Grocery Savings

Tonight was that magical time where we are 3 days away from pay day, and we, of course, ran out of a few key items that would be needed before grocery day this weekend.

I checked out the blogs, and Savings Angel, found some coupon deals, and off I went.

I needed:

Bread
Trash Bags
Paper Towel
Lunch Baggies

I wanted:

Coffee mate Creamer
Spaghetti-o's

So, what all did I end up with?

Bread- $1.50 (ugh)
4 cans of Spaghetti-o's- $.50 each, plus a coupon for $1/4, so end price- $.25 each
3 liquid flavored Coffee Mate creamers- $.99 each, plus 2 coupons for $1/1, and 1 coupon for $1/2, for 3 FREE creamers
3 18-count boxes of Peppermint Candy Canes- $.39 each (these are for a Valentine's Day project, in which you melt two together into a heart shape, add a candy stick, and wrap them up as Valentine's Suckers)
1 2-Pack of Viva Paper Towel (My favorite!) on sale for $2.99 (this was cheaper than the store brand, and the rolls were bigger!)
1 box of lunch baggies- $1.50
1 box of trash bags- $2.99
Egg Nog- clearanced out at $1 for being close to the sell-by date (it won't last through tomorrow, let alone all weekend to the sell date)
Nutrigrain Yogurt bars- $1.49 on clearance
Yogos- $1.20 on clearance
Fruit by the Foot- $1.24 on clearance.
1 package of 6 sheets of Christmas Stickers for next year- $.37?

I wound up spending $18.21, and saving $19.96.

I got a coupon for $1 off 2 packs of fruit snacks. When I go back this weekend, I'll grab more of the clearance one's if I can. If I buy 3, I'll get a catalina for $1.50 off my next shopping trip. I've currently got 2 $1 coupons like that. So, if I buy 3 of them at $1.20-$1.24, save $1 off the immediate price, plus the 2 $1 coupons I have, I'll get 3 for the price of $.60-.72 total, and still have $1.50 off my next purchase. 

It pays to look around before going in to the store. I wouldn't have picked up the creamer or the Spaghetti-o's if I hadn't seen the sale price, and found the printable coupons. But, for $1, I got 4 cans of spaghetti-o's and 3 containers of creamer, which Nick goes through pretty quickly. It's expensive, though, for how fast it gets emptied out, so it's a treat.

Now, I spend $20 a month on my Savings Angel membership, but I saved $20 in just 1 visit, and it wasn't even my big visit. On top of that, I earn a $10/month commission because I have had 2 people sign up for SA under me. So, really, I spend $10/month is all. And, when the referral signs up and pays for their membership, you earn a $10 commission, so I was given $20 this month for those two members- so this month was free!

What deals have YOU found lately on groceries?

Family Gift Idea: Game Night

My friend Sarah over at Sarah's Deals posted a pretty slick deal yesterday. This is primarily good for the younger kids, but it's a great gift idea, especially those that buy for a lot of kids!

Toys R Us is having a Hasbro game sale right now, with several preschool games marked only $3.99. When you buy $25 worth of Hasbro games, you get a $10 gift card back. In addition, you can get a $2/game rebate (limit 1 per game title- so you can't buy 3 of the same game title, and get $6, you'd only get $2) back in refund from Hasbro.

The gift card activates 6 hours after making the deal (presumably so you have to come back to the store a second time). That frees you up $10 to buy another gift at TRU.

The math would require the purchase of 7 games at $3.99 to hit the $25 mark. Once you did, you would get $10 off your next purchase, and then a rebate of $14 back, making your total purchase only around $4 for 7 games. That's pretty much buy 1 get 6 free!

There are also some $7.99 & $9.99 games listed, which means buying less to hit the $25 mark, but saving less, as well, since the rebate would go down. To buy the fewest, at the cheapest price, you would want to buy 2 of the $7.99 games, and 1 of the $9.99 games to equal $25.97. You would get a $10 gift card back, and a $6 rebate, making it just shy of $10 for 3 games.

The more expensive games are geared at older kids- Clue, Boggle, Scrabble, Mouse Trap, Yahtzee, etc.

Thanks for the great deal, Sarah, and good luck shoppers!

Sarah's Deals- Find Great Deals Online!

I have a friend online, Sarah, who started a blog a while ago that helped show people how to match coupons with sales, and find good deals, including online coupons. She runs the group out of the Grand Rapids, Michigan area, but posts quite a few deals good all around the country for nation wide stores, and online shopping.

Take a moment to look her blog up!