Mt. Rainier

Popoften and I are getting ready to visit the most beautiful place on earth, Mount Rainier. Both of us visited Mt. Rainier with our family when we were children and have fond memories of it. Thirteen years ago we took our (then) five children out there ourselves and had a wonderful time. There is just something about that mountain and the way it totally fills your view. It is sheer beauty.

Why are we going? Because we’re celebrating the fact that we have now been married 25 years!! It’s hard to believe but true. And we’ve never been happier. Why God chose to bless us in this way is inconceivable. Truly. Yet, here we are, gray hairs and all, still in love! So if I’m late in posting next week’s Shoppers deals you’ll know why…

Shoppers Food & Pharmacy Deals 08-28-08 through 09-03-08

Here are this week's deals at Shoppers’ Food & Pharmacy for The Grocery Gathering, where each Monday and Thursday morning the “gatherings” of the best deals are posted.


Shoppers Food & Pharmacy Deals
For the week of 08-28-08 through 09-03-08

After the double/triple coupon events the last two weekends, this week’s sale is a real let-down.

Shoppers Value canned corn, French green beans, Short cut green beans, Sweet peas or Cream style corn, 2/$1
Hamburger or Hot Dog Buns 8ct $0.99
Shoppers Value Whole or Stewed Tomatoes, 14.5oz, 2/$1
Schmidt Blue ribbon or Sunbeam Bread 1.39
Ssips 10pk Fruit Drinks 5/$10
Dole 4 pack Fruit Cups 5/$10
Shoppers Value Apple Sauce 1.79
Shoppers Value Vegetable Oil 48oz, 2.99
Welch’s Grape Jelly or jam 32 oz. 2/$5, Get $1 off milk when you buy Welch's Squeezable Jam, Jelly, Or Spread, 22 Oz. Or Reduced Sugar Spread, Any 18.8 Oz., 07-27-08 SS
Jif Creamy Peanut Butter 2/$5, $0.55 off 1, 06-08-08 RP or $1 off 2, 06-08-08 RP, Final Price: $1.90 or $2.00ea
Kelloggs Family Pop-Tarts 4/$10, $1 off 2, 08-03-08 Kellogg’s
Kraft Handi-Snacks Pudding 10/$10
Dole Fruit Jars 5/$10, $0.55 Off 1, 08-10-08 SS2, Final Price: $1.45ea
Kraft BBQ Sauce $0.89
Kraft mayo 32 oz 2/$5

DAIRY
Kraft Shredded or Chunk Cheese 8oz, 5-8oz Crumbles 2/$5
Shoppers Value Imitation American 16 Slice Singles $0.99

PRODUCE
Roma Tomatoes $0.99/lb
Sweet yellow or White Corn 12/$1.99
Romaine Lettuce $0.99/lb
Mangoes 10/$10
Green Cabbage 2 lbs/$1
Red or Black Plums $0.99/lb

MEAT
Angus Boneless Beef Top Sirloin Steak 3 lbs or more, 2.99/lb
Shoppers Chicken Thighs or Drumsticks, 3 lbs +, $0.99/lb
Bar S Jumbo Franks 10/$10
Oven Stuffer Roaster 1.39/lb
Ground Beef 80% Lean 5lb+ 1.99/lb
Chicken Thighs or Drumsticks $0.99/lb
Boneless Beef top Sirloin Steak 2.99/lb
Smithfield Premium Smoked Ham 1.69/lb
Coupon:
$1 off when you buy any two 12 oz can 24-pks from the makers of Pepsi

Coupon:
Free Coca-Cola Zero 12-pack when you purchase any 2 Ball Park Franks and/or hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage, use printable coupon from www.mycokerewards.com

Special sale from 8/28 through 9/1 only on these:
Pepsi 24pk Cubes 3.99ea (with coupon) Must buy 2. Limit 2
Lay’s Potato Chips 2/$4 11.5-12oz bags

Happy shopping!
Momoften

I love Harris Teeter! Who'd've thunk it?

Being the frugal sort that I am I can count on my two hands how many times I've purposed to go to a high-end grocery store to buy something in the last fifteen years. Harris Teeter certainly fills that bill with it's beautiful displays, extremely helpful and friendly staff, and high prices. But now that I've begun couponing it is one of my favorite places to go. That's because I can get a lot of really great deals there. Of course, the only time I do visit is when I can get really, really good deals.

This past week was one of those times. Here's what I purchased:

4 jars Jif Peanut butter
4 Zone Perfect Bars
4 G.U.M Toothbrushes

= $17.56 Total Value

Total out of pocket only $4.24!

I purchased the same items for three children of mine as well. I plan to sell the toothbrushes so my out-of-pocket will be even less.

Harris Teeter does two things that make it an ideal store for couponers. 1) They double coupons up to $0.99 every day. And occasionally, they have triple coupon promotions. In this case, I had coupons for every item I purchased. The Jif was $2.00/jar - a pretty good deal in itself. But I also had a $0.55 off 1 coupons. Since they double coupons that made each jar $0.90. The Zone Perfect Bars were $1.39. I used $0.55 off 1 coupons for these as well making those $0.29. Not a super deal (I like to get them free) but my husband eats these at work to keep from eating out and spending oodles of money. The toothbrushes I also used a coupon on. And this is where Harris Teeter's other ideal policy for couponers comes into play.

Harris Teeter will double (or triple) coupons up to their regular retail price even if they are on sale. This can mean free money for you! It did for me. The toothbrushes were on sale for $1 each. Regular price for these was $2.xx. I had $0.75 off 1 coupons. The coupons doubled to $1.50 off even though the price of the toothbrushes was only $1.00. That meant I had $0.50 overage to apply to the purchase of other things. This is what makes couponers everywhere laugh out loud!!

Save Money and Avoid Disaster When Renting a Car

We live out in the country. If one of our cars breaks down and we aren't able to fix it quickly, we often need to rent a car. Bus service doesn't exist here.

All of our car rentals have gone fine without any problems. But problems can arise if the rental car company finds some damage when the car is returned. Many car renters rely on their on auto insurance coverage or rental car coverage provided by their credit card to pay in the unlikely event of an accident or other damage to a rental car, only to find out that, due to coverage limitations, they are still liable for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Renters can even sometimes be stuck with huge bills despite purchasing the expensive collision/damage waiver coverage provided by the car rental company. Here's how we avoid disaster at the rental car center.

Popoften

The Pitter-Patter of...

... ah, that unmistakable sound. I guess you can say it has been heard a time or two around our place. This afternoon, I wondered if I was dreaming. Could it be? Yes! There could be no doubt. Once again, I was hearing, that old familiar sound of water, leaking down through the kitchen ceiling, over the top of and around the range-hood microwave, and pitter-pattering onto the stove and finally the floor. That could mean only one thing. Someone, upstairs in the bathroom, had filled the bathtub too full, and their subsequent aquatic endeavors were causing an overflow situation.

Up the stairs I ran. I rapped on the locked bathroom door. No answer. I can hear the bathtub water running. I am now pounding on the bathroom door. No answer. This is not good, I think to myself. Someone is in there, incapacitated, or worse, and the water is over-topping the bathtub. You need to break down the door, I say, almost out loud, to myself. I don't want to break down this door, I answer myself. I take approximately 34/100ths of one second looking around for the funny little thing you put in the hole of the door knob to get it open that I had not seen for years.

I kick the door. My foot made a hole in the door but it did not open. How do the cops on TV do this? I threw my shoulder into the door. Goodbye, door frame. Sayonara, bathroom door. It's open!

I whirl around to where the tub is, wondering who was unconscious, drowned, hurt, incapacitated, or some combination thereof. The tub is full to overflowing, and the faucet is going full blast.

The next thing I see is my youngest son's swimming-goggled head and eyes rising resolutely and nobly to the surface. He was fine. He hadn't heard my pounding on the door, because he was under the water pretending to be a Los-Angeles class nuclear submarine. Or something.

Ah. parenthood, that estate of non-stop, 7x24x365, bone-wearying labor, punctuated by brief, ephemeral interludes of sheer terror.

Just kidding. I would't have it any other way. :-)

Popoften

Shoppers Triples Addendum: Doubles, too!!

In addition to tripling coupons up to $0.50, Shoppers is also doubling coupons between $0.51 and $1.00 from August 21-24. I somehow missed that yesterday. Sorry about that. This doubling of larger value coupons adds whole new dimension to the Shoppers experience!

Momoften

More Triples!!! Shoppers Food & Pharmacy Deals 08-20-08

Here are this week's deals at Shoppers’ Food & Pharmacy for The Grocery Gathering, where each Monday and Thursday morning the “gatherings” of the best deals are posted.


Shoppers Food & Pharmacy Deals
For the week of 08-20-08 through 08-26-08

More Triples!!!
Thursday through Sunday (August 21-24)

Weekly Ad specials of Note:
7Up or Canada Dry Selected Barieties 12 pack 4/$10 Limit 8
Capri Sun 10pack Drinks 5/$10
Shedd’s Spread Country Crock 45oz Tub 2.99ea
Stouffer’s Family Size Macaroni & Cheese 6.99 $1/1 printable www.verybestkids.com, Final Price 5.99ea
Yoplait Yogurt 6oz 10/$6 (0.60ea) 0.40/6 08-10-08 GM, 0.40/6 07-13-08 SS, b6g1 07-13-08 SS, 0.50/6 printable www.bricks.coupons.com
Broccoli 0.99/lb
Green Cabbage 2/$1
Del Monte 24oz jar Fruit 2/$6
Ball Park Beef, Turkey & Fat Free Franks 2/$5 $1/2 07-27-08 RP

Just in case you can't follow my gibberish, here’s a guide to understanding my string of numbers and letters:

X.XX/Y = coupon worth X amount of money off of Y number of items
GM = General Mills newspaper coupon insert
RP = RedPlum newspaper coupon insert
SS = Smartsource newspaper coupon insert
SS1 = one of 2 Smartsource newspaper coupon inserts issued on the same date
SS2 = second of 2 Smartsource newspaper coupon inserts issued on the same date


Happy shopping!

Momoften

Latest News on Triples at Shoppers

I had a good shopping trip at Shoppers today. Saved over $60. But I did find out some things:

* Shoppers does not give overage.

* Shoppers will only triple four identical coupons per transaction regardless of what you use the coupon for. For example, if you get four grape Kool-Aids, four orange and four cherry and use 12 identical Kool-Aid coupons (FYI: there are no such things), only four of your coupons will triple. The other eight will be taken at face value. This is contrary to what I was told by a Customer Service rep on Wednesday.

I'd love to hear how you did at Shoppers triples!

Momoften

Shoppers Food & Pharmacy Deals 08-13-08 through 08-19-08

Here are this week's deals at Shoppers’ Food & Pharmacy for The Grocery Gathering, where each Monday and Thursday morning the “gatherings” of the best deals are posted.


Shoppers Food & Pharmacy Deals
For the week of 08-13-08 through 08-19-08

Regular Weekly Ad:
Ground Beef 80% lean 5 lb roll 1.99/lb
Red or White Seedless Grapes .99/lb
GM Cheerios 14 oz 4/$10 with printable 4/$4
GM Cookie Crisp 11.25oz 4/$10
Lucky Charms Cereal 11.5oz 4/$10
Richfood shredded or Block Cheese 8oz 2/$4
Hamburger Helper 3/$5 0.75/3 08-10-08GM
Lay’s Potato Chips 11.5 oz 2.75ea
Nabisco Premium Saltines 2/$5
Pasta Roni Side Dishes 10/$10
Rice-a-Roni Side Dishes 8/$10
Kellogg’s Corn Pop Cereal 12.5oz 2/$6
Kellogg’s Froot Loops 12.2oz 2/$6
Aunt Jemima pancake Mix 2/$5
Aunt Jemima Pancake Syrup 3.49
Chef Boyardee Canned Pasta 10/$10
Capri Sun 40 pack Drinks 7.99
Murray Cookies 10/$10
Utz Potato Chips 4.25oz 10/$10
Kellogg’s Family Pop-Tarts 4/$10 1.00/2 08-03-08 Kellogg
Marcal 8 Roll paper Twoels 2/$10
Marcal 12 Double Roll Bath Tissue 2/$10
Frito Lay Variety Pack 24ct 6.49

Save 5.00 when you buy all of the following:
1 fresh roasted rotisserie chicken
1 Dole Garden Salad
1 Mission Soft Taco Tortillas
1 Kraft 8oz Shredded Cheese
1 Kraft Good Season Salad Dressing

Save $5.00 OYNO when you spend $15 on the following:
Colgate Total Plus Toothpaste 2/$5
Mennen’s or Lady Speed Stick Deodorant 2/$5
Mennen Speed Stick 24/7 Deodorant 2/$7

Tripled Coupons $0.50 and under 08-14-08 through 08-17-08 Only
The best deals I've found are:
FREE
Carefree pantiliners 22ct 1.29 0.50/1 www.carefreeliners.com, Final Price FREE
David Seeds 8.5oz 1.00 0.50/1 05-18-08 SS1 Final Price FREE
Dawn liquid dishwashing liquid 11oz 1.50 0.50/1 08-03-08 P&G Final PrIce FREE
Suave Shampoo 15oz 1.19 0.50/1 07-13-08 RP Final Price FREE
Weber Grill Creations Seasoning 1.25 0.50/1 06-29-08 SS Final Price FREE

I'm not sure if they will give overage or not.

VERY CHEAP
Betty Crocker Box Supreme Brownie Mix, any 2.00 0.50/1 06-29-08 SS tripled, Final Price 0.50
Betty Crocker Cookie Mix 17.5oz 2.00 0.50/1 www.bettycrocker.com tripled, Final Price 0.50
Betty Crocker Warm Delights Bowls 1.88 0.50/1 07-13-08 SS tripled, Final Price 0.50
Cheerios cereal 2.50 0.50/1 www.eatbetteramerica.com Final Price 1.00
French’s Worcestershire Sauce 10 oz 0.35/1 05-11-08 SS or 06-22-08 SS 1.39 Final Price 0.34
Heluva Good Dips 2.00 0.50/1 06-29-08 SS Final Price 0.50
Juicy juice 8pack (4.23oz each) 2.00, 0.50/1 08-03-08 RP Final Price 0.50
Lysol Bathroom cleaner 1.98 0.50/1 06-22—08 SS Final Price 0.48
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser 2 pack, 1.93 0.50/1 06-22-08 SS Final Price 0.43
Pillsbury rosting 1.79 0.40/1 07-27-08 RP Final Price 0.59
Scotch Brite Scour pad 3pk 1.99 0.50/1 06-08-08 RP Final Price 0.49
Scotties Facial tissues single 1.00 0.50/3 05-11-08RP or 06-08-08 RP or 07-13-08 RP Final Price 0.50/box
Soft Scrub Gel with Bleach 17 oz 2.25 0.50/1 08-10-08 SS1 Final Price 0.75
Smucker’s Squeeze Fruit Spread 20 oz grape 2.09 0.35/1 07-27-08 RP Final Price 1.04
Spam 12 oz 2.75 0.50/1 06-22-08 SS Final Price 1.25
Uncle Bens Whole Grain Brown rice box 16 oz 1.99 0.50/1 07-13-08 RP Final Price 0.49
Viva Paper Towels big roll 2.00 0.50/1 07-13-08 SS Final Price 0.50
Ziploc sandwich Bags 50 ct 1.88 0.40/1 08-03-08 SS Final Price 0.48

More Info on Shoppers Triple Coupon Promotion

I spoke with Customer Service in Stafford. Here's what I learned:

1. Customers have no limit on the total number of coupons you can use per day or per promotion.
2. They will be tripling internet printed coupons
3. The only restriction is that you can only buy four identical products at a time. However, if it is something that comes in different flavors you can purchase four of each flavor. For example, you can buy 4 grape Kool-Aid, 4 strawberry Kool-Aid, 4 cherry Kool-Aid, and 4 orange Kool-Aid and use 16 identical coupons for them.

Even if your store does not usually double coupon chances are good that it will be participating in this triple coupon promotion. You can check by calling your local store or visiting Shoppers online and checking your local sale flyer.

I've got to get busy cutting coupons!

Momoften

Triple Coupons at Shoppers Food!

Here's it is 1:51 in the morning. everybody else has been long asleep and I'm busy researching what coupons I can use at Shoppers Food & Pharmacy triple coupon promotion this week that I just found out about tonight. I have officially concluded I have a terminal case of couponitis! LOL.

Details: This is Shoppers Food and Pharmacy's very first triple coupon promotion. From what I can tell there is no limit as to the number of coupons per day that you can use. However, you can only use 4 coupons for identical items. No other limit mentioned in ad!

Tomorrow we are planning on going to a local County fair so I'm going to go ahead and give you the info I have now so you can work with it yourself.

Regular Weekly Ad:
Ground Beef 80% lean 5 lb roll 1.99/lb
Red or White Seedless Grapes .99/lb
GM Cheerios 14 oz 4/$10
GM Cookie Crisp 11.25oz 4/$10
Lucky Charms Cereal 11.5oz 4/$10
Richfood shredded or Block Cheese 8oz 2/$4
Hamburger Helper 3/$5
Lay’s Potato Chips 11.5 oz 2.75ea
Nabisco Premium Saltines 2/$5
Pasta Roni Side Dishes 10/$10
Rice-a-Roni Side Dishes 8/$10
Kellogg’s Corn Pop Cereal 12.5oz 2/$6
Kellogg’s Froot Loops 12.2oz 2/$6
Aunt Jemima pancake Mix 2/$5
Aunt Jemima Pancake Syrup 3.49
Chef Boyardee Canned Pasta 10/$10
Capri Sun 40 pack Drinks 7.99
Murray Cookies 10/$10
Utz Potato Chips 4.25oz 10/$10
Kellogg’s Family Pop-Tarts 4/$10
Marcal 8 Roll paper Twoels 2/$10
Marcal 12 Double Roll Bath Tissue 2/$10
Frito Lay Variety Pack 24ct 6.49

Save 5.00 when you buy all of the following:
1 fresh roasted rotisserie chicken
1 Dole Garden Salad
1 Mission Soft Taco Tortillas
1 Kraft 8oz Shredded Cheese
1 Kraft Good Season Salad Dressing

Save $5.00 OYNO when you spend $15 on the following:
Colgate Total Plus Toothpaste 2/$5
Mennen’s or Lady Speed Stick Deodorant 2/$5
Mennen Speed Stick 24/7 Deodorant 2/$7

Happy Shopping!
Momoften

Avoid Disaster and Save Money at the Lube and Oil Change Center

Millions rely on quick oil change and lube centers to refresh the oil and other vital fluids in their cars or trucks. What many do not realize is mistakes can be made even on a simple oil change, and the results can mean the destruction of the vehicle's engine, an accident, or even a serious fire. Here is how you can avoid disaster both to your vehicle as well as your wallet at the oil and lube center.

Popoften

Shoppers Food & Pharmacy Deals 08-07-08 through 08-13-08

Here are this week's deals at Shoppers’ Food & Pharmacy for The Grocery Gathering, where each Monday and Thursday morning the “gatherings” of the best deals are posted.


Shoppers Food & Pharmacy Deals
For the week of 08-07-08 through 08-13-08

Hunt’s Snack pack puddings 10/$10

Chef Boyardee Canned Pasta 10/$10 0.35/3 08-03-08 SS Doubled; Final Price $0.76ea

Crunch ‘N Munch 10/$10

Max Velocity Energy Drink 10/$10

Snapple White, Green or Red Premium Tea 10/$10

Pringles Potato Crisps 10/$10

Strawberries 1 lb 2/$4

Blueberries 1 pint 2/$4

Blackberries ½ pint 2/$4

Red Raspberries ½ pint 2/$4

Sweet Red Cherries 2.99/lb

Mangoes 10/$10

Tyson Boneless chicken Breast Tenders 1.99/lb

Oven Stuffer Roaster 1.19/lb

Coca-Cola 2 liter 10/$10

Manufacturer’s Coupon in weekly ad:
Buy 10 Vitamin water Get 5 Free Powerade

Save $5.00 OYNO* when you buy $20+ of the following P&G products:

Gillette Shampoo or Conditioner 2/$9 $1/1 07-13-08 RP or 08-03-08 P&G; Final Price 2/$7

Crest Pro Health Oral Rinse $4.99

Old Spice High Endurance Deodorant 2/$5 $1/2 08-03-08 P&G; Final Price 2/$4

Crest Premium Whitening Strips 27.99 $5.00/1 08-03-08 P&G; Final Price $22.99

Bounce Fabric Softener Sheets 5.99

Crest Healthy Radiance Toothpaste 9.99 $1.50/1 08-03-08 P&G; Final Price $8.49

Venus Embrace Razor 9.99 $2.00/1 08-03-08 P&G; Final Price $7.99

Downy Fabric Softener $5.99

Aquafresh Toothpaste 10/$10 $0.75/1 printable http://www.aquafresh.com/Coupons.aspx Final Price: $0.25 each

Oil of Olay Skin Care Products 15% off

Always Jumbo or Overnight Pads $5.99

Tampax (not sure of the count) $5.99

Prilosec Antacid $19.99

Softsoap Liquid Soap Pump 4/$5 0.35/1 07-27-08 SS Doubled; Final Price 0.30ea

Dawn Dish Detergent 2/$5 0.50/1 08-03-08 P&G Doubled; Final Price $1.50ea

Cascade Dish Detergent $3.99

* On Your Next Order

Here’s one example of how you could put this promotion to good use:
$20 16 Softsoap
- 11.20 coupons (0.35/1*2*16)
=8.80 + tax
Get back $5 OYNO
Final Price $3.80 + tax ($0.24/bottle)

Happy shopping!

Momoften

Quick! Get Your FREE Full-Size Box of Ziploc Bags

If you like Ziploc bags hurry to The Clean Home Journal and register for a free 50-count box of Ziploc Brand Sandwich Bags plus $5 in coupons for SC Johnson products. This is only good for the first 10,000 people who respond. You do have to give them your name and address so they can mail them to you. The ship date is September something.

Momoften

Shoppers Food & Pharmacy Deals Deals 07-30-08 through 08-05-08

How did this week get away from me? Sorry about that!



Here are this week's deals at Shoppers’ Food & Pharmacy for The Grocery Gathering, where each Monday and Thursday morning the “gatherings” of the best deals are posted.


Shoppers Food & Pharmacy Deals
For the week of 0-7-30-08 through 08-05-08

Tomatoes, Round and Roma .99/lb

Grapes, Red and White Seedless 2lb containers 1.49/lb

Carolina Pride Sausage Roll bulk 1 lb $1.00 STOCK UP PRICE!!

Post Cereals 5/$10 Use $1/2 07-27-08 SS, Buy 10, use 5x$1/2, Final Price = $15.00, $0.75/box
Dino Smores Pebbles 11.5oz
Fruity or Cocoa Pebbles 13 oz
Gold Crisp 17 oz
Alpha Bits 13.5 oz
OR 13-14.5oz boxes?? - not sure what that means

Hunt's Spaghetti Sauce (canned) 26oz .89

Mueller's spaghetti 16oz .89

Richfood Apple Sauce 15oz .99

Armour Small Lunchmakers 10/$10

Esskay Bologna (deli) 4.99/lb

Hillshire Farm Rope Smoked Sausage 2/$5, .35/1 06-22-08 RP doubled, Final Price: 1.90ea VERY NICE PRICE!

Fresh Green Beans .99/lb

Coupon in circular good this week:
Buy 3 Pepsi-Cola items, and get $3 Off!

24pk 12oz cans Pepsi products
12pk 16oz Lipton iced Tea
4pk Starbucks Frappoccino or Double Shot

I heard from a fellow couponer in CVS that Shoppers has sent out some coupons via snail mail. Customer service at the Fredericksburg store couldn't tell me how to get on their mailing list. Does anyone else know?

Happy shopping!

Momoften