The following shopping trip was submitted by Anna who blogs at Frugal For You:
We moved to Virginia almost two years ago. All of the grocery stores were new to me and I had no idea what to expect. Money Saving Mom® has a database for regional store deals. I was able to find coupon match-ups for grocery stores in my area and start saving money. I even used this to search for grocery deals when we vacationed in California!
With the help of the store deals page, not only did I find match-ups, but I also found a local frugal blogger in our area. I even met her in person at a coupon swap she hosted at the library!
Now, about my shopping trip. I was able to buy $137 worth of items for only $24. Martin’s is often more expensive, but they sometimes have great sales. Also, Martin’s still doubles coupons, unlike our area Kroger stores.
This is what I bought in two transactions:
- Evol Fire Grilled Steak – $4.99 – Used FREE coupon from contacting company!
- Pepsi Next – $1.79 – Used FREE coupon from mailer!
- 5 Nature Valley Oatmeal Squares and Bars ($2.50 each) – $4.75 – Used various coupons (these doubled up to $1.00)
- 2 Quaker Chewy Bars – $2.00 each – Used $1/2 coupon from 8/4 RedPlum insert
- 6 Twizzlers – 3 for $5.00 – Used two $1/3 coupons from 7/28 SmartSource insert
- 1 Nabisco Premium Rounds – $1.99 – Used $1 off coupon from 8/11 SmartSource insert
- 3 Belvita Breakfast Cookies – $2.50 each – Used three $1 off coupons from coupon booklets
- 4 Teddy Grahams – $2.50 each – Used three $1 off coupons from coupon booklets
- 6 Classico Sauces – $2.50 each – Used two $1 off coupons
- Silk Almond Milk – $2.60 – Used $1 off coupon from register
- Kikkoman Soy Sauce – $1.66 – Used $1 off coupon
- Kikkoman Panko – $1.66 – Used $1 off coupon
- 5 Batman Treats – $0.27 each – 75% off markdown
- 12 Angry Birds Gummy Snacks – $0.27 each – 75% off markdown
- Grapes ($0.88 per lb) – $1.94
- Bananas ($0.39 per lb) – $1.02
- Cantaloupe – $2.00
- Craisins – $1.00
Three store promos, two Catalina deals, store coupons, and a “return” helped to lower my out-of-pocket costs:
- Buy $20, get $10 off instantly for Nature Valley, Quaker, other breakfast products
- Buy 7 snack items, get $5 off instantly (for Nabisco and Twizzlers)
- Get $2 Catalina back for 3 Classico sauces (did this twice)
- Get $3 Catalina back for 5+ Nature Valley items
- $5 off $40 purchase from the local newspaper
- Customer service gave me $11.34 refund, honoring their 200% money-back freshness guarantee. I asked for a refund at customer service for meat that went bad before the sell-by date (my first time asking them for a refund!).
Total out-of-pocket: $24, plus I got a $2 Catalina for next time and I will get $5 from Saving Star for buying $15 in Classico Sauces
Some money-saving tips I used in this shopping trip:
- Sign-up for Saving Star to get extra savings on top of coupons.
- Check the Sunday paper for extra coupons. The $5 off $40 Martin’s coupon was in the front page section of the paper, not in the coupon inserts.
- Check out stand-alone product displays since they usually have tearpads or coupon booklets.
- Some libraries allow certain coupon printing (another source for extra coupons).
- Know the store’s satisfaction guarantee. Martin’s gives 200% refund with receipt and the product doesn’t have to be returned.
Anna Thomas blogs at Frugal For You. In 2009, she Googled “frugal mommy blogs” and came across Money Saving Mom®. She learned better couponing skills that allowed her to be a stay-at-home mom and homeschool her kids. Anne is still in awe of the gifts that a frugal lifestyle has given her family.
Have you gotten a great deal thanks to a tip you’ve found here on MoneySavingMom.com? Take a picture of your deal/purchase and write a short post on the deal details and submit it here. If your submission is chosen to be posted, I’ll send you a $25 Amazon gift card! Note: the more creative, unique, and well-written your post, the more chance it will have of being posted.
Sarah says
We just moved to Virginia from Texas and I am slowly getting used to the higher food prices and still learning where to go to find the best deals. Thanks for your post! I need to figure out how the gas thing works at Martins. Did you just stumble upon the fruit snacks? I cant find a good site with matchups for Martins. Ours is in Harrisonburg.
Sarah E says
Great job, Anna! I am such a Kroger girl, but am slowly starting to experiment more with coupons at Martins. I’m glad to hear you had a great shopping trip there. They are around the corner from me so it would definitely be more convenient for me to shop there!
Anna @ Frugal For You says
Thanks!
I really miss double coupons at Kroger. But Martin’s Fuel Perks can’t be beat. You can earn as much as you want. At Kroger, it’s only up to $1. We have enjoyed 6 full tanks for only pennies. So, I always check their ad every week for those deals (they are few and far in between, but definitely worth looking into!).
Sherri says
I’ve been loving the Kroger double fuel points this summer- too bad it ends this weekend. Right now they have 4X points on gift cards, so I’ll be getting Lowe’s cards to purchase a new washer (mine is dying slowly). $500 in gift cards will give me $20 off per gallon, even if I can only use it $1 at a time. If I wait until Sept 1 to buy them, then I have 2 full months to use the points.
I appreciate your sharing the Martin’s success story. I rarely shop there b/c the sales just aren’t that great any more, at least for what I buy. Now I’ll take a closer look and also pay attention to Catalina offers.
Anna @ Frugal For You says
I shop in the Richmond area. The ‘free item’ coupons I used were sent to me by the companies rather than a printed coupon. Maybe that is why they accepted them. I’ve also noticed that certain stores have cashiers that are more coupon-friendly.
Which Martin’s do you shop? Truth be told, I wish they were still Ukrops stores instead.
debbie says
What Martin’s store in Virginia do you shop? Mine won’t accept ‘Free Item’ coupons.
Asmith says
I have used free from companies coupon at several in Chesterfield area. I also use self checkout when I can a lot less problems than cashier.
Anna @ Frugal For You says
A shopper told me that the Stony Point Martin’s is the best for deals because they never seem to run out of them. They have fewer couponers that shop there I guess.