Kroger - End of Mega-Event 3/29

I haven't had many chances to shop during this Mega-Event and this was the first time I found the canned dog food. I was very excited that they were fully stocked so I was able to get 22 cans without clearing a shelf!

5 lb bag Domino Sugar, $3.69
used 40¢ printable from redplum.com, doubled to 80¢

1 box Pillsbury Brownie Mix, 98¢
no coupons, just saw it & wanted it :O

1 box Hostess Twinkies, $2.50
got a text from my son while I was there telling me he needed a box for school tomorrow - they're doing food demonstrations for speech class & tomorrow it's deep-fried Twinkies LOL

1 lb Hillshire Farm Brown Sugar Ham, $5.99
used $1.00 printable from coupons.com
We love this stuff. Got it really cheap a few months ago thanks to coupons & sales. It worked - we're hooked!

2 Kraft Homestyle Mac & Cheese, $1.99 each, ME price
used (2) 50¢ printable coupons, doubled to $1.00 each

3 bags M&Ms, 50¢ each
used B2G1 free expiring 3/31 (cashier keyed in at 79¢ regular price)

4 Starburst, 50¢ each
1 Skittles, 50¢
(was only supposed to be 3 Starburst, but apparently I can't count)
used (2) 50¢/2 tearpad coupons (hubby's a truck driver & some of the truck stops have great tearpads), doubled to $1.00 each

Excedrin, $3.39
used free product coupon expiring 3/31

2 Philly Cooking Creme, $1.99 each, ME price
used (2) $1.50 tearpad at the store
also took off 75¢ e-coupon (unexpected bonus savings!)

3 Hormel Compleats, $1.98 each
used (3) 55¢ coupons, doubled to $1.10 each

6 Ronzoni Pasta (2 Healthy Harvest, 4 Smart Taste) 99¢ each, ME Price
used (3) $1.00/2 printables

2 Kraft singles, $1.99 each, ME Price
used (2) 55¢ coupons, doubled to $1.10 each

2 Smart Balance Margarine Sticks, $1.79 each, ME Price
used (2) 60¢ printables, doubled to $1.20 each

10 Powerade, 49¢ each, ME Price
used (2) 75¢/2, truckstop tearpad
used (2) $1.00/3, CVS tearpad

4 M&M Easter Eggs, 99¢ each
used (2) $2.00/2 printables

6 Bumblebee Tuna, 49¢ each, ME Price

8 Yakisoba Cheddar Cheese Noodles, 99¢ each
used (8) 55¢ coupons, "doubled" to 99¢ each

22 cans Pedigree Dog Food, 49¢ each, ME Price
used (11) BOGO coupons, cashier rang in at $1.09 each instead of 99¢ each

4 cans Red Gold Tomatoes, 49¢ each, ME Price
used (2) 50¢/2 printables, doubled to $1.00 each

11 Vitamin Water, 49¢ each, ME Price
used (8) 75¢ truckstop tearpad coupons
used (1) $1.00/1 Catalina about to expire
used (1) $1.00/2 hangtag from Family Dollar (love that they don't hang them, just leave them out)

3 cans Spam (for the hubby who loves it) $1.79 each, ME Price
used $1.00/3

Fresh apples, $1.93

1 carton EggBeaters, $2.50
used Free Product coupon (walmart.com maybe?), cashier rang in at $2.70

1 container Romaine Lettuce, 99¢ Manager Markdown

Now, assuming I didn't leave anything out, that's 103 items total which includes 70 Mega-Event items.

Mfg Cpn Savings $57.42
Bonus Cpn Savings $9.72
Kroger Plus Savings $68.16
Total Savings (82%) $135.30

Total, including $1.33 tax = $30.21

And I earned 131 fuel points - Yay!

And... got back a $2 catalina for the dog food!

Yes Penny, I disappeared again...

But since YOU (and very few others) know the reason I know you forgive me. And, as soon I find last Saturday's Kroger receipt, I'm going to blog it. Hopefully, I will also have a couple of really good trips from the current Mega Sale to put on here soon!

Can't Believe I've been MIA So Long!

I sooo didn't realize it had been almost 2 months since I posted! I've pretty much been doing the bare necessities of shopping and couponing - it's so sad! LOL However, with the Mega Sale at Kroger this week I've started again - BIG TIME! Spend more this week than I usually do, but won't need soup, dog biscuit or pasta for a while!

This weekend I am going to try to get my Kroger and Walgreens deals from this week posted and linked to Southern Savers Friday Finals. And hopefully, I will be able to keep my momentum going!

Rite Aid Again (aka My New Addiction)...

Since I needed to do a little shopping today I decided to go to Murray so I could do a deal or two at Rite Aid. I'm still getting the hang of stacking all the store coupons with the manufacturer's coupons, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it.

I did 2 transactions today:
Transaction #1
Purchased
(6) pkg Noxema Disposable Razors, $1.99 ea
(1) Maybelline Great Lash, $3.11
(1) 18 ct Playtex Gentle Glide Tampons, $4.00
(2) DampRid tubs, $1.94 each (clearance find!)
(2) Nivea Lip Treatments, $2.99 & $1.49
Rite Aid Coupons Used
(1) $5/$25
(1) $1/$10 Shaving Products
(1) $2.00 Maybelline Cosmetics
Mfg. Coupons Used
(1) $2.00/2 Nivea Lip (printable)
(1) $2.00 Playtex Gentle Glide (printable)
(1) $1.00 Damprid
(6) $2.00 Noxema Razor
Total OOP $2.91, got back $2 (Nivea Lip), $1 (Maybelline Mascara), $3 (Playtex) +UP Rewards

Transaction #2
Purchased
(2) Garnier Nutrisse Haircolor, $5.99 ea
(1) Garnier Fructis Shampoo (33% more bonus bottle), $2.99
(1) Garnier Fructis Styling Cream, $2.99
(1) Suave Professionals Shampoo, $2.00
(1) Suave Professionals Conditioner, $2.00
(2) Reach Total Toothbrushes, $2.99 ea
(1) Desitin 2 oz., $3.99
(1) Single-Serve Pack Oreos, 79¢
(1) Single-Serve Pack Nutter Butters, 79¢
(2) 20 oz Pepsi, $1.49 each
Rite Aid Coupons Used
(1) $5/$25
(1) $1.00 Desitin
(1) $1.00/2 Nabisco Snack
(1) B1G1 Pepsi ($1.49)
$3, $2, $1 +UP Rewards from Transaction #1
Mfg. Coupons Used
(2) $3.00 Nutrisse (printable)
(1) $1.00 Garnier Shampoo or Conditioner
(1) $1.00 Garnier Styling Product
(1) $1.00 Reach Product (printable)
(1) B1G1 Reach Toothbrush
(1) $1.00/2 Suave Professionals Hair Care
(1) $1.00 Desitin
Total OOP $8.80, got back $5 (Garnier), $2 (Desitin/J & J), $2 (Suave), $2 x2 (Listerine/Reach) +UP Rewards

Total OOP $11.91, still have $13 +UP Rewards for next time... and I am already looking forward to next time!

I'm sorry I wasn't able to list where all the coupons came from; this last year has been so crazy with moving twice, having so much of our stuff in storage for so many months, and having no internet at home from October last year until a few weeks ago. I am finally starting to get all my coupons organized and reaching a point where I can stay caught up with the deals a little better. It's such a good feeling.

I also wanted to make sure I mentioned how wonderful the cashiers at the Murray Rite Aid were today! The Noxema razors weren't marked so I took them to the register to get a price check and the cashier noticed there was a coupon in the package and told me if I wanted to I could take it out & use it when I checked out. Three of the packages had $1.00 coupons & 3 of them had $2.00 coupons. I already had 5 of the $2.00 coupons so I only had to pull 1 coupon out of a package. Some of my Rite Aid coupons beeped, but she just read them to make sure I had the product and put them through anyway. I'm always so thankful when I get cashiers anywhere that are so helpful!

Afterthought - As I was reading this checking for typos (after I published it LOL) I started thinking about how much I saved. Not off regular prices, it's not likely I would pay regular price for most of this, but how much I saved just off the sale prices... The total sale price before coupons was $63.90 (before tax), the total after coupons was $9.42. That means coupons saved me $54.48 or about 85.3%... Yup, I love what I do!

In My Mailbox Today (9/13)

There are days I love checking the mail. Free Gain dish detergent (from Facebook a couple of weeks ago), $10 Kmart gift card from My Coke Rewards & Nexxus samples plus a $3 coupon for my next Nexxus purchase (exp 3/30/2011) and NO BILLS!

My First Rite Aid Trip

Since the closest Rite Aid is in Murray and it takes about 35 minutes to get there, I hadn't been shopping Rite Aid. However, I had been wanting to get started and decided since I had the time yesterday (Saturday 9/4) I was going to make a trip to Murray to hit Rite Aid & the thrift stores.

I didn't use my usual grocery & drug store money for this trip. I had been given a little extra money from someone this week and decided to use that for a splurge.

I spent more OOP than I normally would on a drugstore trip, but I'm pretty happy with what I bought. I did three transactions, the first two were back-to-back, and then I came back before I left town & did the third one.

Transaction #1
Purchased
(1) Nivea for Men Body Wash, $3.00
(2) Garnier Nutrisse Haircolor, $5.99 ea
(1) Garnier Fructis Shampoo (33% more bonus bottle), $2.99
(1) Garnier Fructis Conditioner (33% more bonus bottle), $2.99
(1) Nivea Lip Treatment, $2.99
(1) bag Cheetos (hadn't had lunch LOL), $1.29
(2) 20 oz Mt. Dew, $1.49 each
Rite Aid Coupons Used
(1) $5/$25 Video Values (August)
(1) $1.00 Garnier Video Values (August)
(1) $1.00 Garnier Video Values (September)
(1) $2.00 Garnier Haircolor Video Values (September)
(1) B1G1 Mt. Dew Video Values (August), took off $1.06
Mfg. Coupons Used
(1) $1.00 Nivea for Men Body Wash
(1) $1.00 Nivea Lip Treatment
(2) $2.00 Garnier Nutrisse
(2) $1.00 Garnier Shampoo or Conditioner
Total OOP $11.48, got back $5 (Garnier), $2 (Nivea BW) & $1 (Nivea Lip) +UP Rewards, will submit for $1.99 Nivea Lip SCR

Transaction #2
Purchased
(6) Gain Dish Detergent, 89¢ each
(1) Nexxus Therappe Shampoo, $5.99
(1) Nexxus Conditioner, $18.99 (specially packaged with full-size shampoo - buy conditioner get shampoo free!)
Rite Aid Coupons Used
$5/$25 Video Values
$8 total +UP Rewards from first transaction
Mfg Coupons Used
(6) $1.00 Gain Dish Detergent adjusted to 89¢ each
Total OOP $13.50, got back $10 +UP Rewards (Nexxus)

Transaction #3
Purchased
(2) 100 ct Aleeve, $9.99 & $4.99 (buy one, get one half-price sale)
(2) Wet n Wild Perfect Pair Eyeshadow/Liner, $3.99 ea
(1) Wet n Wild Liquid Eyeliner, free
(1) Wet n Wild Pencil Eyeliner, free (for some reason I had it in my mind that that Wet n Wild was buy one get one half-price instead of BOGO so I had figured in half-price on these)
(1) Gift Bag, $1.69 (needed this for a birthday dinner last night)
Rite Aid Coupons Used
$5/$25 printed from Red Plum
$2/$6 Wet n Wild Video Values
$1.00 Aleeve Video Values
$10 +UP Rewards from Transaction #2
Mfg Coupons Used
$5/$10 Wet n Wild (When I realized Wet n Wild was actually BOGO, I was going to get a couple more items but the cashier took it since it scanned with no problem...)
Total OOP $1.77, got back $2 +UP Rewards (Aleeve)

Total OOP for all 3 transactions, $26.75. I earned $20 +UP Rewards, used $18 of them and still have $2 left. I will also submit for $1.99 SCR for the Nivea lip treatment. Not an unbelievably great trip because of the high OOP, but still pretty good for all I got (especially since I love Nexxus products but refuse to pay full price for them!)

I wasn't going to get the Aleeve, since I had forgotten to take the $2.00 printables from coupons.com which would have lowered my total OOP; however, I decided to just use the +UP Rewards from the Nexxus since we were completely out of Aleeve. Since I take an Aleeve/Ibuprofen combo for my migraines it's usually a very bad idea to not have any on hand!

P.S. Ignore the date on the picture; apparently my hubby hasn't set the date on his digital camera LOL

Found a Giveaway that is Definitely Worth Entering!

There's a really cool blog that I subscribe to & follow on Facebook, "The Not-So-Blog's Experimental Mommy", that is having an awesome giveaway right now. She's partnered with Tide and Downy to give away an "ENTIRE YEAR of both Tide with Acti-Lift and Ultra Downy (12 coupons for FREE Tide and 12 coupons for FREE Downy)!!"

I would sooooo love to win this one. I use many different brands of laundry care (depending, of course, on sales and coupons) but I am always happy when the sales and coupons mean I get to stock up on my Original Scent Tide and April Fresh Downy!

Go here to read here post on the Tide Loads of Hope program and for instructions to enter the giveaway. Good Luck (but I'm secretly hoping I win & you don't LOL!!

Important information - This giveaway doesn't end until September 20th.