Since I’ve been gone for almost four months, we’re a little low on food, so I’ve been re-stocking our supplies over the last week. I made a trip to Dollar Tree and Safeway yesterday – first up, Dollar Tree:

Total spent: $24.00
View receipt

1 package of napkins – Price: $1.00
2 bags of rice – Price: $2.00
2 bags of pinto beans – Price: $2.00
2 bags of kidney beans – Price: $2.00
2 two-packs of chandelier light bulbs – For the chandelier in my living room – great price! Price: $2.00
3 boxes of quart bags, 22-count – I will need these for freezing all the onions I bought last week! Price: $3.00
2 packages of gallon-size freezer bags, 12-count – Price: $2.00
1 phone coupler and 1 USB cable – Jai picked these items up for his computer business – Price: $2.00
1 roll of foil – Price: $1.00
3 packages of tortillas – Price: $3.00
1 large can of crushed tomatoes – Price: $1.00
1 package of ant traps – Good price, so I’m planning ahead with this purchase since we seem to need these every summer! Price: $1.00
1 bottle of dish soap – I actually received a gallon of dish soap for a review last month, and we needed a smaller bottle to keep by the sink since the gallon container is unwieldy. We decided that the best thing to do would be to grab a bottle of this inexpensive dish soap, and then re-use the bottle once it is empty! Price: $1.00
1 package of Jalapeno cheese slices – I thought these would be good to cut up and melt in burritos or chili – Price: $1.00

Next stop, Safeway, where I did two transactions and got the following items:

Transaction #1:

Total spent: $8.10
Total before coupons & promotions: $11.20
View receipt

Got:

Four boxes of General Mills cereal – on sale for $1.99 when you buy four boxes, and I used two coupons for $1.00/2 GM cereals that came from a coupon booklet that I found in the store. These coupons also doubled, making the final price $4.96 for all four, and I received a catalina for a free gallon of milk for purchasing the cereal. (Thanks for Frugal Living NW for this tip!)
1 Carefree sample – This sample is free with your Safeway club card (Or .10 without a club card) – you can find the display with it in the feminine care aisle. Price: Free!
1 bottle of wine – Price: $3.14

Remember the crazy receipt I received last time I was in Safeway? Well, unfortunately it looks like they are keeping that format. On this receipt, you will notice that one of my coupons is not even mentioned on the receipt, even though I saw it scan correctly, and I know it deducted from the total because the final price is correct. This is going to be a pain, since it will make it trickier to ensure that everything scans correctly at checkout going forward. Has anyone else noticed their Safeway receipts have changed format, or is it just this store?

Transaction #2:

Total spent: $2.50
Total before coupons: $5.39
View receipt

1 gallon of milk - Regularly $2.89, used the free milk catalina that I received during the first transaction. Final price: Free!
1 Sunday paper – I forgot to get one the day before, but I lucked out and got the very last one that they had! Price: $2.50

Now that I’m back home, I’ve been busy unpacking and getting caught up. I headed out to do some shopping last Saturday to stock up on some supplies and check out my new favorite store: Dollar Tree!

Total spent: $15.50
View receipt

Yes, Dollar Tree has opened a new location in my area! I can’t tell you how excited this makes me. We don’t have any other dollar stores in the area currently, so this will make a big difference in my budget – not to mention, I also consider Dollar Tree to be the best dollar store because of what they carry. So I was excited for my very first visit! Here’s what I picked up on my first trip:

1 bottle of Vanilla extract – Killer deal on this item, so I had to grab a bottle! Price: $1.00
1 tooth whitening kit - Just for fun, thought I’d give this a try! Price: $1.00
1 box of Crunch & Munch – Jai wanted this! Price: $1.00
1 package of fig bars – This was Jai’s also! Price: $1.00
1 box of sleep aid – Price: $1.00
1 package of lithium batteries – This item was another fabulous buy – Price: $1.00
1 balloon - Price: $1.00
1 box of Brillo pads with soap – Price: $1.00
1 package of scrubber sponges – Price: $1.00
1 package of regular sponges – Whenever I’ve visited Dollar Tree stores in the past, I’ve always stocked up on sponges because they have MUCH better prices than any other store around here! Price: $1.00
1 package of two drain stoppers – Another miscellaneous item we needed – Price: $1.00
1 package of coffee filters – Just in time, we were running low – Price: $1.00
1 package of produce bags – After reading Faylee’s guest post about produce bags, I was eager to try them myself! Price: $1.00
1 package of bread bags – Similar concept to the produce bags – this will be fantastic for my homemade bread! Price: $1.00
1 card – Price: .50 cents
1 package of frozen french fries – Price: $1.00

After Dollar Tree, we hit up Safeway for a few items:

Total spent: $7.99
Total before coupons: $32.14
View receipt

Got:

2 boxes of Frosted Mini Wheats: Touch of Fruit – normally $2.99 each, and I had one $1.00/1 coupon, which doubled, and one “Buy One, Get One Free” coupon, making the final price $1.49 for both. There is also a “Try-Me-Free” rebate on the box, which will make it free less the cost of a stamp – possibly with a small profit, if they decide to refund me the pre-coupon amount! Both of these coupons came with a free sample that I got from Vocalpoint. If you aren’t a Vocalpoint member, click here to read my article about it – I highly recommend it as a source for high-value coupons!

1 bag of Malt-o-Meal Fruity Dyno-Bites – normally $3.59, used one free product coupon that I won in a giveaway – final price: Free!

1 gallon of milk - price: $2.49

1 package of Hebrew National hot dogs – regularly $5.99, used one free product coupon – final price: Free! I received this coupon because I am working with Hebrew National on an upcoming giveaway – so stay tuned for that, because several Super Coupon Girl readers will win free hot dog coupons of their own in the near future!

1 package of hot dog buns – price: $1.49

5.52 lbs of bananas and 1.90 lbs of apples – I had a printable coupon for $1.00 off your produce purchase of $5.00 or more which I got through this offer, so I chose the cheapest produce – bananas were .64 cents per pound, apples were .78 cents per pound – and weighed it out until I had exactly $5.02 worth. After using my $1.00 off coupon, I paid only $4.02.

1 package of Earthbound Farm organic, pre-washed & peeled baby carrots – Regularly $3.59, used one free product coupon that I got thanks to an offer I participated in via their mailing list – final price: Free!

1 tub of Sabra garlic hummus – regularly $3.99, used one free product coupon that I received for a post I did on Contest Corner – final price: Free!

The cashier also doubled three of my “Free” coupons, deducting an extra $1.50 from my total. I’ve been told conflicting things regarding whether “Free” coupons can be doubled or not, and since Safeway seems to be changing its policy every month now, it’s getting hard to keep up!
Also, my “Buy one, get one free” cereal coupon deducted $4.19 initially, so the cashier adjusted it down by adding $1.20 to my total – just in case anyone gets confused deciphering my receipt!