Shopping trip, 2/6

Safeway during the Super Bowl is a nice place to be. I spent $1.73 on the pictured items (I am including tax in all my transactions by the way, it's easier for me, plus you gotta pay it, so you might as well count it). The creamer was $1.69, so I figure everything else was free! A couple of tips for Safeway maximization;

• Safeway is (sometimes) generous with free items coupons that dispense from the Catalina machines. They are the machines that print separately from your receipt when you check out, and it's up to you to watch them, because they spit out some good stuff. I always scope out the machines at self checkout, because people tend to ignore them, and both the cleaning spray and the soda were free thanks to coupons that I grabbed from self checkout. I have no idea what prompts them to print for certain people and not for others, but I can tell you that I grabbed another free item coupon from the one I used tonight, which the previous person had overlooked. This is like the cheap person's lottery! I won't get rich playing, but it's fun!


• The taco shells and beans are part of an Old El Paso deal that is going on right now, and My Frugal Adventures hooked me up with some coupons that made this a great deal. The taco shells are .99/box, and the beans are $1/can, and when you buy 5, you get a $3 catalina for your next purchase. I got a slip advertising this cat a few weeks ago, and it said the $3 would be for beef or chicken, but it proved to be good for any purchase, which is more convenient for me. I paid for this transaction with a $3 cat from a few weeks ago, and that's always part of my strategy; if you pay for items that produce a catalina WITH a catalina, you reduce your out of pocket cost. I know catalina's are super confusing, so questions?

I have $22.18 left for the month, and I don't plan to do any shopping until the 14th. If you stop in Safeway in the meantime, look for a fresh supply of the Joy of Football coupon books, the $2 Rancher's Reserve coupon is awesome!

Holy lactose intolerance!

I had an urge to buy enough food to last through Armageddon, but I reined myself in, and kept things reasonable for my final normal shopping day before I head into my little challenge. I spent about $50 today, which is a little more than usual, but over $10 of that was cheese, including some Tillamook that I had a rain check for at Safeway. Cheese is important. I did want to point out a couple of good deals around town that are still going on.

Haggar's;

• Not unusual, lots of my produce came from them this week. They have grapes at $1.88/lb through tomorrow only, which saved my a trip into FTC where they are a bit cheaper at $1.49/lb, but there are pretty much no other reasons to stop there. Worth the extra .50 or so to me to skip another stop!
• I needed to load up on our favorite cheap snack, popcorn, and Haggar's had an unexpected bonus for me, the 2lb bags are only $1.50 on sale (this wasn't in the ad, so I don't know when the sale ends). I hesitate to admit this, but I have tracked popcorn before to figure out the actual cost per batch, and I can tell you that a 2lb bag yields around 11 batches of popcorn, so about .14 cents per batch at this price. What other snack is that cheap, and loaded with fiber? By the way, I don't have any special equipment, like an air popper to make popcorn. I use the enamel covered cast iron pot that I make soup in, add 2-3 TBSP oil, and 1/3 cup popcorn, and then cook it over medium-high with the lid on, shaking it periodically.

Safeway;

• Thanks for the free meat Safeway! The $2 beef coupon that I mentioned in the Joy of Football coupon book is available to load to your Safeway card if you haven't found it in the store. I actually used the loaded e-coupon, in addition to a paper coupon, and they both worked just fine on the 2 packages of beef that I bought today. I wanted cube steak, and the only pack they had in the store was $2, so free after the coupon, and then the other steak is Top Sirloin, probably for our date night this month, and it was $2.13 after coupon.
• The asparagus that is $1.88/lb through tomorrow only is beautiful, I can't wait to eat it! Asparagus means spring too, and God knows we could use some of that considering how flippin' cold it is right now.
• Bell peppers (red, orange, yellow) are $1, and the frozen bagged pepper strips are .99 with the coupon from the ad, or you can load it to your card. This one is through tomorrow only also. And apparently we really love bell peppers round here.

Walgreens;

• Milk on sale for $1.99/gallon, which is a good omen for me. I am loaded up now with about 3 gallons in the fridge, plus 3 in the freezer. I usually keep 2-3 in the freezer for those spells when I can't get a better price on it, and we go through about 2 gallons/week, so I think we can get halfway through the month on what we have. If you've never frozen milk before, don't be scared. It takes up a lot of room of course, but just pour some out so it has head room in the container, and it will freeze fine. I don't notice any change in the taste, though it may get a little bit of sediment in the bottom. One thing to know is that it takes roughly 12 lunar cycles to thaw, so you gotta plan ahead (just kidding, but easily 4 days to thaw, think of it like a turkey).
• Pudding mix is probably not an item I have purchased in the current millennium, but I was thinking how much my little guy would dig pudding pops, so the Walgreens in ad coupon to make each box .59, combined with the manufacturer's coupon here for .55 off 3 was enough to convince me. Why did they quit making pudding pops anyway?

So I'm ready to stop shopping for the next month, and I have a few projects that I'm cooking up, since I won't be spending much time at the stores! I know there will be hard moments when I have to pass a deal up, but I'm looking forward to getting my pantry overflow contained. Maybe I'll even share some pictures of the progress in that area, if I'm brave enough...

Shopping trip, 9/27

I had a really fun shopping trip this morning, not sure why but I just enjoyed myself! Thanks to my mom-in-law for watching junior, and to my awesome Safeway cashier Kimmey, who I adore! Here's what I did;

Safeway: I had a $5 catalina from my last trip, so I was ahead before I even started! I also had a few free item coupons that were set to expire on 9/30, so I burned those babies up. I'm going to try and write a feature on where to get free coupons soon, cause they are the funnest coupons of all! So here's what I bought;

• The $2 Chex Mix was better than free after e-coupons from Cellfire and Shortcuts, plus a paper coupon from here.


• The Pace queso was better than free after coupons from a contest that's over now, sorry guys.


• The Coke was free after a coupon from mycokerewards.com


• The Always pads were free thanks to a coupon that was included in a sample I requested a long time ago. Always request samples for things you use, they usually include good coupons.


• The Campbells soup was free.


• The eggs were $1.99.


• The yogurt was .79/4 pack thanks to a rain check and coupons from here. The YoPlus is only $2/4 pack right now anyway, so $1 after coupon here if you need some.


• The raspberries were 2.99


• The Babybel cheese was 3.99 for 2 packs, thanks to a BOGO coupon from a while back.

So my total out of pocket at Safeway was 6.84, which is a 91% savings. I mentioned that the sales were pretty weak, so I picked up only things that I needed (eggs, yogurt) a couple of splurges (raspberries and the cheese), and of course the free things.

Next I stopped at Haggar's as usual for produce. I spent $7.92 on bananas, apples and squash, so we are set for the week! So, my total for groceries this week was less than $15, which is right in line for me; I mentioned last week that we usually spend $40/week, but when the sales are less than great, I cook from my stash and spend very little for the week.

Okay, so my plan is to write a menu plan and get that posted, and then I promised a couple of you my recipe for Key Lime cheesecake, so I will try to get that up today too! Here I go...

Shopping trip, 9/21

So here is my Safeway stop today. I also ran in to Wags for the milk, and then on my way home stopped at Haggar's again for the chicken. My total cost was 16.25 at Safeway, and I got another Catalina for $5 off my next purchase, thanks to the garbage bag deal I described in the video here. At Walgreens I spent $3.25 on the milk, and then at Haggar's I spent about $6 on the chicken (I realized how low I'm getting on chicken, so I picked up the drumsticks that are on sale through today only at .99/lb). So my week's worth of groceries was around $40, which is about right for us. I could probably have a tighter budget, but I like to have plenty of produce and milk around, and those things don't come free!

One thing people mention is that they don't want to make a lot of trips to various stores just to save a few bucks, and I completely agree. Usually, I have a 1 store limit, especially if I have baby cuteness with me. Today I was lucky enough to shop while he was at Grandma's, so I took advantage and made a few stops. But if I do have him, I just consolidate grocery stops in with other outings; when we go to story time on Thursday, I stop at FTC if they have anything, or maybe Target. After work on Wednesday, I might go into Wags since I drive past there. My point is, spending an entire day shopping is not my idea of fun, so I split it up to make it much easier. The other part of this is that I am a big planner. Seriously, I plan my entire shopping week at home with the ads, write out my lists in order of how the store is laid out, and consider whether I am going to additional stores and when to do so. I cannot tell you how much time this saves me in the store, it is sooooo worth it!

Shopping trip, 9/20

I'd like to start sharing my shopping trips a little more routinely, so that you can actually see what I buy, how much I spend, and then it will tie in with my menu plans too. Plus, I love to look at other people's shopping trips, I don't know why, but it appeals to me somehow. I also used to love the feature in the Rachel Ray mag that detailed everything someone ate during a random day. Maybe I'm just obsessed with food? Anyway, I'll make a real effort to post these while the sales are still going on, we'll see how well that goes!

So this was my Haggar's trip today, me and Junior walked there, so I totally think we get bonus points for being earth conscious! I spent $14.18, and this is a pretty typical trip for me, I buy a lot of my produce there. I mentioned pretty much all of the prices on these in my Haggar's post here, and the prices are good through 9/21.

I think they have fair prices, and I've never been disappointed in the quality. I have a theory on the fruit by the way; I think of fruit as short term vs. long term. For example, the peaches, bananas, and pears are short term, and when they're ripe, you don't have time to ponder whether you should eat them or not, so I don't buy them in large quantity. The oranges however, will be fine in the fridge for a few weeks, so I can eat them now, while I wait for the short term stuff to ripen, and then go back to them after the short term stuff is gone. I know that buying too much is a problem for some of you, so try to think about it this way and see if that helps. My other long term fruit favorite is apples, but I've yet to see any great deals on them. The veggies I don't worry about as much, since I work them into my meal plans I know they'll get used within just a few days. The little jar is ginger, I've been wanting to make gingerbread, which is a seasonal craving that I have occasionally; not often enough to buy a quantity of ginger, which would be cheaper by the ounce, but wouldn't get used very quickly.

I'm planning on hitting Safeway tomorrow, and also Walgreens for some milk, so I'll post that promptly!

What's the math on that?

Okay, here's a "quick" video about a nice deal that you can get in on at Safeway right now. I'm sorry, I don't know how long this deal will last, so I would get in there if you want to take advantage of it. As I mentioned in the video, Bargain Blessings is where I got the details for this deal. She does a great job with Denver division Safeway, check her out.

I can't upload to Blogger, so I'm giving you the youtube link again. Sorry. I'll work on that someday!

Safeway trip video, 8/15/10

Wow, what a great Safeway trip! Definitely some good deals to be had until Tuesday. A couple of notes;

• Safeway did have a Sunday ad today, I really didn't see much of interest to me. Cantaloupes are .99 each which is good. I can't think of anything else!


• The Bakery Thrift store that I refer to is at 1430 Haines. I have lived here for over 20 years, and I don't know the name of a major road that I travel at least a couple of times a week. Hmm.


• If you are interested in the C&H Sugar, Mission tortillas, and Glad coupons that I refer to, notice there are e-coupons on cellfire, and paper coupons in the Make a Muscle pamphlet which I found at Customer Service. Good deals!


• My out of pocket will be around 11 bucks when I get reimbursed for the coupons that didn't deduct, and I didn't mention that I have 8.50 in Cats for my next trip! This is awesome, I don't expect to spend anything on groceries until we leave on vacation, maybe $1 in tax on some milk and produce!

Yet again, I cannot embed my video in this post. Here's the link.

JCP shoes, final cut.

This is my last shoe purchase and I am all set! These were 26.49 shipped, so obviously not quite as cheap as the first two pairs, but still a good price for something I have been looking for. The timing of this sale was awesome, the 1st pair of shoes I picked up is for an event, the 2nd pair for work, and this pair is for hiking! Even if I hadn't needed any of these shoes though, I would still have bought some and stashed them away for later, at these prices you have to think about your future needs. I would have loved to pick up some shoes for my kiddo, but didn't find any for him that I liked, and likewise nothing I saw would have worked for hubs. I'm happy though!

JCP shoes continued!

The code is still working today, this was my pick for only $5.29 shipped! Ten2You is the code.

JC Penney's, cheap shoes delivered!

The blog world is buzzing with this deal today. JCP frequently releases codes for $10 off a $10 purchase online. (This often coincides with the same coupon being mailed out for instore use. If you are on their mailing list, make sure you look at the crap they send you, because this coupon makes for very cheap stuff!) The code they released is Ten2You.

So I mentioned that they release these codes often, and the first thing I do when I see one is check out the clearance. You must pick something that is at least $10, 9.99 won't work. The bad part about these deals is that you have to pay for shipping, JCP won't let you use multiple promo codes on the same order. But the completely awesome thing this time around is that shipping is free for all shoes this month, no promo code needed!!!!!!! The website shows free shipping on shoes, and I got an email that it's for the whole month of August (the Ten2You code will probably only work for a few days.) So anyway, I ordered these shoes, and shipped to my house they will cost $8.47!

Target Toy Clearance

Target clearance is a fabulous thing, and when I stopped today I was thrilled to find they've marked down lots of toys to 75% off. If you are interested, you need to go ASAP, it will go quick!

I scooped up a bunch of stuff for Christmas, birthdays and got some Angel Tree gifts as well! This is a great way to be able to afford charitable giving.

Walmart, seriously

I made a rare trip to Walmart today and if you have reason to go there yourself, pick up cherries at .93/lb! That's an awesome price, though I can't tell you how long they will be that low, you never know with Walmart prices.

I also stopped at Don's for some cabbage, and it's always the little things that make me smile; some of the heads of cabbage are so cute and tiny, the 2 that I picked out only weighed 3 pounds total. Not only are they cute, but I won't end up with half a head of cabbage slowly turning brown in the fridge.

Happy shopping!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owcLoxQUMPs
Here is my promised shopping trip, thanks for checking it out! I tried and tried to embed the video into the blog, but I struck out this time, so you'll have to follow the link.

There are some good produce deals at Safeway, I'll get them posted soon, or in my own good time, whichever comes first!!

Fruit deals, yeah!

Here's some miscellaneous fruit deals to be had;

Safeway has cantaloupes at $1 a piece through tomorrow only, I'm sorry I didn't tell you that sooner, I totally missed it in the ad.

Sam's has 12oz raspberries for $2.98.

And, hurray for fruit coupons, here is one for .50 off a Dole pineapple. Save this for a little while, I bet Safeway will have a good sale soon, and this will double! While you're at coupons.com, check out the 1.75 off 2 Mariani dried fruit; I'm not sure how these are priced, but this is a high value coupon.

My inagural garage sale experience....

Wow, you gotta be tough for this garage sale thing! We went to the Sumerset garage sales today, and if you have kids, that is the place to go! I was most excited to get a sit & stand stroller to accomodate 2 kids, for $10, maternity jeans for $1.50/pair, and the next 2 years supply of pajamas for my son for $2.

It runs through tomorrow at 4pm I think, and there were tons of people selling today, but I bet there will be even more tomorrow. Bring sunscreen!

Any good garage sale finds you have to report?

Shopping trip 6/22

I picked up some items at a variety of stores today, and I thought I would hit the highlights for you.

Safeway is actually a good place to find diaper deals, in limited quantities anyway. I have told you that we cloth diaper, right? Well, we are planning a weeklong trip this August, and as strongly as I feel about cloth, I am not hauling them, clean or dirty, on an airplane trip. Sorry mother earth. So I am on the lookout for deals, and I try to pay $4 or less per Jumbo pack. Safeway had the in-ad coupon to bring Pampers down to 7.99/pack, then I used an e-coupon from P&G esaver, which took off $2, and then a paper coupon to take off another $2. I also got a cash register tape coupon or CRT, for $3 off my next pack, so I'll hold on to that!

So at Safeway, I bought;

Wheaties Fuel (overage after e-coupons)
16oz bottle Coke (free after mycokerewards coupon, yes I have been known to pick up bottles off the side of the road, just for the code on the cap!)
Uncle Bens Rice Medley (free coupon, no longer available)
6 Yoplait yogurt (paper and e-coupons available)
4pk YoPlus yogurt (paper coupon available)
4pk Yoplait Fiber One yogurt (I previously mentioned where to find paper and e-coupons for this)
2 gallons milk (1.98/ea through today only)
Pampers diapers
2lbs red grapes at .99/lb

Total out of pocket with tax was $11.68.

Then at FTC, I did my best to find great ways to use the in-ad coupon. My son had other plans, so I didn't make it far! I bought,

2lbs black beans, 1.09/lb, so only .49 after coupon! That's a good price!
1 can sauerkraut, .09 after coupon.
2lbs of beautiful butter, 1.29 after coupon.

Total out of pocket with tax was 4.05.

Finally I ran into Haggar's for potatoes, and I grabbed some marked down ground beef too. $9.64 out of pocket, it's funny how quickly meat drives up your food costs.

So, other things I spotted at FTC that you should consider using the in-ad coupon for included white rice, 1lb at .87, pretty much all the dried beans are 1.09/lb, if you have a coukout coming up, they have lots of disposable plates, cups, cutlery, etc. that would be cheap or free, the single cups of yogurt, sorry I can't remember how much they were, small cans of fruit, can't remember the exact price on those either. I'm going to have to write things down! I'll be loading the freezer with butter, definitely will pick up some more beans, and need to check the price on slices black olives, which are often more expensive than any of the other ingredients I use for pizza.

Safeway trip 6/15,

I forced myself to hit Safeway today for the sales that are set to end today, and as usual when I just don't feel like it, I still ended up glad that I went. My son would rather be in the garden, but he was a good sport! I don't plan to start listing all the sales and where I get the coupons from, because I'm sorry my dears, but that would take a LONG time! So instead, I thought I should share a few of my techniques, and show you what kind of savings you can accomplish with these techniques. So I bought;

Cheerios
Lucky Charms (don't tell anyone, these are better than candy to me. Well, really they are candy...)
BBQ sauce
Kraft Mayo (the new flavored stuff)
2 bags Cheetos
3 bags Rold Gold pretzels
2 bags snyders pretzels
2 boxes Ritz Crackerfuls (I've been wanting to try these, they ended up tasting just okay in my opinion)
7 packages of Sargento cheese slices
1 head of Romaine
3lbs Granny Smith apples
2lbs strawberries

My total out of pocket cost was $13.94, a savings of 85% according to Safeway. I used 32.50 in coupons, including paper coupons and e-coupons. So here are my suggestions on how to start saving money like this.

1. Be flexible; you'll notice the only vegetable I bought was lettuce. We eat a lot of fruit and veg, so this is not going to be enough to get us through the week by any means, but it was the only sale price I was willing to pay. I will pick up some cauliflower at FTC on Thursday, and hope for some good prices on produce at Haggar's, but otherwise, we'll be using canned and frozen veg this week. As far as fruit, I have also bought grapes at Haggar's (1.49/lb through today only), apples at Sam's ($1/lb, which is the most I'm willing to pay), and I have some kiwis that are ripening too. If there are absolutely no good produce prices, we stick with bananas and apples.
2. Stockpile; you can't stock up on fresh produce, but you definitely can buy meat at it's cheapest, and freeze it. I don't need any meat now, nor for the next 6 months probably, so I didn't buy any.
3. Keep stockpiling; My son loves pretzels, and they are better for him than other snacks, but I have been waiting and waiting for a good sale on them. And here it came, so yes, I bought 5 bags, even though it will last him several weeks. The goal is to buy enough to last until the next good sale comes along!
4. Know what you use; it's rare that I buy cereal, basically my rule is that I absolutely only buy it when it's free. We don't eat much cereal, and I have more than enough in my stock. The cereals that I purchased today actually resulted in overage of 2.27 for me, because I had e-coupons loaded on my Safeway card, and I used paper coupons too. Overage is when your coupons take off more than the price of the items, and you need to make sure you have other items in your order to apply the overage to. Overage is the gold standard of couponing, and it helps you cut the price of things that you rarely see coupons for, like produce.
5. Look for coupons everywhere; you know all the junk that prints out from the register along with your receipt? This can be a really good source for unique coupons. For example, one of the coupons I used today was for $1 off bagged Safeway produce (the apples). I can only hope I get that one again!
6. Be willing to change your habits; the one thing I used to watch really closely for sales on was soda. When I got pregnant with my son, I stopped drinking my one Mt. Dew/day. Recently, my husband realized that his several Pepsi's a day were really tearing his stomach up. Not having to buy those items has definitely made staying within budget easier. You have to decide what works for you, but think about cutting back even if you're not willing to give it up completely. I can tell you that when the only beverage you have to buy is milk, you'll save money!
7. Last tip for today is rain checks; when something is on a really good sale, make sure you get a rain check for it if they are out of stock. The Sargento cheese slices were on sale for 2.99/package, which is not going to happen, but I had a rain check from when they were on sale for 1.49/package. I combined that with coupons from the Dairy recipe book that you can find in the store, as well as the coupon here for one of them, and I bought 7 packs for 6.38 (I think). That's more like it. I left with a rain check too, for raspberries at 2.49/pint.

So what do you think? This is a very different approach to shopping for me, compared to how I used to shop. Used to be, I wrote a list and bought anything and everything we needed, regardless of how much it was. I would try to buy whatever was on sale, but really when you shop that way, you're at the mercy of the sales cycle, and it's rare that you hit it just right without some effort. I have plenty of staples right now, so while the items I bought today do not represent a well balanced diet, I can assure you that we eat much healthier than we used to, because I cook almost all of our meals.

Happy Trails

I wanted to share what I did with you today, even though I really want to crash into bed right now! We had an awesome day, thanks to the beautiful weather and a tip from my big sis. I have been wanting to get a little more serious about hiking, because we'd like to climb Bear Butte this year, and maybe Harney, but I have been worried about my ability to complete this mission, thanks in part to my unwillingness to do anything that feels like just exercise. You know what I mean? I don't mind doing it if it's fun, but otherwise I'll be in the kitchen, knock yourself out. So anyway, we strapped on our kiddo (actually I strapped him on), with the Infantino wrap and tie carrier that I just got because the previous infant carrier I had got recalled. And thank the heavens that it did, because it was unusable, whereas this one isn't bad. Anyway (sorry I get so off track), we went on a really nice hike from some randon trail that my sister encountered in a Cub Scout activity. If you're interested in the details, comment on this post, I am crap at giving instructions but we'll work it out. We had sunshine, fresh air, a little weather scare in the form of a brief bout of hail, and I am now pretty dang tired. The best part is that it's free! Isn't it great to live here?

So this evening, I drug myself into Safeway, because there is no way I am going on a holiday, especially a holiday that is so food driven. I didn't come up with any deals that were mindblowingly outrageously good, but I did want to point out one of my favorite coupon tricks. There are so many places to get coupons, and it's okay to think outside the box about how to use them. So for example, Safeway had Kraft Mayo on sale with an in-ad coupon, that brought the 30oz jar down to $1.99. Mayo is one of those things that have been on my stock up list, meaning I have it, but not in great quantity, so the sale caught my eye. One thing to understand about Safeway in-ad coupons is that they're not really coupons (at least as I define them), but really what they are is a sale that Safeway makes you work for. So you CAN use a manufacturer coupon in addition to the Safeway coupon. I know some people in other, more populous states have probably had trouble with this, just like they have trouble with everything they try to do involving coupons, and I feel sorry for them. But here in South Dakota, the grocery stores are usually pretty easy to get along with, and if not I kill them with kindness. Sooooo, I remembered that the recent FTC ad had some mayo coupons in it, and guess what, they are manufacturers coupons! Yeah! Now you'll note that they say redeem at Nash Finch stores, or something like that, BUT they don't say redeem only at..., so I used 2 of them, and they worked just great! I realize some people may think this is questionable, but the store will get reimbursed for them, just like they would any other coupon, so don't sweat it. So I got 2 jars of mayo for .99/ea, and I am a happy girl.

The point I'm making is that just because a coupon is associated in some way with a store, it doesn't mean you have to use it there. As long as it's a manufacturer's coupon, you can use it anywhere you want, so maximize your savings!

Free fun for little kiddos!

My son is 13 months old, and when I decided I wanted to stay home with him, I knew I was going to need a weekly routine, including outings out of the house. Happily, we found a great program at the Rapid City pulic library that has become our Thursday outing! Every Thursday at 9:30am and again at 10:00am, you can attend Baby Bookworms, which is geared towards the little kids. If your kids are a bit bigger but still not in school, they have another session on Tuesdays, I believe the times are the same, geared for the older kiddos. If you work during the day, there is a monthly story time in the evening, and I know they have pizza at that one so you don't have to scramble to get supper.

Anyway, they recently started a punch card program when you attend any of these story times. Once you get 10 punches, you get to pick a free book! My guy doesn't get the concept of this yet, but I see the bigger kids get very excited to get "their library card punched". Today we got our 10th punch, so we got to pick out a Sandra Boynton book, which are super popular around here! What a fun program, and a great incentive to read with your kids, we will definitely be attending for a long time to come! For more details, check out the RCPL web site.

I did make a couple of stops after story time;

At Walgreens I picked up the EOS shaving lotion that has a RR this week. I had an old RR about to expire, so I was happy to trade it in, and I am totally stocked up on shaving cream for a while, thanks to the recent Skintimate RR that Wags had. I used the Wags brand candy at .39 as my filler, and I would definitely recommend that you avoid the caramel creams, unless you have really good dental coverage; they were harder than hard!

At Target, I grabbed some C&H sugar, on sale for 2.39/5lb, and used a coupon from Red Plum, still available at http://www.redplum.com/ so that brought it under my buy price of .40/lb. I also got some Pure & Natural hand soap, pricey at 1.49 after a $2 coupon, but it will look nice in a gift basket. I was really pleased to get a bottle of Coppertone sun block, on sale for $6, and I used a $2 coupon from the May Safeway coupon book, which you should be able to find in one of the Health and Beauty aisles at Safeway. Finally, Oscar Mayer turkey bacon is on sale for $1.99/lb, which isn't bad to start with, and then I used a $1.50 coupon from First Taste, so that was a nice deal.

As I write this, it occurs to me that I am assuming you know some things about couponing, and that may not be the case. I will be posting more coupon 101 tips as we go, and in the meantime, there are lots of bloggers who have been doing this for a long time, and are better teachers than me anyway! Find one of them (for now)!