Backwards part 2

It drives me so crazy when I run out of something that I absolutely need, and I can’t find a coupon or a deal. Cat litter. Yeah, not negotiable. If you’re out, that’s just it. So, the day after I made an emergency litter run (that sounds creepy) to Market Basket, I noticed a decent deal on Arm & Hammer (2) 14 lb. boxes for $12 at Rite Aid for the following week. Grrrr. Well, I cashed in on that decent deal anyway, and turned it into a great deal. It goes like this.

My daughter is coming down with a cold ALREADY!!

First transaction:

Zicam, (usually $12.99) on sale at Rite Aid for $8.99. - Used $2Q and $1 previous reward. Gained $4 in Up+ Rewards. Total OOP =$5.99

Second transaction:

Max Freeze Pain Relief, sale $6.99, and 2 Rite Aid 8oz. hand sanitizer sale $1ea. All had equal rewards. - Used $4 in rewards. Total OOP was $4.99. Earned $8.99 in rewards.

Third Transaction:

(2) 14 lb. boxes Arm & Hammer Cat Litter, sale $12. - After $3 in coupons ($1.50 ea.) and $8.99 in previous rewards, I paid one penny. And I have $2 in new rewards.

The moral is, my total OOP was $10.99. That is $1 less than the sale price of the cat litter and everything else was FREE!! That is well over $20 in free stuff for the cat litter I needed anyway, and Jacqueline can have some top notch Zicam instead of “low budget taste like garbage whatever.” I love couponing.

Coupon Addicts

Since I have been couponing, I admit, I have a bit of a stockpile of certain things. For those of you who think couponing to this extreme leads to hoarding, I won’t even argue with you. Some people do hoard. They are not satisfied until they can get 20 units of a certain product for next to nothing. That is overkill for sure, and selfish in my humble opinion. There is a line between the thrill of getting a few things free, and being outright addicted to it. This is where I think that line is drawn. Ask yourself...

Do you find it easier to be altruistic when you have more than you need, or do you want to keep it all for yourself and accumulate more? If you have more than 10 of any given non-grocery product, do you make a donation box to give to the church? Do you get upset an excursion does not go your way? In other words, if you only save 75% percent vs. 90% retail, is your day ruined?

Some of you newbies may be laughing. No joke, there are those that get really upset when a store changes their coupon policy. I found myself becoming one of them. It is unattractive. Then I had to reflect on when I shopped differently. The amount of money I spent on almost NOTHING! It puts things into perspective. 

Market Basket best deals 8/21-8/27

Not in love with either grocery store this week, but I suppose we still have to eat. Best deals below.


*Vast array of Hood products on sale, including half gallons of milk $1.69, whipped cream $2, sour cream $1.50, Simply Smart milk $2.50, Country Creamer $.99; Mix and match the $1/2 Hood Products Q in SS


*Olde Cape Cod dressing 2/$4, use printable $1/2 Q

http://www.cainsfoods.com/cainscoupon/coupon.php

*Chicken of the sea solid white albacore- 5/$5

*Dole Fruit Bowls 4 pack 2/$4 use $.75/2 in SS

*Fage Greek yogurt 17.6oz $2.99 use $2/2 printable Q on their site

http://www.fageusa.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=SEM&utm_campaign=Yogurt&gclid=CNXaxoiS46oCFasQNAodHmNP9w

*Fresh Express Salad mix 2/$3 (still going)

*Hoffman Super Sharp Cheddar $3.59 lb (usually $4.99)

*Cantaloupes 2/$3

*Cindy’s Kitchen Seafood Marinades 9oz jar $2

*Pure Protein bars 7 pack  $5.99 Use $1 email Q on their site

http://www.pureprotein.net/pages/newslettersignup.aspx

*P.S. Bagel Bites pizza mini's 2/$3 (coupon at desk for free pack WYB 2)

Diapers

Many people have a hard time finding good deals on diapers. Some choose to buy generic, while others buy in bulk to get a lower price per unit. The problem with buying in bulk is that if and WHEN your baby has a growth spurt, you may likely end up with a half case of diapers that just don’t fit properly. This is where stacking manufacturers with store coupons enters the picture.

Many times, the 3 major drug stores will have Pampers or Huggies coupons on their site or in their store booklet. You can use these store coupons in conjunction with manufacturer coupons, and even better, some weeks they are also attached to rewards! This means that if you use previous rewards toward the diaper purchase, you can still use 1 manufacturer coupon, and 1 store coupon, and you will still get new rewards attached to the purchase. This can cut a diaper purchase in half!

Also, look for online specials from ‘Toys r us’ and ‘Babies r us’. If you need to shop there for a birthday, you might as well get some free diapers!

Rite Aids Best Deals 8/20-8/27

*Biorn Arnicare Gel $6.99

$6 Up+ Rewards, Use Biorn $2 email  on website = $1.01 money maker!!

http://www.arnicare.com/special-offers/

*Max Freeze Pain Relief Roll On $6.99 

$6.99 in Up+ Rewards = FREE!!

*Stopain Pain Gel $5

$5 Single Check rebate = FREE!!

*Stopain Spray or Roll On $7.99

$7 Up+ Rewards = $.99

*Samy Fat Foam Hair Dye- $8.99

$5 Up+ Rewards, use $3 Q on FB page = $.99

http://www.facebook.com/Samy

*Dryel Starter Kit - $5.99

$2 Up+ Rewards, use $2 Printable Q = $1.99

http://dryel.com/fileadmin/coupons/Dryel_2OffCoupon_12-31-11.pdf

*Arm & Hammer Cat Litter 14 lbs. 2/$12

$2 Up+ Rewards WYB 2, use $1.50 printable Q (print 2) = 2/$7

http://coupons2.smartsource.com/smartsource/index.jsp?Link=6VE3NNLZAZ7H2

(Check out the Rebate with Pet I.D. on the box)

*Zicam $8.99

$4 Up+ Rewards, use $2 Q, PDF file and Rite Aid $2 Q from Flu Book if you got a flu shot there = $.99 (if no flu book = $2.99, still great)

https://d3hok70xjqsuiy.cloudfront.net/assets/prod/10692/ZicamFacebookFanCoupon_1313168611.pdf

Meat and Produce and Dairy, OH MY!!

It seems when you start couponing, that most of the food items for which these coupons apply are processed foods, or items that you do not use. It also seems that it is rather difficult to save money on fresh produce, meat, and dairy. While this is often true, there are ways to cut down on the items that SHOULD be incorporated into your daily diet, rather than chemically littered lazy man meals. Here are a few suggestions.

Meat-

If you are able to shop early in the morning, or later at night, after the rush, the meat department often tags (coupons) certain items at a discount. Sometimes these discounts are as much as 50%. There is nothing wrong with buying this meat, albeit, there have been some cuts that are less than appealing. Most of the time the meat department simply has to move these products for new inventory. I paw around and have a lot of success with finding one beef product, one poultry, and one pork. I use one that night and freeze the other two. I do not do this with fish (personal choice.) But if you can score three meals worth once a week with this method, you will notice your weekly cost of dinner, shrink.

Produce-

My biggest advice to cutting your produce spending is to shop seasonally. Americans are spoiled. They want strawberries when they are out of season. Well, they are going to pay $4.99 for a 16 oz. package, that isn’t even ripe. However, there are other ways to save on produce. Some packaged bags of produce, ie. Fresh Express Salad, or Eat Smart cut vegetables go on BOGO sales. When you see this happen, go to the manufacturer sites and look for a coupon. You will be surprised at the ratio in which you can score. And if it is under $1, the coupon will likely double at Shaw’s.

Dairy-

I don’t recommend freezing much dairy (although some people do it.) It takes up too much of the freezer for it to be cost effective.  I look for cereal deals in which a certain criteria can be met to get a free gallon of milk. For example, at Shaw’s last week, General Mills sponsored a deal for a free gallon of milk on the purchase of certain cereals and Nature Valley Granola bars (4/$10.) Well, you KNOW I double couponed my 4 items down to $5.20. That means the retail value of the cereal, the bars, and the milk was approximately $15. I paid 1/3.

There are coupons for milk and other dairy items, but I rarely use them unless the sale price and coupon is less than the cost of the store brand.  However, the coupons are worth keeping, as it does happen from time to time.

I just don't have the time to clip coupons.

Many people do not want to clip coupons, or compare prices because they claim they do not have the time. But the time they spend shopping impulsively when they run out of something, is just about equivalent to the time it would take to plan the trip. Consider the price matching option. 

If you are a one-stop-shopper, it behooves you to know the price of the competition, ie. drug stores, so that you may incorporate their rewards into the sale price of a price matched item at Walmart. That’s right! On single item sales attached to rewards (for example Pro Glide razors, $10 w/ $5 in rewards) = $5 price-matched. What if you had the $4 coupon P&G puts out almost every month? That’s right!! That is how a $10 item turns into $1.

Still not convinced? Ask yourself a few questions.

If your small grocery list takes a half hour to write, but it saves you $25, is it worth it?

If your mediocre list takes an hour to write, but it saved you $50, is it worth the time?

If you have a family of 4 or more, and you go shopping once or twice a week, at the most, would you spend an hour and a half price matching to save $100 a week? I would.