I almost danced a jig

Today was one of the few times that I was SO excited about my deals that I almost danced right there in King Soopers. I'm sure I looked like a fool walking out with a grin on my face but I couldn't contain it!

Here's my score from King Soopers and Albertsons...

Total out of pocket for everything above: $25.13

Total Savings: $98.98

Catalinas back - $8!

Here's the scoop:

Albertsons: I used my other 4 Tresemme coupons to get all 8 of those products for FREE!! There was a mix-up at the register and the cashier became a bit confused after entering a coupon in wrong and instead of paying the tax on the items (which was all I would have paid) she gave me money back. I tried to correct her but she was sure she was right. I didn't want to keep up the back and forth because there was a man waiting in line behind me (not sure how much patience he had) so I took what she gave me and left. For the record, I do feel a bit guilty but I did try and correct her. Anyway, instead of paying $1.85 (which I would have been more than happy to do) I came out with a $1.20 overage.

King Soopers: I went in with a mission to score the Catalina deal on the Huggies and snag some free Crest toothpaste. I also had my other coupons that were expiring today and I walked the isles to see if there were any other deals. Boy did I find some!

Huggies diapers: 9.39 on sale - two $2 coupons

$2.44 for wipes - $1 coupon (would NOT have bought them at that price if it wasn't for the catalina)

I recieved the $5 catalina because of spending over $20 on Huggies THEN I recieved another surprise catalina for another $3 (also from Huggies). I'm not sure about that one but it looks like it had to do with buying 2 packages of diapers.

So that worked out to be $16.22 out of pocket and $8 back in catalinas!

Candy: $2 a package plus two $1.50/2 coupons so that's $5 for all 4 packages BUT I also had an e-coupon come off for another $2 (which I didn't notice initially) so that means I paid only $3 for all 4 packages!!

Skinny Cow candy: BOGO free catalina that had printed out for me a while back so they were .89 for both (my splurge...and they are yummy!)

Carefree: $1.09 - $1 coupon = .09 each

Crest: $1 sale - $1 coupon = FREE

Gum toothbrushes : $1 sale - $1 coupon = FREE

Marietti raisens: .99 on closeout - $1 coupon = FREE (the coupon did adjust down so I did not recieve an overage)

CoverGirl concealers: $4.55 each - $8/2 coupon x2 = .55 each (sorry Avon, I couldn't pass up .55 concealer...plus you don't have much for liquid concealers in my shade anyway)

So there you have it!! I've been a little bummed with deals lately but today it all turned around. I sometimes get myself into trouble at the end of the month. I take my expiring coupons in and sometimes end up using them just because I have them. I was a good girl today and only used the ones were I would get a killer deal. 

My other treat today...a free car wash! A man was in front of me at a drive-thru car wash. He motioned for me to back up and proceeded to tell me to enjoy a free wash! He put his money in and then couldn't get his drivers side window to roll back up (he was in an old pickup) so he couldn't go through. I went back and forth with him about giving him money but he wouldn't take it (what is it with people not taking my money today?). He wished me a Happy Halloween and off we went.

The sun is shining and I have extra money in my pocket (and a counter full of goodies). Life is good and I am so blessed.

Albertsons score!

I hopped over to Albertsons today and scored with some great deals!

Total Spent: $24.50
Total Saved: $54.94

The breakdown:
Coke products - 12 packs 4 for $10 (you have to buy 4 to get the sale price)
Ground beef - 93% for $2.49/lb. Not outstanding but a pretty good sale
Oatmeal - just needed some, bonus that it was on sale for $1.67
Cereal - Select General Mills on sale for $1.49 when you buy in multiples of 4. I had coupons which made some of them $1 and some of them were only .50!
Chicken Tenders - on sale for $3.99 and I had a $1 off coupon (I've seen better deals but my daughter likes chicken "muggets" right now so I picked some up)

The Tresemme products were my best deal. I got all 4 products for FREE!! Albertsons has them on sale this week BOGO free. A 10/02 newspaper insert had a BOGO free coupon. I wasn't sure if it would fly with Albertsons (I know Walgreens lets you do it) but I gave it a shot. The cashier asked a head clerk and the head clerk went back into an office to ask someone else. She came back saying it could be used because Tresemme would honor it. WOOHOO! If there weren't 3 people in line behind me (and my 2 kids in the car cart) I would have ran back and grabbed more! I have more coupons and I fully plan to go back by 10/31 (when they expire) to get some more FREE products (as well as some more cereal)! As long as the shelves haven't been cleared by then, lol.

A party on a budget

Next weekend my little girl turns 4. She talks about having a party but I'm not in the camp that a child needs a big to-do every year (absolutely no offense to those who do...it's just not for us) and I'd rather she have a bigger party next year. The 5th birthday just seems so much more cooler. :)

I did decide to invite a few close friends and family over to have a small gathering at our home that day. Call it a party, sure...it's a party!...but it's just a little more limited. Because this is a casual event, I'm not going overboard with food and such. The menu is coming straight out of my pantry, freezer and refrigerator so I have a limited amount of things that I will need to pick up at the store this week.

What's on the menu?

Chili in the crock pot - If I can brag a little, I do make some darn good chili and it's super easy to throw together in the crock pot and let it stew away. I have tons of cans of tomatoes from previous sales and some stewed tomatoes from my grandma's garden in the freezer. I may have to pick up a couple extra cans of beans and I need to get some more ground beef (which we need anyway) but otherwise I'm set!

Hot dogs - I know some kids (including my own) will not be too excited about chili so I'll have some hot dogs warmed up as well. I have quite a few packages, in the freezer, that I bought over the summer at .50 or $1. I just need to pick up a few more buns and they are good!

Pasta Salad - I found a quick and easy recipe and all I need to buy is some cucumbers and olives (I bought roma tomatoes 8 for $1 last week so I'm set with those)...the rest is in my panty. The pasta was free and the dressing was probably less than $1.

Everything else...chips, crackers, soda (free 2 liter bottles!), lemonade, desserts...are all here! The paper plates, bowls, cups, napkins and silverware are taken care of also. I have all of that kind of stuff stored away for when I need it. I have some solid color pink and red plates and napkins that I bought on clearance after Valentine's Day one year. They will go great with the Strawberry Shortcake napkins I picked up on clearance at a party store a while back (Strawberry Shortcake will be her cake this year).

Now I gave away all my secrets and it might make me look bad but I think it's pretty darn smart. Think outside of the box! You don't have to spend an arm and a leg to throw together a nice little party, especially if you think ahead when you are shopping year round (i.e. "Valentine's Day" plates for a birthday party). My (almost) 4 year old will never know, neither will she care. She'll be happy to have loved ones at our home...and eating hot dogs, cake and ice cream. She doesn't care how much it cost...but I do. ;)

My Extreme Thoughts

I know I've chatted about Extreme Couponing before but this week's episode really irked me. So I apologize in advance that my first blog post in a while is a gripe post.

This week they featured a lady named Callie. I was pretty proud that Colorado was being represented because she lives in Thornton. I was quickly irritated when I saw that she was going to shop at King Soopers and did NOT have to abide by their coupon policy.

If you have not seen it, King Soopers FINALLY released a corperate coupon policy. You can read it here. I highly recommend printing it out and keeping it with you while shopping. That way there is no confusion at the register.

What did Callie get away with?

1. She got money back! - I have been able to score a few "money maker" deals before but it has been rare. I think they have cracked down on their policy and if I do make money on a coupon deal its most likely an error. It states, in their coupon policy that "coupons may not exceed the value of the item". I've seen a coupon double up to the price of the item, automatically at the register. For example, an item is on sale for .88. I have a .50 coupon and it only doubles to an extra .33.

2. She was able to use a large amount of like coupons in the same transaction! - My King Soopers (and many in the Denver area that I know of) have a 3 coupon per like item limit. This stops people from clearing the shelves and although I think that's a nice thing, I'm disappointed that the limit is only 3. I don't think 4 or 5 is unreasonable....but that's my personal opinion.

I know, it's TV so they probably made an exception for her but it's still annoying. I acutally enjoy watching the epiodes where people go to the register and have to split up transactions because of the store coupon policy. It's more realistic...imagine that! Realism on a "reality" based tv show.

I'm heading off to King Soopers today. There aren't any amazing deals this week but I'll see what I can find.