$5.99 Cookbook

Food Lion has Jessica Seinfield's cookbook, Deceptively Delicious, on sale for $5.99.

I found a Food Lion glitch

I'm not sure if this is happening at every store but it happened to me.

I took these coupons from the Food Lion website when I went shopping on Sunday. The coupons include $1 off FL brand cereal, $1 off Home360 purchase, $1 off Healthy Accents purchase, and $2 off Food Lion green tea 12 pack.

I already tossed my receipt, so I can't give you exact figures but I purchased the following:

Home360 flushable wipes (42 count) = $1.99 roughly** (-$1 coupon = $0.99)
FL Magic Stars cereal = $2.74 sale price (-$1 coupon = $1.74)
Healthy Accents liquid soap = $1.19 roughly (-$1 coupon = $0.19)
plus other things we needed like Gatorade and lunch meat.

**I bought these wipes to go in my diaper bag. First I looked in the baby aisle. The Home360 baby wipes was also a 42 count and they were priced right around $2.30. The Home360 flushable wipes are the same thing except the package doesn't say "baby" on it and it was $0.30-$0.40 cheaper.

At checkout I handed the cashier the sheet of coupons and told her that I did not use the Green Tea coupon. She scanned all 4 coupons (a total of $5 off) and all 4 took. The Green Tea coupon came off of my total even though I did not purchase it. I didn't notice this until I got home and was reviewing my receipt.

Food Lion Recall

Dear Valued Customer,

As an MVP card holder and as one of our customers who has indicated a desire for e-mail messages from us, we are sending you this alert regarding a powdered milk recall by one of our suppliers. The manufacturer has recalled this product due to possible salmonella contamination:

The following Food Lion product is being recalled:

PRODUCT UPC# Size
Food Lion Instant Nonfat Dry Milk 35826-03577 9.6 oz.

We are asking customers to return this item to the store for a full refund.

We would like to assure you that Food Lion regards food safety as a top priority. Information regarding recalls can be found at www.FoodLion.com/Recalls.

Thank you for being a valued customer.

Food Lion Transaction: 6/29/09

It was bi-weekly grocery time!

I purchased 43 items last night. A few items were splurges like $2 for 4th of July sparklers and Ben & Jerry's ice cream (and they were on sale and I had a coupon!!) And I also had to purchase fresh produce since we were completely out. I picked up some peaches, grapes, bananas, limes, and strawberries and used my $2 off of $5+ produce purchase coupon.

Subtotal was $127.13
less $10.55 in coupons
less $33.47 in MVP savings
For a grand total of $83.11 out of pocket which breaks down to $1.93/item
According to my (not-so-good) math calculations, I saved 34.63%!

My favorite deals include:

• All 2x laundry detergent that is on BOGOF sale and I had a $1/2 coupon which brought my total to $4.40 for both bottles (or $2.20 per bottle). The regular price is $5.40 each.
• Bob Evans sausage that was marked down to $1.99 because of the sell-by date. I paired it with a $0.25 coupon for a grand total of $1.74. Regular price is $3.99
• Mama Lucia meatballs (found in the freezer section) are BOGOF which comes to $6.49/2 or $3.25 each.
• Food Lion bacon is on sale for 2/$5 (regular price is 2/$5.78) and I had a $1 coupon. So each pack cost me $2.
• Ben & Jerry's ice cream is on sale for 2/$6 (regular 2/$8.38) and I had a $1 coupon.
  

Here is a meal idea: I picked up some chili sauce and grape jelly to make sweet and sour meatballs. For dinner tonight, I will use the chili sauce ($2.12), the grape jelly ($1.88), and one bag of meatballs ($3.25) then I will serve it over rice (unknown cost, already had in stock) with a side of green beans ($0.69) . This comes out to a cost of about $2.65 per person plus I know there will be leftovers for my lunch tomorrow.

I blew my target budget of $50 but I purchased a lot of things I didn't intend to purchase originally such as the meatballs, jelly, chili sauce, sparklers, Crunch N Munch (per hubby's request), pretzels (per daughter's request), cookies (hubby's request), and muffins (my guilty pleasure).

All in all, a great trip.

This weeks grocery list and coupon round up

I will be shopping Food Lion this week as I don't need any fresh meats.

We need:

• eggs ($0.55 cents off Egglands Best)
  
• whole milk
• bread
• Heinz ketchup
• fruit ($2 off $5 produce purchase)
  
• lunch meat (Sara Lee is on sale this week)
  
• cheese (Sara Lee is on sale this week)
  
• chips (whatever is on sale)
  
• peanut bars ($0.75 off Planters big nut bars)
  
• cream or half-n-half

We want:

• sausage ($0.25 off Bob Evans)
  
• bacon (It's on sale this week and I've got $1/2 Food Lion coupon)
  
• Chef Boyaredee (Save $1/5)
  
• Covergirl foundation ($1 coupon)
  
• All detergent (BOGOF at Food Lion and I've got a $1 off coupon)
  
• Ben & Jerry's ice cream (On sale at Food Lion for 2/$6 and I've got a $1/2 coupon)
• Over the moon chocolate milk ($1 off coupon)

My target spending goal is $50 so we will see how I do.

Grocery deals

Perfectly Provident has listed her favorite Safeway deals here. I think I'm going to take advantage of this sale today! She's also got a giveaway going on right now. Click here to check it out.

My favorite Food Lion deals through 6/30/09:
Boneless Sirloin Steak is $2.99/lb
Drumsticks are $0.99/lb
Chicken thighs are $0.98/lb
Raspberries, Blackberries, Blueberries, Strawberries are 2/$4 (here is a $2 off $5+ produce purchase printable)
Seedless green grapes are $0.99
McCormick Grillmates are 4/$5
Duncan Hines Brownies are 4/$5
Heinz ketchup is 2/$5
32oz Gatorade is 10/$10
Sara Lee deli turkey and ham is $4.99/lb
Starbucks icecream is 2/$6
Ben & Jerrys icecream is 2/$6 $1 off of 2 coupon here
Daisy sour cream is 3/$5
Kiwi is 2/$1
BOGOF deals at Food Lion:
Breyers Icecream
Minute Maid Lemonade and punch
Chips Ahoy cookies
Hamburger Helper
All 32 load laundry detergent ($1 printable)
Smart options plastic cutlery
Zesta crackers
Arnold grain bread
Kraft BBQ sauce
Food Lion microwave popcorn
Pillsbury premium brownies
Knorr Sides plus veggies
Healthy Accents allergy relief
Solar Radiance suncare
Sea Best seafod
Food Lion large cooked shrimp
Food Lion frozen chicken
Oscar Mayer wieners
Mama Lucia meatballs
Oscar Mayer bologna
Clearwater sea scallops

Southern Savers has links to various other Food Lion coupons.

We recently tried the Over The Moon FAT FREE chocolate milk and it is the BEST chocolate milk we've ever had. Did you see that it's FAT FREE???????? So here's a coupon and you can try it too. Trust me, you won't be sorry.

And Happy Monday! Here's a picture that pretty much sums up my weekend - my beautiful sister, my gorgeous daughter, lots of sun and fun...

Food Lion transaction

Last night I did my bi-weekly grocery shopping.

I purchased 37 items.

Subtotal was $108.86.
I saved $8.76 on sale items with my MVP card.
I tendered $17.61 in coupons.
Total out of pocket was $82.50.


The best deals I got were:

• Buy one, get one free - Kraft Easy Mac cups. They were on sale for $1. So I got 2 for $1.
• Pillsbury Brownies rang up for $1.86/each. I purchased 2 and used a $1/2 coupon. Then further down on my receipt it says "SC Pills fdg bro 1.72-" So I believe I got both boxes for $1.00.
  
• Eastern Peaches were on sale for $0.99/lb. That's over half off. I loaded up and I'll make a peach cobbler this weekend for Father's Day.

The only things I purchased that weren't on sale or I didn't have a coupon for were:

• Spiral notebook for the husband
• Food Lion brand shredded Italian cheese
• Food Lion brand bacon
• Peter Pan peanut butter
• Little Debbie Swiss Rolls
• Blue Bonnet butter

I am determined to one day make a grocery trip and buy everything on sale or with a coupon. It's my latest goal.

Transactions on 5/31/09 and 6/1/09 (updated 6/3/09)

Food Lion - bi-weekly grocery trip
Purchased 66 items
Total before savings and coupons: $188.98
Saved $26.02 on MVP sale items
Rendered $37.62 in coupons
Total savings of $63.64
Paid $125.34 out of pocket

I had several super deals that included 2 free Vitamin waters (they were on sale for $1 and I had two $1 coupons), Tyson's fresh chicken was on sale for $1.99 so I stocked up, Goldfish were buy one get one free (my daughters favorite snack), and Provolone cheese was on sale for $2.99/pound so I stocked up on that, too.

I earned several Food Lion coupons and $4 back on my next shopping trip. Food Lion has a promo going on right now when you buy Food Lion brand products. You can earn up to $10 back when you buy Food Lion's brand.



CVS Transaction - 6/1/09

I had a bunch of ECB's to use that were expiring this week. My husband needed an alarm clock, so I spend more than planned. Plus there was NOTHING I needed/wanted/would use that earned ECB's back this week. Not exactly thrilled with my CVS shopping the past two weeks. I did find some good deals that I couldn't pass up.

2 Campbells Tomato soups - $0.50/each
2 Ziplock Twist & Lock containers (3 pack) - $0.92/each (75% off!!)
2 CVS AA batteries - $6.49/2 (buy one, get one free)
Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (8 pack) - $1.50
Kit Kat (8 pack) - $1.50
CVS snack size bags (like Ziplocks) - $1
CVS sandwich bags - $1
Timex Clock Radio - $19.99 [I will probably return this because I don't think it's what my hubby wants]
White Rain hairspray - $1.49

Used:
$1 off of 2 Campbells coupon (see previous blog entry for link)
$3 off $15+ purchase coupon
$12 in ECB's

Total out of pocket $21.00

So basically, I just paid for the alarm clock and the sandwich bags.

But if I return the alarm clock, it will only be $1 out of pocket.

I earned a $3 off of $15+ purchase coupon and $1 off of any Photo Processing order of $5+. I wonder if that includes digital pictures that I print??

**EDITED: I returned the alarm clock and got $21.19 back in cash. So I got all of the items above except the alarm clock and made $0.19 off of it.**

Food Lion Transaction 5/17/09

Bi-weekly shopping trip was this weekend. I decided on Food Lion after comparing the weekend circulars.

I purchased 80 items including fresh fruits/veggies, meats, and non-food items (like an ice cream scoop).

Total before savings: $272.09
MVP savings: $48.82
Coupons savings: $58.16
Total out of pocket: $165.11

The following items were not on sale and I did not have a coupon for them but I needed to purchase them:
Bananas
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Milk
Ice Cream scoop
Lime
Golden Delicious Apples
Pillsbury Pizza Dough
Breyers kids yogurt

Food Lion Transaction - 5/3/09

With the help of The Grocery Game (if you sign up, use me as your referral - shelley_hall@comcast.net), coupons, and my trusty Food Lion weekly circular I saved a buttload of money yesterday. Early Sunday morning I logged onto The Grocery Game and printed my list of items I needed, went digging through my coupons, printed online coupons, and checked out the weekly circular. Then I made my list of things we needed. With my list, my coupons, and my MVP card, I went shopping.

I purchased 83 items. Only TWO items we not on sale or I didn't have coupons for them. Those two items were milk and bananas. (I must stock up on bananas, my daughter eats at least 2 a day.) Even my meats were marked down! Their sell by dates were coming up, so they were discounted. I'm OK with buying meat like that because I take it home and freeze it anyway. It's not like I'm letting it sit in the fridge for another week or so before I use it. So here's the breakdown:

83 items purchased
MVP savings: $42.40
Coupons tendered: $56.63
Total out of pocket: $146.89

So if I am calculating right, I saved about 40% buying MVP sale items and using my coupons.

The lady in line behind me was totally blown away. Totally impressed with me and even "bowed down" to me. It felt awesome. My husband was even impressed when I got home and told him about my savings. I told him he's not allowed to make fun of my coupon notebook anymore.

Here are my favorite Food Lion deals:

Buy One Get One Free-

• Nature's Pride Wheat Bread
• Thomas's Original English Muffins
• Ocean Potion Sunscreen
• Hefty Foam Plates
• 5lb bags of Russet potatoes
• Pepsi 12 packs
• Mazola Oil

My favorite deal-
McCormick Grillmate seasoning packet - on sale for $0.69, use the $0.50 off coupon from the 5/3/09 Red Plum insert and get it for only $0.19!!!!