January 26 - 27 Weekend - The Baltimore Sun Coupons

Some weekends I wonder if a coupon gremlin has come along and stolen all my coupons before I get my Baltimore Sun newspaper.  Other weekends, I am quite happy to discover many coupons.  This weekend would be just tha type of situation.  There were four packets of coupons included.  Also, there were a Walmart and Target sales paper.  Hooray!

Some of the many coupons included in this weekend's Baltimore Sun are:

• Frozen pizzas (various brands)
• Tums (you might need that after all that pizza)
• Tidy Cat litter
• Puppy Chow
• Ragu spaghetti sauce
• Suave shampoo and other products
• Vaseline products
• Fiber One
• Cheerios
• Tyson Chicken
• Nature Valley Granola Bars
• Tide
• Energizer
• Charmin
• Bounty Puffs
• And much more!

Happy shopping this weekend!  Don't forget, many groceries stores will double your coupons if the amount is under $1.

Preparing for Hurricane Sandy on a Budget

If you live on the east coast and must deal with Hurricane Sandy, I am sorry.  If you live on the east coast and must prepare for the hurricane on a budget, then you are in luck!  Many of the food products you will need are rather low-budget!

I live in Maryland and I am getting prepared for Hurricane Sandy or Frankenstorm, if you prefer.  I am not terribly excited about the prospect of this annoying hurricane coming my way.  I don't want to deal with my windows rattling and leaking like they did with Hurricane Irene.  I also don't want to deal with potentially losing my electric for days.  However, she is coming whether I like it or not, so trying to stay on a budget is my goal. 

Some important items to buy in preparation for Hurricane Sandy are flashlights, batteries, and food that does not need to be refrigerated.  Luckily, many dollar stores sell flashlights, batteries, and food for a very low cost.  Unfortunately, you might have a hard time finding flashlights and D batteries at this point.  If you have flashlights that take AAA batteries or AA batteries, you are in luck.  There are still some available as of Sunday morning. 

As far as shopping for food, usually the cheapest food is the type that does not need to be refrigerated.  It is a good idea to stock up on items such as:

• Pop Tarts
• Cereal Bars
• Granola Bars
• Applesauce, pudding, and fruit cups
• Cans of tuna or chicken
• Peanut Butter
• Nutella
• Bread
• Banana
• Carrots
• Radishes

I've also been freezing water is plastic cups and making a lot of ice in my freezer.  I am hoping if I do lose power, I won't lose all of my food.  I am hoping with enough ice, everything will be OK for days.  Since I am hoping for this, I also bought food that tends to last a while in the fridge and freezer like hot dogs, cheese, jelly, etc.

Since I am hoping you still have power if you are reading this, make sure to start getting prepared with water at this time.  Start filling buckets and jugs so you can flush your toilets in case you are not able to do so when you lose power.  Also, make sure to start filling water bottles and pitchers with fresh water to drink.  Make sure to have about a gallon of water per person per day.  Plan for at least 3 days of water.   

To anyone reading this on the east coast, best of luck to you!  Don't let Hurricane Sandy ruin your week or your Halloween.  We can get through this together!

Why Kmart is Failing

Kmart is kind of a tough store to find now.  It is not in that many locations, and sometimes if you can find it, the location is not in an ideal spot where you want to shop.  Since it is such a challenge finding a Kmart, I had not been there in years.  Imagine my delight to see a Kmart again when I went to a different shopping center about 10 miles away from my home.

I will admit, I was pretty excited to see Kmart.  I remember all the time fun times I had shopping at Kmart as a child.  I remember the Blue Light Specials.  There used to be something special about Kmart.  However, all that has changed.

The Kmart I went into over the weekend was cramped, oddly arranged, and hardly had any staff working there.  Mind you, this might just be that particularly Kmart, so I can let that slide.  However, I cannot let the prices slide.

I found a number of items like juice and paper products to be very overpriced.  Not only are Walmart's and Target's prices much better, in many instances, even grocery store prices are better.  I was just not seeing the Kmart low prices I expected.  How is a discount store supposed to thrive when it really isn't discounted?

For this reason, I believe Kmart is failing.  I was disappointed that the store I once loved as child is no longer the wonderful place I once knew.  The deals simply are  not what they once were.  From now on, I will no longer look back and long for the opportunity to shop at Kmart.  Instead, I know I am better off going to Walmart and Target.  I am sorry Kmart. 

Safeway Savings This Weekend

Right now (January 18 - 24, 2012) Safeway supermarket is having some amazing deals.  If you live an area with a Safeway grocery store, I highly recommend visiting them.  First and foremost, you need to get a Safeway sales paper.  Not only will it tell you all the sales items, there are a number of incredible coupon deals.

If you are like me, you are probably already clipping coupons from the packets that come in the newspaper each weekend.  What you may not know is you can use the manufacturer coupons you find in the Sunday paper along with the store coupons at Safeway.  Also, if the coupon is below 99 cents or less, Safeway will double it.  This equals unbelievable savings right now.  It is a great time to stock up. 

I just came from Safeway and I would like to share some of the bargains I got:

V8 Fusion Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Regular price: $3.99

Safeway Club sale price: $2.49

Store coupon: - .50

Manufacturer's coupon: .75 doubled (total -$1.50)

TOTAL PRICE PAID: 49 cents!

If you know anything about V8 Fusion, you know this is an excellent deal.  Even when it is on sale at stores like Target or Walmart, the price rarely goes below $2.50.

Another example is:

Prego Vegetable Smart Pasta Sauce

Regular price: $2.99

Safeway Club sale price: $1.99

Safeway coupon: - .50

Manufacturer's coupon: - $1.00 (However, 2 jars had to be purchased to get this price, so it was 50 cents off per jar.) 

TOTAL PRICE PAID:  99 cents!

Even if you ordinarily shop at another grocery store, or perhaps you go to a discount store like Walmart for juice, pasta sauce, and that type of thing, you should give Safeway a try this weekend.  It is important to have the Safeway coupons and the manufacturer coupons, too.  If you do that, you will save way beyond what you would save at a discount store this weekend.

Some other sale and coupon items that are a bargain:

• Gatorade
• Nature Valley granola bars
• Hot dog and hamburger buns (Safeway brand)
• Morningstar Farms frozen foods
• Glad containers
• Tide
• Cheerios
• Pantene
• 7 Up
• Colgate
• Pop Secret popcorn
• Duracell

 In the end, I saved a total of 40% on my grocery bill.  I would have probably saved more if I did not buy a couple of items I absolutely needed, but were not on sale.  Happy shopping!

Nutella - No So Expensive After All

My newest food obsession is now Nutella.  If you are not familiar with it, it is a hazelnut and cocoa spread.  Instead of using peanut butter on a sandwich, you can use Nutella.

For many years, I wanted to try Nutella but I was never able to because of the price.  Finally, Nutella's price has gone down and it is reasonable to buy.  Now that I've tasted it, I can't ever imagine how I lived without it.  The taste is very similar to the chocolate and hazelnut candy called Ferraro Rocher. 

The best thing about Nutella is you can use it for sandwiches.  I make a Nutella and jelly sandwich many days for work now.  This is perfect if you are bored with peanut butter and jelly.  When I am very broke, I find myself eating only peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for work each day.  This is not by choice; this is only because it is all I can afford.

If you are in the same position stuck and bored with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I recommend giving Nutella a try.  It might really help your boring sandwich become more interesting.  For now, the price of Nutella is just under $3 at Walmart and $3 at Target.  Yes, that is slightly more expensive than peanut butter, but it is worth it if you might actually enjoy lunch each day.  Also, sometimes you even come across $1 off coupons for Nutella, so it makes the price even better.  So give Nutella a try!

Shop at Safeway

I am not sure if Safeway grocery stores are located all over the U.S., but if you live near one, you should visit it this weekend.  If possible, grab a Safeway sales paper before going.  There are a number of sale items and coupons available in the paper this weekend.  You can buy everything from detergent to cherries at a really low price.

So what you are you doing still reading this blog?  You'd better get up and go to Safeway right now!  You don't want to miss the opportunity to buy cereal for $1.88 do you?  Didn't think so!