Yeah... it's slow here

So, we moved. It's been crazy. We came here to find housing - then went back to Oregon, packed a house, and drove back here... in 13 days. Then came Christmas, New Years, and trying to get a routine of some sort down. And let's not forget UNpacking. Otherwise all the "fun" of packing would be lost, right?

I was worried about making the transition to new stores, new area for finding bargains. I'm WAY behind on cutting out my coupons - they're all stacked up in a bag. But I've found a few great deals, so I'm encouraged. I was able to get 2 gallons of organic skim milk for $1.09 total (including tax - something I keep forgetting to figure in after living in sales tax-free Oregon). Our local Safeway has one section where they put all the sell-by clearance foods (other than meat) rather than having to hunt them down. I've done some price matching in our local Wal-Mart. And today I hit the 75% off clearance stuff at Target in Parker and got some really great stuff for next winter for the kids - including a winter coat for M (regular $35 - I got it for under $9), a **beautiful** Christmas dress that will fit her for the next 2 years for under $5, and 3 really nice sweaters for R for about $3.50 each. Sweats for $.98 a piece, a long-sleeved turtle neck black shirt for M - there were many more things I could have picked up, but we're trying really hard to watch our budget and pay off some bills. For myself, I used a birthday gift card from G's wonderful sister and got some "fur" lined suede mittens that were 50% off. I'm SO excited!

I've taken a gluten-free tour at our King Soopers (that's Kroger here) and scored a bunch of coupons there. Our natural foods store (Vitamin Cottage) has amazing prices on their bulk supplies, many of which are GF as well, AND they accept coupons (that's where I scored the milk deal!). I've even found some local bloggers to help the process along. We're blessed.

So, while we're not really in that much of a better financial place than when we were in Oregon (G's call is part-time and the search for additional employment hasn't been fruitful), we're going to make it. And it's wonderful to have a happy husband again because he's back doing what he loves... and freeing me up to do my job at home (wife and mom) which I love as well.

I can't promise this blog will be bustling with activity again soon, but I'll be sure to post if something incredible comes up. After sending out our *slightly* late Christmas cards. But hey, they were all free... and we're waiting on our free change of address cards. So it's worth being a little late in my book to save that chunk of change.

Happy 2010!

Great Safeway trip

We went to Safeway tonight to get in on the last day of their sale on Healthy Choice Dinners. We do NOT get frozen dinners normally - even on sale they're way to expensive for our budget. But they were running a sale for $2.99 each - buy 5 and save $5 (or $1.99 each). Healthy Choice also has been running a $2 off one meal coupon on their website - printable twice per computer. We have three coupon-printable computers... 6, $2 off one coupons. (They also have coupons for their fresh mixers there, which Geof picked up at Wal-Mart the other day for $2.74 or $.74 each after coupon - but that's another story because even that didn't work out "normally"). We had some issue with three of the dinners not ringing up at the right price and having to go back in to talk to my fave cashier to get it straightened out. But in the end, this was our grocery receipt:

5 Healthy Choice dinners ($2.99 ea) $14.95
2 Budget Frozen dinners ($.99 ea) $1.98 <--kid's dinner tonight - they were thrilled! They've never had a frozen meal before
1 Smithfield bacon $5.49
Total: $22.42

Safeway card savings -$5.90 ($5 for the 5 dinners, $.20 off each kiddo dinner, $.50 off the bacon)
Total: $16.52

Coupons: -$13.00 (5@$2/1 for the dinners, 1@$3 off the bacon)

TOTAL: $3.52! That's an 85.5% savings! YAY!!!

Great deal on Kraft Singles

Safeway has their Kraft Singles (16 oz, 24 slice packs) on sale for $1.99 - regular price $4.99. Right in the dairy section, there are free "Add Dairy to your backyard adventure" booklets with coupons on the back... including one for $.50 off Kraft singles. Since Safeway doubles coupons up to $.50 (use the little coupon in the add) - you can get these for $.99.

We've been getting 2 each time we go. We usually get the 72 slice boxes at Winco for between $6-7. At this price, 72 slices are $2.97!

I don't know if these other stores double their coupons like Safeway, but Safeway's sister stores are: Vons, Dominick's, Genuardi's, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Pavillions, and Carrs|Safeway. According to the coupon booklet, it is available at all these stores. There are also coupons for $.50 off Kraft Natural Shredded Cheese, $.55 off Daisy sour cream and $.50 off 2 1.75 liter Simply Orange Juice. All but the sour cream are elligiible for doubling.

I just won $20!

Safeway has their Kellogg's fruit snacks on sale this week for $1. I had 3 $1/2 coupons. So the kids and I hit the store today to get treats. Only, the shelves were bare except for Yogos Sours.

Thankfully, they like these and they fit the coupon - so we picked up 6 boxes for $3. I had heard that some boxes were marked with a chance to win a gift card inside - $5, $10, $20 or $100. Odds varied by denomination, but the overall odds of winning were 1:50.

First box had nothing. Second box had nothing. Third box had a $10 gift card! Fourth had nothing. Fifth and sixth each had $5 gift cards! They're Discover gift cards, so they're usable anywhere that accepts Discover Card!

My husband and I were joking that we should go back for the last 2 on the shelf and pay the whole $1 for them... since OUR odds of winning were 1:2 =)

1/13
Safeway: Store Sale $2.47

Target: Store Sale (clearance and repackage) $8.45

Winco: Coupons $4.84
Bag Discount $.09

1/14
Perfect Look: Coupon $1.50

Grocery Outlet: Store Sale $7.00

1/16
Safeway: Bottle Deposit Return $4.25
Coupon $2.85 *free tall Starbucks tea beverage coupons - in store ad through 1/20!

Joann: Store Sale $5.10
Coupons $8.00

Rite Aid: Store Sale $6.00
Coupons $29.00 (!!!)

(Rite Aid has a sale on Huggies diapers right now. Coupled with wipes, coupons from Sunday and additional rebates and coupons, you end up with 2 packs of diaper and 2 tubs of wipes for $3.96! More details HERE - but my wipes were $3.49, not $3.69)

Wal-Mart (1/8): Coupons $1.50

Fred Meyer (1/8):Bag Credit $.05
Store Sale: (2 $1 lettuce bags - find receipt for regular price)

Rite Aid (1/9): Store Sale $8.90
Coupons $3.00
(OOP $2 with $5 ECR!)

Safeway (1/10): Bag credit $.03

Target (1/10): Store Sale $22.19
Coupons: $7.50

Wal-Mart (1/10): Store Sale $1.20

Walgreens (1/10): Store Sale $3.00

Safeway (1/11) Store Sale: $8.72
Bag Credit $.03
Coupons $2.00

Walgreens (1/11)
(Check regular price on Mt. Dew 12 pk - sale 7x$3.00=$21 plus $4.20 deposit)
[received $10 RR exp 1/23]

Daily report

Maybe back with details later. I think I'm going to start adding sale-savings, too.

Bi-Mart: store sale $3

Safeway: store card $18.42
Clearance meat (regular price $3.59; 6x$1.79 = $10.80 savings!)
Bag credit $.09
Coupon $1.00
Can Deposits $10.35 ($2.80 of that came from abandoned cans I've picked up)

Walgreens: store sale $19.39
Coupons $33.63

Quick update

I have pictures to share - just haven't uploaded them yet. This was the week of the great B2G3 Coke 12 packs at Safeway - that sale ends Tuesday. Great catalina at Safeway, also, with the Glade candles - done that twice already with one more trip planned. Awesome Walgreens trip(s)... lots to share. But living life right now has to take precedence over sharing about the past.

Two really great deals you may be interested in this coming week (thanks to Money Saving Mom). At Walgreens:

Buy 1 Just for Men Touch of Gray Hair Color on sale for $7, Get $7 in Register Rewards
Use $2/1 coupon here (may not work - those are for Just For Men, not specifically for JFM Touch of Gray) It works!
Send in for full rebate here

Free plus a potential of $9 ($10?) overage after coupon, Register Rewards, and rebate

Also:
Buy 4 Suave Haircare: prices start at $1.13 x 4 = $4.52
-$1.50 ($.75 x2)
-$3.00 RR
Final Price: $.02/4

Time to start stocking up on the Walgreens RRs for Black Friday =) Or couple them with the $4/$9.99 toys at Walgreens this week... with a filler, of course!

Little goodies along the way

How about $1.50/1 Yoplait Kids yogurt?

Speaking of yogurt, I found a great deal at Safeway the other day. I am so NOT above hitting the clearance bins for meat and dairy near/at their sell-by date. I found 7 cups of Danon Light and Fit yogurt with the $.50 off your purchase stickers. There were a ton more there with the same date but without the stickers (they had been sticking just about everything in the dairy case, it seemed), so I asked an employee if I could get stickers for 3 more of the cups. He said the guys who did that were gone for the day, but if I asked the cashier he'd probably do it. So I got a total of 10, found one of my two favorite cashiers, asked nicely... and he did! Here was the breakdown:

Not sure their regular price
On sale for $.90 each
With club card $.70 each
With quick-sell sticker $.20
$1/10 Q - $.10 each!

I did something similar with 2 of the 4 packs of one of those digestive health yogurts.

We also got a BEAUTIFUL 2.5 pound beef roast for 50% off (about $7) by hitting the meat clearance section.

I have another great rebate that I want to share, but I'll admit that the wording on it has me kinda scared of posting anything about the deal. Help me decide...

This offer may not be published in any refunding magazine, website, or elsewhere without [brand name]'s written permission.

I happened upon the tearpads for this rebate at one of my regular stores a few months ago and have been holding on to the three of them (limit 3 per household) for forever until I could make the best deal possible with them. I'm ready to send them in, but it can take up to TEN weeks to get the check(s) in the mail! Let's just say that these rebates for this unnamed product will end up making us $7.05 on top of recouping what we've spent!

Final great deal is a free children's book from Kellogg's - they have a thing going right now (until they run out) where you send in two tokens from certain products (ours are from the double boxes of pop tarts) and you get a free kids' book. We choose Marsupial Sue by John Lithgow and there are 4 others to choose from. You can also buy additional books (the free offer is limit one per household) for only $5 - and that $5 goes to the Kellogg's United Through Reading program to help deployed service members read books on dvd for their kids back home. Click HERE for more information.

On a maintenance note, my posts here will be sporadic at best in the coming weeks. If I hit a great deal and have enough time to get in and tell you about it so you can join in, too, you bet I will. But we have company coming this weekend for my daughter's birthday, as well as overnight company coming for Thanksgiving... so I'm trying to spend lots of time getting this place whipped into shape and lots of clutter given to Goodwill for others to enjoy =)

I have to take a minute to tell you about a product

I know some bloggers are paid to review products on their sites. I don't want you to think that's what's going on here. I tried a new product because I found a great sale and had a coupon to top it off. But I really need to spread the word about this because it was that great! What is it?

Febreze Air Effects

I really do NOT like air freshener sprays. I've tried a lot of them, but they all left a heavy perfume smell and a lingering chemical smell (that's why I really didn't like them) - on top of the odor you were trying to eliminate! But the Febreze Air Effects (I purchased "vanilla & refresh") did exactly what they claim - it didn't cover the smell (in our case, my son's "bathroom odor"). It totally eliminated the smell, left a VERY light vanilla smell - and no chemical afterthought.

Believe it or not, I'm actually writing them a letter right now to tell them how thankful I am with this product - and how impressed! And Safeway still has the sale going on through Sunday - limit 1 per person per day)... so I'll be back at least one more time before the sale is over.

I've got a deal a brewin'!

Every now and then, Safeway has their 12 pack Coke products buy 2 get 3 free. That's the sale that we wait for.

MyCokeRewards.com currently has BOGO coupons for 12 packs for 200 points. You cash out your points, it sends you to a bricks link, you print your coupon. Yes, that's right, a bricks.com link - the ones where you can hit the backspace and print it a second time. I've done this deal 3 times today - so spent 600 points and have 6 coupons.

Here's my scenario:
Buy 2
Get 3 from Safeway
use 2 BOGO coupons to get two more free...
and those two count as being purchased... so I get 3 more free from Safeway!

So for the cost of 2 12-packs, we'll leave with 10 of them! Repeat this 3 times that week and be stocked up with Coke for about 2.5-3 months or more for the price of 6!

How do you get the points? Inside the box of Coke - where you tear open the fridge packs - there's a code that you can type in to mycokerewards.com. Enter your codes and keep building your points value. I also get extra codes by checking the box bins at Safeway when I go to return my cans. Many people just throw them out - I usually leave with at least 3 codes (30 points) - I once came home with over 100 points!

Got WIC?

We participate in Oregon State's WIC program. Part of out WIC checks are for 36 ounces of different approved cereals, one of them being Kix. 18 ounce Kix cereal are buy two (36 ounces total) get one free. This DOES include WIC, as long as you scan your Safeway club card with your purchase.

Just a heads up in case others can benefit from this as well.

By the way, when you use your Safeway card regularly for WIC checks, whether you hit a super deal like this or not, you're helping others benefit from the program. By using less money yourself, more is left out there for other families or for new benefits in the future (like Oregon supposedly getting fresh produce added to the checks in 2009).

Free to my good home

Things have been busy here with some company coming for a few days (and then recovering from my really dumb sunburn - you'd think I'd learn by now). But I wanted to get a post up of things that we have gotten free or ridiculously cheap in the last week. Of course, this picture was taken on Sunday and then I went shopping today... and there were a few things not in the picture to begin with. I'll try my best to add them in and explain them all...



Let's start with not pictured: a bottle of Walgreens acid controller complete, 2 boxes (8.9 oz, I believe) Cheerios at $.49 each, 8 packages Bic pens (4 blue, 4 black, 10 pens each), 6 Glade Plug In Scented Oil Warmers with Vanilla Lavender oil, 3 Preparation H travel wipes (10 individually wrapped packets each, $3.03 overage), $10 of my purchase at Walgreens (using that $10/$40 coupon).

What is pictured?
2 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch
2 boxes Kashi Go Lean Blueberry Waffles
1 12 pack Mountain Dew
1 package Giant Chewy Nerds
3 packages Kotex Lightday Longs Liners
1 South Beach Living Tide Me Over drink mix (7 servings)
1 South Beach Living Pepperoni Pizza ($.72)
1 L'Oreal Revitalift Anti-Aging Serum
1 Orajel Toddler Training Toothpaste (about $.50)
2 Wishbone Bountiful Salad Dressings ($.02 overage)
1 Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste
1 Arm & Hammer Essentials Multi-Surface Cleaner Starter Kit ($1 overage)
3 Soyjoy bars (strawberry)
3 packs Trident Xtra Care gum ($.24 each or $.72 total)
1 can Amy's Organic Lentil Soup
1 can Amy's Organic Medium Black Bean Chili
1 bottle Chemistry shampoo
1 roll Duck Packing Tape
2 Oral B toothbrushes and
1 Scientific Calculator (for my coupon binder!)

Some of these things I'm waiting on rebates - some were free outright with a coupon, store sale or combo.

Today's additions:
Bi-Mart
2 bags lightly salted Kettle potato chips

Walgreens
4 cartons Whoppers
1 can Arizona Iced Sweet Tea
1 Excedrin Migraine 24 count (plus $1 register reward for next trip!)
1 Hershey's Syrup

Safeway
1 Cocoa Puffs Combos (I WON THIS in a giveaway from Our Blessed Arrows / Frugal Heart)
2 more Cheerios at $.49 each
2 more Bountifuls dressings

RiteAid
1 Pantene Expressions Shampoo (SHOOT! I forgot the in-ad coupon - I'll have to see if I can return it and use it then!)
1 Crest Plus Scope Whitening Toothpaste
1 Oral B Stages Toothbrush ($.39)

So, it has been a good week in our house. We are SO stocked on toothpaste now. Seriously, I don't think we'd have to buy any for a couple years. But I like having it on hand, not only for our use, but should there be a toiletries drive through any of the local organizations, etc.

Other Wednesday finds

I was so excited about that one Safeway receipt that I had to get it posted right away. But we still had some other finds today that need to be mentioned.

First, props to Geof. We received another free A&W 2 liter coupon with my first order (WIC). I sent him off to find it while we rang up the other orders - causing a bit of a miscommunication between us (I thought he was bringing it back to me, he thought I wanted him to just get in line and buy it himself). The coupon had a max value of $1.59, and neither of us thought that a Safeway generated free item coupon would have a max of less than what they're selling the product for - so he ended up having to pay $.30 for it (and $.05 for the deposit). But still, $.35 for a 2 liter is awesome.

On our main Safeway trip, there was only one item we purchased at regular price - a bag of baby spinach. We also needed to pick up some Alfredo sauce for tomorrow's dinner. We have only really been saving coupons for 4 weeks, so we didn't have one that would fit the bill just yet. But Safeway had our preferred brand on a BOGO, saving us $3.69. As a treat for the kids, Heartland Pasta's Cars (Disney) shaped pasta was on sale for $1.50 (regular $2.59). Add my $.55/1 to that and they got their fun pasta for $.95.

Now we're in the land of Super Coupons! These are Safeway's extra special deals that you need to have a $10 purchase accompanying them to qualify (as well as the club card and store coupon).
Dunkan Hines cake mix - regular $2.15, card -$.96, SC -$.40
$.79 oop
Skippy creamy peanut butter (2)- regular $6.58, card -$2.58, SC -$1/2, Manufacturer's coupon $1/2
$2.00 oop
All Small & Mighty free & clear 32 loads - regular $5.99, card -$1.00, SC -$2.00, All You coupon $1/1
$1.99 oop (I may be repeating this offer later this week!)

Total before all savings: $28.18
Total after all savings: $12.91

I'll have to add Grocery Outlet later

Bi-Mart had their Pacific Rice Milk on sale this week (ending today) for $.99 each. Their sign said they normally sell it for $1.49, and I know I've seen it for more at Fred Meyer and Safeway in the past. I purchased 4 vanilla and 1 plain for $4.95 oop.

And how can I forget our treat of the day! Thanks go out to The Motherload for her Redbox code of the day. Geof and I enjoyed Dan In Real Life after the kids went to bed. It was a very enjoyable movie, no foul language, one scene that hints at nudity without anything being shown.

Today's bargains

Nothing monumental today, but the bargains that I did find are worth noting.

Do you have a Grocery Outlet in your area? If so, you HAVE to check it out... and regularly. The different things they carry change often, but if you stumble upon a great deal for your family, it's like you've hit the jackpot!

Today's super find - Geof LOVES Famous Dave's. We don't have one here (and with my celiac disease, it's a no-no for me now), but it was our "special" dining option in South Dakota. And for Mr. Spicy... What's spicy?, Devil's Spit was the sauce of choice. 2 trips ago, they had Dave's Bold and Sassy sauce. Another flavor showed up last trip. This trip - Devil's Spit for $.79. I picked up two bottles for him =) Also, quite a good sized bottle of Bertoli's EVOO for $7.99. I'll be returning the bottle I bought at Safeway the other day... 1/3 the size for $5.49.

Then it was back over to Rite Aid for the other box of Rice Crispies with Strawberries.

Finally to Safeway for a couple items, including a free 2 liter of A&W Cream Soda from a register print out last week. Also a bottle of Mott's Apple Juice for $.99. I've NEVER in my life used an expired coupon, and I didn't notice this one was until the register wouldn't take it. I asked my favorite cashier to just put it back for me, but he said he'd make it go through for me - and let me know that Safeway was starting to really crack down on expired coupons. That was really sweet of him - and totally unexpected!

From July 26, 2008

This was just Thursday. Not the best I've ever done, but still pretty good.

Safeway

Shredded cheese - regular $8.99, store card saved $2.00 (total $6.99)
Turkey hot dogs (2) - regular $3.58, store card saved $1.60, coupon saved $.98 (total $.50 each)
Turkey breast slices (2) - regular $7.98, store card saved $.98, coupon saved $3.00 (total $2.00 each)
Frozen chicken breasts - regular $12.49, store card saved $2.53, coupon saved $3.20 (total $6.76)
Head of lettuce - $.99
Tomatoes on the vine (1.65 lbs) - regular $6.58, store card saved $4.93 (total $1.65)
Baby carrots (2) - regular $4.58, store card saved $2.58 (total $2.00)

Bag credit (brought my own rather than using their plastic ones) 1 @ $.03

Total $23.36
Saved $21.80 or 48%

From December 31, 2007

I can now die a happy woman. Since the stress of mom's house is likely to kill me, this is a good thing. Why, you ask?

I saved 54% of my total bill in club and coupon savings at Safeway tonight. And it should be a little more since I see they didn't charge me the sale price on one item ($1 more off).

Since 50% was my goal, I guess I can stop trying =)