I Harvested Today!

Today is July 30th and I finally harvested from my garden.  Not only that...three tomato plants have small tomatoes on them and my pumpkins & zucchini's are starting to grow.  They are all small...but at least it is something.  This is pretty late to see the small amount of growth but with all the rain and cool weather...it is kind of a miracle that anything is growing at all!  Take a look at my garden:


This is the first artichoke of the season to be harvested...I hope I didn't harvest it too soon.  From what I read it should be okay.  I also learned that the artichoke plant is a perennial...how cool is that!

I also read that when you cut off the artichoke that you should cut back the entire stem.  Eventually you will cut the whole plant down...but I still need to read more about that.

Below are some random pictures of my garden as of today ~ it is looking pretty (though there are many weeds that need to be pulled).





My Garden is Growing Despite the Rain!

While most of the country is sweltering in record breaking heat...those of us living in western Washington are experiencing one of the wettest and coldest Summers that many of us can remember.  Our Spring was the same...so it feels like it has been a VERY long fall/winter.  However, my garden continues to grow and if there is one blessing about the rain...I haven't had to water once this season.  Here is a look at my garden:

Today I drove by Lowe's and found some strawberry plants on clearance ~75 cent a piece. 
They might look a bit neglected now...but I anticipate eating strawberries out of my garden next year!

A sea of potatoes...a couple more months and I will have a stockpile of potatoes!

I threw some seeds in the ground last fall...didn't record what it was but it now looks
like I am growing some sort of cabbage.  The heads are not getting big or firm...so not sure what to do.

I have been so envious of bloggers talking about their harvesting of zucchini's...but I see that soon I will be too.
Zucchini bread in the freezer...here I come.  Found a blogger that adds fresh blueberries to their bread.  Yum!

This is the coolest thing.  My mom brought me an artichoke plant for mother day...and it is growing
three artichokes on it.  I have never, ever grown these but I will from now on.

Albertson's Great Double Coupon Deal

Due to a wedding in the near future and a wedding shower in the very recent past...life has been just about too busy to coupon much less blog about it.  However, today I got such a great deal at Albertsons that I had to take the time to brag about it!

These Nature Valley Granola Thins normally cost $4.29 per box (I definitely would NOT pay full price for these) but they were on sale for $2.50 a box.  I had (5) coupons for 75 cents off which I then was able to double at Albertsons so I paid $1.00 for each box.  BUT...because I bought 5 boxes, I earned the following rewards:

1.  A register coupon for a free gallon of milk (up to $4.50)
2.  A register coupon for $5.00 off my next shopping trip
3.  and ANOTHER register coupon for $3.00 off my next shopping trip

But that is not all ~ I received several game tickets and one held a coupon for a free DOZEN fresh baked doughnuts from Albertsons bakery.

So...for $5.00 of out of pocket (OOP) expense...I earned about $15 or $16.00 worth of goodies.  Not too bad!

This Week At Albertsons...

Look at what I got for $2.40 at Albertsons...

It took 20 coupons and taking advantage of Albertsons...buy 10 get $5.00 off (I got this twice in one transaction)...but I was able to get 10 boxes of pasta, 5 jars of pasta sauce and 5 bottles of salad dressing...all for $2.40.  Full retail would have been $59.30...so I saved $56.90 or 96%...woohoo!!!

Next ~ it was on to Target.  I was able to get 5 packages of Zyrtec for 74 cents each...normally $5.29 each.  I also bought 10 small boxes of fruit rollups.  I am not sure if that was such a great deal...with a coupons I was able to get a box of 4 rollups for 75 cents.  This isn't something I buy very often but I had a Target gift card and thought I would get these for Cassidy.  Retail for this would have been $36.45 ~ and I paid $8.44 (I did use a $5.00 gift card).

Finally I ended up at Fred Meyer for a pretty good deal on toilet paper.  It has been very hard for me to find toilet paper for awesome deals.  The coupons that come out usually have a very small value so I can't seem to get really good deals.  However, Fred Meyers had a coupon in the Sunday paper for $4.00 off a 12 double roll package of toilet paper...bringing the cost down to $4.99 (full retail is $8.99).  But...I was able to download an electronic coupon on to my Fred Meyer card...one for $2.00 and I had another one on there for $1.00.  So...I was able to get (2) 12 (double roll) packages of toilet paper for $7.90...which included the SST.  I saved $10.08 on this for a 56% savings...not extreme but still a pretty good deal.


How did this day go overall? 

Full Retail: $113.73
My OOP:   $  18.74
Savings:   $  94.99 aka 84%   YIPEE!

I Earned My Savings Today

There are times when couponing is easy...like last week.  Last week couponing at Albertsons was so easy and smooth...but not so much this week.  For the third week in a row Albertsons has had double coupon days.  Frankly our Lake Stevens store has been unable to keep up on stock and I think the checkers and stockers are worn out...as am I! 

I decided to undertake a huge Albertsons shopping trip ~ I had hoped to do 8 transactions of 9 double coupons.  However ~ I was told that you are only able to use 9 coupons per day.  This is the first I have ever heard of that...as of last week I was only using 9 coupons per transaction but would do a second transaction the next time around.  Perhaps it has always been that way but now they are tightening up on the rules.  Last night I ended up doing 9 transacations at the Lake Stevens store and then going into Everett and doing 9 transactions at that store...however that didn't go smoothly either.  At Lake Stevens ~ you can use all 9 double coupons in one transaction so I thought that is how Everett would be so I had one transaction that took advantage of the "buy 10 of certain items" and get $5.00 automatically taken off.  However, Everett would not allow all 9 doubles in one transacations so I had to walk away from that transaction and come up with a new plan of attack.  I went back into the aisles and did come up with 3 different transactions that would work for me.

Next morning ~ back to the Lake Stevens Albertsons to finally do the transaction that I had to walk away from last night.  After that trip ~ which was uneventful (I think...it is all sorta blurry now) I then went to Winco where I had a new checker who argued almost everyone one of my 10 coupons that I used.  She was so frustrated by me and I was trying so hard to keep calm that I ended up giving her a $5.00 Starbucks card thanking her for her time and secretly hoping I would change both of our current moods!...a little good karma so to speak.

I then headed back to the Everett Albertsons to do one final round of double coupons.  I have never used 36 double coupons before and I am not sure if I ever will again...but I did save some significant money.

Mike and I get paid once a month...the last day of the month.  So ~ it is always during this time of the month that I get all my basics that I will need for the month.  After today ~ I will just be looking for great stockpiling deals.  But this weekend was all about getting stocked for our month of meals.  Normally I would spend $400.00 today and struggle to get through the rest of the month on $100.00 but usually I always spent a couple hundred more...but not anymore.

As of today ~ I stocked my freezer with bread products from the outlet store for $20.22
                       I bought a week or two of produce for $9.18 from Lenny's Produce (cheap!)
                       I stocked up on our need to have basics from Winco ~ $84.67
                       I stocked up on some toiletries and suntan lotion from Target ~ $22.78
                       I did 8 different transactions at Albertsons ~ $70.06
                       Total spent so far? ~ $206.91

How did my 8 Albertsons add up?  Full Retail:  $217.09
                                                            I paid:          $ 70.06
                                                           Savings:       $147.03 ~ 68%

Included with my normal groceries were groceries that I bought for my daughters upcoming wedding shower...so I am really glad with how my money has stretched to cover all these needs this month...and I still have almost $200.00 more dollars to spend on just "stock up" items!

First 2 Trips to Albertsons ~ involving 18 double coupons (@ 2 different stores)

Paid $20.22 for all this bread at Franz Bakery Outlet

Target stock up ~ paid 84 cents for the Zantac...normally costs $7.84!

An Albertsons Update

I went back to Albertsons for one last time this week to take advantage of 5 more coupons that I had for a new product called "Breakfast on the Go".  Normally these cost $3.59 (I would NEVER pay full price for these!).  They were on sale for $1.99 and I had a $1.00 off coupons that was then doubled ~ so I was paid a penny to buy each box!

This week I spent $7.80 for $93.33 worth of groceries by utilizing Albertsons double coupons.

And guess what...the rumor is that Albertsons will have double coupons in the Sunday paper again!  That is three weeks in a row!  Yahoo!

I have just purchased my first batch of coupons off of Ebay.  I purchased (35) $1.00 coupons for Rozini Garden Pasta...and I have 5 already.  I received a rain check from Albertsons for the Rozini pasta ($1.00 per box) ~ with no limit.  So, as soon as I get those in my hands, I will be calling the manager at Albertsons to make my first bulk purchase.  I plan to donate many of those boxes to a food drive that is going on at work and give some to Kelsea as well as stock some up for our own use.  I have never bought or used coupons in this big of quantity so I will see how it goes.

I have also bought 20 coupons for $1.00 off Frank's Redhot sauce.  Mike and the guys at his work love this stuff so I thought I would stock them up this summer.

Albertsons and Swagbucks = some great deals this week!

The past two days have been very fun shopping experiences.  Yesterday's paper (Sunday) came with Albertsons double coupons...I had 15 of those little coupons and decided to use them to get the best deals possible.

Cassidy will KILL me when she sees this picture on my blog!

My first transaction involved 15 bottles of Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce...our very favorite BBQ sauce.  Normally $2.99 a bottle...it was on sale for $1.00 BUT I got 5 $1.00/3 coupons that could be doubled.  I ended up getting each bottle for 33 cents!  In this same transaction I got 4 packages of the Rhodes Frozen Rolls...normally $2.99 each but on sale for $2.00 each.  I had quite a few $1.00/1 coupons...which I doubled so I got these for totally free.  Retail for this first transaction would have been $56.81...and I paid $5.00!...NOTE:  I did NOT clear the shelves by buying 15 bottles of Rays...Albertsons stocked up well and had a very large stock pile of this particular product.

Transaction number 2:  (Albertsons only allows the usage of 9 double coupons per transactions...that is why I have to do multiple transactions.)  I bought 2 brownie mixes and 1 package of the Rhodes Frozen Rolls.  Retail = $9.37...I paid zero, zilch, nothing!

All this  = $2.80 OOP

Transaction number 3: (I had to go to a different Albertsons because Lake Stevens was out of the product I wanted).  On this transaction I was able to use an overage which was really exciting.  I had (3) $1.00 off coupons for Franks Redhot Sauce...which I could double.  The sauce was on sale for $1.49 but with the double coupons...I earned 51 cents on each bottle.  I was then able to apply that overage to some produce I needed:  lettuce, cabbage, radishes and carrots...paying a total of $2.80!  Full retail would have been $9.20. 

Full Retail Value of all three transactions = $75.38, I paid $7.80...a 89% savings!

My supportive hubby!

I then came home and in my mailbox were 6 jars of Skippy peanut butter that I was able to get delivered to me, from Amazon.com, for only 81 cents.  HOW?  I used my Swagbucks.  In the past month I have been able to earn $15.00 in Amazon.com gift cards (and by tomorrow I will have earned another $5.00).  This is pretty exciting for me.  I will talk more about Swagbucks in a future post...for now, I think I have bragged enough for one night! :)

Target Stock Up's

Yesterday I was able to stock up a bit at Target.  On Target.com they have a whole list of coupons you can download and print.  Most of these are TARGET coupons...not manufacturer coupons (though some are manufacturer so make sure you take a good look).  What is great about this is that Target will let you "stack" coupons.  Meaning ~ you can use one manufacturer coupon and one Target coupon for each item you buy.  Take a look at how I used this technique yesterday:

Zantac ~ on sale for $7.44.  I had a $5.00 manufacturer coupons PLUS I had a $2.00 Target coupon.

I was able to buy a box of Zantac for 44 cents...because I was able to "stack" the coupons.  But what's more ~ I had four of each coupon so I bought 4 boxes of Zantac with each only costing 44 cents.

Target also had $1.00 off any "UP and UP" pain reliever (which is the Target brand).  Currently you can buy a 24 count bottle for 97 cents...so I got two for free since I had two coupons (these coupons are currently not available...but check often).

By utilizing these coupons ~ I got about $34.00 worth of product for around $3.00...about a 90 percent savings.  Not too bad and easy to do once you get confident.


Just a heads up ~ there is a rumor that Albertsons is having their double coupons again in the Sunday paper...that is TWO weeks in a row.  Yahoo for Albertsons.  I already have my plan for getting some really cheap...and possible free groceries on Sunday.  I will let you know how I do.

Couponing in Lake Stevens is picking up steam!

Shelves are getting barer and it is getting harder to use up all my coupons.  Today I went to two different Albertsons to take advantage of a fabulous double coupon deal...$2.00 ($1.00 coupon doubled with Albertsons double coupon special) off on Excedrin PM that is on sale for $2.99.  Basically I could get this for only 99 cents.  Either there are lots of people having a hard time sleeping or they are catching on to this coupon game.  I am torn about this new fad!  I appreciate everyone learning the value of coupons...but I still want to get my deals as well. 

I just need to practice patience!  I was able to get one bottle of Excederin PM and will wait for another great deal to come along.

Today at lunch I decided to go to the Oroweat Bakery Outlet that is located on Everett Mall Way (the strip mall next to Trader Joes).  I LOVE shopping at the various bakery outlets in the area.  I cannot imagine why anyone would buy bread for full price when you can get some great deals at the bakery outlet stores.  Today I got 2 loaves of bread, 2 packages of hamburger buns (the good kind!), 2 packages of hotdog buns (these were the good kind too!), 2 packages of english muffins, 1 loaf of cinnabon cinnamon bread and a candy bar (which you will notice is NOT in the picture above, I ate that sucker as soon as I got in the car).  I got all this for $10.59! 

I also got a punch card and after so many purchases...you get a free item.  The Franz Bakery Outlet on Marine Drive in North Everett is really good too and is normally more generous with their freebies.  I take turns going to them all.  Hostess is located on Casino Road in Everett...love that one too but avoid it because there is too much temptation with those snack cakes...can you seriously look at a SUZY Q and not want to buy it????  I stay clear of that one.

All these items last great in the freezer.  I have never had an item that tasted bad or didn't hold up.  It is money well spent.

Fred Meyers ~ Founders Day and Safeway Sales!

Yesterday I spent my lunch break shopping at Safeway.  They were having a special on chips and Sobe ~ for which I happened to have some pretty great coupons for.  Unfortunately you could only use one coupon per customer ~ so I was a customer 5 different times at 3 different stores ~ but I think it was worth it.  Here is what I bought:

10 bags of Kettle Cooked Chips

5 Sierra Mist Pop (I had a coupon that if I bought 2 bags of chips I'd get a 2 Liter Sierra Mist...free!)

25 Sobe drinks

Retail for this would have been $96.16 but I only paid $23.48 saving myself $72.68 (76%).  I earned quite a bit in that hour of work!

Blurry Pic ~ sorry about that!

 

 

Mike and I then went to Fred Meyers to take advantage of their fantastic "Founders Day" sale.  Here is what we were able to get (some of these items had limits so we both went to take advantage of the sales).

8 cases of Pepsi

8 bags of Beggin Strips (dog treats)

4 Purex detergent

8 Quaker Rice Cakes

2 eye shadows

2 mascara (normally $8.99 each but both were free!)

2 Tillamook Cheese (2# block)

3 packages of bacon bits

5 boxes of brownie mix

1 bag of popcorn kernals

Full retail price would have been $180.67 (approximately ~ Fred Meyers doesn't always put their regular price on the receipt...so I had to do some guessimating).  I paid $61.28 ~ saving myself $119.39 (66%).  I also used my Fred Meyer card and got triple points which is a nice bonus.

Our Fred Meyer checker was impressed with my coupon use but was very vocal about not being able to be an "EXTREME COUPONER" in this area (Pacific Northwest).  I didn't say much but I was thinking to myself that I think it is pretty impressive that I saved over 60 percent on this Fred Meyer order.  Some might not think this is EXTREME but I sure think it is pretty fantastic.

Currently we have 15 cases of pop and 15 bags of chips stocked up...but I promise I am not hoarding!  My daughter,  Kelsea, is getting married and we are stocking up on these items for her wedding day and her shower.  I have also been taking advantage of the drinks for my daughter (Cassidy) to have during the summer...a seasonal treat for her.  Again ~ I NEVER bought these drinks because I refused to pay full price for them but if I can get them free or very close to it...I will give it a try.