Harris Teeter Shopping Trip: 3/14/14

Many of my local besties have been begging me to share some of my shopping secrets so they, too, can score some of the best deals available.  I've held off doing so up until this point, partly because I knew it would involve a level of commitment and I wasn't sure if I was 100% committed to the task.  And also because I wasn't sure about the best format -- Facebook?  The Blog?  Both?

I finally decided that I would use a combination of both.  I recently created a Balancing Act Basics page on my Facebook account.  It's definitely a "diamond in the rough" -- seriously, definitely under construction -- but it's there.  Please feel free to "like" my page and follow along.  I'll post freebie opportunities, links to my blog posts, etc. 

For the blog, I desperately wanted to avoid making it a recipe only blog, which it has seemed to be nearly every time I have tried revamping it.  Recipes are great, and cooking is a HUGE part of my life.  But it's not all I do.  And so, thanks in part to my friends' determination to learn more from me, I am devoting a large portion of my blog toward best deals in the Eastern NC area. 

For those of you outside of Eastern NC, please don't be alarmed or frightened away!  Many of the deals that I'll post periodically (like Walgreens, Target) will likely be ones you can partake of as well.  Plus, there will be recipes scattered throughout to help you in your culinary endeavors, too. :)

Now, onto Harris Teeter!

Many, many thanks to Jenny at SouthernSavers for her Harris Teeter sales/coupon match-ups!  Jenny lives in a different part of the South, so often there will be items on sale in her area that differ from mine; however, there are still many items on sale that we share in common, so she's a great resource that I turn to when I prepare my shopping lists.

One of the great things about Harris Teeter is their produce mark-downs.  Produce that is at or is reaching a sell by date.  When that happens, the prices become phenomenal!  I simply can't pass them up because the quality of the produce is still really good. In past shopping trips, I've bought fresh bagged spinach, potatoes, eggplant, sugar snap peas, and more.  Bananas are almost always $.29/lb, which is the best deal in town.

Yesterday's trip was score central for produce mark-downs!  I must have shown up at the right time.  I wanted to grab more than I did, but held off knowing my fridge and freezers, all of which I keep well-stocked, just did not have enough extra room.  In addition to marked-down produce, there were a regular produce items on sale that I couldn't pass up, like cabbage which was $.25/lb, just in time for St. Patrick's Day!  And a few patry items worth stocking up on -- pasta, pasta sauce, and bottled water.  All in all, a great shopping trip and I saved a lot!  Here are the details:

Mueller Pot-Sized Linguini 16 oz, $1.85 each

   Bought 2 boxes, used 2 $.75/1 coupons that doubled, paid $0.35 each

Classico Pasta Sauce 15-24 oz, Buy 2 Get 3 Free or $1.196 each, reg. price $2.99 each, limit 10 total

   Bought 5 jars, used 1 $1.50/4 coupon, paid $0.90 each, plus received a Catalina coupon at check-out for $1.50 off my next shopping trip!

Finish Powerball 32 ct, Buy 1 Get 1 Free or $3.995 each, reg. price $7.99 each

   Bought 2 boxes, used 2 $.75/1 coupons that doubled, paid $2.495 each

Harris Teeter Tomato Paste 6 oz, $.37 each

   Bought 1, paid $0.37

Deer Park bottled water 3 liter, 10/$10, reg. price $1.49 each

   Bought 2, paid $2

Harris Teeter boneless/skinless chicken breast Buy 2 Get 3 Free, reg. $4.99/lb, limit 5 total

   Bought 5, paid $1.99/lb

HT Farmers Market Lemons 1 lb bag, $1.49, reg. $2.49

   Bought 1, paid $1.49

Green Cabbage 4 lbs / $1, reg. $.59/lb

   Bought 3.77 lbs, paid $0.94, also earned 20% back with Savings Star

Harris Teeter Sandwich Bread 20 oz, $.97 each, reg $0.99 each (although these were actually $1.17 each for the past few months)

   Bought 2, paid $0.97 each

Ristorante Pizza Select Sizes, 3/$10, reg. $5.79 each

   Bought 2, used a $1/2 Catalina coupon received at check-out a few weeks ago, paid $2.83 each

Pictsweet Frozen Vegetable Steamers Select Sizes, 10/$10, reg. $1.89 each

   Bought 2, paid $2

Green Giant Boxed Frozen Vegetables Select Sizes, Buy 2 Get 3 Free, reg. $1.99 each, limit 10 total

   Bought 5, used $60/3 coupon from SmartSource 1/05 newspaper insert, which doubled, paid $0.556 each

Lender's Bagels (unadvertised sale) 6 ct, 4/$5, reg. $2.19 each

   Bought 1, paid $1.25

Harris Teeter Shredded Cheese 6-8oz, Buy 2 Get 3 Free, reg. $3 each, limit 10 total

   Bought 5, paid $1.20 each

Harris Teeter Flour Tortillas 8-10", 10/$10, reg. $1.99 each, unadvertised e-vic deal $.97 each, limit 2 total

   Bought 2, paid $0.97 each

Harris Teeter Corn Tortillas (unadvertised sale) 30 ct, $.99 each, reg. $1.79 each

   Bought 1, paid $0.99

Rewrap Bananas reg. $.59/lb

   Bought 3.86lbs, paid $1.12 or $0.29/lb

Rewrap Fresh Express Fancy Greens Salad 7oz, reg. $3.49 each

   Bought 1, paid $0.94

Rewrap HT Farmers Market Yellow Wax Beans 12 oz, reg. $2.69 each

   Bought 2, paid $1 each

Rewrap Eat Smart Asian Salad Kit 12 oz, reg. $3.49 each

   Bought 1, paid $0.94

Rewrap Orange Grape Tomatoes 1 pint, reg. $3.99 each

   Bought 1, paid $0.89

Rewrap Persimmons reg. price unknown since there weren't any in the "fresh produced" section, but I have paid $.99/lb in the past when these were on sale

   Bought 1 bag at 2 lbs 6 oz, paid $0.98

Rewrap Granny Smith Apples reg. $2.29/lb

   Bought 1 bag at 1 lb 13 oz, paid $0.98

Rewrap Bistro Asian Style Chicken Salad 1.25 oz, reg. $3.79 each

   Bought 1, paid $0.94

Sliced White Button Mushrooms 8 oz, reg. $1.99 each, sale $1.79 each

   Bought 1, paid $0.94

Diced Sweet Potatoes 32 oz, reg. $3.99 each

   Bought 1, paid $1

Horned Melon reg. $3.99 each

  Bought 1 bag of 2, paid $0.98

Not pictured:

Donation to Muscular Dystrophy Association $1

Salad Bar Purchase $1.62

Also used a $2 and $1 off total purchase Catalina coupons received at previous check-outs

Total before vic, e-vic, and coupons, and regular price of rewrap produce = $200.56 (includes NC 2% food tax & 6.75% sales tax)

Total paid = $74.45 (includes NC 2% food tax & 6.74% sales tax)

Total savings, including  vic, e-vic, coupons, regular price of rewrap produce & applicable taxes = $126.11!!!

That's a savings of 59%, pretty good for this part of the country. :)

Check out the Harris Teeter weekly flyer here.  Remember that sales vary by region.