2016 Grocery Challenge Thread

[FreeSalsa]

I used gcs from Christmas to get garden supplies. A friend gave me six zucchini plants and I gave him a volunteer tomato plant, a sprouted potato for planting, a green onion and a green garlic I dug up.  There's another voulnteer tomato that already has a big tomato growing on it.  The weather has been so up and down, I'm not sure what to expect from my plants.

Kroger FridayFreebies can be downloaded this time until today, i think. This week is the awesome bread.  Alfredo Artesano or something.  Squishy white bread but it's delicious.

DH has discovered kefir and he's been making and drinking that for his stomach problems instead of taking Align, which is $30 a pop, saves us a lot of money.  It's made such a difference for him, he feels so much better.  I saw a video and this woman said she's seen it help with diabetes, weight loss, food allergies, digestive issues, mood elevation, and more.  He's also been eating other fermented foods like natto and kimchi. 

[marvholly]

Thought I blew them! One of my regular stores had whole chicken for 0.89 last week but the birds were HUGE so I didn’t buy. Different store has them this week for 0.69. I’ll try again. Another store had 24 oz cottage cheese for $2.00 but I didn’t get there. Same store has it for $1.88 this week PLUS cans of tuna for 0.50 ea. MAJOR stock up price.

[FreeSalsa]

Anybody still here??

[Deleted]

Aug 1, 2016 20:18:54 GMT -5 FreeSalsa said:

Anybody still here??

I am. I just have been taking a break from couponing, etc. and trying to eat up some of the food in the pantry/freezer.

I did go to Publix today.  We like their ButterBall smoked sausage (turkey), which was on sale for $2.50 each.  Publix had a coupon that I could combine with a manufacturer's coupon so I got them for $1.00 a package.  I am making red beans and rice right now.

Seedless grapes were also "cheap" this week . . . $1.99 a pound.  That maybe expensive to you guys, but it is pretty much Walmart or Publix here.  There is a Sprouts, but I was so disappointed when I went there that I didn't go back.

[FreeSalsa]

I'm glad we're still here!  I thought maybe everyone had left.  It seems the deals just aren't out there anymore, at least not nationally.

I am saving up my Swagbucks to get a CVS gift card for the Black Friday sales.  I'll get a Visa Gift Card from SB too to buy a Rite Aid card.  I'm also going to turn in my MyPoints for a Wags card.  We sometimes order pizza so I've bought GCs on SB/MyGiftCards Plus to get the extra points from that.  And I've been using my credit card to buy whatever the featured thing is that quarter to get 5% cash back.

Today I will try Ralphs/kroger for the Colgate $1 sale.  I'm pretty sure I have some IPs somewhere and I got my aunt's newspaper inserts one week and I think there was one in there.  That should make it 50c or free.

I'll head to Super King tomorrow for Charmin 12-pk for $3.99 - $1 IP.  I'll also head to Dollar Tree for Hormel pepperoni, $1 - $1/2 = 50c ea.  That will get me back at least 80 SB.

Keep shopping everybody!!!  Miss you, Ladies!

[saveinla]

Hey Freesalsa,

I am still here, but am not doing too many deals. I stock up when stuff go on clearance now and my stockpile is still healthy, so don't feel the need to chase the deals.

I got brawny and Bounty paper towels at RA 2 weeks ago at 75% off, so I am all stocked up now. I also do some free or cheap deals at kmart and sears to buy stuff we need.

I see murphath posting in the WIRR thread.  marvholly hasn't come back after she fell down and had shoulder surgery. No word from any of the other people that used to post. I am currently using all my SB points to get GCs to Amazon, since we buy the textbooks from there, but after next year, I can use them to get Chevron GCs.

[murphath]

Hi All!  
I still check the boards every now and then.  I'm always looking for good deals, too, and have actually started watching you tube videos that outline the various scenarios at the drug stores.  Shows that people are still making it work.  I'll do them from time to time when my stock is getting low.  Of course, as saveinla knows, the prices here in California are a bit higher than what folks are quoting in the videos, but good deals can still be had.  RA is still doing their promo to get 2000 pts. (worth $20) wyb $50 of certain products.  I started with $20 in pts. and ended with $20 in pts. so got a bunch of stuff for free, or close to it.

If interested, you should check out the videos.  I particularly like couponingwithtoni.  There's another gal that breaks down the deals for newbies, transaction by transaction.  Sometimes that's what my brain needs!

Have to go pack: leaving for Ireland tomorrow!  Imagine more Murphs in Ireland.

[FreeSalsa]

Is anyone getting ready for BF?  I ordered my CVS GC from Swagbucks.  I have to check the deals list.

[saveinla]

Nov 15, 2016 21:27:23 GMT -5 FreeSalsa said:

Is anyone getting ready for BF?  I ordered my CVS GC from Swagbucks.  I have to check the deals list.

I have not gone to CVS in a while for BF. I will shop at RA and have my list of things to get - mostly GCs and a few things.

[FreeSalsa]

It looks like there are two lists for CVS again, one Sun=Wed and one Thu=Sun.  The second one looks better to me.  I'll have to drag DH with me so we can get extras of everything.  I gotta say, my heart is not in the coupon game anymore, but I'm just about out of everything so I'll try to keep it up.  

[Opti]

I had a challenge meeting the $10 purchase today at the grocery store. I went because they had grass fed beef sirloin roast / steaks on sale for $2.99/lb. with a $10 purchase versus the usual $4.99lb. price. Great deal, but I got snagged by another Fri/Sat deal which couldn't be used as part of the $10 purchase.   The good news is once the $10 threshold was reached, you could buy multiple black Fri/Sat grocery deals.

I got 6.4 oz. of Crest toothpaste on the deal I think for $0.88,

the beef, and I'm debating on the three pkgs. of oreos I got originally to meet the $10 purchase.

$1.77 each is a great deal, but not sure how I feel about spending so much on cookies and having so many in my place at one time.

If you have a ShopRite nearby, go. There seems to be a bunch of deals that end today.

Now to make lunch. That took longer than expected after work! (I did use a $1 coupon off of two pkgs. of McCain fries which were 2 for $5, so $4 net. )

[murphath]

Been a few months since I've checked this sight.  So much slower than the old days.  But then couponing isn't the same either.

I did do the CVS Black Friday deals and have been "rolling" those EB's.  Rite Aid also had a good deal on Disney or Southwest Airlines gift cards: buy $100 get $15 in Plenti points. You can do the deal 2 times. Since I am going with  3 of my sisters-in-law to Disneyland this month, I went and bought 4 Disney cards (my husband has a Plenti card, too, so I used it for the additional two).  My 2 day park hopper will cost $235 so I figured this was a good deal.  I'm giving one of the $100 gc's to the SIL who is hosting this shindig--she has a Disney timeshare.  It's the least I could do since we're staying at the California Grand villas for free. We're also having dinner one night at Club 33.  She has a friend that is a member and can get us in as guests.  Needless to say, the $400 in gift cards will go fast!   The $60 in plenti points will soften the blow and I can make those work for me well into 2017.

Hope you are all well.  Happy holidays!

[FreeSalsa]

Hi Murph!  Good to see you!  You did get a good deal.  $60 in return for something you need anyway is great.

OPT, you also got a great deal on the grass fed beef.

I only got the free toothpaste at RA.  I haven't done the Plenti points yet.  I guess I still don't have a grasp on how it works, even though it's been explained to me several times.   : )   I had a Home Depot gift card that I used to buy something and instead of leaving the balance on the card, she cashed out the whole card and gave me the change.  So I used that cash to buy the tp at RA.

I was rather excited about the BF deals at CVS, but I totally blew it.  In previous years, I was able to go later and still find the sale items, but then I lived/worked near 6 stores.  Now I live near 1 store and didn't go to work that week, so since I waited until Saturday to go, almost everything was sold out.  I got toothpaste, GG veggies, gum, candy bar, that was about it.  I really wanted the razors and batteries, and all the other stuff.  Oh well.  My bad.

I'm busier than ever now, since I got promoted at work.  It's a little more money but little time to spend it and little energy left to look for deals.  It's ok, it's not forever.  Things always change eventually.

Hope you are all well, Happy Holidays!!

ETA:  I realize that the above sounds like kind of a bummer, but I really am doing rather well.  Just not focusing as much on the deals anymore.  : )

[saveinla]

I too did the Gap GC and Home Depot GC deals at RA and used the points to order stuff that never goes on sale. I ordered online and got  30% off with the Black Friday code with free shipping which was great.

[Opti]

If someone understands Plenti points I'd be interested in the explanation as well. When I went to Rite Aid for a lipstick deal on Black Saturday,  the cashier said my card was old and I signed up for the new Plenti points one. I got two Revlon lipsticks for $2.99 each, regularly $4.99 at the beauty discount store and apparently $8.99! regularly at that Rite Aid. Still debating on a Revlon eye shadow quad I picked up as well. It was $4.20 which is slightly under my cost with coupon at the beauty discount store. I got the violet quad which is more subtle and less colorful than I expected.

[dancinmama]

Geez, I can't remember the last time I logged in here.....mostly because I haven't been couponing.  We all had so much fun on here way back when.  I remember when 3 pages of posts in a day was quite common.  LOL

Even though I stopped at the end of 2012, my stockpiles are still holding up quite well - soap products, personal hygiene products, razors, paper products, zip-locks and foil, etc. (in other words, non-perishables). I haven't bought any in 4 years and probably won't for at least another 4 or 5.  All that stockpiling really paid off and most everything has lasted longer than I had anticipated.  Even the Aveeno body lotion that I stockpiled at the end of 2012 is still as good as new - it has not broken down at all.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and find many ways to save money in the new year!!

[Value Buy]

Dec 27, 2016 17:53:43 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

Geez, I can't remember the last time I logged in here.....mostly because I haven't been couponing.  We all had so much fun on here way back when.  I remember when 3 pages of posts in a day was quite common.  LOL

Even though I stopped at the end of 2012, my stockpiles are still holding up quite well - soap products, personal hygiene products, razors, paper products, zip-locks and foil, etc. (in other words, non-perishables). I haven't bought any in 4 years and probably won't for at least another 4 or 5.  All that stockpiling really paid off and most everything has lasted longer than I had anticipated.  Even the Aveeno body lotion that I stockpiled at the end of 2012 is still as good as new - it has not broken down at all.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and find many ways to save money in the new year!!

Four years and your not out of stock?
I salute you!

[murphath]

Nice to hear from Dancinmama again!  I might be competition for her though--DS and I did a dance to "Turn Down For What" as our mother/son dance at his wedding.  I must say it brought the house down, LOL!

Onto the Plenti Point explanation:

Plenti Points are really the same thing as EB's or Register Rewards (CVS/Walgreens) but instead of you getting a piece of paper, the rewards are sent to your Plenti card account.  You have to have atleast 200 points in the account in order to redeem them on a transaction.  They cannot be used to purchase milk and/or alcohol.  When you are making a purchase, the credit card reader will automatically ask if you want to use your Plenti Points on the purchase.  This prompt will come up whether you have any Plenti Points or not.  The nice thing about Plenti Points is that they will also pay the tax, i.e. you make a purchase of $10 and total with tax is $10.50.  You have 12000 Plenti Points in your account.  Your account will be deducted 10500 Plenti Points, leaving you with a balance of 1500.  If your transaction also earns more plenti points, those should appear on your receipt as "earned".  They cannot be used until the next day.

Plenti also has other merchant partners (Macys, Exxon, etc) and if you have their credit cards, you can link the accounts.  Thus, if you buy something at Macy's that earns points, they will "deposited" into your Plenti account.  You can use them at Macy's, Rite Aid, etc. as long as the accounts are linked.

I have neither a Macy's card nor Exxon so I have no linked accounts.  My SIL has linked her Macy's card (Macys is her second home, I think) and actually gets most of and redeems most of her plenti points there.

I hope the above helps you out

[Opti]

Thanks murpath! Wow, Dancin no longer couponing.

My coupons are mostly for groceries and a few beauty items here and there. Walgreens has changed so much the only thing I do is get things on special there like toilet paper or a can of salmon.

[dancinmama]

I do it when I can get the most bang for my buck with regards to my time and effort.   This is my second hiatus.   I knew things would change as soon as Extreme Couponing aired so I put the pedal to the metal with regard to stockpiling.  Two years later, in 2012, the abundance of my stockpiles converged with greater restrictions and OOP so I decided it was time to hang up my scissors....once again.   I still look for good deals on food items at the Grocery Outlet and the 99 Cent Store, neither of which accepts coupons....so there you have it.

[dee27]

Although I used to coupon weekly, now I find very few coupons that we will use. Most of our meat and some vegetables come from Costco or the farmers market, and there are not coupons for these items. For the few canned goods that we use, I stock up when they are on sale, and only one of those items has coupons on a regular basis. DH cut back on cereal for breakfast, so we are letting the stockpile run its course, but cereal coupons are mostly for sugary brands and multiples. For paper goods, I stock up during the sales, and I do not always buy brand specific, but the coupons are irregular.

Kroger's does send coupons for free items or cents off based on your buying history, and these coupons are a plus even though I do the majority of my shopping at Meijer's which has better prices than Kroger's. We shop for certain items at Kroger's because of the discount perks on gasoline. Meijer's has a M-Perks program that is effective if you buy the spotlighted items during the sale promotion. We charge  most of our groceries to take advantage of the cash back from the cc. Overall, utilizing all of these incentive programs is more cost effective than cutting coupons from the newspaper or downloading them to your smart phone.

[rubyslippers]

Hi everyone!

It's good to see that others are still finding ways to save money at the stores.  Dancinmama, that is pretty impressive having a stockpile that has lasted this long.  I'm working on 2018 now and I still coupon if it benefits me.  Last year's savings were a little better than the year before but about half of what they were in the "glory days." I still do Rite Aid and Kroger. I saved 98% at Rite Aid last year and I saved a nice amount at the gas stations using fuel rewards, usually a dollar off a gallon of gas.

I started doing the cash back phone apps like Ibotta, Checkout 51 and Mobi and enjoyed having checks sent to me for things I use especially when there are rebates for bread, milk, eggs and produce.  I put that money aside for Christmas.  I have also been stopping in at Aldi more often.  Last week I got eggs for $.49 and milk for $1.19. 

I hope everyone has a successful new year of saving.  I have learned so much from all of you over the years and even if couponing dries up, the skills learned have helped me save in other ways.  Good luck in 2017!

[suziq38]

Who is still here?
I think it is great that this forum is still alive and well!

Happy New Year to all.
My name is Suzi Q, and I was the first person to be challenged to save more on my groceries. I was actively posting for about 5 years, starting in about 2014 or so. We were first on the MSN "Women In Red" message board site. Once that folded, we go on at Proboards. It is nice to see that you are still "talking" about groceries.

I used to save a lot on groceries when I had two adult kids in college. I went way into it, and got "addicted" to saving. Back then I spent more time at the stores, and it was my #1 "hobby!"
I miss it sometimes, but I had health issues and then got a great job. I didn't have the time to find the good deals as much.  Besides, I still have a lot of free stuff still in my garage, LOL. 
Now that there are just the two of us, I don't have to get as much free and really cheap stuff. 

Hugs to all of you!

[Jaguar]

Okay this thread will be locked now and a new one started.


New Thread Started - ymam.proboards.com/thread/51657/2017-grocery-challenge-thread