Good Bye Food Lion

I am done! I am finally finished with Food Lion. I dislike Food Lion so bad that I have only shopped there three times in the past six months. I hardly ever check out their sales ad or read any of the "good deal alerts" posted by others. But the Mueller's pasta deal was really too good to pass up. And today's less than pleasant experience refreshes my memory about my self-imposed Food Lion boycott.

Attention to any Food Lion representative that might read this...you need to do SOMETHING about the hideous attitudes of your cashiers and managers. You could offer all your groceries for free for all I care, but I am NOT stepping foot back in your stores until you understand what good customer service is all about. I, and the other customers in your store, DO NOT deserve to be treated like we are second-class citizens.

But I am done with Food Lion. I am throwing my MVP card in the trash can right now.

GOOD BYE FOOD LION!!

**Pinch**

Mueller's Pasta at Food Lion

Mueller's Pasta is on sale at Food Lion for $1 per box and the egg noodles are $1.59. There is an internet printable coupon here for $1 off...makes for free pasta! You might want to print multiple copies. Just remember, Food Lion has a limit of 10 coupons per item per customer.

I paid 78¢ for everything pictured. Thanks to AC for telling me and her friend Missy for telling her!

==Sleeping Beauty==

Got Milk?

Milk on clearance at Food Lion for $2.72....expiration date is January 27th.

==Sleeping Beauty==

I Had To Laugh At This...

...coupon I found at Harris Teeter last night. Save $1 on 2 bags of Cheetos. Look at the left hand corner...Good at Food Lion!

I get amused at the strangest things!

**Pinch**

The Doctor Is In The House

I stopped by Food Lion this morning to get more Aqua Pods and I got a very pleasant surprise. The magic Food Lion coupon machine spit out a store Q for 50¢ off a 2-liter Dr. Pepper. And there was a hangtag Q on the Dr. Pepper for 35¢. Last Friday, I got a text message from Food Lion that a 25¢ coupon was loaded on my MVP card. Wow! I got a 2-liter Dr. Pepper for 15¢.

You can sign up here to receive mobile coupons. The Dr. Pepper mobile coupon is 25¢ off a 2-litter DP once a day until October 14. I have received some really good mobile coupons in the past...$3 off baby products and $3 off $15. It is well worth it to sign up for Food Lion's mobile text coupons.

I think I will fix me a nice cold glass of Dr. Pepper!

**Pinch**

On Aqua Pond

Food Lion has a great deal on Deer Park Aqua Pod water. The 8-pack is on sale for $1. AND if you buy three Aqua Pods, you will get a catalina for $3.

The catalina is rolling...which means buy three and get a $3 catalina. Then buy three more, use the $3 catalina, pay 6¢ in tax and get another $3 catalina.

It gets even better...there is a Miller Lite $10 rebate when you buy $30 in bottled water. If you can't find the Miller Lite rebate in the store, I have extra rebate forms.

Now the bad news...I went to four Food Lion stores this morning. There are very few Aqua Pods left. I did get a raincheck, but one manager told me to check back on Tuesday after the store restocks tonight. The Aqua Pod sale continues through September 28 and the catalina runs through October 3rd. I did not have a coupon, but there is one for $1.50/2. If you don't have this coupon either, you can order some from a coupon clipping service.

Cheers! Here's to staying hydrated!

**Pinch**

Food Lion Findings

Before I tell you about my findings at Food Lion today, I must make an apology. In a previous post (Mail Call), I said that 12-pack Pepsi products would be on sale for 4/$9. The sale is actually 4/$10.

Last week, I got a $4/$40 catalina, but I used it at Harris Teeter on Friday. Guess what I found in my buggy? A $4/$40 catalina that someone left behind! Not one to let something go to waste, I used it. On Friday afternoon, I got a text that FL loaded a $3/$30 coupon on my MVP card.

I didn't do too bad at FL today...considering this store doesn't double coupons. The few noteworthy things on sale this week are B1G1 Lay's chips and Sunny D $1 each (internet Q $1 off 3).

Shelf Price: $57.03
minus MVP: $16.13
minus coupons: $17.50 (including the $3/$30 AND $4/$40)
OOP: $23.40

But this is the exciting part...I found some more great mail-in rebate forms at FL today.

Coors Light - $7.50 off $15 meat purchase
Blue Moon - $5 off $10 produce purchase

Meat and produce can be purchased at any store...no alcohol purchase is necessary. I have extras if anyone wants one. All you have to do is ask!

**Pinch**

Magic Machines

I have done very little shopping this week. But the magic machines at the stores I did visit have given me some interesting coupons.

At Food Lion Monday (when I bought the spaghetti), the catalina machine gave me a $4 off $40 coupon (good through Sunday, September 15th).

I went to CVS yesterday to get the Phillips in-ear headphones. Of course, CVS was already out, but I did get a raincheck. The red magic machine gave me a coupon for a FREE 2-ounce bottle of CVS hand sanitizer. I got that, and it WAS free...totally free, no tax!

At Walgreens, I bought four 2-liter bottles of Mountain Dew. I was given a catalina with two promo codes for FREE Redbox movie rentals.

Okay, these may not be the best deals that spit out of a machine, but they are better than nothing. The moral of this story is...don't toss those catalinas and coupons before reading them. Some may even give you something for FREE.

Oh, by the way, when I was at CVS, the customer in front of me did not want his receipt. Even after the cashier told him he had coupons on his receipt, he told her to THROW IT AWAY. After he left, I told the cashier that my heart hurt because someone threw away a coupon! She looked at his receipt...he threw away a $5 ECB!! I feel sick to my stomach just thinking about it.

**Pinch**

Mail Call

Pinch and Sleepin' Beauty,

Ok, I feel like I have been taken advantage of by Harris Teeter. A little background, our Youth Director at church sent out a plea for soda for the youth and referenced the buy 2 get 3 free sale at Harris Teeter. I also have a family reunion this weekend and soda was one of the things on my list. I looked thru the sale ad online (that ends today) and found a couple of coupons for the Ken's salad dressing. Off I went.

The sign at the soda said buy 2 get 3 (but the actual price was actually left off). If I had known that the price was $6.29 for one 12 pack, I wouldn't have made the purchase.

I ended up buying 10 cases of soda (5 for youth, 5 for reunion). The price per case worked out to be $2.52 each, so I guess that wasn't too bad. I also got the 5 for $5 Ken's salad dressing and I had two $1/2 coupons. So I got five for $3. I needed storage bags. And since I didn't have a coupon and I saw that they would ring up half price, I got one. I did find one that had a .15 coupon on it.

Overall, I spent $31.67, and I did let out a "That can't be RIGHT!!" squeal (and not in a good way) when the cashier gave me my total. My receipt does say that I saved $44.19 on this trip.

So, did I get duped?

The Rookie

Dear Rookie,

Let's take a look at 12-pack soda prices at different stores:

Rite Aid (Coke products) 3/$9.99 = $3.33/pack before +UP ($2.66 after $2 +UP)
Food Lion (Coke products) 2/$7 = $3.50/pack
Lowes Foods (Coke products) 2/$7 = $3.50/pack
Walgreens (Coke products) 4/$14 = $3.50/pack
CVS (Pepsi products) 3/$11 = $3.67/pack
Food Lion (Pepsi products) 3/$11 = $3.67/pack
Lowes Foods (Pepsi products) $4.99/pack (not on sale)

Even though $6.29 is high for a 12-pack of soda at Harris Teeter, it is still cheaper per pack considering the Buy 2 Get 3 Sale ($2.52/case). So you did good on that deal today.

At Food Lion tomorrow (Wednesday), Pepsi 12-packs will be on sale for 4/$9 (or $2.25 per case)...not that much difference between Harris Teeter Tuesday and Food Lion Wednesday.

The Ken's salad dressing was good too, although I probably wouldn't have bought that 5th dressing (but that's just me...no coupon, no sale). But even at $1, that is not a bad price.

I don't know what kind of storage bags you bought, but I am assuming they were the Hefty bags. I found a $1.00 off 2 Q...so if you found a peelie for 15 cents (30 cents if doubled), still not a bad deal. I am proud of you for finding the peelie!!

So, in closing, I think you did fine. You got a good deal on the soda.

My pet peeve with Harris Teeter is that on their Buy 2 Get 3 Free sales, I think they increase the prices. Just out of curiosity, I am going to stop by Harris Teeter Wednesday to check out their regular price for soda.

Now to change the subject, we will be sending our expired Qs off in another week if you want to donate yours.

I heard a rumor that HT might be doing triples starting September 8th. The rumor should be confirmed this coming Sunday. If the rumor turns out to be true, we (me, you and Sleeping Beauty) need to get together to strategize your triples shopping. (Strategize...is that even a word??) I look forward to shopping with you during triples!!!

**Pinch**

Spaghetti Night

It's going to take more than one night to eat all this spaghetti! Thanks to Food Lion, now is the time to stockpile spaghetti noodles. Food Lion has a B1G1 Ronzoni spaghetti sale. To make this deal even better, go to coupons.com and print out some 55¢/1 coupons (use zip code 90210). You will be able to print out two coupons per computer.

Now for the really good part...there is a $3 rebate form located by the spaghetti. You have to buy six boxes of pasta in one transaction.

My transaction:
6 boxes of spaghetti = $4.14 (excluding tax)
minus 3 coupons = $1.65
Paid $2.49 (excluding tax)
(Sending in my $3.00 rebate)
Final Cost = 6 boxes of FREE spaghetti

I printed two coupons from my computer. I only printed one coupon from Mr. Pinch's computer...I tried to print another one but the computer messed up. I also tried to print two from another computer but that computer was not cooperative. If you can possibly print six coupons, your OOP cost at Food Lion would only be 84¢ plus tax.

I only bought the six boxes of spaghetti today at Food Lion, and I got 15 tickets for The Great Grocery Giveaway. My guess is my local Food Lion is trying to give away all the unused tickets since the Giveaway ends Tuesday. Has anyone actually won anything? I haven't! I wish Food Lion would double coupons or have better sales than do this lame lottery-wannabe. (Just my opinion!)

**Pinch**

The Challenge Continues

Goodies from Harris Teeter
I didn't shop on Monday or Tuesday. The sale ads came out today for HT, FL and LF. One word comes to mind...terrible. I didn't see very much in any of the sale ads but that didn't stop me from getting a few things.

I passed by Target this morning so I decided to stop for milk. Milk is $2.19 a gallon there (cheaper than the grocery store). And if you take your own bag, Target will give you a discount of 5 cents per bag. So after adding the tax and deducting the bag discount, I actually paid $2.18 for the milk!

Shelf Price and Tax: $2.23
Coupons Used: 0
Target Bag Discount: $.05
Cash Spent: $2.18
Rewards Received: 0
Rebates To Be Mailed: 0

Later in the afternoon, I passed by Harris Teeter. I got a few things (pictured above.) The highlights of this trip were:

Mission Tortillas: 2.89 - 1.39 VIC = 1.50 (.75 internet coupon doubled made this FREE)
Kraft Cheese and Dairy Catalina: Buy 5 participating products and get $5 OYNO catalina AND Kraft will donate 5 meals to Feeding America. I bought the Philly Cream Cheese and Sour Cream in the first transaction and spent $6.45 after qs. I used the catalina on the second transaction.

Shelf Price and Tax: $41 - $11.16 VIC = $29.84
Coupons Used: $7.69
Catalina Spent: $5
Cash Spent: $17.15
Rewards Received: 0
Rebates To Be Mailed: 0

Mr. Pinch informed me tonight that he needed 2 bags of ice. So I headed out to Food Lion. It wasn't really out of the way since I had to pick Princess Pinch up at Vacation Bible School and a Food Lion is nearby. I bought 2 bags of ice, spray butter, cantaloupe and bananas. The Bestlife spray butter was free after a store coupon. I have plenty of these coupons if anybody wants one. Let me know.

Shelf Price and Tax: $10.17 - $2.25 MVP = $7.92
Coupons Used: $1
Rewards Used: 0
Cash Spent: $6.92
Rewards Received: 1 Food Lion lottery ticket (waste of paper)
Rebates To Be Mailed: 0

Week-To-Date Totals:
Shelf Price and Tax: $104.77
Coupons Used: $46.43
Rewards Spent: $11.50
Cash Spent: $46.84

Cash Left To Spend This Week: $3.16
Rewards: $11 +UP (Rite Aid); $3 (CVS)
Rebates To Be Mailed: $16.99 ($10 Zegerid; $6.99 Renpure)

Just in case anybody is wondering, this is what we have eaten this week for dinner: Sunday night was steak, green beans and baked potato; Monday was homemade vegetable soup (yeah I know it's hot but we had a craving for soup); Tuesday was egg, bacon, cheese and onion omelets; tonight we had roast beef, broccoli and potato wedges. Tomorrow I plan on fixing chicken and pasta; Friday night we are going to a cookout; Saturday night will be tacos, rice and beans. And the freezer is still full of meat. Plus we haven't eaten out at restaurants or fast food places. My dinner menu is already planned for the next three weeks.

**Pinch**

69 Cents TOTAL!!

Sweet!!

Kim took one of our coupon classes several weeks ago. She went to Food Lion today and paid 69 cents (including tax) for everything in this picture!

For a little perspective -- one box of Capri Sun at Food Lion is $2.07 without tax. AND KIM PAID 69 CENTS FOR 3 BOXES OF CAPRI SUN AND 5 TUBS OF COOL WHIP.

We are proud of you, Kim.

==Sleeping Beauty==

**Pinch**

I'm In Love

This week we love Food Lion. Two bags of Kraft shredded cheese, a block of Kraft cheese, two Oscar Mayer deli meats, five containers of Cool Whip and five more boxes of Capri Sun was a total of $4.74 (purchased in multiple transactions). Once again, it is amazing what coupons can do. Just in case you are wondering, it would have cost over $27 without coupons! The Cool Whip and deli meats were the only items on sale.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain't heard nothin' yet!"


We love Lowes a little bit this week also. I bought four boxes of Suddenly Salad, a 5-lb. bag of "real" potatoes and six packs of Idahoan instant potatoes at 9 cents per bag with coupons and sale price. ( I really like these.) If you bought the "real" potatoes, you got a jar of Marie's potato salad dressing for free. (The shelf price for Marie's is $3.49.) I have never tried it but for free I will let you know how it is. Total OOP was $5.19, but to make it even better there is $1 off OYNO Catalina WYB four of the instant potatoes. So my cost was $4.19 if you want to count it that way. Total without coupons or sales would have been $23.90. Couponing has really made it fun to shop.

I did not visit the drug stores today, but don't worry I will before the week is out! I still have $8 in RR from Walgreens left from last week. :)

Tune in tomorrow......

==Sleeping Beauty==

Stockpiling: The Basics

Sleeping Beauty's stockpile of Capri Sun -- 7 cents each at FL

Stockpiling allows you to have needed products on-hand and it also helps you to save money. Let's talk shampoo...you need to wash your hair and you are out of shampoo. You have two choices. One, go to your stockpile and get another bottle (that you got for free) and wash your hair until it is squeaky clean. Or, two, go to the store and buy a bottle for FULL PRICE. That, my friend, is the beauty of stockpiling -- having products on-hand when you need them AND that you got for free or just pennies.

How many of us have gone to the grocery store, spent $100 and, once at home, realize that we have bought very little food? If you could get all (or most) of your non-food items free, you would have more money to spend on food at the grocery store.

The moral of the story is stockpiling saves you money. For every product that you get for free (or super cheap), that is money saved from having to purchase that product at full price.

You should stockpile items you use and can get for free. For example, at Food Lion this week there are some great deals on Kraft cheese, Kraft mayonnaise, Capri Sun and Cool Whip, among other things. If you don't need Cool Whip or no one in your family likes Cool Whip, it may be foolish to get it even if it is free. So no matter how great a deal a product is, if it will not be used or eaten, it just takes up space. However, if you do like Cool Whip and will use it, then this is the perfect time to stock up on Cool Whip. This is true for any product.

Several years ago, when I first started seriously using coupons and stockpiling, I got four bottles of Frank's Hot Sauce for free. We have never used hot sauce on anything before, and didn't use it after I got it. I recently went through my stockpile. All four bottles of Franks Hot Sauce expired a year ago. What a waste! I should have left it on the grocery shelf for someone who would use it. Or I should have donated it before it expired. Lesson learned...don't stockpile things you will never use or things you will not donate to a food pantry.

Another mistake I made was stockpiling too much of just one thing. The very first thing I stockpiled was Gold Fish crackers. I bought a bunch of it because it was just pennies a bag. The kids love it, but they soon got sick of it. But my thought process was that Gold Fish was never, ever going to be on sale again, so I had better get all I could. The truth is everything goes on sale again, sometimes for a better deal (and sometimes not).

There are lots of stores within a four mile radius of my house...Food Lion, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Harris Teeter, CVS, Lowes Foods and Target. Between one of these stores, something I use will be free each week. For example, if dish detergent is a good deal at Target this week, chances are dish detergent will be a good deal at another store next week. This is especially true for soft drinks. When CVS has Pepsi products on sale, Walgreens will have Coke products on sale the same week. The next week...CVS and Coke...Walgreens and Pepsi. So if you miss a deal this week, don't worry...it will be on sale somewhere else soon.

I'll leave you with a story. When I was young, my mother would buy a lot of Christmas wrapping paper after Christmas -- usually when it was 75% off or more. She would save this wrapping paper for the next year's gifts. I always wondered why she bought Christmas paper AFTER Christmas, that is until I had to buy it myself and realized how expensive it was. But that is stockpiling. Buying something you will use when it is cheap. That is also good money sense. Why pay full price for anything?

I hear you screaming..."I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore." You should be mad...you shouldn't be paying full price anymore. Start cutting those coupons! Start saving money!!

**Pinch**

Pinch's stockpile of freebie unmentionables

Say Cheese!

How did you do at FL today? I got the 5 cheeses. Paid $3.71 for all, little less than 75 cents each.

I should do that again.

"Somebody stop me!"

==Sleeping Beauty==

Roar Like A Lion

You can get great buys for your stockpile even at grocery stores that do not double and triple coupons. Food Lion has some great stockpiling deals running through Tuesday, July 6.

Buy 5 participating "Sweet Deals" in a single transaction, get $5 off instantly.
Buy 5 participating Kraft products in a single transaction, get $5 off instantly.

The participating Sweet Deals and Kraft products are listed in the store ad. A Sweet Deal and a Kraft deal can be done in the same transaction. But you cannot do two Kraft deals or two Sweet Deals in the same transaction. You can do multiple transactions on any deal.

For example:
1 Sweet Deal and 1 Kraft Deal in the same transaction - will give you $10 off
2 Sweet Deals in the same transaction - will give you $5 off
2 Kraft Deals in the same transaction - will give you $5 off
1 Kraft Deal in a transaction - will give you $5 off
1 Sweet Deal in a transaction - will give you $5 off

This is what I bought today:
5 Cool Whip (Sweet Deal)
3 Kraft Sandwich Spread (Kraft Deal)
2 Kraft Mayonnaise (Kraft Deal)
1 Capri Sun
1 Package of Cube Steak

I used the following coupons:
2 .20/2 Cool Whip
3 $1 Kraft Sandwich Spread
1 $1.50/2 Kraft Mayonnaise
1 $2 Capri Sun FLIP
1 $1 off Butcher's Brand Beef WYB Kraft Mayonnaise

Total OOP: $1.53 (includes 26 cents tax)

I am planning more trips to Food Lion. "After all, tomorrow is another day!"

**Pinch**