My Walmart Shopping Trip 12/6

Here's what I bought this week at Walmart, I was quite please with my deals!

Remember check out the Walmart corporate coupon policy. It may be a good idea to print this off so you can show it to your cashier if you have problems getting them to accept your coupons.
Also, remember these are the prices I found in my area, Walmart does not have the same pricing nationwide, but the price should be similar.

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8 Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers Mixed Vegetables, $1.00 each
Used 6 $1/1 Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers Frozen Vegetables, exp. 11-29-08
Used 2 $0.60/1 printable
Final Price 6 were FREE, 2 were $0.40.
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2 Toaster Strudels $1.88 each
Used 2 $1.00/1 printables
Final Price $0.88 each
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7 Quaker Weight Control Instant Oatmeals $2.78 each (on roll-back)
Used 7 $1.00/1 printables
Final Price $1.78 for each
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3 Johnson and Johnson Trial Size First Aid Kits- $0.97 each
Used 1 $3.00/2 printables
Final Price Free after coupon and $0.09 overage (Was able to get 3 with coupon)
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4 Baking Soda $0.38 each
Used 2 $1.00/2 Printables
Final Price Free and $0.48 overage
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2 Chex Mix Turtle Bars $2.48 each
Used 2 $1.00/1 printables
Final Price $1.48 each
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2 Bar S Hot Dogs $0.88 each
Used 2 $0.25 off printables
Final Price $0.63 each
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1 Progresso Soup $1.50
Used 1 $1.10 off printable
Final Price $0.40
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2 Betty Crocker Cookie Pouches 2/$3.00
Used 2 $0.75/1 printable
Final Price $0.75 each
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1 Egg Beaters Original $2.56
Used 1 $1.00/1 printable
Final Price $1.56
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6 Buddies Soaps $0.97 each
Used 2 $3.00/2 printables
Final Price Free and $0.18 overage
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2 Tide Trial size Detergents $0.97 each
Used 2 $1/1 Tide, any size, exp. 12-31-08 (P&G 11/30/08)
Final Price Free and $0.06 overage
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Disney Wall-E DVD $19.98
Used 1 $3.00/1 printable
Final Price $16.98
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4 2 packs AA Rayovac Batteries $0.94
Used 2 $1/2 Rayovac Alkaline or Hearing Aid Batteries, exp. 2-28-09 (SS 11/23/08)
Final Price $1.76 for 4 packs


Total Final Price Before Tax and Coupons: $80.93
Total Final Price Before Tax and after Coupons: $40.23
That's just about half off the orginal price!!!!

Walmart Price Matching

This year my little 3, almost 4, year old is into Dora Saves the Snow Princess stuff. So, on the top of her list is Fisher-Price Dora's Prance & Fly Pegasus. I went looking and everywhere I looked it was around $44. I really did not want to pay that much for a doll and horse, so I went searching for a better deal. As I looked at my Black Friday ads, I spotted the Kmart ad for the week after Black Friday, the doll and horse was in there for $29.99. I decided I had to get it since the price was so good! I had a lot going on at church on the Sunday which the sale started and I was already at Walmart so I decided to go price match. Walmart will match any advertised price for a store close to them. They will not match Buy one Get one Free deals or percentages off. It has to have a price listed. My Walmart has always matched CVS
and Rite Aid but I have heard some reports that they will not match a price that you need a discount store card to get the price. All you have to do is take the sale ad with you and show it to them. I have had them question a price before but never reject me because I know the price matching policy. Walmart will not price match any online store even there own, it must be a sale ad. So, as I went to price match I could find no Fisher-Price Dora's Prance & Fly Pegasus, so I asked someone stocking the toy shelves. He said they had two left in the back and went and got me one. The Kmart ad did not start until the next day, but they still price matched for me. This saved me time from going to the store the next day and I was already shopping at Walmart. Another thing I like to do is price match stores that do not take Internet coupons. Walmart will price match an item and take these coupons making my deal even better. So, if you need to save time running around to all the stores you might consider price matching at Walmart. as you do your regular shopping there. I know one little girl who is going to be so happy I did!

Making my own Maple Syrup

With a family of 6, I am always looking for ideas to save money on my grocery bill. A few months ago, I found this recipe online for homemade pancake syrup and thought, I just have to try that! I ran out the other day and remembered that recipe and decided to give it a try. All I did was fill the old pancake syrup bottle up. Nobody even noticed. It is a super easy recipe to make and I had all of the ingredients on hand! Here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Homemade Maple Syrup

4 cups white sugar

½ cup brown sugar

2 cups water

2 teaspoons maple flavoring (or vanilla)

Mix the water and sugars in a pot and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the flavoring. Cool and pour into container. You do not need to refrigerate the syrup.

Stockpile Basic Baking Items Now!

Stockpiling is a great way to save money on your food budget. Basically, stockpiling means finding an item at the rock bottom price and buying up that item to store for later use. If you can find a coupon to use with this rock bottom price it makes it an even sweeter deal. You will also have the item on hand when the price goes up and you can choose not to buy it until it goes down again because you have the item you need on hand. Right now is the perfect time to stockpile on basic baking items. At this time of year, merchants are fighting for your holiday food dollars. During the holidays, baking ingredients are a loss leader. This means they are willing to take a loss on those items in the hope that we will get in the store to buy the other full priced items. Another great thing about this time of year is that manufacturers have lots of holiday coupons to use with these rock bottom prices, which makes stockpiling even easier. See Holiday Coupons and Holiday Coupons from Nestle Busy Mommy articles to start matching some coupons with your store sales. Here are a few baking items that you can store and some tips on each. We use many of these items through out the year, so why not buy them when they are cheap!

All Purpose Flour- Store this in a tightly sealed container. Shelf life is 8 months in the pantry, 1 year in the refrigerator, and several years in the freezer.

Self Rising Flour- Shelf life is only 6 months.

Whole Wheat Flour- Stored in the freezer it is good for 6 months, shelf life at room temperature is only a couple of months.

Granulated Sugar- Stored properly in a tight container, it will last for years.

Confectioner's Sugar- Best to store in original box, it last for years.

Brown Sugar, light or dark- Best to use within 6 months of buying, do not store in the refrigerator. If you are going to keep it a long time, you can freeze it.

Baking Soda- Once opened, it has a shelf life of 6 months.

Baking Powder- Once opened shelf life in pantry is six months, store in freezer and it is good indefinitely. You can check to see if your baking powder is still active by stirring one teaspoon into 1/3 cup of warm water. If it still fizzes, it’s okay.

Yeast- Store unopened yeast in a cool, dry place, such as a pantry or refrigerator. Use within three to four months. Freezing yeast is not recommended because it kills the yeast cells.

Marshmallows- They’ll stay moist if stored frozen in a tightly sealed bag. They’re easier to slice with scissors when frozen.

Vanilla- Last indefinitely on the shelf because of the high alcohol content.

Chocolate Chips- Store tightly wrapped for six months.

Unsweetened cocoa powder- Store it in a tightly sealed container for up to two years.