Frugal Living Tip #48 - Grocery Store Fuel Discounts

Grocery Store Fuel Discounts

I have vivid memories from the summer of 2008. I was home adjusting to life with a newborn and a very active 2&1/2 year old. I was going stir crazy in the house - it was too hot to be outside for long with a newborn. Gas was hovering close to $4 a gallon. It cost me over $60 to fill up my SUV. (I know some things have a way of repeating themselves.)

Well, my trip down memory lane has to do with the introduction of a fuel savings program in Richmond. Ukrop's Supermarkets and Uppy's Fuel Centers combined forces and introduced fuelperks! to us. The concept was that when you spent a certain amount you received a set credit off a gallon of gas.

It was a great idea - two things you had to buy groceries and gas!

In the last 5 years, we have lost Ukrop's to Martin's and Uppy's has been bought by another company, but the opportunity to buy groceries and save on gas is still available. In Richmond, Kroger also offers a discount at their fuel centers based on the amount you spend on groceries.

Do you take advantage of the fuel discounts available at the grocery store? Are there other stores that offer this type of discount?

 

Frugal Living Tip #24 - Shopping the Kroger Mega Sale

Shopping the Kroger Mega Sale

My Shopping List

I mentioned in my last post that I subscribe to The Grocery Game and get a weekly list for Kroger. The biggest reason why I do that is because of the Mega Sales that Kroger offers throughout the year. It is during the Mega Sales that I can stock-up on a lot of my kitchen staples at a fraction of the shelf price.

There are several factors that play in to being successful with saving money during the Kroger Mega Sales. My biggest tip is organization. If you go in there with just an ad and no game plan it is going to be a frustrating and expensive trip. (This can also be true for any grocery shopping trip!)

Here are some ways that I get organized and stay organized before and during my shopping trip:

1. I select and print my list of deals from the TGG website.
2. I also check out a great Kroger blog, Iheartkroger.com, she does a great job of filling you in on another deals like Catalina's that are also going on.
3. I pull out my coupon inserts, print any coupons necessary, and cut everything out.
4. I figure out how many items I can buy with the coupons I have available.
5. I make my list (see the picture) - it is usually hand written and broken down into groups of 10 (or however many items I need to buy to get the discount).
6. I paper clip my coupons to the list and put them all in an envelope, and hit the store.
7. When I get to the store I know how many groups of 10 I am planning to buy, so I bring in that many reusable shopping bags.
8. When I am in the store I fill each bag individually with 10 items. When that bag has 10, I start a new bag. This keeps me from having to constantly count the items in my cart and separates any deals that may not be part of the sale.
9. I always have a few low cost items that we use written on the list to serve as fillers to get me to 10 items in case something is out of stock or they don't have the full quantity that I want.
10. I double count each bag, my list, and my coupons before I head to the check-out.

I don't normally pull out my coupons while I am shopping. I normally only refer to my list, and then double check everything before I check-out. I do carry an ad with me so that I can verify items if they aren't clearly marked.

I honestly will spend about 2&1/2 hours between printing off the deals, gathering and clipping coupons, making my list, and shopping. If this is your first time trying this method it may take you longer.

How do you organize yourself for special sales like these? Please feel free to share any tips or tricks that you have when shopping.

 

Frugal Living Tip #23 - The Grocery Game

The Grocery Game

I am going to start off with my disclaimer- I am in no way being paid or receiving any compensation for this post.

With that said there may be many of you who are familiar The Grocery Game (TGG). I am copying a description of what they provide from their site.

The Grocery Game, launched in 2000, is the oldest and largest grocery savings website in the U.S. We provide members with weekly online, all-in-one lists (called Teri's Lists) of tens of thousands of grocery deals at over 150 local grocery and drug stores, coast to coast.

Teri's Lists track more important information than ANY site out there, matching sales with manufacturers' coupons, online printable coupons, coupons found in newspaper inserts and manufacturer coupons that can be sent to store loyalty cards. We are also the only site to track almost impossible to find unadvertised sales as well as sales trends.

The great thing about TGG is that they already have the deals figured out for you. You can choose how you want to view your list, items can be broken down the percentage of saving, or by the color codes based on items that are free, stock-up prices, or just buy what you need prices. I also like that you can remove items you don't shop for like baby or pet items. It really is a matter of just browsing the list, checking off what I want, and then the list tells me where to find the coupons. It gives me links to printable ones and to ones that I need to add to my store card. I already file my weekly inserts so I just have to grab the file, find the insert, and clip what I need.

When there is a promotion that you need to buy certain items, such as Buy 10 save $5, it tells me that it is part of that sale so that I get the right number. It also keeps me aware of the requirements for the coupon. If the coupon is a save $1 off 2, TGG tells me to buy 2 items.

The one downfall is that the site is not great at posting or sharing other promotions that manufacturers may have, such as Catalina deals when you buy certain products.

There is a fee for subscribing to TGG - it is $10 for the first store and $5 for each additional every 8 weeks. Personally, I tried every store in my area during the free trial period, then decided to only keep Kroger. I figure that it has easily allowed me to save more than an additional $10 every 8 weeks.

I have found that TGG can really help people that are first learning how to coupon because it makes it easy to see what is a good deal and where to find the coupons. If you haven't tried it out before, look into subscribing for a 4 week free trial. (Just make sure to make a note of when it ends so you don't get charged if you don't want to keep it, or all of the stores you signed up for.). If you would like to help me get some "free weeks" leave a comment with you e-mail address and I will give you mine for a referral credit. Don't worry all comments left here go to me to approve before posting, so it won't be made public. :)

Have any of you tried or currently use TGG? How do yo feel it compares to other free sites such as blogs and deal sites?

Frugal Living Tip #22 - Discovering the Deals

Discovering The Deals

So, you may have bought a few Sunday papers by now and glanced at the weekly ads, but you haven't figured out how to get the big savings. Here is the good news - there are lots of people who already do that and you can find the information on-line for free!

There are lots of free resources to find sales. It really just involves you performing a Google search. If you find a site that you like, bookmark it or become a "follower" or "subscriber". Some words that I would suggest for your search are "coupon", "match-up", "sale", the name of the specific store you are planning to shop at, and the time frame of the store's ad. Most ads either run Sunday-Saturday or Wednesday-Tuesday.

I have a few blogs that I like to check out. When I was still shopping at Martin's I would look at For The Mommas, she is in Pennsylvania so she shops at Martin's sister store, Giant. Another great site that you can check out is Money Saving Mom - she has a section that she gets contributors from all over the country to submit their local store deals. Tiffany is a blogger in Richmond who posts match-ups for Martin's and Kroger at Young and Frugal in Virginia!. If you just want a heads up on the best grocery deals in Richmond check out the weekly post that Alison, of Richmond Bargains, post every Wednesday to RVA deals on the RVA news site.

There is also the option of joining (for free) couponing sites such as Hot Coupon World, We Use Coupons, or A Full Cup. They have forums that are broken down by store and people will discuss deals that they found, help you figure out a game plan, and post previews of the weekly store ads.

The great thing about any of these resources is they tell you what is on sale and what coupons to use in order to get the best price. When I first started couponing more seriously a few years ago I appreciated learning from the forums and bloggers what was a good price on an item and the sales cycles.

There is a little bit of lingo that you may want to learn so you can understand what they are talking about. I am leaving you with this link to a page from Hot Coupon World - Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Coupon Terms.

Do you have a favorite blog or deal site that you like to check out? Please feel free to share a link!

 

Frugal Living Tip #17 - Understanding Types of Coupons

Understanding Types of Coupons

You may have realized that next to the expiration date on most coupons is the phrase "manufacturer coupon". This of course means that the coupon was released by the company that makes that particular product.

The other thing you may notice on manufacturer coupons is the phrase "Do Not Double". This is really only a concern if you shop at a store that doubles manufacturer coupons.

You can load coupons to your store loyalty cards. I know that I have received e-mails from both Kroger and Martin's with special coupons for our household. Make sure you have registred your card with each store to get these offers. These coupons have been for both store brand and brand name items. The Kroger site allows you to add lots of manufacturer coupons to your card. These coupons will not double like some manufacturer ones will in my area. You also cannot use these with a manufacturer coupon unless you are buying more than the electronic coupon covers.

You may have also noticed that there are a few coupons that say "store coupon" and then have the store name and logo on the coupon. Target store coupons say "Target Coupon". In case you are wondering where you can find the store coupons. Target coupons are occasionally in the Sunday paper, but they always have them available on their site. Walgreens has their store coupons at the front of the store in the monthly coupon booklets. CVS has a machine that prints coupons at the front of the store when you scan your CVS card.

What you may not realize is that you can "stack" manufacturer coupons and store coupons. Target, Walgreens, and CVS are the stores that I have been able to do this. This can be a big savings!

Please feel free to add any information I may have missed or contact me with any questions.

 

Possible Free LUNA Bars at MARTIN’S or Kroger

 

Quickly go over to mambospouts.com and click on the free coupons tab and select e-coupons to find these coupons for $0.50/1 LUNA Bar.  These are often on sale for $1 each at either MARTIN’S or Kroger where they will double to $1 – that makes them free!

There is a print limit of two prints per computer. (I was able to get a total of four by using two different computers.)  The printables are going really fast these days so get it now or they may not be there when you try to go back later.

Happy Shopping!

~Ann

How I Spent my $10 for the RVA Coupon Pros School Supply Challenge

I mentioned about a month ago in this post about meeting up with some other frugal bloggers in the Richmond area for lunch.  We were given a challenge to see how many school supplies we could buy for $10 (pre tax) and not a penny more.  Kroger graciously decided to match what we were able to buy up to $1000 and decided to up the ante and offered us three prizes (a $200, a $100, and a $50 Kroger gift card for first, second, and third place).

I am not going to deny that it wouldn’t be nice to win one of the gift cards and have bragging rights, but the true winners in all of this are the children of the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Richmond.  They are the ones who will receive all of the school supplies we collected.  This was a fun challenge that allowed me to have the thrill of the bargain hunt and help out others at the same time. 

So – how did I do?  I ended up $214.80 worth of school supplies that after sales, coupons, and rebates I purchased for $10 (pre-tax) – and of course being a blogger I took a picture to share.  :)

Here is the breakdown:

• 2 packs of crayons
• 6 bottles of glue
• 7 rulers
• 3 compasses
• 3 packs of highlighters
• 1 pack of permanent markers
• 24 packs of pens
• 4 packs of pencils
• 1 pack of mechanical pencils
• 17 folders
• 4 packs of cap erasers
• 2 packs of index cards
• 8 packs of notebook paper
• 3 composition books
• 13 spiral one subject notebooks
• 7 three-ring binders
• 4 reams of paper
• 1 backpack

I can’t wait until Thursday when I get to drop off what I bought and see what everyone else was able to get.  (I have seen a few pictures that people have posted on the RVA Coupon Pros facebook page.)  I will try to remember my camera to take a few pictures and show you how much we were able to collect.  If any of you participated and are going to be at the drop off on Thursday be on the look out for me – I would love to talk to you face to face.

~Ann

RVA Coupon Pros School Supply Challenge

I had an exciting afternoon meeting with a few fellow frugal bloggers at Kroger for lunch today.  They invited us to tell us about an exciting opportunity to use the power of shopping sales and coupons and help school children in Richmond.

Back: Alison, Angie, Eleanor, Anjie, Carl York or Kroger

Front: Tiffany & me

We were given a challenge and encouraged to share it with others – to see how many school supplies we can buy for $10.  (Before tax and not a penny more!)  The school supplies are going to the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Richmond who said,  “77% of our Club members qualify for Federal Free/Reduced Lunches, so providing them with school supplies will be such a big financial help to their families while also providing confidence and positive momentum as they enter a new school year.” 

This is a great opportunity to share with others and if you really think about it, it is only costing you $2.50 a week to help.  In addition to the supplies that we collect and drop off Kroger is offering to match our donations up to $1000!  What an impact!

As if seeing how far you can stretch your $10 wasn’t enough of an incentive, Kroger is also offering an incentive to shop there.  Any school supply purchases made at any Kroger will have their monetary value doubled as a bonus towards their overall totals.  You want to be the one with the highest total because there are prizes!!!!

• 1st Place: $200 Kroger Gift Card
• 2nd Place: $100 Kroger Gift Card
• 3rd Place:  $50 Kroger Gift Card

To make sure we all stay honest and play fair there are some guidelines for the challenge.  You will need to download a spreadsheet and keep all of your receipts for your purchases.  There are also guidelines regarding using any rewards points, Extracare Bucks, Register Rewards, etc. 

If you want to participate here is a link to the spreadsheet and the official rules.  You can also see the rules and talk about your shopping trips on the RVA Coupon Pros Facebook page - don’t forget to “like” them.  :)

Let’s show Richmond that saving money is cool and how much we can give back!

~Ann

Saturday Shopping 2/5/11 & 2/12/11

Saturday, 2/5/11

I actually ran out last Saturday after I was re-organizing my pantry and realized that I didn’t have as many boxes of crackers as I thought I did.  I was already planning on using about a box of them to make Poppy Seed Chicken and to accompany the Buffalo Chicken Dip that weekend.  (The Poppy Seed Chicken was for my in-laws who came over for dinner Saturday evening, and the Buffalo Chicken Dip was for a Super Bowl Party).  I was gathering the next round of coupons and Steve asked me to pick-up four more fridge packs of Diet Coke to take to work.  I also hit Kroger to pick-up a few things that were on the mega sale that ended that day. 

Here is a picture of what I got to finish out last week’s shopping:

MARTIN’S:

• (2) Maxwell House International Coffee
• (5) Ritz Crackers
• (1) Ritz Munchables
• (4) Diet Coke Fridge Packs (They didn’t make the picture)
• (2) Finish Detergent
• (1) Gallon of Milk (I found 1 more free milk coupon that was going to expire.)

Kroger:

• (16) Balance Bars
• (4) Reach Toothbrushes
• (2) Carmex
• (4) Dove Deodorant
• Mahatma Brown Rice
• (2) Disney Kids Vitamins

Shelf Total (before sales, coupons, and tax): $127.94

Final Total (after sales, coupons, bag credits, and before tax): $30.41

Total Savings: $97.73 (76%)

I saved $27.80 with my MARTIN’S BONUSCARD (that includes the $7 off with the $7 off $20 transaction) and $37.18 with my Kroger Plus Card.  I saved $30.10 with coupons and an additional $2.60 with coupons that doubled.  I also saved $0.05 by bringing my own bag to Kroger.  I was in a different MARTIN’S and found out that I can donate my $0.05 for each bag I bring to the local foodbank and donated my bag credits. 

 

Saturday 2/12/11

I made two trips to MARTIN’S and I stopped at Food Lion.  Our 10k training team meets at the John Rolfe YMCA which is over the John Rolfe MARTIN’S, so I pulled my list and coupons together so that I could my groceries for the week while we were out.  I realized when I started shopping that I left the coupons I had printed out at home.  So I picked this up with my first trip to MARTIN’S and my Food Lion stop.

MARTIN’S:

• (7) Cans of Hanover Beans
• Bounty Napkins
• Mentos Roll (The girls ate part of it as a reward for being good in the store – it was free after sale and coupon!)
• 0.83lbs. Bananas
• Cucumber
• 0.84lbs. Asparagus
• (2) Grapefruit
• 0.18lbs. Garlic
• 5lbs. Clementines
• 3lbs. Golden Delicious Apples
• 6.72lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
• Perdue Cornish Hens (twin pack) – Manager Special
• 1.60lbs. Top Round Thin Steak – Manager Special (maybe for Fajitas or Stir Fry?)
• (9) Birds Eye Steamfresh Vegetables
• (3) Birds Eye Steamfresh Rice
• GIANT Edamame (Natalie wanted it, and I couldn’t turn down a healthy choice)
• (6) Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt

Food Lion:

• (2) Marcal Small Steps Paper Towels (Free after sale and coupon)

MARTIN’S Trip #2:

• (6) Old El Paso Taco Seasonings
• (2) Old El Paso Refried Beans
• Fruit2day
• International Delight Creamer

Shelf Total (before sales, coupons, and tax): $110.59

Final Total (after sales, coupons, bag credits, and before tax): $57.84

Total Savings: $52.75 (48%)

I saved $31.09 with my MARTIN’S BONUSCARD and $0.38 with my Food Lion MVP Card.  I saved $9.54 with coupons and an additional $1.95 with coupons that doubled.  I saved $9.79 by finding the cornish hens and top round thin steaks with a Manager Special sticker.(Manager specials ring up at the reduced price and don’t show the original price on your receipt or in your savings report at the bottom of your receipt.)  I earned $0.20/gallon in fuelperks! by buying 8 participating Old El Paso products.  I donated my $0.05 bag credit for each bag I brought to the local foodbank.

How did you do this week?  Feel free to share.

~Ann

Grocery Shopping for the Week of January 23rd–I saved a total of 72%

I wanted to get back into the swing of posting pictures of my groceries.  I wanted to do it for a few reasons.  The first is to show that I don’t buy everything that I list as a good deal in my weekly top deals post.  I like to show people that you can buy healthy foods and use coupons.  (I realize that not all of my purchases are healthy options.  The Maruchan noodles are not something I buy on a regular basis.  My girls like them and they were free and work out as a quick lunch when I am in a pinch.)  I also wanted to show how I buy multiples of items for stockpile purchases.  If you want more information about building a stockpile check out this post: Establishing a Price Book and Stockpiling.

So, I ended up making three trips to MARTIN’S (two in one day) and a trip to Kroger to get everything pictured.  You may notice that I don’t have any meat in the picture.  I wanted to get the Laura’s Lean Ground Beef on sale at MARTIN’S this week, but they were sold out when I was in the store.  I have a freezer full of meat and didn’t see anything marked down that interested me.  The other thing you may notice is the large amount of protein bars.  Steve and I have signed up for the Monument Avenue 10K and joined one of the training teams with the YMCA.  The protein bars have been great to snack on after we finish one of our training sessions.

MARTIN’S Trip #1:

• Peter Pan Peanut Butter
• GIANT Popcorn

MARTIN’S Trip #2:

• Peter Pan Peanut Butter
• Bread (Manager’s Special)
• Cucumber
• Apples (Some were eaten before the picture)
• Garlic Bulb (Forgot to add it to the picture)
• Mango
• (2) Bag Salad (Manager’s special)
• 5lb Potatoes (Some were eaten before the picture)
• GIANT Ricotta
• (3) Finish Dish Detergent (On clearance for $2.32 after my $2.25 coupon they were only $0.07 each!)

MARTIN’S Trip #3:

• Tabasco
• Pepperidge Farm Goldfish
• Newman’s Own Pasta Sauce
• College Inn Chicken Broth (I usually make my own, but I like to keep one on hand)
• (2) Mueller Elbow Pasta
• Cottonelle Toilet Tissue
• (2) Ortega Green Chiles
• (5) Campbell’s Tomato Soup
• McCormick Fennel Seeds
• (2) Dean’s Dip
• (3) Stonyfield Yogurt
• (2) Heluva Good Chunk Cheese
• Pet Chocolate Low Fat Milk (I used one of my free milk coupons I earned with the cereal deal last week.)
• Zone Perfect Bar

Kroger Trip:

• (2) Sister Schubert’s Frozen Rolls
• (2) Pepperidge Farm Goldfish
• French’s Spicy Brown Mustard
• (2) Uncle Ben’s Whole Grain White Rice
• (11) Balance Bars
• (6) Pure Protein Bars
• Pampers Wipes
• (3) Kraft 2% American Cheese
• Silk Almond Milk
• (6) Rotel Tomatoes
• (7) Maruchan Yakisoba Noodles
• (3) Carmex
• Disney Gummy Vitamins
• 5lb Organic Carrots

Shelf Total (before sales, coupons, and tax): $181.36

Final Total (after sales, coupons, bag credits, and before tax): $50.99

Total Savings: $130.37 (72%)

I saved $20.44 with my MARTIN’S BONUSCARD and $50.97 with my Kroger Plus Card.  I saved $49.22 with coupons and an additional $9.54 with coupons that the stores doubled.  I also saved $0.20 by remembering to bring my own bags to the store.

How did you do this week?  Feel free to share.  :)

~Ann

Kroger Catalina Deal

I can’t believe I forgot to mention this last night when I posted about my afternoon shopping trip to Kroger.  But I noticed that I received a $3 off your next order Catalina -compliments of Scrubbing Bubbles.  I did a little research on-line and discovered that there is a $3 Catalina for buying the Scrubbing Bubble Power Sprayer.  They were already on sale for $6.02 and I was able to use a $5 coupon from the 4/11 SS.  To then get a coupon for $3 off my next purchase makes this a great money maker.  I am going to try to go back and buy more today!

Wednesday Shopping Trip – Part II

I hadn’t really shopped anywhere in the last few weeks.  I am still subscribing to The Grocery Game for Kroger.   I noticed that there were some good deals on cleaning supplies and for OxiClean.  I was looking for a good deal on OxiClean after I got several comments about how good it worked for others after I shared my laundry woes in this post.  The girls and I hit Kroger, but I realized when I was unpacking my purchases that I picked up the wrong marinade.  I may try to go back tomorrow or Friday and swap it out for the one on sale.  That is what happens when you have two kids with you and it is really close to nap time. 

This is a picture of what I was able to pick-up:

• (4) Hershey Bars (we ate one on the way home) - $0.105 each
• French’s Worchestershire Sauce: $0.59
• Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush – FREE
• McCormick Grill Mates - $0.25
• Mrs. Dash Marinade - $1.69 (not the one I meant to pick-up)
• Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Gel - $0.64
• (2) OxiClean Power Paks - $0.99 each
• Lawry’s Marinade - $0.49
• Scrubbing Bubbles Trigger Spray - $1.02

Shelf Price (before sales, coupons, and tax):  $39.75

Final Price (after sales, coupons, before tax): $7.08

Total Savings: $32.67 (82%)

The Ukrop’s to MARTIN’S transition begins…..

I have to admit that although I didn’t grow up in Richmond, I fell in love with Ukrop’s about 14 years ago when I came to Richmond for pharmacy school.  My love for Ukrop’s took on a new level 5 years ago when I became a Ukrop’s associate.  They were such a good company to work for.  They may not have had the best pay all of the time but the little extras they provided their employees like a paid day off and a card mailed to your home with a $50 check on your birthday for full-time employees, the annual picnic at the family farm, knowing that I would always have off on holidays and Sundays – they were great. 

But, those days sadly ended early February when the company was sold to Giant Carlisle and it was announced that the stores would be remodeled this Spring and then reopened under the name of MARTIN’S.  Yesterday, I have to admit that I was sad to see the first ever MARTIN’S ad in the Sunday paper.  I looked at the ad and there are some positives – they are going to double coupons everyday, but only up to $0.50 – just like Kroger.  (There go all of the great deals I got with my $0.75 coupons.)  I plan to go to one of the new stores this week to check out some things and find out if with a buy one get one free if you really do have to buy 2 or can you get the one for half-price.

I did notice that MARTIN’s is not continuing the once daily deals that Ukrop’s started about a year ago.  I plan to hit Ukrop’s today (Monday) to get some of the 85% ground beef for $1.99 a pound.  I am going to buy extra to put in the freezer because that is a really good price. 

I am working on the match-ups for this week’s Ukrop’s ad, I may try my hand at some of the MARTIN’S match-ups.  I am still debating about whether or not I want to continue match-ups after the transition.  MARTIN’S has a much larger ad and I am not sure with baby #3 arriving in August if I want to take that much time away from my family and other necessary duties.  I will still be around, but maybe not my famous spreadsheets.  :)

Free Pasta at Kroger this week!

I know you think I have totally lost it if I am promoting Kroger, but this is a deal that will cause me to make another Kroger run this week.  I just read on Money Saving Mom that there are 3 different internet printable coupons for $0.75 off Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta.  This pasta is included in the mega sale this week at Kroger.  It is $0.99 or $0.49 after you buy 8 participating items.  That means free plus a possible overage!

Here are the links to the coupons - I was able to print each of them twice from the same computer.

coupon #1

coupon #2

coupon #3 (also has a $1/2 Healthy Harvest that are also included in the sale)

Happy Shopping!

Wednesday Shopping Trip – Kroger deals

I went to Kroger again this week.  That makes two weeks in a row for me!  I once again saw some deals that made it worth my while to go there.  I have to admit that although they only double manufacturer coupons up to $0.50 it is nice that they double coupons everyday.

Here is a picture of what I got and the breakdown:

Strawberries - $1.88

Oscar Mayer Bacon - $2.24

(2) Atheno Hummus - $1 each

1.87 lb Asparagus - $3.72

(2) 5-lb bags of Gold Medal All-Purpose Flour - $0.74 each

Fiber One Bars - $0.89

Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters - $0.29

(8) Annie’s Macaroni and Cheese - $0.50 each

(2) Campbell’s Golden Mushroom Soup - $1 each

Betty Crocker Frosting – FREE

(2) Disney Gummie Vitamins - $2.49 each

Snicker’s Almond Bar (I ate it before the picture) - $0.50

Chocolate Chex Mix – FREE

Bag Credit – (-$0.10)

Shelf Price (before sales, coupons, bag credits, or tax): $75.84

Final Price (after sales, coupons, bag credits, before tax): $23.88

Total Savings: $51.96 (68%)

Wednesday’s Shopping Trip – Ukrop’s & the “K” grocery store

I haven’t gone to Kroger in a few weeks.  I was actually debating about cancelling my membership to The Grocery Game (TGG).  I went to check when it was going to renew so I could cancel and I had just missed it – so I have it for another 8 weeks.  There were a few deals at Kroger that I decided were worth my time so Megan and I hit Kroger & Ukrop’s while Natalie was at preschool on Wednesday.

Since I got a bunch of meat from Ukrop’s with the Pick 5 for $25 on Monday (and I plan to hit it early Friday morning for the chicken breast) I just picked up a few things there on Wednesday.  I found the croissants on a manager’s special at Kroger (I am a sucker for croissants).  That of course led to the purchase of the ham and cheese at Ukrop’s.  We don’t really eat lots of cold cuts (we are more PB&J people) but when I do I like to get the meat from the deli counter so that I can buy as little or as much as I want and get it sliced really thin so I can stretch it.  I can’t wait for lunch so I can have my ham & swiss on a croissant.

So enough about my sandwich cravings – here is a picture of what I got from both stores with my 21-month-old model and shopping partner:

Ukrop’s:

Cheerios Cup – FREE

(2) Pepperidge Farm Goldfish - $0.49 each

Zone Nutritional Bar - $0.19 (regularly $1.29 combined with $0.55 off 1 from 2/28 SS)

Danimals Strawberry Smoothie - $1

Danonino Yogurt - $1.29

International Delight - $0.79

Sargento Swiss Cheese - $2.99

Bananas - $1.41

Mango - $0.68 ($0.20 off SPOT coupon)

Yellow Onions (3-lb bag) - $1.49

Strawberries (1 lb) - $2.50

Boar’s Head Honey Maple Ham (0.26 lb) – $2.08

(2) Reusable Grocery Bags – (-0.10)

Shelf Price (before sales, coupons, or tax): $28.74

Final Price (after sales, coupons, before tax): $15.30

Total Savings: $13.44 (47%)

Kroger:

Betty Crocker Frosting - $0.49 (I thought I had a e-coupon for $0.50 but I didn’t)

Fiber One Bar - $0.89

Nature Valley Granola Bars - $1.09

Mini Croissants - $1.50

Fiber One Yogurt – FREE

(2) Betty Crocker Warm Delight Minis – FREE

Chex Mix Bars - $1.29

Nature Valley Nut Clusters - $0.29

(2) Reusable Grocery Bags –(-0.10)

Shelf Price (before sales, coupons, or tax): $25.62

Final Price (after sales, coupons, before tax): $4.45

Total Savings: $21.17 (82%)

Both Wednesday Shopping Trips:
Shelf Price (before sales, coupons, or tax): $54.36

Final Price (after sales, coupons, before tax): $19.75

Total Savings: $34.61 (64%)

If you can get out...

If you can get out safely today I strongly encourage you to get a newspaper (or two or three) today.  I was almost shocked when I found my Sunday paper delivered this morning - extra thanks to our delivery guy!  There are two sets of inserts and some of the coupons will work out great with week two of the mega sale at Kroger.  Ukrop's also has a really good ad this week.  It looks like they want to finish their last week with a bang.  (The sale to Royal Ahold is scheduled to be complete on Monday, February 8th.) If you haven't already make sure you go to coupons.com and print out your Breakstone's sour cream coupons - it is on sale for 0.99 this week.  That means on double coupon Wednesday when you have your 0.55 coupon it will be a 0.11 money maker on each one that you buy!  With the snow keeping us in for the most part due to church being cancelled and a change in my work schedule again this week I am hoping to get my weekly match-ups finished early.  But, I am hesitant to say when because in my crazy world you never know what is going to keep that from happening.  

Stay warm and safe! 

I couldn't stay away - it was a Mega Sale

 I have to admit that I was a little disappointed in this week's Ukrop's ad.  I told several people that I felt like the ad was similar to when I decide I am going to clean out my freezer.  We just have a bunch of odds and ends.  I went to the store Wednesday for double coupons and only got coffee creamer, a bag of potatoes, butter, and bananas.  I couldn't wait to get all of my coupons together and hit Kroger.  (I know the Ukrop's loyalist getting excited about going to Kroger.)  I have mentioned before about how excited I get with the Mega Sale - it can be a shopper's high when I leave the store with so many really cheap and free items.  I made the mistake of not being able to get my coupons and list ready until Thursday night after I got home work.  That means I went to the grocery store this morning - with the Richmond area under a winter storm advisory for tonight and tomorrow.  Thankfully Natalie was at preschool so I only had Megan in tow and she likes riding in the shopping cart. 

I know you really want to see what I got - I actually had to visit two Kroger stores because the first one was sold out of several items that I was hoping to snag.  This is the picture from my first trip:

Milk (1 gallon) : $2.50

(2) Ester - C (60 ct) : $0.29 each

Hebrew National Hot Dogs : $1.50

(2) Hillshire Farm Beef Lil Smokies : $2 each

Hillshire Farm Summer Sausage (9oz) :  FREE

(5) Quaker Quakes Rice Cake Snacks : FREE

(2) Fiber One Cereal Bars : $0.79 each

(1) Fiber One Cereal Bars : $1.19 *

(4) Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Spirals : $0.74 each

(16) Kraft Shredded Cheese : $0.49 each

(2) Triscuits : $0.70 each

(5) Finish Dishwasher Detergent : $0.49 each

(1) Krusteaz Cinnamon Crumb Cake Mix : $0.49

(2) Nature Valley Nut Clusters : FREE
(2) Nature Valley Nut Clusters : $0.59 each *

(1) Farmhouse Pizza Pockets : $3.24

(3) Kleenex (130 ct) :  $0.66 each

(1) Post Raisin Bran : FREE

(2) Chi-Chi's Salsa : $0.49 each

(2) Sister Shubert's Rolls : $0.99 each

(1) French's Mustard : $0.19

(5) reusable grocery bags credit : -$0.25

Shelf Price (before sales, coupons, tax, or bag credit) : $210.40

Final Price (after sales, coupons, bag credit, before tax) : $32.46

Total Savings: $177.94 (84%)

*I had several shortcut and cellfire coupons for the granola bars and the clusters.  I have not completely figured out how they work because it doesn't look like all of them came off the items.

The lady in line behind me this morning was curious as to how many coupons I had.  I told her I wasn't sure, but that I pretty much had one for every item except for the milk.  Then she became very interested as she kept watching my total fall - she was shocked when she saw my final total of $35.29 (after tax).  She asked to look at the printout at the bottom of my receipt to see how much I saved.

Kroger Round 2:

(2) Armour Beef Meatballs : $1.99 each

(3) Rotel Tomatoes : FREE
(6) Hunt's Diced Tomatoes : $0.19 each

(5) I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Sticks (1 lb) : FREE

(2) Krusteaz Muffin Mixes : $0.49 each

(2) Kraft Shredded Cheese : $0.49 each

Shelf Price (before sales, coupons, or tax) : $40.49

Final Price (after sales, coupons, before tax) : $6.49

Total Savings: $34.00 (83%)

Total between the two purchases:
Shelf Price: $250.89
Final Price: $38.95
Total Savings : $211.94

Not bad for about 45 minutes of clipping coupons and organizing my shopping list.

I sold my soul and went to Kroger

I have to admit it, I am a Ukrop's snob.  I love Ukrop's, the way the stores are bright and clean, the aisles aren't crowded with pallets and displays, and of course the friendliness and helpfulness of the employees.  I just don't like going to other grocery stores and when I do I moan and groan to myself while I am there about how much nicer Ukrop's is and question what was I thinking by stopping here just because it was closer, a Sunday or whatever the reason may be.

I signed up for The Grocery Game (TGG) about 6 weeks ago.  The real reason why I signed up for it was because I was starting to buy groceries and prepare food for the winter retreat we were taking the college students on the first weekend in January.  (I am hoping to share my menu and what I spent in a future post.)  It is free to sign-up for a 4-week trial period.  I have several friends who use TGG and I thought why not give it a try.  The biggest downside I saw to TGG was that they didn't list Ukrop's as one of their stores.  For our area the only grocery stores they listed were Food Lion, Kroger, and Whole Foods.  They also offered Walgreens and CVS.  I signed up for all 5 available stores and would check my list every week to see what was on sale.  She uses a color coded system for the items on the list, black means only buy it if you need it, blue means stock-up, and green means free.  She does what I was already doing with my Ukrop's deals and matches up the sale price with any available coupons and then calculates your final price.  I have to admit that I wasn't very impressed with TGG in the free 4 week trial.  It is $10 to keep one store and $5 for any additional store for each 8 week period after the trial period.  My friends really find some good deals at Kroger because of the TGG and I thought well, for $1.25 a week I will give it a little bit longer and just keep that store.  I wasn't sure if it was just the time of year that I had signed up or what.  I also knew that around the Superbowl there is a Mega sale at Kroger where I got some good deals on my own last year and thought I would see how well I could do with some help.  So, I checked the list this week and realized I had to go to Kroger.  There were just some things that I really couldn't say "no" to. 

I printed my list with the few things in blue or green that I wanted, gathered the necessary coupons and headed to Kroger with the family in tow.  Steve doesn't go grocery shopping with me on a regular basis so he still thinks it is really neat to watch the final amount drop over and over again and see my final total be a fraction of what it originally was.  (He did note that the cashier (a guy) had a look of amazement when I got to my final total today.)

So enough about it already - what did you get?

(4) Peter Pan Peanut Butter - $1 each

(2) Pillsbury Grands Cinnamon Rolls (5 count) - $0.40 each

(6) Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (4 count) - $0.33 each

(1) Halls Cough Drops - FREE

(1) Starkist Tuna Pouch - FREE

(6) Maruchan Noodles - FREE (one is missing because Natalie ate it for lunch)

(2) Celestial Seasoings Tea - $1 each

(5) Tony's Frozen Pizzas - FREE

(1) Large Tide Stain Release Liquid - $2 (I forgot to grab it for the picture)

Bag Credit - -0.15

Shelf price (before sales, coupons, tax, or bag credit): $53.73

Final price (after sales, coupons, bag credit, before tax): $10.65

Total Savings: $43.08 (80%)

I think I can justify my $10 for 8 weeks of TGG.  If you are not already a member of TGG and would like to become one send me a note and I will send you my e-mail address to use as a referral.  If I continue to keep TGG it will help me get free weeks.  You know how much I like "free".  :)

Shopping Week of 11/29/09:

I know that all of you have been logging onto your computers every day in anticipation of seeing pictures of my groceries from last week.  :)  When you already have a crazy busy life and add the craziness of Christmas, well it is just super crazy.  I did hit Ukrop's several times this week.  I have everything in one super long spreadsheet.  I also hit "the K grocery store" a second time this week.  I even found some inexpensive crackers at Target this week.

These are the items that I got on Double Coupon Wednesday.  Steve got a new camera lens and I was having trouble getting everything in focus and so I took two pictures. 

These are the items I got from Ukrop's, Kroger, and Target later in the week.

And now the moment I know you have all been waiting for - the spreadsheet!

So here is the grand total (with the exception of Target*):

Shelf Price (before sales, coupons, or tax): $246.30
Final Price (after sales, coupons, and before tax): $98.63
Total Savings: $147.67 (60%)

* I didn't include Target because I didn't have the shelf price only the sale price on the receipt.



Not bad - I picked up some things (like the Starbucks Coffee and the Rubbermaid containers) that are Christmas presents and some treats (like Kid Cuisines) for my girls to help inspire them to be good during the day.  I also got a bunch of meat - now what should I make with all of it?