Wal-mart, thumbs down; Smith's, thumbs up!!

There are some GREAT deals this week!  

Be sure to check out grocerysmarts for what you are interested in!

Things I got for FREE:

18 Propels

Noxzema razors

toothbrushes

dental flosses

Similac pre-mixed formulas (aren't I nice-I got 13 of them for my sister-in-law)

Feminine care items

Things I got for GREAT deals:

Kool-aid packets ($.03 each)

Crystal Light 12 quart packs

Huggies little swimmers ($4 each package-they are $10 at walmart)

Arrowhead 24-pack waterbottles ($2 each)

Country time lemon-aid

I am now stocked up on drinkage for the summer--which is perfect timing!  They were out of Mr Clean Magic Erasers, which I was going to get for $.47 for a 2-pack, and they were out of Wheat Thins Crunch Stix, which would have been $.67 each.  I may have Jon grab those on his way home from work next week (they said they were getting more in over the weekend).

Anyway, the only thing I hated about this shopping trip was that I went to walmart for the bulk of it and price-matched several things, other things were the same price, but after using the coupons it made some of the items more than free (ie:  item on sale for $.94, coupon for $1 off).  My walmart cashier couldn't handle that.  She was furious, like I was ripping walmart off or something.  It was making her really mad that I was getting so many things for free and I reminded her of the sign in the front of the store that states they will match coupons and beat any prices.  She called a manager over, who said the sales and coupons were legit and it was okay.  She even tried to make one of the coupons that was supposed to be buy 2 get 1 free be only $.10 off rather than the $2.48 it was supposed to be.  I was watching closely though and caught her.  She acted like it wasn't her fault, and deleted it and "tried" again, once again, typing in 10 cents.  I actually said to her, "why don't you try typing in $2.48 instead of 10 cents, maybe it will work then".  She didn't like that, but realized that I wasn't going to fall for her "act of computer glitching", and she did typed in the correct amount the third time, and surprise, it worked.  Anyway she was really mad and took FOREVER (would pause and huff after each item) and I was reminded why I just shop at Smith's and sometimes Maceys and Walgreens.  I only went to walmart because I had some gift cards there and I hadn't gone in a long time and thought to myself, "it shouldn't be hard to pricematch and do coupons there--they probably have tons of people doing that by now".  Boy was I wrong or I happened to get just the wrong cashier.

Then I still went to Smith's to get 2 of the things walmart wouldn't match (the Little Swimmers and waterbottles).  Smith's was SO SO nice as usual and I asked where the tip box was.  Seriously, I am going to start tipping my cashiers at Smith's that are SO nice, and say things like, "that is such an awesome deal, I think it's great you know how to save so much".  So I ended up taking about 3 times the amount of time I normally would have.  I guess we learn from our mistakes!

GREAT stuff at Smith's this week (May 4th-10th)

Be sure to check out grocerysmarts before you go shopping!  I hope you are all getting this style of shopping down-eventually you should be able to only buy the 4 & 5 star items and your fresh produce, milk, and eggs and that's all you have to buy!  If you stock up on the 4 & 5 star items, you really will begin to have a great food storage and have what you need when you need it and be saving tons of money!  Figure out which store is best for you--I usually check Smith's Maceys, and Walgreens.  Then check those stores once a week and get your coupons ready--you only need to go on one shopping trip and you can just choose one store to go to--whichever has the best deals for that week.  

Last week I chose Maceys--I got 20 FUZE drinks for free!  I got some taquitos, pizzas, stove top stuffing, and a few other items.  This week, I am going to Smiths.  I may hit walgreens for some personal care items that are really cheap.  

Realize that when I say something is really cheap, that means I am getting that from the grocerysmarts website and it tells me where to get a coupon to match the sale.  

If you keep up on this way of shopping, it really does pay off!  I have a full food storage room, I have two full freezers, and I have a full pantry.  I also have a laundry room full of laundry supplies, and bathrooms filled with bathroom supplies.  I have been doing this for 2 1/2 years now.  It took me about 1 year to really get it down.  Now I can't imagine how I used to shop-I spent more and got WAY less, I couldn't afford a food storage; and now I am so grateful for how much I save doing grocerysmarts!

Anyway, check out grocerysmarts and try it out if you aren't really doing it!  Some of the really cheap things at Smith's that I plan to get are:
Razors, Pasta (FREE), Nivea bodywash (FREE), KRAFT Mayo, Miracle whip and barbeque sauce--in preparation for summer barbeques, Toothbrushes (FREE), Quaker Cereal, Pizza, Coconut milk, and some milk and bread.  I have everything else I would need on my shelves or in my freezer--and I get my fresh produce through Bountiful Baskets.  What a blessing.

Let me know if you want me to teach a class for you--check out the FREE CLASSES section of my blog for info on classes if you are interested!

Have a wonderful May and Mother's Day!

General Mills Sale & Nestle Morsels--AWESOME!!

Don't miss out on the General Mills sale at Smiths!  

Golden Grahams is one of Jon's all time favorite cereals and it will be $.75/box!  They also have Nature Valley Granola bars, Cheerios, Fiber One 90 Calories bars, and a whole bunch of other great General Mill items that will be super cheap when you match coupons to the sale!  Check out grocerysmarts to find which inserts your coupons will come from!  There are also printables as well!   

My all time favorite item in this weeks sale is Nestle Morsels.  Those are my VERY favorite chocolate chip because they stay soft (they never get really hard like other chocolate chips do).  I will for sure be stocking up on those, but you will have to hurry on those as the Nestle catalina expires on Sunday!!

Are you thinking, "Catalina?"  What is she talking about?

Well, a catalina is the coupon that prints out after you finish your transaction.  It prints out after your receipt prints out.  It is often money to be used on your next shopping trip (sometimes it is a coupon or a free Redbox rental or something like that).  For this particular catalina, you buy 4 packages of Nestle Baking Morsels and a $3 catalina will print out.  The Nestle Morsels are on sale for $2/bag.  Add in the catalina and it is $1.25/bag.  But, there is also a coupon for $1.50 off of 2 bags!  

So use that coupon when you purchase them-- after adding in the coupon and catalina, it is $.50/bag!!!  Now that IS a bargain!  

You can use the catalina right then and there--just buy your chocolate chips first, and then after paying for them and getting your catlaina, purchase your other items and use the catalina--just like any coupon!  Without the catalina and just the coupons, they are still a GREAT price--$1.25/bag!  So there you have your first lesson on catalinas!  When you use catalinas combined with a sale, combined with a coupon--wow, you save a LOT!!

I hope you are utilizing grocerysmarts and stocking up on things you will use and saving TONS!!  I know we certainly are!  If you aren't sure how to do it, I would love to teach a class for you--just look under my "Free Classes" section to see what you would need to do to host a class!  You can also look under the "Getting Started" section of my blog for guidance.

Best of luck on your shopping while saving tons!

So I went back for more. . .

All I can say is that I LOVE Smith's and grocerysmarts!  I can't believe what I get and how differently I shop now than I used to.  It is just so SWEET!  Anyway, I got 8 more cases of water ($1.54 each) and 20 more boxes of pasta for free, bags of Hersheys candy for Easter, some cheese, and then some Protein drink powder that I use after a long run (my husband and I are training for a race).  I am so pleased!  Anyway, hope you are all getting grocerysmarts figured out.  Remember it will take a few times before you really get it down!  It's okay to make mistakes and after a while you will be so pleased with how well you are doing your grocery shopping!!

Hope you have checked out the Smith's sale this week!

I often do my shopping on Mondays and I am sorry about that because most sales end on Tuesday.  So, I know the sale ends tomorrow, though I wouldn't be surprised if they extend the sale or part of it for another week-they often do that when they do these buy 10 items, get $5 off.  Anyway, there are several GREAT things!  

I got 30 boxes of Rotini pasta for FREE!!  I also got 8 cases of the Nestle water for $1.54/case!  Now with the Nestle water, there is a catalina.  So get 4 cases then get 6 other items that are part of the "buy 10, get $5 off" sale.  Then you will receive a $5 catalina for buying the Nestle water as well--making it $1.54/case (including the catalina)!!!  Pretty awesome!!  I am going to go back tomorrow and get 8 more cases of water!  The Kelloggs cereal is also pretty sweet as well!  Buy 4 for $10 and get 2 free gallons of milk (essentially taking $1 off each box of cereal since the milk is $2/gallon), plus there is a coupon--making it about $2/box before calculating in the milk.  There are 2 coupons from the paper--one is $1/2 and the other is $1/3.  You can get up to 8 boxes per transaction, and 4 gallons of milk is what we drink in a week.  So use 2 of the $1/3 and 1 of the $1/2 equaling 8 boxes.  Or if you take 4 papers, you will have 4 of the $1/2.  

I also did great at Walgreens last week!  I spent $4 and got $4 back in Register Rewards!  It was awesome!  I got 2 Irish Spring body washes, 10 jellos, a bag of potting soil, 2 Dial Hand soaps, and nylons.

Keep up the great shopping and remember to always check grocerysmarts before you want to go get some fast food or go to a restaurant.  Under the "alphabetical coupon index" on the home page (center of page, small font above "choose your store" option--under Restaurants in that index you will find any coupons available for any fast food or restaurant!  Pretty sweet!  I also use this when I have to buy something not on sale and I want to know if there is a coupon for it.

I hope you are getting along with shopping the grocerysmarts way!  Remember it takes some time to get it down, but it is SO SO worth it!!  I have started doing Bountiful Baskets and so now all I buy is my staple items to stock up on that are 4 or 5 stars, milk, eggs, and bread.  I get all my fresh produce from Bountiful Baskets and everything else with coupons using grocerysmarts!  It is awesome!

Have a good one and if you want to host a class, I would be happy to teach one for you!

Awesome Smith's sale this week!

Don't miss out on the awesome sale at Smith's!  They have some great prices on beef, Colgate is only $.23 again and they are doing the Daytona promo again with a few changes in the sale.  If you like Campbell's Chunky soup--this is your opportunity to get it at a GREAT price ($.29-$.44 each)!!  Kraft barbeque sauce-$.39!  Purex laundry detergent-$1.09, Reynold's wrap-$1.39.  Cheerios and other General Mill cereals, and so so much more!!  There are several printable coupons as well this time if you don't have enough coupons from your newspaper subscriptions.  Send me pictures of your great buys so we can share them around!

Great Deals!! Love it!

Too bad I didn't have time to take a picture because it was a great shopping trip!  

I got 126 items

Spent $122

Saved $192!!  

Some of the things I got were 4 boxes of surf laundry detergent ($2 each), 7 boxes Kleenex tissue ($.54 each), 8 cases Arrowhead water ($1.74 each), 4 colgate toothpastes ($.24 each), 2 boxes of Finish gelpacs, Lansinoh nursing pads, Kids Mist (AWESOME nasal spray for babies/kids), lots of Hunts canned tomatoes, Dannon yogurts, 32 oz. cheese, Advil ($.50 each), Ritz, Wheat Thins, Triscuits, Goldfish, Orville Popcorn, Philadelphia cream cheese, Reynolds Wrap tinfoil, 4 Ken's Salad dressing  ($.49 each-our new favorite is the Lite Creamy Caesar), 6 boxes of Uncle Ben's rice, foil mini-bread pans, gala apples, bagels, sour cream, Del Monte vegetables, Valentines (cards, candy, and stickers), and so much more--like I said, I wish I had taken a picture.  There are a few things I had to just buy without coupons/sale and those were the nursing pads ($8), the Kids Mist ($11) and Valentines supplies ($6)-so if you take off those items, it's less than $100 for the other items!!  Amazing!