Monday, August 31, 2009

Total Spent on Groceries for August was under $300 before Rebates!!!

People ask from time to time how much I spend on groceries. Well, this month I spent a measely $285 to feed/stockpile for my family of 5. In addition to that, I have sent in for $140 worth of FOOD rebates (this has been a very good rebate month). So after rebates I have spent $145 on Food this month. After rebates, that comes out to $36.25/week. Since we eat most meals at home and we eat very well, I am extremely happy with this total.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Bringing Home the FREE Bacon and more!!!

Free Bacon:

Go to Smithfield.com and sign up for their newsletter (you can always cancel your sign-up later or use an alternate e-mail address for the news letter) for a $3 off 1 Smithfield Bacon Coupon. It is good for 2 months after printing. It only let me print one, but usually you can print two of these types of coupons, so hit back a few times and see if it will let you print more.

This week at Martin's this Bacon is on sale for $2.50, so in theory this will be a money maker!

$15 P&G Coupon Booklet:

Go here and sign up for a $15 P&G Coupon booklet. This is from a store called Save-A-Lot's website. Not sure if they will be valid everywhere or not, but it is worth a shot.

Staples:

Sun - Wed. Only:
Staples has a number of school supplies for .50 this week. These may or may not be a good deal for you. But what is a good deal is that they have Copy Paper (again) for .50 after instant savings and easy rebate, limit 2. They also have spiral notebooks for .15/each. Not quite as good as they had them a few weeks ago at .01/each.

CVS:

If you haven't asked your pharmacist about Ready Fill, yet do it soon. The $4/$20 coupons that you get when you ask, expire next week. Then get your pre-coupon total to over $20, and give them this coupon first.

Glade reed diffuser or 4.9-10 oz soy candles are $6.99, get $6.99 in ecbs. This becomes a money maker if you have the $3 coupon from August's All You magazine. There is also a $2 coupon on page 134 of this month's All You magazine. Or go here and print a $2 coupon.

They have several other ecb deals this week, but no more free items.

Food Lion:

I posted a few days ago a coupon for $5 off $20 meat coupon. Until Tuesday the Ground Chuck is on sale for $1.68 (I believe the regular price is $3.09). If my regular price is right, then you can get 6.5lbs for a sale price of $10.92 - $5 coupon = $5.92. The $20 amount on the coupon is the pre-sale price. YOUR PRE-SALE PRICE MUST EXCEED $20 and this does not include meat markdowns for quick sale. Since most of the cashiers don't really understand this, don't call attention to it, just put it in with the rest of your order. It only confuses the ones who don't know.

If you feel I am sending you all over town to get the best deals, then you need to plan your weeks. For example, I have Target/Walmart and Staples on one side of town and Food Lion/Rite Aid/CVS/Martins on another side of town. I plan my trips together. If it seems like a lot of deals are going in one week, I will take a piece of scrap paper and write the names of each of the stores I want to go to and put my lists under each heading and attach my coupons. Then, when I am close to that store, I can do my shopping. Also keep in mind that it has been literally months since I have shopped at Costco (maybe last Christmas). That trip alone is 25 miles for me each way, so I feel that staying close to home to run errands saves gas that way.

At a quick glance, I didn't see any great deals at Target or Rite Aid, but if I find any, I will post them.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Free Cat Litter


Go here and get a rebate for a free bag of kitty litter. BE SURE TO GET THE RIGHT SIZE BAG, READ THE FINE PRINT. I know that is not a picture of a cat, but I don't have a picture of a cat. Isn't Puddin' cute?

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Food Lion

I haven't posted much about Food Lion lately because the coupons have been stinky. I didn't even print the last set. Anyway, there is one really good coupon this week. It is for $5 off of $20 in the meat department. Remember, it is good for 2 weeks and I have been told there will be really good meat sales over Labor Day Weekend. I'll keep you posted on that.

Anyway this is how these coupons work: the $20 amount for the coupon is the pre-sale price. So say you have a meat that is regularly $1.99/lb and it is on sale for .99. Buy 10.1 lbs x $1.99 (reg. price) = $20.10, the sale price though is $10 - $5 coupon = $5 out of pocket for 10 pounds of meat.

If I find any other great deals, I will let you know. REMEMBER TO CHOOSE THE NUMBER OF COUPONS YOU WANT FOR THE NEXT 2 WEEKS BEFORE YOU PUSH PRINT THE SECOND TIME.

$5 off $20

On another note, I used that $5 off coupon today at PetSmart and although they made it go through, it wasn't scanning properly. Just a heads up.

Gotta Run!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

School Shopping and More

SCHOOL SUPPLIES

O.k. I finished my school shopping today. I wound up spending $5.40 for all 3 kids. Of course my youngest, is in pre-school so his supplies are more household type products rather than office supplies. Before today, my total was $1.50.

GO GET A $25 CREDIT ON YOUR EMBARQ BILL

If you have been reading my blog, a couple of months ago (maybe around March), I told you to sign up for paperless billing through Embarq and they would send you a $25 Restaurants.com gift certificate. Well I never got mine. So I called today and spoke with a very nice lady and instead of the gift card, she put a $25 credit on my account. Yeah!!!!! So if you never received your gift card, call for your credit. Their number is 888.723.8010.

KMART SUCKS

One of my stops today was at KMART for the Transformer's deal I told you about a few days ago. I should have known it was not as great as it sounds. First of all those stupid toys don't even transform. They are basically matchbox cars that are disguised as Transformers. My son would have not liked them, so I did not do it at all.

Since I was there, I went through their clearance stuff and even those prices were bad. I can see why they are having trouble.

HARRIS TEETER

Harris Teeter is doing Super Doubles this week. That means they are doubling any coupon with a face value of up to $1.98. That means a $1.50 coupon becomes a $3 coupon. Their rules are tougher than other stores. They have a limit of 20 coupons per day per customer (linked by card and address). Also, from what I understand you can only give them 3 coupons of a kind (say 3 $1 off Post Cereal Coupons).

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Rite Aid Shopping list

ATTENTION MICHEL -- FREE TOOTHPASTE! Here is what is on my Rite Aid Shopping list:

--Colgate $2.49, get $2.49 SCR (Single Check Rebates) back - $1 off coupon from the paper or go here for a printable coupon = $1 Money Maker
--Tylenol $2.99 - $2 SCR - $2 internet printable coupon = $1 Money Maker
-- 2 Rubbermaid Water Bottles - $1 SCR - 2 - $1 coupons from an old insert = $1

So my total out of pocket for these will be $4.47 and I will get back $5.49 in Single Check Rebates

Sunday, August 23, 2009

$5 off Petco


Here is a link for $5 off $25 at Petco. You can often use these at Petsmart as a competitor's coupon too. If you have manufacturer's coupons to use, give them the store coupon first. It expires 8/31
(That's our new Guinea Pig, Puddin--Sorry Mom, your babies didn't make it to this post!)

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Back To School Deals (Staples)!


O.k. so far for my 3 kids, I have spent $1.50 total on school supplies. I am not counting any of the penny items in that total, but I am sure I haven't spent more than $1-$2 on penny items. I have about 5 or 6 items that I have not been able to find real cheap, so I plan to use the $4 off $20 CVS coupon that I got from asking the pharmacist about Ready Fill and some of the $34 I have in ECBs and get the remainder of my school supplies. Of course I will still go to Staples and get the penny deals this week, so that I have a supply stash for next year.

Here are the back to school deals for this week:

STAPLES:
Buy 1, get 2 Free deals:
Sliding Pencil Box (.99)
Erasers ($3.29)
12 Count Pens ($1.99)
2 Pack Scissors ($1.99)
Ruler ($1.49)
200 Count Construction Paper ($4.99) -- I will probably get this to have around the house. 600 sheets of construction paper: $5. Peace and Quiet for Mom: priceless

Penny Deal: Pocket Folders, limit 20 (Sunday - Wednesday only)

Friday, August 21, 2009

6 Transformer Toys for $11!!!

This is an awsome deal for me right now. My 4 year old is about to have a birthday and Christmas is right around the corner. If you don't have any boys, think of saving the toys for upcoming b-day parties or Christmas presents for nephews. I have not done this yet, so can not confirm it personally, but this is the deal:

1) Go here and print the $5 off $20 Transformer Toy coupon (expires 8/31)

2) Then go coupons.com (or link to it through the coupon bar on the left of this post -- HINT, HINT) and enter your zipcode (if your zipcode doesn't work, use 22630) and find the B1G1 Free Transformer's Toy Coupon (upto $3.99 value), expires 9/15. You can print it twice. IF YOU CHOOSE ONLY THAT COUPON, IT PRINTS A FULL PAGE OF COLOR, so choose 2 or 3 coupons at a time.

3) Go to KMART and pick 6 Transformer Toys @3.99/each (now if these toys are a different price, it changes this deal -- sorry) = $23.94 - $5 coupon (first) = 18.94 - $7.98 (2 - 3.99 coupons) = 10.96.

If you have another computer you could print a 3rd coupon and get all 6 for $7!!!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

My Food Lion Trip Today!

O.k. first of all I am bummed that I missed Harris Teeter's triples this week. So I went to Food Lion and made up my own sale.

On this first picture I spent $20.34 and am sending in a rebate for $20. That is right, I am getting virtually all my money back on that one. I found my rebate for these items on the School Bus display at my Food Lion, but you can order one from here.



On this picture, I spent $8.10 and I am sending in a rebate for $10. That is right, on this one I am making a small amount of money. This rebate is the Kelloggs Fuel For School Rebate that was in the paper a few weeks ago. Again, you can get yours from here. Scroll to the very bottom right hand side.

Of course, I was able to get my totals lower for both of these deals by using coupons too.

My last transaction was not really as lucrative, but I had to get several items. My total grocery bill spent on this one was $26, but I got a lot of produce, a gallon of milk, 4 Kraft Singles, 1 Mott's Apple Sauce 6-packs, more tissues and a big thing of vinegar (we are making pickles from our garden).

I also made a very frugal dinner tonight which cost us $1.06 total, which fed my entire family with left overs. We had ratatoulle from the fresh veggies in my garden (free), Wild Rice (free at Bloom triples a few months back) and a 2lb package of bone-in chicken which I bought for $1.06 last week at Food Lion.

Monday, August 17, 2009

The best things in Live are FREEEEEE!

Or the free things in life are the best. Which ever way, here are some freebies I found.

Nestle Calander of Savings ($20 in coupons) here.

Playtex Sample here.

Carefree Sample here.

Nature Valley Sample here.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

School Supply Deals!

So far I have only spent $1.50 on School supplies (I am not counting anything I got for .01 or Free). I do have a few more items that I have not found free deals on, so I probably will wind up spending between $5-$10 total for 3 kids. I even got a back pack for my youngest for free a few weeks ago. Here is what school supply deals I found this week:

CVS:
THREE Day sale:
Caliber or CVS Filler Paper $.99, get .99 ecbs = FREE, limit 2
Papermate Pens $.99, get .99 ecbs = FREE, limit 2
Pencil Box $1.99, get $1.99 ecbs = FREE, limit 2
Caliber or CVS Composition Book, $1.99, get $1.99 ecbs = FREE, limit 2
Phillips Ear Buds $6.99, get $6.99 ecbs = FREE, limit 1 (THINK STOCKING STUFFER)

HIDDEN DEAL: CVS 10 count Tampons, $1.89, get $1.89 ecbs = FREE (I have not confirmed that yet, but I have read posts about it.

STAPLES:
Sunday - Wednesday:
Composition Notebooks - .25 each

$1 Deals, after easy rebate:
Photo Paper
Hammermill Copy Paper
6-Pack Highlighters
Comfort Stic Pens
Papermate Retractable Pens
Papermate Erasers

Monday, August 10, 2009

Shopping this Week


Staples:
FREE after Easy Rebates:

Electric Pencil Sharpener, limit 1
Handheld Label Maker, limit 1
DryErase Markers, limit 1

$.01 after Easy Rebate:
70 Page Spiral Notebook, Limit 6 (ONLY AVAILABLE THROUGH WEDNESDAY)

$1 after Easy Rebates:

Bic Highlighter 5 pack, limit 1
Staples Multipurpose Paper, limit 2
CVS:
I didn't find hardly anything this week that I want at CVS. They have some get $5 ECB's when you buy $15 deals (one on candy and one on certain school supplies). First, I don't need $15 candy (I think I have $15 worth stuck to my rearend already). Second, you would still need to spend $10 on school supplies to get the $5 ecbs and that is just too much. Here are the other deals:

3-Day Deal ends Tuesday:
Revlon Color Stay Mousse Makeup, 9.99, get 9.99 in ecbs = FREE

All Week Deal:
Coppertone $8.99, get $2 ECBS. If you get the Coppertone Nutrashield and use this $5 off coupon, you would pay only $2.

Next week there will be some more school deals (Filler paper, pens, pencil boxes)

Rite Aid:
Scotch Pop-up Tape, $2.49, FREE after SCR
HEADS UP: Starting Wednesday - next Tuesday (8/12-8/18), Harris Teeter will be tripling coupons. I will try to give you some highlights as I get them.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

$5 off $25 CVS coupon

Go here and take the 5 questions readyfill quiz (right in the middle of the screen) to print a coupon valid for 2 weeks after printing. I did not see that many great deals this week, but next week there should be more school deals. Also, it states on their website that if you go into CVS and ask about readyfill, they will give you a $25 coupon booklet. I have not tried this yet, but will this week.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Food Lion Coupons


I am not doing matchups this time. I have been sick and am trying to catch up on other things, however, for those of you who usually get coupons, they first ones didn't work yesterday (foodlion had a glitch), so here are the new coupons:

Guiding Stars coupon good through 9/1. This is good on anything with a nutritional value. Since we drink enough milk that we could have our own cow, I have been using it on that. Print as many as you can use the first time you go to print.

Coupons expire 8/22:
Coupons #1
$1/2 FL potato chips
$1/$5 Butcher Brand Beef
$1/1 FL peanut butter
FREE 15oz can of Chef Boyardee wyb 1 gal. of Hawaiian Punch

Coupons #2
$1 tostitios
$1/3 smart options
$1 skippy pb
chef boyardee


Deals after the above coupons:

Food Lion Potato Chips = .50/each

Smart Options Pizzas (buy 4 to get the $3 pre-mvp minimum) = 4/$1

Food Lion Peanut butter = .66/each

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Free Glade Gift Pack

Go here to signup for the free Glade Gift Pack. Only the first 10,000 will get one.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

A week full of Freebies and some Money Makers!!!!!

CVS:
I went today and got 2 notebooks, 2 pairs of scissors, 2 packages of Stayfree pads, 2 folders, 2 3-ring binders, 2 book covers, a protractor and a compass. I rang up in 2 seperate transactions (I didn't have enough ecbs accumulated to ring up only one time). My out of pocket for all of that was under $1!!! I basically paid tax. They were out of a few things that I wanted, so I did get rainchecks for those items.

3 Day Sale:
--Caliber or CVS Sticky Notes/3 pack Glue Sticks or erasers .99, get .99 in ecbs = FREE, limit 2
--Caliber or CVS 1 subject notebook 70-80 pages, .99, get .99 in ecbs = FREE, limit 2
--Caliber or CVS 20 count pens or 10 count pencils, .99, get .99 in ecbs = FREE, limit 2
--Caliber or It's Academic Compass or Protractor $1.50, get $1.50 in ecbs = FREE, limit 2
--Caliber or It's Academic 5" Scissors - $2.99, get 2.99 in ECBs = FREE, limit 2
--Caliber or It's Academic Ruler - .99, get .99 in ECBs = FREE, limit 2
--Caliber or It's Academic Book Covers .99, get .99 in ECBs = Free, limit 2
--2-Pocket Poly Portfolio, .49, get .49 in ECB's = FREE, limit 2

All Week Sale:
--Stay Free Pads $5, spend $10 and get $5 in ECBs. If you have the coupon from a Sunday insert for Buy One Get One Free Stay Free Pads, then these are FREE.
--Electrosol on sale for $4.50, spend $20 and get $10 in ECBs. If you buy 5 at 22.50 and use 5 coupons (I don't have 5, boo hoo), you would pay $10 and get $10 in ECBs = FREE

STAPLES
O.k., they don't have any freebies this week, but they do have Notebook Filler paper on sale for .01. This is not a easy rebate, this is a sale. Tonight I bought my limit of 5 packages and my total was .05! Since this isn't linked to your card, if you need more, you can ring up seperately (or have your kids ring up seperately) to get more than the 5 limit. This sale ends Wednesday.

Rite Aid (I am going to make $24 this week at Rite Aid -- you can too)
I haven't shoped at Rite Aid in a long time but will go this week. They are offering a number of freebies this week. When you shop at Rite Aid, make sure you have this $5 off $25 coupon with you. Make sure your transactions are all just over $25 and give them that coupon before any others.

Here are freebie highlights:
--Renu Contact Solution $9.99, get 9.99 back in Single Check Rebates (SCR), use this $2 off coupon for even more savings.
--Zantac 8 count $4.99, get $4.99 back in SCRs, use this $3 off coupon and this rebate to make $8 bucks on this product!
--Natrol Probiotic $8.99, get $8.99 in SCRs, use this $3 off Coupon
--Werther's Originals $2.99, get $2.99 in SCRs
--Skin Clinic Advanced Wart Remover $14.99, get $14.99 in SCRs
--EZ Packaging Tape $1.49, get $1.49 in SCR's
--GE Light Bulbs $2, get $2 in SCRs
--Crest $2.79, get $2.79 in SCRs
--Garnier $2.99 - $2 SCR (I think there are $1 off coupons for these making them free)

Here are the transactions I will do this week:
Transaction 1:
Renu Contact Solutions $9.99
Zantac $4.99
Garnier Shampoo $2.99
Werther's Originals $2.99
GE Light Bulbs $2
Crest $2.79
My subtotal will be $25.79 - $5 off $25 coupon - $2 Renu Coupon - $3 Zantac Coupon - $1 Garnier Coupon = $14.79, get back $25.79 in SCRs and $5 in Zantac Rebate = $16 Money Maker

Transaction 2:
Skin Clinic Advanced Wart Remover $14.99
Natrol Probiotic $8.99
Packaging Tape $1.49
Subtotal = $25.46 - $5 off $25 coupon - $3 Natrol Coupon = $17, get back $25.46 = $8 Money Maker