THE MARCH 2011 GROCERY CHALLENGE THREAD

[saveinla]

Mar 2, 2011 11:31:57 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

And the P&G booklets were a rebate offer then P&G offered the books up on FACEBOOK. I was able to get 2 from FB, one for me and for DH.

ooty: Did you get the P&G booklets both ways: sending in $50 worth of receipts AND through Facebook? I did sent in receipts to get them and then saw the offer on Facebook, so I requested them there too. I got the "rebate" ones, but have not received the Facebook ones yet, have you? There is a Q in there that I am DESPERATE to get my hands on.

dancinmama,

I got the FB one last night. So it may be coming soon for you. Let me know what Q you need and I can send it if I will not be using it.

[misspt]

Dancin: I have received the facebook coupon booklet from P&G, I have not received the one from everyday solutions that had the really high value coupons in it.

jdnstl: The facebook booklet is for $1/1 megapacks of charmin

[dancinmama]

Mar 2, 2011 11:25:03 GMT -5 ooty1234 said:

Mar 2, 2011 11:22:46 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

Thanks ooty. I'm not sure how to post the handbook as an attachment. I know that I SHOULD know and feel like a total idiot that I don't, but that's the way it is.

I would appreciate it if SOMEONE would either teach suzi or me how to do it or post it themselves on the first page of the new thread each month. TIA

Dancin: in the reply box you are using, the second line is Attachment, and Browse your computer for the doc you have saved. I am sure you have made revisions to the original to include Ups, but I don't have that version saved.

Okay, here goes. Let's see if it works!!

YEAH!! I DID IT!! See - if you "Dick and Jane" it to me, I can do it. I used to send it as an attachment in emails all the time; I just didn't realize that it could be added as an attachment here. AWESOME!! Now if I can just remember how to do it a month from now.

Attachments:

THE GROCERY CHALLENGERS HANDBOOK.doc.jpg (85.5 KB)

[ooty1234]

Mar 2, 2011 11:31:57 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

And the P&G booklets were a rebate offer then P&G offered the books up on FACEBOOK. I was able to get 2 from FB, one for me and for DH.

ooty: Did you get the P&G booklets both ways: sending in $50 worth of receipts AND through Facebook? I did sent in receipts to get them and then saw the offer on Facebook, so I requested them there too. I got the "rebate" ones, but have not received the Facebook ones yet, have you? There is a Q in there that I am DESPERATE to get my hands on.

I did not do the rebate one, just the FB ones. And they came VERY quickly (less than 2 weeks maybe?)

[ooty1234]

Mar 2, 2011 11:38:27 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

Mar 2, 2011 11:25:03 GMT -5 ooty1234 said:

Dancin: in the reply box you are using, the second line is Attachment, and Browse your computer for the doc you have saved. I am sure you have made revisions to the original to include Ups, but I don't have that version saved.

Okay, here goes. Let's see if it works!!

WIN!!!!! **bells and whistles**

[dancinmama]

Mar 2, 2011 11:38:54 GMT -5 ooty1234 said:

Mar 2, 2011 11:31:57 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

And the P&G booklets were a rebate offer then P&G offered the books up on FACEBOOK. I was able to get 2 from FB, one for me and for DH.

ooty: Did you get the P&G booklets both ways: sending in $50 worth of receipts AND through Facebook? I did sent in receipts to get them and then saw the offer on Facebook, so I requested them there too. I got the "rebate" ones, but have not received the Facebook ones yet, have you? There is a Q in there that I am DESPERATE to get my hands on.

I did not do the rebate one, just the FB ones. And they came VERY quickly (less than 2 weeks maybe?)

Okay. I was wondering whether they would see that I had already received them via the "rebate" and not send them. If mine don't show up within a week, I'll have to post a HOUND ALERT for that Q - but I'll wait and see.

[dancinmama]

Mar 2, 2011 11:37:14 GMT -5 misspt said:

Dancin: I have received the facebook coupon booklet from P&G, I have not received the one from everyday solutions that had the really high value coupons in it.

jdnstl: The facebook booklet is for $1/1 megapacks of charmin

misspt: I believe that they are the EXACT same booklet - blue cover and really thick.

[ooty1234]

I have a question about e-coupons. I have been loading and using them on my GE card. I tried to load some to my Kroger card last night and got an error message. Has anyone tried to use them on 2 different store cards? I am wondering if I change the email address on one of my cards if that would work?

[dancinmama]

saveinla/jdnstl/ooty/misspt: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Now I have hopes that I will get them!! YEAH!!

[misspt]

The everyday solutions thing I'm thinking of, was online, not a rebate, and you chose your coupons and samples, and the coupons were VERY high value, like $2/1 head and shoulders. Which coupon from the facebook coupons are you looking for?

[ooty1234]

Mar 2, 2011 11:44:01 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

Mar 2, 2011 11:37:14 GMT -5 misspt said:

Dancin: I have received the facebook coupon booklet from P&G, I have not received the one from everyday solutions that had the really high value coupons in it.

jdnstl: The facebook booklet is for $1/1 megapacks of charmin

misspt: I believe that they are the EXACT same booklet - blue cover and really thick.

I think they are seperate booklets. The everyday solutions book is like a little magazine. I got that one too, just request it through their website, along with free samples. ;D

[jdnstl]

Mar 2, 2011 11:44:01 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

Mar 2, 2011 11:37:14 GMT -5 misspt said:

Dancin: I have received the facebook coupon booklet from P&G, I have not received the one from everyday solutions that had the really high value coupons in it.

jdnstl: The facebook booklet is for $1/1 megapacks of charmin

misspt: I believe that they are the EXACT same booklet - blue cover and really thick.

misspt & dancin - they are the same book! i have 3 right now & when my DM comes to visit at the end of the month she's bringing the 2 books i did in her & my gramma's name. i was just wondering if they were 'misusing' that q at CVS because it would make for super cheap TP. i'm sure it doesn't beep but if you have a cashier that reads the q's carefully they won't allow it.

[jdnstl]

ooty - thanks for clearing that up!
miss pt - sorry, i forgot about the online ones. the rebate coupon books & the facebook coupon books are the same. i requested some off the P&G website but never received them so i don't know their values, expiration, etc.

[constanz22]

P&G Book~ Hmmm, I'm confused now. I sent away for the one that you needed to spend like $50 in Covergirl/Olay/etc AND I filled out the info for the one through Facebook. I received one a couple of weeks ago. I was assuming that was the first one, because I sent that rebate in way before the Facebook one. But, the first set of Q's in the book expired 2/28! I don't think I used but one. I'm a little disappointed if the FB one is the same book and 1/3 of the coupons are already expired by the time we get it...

[dancinmama]

Mar 2, 2011 11:46:20 GMT -5 misspt said:

The everyday solutions thing I'm thinking of, was online, not a rebate, and you chose your coupons and samples, and the coupons were VERY high value, like $2/1 head and shoulders. Which coupon from the facebook coupons are you looking for?

misspt: Okay,I know the one you're talking about. I did that one too, but the coupon that I need was not included in that set. Maybe it will be offered in the future though. Wouldn't that be nice!!

[dancinmama]

Mar 2, 2011 12:12:37 GMT -5 constanz22 said:

P&G Book~ Hmmm, I'm confused now. I sent away for the one that you needed to spend like $50 in Covergirl/Olay/etc AND I filled out the info for the one through Facebook. I received one a couple of weeks ago. I was assuming that was the first one, because I sent that rebate in way before the Facebook one. But, the first set of Q's in the book expired 2/28! I don't think I used but one. I'm a little disappointed if the FB one is the same book and 1/3 of the coupons are already expired by the time we get it...

Yep, that will be the one and yes 1/3 of the coupons will be expired. I think they did not get as many responses to the send in $50 worth of receipts as they expected and had a ton of coupon booklet just sitting around, so they offered them up on Facebook. Even if only 2/3 of the booklet's coupons have expired, some are better Qs that we will ever get from the P&G Brand Saver and they were free so I can't really complain about that.

[dragonfly7]

Thank you for the new handbook!

[mizbear]

I am going to have to start buying buying real groceries again... I am down to all brussels sprouts, spinach and pasta in my stockpile!

[dancinmama]

Mar 2, 2011 11:33:27 GMT -5 jandjrake said:

Do most of you have a "price book" so that you know what the rock bottom price is? I know the lowest price for some of the items that I buy frequently but on other items I have no idea. SO I am not always sure ift he "sale price" is a good price.

jandjrake: A lot of us start out making a price book, but after a while find that it is no longer needed. Right now, my rock bottom price for many non-food items is FREE due to my stockpiles. If I have (10) bottles of shampoo which will last me quite a while, why pay ANYTHING for it? I just wait until I can get it for free and then add that to my stockpile.

Food items are a little trickier. I bought the Ronzoni Garden Delights pasta at WalMart for $.08/box (after tearpad Q) and thought that was a pretty good price. The very next week, Nob Hill had it FREE after Q (from the inserts). It was all good though because the tearpad Qs had expired by that time.

So start a price book, especially for the food items that your family consumes regularly and focus on stockpiling those when they are at rock bottom price and you have Qs. If one of your stores has a KILLER SALE on something you use all the time, post a HOUND ALERT here and someone may be able to help you out with extra Qs.

[dancinmama]

Mar 2, 2011 12:28:20 GMT -5 @dragonfly7 said:

Thank you for the new handbook!

dragonfly: You're welcome. I just need to kick myself in the butt every once in a while and read through it so that I can update it with any changes that have occurred (primarily in the rewards programs at the major drug chains).

If you have any suggestions on information that you feel would be beneficial that is not included or anything that seems in any way unclear, please PM me and let me know. I am always willing to improve it if it will help someone.

[dancinmama]

murphath: I was just reading through the handbook and noticed that I still have lbmoore as the contact for the coupon exchange. I am thinking that I should change that to you. Do you agree and if so, what email addy do you want me to put in the doc?

[jdnstl]

Mar 2, 2011 12:41:10 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

murphath: I was just reading through the handbook and noticed that I still have lbmoore as the contact for the coupon exchange. I am thinking that I should change that to you. Do you agree and if so, what email addy do you want me to put in the doc?

dancin - lbmoore still does the coupon exchange wishlist. murpath has the list of names & addies.

[dancinmama]

Mar 2, 2011 12:45:31 GMT -5 jdnstl said:

Mar 2, 2011 12:41:10 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

murphath: I was just reading through the handbook and noticed that I still have lbmoore as the contact for the coupon exchange. I am thinking that I should change that to you. Do you agree and if so, what email addy do you want me to put in the doc?

dancin - lbmoore still does the coupon exchange wishlist. murpath has the list of names & addies.

Okay, so lbmoore must be referring newbies to murphath to get on the HOUND LIST (the one that has emails and addies). And I keep forgetting that we now have a PM feature that allows us to exchange addies too.

[jandjrake]

Can i please get added to the coupon exchange list and the list of names and addresses. I set up a gmail account and my address is jandjrake at gmail. I am not sure what other info is needed though?

Thanks so much

[hopetoberich]

My deal today was
PF Eye Booster 2in1 (TMF) $10.95
John Frieda root awakening 50% off = $3.49 -$2 MQ
Dawn $1 -20c MQ
Creme Eggs x2 BOGO 88c
Total was $15
-$3 for taking a survey, used the rest in UP's & paid 62cents oop.
I wanted to use the $3 survey and change some ups into cash via the rebate.
I ran into trouble as my tax came off and i was negitive $ and i had to add the dawn as she had already scanned my $2 UP, and once its scanned you lose it i think.
Anyway hope the rebate comes soon.
There were no $2.99 Gain that i had planned on getting so i ended up with this order on the fly.

[leanna]

My goal for this month is to spend less OOP.

Years ago, I read the Tightwad Gazette, and made a price book. After awhile, I didn't even need the price book anymore, because most costs I could just keep in my head.

So, I've been pretty frugal for many years. But, it was only back in December that I discovered there were on-line coupons too
and the various couponing blogs. I can't believe I didn't know about all this - I'm a total techie, so it's not like I'm computer averse. But I'm more techie in terms of computer programs, and hadn't realized there was a whole on-line coupon world!

And, now, I have to confess that I kind of made a rookie mistake, that I'm a bit embarrassed about.


In my excitement over all the online coupons, I kind of went crazy. Now, because I know what a good price is, I don't feel I overpaid for anything. Buuuuuuuut - I now have an entire cabinet full of shampoo & conditioner that I didn't need to buy all at once. I did get a LOT of it for free, thanks to P&G's rebate back then. But still...I feel embarrassed about my acting like there would be no other coupons and deals that good ever again.

So, I ended up with my spending being no different than normal, but I got a heck of a lot of goods for it.

So, now, to improve, I want to focus on spending less oop this month & the upcoming months.

I can't tell you how embarrassed I am that I am even confessing this to you all. I am 40 years old, have been using coupons since very young (teenager, maybe even younger.) I've always been very frugal and I'm not a shopaholic at all. Or at least, wasn't ever previously in my life -lol.

[alphayankee]

DH thinks I've corrupted DS. He needed more kids' mouthwash, so I did the so-so deal at CVS a couple of weeks ago. I had just dumped my bags in the garage when I came home and didn't get anything put away. The next morning, DS scolded me, saying (whiny voice), "Mommy, you were supposed to get me more mouthwash when you went couponing." When I showed him the six bottles I had in the garage, he perked up and told me he loved coupons. DH was mortified (he's not a big fan of my hobby).

[AJ CouponGG]

Mar 2, 2011 11:31:57 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

And the P&G booklets were a rebate offer then P&G offered the books up on FACEBOOK. I was able to get 2 from FB, one for me and for DH.

ooty: Did you get the P&G booklets both ways: sending in $50 worth of receipts AND through Facebook? I did sent in receipts to get them and then saw the offer on Facebook, so I requested them there too. I got the "rebate" ones, but have not received the Facebook ones yet, have you? There is a Q in there that I am DESPERATE to get my hands on.

P&G booklet-I got a very thick booklet in the mail (about 3 days after submitting request in large squishy envelope). A booklet that has Jan/Feb; March/April; and May/June versions of same high dollar coupons. (At least high dollar in my area compared to normal P&G). I got it by going to P&Gtryit.com to get it. My friend just submitted request Thursday when I told her about it and she got one in today's mail, same booklet I did.

[alphayankee]

Mar 2, 2011 15:59:30 GMT -5 leanna said:

My goal for this month is to spend less OOP.

Years ago, I read the Tightwad Gazette, and made a price book. After awhile, I didn't even need the price book anymore, because most costs I could just keep in my head.

So, I've been pretty frugal for many years. But, it was only back in December that I discovered there were on-line coupons too
and the various couponing blogs. I can't believe I didn't know about all this - I'm a total techie, so it's not like I'm computer averse. But I'm more techie in terms of computer programs, and hadn't realized there was a whole on-line coupon world!

And, now, I have to confess that I kind of made a rookie mistake, that I'm a bit embarrassed about.


In my excitement over all the online coupons, I kind of went crazy. Now, because I know what a good price is, I don't feel I overpaid for anything. Buuuuuuuut - I now have an entire cabinet full of shampoo & conditioner that I didn't need to buy all at once. I did get a LOT of it for free, thanks to P&G's rebate back then. But still...I feel embarrassed about my acting like there would be no other coupons and deals that good ever again.

So, I ended up with my spending being no different than normal, but I got a heck of a lot of goods for it.

So, now, to improve, I want to focus on spending less oop this month & the upcoming months.

I can't tell you how embarrassed I am that I am even confessing this to you all. I am 40 years old, have been using coupons since very young (teenager, maybe even younger.) I've always been very frugal and I'm not a shopaholic at all. Or at least, wasn't ever previously in my life -lol.

Yours is a very common experience to those that are new to stockpiling and couponing. I ended up spending MORE than normal in my first few months. My downfall was clearanced Softsoap bodywash at Target. Even after coupons, I ended up paying over $1 per bottle (for a ridiculous number of bottles). I only ever ended up using one of the bottles (I preferred other brands) and unloaded them on friends and family. Within a few weeks, I found that I could get much better brands for free or better.

I also had awful "stockpile envy," where I would see pictures of peoples stockpiles of laundry detergent, tissues, TP, PT, etc. I found that I could get toothpaste, body wash, shampoo, and razors for free pretty much every week or so, but the other stuff was not as cheap so frequently. So I just stuck it out and bought the bare minimum of some stuff until an awesome deal came along, then I blew it up. I remember running out of tissues and bought a box here and there to tide us over. Then, Kroger had a fabulous mega sale that included Kleenex. My friends on this board helped me out, and I was able to stockpile 50 boxes or so for very little OOP. By posting a hound alert, I was able to get coupons that were better values than the ones in my area, making my deal that much better.

[dancinmama]

Mar 2, 2011 16:06:03 GMT -5 AJ CouponGG said:

Mar 2, 2011 11:31:57 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

And the P&G booklets were a rebate offer then P&G offered the books up on FACEBOOK. I was able to get 2 from FB, one for me and for DH.

ooty: Did you get the P&G booklets both ways: sending in $50 worth of receipts AND through Facebook? I did sent in receipts to get them and then saw the offer on Facebook, so I requested them there too. I got the "rebate" ones, but have not received the Facebook ones yet, have you? There is a Q in there that I am DESPERATE to get my hands on.

P&G booklet-I got a very thick booklet in the mail (about 3 days after submitting request in large squishy envelope). A booklet that has Jan/Feb; March/April; and May/June versions of same high dollar coupons. (At least high dollar in my area compared to normal P&G). I got it by going to P&Gtryit.com to get it. My friend just submitted request Thursday when I told her about it and she got one in today's mail, same booklet I did.

I tried and it said "Server Not Found".

EDIT: It's www.pgtryit.com. It takes you to the Everyday Solutions page, but I saw nowhere to request the coupon booklet.