2013 Grocery Challenge

[marvholly]

I finished going over the grocery ads for this week. My TOTAL list comes to <$15. However, I generally find more stuff at the big fruit veg mkt than is on my list and it does NOT include Dollar Tree, WAG or CVS. A few items will be bought this week yet – like Jewel and Dollar Tree (Sun paper + other stuff).

I just posted in the P & M forum. Wonder how badly I am going to get slammed.

[rubyslippers]

I am still getting some overage at Walmart with Almay MQ's and yesterday I spent $1.64 and got a 6 pk. D. Pepsi bottles, 1 bunch of bananas, 1 pizza sauce, 1 Lipton soup secrets and a loaf of bread.  Today I got grapes for $.75 lb. price matching Aldi's sale this week.

Meijer: I got 2 dozen eggs free with mperks and I bought 7 pkg. bacon @ $1.89 for $13.23.

Rite Aid had free Crest TP and Reach TB this week.

A local farmer is selling sweet corn 13 ears for $3.00.  I bought twice and put some up in the freezer.  Our tomatoes from our garden are coming around so I hope to make some fresh salsa next week.

I have $12.00 in UPs and I don't see anything at Rite Aid that looks good for the next couple of weeks so I'm thinking of scouting the aisles to use my UPs to buy stuff to make some home made cleaning supplies.

[constanz22]

Aug 1, 2013 13:21:44 GMT -5 rubyslippers said:

I am still getting some overage at Walmart with Almay MQ's and yesterday I spent $1.64 and got a 6 pk. D. Pepsi bottles, 1 bunch of bananas, 1 pizza sauce, 1 Lipton soup secrets and a loaf of bread.  Today I got grapes for $.75 lb. price matching Aldi's sale this week.

Meijer: I got 2 dozen eggs free with mperks and I bought 7 pkg. bacon @ $1.89 for $13.23.

Rite Aid had free Crest TP and Reach TB this week.

A local farmer is selling sweet corn 13 ears for $3.00.  I bought twice and put some up in the freezer.  Our tomatoes from our garden are coming around so I hope to make some fresh salsa next week.

I have $12.00 in UPs and I don't see anything at Rite Aid that looks good for the next couple of weeks so I'm thinking of scouting the aisles to use my UPs to buy stuff to make some home made cleaning supplies.

The Crest at RA is actually a money maker with this weeks P&G Q's. There is $1/1 Kids Crest (included in the 2.99 Up deal) and $1/1 Kids TB. There's also $1/2 regular Crest. There are also free school supplies, 3 for .99 with .99 Up, limit 1.

I had $1 Up to use but decided to spend a bit to get back in. I bought the kids crest and a TB, and the school supplies, paid $4.xx but got back $6.97 in Ups. I could've split it up but that would've meant having to go back tomorrow and I didn't think I'd have time.

[marvholly]

FYI
Discovered this last week. At Aldi, peanut butter is still 18 oz AND it is 0nly 1.89/jar. Also, water pack tuna is 0.69/can.

[rubyslippers]

Meijer: Went with a friend last night to take part of the 2 day sale and weekly sale
    $8.97 Garnier Shampoo-3
    -3.00 instant when buying 3
    -2.00 mperk store when buying 2
    -3.00 IPQ (2)
    -1.00 IPQ (1)
    Free Shampoo

    $2.24 Angel Soft TP 6 pk. double rolls
      -.90 MQ (doubled automatically)
      1.34 OOP

   $3.98 Wishbone salad dressing-2
     2.99 Hellmann's mayo 36 oz.-1
    -2.00 instant when buying 3
    -1.00 Hellmann MQ
    -1.40 Wishbone MQ's
     2.57 OOP ($.86 each)

   $3.34 Earthbound Farm 5 oz. lettuces-2
    -1.00/2 mperk
    -1.00/2 IPQ
     1.34 OOP ($.67 each)

   $10.50 Breyer Ice Cream-3
     -3.00 instant when buying 3
     -3.00/3 MQ
      4.50 OOP ($1.50 each)

[saveinla]

For people with a SW, there is an eQ for 5/15 frozen food that is stacking with the 5/15 paper Q. It's only one time, but makes for cheap FF.

Kellogs Eggo waffles are 2$ each and if you buy 4 you can get upto 4.50 off milk - regular or organic.

[973beachbum]

Hi everyone.  I hope everyone is having a great summer!

[frugalsuz]

I am officially a married woman!  We had a really nice day on Friday.  We started out with the photographer at a winery. It was hot, hot, hot and I'm sure hoping she can photoshop out sweat!     Most of the pictures were pretty standard, but at one point, she told us to run towards her like we were on Baywatch.  Now let me mention that the ground was all uneven and full of holes, there was bear poop in a bunch of spots and I was wearing sandals.  So, run towards you?     Of course, da hubs took that to mean he should run full speed and he left me in his dust.  Not too hopeful that those shots are going to come out good! haha  We then met the Judge at town hall, had our super quick and very nice ceremony and walked outside to find that it was pouring rain. Good luck, right?  After that, we all went to dinner and then went back to our house to eat the beautiful cake my sister made for us.  It was a wonderful day and I'm so happy to be a Mrs.  


On top of all that, while we had some down time, I was offered and accepted a job that I really wanted!  Its much closer to home than my 70-90 minute commute now and has great benefits.  I applied for the job back in April and they called me out of the blue in late May or early June. I had to wait almost 6 weeks for an interview, but its definitely worth all that waiting.  I've been walking on a cloud all weekend.  And its going to get even better in about 12 hours when I get to give my notice.  

[rubyslippers]

Congratulations Frugalsuz, on both the marriage and the new job. 

[marvholly]

Frugalsuz
Congrats. Sounds like it was a GREAT day all in all.

[973beachbum]

Congrats!!!!

[murphath]

Frugalsuz:  What a wonderful wedding day!  You do know that the Irish say that if it rains on your wedding day, you will be very fertile in your marriage!

Congrats on the new job, too!

[dancinmama]

frugalsuz:  That's awesome news.  I am so happy for you on both fronts.

[dancinmama]

Sorry that I've been MIA, but I really haven't been doing that many deals lately.  My incision from the carpel tunnel surgery is not yet COMPLETELY healed so I am still careful about how much I use my right hand.  My range of motion increases each day while the level of pain decreases and is almost completely gone.

I can't remember the last time that I stepped foot into a CVS.  I feel truly blessed to have the storage space that I do so that I could take advantage of the deals in the days when it was a lot easier to stockpile at all three of the drug chains.   I know CVS had a deal with CRT for a free roll of paper towels recently, but I have plenty.  I am still on the lookout for half-way decent stockpile opportunities for pantry staples or pet food, but they have been few and far between.  I couldn't get the new Target coupon printer software to load on my computer, so a lot of the Target deals are DOA for me. 

The number of inserts I get each week has decreased dramatically.  That has happened in the past when someone had decided to give couponing a try.  Then all of a sudden, I'll go in to get them and there will be 10-20 unsold papers again on a regular basis.  Even though my coupon usage is currently at an all-time low, free inserts is key, so I will continue to pick them up.  I won't break that connection until I'm absolutely certain that the deals are so rare that it is no longer worth the time, effort, or cost of gas to go get them.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On a personal note, DH and I are thoroughly enjoying his retirement.  The first two months have just flown by and we are having so much fun just hanging out and doing little projects together. 

DH's brother came and stayed with us for a couple of weeks.  I don't think there is anyone else that we could have for that long stress-free.  He is planning on coming back for a week or so in September.  He brought his dog with him and all the animals got along really well.  He said that if we ever want to leave for an extended period of time, he'd come and take care of the house and "the kids" while we are away.  YEAH!!

I'm hoping the next time I post it will be to report a great deal floating around out there. 

[emhalf]

Aug 5, 2013 10:09:56 GMT -5 murphath said:

Frugalsuz:  What a wonderful wedding day!  You do know that the Irish say that if it rains on your wedding day, you will be very fertile in your marriage!

Congrats on the new job, too!

Lol, maybe you'll finally be able to use up some of that diaper stockpile frugalsuz  Congrats!


I have been working at a temp position since January, hoping a perm position would open up. It's not bad as temp jobs go, but I can't really be a temp forever. I was offered a full-time "real" job at another bank last week, and I'll be able to start next Monday. I was amazed how quickly everything happened, but I'm excited to get started. And make more money

[frugalsuz]

Aug 5, 2013 13:17:47 GMT -5 emhalf said:

Aug 5, 2013 10:09:56 GMT -5 murphath said:

Frugalsuz:  What a wonderful wedding day!  You do know that the Irish say that if it rains on your wedding day, you will be very fertile in your marriage!

Congrats on the new job, too!

Lol, maybe you'll finally be able to use up some of that diaper stockpile frugalsuz  Congrats!

Thanks for the well wishes all!  It was definitely an amazing day.

murpath - I am really hoping so!  I'd love to start seriously thinking about having kids.  Now that I have a job that's close to home, I hope that might happen sooner rather than later. Plus those diapers are taking up valuable closet space!  

[rubyslippers]

It was bound to happen and now it will be policy starting August 25, Meijer will no longer be doubling coupons anywhere.  It was nice while it lasted.  I'm sure the other two stores in our area will follow suit too.  This week I will be doubling six $.50 coupons.  They are pushing their digital mperk coupons but the better deals are few and far between, although I will be getting free Jif this week as it's their weekly freebie. 

Today I used the last of my Almay coupons and got an 8 oz. bag of walnuts and a celery and paid $.07 OOP after overage at Walmart.

This year I have spent the least amount of time at CVS since I started shopping there.  That used to be the number one store where I did the most shopping, spent the least and saved the most due to deals that were awesome. 

How many of you have been couponing longer than 5 years?  What was it like before that?  I had never set foot in CVS, Rite Aid or Walgreens before 2008.  Did they have the rewards programs prior to 2008 and were the deals any good?

Dancin, I hope your hand gets better soon.   

[marvholly]

Dancin
Target coupons are DOA on my new computer Too.

Ruby
I have NEVER had double coupons anywhere. I already got the free Jif - did you know it is down to 16 oz? Skippy, peter Pan and Planters are all still 16.3 oz, AND aLDI IS STLL 18 OZ.

This seeems to be a year for appliance replacement. Did my furnace last fall and a/c a month ago. Did a new shreder in April. Bought a new upstairs tv Mon - old one (12-15 y/o) died Sat. Got a 32 in for <$200. Still shopping for a new microwave - old one died 6 months ago but hAve family loaner.

[rubyslippers]

Marvholly, I've noticed that with about everything being smaller packaging.  I just read where peanut butter lasts longer if you store it upside down.  DS goes through it pretty fast but I think I'll give it a try.  I hate having rancid peanut butter.

[FreeSalsa]

Congratulations Frugalsuz on the wedding!  And to you and emhalf on the new jobs.  Yay!!!!

Glad you're improving, Dancin.

I did well last week.  Got some free toothbrushes and toothpaste at Wags and RA.  
Got some great markdowns on fancy crackers from $5 to $1 and Food Should Taste Good chips from $3 to $1.  
Was able to stack store coupons with MCs at Sprouts and get Larabars for 65c and Shiriaki tofu noodles for free.  (I hope I spelled that right.)  Will grab a few more tomorrow before the sale ends.
Got probably 45 lbs. of apples from the fruit guy.  Gave away 4 bags to family and friends and still have tons of them left.  Gotta start making applesauce.

I'm still working on getting organized and am much better at entering my receipts so I know how much I've spent.  Turns out I spent more on groceries, gas, and eating out than I'd like in June and July.  I'll keep it up so I can see the average.  I'm going backward too, just for this year.  I have tons of receipts I've never entered and won't likely so I have to get rid of those.  They're making too much clutter.

[FreeSalsa]

I think Dancin and Suzi Q are the only ones who used to coupon like this before 2008.  Dancin said it was a lot like this--slow, but without the advantage of online coupon sites.  She had to make her own spreadsheets to keep track of her coupons.  I used to shop the sales and loss-leaders but didn't use Qs.

[marvholly]

Ruby
I have NEVER ever had peanu butter go rancid and I often have a jar open for 2 months. Suppose it might happen w/the natural style but I like chunky.

Blew it again. Today is senior day at WAG but I shopped there yesterday AND I had deliberately written it on my calendar. I would likely only have saved about 0.60 and at the time had no plans to out today.

[973beachbum]

I can;t imagine peanut butter lasting long enough to go rancid.

I have actually been stocking up on peanut butter and capri waters for BTS.  It feels weird as we only got out of schoool on June 24th but if I don't do it now I will be annoyed at having to pay so much money later when I really need it .


The stores policies haven't changed as far as I can tell just that the products have shrunk while the prices went way up.

[murphath]

If any of you still have the Gillette shave cream q from the recent P&G insert, the price on the blue can is now $1.77 at Target.  That will give you .23 overage.  I also bought two Right Guard body wash (for potential SIL who loves body wash) and used 2/$2 Target q's and 1 $2 off 2 man q in last Sunday's insert.  Made their net price .49 (reg. price of $3.49) so the .23 overage helped reduce that to .26 each.  Also bought the two Lindt Hello chocolate bars--$2 each and used 2/$1 Target q's for those.  I like having chocolate bars around--a square or two for dessert is all I need.  Target also had a .75 q off Up & Up cotton product so I bought the small size cotton rounds, .87 - .75 = .12.  I use them to remove nail polish.  There was also a $1.50 man.q off Crest rinse in P&G and there was a $1 Target q in one of the recent inserts.  It was on sale for $2.99 (500ml size) so I got that for .49.  Also had a $1.00/2 Ortega products so bought 2 taco seasonings at .77 each. 

All in all, after my bag discount and 5% red card discount, I spent $5.94.

[murphath]

I've been helping DD2 get her studio apartment situated as she is working 12 hour shifts, 6 days week at the hospital and doesn't have time.  She's a frugalista like me so I've been scouring the Craigslist ads for a loveseat.  Have sent her many links but before she could snag one, they would get sold.  We finally were successful with a beige, microfiber one that looks like no one ever sat on it.  Got it for $100 so DH and I took the truck to pick it up.  She now has a cute little table w/tablecloth for meals ($40); adorable desk that fits perfectly in her bedroom area (this place is called a studio but it actually has a separate area for a bed and closet so I'd really call it a jr. one bedroom) for $35; and the love seat for $100.  She found a coat tree online for $10.  She splurged and bought a new t.v. for $178 from Walmart.

The desk was the best deal ever--normally $150 at Kohl's.  It was half price, plus 10% early bird discount combined with $10/$30 peelie AND a 30% off for using Kohl's charge card.

I never knew how great Craigslist is--that's how she found her place as well.

[murphath]

Dancin
Target coupons are DOA on my new computer Too.

Funny how I have no problem with printing Target q's but the new computer won't allow coupons.com.

[emhalf]

Aug 7, 2013 10:49:43 GMT -5 murphath said:

I've been helping DD2 get her studio apartment situated as she is working 12 hour shifts, 6 days week at the hospital and doesn't have time.  She's a frugalista like me so I've been scouring the Craigslist ads for a loveseat.  Have sent her many links but before she could snag one, they would get sold.  We finally were successful with a beige, microfiber one that looks like no one ever sat on it.  Got it for $100 so DH and I took the truck to pick it up.  She now has a cute little table w/tablecloth for meals ($40); adorable desk that fits perfectly in her bedroom area (this place is called a studio but it actually has a separate area for a bed and closet so I'd really call it a jr. one bedroom) for $35; and the love seat for $100.  She found a coat tree online for $10.  She splurged and bought a new t.v. for $178 from Walmart.

The desk was the best deal ever--normally $150 at Kohl's.  It was half price, plus 10% early bird discount combined with $10/$30 peelie AND a 30% off for using Kohl's charge card.

I never knew how great Craigslist is--that's how she found her place as well.

I've always had good luck with craigslist, especially for short-term living situations.

I have no idea what I'm going to do when I move to a bigger place and have to buy actual furniture

[MonicaLee5186]

HOUND ALERT!<br><br>If anyone has extras of the $3/2 Purex laundry detergent from last weekend's inserts, I would really appreciate them.  I would be able to stockpile for .50/bottle.<br><br><br>Thanks in advance!

[FreeSalsa]

Sprouts:  
Rumiano organic, GMO-free cheese 8 oz. $3.99- .50c store Q and - $1 IP = $2.50
Tree hugger organic wine $5.99
5 lb. organic carrots $3
Brown cow 2/$1 - .35c off = .15 c ea.

I had the coupons with me that I had printed at work (a rare occurence this days) but I forgot the rest of them home.  But I think the sale prices will still be on for a few more weeks so I should be able to get more free noodles and cheap Lara bars.

DH picked up chicken thighs and brie cheese on markdown yesterday.  I've rubbed off on him!

[marvholly]

Talk about planning ahead……………I just ordered another piece from Amazon (ships FREE). Now I will have the necklace, bracelet and hair clip. These will be a GREAT gift for DGD1 in a few years (she is now 8) for under $5. I figure 12 or 13 is about right.

Realized yesterday, my kitchen tv screen is SMALLER than my monitor (19 vs 23).

Not so sure I like my CHEAP mani/pedi place anymore. It is reasonably convenient -12-15 min drive. However, there are at least a dozen places in a 5-7 min drive. My issue is they no longer are only carrying the better polish brands (dropped 1, kept 1) but the 1 they kept they have NOT updated the polish choices AND 90% of the polishes they do have are SUPER dark (hey people, its summer) or the neon (read teen appropriate) colors.

I follow 6 bloggers for the grocery & drug store deals. 3 are local to metro Chicago and 3 are out of state. It seems like EVERY time even the local bloggers post Dollar Tree coupon deals my 2 stores NEVER have the item. It’s like the mgrs. See/hear about the coupon and pack the stuff back into backroom storage. Currently I do not pay attention to the WalMart deals as mine are small and a MAJOR pita. I will be getting a BIG Wal-Mart (and Marianos-talk about opposite poles) in about a year. I’ll have to start paying attention then. I wonder how that is going to work out for coupon deals as I have been reading about stocking issues.