Seasons Savings

Been awhile since I've posted. It's now Thanksgiving evening and I'm still trying to use coupons. I haven't had as much money to use for buying groceries over the past few months since my car insurance started up again and some other things needing my extra cash. I've basically been just getting things to get me through a work week with breakfast and lunch and a few snack items. I did do some coupon trips since August. I've done a few small ones at my Kroger right after my shift. I did a trip to a bigger Kroger 2 weeks ago during the mega event and got about 30+ items. Meijer had Honey Nut Cheerios and Lucky Charms 99 cents today but they were out by the time I went. But I did get 2 Birds Eye / Freshlike frozen veggies and 6 Betty Crocker potatoes for about $4 total.

One big problem is I've got about 3-6 months worth of coupons that are expiring in the next 2 weeks and I haven't organized them yet. I started last night and I'm only kinda getting there now. The problem is I've got this urge to take them and use them all and I can't. And because of this I haven't been buying my extra papers since about mid September.

But it beats having to lift 2000 lbs of turkeys in a week.

Just saying that I'm still around.

The Expire Strikes Back

So I struck first. I did a mini shop at Kroger / Work today.


Quaker Life Cereal
$1.99 - 75c off 1
1 box for $1.24

Kettle Brand Potato Chips
$2.49 - $1 off 1 used 3 coupons
3 bags for $1.49 ea

Ball Park Franks
$2 - 75c off 2 used 3 coupons
6 packs $1.63 ea


$3.49 Hillshire Farm Deli Select Lunchmeat 8-9 oz
75c off printable
1 for $2.79

Barilla Piccolini Pasta (regular price)
$1.24 - 55c off 1 digital coupon
1 for $0.69 after coupon

LLoyds pulled pork tub
$3.99 - $1 off printable - used 2 coupons
2 for $2.99 ea

Old El Paso flour tortillas
$1.54 ea - 60c off 3 digital

Some of these digital coupons may not be on the Kroger site. They come and go fast.

I also noticed that Kroger has Red Gold tomatoes $1 each. I've got some $1 off 4 printables I need to use so I might use them on thursday. I think I got them from the Red Gold website but they no longer show for me.

Sorting Solution to Save Sanity?

As mentioned in the last post I'm looking to organize the coupons I haven't sorted for taking to the store. Thus the intermediate step between insert or print page and binder bag page. I have noticed that many people use some sort of shoe box or recipe box for this. I'd thought about trying a floppy disk box for mine but I don't have one. But I've turned to something that I used back when I had to organize about 50 rolls of pictures from my lighthouse trips. Back then I was buying Pop Tarts at Meijer in cases of 36. They contained 3 - 12 count packs. I used the boxes inside to help me sort. This time since I don't have a bunch of Pop Tart boxes I'm starting out with a shoe box and something that I recently acquired, Nutri Grain bar boxes. Not only do I have 6 of them but they come with perforated lines on them to save me the trouble of cutting them. And here is what I have so far.


The boxes are wide enough for printed coupons to fit after cutting. And I can get my fingers in them.

2 Month$ of Summer Saving$ So Far

Its been at least 2 months. So I thought I'd examine my To Do List from June


1. Get Coupon Inserts - As of today I've been getting at least 3 Detroit News / Free Press per Sunday. Still haven't bothered with Macomb Daily or Oakland Press. I'll wait until I see a blogger or forum mention a different insert in those.

2. Organizing - Still in progress. My baggy binder works fine but I need to work on my at home sorting.

3. What Do I Want To Buy - I've been looking up product websites and facebook pages etc to see who even has coupons. Got some bookmarked, others I printed.

4. Printer - Purchased an HP LaserJet P1102w black & white laser printer. Been using it.

5. Exchange - There were a few exchanges I missed because I had to work. Coworkers have lots of vacation time so its hit or miss as to when I can request off.

6. Donate - Got some expireds saved. No donations yet. No stockpile to grab from. And I haven't been stocking up on health and beauty stuff like the TV show. Not yet anyway.

7. Post To Blog - It's 2 months later and I'm still here so lets see if it goes another 2 or at least through the holidays.

8. Add more to this list - Hmm not sure what to put here. I'm thinking of doing something with the brand sites with printable coupons. Something like a list of brands that have had something at one time or another on their website or Facebook so I and others can watch for more. Not quite a big database of all the coupons but whatever I get to. Other sites cover the sites like Coupons.com and Red Plum already.
I'd like to maybe have a give props section to acknowledge when a store or product actually responds to people on their FB page. I see many that ignore when people ask about coupons. But some take the time to answer people.

Anyway, I'm not done Saving yet. Or Blogging. At least in my mind.
Thanks for reading.

I Mega Hauled the Mega Event at Kroger and why

It's been awhile since I did a store trip. VG's changing their policy back to 50 cents and only 1 like coupon has me looking at my other options. And basically I'm reliving the past. When I moved out here in March of 09 I was used to stores being less than a mile away. The nearest Kroger was 4 or 5 miles away and other stores were all closer. I had dollar doublers and Save A Lot all closer. So I didn't go to Kroger unless I was getting something for my Dad. Kroger did help me out a bunch one time. I drove all over trying to find some puffed wheat or rice cereal. I couldn't find it anywhere and finally found it at Kroger in the Kroger Value brand bags. So I moved out here and the closest stores were Kroger 2 miles one way 2.5 another, Hollywood Markets about 4 miles each for 2 different, a few Meijer stores 5+ miles and then VG's 4 miles and 2 miles the other side of the 2 mile Kroger. And then there's Aldi that I'd never been to but I knew it would be a decent place having been to Save A Lot so often.

So when SIL was out of town a few times we needed a few items like milk, coffee, and bread. At the time the coffee prices were like they are now so I was looking for anything decent. I went to VG's and they had cans of coffee for like $12 so I didn't get it. I went to Aldi and got some stuff but the next time I went there they were out of bread so I figured I'd try Kroger. At the time I did not have a Kroger card. I go in and they had bread for $1 or less, milk was $2, and they had coffee for $5. So to the counter I went to get the card. Six months later I'm still trying to find a job and in order to do the app for Kroger you have to take their online quiz for each location. I start filling out the quiz for one and I get sidetracked and it times out. When I come back I start the quiz for a different one, finish it, and then start to redo the first one. I don't remember if I finished it or not but only 10 minutes after I finished the first one the phone rings and its Kroger. I go in to the interview the next day thinking I'm there for a night stocking position. Turns out the guy who does the floor cleaning has to quit for health issues and they needed someone fast. I was a janitor before but it was a dirty tool and die factory type shop with oil and coolants all over and grinding dust. I wasn't supposed to make the floors shine just keep em swept and dry. But I needed the job and I wasn't going to spit in fate's eye so when she said "We've got a few more interviews to do but we're probably going to call you" I was happy. So I got the call and luckily Jim, the floor tech was nice enough to show me the ropes for his last few days. For 13 months I did my best to make the world shine one aisle at a time. Before Jim left he told me that to his knowledge our store was the last one to not contract out the floor cleaning. But alas 13 months in it was and luckily one of the guys in the meat department was leaving for the Air Force so I am now 10 months into being on the day shift and actually helping people. And it turns out that the store I got my card at is the same one I work at. And now I also have an employee discount attached to it.

So if you are reading this to read about store trips I did not forget about you. I have all these 3 papers per week worth of coupons to use up so I need places that take multiple like. To my knowledge that rules out VG's and Hollywood. Meijer takes 2 likes. But once again Kroger to the rescue. Thanks to Coupons Equal Cash for confirming for me that Kroger accepts 3 likes. So I spent the past few days looking at the Kroger matchups on Coupons Equal Cash and Bargains To Bounty and also checking a small card that I grabbed from work that has a list of all the items and going through all my coupons. And today I put them and my binder to use.

For those that may not know Kroger and some other stores have what are known as Mega events. They put sale prices on a wide range of items, and then if you buy a combination of 10 of any of those items you get a certain amount off such as $3 or $5 thus taking 30 or 50 cents off each item. So Kroger has some of the items mentioned in the ad but many are not so you need to look in the store for the special 3 way tags. The upper corner is a white section with the regular price and then in a yellow section below it is the sale price. Then on the right side is the special price you pay if you buy 10 items and get the 30-50 cents off. So regular price is $3, sale price is $2, and then Mega price $1.50.

The current Mega is a 10 item take $5 off. The hard part about doing this with coupons for me is getting things in groups of 10. Because some coupons say off 1 item others say 2 or 3 and some I used said off 5. So I have to make groups of 10 with multiple like coupons that all have different quantities and stay organized. Plus try to find any other items that might be Mega tagged. And try to keep the mega items separate in the cart from the non mega. Forgot my watch too. It was about 12:30 when I was on my way and 3:30 on my way home. I mega'd 3 times.

I went to a different Kroger than the one I work at. So I started off with the SpaghettiOs. I had 2 printed coupons that said $1 off of 5. I only grabbed 5 to start with since I didn't know what other Mega items I was getting. By the way rather than me typing out all the prices and such you can save some time by going to the 2 blog links I mentioned. Then just check the matchup's they worked hard on. They'll tell you what's got a match and where the coupons are. Also it appears that Kroger is going to continue the Mega event next week.

Next it was over to the mexican items to get my non mega Chi Chi's Tortillas. The coupon was about to expire. The sale price was $1.50 and double a $1 coupon to make them 50 cents.

Next I went to get some Advil but its not on sale so I grabbed the store brand for now.

I started looking at the frozen items but remembered from the last trip that its not good to do the cold stuff till the end. And so over to the soap aisle. I got some of the Suave for my Mom since it was mega for 89 cents. No coupons though. But that's for the 22 oz so its a good price.

They had Dial hand soap non Mega for 88 cents and a doubled 35 cent coupon would make it 18 cents each. But They also had the large 52 oz refill bottle for $2.80 Mega price or $2.10 after coupon. Now sitting here at home I have time and concentration to do the math and if the small bottles were 9 oz at 18 cents then it would take 6 to fill the 52 oz. So 6 x 18 cents = $1.08 making the smaller bottles the better deal. But I don't have 6 coupons. I used 1 of my 3 so I still have 2. I can get some small ones at work later this week with my other 2 coupons. My thinking was that I saw a bottle of a store brand around here a few weeks ago that said $1 on it so when I saw the big bottle for $2.10 it made sense. And it would if not for the small ones being on sale. So now I'm Dialed in.

Faygo 2 liters (a Detroit based soda) were $1 each. All the other non store brands were 3 or 4 for $5 so I got some Faygo. They were out of Big K diet cola. And I'm sorry but this is getting rediculous. They now want $4 for a 12 pack of Pepsi or Coke. Not from my wallet. I saw in the coupons last week that Coke will be having either 1.25 or 1.5 liter bottles soon. Great so they'll be charging $1 for those instead of their 2 liters.

I need to get to bed soon so I'll have to try to speed this up.

Mega items I got

10 SpaghettiOs - got 5 more at the end and used both my printed $1 off 5.
2 Suave - 1 S & 1 C

1 Dial 52 oz - Mega but not in ad
2 Keebler cookies

5 cans Del Monte Tomatoes - No coupon but .49 ea
2 Kelloggs Rice Krispies using the $1 off Any coupon

3 Kelloggs Cereals, 1 Corn Pops, 2 Frosted Flakes using the $1 off 3 that included them.
3 Jimmy Dean - Jimmy D's using 3 coupons for 75 cents off ea.

9 Kelloggs Pop Tarts - 3 coupons for $1 off 3. I almost got the store brand instead because the aisle was bare except for the low fat that weren't mega. But I found an end cap (end of aisle display) that had them.

6 Kellogg's Nutri Grain bars - 3 coupons for $1 off 2

3 Sunny Delight 64 oz - 3 coupons for 50 cents doubled to make them 49 or 50 cents each

1 Betty Crocker Cake Mix - 99 cent mega price
1 Betty Crocker Frosting - Not in ad but had mega tag for $2.09
Used 75 cents off Both coupon to get the pair for $2.33
According to the last time I bought the pair I paid $1.75 for them at Meijer.

2 Lysol sprays - 2 coupons for $1 off - Mega but not in ad

So if that's right I should see 30 items.....

LOL - Ok so I did the Mega 5 times
Guess I Mega Hauled more than I even thought. But I did get the groups of 10 right. Guess that helps make up the 3 hours a bit better.

I also got 3 boxes of Barilla Piccolini and used my coupons to get them for 69 cents ea.
And I got a Sure deodorant for 67 cents.

The Renuzits were $1 each and I used a buy 2 get 1 free. Or 3 for $2

The Kroger Receipts don't show a before coupon total so luckily I caught the screen before she started scanning coupons. I believe the total was $174. I also had 2 Kroger coffees, 1 bag of Old Yeller dog food, and a pack of Energizer Lithium batteries using a $1 off coupon. So that shot the total up a bit. Plus my 2 sunday papers for $3 and 2 boxes of Kroger brand granola bars. I didn't want to use my Nature Valley coupons until a better price and store brand & my discount beat it.

$174
$125.84 after scanning.
Receipt says I got 72 items

It says
Manufacturer coupon savings = $22.25
Bonus coupon savings = $2.60 which I believe is for my employee discount on the store brand items
Store Coupon and Card Savings = $58.69

That's where it gets tricky because I think all the doubled halves of the coupons went into that store coupon total and that's mixed in with all the sale prices and mega prices. Anyway I know that register was up to 174 at least so whatever way it works out it was $50 less than I would have paid without the coupons.

Since the Mega deal is continuing maybe I can go pick off what's left of my matching coupons now that I'll be able to have less to deal with.

Thanks for reading.

It was double fun while it lasted but VG's is not as Very Good as it was

If you are not aware many of the VG's stores will have a change on their coupon policy this coming weekend Aug 14th. Many stores are dropping the $1 doubling and going down to 50 cent doubling and may have some other changes. I have not been to the store myself to read any posted signs but have been reading other blogs as well as VG's Facebook page. Nothing official is being posted on the FB page but there are many customers leaving feedback. I've also asked a few questions only to be ignored. Has VG's lost me as a customer? Not yet. But they have basically taken me back to where I was a few weeks ago when I started this. I thought that VG's was a 50 cent doubler and was going to simply compare them to the other stores in my area. They kinda had me on the bandwagon a bit with the $1 doubles and took my attention away from another local store, Hollywood Market which is a 50 center. On some of the posts it says that the stores are saying that its a corporate decision but I wonder if that means VG's corporate or Spartan stores?

So here's the bottom line. I spent money on a printer. The store that gets my business will be the one that still takes printable coupons. VG's was spoiling people by not only taking them but doubling some. I'll consider myself lucky that I had a handful doubled when I didn't know they would be.

I've been on a break as far as shopping trips. I've still been collecting my 3 papers worth each week. I'm going to have to weed through my coupons though. I'm sure half of what I printed is expired by now. Which is keeping me from scratching the itch to print more until I'm actually going to use them. Those limited time prints on FB pages are tempting but no sense winning if I'm not getting the prize cashed in.

I also want to say that Hollywood Market seems to respond well to people on their FB page.

Worth The Paper It's Printed On

I've been printing away. On most couponing 101 articles people say that when they first started out they printed all sorts of stuff and then started printing only what they needed. But most of what I've printed are things I looked for. As long as VG's is going to double them I'll get what I need.
So I needed paper. I printed out the HP Paper coupon and was set to use it. But as I was walking out of Kroger I checked the school supply aisle and saw they had a pack of multi-purpose paper for $3.49 card price which was less than just about every price I'd seen online and less than the coupon would have made the HP.

So this will be my first deal post.

Kroger - a Detroit area, Michigan store

OfficeWorks brand multi-purpose paper
Reg price $4.49
Card price $3.49
Don't know when the price ends but even the reg price is lower than most other paper. And so far it prints fine.
OfficeWorks is the Kroger store brand.

If you know of something cheaper feel free to say so.

Warning to those New to Coupon Printing

Something I'm learning is that when you print a coupon it does not always print at the top of the page and it does not always leave the rest of the page blank. I've been lucky so far not to print over a coupon or print one on the back of another. But I'll mess up eventually.

Some coupons not only give you the coupon but will print other things to fill a page such as a recipe. I've had one that put the coupon at the top and the rest under it and another printed the stuff first and then the coupon at the bottom. I've been trying to reuse the back sides of what I've already printed but I'm gambling.

So far these coupons have printed full pages

HP paper coupon $1 off - Coupons.com

Bob Evans Side Dish Buy 1 Get 1 from BobEvans.com

Kikkoman 55 cents off - Smartsource

Coffee Mate - Both coupons from Coffee-Mate.com

PB @ VG's ~ Part 3

The shopping trips are getting a bit easier and faster.
First of all being able to print out a list of what I'm planning to get is a time saver. I don't have to flip through coupons in the store as much.

I was only planning a short trip to get the matchups I liked before the deadline tonight. So after 7 when I got off work I shot over and took just a small 3 page binder in. Based on this test I think my idea will work ok. Just need to tape my bags on better. Or maybe glue.

Anyway I had a nice combo of newspaper and printable coupons to use.
Thanks to the VG's matchups & comments on Coupons Equal Cash and Bargains To Bounty I had a list.

I didn't get everything on the list. As a grocery employee the term I've heard for empty shelves is a hole. As in I need to fill it. There were a few holes for some of the cheap and free items. I'm not getting rain checks yet. Eventually if its something I really want I'll go that route but not until. Its a karma thing.

So to start with I had a catalina from the last trip for $1 off my order. I got it by buying Combos snacks with a Q last trip.

At the Shelby Twp store the GM Cereals that were sale priced 2 for $4 were regular Total, reg Cheerios, Trix, and Fruity Cheerios.
I had 3 coupons for buy 2 get $1 off.
I only used 2 of them since the sale selection wasn't great. The coupon has a good variety on it so I'll save at least one Q for another sale. But $1 per box is good for 4 boxes.

Heinz Vinegar would've been 15 cents a bottle if they had them.
Mueller's Whole grain pasta would've been free.

Keebler Town House Flip Sides - 2 boxes sale and email club price $1.88 ea.
I used a printable for $1 off 2 to get them 88 cents ea.

Snyders Pretzel Sandwiches - On B to Bounty they mentioned these were in store special 2 for $6.
I got 1 bag and use my $1 off 1 Q to get it for $1

Pop Tarts 12 ct boxes 2 for $5. The newspaper Q is expired and I had already used mine but there's a printable I used to get $2 off 3 boxes or 3 for $5.50 / $1.83 ea

I got 1 Danimals and 1 Danoninos both free after using $1 off Q on ea.

I took my KC Masterpiece $1 Q because it expires tomorrow. I got the Southern Style BBQ sauce that's Cider Vinegar style. It was $2.29 - $1 Q doubled = 29 cents

1 Johnsonville Chicken Sausage, apple flavor - $3 sale price - $1 dbl = $1

1 Land O Frost 16 oz premium lunchmeat - $3.99 sale - 55 cents dbl = $2.89 for a pound of lunchmeat. If you get a pound of LM for under $3 its decent. I got the ham because of the packs left it had the longest date.

3 bottles of Coffee Mate 16 oz Liquid
2 for $4 sale
I had 2 printables. One for 55 cents off 1 and another 75 cents off 2. I used both for 3 bottles. So $6 - $1.10 - $1.50 = $3.40 or $1.13 ea
They have the big bottles on sale tomorrow $3.29 ea. The printables are on
Coffee Mate's site

Coles Garlic Bread - 2 for $4
My printable from the Coles site said breadsticks so I got the box of 6 garlic sticks. $2 - 50 cents dbl = $1

I forgot to bring my bags in but I wanted to buy a few more anyway and only had a small order so I grabbed 2 more of the $2.49 cold stuff zip top bags.
Plus I got a gallon of Milk so these items were my non coupon items.
When I put my bags back in the car at home I put one on the passengers floor as a reminder for next time.
So $2.49 + 2.49 + .30 tax + 2.79 + $1 charity = $9.07 non Q

$52.60 before Q scan
$28.90 after
$23.70 in coupons.

If my math is right
$52.60 - 9.07 non Q = $43.53 coupon items - 23.70 = $19.83
So I got more than 50% knocked off the Q items.

Anyway, its a new week now. Will it be V~ery G~ood S~avings?

Note: VG's doubles printable manufacturer Qs if they don't say not to.
Considering how many stores don't even take printables much less double them I'm considering myself lucky to have had some doubled. One reason not to tempt karma and fuss over some small bottles of vinegar. Because just my luck by the time the vinegar comes in they'll change the policy to not even double up to $1 anything.

Note: Shopping time less than an hour. Left work at 7. Receipt says 7:56

Thanks for reading. :)

Edit:
Trip 1
Before = $50.03
After coupons = $25.05

Trip 2
Before = $106.32
After coupons = $69.77

Trip 3
B = $52.60
A = $28.90

Total
B = $208.95
A = $123.72
59% savings

Time to Inkorporate a Printer

So after browsing the sales, asking on forums, getting help from others and all that good stuff I went today and got a coupon maker. So my first printer in over 10 years is the HP LaserJet p1102w B&W
Took me 4 hours to get the thing to install because it kept telling me the USB wasn't connected halfway through even though it was connected enough to detect it to start the installation. Finally after restarting the computer the hardware detector detected it and it finished. Its not as quiet as I'd hoped for. Maybe the Samsung would've been quieter. But at least now I've got something to use, to use up, and then decide whether to buy ink or trade in on one of those $50 toward offers.

Now I get to go get oogly eyed on the coupon sites and get the coupons I'm tired of waiting for in the paper. When you go away from couponing for a few years and come back it sucks when half the good coupons aren't in the paper anymore. Hopefully the ones I want aren't all the while supplies last on Facebook kind. Maybe I'll have to write some letters or something.

But I'm glad I can type up a list of the coupons I have and print it out to take with me.
Thanks again to anyone who helped me with the printer recs. :)

I've Flipped My Binder

I was thinking about how when I had my binder in the shopping cart the other day sitting in the child seat it was kinda tight to get my hands into the almost closed binder to get at stuff. So I thought back to some school classes I had years ago where a teacher had a binder with large pictures that she would flip through and the binder would be placed on the table in an A shape. So after digging out my older binder with larger rings I've decided that it will probably work better to do the same A technique with my bags. Thus I will give this a try



If I have to I can put a small piece of cardboard with a fold in the binder to help keep the binder from slipping through the basket. But I should be able to just put the seat down. In a pinch a sale paper would help.

Edited: Also I could drape the binder over the seat back if I slip the seat belt through the rings and buckle it. I hope.

Second VG's Trip Last Friday

I kinda messed up a bit the other day when sorting through my coupons. In my job as a meat department employee I have to put dates on the ground beef of 2 days when I put it out in the counter. So on Thursday the 7th when I was home and sorting through my coupons I was thinking that it was the 9th. Thus I put all the coupons that said the 9th into the expired group and then I saved all the 10ths and soon to expires in my take with me group. It wasn't until I was walking around VG's on the 8th that I realized that it was not the 10th. But I used some of the 10th coupons anyway.

My receipt is a bit long this time so I won't list everything.

Pringles - Store price of 2 for $3. I had 3 coupons for $1 off 3. So 9 cans at $1.50 ea is $13.50 - $6 of doubled coupon = $7.50 or 83 cents per can.

Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches - $4.99 sale. I had 3 coupons for $1 off 1. They doubled and made them $2.99 ea.

2 for $6 Kruncher's Potato Chips - 3 $1 off 1q = $1 ea for 3

$2 Crystal Light on the Go -$1/1 FREE

3 for $4 Betty Crocker Suddenly Salad - $.50/2 $.83 each for 2

I used a few condiment coupons since its easy to get them cheaper with double $1.

Kikkoman Soy Sauce - $1.99 - 55 cents off doubled = 89 cents.

French's Worcestershire sauce $1.65 sale - .75 doubled = 15 cents

Heinz 57 Sauce $3.99 sale - $1 doubled = $1.99

I got lots more stuff and if anyone wants me to list more I will but lets get to the total.

The reusable bags were Bogo or 2 for .99 so I grabbed 2. As I was checking out I decided to go grab 2 more. But when I got home I realized I actually grabbed the insulated zip top bags that were $2.49 each. But that's ok since I probably can use them anyway.

My total before Q was $106.32 and after was $69.77 for a 34 % savings.

Trip 1
Before = $50.03
After coupons = $25.05

Trip 2
Before = $106.32
After coupons = $69.77

Total
Before $156.35
After = $94.82
Total saved at VG's = $61.53

Edited: The store had plenty of Pringles on the shelf and had more on display in another aisle. My 9 cans did not even make a dimple in their shelf amount. I'm not a shelf clearer.

Coupon Forums I Joined.

I've found a lot of good blogs so far but I wanted to mention the two forums that I've joined so far that have lots of free info and lots of members.

1. We Use Coupons

2. A Full Cup

Both have coupon databases and insert schedules and tons of info such as store matchups posted by members. The links above are plain links not affiliate links. I have not joined their programs if they have them.

In a Hefty Bind

Today was a busy day. I'll be posting about my second VG's trip tonight or tomorrow but for now I'm posting the progress on my binder.
While at Kroger today I noticed that a few of the boxes of Hefty One Zip freezer bags had .15 off peelies on them and they were part of the Mega event where you buy 10 participating items and get $3 off or .30 nocked off each items already sale price. The bags were starting at $1.99 sale price and I bought 3 Lean Pockets - $1.84 ea, 3 Diet Coke 2 liters .89 ea, and then 2 quart size Hefty One Zip at $1.69 ea and then 2 gallon size bags with the .15 coupon to make them $1.54 ea.

I didn't get a chance to get my binder set up before my VG's trip but I had a rough draft version using other zip loc bags and I think this could work. While in VG's I bought 3 packs of 5 binder dividers for .99 ea. They are different colored plastic with tabs on top to label if I want.

So what I am doing right now is I fold the gallon sized bag in half and then tape it to keep it folded. Then I poke the binder rings through to hold it. Then I tape it to one of the dividers to not only give a hard backed surface but give me the option of taking the page out. And it comes out like this so far. I purposely folded the bags so that the clear side is closest to me so the Hefty logo isn't in the way of my coupons.



I can also add a few pages using the smaller bags if needed. They are wide enough to get grabbed by 2 of the 3 rings. They may come in handy for smaller categories or aisle types. Which is what I need to do. I need to organize by food type or aisle type. And then have one empty bag for the checkout coupons (those that I have products in my basket already) and one for misc organizing. Such as if its expired or I decide not to use it but am in a hurry and will wait till home to put it back in its space. The picture is showing only 5 of the dividers so I still have 10 more to use if needed. I do need to dig out one of my wider ringed binders though. Also the zipper sliders do cause a bit of a bump on one end. But its not meant to be a perfect system. Its basically my old envelope system but they are clear now. Being able to work one aisle at a time will be much better than what I'm currently dealing with.

Return Shout out to Lesa at Coupons Equal Cash for her mention of PB Saves on her VG's post. Thanks to her and thanks to any of you who may be reading.

IP no longer means Internet Protocol. Guess I Need a Printer

IP this IP that everywhere I look. I'm trying to hold off on buying a printer but its hard to ignore all the coupons I'm missing out on. To me its like this. If I spend $100 - $150 on printers and cartridges then I'm forcing myself to stick at this long enough to get that investment back. At the moment I've made one shopping trip so far and paid $6 for four newspapers and am up about $44. I guess when I look at it like that it seems like I can get my money back. But I don't want to buy a printer just because its cheap only to find out I can't get ink for it or have to keep buying toner cartridges and drums. I'm not expecting myself to use up a cartridge in only a month but who knows until they have the thing. I don't know how many sites have printable coupons yet. There's the obvious ones like RedPlum and SmartSource but I'm also seeing all these products with coupons on Facebook. Trying to get recommendations for printers is hard because everyone seems to like something that another says is junk. Some say get Kodak because it has cheaper ink while others say get a laser printer because they last longer. I'm leaning towards the laser printers but I want to get one that will last and not be discontinued two weeks after I buy it. But the toner and drums cost the same as the printer or more combined. I don't need to be playing the throw out the printer and buy a new one for the same price as ink game. But knowing me I'm going to buy a printer. Probably the cheapest black and white laser printer I can get preferably wireless. And then I'll have something post about when I get it. Now if I can just get away from this computer and mess with my newspaper coupons.
If you're reading thanks.

So Why am I doing This?

I suppose the short term answer is its another project for me to start and hopefully it will lead to something good.

I'm 35 years old with only a part time job and I don't have my own place. But I do have goals. There's a river I haven't seen in at least 3 years. I'd like to eventually see it everyday. There are car trips I want to take and retake. I haven't left the state in 11 years after I spent 2 years traveling to 24 states and another country.

Will using coupons and blogging about it help me figure out how to take control of my life? I don't know. But I do have some inspiration telling me to try something.

First is
My grandmother Lillian.
I wish I had known more about her when she was alive. It took a eulogy for me to know what an inspiration she was. But she was always encouraging me. Had I known what I wanted to do perhaps I could have done something with the encouragement. She was a fighter. She fought off cancer for years and I remember one of the last times she was in the hospital her hands were wrapped up in white gauze wrap and they looked like boxing gloves.

Second is my Dad.
His goal was always to have some sort of place up north to retire to for hunting or fishing or relaxing. It didn't happen. But for 20+ years he was my best friend and at times my only. He took me to the Soo Locks in 1990. When I got into Nascar in the early 90's he took me to the Michigan track for a few races. He was there when I climbed my first lighthouse tower at Tawas Point, MI. He taught me to drive after the high school drivers ed teacher barely taught me. One of my favorite words of advice he gave was "a poor ride beats a proud walk" meaning if the clunker car gets you there it'll get you there faster than any walking. I want to reach my goals. I want my place by the river or my store by the river or whatever it is that gets me there. Maybe it'll turn out that there's a better goal to reach. But I have unfinished business and I hope to finish it.

Third is my grandfather Paul.
Until age 3 my family took our vacations down in Ohio at Sea World and Geauga Lake. After that we started talking 2 weeks in the summer to spend in St. Clair, MI along the river at a small cottage rental place. My grandparents would come up and spend a few days also. It was there that I first started seeing the 600 - 1000 foot long Great Lakes ships. It was by staying there that you would see them pass each other and give their loud horn salutes. On a trip into town to the Riverview Plaza we saw a book in one of the drugstores called Know Your Ships. It contains all the info you need to know about the ships such as how long, what company, etc. My grandpa and I would sit out on the dock jutting out into the river and learn the names and look them up. So after a few years of that I was more than hooked. The other thing I got from him was the love of sunday drives. We'd go over for weekend dinner and then pile in the car and just take a ride somewhere. Something I've tried to do with my niece a few times. So far I've made it up to Imlay City and back but not over to the river yet.

Speaking of Niece she would be a big inspiration to mention. She just turned 5 and while we haven't gotten to watch the big ships yet we've substituted watching for cars and school buses for now. Especially Bubble cars aka VW Beetle.

Now for some non family inspiration.

Evelyn Ryan & her daughter Terry "Tuff" Ryan - Terry wrote a book about her mother called "The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less" which was made into a movie "Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio" starring Julianne Moore. It was the movie that I saw that caught my attention. This woman got through a lot of tough times by winning contests that asked people at home to submit slogans for products or complete a fill in the blank jingle. Her daughter Terry also had some struggles that she needed to overcome and fight.


Julie Powell - author of Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen AKA Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously
Which was turned into the movie Julie & Julia featuring Meryl Streep as Julia Child and Amy Adams as Powell.

Its the story of Julie Powell who enjoys cooking and decides to try cooking all the recipes in Julia Child's book Mastering the Art of French Cooking and writes about it on a blog.

THE JULIE/JULIA PROJECT
http://blogs.salon.com/0001399/2002/08/25.html

WHAT COULD HAPPEN?
http://juliepowell.blogspot.com/2005_08_01_archive.html

I have not read the books and I have not read the entire blog. But I did read enough to know that while I was very inspired by the character version of Julie I kinda like the real version a bit more. But as someone who does not subscribe to any particular religion or political view I guess she wouldn't bother me.

But at a time when I needed some inspiration the real Julie Powell accepted me and didn't say hell no I'm a big star get the heck outta here. If you like her you can find her on FB just being herself.

Colonel Harlan Sanders - A man who held several jobs during his life but didn't find his greatest success until he was 65 when I-75 threatened to kill off his cafe's business by taking away the Highway traffic. He drove the country offering to show other cafe owners how to cook his chicken with his special recipe and well the rest is history. But I do have a bit more personal interest. In 1998 I was on my way to Georgia to see some internet friends and I stopped in Corbin, KY to hotel for the night. I figured I would go for the pun and have Kentucky Fried Chicken in KY so I looked in the yellow pages and saw a location at the next freeway exit. I went over and got some chicken at a regular KFC location. Earlier in the day I saw billboards on I-75 saying something about a KFC or Sanders museum but I didn't catch where it said it was at. Here in MI there are billboards for places that are 300 miles away. After I went back to the hotel and ate my chicken I went for a drive around town and it was then that I passed by the Sanders Cafe which happened to be right there in Corbin. So it went from a pun to being in the original location. When I got to GA I looked on the computer to read about it and then on my way home I spent another night in Corbin and visited the cafe the next day.

A few months later I flew to Salt Lake City to visit another friend during the after Christmas week. Turns out the first person to franchise with Colonal Sanders was Pete Harman sp while I was there I got on a bus and went up a few blocks to eat at the first ever KFC franchise. I've recently learned that they tore it down and put a new KFC on the spot.

In 2000 I drove down to Nashville, TN to pick up my lighthouse friend Dawn and drive up to New England to see lights. On my way home after dropping her off I stopped in Louisville, KY to see the small KFC museum at the headquarters.

Anyway the fact is if he can make something happen that late in life then I have no reason to give up at the young age of 35.

Roberta Guaspari is another inspiration brought to me by movie. Music Of The Heart starring Meryl Streep as a violin teacher who gets a job teaching violin in East Harlem, NY and helped bring music to many who might not otherwise have a chance to give it a try. You can watch the movie or find out more by visiting Opus118.org

Thank you to my first Follower

Thank you to Lesa of Coupons Equal Cash for becoming my first follower.
Your site has been very helpful so far. The VG's matchups definitely come in handy.

A Sunday to Gamble On

So there were no Smartsource or Redplum inserts this week but there was the P&G (Procter and Gamble) for July. So I bought my 2 papers and got the third insert from the home paper.

Still thinking about my organizing ideas. I really do want to have something with slider zip type bags. As long as I get something that's wide enough for the long or tall coupons. I really don't want to have to fold them. Plus there are bags I can write on. But I'm still in planning stages.

Organizing ~ Bagging it?

I'm thinking of designing my own binder type organizer and instead of baseball card or photo pages I might attach slide lock type sandwich bags to cardboard pages or use a large bag as a page to hold smaller bags. The slide lock would help keep the bags closed incase of tipping or the binder falling. Plus the bags would be like envelopes but would be clear. On my trip the other day many of my coupons were for condiments. Perhaps if I had a large bag for the condiments with smaller bags breaking them down into types like dressings or sauces. Some stores have all the condiments in one aisle while some will have them in separate. VG's had the sauces and mustards in one aisle while the dressings were in the next aisle. Having to sort through the dressings to find my mustard or steak sauce coupon could be a pain if I've got 3 of each. I've got some images in my mind of what I might try. After searching Joann and Michaels websites I figured out that what I wanted were eyelets. If I can find some that are big enough for binder rings I might try using them to bind the large bags. So now I'm going to go lay in bed and ponder.

Organizing ~ Can I figure it out my way?

So I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to organize my inserts and coupons. The method I used to use was small envelopes inside of a large envelope. And it worked because I had it sorted out according to a certain store that I had memorized enough. The main reason I had trouble with it was my mom would always put a bunch of coupons in there that got in my way. Which not only made it harder to get at the coupons I meant to use but made it harder to get the expireds out of the way. So I'd have to stand there for like an hour going through the envelopes and trying to find the coupons I knew I wanted that would match the ad and it just got to the point that I didn't want to bother.

Now its me doing the organizing and I don't have anyone piling things on. Having a binder in the store would be nice but its something a bit big to me. I say that now but I don't even have a printer yet so who knows what I'll end up using if I have other sources of coupons besides the inserts. I just don't want to have people bugging me about being one of those extreme people. But I still want to have my coupons with me so either I bring them in the store or have them in the car. I would rather have a system that's more like a recipe card box organized by food type such as cereal or condiments.

I also don't really like leaving my coupons in insert page form even with multiple inserts. I don't like having a ketchup coupon stuck to a page with a cat food on the back. I am grateful that there are sites that do the matchups and show coupons with insert name and dates. Bottom line is I cannot have boxes or crates full of inserts. Especially if at any given moment many of the coupons will be sitting there already expired. I'd like to send them to the people who can still use them but I'm not going to have time to page through inserts multiple times per month just to get the few expireds out. If I cut them out to begin with and organize them I can then just refer to some sort of log sheet and then pick them out. So that's my mission. Organize my way and see if it works for me.

First Couponing Trip - to VG's and then Meijer

I had several coupons that matched up to the VG's (local Spartan store chain) and Meijer (Great Lakes area supercenter) for this week. Plus some of the coupons were expiring on the 30th or first week of July. Some of my matchups were for free items so I figured it was a good time to go.

I went to VG's first since they double up to $1 coupons. After reading their site yesterday I saw that they have a store card so I stopped at the desk and got one. Its the type that not only lets you get extra savings on certain sale prices but also has a points earnings program that lets you trade in points for items. Plus if you sign up online for the email part it gives extra discounts. For example the sale price of Nabisco crackers is $2.37 but if I had signed up for the email before I went I'd have paid $1.87. Didn't know it was a separate sign up till I got home. I had a $1 off 2 coupon so that's $2.37 + $2.37 - $2 = $2.74 for both. Would have been $1.74. But for now $1.37 a box is good enough for me.

I was responding on a different site and I said that I think the trick is to get name brands for less than the store brands. I'm not trying to load up on just free items.

So here's my VG's list
VG's doubles up to $1 and 3 like coupons per item

Nabisco Crackers ~~~ mentioned above

Sweet Baby Rays Marinade ~~~ .97 - $1 coupon = Free

Sweet Baby Rays Dipping Sauce ~~~ .97 - $1 coupon = Free

Bar S Jumbo Franks ~~~ 2 at .78 ea - - $1 off 2 = 2 Free

Hidden Valley Farmhouse dressing ~~~ $3.29 regular price - $2 = $1.29 after $1 coupon doubled. Coupon expires 6/30

A1 steak sauce 10 oz ~~~ $2.99 - $1 Q doubled = $0.99
Expires 7/3

Kellogg's Cereal ~~~ 3 for $7 - $1 off 3 Q doubled = 3 for $5 or $1.66 ea

General Mills Cereal ~~~ 2 for $5 - $1/2 doubled = 2 for $3 or $1.50 ea

1 French's Mustard 20 oz ~~~ 2 for $3 - .30 doubled = .90

1 French's Mustard 20 oz ~~~ 2 for $3 - .30 doubled = .90

1 French's Spicy Brown 12 oz ~~~ $2 for 3 - .50 doubled = .50

Kraft Dressing 14 - 16 oz ~~~ 3 for $5 but is 3 for $4 if you get 3.
3 for $4 - $1 doubled = 3 for $2 or .66 ea

Eckrich Sausage ~~~
Ad says BOGO free save $3.99 but in store they are marked $4.29. Might be just the Shelby Twp location. I forgot Meijer had them 2 for $4 otherwise I'd have waited since I was going there next. I had 3, $1 on 2 coupons from this weeks paper that say do not double.
~~~ 6 packs at 2 for $4.29 is 3 x $4.29 = $12.57 - $3 in coupons = $9.57 or $1.59 ea.
But I'm looking at my receipt and it looks as thought the cashier doubled the coupons. It doesn't say Eckrich but scanned coupon and I saw him punching in some coupons but didn't see which ones. So I got them for $6.57 or $1.09 each.
Had I known what he was doing I might have asked if he knew it said don't double.

Lean Pockets - no coupon just needed 1. $2.14

Total before coupons = $50.03

After coupons = $25.05

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meijer - doubles up to .50 and 2 like coupons

Frank's Red Hot 5 oz ~~~ .99 - .50 doubled = Free

Chi Chi's Salsa 12 oz ~~~ .99 - .50 doubled = Free

Chi Chi's Salsa 12 oz ~~~ .99 - .50 doubled = Free

Oscar Meijer Wieners ~~~ .99 ea limit 4
I had 2 coupons for $1 off 2 so I paid $2 for 4 packs

Aunt Millies Buns ~~~ Buy 1 at $3.39 get 2 free
I didn't realize there were 2 different AM coupons and I brought the one that said Hearth with me so I didn't get the .55 off but I got the buns anyway since I was getting a ton of hot dogs. $1.13 each is an ok price but I can get buns cheaper.

Betty Crocker Cake Mixes and Frostings ~~~ 4 for $5. I used a .75 off if you buy both so I got 2 of them for $1.75 together

Kraft Philly Cooking Creme ~~~ $2.50 - $1 coupon = $1.50

Pillsbury Toaster Strudel ~~~ 4 for $9 - .75 off 3. Got 3 for $6

Free Milk if you buy 4 select Kelloggs Cereal or Bars
I already bought cereal at VG's but I had a coupon for $1 off 2 Raisin Bran so with the milk it was like having another coupon on the other 2 items.
~~~ 2 Raisin Brans at 2 for $5 - $1 = 2 for $4
~~~ 2 Nutri Grain Bars at $2 for 5 no coupon
~~~ Milk $2.99 for free

Register said $31 and change before coupons were scanned
After coupons = $23.60
Receipt says I had 8.47 in coupons.

So I got $80 worth for under $50 between the two stores. And since I used at least $3 worth of coupons from the papers I bought I've made up their cost.

Note: The Washington Twp. MI Meijer is being remodeled so be ready for it if that's the one by you.

First Sunday Has Come

So for the first time I have multiple copies of the same inserts. I had to work today so I just bought my 2 Detroit Free Press at Kroger for $1.50 each. Plus we get one delivered that I don't pay for. So I've got 3 Smart Source and 3 Red Plum for 5/26

Thanks to a tip on a forum I learned that VG's has double coupons up to $1 and you can use 3 like. This will save me a ton of gas and planning since its 5 minutes or 2 miles to get to rather than the 24 mile round trip to other $1 doublers with policies I'm not sure of yet. If I get enough matchups I'll go check em out this week.

To Do List

On another journal / blog I started a long time ago about something else I thought I would not have much to say. But one of my first posts was a to do list and lead to me trying and posting about many things. So I shall apply my learned lesson here.

1. Get Coupon Inserts - Get some papers on sunday. In my area there are 3 different sunday papers. 2 are sold at the store I work at and the other is sold close enough to get if its different. I won't be dumpster diving.

2. Organizing - I'll need an organizing system. I don't think I'm going to have a room full of inserts. A few bins or drawers maybe.

3. What Do I Want To Buy - A list of the items I'll be trying to stock up on that are usually in the house.

4. Printer - I don't have one so I need one. But that means a big investment before I've even saved anything so I'll probably see what I can do with the inserts first. Can't spend too much money before I see if I'm going to keep doing this.

5. Exchange - I'm hoping to get together with people to exchange coupons. Already working on that.

6. Donate - Whether its expired coupons or extra purchased items.

7. Post To Blog - If I'm still posting a month from now or a year, well its a bridge I'd like to cross.

8. Add more to this list.

I'm Robert / PurpleBubba from the Detroit Area

I'm 35 years old and I work in a Kroger store meat department.
I currently live in a house with 5 adults, 5 kids, and 2 dogs.
It's my Brother and SIL's house.
At the moment the extent of my shopping is basically little bits for myself and coffee and milk for the house. After watching a TV show showing people getting huge amounts of groceries for under $100 I've got an itch to see if I can do more for the household. Unlike the show I'm not looking to clear shelves or fill rooms to show off. But if I can buy a few extra papers and stock us up on the little things, well maybe I'll figure out a way to get the rest of my life in order.