$11.00

...is not how much I spent at Kroger this morning. No, I bought my regular groceries too, and it was quite a bit more than that. But, that's how much I paid for all of this:

Kroger is having their March Mega sale this week, and if you have one nearby, it's worth checking out. If you happen to have some coupons, so much the better. :)  They have a LOT of items in their sales circular this week - three pages of them in mine - and when you buy any 8 of those items, you get $4 off your purchase (taken off at the register.) So here's how this trip broke down...

Kellogg's Raisin Bran Crunch: on sale for $2.77, rang up for $2.27 since I bought more than the 8 items needed for the March Mega sale. I had a coupon for $1.50 off of two boxes, making them $1.52 each. This isn't a usual purchase, but my girls love cereal and LOVE raisins, so I bet they'll gobble it up.

2-liter Coca-Cola: Gene prefers cans, but ultimately, he's a Coke addict and will take it any way he can get it. ;)  2-liters are on sale for $1.19 this week, and rang up for $.69 each with the MM. I had a coupon from the Kroger mailer (sign up online with your Plus card to start getting them) for $1 off of three 2-liters. So they ended up being $.36 each. I don't condone his Coke habit, but I can deal with it for that price.

Aquafresh Extreme Clean: on sale for $2.50, rang up $2.00, coupon for $1.00 = cheap toothpaste. :)

Gillette Fusion Shave Gel: Gene was out and told me to pick some up while I was at the store today. This one (unless I somehow overlooked it) was not in our circular, but it WAS listed on the Southern Saver blog (link at right.) So I took along my handy little coupon...it was on sale for $2.50, rang up $2.08, and I had a coupon for $1.00 - so it was $1.08 for a good brand.

Hellman's mayonnaise: Now, any serious couponer will tell you that you absolutely have to toss brand loyalty out the window to get the really good deals. I don't have a problem with that for the most part, but I just can't handle mayo that isn't Hellman's - it just tastes funky to me. So when I catch Hellman's on sale, I must have it. (And I really wish I had more coupons for it so I could stock up right now!) It was on sale for $2.99, rang up $2.49, and I had a coupon from the Kroger mailer for $.75, which made it $1.74. See why I want to stock up?!

Powerade Zero: Another thing that I normally don't have much use for, but Gene needs drinks at work and I bet he'll appreciate something different. These were on sale for $.99, rang up $.49 and I had another Kroger mailer coupon for $.55 off of three - that makes one of them free and takes a few cents off of another one! Averaged out, that makes them $.31 each. Only slightly cheaper than the Cokes, now that I think about it. Hmph.

Purina Whisker Lickin's: Gene is probably going to be mad when he comes home to see them on the table, being that he's not a cat person and doesn't advocate spending money on the stray that's been ours for a good six months now, save the food that he needs to survive. I can't wait to tell him to drop it because they were FREE! :)  They were on sale for $.99, rang up for $.49, and I had a coupon for 1.00 off of two packs. I love FREE! (Actually, they paid me $.02 to take these...that's even better!)

Kraft Singles: My girls eat sliced American cheese like it's going out of style, so I love a sale on a good brand. These were on sale for $1.49, rang up for $.99 each, and I had a coupon for $1.00 off of two. So, $.49 each...or buy one, get one free...however you'd like to look at it. :)

Sargento Shredded Cheese: Yeah, we're a cheesy family - nearly everything I cook has cheese in it. I need to cut back, I know. This was also on sale for $1.49, rang up $.99, and had a coupon for $.40 off of two, which doubles to $.80 at Kroger. So they were $.59 each.

Kraft Natural Shredded Cheese: Also on sale for $1.49, rang up $.99, had a coupon from the Kroger mailer for $1.00 off. Another FREEBIE, plus $.01 overage!

So, $11 for everything pictured...I wouldn't mind doing that more often! In fact, I intend to. :)

$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!