Cheap Anthony: August 2009 Cheap Anthony

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

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

Saturday, August 15, 2009

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

Friday, August 14, 2009

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.