Cheap Chocolate and Cheese!

Sunday was a very busy day for me. The weather was all about fall and I was loving it. I went out and ran errands in the afternoon. I accomplished a lot, but didn't feel rushed or busy.

One of my stops was at Acme Fresh Market. I love their 2-day sales, because they have some really great deals. Unfortunately, I don't always get to them because they are only available for two days and my schedule doesn't always work out. This week, the deal was on Nestle Morsels.

Transaction #1
8 - Nestle Morsels (mix of varieties)

-$.75 $.75/2 Nestle mfg coupon (wish I had had more)

Total $14.29 OOP, earned a $2 coupon good on my next order. So, in essence, I got my morsels for about $1.50 each. Not bad considering the regular price is $3.29.

Later in the day, I stopped by Buehler's for a Kraft Cheese offer that they had going on this week. I only wish I had bought more of the shredded cheese. You had to buy them in groups of five, but when you did they were $.99 each for 8 oz block cheese and 8 oz shredded cheese. The block cheese is good until January/February and the shredded cheese, I freeze.

Transaction #1
10 - 8 oz Blocks Kraft Cheese
10 - 2 c Shredded Kraft Cheese

Total $19.80 OOP. I also picked up a gallon of Apple Cider. The air had been so crisp and fall like all day, I simply couldn't resist.

CVS and Acme Deals

I wanted to run out to CVS to pick up the deals I wasn't prepared for when I went earlier this week. Unfortunately, they were out of the toilet paper, the wipes, the Airwick Freshmatics and refills, so I wound up with only a few odds and ends and a bunch of rain checks. I'm a little worried about how the rain checks were written out. I think I am going to attach the ad, so that I can get the ECBs. The new rain check form doesn't have a place for the ECB amount or event code - this seemed a bit odd to me. I hope it doesn't mean that you can't rain check ECBs anymore!

1 - ruler
1 - 2pk children's toothbrush

Paid with $1, $.89 and $1.59 ECBs and $2.37 OOP. I didn't really plan to buy the toothbrushes when I started the journey, but my shopping assistant was insistent that she needed a new toothbrush and after carrying them around, she managed to open the package and I felt obligated to buy them. They weren't falling out or anything, but they were open and I know that if I found an open pack, I wouldn't buy them.

While I was out, I stopped at Acme to pick up Chicken Noodle Soup for my son, who was sick (he didn't think Progressive with Penne Pasta was the same). I grabbed a few other deals and picked up Moro Oranges that were on sale. Reading the description in the ad for the Moro Oranges had me intrigued.

2# bag of Moro oranges
4 cans Chicken Noodle Soup (some Toy Story themed)
2 bottles Powerade
2 Gerber Graduates Preschool snacks

- $.25 Campbells mfg coupon
-$.75 Gerber Graduates mfg coupon
-$1 Acme dollar

Paid $13.13 OOP and earned $.30 in free gas.

This post shared at Super Savings Saturday.

Acme Deals - 10/9

While I was out at CVS, I made a stop at Acme to take advantage of their 2-day sale.

3 - Whole Roaster Chickens

Total $11.84 OOP.

I mostly use the chickens for Chicken and Dumplings or Chicken Gravy over Biscuits. Normally, when I make those I get a meal for that night and a meal to freeze, so this should make at least 6 meals for the family. That means less than $2 per meal for the protein. I think that is a good deal.

This post shared at Super Savings Saturday.

Acme Deals - 9/12

One of my stops, while I was running errands on Sunday afternoon was to Acme. They had a few things on their two day sale that I wanted to grab and I figured since I didn't really need a regular shopping trip, it was a good time to pick up bread and milk.

1 - Danamils Drinkable Yogurt (spontaneous purchase, inspired by my assistant)
1 - Activia Desserts, Peach Cobbler
5 - Chef Boyardee Canned Pasta meals
3 - Hunt's Snack Pack Pudding
1 - Wonder Bread
1 - Milk

-$1 Activia IP (from coupons.com?)
-$.35 $.35/3 Chef Boyardee mfg coupon
-$1 Acme coupon
-$1 Danimals mfg coupon

Total $11.72 OOP.

I have to say that I tried the Activia Dessert and I don't get Peach Cobbler, I get Peach Yogurt. I'm not sure it appeals to me and since it isn't any healthier than my current standby, I likely will stick with the Bryers Cherry Chocolate Chip.

CVS & Acme deals

I made a quick trip to the store on Saturday to pick up some deals that grocery and a quick stop at CVS to use up an expiring ECB.

Acme
I got all of this for $13.36 after sales and coupons.
2 - Life Cereal
2 - Capn' Crunch
2 - Capri Sun 10pk
1 - Gallon Chocolate Milk
1 - Gallon Orange Juice
1 - Kraft Mac'n Cheese Homestyle
2 - Sobe Smoothies
1 - Vanilla Wafers (for school)


CVS

I had a raincheck for BOGO 12 pk Cottonelle. I couldn't find it on shelf, so I asked. The clerk went back and picked it up from the stock room - only it was 18ct. I said, that's not what the raincheck is for. He said, that he could still give it to me for the BOGO raincheck and even gave me a sale price from a few weeks ago? I wasn't sure any of it made sense, but I wasn't going to argue about getting more for less. I also had a raincheck for the Blink tears from the free after ECB deal a few weeks back. I got the following in two transactions (I bought the toilet paper to use an ECB from my mom's card that was expiring) and is also why I needed a filler in the one transaction.

2 - 18ct Cottonelle Big Roll
2 - Gold Emblem Gummy Bears (one for my little assistant to spend the $1 she found on the ground, the second to bring up my total)
1 - Purex Ultra 50oz (38 loads)
1 - Blink Tears

-$.50 Cottonelle Mfg coupon
-$.50 Cottonelle Mfg coupon
-$.35 Purex Mfg coupon
-$1.50 Blink IP (no longer available)

Paid with $5, $5 and $9.99 in ECBs and $2.54 OOP ($1.15 was tax). I earned $13 in ECBs. I got 36 rolls of toilet paper and 38 loads of laundry plus more for only $2.54 OOP (a decrease of $6.99 in ECBs). Not bad from my perspective.

This post shared at Shopping Superstars and Super Savings Saturday.

this week's deals

Well, I managed to get some shopping in this week. I stopped at CVS on Tuesday to pick up the back to school deals. I stopped again on Thursday to pick up the Benefiber deal - I really enjoy the drink sticks. Keeps me from having to drink plain water all the time - sometimes, I need a drink with flavor. Saturday, we needed milk, so I made a quick stop at Acme for some milk, some sale items and 2-day specials.

CVS - 7/13
1 - Caliber Scissors
1 - Papermate Pens
2 - Arizona Iced Tea

Paid with $3 ECBs adjusted down to $2.97. Earned $.99 and $.99 ECBs.

CVS - 7/15
3 - Benefiber Sticks packs

-$3 Benefiber CRT
-$3 Benefiber CRT
-$2 Benefiber IP
-$2 Benefiber IP
-$2 Benefiber IP

Paid with $10.99 in ECBs and $.08 OOP. Earned $10 ECBs.

Acme - 7/17
2 - 2.5# Chicken Tenders
3 - 1.2# Shredded Turkey (Jennie-O of course)
1 - Cinnamon Toast Crunch
2 - Bananas
1 - pt Blueberries
2 - Gallons Milk
6 - Powerade

-$3 Jennie-O Turkey mfg coupon
-$3 Jennie-O Turkey mfg coupon
-$3 Jennie-O Turkey mfg coupon

Total $19.46 OOP. I saved $22.77, or just about 54%.

Overall, I feel like I did pretty good. I did get a few rain checks for CVS - the Cottonelle BOGO offer, the Arizona Iced Tea BOGO offer and the Mars Buy 2 Get 1 free offer. I got the candy bar one because they were out all week and I have those CRTs that I would like to use.

This post shared at Super Savings Saturday.

Retail Therapy

I'm not sure what it was about today, but I did a lot of shopping. Some with the whole family, some with just my daughter and some on my own.

We started our trip at Kohl's. We had a $10 on $10 coupon that a friend had given us and a 20% off catalog. We wound up with a pair of shoes and a shirt for my son, a dress and a pair of shorts for my daughter, and 4 shirts for my husband.

We made a few other stops, including lunch at Steak 'n Shake, where we spent only $13.50, because the kids eat free on the weekend.

CVS
After dropping off my husband and son, my daughter and I headed to CVS.

4 - Glade Sense and Spray refill
2 - Coppertone Spray Sunscreen

-$1/2 Glade Sense and Spray refill mfg coupon
-$1/2 Glade Sense and Spray refill mfg coupon
-$3 $3/$15 Suncare CRT
-$1 Coppertone IP
-$1 Coppertone IP

Paid with $21 in ECBs (including a $5 ECB I had gotten for completing a CVS advisor survey) and $5.14 OOP ($1.66 was tax). I earned $5 and $10 ECBs. Of course, I came home and found a $2 Coppertone IP that I had printed earlier and didn't find when I was looking. Oh well!

Rite Aid

Our next stop was Rite Aid. Luckily before leaving, I had checked out the video value coupons and watched the one for Clearasil and I got a $3 coupon.

1 - Lubriderm (had to get the big one, not free but still a good price)
1 - Clearasil Foaming Face Wash
1 - Rite Aid Kids Toothbrush, 2 pack
1 - Jergens Natural Glow Lotion
1 - Blink Tears

-$5 $5/$25 Rite Aid coupon
-$3 Lubriderm in ad coupon
-$2 Lubriderm IP
-$3 Clearasil Video Value coupon
-$1 Clearasil mfg coupon
-$2 Jergens Natural Glow mfg coupon
-$2 Blink Tears IP

Total $9.86 ($1.21 was tax). I will submit for the $7.99 Blink SCR at the end of the month, for a net cost of $1.87 for everything.

K-Mart

Next we drove to Kmart to take advantage of the Super Double Coupons and to get some Turkey! Unfortunately, I failed to read some coupons and had to put some stuff back because they were do not double and without doubling, it just didn't make sense. Also, the chest freezer where the Jennie-O Turkey is normally sold was completely empty. I asked about the unseasoned breast meat and the worker couldn't find any. He was able to find me some of the ground turkey, so I picked up some of that as well as a few other things.
(dairy and frozen were already put away)

10 - Jennie-O turkey items - ground, tenderloin, bacon, deli and So Easy meal
1 - Jergens Natural Glow facial moisturizer
1 - Jergens Natural Glow moisturizer
1 - Secret Deodorant
1 - Whiskas Cat Food
2 - Fancy Feast Appetizer
1 - Arm & Hammer Detergent
1 - Ziploc Vacuum Bags
2 - Gushers
1 - Taco Bell Sauce
1 - Taco Bell Taco Seasoning
2 - Ritz Bitz
1 - Digiorno Deep Dish
1 - Red Baron Deep Dish
1 - Tornados
1 - Loaf Wonder Whole Grain White

Total $33.43, paid on a gift card I had received for free. Saved $68.79 (or about 70%).

We stopped home to drop off all of our frozen items and headed out to pick up pizza for dinner (not a stellar eating day, but it was easy!) and a quick stop at a grocery store.

Acme
Acme frequently features 2 day sales on the weekend. This weekend, they were having a special on Capri Sun 2/$3, since we like to freeze these and tuck them in our bag when we go to the park or a game, I couldn't pass up this sale. They also have their Berry Bonanza going on with all the berries at $1.48/pkg.

2 - Capri Sun (10pk)
5 - packs of assorted Berries
4 - bananas
1 - gallon milk
1 - 12pk Sunkist
1 - Powerade

Total $16.27 OOP.

After the kids were in bed and I realized that it was a day later than I thought, I headed out to use some coupons that were going to expire today.

Target
Target didn't have the wipes I was looking for, but I had some Target coupons that were expiring, so I picked up some deals.

2 - kids Band Aids
2 - kids Nexcare Bandages
1 - Neosporin to Go
1 - First Aid Bag (free with 3 first aid items)
2 - Bottles of Water
1 - Hamper
1 - Wet Ones

-$.75 Target Band Aid coupon
-$.75 Target Band Aid coupon
-$1 BandAid Mfg coupon
-$.50 Band Aid Mfg coupon
-$.50 Target Nexcare coupon
-$.50 Target Nexcare coupon
-$1 Nexcare mfg coupon
-$1 Nexcare mfg coupon
-$.50 Neosporin mfg coupon
-$.50 Target Wet Ones coupon

Total 19.27 ($10 was the hamper), paid on two free gift cards. I'll also submit the BandAid/Neosporin for a free first aid kit (with $15 in coupons).

Giant Eagle

I headed to Giant Eagle to pick up some groceries, after all of the shopping today, I didn't want to think about going out tomorrow. I picked up yogurt for me (3 Greek yogurts) and for the kids (2 - 6pk Trix), burrito and soft taco shells, enchilada sauce and taco seasoning, lettuce, tomatoes, pablano peppers, and grapes, wipes, Snuggle dryer sheets, 2 tubes kids toothpaste, My total was $17.97 with a savings of $15.46 or 46% savings. I put $7.30 on a gift card and the remaining $10.67 OOP.

Walmart

Since I couldn't find the Huggies Pull-ups wipes anywhere and my coupons expired today, I headed out to Walmart before going home.

4 - Huggies Pull-Ups Wipes
3 - Pampers Wipes (for a friend)
1 - Welch's White Grape Juice
2 - Silly Bandz (some other brand, but those shaped rubber bands)
1 - Johnson's Safety Swabs

-$4 4x$1 Pull-Ups Wipes mfg coupon
-$6 3x$2 Pampers Wipes mfg coupon
-$1 Welch's 100% Juice IP
-$1 Johnson's Baby product mfg coupon

Total $8.14 OOP.

It was a busy day for me. Aside from Kohl's and lunch, I spent $50.08 OOP (plus $60 on gift cards) for everything and saved $181.12 with coupons and sales. Not too bad. So, for only $50.08 cash OOP, I got $291.20 worth of product (83% savings). I will also be submitting for a $7.99 SCR and a free first aid kit with $15 in coupons, further increasing my savings.

This post shared at Super Savings Saturday.

Target Deals and more!

The kids and I had a very busy morning this morning.

Our first stop was Kohl's. I got some Christmas gifts - Sit'n Spin (on sale for $19.24 - $10 coupon), Potato Head (on sale for $5.49 - $2 coupon), Barbies (50% off sticker) all on a great deal. I also picked up a Halloween costume for next year. Not only did I save 15% off the sale prices, but I also got $10 in Kohl's cash for next year.

The next stop was Target. Here we had hoped to get some free Chex Mix, but they no longer carry the smaller bags at check-out. I hadn't brought in my regular coupons, so when I bought some bigger bags, I got a deal, but not as good of a deal as I could. They also raised the prices on Nut Clusters, from $2.34 to $2.50. Here's what I got:
2 - Nature Valley Nut Clusters
2 - Chex Mix Bags
2 - Quaker Granola Bars
1 - Ocean Spray Cran Pomegranate
1 - Gatorade (not a deal, but we were out and drink it when we are sick)

-$1.60 Nature Valley Nut Clusters Mfg coupon
-$1.60 Nature Valley Nut Clusters Mfg coupon
-$1 Chex Mix Target coupon
-$1 Chex Mix Target coupon
-$1 $1/2 Quaker Mfg coupon
-$.50 Quaker Target coupon
-$.50 Quaker Target coupon
-$1 Ocean Spray peelie
-$1 Ocean Spray Target coupon

Total $8.13. I saved 56%.

The next stop was Edible Arrangements, where I picked up the free 6 pieces of chocolate dipped fruit from becoming a Fan on Facebook. They were all Strawberries. Not that I'm complaining, but I was hoping for some Pineapple or other fruits.

The next stop was Acme, where they were having a one day sale. I picked up 6 2-L of Pepsi products, 4 jars of Jif, 1 jar of Grape Jelly, 1 Whole Frozen Turkey Breast (5.75#), 3 bags of Lay's Potato Chips and Snuggle Dryer Sheets (80ct). My total was $22.83. The regular price on the turkey alone was over $13. My savings was 58%.

Our next stop was Barnes and Noble. We went there for the kids to get a free Hot Chocolate and Cookie. While there, they also got a bag of treats from a local radio station. Cost = $0.

Next up...a stop to the grocery, for some Trick or Treating and our groceries.

For more deals, check out:
Super Savings Saturday