.49 cents cat food at Freddy's!

Fred Meyer is quickly becoming one of my favorite stores to shop.  It's already in my blood, since I grew up in Alaska and although we didn't have Target, K-Mart or Wal-Mart ( at the time), we DID have Fred Meyer.  Now there are a million Fred Meyer's near where I live, so I find myself there several times a week.

Last weekend while picking up a few groceries there was a lady doing a demo of the new Purina One Beyond cat and dog food.  Now, you should know that I am kind of a pet food snob.  Since first getting my cat Pepper, I have always tried to feed my cats the best food.  I believe that it is an important part of being a pet owner and taking good care of your animals.  I currently feed my cats Wellness, which they seem to like and keeps them healthy.  But, as you all know, I'm on a budget ( if you can call being perpetually broke a budget).  And Wellness is not cheap.

The lady was giving out $2/1 Manufacturer Coupons, and the 16oz boxes were on sale for  $2.49 - making them only .49 cents after coupon.  I decided to have a box on hand just in case I ran out of their regular food and was unable to get more right away.  I took it home and put it on their food shelf.  And, for some reason, they were obsessed with it.  It must smell good, because later they kept getting up there and trying to get into it, even though their bowl was full of their regular food.  I even found it on the floor with little bite marks on it!  I finally gave them some, and they wolfed it down like it was the best thing they had ever eaten.  Hmmm.  Probably because it was different. but most cats turn their noses up at a new food.  I decided that since I am on such a tight budget, I would try this food out for awhile, so I went back to Fred's and stocked up on a few more boxes. ( The demo lady let me take a bunch of extra coupons!).

5 boxes of food (16oz each) - $2.45 at Fred Meyer!  I also understand there was a $3/1 coupon in last week's paper, 3/13. ( I didn't get it).
I also found a $2/1 Target Coupon HERE that could be a combined with an MQ for even better savings if you are interested in trying it out.  I don't know what the regular price is at Target, but chances are it's on sale, so I would imagine you could get a pretty good deal.

*UPDATE:  Not sure if this is going to work out.  Sebastian, our mascot, barfed right after eating today.  Hmm.  This is abnormal, so I will be keeping my eye on him and if it keeps happening I will need to switch him back.  Somethings are worth paying more for!

FREE cat food for me!

I was pretty stoked to pick up a free bag of Wellness Cat Food for my fur babies today.  Nothing but the best for the little buggers, so we shell out alot of $$ for them.  At Petco, they have a reward system for food, and when you buy 10 bags of food, you get the next one free.  They mail you the coupon, and it takes a Looooong time.  After waiting a month, I checked on my status and realized that I had a very old address on file, and they had mailed my coupon there!  I was luckily able to call and speak to a customer service rep who changed my address to the correct one, and mailed me another coupon.  So, if you are working toward your free bag, I would go ahead and check that you have your current address on file with your Petco P.A.L.S. card!

Free kitty treats and almost free Meghan treats

I ran out earlier today to redeem my FREE Halo cat treats coupon at Petco (see my post HERE for details), and also decided to hit up Walgreens for a few things.  Sadly, they were out of the Stride gum I was planning on getting for free, but I did grab 4 Hershey Special Dark bars for only .36 cents.

4 Hershey Special Dark Bars (reg .80 cents each)

Used 2 BOGO coupons from 4/18/10 SS
Used Wags in ad Q for Hershey Chocolate .49 cents each (took off $1.22)
Total OOP: .36 cents or .09 cents each!
Saved $2.82

(please note, this is the last day to do this deal)

FREE cat or dog treats!

Go HERE to sign up for Halo's Newsletter, and then you will be emailed a coupon for a FREE bag of Halo Healthsome Dog or Cat treats!  My cats are starting to think that they get treats all the time, just because we seem to have an endless supply of them.

Thanks, Hip2Save!

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?