I'm back with an Albertsons trip!

I'm back! Actually, I've been back to shopping for a while- and couponing like a maniac this week. Hope you've all been taking advantage of the deals at QFC too (because they're too good to pass up- seriously! If you don't know what I'm talking about, visit Heather over at Queen Bee Coupons). I've only got my Albertsons trip for you today though:

Total Spent: $0.12 --- Total Saved: $40.88

I did the same transaction twice: 6 cans Dole Pineapple and 4 cans of green beans. I used two $1/3 Dole coupons (from a recent booklet), one $1/4 Green Giant canned veggies (from the Safeway Thanksgiving coupon book), and three doublers per transaction. Gotta love 10 canned food items for a mere $.06.

The oldest helped me to carry them in and stack them up for a photo. Then he insisted that I take his picture too (and since he usually runs from the camera, I was happy to oblige). I hope to continue getting back on track with my blog now that things are settling down and I'm getting the hang of three.

Albertsons doublers today!

Spent $3.80, Saved $55.58

(and got back a $1 catalina)

I split my things into two transactions so I could make the most of the doublers that came out today. Here's what I bought (using mostly printable coupons):

Transaction #1:

• 10 boxes Green Giant Veggies $1 each
• 2 bottles Hershey's Syrup $2 each
• $5 came off instantly for the Boxtops Promo (buy 10 items)
• used two $1 off 3 GG Veggie printables and one $.60 off 3 printable
• used $1 off 2 Hershey's Syrup (from 8/22)
• and I used three doublers to bring my total down to $2.40

Transaction #2 (in which I realized they didn't have quite a few of the things I wanted and had to improvise):

• 4 boxes Green Giant Veggies $1 each
• 4 rolls of Grands $1.50 each
• 2 bags Chex Mix
• minus $5 for buying 10 participating Boxtop Promo items
• used $.60/3 GG veggies printable
• used two $1/2 Grands printables
• used $1/2 Chex Mix printable
• and three doublers
• This brought my total down to $1.40 and I got back a $1 catalina

I'm loving Albertsons this week!

This cost me $0.90 (I saved $108.38)

I actually bought a lot more than what you're seeing here- including one box of Quaker Delights Granola Bars, a box of Ritz Crackerfuls, and 19 more bottles of salad dressing that went directly to St. Vincents. Between my mom and I, we took down 10 tubs of oatmeal and 43 bottles of salad dressing just yesterday. There are a ton of benefits to couponing, but being able to donate in large amounts is one of my favorites. Of course, being able to grab a few free things for yourself in the process is also kind of wonderful. Yes, it took us a while to collect all our coupons and go through the lines multiple times but it's certainly not a waste of time.

If you have the coupons and your stores are stocked up on salad dressing, you might consider picking up a few bottles to donate as well. A good number of Albertsons stores have barrels for the food bank somewhere inside- making this a super easy good deed to do.

More shopping: FM & Albies

Fred Meyer: $12.41 spent, $3.50+ saved

I was excited to see grapes for only $.87/lb this week, along with a few other great produce prices, so I figured I do my "real" grocery shopping there. The Ronzoni was free after $1 coupons (found in various magazines about to be tossed at the doctor's office). The Swiss rolls were a treat for the husband (he likes them for lunches) @ $1 each and the donuts are a great motivator for the kiddos to help me clean during the week. The corn was also on sale for only $.25/ear and the bell pepper was $.44. Fun stuff.

Albertsons: $1.60 spent, $38.30 saved

Looks familiar, right? Except that with doublers, this deal is even better! I used two $1 off 2 and one $.55 off 1 (from today's paper) coupons on the salad dressing. I also used the $3 off 5 Quaker items coupon, a $2 survey coupon, and the $5 catalina from my last transaction. I got back another $5 catalina coupon for buying the salad dressing.

If you're just getting into this deal, the best way to start would be:

5 Kraft dressing (Ranch/Italian only) @1.34 each= $6.70
use two $1/2 coupons from the orange "Fall into good things" booklet (in store)
use one $.55 coupon (from today's paper) or one $.35 peelie
use three doubler coupons
pay $1.60-$2.00 and get back a $5 catalina

then, you could buy your Quaker items (using a $3 off 5 items) coupon and pay somewhere between nothing and $2! You could also continue to add in the Kraft dressing to "roll" your catalinas each time and maximize your savings. Hope you're all having fun with doublers today!

Albertsons: Quaker Oats & Kraft Dressing

Trans #1: $11.95 spent, $27.95 saved

...plus I got back a $5 catalina

I've really been on an oatmeal kick lately, and actually found myself paying full price for store brand oatmeal last week (crazy, right??). We're still stocked up on the instant oatmeal packets- but those just aren't working for me, so when I saw the Quaker sale this week at Albies I knew I needed to make a trip down. Here's the breakdown:

• 5 tubs Quaker Oatmeal $2.00 each
• 5 bottles Kraft Ranch Dressing $1.34 each
• used $3 off wyb 5 Quaker products coupon (in-ad)
• used five $.35 off Kraft dressing peelies (found attached to bottles in store)
• Paid $11.95 and got back a $5 catalina (for purchasing 5 bottles of Kraft dressing)

I actually got lucky and received a $2 survey coupon at the end of my receipt PLUS we spotted a few of these hot coupon booklets on the way out (Thanks CouponConnectionsNW!). The combination of good luck was too much for me to resist, so I unloaded the cart and ran back in for a quick second transaction. I bought the exact same items at I did the first go-round (this time using two $1 off 2 Kraft dressings from the new coupon booklet and one $.35 peelie), paying only $4.35 out of pocket this time and saving $35.55! Even cooler, I scored another $2 survey coupon- talk about good luck!!

There are quite a few other good deals to be had with the $3 off 5 Quaker items coupon in the ad this week BUT I've heard very reliable rumors of doublers (both from online deal seekers and a lady in the know at one of my local stores) this Sunday. I've got some nice Quaker coupons from the instant oatmeal boxes I purchased this spring that paired with doublers will make for even better deals and possibly even some freebies, so I'll be waiting to do the rest of my shopping until later this week (these prices are good through Tuesday, 8/31).

Note: I really don't need the dressing but since it does work out to be free after the peelies and catalina (or a slight money maker after $1/2 coupons and catalina) I couldn't resist grabbing some for donation purposes. If you're planning on heading to Albies this week, you might want to consider grabbing some to donate yourself.

My Albies trip this morning

I've skipped the last few rounds of doublers at Albertsons, but this week was just too good. I spent $1.54 and saved $111.89 for everything in the picture above! That's 8 boxes of potatoes, 12 boxes of cheerios, 10 boxes of cake mix, 10 tubs of frosting, and 1 butterfinger (so I could use the $2 survey receipt I got early on this am to help pay for the cake mix/frosting deal). You can bet I'll be headed back in for more fun with doublers!

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.

Albertsons trip: Lots of LOL Butter

$1.81 spent, $42.31 saved (96%)

I started out with a $5 catalina and ended with a different $5 catalina- so net cost and out-of-pocket cost are the same on this one. I did 3 transactions, the first of which was the 6 sour cream. I used 3 Buy one get one free coupons (from the paper months ago) and paid only $0.67. I did one set of 5 Land O Lakes butter with the Dan-o-nino for only $0.20 after coupons. The other set of LOL butter and the Ricotta (on markdown!) was only $0.94.

The "buy 5, get $5" catalina continues next week but the sale prices on the Land O Lakes butter will most likely change. You can find the $0.50 coupons for this in the Safeway Dairy coupon book. Heather at Queen Bee Coupons has the details on this deal.

We're back!

We had a very muddy but successful camping trip with the kiddos this weekend. We actually got in yesterday and took advantage of the FREE Papa John's pizza for dinner (there's nothing like a completely free pizza). I'm back to menu planning as of today, here's what I'm working on for this week:

• Monday: Hamburger with pork n beans, salad (w/lettuce from the garden!)
• Tuesday: Not sure yet, both boys have a doctor's appointment so I'm waiting to see how they do with that.
• Wednesday: Whole chicken with roasted veggies
• Thursday: Stir Fry w/leftover chicken, broccoli, and carrots on rice
• Friday: Black Beans and Brown Rice
• Saturday: Another not sure here, we'll be getting a couple of dogs for the week so my "maybe plans" of trying a new dish with the shrimp I picked up a bit ago might not go through...

I'm working on my grocery list at the moment as well, we're out of milk so I may need to make a quick trip to Safeway. I'm also hoping to swing by Albertsons tomorrow for some FREE Land o' Lakes spreadable butter (or else rainchecks on that- Thanks Queen Bee!). Fred Meyer would also be nice what with their cheap grapes, yogurt, and bagels (check The Coupon Project for a great matchup!).

My Albies doubler trip

$9.62 spent, $79.26 saved (90%)

We've needed ranch dressing for a while, so I was super excited to see the deal on that. I also loaded up on graham crackers (we go through these fast) and Yakisoba (easy work lunches for the husband). I did do the smores deal twice as we're planning a camping trip soon. The Mission chips were not the best deal ever ($0.75/bag) BUT the $1.50/2 coupon expires today and I was so busy doing Albertsons and Walgreens that a trip to FM/QFC seemed like too much...

My Shopping Trips today: Wags & Albies

I really haven't done much shopping this week, and besides a quick run for milk that went un-photographed, we really haven't needed anything. It also helps that the deals weren't super awesome this week. Of course, I did need a few things for this upcoming week's menu plans and had some Register Rewards about to expire so I made a couple of stops today. Here's what I bought:

Albertsons: $0.07 spent, $23ish saved

I also grabbed a copy of the Sunday paper since I hadn't bought one yesterday. I lost my receipt, so I'm not sure of my exact savings except that it was $23 something. I used up the $15 worth of catalinas I had earned buying water, cereal, and taco shells last week. The brown packages are about 4 lbs of boneless skinless chicken tenders (on bonus buy for $1.99/lb).

Walgreens: $5.84 spent, $18.60

I also bought a large thing of lighter fluid for the husband, because we decided to grill tonight kind of last minute. I started with $10 in RR and ended with $11 in RR. Here's the breakdown:

Transaction #1:

• EOS Shave Cream $2.99
• Tootsie roll $0.25
• Tax $0.26
• Paid with $3RR (from Schick 2 weeks ago) and $0.50 in cash, got back $3RR from EOS

Transaction #2:

• EOS Shave cream $2.99
• Schick 3 Razor System $7.99 (used $5 coupon from 5/9 SS)
• Lighter Fluid $5.99
• Tax $1.37
• Paid using $7 in RR and $5.34 in cash, got back $5RR from Schick and $3RR from EOS

Another Albies trip

Spent $16.35, Saved $61.16 (79%)

(3 more cases of water are still in the car)

I started out with a $5 catalina from yesterday's water purchase, and walked away today with $12 in catalinas good for my next trip. For those keeping tabs, the net cost is $9.35, most of which is for the 4 cases of water. The torillas and water deal are outlined in my post from last night, but here's what else I did:

4 boxes of mini wheats $10

• used two $2 off 2 boxes coupons
• paid $6 and got back $7 in catalinas (one $3 and one $4- this probably shouldn't be working like this, but I'm not going to argue)

I also bought:

• 2 Dannonino Yogurts $2.19 (minus $1 coupons and 2 doublers) $0.19 each
• Dannimal's Coolision $2.49 (minus $1 coupon and doubler) $0.49
• Bread $0.99
• Hamburger Buns $1.29

Albertsons tonight

Spent $10.94, Saved $52.70 (83%)

& I earned $8 for my next trip!

Really, I bought 4 cases of Arrowhead water- but those things are heavy so only one made it into the photo (the other 3 were unloaded in the backroom by the sweet & helpful husband). Here's what I did:

4 Cases of Arrowhead Water $3.50 each

• used in-ad coupon to make them $2.99 each (limit 4)
• pay $11.96 and earn $5 catalina good on your next purchase when you buy 4
• That works out to $1.74/case or about $0.06/bottle after catalina savings

6 Mission Tortillas $1.49 each

• used in-ad coupon to make them $0.79 each
• used three $1.50 off any 2 Mission products coupons
• That's makes them $0.04 each

6 Old El Paso Taco Shells $1.29 each

• used three $1 off any 2 Old El Paso product tearpads
• used three doublers from today's paper
• paid $1.74 and earned $3 off my next purchase of beef or chicken ($1.26 moneymaker)

I also used a $2 survey coupon that I had earned a couple of weeks ago to bring my total down a little bit more. The water will be really nice to have on-hand, especially during the summer when we're on the go- so I may head back in to buy more. The taco shells are not really something we use (I prefer to make my own) but they do come in handy for quick taco nights once in a while, or else they can be donated. Either way, they helped me shave a little bit off my next meat purchase and that's never a bad thing! For those of you wondering, we did buy produce and milk earlier today but didn't have time to snap a photo. I snagged a few great markdowns at Fred Meyer and spent about $9.xx there.

Shopping everywhere yesterday

Total Spent: $5.73, Total Saved: $42.95 (89%)

Walgreens:

• Placker's Floss, sale $2.00 (used $0.50 q) $1.50 with $2RR back

QFC:

• 6 Bags of Lay's chips on sale "Buy One (@ $3.99), Get One FREE"
• used two "Buy 2, get 1 FREE" tearpad coupons in store
• Paid $3.99 for a total of 6 bags (3 free from sale, two free from q's)
• I found $1.50/2 any Mission product tearpads here too, so then we had to go to...

Albertson's

• 6 Mission Flour Totillas $0.79 each with in-ad coupon
• used three $1.50/2 Mission q's to pay only $0.24 for all 6 bags!
• Note: we actually did this 4 times and took a few bags full of tortillas down to St. Vincents- this is an awesome donation item so if you have the extra q's and a little bit of time- be sure to grab some extras!

I also swung by Safeway to take advantage of a few great prices in-store, pay too much for milk, and to use up my $1 Seattle's Best Coffee Iced Latte q's (Safeway has these on sale for $1 each this week, so FREE!). Of course, I didn't make it there til much later so those items are not pictured.

Lots of shopping today

Albertsons, Red Apple, and Fred Meyer:

$4.11 spent, $9.58 saved (70%)

My FREE milk catalinas were just about to expire so I knew I needed to get those redeemed at Albertsons. My total for 2 gallons was zero, plus I got a $2 survey coupon on my receipt! I hit Red Apple to take advantage of the green seedless grapes for $1.77/lb, my total there came to $3.10. I swung by Fred Meyer to use my $3 catalina from last week and paid only $1.01 for the apples, pears, and zucchini. (To the sweet cashier lady that I forgot to email last week- this is the post you'll want to read so you can do those same deals at your store!)

Safeway: $12.89 spent, $23.49 saved (65%)

This trip was kind of a bust, the store didn't have quite a few of the things I was looking for and a few of the deals I'd seen reported (free campbell's cream of x soups) were not actually happeneing. Here's what I did buy today:

• Bisquick $2.19 (minus $1.50 in ecoupons) $0.69
• 2 Mission Tortillas $1.99 each (minus two $0.75 printable coupons- no longer available) $1.24 each
• 2 Green Giant Frozen Boxed Veggies $2 each (minus $2.50 in ecoupons and two $0.50 printables) $0.25 each
• 10 lbs. Russet Potatoes $0.99 with in-ad coupon
• 12 Yoplait cups $0.50 each (minus $1 in ecoupons and two $0.40/6 coupons) $0.35 each (not super cheap, but we were almost out and all the "boys" LOVE yogurt)
• Crab Classics $0.99 with in-ad coupon (minus $1 printable) -$0.01
• Carrots $0.55
• 2 Artichokes Buy One Get One FREE @ $3.49 (as far as impulse purchases go, spendy but probably a good choice!)

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.

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.

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.

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%)