that was a 2 lb. bag of baby carrots for $2.50. Since my final total was $5.28, it means I spent $2.78 for everything detailed below (except for the carrots).
Meijer:
What I spent: $5.28
Total Savings: $26.81
What I purchased:
7 Johnson’s Bath Buddies kid soap
8 Ocsar Meyer lunchable sub kits (no drink)
1 bag of Snyder pretzels
2 Dial foaming hand soap
2 jugs Clorox bleach
1 2lb. bag of carrots
Walgreens:
What I spent: $21.28
Total Savings: $34.97
Received $10 register rewards for my next purchase. Including this $10 I spent $11.28.
What I purchased:
4 NyQuil Liquid Caps
1 DayQuil Liquid Caps
1 box puffs tissues
3 bottles Dawn dishwashing liquid
3 bottles Listerine
6 full size Nestle Crunch bars
I had three orders at Giant Eagle because I wanted to get $6.00 back in diapers purchases on each order.
Giant Eagle Summary:
Spent: $121.36
Received $18.00 toward my next order, which makes my total at Giant Eagle for this week $103.36.
Order 1:
What I spent: $40.20
Total Savings: $39.05
Received $6.00 toward my next order.
What I purchased:
5 boxes Fiber One cereal
4 boxes Betty Crocker cake mix
3 tubs Betty Crocker frosting
1 Endust Free
1 Angel Soft mega pack of toilet paper
1 box of Luvs diapers
2 jumbo packs of Huggies diapers
Order 2:
What I spent: $48.21
Total Savings: $31.63
Received $6.00 toward my next order.
What I purchased:
6 cans Campbell’s Tomato soup
3 packs of Keebler cookies
6 Right Guard deodorants
1 pack of Sparkle paper towels
1 Angel Soft mega pack of toilet paper
1 box of Luvs diapers
2 jumbo packs of Huggies diapers
Order 3:
What I spent: $32.95
Total Savings: $26.61
Received $6.00 toward my next order.
What I purchased:
1 pack of Pampers diapers
2 Philly Cream Cheese minis
4 sticks Right Guard deodorant
2 jumbo packs of Huggies diapers
2 packs of Keebler cookies
1 Angel Soft mega pack of toilet paper
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