Dollar Deals at Kroger til 3/27

It looks like Kroger is continuing their mega sale the week of 3/21 - 3/27, which should mean that most of these deals are still good. However, I don't know about the Annie's and now the chicken breasts without bone is on sale for $1.99/lb.

I finally returned to Kroger after my week's sabbatical, and I'm happy to report I saved 55% ($140.33) today. Look for the mega deals that take $4 off 8 selected items. Remember you have to buy exactly 8 or increments of them to get the full savings; so mark them on your list as you add them to the cart. Prices below are assuming you qualify for the Mega Sale. And since the Cart Buster sale is still going on, you can still take advantage of most of the sales I noted in this post (like free Chex Mix and granola bars). A lot of the deals cost me less than a dollar after sales and coupons; here are my best finds.

Tyson bone-in chicken breasts are $.99/lb, which works out to about $3 for 3 breasts--a great deal. For tips on preparing and stretching 6 breasts over 4 meals, click here. Today I bought 6 packages, froze 4, and am roasting 2 with lemon pepper as I type. It smells wonderful.

Two of my favorite pastas are about as cheap as you can find them. Annie's organic mac n cheese is only $.50 a box. This is a staple in my house and I bought 26 boxes, but I promise I left LOTS of boxes for the rest of you! And if you're looking for a few items to total 8, this is a good item to add at the end of your trip.

Ronzoni pastas are also $.75 each. I like the Smart Taste penne and rotini and saved an additional $1/2 with coupons found here; now they have a $.75/1 coupon--which would make them free. I paid only $.25 though. But remember you can only use 2 internet printable coupons per product, per trip. I'm not sure if you can use multiple Ronzoni coupons for different types of pasta. Comment below if you've tried.

Sargento cheese was $.99 for 8 oz of shredded varieties. I had 2 $.40 coupons that doubled, making those $.19 each (can't seem to find them on the internet now).

Kens salad dressing is $1.49 each; use a $1/2 from the paper to make them $.99 each.

Classico sauces are $1.49 each and with this $1/2 coupon, they're only $.99 each.

Motts apple juice is $.99 each. Kroger had sent me a $1/2 coupon, making mine only $.49 each.

Certain types of Speed Stick deodorant were $1; with a $.50 coupon, I got that free. Irish Spring 3 bar packs were also $1; with a $.50/2, those were $.50 each.

You can also get Nature Valley Nut Clusters for $.29 (on sale for $2.29, use $1 coupon, and $1 e-saver from Cellfire or Shortcuts).

And though this doesn't qualify for my "dollar deals," I am most excited about a random find: laminated Knoxville and TN maps for just $3 (70% off). They were in a bin near the books and greeting cards. It's great to keep these in your car, and they last forever.

My total spent was $121.69 (just under budget for the week). What finds did I miss?

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.

Setting up for Savings-Free Pillsbury Grands til 2/13

After writing the blog below, I've been watching the Pillsbury deals at Kroger. This week you can actually make money with Pillsbury Grands biscuits. Here's how.

Make sure you've loaded savings for this item from Shortcuts and Cellfire. If you did so a few weeks ago, you should have at least 3 $.30/2 esavings. Through papers and online sources, you can easily find a few $.30/2 coupons which Kroger doubles. This item qualifies for the $.30 savings if you buy 10 items; remember to buy exactly 10. I suggest you get 4 Breyers ice creams to round out the savings, but Campbells Chunky soups also qualify.

So here's the breakdown. Buy 6 Pillsbury Grands biscuits for $1.29 each. Esavers should save you $.90, coupons $1.80, the mega event another $1.80. For buying 6, you'll receive $4 off your next shopping trip at check-out. You've only spent $3.24 and you get $4 back. Not bad. I'm hoping the next few weeks will present savings for other Pillsbury items like the pizza dough. I'll be watching...

PREVIOUS POST:

I'm no Kroger insider or coupon guru, but I'm going to make an educated guess that February will be a good time to stock up on Pillsbury products and that Sunday, February 21 may be the ideal day for savings. Hmmmm, how does she know this, you ask?

In December and January, Kroger hosted "mega events" the last week of the month starting on a Sunday. These give you savings of usually $5 instantly if you buy a designated amount of chosen products. And last month Kraft had a special: buy 5 designated Kraft products and get $5 off your next trip. These two events overlapped for one day only and made it possible to not only get free products but "make money." See how here.

Pillsbury has a similar promotion now through February 21. Buy 4, get $2, buy 5, get $3, or buy 6, get $4 off your next trip to Kroger. The nice thing is you can mix and match products including crescents, cookies, sweet rolls, biscuits, pie crusts, dinner rolls, loaves, breadsticks and pizza crust. All items must be purchased in one shopping trip, and I think you can only get one per day or at least per transaction, but you could earn savings every time you shop. These are Catalina coupons that will only print after your transaction is complete but are usually good for 2 or 3 weeks.

Since Pillsbury coupons seem to be in every Sunday newspaper and among most internet printable sites like here or here or here, you shouldn't have a problem finding a coupon for every item you buy. Just make sure you don't use more than two IP (internet printable) coupons per product, per transaction--new Kroger rule. But you can use as many from the paper as you can gather. And since most of these are $.50 or below, Kroger will double them.

The other way to save on Pillsbury is with Shortcuts and Cellfire (electronic coupons saved directly to your Kroger Plus card). I would advise you to load as many as you can now and then check back every couple of weeks to add more. Cellfire should be adding more Feb. 9. I currently have $6.80 from Cellfire and $4.90 from Shortcuts of potential Pillsbury savings. Make sure you print out lists from both sites so that you can match up coupons and e-savers, being careful to buy 2 as many of the coupons or e-savers require. Also check the expiration dates for both; some of mine expire Feb. 8, others Feb. 22.

Here's an example of how you could save (not sure of specific prices). Say I find crescents are on sale for $1.80, pizza crust for $2, and cinnamon rolls for $1.50. If I buy 2 of each, I can use a $.50/2 coupon for crescents, a $.40/2 for pizza crust, and $.40/2 for cinnamon rolls (those doubled = $2.60 savings). Shortcuts gives me an additional $3 savings. Since I'm buying 6, I'll get a $4 coupon at check-out. That's like getting all 6 products for just one dollar or $.16 each! I could be way off on the sale prices but you never know!

So if I'm correct in my prediction, Kroger will be hosting a mega event that includes Pillsbury products Feb. 21 - 27. If you go Feb. 21, you can still get in on the Pillsbury promotion. If you can pare a sale, a coupon that's doubled, an e-saver, a mega-event and a discount on future trips, you could save big. You just have to be patient and wait for the sale (hint: it's not this week!). But just in case I'm wrong about the Feb. 21 prediction, you might want to jump on any sales between now and then and buy at least 6 at a time. Hey, I've got no crystal ball! ;-)

This Week's Deals for a Buck or Less

This week I've been able to pick up some good deals for a buck or less at Walgreen's and Kroger. Prices are good through Saturday. Here are my suggestions. Kroger has some good 10 for $10 deals on produce including Bartlett pears, Gala apples, and avocadoes. Organic bananas are $.79 / lb.

There are several good deals on pasta. All Barilla pasta is $1 each (my kids love the miniature kinds). Annie's Organic Mac 'n Cheese is also a dollar. You can print up to two $.50 coupons here, giving you two free boxes since Kroger doubles coupons. Ronzoni Healthy Harvest pasta is on sale for $1.50 box; with a $1/2 coupon, that's $1 a box.

Turkey Hill iced tea is also a dollar; with my $1/2, mine were $.50 each. Green Giant boxed vegetables are $1.25 each. Buy two and you can get a Cellfire discount of $.50 and use a $.50 coupon that Kroger doubles. That makes each box $.50. Kroger pretzyls are also a dollar each.

Here are two more great deals. Quaker granola bars are on sale for $1.50 / box. With this $1/2 coupon, that's $1 a box. Progresso soups (select ones like Ministrone and Garden Vegetable) are on sale for $1 each. Buy 4, use 2 $.50 / 2 coupons (which Kroger doubles), and sign up for the Cellfire and Shortcuts e-savings ($.50 / 2 each) and that brings your total down to $.25 a can!

Finally Walgreens has Nivea lip balm on sale for $.99 each (normally $4). With a B1G1 manufacturer's coupon, I got two for $.50 each. These make great stocking stuffers or charitable contributions.

And Thursday (12/3) looks like a good day to pick up more deals on cereal, cookies, chocolates, and beef tenderloin. Kroger One day only sale. Happy savings.

Ok, I know I said I was done with the savings rant. If you can bear one more, here are three of the best deals I found at Kroger today (my total savings: $45.88).

There are several items that can earn you discounts on future trips (within two weeks)--like Walgreens register rewards. I bought 4 Pillsbury pizza dough tubes, got $1 off from Cellfire.com and $1 off from Shortcuts.com, and earned a $2 reward. I could have saved another $.40 from a coupon I printed online, but my printer was running low on ink and it wouldn't scan.

Another good deal I thought was Ziploc bags: buy 3 boxes and get a $2 reward. I'm now going to send in for a rebate from SC Johnson and will get $5 back. Since you can get 50 sandwich bags for $2.29, it's like getting three boxes for free. And if you have manufacturer's coupons, you can even make some money. May I suggest the Ziploc Evolve version (same price as the regular) but it's better for the environment because it uses 25% less plastic and is made with wind energy. With this deal, you get to be a Super Mom on several levels!

Finally, I stocked up on sodas because of the free Cheezits promotion: buy 3 12 packs or Cokes / Sprites on sale for $12 and get 2 free boxes of Cheezits (worth $5.58). Even though I've seen Cokes cheaper at Target, if your kids like Cheezits, this is the better deal.