Weekly Shopping Trip

I must say this week went VERY well, even though I went over my $50.00 budget. What else is new? I made several stops this week on different days and it was well worth it!

First it was Walgreen's on Monday: 1 Glade lasting impression - $8.99 (- FREE coupon I received for completing a survey) = FREE + I earned a $1.50 RR

6 pouches of Starkist Tuna - $3.84

Used $3.00 RR I received from buying some Benadryl (not a grocery item)
Net OOP: $1.61

Then I headed to Albertson's with my doublers from the Sunday paper.1 Quaker rice cakes - $1.99 (- $1.00 off coupon doubled) = .01 overage!

2 boxes Wheat Thins - $3.34 (Used B1G1FREE coupon) = $1.67

1 Hunt's ketchup - $1.00

2 gallons milk - $4.00

1 dozen eggs - $1.69

6 Grand's biscuits - $10.00 (- 2 $1.00 off 3 coupons doubled)(- $4.00 Alb savings for purchasing $10.00 in certain items) = $2.00 for 6 cans!

Net OOP: $11.25

Thursday night I decided to head over to Albies to take advantage of this weeks doublers. This is the best transaction I have had in a long time!

4 Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (my hubby's FAVE) - $4.00 (-2 $1.00 off 2 coupons doubled) = FREE

2 Kraft zesty Italian dressing - $3.00 (-2 $1.50 off coupons) = FREE

1 Hunt's ketchup - $1.00 (- FREE coupon I received in the mail) = FREE

2 Bar S hot dogs - $2.00 (- $1.00 off 2 coupon doubled) = FREE

My net total was $.02 overage but with the $.42 tax I paid $.40 OOP!!

Then I went to Fred Meyer. They have had some great deals lately.

1 15# bag potatoes - $2.49

2 pkgs hot dog buns - $.78

4 boxes whole wheat spaghetti - $3.16 (clearanced)

1 PS Ice cream - $2.99

1 Oscar Meyer Deli Creations - $1.29 (- $1.50 off coupon) = $.21 overage!

2 gallons milk - $3.98 (my family has been chugging this stuff lately!)

1 bunch bananas - $1.56

2# apples - $1.73

2#ish oranges - $1.41

Net OOP: $19.06

So I actually went to Walgreen's first because I new I wasn't buying anything cold, but this is the way the pics loaded - so anyway...

3 pkgs Pamper's - $29.97 (-3 $1.50 off coupons) = $25.47

Used $5.00 off $25.00 purchase

Net OOP: $21.97

My grand total for the week is $54.29 - not bad, just a bit over budget. My annual budget is $2,600 and so far I have spent $1,257.29 (BTW this includes a $15.89 rebate I received from the Unilever FREE turkey or ham promo, I added it back in to my annual total!)

How did you do this week?

-Michelle

Weekly Shopping Trip

You may recall from last week that I have been over budget and have been trying to catch up. I had $22.91 to spend this week on groceries and I am pretty excited that I actually did it! I spent $22.70 and I am all done.


Here is how it went down:


Albertson's is still having their double coupons until today so I headed over to see what I could see. My friend Elisa had some extra doubles from the ad inserts and she gave me some milk coupons too! Love her! I was able to get:


1 Quaker caramel corn rice cakes - $1.99 (-$1.00 off coupon doubled) = FREE

1 Quaker cheddar cheese rice cakes - $1.99 (-$1.00 off coupon doubled) = FREE

2 Darigold chocolate milk - $2.00 (-$1.00 off 2 coupon doubled) = FREE

1 Pepperidge Farms pretzel crisps - $2.50 (-$.75 off coupon doubled) = $1.00

2 bagged salad - $1.98

1 12 pack Scott TP - $6.99 (they matched the Walgreen's coupon for this week)

Net OOP: $10.77

Next I went to Fred Meyer. I got:

3 gallons milk - $6.57

4 onions - $.77

6 apples - $2.03

1 loaf bread - $1.34 (w/ in ad coupon)

1 Buttoni Linguine - $1.49 (-$1.00 off coupon) = $.49

Net OOP: $11.93

It was fun to be so creative this week because we really NEEDED milk, bread, and TP - necessities in my book. I really wanted to stay within budget, buy we also needed pepperoni for pizza night - not a necessity. My husband also really wanted some kippered snacks, and I wanted some FM ice cream (on sale for $2.50 this week with in ad coupon). I had everything above in my cart except only 2 gallons of milk and I called my husband with the dilemma...get pepperoni, kippered snacks, or ice cream. We finally decided on ice cream, then he asked me how much milk I was getting. According to him 2 gallons wasn't nearly enough, so I put the ice cream back and got some more milk. If I got the ice cream it would have put me over budget - so I resisted and it feels so good!

For more shopping trips check out The Grocery Cart Challenge and Money Saving Mom!

Weekly Shopping Trip

If you have been reading Saving Some Green for any amount of time, you know that I have a hard time staying within my budget. In fact, I only started budgeting a few months ago. My goal is to spend $50.00 per week on groceries and household items. I went way over a few weeks ago, so now I am playing catch up because I have an annual goal of $2,600. I wasn't going to shop at all this week and I had a budget of $32.32 for the following week and then I would be caught up.

I really needed some eggs so on Saturday last week I sent my husband to Fred Meyer and he picked up these:

Net OOP: $2.75

I was doing just fine until I found 2 $1.00 Register Rewards from Walgreen's in my wallet that I had forgotten all about. So I went to Walgreen's and got:

2 Sunsilk Volumizers - $2.18 (-1 $2.00 off 2 Sunsilk coupon) = $.18

2 Sunsilk Curl Enhancers - $2.18 (-1 $2.00 off 2 Sunsilk coupon) = $.18

2 Jiffy Corn Muffin Mixes - $1.00 w/in ad coupon

5 Royal Jello - $1.00 w/in ad coupon

Used 2 $1.00 Register Rewards

Net Price: $.74! - I paid this on a gift card so my Net OOP: $0!

My husband has a sore throat and was begging for some Minute Maid Fruit Punch. Well...I was close to Albertson's, and they are offerring double coupons so I stopped:

1 Minute Maid Fruit Punch - $3.79

4 Darigold Chocolate Milk - $4.00 (-2 $1.00 off 2 coupons doubled) = $0!

6 Knorr/Lipton Sides - $6.00 (-2 $.75 off 2 coupons doubled - 1 $.75 off 2 coupon) = $2.25

Net OOP: $6.66

When I went to Albertson's, they didn't have the ad out so I could get the double coupon coupons. I had to ask, then they would only give me one. There were 4 coupons in the ad - that is why the 2nd $.75 off Lipton/Knorr coupon wasn't doubled. Has anyone else had that problem?

Anyway - I now have $22.91 to spend for next week. I'm pretty sure most/all of that will be going to milk and bread!

Weekly Shopping Trip

Last week we ran out of milk on Friday, so I did quite a bit of my shopping for this week on Friday and Saturday. I went just slightly over budget again. I had $48.77 to spend (because I was $1.23 over budget last week).

It has been quite a while since I have been to Winco. They usually have the lowest prices on everyday items. They also have a great bulk foods section. They have a semi-strict coupon policy (no printables!) so I just don't shop there all that much.

I ended up with:

4 Gallons milk - $9.52

2 Jiffy corn muffin mixes - $.98

1 Worcestershire sauce - $.88

10# bag flour - $3.78

.93# barley - $.45

4 apples - $1.57

2 peaches - $1.57

1 can cherry pie filling - $1.78

celery - $1.28

carrots - $.98

.92# lentils - $.81

.29# poppy seeds - $1.19

1 can olives - $.98

I didn't use any coupons, so my net OOP was $26.86

Then I went to Albertson's because we were also out of ground beef. That just stresses me out!

Here is what I ended up with there:

1 Family pack ground beef - $10.41

Stew meat - $2.51

2# bananas $1.24

2 canisters of Quaker Oats - $3.00 (used 2 $.60 off Quaker coupons) - $1.80

2 boxes of Life cereal - $3.00 (used 1 $1.00 off 2 coupon) - $2.00

4 boxes of Frosted Flakes - $5.00 (used 2 $1.00 off kellogg's coupons) - $3.00

Net OOP: $21.47

If I had stopped there, I would have been just under budget. But I didn't. Saturday we took our car to Walmart to get the oil changed and we had about 1 1/2 hours to kill at Walmart. I had some coupons with me - and I found some great deals. So here is what put me over budget. I have to say that I LOVE the Laughing Cow cheeses. They are so yummy, but are usually $2.98 each, which is expensive. There were some $.55 off coupons in a recent insert, so I have been carrying them around with me looking for a good deal on Laughing Cow cheese. Walmart had these on sale for $1.88 each - already a great discount, but with my coupons...you get the picture.

3 Laughing Cow Cheeses - $5.64 (used 3 $.55 off Laughing Cow) - $3.99

2 Kotex - $2.00 (used 2 $1.00 off Kotex) - FREE!

2 Suave hand lotion - $1.94 (used 2 $1.00 off Suave) - FREE+.06 overage!

Net OOP: $4.50

Here is the thing...I'm not done. We still really need bread and I want to do the Ragu deal at Walgreen's, so I am going to use some of next week's budget, and not go shopping next week - except for milk. My hubby and kids drink it like crazy! Stay tuned and I'll post the rest of the trip when I do it.

For more shopping trips - check out The Grocery Cart Challenge and Money Saving Mom!

**update** see the rest of my shopping this week here.

Weekly Shopping Trip

Last week I was $8.69 over budget, so this week I had $41.31 to spend. Here is what I ended up with.

We really needed some bread so my first stop was the the Hostess Bakery Thrift Store.
I got:


2 Loaves Mrs Emliy's bread - $4.20
2 Loaves Wonder light wheat - $3.50
2 packets of flour tortillas - $2.78
1 Wonder English muffins - $1.69


Net OOP: $12.90


I wanted to hit up Albertson's one last time for the double coupons. When I got to the store, there were no more sale ads (with the double coupon coupons) - the sale ends tomorrow. Luckily my favorite cashier was able to find some for me! Yay!

Here is what I got:

1 gallon skim milk - $2.79

1 gallon 2% milk - $2.00

1 Jolly Time popcorn - $1.00 (-$.50 coupon doubled) Net price - FREE!

1 Lysol cleaner - $2.50 (-$1.00 coupon doubled) Net price - $.50

1 Lysol wipes - $2.50 (-$1.00 coupon doubled) Net price - $.50

2 Johnson's baby shampoo - $6.00 (-2 $2.00 off coupons which the cashier subtracted $1.00 each for double coupons) Net price - FREE!

Net OOP: $6.53

I decided to brave K-mart again. I don't know why I do this to myself. I loathe that place! I brought my coupons to see if perhaps I could find some great doubles. I was hoping for some good diaper bargains or something! Here is what I ended up with.

1 Fuze refresh - $1.00 (-$.25 coupon doubled) Net price - $.50

2 Airwick Lumin Air - $9.98 (-2 $5.00 off coupons) Net price - $.02 overage!

Net OOP: $1.12

Next stop: Freddies. My husband was so funny before I left, he wanted some FRESH fruit. So I complied.

1 PS Ice cream - $3.00 (w/ in ad coupon)

1 FM 18 count eggs - $2.59

1 quart chocolate milk - $.89 (reduced)

4 Hormel turkey chili - $3.16

5 FM assorted beans - $2.00 (w/ in ad coupon)

5 FM assorted tomatoes - $2.00 (w/ in ad coupon)

3 navel oranges - $1.46

4 bananas - $1.00

6 Fuji apples - $2.05

1 Spaghetti squash - $2.10

1 red onion - $.46

Net OOP: $21.96

I came in at $1.23 over budget (so I could have skipped that stupid K-mart trip!) I will subtract that from next week's budget. Hopefully, I can come in under budget one of these days :)! For more great shopping trips this week check out The Grocery Cart Challenge's Shopping Roundup and Money Saving Mom!

Weekly Shopping Trip

This week was a good shopping week for me. I was able to get some great deals, some staples, and was able to stock up on a few things. Yay!

My first stop this week was Walgreen's. Here is what I ended up with:

2 Smart Balance butter - $3.98

3 Hunts tomato sauce - $1.00 (w/in ad coupon)

1 Garnier Fructis hairspray - $2.99

2 Palmolive dish soap - $1.58 (w/in ad coupon)

2 Softsoap - $1.98 (w/ in ad coupon)

2 Quaker Oatmeal - $3.98 (w/in ad coupon)

1 Twin pack contact solution - $6.99

2 Walgreen's water bottles - $3.98 (there is a story here)

1 Reynolds aluminum foil - $.99 (w/in ad coupon)


Total before MFG coupons and tax: $27.47


Coupons I used:

1 $1.00 off Reynolds

2 $.35 off Softsoap

2 $.25 off Palmolive

1 $1.00 off 2 Smartbalance

1 $.70 off 1 Quaker Oatmeal (I had two, but it didn't get scanned, I don't know what happened to it :(.)


Net OOP: $23.34


About the water bottles -they were supposed to be $1.99 each or 2 for $3.00. When I got home I saw that only one of them rang up on my receipt. I went back to pay for it and the second one (because there was only one in the transaction) was $1.99. They are way cool, though. I was looking for a weekly pill case for my husband and I saw these - they had a pill case in them and some other samples. I had been wanting a decent water bottle anyway, so it was a win-win. Here is all the stuff that was inside:

Chapstick

Lotion

4-pack crayons

Weekly Pill Container

Hand sanitizer spray

Kleenex

My next stop was Albertson's. I am so proud of myself for exercising restraint. I just did one of the P&G deals and picked up all of their coupons specials (eggs, cheese, potatoes, etc.). They also were doubling up to 3 coupons per transaction, so that was cool too. I split my purchases into two transactions:

1 six pack diet Coke - $3.34

2 Green Giant Vegetables and sauce - $5.00

2 Honey Nut Cheerios - $4.00

1 Multigrain Cheerios - $2.00

2 Progresso Soup - $4.00

1 Chex Mix - $2.00

2 Yoplait Kids Yogurt - $5.00

1 Pantene Shampoo - $3.33

1 Pantene Conditioner - $3.33


Total before coupons and tax: $32.00


Coupons I used:

2 $1.10 off Progresso printables (You can still get one here. Hit your back button and you can print it twice!)

2 $1.50 off Yoplait Kids printables (You can still get one here. Hit your back button and you can print it twice!)

1 $3.00 off 2 Pantene

1 $1.00 off 2 Cheerios I got here.

1 $1.00 off 1 Multigrain Cheerios I also got here.

1 $1.00 off Green Giant bagged veggies I also got here.

1 $.50 off Green Giant

1 $.50 off Chex mix

For my doubles, I thought they would choose the three lowest coupons to double, but the cashier I went to just doubled 3 of my $1.00 coupons, so they took off an additional $3.00.

I also used my $10.00 in Albertson's gift cards I got here.

My net OOP: $8.54 + I got my $15.00 in Catalinas


For transaction #2 Albertson's had a ton of store coupons that were really good. I was glad to be able to take advantage of them!

2 Albertson's Eggs - $1.98 (w/in ad coupon)

4 Jolly Time popcorn - $4.00

2 Albertson's butter - $2.98 (w/in ad coupon)

2 Kelloggs Rice Krispies - $3.34

6.5 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast - $12.16

1 Albertson's 2 lb Cheddar Cheese - $4.99 (w/in ad coupon)

1 Albertson's 2 lb Mozzarella Cheese - $4.99 (w/in ad coupon)

2 5 lb bags potatoes - $2.50

Total before MFG coupons and tax: $36.94

Coupons I used:

2 $1.00 off 2 Jolly Time I got here.

$15.00 catalinas from Transaction #1

2 $1.00 off 1 Kellogg's

$3.00 for double coupons

Net OOP: $16.98!

Last stop - Fred Meyer. They sent out some coupons earlier last week for some FREE salad and some other low price stuff, so I went to check it out. Here is what I got:

2 1/2 gallons Whole Milk - $2.00 (w/in ad coupon)

1 1/2 gallon Orange Juice - $1.00

2 Fresh Express Salads - FREE (w/mailed store coupon)

1 Colgate toothpaste - $.99 (w/mailed store coupon)

1 Kroger Pepperoni - $2.50

Total before MFG coupons and tax: $6.49

Coupons I used:

1 $.75 off Colgate

Net OOP: $6.13

So I was over budget this week - not by much! My total OOP was $54.99. I will subtract that from next week's budget.

Check out some other great shopping trips at The Grocery Cart Challenge or for other Drugstore trips check out the Centsible Sawyer's Drugstore Divas!

Albertson's is at it again!

Starting tomorrow, Albertson's is having their spend $30 get $15 catalina deal like they did here.

These can also be rolled, so in order to get the best deal you want to get exactly $30.00 in merchandise, use your coupons, and get your $15.00 in catalinas. Then purchase another $30.00 in merchandise, use your coupons and your catalinas, get $15.00 back again.

They are also offering double coupons on up to 3 for up to $1.00 each (there are two coupons in their ad for this).

I am still overwhelmed with this deal, so I haven't come up with some rockin' scenarios, but stay tuned, I will be planning and shopping tomorrow!

Check out the ad for yourself here.

I got it!

I am really excited because I got my gift cards in the mail today from this deal! They also came with some recipes and coupons. Fun! Now I have $10.00 that I can spend and it doesn't count against my $50.00/week budget! Woo hoo!

Weekly Shopping Trip

I'm still sticking with my $50.00 per week budget. I am so proud of myself. These past few months were really the first time I have ever even attempted a budget. I love to challenge myself to see how much I can get, and I have been pleasantly surprised each time!

This week I went to Walgreen's, Walmart, Albertson's, and Fred Meyer. I got some great coupons in the mail from Fred Meyer (2 FREE bagged salad, B1G1 FREE batteries, $.49 Cottonelle TP), but they didn't have anything I wanted :(. I was bummed. I was really happy with how I made out at Walgreen's (like a bandit!)

Here is how it went:

2 Dixie Plates - $3.98 (w/in ad coupon)

1 huge bag of candy (tootsie rolls, Jr Mints, dots) - $1.00 on clearance

2 Ocean Spray cranberry drinks - $4.00

12 dessert cups - $.96 (on Christmas Clearance 6 red 6 green)

3 bags of Hershey's Kisses - $1.86 (Christmas Clearance)

2 bags of Butterfinger bells - $1.24 (Christmas Clearance)

1 Revlon Matte Eyeliner - $9.99

2 over the door wreath holders - $1.48

2 Tuf paper towels - $1.18 (w/in ad coupon)

1 box Glad trash bags - $5.99 (w/in ad coupon)

1 Dawn dish soap - $.99 (w/in ad coupon)

Total before coupons: $34.64

Coupons I used:

2 $.55 off 1 Ocean Spray

2 $.35 off Dixie Plates

1 $.25 off Dawn

1 $1.00 off Butterfinger bagged candy (this made these $.12 per bag!)

1 $1.50 off Hershey's candy (this also made these $.12 per bag!)

1 $1.00 off Revlon

Net Total: $29.08 used $18.70 on Walgreen's gift card

Net OOP: $10.38 (amount taken from my budget)

I will also get a $10.98 rebate for the Revlon eyeliner!!! Woo hoo!

For more awesome Walgreen's scenarios check out The Centsible Sawyer's Drugstore Divas!

My next stop was Walmart - again not my favorite place, but they had the best price on Valley Fresh Steamers, and I wanted to use my coupons before they expired. There were also a few FREEbie items. Here is what I got:

12 Instant Lunch - $3.36 (I can't help it, we love these)

2 Kotex Pantyliners - $2.00

2 Suave lotions - $1.94

10 bags Valley Fresh Steamers - $11.70

2 Lil' Smokies - $5.00

1 Pillsbury Pizza Crust - $1.94

1 Pillsbury Crescent Rolls - $1.48

1 Meadowgold butter - $2.25

Total before coupons: $31.45

Coupons I used:

7 $1.00 off VF Steamers

3 $.50 off VF Steamers

1 $1.00 off 2 Lil' Smokies

1 $1.00 off Pillsbury pizza crust

1 $1.00 off Pillsbury crescent rolls

2 $1.00 off Suave moisturizer (making these FREE!)

2 $1.00 off Kotex (making these also FREE!)

Net OOP: $15.95!

Next was Albertson's where I bought 4 gallons of milk. Sorry no picture!

2 Skim Milk - $4.00

2 Whole Milk - $4.58

Net OOP: $9.09

Finally I went to Fred Meyer where they hardly had anything on my list. Again, sorry no picture!

4 boxes Nabisco Crackers - $5.00 (w/in ad coupon)

6 2 liters of Big K soda - $2.00 (w/in ad coupon)

1 Kroger Pepperoni - $2.50

1 Kroger Mozzarella Cheese - $3.50

Net OOP: $13.78

Total for the week: $49.20!!!

Albertson's Gas Rewards Program

Albertson's has done it again! I have been a huge fan of their deals lately and now I can get cheap gas from them too!

Here is how their new rewards program works: For every $50.00 you spend at Albertson's using your Preferred Card you get $.05 off per gallon of gas you purchase at an Albertson's Fuel Stop using your preferred card. There is a scanner at the gas pump where you scan your card.

When I first heard about this deal, I thought it was cool, but it would take me forever to spend $50.00 out of pocket at Albertson's. Then I found out a small, but awesome detail. The amount that they count toward the $50.00 is the amount that you spend is BEFORE coupons! AMAZING!

In no time I had racked up $150.00 in purchases before coupons so I had $.15 off per gallon coming to me. We went this weekend to check it out - luckily, there is an Albertson's Fuel Stop pretty close to our house. Using our preferred card, we enjoyed gas at $1.39 per gallon! It only took $20.00 to fill our nearly empty tank - a figure we haven't seen in a long, long, long, long time. Woo hoo!

Weekly Shopping Trip

This week was a pretty dang good week! I had a budget of $62.72 (because I had $12.72 leftover from last weeks budget). Unfortunately, I was $2.28 over budget :(, but there were some annoying things that happened that could have remedied that. Ugh...I'll explain later. I also purchased 20 of the $1.00 off 1 Valley Fresh Steamer coupons on E-bay. I spent $3.99 which I subtracted from my grocery budget and I was excited because I got them yesterday, in time to get some overages from Albertson's (see below).

I went out Monday evening and Tuesday evening, and I am glad to be finished so early in the week. Here is what I ended up with. My first trip was to Walgreen's. I read about a sweet deal on Olay Regenerist products here and decided to take advantage. Here is what I ended up with:

2 Olay Regenerist Face Cleansers - $14.98

2 Listerine Kids Mouthwash - $9.00

2 Oral B Zooth Toothbrushes - $4.00 (stocking stuffers!)

Total before coupons: $29.66

Coupons I used:

$1.00 off 2 Oral B toothbrushes

$1.00 off 1 Listerine Smart Rinse

$.50 off 1 Listerine

$5.00 off 2 Olay Regenerist

Net OOP: $2.53 (I had $19.63 remaining on my Walgreen's gift card) I will get a $15.00 gift card for the Olay deal + I got a $2.00 Register Reward for the toothbrushes + I got a $4.50 Register Reward for the Listerine. It was a great trip. I wanted to use the RR's for some more items, but this Walgreen's didn't have everything I wanted so I went to another and had some issues. But first...my trip to Fred Meyer. I made a few stupid mistakes here too - I was so annoyed with myself! Here is what I ended up with there:

6 Navel Oranges - $2.15

2 gallons Skim Milk - $5.00

1 gallon FM whole milk - $3.25 (this was my first mistake, I grabbed the wrong one, the Mountain Dairy was on sale for $2.50!)

1 gallon Mountain Dairy whole milk - $2.50

3 FM butter - $5.00 (with in ad coupon)

3 FM sour cream - $2.97

1 PS mint chip ice cream - $2.50

1 can Santiam corn - $.67 (this was my second mistake, FM vegetables and broth were on sale for $.33, so I got one of these by mistake!)

3 cans FM broth - $1.00 (with in ad coupon)

5 cans FM veggies - $1.67 (with in ad coupon)

Total: $28.32 ( I didn't use any manufacturer's coupons)

Then it was to a second Walgreen's where things didn't go according to plan. This was my own stupidity, but the cashier was frustrating too. Here is what happened. I planned on using my $6.50 in RR's from my last Walgreen's purchase to get some of the fruit and olives that were on sale. I planned on getting 3 cans of olives, but they only had 2. Well, my $6.50 in RR's would have paid for most of what I wanted with a few cents left over. I wasn't thinking and I went to pay with only the 2 cans of olives. The cashier scanned my $2.00 RR and then tried to scan my $4.50 it kept beeping. My total was $4.73, but the cashier said that it wouldn't let me use it because you can only use one per purchase - I told her I had done it before many times and she kept saying that it wasn't going to work. I just decided to pay the $4.73 and when I got my receipt I realized that my total before tax was $4.35. We all know that you can't use a RR for more than the purchase price - so that is why it didn't work. UGH and double UGH! The stuff I got was still a great deal - and I still have my $4.50 RR, but I really should have thought that one through a little bit better. Anyway, here is what I ended up with there.

2 cans Madame mandarin oranges - $1.00 (with in ad coupon)

2 cans Geisha mushrooms - $1.00 (with in ad coupon)

2 cans Lindsay olives - $1.98 (with in ad coupon)

3 cans of Geisha Fruit - $2.37

Total before coupons - $6.73

Used $2.00 RR

Net OOP: $4.73

Next I headed to Walmart. I hate Walmart, but I needed diapers (which I can get the cheapest there if I don't get them on a good sale). I don't include diapers in my grocery budget, so you won't seem them here. Here is what I ended up with:

3 GV sugar free drink mixes - $5.28

2 GV green chilies - $1.56

1 3# bag frozen BS chicken breast - $5.00

1 bag green onions - $1.12

2 tomatoes - $1.08

1 bag frozen hash browns - $1.88

Net OOP: $16.87

I thought I was done for the week, I had $6.28 left in my budget, but I got my Valley Fresh coupons in the mail, so I decided to hit Albertson's because the sale ended yesterday. I first hit one Albertson's and cleared them out of Valley Fresh Steamers, then I went to another one down the road. Here is what I ended up with:

12 bags Valley Fresh Steamers - $15.00 (on sale 4 for $5)

3 BC frosting - $5.00

4 BC cookie mixes - $6.66

2 BC boxed potatoes - $3.34

Total before coupons - $30.00

Albertson's deal this week was buy $10.00 in certain items, get $4.00 off instantly, so they took off $12.00 bringing my total down to $18.00.

Coupons I used:

12 VF steamer $1.00 off 1 coupons

1 $1.00 off 2 BC potatoes

3 $.50 off BC frosting

3 $.40 off BC cookie mix (I had 4 but one was expired!)

Net OOP: $3.39!!!!!!!!

On my next trip I got:

4 Valley Fresh Steamers - $5.00

3 Bisquick - $7.50

1 BC Muffin Mix - $2.50

3 BC boxed potatoes - $5.00

Total before coupons - $20.00

Albertson's took of $8.00 for the promotion leaving a balance of $12.00.

Coupons I used:

4 $1.00 off 1 VF Steamers coupons

3 $.60 off 1 Bisquick coupons

1 $1.00 off 2 BC potatoes

1 $.35 off 1 BC potatoes

1 .40 off 1 BC muffin mix

Net OOP: $5.17

All of this put me just slightly over budget by $2.28 for the week (which I will subtract from next week), but can you believe all the stuff I got!? I would have been under, except for the Walgreen's incident. But still, 6 months ago I never would have believed I could stretch my dollars so far! How'd you do this week?

Would you like to see some other great shopping trips? Check out the Centsible Sawyer's Drugstore Divas and Money Saving Mom's Super Savings Saturday!

Grocery Smarts!

A Saving Some Green reader sent me this great link that I know will help me with my grocery shopping in the future. She sent me the link specifically for Albertson's ad this week because it includes some printable coupons that are better than the ones that have come in the paper.


From looking around on their site, Grocery Smarts has many different stores where they list the sales and do coupon match ups - including links for printable coupons. Check out the list for Albertson's here. At the top of the page there is a drop down for other stores in the area. It also appears that each region has a "passport" that you must have in order to access the information for your region, but you must get it from a friend who already has it. The link I received was for the Utah area, but includes Albertson's which is hear in Boise and is the same ad.


Pretty cool! I am going to do some more research to find out how to get the passport codes and more details about the service. For now, I wanted to post this link for anyone going to Albertson's Monday or Tuesday while the General Mills sale is still going on.

A few good deals...

If you have a Winco Foods in your area, they have Chex cereals (think Chex Mix and Muddy Buddies :)) on sale for $2.00. My aunt reported a coupon attached to the box for $3.00 off if you buy $3.00 - if you buy 3 and use the coupon, that's $1.00 each!

Also, Albertson's has Betty Crocker stuff on sale this week - one item is frosting. My aunt also reported peelies (peelable coupons) attached to those for $.50 off. The Albertson's sale is spend $10.00 get $4.00 off which makes the frosting $1.00 before coupons - with the $.50 off coupon it is $.50! Grab some of the Betty Crocker cookie pouches (the sugar cookie one is so good!) that are also on sale for $1.00 use the $.40 off coupon from recent inserts and you are all set! Check out the Albertson's ad here for all the details.

My shopping this week...

I am committed to sticking within my $50 weekly budget, and I had a great week this week! I came in at $50.60 - so I was $.60 over budget, darn that sales tax! I hit 4 stores yesterday (not all at once, whew! My kids (and my sanity) can only handle 2 stores max!) and I was pleased with the results.

First stop - Fred Meyer

They had several great meat markdowns and a great sale on grapefruit. I got:

6 grapefruit - $1.50

3 gallons milk - $7.17 (on sale for $2.39 each)

1 Preferred Selection Mint Chip Ice Cream - $3.50

2 FM lite whipped topping - $1.18 ($.59 each)

2 bags doritos - $4.00 ($2.00 each)
3 Nesquick 16 oz chocolate milk - $3.00 ($1.00 each)

1 1.5# pork tenderloin - $2.99

1 six pack round steak - $2.58

Total before coupons: $27.48

Coupons I used:

3 $.50 off Nesquick

Net OOP: $25.98

Next stop - the Hostess Bakery Thrift Store. I was so excited because our favorite bread, normally $2.42/loaf was on sale for $1.50 per loaf! I bought 6 for the freezer. I got:

6 loaves Grandma Emilie's Bread - $9.00

1 loaf honey whole grain bread - $1.35

2 packages Hostess donettes - $3.79 (this is my husband's favorite!)

Total: $14.99 (including tax)

That's all I did with the kiddos, then when my hubby got home and we ate dinner I decided to brave K-mart. I must say that I hate K-mart. It makes me feel clauster-phobic. It always seems disorganized. I went because of the super double coupon thing (which NEVER happens in Boise!) and I was a bit disappointed. I probably spent over an hour there and only ended up with a few items. I ran into another couponer and we were talking about the prices, they seemed ultra high and even with the double coupons some things were right around a regular price. So annoying! That being said, I did end up with this:

2 Pert Plus - $8.00 ($4.00 each)

3 bottles Welch's sparkling grape juice - $7.50 ($2.50 each)

2 boxes Kellogg's cereal - $5.00 ($2.50 each)

1 Colgate toothbrush - $2.19

Total before coupons: $24.05

Coupons I used:

2 $2.00 off Pert Plus (these DID double to $4.00 off, so the Pert Pluses were FREE!)

3 $1.00 off Welch's

2 $1.00 off Kellogg's

1 $1.00 off Colgate Toothbrush

After my coupons rang up my net OOP was: $3.45 (which is basically 1 bottle of Pert Plus)!!!!!

Final destination - Albertson's

When I went to Albertson's, I was not paying attention to what the cashier was doing and my total seemed high. I paid it, then went out to my car and looked over my receipt and realized they screwed up. The mac and cheese was on sale for $.80 per box, but with an in store coupon your first 8 boxes were supposed to be $.25 each. When the cashier scanned the coupon it was supposed to take of $.55 8x, but instead only took it off once. I went back in and the cashier calculated that they owed me $1.70, but that was still wrong because I got 8 boxes. Anyway, they recalculated and credited me back $3.61 to my card. That still didn't make sense to me it should have been $3.85, but they said it was right and I didn't want to argue over a few pennies, so here is what I ended up with.

2 cans Hunt's spaghetti sauce - $1.39 (on sale for $.69 each)

4 bags of Albertson's pasta - $2.00 (on sale for $.50 each)

8 boxes of Albertson's mac and cheese - $6.40 ($.80 each)

I ended up paying $9.79 then they took off $3.61, so my net OOP was $6.18.

Anyway, I did pick up a few non-essentials, but I am really happy with my trip. I was able to pick up a few stockpile items and milk. Woo hoo! My plan is to post all of my trips (not just the good ones) so I keep myself accountable for my spending.