SAFEWAY
Spent $6.60 for all of this.
Savings: $43.23

FRED MEYER
Spent $4.62 for all of this.
Savings: $27.13

I have my meal plan for the week in place. We are mostly cooking from the freezer and pantry. We’ll buy milk, bread, and fresh produce - but not much else. Our grocery bill should be right around $25 for the week. Probably even less. That’s exciting! Even though we aren’t doing any major grocery shopping, I did decide to stock up on some deals that are about to end.

These bargains were from using coupons that I printed out online and then getting (and using) Catalina coupons (these print out with your receipt after you pay), which I could use on my next purchase. I made two purchases at each store, the first one was the one I spent money on, getting a Catalina. The second one, I then purchased similar items, and used the Catalina from my first purchase AND coupons, which had the cashier either looking at me all bewildered like, because the register said to give me .62 cents back. Or, I paid something small out of pocket, like $.62 cents.

I am new to the Catalina thing, but I found some good detail on how these work and what these are over The Krazy Coupon Lady blog. You have probably gotten them before and either threw them at the bottom of your purse or just tossed them out. Some of them can really help lower your grocery bill so watch for them! This is a brief description, taken from TKCL:

Catalina: Sometimes abbreviated as “CAT”, Catalina coupon machines located at register, dispense long receipt-like coupons that may be used on a future purpchase. Catalinas, refer to the coupons themselves which may be manufacturer or store coupons. Some Catalina coupons are advertised and some are generated based on consumer behavior.

I know these aren’t great deals on real necessities, maybe even considered as “junk” by some standards - but it’s nice to have these on hand for snacks, sports, school events, etc. I don’t stack the boxes in the pantry and tell the kids to help themselves. These will LAST quite awhile over here! The regular price of Betty Crocker Fruit By The Foot at Safeway is $2.99. Goldfish crackers… $2.39. Are you kidding me? I get queasy thinking about paying full price like that for any of this stuff. That is nutty. Without a sale and coupon, they would not be in my home… EVER!

I feel like the grocery bill is the easiest bill to cut back on out of all the ones we have. And, of course, who can’t use a little cutting back right now? We are constantly looking at corners that can be cut, expenses that can be scaled back on, things we can do without, etc. I cut back, but it doesn’t mean I cut everything out. Store sales and manufacturer’s coupons/rebates are there for me to take advantage of, and that I will — just takes a few minutes of my time to match them all up!

I went to Safeway last night (a few of them, nice that they are on just about every corner in Vancouver!) to take advantage of the deal I posted about a few days ago. It worked like a CHARM. We initially paid about $2.50 for the first 4 boxes (TOTAL - so .64 cents each), but after that, every 4 boxes I “bought” were FREE using coupons and Catalina print outs that the cashier kept handing over to me This left me paying .15 CENTS A BOX… I’m just so stinking proud

I am not done yet, either. This deal is good through tomorrow, 1/24/10. I have one Catalina left in my wallet so I will get 4 or 8 more boxes. So then I will have paid .10 cents each for 24 boxes of these things!! These aren’t things I buy very often, so the kids will be in snack Heaven for a bit. I’ve started my snack tote for our drive to California during Spring Break. Yah!

There are a few good deals and even one freebie this week at Target. The first one I’m taking advantage of is for a new toddler carseat for Bailey. She’s been in her “convertible” seat since she was 12 months old. She’ll be 7 next month, so I suppose it is time. She still fits in her old one perfectly, the peanut she is, but I figure she’s probably got a couple more years of sitting in a booster. This one is nice and PINK, will add a nice splash of color to my white minivan. LOL.

They have a deal this week, when you purchase a carseat, you get a $20 gift card. The booster seat I’m looking at it is $44.99. That $20 gift card will drop it down to $24.99. I then have a $10 gift card from last week, when I transferred a prescription from Walgreens. If you are interested in doing this, go print your $10 pharmacy coupon from Target.com - it’s worth it! They were quick and I ended up getting my prescription as part of their $4 program, so I got paid $6 to transfer it!

This is the carseat I’m getting Bailey. $14.99 - I’m so excited about this deal!!

There are a few other bargains to be had at Target this week too…

Lean Cuisines, $1.45 each
Sale priced at $1.79 each
Use $1/3 coupon here
Total: $1.45 each

Nivea Body Wash, FREE!
Priced at $2.99
Use $2/1 coupon from the 1/3 Red Plum Insert
Stack with $1/1 Target store coupon
Total: FREE!

You can sign up for $10 in Betty Crocker coupons here. These are great to have on hand to pair up with a sale and they usually don’t have quick expiration dates! Thanks Utah Deal Diva!

Next up… a buy one, get one free offer for Sunbelt snacks. These are good through February 18th, 2010. They are regularly priced at around $1.39 a box at Walmart and Winco. I’m not sure about other stores, but using this coupon, that makes them about .69 cents a box! I like to have these types of granola bars on hand during softball season and quick snacks. I will be stocking up! It says “one per purchase” on the coupon, but I would suggest just keeping a few in your purse. You can pick a couple of boxes up each time you are at the store between now and 2/18. Click here to print the coupon! Good deal! Thanks Misty The Bargain Hunter!

And last up…. a great deal to be had at Safeway (and reportedly all affiliate stores also) this week on Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks!

The advertised deal is:

Buy General Mills Fruit Shapes, Fruit By The Foot, Fruit Gushers, Fruit Roll-Ups, or Fruit Roll-Ups Fruit Stickerz and save up to $3.50 on your next shopping order. Purchase between 12/28-01/24
Buy 3, Get a $1.50 Catalina (coupon to use on ANY of your next shopping orders)
Buy 4, Get a $2.50 Catalina
Buy 5, Get a $3.50 Catalina

These ROLL, so that means you can take those Catalinas, use them on your next order and buy more of the Betty Crocker Fruit Snack promo items. You will then get the same Catalinas again.

There are coupons to be matched up with this sale, which is what makes this deal so GREAT!

You can check out the scenarios The Krazy Coupon Lady has, as well as links to all of the printable coupons currently available here. Print them while you can! Most coupons have a print limit. With a deal like this, they will probably go quickly! Thanks Krazy Coupon Lady!