Note from Crystal: Just for fun, my sister (Gretchen) is going to start sharing some of her shopping trips here for you all, too. She’s a young mom on a tight budget and she loves to get great deals.
She’s also the one who coordinates and formats all the store deals for the store deals section of MoneySavingMom.com (check it out here, if you haven’t already!). So she often knows about the best deals before I do — and she finds lots of great unadvertised deals, too!
Since their family eats different things than our family does, I thought it would be fun for you to see what deals she finds. And don’t worry, I’ll still be sharing my shopping trips, too!
Dillon’s Shopping Trip
1 Colgate Toothpaste – on sale for $1, used $0.50/1 coupon from the 4/28 SmartSource insert (doubled) – Free after coupon
4 Clif Kid Zone bars – Manager’s special reduced to $0.25 each
12 Candy Bars (3 Musketeers, Dove Chocolate, M&M’s) – $0.89 each, on sale Buy 2 Get 1 Free, used 6 $0.50/2 printables – $0.09 each after coupons
1 Romaine Lettuce – $0.99
1 Mission Tortillas – $1.50 (Our Aldi raised the price of their tortillas to $1.49 so I just buy them at Dillon’s now)
2 Broccoli Crowns – $0.98 total
5 Tomatoes – $1.06 total
1 Green Giant Veggie Chips – on sale for $1, used $0.50/1 printable AND $0.50/1 SavingStar.com rebate – Free plus overage after coupon and rebate
1 dozen Dillon’s Eggs – Manager’s special reduced to $0.89
1 Kroger Cheese – $1.67
1 Kroger Frozen Apple Juice – $1.39
2 Dillon’s half gallon Milk – Manager’s special reduced to $1 each
4 Totino’s Frozen Pizzas – on sale for $1.33 each, used 4 $0.40/1 printables, received $2 catalina for buying 4 – $0.03 each after coupons and catalina
1 Kroger Frozen Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (3 lbs) – $5.67 ($1.89/lb – a good price for frozen, boneless chicken breasts that we don’t see here too often)
1 Kroger Butter – $2.59
1 Pineapple – $0.99
1 Laura’s Lean Ground Beef (1 lb) – Manager’s special reduced to $4.39 (I know this is might seem expensive, but our family prefers this brand so it was a great price for me!)
1 Folgers Instant Coffee – $1.19, used $1.50/1 printable (deducted down to $1.19) – Free after coupon
Items from the P&G sale (Buy 4, Save $4 instantly):
1 Herbal Essence Hair Mousse – on sale for $1.79 after instant savings, used $1/1 coupon from recent mailer – $0.79 after coupon
4 Pantene Shampoo/Conditioner – on sale for $2.09 after instant savings, used $3/2 e-coupon and $3/2 coupon from the 4/28 P&G insert – $0.59 each after coupons
2 Old Spice Deodorant – on sale for $1.15 after instant savings, used $1/2 coupon from the 4/28 P&G insert – $0.65 each after coupons
2 Gillette Deodorant – on sale for $1.29 after instant savings, used $1/2 e-coupon – $0.79 each after coupons
3 Gillette Shave Gel – on sale for $1 after instant savings, used $0.55/1 coupon from the 4/7 SmartSource insert (doubled) – $0.67 each after coupon (I only had one coupon for these otherwise they would have been free)
Total before coupons and sales: $91. Total after coupons + tax: $39.96, used $7 catalinas from last week’s shopping trip
Paid $32.96 out of pocket, Received $2 catalina (for buying 4 Totino’s Pizzas)
Read 20 pages of 
%20%20%20%20%20%C2%BD%20cup%20sunflower%20seeds%20(or%20ground%20flax%20seed)%20%20%20%20%20%C2%BD%20cup%20dried%20cranberries%2C%20cherries%2C%20or%20raisins%20(you%20can%20also%20use%20chocolate%20chips%20if%20you%E2%80%99re%20not%20off%20sugar%20like%20I%20am!)%20%20%20%20%201%20teaspoon%20vanilla%20%20Combine%20all%20ingredients%20and%20pat%20firmly%20into%20a%20greased%208%C3%978%20pan%20(or%20roll%20into%20balls).%20Chill.)
