Deal Seeking Mom

shopping trips

Target + Kroger Shopping Trips: Spent $61.59, Saved $70.93

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My first stop this week was Target, where I stocked up on Revlon nail files and Zyrtec (finally, yay!).

I’m not really sure how their registers are programmed these days. The Revlon Target coupons adjusted down to the selling price, but on the Zyrtec, I was given the overage on the manufacturer’s coupons. Not complaining at all since it helped reduce the price of the TP that was already a good deal!

My total spent for this trip was $4.85, a savings of $28.59.

Plus I received these two awesome Catalinas that I can use on a future purchase.

They’re manufacturer’s coupons, so I can stack them with some of the Target store coupons that I still have to save even more!


My next stop was Kroger to see if I could get more of the cheap Santa Cruz organic juice, as well as to get milk. Unfortunately, our store was out of the private label organic milk, so I had to purchase Horizon organic milk at $6.79 a gallon — ouch!

  • (2) Arnold 100% Wheat Bread — on sale 2/$6
  • Horizon Organic Milk
  • Kroger Brand Turbinado Sugar
  • Smuckers Sugar-Free Jam
  • Bananas
  • Onions

I later returned the Smuckers Jam because I didn’t realize that it was made with Splenda, and I also had my $0.50 ecoupon from Cellfire come off my total from the Grand Slam Savings promo last week.

My total spent for this trip was $24.01, a savings of $14.07.


Finally, I had to send my husband back to Kroger yesterday to get more milk and bread, both of which we have been going through like crazy lately, and I had him pick up a few other items for me.

  • Purex Naturals Laundry Detergent, $1.99 — used $1/1 Purex Detergent or Laundry Sheets (RP 03/13/11), $0.99
  • (2) Kroger Bakery Italian Bread Loaves — on sale $1 ea.
  • (2) Arnold 100% Wheat Bread — on sale 2/$6
  • (2) Private Selections Organic Milk
  • Kroger Gelatin
  • Black Grapes

My total spent for this trip was $32.73, a savings of $28.27.

I never did make it to Sam’s Club last week like I wanted to, but we’ll be going in the next few days. I’m well under budget for the past few weeks, so I’ll be able to stock up on plenty of meat and produce!

Target, Kroger, Meijer Shopping Trips: Spent $58.02, Saved $77.90

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I promised last week that I’d start sharing more of my shopping trips to demonstrate more practical approach to couponing than what you’ll see on Extreme Couponing, and here’s my attempt to do so.

As I mentioned back in January, our family is committed to cooking more from scratch and purchasing organic when it makes sense, so that has limited the number of coupons that I use for groceries. Instead I track the sales and prices on produce to get the most bang for my buck, and most of my coupon usage is for cleaning products and health and beauty items.

I had planned to pick up several other items at Target, like the Purex Complete Crystals and the Rayovac Batteries, but my favorite store seems to have grown in popularity and has been continually shopped out of everything lately. I was lucky to get the one Zyrtec that I did — it had fallen behind the 24-count packages…

  • (1) Up & Up Cotton Swabs (300 ct.), $1.39

My total spent for this trip was $3.18, a savings of $8.50.


I stopped by Kroger on Saturday and found the great Santa Cruz Organic Juice deal. I’ve not been back in to see if they’re still on sale, but I’m really hoping they are because I love the Orange Mango!

  • Bananas — I cannot believe how much the price of bananas has skyrocketed! I picked up some of the discounted ripe bananas to freeze for smoothies to defray the costs a little.
  • (1) Cantaloupe
  • Organic Apples — on sale for $0.99/lb.
  • (7) Voskos Yogurt, $1.69 — used (7) $0.75/1 Voskos Yogurt blinkies that I’ve been holding onto, $0.19 ea.

My total spent for this trip was $15.12, a savings of $39.84.

Finally, I ran to Meijer yesterday to stock up on some eggs and frozen chicken breasts (hubby is doing P90X right now), and took advantage of some produce sales while I was there. I was hoping to pick up the 4/$5 Blackberries, but sadly our store was out of them.

  • (2) Tyson Bagged Frozen Chicken Breasts — on sale for $4.99 ea.
  • (3) Meijer Naturals Chicken Stock — on sale 3 for $5
  • (10) Ears Sweet Corn
  • (6) Ataulfo Mangoes
  • (5) Artichokes
  • (1) Brussels Sprouts
  • (1) Balsamic Vinegar

My total spent for this trip was $39.72, a savings of $29.56, and I received a $1 Catalina for a future purchase.

I also stocked up on produce during the 10/$10 get one FREE sale at Meijer last week. However, it’s been awhile since I’ve stocked up on meats, so we’ll likely be making a trip to Sam’s Club sometime this week to do so.

Quick Target Shopping Trip: Spent $1.59, Saved $31.61

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We ran to Target last night because I really wanted to get some of the FREE after coupons Excedrin. Unfortunately my store was cleaned out, so I’ll have to save my coupons for later this month. I did pick up a few nice deals while I was there though:

All together I spent $1.59 plus tax after coupons, a savings of $31.61! I used a $5 gift card that I earned previously, so my out of pocket costs were actually $0.

My store had lots of the Pop Art Pixies sets — regular price on this set was $9.99, marked down to $2.48.The Pop Art Pixies site will let you print two coupons, so that’s two toys for the gift closet for less than $1!

Meijer Shopping Trip: Spent $12.08 Saved $86.29

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I headed to Meijer this afternoon to take advantage of the Kraft Cheese deal and picked up some other bargains while I was there. I went through the U-scan to get the Kraft Cheese, and it worked perfectly! I didn’t even need a cashier to come over to approve the $5 off coupon.

Here’s what I scored with coupons:

  • 20 Assorted Kraft Chunk Cheese — used (4) $5/5 Kraft Product coupons in 2 transactions, $0.16 ea.
  • 3 loaves Arnold Wheat Bread — used (3) $1 off coupons, $0.89 ea.
  • 4 Ball Park Franks — used (4) $2/1 Ball Park coupons (no longer avail.), $0.50 ea.
  • 4 packets Simply Asia Seasoning — used $0.50/1 Simply Asia coupon, FREE.
  • 2 packages Earthbound Farm Organic Lettuce — used (2) $0.75/1 Earthbound coupons, $1 ea.

Some nice markdowns I found:

  • Meijer Vienna Bread, was$1.89, now $1.13
  • Rostello Roasted Chicken Breast, was $2.99, paid$2.39
  • Meijer Northern Beans, was $2.69, now $1.34
  • Meijer Garden Frenzy (squash, peas, carrots, broccoli, etc. medley), was $5.20, now $3.12

Additional produce:

All together I spent $12.08 plus tax after coupons and Catalinas, a savings of $86.29! It’s pretty amazing to think that a non-coupon user might walk into the same store and pay $98.37 for those very same items.

Check out the Meijer deals for this week for more savings!

Kroger Shopping Trip: Spent $43.49 Saved $102.05

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I hit Kroger on Sunday to take advantage of the Add Up The Savings Event and stock up on some items we were getting low on. I did four separate transactions to take advantage of some Catalina deals, and I walked away with $2.50 to use on my next order.

Here’s what I scored:

  • 2 Nature Valley Granola Bars
  • 4 Nature Valley Granola Thins
  • 1 Nature Valley Nut Clusters
  • 8 Better Oats Oatmeal
  • 12 Progresso Soups
  • 3 Muir Glen Organic Tomato Paste
  • 20 Luna Bars
  • 6 Sunny D Juices
  • 1 Welch’s Grape Jelly
  • 2 Pints Blueberries (not so much of a deal at 2/$4, but I love fresh blueberries!)
  • 1 Cantaloupe
  • 2 Gallons Milk

I used coupons from the Deal Seeking Mom Coupon Database on all of the items except for the milk and produce. All in all it wasn’t one of my finest trips, but I still have plenty of room in my budget to tackle the Mega Event deals this week to round up some other items we’re getting low on!