My lovely friend, Nathalie, left a message to let me know that super doubles were coming up at Harris Teeter so I set about to get ready. Luckily, I had cut most of the coupons to get ready for the little class I was teaching at the library and gotten rid of all of the expired coupons recently. I was far from ready to go with no list or anything but I printed a ton of coupons. I figured that I would figure out anything else that I needed on the fly using the stores internet on my phone but my phone didn't want to hook to the internet.... got the dreaded message that I was at half my data usage between wandering around with Swagbucks still in my pocket and lack of planning so I figured my trip out the best that I could.
There was a clearance on nearly everything meat so I just tried to figure out what was a good deal and what wasn't (sadly most things ended up in my cart but I did put a few things back). I grabbed 5 packages of Oscar Mayer Protein packs which have cheese, peanuts and lunch meat in them. I usually shove them in my husband's lunch so that he has a little extra treat. They are shelf price of $1.99 and each one had a $1 meat coupon off. I had one coupon that was a $1/2 and one that was $1/3 so I paid $0.99 for all five of them.... normally I don't spend any money but I thought that if I put it $0.20 each that it was a splurge. I grabbed the Hillshire Farm package which was shelf priced at $2.99 and there was a $2.00 meat coupon and I used the $0.75 coupon that had printed so I had overage of $0.51. There were Ball Park Hot Dogs that we had never tried before but they were on sale for half price and they had $2.00 meat coupons on them so they ended up being $0.69 instead of $5.39 shelf price- without any real coupons!! I got the new Oscar Mayer Italian Seasoned Sausage which had a $2 meat coupon and I used a $1 coupon which doubled so I paid $0.99. I needed lunch meat and had zero coupons so I grabbed the turkey that had a $4.00 meat clearance on it so it was $1.99 for one pound of lunch meat. There was also two boxes of Uploaded Tacos (pictured on the left behind the pot stickers). They were shelf price of $2.99 and had a $1 meat coupon on them but I think that my customer service person rang one up at $1 and one at $2 when I double checked my receipt. They had peelies on them for $1 off which doubled so they would have been free but I think that I made a profit with the meat coupons if I figured them out right.
I finally made it out of the meat section to get cheese. It was on sale for $2.50 each and I had a $1/2 coupon which doubles so I figured that it was a good price because it was cheaper then Aldi and then it turned out that it was way better because it they were evic price (limit 2) for $2.27 so I got them for $1.27 for two of them and used a coupon that I found in my folder for $0.75 off the other one so it was $1.00. My son's yogurt was on sale but they didn't have the kind he liked because he only likes the strawberry flavor and they sell all the ones half and half. I figure that I will have to use the others for scones if I can't get him to eat them. Got free family sized Lipton tea bags to make my daily tea and three boxes of my mom's favorite tea for her.
I decided to splurge on the cooking wine because it was shelf price of $3.99 and on sale for $3. I used a $1 coupon to get it for $1 after doubles. I thought that it might be nice to make my one pan Chicken "Not-so" Marsala that we like next month. I also grabbed some Chicken Pot Stickers that we love (and have already eaten with our stir fry) which are shelf price at $3.99 and on sale for $2.50. I used a $1 coupon which doubled and paid $0.50. YUM!! Although a few splurges and my technical challenges stopped me from doing tons of super doubles, I think that I did pretty well!!
Didn't realize that there was also a Catalina on Kraft cheese but every printer in the store is totally broken so I didn't get it and I went to customer service a few days later and they gave me $1.50. Sadly, if I got it out of the machine, it would have doubled to get $3 in free groceries but $1.50 back is better then not getting anything!!
Total Retail $86.90
Total Savings $73.17 + $1.50= $74.67
Total OOP $13.73- $1.50= $12.23
I was just a little more prepared the second trip (but not much). I grabbed some of the freebies including those that I had left coupons at home last time!! I hate when I do that but it happens. I grabbed the Celestial Seasonings tea and Lipton family sized tea bags and one box of regular tea bags for free. I got two boxes of the Old El Paso Bold Shells for free. I used a rain check to get the free chocolate bar that was from a long time ago. I also grabbed the Listerine Dental Floss that was free after coupon.
I used my mom's card and got the cheese deal with the two cheese being $1.27 each. I should have gotten more but they were still out of Extra Sharp or Sharp Cheddar which is our favorite. I got the deal on the Progresso soup because they were on sale for Buy one, Get one free. There was an electronic coupon for $1/4 and I used a printed coupon for $1/4. The retail price for 4 was $10.76 and I paid $2.38 for 4. I couldn't pass up the meat section and paid $0.99 for three more of the Oscar Mayer protein packs with meat stickers but most of the rest of the section was picked over. Super bummed!!
Lots of cleaning products needed. I got the All
laundry detergent for $0.99 per bottle so that is an awesome deal to
stock up. I grabbed the Finish Jet Dry on sale for $3.99 less $0.55
coupon that doubled to $1.10 off so I paid $2.89 instead of the $5.39
shelf price. I used to use vinegar at the old house but our new dishwasher doesn't work without the rinse agent so I will get this for a little bit until I can splurge on a crazy new expensive dishwasher that works. I used a rain check to get the thing that husband said we had to have... toilet bowl cleaner! They were on sale for $2 each and I used a buy one, get one rain check so I paid $4 less two $0.55/2 coupons so it was $1.80 for 4 bottles instead of the shelf price of $10.36!! Love those deals because who wants to pay for something you flush down the toilet but hoping that this will go back to cleaning them better.
I got the Melt Coconut Butter for $0.39 after coupon..sadly, not on sale to get for free and no rain check in my pile. It is way cheaper then anything else and I used all that I had for cookies and bread over the holidays.
I got some vitamins for my husband because they were on sale for $6.99 ($2 off shelf price) and I used a $4 coupon to get them for $2.99. It is the same deal that was at CVS that I refused to buy but I have so many of the coupons and he was half over the last bottle. I guess $3 is cheaper then $9 but hoping to get an even better deal soon :)
I went a little crazy and got two boxes of juice boxes because we are having my son's birthday party next weekend at Home Depot (for free) and we need drinks since we won't be at home. They were on sale for $2.00 and I had a $0.75/2 coupon so I got them for $1.25 each.... there was an evic electronic special loaded to my card the next day which lowered the price to $1.77 but the shelves were almost cleared so I didn't get to get the lower price and return the higher priced item.
I got $0.25 through Ibotta.
Total Retail $101.97
Total Savings $72.84 + $8.77 rain checks= $81.61
Total OOP $20.36
I actually rebooted my phone so that I could finally connect to the internet at the store which I should have done two days ago. I grabbed the free box of Lipton tea (with coupon), three boxes of Celestial Seasonings Tea (with sale and coupon), and free Colgate toothpaste (sale, coupon and electronic coupon).
I got the pie crusts which were on sale buy one, get one (which means half off). Shelf price was $3.69 and I used a coupon for $1/2 any Pillsbury item and the $1/2 electronic coupon to get them both for $0.69. Although we normally make our own pie crust, these are very good for pie crust cookies and in a pinch to have in the freezer especially at $0.17 per crust.
I got the Barilla pasta sauce for $0.04 after sale, coupon and electronic coupon instead of the shelf price of $2.39 which is crazy for spaghetti sauce.
I did the Progresso deal again and got the 4 cans of soup for $2.38 so I will have soup through the whole winter for only $0.59 per can which is a great price for the most expensive soup.
I got back $0.25 for the orange juice and $0.25 for the pasta sauce through Ibotta.
Total Retail $38.45
Total Savings $33.86
Total OOP $4.59
I didn't have enough time between grocery shopping and an appointment to make it to Aldi so my husband went and picked up a few things that we needed...wasn't that nice. We had been out of milk for days, needed lettuce for tacos that night, confectioners sugar for icing for my son's birthday party and replacing brown sugar we used to too many cookies made!! My husband said that he only got things that were $1.29 and then paid whatever the stock market was asking for the milk because the price is always changing. The milk was $2.69 but I was hoping it was going to be a little cheaper.
I turned in a rebate to MobiSave for the lettuce and the milk and got $0.80 back which is super awesome because it is the only app THAT I have found that works there. Let me know if there is any other ones but super excited to get the addition saving and going to check MobiSave more often.
Total OOP $6.72
I think that I did pretty well for the first half of the month only spending $43.90 out of the budget and getting so much more. I really should have headed to the store today to get some more deals but my son was sick and I am not feeling great either. I made another batch of caramel pumpkin scones with the rest of the caramel bits and pumpkin yogurt. I did two loads of laundry, made 3 1/2 loaves of pumpkin bread, big pot of chicken broth, and a load in the dishwasher and lots more dishes!! I should have gone to get some more free groceries but I did get some stuff done today.
