My Shop-Along with Deal Detecting Diva

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Ashlea from Deal Detecting Diva was kind enough to meet me during her lunch break for a “shop-along” at Dillons. We had both prepared by making our lists (using the Dillons coupon match-up on her website) and gathering our coupons.

You might think that since she’s the “Diva” of detecting deals that she would come into the store armed with a 9 x 17 case of coupons or a big binder. But she simply had a printed list with several coupons tucked inside — in store order, of course.

I did discover that the name of her coupon blog is more than just a nice bit of alliteration; this girl can spot a peelie from a hundred yards. As we sprinted down the aisles of the grocery store, the “deal detective” stopped at every blinkie and tearpad to inspect the coupons being offered.  She also pointed out prices, package sizes, and told me some of the sales I should be on the lookout for.

It was a definitely a learning experience. I was almost going to buy the Bumblebee tuna for 49 cents when Ashlea asked me, “Did you get the Starkist coupons last Friday?” I told her I did, thanks to her post on Facebook. “Well then you might want to wait until Starkist goes on sale,” she said. “You can get some pretty good deals. I never pay for tuna.”

Well, I’m no stranger to cheap, but I usually do pay for tuna. Incredible.

So I held off on the Bumblebee this time.  Instead, I picked up 5 bottles of my family’s second-favorite laundry detergent for $1.74 per bottle.

We both got the boxes of American Beauty pasta that were $0 after coupons (i.e. FREE). My Wheat Thins and Triscuits were only 99 cents a box after coupons and the Mega sale discount. And we both had coupons for the Heluva Good dips, which made them just 29 cents a piece.

It was terrific. Then I had to go and ruin it all by forgetting to use my Country Crock coupon. I paid $1.49 for what would have been only 69 cents! Believe me, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth when I got home and realized the coupon was still in my folder. 🙂

So, how did I do overall? My total savings for this trip was $45.62. I actually paid $29.76 for everything in my cart. Here’s a picture of my haul. Now that’s what $30 worth of groceries ought to look like.

Since she was on her lunch break, I decided to finish up the rest of my shopping later on my own. I didn’t do as well, but it was still pretty good. Total savings for my second trip was $24.21. I actually spent $34.36. The grand total for this week was $64.12. Here’s everything I bought today. It almost doesn’t all fit in the picture.