Kroger Coupon Matches

Since Kroger (and Dillions, Fry's, Smith's, Ralphs, etc.) is carried in SO many states, I've decided to start a list of current printable coupon matches each week based on sale items. These prices are based on the southeast region of the U.S., but may apply at your store as well. In this area, Kroger's policy is to double coupons up to $0.50 every day, no limit, no minimum purchase required. Check your store's coupon policy, because Arkansas (for example) doubles coupons up to $0.60 every day. Check your ad and coupon stash as well, since you may have more matches than this.

$2.50/1: Chocolate Cheerios 11.25 oz or Wheaties Fuel Cereal 17.1 oz
Save $1.00 on two
$2.00 each wyb 2, 20% savings over sale price
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$1.00/1: Halls Cough Drops, Select Varieties 30 ct
Save $0.50 on any bag (20 ct or lg) of HALLS
FREE ADC, 100% savings
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$5.99/1: Lubriderm Body Lotion, Select Varieties 13.5-16 oz
Save $2.00, on any LUBRIDERM Body Lotion, Cream or Ointment
$3.99/1, 33% savings over sale price
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$1.00/1: Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls
Save $1.00 wyb any TWO Pillsbury Sweet Rolls or Grands! Sweet Rolls and here
$0.50 each, 50% savings over sale price
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$1.00/1: Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Save $.50 on TWO Pillsbury Crescent Dinner Rolls and here
$0.50 each ADC, 50% savings over sale price
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$1.00/1: Pillsbury Grands Biscuits
Save $.30 on TWO any size/variety Refrigerated Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits and here
$0.70 each ADC, 30% savings over sale price

Do you shop at Kroger or one of their affiliate stores? What area of the U.S. would you like covered? Is this helpful to you?

Getting Started at Drugstores

One way to save a lot of money on household items is to play "the drugstore game". This refers to rolling ECBs and RRs at CVS and Walgreens. It can be confusing at first, but once you know the rules, I encourage you to watch the sales and give it a try! Confused by the coupon lingo? Go here for definitions and explanations. Playing the drugstore game is how I can get toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, chapstick, candles, and other items for free, and Huggies or Pampers diapers for around $6 a pack. Interested? Read on to get learn the rules and join the game!

To get started at CVS, you need to sign up for their loyalty card to get sale prices and to earn ECBs (extra care bucks), which are coupons for money off your next order that print at the bottom of the receipt. So you might buy something for $2 and get $2 in ECBs back. You had to pay $2 OOP (out of pocket) for the item, but it is LIKE you get it for free because now you save $2 off something else later. It does require you to remember to use the ECB (within one month), and the way to maximize your savings here is to keep "rolling your ECBs", which means you keep buying products that produce more ECBs, all the while paying with your old ECBs. The best way to do this and minimize your OOP is to do separate transactions. It can be confusing at first, until you get the hang of it. ECBs can be used along with manufacturer coupons, because ECBs are store (CVS) coupons. You can also use multiple ECBs to pay for one item, but not for tax.

Walgreens is similar, but a little different. You don't need a savings card. You earn RRs (register rewards) on certain purchases, and RRs are good for 2 weeks. These are a little harder to "roll" because they are manufacturer coupons, NOT store coupons, so they can't be combined with other coupons. So if I have a $2 RR and I want to buy a pack of Huggies for $8, I can only use the RR if I DON'T use a coupon on the Huggies (which I always want to do). One way to get around this is to throw another item into your order that you don't have a coupon for (like a candy bar or dozen eggs) and then you can use both the RR and the diaper coupon because you have 2 coupons and 2 items in your order. Make sense? (I know, it's as clear as mud. I was almost in tears during my first few transactions using RRs at Walgreens, trying to figure out all the rules. It gets easier, though!) Another example, if you earn a $2 RR by buying Huggies, you can't use that RR on another pack of Huggies expecting to earn another $2 RR. They don't "roll" that way. You can, however, use the $2 Huggies RR to buy Tylenol and then earn a $2 RR from the Tylenol, because they are from different companies (remember, they are manufacturer coupons, not store coupons). Again, clear as mud, right? :-)

Rite Aid is another drugstore that offers single check rebates on products, which is another way to save money. I don't have this store near me, so I'm not familiar with their policies, but it seems they offer good deals, too.

I don't shop at the drugstores every week, so I don't post their deals. However, several of the blogs on my sidebar do post some highlights and coupon matches every week, so consider subscribing to one of their blogs. Deal Seeking Mom posts all the weekly deals for these stores as well as Walmart, Target, and others, so I'd suggest subscribing to her blog if you are interested. You can subscribe on her homepage--on the right side she has little icons. There are orange curves for Google Reader RSS (my preference--updated several times a day) or an envelope for a daily digest email sent in the evening to your email address, as well as other icons for twitter and all that.

I hope this helps you as you get started playing the drugstore game! If you have more questions or would like me to explain something better, just leave a comment or email me. I'm happy to help--that's why I'm here!

Just For Fun!

Just for fun, do you think you can name the 100 most commonly used words in the English language in 12 minutes? H, G, and I got 51 out of 100 (it's harder than you think!). We did get the top seven, but it's amazing the ones we missed. I was also surprised at some that didn't make the list. Have fun, and come back and post your score!

As you type, correct words will appear in their spot on the list. Hint: if the word doesn't "take" in the box, delete it before you keep typing

Thanks for the fun, Kerri!

Weekly Groceries

I did go to Aldi this week because I had several staple items that I needed to get there. I spent $20.10 on 23 items. I got 4 lbs of oranges, 3 lbs of Tangerines, 2 grapefruit, 2 bags of dried fruit, 4 packs of tortillas, Whole milk for F, pudding, 2 packs of macaroni and cheese (I haven't bought this in forever and the girls have been asking for it), kidney beans, chili beans, refried beans x2, black beans x2, tortilla chips, hamburger buns, and hot dog buns.

Then I went to the grocery store on double coupon day to grab some deals. I spent $53.31 on 57 items with a savings of $65.15 or 55%.These items were better than free after doubled coupons: Bagel Bites x2 (made $0.68), Coffeemate x2 (made $2.02)

These items were $1 or less: Freshlike green beans, garlic loaves x3, Pillsbury Crescent rolls x4, Pillsbury Sweet Rolls x2, Dannon yogurt x6, Bananas, Onions, Carrots, Cookie dough x2, kidney beans x2, Betty Crocker mashed potatoes, Ramen x4, bread x3.

I also bought 6 boxes of ziploc bags of various sizes, string cheese, 4 lbs. of apples, 4 gallons of milk, lettuce, broccoli, 2 bottles of V8 Fusion juice, and 6 Tombstone Pizzas.

My overall total for groceries this week was $73.41 because of my stock-up trip to Aldi, which I don't do every week. I usually go to Aldi about once a month (sometimes twice) for some items that I know I can get cheaper there than at the grocery store.

Did you get some good deals this week?

The Big Reveal!

I know some of you have been eagerly awaiting our ultrasound news. Thanks to all of you who voted in the poll on my sidebar and/or left comments on the original post. It was fun to see all of your guesses! I'm sorry to say that 38 of you were wrong. . . and 34 of you were right (including Ted)! I'll be able to reuse our baby clothes once again. . . IT'S A GIRL! We are all very thankful that she looks healthy and are extremely excited to be adding another girl to our family! There is one thing they'd like to recheck, so we will have another ultrasound at 28 weeks. And just in case you missed it in my last post, my friend is also having her 5th girl. Apparently we're BOTH good at one thing--having girls!

Submit for Your Huggies Rebate!

Don't forget to submit your 2009 receipts for Huggies jumbo diapers to Caregivers Marketplace for your rebate of $0.75 per pack! I saved my receipts all year and just submitted them for a rebate of $27! Woo hoo! I explain more about this program here and here. They are giving rebates for both the old and new packs of Huggies diapers from 2009. If you'd like a copy of the email they sent to me stating that fact, email me and I will forward it to you. I printed it off and included it with my rebate form, just in case. Go here to download the 2009 form. You need to have 5 products in order to submit for a rebate. Pull-Ups, GoodNites, Cottonelle flushable wipes, Balmex, and more are also included in the 2009 rebate. 2009 rebates must be postmarked by 1/31/10.

I just looked at the 2010 form, and Huggies products are no longer on the list!! They still have Balmex and Cottonelle Wipes listed, but alas, the diaper program has ended. It was good while it lasted. . . (sigh)!

High Value Coupons To Print

There are some great high value coupons out that probably won't last long. So if you are interested in these products, print out two of each coupon now and then wait for a sale!

On the Pillsbury website:

• $1/1 Fiber One cereal
• $1/1 Fiber One Yogurt
• $1/1 Yoplait Delights Yogurt
• $1/2 Steamers Vegetables
• $1/2 Muir Glen products
• $1/2 Sweet Rolls (on sale this week)
• $1/2 Crescent Rolls (on sale this week)
• $1/2 Progresso Soup (on sale this week)
• $1/1 Cheerios cereal (on sale this week)
• $1/1 Trix Cereal (on sale this week)

• Save $1/2 Kraft Cheese 2% products (IE Link) (FF Link). This would help with the Kraft catalina promotion going on now (buy 5, get $5 OYNO catalina--thru 1/24).
• Save $2/2 Nabisco Crackers (IE Link) (FF Link)
• Save $1 off Honey Nut Cheerios cereal (prints a $1/1 and a $1/2 at the same time--can print it twice)
  

I also found more double coupon matches for this week:
Fiber One Frozen Muffins $3
$1/1 here or $0.75/1 here
$1 each ADC

Nature Valley Granola Bars $2.75
$1/2 here
$1.75 each ADC