$19.62

That's how much I paid for all of this yesterday at Kroger:

I know, nearly $20 still sounds like a lot to be a *super deal* ... but let's look at the regular prices of these items, shall we?

Gorton's Fish Sticks bag: 6.59
Dawn w/Olay: 2.99 x 4 = 11.96
Betty Crocker potato pouches: 1.19 x 3 = 3.57
Oscar Mayer hot dogs: 3.29
Hormel pepperoni: 3.00 (this was the sale price - not sure of the regular price on this one.)
Tide: 8.23 (approx)
Pantene shampoo and conditioner: 4.15 x 2 = 8.30
Betty Crocker Warm Delights: 1.99
Hamburger Helper Twin Packs: 3.50 x 3 = 10.50

So all in all, this bunch of stuff should have cost me $57.43. So in retrospect, $19.62 doesn't sound so bad, does it? :)

Wanna know how I did it? Well, all of these items are on sale this week at Kroger, and I had coupons for all of them. Keep in mind that Kroger doubles coupons up to .50 - so a .50 coupon is actually worth a dollar off of your item. So, here we go...

Gorton's Fish Sticks bag: on sale for 3.49. Used .50 coupon, doubled to 1.00, making total price 2.49.

Dawn w/Olay: on sale for 1.99. Bought four and used four .50 coupons, doubled to 1.00, making them .99 each.

Betty Crocker potato pouches: on sale for .67. Bought three and used three .40 coupons, doubled to .80 - MORE than the sale price. Kroger paid me .13 each to take these off their hands. Gained .39 and three easy side dishes. :)

Oscar Mayer hot dogs: 3.29, not on sale, but I got them for...FREE! Just go play the Kroger March to Savings game (all you have to do is register and click on a basketball.) The first time I played, I won a free pack of Oscar Mayer hot dogs - any variety. (There are other prizes, inluding a $5 off your entire order coupon.) The prize was loaded right onto my Kroger Plus card, so I didn't have to handle a coupon at all for this one - it rang up on its own at the register!

Hormel pepperoni: on sale for 3.00. Used a .55 coupon, bringing the price down to 2.45.

Tide: on sale for 5.88. Used 1.00 coupon, making it only 4.88.

Pantene shampoo and conditioner: on sale for 2.97 each. Bought two and used a $3 off of 2 coupon, making them only $1.47 each. I loooove Pantene, but rarely buy it because it's so expensive - but I can absolutely afford it this way!

Betty Crocker Warm Delights: Hey chocaholics, you're gonna like this one! On sale for 1.50. Used a .50 coupon, doubled to 1.00, which makes it just .50. But wait! There are coupons to be found online that also load directly onto your Kroger card - and I found one for another .50. It came off at the register, making this little treat absolutely FREE.

Hamburger Helper Twin Packs: on sale for 1.68, which was already a really good price for these! Used a coupon for .75 off of 3, making them 1.43 each.

On top of all that, I received a coupon in the mail last week for $1 off of any three "Cart Buster" items - those that are on special this week. The Tide and Dawn dish detergents were both Cart Buster items, so I got an extra dollar off of my grocery bill.

So all in all, I handed over $19.62 at the register for this bunch, and saved $37.51 off of the regular prices. I LOVE that. :)

Next week starts a new mega promotion at Kroger - I can't wait to see what I can do with it!