Topeka HyVee Deals through January 8, 2012

HyVee Deals

Lately, HyVee has just been blowing away the competition here in Topeka, Kansas.  This week I spent $47.17 (pre-tax) at HyVee and earned 25 cents off per gallon of gas (up to 20 gallons).  I only get gas about every two weeks. The last time I filled up, I saved 63 cents a gallon (two weeks worth of HyVee points).  

Of course, the trick is to only buy items you really need that earn points.  Don't buy something just because it will save you a small amount of money off gas. (And yes, I really needed Angel Food Cake!)

At Dillon's, you basically earn a dime off per gallon for every $100 you spend.  This week, I earned 25 cents off per gallon by spending less than $20.00. Here's how I did it:

Bag of Onions ($1.89) earned 2 cents off per gallon (can always use onions)

HyVee Pizza ($6.99) earned 10 cents off per gallon (with small salad, entire easy supper)

Angel food cake $3.99) earned 8 cents per gallon (was delicious with fresh blackberries and whipped cream)

Tidy Cat Litter (not pictured, $5.49) earned 5 cents off per gallon (cents off gas made it about same price at the store brand litter)

Total:  25 cents off per gallon on up to 20 gallons or to put it another way: $5.00 off my next fill-up at HyVee or Casey's. 

The only problem HyVee needs to work on fixing is that you must use your large loyalty card when purchasing the gas or else fill up, then take your key tag card into the store and get a refund. The key tag card apparently does not work at the pump. 

Other great sales at HyVee this week include blackberries for $1.00 (they are 89 cents this week at Aldi's), Frozen vegetables for 69 cents a package (I stocked up and bought 6 bags), chicken of the sea tuna for 69 cents a can, Old Orchard Juice for $1.99 (on sale this week at Apple Market for $1.25, though I had coupons for some flavors Apple Market didn't have so bought two more), kiwi fruit-four for $1, HyVee tomato soup for 59 cents a can and canned tomatoes for 50 cents a can (I stocked up and bought 8).

Just a reminder, remember to always check HyVee's Topeka Facebook page before shopping for the deal of the day.  If it's a deal you want to take advantage of, you have to tell the cashier you want the deal of the day price at checkout or it will ring up full price.

I only used one $1 off coupon (for the juice).  Lately, I am saving more by shopping the sales, stocking up and of course, planning my meals around the sale items.  

What deals are you finding?

Topeka HyVee Deals Through Nov. 22

It seems every week, one grocery store in Topeka will have far better deals than the other grocery stores. This week, in my opinion HyVee by far had the better savings.

 

 

If you have not taken advantage of purchasing a Cure 81 Ham and receiving a FREE turkey, I suggest you hurry.  The trick is, of course, is to find the smallest ham possible and the largest turkey (Up to 12 pounds. You will pay the difference for anything over 12 pounds).  I found a ham for $21.46 and a turkey for $16.66. I also had a $2 off coupon for the ham. After $2 off manufacturer coupon (www.hormel.com/updates/coupons/) and store coupon for free turkey, I paid about $1.05 a pound for around 18 pounds of meat (ham and turkey combined). Anytime, you can find meat for around a $1 a pound, it is a great savings. I should get 15-18 (or more) meals from this much meat.

 

My projected menu for this week includes:

 

Turkey and mashed potatoes

Turkey and noodles

Ham and pineapple pizza

Ham and potato casserole

Honeyed Ham, baked sweet potato and grilled asparagus

Loaded Nachos (will need a break from ham and turkey!)

Ham and Potato Chowder with Ritz crackers

 

 

 

 

Another deal I took advantage of was this "Buy 10, save $6 instantly at checkout" coupon. I ended up purchasing Velveeta ($4.39 after doubled manufacturer coupon combined with store coupon), two boxes of Ritz (89 cents each after doubled manufacturer coupon combined with store coupon) and seven packages of cream cheese (69 cents each after store coupon).  Hy-Vee allows you to stack manufacturer coupons with store coupons resulting in great savings.  Even without manufacturer coupons, 69 cents a package is a great price for cream cheese, especially name brand cream cheese. I don't think I have found cream cheese much less than $1 a package for a long time. This cream cheese does not expire until March 2013 so I should be stocked up for quite a while.

 

 

You always find certain things on sale around Thanksgiving--a holiday devoted to gluttony and football. One of those is Cool Whip so I went ahead and got a couple of packages for 69 cents each.  I bought a couple of packages of butter for $1.88 (Aldi's everyday price is about a dime cheaper but I didn't feel like making another stop to just save 20 cents--I'm frugal, not crazy.) There were lots of good deals at HyVee this week but it's really only a deal if it's something you want and will use.

 

The only other special I took advantage of this week was Apple Market had ten pounds of potatoes for $1.68 and asparagus for $2.98 a pound. I love asparagus! I don't like shopping at multiple stores so I try to keep it to two a week. I just know certain things are cheaper at certain stores and wait until they are having a great sale, then stock up on the other less expensive items they sell at the same time I purchase the sale items. For example, the cheapest cat litter I have found in Topeka is at Hy-Vee so I bought some while taking advantage of these sales. It really doesn't take as much effort as you would think to save a ton of money on groceries.

 

I will likely be holding another "Couponing" class in January in Topeka (date yet to be determined). If you or anyone you know would like to attend, please make a pre-reservation by emailing me at ksfarmgirl@live.com.  The cost to attend is $10 a person. Your ten dollar investment will save you hundreds of dollars.

HyVee Two Day Sale November 1 & 2

$10.24 before tax

Don't miss HyVee's 2 Day Sale (Nov. 1 & 2)!  Eggs are just 98 cents a carton (limit 2) and soda (Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, 7-up, Mountain Dew, RC or A&W) is only 68 cents a 2-liter bottle (limit 4). Ocean Spray Juice is also on sale for just $1.79.  This is the same price as Aldi's juice but there are many more varieties in OceanSpray. Personally, I love the White Cran Peach.

 

Lettuce is on sale all week (through Nov. 6) for 99 cents.  This is cheaper than Apple Market which usually sells their green leaf lettuce for $1.29. The potatoes were 99 cents for 10 pounds.

 

I estimate I paid about 50% off the normal price for these items and that is without using any coupons.

 

HyVee is also starting a new fuel saver program. You have to sign up for the program and get a plastic tag to put on your key chain. It works quite a bit differently from Dillon's program. With Dillon's, you basically earn a point for every dollar you spend. At HyVee, you will earn so many cents off a gallon based on buying specific items.

 

For example, each week in their ad, they will state which items earn fuel discounts. Let's say one week you can earn 5 cents off per gallon for every box of Kellogg's cereal you purchase. If you purchase 5 boxes, you will earn 25 cents off a gallon.

 

I never earn more than`10 cents off a gallon at Dillon's. This is because I really don't buy very many groceries at Dillon's. I have to spend a $100 to earn 10 cents off and it takes me all month to spend that amount at Dillon's.

 

My neighbor says he purchases gift cards at Dillon's and then uses those to pay for his groceries. He earns points when he purchases the gift card and then again when he uses the gift card to pay for his groceries. He says he saves about $70 a month in gas by accumulating double points in this manner. He also accumulates his points until he reaches the highest possible discount, then takes both of his cars to the pump at the same time, filling first one car and then the other without turning off the pump. I asked him if this was allowed and he said no one has ever told him he couldn't do it.

 

HyVee's new program does not start until December 5. There are restrictions but it sounds as if you may be able to earn some rather large discounts. We will have to wait and see...

Best Topeka Grocery Deal August 8-14, 2012



The best grocery deal I discovered this week was at Hy-Vee. Hy-Vee has canned vegetables on sale for 39 cents a can.  How good a deal is this?

Hy-Vee Deal of the Week

One thing I teach in my couponing classes is the value of keeping a "price list" of at least the 100 most common items your family purchases. Keep your grocery receipts for a couple of months and start analying what products you purchase most often. Then build a price list of those 100 items comparing prices between stores. Always paying the least amount for your most common grocery purchases will save you significantly more money over time than clipping coupons.



A page from my price book

I keep a spreadsheet of the prices of the major items I buy for my family. I compare the prices between Wal-Mart, Dillon's and HyVee. I have found that no one store is the cheapest in town but rather all three stores have at least some items that are cheaper than the other two.  By keeping a comparison chart of the three major stores, I can use it when I shop other stores. Is Dollar Tree or Apple Market selling something cheaper than the other stores? I just look up the price on my list.  It is impossible without a price sheet to remember every price on every product, especially if they are only a few cents apart.

I was able to refer to my price book and see store brand green beans normally cost about 69 cents at HyVee and Dillons and 68 cents at WalMart.  Green beans for 39 cents a can is 29 cents less per can than the cheapest price in town so I bought 24 cans.  24 cans of green beans will last me several months since my husband hates green beans.  I'm not even sure how well he will sleep at night knowing they are in the house. I "saved" $6.96 by buying the beans on sale and stockpiling them for future use. It appeared all the HyVee brand canned vegetables were on sale so you could mix and match the canned green beans, corn, peas, etc.

HyVee also has butter on sale this week for $1.49.  Store brand butter at WalMart is around $2.68.  If you use butter, buying HyVee's sale butter will save you about $1.18 a package which is a significant savings.  There was a sign stating there was a limit of 2 but it did not indicate if this was per customer or per transaction.  I did not see anything in the ad stating a limit.

If you are interested in taking a couponing/money saving class please feel free to contact me at ksfarmgirl@live.com.  Classes cost just $15.00 a person (five people or less) or $10 a person for classes of 6 or more. A one-on-one session is $30. Each class runs about 90 minutes and is full of tons of money-saving advice which will save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year.

HyVee Specials in Topeka Through July 24, 2012

Stock Up on Prego this Week

HyVee is currently holding a "Dollar Days" sale effective July 18-24, 2012.  What jumped out at me in this week's advvertisement was Prego Pasta Sauce for $1.00.  "Prego" is Italian for "You're Welcome". Just what you want in a spagetti sauce, tomatoes, green pepper and oh, yeah, a little arrogance.

Spagetti sauce frequently goes on sale.   Lately, I have seen Ragu running 2 jars for $3. $1 a jar is about as cheap as it gets and personally, I like Prego better than Ragu. HyVee pasta is also on sale for $1. Brown up a package of that 98 cent sausage that was on sale at Apple Market a couple of weeks ago, buy a $1 jar of sauce and $1 jar of pasta for a really cheap, filling meal.

My friend, the beautiful Italian, shared the secret to truly great spagetti sauce is to add some beef broth (for richness) and just a little cayenne pepper (to bring out the flavors). I always doctor up my store bought spagetti sauce, don't you? Spice it up, baby.

My husband doesn't really care for spagetti.  He puts about three stands on his plate and then proceeds to  fill up on garlic bread, which he covers with a thick layer of  meat sauce.  As a result of his indifference to pasta in general, the word "spagetti" has become code in our family for any food one of us dislikes. For example, my son-in-law recently referred to Pancakes as "the spagetti of breakfasts". I agree.

Other deals I took advantage of at HyVee this week included HyVee microwave popcorn for $1 a box (3 bags) , sour cream for $1 and cabbage 2 pounds for $1. 



The Clearance Rack is my Friend



I had to make an emergency run up to Dillon's (more on that later) and while there found these Hormel Peppercorn Fillets on clearance for $1.99.  I think they usually cost around $8-9 dollars. I had a couple of $1 off coupons so they ended up costing a whopping 99 cents a package.  I also found some Naan bread on clearance for $1.49.  Naan is nomally around $2.99. 

Naan is the the most delicious bread in the world.  I remember the first time I ate homemade Naan at an Ethiopian restaurant in Kansas City.  I fell head-over-heels in love with it. The commercial breads are good also (http://stonefire.com/our-flatbreads/naan/).

So based on this week's current sales, clearance rack finds and previous sale purchases, here is my menu for the week:

Indian Butter Chicken (made with chicken that was on sale last week and clearance Naan)

Pork Chop, mashed potatoes and corn-on-the-cob (some of the corn from Target and sale Pork)

Pulled Pork Sandwich with coleslaw (Hormel meat and sale cabbage)

Taco's (with garden tomatoes and fresh salsa)

Hamburgers, homemade fries and probably leftover slaw

Salad (made partly from taco leftovers)

Chicken Pot Pie with any leftover salad

Prego!

Really Cheap Blue Bunny Ice Cream

HyVee Ad good through July 10th

Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month in 1984. I assume this is what made him such a popular president.  While I could live the rest of my life without ice cream (I am more of a potato chip kind of gal), I know it is loved by most.

Now, head over to:  http://www.bluebunny.com/.  Click on coupons at the top of the page and join their "club".  As a club member, you will be able to print a couple of dollar off coupons.  Using the coupon, you can get some premium ice cream for just $1.99. 

A final note:  many companies make you sign up for emails to receive coupons or other offers. I recommend creating a seperate email account  to sign up for such offers. While I personally don't use "Facebook" to keep in touch with friends, I do have a "Facebook" page (middle name, maiden name) I use just to sign up for coupons.  Many companies require you "like" them on "Facebook" to receive a coupon.  I don't want the hassle of a Facebook account but I do want the coupons.  I use this Facebook account merely to receive offers.