2014 Grocery Challenge

[dancinmama]

Jan 26, 2014 18:40:13 GMT -5 Opti said:

Does anyone know if there is a current coupon for Revlon lip products?
I'm planning to do the deal in the Walgreens flyer that gives you $3 RR
using my $6 RR.


Thanks!

Just found out I should have gone to the other Walgreens for the Bach
Rescue Gum deal in the flyer, two flyers ago. The store that I can't get to
on my way home from work had it. The other store was  although
I saw it was stocked today.  I could have used that $6 RR on sale
canned salmon.

There was a $1/1 Revlon lip product in the 1/12 SS.  Hope that helps.

[grits]

Did anyone print the Haribo coupon, and decide to gift someone with the sugar free gummy bears?

[marvholly]

Jan 26, 2014 10:58:35 GMT -5 grits said:

If you are going to be stuck inside with your family, buy wine or sugar. It could save someone's life.

I am a single person household so NO problem, but I DID buy wine when I was out last Sat - my only purchase beside gasoline.

[Opti]

Thanks Dancin. Have to look at my collection then.

[murphath]

tootsieroll:
Thanks for the info.  I try to always use a man q and Target q.  Target will also deduct the total value of the q, i.e. if an item costs $1.77 and the q has a value of $2, they deduct the $2 so you get a little overage.  Helps pay the tax, right??

I don't have Cartwheel as I don't own a smartphone.  Although my DH won a small tablet (not a name brand) so I could use that.  I'm still playing with it a bit.

I went to S/W yesterday and bought 2 boxes Post Raisin Bran ($1.99 ea); 1 gallon Org.Valley milk ($5.59); small can of Yuban coffee ($3.49); 2 pkgs. 97% fat free Hebrew Natl.Hot Dogs ($2.99 ea).  After all my q's, I paid $9.74.  Forgot to get the Eggland eggs--I have a J4U price of $2.12 so will have to return today.  First I have to finish painting DD2's room (second coat) and perhaps begin taping our bedroom to prep for priming/painting.  I've decided I'm going to reuse our current interior doors--just take them off, degloss, prime and paint bright white. I know the panel type doors are all the rage right now but re-working these will save me a ton of $$$.  And who really notices interior doors unless they're all banged up?   I'm shooting to have all painting done by the end of Feb ( ).  Then it's go time on the floors.

[saveinla]

Jan 26, 2014 19:06:53 GMT -5 tootsieroll said:

I haven't seen these mentioned in this thread - do you all use the different couponing apps?

ibotta and savingstar both act as deposits in a way.  You get money back once you reach $5, ibotta requires you to scan your receipts and savingstar is linked to your store card. I made $80 from ibotta last year.  Ibotta is also cool because they give you money back on purchases at Best Buy, Home Depot, several restaurants, and even movie theaters. 

Checkout 51 is a new one, though you need to get to $20 before cash out. They do not offer very much of a selection of coupons, so it will take me a while.  

Target has Cartwheel which you can load offers to your account and have your phone scanned at the register.  There are lots of grocery offers, and you can use a paper target coupon, manufacturers coupon, and a cartwheel coupon on the same item. 

Just wanted to add those options in case some people hadn't heard of them

I like checkout51 more than ibotta, since there is no store attached to the deal. I used it the first week it came and I already have 6$, just by buying as usual. I earned 60$ from ibotta last year, but it was with all the offers from the kimberly clarke deal.

murphath, You don't need a smartphone for Target cartwheel. You can print out the list and keep it with you. The bar code does not change, so each week you can login, add new offers and still use the same printout to have them scan at the store.

[tootsieroll]

I agree that checkout 51 is cool in that you can get the items at any store. I am thinking it is a revamped version of endorse, which shut down last year. It was really awesome. It would get $5 back on purchases of diapers. They even had offers for a % back on gasoline. And you could transfer to PayPal with a much lower balance.

[marvholly]

It has been SOOO cold & nasty in metro Chicago I suspect there will be TONs of manager specials in the grocery stores this week – you know, the advertised stuff from this COLD week that is now overstock because nobody shopped the last ad.

[murphath]

saveinla wrote:
murphath, You don't need a smartphone for Target cartwheel. You can print out the list and keep it with you. The bar code does not change, so each week you can login, add new offers and still use the same printout to have them scan at the store.


I did not know this--thanks so much!

[murphath]

Quick question:
Do any of you do Swagbucks?  Is it similar to My Points?  Is it worth it?

[saveinla]

Jan 28, 2014 11:04:19 GMT -5 murphath said:

Quick question:
Do any of you do Swagbucks?  Is it similar to My Points?  Is it worth it?

Yes. I have been using it for more than 2 years now. It's great - Better than mypoints, since 450 points gets you 5$ Amazon GC or 500 points gets you other GC like Starbucks or Target. I usually get 2 Amazon GC per month and I don't even use it frequently. You can install the toolbar, but you can just use swagbucks site to search for all the web sites that you go to.

If you want to use my referral, here is my link - swagbucks.com/refer/SavinginLa

HTH. Let me know if you have any other questions. It's helping me a lot with textbooks for my son or other things that I can get from Amazon. I usually cash out at 450 points and once I get the Amazon code, I login to my Amazon account and store the code there.

[grits]

I received a letter in the mail today from a manufacturer. I had called their consumer representative to tell them of my disappointment with a product of theirs. I use the product regularly, and this last time, it had been a total bomb. Well, today I received 5 $2 off coupons. Since, I use it a lot, this is going to save me some moolah.

[dancinmama]

Well, this is the second week in a row that there are no deals for me at Safeway.  I see so many items that are "on sale" that I stockpiled for 60-80% less at the Grocery Outlet or the 99 Cent Store.

What cracks me up is that a 16 oz. package of Oscar Mayer beef franks is $3.49 AFTER digital coupon and there is a LIMIT of 5 as if it's such a good deal that people will be clearing the shelves at that price.   

I was hoping for a good deal on 12-pks. of Dr. Pepper since it is the Super Bowl ad, but no such luck.

[rubyslippers]

I did my shopping today, mainly at Kroger. I went to Meijer to do the Kraft cheese deal and quickly went in to a local store for a couple of items. I spent a total of $19.59 and saved $61.15 after using $5/50 Q,  MQ's, catalinas, digital Q's and senior discount. For $19.59 I got the following:

1 pineapple

2 green peppers

8 blocks Kraft cheese

2 Kraft shredded cheese

1 gallon milk

2 Dream Rice non-dairy products

3 Wholly salsa

2 Cabo guacamole

1 Thomas bagel thins

2 Pillsbury crescents

2 Minute Rice

1 Miracle Whip

1 Kraft BBQ sauce

1 Franks hot sauce

1 Vlassic Pickle Relish

1 French mustard

2 Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal

2 Birdseye frozen vegetable

2 Power Ade drinks

1 Aquafina drink

4 candy bars

1 Suave shampoo

12 Reach floss 

I too was hoping for a better Superbowl ad this year but was happy with what I brought home today.  Some of the items I got will be donations but were free and got me to $50.00 to use the $5/50 Q at Kroger.  They also accepted the $6.00 in catalinas that I received at Meijer for the block cheeses.

[marvholly]

My mailing containing the grocery sale inserts arrived empty on Wed. I went online this am and have a HUGE list. Most of the produce items I wanted last week are still on sale this week: 1 item cheaper & 1 item a bit more $ but they cancel each other out.

Since we are forecast for a bunch of snow over the next 3-4 days (total about 6 inches) today will me my major errand & shopping day.

[skubikky]

Tops last night:

(2) Muellers pasta  $0.79 - $0.75 + $0.04(only doubles up to the amount of the item) = free
(2) Purex 50 oz  BOGO @ $4.99/1 - $1.50/2 = $3.78/2 = $1.64 each(not like the old days but ok)
(2) Bison cottage cheese BOGO @ $3.49/1 -$1/2 = $2.49/2 = $1.25 each
(2) Tribe Hummus BOGO @ $3.69/1 = $1.85 each (need for company this weekend)
(2) Tops pretzels BOGO @ $2.49/1 = $1.25 each

[dancinmama]

Jan 30, 2014 8:26:57 GMT -5 skubikky said:

Tops last night:

(2) Purex 50 oz  BOGO @ $4.99/1 - $1.50/2 = $3.78/2 = $1.64 each(not like the old days but ok)

Sad, but true.  I think the best deals on non-perishables these days will be when you happen to come across a clearance deal because the manufacturer is changing their packaging. 

[dancinmama]

Is anyone on here still buying multiple papers to get coupons?  Are you able to get your money back in savings?

I know that right now, I would not be able to because the majority of the coupons that I used (back in the day), I would not be using today, but I am curious if that strategy still works.

[murphath]

saveinla:
Thanks for the swagbucks info.  I actually already had an account but never went there.

I did manage to get a freebie this past weekend:  used a $1.50 RA VV q with Sunday's $2.00 insert q for a bottle of Dove Men's Body wash.  Just paid the tax.  Ahhh, the good ole days.   DH doesn't use body wash but my future SIL loves the stuff so there's a bottle on the shelf for him when he comes to visit.

If you like almonds (and I do), the 1 lb. package of Gold Emblem almonds is on sale this week at CVS for $4.99.  Almonds can be anywhere from $6.99 (on sale) to $9.99 lb. at the grocery so I thought that was a good deal.  Also, if you buy $20 worth of heart healthy products, you'll get $5 EB.  So I bought:
2 Cheerios cereal  $2.50 ea=$5.00
3 Almonds $14.97
1 Dawn Hand Renewal .99

Minus
1 BOGOF Cheerios IP  $2.50 (my CVS doesn't autodeduct anymore )
1 .50 Dawn man q
1 $4/$20 CVS q (they sent in my eamil)

Total OOP: $14.02

The $5 EB didn't print because I was .03 short.  They used to print if you were within .05 but no more.  I asked the cashier and he went ahead and gave me a $5 EB.  Sweet!  I may just use it for another pkg of almonds--or a box of tea bags as I'm almost out.

I haven't gotten any $4/$20 q's from CVS in ages and nothing spectacular from the red machine.  I wonder if sales are down and they're trying to bring folks back.  You wouldn't know it from our CVS-- always a lot of shoppers.  Helps that it's the closest store to our subdivision.  The grocery is @ 5 miles away.

[saveinla]

Jan 31, 2014 10:43:24 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

Is anyone on here still buying multiple papers to get coupons?  Are you able to get your money back in savings?

I know that right now, I would not be able to because the majority of the coupons that I used (back in the day), I would not be using today, but I am curious if that strategy still works.

I have only one subscription, but I get one set from my boss and there are still deals to be had at Rite Aid if you have multiple coupons. For example like murphath noted, the Dove BW is free this week and if you buy 5 of them and combine with 5 of the Video value Qs ,you get back a 5$ Up. 

RA has been sending out 10/50 Qs recently and with IPs, VVQs and some overage from clearance items, I have been able to stockpile water, coffee, Aveeno cream, medicated shampoo and other things that we use - just for the tax. 

[skubikky]

Jan 31, 2014 10:43:24 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

Is anyone on here still buying multiple papers to get coupons?  Are you able to get your money back in savings?

I know that right now, I would not be able to because the majority of the coupons that I used (back in the day), I would not be using today, but I am curious if that strategy still works.

I don't buy the newspaper.  I do the printables, get some inserts from co-workers and once used some of the proceeds from my "booming" e-bay sales to buy the Finish $2.15 Q's.

[dancinmama]

Jan 31, 2014 11:54:50 GMT -5 saveinla said:

Jan 31, 2014 10:43:24 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

Is anyone on here still buying multiple papers to get coupons?  Are you able to get your money back in savings?

I know that right now, I would not be able to because the majority of the coupons that I used (back in the day), I would not be using today, but I am curious if that strategy still works.

I have only one subscription, but I get one set from my boss and there are still deals to be had at Rite Aid if you have multiple coupons. For example like murphath noted, the Dove BW is free this week and if you buy 5 of them and combine with 5 of the Video value Qs ,you get back a 5$ Up. 

RA has been sending out 10/50 Qs recently and with IPs, VVQs and some overage from clearance items, I have been able to stockpile water, coffee, Aveeno cream, medicated shampoo and other things that we use - just for the tax. 

That seems pretty good for these days.

I used coupons for non-perishables more than anything else.  What was fun (besides picking up the freebies) was being able to pick up free pantry staples along the way.

I just wondered if people were still able to make buying multiple inserts pay off.  Overall, from what I read it doesn't seem like there are enough deals to pull it off.

[constanz22]

I still get plenty of freebies at Rite Aid too.  diGiorno pizzas were freap after B2G1 and Up reward this week, several HBA things were free(like the men's Dove BW) but so was Tressemme and Clear shampoos with MC, VV and Up reward.

I do not ever buy a second/extra papers cuz the coupons here pretty much suck.  I have actually been using some of the clipping services again for good/hot coupons.  

Next week, I think, Wags has Speed Stick BOGO and there is a BOGO MC, making both free.  Gotta get what you can, when you can anymore

[grits]

Well, today I went to Kroger. I spent $200 bucks. $4 was tax.  I saved $113.90 with coupons. According to the receipts, I bought 103 items.  Almost all of it was on sale.  I had coupons for the sale items, and non-sale items.  I bought fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, paper goods, baking goods, oatmeal, Christmas presents, and basic toiletries to send to troops over seas. US soldiers are sharing a base in Afghanistan with Germany.  There is no PX.  The soldiers have no way to purchase needed supplies, and they aren't always being  supplied with what they need.

By answering the online surveys, and racking up purchase points, I now have 50 cents a gallon off on my next fill up at their gas station.  YAY! I wonder if I will wait until the truck rolls up to the pump hiccupping for life.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

[marvholly]

Waiting can pay off. I have been telling myself for several weeks that I NEED a haircut. My guy only works weekends. In my Sat mail I had one of those monthly coupon mailers. Inside was a coupon for a $7 haircut at my preferred place.

[dancinmama]

Feb 1, 2014 7:54:07 GMT -5 marvholly said:

Waiting can pay off. I have been telling myself for several weeks that I NEED a haircut. My guy only works weekends. In my Sat mail I had one of those monthly coupon mailers. Inside was a coupon for a $7 haircut at my preferred place.

I trim my own bangs between cuts, but once the original cut is out of the bangs, I have to go get "the deed" done.

The last time I had my hair done (right before Thanksgiving), my hair gal told me that she could do a "partial highlight" with a cut for $75.  It is a highlight that is not supposed to be noticeable as it grows out.  I think I might treat myself and let her do it the next time I get my hair cut.  I used to get the best highlights naturally from the sun, but I don't get enough sun to get the highlights and I just don't look like me anymore.

[constanz22]

I am planning to do a "needs only" month for groceries.  My cupboards are overflowing and I need to save some money this month.  I will probably do some frees (like the BOGO speed stick next week at Wags) but otherwise I need to work on using what I have.  I will have to buy milk, bread, fruits and veggies and deli meat for work lunches.  I have some Ups, EB's, and points at Wags but other than milk, not much I can buy there.

[murphath]

saveinla wrote:
For example like murphath noted, the Dove BW is free this week and if you buy 5 of them and combine with 5 of the Video value Qs ,you get back a 5$ Up.


How do you use 5 of the VV q's?  I thought you could one use one--that somehow the computer knew you'd already used it.  Is that not the case?

[murphath]

Coupon request:

I hope some of you will be able to help me out.

In most Smart Source inserts there is a Harbor Freight Tools page.  One it is a 25% off coupon.  I need as many of these as possible as the hardware store will take this q's.  As you all know by now, I'm doing project after project here in my house and I've run out of these q's.  You can go all the way back to October (including Oct) because the expiration dates on these q's is very far out.

I really appreciate your taking the time to do this for me.  I have more paint and paint supplies to buy, doorknobs and hardware for every door in the house, new screen door:  the list goes on and on.  Since I pass by the store all the time, it's not a bother to do one/two trips there per day.

PM me and I'll give you my address.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[saveinla]

Feb 1, 2014 16:26:46 GMT -5 murphath said:

saveinla wrote:
For example like murphath noted, the Dove BW is free this week and if you buy 5 of them and combine with 5 of the Video value Qs ,you get back a 5$ Up.


How do you use 5 of the VV q's?  I thought you could one use one--that somehow the computer knew you'd already used it.  Is that not the case?

I created 5 VV accounts and if some coupon is hot, I watch on all 5 accounts. You cannot re-use the same one.