Awesome grocery shopping for the week

Okay I did pretty good at Randalls I spent 99.62 but saved 116.09 (54%)

  

They FINALLY put Nathan's hot dogs B1g1 (only do it twice a year) I only picked up 18- but I ordered a few cases & got a raincheck for them.  (we eat them once a week & are great for get- to-gethers) AT $5.49 each, it's the only way I buy them.

As a bonus, the hot dogs qualify for their buy 25 specially marked items get $20 on your next transaction.

I didn't have to buy a whole lot this week as I am making an effort to eat out of the pantry & the freezer & I still have leftover stuff from last week's trip we haven't used.

I did buy:

10.00 (4) boxes of cheerios @ 2.50 each (after coupons only 1.27 a box)

1.99 1 box cheerios (I rec'd a flyer from Randalls w/ a clipless coupon loaded on my card)

-2.00 ($2/5 cereal Randalls CRT(register tape coupon)

-1.00 (doubled .50 coupon)

-.50 (they only double 1)

-1.00 manu

-1.10 (2) .55 manuf Q

3.00 Propel

1.00 dr. Pepper 1 lt

-1.00 Randalls crt

7.58 (2) boxes electrasol 3.79/each

-4.50 (2) 2.25 manuf Q from paper

6.58 (2) cartons O organics milk

3.99 (2) bottles windex (b1g1)

-.75 manu

-.75 manu

13.00 (2) packs cottonelle

-1.00 Randalls CRt

-.75 tripled manu Q

-.25 they only triple 1

1.50 hamburger buns

8.98 (4) packs ground turkey (4.49/ea & b1g1)

49.41 (18) nathans hotdogs b1g1

.83 bananas

-.17 Randalls clipless Q

4.18 grapes

-2.74 Randalls clipless Q

.82 Zucchini

1.74 Tomatoes

1.75 deli ham

9.44 deli turkey

-10.00 ($10/50 Randalls Q- I got 4 in the mail withe the clipless Q-I was so excited!!!!)

 so I spent $99.62, but I got my $20 reward Q for buy 25 special items & a $1.50 toward next purchase CRT from windex.

So here's my plan- when the rest of my hot dogs come in- I am going to split them in 2 transactions:

#1

142.74 (26) packs of nathans hotdogs

-71.37 (b1g1 raincheck)

-$20 reward Q

-$1.50 reward Q

-$10 ($10/50 Randalls Q)

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39.87 (72% savings) for 26 packs of Nathans hotdogs-plus I'll earn another $20 reward 

#2

54.90 (10) packs nathans hot dogs

-27.45 (b1g1 raincheck)

-20.00 reward

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7.45

I'm going to probably pick up a few thinks like eggs, bread etc, so I should be able to use my 3rd $10 off 50 coupon & I'll earn a $5 reward for the hot dogs (buying 9-14 items)

So, they should be free!!

Whoo-who!!!

I LOVE CVS! $116 for 2.03 oop

Okay, I know you know I absolutely love CVS- but I think I did one of my best transactions yet!

On Sunday I did 2 transactions & I got $116.48 worth of items I actually use for 2.03 oop! I also got $5 in ECB- so really I make like $3!

(What makes me crazy is I could have used (4) $1 off printable coupons I did not have with me- where I would have made $1.97)

Here's how I did it:

17.99 Huggies Pull ups

-4.00 on sale for 13.99

-2.00 manu Q from paper

11.58 (2) Almay Eye makeup removers (5.79 each)

-5.79 on sale B1g1

-2.00 (2) $1 Manu coupon from paper

38.94 (6) All Small & Might Laundry Detergent (6.49 each)

-19.47 on sale B1g1

-2.00 (2) printable manufacturers coupon here you can print max. of 2

7.25 (25) Digital Prints

-7.25 cvs grand opening Q

1.69 coke 1 liter

-1.69 cvs grand opening Q

1.99 CVS Baby wipes (for messy hands)

-2.00 cvs skin care coupon (from cvs reinventing beauty mag with Rachael Ray on cover (costs .99).-ask your manager where it is)

1.99 CVS Nail polish remover

-3.00 any cvs product grand opening Q

12.98 (2) Revlon eye shadows (gifts)

-6.49 on sale B1g1

-1.00 Target Q from paper (accept competitors Q)

-2.00 Revlon Q from paper

17.88 (12) Packs Trident gum

-8.94 on sale b1g1

-8.94 manuf. Q in paper on Sunday & printable here pg 19 of the ad

1.98 (2) CVS travel size wipes

-2.00 CVS skincare Q from reinventing beauty

-10.oo ($10/20) CVS Coupon Trans #1 for Grand opening of new store (came in the mail)

-3.00 ($3/15) CVs Coupon Trans #2

-15.89 in ECB from photo book deal

-3.99 in ECB from little photo book deal

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2.03 oop

with $5 in ECB for the gum

June 1 to Date savings:$479.83

June 1 to Date spening: $84.26

(82.5% savings)

Even higher food prices

As if it wasn't a struggle to keep our budgets in check before, here we go.  Essentially, here's the scoop: (from foxnews)

Companies including Sara Lee, Kraft Foods, and Kellogg’s will be passing price increases along, according to the report which reported Sara Lee, maker of Jimmy Dean sausages, could push meat prices up by as much as 20% later this year. Kraft Foods said it will raise prices by 12-13%, and that cheese could go up by as much as 25%, according to the report. Kellogg's said that prices on energy and grain were driving its prices up. 

Maybe we can get a cow & start a cheese co-op!  DS loves cows! 

Lesson #2 Organization- where do all those coupons go?

Lesson #2 

Organization.  It has never been a strong point for me, but I'd like to say I am improving!

About a year ago, I started out with 2 little check files I got out of the dollar bin at Target (I think they have some now).  1 was for food, 1 for toiletries, baby items, health/beauty, cleaners etc.   I clipped my normal brands and filed them; however  I did not throw the others away.  I wrote the date of the paper in sharpie in the upper right hand corner & put in an letter size plastic expandable file (also from the Target dollar bin).   

This worked good for me for a long time. I pretty much only did the The Grocery Game (If you decide to do this- please email me & I'll let you know about how to refer to me- they have a referral program where I can earn free weeks) I'll talk more about this later) for Randalls and Kroger, and looked at the Target ads and match up coupons from my memory.  I still saved a lot of money-maybe 25-40%.  The grocery game is nice because it matches everything up for you & tells you which insert the coupon came from, so this is how my weekly shopping went:

1. I would print my lists for Kroger & Randalls from the Grocery game (a 4 week trial is only $1)
2. I'd look at the list and see which store had a better deal that week & decide which one I was going to, or if I was going to attempt both.
3. I would pull the coupons I needed from my expandable file, and put them in an envelope
   
4. I would look at the store ad and write down on the sides of the list anything else I needed that wasn't on her list, but I still had to have.
5. Then I went through the Target ad, and matched up all of my coupons that I could-threw the coupons in an envelope , wrote my list on the envelope & I went on my merry way.
   
6. Notes: I still had both of the small "favorites" coupon files with me so if I got there and saw something else I could have a coupon.

There is nothing wrong with doing things this way- you still save money, but it has it's pros & cons:

Pros: It was easy to do & did not require much time at all- maybe 10-15 minutes a week.  Great if you have a pack of little ones and can't go to multiple stores/trips.

Cons: You don't save as much as if you were "coupon crazy" as DH says.  I forgot coupons all the time unclipped in the inserts, or they got lost in the expandable file.  I am a visual person, so it worked ok-just wasn't the best for me.

Now, I do things a little differently:

1.  I still have a little coupon file- I put store specific coupons in it & keep in my purse at all times.  The first spot is for hot random store coupons that I don 't want to forget about (gift cards, or like the Starbucks free iced coffee coupon that came in the paper a few weeks ago).
   
2. I have a spot for all of my CVS coupons & extra bucks (The ECB's (Extra Care Bucks) I rip off of my receipt & put in there while I am still standing at the register).
3. I have a spot for Randalls Coupons- they mail them & come on register receipts.  Also they have some in the Entertainment Books. THey also have a few super coupons in their ads.
4. I have a spot for Kroger Coupons- they are on register receipts, aI also put my printed version of the coupons that are loaded to my Kroger card via P&G Brandsaver & Shortcuts (both accessible from the Kroger main website)
5. I have a spot for Walgreens (I don't use this much- but sometimes they have a great deal!  They have the Easy saver catalog coupons & coupons from their ad)
6. I have a spot for Home Depot & Lowes- we get them in the mail & buy them on ebay (before you buy on ebay talk to me- I'll show you how to avoid fraudulent coupons)
7. I have a spot for everything else-Bed Bath & Beyond, Linens and Things, JC Penny etc.

So that one goes in my purse & goes with me EVERYWHERE.  I also keep an Entertainment book in my car.

As far as grocery coupons- here's the part where I may lose some of you.  I almost didn't do it, because it sounded crazy to me at first-but after thinking about it-I tried it & LOVE it!

 I have a white 3-ring binder that is filled with baseball card holder pages in it (okay stop laughing).  I bought them used on ebay (okay start laughing again-at least until you look to see how much they are).  There are 50 pages in there divided up with index dividers.  I clip virtually all coupons and put them in there. (after the initial set up- it only takes about 15 minutes on Sunday).  I still write the date on the inserts & put them in the expandable file-(just in case-sometimes I get stuff I would never normally use for free with them & I just donate it).

I take my binder with me into the stores-Really you can stop laughing! :)  I do put it in a tote bag so it is easy to carry & I don't feel like such a dork!  Now I will tell you I have gotten some strange looks when I pull out my binder at the store-but I also get a lot of questions & compliments.  So I do know that not everybody thinks I'm bazerk.

After an entire naptime setting this up (as those with toddlers know this is the only way you can measure time) it doesn't take long to maintain-again, maybe 15-20 minutes on Sunday (during naptime of course).

Well, I'm running short on time- I need to go, but I'll elaborate how I use my stealthy binder tomorrow!

Lesson #1 Where do you get coupons?

Okay, I've gotten a few email on how I get my coupons, how I organize them etc, how do you find the deals etc.  This is going to take more than one post, but here we go!

Lesson #1:

How do you get coupons?

1. There are a few different ways to do this, but I would first & foremost start by getting a newspaper delivered to your house- that way you don't forget to pick one up & miss out!  I pay $1 a week for Sunday only delivery.  I've heard of some people requesting, paying for & getting multiple sunday papers- I just haven't inquired to see if my paper will do so!
   
2. Order coupons from a coupon clipping site such as:  Coupon Clippers or Coupon Master  These are sites that you can pay handling fees for coupons.  The fee is typically about 10% of the value of the coupon & for most coupons there is a minimum of an order of about 5 coupons per item and a $5 minimum.  If you actually use most of the coupons you order-it is still worth it. (I had to order 5 when I only needed 2- but the coupons were high $, so it still made sense )  Also, I think both take paypal, so you don't have to put your cc out there if you don't want to.  I have personally used both of these sites with out any problems. 
3. There are sites out there like coupons.com, bricks.com- but I am working to have those linked to my site (I'll make a few pennies when people click-help to offset a few things).
4. What do you buy?  Get on mailing lists, clubs etc for the manufacturers that you buy from the most.  They'll send them to you
5. Store cards- make sure your store cards (CVS, Randalls, Kroger, etc) are up to date with your real mailing address and email address.  (I just got (4)$10 off $50 coupons from Randalls yesterday)
6. You can order coupons from Ebay- (not my favorite route)
7. You can also buy whole uncut inserts from places like ebay or other websites- but shipping costs can be high- but if you are getting a ton of coupons that you'll REALLY use- it may be worth it.  I found another site here, She has a referral program- so please use my name & email when you order!
8.  Ask friends or neighbors for coupons/papers.
9. Trade them online on coupons sites such as this (I haven't gotten this far as my toddler keeps me too busy)  I would be interested if anyone wanted to trading via email or something!

Okay- so there is lesson #1.  First get your coupons, we'll work on how to organize them tomorrow!

Today's shopping

Today I swung by Target, Office Depot, CVS & the Grocery Store so here's how we did:

Target:

8.00 (4) Ziploc Containers (on sale 2/$4)

-4.00 (4) $1 Manuf Q

10.00 (6) Pack Solo Plastic plates (sales $2.50 each)

-2.00 (2) $1/2 Manu Q

-3.00 $3/$15 Target Partyware Q

10.00 (10) Quaker Bites

-5.00 (10) .50 Target Q

***I had manu Q for $1/2- but I was being stupid & didn't read the Q correctly, it was off the boxes NOT any......ERRRRRR!!!!

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20.48 total oop

I would love to give you %'s etc, except Target doesn't print normal prices or how much you saved on their receipts & I don't have time to figure today.  Still not a bad deal for the ziploc and the plates.  I hated making the $5 quaker mistake, but I'm the one who made it- the line was long, so I didn't want to be a jerk & go & return them-but maybe I should have, but that might be crossing the line between fugal to cheap! :)

Office Depot (in same shopping center as Target)

I figured since I was there I would pick up more school supplies for the drive:

11.60 (40) folders

-11.20 sale

19.90 (10) protractors

-19.80 sale

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$33.78 before sales

-33.24 sales (saved 98.04%) whoo-hoo

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$0.54 total oop

CVS Trip #2

25.98 (2) 6x8 kodak photo books (free after ECB)

-10.00 sale 7.99 each

-6.00 (2) $3 manu Q ($6 profit)

7.99 4x6 photo book (fee after ECB)

-4.00 sale

41.85 (15) bottles sally Hansen nail polish (totally free)

-27.00 sale .99 each

-14.85 (5) $3/2 Sally Hansen Q

3.58 (2) bottles Ajax

-1.79 B1G1 sale

2.99 CVS Hand lotion

-2.00 $2 cvs skin care Q

5.98 (2) Lysol Neutra-aire spray

-2.99 B1G1 Manu Q

-2.00 (2) Manu $1 Q

-3.00 $3/15 CVS Q

-12.98 ECB Used

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88.86 before sales/Q

-81.66 saved (91.89%)

-------

7.20 total oop

and I received 19.97 in ECB

WHOO-HOO!!!

Also, the kodak machine was running REALLY slow, so I went to the grocery store & came back to pick up my photo books, but only 1 was ready.  The photo guy was SO apologetic.  This was not my normal store, but the photo clerk offered to send the other 2 to my normal store for pick-up later.  AWESOME customer service.  I will be sending Customer service a happy email!

I'll let you know how Kroger went tomorrow- I need to get to work!

How I love CVS

I am starting to love CVS more than I love Target!

Yesterday I made a trip to CVS:

7.98 (2)herbal essesence shampoo

-2.98 on sale for 2/$5

-3.00 $3/2 Manuf

10.79 Pull ups

-1.80 on sale

-1.50 manu Q

10.98 (2)airwick Mini

-10.00 on sale

-4.00 manu Q

-4.00 manu Q

41.85 (15) bottles Sally Hansen Nail Polish (totally free) Great for all the little girls we know!

-27.00 on sale .99 each

-14.85 (5-$3/off any 2 Sally Hanson coupons)

1.49 cvs tampons (free after ECB)

1.49 cvs tampons (free after ECB)

4.79 Excedrin Back and Body

-3.00 CVS Excedrin Q

-2.00 Excedrin Q

2.99 CVS Hand Lotion

-2.00 CVS Skin Care coupon

1.98 Trial size Head & Shoulders

-3.00 $3/2 manu Q

-3.00 $3/15 CVS Coupon

-1.00 ECB

-.50 ECB

----------

$95.90 before sales/coupons/ECB

-82.61 (saved 86.14%)

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13.29 total oop

and I received 2.98 in ECB
I also have a mail in rebate for the 4.79 for the excedrin :)

**This deal would have been $5 better- but the computer would not allow for an overage for the nail polish- so I just got more free bottles- oh well good enough for me!

Office Depot Trip

Our church is collecting school supplies for CAM (Cypress Assistance Ministries) so I went by Office Depot yesterday to pick up some school supplies that Office Depot put on super sale (.01 each).  They had limits per customer, but gave me no problems counting DS as a person -as he is :) so I was able to pick up twice as much as I intended!  I did have a few other things I needed, but I still did great!

For donations:

40 2 pocket folders (.01 each) normally .28 11.20

10 protractors (.01 each) normally 1.98 

10 eraser packs (.01 each) normally .99

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.60 total

Stuff I needed:

3.98 - 2 pair safety scissors

0.00 - 2 soft flexible rulers (free with scissors)

0.79 hole punch 

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$53.25 before coupons/discounts

$48.66 saved (91.38%)

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4.86 total oop

What a great deal!

Successful on Sunday

I did pretty well at Walgreens on Sunday-

• I bought a paper for $1.75 (yes I paid full price-I needed a few coupons that I knew would be hard to come by)
  
• 4 bottles Loreal Vive Shampoo 4.99/each
• 4 packs razors 5.99 /each
• 3.98 pack of 28 different bubble wands (for our summer splash party)

-1.98 50% off sale summer toys wags sale

-4.99 wags sale shampoo was b1g1

-4.99 wags sale shampoo was b1g1

-8 ($2 off each razor- wags easy saver coupon)

-4.99 Manu B1g1 shampoo

-4.99 Manu B1g1 shampoo

-5.99 Manu. B1g1 razor

-5.99 Manu B1g1 razor

Total Savings: $45.94 (84.8%)

total oop: 8.21

Who knew this could be so much fun?

I never knew couponing could be so much fun.  When DH and I were first married, I would go to the grocery store and buy whatever we wanted, sometimes looking at the sales ads.  When DH started his own business, I started to pay a little more attention and would pick up a paper now and again to use coupons.  I didn't really have a coupon file or anything, just an envelope, so most would expire before I remembered I had them, so it usually was more trouble than it was worth.  Once I became pregnant, I became a more aware of sale ads and tried to match them up with coupons for baby items.  Once we decided I should stay at home with DS, I tried to find a way to help make up for my lost income, so here we are.  I have baby-stepped my way to becoming what my sister calls a "Coupon Queen."

I'll detail what I've learned in later posts.

Hello!

Ok- so I've decided to join the rest of the Internet savvy world and have my very own blog.  I am a stay at home Momma and wife. While we have been blessed immensely, struggling with rising prices of gas, grocery... okay,  everything has made me rethink our "budget," or lack thereof.  

I am a reforming shopaholic, married to a wonderful man who is also a reforming shopaholic too.  Faced with the challenges that $150 a barrel oil give, we have made the decision to spend our money deliberately.  We have made it our mission to be frugal on purpose, so we can maintain our quality of life.

Also, many of my friends and family have asked "how do you do it"  well, here you go! :)