Couponing 101... Part 5... Kroger and Target

So today's stores are Kroger and hopefully Target, if I make it that far. I think I will since Kroger is not a complex as Publix, plus you now know the basics of MC, SC, CC, B1G1, OOP (out of pocket), and stacking.
First and foremost with Kroger, if you don't have a Kroger plus card, get one. They are free and that is the only way you get the advertised savings. Also, register your plus card on the Kroger website and they will send you coupons in the mail, which usually includes a couple of coupons for FREE items. Some of the coupons will be MC and some will be SC.

So Kroger accepts Manufacturer coupons (MC), store coupons (SC) and competitor coupons (CC). The difference between Kroger and Publix on the CC is that Kroger will only accept grocery store coupons. So where Publix will accept any store coupon, Kroger will only accept the SC for local grocery stores that are considered a competitor. So, I can shop at Kroger and use my Publix coupons.

Kroger also doubles my coupons up to $1.00 everyday of the week, as Publix does. So any coupon $.50 or less is doubled, over $.50 is face value.

Kroger also allows the stacking of coupons for one item as long as one of the coupons is not for the item to be FREE. So as I said, Kroger is pretty simple, but their sales are not as great as Publix. However, when they run the buy 8 of certain items, you get $4 off your purchase. This is a great deal because you can still use your coupons on these deals. They run many variations of this deal. Just watch the ad. Most of the deals I find at Kroger are on meat.

I have found that I purchase most of my meat from Kroger. They tend of have the best sales on meat and they have the manager's special. Which is meat that is a couple of days from the sell by date that has been significantly reduced. I don't hesitate to buy this meat. I have never had a problem with it. I purchase it. Bring it home. Place it in freezer bags, and put it in the freezer. Example, a few months ago, I happened to run across a family pack of pork chops originally $15+ and I got it for $5.00. I got five meals out of that package of meat.

Yes, we eat meat at most meals. I would guess we eat meat 14 out of every 15 meals. And since I started couponing, we eat better meat than we have ever eaten before. We get to eat shrimp, pork tenderloin, pork chops, steak, beef roast, etc. that I never bought before. We eat the standard ground beef and chicken because that is what fit into the budget. Example, because of couponing and my stock pile, I was able to take $100.00 of my budget a couple of weeks ago and purchase ribeye steak that was on sale at Kroger for $4.99 per pound. I had and used coupons on that purchase as well. I had a $5 off $45 SC, $6 off of $60 SC, and $5 off $30 CC. So I ended up getting 25 pounds of ribeye for $3.99 per pound. I never bought ribeye before couponing. We could not have afforded it.

Here was this weeks Kroger run. A prime example of the "buy so many of these products get this much off." This week Kroger is running "buy 4 P&G products get $4 off your purchase." So yesterday I went and got the following stuff.

Three bottles of Tide (regular price $7.99), two bottles Tide Stain release (regularly $7.49), Shave cream ($2.29), Oral B toothbrush ($3.29), batteries ($2.89), Irish Spring ($4.37), and the eggs were $1.88 per 18 ($2.64). Well all the items purchased, excluding the eggs, were part of the buy 4 get $4 and I had coupons for each of them. So I got a total of $8.00 off the top because I did the deal twice. So before the sales and my coupons my total was $ 59.17. After the discounted price ($12.00), the P&G sale ($8.00), and my coupons ($14.75) I paid $24.42 out of pocket.

So as I said, Kroger is pretty easy especially if you understand Publix.

So on to Target. First off, there is a website (Totally Target) that is very helpful as to the running and weekly deals at Target. This is always a great resource to use. Secondly, Target does not necessarily have the best deals in town, but what they have going for them is they have their own store coupons (which I gave you that site in a previous post). So you can stack a MC with a Target SC; therefore making for some really great prices on your household type products. Just remember Target does not double your coupons, so make sure that you are spending less at Target than you would with Publix or Kroger doubling your coupon. Plus with Target watch the sale paper, because they run deals where if you buy so many of an item you get a $5 gift card. You can use your coupons on these deals, so I normally do multiple transactions so I can use my gift card from my first purchase on my second purchase. Third and finally with Target, make sure you bring your recyclable grocery bags with you to shop. Target will give you $.05 per bag you use. Not a great savings or anything, but every penny is a savings.

Not that you can tell from the second picture, but there is 35 boxes of the kid Johnson and Johnson buddies soap. These are priced $.97 at Target. I had $1.00 off any (watch the wording on the coupons, many say any, not just what the picture is of) Johnson baby product. So for each box of soap I bought, I made $.03. I love this soap and my kids love it too. No washcloth required, because there is one attached.