Monday Morning Shopping

Yes, as stated in the title, I head out this morning to make a few purchases. A few turned into more than I planned and I came home with only 1 set of doublers left and 7 different receipts. The worst part? Well, I realized that I got so occupied getting all of the great deals, that I forgot to pick up a few perishables while I was out! I completely forgot to write those perishables on my shopping list and was in and out of the stores only buying what was on my list! Thank goodness my dear husband drives by Smith's on the way home from work and is always willing to swing in for me and pick up things I might still need.

So you're wondering what on earth I bought today right? Well, even if you aren't, I'm going to share them anyway. I was back and forth all over town, so don't laugh as I tell you what I bought and in what order (sorry I don't have any pictures, I was in a hurry to get my son picked up from kindergarten and had to put it all away without any snaps of the camera).

Stop #1: Kohler's (my local Associated Food Store)

Items Purchased:
- 10 bottles Gatorade

Coupons Used:
- In ad coupon making each bottle 69 cents when you buy 10

Amount Spent = $7.11
Amount Saved = $9.00

Stop #2: Albertson's in Lehi (my favorite checker let me do 3 separate transactions with my doubler coupons)

Transaction #1 and #2 (exactly the same)

Items Purchased:
- 4 Kellogg's Pop Tarts
- 1 Danimals Crush Cup Yogurt (4pk)
- 3 bags of Albertson's shredded cheese

Coupons Used:
- In ad coupon to make cheese 88 cents each
- 2 of the $1 off of 2 Pop Tarts
- 1 of the $1 off of 1 Danimals Crush Cups
- 3 doubler coupons (each redeemed for $1)

Total Spent = $5.37
Total Saved = $24.79

Transaction #3

Items Purchased:
- 4 Yoplait Go Gurt (8 pks)
- 1 Danimals Crush Cup Yogurt (4pk)
- 3 bags of Albertson's shredded cheese

Coupons Used:
- In ad coupon to make cheese 88 cents each
- 2 of the 75 cents off of 2 Yoplait Go Gurt 8 pks
- 1 of the $1 off of 1 Danimals Crush Cups
- 3 doubler coupons (1 redeemed for $1, 2 redeemed for 75 cents each)

Total Spent = $6.39
Total Saved = $22.43

Stop $3: Albertson's in American Fork (only did 1 transaction there)

Transaction #1

Items Purchased:
- 4 Yoplait Go Gurt (8 pks)
- 1 Danimals Crush Cup Yogurt (4pk)

Coupons Used:
- 2 of the 75 cents off of 2 Yoplait Go Gurt 8 pks
- 1 of the $1 off of 1 Danimals Crush Cups
- 3 doubler coupons (1 redeemed for $1, 2 redeemed for 75 cents each)

Total Spent = $3.67
Total Saved = $13.10

Stop #4: Smith's

Items Purchased:
- 10 bags of Kroger frozen french fries (on sale for 99 cents each - great deal!)

Total Spent = $11.08
Total Saved = $8.10

Stop #5: Kohler's (again, for the exact same purchase as above)

Items Purchased:
- 10 bottles Gatorade

Coupons Used:
- In ad coupon making each bottle 69 cents when you buy 10

Amount Spent = $7.11
Amount Saved = $9.00


So, I got all of the following:
8 Pop Tarts (21-22 oz - the big sized ones!) - 50 cents each
8 Yoplait Go Gurt (8 pks) - 75 cents each
4 Danimals Crush Cups (4 pks) - 49 cents each
9 bags of Albertson's Cheese (8 0z size) - 88 cents each
20 bottles of Gatorade - 69 cents each
10 bags of Kroger freezer fries - 99 cents each

Total Spent = $46.10
Total Saved = $111.21

Not bad for 1 1/2 hours worth of shopping!

Tons of Great Things in Today's Paper!

Just thought I'd mention that there are tons of great things to be aware of that came in today's paper.

First of all, there are 4 coupon packets:
2 Smart Source
1 Red Plum
1 Proctor and Gamble

The reason for the 2 Smart Source Packets is probably because next weekend is a holiday weekend and we aren't scheduled to get any packets.

Secondly, there are also Albertson's doublers in a separate 1 page ad. There are 3 doublers per page, so looks like you can use 3 per family per shopping trip. All the same rules apply. PYP has a thread already started listing possibly uses for these doublers, so check out the thread under the "Utah's Screaming Deals" Forum. The thread you want to check out is entitled: "Doublers! Albertsons May 17-19."

So if you wait to see what's in the paper before you decide to head out and pick up more copies, today might be the day to consider doing that. From what I saw, there were some pretty good coupons and the doublers are a great deal.

Happy Shopping and Saving!

Good Deals for the Week and My Shopping Trips!

Well again, there are some great deals to be had out there this week. I'm not going to list out the bargains one by one, as I mentioned last week, mostly due to the fact that PYP has asked that we not, but I will mention a few of the major promos going on to be aware of.

Albertson's:
- General Mills Promo: Spend $10 in participating products and instantly save $4. No catalinas to worry about and you can do as many $10 group as you want in 1 transaction!
- Con Agra Promo: Spend $20 in participating products and receive a catalina good for $5 off your next shopping order. As with most catalina offers, I'm guessing you have to split up multiple $20 groups into separate transactions, but I don't know for sure.
- Kellogg's Cereal Promo: Buy 4 participating products and receive $4 off instantly. Boils down to $1.50 a box of cereal and if you have any coupons, it just goes down from there. Pop Tarts also a part of the promo. You can do as many multiples of 4 as you want in 1 transaction.
- Make sure you pay attention to the in ad coupons this week. You can get bags of cheese and philadelphia cream cheese for 88 cents each and Cottonelle toilet paper (12 double roll packs) for $4.88 each. Additional coupons take the price even lower!

Smith's:
- No promos, but the best deal on milk this week
- Check out the deals on hot dogs and bologna with coupons
- Great deal on the Kroger brand frozen potatoes
- They don't have it as a good deal, but the hamburger patty packs for $5.99 is a great deal in my opinion, it only goes that low a couple of times a year
- Also, pay attention to the electrasol deal if you have the coupons

Walgreen's:
- Didn't see much here, but check out the list to be sure.

Again, check out the lists to see all the details, available coupons, and savings!

Here's what I bought today:

Albertson's:

Trip #1



Items Purchased:
- 3 bags Albertson's cheese
- 2 Cottonelle Ultra (12 double roll pks)
- 4 Kellogg's Rice Krispies
- 4 Tombstone Pizzas
- 4 Yolpait Yo Plus Yogurt (4 pks)
- 4 Gardetto's

Total Spent = $32.92
Total Saved = $69.55

Trip #2 (after I realized I wanted more!)

Items Purchased:
- 4 Yoplait Go Gurt boxes (8 pks)
- 3 Albertson's cheese

Total Spent = $5.90
Total Saved = $20.13


Smith's:

Items Purchased:
- 2 gallons Kroger OJ (found these for $1.29 each on a Manager's Special!)
- 5 Kroger frozed potatoes
- 2 bags Fritos
- 2 bags Santitas Tortilla chips
- 1 Lays BBQ chips
- 3 Kroger Ground Beef Patties

Total Spent = $35.80
Total Saved = $13.58

Spent more than I usually do, but you have weeks where you spend more and weeks where you spend less. The important thing to realize is that you will spend more for certain items that others (i.e. you won't pay the same price for a big package of toilet paper as you will for a box of cake mix), so you have to take all of that into consideration while you figure up your paid vs saved totals.

Happy Shopping to All!

Somebody Help Me - I'm Obsessed!

Well, obsessed with saving money anyway. I've heard there comes a time in every couponers life that they finally realize that they are obsessed and just can't stop saving money! I guess there are a lot of worse things to be obsessed over, so maybe I shouldn't worry so much. Just in case you're wondering if you're as obsessed as I am, I've put together a list of things that you can check yourself against. I like to call it: "You know you're an Obsessed Coupon Shopper if ... " So here's my list.

You Know Your You're An Obsessed Coupon Shopper If:
1. You favorite day of the week is when the ads/lists come out (as opposed to Friday or any day on the weekend).
2. You pop out of bed on Sundays excited to get downstairs and outside to get that week's papers and coupons.
3. You have a "special spot" in your house/purse for all of your coupons.
4. You spend hours planning out your shopping list in order to save the most amount of money possible.
5. You go to the store more than once or twice a week to pick up the "good deals" since after the first time you've gone, you realized there are more coupons you can use and more good deals to be had.
6. You cry when you throw away $1 off or more coupons that just didn't match up with sales during their lifetime.
7. You have your visiting teachers come over and you have a hard time getting to the lesson since you're talking so much about sales, coupons, food storage, etc.
8. The cashiers at the stores you shop at know you by name.
9. You actually get together with your Mom and sisters once a week to go over the lists and exchange coupons.
10. Your husband gets tired of the "guess how much I paid for all of this" game you play every time you come home from the store.
11. You refuse to pay more than $1 for a box of cereal.
12. Your husband rolls his eyes and has this "glossed-over" look on his face when you start talking about shopping and coupons.
13. You've thought/mapped out the quickest way to get to Albertson's and Smith's from your house.
14. Your husband has a hard time getting on the computer because you spend "hours" on it double checking ads, coupons, and forums to see if there are any deals out there you didn't know about.
15. You cringe when you actually have to pay full price for anything.
16. Your couponing has actually become a hobby and you spend more time doing that than the other hobbies you have.
17. You would be really upset if your shopping spreadsheet were ever somehow lost.
18. When you ask your husband if he wants a specific item to eat that week, he asks you if it's a good deal and if a coupons exists for it.
19. You've started a blog to detail all of the good deals out there and show everyone your purchases.
20. You actually teach a couponing class so that you can create other "Couponing Monsters" just like you!

I could have gone on and on, but I think I'll stop there. I'm interested to know if any of you have anything you'd like to add that might make the list a bit more complete. So leave me a comment and let me know what makes you an "obsessed coupon shopper."

In case you're wondering what brought this thought process on, here are 3 more transactions I did at Albertson's today in order to use all of my doubler coupons:


Transaction #1:

Items Purchased:
- 2 boxes Ritz Crackers
- 1 4-pk Danimals Crush Cups Yogurt

Coupons Used:
- In store coupon for Ritz (took off $1.01 each to get them down to $1.88 each)
- 2 $1 off coupons for the Ritz
- $1 off coupon for the Danimals Yogurt
- 3 doubler coupons ($1 each)

Total Spent = $0.35
Total Saved = $8.32


Transaction #2:

Items Purchased:
- 2 boxes Kellogg's Special K Cereal
- 1 4-pk Danimals Crush Cups Yogurt

Coupons Used:
- 2 $1 off coupons for the Cereal
- $1 off coupon for the Danimals Yogurt
- 3 doubler coupons ($1 each)

Total Spent = $1.29
Total Saved = $11.00


Transaction #3:

Items Purchased:
- 6 3oz boxes of Strawberry Jello
- 1 4-pk Danimals Crush Cups Yogurt

Coupons Used:
- 2 $1 off of 3 coupons for the jello
- $1 off coupon for the Danimals Yogurt
- 3 doubler coupons ($1 each)

Total Spent = $2.59
Total Saved = $6.30

In the end, I can't complain. My "obsession" today only cost me $4.23 and saved me $25.62 total - not too bad!

So this post goes out to all you OBSESSED COUPON SHOPPERS out there - may your coupons be plentiful and your savings be great!

Albertson's Doubler Coupons + Kraft Coupons

In case you didn't already know, there were Albertson's Doubler Coupons in yesterdays papers. There were 3 per ad/paper, so you're able to use 3 per shopping trip. Again, they are numbered 1 -> 3, so be careful to use them as indicated.

Also, starting today, there are a bunch of new kraft coupons at the www.kraftfoods.com website. A lot of $1 coupons that match up with items on sale at Albertson's until tomorrow. Those combined with the sales, promos, and double coupons makes for some killer deals.

I'm pretty well stocked, but I did use one set of doubler coupons today. Here's what I got (sorry, I forgot to take a picture!):

Items Purchased:
- 2 boxes Kraft Bagelfuls
- 2 bottles Tree Top Juice
- 2 heads of lettuce

Total Paid = $0.66
Total Saved = $17.26

Here's how I did it:

Kraft Bagelfuls on sale for $2.50 each x 2 = $5.00
Tree Top Juice on sale for $2.50 each x 2 = $5.00
Lettuce on sale for $0.99 each x 2 = $1.98
Sale Subtotal = $11.98

Had $1 off coupons for bagefuls (used 2 doubler coupons):
= $1 + $1 + $1 + $1 ($1 per box, doubled) = $4 off
Had $1 off of 2 coupon for Tree Top (used doubler coupon):
= $1 + $1 ($1 off of 2, doubled) = $2
Coupon Subtotal = $6.00

Used Kraft Promo ($3 off instantly when spending $10):
Bagelfuls and Tree Top Juice are both participating items
2 box bagefuls + 2 bottle tree top juice = $10
Promo Subtotal = $3.00

Had $2.50 catalina from Kraft BBQ Sauce purchase earlier
Catalina Subtotal = $2.50

Final Totals:
Sale Subtotal = $11.98
Coupon Subtotal = $6.00
Promo Subtotal = $3.00
Catalina Subtotal = $2.50
tax = 0.18
Total = $11.98 - $6.00 - $3.00 - $2.50 + $0.18 = $0.66

You gotta love coming home with a bag full of groceries for under $1!

Good Deals for the Week and My Savings!

Some great deals out there again! Thanks to all the hard work from the ladies at Pinching Your Pennies (PYP) for providing the sale/coupon links and shopping lists!

Albertson's:
PYP Albertson's link
There are some great deals and promo's this week - especially check out these:
- Kraft Promo: get $3 off instantly when you spend $10
- Johnson & Johnson Promo: Get $10 off your next shopping order when you spend $30
- Clorox Promo: Get $5 off your next shopping order when you spend $15
- Also good deals on deodorant, cereal (although the Smith's sale is a bit better), crackers, eggs, make-up etc.

Smith's:
PYP Smith's link
Not a ton of good deals, but there were a few:
- Kellogg's cereal
- Milk, Strawberries, Watermelon, Potatoes
- Suave Shampoo/Conditioner

Associated Food Stores:
PYP/GS Associated Food Store's link
PYP/GS Macey's link
A few good deals, but didn't see a whole lot

Walgreen's:
PYP/GS Walgreen's link
Again a few good deals, but not much.

The ladies at PYP have asked that we reference them in our blog posts and provide links to their lists, so I've decided to provide the information in the above format in order to comply with their wishes. To be honest, we're extremely lucky that they provide all of this to us for free. After hours of work on their part, they deserve all the credit and I don't feel I've given it as much as I should have in past blog posts. Since all of you should be looking through the lists on your own anyway, I'll probably not type out all the deals as I have been - gives them the credit by providing the link and saves me time.

But I will continue to show you my purchases. Here are a few I did today:

Albertson's:



Items Purchased:
- 2 boxes Froot Loops
- 2 Kraft Bagefuls
- 5 Kraft BBQ Sauce
- i dozen eggs

Total Spent = $0.90
Total Saved = $30.08
I got this for so little because I did a Kraft Promo (spent $10, saved $3) used coupons, then had a $5 catalina left over from last week. I also received an additional $2.50 catalina, so really I made money on the whole transaction!

Smith's:



Items Purchased:
- 2 pkgs strawberries
- 6 boxes Kellogg's Corn Pops
- 6 boxes Kellogg's Frosted Flakes

Total Spent = $13.81
Total Saved = $24.12

And CONGRATS to my good friend who went shopping with me for the first time this week using her coupons! She got a ton of stuff and got it all for a really great deal!

Happy Shopping to you ALL!

Kellogg's Cereal Coupons

If you're in need of cereal, there's some great deals on Kellogg's cereal this week and next week at Albertson's. There are a couple of different places you can get your coupons ($1 off per box):

Kellogg's website
(Be careful with this one since the way it prints is one coupon per page with a big color ad at the bottom - a big waste of paper and ink! You can get around this by waiting for the coupon to finish printing at the top of the page, then stop your printer before it gets through the entire ad at the bottom.)

Group A Coupons
(Or you can go to the Grocery Smarts link on the right hand side of this page and select Group A from the printable coupons section)

This week's current ad, Albertson's has a few of the Kellogg's cereals on sale. Raisin Bran and Fruit Loops are the only ones I see being on sale that match up with the coupons. They have an in ad coupon that makes them $1.49 - for the first two. I noticed on my receipt that they rang up for $1.67 each (then the in ad coupon takes off a whopping $0.18 to get them down to $1.49). So you can buy the first two - with the in ad coupon - for $1.49 (using the $1 off coupons, that would make them $.49 each) and then any additional boxes for $1.67 (using the $1 off coupons, that would make them only $.67 a box. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more varieties on for $1.67, so if you want to check it out, just have them scan the variety you are interested in and see if they happen to ring up for the $1.67 price.

Next week's preview is almost done and I noticed that a lot of the Kellogg's cereals are 50% off, so that combined with any $1 off coupons, would make them a great deal! I'm not sure on the prices since they have them listed as UNKNOWN on the list, but I can't imagine that ended up being a bad deal. The varieties listed are: Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, Corn Pops, Frosted Flakes, and Special K.

Note: If you printed the coupons last month (i.e. on the 29th or 30th like I did), there's good news! The coupons have been reset and you can go in and print them again (2 additional copies of each!). Looks like all of the ones I printed on 4/30/09 have expiration dates on 5/30/09, but the ones I went and printed today have expiration dates on 6/3/09.

Good deals on Kellogg's cereal, I know I'll be stocking up!