I've moved... yes, already :)

For the whole 3 people that I shared this link with, it's already outdated :)

Here's the new one...
http://www.competitivegroceryshopping.wordpress.com

Kroger Summer of Savings

Have you played the Kroger Summer of Savings game yet?  If not, check it out here.  You can spin the wheel daily for a chance to win one of several fun little things at the grocery store.  A couple weeks ago, I won a free 20 oz. Coke product!  It was loaded on my Kroger Plus Card and came right off at the register. 

 

While you're on Kroger's website, be sure to load coupons to your Kroger Plus Card!  You can combine a paper manufacturer's coupon with an electronic coupon for even better deals!

My Meijer Picks 8/8-8/14 (Central Ohio)

There are all kinds of wonderful bloggers out there who create fabulous lists weekly, including just about every coupon match-up there is!  At this point, I am not going to be one of those bloggers :)  My plan is to give you my top picks each week for Kroger, Meijer, and CVS.  I will give you details of transactions that work out the best and even details of failed attempts at saving bucks when they happen... like when an extra helpful toddler puts back the final box of crackers we needed for that catalina deal and whatnot. 

And now for my top Meijer picks this week...


Select peaches and nectarines $0.88/lb.


Michigan blueberry pints 3/$5
(remember you don't need to buy 3 to get these prices, though)


Cucumbers 3/$1


Celery $1


Dole Iceberg Salad $1
(sometimes you can find $1 off coupons for this so be on the lookout online)


Morningstar Farms Products 2/$6
-$1/2 Morningstar Farms from 8/1
Pay:$2.50 each wyb 2 plus...
*catalina: buy any 10 Keebler, Sunshine, Kelloggs, Eggo, or Morningstar Farms and get $10 off your next shopping order

Yoplait Yogurt 10/$5
-$0.50/8 from 8/1 I think
-$0.40/6 from 8/1 I think or printable here
Pay: about $0.37 each wyb 8

Sargento Shredded Cheese $2 

Meijer Flour Tortillas $1.39

Freschetta Frozen Pizza $3.99
-$1 from here
Pay: $2.99

Aunt Millie's Family Style Bread/Buns
-$0.55 from 6/13 (not sure if expired - I used mine already!)
Pay: FREE if coupon still works!

Creamette Pasta $0.79
-$0.50 from here
Pay: FREE

Chef Boyardee Pasta with Meat $5 for 5
-$1.50/4 participating items here plus
*2 FREE microwavable cups wyb 5 cans 
Pay:$3.50 for 7 total items or $0.50 each!

Campbell's Chicken Noodle or Tomato Soup $0.50
-$1/4 from here
Pay: $0.25 each wyb 4

Smart Balance Half-Gallon Milk $1.99
-$2.50 from file (sometime in July)
-$0.75 from here
-PLUS use $1 Meijer Mealbox coupon
Pay:  FREE

Ragu Pasta Sauce $1.39
-$0.60/2 from 8/1 (I believe)
-PLUS use $1/2 Meijer Mealbox coupon
Pay: $0.29 each wyb 2

Skippy Peanut Butter 3/$5
-$0.40 off from 8/1 (I believe)
-PLUS use $1/2 Meijer Mealbox coupon
Pay: $0.36 each wyb 2


Tyson Family Pack Chicken $3.99
-$1 from 7/25 SS OR
-$0.55 from SS 5/15
Pay: as low as $2.89

I am planning on doing some major Meijer shopping early in the week so I will report back then on any great finds.  Looking forward to finding good ways to use those $10 catalinas from last week!

My Kroger Picks 8/9-8/15 (Central Ohio)

There are all kinds of wonderful bloggers out there who create fabulous lists weekly, including just about every coupon match-up there is!  At this point, I am not going to be one of those bloggers :)  My plan is to give you my top picks each week for Kroger, Meijer, and CVS.  I will give you details of transactions that work out the best and even details of failed attempts at saving bucks when they happen... like when an extra helpful toddler puts back the final box of crackers we needed for that catalina deal and whatnot.  

Here we go with my top Kroger picks this week...

Hunt's Snack Pack Pudding $1

-$0.30/2 from 8/1

Pay: $0.70 each wyb 2

Gallon Milk $1.99

Iceburg Lettuce $0.88

Add Up the Savings Event - Save $4 at the register wyb 8 participating items, which is basically like taking $0.50 off each item.  Pre-coupon prices below are assuming you've bought 8 participating items.  Final prices are assuming your Kroger doubles coupons less than a dollar, like mine does.

Bumble Bee Tuna or Tuna Salad $0.50

-$0.55 off from blinky machine in Kroger a few weeks ago

Pay: FREE

Hamburger Helper $0.99

-$0.75 off 3 from file (8/8 had them and so have others)

Pay: $0.49 each wyb 3

General Mills Cereal (Select Varieties) $1.48 

-$1/2 General Mills cereals

-$0.55 off Coco Puffs from here

-$0.75 off Multi-grain Cheerios from here 

-$0.75 off Kix from here

-$0.75 off Fiber One from file (unsure of insert)

-$0.75 off Wheaties from file (unsure of insert)

-$0.75 off Total from file (unsure of insert)

Pay: as low as FREE if any of the $0.75 ones are included

Cascadian Farm Organic Cereal $2.49 

-$1.00 off from here

Pay:  $1.49 (higher than my buy price but decent if organic is your thing!)

Pillsbury Grands Biscuits, Crescents, or Cinnamon Rolls $1.33

-$0.50/2 Crescents from here 

-$0.40/2 Sweet Rolls from 8/8 GM

-$0.30/2 Biscuits from 8/8 GM

Pay: as low as $0.83 each wyb 2 crescents

Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks $1.89

-$0.50/2 from 8/8 GM

Pay: $1.39 each wyb 2 (not amazing, but not horrible)

Nestle Pure Life Water $3.27

Cottonelle Bathroom Tissue $5.49

-$0.50 from file (once again... unsure of insert)

Pay: $4.49 for 12 double rolls

Progresso Soup $1.49

-$0.50/2 from 8/8 

Pay: $0.99 each wyb 2

Yoplait Gogurt $1.99

-$0.75/2 from file

Pay: $1.24 each wyb 2

DiGiorno Pizza $4.89

*catalina: get a coupon for $2 off your next order wyb 2

I have 3 $10 off catalina coupons to Meijer so I doubt if I will be doing much Krogering this week, but I will definitely stop off for the tuna and maybe a couple other items!  I will update about which General Mills cereals are included then.

Why would I save that coupon anyway??

I used to think saving every single coupon I clipped was stupid.  I knew I was never going to buy, say, Dulcolax so why bother??  Until I saw first-hand how a silly little $3 off Dulcolax coupon paired with amazing CVS deal and a rebate could be a money-maker!!

Will I use the Dulcolax?  Probably not.  Will I keep it in my house?  Maybe for a little while, but I am the anti-Hoarder - I hate clutter so probably not for long!  But just look at the math from my previous post about CVS deals and how that $3 off Dulcolax coupon came into play...

Dulcolax $9.99
-$3 off coupon
=$6.99 (which I paid for using ECB, rather than my own money)
Then they handed me $9.99 in ECB that I used to buy things my family actually needs.
This deal was sweetened further by the fact that I am able to send in for a $5 rebate.

I just profitted $8 for clipping and saving that silly little $3 Dulcolax coupon.  That's 2 lattes from Starbucks!

Now I will confess that I don't save some coupons... like cat food.  I've never seen a money-making deal on cat food and I don't even really like cats all that much.  But it certainly doesn't hurt me any to file away a weird coupon and it could really benefit me, such as on weeks like this at CVS.

My CVS Picks 8/8-8/14

There are tons of coupon blogs where you can find a huge line-up of deals.  I'm going to give you my top picks each week, along with a couple "eh, just ok" picks that might be of slight interest to you and your family, as well.

My Top Picks:

Dulcolax 8.3 oz $9.99 ECB wyb 1 at $9.99
-$3 off coupon from 8/8 SS (or older $4 off coupon from 5/16 SS if you still have it)
PROFIT of $3 for buying after coupon and ECB!
**I also found a $5 Dulcolax rebate attached to some bottles, making this even better!

Schick Hydro 3 or 5 Razor $4 ECB wyb 1 at $8.97
-$5 off coupon from 8/8 SS
Just about free after coupon and ECB!
**Don't forget about the Schick rebate here!
**Some people are finding peely coupons attached to razors for free shaving cream.

Caliber Stationary Products $0.50 each
-$1/2 CVS coupon printing for some at coupon kiosks
FREE if you have received that coupon (I have - yay!!)

Xtra Laundry Soap $1.99
-$1 off coupon from 6/6 SS
$0.99 for detergent! (I'm usually pretty loyal to All Free and Clear but might be worth a try!)

Johnson & Johnson First-Aid To Go kits $1
-$3/3 coupon from 8/1 SS
3 for FREE!
**Plus, you can submit for free Toy Story book here!

My "Eh, Just Ok" Picks:

Coke 12 Packs $3 ECB wyb 4/$13
like paying $2.50 per 12 pack
This is good if you are a Diet Coke addict like I am ;)

Lysol Healthy Touch System $5 ECB wyb 1 at $9.99
-$3 off from 7/11 SS
$1.99 after coupon and ECB
I can usually find hand soap for less than a dollar but if you're interested in trying this, go for it.

Huggies $3 ECB wyb $10 worth (pre-coupon)
Diapers priced at $9
Wipes priced at $6
You might be able to work out a decent scenario with this, especially considering the $3.50 off Huggies diapers and wipes manufacturers printable from Target's website (or other printables from coupons.com).  The best I could come up with was still paying $4.25 each for diapers and wipes - not amazing, but not horrible.

Clean & Clear Morning Burst Surge
Buy power cleanser at $14.99 and get refill pack for free
-$3 off power cleanser or refill from 8/1
If you had (2) of the $3 off coupons, you could pay $8.99 for both.  


My Plan: (starting with $10 ECB and $1 ECB - more than I usually go into a week with)

Transaction #1
Bought...
Dulcolax 8.3 oz $9.99
Schick Hydro Razor $8.97
2 Caliber Stationary Items $0.50 each
small filler item, less than $1.00 (I had a coupon for Dove candy bars so I used those)

Coupons used...
$3 off Dulcolax
$5 off Schick Hydro
$1/2 Caliber
$10 ECB from previous week
$1 ECB from previous week

Less than $1 out of pocket (before taxes) and $13.99 in ECB back!

Transaction #2
Bought...
4 12-packs of Diet Coke $13
small filler item $1 (like a $0.99 pack of gum)

Coupons used...
$9.99 ECB from Dulcolax above
$4 ECB from Schick above

Less than $1 out of pocket (before taxes) and $3 in ECB back to use next week!

My Meijer Trip

Here are my latest scores from the Meijer deals I talked about here!  I just keep going back!  Ha!  We ended up doing 4 separate transactions and rolling the $10 catalinas.  We got 16 boxes of Cinnabon cereal, 6 boxes of Eggo cereal, 6 boxes of Smorz cereal, 3 bags of Pops Mixit cereal, 8 packages of Keebler crackers, 3 Kool-Aid Bursting Waters packs, 2 24-packs of pop, 1 pack of Pop Tarts, and a 2-pound package of strawberries!

The trick is to make sure you have 10 Kelloggs items per transaction, use coupons to get the total down, then buy filler items (such as the strawberries) that your family would buy anyway to get the total up to $10 so you can use a $10 catalina coupon from a previous transaction and pay little to nothing out of pocket.  

An example of one of our transactions is this:

Bought...

4 boxes of Cinnabon cereal $1.25 each

6 packages of Keebler crackers $1.25 each

1 24-pack of Diet Dr. Pepper (filler to use $10 catalina from previous transaction)

Coupons Used...

2 $0.75/2 Cinnabon cereal (from the back of a box I'd previously bought!)

3 $1/2 Keebler crackers (from the 8/1 SS I believe)

1 $10 catalina from previous transaction (N/A if this is your first transaction)

Paid $0.76 

Received another $10 coupon off my next shopping order

$123.13 worth of groceries

Total out of pocket spent $2.02... Total dollars to spend on next grocery trip $10.00

PROFIT of $7.98!!!

I really, really don't know how I'll be able to beat this one!  But I know I'll still try!  Hope you have time to run out to Meijer this afternoon... Happy shopping!