Eat For Free!.....at Ocean State Job Lot

Now I knew that title would get some folks attention but seriously, it's what Ocean State Job Lot store calls this program they have.  You have to have a store loyalty card to do this deal, also called a Job Lot Insider Card(you need that card as well to partake of any "coupon" deals there as well).

Here's the info from their website..............

Job Lot Insiders Eat for Free!*

Free food! Need we say more? At Ocean State Job Lot we understand how important it can be to put food on the table for the best value possible, so we’re giving our Insiders a way to “Eat for Free!” Well, pretty close to it, anyway.

Did you know that every Job Lot location has an “Eat For Free!” section where you can find loads of gourmet pastas, sauces, cookies, crackers, beverages, condiments and snacks that you love? As long as you’re a Job Lot Insider, when you spend at least $10 on those select items, we’ll hand you a Crazy Deal™ Gift Card for the same amount you spent!

When you buy $10 worth of food, you'll get a $10 Crazy Deal™ Gift Card. When you buy $25 worth of food, you'll get a $25 Crazy Deal™ Gift Card. You could even buy $153.21 worth of food and get a $153.21 Crazy Deal™ Gift Card! The possibilities are endless!

Our “Eat For Free!” food selection is changing constantly, so check back often to see what’s available. Any questions? Ask an associate how you can “Eat for Free!” today!

So basically how ever much you spend on food items in this special section of their store they give you the equivalent amount of money on a Crazy Deals Store Gift Card.

The first time I went into our newly opened OSJL store I guess they hadn't set up this "Eat for Free" food section yet because I just noticed it on this trip and it was no where near the food aisles.

I thought from the signage on the table in my store that you only got a $10 Gift Card back so I tired to stay as close to $10 as possible but over $10 so the deal would kick in.

Here's what I bought..........

2 x cans of Porcini mushroom pieces=$2.00
1 x Indian dish mix=$2.00
2 x bamboo shoots=$1.78
2 x cranberry/orange baking "chips"=$4.00
1 x Asian Stir-Fry sauce mix=$1.00
Total.......$10.78

And here's what I got back.........

A store gift card for $10.78 good on anything in the store. As far as I can tell there is no expiration date either.  ;-)

There are rules about using a Crazy Deal gift card(can't buy gift cards with it, can't pay for Insider Deal items, can't get another Crazy Deal GC if you use your Crazy Deal GC to pay for another Crazy Deal item so you can't roll this GC into perpetuity to get free food.

As I suspected many of the items(there were a good variety of items)were close to their sell by dates so you have to be aware of that.(Ex-CB loves ranch dressing and they had lots of it in this section but as it was short dated I didn't pick any of that up.)  I didn't go crazy and buy lots but just stuff I knew we'd use and soon.
They had both unusual items(gourmet/upscale foodstuffs)and everyday use items like cooking oil, salt and salad dressing and they say the particular items change frequently.

It's a clever way for them to clear out old items and give customers a "deal" on them. 8-)

I also bought on this trip........

1 x Oyster Sauce=$2.00
1 x 8 oz. Pecans=$3.99

All totaled I spent $16.77 OOP and earned a $10.78 gift card.  There are a few food items I buy there, things I can get cheaper there than other places(see pecans and oyster sauce above lol)so I'll have no problem using that $10.78 gift card.

This could be another little way to stretch your food dollars if utilized well.


Have you ever partaken of the "Eat for Free" Deal at OSJL?
Yeah or Nay on this promo?


Sluggy

Rite-Aid Pillaging....And 54% Savings at the Grocery Store

I shouldn't call my Rite-Aid excursions pillaging anymore should I?
Since they tightened up the deals and the coupon policy and the coupons just aren't as good this year, I don't get much for FREE.

Anyway, let's get to the details, shall we?

As of last week I had $5 in +Ups expiring on 11/6, which is today.
So last week I bought this.....

2 x Dawn dish liquid on sale for .97¢ each=$1.94
I used--
1 x .20¢/1 Dawn ManuQ
$1.94-.20=$1.74

I used $1 +Ups to pay
$1.74-$1+Up=$.74+.04¢tax=$.78 OOP

Then today I bought this......

1 x St. Joseph's Aspirin on sale=$4.99
2 x Purex Ultra Packs detergent on sale BOGO=$6.49
Subtotal......$11.48

I used--
1 x $1/1 St. Joseph's 120 ct. CatalinaQ(this spit out last month at Rite-Aid)=$1.00
1 x FREE ITEM Q Purex Ultra Packs detergent(up to $6)=$6.00 *Won from Frances' blog thanks Frances! ;-)
Total Coupons.....$7.00

$11.48-$7=$4.48

I used my $4 in +Ups I had left to pay....
$4.48-$4.00=$.48+.03¢tax=$.51

I paid .51¢ OOP and received a $4 +Ups for buying the St. Joseph's Aspirin.

Then I made an impulse buy.....uh oh......

2 x Axe Body Spray/Deodorant(this scent was on clearance 50% off so $2.99 ea.=$5.98

I paid .36¢tax so a total of $6.34 OOP.
Axe sprays/deos are Buy2/Get $3 +Ups this week on Select Unilever items, so I got back $3 +Ups AND another $2 +Ups for the purchase of Body Sprays, for a total of $5 in +Ups back.

Spend $6.34, get $5 back.
Wish I had had a couple of coupons to use too..... 8-)

Let's recap--
I got

2 dish liquids-who doesn't need this?
1 bottle baby aspirin-I use this.
2 packs of laundry detergent-who doesn't need this?
2 body sprays/deos-both son's use this.

I spent $7.63 OOP
And I have $9 in +Up Rewards to spend during the next 2 weeks.

Even if I don't get things for free paying $7.63 instead of the reg. shelf price of $36.13 and getting $9 to spend on more stuff isn't half bad, is it? ;-)

Then I went to the grocery store and did just as well!
I got $189.25 worth of groceries for $86.92.
That's a savings rate of 54.08%.

I hit the marked down meat-2 steaks for $2 lb., kielbasa for less than $2 lb., $2 off 4 packages of bacon which goes for $4.49 so $2.29 for each bacon, 85% angus burgers for $3 lb., some produce & fresh bakery muffins(for #2 Son)for 50% off, a rotisserie chicken for $3.99 to use for lunchmeat, fish fillets and grape tomatoes for BOGO, tuna fish for .74¢ a can and a can of crushed tomatoes for .50¢ after Q.
They have a deal this week if you buy $15 in Swanson/Campbell's/Pepperidge Farm items you get an instant $5 discount, so I bought 16 cans of soup on sale for $1, used $3 in Qs and after the $5 discount, paid $8 for 16 cans, so .50¢ a can.  I can use these in cooking.

Plus there was another deal-Buy 7 select Smuckers/Hungry Jack/Crisco items and get an instant $3 discount.  One of the items was 48 oz. bottles of Crisco oil on sale half off($2.14 instead of the reg. $4.29 price).  That's a great price for oil so I stocked up(#2 Son can go through some oil between making French fries and frying burritos).
So I got 6 oils and 1 pancake mix(for $2 on sale).  Total should have come to $11.48 after sale prices and $3 discount, but for some reason the register only took the $2.15 discount off of 2 bottles,  not all 6.
So since the register/computer rang the price wrong, I got 1 for free! 8-)

I also had a subtotal over $125.00 so I could use a $12 off your order coupon Weis sent me in the mail.
So my $189.25 in groceries, which should have come to $89.06 after all my discounts/coupons ended up costing me $86.92 (with an additional $2.14 subtracted for the free bottle of oil).
I am now over what I wanted to spend on food this week but I hadn't planned on such good meat deals and stocking up on oil, soup and tuna.
It's all good though since I have plenty of cash left for the month in the budget. 8-)


Sluggy