envirosavings

Deals too good to pass up!

2009-10-20T06:53:00.000-07:00

In between checking temperatures and swapping out cold washclothes to my oldest son (who can't seem to kick this cold) I decided it was time to get my coupons back in order and open up the paper. My coupon binder was totally laughing at me.....mocking my inability to stay organized the last month.....or two. I showed him! And with great timing. There are some excellent deals to be had this week. For lack of time I'm going to leave out the graphics and just highlights the deals.

At Meijer:
Sara Lee pre-sliced deli meat is $3 -$3 printable coupon available a few weeks ago = FREE
Boxed Jell-o is 0.45 -0.50MFC available in the Kraft Food and Family magazine, doubled = FREE
10 pounds of potatoes are on sale for $1.69 making them less than 17cents a pound!
Aunt Millies ButterTop bread is on sale for 0.99 -0.50MFC from a summer insert, doubled =FREE
Hunts and Rotel Tomatoes are on sale for .79 a can. Not a great price, but I needed to stock up.
Purex Free and Clear detergent is on sale 2.99 -0.35MFC doubled =2.29

At CVS: Finally a monemaker!!!
Glade Candles and Reed Diffusers are on sale 6.99 + 6.99 ECB's = FREE. Plus use a $3MFC in last Sunday's paper to make $3.

Don't forget to go here to get your $5/$25 coupon! Let's see your scenarios using this coupon to make even more money!

These are just the best deals I found. Please let me know if I missed anything.

I see free veggies in your future...

2009-09-01T05:36:00.000-07:00

Coupons.com has just reloaded their coupons and there is a .50/1 Green Giant Steamers coupon which will mean FREE veggies next week since they will be on sale 10/$10, 11th free at Meijer. You can print twice from each computer.

Also go here, here and here to print more.

There are also 1.00/1 Cascadian Farms and 1.00/2 Muir Glen available.

15 oz. Muir Glen canned tomatoes are on clearance at Meijer for 1.81 which would make them 1.31 each after coupon, and they are 1.99 every day at Whole Foods so you may be able to get them even cheaper with a sale there.

Moneymaker at CVS

2009-08-30T11:33:00.000-07:00

This week at CVS, The Fragrance Collection by Glade 3-wick candles and reed diffusers (great stocking stuffers!) are 6.99 and earn back the full 6.99 in ECBs. Go here to sign up and print a coupon for 2.00 off. You'll pay 4.99 + tax and earn back 6.99 in ECBs, which you can use on just about anything in the store. Or, if you have 6.99 in ECBs, purchase another $2 item and pay with the 6.99 ECB. You'll end up just paying tax for two items.

I bought a pack of Pampers (on sale for 9.99, used a 1.00/1) and a candle. I used a 3.00/1 from All You magazine, paid with a random assortment of ECBs and ended up paying around 1.04 I think out of pocket. Plus I got that 6.99 back.

Also, don't forget to scan your CVS card at the little coupon machines if your store has them. I got some really great coupons today, and remember that CVS permits you to use one CVS coupon AND one manufacturer's coupon per item for even greater savings.

The Grocery Game. And Whole Foods, friends.

2009-08-17T18:36:00.000-07:00

Laziness has gotten the best of me and I've been Grocery Gaming for a little while now. I'm finding that it's well worth the money for me (Under $1.90 a week total for Kroger and Whole Foods lists). Right now you can do a four-week Grocery Game trial for FREE. If you decide to give it a try and want to put a referral I'd be cool with you using me. You know. If you must. (cassiebrabbs at hotmail dot com)

Now on to what will probably be my only shopping trip for the week, minus tomorrow's produce delivery which I'll get to momentarily.

(2) Wolfgang Puck pizzas @ 4.00 each

(2) Envirokids bars @ 3.00, used 1.50/2 Whole Deal

(1) 365 tortilla chips @ 2.69

(2) Annie's cheddar bunnies 12 oz @ 3.00 each

(3) Annie's graham bunnies 7.5 oz @ 2.00 each

1.47 lb. organic grapes @ 1.99/lb = 2.93

1.73 lb. organic local zucchini @ 1.49/lb. = 2.58

(1) organic grapefruit @ 1.71

(1) organic tomato @ .66

3 lbs. organic yellow onions @ 2.49

(1) Mother's rice cakes @ 1.99

(1) Stonyfield Farm organic smoothie 4 ct. @ 3.00

(4) Annie's mac and cheese @ 1.25, used .75/2 from Whole Deal

16 oz. organic lentils @ 2.39

(1) organic lasagna noodles @ 3.00

(1) Organic Valley milk @ 3.79, used 1.00/1 printable

(1) Wholesome Valley organic cheese slices @ 3.69

(1) Mrs. Meyer's dryer sheets (Geranium... I want to live in them.) @ 7.39, used 2.00/1 Whole Deal

(1) Maranatha creamy almond butter @ 5.99, used 1.00/1 Whole Deal

(1) Seventh Generation dishwasher soap @ 3.99, used 1.00/1 printable

Also got a .30 bag refund.

Total Spent: 72.60

My Door-to-Door Organics delivery tomorrow should consist of:

Bananas

Red Grapes

Pink Lady Apples

Valencia Oranges

Broccoli

English Cucumbers

Grape Tomatoes

Romaine Lettuce

Yellow Squash

Total: 23.00

Probably not worth $10, but FREE is FREE--Schwan's Deal

2009-08-15T03:44:00.000-07:00

Schwan's is doing a promo for $10 off any order. If you pick an item under $10 there's no delivery fee. no tip. no taxes. totally free--and, i figured, no worse for the environment since the truck is always in my neighborhood anyway. I haven't tried this yet, but it was free since the cost of the item was under $10--new customers only and there's lots to choose from. If you don't want to subscribe to their service just ask them to add you to their "will call" list. My delivery man was totally nice--and I've always heard wonderful things about their treat/desserts (which is why i chose a frozen veggie dish--I have no willpower if goodies are in my house).

Here's the link. enjoy.

Walgreens Wipes...

2009-08-12T13:56:00.000-07:00

Time to stock up on baby wipes. There are Walgreen's back to school books at their store with a store coupon for $2 off any Huggies Wipes (>64ct.)--use this with a manufacturer's coupon for a great deal.

Also, a few of their toothbrushes are clearanced out making them super cheap and if you do the Register Rewards program (which I do not...yet anyway) this could be a MM--you are supposed to get $6RR with 3 reach toothbrushes.

My transaction today is a total mystery. I don't know what happened at all, but I think it all worked out in the end....here's what happened.

FIVE packs Huggies Wipes @ 2.79 each--gave FIVE $0.50 mfr Qs and used the $2 off Walgreens Q

TWO Medium Reach toothbrushes clearanced to $1.09 each--used TWO $0.50 any Reach mfr Q

ONE Reach twinpack clearanced to $1.59--used $1.00 any Reach toothbrush mfr Q

I lost my receipt, so don't know the original total, but after the Reach Qs were deducted and the Walgreen's Huggies Q (you only need one Q for any number of packs)--the total was $1.52. wth? He gave me back all my Huggies mannies saying they wouldn't scan--probably b/c I was only paying the tax on these items at this point, but I don't know. I've never done Walgreen's bargain shopping before, and looking back I'm sure it was an error, but I can thank my 3 year old for making me very rushed and basically running out of the store as soon as possible--otherwise, I probably would've realized the error. the RRs never printed for the toothbrushes, but that's OK b/c I got 4 toothbrushes and 5 packs of wipes for $1.52 and I have no idea why. I'll use Cassie's "good coupon karma" as an explanation.....but I'm going to do this again anyway b/c it's a good deal, even without the error--technically, the packs of wipes should be $0.29 each after store Q and manny, so I'll pay better attention next time ;) so, run out and stock up if you need some wipes--my store still had a bunch left....oh, and the coupons say $1 off on one side and $2 off on the other, but they do, indeed, take $2 off. happy wiping!

edited to add: the walgreen's Qs expire 8-31-09 according to various website. thanks to babycheapskate for the headsup on the deal.

Starting the week with a bang.

2009-08-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

I haven't been posting my shopping trips as much here lately and I'm sorry for sucking in that department. Honestly, I haven't found too many great deals worth sharing. So I've just been plugging away, grabbing the deals when I see 'em but mostly just buying fresh produce. I did a bit of Whole Foods shopping last week, and when I was checking out I ran into an Envirosavings reader. (Hi, Shannon!) Well, actually she's my husband's co-worker but she said she reads here so I pretended I was cool for a second.

Moving on.

Thanks to Jessica's earlier post, I was able to do very well at CVS this morning:

(2) Huggies @ 9.00 each, used (2) 1.50/1, earned 4 ECBs
(1) Revlon makeup @ 9.99, used 1.00/1, earned 9.99 ECBs
(1) Bic Soleil cartridge @ 6.99, used 3.00/1, earned 3 ECBs (I still have a bazillion of these razors when they were giving them away last summer and fall.)
(1) CVS batteries- FREE with August coupon
(2) Snickers bars @ 1.00, used 1.00/2
(1) Contour meter @ 14.99, used 14.99 coupon, earned 5 ECBs (Thanks, Jill!)
(1) paper @ 1.75

I used the $5/$25 that Jess mentioned, and paid with just under 17 ECBs. Paid 10.50 oop and got back 21.99 in ECBs. That's like paying 5.25 per pack of diapers and getting everything else for free. Total score.

Then, Kroger:

(4) pints blueberries @ 1.00 each
(1) Horizon organic processed cheese product (nassssty, but for some reason processed cheese product is the only kind my kids will eat on grilled cheese.) @ 4.59 (!)
(6) Santa Cruz organic beverages @ 1.50, used .75/1 coupons
(3) Tide free @ 5.88, used 1.00/1 coupons
(1) Cascade @ 3.99, used 1.00/1

$4 came off my total for the Buy 4, Get $4 off P&G promo, which made the Tide 3.88 each and the Cascade 1.99.

Total spent: 27.17
Total saved: 35.98

cvs scenarios...(starting tomorrow)

2009-08-08T08:05:00.000-07:00

These ideas include the 5/25 you can find here. This coupon says "one per customer. one time use only" so make it count! I bought an awful lot of $1/2 snickers Qs when I heard about the candy deal this week (sale for $1 for 2, buy $15 worth and get $5 ECBs, so with my Qs it's a $5 MM--the Qs were awfully expensive, but we will get reimbursed for the snickers as they are a fundraiser item for my husband's school group, so don't think I'm going to eat so many 150 snickers)

My scenario:

2 huggies @ $18 for 2 packs

30 snickers @ $1 for 2 = $15--total = $33 plus tax.

pay with 5/25, 15 x $1/2 snickers Q, 2 X $1.50/1 huggies Q = $ 10 OOP (will pay with ECBs, get back $9 in ECBs---$5 from the candy and $4 from the huggies) --not too early to start getting ready for halloween either!

Other options to combine with the huggies and the 5/25 include the contour meter if you have a Q to get another MM, Revlon Colorstay mineral Mousse makeup ($1MM after insert Q and ECBs)--thanks to iheartcvs for the headsup on the ad!

Update: great CVS run for me today! I started out with only $21 in ECBs. I bought:

2 packs huggies = $18

1 bic soliel refill packs = $6.99

1 Neutrogena makeup = $9.99

1 Revlon colorstay = $9.99

120 candy bars, variety = $60

broke into 4 transactions. paid with a 5/25, 4/20, 4/20 and $3 soliel Q from today's paper, $3 neutrogena Q, $3 worth of huggies mannys, $2 Huggies CVS Q, $1 Revlon Qs, $60 in candy Qs and tons of ECBs. Paid $3.50 OOP total for all 4 transactions (on a gift card actually) and have more ECBs than when I started ($28). The candy is in a box taped closed and hidden by my husband and the receipts are with them, so I can't get into the specifics, but the OOP was just over $3 for sure. They are designated for fundraising for his school. To be honest, I paid $20 for the candy coupons, so even adding that in, it's a great deal, but I would never have any need for 120 candy bars, but they sure made the $/$$ Qs useful today.

Cheap diapers at CVS

2009-08-02T06:19:00.001-07:00

I had big plans to begin potty-learning with my youngest. She's started telling me when she needs to go poopy so I figured I'd put the little potty in the living room and keep asking. So far she sits on the potty without incident. She makes a grunting noise, asks for her diaper back on and promptly poops in it.

So we aren't quite there.

Thankfully, CVS is running a great ECB deal on Pampers this week, especially if you have $/$$ coupons. (Check your email if you're signed up; if not, go here to sign up and start getting coupons emailed to you. Make sure you click the box that says "Yes, please flood my inbox." They really won't though.)

Pampers are 2/$20 and when you buy 2 you'll earn back 5 ECBs. Use 1.00/1 coupons from today's P&G insert. Some areas had this same coupon insert in their weekly Red Plum mailer also.

Additionally, Blink eye drops are 7.99 and earning back 7.99 in ECBs, making them free. There is a 3.00/1 coupon in today's paper which will give you $3 overage.

According to various sources, if you stop in at the pharmacy and ask about their Ready Fill program you should receive a booklet with coupons, including a $4/$20. So do that and then do this transaction:

(2) Pampers @ 10.00 each
(1) Blink tears @ 7.99
Use: $4/$20, 1.00/1 Pampers, 3.00/1 Blink
Also use 13 ECBs if you've got 'em.

You'll spend 5.99 + tax and earn back 12.99 ECBs. That's just $3 per jumbo pack of diapers!

Also be on the lookout for CVS Baby Club coupons all over CVS. When you enroll in CVS's baby club you'll earn 10 ECBs for every $100 you spend on diapers and wipes.

Here's what I did this morning:

(2) Pampers @ 10.00 each
(1) Blink @ 7.99
(2) CVS glue sticks @ .99 each
(2) Caliber notebooks @ .99 each

Used $5/$30
(2) 1.00/1 Pampers
3.00/1 Blink
18.79 in ECBs

Paid 4.66 oop, earned back 16.95 ECBs

Fruits and veggies

2009-07-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

Our weekly Door To Door Organics delivery consisted of the following organic produce:

(3) bananas
(2) avocados
(1) lb. strawberries
(2) valencia oranges
(1) mango
1.5 lbs. yellow squash
(1) green pepper

Total: 23.00

We also stopped at a produce stand yesterday and purchased:

(6) ears of locally grown corn
(2) peaches, which were not local but were promptly consumed by my children.

Total: 3.50

Total-total: 26.50

This week's Kroger trip.

2009-07-29T12:54:00.000-07:00

(1) organic milk @ 2.99
(6) Horizon organic milk singles @ 1.00 each, used 1.00/3 coupons
(2) Cascadian Farms organic steamer veggies @ 2.50 each, used 1.00/1 coupons
(2) Van's organic waffles @ 2.50 each, used 1.00/2
(1) red pepper @ 1.67
(1) pint Michigan blueberries @ 1.48
(1) lemon juice @ .99
(1) Danactiv yogurt @ 1.88, used 1.00/1
(3) Clif ZBars @ 3/$2, used 1.00/3
(1) Oral-B toothbrush @ 1.00, FREE after 1.00/1

Total spent: 19.92
Total saved: 20.17

Yet another Meijer post.

2009-07-29T12:41:00.000-07:00

1 lb. organic carrots @ 1.99
(2) organic mushrooms @ 1.00
(2) organic nectarines @1.58
1 lb. organic cherries @ 2.99
(3) 28 oz. cans organic tomatoes @ 1.50 each
(1) celery @ 1.00
(2) Dole salad blends @ 1.00 each, FREE plus overage after 1.50/2 manu q and 1.00/2 Mealbox q
(2) Silk soy milk @ 2.99 each, used 1.25/2 and 1.00/2 Mealbox q
(1) cage free eggs @ 3.19, used .50/1
(1) Pillsbury grands @ 1.00, used .35/1
(8) Land O'Lakes spreadable butter @ 1.00, got all for FREE after .50/1 (separate transactions)
(1) Aunt Millie's bread @ 1.00, used .35/1
(2) Meijer Naturals salsa @ 1.00 each
(1) Ben and Jerry's flipped ice cream @ 2.49, used .75/1
(3) Ben and Jerry's pints @ 2.49 each, used 1.00/2, got back a 2.00 oyno cat
(2) Aunt Millie's bagels @ 2.00 each
(2) Kashi frozen pizzas @ 4.99 each, used 1.00/1 coupons

I had 4.20 in bottle refunds from recent get togethers/parties/beer drinking at our house.
I used a 4.00 oyno I had from the cheese deal I guess.

Total spent: 34.57
Total saved:37.22

More Meijer Deals

2009-07-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

This week seems to be a great week to hit Meijer! Between the 10/10=11 deals and the Huggies deal I was able to stock our pantry, donate a big bag to the food pantry and grab two packages of diapers for under $27!! Our grocery bill (without diapers) for the week was $8.86!! Yipee! Maybe I'll post our menu so you can see that we aren't living on ramen noodles :)

Here is the deal for huggies: If you buy $10 worth of Huggies, Kleenex, Cottonelle or Scott paper products (any combination), you instantly get $10 off 3 pkgs of Fruit of the Loom Basics Tees, underwear or socks. Fruit of the Loom Basics are on sale for $3.99/6pk little boys socks. Adult socks are on sale too. I bought 1 pkg Huggies at 9.99+ 1 pkg Pull-Ups 10.99 (wish me luck~ we're potty training this week :)) + 3pkgs of socks =32.95 -$10instant rebate -$3MFC for huggies -$2MFC for pull ups =$17.95 for all that! Considering the socks alone were $11.97, I basically got 2 pkgs of diapers for $5.98. Plus with school starting in a month ~gasp!~ I got a head start on much needed new socks.....and maybe even a stocking stuffer :)

You could easily make this deal sweeter buy just purchasing the $9.99 diapers and a $1.29 mini package of huggies wipes + 3 packages of socks for a total of $10.25 after instant $10 rebate and $3MFC for diapers. That's what I call a good deal!!

Some Meijer info.

2009-07-27T05:26:00.000-07:00

I recently ran across this great Detroit-area blog, called Macomb Money Savers. Since I don't ever do sales/match-ups here, I thought those of you Meijer shoppers who may be interested could bookmark that site.

Also, I don't think I've posted it here before, but My Price Savings is a great site you can use to preview the Meijer ads for the coming week. The ads are typically posted on Friday afternoons, but sometimes as early as Thursdays. Keep in mind if you are in Ann Arbor or Ypsilanti the prices tend to run slightly higher.

And finally, there are some fabulous deals at Meijer this week. They're running their 10/$10, 11th item free sale which means when you purchase 11 eligible items you will get each for 90 cents. Plus there are coupons available for many of the items which means you can fill your pantry, fridge and freezer for pennies. Be cautious with this sale though... there are items included that are typically less than a buck but the prices get raised for this "sale". The Gerber baby food is an example.

The moneymakers this week are:
Coffeemate creamers @ 1.00 each. Buy 3 and use .50/1 coupons (the first two will double). You'll pay .50 and get a catalina for 1.00 off your next order. (Thanks, Jessica!)

Dole bagged salads @ 1.00 each. Buy 2 and use the 1.00/2 Mealbox coupon. Then go to the meat/seafood department of your Meijer store and look for the Meijer Living Naturally booklet, which has a 1.50/2 manufacturer's coupon. You can stack this with the Mealbox q to get overage.

The only really good organic item included in this sale is organic mushrooms. I'll be getting a few, especially with the overage I'll have from the salad and coffeemate.

Also free or close to it with coupons... Betty Crocker Warm Delights and Land O'Lakes spreadable butter. Anyone see anything else?

Also tropical fish are included in the 10/$10 sale. Which creeps me out for some reason.

All things considered, a successful CVS trip.

2009-07-26T11:45:00.000-07:00

Lesson 1- Neutrogena makeup, though advertised as BOGO, did not ring up that way. I noticed after I was back in my car.

Lesson 2- Huggies megas do not follow you out of the store when you leave them sitting on the ATM. I did not notice until I was home. I had to go back.

(1) Smart Start cereal @ 3.34, will submit for full-price rebate (I've had the form forever.)
(2) Kashi cereal @ 3.33 each, used 1.50/1 printables
(6) Kashi GoLean bars @ 1.25 each, used 1.00/2 coupons
(1) Huggies mega @ 13.99, used 1.50/1
(1) CVS tampons @ 1.89
(2) Pilot pens @ .99 each
(2) composition books @ .99 each
(1) sticky notes @ .99
(1) mini stapler @ .99
(2) pencil cases @ .99 each
(2) binder clips @ .99 each
(1) Colgate @ 2.88, used 1.00/1
(1) Neutrogena eyeshadow @ 8.99, used 3.00/1
(1) Neutrogena lipstick- FREE after BOGO sale, used 3.00/1

I used a $10/$50 and 16.96 ECBs.

Will receive 3.34 back as a rebate for the Smart Start, which makes my oop 11.87 (less than the sale price of the diapers!), and I earned back 18.79 in ECBs.

CVS this week

2009-07-25T18:34:00.000-07:00

apologies in advance for the funky formatting--it won't let me change it?

There's a nice KAshi deal at CVS starting tomorrow, so you can get them nearly free along with more free office/school supplies:

****kashi 3/$10 get $5 ecb when you buy $10 worth of products (limit 1)

go to iheartcvs.com for links to the printable coupons underneath this weeks ad scan link

Use 3 printable coupons for $1.50 off each and get 3 boxes of Kashi cereal/bars for $0.50 after coupons and ecbs!!!

*****also the Schick titanium razor will be free if you have the CVS coupon from the home mailer that came out a few months ago ($3 value) along with the $4 off insert coupon = $1.99 and get $2 back in ECBS.

****also, don't forget about going to the pharmacy to ask about their new refill program--just by asking you should be gettting a coupon book that contains lots of $/$$ coupons including two 4/20s according to iheartcvs.com

mail-in-rebates....

2009-07-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

I've started doing some MIRs to get some freebies. This is something I've avoided in the past because they are a bit of a PITA and you often have to mail in your original store receipt which makes me nervous for some reason, but I'm getting over it.

Anyway, Friday, I got a free Seattle's Best coffee...we needed decaf on hand and I found this rebate form, so I thought it's worth a stamp, right?

Then today, I was looking for a cheap filler to get to $20 at CVS so I could use my 4/20 coupon and still make it a moneymaker and roll all my expiring ECBs....and instead I found these:

(don't those items looks so all-natural with my lovely plant background? unintentional, i promise!)

So, my transaction looks like this:

-2 filler paper packs @ 2.00 (get 2.00 each in ECBs)

-1 CVS pantiliner @ 0.89 (get 0.89 back in ECBs)

-2 packs papermate pens @ 0.99 (get 0.99 each in ECBs)

-2 memo books @ 0.99 (get 0.99 each in ECBs)

-2 one inch binders @ 2.49 (get 5.00 ECBs due to manual entry--these were 3.00 each in the ad, my store had a substitution item)

-1 organix pomegranite and something else shampoo @ 6.99

-1 True North nut medley snack bag @3.49

Total $24.xx + tax

paid with $4/20, $1 off True north mfr Q and 15.36 in ECBs.---$4.10 onto CVS gift card.

got back $13.85 in ECBs and will get $6.99 back in a check from Organix and $3.49 from True North. Also, there were a few other items in the shampoo aisle that had "Try Me Free" tags on them...

Anyway, altogether paid $19.46 after coupons (includes ECB value and amt that went onto gift card) and got back $24.31 (ECBs and money I'll receive from rebates for free items)--well $23.43 if you factor in the cost of a stamp (are stamps $0.44 I have no idea anymore).

A note of caution--on some items, you need the original receipt....some will take a copy (like the True North rebate), so be careful about getting more than one item per receipt, read your rebate form first. It's nice if they can print you a copy, but see post below for problems associated with that, depending on the cashier. Also, do the rebates right away when you get home so you don't forget and loose out!

In which everything that could possibly go wrong, does.

2009-07-19T08:02:00.000-07:00

I made what was supposed to be a quick run to Meijer last night to catch a few of the good deals before the sales changed out this morning. I also had a Morningstar Farms coupon that was expiring so I wanted to get in on the Kellogg's Fuel For School Rebate since MS Farms is included, and is about the only Kellogg's product that we eat.

What a disaster.

I had two separate transactions. The first consisted of 10 boxes of MS Farms products @ 3/$10, and I had 7.75 in MS Farms catalinas and coupons, plus that 4.00 oyno cat from the Kraft dressing deal. So I paid 21.59, plus will submit for the $10 rebate which makes these 1.16/box after rebate. Simple, right?

My damn receipt got mangled in the cash register. The surly teenage cashier handed me the top of this receipt, with smeared ink and nary a purchased item listed anywhere and started to ring up my next order. Ummm.... hold up please. Where the H is my receipt? After convincing her that I was not joking and actually needed a valid record of this transaction she called a manager who sort of retrieved part of my shredded receipt from the register and handed it to me victoriously, like we were done with this interaction. Not being satisfied, I sent her off to print me a copy of the transaction from her computer so I can staple it to my shreds, in the hopes that I'll still get my rebate. Looking back I should have had her return it all and re-ring it but I was in a big fat hurry because I had started my period in the frozen foods section. And I was wearing my white capris. No joke.

Okay, so the first transaction was done and the second one began. All was well for the ringing up of items. My cashier was still annoyed but whatevs. I had ordered some .50/1 Kraft cheese coupons on Ebay and was planning to score a couple bags of shreds for a buck a pop. She started to scan my coupons and when the second cheese coupon beeped she handed it back to me and said, "You've exceeded the limit on this coupon." Huh? I bought two bags of cheese and I'm using two coupons. "Yeah," she snipped, "but the coupon says one per item so you can only use one." This is where I got really annoyed, because as we all know this is the most unambiguous language ever used on a coupon. And she clearly wasn't getting it. We went 'round and 'round and finally I said, "Did you inadvertently scan the first coupon twice?" She insisted that she hadn't. So I handed her one bag of cheese and told her to take it off my order. No way am I paying two bucks for 7 oz. of shredded cheese. When she took it off the order, it removed a coupon. "Oh, I guess I did scan it twice." My head almost exploded.

That's when she hit the total button and I paid because I just wanted to get out of there. I paid 31.34 which, in my soul of souls felt a bit high but it was now past my bedtime and I just wanted out. I got to my car, looked at my receipt and realized that she shorted me FOUR DOLLARS in coupons.

I did get back another 4.00 oyno for the Kraft dressing and some random catalinas (like for this Meijer Money... have you guys been getting these?) but that was little consolation for the fact that I may be out fourteen bucks betwixt the forgotten Qs and the potentially failed rebate.

Total spent: 52.93, but I'm going to be hopeful and say 42.93 after rebate.

free fresh fruit snack packs at Kroger..and other random deals

2009-07-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

my 3 yo and my hubby are going on vacation (must be nice!!), so I went for some easy snack items for them to take:

1 one pound bag raw almonds (reg price $7.99)--sale for $2.99

2 bags apple +grape bites--Chiquita singles--FREE after free item IP

2 bags pineapple--Chiquita singles--FREE after peelies on the package (BOGO)

Spent $2.99. saved $10.60

Also: Meijer has Horizon Organic 1/2 gallons on sale this week for $3--pair it with a $1 off mealbox Q and the $0.55 off manufacturer's Q from the Cascadian Farms cereal peelie to get these for $1.45!

Also, get the Finish/Electrosol dishwasher tablets for $0.50 per box after Mealbox Q and manufacturer's Q from this past Sunday's paper. I bought 20 Qs off ebay, so we should be set for 500 days of dishwashing! All for $16 total (including cost of coupons)

Also, they have sales and mealbox Qs to match up with all kinds of IP Qs for Kellogg's products which would make for some great deals after this rebate. Morningstar Farms products also qualify for this rebate. Here is an IP link and you can print this twice if you use the back function after the first one prints.

I also found pull ups for $2.50 per pack at Rite Aid today on the Clearance Rack.

CVS score.

2009-07-12T10:52:00.001-07:00

You can see from this picture that we were in dire straits over here with respect to our diaper situation. I tried to cover the ripped-into packaging with the Fusion razor but I think you can tell that I didn't do that good of a job.

(1) Huggies @ 8.99, used 1.50.1

(2) glue @ .99 each, earned 1.98 ECBs

(2) rulers @ .99 each, earned 1.98 ECBs

(2) notebooks @ .99 each, earned 1.98 ECBs

(2) Bic pens @ .99 each, earned 1.98 ECBs

(2) scissors @ 2.99 each, earned 5.98 ECBs

(1) Fusion razor @ 7.99, used 4.00/1, earned 4 ECBs

(1) tiny shaving cream @ .99, because you can't bring any human-sized toiletries on a plane anymore. They must be elfin-sized now.

Paid with 24.50 ECBs, paid 2.43 oop, got back 17.90 in ECBs

Return of the Convenience Foods

2009-07-12T10:35:00.000-07:00

My husband and I are going out of town tonight for the week. Because there will be various combinations of three different grandparents here with our children I wanted to make things as easy as possible on the caregivers. Sooooo... frozen/prepackaged/easy-to-assemble food is on the menu.

Meijer:

3+ lb. bananas @ 1.64

1 lb. vidalia onions @ .98

organic carrots @ 1.99

2+ lbs. grapes @ 3.79

(2) avocados @ 1.67 each, used .55/2 winetag

(2) Rosarita refried beans @ .99 each, used .50/2

(4) 28 oz. canned tomatoes @ 1.49 each

(3) A1 marinade @ 2.50 each, used 2.00/1 coupons and got an automatic $2 off produce

(1) cage free eggs @ 3.19, used .50/1

(1) Cascadian Farm organic grape jam @ 3.49, used 1.00/1
(2) Danactiv drinkable yogurt @ 2.50, used 1.00/1

(2) Bertoli alfredo sauce @ 2.00 each

(4) Steamfresh frozen veggies @ 1.50 each (it kills me to pay for these.)

(21) cans of beans @ .60 each

(2) lbs. strawberries @ 1.50 each

(1) Eight O'Clock coffee for my mother-in-law @ 4.19, used 1.00/1

(4) Kraft dressing @ 1.67 each, used 1.00/1 coupons and got a catalina for 4.00 oyno

(2) Aunt Millie's bread ("Not the kind with seeds! I don't LIKE that kind!") @ 1.25 each, used .35/1

(2) mini bagels @ 2.50 each

(1) Horizon milk @ 3.00, used 1.00/1 Mealbox coupon

(2) Starbucks chocolate truffles, clearanced to 2.93 each, used 1.00/1 coupons

I was also able to use (2) coupons for $1.00 off produce when you buy two Kraft dressings, and I had a 4.00 oyno cat from the Kraft cheese promo a couple of weeks ago. So for the grand total...

Total spent: 64.33

Total saved: 57.86

Whole Foods, and more Kashi at Target

2009-07-09T14:10:00.000-07:00

I combined my purchases for the photo even though the cereal and bars came from a second Target run.

Whole Foods round-up:

Lifeway Lassi is still FREE after the 1.00/1 coupon found in the Whole Deal booklet.

Lightlife products aren't on sale, but they have .75/1 peelies on them which made the veggie dogs and sandwich slices 2.24 each.

Raw organic OV cheese is on sale and there was a 1.00/1 tearpad on the display.

Local organic zucchini is 1.99/lb. as are local vine tomatoes.

Organic flame raisins are 2.99/lb and dried cranberries are still a decent deal at 4.99/lb.

Back to Nature crackers are 2.50; use 1.00/1 Whole Deal coupon to get them for 1.50 each.

Go Raw live food bars are 2.00 each.

OV milk and soy milk weren't on sale but we needed both and I used a 1.00/2 from the Go Organic booklet found at Kroger.

Total spent: 35.32

Target goodies and produce

2009-07-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

Money Saving Mom has the scoop on some great Kashi deals at Target this week. Here's the breakdown of my transaction:

(2) Go Lean cereal @ 2.66 each, used BOGO Target coupon

(2) TLC cereal bars @ 2.50 each, used 1.50/1 printables and 1.00/2 Target coupon

(2) Envirokids bars @ 2.25 each, used 1.00/1 coupons from booklet found at Plum Market

Total: 6.16

Paid $5 on a Target gift card, paid 1.16 oop.

-----------

Door To Door Organics delivery this week-

3 bananas

1 lb. cherries

1 lb. red garnet yams

2 valencia oranges

1 bunch broccoli

1/2 lb. tomatoes

1 cucumber

1/4 lb. spring mix

Total: 23.00

A budget change.

2009-07-03T05:41:00.000-07:00

A couple of things are happening.

First of all, we've been hit with lots of illness here. Much of this is due to my husband's compromised immunity, and the rest is directly related to my kids licking everything they can get their tongues on. I'm fairly certain this is the case because I'm the only one who hasn't been sick.

The second thing going on is this contest which begins on July 13th, and which I have entered.

Because the budget for this contest is $25/week/person, and also because I'm feeling the need to step up the organic produce a bit more as well as adding in some supplements for Phil, I'll be increasing my grocery budget to $99 a week. This will still include diapers, cleaning products and toiletries. I'll still aim to keep my total bill as low as possible, but I'm allowing myself to stay under a hundred dollars in order to ramp up the nutrient-dense foods that my family needs.

This is the season we're in right now, and I'm rolling with it.

Whole Foods

2009-06-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

We ran out of syrup last week, which is a travesty since we have a freezer full of waffles just begging to be consumed. I've been waiting for a sale at Meijer so that I can use a Meijer Organics cat I received recently but decided to just go ahead and bite the bullet for a big ol' bottle at Whole Foods. It was just under a third of my total bill which is crazy talk. However, I averaged about $2 per item, which is really good at Whole Foods. Another way to look at it... I basically paid full price for the syrup, the cheese and the salad dressing, and got the rest for free.
(1) baguette @ 1.39
16 oz. organic lentils @ 1.99
flour tortillas @ 2.59
organic chocolate milk @ 2.69, used 1.00/1
(2) Van's waffles @ 2.50, used 1.00/2
(4) Stonyfield Farm yogurt @ .67 each, used 1.00/4
(1) organic apricot fruit spread @ 2.00
.62 lb. dried cranberries @ 3.09
(1) Farmer's creamery organic milk @ 3.50
32 oz. organic maple syrup @ 19.99
(1) Earl's hummus @ 3.99
(6) Organic Valley cheese @ 3.50 each, used 2.00/2
(2) Lifeway Lassi drinkable yogurt @ 1.00 each, FREE after 1.00/1
(1) Blue Diamond Nut Thins crackers @ 2.00, used 1.00/1
(5) Annie's salad dressing @ 2.50 each, used 1.00/1
1.14 lb. local asparagus @ 2.27
.5 lb. organic raisins @ 1.50
(2) avocados @ 2.00 each
(1) Back to Nature mac and cheese @ 1.50, used 1.00/1

Got a .30 bag refund and used a $10/$50 Plum Market coupon.

Total after sales/before coupons: 96.17
Total after coupons: 67.87

Organic Produce Delivery: 23.00

A few freebies / cheapies this week

2009-06-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

Rite Aid (dealseekingmom has the full list--lots of goodies this week):

-has Stayfree pads BOGO-free. combine this sale with the BOGO manufacturer's Q from yesterday's paper for 2 free packs of pads.

-Wet ones wipes

total = $1.35 (will get $1 back in SCR)

Meijer:

-free Ronzoni--on sale for $1/box--use either 1/1 or 1/2 manufacturer's Q combined with 1/2 Mealbox Q for free Ronzoni (10/10 with 11th free sale)

-Brownberry bread is 1/2 off (?price)--and there's a mealbox Q to go with it

-Old Orchard Healthy Balance Juice is on sale for 3/$5 (1.67 ea) use the $0.50/1 or $1/2 Q from recent papers stacked with $0.50/1 mealbox Q for cheap juice

Target:

-use the Target Q for Dawn/Magic Eraser ($0.50 off) + mfr Q for Dawn Pure Essentials ($1.50 off) to get the Dawn Pure Essentials (no dyes, hypoallergenic) dish soap for $0.49 (orig price $2.49--do this anytime before the Qs expire--the Dawn is not on sale or anything). this is a big bottle.

-I combined a $1 off Bandaids Target CRT with a $1.00 Bandaid mfr Q for $0.21 overage on some kid's bandaids as well (again, not on sale)

Kroger:

-cascadian farms cereal is on sale for $2.99--use the peelies on the boxes for $1.00 off each box. The peelies also have Qs for Horizon milks and other Cascadian products

-Horizon milk singles are $1.00--use Qs to get a decent deal on these (we use these for travel only--they're nice b/c they don't require refrigeration)

Holy carbohydrates, Batman!

2009-06-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. That's a lot of bread and pasta. But this is the whole point of stockpiling... this pasta will last for months, and I'm planning to freeze the bread.

The hummus-eating baby was not part of the transaction but when I asked her to sit somewhere else for a moment while I took the picture she said no.

Bananas @ .77
Grapes @ 2.10
Onions @ 1.67
(2) Tomatoes @ 2.00, used 1.00/2 to get them for 1.50 each
(3) Aunt Millie's bread @ .75 each
(2) Aunt Millie's hearth bread @ 2.00 each, used .50/1 peelies to get each for 1.00
(1) Ritz crackers @ 1.75, used Get Free Wheat Thins WYB Ritz coupon to get Wheat Thins free
(20) Mueller's pasta @ .67, used 1.00/2 coupons to get each box for .17
(1) Hefty trash bags @ 3.67, used 1.00/1
(2) Skippy natural PB, used .40/1 AND got a 1.00 OYNO catalina
(6) Quilted Northern @ 2.50, used 1.00/1 Mealbox coupon
(5) Kraft cheese @ 2.00 each, used two 1.00/1 printables, and got a 4.00 OYNO cat
(1) Small Steps TP clearanced to 1.61, used 1.00/1

I also paid with a 4.00 cat and a .50 cat.

Total spent: 35.09
Total saved: 93.51

Philanthro-free item of the week

2009-06-25T07:51:00.000-07:00

If you attend the Ann Arbor Vineyard, one of the items on the Single Moms donation list is toilet paper. Is anyone up for the challenge of flooding the donation box with Quilted Northern from Meijer on Sunday? If you are so inclined, why not round up $1.50 (change jar? bottom of your purse? couch cushions? under the floor mats in your car?), print a coupon here and buy 6 double rolls to bless a single mom.

If you don't attend the A2V, consider contacting organizations in your area to see if they are accepting these types of donations. A small investment on our part can make a huge difference for someone else.

If you do this will you please leave a comment or email me to let me know?

Whole Foods

2009-06-23T18:48:00.000-07:00

(5) Nature's Path frozen waffles @ 2.50, used 1.00/1 from Go Organic booklet at Kroger
(2) Van's waffles minis (my kids love these) @ 2.50 each, used 1.00/2 from last quarter's Whole Deal
(1) Annie's cheddar bunnies crackers @ 2.33, used .75/1 printable
(1) Annie's cereal @ 2.24
(1) YoKids yogurt @ 3.00, used .75/1 printable
(2) Organic Valley milk singles @ .99, FREE after 1.00/1
(5) Back to Nature mac and cheese @ 1.50, used 1.00/1 Whole Deal
(1) Earl's Hummus @ 3.99
1.4 lb. locally grown asparagus @ 2.79
.98 lb. raisins @ 1.95
(2) organic refried beans @ .99 each
(4) organic green beans @ 1.00 each
(2) Wild Oats fruit spread @ 2.00 each
(2) avocados @ 2.00 each
(3) Clif Zbars @ .69 each, used 1.00/3
(1) Quail Creek Merlot @ 4.99

I also used a $5/$25 Plum Market coupon, and received a .20 bag refund.

Total after sales, before coupons: 64.42
Total spent: 42.92

Meijer, Round One.

2009-06-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

(6) Quilted Northern 6-double rolls @ 2.50 each, used 1.00/1 Mealbox coupons
(2) Alouette cheese spread @ 2.24 each
1.6 lbs. bananas @ .63
(5) Kraft shredded cheese @ 2.00 each, used 1.00/1 printable
(2) Cascadian Farms organic granola bars clearanced to 1.79, used 1.00/1 coupons

I also used my 4.00 oyno cat and one of my .50 oyno cats, and received another 4.00 oyno for the cheese.

Total spent: 21.73
Total saved: 46.44

Cheap TP at Meijer

2009-06-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

Guys, this is a HOT deal on toilet paper since the free Cottonelle at Kroger is no more. Quilted Northern 6-double roll packs are on sale for 2.50, normally like four-something. But wait... there's more. Go to Meijer Mealbox to print a 1.00/1 coupon, which will make it just 1.50 for six big rolls of TP! That's just .25 per roll, and they're twice the size of regular rolls which makes this an awesome buy.

You can print as many coupons as you want, and purchase as many as you want per transaction. If your Meijer is out of stock make sure to get a rain check.

CVS is my friend once again.

2009-06-21T15:56:00.000-07:00

I got a $5/$30 emailed to me last week but was having a hard time coming up with $30 worth of stuff to get... until I realized I had a CRT for $3 off any Almay cosmetic product. Since the Pure Blends foundation and powder are 13.99 this week and generating 10 ECBs I was able to pair the CRT with a 1.00/1 Almay coupon (expired today) to get the powder for free. Plus it got my total up high enough to use the $5/$30. JACKPOT.

Transaction #1-
(1) 12-roll pack Earth Essentials toilet paper @ 5.00
(1) Almay Pure Blends powder @ 13.99, used 3.00/1 CRT and 1.00/1 coupon
(12) Soyjoy Bars @ 1.00 each, used 2.00/10 coupon

Used $5/$30, paid with 15.99 ECBs, paid 4.00 out of pocket and got back 22 ECBs.

Transaction #2-
(8) Soyjoy bars, used four BOGO coupons
(2) Pampers wipes @ 3.49 each

Paid with 10 ECBs, paid .98 oop and got back 8 ECBs.

So even though I paid 4.98 out of pocket total I made an additional 4.00 back in ECBs, so basically I'm only out 98 cents for all of this. Huzzah!

Meijer and Kroger

2009-06-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

I combined all my groceries from both stores here for simplicity's sake but will list good deals by store.
Meijer:
Kraft cheese is on sale; there is a catalina promo going on- buy 3 get 2.00 off your next order, buy 4 get 3.00 or buy 5 and get 4.00. There are coupons for the string cheese at Meijer Mealbox and a printable for 1.00/1 any 2% here. (Hit the back button on your browser after the first one prints to print another one.)

Morningstar Farms items are 2.75. Print a 1.00/1 for burgers here. You should also get a catalina for .75/2 products for each one you buy.

Land O'Lakes spreadable butter is 1.25; I bought .55/1 coupons a couple of weeks ago so paid .70 each, plus got .50 OYNO catalinas for every two I purchased.

Organic strawberries are 2.00 each.

Organic grape tomatoes are 2.00 each.

Organic yogurt is .60 each; I used 1.00/4 catalina.

Organic milk is 2.50; I used a 1.25/1 catalina.

Kroger:
McCormick Grillmates are FREE after .50/1 from a recent paper.

Red, yellow and orange peppers are 1.00 each. (I bought six and will cut and freeze a few)

Duncan Hines Carrot Cake and frosting are each 1.00; use 1.00 WYB cake mix and frosting to get each for .50.

Broccoli is 1.00 each.

Total spent at both trips: 52.13
Total saved: 55.57

$8 Moneymaker at CVS!

2009-06-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

Check out this post at Money Saving Mom. It worked for me this morning at CVS on Main.

The Ann Arbor stores don't have any more of the .99 packs, but the one on Industrial does have packs that are $4, which would still make you a couple of bucks. If your store doesn't have these, check for the brand "Sun Covers"... they are reportedly working also.

Door to Door Organics to the rescue

2009-06-16T08:08:00.000-07:00

I was just fretting about the fact that the husband will be going out of town today and I probably won't have time to make it to the store before he gets back on Thursday what with another sick kid on my hands. Lo and behold, on my front porch this morning... my glorious DTD Organics delivery.

This is why we stockpile... here's the plan for dinners using pantry/freezer items and these veggies:

Night One: Pasta w/ sauteed mushrooms, organic canned tomatoes and parmesan

Night Two: Cheesy spinach burritos and roasted sweet potatoes

Night Three: Frozen Kashi pizza, Green salad w/ cucumber, pears and avocado

Breakfasts will consist of various combinations of cereal and frozen waffles and bananas and blackberries and yogurt.

Lunches will be leftovers, mac and cheese and possibly an occasional grilled cheese sandwich.

Then, come Thursday night, I plan to high-tail it to Meijer, Kroger and WF to hit the deals. I'm planning to put together the plan later today and will keep y'all posted.

Total for my produce (and a small price to pay for not having to drag a sick kid through Whole Foods): 23.00

Free Organic Valley milk singles at Whole Foods...

2009-06-11T18:53:00.001-07:00

...if you got the 1.00/1 coupon in the paper a couple weeks ago.

They are on sale for .99 this week which makes them free after coupon.

Also good deals at Whole Foods...

Nature's Path frozen waffles are 1.50 each after 1.00/1 in last quarter's Whole Deal.

Back to Nature mac and cheese is .50 after 1.00/1 Whole Deal coupon.

Stonyfield Farm yogurt is 4/$3. Use the 1.00/4 in Go Organic booklet from Kroger to get them for .50 each.

Wild Oats organic fruit spread is 2.00, which isn't awesome but definitely the cheapest I've found in awhile.

Annie's cereal is 2.24 a box, which is more than 50% off the shelf price.

Westbrae Organic canned green beans are 2/1.99 (50% off).

Annie's bunny crackers are 3/$7, and you can print a coupon for .75/1 here to get a box for 1.58 which is just ridiculously cheap. (Thanks to Coupon Cravings for posting that link!)

Also, Umcka is on sale. I stocked up on that and on Oscillococcinum (which wasn't on sale, but there were coupons) since we're dealing with a compromised immune system over here (flu AGAIN, folks).

Total for 31 items after sales but before coupons: 70.95
Total spent: 59.95

30.06 of my total was medicine. Sigh.

Good deals this week

2009-06-10T05:06:00.000-07:00

Kroger--
Santa Cruz lemonade (including mango lemonade and strawberry lemonade) is 4/$5. Use the .75/1 from the Go Organic booklet (found at Kroger in the natural foods section) to get them for .50 each.

Kashi frozen meals are 3.00. There are Kashi coupon booklets out and peelies on cereal boxes for 1.00/any frozen Kashi item, making these $2 apiece.

Hiller's--
Aunt Millie's bread is .88! Use the .35/1 from a few weeks ago to get it for 18 cents.

Various Kashi cereal is on sale for 2.50 and there are many Kashi cereal coupons out that would make this a good deal.

Target--
Seventh Generation products are 10% off, which isn't super great, but there are printable coupons available as well as 1.00/2 coupons in the Go Organic booklet found at Kroger which could mean cheap dish soap if nothing else.

A lot of other green cleaning products are on sale this week, including Method and Greenworks.

It hurts me to do this. But not as much as it hurts the pigs. Still, now you know how much I love you.

2009-05-29T10:43:00.000-07:00

I found a tearpad at Kroger today for $3.00 off of any fresh pork purchase. I may or may not have taken the entire tearpad. The coupons expire on Sunday. If you live close to me or go to my church and would like a couple let me know and I'll arrange to get them to you so you can get some free/cheap pork for your freezer.

CVS and Kroger Deals

2009-05-29T07:26:00.000-07:00

At CVS, all Vickery & Clark products have been marked down. The lip balm is now priced at $1.73. Use a $1 coupon from the last ReInventing Beauty magazine and get some great lip balm for 73cents! You can go here to check out all the marked down prices.

Kroger is running a good deal on diapers this week. Buy any 2 packages at $8.99 each and receive $3 instantly at the register (when you purchase at least $15). Use 2 $3 Huggies MFC's from here and get each package for under $5. Not a bad deal, especially since CVS has been lacking in diaper deals.

Lastly, in the produce department, Kroger has single serve packets of Marzetti's dressing for $0.33. Use a $0.55 coupon and get 22cents overage. The most recent Marzetti's coupons have no specific size on them and do not beep when scanned. I know there are $1 coupons too, but I didn't try those last night.

Watch out for clearance Starbucks chocolate! It was on clearance at my Kroger for $1.09 -$1MFC (they even restocked our Starbucks Chocolate MFC tear pad to-boot!) and Lindt chocolate bar clearance to $1.60-$1/2MFC in a recent paper makes for a cheap basket filler!

Can you tell I just figured out how to post images..... watch out!! :)

Good deal on olive oil at Meijer

2009-05-27T04:48:00.000-07:00

Filippo Berio olive oil is 30% off this week and there are 1.00/1 hangtags on the bottles. Make sure you do the math to see which size will be the best deal-- when using coupons often times it will be the smallest bottle. I got (4) 8.5 oz bottles of Extra Virgin for under $2 each, which is over 50% off.

CVS memorial day freebies

2009-05-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

lots of freebies Sunday and Monday only--happily, CVS sent me a 4/20 Q in my email so I have my scenario planned out -- i intend to buy the limit of each of the freebies (I will not reinvent the wheel but check out iheartcvs.com for the list or melissa's bargain blog for transaction scenarios)-totalling $24.93 use a 4/20 from my email and $6 worth of mfQs for a total of $14.93 + tax--I will put this on a gift card and get back $19.98 in ECBs. cool.

meijer's got some nice deals with coupon match-ups this week too--I'll post what I see later (everyone's sleeping, so I should be too, but I had waaay too much caffeine today, so I'm up pumping a cafe au lait for my babe).

CVS makes a small comeback!

2009-05-21T07:11:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone! This is Jill, I'll be helping out around here while Cassie is fixing her computer. I'm a fellow coupon-a-holic and have been known to drive over 30 minutes to get free noodle packets. Crazy? A little :) Never-the-less, I'm always on the hunt for a good deal....even on vacation!

Last night I stopped off at CVS to grab some cheap cereal. Select Kelloggs cereal is on sale 3/$5 and combined with any one of the many $1/1 coupons out there makes each box $0.67. My awesome cashier let me do the deal twice so I got 6 boxes of cereal for $4.
The choices include: Rice Krispies, Raisin Bran, Fruit Loops, and Apple Jacks. Not the healthiest choices, but they make great donations and wonderful classroom snacks! Or, vacation breakfast!

Sorry there is no photo. I'm trying to work on that :)

HFCS-free vs FREE...FREE won today

2009-05-20T20:28:00.000-07:00

Helping pinch hitting for Cassie and hoping all the computer issues get fixed QUICKLY!

Kroger: 2 BBQ at $1 each--used 2x$1 off printables to get for FREE

1 sour cream @ $1

total OOP = $1

Meijer--spent $41 on the goodies above (saved $57--$25 in coupon savings):

-bananas @ 1.47

-zucchinis @0.60 (to make cassie's crockpot lasanga!)

-ricotta @2.79

-skippy natural pb @2.84--my stash ran out :(--use $0.40 mfQ doubled = $2.04, ugh, it pains me to pay this much for pb

-EB eggs dozen @ 3.19--used $0.50 mfQ doubled = $2.19

-organic mushrooms @2.00

-Rosetto frozen cheese ravioli @ 0.53 (just realized this, holy cow--they must be clearanced or something)

-Sweet baby Rays: BBQ sauce, dipping sauce and sandwich spread at $0.99 each FREE after $1.00 off mfQs on each from this past weekend

-3 Kraft dressing @ 1.59 each FREE with overage after $1.50/1 mfQ from paper +$1/1 mealbox Q + $1/1 printable mfQ + free ranch catalina from sometime in the past

-2 Kraft cheese-ish type food product that aren't really cheese but make yummy quick grilled cheese sammies on sale for half off--$1.94 each used $1/2 mealbox Q and $1/2 printable mfQ = $0.94 each

-2boxes Quaker Delights granola bars @2.29 each used 2x$1/1 mfQs = $1.29 each

-1 Oatmeal/fiber bar @2.29 used $1/1 mfQ = $1.29 each

-1 Nature's Source natural all-purpose cleaner @2.61--used $1/1 mfQ from paper = $1.61

-3xRagu @1.50 each--used 2 mfQs (can't remember what value, sorry)

-2x Aunt Millies @ 2.00 each--used 2x $0.35/1 doubled = $1.30 each--paid too much i realize--grabbed wrong bread--something cheaper is on sale--not sure if it's whole grain though--the stuff I bought is

-1xFull Circle recycled Biodegradable kitchen trash bags 70count @4.69 on sale

-2x Green Giant Steamers at $1 each--used $0.50 mfQ to get these FREE (got 6 bags total this week. thanks, hubby!)

-2x some teriyaki noodle sidedish thing from Knorr--@$1 each and used $0.75/2 = $0.63 a piece

-2xMcCormick grillmates @1.67 each--used 2x $0.50/1 doubled to get these for $0.67 each

-4 cereal at 4/$9--used $1.50/3 to get each for $1.87--not the best deal, but it also gave 4 Yoplaits yogurts FREE

-1 Breyers ice cream @2.50--used $0.75/1 mfQ = $1.75

Thanks, Jill, for your help getting these freebies lined up.

also, I can't find the Meijer Naturals laundry Detergent anywhere at my store, but they are remodeling and everything's all wonky--anyone know if this got discontinued or something? also, did they do away with the bag credit? i haven't gotten a bag credit in at least 6 months--I always forget to ask.

The horror.

2009-05-20T09:38:00.001-07:00

My hard drive crashed, dudes. I won't be blogging much for the next few days until it gets replaced but I'm working on getting some other folks to keep things updated in my absence.

In the mean time please pray for my CVS spreadsheets, that they may be resurrected. Oh, and the photos and videos of my kids too. Yeah.

Meijer: Free Kraft dressing, possibly with overage

2009-05-19T06:29:00.000-07:00

This week at Meijer Kraft 16 oz. salad dressing is on sale for 1.58. There were 1.50/1 coupons in a recent paper, or you can go here to print a 1.00/1 (you can do this twice). Then, go to Mealbox to print two more 1.00/1 (make sure it's for the 16 oz. size). You can use two coupons per item to get the dressing free, with a possible .42 overage per dressing.

Door to Door Organics

2009-05-13T18:35:00.000-07:00

Lots of good stuff this week, and someone couldn't wait to try those apples.

Total: 23.00

Free Kraft mayo at Meijer

2009-05-13T18:14:00.001-07:00

Have you checked out Meijer Mealbox? If not you definitely should. Printable coupons are offered there which can be combined with manufacturer's coupons. This week Kraft mayo is free after using either the 1.00/1 printable or the 1.00/1 q from a recent paper AND the 1.00/1 Mealbox q. Some other finds:

Bananas are .29/lb.

Strawberries are 1.34

Melita coffee filters are .99, use .50/1 Mealbox q to get each for .49

Aunt Millie's bread is 1.19; use .35/1 to get it for .49

Buy 2 Nabisco crackers @ 2.50 each, get 3 Kraft chunk cheese for 1.00 each. Limit one per transaction. There are various coupons that would make this a good deal; I used two 1.00/1 Ritz printables combined with two 1.00/1 Mealbox qs, plus a 1.00/2 Kraft cheese q to get the Ritz for .50 each and the cheese for 2.00 total.

Mott's apple juice is 2.19. Use 1.00/2 Mealbox q to get them for 1.69 each.

Mt. Olive pickles are 3/$5. Use 1.00/2 Mealbox q to get two for 2.34

I had a .50/1 coupon for the Mojo bar which made it .09 and I used my BOGO coupon on the Wheat Thin Artisan crackers to get two boxes for 2.50.

Total spent: 18.09
Total saved: 37.64

Oh Target, you never disappoint.

2009-05-11T17:56:00.001-07:00

(2) Dannon drinkable yogurts @ 2.00 each, used 1.00/1 from Sunday's paper to get each for 1.00
(2) Vitamin Water @ 1.00 each, used 1.00/1 from a recent paper to get them both FREE
(3) Banana Boat sunscreen @ .99 each (found in travel section), used 1.00/1 from 5/3 to get them FREE (saw this at Coupon Cravings)

Paid the balance on a gift card, spent nothing out of pocket.

I am a Whole Foods dork.

2009-05-11T17:21:00.000-07:00

I totally went to Whole Foods twice today. TWICE. In my defense it is less than two miles away but still. We are probably dying from swine flu over here and I'm concerned about getting as much free Lassi, Thai Kitchen noodles and cheap Terra chips as I can before the sales turn over on Wednesday. But ALSO I really did need some medicine so the overage and bag refunds were a good way to get it discounted.

Missing from this picture is a half gallon of Organic Valley milk, a Lifeway Lassi and a box of mac and cheese. Because I forgot. Give me a break, I'm siiiiiick.

(6) Terra Kettle Chips @ 1.67, used 1.00/1 to get them for .67 each
(3) Thai Kitchen noodles @ .67, used .75/1 to get them for FREE plus .24 overage
(1) Back to Nature mac and cheese @ 1.25, used .70/1 to get it for .55
(1) Clif Zbar 6-pack @ 3.39
(1) Earl's hummus @ 3.99
(1) half gallon Organic Valley milk @ 3.78 (bought 2 quarts @ 2.39, used 1.00/2 Organic Valley coupon)
(3) Lifeway Lassi @ 1.00, FREE after 1.00/1
(1) refried beans @ .99
(1) Umcka cold care @ 9.74 (homeopathic medicine; best stuff EVER for a head cold.)
(1) NatraBio kids @ 8.39 (also homeopathic, for the kiddos... haven't tried it yet but I'll let you know how it goes.)
(1) Matt's cookies @ 3.00
(4) Emergen-C kids packets @ .59 each
(3) Clif Zbars @ .69 each, used 1.00/3 to get each for about .36
whole wheat pitas @ 2.59

Total spent: 45.61

Just over $20 of that was medicine which kind of throws things off this week, but it is what it is.

Kraft Coupons

2009-05-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

As my friend Mary says, you can only eat so much Kraft. But when the coupons are this good, you just gotta take a second look. A lot of these coupons could mean free or close to free products in the coming month. Here's an example for this week at Meijer:

(2) Ritz crackers @ 2.50 each, use (2) 1.00/1 printables, and (2) 1.00/1 from Meijer Mealbox
(3) Kraft brick cheese (rBGH-free!) @ 1.00 each when you buy 2 Nabisco crackers, use 1.00/2 printable
You'll pay just $3 for two boxes of Ritz and three Kraft chunk cheese bricks.

Print these coupons before they're gone!

Terra Kettle chips- 67 cents at Whole Foods!

2009-05-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

Terra Kettle Chips are on sale, 3/$5 at Whole Foods. There was a coupon for 1.00/1 in the 5/3 paper, making them .67 each.

Green Painting on the Cheap

2009-05-09T19:19:00.001-07:00

I went to Benjamin Moore on Stadium to pick up paint for Iris's room (who paints their house when it's on the market? Crazy people, that's who.) and this Eco Spec paint was on clearance for five dollars a gallon. It retails for over fifty bucks normally! Eco Spec is low-odor and low-VOC which means it's better for the environment.

I'm not sure if this paint is clearanced at all Benjamin Moore locations or just here, but if you have painting to do give 'em a ring and see what's up.

CVS moneymaker next week. FINALLY.

2009-05-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

If you've been clipping coupons for some time but haven't yet started at CVS, next week would be a great time to start.

Starting Sunday, Bayer Contour meters are 14.99 and generate 5 ECBs. There were 30.00/1 coupons for the meters in 10/26/08, 2/1/09 and 3/22/09 paper inserts. The coupon will adjust down, making the monitor free and you'll get back 5 ECBs for tax. You can do this deal twice.

If you don't have the coupons you can purchase them from The Coupon Clippers. They cost a dollar each with a $3 minimum order (plus shipping/handling fees) and should get to you sometime next week. If your CVS is out of meters by the time you get the coupons you can always get a rain check and go in later on. Even after spending just over three bucks for the coupons you're still going to walk away with 10 ECBs which is about a six dollar profit.

Thanks to I Heart CVS for the ad scan and heads-up.

Great deal on Crocs for the ladies

2009-05-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

Crocs is running a Mother's Day special on select women's and girl's shoes, buy two or more and get half off. (Essentially BOGO if you buy two.) I scored two pairs of Mary Janes for Iris for less than $20 shipped. Use code TRYCROCS08 to get free standard shipping.

Target is getting cooler than CVS.

2009-05-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

Check out this moneymaker at Target:
These soy candles by Glade are 5.79 each. When you buy 2 you get a 5.00 Target gift card. There were 4.00/1 coupons in Sunday's paper. So...

Buy 2 @ 5.79 = 11.58 + tax
Use (2) 4.00/1 coupons = 3.58 + tax
Get back a $5 gift card.

I used the gift card I scored from the Special K promo last week, so got these candles for nada and got another $5 gift card back.

Meijer

2009-05-05T19:30:00.001-07:00

(1) baking soda @ 2.19
(1) multigrain sandwich wraps @ 3.99
(6) Barilla pasta @ .88 each, used 1.00/3 Mealbox coupons
(1) Aunt Millie's bread @ 1.50, used .35/1 from 4/26 to get it for .80
(2) Tropicana @ 2.50, used 1.00/2 from 5/3 to get each for 2.00
(2) organic McCormick oregano @ 3.05, used .75/1 and 1.00/1 from recent papers, and also used 1.00/2 Mealbox coupon to get each for about 1.68.
(3) Pam olive oil cooking spray @ 2.00, used (3) .35/1 and 1.00/3 Mealbox q to get them for about 1.08 each.
(2) Cottonelle 6 double rolls @ 3.00, used .50/1 printables to get each for 2.00

Total spent: 25.12
Total saved: 28.52

Whole Foods and DTD Organics

2009-05-05T18:59:00.000-07:00

I talk a lot of trash about not going back to Whole Foods but the truth is I just can't stay away. I got a super awesome cashier today who was able to push my duplicate coupons through with no problems and I was even able to give her a mini coupon lesson when she commented on my savings. The kids got stickers and a fun time was had by all.

(1) Farmer's Creamery organic grass-fed milk @ 3.99
(2) Terra chips @ 2/$5, used 1.00/1 from Sunday's paper to get each for 1.50
(1) Half and half @ 1.49
(2) Lifeway Lassi @ 1.00, used 1.00/1 from WD to get the both FREE
(2) Thai Kitchen instant noodles @ .67, used .75/1 to get the FREE plus .16 overage
(2) organic oranges @ .99/lb
cherry tomatoes @ 3.00
(1) organic pinto beans @ .99
(1) Earl's hummus @ 3.00
(2) Matt's cookies @ 3.00
(1) BTN mac and cheese @ 1.25, used .70/1 in WD to get it for .55
(3) Clif Zbars @ .69 each, used 1.00/3 from Go Organic booklet to get all 3 for 1.07

Total spent: 23.75

And my beautiful organic produce from Door To Door Organics:

Total: 23.00

Also, I bought newspapers on Sunday. Total was 3.50.

Free reusable bag at Kroger

2009-05-05T06:14:00.000-07:00

Kroger wants you to design a reusable shopping bag. For submitting a design, a .99 credit will be issued to your Kroger card for a free reusable shopping bag. Simply pick up a bag for .99, scan your card and it's free. You must redeem it within 30 days.

I designed my bag and it was fun. It felt a little Scrapblog-ish.

Nope. Still no life.

2009-05-02T17:52:00.000-07:00

I couldn't possibly be less efficient if I tried. I don't know how many trips I've made to various stores this week but really, it's kind of sad. Thankfully they're all within a few (2-3) miles of my house so it's not like I have to go very far but still. Inefficient.

I went to Meijer to get cheap pasta but I never would have gone had I realized that the only ones included in the sale were macaroni noodles and spaghetti. Boring. Total for this was 2.00.

Went back to Whole Foods to make some money towards an organic seedless personal watermelon for Ocean. He has been eyeing watermelons for the last week and I wanted to treat him. Used my .18 overage (.10 bag refund and .08 from the Thai Kitchen) towards the 3.99 (!) watermelon, so I ended up paying 3.81 for this.

Decided to go to Rite Aid after perusing the ad for the week. I had picked up a rebate form for Organix shampoo a few weeks ago and I'm glad I held onto it. Organix was BOGO free this week at Rite Aid. So after rebate both will be free. I also found this new organic/sulfate-free/paraben-free conditioner by Samy, also free after rebate. I already put the forms in the mail with my receipts (the key to rebates is sending them in right away so you don't forget about them) so once I get those checks in the mail in 6-10 weeks I will have ended up paying just .90 tax for these.

Total: 6.71

Do I have a life? Absolutely not.

2009-05-01T18:12:00.001-07:00

...but I have cereal.

I spent the better part of my Friday going back to Whole Foods as well as making a Kroger and Target trip.
Whole Foods was basically a smaller version of my earlier transaction with a cheese stick thrown in for good measure:

(1) Lifeway Lassi- FREE
(3) Clif Zbars- 1.07
(1) BTN mac and cheese- .55
(1) OV string cheese- .24 after .75/1 peelie (on string cheese packages)
(1) Thai Kitchen instant noodles- FREE plus profit of .08
.10 bag refund
Total spent: 1.68
These sales go through Tuesday.

Kroger:

Barbara's cereal is BOGO free. There are 1.00/1 coupons in those Go Organic coupon booklets in the natural foods section. My friend Jill hooked me up with three of them last night and I found a bunch more today at the Kroger on Industrial. (Maple Rd. doesn't have them.) Anyhoo, I used two coupons. This sale goes through Sunday.
Total spent: 2.79

Target:

I learned about this deal from Carrie at Shoplifting With Permission. Go here to see how it works. Target has Special K on sale for 2.39. When you buy 5 Special K products you get a $5 Target gift card. I was able to print four Special K coupons (Money Saving Mom has the links here) to bring the cereal cost down to 1.39 a box. Then I paid with a $5 Target gift card that has been collecting dust in my wallet.
Total spent: 2.95, and I got another $5 gift card.
This sale goes through tomorrow (Saturday).

Whole Foods... oy.

2009-05-01T11:35:00.000-07:00

There are some very good deals this week at Whole Foods, with one major annoyance. It seems that the registers are programmed to only accept one like coupon per transaction; subsequent coupons beep and need manager approval. So my couponer's high was cut short by having to explain coupon wording to my cashier, and then to the manager. Sigh. I think I'll be calling customer service to see if they plan to fix this anytime soon, otherwise I'll really be limiting my shopping there from now on. I really don't want to have to do multiple transactions with a cashier... that's why the good Lord invented U-Scans after all.

Anyway, here's the loot:

(12) Back To Nature mac and cheese @ 1.25 each. Used (8) .70/1 coupons from Whole Deal, got a 10% case discount (so that makes each box about 66 cents. (I could have used 12 coupons to get them even cheaper but I would have been there all damn day.)
(5) Lifeway Lassi drinkable yogurt @ 1.00 each, used 1.00/1 from WD to get them FREE
(1) Stacy's pita chips @ 2.00, used 1.00/1 from All You magazine to get it for 1.00
(2) Matt's cookies @ 3.00 each
(3) Annie's spaghettios @ 1.67 each
(1) strawberries @ 2.50
(3) avocados @ 1.00 each
(1) Thai Kitchen instant noodles @ .67, used .75/1 from WD- FREE plus I made .08
(3) Clif Zbars @ .69, used 1.00/3 from Go Organic booklet found at Kroger in natural section (Thank you Jill!)

I also got a .20 bag refund.

Total: 26.20

Kroger

2009-04-29T06:57:00.001-07:00

The biggest find this week: Kashi frozen pizzas are 3.99 (normally over $7 each!) and there are 1.00/1 peelie coupons on Kashi cereal boxes, making them 2.99 apiece. Wowzers!

Thomas bagels are BOGO.

CPK Flatbread Melts (like a pizza sandwich I guess) are 2.99 each and there were 1.00/1 blinkies making them 1.99.

Luna bars and Clif bars are 1.00; I used coupons from my Mambo Sprouts booklet to get the Luna and Zbars for free, and the Clif Bars for .50 each.

Stayfree and OB Tampons are 1.50 after coupons from Sunday's paper. I bought 2 pads and 3 tampons for a total of 7.50 + tax, but I have so many feminine products in my stockpile that I plan to donate these to our church's Single Moms Ministry, as well as the Suave deodorant that was .25 after .75/1 coupon.

Not pictured was a Burt's Bees hand sanitizer for 4.99 because I just ran out and hey, Swine Flu.

Total spent: 35.72
Total saved: 43.76

Free Thai Kitchen instant noodles @ Whole Foods

2009-04-29T06:53:00.000-07:00

This week (Wednesday through Tuesday) Thai Kitchen instant noodles are 3/$2.00 (.67 each). There is a .75/1 coupon in the Whole Deal flyer, making these free! I like to keep these on hand for a quick lunch.

CVS

2009-04-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

(2) Tylenol Extra Strength @ 8.00 each and
(2) Band Aids @ 3.59 each, used 3.00/2 and 1.00/1, earned 10 ECBs
(1) Garnier shampoo @ 2.99, used 1.00/1, earned 2 ECBs
(2) Crest @ 1.99, used 1.00/1, earned back 1 ECB each
(1) Detroit Free Press @ 1.75

I also used a 2.50 off any $10 pain reliever purchase CRT coupon, and a $5/$30 that was emailed to me.

Paid with 8.38 ECBs, paid 8.88 OOP, earned back 14 ECBs.

Total saved: 32.56

K-Mart Super Doubles run

2009-04-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

It completely slipped my mind that K-Mart was running a $2 Super Double week. I grabbed my binder and headed over this afternoon. I ended up making a second trip with the baby tonight but she flipped out because it was too close to her bedtime and it started torrential downpouring and I had no umbrella and therefore I ended up paying way too much for toothbrushes because in my hurry I grabbed the wrong ones by mistake. *Sigh.* Oh well.

Transaction #1:
(1) Colgate @ 3.29, used 1.50/1 from All You
(1) Crest @ 2.79, used 1.00/1
(2) Sensodyne travel sized toothpaste @ 1.49 each, used .75/1 peelies
(3) Hefty One-Zip travel bags (7 per pack) @ 1.19 each, used .55/1
(2) Juicy Juice 8-packs @ 2.00 each, used 1.00/2 from All You
(1) Arm and Hammer concentrated cleaner @ 2.79, used 1.00/1

Total: 4.67

Transaction #2:
(2) Oral-B toothbrushes @ 3.69 each (grrrr), used 1.00/1
(2) Kotex Lightdays @ 1.29, used .75/1

Total: 3.79

Total spent: 8.46

come on over.

2009-04-25T16:01:00.000-07:00

I've gotten behind in my coupon clipping the last couple of weeks and decided to make myself do it on Sunday nights before the week gets away from me. Since I love accountability and company I'm extending a standing invitation to come to my house on Sunday nights at 8:00 to clip, trade and talk coupons and deals. If you're new or want to get started this would be a great time to come and see what this whole thing is all about. Just buy a Detroit Free Press and head on over after the kids are in bed. I'll provide snacks.

If you need my address or directions you can email me at cassiebrabbs at hotmail dot com.

Hope to see some of you tomorrow night!

march for babies

2009-04-23T12:13:00.000-07:00

This Sunday I'm walking in the March of Dimes March For Babies on Nora and Ryan's team. Nora and Ryan are the adorable twins of Jessica, co-author and CVS superstar of this blog. I joined the team a month or so ago but because I'm the biggest procrastinator evah I'm just now posting it here.

I'm going to match donations up to a total of $200, so even if you can only give $5 it will really be like $10.

If you love babies, will you consider making a donation to our team? And if you don't love babies, there's something wrong with you. Seriously. But as a former baby, please consider giving anyway.

Thank you, friends.

Happy Earth Day, Green Machines.

2009-04-22T21:06:00.000-07:00

You know, Earth Day pretty much passed me right by without a second thought. But then again, here at Envirosavings, every day is Earth Day. (Did you like how I distracted you from my absent-mindedness with self-importance? Nice.) The very exciting thing about an official day for our planet is that there are lots of sales this week on the kinds of products we love: healthy, clean and green.

I have a gazillion pictures to put up, so let's get started with CVS:

(4) newspapers @ 1.75 each
(1) Edge shaving cream @ 2.89
(1) Oral-B floss @ 2.88

Used 10.98 ECB, paid 1.79 OOP, earned back 4.89 ECBs

I also did a deal at Rite-Aid:

(1) Huggies diapers @ 8.99, used 1.50/1 from Sunday's paper
Will get $3 back from Single Check Rebate
Total after rebate: 5.03

Kroger

2009-04-22T19:38:00.001-07:00

Have I told you lately that I love... Kroger?

(4) 4-packs of Angel Soft TP @ 1.00, used .50/1 from this week's paper to get them FREE
(2) 7th Gen paper towels @ 1.99, used 1.75/2 catalina
(1) SF Farms YoBaby organic yogurt @ 4.39, used 1.50/1 catalina that was about to expire
(1) McCormick Grillmaster spices @ 1.00, used .50/1 from this weeks paper to get it FREE
(10) Bird's Eye Steamfresh frozen veggies @ 1.00, used .35/1 to get each for .30
(1) Kroger sour cream @ 1.00
Zucchini @ .59
Tomatoes @ 1.01
Baby carrots @ 1.00

I got a .15 bag refund also.

Total spent: 11.93
Total saved: 32.85

Meijer

2009-04-22T19:17:00.001-07:00

I made two trips to Meijer this week. One on Sunday to make sure I could get the Electrasol while it was still in stock and a second trip this evening.

(4) Electrasol @ 3.50 each, used 2.50/1 Qs from Sunday's paper
(2) Greenworks toilet cleaner @ 2.39 each, used 1.00/2. (You can also print this coupon.)
(2) Kashi crackers @ 3.19, used 1.00/1 peelies from Kashi cereal boxes and "$1 off $4 cracker purchase" catalina that I found in the cracker aisle.
(1) Frank's Red Hot sauce @ .99, FREE after .50/1
(1) Smuckers fruit spread @ 2.00, used .25/1
(1) Cascadian Farm fruit spread @ 3.49, used 1.00/1
(2) Morningstar Farms frozen crap @ 3.99, used .75/1 catalina that was about to expire
(1) organic maple syrup @ 6.79
(4) organic avocados @ 4.49
(4) Sargento cheese @ 1.84, used .50/2 coupons to get them for 1.34 each
(3) Mueller's pasta @ .66 each
(1) parmesan cheese @ 2.99, used 1.00/1
(2) rolls Small Steps recycled paper towels @ 2.00, used 1.00/1
(2) Yoplait kids yogurt @ 2.00, used .35/1 to get each for 1.30
(1) strawberries @ 1.34
(2) Betty Crocker boxed muffin mix @ 1.67, used .40/1 to get each for .87
(2) Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal @ 2.50, used 1.00/1 printable to get each for 1.50 (click my Coupons.com link on the left to print two coupons)
(1) Kashi U cereal @ 2.50, used 1.00/1 peelie on box to get it for 1.50
mini croissants from the bakery, clearanced to 1.97 ( I love easy breakfasts.)

I returned 2.10 worth of bottles and cans that have been sitting in our shed for months, and I also used my 1.00 OYNO cat from last week's Silk deal.

Total spent: 54.29
Total saved: 58.54

Meijer & Kroger. It's all about the vegetables, baby.

2009-04-16T19:46:00.000-07:00

First up was Meijer:

How is it possible that I'm out of beans? I usually wait until they go on sale for .44 a can at Kroger but it's been a while and my pantry was legumeless. They are .60 a can at Meijer this week.

Green Giant boxed veggies are part of the 10/$10, 11th free deal. Use .50/2 coupons or 1.00/3 coupons from Betty Crocker mailer.

Arnold Bread is 1.69, use 1.00/1 Meijer Mealbox coupon.

Palmolive Pure dish soap is 2.00. I had some 1.00/1 coupons from my awesome friend Jill, plus was able to stack a 1/00/3 Mealbox Q to get them for under .70 each.

Softsoap was .30 after .35/1 coupon. (Will donate this to our church's Single Moms ministry.)

International Delights coffee creamers are 1.50, use 1.00/2 to get them for a dollar each.

Danimals drinkable yogurts are 2.00, use Mealbox coupon to get them for 1.00.

Ragu is .65 after sale and .30/1 coupon.

Thomas mini bagels are 1.50 after sale and Mealbox coupon.

Silk soymilk is 2.50 after 1.00/2 Mealbox coupon, AND I received a 1.00 off your next order coupon for purchasing two.

Organic carrots and mushrooms as well as Aunt Millie's bread are also part of the 10/$10, 11th free deal.

Green peppers are 1.00/lb.

Bananas are .39/lb.

Total spent: 41.37
Total saved: 47.72

Then Kroger:

Bird's Eye Steamfresh veggies are 1.00, as are Green Giant boxed veggies. There are coupons out there for .35/1 Bird's Eye and .50/2 Green Giant. After the coupons double your veggies will be .30 and .50, respectively. Kroger (or mine, at least) has no limit on coupons that will double so I was able to get 10 of each. I ordered more coupons on Ebay which cost me under $3, and I got rainchecks so I can go back in the next couple of weeks to get more.

Garden of Eatin chips are 2.50, I used the 1.00/2 to get them for 2.00 each.

Select Knudsen organic juice is BOGO free and there are .75/1 coupons out there. (I didn't have any today). Remember that you can use 2 coupons on a BOGO free, so each juice would be just a dollar. (Blueberry Pomegranate is amazing by the way.)

Grapes are .88/lb.

Quaker Rice cake quakes are free after the 1.00/1 coupon from a recent paper.

I also found some pitas and organic vegetable soup on Manager's Special. (50% off!)

Total spent: 20.40
Total saved: 42.29

Whole Foods and produce delivery

2009-04-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

Whole Foods changes over their sales on Wednesday and I'm guessing the Brown Cow yogurt won't be on sale anymore beginning tomorrow. So I gathered up my remaining three coupons from last quarter's Whole Deal and made the trek. At 9:30pm. In the rain. (It's totally worth it for Brown Cow. Moo.)

(12) Brown Cow yogurt @ .75, used 1.00/4 to get them for .50 each
(1) Clif Zbar @ .69, used .50/1 to get it for .19
(3) Annie's bunny crackers @ 3/$7

I also got a 10% discount on the yogurt for buying a case.

Total: 12.29

We also got our produce delivery today. Man, I love Tuesdays.

Produce delivery total: 23.00

Just for fun, here's what I whipped up for supper using some of our lovely fruits and veggies:

Sweet potatoes in the crock pot- I peeled, diced and boiled the organic sweet potatoes for about 10 minutes. I mixed a can of low sodium cream of mushroom soup with 1/3 c. sour cream and 1/2 c. water, a little bit of Mrs. Dash and 2 c. of RBGH-free shredded colby-jack and added that to the cooked sweet potatoes. Put a little olive oil spray in the crock pot, set it on medium high and put the potato mixture in. Topped it with seasoned bread cubes and 3 Tbsp. of melted butter and let it cook for about 2 hours. Very delicious.
Sauteed the organic zucchini and squash in a little olive oil and seasoned with a dash of sea salt. I'm digging my cast iron skillet.
Not pictured- organic strawberries for dessert. They were gone before I could take a picture.

Okay. For real this time.

2009-04-14T08:02:00.000-07:00

I finally feel like I'm ready to pick this thing back up. I hope some of y'all are still out there! (Amy? Jill?)

Let's kick things off with CVS this week.

(1) Softsoap body wash @ 4.99, used 1.00/1, earned 4.49 ECBs
(1) Colgate sensitive toothpaste @ 3.99, used .75/1, earned 3.99 ECBs
(1) Hefty trash bags @ 5.99

Paid with 11 ECBs, 2.46 OOP, earned back 8.48 ECBs.

sabbatical

2009-03-23T18:43:00.000-07:00

So right now there's a lot going on. Jessica, a dear friend and the co-author of this blog, had her twins early and they are both having difficulties. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. It's been a rough few weeks all the way around and I'm finding that I just don't have time or energy to keep up with this blog right now. I'm hoping that I'll be up and going again at some point but I'm seriously lacking motivation to coupon, plan and shop when Jess and her family are going through this.

If I find any particularly good deals while I'm out, I'll post them on my personal blog so I hope you'll check in over there from time to time.

Thanks for following along for the last few months!

Back in business

2009-03-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

Last week I ~~had a nervous breakdown~~ took a much needed break but now I'm ~~heavily medicated~~ back so let's get on with the deals, shall we?

Meijer this week:

Burt's Bees buttermilk bath- clearanced to 4.79 from 15.99 (thanks, Jill!)
(1) dozen cage free eggs @ 3.19, used .50/1
(1) avocado @ .90 after promo
(4) Green Giant frozen spinach @ .90 each after promo
(2) Cascade rinse agent- FREE after free item coupons
(2) Palmolive pure dish soap @ 2.00, used 1.00/1 coupons (thanks, Jill!)
(1) organic carrots @ .90 after promo
(1) organic mushrooms @ .90 after promo
(1) organic string cheese @ 2.74 after sale, used 1.00/2 Meijer Organics coupon
(3) Aunt Millie's bread @ .90 after promo
(1) Dole salad @ .90 after promo
(1) French bread @ 1.39
(1) Freschetta frozen pizza @ 3.99, used 1.00/1
(2) Jack's salsa @ 3.99 (BOGO free)
(1) strawberries @ 1.67
(2) cheese @ 1.67
(1) Thomas bagels @ 2.50
(1) tortillas @ 3.50

I found a $3/$40 Meijer coupon at the park yesterday. It was a little muddy but I used it. Oh yes, I did.

Total before sales/coupons: 96.21
Total spent: 38.92

Whole Foods:

(1) awesome milk @ 3.99
(1) Corn poblano soup @ 3.99
(1) organic applesauce @ 2.69
(2) soy hot dogs @ 2.99, used 1.50/2
3 lbs. organic apples @ 2.99
Aura Cacia kids hand wash @ 5.99, used 1.00/1 (on product)
(2) organic juice @ 2.99, used 1.00/2
(2) Eden organic beans @ 1.39, used .75/1
(1) pint grape tomatoes (not pictured... oops) @ 1.99

I also used $5/$25 Plum Market coupon since Whole Foods will take competitors coupons. What's shocking and slightly nauseating is that this small amount of stuff would have cost me well over $50 at regular retail price.

Total before coupons but after sales: 37.68
Total after coupons and bag refund: 28.08

Produce delivery: $23

Taking a blogging break

2009-03-08T14:19:00.000-07:00

I'm taking this week off from blogging here. Too much going on to keep up with three blogs, two crazy kids and a partridge in a pear tree. I'll be back next week, and will continue to track my savings if I make it to the store... but we've pretty much been living off our stockpile for the last week anyway. I will miss your lovely faces, so please be sure to check back next week.

CVS this week

2009-03-02T06:56:00.000-08:00

I don't know why the only freebies at CVS lately have been weird energy drinks, but at least they're giving away Carnation Instant Breakfast this week too. I'll actually drink that.

I bought:
(1) Newspaper @ 1.75
(2) packs of eco-friendly compostable paper plates @ 2.50 each
(1) Carnation Instant breakfast @ 4.99

Paid with 10 ECBs, paid 1.74 out of pocket, got back 4.99 ECBs for the Carnation.

(PS: At my CVS the Carnation was located in the aisle with the supplements and bars and stuff, not in the grocery aisle.)

Rite Aid last week

2009-03-02T06:37:00.001-08:00

We had a birthday celebration this weekend and in all the chaos I forgot to post an update on my Rite-Aid run. They were out of SoyJoys. Boooo. But they did have Garnier and Kotex. So I spent:

3.99 on Garnier, used 1.00/1 coupon - 2.99
6.00 on (2) Kotex tampons, used (2) .75/1 - 4.50

Total: 8.09

Will get back 5.99 in Single Check Rebate.

Total: 2.10

I also forgot to add my two newspapers to my total, so I did that just now.

Meijer Ecostore Products

2009-03-02T06:26:00.001-08:00

This month, Meijer is coming out with a new line of green cleaning products from EcoStore USA. $5 Dinner Mom has the scoop on the launch as well as the link to a $1.00 coupon. In addition to a dollar off with the coupon, you will also receive a 2.00 catalina coupon with the purchase of any EcoStore product, good for any purchase at Meijer. Prices start at 4.39, so that's a pretty good deal.

Check out Bargain Briana for a review of the laundry detergent.

Thanks, Jill, for letting me know about this one!

Rite Aid

2009-02-26T20:09:00.001-08:00

I'm planning to try my hand at Rite Aid for the VERY FIRST TIME tomorrow. Here's my plan:

(10) SoyJoy bars @ 10/$5, use $3/10
(1) Garnier shampoo @ 2.99, use 1.00/1
(2) Kotex tampons @ 3.00, use (2) .75/1
(1) Luvs mega @ 9.99

After the $5/$20 and single check rebate I'll end up spending 3.49 plus tax.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Meijer

2009-02-26T19:51:00.001-08:00

(1) Raisins @ 2.99
(1) cake icing @ 3.19
(1) candles @ 1.19
(1) cage-free eggs @ 3.19, used .50/1
(6) Reese's candy @ B3G3 free, used 1.00/2 Reese's Whips
1+ lbs. asparagus @ .99/lb
(1) avocado @ 1.00
(3) Pillsbury Grands biscuits @ 1.00, used .50/3
(1) Lays chips @ 1.00
(1) Cheetos @ 1.00
(2) Pillsbury cake mix @ 1.00
(1) croutons @ 1.00
(1) Aunt Millie bread @ 1.00, used .35/1 doubled
(1) organic mushrooms @ 1.00
(1) organic graham crackers @ 4.39, used 1.00/2 Meijer Organics catalina
(2) Arnold bread @ 1.69, used 1.00/1 Meijer Mealbox, 1.00/1 from All You
(1) organic broccoli @ 1.67
(1) strawberries @ 1.67
(4) Land O'Lakes butter @ 1.25
(2) Tropicana OJ @ 2.50, used 1.00/2
(1) Smart Start cereal, FREE after mail-in rebate
(1) salt-free canned peas, clearanced to .42
(2) Hodgson Mill muffin mix clearanced to .84
(2) Hershey's Cacao Reserve truffles, clearanced to 1.84, used 1.00/1
(2) organic pancake mix clearanced to 1.94
(1) Bob's Red Mill scone mix clearanced to 2.40

Total spent: 47.38
Total saved: 46.19

So I'm over budget for the week but last week I spent under $50 total so I had a little extra to work with.

PS: Check the clearance section for lots of Hershey's and Dove chocolate, Hodgson Mill potato bread mix and muffin mix, Bob's Red Mill mixes, and Maple Grove Farm organic pancake/waffle mixes.

Kroger

2009-02-26T19:30:00.000-08:00

Lots of good clearance at Kroger, and I found some great catalinas on the ground. Hell no, it's not beneath me to pick up coupons off the ground. Well, I guess technically they are beneath me... but not for long! Heh.

Upon checkout I also received four more cats:
1.75/2 Seventh Generation
.75/1 organic milk
2.00/2 Eight O'Clock coffee
1.00/2 Sargento

(3) Morningstar Farms @ 2.59, used 1.00/3 catalina
(1) red pepper @ 1.00
(4) roma tomatoes @ 1.00/lb
(2) pears @ 1.00/lb.
(4) Thomas' English Muffins @ 2.99 and BOGO free, used 3.00/3 peelie (Meijer is all out of these but Kroger still had lots on the packages. Expires on Sunday)
(2) Cottonelle @ .99 each, used .50/2 doubled, and .25/1 cellfire e-coupon
(4) Hunts tomatoes @ 1.00, used .40/2 doubled
(2) Dole canned pineapple @ 1.00, used .75/2
(2) Colgate toothbrush @ 1.00. used .75/1
(2) Organic Valley string cheese @ .99, used 2.00/2- FREE
(1) Stonyfield Farms YoBaby yogurt, clearanced to 2.00, used 1.00/1 catalina
(3) Starkist tuna packs @ 1.00, used B2G1 free (took off 1.59)
(1) baby carrots @ 1.00
(1) Back To Nature granola clearanced to 1.94
(2) tofu clearanced to .79
(1) Kroger gallon milk, rBST-free @ 1.99
(1) Kraft cheese, rBST-free @ 1.99, used .75/1

Total spent: 27.97
Total saved: 38.87

PS: I went to the Kroger at Westgate, and they still had tons of YoBaby plain yogurt (expires tomorrow), tofu (expires April) and some Horizon organic skim milk gallons clearanced to 2.00 (unsure of expiration).

Free Kashi Frozen Entree

2009-02-24T19:49:00.001-08:00

Go here and enter your address to receive a coupon for a free frozen entree from Kashi.

Thanks to Maryanne at My Penny Pile for the heads up on this deal!

Trader Joe's

2009-02-22T18:54:00.001-08:00

I don't see a lot this week as far as Meijer and Kroger go, so I figured I'd blow some cash at Trader Joe's. It's amazing how my perspective has changed on TJ's. I still love it, don't get me wrong. But most everything there I can get quite a bit cheaper other places, Whole Foods included, with a good sale and coupon. The exceptions are produce, which isn't usually as good there, and hummus. (Which, next to my own of course, is the one of the best I've ever had.)

Total spent: 22.46

Some Qs worth mentioning

2009-02-21T20:30:00.000-08:00

Taylortown has tomorrow's coupon preview up. Here are the ones I'm most excited about:

1.00/3 Stonyfield Farms organic yogurt cups
1.00/1 any Cascadian Farms product
1.00/2 Nature Sweet cherry tomatoes
2.00/10 Soyjoy bars
BOGO free Soyjoy

NOTE: I got neither the SF yogurt coupon, nor the tomatoes one. Red Plum is trippin'.

Rounding out the week with more free Steamers...

2009-02-21T12:02:00.000-08:00

...and some cheap wipes.

It looks simple enough but in reality it took me over an hour and a couple of trips to Meijer since those darn coupons needed cashier assistance for every. single. one. I just had to walk away a few times and take a breather. However, a freezer full of free veggies is worth the hassle and dirty looks. Oh, and also I ran into my friend Andrea and gave her two coupons so that's why there are 14 bags here and not 16 like I said there would be.

Total before sales/coupons: 35.22
Total spent: 4.36

Whole Foods: Seventh Generation diapers & wipes

2009-02-20T08:39:00.000-08:00

Seventh Generation diapers and wipes are on sale at Whole Foods this week (sales week goes from Wed. - Tues.). If you haven't already, go here and sign up to print two 2.00/1 coupons for any 7th Gen baby product. Diapers I think were running about $11 and the small packs of wipes were just under $3. Use 2 coupons to get 2 small packs of wipes for about .70 each, or two jumbo packs of diapers for under $10 apiece.

Also, remember that WF offers a 10% case discount which I assume would be on top of the sale price (someone correct me if I'm wrong) so with the coupons this could be a really decent deal if you're in the market for chlorine-free diapers or wipes.

Meijer

2009-02-19T18:52:00.000-08:00

A great week at Meijer.

(2) Huggies baby wipes @ 2.00, used .50/1 to get them for 1.00
(4) Green Giant boxed spinach @ 1.00, used .50/2
(4) GG Steamers- FREE after .50/1 (I did a separate transaction for two of them)
(2) Quaker Rice cakes- FREE after 1.25/1
(1) organic baby carrots @ 1.00
(1) mini bananas @ 1.00
(1) sliced pesticide-free mushrooms @ 1.00
(1) Alouette clearanced to 3.17
(4) Chi-chis salsa (raincheck and coupons made them .44 each)
(1) dozen cage-free eggs, 2.19 after .50/1
(2) Trident gum (not pictured)- FREE after .75/1
(2) Wheat Thins @ 2.50, used 1.00/2 to get each for 2.00 (tearpad in center aisle!)
(3) Thomas bagels @ 2.50, found another 3.00/3 peelie! Got them for 1.50 each
(2) Aunt Millie's @ 1.25, used .50/1 to get each for .25

I also used that 1.00/$5 frozen foods purchase cat, and got an extra dollar off for the buy 10, get the 11th free promo.

FYI, I also acquired 16 more Steamers coupons that I will be using before Sunday. I loooooove freeeeee veggieeeeeeeeeees.

So...

Total before sales/coupons: 77.36
Total spent: 22.30

CVScapades

2009-02-19T09:56:00.000-08:00

Forgive my excitement, but I'm on bedrest for the duration of my pregnancy and haven't left the house in 8 days! I went out this AM as I've been given the OK by my doc to slowly increase my activity. I scanned my card only to be surprised with a 10/30 coupon AND a 5/30 coupon! AND a $1 off any shampoo coupon (shampoo was on my list anyway! yahoo!)--Here's what I got:-1 jumbo Huggies, 2 colgate, 2 herbal essences, 2 Stayfree, 2 neutrogena bars, 1 Liter of mouthwash, 1 box Lansinoh nursing pads
-used $22 worth of Qs (including $11 worth of CVS Qs) and $24 worth of ECBs. Got back $22 in ECBs. paid $1.50 oop.

Whole Foods

2009-02-18T19:32:00.000-08:00

I cancelled my produce delivery this week and decided instead to take a trip over to Whole Foods where I knew a gift card in an undisclosed amount was waiting for me. I was astonished to discover that it was $20! I also found a stray gift card left over from that crazy Christmas gift card promo, and it ended up having 3.79 on it. So... it was on like Donkey Kong. Here's the booty:

(1) Hummus @ 2.50
(2) Garden of Eatin chips @ 1.99, use 1.00/2 to get them for 1.49 each
(1) lb. organic strawberries @ 4.99
(4) Brown Cow yogurt @ .67 each, used 1.00/4 from Whole Deal to get them for .42 each
1.5+ lbs. Bananas @ 1.27
(1) organic red pepper @ 1.64
red grape tomatoes @ 1.99
2 lb. Lundberg rice @ 3.00, used 1.00/1 from WD to get it for 2.00
3 lb. organic apples @ 2.99
(1) Back to Nature mac and cheese @ 1.99 (they raised the price!), used .70/1 from WD to get it for 1.29
(2) Wolfgang Puck soups @ 2.00, used 1.00/1 WD to get them for a buck each
(2) Muir Glen organic diced tomatoes 28 oz @ 1.99, used .75/1 to get each for 1.24
(1) Odwalla strawberry smoothie @ 2.50, used .55/1 to get it for 1.95
(2) canned green beans @ .99
(3) organic beans 25 oz @ 1.67

Total before coupons but after sales: 45.22
Total after coupons, bag refund and gift cards: 13.68

Hidden moneymaker at CVS

2009-02-16T17:28:00.000-08:00

I found this deal on I Heart CVS. There's a deal this week on select Neutrogena products: Buy 2, get 10 ECBs. These little soaps cost 2.99 each and count towards the deal, even though they are NOT marked. So...

Buy (2) of these little dudes @ 2.99 each = 5.98 + tax
Earn 10 ECBs

That's a $4 profit, without even trying!

This is a great opportunity to get your natural products for cheap or free if you have ECBs sitting around. In addition to the soaps, choose a product that costs about $4 and pay with 10 ECBs. You'll pay tax and get your $10 back in ECBs at the end of the transaction. OR you can use 6 ECBs, and you'll get back 10. Any way you slice it, it's pure awesomeness.

Thanks again to Erica at I Heart CVS for posting this great tip!

Whole Foods Wins Me Back (as if I could quit them)

2009-02-15T18:13:00.000-08:00

If you will recall my little coupon incident at Whole Foods last week, you will remember that I said I was going to follow up with corporate regarding their coupon policy. I sent a very nice email explaining the situation and asking for a copy of their coupon policy. I also made sure I complimented the cashier and manager with whom I spoke, because they were very kind and professional in their handling of the situation.

I received this response back from a store manager:

Dear Ms. Brabbs,

Unfortunately we do not have a written coupon policy. Each store has their own slightly different policy.

In this case I think there may have been a miscommunication. From your recounting of the situation you should have been able to use your coupon. As long as the coupons are truly manufacturers coupons, are in date and are for products we carry.

I have discussed this with our Customer Service Team Leader and he will be following up with the cashiers.

I am truly sorry about this and hope you will bring the coupon in so that we can redeem it for you.

There will also be a gift card in your name at the customer service desk for your trouble.

So you see? When in doubt, it never hurts to ask. (And along the same lines it's also nice to send shiny happy emails to corporate when you've had a positive experience with a particular cashier at your store. Many times they get bonuses and perks when a customer gives them a pat on the back. It's worth the 2 minutes it would take to find out their name and shoot off an email to their boss.)

Mambo Sprouts

2009-02-15T18:09:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already, go here to find good coupons on organic/natural products. You can also sign up to receive a coupon booklet in the mail. I just received mine, and it contains all of the current coupons in the Whole Deal booklet and more (and these can be redeemed anywhere).

Why not do flowers instead?

2009-02-12T09:21:00.000-08:00

Whole Foods has their every day bouquets on sale for 9.99, just in time for Valentine's Day. (Amazing how that works out, isn't it?) I've also heard rumors that select Whole Foods stores are selling 2 dozen roses for 19.99. Their flowers are really beautiful and last twice as long as any others I've purchased.

You can also go here to enter for a chance to win a year's worth of free flowers from Whole Foods.

This post is pretty much for my male readers, who shall remain mostly nameless. (Eric.) And for women who, like me, will be buying their own flowers on Saturday.

Enjoy!

Great news for people and cows alike.

2009-02-12T08:36:00.000-08:00

Monsanto, the producer of rBGH, is selling the division of their company that makes the artificial growth hormone which makes dairy cows produce more milk. This apparently happened back in August but since I typically buy organic or rBST free dairy I haven't been as on top of it as I should have been.

So as a consumer of things unprocessed and un-screwed with, I am elated. And as a former breastfeeder and animal lover I'm very happy for cows. Moooooo, my bovine friends. Mooooo.

Grrrr. (or "How Whole Foods screwed me out of $5")

2009-02-10T11:27:00.000-08:00

Good news: Whole Foods takes competitor's coupons.
Bad news: According to the manager at the Cranbrook location, $/$$ coupons can only be used after all other coupons have been applied. This is contrary to every other couponing experience I have had there up to this point, so I plan to email corporate to get their policy in writing. Anyway, this should have cost me $5 less than it did (and probably more since I specifically got this total to $50 just so I could use a $10/$50.) Anyway, here are the best deals I found:

(2) milk @ 3.99 each
(1) Organic Valley soy milk @ 3.00 ($2 after coupon, see below)
(1) OV half and half @ 1.69, used 2.00/2 OV (.69 after coupon)
(2) Organic Valley raw cheese @ 3.99 (used 2.00/2 OV to get them for 2.99 each)
(1) Ian's organic french bread pizza @ 4.39, used 1.00/1 from Mambo Sprouts to get it for 3.39
(1) WF 365 spinach & feta pizza @ 4.00, used 1.00/1 Whole Deal coupon ($3 for a frozen pizza!)
(2) Lightlife sandwich slices @ 2.39, used 1.00/1 to get each for 1.39
(1) 7th Generation laundry detergent @ 7.99, used 1.00/1 from website to get it for 6.99
(2) all juice popsicles @ .99 each (normally 3.69 each)
(2) Back to Nature mac and cheese @ 1.69, used .70/1 (this is the every day price; under a dollar for mac and cheese works for me)
(2) Wolfgang Puck tomato soup @ 2.00 each, used 1.00/1 to get them for a dollar each

Total before coupons but after sales: 51.35
Total after coupons: 33.95

Thankfully I was able to use a $5/$25 after all of my coupons were scanned. I was happy for the extra savings, but a little bummed out since I had initially planned on spending just under $29.

This week's produce

2009-02-10T11:20:00.000-08:00

(1) head of red leaf lettuce
(4) pears
(2) apples
(2) avocados
(4) bananas
(2) bunches of broccoli
(2) oranges
cherry tomatoes

Total cost: $23
Interested in organic produce delivery?
Door To Door Organics
Absolute Organics
Farm Fresh To You

CVS. Ho-hum.

2009-02-09T18:54:00.000-08:00

I'm not excited about CVS this week. But I needed diapers so I took one for the team and decided to do the monthly Stayfree deal while I was there. (Heh. I giggle like a middle schooler every time I say 'monthly Stayfree deal.')

I bought:
(4) Stayfree @ 3.99 each, used 2 BOGO Free coupons
(1) Pampers @ 9.99, used 1.00/1

Paid with 17 ECBs, paid .51 OOP and got back 8 ECBs for the Stayfree.

Meijer this week- lots of goodies!

2009-02-09T18:29:00.000-08:00

I ran to Meijer last night to buy two newspapers and as I was at the U-Scan I noticed a bunch of catalinas coming out of the machine behind me. I asked the guys who just walked up if they minded me grabbing them and they said no. I ended up getting:
$4/$30 purchase
$1.50/any Meijer Organics item
$1/$5 dairy purchase
$1/5 frozen foods purchase

So this evening my 3 year old and I went back to score some deals.

(1) Organic vegetable broth, .49 after 1.50/1 cat
(1) Organic eggs @ 2.67 after .50/1
(1) Melita coffee filter @ .49 after Mealbox coupon
(4) Sargento string cheese @ 2.09 after .55/1 coupon
(1) Danactive @ 1.00 after 1.00/1
(1) Eight o'clock coffee @ 3.29 after 1.00/1
(2) Chex mix- FREE after .50/1
(1) Betty Crocker frosting- FREE after .50/1
(2) Skippy natural PB @ .45 after .40/1
(6) Thomas english muffins- .25 each after 3.00/3 peelie (check the packages at your store!)
(1) Cascadian Farms organic granola bars @ 1.00 after 1.00/1
(1) chili beans, clearanced to .44
(1) organic peas, clearanced to .55
I also got the following to donate:
(2) Oral-B toothbrushes @ 1.00 each after 1.00/2
(2) Softsoap @ .29 each after .35/1
(2) Suave deodorant @ .79 each after .50/1
and I meant to grab two Herbal Essences, but realized once I got home that I accidentally bought the Meijer brand. I checked my receipt and interestingly my 3.00/2 coupon came off my total... I imagine the cashier must have pushed it through without either of us noticing. So I was supposed to pay a dollar each but ended up paying only .49 each. I was going to take them back but I think that will be a logistical nightmare with the coupon situation so I'll just chalk it up to good coupon karma for passing along my second Betty Crocker frosting coupon to the college girls buying butter cream frosting for their friend's birthday cake. Let them eat cake, indeed... with free frosting!

Total spent: 21.51
Total saved: 70.01 (Didja get that?! $20 for $90 worth of groceries!)

Another coupon mag at Whole Foods

2009-02-08T20:03:00.001-08:00

There are a few good Qs in this magazine, which is free at WF.
2.00/2 ANY Organic Valley
1.00/1 Bossa Nova Superfruit juice
.75/2 Enjoy Life Choco Boom chocolate bars
...and a couple others that I didn't find too interesting.