Nifty Thrifty Deals

I joined the Grocery Game a week or so ago. Basically, the service searches through a coupon database to tell you which coupon to match with which store's sale for the "rock bottom" price. The idea is to create a "stockpile" of items that you need by buying them at the lowest possible price. The database keeps track of all the coupons from earlier weeks, but it won't show up on your list unless you can combine it with a store sale to get a significant percent off of the regular retail price. It usually takes a few weeks, but if you follow the program you can end up saving 50-60% off of your grocery bill. You know me and my obsessive nature...I'm all gung ho right now. We'll see how long it lasts before I get bored with it all. Here is what I have done so far.
I went to Harris Teeter on Sunday. I had lots to buy, and sadly most of the things were not on the list as "rock bottom" prices. Still, I saved $104.83: $70.35 in VIC card savings and $34.48 in coupon savings.

Today after getting my icky gray hair covered with a lovely shade of brown, I went on my first "cherry picking" excursion. Cherry picking is where you only buy the rock bottom stuff. The whole idea of the game is that after you've been doing it for 12 weeks or so, you will have built up a large enough stockpile that you should be able to mainly pick the cherries when you shop. Of course, you will still have to buy your fresh items that you need such as milk and produce. (although some people freeze milk when it's a good price...not really my thing) I cheated a little and got a couple of things that I needed that weren't rock bottom, one wasn't even on sale. Here are today's results:

CVS
Retail Price of purchase: $39.91
Store sales discount: $8.09
Coupon discount: $10.30
Extra Care Bucks (like a rebate) $9.00
Total saved: $27.39
Total spent: $12.52
% Savings: 68.6%

Best deals: FREE Crest ProHealth Toothpaste, FREE Excedrin, FREE Reach Toothbrush

Food Lion (yes I braved the Lion for my deals)
Retail Price of purchase: $24.12
Store sales discount: $4.99
Coupon discount: $11.78
Total Saved: $16.77
Total Spent: $7.35
% Savings: 69.5%

Best deals: FREE Electrasol tabs, Spray and Wash for $.70

Giant
Retail Price of purchase: $29.31
Store sales discount: $12.32
Coupon discount: $8.05
Total Saved:$20.37
Total Spent: $8.94
% Savings: 69.5%

Best deals: FREE Electrasol tabs, Lysol Antibacterial Kitchen Cleaner $1 , Light bulbs $.75

I know that you're sitting there thinking that I am making all of this up, that I can't possibly have saved this much money. Or that I bought random things that I'll never use. Well, I'll add in a picture of the actual receipts later on if I can figure out how to work the scanner. (or figure out how to get Drew to work the scanner)

I love looking at my receipts to see all of the bargains I scored. I can't imagine why Drew says that I have too much time on my hands...