New Food Lion plan for free things

Using my new discovery, I am going to do this to get some free things that don't require repeat weighing of produce. LOL.

1 Quaker Oatmeal Pancake Mix 2.50
use $1/1 Guiding Star FLip, $2/1 mq= -$.50
1 Home360 Trash Bags 1.49
use $1/1 Home360 product FLip= $.49
1 Starbucks Bottled Frap $1.89
use $2/1 Starbucks FLip= -$.11
1 Home360 Travel pack baby Wipes 1.62
use $1.50/1 Home360 Diapers or wipes FLip= $.12

Total before coupons: $7.50
Total coupon amount: $7.50
Total oop: $tax (whatever it is where you are)

New Food Lion moneymaker found

I was cruising Food Lion looking for coupons and I found a great deal! Quaker Oatmeal Pancake mix is 2/$5. A month-ish ago, there were printables for this from coupons.com for $2/1. I really wanted to try this since the whole grain pancake mix is so much better than the other white kinds, but I saved these, waiting for a good deal. Found one! Stack this mq with a Food Lion Guiding Stars $1 printable (which this qualifies for) for a $.50 overage.

Yummy!!

New Green Advantage Buy Flyer 8/1

My favorite moneymaker is back! There is a $6/2 Sundown vitamin Publix q in the new Advantage Buy flyer- combine this with a $1/1 or a $3/2 for moneymakers.


$1/1 manufacturer coupon HERE or in the 6/28 RP insert (there were also blinkies available somewhere- I bought some off of EBay last time around)

$3/2 printable HERE

Deals I am picking up this week

A post for anyone wondering what are "the good deals" for the week.

Note: Sale weeks are Sunday through Saturday for Target, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Kroger and CVS, and Wednesday through Tuesday for Food Lion and Publix.

Target
Softsoap Ensembles: $3 clearance = Free after coupons
use $2/1 Target printable HERE and $1/1 Softsoap printable from HERE

Weight Watchers Smart Ones frozen entrees: $1.68 clearance= $.18 after coupons
Use $1/1 Target coupon HERE and $2/4 coupon from Nothing Goes to Waist Publix booklet

Kashi cereal cups: $1/ea= Free after coupon {Same deal at Publix}
Use $1/1 Kashi Target printable coupon from Coupon Generator above

Toy Clearance! Word on the street is that the semi-annual Target toy clearance is underway. 75% off of many items.

Publix
Scotch Bubble Mailers: $.59/ea = -$.41
Use $.50/1 coupon from 7/26 RP, doubles for overage

Kleenex: 2/$3 = $.67/ea after coupon
Use 2 $1/3 Target coupons from database linked above and 3 $.50/2 coupons from 7/12 SS insert, doubled, for each 6 you buy.

Bertolli Pasta Sauce: $3.75 bogo= $.88/ea after coupon
Use $1/1 coupon from Family is Its Own Reward booklet

Kraft Deluxe Mac and Cheese Dinner: $1.99 bogo = Free after coupon
Use $1/1 IP from Kraft release last month. Or $1/2 if you have it to make them $.24/ea

Kellogg's Pop Tarts: $2.39 bogo = -$.11/ea after coupon
Use $.55/1 mq from 6/7 RP or HERE and the $.75/1 Target printable coupon from database

Dole Fruit Bowls: $2.35 bogo = $1.35/ea after coupon
Use $1/2 printable from coupons.com last month (no longer available), also available in August All You magazine. (There are other printables currently available, but not as good)

Food Lion
Starbucks bottled drinks: $1.89 = -$.11 after coupon
Use $2/1 FLip

Home360 ALuminum Foil: $.99 = -$.01 after coupon
Use $1/1 FLip

Home360 Baby wipes Travel Pack: $1.62 = $.12 after coupon

and lastly, the $1/1 Guiding Stars FLip is good for lots of things, I've been getting free produce like bananas, cherries, peaches, cheap canned chickpeas and black beans and there are lots of other things you can use this on.

A few Food Lion trips over the last couple of days

Tuesday
1 Home360 Aluminum Foil $1.35/ $.99
-$1/1 Home360 FLip= -$.01
1 Home360 Travel Baby Wipes $1.62
-$1.50/1 Home360 Diapers or wipes FLip= $.12
.9lb bananas $.53
1 Blueberries $3.99/$1.99
.79lb peaches $.78
-$1/1 Guiding Stars Flip
-$2/$5 Produce FLip
Total food tax: $.10
Total non-food tax: $.13
Total oop: $.65
Total savings: $8.64 (93%)

Wednesday
I picked up some Progresso soups that were on closeout b/c few soups are vegetarian without chicken broth that we really like! So I had to take advantage of this. Of course, no coupons out for soup since it's the summer. boo.
1 Home360 Aluminum Foil $1.35/ $.99
$1/1 Home360 FLip= -$.01
1.86lb bananas $1.06
-$1/1 Guiding Stars Flip= $.06
2 Progresso Garden Veg Soup $1.41/ea (closeout)
1 Starbucks bottled mocha Frap $1.89
-$2/1 Starbucks coffee FLip= -$.11
Total food tax: $.22
Total non-food tax: $.08
Total oop: $3.06
Total savings: $6.24 (51%)

Wednesday
More soup. :)
1 Home360 Aluminum Foil $1.35/ $.99
$1/1 Home360 FLip= -$.01
.88lb cherries $1.31
-$1/1 Guiding Stars Flip= $.06
2 Progresso Garden Veg Soup $1.41/ea (closeout)
1 Starbucks bottled mocha Frap $1.89
-$2/1 Starbucks coffee FLip= -$.11
8 Breyers yogurt $.40/ea
-4 $1/2 mq= -$.10/ea
Total food tax: $.53
Total non-food tax: $.18
Total oop: $3.04
Total savings: $6.84 (56%)

FREE MILK coupons!

For those of you that drink milk (we try to drink mostly soy milk, but do get milk every now and again) There are free milk coupons at coupons.com! These are good in all states but HI and AK, and can be used on any milk- it doesn't exclude organic. (there is a max value, but it's pretty high). It's a free gallon of milk with $100 grocery purchase (before coupons) and a free half gallon of chocolate milk wyb a gallon of white milk.

Click on the banner to the left for coupons.com. Enter zip code 63090. These won't last long, so go now!

Food Lion, Target and Kroger- oops, Walgreens too

I am really disappointed in Kroger. When it comes to playing the advertising game, no one is better than Kroger. Their ads are already notorious for saying things like "MEGA EVENT! Buy 10 and get $5 off!!" Prices are listed. And in teensy print: "prices already reflect discount". So here you are thinking you're getting an awesome deal...and it's really just an ok deal.

Well with this new P&G deal going on this week, it's even worse! Instead of buying the 4 items required to get your $4 off P&G, you have to actually buy $4 more of something else in the same order to get the $4 off the P&G products. It is SO confusing! I neglected to read the teensy print (which by the way, didn't even make it onto the posters around the store), and so my $4 didn't come off. The CSR and I went rounds trying to figure out what happened, and when we realized what happened, he didn't know how to fix it. I said, what if I go get $4 of something and then we discount it $4? So I went to grab something and got some oatmeal (the most expensive oatmeal I've ever bought. $4.35 for a box!) and went back up to the CS desk. He was really busy, so he just opened the register and handed me $4 in cash. Of course, now I have this oatmeal, so I went over to the self-register and purchased the oatmeal. So I didn't come out too great. Boo. Unhappy with Kroger. The only way to make a good deal out of this P&G thing is to "buy" stuff that you have free coupons for, which the $4 will apply to, then use your coupons so that the $4 actually does show up as $ off the P&G items, as they claim it is. The way the ad reads, it really is false advertising.

ARGH!

Kroger
1 Herbal Essences Shampoo 2.99
$1/1 mq, $1/1 P&G ecoupon= $.99
1 Herbal Essences Hairspray 2.99
Free wyb Shampoo mq = Free
2 Aussie Shampoo/Conditioner 2.99/ea
$2/2 Aussie products mq, $2/1 P&G ecoupon= $1.98/2
Total tax: $1.14
Total oop: $4.11
Total savings: $10.79 (62%)

Went to CS and was given $4 back, which I applied to
1 Quaker Oatmeal $4.25
Total oop:$4.59
-$4 refund
Total oop: $.59

Food Lion
1 pint blueberries 3.99/1.99 MVP
$2/$5 produce FLip (in conjunction with peaches, below)= Free
1 lb peaches 1.99/.99 MVP (I bought a little over a pound)
$1/1 Guiding Stars FLip = Free
1 Home360 Aluminum Foil 1.35/.99 MVP
$1/1 Home360 product FLip = -$.01
1 Home360 Travel pack Wipes 1.62
$1.50/1 Home360 product FLip = $.12
Total non-food tax: $.18
Total oop: $.46

Target
8 Smart Ones Entrees $1.68 (clearance)
$1/1 Target printableq, $2/4 mq from Nothing Goes to Waist Booklet = $.18/ea
5 Softsoap Ensembles
$1/1 ipq, $1/1 mq from RIB (or All You?), $2/1 Target printable= Free
Total food tax: $.44
Total non-food tax: $.48
Total oop: $2.36
Total savings: $48.56 (96%)

Walgreens
3 Starbucks bottles Frappuchinos $1.25/ea w in-ad q
$1/1 mq= $.25/ea
1 Hunts tomato sauce $.39 w/in-ad q
$1 rr
Total tax: $.33
Total oop: $.47
Total savings: $7.42

Trip out 7/26

I had hoped to head to Target today to get some clearanced Smart Ones meals I found, but that didn't work out, so hopefully when I get there tomorrow no one will have bought them all up!

Made my daily Food Lion run
Food Lion
2 Ragu $1.69/ea
$.75/1 mq, $2/2 FLip= -$.12
1 Home360 Aluminum Foil $.99
$1/1 Home360 Flip= -$.01
1 Natures Path Organic Garbanzo Beans $1.15
$1/1 Guiding Stars Flip= $.15
Total food tax: $.12
Total non-food tax: $.04
Total oop: $.18
Total saved: $5.86 (97%)

Then, I scored for my grandparents at Rite Aid. I went last night to pick up the rest of my razors and there were a ton of 75% off items that I knew i had q's for, so I went back this morning. Most of it was still there, plus there was a $3/1 RA q in today's ad for the Bayer Heart Advantage, so I did pretty good!
Rite Aid
5 Tylenol Arthritis $1.49/ea (75% off)
$2/1 mq = -$.51/ea
2 Thermacare Arthritis Neck/Shoulder/Wrist $2.24/ea (75% off)
$1.50/1 mq = $.74/ea
4 Bayer Heart Advantage $2.99/ea (75% off)
$3/1 Rite Aid in-ad q= -$.01/ea
1 Hairbrush $7.99
no q's
Used a $5/25
Total tax: $3.03
Total oop: $4.91
Total saved: $53.89 (91%)

Then later on, my daughter and I went back out to Wal-Mart to get milk/eggs/yogurt and went to Food Lion...again!
Food Lion
2 Ragu $1.69/ea
$.75/1 mq, $2/2 FLip= -$.12
1 Home360 Aluminum Foil $.99
$1/1 Home360 Flip= -$.01
1 lb bananas $1.20
$1/1 Guiding Stars Flip= $.20
1 Travel pack Home360 Baby Wipes $1.62
$1.50/1 ANY Home360 Diapers/wipes= $.12
Total food tax: $.22
Total non-food tax: $.18
Total oop: $.59
Total saved: $7.36 (92%)

Wal-Mart
1 dozen organic/cage-free eggs $2.28
1 half Gallon Stonyfield Milk $3.62
3 Yoplait Fiber One $2.08/ea
$1/1 mq= $1.08/ea
4 Adams Flea Collars $.97/ea
$3/1 mq= -$2.03/ea
Total food tax: $.97
Total non-food tax: $.37
Total oop: $2.36
Total saved: $15.00 (85%)

Problems with the $2/$5 produce FLip? A tip...

Here's a tip I just picked up on. If you want to use the $2/$5 produce Flip on the pre-MVP price, when you go through the line, do it this way:

1. Place your items on the conveyer...cashier rings them up
2. Dig through your q's to pick out the proper ones as cashier is ringing.
3. After (s)he is done, hand over your coupons, then dig for your MVP card.
4. As they are scanning the coupons, say, let me get my card for you (I always use a regular card and not a key-chain card for this reason, to buy time)
5. Then lastly, scan the card: all MVP prices come off at the end

This way, the coupons are taken off the high value and the cashier can't say, oh, you can't use THAT! (because they usually don't know the pre/post MVP pricing)
Then when they scan your card at the end, all the sales will come off. You don't have to have an MVP card to use FLips.

Good Luck!

A trip out without my kiddos

Wow. It's really nice not to have an 8 month old screaming to be picked up and a 4 year old saying "I'm Hungry" "I'm thirsty" "I have to go to the bathroom!" constantly while I'm trying to figure out deals and math in my head.

I left my kids at home and went out to run some deals. I also finally found out the score with Rite Aid's new ads. Apparently their corporate has decided to only run the long ads (12+pages) in certain large metropolitan markets, but even if your area has a 4-page ad (like ours) the sales are still effective that are advertised in the large ad areas! The little tags on the shelves are linked to the ad market, so the stores with the short ads won't receive the little shelf tags, which means that the sales price won't be marked at all. The CSR assured me that the sale price should still ring up properly since all registers are linked through corporate. I haven't tried this yet, but I will soon!

Rite Aid
1 RX Faces Sunblock $8.29
Free Faces Sunblock Rite aid coupon= Free
1 RX lip Sunblock $2.49
Free lip balm Sunblock Rite aid coupon= Free
5 Schick Quatro $5.99
$4/1 manufacturer coupon= $1.99/ea
2 M&Ms $.88/ea
no q's
1 Ayr Saline Nasal $4.69
no q's
2 RA Vitamin C chewable $5.49/ea
no q's
Used $5/$25 coupons, in two transactions
Total tax: $4.90
Total oop: 16.89

Will get back $3 Ayr scr and $25 gift card for Kimberly Clark purchase.

Walgreens
2 Tylenol 4.99/ea
$2/1 mq= $2.99/ea {earn $3rr/ea}
2 recycled pencil packs $.50/ea
no q's
2 G2 Pilot pen packs $1/ea
no q's {earn $1rr/ea}
2 posterboard $.09/ea
no q's
15 Scotch tape $.39/ea
$1/3 mq= $.06/ea
1 Cherry coke 20 oz $.99
no q's
2 double pack Excedrin $6.99 bogo
$2/1 mq= $2.99/2 (four boxes) {earn $5rr wyb 2}
total tax: $2.54
Total oop: $3.53
Total saved: $58.57 (94%)
$5rr left; Profit $1.47

Food Lion
1lb red delicious apples
$1/1 Guiding Stars FLip
1 Home360 aluminum foil $.99
$1/1 Home360 product= -$.01
2 Ragu $1.69/ea
$2/2 FLip
$.75/1 mq= -$.12
Total oop: $.84

Overage at...Wal-Mart!

Mel over at The Great Coupon Experiment alerted me to a great moneymaker at Wal-Mart with the Adams Flea collars. These are $.97 regular price, and there are coupons for $3 off ANY Adams product. These were in the July All You, 5/17 and 6/28 Red Plum inserts. Between those three sources, I found 21 coupons in my possession. Little did I know I was holding $42 and change in my hands.

You see, Wal-Mart never wants to give overage- they'll adjust the darn coupons for a PENNY! So today, when my husband started whining that he wanted some beer, and we are 45 minutes away from a Publix, I started thinking what I have and what's on sale at Kroger and Wal-Mart that I might be able to reduce my cost. I had already used all my good Kroger coupons with the mega sale, so I was thinking about Wal-Mart and thought I'd give these q's a go. I ALWAYS have trouble at Wal-Mart. With The Family is Its Own Reward booklets, the coupon barcodes started with 9 and I had problems with them taking those. I had to tell the cashier every time, and they still had to read the q's carefully and inspect them.
At any rate, I went in, leaving hub and kids in the car and went to get the collars- picked up three, thinking that would give me $6.09 overage. As I walked along the front of the store, I checked out the cashiers, trying to assess and decide which one looked the most coupon-friendly. Out of the twenty or so cashiers working, ONE was a young male. The rest were older women. I knew which line I was getting in.
I grabbed a few packs of Kotex pads $1, to use my $1/1 q's on, and then went for the beer. I got a 6-pack of Killians for $5.97, and needed another $.12 of something to fill the rest of the overage. Kool-Aid it is. So a pack of Kool-Aid for $.20 got added to the total.

I got in line, and was behind two ladies with a full cart. The cashier in front of him waved her arms and said, you can come up here. "No thanks, I'm good". (Stick with the young male). So I waited, then when it was my turn, he scanned the beer, asked for my ID, scanned the kotex and collars, and kool-aid. Your total is $12.xx. I handed him my q's. He scanned a $3/1 Any Adams Flea and Tick product. Beep. "Please verify coupon amount" the cash register informs him. He looks at the coupon, then right back at the register and hits a button. No problem. Then he does the same for the next two, and scans my Kotex q's.

No problem.

If only it was always that simple.

Wal-Mart
3 Adams Flea Collars: $.97/ea
$1/1 Adams mq= -$2.03/ea
1 6 pack Killian's $5.97
no q's
1 pack Kool-Aid $.20
no q's
2 Kotex $1
$1/1 mq= Free
total tax: $1.05
Total oop: $1.13
Total saved: $11.00 (90%)

Hoping for Starbucks coffee sale

New FLip available! $2/1 Starbucks coffee. I still have $1.50 and $1/1 coupons from the Kraft printables a few months back- the Smartsource ones didn't expire until the end of August...So...$3.50 off one bag of Starbucks coffee.

Come on BOGO! (or at least a really good sale)

Good deal on Smart Ones frozen items

I didn't have the q's with me, so I'll be getting some of these next week, but many of the Smart Ones entrees (the vegetarian ones anyway) are regularly priced at $1.95. There are $2/4 manufacturer coupons in the Nothing Goes to Waist booklet and $1/1 Target printable HERE.
If you buy four, it makes four $1.80 after coupons, or $.40/ea

Publix and Target 7/22

Great trip today! I needed to go to Target for the Charmin and Bounty moneymaker and then to Publix of course.

At Target, they had all the things in stock my Target doesn't carry (woo-hoo!) so I had to figure out what to eat $7 of mm with- so I figured I'd get detergent. If I had been thinking ahead and brought a $1 Tide q with me, I could have saved an additional dollar. The cashier also missed one of my $1/1 Charmin q's, so that was another dollar I shouldn't have spent.

Target
8 Bounty Basic $.99/ea
$1/1 Bounty (home mailer), $.25/1 Bounty mq
8 Charmin To Go $1/ea
$1/1 Charmin (P&G $120 book), $.25/1 mq
6 Q-Tip travel kits $.87 (sale)
$1/1 mq (Family is Its Own Reward booklet)= -$.13
6 Kashi cereal bowls $1/ea
$1/1 Kashi Targetq= Free
then I used 8 of the $1.50 wyb both Charmin and Bounty. Of course all these q's beeped (except the $.25/1 Bounty ones and, oddly enough, the Kashi ones), but I went to the young male cashier and he just pushed them all through.
total tax: $1.58
Total oop: $3.66 (should have been $2.66. And could have been $1.66 w/Tide q. darnit)
Total savings: $33.60 (89%) but should have been $34.60 for a 92% savings.

Then on to Publix. Saw the store manager and chatted with him for a minute (he is so nice!), then saved oodles at checkout. After I got to the car and put all the stuff in, I realized I had forgotten to get the sour cream and tortillas I added last minute, handwritten on my list. I went back in, carrying Z in one arm and picked up a basket with the other arm while trying to figure out what else I could get and get the items for free.
Mind you, I normally figure all this out days in advance. I remembered I had gotten an awesome q in the mail from Save-a-Lot's baby club for $5/$10 purchase, and that I had Kashi cereal q's for $1/1 and so I strolled over to check the price on the small bowls. $1. Awesome. So I picked up my tortillas and sour cream, which added up to $3.88. Got the last four Kashi bowls for $4 and needed something else to fill. So I had two $.50/1 Dole q's, grabbed two small cans of pineapple for $.89 and then figured I needed something else around a buck. Since I was on the aisle, I picked up a can of Dole canned pears that were 5/$5. Hoped my math was semi-correct since I was holding the basket, my purse and my son, who was leaning forward trying to pull things out of the basket the whole time. LOL.
After checkout- $.08. I was very proud of myself for that. Although the bagger and cashier teased me about forgetting things since I am always so organized. Heh.

Grand total
Publix
8 Hefty One Zip $1.95/ea
$1/1 mq, $1/1 Target q wyb produce= -$.05
3 Knox gelatin $1.39/ea
$4/1 ipq= -$2.61
3 Carefree pantiliners $1.39/ea
$.50/1 ipq, $3/3 Publixq= -$1.83
1 Near East Couscous $1.10
no q's
4 Avocados $1.99/ea
$1/2 mq, $2/$5 FLip= $3.96
2 4-packs Bumblebee tuna $2.00/ea
$1/2 mq= $2.99
3 lemons {This was supposed to be $1.19 for 3, but I just realized he entered something else - I can't read the receipt, but it was something that was 8/$1.00 so the total was only $.38}
no q's
1 coconut $1.50
$2/$5 FLip (for lemons and coconut and other avocado)= -$.50
2 Earth's Best cookies $2.19
Free mq's= Free
1 Publix Isopropyl Alcohol $.85
Free Publix q= Free
1 Publix Hand Sanitizer $.99
Free Publix q= Free
1 Hershey candy bar $1.00 {this was a filler b/c I went negative, now I see why- the lemons}
12 Alexia snacks $2.89/bogo
$1/1 mq, $.75/2 Targetq= $.14/ea
4 Eight O'Clock coffee $4.99/bogo
$2/2 ipq= $1.50/ea
1 Reach Floss $1.49
$1/1 mq, $1/1 Publix q= -$.51
2 Hostess donuts $2.99/bogo
$.50/1 mq= $.50/ea
4 Purina Friskies cat food $3.00/ea
$3.50 ipq, $1/1 mq, $3/1 Publixq= -$9.00 (for all four)
2 Fresh Express salad $2.50/ea
$1/1 Publixq, $2/$5 FLip= $.50/ea
1 Eggland's Eggs $2.49
$.50/1 mq= $1.49
2 Dole Pineapple $.89/ea
$.50/1 ipq= -$.11
4 Kashi cereal cups $1/ea
$1/1 Target q= Free
1 Aztec Tortillas $1.39
no q's
1 Daisy SOur Cream $1.99
no q's
1 Dole Pear chunks $1
no q's
5 McCormick Grinders (raincheck $1/ea)
$1/1 mq= Free
2 Clif ZBars $.75/ea
Free mq, $.50/2 Whole Foodsq= -$.50
7 Zone Bars $1/ea
$.50/1 mq (tearpad)= Free
3 Tylenol Extra Strength $3.48/ea
$2/2 mq, $2/1 Publixq= -$.52
1.21 lb grapes $2.41
no q's
1 12-pack Ball jelly jars $7.89
no q's
1 Publix Sugar Canister $1.15
$2/1 wyb Kool-Aid q, $1/1 wyb Kool-Aid Food Lion q= -$1.85
10 Lemonade Kool-Aid $.20/ea
no q's

Did four transactions, used 2 $5/$10q's and 2 $5/$25 q's
total food tax: $2.77
total non-food tax: $5.34
total oop: $1.24
Total Savings: $204.18 (99.4%)

Clorox Greenworks Deal at KMart

Ok, so I very rarely shop at KMart, especially since our stores don't see fit to offer double-coupon events all that often, but I went in to check out their toy clearance (wasn't one) and found a good deal on Clorox Greenworks. These are priced from $2.99 to $3.79. There are $2/1 coupons in teh Publix Greenwise magazine.

The offer is, when you buy $15, you get a $5 cat oyno. So the math goes like this:

Buy
6 Clorox Greenworks Toiletbowl cleaner 2.99/ea

Use
6 $2/1 mq's

Total oop: $5.94+tax
and get back a $5 oyno cat

This could be better if these go on sale (they were on sale last week 2/$5). It looks like the cat deal is good through mid-August.

What to do with the cherries...and the Kool-Aid

But not together! :)

I found a great cherry jam "non-recipe" I am excited to try. I have approximately 8lb of cherries that have not been eaten that i am headed up to de-pit shortly. woo-hoo. Note the excitement.

A tip I was given: Insert a chopstick in one end of cherry and pop out the pit. I am looking forward to trying this because the last time I pitted cherries, I spent about 2 hours cutting them in half and digging the pits out with a grapefruit spoon. My fingers were dyed red for a week. I'll let you know how the chopstick thing works out.

HERE are the directions for the jam. I'll be picking up some jars tomorrow since I gave all mine away a year-ish ago.

Now, as for the Kool-Aid, of which I have a lot, and of which we don't drink: a friend of mine gave me a great tip! Buy the lemonade flavor. Then, do the following:
1. Empty the dishwasher and clean the trap
2. pour packet of lemonade kool-aid in the cup where the detergent goes and close door
3. Run hot cycle
4. Have brand spanking sparkling dishwasher.
5. Repeat monthly
Apparently the citric acid in the lemonade cleans out the dishwasher of lime deposits and any iron stains- and does a way better job than any of those rinse-aids out there, and is certainly healthier than putting bleach in your dishwasher! (What a terrible idea, by the way). It also smells great!
(Thanks Amanda!)

Kroger wants me to have good dental health

At least that is my assumption! Free toothpaste and toohtbrushes this week. Crest 6.0 oz toothpastes are 10/$10 and the Oral-B toothbrushes are also 10/$10. Recent q's for $.50/1 Crest and $1/1 Oral-B= Free. Then go to P&G esavers website and load a $.75 Crest coupon for overage. (Of course, like all loadable q's, you can only get one of each coupon per card.)

3 White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Clif Bars $.60/ea clearance = $.80/3
*(1)$1/3 Clif/Luna Bar q from Go Organic booklet
8 Crest toothpaste $1.00/ea = Free + $.75 overage
*(2)$1/1 Crest mq P&G $120 booklet
*(6)$.50/1 Crest mq 6/7 P&G insert
*(1)$.75/1 Crest P&G esaver q HERE
6 Oral-B Toothbrushes $1.00/ea = Free
*(6)$1/1 Oral-B Manual Toothbrush mq 7/5 P&G insert
total tax: $1.22
Total oop: $1.27 (and I forgot to use the last $.38 on my gift card. darnit)
Total savings: $40.82 (97%)

Free entertainment Book!

Check out my linky over on the right for Cashbaq! They are offering a deal on Entertainment Books. If you've never gotten one, they are awesome. We have used a bunch of the q's, plus a hotel discount from the front, and there are $5/$50 purchase q's that our Publix accepts as competitor q's.

So go click on that little link over to the right and sign up for Cashbaq. Buy a 2009 Entertainment Book for $7.99 and get $8 cash in your account.

Another nice thing about Entertainment Book, once you have one, register your book online using the code provided and get lots more coupons to print! ;) We know how I love those printable coupons. . .

Making my Publix shopping list

I am starting my list for this week's Publix trip. Since I'll be shopping on Wednesday this week, I have to start kind of early. One of the sites has a sneak peek up, so I am checking it out.

Here are some things of note on my list

Eight O'Clock Coffee $4.99 bogo
$2/2 Printable HERE
This will make the coffee $1.50/each (darn good price for coffee!)

Purina Friskies cat food 2/$6
$3/1 Publix coupon from the Savings for all Seasons Pet book (I have 4) (found when I was in GA, never saw them in TN- I KNEW I should have grabbed more because I expected moneymakers from these q's.) stacked with
$1/1 insert coupon: 6/28 SS (I have two) and
$3.50/1 Printable from HERE (I have two)
this will give me $9 overage for four bags.
There is also a $1/1 printable HERE
Note: Even if you don't have the Publixq, if you can print the coupon from the link above, it will give you a small mm of $.50. (When I printed the q before it was for $3/1, but when I just printed it from our laptop, it was for $3.50/1)

Alexia Crunchy snacks: $2.89 bogo
$.75/2 Target coupon HERE stacked with
$1/1 mq from insert: 6/14 SS makes these 2/$.14!!

Bumblebee Tuna 4pk cans $3.99 bogo
(We are always looking for good deals on tuna)
$1/2 printable HERE makes these $1.50/pack or $.40 a can (approximately)

Moneymakers I am still using, or have found more coupons for:
Carefree pantiliners $1.39/ea:
$3/3 Publix coupon from Adv Buy flyer stacked with $.50/1 printable HERE

Tylenol $3.48/ea:
$2/1 mq from insert stacked with $2/1 Summertime Savings coupon

Apple & Eve juice $1.39/ea:
$.50/1 mq from Greenwise magazine stacked with $1/1 Publix q from Summertime Savings
(assuming I can find some more of the Greenwise magazines- everyone is out of them!)

Reach floss $1.49/ea:
$1/1 mq from insert stacked with $1/1 Publix q from Summertime Savings book (There is also a coupon on coupons.com - or there was- for "Listerine" which, when printed, actually has Reach Floss as one of the "or this" items you can buy with the coupon. There are $2/1 and $1/1 q's available, depending on zipcode)

Food Lion 7/20

Had to make my daily Food Lion run. Today was the first time a cashier balked at me using the FLip on the pre-MVP price. I've never had that happen before. I talked her into doing it, but she was NOT happy about it! When my total came up $.27, she was shaking her head. I handed her my twenty seven cents and she said "Have a nice day" but she didn't really put any warmth into it. LOL. I think she was jealous.

1.54 lb sweet potatoes
1 box Duncan Hines cupcake mix
1.8 lb cherries
1 travel pack baby wipes
1 box Home360 aluminum foil
total food tax: $.04
total non-food tax: $.12
Total oop: $.27

Oddly, today the Home360 FLip for the Baby wipes beeped and said "Item not purchased" It did not do this the last three times I bought this item. She pushed it through, but only after scrutinizing the FLip and the pack of wipes for about three minutes.

Food Lion (again), Rite Aid and Walgreens

I made my weekly Walgreens Sunday run for newspapers, to discover that the coupons this week are Terrible. I did not get any papers, but got a few other things.

Walgreens
1 Tylenol Extra Strength 50ct $5.99 ($2/1 mq, earned $3rr)
1 2-pack pens $1 (earned $1rr)
2 2-pack Excedrin $6.99 bogo (2 $1/1 mqs, earned $5rr)
Total oop: ... can't find my receipts right now. I'll have to fill in later.
Total saved
$5rr left

Then I hit Rite Aid to get some of the razors, and got four (all they had) and will have to go to the other one in hopes they have some in stock. While I was there, I spotted Mini-DVDs on clearance 75% off! We have a mini-DVD recorder but we don't use it much b/c the discs are rather pricey. These 5-packs were marked 12.99-14.99 then 75% off! I bought four of the five packs, then as I was walking out the door, I smacked myself in the head. I was not using my coupon brain! I had another $5/$25 with me. So I walked back in and asked the Asst Mgr if I could return them and repurchase (along with a few other items) to use my 5/25. She said, sure! When I made the first purchase, it was $15.xx. After I added the sunscreen (free coupon) and the candies (free coupons) It boosted my total to $27.xx and I used the $5/$25. Then I handed over the freebie q's and only paid $11.xx. So I bought three candies, sunscreen AND the four 5-packs for $11 and change, rather than just the DVDs for $15.xx. *whew*

Rite Aid
4 Schick Intuition Razors $5.99 ($4/1 mqs)
1 RX lib balm sunscreen $2.49 (Free RA q)
1 RX Faces 50spf sunscreen $8.29 (Free RA q)
3 M&M candies $.88 (Free mqs)
4 5-pack mini-DVDs $12.99-$14.99 reduced to $3.25-$3.75
Two transactions, used two $5/$25 RA q's
Total oop: $16.79
Total saved: $81.53 (81%)
Will buy 5 more Schick razors and earn $25 RA gift card

Then...I had to go to Food Lion again to get more Free cherries! LOL! I think I am going to need to find a cherry jam recipe. Yum. This time, I used the $1 overage from cherries to get a can of black beans.
1 lb cherries $4.99/ $.99/lb Adv Buy ($2/$5 FLip)
1 can Bush's Black Beans $.99 (no q's)
2 lb bananas $.57/lb ($1/1 Guiding star FLip)
1 travel pack Home360 Baby Wipes $1.62 ($1.50/1 Home 360 Diapers or Wipes FLip)
1 Home360 aluminum Foil $.99 ($1/1 Home 360 item FLip)
Total Food Tax: $.05
Total non-food Tax: $.14
Total oop: $.58
Total saved: $11.26 (95%)

The reason I should leave my husband at home

He's worse than the kids with the iwannas!

I also went to Food Lion again and today the cherries were only $.99/lb! So I got 2 lb for free instead of 1 lb! Awesome!! and...I might need to find a cherry pie recipe. :D

Kroger
20 Amp 1.49/ .99 mega (no q's) <--earned $10gc per ten and rolled them
1 6-pack Fat Tire beer (Hub's fault!!) 8.79 (no q's, but I used the last gift card from Amp rolls to get it, so at least it was 0 oop)
Total oop: $2.64
Total saved: $39.80 (93%)
left on gift card: $.37

Food Lion
2.11 lb cherries $4.99/ $.99/lb adv buy ($2/$5 produce- these went cheaper!)
2.09 lb bananas $.57lb ($1/1 Guiding Stars flip)
1 Home360 Foil !1.37/ $.99 adv buy ($1/1 Home360 FLip)
1 Home360 travel pack baby wipes $1.62 ($1.50 FLip)
Total non food tax: $.09
Total food tax: $.11
Total oop: $.59
Total saved: $15.30 (96%)

All You Grocery Challenge

I am working at this All You challenge. I don't think it's really too much of a challenge, except wouldn't ya know it, there's a lot of good deals on things I wouldn't normally buy (like energy drinks!)

I'm also not sure how to enter some of my receipts. Since household items don't count- only food. What about when you use household items to get overage to buy food? *headscratch*. At my last Publix shop, I used food to get overage to buy a gas card. I don't want to add those $70+ for the gas card, but the food didn't actually cost me anything- if anything, the food was negative- so do I subtract that from my total? Or just consider it zero? (I'm going with zero, although a negative balance would be really cool!)

At any rate, here's where (I think) I stand so far.
Monday: Food Lion $.15, Wal-Mart: $.48
Tuesday: Publix $4.75
Wednesday: Kroger $3.52
Thursday: Food Lion $.27
Friday: Publix $1.66, Whole Foods $1.31 {Burger King $5.87 <--I hate this, but that's what happens when you oversleep and are late for an appointment!}
Total so far: $18.01

examples of things we've eaten this week
Tacos, chips and salsa, diced avocado
Spaghetti, diced sauteed zucchini from the garden, corn on the cob
veggie dogs, peas, mac and cheese

If you're not familiar with this challenge, the All You WalMart magazine is challenging us to spend $25/person per week on groceries for the next 4 weeks (not including household items, beauty, etc. Basically all consumables, other than infant formula, count). Cakewalk.

Publix, CVS & Whole Foods 7/17

Today was a long day! We started out at 7:45am and headed into Nashville. The kids had a portrait appt at 9:10am and then a dr appt at 11am. After having their pictures taken, we went over to the CVS that is practically within walking distance of their doctor's office. I wanted to get some of the photo books and my soyjoys I had a raincheck for. I was hoping that CVS would be out of the book covers so I could have more time to add pics and get a raincheck, but alas, when you want something to be out of stock, they have plenty. So I did my books, but was hoping to be able to buy some time. They still came out decent.
After the dr's appointments (all well! N had two vaccines and Z had one, and no crying from either of them!) we went to Whole Foods to get some Mambo Sprouts booklets and then lunch, then Publix for the week.

CVS
5 Photo books 7.99/ea (7.99 ecb earned each)
20 soyjoy 1.00/ea (1.00 ecb earned each)
2 Gold Emblem nuts $.99/ea ($2/2 CRT= FREE)
also used $4/$20 coupon emailed to me and started with $6.50 ecb
Total oop: $10.24
ecb's left: $20


Whole Foods
Went through the "one per purchase does not mean one per transaction" broo-haha with the cashier. Fun times.
4 Coconut Water O.N.E. single serve $1 (on sale) ($.75/1 Whole Foods coupon)
Total oop: $1.31
Total saved: $7.28

Publix
Publix was good! I got two more gas cards which messed up my normal low oop's, but other than those two cards, I had 100% savings. I'll list the items below, but keep in mind my oop includes two $50 gas cards. :)
Interestingly, I discovered that the gas cards are being limited to two per person (with the original coupon). I don't believe there was a limit on them when the original ad came out, so that's kind of messed up, but I was able to get the two I wanted, so no big deal. I had planned on one with some overage, but the other I decided spur of the moment, so it upped my oop. I could have gotten more overage, but I didn't want to use up all my good q's. I also had an odd thing happen- for the second transaction, my last coupon scanned was for the Bic Mechanical pencils. It was a $.50/1 coupon and I had two of them, the first one scanned and automatically doubled. When the second one scanned, it automatically doubled, but instead of taking off $.50, it took off $.26. (huh?) The pencils were $1 so it wasn't like it was doubling up to product sale price. It was weird. manager finally just scanned it again (so I got an additional $.76 off my total), and said don't worry about it. Very odd.

2 $50 gas cards ($10/$40 Publix coupon)
17 Band-Aids ($.50/1 mq, $5/3 Publix q's = Free+)
2 Band-Aid travel $.79 ($1/1 mq, $5/3 Publix q= Free+
2 J&J $1.99 ($1/1 mq, $5/3 Publix q's = Free+)
7 Reach Dental floss ($2/1 mq, $1/1 mq, $1/1 Publix q = Free+)
3 Apple and Eve juice $1.39 ($1/1 mq. $1/1 Publix q = Free+)
1 Taco Bell Dinner $1.35 ($1/1 mq = $.35)
12 Tylenol $3.48 ($2/1 mq, $2/1 Publix q = Free+)
2 Eggland's Eggs $2.49 ($.50/1 mq= $1.49/ea)
2 Fresh Express salads $2.50 ($1/1 Publix q= $1.50/ea)
1 bean sprouts $1.99 ($2/$5 FLip {combined with other $3 from Fresh Express)= Free)
3 Hefty Fresh Extend $1.95 ($1/1 mq, $1/1 Targetq wyb Hefty and produce= Free+)
4 Bic Mechanical Pencils $1 ($.50/1 mq= Free)
1 lb shrimp $7.99 (no q's)
3 Cheerios $2.50 ($1/1 mq= $1.50)
1 Extra Firm Tofu $2.99 (no q's)
3 Coffeemate $1.20 ($2/1, $1/1 mq's= Free+)
10 McCormick Grinders $1 ($1/1 mq= Free) {also got raincheck b/c they were out of sea salt)
Also used $5/$25 in three separate transactions
Total food tax: $1.38 (on one receipt, food tax showed as -.32. WTH?? I didn't know you could have negative tax??)
Total non-food tax: $9.75
Total oop: $70.38 (remember, $100 in gas cards)
Total savings: $252.28 (72%)
{not including the second gas card I threw in, my savings would have been 92%}

Great deals at Food Lion

I am actually a little shocked at the great deals at Food Lion right now with some of the FLips that are available. Normally I take all the FLips to Publix, but since Food Lion is a mile from my house, and Publix is 50 miles from my house, shopping at Food Lion is really nice!

Today I ran in on our way home from gymnastics and when I checked out, the cashier said, your total is $7.62, as I was sorting my coupons, and then I handed those to her. She scanned them all...and said "oh WOW! So, it's twenty-seven cents." At which point the lady behind me said, "What did you get for $.27??" I rattled off my purchases and she said- "You should go on Oprah!" LOL!

1 Duncan Hines Cupcake mix $1.00 ($1/1 Duncan Hines cake mix FLip = Free)
1 lb cherries $4.99/$1.99 advantage buy ($2/$5 Produce FLip= Free+)
1 Home360 aluminum Foil $1.35/$.99 advantage buy ($1/1 Home360 FLip= Free+)
2 lb bananas $1.12 ($1/1 Guiding Stars FLip= $.12)
1 Home360 travel pack Baby Wipes $1.62 ($1.50 Baby Wipes FLip= $.12)
total food tax: $.10
total non-food tax: $.05
Total oop: $.27

A few stores in a few days...

Natalya was in gymnastics camp two days this week so it made it easier to go shopping- therefore, I hit a few stores in the last few days, Wal-Mart, KMart, Kroger and Food Lion. So here's what I got...

Kroger
Kroger has an INCREDIBLE deal on Amp energy drinks, and since Doug can go through these like water...I had to take advantage- I am sure I'll be getting more too! Buy 10 for $.99 each and then a coupon prints for a free $10 Kroger gift card. Here in TN, I paid $1.32 (less than tax each) for ten!
40 Amp Energy drinks
1 Yoplait Fiber One 4-pack
7 Whiskas Temptations treats for cats
4 Philadelphia Cream Cheese Spinach and Artichoke flavor
2 Speed Stick Deo
2 Lady Speed Stick Deo
10 Playtex disposable gloves
4 Sobe Lifewater
Total oop: $9.16
and I have a $10 gift card still: profit $.84
I am on the hunt for $.50 Amp q's (reportedly spotted at gas stations), so far no luck...but I'm not giving up b/c that would make this a big moneymaker!

KMart
Razor moneymakers!
12 Bic Soleil razors $2.50 ($3/1 mq)
1 Mega pack Charmin $7.00 ($1/1 mq)
Total oop: $3.42 (all tax)

Wal-Mart
Free stuff to pick up
2 boxes Popsicles $1.00 ($1/1 mq)
4 Blue Bunny ice cream individuals $1.00 ($1/1 mq- Thanks Mel!)
6 Travel Q-Tips $.97 ($1/1 mq)
4 Kotex liners $1.00 ($1/1 mq)
1 pack ponytail holders $1.00
1 spiral bound themebook $.15
Total oop: $2.49

Food Lion
2 lb bananas $1.14 ($1/1 Flip)
1 Duncan Hines cupcake mix $1 ($1/1 Flip)
1 Home 360 foil $.99 ($1/1 Flip)
Total oop: .20

Publix 7/14... no gas cards. :(

Made a trip to Publix today to get my FREE Kashi and also get another gas card. (Plus my Mom asked me to pick up a few things for her while I was there) Kashi entrees were picked over so I got a raincheck (thank goodness, since there's no room in my freezer anyway!) I had my scenarios all worked out and built up my overage to $40 to get my gas card for free. Then... no gas cards! They were all sold out! The manager said that the whole deal had been a fiasco, and the warehouse was on backorder. She said they will have them in by Friday and that they will be extending the deal through the next ad week, but you must have an original coupon from the paper to get the card. Apparently people were photocopying coupons and all sorts of who knows what and drama ensued.

Anyway, so Now here I am with a cart full of groceries, browsing up and down the aisles (where I ran into Jason- Hi Jason!) trying to decide what to fill my $40 with. I decided to go ahead and get another gift card, and finally settled on Sears since DH needs a new pair of work shoes, so he can use that toward new shoes.
Thank you Publix for helping get my husband new work shoes!

I did this in two transactions- way more than normal, but I expected to need one large one for the gas card order. Poor Ben (one of my fave cashiers) and poor Sharon (awesome manager) had to add and enter coupons, and approve... it took forever. But they were nice, smiling and friendly the entire time. (love Ben, he's awesome).

This was also the first time I asked the butcher to split up a pack of chops. I got the strangest look! I was apologetic, and said, I know it's a strange request, but I'd like to ring them up separately and be able to just toss them in the freezer as is. He said, um..ok. Then after he did it, I said, I know that was probably the oddest thing you've done. He said, it's no problem. I thanked him profusely. :)

This is also the third and fourth purchases that will go in my All You grocery challenge file. So far so good! I've spent $5.10 and saved... lots.

1 $25 Sears gift card
4 kashi entrees $1.89 ($2/1 mq $.50/1 Targetq= Free+)
12 Kashi pizzas $3.99 ($3/1 mq $.50/1 Targetq= Free+)
10 Kashi waffles $1.39 ($1.50/1 mq $.25/1 Targetq= Free+)
2 Kim & Scott's Pretzels $2.50 ($1/1 mq)
2 Ensure $6.99 ($3/1 mq) {for my grandfather}
4 Klondike bars $1.80 ($1.25/1 mq) {for my Mom}
6 First Aid travel kits $1.47 ($1/1 mq $5/3 Pxq= Free+)
14 Tylenol $3.48 ($2/1 mq $2/1 Pxq= free+)
3 Duracell AA $2.15 ($1.50/1 mq)
6 KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce $1.99 ($2/1 mq wyb charcoal= Free+)
6 13.5lb Matchlight Charcoal $7.99 w/raincheck ($4/1 mq, $3/1 FLip)
1 Ground chuck $2.87 ($2/1 mq wyb charcoal, $1/$5 beef FLip= Free+)
1 Ground Round $2.35 ($2/1 mq wyb charcoal, $2 beef Krogerq= Free+)
1 Beef cubed steak $2.89 ($2/1 mq wyb charcoal)
2 Mocha Cappuchino Bolthouse Farms 3.99 (no q's)
1.25lb sweet potatoes (no q's)
1 loin chops $.75 ($6/1 pork wyb charcoal= Free+)
1 loin chops $.69 ($6/1 pork wyb charcoal= Free+)
1 loin chops $.64 ($6/1 pork wyb charcoal= Free+)
1 loin chops $.75 ($6/1 pork wyb charcoal= Free+)
1 loin chops $.75 ($6/1 pork wyb charcoal= Free+)
1 loin chops $.69 ($6/1 pork wyb charcoal= Free+)
1 Pork country ribs $1.10 ($2/1 ribs wyb 2 KC Masterpiece= Free+)
1 Pork country ribs $.90 ($2/1 ribs wyb 2 KC Masterpiece= Free+)
1 Pork country ribs $.95 ($2/1 ribs wyb 2 KC Masterpiece= Free+)
1 Pork country ribs $1.01 (no q's- I had the butcher split up a 4-pack to satisfy my coupon requirements)
1 Tropicana OJ $3 ($1/1 mq) {for Mom}
total food tax: $6.62
total non-food tax: $10.56
Total oop: $4.75
Total saved: $366.07 (99%)

Don't pass over "Nothing Goes to Waist"

Of all the coupon booklets that have been available lately (some of which are VERY hard to find!) the piles of Nothing Goes to Waist booklets have been sort of sitting there forlornly, with no-one picking them up.

Well, I am not in that group. I have been grabbing a few each visit.

Reason? There is a $1 off any mcCormick spice coupon. Hello! Rumor has it the McCormick Grinders are going to be bogo or 50% off next week, and they are normally $1.99.

That garlic/sea salt grinder is sooooo yummy!! Free. Can't beat it. (well, except when they pay you to take it) ;)

Food Lion

Had to go buy some papers today at Walgreens and also picked up some copy paper (since my printer was out of paper) and three bottles of Starbucks Frappuchino with the $1/1 mq from the insert. Then two trips to Food Lion yesterday and today (just because it's around the corner). I also went to drop off some recycling and it was really busy so I took advantage of the fact that the guy manning the center was on the other side of the compactor, busy, to dig around in the newspaper bin and pulled out 10ish inserts from the last two weeks. ;)
here's the combined trips

Food Lion
5 Starkist tuna pouches $1.49 bogo ($1.50/3 mq, $1/1 flip)
2 Duncan Hines Cake Mix 5/$5 ($1/1 flip= free)
1 Healthy Accents nail sticks $.79 ($1/1 flip= free+)
1 Home 360 cups $1.29 ($1/1 flip)
Total food tax: $.22
Total non-food tax: $.04
Total oop: $1.26

CVS and Target 7/10/09

I usually run by CVS (if it's worth it) when I go to Publix because there is a good one pretty close by. I also had to go to Target today to take advantage of the good deal on Kashi ceral and bars and get Natalya part of her birthday present. So...

Target
(I won't include the gifts for N, you don't care about those) :)
4 Kashi Ceral bars ($1.50/1 mq, $1/2 Target q)
4 Kashi Heart to Heart cereal ($1.50/1 mq, $Bogo Target q)
1 Silk Soy Milk (Free wyb 2 Kashi cereal mq)
Total food tax: $1.46
Total oop: $2.78
Total saved- I have no clue, but if I were to guess...around $25.00

CVS
6 Dawn Antibacterial Dish Soap ($.50/1 mq~ after ecb= free)
6 Hellman's Mayo ($1.50/1 mq~ after ecb= $.50/ea) <-- I am totally brand loyal to Hellman's. This is an awesome price.
4 Pringles ($1/2 mq~ after ecb= $1/ea)
2 4lb bags Iams dog food (raincheck, + $2/1 mq= $2.99/ea)
Total food tax: $1.02
Total non-food tax: $.78
Total oop: $2.53
Total savings: $71.02 (96%)

Publix 7/10/09 Nearly Free Birthday Cake, Beer, and $50 gas card

I was very sad that my favorite cashier was just clocking out as I walked up to the register. :( So I had more drama than I normally would- cashier playing matchy-match with the coupons and so forth. It normally would have taken me less time to check out, but oh well. I also forgot one of my $5/20 q's, so I could have saved an add'l $5. But still awesome deals!!
We got Natalya's birthday cake and I picked up one of the $50 gas cards that has a $10 coupon in the flyer. You can't beat free GAS!!!
I also bought DH a 12-pack of beer. I have a MIR for $10 back when you buy a 12 pack of Coors and $30 in charcoal/condiments/lighter fluid. Hmmm. Think I have receipts for that? Surely.

1 1/4 Sheet Birthday Cake- Spiderman. :) ($3 deli/bakery flip, $3/1 Publix cake q)
1 12 pack Coors (no q's)
1 $50 BP Gas Card ($10/1 $50 gift card Publix q)
10 Apple & Eve juice 4-packs ($1/1 Publix q, $.50/1 mq = Free+)
80 Kool-Aid (no q's)
1lb tomatoes (no q's)
6 J&J gauze/pads ($3/2 mq, $5/3 Publix q= free+)
8 Reach dental floss ($2/1 mq, $1/1 mq, $2/1 Publix q= free+)
2 Eggbeaters ($1/1 mq)
8 sugar ($2 wyb 10 kool-aid mq)
6 Kashi waffles ($1.50/1 mq, $.25/1 Target q= Free+)
15 Kashi entrees ($1/1 mq, $.50/1 Target q)
5 Knox gelatin ($4/1 mq= Free+)
1 4pk Duracell D batteries ($1/1 mq, $3/1 Publix q)
1 Sesame oil (no q's)
1 Soy Sauce (no q's)
5 Klondike Bars ($1.25/1 mq, $1/1 Food Lion q= Free+)
2 Smart Balance Spread ($1/1 mq)
2 Smart Balance Milk ($free wyb spread mq)
1 Organic Valley Milk ($1/1 mq)
9 Carefree ($.50/1 mq, $3/3 Publix q)
9 First Aid Travel Kit ($3/2 mq, $1/1 mq, $5/3 Publix q= free+)
3 Band-Aid Travel Kit ($1/1 mq, $5/3 Publix q= free+)
6 Tylenol Arthritis ($2/1 mq, $2/1 Publix q= free+)
3 Clorox Greenworks Dish detergent ($2/1 mq, $1/1 Food Lion q= Free+)
9 A1 Marinade ($2/1 mq= Free+)
used 2 $5/$25 and 2 $5/$20 - had five transactions.

Total oop: $16.37
Total savings: $373.41 (96%)
Also will get back $10 MIR for Coors.

I also ordered q's for Kashi since it makes all items free, or free+ after q's and we LOVE Kashi!!

Side note: The Food Lion q I had for the Greenworks expired June 30, but I had a raincheck that they let me use the expired q's with. The Klondike q was not a flip but an actual q that I traded for aaaggeees ago. They're all gone now (wish I had more!)
I was thrilled to discover the small boxes of Tylenol Arthritis on advantage Buy for $3.48. This made them free+ after q's and this is something my grandparents use a lot of, so being able to stockpile this for them is awesome!
Another fun mm I discovered were the travel kits- $1.47 and I could use the $3/2 blinkies on them with the $5/3 for overage. ;) I also had a bunch of $1/1 insert q's (not sure from where?) that did not exclude trial size, and were for $1/1 any Johnsons first aid. I used those as well, on the travel kits and also on $.79 travel packs of band-aids. Sweet!!

SO far so good

The freezer seems to be holding up. After checking it out last night, it seemed to be cold, so I stuck a few packs of buns in there to see if they would freeze and this morning, they were solid.

I risked it and went and picked up our food and loaded it all back in this afternoon. So far, everything is still frozen. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it just needed to be defrosted and now it's all better.

Happy freezer= happy Mommy.

Every stockpiler's worst nightmare

I pulled into the driveway after my daughter's gymnastics class and my husband runs out in the driveway waving his arms

THE FREEZER ISN'T WORKING!!!

oh NO!!

I go in and look and sure enough, everything is thawing. the ice cream is almost to runny point and all the meat is thawed. ARGH! I think fast. Ok, we'll put it all in coolers and go get ice until the freezer thaws and maybe it just needs to defrost then it will be fine. Hubby gets some clothes on and we start moving stuff into coolers. I run next door to the neighbor's and give them three half-gallons of ice cream, some pork steaks, bacon and waffles.
Meanwhile, a thought occurs to me. A very good and sweet friend who lives nearby may have a deep freeze. I call her. She answers her cell phone, thank goodness. And yes, she does have a freezer and it happens to be mostly empty.

*Whew*

I load the coolers in the car and drive to her house and load up her freezer (filled it up!)

Thank goodness for friends!

Meanwhile, my freezer is sitting in a puddle of water in the garage. I have been sopping it up occasionally and hoping against all hope that a good defrost is all it needs.

Mama can't afford a new freezer!

Please send freezer-healing vibes. :D

Free 8th Continent Soy Milk!

Take the 8th Continent soy milk challenge and get a coupon for free 8th Continent Soy Milk.

Please list my name as a referral so I can get a free coupon too- then tell your friends and have them refer you for more free soy milk!

Go to 8th Continent's site HERE

Simply mail us a Silk™ or other soymilk UPC, and we'll send you a free half-gallon of Today's Soymilk: 8th Continent. Then, take the Tastes Gr8 Challenge, and judge for yourself!

How to Play
Mail a Silk™ or other soymilk UPC, to Gr8 Taste Challenge, 3648 Ocean Ranch Blvd, Oceanside, CA 92056. Include your 8C Username with the UPC.

We'll mail you a coupon for a FREE Half-Gallon of Today's Soymilk... 8th Continent™, along with a code that you can redeem here to enter the drawing.

Take the Taste Challenge and judge for yourself.

Finally, Tell Your Friends. For every person that sends in a UPC and lists your name as having referred them, you will receive an additional Free Soymilk Coupon.

My secrets

When I shop at Publix, I ALWAYS get comments. ALWAYS. And they are always the same comments.
1) Where do you get your coupons?
2) How do you get organized?
3) How do you do it???

Well, we all know where the coupons come from- since if you're reading my blog, you're a couponer too!

2 and 3) Everyone has a different system, and mine is probably a combination of what I have concocted and what others have come up with.
First, I read the sneak peak of the sales ad and copy it into a Word document. Then I go through the Word document and delete out anything I definitely won't be buying. Over the next few days, I pull my matching coupons for items I definitely want or think I might want. I also look for any moneymakers, and pull coupons for those items. I have three envelopes for Publix. One is an envelope for my purchases for that trip. One is an envelope of FREE coupons, and coupons that will make things free (like my $.50/1 Dole canned fruit coupon). The last envelope is my "back up envelope" where I put all coupons that I might want or need and extra coupons for moneymakers in case I need to throw them in for things I might add mid-trip. (this rarely happens)

I have to shop with my children. One is 8 months old, one is almost four years old. As you can imagine, this is not easy when you're sorting coupons and trying to match up items. My goal for every shopping trip is to have everything outlined before I step foot in the store.

The day or so before I go to Publix, I finalize my list and look for any new coupon match-ups that other people may have found on some of my favorite sites: Hot Coupon World, Southern Savers, I Love Publix.

Once i have my list finalized I open Microsoft Excel and make my list. In my Excel spreadsheet, I have a column for the item I am purchasing, the quantity, the cost, the amount of coupons, and the final after coupon cost. At the bottom of the final column is the grand total.

I generally have more than one transaction to minimize confusion at the register. Rather than hand over 100+ coupons, I break up my transaction so that there is under $50 in coupons per transaction so a manager approval will not be required. I print out my spreadsheet for each transaction and pull all my coupons and put them with the matching spreadsheet.

Finally, I make a general list of all items needed and quantity, sorted by location in the store.

When I shop, I use the basic list and just get everything I need. When I have everything in the cart, I stop and sort the cart into transactions and pull out any q's I won't be using (if there are items I didn't get).

whew! It sounds more complicated than it is.

Whatever works for you, and this is what works for me.

For the disbelievers

I know there are some people who would read about these deals and think- there is no way on this earth that is possible. No way.
So...for the disbelievers... Believe it!

Transaction 1


Transaction 2 (this receipt was smaller, so I've included the list of coupons as well.


Transaction 3


Transaction 4 (this is the one where I got money back)

Kashi deals!

Some great deals on Kashi coming around the bend. Rumor has it that Kashi frozen meals and waffles will be bogo at Publix this coming sale-week and there are peelies for the frozen items and various printables for Kashi out there.

Well. Target just put out a whole slew of Kashi printables. Stack them for some awesome deals! More on this when we have a full list for the upcoming sale week.
Kashi entrees are $3.79 at my store, making them $.40/each after mq and Target q! I am not sure how much the waffles are, or if they will be included in the bogo, but there should be a good deal on those too since there are $1.50/1 q's out there!
In with these printables is a coupond for BOGO cereal. Specifically, it states, "FREE Select Kashi cereal with purchase of any 10oz Kashi cereal *Heart to Heart or *Heart to Heart Warm CInnamon or *Go Lean honey Almond Flax;
This could be a great deal on Kashi cereal when combined with the printables out there and peelies. (I found one ages ago, buy two Kashi Go Lean cereals and get a free half gallon of Silk) :D

Kashi Target printables
HERE

Kashi mq Printables:
Kashi Granola Bars $1/1
Kashi Soft Baked Cereal Bars $1.50/1
Kashi Go Lean Waffles $1.50/1

Then if you join Kashi's community, you will be able to print one of either a hot cereal q or a Cereal Snack q. TO join, go HERE

Some deals at Publix

There are some great moneymakers and deals at Publix right now. I have mentioned a few, but here's a few more to keep in mind when you head to the store.

Save-A-Lot <-- Go here
Sign up for their Smart Shopper's club or whatnot and they'll email you a $5/20 coupon. If your Publix considers Save-a-Lot a competitor, then this will work great- I've never seen a $x/xx for this low! :)

Reach Floss.
This is a great moneymaker if you have the Summertime Savings booklet as there is a $1/1 Publixq for Reach products. Stack this with the $1/1 from the paper a few weeks ago and it's a $.51 mm. (These are $1.49 at my store). BUT if you go to coupons.com, there are printables for $1/1 Listerine. The small print on these q's includes Reach Floss as a product that this q can be used on. AND if you enter zipcode 19543, you will get a $2/1 Listerine/Reach printable. Stack that with the Publix q and get $1.51 overage on each floss.


Carefree Pantiliners.
The new Advantage Buy flyer is out and there is a $3/3 Stayfree/Carefree product Publix coupon in it. Go HERE and print out the $.50/1 coupon- this doubles to $1. If you can get three of these (you'll need two computers) and stack three of these with one Publix coupon, you have $6 off three carefree packs. These retail around $1.29/ea, so overage!

Rite Aid and Kroger 7/4/09

I had to go get the rest of my FREE PADS at Rite Aid today before the end of the sale week, so I did that and I went to Kroger to get 7 pounds of the Wild Salmon for 2.99/lb. This is an unheard of price! I really should have gotten more, but I thought seven pounds was pretty good. We're having some for dinner, and I have 5 more bags I cut up and am freezing. I've never seen wild salmon this cheap before- ever. I usually buy it around $7/lb. We try not to eat farm-raised seafood and only stick to wild caught.

Rite Aid
10 packs Stayfree pads
2 Band-Aid antibiotic
1 Kids Sting-Eze after bite
Total oop: $2.54
Total savings: $26.95

Adding up the purchase earlier this week, that is
22 packs Stayfree pads
1 Listerine Cool Blue
4 boxes Band-Aids
1 Sting-Eze
Total: $6.65
Total savings: $87.32 (92%)
Will get back $1scr for Listerine and $25 gift card for J&J purchases.
Profit: $19.35

Kroger
7lb Wild Salmon
1 Digiorno flatbread for one (free coupon)
1 Kashi waffles (free coupon)
1 McCormick garlic/onion ($1/1 mq= Free)
1 Quaker True Delights $2.50 ($1/1 mq)
1 Kroger Bacon (free coupon)<--will give to grandparents
Total oop: 26.00
Total savings: $36.48

Oh, I also went to Food Lion to cruise for q's and noticed the McCormick garlic/sea salt grinders were on clearance for $1. There was only one left, which was too bad because these are my favorite grinders! I used my $1/1 q from the Waist booklet at Publix to get it for tax: $.08.

Can you host a birthday party for free??

I'm certainly trying!

Natalya is turning four next week! My big girl! Money is a little tight, so I have been trying to work out ways to get her birthday party set up for free. We aren't doing anything big, just a family get-together at my grandparents' house, so I've been trying to work food into my Publix deals for the party.

I have all the ingredients for 7-layer dip (thanks to my avocado, mayo, sour cream and Ortega q's), and chips from last week's bogo on Tostitos. Cokes were $2/3 this week, and then there are the $1/3 q's, so got 6 of those. Ice cream- well, let's be honest, there's not been a shortage of ice cream deals lately! I have about 8 half-gallons in my freezer still of all sorts of flavors. I got a watermelon last week so I'll cut that up. Then, today I placed an order for a 1/4 sheet cake at Publix, and I have worked out a way to build up enough overage next week to pay for the cake! Thank goodness there's a massive list of moneymakers right now. Paper plates and napkins were free a month or so ago, so that's covered.

The main dish...well, DH delivers pepsi to Papa Murphy. The manager and he were chatting and he was saying how after she gave him a "free pizza" card, I am now addicted to them! So she said, oh, well, in that case...and then handed him four cards for free pizza! So, pizzas... check!

The only thing I have purchased are a tablecloth and banner because she is obsessed with Spiderman, so I got the Spiderman tablecloth and Happy Birthday banner.

I am so excited!

So you're wondering

Why on Earth is a vegetarian buying pork steaks. Well, it makes me money. And my husband, kids and I are the only vegetarians in my family so I can give it to people who eat it and they don't have to spend money for it.

Those of you who have been to LAGirl's blog ilovepublix know all about the charcoal deal, but others of you might not have heard of this nifty little deal going on.

There is a $6/1 printable coupon HERE for pork. This coupon says that when you buy one Kingsford Charcoal, and one participating product (listed on coupon) you get $6 off any one pork item. This is unlike other coupons in that you can print it over and over...and over...and over... 100+ or more times. :D
This is a manufacturer's coupon that can be printed and used anywhere, but a Publix store that gives you overage and accepts competitor coupons is the best. Keep an eye out for tearpads and coupons that say "buy charcoal and get xxx". Then start combining coupons.

For example, this week:
Buy 1 $2xx package of pork
Buy 1 bag charcoal for $6.99
Buy one Glad snack bags (participating product) for $1.59
=$10.58

Use $6 pork printable coupon
$3 Kingsford Charcoal coupon from Keith Urban booklet
$1/1 Glad food storage product from Keith Urban booklet
$1/1 Food Lion printable coupon HERE
=-$11.00

You've just done the basic charcoal deal and gotten all your stuff free (plus covered some of your tax).
Start stacking and adding q's to get better deals.

Like this:
In addition to the above, also buy
1 Reynolds Wrap $2.23
1 pack beef $1.50
1 pack beef $1.50
=$5.23

Use
$1/1 Reynolds Wrap mq
$3/1 beef wyb reynolds wrap and charcoal
$2/1 beef wyb charcoal
-$6.00

You've made an additional $.77 and also gotten 2 packs of beef and aluminum foil.

Instead of getting the Glad bags, another participating product is KC Masterpiece bbq sauce. You could do this (double the deal):
Buy 2 $2xx packages of pork
Buy 2 bags charcoal for $6.99/ea
Buy 2 KC Masterpieces (participating product) for $1.59/ea
Buy 1 Ribs $2xx
=$23.96

Use 2 $6 pork printable coupons
2 $3 Kingsford Charcoal coupons
2 $2/1 KC Masterpiece bbq sauce wyb Kingsforc Charcoal
1 $2/1 ribs wyb 2 KC Masterpiece bbq sauce
=-$24.00

All free.

Basically keep your eyes peeled (or hit up EBay) for charcoal coupons (there are $4/1 Kingsford q's out there), or any coupons that say get $x/$xx when you buy charcoal or any other coupons which will support the "deal". Expecially competitor coupons. There have been three different Food Lion printables recently for $3/1 Kingsford Charcoal- stack that with your mq for $6 off one bag!! If you find any of these kinds of competitor q's, you turn a free deal into a moneymaker.

Publix 7/3 pics

Here's the pics of my shop today... My grandmother got a kick out of me taking pictures in the store. :D ...of course she gets a kick out of my crazy coupon shopping period.

Cart#1


Cart#2


My little tagalong

Publix 7/3 can I get a woot woot!

Great shop at Publix today!! My favorite cashier wasn't there, but the manager that I have talked with a few times actually checked me out. I did four transactions and on the last one, I went negative! I said, oh, let me grab a few things to make it positive, the cashier said, I think I can give it to you. I said, well, I don't want you to get in trouble, and he said, well, let me ask. Sharon came over and said, oh yeah, it's fine, go ahead and give it to her. AWESOME!

I did take some pics of my carts, but I have to get home and upload them. (At grandma's house right now).

6 18lb bags Kingsford Charcoal ($3 flip, $3 mq)
6 KC Masterpiece bbq sauce ($2/1 mq, $1/2 flip= free +)
10 2-pack pork steaks ($6/1 mq, (4) $3/1 pork wyb charcoal Pxq, (2) $1/1 any meat item Px Baby Club q= free+)
4 morningstar hot dogs (on clearance!) ($2/1 wyb charcoal= free+)
4 morningstar burgers ($2/1 wyb charcoal, $2/2 Targetq= free+)
2 morningstar sausage ($2/1 wyb charcoal, $2/2 Targetq= free+)
1 can lump crab meat (no q's)
10 4-packs Apple & Eve juice ($1/1 mq, $1/1 Publixq= free+)
4 Glad snack bags ($1/1 mq, $1/1 flip= free+)
2 Hefty Fresh Extend bags ($1/1 mq, $1/1 Targetq= free+)
1 Bounce dryer sheets ($1/1 mq, $.75/1 Targetq)
20 Kool-Aid packets (no q's)
2 brown sugar ($2/1 sugar wyb 10 kool-aid= free+)
1 Alexia waffle fries (free q)
2 Chef Boyardee (Bogo free mq, 1 free wyb Hawaiian punch flip)
1 gallon Hawaiian punch (free wyb 2 Chef Boyardee flip)
1 Smuckers jam ($.25/1 mq)
1 milky way candy bar (no q's)
2 cream cheese ($1/2 Publix q, $1/1 mq)
2lb grapes (no q's)
2lb cherries (no q's)
6 Lays potato chips (Buy2Get1 free mq, $1/2 mq)
6 2 liter cokes ($1/3 mq)
10 Bush's Baked Beans ($1/2 mq)
1 12-pack Quilted Northern Bath Tissue ($1/1 mq)
also: a $5/25, $5/50 and $9rr's to cover tax
Total oop: $1.34
Total saved: $267.23 (99.5%)

A note: I had rainchecks for Morningstar bogo and Charcoal for $7.99. I wanted to do the "deals" when both were on sale a few weeks ago and had coupons with them, but they were expired. I asked CS if I could use the coupons with the items I was purchasing, even if I wasn't actually using the Raincheck (since charcoal was actually cheaper than my raincheck)- they said, no problem. :) So I did use some expired Target and flip q's for Morningstar, charcoal and KC Masterpiece.

Walgreens and Rite Aid 7/2/09

I had to go to Walgreens today for some moneymakers and I went to Rite Aid yesterday. I need to go back to Rite Aid to see if they got more Stayfree in stock, but I did get a raincheck just in case. :)
I could have done better at Walgreens, but I had N bouncing up and down next to me saying she was a)thirsty. Mommy I'm DEHYDRATED! b)had to go to the bathroom c)hungry and Zachary was so tired he just started screaming his head off (and that was with him in the carrier) so I couldn't do the addition in my head. I could have gotten three more fillers for approx. $1 and saved another $5 up front, but I still have the rr's that I'll take with me to Publix tomorrow. :D The best part was the Excedrin. It was buy two, get $5rrs. I had two $2/1 coupons. Then, they had them packaged in twos, so, buy one box, get one free. Instead of getting two 50ct boxes for 4.99/ea minus q's, I got four boxes of 50ct for 4.99/ea, minus $2/ea, then got $5rrs back!

Walgreens

4 Trial size Dove deodorant
4 Dove body Mist
6 Lindsay Olives
6 photos
4 Right Guard fast Break
2 double-pack Excedrin Migraine
Total oop:$13.54
Total savings: $55.02
Rr's left: $12

Rite Aid
1 Listerine Cool Blue Kids
12 Stayfree Pads
2 Band-Aid Antibiotic
Total oop: $4.11 (all tax)
Total saved: $60.37
Total rebates to receive: $1
When I go buy my other ten Stayfree, I will also get back a $25 gift card...more to come.

More Free things

Hit up Wal-Mart for a few free deals. I do not shop at Wal-Mart anymore now that I have discovered the Publix love, but occasionally there are free things, and I don't pass up free. Plus it seems like there is a Wal-Mart in every city, and that can't be said for most other grocery stores.

Kotex Pads: Small packs of Kotex pads are $1. Use the $1/1 coupon from the 6/21 paper, or HERE (firefox) or HERE (Explorer) for free pads.

Popsicles: 10pack boxes of Popsicles are $1. Use the $1/1 coupons from the Family is its own Reward booklet (found at Publix) for free popsicles.

Free samples from Wal-Mart

Check out their FREE site. You can sign up for all sorts of freebies, and while the free sample is usually small, there are always accompanying coupons. :) And you all know how I feel about coupons!

Today I received a sample of the new product Sun Crystals and I am excited to try it out in my coffee. It came with a $1 coupon.

There are also samples of Kotex, Playtex, Nature Made, Carefree, and more!

Go HERE to sign up for the free offers...

New coupons from Kraft

Kraft has been going above and beyond with the coupons this summer! The Printables at Cooking with Kraft have been reset. These are good at Publix only, and are manufacturer coupons, so cannot be stacked with manufacturer q's. Get them HERE.

Then, there's a new booklet (of sorts) that you can sign up for HERE. This will be mailed to your home in 4-6 weeks. This is good while supplies last, so go get it now while you still can!

Where did the recycle bin go??

They moved it! I drove by my recycle bin yesterday (an unmanned drop-off spot in front of a Wal-Mart) and there was one huge bin on a truck and one was sitting there but the rest were gone! There were three workers standing around so I drove up and asked what was going on. One guy told me that Wal-Mart ran them off so they were moving the recycle drop-off to a park nearby (Whitman Park?? I think he said). I've no clue where that is, or if it will be manned. Sometimes the manned ones want to give you a hard time when you go poking around in there pulling things out.

I am seriously bummed!!

Do you pay the store or does the store pay you?

Oh yeah. My favorite. Free. Even better: paying me to shop!

Here's my freebie list for this week's sales.

Walgreens:
Right Guard Fast Break deodorant: 2.99, earn $2rr. Use coupon HERE to make it free after rr.

Rite Aid:
(Rite Aid still has a mail-in-rebate program. Some of these are "FAR", or Free After Rebate)
*Degree Clinical Protection Deodorant - $6.99, Use the $2/1 Degree mq from the Family is Its own Reward Booklet from Publix, and submit for a $5 rebate, making this FAR
*Wet Ones - $1.99, Use the $1/1 printable HERE and submit for a $1 rebate, FAR
*Stayfree products B1G1, Use the B1G1 coupon from the Sunday paper 6/28 and get TWO FREE!
If you buy a bunch of the Stayfree and the limits of Degree, Wet Ones, and other FAR items, and use a $5/25 printable found HERE you can make money off this deal. MoneySavingMom has a great scenario where you also get a $25 gift card back! (You'd need a whole bunch of Stayfree q's though- so buy lots of papers or hit up the recycle bin)

Publix:
Lots of moneymakers!
Apple & Eve organic juice is $1.39. Use the $.50/1 mq from the Greenwise magazine and the $1/1 Publixq from the Summertime Savings magazine - stack them for $.61 overage

Clorox GreenWorks Dishwashing Liquid is on advantage Buy for $2.50. Use the $2/1 mq from the Greenwise Magazine and the $1/1 Food Lion Home and Earth q (or flip) - stack them for $.50 overage!

Raid ant/roach spray is $3.89. Use the $2/1 mq from the yellow Advantage Buy flyer and the $2/1 Publixq from the Summertime Savings magazine - stack them for $.11 overage

Glad products: Glad Cling Wrap is $1.59 and snack size bags are $1.59. There is a $1 Glad flip and use the $1/1 Glad food storage product q found in the Keith Urban Fire up the Grill flyer for $.41 overage.

Hefty Fresh Express Bags are $1.79 and there are $1/1 Hefty Fresh Extend Bags & produce item and $1/1 Hefty q's in several inserts, as well as blinkies right next to the "One Zip" bags in most Publix stores. This gives you $.21 overage toward a produce item (buy something small- a piece of ginger or something that will cost a few cents)