I am so tired of people who say all coupons are for junk!

[GinnyEmma]

Can I make it worse and say that they bag the loose bananas (not old spotted ones) for $.29? That is Krogers here. I will count myself exceedingly lucky. I love living here for many reasons, but this has to be one. Well, that and housing prices!

 

[Kycha]

Can I make it worse and say that they bag the loose bananas (not old spotted ones) for $.29? That is Krogers here. I will count myself exceedingly lucky. I love living here for many reasons, but this has to be one. Well, that and housing prices!

Where do you live? I shop at Kroger every week and the banana prices might be as low as .39, on sale for a couple weeks, in the summer. But not as a regular price.

And we have no discount stores. I have 5 grocery stores to choose from in a 30 mile radius...Food Lion, Kroger, Walmart, IGA and a mom and pop store. And 1 farmers market, that I haven't been impressed with, about 15 miles away.

 

[GinnyEmma]

Where do you live? I shop at Kroger every week and the banana prices might be as low as .39, on sale for a couple weeks, in the summer. But not as a regular price.

And we have no discount stores. I have 5 grocery stores to choose from in a 30 mile radius...Food Lion, Kroger, Walmart, IGA and a mom and pop store. And 1 farmers market, that I haven't been impressed with, about 15 miles away.

lol, it is in the middle of nowhere wv. The jobless rate is high, which is why the housing market is low. So it isn't exactly the perfect place to live unless you have the right job.

It is a shame you don't hae an aldis. They aren't perfect but for some items they are really nice. Does your krogers mark things down? I can only drink almond milk, and get lucky finding it at half price about 3 days before the use by date. Or salads marked down the day before. Of course those aren't things you can stock up on, but on grocery day, and in my husband's lunch the next day they are blessings. OTOH, I never get the produce and meat coupons for there like others have mentioned.

 

[ilovepete]

Not much more. Maybe $10. And considering few coupons on free, there is that factor.

and

I buy chickens for $3 when they are on sale and stock up. (When I run out of them from my chicken boy or when I am shopping for my mom.) Juice goes on sale for $1.19 or better yet $2 a gallon. Sweet potatoes on sale for $.39 a pound. bananas, $.39. And frozen veggies when they are on sale for $.89. Maybe a bit over $50, too tired to add it straight up. Now where near $150. That is the problem. It is like jewelry stores saying that you are saving 40% when they are using the absolute highest possible ever price.

I shop Krogers, Giant Eagle, and a local mom and pop store and the farmers market, or aldis. IN season the veggies would of course be cheaper. I can buy a box of tomatoes for $7. I pick the store with the best loss leaders and that is the store of the week. Menu is built around the pantry and the sales.

This is what I bought in that shopping trip, and these are the prices you listed.
9.00 - 3 whole chickens
9.52 - 8 containers of orange juice
1.78 - 2 bags lima beans
0.89 - 1 bag corn
1.78 - 2 bags green beans
15.13 - 17 bags of broccoli (my kids' favorite)
- 2 canteloupe
1.17 - 4 sweet potatoes
- 9 navel oranges
.78 - 1 bunch of bananas
- 1 bunch of grapes
- 3 yellow squash
- 2 zucchini
- 1 bag of baby carrots
- 1 cabbage
- 5 pounds of potatoes (not pictured, but I did get them this week)
- 2 containers of blueberries
- 4 packs of vivarin
- 2 gillette body wash
- 4 old spice deoderant
- 1 reach toothbrush

So just what I listed that you listed prices for is $40.05
That means you would have to get all of this for $10 to make it $50, or you said you might spend $10 more so that would be all the rest of this for $20 (which would still be more than the original $50 you said, but I still don't think it is doable even at $60 with no coupons).

- 2 canteloupe
- 9 navel oranges
- 1 bunch of grapes
- 3 yellow squash
- 2 zucchini
- 1 bag of baby carrots
- 1 cabbage
- 5 pounds of potatoes (not pictured, but I did get them this week)
- 2 containers of blueberries
- 4 packs of vivarin
- 2 gillette body wash
- 4 old spice deoderant
- 1 reach toothbrush


Oh and I didn't have coupons for any of the fresh produce or for the chicken. The coupons were for all the other stuff and then a couple of coupons for the frozen veggies (which totalled $3 in coupons for the veggies). All of the coupons I used I printed online, so that was maybe 25 cents in supplies (I get my ink super cheap and paper for free).

I'm not trying to be nit picky or anything, and I'm not upset at all, I just seriously want to understand if you are getting all that with no coupons for so cheap, I want to know the prices and how, because I would much rather do that than spend a couple hours organizing my shopping trips every week!!!

 

[ilovepete]

Also here is another example of pretty healthy eating for little:
http://cookingformyfamily.blogspot.com/2011/03/publix-shopping-march-10.html

I only spent $5.76 for all you see there.
30 containers of yogurt
14 oranges
1 container of strawberries
6 pears
12 bags frozen broccoli florets
2 loafs of whole wheat bread
1 bag of tortilla chips
4 bags of cheese
2 bags of dog treats

 

[GinnyEmma]

not bad.

 

[mfduddy]

I use coupons for the things I need and will use. Most of my bulk buying happens at Sam's Club. I don't see the need to purchase things may family won't use or eat just to save money.

 

[Kycha]

lol, it is in the middle of nowhere wv. The jobless rate is high, which is why the housing market is low. So it isn't exactly the perfect place to live unless you have the right job.

It is a shame you don't hae an aldis. They aren't perfect but for some items they are really nice. Does your krogers mark things down? I can only drink almond milk, and get lucky finding it at half price about 3 days before the use by date. Or salads marked down the day before. Of course those aren't things you can stock up on, but on grocery day, and in my husband's lunch the next day they are blessings. OTOH, I never get the produce and meat coupons for there like others have mentioned.

We are practically neighbors then. I'm in Eastern KY. When I go to the mall, I usually head up to Huntington. And my Mom grew up in Charleston. We have a similar jobless rate and housing market here in KY. My Kroger does mark down a lot. Unfortunately, it is 20 miles away. So I only get in there once every 7-10 days. But I stalk the store looking for the mark downs.lol.

I assume you have the Kroger plus card. Have you registered online with it? I get coupons from Kroger about once a month. I get a little magazine/pamphlet called My Magazine that has 20-30 coupons in it. Most are manufacturers coupons, but some are store coupons. Like last month, I had a coupon for $3 off $15 seafood dept purchase. And it must go off the regular price, not the sale price. Because I got 2 packs of Sea Cuisine fish fillets that were on sale $9.99 BOGO. Used 2-$2/1 coupons. For a final price of $1.50 a pack. The month before, my coupon was $3 off $15 frozen food purchase. And the month before that it was $3 off $15 produce purchase. If you are not getting the Kroger coupons, I would call them and make sure your address is up to date and you are signed up to receive coupons.

I am seriously jealous of your farmers markets.

 

[fortwildernessishome]

and


This is what I bought in that shopping trip, and these are the prices you listed.
9.00 - 3 whole chickens
9.52 - 8 containers of orange juice
1.78 - 2 bags lima beans
0.89 - 1 bag corn
1.78 - 2 bags green beans
15.13 - 17 bags of broccoli (my kids' favorite)
- 2 canteloupe
1.17 - 4 sweet potatoes
- 9 navel oranges
.78 - 1 bunch of bananas
- 1 bunch of grapes
- 3 yellow squash
- 2 zucchini
- 1 bag of baby carrots
- 1 cabbage
- 5 pounds of potatoes (not pictured, but I did get them this week)
- 2 containers of blueberries
- 4 packs of vivarin
- 2 gillette body wash
- 4 old spice deoderant
- 1 reach toothbrush

So just what I listed that you listed prices for is $40.05
That means you would have to get all of this for $10 to make it $50, or you said you might spend $10 more so that would be all the rest of this for $20 (which would still be more than the original $50 you said, but I still don't think it is doable even at $60 with no coupons).

- 2 canteloupe
- 9 navel oranges
- 1 bunch of grapes
- 3 yellow squash
- 2 zucchini
- 1 bag of baby carrots
- 1 cabbage
- 5 pounds of potatoes (not pictured, but I did get them this week)
- 2 containers of blueberries
- 4 packs of vivarin
- 2 gillette body wash
- 4 old spice deoderant
- 1 reach toothbrush


Oh and I didn't have coupons for any of the fresh produce or for the chicken. The coupons were for all the other stuff and then a couple of coupons for the frozen veggies (which totalled $3 in coupons for the veggies). All of the coupons I used I printed online, so that was maybe 25 cents in supplies (I get my ink super cheap and paper for free).

I'm not trying to be nit picky or anything, and I'm not upset at all, I just seriously want to understand if you are getting all that with no coupons for so cheap, I want to know the prices and how, because I would much rather do that than spend a couple hours organizing my shopping trips every week!!!

You are one AWESOME shopper!!!!!!! I wouldnt listen to anyone on here tell you that they could do better than what you have done....it would be doubtful at best. Keep up the good work as it is obvious that you are a good couponer, your family is lucky to have such a good shopper

 

[figaromeetsmarie]

I use coupons every trip to the store!! Here is a list of all things I actually use on a weekly basis that I used coupons for...

6 boxes Purina One Cat Food
6 Pre-Made Formula "Bottles"
4 Tylenol Heat Patches
Bounty Napkins
Big pack of bounty
big pack of charmin
10 razor packs
3 natural lunch meat
3 pudding cups
4 Juicy Juice
4 smart balance milk
almond milk
Brita Water Pitcher
6pk big reeses cups
tea
3 refried beans
2 rice pudding

Before Coupons and taxes
$226.13


I paid
$29.53


SO worth it to me!!

 

[ilovepete]

You are one AWESOME shopper!!!!!!! I wouldnt listen to anyone on here tell you that they could do better than what you have done....it would be doubtful at best. Keep up the good work as it is obvious that you are a good couponer, your family is lucky to have such a good shopper

Awwww, thank you! That means a lot!

 

[C.Ann]

Just a heads up, on holiday weekends there are no Smartsource or Redplum inserts in the Sunday paper. So, don't buy a paper tomorrow looking for the coupons. The Proctor & Gamble insert only comes out once a month and on occasion falls on a holiday weekend. Below is a link to the coupon schedule. Hope that helps!

http://www.sundaycouponpreview.com/2011-sunday-coupon-insert-schedule/

Here are the good coupons I printed out today.

$2 off any Silk milk product
You have to register on the site. And to get the $2 coupon you have to take a survey. And you can print the coupon twice. I used my coupons at Kroger today. They have the Silk milk 1/2 gallons on sale 2/$5. So, I was able to get 2 half gallons for $1.
https://silk10daychallenge.icmodus.com/default.aspx?bhcp=1

$1 off SO Delicious coconut milk
You have to register on the site and you can print the coupon twice.
http://www.sodeliciousdairyfree.com/prod_user/prod_coupons/coupon_link.php

Another $1 off SO Delicious coconut milk
I don't see it on this site anymore. But that may be because I already printed them off. The coconut milk is on sale at Kroger for $1.99 a half gallon. After coupon, that's only .99 per half gallon.
http://www.coupons.com/couponweb/Of...id=10&varb=231&bid=alk0423170443cf00c49d18914

$2 off Viva paper towels
You have to "like" them on facebook, then play the Grab & Grasp match game. You have to play and win 3 games to get the $2 off coupon. And you can print the coupon twice.

http://www.facebook.com/VIVATowels#!/VIVATowels?sk=app_112584258815886

Thanks so much for sharing that info.. I'm sorry I didn't respond sooner, but I made the move back up here to the lake last Friday - had no internet until I got my new cable/internet package (box) on Tuesday - had company all day Wednesday - and I'm still in the process of cleaning and unpacking like a mad woman.. So much to do this year.. I'm doing some serious "deep cleaning" as I'm unpacking (so I don't have to handle the same things twice), so it's taking me much longer than usual.. Getting up so early in the morning every day - and collapsing into bed every night - hasn't really left much time for being on my computer..

I really appreciate your taking the time to share that info though - and didn't want you to think I wasn't going to acknowledge your time and efforts..
----------

By the way, by signing up on several coupon sites and company sites, I received two packets of couons in the mail today - one from Proctor & Gamble - the other from Home Made Simple (Cascade; Dawn; Febreze; Mr. Clean; and Swiffer products) - as well as two great coupons from Philadelphia Cream Cheese (one is for a free pkg. of any size new Philadelphia Cooking Creme - and the other for $1.50 off of any size Philadelphia Cooking Creme (available in several flavors).. I would advise anyone looking for good coupons to make sure they sign up on the various manufacturers sites as well because all of the coupons I received today are pretty decent ones.. (Also received my two free Breathe Right strips in the mail today.. Those things are pretty expensive and since the doctor insists that I use one every night, even only "two for free" makes me happy - LOL..)

Also received the weekly Pennysaver type paper - with an ad for the one small grocery store in the next town over - that I normally avoid because their prices are so outrageously high.. (There's also a small Rite Aid over there - no CVS - so I'll have to stay on top of their sales ads too..) However, when the grocery store over there puts a few items on sale, they are normally very good sales - and I just noticed today that they offer double coupons up to 99 cents! So it appears that I may do a little shopping over there this year after all.. This week the smaller can of Folgers coffee (the only kind I can drink) is on sale for $2.88 and I'm hoping I can find some coupons for it online before the sale starts on Sunday.. The last large can I purchased - with a $1.00 coupon - was $8.99 !!! The coffee prices have really gotten outrageous - enough so that they even mentioned it on the local news the other day..

Once I get all settled in here for the season, I'll be able to get more organized with my couponing again; continue to sign up at manufacturers sites; sign up daily for the many free samples that are available by mail; etc..

Happy to see that everyone else is doing well with their couponing too..

 

[piperett]

You joined last month and only had 4 kids. But your signature says you have 5.

"Nikki ~ Wife to 1, Mom to 5! Recently went from 217 lbs to 128 lbs and ready to take my kids (ages 9 months to 9 years) to WDW!"

Was the 9 month old born this month?

She birthed 4, and has a step. The 9 month old was in indeed born 9 months ago.

 

[estherhead]

Not healthy by some standards, but since everyone is sharing deals, I did GREAT this week. I'm always shooting for 50% saved and I rarely make it. But this week I did better than 50%! I spent $147.00 and got $315 worth. I'm much more interested in staying healthy by exercise and at my target weight than eating all natural. So I was excited by the deals this week as they fit my chosen lifestyle perfectly. I won't list it all but the highlights:

10 count box of Claritin
2 Oral B toothbrushes
5 Sobe 0 cal
6 Propel zero
6 boxes Crystal Light Pure
36 SmartOnes Meals
Green Peppers
Always Pads
Chicken breasts
Strawberries
10 boxes Ronzoni whole wheat pasta
Pasta Sauce to match
Juice

And lots of other stuff I can't remember. Those were the ones I was really excited about. I take Claritin every day practically and I had a $4.00 coupon, it was on sale at CVS and you got $1.00 ECB back. At the little scanner machine it gave me a $4.00 CVS coupon which I was allowed to used with my manf. one which made it free!!! That with the Smart Ones which will feed me work lunches for 3 months made me a happy, happy camper.

 

[ilovepete]

This week I spent $0.56 and saved $133.93 for groceries. That included a lot of produce, a ton of yogurt and some meat in there, too (along with a bunch of other stuff)! I didn't have any meat or produce coupons. Worked out nicely!

 

[Marionnette]

This week I spent $0.56 and saved $133.93 for groceries. That included a lot of produce, a ton of yogurt and some meat in there, too (along with a bunch of other stuff)! I didn't have any meat or produce coupons. Worked out nicely!

Wow! That's a register tape I'd love to see! Congrats on the extreme shopping trip!