Triples At Harris Teeter

I know it's the last day of the month and I need to do my month-end money recap but I thought you'd be more interested in how I did with triple coupons at Harris Teeter this week. Especially since you're going to want to get there soon before they sell out of everything! Though in case you were wondering I did go a little over my grocery budget this month.

I spent: $420 (exactly!) for the month of April
And saved: $546.89 (a 57% savings) - not my best month but still pretty good
I also earned: $50.97 in Extra Care Bucks and/or money back

But the real important stuff is how I did at Harris Teeter yesterday:



I spent: $16.80
And saved: $63.55

Funny thing is before my coupons my total was $58.15 and the cashier commented that was a good deal for all I got. Of course, to me it wasn't but how much better of a deal to get it all for just under $17??!!

Since all of my deals were good deals I'll give you my best :) As always you can check Southern Savers and the Grocery Game for a lot more deals.

Ortega Salsa/Refried Beans/Seasoning Mix
- regular price: $2.50/each salsa
- regular price: $1.29/each refried beans
- sale price: $2.00/each salsa
- sale price: $1.00/each refried beans
- bought 4 of each
- used 4 $0.75/2 coupons that tripled to $2.25 off 2 each from S 4/18
- final price: $0.75 for 1 salsa and 1 can refried beans - obviously you'd have different prices for different things but we needed salsa :)

Bryer's YoCrunch Yogurt (we all love these - kids included!)
- regular price: $3.19/each
- sale price: $1.97/each
- used 4 $0.75/1 coupons from S 3/28
- final price: FREE (no overage)

Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers
- regular price: 2/$5.00
- sale price: buy 1 get 1 free
- used 2 $0.40/1 coupons from S 3/28
- final price: $0.05/each

Sargento Shredded Cheese
- regular price: $3.19
- sale price: buy 1 get 1 free
- used 3 $1.00/1 coupons from S 4/18 (coupon good only on reduced sodium cheese)
- final price: $0.59/each

Mahatma Rice
- regular price: $2.65
- sale price: $2.25
- used 2 $0.50/1 coupon from RP 2/7; RP 4/25
- final price: $0.75/each

Yoplait Go-Gurt and Trix Yogurt (a staple at our house)
- regular price: $2.99
- sale price: $2.00
- used 3 $0.75/2 coupons from S 3/21
- final price: $1.75/2 or $0.88/each

And yea, tomorrow is the start of a new month! I can hit Harris Teeter for triples again :)

Free Milk At Giant

Now that's a deal you can't pass up :) One of my favorite money blogs is Moneywise Moms - she's the only blog around that lists deals at Safeway and Giant and whenever she says there's a good deal I have to head to the store. And boy was she right! There's a great deal going on at Giant until tomorrow.

Here's what I picked up:



I spent: $6.06
And saved: $25.30

Here's what I did:

None of the cereal is on sale - it's all full price but you geet $10.00 off automatically when you buy 6 boxes. Combine that with coupons and it is a great cereal deal.

For coupon links go HERE - you can print 2 copies of each coupon that you'd like - they will double at the store if they are under $1.00.

After you buy 6 boxes of cereal you will (should) get 2 Catalinas for $4.50 each - both Catalinas say for a free gallon of milk but $4.50 will be taken off your order no matter what you get. I picked up 3 gallons of milk for free - probably not the best idea - you should at least try 4 gallons of milk and pay for one or 2 gallons and some other food items. My total came to $9.08 so I had to have the cashier over ride everything. She was a bit rude even though I was just trying to ask her some questions - I wasn't trying to rip the store off! She ended up giving me the 3 gallons and taking the coupons rather than explain to me a better way to use the coupons. Just an FYI if you try it yourself.

New To Staples Rewards

Oh yes, there's another store with another rewards program. I think they are probably endless and if you had all the time in the world you could probably get everything and anything free.

Alas, I do not have that kind of time :( However, when I read the words free batteries and paper for $1.00 - that I do have time for.

Here's what I picked up at Staples tonight:



I spent: $27.79

I will receive: $19.98 back in Staples Rewards
And: $5.49 in Rebates
Total cost to me: $1.00 plus tax

Staples Rewards will be money back that I can use in the store to buy other Staples products whereas Rebates are actual checks that I can cash and well, get cash :)

The battery limit is 2 and the paper limit is 1. You do need to sign up for a Staples Rewards card the same as you would at CVS or Harris Teeter.

I'm completely new to actually receiving Staples Rewards though I've been signed up for a while I've just never received any rebate checks. You have to reach $10 to get a rebate and if you haven't reached $10 in a quarter then you lose your rebate rewards so truly I have no idea if I ever got to $10 before :)

I'll let you know what happens - in the mean time sign yourself up and get to Staples especially if your house, like mine, goes through batteries and printing paper like water.

Harris Teeter Week 4/25

I took two trips to Harris Teeter this week. Wish it were one but that is life :)

Trip #1:



I spent: $42.83
And saved: $34.83

Trip #2:



I spent: $30.11
And saved: $29.27

Best Deals:

Lunchables
- regular price: $1.99
- sale price: $1.00
- used 2 $1.00/1 coupon from S 3/21
- final price: FREE

Tidy Cat Litter
- regular price: $5.89
- sale price: buy 1 get 1 free
- used $1.00/1 coupon from RP 2/7
- final price: $1.95
(you'll notice I got 1 on each trip - I tried for 2 on my first trip but they wouldn't let me use 2 coupons on a buy 1 get 1 free items - first time they've ever said anything - so I just bought one each time - kind of a funny policy since you don't have to buy 2 and they ring up half price - I spent the same amount in the end as if I had been able to use 2 coupons the first time around - so I have no idea why the policy exists but technically it does and it's always going to depend on the cashier and the individual store)

Classico Pasta Sauce/Ground Beef
- regular price: $2.09/each (for sauce)
- sale price: buy 2 get 3 free
- used $1.00/2 printable from HERE
- final price for sauce: $0.64/each
- ground beef original price: $4.55/lb
- sale price: $2.99/lb
- used 1 $1.50 off beef when you buy 2 sauces from S 3/14
- final price for beef: $1.40 (not quite a lb)

Kellogg's Pops, Fruit Loops, Apple Jacks, Frosted Flakes
- regular price: $2.79 to $3.19
- sale price: buy 1 get 1 free
- used $1.00/3 coupon from RP 4/11
- final price: $1.20/each (I bought 1 Frosted Flakes, 1 Fruit Loops and 1 Pops - averaged out to $1.20/each)

Stayfree Maxi Pads
- regular price: $3.55
- sale price: 2/$6.00
- used 2 $2.00/1 coupons from RP 3/28
- final price: $1.00

I know there are lots of other good deals including a great Kashi deal but this is what I picked up. Check out the Grocery Game and Southern Savers for other great match-ups.

And in case you haven't heard this Wednesday begins Harris Teeter TRIPLES!!! So get your coupons out and get ready to stock up :)

CVS For Good Coffee

I hate coffee. Hate it. I know, I'm weird. But my husband loves it - a lot. And since he works a lot and coffee keeps him awake it seems to make sense to keep him happy and buy him good coffee. How much better when that good coffee is well, cheap?!

Here's what I got at CVS:



I spent: $7.83
And saved: $15.38 (using $3.99 ECB's from previous week)
And earned: $4.99 in ECB's

Dunkin Donuts Coffee:
- original price: $8.19/each
- sale price: $6.00/each
- earns $3.00 in ECB's
- I printed 2 $1.00/1 coupons from HERE
- I also used $1.50/2 from RP 3/28
- final price: $2.75 each

Advil Caplets:
- original price: $5.49
- sale price: $3.99
- earns $1.00 in ECB's
- used $2.00/1 coupon from RP 1/31 (yes, I still had it!)
- final price: $0.99

A big thanks to Southern Savers for the match-ups this week. Check it out for more great buys :)

Menu Planning Monday 4/19

I haven't felt well all weekend so shopping and cooking have been the last things on my mind. I guess it helps me not go out and spend but it does make it hard not to do take-out so we did order pizza this weekend. Gotta give myself some breathing room occasionally :)

I did manage to come up with a recipe plan for the week using the chicken I have in the freezer and my new favorite cookbook:



So, here's my plan though it's subject to change depending on what meat goes on sale at Harris Teeter this week just so I can change up the whole chicken thing a bit :) And since I haven't been able to get to the store to pick up my needs list for the rest of the month the actual food on the actual day may differ. But hey, it's a plan not a law. That's another thing about meal planning just because you put spaghetti on Monday doesn't mean you can't have it on Tuesday because it didn't fit on Monday. Plans don't have to be rigid, they are meant to give you an idea of what you have in the cabinet to make. Although my husband does like to pull up this blog while at work and see what's for dinner and when I'm off schedule he's sometimes disappointed :)

Monday: Chick-fil-A and Pancakes - odd combination but like I said I wasn't feeling well and we had some free coupons to Chick-fil-A and the kids wanted pancakes so it worked :)

Tuesday: Maryland Chicken Supper (p. 76)

Wednesday: Chicken Cheese Enchiladas (p. 77)

Thursday: Chicken Manicotti Ole (p. 79)

Friday: Chicken 'n Vegetable Biscuit Bake (p. 86)

Saturday: Pampered Chef Party/At friends for dinner

Sunday: Spaghetti

Monday: Southwestern Chicken Pie (p. 130)

Tuesday: Chicken Enchilada Quiche (p. 144)

Wednesday: Chicken and Cheese Crescent Chimichangas (p. 91)

Thursday: Speedy Layered Chicken Enchilada Pie (p. 80)

Friday: Leftovers

My plan is to the end of the month since I have just over $100 left for the remainder of the month and want to stretch it as far as I can. It's a huge chicken list but I have a good 7 pounds in the freezer which should be enough for all of the recipes. But if another meat goes on sale I'll make a change or two.

Safeway Mix N Match Sale

I don't often get to Safeway but when they have their Mix and Match sale I can find some great deals when I match their sale with coupons. With a little help from Moneywise Moms I picked up this today:



I spent: $30.17
And saved: $49.66

Sometimes the deal is buy 3 get $3.00 off but this week it is buy 5 get $5.00 off. Included in the deal is a lot of cereal, pop tarts and oatmeal.

My kids are sadly addicted to Pop-Tarts (personally I think they're gross!) but currently if you buy 5 you will get each box for $1.00. I combined them with a few coupons I had printed a while ago for $1.00/2 as well as $1.25/3 from RP 3/28 making my Pop-Tarts between $0.50 and $0.58 a box - good deal!

As for the cereal:
- Mini-Wheats are $2.00 a box before coupons
- used 2 $1.50/2 printables (link says $1.00/2 but it prints $1.50/2)
- final price: $1.25/box

- Rice Crispies are $1.50 a box before coupons
- used 1 $1.00/2 coupon from RP 4/11
- final price: $1.00/box

Oatmeal:
- is $1.50/box before coupons
- used 2 $1.00/1 printables
- final price: $0.50/box

Links to printable coupons can be found HERE

There were quite a few other cereals that were part of the sale but not listed on the sale insert so I will probably head back for 5 more boxes - the limit per card is 20. For now I am feeling much better about the status of my cereal shelf. Before this week I was down to just 2 boxes! I'm hoping what I bought today and Wednesday will last me to the end of the month. At least that's the hope :)