The Shopping List: Stores ending Saturday, April 4, 2009

For those not participating in the Bishop's Challenge . . .

Fred Meyer:
Apples: Braeburn. 58 cents per pound
Grapefruit. 3 for $1.00
Cheese: Tillamoook PepperJack, Colby, Mozzerella, etc. 2 lb. brick $4.99 (See notes*)
C Cereal: Kelloggs. Selected varieties. 5 for $10 with coupon.
C Macaroni and Cheese: Kraft. 2 for $1 with coupon. Your first 10.
Card games: Uno, Phase 10, Bowling Dice. $2.99 each (Toy Department) (See notes**)
Seeds. 40% off. Great for your garden and/or storage.

Fred Meyer Bonus Features: In Sunday's Oregonian Fred Meyer ad there was a coupon for "Take an Extra 10% off" All toys, games, bikes & sporting goods. This coupon would reduce the price of the card games. Also, if you are buying any baseball or softball equipment, this would reduce those prices - some of the sporting good items are also on sale this week. Combine that with the coupon to save even more. Also, this Saturday, from 9 am to 4 pm, is the annual "free fuscia planting day." You buy the fuscia starts (5 for $3) and Fred Meyer will supply the planting soil and plant the starts in your basket (you bring from home or buy.) This is a popular event. Plan to come early and expect lines.

Albertsons: Monday and Tuesday only. Remember your Preferred Card.
C Macaroni and Cheese: Kraft. 49 cents a box (limit 6 with coupon and card)
C Candy: M & Ms. 9- to 14 oz. bag $1.88 selected varieties (limit 2 with coupon and card)
Water: Arrowhead. 24-count $3.88. Handy for storage. (This price good through next Tuesday, April 7th.)

Haggen: Monday and Tuesday only. Remember your Haggen Card.
C Butter: Haggen Brand. 1 lb. $1.49 (limit 1 with coupon and card.)
Grapefruit. 3 for $1
Sugar: C & H. 5 lb. bag $1.99. (limit 1) Sugar is a very important staple. We always try to buy it on sale and then store it in sealed 5-gallon buckets. (This price good through next Tuesday, April 7th - after the Bishop's Challenge!)


Notes:
* Theresia doesn't remember if this required a coupon. Sometimes there is an instore coupon next to the item on sale.
** Games like these are good to have in your emergency kit or for Easter gifts.

Bishop's Challenge: Day Two

Jeff writes: I am thinking that a one-week challenge like this should be fairly easy for our family. We've started by using what is fresh and in the refrigerator. We are starting to make some adjustments however. A quick look at the day shows:

Breakfast: Jeff was running late and not very hungry, so he had a couple of chocolate chip cookies from last night. That got him through to lunch. Theresia had a bowl of cereal and milk, two pieces of toast and a glass of orange juice. The kids had cereal and milk, and toast.

Lunch: Because Jeff was running late this morning he just grabbed a few things from the refrigerator. His lunch included yogurt, carrots, dates, mandarin orange slices, and of course, chocolate chip cookies. Theresia had leftovers from dinner last night - BBQ chicken breast, cheesy potatoes, carrots, and a cookie. The kids had PB&J, pretzels, cookie, apple, carrots, and juice boxes.

Snacks: Jeff had his homemade gorp (raw oatmeal, raisins, and chocolate chips.) Theresia had snicker doodles at the office. The kids had leftover potatoes and pretzels.

Dinner: Tonight was Taylor's night to cook and help in the kitchen. He wanted lasagna but we didn't have any mozzarella cheese so he settled on tacos. We used taco shells that we purchased a while back on sale, ground beef from our freezer, grated cheddar cheese, lettuce, sour cream, and guacamole. Dessert (refreshments for FHE): chocolate chip cookies - all gone now!

The adjustment - we started the challenge with one and 1/4 gallons of milk. Breakfast really cut into that. We have the full gallon in one container and are going to 'cut' the milk for the rest of the week by mixing half 'regular' milk and half mixed powdered milk in the 1/2 gallon container. This plan received mixed reviews from the kids. We'll see how it works.

Another adjustment: Theresia put the kids on notice, "No toast for breakfast, or there won't be enough bread for lunches." We will be baking bread tomorrow afternoon!

One side note: This Wednesday our Young Women's group has a fundraiser - a Chili Cook-off. The bishop's challenge caught some members off guard, so requests are going out for trading, bartering, and sharing for needed ingredients. I would imagine that this is what a real emergency would bring - people working together to get through a crisis.

Bishop's Challenge: Day One

Today, during our third-combined Relief Society/Priesthood meeting (because it was a fifth Sunday) the topic of discussion was Preparedness and Food Storage. We heard the result of a ward survey that showed that the average food storage in the ward (among those 60 who completed the survey) was about a one month supply. Then, after very interesting presentations, our Bishop issued a challenge to all ward members. He asked (challenged) us to, "not go to the grocery store at all this week." One objective of the challenge is to give us the experience of using our current food supply and our food storage (reserves.) The other, and probably more important, objective is to cause us to reflect on those areas we might need to shore-up in case there were some reason we were not be able to go to the store for a week.

Theresia and I decided that our family would accept the challenge. This first day wasn't too difficult. It was Fast Sunday, so we would only be eating one meal. As part of our Sabbath observance, we don't shop on Sunday, so our meals are pretty much planned out on Saturday. Our daughter, Gabrielle, has the turn for the main meal on Sunday*. She used what we had in the house. For dinner she cooked BBQ Chicken (frozen chicken breast from freezer), baked with BBQ sauce from the refrigerator; Cheesy Mashed Potatoes (peel, cube, and boil potatoes, drain, add 4 oz. cheddar cheese, one cup milk, butter, salt, pepper, paprika, and spices, then mash); Carrots (slice and microwave with a little butter); and, to drink, water. For dessert the kids finished off the Tillamook Cookie Dough Ice Cream. A few hours later I made a couple dozen chocolate chip cookies from scratch (using the recipe from the Ambrosia Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip bag from Costco. One very smart move that Gabrielle made was with the milk for the potatoes. We have just over a gallon of milk in the fridge. That will need to last the week because we tend to eat cold cereal for breakfast. So Gabrielle mixed up one cup of powdered milk to use in the potatoes. That will pay off later in the week! We are planning to 'cut' the regular milk with powdered milk for the duration of the week.

Notes:
*To help take the load off mom and to provide domestic training for our children, a few years back we divided up the cooking chores for the main meal of the day. Each child has one day in which they choose the menu and cook (or assist if they are younger) the meal and set the table. Dad has one day and the family has a day where everyone is supposed to pitch in. That leaves mom with just two days to worry about!

Manufacturer's Coupons: March 29, 2009

Welcome back! Spring Break was great. We had a nice trip to Utah and Idaho to visit family. But now it's a new week and time to create a new shopping list.

First, the manufacturers' coupons from Sunday's Oregonian (and Theresia's comment that, "I cut out more than enough coupons today to justify the cost of the paper for a month!")

Condensed Milk: Eagle Brand Sweetened. Save 35 cents on any 1 can. Expires 6/30/09
Brownie Mix: Pillsbury. Save 35 cents with the purchase of any 1 box. Expires 6/30/09
Canned Fruit: Dole. Save 55 cents on any 2 cans of Dole canned fruit. Expires 5/23/09
Mustard: French's Classic Yellow Mustard. Save 50 cents. Expires 7/19/09
Mustard: French's Spicy Brown or Honey. Save 75 cents. Expires 7/19/09
Mustard: French's Honey Dijon or Horseradish Mustard. Save $1.00. Expires 7/19/2009
Toilet Paper: Cottonelle 4-pack or larger. Save 50 cents on any one. Expires 5/10/09
Toilet Paper: Cottonelle Two (2) 4-packs or One (1) 12-pack or larger. Save 50 cents. Expires 5/10/09
Toilet Paper: Scott. 75 cents off when you buy one (1) Scott Extra Soft bath tissue 4-pack or larger. Expires 5/10/09
Paper Towels: Scott. $1.00 off when you buy four (4) or more rolls of Scott Long Lasting Roll or Mega Roll paper towels. Expires 5/10/09
Pasta: Barilla Tortellini. Save $1.00 when you buy one (1) package. Expires 4/30/09
Pasta: Barilla Piccolini. Save 50 cents when you buy one (1) package. Expires 4/30/09
Pasta: Barilla Whole Grain. Save 50 cents when you buy any one (1) package. Expires 4/30/09
Pasta Sauce: Barilla Pasta Sauce. Save 55 cents when you buy any one (1) jar. Expires 4/30/09
Soup: Campbell's Cooking Soups. Save 30 cents on any three (3). Expires 10/18/09
Cereal: Post. Save $1.00 when you buy any two (2) boxes of Shredded Wheat, Raisin Bran, Grape-Nuts Nuggets or Flakes (10 oz. or larger.) Expires 5/10/09
Salad Dressing: Kraft. $1.50 off one (1) Kraft Salad Dressing 16 oz. or larger, any flavor. Expires 4/29/09
Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip: Kraft. $1.00 off of two (2) 32 oz. Kraft mayo or 32 oz. Kraft Miracle Whip. Expires 4/30/09
Baking Product: Argo Cornstarch or Karo Corn Syrup. Save 40 cents on any one (1) Argo or Karo product 16 oz. size. Expires 5/10/09
Juices: Tree Top. Save $1.00 on any two (2) Tree Top 100% Juice Products. Expires 5/31/09
Spices: Spice Island Products. Save $1.00 off any two (2) Spice Island products. Expires 5/29/09 (see notes*)
Laundry: Shout. Save 55 cents on any Shout laundry product. Expires 5/9/2009
Laundry: All. 45 cents off any one (1) all small & mights 3x Concentrated Laundry Detergent. Expires 5/17/09
Shampoo/Conditioner/Hairspray: Suave. $1.00 off any two (2) Suave products. Expires 6/21/09
Anti-Perspirant/Deodorant: Suave. 75 cents off any one (1) Suave. Expires 6/21/09
Anti-Perspirant/Deodorant: Speed Stick. Save 75 cents on any Speed Stick Pro or 24/7 Anti-Perspirant/Deodorant or Lady Speed Stick Clinical Proof or 24/7. Expires 4/18/09
Anti-Perspirant/Deodorant: Speed Stick. Save 75 cents on any two (2) Speed Stick Anti-Perspirant/Deodorants or Lady Speed Stick Anti-Perspirant/Deodorants. Expires 4/18/09
Medicine: Imodium. Save $1.00 on any Imodium Product. Expires 3/29/10 (see notes**)
Furnace Filters: Filtrete. Buy a Filtrete Filter & receive $3.00 rebate by mail. Expires 6/30/09 (see notes***)
Dining Out: Sweet Tomatoes. There were eight coupons in the ads Sunday. One was for a 99 cents Kid's Meal. One was for a Free* meal (both expire 4/9/09.) Plus there were three coupons for $7.39 lunch and three coupons for $8.29 dinner (the six each expire 5/23/09). If you like to eat out once in a while, or for special occasions (and we do.) Coupons can add a little bit of savings.

These coupons represent a $22.25 savings (if you were to buy everything - dining out not included) To save even more, watch for the items on sale and combine the sale price with the coupons. Sometimes you get lucky (fortunate?) and find the item on sale and and can use the coupon. Good luck and Happy Shopping.

Notes:
*Spices can get a little spendy. Anytime you can find them on sale or use a coupon you should take advantage of it. Keeping track (inventory) of your spices comes in handy to help you know what you need and/or what you use the most. Most spices do come on sale in November and December for the holidays. Sometimes stores will discount (ex: 50% off) their store brand, so you should keep your eyes open. (Theresia reports that, right now Fred Meyer has their Kroger brand spices at 50% off through about mid-April.)
**I had to do a double-take on the expiration date. At first I thought, "That's cheap! It expires today!" But then I noticed that the coupon expires next year (2010.)
***We found that changing the furnace filter is very helpful. It saves on wear-and-tear on the furnace and reduces the amount of dust in the house - which is very important for those of us prone to allergies.

Spring Break

Please Note: 

We won't be posting during Spring Break (next week.) 

Happy Shopping!

Jeff & Theresia

This Week's Shopping List: March 18-24, 2009

Fred Meyer (Sunday to Saturday) Double Points this week if you use your Fred Meyer Rewards Card
C 18-count Grade AA eggs or 12-pack English Muffins buy 1 get one free (your first four including free items with coupon)
C Tree Top Apple Juice or Blends 3 for $5 (first 9 with coupon)
C Fred Meyer Deluxe Ice Cream 3 for $5 (first 3 with coupon)
Kellogg's Cereal 4 boxes for $10 selected varieties
Bread - Fred Meyer brand $1 each
Cotton Swabs - 300 count - $1
Grapes 98 cents a pound - red/black/green

Albertsons - Remember the Preferred Savings Card plus a bonus !"Get Twice the Value" coupons from FOODday
Albertsons Cheese $3.99 (first 2 with card) assorted varieties including Mozzarella, Colby Jack, etc.
Trop50 Orange Juice 2 for $5 (59 oz. cartons) Note: in Sunday's Oregonian we found a $1 off coupon for Trop50. Put that with the "Get Twice the Value" coupon at Albertsons and you get a great deal.
Kelloggs products - Buy 10 and the price drops to $1.50 each. Products include cereals, Nutrigrain bars, Pop Tarts. Individual items are $2 each. When you buy 10, your total price is lowered to $15. This is a good chance to stock up on some fun things and increase your 3- to 6-month food storage.
Boneless Beef Rump Roast - $1.99 a pound. Good price. We like to buy a couple roasts to freeze or can.
Albertsons Tomato Sauce - 20 cans for $10. A great thing to have on hand. This is a great way to increase your 'rotating' food storage.
Albertsons Sour Cream - 2 for $3
Bagels from the Deli - 3 for $1

Safeway - Remember your 'Club Card'.
Boneless Beef Chuck Pot Roast - $1.99 a pound. Good Price. Buy some to freeze for later meals.
Kraft Salad Dressing - $1.50 each if you buy 10. Good chance to stock up to last for a long while. Does not need refrigeration until you open it.
Kleenex $1.50 mix and match. Kleenex is always good to have on hand and in storage.
Hunt's Diced Tomatoes 75 cents each if you buy 10. This is another great item to have in your rotating 3- to 6-month food storage.
Safeway Sugar - 5 pound bag $1.99 This is a good price for this time of year. We usually buy a couple and add to our storage, then rotate it as we use it for everyday needs like baking.

Thriftway - see $10 purchase coupon
Boneless Beef Top Round Roast or Steak $1.98 per pound. We buy some and divide it up into individual meal sizes (about 1 pound) and then freeze. Then we have it on hand for stir-fry, grilling, chili and soups, etc.
Boneless Pork Loin $1.98 per pound. Good to freeze for later use in stir-fry or sweet n' sour meals.
C Western Family Bread - Buy 1 get one free (with coupon when you buy $10 or more of groceries and coupon) see notes*
C Milk - one gallon 99 cents (limit one with coupon when you buy $10 or more groceries) See notes*

Haggen - Remember your Haggen C.A.R.D
C Valu Time Milk $1.49 each (first 2 with coupon and Card)
C Tillamook Ice Cream $2.49 (first 1 with coupon and Card)

Notes:
* If you are going to buy meat at these good prices, the two coupon items are a nice bonus, so take advantage of them for these two things you use each week.

Happy Shopping!

What We Bought This Week: March 11-17, 2009

Shopping Thought for the Day: We don't always buy everything on our list. Sometimes we don't even shop at all the stores on the list. This week we decided not to go to Thriftway for two reasons. First, the closest Thriftway is a few miles away in a direction we don't head very often. Second, we really didn't 'need' all of the things on our list from that store. If there would have been more of a need, we probably would have made the trip. The closest we came was weighing the price of grapes. Thriftway had them for 88 cents a pound and Safeway had them for 98 cents a pound. Since we were going to Safeway anyway, we decided to skip Thriftway and pay the extra 10 cents a pound (we only ended up buying 1.7 pounds anyway.)

Reminder that the Safeway, Thriftway, and Albertsons ads are good through Tuesday (except the Friday/Saturday only specials.)

Fred Meyer total savings: $11.80

Bath Towels: Buy one, get one half-price $4.99 each. Also, wash cloths $2.99 each. We bought two bath towels, one hand towel ($3.99). Total savings $4.00 - plus, we had been looking for another set for one of our bathrooms, so it was a good time to buy.
Cheddar Cheese: Bandon 2 lb. loaf. $4.99 each. We bought two (the limit) Savings: $3.80
Fred Meyer Butter: 1 lb. 3 for $4.00 (limit 6) We bought six. Savings: $4.00
Fred Meyer Hashbrowns: Large bag $3.79 for dinner, see notes*
Mushrooms: $2.99 lb, four mushrooms cost 48 cents, see notes*
Maple Bars: 3 at 59 cents each. see notes**

We went back to Fred Meyer because we found a flaw in the two wash cloths. We exchanged them for two 'unflawed' wash cloths. We stopped by the clearance table and found some cereal bowls. We have been looking for a long while for some bowls to replace the ones that became 'unusable' over time. We found a design we liked at a price we couldn't resist. The bowls sold regularly for $6.99 each. They were then reduced to $5.17 each. Since they were on clearance, we got to take an additional 60% off the lowest price. That lowered the price of each bowl to $2.07. So we bought six bowls for $12.42. They would have cost $41.94. That's a savings of $29.52! Booyah!



Safeway total savings: $26.55 (pretty good since it only cost us $19.88!)
Doritos Cool Ranch: $1.59 each (bought limit-2) savings: $4.80
Quaker Chewy Granola Bars: 99 cents 8 per box (bought limit-1) savings: $2.00
Nabisco Ritz Crackers: $1.88 per box (bought limit-3) savings: $7.23
Peter Pan Peanut Butter: 99 cents each (bought limit-1) savings: $1.50
Tropicana Home-style Orange Juice: $1.97 for 2 qt. (bought limit-1) savings: 2.62 see notes***
Ovenjoy Bread: 99 cents (bought limit-1) savings: 20 cents
Bananas: 59 cents per pound
Green Grapes: 98 cents per pound
Green Cabbage: 38 cents per pound (the St. Patrick's Day dinner is coming together!)

Albertsons total savings: $15.57 (pretty good since it only cost us $13.73!)
Hershey Reese's Peanut Butter Cups: 99 cents, (bought limit-2) savings: $1.60 see notes****
Taco Bell Taco Shells: $1.00 per box of 12 (bought 4 boxes - no limit) savings: $4.76
Tillamook Ice Cream: $2.49 per carton (bought limit-2) savings: $8.00
Cinnamon Rolls: Box of 4 $1.00 savings: $1.39 see notes*****

Haggen total savings: $6.80 (pretty good since it only cost us $3.16!)
Large AA eggs: One dozen 79 cents (bought limit-2) savings: $3.40 we each had a coupon, so we ended up with four dozen eggs and $6.80 in savings

Notes:
*Saturday is Jeff's night to cook. Tonight we had "Breakfast Skillet." The recipe (Jeff's not-so-secret-now) is sausage (usually the garlic/guyere from Costco), hashbrowns, eggs, garlic, onion, and red bell pepper. Directions: In a large teflon skillet saute garlic, onion, and red bell pepper in a little olive oil. Thaw frozen sausage in microwave, then chop into small pieces. Add sausage to vegetable mixture. Thaw hashbrown in the microwave. Add hashbrowns to the skillet. Cook until the hashbrowns are slightly golden. Add eggs. Continuously stir in skillet with a flat-edged wooden spoon until the eggs are cooked to the consistency of scrambled eggs. Serve hot and enjoy.
**Sometime you need a treat! I worked the Fred Meyer shopping into my trip to take Taylor to trumpet lessons at the high school. Fred Meyer is only a couple of blocks away. It was a Saturday morning and we both deserved a treat. (Theresia says I should just say, "Never send Jeff to the store hungry!")
***We (Jeff) like to have fresh orange juice (not from concentrate) on hand for breakfast or smoothies. The best price is usually Odwalla from Costco for about $5.99 a gallon. This Tropicana is 'not from concentrate' and worked out to a lower price when you compare the half-gallon price ($1.97 on sale times 2 equals $3.94 a gallon - see, math does come in handy!)
****This is the 8-count "Pack-A-Snack". With 8 individual cups, this is the same as buying four candy bars at about 25 cents a piece - you don't see that price too much anymore.
*****Very good price for a nice treat for our Skillet Breakfast 'dinner.'

The Shopping List: March 11-17, 2009

Please remember that this list represents what we are choosing to buy this week. There are other deals in the ads. We don't buy everything "just because it is on sale", we buy what we will eat and/or store. Be sure to check the ads for things that you like to use. If you have questions about "what is a good price for ...", please post a comment or email us. We'll be happy to share our opinion with you and the group.

Fred Meyer (see the post from Sunday, March 8th for the Fred Meyer list. Remember, FM ads end Saturday)

Safeway (remember your Club card) C: coupon required, see FoodDay
Cabbage 38 cents a pound - great for the traditional St. Patrick's Day dinner.
Green Grapes 98 cents a pound - good price for this time of year.
Ritz crackers $1.88 per box (13.66 to 16-oz selected varieties with Club card) limit of 3, Saturday only.
Dorrito Tortilla Chips $1.59 (11.75 to 13-oz. varieties with Club card) Saturday only. See notes *
C Eggs - Lucerne Large Grade AA 18-ct 97 cents - with Club card and coupon and $10 grocery purchase (first one)
C Peanut Butter - Peter Pan 99 cents - 18-oz. with Club card and coupon $10 grocery purchase (first one)
C Quaker Chewy Granola Bars 99 cents - 8 to 10-ct. with Club card and coupon $10 grocery purchase (first one)

Thriftway
C Butter Western Family 98 cents - 1 lb. with $10 purchase and coupon (first one)
Roma tomatoes 79 cents per pound (Friday and Saturday only)
Granny Smith Apples 39 cents a pound (Friday and Saturday only) see notes**
Red or Green Seedless Grapes 88 cents a pound (Friday and Saturday only)
Angus Beef Boneless Chuck Roast $1.99 a pound (This is a good price for eating, freezing, or canning.)
Radishes and Green Onions 2 bunches for $1.00 (2/1.00) Great for salads

Albertsons - remember the Albertsons Preferred card, see notes*** The 10 for $10 is "mix and match"
Taco Bell Taco Shells $1.00 (10 for $10) 12 Taco Shells. We like to have tacos a couple times a month. This is a good price to pick some up and have on hand.
C Hershey's Multi-Pack Candy 99 cents with coupon and Preferred card (limit 2) There are usually 8 small bars in a package. That equals about three candy bars or the equivilant of 3 regular bars for 99 cents. So if you like chocolate . . .
C Tillamook Ice Cream $2.49 1.75 qt. selected varities with coupon and Preferred card (limit 2) We usually like to stay around $2.00 for our ice cream but Tillamook is one of our favorites and Jeff will go up to $3.00 on this, so we'll take this price. Winco sometimes has some very good prices on Tillamook or Umqua so we usually check when we shop there. Jeff like Tillamook Banana Split the best.

Notes:
*The 'Saturday Only' and 'Friday and Saturday Only' specials actually run through Sunday. However, since we don't shop on Sunday we don't include that as a shopping day.
**These are 'locally grown' apples from Washington state. That means they are last year's crop. There is nothing wrong with that. Apples are put into cold storage and sold through out the year. This time of year, 'fresh apples' would come from New Zealand and would be more expensive. 'Fresh' Washington (and Oregon) apples are available in September.
***Theresia only had the Taco shells on the shopping list. Then Jeff found the ads and added some more things! The 10 for $10 sale can allow you to stock up and/or increase your food storage. Some things are a good deal, some aren't. Check the ads for things you might like or use.

Happy Shopping!

Sunday's Ads - Coupons, Fred Meyer, Haggen

Coupons from the Sunday Oregonian-
Oranges - Cuties (mandarin type) $1.00 off a 5 lb. box
Oranges - Cuties (mandarin type) 55 cents off a 3 lb. bag
Cereal - General Mills (Cheerios, etc.) Save $1.00 when you buy 3 boxes

Note: Watch for the "Cuties" on sale. This is a 'manufacuter's coupon good at most stores, so shop around for the best price. We will be watching the Tuesday FOODday to see if anyplace has them on sale, then combine the coupon to improve the savings!

Fred Meyer - Prices good Sunday through Saturday
Bandon Medium Cheddar Cheese - 2 lb. loaf $3.99 each with coupon (first 2) see notes*
Fred Meyer Butter - 16 oz. box (four cubes) 3 for $4.00 with coupon (first 6) see notes**
Bath Towels - Buy 1 Get 1 at half price with coupon (no limit) see notes***
Home Departments Coupon - Take an extra 10% off today's price with coupon (no limit) see notes****
Apparel, Shoes & Accessories Coupon - Take an extra 15% off today's price with coupon (no limit) 4 days only, Sunday through Wednesday see notes *****

Haggen - on the back page of one of the ads we found a Haggen coupon valid Sunday - Saturday
Haggen Large Eggs - 1 dozen grade AA 79 cents, first 2 total with coupon (and Haggen card) see notes******

Notes:
*We always stock up on cheese. Even with a family of five, we go through at least one 2-lb. loaf a week. Plus, you can always freeze it.
**This is a good price, any thing lower than about $1.50 lb. (the Costco price) we pick up. Butter also stores in the freezer. This same coupon also lets you purchase Country Oven or VitaBee Bread. You can mix and match up to a total of six butter and/or breads. The bread price is a little more than we like to pay, but if you need bread for sandwiches, it's a decent price.
***We found some towels we liked for $4.99 (regular price) so this coupon will give us a little savings. (It was, Buy 1, Get 1 Free, a couple of weeks ago)
****This coupon is good for in-store purchases in Home Decor, Housewares, Furniture, Storage, Bedding, Bath, School & Office Supplies, Toys, Tools, Hardware, Home Improvement, Automotive, Sporting Goods and Luggage. This is the kind of coupon that is good for a purchase you were planning on making any way. Now you get some extra savings. Some exclusions apply. See coupon for details.
*****Note the 4-day time span of the coupon. If there is some item of apparel, pair of shoes, or accessories for Men, Women, or Children that you were planning on purchasing, this is a good way to save some extra money.
******This is a good price for eggs. We usually like to have a couple of 18-count cartons on hand. You can usually find some good deals on eggs as we get closer to Easter.

Happy Shopping!

Jeff & Theresia

What We Bought This Week

We suppose this is very 'bloglike' to post things a simple as what you bought at the grocery store. We want to make this particular post a follow-up educational piece. In the previous blog we told you what the good deals were and what Theresia wrote on her shopping list, now we want to share a little bit about what we bought this week (from that list) and how we will use it. Oh, and we'll share the fun part (for us), how much we saved.

Fred Meyer (we shopped at our local Freddy's at 6495 SE Tualatin Valley Hwy in Hillsboro.)
Corned Beef- 3 pound package $4.23
Grapefruit- 3 for $1.00 - we bought 3
Garden Seeds- 50% off, we bought 20 packets (*see note below), So we got $40.58 worth of seeds for $20.29)
Other things not on the list - but Jeff was doing the shopping and is cooking spaghetti tonight:
Red Onion (1) for 65 cents
Fresh Herbs $1.99 for a package
White Mushrooms $1.23 for just under half a pound
Bananas $1.83 (59 cents a pound) See notes**

Safeway (remember to bring your Club Card) We spent $73.17 on this trip, but we saved $90.10
Tostito Lime Chips - one bag for $1.73
Cereal: (see notes***)
Life Cereal - 5 boxes of assorted flavors at 99 cents a box
Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats - 4 boxes of assorted flavors at 99 cents a box plus one Capn Crunch at 99 cents.
Bathroom Tissue - Two 12-count double roll packages for $7.98 (you can never have enough TP!)
Tillamook Medium Cheddar Cheese - 2 pound loaf $4.99
Safeway Bacon - 6.5 pounds for $9.99 (see notes****)
Chicken Breasts - Boneless/Skinless frozen. Two four-pound packages for $13.52
Hamburger 80% lean Value pack - Two packages for $10.90 (See notes *****)
Carrots - 5 pound bag for 99 cents
Yellow Onions - 5 pound bag for 99 cents
Oranges - 10 pound bag for $3.60
Other things not on the list - but Jeff was doing the shopping and is cooking spaghetti tonight:
Cucumber - one for 99 cents (salad with the spaghetti tonight!)
French Bread - two at 99 cents each (and it was warm when we bought it!)

Albertsons - (remember your savings card) We spent $3.26 and saved $5.43.
Bread - Albertsons White Bread 2 at $1.29 each
Apples - Granny Smith Apples 3 pound bag for $1.50



Notes:
* 20 packets of garden seeds may seem like a lot, because it is. The other thing about buying seeds is that they might become important as a food storage item in case there is a shortage of seeds and/or food next year, we will have at least a year's supply of gardening seeds. So, we went through the display looking for vegetable we have grown in the past and what might be fun to try this year. We will use some of each packet this year as well as some from previous year's packets. Seeds are supposed to last up to three years so I want to keep them rotating just in case 'fresher is better' as far as seeds go. The seeds we purchased include: Oregon Sugar Pod Peas, Butterhead Lettuce, Imperator Carrots, Hollow Crown Parsnip, Little Finger Carrot, Burpless Cucumber, Anaheim Chili Pepper (new for us), Blue Lake Bush Beans, Olympia Spinach, Lettuce Sampler (Black Seeded Simpson, Bibb, Prize Head, Grand Rapids), Red Cored Chantenay, White Bunching Onions, Table King (Bush Acorn) Squash, and Champion Radish. This year we are going to try growing some herbs, so we purchased: Mint, Sweet Basil, and Thyme. We will also plant some flowers from seed including: 'Blue Bird' Forget-Me-Not, Moss Rose, and Nasturtium.

** We usually buy bananas at Costco for about 43 cents a pound, but they are often pretty green and take a little while to ripen. We tend to use bananas as a base for smoothies so we like to keep some yellow ones on hand. 59 cents a pound fits Jeff's idea of a good price for ripe bananas.

***As far as breafast cereal goes, anything under $2.00 a box is a good price for us. The only one we buy over that price is Jeff's favorite, Cocoa Crispies, and he'll go up to $3.00 a box for that. We feel like breakfast cereal comes on sale frequently enough that if you stock up on what you like when it is on sale, you shouldn't ever have to pay the three, four, or five dollar full price.

****For the bacon, we cut the package in half length-wise. Then we count out ten pieces (2 half-pieces per person) and put them in a sandwich baggie. Then we 3 or four of those in a gallon ziplock bag.) Then we have bacon, at a good price, whenever we want.

*****Ground Beef: We buy the value pack and then divide it by putting one pound in a quart ziplock bag. We flatten the package which makes it easier to store in the freezer and to thaw in the microwave.

The Shopping List: Mar. 4-10, 2009

Safeway - (See "Notes" at the end of the entire shopping list.) All specials except for the 'Saturday Only' ones are good through Tuesday, March 10th. C means coupon required.

C Cheese - Tillamook Medium Cheddar 2 pound loaf $4.99 with card and coupon and $10 min. purchase. Limit 1
C Bacon - Safeway Thick Sliced Bacon 6.5 pound bag $9.99 with card and coupon and $10 min. purchase. Limit 1
C Bread - Safeway Butter Top Bread 22-oz. White or Wheat 99 cents with card and coupon and $10 min. purchase. Limit 1
Oranges - 10 pound bag $3.60
Ground Beef - 80% lean $1.69 lb Family Pack
Cereal - Life cereal 99 cents (must buy five)
C Chips - Tostitos Tortilla Chips 9 to 13 oz. selected varieties $1.77 with card and coupon. Limit 1
Saturday only - Boneless Chicken Breast $1.69 lb (4 lb. frozen package)
Saturday only - Yellow Onions - 5 pound bag 99 cents
Saturday only - Carrots - 5 pound bag 99 cents
Saturday only - Toilet paper - MD brand 12 double rolls $3.99
C $10 off your total purchase of $50 or more. This coupon is found on the back page of the FOODday.

Albertsons
Apples - Granny Smith apples 3 pound bag two (2) bags for $3.00
C Bread - Albertsons White Bread 24 oz. select varieties. Limit 2 with coupon

Thriftway
Chicken - Boneless/Skinless 'Big Pack' $1.69 pound
Brocolli or Cauliflower - 68 cents per pound
Tomatoes - 88 cents per pound
C Eggs - One dozen large grade AA eggs Free with $10 purchase. Limit 1. See coupon for restrictions

Notes:
Safeway - This week's ad, found in the Oregonian FOODday, had some 'Saturday Only' specials. They are indicated with the lead Saturday only. A Safeway card is required for these specials. If you don't have one, they are free, you can print an application from http://www.safeway.com/ifl/grocery/Club-Card and give it to the cashier to start saving. Also in the FOODday was a Safeway coupon for "Double Manufacturers Coupons" We would use this with any Life Cereal manufacturers coupons for 'double' extra savings.

Thriftway also had a 'Double Coupon' coupon for manufactures coupons in the FOODday.

Albertsons has their "Preferred Card" that is also free and is important for many of the savings. You can sign up online at http://www.albertsons.com/ .

Fred Meyer: March 1 - 7, 2009

Generally we will include the Fred Meyer part of our shopping list on Wednesday when we post with the other stores. This post is a bit of a test run to show how we plan to display Theresia's Shopping list. C indicates that a coupon is required.

Corned Beef $1.48 lb
Grapefruit 3/$1.00
Bed Sheets $2.99
Garden Seeds 50% off C (valid March 1st - 7th)

Notes: The Garden Seeds coupon was from the Sunday Oregonian Fred Meyer ad. You should be able to get one from the in-store flyer/ads found at the entrance to each Fred Meyer store. This is the time of year we watch the ads for garden seeds. Seeds generally keep for up to three years. We like to plant some fresh seeds each year as well as any left over from the previous two years.

Corned Beef and Cabbage is our traditional St. Patrick's Day meal, so we look for it on sale. We will look at the Food Day ads to see if another store has a better price.

Bed Sheets are a good deal for your student heading off to college next fall.

Grapefruit 3/$1.00 means 3 fruits for $1.00. We will indicate if it is by the pound.

Fred Meyer also had an ad insert Sunday for a 3-week "Baby Your Baby" sale. This is often a good time to pick up something for those baby showers. (So are the '70% off clearance' sales!)

Happy Shopping

Coupons: March 1, 2009

One of the ways that we save money and get good 'deals' is to clip coupons. We subscribe to the Oregonian and Theresia takes a look at all of the ads in the Sunday paper. Most of the coupons she finds are manufacturer's coupons. If they are for things that we use regularly, then she clips them out and files them. The simplest method we have found is to use an old shoe box and envelopes. The envelopes are labeled by general catagory: cereal, condiments, restraunts, etc. You simply slip the coupon in the envelope. Then, when you find something on sale at a store, besides using the store coupon (when one is required), you look for a manufacturers coupon from your file. Viola! Added savings.

The manufacturer's coupons were a bit slim this week (at least for the things we use), but to give an example, Theresia cut out the following:

Three feminine hygine product coupons-
50 cents Off - any one (1) Always Pad, INFINITY, clean or Feminine Cleasning Cloth
50 cents Off - any one (1) Tampax (18ct or higher)
50 cents Off - any one (1) Always Pantiliner (34ct or larger)
Please note that there is an expiratioin date (03/31/2009) on the coupon. Your husband will really appreciate NOT being sent to the store with expired coupons.

Save $1.00 on any two (2)

• Honey Maid Bees (10 oz. or larger)
• Ritz Bits Sandwiches (7.5 oz. or larger)
• Teddy Grahams (10 oz. or larger)
• Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Crackers (8 oz. or larger)

Also, about Sunday . . . most of the store ads run from Wednesday to Tuesday and are available in the Oregonian FOODday. The major exception to this is Fred Meyer. They generally run their ads from Sunday to Saturday. Many stores also run special one- or two-day ads during the week.

We will generally post Theresia's shopping list for the week on Tuesday night or Wednesday (depending on when Theresia can get to the ads.) If you find some special sales or ads we miss, please let us know and we will try to post them.

Happy shopping!

Jeff & Theresia

Welcome

This blog is the result of a discussion in our Ward Welfare Committee meeting and a desire to share Theresia's experience with shopping and finding great deals on everyday purchases. Throughout our married life Theresia has been able to stretch my teacher's salary to allow us, and our six children, to not only survive, but also live a comfortable lifestyle. We want to share that accumulated wisdom by helping others be 'smart shoppers' and otherwise live a lifestyle of 'provident living.'

Each week, Theresia scours the shopping from the (Portland) Oregonian ads and makes a list of potential purchases from various stores in our area. Those are often recorded on the back of an envelope to take to the stores as we plan our trips for the week. (Not only is the envelope recycled, but it provides a handy place to store coupons.) One of the ways that we stretch our food dollar is to create our meals around what is on sale. We also use the sales and 'deals' to add to our food storage.

Please note that some of the 'deals' require coupons. We will note those and where and when we found the coupons. Also, we do not guarantee nor are responsible for the prices or availability of the sale items. We are sometime surprised that an item is out of stock or was misadvertised. We will attempt to minimize those surprises for you with updates.

Good luck. We hope this blog will be helpful to you in your quest for living a more provident life.

Jeff and Theresia Loftus

P. S. If you find any good deals, let us know and we will try to pass them along.