Deals of the Week for September 8, 2009

Hello, Super-Couponers! Do you know where your coupon queen is? Writing deals at 2:45am Monday night! :) I’m finally back online and ready to hit the stores for the many great deals this week.

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend (and enjoyed cookouts/gatherings made much more budget-friendly thanks to your excellent coupon skills.) If the lack of coupons in this week’s paper surprised you, don’t worry — this is normal for a holiday week. Fortunately, if you’ve been at this for a while, you’ve got a nice library of newspaper inserts to draw from for this week’s deals!

If you’re new to the site, take a quick minute to read Using this site and bring yourself up to speed on all the coupon lingo and abbreviations. It’s a good idea to save the grocery and drugstore flyers from both Wednesday and Sunday each week to have on hand & refer to too as you go through the deals! And, if you’re new to couponing in general, check out my Super-Couponing website for a list of FREE coupon classes and instructions on how to start using coupons effectively!

AND… my Super-Couponing class was just released on DVD! Own the 72-minute class and watch it whenever you like! Click for a video preview & learn how to order!

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Unless otherwise noted, GROCERY store deals run through WEDNESDAY of this week, and the drugstore/general merchandise store deals run through Saturday.

Jump to: Jewel | Dominick’s | Meijer | Target | Hilander | Walgreens | CVS | Free

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Grocery Deals

Starting at Jewel, Coppertone Nutrashield sunscreen is FREE! Jewel has marked this sunscreen down to $4.99 a bottle at many stores, and with the $5 printable coupon from Coppertone.com, it will be free. Watch your dates and find ones that expire next year, and you’ll be all set for next Spring and Summer!

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Let’s take home some FREE hot dogs too! Jennie-O Turkey Franks are on sale for $1 a package, and there was a $1 coupon in 8/30 SS for any Jennie O turkey product. Turkey franks are a turkey product… and they’ll be FREE with this coupon! Pick up another package cheaply with the .55 coupon in 7/26 SS.

That’s not all! At many stores, buying 2 or more packs is generating a $1.50 off 2 Catalina for more Jennie O franks. Roll it over and over for more cheap turkey dogs!

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Did you see the back of the Jewel flyer (Thurs/Wed long cycle flyer?) It’s got a bunch of manufacturer coupons on it, and some of them are good. The real standout here is the $2 off 2 Oscar Mayer bologna or Cotto Salami — buy 2 packages at $2 each, and with this coupon, you’ll pay $1 per pack…

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Now, if the fantastic Catalina deals they’ve been running lately haven’t worn you out yet… we have MORE.

The General Mills “Spend $20, get $5” is running through 9/9, and it’s another great deal! Buy $20 worth of products featured in the ad (it’s in the skinny paper wraparound for the week-long flyer) and get a $5 Catalina for your next shopping trip.

Here are your matchups for the $20/$5:

Yoplait Fiber One Yogurt – $2.50
$1 off
$1 off [different coupon] (also a .50 off 6 coupon for any Yoplait yogurt at same link)
$1 off [another coupon – look to left side of page]
8/9 GM – $1 off

Betty Crocker fruit snacks – $1.99
.50 off 2
.40 off 1
.50 off 2 [different link]
.40 off 1 [different link]
8/9 GM – .40 off 1, .50 off 2

Progresso soups – $1.66
$1.10 off 3
$1.10 off 3 [different link]
Jewel Preferred Card book has a STORE coupon you can stack here too!

Green Giant boil-in-bag vegetables – $1
.50 off 2
.50 off 2[different link]

Betty Crocker SuperMoist cake mixes and Family Size Fudge Brownie mixes – $1.25
.50 off cake mix AND frosting

Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers – $2.50
.50 off
.50 off [different link]

General Mills cereal – $2
8.9, 9.0 oz Cheerios
11.8 oz Cocoa Puffs
12 oz. Golden Grahams
11.5 oz Lucky Charms
10.6 oz Total

$1 off 2 GM cereals$1 off 2 Cocoa Puffs
8/9 GM – .75 off Total
8/9 GM – $1 off 3 GM cereals
8/23 SS – $1 off 2 Total
August All You – $1 off 2 GM kids’ cereals

Bisquick – $3
(no current coupons)

Betty Crocker ready-to-spread frosting – $1.66
.50 off
.50 off cake mix AND frosting
8/9 GM – .50 off

Betty Crocker Warm Delights – $1.66
.50 off
.50 off
8/9 GM – .50 off

Chex Mix or Bugles – $1.66
.50 off Chex Mix
.50 off Chex Mix [different link]
7/19 SS – .50 off Chex Mix barbecue or sour cream & onion

Pillsbury Grands Biscuits – $1.25
$1 off 1
$1 off 2
$1 off 2 [different link]
7/12 SS – .35 off
8/9 GM – .30 off 2

Nature Valley granola bars – $2.50
.40 off
.40 off [different link]
8/9 GM – .50 off 1, .70 off 2

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Also at Jewel, we’ve got a P&G Catalina running too! Spend $25 and get $7 for your next shopping trip. Here are your matchups:

Tide – $18.99
8/9 PG – $1 off

Tide Stain Release – $6.99
8/30 PG – .75 off

Febreze flameless luminary (candle) – $13.99
8/30 PG – $4 off

Febreze reed diffusers or soy candles – $9.99
8/30 PG – $2 off diffuser, $2 off candles

Downy Ultra 103oz. – $9.99
8/30 PG – $1 off

Bounce fabric softener sheets – $9.99
8/30 PG – .25 off

Bounce dryer bar – $3.99
8/30 PG – $1 off
Vocalpoint members also have $1.50 and $2.50 coupons to use here

Puffs facial tissue 3-pack – $5.99
(no current coupons)

Cascade Complete action packs – $11.99
8/30 PG – .50 and .25 off

Bounty 12-big-roll paper towels – $14.99
8/30 PG – .25 off

Pampers Big Pack diapers – $18.99
8/30 PG – $2 off, $1 off

Dawn dish soap 38oz. – $3.99
8/30 – .25 off

Charmin 24 big or 12 mega roll pack – $13.99
8/30 PG – .25 off
Jewel Preferred Card update book has store coupon to stack

Iams dog food – $17.99
(no current coupons)

Duracell value pack batteries – $9.99
8/30 PG – $1.50 off

The P&G $120 Year of Savings book also has LOTS of coupons for many of these…

An “okay” deal here? Those of you looking for a diaper deal could do a Pampers/Duracell deal. With one Pampers Big Pack and one Duracell Value Pack, you’re at $28.98. Use the $2 Pampers coupon and the $1.50 Duracell, pay $25.48 and get $7 back. Not stellar, but you’ve brought the end cost down to $18.48 – less than the box of diapers alone.

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With the deals above, buying the total dollar amount required (NOT including tax! Make sure you are over, pre-tax) will generate your Catalinas. However, you can potentially save even more money on these already great deals.

If you are VERY NEW at couponing and not comfortable doing a high-level Catalina deal differently than what the ad specifies, skip this and move on to the Dominick’s deals for this week. But if you are comfortable with a higher-level deal…

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My black belt couponers know that these deals typically work differently at Jewel than at any other store.

VERY IMPORTANT: If you have never done a high-level Catalina deal at Jewel before, please read this short overview of the way the price structure works. In a nutshell, if you base your dollar-spent mark on the non-Preferred prices, you can save even more money and spend less out of pocket.

It is entirely up to you if you would like to work the deal in this way, but understand that IF you do, and the Catalina does not print, you can NOT go to the service counter and ask/demand that they reimburse you. You are working this sale in a different way than the ad specifies, and you’re on your own if you choose to do this. Know that you are accepting ANY outcome, including getting NO Catalinas.

You can mix and match any items in the list to get to that price mark. It’s important to remember that the non-preferred prices vary at EVERY store, and in some cases there are three prices (shelf, sale, and Preferred) on each item. If there is a fourth price (“Big Relief,” this is the price you use.)

If this makes no sense or is the least bit confusing to you… do NOT do the deal in this way. These high-level Catalina deals can be very confusing, especially when you’re new at this. If you are new, use the PREFERRED price only, and you’ll get the Catalina every time.

But if you’re a “black belt” couponer and want to maximize your savings… here are some of the best deals. You will also note that there are many items in the deal that are not advertised – thanks to Tracey for the spreadsheet. Again, if you use these scenarios and do not get your Catalina, do NOT go to Customer Service and ask them to make it right for you. You WILL NOT have purchased what the ad states that you must. Again, YOU are taking the risk on these deals. You must be willing to accept ANY outcome without complaining, even if it means not getting any Catalinas at all.

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Black Belt Deals for the $20/$5

(Remember to ALWAYS, ALWAYS verify regular/sale/big relief/preferred prices at the PRICE SCANNER for YOUR store before relying on these quantity breakdowns. This cannot be stressed enough. It is never fun to be pennies off from a deal because your store has an item priced a little lower than others.)

And, remember to roll your Cats! Take the Catalina you get and go right back and use it to bring your out-of-pocket down on your next round of items.

Green Giant deal

There is a BONUS CATALINA DEAL running on the $1 Green Giants. For every 3 you buy, you’ll get another $1 Catalina at checkout. So… here’s how it can look…

Buy 10 Green Giants for $1 each. Use whatever .50 off 2 coupons you’ve got.

With 4 coupons (print 2 from each link above), pay $8 and get $8 back – one $5 and 3 $1s. FREE veggies!

Green Giant Grands deal

Buy 4 cans Grands and 5 Green Giant boil-in-bag vegetables.
Use 2 $1 off Grands coupons, one $1 off 2 Grands coupon,
and two .50 off 2 vegetables coupons.
Pay $6 and get $6 back! FREE is my favorite price :)

Progresso Green Giant deal

Buy 3 cans of Progresso soup and 6 Green Giant boil-in-bag vegetables.
Use $1.10 off 3 soups and three .50 off 2 vegetables.
Pay $8.40 and get $7 back! All that for $1.40… and if you have the Progresso store coupon from the Jewel Preferred book, you’ll save even more…

Cheerios, Bananas and Grands deal – PAY ATTENTION!
There is a second deal running on the Cheerios. Buy 6 boxes of 8.9 ounce Cheerios and some bananas – you will receive $1.50 in instant savings for every 2 boxes of Cheerios you buy. HOWEVER, as this is an instant-savings, you will need to add $4.50 worth of other participating items in to trigger your CAT as the instant will dip you below $20!

With your 6 Cheerios – ($12)
Use two $1 off 2 (or $1 off 3) coupons – ($10)
You’ll receive $1.50 off bananas for every 2 boxes of Cheerios you buy (so, you’ll get $4.50 off here — and you don’t need to buy $4.50 worth of bananas, technically, so you can gain some overage here.) So, now you’re at $5.50 for these, with a $5 Cat coming back to you. But again, if you do this deal, ADD $4.50 (non-preferred price) of other items in here to make this one fly.

A way to do that is with Grands. Add 2 cans of Grands, use two $1 off 1 coupons, and you will pay a grand total of $6 and get $5… for all that!

Black Belt Deals for the $25/$7

Charmin / Puffs deal

Buy 1 Charmin and 1 3-pack Puffs.

Use .25 off Charmin insert coupon and $1 off Charmin store coupon from Preferred book. Pay $18.73 and get $7 back. 24 rolls of TP for $11.73… and 3 boxes of Puffs too.

Bounty / Bounce deal

Buy 1 12-roll Bounty and 1 Bounce dryer bar
Use .25 off Bounty and $1 off Bounce coupons
Pay $17.73 and get $7 back. 12 rolls of Bounty for $10.73 — that’s .89 per roll, plus you get the Bounce bar too…

With the $1 Bounce coupon from the P&G $120 Year of Savings book and the $2.50 Bounce Vocalpoint coupon, pay $15.48 and get $7 back – $8.48 total.

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Heading to Dominick’s, if you’ve got a dog, you may want to look for tearpad coupons for $2 off FreshPet Dog Food (it’s like canned food, but it comes in a plastic pack.) The singles are currently on sale for $2, and you know what that means… FREE dog food!

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Here’s a SWEET deal on corn… yellow, white, or bi-color corn on the cob is on sale 6 ears for $1! FANTASTIC price, even without coupons :)

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There are again some Dominick’s Super Coupons in their Wednesday ads. You can stack manufacturer coupons with all of these (use www.coupontom.com or www.hotcouponworld.com [expired database]) for matchups.

Nothing’s jumping out at me as particularly stellar this week with the Super Coupons, though the $1.99 Soft Scrub isn’t bad if you stack it with the .50 coupon from 8/16 SS – you’ll pick it up for $1.49.

A note on Dominick’s Super Coupons: All of the Super Coupons require a total purchase of $20 or more to use. But, the “Minimum $20 purchase” applies to the REGULAR, non-sale price of those items. Really! It’s even spelled out very well on Safeway’s corporate site:

What does “minimum $10 (or $20) purchase required” mean? To use store coupons that include a minimum purchase requirement, you must spend a minimum dollar amount on that shopping trip. You will reach the minimum purchase amount based upon total purchases before your Club Card discount is applied. This total will include the coupon item’s regular price, not the discounted price. For example, the regular retail price of a box of Cheerios (before coupon and before Club Card discounts) will count toward the minimum purchase required in order to use the Cheerios coupon.

So, knowing this, getting over that $20 mark isn’t as hard as it seems. Mix and match what you like, and remember too that if you work any other items into your trip from this week’s deals, they too will count toward your $20.

Lastly for Doms… if you have the 2009 Entertainment Book, remember that there’s a $5 off $50 coupon in there too that you can work into one of your Dominick’s trips before the book expires at the end of this year. If you use this, always give the cashier that coupon FIRST, before the rest of your coupons, as your total will probably (hopefully!) dip under $50 after the rest of your coupons. And, if you’re interested in the 2010 Entertainment Book, it’s got FOUR $5-off-$50 coupons for Dominick’s in it, valid this fall and throughout the next year. Nice!

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At Meijer, let’s take home some FREE Endust spray! It’s on sale for $1.49-$1.99 depending on store, and with the $2 coupon from 8/30 RP, it’s FREE! Note that Meijer typically doesn’t give coupon overage, but if you get it… enjoy! This is scheduled to be on price drop through 9/27, so my non-Illinois readers may be able to jump on this one too (unusual, but nice!)

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How about some FREE A-1 Steak Sauce? It’s on sale for $2.50. If you get multiple inserts, use two of your $2 coupons from 8/16 SS stacked with the $1 off 2 coupon from Meijer Mealbox (https://mealbox.meijer.com) – $5 minus $2, minus $2, minus $1 equals… FREE!

And what’s better than free? Look around the A-1 for tearpads for $1 off beef when you buy A-1! Blog member Prea found a great use for these coupons — she had the meat counter individually wrap pub burger patties, then used a coupon on each for each bottle of A-1! Cheap burgers to go with that steak sauce!

A-1 marinades are also on sale for $1. If you have only one $2 coupon, they’re good on the marinade too, and it will be FREE.

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Chinet paper plates, cups and bowls are also a steal at Meijer this week. They’re $2.49, and we’re going to coupon-stack to make them even cheaper. Use $1 manufacturer coupons from 6/28 SS (many coupons for various Chinet) with the $1 off Meijer Mealbox coupon — and you pay just .49!

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Want a Kool-Aid moneymaker this week? I always giggle when people who are new to couponing criticize the things we buy as “junk” or “unhealthy…” completely ignoring the possibility that at times, the stores PAY us to take these things home. I haven’t paid for Kool-Aid in years… and neither should you.

Here’s the Kool-Aid deal – buy three Kool-Aid Singles 10-packs at $1 each. (These are the kinds you would dump in a single bottle of water.) Use a $1 off coupon for each box, printable from https://mealbox.meijer.com. Your Kool-Aid’s already free… but it of course, gets better. “Buy” them, pay nothing, and get a $2 Catalina good for your next shopping trip! This is limited to 3 boxes/1 $2 Catalina per transaction — buying 6 or 9 at a time will only generate $2 for you.

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And, here’s a heads-up for my Indiana and Michigan readers, which will hit Illinois stores on THURSDAY this week… $1 Oscar Mayer Lunchables paired with the $1 Lunchables coupon from 8/23 SS equals FREE Lunchables…! Thanks to blog reader Dealgrab for the heads-up!

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Note that Meijers in other states are on different schedules. The Illinois Meijers are about a week behind on the sales vs. Indiana/Michigan. If you’re in Illinois, these Meijer deals run through Wednesday. If you’re reading from another state, they ENDED Saturday at your store… Confusing? Yes. This is why I don’t blog too many Meijer deals…

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If you pay attention to Target‘s printable store coupons each week, you know that while the coupons at Target.com change every Sunday, the coupons from past weeks are still unexpired and valid — they’re just not linked from Target’s site anymore. So how do we get our hands on those coupons?

With a Target Coupon Generator. Sites like this one link to those “hidden” coupons so we can continue to print and use them through their expiration dates, and then… we can enjoy continued savings!

And, if you have a dog (or just want to donate some free dog food!) you’ll want to check out this next Target deal for FREE dog food… go on the generator and print the coupon for $1.50 off 1 bag Chef Michaels dog food.

Now, grab your 8/23 RP insert from this past weekend, and cut your $3 off a bag of Chef Michaels coupon.

Bags of Chef Michael’s dog food are $4.49 at most Target stores. Stack that $1.50 store coupon with the $3 manufacturer coupon for $4.50 in coupon value… and you’re taking it home for FREE!

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If you’re registered with vocalpoint.com to receive their great coupon mailings, you may have recently received a coupon for $2.50 off a Bounce fabric softener bar. The Bounce bars are $3.79 at most Target stores, but you can get it for FREE by stacking that great manufacturer coupon with the $1.50 Target store coupon in the 8/23 RP insert. With $4.00 in coupon value on a $3.79 item, you’re getting it for free… with .21 overage! The Bounce bar is supposed to last 2 months in the dryer – you stick it to the inside and forget about it!

If you don’t have the Vocalpoint coupon, 8/2 PG has a $1 manufacturer coupon. Stack it with the same $1.50 store coupon, and you’ll pay $1.29 for your Bounce bar… thanks to btrmama08 in our Forum for the heads-up on these last two great deals!

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For my Rockford-area readers, Hilander‘s got some good cheapies and freebies this week…

Many varieties of Sundown vitamin supplements are on sale for $3.79, Buy One, Get One Free. Choose 2, use the $5 off 2 from 7/12 RP, and pay NONE for two, with possible overage…

Bounty paper towels are on sale for $1 a roll. Use the .25 coupon from 8/30 PG, which will double to .50. Stack this with the .25 electronic coupon from www.pgesaver.com and it’s yours for just a quarter…

Dial hand soap pumps are also $1. The .35 coupon from 8/26 SS will double to .70, making these yours for just .30…

French’s Mustard varieties are $1.25 a bottle. Use the .50 coupon from 6/21 SS, which will double to $1, and it’s yours for .25!

Dannon Activia Yogurt and Danimals Crush Cups are back on sale for $1.88 again too. There are many $1 coupons out for these (8/9 SS an 8/30 SS have both) – that brings you to .88 for the multipack. Anytime yogurt is under a quarter a cup, it’s a buy — and this brings it to .22 a cup!

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Have you seen the new electronic coupons for Hilander/Kroger stores? SoftCoin recently added support for Kroger stores (including Hilander) for their new electronic coupons for Unilever products! Click here to check them out… they load to your card the same way that Cellfire/PGE/ShortCuts do, meaning we now have FOUR sets of electronics we can stack with at Kroger stores. WOW!

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Drugstore Deals

Heading to Walgreens, Glade Sense and Spray air fresheners are FREE again. (This is a perfect example of an item where we never see the refills go on sale… but we often get an entirely new air freshener for free!) They are $5.99 with a $2 Register Reward. Use the $4 coupon from 8/23 SS, pay $1.99 and get $2 back… FREE!

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If you get multiple inserts and like cheap toothpaste, this deal’s for you… Crest with Scope toothpaste is on sale for $3.50 a tube… not a deal. But, buy 2 and get a $5 RR. With two sets of inserts, use the .75 Crest coupons from 8/30 PG, pay $5.50 and get $5 back in RRs. That works out to a quarter a tube! What’s not to like about that?

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And over at CVS, selected Schick disposable razors are FREE after Extra Care Bucks and coupons! The razors are $6.99 with a $4 ECB. Use the $3 coupon from 8/16 SS, pay $2.99 and get $3 back. FREE!

And, if you only get one set of newspaper inserts and wanted to take advantage of the Crest deal posted above for Wags, fear not… you can do it almost just as well at CVS this week too. Crest with Scope is $3.49 at CVS, with a $2.50 ECB coming back to you when you buy it. With the .75 coupon from 8/30 PG, pay $2.74 and get $2.50 back. Your Crest works out to just .24!

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FREE stuff:

FREE Secret Clinical Strength deodorant (current Vocalpoint members only)

FREE Nestle Abuelita hot chocolate (those of you that are hot chocolate lovers need to try this! Yes, many of us have enough free Swiss Miss to last us through the entire winter, but Nestle Abuelita is made with Mexican chocolate, which is slightly sweeter with a cinnamon undertone. It’s divine. So good I occasionally pay for it. But right now, you can try it for FREE!)

FREE Yoplait Whips yogurt coupon

FREE single M&M/Mars chocolate (every Friday through September 2009.)

FREE travel pack of Zyrtec (click 10mg Tablets in menu, then button below photo)

$1 off single Klondike Bars coupon — many stores, including Super Wal-Mart, sell these for $1… so, FREE!

FREE Huggies Little Movers diaper (single diaper – click red button)

FREE Jack Daniel’s burger at TGI Fridays – must be a member of Facebook and “Become a Fan” of TGIF Woody. If 500,000 people become fans in September, everyone registered gets a FREE burger.

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FREE insert coupons that are still current:

7/26 SS – FREE can of Mighty Dog dog food (exp. 9/14/09)

8/23 RP – FREE pouch of Chef Michael’s dog food (exp. 9/21/09)

8/9 SS – FREE Glade Fragrance Collections candle (exp. 10/3/09)

8/2 SS – FREE jar Beech-Nut Stage 3 Fruit baby food (exp. 12/31/09) [regional insert – not all editions had this – random]

August All You, p. 95 – FREE Jack Links Buffalo Chicken Nuggets (expires 9/30/09)

(note too, if you don’t have a dog or baby, any of our local food pantries will be very happy to take these things. Donate them! :)

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As always, these deals are guidelines for shopping. I can make no guarantee that these items will be on sale, in stock, or available at your area store.

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* (All You magazine is not a requirement for using the site, but if you like coupons, you will probably really enjoy it. It’s a cheap ($2.49 an issue) magazine that is absolutely filled with coupons each month — typically 20-30 of them. Many websites are now tracking the All You coupons and matching them to deals, just as they do with the newspaper coupon inserts. You can subscribe to All You online and save about $10/year off the cover price. And depending on the values, if you use 2 or 3 coupons alone from each issue, you’ve recouped the cost of the magazine, and you’re on your way to even bigger savings.)

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Do you like these deals? Want to learn how to get deals like this on almost EVERYTHING that you buy? Attend one of my Super-Couponing™ classes and learn all the tricks of the trade — or OWN the 72-minute class on DVD and learn in the comfort of your home, at your pace! You’ll be slashing your bills in no time!