Savings period ending Dec 12

I have been traveling a lot lately so I just haven't kept up with posting my savings. I will post everything for the last month on this entry. Since I was away a few times I didn't bother going grocery shopping. I only had few extensive trips to the store where I could focus on my coupons and pairing deals.

Target 11/14/09

I don't keep track of the Target store savings as well here since the receipts don't do itemize it for me. I only shop here about once a month or so anyway to primarily get toiletry items like toothpaste, soap, mouthwash, cleaning supplies, etc. Usually I have decent coupons that I pair with sales for the food items though. TIP: Kashi cereal is usually a full $2.00 cheaper at Target than at any other grocery store. I can't believe they sell it so cheap. A staple item I always get is the Heart to Heart cereal. It's only $3.49 here compared to $4.99 or more at Ralphs.

Coupons
$1.00 off Chex Mix

$1.00 off Kashi cereal
$1.00 off Kashi TLC granola bars
$1.00 off Kashi TLC cracker s
$0.50 off Starkist tuna pack
$0.50 off Target Up plastic sandwich bags

Total Coupons: $5.00
Total Sales: $4.57

Target Savings: $9.57

 



11/21/09

Ralphs Rewards $1.10 off Diet 7UP $4.49 off Food storage container $2.00 off Triscuits $0.59 off Chex Mix $1.02 off Ralphs cottage cheese $0.75 off Ralphs yogurt $0.29 off Ralphs tuna $0.99 off Ralphs Nutty Nugget cereal $0.70 off Ralphs Penne Pasta

Coupons $1.00 off Chex Mix $1.00 off Kashi cereal $1.00 off Triscuits

Total Ralphs Rewards: $11.93
Total coupons: $3.00

Total savings: $14.93

Souplantation

I finally decided to use one of those buy one meal get one free with the purchase of two beverages. This is a great deal since it's a buffet of salad, soups, pizzas, pastas, breads, muffins and all sorts of other sweet desserts. They had this chocolate lava brownie thing that was amazing. They also had pies and frozen yogurt. I loved the corn muffins.  This is such a great value. The regular price for a dinner is $9.69 so we got that free. Each drink cost $2.29.

Souplantation Savings: $9.69

D'Angelo
This is an east coast sub sandwich chain. I had a nice coupon for $3.00 off any sub. I got a chicken parm and it was good. They actually don't put breading on the chicken so it's relatively healthy. I, of course, got it without cheese.

Total Savings: $3.00



11/27/09

I braved the Black Friday crowds and scored some great clothing deals. I had to shop for new clothes anyway for my high school reunion, which was the next night. I needed new dress pants and shoes. Here's te deal I got:


Alfani dress shoes - Regular price: $99, special Black Friday sale price: $49. An additional 20% off coupon. Final price: $39.99.
Savings: $60

Alfani dress pants - Regular price: $76, special Black Friday sale price: $19.99. An additional 20% off coupon. Final price: $16
Savings: $60

Total Macy's savings: $120!


 



12/12/09

Ralphs Rewards $1.00 off Jennie-O ground lean turkey $0.74 off Sierra Mist $1.00 off Silk Soymilk $2.00 off Grape Nuts $0.29 off Ralphs tuna $0.30 off Ralphs frozen spinach $0.20 off International Delight creamer $0.29 off Hunts tomato sauce $0.99 off Angel soft paper $1.00 off Fiber One granola bars $0.50 off Ralphs yogurt

Coupons $1.00 off International Delight Creamer $1.00 off Fiber One bars $1.00 off Corn Flakes $1.00 off Smart Start cereal $2.00 off Silk Soy Milk

Total Ralphs Rewards: $8.80
Total coupons: $6.00

Total savings: $14.80

TOTAL SAVINGS THIS PERIOD: $171.99

CUMULATIVE SAVINGS since Aug 15, 2009: $439.44

Savings period ending Nov 7

I have been a true slacker lately. It's so hard to keep up with these posts! I am going to try to do a better job. I've been so busy so this got the back seat in terms of priorities. I still am saving a lot of money and getting good deals by combining coupons and rewards programs.

Ralphs 

Ralphs Rewards $0.25 off Jiffy cornbread $0.49 off Ralphs instant oats $1.09 off Barbara's shredded cereal $1.10 off Chex Mix $2.98 off (2) Pearl soy milk $1.00 off Activia yourt $1.00 off Dannon yogurt $0.29 off Ralphs chunk light tuna $1.00 Don Francisco Coffee $2.47 off Gala apples

Coupons $1.50 off Don Francisco coffee $1.00 off Activia yogurt $1.00 off Dannon yogurt $1.00 off (2) Pearl soy milk $1.00 off Chex Mix $1.00 off Barbara's cereal

Total Ralphs Rewards: $11.67
Total coupons: $6.50

Total savings: $18.17


Henry's

Henry's sales
$1.10 off bread
$2.65 off broccoli
$0.49 off roma tomatoes
$1.47 off Jonagold apples
$1.43 off red D'Ang pears
$0.27 off Roma tomatoes
$0.70 off milk
$0.30 off Onions
$0.20 off Pepper

Total Henry's: $8.61

Rubios

I got a coupon in my email box for being part of the email club for one year.
So I got a Buy one get one free burrito coupon: $5.99

Target
Lots of great deals. Highlights include coupons and sales off Kashi granola bars and cereal. Healthy Harvest wheat pasta and Dannon Activia yogurt. I am too lazy to type it all.
Coupons: $4.00
Sales: $2.36

Target Savings: $6.36

TOTAL SAVINGS THIS WEEK: $39.18

CUMULATIVE SAVINGS since Aug 15, 2009: $267.45

Savings period ending Oct 25

I was so excited that Henry's had a lot of BOGO (Buy One Get One) sales this week. I couldn't help myself. It was as if I was Nathan Noland in a Sprinkles cupcake shop. I simply went crazy and ate everything in site. Not really, but you get the point. Here are the deals I scored.

Henry's

Henry's sales
$2.49 off Wasa crackers (Buy one get one free)
$2.49 off Popchips (Buy one get one free)
$0.75 off Gala apples
$1.12 off Bosc pears
$0.27 off Roma tomatoes





Coupons
$3.00 off 2 boxes of Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal
$1.00 off Popchips
$0.75 off Wasa crackers
$0.05 bag credit

Total coupons: $4.80
Total sales: $7.12

Total Savings: $11.92

Borders Books
This week I had go buy a book for a book club I joined. I used their 30% off one list price coupon on the paperback "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao".

Savings: $4.20






TOTAL SAVINGS THIS WEEK: $16.12

CUMULATIVE SAVINGS since Aug 15, 2009: $228.32

Savings period ending Oct 16

So very behind on posting these savings. Lots of great deals as always. I love pairing coupons with reward savings. I have a lot of Kashi coupons to use before 10/31! I have now saved over $200 since Aug 15. Not bad for only 2 months of tracking this!

Ralphs

Reward savings
$6.04 off 2 boxes Kellogg's Special K cereal

$3.00 off Oscar Meyer chicken slices
$1.40 off 2 pouches Bumble Bee white tuna
$0.80 off Yoplait Triple Berry Smoothie Pouch
$0.49 off Mozzarella shredded cheese
$0.59 off Chex Mix

$0.29 off tissues


Coupons
$3.99 off (free) Light Silk milk
$1.00 off Chex Mix
$1.00 off Yoplait Triple Berry Smoothie Pouch
$1.00 off Special K Blueberry cereal
$1.00 off pouch Bumble Bee white tuna
$1.00 off pouch Bumble Bee white tuna
$1.00 off Jenny O ground lean turkey
$1.00 off Yoplait yogurt

Total coupons $10.99
Total Reward savings: $12.61
Total savings: $23.60


Trader Joe's

Coupons

$2.00 off Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal
Total savings: $2.00

Kroger

Rewards
$2.00 off 2 boxes of Mom's cereal
$1.00 off Barbara's Puffins

Card savings: $3.00
Total savings: $3.00

TOTAL SAVINGS THIS WEEK: $28.60

CUMULATIVE SAVINGS since Aug 15, 2009: $212.20

Savings period ending Oct 2

I am way behind on posting my savings since I went on many trips for work. I was gone for over a week on this latest trip. I am combining 2 weeks here. I didn't have to do much shopping since I was away most of the time.

Pavillions

Club card savings
$0.25 off Success Brown Rice
$1.98 off two Diet Sprite 2-liters
$1.49 off Birds Eye Sauced Corn
$0.50 off Lucerne milk
$0.70 off Light Silk soymilk
$0.25 off YoPlus yogurt
$1.39 off Safeway Select Whole Wheat bread
$4.32 off Navel oranges
$3.00 off pint of grape tomatoes

Total club savings: $13.88
Coupons: $8.00

Total Pavillions savings: $21.88

Trader Joe's
$2.89 off Nature's Path Granola Pumpkin Flax
Total: $2.89

CVS
$2.99 free Chex Mix (buy one get one free)
Card savings: $2.99
Coupons: $1.35
Total CVS savings: $4.34

TOTAL SAVINGS THIS WEEK: $23.55

CUMULATIVE SAVINGS since Aug 15, 2009: $183.60

Target and Ralphs Savings week ending Sept 18

Target: Lots of great deals this week combined with coupons. I spent more than I wanted to, but I need a lot of non-food items like shaving cream and soap. I usually go to Target once or twice a month. I never buy health/beauty items in a grocery store unless it's a really good sale and I have a coupon. The prices at Target are just so much lower. For example, Gillette Series shave gel is a $1 less at Target than compared to Ralphs. That's just the beginning.

Target Sales
$0.61 off Kashi TLC Crackers
$0.61 off Kashi TLC Cereal bars
$0.61 off Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal (Reg price was $3.49 so it was really $2.88, way lower than Ralphs' reg price of $4.99!)
$0.50 off Gillette Series shave gel
$0.50 off 4-pack of Danactive Probiotic drinks

Target savings: $2.83

Coupons:

$1.50 off a box of Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal (I still have a many $1.50 coupons left that expire 10/31)
$1.50 off Kashi TLC Cereal bars
$1.00 off Kashi TLC Crackers
$1.00 off Oral  B Precision Clean replacement brush
$1.00 off Reach Floss (reg price was $1.04, so this ended up being just $.04!)

$0.55 off Gillette Series shave gel
$0.35 off Zest bar soap

Coupon savings: $6.90

Total Target Savings: $9.73

$0.99 off Bran Flakes
$0.59 off Chex Mix 
$0.50 off Kelloggs Cinabon bars
$1.49 off Dannon Activia Light
$0.99 off Nature Valley Honey Nut Clusters
$2.00 off Triscuits

$0.44 off Bumble Bee Tuna
$0.44 off Milk
$0.88 Granny Smith apples

Ralphs Savings: $8.32


$1.50 off  Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal (Reg price was $4.99 not on sale so not such a great deal)
$1.00 off Nature Valley Honey Nut Clusters
$1.00 off Dannon Activia Light
$1.00 off Chex Mix 
$1.00 off Kelloggs Cinabon bars


Coupons: $5.50

Total Ralphs Savings: $13.82


TOTAL SAVINGS THIS WEEK: $23.55

CUMULATIVE SAVINGS since Aug 15, 2009: $154.49

Chronic Cantina savings

J** and I finally got around to using the $25 gift certificate I bought for just $2 at Restaurant.com. This is a great site and if you join their email list they always have promotions to buy a certificates at 80% off the regular price of $10. Usually a $25 gift certificate will cost you $10 at the full price. There are a variety of cool restaurants you can choose from - some on the high end and many moderate to fast food places. All you do is enter your zip code. It's that easy.

There are stipulations with each certificate though. Most of the time they require you to purchase a certain amount of food before the $25 certificate can be applied. In our case at Chronic Cantina in Costa Mesa, CA, we had to spend $35 on food. Sometimes you can only go Mon-Thurs, but most places are valid 7 days a week. We had no problem spending enough on the food. We each got the chimichanga burrito, and I did not realize it's a fried burrito! Gross. I only ate the middle of it and didn't even attempt to eat the tortilla that was doused in oil. I should have gone for the Monster Burrito instead, a much healthier option. We also got the chicken chimichangas as an appetizer and another 2-item plate of a soft chicken taco and some pepper thing I can't recall the name of (J** wanted that one).

Total Savings: $23.00

CUMULATIVE SAVINGS: $130.94

Henry's, Ralphs and Pavillions Savings week ending 9/6/09

Henry's Farmer's Market: Lots of great sales this week including $0.87/lb for Gala apples, $0.77/lb for Bartlett pears and $0.97/lb for Roma tomatoes.

Henry's Savings
$1.45 off Roma Tomatoes
$2.46 off 5 ears of white corn on the cob
$0.66 off Bartlett pears
$1.47 off Gala apples
$1.49 off Lifeway Kefir

Henry's savings: $7.53

I used some great coupons this week:

$1.50 off a Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal
$1.00 off two 6 packs of Diet Hansen's Natural soda
$1.00 off a bag of parmesan and garlic Popchips
$1.00 off Lifeway Kefir
$1.00 off a bar of Green & Black's organic chocolate
$0.50 off Clif Builder's bar

Coupon savings: $6.00

Henry's Savings: $13.53

I didn't do a large shopping here since I got so much at Henry's.



$0.20 off a quarter gallon of milk
$1.10 off a 2-liter of Diet Sprite.

Ralph's Savings: $1.30

Pavillions (a Vons store) - I picked up a few things here. Really it was just an ice cream run.

$0.70 off Sobe Lifewater
$2.00 off Dreyer's Slow Churned frozen yogurt

Vons card savings: $2.70

Coupons:

$0.59 off Sobe Lifewater


Pavillion's Savings: $3.29

TOTAL SAVINGS: $18.12

CUMULATIVE SAVINGS: $107.94

Great Mex & Ralphs yogurt deal

I wanted to share the great deals I had so far this week. I live on Balboa Island (informative site done by Carolyn Carr) in Newport Beach, CA. After taking a 5-min ferry ride across to the Balboa Peninsula, there is a great little Mexican joint called Great Mex. Every Tuesday and Friday they have $1 tacos and drafts! Since J** was in town we decided to go. Basically you can order a chicken, carnitas or beef taco for a dollar with no coupon required. Also, the fish tacos are only $2, marked down from $4.

Even though the place is small with only about room for 25-30 people and we had to wait in line for about 20 min, it is totally worth it to eat here. we ended up taking order to go and at on the sea wall at the Balboa Pier. I come every few weeks or so and enjoy the flour tortillas, but you can get a crispy taco as well. Their prices overall are very decent as well. The burritos are about $4-6 depending on the type of meat.

Savings: We each ordered 3 for a savings of $6.00.

Last night J** needed some yogurt so we went to Ralphs. I already knew these would be on sale and I had coupons.


$1.11 off a 4-pack Danative Probiotic Dairy Drink yogurt
$1.61 off two 4-packs of Activia by Dannon.
$1.61 off 4-pack Yoplait Parfaits Delights

Ralphs card savings: $4.33

Coupons used:

$1.00 off a 4-pack of Danative Probiotic
$1.00 off a 4-pack of Activia by Dannon
$1.25 off a 4-pack of Yoplait Parfaits Delights

Coupon savings: $3.25

Note: The price without sales and coupons would have been $12.46. The price with coupons was $4.88!


Total Ralphs Savings: $7.58


TOTAL SAVINGS: $13.58

Ralphs Savings Week Ending Aug 30, 2009

Sorry this is late. It has been a busy week and I have been so lazy. This week I got some great deals at Ralphs combined with their Rewards program.

I used the following coupons:
$0.50 off 1 Think Thin Brownie Crunch bar that was already on sale for $1.25
$1.00 off 2 boxes of Special K bars that were already on sale  - 2 for $5.00.
$1.59 off a bottle of Sobe Zero Calorie Lifewater. It was a buy one get one free coupon and the bottles were already on sale for $1.29 each.
$4.99 off (free) box of Kashi Honey Sunshine Cereal already on sale for $4.00.
$0.89 off (free) 3 Musketeers bar.
$1.00 Lightlife Smartdogs

TOTAL Coupons: $9.97

$2.00 off Life Cereal

$0.54 off 1 Think Thin Brownie Crunch bar.
$2.36 off yellow peaches  - on sale for $0.59/lb
$1.78 off Granny Smith apples - on sale for $0.59/lb
$0.99 off a box of Kashi Honey Sunshine Cereal
$0.50 off a kitchen sponge
$0.30 off a bottle of Sobe Zero Calorie Lifewater.

Ralphs Rewards Savings: $11.17

TOTAL SAVINGS: $21.14

CUMULATIVE SAVINGS: $89.82

Stater Bros and O&CO, etc - week ending Aug 23, 2009

Over the weekend I was in Huntington Beach looking at an apartment since I may have to move Oct 1 and I discovered a grocery store I have never been to before - Stater Bros. I was pleasantly surprised at how many things were on sale and you do not even have to use a membership card there. I scored a lot of great deals pairing coupons with many items already on sale.

Here's the rundown on automatic savings in the store (you DO NOT need a rewards card to get these savings):

$1.19 off 4-pack of Yoplait Fiber One - Cost was $2.00 for one package
$1.19 off 4-pack of Yoplait Yo-Plus - Cost was $2.00 for one package
$1.49 off Chex Mix
$1.00 off Kashi Heart to Heart cereal
$1.00 off Kashi TLC Bars 
$1.00 off Kelloggs Special K Chocolaty Delight cereal
$1.88 off Ragu Pasta Sauce Light
$0.80 off 2 cans of Stater Bros Chunk Light tuna
$1.00 off Cottonelle toilet paper
$0.40 off Clif Builders bars

Total Store Savings: $9.95
Other store savings: $3.13 (Green leaf lettuce on sale for .69/lb, Red seedless grapes on sale for .99/lb, nectarines on sale for .69/lb)

Coupons:
$1.00 off 4-pack of Yoplait Fiber One
$1.25 off 4-pack of Yoplait Yo-Plus
$0.75 off Cottonelle
$1.00 off Chex Mix
$1.00 off  Kashi Heart to Heart cereal
$1.50 off Kashi TLC bars
$0.50 off Clif Builders bars
$1.00 Lightlife Smartdogs

Coupon Savings: $7.00

TOTAL SAVINGS: $24.64

Another great deal I scored for was at Oliviers & Company (O&Co) at the Fashion Island mall. I got a $29 bottle of Rebiaa Olive Oil olive oil from northwestern Tunisia region for $6.75. Last Sunday I had walked over to 24 Hour Fitness from my apt (about 3 miles) and stopped through to browse the stores on my way home. I had nver heard of this store before.

SAVINGS: $22.75

OVERALL WEEKLY SAVINGS: $46.89

CUMULATIVE TOTAL: $68.68

Ralphs and Henry's Savings Aug 16, 2009

This week I got some great deals at Ralphs combined with their Rewards program.

I used the following coupons:

$1.00 off a box of South Beach Living Cereal bars that were already on sale for $3.50.
$1.00 off 2 Skippy Natural Peanut Butter jars that were already on sale for $2 each.
$1.00 off a box of MultiGrain Cheerios that was already on sale for $3.39.
$1.59 off a bottle of Sobe Zero Calorie Lifewater. It was a buy one get one free coupon and the bottles were already on sale for $.99 each. I think the cashier screwed up as he should have credited me the sale price but I'll take the extra $0.59.

Total Coupons: $4.59
Total Savings: $12.24


Henry's Farmer's Market: Lots of great sales this week including $2.00 for a pint of strawberries or blueberries. I got the blueberries since it's one of the Superfoods for antioxidants, etc. I need more of those in my diet to fight off free radicals and help me heal the many running injuries I suffer from. Oh, and because they taste great, especially with a whole grain cereal.

I used the following coupons:

$1.00 off low-fat organic Kefir. It was priced at $2.99 regular price, which is a decent price considering places like Ralphs and Whole Foods charge $3.50 or more for the same item.

$1.00 off a bag of Popchips. I love these all-natural potato chip snacks. They taste great and only have 4 grams of fat and 120 calories for 20 chips. In order to make them healthy AND tasty they are not fried or baked. They use a system of heat and pressure to make them. They were priced at a low price of $2.49, which is the lowest I have seen them anywhere. The only downside is a bag only has 3 servings so it's a bit pricey to pay regular for something that has so little food in it. I would hope they make the bags bigger as the company grows.

$0.50 off a Think Thin chocolate brownie bar that was already on sale for $1.19. These bars are ok. The one I got has 20 grams of protein, 7 grams of fat and 0 sugar, but they use malitol syrup as the sweetener, which is better than sucralose but there have been varying opinions about this substance online.

$.05 for not using a bag. I think it's great Henry's rewards you for each bag you don't use. I try to bring my re-usable bags in every time to any supermarket I got to. I always have them in the car. Sometimes I forget. I'm human.

Other savings - I had to estimate on these since the receipt does not calculate how much you save on things on sale as it only quotes the sale price:

$1.50 off pint of yellow grape tomatoes.
$2.00 off pint blueberries
$1.50 off organic broccoli (estimate)
$1.00 off Bartlet pears (estimate)
$0.50 off Wild west trail mix (estimate)
$0.50 off white nectarines

Total Coupons: $2.55
Total Savings: $9.50

WEEKLY SAVINGS: $21.79

Yes I'm Cheap but I am proud

I started this blog as a response to all the naysayers. People have criticized me for holding back too much and not splurging. I have never been a wasteful person. My mother brought me up to be responsible, save money and never purchase anything I can't afford. Growing up I used to have to give her half of everything I earned from my various jobs (paper boy, grocery store bagger and pharmacy clerk). I was taught the value of the dollar and witnessed her coupon techniques first-hand as I had to go grocery shopping with her every other week (my brothers and I took turns).

I thrive on saving money and finding deals. This blog will document how much money I save each week from various promotions and coupons. I will note EVERYTHING and keep a running tally. After a year I want to show the world how much I have saved just from looking out for the next best deals. I will link to various sources (other blogs) where I find this info. STAY TUNED!

I have another blog called Marathon Life where I track all things running and other interesting observations and happenings in my life.