Three days sale items:

Edy’s ice cream (reg $5.39) $1.99, limit 4
Scott or Cottonelle 12 roll bath tissue (reg $9.79-$9.99) $4.99, limit 4
Gain laundry detergent, 100 oz liquid or powder (reg $13.29) $7.99, limit 2
Bounty paper towels, 8=12 giant rolls (reg $14.59) $7.99, limit 2
Kraft shredded or chunk cheese, 8 oz (reg $2.79) bogo, limit 2 free
–These were supposed to be 2/$2.79 but they were ringing up 2/$2 at my Food Lion because they are also on sale for $2 the rest of the week.

Other sales until Tuesday:

boneless chicken breast fillets or tender $1.79/lb
10 lb bag Russet potatoes $1.99
Smithfield smoked bacon bogo, limit 2 free
General Mills cereal, select ones bogo, limit 2 free
50% off Smithfield center cut ham slices
Alpo prime cuts bogo, limit 2 free
Porterhouse or t-bone steaks $4.98/lb
boneless shoulder steak or roast $2.99/lb
Pillsbury Halloween ckae mix $.99
Pillsbury Halloween frosting $1.29
Barilla pasta 5/$5
Clorox bleach $1.75
Progresso soups 3/$4
Betty Crocker cake mix 10/$10
Campbell’s chicken noodle or tomato soup $.59
Keebler Chips Deluxe cookes bogo, limit 2 free
3 lb bag yellow onions $1.99
Food Lion chicken breasts or tenders, individually quick frozen, bogo limit 2 free
whole pork tenderloin $2.99/lb
Perdue Perfect Portions boneless chicken breasts $5.99
Contessa meals, bogo, limit 2 free
Freschetta pizza, $3.99 (There should be a $1 coupon at coupons.com.)
Gorton’s value pack fish, bogo, limit 2 free
Ore-Ida fries and potatoes 4/$10
Jif peanut butter 18 oz, 2/$4
Food Lion jumbo biscuits 5/$5
Thomas English muffins bogo, limit 2 free

Other:  My local Food Lion also had Luck’s beans for $.59/can and Food Lion beans 2/$.89. Now would be a good time to stock up on canned beans for the winter months.  Red Baron pizza was $3.99 and I had a $1 coupon.  I did not see these sales advertised in their paper. Also, if an item is 2/$4 you do not have to buy 2 of the item to get the sale price.  As always, you can combine a coupon with the sale for more savings.  Check your local store or online ad for specials in your area.

Do you shop at Food Lion?

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

1 pint blueberries, 4/$5

1 lb strawberries, 4/$5

pizza crust, bogo

La Brae French of wheat baguettes, bogo

apple or carrot breakfast cookies, bogo

Nature’s Pride bread, bogo

Harris Teeter bacon, buy 2 get 3 free

Smithfield pork baby back ribs, bogo

fresh boneless chicken breasts, bogo

16 oz ground chicken, bogo

Coca-Cola 6 pk bottles, bogo

Emerald trail mix, bogo

Craisins, buy 2 get 3 free

Lay’s potato chips, bogo
Lay’s $1.00 off two bags – All You Magazine, July 2009

Knorr/Lipton pasta and rice sides, bogo
5-17 RP $0.75/2

Wacky Mac $1 sale
5-10 SS $.50/1 = FREE

Kraft mayo and Miracle Whip, bogo

Kraft salad dressing, bogo sale $1.57

Arm & Hammer detergent, bogo
$1/1 Coupon

Arm & Hammer fabric softener, bogo

Finish Electrasol, bogo sale $2.99
7-12 SS $2.50 = $.50

Hefty cinch sack garbage bags, bogo

Hefty foam plates and plastic cups, bogo $1.74
5-17 RP $.50/1
5-17 RP $.75/1
6-21 RP $.50/1
Final: .74

Kleenex tissues, bogo sale $1.09
07-12-09 SS $0.50/1
final $.09

Harris Teeter latex gloves, bogo

Colgate toothpaste, bogo sale $1.49
07-26-09 SS $0.75/1 = FREE

Noxzema disposable razors, bogo

moth balls, bogo

Marble composition notebook, buy 2 get 3 free

Harris Teeter bagels and English muffins, bogo

Fudgsicle fudge bars, bogo

Harris Teeter ice cream, buy 2 get 3 free

Nestle Coffee-Mate Liquid Creamer 32 oz.
Reg 3.00, Sale 2.79
06-28 RP $.50/1
Final 1.79

Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice bogo
05-31-09 RP $0.55/1

If I missed any Harris Teeter sales and coupon match-ups, please leave them in the comments. Happy saving!

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

How does Buxr.com work?

Buxr works like a forum, and members search for hot deals then share what they find. Deals are voted on by the rest of the community and a hotness score is given. The vote can help you make shopping decisions – i.e. a super hot vote probably means a good deal.

If you submit a deal it’s put into a moderation queue for verification by other Buxr community members and moderators. Once your deal is approved, it’s published on the Buxr deals page where community members can see it and vote on it. Buxr even takes care of expired deals by setting individual expiration dates on each deal. Moderators and users also do routine deal sweeps for accuracy.

Buxr is also a contest site. You can win prizes one of three ways:

1. Submit the best deal of the day and win our Daily Deal contest.
2. Collect the most points by guessing the best and the worst deals each day and win our Monthly Deal contest.
3. Refer the most friends to Buxr and win our monthly Refer a Friend contest.

When I checked out Buxr, it looked pretty good. The deals on the front page seem fresh and there’s a lot of freebies posted too – free samples, free downloads, etc. I didn’t like the site’s design, but I’m picky. The front page is more like a forum than a website, but if you find a great deal, looks don’t much matter right?

If you’ve been looking for one more shopping deals site to add to your arsenal of money saving sites, Buxr may be just the ticket.

Let us know if you’ve used Buxr and tell us what you think in he comments. Visit Buxr to learn more.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

We all have habits. Some of our habits include spending more on some items over others. I bring this up because sometimes I think about the thrifty books I read, or blog posts, and it seems I could be doing more to save money. Some of those authors of thrifty books come off as if they NEVER spend a dime more than they have to. This makes me wonder about the rest of us. Do we all hold back or do some of us splurge once in a while?

I do splurge, not often, but I do. I do however look for sales on the items below, but if I can’t find one, I’ll still hand over the cash for them. Here’s what I won’t compromise on…

• Coffee: I’ve tried to buy cheaper coffee, I really have. But the coffee snob in me hates me for doing it, and I may as well not drink coffee at all. NOT an option.
• Organic fruits and veggies: You see conventional for really good deals, and many I will buy conventionally, but if a fruit or veggie is on the dirty dozen list, it’s very rare that I won’t buy the organic version.
• Organic milk: Milk is already expensive. Organic milk is a lot more. But dairy rates high on the list of conventional food baddies, so I always buy the more expensive organic.
• Lip gloss: I hate cheap kid lip gloss. I splurge (sadly) on my faves instead.
• Lotion: I usually buy organic or natural lotions (when I don’t make homemade) and it costs more than say, a store brand, but I like that they work better and don’t come chock full of chemicals.
• Recycled toothbrushes: These really cost more than store brand toothbrushes, and work just the same, but the greenie in me makes me need to spend more in order to lower my footprint some.

I’ve known folks who only buy the best meat but would never dream of shelling out cash for a book they can get at the library. I know others who splurge on shoes but clip coupons and search for sales all day long for groceries. I suppose my splurges are mainly affected by my eco-issues, but all of our splurges are slanted by something.

What do you splurge on and why? OR do you think you should try to save money 100% of the time – no compromise?

[image via free pixels]

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Food Lion has their ground chuck on sale this week for only $1.69/lb.  Normally, you would pay $3.50 or more per pound for ground chuck.  You certainly don’t want to pay that price when you can stockpile it now on sale for later use.  By the way, if you plan on heading out to Food Lion, you’ll want to check this Food Lion sale and coupon match-up from A Full Cup.

By the way, I am in desperate need of a freezer.  I sold ours when we moved and I’m hoping to find a good deal on one before the ground chuck sale ends on Tuesday. If I have the freezer space, I plan to buy 15-20 lbs of the meat.  A freezer is essential for stockpiling sales on meats and frozen foods. 

Are you taking advantage of the Memorial Day sales?

image sxc.hu

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Stores such as Target and Rite Aid frequently run prescription promotions.  A typical deal is that the store would offer the customer a $10 gift card for a new or transferred prescription that is filled in their store.  Most promotions usually require a coupon so it is a good idea to keep an eye out for these coupons in your local paper.

Whenever Target runs their prescription promotion, my mom gets extra coupons from her friends and family.  She has their prescriptions filled using the coupon, which gives her a $10 gift card for each prescription.  Then she uses the $10 gift cards for other Target purchases or for gifts.  The promotions are a great way to help your dollars go further.

Do you take advantage of prescription promotions?

image from sxc.hu

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

A Full Cup is a free online forum where others write about deals, coupons, and savings.  You can find coupon match-ups, printable coupons, and lots of information on saving money.

All of the items here were purchased from Harris Teeter using buy 1 get 1 free sales, coupons, and triple coupon deals.  The items were purchased during two separate visits to the store.

With my experience, everything went pretty smoothly.  There were a few disappointments with my transactions.  1)  I purchased the three boxes of Jose Ole’ products because they were buy 1 get 2 free.  I was really excited about getting three boxes for about $6 and my husband enjoys eating the taquitos. I bought the boxes and then in the Sunday paper there was two coupons for the products.  I didn’t have room in my freezer to go back and get more.  Oh well.  2)  The other disappointment was with Harris Teeter’s coupon policies.  They are only accepting two printable coupons for like products.  I had to put back some of my cereal and All detergent.  Boo! 

I probably could have gotten more for the money, BUT sometimes you have to weigh things.  I asked myself, ‘Would I rather get the small French’s mustard for free just so that I could say it was free . . . or would I rather get the large French’s mustard with a bonus 40% more for $.50?’.  I had to make this decision on several items.  Sometimes it is worth it to pay a little more for the better deal.

The bottom line:  Yes, there is some junk food here (please don’t cast stones), but it will be consumed in moderation.  Overall, I got things that our family can use and I was able to get a lot of groceries for about $51-52.  All of this would have cost me about $140 without the coupons and sales.  I’m pleased with my bargains.

Have you tried A Full Cup?

image (c) Karen Weideman

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Before the sales and coupons my total was $86.70.  After the sales and coupons I paid about $49, including tax.  This included regular items that we needed such as milk, eggs, bread, etc.  I didn’t buy any meat though.  I try to only buy meat when it is a really great price.  Then I stockpile while it’s cheap.  Why pay $4.99/lb for meat when you get pay $2.25/lb? 

The new sales flyers come out tonight and I’m looking for sales on meat, frozen items, and hypoallergenic laundry detergent.  Let me know if you find anything.  Thanks.

What deals have you found lately?

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

• If the store you find the best deals at is far from you, consolidate trips or choose wisely.  You might do without for a few days until you can justify the trip
• If you are out of only 1 or 2 items, it might be more frugal for you to get it locally if the price isn’t that big a difference.
• Make sure you know your prices and watch sales.  I know that I can get Huggies diapers for 23 cents per diaper at Sam’s with no coupons.  But sometimes, I have coupons and CVS might have them on sale, which would bring it down below 20 cents a diaper.  That is when I should stock up at CVS.
• Don’t assume buying in bulk is cheaper.  GET THAT CALCULATOR OUT!

The moral of the story is that you work way too hard for your money, Don’t just give it away.  Be smart.  Watch the sales and watch your wallet.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

So tell us what you found.  I bet you guys found some awesome deals as well.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy