Frustration!

I went to Walgreen's today because I had some RR's expiring and I wanted to cash in on the spend $25, get $5 RR deal. The first store I went to, I ended up with a total of $24.94! 6 cents prevented me from getting my $5 RR! Arrgh! The problem is that when it subtotals, you don't know how much of that is tax. I did save a lot, though. My final total was $6.53 and I qualified for a $2 rebate (for the Scotch tape).

The second store I went to, I double checked my addition and ended up paying $9.31, receiving my $5 RR and getting $5 rebate for the Hershey's candy. Not bad, but it could have been better. : ( I ended up with several free items:

• 2 rolls of Reynold's aluminium foil
• 2 Sure deodorants
• 2 3pks. Scotch tape (after rebate)
• Dove beauty bar

Safeway was a great deal today. I bought 5 boxes of Kellogg's cereal for $0.49 each after savings and coupons! What a nice way to stock up!

Secret Santa

Every year, Husband and I set aside a little bit of money to play Secret Santa for a family we feel could use a little holiday help and cheer. We both nominate families, giving our reasons, and then decide together who the recipient will be. Some years it has been a family, other years, like this one, it is a single person living alone.

I really look forward to being the Secret Santa. It is so fun to look for gifts and things that will make this person or family smile...and I expect nothing in return. I bought some Christmas cards a few years ago with Santa Claus on the front and I write a note to them as though it were from Santa himself, which I think adds to the fun of it (for them and for me).

We make up the package filled with goodies and take it over to the house one night. I creep up to the house and place it on the porch. If I think I can make it across the lawn unseen, I'll knock on the door and race down the street where Husband is waiting in the car. After all, they can't know it's from us right? Even though we don't get to see their reaction, we still get that warm, fuzzy feeling that we've done something nice for someone else.

This year, with my new found couponing skills, I'm able to get some pretty great stuff to include in this basket. I'm so excited for the night we will deliver it!

How do you share the Christmas spirit? Do you have any experiences being a Secret Santa?

Safeway deals 12/10-12/16

Welcome Grocery Gatherers! Here are the deals for Safeway this week. Prices are valid from Wednesday, December 10th through Tuesday, December 16th.

Coupon Match-ups

Stouffer's, Lean Cuisine, Hot Pockets or Lean Pockets : $2.50 each. Buy 8 participating products in a single transaction and save $5, making them $1.88 each. Save even more by using $1/2 printable here. Or use $1/3 Stouffer's single serve entrees from 11/02 RP. Or use $0.50 off Hot Pockets or Lean Pockets from 09/28 RP. Or use $1/2 Hot Pocket Ultimate Sandwich from 09/14 RP. Final price will vary, depending on coupons used.

• Cottonelle Bath Tissue, 12 rolls: $6.49. Use $0.50 off Cottonelle ultra 4-pack+, $0.25 off Cottonelle 4-pack+, or $0.25 off Cottonelle with aloe & E, all in 11/16 SS. $5.99-$6.24 after coupons.
• Campbell's Select Harvest Soup: Buy one, get one free ($3.39/2). Use $0.50/2 in 09/14 SS and 10/05 SS. $1.45 each after coupons.
• Colgate toothpaste: $2.49. Use $0.75 coupon from 12/07 SS.
• Emerald canisters: Buy one, get one free (2/$6.49). Use $1.50/2 in 11/09 SS. $2.50 each, when you buy 2, after coupon.
• Rice Chex cereal: $3.00. ***The ad also says, buy 3, save $3, which would be like buying 2 and getting one free.*** Use $1/2 from 11/09 and 12/07 SS. Or use $1/2 printable here and here. Or use $1.50/3 printable here. $1.50 to $1.67 each when you buy 3 after savings and coupons.
• Knorr Lipton Sides or Veggie Plus: 10/$10. Use $0.75/2 in 10/05 and 11/16 RP inserts. $0.63 each when you buy 2 after coupons.
• Herbal Essence Hair Care: 2/$7. Use $1 coupon in 11/30 P&G insert. $2.50 each after coupons.
• Vicks NyQuil or DayQuil: $5.99. Use $1.50 coupon in 11/30 P&G insert. $4.49 after coupon.
• Aveeno Skin Care: 20% off. Use $1 printable here or $1.50/2 in 09/28 RP.
• Tums Antacid: $3.99. Use $1 printable here or $2.25 off QuikPak here. Or use $1.25 coupon in 11/16 SS. Also in 11/16 SS: $1/2 Tums, any size (24ct. or larger) and $1 off QuikPak.
• Earth's Best Baby Food: 10/$7.50. Use $1/10 printable here. $0.65 each when you buy 10 after coupons.
• Nestle Refrigerated Cookie Dough: 2/$6. Use $1 printable here or here. Or use $1.50/2 from 09/14 & 11/02 RP. Or use $1 coupon from 12/07 RP. $2-$2.25 each after coupons.
• Hershey's or Nestle packaged chocolate: 2/$6. Use $1.50/3 Hershey products in 11/16 SS insert or $1/2 Nestle jingles chocolates in 12/07 SS insert. $2.50 each after coupons.
• El Monterey Taquitos: $5.99. Use $1 coupon in 10/19 SS.
• Hefty Trash Bags: $6.99. Use $1 coupon in 11/16 RP. $5.99 after coupon.
• Fresh Express Salads: $2.99. Use $0.50 printable here or $0.75 coupons in 10/26 SS, 11/09 SS, and 11/16 SS. Or use $0.55 coupon in 12/07 SS. $2.24 to 2.49 after coupons.

Buy 5, Save $5

This promotion is back this week, with a special on Kellogg's products. The list of participating products is longer than what is shown in the ads. (If you see an item that I haven't listed, please let me know!) Use one (or all) of the three $1 off coupons in 11/09 RP with many of the Kellogg's cereals. I was able to print 3 $1 off coupons here. November's All You Magazine has a coupon for $1 off one of the three new flavors of Frosted Mini Wheats. Also, rumor has it that there will be several Kellogg's coupons in this Sunday's insert. Remember, you can mix and match any 5 items to qualify for the savings and there is no limit to how many "groups" of 5 you have in one order.

• Kellogg's Corn Flakes, 18oz. or Frosted Flakes, 14oz.: $2.29. $0.29 each when you use 5 coupons after instant savings.
• Kellogg's Special K, 12oz.; Special K Red Berries, 12oz.; Special K Vanilla Almond Crisp, 14oz.; Fruit and Yogurt Special K Cereal, 12.8oz.; Special K Low Carbohydrate Cereal, 13.5oz., Chocolate Special K Cereal, 13.4oz.; Cinnamon Pecan Special K Cereal, 12.5oz. : $2.99. $0.99 each when you use 5 coupons after instant savings.
• Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats, 18oz.; Frosted Mini Wheats bite sized, 18oz.; Frosted Mini Wheats Strawberry, 16.3oz.; Frosted Mini Wheats Maple and Brown Sugar, 16.5oz.; Frosted Mini Wheats Blueberry Muffin: $2.49. $0.49 each when you use 5 coupons after instant savings.
• Kellogg's Rice Krispies Cereal, 12oz.; Cocoa Krispies, 16.5oz.: $2.49. $0.49 each when you use 5 coupons after instant savings.
• Kellogg's Smart Start, 17.5oz.; Smart Start Healthy Heart Low Sugar Cereal, 15.2oz.; Smart Start Maple and Brown Sugar, 15.2oz., or All Bran Cereal, 18.3oz.: $2.88. $0.88 each when you use 5 coupons after instant savings.
• Kellogg's Raisin Bran, 20oz., or Crispix Cereal, 12oz: $2.29. $0.29 each when you use 5 coupons after instant savings.
• Kellogg's Apple Jacks Cereal, 12.2oz.; Froot Loops, 12.2oz; Honey Smacks, 15.3oz.; Corn Pops, 12.5oz.: $2.49. $0.49 each when you use 5 coupons after instant savings.
• Kellogg's Frosted Strawberry Pop Tarts, 12 count (Also, Frosted Cinnamon, Strawberry, and Frosted Chocolate Fudge): $2.49. Use $0.55 coupon in 11/09 RP. $0.94 each when you buy 5 after instant savings and coupons.
• Kellogg's Eggo Syrup (Buttery, Original, and Lite): $3.29. $2.29 each when you buy 5 after instant savings.


• Kellogg's Rice Krispy Treats: $2.79. $1.79 each when you buy 5 after instant savings.

Other sweet deals:

• Rancher's Reserve Cross Rib Roast or Boneless Top Blade Roast: $1.99/lb. This is a great price, as it is normally $3.99/lb. Try to stock up if this is something your family likes!


• Fresh Pork Shoulder Blade Roast: $0.99/lb.


• Safeway Chicken Drumsticks, Thighs or Leg Quarters: $0.99/lb. This is the lowest price I've seen for this item, so this is a good time to stock up.


• Crisp Fuji or Organic Granny Smith Apples: $0.88/lb.


• Organic Golden Delicious Apples, $0.99/lb.


• O Organics Carrots, 1lb. prepacked: $0.69 each
  

Spotted at Safeway

Although I scour the Safeway ads when they are delivered to my mailbox each Monday and despite the fact that I check Safeway.com for even more deals, there are tons and tons of "unadvertised" specials that I know I miss out on. So when I spot one, I know I need to share it with you!

Yesterday I went to Safeway to pick up some items for a church dinner I'm helping cook tonight (Swedish meatballs over noodles). I stopped to look at the canned fruit (for some reason, I'm not finding the best deals in the produce aisle lately). My eye fell on a tag that read "buy one, get one free". It was for a can of Dole peaches in light syrup (which is what I get for my babes). At $1.79 for two cans, I knew I couldn't pass it up. To make things a little sweeter, at checkout, I received a catalina coupon for $0.75 off 3 cans of Dole peaches, pears, or mixed fruit. You know I'm going to take this with me next time to get 4 cans for $0.71 each! The tag says that this price is good through December 25th. Pears were also buy one, get one free, but they were a little more expensive, at $2.19 for one can, which could still be a good deal, but I'd rather wait for the 10/$10 sale.

I also picked up a one pound bag of pinto beans for 99 cents. They were the only dried beans that were on sale. I plan on making the whole bag and then freezing the cooked beans, although I may wait until after the holidays for that little project.

Finally, 2 gallons of milk are now $4.25! Only a week ago, I bought two gallons for $5.19, so that's a nice little drop in price. My babies' organic milk has not gone down, though. It's still $5.99/gallon. Maybe with the drop in gas prices, milk prices will come down a little more.

5 Days of Giveaways: Winners!

Thanks so much to everyone for participating in last week's 5 days of giveaways! We had several people who were entered in more than one drawing, so thanks for coming back each day! And now, the winners:

Gerber Baby Giftset: Chicago Saver
Electronic Handheld Sudoku Game: Anya
L'oreal Revitalift Giftset: Amber
Tell Me Again...Board Book: Jennifer (Crooked Needle Primitives)
Subscription to Country Living Magazine: Tigger210

Winners, please send me an email: sfmommynomics (at) gmail (dot) com with your shipping information so I can get your prizes out to you! Congratulations!

Walgreen's 4 day sale

I took advantage of the great deal going on at Walgreen's today. Get $5 in Register Rewards when you spend $25 in one transaction. The best part? That $25 is BEFORE coupons! So you can end up getting a lot for a little with this great deal.

I bought two packages of diapers today (and 1 pack of wipes) because I had a bunch of RR's that were expiring that I needed to spend. But, I have a few more burning a hole in my pocket, so here's my scenario to make the most of them:

2 Reach toothbrushes: 2/$6
2 Russell Stover Private Reserve Bag or Luminary: $4.99 each
Colgate toothpaste: $2.99
1 box W Double Zipper Storage Bags: $0.99 each with in-ad coupon
2 Bic Soleil Razors (b1g1 free): $6.99

Subtotal: $26.95

Use the following coupons:
-$3 B1G1 Free Reach toothbrush from 10/12 RP insert
-$1.50 Colgate toothpaste printable here (thanks iheartwags!)(or $1 off from 11/02 SS insert)
-$6 (2) Bic Soleil Razors from 11/02 SmartSource

Total before tax: $16.45
Receive $5 RR for spending $25+
Receive $6 RR for Reach
Receive $2 RR for Colgate
Receive $10 Easy Saver Rebate #53 for Russell Stover

Summary: Spend $16.45, get $13 RR and $10 rebate
Make a profit of $6.55!

Guess what, Walgreen's is doing this $5 RR for $25 purchase again next week!

Saved by Zero

I've been so busy posting about the week of giveaways this week that I haven't done much of my regular posting!

We had a big purchase last week. Upon returning from our Hawaii trip, we decided that we really should sell Husband's Yukon and get a new(er) car instead of spending the money to get it fixed. We had some money saved in our car account, but not really enough to get the car (well, truck) that we thought would be best for our family.

A generous family member helped us out a bit and we were able to purchase a two year old truck for Husband. It's a crew cab, which means that there are four doors and plenty of room in the backseat to accomodate babies. Husband did lots of research before making this purchase and we are very happy with our new vehicle. It will be nice to have a reliable car, since his previous one had been struggling the past year or so.

There are tons of deals on cars (and especially trucks and SUV's) right now as car dealerships are struggling. Some are offering 0% financing while others are offering literally thousands of dollars "cash back". While these deals can make it tempting to purchase a car over and above what your family truly needs, make sure that you "read all the fine print" before buying your car. The best thing you can do is to buy a car with cash, or at least put as much down as you possibly can. We were lucky to be able to do this with Husband's truck, though the temptation was there to just buy a new (more expensive) truck with all the incentives dealerships were offering. We were "saved by zero" in a different way: I can't tell you how wonderful it feels not to have a monthly car payment hanging over our heads.

Bottom line: If you are looking for a good deal on a "gas guzzler", right now is a pretty good time. But don't be dazzled by all those smooth sales pitches. Know what you can afford and stay within that budget! You'll be so glad you did!