She's back...

I just moved to a new city ( yay!) and have been checking out my new digs.  The sad thing is that I have been so preoccupied with my move and other life stuff that couponing has needed to take the back burner for awhile.  I can't even TELL you the deals I missed.  It hurts too much to think about it.  But, I had bigger fish to fry.

Now that the dust has started to settle, I ventured out to find my nearest couponing spots.  My nearest Albertsons has a Rite aid RIGHT NEXT to it!  How convenient is that?  The Albertsons is tiny, but the Rite Aid is HUGE!  In fact, I'm pretty sure that the Albies and the Rite Aid are about the same size.  Kind of funny.

The only thing I scored at Rite Aid was some cheap wine.  I intended to get some cheap Jif Peanut Butter, but I got there and realized I had forgotten my coupon ( Yes, my brain is still addled from the stress of my recent life).  They even had some in stock!  On a Thursday!  Hopefully when I return tomorrow with my coupon in hand, they will still have some.  Also - I had a problem with a WINE shelf clearer.  WTF?  There was a nice sale on some decent wine, and ALL the Pinot Grigio was gone.  In multiple brands!  Hello?  Leave some for the rest of us girls, don't be greedy.

Anyway, FINALLY I was able to score some deals at Albertsons.  Check out all the REAL FOOD!

Paid: $15.30
SAVED: $23.63


Really good considering how much meat I got.  As I said, I just moved, so I need to stock up on the fresh foods.  Especially protein!

2 Bottom Round Steaks ( $3.63 BOGO)

Pork Sausage ( $3.49)
 -$2 Store Coupon = $1.49

1 Salmon Filet ( $1.00)

1 Tilapia Filet ( $1.00)

2x Albertsons Brand Frozen Peas ( $1.00 Each Sale)
-$1/2 Albertsons Frozen Veggies ( From Heart Healthy Coupon book in store)
= .50 cents each!

Athenos Hummus  ($1.99)
-$1/1 Coupon from HERE
DOUBLED = FREE!

Stouffers Frozen Lasagna ($2.00)
-$1/1 from HERE
DOUBLED = FREE!

2x Orville Popcorn ( $3.29 EACH)
1x 7-Up ($1.25)
1x A&W Root Beer 9 $1.25)
Used in Store coupon for Buy 1 Get 1 Free Popcorn PLUS 2x Free 2 -Liters ( 7-up or A&W)
AND Used .40/1 Orville Popcorn ( In store blinkie)
DOUBLED
Paid $2.49 for one popcorn and the rest FREE!

Garlic ( .69 cents)
Ginger Root ( .12 cents)

Thai Kitchen Panang Simmer Sauce ( $3.79)
( No coupon, I just needed dinner!)

Great deal on Coffee-Mate

Today I decided to go to a different Albertsons than I normally do since I was over in a different part of town.  It's a slightly more affluent area, so I figured there was a better chance that they had not been wiped out by crazy couponers like myself.  Although they were also sold out of the elusive Finish Dishwashing detergent, I did score a great deal on some Coffee-Mate.

The regular flavored 16 oz. coffee-mate was on sale for $2.29, and I was planning on using the $1/1 Coffee-Mate from Facebook (not sure if it is available still), then doubling them, to get them for .29 cents each.  That was going to be a pretty decent deal already.  But then I discovered that there were some holiday flavored ones on bonus buy - the Large size ( 29 oz, I think?) were $2.19, and the small sizes were $1.29.  I had 2 $1/1 coupons and a .55/1 from  11/14/10 RP.  I doubled all of those and got each bottle for .19 cents!  Pretty Sweet!  Keep an eye out for those bonus buys.  Even if your store doesn't have them, you can still get the regular flavors in the 16 oz size for .29 cents with doublers.

$2.00 at Albertsons!

Yay!  Doublers are back!  And I scored a bunch of free pasta!

Ronzoni Healthy Harvest and Smart Taste Pastas  ( Sale $10 for $10)
Used $1/2 from Here and Here
Used doublers for all
FREE!

Better Oats Instant Oatmeal ( Sale 5 for $5)
Used  2x B1G1from HERE
.50 cents each!

$16.69 @Albertsons!

Yeeeep!  This was a good one.  I got to use my coupons for FREE butter, flour and eggs ( I posted about those HERE).  I also found more coupons on a tear pad for "Save $2 on nabisco crackers wyb a 12 pack of Coca-Cola product".  The Nabisco crackers were on sale for $1.88 AND were part of  this week's "Buy 10 save $5" Scenario.  I bought 4 crackers ( FREE with the tear pad coupons), 2 chex mix, 2 Pillsbury crescent rolls and 2 redi-whips.  I used .50/1 Chocolate chex mix from...I don't remember , $1/2 Pillsbury crescent rolls from the Safeway Save $60 booklet, and $1/2 redi-whip from All You magazine.  Used 3 doublers (cashier went ahead and made my 3rd doubler $1, even though my coupon was only for .50 cents.  So nice!)

Also, a note.  My original total was $21.69.  It seemed a bit high, but I hadn't added it up in my head, so I just paid and went to my car.  Once I was in my car, I looked at my receipt and noticed that the $5 from the buy 10 save $5 promo hadn't come off.  I went back in with my receipt and talked to customer service, and they refunded me $5.00.  This is another example of why it is so, so important to look at your receipt before you leave the store!

As you may have noticed, I have been stocking up on Thanksgiving essentials for the past few weeks.  I won't be able to get everything for my Thanksgiving dinner at rock bottom prices, but I am going to get as many things as I can!

Free Crackers at Albertsons!

OK, I love it when I carefully plan a shopping trip and come home with a bunch of free stuff.  But getting free stuff that I didn't plan on?  Even better.  J and I did a quick Albertson's run this afternoon because they had the unbelievable stock up price of 4- 12packs of Coke for $9.00.  That in itself is exciting, because I consider 4 for $10 a pretty good stock up price.  Then, when we got there I noticed these beautiful coupons taped to a bunch of the Coke 12-Packs.

Hmmm, I carefully read the coupon.  It said something like "Save $2.00 when you buy 1 Sprite 12 pack, 8 pack etc., (OR ANY OTHER COKE PRODUCT!)  AND 1 Nabisco Cracker....  OK, this is good, usually these coupons seem to make you buy multiples of things, and aren't even worth it.  But this is looking promising.  After loading our cart with 4- 12 packs, we scurried over to the cracker aisle to find this:

 Sweet!  Free crackers!  Not only that, but the overage went toward our bottle deposit.

So, we ended up with 4- 12 packs of Coke and 4 boxes of crackers for $10.52! ( Oregon has a bottle deposit of 5 cents a can).
Savings: $32.50!

J is going back tomorrow to stock up on Pepsi (he is a Pepsi fan, I'm a Coke fan, but somehow we make it work).  Pepsi is 4 for $10 at Albies, but they had some nice .55 cents off one 12-pack peelies that I swiped to send him to the store with tomorrow, which will save us a nice $2.20, making it actually 4 for $8!  If you are a pop drinker, the holidays are a great time to stock up on soda.

Oh, which reminds me - if you are a Coke drinker, you really should sign up for My Coke Rewards.  Every box and bottle has a code that you enter on the site for points, and when you get a certain amount of points you can redeem them for free stuff.  I always use my points for a coupon for a FREE 12 pack.  Normally it is 240 points to get that coupon ( a 12 pack gets you 10 points, a 24 pack is 20 points, a bottle cap gives you 3 points, to give you an idea of how long it takes to build them up) - But during the holidays they are doing half off rewards.  So I was just able to order another FREE 12 pack coupon for only 120 points. Do it.  Do it now.

More Albertsons doubling

Another doubling trip.  I feel weird doing more than 2 transactions at a time, so I tend to break it up. 

Paid $1.10 OOP
Saved $15.94

I did this in two transactions, because Albertsons only allows 3 doublers to be used per transaction.  I bought:
2x Orville Microwave Popcorn (Sale 2 for $4.00)
- 2x .75/1 Orville from Safeway $60 in savings booklet
2x Hefty one zip bags ( 2 for $4)
-2x $1/1 Hefty One Zip from Safeway $60 in savings booklet
2x Sierra Mist 2 liter (Sale $1 each)
-2x .50/1 Sierra Mist Peelie
Doubled all coupons ( in 2 transactions)
Paid only .50 cents each for the popcorn and the bottle deposit for the sierra mist.  Everything else was free!

Albertson's Doublers!

Yes!  I'm loving all these Albertson's doubler deals.  I had 2 scenarios worked out, which is good because the 1st one I was going to do didn't happen since my store was SOLD OUT of the Betty Crocker Brownies.  Dang it!  It was probably my coupon nemesis, who probably also swiped all the $60 in savings coupon booklets from Safeway.  Oh well, that is the life in couponing, you gotta be able to roll with the punches.  Here is the scenario I worked out.

OOP: .90 cents!
Saved: $37.08!
That's a 98% savings!  Heck yes.

Here's what I did:
Instant Savings Spotlight:  Save $5.00 when you buy 10 selected items.  The 10 items I bought were:
4x Betty Crocker Cake Mix (.99 cents each)
Betty Crocker Frosting ($1.49 each)
- $1/2 wyb Betty Crocker cake mix AND frosting
2x Nestle Morsels ($1.99 each)
-2x $1/1 Nestle Morsels Printable ( no longer available)
2x Pam Cooking Spray ($2.49 each)
- 2x $1/1 Pam Cooking Spray from $60 in savings Safeway booklet Wesson Cooking Oil ($2.49 each)
-$1/1 Wesson Cooking Oil from $60 in savings Safeway booklet
- $5.00 Instant Savings
- $3.00 Doublers
ALSO 2x Wholly Guacamole ($2.99 each)
Used $4/1 Wholly Product from Facebook (no longer available)
Cashier adjusted down to $2.99 - no overage!

OK - So, my total was lower than I thought, and I was just sort of confused and pleasantly surprised, so I paid and left.  Now reviewing my receipt, I realize that I paid less than I should have.  I think the checker somehow scanned 2 coupons twice ( giving me $2 extra dollars off).  Then, I literally JUST REALIZED that the Nestle Morsel Coupon was $1/2, not $1/1.  I gave it to the checker thinking it was a $1/1, and it went through.  Oooooooops.  I would NEVER knowingly give an extra coupon for an item.  That is coupon fraud, and I DO NOT condone that.  It makes couponing bad for everyone.  So, I do feel bad about that.  That being said, I do carefully review my coupons and try very hard to always use the right ones in the right situations.  I am not perfect, and sometimes make mistakes. 

Doubling at Albies!

I'm pretty proud of this one.

Paid .52 cents!!
Saved: $40.90!  Pretty great.

Although I was annoyed to notice on several occasions that the diet or healthier options were not included in the sales.  This included the hot chocolate, soup and waffles.  I was a little disappointed with that, but I guess they figure people on a diet are willing to shell out more for their food ( it's not fair, really, and must be why America is fat!)

BUT WAIT!  I almost forgot the best part!  After my first transaction a bunch of catalinas printed out, and I didn't bother looking at them until I got to my car.  Guess what they were??  1 coupon for a FREE bag of Albertson's flour (up to $2.50), 1 coupon for a FREE dozen of Albertson's eggs, and a coupon for a FREE 1 lb of butter!  Holy cow!  No other purchase requirements, except that you use your preferred card.  I'm sort of embarrassingly excited about this.  I have no idea how I got the catalinas, but what I bought in that transaction were: 4 boxes Eggos, 4 cans Progresso soup, and 2 bottles Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash.

Another Doubler Adventure

I really, really wanted to do the P&G promo at Albertsons for the free $15 iTunes gift card, but I couldn't figure out a way to make it work without spending too much oop.  I had worked out a scenario before I went, but when I got to the store I realized half of the items on my list weren't participating products.  Oh well, I still got some great deals between this trip and the next (the one I previously posted).

2 Transactions:
3 boxes of Orville Cheddar Cheese Popcorn (sounds gross, but it's actually really good)
(Sale $1.99 each)
2x Philadelphia Cream Cheese (Sale $2.19 each)
Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta (Sale $1.69)
International Delight Coffee Creamer 32 oz (Sale $3.49)

Used Coupons:
3x .75/1 Orville Cheddar Cheese Popcorn from
2x $1/1 Philadelphia Cream Cheese Printable from HERE  (Must sign up, then on the home page scroll down, should be on the right side)
$1/1 Ronzoni Smart Taste from...a magazine, not sure which one!

Doubled all coupons, Paid $5.03 for everything ( Total is so high because of the coffee creamer - I needed it, but had NO coupons left for creamer!  If I hadn't gotten the creamer, total would have only been $1.54!)

Free at Albertsons!

Yay!  Thanks to doublers at Albertsons, I got everything here for FREE!  Woot!

At Albertsons you can only use 3 "Twice the Value" coupons per transaction, so I did this in 3 transactions.  I got:

4 Boxes of Puffs Tissue (Sale $1.00 each)
4 Bottles of Dawn Hand Renewal Dish Soap (Sale $1.99 each)
2 Avocados (Sale $1.00 Each)

Used Coupons:
4x .50/1 Puffs Tissue from Vocal Point sampler
4x $1/1 Dawn Hand Renewal from Home Made Simple Booklet(s)
$1/2 California Avocados Printable from Smart Source

Doubled all coupons - making everything FREE!
PS - if you haven't signed up for Vocal Point, I suggest that you do!  When you join the community, you will sometimes get chances to sign up for samplers that include lots of high value coupons!  I signed up for a sample of Puffs Tissue, and not only did I get a good sized sample, but it came with 1 $1/1 and 5 .50/1 coupons!

I would also suggest signing up for the Home Made Simple booklet, which comes with many high value coupons for Proctor and Gamble products.  I have been able to order the book 4 times, so I have lots of these on hand to use.  I don't know if the booklet is currently available to request, but you can try it out.  If not, it may come around again.

Albertsons doubler bonanza!

I went to Albies with J and his Grandma today, so I did 3 transactions with doublers (I had his grandma do one with her stuff, since she was not using any doublers.  Then I had J do one, then I went.  It isn't really necessary to have a different person do each transaction, but I just felt like it would go quicker that way, and make me feel less weird!)

Total OOP: $4.38

Transaction #1:
2x Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce (Sale $1 each)
2x Taco Bell Hot Sauce (Sale $1 Each)
2x Taco Bell Seasoning (Sale $1 Each)

Used $1/2 Sweet Baby Rays from 5/23 SS
Used 2 $1/2 Taco Bell Products Printable ( No longer available)
Doubled all 3 =
FREE!

Transaction #2
2x Lean Cuisine Pizzas (Sale $1.88 Each)
Ocean Spray Craisins Pomegranate (Sale $1.99)
2 limes (.50 cents)


Used 2x  $1/1 Lean Cuisine Causal Cuisine Panini, Flatbread or pizza varieties HERE
Used $1/1 Ocean Spray Craisins Peelie that I got off of my Ocean Spray Blueberry Juice
Doubled all 3 =
.25 cents for the limes (overage from Lean Cuisine paid for part of them!)

Transaction #3
2x Super Chill Seltzer (Sale .79 cents each)
Best Foods Olive Oil Mayo (Sale $1.99)
2x Box Cinnamon Toast Crunch (Sale $2.49 Each)
1 Box Golden Grahams (Sale $2.49)
1 Box Cocoa Puffs (Sale $2.49)

-$4 Instant Savings for buying 4 Select General Mills Cereal = $1.49 each

Used Coupons:
2x $1/2 Boxes General Mills Cereal from Coupons.com
.75/1 Best Food Mayo from 6/27 RP

Doubled all 3=
$4.13 OOP!

Total Savings: $36.82!

Near miss at Albies

I nearly got .24 cents cheese at Albies...but not quite.  I was super excited when I spotted some Sargento low sodium shredded mozzerella - and I dug out my .75/1 coupons with glee.  I started walking around the store with them, and then it dawned on me that I should double check the expiration date on the coupons - Dang it!  Expired.  But still, .99 cents isn't bad.  My BFF and I were making pizza that night, so I grabbed two bags.  I also used my 2 free deli meat coupons from Kraft First Taste to score two packages of free lunch meat! (If you haven't joined Kraft First Taste yet, I suggest you do!  I have gotten about 10 free product coupons since I joined in April.  Go HERE to sign up!)

.58 Cents at Albertsons!

I was soooo excited today when I got my Kraft First Taste Mailer with 6 coupons for FREE products!  I used almost all of them at Albertsons when I stopped in to get some coffee creamer.

 Ritz Crackerfuls: FREE (Price was $2.99)
Kraft 100 calorie Pack Cheese Bites: FREE (Price was $2.99)
Kraft Homestyle Deluxe Mac and Cheese: FREE (Price was $1.99)
Kool-Aid Funfizz Tabs: FREE (Price was $1.99)
(All of these FREE coupons came from Kraft First Taste:  If you haven't joined yet, do it!)

2x Coffee-Mate Creamer ($2.29)
Used 2x $1/1 Coffee-Mate coupon from the Safeway "Add Dairy to your Summer Adventure" booklet
Used 2 Albertsons doublers
= .58 cents or .29 cents each!

Total oop: .58 cents
Total Saved: $18.46

FREE at Albertsons!

Yep, that's right - $0.00 out of pocket!
Total Savings: $38.07
Trans #1
4x Sweet Baby Rays (Sale $1.00 Each)
2xWeber Seasoning (Sale $1.00 Each)
Used 2 $1/2 Sweet Baby Rays from 5/23 SS
Used $1/2 Webers seasoning from 5/23 SS
Used doublers for all 3
Used FREE coupon for Kraft Mac and cheese Explosion (from Kraft First Taste summer sampler)
Total: FREE

Trans #2
4x Sweet Baby Rays (Sale $1.00 Each)2xWeber Seasoning (Sale $1.00 Each)
Used 2 $1/2 Sweet Baby Rays from 5/23 SS
Used $1/2 Webers seasoning from 5/23 SS
Used doublers for all 3
Total = FREE!

Albie's Doublers!

So excited about Albertson's Doublers coming up on Sunday.  I checked out the ad, and the two things that jumped out at me were FREE Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (Yes!) and FREE Weber Grill Seasoning.  Both are 10 for $10 - or $1 each.  Both have $1/2 Coupons.  Double those coupons, and get 2 FREE (per coupon!)  I am going to stock up, since I love BBQ sauce (as previously mentioned) and I love grilling.  Now if only I could get some free steak.....

(Thanks Coupon Connections NW!)

And even more Albertsons

Seriously.  After I got home with my steak, J and I decided to make fajitas, which meant I had to go BACK to the store to get a few more things.  This is when I can't WAIT for my stockpile to be bigger.  Being broke means that it is harder (slower) to build a stockpile, and you end up having to buy just what you need when you need it.  The problem with that is that you often end up paying much more than you should have to for certain items.  For example:  I needed Fajita seasoning, tortillas, guacamole, onion, and bell pepper.  I had NO coupons for fajita seasoning OR tortillas (at least, not the brands that they had at Albertsons.)  The cheapest fajita seasoning I could find on sale was $1.00 - when I know that I will be able to get it for free-.50 cents when a good sale and coupon comes along.  On top of that, the cheapest tortillas I could find were $1.99 - and a few weeks ago, I got a pack of tortillas for FREE at Albertsons!  If only I had stocked up on a few extra, but I wasn't thinking about stockpiling (also, I only had 2 coupons).  Now that I have been couponing for awhile, it pains me to pay this much for food.  But, we need to eat, so I did it.  Bell peppers were $2.49 each, holy crap!  But the green ones were only .99, so I went for those ( even though I usually buy red or orange) - and yellow onions were $1.29/lb, vs. $1.99/lb for white or red.  At least I got the guac for a good price with a coupon and doubler (Cheaper than an avocado!), and I bought the treats again for overage.

Paid: $5.22
Saved: $5.59

Taco Bell Fajita seasoning (Sale $1.00)
Don Pancho Tortillas (Sale $1.99)
Bell Pepper (.99 cents)
Yellow Onion (.76 cents)
Wholly Guacamole ($2.99)
Friskies Treats: (Sale $1.49)

Used coupons:
$1/1 Wholly Guacamole (SS 5/16)
$1/1 Friskies Cat treats
Doubled both
(-$2.00)

More Albertson's doublers, and why you should ALWAYS check your receipt!

I actually ended up at Albies twice today, not on purpose.  Earlier in the day I stopped in and decided to take advantage of the last day of doublers. I got:

Tostitos Chips (Sale $2.99)
Friskies Cat Treats (Sale $1.49)
Orville Cheddar Popcorn ($3.19)
2 packs Angus Round Steak (BOGO $4.74)

Used Coupons:
$1/1 Tostitos Peelie
$1/1 Friskies Cat Treats
.75/1 Orville Cheddar Popcorn
Used Doublers for all three
(-2.75)
Spent: $6.91
Saved: $12.57

The popcorn was NOT a good deal, since it was not on sale, and even with the doubler it was still $1.69.  I stood in the aisle awhile trying to decide if I should get it, and then I just decided to do it.  You may wonder why I keep buying cat treats.  Although I love my cats, the reason i have been buying them is that they are money making cat treats!  With the doubler I was getting .51 cent overage toward the rest of my bill!  Sweet!  I keep telling my cat's that they need to start making money.... so I think this is the best they are going to do :)

Now, when I paid I thought that my total was a bit high, but I figured it was because of the meat.  When I got out to my car, I reviewed the receipt and realized that I was charged for 2 bags of chips, not one.  So, my total was $9.90 when it should have been $6.91.  I went back in the store, explained what happened to customer service, and they refunded my $3.00.  So, the moral of the story is ALWAYS, ALWAYS check your receipt.  Those scanners can be sensitive and accidentally scan an item without you or the checker noticing.  Sometimes we are so wrapped up with our coupons that we might not notice it at the register.  You also want to check your receipt to make sure all of your coupons were deducted correctly.  It is alot easier to do this while you are still at the store rather than when you get home.  You are much less likely to go back to the store and get your money back if you are already home.  Because, what is the point of saving all of this money if you are paying for things you didn't even buy?

Albertsons $1.97 OOP and some doubler ideas

OK, so I only got 3 things at Albies because they only let you do 3 doublers per trip, and I really have to keep my OOP low because I am freaking broke (surprised?). I will try to get back one or two more times before Wednesday to take advantage of the doublers.


The only things I paid for was the Smart Balance Milk, we really like it but it is really expensive (regularly $4.79 for a 1/2 gallon!)

Smart Balance Milk (Sale Price $3.99)
2 International Delight Creamers (Sale $1.99 each - coupon + doublers made these FREE!)

Used Coupons:
$1/1 Smart Balance Milk from HERE
2 $1/1 Int'l Delight Creamers (Facebook coupon, no longer available)
Used doubler coupons for each
Total Coupon Savings: $6.00
Total Preferred Savings: $1.60
Total Saved: $7.60
Total OOP $1.97

While I was there, I wrote down some good ideas for doublers:

Aside from the Smart Balance and the International Delight, which I thought were pretty great:

Yoplait Yogurt 10 for $5
Use $1 off from Eat Better America Booklet
Use Doubler
10 for $3.00 or .30 cents each!

Quilted Northern Toilet Paper
In ad coupon: 12 roll pack for $4.99
Use $1/1 coupon from Target.com - if you already printed it, no longer available :(
This is a MANUFACTURER COUPON but has the Target logo on it. Your store should accept it because it states Manufacturer coupon on it
This would make a 12 roll pack of quilted Northern $2.99!!

*Sorry guys, most of the coupons I used today are no longer available. If you don't have them, I hope you don't get discouraged! This just shows that it is always a good idea to print/clip coupons even if you aren't sure if you will use them. I am so glad I saved those international delight coupons! I was tempted to use them at Target to get a them for .57 cents each, but FREE is so much better!