V-up, roll-up...

shut the hell up! Oh yes, you read right. P90x is making me it beotch again. I have until May 20something to get into "banquet" attire and then until June 11 to get into "formal wear". Uh, hello. I may need to cleanse again from June 1-10 :)

In other news; because me doing P90x again is news apparently? Anyway, I am off shooting the deals/coupons portions of my blog to a new home. I am currently accepting suggestions for a name. In the running, "Everywhere BUT the commissary" and "The Shopping Life of a Navy Wife". Don't forget my personal favorite, "Eff That!" :) Okay, so don't consider that last one. Leave your suggestions in the comments section or on the facebook comments where the blog posts and MAYBE you'll get a little surprise?!

Or maybe not LOL!

Do your best, forget the rest.

Baby Deal at Jewel!!

Ok, GL friends...lots of you have little 'uns so here's a deal for you. Thank you CouponersWanted for the list of participating products!

Buy $30 in baby products receive coupon for $10 off your next order of baby products.

Similac:

Isomil Advance Ready to Feed Advance 32oz.
Similac Advance Ready to feed Advanced 32oz.
Similac Organic 23.2 oz powder.
Isomil Advance 23.2oz powder.
Similac Advance 23.2oz powder
Similac Sensitive 23.2oz powder
Similac Sensitive RS 23.2oz powder
Similac Advance Organic Ready to feed 32oz.

Pampers

Baby Dry Big Packs or Jumbo(Sizes 1-6)
Extra Protection Jumbos(Sizes 4-5)
Underjams Jumbos Size 7
Swaddlers Big Packs or Jumbos (Sizes 0-2)
Cruisers Big Packs or Jumbos (Sizes 3-6)
Easy Ups Big Packs of Jumbos ( Size 4-5)

Huggies

Natural Care Baby Wipes (fragrance free) 360 ct.
Soft Skin Baby wipes refills 320 ct.
Snug and Dry Diapers Big Pack (Sizes 3-6)
Little Movers big Pack (Sizes 3-6)
Pull Ups Big Pack (2T-4T)
Goodnites Sleep Pants (S-XL)

Baby Basics

Diapers Club Box (Sizes 3-5)
Baby Formula Soy 25.75 oz.

Johnson & Johnson

Bedtime Washcloths 14ct
Baby Lotion Original and Vanilla 15oz
Baby Oil 14oz
Baby Oil Gel Original and Cocoa Butter 6.5oz
Baby Cream 8oz
Baby Powder 15oz
Baby Shampoo 13-15oz(Original, Lavender, Detangling, Extra Conditioning)
Body Wash Original ,Vanilla Oatmeal 15oz
Johnsons Leave in Conditioner 5oz.
Bubble Bath 15oz

Misc.

Boost Kid Essentials (Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry)
Playtex WetOnes 40 ct. Canisters(Original, Scented, Citrus)


Gerber

Second Food Puree 7 oz. ALL fruit and vegtable varieties (does not include organic)
Graduate Puffs(All)
Graduates Crackers
Graduates Lil Crunchies(All)
Graduates Lil Entrees(All)
Graduates for Preschoolers Healthy Meals(Pasta Primavera w/chicken, Pizza pasta w/turkey, Southwest Rice w/chicken)

For Gretchen

I know I need to pick up where I left off down there with the Jewel tutorial, but right now I need to get up "Gretchen's cheat sheet" LOL!

Kraft buy $20 get $5
4 cream cheese blocks 10.36/5.16
2 wheat thins 8.38/4.98
1 capri sun 2.19/1.99
=20.93/12.13
-4.10 in MQs
=8.03 pay with cats/ybs; get back $5 Kraft cat and $1 cream cheese cat

Other items on my list
Coffemate $1ea and 0.75yb wyb 2
Jewel sugar $1.88ea and 1yb wyb 2
BOGO McCormicks grinders 3.25ea
Marinated salmon portions 3.99ea
all laundry detergent (not sure of price) 1.25yb wyb 1
3 boxes of Kelloggs cereal = free gallon of milk
BOGO Oberweiss choc milk :)

Probably another Kraft deal with Capri sun and cheese :)

Hope that helps, let me know if I can be more specific.

Friends and neighbors

I'm gearing up for a coupon exchange brunch tomorrow; I've got my expired coupons all gathered up to trade. I put together some goodie bags from my "house party" a couple of weeks ago to give away and I have a HUGE manila envie filled with coupons to trade (baby stuff, cat stuff, stuff we don't use). I'm excited to see old friends and meet new ones, to learn more about saving money and share what I know and of course...to 'nuggle on some babies!

Here's a little sumpin' sumpin' to chew on 'til I get back - we are gonna talk about Jewel next, so get your Jewel Preferred Card. You can get it online or in the store. Once you've got the number (you can print out a temporary card when you register online) head on over to Catalina Marketing to sign up for "YourBucks". It's a special promotion at Jewel right now in conjunction with Comcast - at least that is what we think anyway.

Get yourself all organized for Jewel, the new sales flyer comes out tomorrow so I'll be back to hook up the deals!

Getting everyone on the same page

I don't want to re-invent the wheel here. You can see along the right side of my page LOTS of links to different bloggers and coupon sites that I use regularly. I don't want to do what they do, I'd like to focus on my own niche...the military shopper :) So, I hope to help you stretch your grocery budget even further every month by bringing you deals from the GREAT LAKES area!

I highly encourage you to make a price book from the commissary of the items you most commonly buy. I did this so I can compare the sale prices of the local stores to the regular prices at the commissary...then I can figure out the coupons, store sale savings and money back for buying particular items.

New ads/sales start on Thursdays, so today is PERFECT to jump right in. Let me tell you about Dominick's first.

Dominick's

Before you even get started LOOKING at the deals, GET A DOMINICK'S card! The little one that attaches to your key ring. You can print out an application online and fill it out at home or you can just go to the customer service desk at the store and get one.

Once you have it, go load eCoupons. There are several different types of eCoupons; shortcuts, Cellfire, P&G eSaver and coupons.com that will also allow you to print (you must have a coupons.com account to log in and load your Dominick's card).

Have I lost ya yet? Hang on, you'll get it...I promise. If I can do it, anyone can do it!

I know you are looking at all those coupons thinking, "I don't even USE half this stuff". Don't worry about it right now, just ADD EVERYTHING! Trust me.

Now let's look at the ad. If you are reading this on Wednesday night and looking at the ad it is still for last week. Wait 'til tomorrow to see the new ad - which is the one I am going to be talking about.

The big hulabaloo at Dominick's this week is the Buy 5 Save $5 promotion.

Buy ANY combination of 5 participating items with your Fresh Values Card (Dominick's card) in a single transaction between March 11-17, 2010, and SAVE $5 or more instantly!

Group One

• Eating Right cut vegetables 12-oz. package. Selected varieties.
• Eating Right salad blends 5 to 12-oz. package. Selected varieties.
• Fresh Express salad blends 4.5 to 12-oz. package. Selected varieties.
• Marie's pourable dressings 11.5-oz. bottle. Selected varieties.
• POM Wonderful tea 16-oz. Selected varities.
• Monterey mushrooms 10-oz. OR whole & sliced white button mushrooms 8-oz.

NO LIMIT! The more you buy, the more you save!

I'm not going to insult your intelligence by spelling out every.single.sale.item. So, look at the ad while you follow along.

There is another "Buy any 5 Save $5" mix and match sale with cereals, fruit snacks and granola bars. Check in store to see LOTS more than just the brands/types pictured. Remember, you MUST BUY 5 of these items to SAVE the additional $5!

Another great deal going on right now at Dominick's is the "CHILL" deal because it's frozen food month :)

Buy $25 in participating products (thanks slickdeals!)and receive a $10 coupon to use on your next purchase of frozen food. (Choose frozenfood-upc.pdf from that link). Your total must reach $25 on Fresh Value card prices BEFORE taxes and coupons! SO, if you have some super awesome coupons (AND e Coupons) you could really bring your total down and still get that $10 coupon.

I'll give you a "for instance" on this particular deal. DevilDoc likes the Yoplait smoothie things. (A) they don't carry them at the commissary and (B) they are WAAAAY too expensive without some kind of deal. Last week they were 2/$6 AND included in the CHILL promotion. I bought 6 of them ($18) and added some other items to get to my $25 mark. I used $6 in coupons ($1/1) to bring my total down. I also had coupons for those other couple items I bought to get to the $25. When all was said and done I spent $16 (after coupons) and got back a $10 coupon to use on my next frozen food purchase. A VERY good price for that particular item and a BONUS because I got a coupon to use next time :)

Once you start "collecting" coupons you will REALLY see your savings skyrocket. The BEST part about Dominick's?! FOR NOW, they take expired coupons up to a year!! Yes, you read that right...you can use coupons up to a year AFTER their expiration date. I say "for now" because some stores may give you flack about it while others may not even bat an eyelash. Just keep that in mind :)

I would scan in my receipt from today to show you an example (and I probably will do that later) but I am tired so I'll just break it down for you!

4 Betty Crocker fruit snacks @1.99 = 7.96
-1.50 eCoupons
1 Betty Crocker fruit shapes@1.99 = 1.99
-.40 eCoupons
1 Nature Valley nut clusters@2.50 (saleprice)
-3.80 eCoupons!!!!! (more on that later)
4 Fruity pebbles@2.50 = 10.00 (saleprice)
1 4lb bag frozen Safeway chicken breast@8.99 (sale price)
-1.00 eCoupon
.92lb asparagus@1.99lb = 1.37 (saleprice)

SAVE $5 instantly on 5 fruit snacks
SAVE $5 instantly on 5 cereal/granola
-$10 CHILL coupon from my Yoplait deal I talked about above
-.50/2 fruit snacks
-1.00/2 fruit snacks
-1.00/asparagus
-1.00/1 nut clusters

Total $3.01 (of which .40 was tax)!
AND, there are special promotions going on right now with the fruit snacks and select POST cereals called "Catalinas". They are called this because the marketing company who runs the promotions is called "Catalina Marketing". Google it to find out more specifics. You may see little white tags on the shelf at the store saying "Save $1 when you buy 2" or something of the like. Typically, the savings increases with the number of items you purchase. For these particular deals POST) I bought 4 cereals so I got a coupon at the end of my order for $3.00 off my next order total and for fruit snacks) I bought 5 so I got a $3.50 coupon to use off my next order total.

I paid $3.01 BUT received $6.50 in coupons to use next time...so REALLY they PAID me to bring the groceries home to the tune of $3.49!

For more in depth information on catalinas and basic couponing in general I HIGHLY suggest checking out
Jill Cataldo. She also holds couponing classes ALL OVER the state. I haven't been to one yet, but I am going to keep trying!

Hope that gives everyone a jumping off point. I know it is A LOT to digest; take it SLOW! Ease into it! It is NOT for everyone and it does take time and patience. It works for my family and I have FUN doing it.

Feel free to leave a comment or send me a note with any questions.

***Disclaimer-I do not make ANY guarantees on the amount of money you will save on your grocery bill. I share my experiences with you in hopes that you can make the most of your grocery budget.

As always, MAD props to the peeps over at CW who allow me to follow them and learn the way of the Jedi.

And away we go

CORRECTION!! THIS ENDED 3/10....HOPE YOU GOT YOUR POPCORN :)

Per request...an easy one:


Ok, I’ll start ya off with something easy. Jewel has a promotion going with ConAgra (and a few other) products through 3/14…but we’re keeping it simple; so here ya go:

Buy $25 in ConAgra products and recveive a $10 coupon to use on your next order. For NOW the $25 is based on the price the item scans at the register BEFORE your preferred card.

So, right now Orville Redenbacher (which is included in this ‘deal’) is ring price 3.59 preferred price 1.69. This is what is called a “good spread” between the ring price and the preferred price.

So, buy 7 popcorn at 3.59 = 25.13 plus tax. Use (3) $2 off 2 boxes coupons from www.save-a-lot.com (go to printable coupons, it should let you print it 5 times) . Your preferred price total will be $11.83 MINUS your $6 in coupons = $5.83 plus tax and you get back a $10 coupon to use on your next purchase. You just got PAID to take popcorn home 

***These are the UPC codes for the popcorn varities that will work towards this deal:
ORVILLE REDENBACHER
2700048244 ORVILLE REDENBACHER BUTTER 9.90 OZ
2700048856 ORVILLE REDENBACHER BUTTER 9.90 OZ
2700048363 ORVILLE REDENBACHER NATURAL BUTTER 8.60 OZ
2700048372 ORVILLE REDENBACHER NATURAL BUTTER 9.90 OZ
2700048741 ORVILLE REDENBACHER NATURAL NATURAL 8.60 OZ
2700048855 ORVILLE REDENBACHER NATURAL SIMPLY SALTED 9.90 OZ
2700048206 ORVILLE REDENBACHER NATURAL BTRY SLT & CRCKD P#1 6.20 OZ
2700048207 ORVILLE REDENBACHER NATURAL BUTTERY GARLIC 6.20 OZ
2700050000 ORVILLE REDENBACHER NATURAL LIME AND SALT 6.21 OZ
2700048539 ORVILLE REDENBACHER POUR OVER MOVIE THEATER BUTTER 9.90 OZ
2700048540 ORVILLE REDENBACHER POUR OVER CHEDDAR CHEESE 9.30 OZ
2700048250 ORVILLE REDENBACHER SMART POP BUTTER 8.60 OZ
2700048648 ORVILLE REDENBACHER SMART POP BUTTER 8.60 OZ
2700048288 ORVILLE REDENBACHER SMART POP BUTTER 4.90 OZ
2700048198 ORVILLE REDENBACHER SMART POP KETTLE CORN 4.90 OZ
2700048223 ORVILLE REDENBACHER SMART POP KETTLE CORN 8.60 OZ
2700048478 ORVILLE REDENBACHER SMART POP MOVIE THEATER BUTTER 8.60 OZ
2700048596 ORVILLE REDENBACHER MOVIE THEATER BUTTER 9.00 OZ
2700048606 ORVILLE REDENBACHER MOVIE THEATER BUTTER 9.90 OZ
2700048289 ORVILLE REDENBACHER MOVIE THEATER BUTTER 6.00 OZ
2700048187 ORVILLE REDENBACHER CHEDDAR CHEESE 7.60 OZ
2700048589 ORVILLE REDENBACHER CHEDDAR CHEESE 9.00 OZ
2700048393 ORVILLE REDENBACHER KETTLE CORN 9.90 OZ
2700048200 ORVILLE REDENBACHER KETTLE CORN 6.40 OZ
2700048862 ORVILLE REDENBACHER CARAMEL 13.00 OZ
2700048102 ORVILLE REDENBACHER TENDER WHITE 9.90 OZ
2700048391 ORVILLE REDENBACHER SWEET N BUTTERY 10.50 OZ
2700048402 ORVILLE REDENBACHER ULTIMATE BUTTER 9.90 OZ
2700048403 ORVILLE REDENBACHER HOMESTYLE OLD FASHIONED BUTTER 9.90 OZ
2700048404 ORVILLE REDENBACHER CORN ON THE COB 9.90 OZ
2700048590 ORVILLE REDENBACHER SPICY NACHO 9.00 OZ
2700048742 ORVILLE REDENBACHER LIGHT BUTTER 8.60 OZ
2700048357 ORVILLE REDENBACHER 12/4 1.6OZ HERB & OIL

My tip, scan your items FIRST to make sure you hit $25 BEFORE TAX!!!! Then scan your preferred card for the discount.
***Thanks to Barb09 et al. at CW for this information.

What would you like to see?

First off, let me say SORRY for being gone for so long. My laptop finally met its maker and I had to scurry out and buy a new one. I CANNOT even get it to START so I lost ALL MY BOOKMARKS and my budget spreadsheet :( I am hoping DevilDoc can persuade one of the IT guys at the clinic to hand out some free advice *insert eye fluttering here* pretty pretty please?

Anywhose, I've had LOTS of peeps in my little circle asking me "HOW do you DO THAT?!" and I've promised to share. I think THIS is the perfect place to share, but I want to know - what would you like to see? There are a few options:

I can put up some easy deals with readily available coupons that you can get your feet wet with.
I can put up MY shopping plan for Jewel, Dominick's or both.
You can suggest any variation of the above and I will do my best.

So, what would you like to see?

Disclaimer: I in NO way, shape or form purport to be any kind of coupon wizard. Sometimes I can come up with a deal on my own, but usually I have tweak deals I've seen on the net to suit my family. Remember, what I buy might NOT be what you buy so the deal won't work for you. Just a reminder before we get started :) And, as always, THANK YOU CW...without you I would NOT be able to "do what I do."

I haven't stopped shopping...

I've just been super busy getting back into the swing of being a single parent. DevilDoc is "back to school" and I am trying to cover all the parenting bases, it's no new thing to me but I'm a tad out of practice. A couple more weeks and we should be in the groove.

I hit Target and Jewel yesterday for some sweet deals, ready?

First we'll do Target. They are running a bunch of "buy X, get a $5 gift card".

TRANSACTION # 1
Gillete Razors, buy 2 get a $5 gift card
3-Gillette Venus Embrace
used 3-$2/1 MQ for -$6
used 3-free Olay body wash ($5.49) when you buy Venus Embrace for -$16.47

1-Gillette Fusion
used $4/1 for -$4

Earned $10 in gift cards ($5 for 2 Venus and $5 for Venus/Fusion combo)
TOTAL $17.96 before tax

TRANSACTION # 2
1-Reese's pieces bag SALE $1.49
used $1/1 MQ
used $1/1 Target Q

1-York pieces bag SALE $1.49
used $1/1 MQ
used $1/1 Target Q

JUST REALIZED she didn't charge me for my 3rd bag of candy...oops!

5-Quaker oatmeal express $1.02/ea (gift card deal!)
used 2-$1/1 MQ (that's all I had)

3-Lightbulbs 4 pack SALE $2.09
used 3-$1/1 MQ
used 3-$1.50/1 Target Q

Single lightbulb SALE $0.49
used $1/1 MQ
used $1.50/1 Target Q

Earned $5 gc from the oatmeal deal
Total $4.79 before tax which I used the gift card from above to pay with :)
NO OUT OF POCKET COST!!!!

So $17.96 at Target AND I have $10 in gift cards to use!

Jewel-Osco
4-PictSweet frozen veggies @1.99/ea
Pref card @0.99/ea

6-ACT II popcorn @3.38/ea
Pref card @1.00/ea

3-Fisher fusion nut mixes @2.59/ea
Pref card @1.49/ea
3-$1/1 MQ

2-Coffeemat creamer @2/$1
1-$1.50/2 MQ

I used a $6 cat and $4 cat from Walgreens :)

Total before tax $0.93!!

Oh, it was sooo much fun! I still have to hit Dominick's but just didn't have time or energy yesterday. I'm thinking probably on Sunday since we will be without children...I'm gonna drag DevilDoc along with me so I can show him how I shop :)

Happy Valentine's day everyone!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the blogs and message boards listed on the right-hand sidebar for helping me save money and showing me the ropes!!

Sick and tired of being sick and tired

ick! I hate the sickness...I'd rather just puke and be done, but nooooooo! I have to have the stuffy nose, itchy throat, watery eyes kinda sickness. Day 2 and hoping that day 3 brings an end to it! I have stuff to do dang it!

Speaking of stuff to do. Uh, I haven't been doing so much of the P90X. One, because I have felt like doo-doo - two, our copy of the program is all fricked the frack up and works when it damn well feels like it and three, I've been down right exhausted getting used to the single parent schedule again.

So, I ordered a NEW copy of P90X and it arrived TODAY *jump for joy* and on MONDAY I will be starting ALL OVER! Which is fine with me, BRING IT beotch. I am also going to try my darndest to get on board with the meal planning they provide, but with just the boys and I home for dinner 4/5 nights during the week it's hard to cook salmon, tilapia and lemon pepper chicken when they'd just as soon have a bowl of froot loops or some grilled cheese. We'll see how that progresses.

I need to take more pictures. Random thought.

And I'd like to take this opportunity to thank not only all those blogs listed down there on the side for helping me understand this whole "super-couponing" thing but more specifically the ladies over at Couponers Wanted. They are full of information and resources! They really know how to make you feel welcome and give you the help that you ask for. Thanks gals!

Onto tonight's shopping adventure. I think I missed posting an adventure..oh yes, one to CVS. It wasn't grocery related so that's probably why.

Let me share my abbreviations before we get started.
Shelf=the regular selling price.
Card=preferred card price.
MQ=manufacturer coupon.
SQ=store coupon.
CAT=catalina coupon that prints at the end of an order at some grocery stores for $XX off your next order.
Instant=instant savings when you buy a certain # of a product
EQ=electronic loaded coupon, which you can find here, here and here. Also, if you have a Upromise account you can load coupons and the savings will go into your account instead of coming off you bill (at least that is how I understand it.

Buckle up, here we go!

Jewel-Osco
$1.39/ea when you buy 5 participating Quaker products; here's what I did

6 granola bars
Shelf: 19.14
Card: 11.94
MQ: $3
4 boxes instant oatmeal
Shelf: 15.96
Card: 7.96
MQ: $4
Instant on 10items = $6
I paid 6.90

2 skippy peanut butter
Shelf: 6.50
Card: 3.00
MQ: 1.00
I paid 2.00

2 I can't believe it's not butter
Shelf: 5.90
Card: 3.00
MQ: 1.00
I paid 2.00

Coffeemate
Shelf: 1.79
MQ: 1.00
I paid 0.79

Wheatables
Shelf: 4.29
Card: 1.88
MQ: 1.50
I paid 0.33

Sara Lee bread
Shelf: 2.99
Card: 1.69
I paid 1.69

Slim fast bar
Shelf: 0.99
Card: FREE
MQ: 1.00
I paid: -1.00 :)

Mountain High vanilla yogurt
Shelf: 3.59
Card: 2.19
MQ: 1.00
I paid: 1.19

I also had a $5 CAT and a $2 CAT.

Total Shelf Price: 60.15
Total card savings: 33.70
Total MQ: 20.50
I paid: 6.95 not including tax; 88.63% savings.

Moving right along to Dominick's

Trix cereal
Shelf: 3.49
Card: 1.88
EQ: 0.55
MQ: 1.00
I paid 0.33

Lucky Charms
Shelf: 3.99
Card: 1.88
EQ: 1.10
MQ: 1.00
I paid: -0.22 (yes, they gave ME $ to buy the cereal)

2 Doritos
Shelf: 7.98
Card: 5.98
SQ: 4.00
I paid 1.98

4 Ragu
Shelf: 7.96
Card: 5.00
SQ: 2.00
MQ: 2.00
I paid: 1.00 (or 0.25/ea!!)

4 La Victoria Salsa
Shelf: 11.96
Card: 8.00
MQ: 8.00
I paid: 0

Angel soft
Shelf: 1.79
I FORGOT MY MQ!!!!
I paid: 1.79

2 Milk
Shelf: 4.98
Card: 3.98
I paid: 3.98

1 choc milk
Shelf: 1.99
Card: 1.99
MQ: 1.99
I paid: 0

2 Trop50 OJ
Shelf: 6.78
Card: 5.00
MQ: 2.00
I paid: 3.00

Shelf: 49.92
Card: 14.42
SQ + MQ+EQ: 23.64
I paid: 11.86 not including tax; savings of 76.24%

ONE HUNDRED ELEVEN DOLLARS & EIGHTY SEVEN CENTS OF GROCERIES FOR

$18.87

Naysayers

Don't hate the player, hate the game LOL! I've had some people...no names...questioning my ability to be saving as much money as I am doing our grocery shopping. Some even going to so far as to accuse me of not supporting the military way of life b/c I am shopping less and less at the commissary. As far as I am concerned, the commissary is not supporting US by supplying over-priced products, incoherent policies and the teeny-tiniest of selection!

So, for my naysayers....I give you the comparison from this evening's shopping trip.

2-pkgs barilla pasta
I paid 1.98
Commy price 2.98

2-pkgs crescent rolls
I paid 0.19/EACH
Commy price 1.64/ea

2-pkgs pillsbury breadsticks
I paid 1.29/ea
Commy price 1.75/ea

2-pkgs pillsbury cinnamon rolls
I paid NEGATIVE 0.11 cents each! Yep, they paid me to take those cinnamon rolls out the door!
Commy price 1.75/ea

2 boxes gogurt
I paid 1.54/ea
Commy price ON SALE 1.75/ea reg price 1.89/ea

2 pkgs sargento sliced cheese
I paid 0.99/ea
Commy price 2.29/ea

I also received a coupon for $4 off my next purchase at Dominick's.

The total amount I paid out of pocket was 10.29 which includes 0.41 tax.

Had I shopped for the same items at the commissary it would have cost me 17.62 WITHOUT the surcharge...with is 0.05/item and I wouldn't have gotten a coupon to come back and shop again!

Essentially that trip cost me 6.29 vs. 17.62 an 11.33 difference. I could have bought TWICE the amount of items at Dominick's for the same price I would get ONE set at the Commy. Sad isn't it?

Saving money is my new hobby

it makes me giddy like a school girl.

Tonight I went to Jewel-osco and Dominick's to scoop up some deals..this is what I got for $41.78:



And this is how I got it:

I have started following coupon/savings blogs and printing coupons at home from internet sites. I match up my coupons with good sales in the stores and only buy what is rock bottom or free. I'm spending WAY less than at the commy. I'll get links up in my blog roll to the blogs I am following and I'll do another post with links for places to print coupons.

First I went to Jewel-Osco. At Jewel-Osco I do separate transactions to take advantage of the catalinas I earn. Catalinas are the little coupons that print out at the end of your transaction telling you that you can save $xx.xx off your next purchase. I went to the back of the line twice when people got behind me so I didn’t make a big scene at the checkout.

I did this deal b/c I heard it generated a catalina, I didn’t realize it was select products purchased get you the catalina. I didn’t buy the right stuff BUT I did get a $2 customer service survey coupon on my receipt so it all evened out!
The deal was supposed to be buy $4 in Contadina get $3 catalina for next purchase
4-contadina
Reg 4.06
$1 MQ
I paid $3.53 w/tax

Then there is another catalina deal for Kraft products, buy 5 qualifying products get $5 catalina off next purchase.
5-Breakstone doublers (cottage cheese/peaches)
Reg 1.24/ea=6.20
Pref 1.19/ea=5.95
I paid $6.05 with tax and got a $5 catalina for next purchase

20-Yoplait
Reg 0.68/ea=13.60
Pref 0.50/ea=10.00
$5 catalina (from kraft deal)
$1 MQ
I paid $4.18 w/tax and I got a $2 catalina for next purchase
TOTAL SAVINGS $9.60

Jewel is also running a 10 for $10 promo on certain items
Mission tortillas
Reg 1.98
Pref 1.00
$0.75Q

4-Lunchables
Reg 1.20ea=4.80
Pref 1.00=4.00

5# clementines
Reg 7.99
Pref 3.77

1.89lbs Gala apples
Reg 1.95/lb=3.69
Pref 1.00/lb=1.89

1.58lbs Fuji apples
Reg 1.95/lb=3.08
Pref 1.00/lb=1.58

Regular price $21.54
Pref price w/tax $12.45
2-$2 catalinas (from above Yoplait and previous trip Yoplait)
0.75 MQ
I paid $7.70
TOTAL SAVINGS $14.05

JEWEL-OSCO report
Regular price $45.25 without tax
I paid $21.46 with tax - over 50% off and ALL THINGS WE USE REGULARLY

Dominicks
They don’t do catalinas, at least I haven’t seen any yet..but I just started!

Quaker granola bars
Reg 2.99
Pref 1.99
Super special 0.99

2-True delight bars
Reg 3.49/ea=6.98
Pref 1.99/ea=3.98
I forgot to get two other super specials coupons!!
$1 MQ
I paid $2.98

Caribou coffee
Reg 9.99
Pref 4.99
$2 ecoupon
$2 MQ
I paid 0.99

18ct eggs
Reg 2.29
Pref 1.89
Super special 0.99

Kids smoothie
Reg 1.39
Pref 0.69

Healthy life bread
Reg 2.99
Pref 1.99
$0.55 MQ
I paid 1.44

6-Jennie-O 20oz ground turkey
Reg 5.49/ea=32.94
Pref 2.50/ea=15.00
6-$1 MQ
I paid $9.00

3-Avocados
Reg 5.97
Pref 2.64

Reg price $66.09
I paid $20.32 (should have been $18.32!!)
TOTAL SAVINGS VALUE $45.77 or 70%

So tonight, I purchased $111.34 worth of groceries and I paid $41.78…
TOTAL SAVINGS 63%

Uh huh, I feel good.