Wednesday, March 31, 2010

New Safeway store coupons up!

Safeway.com has added a few new coupons to their website for you to print or load into your card recently- and I certainly wouldn't wait! Here are a few awesome store specific coupons available right now (note: these can usually only be printed once per computer):
  • $2 off any Rancher's Reserve purchase of $10 or more
  • $2 off Safeway Primo Taglio Pan Roasted Turkey Breast, 1lb or more (currently $8.99/lb)
  • $2 off Signature Cafe Chicken Tender, 1lb or more (not sure of current price)
  • $1 off 5lb bag red potatoes (currently $3.49)
  • $5 off a floral purchase of $25 or more
  • $4 off Waterfront Bistro Colossal Sea Scallops 8-12 ct (currently $19.99)
  • $0.30 Safeway Select Artisan Sourdough Rounds (currently $1.99)

Seeing as how all of these items are currently full priced, I'd suggest waiting for a bit because I'm sure they'll go on sale before your coupon can expire. Of course, coupons for meat, seafood, and produce can be hard to come by- so you'll want to print (or load) these coupons and have them handy.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Walgreens and Alberstons trips

Walgreens: $6.12 spent, $28.94 saved (83%)

I also have one $4 RR left for my next trip! When I heard that the Dove Register Reward was rolling (as in, you can use it to buy more Dove and still get RR- something that normally doesn't happen at Walgreens) today, I knew we had to head out for this deal. The first transaction cost me $4.34 ($4 plus tax), and after the $4 RR printed I used it to buy another bottle. It took me a little while today to realize I also had $1.50 coupons for the daily treatment conditioners, at which point we used those too (and bought snicker's eggs and pringles as fillers). Note: As of midnight last night, this deal is no longer rolling. You'll still get the $4 RR back, but using it on another bottle will not produce a second RR.

Albertsons: $0.50 spent, $28.94 saved (99%)
This is 4 transactions worth of deals. We bought the last of the free tuna at the one store. The Pillsbury cookies were also on markdown for $1 each, so free after doublers- plus I earned a $2 catalina for buying 4 (I forgot about this til the catalina printed- woohoo for an easy moneymaker!). Snickers were free after $0.50/2 coupons and doublers. The Coke was on sale for $1.25 each and you got two free mars candybars for buying 2 cokes in one transaction. I used tearpad coupons good for $1 off Coke and Extra gum (also on sale for $1) and doublers to get 2 candybars, two cokes, and two packs of gum for only $0.50.

I also lucked out and found some Foster Farms turkey sandwich meat marked down to $0.99 at QFC with $1 peelies attached- so that was free too. It'll be nice for the husband's lunches this week.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Safeway and Albertsons this morning

Safeway: $2.93 spent, $10.45 saved (81%)
PLUS, I got two $1.50 catalinas good for my next order (so, I "made" $0.07 buying this stuff today). My store didn't have any easter cookies, but I do the Suave deal. These body washes are on sale for $1.25 each when you buy 4 and you can use four $0.50 coupons from the Safeway March Coupon booklet (found in the very same aisle as the body wash)- making your total $3 plus tax. When you buy 4, you'll also get back the two $1.50 catalinas.

Albertsons: $1.47 spent, $61.49 saved (98%)
One of my stores had tuna on markdown for $1 each, and I was thrilled to see they still had them this morning. I did 6 transactions, making these 30 tuna pouches, 3 boxes of graham crackers, and one gallon of milk only $1.49 (using the free milk cat from earlier in the week)! I also got a $2 survey coupon on one receipt that I can use on my next trip.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Fresh Express: where are you buying it?

Fresh Express is on sale for $1 at quite a few stores this week, and while that's a great deal (especially if you have/find coupons for it)- at some stores it's a much better deal than others. Here are your choices for $1 Fresh Express this week (until Tuesday):

Albertsons: Iceberg Garden salad, Shreds, Coleslaw mix

Safeway*: Spinach, Romaine, Shreds, Double Carrots, Lettuce Trio

QFC: Italian, American, and Hearts of Romaine

I listed the stores in order, Albertsons has the cheapest kinds on sale and unless you really want the shred or coleslaw mix, I'd skip that one. Safeway has some variety which is nice, but QFC has the fancier bags for the same price (I love Hearts of Romaine!). Of course, it'd be silly to go to a seperate store for a single bag or two of salad, but if you're hitting more than one store this week- it's helpful to know your options before you head out.

*Safeway is also running a deal that when you buy Hidden Valley Ranch dressing, you get a free bag of FE. The new flavored Farmhouse varieties are on sale for $2.89 and there was recently a $2 coupon in the paper. You can use that to get a bag of salad and a bottle of dressing for $0.89! If you know me in real life and want these coupons, let me know.

An Albertson's Trip:

$2.53 spent, $34.48 saved (93%)
Plus, I have 3 FREE milk catalinas available for the next time I need milk! The Rice Krispies went to St. Vincents (who needs more cereal, in case any of you are local and have some to spare!). The Marshmallows were an impulse purchase and only $1, but we kept some of the RK from the other day and I thought we might try making Rice Krispie treats sometime in the future (maybe? I'll be honest, I know they're supposed to be super easy to make, but I've never done it.). The celery was on sale for a dollar.

Update to QFC's March Madness promo

I had posted a list of some of my favorite deals with QFC's current, "Buy 8, save $4" March Madness Promo running last week but when we hit the store again yesterday, I noticed a few new prices for some of the participating items. I wanted to update my list accordingly so that you all can plan your trips a little bit easier. (P.S. if you have not won your two prizes yet, you need to be playing this game daily! Lots of the prizes count as part of the buy 8 and they take off the full price of the item, that's an easy $0.50 overage!)

Here are the deals (prices listed are after the $4 discount is applied for buying 8 items):

Ronzoni Smart Taste/Healthy $0.75 (Use $0.75 off 1 printable here, here, and here to make these free, or use the $1 coupon in this month's Parent's magazine for overage)

Hunt's Diced Tomatoes $0.75 (Use $1 off 4 coupon to make these $0.50/can, okay- but not awesome)

Krusteaz Cookie Mix $0.75 ($0.55 off 1 peelies make these only $0.20 each)

Ken's Dressing $1.99 (check for $1 coupons from previous inserts make this $0.99, not amazing but okay if you need it)

Annie's Mac&Cheese $0.99 (look for $0.50 off any Annie's to make this $0.49)

Kraft Shredded Cheese $1.49 (blinkie machines in the cheese section are loaded with $1 off 2 coupons, use these to pay $2 for 2 bags)

Yoplait Fiber One Yogurt $1.49 (use this $1 printable coupon to pay $0.49)

Yoplait Delights $1.49 (use this $1 printable coupon to pay $0.49)

Ore-Ida Hashbrowns $2.00 (Use $1 coupons from recent insert to pay only $1)

Lunchables $1.17 (use $1 coupons from recent insert and pay only $0.17)

Don't forget that you can print most internet coupons twice- which is especially nice in a deal like this! If you're new to shopping QFC with coupons, you may also want to take a moment and register your card at both Shortcuts and Cellfire. Both of these ecoupon sites have great coupons that are quick and easy to load to your shopper's card- and it's great to save a little bit of extra money. For a super simple trip consider printing off all the Ronzoni coupons, and two of the yogurt coupons- that's just enough to put together one 8 item transaction. You'll pay only $0.98 and walk away with 6 boxes of Ronzoni and two packs of yogurt. That's so ridiculously easy anyone could do it!

Want an example of how nice this promo can work out to be? My mom was able to buy all this:
...for only $4.44 yesterday! She played the game and won Lunchables one day and a $5 credit on her shopper's card the next day. We used the coupons listed earlier in this post plus one $1 Fresh Express coupon (to make the salad free) and saved over $45. It really is that easy.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Shopping Today: 3 different stores!

QFC: $9.52 spent, $11.53 saved (54%)
I wanted to swing by QFC today to grab some free salad (Fresh Express for $1 minus a $1 coupon) and check to see if the March Madness Promo (Buy 8, Save $4) was still running. It is until the 30th, so you still have plenty of time to get in on any of the awesome QFC deals I mentioned earlier in the week. I also bought 2 roasts for $9.52 because even though we're mostly eating from the stockpile right now I am starting to run low on meat.
Safeway: $4.26 spent, $15.45 saved (78%)
We generally buy Oven Joy bread, and since it's on sale this week for $0.89 a loaf, I went ahead and grabbed two. The flour was on sale for $1.29 and I used a $0.75 to take it down to $0.54 (for 5 lbs!). The Robin Eggs were on sale for $0.99 each, and I used two $2 off 3 bags coupons from the paper a few weeks ago- that works out to $1.94 for 6 bags. I really like them, so I'm planning to give some to my mom (who also loves them) and hide some from myself to stretch them out.

Albertsons: $0.53 spent, $42.97 saved (99%)
I saved the best for last! This was done in two transactions. First, the Kelloggs cereals were on sale for $1.79 a box and each one had a $1 peelie attached. Each bag of sprinkles was free with the purchase of 2 boxes of Rice Krispies. I also used a $5 catalina from the CHILL promo to bring my total down to $0.53. BUT there's a catalina promo that gives you 3 coupons, each good for one gallon of FREE milk (any size, any flavor, up to $4.19) when you buy 7 boxes of Kelloggs brand cereal (or 1 gallon wyb 3 boxes, or 2 gallons wyb 5 boxes). I used those coupons in my second transaction to make all my milk free. I certainly don't need more cereal, but this works out to be cheaper than anywhere else in town ($1.84/gallon if you don't have the CHILL catalina to start) and I would have done it more if I'd been able to find enough of the boxes with coupons attached.

Total Spent: $14.31 Total Saved: $69.95
(That's an average of 83%)

More shopping: QFC and Target (yes, again!)

Target: $18.33 spent, $56.49 saved (76%)
It was hard to pass up the Toy Story deal (My Toy's R Us was out of #2), especially with two little boys who are probably going to enjoy these movies (in a couple of years...they are still kind of young). I never really loved these movies, but I was too old when they came out (and a girl). I had a couple of extra coupons with me, so I gave those to a lady who was hoping to find a DVD combo pack. Seriously though, $15.98 plus tax for two Pixar/Disney movies? That's an awesome deal. I also grabbed another Free PF powder.

QFC: $5.33 spent, $25.99 saved (83%)
I'm not entirely sure these deals are over because sometimes QFC continues promos into a second week and doesn't include them in the ad. Either way, the prices I got yesterday might not be in effect so I'm not going to go into details. Still, this was a good deal for me- and much easier than figuring the Ore-Ida deal at Safeway.

Monday, March 22, 2010

My mom's Target deals

Target: $6.86 spent, $35.08 saved
...and $5 giftcard earned!
My mom got hooked on the Sobe Lifewater when there were free deals last summer, so when I saw that this was coming up- I knew she'd want to do it! Sobe Lifewater is on sale this week at Target for $1 each, but when you buy 10 bottles, you get a $5 giftcard instantly. We printed off 4 Buy One Get One FREE coupons (2 each from 2 different computers) that took off $4 from her total. She also got two Physician's Formula powders on price cut for $3 each. They had $4 peelies attached, but per Target policy these were adjusted down to only take $3 off. She paid $0.86 in tax, but after her $5 giftcard it's like getting everything pictured for only $1.86- and that's an awesome savings of 84% before you even figure in the giftcard!

QFC & Target: 99% savings!

Total Spent: $1.02 - Total Saved: $67.02 (99%)
Everything but the Physician's Formula makeup today was from QFC, most of the deals were outlined in this post from Saturday. I had two $1 ecoupons for the Fiber One yogurt (for $1 overage after printable coupons) and one $1 ecoupon for the Delights (making both free after printable coupons). I also used the $1.50 planters nut coupon from Facebook (to make these $0.49) and the lunchables were only $0.17 each after the discount and $1 coupon from yesterday's paper. My total spent at QFC was only $0.50, with a savings of $44.84!

Afterwards we hit Target so my mom could do the Sobe Lifewater deal (will be posting that shortly). We found certain kinds of Physician's Formula makeup on Target Price Cut for only $3 each (instead of $10.69 and $11.49) with $4 peelies attached! Per Target's policy, the coupons had to be adjusted down to $3 each- making the makeup free except for a small amount of tax. I paid $0.52 and saved $22.18 on this purchase!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

QFC: buy 8, save $4 promo

Have you shopped this deal yet? There are certainly some bargains and freebies to be found at QFC with this promo! You have 'til Tuesday to get to the store and take advantage of these sale prices. I thought I'd post some coupon matchups you might all be interested in, but first I'm going to insist that you sign up for and play Kroger's March Madness game. It's easy, can be played daily, and you can win up to two "prizes" that can be loaded directly onto your shopper's card. Even better, most of the prizes are items included in the buy 8 deal- which might make saving money even easier! You'll want to go here, select QFC from the list of stores, and set up an account. (Your odds of winning in this game are good, especially if you play late at night or early in the morning. I won FREE hotdogs and a $5 credit).

Here are the most promising deals (prices listed are after the $4 discount is applied for buying 8 items):

Ronzoni Smart Taste/Healthy $0.75 (Use $0.75 off 1 printable here, here, and here to make these free, or use the $1 coupon in this month's Parent's magazine for overage)

Hunt's Diced Tomatoes $0.50 (I used an old $1 off 4 coupon to make these $0.25/can)

Krusteaz Cookie Mix $0.99 ($0.55 off 1 peelies make these only $0.44)

Ken's Dressing $1.49 (check for $1 coupons from previous inserts make this $0.49)

Annie's Mac&Cheese $0.99 (look for $0.50 off any Annie's to make this $0.49)

Kraft Shredded Cheese $1.49 (blinkie machines in the cheese section are loaded with $1 off 2 coupons, use these to pay $2 for 2 bags)

Yoplait Fiber One Yogurt $1.49 (use this $1 printable coupon to pay $0.49)

Yoplait Delights $1.49 (use this $1 printable coupon to pay $0.49)

Ore-Ida Hashbrowns $2.00 (Use $1 coupons from recent insert to pay only $1)

Lunchables $1.17 (use $1 coupons from recent insert and pay only $0.17)

Don't forget that you can print most internet coupons twice- which is especially nice in a deal like this! If you're new to shopping QFC with coupons, you may also want to take a moment and register your card at both Shortcuts and Cellfire. Both of these ecoupon sites have great coupons that are quick and easy to load to your shopper's card- and it's great to save a little bit of extra money.

Did you find any other great deals at QFC this week? I'd love to hear about them!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Regular shopping: Safeway & QFC

Total spent: $10.12, total saved: $28.34 (75%)
That's including the flowers! At QFC, I shopped the "Buy 8, Save $4 sale". I used coupons to make my Ronzoni free, the cheese $1 a bag, and the canned tomatoes only $0.25 each. I had a few other things to pick up at Safeway. I might go back to QFC later this week to get a few more free/cheap things.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Albertsons trip: 99% savings!

Today was a roadtrip of sorts, we hit a number of Albertsons in an effort to not clear any one store of any one kind of cereal or wear out our welcome with the cashiers. These were the end results (please forgive me the less than stellar photo, we were exhausted and it was really sunny out- that's 78 of the 90 cereal boxes we bought):

Albertsons: $6.10 spent, $394.89 saved!!
...of course, $2.99 of that was the lemon cake my mom had to buy because they sampled it and it was too delicious to pass up. I did however, get a $2 survey coupon on one receipt! I spent slightly less than $2 for my share. I kept half the cereal (because we really will eat that much) and the other half is being split between my mom and St. Vincents. I LOVE LOVE LOVE shopping trips like this!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Are you ready for the Post cereal deal?

I know it doesn't start until tomorrow, but I'm getting myself organized for it today! If you're a little bit out of the loop- Albertsons will have select Post cereals on sale next week for only $1.59 a box.

Of course, if you know me, then you know I'd never pay that much for cereal (oh, okay, unless it was Oh's and I was splurging!). I ordered extra $1 off 2 boxes coupons weeks ago, am working on collecting doublers today, and there's a catalina (a coupon good for a set amount off your next purchase in store) involved that make this one HOT deal. All this results in cereal that will be paying for itself (and a few other things along the way). The nerd in me has already worked out the math on this deal, and this is how it's going to look (I'm not even going to mention buying 5 boxes at a time, because buying in groups of 4 or 6 is going to be your best bet depending on the number of coupons and doublers you have and the amount of time you're willing to invest):

Buy 4 @ $1.59 each= $6.36
use two $1/2 coupons
use two doublers
pay $2.36, and receive a $3 catalina

Buy 6 @ $1.59 each= $9.54
use three $1/2 coupons
use three doublers
pay $3.54, and receive a $4 catalina

You can use your catalina to purchase more cereal, but you'll need a "filler" item worth either $0.64 or $0.46, respectively. Here are a few things I'm seeing in the ad that might work well for you:
  • fresh Cantaloupe $0.48/lb (this is what I'm going to use in my first transaction, so I can pay with one of my $5 CHILL catalinas)
  • Yoplait Yogurt cups $0.50 each
  • Albertsons canned veggies $0.59
  • Nabisco Snack Crackers $1.69 with in-ad coupon (paired with a $1 Nabisco q if you still have one)
  • Red Grapefruit $0.69
  • Softsoap liquid hand soap $1 (use this $0.35 printable to make it $0.65)

Monday, March 15, 2010

Albies: FREE chimichangas!

Albies: $21.62 spent, $60.22 saved, and $20 in catalinas earned!
PLUS, I bought 2 copies of the Sunday paper! I did start out with $5 in catalinas, so really everything pictured above (plus $4 in newspaper) had a "net cost" of $6.62. I bought 16 cans of Campbell's condensed soup for $0.25 each after coupons and doublers ($1/4 printable here). I used this $1/4 printable and doublers to turn the juice into a small moneymaker.

The Jose Ole Chimichangas were $1 each and qualified for the CHILL promo- making them FREE after catalina. There are no tags on the individual chimi's in store, making this kind of a risky deal (if the catalina doesn't print- you're on your own with no proof it should have worked) but I'm thrilled to have something easy on hand for the husband to grab for lunch! The deal worked perfectly for me, so I bought 32 between the two stores I shopped. Note: after reading a few other blogs, it looks like this may not be working everywhere.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Safeway: details on the buy 5 deals

Safeway is currently running two super hot "Buy 5 items and save $5 instantly" promos this week- and you would be seriously missing out if you did not take advantage of these deals. However, it can be confusing so I'm going to do my best to give you the full scoop and will be happy to anwser any questions you have.

First things first, these deals are mix and match- but there are two different deals. You cannot mix and match cereal and salad dressing so be sure to formulate a clear shopping plan before you head to the store. You must buy items in sets of 5 (from each category) to get the $5 discount. Don't forget that when printing coupons you can usually print two per link.

Produce/Dressing Mix and Match (prices listed are after $5 discount wyb 5)
  • Marie's dressing $0.99 (Use $1/1 from 1/31 insert, this $1/1 Marie's yogurt dressing IP, or this $1/1 Marie's Dressing IP to make them FREE)
  • Fresh Express salad blends/baby spinach $0.99 (keep your eyes peeled for coupons in store)
  • Eating Right salad Blends/baby spinach $0.99
  • Eating Right Broccoli/Cauliflower, Broccoli Florets, Vegetable Medley, and/or Stir Fry prepacked veggies 12oz. $0.99
  • various prepackaged mushrooms, 8oz $0.99

Cereal/Snack Foods Mix and Match (note: not everything is listed, but I did my best)



$1 each (wyb 5)

  • Quaker Oatmeal Squares- 16 oz. (use $1 coupons from Quaker oatmeal boxes, or a semi-recent insert)
  • Kelloggs Snack Bar Rice Krispie Treat - 6.2 Oz
  • Kelloggs Corn Flakes Cereal - 12 Oz
  • Quaker Captain Crunch, select varieites
  • Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks, most varieties (find $0.50/2 printables here, here, and here)
  • Kellog's Fruit Snacks, most varieties (find $1 printables here and here)
  • Sunkist fruit snacks

$1.50 each (wyb 5)

  • Nature Valley Granola Bars
  • Chex Mix bars
  • Honey Nut Cheerios- 12.25 oz
  • Post Raisin Bran- 20 oz
  • Kelloggs Rice Krispies Cereal - 12 Oz
  • Malt O Meal bagged cereals, select varieties (use this $0.75 printable)
  • Nature Valley Nut Clusters (use $1 printables from here, here, here, or here)
  • Post Cocoa Pebble Cereal - 11 Oz
  • Post Fruity Pebble Cereal - 11 Oz
  • Post Golden Crisp Cereal - 14.75 Oz
  • Post Honeycomb Cereal - 12.5 Oz
  • Post Cranberrybery Almond Crunch Cereal - 13 Oz
  • Kelloggs Corn Pops Cereal - 12.5 Oz
  • Kelloggs Honey Smacks Cereal - 15.3 Oz
  • Kelloggs Froot Loops Cereal - 12.2 Oz
  • Kelloggs Apple Jacks Cereal - 12.2 Oz
  • Kelloggs Cocoa Rice Krispies Cereal - 16.5 Oz
  • Quaker Cinnamon Life Cereal - 15 Oz
  • Quaker Life Cereal - 15 Oz
  • General Mills Reeses Peanut Butter Puffs Cereal - 13 Oz
  • General Mills Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal - 12.8 Oz
  • General Mills Cookie Crisp Cereal - 11.25 Oz

$2 each (wyb 5)

  • Post Honey Bunches of Oats
  • Kelloggs Cereal Raisin Bran Crunch - 18.2 Oz
  • Kelloggs Raisin Bran Cereal - 25.5 Oz
  • Kelloggs Bite Size Frosted Mini Wheats Cereal - 24 Oz
  • General Mills Kix Cereal - 12 Oz
  • General Mills Trix Cereal - 14.8 Oz
  • General Mills Lucky Charms Cereal - 16 Oz
  • General Mills Golden Grahams Cereal - 16 Oz
  • General Mills Cocoa Puffs Cereal - 16.5 Oz
  • Fruity Cheerios - 12 Oz
  • Chocolate Cheerios - 11.25 Oz

Don't forget to look through your coupon stash- there were recent $1/2 Post cereal coupons and some people still have $1 Honey Nut Cheerio printables. You'll also want to peek at any boxes of Quaker Instant Oatmeal you may have purchased since some of these have great Quaker cereal coupons. There's also a handy $1 off 2 boxes General Mills cereal printable still available! PLUS, keeping your eyes peeled in store might be handy- lots of people are finding Kelloggs peelies and blinkies with valuable coupons.



PLUS, the catalina details:



General Mills Fruit Snacks 2/22 – 3/31 (Fruit Shapes, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers, Fruit RollUps, Fruit RollUps Fruit Stickerz)


Buy 3, get $1.50 - Buy 4, get $2.50 - Buy 5, get $3.50



Post cereals 2/26 – 3/21 (10oz. or larger: Great Grains, Honey Bunches of Oats, Shredded Wheat, Honeycombs, Raisin Bran, Grape Nuts, Fruity Pebbles)


Buy 4, get $3 - Buy 5 or more, get $4 OYNO

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Safeway: lots of freebies this week!

Safeway (and Albies): $11.58 spent, $47.24 saved
Really, the only thing from Albertsons is the Ricotta and Twix (used as a filler so I could pay with catalinas). Everything else was from Safeway, and this is how it breaks down (prices are after discounts and all coupons):
  • Honey Nut cheerios $0.95
  • 2 Nut Clusters -$2.78
  • Quaker Oat Squares FREE
  • Malt O Meal Cinnamon Squares $0.72
  • Barilla Manicotti $1.89
  • 2 gallons milk $4.78
  • Bread $0.99
  • 2 Avocados $1.00
  • Cabbage $0.79
  • Apples $1.64
  • FE Romaine $0.44
  • FE Baby Spinach $0.99
  • 3 Marie's Dressing -$0.03

My coupon organization system

I've been asked a few times about my coupon organization system, so I've decided to share with you how I keep myself organized. Of course, taking photos of a coupon binder is a little bit tricky (especially with all those shiny pages) so you'll have to forgive me for less than stellar photos. This method may or may not work well for you, every couponer has a different way of doing things- and that's just fine. It's great to experiment and find the system that you need. It took me over a year (and a TON of methods) to make the switch to a binder, and another 4+ months to really settle on the categories I needed for this to be effective. Now that I have my system in place, it's super easy to use and maintain.

Here's the binder itself, not the prettiest thing ever but I purchased it when back-to-school items were on clearance for $1. My choices were blue, hot pink, or a strange shade of green.
I like to keep store policies tucked in the front flap so they're easy to access if I need them. I also keep stamps handy (for coupon trades) and miscellaneous items (like my VS rewards cards) in the small pocket on the left. Sometimes I put store ads right here (in front of the coupon pages) so I can stay organized, especially on super busy weeks.

To the right, I have a baseball card protector sheet that I use for Register Rewards/Catalinas- that way I'm sure to use them before they expire. I sometimes tuck other things into this page as well (like a spare QFC loyalty card belonging to my mom, a FREE undie q from VS, or soon to expire coupons I want to use).
Page 2 of the binder is also super important. This is where I store my FREE item coupons. I'd hate to see any of these expire so they stay up front. Behind the FREE coupons I sometimes tuck in coupons that I can't pin down a category for (like $1 off any Campbell's/V8/Pepperidge Farm product).
Then come the tabbed categories. Here's what I use:
  • Produce: For produce coupons. Also includes deli items (from the deli section- like fancy cheeses, dips, and whatnot) and bread coupons
  • Pantry: This is a big category. If it's a baking item, dried or canned goods, breakfast food, tuna, sauces, or spices- you'll find it in here.
  • Snack- salty: Chips, nuts, popcorn, etc.
  • Snack- sweet: Candy, cookies, etc.
  • Beverages: Juice, coffee (in any form), water, etc. The only thing not included in this section is milk.
  • Frozen- anything you'd find in the freezer section of the store is here.
  • Cold- Meat, cheese, yogurt, eggs, etc. If it's kept in a refrigerated section, I put the coupon for it here.
  • Baby- Diapers, toddler/infant friendly meds, bath products, etc.
  • Misc- If it doesn't fit into another category and is a coupon I think I'll want to use, it goes in here. I used to have better organization- but did so many drugstore deals in the beginning that I'm pretty well stocked on these kinds of items.

Once you get into each category, I like to keep all like coupons on the same page. For example, here's my rice/pasta page:Pictured below is a page from my beverage section. It's supposed to be coffee, but I see some non-coffee items included (that'll teach me to take photos without double checking my pages!). Sometimes coupons are just too big for baseball card sheets, so I keep these photo sheets at the back of each section. I found mine at a thrift store for $0.25.Coupon confession time: I don't clip everything. I used to do this, but it can be hard to keep up with. Of course, if you're just starting out- I would recommend clipping or keeping everything. Now I use a simple "if this coupon made a product free, would I buy it?" test to decide. This helps keep me from getting overwhelmed both with finding time to clip my coupons and having more than I can keep track of.

Another thing I do to save my time (and sanity) is tuck whole P&G inserts into the back of my binder- I NEVER clip these right away. I sometimes make a list of what's included on a post-it and stick it to the front. Frequently, the majority of these coupons expire at the end of the month- so not clipping them saves me a lot of time, and if I need one- I know exactly where to find it. At the end of the month, I double check and clip anything with a longer expiration date for my misc. section before tossing whatever is left.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Shopping for string cheese!

Safeway: $0.39 spent, $51.00 saved (99%)
Both the husband and the toddler LOVE string cheese so I am thrilled with this trip. A wonderful fellow (online) couponer was kind enough to offer the coupons. I bought 10 Precious sting cheese (at $1.99 each wyb 2) and used one $2 peelie and nine $1 coupons. I paid using a $10 catalina. I put two in the fridge and the rest in the freezer, as I've heard they freeze wonderfully.

I also stopped by Rite Aid on the way home and grabbed 2 Cover Girl Mineral Blushes (reg. $8.19 each) for only $0.70 in tax. I've been out of blush for a while so that was a perfect deal this week!

Friday, March 5, 2010

Lots of shopping yesterday

FM and QFC trips:
I spent $5.99 at QFC on 3lbs of strawberries ($4 savings) and another $5.91 at Fred Meyer on cantaloupe, sesame seeds, and Tillamook cheese ($2 savings).

Safeway: $18.66 spent, $37.41 saved (67%)
Which isn't terrible because that's about what the chicken and beef cost alone.

Albertsons: $1.49 spent, $41.47 saved
Tha Danino yogurts were free after coupon and doubler. For the CHILL deal, I did 6 juice, 1 FREE DiGiorno, and 3 Dreyers. I also got a thing of basil (I'm going to try pesto for dinner tonight). I did spend $15 in catalinas, and got $10 back. All in all I spent $32.05, and saved $84.88. I was also able to pick up all the fresh ingredients I need to host the littlest one's first birthday party tomorrow- so that's pretty decent.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Albertsons trips: (or we won't be needing beans anytime soon)

I started out with the (CHILL) frozen food promo....
and then jumped into the ConAgra deals:
I also scored some extra $5 catalinas that someone had trashed. All in all I purchased:
  • 8 frozen juices
  • 1 Ice Cream
  • Cool Whip (marked down to $0.50 in brem.)
  • 1 mini-pizza (FREE item q!)
  • 3 cans Hunts tomatoes
  • 45 cans of Rosarita refried beans (don't worry! the store I bought these from had a giant pile- there's TONS left for whoever wants 'em. I sent 10 home with my mom)
  • 3 cans RoTel tomatoes
  • 2 cans Manwich
  • 3 bottles Wesson Vegetable oil

I spent $27.13 out-of-pocket but I still have $15 in catalinas for my next Albertsons trip. My savings were just over $120. This was one fun shopping trip! My net cost per item averages out to be about $0.18 per item. (I actually shopped two different stores). I'm not going to type up a crazy list of matchups for this promo, but I will point you in the direction of the Krazy Coupon Lady- their post is awesome, except that the Wesson oil is $2.99 and the VanCamps is $0.99/can.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Safeway trip: AMAZING Charmin & Bounty deal

Trip #1: $18.89 spent, $34.35 saved (67%)
...and I got back a $10 catalina! Curious? Let me show you what I did:
  • 2 HBO cereals $4 (used $2 off wyb milk coupons, found by the milk) FREE
  • 2 Packages Oreos $5 (used a $1 off oreos wyb milk, and a printable for a free package of nabisco cookies wyb another package and a gallon of milk- it autodeducted at $3.59) $0.41
  • Charmin $13.99 (adjusts to $9.99 wyb w/Bounty, minus $3 ecoupon from PG Esaver) $6.99
  • Bounty $13.99 (adjusts to $9.99 wyb w/Charmin, minus $3 ecoupon from PG Esaver) $6.99
  • 2 Gallons Milk $4.78
  • Corozonas chips $1 (used FREE coupon from Pharmacy) FREE
  • and I used a $2 catalina I had sitting around. My total was $18.89 and purchasing the Charmin and Bounty qualified me for the $10 catalina wyb $25 worth of P&G products.

Trip #2: $5.41 Spent, $28.29 saved, (86%)

I used a different Safeway club card (because you can only load the $3 Charmin and $3 Bounty ecoupons once per card). I also bought a couple of bananas ($0.57 worth) and another free bag of Corazonas chips. I used the $10 catalina I had earned earlier, and earned a second one. Hooray for cheap toilet paper and paper towels!! This deal is good through tomorrow, so if you're interested- you might want to load those ecoupons now! A HUGE thank you to the SD SW members for catching this.