saveinla
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Post by saveinla on Mar 2, 2013 11:06:49 GMT -5
On behalf of all of the gals here, WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME to the Grocery Challenge!!!
If you have never clipped a coupon, or even if you have been using coupons for years, we'd love to have you join us. We are a crazy, fun-loving, and very friendly group of gals just chatting with one another about how to save big money using coupons. We are willing to help anyone, at any level, in any way that we can.
Don't think that you have to read through the pages and pages of posts to join in - most of it will be old, out-of-date information anyway. Just go to the last page of the thread and introduce yourself. Tell us what area of the country you're from and where you shop (grocery stores, national chain stores, Target, WalMart, etc.).
We'd love to have you join us on a regular basis, so don't be shy - just jump right in, have some fun, and save a ton of money in the process!!
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hinil
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Post by hinil on Mar 2, 2013 11:15:58 GMT -5
dogmom - I've been getting the CVS 20% off coupons OR $4/$20 coupons emailed to me every week for many weeks now. Since they are good until 4 days after printing, if I don't want anything, I wait and print them on Sunday (just "send to printer", save on ink until I actually want something, and then they're good for 4 days into the next week). As it turns out, I think I only used one this whole 2013, but I get them every week.
I heard Walgreens points do NOT track, but haven't tried it myself.
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murphath
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Post by murphath on Mar 2, 2013 16:48:34 GMT -5
I pass CVS on my daily walks so no gas used to get those red machine CRTs. Just none that I'd use right now.
Target seems to be the place for me now.
1 pair men's Swiss Gear walking shoes $23.08 (clearance price) 2 SEattle Best Organic Coffee: $9.98 2 Birdseye veggies: $2.66 2 Green Giant Steamers: $3.98 1 Smart One $2.74 1 20 oz..Size Stouffers Lasagna $5.99 2 Peanut Butter egg shaped M&Ms $5.78 1 Orowheat Multigrain sandwich thins: $2.69
Minus 2/$1.50 S.Best q's 2/$1 Birdseye IPs 2/$1 GG Steamers q's 1.50 Stouffers q 1.25 Target Stouffers q $3/$15 frozen food Target q $1.50/2 M&M's IP $1.50/2 Target M&Ms q $3 Orowheat sandwich thins q .10 BYO Bag discount $1.65 Red Card discount $5.00 Target gift card Total OOP: $33.05
So if you take the shoes off the total, I paid @ $10 for all the other stuff. Not bad.
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FreeSalsa
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Post by FreeSalsa on Mar 2, 2013 21:33:14 GMT -5
Hey ladies - I started the March thread
------
I guess I forgot it was March! I posted on the February thread. I'll copy and paste them below.
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FreeSalsa
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Post by FreeSalsa on Mar 2, 2013 21:33:55 GMT -5
Did I just lose my post? Doh! I did lose it. Here it is in a nutshell. Are your lettuce and other winter veggie prices up?I'm getting tons of Swagbucks this week. I'll recap later. Don't feel like retyping the whole thing. Yes!!Normally a package with 3 romaine hearts lettuce heads were only $1.99.Starting in January, the same package cost $3.79.Also, instead of a head of Romaine costing $1.00 or $1.29, it is up to about $2.29 a head.Ok, so it's not just me. What I wrote before my post got deleted last time is that I've been growing lettuce heads and baby lettuce for salad this winter and I'm so glad I did. We got some seeds free DFIL and we got organic non-GMO seeds free on Amazon using GCs from Swagbucks, so most of my salad is costing me nothing. Usually Sprouts has some kind of lettuce for .88 every week. Last week they had it at that price but that was the first time in about 6 weeks. They had signs up saying that there was a big freeze somewhere and so there might be higher prices or shortages on lettuces and other winter veggies (broccoli, etc.)
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FreeSalsa
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Post by FreeSalsa on Mar 2, 2013 21:34:14 GMT -5
Yes!! Normally a package with 3 romaine hearts lettuce heads were only $1.99. Starting in January, the same package cost $3.79. Also, instead of a head of Romaine costing $1.00 or $1.29, it is up to about $2.29 a head. Suzi/Freesalsa, Trader Joes still has organic Romaine for 1.99 for a 3pk. Thanks, that's not too bad. I liked it better when it was $1. You could get it at the 99C Only store. It's still twice as much as it was before.
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FreeSalsa
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Post by FreeSalsa on Mar 2, 2013 21:34:36 GMT -5
I thought it interesting this week when I received an e-mail from CVS reminding me I have a 20% off coupon for this weekend. Did anyone else get one of these? I don't recall ever getting a "reminder" before. I haven't been to CVS in I guess three weeks. Nothing was appealing to me. No EB's, couple of cash cards if I want to browse. CVS is a drive across town, so, I don't stop in to just scan my card. ETA, I did stop at Wags yesterday. Does anyone know if (I haven't been able to find it anyway) if their balance rewards card tracks for points like CVS does for EB? I got a $3/$15 any in my e-mail but by the time I saw it, it had expired. | |
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FreeSalsa
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Post by FreeSalsa on Mar 2, 2013 21:49:26 GMT -5
DOH!!!!! Lost my message again! DH keeps knocking the plug out of my computer!!!!
What was I saying? I've only used coupons on the Sparkle TP sale, which gets me 20 Swagbucks. I just cashed in $20 in CVS cards and have enough already for another $5.
Sprouts is having a BOGO sale but I don't think you can use two coupons at that store. Best deal is Earthbound Farms salads $3.69 BOGO and there are IPs on the site. Might be about $1 for organic salad right at the most expensive time. I forgot to ask last week about how many coupons you can use. Now I'm posting this before he knocks the cord out again!!!
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Mar 2, 2013 22:59:52 GMT -5
dogmom: NO!! When you do a points deal at WAGs, you have to buy all the items in one transaction to get the points. They DO NOT track. I learned the hard way , but I was fine with it. I got Doritos for $.50/bag so I wasn't going to whine about not getting points on top of it.
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marvholly
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Post by marvholly on Mar 3, 2013 6:08:06 GMT -5
Like many, it appears I am pretty much OUT of the drug store game(s).
I have 5EB that I will use this week.
WAG has had their balance reward program going 5 months (late Sept) now and I have a whopping 3500 points - 1000 from this week on the pineSol $5/2 with $1 IP's available. I do not like the dollar store version and the WAG & Aldi brands are nearly the same price as this after coupon cost.
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murphath
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Post by murphath on Mar 3, 2013 12:08:54 GMT -5
I believe Gilette Shave gel/prep is $1.99 at Target. There's a $2 off q in the P&G insert today. Good deal if my memory of the price is correct. I flew by that aisle yesterday and saw it and thought if DH was out I might be able to find a $1 q somewhere.
My total OOP for February groceries was $199.61. This was helped greatly by DD being at my sister's for a 4 week rotation on the other side of the Bay. As mentioned before, produce is a big thing for us. At least 1/2 of that is for apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.. I did get some $3/$10 produce J4U offers which helped. Don't know how much longer I can keep total under $200--produce prices have just skyrocketed.
Sure is slow around here.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Mar 3, 2013 13:46:34 GMT -5
I believe Gilette Shave gel/prep is $1.99 at Target. There's a $2 off q in the P&G insert today. Good deal if my memory of the price is correct. I flew by that aisle yesterday and saw it and thought if DH was out I might be able to find a $1 q somewhere. My total OOP for February groceries was $199.61. This was helped greatly by DD being at my sister's for a 4 week rotation on the other side of the Bay. As mentioned before, produce is a big thing for us. At least 1/2 of that is for apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.. I did get some $3/$10 produce J4U offers which helped. Don't know how much longer I can keep total under $200--produce prices have just skyrocketed. Sure is slow around here. It's just a sign of how much things are changing. All the freebies were AWESOME, but I knew that it was just a matter of time before these days would be upon us and quite frankly, I'm surprised that they didn't come sooner. At some time in the future (when exactly is anyone's guess), all coupons will be digital and limited; there will be no such thing as using multiple coupons to create a really cheap or free stockpile.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Mar 3, 2013 14:02:35 GMT -5
ANOTHER CVS RUMOR
On WUC there was a post about a possible change in the rain check policy at CVS. The post was about rain checks in general - that only the manager on duty will be allowed to write them and only if a substitute is not available (i.e. Best Foods or Hellmans mayo as a substitute for Kraft of vice versa). That certainly won't work if you have a coupon for the one that's on ad and not the one that they're substituting. I think a retailer can certainly offer a substitute, but I don't think they can force you to take one. I think that if they are out of a product that they have on ad, legally they have to offer you a rain check for THAT product.
One thing that CVS CAN do is make getting a rain check such a hassle and so time consuming that people become trained not to ask for them. The last time I got a rain check at WAGs it took 10 minutes - time for the AM on duty to come out of the office and up to the front, time for her to check the shelf, time for her to check the stockroom, and then FINALLY time for her to write the rain check. A lot of people just don't have that kind of time.
Another change that CVS could definitely make is setting a time limit on the rain checks so that they are no longer good forever. I know that I have some pretty sweet rain checks filed away for food items when they were really cheap - Vlassic pickles for $1, Progresso soup for $1, Snows Clams for $.77 and $.88/can, etc. Those rain checks are like gold to me.
It would not surprise me at all if CVS stopped offering rain checks for EB items because when CVS has to force print an EB, they are not reimbursed for it by the manufacturer when it is redeemed. It might be no different from WAGs current rain check policy for RR items.
Anyway, keep your ears peeled and if you hear anything from one of your cashiers or something changes the next time you ask for a rain check, let us know.
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FreeSalsa
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Post by FreeSalsa on Mar 3, 2013 23:44:54 GMT -5
Any deals on TP? I'm out.
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marvholly
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Post by marvholly on Mar 4, 2013 6:25:51 GMT -5
dancin You experience on WAG rainchecks mirriors mine EXCEPT mine is more like 20+ minutes. I am sure the asst mgr just takes a ciggie/bathroom break. I just don't bother w/rainchecks at WAG anymore. If they have a sale it is a sure bet CVS, Target, Walmart......will do the same either the same week or within 2 weeks. Major mfg/distributor companies cannot afford to tic off any large retailer by only offering a 'deal' to a single chain.
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Mar 4, 2013 8:44:07 GMT -5
Any deals on TP? I'm out. Don't let Dancin hear that!
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Mar 4, 2013 8:46:53 GMT -5
I have 2 free 12 can packs of Coke from Coke my rewards. They expire 3/31. Obviously I will not just let them expire but does anyone know of any good deals this month to use them on? Every other time I got them I was able to combine it with a Cat or ECB deal to not only get them for free but to get a couple of bucks on top. I guess I really am spoiled! If anyone knows of something coming up this month please let me know, thanks!
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saveinla
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Post by saveinla on Mar 4, 2013 9:34:37 GMT -5
Any deals on TP? I'm out. RA has Charmin 12 pk for 6.99 and it is part of the Buy 30 get 10$ UP reward sale. Just 25c Qs around, but if you need them this week, then I guess probably the cheapest. Buy 4 Charmin, add 2 or 3 Bounty basic single rolls for 97c each and get back 10$. Limit is 1 on the deal.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Mar 4, 2013 12:32:09 GMT -5
Any deals on TP? I'm out. Don't let Dancin hear that! I just don't want it to happen to me!!
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Mar 4, 2013 12:47:01 GMT -5
Any deals on TP? I'm out. Walmart has (12) double rolls of White Cloud for $5.97. I have no clue about the quality or the sq. ft. provided so it may be a horrible deal, but might be the lowest OOP for something that can tide you over. The best buy that I have seen on a fairly regular basis are the deals on Scott Extra Soft at CVS. Even though it is one ply it is very decent quality and the package that CVS sells (an 18-pk of double rolls) offers a whopping 646.2 sq. ft. I have seen it on sale from $6.44 - $7.49, sometimes as a stand alone sale and sometimes offering EBs. Many times the sales coincide with a $1/1 (12-pk or larger) insert coupon.
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emhalf
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Post by emhalf on Mar 4, 2013 15:59:54 GMT -5
I have 2 free 12 can packs of Coke from Coke my rewards. They expire 3/31. Obviously I will not just let them expire but does anyone know of any good deals this month to use them on? Every other time I got them I was able to combine it with a Cat or ECB deal to not only get them for free but to get a couple of bucks on top. I guess I really am spoiled! If anyone knows of something coming up this month please let me know, thanks! There's a good deal at CVS next week. Coke 12-packs 5/$15, get back $5 EB. If you just wanted the coke they'd be 5/$4 after coupons and EBs, or there are some other things included in the deal...planters, oreos, random hershey candy.
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emhalf
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Post by emhalf on Mar 4, 2013 16:02:34 GMT -5
Any deals on TP? I'm out. RA has Charmin 12 pk for 6.99 and it is part of the Buy 30 get 10$ UP reward sale. Just 25c Qs around, but if you need them this week, then I guess probably the cheapest. Buy 4 Charmin, add 2 or 3 Bounty basic single rolls for 97c each and get back 10$. Limit is 1 on the deal. There's also an okay deal at CVS next week if you have EBs to burn. Angel soft is 2/$10 with $2 EB back. If we happen to get coupons in next week's paper, you could probably take it down another dollar or so.
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Mar 4, 2013 16:12:27 GMT -5
I have 2 free 12 can packs of Coke from Coke my rewards. They expire 3/31. Obviously I will not just let them expire but does anyone know of any good deals this month to use them on? Every other time I got them I was able to combine it with a Cat or ECB deal to not only get them for free but to get a couple of bucks on top. I guess I really am spoiled! If anyone knows of something coming up this month please let me know, thanks! There's a good deal at CVS next week. Coke 12-packs 5/$15, get back $5 EB. If you just wanted the coke they'd be 5/$4 after coupons and EBs, or there are some other things included in the deal...planters, oreos, random hershey candy. Thanks you!!! Even without the coupons from rewards this is the best price for a Coke 12 pack I have seen in years.
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murphath
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Post by murphath on Mar 4, 2013 20:31:38 GMT -5
11 hours ago 973beachbum said: I have 2 free 12 can packs of Coke from Coke my rewards. They expire 3/31. Obviously I will not just let them expire but does anyone know of any good deals this month to use them on? Every other time I got them I was able to combine it with a Cat or ECB deal to not only get them for free but to get a couple of bucks on top. I guess I really am spoiled!
If anyone knows of something coming up this month please let me know, thanks!
I'm a diet pepsi gal myself, but I do the Coke rewards. I currently have 2 free ones and am waiting for Safeway to have their buy 2 get 3 free sale (mix and match with pepsi products). Now, the coupons are max $4.99 and a 12 pk. at our Safeway is $6.49 so I end up paying $2.98 for 5 12 pks (plus CRV, of course). That works out to .60 per 12 pack.
Don't know if you have a Safeway (or Dominics, or Kroger, or Vons) that does the same but that's the best we can do out here.
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grits
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Post by grits on Mar 4, 2013 22:04:10 GMT -5
I went to the store tonight, and loaded up on things but the one that I am most proud of is a 32 loads jug of Whisk for $2.99. The stuff is expensive.
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marvholly
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Post by marvholly on Mar 5, 2013 7:59:47 GMT -5
Did a boatload (for me) of shopping on Mon. Got a bunch of fresh veggies at almost reasonable prices. My fav fruit mkt had the single serve bay scallops (prefer to sea as I find sweeter) in again for 0.69/4 oz pkg. Picked up a day old rye bread (was out). Noticed they raised the $$ of day old roll packs 20%. Did NOT buy. I'll wait and see how it goes for a few weeks. I can buy fresh rolls for 0.25 ea. Got some deli turkey and swiss cheese (was out of both) and a 2 lb block of sharp cheddar. Got a 4 pk of boston lettuce on the clearance rack for 0.75 - about = to 2 heads (reg 0.79 at the cheap mkt). Plus a few other things.
Still could use some salad stuff, stir fry veg and fresh fruit other than the apples I have on hand. However, w/the snow we expect I will make do w/what I have on hand until later in the week when we are 'supposed' to start melting (oh joy. Backyard floods).
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Mar 5, 2013 20:02:19 GMT -5
I went to the store tonight, and loaded up on things but the one that I am most proud of is a 32 loads jug of Whisk for $2.99. The stuff is expensive. It sure is!! Over the last (6) years I have looked for every opportunity to stockpile it for free or cheap. I about fall over when I see the regular price - $6.49+ for 50 oz./32 loads. Including sales tax, that's would be at least $.22/load for me!!
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grits
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Post by grits on Mar 5, 2013 20:33:40 GMT -5
I clicked like on wisk facebook profile. Then, I was able to print a coupon. It was on sale at Kroger for $3.99.
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FreeSalsa
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Post by FreeSalsa on Mar 6, 2013 0:06:15 GMT -5
Don't let Dancin hear that! I just don't want it to happen to me!! LOL, beach. It will be about 7 years before that happens to Dancin!!! I still have two individual rolls from the Black Friday CVS sale but we need more asap. I don't have all the storage room Dancin does. DH brought up moving again in August when our yearly lease is up. I just can't move a whole stockpile again! I had to move it in here and it took over a year to use it up.
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constanz22
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Post by constanz22 on Mar 6, 2013 7:16:58 GMT -5
There's a good deal at CVS next week. Coke 12-packs 5/$15, get back $5 EB. If you just wanted the coke they'd be 5/$4 after coupons and EBs, or there are some other things included in the deal...planters, oreos, random hershey candy. Thanks you!!! Even without the coupons from rewards this is the best price for a Coke 12 pack I have seen in years. The free coupons from MCR usually auto deduct at CVS too, so, even better!
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