This week I went to Kroger. Determined to get through the store without my water breaking!  That has always been my biggest fear…ever since hearing that in a labor video when we were in the Dominican Republic (my oldest was born there and there were no birthing classes.)  I digress.

I will say that I am most impressed with the customer service at Kroger and Walgreens.  I wanted to knock out my errands first thing in the morning while I still had a few ounces of energy.  So I braved it and took the kids.  By the time I got to the checkout it must have been painfully obvious that I was struggling. Talk about a pre-natal workout!!!

So they loaded all the groceries onto the conveyor belt (leaning into the depths of the cart to pull things out would not have been pretty at this point!), helped me out to the car, put the groceries in the car, even lifted the kids out of the racecar cart!  And at Walgreens they carried my diapers out to the car for me. My back and belly say,  ”THANKS!!!”

I was at Walgreens to take advantage of this amazing Huggies diaper deal (except I got 5 packs) (See tower below!)

Kroger

The personalized store coupons from Kroger came on Saturday.  And I knew that I needed to use some of them before baby…lest I forget about them in the blurriness and haze of having a newborn!

**If you have a Kroger Plus Card and you are not getting personalized “best customer” coupons in the mail every 8-10 weeks, then stop at the customer service desk and request these!

*HOT DEALS*

Free - I had LOTS of free item coupons from various places…mailings, free samples, General Mills trip…so I decided to take advantage of those this week.  I was afraid I might forget about them and they’d expire.  What I got free: 4 large boxes of Kix, Herbal Essence Shampoo (from P&G mailer), 2 cans Dole Fruit, 2 sausages, 2 bags lettuce (store mailer), dozen eggs (store mailer),

Produce – Used a $4/$20 Produce coupon from Kroger mailer, Bananas for $.39/lb (stocked up to freeze for smoothies), 2 pineapples (used this coupon), squash is still $.49/lb!, Clementines for $3.87/3lbs. (I imagine this isn’t the best sale price…should be lower as we go through winter.)

Cereal - My last major cereal stockup happened in August.  And it was about time for another one.  And I’m SO thankful that the Rice Chex was included in the GM cereal promotion this week!  Rice Chex is the boys’ favorite (and it’s GF…although we are not entirely GF, I limit gluten where I can!).  And it’s RARELY on sale…and runs $3.50/box!  Eeks.  With coupons, this week I bought a few boxes for $1.89/box.

Total spent at Kroger: $56.42

Total spent at Walgreens: $27.46 – $3.75 Caregivers Marketplace ($.75 per pack) = $23.71 for 5 packs!

Total for the week: $80.13

Don’t believe these prices? My grocery store’s ad scan!

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Here are some of the latest and hottest printable coupons:

$1/1 Fisher Nuts (4 oz. or larger)

$.55/1 Pillsbury Simply Cookie Dough

$.75/1 Kix Cereal (On sale at my Kroger this week…making them $.50/box after sale, promo and coupon!)

Several Hasbro and Playskool Toy Coupons

$1/2 Dole Salad Blends

$1/2 Hershey’s Bliss Chocolates

$.50/2 Domino Sugars (2 lb. or larger)

$1/1 Gluten Free Pantry item

$.55/1 Enjoy Life Foods Allergen-Free foods

FREE SAMPLES

New free samples from Kroger for Aveeno Hair products and Prilosec…details here!  Lots more great free samples here at FreeStuff4Free…including Cheerios, Lysol, Clorox and Kashi!

Be sure to check out all the printable coupons available at Smart Source and Coupons.com!

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Thanksgiving is my favorite meal of the whole year.  I love every part of it…

• the colors of the trees outside
• the piles of leaves in the street that await the leaf sucker-upper
• the rock bottom prices in the grocery stores
• the insane number of coupons that are released during November
• the fantastic Thanksgiving deals that can be found matching up coupons with sale prices 
• the many fragrances that fill the house as the oven roasts the turkey and bakes the pies

Ahhh.

It will be a bit different for us this year.  With a very small newborn, I couldn’t imagine preparing the whole feast, as I’ve done in years past!  So we’ll be feasting with family.  And if I can manage to whip up a side dish, I will!

I wanted to share a few reminders on how to reduce the overall cost of your Thanksgiving meal.

1. Plan. Rework the plan. Finalize the plan.

Make a plan.  Dig through those recipe cards, browse the magazines.  Make your plan. But only pencil it in!

Then rework your plan as time gets closer and you see things on sale, or another recipe you’d like to experiment with.

On Sunday before Thanksgiving, finalize the plan and get to work!  By then, you’ll have seen all the products that are on sale, what the lowest prices are and you’ll be able to carve the plan into stone.

2. Prices.

From my experience in years past, the LOWEST prices on all the Thanksgiving favorites…like green beans, sweet potatoes, pecans and walnuts, cranberry sauces, etc…are found during Thanksgiving week.  And possibly the week before.

It’s a tricky game to play, but if you have a plan and you see something on your list for 60-75% less than regular retail price the week before Thanksgiving, go ahead and get it.  Or wait and hope it’s still on sale for Thanksgiving week.  But if you wait, it might not be on sale the next week.  Trust your instincts.

3. Coupons. Coupons. Coupons.

Over the next few weeks, there will be an insane number of coupons released both online and in the newspapers.  Many of which are for the most popular products used during the Thanksgiving meal.

Clip them. Use them. Match them with the products on sale!

4. Turkey Prices.

Watch those circulars.  I already see whole turkeys advertised in my store for $1.49/lb.  But I know it will be half that price come Turkey Day! 

Shop around.  Pay close attention to all the store’s prices in your area.

How big of a turkey should I get?  Rule of thumb: 1 lb. per person attending your feast. Depending on how much meat you need/want for leftovers!

And don’t forget…this is a great time to get an extra turkey, perhaps a smaller turkey breast, that you can cook up in the slow cooker and use the meat for multiple meals.  Prices won’t be this low until Thanksgiving 2010!

Enjoy your feast!  And revel in the fact that you spent as little as you could on your Turkey Day Feast!!!

What other tips do you have to share for saving $$$ on the Thanksgiving meal???

Kroger

It was the 10 Item Mega Event again this week.

But I screwed it up!!! I miscounted. I only had 39 items, not 40.  So I missed out on another $5 in savings.

I knew my total should have been right around $80…or a little over.  So when it came out to be $86, I knew something was amiss.  I didn’t figure it out until I got to the car.  Too late. UGH!

It was still a great trip.  My final “stock-up.” It’s just too difficult for me to push a cartful through the store at this point.  So I’ll just be bopping in for produce and milk/eggs in the next few weeks.  Post-baby.

Free – 7 packets of tuna (both Bumblebee and Starkist), Playtex gloves, 4 cans Rotel, and butter spray

For $1 or less – 4 Smart Balance (dairy-free) butters, pads and pantiliners, pomegranate, 6 bags chocolate chips, 2 granola bars, 2 bread loaves, yogurt, 6 boxes Kleenex, 1/2 gallon milk, 1 lint roller

Produce – $1 Pomegranates was the only highlight! Oh, and the $2 pineapple, thanks to coupon found here!

Coupons Used - $40 worth!

Total spent at Kroger: $86.67

Way over my $60/week budget…but I have no doubt that I’ll just be spending $20-$30 the next several weeks…or longer!

My grocery store’s ad scan!

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I ran across even MORE great coupons since yesterday morning:

$1.50/2 Coffee-Mate Creamer - Liquid or Powder

$2/1 Huggies – Jumbo pack or larger

Another $2/1 any Huggies diaper product

$1.50/1 Huggies Little Swimmers - Keep an eye out for these on clearance!!!

$3 Duraflame Indoor/Outdoor Firelogs

FREEBIES

Free Kashi TLC Bar – Head on over here to get your free Kashi TLC Bar!

Borders Book Stores – 40% off 1 item coupon.  TODAY, November 2nd, ONLY!!!  Use coupon in stores, or use coupon code BRE1129H for Borders.com.

Thanks Free Stuff 4 Free!

Be sure to check out all the printable coupons available at Smart Source and Coupons.com!

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A few more of the latest and hottest printable coupons this week:

$2/1 Huggies - Another $2 coupon from Huggies…I need all the diaper coupons I can get!  Thanks Crystal!

$1/1 Total Cereal - Smaller boxes are often on sale for $1-$1.50!!!  Thanks Crystal!

$1/1 Cottonelle Toilet Paper - Thanks Marcy!

FREEBIE

Free Sample of Head and Shoulders Shampoo - Thanks to Free Stuff 4 Free for the heads up!  It seems this link is not working…any way I try to access it on the P&G website. I hope it’s resolved soon…so check back later!

Remember: Free samples of toilettries are PERFECT for travelling!

Be sure to check out all the printable coupons available at Smart Source and Coupons.com!

Want healthy and inexpensive meal ideas, the hottest coupons and other money saving tips delivered to your inbox??? Sign up for the FREE $5 Dinners Email Newsletter!

Head on over here to print a $.50/1 Rotel coupon (can print 2 per computer!).  The coupon is available in the 3rd rotation on the header.  Just wait a few seconds for the screen to change and you’ll see “redeem coupon.”

My grocery store sells these cans for $.97 (regular price), and they are often on sale for less!  Double the coupon = FREE Rotel!

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

Be sure to check out all the printable coupons available at Smart Source and Coupons.com!

Want healthy and inexpensive meal ideas, the hottest coupons and other money saving tips delivered to your inbox??? Sign up for the FREE $5 Dinners Email Newsletter!

Kroger/CVS

Nest. Prepare the Nest.

Nesting.

I’m feeling it…strong! The urge to “stock” up. Not that I don’t have a well built stockpile already. But I want to make it bigger, so that it will last longer! With just a few trips to the grocery store left before baby arrives, the nesting urge is getting stronger and STRONGER.

But I committed myself to stay under the $60/week budget this month. I spent $20.43, $68.19, $67.58 thus far this month. Plus a stop at the farmer’s market over the weekend for a 5 lb. jar of honey for $20.

Leaves me with $64 for this week!

Oh, and please ignore the Mint Milanos!  The “nearing the end of pregnancy chocolate/cookie cravings” are a bit of out control!  Plus they were only $1, as opposed to $3.49!  {munch, munch}

*HOT DEALS*

$.29 cans of diced tomatoes – after sale, store promotion and coupon!!!  I have been waiting for this price! I got 15 cans!

This week’s Kroger 10 Item Mega Sale had LOTS of coupon matchups!  I was also able to stock up on granola bars ($.99/box after sale/coupons), and 2 more $.19 cans of tomato paste!

Produce – $.99/bunch broccoli, $2.99 pineapple with coupon, bag of lettuce for $.50 using $1 store mailer coupon, 3 lb. bags of apples for $1.28

Meats – 1 pkg ground chuck, on sale for $1.69/lb!

Total spent at Kroger: $61.53 – $1 catalina = $60.53

Total spent at CVS (1 pkg diapers): $9.88 - $3 coupon from Huggies free sample – $.50 ECB - $1.50 Upromise rebate – $.75 Caregiver’s Marketplace Rebate = $4.79!!!

Total for the week: $20 + $4.79 + $60.53

Total for the month: $241.52 

Just $1.52 over my $60/week goal!…not too shabby since that includes some major stocking up and diapers

My grocery store’s ad scan!

Want healthy and inexpensive meal ideas, the hottest coupons and other money saving tips delivered to your inbox??? Sign up for the FREE $5 Dinners Email Newsletter!

Here are some of the latest and hottest printable coupons:

$.75/1 Del Monte Pineapple

$2/1 Nestle Candy and Wonka Candy - Each

$1/2 Old Orchard Juices

$1.50/1 Huggies - Reset

$1/2 Ronzoni Pasta

$.75/4 oz. jar Red Star Yeast

$1.50 Coffee-Mate Liquid or Powder

$12/2 cases DuraFlame Logs

Clothing/Retail: The Children’s Place – Holiday Pass for 15% off your next purchase.

FREEBIES

Free Sample of NEW Olay Total Effects Anti-Aging Body Wash. Olay’s most advanced body wash, Total Effects goes beyond cleansing to deeply moisturize and fight the 7 signs of aging all over your body. Thanks Free Stuff 4 Free!

Free eCookbook: 27 Secret Restaurant Copycat Recipes featuring 46-pages of quick and easy recipes from your favorite restaurants.

Be sure to check out all the printable coupons available at Smart Source and Coupons.com!

Want healthy and inexpensive meal ideas, the hottest coupons and other money saving tips delivered to your inbox??? Sign up for the FREE $5 Dinners Email Newsletter!

Don’t you wish we could still get prices like those?

Reader Question:

Can you let us know what a good deal on meat is? I personally don’t know when to stock up or when to hold off. How much a pound is good on all the meats?

Spotting a great price on any product can be difficult.  It takes time and practice. But what I like about meat prices is that the best ones are usually advertised.  On the front page of the weekly circular.

And sometimes hidden within!

The most expensive aspect to consider when making a $5 Dinner is the meat/protein price (with the exception of vegetarian and “breakfast” type dinners, of course!).  My goal is to keep the overall meat/chicken price at $2.50 or less for the meal.  So that means I have to buy meats/chicken at a certain price or below…or this won’t happen!

I have a mental “never pay more than” list that I pull up each time I’m looking through the store circulars, and even when I’m going through the store. 

Here are some examples of great meat SALE prices that I look for when shopping:

• Fresh Fish – $3.99/lb
• Frozen Fish – $2.99/lb I usually only buy with a store coupon
• Pork Chops (bone-in) – $.99/lb
• Pork Chops (boneless) – $1.49/lb
• Pork Roast – $1.49/lb
• Beef Roast – $1.99/lb
• Beef Stew – $1.99/lb Often can be found cheaper in a “family pack”
• Ground Beef – $1.49/lb
• Ground Chuck – $1.89/lb
• Whole Chicken – $.99/lb
• Split Chicken Breasts – $1.19/lb
• Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts/Tenderloins – $1.99/lb

And I’ve always got my eye out for packages that are reduced for quick sale.  I’ll either use right away or freeze right away.  My store tends to mark meats down on Thursday and Friday…and they are usually gone by mid-morning.  Just ask your meat dept. manager when is the best time for markdowns at your store!

*Please note: This prices might be dramatically different if you are living in an area with a higher cost of living.

What are your “stock up” prices for your favorite cuts of meats/chicken? I’d love to hear what sale prices are in other parts of the country!

Photo Credit: jbcurio