2013 Grocery Challenge

[hopetoberich]

Hi such a lot to catch up on today.
 Glad everything went well for the wedding Frugslsuz and congrats on the new job.
It sounds like you're having a ball Dancing, this retirement was made for you both.
Seems like the coupons may be out, but the good luck for everyone is IN.

I scored 16lb of squash from a craigslist add....cost? I traded one Irish spring bw and one soft soap bw. That should keep us going for weeks.
I already told dh we will be going back to bar soap now all the deals on body wash have dried up. No problem for either of us

[mrsdutt]

HOPE:  I'm heading in the same direction with the bar soap.  It's like I forgot they made soap that way!  LOL  I have 2 free body washes left.  Then back to basics.

Npt the greatest deal I've ever come across, but I did get a 4.00 off 20.00 fresh fruits and veggies at the kiosk in Food Lion yesterday.  So I stocked up and am in the process of freezing and prepping veggies right now.

And SUZ You got married  Congrats to you both.

[FreeSalsa]

Aug 8, 2013 8:17:48 GMT -5 hopetoberich said:

Hi such a lot to catch up on today.
 Glad everything went well for the wedding Frugslsuz and congrats on the new job.
It sounds like you're having a ball Dancing, this retirement was made for you both.
Seems like the coupons may be out, but the good luck for everyone is IN.

I scored 16lb of squash from a craigslist add....cost? I traded one Irish spring bw and one soft soap bw. That should keep us going for weeks.
I already told dh we will be going back to bar soap now all the deals on body wash have dried up. No problem for either of us

I went back to bar soap instead of liquid hand soap since I haven't seen any deals on Method for a while.

[FreeSalsa]

Yesterday at CVS at the end of my receipt I got a $5/15, $3/15, and $3/15.

Purchase was the CVS brand of Airborne.  $6.29 full price - $3/any vitamin - 20% off your purchase (-$1.20) making it about $2.25 with tax.  That's the lowest price I've ever seen.  Even when Wags used to have a sale every three months or so on it's store brand it was 2/$5.  Regular price for brand name is $7+.

[marvholly]

I really, really MUST check my stockpile esp before buying non-routine items. I ‘thought’ I was low on printer paper. I bought a pkg 7/30. Yesterday I moved a bunch of stuff from the FR office area to my office upstairs. When I went to put it away, I found a whole new pkg of paper. Glad I have gotten in the habit of saving ALL my receipts. I will be returning the new pkg.

[dancinmama]

Aug 8, 2013 21:01:22 GMT -5 FreeSalsa said:

Yesterday at CVS at the end of my receipt I got a $5/15, $3/15, and $3/15.

Purchase was the CVS brand of Airborne.  $6.29 full price - $3/any vitamin - 20% off your purchase (-$1.20) making it about $2.25 with tax.  That's the lowest price I've ever seen.  Even when Wags used to have a sale every three months or so on it's store brand it was 2/$5.  Regular price for brand name is $7+.

Wow, Miss Hot Tamale!!  Those CRTs remind me of the good ol' days at CVS.

[dancinmama]

Aug 8, 2013 20:58:00 GMT -5 FreeSalsa said:

Aug 8, 2013 8:17:48 GMT -5 hopetoberich said:

Hi such a lot to catch up on today.
 Glad everything went well for the wedding Frugslsuz and congrats on the new job.
It sounds like you're having a ball Dancing, this retirement was made for you both.
Seems like the coupons may be out, but the good luck for everyone is IN.

I scored 16lb of squash from a craigslist add....cost? I traded one Irish spring bw and one soft soap bw. That should keep us going for weeks.
I already told dh we will be going back to bar soap now all the deals on body wash have dried up. No problem for either of us

I went back to bar soap instead of liquid hand soap since I haven't seen any deals on Method for a while.

Shampoo makes a great substitute for liquid hand soap. 

Even though I still have a fairly plentiful stockpile of body wash, when it does run out, we'll be substituting shampoo for that too.

[dancinmama]

Aug 6, 2013 20:12:54 GMT -5 FreeSalsa said:

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.

Actually, the Grocery Challenge started in Jan 2007 and Hot Coupon World was available then.  It was in the late 80s/early 90s when I created my own coupon database using Microsoft Works so that I could do my own coupon matchups.  Prior to the drug chains offering rewards, my use of coupons had been minimized (similar to what it is now).  I was still using them when possible, but most of my stockpiling was done at the Grocery Outlet and they don't accept MCs.

I think there are still more opportunities today to get non-perishables at a lower cost from the drug chains than there were before the advent of the drug chain rewards, but what we experienced from 2007-2010 appears to have been the best of times.   Pre-Grocery Challenge I had been through great times for saving money with coupons and not so good times for saving money with coupons.  Once the drug chains starting warring with one another to gain market share, I wanted to take full advantage of everything that they had to offer.  Who would have thought that couponers would have "outed themselves" to the manufacturers and retailers!!   What were they thinking?           

[marvholly]

Did my return at Meijer on Fri. Got a BIG surprise. It was a $4 item that I used a 0.50 coupon to buy. CS gal told me upfront she was giving me the coupon value on a store gift card and the rest in cash as I had paid cash. I really expected to have a ‘discussion’ over the coupon w/her and maybe the store mgr.

[dogmom]

I stopped at CVS last week for the Listerene deal.  (Only kind DH will use), I also got my very FIRST $5/$15 from the machine.  Also got a $2/$10 mouthwash which helped.  Used some EB's that were going to expire, stocked up on mouthwash, and to my surprise, I got a $10/$50 at the bottom of the receipt.  At the time they were giving those out to everyone (okay, not me   )  I got my very first one of those.  Makes you wonder if CVS is trying to bring back some of it's customers.   Otherwise, like everyone else, just cherry picking my deals. 

Is anyone doing Walking w/Walgreens for Balance rewards points?  DH takes Sierra every day, and earlier this week he said he maxed out the points they were rewarding.  He suggested I shop and accrue more points.    Has anyone maxed on that?

[dancinmama]

Went to the Grocery Outlet today to see if they had any good stockpile deals and got really lucky.

(22) 1-lb. pkgs. of ground gourmet coffee @ $1.99/lb.  (it comes vacuum sealed)
(17) 11 oz. pkgs. of Hebrew National reduced fat hot dogs @ $.50/pkg.
(2) 3-lb. chubs of Harris Ranch ground beef @ $5.99/pkg.

I was stoked to get the coffee.  We've tried it in the past and it is AWESOME!!  It is packaged by Bay Area Coffee Inc. especially for the Grocery Outlet. 

murphath:  I know you have a Grocery Outlet.  Gotten any good bargains there lately?

[FreeSalsa]

Aug 9, 2013 13:39:47 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

Aug 8, 2013 20:58:00 GMT -5 FreeSalsa said:

I went back to bar soap instead of liquid hand soap since I haven't seen any deals on Method for a while.

Shampoo makes a great substitute for liquid hand soap. 

Even though I still have a fairly plentiful stockpile of body wash, when it does run out, we'll be substituting shampoo for that too.

You know, I tried that for a couple of weeks, and then I got the worst flu I've ever had.  Coincidence?  Maybe.  Possibly not strong enough to kill all the germs.  I went back to soap.

[FreeSalsa]

I'm sorry if anyone got spam from me via e-mail.  I think I was hacked.

[FreeSalsa]

Did I tell you already?  I just found out that Ralphs is giving away a free item every Friday.  You download a coupon to your store card then have two weeks to "buy" the item.  This week it's Cheetos.  Previous weeks were Ultimate Helper, Colgate, and Clear shampoo.  I haven't picked them up yet but I had DH sign up too so we can get two bags of Cheetos.  He likes them.  I don't know if all the Kroger stores are doing this.  I think it's called Freebie Fridays, or Friday Freebies.

[marvholly]

FreeSalsa
I have seen mention from several bloggers about the free item but never followed up since I do NOT have any Kroger stores. I also did not know you had that amount of time to make the purchase. The way I read it was purchase that day or lose out. Very likely I am wrong.

[hopetoberich]

Aug 10, 2013 22:55:42 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

Went to the Grocery Outlet today to see if they had any good stockpile deals and got really lucky.

(22) 1-lb. pkgs. of ground gourmet coffee @ $1.99/lb.  (it comes vacuum sealed)
(17) 11 oz. pkgs. of Hebrew National reduced fat hot dogs @ $.50/pkg.
(2) 3-lb. chubs of Harris Ranch ground beef @ $5.99/pkg.

I was stoked to get the coffee.  We've tried it in the past and it is AWESOME!!  It is packaged by Bay Area Coffee Inc. especially for the Grocery Outlet. 

murphath:  I know you have a Grocery Outlet.  Gotten any good bargains there lately?



Great deals....love the Hebrew National deal iI would
 Have stocked up on those too.
I have an Amelia's outlet store right by my part time job. Kinda turned up my nose to them when I was couponing but times have changed. Thanks for posting those deals, I'm gonna head there Monday before work,if I find anything near that price I'll load up for sure, we have an empty fridge and freezer. Even my food cupboards have room in now.
I just have not been shopping like I used to.

We are still eating that 16lb of squash so veg is not on the list...loli

[princessleia]

Aug 7, 2013 10:53:13 GMT -5 murphath said:

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.

What web browser are you using? I used to have problems printing them too (and I was on IE). I then switched to Google Chrome and now I have no problem printing them out (Target & Coupons.com). *Touch wood* 

[dancinmama]

Aug 11, 2013 0:38:17 GMT -5 FreeSalsa said:

I'm sorry if anyone got spam from me via e-mail.  I think I was hacked.

Yep, I did.  The email did not have a title and I knew that if you wanted to contact me, you'd PM me here so I didn't even open it - I just hit delete.    I also got a similar one from Nicole in Delaware.  I did the same thing with that one.

[dancinmama]

Aug 11, 2013 9:25:51 GMT -5 princessleia said:

Aug 7, 2013 10:53:13 GMT -5 murphath said:

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.

What web browser are you using? I used to have problems printing them too (and I was on IE). I then switched to Google Chrome and now I have no problem printing them out (Target & Coupons.com). *Touch wood* 

I usually use Firefox.  I'll try to remember that the next time I'm desperate to print and try it on Google Chrome.

Since I no longer coupon for non-perishables, the only time I really miss printing Target IPs is when the Target coupon will help me get a really great deal on pet food.  That was what I wanted to print when I could not get the software to load.  The very next week, a Target Q for the same pet food was printed in the inserts and I was able to stockpile 240 lbs., so I'm good on that for a while.    Maybe when that starts running low I'll get motivated again to try to load the Target software.

[dancinmama]

Aug 11, 2013 6:04:37 GMT -5 hopetoberich said:

Aug 10, 2013 22:55:42 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

Went to the Grocery Outlet today to see if they had any good stockpile deals and got really lucky.

(22) 1-lb. pkgs. of ground gourmet coffee @ $1.99/lb.  (it comes vacuum sealed)
(17) 11 oz. pkgs. of Hebrew National reduced fat hot dogs @ $.50/pkg.
(2) 3-lb. chubs of Harris Ranch ground beef @ $5.99/pkg.

I was stoked to get the coffee.  We've tried it in the past and it is AWESOME!!  It is packaged by Bay Area Coffee Inc. especially for the Grocery Outlet. 

murphath:  I know you have a Grocery Outlet.  Gotten any good bargains there lately?



Great deals....love the Hebrew National deal iI would
 Have stocked up on those too.
I have an Amelia's outlet store right by my part time job. Kinda turned up my nose to them when I was couponing but times have changed. Thanks for posting those deals, I'm gonna head there Monday before work,if I find anything near that price I'll load up for sure, we have an empty fridge and freezer. Even my food cupboards have room in now.
I just have not been shopping like I used to.

We are still eating that 16lb of squash so veg is not on the list...loli

I couldn't decide which deal I was more excited about - the coffee or the hot dogs.  Probably the coffee since we drink it everyday, it's pricey, and I never see good coffee at this price.  We don't eat hot dogs that often and I see them on clearance fairly regularly, although they are usually Foster Farms (not DH's favorite) or some kind of off brand that is a mixture of beef, pork, and chicken.  For extra protection, I packaged the hot dogs in quart sized freezer bags (2 pkgs. to a bag), so they ought to keep indefinitely in the freezer.  I will also give a few packages to DS since he's on a pretty tight budget.

[rubyslippers]

Kroger has a digital coupon for $5.00/25.00 Old Navy gift card that is good until 8/31.  I'm thinking quadruple fuel points might be around Labor Day, so I will hold onto it until then.

Marvholly:  There's been a free item every Friday on the Kroger site.  You don't have to buy it that day either, but sometimes the stock runs out.  Meijer has been doing the same thing the past two weeks, but you have to use it before Friday.  The first week was free eggs and last week was free Jif.

I spent $.06 OOP at Rite Aid today and got 4 Breyer ice cream and 1 bottle of Prell shampoo.  I used $1.00 IPQ and $3/3 MQ on the Breyer and $10.99 in UPS.  I got back $6.00 in UPs.

[FreeSalsa]

Aug 11, 2013 5:27:28 GMT -5 marvholly said:

FreeSalsa
I have seen mention from several bloggers about the free item but never followed up since I do NOT have any Kroger stores. I also did not know you had that amount of time to make the purchase. The way I read it was purchase that day or lose out. Very likely I am wrong.

You have to download it that day but you have 2 weeks to buy it.  My mom has Fry's (Kroger) and she was able to sign up and download.

[marvholly]

Like I said-no kroger/affiliate in my area. I did get the Jiff at meijer but missed on the free eggs.

Picked up the Jewel coupon book on my way to DD1’s house for lunch on Sun. In addition to the leftovers and zucchini bread she sent home w/me I picked up the $5 Fri rotiss chicken using the Jewel coupon so $2. Won’t be doing much cooking this week. Will hit the fruit/veg market today or Tue for veggies. There are about 2 more coupons in the book I may use.

The differences among the various Dollar Tree stores and staff in my area is amazing. My closest to home one is very small –no fried or freezer stuff. The one on my way to a couple of my independent grocers is larger and has fridge & freezer stuff. The one on my way to DD1 is HUGE. Has MUCH bigger, more varied stock. Found the room freshener refill I have been looking for. Found the HUGE container of minced onion flakes I have been looking for. Too bad I did not have enough time to really shop the store.

[murphath]

Dancinmama wrote:
murphath: I know you have a Grocery Outlet. Gotten any good bargains there lately?


Great minds think alike, I guess.  I got some of the Hebrew National hotdogs, as well.  I read that book by Sinclair Lewis (?) a long, long time ago about how hot dogs are made and what's in them so I only eat Kosher hot dogs.  My freezer is now well stocked with them. 
I was also able to stock up on Oikos Greek Yogurts at 4/.97.  Didn't see the coffee at $1.99 at my G.O. but that's the way that place works.  They also had a big, huge box full of Nabisco products at the front: .50 box so I loaded up on Triscuits and saltines.
Wine is also fun to buy there as they have so many different kinds--usually only $3.99/$4.99 bottle so always worth a shot.  They had some sparkling wine (champagne) a few weeks back at $4.99.  I bought some to celebrate DD1's passing her state boards for physical therapy--it was pretty darn good.  Don't know if that was the endorphins kicking in because she passed, but everyone seemed to enjoy it.

[murphath]

Dancinmama wrote:
Target Q for the same pet food was printed in the inserts and I was able to stockpile 240 lbs., so I'm good on that for a while. Maybe when that starts running low I'll get motivated again to try to load the Target software.

I find myself shopping at Target more frequently because I can print their q's and being able to combine them with man. q's is pretty good.  I've also been able to stock up on Gilette shave cream and there's a $6/3 q in 8/11 RP that will give me more free with an overage of .23 per can.  We girls (DD's and I) use it as well for the leg shaving--works just fine when the Skintimate is no longer available.

I've noticed that our grocery bill has gone way down since DD2 moved.  Not that she ate that much but the 7 dinners/week she would have eaten are now great for leftovers.  When all the kids were home, I'd make a casserole or something and was lucky if there was one serving left (that was rare!).  Now it lasts us for 4 meals.  A package of Hebrew National hot dogs would have been one lunch--now I get @ 4 out of a pack.  Fruit/produce is still where I spend the bulk of my money--we still eat a lot of that and it can get pricey ($1.99 lb. for my favorite granny smith apples!).

[dancinmama]

Aug 12, 2013 10:30:22 GMT -5 murphath said:

Dancinmama wrote:
murphath: I know you have a Grocery Outlet. Gotten any good bargains there lately?


Great minds think alike, I guess.  I got some of the Hebrew National hotdogs, as well.  I read that book by Sinclair Lewis (?) a long, long time ago about how hot dogs are made and what's in them so I only eat Kosher hot dogs.  My freezer is now well stocked with them. 
I was also able to stock up on Oikos Greek Yogurts at 4/.97.  Didn't see the coffee at $1.99 at my G.O. but that's the way that place works.  They also had a big, huge box full of Nabisco products at the front: .50 box so I loaded up on Triscuits and saltines.
Wine is also fun to buy there as they have so many different kinds--usually only $3.99/$4.99 bottle so always worth a shot.  They had some sparkling wine (champagne) a few weeks back at $4.99.  I bought some to celebrate DD1's passing her state boards for physical therapy--it was pretty darn good.  Don't know if that was the endorphins kicking in because she passed, but everyone seemed to enjoy it.

The book is "The Jungle".  I think it was required reading in high school.

Every time I go into the Grocery Outlet, it is like going on a little treasure hunt.  Nothing is free, but most of the time the prices I pay are cheaper than sales minus coupons anywhere else.  I don't go every week.  My trip on Saturday was completely unplanned and I ended up hitting the jackpot.   

I didn't see the Nabisco deal at my store.  They used to do that kind of stuff before they relocated (a big cardboard box full or cookies or crackers at a steep discount).  The new location is a lot smaller so they no longer have room to do it.  The best my store does is to put a shopping cart filled with stuff at the front or back of the store. 

[FreeSalsa]

When The Jungle came out people boycotted meat like crazy.  It changed the whole industry.  There are many books out about the state of the meat industry now but no one seems to be paying attention.  Instead, Oprah gets sued and no one says anything bad against it.

I wish I had a Grocery Outlet.  It sounds great.

I got the free Cheetos at Ralphs (Kroger) one on each card.  I thought they would be the small bags but they were the regular-sized bags, which seemed huge to me.  DH was very happy when I brought them home today.

Ralphs/Kroger
10 x Barilla pasta $1 ea
2 x Cheetos $2.50 ea
2 x Colgate $1 ea
+tax
- 2 x $0.75 Colgate blinkies
- 2 x downloaded Cheetos Qs
- 4 x $1/2 Barilla
- 1 x $0.75/2 Barilla
= $5.87 OOP

CVS
3 x CVS (chewy not chalky) antacid
+ tax
- $1 - $1 - $.50 CRTs CVS antacid
- $2 ECB expiring today
= tax, paid w/GC = FREE

Rite Aid
o.b. $3 + tax
- $2 UP expiring tomorrow
= $1 + tax ===> $2 Up 
repeated on DH's card
I finally got a manager who was able to make DH's Ups print.  I'll be back there later this week to pick up the hair gel and something else.  Oh, I also got free Wite-Out with the Q from 2 weeks ago.

Have a dentist appointment tomorrow and wanted to make sure I had all my expiring rewards spent today so I don't have to worry about it tomorrow when my face is numb.  I'm out of ECBs now but I have $46 in GCs ready to go (yay, Swagbucks!) for whenever the next MM or freebie I can't refuse appears.

[dancinmama]

Aug 12, 2013 23:49:28 GMT -5 FreeSalsa said:

I wish I had a Grocery Outlet.  It sounds great.

I am so thankful to have one.  Since there are no coupons accepted, I can never get anything free there; but I am always hopeful to find a good deal.  Most of the best deals are clearance of perishables - dairy, deli meat, etc., so unless the product can be frozen like the Hebrew Nationals, you can't really stockpile too much, but you can get enough to last a month or two which is better than a kick in the teeth.    I really should try to get over there once a week, but it's on the other side of town so I always wait to go until I have other errands to run in that area.

 

[FreeSalsa]

Having trouble with my e-mail today so I'm posting my Sprouts list here, in hopes of retrieving it later.

Cashew butter 3.99
Oats 69c
larabar 99c - $1/2 store Q
Organic Red Onion $.88/lb
Rosie’s Organic Chicken Drumsticks $1.99/lb
Organic Valley Milk $5.59 (96 oz) -$.35/1 Real California Milk Coupon =$5.24 - .50 store Q
Cascadian Farm Cereal or Bars $2.50 -$1/2 Cascadian Farm Sprouts Coupon -$.75/1 Cascadian Farm Cereal or Bars Printable =$1.25

[saveinla]

Aug 14, 2013 8:41:53 GMT -5 FreeSalsa said:

Having trouble with my e-mail today so I'm posting my Sprouts list here, in hopes of retrieving it later.

Cashew butter 3.99
Oats 69c
larabar 99c - $1/2 store Q
Organic Red Onion $.88/lb
Rosie’s Organic Chicken Drumsticks $1.99/lb
Organic Valley Milk $5.59 (96 oz) -$.35/1 Real California Milk Coupon =$5.24 - .50 store Q
Cascadian Farm Cereal or Bars $2.50 -$1/2 Cascadian Farm Sprouts Coupon -$.75/1 Cascadian Farm Cereal or Bars Printable =$1.25

FreeSalsa,

Can you give me the details on the Oats for 69c?

Thanks