Holy canolies Batman! I think there was a little bit of everything going on last week. I paid for groceries, bartered for groceries, redeemed certificates and points for groceries and I even managed to score a bunch of free food with the help of Albertsons double coupons. Geez Louise. It’s a good thing every week isn’t this busy or I might go a little crazy.
Here’s all the loot I was able to collect last week.
Oroweat Bakery Outlet
A while back I paid $10 for $20 worth of Oroweat Bakery Outlet credit. And last Tuesday, Monkey Boy, The Girl Who Thinks She’s a Bird and I redeemed the $10 bread credit and scored 20 packages of baked goods. The kids couldn’t believe it. Go HERE to read more about this deal.
Albertsons $10.83
I never did make it double coupon shopping last week what with all the new found freedom of summer vacation and all. But I did manage to stop by on Tuesday to take advantage of the $1.99 per lb bacon deal and pick up 2 gallons of milk and some cream cheese. I had a $5 off Albertsons store coupon I was able to apply to my total so that helped bring the price down to only $10.83. Not bad for milk, bacon, and cream cheese.
Safeway – $11.64 { + earned a $3.00 catalina coupon}
I haven’t gone a sugary cereal binge in a long time so when I found out Safeway had a sweet on Cocoa Pebbles I went ahead and splurged for the HH and Monkey Boy. Go HERE to read more about this deal.
Papa John’s Pizza – $0
I used to redeem my Swagbucks credits for Amazon gift cards, but these days I trade them in for Pizza. If you order the Sounders Deal you can get 2 large 5 topping pizzas + a 2 litter bottle of soda for $18.99. If you pick it up at the store you don’t have to pay a deliver charge. Yay!
Vitacost – $0
When you sign up for Vitacost, they will email you a code for $10 off your first order. Plus, Vitacost has a referral program. In fact the links in this post are my referral links. You can create your own Vitacost referral link as well and then share your link with family and friends via your blog, email account, Facebook and Twitter pages. When people go through your link, they will get $10 to spend and you will earn $10 to spend. It’s a win-win kind of deal.
Barter
Because I am a total crazy person, I traded 3 chickens for $30 in Oroweat Bread credits. Sure I don’t need anymore bread now, but just wait until school starts up again. Then the kids will be whining that they need bread and stuff to make sandwiches for their lunches, because their mean mother does not believe in giving them money for crappy school lunches.
Note to parents everywhere – If you don’t want to PAY for you kids to eat crappy school lunches, then tell them if they want a school lunch, they will have to pay for it out of their own money. After they have to pay for their lunch with their own money a few times, the novelty wears off and they will adapt. You know, to eating stuff like sandwiches, carrot sticks and homemade cookies. Trust me. We’ve been on the if you want it/you can pay for it program since middle school and it works like a charm.
Barter
One of the benefits of having a mini- farm in your backyard is that people want to come by and go shopping for produce.
It’s especially fun for us when {well behaved} young children want to grab a basket and pick vegetables. Teaching kids that real food comes from the earth {and not the grocery store} is a really cool experience.
The Girl and I traded 3.4 lbs of vegetables for turkey tenderloins, organic beauty products and BUTTER! Dang, how much do vegetables cost these days anyway? I think we made out like bandits on this deal.
Albertsons Double Coupons – $3.78
You can read more about this shopping trip HERE.
So. I’m curious, with 4th of July just a few days away, will you be heading out to Costco to load up on party supplies? Or do you already have everything you need?
~ Mavis
Total Spent This Week $26.25
Total Spent This Year $733.66
Total Spent This Year on Garden Seeds/Supplies $473.47
Total “Seed Money” donations received $8.00
Looking for a bank to hold all those pennies you’ve been saving? Amazon has some pretty sweet retro tin banks starting at just $7.99. Hot diggety!
LaToya says
You know, we haven’t gone to Costco in forever but we DO have to go there this week because we get bottled water there – like the taste, am OK with the price. Need to remember NOT TO GET A CART there and just try and get out with only the water. And maybe an apple pie because I am not a pie baker…and it’s all American and stuff like that 🙂
Mavis says
Those Costco pies are HUGE!
Kari J says
I have a story I thought you might like. My daughter loves tomatoes!! She has been bugging me to buy her tomatoes at the store, however I refuse to pay for them. So she has been not so patiently waiting as her cherry tomatoes slowly ripen. Yesterday she happily ate her first tomato of the season. There were four more almost ripe ones and she was going to eat them today. Last night she came in screaming at our dog. He is a clever great dane who also loves vegetables. Apparently he learned how to open the gate and ate her precious tomatoes. So the battle for the tomatoes begins between a 13 year old and a dog. It should provide me entertainment for the summer. 🙂
Mavis says
Ahhhh your poor daughter. Let’s hope she will get to eat some tomatoes this summer!!! 🙂
Kate in NY says
Mavis, I am in total awe. Just this past weekend, my husband and I were literally HIGH FIVING each other as we left our local A&P Fresh Superstore (we are in suburban NYC) because we managed to bring down our $375 bill to $252 with coupons and store deals – plus a $25 giftcard to boot. Still – that’s $250 for our family of 6 (including 3 teenagers) – and that food will last us about a week – maybe a week and a half, if I really stretch it. I cook from scratch. I have chickens for eggs. I am a member of a CSA (price for that not included in this expenditure, obviously). But I have never, ever seen deals like the ones you find – no double coupons, ever, and free? Forget it. I will just add Albertson’s to my ever growing list of reasons I would like to move to the Seattle area (reason 1: maybe one day I will run into Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam – just kidding!)
Mavis says
If I lived in NYC I think I would have to small allowance for Dean and Deluca. 🙂 Keep up the good work. I think any amount you can shave off your grocery budget is worth a high five. 🙂
Helen in Meridian says
I will be going to Costco. Each week I have to stop to see what is new and GRAZE because they raised their annual membership, I have to graze there at least once a week to make up for it. Also I use their good deals in the coupon book. I don’t buy paper products for picnic parties. Instead I have a wonderful collection of melmac outdoor plates. About each year I buy 4 new ones I can’t resist. I do the food for our table/4 at the Idaho Shakespeare Theater and take different fun themes each month. I scored 17 mason type jars with handles for .25 at thrift shop, along with 8 of the cowboy jars with handles. Latest Costco good deals are their clearanced low cut ankle Rockport part wool men’s socks 4pr/$4.99. They were $14.99/4. When you see the * top right on signs at Costco it means clearance and now more shipments coming in. I got 5 packs to save for xmas presents. Also the goldfish crackers, craisins, and Kirkland flushable wipes are unbeatable prices from the coupon book. I take a cart but only pick up one or 2 good deals per trip.
Michele says
I stopped by Costco this week to pick up some shrimp and coffee cup lids for my husband. (He makes his own since I won’t let him go to “Five Bucks”). As I perused the aisles I mentally tallied all the items that I had gotten for free or almost free from shopping the grocery store and using coupons. Sure it would be a lot easier to walk into Costco and pick up your items in bulk but I like to keep the bulk of my money in my pocket not in Costco’s registers.
So, yes it’s fun too look but I’ll keep using coupons and doing it my way. 🙂
Helen in Meridian says
I just read that Papa Johns has 50% off with codes thank you and party 50. Hope they still work when you read this.
Mavis says
Thanks Helen!
karen says
Thank you for the Note to Parents! Why didn’t I think of that?! I will give it a try when school starts. Wonderful idea!