My Target Finds: 75% off toys!

I got all this for about $40 (retail is about $160):

Our Target hit 75% off most toys yesterday, and they still had tons left when I made it in last night. I was thrilled to find more fun & educational looking games for the boys. I was also able to pick up some items that I thought would be great for gifting (and the Hello Kitty Fortune Cookie Set just looks like fun). Here are the details:

HK Fortune Cookie Set ($14.29) $3.57
Laugh&Learn Pig ($14.99) $3.74
Duck Duck 1-2-3 ($9.99) $2.48
Computer Cool School ($54.99) $13.74
Curious George Hide&Seek Zoo ($19.99) $4.98
2 FP Ice Cream games ($8.99) $2.24 each
FP Cookie Shape Matching game ($8.99) $2.24
2 Trivial Pursuit Single games ($8.99) $2.24 each

We had so much fun playing the Puppy Pals Bingo game that even though I did purchase the Duck Duck 1-2-3 game at 50% off I plan to keep it and gift the second one. While the aisle clearly marked 75% off toys had quite a selection, I had better luck wandering all the aisles and looking for items with stickers (especially with the games).

Target Toy Clearance

It's that time of the year again where Target starts with the heavy markdowns on toys. My local store has not yet hit 75% off yet, but I'm hearing reports that quite a few stores in WA have. If you want to check on your store- Christy over at Thrifty and Thriving has the go-to blog for Target bargain hunters. Plus, there are frequent updates on her Facebook page by her readers (you can check there to see if anyone has reported the current discount at your local store).

Just for fun, here are a few of my recent finds (not all toys):

Cranium Puppy Pals Bingo and Duck Duck 1-2-3 (50% off $9.99) $4.98 each
ConAir Infiniti Curling iron (50% off $24.99) $12.48
Mini Rubber Football (75% off $6.99, was not marked with a clearance tag) $1.75
Schwin Bicycle Seat (75% off $24.99, husband had been eyeballing this) $6.24
Remote Controlled R2D2 (50% off $29.99, was only tagged 30% off) $14.99
Mariner's Onesie and shorts set (75% off $12.99) $3.24
Cars Card Game Set (50% off $6.99) $3.48

I did buy a few things at only 50% off, it's not something I normally do- but in most cases the item at 50% off was either the last or second to last one of it's kind. I also noted in my list a few times that the item was either not tagged, or else tagged incorrectly (at a higher price)- it's really important with this markdown that you scan and check to see. Odds are good I'll be going back to see what else my store has going on sometime soon, they were just consolidating everything to one aisle which means they're close to marking things down lower but they do sometimes like to let things sit for the weekend. I was especially excited about the Cranium games as I've been looking for fun and educational games I could play with my oldest, and these too have great reviews (the ABC one in the same line though has terrible reviews on Amazon though, so I skipped that).

EDIT: Puppy Pals Bingo is fantastic, and I'd reccomend grabbing it if you have/know a toddler (especially one who likes dogs). My 3 year old and I have been playing it off and on all morning- and the only reason we stopped was so that little brother wouldn't lose the pieces.

Major Grocery Shopping Trips

Fred Meyer: $12.38 spent

I split my items up into two transactions because I don't make it over to Fred Meyer often and I wanted to use the $5 Kraft catalina (from buying cheese) on the blueberries. The 5lb box of blueberries were only $7.88 and the cans of beans were only $.50 each with in-ad coupon.

Safeway: $32.93 spent, $71.02 saved (69%)

(I also got 3 green bell peppers, 10 Sobe Lifewaters, and one BC Warm Delights but they didn't make it into the photo)

I did also find a "Try Me Free" rebate hangtag attached to the Lea&Perrins so I'll be getting some money back from that. You'll want to visit Queen Bee this week for an awesome list of matchups, but if you have questions about any deal in particular you see in my photo- let me know. I also swung by Albertsons to take advantage of the $2 off produce coupon and was able to grab celery and carrots for only $0.08.

Stock up on cheese

There's a great new catalina on Kraft Cheese products running almost everywhere at the moment, and that means a great chance for you to stockpile some cheese. Here are the details of the catalina:

Buy any 5 Kraft Cheese or Dairy products (6oz+) between 7/19-8/15, get $5 OYNO

Participating items:
Kraft Singles
Kraft Parmesan Cheese
Kraft Natural Cheese Chunks, Shredded, Crumbles (5oz+), Sticks and Cubes
Kraft String ums
Kraft Cracker Cuts
Kraft Deli Deluxe Cheese slices
Philadelphia Cream Cheese
Velveeta Cheese product
Cracker Barrel Cheese (5oz+)
Cheez Whiz
Breakstone's Sour Cream (16oz+)
Breakstones Cottage cheese (16oz+)
Knudsen sour cream (16oz+)
Knudsen cottage cheese (16oz+)

This deal is currently available at Fred Meyer, Albertsons, QFC, and Safeway. Most stores are also starting to get in blinkies with coupons for $1 off 2 bags. Obviously, you'll save more with the coupons, but even without them you're still getting a great deal. Wondering where to buy your cheese? Here are the two best places to take advantage of this hot deal at the moment:

Fred Meyer (through Sat 7/24)
Kraft Cheese is currently on sale for $1.50/bag

Buying 5 @ $1.50 will cost you $7.50
You'll get back a $5 catalina, making your net cost only $2.50 ($0.50/bag)
*With the blinkie coupons, your net cost will be $0.50 for all 5 bags (or $0.10/bag)

QFC (through Tues 7/20)
Kraft Cheese is currently $1.75/bag (or $1.25/bag as part of the Mega Promo)

Buying 5 @ $1.75 will cost you $8.75
You'll get back a $5 cat, making your net cost only $3.75 ($0.75/bag)
*with two $1/2 coupons, your net cost will be only $1.75 ($0.35/bag)

However, done as part of the mega promo my scenario looks like this:
Buy 6 @ $1.25 = $7.50
Buy 4 Gatorade @ $0.49 = $1.96
use 3 $1/2 coupons (takes off $3)
Pay $6.46 and get a $5 catalina
*I've been rolling my $5 catalina, so I only pay the net cost of $1.46 each time

I also switch it up on occasion, doing this:
6 Kraft Cheese @ $1.25 = $7.50 (minus 3 $1/2 coupons)
3 Ben & Jerry's @ $1.75 = $5.25 (minus $1.50/3 catalina coupon- it prints after you buy the B&J's)
1 Gatorade @ $0.49 = $0.49
Pay $8.74 and get back a $5 catalina from Kraft and a $2 catalina from Ben&Jerry's
*Rolling the $7 in catalinas allows me to only pay the net cost of $1.74 each time

The current prices of cheese at both Safeway and Albertsons would not make this deal worth the trip, however that could change as the new sales will kick in at both stores tomorrow.

QFC: Mega 10 promo

$8.72 spent, $45.28 saved (84%)

*I also got a bag of Kraft Shredded cheese, not pictured* Plus, I got back two $2 catalinas. Net cost for all that junk food? $4.72! Even better? The husband loves Ben & Jerry's and but I don't- so it'll be a fun surprise for him without being tempting to me. Everything pictured is part of the "Buy 10, save $5 Mega Event" except for the Edwards singles. Here's what I did:

• 6 Edwards Singles $1 ea (minus $1 coupons) FREE*
• 3 Tombstone Pizza $2.49 ea after promo (minus $2 printable coupons) $0.49 ea
• Kraft Shredded cheese $1.25 after promo
• 6 Ben & Jerry's $1.75 ea after promo (minus $1/2 coupons from the Safeway Dairy booklet) $1.25 ea

I got back a $2 catalina for every 3 pints of B&J's ice cream. That makes them about $0.58/pint after you figure in the catalina savings.

Note: You can find a $1/1 printable for Edwards Singles at coupons.com

Safeway: Buy 4, Save $4 cereal promo

Transaction #1:

$4.64 spent, $46.57 saved (91%)

Plus, I got back a $1.50 catalina for buying the Apple Cinnamon Cheerios (that catalina ends today). I used a combination of ecoupons and printable coupons (mostly from smartsource.com) but my total was lower than anticipated and I'm not sure why. I've had a long day so I'm not going to provide tons of details- especially since I'm still not sure how it worked out- but I will point you in the direction of the Krazy Coupon Lady. Keep in mind, you get one free box of Nature Valley Nut Clusters per 4 promo items (the Nut Clusters are part of the promo, but were not tagged as such at my store). I took my things out to the car and turned around to use my $1.50 on a second transaction...

Transaction #2:

$3.26 spent, $12.99 saved (80%)

I decided to "splurge" on some of the favorite cereals (CTC for the husband and Cheerios for the boys) plus grab another free box of granola bars (my fav!). All in all, I was able to buy 9 boxes of cereal, 5 boxes of granola bars, 4 bags of Nut Clusters, and 2 boxes of fruit snacks for $7.90 (a mere $0.37 each).

My Safeway trip: 63% savings

Safeway: $21.19 spent, $33.36 saved

I haven't posted a grocery trip in a while, we've mostly been shopping for fresh ingredients here and there (I'm still using coupons of course!) but haven't done much major deal shopping. These deals are only good through the end of tonight as far as I know, with the exception of the $5 off wyb a frappucino 4pack and something worth more than $5 from the floral department. Still, here are the details:

• 2 gallons milk $4.78
• Frappucino $3.99 w/in-ad coupon
• Nilla Wafers $1.99 with in-ad coupon (used $1 off Nabisco cookies wyb milk tearpad) $0.99
• Bananas $0.47 (used free bananas wyb Nilla Wafers peelie, took off full $0.55) -$0.08
• Barq's $1.67 (something took off $2.39 for this?) -$0.72
• Mini Roses $5.99 (minus $5 promo for buying frapps) $0.99
• Cheer $4.99 (minus $2 PG Esaver eq) $2.99
• 2 Charmin $9.98 (minus $3 PG Esaver eq, and $0.25 coupon) $6.73
• O Organics Tea $1 (minus $1 coupon) FREE

Online Sweepstakes

I've recently gotten into playing online sweepstakes and instant win games. While I usually consider myself to be a person who doesn't win anything- in the last week or so I've won 5 FREE Sobe coupons, a pair of movie tickets (worth up to $30), a free 20oz coke product, $25 for Costco (and some yummy snacks), and 12 boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios! Not too bad for a few minutes of my time. Here's what I've been playing:

Barilla- Share the Table: Enter once a week for a chance at a free product coupon. This is my favorite pasta, so I've got my fingers crossed.

Bed Bath & Beyond- Home Sweet Dorm: Not only are they giving away 1 $25 BB&B giftcard every hour, that's the smallest prize on the list!

Best Foods- Wheel of Real: Spin the wheel 3 times a day for your shot at a variety of food & kitchen related prizes. There's also a link to a Best Foods mayo coupon.

Bic Soleil- 100 Days of Summer: You can play daily for the chance to win a variety of things, mostly small prizes. No luck for me yet (although I do already have tons of free razors in my stockpile thanks to coupons).

Breyer's Wheel of Delights: Spin the wheel in this Facebook instant win game up to 3 times a day for your chance at instant prizes (coupons for free boxes of ice cream). Each day you play, you're also given one entry into their grand prize drawing of $1000.

Cheerios: Enter daily for your chance to win a free box of Cheerios. If you haven't entered already, you'll also get a $1 printable coupon in your email each week for 4 weeks. It's a great way to score some free or cheap Cheerios.

Coca Cola & Wendy's Summer of Real: Another daily instant win game. Lots of prizes, most of which are 30 My Coke Rewards points redeemable for a free 20oz Coke product. There's a limit of 1 prize per person and you need a code to play (329492855844 is the reusable code found on drink cups at Wendy's).

Dole- Salad Seekers Taste Adventure: You can play up to 3 times a day for a chance to win free bags of salad. Just be sure to click the blue button in the lower left corner of your screen so you can play without a code.

Honey Nut Cheerios- Non Challenge: Lots of chances to win a years supply of Honey Nut Cheerios (in the form of 12 FREE item coupons) and you can play daily. I won this on my second try!

Kroger Summer of Savings: Another daily chance to win something from your Kroger affiliate (QFC or Fred Meyer in the NW). I won a free pack of toilet paper in round 1, the second round started on July 4th and I've yet to win a prize from this round. These prizes load directly onto your shoppers card, so when you go in to the store and "buy" the item it should discount the full purchase price.

Milano- Share your Milano moment: Share your "milano moment" on Facebook for your chance to win a case of new Strawberry Milano cookies. You'll have to "like" them to participate. While you're there, you can also print a coupon for the Strawberry Milano cookies.

Pace Hand Pick & Win: You can play this game daily, and win up to 5 times (I've had 4 wins myself). Instant win prize is a coupon good for a free Pace product worth up to $4.

Raisinets Gift Basket: You'll need to "like" Raisinets on facebook, and then enter once for your chance at a gift basket loaded with Raisinet goodies. Only one winner a day.

Sobe- Heads or Tails: Easy to play daily with lots of prizes ranging from a printable "buy one get one free" coupon to a MacBook Pro. You can only win one prize valued over $25 per household so I'd pass on the backpack or track jacket, unless you really want one of those items.

Twix "10,000 Reasons to chew it over": You can play the instant win daily for your chance at a free bag of fun-size Twix or special Twix pack AND be entered for the grand prize drawing of $10,000.