6/24 - 6/30 Tops deals: my final trip of the week

Yay!  It's Wednesday and I'm done shopping for the week (unless we run out of milk, which is a very likely scenario!).  Today was a small but good trip:

4 packages Sargento sliced cheese - $1.40 each
On sale 2/$5, used 4 $0.55 coupons (double to $1.10) printed from here

2 cans Bumble Bee tuna - $0.50 each
On sale 10/$10, used a $1 off 2 couopn printed from Recyclebank  for 100 points (if you're not already a member, I highly suggest signing up and completing activities to start earning points for things like coupons!)

5.87 lbs. bananas - better than FREE (and yes, I did just buy a ton of them on Monday, too, but my kids have already eaten about half of Monday's haul!)
On sale for $0.39/lb., I had no coupons specifically for these but I used 3 $1.25 Catalina coupons I earned last week to offset the entire cost of the bananas ($2.29) plus some of the cost of my other groceries

The retail cost of this transaction was $19.92 and I paid just $5.14 after discounts and coupons, for a savings of 74%.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with this week's grocery shopping: I paid a total of $51.29 for $133.00 worth of groceries, which is a 61% savings. 

Happy shopping!

6/10 - 6/16 Tops deals: shopping trip #2

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I will be making several trips to Tops this week in order to maximize my gas points and abide by the store's coupon policy.  Today's shopping trip looked like this:

4 boxes Trix cereal - $0.50 each, see noteOn sale 4/$6 (must buy quantities of 4 in order to get this price, otherwise they are $2.50 each), used 4 $0.50 coupons (double to $1) printed from here (there are also the $0.60 coupons here that I used yesterday, making them $0.30 each after the coupon doubles)
Note: Register for the $0.50 Twix eCoupon at SavingStar in order to lower your final cost even more. If you're not already registered, you can sign up here.
1 box Hefty slider bags - 0.90
On sale 2/$4, used a $0.55 coupon (doubles to $1.10) printed from their Facebook page

2 cans Bumble Bee tuna - $0.50 each
On sale 10/$10, used a $1 off 2 coupon from Recyclebank for 80 points (you can sign up here if you're not already registered and start earning points for "green" activities, which you can then cash in for coupons and other rewards)

1 bakery muffin - FREE
Priced at $1.29, used a free product coupon from the Tops Monopoly game

8 cups Yoplait Greek yogurt - $0.40 each
On sale 10/$10, used 4 $0.60 off 2 coupons (double to $1.20) printed from here

My retail cost for this shopping trip was $35.43 and I paid $8.26 after discounts and coupons, for a savings of almost 77%.  My gas discount is at $2.00 per gallon.

I will be making another trip tomorrow, so I will give another update with some additional match-ups then.  Happy shopping!

5/6 - 5/12: More Tops deals

This week has been a weird one for me, as far as shopping and couponing are concerned.  I'm having computer issues, so I'm not able to print as many coupons as I'd like.  Then, I ended up wasting some prints because I accidentally loaded printer paper incorrectly and inadvertently printed a couple of coupons over the same spot on the paper, rendering them useless.  I somehow managed to lose a couple of coupons I had clipped and planned on using, as well as a magazine containing coupons.  And to top it off, I don't know if I read the ad wrong or I wrote it down wrong on my list but one of the things I bought wasn't as good of a deal as I had originally thought, based on incorrect pricing.  This is so unlike me! All things considered, I still managed to do OK at Tops yesterday:

9 Nestle candy bars - $0.29 each
On sale for $0.69 each, used 3 $0.60 off 3 coupons (double to $1.20) from the 4/29 SmartSource coupon insert

9 jars Prego pasta sauce - $1.12 each, see note
On sale for $1.79 each, used 3 $1 off 3 coupons from the 4/29 SmartSource coupon insert, plus part of a store promo where you get $3 off automatically when you buy 8 select products
Note: Somewhere along the line I had a brain fart with this one.  On my list, I recorded these as 3/$5, which would have made them $1 a piece.  I could have paid less than $1.12 per jar at Aldi or for the Wegmans brand of sauce, but since I was able to get some different "healthier" varieties of the Prego I ended up still buying these.

2 Edy's frozen fruit bars - $1.58 each
On sale 3/$10, used 2 $1 coupons from Facebook, plus these were part of a promo for getting $3 off automatically when you buy 4 select items
Note: We love these, so my plan was to buy 4, but between the printing and coupon issues I had, I was only able to get 2 prints for this coupon. :-(

2 Nestle Drumsticks - $1.75 each
On sale 2/$6, used a $1 off 2 coupon from the 4/29 SmartSource coupon insert, plus these were part of the buy 4/save $3 promo along with the Edy's
Note: If you have the May issue of All You magazine, there is a $1 off 1 coupon in it.  However, if you're like me and somehow lost your copy after you saw it on Sunday but before you were able to clip the coupon on Monday, then you're out of luck. :-(

4 bags Mama Rosie's frozen pasta - $0.90 each
On sale BOGO ($2.79), used 2 $1 off 2 coupons printed from their website

10 Stonyfield Oikos organic Greek yogurts - FREE, see note below
On sale 10/$10, used a $2 off 3 coupon from registering here, used 2 $0.50 off 2 coupons from their website (double to $1), and used a $1 off 2 coupon from Recyclebank (60 points)
Note: The combination of coupons took $5 off, so I paid $5 out-of-pocket.  Before shopping, I activated the $5 eCoupon at SavingStar, which will make these free after the reimbursement.  Since you only need a $5 minimum to cash out at SavingStar, I'm going to cash out as soon as the transaction is processed on their end.

4 boxes Jones frozen sausage links - $0.85 each, see note
On sale BOGO ($2.69), used 2 $1 off 2 coupons printed from here
Note: I didn't bookmark the original coupon link I used, and just now found a $2 off 2 coupon here while looking for it, making these just $0.35 each.

12 Ehrmann yogurts - $0.50 each
On sale 10/$10, used 4 $0.75 off 3 coupons (double to $1.50) printed from their website (there was also a $0.75/3 coupon in the 4/15 RedPlum coupon insert)

I also bought more bananas because I swear my kids are part monkey (no coupons, but on sale).

The retail cost of yesterday's groceries was $111.56 and I paid $40.48 after discounts and coupons, for a savings of almost 64%.  I will be getting $5 back from SavingStar in the near future, too.


Hopefully your shopping week has gone more smoothly than mine!

Lots of Recyclebank points available

I've been lax in checking my Recyclebank account lately, so I was pleased to find there are currently over 100 points available in the Passport for the Planet game (especially since there is a $2 Kashi coupon for 75 points to pair with a Kashi sale at Tops this week). 

Not a Recyclebank member yet?  You can sign up here, start earning points for being "green," and cash in for great coupons and gift cards.

4/8 - 4/14 Tops deals

Since I was out of bread, I made a quick trip to Tops, but I only gave the ad a really quick once-over.  Here is what I bought and the coupon match-ups:

3 boxes Betty Crocker potatoes - $0.67 each
On sale 10/$10, used the $1 off 3 coupon from the 3/25 SmartSource coupon insert
Note: There is a better $0.50 off 2 coupon (doubles to $1) here, but I've used it in the past and it hasn't been reset for me.  If you haven't already printed and used this one, you'll pay $0.50 per box when you buy 2.

1 can Chicken of the Sea tuna - $0.05
Priced at 4/$5, used a $0.60 coupon (doubles to $1.20) I received from the company via snail mail

2 packages Land O'Frost lunch meat - $1.90 each
On sale 2/$6, used 2 $0.55 coupons (double to $1.10) from the 2/19 RedPlum coupon insert
Note: They don't have any printable coupons on their website currently, but you can register here to access them in the future.

2 Kashi Steamers meals - $2.25 each
On sale 2/$6, used a $1.50 off 2 coupon I found a few weeks ago on a tearpad in the dairy/frozen department
Notes: In hindsight, this was not a good buy for me at all.  I was thinking these would be much larger than they really were, plus I originally thought my coupons were for $1.50 off 1 instead of off 2.  After I came home, I also found a better $1 off 1 coupon on their Facebook page and a $2 off 1 coupon at Recyclebank (75 points).

1 Voskos Greek yogurt - FREE
Priced at $1.29, part of an in-store promo where you get a free Voskos yogurt when you buy 2 select Kashi products

1 bottle Simply Orange orange juice - $1.50
On sale 2/$5, used a $1 coupon printed from their Facebook page

4 bottles Upstate Intense milks - $0.50 each
On sale 10/$10, used 5 $0.25 coupons (double to $0.50) from the 3/18 SmartSource coupon insert and 3/11 and 3/25 issues of the Democrat & Chronicle

2 loaves bakery bread - $1.00 each
No coupons, but on sale 10/$10 and my kids love it when I buy "yummy bread"

1 pint grape tomatoes - $1.99
No coupons, but on sale

The retail value of this order was $46.99 and I paid $17.84 after coupons and discounts, for a savings of  62%. I am at a gas discount of $2.10 per gallon.

There were some other deals I would have bought.  Unfortunately, I had already used the available coupons on previous sales and the coupons had not reset for me.  I'll list some of them in case any of my readers are interested in using them and haven't printed them yet:

McCain Purely Potatoes - $0.50, see note
On sale 2/$5, use the $1 coupon from the 4/1 SmartSource, plus the $1 eCoupon at SavingStar
Note: Since the SavingStar program refunds the money to you, it will not change your out-of-pocket amount you pay at the store ($1.50 after manufacturer coupon). Also, when I logged into my SavingStar account, the McCain eCoupon was sold out. Hopefully you were able to grab it while it was still available!

Eight o'Clock coffee - $2.99 each when you buy 2
On sale $3.99 each, use the $2 off 2 coupon here (upper right on the screen)

Better Oats oatmeal - $0.45 each
On sale 10/$10, use the $0.55 off 2 coupon (doubles to $1.10) here

Cheez-Its - $0.60 each
On sale 2/$4, use the $0.70 coupon here (doubles to $1.40) after registering

Also, I don't need any Asian seasoning mixes, but if you're interested there is this deal:

Sun-Bird seasoning mix - $0.50 each
On sale 10/$10, use the $0.25 coupon (doubles to $0.50) here

Like I mentioned previously, I did a really quick scan of the ad before I ran to the store.  If I find any other great deals, I'll be sure to post them.  Likewise, feel free to post any comments of any other deals you found this week at Tops!

More points available at Recyclebank

If you are earning points from the Green Your Seasons campaign at Recyclebank, I noticed today that there are 90 new points available in the New Year section.

Recyclebank is a great way to learn about living green and earning points to cash in for things like high value coupons.  You can sign up here and start earning!

90 new Recyclebank points available

It's been a while since I've blogged about Recyclebank, but I figured this was as good a time as any now that they have 90 new points available in their "Green Your Seasons" campaign by heading over here.  If you're not currently registered, you can do that here.

Not familiar with Recyclebank?  You can earn points for participating in activities, such as quizzes and pledges, that encourage living a more "green" lifestyle.  You can then cash in your points for coupons, many of which are high-value.

Rack up Recyclebank points for coupons

If you're not already a member of Recyclebank, sign up!  You'll earn points for "green" activities and can cash them in for discounts and high value coupons.  Right now, there is a "Green Your School Year" activity on their website that can rack you up a lot of points very quickly!

New Recyclebank points available!

Remember the other day when I blogged about earning points at Recyclebank and using them to get high-value coupons?  Well, they have 45 new points available!  To get your points, log in and click on "Green Your Vacation," then select "Staycation."  It only took me a few minutes to click around and earn 45 points.

If you aren't a member yet, click here to sign up!

Target 7/17 - 7/23: Great deals on Kashi & school supplies

I'm so excited about my Target purchases today!  I spent only $5.77 and this is what I got for the money (I printed all of my Target coupons last week, so hopefully if you don't have them yet they are all still available):

3 bottles of Vitaminwater - $0.67 each

On sale for $1 each, used Buy 2 Get 1 Free Target coupon

1 package of Wet Ones wipes - $0.47

Priced at $0.97, used $0.50 Target coupon

6 packages of BIC Cristal pens - FREE

On sale for $0.50 each, used 1 $1 off 2 Target coupon and 2 $1 off 2 manufacturer coupons here

1 package of Papermate pens - FREE

On sale for $1, used $1 Target coupon

1 roll of Scotch Magic Tape - FREE

On sale for $0.50, used $0.50 off Target coupon (if the Target coupon isn't available, the $1 manufacturer coupon is still available here on page 2)

5 packages of Kashi cookies - $0.63 each

These are priced at $2.79 each with a "buy 4 get the 5th free" Target promo being offered this week.  I used the $2 off 4 Target coupon and 3 $2 off coupons from Recyclebank* (if I could have gotten a 4th $2 coupon, these cookies would've been even cheaper!).  Paid $3.16 for 5 packages, or $0.63 each!

I had originally seen the Kashi cereal and granola bars in the ad priced at $2.99 each, but noticed in the store that the cookies were less expensive.  Plus, I have a pretty large stash of both of those foods, and I almost never buy cookies (although ironically I bought cookies at both stores I shopped at today - go figure) which earned me high marks from my kids!

Total before coupons and promo: $26.15, total paid: $5.77, and a savings of approximately 80%.

*Note about Recyclebank:  If you're not already a member, sign up!  You earn points for "green" activities and can cash them in for discounts and high value coupons.  Right now, there is a "Green Your Vacation" activity on their website that can rack you up a lot of points quickly!