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

2 packs Overnight Pull-Ups

3 packs Huggies wipes (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.

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

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

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)

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.

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.

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. 

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