Daily Archives: January 30, 2010

Jan 30 2010

Dear, Dear Dierbergs!

Dierbergs is another grocery store which I don’t shop at much here in St. Louis mainly because the closest one to me is several miles away.  Before we bought our house, we lived in an apartment in Chesterfield, and Dierbergs was less than a mile away so it was close and convenient but I still thought it cost too much.  That was before I started clipping coupons though!

My main reason for making the trip there today was because they had select meats on sale 5 for $19.95.  I thought the choices were pretty good.  Total savings on my receipt from the meat alone was $8.26.

I also wanted to take advantage of the Campbell’s Chunky Soups on sale for $1.47 each. I had 3 coupons for .40 cents off two cans.  Dierberg’s also doubles coupons under .40 so this equaled .80 cent x 3 which is .40 off per can making them just $1.07 per can!  Can’t beat that.

The Hormel Chilis were on sale 4 for $5 which is $1.25 per can.  I used two coupons for .50 cents off which would have equaled only paying $1 per can. But I guess I read it wrong and somehow picked up 5 cans.  Oh well. It basically made the fifth can only .25 cents.

Country Crock was on sale $1.99 per tub.  I used two .40 cent coupons which were also doubled.  This made the final price just $1.19 per tub.

Helmans was on sale for $3.49.  I picked up two with a .60 cent coupon making them about $3.19 each.  It’s still quite a bit, especially since I had to buy 2 to use the coupon, but this is an item that I know we’ll use so it was still a good price.

The paper towels are a name brand I’ve never tried before. They were $2.50 on sale, and I used a $1.50 coupon so that made them just $1.00.  Can’t beat that for 2 rolls.

Total spent out-of-pocket was $42.44.

Total savings from the meat was $8.26.

Total saved from coupons was $7.60.  $2 of this was from double coupons!

Jan 30 2010

Awwwwwe, Schnucks!

I don’t normally shop at Schnucks since there is a Shop ‘n Save less than a few blocks from my house, but after looking through their ad this week, and reading Coupon STL where I learned about this Ziploc Bag Deal, I decided to add a trip to Schnucks to my to-do list today.  Then, I remembered that the Schnucks at 10650 Olive Blvd in Creve Coeur doubles coupons so I decided to go there instead of to the Schnucks on St. Charles Rock Road which is closer to my house.  And I’m glad I did.

I used a coupon for every item you see in the picture except for the Chili Sauce and Bread.  Those were just on sale and a good deal compared to what I usually pay at Shop N Save.

The main buys I was interested in were first, the Ziploc deal.  They were $2.99 a box and if you bought 3 then you got a $2 coupon back at the register. I used a .45 cent coupon off 1 box, and a .40 cent coupon off each of the other two boxes.  This .40 cent coupon was doubled to .80 both times.  After coupons, I paid about $2.30 per box, but with the Ziploc rebate I mentioned above I’ll get $5 back.  This makes each box only .63 cents per box!  By the way, you can mail that rebate in 3 times per household!!

The Yogurt was on sale 10 for $5.  I had a $1.00 off coupon for those.

The SteamFresh Veggies were also 10 for $10.  I only bought two though and used a .35 cent off coupon for each.  That was doubled to .70 cents per bag, so I only paid .30 cents per bag.

The Green Giant Frozen Veggies were on sale 3 for $5.  I only bought 2 of those for about $1.67 per bag and used a $1.00 coupon off 2, so those came out to about $1.17 per bag.

Jet Dry was regular price at $4.69, but a .40 cent coupon doubled made it only $3.89.  This wasn’t on my shopping list, but I did this at Schnucks because I had compared prices with this item earlier at Dollar General and it was $4 there.  While cheaper at DG, the double coupon saved me .11 cents more.

The Hunts canned chili tomatoes were on sale $1.45 per can. I had planned on using two .45 cent coupons on these but you had to buy 3 per coupon. I found a vendor coupon on the shelf at Schnucks for $1 off 4 though.  So, with one $1 coupon, I decided to also try to use one of the .45 cent coupons as well. It worked!  So, with $1.45 off, I basically got 1 can for free.

I also used coupons on the Dole fruit cups, Swanson Chicken Broth,  and the Pledge wipes.

Total spent out-of-pocket was $43.04.

I saved a total of $9.70 in coupons. $1.90 of this was from double coupons. Not bad.

Jan 30 2010

Stretching the Buck

Sorry to bother you again with more bragging on my savings, but hey, it was one of my new year resolutions, remember?!

I’ve been planning my grocery shopping all week like it was a party!  Clipping coupons, studying the ads for the best deals, reading Coupon STL… I’ve totally become even more obsessed with stretching my dollar which is why I went to Dollar General today.  Back home in Tennessee, there’s a dollar store of some kind on every corner.  I have to admit that a trip to visit mom isn’t complete without stopping at the Family Dollar close to her house and picking up something.  They have the best socks!

I haven’t shopped at them much here in St. Louis because they were either too hard to find, or too scary to think about going into, but back around Christmas I did find a Dollar General nearby which isn’t too bad.

So, I stopped in at a local Dollar General today and went in (without my coupons) just to look around.  It was too good to be true with all the products they had that I needed so I decided to go back to the car, grab my coupons, and start my shopping. 

I picked up the trash bags for just $5 and used a .55 cent coupon.  The Taco and Chili Seasonings were .55 cents each and I used two .25 cent coupons on those. The Green Works Cleaner was $3.00 and I used a .50 cent coupon on it. The tea was just $2 and I used a $1 coupon on it. The post-its were also $2 and I had a $1 coupon for those.  Tide was $6 and I used a $1 coupon on it. The peanut butter was $2.15 each and I used a .50 cent off two coupon for those.

Total spent with tax = $21.10

Total saved from coupons = $5.05

Now, I know you are probably thinking, big deal!  I could have saved $5 anywhere.  But, I went to Schnucks (local grocery store here in St. Louis) after Dollar General and decided to do some price comparisons.  Dollar General beat them on ever product!  Here’s how they compare…

Trash Bags – $5.79 at Schnucks, only $5 at DG

Seasonings – .98 cents at Schnucks, only .55 cents at DG

Green Works – $3.39 at Schnucks, only $3 at DG

Post Its – $2.75 at Schnucks, only $2.00 at DG

Tide – $7.48 at Schnucks, only $6 at DG

Peanut Butter – $2.19 (on sale) at Schnucks, only $2.15 (regular price) at DG

That’s just over $30 total at Schnucks which I would have spent before coupons!

And I didn’t buy this today, but will soon…Cottonelle 6 count Toilet Paper was just $3 at Dollar General.  It was $5.19 at Schnucks!

I found numerous other offers as well which would definitely pay off with coupons, so I will be back!