Saturday, March 14, 2009

CVS Deals 3/15

There are 3 MONEY MAKERs this week! See details below!

Irish Spring Body Wash =$4.99 (3 DAY ONLY SALE, limit 1)
Get back 4.99 in EB=FREE!
Use .50/1 coupon coming out in tomorrows SS insert=.50 MONEY MAKER!

Colgate Max Whitening Toothpaste or Max Toothbrush =$2.99, limit 1
Get back 2.99 in EB=FREE!
use .75/1 coming out in tomorrow's SS insert=.75 MONEY MAKER!

Right Guard Sport, Soft & Dri, Dry Idea, or Xtreme Deodorant= $2.99, limit 1
Get back $2 in EB=.99
Use $2/1 Dry Idea coupon here=$1 MONEY MAKER!

If you buy all 3 of these items and use the suggested coupons above you could make an overage of $2.25!!!

Be sure to see other great CVS deals this week here, and Walgreens deals here!
Bold

Friday, March 13, 2009

This week's MEGA SAVINGS!


I bought 20 participating items in one transaction and had 82% in savings!!! Here is what I did:
  • 4 tubs of Land O Lakes butter spread=6.76
  • 1 Quaker Qaukes=.99
  • 3 boxes of Fiber One bars=7.50
  • 2 bags of Chex Mix=4.58
  • 2 Colgate toothbrushes=3.00
  • 1 Colgate toothpaste=1.50
  • 4 Ken's Salad dressings=9.16
  • 1 Toaster strudel=2.39
  • 2 pints of Kroger ice cream=1.98
Total before coupons=37.86
  • -$5 off total for purchasing 10 participating items
  • -$5 off total for purchasing 10 participating items
  • - 4 .55/1 Land O lakes coupons=-$4.00
  • - 1/1 Quaker coupon
  • - 3 .50/1 Fiber One coupons=-$3.00
  • -.75/1 shortcuts.com Fiber One coupon
  • -$1/2 shortcuts.com Fiber One coupon
  • -2 .50/1 Chex Mix coupons=-$2.00
  • - 2 .60/1 Cellfire.com chex mix coupons=-$1.20
  • -3 .75/1 Colgate coupons=-$3.00
  • -4 1/1 Kens salad dressing coupons=-$4.00
  • -.35/1 Toaster strudel coupon=-.70
  • -.50/1 Cellfire.com toaster strudel coupon
Total after coupons=$6.71!!!!

Considering I bought many "snack" items I thought this was a perfect way to show how easy it is to buy these for less since they are often the cause of our grocery bill getting out of control.

Birthday FREEBIES

Well considering my inbox is flooding with birthday freebies and coupons (yep the big day is a few short days away) I thought I would let you in on these great deals too!

This website here has a great compilation of all the great FREEBIES to be had! All you have to do at is sign up your email. Don't forget to sign up your hubby's and kiddos too!

Since my hubby is on spring break from school next week we plan to thoroughly enjoy all my FREE treats!

Hy-Vee ONE DAY ONLY SALE!

These deal are good for TODAY ONLY (Friday the 13th). Be sure to see the other weekly deals here!
  • Green seedless grapes=.88/lb.
  • Hy-Vee half gallons of milk=1.18/1
  • Hy-Vee 64 oz. Apple juice=.99/1
  • Whole boneless pork loin=1.99/lb.
  • Hy-Vee Deli Sliced ham=1.88/lb.
  • 5 oz. Bacon wrapped Turkey tenderloin=10/$10
  • Fresh Deli Subs= BIGI free
  • Halmark Expression greeting cards=BIGI free
  • 12 inch fresh Pizzas=BIGI fre (prices 7.99/1)
  • 5 lb. russet potatoes=.99/1
  • Fresh sliced pork steak=.99/1
  • Hy-Vee 4qt pails of ice cream=2.98
Those are the best deals I see of the one day sale!

Happy Friday!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Dillons: Chex Mix .19/bag?

It looks like Chex Mix is also apart of the Mega 10 event going at Dillons. It is regularly priced at 2.29. Here is how you get this for .19/bag assuming you have 9 other qualifying purchases in one transaction to get your automatic $5 off your .50/per item:
  • 1 bag of chex mix=2.29
  • -.50 per item discount for purchasing 10 qualifying items
  • -.50/1 coupon from recent inserts
  • -.60/1 cellfire.com coupon
Total=.19 for a bag!

Hy-Vee 3/11-3/17

Again my apologies that this is arriving late. Be sure to come back early tomorrow morning for all the Friday the 13th ONLY DEALS! Also don't forget to pick up your Hy-Vee coupon book in the store!
  • Pepsi 2 liters=.88/1
  • General Mills cereal=1.68/1 (Beats Aldi price and if you use coupons here and here you can get a better deal!)
  • 3 lb. bags of Pilgram's pride chicken breasts=4.99 (beats Aldi price of 6.25!)
  • 3 lb. bags of select apples=1.99/bag (GREAT PRICE!)
  • Dole broccoli=1.38/head
  • 16 oz package of radishes=.99
  • 1lb. packages of Grimmway farms baby carrots=.88/1 (beats Aldi regular price of .99/1)
  • sweet yellow onions=.59/lb.
  • Hy-Vee fresh packages of chicken drumsticks or thighs=.79/lb. (great price!)
  • Carol Budding 8-10 oz packages of lunch meat=2/$4. There are often $1 off coupons on the inside!
  • Betty Crocker corn muffin or pizza crust mix=3/$1 or .33/1 (same as Aldi price)
  • Betty Crocker boxes of brownies=.96/1 (Aldi price is still around .79/1 I think)
  • Hy-Vee cottage white or wheat bread=.99/1 (beats the Aldi wheat bread price of 1.19/1!)
  • Hy-Vee individual cups of yogurt=3/$1 or .33/1 (beats Aldi price of .43/1)
  • Select 2 lb. bags of Lyndon Farm potatoes=.99/1 (GREAT PRICE!!!)
  • Hy-Vee 12 oz. cottage cheese=.77/1 (beats Aldi price of 2.12 for 24 oz.)
  • Green cabbage=.15/lb.
  • Farmland sausage links=1.29/1 (use coupons from Farmland mailer to get a better price!)
  • Oscar Myer bacon=1.99/1 with in ad coupon
  • 8 oz. package of Hy-Vee singles cheese=.88/1 with in ad coupon (Aldi price for these is .79/1 I think)
Be sure to check back tomorrow for all the Friday the 13th ONLY DEALS!!!

Also I am wondering your thoughts on Dillons vs. Hy-Vee. Would you say that you are able to find things for a better price at Dillons or Hy-vee on a regular basis?

Remember the best way to support this blog besides your readership is to continue using the coupons.com widget found here. If you would like to see deals at other grocery stores be sure to visit the BeCentsAble Grocery Gathering here!

See the weekly Dillons (Kroger) deals here and the Apple market deals here!

Getting Control of the Grocery Bill Part II

This is what I posted over at TopekaKidsRock.com this morning. Be sure to head over there to see all the FUN spring break happenings around Topeka next week!

Getting Control of the Grocery Bill Part II

This the second post in my series titled "Getting Control of the Grocery Bill." In the 1st post I discussed knowing how much you are spending and what a good amount to spend is. In this post I want to suggest food items that might create "waste" in your grocery bill.

In my personal opinion one of the biggest ways to waste your precious grocery dollars is by buying unnecessary snacks/convenience items. I say this because I have experienced it first hand. When we were 1st married with no kids our grocery budget was $25o.00 a month. After the birth of our 1st child and a job change we needed to cut our grocery budget to $160.00 a month. The most helpful way to meet my new goal was to stop buying snack and convenience items. It was a hard adjustment at first, but we slowly got used to it. (As a side note, my husband and I have since both shed those extra pounds we always said we wanted to get rid of!)

What I consider snack/convenience items:
I consider snack/convenience items anything that comes in a box... for the most part. Mainly for us those snack items are/were granola bars, little debbies, snack packs (individual 100 calories packs, or other convenience take along items), crackers, chips, cookies, pop tarts, frozen snacks (pizza rolls, hot pockets, lean cuisine meals), soda, ice cream, instant anything and even cereal.

The reality about most of these products is that they don't really add any nutritional value to your diet and they are terribly over priced! Below are some ideas to still have snack/convenience items in your house but at less of the cost.

Breakfast items:
Instead of buying frozen waffles, pancakes, toaster strudels or other frozen meals make things like muffins, breads, pancakes and waffles from scratch and then freeze them. The defrost button on the microwave works great for things like this. Pancakes and waffles reheated in a toaster are also a hit!

If you are cereal eaters try eating less of it (like only 3 days a week instead of 6) or buying it when it is a good price. Aldi cereal is around $1.70 a box and my thought when it comes to cereal is that if it doesn't beat the Aldi price I am not buying it.

Snacks:
Who doesn't love snacks? We love them in our house and have them regularly! Instead of buying little debbies and boxed/bagged cookies I just simply make my own sweet treats. I make a big batch of cookies and freeze them so we can have them on hand. As for chips and crackers I would say buy less of them and sub in more fruits and veggies.

Convenience/frozen boxed items:

These are things like Hamburger Helper meals, instant potatoes, instant rice pouches, frozen pizzas, etc. I know these make for a quick and easy meal but you can often make the same thing from scratch for less. Believe me I know time is an issue and I am not saying never use these items, just start using them less.

Keep in mind I am NOT telling you that you SHOULD NEVER buy any of the items I have mentioned. I am simply suggesting that if you find your grocery bill is out of control consider finding ways to cut these items out or buy them for less. I know it is a hard adjustment at first especially if you have children or husbands that are particularly used to these food items, but the savings is well worth it if that is your goal.

Now I will confess for a short time we really didn't eat many snack/convenience items because we simply didn't have the money to buy them. We still don't have much wiggle room in our budget, but I find through the use of coupons and smart shopping I am often able to have some snack/convenience items in our house for 75% of the actual cost or I get them for free. I do this by using coupons and the timing on this post couldn't have gotten better since Dillons is offering some great deals on snack items this week! You can get many of the items I mentioned in this post for at least 1/2 of the regular cost. Check out those deals here! If you are looking for inexpensive meal ideas made from scratch you can see what I use here.

The 3rd post in this series will come next Thursday and in that I will focus on the benefits of menu planning and how that can also help you get control of the grocery bill.

***The Hy-Vee post will be up later this morning... thanks for your patience on this!***

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Dillons 3/11-3/17

WOW! This Mega Event just got better (see below)! There are so many great coupon match ups this week to get items for a GREAT PRICE! Any price I give that has a coupon attached to it assumes the coupon doubled (all Dillons in Topeka double coupons). If you are not sure what that means read here!

Regular deals for the week:
  • 1 lb. tub of Driscoll's strawberries=1.99 (good price right now for strawberries)
  • Dillons 1 gal. milk=2/$5 or $2.50/1 (Aldi price is around 2.33 for a gallon)
  • Kroger canned veggies and beans=3/$5 or .60/1 (Aldi actually beats this price...theirs are all .49/1)
  • Fresh green cabbage=.29/lb.
  • Rubbermaid storage containers=1.99/1 (use 1/1 coupon to get these for .99/1)
  • Cantaloupes=2/$4
  • 4 lb. bags of Kroger value oranges=2.99/1 (pretty good price, but Aldi has had 3-4lb. bags for 1.29/1!)
  • Quaker Instant or Simple Harvest oatmeal=$1.50/1 when you buy 2. Sale price is 2/$4 but when you buy 2 you get $1 off your total. Use .70/1 coupons or 1/1 coupons found in machines by the cereal to get these for only .50/box!
10 item MEGA EVENT!
Buy 10 participating items and get an automatic $5 off your total (when you use your Dillons card) which amounts to a discount of .50/per item. All prices below show the discounted price. You can only buy up to 30 participating items in 1 transaction.
  • 2 liters of Sunkist and A&W soda=.75/1
  • Kellogs cereal=$2/1 (use .70/1 coupon to get these for $1) (or buy 2 boxes of Frosted Flakes and use 2 .70/1 coupons and the $1/2 Frosted Flakes shortcuts coupon to get both boxes for .50/1!)
  • Nutrigrain bars=$2/1
  • Nature Valley granola bars=$2/1 (use .60/1 coupon here to make them $1/box!)
  • Fiber One granola bars=$2/1 (use .50/1 or .60/1 coupon here combined with .75/1 shortcuts.com coupon to get this for only .25/box!) (you could also use 2 .60/1 coupons combined with the $1/2 shortcuts coupon to get them for .50 cents a box!)
  • Powerade sports drink=.49/1
  • Quaker Quakes=.49/1 (Use 1/1 off any Quaker rice snack product coupon to get these FREE + .51 cents overage!)
  • Doritono, Lay's Kettle Chips, Keebler Fudge Shoppe Cookies or Cheez-It Crackers=$2.19/1
  • Country Crock or Land O lakes margarine spread=$1.19/1 (use .50/1 country crock coupons to get this for .19/1) (use .30/1 land o lakes coupon or .55/1 to get this for either .59/1 or .19/1!)
  • Daisy Sour cream 16 oz.=1.49/1 (Aldi price for 16 oz is .99/1)
  • Dannon or Activia yogurt 4ct. pcks or 32 oz=$2 (use 1/1 coupons to get these for $1!)
  • 64 oz. Welches cocktail juice=$2/1
  • Sargento Salad finishes=$2/1 (use .75/1 coupons to get these for $1!)
  • Betty Crocker boxed potatoes=.99/1 (use .40/1 coupons here to get these for .19/box!)
  • Betty Crocker fruit snacks=1.79/1 (use .75/2 coupon here or .50/2 coupon combined with .75/2 cellfire coupon to get both boxes for $1.83 or .91/1)
  • Ken's Salad dressing=1.79/1 (use 1/1 coupon to get this for .79/1... beats Aldi price!)
  • Dole Fruit bowls=1.79/1
  • Purex laundry detergent=2.99/1 (use .35/1 to get these for $2.29/1... great price!)
  • Suavetil fabric softner=2.99/1
  • Kotex Pads, lines or tampons=$2.50/1 (use .75/1 or 1/1 coupons combined with 1/1 cellfire coupon to get these for only .50!!!!)
  • Johnson and Johnson baby care=$2.50/1 (use 1/1 coupons from recent inserts or $2/2 coupon here to get 2 products for $3 or $1.50/1)
  • Advil, Tylenol or Motrin pain relievers=$2.50/1 (use 1/1 coupons to get these for $1.50/1)
  • Colgate toothpaste or toothbrushes=$1 (use .75/1 coupons from recent inserts to get these FREE!!!)
  • Carefree liners or Stayfree pads=$2.00 (use $1.50/1 carefree coupon here to get these for .50!)
  • Irish spring bath soap=$1
  • Soft soap hand soap=$1
  • Sauve deoderant or antipersperant=$1 (use .75/2 coupons to get these for .50/1!!!)
  • Kroger pints and Hagen Daas cups of ice cream=.49/1
  • Nestle frozen lemonade=.49/1
  • Stoufers or lean cuisine entrees=1.79/1
  • Hungary Man dinners=1.79/1
  • Ben and Jerry's ice cream=2.99
  • Breyers ice cream 48-56 oz.=2.99
  • Sara Lee pastries or pies=2.99/1
  • Pillsbury toaster strudels=1.89/1 (use .35/1 coupon here and .50/1 from cellfire.com to get this for only .69/1)
  • TGI Friday's appetizers=2.99/1
  • 40 ct. Pillsbury pizza rolls=2.99/1 (use .35/1 coupons here to get these for 2.29)
  • Freshetta Pizzas=4.49/1 (use 1/1 coupon to get this for 3.49)
Remember that there is probably more marked in the store as being apart of this deal than there is in the ad so take your coupons with you and let us know what you find! Also I could have missed a coupon match up as well so please let us know if you find something I missed!

If you see anything I missed please let us know in the comment section. If you have a question you can leave that in the comment section as well or use the e-mail me button at the top right hand corner of the page.

One great way to continue to support this blog is to print your coupons from the coupons.com widget found here. You can also be sure to spread the word to friends and family that share our same Dillons ad in these great cities: Topeka, Lawrence, Winfield, Arkansas City, Hutchinson and Wellington.

***Be sure to check out cellfire.com and shortcuts.com for great E-Coupons that can be added to your Kroger card!

If you don't live in this region or are looking for an ad for another store I hope you visit The Grocery Gathering found here. See Hy-Vee deals here. Also be sure to visit Cara's blog here for the scoop on Apple Market deals!

Dillons this week

I apologize that the Dillons post won't be up until this afternoon due to a busy morning on my end, but I will tell you that the Frozen Foods Mega Event continues this week with some added non frozen food items. From a quick scan of the ad I can tell you there are possibly a few freebies with the right coupons!

So get those coupons organized and check back this afternoon for all the details!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Chicken Tortialla Soup: Recipe and Price break down

Here is a great and very inexpensive soup recipe that feeds many mouths!

Chicken Tortilla Soup: Feeds 8-10 (probably more like 10)
  • 4 cans (8 cups) chicken broth=cans of chicken broth at Aldi are around .49/can which would cost you $2 or so or you can make cheaper by using bouillon cubes (I use 8 chicken bouillon cubes to make 8 cups and a 25 ct. bottle of these at Aldi is around $1.00 so 8 cubes= around .35 cents)
  • 2 cans pinto beans (I use the big can 30 oz can at Aldi which is 2 cans)=.99
  • 2 cans rotel (Aldi off brand=.49/1)=.99
  • 1 can diced tomatoes=.49 at Aldi
  • 1 clove of garlic (or sub garlic powder if you don't have a clove on hand)=pennies
  • 1 bag of frozen corn=.95 at Aldi
  • 2 t ground cumin=pennies
  • 2T parsley flakes=pennies
  • 1 lb chicken breasts (about 2 big ones) cut into small pieces (3 lb. bags of frozen breasts are around 6.25 at Aldi)=$2.08 for the pound
Combine all ingredients (except chicken) in a BIG pot and bring to a boil. Stir in chicken pieces. Cook at a simmer until chicken is done, usually about 45 minutes.

Serve w/ cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips if desired.

Total for this meal= ONLY $6!!! That is .60-.75 cents a serving!! If you choose to serve this the side items mentioned you will need to tack on a few extra dollars probably.

Target: .09 cents for Applesauce?

I read here yesterday that most Target stores have Mott's single serve 4-6 ct. packs of applesauce marked to 1.77/1 and with the right coupons you could get them for .22/1!

Well, it is reported that our Target store has these marked for 1.64/1 so with the right coupons you can actually get them for only .09/1!! Here is how it works:
  • Buy 1 Motts single serve 4-6 ct. pack of applesauce=1.64
  • Use 1/1 Target web coupon here
  • Use .55/1 coupon here
  • Total=.09 cents!
**NOTE: As of this morning our Target did not have the Gillette I mentioned below**
Be on the look out for other great deals too like possibly FREE Gillette shampoo, conditioner and body wash.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Dillons: Toiletry mark downs!

When I was in the 21st and Fairlawn Dillons over the weekend I noticed they had A TON of Oil of Olay body wash and Dove Cream Oil body wash marked down!! The clearance section in this store is between the bakery counter and meat isle.

Oil of Olay body wash=1.39/1 on MS
Use 1/1 coupon from either Feb. or Mar. P&G to get these for only .39 cents!

Dove Cream Oil Body wash on MS for 2.99
Use 1.50/1 coupon here or from recent inserts to get this for 1.49/1!

Be sure to check out what other things they have marked down... you never know what you might find!

Getting Control of the Grocery Bill Part I

In case you missed this post at TopekaKidsRock.com last week I am re-posting here for you to read. Part II of this series will be posted on Thursday.

Getting Control of the Grocery Bill Part I
In the past 2 weeks I have received many phone calls and emails all saying the same thing, "Help, I need to get control of my grocery bill!" My blog is dedicated to posting current deals and weekly updates but I find that new readers are having a hard time figuring out where to start in the world of frugal shopping and coupons. To kick my time off on topekakidsrock.com I thought I would do a series on basic ways you can start to gain control of the grocery bill before diving into the world of coupons. What I share in this series is what I share with anybody who asks me for help. Please keep in mind that it is all just a suggestion.

For the 1st post of this series I want to focus on the importance of knowing how much you are actually spending on groceries. If saving money is the goal then knowing what is being spent is important so it can be known what can be saved.

Define what groceries are.
In my household the term groceries refers to food items only. Everything else is either toiletries or paper products, thus I have a different amount of money I spend on each category every month. If you consider all those items groceries that is okay, just account for it and create your "spending plan" accordingly. Just so you know up front I am what one friend deemed the other night a "budget freak"!

Know what is an appropriate amount of money to be spending on groceries (food).
Every one has a different income level and therefore can either spend more or less. If you only live on $30,00 a year chances are your spending is going to look vastly different than someone who might live on $80,000 a year. So for this I recommend a percentage guideline table. The tables here (scroll down and click which ones best describes your family size) gives a suggestion for how much of your net income you should be spending where. In the example of a family of 6 you can see that if you are living on $25,000-$65,000 per year you should not be spending more than 14-15% of your NET income on food. So for a family of 6 living on $45,00o (net spendable of $35000 a year after taxes) per year the most you should spend monthly on food is around $400 a month. For our family this also includes eating out.

Develop a "grocery spending plan."
I recognize that the word budget is scary so don't even go there, just think spending plan. By this I mean have a set amount of money that you are going to spend on groceries (food) every month and STICK TO IT! It might be according to the spending guideline I presented above or it might be more or less. For our family we live on drastically less than we possibly could simply because of debt. That lousy student loan eats up a lot of our spending plan, therefore we have to account for it other places. You may have to do this, too, if you have debt you are paying off or if you have savings goals you are trying to meet.

On that note begin thinking about needs versus wants and where you might have wasteful spending in your grocery bill. This will be our topic next on Thursday!

Do you have other ideas that work for you? Please be sure to share them in comments section!

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Menu Plan Monday for March 9th

Here is my $50/week meal plan for this week...

Sunday: BBQ chicken sandwiches, oven fries and strawberries
Monday: Sloppy joes, green beans and potatoes (thank you green valley steamers!) and apple slices
Tuesday: Chicken Tortilla soup, corn bread, strawberries
Wednesday: Pigs in a blanket, mac and cheese and green beans
Thursday: Homemade chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes and corn
Friday: Pizza! and raw veggies
Saturday:???

Breakfast: Unfortunately in this house there are not many options.
  • Frozen pancakes (made from scratch and then frozen) and fruit
  • Oatmeal with fruit
  • Cold cereal (if you coupon long enough you will never run out of cereal!) with fruit
  • Yogurt with fruit
  • Eggs and toast with fruit
Lunch:
  • Leftovers
  • Meat and cheese sandwich,
  • Grilled cheese sandwich,
  • PB & J sandwich,
  • Mac and Cheese
  • Rice and veggies
Note: All lunches are usually served with veggies and fruit. This consists of what was on the sale for the week or whatever I might have canned in my pantry.

I will be posting the recipe I use for Chicken Tortilla soup Tuesday... see you then!

Huggies MONEY MAKER scenario

If you haven't bought your Huggies Diapers yet and you have all the coupons I will mention below you could make the Huggeis Diaper deal a $3 money maker!!!!!
  • Buy 3 Jumbo Packs of Huggies Gentle Care diapers=$30.00
  • Buy 2 Glade lasting impressions on sale for 7.99=$15.98
  • Buy 2 Glade sense and sprays on sale for 7.99=$15.98
Total before coupons=61.96
Total=$6.98 OOP and you will get back $10 in RR for purchaseing the Hugges=$3 money maker!!!

CVS and Walgreens 3/8

So I confess that I was SO distracted by the AWESOME Huggies deal at Walgreens I totally forgot to even look at the CVS ad! I apparently was still distracted b/c I missed all the other freebies to be had at Walgreens besides the diapers!

I will just tell you that for this week you can check out the other Walgreen's deals here and the CVS deals here!

If I happen to go to CVS I will be sure to post what I did, but with the lack of freebies this week I may not make it. The 12 jumbo packs of Huggies I just got for a grand total of around $16 after tax, RRs and Caregivers rebate just might have to serve as my great deal for the week:)

Have a great Sunday!