The March 2012 Grocery Challenge Thread

[twinmama85]

oh no, im still gonna buy papers but im not gonna do much shopping except for the usual milk and such. right now we are doing a crock pot challenge at home...basically, i have to utilize the crock pot for every dinner i make...so far so good tonight is slow cooker spaghetti!

[leanna]

Mar 3, 2012 9:58:46 GMT -5 gailbon said:

I have an extra roll of stamps, and I'm not afraid to use them, LOL. ;D

That line made me laugh! ;D

[murphath]

I got my surgery/pathology report back: the lump was benign so I'm very, very relieved.
Thank you all for your good thoughts/prayers.

P8nt:
Welcome back! So sorry to hear about your grandma. 95 years old! Wow--she had a good, long life!

[saveinla]

Mar 3, 2012 19:27:12 GMT -5 murphath said:

I got my surgery/pathology report back: the lump was benign so I'm very, very relieved.
Thank you all for your good thoughts/prayers.

Great news murphath.

[saveinla]

I was not able to go to CVS until today, but I received a 3$/10$ healthcare purchase and this is what I did -

Thermacare - 1*3.79
Colgate sensitive prorelief - 2*4.99 - used 2-0.75 MQ and 1$ RIB Q
Colgate Total Advance - 1* 2.74 - used 1*.75 MQ + 1$ RIB Q

Used 3$/10, 9 ECB and paid 26 cents + tax and got back 8$ECB for the colgate sensitive, 3.79$ for the thermacare and 1$ for the total advance.

[leanna]

Mar 3, 2012 19:27:12 GMT -5 murphath said:

I got my surgery/pathology report back: the lump was benign so I'm very, very relieved.
Thank you all for your good thoughts/prayers.

P8nt:
Welcome back! So sorry to hear about your grandma. 95 years old! Wow--she had a good, long life!

That is such good news! Thank you for sharing.

And p8nt I'm not sure if I said anything yet about your Grandma...I meant to...I am sorry for your loss and yet so glad you had so many joyous years with her!

[marvholly]

973 Beachbum
I, too, got the early edition Sun paper on Sat. Then I'll prob get a set of inserts from my Dad too Mon or Tue.

Are you familiar w/the blog:
crockpot365.blogspot.com

She mad it a point to use her various crockpots EVERY day for a year and still sometimes posts. She has a lot of decent recipes.

[dogmom]

The Meijer Kraft cat deal is nice! I didn't do as well as probably Ruby and not as well as Pubbler, but EXCELLENT buys ladies! It should be interesting to see if now the Jewel (Albertsons) will accept my cat and some RR's against a few items I haven't been able to find elsewhere close. Keyword is close. Gas prices really are soaring here. I'm wishing me luck. The Jewel near my house is not coupon friendly and their pricing is IMHO heck high.

[gailbon]

Mar 3, 2012 14:57:43 GMT -5 leanna said:

Mar 3, 2012 9:58:46 GMT -5 gailbon said:

I have an extra roll of stamps, and I'm not afraid to use them, LOL. ;D

That line made me laugh! ;D

Thanks, Leanna! You gals here have been so helpful to me!
Since I do not have access to getting more than one set of coupons, I have become the "coupon fairy" at some of my local stores if I have no need to use them myself. But I don't mind sending them to people on these boards if they are high value and/or hard to get.

[p8nt]

Murpath - Great news on the surgery report! Worrying about that stuff is not fun.

I got a letter in the mail for a free $5 CVS giftcard, and I lost it I can't find it anywhere. Wags is no longer an "approved" pharmacy for my insurance so I think CVS is trying to snag their customers with the giftcard. Walmart had signs out also welcoming new customers to the pharmacy.

My plan is to pair up that $5 gc, a $10 gc I got last week, and a $5 beauty club EB and stock up on the "All" laundry soap - I think I can get it essentially free since I'll get another $10 gc back. I'm going to hit the coffee shops on my way home from work tonight for abandoned inserts, and my SO will check the gym when he goes. There's usually at least one insert on the tables there. Actually, I think it would be a MM if I can find 8/$1 coupons.

[misspt]

Murphpath: Congrats on the good pathology results!

RA this a.m. , I have a gold discount:

2 Playtex sippy cups 5.03e
2 Prestige lip liners 3.16e
2 Sally hansen tools 3.43e
1 Samy Hair spray 3.99
1 Softlips beeswax 1.59
1 Softlips vanilla 3.19
1 newspaper 1.20
2 Pistachios 8 oz 2.49e
minus Playtex $4 in ad Q x 2
Softlips $3 in ad Q x 2
Prestige $3 in ad Q x 2
Sally H $3 in ad Q x 2
Pistachios $1/1 IP (still available) x 2
Samy $3 in ad Q
Playtex $2/1 IP (request at Playtex.com) X 2
used $3 UPs
paid $2.78 (2.59 was tax) and got back my $3 in UPs for softlips. YMMV on 2 in-ad coupons, but my stores will let me, as long as I don't get greedier that that, which is fine by me. HTH

[constanz22]

Mar 3, 2012 19:27:12 GMT -5 murphath said:

I got my surgery/pathology report back: the lump was benign so I'm very, very relieved.
Thank you all for your good thoughts/prayers.

P8nt:
Welcome back! So sorry to hear about your grandma. 95 years old! Wow--she had a good, long life!

Great news!

Well, I'm glad I don't have any EB's that I have to use anytime soon. Apparently I am in the test market that got the one page ad...SERIOUSLY?! I got the regular ad in my PA paper, but the closest store in PA is 40 miles away...

Have tons of UPS to use, $20, 2 $10's, and various little ones so will see what kind of damage I can do at RA.

[dancinmama]

Mar 2, 2012 13:25:41 GMT -5 rubyslippers said:

Mar 2, 2012 9:14:17 GMT -5 pubbler said:

Yoo-hoo Ruby & Meijer shoppers - are you out there? I just read that the Kraft CAT rolls at Meijer, so stock up on cheap/free Kraft products.

[/color] [/b]The Philadelphia indulgence is a MM if you got the $1.50/1 Q from Kraft First taste or just with 5 x 75c Qs. I'm so excited. I'm heading to Meijer in a little while.[/quote]

Pubbler: My sister and I just got back from a fantastic Meijer trip. Wow! For $14.43 OOP I bought these items:
8 Kraft shredded cheese
7 Philly Indulgances
3 Philly Cream Cheese
2 Parmesan cheese
5 Kraft Fresh Takes
2 lbs. carrots
1 lb. asparagus
1 loaf bread
1 Country crock margarine
2 pork loins
1 Glade Fresh Expression
20 Right Guard Total Defense 5 travel bodywashes

That's $.27 an item, including the pork loins. I saved $80.09 in coupons, or 85% and have $8.00 in cats to spend the next time. The bodywashes are $.50 each on clearance--buy 4 and get a $4.00 catalina. There are also mperks for the Indulgance, cooking cream, Fresh take and Glade. I didn't know the cat rolled but I will definately be back for more. We were so low on cheese and it feels good to stock up.[/quote]

Hey, dontcha know that you can't save that kind of money with coupons unless you buy a lot of junk food!!

[dancinmama]

Mar 4, 2012 10:46:18 GMT -5 misspt said:

Murphpath: Congrats on the good pathology results!

RA this a.m. , I have a gold discount:

2 Playtex sippy cups 5.03e
2 Prestige lip liners 3.16e
2 Sally hansen tools 3.43e
1 Samy Hair spray 3.99
1 Softlips beeswax 1.59
1 Softlips vanilla 3.19
1 newspaper 1.20
2 Pistachios 8 oz 2.49e
minus Playtex $4 in ad Q x 2
Softlips $3 in ad Q x 2
Prestige $3 in ad Q x 2
Sally H $3 in ad Q x 2
Pistachios $1/1 IP (still available) x 2
Samy $3 in ad Q
Playtex $2/1 IP (request at Playtex.com) X 2
used $3 UPs
paid $2.78 (2.59 was tax) and got back my $3 in UPs for softlips. YMMV on 2 in-ad coupons, but my stores will let me, as long as I don't get greedier that that, which is fine by me. HTH

Again, where's the junk food?

[misspt]

Dunno, dancin, I am sitting here in my truck eating RA brand craisins and pistachios, while my husband unloads bikes for our family bike ride, super unhealthy here *eye roll*.

[dancinmama]

murphath: That is AWESOME news. I know what it's like to wait for results.

[973beachbum]

Morning all! I had a pretty big shopping trip for me today. I went to marshals and BB&B and got mattress pads/protecters for two beds, cost $29.93.

Then we went to Staples. At Staples we got
Bluetooth headset for my DD for..........$19.80
2 Kodak XL Black ink for printer..............39.98 for both
1 Kodak XL Color ink for printer..............35.99
2 Staples copy paper reams...................10.98 for both
2 Staples pastel copy paper reams.........17.59 for both
Total was $125.85 I used my $104.15 in Staples rewards plus $21.70 in cash to pay for it all. ;D And I as soon as I came home i submitted for $28.56 in Easy Rebates!

Our last stop was to the liquor store for a bottle of wine and vodka. Don't judge me my Dd gets her drivers permit this week.

[rubyslippers]

Mar 4, 2012 11:28:11 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

Mar 2, 2012 13:25:41 GMT -5 rubyslippers said:

Pubbler: My sister and I just got back from a fantastic Meijer trip. Wow! For $14.43 OOP I bought these items:
8 Kraft shredded cheese
7 Philly Indulgances
3 Philly Cream Cheese
2 Parmesan cheese
5 Kraft Fresh Takes
2 lbs. carrots
1 lb. asparagus
1 loaf bread
1 Country crock margarine
2 pork loins
1 Glade Fresh Expression
20 Right Guard Total Defense 5 travel bodywashes

That's $.27 an item, including the pork loins. I saved $80.09 in coupons, or 85% and have $8.00 in cats to spend the next time. The bodywashes are $.50 each on clearance--buy 4 and get a $4.00 catalina. There are also mperks for the Indulgance, cooking cream, Fresh take and Glade. I didn't know the cat rolled but I will definately be back for more. We were so low on cheese and it feels good to stock up.

Hey, dontcha know that you can't save that kind of money with coupons unless you buy a lot of junk food!!

Dancin: Amen! LOL!

Rite Aid: I too was able to get the Playtex sippy cup and I did get 8 of the Softlips. It was a nice MM.

Meijer: In a perfect couponing world, I would be able to roll my cats this week and get 2 lbs. of my favorite expensive coffee on sale, 6 bags of Oreida potatoes, 5 Kraft Indulgances (raincheck) and 2 Gortons fish for a total of $.73. At least I'm going to try it.

[dancinmama]

Mar 4, 2012 14:21:12 GMT -5 973beachbum said:

Our last stop was to the liquor store for a bottle of wine and vodka. Don't judge me my Dd gets her drivers permit this week.

Would ya pour one for me? ...and I don't even had a DD getting a driving permit.

[dancinmama]

Is it just me, or is anyone totally underwhelmed by today's coupons? I'm hoping there is a jewel lurking in there somewhere.

[misspt]

my coupons were terrible. I ended up ordering from madcoupons mine were so devoid of anything that I can do a deal with....

[marvholly]

Mar 4, 2012 21:39:03 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

Is it just me, or is anyone totally underwhelmed by today's coupons? I'm hoping there is a jewel lurking in there somewhere.

It's not only you. I was coming here to post that I only clipped 1 coupon out of all 3 inserts and my coupons are generally ok - not land of the CC or land of greats but ok.

[frugalsuz]

Got a $3 Revlon cosmetics CRT at CVS today! I used it on eyeshadow for $5.49, paid $2.49 and got back $4 EB!

[finnime]

Frugalsuz,

You mention Saving Star on your blog. It looks like I could sign up for it here for CVS, Shop Rite, Giant Food and Rite Aid, but I wonder - does it set you up for blizzards of spam? How do you get your savings - Paypal, Amazon? Have you seen any drawbacks?

Thanks.

[frugalsuz]

finnime - I've only used it for a little while but I like it so far. I get emails from Savingstar maybe once a week or so, letting me know what new coupons are available. I just cashed out $9.25 via paypal, but you can do a deposit to your bank and there are a couple other methods of getting your money. The only drawback I've found so far is that there is sometimes a lag between purchasing the item and getting the $ in your account. I bought a People magazine at Rite Aid a couple weeks back and the $ still isn't there. But they said it can take up to 30 days for the store to send the info to Savingstar.

[murphath]

Yesterday at 9:39pm, dancinmama wrote: Is it just me, or is anyone totally underwhelmed by today's coupons? I'm hoping there is a jewel lurking in there somewhere.

The only really good one I saw was for the Olay bar soap in the P&G insert. It's $2, which is pretty rare. If you buy 3 (4packs, I believe) at Target for $15 ($5 ea), use 3/$2 q's, that would be $9, and you'll get a $5 Target gc back. If you count that on your current transaction, that's $4 or $1.33 each. Not terrific, but not bad for someone just starting out. I have so many UPs from RA that I'll probably get some Olay soap there. Believe it's b1g1 50% off there.

I've noticed that most of the q's are less monetary value these days. Used to get those $1 q's all the time for cereal, for example. Now, it's $1/2; .70 off 1 etc. Prices going up but q values going down. Makes our challenge a bigger one.

[973beachbum]

A late HOUND ALERT!!!

$1/1 Philadelphia Indulgence from the 2/26 SS
It is for the Munch Mania deal at Shoprite. They are part of a long list of items that if you buy $25 worth you get $20 in cats for future weeks plus there is a Phila and Kraft cat making it a screaming deal.

That and the dark choc variety just maybe our newest addiction. I just need it by Sat so if you can share any coupons with me and can get them out by tomorrow it should be no problem getting them here. TIA!!!

RERSE HOUND ALERT!!! I have 2 I can't believe it's not butter coupons for $1.25/1 tub to whomever it was that liked that brand. I printed them for God knows what reason and we don't use it. Just PM me and I will get them out.

[973beachbum]

Mar 5, 2012 11:32:21 GMT -5 murphath said:

Yesterday at 9:39pm, dancinmama wrote: Is it just me, or is anyone totally underwhelmed by today's coupons? I'm hoping there is a jewel lurking in there somewhere.

The only really good one I saw was for the Olay bar soap in the P&G insert. It's $2, which is pretty rare. If you buy 3 (4packs, I believe) at Target for $15 ($5 ea), use 3/$2 q's, that would be $9, and you'll get a $5 Target gc back. If you count that on your current transaction, that's $4 or $1.33 each. Not terrific, but not bad for someone just starting out. I have so many UPs from RA that I'll probably get some Olay soap there. Believe it's b1g1 50% off there.

I've noticed that most of the q's are less monetary value these days. Used to get those $1 q's all the time for cereal, for example. Now, it's $1/2; .70 off 1 etc. Prices going up but q values going down. Makes our challenge a bigger one.

Those actually look pretty good for us. The best i have been seeing are $2 off 5 boxes of cereal.

I have been liking having a well stocked pantry though. It is nice to be able to look at the "sale" prices and crappy coupons and be able to say no thank you. ;D

[FreeSalsa]

Thanks Dancin, for the good advice. He is worth it, and the better food probably is too.
SaveinLA, thanks for the Kashi posts. Unfortunately, I was off and missed them. Are they still on?

[misspt]

Mar 5, 2012 9:30:00 GMT -5 frugalsuz said:

finnime - I've only used it for a little while but I like it so far. I get emails from Savingstar maybe once a week or so, letting me know what new coupons are available. I just cashed out $9.25 via paypal, but you can do a deposit to your bank and there are a couple other methods of getting your money. The only drawback I've found so far is that there is sometimes a lag between purchasing the item and getting the $ in your account. I bought a People magazine at Rite Aid a couple weeks back and the $ still isn't there. But they said it can take up to 30 days for the store to send the info to Savingstar.

I have seen and experienced this with Saving Star:
If you don't use the physical card and you just use the number or phone number attached to the card, your items will not track (almost every time, especially RA), you can call and get CS to do the verification manually, but that's another thing to do....