$50 challange

As promised on my facebook page yesterday, I made a challenge for myself today ...spend only 50.00 on groceries. Here is my details...

Of course I went to Albertsons...again I am sorry it is just really convenient for me and often they really do have some awesome deals.

( Excuse the bug on my roof :p )

My biggest draw to Albertsons is their box top for education promotions. Here is a link to my local promotion...Here 

My first 10

4 Totino's pizza rolls

4 Totino's pizzas

2 Grands Biscuits...

All of these were a 1.00 each when you buy 10, but then we add the coupons! You can use these...

Betty Crocker Coupons    just sign up! Then you can print up to 2 of each coupon.

ok So I used 1.00 off of 4 pizzas = 3.00

.40 off of one pizza rolls ( manufacture clipped coupons) and .35 off of 2 printable coupon =3.25

.30 off of 2 biscuits printable....85 each or 1.70

Total for this 10 = 7.95

A savings of $2.05

Do not use this photocopy!

My next 10

2 boxes of Cheerios

2 boxes of Cookie Crisp

4 Progresso soups

3 grands biscuits ( yes I realize that is 11, I will explain)

So as you see in the picture above I used 2 printable coupons from smart source.com 

for the cereal... on sale they are 1.99 each so w/ the above mentioned coupon I got each set of 2 for 2.98   1.49 a box

I used a coupon from the same website for the Progresso soups. on sale they were 1.29 each, with the coupon total price was 4.20 or 1.05 a can



Thanks to my little model! See the peelie (coupon) on top of the can he is holding? It is for .30 off of 3 grands biscuits. Again these were on sale for 1.00 each (although realizing now that by buying 3 of them I paid 1.50 for one of them ) so total for the three is $3.20 or 1.07 a can .

So total for these 10 was =



$13.36

Not as good as the first 10 but I saved 3.30

I ALWAYS grab at least one set of these bogo  (buy one get one free ) specials so 2 packages for a total of $8.88
Also I got super lucky with these deals...

Just because they are discounted does not mean they are bad, it means you either . All this means is that you need to either use them quickly or freeze them as soon as you get home. These "manager specials" were on the chicken shown and the steaks underneath them. The chicken I got for a little over 3.00 and the steaks I got for a little over 4.00 so Approx. Total 7.00

I was also thrilled to find this managers special...



This is awesome! OK so these are already on special for 2.99...2.00 means I paid .99! ( This particular product expires on the 14th so i will use it tonight or tomorrow)
I also bought another one because I had a coupon for 1.00 off (and wasn't sure I could combine with the managers special) so my second one cost 1.99

When pasta is on sale I go crazy! I love pasta! American Beauty pasta is on sale for 1.00 each so I bought 3 different kinds of pasta.

I could have planned this part a bit better and I think it is part of the reason why I went a little over budget...I will get there, anyway Barilla pasta sauce is yummy and I knew that Saving Star had a coupon for it, so that I will get 1.00 rebate later, however! The rebate is for the sauce and the barilla pasta :(
So I paid 3.49 for a jar of pasta sauce
Last week ( I forgot to post my trip last week but I really want to be better at that) I bought 10 for 10 Nalley's chilli at Safeway...But one can not live on chili alone. So today i used a manufactures coupon from last weeks "moments" insert for 1.00 off of 2 bags of Frito's. They were 2.99 a bag so total = 4.98

I think that is the other thing that put me over budget :(

Yes I said it twice now, I was over budget. My goal was 50.00... I spent $56.00
For all of this!

So what do you think?

How did I do?

Peelie Heaven!

Ok I am sorry, I really should say that Albertsons is not the only store that has amazing deals but for me it's the most convienet and really does have some awesome deals! I have also decided to try a new approach to my blogs so we will see how this goes...

In my opinion this is the best thing Albertsons has ever done. It is only going on this week. All of those random change coupons that you have saved...you can round up to a dollar this week! But the three best deals I found today were from peelies.

What are peelies...See the pink coupon on the above package? That is a peelie. coupons that you can peel and use when you get to the check out but don't do this....

I took this picture at Target when I first started couponing. If it is an awesome peelie, don't take it off the product! Not unless you plan on buying the product that day! Or else other people will not be able to take advantage of the deal.

Ok off my soap box and back to subject at hand

I always look at this part of the ad. Sometimes it's not worth my time but other times it is a life saver!

ok so good to great on this promo this week.

So the "peelies" on these were actually coupons that were taped onto the boxes. 1.00 off of 2

buy 10 without the coupon = 14.90

find 5 of the 1.00 off coupons ( I think these are in the new savings book up front) = 9.90 for all of them or .99 a box

They have these on the promo as well.  These were in a display up front, w/ peelies!

buy 10 = 14.90

use 10 peelies ( because the coupon is for .55 off of 1) and ROUND UP!

final total = 4.90 or .49 a box!

BEST DEAL!

( we use these for the holidays, lots of great recipes, might post the banana pudding recipe)

ok 10 of these are 7.50

wonderful peelie on the display said .55 off of 2

Grab 5 peelies!

ROUND UP!

2.50 total or .25 a box! :)

I did a whole bunch of shopping today but these were my 3 best deals... more blogs to come :)



Not a bad day at Fred Meyer

I used to actually get stomach aches when I would walk into Fred Meyer!
I think I have mentioned this before so for you non-northwest people, Fred Meyer is a lot like Kroger. You can load coupons on to your card, sometimes they have store coupons and sometimes you have manufactures coupons. But when you can combine them!!!!!!!!!!!! It is just plain awesome!

OK So here is the run down. These are my best deals

My mom is a huge University of Oregon Ducks fan. This t-shirt was on clearance for 4.97!
Also my kids needed new under ware, thankfully they had a sale b1g1 1/2 off. My daughter's was 8.99, my son's was 3.49
I also grabbed a long sleeve shirt for my 9 month old nephew for 5.00
BUT.... I also had a coupon for 20% off apparel... total for all of this was $17.96

I also *thought I needed some Cd's for my photography business that I started ( Unfortunatley my home computer doesn't want to burn any pictures) I actually got the pack with 30 in it. It was on sale for 9.99 and I had a coupon for 20% off of any recording devices making it 7.00

 Then it was body wash extravaganza lol my own title, not there is. I have some older manufactures coupons ...first for Axe shower gel ( Love the smell of it!)



I had a b1g1free coupon and a Freddy's loaded coupon for 2.00 off when you buy 2....so final price for 2 of them was 1.89 :) .95 cents each



Suave body wash is on sale for 1.49 a bottle. Freddy's loadable coupon was 1.00 off of 2 and I had a manufactures coupon for b2 g 1 free so for this deal total cost was 1.98 or .66 a bottle!

I Bought this for my kids...
These were also 1.49 a bottle and the loaded coupon for this was .50 off of 2...so total was 2.50
My last deal of the night was Suave Professionals

These were also on sale for 1.49 each ( how lucky am I right?) I had a loaded coupon for 1.00 off of 2. I also had a manufactures coupon for b1 get a free can of Dry shampoo. If you have never used dry shampoo I highly recommend it. Some mornings being a busy mom I know I can't take a shower until night so a quick spray and putting my hair up and my hair doesn't get all gross and greasy! Anyway back on subject....So I got the dry shampoo , shampoo and conditioner...for 1.98 or .66 a bottle ( my lucky number for the day.)

Total spent $33.31
I saved $18.35

Can't resist the doublers!

First I am going to apologize, if your area does not have a store that doubles, or combines store coupons with manufacturers coupons I really do feel for you. A lot of the deals I have done lately have been because of one or the other.

Every once in a while Albertsons puts "Twice the value" coupons in the Sunday paper. They will double up to a dollar on 3 manufacturers coupons. Today it was announced that if you like Albertsons on Facebook you can now print out a double coupon!!!!!!!!!!

So, I decided to take my chances and go to the store on a Sunday at 4 pm.

Total for all you see in this picture before coupons was $86.83 ( without preferred card or promotional deals)

Total I paid out the door....$46.43 a total savings of 47%

Here is what I did.

I decided to take advantage of the Hamburger Helper deal again but this time I bought 8 instead of 10. (Incidentally, I now have 20 boxes of this in my storage room alone!) With the promo savings of .50 each when you buy 10 participating products it was 4.00

I used 1 more 1.00 off of 5 coupon and .75 off of 3 coupon...total paid 2.25 or 30 a box, and got another Catalina print out for 2.00 off my next meat purchase.

Also on the box top deal

2 boxes of Betty Crocker potatoes .50 each - .50 off of 2 = .25 a box

2 Pillsbury refrigerated cookie dough

Lucky Peelie! LOL

1.99 - .55 off of 2 peelie = 3.43 or roughly 1.70 each

2 boxes of gushers fruit snacks 1.99 ea - .50 off of 2 = 3.43

3 boxes of general mills Cinnamon Toast Crunch 1,99 each - 1.00 off of 3 = 4.97

and 2 Pillsbury refrigerated cinnamon rolls 1.99 each - .75 off of 2 = 3.23

( i went over ten to compensate for the 8 boxes of hamburger helper)

Total = 16.08 - 3 twice the value coupons = 13.08!

My kids needed drinks so I used the new coupon book in front. It was 1.00 off of 2 Sprite 8 packs = 8.38 (including deposit)

My mom really likes the new Mentos gum so I bought 3 of those @ 1.49 ea 4.47- 1.00 coupon = 3.47

Saving Star  has these "coupons" that I previously loaded to my albertsons card...

The Rhodes rolls were 2.99 each and I had 2 coupons for .75 off...= 4.48 for both( 2.24 each) when it registers on Saving star I will get .75 back actually making it 3.73 or 1.87 each!

The Foster Farms corn dogs had a 2.00 peelie on them! So it was 7.49 - 2.00 = 5.49 and when it registers on Saving Star ( I get a dollar ) it actually makes it 4.49 for 44 mini corn dogs!

All in all some great deals today and I walked out with 35 box tops! I will most likely go shopping again on Wednesday :D

speaking of box tops for education!

Go to this web sight and see if your store participates, I can't believe how much I have earned for my daughter's school and let's face it...most public schools need as much help as they can get!

Box tops for education and my shopping trip today

So much stuff it covered my entire freezer chest...and I don't have a small one!

I did try to get some closer up pictures to really show you what I got but my camera batteries died :(

Here is everything I bought today...
10 boxes of Hamburger Helper
4 boxes of Butter and Herb Betty Crocker boxed potatoes
2 Frito Lay variety packs
10 cans of Green Giant canned Vegetables
4 boxes of frozen Green Giant Vegetables
5 boxes of Totino's pizza rolls
2 boxes of Toaster Strudels
2 regular Jello puddings
2 Jello Temptations
1 6pk of Pepsi bottles
Shoppers Value potato chips
1 lb of bananas
1 bag of bakery chocolate chip cookies

2 Rump roasts

2 pre-seasoned chicken halves

chicken drumsticks

" thighs

total before Albertsons savings $184.08

Now down to the nitty gritty and how I saved 56%

Albertson's Box Tops for Education promotion:
Buy 10 items listed in the promotion save 5.00 and get 25 box tops ( I ended up getting 35 box tops for each set)
10 boxes of Hamburger Helper @ .50 each = 5.00
- (2) 1.00 off of 5 coupons (from paper) = 3.00 or .30 each!
** Catalina promotion!** buy 3 get 1.00...buy 4 get 1.50...buy 5 or more get 2.00 off of meat**
So I got 2.00 off of my next purchase of meat.

4 boxes Betty Crocker potatoes @ .50 each = 2.00
- 1.00 off of 2 (printable) = 1.00 or .25 each!

5 boxes of Totino's pizza rolls @ 1.00 each= 5.00
- 1.00 off of 2 ( printable) = 4.00 or .80 each

10 cans of Green Giant veggies @.50 each = 5.00 (great deal, no coupon)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

** Catalina promotion**
buy 4 jello products get a 3.00 off next purchase Catalina
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In ad coupon, 4.99 for Frito Lay multi packs (limit 2)

Bogo Rump Roast
Bogo seasoned Chicken

1.99 per lb chicken thighs
1.29 per lb chicken legs

oh yeah, and the free stuff!  Often at Albertsons you can get Catalina print outs for free stuff! I had 3 of them, 1 for free cookies, 1 for free bananas and 1 for free shopper's value potato chips!

Total after coupons and preferred savings = 86.08
(total saving on just this trip is 110.68)

Labor day...Christmas shopping?

In my last post I mentioned that I wanted to start Christmas shopping this month, then I mentioned the family game night board game coupons....Now I can say that there is a really good deal at Target!

Buy one of these games and get a free Market Pantry pizza!....So say for instance you grab the $4.00 off coupon on Guess Who, Sorry, Scrabble, Connect Four, Life or Operation.

Before coupon these games are 12.00

Use the coupon and you pay only $8.00

Save the games for Christmas and stock up on pizza at the same time! Love it!

The family game night website will allow you to print the coupons twice from each computer.

Here is my scenario

 Yesterday I took advantage of another good deal at Target.

Buy a Bounce dryer bar (5.99) and a bottle of Downey fabric softener (also 5.99)  get a $5.00 Target gift card!

One thing I am not sure I have mentioned yet that you should sign up for is vocal point  . They send you coupons and samples of stuff a lot and one of the most recent deals was for Bounce dryer bars! I received a 2.50 coupon for myself and 1.00 coupons to share with friends. So I used that one and paid 3.49 for the dryer bar.

Then I used a .50 off Downey coupon from last Sunday's P&G insert and paid 5.49

total = 8.98

Since my kids were with me I am going to go back tomorrow and pick up Operation and Connect Four. Use my 5.00 gift card and 2 $4.00 coupons for the board games...pay 11.00 and get 2 games and 2 pizzas! good deal right? I thought so.