Brag of the Week #1: half off at Whole Foods

I had a very nice run at Whole Foods last night.  Except for produce, Joshua and I generally don't go out of our way to buy organic food. The cost of keeping kosher is expensive enough without complicating it with other pricey special food types, and while I do think organic fruits and vegetables taste better, I don't discern a difference in say, organic vs. non-organic granola bars. My impetus to shop at Whole Foods tonight was that last month's Whole Foods coupons will be expiring at the end of August, and since Colorado Whole Foods stores allow stacking of store coupons with manufacturer's coupons, I saw some real bargains to be had.  Before last month's coupons disappeared from the Whole Food website, I printed them out on a pdf (they allow that) and Whole Foods still had the old coupon magazines all over the store.  (If you would like to duplicate any of these deals and need any of last month's WF coupons, just give me a shout and I will email the pdf to you.  Since they're no longer on the WF site, I don't feel comfortable posting the pdf.)

Tonight's bill rang up to $36.03 (excluding tax). After I handed over my $17.35 in coupons, I ended up paying $18.68 plus $0.23 tax.  Saving 48% on an all-organic, all-kosher shopping run is no small feat.  Here's what I bought and here's how I did it:

• Kashi Go Lean vanilla cereal priced at $3.69.
  I used the $1.50 coupon that came with the Kashi free sample granola bar.  If I'd had two of those, I would have purchased two boxes and stacked them with the last month's WF $1/2 coupon.
  Total cost:  $2.19 (saved 40%).  This is actually about twice as much as I'm used to spending on cereal, but I took a splurge.
• 4 boxes of Nature's path 5 count granola bars, on sale for $3.00 each=$12.00.
  I used 2 of this month's Whole Foods $1.50/2 coupon here and 3 of the $1/1 coupons that I got from the Mambo Sprouts Rocky Mountain tour.
  Total cost $6 or $1.50 per box (half price).
  
• Organic Valley half and half, 16 oz. on sale for $1.99.
  I used the current Whole Foods coupon for $1/1 and the $0.75/1 coupon here.
  Total cost $0.25 (saved 87%). 
• 2 Organic Batter Blasters pancake and waffle batter at $4.39 each=$8.78.
  I used the deal I posted here:  last month's Whole Foods $3.00/2 coupon stacked with two $1.00/1 coupons.
  Total cost: $3.78 for 2 or $1.89 each (saved 57%).
  Since this was such an awesome buy (my cashier high-fived me on this one), and these coupons are reprintable, I will probably go back and get some more.
• SanJ gluten-free organic teriyaki sauce $3.39.  Great on salmon.
  I used the last month's Whole Foods $0.55/1 coupon and the $0.55 Mambo Sprouts coupon from here.
  Total cost: $2.29 (saved 32%).
• Earth Balance dairy-free buttery spread $3.39.  This is a really good-tasting pareve spread with healthier ingredients than regular margarine.
  I used the $1 coupon that I found in the King Sooper's free Optimum Wellness magazine.
  Total cost:  $2.29 (saved 29%).
• Late July organic gluten-free sea-salt chips $2.79.
  I used the $1.00 Mambo Sprouts coupon from here.
  Total cost $1.79 (saved 36%).

I want to add that it took 12 minutes to do these matchups before I set out on my shopping trip. Everything I bought is stuff we will use, except for the half and half, which I'm actually going to try freezing for later.

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