Food Lion Deals 8/7-8/13 and Kroger Deals 8/4-8/10

Food Lion's BOGO is still going on until tomorrow, 8/6 (see my last post) but these newly listed deals start Wednesday, 8/7. Kroger's deals are currently on!

Food Lion Deals beginning 8/7:

Tide 75oz $8.99--will be $7.99 with store coupon from coupon machine, and use a $0.50/1 Tide or Downy product to pay $7.49. *Gain 100oz is also on this deal, and I believe there is a $0.40/1 for that (all in P&G 7/28)

Charmin 16 double roll and Bounty 8 ct are both also $8.99 but would be $7.99 with store coupon. There are $0.25 coupons for each of those, too (7/28 P&G). This is a decent price for toilet paper, but see what you can do at Kroger with Quilted Northern!! (below)

Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage $2.50, use a $1/1 from the 7/28 paper to make these $1.50. These would also be cheaper at Kroger, but for comparison's sake :)

Velveeta Skillet Singles $2.50 each--there will be a store coupon for $1 off 2 to make these $4 for 2. Use two $2 off 1 coupons from the 7/14 paper (I believe) to make these $1 each!

*Store Promo* Buy one Lipton 24 ct @ $5.99, get $2 off ANY Lipton tea item (excluding ready-to-drink "to go" bottles)
--use two $0.40 off 1 Lipton coupons from the 7/28 paper
--If you want two of the big packs (@ $5.99 each) you will pay a total of: $9.18 for both, OR buy the larger one (as required) and a smaller item around $2.50 and pay $5.69 fr both :)

***Unilever and Kimberly Clark Promotion***

There will be a promo running in the store when you spend $15 on these items, you will get a $5 catalina for your NEXT order. OR, spend $30, get a $10 catalina! 

*This is NOT an extensive list of what may be on the promotion (because Food Lion hasn't uploaded this ad to their site yet...) but Unilever brands and Kimberly Clark brands are included. Sometimes, the cheapest line of items from that brand are not included, but I will find out Wednesday (8/7)!

Unilever Items (shown in the ad):
Ragu Pasta Sauce: $2.50 (use a $0.40/2)=$4.60 for both ($2.30 each)
Hellmann's Mayo: $3.00 (use a $0.50/1)= $2.50 each
Fruttare Fruit/Ice Cream Bars: $3.49 (use a $1/1 OR a $3/3 Breyer's, Fruttare, Klondike, Popsicle excl. 6-8 ct coupon 7/28 paer) and pay $2.49 each
Popsicle 18-24 count $3.59 (use a $3/3 Breyer's, Fruttare, Klondike, Popsicle excl. 6-8 count) and pay $2.59
DOVE body wash (ad price says $6.99) and DOVE shampoo/conditioner/stylers (I think the ad said $3.49)

Kimberly Clark Items (shown in the ad):
Scott toilet paper 12 ct: $6.99 ($0.50-$0.75 off 1 coupons from the 7/28 paper I think)=$6.24-$6.49
Viva Towel 1 ct: $1.89 each
Kleenex 68-184 ct: $1.50
U by Kotex 14-60 ct tampons or liners: $3.99 use a $2/2 items and pay $2.99 each (not sure which insert, but there are internet printables too!)

Deal Idea:
Buy 2 Fruttare items and 1 Popsicle Item, use a $3/3 coupon and pay $7.57 for those AND buy 2 Ragu sauces, use a $0.40/2 for those (7/28 paper)

Pay $12.17 (after coupons, pre-tax)
Receive $5 catalina for a net of $7.17 for everything.

Deal Idea #2:
Buy 1 Fruttare ($1/1), 1 Hellmann's Mayo ($0.50/1), 1 pack of Scott's toilet paper ($0.50-$0.75/1), and 1 Viva Towel (no coupon)

Pay: $13.37
Receive $5 catalina for a net of $8.37

***As mentioned above, I will be checking to see what other items are included in this catalina promotion since there are LOTS more things that these brands own. I am listing a few of them below that I know of that Unilever and KC own (these may or may not be on the promo, but I'm hoping!):

Knorr Pasta or Rice sides (usually only $1, reg. price so these would make for awesome savings!!)
Country Crock butter/margarine
Breyer's ice cream and Klondike bars
Lipton tea (all varieties; if included, would go well with the other store promo as outlined above*)
AXE products

IF the Lipton items are included, I have worked out the following:

Buy 1 large pack of Lipton (@ $5.99) and then another large pack @ $5.99, and then 1 pack of Fruttare @ $3.49

Use the store promo on Lipton (buy 1 @ $5.99, get $2 off ANY Lipton item) AND two $0.40/1 Lipton coupons AND a Fruttare $1/1 coupon

Pay: $11.67
Get $5 catalina, for a net of $6.67

Deal #2 (if Lipton is included):
Buy 1 Lipton at $5.99 and 1 Lipton at (approx.) $2.50 and 2 Fruttare packs

Use two $0.40/1 Lipton coupons and the store promo $2 off Lipton and 2 $1/1 Fruttare items

Pay: $10.67
Get $5 catalina for a net of $5.67

Since catalinas can be rolled into another transaction, these could make for some good deals. Not "free" trade outs, but good savings on lots of different items. I'm hoping this is an "all inclusive" promotion that will "count" many or all of the items by those two companies, but we will see!!

Kroger Deals 8/4-8/10

There are some nice catalinas running now at Kroger that work with the sales and a few freebies, too! Also, if you need a prescription refilled--you should consider switching to Kroger Pharmacy because right now you will get $25 in FREE groceries when you transfer an RX. This is completely free $25 just loaded to your Kroger card (Kmart offers this too right now!)

FREE items (with coupons, of course!):

Mentos gum (15 count at the check out lane)--is on sale for $1.00 and we just got a $1/1 coupon in the paper on 8/4 :) *this is on sale until 9/7 so will be free til then!

Reach toothbrushes--on sale for $1.00 each and with a printable from coupons.com for $1 off 1, they are free too! See why I will NEVER pay for oral care again :) Floss is the same price (99 cents to $1) and I think there are printables for that, too ($1 off 1 from coupons.com) will also make the floss FREE!

Gillette Fusion Shave Prep/Gel--on the buy 5, save $5 sale for $1.99 each--pair with the $2/1 coupon from the 7/28 P&G and it's FREE :) I NEVER pay for this stuff either lol

Cheetos (8.5-9.5 oz bag)--is the FREE item of the week! Visit freefridaydownload.com to load this coupon to your card ON FRIDAY 8/9 ONLY but use by 8/24. Can only be added that day, but will be FREE :)

Under $1 Items:

Diet Pepsi 6-pack 24 ounce bottles

on the buy 5, save $5 for $1.99--use a $1/1 6 pack or 8 ounce can coupon (I think it was 7/14's paper...) and pay just $0.99!

Lysol Wipes

These are on the buy 5, save $5 for 99 cents, use a $0.50/2 from the 8/4 paper and these will be only $0.74 per can!

Lysol Spray Cleaners

Same exact deal as the wipes, great price!

Crystal Light To Go (7-10 count)

On a catalina for buy 5, get $4 off your next order AND on a buy 5, get $5 off instant sale

Buy 5 (at $1.49 each), pay $7.45 plus tax and receive a $4 catalina for a final price of $0.69 each

(The big packs, the pitcher packs are on sale for $1.89 and would be $1.09 AFTER catalina and sale)

Crest Premium Toothpastes and Brushes

On buy 5, get $5 off sale for $1.49 each. There are multiple coupons out for these, but the recent P&G (7/28) had only $0.50 off 1 that would make these items $0.99 each but I believe there are $1/1 printables about that would make these cheaper. Either way, these are for the PREMIUM versions--NOT  the usual cheap ones!

Hillshire Farm Sausage Links

On buy 5, save $5 sale for $1.98, use the $1/1 from the 7/28 paper and pay just $0.98 for the pack, which is 75% off :)

Other Good Deals:

Purex Liquid or Pacs

Buy one, get one @ $5.49. Use a $1/2 items coupon (either 7/14 or 7/28 paper, sorry) and pay $2.25 for each one!

Nestle 24 pack water

on the buy 5, save $5 sale for $2.99 (this isn't necessarily stock up price, but a great deal!)

Classico Pasta Sauce

Buy one, get one free @ $3.59 *there is a spend $15, get $5 back on Savingstar right now and would make this a good deal if you need sauce :) This can be done over multiple trips, so if you only want to get a couple then 'finish' the deal later in the month, that's cool!

Herbel Essences Body Wash

On buy 5, save $5 for $2.49--pair with a $1/1 from the 7/28 P&G and it's $1.49 :) Body wash has been probably the hardest thing for me to get free just about anywhere (by that I mean OTHER THAN CVS) so this is a good price if you need some!

Dawn Dish Detergent

The BIG bottle is on the buy 5, save $5 for $1.89--use a $0.50/1 Dawn (limited varieties, but includes the hand renewal, the one in the silver bottle, and another) to make this $1.39!

Tampax

the BIG box (32-36 count) that usually sells for $8.37 (!) is on sale for $4.49, but use a $2/1 coupon from the 7/28 P&G and they will be $2.49 (70% off!)--this is an unwanted expense, but hey--coupons and sales make the price more manageable!

Cheerios

I noticed the Honey Nut variety were cheaper than the others for some reason and were $2.17/box on the buy 5, save $5. The most common coupon is $1/2 so these would be $1.67 per box. Not stock up, but definitely good.

Hopefully these will help you out--I will update on Wednesday likely to see what all is included at Food Lion, but until then I am working on getting my *NEW* website situated. I got the site but don't have all the details down yet and I haven't transferred the posts from here :)

$0.14 Candles and REAL food--for less than $5

I got a tip off to the clearance Febreze at Kroger  on Krazy Coupon Lady so when I went to pick up a couple staples I jumped on the deals :)

For everything pictured, I spent $4.92 (tax included) and saved ~90%

8 Febreze candles (the smaller ones)--reg. price of $3.99, on clearance for $1.64

2 Virginia's Best Corn Meal--reg. price of $1.99 each, on clearance for $0.80/bag

1 half-gallon of milk--marked down to $1.69, reg. price of $2.19

1 bag of Orville Red. Pop-crunch--sale of $2 per bag, reg. price $2.99

1 BIG box of Chewy bars (14 count)--reg. price of $4.89 (yuck!)

1 bag of Kroger carrots--reg. price of $1.69

1 bag of white grapes (1.64 lbs)--reg. price of $2.38/lb (, on sale for $0.99/lb :)

1 head of Romaine lettuce--reg/sale price of $0.99 each

Pre-card total (exc. tax)--$52.55

Coupons used:

4 coupons for $3/any two Febreze items (from the 7/7 P&G)--these made my candles 14 cents each :) :)

1 Digital Download coupon for FREE Pop-crunch (added to Kroger card 6/30--these Friday downloads are AWESOME! Be sure to check each week for the free/featured item)

1 Digital Download coupon for FREE Quaker Chewy bars--I got the BIG box (14 or 18 count) because this coupon did not have a count listed and was good on all of them :) moral of this is: don't always assume the coupon only works on the smallest one--if you're unsure, it's at least worth trying right!

1 Kroger coupon for FREE mini-peeled carrots (mailed in the last mailer I got)

*I also had one of my $3 catalinas left from the Bayer deal on 6/23 so I cashed that in (I know those all expired on 7/7 but this was a rain check for $3 off my order because one of mine failed to print so hey, worked out better for me since it was good longer)

Final price paid: $4.92 including tax :)

As a cool side note, those digital download coupons somehow cover all of the taxes, so they really are 100% FREE so it's possible to walk in with some of those loaded to your card and go through the register but walk out bag in hand without forking over even a penny haha, love that!

I am willing to bet that most all Krogers will have certain Febreze, Glade, Airwick, and such on clearance so if you need some cheap household items and have the coupons to pair--stock up!

Happy Anniversary to us! Kroger paid us $34.88 for shopping!

There was an awesome set of coupons in yesterday's paper for Bayer Aspirin--save $4 off 2 items (20 count or higher--expires 6/30/13) or $2 off 1 item (20 count or higher--expires in August). These are on a catalina promotion at Kroger, buy 2 get $3 off your next order. I already did this deal twice last week (see last post) but that was not nearly as good as yesterday's trip! If you're wondering why I did buy 30 bottles: a) they are good until 2016 so we can use them by then and b) I'll donate some and they were HUGE moneymakers :) Here is what we got at Kroger:

We went late Saturday night just to make sure the catalinas were still running for the Bayer (they are printing until 7/3/13, by the way!) because I saw a coupon preview (you can Google Sunday coupon previews usually by Thursday or Friday before they come out) and I saw the Bayer coupons listed. They were regional, so not everyone in the country got them (we got really lucky for once!) but when I got my Sunday paper yesterday morning, I saw the coupons :) But, as of late Saturday night, all I wanted to do was see if the catalinas were going to align with the coupons IF we got them, so we ran in to Kroger.

Saturday Night: 6/22/13

3 Hamburger Helpers--on Manager's special for $0.50/box, reg. price $1.67 each

1 Betty Crocker Mac-n-Cheese--reg. price $1.00/box

4 Secret Outlast deodorants--on the buy 4, save $4 (which ended at midnight Saturday...) for $2.49--reg. price is $3.94 each (only 3 pictured b/c I gave one away when we were leaving the store lol)

1 pack of Kroger bagels--reg. price of $1.89

Pre-card/coupon total: $24.65 with tax

Coupons used:

$0.75 off 3 Hamburger Helpers (made these $0.25 each)

FREE Betty Crocker Mac-n-Cheese (e-coupon loaded to my Kroger card--made this FREE)

4 coupons for $3 off any Secret Outlast (this gave me overage of 51 cents each, so $2.04 in overage total!)

Kroger coupon for $0.40 off one pack of Kroger bagels (from those wonderful mailers they send out!)

New total (after card and coupons): $0.77 including tax (woohoo!)
We also received a $1 catalina for buying three Hamburger Helper items, so this little trip was a $0.23 moneymaker for us :)

The next trips (6/23/13--also our 1st anniverasry being married :) ) were planned--

We bought 10 Sunday papers yesterday at the Dollar Store so we had 10 of the $4 off 2 Bayer/Alka-Seltzer items and 10 of the $2 off 1 Bayer coupons, 20 coupons total that allowed us to do 15 catalina deals total.

We bought the following at two different stores (so not to clean out 1 store completely!):
30 Bayer Aspirins (a mix of orange, cherry, and regular non-chewable) all of which were $2.34 regularly priced.
1 2-liter of Dr. Pepper 10--on sale for $0.88, reg. price is $1.50

Pre-coupon total: $ 71.72 (I know right!) --in Virginia, medicine is non-taxable but the Dr. Pepper had a tax of 2 cents (this is the sale priced tax, that's what I'll use here)

After coupons (Bayer: 10 x $4/2 [$40] and 10 x $2/1[$20] and one e-coupon loaded to our Kroger card for $0.75 off a Dr. Pepper 10 2-liter): we paid a total of $10.35 and got 15 $3 catalinas back, for a total of $45 in catalinas to Kroger!


So, we did have to pay a total of $11.12 out of pocket up front over the weekend, but we have a total of $46 for Kroger now (a profit of $34.88!!!)--we are planning what to buy with the money, but I will break it down once we go shopping!

FREE Canned Veggies at Kroger

I know my last post was about my ideas for writing about more topics, but for now, I really like writing about my couponing trips (especially when it includes how to get FREE canned veggies for your family). My weekend trips were very successful and I can proudly say that I saved $160 by only spending a total of $22.85 for $182.99 worth of products. Also, I got fresh food and canned veggies--now who can say that couponing can't be practical and it's only for junk food? :) For this post, I will start at Kroger since I have a deal that EVERYONE can take advantage of, even WITHOUT coupons and finish at Target. If you're in the market for canned veggies, this deal is for you and they will be completely FREE (minus tax of course). Here we go!

Kroger: Today, May 19, 2013

Kroger is currently running a sale for Green Giant canned veggies (varieties: peas, corn, creamed corn, green beans, and french green beans) at 2 for $1. There is also a catalina (prints at the register) coupon deal currently going on for these items (the catalina is on General Mills and Green Giant products). For every 4 items you buy, you receive a catalina for $2 off your next order. The total, with Kroger card of course, is $2.05 for 4 cans. I paid this in cash out of pocket, to begin with, and I received a $2 catalina. I took that catalina and bought my next 4 cans, paying only 5 cents in tax. I did this a total of 8 times to buy 32 cans of veggies for a net total of $0.40 (all tax!) because although I spent (in cash) $2.40, I received another $2 catalina for my final set of 4. I will just hold on to that 2 dollars for next time! Everyone can do this and it does not require any manufacturer or Kroger coupons, only a Kroger card. I DID 8 TOTAL TRANSACTIONS in order to do this the way I did.

Maybe you have some questions at this point. Hopefully I can tackle a few. I am using the questions my mom asked me when I called her about the deal, so maybe this seems kind of confusing. At the beginning, extreme couponing can be kind of confusing just like learning anything else. It just takes a little time to learn the tricks, but once you do, boy it's worth it! I will actually call the above deal on the canned veggies extreme because they're free, except for tax. And who doesn't want free veggies?! Okay--questions:

Question 1: Can I buy more than 4 cans in one transaction and get more than $2 back at once?

A: Yes, you could do this. You would simply receive more $2 coupons at once. It will be one $2 coupon per 4 cans. It won't combine them all (like into one LARGE amount coupon) but you would just get them all at once, instead of $2 at a time per transaction.

Question 2: Why break it into multiple transactions?

A: This is called "rolling", where you "roll" coupons from each transaction. I took the $2 from transaction 1, and used it on #2 and so on until I had completed 8 transactions. I broke it up into multiple transactions so my cash paid out of pocket would be less up front. In question one above, I would have paid $16.40 IN CASH (or credit or whatever) UP FRONT and received a total of $16 back. I chose to only pay $2.40 in cash, and be left with $2 back. It's really your preference how you do this because someone in a hurry (though multiple transactions does not take much longer!) would prefer to just buy them all at once and just have $16 for next time, instead of $2. It works the same way, so up to you!

Question 3: What happens if Kroger is out of the Green Giant cans?

A: Take advantage of the rain check system! Simply go to customer service and ask for a rain check on however many cans of GG you want (and you would tell them which specific variety and number of each) so when they come in stock, you will get them at the current week's sale price (.50 per can). Here's the only trick---the catalinas are only printing until the 25th of May, so the stock must come in by then. This really isn't a problem since Kroger reorders pretty much every day, and when sales are this good, they usually have plenty in stock somewhere!

Now, back to my savings. In the above picture, I also went to Target this morning and got some fresh food at a great price! At this point, I hope I have at least helped people see that you can use coupons on good for you food just as much as on bad for you foods :) Target has an awesome app for phones (all kinds, not just apple!) that comes in really handy! Target mobile sends out coupons to your phone if you text them at 827438. Right now, there are some good mobile coupons on all kinds of items, but in particular $1 off any fresh fruit purchase $1 or more and $1 off any fresh vegetable purchase of $1 or more. If you text the word SPRING to 827438 you will get a text with those coupons. Also, text the word PICNIC to get two more identical (so, you will get two of each). They can't be combined on the same item, but they can both be used in ONE transaction. Right now, Target has ears of corn on sale for .25 each (regularly .50 each!). I bought 8 ears of corn and used my two Target mobile coupons on fresh veggies to get all 8 ears FREE. Even better, IT DID NOT CHARGE TAX, since the price and the coupon were the exact same. Awesome! Andrew came with me today and he also had the coupons loaded on his phone, so we got 8 more ears of corn FREE on his order. He went through a different check out lane than I did. Since we were already in Target, we decided to use our mobile coupons on the fresh fruit too. I bought two packs of strawberries on my order, and used both of my $2 off coupons on fresh fruit. They were 1.99 a pack, so after coupon I paid .99 each and my total (with tax) was $2.03. Andrew bought 5 bananas (at .24 each) and a lime (.49 each) and a lemon (.69 each) and used both of his fresh fruit coupons. He paid a total of $0.29. The trick (or problem really) is that these coupons won't work if the purchase total DOES NOT MEET THE MINIMUM VALUE OF THE COUPON. Basically, you could not buy something worth .99, it HAD to be OVER $1 total. Either way, still a great deal!

Total at Target: $2.32 for $14.71 worth of fruits and veggies!

The rest of my weekend shopping took place last night at CVS, Kroger, and Food Lion and I will do this in a separate post later today.

$4.12 for Everything-- How??

So, everyone on Facebook asked "how did you that?!" Yes, I spent $4.12 on everything, and better yet, I got $5 back (in ExtraBucks to use at CVS next time)--I will explain in detail below :) I shopped at CVS and Kroger.

1st Stop was CVS (in my last post I explained my plan to return and buy the Crest rinse, so this continues that post really)

Crest rinse 500 mL (6.99 reg.) special was buy $10 worth, receive $5 Bucks back
Crest rinse 278 mL (5.99 reg.) (included in above special)
These were full price, so my 20% off regular prices CVS coupon [from the 4/14 Sunday paper ad] worked to take off $1.39 and $1.19 respectively. My final price (pre-coupons) was $10.40

(2) Tums 150ct (5.49 reg.), but these were on clearance for $1.37 each
(1) Always Radiant liners 128ct ($9.99 reg.) and they were on clearance for $1.99!

Subtotal for these 5 items: 15.13 (retail value of 33.95)

Coupons used: (MQ=manufacturer coupon)
(1) 20% all items regularly priced (from CVS ad 4/14)
(2) $1.50/1 Crest rinse (MQ from P&G brandsaver 3/31)
(1) CVS coupon for $2 off any $10 toothbrush, toothpaste or rinse purchase (from CVS coupon machine)
(1) $1.50/2 Tums products 24ct or higher (MQ from Smartsource sometime in March)
(1) CVS coupon for $2 off any stomach relief or digestive health purchase (Tums did count)
(1) $1.50/1 Always Radiant product (MQ from the inside of a pack of Charmin last year)

This made my new total $5.88 ($5.13 plus .75 in tax)
I 'paid' with a $6 ExtraBucks rewards from my last purchase at CVS (see last post ) and yes, I am considering this completely free money because remember I only paid a cash total of $9.12 last time and received $16 back, so the $6 was completely free :)

AND I received $5 in new ExtraBucks from my purchase of Crest, woohoo!

Now, on to Kroger:

1/2 gallon Kroger skim milk (2.09 regular, this was the price)
1.5 QT Turkey Hill all natural ice cream (reg. 4.49, on sale for 1.99 with purchase of 5 qualifying items)
1 dozen Egglands Best Cage-Free/Organic brown eggs (3.19 reg., this was the price)
2 Gillette Fusion ProGlide Men's shave gel (reg. 4.35 each, sale 1.99 with purchase of 5 qual. items)
2 Gillette Fusion ProGlide Men's shave cream (reg, 4.34 each, sale 1.99 w/purchase of 5 qual. items)
6 Brut Men's deodorant (reg. 2.45 each, on sale for $1 each)

My pre-tax subtotal was $21.23 with a Kroger retail value of $41.85

Coupons used:
(1) $1/1 Turkey Hill all natural ice cream (MQ from paper a few weeks ago)
(1) $0.50/1 Egglands Best Cage-Free/Organic dozen (this doubled to $1 off, MQ from paper back in February)
(2) BOGO Free (up to 3.99) Gillette Men's Shave Prep (from P&G Brandsaver 3/31)
(6) $1/1 Brut Men's deodorant

This brought my pre-tax subtotal down to $5.25. I used a '$2 off your next purchase coupon' (from my last trip, for buying the Scrubbing Bubbles), so my new total was $3.25 with a tax of $0.87 so I paid $4.12 in cash.

In total yesterday, I spent $4.12 in cash at Kroger and $6 in ExtraBucks at CVS, and received $5 ExtraBucks back. $4.12 for $75.80 in product (a savings of 94.5%). Not bad, and I'd say one of my personal bests :)

Kroger-Buy 5, Get $5 off sale! and Food Lion 4/13

First off, I apologize for not updating/sharing sooner. I was recently asked if I would post on Sundays once I know the 'deals' of the coming week. Yes, I think I can manage posting potential deals or possibilities you may find, but sometimes I really do just happen upon a good deal. Like anything else, sometimes there is just an amount of luck involved in being in the right place at the right time. Hopefully though, most of these posts can be duplicated if you want or try :)

Okay, Kroger #1 (we did go to two Krogers to find the cleaners...)

Until April 20, if you buy three Scrubbing Bubbles brand cleaners (at Kroger or Food Lion, though I think Target would work too) you will get a coupon for $2 off your next order.

Scrubbing Bubbles Cleaners  were on a "Buy 5, Get $5 off" sale at Kroger. The kitchen cleaner with Fantastik was 1.49 (price with buying 5 items) and with a $1 coupon, found on coupons.com, it was .49 per can. To use all of my Scrubbing bubbles coupons, I had to break into two transactions. I bought one kitchen cleaner in each transaction (Kroger was almost out of this particular one, so I could only buy the cheapest one twice, bummer)--I added two bathroom cleaners to the first (toilet gels were 1.49 each after a Manufacturer coupon for $2 off two) and another two foaming cleaners to the second (.99 each after MQ for $2 off two). To round out the first of the two 5 item orders, I bought a box of Lucky Charms for .99 (1.99 on the sale, and used a coupons.com coupon for .50 off, doubled!) and a jar of Bertoli pasta sauce for 1.49 (no coupon, but what a sale! since it's usually over $3...). The second 5 item transaction was completed with two Skintimate shave creams (on the sale, they were 1.64 each but I used a buy one, get one free coupon from coupons.com and this actually took off Kroger's regular price of 2.64--this equals .64 for two cans, or .32 each!).

So far, transaction #1: ~$6, then used a $2 coupon I had from a previous week, so made my OOP $4, and got $2 back

Transaction #2: $3.26, but used $2 from first trans. (so I paid $1.26 and then got $2 back)

I did have another 5 item transaction, which included a 6 pack of Snapple tea (on the sale for 3.99, coupon from my Kroger booklet for $1.50 off--2.49, regularly 7.49!), two tubes of Crest (on sale for 1.69, used two $1/1 coupons, or .69 each, reg. 3.69), and two Gillette men's shave gel (on sale for 1.99, usually 4.49, used a Procter and Gamble Buy one, get one free coupon which took off 3.99--the max the coupon would allow, so paid nothing for both!)--

Transaction #3 included the above and two boxes of San Giorgio pasta at .50 each (on sale for $1, used a coupon for $1 off two from my Kroger coupon mailer), two cans of Del Monte peas (sale for $1 each, used a .50/2 coupon which doubled, so made them .50 each) an Asian spice mix (on Manager's special for .39 and I had an .80 off one coupon--which did go through in full so gave me .51 overage, yes!) and 4 Knorr pasta sides (regular price $1 each, used a coupon for .50/2 (doubled to $1!) which made them .50 each. Personally, these are cheap already, but I like them for lunch so I buy them frequently, especially when I can get them cheaper.

Transaction #3 totaled: $7.60, then used $2 from above trans.--so we paid $5.60 but see below :)

Side note, the Knorr Pasta/Rice sides printed off a coupon for $1 off my next order! This was one of those "bonus coupon moments" where I was surprised at check-out. This made me ask Andrew to run back and get 8 more since I still had 4 coupons for .50/2. We then did two quick transactions in the self-checkout--only 4 of the Knorr sides in each trans. since the coupon stated "no more than 2 identical coupons per transaction". Each of these printed off a $1 coupon :) I paid $2 out of pocket (OOP) for 4, then received a $1 back, woohoo! The first one I used the $1 from the first Knorr purchase, so I paid $3 for 8 of them and got $2 back waiting for next week's trip :)

In all, we paid $13.86 at Kroger, for $78 worth of groceries and cleaners, and like I said, we have $2 good for next time :)

                                                                                                                                                                    

Now, our trip to Food Lion was simply to see what deals were possible. I had seen their ad in the paper on Wednesday (April 10) and wanted to check out the Buy 3, get $3 off instantly sale. They had an ad for Febreze and Mr. Clean that seemed decent. I found this and found a wonderful closeout on Finish Dishwasher tablets. See below:

Buy 3, get $3 off--we bought a Febreze Set and Refresh (was 2.79, but with sale it came down to 1.79, then I used a $1/1 coupon or, .79!--these are usually about 3.50 at Food Lion, Kroger and Target), we also got a Febreze car clip (Andrew really wanted this because they are really good--anyway, it was the same price since I also had a coupon for $1/1 of this, too.), finally--we got a box of Mr. Clean bathtub erasers--they are reg. 3.99, sale made them 2.99, then down to 1.99 and I had a .50 off coupon (remember, unfortunately Food Lion does not double...)

The Finish was tagged on closeout at 2.20 a box (the 20 count box, they had PLENTY of these left and this should be the same closeout in all FL stores), and these were originally 4.49 each. I had three coupons for 1.25 off, which made these .95 per box--awesome, since we use these for the dishwasher and they are definitely not off-brand or 'cheap' items.

Food Lion was not a big trip, but I felt successful! We paid $6.20 for $24.50 in very practical products.

Remember, Food Lion ads run Wed-Tues, so this sale is still running. I am pretty certain that many of the Kroger "5" sales will still be on for at least a week more, since Kroger is beginning to lengthen their sales cycles and make them longer. Apologies if some of the good deals are not still included.

Summary today: Paid a little under $21 for $102.50 in product, savings of ~80%

Everything we bought is good for at least a year, and I will be donating the shaving cream. Plus, I can spring clean for practically free :)