I haven’t been posting my couponing deals lately, but that would be because the ol’ cash envelope ran out of money. Ugh. Hate it when that happens. As a result, I didn’t do a whole lot of couponing last week.

However, last week I took advantage of the FREE items. Colgate toothpaste was free at Safeway, so now we are stocked up for the year, PLUS I “bought” a bunch of packs of free Oil of Olay 2-pack bar soaps throughout the week. I know that some of you might be groaning if you missed those deals, however I just want to remind you to read the comments under store deals on your favorite coupon blogs!!! I go back to my regular coupon blogs and check out the comments under the Safeway post a few times before I go to the store. Okay, maybe more than a few times. A lot. And, last week I did mention the Oil of Olay soap deal in the comments on the Frugal Living NW Safeway post, which I heard about from the comments under the previous week’s Safeway post. I LOVE it when couponers help one another out!!

Remember that one of the grand rules of extreme couponing is to make sure you are consulting your coupon blogs to find great deals. They do ALL the work: They tell you what is on sale, when to stock-up, what coupons to use (and where to find them), and how much you should expect to spend. LOVE those ladies!!

If you are looking for some new coupon blogs (especially for those of you who live in the Western U.S.), you should go check out the comments under my Quaker coupon giveaway post (which is over, by the way)! I know that I’ve added a couple more blogs to my reader!

Now to my trip this evening:

Score!!

Okay, so it’s not a terribly exciting week at Safeway. The only things that I can really get excited about are the Hefty plates for 50¢ a piece, and the Kraft cheese for 49¢ a piece, which Mitch LOVES on his breakfast sandwiches.

Other decent deals: Carrots and Spinach for 99¢ with no coupon required. We are big spinach salad eaters (and Grant will just munch on spinach the way Cole munches on carrots. weird.), but I’m actually more excited to try out the green smoothies my friend Steph has been feeding to her family over at The Cheapskate Cook.

Minute Maid Orange Juice @ $1.25 each by using the BOGO coupon that is no longer available to print. See! It pays to print when the coupon blogs tell you to print!!

The meat was $3.49, but I used the $2 off Safeway coupon located in the new football coupon book, PLUS the one that I loaded to my card came off on the same trip. That usually doesn’t happen, as they override one another. We didn’t notice this at the checkout stand, and I just saw that on my receipt. Kinda cool, but totally random and probably not something you want to try to duplicate. Oops!

However, I feel better because it looks like they overcharged me on my onion. Argh. We’re even, Safeway.

Medium naval oranges are cheaper than the large ones that are advertised. Plus, the skin is thinner, so you get about the same amount of pulpy insides!

Otherwise, I used the $1 off produce coupon, plus my free milk Catalina, and my $3 Catalina that I earned from the fruit snack deal, which brought my total way down.

I’m really looking forward to going to Albertson’s to pick up some oatmeal on Monday!!! Hopefully (still crossing fingers!), there will be doublers. I’m starting to doubt it, but you never know!

Did I miss anything at Safeway this week??

That terrible, wonderful $10 off a $50 purchase coupon came this week. Oh, how I love/hate that thing!!!!!! My grocery cash envelopes are empty for the entire rest of the month (which begins again on the 15th or 16th) and I totally overspent on groceries this month (due to last minute runs to the store to pick up quesso dip makin’s for New Year’s, etc . . . junk food!). Well, okay, so I didn’t TOTALLY overspend (only by $7.81), but I did have to use my debit card at the register today (which I almost never do) and I looked like a little old lady trying to figure the machine out. Push what button? But I don’t want cash back! Good grief. I embarrass myself sometimes.

The PROBLEM with the $10 coupon is that I feel like I HAVE to go hog wild and purchase a ton of groceries just so I can get over $50. It is NOT easy for me to get my total over $50 after Safeway coupons. However, the thing I LOVE about the $10 off coupon is that is is TEN dollars off!! And, as long as your total is $50 after club card and Safeway store coupons, then you have met the minimum. THEN, you can knock the price down with your manufacturer’s coupons to score some really great deals.

Imagine my SHOCK when my cashier hit the total button after I had swiped my club card and the register said $97 and some change. WHO can even afford to shop at Safeway at these prices? Good grief.

Obviously, I don’t shop like regular people.

6 loaves of bread @ 99¢ each with Safeway coupon. We freeze them and pull them out as we need them. The 99¢ sale happens about once a month and then I make a couple of loaves a week, too!

2 Swiss Miss Cocoa @ $2 each. Hello?!? Walmart has them for $1, however my internet printable coupon was for $2/1, and I didn’t know if Walmart was going to adjust down to $1/1. I figured that this was another way for me to get my total up to $50 at Safeway and knock it down. Plus, I have a TON of the $1 Swiss Miss, and this is a new kind that I think Mitch will love! SO, this was FREE for me!

4 Special K Cereal marked at 2/$4, but it rang up at 2/$5. I’ll take my receipt in and get $1 back, ’cause I’m cheap like that. I used 2 BOGO coupons, which (if you are charged correctly) would make 4 boxes for $4. HOWEVER, there is also a Catalina printing for a gallon of milk on your next visit, up to $4.00 in value! Hello deal!! I’ll save my Catalina for another week, and I’ll probably buy a gallon of organic whole milk to make my homemade yogurt. Hee, hee! However, even if I do just buy my regular $2.00 milk, that would make those 4 boxes of cereal about 50¢ each! For Special K!! I realize that it is supposed to be nearly free at Rite Aid next week, but I’m a realist. My store will be completely sold out before church starts on Sunday.

Milk @ $1.59 with Safeway coupon

Frigo Cheese Sticks @ $2.99 with Safeway coupon, minus $1/1 MC, minus doubler = $1.49

Coffeemate Creamer @ $1.99 with Safeway coupon, minus $1/1 MC, minus doubler = $.49

BOGO Ground Sirloin = $13.83 or about $2.24/lb

Safeway Pepper Strips = $1.99. I love to toss these in with roasted veggies or to top pizza. Really, it was just a filler, though. You’ll see.

Gortons is having a Buy 5, Save $5 sale. I bought 3 boxes of Clam Strips and two boxes of fish sticks. They were $1.99/ea after promo, minus (2) $1/2 MCs = $1.59 each. (Cute side note: Grant has asked me if I would please buy some clam strips if there is ever a coupon for them. He will be so excited!! I just won mom of the year!!)

PLUS, I had a Catalina that was $5 off a $15 frozen food purchase, and the pepper strips and Gortons bumped me up to $15!! That means 5 boxes of Gortons and 1 bag of pepper strips for $4.94, or 82¢ each.

I’ll be making fish tacos next week with the fish sticks and:

30 ct. corn tortillas = $1.99 (not the best price, but eh)

4 limes = $1

cilantro = 79¢

cabbage (which I thought was 79¢, but ended up being 79¢/lb) = $1.68. I’ll be putting this cabbage to good use. Oh yes, I will. Asian chicken salad, anyone?

Also,

Garlic = 50¢

8lbs of oranges @ $3.99 with Safeway coupon

Plus, there is a new coupon book out that has a $1 off produce coupon in it!! It’s one of those build a better sandwich books, and I wasn’t terribly impressed by the other coupons, so don’t run out the door to get one.

When it was all over, I walked out having paid $34.81, plus I’ll get $1 back when I take my receipt in and act like a cheapskate, plus I’ve got that free milk Catalina! Let’s call this one less than $30, shall we? Pretty good!

Looking for the coupons? Check out Frugal Living NW or The Krazy Coupon Lady. I also stalk Coupon Connections NW when it comes to Safeway deals, and as always, remember to read the comments and add your own if you notice a great deal!

Show me your deals in the comments! I’d love to see what you’ve been up to!

I did a quick little last minute Safeway trip with Cole this morning. I’m thinking ahead to Valentine’s Day, and thought I should stock up on practically free fruit snacks for the boys’ classmates while I can.

This is what I picked up:

Have you ever seen “Simply” Fruit Snacks before? I read about them in the comments on a coupon blog and thought I would try to find them in my local store. There was only one variety (Wildberry), but according to the ingredient list, they are definitely more natural and a lot better for you than, say, Spiderman Fruit Snacks.

Still, Cole insisted on Spiderman for his class, and we picked up some bugs for Grant’s class. I typically Photoshop some cool Valentines and then attach a fruit snack. It’s a hit.

I did this in 4 transactions to take advantage of rolling the Catalinas that printed out after each transaction. All of the details are over at The Krazy Coupon Lady. And, since Oregon didn’t get doublers this week (and the printable coupons are Do Not Double anyway), my numbers were the same as hers.

T1:
5 Simply Fruit Snacks
Used $1/3 MC and $.50/2 MC (linked up at KCL)
Paid $3.45 OOP (out of pocket)
Earned a $3.00 Catalina to spend on my next transaction

T2:
5 more Fruit Snacks
Used $1/3 MC and $.50/2 MC
Used $3.00 Catalina from T1
Paid $.45 OOP
Earned a $3.00 Catalina

T3:
5 Nature Valley Granola Bars
Used in ad coupon to make them $1.77 each (expires today)
Used (2) $1/2 MCs and a .50/1 MC (also linked at KCL)
Used $3.00 Cat from T2
Paid $3.35 OOP
Earned a $3.50 Catalina

T4:
Eggs @ $1.99 with in-ad coupon
Carrots @ $2
Onion @ 79¢/lb = $.92
Celery @ $.99
Oranges @ $1/lb = $2.43
3 Nivea Lip Care at $.99 each
Used $2/2 MC and a BOGO MC from the 1/2 RP = 3 for FREE
(Our store only had 3 Nivea Lip Cares left, or I could have used 2 BOGO coupons to get 4 for free!)
Used $3.50 Catalina from T3
Paid $4.81 OOP

Total spent on this trip was $12.06

Total saved: $59.48 (or 86%)

And, yes, I did do this back-to-back in my very empty store (it’s like a ghost town out there since it is 24° outside!!). I was VERY organized (coupons on top of each transaction) and my young, female checker was very friendly. The guy behind me was impressed! Still, I was all shaky and butterflies-in-the-stomach-ish by the end. Good grief.

Has anyone else noticed the great BOGO ground sirloin sale? It’s $4.49/lb, so only $2.24/lb after BOGO savings. I’m sorely tempted to go back, except that I am stealing from my Wk 4 envelope and still have 11 days left in my month. Hopefully the sale will continue next week. Anyone have tomorrow’s ad?