THE MARCH 2011 GROCERY CHALLENGE THREAD

[pudgybunny]

VENT- wisconsin bill (the stuff in madison) regarding pensions is going to seriously crush with little dh and I have. I am going to have to go back to working ft and side job vs my current pt job and side job. I am not happy. I wish I had a cvs to save more money at. We don't have much in our life we can cut either. kids may no longer be an option for us. Very sad . Thank you for letting me vent.

[pudgybunny]

That was supposed to say, 'what little dh and i have.'

[mizbear]

saveinla- Glad to see you post! I saw there were tornados in La and I wasn't sure if the la was for LA like Los Angeles or La like Louisiana. Hope you're safe.

[mizbear]

pudgybunny

[saveinla]

Mar 7, 2011 11:53:49 GMT -5 mizbear said:

saveinla- Glad to see you post! I saw there were tornados in La and I wasn't sure if the la was for LA like Los Angeles or La like Louisiana. Hope you're safe.

mizbear,
Thanks for thinking of me. I am in Los Angeles, CA and we had gorgeous weather this weekend, although today it is supposed to be windy.

[mizbear]

saveinla- We had wind and rain yesterday- I think my maintenance guys are going to ductape my building- the siding that had come loose came flying off and hit my sliding glass door!

[dancinmama]

FREE MARZETTI SIMPLY DRESSED SALAD DRESSING COUPON

I haven't heard any buzz about this, so I thought I'd post it. Take a look-see in your 3/6 SS insert. Mine had a coupon for a FREE bottle of Marzetti Simply Dressed salad dressing (up to a $5 value). I wasn't expecting it, so if I had not noticed it in the insert I could have easily missed it.

I don't know if Marzetti is a regional brand or not, so it's entirely possible that not everyone got it.

HTH

[leanna]

I feel better for having asked my fabric softener question. There wasn't directions on the bottle, so I actually wouldn't have known it should be added in the rinse cycle.

Thanks!

[leanna]

Mar 7, 2011 12:37:42 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

FREE MARZETTI SIMPLY DRESSED SALAD DRESSING COUPON

I haven't heard any buzz about this, so I thought I'd post it. Take a look-see in your 3/6 SS insert. Mine had a coupon for a FREE bottle of Marzetti Simply Dressed salad dressing (up to a $5 value). I wasn't expecting it, so if I had not noticed it in the insert I could have easily missed it.

I don't know if Marzetti is a regional brand or not, so it's entirely possible that not everyone got it.

HTH

Mine had a .50 off for Marzetti Greek Yogurt dip.

[weaselfer]

Mar 7, 2011 12:37:42 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

FREE MARZETTI SIMPLY DRESSED SALAD DRESSING COUPON

I haven't heard any buzz about this, so I thought I'd post it. Take a look-see in your 3/6 SS insert. Mine had a coupon for a FREE bottle of Marzetti Simply Dressed salad dressing (up to a $5 value). I wasn't expecting it, so if I had not noticed it in the insert I could have easily missed it.

I don't know if Marzetti is a regional brand or not, so it's entirely possible that not everyone got it.

HTH

I only had $1/1 Q.

[murphath]

Good Morning All. I know I've been MIA. Just busy, busy! Re posts about prices: Like dancinmama, I'm in a very HCOLA and the prices at our stores are anywhere from .50 to $1.00 higher than those posted by frugalsuz etc. To make matters even more fun , there can be differences in price between my local CVS, RA etc. and the one across town. Same thing with the Target stores. Keeps me on my toes!

My RA trip yesterday:
1 gal. Berkeley Farms milk: $2.89 - .55 Calif milk q (this one always beeps and they enter it manually)
1 Kerri lotion: $8.49 (see what I mean re prices) - 10% wellness disq; - $3.00 IP (also beeped for some reason) = $4.64
1 RA natural almonds: $4.99 - 10% wellness disq = $4.49 (love almonds and we were out!! how did that happen?)
1 Thermacare thingie: $3.99 - 10% wellness disq = $3.59 - in ad q $3.99 = -.40 (.40 profit right off the bat!)
1 Desenex: $8.49 - 10% wellness disq = $7.64 (DH uses this stuff)
2 Hershey milk choc bars $1.76 - 10% wellness q = $1.58
Used $20 Christmas UP
OOP: .29 + .31 tax = .60 I'll submit for $6 Keri and $6 Desinex single check rebates.

I'm saving all my rebates, recycling, and found money (from my daily walks/hikes) for Christmas once again.

[mercee]

Mar 7, 2011 11:44:03 GMT -5 pudgybunny said:

VENT- wisconsin bill (the stuff in madison) regarding pensions is going to seriously crush with little dh and I have. I am going to have to go back to working ft and side job vs my current pt job and side job. I am not happy. I wish I had a cvs to save more money at. We don't have much in our life we can cut either. kids may no longer be an option for us. Very sad . Thank you for letting me vent.

hugs pudgybunny I'm in WI also & feel your pain. Hopefully you & your DH can figure something out. If you shop at Copps/PicknSave, I've found a site (or two) that helps save money there - I think it might show stuff for Cub, Sentry & maybe Woodmans. PM me if you'd like.

[leanna]

Mar 7, 2011 12:48:27 GMT -5 murphath said:

Good Morning All. I know I've been MIA. Just busy, busy! Re posts about prices: Like dancinmama, I'm in a very HCOLA and the prices at our stores are anywhere from .50 to $1.00 higher than those posted by frugalsuz etc. To make matters even more fun , there can be differences in price between my local CVS, RA etc. and the one across town. Same thing with the Target stores. Keeps me on my toes!

My RA trip yesterday:
1 gal. Berkeley Farms milk: $2.89 - .55 Calif milk q (this one always beeps and they enter it manually)
1 Kerri lotion: $8.49 (see what I mean re prices) - 10% wellness disq; - $3.00 IP (also beeped for some reason) = $4.64
1 RA natural almonds: $4.99 - 10% wellness disq = $4.49 (love almonds and we were out!! how did that happen?)
1 Thermacare thingie: $3.99 - 10% wellness disq = $3.59 - in ad q $3.99 = -.40 (.40 profit right off the bat!)
1 Desenex: $8.49 - 10% wellness disq = $7.64 (DH uses this stuff)
2 Hershey milk choc bars $1.76 - 10% wellness q = $1.58
Used $20 Christmas UP
OOP: .29 + .31 tax = .60 I'll submit for $6 Keri and $6 Desinex single check rebates.

I'm saving all my rebates, recycling, and found money (from my daily walks/hikes) for Christmas once again.

I know what you mean about price differences across town! I happened to go into a Wags in another town and I noticed the prices were lower. Wouldn't be worth it to me to drive all the way there for .40 less, but it's interesting to keep in mind if I happened to be there anyway.

[marvholly]

I live in metro Chicago which is NOT a LCOL area but our Mazaratti q is for only $1 off - NOT good enough for me.

[dancinmama]

I got (2) inserts from the major metro paper last night (rarely do I get them) and that is where I first saw the FREE Marzetti Q. I was SURE that it would not be in the inserts from the "regular" newspaper, but it was there too.

I guess getting this makes up for all those times that my inserts fell into the LOCC status.

[mommax4]

Hi ladies, I'm a lurker that does occasional hounding. I have a question for those of you who have Kroger stores. Can you pair a MFG-Q with the mfg e-coupons on the same item? I was thinking about trying a Swiffer and didn't know if I could essentially use 2 mfg coupons (print & e-coupon) at the same time. TIA.

[ohiositter]

hound alert......
If you do the Coke points, the 12 pack Q is back for 240 points!!!!!!!!!!

[jdnstl]

Mar 7, 2011 14:27:02 GMT -5 mommax4 said:

Hi ladies, I'm a lurker that does occasional hounding. I have a question for those of you who have Kroger stores. Can you pair a MFG-Q with the mfg e-coupons on the same item? I was thinking about trying a Swiffer and didn't know if I could essentially use 2 mfg coupons (print & e-coupon) at the same time. TIA.

mommax3 - you can, but technically shouldn't. kroger's written policy is to accept either an e-coupon or a paper coupon, not both. however, some store registers do not beep if an e-q comes off & you use a paper q so you *could* use both. keep in mind that a lot of stores have the registers programmed to NOT accept both & when the paper q scans the register will beep. you will not know if you can use both until you try to see how the register is programmed at your store. HTH.

[dancinmama]

Mar 7, 2011 14:27:02 GMT -5 mommax4 said:

Hi ladies, I'm a lurker that does occasional hounding. I have a question for those of you who have Kroger stores. Can you pair a MFG-Q with the mfg e-coupons on the same item? I was thinking about trying a Swiffer and didn't know if I could essentially use 2 mfg coupons (print & e-coupon) at the same time. TIA.

mommax3: Why the lurk? Come join us regularly and let us know what deals you've found. We have A LOT of Kroger shoppers on the GC (unfortunately I'm not one of them ),

[mommax4]

I lurk mostly because I don't have time to hound very often. Also, the Kroger store is not near me, it's in a different town where my dr. appts are, so I don't get there very often and I'm not very familiar with the policies (hence the question). I'll be sure to pop in when I get a good deal though. I enjoy reading everyone's comments.

[dancinmama]

Mar 7, 2011 14:53:41 GMT -5 mommax4 said:

I lurk mostly because I don't have time to hound very often. Also, the Kroger store is not near me, it's in a different town where my dr. appts are, so I don't get there very often and I'm not very familiar with the policies (hence the question). I'll be sure to pop in when I get a good deal though. I enjoy reading everyone's comments.

mommax3: Well, we'd love to have you and if there is anything that we can do to help, please let us know.

[leanna]

SLIGHTLY OFF TOPIC

Did anyone buy the L'oreal Youth Code?

I'm thinking of buying the kit and/or the eye cream next week at RA.

If you've bought it and tried it, what do you think of the products?
I normally use a L'oreal eye cream so I'm wondering if the Youth Code product is any better/different, etc.

Also, anything important to know about the rebate? I've seen information about the whole 29.99 issue and how you have to have $30 to get the rebate, so you can ask the cashier to ring you up at $30.

Thanks!

[nickyleey]

Mar 7, 2011 7:30:49 GMT -5 marvholly said:

This is another place that seems to have trouble hiring people who can actually read.

I tend to have similar experiences at several of the stores in my area, not just WM! I was at Harris Teeter (a local grocery store) yesterday. I bought one box of Mrs. Paul's fish sticks and 1 bag of bird's eye steamfresh veggies. I had a Q from All You that said you get 1 BE steamfresh veggie FREE (up to $2) when you buy 1 Mrs. Paul's OR 1 Van Camp's and had a picture of all 3 products on the Q. So the cashier rang it all up and I handed over the Q. Here's how it went down:

Without even reading she said "you didn't get everything pictured on the Q".

I said "I fulfilled the necessary requirements to get the free bag of birdseye veggies and that was buying the Mrs. Paul's. You only have to buy either Mrs. Pauls OR Van Camps, not both. Here's the price of the birdseye veggies so you just scan the Q and enter than in."

Cashier: "Ugh, I know how to do it. What I"m saying is that you didn't get everything in the picture."

Nickyleey: "If you read the Q, it clearly says that you get one free Birdseye when you buy Mrs. Paul's or Van Camp's."

Cashier: "Ugh, I don't HAVE to read the Q. The picture clearly shows 3 items and you didn't get all 3."

Nickyleey: (grabs coupon and reads it to her) "Please ring this up correctly"

Cashier: "Fine." (does it, then pauses and looks me in the eye). "I may be stupid but at least I don't have to use coupons to buy my groceries."

Nickyleey: "You're right, I suppose you are the lucky one. Have a great day."

[bluecluessubtlety]

Mar 6, 2011 16:29:09 GMT -5 leanna said:

I think the only reason I care is that I've had a mild cold this week, and I generally only crave vitamin c when I'm sick. So I really wanted to try it. The other items I didn't need. Oh wait, I desperately needed the Reeses!

Reese's is a perfectly acceptable substitute for vitamin C. HTH

[bluecluessubtlety]

Mar 7, 2011 16:08:01 GMT -5 nickyleey said:

Cashier: "Fine." (does it, then pauses and looks me in the eye). "I may be stupid but at least I don't have to use coupons to buy my groceries."

Nicky, at least she's self aware.

[bluecluessubtlety]

I got the home printer hooked up. No more work firewall for me. Stores - FEAR ME NOW. bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[jdnstl]

Mar 7, 2011 16:08:01 GMT -5 nickyleey said:

Mar 7, 2011 7:30:49 GMT -5 marvholly said:

This is another place that seems to have trouble hiring people who can actually read.

I tend to have similar experiences at several of the stores in my area, not just WM! I was at Harris Teeter (a local grocery store) yesterday. I bought one box of Mrs. Paul's fish sticks and 1 bag of bird's eye steamfresh veggies. I had a Q from All You that said you get 1 BE steamfresh veggie FREE (up to $2) when you buy 1 Mrs. Paul's OR 1 Van Camp's and had a picture of all 3 products on the Q. So the cashier rang it all up and I handed over the Q. Here's how it went down:

Without even reading she said "you didn't get everything pictured on the Q".

I said "I fulfilled the necessary requirements to get the free bag of birdseye veggies and that was buying the Mrs. Paul's. You only have to buy either Mrs. Pauls OR Van Camps, not both. Here's the price of the birdseye veggies so you just scan the Q and enter than in."

Cashier: "Ugh, I know how to do it. What I"m saying is that you didn't get everything in the picture."

Nickyleey: "If you read the Q, it clearly says that you get one free Birdseye when you buy Mrs. Paul's or Van Camp's."

Cashier: "Ugh, I don't HAVE to read the Q. The picture clearly shows 3 items and you didn't get all 3."

Nickyleey: (grabs coupon and reads it to her) "Please ring this up correctly"

Cashier: "Fine." (does it, then pauses and looks me in the eye). "I may be stupid but at least I don't have to use coupons to buy my groceries."

Nickyleey: "You're right, I suppose you are the lucky one. Have a great day."

nicky - i think she falls in the WACKADOO catagory!!

[herekittykitty]

Mar 7, 2011 16:08:01 GMT -5 nickyleey said:

Mar 7, 2011 7:30:49 GMT -5 marvholly said:

This is another place that seems to have trouble hiring people who can actually read.

I tend to have similar experiences at several of the stores in my area, not just WM! I was at Harris Teeter (a local grocery store) yesterday. I bought one box of Mrs. Paul's fish sticks and 1 bag of bird's eye steamfresh veggies. I had a Q from All You that said you get 1 BE steamfresh veggie FREE (up to $2) when you buy 1 Mrs. Paul's OR 1 Van Camp's and had a picture of all 3 products on the Q. So the cashier rang it all up and I handed over the Q. Here's how it went down:

Without even reading she said "you didn't get everything pictured on the Q".

I said "I fulfilled the necessary requirements to get the free bag of birdseye veggies and that was buying the Mrs. Paul's. You only have to buy either Mrs. Pauls OR Van Camps, not both. Here's the price of the birdseye veggies so you just scan the Q and enter than in."

Cashier: "Ugh, I know how to do it. What I"m saying is that you didn't get everything in the picture."

Nickyleey: "If you read the Q, it clearly says that you get one free Birdseye when you buy Mrs. Paul's or Van Camp's."

Cashier: "Ugh, I don't HAVE to read the Q. The picture clearly shows 3 items and you didn't get all 3."

Nickyleey: (grabs coupon and reads it to her) "Please ring this up correctly"

Cashier: "Fine." (does it, then pauses and looks me in the eye). "I may be stupid but at least I don't have to use coupons to buy my groceries."

Nickyleey: "You're right, I suppose you are the lucky one. Have a great day."

Wow...you are a better person than I am. I would have had a little heart to heart with her manager, and probably said a few unprintable things to her as well. There is just no call for that kind of behavior.

[hopetoberich]

Hound Alert.

MM at RA.

Almay Bright eyes Eye Shadow @ 75% off. $2.12. Use $2 MQ from this week SS =0.12.Submit for SCR rebate $1 per item MAX 6. Also got a $2 UP for buying 3. ;D

Today i use $3/$15, VV's & ups to get a nice order together and submitted my first scr for Keri and Almay. I spent $8 in UP's, got back a $2 UP and will get a check for $9 at the end of the month.I came home with 4 boxes of Kleenex, 1 Keri,3 Almay, 2 Kotex and 1 doz eggs.

[saveinla]

Skippy PB recall - for those who have not checked your stash yet, here are the details - www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm245897.htm