Sadly, we do not have some of the awesome stores that I read a lot of the bloggers using for their couponing. We used to have a Harris Teeter in Hupps Mill (anyone a member of the cookie club when he or she was a kid?), and there used to be a Kroger in Danville, but no longer. The closest Kroger is in Martinsville. I find this very unfortunate, because if you combined some of Kroger's 10/10 deals with coupons, and the fact that Kroger doubles coupons...well it would have been nice.
However, we do have a Farmer's Foods. There is one in Hupps Mill (where Harris Teeter and the cookie club used to be years ago!) and I know there is one in Danville because we drove by it the other day, but I can't remember where exactly.
Farmer's is great because they double coupons up to a dollar. So, a coupon for fifty cents off a product will magically become one dollar off. A coupon for seventy-five cents becomes a dollar off as well. Now, all of Farmer's prices aren't comparable to Walmart; many things are cheaper at Walmart, except for what's on sale.
I had a GREAT shopping trip at Farmer's last week. They were running a promotion on General Mills products (Cheerios, Betty Crocker, Green Giant, Pillsbury). Once you spent $25 on select products, you received $10 coupon off your next order. Most of the products on the list were things I buy anyway, AND things I had coupons for. My initial price was $56, and then with coupons, it went down to $30. After that, I received the $10 off, so my out of pocket cost was thirty dollars, but overall, it cost me only 20. Here is what I got:
I didn't save my receipt, so I can't go through all of the deals with you sadly, but here is one example:
The Totino's pizza rolls were on sale for 2.99 each. At Walmart, they are a little over $3 each regular price. I had a coupon for 40 cents off of two, but since I was at Farmer's, it was really 80 cents. I got both bags for 5.20, and then that five dollars went towards my 25 dollar total. I actually overspent by about three dollars because I would have made my twenty-five dollar quota without the brownie mix. I didn't have a coupon for that, but it was on sale for 1.29, which is a good price, and I didn't want to come up short and miss the $10 back promotion, which would have ruined the whole deal. I like to keep cake mixes on hand anyway to surprise my students, or in case we get invited to something and I need to take a dessert. Or you know, in case we want to eat brownies, because they are delicious.
Soup's On at Farmer's This Week!
I got the sale paper today, and nothing is super exciting for me, except that the Campbell's Select Harvest soups are on sale for 1.29. This is about thirty cents cheaper than Walmart, and I have a lot of soup coupons because we eat a lot of soup, and it's canned, so it keeps for a while.
The best coupon I have for that is a fifty cents off two coupon, which will double to a dollar at Farmer's. So, I will get two cans for 1.58, or .79 each, which is a great deal considering they are usually 1.50 at Walmart. I have a few more coupons with one dollar off three, etc. The one dollar off three coupons will make them 2.87 for three, and .95 each. Another coupon has 1.50 off of three cans, which would make them 2.37 for the three, and .79 each. If I use all three of these coupons, I can get eight cans of soup for 6.82.
But wait, there's more! I still have the $10 off coupon from last week, so I would get all eight cans of soup for ZERO out of pocket.
Too much math? Tell me about it, and I'm an English major! But that's a good example of how combining coupon policies with sales can really save you money.
Other deals...
They have the Starkist 5.5 0z cans with vegetables and peppers on sale for 1.29, and if you get the Sunday paper, there was a coupon for fifty cents off any one can. Double this at Farmer's, and I can try it out for .29.
Pasta and Rice a Roni 10/$10 (I REALLY want to find a coupon for this one, but no luck yet!)
Pet Ice Cream $2.50 each, plus 1.00 off coupon from Sunday paper, would make it 1.50
Quaker Instant Oatmeal 2.50 each (you may have a coupon for this, but I don't seem to have one)
Emerald Breakfast to go: 2.79 plus there is a coupon on redplum.com for 1.10 off, making it 1.69
Various cereals (Capn Crunch, Honey Grahams, etc) 2.50 each
Hanover pretzels $1.25
Aunt Jemima Pancakes 2.50
Hunt's Spaghetti Sauce: 10/$10
More good things about Farmer's...
You do need a card to get the deals, but you don't have to fill out a single form. You just say, I would like a card, and they hand one to you. The store also has the Smart Source coupon machines throughout the store for additional coupons, which is exciting. The one in Hupps Mill has a CVS in the same shopping center, so you can do your couponing in one stop. AND, Farmer's has a Redbox machine, which I love on movie night. You cannot beat one dollar a night, and often there are codes for a free movie.
In fact, Wednesday night I see a nice cozy dinner of hot soup and a good movie! Dinner for two and a movie for one dollar out of pocket!
Good luck, and happy saving! :)
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