Sunday Shop Day

3 Stores, 20 bucks, new coupon binder!!

Walgreens:

Transaction 1:
Pilot pens .19 less q reduced to .19 free
Colgate 3.49 less 1 q - 2.49
3 folders a .09
2 boxes kleenex at .99 less .50 q - 1.48
4.52 (use 4 RRs, pay .52 oop) get 3.50RR
 
Trans 2:
Pilot pens .19 less q reduced to .19 free
4 boxes kleenex less 2 .50qs for - 2.96
2 packs of printer paper (400sheet) at 1.99each
Paper plates .99
Index cards .59
8.52 use 3.50 RRs from last transaction and 3RRs from before. Pay 2 RRs.
RRs redeemed: 7
Cash: 2.52 OOP

CVS:

Celsius 4 pack tea at 7.99 less 2q - $5.99
CVS hand sanitizer pen 1.99 less FREE q - 0
Used leftover 2.99ECB from last week
Effective cost before tax - $5.99 get 7.99 ECB

5 star zippered binder 15.99
Use 7.99 ECB from tea
Pay 8 OOP, get 5 ECB

Schick quattro razor 8.99 less 4q - 4.99
Price adjust 5 ECB from last transaction to 4.99
Pay 0,  get 4 ECBs

Effective cost: $10. More than I would normally spend but I believe the binder will be worth the investment (profit from tea cover the $1 for the razor and took a dollar off the binder, which in the end is the only item I paid for)

The Body Shop:
I had 2 $5 off coupons with no minimum purchase amount, so we bought exactly 5 dollars worth of products, which happened to be 2 shower gloves/scrubbing "towels" and a travel size shampoo. The kids each got their own gloves and my husband and I get the rest. Nice since we've got so much new shower gel since we started couponing!! *Interesting note: we didn't even have to pay taxes.

Overall, this is not exactly the most frugal shopping trip but I believe the binder (10 dollars, half my expenses) will be worth it for my couponing. It will make it easier to keep them straight. Sometimes my binder gets shaken up in my purse and the coupons slip out of their pockets.

This week, whenever I am in town, I have 3 more coupons for toothpaste and plan to turn $7.50 from my Walgreens gift cards into 10.50 in RRs (since I used up all my RRs on school supplies). After this trip for toothpaste, I plan to donate any free/moneymaker toothpaste I come across. My stash is filling up!

New Budget Week, More Shopping!

[Flylady post is coming, just shopped today because I had to drop the kids off to swim with their grandparents and was trying to be a good steward of our gasoline!]

Went to Dillons, realized I forgot some coupons, but that's ok. I got it all done today! (Though the deals are pretty good right now. I may go back again this weekend.) Here's the first shopping stop of the day:

Did 2 rounds of the "buy 10 participating items, get $5 off" deal. Plus some other stuff.
Round one:
3 Gillette Shave Satin Care Shaving Cream at 2.00 less .50 (from the $5 off deal) less .75 coupon from recent insert multiplied to 1.00 = .50 each
3 Lady Speed Stick Deodorant at 1.50 less .50 ($5offdeal) less 1.00 printable coupon = free
3 Men's Degree deodorant at 2.00 less .50 (5offdeal) less .75 printable coupon multiplied to 1.00 = .50 each
1 Aquafresh for Kids at 1.50 less .50 (5offdeal) less 1.00 off printable = free
Pretax total: $3.00

Round two:
3 Keebler Wheatables at 2.29 less .50 (5offdeal) less 1.00 coupon = .79 each
2 Tombstone Pizzas at 2.99 less .50 (5offdeal) less 2.00 printable = .49 each *ONLY $2 at Walmart today!
1 Green Giant Frozen Veggie (Steamers) at 1.99 less .50 (5offdeal) less .55 printable multiplied to 1.00 = .49
1 Dano-nino Yogurt 6 pack at 2.29 less .50 (5offdeal) less 1.00 coupon = .79
1 Philadelphia Cream Cheese at 1.49 less .50 (5offdeal) less 1.00 coupon = free
2 L'oreal Kids shampoos (one Woody and one Jesse - my kids love Toy Story and I needed 2 more items!) 2.00 less .50 (5offdeal) less 1.00 printable = .50 each
Pretax total: $5.63

Scrubbing Bubbles catalina deal (could have been better, could be worse):
2 Toilet Cleaning Gels at 4.19 each
2 Disposable Toilet Brushes at 6.55 each
Used 2 b1 toilet cleaning gel, get 1 toilet brush free coupons. Got $2 catalina for buying 2 products - twice.
Used 2 $1off Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner (one printable, one from insert)
Pretax total $6.38

Regular Groceries/Markdowns:
2 Stovetop Stuffing Reduced Sodium clearanced for .25 each less 1.00off2 coupon (reduced to .50) = free
Air Wick I motion Scented Oil Warmer clearanced for 1.99 less 4.00 off coupon (reduced to 1.99) = free
6 half gallons of milk at 1.33 each
2.49 lbs Green Seedless Grapes at .99/lb = 2.47
Pretax total $10.47 less $4 catalinas from Scrubbing Bubbles transaction = $6.47

THEN, after I put away the groceries, went to my Abnormal Pysch evening summer class, I had remembered to bring my coupons. So long as I had to drive back in to town, I might as well drop by and get my Spaghettios!!

Round 3 $5 of 10 items:
10 Cans of Spaghettios with Extra Calcium at .99 less .50 (5offdeal) less .55 off 2 coupon found at a local chain multiplied to 1.00 = Free plus .01 overage per can
2.33 lbs bananas at .51/lb = 1.19
Pretax total $1.09

Dillons total for today: $22.57

And then I hopped over to Walmart. Hey, it's just around the block and the kids were safe at home with Daddy, so it was peaceful.

2 loaves Great Value White Sandwich bread reduced to 1.00 each
Tortilla Chips 1.50
Planters Flavor Grove Almonds and Cashews 2.50 each less 1.50off printables (FB) = 1.00each
Great Value Fat Free Sour Cream reduced to 1.00
2 Sugar Free Jello gelatins .52 each less 1.00 off 2 printable = .02 each
NYC Cover Stick 1.72 less 1.00 printable = .72
PRICE MATCHED Pork Chops to Price Cutter's .88/lb deal. Got 7.51 lbs pork for 6.61
Pretax total: $13.87

TODAY'S TOTAL: $36.44 plus tax. I hope this will last until close to next Thursday though I will be shopping CVS/Wags this weekend on gift cards.

(Below is a Target trip I took on Monday. Somehow, it only came to just over $5. I'm still not sure how that happened. ALSO, there are adorable make believe/play clothes in the dollar spot right now. I feel like I've already mentioned that. I'm just really excited. Usually those are pricey items. I used our $5 gift card from dog food a couple weeks ago to get the kids $5 new imaginative play toys!!) The b1g1 coupon for Kellogs really did take off 4.29 even though the free cereal did not cost that much but I'm pretty sure this should have cost me $6.50. Still a great deal!!!

Stacked Target qs w/manuf qs and used overage from qs to help cover other costs. Target seems pretty laid back about that while other stores are more finicky. I guess this is where the "ymmv" expression comes in.

Please share your deals/link your blog! I love seeing what other people find. This whole thing still AMAZES me! :)

July Totals:
$103.30 (includes dog food trip not shown. Other costs have come up with car issues and remodeling and are not included. Next month I will work even harder to show every penny.)

What I Love About this New Lifestyle

Last year, paying for two kids in preschool was REALLY hard for us. And I was unhappy in my career and working lots of hours, so we were eating out a lot. This lethal combination killed our budget. What's saddest about this is that I hardly shopped at all (the mall and Hobby Lobby being my biggest budget killers of the past) and we worked on eating out less (though less for us was still a lot!) and we bought almost everything generic. I had bought clothes on clearance at the end of the seasons last year so my kids were well stocked for clothes and I had really been working on my professional wardrobe in previous years, so I was all set as well.

The saddest thing was that these things were not helping. We were still struggling to get by. So last month was my first month at home without any of the concerns I had as a teacher and I made arrangements to begin my doctorate in psychology this fall. Terrifying but exhilirating. Problem? Uhh, we're losing half our income! Thankfully our oldest begins kindergarten and I am fairly confident in our local school district so no cost there. I am still questioning how I would feel if we qualify for free or reduced lunches. Our son is a year younger so we will have to pay for part time care but I will be able to spend more time with him even after school starts.

So, back to what I'm loving so far!
*I am getting to purchase BRAND NAME items for well under the cost of their generic counterparts.
*Sometimes I get to shop for FREE. Sometimes I "make" money from shopping!
*I get to try new items. Today, for example, I got to have a delicious turkey sandwich on 7 grain deli flats by Pepperidge Farm which I purchased for .40. My daughter said it tasted like we were at Panera Bread!! Then when I was tidying, I got to spray Air Wick's Aqua Spray in Magnolia and Cherry Mist and it's fabulous! And FREE!
*When I made a new budget today, I actually have faith that I might be able to pull it off. Before, the prices kept going up while our income was stagnant and I knew from the beginning that the budgets I made were unattainable fluff.
*I get just about as much of a shopper's high (if not more on the free stuff) as I used to buying bargains at the mall (retail therapy and all that).
*My husband, while he still hates to shop, does not get nearly as cranky about it. In fact, he gets really excited when I bring home some of the new items (like above or a fancy razor or body wash for him).
*My kids are starting to "get it". I offered to take them to Toys R Us this week to check out the sale and my 5 year old said "And maybe we can get something if they have a really good deal?" And I laughed and agreed. (Unfortunately, we did not by anything. But Target has some GREAT dress up/imaginative play toys/clothes in their dollar spot right now!)

I am happier. I have a new obsession (I will admit to having been obsessed with my work as a teacher which pulled my attention away from home) that helps me focus on my family and benefits my family directly.

What do you love about the frugal/couponing life?

*Next post: FLYLADY is my hero.

Eating Frugally at Home

If you are like me, you get bored with eating the same recipes. Pretty often. Also, if you are like me and you see $2.00 a serving for frugal meals, you figure that's a little pricey! I like to keep a rotation of meals for $2.00 for four of us that might even yield leftovers. (This does NOT include drinks or dessert.) I can't do it every meal but several times a week for sure.

Today for lunch we had Turkey Taco Meatloaf with fried potatoes and corn.

1 lb Preseasoned turkey meat from Dillon's ($1.25) *added lots of cumin and a dash of cayenne
Mixed w/2 eggs ($.08 because I got a dozen from Price Cutter for .49)
Handful of plain oats (negligible, around .10)
Half of one grated garden zucchini for nutrition (gotta be sneaky with preschoolers!) Free
=1.50

Could easily have added black beans (I found generic is cheaper at Target at .67 a can), corn, tomatoes, salsa, etc). I did top mine with a little salsa down the middle the way I usually use ketchup or bbq sauce.

I baked this is my silicone bakeware (no greasing) in my convection toaster oven so it does not take as long or cost as much in electricity as the regular oven. Especially useful because it doesn't make the house as hot as the oven during these summer months!

For sides, I went with potatoes because they needed to be eaten pretty much today or tomorrow. I boiled them a little in the microwave for speed while I heated the oil on the stove (leftover oil from our freezer taquito craze last week). Just added salt. (I'm out of onions and peppers right now, though the garden is about to produce some peppers finally!) (about .50 as I bought 10 lbs for 2.50)

Also included a can of generic corn in the microwave for speed and ease (about .50).

Whole meal for three (Daddy's at work but we have leftovers for him, so this easily serves 4) for approximately $2.50. Plenty of meatloaf left for snacks/quick lunches for the grownups!

TONIGHT we will have Italian because I also need to cook up the Italian sausage I purchased at Dillons.($1.20) I will pair it with a box of whole wheat Barilla pasta, also from this week's Dillons trip for .50 and some pasta sauce which I got at Murfin's market recently for .09 for a can. I will add a can of diced tomatoes (Walmart generic, about .50) and some more shredded zucchini (free). Top with parmesan (not sure how to approximate cost). Under $2.50 for the whole meal again.

I'm hoping that as I get better at shopping for deals and couponing for groceries, I can lower these costs even further!

Groceries! $20.25 before taxes!

First store: Walgreens
2 Boxes of Club crackers 2/$5 less 2 $1off coupons
1 Oral B toothbrush $2.99 less 1 $2off coupon
2 packs pens .19 each
=$4.37  Used $2RRs, Paid $2.37 OOP, got $3 RRs back (effective cost $1.37) *pretax*

Second store: Price Cutter (first trip ever!)
2 boxes of Cheerios (the big box!) .99 each
2 dozen eggs .49 each
=$2.96 
Used 2 .50off one Cheerios coupons which were doubled to 1.00 each.
Paid $.96 pretax

Last store of the night: Dillons (JUST realized what "double up to .50" means and found out about digital coupons being used WITH paper coupons)

2 Coke and 2 diet Cokes for .88 each less $1.00 off 4 coupon (.63 each)
1 A&W Root Beer for .88 less .28 Dillons digital coupon (.60 for root beer floats! Woot!)
Half Gallon Milk 1.19 Reduced for quick sale
3 Half gallons for $4
2 pounds ground turkey for 1.25 each
Honeysuckle Italian sausage B1G1F (can buy just 1 and get 50% price) So 4.39-50%-$1.00off coupon is 1.20
Fast Fixin' Chicken Nuggets (8oz) 1.00 less 1.25 off any coupon (+.25!)
4 Barilla Wheat Pasta on sale for $1 each less $1off2 coupons (.50 each)
3 Tuna Helpers on sale for $1 each less $.75off3 digital coupon less $.75off3 paper coupon multiplied to 1.00 (=.416 each)
Fisher sunflower seeds $1.75 less 1.00 coupon makes it .75 (big bag, now to figure out if my kids can handle them yet!)
Goldfish Graham crackers 2.19 less .75 digital coupon less .75 paper coupon multiplied to 1.00 =.44
Starkist tuna $1 for regular pouches. Used B2G1 "creative" pouch free (.67 each)
4 cans Libby's vegetables for free using free coupon
=$17.92 pretax total (Receipt says I saved $32.13, I think that means I saved about 65%, if I'm doing the math right!)

For the whole night (all pictured), I spent $20.25 before taxes! Woohoo!!! I am very excited because this is the first time I feel like I really pulled something off with groceries!

My first attempt at price matching with Walmart

I'm finding that it's more difficult to get amazing deals on my weekly grocery shopping trip than I anticipated. I thought I had done really well (including having several coupons worth more than the product to lower total bill) but it still came to $32 pretax. Also, we had to replace a tire on my poor old minivan so my total was disappointingly - but necessarily - high in reality.

I went ahead and bought myself an NYC lip gloss for 1.72 with a dollar off coupon and a tube of childrens' toothpaste for 1.97 with a .75 coupon because I have noticed that kid toothpaste never seems free at the drug stores. Also, I had 2 $2 coupons for STP products and the one my hubby chose was only 1.83, so we made a few cents there. Total nonfood= $1.60

I was carefully keeping track of the amounts for the first half of the trip, and then fizzled out a bit. Hey, I'm new to using actual budgets... Milk was marked down to 2.99. I used price-matching to get the butter for 1.69 from Dillons ad and the Philadelphia cream cheese for 2 for $3 from Murfins, PLUS I had 2 $1 off cream cheese coupons. I also used price-matching for Oscar Mayer hot dogs which were advertised for $.99 and I had $1 off 2. I paid full price for lunch meat ($3) because we needed some. Also paid full price for two loaves of cheap sandwich bread (.83 each). I used price-matching one last time for the hot dog buns. I'm still hoping to pull off the lunchbox from Sara Lee even though they are trying to pull out of it. So another 1.50.
=12.82

Mission corn tortillas 3.00 - .75 = 2.25; Mission flour tortillas marked down to 1.50 - .75 = .75. Hot sauce 1.00, Old El Paso refried beans 1 each - .50 each. Tortilla chips (full price generic) 1.58. = 7.08

Hellman's mayonnaise was marked down to 2.39 and had a .75 peelie so we decided it was a worthwhile investment. And the KCMasterpiece was reduced to .67 each and I still had 3 $1 off coupons so we "made" .99 to reduce the bill. =.65

PIZZA. I love frozen pizza and the Totino's brand are cheap and fit perfectly in our convection toaster oven. This helps prevent us from eating out all the time, an old and tough habit to break.They were on sale for 1.98 each plus 1 Red Baron for 2.88 less a 1 coupon. = 9.80

Total cost: 31.95
Coupons used: 16.50.
Price-matching and price reductions savings: about 6

It is my intention NOT to do any more shopping this week and to do way better next week. But next week will also include a stock up on milk (Sam's sells it for about 2.50 here, and I can't seem to find a better deal anywhere around here). Otherwise I'm hoping to kick this week's butt! :)

Shop Day Sunday - TOTALS

Alright, I feel that for my own good and the good of my budget (and hopefully "you" - if anyone ever reads this - will also benefit!) I need to recap my totals. I will be keeping track of the day, week, and monthly totals on here. I have tentatively set $60/week as my food, etc budget. We shall see if I can pull that off for my family of four BIG eaters!

For today:
OOP - $4.53
ECBs/RRs Redeemed - $19 (only counting those that were NOT replaced in the transaction)
Effective total COST: $23.53

(all in picture)

JULY Month to Date running total:
OOP - 14.66
ECB/RR redeemed - $26
Total COST - $40.66 (this includes items not pictured above)

Shop Day Sunday - CVS

ALMOST rocked this one but something weird and annoying happened with the register. Hoping to find out more.

CVS is still out of the Warm Delights and Windex stuff I have a rain check for from last week... and I forgot/couldn't find my large stash of B1G1 Sobe coupons so here's what I got.

Transaction 1:
Cereal 3 for $10 (get $5 ECB)
BioTrue Contact Solution $2.99 (get $2.99 ECB)
Sobe B1G1
Sobe B1G1 (husband drank one in the car...)
=16.17

Less
$1 off any 2 Post Cereals
$2 off Grape Nuts (Post)
Sobe B1G1
Sobe B1G1
Last week's $10 ECB reduced to 9.99
=0 (So, spent $10 ECB, got $7.99ECB)

Transaction 2:
CG Mascara (50% off original) now 3.85
CG Mascara (50% off original) now 3.99
CG Mascara (50% off original) now 3.99
CG Eyeshadow 3.39
CG Eyeshadow 3.39
CG Eyeshadow 3.39
Caliber Envelope B1G1 2.99
Caliber Envelope FREE
=24.99

Less
$1 off any CG
$1 off any CG
$1 off any CG
B1 CG Mascara, get eye kit free x 3 (cashier made mascaras free instead of eyeshadow).
Less $7.99 ECBs from 1st transaction
=2.03 cash

I had thought I would be receiving the $5 ECB for purchasing $15 worth of Covergirl products but it did not work. Now I have to find out if I can rectify this in a separate trip since it seemed to be keeping track on my extracare card. (It says I am 4.83 short.) So as it stands today, this trip cost me only 2 in cash but "effectively" I paid $12.03 for these products. I'm still hoping that I can go in and spent $4.83 and get $5 back next time I go...

Shop Day Sunday - Kmart

This one is quick and WAY better than I did at Walgreens today! 

I had not realized when I went up to pay that Rimmel was B1G1 this week... But I also could not tell for sure how much they were charging for the liners (the kind you twist up, I hate the mess of sharpening!) so as I stood ready for my coupons to be doubled, I was very unsure what the OOP cost would be.

Despite the fact that the liners were more expensive than I thought, it was a GREAT deal!

Eyeliner 5.59

BOGO Eyeliner FREE

Lipliner 5.59

BOGO Nail Polish FREE

Cookies and Cream candy bar (surprise overage, completely delicious - ate it after lunch so no pic!) :) .67

Less

$1 coupon doubled to $2

$1 coupon doubled to $2

$2 coupon doubled to $4

$2 coupon doubled to $4

=0.58

This is a particularly great deal because just today the eyeliner I have at home was starting to hurt because it's down to the plastic already! So thanks to Kmart for doing double coupons AND a B1G1 on the same day! And my five year old daughter is very excited about the purple polish she chose. Makeovers tomorrow!

Shop Day Sunday - Wags

First, the not so good:

Walgreens:

T

Transaction 1:
2 Krispy Treats at 2/$5 (get $2RR)
1 Visine at 3.99 (get $1RR)
2 papermate pencil packs .19 each (so I could use my old RR from last time - these count as manuf coupons)
=9.37

Less
$1 off Krispy Treats
$1 off Krispy Treats
$1 off Visine
$3 RR from last week's toothpaste
$3 RR from last week's toothpaste
=0.37 (get $3RR total for next week) So effective cost is $3.37

Transaction 2:
Krispy Treats and Keebler cookies at 2/$5 (get $2RR)
Tums 3.99
Visine 3.99 (get $1RR)
Olives 2 at .99 each
3 packs pens/pencils at .19 each
=15.53

Less
$1 off Krispy Treats
$1 off any Keebler
$1 off Tums Wags Coupon
$1 off Tums manuf
$2 off Visine
$1 off 2 Olives
=8.53. *Should have spent $6RR  and $2.53 in cash, but instead spent $9RR and $1.55.Effective cost SHOULD have been $5.53.
Just realized when they had to redo transaction (the RR printer broke) they overcharged me on the Olives.

This is why even when it has taken forever and you know your husband is getting grumpy in the car, waiting with the kids, you should STILL stop and check your receipts! :)

Weekend in Review - Fresh Start JULY Budget

After you add one more Crest toothpaste to this image, it is *FREE* in effect.

The Sure and Brut were on Wags sale for 1.99, get $1 RR and I had a coupon for $1 off, made 1 cent each.

I had a 1.50 off 2 for the Reach toothbrush and floss and they were on sale for .99 each so cost was .48 for both.

Oral B value pack and Crest w/scope were on sale for $3, had coupon for .75 off, and got $3 back RR. Total gained (inc 1 of each not shown; separate trips) = 3.75 ahead.

Dove deodorant was priced at 1.99 each w. Wags Q plus printed manufacturer's Q for 2.00 off one = plus .02.

I knew I wanted to use leftover RRs from last week and I have now learned (NEWBIE!) that you can only have 1 (manuf) coupon per item purchased and the RRs count as manuf coupons. So I bought the Campbell's soup w/Wags Q (doesn't count) for 2/1.00 and the two cheesy snacks (1.00 each w/5snacks per pack. My kids love these and had already eaten on during our shopping day in town!) mixed in throughout multiple transactions. In future posts, I will type out the order of the transactions. I'm still struggling/learning a lot in this category! Bear with me!

Unfortunately, I spent $7 in RR and $10.13 in cash to get to that point where I would have more RRs in the future and "effectively" break even. I am still learning to reduce my OOP (out of pocket) expense. Next post will cover all of the Sunday bargains - some great, some blah, all a pleasant learning experience! (July 4th)

Have I mentioned yet that I am a shopaholic anyway?? :)

Summer and Jobless

I'm making some serious changes in my life and I'm trying to shrink our monthly food/toiletry expense to about $500 a month. I'm nervous about the feasibility of this but it is the goal I want to start with.

Today, for the first time, I shopped with a cash budget and refused to make any exceptions or justifications. By the time I stocked up on a good sale for toilet paper and power steering fluid for my leaking van, I only had $30 for food. That doesn't go far at all but I got the basics that I needed for this week to supplement the stuff I've got (my pantry is pretty well stocked). This refusal to justify that I could spend the cash for the food budget and exclude the other necessities. This is a bit of a breakthrough for me since I seem to be a professional rationalizer...

My schedule is WIDE open this summer so the fact that I didn't get to buy more stuff is not such a problem. I have tons of basics at home and it will not be a problem to bake/cook from scratch. I'm actually enjoying the challenges. I suppose that is because for now, my paychecks are actually going to be larger than they were before and this is just an experiment for a couple of months.

This week, I am endeavoring to expand our recipes. I'm planning to post pics and recipes and especially how the meals are received (by the picky-ish kiddos!).

The Small Things

I'm thinking about money a lot lately. Which is more important: time or money? Because I need both. When I have less money, I generally have more time to enjoy the small things. Today, we were at the store and we bought a bucket of ice cream for five bucks. I got strangely excited about all the fun ways to dress it up at home (you know, warm cookies or brownies, fresh fruits, nuts, and of course, hot fudge!). Whenever we feel more financially stable, we take a trip to Coldstone or Dairy Queen for granted. "Oh, hey, let's grab some ice cream." "Sounds good."And that's that. Sure, we enjoy it but for my five bucks, we'll have fun ice cream for weeks!

Is it better to struggle to pay your bills but have ample time to enjoy your family and the little pleasures or life or is it better to have enough money for nice vacations but feel stressed and exhausted for much of the year? To be fair, having time, for us at least, includes a certain level of stress about paying the bills.

I suppose the grass will always be greener on the other side. I just wish it didn't feel like such a big choice from one side to the other! A compromise would be nice!