THÊ JÚLY 2011 GROCERY CHALLENGE

[dancinmama]

Jul 8, 2011 19:44:26 GMT -5 nickyleey said:

Jul 8, 2011 14:25:50 GMT -5 @texasjunebaby said:

Nickyleey, THANK YOU so much for posting this!

When I printed out the HP coupon I was thinking of picking up a pack of paper because I THOUGHT it would be limited to that. However, I read the comments posted by someone on Hip2Save. Her husband suggested she buy a CASE of paper. So what would have been around $32, she got for 9. That's the deal I'm going to do!

No problem!! I just got back from Staple where I also got a case of paper for 8.75. I also got the 16 double roll Charmin basic for 4.99 a pack, which passes the "toilet paper rule" with flying colors since each pack is over 500 sq feet so it's less than 1 cent a square foot. I haven't found tp that cheap in a long time.

nickyleey: YEAH!! The TP passed the test. AWESOME!! Darn, and right after our $1 coupons for Charmin expired.

[debinwa]

Jul 7, 2011 1:36:15 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

Jul 7, 2011 1:19:24 GMT -5 debinwa said:

In case you haven't seen them, there are some great videos on youtube showing how to open the swiffer cleaner bottles to refill with your own cleaning mix. Basically, you submerge the bottle top in very hot water for a minute or two, and then it can be unscrewed with a little force. Before replacing, use an exacto knife to cut the little plastic tabs inside the bottle top, so it can be opened more easily the next time. If anybody is interested, I can probably find the videos...

debinwa: I would definitely be interested - only if it's not too much trouble.

Here is one of the videos showing how to get the bottle open. I couldn't find the one that suggested cutting off the little plastic bits inside the cap to make it easier to open next time. If you don't cut them off, you could just use his method to open each time.

[dancinmama]

debinwa: Thanks so much for posting the video. There's nothing hard about that!!

[dogmom]

Good morning Hounds. Shopping has been slow recently, hasn't it? I saw an interesting coupon today, it's a pdf. Tyson rotisserie chicken $2.00 off. Here is the link. www.delianytime.com/Offers-And-Promotions/Promos-Coupons/rotisserie_flex.aspx. Easy and somewhat cheap chicken.. You have to register.

[nickyleey]

Jul 9, 2011 1:00:02 GMT -5 debinwa said:

Jul 7, 2011 1:36:15 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

debinwa: I would definitely be interested - only if it's not too much trouble.

Here is one of the videos showing how to get the bottle open. I couldn't find the one that suggested cutting off the little plastic bits inside the cap to make it easier to open next time. If you don't cut them off, you could just use his method to open each time.

'

Thank you!!!

[rubyslippers]

Jul 9, 2011 6:38:26 GMT -5 dogmom said:

Good morning Hounds. Shopping has been slow recently, hasn't it? I saw an interesting coupon today, it's a pdf. Tyson rotisserie chicken $2.00 off. Here is the link. www.delianytime.com/Offers-And-Promotions/Promos-Coupons/rotisserie_flex.aspx. Easy and somewhat cheap chicken.. You have to register.

Good morning ladies. I just got back from a too short vacation in Amish country and am trying to play catch up. I got the Tyson chicken yesterday at Meijers for $4.99-2.00 IPQ=$2.99. I love making chicken stock with the leftovers.

I'm playing raincheck games at CVS. I finally found the 1 Liter Crest mouthwash from last month and got the toothbrushes this week's sale. I had to get a raincheck for the Starbursts.

My best deal of the week was at Kohls yesterday. I used my $30.00 Kohls cash to buy DH two nice shirts for our anniversary today. I walked out after paying $.21 and using my Kohls coupons.

At Rite Aid, there are certain Crest toothpastes with a little travel tube and $10.00 worth of coupons. It was part of this week's deal and a better deal since I got some good coupons.

I missed the Staples deal this week and would have loved to donate a box of paper to our school but it's too far to travel and I know there'll be other good deals coming soon.

[973beachbum]

HOUND ALERT

If anyone gets the coupon for $3 Bic Soleil disposable or Soleil system razor (exp 8/21/11) in tomorrows 7/10/2011 SS I would love a couple more. The deal is starting in tomorrow's sale at CVS is they are $6.99 and you get a $3 ECB making them .99 cents.

I have a teenage DD and these are her favorite razors. And we live at the beach. Do I need to say more? Thanks to anyone who can help. ;D

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

[constanz22]

Jul 8, 2011 18:34:38 GMT -5 saveinla said:

Jul 8, 2011 14:25:50 GMT -5 @texasjunebaby said:

Nickyleey, THANK YOU so much for posting this!

When I printed out the HP coupon I was thinking of picking up a pack of paper because I THOUGHT it would be limited to that. However, I read the comments posted by someone on Hip2Save. Her husband suggested she buy a CASE of paper. So what would have been around $32, she got for 9. That's the deal I'm going to do!

Thanks nickyleey & texasjunebaby. I was able to buy a case of HP all purpose paper - 34.99 (75% off is 8.75) and one expanding document folder - 15.99 (75% off is 4.00) . Paid with 10$ Staples rewards and 2.99 in cash, including tax. Now I don't need to buy any more paper for a year and hopefully there will be a sale on school bags with 75% off Q that I can use to finish my shopping for the year.

I want to thank you guys too for posting this deal! I was almost out of printer paper, had been using odds and ends that I salvaged from partly printed stuff at work! I got the case, too, for under $9 and the cutest little standing filing thing, for under $3! I wish I knew how to post a photo...it's adorable! Just gotta figure out what to use it for...might be good for keeping track of rebates!

[dogmom]

I have to admit, I was impressed with the Staples coupon, so was the cashier. I saw it on Hip to Save, but, we still had three reams of paper. I rarely shop Staples. But, after reading your posts, I went. (Their backpack sale is awesome) Heck, for me, they are closer than CVS. I doubt we will need printer paper for the next year or so. The cashier was so funny...I had my case of paper and two dry erase boards, (ours were looking kind of cruddy). ($1.00 each). He rang everything up, I handed him the coupon, and he went "WHOA, I guess you were wondering, should I go to Staples today or not?" Good choice. I was waiting on rewards, so, $11.40 out of pocket was okay with me.

[missourimommy]

Herekittykitty.
Thank you SOOO MUCH for the Lunchable Q's! One of our stores has them on sale 4/$10, and you get a $5 CAT when you buy 10. My recent transaction looked like this:

10 Lunchables - $25
-$1 q x 10 = $-10
-$5 CAT (from previous) $-5
Total OOP $10

Rcvd another $5.00 CAT for future.. I'm thinking about doing the Lunchables deal one more time with the q's I received this week from you, kitty! But, we now have about 50 Lunchables in our fridge!! At what point will I be called a Lunchables Hoarder?

NAG:
I used to be able to see the smileys and now I can't and I'm not sure why. I looked at my profile and it all seems to be ok. Anyone have any ideas?

Does anyone read The Coupon Goddess's blog? (http://www.thecoupongoddess.com/) She needs our prayers, as she was hit by a car Tuesday night while walking with her son.

[beyondthered]

Thanks for the welcome !!! ;D ... I was a poster back in 2007/08 ... SuziQ helped me out a lot!!! as did the rest of you. I am in South Florida ... still plugging away with coupons and livin' on the cheap ... I regularly shop at Wal-Mart Neighborhood Stores ... they actually accept coupons ... Walgreens ... CVS occassionally ... and Publix (only when I have too and they have good BOGO sales LOL ) ... Occassionally (very occassionally) I get to Costco to ) love my freshsaver !!!

Just wish stores here double coupons like they do up north

Anyways ... glad to have found you ... I feel like I found a long lost friend

And now that my DS and DD are getting to the teens ... YIKES ! I need to save all I can ...

Beyond ...

[marvholly]

beyond
NOT all northern stores double coupons. I am in metro Chicago and NONE of them do that anywhere near me. In fact, I STILL have issues at Walmart w/matches (even when I HAVE the ad w/me-Aldi is NOT competitor the cashier will say) and overage on coupons.

[rubyslippers]

Rite Aid question: I would like to do the Rimmel deal, spend $15.00 get $5.00 UPs. Does anyone know if you can buy it a little at a time and still earn the UPs? Since I don't have a $3/15 survey Q, I'm thinking of doing a few transactions to see if I could get one.

[saveinla]

Jul 10, 2011 7:55:28 GMT -5 rubyslippers said:

Rite Aid question: I would like to do the Rimmel deal, spend $15.00 get $5.00 UPs. Does anyone know if you can buy it a little at a time and still earn the UPs? Since I don't have a $3/15 survey Q, I'm thinking of doing a few transactions to see if I could get one.

rubyslippers,

At RA , any deal that has Buy X$ get y$, should track. The ones that will not track will be the Buy X items get Y$. HTH

[Opti]

Coupon insert question. How do I find out which coupon inserts should be in my Sunday paper. I live in NJ and just recently subscribed to the Sunday and Thursday paper due to an in store promotion. Its not going to pay for itself or break even if I only get one insert each Sunday.

Last Sunday I just got the P&G insert and since it was the weekend before July 4th I wasn't too concerned. Today only the Smart Spending insert was in the paper.
Is this correct or is someone not delivering my full paper inserts to me?

[Opti]

Next question. When you find obviously mispriced meat in your favor do you buy a lot of it or like me do you worry the cashier will notice and not let you get it at that price?


I found some Nature's Promise, Stop and Shop close to organic brand, Chicken sausage priced at $1.99/lb. yesterday. I only bought one even though they are usually $4.99/lb and I just get them on sale. I think someone forgot to change the pricing after weighing out the weekly special or intentionally forgot?


What would you have done? I've decided I like their Italian chicken sausage version better than the Shadybrook turkey sausage I usually get on sale for $2.99.

[dancinmama]

Jul 10, 2011 8:41:57 GMT -5 Opti said:

Next question. When you find obviously mispriced meat in your favor do you buy a lot of it or like me do you worry the cashier will notice and not let you get it at that price?


I found some Nature's Promise, Stop and Shop close to organic brand, Chicken sausage priced at $1.99/lb. yesterday. I only bought one even though they are usually $4.99/lb and I just get them on sale. I think someone forgot to change the pricing after weighing out the weekly special or intentionally forgot?

What would you have done? I've decided I like their Italian chicken sausage version better than the Shadybrook turkey sausage I usually get on sale for $2.99.

optimist: I don't think that most cashiers have a clue about prices (unless they are value shoppers themselves), basically because they mindlessly scan bar codes everyday instead of actually keying in prices like they used to. In addition, the price marked is (or should be) the price charged, error or no error.

[dancinmama]

Jul 10, 2011 8:36:56 GMT -5 Opti said:

Coupon insert question. How do I find out which coupon inserts should be in my Sunday paper. I live in NJ and just recently subscribed to the Sunday and Thursday paper due to an in store promotion. Its not going to pay for itself or break even if I only get one insert each Sunday.

Last Sunday I just got the P&G insert and since it was the weekend before July 4th I wasn't too concerned. Today only the Smart Spending insert was in the paper.
Is this correct or is someone not delivering my full paper inserts to me?

optimist: This can vary by region. Today, there is supposed to be a Smart Source and a Red Plum insert in the paper, however, some areas get the Red Plum through the mail only. HTH

EDIT: Sometimes it is more cost effective to buy the paper on Sunday from a newsstand instead of subscribing. In addition, by doing it this way you can look at the coupon previews on line ( www.talortownpreview.com or www.thecouponclippers.com ) and decide how many sets of inserts you'd like (i.e. buy more than one Sunday paper) or perhaps none at all.

[Opti]

Thanks Dancin. I just called customer service and per them I wasn't supposed to get a Red Plum insert.
I told her the reason I did the subscription was the coupon inserts and I need more than one of the three each week for the subscription to break even or payoff
for me.


Thanks for your other answer, I wish I had gotten another package or two of the sausage but I'm well supplied on meat right now and money is tight for the moment. If I had more cash I also would have indulged in the other package of ground lamb with the meat coupon discount. I got one package of just over one pound for $3.24.

[jdnstl]

frugalsuz - have you seen if they have started the weekly back-to-school supplies list on slickdeals yet? do you remember the posts last year? she took the ads of all the stores & listed out what was on sale that week so you could compare everything in one post. i noticed sales started this week but didn't find anything like that on SD for this year, yet.

[973beachbum]

Welcome Optimist! It is nice to see you here.

I am also in NJ as you know. The inserts are strange by me. The RP comes in the mail and today the SS comes in the paper, BUT the coupons in the SS in my paper today were maybe half of the ones listed on the coupon preview sites. Mostly if it is a high value one and they say it is $1.00 my paper will have one for 0.35 cents. Today I didn't even get any coupon for the Bic Soliel let alone a $3 one.

The best advice I can give is to start really slow and only shop at one or two stores like one grocery store and a drug store like CVS or Rite aid but not both. And if you really need an extra of a coupon for a sale coming up you can ask here if anyone has extra that they would be willing to share. It is a great group of people. ;D

Have you read Frugalsez blog? She is also from NJ truthfully probably not that far from you. ;D www.frugalsuz.blogspot.com/

How is the new job going?

[bluecluessubtlety]

Steam mop? ? I just bought one and know a selling point is no chemicals. But I love the smell of floor cleaner. Would it hurt if I add a few drops of fabuloso or pine sol to the water?

[mizbear]

Optimist- Stop and Shop and Giant are owned by the same company. I know at Giant, if Nature's Promise were to be mispriced like that, they would have to honor the price at the register, then post the mistake by signage until it was fixed.
Just like if there is a mistake in the flyer, they post signage at the entrances.
They more than likely would have honored the price.

[mizbear]

DB has told me I can have ALL of his leftover coupon inserts every week as long as I get them out of his stinky, cigar smelling car myself.



At least we will have inserts.

[The Home 6]

Jul 10, 2011 8:41:57 GMT -5 Opti said:

Next question. When you find obviously mispriced meat in your favor do you buy a lot of it or like me do you worry the cashier will notice and not let you get it at that price?


I found some Nature's Promise, Stop and Shop close to organic brand, Chicken sausage priced at $1.99/lb. yesterday. I only bought one even though they are usually $4.99/lb and I just get them on sale. I think someone forgot to change the pricing after weighing out the weekly special or intentionally forgot?


What would you have done? I've decided I like their Italian chicken sausage version better than the Shadybrook turkey sausage I usually get on sale for $2.99.

Okay, I had to chime in on this one. I am notorious for looking for the lowest prices on the package for meat. One time, I found a package of pork cutlets that was $0.02. FOR THE PACKAGE. Girls, you better believe I snatched that one up and made my family supper. I had to rename the recipe "2 Penny Porkchops".

[p8nt]

I finally got (almost) organized with 3 weeks of coupons filed. I paid a 10 year old to clip for me, bad idea. When you're 10 you don't worry about expiration dates or cutting on the lines.

I have the following up for grabs - I just hate to throw good coupons out. I should have at least 2 or 3 of each. PM me if you are interested.

$1.00 Kit & Kaboodle Cat Food 3.5# or larger bag
$1.00 Purina Cat Chow or Kitten Chow
Misc Amounts Purina Chef Michael's
$3.00 Nurto Natural Choice Cat Food
$.50 Pounce Cat Treats
$5.00 Blue Natural Dog Food
$3.00 Innova Cat Food
$3.00 Innova Dog Food
$1.00 OB Tampons

[rubyslippers]

CVS: The red machine spit out a $3.00/10.00 Q for pain reliever. I was able to make the Complete @ $7.99 part of my transaction. It says on the bottle to take away discomfort, so that was a moneymaker for me. I added an Afrin @ $5.99-5.00 MQ (mailed to me) to complete the deal. They were still out of the $5.99 Zyrtec from a sale a few weeks ago. I also had a raincheck for 2 bags Starburst and had two $2.00 CRTs and $1.00 MQ to get them for free. If anyone's planning on getting Pantene, check the red machine first. I got a $2.00 off 1 Pantene.

[p8nt]

Jul 10, 2011 17:30:14 GMT -5 rubyslippers said:

CVS: The red machine spit out a $3.00/10.00 Q for pain reliever. I was able to make the Complete @ $7.99 part of my transaction. It says on the bottle to take away discomfort, so that was a moneymaker for me. I added an Afrin @ $5.99-5.00 MQ (mailed to me) to complete the deal. They were still out of the $5.99 Zyrtec from a sale a few weeks ago. I also had a raincheck for 2 bags Starburst and had two $2.00 CRTs and $1.00 MQ to get them for free. If anyone's planning on getting Pantene, check the red machine first. I got a $2.00 off 1 Pantene.

[/b]

I also got one of these. $2/1 Pantene. I was wondering if you can use that with a Manufacturer coupon?

[rubyslippers]

Jul 10, 2011 17:48:24 GMT -5 p8nt said:

Jul 10, 2011 17:30:14 GMT -5 rubyslippers said:

CVS: The red machine spit out a $3.00/10.00 Q for pain reliever. I was able to make the Complete @ $7.99 part of my transaction. It says on the bottle to take away discomfort, so that was a moneymaker for me. I added an Afrin @ $5.99-5.00 MQ (mailed to me) to complete the deal. They were still out of the $5.99 Zyrtec from a sale a few weeks ago. I also had a raincheck for 2 bags Starburst and had two $2.00 CRTs and $1.00 MQ to get them for free. If anyone's planning on getting Pantene, check the red machine first. I got a $2.00 off 1 Pantene.

[/b]

I also got one of these. $2/1 Pantene. I was wondering if you can use that with a Manufacturer coupon?
[/quote]

Yes, you can which makes a pretty good deal. Last week I got a $1.50 off 2 Colgates which I used today in combination with MQ's.

[Deleted]

I got my first free food item. I noticed that relish was on sale for $1 and there was a coupon near it for .50 off and we bought it. Great deal, then went home and two days later was getting ready for my shopping day and checking my coupons and saw a $1 off coupon for the same relish. Went back and it was still on sale so I got it for free.