PYP = JOB

Something my sister said the other day had me thinking. She made a comment about her spending time and energy doing coupons, shopping sales, stocking up, etc. was her way of helping with her family’s budget. Since she doesn’t work, she was feeling that this time and effort on her part was helping her husband provide for the family. I have contemplated that thought quite a bit the last week or so and have come to the conclusion that in fact, you can consider this a “job” of sorts. Really, it’s not any different. If you were to have a part time job and bring in money, that would produce more available funds for your family right? To me that’s really not any different than spending time “working” to save money and freeing up money for other uses for your family. So for those of you who get teased by family, friends, and others about how you’re “wasting your time doing those silly coupons,” don’t be ashamed. I think when you consider it in relation to a job, you are doing something worthwhile and helping to provide for your family. And even better, you get to set your own working terms - do most of it from your home, in your pajamas, with your kids, and on your own time. Who wouldn’t give anything for a job like that?

Thinking of my latest purchase at Albertson’s alone:
Time spent preparing/organizing/driving/shopping = about 1 hour
Money saved = $40
Pay for the PYP job this week = $40 per hour
Feeling great about helping my family save money = priceless

So, for those of you who don’t work (other than the crazy “mommy-job”) or for those of us who do, we can all rest assured that all of the time and effort we put into it is worth it! So go ladies – let’s save and do our part to help provide for our families!

Tons of Stuff!

Let me warn you that this post is going to contain a lot of information - I'll apologize for that up front. Too many things to share and I decided to put it all in one post instead of having you read a bunch of separate posts.

I apologize for not getting the information out about the good deals for the week until now. The Smith's ad didn't become available until this morning and I've had a busy day. So, without further ado, here are a few deals this week worth mentioning.

Albertson's:
- Boneless, skinless chicken breast - from their butcher block - $1.88/lb
- Albertson's Large Eggs - 1 dozen for 99 cents - first 2
- Nabisco Premium saltine crackers 16-16.5 oz. Limit 2 - 97 each with in-ad store coupon
- Banquet pot pies 7 oz. - 3/$1.00
- They also have a Mix and Match Promo - buy $10 in participating items and get $3 back instantly. Items of note are Glad cling wrap, Glad press-n-seal, Glad sandwich bags, Jello pudding, Jet Puffed Marshmallows, Nestle Ready to Bake cookies, Ronzoni Bistro entrees, and more.
- They also have a General Mills promo - buy 4 participating items, get $4 off instantly. Not many items, but if you like a few certain cereals such as Chocolate Chex, Golden Grahams, Cheerios, Kix, Honey Nut Chex, or Cocoa Puffs, they end up being a pretty good deal with coupons and promo.
- Check out the Albertson's list for further details.

Smith's:
- Lettuce - 99 cents a head
- Red Seedless Grapes - 99 cents/lb
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, Super Value Pack - $1.89/lb
- Mountain Dairy Gallon Milk, Whole, 2%, 1% or Skim - $1.69/gallon
- Yoplait Yo-Plus Yogurt, 4 ct. - $1.00 with coupon
- Nabisco Ritz Crackers - 99 cents with coupon
- Kroger Deluxe Ice Cream - $1.69

Associated Food Stores (Dicks, Kohler's, Kent's, etc.):
- ShurSaving Gallon Milk, 1%, 2% or Skim - $1.67/gallon
- Yoplait Yo-Plus Yogurt, 4 pk. - $1.00 with coupon
- Buddig Deli Cuts, 12 oz. turkey or ham - $1.19 with coupon
- Dannon Spring! Water, 24 pk. - $2.99 (didn't see this in any of my ads, but usually is the same in all the stores - might want to double check before buying).
- They also have boneless, skinless chicken breasts on sale - most of the ads say $1.49/lb for the super saver pack, then additional deals for a 20 lb or 40 lb box. But while I was at Dick's today, I noticed that their super saver packs were also marked $1.29/lb. These prices are better than both the Albertson's or Smith's deals this week. Of course, each store may vary with their prices.

Walgreen's:
- A few good deals on random items, check out the Walgreen's page on the Grocery Smarts Website for a listing of their good deals.

As always, not everyone uses/buys the same items, so there may be more of interest to you than what I've listed above. Please review the pages on your own so that you see the full listing of good deals this week!

On to the next topic. I read on the PYP forum today that Macey's is definitely having their case lot sale starting next week on March 4th. One of the ladies went to the Ogden store where they happen to be selling the case lot sales now. As she was writing all of the prices down, the nice store manager gave her an ad for next week and permission to post it for others to use. Here's a link to her blog, just in case you're wondering what's coming up:

Prepared LDS Family
(Also some great info on this site too!)

As she stated on her post and blog, it looks like they are selling their case goods now at the Ogden store. So if you want a head start and don't mind the drive, head on up. But be careful, just because it's on sale at a "Case Lot Sale" doesn't mean it's a good deal. Just make sure it's a good deal before heading out to stock up on everything under the sun. As always, the PYP/Grocery Smarts lists will be available next week to let us know just what sales are good deals, if you don't mind waiting another week.

Lastly, my savings for today's shopping trips:

Albertson's



Items Purchased:
- 2 dozen large eggs
- 2 pkgs Nestle Ready-to-bake Cookies
- 2 Ronzoni Bistro Meals
- 1 pkg Jet Puffed Marshmallows
- 8 Glad Sandwich Bags

Total Spent = $10.42
Total Saved = $41.47
(these totals include the $10 catalina leftover from last week's sale that I used)



Associated Food Store (Dick's)

Items Purchased:
- 12 lbs Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Total Spent = $16.16
Total Saved = ???
(If I assume regular price is $3.99/lb, which is normal for this kind of item, then the savings would be around $30)

Another Tip ...

Just wanted to add this to our list of tips. I got a comment on the last post about a way my cousin organizes her coupons, here's what she said:

"I listed all the items on the outside of the envelope with the coupons on the inside.. he (her husband, whom she had recruited to help out) was suprised how un-complicated it was and how it all worked, the $10 just printing out for him... There is such a huge difference in my experience when I arrive organized with all my coupons seperated in transactions.. and those times i'm not organized, NIGHTMARE."

Another great way to organize your coupons! Honestly, I think any way you want to do it is great, as long as you are organized and not sifting through tons of coupons through the store or while you're trying to separate your transactions at the register.

Obviously the way I do things is not the only way to do it. I love to learn new and improved ways of doing things. So please, please, please share the different ways you do things so that we all can learn about them. When we all share, we all win!

Thanks Camille for the great tip!

More Tips and Tricks

So if you've been shopping at Albertson's this week, you've probably found yourself doing numerous transactions in order to take advantage of all the catalinas available in addition to the sales this week. After having done these big sales a few time, and doing numerous transaction at each, I've come up with a few ideas that work well to help me get organized, keep things organized while I'm at the store, and help me get through the checkout as quickly as possible. I thought now might be a good time to share these ideas with you so that you can try them, if you're interested. Here they are:

1. The first thing I do when I'm getting things ready for a big sale like this is to put all of my transactions into a spreadsheet. That way it's easy to list things out, move things around, and then just print it right before you go. It also helps you make sure you have the right amount of items or the right amount of money per transaction in order to trigger the catalinas to print. Here's what my spreadsheet looked like for my shopping trip this week:

(This only has my first 3 transactions - I did 5 total - but I didn't want to shrink it down any further and make it more difficult to read. If you have problems reading it, click on the picture to see it larger.)

I like having my list looking like this when I head to the store. First of all, I know exactly what I'm putting in each transaction. Secondly, I have all coupons and catalina's I'm planning to use listed for each transaction. Third, I have all of the totals for each transaction. This one is really useful because I can look at the final value and compare it to the final total the cashier tells me and know right away whether everything rang up and was deducted correctly. If I'm off by 50 cents or less, I usually let it go - to me it's not worth arguing over that little. but if it's more than that, then I usually have the cashier look it over to make sure everything rings up correctly.

Now, if you're not a computer or spreadsheet person, don't panic. There is absolutely NOTHING WRONG with writing it out or having it in some other format. Personally, I'm a computer person and I can type faster than I can write, so I like the spreadsheet format. I also like being able to move things around easily. Plus, it's a good starting point for the next week's list. Either way, having it all organized and separated is a big organizational tool when having multiple items or transactions.

One thing I want to mention is about the way the tax is calculated. Since coupons and catalinas are treated as a portion of your payment, the tax is actually calculated based on your sale total, before either coupons or catalinas are subtracted. So when you are figuring things up, don't forget that you need to calculated it based on that amount. Here in Utah, tax on food is 3%, it probably varies in different states.

By the way, if you're interested in getting a copy of this spreadsheet, just leave me a comment with your email address or email me at jjzhawks@hotmail.com and I'd be happy to send it to you. Don't feel that you have to use it just as is, feel free to edit and make it more suitable to you and your style - this is just the format that works the best for me.

2. Once you get your transactions all separated out and coupons clipped, store the coupons for each transaction together. For me, it has worked to put all of my coupons from one transaction together and paper clip them with a little piece of paper indicating which transaction it is - like a little piece of paper with the #1 on it. That way if you accidentally drop your coupons or rearrange your transactions last minute, you won't get confused which coupons go with which transaction.

3. Get yourself some reusable shopping bags and put each transaction into it's own separate bag. This may seem strange that you are "bagging" your groceries before you even pay, but let me tell you that this is the best thing when having multiple transactions. If you have everything from one transaction in one bag and the coupons paper clipped together and attached to the handle of the bag, the checkout process is fast and easy. In fact, I've been told by my favorite cashier at Albertson's that doing things that way is the best idea she's seen in getting through the checkout quickly and easily.

There are a couple of ways to do this. Either you can go around the store and put everything you want to buy into your basket, then find a quiet and non-busy aisle and organize everything into the bags (I do this when I'm worried about getting everything I want or if the store is really busy). Or you can open your bags in your cart and then sort the items into the bags as you pick them up in the store.

Prior to this little idea I had, I would usually pull up to the checkout, try and organize my transactions on the little checkout turn-table and wouldn't even be paying attention to what the cashier was doing, if things were ringing up right, and then I would hurry and have to pull out my coupons, pay, then head back and keep organizing. Since I came up with this little idea of using the reusable shopping bags, I have been so much less stressed at the checkout and it's been so easy to throw up the bags with each transaction (and with coupons clipped to it), then I can stand there and watch the items ring up and make sure everythng is as it should be.

One thing I want to caution you about is the appearance of what you might be doing. I really don't think that anyone would think anything sinister is going on if you are careful not to give any impression of being dishonest. For me, that means that I stay away from corners of the store and the doors. The first time I tried this, I was worried they would think I was trying to steal all of these groceries without paying. So I was careful to stay in full view of the checkout once I had everything organized in my bags. Luckily for me, the cashier that works at my Albertson's knows me and now knows why I use these bags and knows that I'm not up to anything dishonest. Just something to keep in mind.

These are just a few little tips and tricks that I use when I have multiple transactions or a ton of coupons. This last week, using the 3 items above, I was able to organize and clip my coupons in about an hour. Then I was at the store for less than 30 minutes - that included time spent picking up my items, sorting them into bags, and checking out - with 5 transactions. I really believe that if you are organized and use every available thing you can to make it quick and painless, it will be, for you and for the cashier (and I know they appreciate that).

Hope you are able to use some of the tips and tricks above - again feel free to tailor them to your own style and preference. May you all have speedy and stress-free experiences.

Show Me The Money!

Ok, if you're like me and want to see what good deals everyone else is getting - you're in luck because I have plenty to show you. The one thing that I always tell everyone is that we are all different - our families eat different things, so we buy different groceries. Some of us have a bunch of money to stock up on things, some of us don't. I could go on and on, but I won't. So with that being said, it's good to see a good mix of different shopping trips so that you can see how others in different situations get good deals on what they want or need to buy.

Thanks to all of my family for sending me their shopping experiences this week, I just know it's going to WOW everyone that sees it. I already posted my shopping trip on the last post, so I won't repeat that, but if you haven't seen it, feel free to look back and see how I did this week. As for the rest, here we go:

1. This is my sister Kylie's trip



Items Purchased:
10 boxes of fruit snacks
4 cake mixes
5 Toaster Strudels
6 progresso soups
4 Grands biscuits
2 crescent rolls
2 Macaroni Grill dinners

Total paid: $27.01
Saved: $87.89

2. This is my Mom's trip



Items Purchased:
19 cake mixes
8 brownies
7 frostings
10 grand biscuits
8 cinamon rolls
12 fruit roll ups
4 cressent rolls
4 cookie dough packs

Total paid: $24.02
Saved: ??? (72 Items)

3. This is my sister Michelle's trip



Items Purchased:
10 cake mixes
17 boxes fruit snacks/fruit by the foot
6 crescent rolls
3 cinnamon rolls
2 grands biscuits
4 brownies
4 frostings
4 ready to bake cookies
20 progresso soup

Total paid: $25
Saved: $170 (70 Items)

4. This is my sister-in-law Holli's trip



Item's Purchased:
19 boxes of cereal
40 boxes of fruit snacks
85 cans of Progresso soup
4 cake mixes
6 cans of Pillsbury Grands Biscuits
2 gallons of milk
1 loaf of bread

Total paid: $95.43
Saved: ??? (157 Items)


As you can see, we all purchased different items and different quantities, but we all had one thing in common - WE ALL GOT A TON OF STUFF FOR A GREAT DEAL AND SAVED A TON OF MONEY! Way to go everyone!

If you haven't been to Alberson's and taken advantage of the sales this week, you may want to think about it. Coupons or not, there are a lot of items that are a fantastic price with the General Mills Promo going on until Tuesday. See the post earlier this week for more details.

Saving Money is a GREAT feeling!

As I mentioned in my last post, I headed out to Albertson's early this morning and did my shopping (yes, I was there when they opened at 6am). When there are good sales like this week's, the stores around me run out of sale items fairly quickly because there are so many people shopping and using PYP/GS down here in Utah County. So when there are good sales, I head out early before my husband heads to work and get all of my shopping done before most people are even up. I like being able to get just what I want and not having to adjust my list based on product availability. So here's what I got this morning:



Items Purchased:
- 10 cans of Progresso soup
- 15 boxes of Betty Crocker fruit snacks
- 5 boxes of Pillsbury Toaster Strudels
- 2 boxes of Chex Mix Bars
- 3 pouches of Betty Crocker Cookie Mix
- 3 cans of Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls
- 5 cans of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
- 2 cans of Pillsbury Grands Biscuits
- 5 bags of Gardetto's snack mix

Total Spent = $23.21
Total Saved = $125.42
(Meaning I paid just over 18% of the full price - NOT BAD for 50 items huh?!?)

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind for this week's sale:
1. If you are planning to buy some Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks or Nature Valley Granola Bars in order to get the additional Catalina's, keep in mind that after you buy a certain amount, you don't get any more. For example, when you buy Fruit Snacks, the additional catalina goes as follows:
- Buy 3, get $1.50 off OYNSO (on your next shopping order, meaning a catalina)
- Buy 4, get $2.50 off OYNSO
- Buy 5 or more, get $3.50 off OYNSO
So whether you buy 5 or 10 in a single transaction, you will only get a $3.50 catalina for that purchase. The trick is to break up your transactions so that you only have 5 fruit snacks in each, that way when you buy them in groups of 5 per transaction (plus 5 other items to get to 10), you will get the most money back in catalina's. By the way, this catalina prints in addition to the $10 catalina for the promotion.
2. The promotion catalinas print out as 1 $10 off OYNSO coupon instead of 2 $5 coupons. There aren't any restriction on what you can use them on, except I think tobacco and prescriptions, and you should be able to roll a previous one onto the next transaction. This usually is the case and I have no problems doing it at my store, but I know there are those few stores and cashiers that are difficult. Again, be courteous of other shoppers, I would only do 2 or 3 at a time if there are other customers waiting. I don't necessarily think you need to take your purchased items out to your car, just keep everthing separated and get back in line for another turn.
3. I believe you can put all of your items in 1 transaction and have multiple $10 catalinas print - I didn't do that myself, but I read on the PYP forum that doing that was working. Just keep in mind that they expire in 2 weeks, so make sure you can use them before then if you plan on taking a bunch home.

With such a good deal on items this week, I know there will be lots of you out there shopping and saving, so take a quick picture, figure up your amounts spent and saved, and either make a comment or email me at jjzhawks@hotmail.com with the details so that I can post it on the blog for everyone to see - it's exciting to see the deals that everyone else is getting!

HAPPY SHOPPING AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, HAPPY SAVING!!!

(P.S. Not a whole lot on sale at the other stores, but there are a few things, so take a look at the lists to make sure there isn't something you're interested in - I'm not planning a separate post on this since there isn't a whole lot. Also, I saw on one of the PYP forums that Macey's may be having their case lot sale the first part of March.)

Big Sale at Albertson's Starting Tomorrow!

Ok, this is the time you've all been waiting for - a big General Mills sale at Albertson's starts tomorrow! The promo is $10 off your next shopping order (i.e. a catalina will print) after you buy 10 participating items - that's essentially $1 off of each item! You can see the details of the sale at the following PYP link:

PYP Albertson's List Feb 18-24

Just a couple of things to keep in mind:
1. There are other Catalina Offers for the Nature Valley Granola Bars and Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks that will make the deals for those even better - see the PYP link next to the Nature Valley Granola Bars for more details.
2. I saw an email saying that this promo was limited to 1 per household (this was the first time I'd seen an email like this). When someone asked the administrator of the PYP site, she said she "thinks" they are just trying to keep people from going crazy and buying up a whole ton at a time. However, they can't track it when you go in and pay, but you might have to go in and out of the store and make separate purchases if the manager or cashiers get really picky at your store. I really don't think it's any different than the past sales have been and she said the ad doesn't say anything about any limits, so she doesn't think they'll limit anything, but just in case, you might want to be prepared.
3. I haven't heard if you can buy everything in one purchase and get multiple $10 off coupons and I don't know if they'll let you roll the catalina's on to your next purchase, but still it's a good deal and the catalina's are usually good for at least 2 weeks.
4. I heard that one of the stores (Spanish Fork, I think) is making customers do 1 transaction at a time, then getting back in line for their next, etc. I haven't heard of any other stores doing that, but if there are a lot of transactions you are planning to do, I would be careful. Usually I try not to do more than 2 or 3 before I get back in line to do more, just to be courteous to the other customers.

I am already putting my list together and planning to be at the store at 6am so that I can get everything I want! If you have any questions or need any help with anything, leave me a comment or email me at jjzhawks@hotmail.com. Have fun and happing shopping/saving!

(P.S. The Smith's list isn't up yet, so I'll post more deals from there and the other stores probably tomorrow when those lists are available.)

Did You Not Get Any Coupons in Your Paper Today???

If you didn't, then you're not alone. When I opened all 5 of my papers this morning, I didn't see one coupon packet. Before I panicked and called the paper to see what happened, I decided to check the PYP website to see if there was any information or if I happened to be the only one who didn't get any coupons. I saw a post on one of the forums from someone else saying they hadn't received any and a reply reminding everyone that there aren't any coupons scheduled for federal holiday weekends. Since tomorrow is President's Day, I guess that makes sense. There was also a link to the following post listing the coupon schedule for the year:

http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/forums/showpost.php?p=605554&postcount=1

I thought some of you might be interested in seeing this schedule. This doesn't mean that we definitely won't get any coupon inserts during the holiday weekends (I know I got some during Christmas last year, but didn't get any the weekend after Thanksgiving), but it's good to know what the planned schedule is. Hope this helps!

The Grocery Smarts Website (Unique Features)

So I’ve hinted that they are some neat features to the Grocery Smarts Website and you’re all asking yourself – what are these features? So I thought I’d take a little bit of time with this post and show you how to use some of these unique features. The thing that I really like about the Grocery Smarts Website is it allows you to make a customized list just for you. Here's how you do it (click on any picture to make it larger for better viewing).

You’ll remember that the Grocery Smarts Website looks something like this (say we select the Albertson's list for this week):



If you look closely, you'll see 3 little buttons near the top right portion of the page.


Click on the first button entitled START.


You'll notice that the entire list is now grayed out. If you click on a row, it will make that row white.



All of the rows that are white will be displayed/printed and all of the rows that are gray will not. So let's say we are interested in the 4 items from the picture above - say we want to purchase Roses (it's Valentine's Day right?), Fresh Express Salad, Iceberg Lettuce, and Red Potatoes. We would click on those 4 rows to make them white. Then you would click on the SHRINK button in the top right corner.


You'll notice that now all the rows that were white are now the only ones displayed (I had to click on the row with the store name too, I forgot to mention and show that above).


When you have the list as you want it, you can now click on the PRINT NOW button at the top of the page.


That will bring up the print window and you can print your list for use in shopping.


Your list will then print as you have it displayed. Another thing that is useful in printing or viewing the list is to only see those items that are 4 or 5 stars - ones that are good deals and are recommended for stock up. You can restart the shrinking process by clicking the start button at the top of the page.


Again, everything becomes gray. Now you click on the star right above the words STOCK UP SALE in the same row as the store name.


You'll notice that now every row with 4 or 5 stars is white, including the store name, and everything else is gray. (At this point you can make rows white or gray as you see fit.)


Again, click the SHRINK button.


And now you have a list to view/print that only has the 4 and 5 star items displayed (plus any items you might have added and minus any items you might have grayed out).


And again, click the PRINT NOW button when you are ready to print your list.


Usually, once the list is printed, there is plenty of room to write quantities just to the left of each row. There's also a little row at the bottom of the list where you can add other items you need to pick up at the store (make sure that row is white to have it print).

It's so nice to be able to select which rows you want to print and which ones you don't. Not only does it help you in shopping, but it helps save printer ink as well (if you're like me, you go through a ton of printer ink between printing lists and internet coupons and every little bit you can save is appreciated). These features from the Grocery Smarts Website are very useful when planning and printing your lists.

These instructions are at the top of the Grocery Smarts pages in small print, so if you need a reminder, you can read the instructions there instead of having to come back to this post, but I wanted to show you in detail exactly how to work the list so that it is personalized for your own shopping trip.

Take some time to play with these features and you'll discover just how nice they are in getting your shopping lists together!

Good luck,have fun, and HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!

Shopping Success and Another Windex Deal!

Hope all of you are having success saving money on your groceries. I got an email from my sister today about a purchase she made at Albertson's last night. Here's what she got:



Items Purchased:
- 14 cans of spaghetti sauce
- 6 cans of tomatoes
- 2 cans of Pam

Total cost: $11.75
Total saved: $35.38

Good Job Kylie!

I also got a phone call from my Mom this morning. She and I had both taken advantage of the windex deal at Walgreen's this week. But today in the paper, she saw another deal at Home Depot. Look like they have their 32 oz bottles of windex (powerized) on sale 3 for $2.98 (limit of 2 offers per customer, so I believe that means you can buy up to 6 bottles for this price). If you use some of the online coupons listed in Monday's post, you should be able to get them for free-$1.00 for all 3. I'm not sure what Home Depot's policy is on internet printable coupons or even if they take coupons at all, so you should call before you go just to make sure. And since there are 2 $1.50 and 2 $1.00 off coupons, you might be able to get 6 bottles for 96 cents. Remember that some stores won't let you have any overages either, so that might cause issues, but if you're brave and you don't have a Walgreen's nearby, but you do have a Home Depot, it might be worth a try! It's a fantastic deal and no rebates to wait for like at Walgreen's. Unfortunately, I've already used all 4 of my coupons, so if someone gives this a try, let me know if it works and how it went.

Good Deals for the Week!

Here are some good deals worth mentioning this week:

Albertsons:
- Albertson’s packaged cheese – B1G1 free – not sure on the prices, but that makes them 50% each, so sounds like a good deal to me
- Kellogg’s Pop Tarts – 50% + coupons from the paper or internet, not sure on actual final price, but should be a good deal
- Michelina’s Entrees – 80 cents each with coupon from the paper
- Dannon Promo – spend $10 on participating items, save $2 instantly – great deals on Dannon products (yogurt, frusion, activia drink, etc.)
- ConAgra Promo – spend $25 on participating products, get $10 off on your next shopping trip – great deals on items such as Banquet Chicken Classics, Chef Boyardee Pasta (canned or microwaveable), Hunt’s ketchup, Hunt’s Manwich sauce, Hunt’s snack pack pudding, Hunt’s spaghetti sauce, Hunt’s tomatoes, Marie C alendar’s dinners, Pam cooking spray, Ro-tel tomatoes, and Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa.

Smith’s:
- 2/13/09 3-11pm deals: Blueberries (6 oz) - 1.00, Red seedless grapes – 99 cents/lb, Kroger orange juice (1/2 gallon) – 99 cents, Mott’s apple juice (64 oz) – 99 cents, Haagen Dazs/Ben & Jerry’s pints of ice cream - $1.88
- Strawberries – 1.67/lb
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4 lb bag) - $6.96 a bag
- Mountain Dairy milk - $1.67 a gallon
- Kroger Instant Oatmel – 99 cents a box
- Kroger tomato sauce – 20 cents a can - last I had written down, the last case lot sale had tomato sauce 6/$1, but that was over a year ago, so it could be this will be a better deal than the case lot sale if prices go up – hard to know for sure
- L’Oreal Makeup – B1G1 free + coupons from the paper – good deals
- Daytona 500 Promo still going on – buy 10 participating items, get $3 off instantly – a lot of the same items as last ad – some worth mentioning are Banquet Entrees, Betty Crocker Fruit Stickers, Breyers ice cream, Chey Boyardee pasta, Country Crock margarine, Kellogg’s pop tarts, Manwich, Multi Grain Cheerios, Nabisco Ritz crackers, Pillsbury Grands Biscuits, Total Cinnamon Crunch cereal.

Associated Food Stores (Maceys, Dicks, Kohlers, Kents, etc.):
- ShurSaving Gallon Milk - $1.67
- Nalley Pickles (24 oz) - $1.13 with coupon from the paper

Walgreens:
- Colgate Toothpaste – 24 cents a tube with sale and coupon from the paper
- A&W, Sunkist, Canada Dry, 7 UP, and Hawaiian Punch 2-liter bottles – 75 cents a bottle if you buy 4 – you get $2 checkout voucher toward your next shopping order
- See post from Monday for info on good deals for cleaning supplies going on this week (remember, limit 4 total)

Rite Aid:
- List isn’t up since the person who does it got into an accident – nothing serious, but hurt her arm and has a hard time typing, so they are looking for someone to fill in, so until then there isn’t a list available

Why use Pinching Your Pennies (and Grocery Smarts)?

I've had a lot of people ask me about PYP verses other sites out there. Honestly, I think all of the sites are great, anything that saves you money is grocery shopping is a good thing. I don't mean to discredit any of these other sites at all, in fact I think a lot of them are just wonderful! But since I've been asked the question many times, I'll tell you why I use PYP/Grocery Smarts and then you can make up your own mind as to what's best for you.

The first and foremost reason I use PYP/Grocery Smarts is because it's free - to me, it doesn't get much better than that. Am I cheap - the answer is yes! Why would you pay for something that you could get for free? I do realize, however, that a lot of the other sites have no other way to pay for their websites so they use the monthly fees they charge to cover their costs and the time it takes them to put their lists together. I'm sure that a lot of them would love to offer their services for free, but can't. PYP, on the other hand, has a lot of people working on it and thus the time isn't too concentrate on just a few individuals. I'm not sure how they're able to offer their services for free, but I'm certainly glad they do.

There are also a few other reasons I use PYP/GS. I like the format of their pages, how quickly they get them up, and the forums (which I'll explain more about in one of the upcoming posts).

I do realize that other sites offer more services, one for example offers a dinner planner based on the grocery items on sale that week. Another offers downloads to members that you can use to track groceries and items you purchase. And there are many more. To me (and this is just a personal thing), some of the options are not things I would use. I have a very picky eating family and a lot of the menu items suggested would not be things my family would eat. And I would rather do my own spreadsheets to track my grocery prices and spending. So for me, these services would not be useful. So someone else, who doesn't have a lot of time, has people in their families that would eat anything, or who doesn't have a lot of time to build their own spreadsheets, for example, those services may be invaluable. You really have to decide what's right for you.
If you are interested in a side by side comparison with some of the other available sites, the PYP blog recently answered this same question. You can read their response at the following link: The Truth Is Revealed: Why PYP?

The other question I get, is what is the difference between PYP and Grocery Smarts? Honestly, the lists are exactly the same. In fact, you will notice that most of the time, the two sites reference each other. It seems to me that they are working together to save people money and both are free to use. If you are just starting out, I would recommend using Grocery Smarts because it's a bit easier and doesn't have all of the extra stuff available on PYP. Once you feel comfortable using it, you can step up to PYP and use some of the additional features. There are also some extra features to Grocery Smarts that make printing shopping lists a bit easier. I'll show you some of those extra features in an upcoming post. But the lists from both sites are the same (in fact I read somewhere that Grocery Smarts actually uses PYP's lists for their site). So to me, the two sites are the same. It just depends on which one you are more comfortable with.

So I hope that answers some of the common questions I get. If you have thought about it and feel that different sites are for you, then by all means USE THEM! We are all different and have different preferences, family situations, and time available to us. I'm a big believer in finding what works for you and going for it! If you have any additional questions or if any of you have comments on why you like another site, please share. This blog isn't just about me telling you all what to do, it's for everyone to share their thoughts and opinions so that we all can view the ideas and learn from each other!

Here are some of the other sites I know are out there (please let me know if there are others so I can add them to the list!):
My Food Storage Deals
The Grocery Game

Back at it ...

I decided that I've probably offloaded too much information in past week or so and though that we all needed a day to rest and digest it all. So after a day or rest, I'm back at it. There are a couple of things I thought would be worth sharing this morning.

The first is a little off topic. It actually has to do with food storage and using powdered milk or powdered eggs. For those of us that might have some of these items in our long term storage, there are some helpful items out there that you can use. There is a lady who has a website entitled Everyday Food Storage. She shows you how to use your food storage in every day cooking and have fun with it at the same time. Anyway, she has a recent post about purchasing some fun magnets with conversions for using powdered eggs and milk and recipes for her "magic mix." You can purchase all 3 refrigerator magnets (sizes are 5.47″ x 4.21″) for only $5 including shipping and handling. I'm not quite to the point where I use these things in my everyday cooking yet, but it's something I'd like to get to using, so I purchased a set to have for when I do get to that point. She mentions that she only has 500 sets available and doesn't know when she might be able to purchase them for such a good deal again. So if you're interested, either for now or later, you might want to consider picking some up. You can go on her website and purchase them through paypal. There's a link to her website on the right hand column of this blog or you can click on this link: http://everydayfoodstorage.net/.

The second item is something I saw on the PYP Walgreens Forum last night. They have some pretty good deals on cleaning supplies. If you combine the sales, online coupons, and the Easy Saver Rebates, you can get them for a pretty good deal. Here's the details:

- Drano, Scrubbing Bubbles Action Scrubber or 6pk Toilet Gel, Pledge Wipes, Liquid (shows aerosol) or Fabric Sweeper 2/$7 - $1 each rebate #30 = 2/$5
Rebate limit of FOUR for up to $4 savings ~ note that this is the same rebate as the items listed on the next section
USE: Pledge furniture care product, any .55/1 (3-8-09) SS-1/11
Pledge Multi Surface product $1/1 (3-8-09) SS-1/11
Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel $1/1 (3-8-09) SS-1/11
Printable Coupons (Click Here):
Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel or Fresh Brush $1/1
Scrubbing Bubbles Product, any $3/2
Drano $1.50/1
Pledge Furniture Care Product $1/1
Pledge MultiSurface Spray $1/1
Pledge Fabric Sweeper $2/1
Pledge Wipes $1.50/1
Final Price: 2/$1 - 2/$3.90

- Shout, Scrubbing Bubbles Wipes or All Purpose Cleaner, Windex Wipes or Spray, Fantastik 2/$5 - $1 each rebate #30 = 2/$3
Rebate limit of FOUR for up to $4 savings ~ note that this is the same rebate as the items listed on the previous section
USE: Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom Cleaner, any .75/1 (3-8-09) SS-1/11
Scrubbing Bubbles Flushable Bathroom Wipes $1/1 (3-8-09) SS-1/11
Windex Glass or Multi Surface Cleaner, any .40/1 (3-8-09) SS-1/11
Fantastik All Purpose Cleaner, any $1/1 (3-7-09) SS-1/11
Printable Coupons (Click Here):
Shout Laundry Stain Remover $1/1
Scrubbing Bubbles Aerosol or Trigger Product $1/1
Scrubbing Bubbles Product, any $3/2
Windex Original Glass & Surface Wipes $1.50/1
Windex Glass or Multi-Surface Cleaner $1/1
Fantastik All Purpose Cleaner $1/1
Final Price: 2/FREE - 2/$2.20

- Best Deals
Windex:
Buy 4 = $10 - $4 ES rebate - (2) $1.50/1 coupon - (2) $1/1 coupon = 4/$1
Send in this rebate:
Mail in FORM! Windex Wipes or Antibacterial Trigger Spray Rebate Offer, up to $4.50 (3-6-09) SS-1/11
Final Price: $1.50 overage

Scrubbing Bubbles:
Buy 4 = $10 - $4 ES rebate - (2) $3/2 coupons = 4 FREE

Windex & Scrubbing Bubbles:
Buy 2 each = $10 - $4 ES rebate - (2) Windex $1.50/1 coupon - (1) Scrubbing Bubbles $3/2 coupon - $2.50 Windex mfg rebate = $2.50 overage

Be careful if you are planning to mail in the Windex Mfg Rebate, it's only valid on the wipes or antibacterial trigger spray, so make sure you purchase the right kind. Even if you don't want either of those, it's still a good deal for the cleaning supplies. Also, remember that the rebate is for 4 items TOTAL! So you can't do 4 of the windex and 4 of the scrubbing bubbles or other items. Although, still a good deal without the rebates and just using the coupons. Just a heads up on that.

If you're wondering how to get/use the Easy Saver Mail In Rebate, you can pick up a little booklet at the store that lists all the rebates (they're usually located right next to the ads) or you can go online to the Walgreen's website and click on the link under the Easy Saver Rebate Section. You can either send in your rebate via mail or do it online. Here is a link to instructions on how to send it in online: PYP Blog - Using Walgreen's Online Rebate. It's quick and easy. And if you select the option to get a Walgreen's gift card with your balance, you get an extra 10%. Once you get your card sent to you, you can have it reloaded each time you submit other rebates. It's really nice and gets reloaded very quickly (about 2-3 days after you submit it).

If you're worried about not making it to the store before they sell out, then don't worry. One of the good things about these cleaning deals is that you can usually get a rain check on the items for the sale price. The coupons are good until the middle of March (at least the Windex ones I printed are) and the Easy Saver Rebate goes until the end of February. So if you don't make it there when they have some, make sure to get a rain check, then stop back in when they are stocked (even if it's after this week when the official sale is on) and you should still be able to use your coupons and Easy Saver Rebate if it's all purchased by the end of February.

Good Deals - Have fun shopping and stocking up!

And Even More Savings This Week!

Yet another good savings success this week! My brother and sister-in-law went shopping tonight and had some great savings that I just had to share!

Albertson's:



Items Purchased:
12 rolls of toilet paper-$4.99
2 bags of tots-.99 each
2 bottles miracle whip-2 for $5
Block of cheese-$2.88
All other items were 10 for $10 (Ice cream, tomato sauce, pudding,etc.)
I also had additional coupons from the internet.

Total Spent = $25.55
Total Saved = $22.57


Smith's



Items Purchased:
10 boxes of cereal

Total Spent = $15.53
Total Saved = $29.73

Great job guys!

More Shopping Savings This Week

I finally had the chance to make it to the store last night. Surprisingly, I was able to find pretty much everything I was hoping to get. Down here in Utah County, there are quite a few coupon shoppers and usually if I don't make it out the morning of the first day, I end up missing out on quite a few things I want to pick up. I was happy to find out that wasn't the case this week.

I ended up going to Smith's and two different Albertson's (but all are within about 2 miles of each other, so it wasn't too much of an inconvenience). Here's what I got:



Items purchased:
5 Dannon Frusion Smoothies
1 Dannon LaCreme Yogurt 4pk (not shown)
5 boxes of Quaker Granola Bars
2 Mega packs of Eggo Waffles
2 bottles of Taco Bell Taco Sauce
6 gallons of milk (from Smith's)

Total Spent: $22.16
Total Saved: $33.33


I also got an email from my sister with the details of her purchase from Albertson's. Here's what she got:



Items purchased:
10 Michelina's frozen lunches
6 bottles Suave shampoo
6 cans of Hunts tomatoes
2 cans of corn

Total Spent: $15.14
Total Saved: $29.34

She made the comment : "Man that feels good!" I totally agree! It's great to realize you are saving money isn't it? Nothing feels better when you realize how expensive groceries are getting and where the economy is heading. Every little penny you save counts!

Lots of good savings this week with the sales, double coupons, etc. If anyone else makes a purchase and saves a bunch of money, let me know either through email (jjzhawks@hotmail.com) or leave a comment and give me the details on what you bought (with picture if you can), how much you spent, and how much you saved. It's so fun to see how everyone else is saving money!

Purchases Made This Week

I haven't had a chance to make it out to the stores yet this week (sick kids), but I did get a comment from my Mom about her purchase at Albertson's today.

Here's what she got:

6 cans Hunts diced tomatoes
1 Cover Girl eye shadow
10 Dannon Smoothies
2 La Creme Yogurt
8 bags Fries
4 Suave Shampoo
2 Crunch 'n munch

Total Paid = $18.22
Total Saved = $54.41

Good Job Mom!

Good Deals for the Week!

Well, another week has rolled around, meaning new sales, lists, and coupons! And true to my word, here are the deals worth noting for this week:

Albertson's:
- Bags of Fresh Express Garden Salad - 99 cents
- Tyson boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders (2.5 lb bag) - $4.99
- Dannon Frusion Smoothies - $1 each, buy 5 and get a free 4-pk of Dannon La Creme Yogurt, also a coupon for $1 off of 4 from the paper
- Dannon Light-n-Fit Yogurt - 40 cents each with coupon
- Crunch-n-Munch - 50 cents a box with coupon
- Lipton/Knorr sides - 63 cents with coupon
- Malt-o-meal ceral - 3 for $7, extra promo - free milk when you buy 3 cereal pkgs
- Taco Bell salsa - $1
- Albertson's frozen french fries or potato rounds - 99 cents a bag (32 oz)
- Romano's Macaroni Grill Dinner Kits - 2 for $7, there are also $1 off of 1 coupons in the paper or online, extra promo - buy 2, get $2 back instantly on chicken
- Totino's pizza rolls - 50 cents to 65 cents with coupons in paper and online
- Glass Plus Cleaner - 79 cents with $1 off coupon from internet, extra promo - buy 1 and get a free roll of paper towels
- Suave shampoo and conditioner - 72 cents each with coupon from paper
- Sylvania light bulbs - 50 cents each (4 pk)
- There is also a Kraft and Reusable shopping bag promo - couple of things for good deals
- Big item this week is the double coupons promo they are doing. You need the in ad coupons from their ad and you can double up to 4 coupons per shopping trip (I'm assuming this means you can't do multiple transaction and get multiple double coupons). The trick to doing it multiple times, if you really need to, is to get multiple ads and then go to the store multiple times. The odds are that they aren't going to have the ads right when they usually are - they got burned on that last time they did double coupons, apparently some dishonest people stole all of their ads and were abusing the double coupons. If they aren't in the normal area, you can probably request one at the Customer Service desk and they'll give you one. I would be careful and not abuse this though, if they notice you are asking for multiple papers, they may revoke the priviledge. This double couponing can make a lot of items in the ad a good deal or and even better deal. As you're planning your list, make sure you double the coupons that are the biggest, but the ad does specify that they won't double any coupons above $1.

Smith's:
- Red seedless grapes - 99 cents per lb
- Chuck roast and chuck steak super value pks - $1.99 per lb
- Tyson whole chickens - 59 cents per lb
- Mountain Dairy Milk - 3/$5 on gallons
- L'Oreal cosmetics - B1G1 free + coupons from the paper
- Daytona 500 Promo - buy 10 items, get $3 back instantly - translates to 30 cents off per item. Items of interest (with or without coupons) are Breyer's ice cream, Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Dasani water, Kellogg's pop tarts (big box), Multigrain Cheerios, Ritz Crackers, Purex Laundry Detergent, and Totino's pizza rolls

Associated Food Stores (Macey's, Dick's, Kohler's, Kent's, etc.):
- Duncan Hines Brownie mixes - 74 cents with coupon from paper
- Lipton/Knorr sides - 62 cents with coupon from paper
- Nabisco Wheat Thins - 99 cents a box with coupon from paper
- Ortega Taco Seasoning mix - 32 cents a pkt with coupon from paper
- Wishbone dressings or salad spritzers - $1.13 or $1.28 each with coupon from paper
- Colgate Toothpaste - 75 cents (6.4 oz) with coupon from paper

Walgreen's:
- Royal Gelatin - 20 cents a box
- Palmolive dish soap - 99 cents a bottle
- L'Oreal and Almy Cosmetics - B1G1 free or B1G1 50% + coupons from the paper
- Vick's Promo - spend $20 on Vick's products, get a check out voucher for $10 off your next shopping order - some items have additional coupons from the paper ($20 is before coupons)

Rite Aid:
- Covergirl and L'Oreal cosmetics - B1G1 free + coupons from the paper


As always, check the lists for specific details and listing of coupon locations. Also, there are many more items on sale that are good deals that I didn't list. I just noted a few that were interesting to me. Hope everyone finds something useful and has a good experience.

HAPPY SHOPPING!

Some Tips for a Successful Experience

I know the last week has been a whirlwind of posts and information and it's a bit much to stomach all at once. But as you take the time to go through things little by little and as you try the process out yourself, it should all begin to make sense.

I have had a few comments here and there on the posts that I've made with some suggestions to add. So I thought I'd post a small section on tips in order to capture all of these great comments. So, just as a side note, here are some tips that will help make your experience more successful:

1. When you are signing up for internet coupons at different sites, they usually require you to list your email address. One comment suggested that you get yourself a junk email address so that all the extra stuff that they might send you will go to this other email instead of clogging up your home email. I already have one of these I've used for any online purchases, sign-ups, etc. and I've been tremendously grateful I haven't used my home email for stuff like this. Most of the sites have a little box you can check on or off depending on whether you want to get extra info from them. I usually say yes because they do sometimes send you different offers and coupons that others might not get, but you have the option to say yes or no to that. It's up to you, but if you do say yes, I would sign up for a free email through hotmail, yahoo, or many of the other free online emails so that all that extra stuff can be stored there.

2. Only buy what you will use. This seems simple enough, but as you get going, you can find yourself caught up in the "that's a good deal, I'm going to buy it" frenzy. Even though things are a good deal, if you aren't going to use them before they expire, then don't get them. I remember when I was first starting out, they had a big sale at Albertson's and with the store savings + coupons, I was able to pick up the Wishbone Salad Spritzers for 19 cents a piece - I was excited about how good of a deal that was and bought as many as I could (5 total). It's now been over 6 months and I still have 1 in my fridge, 2 sitting in my pantry, and I've farmed two of them off to my sister to use. The worst part is that they expire here in the next week or so and there is no way I'm going to get through them all before then. So even though the deal was fantastic - 5 bottle for less than $1, since I won't end up using them, I might as well have thrown that dollar in the garbage. Since then, I've wised up a bit and now that I know how often things go on sale, how often coupons come out, and what things we'll eat and what we won't, I'm a bit better at only getting what we'll use. Now that doesn't mean that you can't switch over to using different products because you get them for a good deal. I typically use Purex laundry detergent, but I am now currently using Tide and plan to use All before too long - both of which I've stocked up on during recent sales. What you'll use and how often is entirely up to you and your family, I just want to caution you against picking up a ton of stuff just because it's on sale and finding out later that you won't use it all.

3. Set aside some of this year's tax return to get stocked up on groceries, food storage, or emergency preparedness. If you're like us, you play it safe and pay more taxes that you need to during the year, so you get a little tax refund check in the spring. My husband and I decided right after we were married that we would take some of that return every year and put it towards some sort of preparedness. Each year has been different in what we've used it for, the first couple of years we got our 72 hr personal and family kits together, after that we concentrated on canned goods during the case lot sales, the last couple of years we put all of it towards the LDS Cannery items in order to stock up on our year's supply. This year we're probably going to do a mix of things, but it will depend on what we're in need of most once we re-evaluate our current stock. Even if it's a little bit, you can really get yourself going on either grocery shopping (or your 3 month supply for us) or something else that you are in need of. The good thing about this money is that, at least for us, it's not something we count on in our monthly budgeting, so it's money that we don't already have dedicated to paying something. We've discovered that for us, it's a lot easier to get ahead if you have a bit of money to start off with. Then as you save later on, you put that money back into your "stock up fund" and when things come on sale later in the year, you have a bit to use.

These are just some thoughts for you to consider and do as you see fit. Hope these help you have a better experience in getting yourself stocked and prepared. If you have other tips or tricks that you think might be useful to mention, please comment or email me and I'll post them for us all to read and use!

Examples of Shopping Successes

Here are a few examples of some shopping successes for this past week.

These are the purchases I made this week:

Albertson's:
Purchased - 4 Culinary Circle Pizzas, 4 2-liter bottles of Dr. Pepper, 6 boxes of Nabisco Wheat Thins, 2 Kraft Easy Cheese, 1 Kraft Mayo, 2 Kraft Salad Dressing, 2 lbs of butcher block chicken
Total Paid = $23.04
Total Saved = $35.56

Smith's:
Purchased - 28 cans of Hormel chili, 1 bag Lays Chips, 1 Tombstone Pizza
Total Paid = $19.26
Total Saved = $23.25

And here's a purchase that my sister made at Walgreen's last week:



Purchased - 2 Reynold's foil, 4 Jellos, 2 cans Tomato Soup, 2 Degree Deodorant, 3 Sunsilk Styling Mousse, 1 Sunsilk Hairspray
Total Paid = $3
Total Saved = $31.89

I was actually with my sister at Walgreen's. We happened to run into some clearance shampoo/conditioner/styling products. She had her coupons with her and had 2 Sunsilk $2 off of 2 coupons. The items were clearance to $2.24 each, but rang up at $1.19 each, which meant she paid 19 cents for each of them. Then since Walgreen's had a Unilever promo going on, when you purchased 4 products, you got $4 back in RR (register rewards, just like the catalina's from other stores), if you purchased 6 products, you got $6 back and so on. Well, since the Degree and Sunsilk products were both Unilever products, she got $6 back in RR. Even though she'll use those on an upcoming purchase, you can kind of think of it in your mind as money off of this purchase, so her paying $9 was more like paying $3, so we listed it as such above.

It is sometimes nice to have your coupons with you for when you run into good deals like this. Since I have so many, I don't tote my file box around with me, but I figure I could have gone back and picked up some of the stuff if I really wanted to after swinging home and grabbing my coupons. Just an example of one of those "you never know what you're going to run into" things. And she got a ton of stuff for a great deal!

If you have any great experiences from this last week or prior weeks, post a comment or send me an email (take a picture if you can - pictures are great!) and we'll add it to the blog for all to see. It's so fun to see the good deals that everyone is getting!