THE FEBRUARY 2011 GROCERY CHALLENGE THREAD

[dancinmama]

Feb 2, 2011 10:51:11 GMT -5 family legacy said:

Do you guys use savingsangel.com at all and, if you do, is it worth it?

deepindebt: There are many places where you can get coupon matchups for free. You just need to find a couponer who blogs about the stores where you shop. If you tell us what stores you have, someone here might be able to help you find one.

[dancinmama]

Feb 2, 2011 8:54:39 GMT -5 jkscott said:

Feb 2, 2011 0:08:37 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

jkscott: I forget; do you have a Rite Aid? Right now, they are $9.99 at Rite Aid and giving a $5UP reward.

$9.99
- 4.00 $4/1 Fusion (1/30 P&G)
- 5.00 UP
.99 + tax

The MANUAL variety comes with one handle and (2) cartridges.

Next week, they will also be on sale at WAGs, but the deal is not as good and you cannot use the RR to buy another package and then get another RR - definitely not a stock up deal.

$9.99
- 4.00
- 4.00 RR
1.99 + tax

Geez, I remember when these were $8.99 and we had $5 coupons and they were giving a $9RR for a huge MM!!

Unfortunately no RA's here in South Florida. I will definitely take advantage of the Wags deal though. Thanks for the heads up!

jkscott: The WAGs scenario makes them $1 for each cartridge plus tax and that is taking into account that you will get a RR so actually you're going to pay $3.00 + tax for each cartridge in OOP and THEN get a $4RR for buying them. So you have to really decide whether the deal is good FOR YOU.

Hopefully, WAGs will have a better deal at some time in the near future.

[dancinmama]

Feb 2, 2011 0:56:34 GMT -5 shelly527in said:

Feb 2, 2011 0:32:25 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

[

dancinmama It took forever, but I finally found it....on the very back cover in the upper right hand side....Dove, Speedstick or Degree.

shelly: THANK YOU!! I really thought that I was losing it. The thing that I like about this deal (Rite Aid 2/13: Dove Deodorant $2/4 use a $2/1 from the 1/30 RP and get a $2UP when you buy 2) is that it will be a great filler for those who are trying to reach their $100 total for the Winter Reward.

[dancinmama]

Feb 2, 2011 8:04:03 GMT -5 constanz22 said:

Feb 2, 2011 0:08:37 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

jkscott: I forget; do you have a Rite Aid? Right now, they are $9.99 at Rite Aid and giving a $5UP reward.
$9.99
- 4.00 $4/1 Fusion (1/30 P&G)
- 5.00 UP
.99 + tax

The MANUAL variety comes with one handle and (2) cartridges. You can buy the first one and use the $5UP to buy the second one and then use the $5UP from the second one to by the third and so on and so forth. If you need any extra Qs, PM me your address and I will send some in the mail to you.

Next week, they will also be on sale at WAGs, but the deal is not as good and you cannot use the RR to buy another package and then get another RR - definitely not a stock up deal.

$9.99
- 4.00
- 4.00 RR
1.99 + tax

Geez, I remember when these were $8.99 and we had $5 coupons and they were giving a $9RR for a huge MM!!

Unfortunately, this is not going to work for him...he doesn't have a RA and this deal is a limit of ONE per household so you can't roll your Up into another. At least that is what my ad states. If anyone has gotten more than 1 $5 Up for the Gilette deal, please let us know...

Yep, you are absolutely correct. This is when having multiple cards comes in handy. I went back and modified my post.

[pubbler]

This is our first big storm this winter (SE MI). I actually expected worse, but we got around 6" and its still snowing. Thanks to DH, we are prepared for any storms. We have a generator & gas stoves in case of power outages. We also have gas fireplaces & an oil furnace. And thanks to the help of all my grocery hound (ugh, there's no 'hound/dog' emoticon) buddies over the years, I've got a nice big stockpile.
I never ever thought to use another card at RA. When Wellness first went national, I signed up online. They sent me 2 cards with different numbers. Now that I know you can use the UPs on any card, I'm gonna go back for more ice cream & Lays. I got 4 Edys, 1gilette razor, 12 stayfree, 2 Dixie plates, 2 glad bags, 7 Lays, 4 newspapers, 1 afrin, 1 coricidin for the tax OOP on Sunday. After doing the math, I only used $2 UPs. And now have $82 towards my winter rewards. Gonna do the heart rewards on my other card too. RA certainly rocks. I don't even know what WAGS look like. WAGS who dat?
Stay warm & safe everyone.

[saveinla]

Feb 2, 2011 8:56:02 GMT -5 frugalsuz said:

Feb 1, 2011 22:42:19 GMT -5 herekittykitty said:

mawmaw: fortunately, the + ups seem to work with any card.

Hounds who use Prilosec can get it free at RA this week with a combo of +ups, the $8/2 Q, and the $25 rebate. I've been stocking up for my parents, but I'm running out of addresses...last time I used my MIL's address, she forgot I was getting a rebate and threw it away!

Thanks for the head's up on this herekittykitty! I'm always looking for ways to turn rewards (UP's, EB's, RR's) into cold hard cash. Here's the deal info on this one:

Prilosec OTC 42ct - $28.99 - $26.09 (with 10% discount) or $23.19 (with 20% discount), get $7 +UP

Buy 2 so $52.18 or $46.38 - $8/2 coupon (1/30 P&G) - two $7 UP's - $25 rebate = $2.98 total cost or $0.62 profit depending on your discount

Here's the rebate form: www.prilosecotc.com/en_US/consumer/PromotionsDiscounts/Documents/Rebate_Form.pdf

FYI Prilosec is a P&G company and they're awesome about rebates! I've never had a problem using tons of rewards & coupons to get my OOP really low and still getting the rebate check as expected. HOWEVER, someone on Slick Deals posted this fantastic tip and its brilliant! Whenever you're doing a rebate like this and you're concerned about your OOP being too low, add a gift card into your transaction.

So if you're buying $25 worth of rebate stuff and paying with $25 in rewards, throw in a $25 gift card so your total on the receipt is still $25. Smart huh?

herekitty & frugalsuz,

Thanks a lot for this deal alert. I was thinking about this today and was wondering if it is a better deal with the 7 Ups and the 8$/2 MQ. Looks like it is and glad I waited to do the rebate.

[dancinmama]

I am cooking up the 93/7 ground beef that I got yesterday for $1.20/lb. For those of you who don't think ground beef is very healthy, here's what I do that takes almost all the fat out. I find that it works best for tacos and taco salad, but you could probably dr it up for spaghetti/lasagna too.

1. Fry the ground beef
2. Spoon off as much grease as possible.
3. Take the remaining ground beef and put in a colander. Rinse thoroughly with water (removes almost all the remaining fat).
4. Season with taco seasoning or add a smidge of spaghetti sauce.
5. Portion out in sandwich ziploc baggies and then put those baggies in a freezer bag.
6. Mark each freezer bag with what it contains: taco meat, spaghetti meat, etc. and date.

I love this method because all I need to do is grab and package and defrost to make my meal.

[missourimommy]

herekittykitty,
You have pm from me!

[GirlGreen]

Is there a coupon trade list, or a site that's good for trading?

[family legacy]

I sortof figured that you guys can give just as good information as savingsangel does but for free. I shop at RA, Wags, and Meijer primarily, but occasionally am near a CVS when visiting family.

How do you get cheap copies of All You magazine?

[oreo]

Maybe this is explained already--I scanned the postings and didn't find it (there is a LOT of info to scan!). Can you somehow use a BOGO free coupon with BOGO free store ad? Like the Stayfree pads this week are BOGO free at RA. Can I somehow use my BOGO free coupon with that or do I just need to use one of the $1 off coupons? When I was looking at the notes at iheartriteaid.com it looks like maybe it is up to the store to decide what they will accept? Thanks!

[GirlGreen]

Oreo - You can! On RA's site they have a really good .pdf explaining their coupon policy.

[saveinla]

Feb 2, 2011 13:47:31 GMT -5 oreo said:

Maybe this is explained already--I scanned the postings and didn't find it (there is a LOT of info to scan!). Can you somehow use a BOGO free coupon with BOGO free store ad? Like the Stayfree pads this week are BOGO free at RA. Can I somehow use my BOGO free coupon with that or do I just need to use one of the $1 off coupons? When I was looking at the notes at iheartriteaid.com it looks like maybe it is up to the store to decide what they will accept? Thanks!

oreo,
RA's store policy clearly says that you can use a BOGO Q on a BOGO sale and have to pay only tax. I would recommend printing that and showing it in your store if they don't agree. It works at my store. The policy is on iheartriteaid site. HTH

[mandyms]

Hi Ladies,

Snowed in today, I love being back in NW Ohio; you HAVE to stay off the roads or you'll get a ticket. Did someone mention a rebate offer with Nature Bounty vitamins? They're BOGO at Giant Eagle this week and they are doing double coupons up to $2.

[dancinmama]

Feb 2, 2011 13:46:39 GMT -5 family legacy said:

I sortof figured that you guys can give just as good information as savingsangel does but for free. I shop at RA, Wags, and Meijer primarily, but occasionally am near a CVS when visiting family.

How do you get cheap copies of All You magazine?

deepindebt: I believe a lot of the gals buy subscriptions when the are offered really cheaply online.

[saveinla]

Feb 2, 2011 13:46:39 GMT -5 family legacy said:

I sortof figured that you guys can give just as good information as savingsangel does but for free. I shop at RA, Wags, and Meijer primarily, but occasionally am near a CVS when visiting family.

How do you get cheap copies of All You magazine?

deepindebt,

Amazon has frequent deals on All You. There was an email a couple of days ago from Amazon saying you get a certain credit if you buy some magazines and All You was incuded in that deal. Keep watching for deals and you will get one. But getting the first issue takes time.

[oreo]

I also have a question about internet coupons. How are you allowed to use them? I just printed 3 different coupons for Stayfree pads and they are all different (they are all $1 off but they have different pictures on them but they are all from the mfr). Should I be able to use all of them or can I only use 1 or how does that work? I've never used an internet coupon at a store before. I think from reading everything, that I can use 2 coupons for 2 products (even if 1 is free) but I'm not sure how they feel about internet printed coupons. Also, do you have to print them in color or is black and white ok?

So, assuming they allow me to use the BOGO free, can I do that using the 1 coupon (and only pay tax) then use 2 of my $1 coupons (assuming I'm allowed to use 2 different internet coupons) in the same transaction to buy 4 Stayfree products or would I need to go back to the store a 2nd time to use the other 2 coupons (does that question make sense???)


Thanks for all of the great continued information!

[dancinmama]

Feb 2, 2011 13:40:30 GMT -5 GirlGreen said:

Is there a coupon trade list, or a site that's good for trading?

GirlGreen: You can request a coupon right here by posting a HOUND ALERT. Please tell us WHERE/WHICH INSERT that we can find the coupon in to make it easier to help you. If you need it for a current/upcoming deal, please post the deal so that anyone giving up their coupons can decide whether they might want to do the deal before doing so.

HTH

[GirlGreen]

Feb 2, 2011 13:59:11 GMT -5 oreo said:

I also have a question about internet coupons. How are you allowed to use them? I just printed 3 different coupons for Stayfree pads and they are all different (they are all $1 off but they have different pictures on them but they are all from the mfr). Should I be able to use all of them or can I only use 1 or how does that work? I've never used an internet coupon at a store before. I think from reading everything, that I can use 2 coupons for 2 products (even if 1 is free) but I'm not sure how they feel about internet printed coupons. Also, do you have to print them in color or is black and white ok?

So, assuming they allow me to use the BOGO free, can I do that using the 1 coupon (and only pay tax) then use 2 of my $1 coupons (assuming I'm allowed to use 2 different internet coupons) in the same transaction to buy 4 Stayfree products or would I need to go back to the store a 2nd time to use the other 2 coupons (does that question make sense???)


Thanks for all of the great continued information!

I'm mostly familiar with RA. You can use 1 manufacturer coupon (UPC starts w/ a 5), one Rite Aid MC (starts with 49 I think) and one that starts with 48 for each product. I think a BOGO covers 2 products.

So yes, if you buy 4 you could use your 3 coupons.

[dancinmama]

Feb 2, 2011 13:59:11 GMT -5 oreo said:

I also have a question about internet coupons. How are you allowed to use them? I just printed 3 different coupons for Stayfree pads and they are all different (they are all $1 off but they have different pictures on them but they are all from the mfr). Should I be able to use all of them or can I only use 1 or how does that work? I've never used an internet coupon at a store before. I think from reading everything, that I can use 2 coupons for 2 products (even if 1 is free) but I'm not sure how they feel about internet printed coupons. Also, do you have to print them in color or is black and white ok?

So, assuming they allow me to use the BOGO free, can I do that using the 1 coupon (and only pay tax) then use 2 of my $1 coupons (assuming I'm allowed to use 2 different internet coupons) in the same transaction to buy 4 Stayfree products or would I need to go back to the store a 2nd time to use the other 2 coupons (does that question make sense???)


Thanks for all of the great continued information!

oreo: Whether you can use an IP (internet printable) depends on the store. Most take them; but because of fraud (people making copies of their printables), some do not. Rite Aid does take them. Black and white is fine.

At Rite Aid I believe you can use the BOGO AND an IP for cents off the other one which means 1 BOGO and one IP for each two that you buy. Give the IP first. The BOGO will always beep to prompt the cashier to enter the value of the free product.

EDIT: I just reread the RA Coupon Policy on iheartriteaid and you are not allowed overage at RA so YMMV on using the IP with the BOGO. In other words, the register will allow it if you use the IP and THEN the BOGO; but the cashier may not.

[alphayankee]

Is there a coupon trade list, or a site that's good for trading?

Lbmoore maintains a google doc with each week's coupons. You just "tag" the ones you want. If another hound is looking to get rid of the q's they will not use, they may send them to you. It's a no obligation exchange, so you may get them or you may not. Just PM lbmoore if you want to be added. Or PM me and I'll send you her email because I haven't seen her post in a while.

murpath maintains the google doc with the names and addresses for hounds. PM her to be added.

If there is a particular coupon or coupons that you are needing for an upcoming sale, a HOUND ALERT would be your best bet, as dancinmama described.

[oreo]

Thanks so much! Please excuse my ignorance, but I want to make sure I understand what IP means. Does that mean something like internet print (like internet printed coupon)? I checked the first page for abbreviations and I couldn't find this one.

So the places where you can get store coupons are the store ad, the website, and watching the videos, are there other places as well?

[vnot]

Hi everyone!
I've been slammed w/ work and school but wanted to drop by to say hi! I hope everyone affected by the storm is weathering it well!

I went to RA and bought Hartz Crunch n Clean treats (free after Ups) and some KY Jelly and made a small profit. I am going to try to do a couple more of the KY jelly transactions so I can roll the ups into SCRs for next week's items. So excited! My stockpile is growing quite well!

AND!!! I was able to strike up a nice conversation with one of the managers at the RA that's closest to my house. We bonded over the dog treats I was buying--she has a Jack Russell Terrier/Beagle too! I'm happy because that makes me want to go to this RA more often and it's so much easier to get to know the workers!

[dancinmama]

Feb 2, 2011 14:15:06 GMT -5 oreo said:

Thanks so much! Please excuse my ignorance, but I want to make sure I understand what IP means. Does that mean something like internet print (like internet printed coupon)? I checked the first page for abbreviations and I couldn't find this one.

So the places where you can get store coupons are the store ad, the website, and watching the videos, are there other places as well?

oreo: Yes, IP is a coupon that you print off the internet.

You've pretty much got it covered on where to find RA store coupons, but you never know where else they MIGHT pop up: brochures by the pharmacy, etc.

[herekittykitty]

.

Thanks for sharing, alpha...that site is too funny!

[herekittykitty]

If you have those $2/1 Dove coupons don't be so quick to use them. I just seen the 2/13-2/19 ad and they are 2/$4. You get $2+ups wyb 2.
Hold onto those Ragu too *wink wink* 2/$3, Get $1+up wyb 2

Thanks for the tip, Shelley!! I would "karma" you, but I don't see the button!

Karma to missourimommy who offered to let me do the Prilosec rebate at her addy since my MIL can't be trusted! That was really nice of you!!

[herekittykitty]

Thanks for the head's up on this herekittykitty! I'm always looking for ways to turn rewards (UP's, EB's, RR's) into cold hard cash.

I swear, why don't I ever think of this!? I was just excited about getting them the Prilosec!

[herekittykitty]

Feb 2, 2011 13:54:13 GMT -5 mandyms said:

Hi Ladies,

Snowed in today, I love being back in NW Ohio; you HAVE to stay off the roads or you'll get a ticket. Did someone mention a rebate offer with Nature Bounty vitamins? They're BOGO at Giant Eagle this week and they are doing double coupons up to $2.

I believe it is a $5 rebate wyb $20 worth...there were forms in last week's circulars, or you can probably get it on the Nature Made website.

[FreeSalsa]

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! It's so chiiiiillllly outside. Why, it must be 60 degrees out!!

Ha ha. Sorry, I couldn't resist!

[mercee]

Feb 2, 2011 15:39:09 GMT -5 FreeSalsa said:

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! It's so chiiiiillllly outside. Why, it must be 60 degrees out!!

Ha ha. Sorry, I couldn't resist!

I should "smite" you for that!