Spreadsheet Shopper

Shoprite 5/20/11 2x $3.99 Pantene - $3.00/2 mq - $4 oyno =...

Tue, 24 May 2011 00:41:02 -0400

Shoprite 5/20/11

2x $3.99 Pantene - $3.00/2 mq - $4 oyno = $0.49 each!

Technically I paid $0 oop since I used the $5 purina oyno. :)

Shoprite 5/19 Used a rain check. $3.99 bic soleil razor - $3 mq...

Thu, 19 May 2011 19:49:00 -0400

Shoprite 5/19

Used a rain check. $3.99 bic soleil razor - $3 mq = $0.99

Obviously I have not been couponing much lately. I just haven’t had much incentive.

Shoprite 2/15/11 2x $0.75 14.5oz Red Pack Diced Tomatoes -...

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 10:00:07 -0500

Shoprite 2/15/11

2x $0.75 14.5oz Red Pack Diced Tomatoes - $0.75->$1/2 IPQ = $0.25/can! This is even cheaper than ShopRite brand was during their Can Can sale ($0.40/can).

Shoprite 2/15/11 $0.74 Ronzoni Garden Delight - $1/1 MQ = $0.26...

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:16:30 -0500

Shoprite 2/15/11

$0.74 Ronzoni Garden Delight - $1/1 MQ = $0.26 profit per box!

Of course, this is not given as cash back to you but rather applied as a discount to the rest of your order.

Shoprite 2/10/11 Eggland’s Best Dozen Eggs $1.77with...

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 10:00:07 -0500

Shoprite 2/10/11

Eggland’s Best Dozen Eggs $1.77
with Shoprite Super Coupon: $0.99
- $0.35->$0.70 MQ
= $0.29 for a dozen eggs!

Shoprite 2/4/11 1lb Butterball Ground Turkey $1.79 -...

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 08:33:00 -0500

Shoprite 2/4/11

1lb Butterball Ground Turkey $1.79 - $0.75->$1 IPQ = $0.79! That’s an amazing price for a pound of meat! Turkey is also very lean, so it’s healthy too. Unfortunately I only printed 2 coupons before the coupon ran out of prints, so I was only able to get 2 packages.

Pro-tip: Take meat out of the plastic/styrofoam container and place in single meal sized portions in freezer bags marked with the date. For ground meat, squish it out in the bag so it’s as flat as possible. This allows it to defrost more quickly.

Shoprite 2/1/11 2x $1 Chobani greek yogurt - 2x $0.30->$0.60...

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 17:18:08 -0500

Shoprite 2/1/11

2x $1 Chobani greek yogurt - 2x $0.30->$0.60 ipq = $0.40 per yogurt! Retail is ~$1.79!

Shoprite 1/18/11 8x $0.50 Goya (must buy 2)- $0.60/2 Goya low...

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 10:32:39 -0500

Shoprite 1/18/11

8x $0.50 Goya (must buy 2)
- $0.60/2 Goya low sodium IPQ -> doubles to $1
- $0.60/2 Goya low sodium IPQ -> doubles to $1
- $0.75/3 Goya premium IPQ -> doubles to $1
= $4 - $3 = $1, or $0.125/can
I see lots of hummus in my future!!

$1.59 Chi-Chi’s Salsa - $0.50 MQ->$1 = $0.59

Also, the Can Can sale is currently going, meaning cans of veggies and such are on sale for $0.40. I bought like $10 worth for the food bank.

Safeway 1/18/11 2x $3.99 Splenda with fiber - $3.99 BOGO coupon...

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 19:17:00 -0500

Safeway 1/18/11

2x $3.99 Splenda with fiber - $3.99 BOGO coupon - $2 ipq = $2, or $1/box.

Retail is $5.79! One of these boxes lasts me about 6 months since I just use it for my morning coffee. Also, self checkout lane is ftw. I am the most coupon friendly scanner around. :P

Price Comparison Here we have 3 brands of jelly: Shoprite,...

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 21:27:00 -0500

Price Comparison

Here we have 3 brands of jelly: Shoprite, Smucker’s, and Welch’s. I’m not too picky about jelly brands, so I’ll buy any of them. They’re all 22oz. So it seems like they’re all the same price, but the Welch’s have a peelie coupon on them for $0.50 off! Most peelies will not double (coupon UPC starts with a 9), so it will be $1.50 for the Welch’s. Be sure to look for items with peelie coupons on them!

Good Prices - Pantry Items

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 10:01:06 -0500

This is the next post in my series of posts on good prices for items. This time I will be discussing strategies for purchasing pantry items. Since these items often have very long expiration dates, it’s easy to buy 10 of them when they are free/cheap with a coupon and just keep them in the pantry. Pasta lasts 2 years according to the box, so don’t worry about not being able to use it up by the expiration date.

Pasta - $0 to $0.40/box. They usually go on sale for $.80 to $1/box, and of course I use coupons.
Cereal - $1.50 or less. Cereal is a bit harder to get cheap. You really have to wait for a good sale and stack coupons.
Oatmeal - $2 or less per 10 pack. However, it is more frugal to buy a canister of oatmeal and mix in your own flavorings. A canister costs about the same as a 10 pack box but contains much more oatmeal.
Granola bars - $1.50/box of 10. Usually the best I can do is wait for a $2 sale and use a $1/2 coupon. BJs has a decent deal on these. A box of 48 is $8.99, or $0.19/bar, which is fairly close to $0.15/bar, if you are desperate.
Snack crackers - $1 to $1.50/box. Again, I usually wait until there’s a $2 sale and use a $1/2 coupon. Nabisco puts those out frequently. Also, if you are a fan of Wheat Thins on Facebook, you can print out a $1/1 Wheat Thins coupon.
Nuts - ~$1/12 oz. Nuts can be very pricey. Emerald nuts (usually in 12 oz canisters) go on sale for $1.67 and there’s often a $1.50/2 coupon, making them under $1 per canister. Recently I got a good deal on Planters — 2 for $5 - $1/2, and they had 25% more free in the bottle, so well over a pound of peanuts for $2.
Baking Items - coupons for items like flour, baking powder, cornstarch, etc. are rare. If you see them, snap them up!

I got this rice krispy treat free with my meal at Noodles &...

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 13:10:54 -0500

I got this rice krispy treat free with my meal at Noodles & Company by checking in on foursquare. If you have a smart phone, be sure to check for foursquare for specials to save you money and impress coworkers. ;) And of course, we ate about a third of it. It was huge!

Shoprite 12/9 Right Guard Deodorant $0.99 - $1 IPQ = FREE!

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 18:26:36 -0500

Shoprite 12/9

Right Guard Deodorant $0.99 - $1 IPQ = FREE!

Shoprite 12/3 $1.99 Quaker oatmeal - $2 IPQ = FREE!

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 22:44:14 -0500

Shoprite 12/3

$1.99 Quaker oatmeal - $2 IPQ = FREE!

Gap 11/18Cost $26.05 $24.99 Sweater (on 50% off sale)$19.50...

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 16:01:07 -0500

Gap 11/18
Cost $26.05

$24.99 Sweater (on 50% off sale)
$19.50 other shirt
$6.50 pair of socks
= $50.99 + tax

Back in August, Groupon offered $50 at the Gap for $25. November 18 was the last day to redeem it for $50 (after that date it would be $25). Anyway, I found 2 shirts I liked and that fit, which wasn’t quite $50, so I threw in a pair of socks. Although the Groupon stated it would not apply to certain sale items, the sweater sale price was allowed. I checked with the cashier before buying.

So the math:
$50.99 - $25 + $0.06 tax = $26.05 for 2 shirts for work and a pair of socks. I think that’s a good deal.

And yes, the -$50 Groupon on the receipt reduced the taxable total to only $0.99, so that saved me about $3 too!

Totally unrelated to the content of my blog, but one of my...

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 14:05:53 -0500

Totally unrelated to the content of my blog, but one of my on-again/off-again hobbies is photography. I was so happy to be featured here. ^^

landscapelifescape:

Puerta del Sol, Madrid, Spain. These coverings over the streets really helped keep me cool while walking around Madrid.

Submitted by spreadsheetshopper

Target 11/23Profit: $1.54 $0.97 Secret travel size$2.49 Olay...

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 13:06:07 -0500

Target 11/23
Profit: $1.54

$0.97 Secret travel size
$2.49 Olay bar

-$5 MQ ($5 off one Olay when you buy any Secret)

= FREE! + $1.54 overage

More delicious overage!

Whenever I coupon shop, I try to find a young and perky looking cashier, usually female. Newer cashiers tend to be nervous about coupons and more willing to push them through rather than upset the customer. This time, my cashier was probably no older than 15, a short girl with braces and a “New Team Member” sticker on her name plate. She pushed all my coupons through no problem, so I got lots of overage.

Target 11/23 10x $0.77 Goodlife wet cat food - 10x $1 MQ = $3.30...

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:47:06 -0500

Target 11/23

10x $0.77 Goodlife wet cat food - 10x $1 MQ = $3.30 profit

Of course, it’s not cash back, but overage applied to other items in my order. Like egg nog. :o

This past weekend I gave the ~20 Goodlife cat foods to my mom to donate to the animal shelter back home. Don’t really want to feed my cat rice and veggies but it is better than nothing for hungry kitties at the shelter. :(

Target 11/23 3x $0.97 Tide travel size - 3x $1 MQ = FREE! The $1...

Sun, 28 Nov 2010 00:16:51 -0500

Target 11/23

3x $0.97 Tide travel size - 3x $1 MQ = FREE!

The $1 Tide MQ in the P&G inserts has no size restrictions, so you can buy the travel size one for free. Also, since it is a P&G coupon, you can only use a max of 4 in one trip.

Now this brings up an interesting discussion about frugality in general. Unfortunately, when using coupons, it is often cheaper to buy smaller packages with coupons. This creates more waste — what is the cost of that waste in the long run? Ah, externalities.

Shoprite 11/23 Stouffer’s Lasagna 96 oz (!!!) = FREE! This...

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 08:00:00 -0500

Shoprite 11/23

Stouffer’s Lasagna 96 oz (!!!) = FREE!

This was my reward for spending $300 before coupons in 6 weeks. Quite doable! I didn’t even have to buy anything extra. I think all those free Hungry Man dinners really helped. The other option was a free turkey or ham, but I wouldn’t know what to do with one.