Total Spent: $47.78, Total Saved: $193.32
I actually went shopping at a time other than late Monday night! So here are my transactions for you guys (because I know you guys like them all laid out):
Publix Transaction #1:
Publix Tortilla Chips $2.59 -Penny Item Coupon = .01
5 Yellow Corn $1
Apple and Eve Juice – $1/1 Publix coupon from the Summertime Savings booklet atn .50/1 MFR coupon from the Greenwise Magazine = .99
Purina Beneful $23.99 – $5 Printable HERE (IE) or HERE (FF) and $4/1 Publix coupon from the Savings For All Seasons booklet
Also used $5/25 Rite Aid coupon HERE
Total Spent: $13.08, Total Saved $24.58
I mainly did this transaction for the dog food. With all the coupons combined (including the Rite Aid coupon), in essence my 31 lb. bag of Beneful was $9.99. We do not have a dog, but we are planning to get one for Christmas. So I am going to start building a doggie stockpile.
Publix Transaction # 2 (Different store – remember I fly under the radar whenever possible)
Kingsford Charcoal $6.99 (some regions got a $4 coupon in the 6/28 RP insert – I did not )
Ball Park Beef Franks 2/$3.99 – $1/2 coupon from the 6/7 RP and 6/28 inserts =$2.99
Sara Lee Buns $2
KC Masterpiece $1.69 – FREE wyb Kingsford from the 6/21 RP insert
Pork Spareribs $6.57 – $6 coupon wyb Kingsford and 1 other product HERE = .57
1 Watermelon $4.99 – $3 wyb Sara Lee Hotdog buns and Ball Park Franks tearpad (I see these at every Publix I go to) = $1.99
Jennie-O Turkey Patties 2/$4.49 – 2 $1/1 Peelies = $2.49/2
Publix Brand Tortilla Chips $2.58 – Penny Item Coupon = 0.01
Also used Rite Aid $5/25 Coupon
Total Spent: $12.83, Total Saved $40.91. It would have been $4 less if I had that Kingsford Charcoal coupon.
CVS Transaction
2 CVS Pantiliiners .89 (last year the limit on this deal was 2, so I got two just to check)
2 Head and Shoulders $4.99 ea (not pictured) Used B1G1 coupon from the 7/5 PG insert
2 Pencil Sharpeners .99 ea
1 Pampers Cruisers $8.99 – $2 coupon from the 7/5 PG insert
2 CVS Cocoa Butter .99 ea. (used $1 Lotion CRTs)
1 Physician’s Formula Eye Shadow Clearanced .20 cents (there were a ton of them)
Used $15.50 in ECBs
Total Spent .89 cents on gift card, Total saved $29.67
The ECB didn’t print for the second pantiliners, so I returned them on the spot and got .94 cents back in cash.
Included in the picture are two monitors I picked up on Saturday. Total savings I am calculating from each one is $19.99 (Actual price minus coupons).
Aldi Deals
Blueberries .99/pint
Strawberries .99 ea
Mangos .89 ea
Apples $2.69
Lemons $1.99
Chunk Cheese $1.29 ea
Frozen Veggies .95 ea.
Total Spent: $22.49, Estimated Savings based on regular grocery store prices: $19
It will be interesting to see if my spending increases over time with preparing to get a dog. For those of you that have a dog, do you calculate pet needs into your grocery spending? On average, what is the best stock up price on purina dog foods?
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Since you are trying to accumulate dog food for the future, I wanted to let you know about other deals on pet supplies. At PetSmart, they accept competitor’s coupons (Pet Supermarket has $2/$10 every month in FL Times Union Sunday paper.) Use this on top of other pet food coupons.
I know you said you plan to buy only purina, but I just wanted to let you know that our dogs don’t do well on it. They have allergy issues and things go downhill when they eat it. So…just a thought, but you might not want to put all your eggs in one basket… (they are boston terriers, btw)
Also, some pet supply stores have punch cards for one bag free after so many bags bought
I could never find very good deals on Purina. We fed our Great Dane the Beneful variety, and we fed him a lot of it. I looked for coupons and Catalinas, but it was only after we found a new home for him (on a farm!) that I see these all over, now!
as much as I dislike the idea of the drugs in the food, my dog generally doesn’t do well on Purina, except the weight managment food.
I go with a mix of Science Diet and Iams. I always buy the biggest bags possible from PetSmart – they usually have good deals on the huge Science Diet bags if you use your PetSmart card. They also have coupons once in a while, which I use too. As far as Iams go, they give away free bag of food coupons on their website every once in a while, and I save those and mix them in with the Science Diet. The premium Purina brand was recommended by my vet, but I found that it made my little guy throw up, so she’s been off of it ever since. My vet tells me Science Diet and Iams are just as good.
I think it normally costs me under $1 per day for pet food, but since I only purchase it once every few months or so, I don’t factor it into my grocery bill.
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We’ve been happy with purina. It’s hard with pet food because it’s just rarely on sale and then you need to store it to keep rodents and such out.
I can sometimes get deals using Tractor Supply. If you get on their mailing list, they mail and email out coupons for $X/$X or a %/$X. They do accept manufactur’s coupons. I bought a 50lb bag of Purina for less than $18 a couple of times about 3 months ago. That’s the same as Old Roy at Walmart and way better.
Science Diet is a good one. The best part about it is that it’s high quality…the higher quality, the less they eat because it’s more nut/lb verses the fillers in other dog foods.
Same goes for cats and if your cats are indoor, there’s the added bonus of less poop to scoop.
) I’ve seen a lot of their coupons and Iams coupons too.
I watch for one ingredient that I majorly avoid. DH once bought a gas station brand in an “oh crap we’re out of food and everything is closed” situation. It had poultry LITTER in it. Byproducts are different. Litter is exactly what it is and I am not feeding that to my dogs. We threw it out the next day and bought real dog food.
What do you mean when you say “because most other companies euthanize the animals to make the dog food?”
Mary – I don’t remember the specifics because it’s been a while since we had a dog. But I did some research when we had a dog last, and this is what I found out. Companies that make dog food use a drug to put the animals to sleep (the ones they use for the meat), and this drug is found in most dog foods. Over time, the drug builds up in your dog’s system and eventually can kill them or make them terribly sick. Purina is one a few companies that doesn’t use these drugs to put the animals to sleep that make the dog food. There was a big controversial article on it several years back, but again I can’t remember the specifics.
what Publix are you going to around here that still takes the Rite Aid coupon? uh huh … share your secrets please Thrifty Mama! lol
every one I go to usually takes them Krysia
I’m in Acworth.
UGH … I’m in Paulding still. None of them out there take them anymore. Maybe I will venture to Acworth now?
I heard that the euthanized dogs and cats in food news was just a rumor which was started because the FDA found traces of Phenobarbital in some foods. In 2002, the FDA found that most food did not contain dog or cat DNA, but a lot of it still had Phenobarbital in it, so the conclusion was that the chemical was probably coming from the euthanized cattle and other livestock used in the food.
Here is a study on it, with a list of foods, and the presence of phenobarbital. http://www.critterchat.net/pentobarbital.htm
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I would just like to add a note. My husband works for Mars, Petcare (maker of Pedigree, The Goodlife Recipe, etc.); their company does not use or euthanize animals for the food product or feeding tests. In fact, the requirements (policed by the FDA) for pet food ingredients are, in some cases, higher than those for the foods you and I enjoy — primarily because the dry dog food you purchase provides the animal’s ENTIRE source of vitamins and nutrients. Finally, while I am slightly biased, I would be careful of certain Purina products; for health concious consumers/pet owners, foods that are promoted as “natural” (i.e., Beneful) have more artificial ingredients and sugars than many other brands. And, I would just like to ask that we be careful what is written/said as many readers and followers of this blog could come away with an incorrect opinion of other pet food companies.
Thanks Vadra. As a general rule I am always careful
This is why I said “most” pet food companies.
Good luck finding dog food deals, but I second the don’t stock up on one thing in case your doggie can’t eat it. Our dog does TERRIBLE on Purina. I bought some beneful when it was on sale (money is tight and I’m buying what I can when I can) at Publix and she had diarrhea for a week. I went back to Iams and she’s better now.
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We use Rachel Ray’s Nutrish for our three dogs, and they love it. The very first ingredient is meat, and I believe the food is human grade. It is a bit pricey (about $20 for a 14 lb bag) but I usually stock up when it goes on sale. Right now Kmart is selling it for $13.49. When I came in with five bags, the dogs were ecstatic! We go through a bag every four weeks with three 20 lb dogs free feeding, btw.
You won’t save money if your dogfood gets bugs or rodents in it or if your dog does not like it and refuses to eat it. I have never had a dog that would eat Purina, but most of them would eat Pedigree and I could always find coupons for it
Ok, seriously…why is it that my totals are still higher than yours when I buy similar things! I’m wishing my store took the rite aid coupons….Ok, scratch that, I just added your totals and I’m only $4 off from you. I didn’t split mine because I forgot my extra penny coupon. Sorry I’m a moron.
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Here is the link to the Food and Drug Administration’s information about the presence of euthanized animals in dog food. It is mostly overblown myth. I doubt seriously that any major brand would risk the bad PR it would bring. They are very highly regulated.
http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/FDAVeterinarianNewsletter/ucm093929.htm
Thanks for the tips everyone. I have always used Purina with my dogs. Any dog food will make your dogs sick if you do not properly adjust them to it. If you are switching to a new dog food, then you need to do it gradually (mixing it with the old brand of dog good, until they are weaned off of it). If you don’t do this, your dogs will be sick vomiting and/or have diarrhea.
Kortnye – looks like that article just says they couldn’t find the presence of euthanized cats and dogs. But it does admit that the drugs are present and were used on the animal meats that are in the foods.
I’ve seen studies and facts that admit to the presence of these drugs in dog food (but I do not believe that cat and dog meat are used in the food, just that drugs are used to put the animals to sleep that make up the meat in dog food).
But I really don’t want to create an argument or an issue over this, so I have removed the comment from my post. It’s just something that everyone should look into, so that they can be knowledgeable when choosing food for their pets.
I’ve always fed my pomeranian Purina Beneful and I haven’t had any problems. Plus I see more coupons for Purina than any other brand. But please dont forget that if you get a puppy, then it will need special puppy food until it gets around a year old. At least thats what I’ve always heard. Love your blog!
As a former vet tech, I have a few suggestions that seemed to help most of our clients. First, you want to pick a high quality food. There are several brands that fit in this category but Science Diet is by far the best widely available food. Dogs (and cats) should not be fed wet food except as a special treat since canned food has been linked to thyroid and dental disease (according to the AAVM). It is very important to feed puppy (or kitten) food for the first nine to twelve months because nutritional needs for growing pets are different than for adult animals. The cheaper food with lower quality ingredients can cause health problems because of inappropriate balance of macronutrients. For example, many foods are way too high in protein and feeding this type of food over the long run can cause kidney damage (and expensive vet bills for many years). If you have bought a breed that is predisposed to food allergies (westies for example), keep a close eye on excessive skin irritation, scratching, or chewing at feet.
Lastly, as mentioned above, if you are going to mix types of food, you should mix the new bag in with the old. Switching foods gradually will help avoid digestive issues and nasty clean-ups.
I agree with many people here, if you combine sales with a Petco card and buy big bags, I can feed my pets high quality science diet for a good price. And know that I am avoiding health issues that cheap food can cause.
I wanted to say when we switched over foods, we did in fact mix the old with the new and one dog did fine, but the other was …well…sick as a dog. And was until we went back to a higher grade food.
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