About Me

I recently started couponing on January 1, 2011 as a New Year's Resolution. I had never really couponed before because it always seemed time consuming- "how could a 25 cent coupon REALLY save you money?" I thought. Plus, I have never really stuck to a New Year's Resolution. So this year I decided to make a change- I would stick to both! And I have. So far I have cut our weekly grocery budget 70%! We used to spend $150 a week on little things that we could not even make a meal out of AND then we would eat out on top of that! Thousands wasted over a year. Now I spend on average $58 a week on groceries and personal items (toilet paper, body wash) AND I stock up on many of these items so I won't need them again for another 6-12 months! These number keeps going down as we begin to live off our stockpile. If you follow my blog, I will teach you some of the ways this newbie couponer has saved lots of money!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Mega Lessons from the Kroger Mega Sale!


So I am not a huge fan of Kroger, but when they have their Mega Sale- I am there.  I always save big and can usually stock up on essentials, like pasta and tomatoes in this case.

Mega Sale+ Mega Coupons = Mega Savings!!!

First I analyzed which items were in their Mega Sale using Coupon Mom and Southern Savers. Not too much got me super pumped, but I had 20 items I could buy that I would use to replenish my stockpile, and I had coupons for them so off I went to Kroger this morning with my list and coupons in hand. I normally do not shop Sunday mornings, but I woke up early and was planning on going there for my Sunday papers so I figured I would get there early and shop their Mega Sale before church (and before shelves were cleared!).

The first item on my list was Advil. And look what I found on the box I wanted:

These are called "peelies"

Peelie- A coupon found stuck on the item you want that you can "peel" off to use on that item instantly!

These are fun when you find them! Please do not remove a peelie unless you are buying the product. Lots of people do it, but it is not right. Do unto others as you would have done unto you. I would not want someone snatching a peelie so I could not use it on an item, so I would not do that to someone else. 
I had a $1 off Advil PM in my hand, but this was $2 off- way better!

Below are the 20 participating Mega Items I loaded my cart up with:


  • (4) Rozini Healthy Harvest Pastas (high fiber!)
  • (4) Rozini Garden Delight (great for summer time pasta salads!)
  • (4) Red Golden Tomatoes (great for my sauces!)
  • (3) Diet Dr. Peppers
  • (2) Medium Pace Salsas
  • (2) Pure Bars
  • (1) Advil PM 24 count
TIP: If you need a "filler" item, get something cheap you will use. I got the 3 Dr. Peppers as fillers. We do not drink much soda, but it is great for when we do or have guests over. And these were on sale for 89 cents, much cheaper than the 3 for $5 normally! 

Filler Item: In this case, an item you purchase to get the deal. I had 17 items, I needed 3 more on the Mega Sale list to hit 20 items and get another $5 off. So basically I had to spend $2.70 on soda to get $5 off additionally on my purchase. Works for me!

Coupons I was armed with:

  • (2) 50 cents off 2 boxes Healthy Harvest printable, $2 off since Kroger doubles 50 cent coupons
  • (2)  50 cents off 2 boxes Garden Delight printable, $2 off since Kroger doubles 50 cent coupons
  • (2) 50 cents off 2 Red Golden Tomatoes printable , $2 off since Kroger doubles 50 cent coupons
  • (1) $1 off 2 jars Pace Salsa (I actually found this as a peelie on the item; I saved my coupon for another future use!)
  • (2) 50 cents off Pure Bars, $2 off since Kroger doubles 50 cent coupons making this item FREE
  • (1) $2 off Advil PM peelie

TIP: If you find peelies on an item, USE the peelie! Save your coupons that you brought with you for future use or another upcoming sale. 

TIP: If you are a new couponer- you do not have a huge coupon inventory built up; this is frustrating at first and makes it hard to save, typically. I have a coupon inventory, but for this run, all the printables were better finds that my regular circular coupons. This whole trip could be done by a new couponer since all these coupons were either found on the item or printed.

Total: $5+ tax!!!
Total Items: 20
Total Saved: $35.07
Percentage Saved: 83.82%
Price per item: 25 cents

Normally the Advil is around $5, so pretty much I got everything else for FREE using coupons, sales and strategic shopping. :)

I did have one MEGA lesson learned this trip: 

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS check your receipt BEFORE you leave the store.

My originally total after sales and coupons was $11.77 with tax so I thought "hmm...that is good...but not what I calculated..." but I left anyways. I left because the line was getting long, and I was getting stressed since I was holding up the lines with all my coupons. When I got home, I realized they had only taken 1 Mega Sale $5 off, not the 2. I purchased 20 items in the Mega Sale so I should have received $10 off, on top of my coupons and sale.

TIP: Try not to feel pressured from the non-couponers in line paying full price. :)

Luckily I live 2 miles from Kroger so I went on back and found my cashier. She acknowledged I was correct and my receipt did not show the 2nd $5 off, so I went to customer service. They were happy to fix the problem, and here is what I got:


So my total came down quite a bit. $5 is a LOT of money to miss out on, so always check your receipts. I have heard others have similar issues with the Mega Sale, but I usually have to experience a mistake before I learn- I'm a "hands on" learner. :) Hopefully you can learn from my mistake so you do not have to drive back to your Kroger after leaving. :)

TIP: Always calculate what your total out of pocket will be at home so that when you are in line you know if there is a mistake. It gets stressful in line so it is easier to calculate at home on your own time.

TIP: Check how items ring up very closely, especially when you are shopping a new sale. This Mega Sale started this morning, so the cashiers were just learning the sale so there is more room for error on the first day.


So today's Mega Lessons from the Mega Sale: 
  1. Always look out for peelies 
  2. Always check your receipts before leaving the store!

Happy couponing!!!




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