THÊ JÚLY 2011 GROCERY CHALLENGE

[saveinla]

Jul 14, 2011 11:40:26 GMT -5 sealy said:

Question: I bought both the compound W and the tootpaste from RA but only got a SCR for the toothpase does anyone know why? I bought them together on the same receipt does that make a difference?

sealy,

If you know that you bought the exact item that is pictured in the SCR book, then contact CS on that. Sometimes they don't see one or 2 items that are on the receipt at the very end and so they don't add it to your rebate. It happened to me once and I had to fax the receipt again highlighting the SCR item.

Sometimes you may have the wrong item (they are really confusing at times) . If that is the case, then do a return and rebuy at the store ASAP and enter the new receipt number. HTH

[rubyslippers]

Bluesclues: That's great news! Has your niece been helping you with clipping and/or filing coupons?

[rubyslippers]

Jul 14, 2011 10:28:58 GMT -5 va500 said:

Heard on the grapevine (rumor mill gossip).

In August some WalMarts will start to double coupons!!!

Anyone have the facts??

I haven't heard about this. It could be a dream come true or a nightmare. Sometimes the cashiers have trouble with plain old coupons. I do love that they allow overage.

[constanz22]

rubyslippers I have the Chi Chi's salsa Q's. Please PM me your contact info and let me know what else I could send. I didn't get extra papers the last couple weeks, but have several extras prior to that...

[sealy]

Thanks saveinla.


Does anyone want 2 Qs for pediasure? $2/1. I thought I saw on this board that someone's DH drinks it but haven't been PM'd yet
so if anyone wants them just let me know.

[bluecluessubtlety]

Jul 14, 2011 11:47:17 GMT -5 rubyslippers said:

Bluesclues: That's great news! Has your niece been helping you with clipping and/or filing coupons?

Not really. She's been in the room when I've done it and watched, but hasn't taken an active role yet. And yesterday since her list was so out of order and long, I pulled them for her to save time and she clipped. But I told her next week I want her to use the blog (centsableshopping since she does our store matchups and has a very handy printable grocery list that shows corresponding Qs) to print her list and then she can clip them herself (I do the whole insert in a folder method sorted by date). Easy peasy.

[bluecluessubtlety]

Also, the cashier last night was so crochety at first. She took a long time to put her things on the belt because we have megas here (buy 10 items, save $5) and she wanted to make sure she properly got groups of ten. He was acting all exasperated. Then I told her scan her loyalty card after all items because I like to see the big total and then the big discount (ala EC drama). He was all put out with that and gave her attitude. Well about halfway, her mother comes up in second cart with the baby (easily one of the most beautiful children ever born) and he melted. He was scanning and just staring at that baby and chatting with her. I think he even doubled a few Target Qs that should have been face value. She's better than a puppy.

[nickyleey]

Jul 14, 2011 12:45:47 GMT -5 bluecluessubtlety said:

Also, the cashier last night was so crochety at first. She took a long time to put her things on the belt because we have megas here (buy 10 items, save $5) and she wanted to make sure she properly got groups of ten. He was acting all exasperated. Then I told her scan her loyalty card after all items because I like to see the big total and then the big discount (ala EC drama). He was all put out with that and gave her attitude. Well about halfway, her mother comes up in second cart with the baby (easily one of the most beautiful children ever born) and he melted. He was scanning and just staring at that baby and chatting with her. I think he even doubled a few Target Qs that should have been face value. She's better than a puppy.

Congrats Blues on helping your neice!! It's the whole "give a man a fish... teach a man to fish..." idea. Love it! Now can you teach everyone in the USA who is on food stamps to do the same thing? Maybe it will help us dig out of the hole we're in. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about helping those that are less fortunate, but I think that teaching people how to coupon teaches a multitude of valuable lessons such as learning the value of a dollar, math, logic (except for WAGs and RA b/c we all know those stores don't use logic), saving money for a rainy day, planning ahead, negotiation, etc. Lots of lessons that can help a person get back on the right track to being self-sufficient.

Beautiful babies definitely help with couponning. I take mine all the time. When she was about a year old, she ate a small (in size, it was pretty valuable!) coupon without me knowing it. I get to the register and start looking for it. Meanwhile, the cashier is cooing over DD and talking to her about how cute she is. DD then spits up the Q, which is still in one piece but very slobbery. I look at the cashier and say something about how I guess I can't use that Q any more and she tells me to give it to her! I told her not to worry about it and she tells me she's a grandma and deals with it all the time. She enters in the discount manually. I think I told her a million times not to worry about it and kept apologizing and saying thank you. She just couldn't take her eyes off of DD! DD is 3 now and still does a great job of entertaining cashiers. But she stopped eating Q's a long time ago!

[rubyslippers]

Constanz: I sent you a PM. Thanks!

Bluesclues: What a cute story! I've tried using the whole insert method of coupon organization but it doesn't work for me so I clip, sort and file into a big binder. I keep that in my car for unexpected deals. I carry an envelop clutch that I got at Staples. Each section is divided up by the stores I shop at and I put that store's list and coupons in that particular slot.

[leanna]

Jul 14, 2011 8:38:24 GMT -5 bluecluessubtlety said:

Update on the sis and niece - both accepted jobs they're due to start Monday.

Yesterday we went shopping with those famous food stamps. Niece had two hours prep (because she went through circular herself instead of following blog that lists every deal and q like I told her to) and two hours in store. $505+ down to $315. She was very happy. She said she usually spends entire $576 in food stamps in one trip.

My sister was annoyed at the time and effort. Idiot. I see it four hours of her time saved $190. That's a hell of an hourly wage! My niece appreciated it. I think she may stick with it.

She could have even done better - using more competitors $ off qs, splitting orders to use more of them... but I was super tired and migraine and don't have the energy to prep her better. Next week I will.

BluesClues - I give you props for doing what you're doing. It's so hard to have the patience to show someone the way to living a better life.

You are doing a good thing and if things come up that are stressful, feel free to vent, because I know it's hard work doing this.

P.S. Hilarious comment about the baby being better than a puppy.

And Nicklyeey, Your story cracked me up! Thanks for sharing!

[bluecluessubtlety]

Micky I agree. I definitely think there's a time and place for public assistance. But I think that assistance should come with some life training so people can break the cycle.

Edible coupons. What will they think of next?

Eta nickylee damn autocorrect

[dancinmama]

I SAVED ALMOST $1000 TODAY!!

I got my property tax assessment and they seem to think that our home was worth $100K more in January 2011 than it was in 2010!! I don't know what they're smokin', but I gave the county assessor's office a call. I told them if I thought that the value of the home had in fact increased in value, I would be happy to pay the extra in taxes; but REALLY??!! The guy that I talked to agreed. He admitted that it was a computer program that generated the new assessment and that $100K increase in value was a little ridiculous. He dropped the new assessment by over $100K. Five minutes of my time for $1000 in savings; I'LL TAKE IT!! ;D

[leanna]

Wow, Dancin Mama, that is a great tidbit you shared! You just never know until you ask, right?

$100k more - that is too funny. I guess they forgot to take a look at what's actually going on the world.

[973beachbum]

Blueclues, Thanks you!!! I got your envelope today.

[murphath]

constanz:

Where do you get the $5/5 Kellogg's IP? I went to hotcouponworld and it's not listed.

[bluecluessubtlety]

Jul 14, 2011 14:38:14 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

I SAVED ALMOST $1000 TODAY!!

I got my property tax assessment and they seem to think that our home was worth $100K more in January 2011 than it was in 2010!! I don't know what they're smokin', but I gave the county assessor's office a call. I told them if I thought that the value of the home had in fact increased in value, I would be happy to pay the extra in taxes; but REALLY??!! The guy that I talked to agreed. He admitted that it was a computer program that generated the new assessment and that $100K increase in value was a little ridiculous. He dropped the new assessment by over $100K. Five minutes of my time for $1000 in savings; I'LL TAKE IT!! ;D

Nice work.

[constanz22]

Jul 14, 2011 17:38:53 GMT -5 murphath said:

constanz:

Where do you get the $5/5 Kellogg's IP? I went to hotcouponworld and it's not listed.

Hmm, that's where I saw it yesterday. Maybe it's out of prints I think it was on the Kellogg's site too (you have to register to print coupons).

[saveinla]

Jul 14, 2011 17:38:53 GMT -5 murphath said:

constanz:

Where do you get the $5/5 Kellogg's IP? I went to hotcouponworld and it's not listed.

murphath,

Will your SW accept them if you get them - just curious, since mine would have a fit if I gave them that high value Q.

[leanna]

REVERSE HOUND:

I have (2) coupons for a FREE bottle of any Hubert's Lemonade. These are IP's I received from Hubert's Facebook site.

It wasn't until after I printed them that I realized that apparently they don't sell Hubert's in Oregon!

So, if you're interested, please check here (under "Where to Buy") to see if they sell it where you live:

www.facebook.com/hubertslemonade?sk=app_171162266282465

If they do, and you want 'em, just send me a PM w/your address & I'll mail 'em out to you.

[debinwa]

Jul 14, 2011 13:20:40 GMT -5 nickyleey said:

Jul 14, 2011 12:45:47 GMT -5 bluecluessubtlety said:

Also, the cashier last night was so crochety at first. She took a long time to put her things on the belt because we have megas here (buy 10 items, save $5) and she wanted to make sure she properly got groups of ten. He was acting all exasperated. Then I told her scan her loyalty card after all items because I like to see the big total and then the big discount (ala EC drama). He was all put out with that and gave her attitude. Well about halfway, her mother comes up in second cart with the baby (easily one of the most beautiful children ever born) and he melted. He was scanning and just staring at that baby and chatting with her. I think he even doubled a few Target Qs that should have been face value. She's better than a puppy.

Congrats Blues on helping your neice!! It's the whole "give a man a fish... teach a man to fish..." idea. Love it! Now can you teach everyone in the USA who is on food stamps to do the same thing? Maybe it will help us dig out of the hole we're in. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about helping those that are less fortunate, but I think that teaching people how to coupon teaches a multitude of valuable lessons such as learning the value of a dollar, math, logic (except for WAGs and RA b/c we all know those stores don't use logic), saving money for a rainy day, planning ahead, negotiation, etc. Lots of lessons that can help a person get back on the right track to being self-sufficient.
Beautiful babies definitely help with couponning. I take mine all the time. When she was about a year old, she ate a small (in size, it was pretty valuable!) coupon without me knowing it. I get to the register and start looking for it. Meanwhile, the cashier is cooing over DD and talking to her about how cute she is. DD then spits up the Q, which is still in one piece but very slobbery. I look at the cashier and say something about how I guess I can't use that Q any more and she tells me to give it to her! I told her not to worry about it and she tells me she's a grandma and deals with it all the time. She enters in the discount manually. I think I told her a million times not to worry about it and kept apologizing and saying thank you. She just couldn't take her eyes off of DD! DD is 3 now and still does a great job of entertaining cashiers. But she stopped eating Q's a long time ago!

nickyleey: Karma to you! I agree that it's vital to provide assistance to those who need it, but we do need to make sure it's not a lifetime blank check.

and blueclues: Karma to you too, for all the help you're giving your niece. She might make you want to bang your head on the wall now, but I bet you will be happy in time when she's learned those valuable lessons and is standing on her own two, proud feet! Cheers.

[dancinmama]

Off to Kohl's today. I have $10 in Kohl's cash from buying new sheets a couple of weeks ago with a $10/$20 and a 30% off coupon. This week there was a $10/$30 in the newspaper. I will combine the $10/$30, a 15% off, and my $10 in Kohl's cash to buy $30 worth of new cotton socks for me. I am hoping that they are having a HUGE SALE on them. ;D

HOW TO COOK PORK SPARE RIBS?
Does anyone eat these? Farmer John pork spare ribs are on sale at Safeway in freezer burn resistant packaging for $1.99/lb. (regularly $3.49/lb.). I bought ONE package as we usually get the pork baby back ribs (also on sale for $3.99/lb.) as opposed to the spare ribs. If we like the spare ribs, I plan to go back and get several packages before the sale ends since they will freeze indefinitely with no freezer burn.

How do you usually cook them? We usually steam the baby backs in the oven and finish them off on the grill basting them with barbecue sauce. Has anyone ever done spare ribs in a crock pot?

[marvholly]

Dancin
Spare ribs & baby backs cook about the same. Spare take a bit linger generally since they are usually meatier.

I prefer to at least finish ribs on the grill w/some hickory or mesquite wood chunks to get the really good smokey flavor.

ribs are prob one of the VERY few pork items I know how to/have cooked.

[The Home 6]

Jul 14, 2011 14:38:14 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

I SAVED ALMOST $1000 TODAY!!

I got my property tax assessment and they seem to think that our home was worth $100K more in January 2011 than it was in 2010!! I don't know what they're smokin', but I gave the county assessor's office a call. I told them if I thought that the value of the home had in fact increased in value, I would be happy to pay the extra in taxes; but REALLY??!! The guy that I talked to agreed. He admitted that it was a computer program that generated the new assessment and that $100K increase in value was a little ridiculous. He dropped the new assessment by over $100K. Five minutes of my time for $1000 in savings; I'LL TAKE IT!! ;D

Danicin, that story reminds me of my folks' propery tax assesor- he seems to think that the root cellar (complete with spiders, buggies, and the occasional snake) should be counted as a 'wine cellar' and thus raise the value of their house.

[973beachbum]

"HOW TO COOK PORK SPARE RIBS?"

Dancin you really should look for this in the Recipes section. Spare ribs would be under Main Dishes baord but there is also a Recipe Wanted Board. It is at the bottom of the main page where the General board stuff is at thetop and all the boards like EE and WIR and YM are. Underneath is the recipes section. There are lots of great recipes there plus a lot of posters that I only knew from their board like P&M have posted great recipes there that I would never have found if they had just posted it on the board they normally post at. And if anyone here has a good one please post it there. ;D

notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=maincourse

[dancinmama]

Jul 15, 2011 7:22:34 GMT -5 973beachbum said:

"HOW TO COOK PORK SPARE RIBS?"

Dancin you really should look for this in the Recipes section. Spare ribs would be under Main Dishes baord but there is also a Recipe Wanted Board. It is at the bottom of the main page where the General board stuff is at thetop and all the boards like EE and WIR and YM are. Underneath is the recipes section. There are lots of great recipes there plus a lot of posters that I only knew from their board like P&M have posted great recipes there that I would never have found if they had just posted it on the board they normally post at. And if anyone here has a good one please post it there. ;D

notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=maincourse

beachbum: I always forget that we have a recipe section here on proboards. I read the section on ribs and there is a smorgasbord of ideas.

I'm glad to hear that the spare ribs are meatier than the baby backs cuz they are half the price!! ;D

[dancinmama]

Jul 15, 2011 6:41:48 GMT -5 The Home 6 said:

Jul 14, 2011 14:38:14 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

I SAVED ALMOST $1000 TODAY!!

I got my property tax assessment and they seem to think that our home was worth $100K more in January 2011 than it was in 2010!! I don't know what they're smokin', but I gave the county assessor's office a call. I told them if I thought that the value of the home had in fact increased in value, I would be happy to pay the extra in taxes; but REALLY??!! The guy that I talked to agreed. He admitted that it was a computer program that generated the new assessment and that $100K increase in value was a little ridiculous. He dropped the new assessment by over $100K. Five minutes of my time for $1000 in savings; I'LL TAKE IT!! ;D

Danicin, that story reminds me of my folks' propery tax assesor- he seems to think that the root cellar (complete with spiders, buggies, and the occasional snake) should be counted as a 'wine cellar' and thus raise the value of their house.

In my case, the computer cherry picked 3 houses that sold in 2010 to determine our home's value as of 1/11. The comps were not very good to begin with (not good matches to our home), but my argument was won on the fact that the percentage increase in the assessed value of our home was excessively high for a period of time where homes probably decreased in value.

[murphath]

saveinla:
Re $5/5 q's at Safeway. My SW will take them as long as the thing doesn't beep. If it beeps, then it depends on the cashier. I have one female cashier who knows me pretty well and will manually enter the amount. There's another one who would probably refuse to do so--she's an asst. manager--even though she knows me outside of the work environment. It's a question of knowing which cashier to use.
Same thing at Target. I know this will sound racist, but I usually go to the young guys or gals (no matter ethnicity), however the older Filopino/a cashiers refuse to take any q that beeps and read every line of any q they think is troublesome. I avoid their lines like the plague just 'cuz it takes so long to check out--not because my q's are bad.

[leanna]

For those who like Seventh Generation products, and have a Whole Foods near them:

Seventh Generation Baby wipes - Resealable Travel Pack (36 wipes) - price = $2.99

Use Seventh Generation $2 off any diapers/wipes or training pants - found here: www.seventhgeneration.com/coupon/baby/blog-readers

AND, use $1 off any Seventh Generation product (Whole Foods coupon), found here: www.wholefoodsmarket.com/coupons/

Final price: FREE

YMMV...my Whole Foods JUST started taking both mq's & their own q's. Ask before you buy!

P.S. I only printed 1 of the Seventh Generation coupons, so I don't know if you can print more than 1.

[dancinmama]

I know it's summer and I know that it's the slow season for deals, but c'mon CVS, throw us a bone!!

The 7/24 ad preview freebies are Paper Mate Pens $1.99 and get a $1.99 EB. There is also a deal on Lumene; doesn't matter, I didn't get the Q. I don't need it anyway.

This week I got the Complete and the Balance bar on my cards. Looks like I'll be digging into my rain checks to roll next week's EBs or I might just burn them. I haven't been too excited about anything they've offered in weeks.

[leanna]

I agree DancinMama - we are heading into sloooooow season. I don't see much of anything this coming week 7/17.

But - 7/24 at Wags - I KNEW that .80 shaving cream mq was going to pay off! Pure Silk will be .99, so after q, only 19 cents! And, the best part is that if they are out of shaving cream, we can actually get rainchecks, since no RR is involved and the mq is good until 9/30! Sweeeeet!

If anyone does not want their Pure Silk mq's, I'd be happy to take 'em off your hands.

Otherwise, enjoy the deal!

But, anyway, outside of that, yep it's pretty quiet on the hounding front. That's ok though - I'm taking this time to focus on my new Price Book.