Fab Finds....

I'm still on a high from the Con Agra sale a couple of weeks ago. I was just talking to my brother about how it took 6 trips to get everything home from the store...now THAT was an amazing deal!! It's hard to live those kind of sales down because nothing seems like a good deal after that. Albertsons' put the Con Agra products like Chef Boyardee and Healthy Choice on sale last week at 80 cents a can. Who wants to buy it at that price anymore? 56cents for 12 cans still sends shivers down my spine :)

There's a couple of great finds at Safeway this week. On the back page where the store coupons are, they have a couple of things that add up to a great idea. The Betty Crocker fruit snacks are 99cents a box. If you layer coupons on that--stock-up worthy for those little ones. And with Halloween coming, it's a cheap way to satisfy those little trick-or-treaters, too. There are some coupons floating out there for $1 off Frito Lay multi-packs. That makes the 22ct pack at $4.49 a pretty good deal. That beats Costco any day on the per bag price!

I don't need spaghetti sauce. I don't, I don't, I don't. But Ragu is on sale $5 for 4 jars. That's $1.25 each. If you get some of the 50 cent off coupons from ebay or some other coupon sources...that makes them 75 cents a jar. AND...I could use some of the Ragu Alfredo sauce that is available on the same sale. Gotta love the flexibility in merchandising similar products at the same time.

Safeway has Red and Golden delicious apples for 58 cents a pound. Another hot buy is the Sara Lee bread and milk combo. I just ordered coupons from ebay that are save $1 on milk when you buy 1 loaf of the Sara Lee Soft & Smooth bread--which is $1 a loaf when you buy 5 of them. Milk is $1.99 a gallon--so you can get a loaf of yummy bread and a gallon of milk for $1.99. We go through a lot of milk, so the bread will be a free bonus for what I'm already having to buy. There are also coupons for the bread (55cents off) if you can snag some of those...then it's a tremendous deal. Just remember--are you allowed to place ONE coupon for every ONE item. The coupon for the bread would satisfy the bread. The second coupon is actually for the milk--so don't fall into the trap that implies that you are "doubling" coupons on one product...you're not!

Safeway had a deal going on that is a combination sale for Coca-Cola 12-packs and Nabisco crackers. When you buy 2 twelve-packs, you get an additional 2 twelve-packs and 2 boxes of Nabisco crackers for free. OK. Where to start? If you went to http://www.ebay.com/, you could get coupons that were for $2 off every set of a Coca-Cola 12-pack and Nabisco cracker. And you are allowed to apply coupons to the supposedly "free" items, because there is still a positive balance at the register, even when you only are "technically" paying for the original 2 twelve-packs. So here's how the transaction would work: Buy 2 Coke products at a total price of $13.98. Get 2 more free and 2 boxes of crackers. Buy 2 additional boxes of crackers at $2 a box for a purchase price of $17.98 before sin taxes. Then you are able to lay 4 of those $2 off coupons on the transaction, saving $8!! That brings the total down to $9.98+tax for 4 cases of pop and 4 boxes of crackers. Not too shabby. If you did the sale as the ad outlines with 4 cases of soda and the 2 crackers, you'd only be able to use set of the $2 off coupons...and the results are the same at $9.98+tax--but you only get 2 boxes of crackers. I think that the best strategy would be to use 4 coupons and get 2 extra boxes and pay the same. This is just an example of how working through a sales' deal might actual result in a pretty good find on other items that are so-called "free".

Happy hunting for the deals this week. Just remember that the last 4 months of the years get the most manufacturer's coupons and the baking sales and bulk sales' events are coming up with the Holiday season. Time to match the coupons up with the sales' items that don't usually go on sale and make sure that you get enough to get you through till the next sale. Remember that canned goods are good for at least 1-3 years out. Check all expiry dates on products. Tip: Products that are in the front of the shelf usually have the oldest dates.

There's a great deal going on with McCormick Salt and Pepper seasonings at Fred Meyer and other Kroger owned stores (Smith's, QFC, etc). They are on sale this week for 10/$10; normally $2.69 a bottle. These are the grinder bottles with the sea salts, pepper berries, garlic and seasoning combos, etc. A buck's an so-so price, but you wouldn't go crazy or anything, right? But there's a Catalina for them as well. When you buy them in combinations of 3, you get a $3 OYNO Catalina that prints. Did you do the math yet? $1 a bottle x 3 bottles=$3.00. Give them the Catalina coupon and they are free. The totally gratifying sense of "YES! FREE?! YES!" comes when you get another Catalina at the end of the free transaction. So--needless to say, I'm the proud owner of some yummy peppers, sea salts, and herbal blends. I almost want to drive around eastern Washington to buy some more...because the cutest idea came to me as I was purchasing my small grundle today. Wouldn't they be darling with a cute little note attached that said "Seasonings Greetings!" for quick, (ultra-cheap) neighbor, teacher, and all-around easy holiday gift? Man!! I love that kind of find!!

SWEET Deal!!

Last night was an unbelievable night. I got lucky...literally.I didn't get to the store till 11pm. I had a raincheck for the super nice boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $1.99 a pound (and needed 25lbs worth for today's cooking group). I took my own advice and decided to take advantage of the Kellogg's Catalina deal while I was there. It pays to carry your coupons on you in an envelope in your purse because I hadn't planned on power-shopping at midnight with the nightlife of Spokane as my only company in the store. I did enjoy the check-out experience with no one staring at me while I mass-produced my savings right down to $21.51 for everything you see in the picture. **And I still had a $3 OYNO coupon for the next go around....

So what did I get? I bought 40 boxes of cereal (all free), 3 pounds of Fuji apples and bananas, 2 gallons of milk, 2 boxes of the most amazing mint Oreo cookies, AND 25 pounds of premium chicken breasts. It was such a serotonin rush, that I literally hauled my groceries in and went to find the camera at 1am. [This Catalina deal is good at Safeway through today--so print your coupons from the websites I added on 5/12 and get on down to the store!!]

The kids think we have a cereal fairy that regularly visits our house.. It comes in the middle of the night and leaves all kinds of cereal on the kitchen table. The myth is quickly burst in the morning when the queen of the fairies tells the kids that all of it needs to go downstairs to the food room. They turn into ogres and beasts--but are easily swayed with the promise they can keep a couple of boxes upstairs.

FREE cereal at SaFeWaY!!

You gotta go check out www.safeway.com or look at the ads from the Wednesday circulars!
Safeway has a Catalina deal running on Kelloggs' cereal through this Friday (5/14). I would normally say BUY YOUR COUPONS now, but as there is no time till the end of the deal to get them by Friday, you must be creative--and it's possible. The Catalina deal is separate from the store deal. The Catalina is a print-out at the end of your transaction for the products you buy. For Kellogg's cereals it is printint till Friday, 5/14 at Safeway, and has different expirations for different chains. The coupon will be for--buy 3 boxes of cereal =$2 OYNO, buy 4=get $4 OYNO, and buy 5=$4 OYNO. Again, this is a promotional that is happening outside of the stores sale price and coupons.

So in the ad today there are 3 price points on cereal--$2 a box--Kellogg's 12oz Corn Flakes, Quaker Captain Crunch cereals, and Life. $2.50 on most General Mills, variety of Kellogg's and Quaker products not included in the $2 price; and $3 on you Kashi, Post Honey Bunches of Oats, oddball flavors of General Mills' cereals. So, buy 4--you get the $4 off automatically, then put coupons on it, and you still get the catalina OYNO at the end of the transaction. Score!!

There are several places that you can go to print your coupons for the Kellogg's' cereal.
Try www.coupons.com, www.redplum.com, www.snackpicks.com, www.kelloggs.com to start. You are allowed 2 prints per computer. If you have more than one computer, you're set!

You can get Kellogg's Corn Flakes (12oz box) for -.25 cents a box. I always say that things that a free taste better. I don't know if you're kids will think that, but at least it won't be painful to eat.

Cake, anyone?

Safeway has a great deal on Betty Crocker products this week. For every two products you buy, you get three free. Essentially, this is a Buy 5 for $5 deal--and like with most creative advertising, you have to decipher the real price on your own. For example, Betty Crocker cookie pouches (yum...we love their Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies) are $2.49. Holy Expensive, Bat Man! But when you buy 2, that's only $4.98 and you get three more packages for free. Thus, the price should really read FIVE for $4.98. Now put coupons on all the products. Smart Source put out 40cent coupons for this product on March 28th. You can look around your favorite couponing websites to see if you could print that coupon for free or do what I do....go to ebay and do a buy it now search for the coupons and buy them in a bundle of 20. Theoretically, I would buy 20 (one for every coupon) it four groups of 5. Each transaction could cost $2.98 for 5 pouches. That's 59cents a pouch. Somewhat of a stellar deal.

The other fabulous deal at Safeway this week is the drink selections for $2.49. When you buy 5, you save $5--making them $1.49. The 10pk Capri Suns are included in this deal and there is a $1 off coupon per box available, making the boxes 49 cents. I bought 3 bundles of 20 last night on ebay. Guess who's stocking up on drinks for school lunches and summer picnics?

There's some weeks that you look at the ads and there seems to be only a couple of things that are truly tremendous. That's OK. If it's free, get a years' supply. If it's nearly free, still consider a 3 month supply. If you are keeping the grocery journal and watching cycles in the things you are buying, you'll notice if it's time to buy that 3 months' worth or not. I got such a stellar deal on Capri Suns back in August that I didn't have to buy juices for lunches for almost 7 months. And I have you know that I'm shelling out 16-20 homemade lunchs per week. So--it's stock time at our house to get me to the next nearly free sale (probably in August).

Albertsons' is running their ConAgra deal from a couple of weeks ago, again. When you buy $20 in Hunts' products, you get $5 OYNO. Coupons, coupons, coupons. That's what makes these kind of deals so cost-effective. Need spaghetti sauce, tomatoes, pudding? Now's the time to look at the prices and what you can work out. Just remember that those tomatoes are normally $1.29 a can on sale for 75cents. Then when you buy it in $20 increments, you get the $5 OYNO back. When you buy 28 cans for $21 (before the $5 catalina kick-back), each can of tomatoes is 75 cents. With the $5 off that price, the cost of the tomatoes drops to 52 cents a can. Is there a coupon for Hunts tomatoes? Add that and the price keeps dropping. All in all--Fabulous deal. And when planning your purchase strategy (3 month supplies, and all)--just remember that these are canned goods that most likely have expirations in 2012. Stock up. It's just money in the bank.

Stellar deals.....Toilet Paper

I know that everyone is checking out the Quaker sale at Albertsons' and the coupon is included in the ad--which is a bonus deal, making each box $1. (I didn't tout this sale too much because I just stocked up on major Quaker deals last month at 40 cents a box....but a $1 a box is a great deal for any "new" coupon shoppers or for those who don't stock up like I do to carry over till the next mega sale). In reference to the coupon, Albertsons' printed it--but it's a manufacturer's coupon, so it is usable at any store (bonus tip for savvy shoppers). **There's 2 more days left in this week's grocery ads and the one that comes to mind that is pretty awesome if the Toilet Paper at Safeway. It's on a Procter and Gamble sale of when you buy $25 in P&G products, you get $10 back towards your next purchase. I LOVE these kind of deals because it's instant savings before coupon discounts. The trick is to get each transaction as close to the $25 amount as possible because even if you spend $40--you still only get $10 back. So do TWO transactions of $25 each and with $10 back on each transaction--you only spend a total of $30 before the coupons come off.....LOVE IT!!

So--going back to the toilet paper. Charmin ultra soft 12 double roll packs are $7.99 a pack. Three packages are $23.97...you need another product that is very close to $1 (try dish soap, that kind of thing), to make a total close to $25. Pay for it--minus off any coupons from the paper, internet, etc., and at the end of the transaction you get the $10 print-out. Do the exact same thing again, but this time you give them the $10 print-out for additional savings and you still get another one at the end of the transaction. Time to stock up on necessary commodities this week. And WHO doesn't need this kind of stuff in your arsenal?