Great Deals at Several Stores

I am getting ready to head out of town for a week in the morning (don't worry, husband will be sticking around to catch all of the great deals- oh yeah and work!), but before I left I wanted to grab some of the great deals that were available this week. This is from Publix, a little less than $50, which is fairly expensive for us but this was a lot of stuff. I also got 16 pounds of dog food that didn't make it into this picture to bring home to my mom. Cheese is something that goes super fast in our house, so anytime there is a decent price we try to stock up. We got 8 bags for between $1.50 and $1.75 each. As you know from the blog, the Kraft Fresh Take is something that we really enjoy. We got 8 of those for between $1 and $1.25 each. You can't really see it in the picture, but we also got some imitation crab meat, this looks decent and should make a good salad, they were on sale and with coupon we got them for $1 each, which is good enough to at least try it. The humus was an amazing deal- They are bogo this week and with coupons I got three of them for $1 each and one of them completely free. The temptations were also a fabulous deal. If you haven't tried these yet you should, with coupons we got these for about $1 each. Finally that pack of drumsticks was $3.50, I wasn't going to get it because I had a $1 off coupon that I forgot at home. Fortunately husband was there to keep things in perspective and that it was just a dollar!

Speaking of frozen treats, we got some good deals at Kroger too! The ice cream was on sale and with coupons they were only $1.50 each. We haven't tried these flavors before- chocolate brownie and reese's peanut buter- but they look really good. The popsicles were only 50 cents each after coupons. The onions were also a good deal- 5 pounds for only $2. We also got husband some essentials for while I am out of town.

Lastly, husband made a quick stop at Winn Dixie this morning. I really only shop there for the bogo meat deals. The little hormel pork roasts are a great dinner solution. All you have to do is throw it in the oven for 75 minutes, you don't even have to turn it over! With the sale and a coupon these were only $2.50 each. Pork chops were also on sale bogo, making them around $3 per pack.

I also have to take a moment to praise husband for his increased interest/skill in couponing! As you may have saw husband got a great deal on the dr. pepper drinks last week. He also scored a great deal on some snacks, chips and drinks were only $5!

Why Yes, We Do Enjoy Dr. Pepper!

I can't take credit for this one, this was all husband's couponing find! I asked him to make a stop at Publix and while he was there he found this great deal. Coke products (Dr. Pepper is a Coke product here) were B3G1 free- they were on sale making them 3 for $12 and get one free. There was also a coupon in the Publix Yellow flyer for $3/2 12 packs of Dr. Pepper. I would have thought that they would not let him use it because you are getting one free, but they did:) That meant we got 4 12 packs for $6 or $1.50 each! That is an amazing deal on soft drinks, which is how we wound up with 20 of them:) Husband also found some coupons on pepsi next. They were $1.79 each, b2g1 free and there was a yellow flyer coupon for $1 off, which they also let him use on the free one, plus he found manufacturer's coupons at Publix for $1/3, making them better than free!

We also stopped in at Publix this week for some non caffeinated items:) Pop-tarts were a great deal, on sale for $2 a box and there were 50 cent off 1 coupons, which doubled, that came out this week. That is a really great coupon for pop-tarts since they are usually off 3 boxes. So I got these for $1/box. Trash bags were also a pretty good deal. They were $4, but we had $1.85 off coupons, making them $2.15, not bad for 24 trash bags. The coupon was actually pretty cool, it was a $1.35 off coupon and you got a bonus 50 cents for watching a video. I thought it was going to be long, but it was seriously like 10 seconds. I wish more companies would do things like that. 

BOGO Chicken at Publix

Publix has several buy-one-get-one items each week, but one that they never have is on their meat. Well, that changed this week and I certainly hope it stays that way! This week their chicken (boneless, skinless chicken breasts) are on sale bogo. They are $4.49/lb, but if you buy the larger pack it is $4.29/lb, making it $2.15/lb. That makes it just a little bit more than I generally pay for chicken- $1.79-$1.99/lb. But, it is totally worth it because Publix chicken is delicious. We thought you had to buy two packs, but actually, just like all of their other bogo sales, it really just rings up half price. So, we got almost 10 lbs of chicken for about $20, I am planning to go get a little more before it goes off sale on Wednesday. They also had rice-a-roni bogo this week, making it about 80 cents a box, which is a good price. I can sometimes find it cheaper, but Publix is the only store around here that sells the chicken fajita flavor which is great with our fresh take chicken. The lunch meat was also on sale and made it about $2.15 for the pound. Finally, I got those pans for free after a very long ordeal. They were advertised bogo for $1.99, they would not ring up correctly. After several people checked them, an argument about what was actually advertised, and a manager finally telling them I was correct, they rang them up for bogo $1.99, I had two $1 off coupons, so I got two for free and then they insisted on giving me a free one, which I tried to turn down several times, because it rang up incorrectly. This is why I love Publix, even when they get things wrong, they do everything they can to correct it:)

What Can You Eat for 75 Cents?

Back in my pre-couponing days, 75 cents would not have bought an awful lot- some ramen, maybe a can of condensed soup. Yesterday this was my lunch, and it cost me 75 cents, it was easy to make, delicious and super cheap. It was a chicken stir fry Viola meal, and here is how I paid 75 cents for it...

Husband went to the store for us the other day. They had the Viola meals on sale for bogo $5.50, making them $2.75 each. These are actually really good, so I normally would have thought about getting them for that price, but we have really been trying to watch what we spend this week, so I decided to pass. Then, a $2 off printable coupon appeared online the other day- making them 75 cents each. Husband also grabbed us some of these Bob Evans mashed potatoes. Apparently Bob Evans is also a restaurant, and I have to tell you, if there were one anywhere near me, I would be there. The potatoes are expensive, but absolutely delicious. They were on sale this week for $3 each. I had bogo coupons as well as 35 cents off coupons, which doubled to 70 cents, making them $1.15 each, which is more than what I would like to pay for some mashed potatoes, but really, they are amazing!

We also made a quick trip to Kroger this week. This 8 pond bag of potatoes was only $2.88, which is a steal! We have already used some for chicken skillet, and are making beef stew this week. Kroger also had a promotion for buy $10 worth of participating items and get $2 off your next order. The sausage was included and was $2.50 each, which is already a good price for sausage.

My last tip for the day- buy meat that is close to it's expiration date. You really can save a lot of money by doing this and you won't notice any difference. I have been wanting some cheese burgers lately, especially since we tried them with the Kraft Fresh Take, but ground meat can be really expensive. We have been trying to find some discounted at Kroger because they generally have pretty good prices on their discounted ground meat, but we haven't been able to find any lately. Husband decided we should try Walmart this morning, and I am really glad we did. We found this 5 pound pack of ground beef on discount for $9.09, making it $1.82 per pound. I promise you will not find that kind of price anywhere. It takes a little more work because you have to divide it up (trying to defrost 5 pounds of meat is not a good idea), and freeze it the day you buy it, but if I would have bought this same ground meat at Kroger, it would have been almost $14, and would have been even more at Winn Dixie or Publix. All you need to do is freeze it before the sell buy date and then defrost it on the day you plan to make it.

Why You Should Check Coupons Everyday

I really don't spend all that much time couponing, especially when you consider all the great deals I get. But, I do make sure that I check my favorite coupon sites everyday. While most online coupons come out at the beginning of the month or on Sundays with the paper coupons, there are also coupons that get added everyday. This Wednesday I got up and checked my sites and found great coupons to go with my Publix ad that just started this week. With those coupons I got everything here for a little less than $25. The best deal was the salad dressing, which was actually a moneymaker, of about 50 cents a bottle, so I got paid like $2 to take home this dressing. The ragu was about 30 cents a bottle, and the mayonnaise was $1.67, which is a great price. There are actually some pretty expensive items here, like that rootbeer was $3 and our hummus was $2 each, but that is a good price for hummus. We have been buying pita bread to go with it, but we got some of those flatbread crackers to try with it and they are really good. I did get a good deal on deoderant for husband, the new Publix put a lot of them on clearance, and with a $1 off coupon I got those for 72 cents. The rice is actually from Winn Dixie, they were bogo so we got both bags, which are 3 lbs each, for about $3, which is pretty good.

We also went to Publix and Kroger today, this was about $15. I was able to sign up for the "Savings Club" on coupons.com for a free year, apparently they usually charge $3 per month. It gives you access to some higher value coupons, like th eone I found this morning for $1.50 off an Edward's pie. These pies are delicious, as well as expensive, but Publix has the 50% off this week, making them $4, and I got them for $2.50 with coupon. The steamfresh thing was about 30 cents after coupon. At kroger we got the corn and tomatoes. I prefer the corn at the farmer's market, but it is still relatively expensive and I got this for $2, as opposed to the $4 I paid last week at the market. The tomatoes were on sale bogo, making them less than $2 each.

Can't Get Enough Fresh Take!

Wow, it has been a while since I have posted! Things have been crazy at work, so even though I have gotten some good deals I haven't had time to post about them. Here are the great deals we got today.

This is from Publix and only cost $22! Those things in the front are the new Kraft Fresh Take. I have been getting a ton of these for two reasons- 1. they have been either free or super cheap with coupons and 2. they are delicious! It is a packet of seasoned breadcrumbs and cheese, shake it onto chicken, pork or fish in the bag it comes in and bake. So easy and so good! I highly recommend the cheddar jack and bacon and southwest varieties. The trash bags were also a good deal. They were on sale for $4 each and I had $2 off coupons that made them $2 for a 22 count. The potatoes are actually for my mom, with coupons they were 50 cents a box. They also had a coupon this week for a free pack of paper towels when you buy bbq sauce. With coupons I got both the sauce and the paper towels for $1. This trip was a little over $50 before coupons, so over 50 % savings!

Now, proving that you don't always have to have coupons to get a good deal is our trip to Kroger. This was about $12. They have these bags of lettuce on sale for $1/bag. These will make great lunches along with some sandwiches. We found bread on special for 49 cents a loaf, it expires at the end of the week, but we have been eating sandwiches pretty much everyday (I got a good deal on lunch meat at Winn Dixie last week!). The pepperoni was $1 each and so were the buns. Milk was on sale for $2.99, which is pretty much the cheapest we can find it.

I wasn't expecting to go to Walmart today, but I had some coupons for this hormel roast that I really wanted to use. These are a great deal when they go bogo, but I haven't been able to find it in the past month. These roasts are $5.99 at most stores, but we found them at Walmart for $4.98 and I had $1 off coupons. These are super easy to make, you just stick it in the oven and bake it, and they are delicious, so $4 for a main dish isn't too bad in my book. Husband also wanted to tuna while we were there to go with our sandwich bread. We also made a quick stop at the Farmer's Market for some corn and tomatoes, which were about $6. So all together we spent about $60 for a ton of groceries, not a bad day:)

I Love New Products!

So when companies come out with new items they generally put out high value coupons for it so that people will want to try it. Well it has certainly worked on me for this new Kraft Fresh Take stuff, especially since I got mine for free. It is a bread crumb and cheese mixture that you put on chicken, fish or pork and bake it. It comes in quite a few flavors and looks really good. Husband and I will be trying the southwest variety this week. Publix had these on sale 2/$4, plus there was a $2/2 Publix coupon that paired very nicely with my $1 off one manufacturer's coupons, making them free! The rice was also on sale for $2 and I had coupons to get them for $1 each, it is about a pound, not the cheapest I have gotten rice, but a fairly good deal and I had a lot of coupons. The Marzetti simply dressed dressing is delicious and I got it for about 80 cents, I wish I would have had more coupons! I got the breadcrumbs for my mom for about 75 cents and just a few more veggies. I have some more coupons for the fresh take stuff that I am going to send husband back for this week.

We also made a stop by Kroger today. We got more than I intended, but got some great deals. The chicken was on sale for $1.79/lb and they had some great smaller packs. They also had that 8 lb bag of huge potatoes for $3. We are going to use them to make some twice baked potatoes this week that will hopefully go well with our southwest breadcrumb chicken. We got the sour cream and bacon bits to make that. The hot dogs were a good deal, $1 for the pack and $1 for the buns; husband will eat that for lunch this week.