Wednesday, March 3, 2010

FREE to nearly free Granola Bars


Just back from Kroger. Here are my best finds this week. The Stock the Cart event (which does not require you buy a certain number of items) makes for some good deals and may go on through next week; not sure.

Now is the time to stock up on granola bars. I know they're not that healthy, but I like to have some on hand in the car or for kids lunches. This week, there are four ways to save on every box of Nature Valley or Fiber One bars.

1. They're on sale for $2.29 each.
2. If you've been loading Cellfire and Shortcuts deals, you should have 3 $.40 e-savers for both Nature Valley bars and Fiber One bars.
3. You can find $.40 coupons in most papers or online, but recently I found 4 $.50 coupons for Nature Valley Sweet & Salty and 2 $.50 coupons for the lower calorie Fiber One bars. Kroger had also sent me a coupon for one free box of Fiber One. And remember Kroger doubles all of these.
4. Since they're having a catalina deal on both products through March 21, I earned $3 from buying 4 NV boxes and $1.50 for buying 3 FO boxes. Tip: If you'd prefer to stick to 3 NV boxes, you still earn $2.

So when you break it down, my 3 Fiber One bars actually made $.12 ($6.87-$2.29-$1-$1-$.40-$.40-$.40-$1.50 catalina=-$.12) and my Nature Valley bars cost $.24 each ($9.16 -$4 in doubled coupons -$1.20 esavers -$3 catalina=$.96 or $.24 each).

If you only have the $.40 coupons, you can still get some deals. Just make sure you have an e-saver and coupon for every box you buy and that you buy at least 2 or 3 boxes to get one of the catalina deals detailed here:
Nature Valley: buy 2, get $1; buy 3, get $2; buy 4, get $3.
Fiber One: buy 3, get $1.50; buy 4, get $2.50; buy 5, get $3.50.

If you insist on organic granola bars, pick up 2 Cascadian Farms boxes for nearly half off (2/$5) and use a $1.50/2 peelie to make them $1.75 a box.

There are also a few other freebies to be found. Chex Mix is on sale for $1.50. Use a $.50 coupon that doubles and a Cellfire or Shortcuts $.50 savings and they're free. Just remember you can only use 2 internet printable coupons. You can also get a Fiber One yogurt multi-pack for free. They're on sale for $2, use a $1 printable, and $1 esaver from Cellfire or Shortcuts.

The large boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios are also a deal right now. They're on sale for $2.99, I had a $1/2 coupon and 2 $.55 esavers. That brought my total to $1.94 a box (but these are twice the size of a typical box--so a great deal).

Marcal toilet paper, made from 100% recycled paper, is also a good deal. Twelve large rolls are on sale for $6.49 and the paper had a $2 coupon a few weeks back. It's a good way to support the recycled products industry. If we don't buy, they won't make it.

Some other deals: Thomas bagels are 2/$5, Barilla pasta is $1 each, and Progresso soup is $1.25 each but when you buy 2, you can save $1.50 through coupons and esavers.

Mahi mahi is $3.99 lb (about half off). I recommend buying the smaller packs that are already vacuum sealed and put them directly into the freezer. I've got a great recipe I'll share in a future blog with the asparagus that's also on sale for over half off.

My total was higher than usual since I stocked up on lots of items: $189.67 but I saved 42%. Looks like I'll need to try one of my "skip a week at the stores plans" to stay on budget for the month. Happy saving.

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