Some Freebies At The Bullseye

So I ventured over to the Target yesterday to pick up some odds and ends and some freebies....I love freebies!  I also needed some more hairspray...that is kind of an on going need in our house, hairspray.  I think my heart is still stuck in 1987...I must have a ton of hairspray on my do....I always have a back up can under the sink and a travel size can in the console of my car for midday touch ups.  Some women touch up their make-up, I touch up my hair...I have tried to go "natural", it's just not me.  So when you constantly see a can of hairspray peeking out of my shopping photos and wonder what I do with it, now you know....I use way too much of it and I am o.k. with that:)

Here is what I picked up at the Target yesterday for a total OOP of $25.73...not too shabby and the lady behind me was impressed:)

• 1-3 pack of Huggies Baby Wipes $5.99.  Used a Target q from a mailer $1/1 and and manufacturer q .50/1 = $4.49
• 1 package Pampers Wipes $2.39.  Used a Target q from a mailer $1/1 and a manufacturer q .50/1 = $0.89
• Colrox Bleach $3.54
• 5 Market Pantry Apple Juice $9.85.  Used 5 Target printables .50/1 = $7.35
• 2 Welch's Naturals Concord Grape Jelly $3.38.  Used 2 Target printables $1/1 and 2 manufacturer q's .75/1 = $0.12 MONEYMAKER
• 1 Vitamin Water $1.00.  Used Target Cataline for .75/1 = $0.25
• 4 Purell Hand Sanitizers $11.96.  USed 4 Target printables $1/1 and 4 manufacturer q's $1/1 = $3.96
• 4 Up & Up 24-ct. Ibuprofen $3.96.  Used 4 Target printables $1/1 = FREE
• 1 Tres Semme Hairspray $3.79

I also saved an additional $0.25 for using my own, reusable bags for a total savings of $21.96...almost 50%...I'll take it!  

Cereal, Cereal and More Cereal

I think I am almost fully stocked up on cereal.  I have about 24 boxes in my stockpile right now...almost enough for a three month supply in our house....I like to keep between 2 and 3 dozen when I can.  Not only do my kiddos love cereal, but it is a must for me in the mornings as I am always running late to get the kiddos to school and this is a quick, easy breakfast that usually no one complains about....usually:)

Here is what I picked up on Friday at the Jewel:

• 8 lbs Naval Oranges $3.98
• 5 lbs Idaho Potatoes $1.29 with in-ad coupon
• 1 Gallon Skim Milk $3.50.  Used Cat for free milk that I got the week before = $1 MONEYMAKER...the coupon scanned at the max value of $4.50 and the cashier gave me the overage
• 2.25 lbs Red Grapes $2.92
• 1-24ct Eggo Waffles $4.29.  Used a Jewel q I received in the mail for $3/$3 of frozen food items = $1.29
• 2 bags Jay's Chips $5.00

My OOP was only $11.78..not too bad for fresh fruit, milk and some other randoms.

On Saturday, the hubs and I hit up the Meijer for their one day sale to pick up some cheap cereal and other misc items.  Here is what we took home:

• 10 boxes Kellogg's cereal $19.90 after Meijer instant savings of $5.00 for buying 10 Kellogg's items. Used 2 printables for $5/5 = $9.90.  
• 2.25 lbs Bananas $1.28
• 1 bunch parsley $0.89
• 1 head lettuce $0.99
• 2 limes $0.34
• 2 large avocados $3.78
• 1 bag salad $1.99
• 1 container cherry tomatoes $2.99.  Used printable for .55/1 = $2.44
• 1 jar Pepperoncini peppers $2.29
• 2 lbs Krakus Deli Ham $7.22
• 1 package flour tortillas $0.99
• 1 jar Meijer salsa $0.99
• 2 International Delight Creamers $5.58.  Used 2 printables $1/1 and an mPerks q $1/2 = $2.58

In case you were wondering....tonight is taco night at our house and I needed some odds and ends along with my deals to make a yummy dinner.  My total OOP was $36.52 and I saved a total of $18.55 in q's and promos.  My kiddos were stoked when we got home and they saw that I had picked up some Cocoa Krispies...all is well in the world:)

Some Target Freebies....

On Monday, I dragged the hubs with me to the Target to pick up some odds and ends...nothing too exciting but anytime I can get anything for free he thinks I am the greatest:)  Unfortunately, not everything was a deal but it was all needed.  Here is what we picked up on our little Target trip for a grand total of $34.87 OOP:

• 2-12packs Angel Soft toilet paper $11.98.  Used 2 Target printables $1/1 and 2 manufacturer q's .45/1 = $9.08
• 1 Tide Stain Release $4.49
• 4 packs Mentos UP2U gum $5.16.  Used 4 Target printables $1/1 and 4 manufacturer q's .55/1 = $1.04 MONEYMAKER
• 1 Can Tres Semme Hairspray $3.79
• 4 Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion $20.00.  Used 4 Target printables $1/1 and 4 manufacturer q's $1/1 = $12.00.  I also got back a $5 Target gift card for a promo they were running on the lotion for and end cost of only $7.00 or $1.75 per lotion.
• 2 Skintimate Shave Gel $4.88.  Used 2 q's .55/1 = $3.78
• 1 tube Vaseline Total Care Lotion.  Used $1/1 q = $0.03 MONEYMAKER (every penny counts:)

I saved $19.20 in q's and got a $5 gift card back....not a bad little trip over all.  I wish I had had some q's for the tide.  As much as I try to use a q for everything, there are somethings that I cannot go without and Tide is one of them.  My kiddos are the princes of dirt and this is a must on our house.

A Few More Boxes Of Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Nothing too stellar last week to grab at the Jewel...but I did manage to pick up some cheap pork roasts and a couple other random items...so here you go, nothing to exciting.

• 3 Bottles Jewel Apple Juice $3.87 with in-ad coupon
• 1 Jar Jewel Hamburger Chips $3.49
• 2 Hormel Pork Roasts $13.42.  Used in store q B1G1 = $6.92
• 3 packages Jewel Chunk Cheese $5.00.  Used 3 q's from the Jewel game pieces .25/1 = $4.25
• 6 Fage Greek Yogurt $6.00.  Used a rain check from a previous sale
• 3 Cinnamon Frosted Toast Crunch $7.50.  Used 3 printables $1/1 = $4.50
• 1 box Ocean Spray Fruit Snacks $2.50.  Used .50/1 = $2.00

The fruit snacks and cereal were not a stellar price on their own, but after purchasing all four in a single transaction I got back a $2 OYNO Cat and a q for a free gallon of milk...the value of which was $6.50...the same amount that I put out...so it turns out to be a wash.  I will take breaking even any day:)  I also used a Jewel q I got in the mail for $3/$30 purchase q to help bring my total down as well.  I saved a total of $19.30 with q's and my rain check and spent $28.64 plus I got back $6.50 to use on a future shopping trip...an o.k. day:)

Finally...Coca-Cola

I am still trying to rebuild my stockpile and bring my grocery bills back down...my trips have been half and half right now.  Trying to keep the family fed and rebuild my stockpile has my grocery bills higher than I would like them to be...but I know it's not forever and it just makes me more determined to stock up on deals when I see them...even if I am so exhausted I cannot fathom getting off the couch.  Not only can my boys run me ragged...we have a third little one on the way and being preggers and chasing around two energizer bunnies is enough to make you want to take one long, giant nap.

Here is what I picked up at the Meijer today for a total OOP of $51.88.  I did get a $4 CAT back bringing my cost down to 47.88.

• 2 24-packs Coke $10.00.  (This is the lowest I have seen Coke in a long time...and I am craving Coke right now.  I am a happy camper)
• 4 lbs Navel Seedless oranges $2.00
• 4 Colgate Kids' Toothbrushes $7.16. Used 4 manufacturer q's .40/1 = $5.56.  I got back a $4 OYNO Cat for a total cost of $1.56 for all four...that's only about $0.40 per toothbrush)
• 1 bunch Cilantro $0.89
• 1.75 lbs bananas $0.99
• 3 lbs apples $3.49
• 2 lbs Krakus deli ham $7.18
• 1 lb Land O Lakes deli American Cheese $5.04.  Used manufacturer q $1/1 = $4.04
• 4 cans Ortega Black Beans $2.64.  Used 2 manufacturer q's .50/2 and a Meijer Mealbox q $1/4 = $0.64
• 1 lime $0.13
• 4 packages Kraft Shredded Cheese $6.67.  Used 2 manufacturer q's .55/2 = $5.57
• 4 boxes Lipton Noodle Soup $4.00.  Used 4 manufacturer q's .40/1 and a Meijer Mealbox q $1/4 = $1.40
• 3 lbs. Yellow Onions $1.99
• 1 2-pack 9 Volt batteries $6.29.  Used manufacturer q .75/1 = $5.54.  (not a good deal...but the smoke detector is beeping and I am completely out of 9 Volts)

Not a bad trip overall.  The Krakus was only $3.49 per pound.  A really good price and my favorite deli meat.  Deli meat freezes really well, so I break it down into smaller portions, put it in freezer bags and add it to my stockpile.  I don't like to pay for toothbrushes, but kids toothbrushes are harder to get for free than adult one...so $0.40 per toothbrush is a pretty good price.  I still gotta take a look at the Jewel deals for the week and see if there is anything good to pick up over there.  Off to make some dinner for my little guys...later:)

A Taste of Double Coupons

Life has been crazy around here.  My kiddos cannot seem to get a break from all the sick bugs going around.     It has been one thing after another with these guys since before Christmas.  I am hoping we are nearing the end of this roller coaster.  I am exhausted and tired of cleaning up the messes and the laundry that seems to be going hand in hand with all these bugs...this last week took the cake and I am just plain sick and tired of everyone being sick and tired.  It was hard to get my grocery shopping done in between all the illness, but I managed to snatch up a couple of things.  I didn't want to miss out on the double coupons Jewel was doing...especially because that happens very rarely around these parts.

No one is my area doubles coupons on a regular basis.  Once and a while, stores will do promotions where they will allow you to double a certain amount of coupons up to a set dollar value.  KMart used to do this fairly often, but have reduced the frequency and upped the restrictions to the point where it just isn't worth it to me to take part in the nonsense...especially since I don't have any KMart's particularly close to me.

Last week, Jewel ran a promotion Sunday through Wednesday that allowed customers to double up to five coupons a day if you were able to get your hands on and clip the promotional "Twice the Value" coupons in their Sunday flier.  If you didn't get your hands on those little, golden tickets...double coupons weren't going to be in your shopping future and getting the flier wasn't a given.  Not all of the Chicago Tribune inserts had this flier.  I wish I knew the rhyme or reason behind it...but I don't.  I get two Sunday Tribunes delivered...one had the insert, one did not.  Luckily, the hubs stopped at the dollar store close to work and grabbed me three papers there that all had them.  Jewel had quite the uproar from its customers in regards to the coupons not being made available to all shoppers and decided to release a printable version of these q's on Tuesday...someone didn't think that promotion out.

Here is what I picked up on my four trips to the Jewel.  I did get better deals than I should have because the checkers didn't enter the coupons correctly.  I did try to tell them that they were giving me more than they should have (yes...I am an honest couponer...doing shady things gives everyone a bad name and it is fraud) but they just looked at me like I had a third eye and could care less about what I was saying.  You can only do so much.

1.29.12

• 5 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch $10.00.  Used 4 printables .60/1, 1 printable .50/1 and 5 Jewel Twice the Value q's $1/1 = $2.19 

They are only supposed to double up to the amount of the manufacturer q...but this was one of those cases where the checker did it wrong and didn't care when I told him he was giving me too much.  So ....I took home some really cheap Cinnamon Toast Crunch to two happy kiddos.

1.30.12

• 10 packages Vanity Fair Napkins $21.89.  Used 5 manufactured q's $1/2 and 5 Jewel Twice the Value q's $1/1 = $11.89.

Vanity Fair napkins are another one of my brand loyalties.  I love them because they are nice and thick and don't tear when my kiddos wipe their filthy little hands on them:)  When I can snatch them up for a dollar a package before tax, I am all over it!

1.31.12

• 2 Coffeemate Creamers $4.00.  Used 2 manufacturer q's .50/1 and 2 Jewel Twice the Value q's $1/1 = $1.00
• 3 Mr. Clean Magic Erasers $7.77.  Used 3 manufacturer q's $1/1 and 3 Jewel Twice the Value q's $1/1 = $2.77

This was another case of the checker ringing in the Twice the Value q's wrong...she gave me a dollar for my coffeemate q's instead of only the $0.50 I should have gotten.

2.1.12

• 5 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch $10.00.  Used 5 printables .50/1 and 5 Jewel Twice the Value q's .50/1 = $5.13

My total OOP for my little doubler extravaganza was $ 22.98.  Not bad for 10 boxes of cereal, 10 packages of napkins, 2 creamers and 3 Magic Erasers.  I was a happy camper:)