This week Kroger has some awesome sales. I was able to save over $120 with sales and coupons, and spend a little less than $52. I think I got an adrenaline rush at check out.

Kroger has a two week Mega Event sale going on right now that I can’t wait to share with you. It seems that the items in this deal vary by region though, so if you aren’t in the mid-Atlantic, check your ad.

But before we get to the Mega Event details, here are some other non-Mega Event deals I saw.  These sales run through Saturday, November 8th.

(Note: My Kroger doubles coupons up to and including 50 cents face value.)

Grape Tomatoes, 10 oz- $1.25

Green Cabbage- .59/lb

Eggplant- .98/lb

Fresh Srawberries- $2.50

Fresh Green Beans- .98/lb

Seedless Navel Oranges, 8 lb bag- $5.99

Betty Crocker Fruit By The Foot, Halloween boxes- $1
Buy 2 and use .50/2 coupon from recent insert.
Final price: $1 (.50 each)

Bic Soleil razor or 4 ct cartridge refill- $4.99
Use $3/1 coupon from 11/2 insert.
Final price: $1.99

Sunny Delight- $1
Buy 2 and use .55/2 coupon from recent insert.
Final price: $1.45 (less than 73 cents each)

Progresso Soups, all varieties- $1.65
Use $1.10/1 coupon here.
AND use .50/1 coupon here.
Final price: 5 cents

Kroger Sour Cream, 16 oz- $1

Kroger Canned Vegetables, select varieties- 50 cents

Breyers Yogurt- 59 cents
Use .50/1 any Breyer product coupon from 10/26 insert.
Final price: FREE, plus possible overage (For some reason, my Kroger doubled this, giving me overage, even though they typically would only give the item free, no overage.)
Or buy 2 and use $1/2 any Breyers product coupon from 10/26 insert.
Final price: 18 cents (9 cents each)

Now onto the Mega Event sale.
If you buy any 10 of the included items in a single transaction, you get $5 off at check out. (50 cents off each item) You can earn this check out reward up to three times each transaction, but you can do an unlimited number of transactions. (So I went today, but I also plan to go Thursday and next Monday.)

Now, before you take a look at my list, please know that it’s not exhaustive. There were many more items in the store that were unadvertised that I also didn’t buy. So, unfortunately, I don’t remember all the included items!

I’m going to divide the items up by price, just to make it a little easier on the eyes. But you can combine any of the different priced items to get this deal.
$1 each (50 cents after the check out reward when you buy 10)

Swiss Miss Cocoa Mix, 8 -10 ct
Buy 2 and use .50/2 coupon here.
Final price: 25 cents each

Carnation Evaporated Milk, 12 oz
Buy 2 and use .50/2 coupon from 11/2 insert or $1/2 here.
Final price: FREE

Deer Park Water, 3 liter bottle

Powerade Sports Drink, 32 oz
Buy 4 and use B3G1 Kroger coupon from recent mailer.
(The cashier should take off the regular price- $1.29- of the free
Powerade rather than the sale price.)
Final price: 71 cents (less than 18 cents each)

Scotch Brite Lint Roller, small variety
Use $1/1 coupon from recent insert.
Final price: FREE

$1.50 each ($1 after the check out reward when you buy 10)

Hunts Tomotoes, 28-29 oz
Buy 5 and use (2) $1/2 coupons here.
AND use $1/5 coupon here.
Final price: $2 (40 cents each)

Zataran’s Rice
Buy 2 and use .75/2 coupon from recent insert.
Final price: $1.25 (less than 63 cents each)

Kroger Peanuts

Betty Crocker Specialty Potatoes
Use .40/1 coupon here.
Final price: 20 cents

Duncan Hines Frosting
Use .50/1 coupon here.
Final price: FREE
Or use .75 on frosting and cake mix ($1) coupon from recent insert.
Final price: $1.25 for both frosting and mix

Quaker Oats, 18 oz

Right Guard Deodorant

Kroger Syrup

Kroger Apple Pie Filling

Edwards or Mrs. Smith’s Pie Slices

Colgate Toothpaste, select varieties
Use .75/1 coupon from 10/26 insert.
Final price: 25 cents

Colgate Wave or Total Toothbrush
Use .75/2 coupon from 10/26 insert.
Final price: $1.25 (less than 63 cents each)

Dial Soap, select varieties
Use .30/1 coupon from recent insert.
Final price: 40 cents

$2 each ($1.50 after the check out reward when you buy 10)

General Mills cereals, select varieties
Use coupons here, here, here, here, here, and here.
AND use coupons here.
Final price: Varies upon coupons used

Stouffer’s Red Box Entrees
Buy 3 and use $1/3 coupon from recent insert.
Final price: $3.50 ($1.17 each)

Fritos and Cheetos

Daisy Sour Cream

Kroger Vanilla Wafers

Kroger Pie Filling- Cherry, Peach, Strawberry, Blueberry

Hershey’s 100 Calorie Packs, select varities

Quaker Chewy Granola Bars

Orville Redenbacher Popcorn, select varieties
Use $1/1 coupon here.
Final price: 50 cents

Banquet Boneless Chicken

Pillsbury Toaster Strudel
Use .35/1 coupon from 9/7 insert. (Or .60/2 coupon here.)
Final price: 80 cents

Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks
Buy 2 and use .50/2 coupon from recent insert.
Final price: $2 ($1 each)

$2.50 each ($2 after the check out reward when you buy 10)

Nestle Morsels
Use .50/1 coupon from 11/2 insert. (Select regions only)
Or use .75/2 coupon here.
Or use $1/3 coupon from 11/2 insert. (Select regions only)
Final price: $1 or more, depending upon coupon used

Land O Lakes Butter
Use .55/1 coupon from 10/12 insert or .55/1 coupon here.
Final price: $1.45

Sara Lee Fruit Pies

Peter Pan Peanut Butter

Smuckers Jams and Jellies

Jimmy Dean Sandwiches, Bowls, or Skillet Entrees

Pam Cooking Spray

Advil Pain Reliver
Use $1/1 coupon here.
Final price: $1

Bic Sensitive or Silky Touch Razors
(I think there may have been a coupon recently for these, but I can’t find it.)

Armour Meatballs

Mars or Dove Frozen Treats

Tylenol or Motrin IB Pain Relievers
Use $2/1 Tylenol coupon from recent insert.
Final price: FREE

Stayfree Pads
Buy 2 and use $2/2 coupon from 9/28 insert.
Final price: $2 ($1 each)

Carefree Liners
Buy 2 and use $1/2 coupon from 9/28 insert.
Final price: $3 ($1.50 each)

$3 each ($2.50 after the check out reward when you buy 10)

Simply Orange or Apple, or Minute Maid Orange or Grapefruit Juice

Totino’s Pizza Rolls, 40 ct
Use .35/1 coupon here, here, or from recent inserts.
Final price: $1.70

Gorton’s Grilled Fish Fillets

Crisco Vegetable Oil

Welch’s Juices
Use $1/1 coupon from recent insert.
Final price: $1.50

Pepperidge Farm Cookies and Crackers

Listerine Mouthwash
Use .50/1 coupon from recent insert.
Final price: $1.50

TreSemme Hair Care

Johnson’s Baby Care
Use $1/1 coupon from 11/2 insert or $1/1 coupons here.
Final price: $1.50

Duracell Batteries, select packs
Use $1.50/1 or .75/1 coupon from 10/26 insert. (Depends upon region)
AND use .50/1 coupon here.
Final price: 50 cents -$1.25

Lysol Disinfecting Spray, 12 oz
Use $2/1 coupon from recent insert.
Final price: 50 cents

Breyers Ice Cream
Use .50/1 coupon from 10/26 insert.
Final price: $1.50

Wow, now that was a lot of work! I’m sure I missed plenty of great deals too though, so please leave a comment to let me know what I missed.

Dana is married to her high school sweetheart Ryan and is a stay-at-home-mom to a baby becoming a little girl.  She blogs daily on Frugal In Virginia where she helps families live on less.

I visit a lot of coupon forums, where almost everyone is a bargain shopping queen (or king). So it’s always something of a surprise when someone asks, “Is this a good deal?” And whether the item in question is laundry detergent or hot dogs, the same answer always pops into my head: You’d know if it was a good deal if you kept a price book along with the coupon binder.

A price book is a notebook for tracking the lowest price of an item. Simply put, it’s the best way to cut back expenses without changing your lifestyle.

The best thing about a price book is that you don’t have to maintain it forever - just until you’ve been doing it long enough to be able to recognize a good deal when you spot one. I have maximum price points in my head for almost all of the things we buy regularly, and I adjust that price as the deals get better or worse.

For example, a few months ago, I was happy to see Kleenex (our preferred brand) on sale for $1 if we needed it, and if we didn’t, I tried to wait for a price of around 90-cents. But during the last few weeks, there have been some amazing sale prices of 64 cents for Puffs (after coupon at Walgreens) and 77 cents for Kleenex (this was at CVS, and the price came down to 47 cents if you factored in the Extra Bucks that you received with a $25 purchase). So now I’m looking for a sale price under 80 cents.

No Credit Needed has a handy downloadable price book template that I highly recommend.

Find more articles like this visit Cathy at Chief Family Officer, where she writes about family finances, parenting, and cooking.

Image credit: No Credit Needed.

 

This coupon is only good on Friday and Saturday (October 24 & 25, 2008).

Please note that the $20 minimum to use this coupon is after all manufacturers coupons!

Click here for the coupon!

 

When you are trying to save money, one of the first expenses many people cut is dining out.  Some will cut them out entirely and some will merely scale back on the type of restaurant that they frequent.

With Restaurant.com, you have the ability to save money while still enjoying your favorite local eateries!

Their normal charge for a $25 gift certificate is only $10, but now through October 19th, you can purchase one for only $4!  Just click here and use the code: MORE at checkout!

For those who have decided to take more control of their finances and begin living more frugally, it can seem like a daunting task.  I know I wasn’t sure where to begin when we made the decision to start spending less.  Now, after months of money saving, here are five key steps I have seen are important for those just beginning the frugal journey. 

1. Start clipping coupons.

Clip nearly every coupon you can get your hands on, even if you don’t typically buy the product. You just never know when you may be able to buy a product, use a coupon worth more than the purchase price, and apply the overage to the rest of your purchase. This will save you money on your other non-coupon groceries. Need help finding coupons?  Check out this post

You also must learn your store coupon policies. Most Kroger stores double coupons to a certain value, Food Lion stores don’t, etc. So check out your local stores, so you can gain a handle on how you can use your coupons to get the best deals available!

2. Begin a coupon organizational system.

If you try to carry around too many coupons while shopping without a good system in place, the results can be terrible, time consuming and very frustrating. Find a sytem that works for you. Need some help getting started? I use a coupon box. You can check it out here. There are also tons of other suggestions in this post at Keeping the Kingdom First.

3. Pick one drugstore to begin with to start shopping bargains. Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, etc.

Get a customer card (if the deals require one), and familiarize yourself with the system, how the store runs sales, if they have a rebate system, customer rewards, etc. Then start shopping at the drugstore of your choice once a week, combining the coupons, sales, and customer rewards to score toiletries, cleaning supplies, medicine, diapers, make up, and more for free or very close to free.  Want to get the scoop on CVS shopping? Check out this post. Have a Walgreens in the neighborhood? MoneySavingMom.com has info here for you. Sue Stock with the News and Observer has a great article for Rite Aid beginners as well.

4. Kick brand loyalty to the curb.

Bottom line, your brand of preference of (insert product here- soup, juice, etc.) may not have many coupons available, and it may be much more expensive to continue buying that item rather than another. Evaluate whether the extra cost is really worth it. Honestly, I find the differences between brands to be pretty minimal. Other than a few products, I buy the best deal I can find rather than a particular brand.

Next, stores typically make it seem like their store brand is the best buy. And often times it is the best deal- if you aren’t shopping sales and using coupons. But by bargain shopping, you’ll be able to get the national brand for much cheaper than store brand 9 times out of 10. Want to read more about store brand vs. national brand? Check out Erin’s article over here at Blissfully Domestic.

5. Change the way you think about shopping.

Evaluate each purchase before you make it. Why are you buying it? Do you need it? Is it a “want” you can afford and should buy? Can you make do with what you have at home instead? Cut out the excess junk and impulse buys in your shopping trips. It really is often necessary to change the whole mindset of shopping in order to save. Often, when I stop to think about it, I realize that we don’t “need” the item, or I already have something at home that will work just as well.

Dana is married to her high school sweetheart Ryan and is a stay-at-home-mom to a baby becoming a little girl.  She blogs daily on Frugal In Virginia where she helps families live on less while becoming better stewards of what God has given.