Friday Finals

It is starting to feel like Fall here in Texas. Thank goodness. I am tired of the heat. We have had the house open for two days now. It feels great. Hopefully this will cut down on the electric bill to help pay for Aug. Whew that bill was a high one.

Yeah it is Friday Finals time again. It is time to share your savings with everyone else. Let’s see how we did this week and see who got some of the best deals.

With the Kroger Mega event going on and no doubling and tripling, I still managed to get some awesome deals this week. I even had some great eCoupons too! However, I have not won a single thing on the game Kroger is playing on line. Bummer. I normally win something. I have been playing every day and different times of the day to try to win. Still nothing. Now on to shopping.

Kroger 09/20/11:

MEI= Mega Event Item -$0.50 off the price

1 Birdseye Frozen Veg $1.49 – MEI, $1/1 Birds Eye WYB Van de Kamps Fish Product Printable NLA

            -Final FREE

1 Van de Kamps Fish Sticks $6.19 - $2/1 Kroger eCoupon

            -Final $4.19

5 Velveeta Cups $1.00 – MEI, $1/5 Velveeta Cups Tear Pad in store a long time ago

            -Final $0.30 each

4 Marzetti Salad Dressing $2.49 – 4 $2/1 Marzetti Salad Dressing RP 09/11/11

            -Final $0.49 each

4 Carnation Evaporated Milk $1.29 – MEI, 2 $0.50/2 Printable

            -Final $0.54 each

2 Nestle La Lechera sweetened condensed Milk $1.49 – MEI

            -Final $0.99 each

2 Fruitables Juice Boxes $2.99 – MEI, $1/1 SS 09/18/11

            -Final $1.49 each

1 Tape $0.69

2 Ozarka Water $1.09 – MEI

            -Final $0.59 each

3 Kroger canned Tuna $0.69 - $0.40/2 Kroger eCoupon

            -Final $0.56 each (I should have bought just two)

2 Driscoll Raspberries $1.25

            -Final $1.25 each

4 Libby’s Corn $0.80 - $1/4 RP 08/28/11 – ($0.75 at Walmart)

            -Final $0.55 each

1 Loaf Bread $1.00 – Discount area

I spent $24.19 and saved $41.95 on $66.14 retail. I am going back next week to grab some more savings on items that normally don’t go on sale. Such as the sweetened condensed Milk, Fruitables I have more coupons and maybe some more salad dressing.

Sprouts had an AWESOME sale on Bulk items this week. It was 25% across the board on all bulk items. There are some things that just don’t go on sale except for this sale. I decided to splurge a little and stock up on some baking staples I wanted for muffins and snacks and not have to buy the retail versions. I could buy just what I wanted and it was on sale. They also have this great section with spices in bags they sell for $1.25 per bag. Each bag is about what you get in a bottle. Sometimes way more and sometimes a little less, but the prices are way better. I get these and open them up and place them in my bottles for storage. It is a great deal.

Sprouts 09/18/11 - No PIC available

BULK ITEMS – 25% off every price listed

0.48 lbs Chocolate chips @ $2.99/lb - $1.44

0.85 lbs Whole Wheat Pastry Flour @ $0.67/lb - $0.57

0.50 lbs Wheat Bran @ $0.52/lb - $0.26 WOW! You cannot pay that price at the store

0.05 lbs Cardamom @$53.88/lb - $2.69 – to make Indian dishes

0.53 lbs Sunflower seeds @ $2.02/lb - $1.07

0.55 lbs Oat Bran @  $1.12 - $0.62

1.05 lbs Multi Grain Pancake mix @ $2.09/lb - $2.19

0.90 lbs Chili Peanuts @ $1.87/lb - $1.68

0.49 lbs Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) @ $4.49/lb - $2.20

GROCERY items

1 Curry Powder - $1.25

1 Ginger - $1.25

1 Tumeric - $1.25

PRODUCE

1 lb baby Carrots $0.99 – Snacking for my husband at work

2 lbs Carrots $1.49 – For cooking

1 Celery $0.88

2.82 lbs Zucchini @ $0.88/lb - $2.48

2.60 lbs Onions @ $0.49/lb - $1.27

1 carton Grape Tomatoes $2.50 – dehydrated these for sun dried tomatoes

2.20 lbs Red Grapes @ $0.77lb - $1.69

0.78 lbs Roma Tomatoes @ $0.88/lb - $0.69

I spent $28.46 at Sprouts. I saved more than if I would have purchased these at a retail chain. I probably saved around half. I can’t wait for the next bulk sale!

CVS –

I can’t find my receipt for CVS. This is close to what I spent.

1 Scott Paper Towels $5.99

2 Bengay Cream $5.49 each - rain check

Used:

$1.00 ECB

$1/1 Scott RP 09/11/11

2 $5/1 Bengay Cream SS 09/11/11

Paid around $4.97 and saved $12.00 on $16.97 worth of retail product.

I also went to Kroger before the Mega sale for a few essentials:

2 Gallons milk $2.39 each

1 Pack K-cups discounted $3.99

2 Loaves Bread $1.00 each

1 Sunscreen discounted $2.00 exp 2013 Awesome deal!

I paid $12.94 and saved more than receipt showed since most items had a manager special tag.

This week I spent $70.56 and saved $53.95 plus more since some items were on sale and I didn’t have time to do all the math on each item. I also picked up a lot of great deals not reflected in my receipts as savings.

How did you do this week? What were your great finds? Please share with others below and LINK UP your savings.

Friday Finals

Wow this was a great MEGA EVENT at Kroger. This brought back the fun I have for shopping and getting deals. 

I purchased the exact Colgate in the ad and I had an exact coupon to match. However when they rang the Colgate it did not ring as a Mega Event item. The assistant manager checked me out and he overrode the system to manually change the price. Therefore my totals were off. It said I had 38 participating Mega Event items instead of 40. I didn’t realize this until I got home. I thought my total was high for what I purchased. I was missing out on $4.00. I was going to pick up my stepson on in the afternoon and Kroger is sorta on the way. I stopped by the service desk to get my $4.00.

Here is how I did:

(2) Colgate Whitening Tooth pastes $1.00 – 2 $0.50/1 doubled

            -FREE

(4) Kettle Chips $2.79 - $0.50 each Mega Event item, 4 $1/1 Kettle chips

            -Final $1.29 each – Stocking up for birthday party next month

(1) Pasta Roni $1.12 - $0.50 Mega Event Item, Peelie Q B3 Rice a Roni G1 Pasta Roni FREE

            -Final FREE

(5) Rice a Roni $1.12 - $0.50 Mega Event Item

            -Final $0.62 each

(2) Gortons Fish Sticks $2.49 - $0.50 Mega Event Item, $1/2 Printable

            -Final $1.99 each

(2) Pringles Whole Wheat $1.49 - $0.50 Mega Event Item – No coupon

            -Final $1.00 each

(6) Lipton Ice Tea $1.00 - $0.50 Mega Event Item, 3 B1G1 Free found at Target

            -Final $0.25 each

(4) Sunny D Punch $1.49 - $0.50 Mega Event Item, $0.25/1 Sunny D Doubled

            -Final $0.25

(8) Kroger Tomatoes $1.09 - $0.50 Mega Event Item

            -Final $0.59 each

(1) Silk Almond Milk $2.69 - $0.50 Mega Event Item, $1/1 Silk Milk

            -Final $1.19

(4) Weber Marinades $0.99 - $1/1 any Weber Marinade

            -Final FREE +$0.01 profit each

(3) Herdez Salsa $1.99 - $0.50 Mega Event Item

            -Final $1.49

(1) Ocean Spray Cranberries $1.99 - $0.50 Mega Event Item

            -Final $1.49

(1) Kroger Peanut Butter $1.79 – we were out

(2) Disney Kids Vitamins $6.99 – B1G1, 2 $1/1 Q

            -Final $2.50 each

(1) Kroger Hazelnut spread $2.50

After my $4.00 refund, I spent $37.58 and saved $58.19 for $95.77 retail or around 60%. The coupon for the Pringles was not for the ones on sale. I also had coupons for the Garden Delight pasta, but they were out. I could have gotten 5 boxes. One would have been for free. My splurge item this week was the Hazelnut spread. We were out of Nutella and I didn’t get the coupon a while back to purchase some. We just love Nutella. With couponing there are some sacrifices you make, but sometimes you have to get items your family loves. I am not so extreme I would not buy something just because I don’t have a coupon for it.

I went to Kroger on Tuesday to pick up a couple of things:

(2) Gallons Milk $2.39

            -Final $2.38 each

(8) Kraft Big Sliced cheese 8 oz. $1.99 – 8 $1/1 blinkie a while back

            -Final $0.99 each

Total $12.70 and saved $23.30 on $36.00 retail or 66%. I am going to use the cheese to crumble and put on things like shredded cheese. I only had one bag left of shredded cheese. I crumbled some of the sliced cheese for a dish I make this week. It worked out great. When buying cheese if you can get it under a $1.00 for 8 oz you should buy it anyway and think of ways you can use it. Cheese is expensive.

I also went to Sprouts yesterday and got the $0.88 lbs for the split chicken breast. I picked up nearly 8 lbs and also purchased some granola for $2.49 lbs. I spent around $10.00. I can’t find my receipt.

I made a trip to Walmart for diapers. There were no great diaper deals this week. I ended up buying Walmart brand. Here is how I did:

(1) Diapers $13.49

(1) Dixie Paper Plates $2.50

(4) Cascade trial packs $0.97 – 4 $1/1 Cascade product

            -Final FREE +$.03 profit each

It was around $18.00 with tax for everything. I can’t find that receipt either. I thought I put them all on my desk with my receipts.

For the week I spent around $79.00. This is way over budget for the week, but there were some really great deals out there. I am taking the kids to my mother’s next week. So I should be saving a lot next week.

Link up your savings below.

Kroger Shopping

I went shopping today at Kroger for the MEGA event sale. I was so excited pasta was on sale again. My family had not eaten all the pasta from the last mega event when pasta was on sale. I am starting to understand more how Kroger sale cycles work. I started in February with my extreme couponing for normal people. This is the last time I went to Kroger and pasta was on sale click here. So you can see the sales cycles are around 7 to 8 weeks apart. I bought 8 boxes of pasta last time thinking about 1 box a week would be enough. It was more than enough. I am really starting to accumulate a large stockpile of items I can use. I am finding clever ways to store all my items too. My pantry is full, so I had to move on to my cabinets that had a few bare spaces. My husband needs to get busy with the extra shelf I want built in the laundry room.

I went over my budget for this week once again, by $10.00. I had to find some filler items to make the Mega event work. I also went to Sprouts today. I will write about that tomorrow. I am not going to only spend $40.00 next week. I know I can do it.  I am always up for a challenge.

The register would not take two of my coupons for the yogurt, since I had an ecoupon loaded on my Kroger card. However, when I looked at my receipt the ecoupon was used for two, but the other two did not have a coupon. I could have gone to customer service and gotten $1.60 off my bill, but little face was done shopping and so was I. I am planning on using these next week. With Kroger shopping cycles it appears this sale will be going on next week too. I am crossing my fingers. I will just stock up on the things I already have and freeze the yogurt.

Also the bread guy told me the Kroger hotdog buns are going on sale this weekend for 2 for $1.00. I bought two hamburger buns instead.

Finally here is how I did: