Good Deals for the Week

Week 10/14/2009 - 10/20/2009

If you opened up your Albertson's ad yesterday or today and were sorely disappointed in the amount of items on sale, you weren't alone. I was shocked that this week's ad for the northern Utah region consisted of one page and the items on sale were mostly meat and produce. I knew this day would eventually come. It's obvious that the switch-over is happening, but I guess I was living in denial and hoping it would get postponed forever. No such luck - in fact, I'm hearing rumors that the weekend of the 24th and 25th is the official switch-over weekend. From what I've heard, there are some good things about this switch-over from Albertson's to Associated Food Stores. The first being that no shopper card will be required to get the "good deals" at the store. That will sure make it nice in shopping, I know I almost always forget to give the cashier my keys when I pull up to the checkout. Secondly, I've heard that the prices are supposed to be significantly lower. Now I'm not sure if that means the regular prices will be lower than Albertson's regular prices or if the sale prices will be lower in comparison, but lower is lower right? One bad thing I have heard is that they are rumored to be getting rid of the catalina machines - that's sad news I think because it means all of those tremendous deals (sale+promo+coupon) probably won't be as great as they have been in the past. But for those of us who hate having those little coupons floating around that we always forget to roll or use before the expiration date, maybe this isn't such a terrible thing.

All this being said, there are a few stores in the area that are participating in a General Mills Promo this week. You can find details about which stores and what the deals are at the PYP Albertson's thread for this week. Please be considerate and not "clean them out" of items if you decide to go shopping - the rumor is that they will not be restocking or providing rain checks, so let's make sure everyone gets a chance to pick up a few of these last minute deals. Also, keep in mind that the GM promo is a catalina and I would seriously consider picking up some non-promo items or perishables to use up your catalinas right away - there's been no guarantee that catalinas received this week will be honored at the store once the switch-over has taken place.

I'm not bothering to make the trip to one of these stores that's participating in the GM promo. One reason is that none are really close to me anyway, the second is that since I've heard about the Albertson's buyout, I've been carefully stocking up as much as possible on things I use and since a lot of the GM items on sale have been in recent promos, I'm pretty much stocked (plus some) on all of them. I have to admit that I'm extrememy jealous of any of you who are lucky enough to have your local stores remain Albertson's (Idaho, Nevada, Southern Utah, and other surrounding states). I may just have to do a road trip every once in a while to take advantage of the great deals!

As far as good deals at the other stores, here's a few worth mentioning:

Smith's:
- Same promo as last week: Mega Event: Buy any 10 participating items, get $5 off - again, not a whole ton of stuff, almost all of it frozen.
- Kroger Cheese - 8 oz for 99 cents, also some good deals on milk, eggs, produce.
- No other promos, but some good deals on sale items. Check out the PYP list for deails.

Associated Food Stores:
- No promos, but again, good deals on sale items with coupons. Nothing really fabulous jumped out at me, check out PYP list for details.


As far as my shopping goes, I'm planning to just head to Smith's this week. I haven't made it out yet since it's raining cats and dogs down here right now, but at some point I'm planning to pick up some milk, cheese, and whole pork loins (we like to cut this up into boneless pork spare ribs). I won't post a picture since it's a pretty boring list, but thought I'd mention what I was picking up this week in case anyone was interested.

Have a great week and Happy Shopping!

Good Deals for the Week and My Purchases

Week 10/7/09 - 10/13/09

Ever have one of those weeks where you seem to forget things? Well, I had one of those week this last week. I swear I had typed up a post about last weeks sales, but looking the blog, I can see that I never did. Sorry to everyone on that! But I'm not forgetting this weeks deals - there are some good ones! Here's a few things to be aware of:

Albertson's:
- Quaker sale: Save $5 instantly when you purchase 10 participating items. Great deals on Pancake mix, syrup, cereal, granola bars, oatmeal.
- Mix or Match promo: Save $3 instantly when you spend $10 on participating items. Great deals on a ton of products!
- Mix or Match - 4 for $19.96 or 4 for $9.96. Not a ton of great deals.
- Also check out the deals on potatoes, Hamburger Helper, Red Baron Pizza, Health & Beauty Aids, etc.

Smith's:
- Mega Event: Buy any 10 participating items, get $5 off. Not on a ton of items, but the ones that are there are a pretty good deal.
- Also check out the deals on potatoes, tomatoes, OJ, etc.

Associated Food Stores:
- Good deals on Yoplait yogurt, Kellogg's cereal, BIC shavers, and produce

This may one of the last times we see the Quaker items for such a great deal at Albertson's - they only have this sale once a year and with the buyout from Associated Foods, I'm not sure what will happen in the future. I would seriously consider stocking up if you're in a position to be able to do so.

I definitely took advantage of the Albertson's promos this week (I didn't need anything at Smith's, so I didn't go there), here's what I got:



Items Purchased:
- 10 Quaker Chewy Granola Bars
- 40 McCormick County Gravy Mix
- 2 Nestle Refrigerated Cookie Dough
- 3 Colgate battery powered toothbrushes
- 2 Barber Stuffed Chicken

Promos/Coupons Used:
- 4 $1.00 off 2 Quaker Chewy Granola Bars
- 1 $.75 off 2 Quaker Chewy Granola Bars
- 2 $1.00 off 1 Nestle Refrigerated Cookie Dough
- 3 $1.00 off 1 Colgate toothbrush
- 2 $1.00 off 1 Barber Stuffed Chicken
- Quaker Promo: Buy 10 items, saved $5 instantly - purchased 10 items, saved $5
- Mix & Match Promo: Spend $10 in participating items, saved $3 instantly. Purchased $60 in participating items, saved $18

Total Spent = $50.59
Total Saved = $98.40

Even though the gravy wasn't listed as more than a 3 star deal, my family loves this and it hasn't been on a promo for over a year, so I decided to stock up big time. The regular price for these packets is over $1.00 at Walmart, so I decided it was good enough of a sale for me to pick up a bunch (especially since Albertson's is transitioning to Associated Foods in the next few weeks). Just an example of how even though they might not rate it as a 4 star or above deal, I do still buy things I think are a good deal.

Good Luck and Happy Shopping!

Good Deals for this Week!

Well, there are a lot of good deals out there this week. A lot of carry-overs from last week, but if you didn't make it out, then you have another week to do so. Here are some of the promos to be aware of:

Albertson's:
- Glaceau promo: Save $3 on your NEXT shopping trip when you spend $15 on participating products.
- Keebler/Kellogg's promo: Save $10 instantly when you buy 10 participating products. New online coupons are available for a lot of the participating products, so even if you've used your coupons from the paper, there are still coupons to use and make most of them really great deals!
- Other items outside of the promos are pretty good too. Check out their deals on Progresso Soup, Dial Soap, fruit, etc.

Smith's:
- Great deal on apples this week - 50 cents per pound!
- Nestle/Kraft Promo: Buy 10 items, get $5 off instantly. Mix or Match. The same list as last week, from what I can tell. Good deals on quite a few of the items.

As always, check the PYP/GS lists to see the details on sales, promos, and coupons.

Fortunately for me, I didn't need to go out shopping at either store today. I picked up most of the things I needed from Smith's last week and really didn't need anything at Albertson's. It's a good feeling to know that I don't have to go to the store this week for anything. That's definitely a good thing about using this process to stock up when things are priced right - every once in a while you get a week off!

Deals for the Week and my Shopping Purchases!

Week 9/16/2009 - 9/22/2009

I wasn't sure what would be happening at the stores in the way of sales this week. Since the local Utah Albertson's were sold, I figure one of these weeks all of the good deals will just all of a sudden stop - but it wasn't the case for this week! They have a couple of great promos going on. Smith's, although continuing the caselot sale from last week, also has a few great promos. Here's a few to be aware of:

Albertson's:
- Campbell's promo: Save $5 on your NEXT shopping order when you spend $15 on participating products. You can get some great deals when you combine the sale prices, catalina, and coupons - for example: Campbell's Chicken Noodle or Tomato soup for $.23 a can, Campbells Chunky/Select Harvest soup for $.59 a can, or V8 Splash for $.83 a bottle! And you don't have to buy a whole case of anything, just enough of the participating products to get to $15! Almost everything is a 4 or 5 star deal.
- Nabisco promo: Save $3 instantly when you buy 4 participating items. A lot of 4 and 5 star deals using this promo too!

Smith's:
- Caselot sale still going on for another week - great deals!
- General Mills Cereal Promo: All sizes and varieties, buy ANY 4 and receive $6 off ($1.50 per box) Limit $12 per transaction. This was a bit confusing since it didn't say anything about the sale price. When I went to the store to check it out, I found out that all of the varieties/sizes are regular price, but all qualify for the $6 off when you buy 4. So you have to just get your coupons ready and head over to see what you can find - remember you get the biggest bang for your buck (using the promo and any coupons) when you buy the smallest box of cereal available. I wrote down a few varities, sizes, and original prices for you to get a feel on how much some thing are, here's what I found:
Cereal/Size/Original Price
Cinnamon Toast Crunch 12.8 oz $3.19
Reese's Puffs 13 oz $2.88
Kix 12 oz $3.15
Chex 14 oz $3.20
Trix 14.8 oz $3.29
Cocoa Puffs 11.8 oz $2.88
Honey Nut Cheerios 12.25 oz $3.06
Lucky Charms 11.5 oz $2.75
Cookie Crisp 11.25 oz $2.88
Total 10.6 oz $3.43
It's not the best deal on all, but for some of them - like Lucky Charms - that haven't been on sale forever, it was a good deal. I mostly bought those and got them for $.75 a box ($2.75 - $1.50 for promo - $.50 coupon), which I thought was a pretty good deal.
- Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks Promotion: Buy any combination of 4 items and receive $4 off (Limit $8 off per transaction). More great deals on fruit snacks, fruit roll-ups, fruit by the foot, etc. Be sure to use the coupons that came in the paper on Sunday!
- Nestle/Kraft Promo: Buy 10 items, get $5 off instantly. Mix or Match. Some pretty good deals on a quite a few things.

As always, check out the lists for details and to see more deals!

I had a couple of pretty successful trips to Albertson's and Smith's, here's what I got:

Albertson's:



Items Purchased (7 different transactions):
- 20 cans Campbell's Chunky Soup
- 20 cans Campbell's Select Harvest Soup
- 20 bottles V8 Splash Juice
- 2 bags Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers
- 2 Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers
- 3 bags American Beauty Pasta

Promos/Coupons Used:
- 5 $1 off 4 cans Campbell's Chunky Soup
- 10 $0.50 off 2 cans Campbell's Select Harvest Soup
- 10 $1 off 2 bottles V8 Splash Juice
- 2 $2 off 1 Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers
- Campbell's Promo: Spend $15 in participating Campbell's products and receive a $5 catalina - I rolled all catalinas into next transaction - last transaction contained only Healthy Choice and Pasta, so no final catalina (6 transactions x $5 = $30 rolled)

Total Spent = $50.54
Total Saved = $172.03 (that's less than 25% of the original price!)


Smith's:

Item's Purchased (sorry no picture!):
- 8 boxes Fruit by the Foot / Fruit Roll-ups
- 8 boxes General Mills Cereal (1 Trix, 1 Cookie Crisp, 6 Lucky Charms)

Promos/Coupons Used:
- BC Fruit Snack Promo - buy 4 items, save $4 instantly (bought 8 items, saved $8)
- GM Cereal Promo - buy 4 items, save $6 instantly (bought 8 items, saved $12)
- 4 $.50 off 2 Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks, Fruit Roll-ups, Fruit-by-the-Foot, etc.
- 2 $1 off 2 General Mills Cereal
- 1 $1 off 3 General Mills Cereal
- 1 $.55 off 1 box Trix Cereal

Total Spent = $13.51
Total Saved = $25.55
(Plus I also got 2 GM Cereal catalinas after I paid - $2 off any 5 and $1.50 off any 3, so I could go back and do the cereal deal again!)

Hope you're able to find some great deal out there - HAPPY SHOPPING!

Fall Caselot Sales!

That's right, it's Fall Caselot Time! This week both Albertson's and Smith's have their cases of food on sale. Check out the Pinching Your Pennies or Grocery Smarts lists to see the great deals!

If you're like me and wondering whether these prices are really that great, you can look at the star ranking on each list to see whether they're a good deal for that store. Keep in mind that each of these lists are made independent of other stores, so just because it's a good deal for that store, doesn't mean you can't find it cheaper at another store.

So now you're asking yourself how you figure out where the cheapest place to buy something is right? Well, lucky for us again, someone else has put together a list of a bunch of the local Utah grocery stores and some recent caselot prices from this year and even some from last year. She had a great blog that has a lot other information about short term supplies, long term supplies, and even emergency preparedness! Click HERE to check out the post about this year's caselots and while you're there explore her site a little bit - it's WONDERFUL! The caselot comparison lists are at the end of the blog - don't forget to scroll down in the document so see more than what your screen displays.

It appears that the Associated Food Stores caselot sale will be starting next week, so if you don't see what you're looking for or think you can get it for a better deal there, just hold on - the rumor is that it's starting next week!

Happy Shopping!

My Shopping Purchases!

As promised, I'm posting about my purchases today. Don't faint about seeing two posts from me in one day! Here's what I got today:

Albertson's:



Items Purchased:
- 4 12-pks of Wild Cherry Pepsi
- 9 Heinz Ketchup 40 oz (on sale for $1.67 - great deal!)
- 2 Lays Potato Chips
- 4 Danimals Crush Cups
- 4 Danimals Drinkable yogurt smoothies
- 2 Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt 6-pks

Coupons/Promos Used:
- Buy 2 Pepsi 12-pks, get 2 free instantly
- Dannon Promo: Spend $10 in participating products, get $2 off instantly (did 2 in one transaction and got $4 off instantly)
- 4 $1 off 1 Danimals Crush Cups
- 4 $1 off 1 Danimals Smoothies
- 2 $1 off 1 Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt 6-pks
- 2 $5 catalinas from last weeks purchases

Total Spent = $25.90
Total Saved = $76.19



Smith's:



Items Purchased:
- 2 lbs Red Grapes
- 4 Kroger Cheese
- 1 Kroger Cheese singles
- 15 Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers
- 10 Hefty One-Zip Bags
- 2 pkgs bacon bits

Coupons/Promos Used:
- 5 $.55 off 2 Heft One Zip Bags

Total Spent = $33.53
Total Saved = $39.75

I would have bought 20 bottles of the Kroger Apple Juice that is on sale for $1 each, but apparently the warehouse is all out, so none of the stores got any in. I got a raincheck and I'm planning to go back sometime this week to see if they have gotten any in!

Where Have I Been???

Good question.

Ever have one of those times when everything seems to be happening at once and there are so many unimportant (or less important) things going on that you just can't seem to get everything done? The last few weeks have been like that for me and I apologize for not being more on top of posting things. Honestly, I thought I had posted some comments on last week's sales along with my purchases, but looking at the blog, it was obvious that I thought I had done it, but for some reason never really did. Well, now that things are settling down a little bit, I'm going to try and be better at posting some of the deals going on.

This week is full of promos at Albertson's. I don't know about you, but I'm trying to stock up as much as possible since I'm really not sure what will happen once Associated Foods takes over. Here are a few promos to be aware of this week:
- Dannon Promo: Save $2 instantly when you spend $10 on participating Dannon products. You can do multiple $10 groups in one transaction - I did 2 this morning and got the $2 back twice. You can use your Dannon Promo purchases to get more Dannon coupons! Click HERE to find out more details!
- Proctor & Gamble Promo: Save $7 on your NEXT shopping order when you spend $25 on participating products.
- General Mills promo: Save $5 on your NEXT shopping trip when you spend $20 ore more on participating products.
- Buy 2 Get 2 Free on 12-pks of Coke and Pepsi products
- Really great deal on Heinz Ketchup (I haven't seen it this low in quite a while, I stocked up big time!)
- Few other random deals - check out PYP/GS page for details.

Here are a few deals I saw at Smith's:
-FREE Milk Promo: Purchase a combination of 3 participating items, get 1 FREE gallon milk. Limit 2 free per transaction.
- Great deal on product: cantalope, grapes, watermelon
- Good deals on frozen bagged chicken
- Great deal on Kroger brand cheese
- Good deal on 12-pks Coke or Pepsi (Albertson's has them for about 10 cents cheaper, but this isn't a bad deal either)
- Great deal on Kroger Apple Juice - I'm probably going to clean out my local store!
- Few other random deals - check out PYP/GS page for details.

I've only made it to Albertson's thus far this morning, so as soon as I make it to Smith's I'll post what I bought this week. If you have a chance to make it out this week, it's a good time to stock up on a few things. Happy Shopping!