Earthfare Deals & what to do with unwanted candy

I confess I haven't made it to Earthfare in awhile, but since I was in the neighborhood today, I stopped in for a few deals. Before I go, I always check the match-ups that Hannah at Frugally Farming Family does. She's a mother of 7 and still finds it in her budget to go to Earthfare. You go, girl!

She notes the best deals at the top of the list if you want to look quickly. However, my favorite deal wasn't advertised:

• Back to Nature select crackers, including their version of Cheez-its: $2 a box! That's half price for Earthfare and much better than the typical sale at Kroger: $3. I watch this product closely because it's my kids' favorite snack. Once you taste how good these are, you'll never go back to that neon orange excuse for a cracker. Tip: If you don't see them on the shelf near the cheese, check on the end cap, where they put some of their best deals.

I also bought:

• bulk sliced almonds for $5.99 / lb (savings of $2/lb)--great for holiday cooking / topping casseroles.
• Glee Gum, 18 ct: $.75, use B1G1 coupon makes them $.38 each. This is a great stocking stuffer or donation to Christmas charities.
• bag of organic apples: $5.99 (not a great price but this is one of my dirty dozen I only buy organic)
• bag of organic potatoes: $5.99 (again, not a great price but this is one of my dirty dozen I only buy organic)
• I contemplated the Cascadian Farms and Muir Glen deals, but I think I can find them cheaper elsewhere.

Finally, they're having a promotion, Trick or Trade In, through Nov. 5 where you can turn in Halloween candy in exchange for healthier goodies. No coupon necessary. I chose the 1-50 piece option that gets you a goody bag. Inside was a huge apple, $1.50 of coupons for Earthbound Farms good for 8 months, and a coupon for one free itty bitty bites meal (value: $3.99). You can get this to-go and feed it to your kids the next day if it's not lunch or dinner time. Offer valid through mid November.

The Take the Boot Challenge is for natural ant-acids. If you have Rolaids in your medicine cabinet, you could trade those in for a better alternative.

Every Thursday night, kids eat free with at least one adult meal worth $5 or more, 4-8pm.

And if you homeschool or are an educator, you could save 5% with ID.

Go green, save green!

Halloween Candy Deals

It's mid-October and I'm trying not to panic yet that I have NO Halloween candy. I'm being patient because I refuse to pay full-price. I keep waiting for the best deals in town to speak to me! Since it's pretty quiet out there, I decided to do some digging.

I first start with what coupons I have from the paper or online. Expiring this week I have:

• $1/2 Hershey bars and
• $1/3 Hershey, Reese's or Kit Kats.
• I also have $1/2 Hershey kisses and
• $1.50/3 Mars candies including M&Ms, Twix, Milky Way, Three Muskateers, and Snickers from 10/10's paper.
• Thanks to Coupon Katie for pointing out a number of printables on Coupons.com right now, including Nestle, Wonka, Skittles, Starburst, and Lifesavers. They're higher value but for larger bags.

Personally, I don't buy candy that I'm not willing to eat. I know they say not to buy what you like for health reasons, but that's downright wasteful to me. I detest most hard candy and always go for the chocolate. Snickers, Twix, and M&Ms are big winners in our house; so my hunt is for the best deal to pair with this coupon.

This week through 10/16 you can get bags of that size for $2.50 each at Kroger and CVS. Buy 3 bags, and it's $2 a bag with that coupon. Tip: While you're at CVS this week, make sure you print coupons at the kiosk before shopping. I got a free bag of Brachs candycorn with a $.99ECB (the small bags are on sale for $.99). I also got a bag of Hershey's miniatures for $2.50, used $1/1 coupon, making it $1.50. Not bad, but would I hand out either of these to trick or treaters? Doubtful.

Then it hit me: check Iheartwags and IheartCVS to see what deals are coming up! These sites give you previews of the best deals weeks in advance. Love it! Next week at Walgreen's, the price for those bags will still be $2.50 each, but if you wait until 10/24, they will be that price with a $.50RR, making 3 bags $1.83 each.

UPDATE 10/17:

The best deal I see starting today is at CVS when the kiosks will be printing an ECB that will save you an additional $1 on 2 bags. It gets even better: there's a $1/2 coupon in today's paper. Since they're priced at $2.50 each, you can use both the CVS coupon and the manufacturer coupon, making each bag $1.50 each for two bags. According to next week's preview, the price will drop to $2 a bag, but there's no telling if they'll still be print the $1/2 CVS coupons. So you save either week.

Even if the prices are better at Target or Kroger, I'll still buy my candy at CVS because I think they have the best rewards program. In addition to those savings, I can use ECBs from other purchases to pay for my candy entirely. That's what I'm talking about!

But wait! What's "green" about this candy? Absolutely nothing. So I'll also be on the look-out for deals on fair trade chocolate. I didn't see any bagged candy deals on Hannah's match-ups for Earthfare this month. Maybe World Market?

I did order my reverse trick-or-treating kit that my kids will be handing out to the neighbors, and it just arrived! I suppose it would be pretty hypocritical of me if I didn't have some fair trade chocolate to distribute on my doorstep as well. Any suggestions, greeniacs?

If I don't find fair trade chocolate, I'll distribute mini playdoughs that I got for free with Kohl's cash. Love that!

On the Hunt for the Hunts

The Dilemma: what to stuff dozens of plastic eggs for 3 kids for 4--maybe 5 Easter egg hunts over 2 weeks.

The Environmental Concern: don't want to buy stuff that will be thrown away instantly

The Taste Concern: don't want to buy candy just because it's cheap; I'll only buy what I eat

The Time Crunch: three days 'til my first hunt and I only have an hour to shop

The Cost Cap: $10 (preferably $5-$10)

In years past, I've opted to stuff Easter eggs with Dove miniature chocolate eggs--my favorite! However, when I started calculating how many I would need this year (2 dozen, per kid, per hunt), my eyes glazed over and the chuh-ching rang in my head. With my new good deal sleuthing skills, surely I'd be successful in finding a solution.

I began with trying to find coupons for Dove on their website; none to be had. I then saw CVS has Dove candy on sale this week for $3 a bag and if I buy 4 bags, I earn $3 ECBs (Extra Care Bucks). So I suppose that's like getting my candy for $9, but I'm still out $12 initially. Seems a bit much.

Downgrading chocolate choices, I printed a couple coupons for $1/2 Nestle eggs. Target has them on sale this week for $2.69 each, bringing my costs to $2.19 a bag; ok price. Walgreens also has a $1/2 coupon in the March coupon book. IF they go on sale for $2/bag, that would make them only a buck a bag with both coupons. The problem is they're not on sale this week and I need something by Friday. Hmmm. So I emailed a few friends for help and got some good ideas I hadn't considered.

Heather Robinson of The Mommyhood said she uses a variety of stickers, coins, tattoos, and candy. This year she was considering adding little stamps with ink in the cap that can be found in the dollar bin at Target. Last year she had bought bunny ears for the kids but the adults were the ones wearing them; fun.

Gabrielle Blake of Couponing in Critical Times commented that stickers have been the biggest hit at her hunts in years past. They're easy to find, you can cut the sticker pages so that each egg has a variety, they're inexpensive, relatively eco-friendly, and the kids love them. SOLD!

Following my rule of clustering errands to save gas, I planned around the consignment sale at Central Baptist Church in Bearden. Tip #1: It's going on again tomorrow (3/10 from 9:30am - 2pm), has a decent collection of clothes (no toys), and the check-out line wasn't bad. Tip #2: Krispy Kreme is across the street. If your kids received any free donut valentines, they expire 3/16. Brooke and I shared a free donut after the sale; a nice reward for both of us! Tip #3: If you missed this sale, don't worry. There are loads of others before Easter; follow Knoxmoms for details.

But back to my main mission. Before the consignment doors opened, I stopped at The Dollar Tree and A.C. Moore on Morrell Road. I wasn't too impressed with the Easter themed sticker choices at The Dollar Tree, but I was excited to see several packs of 100 autocollants (shiny) stickers already separated: Spider Man, Sponge Bob, Barbie, Disney Princesses, Thomas, and Scooby Doo--score! I picked up three packs to give whoever opened it something they'd like.

Next door, A.C. Moore had a good collection of 506 Easter stickers and 136 shiny cute insect stickers for $1 each (look near the registers). I'll have to cut these up, but I have a great variety now. I'll likely stash some away for art projects or maybe even next year's hunts.

Thankfully I have all the plastic eggs I need from buying after-Easter sales last year. So for just $5, I now have nearly a thousand stickers! That should do it. I'll miss having a stash of Dove chocolates to nibble on, but this is a far wiser choice for my bottom line and my bottom. ;-)