QFC Shopping Trip 8/18

You may have been wondering where in the heck Miss MoneyPenny was.  I've been too HOT!! and when I get too hot I get mad about everything and everybody.  Go figure that one out.  But it is a lot cooler now and I'm starting to get back to normal.  I wouldn't suffer so much in the heat if I didn't have sky lights and I would break down and buy a heat pump, but, man, that is a big financial commitment that I'm still skirting around.  Maybe the bad type of heat is over for the year.  One can hope.

As you know I budget $50 a week for groceries and $100 a month for Costco, including dog and cat food and other Costco type things like sheets and supplements.  This week I spent $9.38 at Costco, $10 at Chimacum Corner for produce and $19.12 at QFC (38%).  Today we bought sunflower seeds (for the bread making) and coffee filters at Trader Joes for $4.15 (who knew that Costco no longer carries coffee filters??) coming in well under budget for the week.

I want to talk about coupons and cool ways to use them without even cutting them out of the inserts.  My main grocery store is QFC, only because it is the only big store within 10 miles and they have pretty decent sales, to boot.  The most important thing about shopping these days is the loyalty card.  I don't care if you think that the FBI is watching you, get one or all the good deals and coupons are off.

And if you shop at QFC, using your loyalty card, you most likely receive coupons and a little magazine in the mail from them.  Don't throw these guys away because those coupons are meant for only you, based on previous shopping trips.  I always find at least two or three good coupons in the little magazine, also,

Okay, so this is how I worked the deal this week.  In my special QFC coupons, there was what they call a "transaction coupon" for $1.50 off of dairy if you bought $10 worth.  International Delight creamer was on sale for $2.99 a quart and I had a QFC coupon for $1 off of two of them.  I bought two half gallons of Silk Almond Milk for $2.99 each using two "Catalina coupons" (they come out of the register) for $ .75 off

So this is what it looks like:

2 x Silk Almond Milk @ $2.99  = $5.98

2 x International Delight @ $2.99 = $5.98

Total = $11.96

         -     1.50 (transaction coupon - use it first)

        -      1.50 (two $ .75 Catalinas for Silk)

       -       1.00 (QFC coupon for two creamers)

New Total = $7.96

This did not involve cutting one coupon.  I took advantage of the sale and the coupons sent to me from QFC, plus the two Catalinas from the register.  So, if you don't want to clip, you can still clean up by paying attention.  But if you do want to clip, and I do, remember to read the writing on the coupon and don't pay any attention to the picture.  I would bet the house that a lot of coupons do not get used because of those pictures.  I actually had an intense conversation with a clerk at Target about this very thing.  The manager said that I won.  The crowd behind me didn't seem to agree.