Bargain Buys

I told myself that this week was going to be a "light" week. There wasn't much that we truly needed a lot of. But the deals this week were hot, hot, HOT, and I just could not pass up some of the deals that were out there.

Food Lion--MVP card deals:
Food Lion brand canned vegetables were just $0.33 each!!! I knew these wouldn't stay on the shelves for long, so before going scrapbooking Friday evening, I swung by a nearby Food Lion Store and grabbed just as many cans as I could find. I came out with 12 cans of green beans, 1 can of corn, and 2 cans of mixed vegetables. Everything else had already been cleaned out.

Seedless red grapes are also on sale for $0.99/lb. Not as good as the green grapes that were $0.88/lb last week, but still a really great bargain for this time of year. I grabbed a couple bags and popped these into the freezer for use at a later date.

12-count Pop-Tarts are also on sale for $2.50 a box. When you buy 10, you save $10 on your total purchase, bringing the actual cost down to just $1.50 a box!

I also had a two coupons for DiGiorno 200 Calorie Portions from Kraft First Taste that I felt like using. One coupon was for a free box, the other coupon saved me $1.50. Each box was $3.49, so after both coupons, I only paid $1.99 for both.

Kraft salad dressings were also marked down to 2/$4. I picked up 1 bottle and used a $0.55 coupon (I would have bought more because I have several coupons, but the coupons state only one coupon per person per day). Price after savings & coupon was just $1.45 for a 16oz bottle.

The Smart Option gallon milk (not pictured) is still on sale, although the price has gone up from $2.25/gal to $2.36/gal. Still a really great buy! The new price should be good through Tuesday, 3/2, when the current week's sales will end. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the price won't change, or at least won't go up, when the new sales start on Wednesday.

CVS:

Valentine's items are marked down 75% off! I picked up a couple boxes of Valentine's cards for the kids to use next year. Regular price was $2.99 but each box was marked down to just $0.75!

My daughter has a constipation problem that began when we started potty-training her a year & a half ago. The only thing that keeps her "regular" is Mirelax, which is expensive. So we buy the generic version. The 30-day supply of CVS Purelax was marked down to $13.95. My CVS was completely out, and the truck had not been unloaded. The cashier said it would be another week before another bottle would be on the shelf, so she gave me a rain check so I can pick up a bottle at a later date. Sweet!

Target:

I found several surprise deals when I went to Target this past Saturday, and thankfully I had several coupons so I could snag the deals! Kraft Easy Mac 4pks were $2.79 each. After using a $1/2 Target coupon, I paid $4.58, or $0.57 per pack. I have several boxes of macaroni & cheese, but I rarely make it for dinner, and it's too much for just the kids to eat for lunch (hubs won't eat it). So the little Easy Mac packs are an inexpensive alternative, and one that I rarely indulge in. Quaker Chewy Granola bars were marked down to $2/each. I didn't have a coupon, but these are great for the kids' lunches. Del Monte gel fruit packs were $1.83 each, and after a $0.75/2 coupon, I paid just $1.45 per pack. Del Monte Fruit Chillers were also marked down to $1.83 each. I bought 3 boxes, and used three $1/1 coupons and paid just $0.83 per pack! Johnson's Baby Shampoo, travel size, was just $0.97. I used a $1 coupon and got $0.03 overage! Sobe Life Water was $1.02, and after a $0.50 Target coupon, I paid just $0.52 (and it tasted great having it with my dinner!). Finally, Nabisco 100 calorie pack were marked down to $2/box. I picked up two, used a $1/2 Target coupon, and paid just $1.50 per box.

IGA:

Picsweet 14oz-16oz frozen vegetables were on sale for just 5/$5 this week. For that price, they were worth stocking the freezer with. I like stocking up on frozen vegetables that are difficult to find for such a good price, like broccoli. And this time I found Italian Pole Beans were also marked down for the same price. These are nearly impossible to find frozen for this little, so I bought 3 bags. I would have gotten more, but my refrigerator & chest freezers are very packed, and I knew that I wouldn't get much in them (the chest freezer is loaded with frozen vegetables that I've bought, vegetables from our garden that I froze, homemade freezer jam, bread, and some Hot Pockets breakfast sandwiches I bought for my hubbie).

Split Chicken Breasts were just $0.98/lb at IGA. I bought two packs, and then cooked them up in the crock-pot Saturday afternoon. There wasn't room in the freezer for both packs, so it was easier to just cook these up, then take the meat off the bone and freeze that. I then use the bones to make homemade chicken broth (recipe coming later this week), which I'll also freeze.

My broom has seen better days. I lost the cap on the end, the handle is badly dented, and the bristles are frayed. IGA had brooms for just $1, and I thought for that price, it was worth picking one up. My kids like to help sweep, so I'll let them use the older broom.

Breyers 6oz yogurts were on sale for $0.39 each--what a deal! All varieties were on sale, but I selected the fruit on the bottom version.

Walgreens:

Coupons inside the Walgreens insert got me 10 packs of seeds--sweet corn and green beans for hubs to plant, radishes, basil, parsley & morning glory for me to plant (hubs doesn't care so much about these kinds)--and Butterball chicken broth for just $0.50 each. There were several cans, but I was hard-pressed trying to find any that weren't badly dented. I managed to find 4 cans, 2 of which were the low sodium version, and picked those up. I prefer to make homemade chicken broth when I can, but I go through this fairly quickly and like to keep a supply of the canned version.

How about you? What deals have you snagged this week? Please share your bargains and post a comment below! :)

Visit Melissa's Bargain Blog for the deals for the week of 2/28--click here for Walgreens deals, click here for Target deals, and here for CVS deals. Melissa provides plenty of scenarios to help you maximize your dollar and minimize your OOP (out of pocket expense).