Frugal Friday for my "Mission Possible" Shopping

• She is like merchant's ships, she bringeth her food from afar
• She looketh well to the ways of her household

Can you believe it's already Friday and this is the first real "Mission Possible" shopping I've done? Sunday I was packing, and Monday was a travel day; Tuesday I ran to the store to grab just bread and milk and essentials to get us through the week. Today, though, I was ready to get after it and find some bargains. I finally got my coupons clipped and semi-sorted, and headed out to see what I could find.

CVS, $.34 OOP, and a $4 ECB left over

CVS was my first stop. I had a $2 ECB that was expiring today, so it was a matter of "use it or lose it". I made a mistake on the limit on the razor deals--the Gillette Fusion and Venus razors were both on sale for $7.99, less a $4 ECB, and I had coupons for each. What I didn't realize was that this was limit 1--meaning only one ECB would print.

What I originally bought was this:

1 Gillette Fusion razor, $7.99, less $4 manufacturer's coupon, generates a $4 ECB, making this free after ECB

1 Venus Spa Breeze razor $7.99, less $2 manufacturer's coupon, generates a $4 ECB, making this $1.99 after ECB

1 Kotex panti-liners, $1.49, less $1.50 CVS coupon (from the "magic" coupon machine!), making this free

I used the $2 ECB, paid $8.81 OOP, and thought I would get $8 in ECB for the razors. Sure enough, after I got outside, I realized I only got one for $4, and my register tape stated "limit one". So I debated chalking it up to experience for just a minute, then went back in and returned one. I got a refund of $8.47, making this transaction $.34 OOP (out-of-pocket), with a $4 ECB leftover, making this a money making trip. I would call this 100% savings!

Note: You may be wondering why my refund was $8.47 when I only paid $4.47 for the razor after the $4 coupon--it's because when they give a refund, they don't give you your coupon back. The store retains the coupon, which they will receive full reimbursement for, plus a handling fee. So they get their money. This has come up a couple of times at other stores--do NOT let them refund only your OOP unless they also give your coupon back--in this case, I could have gone down the road to Walgreens and used that coupon to get the same discount on a razor there if I'd wanted it bad enough, or saved it to use another time. While I would never do this on purpose to get the cash value of a coupon--that's considered fraudulent coupon use--if I do need a refund due to a mistake, either on my part or the merchant's, I'm going to be sure that I get the full the value of the OOP and the coupon.

Publix, $8.xx

My next stop was Publix, one of my very favorite grocery stores. They run good sales, including lots of buy-one-get-one-free items each week. This trip was just a quickie to pick up a couple of sale items; I can't find my register tape, so I don't know the exact OOP amount.

Ragu Spaghetti Sauce, large jars, $3.59, B1G1, making these $1.80 each

Ronzoni Pasta, $1.29 BiG1, making these $.65 each


Total OOP $8.47 plus tax--because these were all B1G1, I consider this 50% savings

Walgreens, $27.01

Walgreens was my next stop, some good deals, some just so-so, but all things we need.

Northern toilet tissue, $4.29--I buy this package most of the time if there's not some other brand on great special.

Coppertone sunscreen--a necessity in these hot summer days- $9.99 each, on sale B1G1 half off, less two $3 manufacturer's coupons, making these $4.49 each

Deerfield Farm butter, $3.99, on sale B1G1 free, making these $2 each

Deerfield Farm shredded cheese, $2.29 --not a special sale, but a decent price and something I needed

Duracel batteries (not shone--these were for my camera, and the only reason I was able to take these pictures!) $3.99, less $1 Q, or $2.99

Total OOP $27.01, total savings $15.99, or 37%

Dollar General $9.15

And my fourth and final stop was Dollar General--I was specifically looking for spaghetti sauce seasoning. I've used the Clover Valley seasonings before--they're very inexpensive, but just as good as the "name brand" seasoning packs, in my experience. No spaghetti seasoning today in the Clover Valley brand though.

Jello no-bake cheesecake mix, $1.85--this is my son's favorite, and perfect for these hot nights when I don't want to use the oven

Jif peanut butter, large jar, $3.50

4 packets Clover Valley seasoning, $.40 each

2 packets McCormick seasoning, $1 each

Total OOP $9.15. No particular savings here, I go to Dollar General when I want a low everyday price for something I need that isn't on sale anywhere, and I don't want to go to Walmart. I didn't have any coupons today, but Dollar General does take coupons, by the way.

Altogether, I spent about $46, and have one $4 ECB left for next week. Everything I bought is useful or needful, and most were priced well--mostly what I call "good" prices, a couple of things better than good. Most everything is for my stockpile or to replenish my pantry. This was not one of those "Oh Wow" trips, except for the freebies from CVS, but altogether a satisfying "Mission".

How did you do on your Mission Possible this week? ; Link your posts to the Mission Possible Mr Linky, or leave a comment telling us about your deals this week.

This post is linked to the Weekly shopping wrap up at The Grocery Cart Challenge

Until next time...