Grocery Time

I'm getting braver and have taken both "little boys" grocery shopping with me the last two times I've gone. Ollie rides in the cart and Remy walks. He's doing pretty well with sticking close to me, and we only had one mini-meltdown in the bakery section. I can tell we're close to summer because the grocery sales are on grilling and picnic type foods. Here are some deals I got this week:

Planters Big Nut Bars--$2.22, used 2-$1 coupons=$1.22 each

Edy's Fruit Bars and ice cream--4/$12, used $1.50/2 coupon on the Fruit Bars and $2/2 on the ice cream, making it 4/$8.50 or just over $2 each. Plus I got a $4 catalina coupon to use next time I shop at Super One.

General Mills cereal--4/$6 when you buy 4, used 2 $1/2 coupons=$1 each
Post cereal--3/$8 ($2.67 each), used $0.75 coupons=$1.92 each

Green Giant Steamers--$1.25 each, used $0.40 coupons=$0.85 each

Non-organic strawberries were buy 1 get 1 free at $3.48, or $1.74 each
Organic strawberries were $2.98-$1 coupon=$1.98
Remy wanted to try the mini bananas (manzanos) that were $0.99 per pound--this bunch was $0.97. I found out after we bought them that they're best when they have lots of brown spots, or are almost black. They're a little drier than regular bananas and apparently have a apple or strawberry flavor to them. Remy must have discerning taste buds, because when he tried one he said it tasted like strawberries.

Hormel pork tenderloin was buy 1, get 1 free for $9.99. I used 2-$1 coupons=$4.00 each.

And my grilling things picture didn't turn out. I bought Lawry's marinade ($1.50-$0.50 coupon=$1.00) and seasoning salt ($2.49-$0.75=$1.74), McCormick marinade packet ($0.67-$0.50 coupon=$0.17) and grill seasoning ($1.50-$1 coupon=$0.50), Homelife brand utility lighters, for lighting the grill were buy 1 get 1 free at $2.99=$1.50 each, Kingsford charcoal was $4.94 for a 13.9 lb. bag., and Hidden Valley new dressings were $2.99, used $2 coupons=$0.99 each.

Overall I saved $97.48 or 40%

Wednesday's Website

I haven't done a Wednesday's Website for awhile, but one site I drool over on occasion is the King Arthur Flour blog. I've been attempting to limit my baking and sweets intake since January, so I live vicariously through this blog. Mouth-watering pictures, step-by-step directions, and a sense of humor always come through.

There's cake:


Pizza:


Carrot cake:


Chocolate:


Even gluten-free:


YUM!

Dressed in Red

When the kids were playing outside the other day, we noticed they were all wearing red:

Pamida Double Coupons

After we got groceries, we went to Pamida because it was double coupon week. I got all the items pictured below for $8.14. The full retail price at Pamida would have been $38.39, for a savings of $30.25, or 78%.

Lays chips were $2.50-$1 coupon doubled to $2=$0.50 each
Dial soap was $4.50-$0.35 coupon doubled to $0.70=$3.80
Tampax tampons were $2.49-$1 coupon doubled to $2=$0.49Always pads were $2.49-$1 coupon doubled to $2=$0.49
Halls were $2.29-$1 coupon doubled to $2=$0.29 each
Herbal Essences shampoo/conditioner was $2.50-$1 coupon doubled=$0.50
Kiwi shoe laces ranged in price from $1.29-$1.99, used $1 coupons doubled to $2=All FREE
Coke ($1.25) and Reese's ($0.89), used $1 when you buy both coupon doubled to $2=$0.07 for each, or $0.28 for all 4.

I also bought Mega Packs of Luvs diapers that were on sale for $8.99, used $1 coupons that doubled to $2.00=$6.99 each, which is less than the smaller packs sell for.

The Coke/Reese's coupon confused the cashier as it only double up to $1.25 (I think because it attached to the Coke, and they don't give overage on double coupons). Eventually she doubled it manually, put away the coupons she had rung in, and gave me my total. However, I was fairly sure she hadn't rung in all my coupons--there were even two separate piles, one she had already rung in and one she hadn't, so I asked her if she had rung them all and she said yes. So I paid and then when I had my receipt, I counted up the coupons on the receipt (14) vs. how many I had given her (19). She was still trying to figure out the Coke coupon with a co-worker, so I said I was sorry to bother her, but explained how not all the coupons had been rung in.
Then the two cashiers went back and forth about the best way to handle the situation. She pulled out my coupons, I pointed out the ones that hadn't been rung in, and one decided they would need to void my original purchases and re-ring everything. The other one didn't want to do that, but then the drawer would be short. I apologized for the trouble, but I knew I was right. In the end, she gave me cash back for the five coupons without re-ringing everything and was going to leave a note for whoever reconciles the cash drawers. It was $8.20 back, so definitely worth my time to make it right. Then Raina, Ollie and I spent the $8 for hot dogs and treats at Dairy Queen!

Saturday at Super One

I went grocery shopping on Saturday with Raina and Ollie. I saved $91.54, or 39%, on my groceries this week. Here are the best deals:
Farmland bacon wrapped pork tenderloin--10/$10, used 4-$0.75 and 2-$1 coupons (Farmland sends me a sheet of coupons every few months)=$1 for all 6 of these. They were awesome cooked on the grill!

SoBe Lifewater--10/$10, used 2 buy 1 get 1 free coupons from the SoBe website=$0.50 each

Special K Low Fat granola--$2.50-$1 coupon=$1.50. Also used coupon for 2 free Dannon yogurts when you buy Special K granola.

Act II popcorn--10/$10, used 2-$0.40 coupons=$0.60 each

Red Star yeast--$1.00-$0.35 coupon=$0.65; I see homemade pizza crust in our future!

Sun Chips--FREE with coupon from Facebook promotion

Keebler crackers--$2 each, used $2/2 coupon=$1 each

They also had some good produce on sale:
Pink lady apples for $1/pound
Romaine lettuce for $1/bunch
Mini carrots, $1 for 1 pound bag
Green beans for $1/pound
Celery for $1

Kidism

It's funny to overhear kids talking sometimes. I cleaned the bathroom today, and when Raina came home from school I heard her say, "Whoa, the bathroom is all sorted out!"

Stockpiling

Stockpiling groceries allows me to buy food we'll use at the best possible price. To do this, I wait for a good sale and use coupons to bring the cost down. This is why I bought ten packages of Green Giant Steamers (regular price $1.79, on sale for $0.99, used coupons of $0.40 or $0.50 for an average final price of $0.51):

Keebler Club crackers (regular price $3.99!, on sale for $1.97, used coupon for $2 off 2, for a final price of $0.97 each PLUS had a coupon for $1 off Kraft cheese--that was $1.66--when you buy 2 Keebler products, making the cheese only $0.66).

Shasta root beer (was $1.25, used coupon for $1 off soda when you buy 2 Kraft dressings, that were on sale 2/$4 and I used a $1 off 2 coupon, making each bottle of dressing $1.50):

Ritz crackers (regular price $3.79, on sale for $2.50, used $1 coupon, final price=$1.50)

Cheez-Its (regular price $4.19!, on sale for $2.50, used $2 off 2 coupon, final price=$1.50)

Wheat Thins (regular price $3.39, on sale for $1.99, used $1 coupon, final price =$0.99)

Jell-O (regular price $0.89, on sale for $0.67, used $1.25 off 3 coupon, final price=$0.26)

Fisher sunflower seeds are always $1.29. I seem to have a never-ending supply of $1 off any Fisher product coupons, so I buy a bag or two for Barry every time I go to Super One.

Polaner All Fruit (regular price $2.59, I used $1 coupons over several shopping trips before my coupons expired, paying $1.59 and stocking up on 6 jars of it)

Wishbone Dressing (regular price $2.89, on sale for 2 for $2, used $1.25 off 2 coupon, final price =$0.38)

Dole pineapple (regular price $1.69, on sale for $0.97, used $1 off 3 coupon, final price=$0.64 each)

Skippy peanut butter (regular price $2.49, on sale for 2 for $2, used $0.75 off 2 coupon, final price=$0.62 each)

Ragu pasta sauce (regular price $2.49, on sale for 2 for $2, used $0.75 off 2 coupon, final price =$0.62 each)

Ham was on sale for $0.95 per pound, but there was also a store coupon for $5 off ham when you buy $20 in Kraft products. I bought: Starbucks coffee (on sale for $6.99, used $1.50 coupon=$5.49), Philadelphia cream cheese (for $1.09 after sale and coupon), Jell-O, Kraft cheese, Kraft tartar sauce (on sale for $1.50), and Ritz crackers. Even though I bought $20 in Kraft products I used about $7 in coupons on the products, so for spending $13 I got $5 off a ham--the almost 9-pound ham was $3.28 after the $5 savings. The regular, non-sale price for that same ham? $16.65!

By stockpiling when products I use go on sale, I can wait for the next sale cycle to stock up again, and I don't have to pay the regular prices that can be 3-4 times what I pay when stockpiling.