Melissa and Doug Kitchen

I've been eyeing this kitchen from Melissa and Doug for a little while. I want to get my kids a Christmas gift that encourages creative play yet appeals to both of them. Methinks this could be it. On Amazon the Melissa and Doug kitchen is only 118.87 with 9.99 shipping. That's a pretty sweet deal.

Amazon has some discounts on other Melissa and Doug products as well. Check it out if you're starting to think about holiday gifts for the kiddies.

Whole Foods highlights

I just want to highlight a couple of deals at Whole Foods this week.

First is the Back To Nature deal I mentioned below. BTN macaroni and cheese is on sale for 1.25 each. In the Whole Deal flyer (available in the front of the store) there is a coupon for .70 off any BTN product, making this .55 each.

Next up is an interesting Seventh Generation find. There are hang tags on Seventh Generation laundry detergent for 1.00 off any SG product. The lowest priced item I could find was a single roll of toilet paper for just over a dollar. More interestingly, SG dish soap is on sale for 2.99, which means it would be 1.99 with the coupon.

Avocados are .99 each. My kids eat these like it's their J-O-B so a dollar is a great price for us.

And here's a tip since we're coming up on holiday baking season. I was reminded today that Whole Foods has those fabulous bulk bins with a wide variety of sensational seasonings. Instead of purchasing an entire bottle of that obscure spice that you need a tiny bit of to season your Thanksgiving pie, why not buy exactly the amount that you need from the bulk bins? You'll save both money and space in your spice rack.

Whole Foods this week

Whole Foods has an awe-inspiring marketing team. Their weekly sales ad is one page, front and back, and gives hardly any indication of what the specials are. They want you to come in and see what's on sale so you will buy more. Those cats are smart.

But I'm smarter.

Here's what I got for just under $20 and a fist full of coupons. All prices are before coupon but after sale:



(1) Rustic Pizza crust @ 3.99 (used 1/1 from Whole Deal flyer, henceforth WD)
(1) 4-pack organic valley milk @ 3.99 (used 1/1 from WD)
(1) Back to Nature mac and cheese @ 1.25 (used .70/1 from WD. Only .55!)
(1) locally produced organic half and half @ 1.99
(1) Knudsen organic grape juice @ 3.99 (used 1/1 from Meijer Naturals booklet found in seafood department)
(1) Organic Valley block cheese @ 3.50 (used 1/1 printable)
(1) Light Life veggie sausages @ 3.99 (used 1/1 from WD)
(2) half gallons of the best milk ever @ 3.99 each

I also used a $5/$30 coupon from my store's grand opening.

Total before coupons: 30.68
Total after coupons: 19.98

Last chance for a free $10!

The Ebates $10 promo ends tomorrow, Halloween. If you shop online, this is the best way to do it. Shop through Ebates, earn back a percentage of what you spend, and receive a check every three months with your earnings. It's easy, it's free to sign up and there's zero obligation. Just straight-up free money, rebate style. Sign up and make a purchase by tomorrow and automatically earn $10 as a sign up bonus.

"Philanthro-Free Wednesday" Thursday

Dudes, I thought today was Wednesday. Sorry for the tardiness of this post. I hope some of you are still able to get to the store before Sunday to score these free and cheap deals to be donated!

Meijer:
Jello
Suave shampoo and conditioner- .88/each (or use 1.50/2 coupon to make them FREE)
Taco Bell salsa and dinner kits- less than a dollar each when you use Meijer Mealbox coupon for 1.50/1
Dei Fratelli canned tomatoes- 1.00
Velveeta shells and cheese dinner- .67 each after 2.00/2 Meijer Mealbox coupon
McCormick mixes (gravy, etc.)- 25% off, so less than a dollar each

Kroger:
Del Monte canned veggies- .75
Hunt's canned tomatoes- .75
Starkist tuna pouches are under a dollar each if you use 1.00/3 coupon from 9/7 paper
Select varieties of Campbell's Soup- 1.00 (there are various coupons that might work with these)
Kroger Hot Chocolate- .97
Softsoap liquid hand soap- 1.00 (or use .35/1 Q to get this for .30 after doubling)

Whole Foods:
Country Choice organic oatmeal canister- 2.50 (use 1.00/1 coupon from Whole Deal flyer to get this for 1.50)
Muir Glen tomato sauce- .99 (use .75/1 coupon from last week's paper to get this for .24)

Meijer this week

What $40 will get you at Meijer this week:




...and mounds and mounds of Jello.
I got some stuff just because I needed it, and not because there was a particularly good sale so I'll highlight the good stuff:

(3) Pampers wipes @ 1.00/each (used .50/1 coupons, doubled)
(2) Tom's of Maine bodywash- clearanced to 2.94
(1) Tom's bar soap- clearanced to 1.74
(2) Suave shampoo/conditioner- FREE (used 1.50/2)
(2) Palmolive Eco Dishwasher detergent @1.19 each (used .50/1, doubled)
(2) Palmolive clean dish soap @ 1.44 each (used .75/1)
(3) Aunt Millie's Whole Grain bread @ .99/each
(1) Pepperidge Farm bagels @ 1.95 (used .55/1)
(2) Jack's Salsa @ 2.00/each (BOGO)
(1) Taco Bell Salsa @ .33 (used Meijer Mealbox coupon, one per transaction)
(2) Steamfresh veggies @ .33 each (used 1/1 catalinas; there are also coupons on Meijer Mealbox which would still be a good deal)
(1) gallon apple cider
(1) Kraft sliced cheese, RBGH-free @ 3.00
(3) Shredded cheese
(1) cream cheese
(1) ricotta cheese
(1) grated parmesan
(1) dozen Eggland's Best cage free eggs @ 2.19 (used .50 coupon, doubled. I have enough of these coupons to get me a dollar off cage free eggs until the Q expires.)
(1) half gallon Meijer Organic milk @ 2.50
(2) avocados
mushrooms
bananas
onions
sweet potatoes
(we opted out of produce delivery again this week; nothing exciting so I had to supplement)
(1 billion) boxes of Jello. Just kidding. But I used $18 in coupons from the Jello deal, so you do the math. Food Gatherers will either love me or be really, really annoyed.

Spent: 42.47
Saved: 63.57

Whole Foods Coupon in Ann Arbor

My dear friend Steph emailed me today to let me know that there is a $10 off $50 Whole Foods coupon in the Ann Arbor Observer this week, valid at either Ann Arbor location. It's on page 36.

Thanks, Steph!

Meijer Moneymaker

I was tipped off to this deal at Hot Coupon World. If you want to make a quick and easy 1.70 and you have a Meijer store in your area, here's the scoop.

Go to the Meijer Mealbox site. In the box on the right, click on the "Specials" tab, then click on page 2 of the coupons. At the top is a coupon for 1.50/2 Jello gelatin 4-serve. Click on that coupon, which will open it in a new window, then select print from your browser.

Take your coupon and 30 cents to Meijer. Choose three boxes of Jello gelatin, which are on sale this week for .60 a box. After coupon, you will pay .30 for three boxes. But it doesn't end there.

Upon completion of your transaction, you will receive a cash register coupon for $2.00 off your next Meijer purchase. That's a huge return on your investment. Plus you'll have a leg-up on your Philanthro-Free donation items for the week.

You can print this coupon as many times as you would like, but you can only use one coupon per transaction, and only one $2 coupon will print per transaction for this deal. Just remember the cardinal rule of coupon karma... clearing shelves is not nice. Also, make sure you print this coupon like NOW, because the good ones have a way of disappearing quickly when the deal is this good.

Enjoy!

My Free Stuff from K-Mart

Here's the haul:




In the interest of full disclosure, this should have cost me a dollar. Instead, it cost me 38 cents. For whatever reason a few of my coupons didn't double and I ended up with a $9 total. After walking through each item and reviewing the coupon value, my wonderful cashier made some adjustments and couldn't get it exactly at a dollar, so she told me to "pay 38 cents and we'll call it even." Wow! She will be getting major props via a note to her supervisor in the mail for her patience and outstanding customer service.

The breakdown:

(2) Kashi GoLean- 2.50 each
Used (2) $1/1 from Whole Deal Flyer- .50/each

(1) Glade holiday candle holder- 2.99
Used $2/1 blinkie- FREE

(1) Colgate toothpaste- 2.50
Used $1.50/1- FREE

(2) Kotex Lightdays- 1.39 each
Used (2) .75/1- FREE

(1) Ziplock Vacuum Storage kit- 3.99
Used $2/1- FREE

(2) Bic 10-pack razors- 2.50 each
Used (2) $2/1- FREE

(1) Almay mascara- 5.XX
Used $2/1 coupon from K-Mart Beauty Book (located in beauty aisles)- FREE

(2) Loreal Eyeshadows- 3.XX and buy 1 get 1 free
Used $2/1 in Beauty Book- FREE

They were all out of tweezers and nail clippers. Boo. I have another Kashi coupon so I may try to go to a different K-Mart again later in the week.

Questions about Super Doubles? Leave me a comment and I'll try to help.

Fifty cent Kashi Cereal

Want some almost-free Kashi cereal? Go to Whole Foods and pick up a Whole Deal flyer. There is a $1/1 coupon for any Kashi GoLean cereal.

At K-Mart this week, Kashi GoLean is 2.50 a box. K-Mart is also doubling coupons up to and including $2. Use your $1/1 and your cereal will only cost you .50.

Just to give you an idea of what a steal this is, the exact same cereal is priced at 3.69 at Whole Foods this week.

Friendly Sunday reminders.

Don't forget...

...to buy your newspaper today. There are a few good Qs in there.
-.50/1 Palmolive Eco dishwasher detergent
-.75/1 Palmolive Pure & Clear dish soap
-.75/1 Muir Glen organic soup
-.75/1 Muir Glen organic product (any)
-Bayer glucose meter $30 coupon (these pay off big time at CVS; make sure you clip it and hang onto it.)
-.25/1 Cottonelle
Remember that most Meijer and Kroger stores will double coupons up to and including .50, so a .50 coupon is really worth a dollar. Check the bottom of your weekly ad or call your store to double-check.


...fifty cent bags of Nestle candy at CVS! I haven't seen it anywhere cheaper yet. By the end of the week I'm sure it will go down in price quite a bit but who knows what the selection will be at that point?


...K-Mart Super Doubles begin today. I plan to run over this afternoon and get some free nail clippers, tweezers and Kotex. Will post when I get back.

Free Sample of Emergen-C

This is some of the best cold prevention out there when you get that coming-down-with-a-cold feeling. One packet taken every 2-3 hours along with zinc and Cold Reduce and you'll feel better in no time. I call it my fizzy lifting drink.

Go here to get a free sample.

Thanks to Maryanne at My Penny Pile for the heads-up on this one.

Cheap Halloween Candy at CVS

This coming week is pretty slow at CVS. However, there are a couple of deals worth mentioning, especially if you were waiting for that perfect deal before buying your Halloween treats.

First of all is the candy deal. Sunday and Monday only all Hershey's, Nestle and Mars fun size bags of candy are on sale 2/$3. Here is a printable coupon for $1/1 Nestle bags, which means bags of Butterfinger, Nestle Crunch or Baby Ruth bars for .50! You can print it twice. (Thanks to Andrea at Mommy Snacks for the heads-up on the coupon.)

Next up is Soy Joy. My 2-year-old loves these. He calls them "rectangle bars". I wouldn't pay much for them as they are pretty small, but we'll take 'em for free. And free they are, my frugal friends. They're 4/$4 and earn back 4 ECBs. There was also a B2G1 free coupon in a recent paper which would give you a profit.

There is also a random assortment of health-related products that will earn 10 ECBs when you buy $20 worth. I don't see anything that gets me uber-excited but if you need this stuff it would be an okay time to buy I guess. A full list (along with the rest of the ad scan) can be found at I Heart CVS, courtesy of A Full Cup. The highlights:
CVS saline nasal spray- 3.50
Simply Saline Nasal mist- 5.00 (I love this stuff)
NeilMed Neti Pot- 11.00
Breathe Right Kids nasal strips- 5.00
Various Hyland's cold and flu care items- 5.00
Halls Naturals- 2.00
Boiron Kids Homeopathic Cough Syrup- 6.00
CVS digital thermometer- 5.00

And finally, Kashi GoLean cereal is 2/$5. There is a $1/1 coupon in the Whole Deal flyer from Whole Foods which would end up being a pretty good deal on that.

Clearance deals at Target

The baby and I had a little bit of time to ourselves today. So we went to the Mothership: Target. I like to shop the perimeter at Target because the end caps have all the clearanced items. And I always like to take along my coupons just in case. Here were the most stellar finds today:

Seventh Generation has their liquid fabric softener clearanced at 15% off. It's 3.38... but if you go here and sign up you can print a $1 coupon for any SG laundry product. So that's 40 loads of eucalyptus-y lavendar goodness on your clothes for the bargain basement price of 2.38. You can't even get store brand fabric softener that cheap, and this is a LOT better for the environment (and for your family). Not to mention it smells like the spa. Ahhhhhh...

Quaker Simple Harvest granola bars were marked down to 2.48 a box. They have no trans-fat or high fructose corn syrup so you know that spells pure awesomeness in my book. Use $1/1 coupons from a recent paper to get them for 1.48 each.

Mrs. Meyers 64 oz. laundry detergent was also clearanced from $12 to just over 8 bucks. That's more than I will personally pay for laundry detergent but if you use the stuff that's a pretty good deal.

Here is something I stumbled across last week but it's still in effect so I wanted to share. Currently at Kroger stores there are coupon tear pads in the candy aisles for $1 off any Starbucks chocolate. I grabbed a few the last time I was there even though the Starbucks chocolate at Kroger was all way expensive. I just had a feeling they would pay off. I was right. Target currently has their single bars of dark chocolate clearanced to 1.08 each. Use the coupon and pay less than a dime. You can find them by the candy section on an end cap with other clearanced snacks, and/or in the check out lanes with the gum and other candy. If you can't find any of the marked down bars, the regular priced single bars are only 1.28; think stocking stuffers, people! .08-.28 for a bar of delicious dark chocolate is quite a steal.

Get paid to do your online shopping. No catch. No, really.

A friend told me about Ebates a few months ago and I was skeptical. It sounded too good to be true that I could earn money back for shopping online. But since I do virtually all of my shopping online these days I reluctantly signed up with my alternate email address and started poking around. I ended up making a purchase at Shutterfly, which I was going to do anyway, and instantly earned 8% back! That money goes into my Ebates account and they send me a check every 3 months. So far I've earned over $25, and I received a $10 Target gift card as a sign on bonus.

Right now Ebates is doing a $10 sign up bonus for anyone who uses this link and makes a purchase through Ebates before October 31. It really is risk-free; it's free to join and you don't have to buy anything other than what you would normally buy anyway. Each time you go to make a purchase online, just sign into your Ebates account and find the store you want to shop at. Link to that store through Ebates and your account will automatically be credited with a percentage of what you spend. Spend ten bucks on your first purchase and you'll earn that $10 sign on bonus, essentially paying for your purchase. Once you have over $5.01 in your account you will start getting checks sent to you every 3 months. Easy.

Who wants coooooooooupons?

I picked up an extra Whole Deal flyer at Whole Foods yesterday. It is just bursting with great coupons for natural and organic foods.

First person to comment on this post gets it.

Flattery might get it to you faster.

Free Toilet Paper next week at Kroger

Here's how you can get 8 free rolls of TP at Kroger next week.

Cottonelle 4-roll packages are priced at .99 every day at Kroger.

There will be a .25 coupon for Cottonelle in Sunday's paper. That will double to .50 at most Kroger stores.
Then, go here to load a .50 coupon onto your Kroger card. Your savings will automatically be deducted from your card when you use it to shop. That equals a dollar. Free TP.

Now if you want another package for free, go here to print a coupon for .50 off Cottonelle. That will double, and you can get your second package for free.

More Super Doubles At K-Mart

I just got word that K-Mart will be doing Super Double coupons again from this Sunday, Oct. 26 through Nov. 1. They are doubling all coupons up to and including $2 coupons (so a $2 coupon would actually be worth $4), so this is a great way to get lots of free or nearly free items to donate! For a list of coupon match-ups visit Hot Coupon World.

EDIT: To see if your store is participating, go to this link at Hot Coupon World and look at the third post on that page. It's a pretty comprehensive list.

Whole Foods

Here's how I dominated Whole Foods.



(1) dozen cage free eggs
(1) spinach hummus
(2) half-gallons milk
(1) flour
(2) Muir Glen organic tomato sauce- (FREE- donate)
(1) focaccia bread
(1) organic mixed baby greens salad- FREE
(1) Organic Valley string cheese

Pre-coupon total: 25.90
Used:
$5/$25
$1/1 Organic Valley string cheese coupon from Whole Deal flyer)
(2) $1/1 Muir Glen
Free mixed baby greens (Cranbrook store Grand Opening coupon booklet)

Total spent: 15.91
Total coupon savings: 9.99

Kroger this week

This was my highest grocery savings EVER.
(2) Celestial Seasonings Tea- FREE
(1) Cottonelle 4 pack
(1) Pampers wipes
(6) Green Giant frozen boxed veggies
(1) Dole bagged spinach
(2) raspberries
(3) Annie's mac and cheese
(1) Puffs tissues
(2) Garden of Eatin blue chips
(1) Lightlife soy dogs
(1) Lightlife soy sandwich slices
(1) sour cream
(1) organic fruit spread
(4) Scotch Brite sponges- FREE (donate)
(2) Brut deodorant- FREE (donate)
(1) Healthy Choice Fresh Mix meal- FREE

Total spent: 22.57
Total saved: 53.73

That's a savings of 70%!

Here were the deals of note (the ones not listed in this post).
Lightlife products are on a special right now. If you buy two of them, you will get a coupon for $1 off your next shopping trip. There are $1/1 coupons in the Whole Deal coupon book at Whole Foods. So I bought 2 products at 2.99 and 3.99, used (2) $1 coupons and got $1 back. Not bad.

The Cottonelle is .99 every day at Kroger (even though it's marked at 1.11 at my store, it's not). You can go here to load a .50 coupon onto your Kroger card, making it .49 this week.

Dole bagged spinach is $1.

Raspberries are also $1. (I'm making freezer jam to get us through the winter.)

Green Giant boxed veggies are still on sale for $1. I'm trying to use up all my .25/1 and .50/2 coupons.

Puffs tissues are .50 after .25 coupon doubles.

Garden of Eatin chips are buy one get one free.

Cascadian Farms organic fruit spread is 2.99. I used the $1/1 coupon from the paper to get it for $1.99. You can also go here to sign up and print a $1/1 coupon.

Jack's salsa is buy two get one free.

The random free Healthy Choices meal was a coupon my mom gave me. Thanks, mom!

Meijer this week

Unimpressive. I didn't take pictures because I didn't have time, but I bought:

(2) packages of pectin
(1) OB tampons ( clearanced to 1.19; used $1 coupon to make it .19- Donate)
(1) Kiss My Face shaving cream (clearanced to 2.24)
(1) Reach toothbrush (clearanced to .75- Donate)
(1) Jiffy corn bread mix
(1) organic vegetable broth
(4) portabella mushroom caps
(1) mushroom gravy
1 lb. strawberries
(2) Sargento shredded cheese
(4) Progresso soup

Total spent: 24.24
Total saved: 19.48

There were tons of newly clearanced items, and lots of those were natural or organic products. Numi organic tea was around $3 each, and there's a $1/2 coupon in the Whole Deal flyer at Whole Foods.

There was also a clearance display in the main aisle near the sporting goods/toy section that had Aura Cacia cocoa butter for $4 (normally $9). There is a coupon in the Whole Deal flyer for that too.

I was in a hurry and didn't have time to sniff around thoroughly but there appeared to be gazillions of great deals.

Philantro-Free Wednesday

Here are your best bets this week for donate-able items, $1 and under. I will list by store.

Meijer
Jello (Use Mejer Mealbox coupon for $1.50 off two. They are priced at under a dollar each, making it FREE.)
Hunt's Manwich Sloppy Joe- .99 each. Buy 3 and get a free 8-pack of Aunt Millie's Honey Hamburger Buns.
Bush's Baked beans- .80
Lipton Rice/Noodle sides- 1.00
Progresso Soups- 1.25 (Use .25/1 or .50/2 coupons from recent papers to get these for .75 each after doubling.)
Nissen Top Ramen is 7/$1

Kroger
Annie's Macaroni and Cheese- 1.00
Kroger Toaster Pastries- 1.00
Kroger Peanut Butter- 1.00
Kroger Fruit snacks- 1.00
Hunt's pudding Snack Pack- 1.00
Pepperidge Farm goldfish- 1.00
Betty Crocker Brownie mix- 1.00
Hamburger Helper- 1.00 (Use the .75/3 from recent papers to get them for .75 each)
Campbell's Soup Healthy Request- 1.00 (Use the .40/2 coupon to get these for .60 each)
Celestial Seasonings Tea, 20 ct.- 1.00 (Use $1/1 from 10/5 paper to get it FREE)
Brut deodorant- 1.00 (Use the $1/1 from 9/21 to get this FREE)
Scotch Brite Nailsaver sponge- 1.00 (Use this coupon to get it FREE)
Aquafresh Toothpaste- 1.00 (Use this coupon to get it FREE)
Reach Advanced Design Toothbrush- 1.00 (Use the Buy one get one coupon from 10/12 to get these for .50 each)

Whole Foods
Muir Glen organic tomato sauce- .99 (Click on my Coupons.com link to the left to print a coupon for 1.00 off, making it FREE. You can print twice.)

Great deal at Omaha Steaks

UPDATE: Apparently this deal is dead. I hope some of you were able to cash in before it ended!

I am not a meat-eater. However, I am a dessert eater. Perhaps you are, too. So I wanted to pass along this deal to you that I found courtesy of Maryanne at My Penny Pile.

1. Go here to register for Geico Privileges. In the upper right hand corner is an icon that says "Register and save with Omaha Steaks". Click that and sign up. You don't need to do anything but enter your basic info (this is probably a great time to use that alternate email address).

2. You will receive an email within a few hours with a code for a $25 gift card to Omaha Steaks. Just like that.

3. Shipping is $13.99, so make sure you order about $11 worth of merchandise and you'll end up paying very little. (Hint: Check the desserts, appetizers and seasonings menu.)

4. If you happen to be a meat-eater, or know someone who is, use this link when you log in to Omaha Steaks and you will receive:
(6) 4 oz. burgers
(1) cutting board
(1) 6-piece cutlery set
...FREE.

I did it, paid less than $2 and will be receiving some delectable goodies soon-ish. You should do it too. Come on, you know you want to.

Philanthro-Free

'Tis the season for food drives and donations. It's one of my favorite things about the holiday season, what with my spiritual gift of shopping and all. While donating a $5 bottle of shampoo is certainly awesome, how much 'awesomer' would it be to donate ten $5 bottles of shampoo, especially if you're paying pennies for all of them? Or what if you save the coupons for non-perishable food items you would never use just to fill a grocery bag full of food to take to a food pantry for only a few bucks?

I've decided to devote a post every week to donate-able items: non-perishable foods and toiletry items. This post will appear on Wednesdays, after I've had time to do my weekly shopping as well as look at the local ads. The idea is to find items for a dollar and under that would be appropriate to donate to your local food pantry or shelters. After I scour the stores for the best deals, I'll post a list of the free or almost-free items that you can pick up to bless those who are going through a hard time. (And there are so, so many people in need right now.)

Please make sure to visit on Wednesday and look for the post "Philanthro-Free". And don't forget to buy a newspaper on Sunday. It's the most plentiful source of coupons and I promise you will make your money back many times over! (Also, if you live in my area, The Detroit Free Press is the best source of coupons. The Ann Arbor News has pretty much nothing.)

CVS 10/19

There are lots of freebies this week at CVS! A good week to start earning ECBs, or to roll 'em if you got 'em. Here are the highlights:

Sunday and Monday only:
Pumpkin pails for trick-or treating- .99 (earns .99 ECB)- limit 2
Funlight (a little flashlight)- .99 (earns .99 ECB)- limit 2

All week:
Butler GUM toothbrush 2-packs (adult and kids)- 3.99 (earns 3.99 ECB)- limit 5 (*There are .75/1 coupons from the 8/2 paper which would give you overage*)
Powerade- 1.69 (earns 1.69 ECB)- limit 1
Just For Men Touch of Gray- 7.99 (earns 7.99 ECB) (Print this coupon for a $2 overage)
Baby stuff deal

Other deals of note:
CVS Earth Essentials 12-roll 100% recycled toilet paper- 4.99
Tom's of Maine toothpaste or deodorant- 3.49

If this is your first week getting started here's an easy scenario:

Purchase:
(1) Just For Men Touch of Gray.
Use the $2/1 coupon
Your total will be 5.99 + tax. Pay this out of pocket, earn 7.99 ECBs to be used next week.

Here's a scenario for free recycled toilet paper for anyone who has ECBs, GUM coupons and a $3/$15:

(1) GUM toothbrush 2-pack @ 3.99
(1) CVS Earth Essentials TP @ 4.99
(1) Just For Men @ 7.99

Use:
$3/$15
$2/1 Just For Men
.75 GUM

Pay with 11 ECB, .22 OOP + tax, earn 11.98 ECBs.

$3/$15 CVS coupons?

According to I Heart CVS there are $3/$15 coupons available at some CVS stores. You can try looking in the store lobby or by the pharmacy. Hallelujah! This makes it a lot easier to get the good stuff for free.

What's For Dinner?

Spinach Burritos, adapted from the Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers cookbook.

(6) soft tortillas
(1) box frozen chopped spinach
2 c. shredded cheese (cheddar, jack or colby all work well)
1/3 c. cream cheese
onion powder (or use real onion... I just don't always have that kind of time.)
1 clove minced garlic
nutmeg
olive oil
salsa

Heat a large skillet on medium. Throw in your spinach. When it thaws and warms up add a half teaspoon of onion powder, garlic and a pinch of nutmeg. Add cream cheese and mix well. Add shredded cheese and stir. When mixture is uniform add 1/4 cup to each tortilla, fold up into burritos and place into a greased baking dish. Brush with olive oil. Heat in the oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Top with salsa. Cry because it's so delicious and took you less than 10 minutes to prepare.

Roasted sweet potatoes are an awesome accompaniment to this dish. Peel and dice sweet potatoes; coat with olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Spread in a single layer on baking sheet. Broil until some of the edges start to turn brown. AMAZING.

Whole Foods $5/$25 Coupon

I went to Whole Foods dot com to check out the calendar, and imagine my surprise to find a printable $5 coupon! Yee-haw.

I had a $20 budget to buy flowers for our open house tomorrow so I was pretty excited to find that I would be able to throw together a quick deal. Here's what happened:

I bought some beautiful hydrangeas and gerber daisies totaling $19.XX. Then I took a stroll through the aisles, looking for sales and coupons on products. I ended up in the juice aisle where Knudsen juices had $1/2 hang tags on them. I've been wanting to try their Mega Green juice, and the 32 oz. was 2.99; I picked up two of them. My total was just over $25. I used the 5/25, then the $1/2 which brought my total to $19.XX (so the juice was free. Yay!)

If you have Whole Foods shopping to do, print a coupon, grab your Mambo Sprouts Whole Deal flyer and get thyself to Whole Foods STAT. The Q expires on the 22nd.

Sunday Coupon Preview

Taylortown has the preview up. Check it.

Thinking about cheating on CVS.

I'm perusing the Rite-Aid circular and my curiosity is piqued. They have lots of free-after-rebate items listed this week. I've never used the Rite-Aid Single Check Rebate program before but if it's as easy as it sounds I may give it a whirl. Here's what I can gather.

You go here to sign up. Purchase items that are advertised with Single Check Rebate and Rite-Aid will mail you a check at the end of the month. Here's where it gets interesting for me...

This week there are bunches of saline nasal sprays and even a Neti Pot that are free after rebate. We really don't use much medicine around here but I'm a huge believer in sinus irrigation to shorten colds and so I always try to keep saline sprays in the house for all of us during the cold and flu season. I also see Bee MD natural cough drops are free after rebate. I may take advantage of these deals. I'll let you know how it goes.

Next week's diaper deal at CVS. (Is this heresy?)

Okay. So we all know disposable diapers are soooooo not environmentally friendly. I love my Bum Genius and Fuzzi Bunz as much as the next hippie but a gal's gotta have some 'sposies for emergencies and long outings, especially with heavy wetters such as mine. Oy. So that being said, I want to tip you off on a great diaper deal coming up next week at CVS.

If you buy $25 worth of specific baby products you will earn $10 ECBs. This will be a great deal for you if...
-you need diapers and wipes.
-you have Huggies coupons.
-you have 10 ECBs just a-layin' around, ready to roll.

Here's how it goes down:

Buy:
2 jumbo packs of Huggies @ 9.99 each
2 Huggies wipes @ 2.79 each

Your pre-tax total is 25.56.

Use your Huggies Qs (there are $1/1 and $1.50/1 floating around, and there may even be some .50/1 wipes Qs available from home mailers.)

Assuming you use (2) 1.50/1 coupons, your out of pocket (OOP) will be 22.56 + tax. BUT WAIT. Since this deal generates 10 ECBs, you can use 10 ECBs to bring your OOP to 12.56 for two packs of diapers and two boxes of wipes.

If you have a $/$$ coupon, this would be an even better deal.

If you don't have any Huggies coupons but want to give this a whirl, then this could be your lucky day... I happen to have two $1.50/1 Huggies diapers coupons sitting around, collecting dust. The first person to leave me a comment on this entry gets them.

Produce

Have I raved enough about my weekly produce delivery? Since we eat a plant-based diet it's awesome not having to think at all about working organic produce into the food budget. Every week I pay $23, select my produce online and it is delivered to my doorstep on Tuesday. This week's delivery included:

(5) plums
(1) head of lettuce
(3) oranges
(5) bananas
(4) potatoes
(1) eggplant
(2) heads broccoli
(2) avocados

All organic of course, and all delectable.

Kroger this week

Quite a few goodies at Kroger also. Here are the most interesting:

Annie's mac and cheese- $1 each! Don't forget the free subscription for Kiwi magazine with the purchase of any Annie's product.

Select 6 oz. Stoneyfield Farms yogurts were clearanced at my store, 75% off. This makes them .42-.45 each. Check the SF website for coupons.

Nasoya tofu is 1.99. use the $1/2 manufacturer's coupon from The Whole Deal circular found at Whole Foods to get 2 for $3.

Select Cascadian Farms products are 25% off. Use the $1/1 coupon from Sunday's paper to get some good deals.

Sun-Maid raisins multi-packs are 1.67 each. Buy 2 and use the $1/2 coupon to get a great deal.

Welch's dried fruit is 1.33 per pack. (It's usually $5!)

Ore-Ida Steam'n Mash potatoes are .99 after sale and $1 coupon from the 9/21 paper.

And here's the haul:



(2) Ore-Ida Steam 'n Mash
(10) SF organic yogurt
(3) blocks of cheese
(1) Silk soy milk
(2) organic tofu
(1) cashews
(2) Earth's Best organic baby food
(2) Kroger vitamin water
(6) Annie's organic mac 'n cheese
(3) dried cherries
(2) 14-packs raisins

Total spent: 35.01
Total saved: 51.45

I went a little yogurt crazy. Like, over-budget crazy. I still need to buy milk at Whole Foods so that will put me at about $90 for the week. Next week I'll try to keep the total grocery bill at $70 to make up for it.

Meijer this week

There are a few deals worth noting this week.

Stoneyfield Farms milk is still $3/half gallon. Go here to find coupons.

Honey Bunches of Oats Just Bunches cereal is $2. Go here to print a $2 coupon which makes it FREE.

GE CFL lightbulbs are BOGO free. Use (2) $1/1 coupons from 9/28 paper to get them for 1.50 each.

Orville Redenbacher microwave popcorn is 50% off. Use the .40 coupon from this Sunday's paper to pay about .79 for a 2-4 pack.

Meijer Gold maple syrup is 20% off. (It figures since I paid full price last week.)

Meatless Spaghettios are .10 each after sale and .40/2 coupon from the 10/5 paper. (We don't eat these but this is a great price for food pantry donations.)

Campbell's Select Harvest soups are .75 each after sale and .50/2 coupon from 10/5 paper. If you buy any 6 Campbell's soups you will receive a coupon at checkout for a FREE can of Select Harvest.

Kraft cheese is 3/$7. I believe this includes their RBGH-free varieties.

Thomas's bagels are BOGO free.

Green Giant Steamers are $1. Use the $1/1 coupon from 10/5 to get these FREE.

Green Giant boxed veggies are .50 each after sale and .50/2 coupon from 10/5.

Apples are 50% off at 2.49 for a half peck. Fill a bag with any combination of at least 5 different varieties.

Here's what I bought:



(1) Jiffy corn bread mix
(1) crushed ginger
(1) natural popcorn
1/2 peck of apples
(4) Spaghettios
(2) dozen whole grain bagels
(2) Dannon drinkable yogurt
(1) maple syrup
(4) Green Giant frozen spinach
(2) Green Giant Steamers- FREE
(1) Herbal Essences Shampoo ($1- for donation)
(1) Herbal Essences Conditioner ($1- for donation)
(1) Just Bunches cereal- FREE
(1) Lemonade (clearanced at 1.40)
(1) dozen cage-free eggs

Total Spent: 28.47
Total Saved: 39.17

Taking a CVS-cation

This week CVS is, to borrow a phrase from Becky, whack. So I'm not going and if you're trying to get started or are new to rolling your ECBs this really isn't a good week for you either since there are no freebies and a lack of $/$$ coupons. Next week looks a little more promising though. More on that later.

Value Tour at Whole Foods

From WholeFoods.com. This is for the Ann Arbor Cranbrook location but be sure to check the website for value tours in other areas as well.

Wednesday, October 15th
Value Tour
3:00 p.m. (Free)

Though some people think higher quality always means higher price, think again! What we offer is real food, free of artificial ingredients and hydrogenated fats at the best price possible. We'll help you find real deals throughout the store to help you stretch your food budget without sacrificing quality. We'll help you navigate store aisles to find the best in-store specials and bargains. Join us for value shopping tips, budget-friendly recipes and to discover great buys available every day!

Please pre-register online.

How on earth did I miss this?

If you did the Always Infinity and/or Bic Soleil deals this week I just found out that you can roll those ECBs you earned to buy more of each.

Always has a limit of 2 and the Soleil has a limit of 5. So tonight I printed one more of the $2/1 coupons and got myself some cartridges for the razor I purchased on Sunday. Paid with the 4 ECB I got for buying the razor, paid .12 in tax and scored 4 more ECBs.

I was going to do the same thing for the Always but both CVS stores I tried were wiped out of them. It may be worth a shot though if you're a new CVSer and want to practice rolling, or if you had a really really long day with non-napping kids and a sick husband and a broken car and just need a CVS fix to get your spirits up.

(Ahem.)

Coupons for the week of 10/12

Click here to preview the upcoming coupons.

What's For DInner?

What I love most about the way I shop now (stockpiling vs. need shopping) is always having several dinner options at my fingertips. Here's what we had tonight:

Black Bean Soup
Gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Spaghetti Squash

-Drain and rinse 2 cans of black beans.
-Blend together: Beans, 1 cup of salsa, 1.5 cups of vegetable broth, 1 tsp. cumin, 3 tsp. lime juice
-Warm on the stove.
-Top with sour cream and tortilla chips.

-Prepare grilled cheese sandwiches using any of the following ingredients along with good quality sliced cheese on whole grain bread: guacamole, tomatoes, green pepper, dijon mustard. (My personal favorite is guac and tomatoes.)

-Cut squash in half.
-Scoop out the seeds.
-Microwave for 6 minutes.
-Add butter, salt and pepper and mash.

Meijer surprises

A couple of deals I wasn't expecting to find at Meijer today...
Stoneyfield Farms milk and YoBaby yogurt are still on sale. ($3 each) Go to their website to find coupons.

While perusing with my Deal Radar (we'll just call it Dealdar) I found little booklets called "Meijer Healthy Living". Inside were a few coupons for good stuff. The bad news is, three of them were already expired because the booklet was marked as the July/August issue. The good news is, the coupon for R.W. Knudsen Just Juice doesn't expire until December, and the other good news is that I'm assuming there are September/October booklets floating around somewhere now. When I sniff those out I'll let you know where to find them. (I located these in the meat department of all places).

Also. Clorox Green Works is on sale for $2.50. When you buy any Green Works product you will get a coupon for .50 off Green Works dish soap. And I haven't tried it but I'm wondering if, when you buy the dish soap, you get another .50 coupon... could be an okay deal if you need eco-friendly dish soap.

OH, and I completely forgot to tell you that Band-Aids are free this week if you have the .50 coupon from the paper a few weeks ago. They are .99 and the coupon doubles. Hooray for free first aid kit supplies!

Now onto my shopping adventure. I'm glad it was a slow week for sales because I had a few things I needed to get so the lack of deals gave me some wiggle room in the budget for the things that *gasp* weren't on sale (the syrup, the hooks and the tortillas).



(My picture is missing my 4 lb. box of baking soda. Oops.)
(2) packages of BandAids- FREE
(1) dozen cage-free eggs
(1) tortillas
(1) maple syrup
(1) sour cream
(1) meijer naturals dish soap
(1) Green Works cleaner
(1) sliced cheese
(2) recycled bath tissue
(1) adhesive hooks

Total: 28.12
Total Saved: 14.04

I'm 1.64 over budget for the week, but not too bad considering I had to buy those stupid hooks for my wreaths. (And they didn't even work. Grrr.)

Kroger this week

There are a few good deals to be found at Kroger this week.

Bird's Eye Steamfresh Veggies- 1.47 (There are blinkies near the product for .35/1 which doubles, making them .77 each)

8th Continent Soy Milk 64 oz.- 2.97 (look for $1/1 blinkie, making it 1.97)

Cascadian Farm cereal- 2/$6 ($1/1 coupon from Sundays paper makes it $2 each)

Nature's Path and Kashi Good Friends cereals are also on sale for around 3.50 each. (If you register at Kashi's website you can print a $2 coupon for any Kashi product.)

Dannon Natural Yogurt cups 6 oz.- 10/$5 (blinkie for $1/5 makes it 1.50 for 5 or .30 each)

Imagine Soup (certain varieties only)- 2.50

Newman's Own cookies- 2.99

Naturally Preferred organic applesauce- 1.99

Amy's Frozen Entrees- 3.49

And here's what I bought:



(1) Half gallon organic milk
(1) Cascadian Farms cereal
(5) Steamfresh veggies
(2) Suave shampoo ( .13 each- to be donated)
(3) Johnson's Buddies soaps- FREE
(5) Dannon Naturals yogurt cups
(1) 4-pack Dannon drinkable yogurt

Total: 12.30
Total saved: 21.65

Free sample of Sundance Organic Tea

Click here.

Thanks to Coupon Cravings.

Whole Foods Run & Produce Delivery

Made my Whole Foods trip today. I just wanted to get my total to $15 so I could get a free bottle of lotion (I had a coupon from the Grand Opening coupon books I wrote about 2 weeks ago). However, the milk I usually try to buy for the kids to drink has gone up in price so I ended up paying a little more than expected. We made up for it in the fruit and cheese we sampled while perusing the store.

Purchased the following:
(2) Pecan Encrusted Whitefish Fillets
(2) Half-gallons of milk
(4) Jars of Earth's Best Organic Baby Food (on sale- big jars are $1, smaller jars are .75 or .80; you can find $1/10 coupons on the back of select Earth's Best rice or oatmeal baby cereals)
(1) 365 Body Lotion- FREE

Total: 18.22

Tuesday is also organic produce delivery day. Today's shipment:

(3) bananas
2 lbs. sweet potatoes
(3) valencia oranges
(4) red peppers
1 head boston red leaf lettuce
(5) paula red apples
(3) roma tomatoes
(3) bartlett pears

Total: 23.00

How I love thee, CVS.

I had 27 ECBs that were expiring today and just for kicks I decided to burn 'em rather than roll 'em. I packed up the Littles and we made a trip to The Promised Land. Here's what we bought for two bucks and some change:

-Crayola Sidewalk Chalk 12-pack (clearanced- woohoo!)
-Safety Scissors
-Glue Stick (I'm trying to stock up on craft items before it gets too cold to be outside... *sniff, sniff*)
-Reinventing Beauty Magazine (tons of CVS coupons inside)
-Benadryl
-Burt's Bees Shampoo
-Burt's Bees Conditioner

If I hadn't needed the Benadryl I planned to try the new Vickery and Clarke Apothecary line. Instead one of my kids decided to get a rash and I sacrificed for the greater good. Sigh... I guess I can wait until it goes on special.

Whole Foods Coupon Alert!

Whole Foods had coupon books at the front of the store today. I'm assuming they are available at all/most WF stores since they were chock full of manufacturer's coupons for brands like Organic Valley, Back To Nature, Traditional Medicinals, Nasoya, Biokleen, R.W. Knudsen, Kashi and lots more! Get 'em while you can.

Meijer Markdowns on Green Goods

Meijer has an interesting page in their merchandise ad this week advertising green products on sale. Sweet. Here's the summary:

Natural Choice chlorine-free diapers- $7.99
Gerber Organic baby food- 3 for $4
Similac Organic Formula- 1.50 off
Meijer Bamboo pillow- 6.99
Meijer Naturals laundry detergent, fabric softener, dish soap, all-purpose cleaner or glass cleaner- 33% off
Arm & Hammer refillable cleaners (less waste!)- 2.39 (There was a "try me free" rebate on this product in todays' Smart Source coupon insert. Print and use this coupon then send in the rebate form to make a dollar profit.)
Clorox Green Works products- 2/$5
Green Works dish soap- 2/$6
Sunrise bath tissue (4 rolls) or paper towels (2 rolls)- 2/$4 (coupon in paper for $1/2 makes it 1.50 each)
Earthshell plates or bowls- 2/$4
Philips Marathon Mini Twister CFLs- 5.99

As for other sales, it's not looking great this week. There's a Meijer brand sale going on which is always pretty underwhelming. Here's hoping next week is better.

Philanthro-free Sunday

Here are the freebies at CVS this week if you have ECBs. If you don't, it's not a bad week to get started. There are a few donate-able items that generate ECBs so even if you don't need pads or toothpaste and you aren't into stockpiling you can find a good home for them at a local women's shelter.

Now, there is a definite shortage of $/$$ coupons lately, so if you have one ($3 off $15, or $5 off $25 for example) and need help with a particular scenario let me know. I'm just going to list the items that are free or nearly free this week and let you decide what you're willing to pay in order to roll or start earning those ECBs!

Glaceau Vitamin Water 32 oz. - 2.29
(earns 2.29 ECB)
FREE

Bic Soleil Razor- 5.99
(earns 4ECB)
Click here to print a coupon for $2 off, making this FREE after ECB

Always Infinity Pads (14-18 ct.)- 4.98
(earns 4.98 ECB)
FREE

Speed Stick/Lady Speed Stick deodorant- 1.99
(earns 1 ECB)
.99 after ECB

Colgate MaxFresh toothpaste or toothbrush- 2.99
(earns 2 ECB)
.99 after ECB (or if you have the 1.00/1 coupon from a past paper it will be FREE)

So if this is your first week and you want to get started, I suggest that you purchase:
(1) Vitamin Water @ 2.29
(1) Bic Soleil Razor @ 5.99
(1) Always Infinity Pads @ 4.98

Use your $2 coupon for the razor. Your total will be 11.26 + tax, and you'll earn back 13.26 in ECBs.

Meijer Trippin'

This week's grocery run:



(3) lbs. bananas
(1) loaf of bread- FREE
(1) organic vegetable broth
(1) dozen cage-free eggs
(3) Ronzoni pasta- FREE
(2) organic salad dressing
(1) 4-pack organic stick butter
(6) Mott's Natural 100% juice
(4) Skippy Natural peanut butter
(2) salsa
(2) organic milk half gallons
(2) YoBaby organic yogurt 6-packs
(1) 180-count dye-free/fragrance-free dryer sheets

Total out of pocket- $39.56
Total savings- $38.79

We also got some veggies from a friend (If anyone has a good vegetarian stuffed bok choy recipe I would be eternally grateful.) Therefore, we cancelled our weekly veggie box. With today's K-Mart binge I'm just under budget for the week. Hooray!

Sunday's Coupons

Curious about the coupons that will be out in this Sunday's paper? Click here.

My Super Doubles Haul

Okay, so all-in-all it wasn't a bad run. They had virtually no environmentally responsible or healthy/organic products that would have worked so I made do. The cashier, who was sweet as pie, was untrained on the register so a manager was helping her ring us up. They were both amazingly patient and accommodating. My poor cashier was having a difficult time and even with me handing her coupons just 3 at a time they somehow missed (4) $1 coupons ($8!) so I will be calling customer service later on to see if there's anything they can do about that. I would have taken care of it immediately but one of my kids smelled like poop and the other was literally banging their head into the shopping cart and screaming bloody murder. Awesome.

So here's what I got. The first list is my Donates (going to the single moms ministry at my church):



(3) Pert Plus - FREE
(3) Sunsilk shampoo- FREE
(3) Gillette shampoo- FREE
(3) Suave deodorant- .29/each
(1) Sure deodorant- .29
(1) Advil PM- .79
(1) Purex fabric softener- 1.29
(2) 10-packs disposable razors- .99/each
TOTAL: $5.22 + tax

Here's the stuff I got for us:



(3) Tide Free and Clear- $3/each
(1) 10-pack disposable razors- .99
(3) Puffs To Go packs- .58
(1) Cascade Complete- 1.99
(4) Kotex pads- should have been 1.49/each (these were the missed Qs)
(1) Kotex lightdays- FREE
(1) Oral-B toothbrush- FREE
(1) Revlon nail clipper- .49
(2) Johnson's First Aid Gauze- FREE
(1) Advil PM- .79
(1) Tylenol PM- .79
(1) Tylenol Simply Sleep- .99
...and the one thing missing from this photo was already partially consumed so it got left out:
(1) Dove Dark Chocolate candy bar 3-pack- .29
TOTAL: should have been $21.87, but with the missed coupons was $29.87 + tax

I just remembered I also grabbed a rebate slip for the Kotex. I'm not sure how much it was for but I'll have to dig it out of my bottomless purse and take a look at it.

Super Doubles at K-Mart!

This is the best news ever. Select K-Mart stores are doing super-double coupons through Saturday. This means they will double all coupons up to and including $2... so lots of free and nearly free stuff! This is the time to load up on donation items for shelters, charities and ministries. And maybe also time to score some free chocolate for yourself...

I'm heading there in the morning and will post if I find any particularly good eco-deals.