Thoughts on Shelf Clearing vs. Family Size

I'm a rule follower by nature, so I get anxious and feel guilty if I take more than four of an item off a store shelf. In the case that I do, it's a special order (recently Vitamin Water and Purex Crystals) or there are hundreds available.

There has been a lot of talk in the blogosphere lately about shelf clearing, especially after the Extreme Couponing TV show. As an ethical couponer, you should not clear shelves (I'm not saying when there are 3 left and you take them...I mean when you take the last 25!)

Does your store ever look like this?? (Photo: reefbuilder.com)

 Of course if you're couponing for a small family, you don't need to clear shelves anyway! And if the store is low on stock, you're not necessarily entitled to clear shelves just because you have more kids than the next person.

What do you think? Is having a big family a good excuse for taking 10 boxes of cereal? When you see a mom with five kids in tow who has just taken the last 20 cans of Chef Boyardee, I personally have a hard time feeling sympathetic. Then again, I hopefully won't have to feed my future kids Chef Boyardee anyway! :-)

And remember, another sale will always come around in about three months (the typical sale cycle on most items). Who knows, another store may even have the item(s) you have sweet coupons for on sale next week!

Harbor Greens Market

I heart Harbor Greens. They only have one store right now, and it's right in Gig Harbor. I normally go there for fresh and affordable produce, like this week's 98 cents a pound roma tomatoes. I also follow their Facebook page to scope deals on meat, cheese, plants, ceramic pots and produce.

My friend's boyfriend brought over a whole spread from Harbor Greens the other night and it was amazing!! We had Havarti and a special brie, I think it was St. Andre's, as well as salami, delicious bread and a Taylor Gold pear. I had to take a picture of his presentation...

It was SO DELICIOUS!

Caesar wanted some too...

Next time you're at Harbor Greens scoping the produce and wine, check out the cheese...I think it's worth treating yourself!

Safeway 5/26 Trip

Usually I think Safeway is expensive when I'm not just shopping sales or using coupons, but I was able to get a good amount of groceries, including a six pack and pistachios, for $23 and change.

Safeway Trip 5/26

Some highlights...

• 1 lb bag of lemons - $1.99
• Croutons - $1.49
• Romaine lettuce bags - $0.75 each after BOGO and coupons
• Minute Maid lemonade - $0.99
• Natural sour cream - $1.99
• Vlasic pickles - $0.99 each after BOGO and coupons
• Odwalla - $1.45 after coupons (drank it for lunch!)

Did you know you can use a coupon for $1 off 2 with a BOGO sale? That's what I did with the pickles. You can also use two coupons (e.g. $1 off 1 twice) on a BOGO sale. I did that with lettuce.

I also like buying things on quick sale that I am going to use right away, like the Greek yogurt was only $0.45 but I used it last night before it expired. Score! Happy couponing or relaxing this weekend!

Memorial Day Savings and Splurges

With US Memorial Day right around the corner, there are plenty of BBQ items on sale, like hot dogs and buns. Hopefully you have chips and condiments in your pantry like I do! Of course we need to pick up more Coors Light and MEAT.

We're sharing a cabin with a few other couples this weekend, and each couple is cooking two meals. We're doing dinner one night, and this is where I'm happy to splurge on meat for grilling...sure, you can find some subpar steaks on sale or manager's special, but it's meat. I love going to Costco (or sending the husband who really is meat boss anyway) to get the freshest and juiciest Tri-Tip or Ribeye. It's just worth it! We'll pair it with baked potatoes, all the fixin's and probably a green salad. My mouth is already watering!

Here are some items I have already bought...of course we have more to get at Costco and Safeway.

Lots of deliciousness!!!

There are 4 day sales everywhere... I plan to hit up Safeway for convenience, but the deals at Albertsons are overall more amazing. Check out Frugal Living NW for Safeway match-ups (and doubles if you're in Vancouver/Portland area). I heart The Coupon Project for Albertsons match-ups (and her new shopping list feature!) and doubler pricing for the weekend.

Happy Memorial Day and eat up!

Wonderful World of Winco

My husband wanted me to title this post "Clean-up in the piñata aisle!" Have any of you ever been to a store that has a dedicated piñata aisle? I hadn't. Until Sunday!

The Piñata and beverage aisle.

Winco is kind of crazy. We made the trek to the new Tacoma store to take advantage of the free coupons and scope other deals. My opinion is the deals were great, but I wouldn't usually go from Gig Harbor to Winco when a lot of these deals can be had at Safeway, QFC, Fred Meyer and Albertsons with coupons and sales. But if you live in south Tacoma and don't mind the chaos, it's worth it.

You won't find Pig's Feet at Albertsons.

FREE items

• 2 Shasta two liters (husband chose Tiki Punch)
• 2 pounds of LGB (lean ground beef)
• 2 bottles of Kraft BBQ sauce (gave my dad one, since I got 3 bottles on the Sweet Baby Ray's deal)
• 2 cans of Pork and Beans (ew, both went to my dad)
• 2 bottles of Ketchup (great for camping because I can leave it behind)

 Under 50 cent items

• 3 bags of brown rice ($0.10 each after coupon)
• Lunchable with fruit ($0.48 after coupon)
• Bulk peanut butter
• Bulk cumin and paprika
• Bulk gummi worms
• Cilantro ($0.38)
• Tomato paste ($0.44)

Other sweet deals

• Earthbound organics salad small clamshell ($1.98 after coupon)
• Buttoni refrigerated linguini ($0.94 each after coupon)
• Nalley pickles ($0.98 after coupon)
• Philadelphia cooking creme ($0.98 after coupon)
• Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce ($0.98 each)
• McCormick red pepper flakes jar ($1.15 after coupon)
• 12 ounces of Driscoll's raspberries ($2.98!)

So I took great photos of all these items (and more) but of course I deleted them, but I do have all these awesome photos my husband took while I was shopping... :-)

We did not buy these fruit cakes. Ewww.

I wanted to get Oscar Meyer weiners for 50 cents each after coupon, but Peter wouldn't let me because he said they're made of snouts and a$$. So I left my coupon for the next person. Coupon etiquette!

You bag your own groceries, duh.

For a list of Winco deals and how I found these match-ups, go on over to The Coupon Project!

Au revoir Winco! Until we meet again...probably not that soon though!

When Hockey Trumps Deals...

I used 8 more doubler coupons today at Albertsons and saved about 90% (including getting 2 more free Breakfast to Gos!). I have a couple of good posts I'm working on, but we're about to enter a second overtime in the Canucks vs. Sharks game. If the Canucks win, we are going to the Stanley Cup. GO CANUCKS! P.S. I promise this won't turn into a sports blog, but I am half Canadian re: hockey. :P

Kevin Bieksa who I love.... <3  Image from tsn.ca

Jetsetter deals...Cheap Weekend Getaways

One of my favorite things to do is go for an overnight getaway with the girls or my husband. I found Jetsetter a few months ago and I love it! Right now they have a flash sale at The Listel Hotel in Vancouver, BC (as low as $110/night) and the Pan Pacific in Whistler, BC (as low as $120/night).

I stayed at Willows Lodge in Woodinville, WA with a couple of girlfriends for about $100 after the $25 sign-up credit and $50 holiday credit (no longer available). Right now it's as low as $179 - $25 credit so $154 + tax. While this isn't amazing, it's a lot cheaper than their web site and makes for a fun wine tasting weekend!

www.willowslodge.com

They often have travel deals in Bend, OR, Portland, OR and other Northwest locations, as well as deals all over the country and world. Full disclosure: if you sign up through my $25 sign-up credit link you'll get the $25 credit toward a stay, and I will get a $25 credit if you book a stay. Once you sign up, you can get credit for referring friends too! Compared to the other travel deals sites (SniqueAway, LivingSocial Escapes, etc.) Jetsetter offers way better deals to nicer hotels.

Albertsons Epic Deals Trip 5/22 (with doublers)

Albertsons today was awesome! I got a lot of free stuff...one transaction the total was literally $0.00. I found it more stressful than other trips (partially due to a minor argument in the condiment aisle lol) so I am now enjoying a mimosa with my hockey playoff game. Go Canucks!!! We did five transactions...everything shown here (+popsicles) was under $10 total...a savings of almost 90 percent!!

Transaction #1:
2 Emerald Breakfast to G
2 Kraft Light Ranch
Kraft Shredded Cheese (had free coupon)
= $0.98 total after coupons

Transaction #2
Ortega Taco Shells
Frank's Mini Hot Sauce
Emerald Breakfast to Go
= $0.07 total after coupons

Transaction #3
4 Rotini and Penne Pasta
Lawry's Teriyaki Marinade
= $0.00 (aka free) after coupons

Transaction #4
2 Kraft Salad Dressing
10 Yoplait Light Yogurt
= $4.00 after coupons

Transaction #5
2 Vlasic Relish (for homemade macaroni salad)
3 Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce
McCormick's spices
Popsicles (treat for Peter, skewed my savings though! and I forgot to put them in the photo!)
= $4.29 after coupons

Total of $9.34 and saved almost $60...woot!

The customer service lady at the Albertsons in Gig Harbor isn't friendly at all...when she would only give us each one set of doublers, I asked her what their policy was. She said it was to give one per person, which I know isn't true, so I asked politely if she would call the manager. Long story short and a lot of polite persistence, she literally threw doublers at us...four sheets each for a total of 24 doublers! I tried to give some back and she said, "just take them!" so we did and have three extra sheets (9 doublers) if anyone local needs them :P I should say everyone else at GH Albertsons was SUPER friendly today!!

Walgreens Deals 5/22 - As Good As Free

Walgreens has essentially free contact solution and hair ties, so we made a quick stop. The GH Walgreens is super nice and there is never a line. When another customer came up, I let him go in between my three transactions...couponing etiquette!

Transaction #1:
-One Complete contact solution $7.99 - $1 manf. coupon + tax = $7.66
-Received $8 register reward

Transaction #2:
-One Complete contact solution $7.99 - $1 manf. coupon + tax = $7.66
-Received $8 register reward (at Walgreens you can't use a RR on the same product)

Transaction #3:
-Two Gillette face products (2/$7 - two $1 manf. coupons), one Scunci ties ($2) and gummis (to get over $8 before tax) = $9.05 - $8 reward from transaction #2 = $1.05

Total out of pocket: $16.37 and have $10 in register rewards to use at Walgreens or Fred Meyer
Plus a lot of contact solution and hair ties, which I use daily!

What am I shopping for this weekend?

Winco
Have you been to the new Winco in Tacoma? I haven't, but they sent us coupons for free meat, BBQ sauce, pop, etc. so we may have to try it out... and there are a lot of deals beyond the free coupons too!

Albertsons
I also plan to organize my coupons tomorrow for Albertson's doublers. I'm looking forward to Kraft Light Ranch for under a dollar! I use this for my fave buffalo chicken dip that my friend Baillie (who has an awesome blog here) introduced me to...this stuff is DELISH. I try to buy my ranch and cream cheese on sale, canned chicken at Costco or fresh chicken at Albertsons, plus the wing sauce was mostly free with last month's coupons. I have four bottles but go through one every 2-3 weeks :P

What deals are you looking for this weekend?

P.S. Your mileage may vary (YMMV) but I asked Peter to get limes for mojitos today, and he came home with a FIVE POUND BAG (like 30+ limes) and paid only $3.99 at Albertsons! My husband is a natural!

Caesar

This is my cat, Caesar. He is the best cat (/wannabe dog) an owner could wish for...and he's adorable to boot! He doesn't demand a lot of expensive toys and is in fact happier with cheap and/or free things like shipping boxes.

Caesar is also the Guest Services Manager of our house, so if you come visit you may be lucky enough to be asked to fill out a survey and be entered into a drawing. So far no one has won so I can't tell you about the prizes!

Fred Meyer Trip 5/19

The only things we really needed today were produce, sour cream and yogurt...so while this trip may not look like much, I will explain.

Nancy's Plain Yogurt $2.00 (sale)
Tillamook Sour Cream $1.50 (sale)
OJ $1.25 (on a good sale)
Kettle Tias chips $1.67 - $1.00 coupon = $.67
organic Mint = $.99 (half price because it expires in five days...hello weekend mojitos!)
organic Basil = $1.99 (half price because it expires in five days...homemade pesto!)
Sweet onions = $1.22 (sale)
Green peppers = $.67 (3 for $1 great sale)
Cucumbers = $.67 (3 for $1 great sale)
Navel oranges = $.80 (sale)
Granny smith apples = $1.21
2 white corn = $.58 (daily deal, .29 each)

= $13.29

If these items weren't on sale, I figure I would have spent about double. While this is not outstanding, this is an example of how to save on non-perishables in order to buy a lot of delicious (and organic herbs or local dairy, when possible) perishables!

Cheers to (almost) Friday! :)

When the Pickings are Slim...

Today I took a super quick lunch aka Walgreens shop, only to find that they were out of my coveted Reach toothbrush moneymaker deal. Typical Walgreens argh. I got a rain check though and discovered that Walgreens rain checks have NO expiration date (per the manager!)

Instead, I purchased two of Peter's fave face products (Gillette for Men). They were on sale 2/$7, and I used two $1/1 coupons and my $3 catalina from the weekend and only paid $2.65 out of pocket. And, Peter is super happy...I'm lucky to have a husband who doesn't demand the nice stuff I used to buy him at Sephora. :) After the dentist, I stopped in at the Gig Harbor Rite Aid and did pretty well, though I inadvertently bought the wrong product! I discovered this when I got home and I felt shame. Here is what I bought today:

• 30 pack of Breathe Right strips (I had a coupon for a free 10 pack but they were out, so they applied that $5.99 credit to the $13.99 pack)
• 1 Lysol disinfecting wipes (except I got Clorox by accident DUH but the cashier still put my Lysol coupons through for $2.50 off, making the wipes $.99)
• 2 packs of Stride gum (accidentally grabbed one that wasn't on sale so spent $.40 each instead of the planned $.25 each)
• 2 Electrasol geltab 20 packs (the last two on the shelf! buy one get one, plus two $1.75 off manuf coupons and one $1 off Rite Aid coupon)

Paid $11.78 at Rite Aid ($9+ of which was Breathe Right strips) after $2 UP reward
+ $2.65 from Walgreens
= $14.43 with tax plus received $2 off next order at Rite Aid

Can any of my readers tell me if I'm explaining these things well enough? Peter always says I use too much lingo and he zones out halfway through my shopping recaps. :P

Albertsons Trip 5/15

I love Albertsons Twice the Value (TTV) coupons. These come out usually twice a month and are typically only valid for Sunday to Tuesday. Other regions and states double coupons all the time, like Safeway in Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR. Those of us in the Seattle/Tacoma area who don't ever get doublers get SUPER excited about Albertsons TTV. We can do three transactions of three double (TTV) coupons, for a total of nine doubled coupons, up to $1.00 value. I did a pretty good job yesterday...keep in mind we are going to Lake Chelan and then camping and I would never normally buy this many bags of chips or pop! We do drink a lot of Vitamin Water Zero and other calorie free beverages around here though...

The lack of produce is because we stocked up at Costco and I still have apples and onions from Fred Meyer last week.

Spent: $28.49
Saved: $68.85 (71% saved)

6 Vitamin Waters
4 Fuze Slenderize
1 Ocean Spray juice
1 Wholly Guacamole
1 Tabasco jar
4 packs of Stride gum
2 bottles of Diet Tonic Water
3 bottles of Sierra Mist
4 bags of Kettle Chips (after coupon $.99 each)
1 bottle of No Salt Heinz (never on sale but I had $2 off and it was $2.99)
1 bag of Tostitos chips (after doubled coupon $.50)
2 cans of Blue Diamond almonds
1 6 pack of Hershey bars
2 boxes of Lean Pockets (husband's lunch)
2 packs of lean ground turkey
1 family pack of chicken thighs
1 family pack of drumsticks

Walgreens Trip 5/15

On Sunday after church, I went to Walgreens in hopes of scoring the Electrasol deal. I bought a few boxes back when there was a $2.25 off coupon and they were on sale for under $3.00. We're down to maybe 50 gelpacs though so I'm on a casual lookout. However, the Gig Harbor Walgreens never has any stock of anything, even at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Boo! So my actual purchases were kind of weak...

• Mayo: $2.99 with in-ad coupon - $1 off 1 = $1.99
• Deodorant: $3.99 - $1 off coupon = $2.99 and received $3 coupon off my next order
• Snickers: $.39 (filler to get my pre-tax total above $5)

=$5.71 with tax...paid with $5 catalina (coupon for money off your next order) from the Gillette ProGlide Walgreens deal from last week and $.71 out of pocket and have $3 catalina for next trip

Peter said let the good times roll with mayo, deodorant and Snickers! Coincidentally, this is all for him ;)

Fred Meyer Trip 5/12

This isn't a deal you can replicate now (it's from last week), but it's an example of a good deal with pretty normal food :)

• cilantro = $.69 each
• apples = $.99/lb sale
• tomatoes = $1.49/lb sale
• onions = $.39/lb sale
• cucumber = $.79 each 
• (4) 12 packs of pop (diet Mug and diet Dr. Pepper) = $2.25 each after in-ad and manufacturer coupon
• (2) whole wheat bread  = $1.00 each with in-ad coupon
• Large prawns = $4.97/lb sale
• Tillamook cheese 2 lb = $3.99 with in-ad coupon
• (6) Tillamook yogurts = 3 for $1.00 sale 
• Philadelphia cooking cream (for buffalo dip) = $1.00 after manufacturer coupon
• Bailey's coffee creamer = $1.50 after manufacturer coupon (we were nearly out)
• (3) men's deodorant =$.79 each after coupon
• (2) 6 packs of paper towels = $2.99 each after in-ad coupon
• Cover Girl eyeshadow = $.99 with coupon
• Cover Girl mascara  = free with eyeshadow purchase (I usually buy Clinique but this is good back-up)
• - $5.00 catalina from Walgreens razor (Fred Meyer takes other store's catalinas (coupon for money off your next order)

= $37.13 with tax

Couponing for Two Basics

Here's an overview of how I coupon for two, aka practical couponing:

1. Read the weekly ads
   
2. Read couponing blogs*
   
3. Consult Peter about what types of meals he'd like and if he is low on anything that's on sale (e.g. Gillette razors)
   
4. Select two to four grocery and drug stores to visit per week
   
5. Organize coupons in the evenings for the next few days
6. Separate coupons out for use during lunch breaks (Fred Meyer, Walgreens, Safeway, Albertsons, Top Foods, Target are all close to my office)
7. Make after work trips occasionally for great deals and/or produce (Harbor Greens, Tacoma Boys, QFC)
8. Find other good deals online, like weekend getaways or daily deals
9. Buy everything else (steak, Coors Light, peppers, mushrooms, feta) at Costco
   

This might sound like a lot of work, but you can adjust it to your lifestyle and schedule. There are some weeks I only go to one store and find average deals, but I also have lean ground turkey and prawns (that I got on BOGO-buy one get one) in my freezer. The next week I go to three or four stores. And, I can stock up on 3 for $1 green peppers and cucumbers (like Fred Meyer this week) and $0.50 Vitamin Water (Albertson's ending 5/17) without any coupons!

*I find my sweet deals by following a few coupon bloggers who do "match-ups" for stores. This means they find items that are on sale and match them up with available coupons, both store and manufacturers, printable and from newspapers. For an example of match-ups for this week at Fred Meyer, check out The Coupon Project. Another example for Safeway match-ups is another blog I like, Coupon Connections.

Inspiration for this blog...

My family is me, my husband and our cat Caesar. I work full-time and have a pretty busy schedule, so I've devised a savings method that works: couponing for two. The coupon bloggers I read daily (who are amazing and SO good at what they do) all have big families...four, five, six or more people. This blog will be a scaled down approach to couponing. We definitely have the storage space (two garages and a pantry), but I don't want to hoard Cheez Whiz, Rotel and bologna. Rather, I like saving money on things I'd already be buying and using the money I save to afford nicer steak, organic chicken and milkman milk.

I wouldn't say I'm cheap, but I'm frugal in order to spend money on something else. Usually it's something that is hard to get for a good deal. For example, I'll use Pantene and John Freida shampoo (that I paid $1 or less for with coupons) but still pay $60 for a hair cut. Or I'll stock up on two pound blocks of Tillamook for $3.99 but then spend $6.50 on 10 ounces of Manchego for a party.

Plenty of better coupon bloggers post amazing deals and match-ups, so I'll leave that to them. In this blog, I'll show you my loot and share helpful insider tips. Then you can see it's possible for your small family to eat well for less!