Catalina Deal at MARTIN’S, Summer Clearance, and Freebies!

I ran out real quick late Tuesday night to check out a few deals at MARTIN’S.  One of the deals that I was checking on was a Barilla Whole Grain Pasta catalina that I had read on-line was working at MARTIN’S affiliates.  I didn’t see any shelf tags, but I decided that I would still give it a try and it worked!  Thanks to the deal I bought three boxes of whole grain pasta for $0.33 a box.

Here is the deal:

• Buy three boxes of Barilla Whole Grain Pasta and earn a catalina for $2 off your next order.  I read on-line that the catalina is running 9/12-9/25/11, but I didn’t get a print out with the information to verify the dates.

Here is how it works out – what makes it even better is that it doesn’t require any coupons!

• Buy three boxes of Barilla Whole Grain Pasta on sale for $1 each this week
• Pay $3
• Earn a catalina at the end of your transaction for $2 off your next order
• $0.33 each after sale and catalina

I had three of the coupons for $1 off Barilla Pasta and Sauce and combined it with the catalina deal to pay only $4 for 3 boxes of Barilla pasta and 3 jars of Barilla sauce.

I also found some other clearance deals and freebies while I was in the store.

I found three Febreze Noticeables Warmers on the mark down shelf. They were marked down to $1.94 each – I happened to have with me three of the $3/1 Febreze Noticeables Warmer coupons with me and I was able to redeem all of them and get a little bit of a money maker. 

The summer merchandise is marked down 75% off – I got the large bottle of bubbles for $0.75 and the other two were $0.25 each.  The goggles were $0.50 each.

The Nexcare bandages (8 count) are in the travel section for $0.99 – combine these with the $0.55/1 coupon from the 6/5 insert for free bandages. 

The Balance Bars are $1 each – combine this with the $0.55/1 coupon that was on the front of the 9/11 SmartSource insert and they are also free.  (The coupon says do not double but because the barcode begins with a “5” it will still double.)

I had an internet printable (I think I got it off of facebook a few months ago) that was still valid for $0.50/1 Birdseye Frozen Vegetables.  It gave me a free bag of frozen veggies – something I haven’t snagged in a few months.

My last surprise of the night was the CareOne hand soap.  I had my $1/1 CareOne product coupon from the A Celebration of Savings! Coupon Booklet and was going to get lip balm for my girls, but when I scanned my BONUSCARD at the coupon machine when I walked in the store it gave me a coupon for $0.40 off CareOne handsoap – when I combined that with the $1/1 coupon I got it for free!

I also used my $1/1 Smart Living coupon for the erasers (that were $0.69) and my $1/1 Nature’s Promise milk ($2.99) from the A Celebration of Savings! Coupon Booklet. 

The total for this trip before sales, coupons, and tax = $54.40

Final Price for this trip after sales, coupons, and before tax = $15.09

Total Savings = $39.31 (72%)

I also earned a $2 off your next order catalina for the Barilla pasta and an additional $0.40/gallon with the purchase of the gloves, Clorox bleach, and Resolve – which is another $8 in savings!

Have you found any great clearance deals or freebies recently?  Please feel free to share.

Happy Shopping!

~Ann

Q: What are you going to do with 8 pounds of chicken breast? A: Freezer Cooking.

That is the abridged version of a conversation with a neighbor at a neighborhood gathering last Saturday.

I decided to cook both four pound packages of chicken that I picked up last week on sale for $1.99/lb instead of freezing in one pound portions.  I pulled out both of my slow cookers and put four pounds of raw boneless skinless chicken breast in each one.  I added barbecue sauce to one of them to make a batch of chicken barbecue and I added taco seasoning, Ro-tel tomatoes, and some other ingredients to the other one to make a chicken taco or burrito filling.  They both smelled great while they were cooking!

The taco/burrito filling is in the clear dish and the bowl is what I saved out for us for dinner. The chicken barbecue is in the black dish. I placed the bags in these dishes and then filled them with cold water and ice to safely cool them down before placing them in the freezer.

I had  found some bread on the “stale bread” shelf in MARTIN’s on Tuesday and had about one and one-half loaves left.  I had recently seen this post on Money Saving Mom about making homemade uncrustables for the freezer and making croutons out of the leftover crust.  I already had the Pampered Chef gadget and thought that it would be nice to have some ready made sandwiches for Natalie’s lunch. 

I tried making the sandwiches in the center of the bread, but because I wanted to save the crust for croutons I found it easier to just cut the bread first then press them together.

I wrapped the individual sandwiches in plastic wrap and then placed them all in a gallon sized freezer bag.

Yum! Butter, olive oil, italian seasonings and bread – what could smell better?!? We had a few more croutons before the picture. I had a few “quality control inspectors” passing through the kitchen when these were finished.

I also had several onions that I received in my produce box from Dominion Harvest that I wanted to chop up and freeze.  I ended up chopping up three and a half large onions and placing them in snack size bags so they are recipe-size portions.  I later wrapped the individual bags in foil, then placed them in a large storage bag and a freezer bag to keep the entire freezer from smelling like onions.

I really don’t like to chop onions so hopefully having this many onions ready in recipe-sized portions will make fixing dinner a lot easier.

I didn’t get everything finished that day, I had to go out to a parent’s night at school.  I did finally finish the last item on my agenda when I got a chance to cut up some of the beautiful peppers that I got in my produce box from Dominion Harvest.  I still had half of a large onion so I made portion sized bags of red and green peppers with onions for stir fry or fajitas and I chopped up one bag with assorted peppers and the rest of the onion to use for chili.

Cutting peppers is another chore I don’t like to do and hopefully this will make pulling dinner together easier and faster on busy weeknights.

 

What do you have stored in your freezer?  What are some ingredients that you keep on hand for quick weeknight meals?  Do you have a favorite fix double, triple, or quadruple and freeze the leftovers recipe?  Please feel free to share. 

Happy Cooking & Freezing!

~Ann

My Grocery Shopping for the Week–I saved 78.5%

We were out of town last so I had to hit the store Monday to get us some fresh produce.  (I still had milk and eggs that I bought before we left.  I love buying Organic Milk because of the long shelf life.)

Monday Afternoon’s Trip to MARTIN’S:

My Monday Night Trip to MARTIN’S:

My Wednesday Night Trip to MARTIN’S:

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

The Grocery Shopping Challenge

I decided to give myself a challenge.  I got $100 and told myself that that was all of the money I had for groceries for the next two weeks.  This meant that if I found a great sale I had to figure out how to work it into that $100 and not go over.  I was aware of about how much I spend on groceries,  but we have been eating at home more since Michael’s arrival and I wanted to see how much I could get for the $100.  I only allowed myself to use that cash.  I couldn’t use my debit card or credit card.  I did allow myself to “reimburse” that money for household purchases – like the $5 I spent on toilet paper at Martin’s.

I do want to note that I probably spent more at Martin’s than I normally would.  The two weeks that I gave myself the challenge I had received coupons from them for $10 off of a purchase of $50 or more.  I saw the coupon as a way to stockpile on meat and to save 20%.

I didn’t take pictures of my haul from last week.  I only made one trip to Martin’s.  I got groceries for $35.40 including pork chops and a whole eye round roast (~5.25 lb) in addition to produce and other odds and ends.   I didn’t get a chance to use the pork chops before their sell-by-date.  I pulled them out of the refrigerator that morning to freeze them and noticed a foul smell when I cut open the plastic wrap.  I took them back to Martin’s and because of the double your money back guarantee I got $7.94 back.  That gave me $72.54 to buy groceries with the next week. 

I did buy a few things that aren’t pictured, but here are the pictures from my big trip to Martin’s Thursday night:

 

• Multi-Grain Cheerios - $1.50
• (2) Ziploc Freezer Bags - $2.09
• (4) Coke Fridge Packs - $9 (For Steve to take to work)
• (6) Campbell’s Tomato Soup - $1.98
• Tazo Tea - $0.49
• Bananas - $0.41
• Red Grapes - $2.13
• (2) Cucumbers – $1
• Sweet Onion - $2.01
• Romaine Lettuce - $1.76
• Butternut Squash - $2
• (10) Dole Smoothies – FREE
• Pork Loin (10.05lb) - $18.89
• Spare Ribs - $13.18 (Manager’s Special)
• (8) Nestle Nesquik – FREE
• Zone Bar - $0.25
• Luna Bar – FREE
• Think Thin Bar - $0.75

Shelf Price (before sales, coupons, markdowns, bag credits, or tax): $158.63

Final Price (after sales, coupons, markdowns, and bag credits): $47.29

Total Savings: $111.34 (70%)

As part of my challenge I also had to include tax in my $100 – I paid $2.11 tax at this visit leaving me with $23.14 for a few things at Kroger and if I wanted to get a few more sale items.

Here is a picture of what I picked up at Kroger on Friday night:

 

• (3) Quaker Oatmeal - $1.50
• (4) Maruchan Yakisoba Noodles – FREE
• Dole Asian Salad Kit- $2.09 (Manager’s Special)
• (2) Pita Bread - $2
• Best Life Buttery Spread – FREE
• (2) Organic Milk  - $5
• (2) Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup - $1
• Kroger Banana Peppers - $0.99 (Manager’s Special)
• (3 dozen)  Kroger Medium Eggs - $1.50

Shelf Price (before sales, coupons, markdowns, bag credits, or tax): $37.39

Final Price (after sales, coupons, markdowns, and bag credits): $14.08

Total Savings: $23.31 (62%)

I paid $0.51 tax at Kroger leaving me with a balance of $8.55. 

I spent $2.01 on a loaf of my favorite grilled cheese bread at Martin’s when I returned the pork chops. 

I also ran into Martin’s on Saturday and spent $4.94 for some pepperoni and ham from the deli for our pizza night along with 8 more cans of Campbell’s Tomato Soup.

The final amount spent: $98.40

I was proud of myself and I think I bought a good selection of stockpile items (oatmeal, sodas, meat, and soup), produce, and dairy.  In case you are wondering what I am going to do with 10 pounds of pork loin.  I am going to cut off a portion of it for a roast.  I plan to grind the rest of it.  I am going to make and freeze sausage with some it and freeze the rest of it in about 1/2 pound portions to add to ground beef for things such as meatloaf, meatballs, chili, or hamburgers. 

Do you use a cash only grocery budget?  How do you budget for things such as unadvertised sales, manager markdowns, or items you want to stockpile?  How do you keep a tally of how much you have in your cart?  Any tips, ideas, or advice are always welcome.  :)

~Ann

I saved 70% at MARTIN’S

I mentioned several weeks ago that MARTIN’S did a huge mailing to all residents with zip codes near the newly remodeled stores.  They published store coupons with staggered dates so they could get shoppers in the stores about once a week for the next month.  These coupons have been great!  I used the ones for this week last night when we hit the store after being out-of-town for several days.  I got $3 off my purchases of $30 or more, a free 45 oz Ragu pasta sauce, and a free 1-lb box of San Giorgio Macaroni. 

Have you seen this coupon booklet?

I found it sitting on a table when they had employees registering customers for MARTIN’S cards.  I also saw some sitting at the Service Center desk (formerly customer service).  The coupons are for MARTIN’S Store brand items, but I saved $17 last night and got lots of free and almost-free items with the coupons.  The coupons require you to spend a minimum of $15 after all discounts and before tax.  I was able to use multiple coupons from the booklet along with my coupons from the Richmond area mailer together in one transaction.

Here is a picture of my purchases from last night:

Shelf Price (before sales, coupons, or tax): $85.46

Final Price (after sales, coupons, before tax): $26.04

Total Savings: $59.42 (70%)

 

Here is a list of what I purchased, the final price I paid, and the coupon I used:

(6) Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbeque Sauce - $0.50 each

($1/2 from 5/23 SS)

San Giorgio Pasta (1 lb)– FREE

(Richmond Residents MARTIN’S Coupon Mailer)

Hershey Milk Chocolate Bars - $2

(Tearpad $1 off when you buy GIANT Marshmallows & GIANT Graham Crackers)

Ragu Pasta Sauce (45 oz) – FREE (I double checked my receipt and discovered I actually made $0.49 on this read the comments section for more details.)

(Richmond Residents MARTIN’S Coupon Mailer)

Cottontail Baby Wipes (80 ct) - $1.19

($1 off Cottontails Baby Product from Coupon Booklet)

Pure Softness Dryer Sheets (40 ct) - $0.09

($1 off Pure Power of Pure Softness Product from Coupon Booklet)

Nature’s Promise Organic Black Beans (15.5 oz) – FREE

($1 off any Nature’s Promise Grocery Product from Coupon Booklet)

GIANT Graham Crackers (14.4 oz) - $1

($1 off any GIANT Brand Snack or Cookie from Coupon Booklet)

GIANT Marshmallows  (10 oz) - $0.89

GIANT Graham Cracker Pie Crust (6oz) – FREE

($1 off any GIANT Brand Product from Coupon Booklet)

GIANT Apple Juice (64 oz) – FREE

($1 off any GIANT Brand Beverage from Coupon Booklet)

Simply Dry Diapers (31 ct) - $2.99

($3 off any Simply Dry Diaper Product from Coupon Booklet)

(2) Smart Living D-sized Batteries (4 ct) - $2.39 (for both)

(on sale Buy 1 Get 1 Free, and $2 off any Smart Living Product from Coupon Booklet)

Value Pack Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast (3.82 lb) - $6.07

Nature’s Promise Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast (0.76 lb) - $0.16

(marked down for Manager’s Special, and $2 off any Nature’s Promise Meat, Produce, or Bakery Product from Coupon Booklet)

(1) Birds Eye Frozen Vegetables – FREE

($0.50 from 5/2 SS – it expired 5/30)

(3) Birds Eye Frozen Vegetables - $0.50 each

($0.50 from 5/2 SS – they will only double one coupon, the others are at face value)

Simply Enjoy Apple Blossom - $1.59

($1 off any Simply Enjoy Product from Coupon Booklet)

GIANT Ice Cream Sandwiches (12 ct) - $1.50

($1 off any GIANT brand Ice Cream from Coupon Booklet)

Stonyfield Organic Milk - $3.99

CareOne Nail Buffer - $0.19

($1 off any CareOne Beauty Care Product from Coupon Booklet)

CareOne Extra Strength Pain Reliever (24 ct) - $0.99

($1 off any CareOne Health Care Product from Coupon Booklet)

Redeemed $3 off your total purchase of $30 or more

I will let you know what I think about the MARTIN’S store brand items as we try them out.  I was really hesitant to buy the diapers, I have always been a “Pampers Snob” after having bad luck with a couple of other brands when the girls were each small.  I figured that for $2.99 if I don’t like them I will leave them in the church nursery.

Have you tried any of the MARTIN’S brands?  Did you like them, or notice a difference?

Ukrop’s Double Coupon Wednesday and Weekly Deals (4/19-4/24)

If you have been in a Ukrop’s recently I am sure you have noticed how bare it is.  My store is closing for the conversion to MARTIN’S on Saturday.  I was in there last night and saw them marking down lots of stuff.  I really didn’t get much.  My pantry is overflowing and the deals weren’t that different from what I had already snagged at other stores.  Not to mention the way they were doing it was filling up a shopping cart and then bringing it to the front of the store.  There was a group of about 10–15 vultures people who were waiting for each new cart to come up.  Being almost 6 months pregnant and having a 4 year-old with me - I did not feel like fighting a crowd so that I could get hot chocolate mixes for $0.50 each.  (I can do that with coupons.)

The ad is almost as bare as the store shelves were.  There are a few good deals and don’t forget to see if you can match up some of your $0.75 off coupons while they double up to $1.50 on Wednesday.  If you want to see an on-line version of this week’s ad click here. 

Here are some guidelines for using coupons at Ukrop’s:

Ukrop’s will double manufacturer coupons up to $0.99 on Wednesdays only.

Ukrop’s will not double more than 5 like coupons per transaction.

Ukrop’s does accept internet printable (IP) coupons up to a face value of $2.  They do not accept IP coupons for a free item.  This includes buy 1 get 1 free.

The coupons that will double on Wednesday are in red. 

Item	Sale Price	Coupon Source	Coupon Amount	Doubled	Final Price
Kashi Organic Promise Cereal	2/$5	allyou.com	$1		Buy 1 for $1.50
Kashi Cereal  Bars	2/$5	Mambo Sprouts	$1		Buy 1 for $1.50
Earthbound Organic Clamshell Salads	2/$5	Mambo Sprouts	$0.55	$0.55	Buy 1 for $1.40
Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage	$3.49	4/18 RP	$1/2		Buy 2 for $5.98
Oscar Mayer Meat Bologna (16 oz)	$2.98	3/7 SS	$1/2		Buy 2 for $4.96
Hebrew National Beef Hot Dogs (12 oz)	2/$6	3/7 SS	$0.75	$0.75	Buy 1 for $1.50
Select General Mills Cereals	4/$10	cereal	$1/2		Buy 2 for $4
Keebler Sandies	2/$4	4/18 RP	$0.55	$0.55	Buy 1 for $0.90
Keebler Vienna Fingers	2/$4	4/18 RP	$0.55/2	$0.55/2	Buy 2 for $2.90
Krunchers! Potato Chips (9.6 oz)	$2.99	4/18 SS	$1		$1.99
Hellmann’s Mayonnaise (30 oz)	$3.29	3/28 RP	$0.60	$0.60	$2.09
Wishbone Salad Dressing	2/$4	3/28 RP	$0.75	$0.75	Buy 1 for $0.50
Ocean Spray Juice & Cran-Blends (64 oz)	2/$5	3/21 RP	$1		$1.50
Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers	2/$6	3/28 SS	$1		Buy 1 for $2
Marie Callender’s Signature Creations	2/$6	4/18 SS	$1/2		Buy 2 for $5
Hershey Pieces	$2.79	4/18 SS	$1		$1.79
Reynolds Wrap Recycled Foil	2/$5	reynolds (must register)	$1.25		Buy 1 for $1.25
Green works Liquid Dish Detergent, All Purpose Cleaner, or Glass & Surface Cleaner	$2.99	4/18 SS	$0.50	$0.50	$1.99
Green works Laundry Detergent (30 loads)	$4.99	4/18 SS	$1.50		$3.49
Tampax Tampons	$5.49	3/7 PG	$1		$4.49
Tampax Tampons	$5.49	3/7 PG	$2 (Tampax Pearls)		$3.49
Tampax Tampons	$5.49	4/4 PG	buy 1 get 1 free	(combine with 3/7 PG)	Buy 2 for $3.49
Always Pads	$5.49	3/7 PG	$1		$4.49
Always Pads	$5.49	4/4 PG	buy 1 get 1 free	(combine with 3/7 offer)	Buy 2 for $4.49
BiC Flex 4 Razors (4 ct)	$3.69	3/28 SS	$2		$1.69
BiC Flex 4 Razors (4 ct)	$3.69	4/18 SS	$3		$0.69
Pantene Shampoo & Conditioner	$2.49	3/7 PG	$3/2		Buy 2 for $1.98
Pantene Shampoo & Conditioner	$2.49	4/4 PG	$1/2		Buy 2 for $3.98
Pantene Styling Aids	$2.49	3/7 PG or 4/4 PG	$1		$1.49
Pantene Styling Aids	$2.49	3/7 PG	$3/2		Buy 2 for $1.98
Sargento Shredded Cheese	2/$4	1/31 SS	$0.50/2	$0.50/2	Buy 2 for $3
Sargento Reduced Sodium Colby Jack Sticks & String Cheese	2/$4	4/18 SS	$0.75	$0.75	Buy 1 for $0.50
Tropicana Pure Premium Juices (89 oz)	$4.49	2/21 RP	$1/2		Buy 2 for $7.98
Turkey Hill Iced Tea and Lemonade (1 gallon)	2/$5	4/11 RP	$1/2
Reddi Wip Whipped Topping (7 oz)	2/$5	3/28 SS	$0.50	$0.50	Buy 1 for $1.50
Parkay Squeeze Margarine (12 –16 oz)	$1.29	3/28 SS	$0.75/2	$0.75/2	Buy 2 for $1.08
Land O’Lakes Half & Half (32 oz)	2/$5	3/28 SS	$1/2		Buy 2 for $4
Almond Breeze Almond Milk (64 oz)	$2.99	2/28 SS	$1		$1.99
Yoplait Go-Gurt Yogurt (18 oz)	2/$5	3/21 SS	$0.35	$0.35	Buy 1 for $1.80
Yoplait Go-Gurt Yogurt (18 oz)	2/$5	3/21 SS	$0.75/2	$0.75/2	Buy 2 for $3.50
Stonyfield Farms Yogurt (Low-fat or O’Soy) 32 oz	$2.99	stonyfield	$0.50	$0.50	$1.99
fuelperks!bonus! Rewards	earn a bonus $0.05 per gallon	with each purchase
Orville Redenbacher Microwave Popcorn	$1.99	3/28 SS	$0.40	$0.40	$1.19

Feel free to share any deals that you find.  Also, if you have some hockey gear you might want to wear it near the mark down baskets in Ukrop’s.  :)

Happy Shopping!

Double Coupon Wednesday Deals at Ukrop’s

I found a few clearance and marked down items.  These items are shown in my total spent, but not in the shelf price or my total savings because they had to manually entered.

• (2) Joe’s Market Lemonade - $0.50
• Smoothie Mix - $0.50
• Coleslaw Dressing Mix - $0.50
• Mariani’s Dried Cranberries – $0.50
• Food Club Gourmet Popping Corn - $0.50
• Blue #1 Birthday Candle - $0.20 (for baby brother)

Here is the list of the rest of my purchases:

• Betty Crocker Muffin Mix - $1
• Betty Crocker Warm Delights - $0.16
• (3) Contadina Tomato Paste - $0.16 each
• (4) Dole Pineapple Chunks - $0.50 each
• (6) Dole Tropical Fruit Salad - $0.50 each
• (2) Prego Heart Smart Pasta Sauce - $1 each
• Ukrop’s Gourmet Decaf Coffee - $3.99
• V8 Fusion Light - $1
• Gardening Gloves - $1.99
• Woman’s Day Magazine - $1.99
• Food Club Frozen Blueberries - $1.99
• (2) Food Club Ice Cream (1.75 pints) - $1.99 each
• International Delight Pint - $0.89
• (3) Stonyfield Organic Yogurt - $0.46 each
• Stir Fry Beef - $2.99
• Pork Shoulder Picnic (7.72 lb)- $9.88
• Pork Tenderloin (2.78 lb)- $7.42
• Pork Tenderloin (2.66 lb) - $7.12
• Bananas (1.92 lb) - $0.94
• Cucumber - $0.99
• Strawberries - $2.50

Shelf Price (before sales, coupons, or tax): $107.95

Final Price (after sales, coupons, and before tax): $61.88

Total Savings: $46.07 (43%)

I bought the pork tenderloins for preparing meals this week for two families from our church that recently had new babies.  The rest of the meats are for us.  I will make barbeque with the pork shoulder early next week.  I am thinking we will have either fajitas or stir fry with the beef strips I found marked down 33% off.

Double Coupon Wednesday at Ukrop's

Don't forget that tomorrow is double coupon day at Ukrop's.  They will double any manufacturer's coupon up to a face value of $0.99.  I have a complete list of deals from this week's ad in a previous post that you can find here.   Don't forget that the first wave of conversions of Ukrop's stores to MARTIN'S stores begins this Saturday so if your store is in the first wave you may be able to find some really great markdowns on Food Club, Full Circle, and Joe's Market items.  Here is a list that I found and posted so you can find out when your store is slated for remodel. 

Happy Shopping!

Updated info on Multi-week Ukrop’s deals

I ran into Ukrop’s late tonight and checked on a few multi-week deals while I was picking up some Barilla pasta for $0.33.  (I got the coupons I ordered off ebay for $1/2 Barilla Piccolini Pastas.) 

Here is what I found out or was able to clarify:

• The Dole canned fruit that I first mentioned in this post is on multi-week deal for $1 until 4/17.  (I don’t know how stores that close for remodeling before this date will handle this.)  Don’t forget to use your $0.55 off coupon from the 3/21 SS to get canned fruit for $0.45 a can.
• I got a tip from Maria in the comments section of my post that the Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta and the Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Pasta is now on an everyday price for $1.25.  If you combine this with the coupons that I mentioned in this post you will get it for FREE on Wednesday with a possible overage! 

Happy Shopping!

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%)

Pick 5 for$25 Meat Sale – Round 1

I mentioned in this post that you can combine the Monday and Friday daily deals with the Pick 5 for $25 meat sale to really get a good deal.

   Here is how it all worked out and what size packages I picked up Monday night:

Perdue Boneless Breast (1.81 lb) - $5

Pork Loin Boneless Pork Chops (2.07 lb) - $5

Ground Round (1.79 lb) - $1.42*

Ground Round (1.79 lb) – $1.42*

Ground Round (1.78 lb) - $1.45*

Iced Donuts (4-ct) - $2 (on a 33% mark down)

Shelf Price (before sales, coupons, or tax): $42.95

Final Price (after sales, coupons, before tax): $16.29

Total Savings: $26.66 (62%)

*When I looked at my receipt I realized I got an awesome deal on the ground round – it shows the original price then an adjustment to make the price $5 for the sale, then it adjusted the price for the Monday sale by taking 50% off the original price – after the markdown to $5!

I can’t wait until Friday so I can get more chicken breast!

Now I just need to decide what I am going to do with my 5+ pounds of ground beef.  :)

Ukrop's Thrift Ailse? What is that?

I am currently working on my match-ups for this week’s Ukrop's ad. I am hoping to have it all finished and posted either tonight or early Tuesday morning. There are lots of great sales and don't forget that they will double manufacturer coupons up to 0.99 on Wednesday only. I am planning on going to the store extra early this week in hopes of beating the crowds of people buying Thanksgiving Day goodies. This morning I wanted to take a moment and talk about a well-kept secret about Ukrop's.

Every morning - for the first 2 hours (7-9AM) Ukrop's has a section of the store in the bakery department and in the meat department cooler known as thrift aisle. (I don't know if that is the official title, but my MIL has always called it that and so that is what it gets called at our house.) The inventory will vary from store to store and even day to day. The products you will find there are items that have sell-by-dates of that day. They will have a sticker indicating that the item is 33% off the current price. When I say current price I mean that if the item is on sale that week it is 33% off the sale price. (Ex. White House Rolls are on sale this week 2/$4. If you find them on thrift aisle you can snatch them up for $1.34!) I have found items like various cuts and types of meat from the meat case, cold fried chicken, chicken salad, fruit and vegetable trays, bagels, cookies, White House Rolls, and sandwich rolls. For the most part I have had good luck with the items that I purchased. Ukrop's guarantees their products to be fresh and safe to eat up to 3 days past the sell-by-date. The few times that I have had a "bad" thrift aisle purchase I have taken it back to customer service with my receipt and explained the problem and they have happily refunded me my money.

You may also find items marked down late in the evening at some stores. When and what gets marked down depends on a few factors. Usually they will start to mark down items with sell by dates of the next day (if they don't sell that night they will be on thrift aisle the next morning, if they still don't sell I don't know for sure where they go.) I have also seen some stores on Saturday afternoon marking down things that they seem to have an overabundance of that may still have a good sell by date. I have found that when and how much merchandise they mark down varies from location to location. This is because the final decision of when and what to start marking down usually comes from that store's general manager.

Now to tie this into Thanksgiving - in years past each store will get lots of prepared foods and Thanksgiving side dishes. Depending on the inventory and the sell by dates you may be able to grab a few extra sides on Wednesday for Turkey Day or to go along with the leftovers when all of your side dishes are gone on a good sale. If you don't have any luck on Wednesday - generally the day after Thanksgiving is very slow in a grocery store so check it out on Friday.