THE MARCH 2011 GROCERY CHALLENGE THREAD

[jdnstl]

leanna - i hope you see this before you shop today!!! do you have cvs? they have skintimate with EBs & will only cost $0.14 after coupon & EB!!! i'm gonna do that 2x & if i get two extra inserts from co-workers i'll do the skintimate deal at WAGS monday.

[suziq38]

Mar 27, 2011 9:56:05 GMT -5 jdnstl said:

leanna - i hope you see this before you shop today!!! do you have cvs? they have skintimate with EBs & will only cost $0.14 after coupon & EB!!! i'm gonna do that 2x & if i get two extra inserts from co-workers i'll do the skintimate deal at WAGS monday.

There you go, Leanna!

I am going to buy some myself because I think that 15 cents is an excellent "FREAP"
(a cross between FREE and cheap) deal.

Thanks JDNSTL!

[suziq38]

Good Morning, Hounds!
It is getting towards the end of the month, so I figured that we would change over to the April thread on April 1.
The reason is that April is almost as long as March is.

What do you think?
Do you care, LOL?

[suziq38]

Mar 27, 2011 6:57:56 GMT -5 rubyslippers said:

The only things I might get at Rite Aid this week are the American Greeting cards. I need some nice free graduation cards.

Rubyslippers,
Could you please tell us more about how this deal works?
What is the deal, and where are the coupons?
I love free cards.

Thanks!

[dancinmama]

Mar 27, 2011 10:29:10 GMT -5 suziq38 said:

Mar 27, 2011 6:57:56 GMT -5 rubyslippers said:

The only things I might get at Rite Aid this week are the American Greeting cards. I need some nice free graduation cards.

Rubyslippers,
Could you please tell us more about how this deal works?
What is the deal, and where are the coupons?
I love free cards.

Thanks!

suzi: There apparently there is an in-ad coupon for $3/3 and the prices start at $.99/card. I also read that there is a $1/3 (I think) MC somewhere, but I don't think it is an insert coupon. I looked on HCW and they showed a couple of obscure ones, but nothing in the inserts and no IPs.

[dancinmama]

Mar 27, 2011 9:56:05 GMT -5 jdnstl said:

leanna - i hope you see this before you shop today!!! do you have cvs? they have skintimate with EBs & will only cost $0.14 after coupon & EB!!! i'm gonna do that 2x & if i get two extra inserts from co-workers i'll do the skintimate deal at WAGS monday.

What is the Skintimate coupon value in a run of the mill paper (not major metro)? The ad shows a $.55/1 coupon making it $.44 after EB. Is there a better coupon for $.85/1?

[dancinmama]

Mar 27, 2011 10:27:09 GMT -5 suziq38 said:

Good Morning, Hounds!
It is getting towards the end of the month, so I figured that we would change over to the April thread on April 1.
The reason is that April is almost as long as March is.

What do you think?
Do you care, LOL?

suzi: Sounds good to me. Thanks for reposting the thread every month for all of us Grocery Challengers. We REALLY appreciate it. ;D

[Deleted]

This message has been deleted.

[mizbear]

shelly- No problem!

Early Papers- Also knwn to paper carriers as "bulldogs" (I don't know why, that's just what we used to call them, probably because they were brought down by another distributor and dropped at our stores without asking us)- Bulldogs traditionally are a nuts and bolts early edition weekend paper, brought down on Saturday afternoon in larger cities. They lack the specials, ads, coupons, etc that the full pack Sunday papers have and are great for people who just want news, sports, weather, real estate and obits. Around here, I believe they finally did away with the bulldog editions a few years ago. They already did away with the weekday afternoon paper.
I know that's not the same everywhere, but that's how it was here when we delivered papers as a business.

[mizbear]

starting the new thread on the 1st sounds like a winner to me!

[Deleted]

I saved 22% on yesterday's grocery trip! ;D I spent $25 but I still need to swing by top's because they had a few things cheaper than wegmans so that is not all I'll spend but I don't expect to spend much more than another $5-10.

[leanna]

Mar 27, 2011 8:52:59 GMT -5 princessleia said:

Such good deals at WAGs this week and I got all the MQs to match - Colgate, Edge/Skintimate, Folgers, etc and I will be having a hard time to get rid of last week's RRs with this week's shopping..... I will need to look for fillers. Can sb tell me if Domino's Confectioner Sugar at 79cts a good deal? Don't tell me to get candy or easter eggs! I am trying to avoid paying for junk foods. Any good ideas for fillers at WAGs?

A good cheap filler would be the Spring/Easter pencils at .13

[leanna]

Mar 27, 2011 9:56:05 GMT -5 jdnstl said:

leanna - i hope you see this before you shop today!!! do you have cvs? they have skintimate with EBs & will only cost $0.14 after coupon & EB!!! i'm gonna do that 2x & if i get two extra inserts from co-workers i'll do the skintimate deal at WAGS monday.

Darlin' if I had a CVS my life would be complete! LOL

But, sadly I am CVS deprived. I have to suffice with Wags and RA. But, thank you for pointing out that great deal - I bet someone else who has CVS will see it and get to do that deal thanks to you pointing it out!

[leanna]

Mar 27, 2011 10:24:36 GMT -5 suziq38 said:

Mar 27, 2011 9:56:05 GMT -5 jdnstl said:

leanna - i hope you see this before you shop today!!! do you have cvs? they have skintimate with EBs & will only cost $0.14 after coupon & EB!!! i'm gonna do that 2x & if i get two extra inserts from co-workers i'll do the skintimate deal at WAGS monday.

There you go, Leanna!

I am going to buy some myself because I think that 15 cents is an excellent "FREAP"
(a cross between FREE and cheap) deal.

Thanks JDNSTL!

I LOVE your new word! That is awesome! I've needed a word for when I get something FREAP.

[leanna]

April 1 would be perfect to start the new thread. That's a Friday and all the California gals who have the RA deals start there can tell us how things go!

Now don't go pulling any April Fools jokes on us though!!!

[princessleia]

[quote author=leanna board=wir thread=3975 post=216897 time=1301250281leanna [/b]- But, sadly I am CVS deprived. I have to suffice with Wags and RA. [/quote]

Oh, boy....wait till you are in my position....I only got Wags - no CVS and no RA.... I am still waiting for that wonderwoman, Dancin Mama to bring RA to Wisconsin. But then hopefully, the new Governor Walker might be able to do sth abt that too.....just keeping my fingers crossed.

[leanna]

Mar 27, 2011 14:23:45 GMT -5 princessleia said:

[quote author=leanna board=wir thread=3975 post=216897 time=1301250281leanna

[/b]- But, sadly I am CVS deprived. I have to suffice with Wags and RA. [/quote]

Oh, boy....wait till you are in my position....I only got Wags - no CVS and no RA.... I am still waiting for that wonderwoman, Dancin Mama to bring RA to Wisconsin. But then hopefully, the new Governor Walker might be able to do sth abt that too.....just keeping my fingers crossed. [/quote]

I am big tears for you. I can't imagine! I'm in the test market for Wags and it is terrible!!!!

I used to shop Wags forever & ever. I never even went into RA, until this past January. An acquaintance told me about the RA deals and I gave it a try. I am so grateful, because we often have weeks on end without a SINGLE RR at Wags!

[princessleia]

I got the Maxwell House that was on ad last week. I had $4RRs from the Reach deal. I bought two cans of Maxwell House @ $2.59 ea. I used a $4RR and a $1/2 coupon. OOP was $.18 for two cans.

Dancin' - I would count the OOP to be $2.09 for each Maxwell House because your RRs is actually part of your cash back for the other previous purchase you paid. Hopefully you are not doublecounting your benefits because that would not be a true pix of total cost. I treat RRs as $$ and a way to pay for the purchase. Just my 2cts ....

[constanz22]

Mar 27, 2011 14:48:33 GMT -5 princessleia said:

I got the Maxwell House that was on ad last week. I had $4RRs from the Reach deal. I bought two cans of Maxwell House @ $2.59 ea. I used a $4RR and a $1/2 coupon. OOP was $.18 for two cans.

Dancin' - I would count the OOP to be $2.09 for each Maxwell House because your RRs is actually part of your cash back for the other previous purchase you paid. Hopefully you are not doublecounting your benefits because that would not be a true pix of total cost. I treat RRs as $$ and a way to pay for the purchase. Just my 2cts ....

Yeah, but her $4 RR from the Reach was pure profit. They were 0 oop, so, there wasn't any cost going into receiving that $4 RR...

[constanz22]

Hound Alert I, of course, did not receive the Skintimate MC in either of my papers. I even went and bought a paper from the neighboring city since they tend to be better/different and no luck. If anyone has a few (3-6) that they aren't going to use, and could get out in the mail tomorrow, please PM me. I have lots to trade!

I don't know if there are currently any blinkies, peelies or IP's out, but I REALLY need some Hartz pee pads and Cesar dog treats, if anyone has any floating around that they aren't using. TIA!

[leanna]

How much stuff do you all stockpile?

I'm curious, because, as I've mentioned, I've been frugal pretty much my whole life. And, I've also used coupons since a very young age. But I've never really stockpiled. Sure, sometimes I might buy 4 Nilla Wafers for my husband when they're at the lowest price, but that's not exactly a stockpile! LOL

So, just wondering because I'm nosy.

It was late December that I started going into this more super-couponing mode. So, I now have what is a lot for me - for example I have 7 bottles of shampoo, 7 bottles of conditioner and 7 bottles of body wash.

My current policy is that anything that will end up being free I will stockpile.

But I know a lot of you have been doing this for a long time, and so I'm curious what the extent of your stockpile is, and of course, if you have any things that you've learned over your time of stockpiling, I would be very interested to hear your sage wisdom.

[princessleia]

Yeah, but her $4 RR from the Reach was pure profit. They were 0 oop, so, there wasn't any cost going into receiving that $4 RR...

Exactly my point - $4RR was pure profit = CASH. ;D

My intention to bring this point up is that RRs can lull you into thinking that you have gotten a extremely good deal or maybe even Free but sometimes, it's not.

[dancinmama]

TAKE A BREAK FOR A LAUGH!!

I just saw this on another thread and didn't know how far most of you stray from the GC, so thought I'd post. It totally cracked me up.


No more dough

Please join me in remembering YET ANOTHER great icon of the entertainment community. The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes to the belly. He was 71. Dough Boy was survived by his wife Play Dough, three children, John Dough, Jane Dough, and Dosey Dough, plus they had one in the Oven. The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minute

[princessleia]

How much stuff do you all stockpile?

Just think of a doomsday or Hurricane Katrina type of disaster happening and will you be prepared? Do you have enough water, food and other essentials to last for say, 2 weeks without going to the store? That's how much I stockpile at the very least.

[constanz22]

Mar 27, 2011 15:31:59 GMT -5 princessleia said:

Yeah, but her $4 RR from the Reach was pure profit. They were 0 oop, so, there wasn't any cost going into receiving that $4 RR...

Exactly my point - $4RR was pure profit = CASH. ;D

My intention to bring this point up is that RRs can lull you into thinking that you have gotten a extremely good deal or maybe even Free but sometimes, it's not.

I understand, but these are 2 different issues. Your first post, you commented about double counting the reward when you earn it and when you use it, which is what I pointed out was not the case, in this instance, as the $4 RR was earned with no OOP.

If Maxwell House coffee is 2.59 at Wags and 2.59 at the grocery store, or, for sake of discussion, even 2.29 at the grocery store, and I have a MC for $1/2, it's "cheaper" to buy it at Wags, using RR's that were pure profit. If I buy it at the grocery store, sure, I may pay. 50 less total, but I'm paying with cold hard cash, that I don't need to spend.

I think most of the veteran gals here would agree that it makes more sense to "pay" a little more for commonly used items, such as coffee, sugar, milk, etc. and be able to pay with "free" drug store money vs. paying less at a grocery store but having to pony up the cash for it.

[dancinmama]

Mar 27, 2011 15:31:59 GMT -5 princessleia said:

Yeah, but her $4 RR from the Reach was pure profit. They were 0 oop, so, there wasn't any cost going into receiving that $4 RR...

Exactly my point - $4RR was pure profit = CASH. ;D

My intention to bring this point up is that RRs can lull you into thinking that you have gotten a extremely good deal or maybe even Free but sometimes, it's not.

princessleia: You are EXACTLY right!! BUT RRs are still only good at WAGs (for the most part) so they are WAGs cash only. I always start a "roll" at WAGs with a freebie or pretty close to it where I get the RR for free or just sales tax (like with the Reach). Then, I am really selective because the cost of fillers and sales tax (almost 10%) can really add up. So maybe you roll that $4RR several times into things that you don't really need before you buy the item(s) that you really do need. What did it all cost you?

I look for deals like the Reach. I did that deal (5) times. I rolled (3) of them into the Neuragen. My OOP for the Reach and the Neuragen (sales tax and fillers) was $4.90. I used a fourth RR for (2) cans of coffee with an OOP of $.18 and got a rain check for two more. So when all is said and done, I will have spent about $5.26 for $72 worth of product (20 toothbrushes, 1 Neuragen, 1 dozen eggs, 4 cans of Maxwell House coffee, and a couple of candy bars); but I am going to get a check for $19.99, so in reality a profit of $14.73!!

It was a thing of beauty when WAGs had RRs AND their ESR program. You could use the RRs to buy ESR items and use the ESR money to buy RR items. You never had to spend a penny of your own money - not for fillers and not for sales tax cuz you could have your rebate put on a WAGs card (with a 10% bonus!!). Ah, the WAGs game was soooo much fun in those days. ESRs have been gone for about 2 years now.

[dancinmama]

Mar 27, 2011 14:23:45 GMT -5 princessleia said:

[quote author=leanna board=wir thread=3975 post=216897 time=1301250281leanna

[/b]- But, sadly I am CVS deprived. I have to suffice with Wags and RA. [/quote]

Oh, boy....wait till you are in my position....I only got Wags - no CVS and no RA.... I am still waiting for that wonderwoman, Dancin Mama to bring RA to Wisconsin. But then hopefully, the new Governor Walker might be able to do sth abt that too.....just keeping my fingers crossed. [/quote]

princessleia: I wish I could, but just so ya know - I don't have supernatural powers. ;D

[dancinmama]

Mar 27, 2011 14:48:33 GMT -5 princessleia said:

I got the Maxwell House that was on ad last week. I had $4RRs from the Reach deal. I bought two cans of Maxwell House @ $2.59 ea. I used a $4RR and a $1/2 coupon. OOP was $.18 for two cans.

Dancin' - I would count the OOP to be $2.09 for each Maxwell House because your RRs is actually part of your cash back for the other previous purchase you paid. Hopefully you are not doublecounting your benefits because that would not be a true pix of total cost. I treat RRs as $$ and a way to pay for the purchase. Just my 2cts ....

dancinmama double count savings?

Actually, I agree with you that this CAN be a problem for newbies. I also consider RR to be like cash, but OOP is what I actually have to pay in cash Out Of Pocket after all coupons (including RRs). Yes, I did give up a $4RR to get the coffee, but my OOP was $.18.

[rubyslippers]

Constanz: That's how I look at my hounding. I try to keep the OOP as low as possible, using rewards to pay for whatever we can use or donate. Whenever I do my calculations, I add up what I spent OOP and what I saved using Q's and rewards. Right now I'm using a Rite Aid giftcard, purchased with their money from refunding a purchase and/or part of my SCR. That's why I've spent so little OOP at Rite Aid this year.

SuziQ: hip2save's website had a $1.00/3 greeting card PDF on March 24. I combined that with the in-ad Q to pick up some cards today. I bought 6 cards using 2 of each type of coupon and $.75 was taken off my giftcard. My 20% discount applied too, so it was a good deal although I didn't get any graduation cards.

[suziq38]

Mar 27, 2011 13:25:45 GMT -5 leanna said:

Mar 27, 2011 10:24:36 GMT -5 suziq38 said:

There you go, Leanna!

I am going to buy some myself because I think that 15 cents is an excellent "FREAP"
(a cross between FREE and cheap) deal.

Thanks JDNSTL!

I LOVE your new word! That is awesome! I've needed a word for when I get something FREAP.

I wish I could take credit for the word.
I heard of the work "freap" from Frugalsuz, LOL.