WoodElves

Last night we went to Farm Fresh for a few items that were on sale (no coupons) and to Harris Teeter for Super Doubles.

Here's the Harris Teeter trip:

We picked up 4 coffee creamers for church for less than $1 total and that whole 5lb bag of grapefruit marked down to $1! I figured even if we only at 2 of them, we still saved money! Total before coupons was about $19, and we spent $5.65.

Things have been pretty busy around here between hosting Easter dinner, finishing up David's law school, and packing to move besides I'm still working full time. It's all good though!

I've still been making several little trips these past weeks. Over the weekend, I went to Harris Teeter twice for free croutons and brownie mix, to FF for inexpensive chicken, and to Rite Aid and CVS for the usual freebies. I know I won't be able to keep this up forever. I'm about ready to eat from my pantry from now until we move next month... except for Easter dinner!

Here's my Farm Fresh trip today.

Before coupons, the total was $24.70. I spent $8.83 out of pocket and got back 3 $1 catalinas for next week, so in effect everything shown was $5.83 when everything is said and done.
I grabbed up artichoke hearts and canned beans because they were on sale - no coupon. No, I don't buy popcorn every week. Why do you ask? (It was free - and one of David's favorite evening snacks!) I used my free milk coupon from last week to splurge on 2% milk!!!!! I feel rich.

By the way - I joined a coupon train for the first time this week, and I"m first on the list. I hope everyone else is as excited about the coupons I sent on as I am.

We went back to Harris Teeter today to use the new cheese coupons from the Kraft website while super doubles are still going on. The cheese was 50 cents each and we broke it up into 2 transactions to use all our coupons. The cereals were both free.

Between the 2 transactions, we spent $6.93. Before coupons and tax, it would have been $37.

It's our 22 month anniversary today! And the stores are giving away all kinds of things to celebrate.

First, Farm Fresh:
I was excited to find the $1/1 peelies on the Mission chips - I usually can never find the good peelies. So many good freebies! Free Jello Temptations, Triscuits, cheese, yogurt, frozen veggies & Miracle Whip. Before coupons, my total was $29.10. I spent $9.32.

Tonight, we went to Harris Teeter for more freebies and cheap strawberries.
We actually did 2 transactions to use all our Kahiki coupons and got strawberries B1G2 (they were $5 each before the sale!). I spent $8.08 between both transactions on all the items above. I'm not sure what it was before coupons, but it was over $50.

I also went to Walmart this week to get the items for the All You rebate, onions & lemon juice that I needed. I'll go back later to get milk. I've been making several little trips lately it seems, to the bread store and to Walmart for milk so that stuff adds up on the side as well.

After stopping to get our free Rita's after church, we hit up the drugstores.


First stop was Rite Aid.

Transaction #1:

2 Lysol Wipes at $1.99 each = $3.98
Used $1/2 coupon = $2.98 + tax
Spent $3.18 OOP

Received $1 SCR back = $1.98
Received 2 $1 UP rewards back= $.18


Transaction #2:
Bought 1 birthday card for 99 cents plus tax
Used $1 UP reward
Spent $.04 OOP

Then to CVS (This picture refused to upload the right way):

David's Transaction:
1 Allegra: $6.99
1 Schick blades: $8.79
Used $2/1 Allegra Coupon
Used $2/1 Schick Coupon
Used $6.58 in ECBs

Spent $5.64 OOP
Got back $11 ECBs

Total: $1.22




My Transaction:

1 Allegra - $6.99
1 Physicians Formula eye shadow - $6.59
1 filler item - QTips - $.50

Used $2/1 Allegra coupon
Used $6/1 Physicians Formula coupon from the Magic Coupon Machine (CRT)
Used $5.80 in ECBs
Spent $.64 OOP
Got back $6.99 in ECBs

Total: $.55 Moneyemaker

I had good trips at both Farm Fresh and Kroger (gasp!) this week.



At Kroger, we did the Mega Deal and got a bunch of Annie's Macaroni & Cheese for 50 cents each (no coupons) and free Ronzoni linguine using the $1/2 coupon. David wanted to stock up on Ramen and picked up his free Yakisoba after coupon as well. We spent $5.96 and should be good in the pasta department for awhile.


At Farm Fresh, I was really excited about the produce sale: Kale, Tomatoes & Mushrooms all for 99 cents a pound, and potatoes for half price!
I also used some free product coupons I had and did the Mega Deal there as well. Gentle Reader, please do me a favor and never leave Farm Fresh without checking the clearance carts. I very often find toiletry items on clearance that I have coupons for and can get them for free.

2 Mushrooms: $2
3 Roma Tomatoes: 57 cents
Kale: 56 cents
Potatoes: $2
Philadelphia Cooking Creme: Free (after free product coupon)
Swiss Cheese: (just in case we have Reubens): $2
2 Oscar Mayer lunchmeat (used 2 $2/1 coupons): $1
4 Progresso soup (used $1/4 coupon): $2
5 margarine: $2.50
2 Propel (used $1/2 coupon): Free
Coffeemate: Free (after free product coupon)
Herbal Essence Shampoo & Conditioner (used 2 $1/1 coupons): Free
John Frieda root awakening hair spray (used $2/1 coupon): 50 cents

Total before coupons: $33.52
Total after coupons: $12.82
Saved: $20.70 or 62%

Here is last night's trip to Farm Fresh - I bought some produce, chicken, and clearance savings so the coupon savings are low in comparison. I also got things for a dinner I'm making that weren't on sale.

Total: $23.99 (Used FF Gift card)

Purchased:
Zucchinis - $1.97
Tomatoes - $1.82
Kale - $.54 (See how healthy I am!?!)
Chicken - $9.25
Long Grain Rice - $1.19
Artichoke Hearts - $3.49
Corn Tortillas (Clearance) - $.75 each
Baking Soda (Used $.55/2 coupon) - $.04 each
Tuna (Used 2 $.50/1 coupons) - Free
Shampoo & Conditioner (Clearance) (Used 2 $1/1 coupons) - Free
Pierogies (Used 2 $1/1 coupons) - $.79 each
Pez (Clearance) - $.80

And the good news is, that the Military Farm Fresh accepted my printable coupons! I did ask BEFORE I started my shopping.

I went back to HT today to get the Purex deal and a few odds and ends. We ended up getting the last box of Cinnamon Burst Cheerios & hitting up the clearance bins. First of all, the Purex with Zout rang up at the e-vic special price of $3 (making it free after the RedPlum coupon) even though it doesn't come in the 72 oz size! We found 50c Thousand Island dressing in the clearance bin (David's been wanting Reuben sandwiches) and pure Peppermint extract for only 50c as well!!!

But best of all --- see that Black Food Coloring?!?! It was $1.87 in the clearance bin!! I am going to try to take back the bottle that I got for almost $4 at Farm Fresh this week.

In total, we spent $7.90 on the items above. I have no idea how much everything would have been before clearanced prices.

This week, as usual, I ran into Walmart and ended up spending more than I intended, because I always get more than I intended in the hopes of being able to avoid another trip into there anytime soon!

Harris Teeter had Super Doubles this week, and everything I wanted was in stock! We are almost out of salad dressing - I use Ranch and David uses Caesar so it was good to stock up.

I spent $9.15 on everything in the picture above. Before coupons, it was $31.67!


Then I went to Farm Fresh, and I spent $8.06 on the items below.

You are probably looking at this picture and thinking one of two things: 1. "My, what a symmetrical picture!" or 2. "$8.06 on just those few measly items in that picture? Heather Wood, I taught you better than that!" Well, my husband's birthday only comes once a year and his cake just wouldn't have the same effect if I didn't have black food coloring. Although, I do wonder if he would rather have the almost $4 rather than a realistic looking cake.

This week was a smaller week for me grocery shopping. I picked up some spices, onions and garlic at Fresh World and a loaf of bread and milk, so that didn't leave me with much left of my budget for the week.

I stopped by Harris Teeter to get Jello for David's birthday cake: Spent 64 cents.



At Farm Fresh, my total was $5.97, which was only about 52% after coupons.


And that was my week :)

I forgot to take a picture of my Farm Fresh trip, which was $31.69 before coupons and $10.80 after.
Below is our Harris Teeter trip.


We spent $5.02 after coupons and saved $20.72.

Last week after I got the meat, I went to Walmart and got some potatoes, onions and oranges. It did take me a little over my grocery budget, but I got back on track this week and I'm really glad that I have all that meat "paid for" already.

I picked up a gallon of milk and stocked up on some cans of beans at Walmart this week, grabbed 2 bags of frozen broccoli with free product coupons I had, and made the following trip to Farm Fresh:

I paid $5.79 for the items above, which was a 62% savings after coupons. Once I discovered how much I like boil-in-bag rice, I went back for some more!

I am doing better with my meal planning and doing better at still staying within my budget. This week's meal plan included crock-pot chili, broccoli cheese soup, Greek pasta and hamburger stroganoff. We always have enough leftovers that I usually don't need to plan for more than 4 separate dinners each week.

Harris Teeter started the new year with Super Doubles, I guess so we can all keep our new years resolutions to stay within our budgets! Very encouraged by last year's numbers and my resolution to do more meal planning this year, I prepared for our trip and sent David today while I was at work.

He paid $11.07 for all the groceries in the picture above, saving $57.30, or 76%.

The breakdown is:
5 Old Orchard juices - $3.90
Coffee Mate creamer - FREE
2 Mueller's Pasta - FREE
Swiss Miss - FREE
2 YoCrunch Parfaits - FREE
Kashi crackers - 50c
Regina red wine vinegar - 35c
Finish detergent - 49c
2 Alexia frozen potatoes - 34c
3 Hunts tomatoes - 79c
5 Campbells Healthy Request soup - 60c
hot dog buns (we needed) - $1.17
Eggs (we needed) - $2.89

I used matchups from Southern Savers HERE and The Coupon Challenge HERE.

We didn't get a picture of yesterday's grocery deals, since we were tired and hungry when we got home. Earlier in the week, we grabbed a half gallon of milk at the gas station on our way into town.

Here's a rundown from yesterday, I'm doing this from memory:

Farm Fresh

We got about 3+lbs of boneless skinless chicken - about $7
2 small steaks - about $4
a can of mushrooms - $1
Bumble Bee tuna - free
Softsoap hand soap - free
2 bags of Krunchers chips - $2
2 boxes of Celestial Seasonings tea - $1.80
State Fair corn dogs - $1.20
2 naval oranges - $2

Our total came to $19.91 - just under budget. Before coupons, the total was about $31.

CVS

David and I each got a bottle of Tone body wash, sale price $3.88 and you get back $3 ECBs. We had two $1/1 coupons to make a small money maker.
David' s bottle was on clearance for $2.49!

I also got a 12-pack of Charmin for $3, which I paid for with my ECBs.

Total OOP (tax) was 88 cents. I have $7.79 left in ECBs now and David has $5.79.

I know everybody must think that David and I eat an awful lot of boxed brownie and muffin mix, based on these pictures. The truth of the matter is that we have a very full shelf stuffed with boxes of brownie and muffin mix! I need to get around to donating them. In the meantime, they are good filler items in transactions I want to do at the store because they are free.

We spent $10.08 on the items above. We saved 68% on the total after coupons. We went to Walmart yesterday and picked up several groceries I needed for specific dishes for various Christmas events and the homemade pizza I made last night, and spent about $12, putting me $2 over budget this week. That rounds out the groceries for the week.

Airwick candles are on sale (or rollback or something) at Target for $2.99. I have some $3/1 Airwick candle coupons from a SmartSource, which made them free! I got the last two candles that the Military Highway Target had. Yay for free candles!

There were some good deals at Farm Fresh yesterday, such as this cocoa, on sale for $1 each. I had three $1/3 coupons so I paid 3 for a dollar after doubled coupon. I had coupons for the free chips and free crackers. The pecans were my only real splurge, I had room in my budget and they were on sale for $4.29. Besides this picture, I got food for dinner that night,but they were already in use by the time the picture was taken :) So I spent about $9 for all the groceries pictured. You can find matchups at The Coupon Challenge HERE.

Happy Birthday, Mom! I celebrated by getting lots of freebies at the store today. You can have any of them that you want, ok? :)

First we hit up Harris Teeter's super doubles to use the $5 catalina I had to use this week from some deal a few weeks ago. I walked away with these groceries, paying $1.76 out of pocket and got another $3 catalina (from the Grands biscuits) to use next week :) :) :) Oh and the Garlic powder? I just ran out and it was on sale. Sweet deal. The Coupon Challenge has great matchups HERE.



Then we went to Farm Fresh to see what was going on there.

Why yes, yes that is a turkey. When you spend $25 (before coupons), you can get a Butterball for 58 cents a pound. The only problem was that WHERE ARE WE GOING TO PUT A WHOLE TURKEY!?! I didn't really plan ahead for a turkey sale today. David rearranged the freezer while I took the picture. Turkey is safe.

I also did the deal on the back page of the ad - buy 10 participating products, get $5 off at the register. That explains almost everything else in this picture. Oh by the way - I spent $15.83 on all of this. Including the turkey. Thankfully, the people in line behind me were impressed rather than impatient. As always, you can find the matchups at The Coupon Challenge HERE.

I hadn't realized it's been over a month since I posted grocery deals! Lately I've been so stocked up, I've only been getting a few items each week and haven't been impressed enough to post them. This week, however, I've felt like I have nothing in the house to eat (although we do, maybe I just haven't felt like cooking?) and needed some things so thankfully got good deals on them :)

This is my Farm Fresh trip - I spent $17.61. Before coupons, everything was over $50 so that's a savings of about 65% after sales.

I got my pumpkin yesterday at Walmart for about $4. :) Just think of all the yummy goodies I can make with it!!



This is today's Farm Fresh & Food Lion trips. Total $7.98, saved about $25. Kind of a random trip but I didn't need anything except the lunchmeat and bread. I wanted to do the cheese deal at Food Lion but they decided not to accept my internet coupons :P so I'll try another Food Lion tomorrow.