THE MARCH 2011 GROCERY CHALLENGE THREAD

[shelly527in]

I used two $5 target Qs (thanks Mamaw!) and $3 and $4 peelies to get 20 Smart Ones for $0.95 each! Plus the two free Target bags!

NAG On my way home from DBF's, I nearly hit not one but TWO large DEAD animals...what was left of a deer and a dog/wolf/coyote??? right in the center of the same highway about 10 miles apart! YUCK!

[dancinmama]

Feb 26, 2011 23:01:09 GMT -5 bluecluessubtlety said:

Feb 26, 2011 10:21:38 GMT -5 mizbear said:

I posted my shopping goal on the other thread, duh. Looking for deals on TP, wipes and paper towels this month.

Thecentsableshoppin.com usually has a section of "staples" and toilet paper is on that list each week.

Dancin, maybe it was that one cashier?

bluesclues: Ya, I'd like to think so; but I've had this cashier MANY TIMES before and she's never checked my subtotal so I have a feeling that they've all had some recent training. Quite frankly, I don't see why it matters whether you pay the total using EBs and coupons or you pay with cash seeing as they get reimbursed for the Qs, but oh well.

I'm bummed, but I can't complain too much as I look at my stockpiles and realize how many of the products on my shelves have been "purchased" at CVS - A TON. I just won't be shopping there as much as I used to.

[dancinmama]

For those of you who held on to your FREE Excedrin Q(s) or still have a couple of the $3.50/1 Qs, CVS (2/27 ad) has Buy $20 of ANY Excedrin and get a $10 EB.

HAPPY HOUNDING!!

[dancinmama]

bluesclues: I saw your, "Hey, but it's still February" message on the old board. ha ha ha

So as not to switch the thread in the middle of the drug chain sales cycles, suzi went ahead and started the new thread.

[mawmawandlovingit]

Weaselfer: Thank you for the coffee coupons, They will definitely get used.

[car-chick]

Dancin' does CA charge tax on food and medicine too?? If not, that might be a way around the tax part.

I usually don't have this problem because I always end up with a few dollars OOP - haven't quite got my stockpiles to the point that it will be virtually free.... It seems I am always running out of something.

[herekittykitty]

Feb 27, 2011 1:14:10 GMT -5 shelly527in said:

Feb 26, 2011 23:02:47 GMT -5 ohiositter said:

Suzi I'm so glad to hear you're doing well

kitty...... got your envie Thanks a bunch...... my noodle eating machine is home and it looks like he REALLY missed his noodles, since I only have a few left in my stockpile , I showed him the envie and he just had this goofy smile from ear to ear

Pssss. he said noodles and hot sauce...... what more do you need? LMAO only my kids would say something like that ;D and they were not raised on noodles.... LOL

Ohiositter and Herekittykitty sounds like DBF when I showed him the stack of White Castle coupons! I was mean though.....first I seperated the ones that had already expired and gave those to him. Then I handed him the THIRTY that didn't expire until the middle of April. Not sure if he'll be able to buy that money by then, but I'm sure he'll try! Thanks kitty!

Ooops...sorry! Didn't know some had expired! You are as "cruel" to your DH as I am to mine!

[luv2save]

Looks like the Motrin PM is the only one on sale. When they scan the coupon it beeps for them to put in an amount. They just have to put in the $6.00 and it goes as Dancin would say slick as snot. I was disappointed that the regular Motrin IB was not included but it still is a moneymaker. Happy shopping!!!!

[suziq38]

Feb 26, 2011 15:22:22 GMT -5 dogmom said:

Suzi, welcome back!

Thank you, dogmom!

[suziq38]

Feb 26, 2011 23:02:47 GMT -5 ohiositter said:

Suzi I'm so glad to hear you're doing well

Thank you, Ohio sitter!

[suziq38]

Feb 26, 2011 19:08:21 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

suzi: I wondered when you were going to get your DH to take you out hounding!! ha ha ha So glad that you're doing so well.

Well, today is a sad day in the hounding world for me. I used to be able to get everything at CVS for almost FREE because they would allow my coupons to cut into the sales tax so my OOP was almost always a very minimal amount. I just got back from doing a couple of transactions and the cashier "watched" the subtotal to make sure that my manufacturer's coupons did not cut into the sales tax (even though I think the computer would have allowed it). This means that I am now going to have to pay sales tax in OOP on every transaction at CVS and our tax rate here is 9.25%. Now, buying stuff that I don't need just so that I can roll my EBs to keep them current is going to get pretty expensive.

I feel EXTREMELY fortunate that for about a year and a half, I have been able to stockpile a BOATLOAD of things that we DID NEED from CVS for very, very little in OOP. I do have a few gift cards that I got for Xmas that I can use to cover sales tax; but I know that at 9.25%, I will go through them rather quickly.

I am totally bummed, but I guess that's how the coupon crumbles.

Oh Dancin, that is a huge setback for you! I am sorry.
I was always a little jealous that you got to do that, LOL.
My store always said "no way."
That is why I talked them into allowing me to use the $4.00 off of $20.00.
At least that helped a little. I still had to pay the tax.

DH is going to drop me off at CVS today. I will use the motorized cart. I hope that no one needs it. I just don't want to overdo it.

It sounds strange, but I can't concentrate with DH "breathing down my neck," LOL.

I will need another couponer there and she will also help me.

[ooty1234]

If you have a recent Rite Aid receipt, or you are planning to shop their this week, be sure to take a look at the bottom of your receipt for an opportunity to take an online survey. You’ll need to go to this website, enter the code from your receipt and then you will be able to print a coupon for $3 off your $15.00 purchase! Thanks, For The Mommas


I coppied this from Facebook

[suziq38]

Feb 27, 2011 4:18:55 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

bluesclues: I saw your, "Hey, but it's still February" message on the old board. ha ha ha

So as not to switch the thread in the middle of the drug chain sales cycles, suzi went ahead and started the new thread.

Blues and everyone,
I tried to think when the best time would be to switch over from month to month.
The last time, I had just posted all of this stuff about the upcoming week when it was time to think about switching over, LOL.

I realized that a better time would be before that week's deals.
Since March 1 is on Tuesday, and the deals change on Sunday, February 27, I thought that Saturday, February 26, the last day of the week's sales, would do.
Plus, the last month was a short month, and we were at 50 pages already!

I will probably make the change on a weekend.

[ooty1234]

Bodiheat patches on sale for $1. ........taaaadah they also print out the +1 ups.

Both the 3ct and the 4 ct are printing +UPs.

This is for Rite Aid
Oh good, something else to roll my Ups on. (copied from WUC)

[mercee]

Stopped at WAGS today with my DSD14 & got 4 day/nyquils...the RR DID NOT PRINT!! *grrrr* What is the 1-800 number for catalina coups & is it too late for me to call when I get home? Then I just noticed that she didn't scan my 4th $1.50/1 coupon. *grrrr* It was NOT a good WAGS trip today (though I did get free colgate & DH & I have been explaining couponing to DSD14 & she seems to "get it" *happy dance*)

Then her & I went over to Walmart to get some Ronzoni pasta per Dancin's suggestion awhile back. Didn't have any of the Garden Harvest, so I got 8 boxes of the smart type & used 4 of the $1/2 coups. Got 4 80ct sheets of Gain also for $0.59/each after the $3/1 coup.

If anyone wants $1/2 Ronzoni coups for the wheat variety - PM me & I'll send them out - I doubt I can get the family to eat that type.

Did pretty good yesterday at Copps grocery store - 2 carts. DSD14 was confused at first, but after we were done, we explained it to her & how splitting into 2 carts enabled us to use more coupons. Biggest scores were 4 packages of Rhodes dinner rolls for free and 2 bottles of excedrine (20ct) for $0.59.

[mercee]

Just saw the post on Wild for WAGs about the RR not printing for Vicks. I emailed the company. Hopefully they get it resolved as quickly as possible since I have coupons that expire tomorrow.

[weaselfer]

A big thanks to Misspt and someone in Idaho(ID) for all of the pistachio Qs. We will stock up and enjoy for awhile. I will just have to find a place to hide them. DH goes through a bag in a single sitting.

[herekittykitty]

Any movie lovers out there? There is a groupon deal today (check under Abilene, TX and look for a yellow box at the top of the page) for 3 Redbox one night movie rentals for $1! I've never tried Redbox, but they are all over my neighborhood, and you can't beat .33 per movie! And I have a reason to use this:

[4hatsandfrugal]

Feb 27, 2011 13:58:42 GMT -5 herekittykitty said:

Any movie lovers out there? There is a groupon deal today (check under Abilene, TX and look for a yellow box at the top of the page) for 3 Redbox one night movie rentals for $1! I've never tried Redbox, but they are all over my neighborhood, and you can't beat .33 per movie! And I have a reason to use this:

Also, try to get over to redbox.com and register your phone number. They send codes to rent movies for FREE. They used to do it the first tuesday of every month, but now there are sporadic codes put out. Some of the deal sites, like swaggrabber and dealseeking mom, will put up when other FREE codes are available too. Just make sure to return the movie the next day so you don't get charged

[dancinmama]

Feb 27, 2011 11:04:04 GMT -5 luv2save said:

Looks like the Motrin PM is the only one on sale. When they scan the coupon it beeps for them to put in an amount. They just have to put in the $6.00 and it goes as Dancin would say slick as snot. I was disappointed that the regular Motrin IB was not included but it still is a moneymaker. Happy shopping!!!!

luv2save: Ya, what a bummer!! I was really hoping for some regular Motrin.

[hopetoberich]

I have 9 huggies coupons from this week inserts. If anyone has babies and would like some please PM me.

[dancinmama]

CVS is doing inventory on Monday so that is why they do not have a lot of stock on the EB items right now.

EXCEDRIN MIGRAINE AT CVS: I found a sale tag for 100 count Excedrin Migraine (I think it was the gel tabs) for $6.79 (sale ends tomorrow) UNDER a yellow tag for the $10 EB WYB $20 Excedrin. If I had not done some careful investigation, I would have missed it. Of course they were OOS so I got a rain check for the sales price AND the EB deal. I have (3) FREE Excedrin Migraine Qs (up to $5.99) and this is my go-to headache med.


I went to RA and got the Afrin on DH's card in hopes of eventually getting the Heart Healthy UPs on his card. I will need to buy about (9) Colgate Total Advanced Clean (4 oz) next week to surpass the $30 mark and hit the $50 mark for (2) $10 UPs.

I bought (8) Dove Deodorant on rain check for $2/ea. as the coupon $2/1 expires today. I knew that the store manager would not be there and that getting my rain check UPs would be a total PITA, so I made a copy of the rain check before I left this morning and attached my receipt to it showing that I should be getting $8 in UPs. I'm hoping that I can get them on a GC instead of as a credit toward a purchase of something.

I also picked up several of the snacks that were free after UPs. I decided as long as they were free, I had nothing to lose so I tried one of each different variety of the Burger King (not impressed), the TGI Fridays, and the Combos. Both the Burger King and the TGI Fridays seem pretty junky; I'm sure the Combos are too, but they just "seem" healthier - maybe cuz they're part pretzel. They had quite a few of these and there was absolutely no information about the UPs anywhere, so it might turn out to be my private secret.

I also popped into Safeway and picked up whole chicken legs for $.70/lb. (on sale for $1.39/lb. w/ 50% off stickers on them) and a couple of bottles of the Ken's Dressing for $.19/ea. after in-ad Q and MC.

[rubyslippers]

There's another Kroger ecoupon to add to your card today for the Gillette Fusion razors. Our Kroger has the power ones marked down to $7.00. I got a free one yesterday and another one today by combining the e-coupons with the MQ's.

Suzi: Welcome back! Your weather is a heat wave to those of us living in snow country.

[mercee]

WAGS Infant Care Booklet
I managed to grab 8 or 10 of these today - if you'd like some, please PM me.


I got an email back from Catalina company already - just need to scan my receipt & email them the info. I think I'll still hit WAGS tomorrow & do the scenario 2 more times & worst case - send off 2 more emails. There isn't any limit of like one per household on their offer, is there?

[rubyslippers]

Ooty: I did the Rite Aid surveys and got two of the coupons today. Since being without the $5/25 Q's, this was a nice surprise.

[mandyms]

Hi all,

I'm glad I looked on iheartwags this morning to find out about the lack of Vicks RR printing. Completely frustrated me, especially b/c I had already printed out my 5/25 coupon for registering my email. Of course they only give you 6 days to use it once it prints out, so I came up with a different scenario AND having to do this after I read the fine print of having to use it towards $25 AFTER all coupons.

2 Zyrtec @ 9.99
4 Finish powerball @ 2.49 w/in-store coupon
2 Motrin PM @ 3
1 Aquafor lip @ 4.99
- (2) $4/1 Zyrtec (1/9 SS..I didn't realize until I was checking out that these are for the 24 ct, but it rang through on 12 ct no problem, there are also some stickies on packages)
- (4) .75/1 finish (1/23 SS, exp 2/28)
- (1) $6/2 Motrin
- $1/1 IP Aquafor
-$5/$25 for email registration
OOP w/tax $20.63
Get $5 RRfor Zyrtec, $4 for Aquafor, $3 for Motrin

Then I just spent it on some other things I needed
2 Arm & Hammer detergents, $2.99 w/in store
1 Finish powerball, $2.49 w/in store
2 Ultra Tuff trash bags, $2.99 w/instore
-$1/2 Arm & Hammer
- .75/1 Finish powerball
- 12 RR
(wasn't paying attention to the need of fillers, so I spent $.65 cents on some altoid minis, which now I think may be a mistake? I had 5 items and a total of 2 mfc coupons and 3 RR, but it still beeped coupons exceeded...)
OOP w/tax $2.43

[constanz22]

mandyms You likely needed a filler on your last transaction because usually at Wags, any mfr coupon that is $1/2 (or any multiples) "attaches" to both items.

[dogmom]

Reading everything you guys are saying almost makes me feel like I'm not alone on hounding "capers". There were a couple grocery items that we needed, and with gas prices as they are, I went to Jewel/Albertsons. Although with coupons, I cut the bill by 48%, but, I felt violated by the rising prices. And, I still couldn't get everything I was short on...but, I just couldn't justify their pricing... DH looked at me when I returned, and said "I guess you had to actually spend Money." Yes, I did, but, I did okay, but, I guess the great buys and the stockpiles are going to come in handy now. It didn't help that I had to burn EB this week at CVS. I know we'll use the coffee and the cereal, but neither was a great buy....UGH. Ms. Dancin, I guess that's how the coupon crumbles...

But, maybe you guys can come up with something special?

[suziq38]

Suzi: Welcome back! Your weather is a heat wave to those of us living in snow country.[/quote][/b]
Thank you, Ruby Slippers!

[mandyms]

Feb 27, 2011 17:42:12 GMT -5 constanz22 said:

mandyms You likely needed a filler on your last transaction because usually at Wags, any mfr coupon that is $1/2 (or any multiples) "attaches" to both items.

Thanks, Constanz. That's what I figured after I typed that out. Bummer