No Insert Reminder & 2 Red Plums!

Just another reminder that there are no coupon inserts in the RJ Sunday paper 12/21/08 & 12/28/08. I guess Red Plum made up for their 2 weeks of no inserts. I got my junk mail today and lo and behold...2 Red Plum inserts! Actually my sister called and scooped me that she had just got 2 inserts in her mail. Now I'm wondering (& hoping) for 2 SmartSource inserts sometime soon. Guess we'll have to see about that. Even just one insert in the paper will be fine with me...I'm so ready to have inserts again! Be sure to check the Grocery Smarts lists tomorrow for the new store lists.

Walgreens Trip

I ran to Walgreens this morning and scored this awesome deal.

I spent $3.17 for these 7 items which works out to $0.45 each! Now I can stay home, do some baking with the kids, and get ready for Christmas. I probably won't post much for the rest of the week so I can just enjoy Christmas time with my family. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and wonderful Holiday.

Food 4 Less...Who Knew?

Wow! I had no idea of the deals to be had at Food 4 Less. I went with my Grocery Smarts list but NO COUPONS and still had a great shopping trip. Here's what I got:
10 lbs russet potatoes $2.48, half ham for $0.87lb, 2lbs apples for $0.98, celery $0.68, then various odds & ends that I needed and I knew were a good price. My total bill was $28.59 for 18 items!! Not too bad. You just have to spend $20.00 to get the ham for $0.87. That's why I got the 2lbs of beef stew meat. It was $5.43 and I needed it for a meal I'm making on Christmas Eve. This trip totally made up for my trip to CVS that was a bust because they were out of all the things I went to get. Just remember on Grocery Smarts the Food 4 Less list is under the "other lists" and it's definitely worth a look.

No Coupon Inserts Today

Just a reminder that there were no coupon inserts in the paper today and there will be no insert next Sunday as well as no Red Plum in the junk mail last week and we won't get one this week either. Two weeks with no new coupons! Hopefully SmartSource will be good to us on 1/04/09 and give us 2 separate inserts (which they do occasionally) or General Mills or Campbell's will throw one in. One good thing from today's paper was the CVS ad. I'm excited about their ECB offers for Sunday 12/21 & Monday 12/22. I hope to get to CVS tomorrow to check out some of those deals.

Albertsons & Smiths Deals

So so sorry for the non-posting all week. I had to finish up my Christmas shopping, attend parties, dinners, a Parent Teacher Conference, Doctor's appointment, get Christmas cards sent and enjoy the RARE snowfall here. I have done (with the help of my hubby--part of the reason why there are no pics of the items) a little bit of Albertsons shopping too. Now's the time to shop if you need a ham for your Holiday Dinner. I also used my in-ad store coupon for the Diet Coke and as if I didn't have enough cereal the Kellogg's deals were great and we stocked up on the Powerade too.
My next trip will be to Smiths for: 5lb bag of Russet potatoes $1.29, Philadelphia cream cheese 8oz $1.00, Kroger frozen pie shells 2 pack $1.00.
I will probably hit either Albertsons or Smiths again for another ham so I'll have an extra in the freezer.

What's In Your Pantry?

I thought it might be fun to share recipes that use products I (and a lot of you) have in my pantry after shopping the sales and stocking up. A few months ago I signed up for the Betty Crocker email newsletter and pretty soon I started getting emails from them full of great recipes using many of the products I had purchased at various sales. Recently, I went back to their website and found that you can search for recipes by products. (click HERE to see) So fun! I found a great recipe using their chocolate chip cookie mix.
Here's what I made:
These are the Luscious Layer Bars. Click HERE for recipe.
The ingredients I used from my pantry:
1 pkg Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix $0.75 - Albertsons current sale
1 cup Nestle Butterscotch Morsels (bag)$1.25 - Vons sale 11/10/08
1 cup Hershey's Milk Chocolate Chips (bag)$0.70 - Albertsons sale 10/08
1 Egg -$0.99 (dozen) - Smiths sale 12/08/08
1 can sweetened condensed milk $1.05 - Smiths sale 11/09/08
1 cup flaked coconut (bag) $? - unknown sale - already had in pantry
(I didn't use walnuts)
Not only did I use things I had on hand, I was able to make a delicious treat for around $3.25. How great is that during Holiday Baking time?

Have You Been to Vons?

Last night I made a mad dash (literally...we only had 20 minutes) to Vons with my friend Dyanne. She wanted to add Frosted Flakes to her mega cereal stash-- currently around 30 boxes. We quickly checked the Grocery Smarts list, grabbed our coupons, went to Vons, shopped, checked out and came back home with time to spare. I spent $5.01 and saved $24.38. That works out to 82% savings!!!
Grocery Smarts has Vons on the "other stores" list. Check out the Kellogg's promotion to see how to get Frosted Flakes for $0.29 and apples for $0.79 lb. If you aren't sure how to use the Grocery Smarts website, you can schedule a FREE class for you & your friends where I'll teach you how. Just call or email me for more info.

This Week at Target...

If you need crackers, cookies or snacky food let me tell you about my shopping trip to Target this week. They have a promotion going now for various Keebler crackers & snacks. They are all on sale (prices vary) and if you buy 5 you get a $5.00 Target Gift Card. I had coupons from a booklet I picked up @ Albertsons awhile back and also from 12/14 RedPlum. Here's what I bought:

10 Keebler snacks = $23.88
- 3.00 Mnfcpn
- 5.00 Target gift card
- 5.00 Target gift card
= 10.88 total or $1.08 each item!
You don't have to separate the transactions to get multiple gift cards. You could, and then use your $5.00 gift card to pay for the next transaction of Keebler snacks and earn another $5.00. Whatever works for you, it's still a great deal. The sale ends Sat 12/13/08.

Time to Roll...at Walgreens

I couldn't wait to post this shopping trip to Walgreens. I swear I jumped out of the car, put my stuff on the counter snapped a picture and started typing! This is a little bit of advanced couponing with rolling transactions. I purchased these 15 items for $10.60 and saved $31.68. That's 74% savings!!

Basically I paid $0.70 for each item! 12 packs of Diet Coke for what??? This is definitely a Show Off shopping trip. You can get great deals at Walgreens & CVS by using the Grocery Smarts lists. I also offer tutoring in advance couponing as a class incentive. For more info check out my previous post by clicking HERE.

P&G Coupon Booklet by Mail

I had a Red Plum and P&G Brandsaver in my junk mail today. Woo hoo! If you get one, check on the first page of the P&G Brandsaver where you'll see a coupon booklet offer. It looks like this:
Basically if you purchase $50.00 worth of P&G products anytime between 12/14/08 - 1/31/09 they will send you a coupon booklet with $120.00 worth of P&G savings. Too bad all those P&G items we just bought at Albertsons were before the 14th! I have several P&G items that I use and I have found that it's pretty hard to always have coupons for them so I'm excited about this offer. I frequently buy Pampers diapers so I should get up to the $50.00 in no time flat. I'm also a loyal user of Gain detergent and Bounty paper towels. Remember in class how we talk about "brand loyalty" and only using specific products? Well here's your chance to get extra coupons if you are loyal to P&G products. Just read and follow the requirements exactly as stated in the ad and you should have no trouble. I can't wait for mine!

Expired Coupons

Ever wonder if there was something you could do with your expired coupons instead of throwing them away? Probably not. I've been doing a little research and found a good use for them. Did you know that Military families can use expired manufacturers coupons for up to 6 months after the expiration date? When they are stationed out of the U.S. they don't have access to coupons like we do and rely totally on donated coupons mailed to them. I'm still learning as much as I can because I'd love to mail mine to a family who really needs to save money. Imagine if we didn't have our inserts that are stuffed full of coupons. Sad! If you are interested in donating your expired coupons to Military families do a little searching on the Internet. One website with lots of info and worth a look is http://www.ocpnet.org/. It's another good way to use coupons and a great opportunity to support our Troops & their families.

Alphabetical Coupon Index

A new feature was added to Grocery Smarts website that will help you get even MORE savings and value out of your coupons! Once you've entered the passport and are on the page with the Nevada map, look just below the website logo and you'll find a link that says "Alphabetical Coupon Index". Click on it to find a full listing of ALL current coupons that have been released in our area through the Review Journal AND the direct mail.How do you use it? It is simple... if you need or are planning to buy something that isn't on a list and you want to know if you have a coupon for it, just pull up the Index and scroll through it alphabetically until you find what you are looking for. If there is a coupon for what you are looking for, it'll tell you what the coupon value is and what week it was published! So, you need some Benadryl for a sick kiddo? If you were to check the index, you'd find: Benadryl Allergy Product, any (except trial size) $1/1 (12/28/08) RP-9/28
AWESOME, HUH? This list will be updated weekly with new coupons and expired ones will be pulled out.
CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT

Super Double Deal!

I made it over to K-Mart tonight. They were out of some of the things I wanted but I still saved--BIG TIME. I grabbed 2 boxes of rice krispies and on the boxes were coupons for $1.00 off of any brand and size bag of marshmallows. (Remember previous post?...coupons everywhere...) So after the sale prices and double coupons, here's what I got for $3.45!!!!

Rice Krispies = $0.50 each, Biz = $1.99, Marshmallows = FREE! I'm adding this trip to my smart shopping "Show Off" savings. (Click HERE) I think this trip is definitely worth showing off. Do you have any show off trips on current sales you'd like to share? Email me the info with a picture. Be sure to include the date, the name of the store where you shopped and a breakdown of your transaction. I'll post the best show offs on my blog each week.

8 Hour Sales

Albertsons & Smith's have 8 hour sales today. Smith's 8 hour is on the Grocery Smarts list and there are a couple of 4 & 5 star items worth checking out. I'm looking at:
Smiths dozen large eggs $0.99
Kroger semi-sweet baking chips 6 oz $0.50 (I hope the mini chips are included)
These deals are only good today from 3pm to 11pm. Albertsons 8 hour is today from 1pm to 9pm. I'm interested in:
Kellogg's cereal (corn pops, corn flakes, froot loops, raisin bran) $1.50 use $1/1 coupon corn pops or froot loops RP 11/9 = $0.50!
Tostitos Chips 2/$3.00 limit 2
Albertsons shredded cheese 3/$5.00 ($1.66 each)
So if you were planning on shopping today be sure to check out the 8 hour deals.

Coupons Everywhere!

When I teach a Grocery Smarts class I tell everyone that the bulk of our coupons come in the Sunday paper, but that there are coupons everywhere. So in addition to your SmartSources and various (General Mills, Campbell's) inserts in the paper you may get Red Plums or Proctor & Gambles in your junk mail. On the Grocery Smart website there are links to printable coupons and links to different companies that have coupons available as well. But it doesn't stop there. Once your conscious of coupons you will notice them all over the place. I was at the front desk of the local Rec Center signing my daughter up for Romper Room and there was a stack of $1.50 off coupons for Clorox cleaning products. The receptionist told me to take as many as I wanted. WHHAAAA? Are you kidding me? In keeping with RULE #2 of my class (have enough coupons for each member of your family...) I took 4 then grabbed another one because I could and I use those products all the time. You can buy All You magazine at Wal-Mart and it's filled with great coupons. I like to give these to my hostesses as gifts. Here's what it looks like:
The little booklet on the right was near a display of baking items at Albertsons. They sometimes have booklets like these around the store. I always pick 'em up to check for coupons or good recipes and take 4 whenever possible. So keep your eyes open for coupons when you're flipping through magazines or see the blinking lights on the grocery isle. Just remember that they won't be listed on the Grocery Smarts website so you will have to keep track of them.

***Update on double coupons***

I was worrying about the whole double coupon thing so I emailed Kmart yesterday to clarify the policy. I wrote:

"I'm just trying to clarify your Double Coupon policy. I'm in Henderson, NV and the sale ad states that K-Mart will double coupons up to and including $2.00. But the management at the store said $2.00 coupons would not be doubled to $4.00 but to $3.99 then retracted and said $2.00 coupons would not be doubled at all. Could you please tell me which policy is correct. From my understandingof the K-Mart sale ad the $2.00 coupons were including in the doubling and should be worth $4.00. Thank you for your help and for having the double coupon event."

This is the email I got back today:

Dear Stacie,
Thank you for contacting Kmart regarding the Kmart Double Coupon Event. We appreciate your interest in this promotion.The current event is 11/30/08-12/06/08 and includes all Kmart stores.Up to and including $2.00 value. Amount of credit from doubling a couponcannot exceed the retail price of the item. Only one coupon can be doubled per item. A limit of up to and including 4 coupons on 4 identical items including varieties may be credited per customer per day. Other coupons for the same item will be redeemed at face value. No cash or in-store purchase credit will be awarded for double coupon amounts above the retail price of an item. Limit 75 total coupons per customer per day. Offer excludes products prohibited by law. Not valid toward previous purchase. In the event of a return, coupon savings may be deducted from refund may not be used in combination with any other offer. Not valid for online purchases. Prices effective only at select stores. Coupons will not be doubled for non-merchandise items, concessions, federal or state regulated items, and prior purchases. Kmart reserves the right to modify or cancel this program at any time.Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We appreciate your business and value you as a Sears Holdings customer. We certainly hope you will continue to make Sears Holdings your choice for quality and value.Sincerely, Brooke G. National Customer RelationsSears Holdings Corporation
Re: Double Coupons (KMM2289768I15977L0KM)
Wednesday, December 3, 2008 12:52 PM
From: "Kmart Help" help@customerservice.kmart.com

Now we have official word from K-Mart! Whew.

Be Careful

Just a little buyer beware for you. The double coupon deals at K-Mart can be tricky. Some people are having trouble with them doubling the $2.00 coupons. Be very cautious when you go there. I have heard that management at one store said they will only double up to $2 so you would not get $4 off. Another scenario I heard about was that someone received $1.99 for their $2 coupon giving them a total of $3.99 off. I haven't been to K-Mart for a shopping trip yet but when I go I am going to make a list with a subtotal of what I expect to pay and if the total at checkout is not close to that amount, I will head on over to customer service. I generally don't shop at K-Mart because I find that they are a tad more expensive and I can get better deals somewhere else. I only listed deals that I thought were worth a trip- if you use those products and are near a store. Just remember to be careful!

Super K-Mart Double Coupon Deals

I checked out the Super K ad online for good deals during their double coupon week and here's a couple more deals that look good to me.

• Lipton/Knorr rice or pasta side dishes $1.00 (.75/2 Lipton/Knorr side dishes RP 11/16) = $0.25 each!
• Lysol spray $2.66 ($1/1 Lysol disinfectant spray SS 11/09) = $0.66!
• Ziploc 2-5-ct food containers $2.50 ($1.50/2 Ziploc food containers SS 10/12, SS 11/2) = $1.00 each

I know there are more but I can't post them until I verify the coupon amounts and where they are located. Of course I'll share the info with you as soon as I have it.

Coupons - NO. Sale Ads - YES!

Sad sad day for us Smart Shoppers. There was no coupon insert in the paper today but...there were sale ads and one that caught my eye was the K-Mart DOUBLE COUPON ad! Make sure you read the restrictions printed at the bottom front page of the ad. (like no internet coupons) Basically K-Mart will double your coupon amount up to and including $2.00 this week 11/30/08 - 12/06/08. For example:
$1.00 coupon = $2.00
$2.00 coupon = $4.00
Here's a couple of K-Mart deals I'm excited about:

• Gillette Body Wash $4.00 ($2/1 Gillette Body Wash P&G 11/30)=FREE!
• Kellogg's 9-20oz selected cereals $2.50 ($1/1 Kellogg's cereal listed on coupon RP 11/9)=$0.50

I'm also going to check and see if there are other items on sale at Super K-Mart that aren't in the sale ad. If I see any deals too good to pass up I'll post them.

Show Off!

So this will probably be my favorite section of the blog. It's the "Show Off" our smart shopper savings area where we can share info and brag about super shopping trips. Here's a show off of mine:

Smith's 11/09/08 Total bill: $115.70 Spent: $38.48 Saved: $77.22 (67%)

You wanna show off too? I'd love to hear about your shopping trips. Email me a picture of the items you purchased with a breakdown of your transaction (date, store where you shopped, total bill amount, savings/coupon amount, what you spent out of pocket) and I'll post the best show offs on my blog.

Saving Without Coupons

Using Grocery Smarts can save you money even if you don't have coupons. You'll find that when you start saving your inserts it takes time to get your coupon stash built up and sometimes there are items on sale with no coupons available for them. My shopping trip today was a perfect example. I prepared my shopping list for Smith's with the Grocery Smarts website. There were quite a few 4 or 5 star items on sale for $1.00 that I needed but didn't have coupons for.

• Total bill: $102.52
• Fresh Values Savings $51.31
• Manf. Coupons $7.02
• Total OOP $44.01
• That's a total savings of $58.51 or 57%.

I even bought a 16-20 pound turkey and 2lbs ground beef. I also had a $30.00 gift certificate which I used on this transaction so I actually only paid $14.01. This was good savings without many coupons. So while you're busy adding coupons to your collection you can use the Grocery Smarts website and know you're getting a good deal.

Coupon Insert Schedule

After attending a Grocery Smarts class, many of you will become subscribers to the Review Journal. We all want those Sunday coupon inserts of course! This last week there was no Red Plum in the mail and I (being coupon obsessed) was so bumbed out. Thank goodness there is a Coupon Insert Schedule on the Grocery Smarts Nevada main page (where you select your store from the drop down bar.) Just scroll down a little and it's there on the right hand side. Now you'll be prepared for those tough no insert days. Here's the schedule for the rest of 2008.
November 23rd: SS
November 30th: No Issue
December 7th: SS, RP, PG
December 14th: SS, RP
December 21st: No Issue
December 28th: No Issue
NOT excited about those 3 no issue days, but hopefully we'll have some smokin' hot sales to make up for it.

Get to Class!

Are you ready to learn how to be a Smart Shopper? Do you want to save more money than you spend at the grocery store? It's never too late to get started! Here are a couple of incentives I offer if you book a class with me.
For hostesses: Schedule a class and have 8 or more new people attend, you receive a $20 gift card to Albertsons or Smiths. If 12 or more new people attend you receive the gift card and a personal tutoring session with me in advanced couponing for you & 1 friend. Attending a class is the best way to learn about Grocery Smarts and how to use the free website. Let's get you going right away. Call or email me for more info.

Watch Grocery Smarts on TV!

Great news! If you want to learn more about what Grocery Smarts is or how to use it, KVBC News 3 (local NBC affiliate, channel 3) interviewed GS Instructor Mandi and went shopping with one of her students to show how it all works. The air dates will be:
Segment 1 (Mandi's Interview): Mon Nov. 24
Morning News - 5 to 7am
Noon News - 11 to noon
Segment 2 (Shopping with Michelle): Tues Nov 25
Morning News - 5 to 7amNoon News - 11 to noon
We are really excited for you to check it out!

I Love Target

O.K. Here's my confession. I am and have always been a Target Girl. That is, I LOVE TARGET! I was thrilled in July 2008 when a new one opened near me in Henderson. This place rocks. It's huge, new, clean and...has an expanded (large) grocery section. The shopping carts alone are worth the trip. You've gotta take a little spin around the store with one. So cool! My favorite time to go there is somewhere between 8:00p.m - 10:00p.m. I head to the Food Avenue to get my REFILLABLE diet coke and start cruising, always starting at the killer dollar section. The store is quiet and almost empty...ahhh my happy place. BUT--since becoming a Smart Shopper I have spent much less time and money at Target. There are still good deals there and Target.com has printable store coupons that you can combine with Manufacturers Coupons and get serious discounts. (Especially when it's a clearance item) So I must dedicate some of this blog space to my beloved Target. I'll let you know the sale prices I'm excited about each week.

Let Me Explain

Hi! I'm starting this blog to keep you up to date with the latest scoop on good deals, smart shopping, and ways you can save money. I'm a Certified Grocery Smarts Instructor and I'm excited to share info and tips with you. I can teach you how to lower your grocery bill and stock up the pantry without breaking your budget. It works for me, my family members, and lots of my friends. I'll have some "Show Off" posts where we can share our Smart Shopper savings. You'll be amazed at how much you can buy without spending a fortune. You can call or email me for more info or to schedule/attend a class.
If you are new to shopping smart, this is the best place to begin...How do I shop smart? It is so easy! I use a free website service that helps me plan my weekly shopping list. Then, I get coupon inserts from the Sunday paper (1 for each person in my family, I get 4). And, by combining the online shopping lists with the coupons, I save hundreds of dollars each month on my groceries! Four papers seems like a lot, but don't worry... at my classes I teach you how to cut your grocery bill in half AND can also hook you up with a sweet deal on the Review Journal! Continue reading or check out my "FAQ's" post to learn more. Did you already attend a class? So, you just attended my Coupon Class and you're pumped up to save and are excited to get started! This blog is a good way for me to stay connected with you, give ongoing support and post ideas to keep you as motivated next month as you are today.
Where do you go from here?First things first... you need to get over to the Grocery Smarts website and print off a shopping list! If you just started a newspaper subscription to get the coupons, you'll have to be patient for the first few weeks while your collection of coupons grows. Each Sunday you'll get more inserts and each week you'll find yourself saving more. Within about a month to six weeks, you will have a nice pile of inserts to pull coupons from and will start noticing a real difference on what you spend at the store.
Then, over the course of the next few months, you'll notice your panty will start filling up. Your drawers will start filling up and every spare spot you have on a shelf or in a cupboard will be filled with the food and products your family consumes each day. You will love how much you are saving and that you have a nice stash of family supplies and food storage that builds each week. It'll be so satisfying to know you did it for less, much less!
So, bookmark my blog and check back often for info, tips and to see what I buy each week from the lists. By seeing my scenerios, it'll help give you ideas on how you can better use the list to maximize your savings. Welcome aboard!

FAQ'S

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is Grocery Smarts?

Many shoppers who want to save money at the grocery store spend hours scouring over the ads and digging through piles of coupons to find what matches up. Grocery Smarts puts an end to all of that craziness and simply matches local store ads to current coupons (found in the Sunday paper) in an easy to use list. The list is updated each week as new ads are released and even links you instantly to any online printable coupons that are out there. Using an easy "5 Star" rating system, the list even tells you which deals are the BEST deals! And, the greatest part about these lists is they are free! Free for anyone to use, anytime... and you don't even have to register or fork over your email address to use the service. Nice, huh?

How can I learn how to use the lists?

The best way to learn how to use the store lists is to attend a class. If you haven't ever been invited to one, consider hosting your own! In-home classes work the best, so grab your friends and family to attend and contact me to book one anytime!

What's a class like?

Classes generally last about an hour (depending on how chatty the ladies get). In that time, I teach you the benefits of shopping the sales, show you how to do it, and give you recommendations on how to stay organized. It's not complicated or difficult to learn because the list does all the hard work for you.

How much time will I have to spend clipping coupons?

Virtually none! Seriously, the Grocery Smarts big wigs came up with literally a "5 minute" method that'll keep you organized, yet not feeling overwhelmed. You only cut what you need, when you need it!

Is it really worth it?

It is for me (and lots of my friends and family)! I've been couponing for awhile and my grocery budget is in good check and my pantry is full. My favorite part about shopping this way is I actually get to buy nicer brands. No more generics for me... nothing beats a name brand item when it's on sale and has a coupon to boot! Just check out my trophy receipts (the ones where I save more than I spent)! Seriously, I love to show them off!

So... What's the catch?

Several other similar online shopping services charge users a monthly membership fee to access their coupon matching service. However, in an effort to be a head above the rest, the founders of Grocery Smarts didn’t think charging a monthly fee to families who are trying to save money made any sense at all. They started thinking outside the box and realized that regardless of what service you use, in order to shop smart and to do it right, you need multiple sets of coupons from the Sunday paper. They thought, "Why charge a fee to the user… when the newspaper sits right in the middle directly benefiting from the concept we teach?" So, the Grocery Smarts big wigs presented their concept to the Review Journal. They quickly realized that when we teach our classes, we naturally refer new subscribers to the paper. So, you can imagine how quickly they jumped on the opportunity to open their market up to moms like us who typically wouldn't be getting the paper at all.
So here's the long and short of it... At the class, as I teach you the concept of shopping smart and show you how you can use the website to save money at the store. And, because having the right amount of coupons (1 set for each person in your household) is such a key part of saving big, it makes sense for me to hook you up with the papers you need at the class. I offer the Review Journal at amazing prices to anyone not currently taking the paper, plus can get you up to 4 more additional Sunday papers delivered to your door for less than a buck a week! And that's why the class is free... I make money based on how many new subscriptions I turn into the Review Journal. So, I guess we can all thank them for stepping up, getting involved and helping Grocery Smarts keep the classes and website FREE for everyone!