Meijer Grocery Savings - 4/12/09

I went to Meijer today to pick up a few things. I don't need much this week - which is a good thing cause sales and deals really suck. Last week I stocked up on milk when it was $.88/ 1/2 gallon and the expiration date was 2 weeks long so I made sure I got enough on the last day of the sale to last 2 weeks. I did need bread and veggies though so here's my shop:

Daisy Cottage Cheese - $2.79
Raisin Bran Crunch Extra Cereal - $4.49
2 Loaves Nature's Pride Bread - $3.00

(Below was part of the 10/$10 Get 11th Free Sale)

2 Dole Bagged Salad - $2.00
Earthbound Farm Carrots - $1.00
2 Containers Blackberries - $2.00
Aunt Millies Hamburger Buns - $1.00
Aunt Millies Potato Bread - $1.00
3 Heads of Broccoli - $3.00
Mushrooms - $1.00

Saved: $23.65
Total Spent OOP: $13.86

I love it when I save more than I spend!

The Nature's Pride bread was on sale for $1.50 and had $.55 peelies on them. Since my Meijer rounds coupons over $.50 up to $1 - I got the loaves for $.50 each after coupons.

Plus - the Raisin Bran has a mail in rebate on the box - so I will get $4.49 back.

Possible Free Michael Angelo's!

I'm starting to love Michael Angelo's! Here, they do it again with this incredibly generous rebate for $10/$20 family serve entrees, making them close to half price. ( Click Here to print the rebate). When you combine this rebate with the buy one get one free printable coupon they have from a few weeks ago and your looking at some really cheap or free dinners!

Now, I'm not a huge fan of frozen dinners, but Michael Angelo's are really yummy and I like to have a few of these on hand for those nights when we are tempted to eat out.

Here are the details for the rebate:

Purchase:
• At least $20 worth of Michael Angelo’s® Family Serve (30oz. -
40oz.) Frozen Entrées
by February 14, 2009
Submit:
• The UPC bar code
from at least three Michael Angelo’s® Family Serve (30oz. - 40oz.)
Frozen
Entrées
• Walmart cash register receipt(s) dated by February 14, 2009 with
Michael Angelo’s®
Family Serve items circled

Free Hair Cut from Herbal Essences

Free Hair Cut from Herbal Essences

Enter 2 UPC codes from speciality marked bottles of Herbal Essences and print out your coupon for a free hair cut! How simple is that?!

FAQ

What Shampoo/Conditioner collections are participating?The
collections that are participating are specially marked bottles of Hello
Hydration, Body Envy, Long Term Relationship, Color Me Happy and Totally
Twisted. Specially marked bottles will have a green sticker on the front
featuring the free haircut offer as indicated in the bottles to the right.

Where can I redeem my voucher? Once your redemption form,
original receipts, and original Proof of Purchase UPC codes been received and
processed by TLC, you will be mailed a voucher which will include a website that
will have a list of venues. Venue locations will not be provided prior to you
receiving your voucher in the mail due to agreements made between TLC and
participating venues.

How will we know if a participating hair salon is near us? Wouldn't it suck to buy the product, send in for the rebate only to find out we have to drive 30 minutes to get the free hair cut?

But then, I guess I find some of my answer here:

What if there is not a participating salon within 30 miles of my
residence?
If there is not a participating salon within 30 miles of
your residence, then please contact TLC’s Concierge service at the phone number
listed on your voucher and alternative arrangements will be made with you.

I guess they do expect you to drive up to 30 minutes for your free hair cut. After the cost of gas for that 30 minute drive, is it really a free hair cut anymore? Wish they would just be upfront about the hair salons which are participating so that I can decide how far I want to drive or even if I want to get my hair cut at a particular salon. What's the big secret anyways?

I guess this is good news:

Are there any restrictions to this offer?
Yes, only one (2) Reward Voucher can be used per person and two (2) Reward Vouchers per household. Only one (1) Reward Voucher can be used per visit.

Dove T-Shirt and Coupons

Free Dove 'You're Beautiful' T-Shirt with $15 Dove purchase and $2.25
shipping. There is also Dove money saving coupons on the same page.

I normally don't send away for things that require shipping, however, I really like this shirt and it's only $2.25 and I am pretty sure I have $15 in receipts for Dove products. (*Think: Kmart Super Doubles!)

Besides, it's such a nice message. Sometimes we need to be reminded that we are all beautiful.

Click here for your Free Dove 'You're Beautiful' T-Shirt and coupons.

My Awesomely Awesome Deal at Kroger

I went to Kroger last night to pick up a few things and here is what I got.

4 Glade Flameless Candles @ 8.97 each
5 Fuze Teas @ $1.00 each
1 Kroger Macaroni Salad @ $1.50
1 Kroger Sour Cream @ $1.00
4 1/2 gallons Turkey Hill Iced Tea @ $1.00 each

I know it dosn't seem like much but you know what they say - money comes in small packages.

So the total after all coupons and discounts was: $24.22

BUT.... I split the Glade Flameless Candles up on two orders - two different receipts so I can send in for the Glade Flameless Candle rebate for myself and give the other one to my friend. So, already I will be reimbursed $17.94.

ALSO.... For every Glade Flameless Candle you buy you will receive a $4 Catalina for money off your next shopping order! So....

I also received another $4 catalina for buying 5 Fuze Teas!

Basically what this comes down to is, last night, I got paid roughly $16 bucks to go shopping! Now that's an Awesomely Awesome Deal!

Creative Uses for Free Product Coupons

Free product coupons are manufacturer coupons which when redeemed, will instantly refund you the price of the product. You can find coupons for free products several different ways. Occasionally in the Sunday coupon inserts, they will issue coupons for free products. You can sometimes find other free product coupons by special store promotions, mail in rebate forms, home coupon mailers, contest/sweepstakes or straight from the manufacture. While it’s great to get a free product coupon, have you ever thought about the best use for them? I know your thinking, what’s better then free? Well, there are several ways you can put your free product coupon to even better use.

The following are some ideas on the best way you can use your free product coupons:

Buy One Get One Free Sales

Save your free product coupons and wait for a sale. If your store has a product on sale for buy one get one free, you can use this in combination with your free product coupon. Simply purchase two products and get one free from the store and the other free with your coupon.

Coupon Swap

If you have a free product coupon for a product you can’t use, swap it with other coupons that you can use. You can do this several ways. There are online coupons swapping groups, message boards or yahoo groups who love swapping coupons. You can also check and see if there is a local swap group where people in your area get together and swap coupons. If there isn’t one – it might be worthwhile and fun to start your own coupon-swapping group.

Store Promotions

Sometimes stores will have special promotions such as purchasing $100 worth of groceries and get $20 off your shopping order. Most of the time this price is before coupons, so if you use your free product coupons to help you reach your $100 goal. By doing this, your not really spending any more money but still reaching your $100 goal so you can get $20 extra bucks off your shopping order.

Rebates

Some stores like CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid and others have monthly rebate promotions. If their promotion is for the same product you have a coupon for, you can purchase the product, use your free product coupon and then send in for the rebate and get the money back (before coupons). You can also do this with other mail in rebates that are not store related.

I decided to stimulate Kroger

Isn't that such a weird word? Stimulate. It sounds like a body part.

Anyways, Kroger is having a stimulate promotion until 5/31/08 where you buy Kroger Gift Cards, they will give you 10% more in gift cards. You have to buy them in intervals of $300, $600 or $1200. I had been thinking about it for the past couple weeks. Even though I know I would use them because we shop at Kroger weekly and I would be making money on it -- it's still hard to hand over that much money and have a permanent investment - at least for me.

But I did - and I went for the big-gun! I handed them $1200 and they handed me 4 $330 Gift Cards. So basically I just made $120 in like 5 minutes. That's 2 weeks worth of groceries for us! Pretty Cool!

We haven't gotten our stimulate check yet so I am glad they didn't ask for proof - like I heard some stores were doing.

Kroger Stimulus Check Bonus

KROGER STORES OFFER CUSTOMERS FREE GROCERIES

CINCINNATI, Ohio, April 16, 2008 – The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) said today that beginning May 2, 2008, customers can receive free groceries through a gift card program available exclusively in Kroger stores. The program allows Kroger customers to exchange their tax refund or economic stimulus checks for a Kroger gift card with an extra $30.00, $60.00 or $120.00 added to it. Gift card amounts correspond to the payment amounts outlined by the Internal Revenue Service for the federal economic stimulus program.

For example:
Load This Amount Onto A Kroger Gift Card: Receive Kroger Gift Card(s) Valued At This Amount:
$300.00 $330.00
$600.00 660.00 (2 gift cards valued at $330.00 each)
$1,200.00 $1,320.00 (4 gift cards valued at $330.00 each)

This might be a little more practical investment than investing your whole check to Sears. Considering I spend between $250 - $400 a month on all grocery and household items, this would be almost a years worth of groceries for us! Too bad I shop at more stores than just Kroger. Too bad they want you to invest your whole check and not just some of it - something I am just not willing to do.

How does everyone else feel about this? Will you be investing your whole stimulus check into one store for a small bonus?

Stretch Your Stimulus Check at Sears and Kmart

Get 10 Percent More From Your Stimulus Check When You Shop

When customers bring their stimulus checks to a Sears or Kmart cash
register, they can convert the amount of the check into gift cards, plus
receive a bonus gift card worth an additional 10 percent. To be eligible,
the amount of gift cards purchased must be equal to the full value of the
stimulus check. The gift cards can be redeemed at any Sears, Kmart or
Lands' End retail stores or online at sears.com or landsend.com. The
promotion is scheduled to last from May 14 to July 19, 2008.

Johnson added: "Whether customers plan to use their stimulus checks for
the everyday items they need, updates to their homes or wardrobes,
purchasing Energy Star(TM) rated appliances, or perhaps even to get a head
start on holiday shopping, the Sears Holdings stimulus check program
provides the flexibility to redeem the gift cards at Sears, Kmart, Lands'
End retail outlets or online at sears.com or landsend.com."

Sears dosn't want you to just invest some of your check in them, they want it ALL! I personally can't see investing all my check in Sears, Kmart or Lands End. Even with a 10% bonus - it's just too restricting.

Not Me Strikes Again

About 8 months ago, I bought a nice Teflon pot/skillet. Although I begged and pleaded with 'Not Me' to please stop using metal utensils on my skillet - I was heartbroken when I discovered the bottom was completely scratched up. This, of course, frustrates me. Especially since 'Not Me' won't even tell me why he did it.

*Sigh*

However, this weekend I feel lots better. Here is why:


As if getting a brand new stock pot, skillet and cutting board wasn't good enough - I got a killer deal on them at Bed Bath & Beyond.

The Stockpot
$19.99
-$4.00 (20% coupon)
Total: $15.99

Plus this stockpot has a $10 Mail In Rebate! I've never had a stockpot before and I love it! The lid rotates to lock on so the lid wont fall off when you drain the water. It's very nice.

The Chef Pan & Cutting Board
Chef Pan $19.99
Cutting Board $12.99
- $10 ($10/$30 purchase)
Total: $22.98

The Chef Pan also has a $10 Mail In Rebate! This Chef's pan is 11" and so nice! It's very deep and has kind of a scooped bottom. I wasn't planning on getting the cutting board - just the Chefs pan. However I had this coupon for $10/$30 and since the Chef's pan was already $19.99 whatever else I bought would have been free or $10 off. The cutting board I have is huge and I wanted something smaller so when I cut up apples or banana's for the babies. The cutting board is great cause it has rubber on both ends so it wont slide as your cutting.

Chef's Pan, Stockpot, Cutting Board
Before coupons and rebates: $52.97
After coupons and rebates: $18.97

Also, I put all these items on www.PriceProtectr.com so if they drop in price I can get even more money back.

'Not Me' can have my old pan that is ruined now - Mama's got some new goodies 'Not Me' isn't going to touch!

I'm very proud of my ham!

I got these two hams at Meijer Sunday. They were on sale for .99 lb, which was nearly half price. Not only that but I had $1 coupons for Cooks Ham AND a $5.00 MIR. One ham was 10.75 lbs and the other ham was 8.30 lbs.

So...

Retail price for both hams would have been $34.10
I bought them on sale for $18.87
- 2 $1 coupons
=$16.87
-$5.00 MIR
=$11.87

So, I got 19 lbs of good ham for $11.87 (or .62 cents a pound.) I was so proud of myself!

www.PriceProtectr.com

http://www.priceprotectr.com/ (tricky spelling - but it is correct)

This looks to be like an awesome site! First of all, I didn't know so many stores gave refunds for products that went on sale after you purchased it. Add that to a site that will keep track of your purchases, the stores who offer this promotion and then email you if the product drops in price. Then all you have to do is go get your refund!

I can't count the times I have purchased a product only to find it in the ad, on sale for $100 cheaper.

This site does all the work for you and it's very simple to use. Although I haven't officially given it a try, it makes me want to go out and buy something just so I can use the site.