Gearing up for 2011

Okay, I know we're already 2 weeks in. But the past two weeks have been full of packing and driving. We're now safely in Boise, Idaho (where they DO have Rite Aid!!) and it's time to start thinking about coupons again. I brought most of my pantry with me... and while I really don't need toothpaste or shampoo, soup is sounding really good right now! We're in much colder weather up north, and I need to think ahead a bit.

I'm already missing Kroger, 'cause as far as I know of there aren't any grocery stores here that automatically double coupons $0.50 or less. But I'm looking forward to experiencing Albertson's doublers... and of course, Rite Aid and Walgreens.

I'm tracking our coupon savings using this tracking sheet and will be sharing the savings via the "thermometer" on the right. Looking forward to seeing if I can hit my goal of saving over $200 a month!

Rite Aid Trip 11/17

I'm trying to get in on all the Rite Aid goodness, because apparently we're moving next month to a town with no Rite Aid... *sniff. I'm going to have to learn Walgreens and CVS it looks like! Anyway, yesterday was another awesome trip to Rite Aid with a LOT of free stuff. Free toothpaste, free toothbrush, free dish detergent, & free heat wraps! I'd made an error in my first transaction, but the manager was kind enough to help me figure it all out so I still got my +UP rewards. And I had a Rebate Check from last month that I was able to use to pay for most of it. So my out-of-pocket (before tax) was a measly $2.01! Actual "price paid" (since I've already "used" the savings from the rebate and last weeks +UPs) was still less than $30 for over $100 worth of product!

Rite Aid 11/10

If you remember, I had $12 in +UPs from my last trip. Since they expire next Saturday, I wanted to be sure to use them. So this trip wasn't amazing, but I did save just over 70% and my out-of-pocket was less than $1 before tax. The big deals this week were for items that I'd just purchased and so not only did I have enough, but I no longer had the good coupons for them. So I just grabbed a few things that were on sale, used a couple coupons, and LOTS of +UPs!

New Mega Event at Kroger!

Yippee! Kroger's doing one of their famous Mega Events this week and, according to Southern Savers there's over 190 items in the sale! Wow! I did the sale three times tonight, for an extra $15 off my groceries. With coupon matchups, we did very well indeed!

Rite Aid Does it Again!

And again, a marvelous week at Rite Aid! Although it took me FOREVER to generate my shopping list this week, I think I made out pretty good! Cheap chocolate, FREE shampoo and FREE beauty products, ridiculous pricing on vitamins.... oh yeah, pretty good! *UPDATE: Just ran the number totals and I did WAY BETTER than "pretty good"!!

Fabulous Rite Aid Trip

I haven't gone to Rite Aid in the last couple weeks, even though there have been some great sales, mostly 'cause the timing just wasn't right. But I had the opportunity to go this morning and snagged some super deals... and lots of free stuff!

Rite Aid Trip 9/20

Rite Aid has a great SCR out on Kimberly Clark products. Unfortunately, the deal I'd set up failed due to lack of product. I'm going to have to go on Sunday, lol!

My First Publix Trip

Now that I have Rite Aid and Kroger down, I'm expanding my reach. This week, I tried shopping at Publix. I've heard great things about this store, since they have a lot of store coupons available. They're also a step above Kroger (think Walmart vs. Target), though that does mean their prices are bit higher as well. They seem to have a lot of Buy One Get One Free sales -- which are great for couponers! Publix starts their sales on Wednesday, which gave me lots of time to get my list together as the closest Publix makes a great after-church stop. The biggest issue I had was several coupons that would have saved me even more weren't in my inserts Sunday morning. It's super frustrating when that happens! Even son, everything was 50% off before coupons.

AMAZING deal at Toys R Us -- perfect for Christmas!

I just got back from Toys R Us. They have a great sale right now on lots of items (Buy 2 Get 1 Free) and on top of that, the above two games were on sale AND coupons came out as well. Here's what I did:

(3) Monopoly Games (sale: $7.99 reg. $12.99)
(3) Sorry Games (sale: $7.99 reg. $16.99)
-- B2G1F sale
-- (6) $4/1 coupons found here or in the USA Weekend in today's paper
Final cost: $7.96 for all 6 games ($1.33 ea. -- a savings of 91%)

Now to hope my nieces and nephews don't see this post! ;-)

I saved 94% at Rite Aid today!

Even though it's Saturday, I was able to find almost all the deals I had on my list. They were only sold out of one item (which is amazing), and then one item that I had a coupon for they don't carry yet. Still, I got over $80 worth of product for less than $5! Have I said that I love Rite Aid?

Airplane Price Check at Walgreens....

I always have very good "luck" at Walgreens. I read so many posts and comments on blogs about how awful Walgreens is with coupons -- it all depends on the staff, and more importantly, the manager. I've dealt with different people each time I go to Walgreens and my experience has been amazing. Today, I couldn't find several items on the shelf... it wasn't as if they were sold out, I couldn't even find the spot for them. I asked a manager and he went into the back room and found exactly what I needed. Yippee! So, major coupon/customer service kudos to Walgreens, 3900 Washington Rd, Martinez GA. You rock!

Rite Aid Trip 9/1

Happy September! It's not noticeably cooler yet, but that will happen soon enough, I'm sure. Today I had my list all drawn up only to find that they were sold out of some things I wanted. That's the first time this has happened, so I guess these deals were great enough that more folks jumped in and started saving! A few of these deals weren't mentioned in my circular, but I found them in the circular for the Atlanta area. When I called the store, I talked with the manager who said that the items should be on sale even if they weren't in my paper. I printed out the one page that had the three items I was interested in and she made the price adjustments today. Yay!

Rite Aid Trip 8/25

Rite Aid has been my favorite drug store since I began couponing a couple months ago, and today was no exception! With the help of Southern Savers, I was able to do some great matchups and take advantage of great sales, great rewards and great rebates! Here in Augusta, we get the "short" Rite Aid ad, which means a lot of the super cool deals weren't available to me. But I still did amazingly well!

Giveaway!! 5 Readers Will Win a Copy of our Book Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey!

Read below for this special giveaway from The Krazy Coupon Lady!

Giveaway!! 5 Readers Will Win a Copy of our Book Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey!: "

If you are new to The Krazy Coupon Lady, today may be your lucky day! We are giving away 5 copies of our book, Pick Another Checkout Laney, Honey! This is sure to help all you newbies, or as we affectionately call you “Coupon Virgins, as you learn the ropes… With this book, you’ll be on your way to saving 50-90% at the Grocery Store!! Woot!

Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey is The “How-to” book that will turn you Krazy Coupon Ladies from coupon-shy to coupon-savvy! With this book you’ll learn how to:

• Find coupons and “stack” them with a sale for huge savings.


• Build a stockpile of food at rock-bottom prices to last you and your family up to a year


• Make passers-by gape at your cart full of groceries you purchased for 75% off retail price


• Get your cashiers to gasp and applaud as you purchase everyday items for pennies on the dollar


• Gain the confidence to strut down the aisles, flaunt your coupons, and maybe even wear high heels to the grocery store!

Enter by leaving a comment on this post. If you want additional entries, do any of the following things and then leave a separate comment on this post letting us know which you did to be officially entered. You may enter up to 4 times on this giveaway.

• Subscribe to The Krazy Coupon Lady via Feed Burner


• Follow The Krazy Coupon Lady on Twitter


• Follow The Krazy Coupon Lady on Facebook

You have until Thursday, 8/26 at Midnight MST to enter!

Good Luck!!

"

Kroger Mega Event cont.

This week Kroger's continuing their Mega Event. I had my list all narrowed down (qualified for the Event 4 times!) with matching coupons, sales, catalinas, etc.

Of course, once we got to the store, there were a couple other deals on things we needed (milk, bread, zippies) and a couple things we didn't really need but were important nonetheless (ice cream, RC).

I used the self-checkout this time as I was doing three transactions due to the catalinas and I didn't want to hold up a clerked line. It worked out just fine and I felt a little less stressed doing it that way 'cause I wasn't holding anyone up and I could take my time and count items and ensure coupons cleared. The only hassle is that the attendant has to scan in all coupons herself. So after each transaction I'd hit the coupon button and then wait for her to come, take my coupons to her station and scan them. It worked out fine, just would be nicer if I could scan my own coupons!

Finally made it to Bi-Lo and wow.....

Bi-Lo is hard to shop at as their ad in the Sunday paper runs from Sunday through Tuesday. I typically shop on Wednesdays, so just miss the ad and don't have time to study the new one. This week though, I saw several deals at Bi-Lo, so adjusted my schedule to shop today. And am I glad I did! The deals all worked as they should, I found all the items I was looking for and saved a bunch!

New Kroger Mega Event This Week!

Great sales + E-coupons + Coupons + Catalinas = Happiness! 

Seriously, this was a great week at Kroger. I had some great coupons and combined with e-coupons and Kroger's new Mega event, well... wow!

Kroger's Mega event is Buy any 8 participating items, get $4 off instantly. I bought 16! So an extra $.50 off each of those 16 items... yay!

I even had an e-coupon that I didn't know would apply, so ended up getting deodorant for my hubby for free! Pretty sweet.

Kroger's Great Sales and a "Surprise" Catalina!

This week Kroger has a special Mega Event on P&G items. Buy 4, get $4 off immediately. I'd built my list to get 8 items, but one wasn't there and two others were different prices compared to what I'd seen on Southern Savers. So I scratched that and only did one set of 4. Still a great deal! Plus, General Mills cereal was on a special 3 Day Sale and select cereals were 50% off. I had some coupons too, so that dropped the price even further. Of course, most of the cereal's I wanted weren't on the sale.... but I still got some great deals!

wellness+ at Rite Aid

Rite Aid is officially my fave drugstore. And the folks at the Rite Aid on Wheeler Rd. at Augusta Parkway (store #11836) are simply super! I've had the privilege of checking out with two different clerks and both were friendly and helpful. And the deals! I love the Single Check Rebates they offer and the +UP rewards make saving so much fun.

I felt like a veteran today when the lady in line behind me said that she was just wondering how I was able to save so much! I told her, "http://southernsavers.com" and smiled!

Double Coupons = FREE!

Ok, so not all my coupons double at Kroger, and not all the coupons that do double equal free items. But I did get TEN free items at Kroger today, so I'm stoked! I also used eCoupons for the first time today. You can load coupons from Kroger, P&G, Cellfire and Shortcuts to your Kroger card and they automatically come off when you buy the item. They don't double, or work more than once, but hey! It's cool! And I had a coupon on there I didn't know about (I changed my shopping list at the last minute) and saved an extra $1. :-)