Awesome Bi-Lo trip

On Friday morning, I went to Bi-Lo. It was a great trip. When I first went in, I bought $100 in gas gift cards, which gave me a $20 coupon for a future purchase. I then went shopping. I got:

2 boxes of cereal

4 boxes of Pop-Tarts (with 12 for the price of 8 in each box)

1 box of store-brand toaster pastries

4 boxes of Eggo waffles

1 box of store brand waffles

1 store-brand frozen lasagna (had to find a filler item!!)

I used coupons on the Eggos and the Pop-tarts, and I had buy (national brand), get (store brand) free coupons for the store brand waffles and toaster pastries. I used the $20 coupon from my gift card purchase, and owed $0.71 including tax. My subtotal before savings was $35.11, and after was $34.63, for a savings percentage of 99%. Oh, and I got a form for a $10 Bi-Lo mail-in rebate for buying 8 Kellogg's products. Not too bad!

Great week! and a contest

It's been a while since I've posted, and we've been doing well. Jamie got a new job at his current workplace - it's a promotion to a supervisory position, and it means we're staying here for a while! Hannah is doing so well, rolling this way and that, turning herself in circles, and so desperately interested in crawling. Nora is doing so well with her schooling, and she is becoming such a lovely little girl (from being a lovely preschooler). She is a joy to teach. I am growing and learning in the weekly Women's Bible Study I've been co-facilitating. You really do get a lot more out of studying when you have to be prepared to move the discussion along, and I'm really enjoying it.

I've been trucking along with the money saving. This week was excellent. I spent $34.61 at CVS, Kroger, and Publix. I saved $116.36. That's a savings of 77%! I got a bunch of produce, milk, 6 large boxes of Cheerios, 4 boxes of fruit snacks, pancake mix, sugar, granola bars, 5 boxes of Always Infinity pads (!!), and more.

I have just signed up for a contest All*You magazine is promoting (starting 7/13/09): Can you spend less than $25 on edible groceries per person, per week, for a month? They are interested to see if it can be done, and I think I can safely say YES! Even if I don't count Hannah (baby food just isn't a huge part of the budget), I am certain I can keep it below $75/week for edibles. I'm not sure how one wins (spend the least? drawing of one eligible participant?), but the prize is a $1000 grocery gift card, a years' worth of Knorr sides, and a feature in the magazine. It would be way cool to win!

Friday Finals March 14-20

This was a pretty good week.  J went to Kroger without my Plus card and no coupons!  I almost choked when I saw the total (half our budget!) and the savings ($0).  I realized I was going to have to step it up to stay on budget, as all he got was coffee and beer!!  I went to Publix twice, and took advantage of the amazing coupon Kingsford has going.  So here's the breakdown, and the pictures:

Kroger

Spent: 29.19

Saved: 0 :o(

Total: 29.19

% Saved: 0%

Publix #1

Spent: 20.53

Saved: 29.58

Total: 50.11

% Saved: 59%

Publix #2

Spent: 12.71

Saved: 36.55

Total: 49.26

% Saved: 74%

(not pictured: $3.37 worth of "incentive" jelly beans for Nora, to be doled out as good grocery store behavior merits)

Publix total

Spent: 33.24

Saved: 66.13

Total: 99.37

% Saved: 67%

Week's Total

Spent: 62.43

Saved: 66.13

Total: 128.56

% Saved: 51%

Check out Southern Savers for sale/coupon matchups, and for inspiration from other savers!

Friday Finals first week of March

As I went a bit over budget last week, I kept it moderate this week.

Kroger 

Spent: $21.24

Total value: $36.83

Saved: $15.59

% saved: 42.3%

Publix

Spent: $23.70

Total value: $46.03

Saved: $22.33

% saved: 48.5%

Target

Spent: $2.69

Total value: $5.38

Saved: $2.69

% saved: 50%

Totals:

Spent: $47.63

Total value: $88.24

Saved: $40.61

% saved: 46% 

I have a question - what is your opinion of Aldi?  A new one opened here yesterday, and while they boast 50% off of the grocery stores, I'm not entirely sure that I can't do better.  Do you shop at Aldi?  For everything or for specific items?

To see more savers (who are very good at this!), go to SouthernSavers.com.  Have a great weekend!

Friday Finals (a few days late)

Wow - it's been busy around here lately!  We started a bathroom remodel (yay!) and the girls have gotten colds (boo).  I have been learning much from a great couponing site, and I've tallied last week's spending and saving.

Walmart

Spent: $7.25

Total value: $7.97

Saved: $0.72

% saved: 9%

Kroger (2 trips)

Spent: $52.20

Total value: $11.25

Saved: $59.05

% saved: 53%

(I have a $4.99 MIR coming from All-Bran)

Publix

Spent: $28.04 

Total value: $80.30

Saved: $52.26

% saved: 65%

(I have a $10 gift card coming thanks to General Mills and Publix)

CVS

Spent: $7.54

Total value: $32.54

Saved: $25

% saved: 77%

(I have a $6.99 MIR coming from Organix Shampoo, and I got $6 ECBs)

Totals:

Spent: $95.03 ($67.05 after $ back)

Total value: $232.06

Saved: $137.03 ($165.01 after $ back)

% saved: 59% (71% after $ back)

I also got some chicken at Reid's big sale.  It worked out to about $0.35/lb for leg quarters, so I got 10 pounds.  A friend of mine got 80 pounds!  That seemed like a bit more than I could handle!

All in all, it was a good week.  I went a little over budget, but I stocked up big time on shampoo, toilet paper, chicken, and snack foods.  I think my list for next week will be a bit smaller.

$4.65

Not including cute girl.

This site helped me immensely! Thanks!

Menu Plan Monday

Ah, Monday . . . must be time to menu plan.  I've had a much easier time of it this week.  Last week we ate everything (and it was delicious!).  The pancakes were a hit, even with my husband who does not really like pancakes.  The  won ton tacos, chicken pot pie, and baked spaghetti were all crowd pleasers.  I would bring the tacos or spaghetti to the next potluck we go to. 

We did not have the company we anticipated, and instead got a lot of work done around here (done mostly by my husband).  Nora and I went ahead and grocery shopped for the week after church, and while I went over budget by about $10, I also bought chicken and pork on sale that we will be able to use in weeks to come.  We do have company this week, but I'm not sire for exactly how long.  We'll just be flexible!

So, here's the menu.  As always, for more great ideas, check out OrgJunkie!

Monday: Chicken Stroganoff, pasta, salad

(make honey mustard dressing and croutons)

Tuesday: Tuna Melts, grapes, carrots

(soak black beans)

Wednesday: Cuban Beans, Pork Chops, tortillas, sauteed zucchini

(make tortillas)

Thursday: Pizza, salad, Cinnamon Apples (a la Boston Market)

(make pizza dough, grate cheese, bake apples)

Friday: Venison steaks, green beans, garlic bread

Saturday: Hot dogs, fixins', corn, macaroni and cheese

Sunday: Quesadillas, refried beans, peaches

Have a great week! 

Grocery Shopping

I did my grocery shopping yesterday for this week.  On Monday, I reconciled our finances and took a look at how we are doing with our new budget.  Well, on the plus side, we still have money in the grocery budget for the month.  On the minus side, it's less than it should be.  I know the reasons why - just need to have more discipline about quick trips (especially on the weekends!).  I would like to stay on budget for the month still, so I've revised down the amount of money I want to spend the next two weeks.  By approximately half. (!)  I did pretty well yesterday - I spent a little more than half of what we have left in the budget for the month, but got some items I can definitely use next week.  One other thing that would help would be to use more coupons - I don't get the paper or those packs of coupons (like ValPak), so I am at a bit of a loss as to where to get a bunch of coupons.  For now, I'm entering in giveaways like this one at Bargain Hunting Wife - you can too!

CVS-ing (and grocery shop)

I did good!

I got:

  -2 pkgs of teensy-tiny diapers

  -2 pkgs of wipes

  -1 bottle of detangler

for 5.73.  I saved 29.28 with a combination of sale pricing, mfr coupons, a CVS $4/$20 coupon, and a carefully hoarded stash of ECBs.  And I got $5 ECBs and another $4/$20 for a future purchase.  Whoo-hoo!!

I also went to BiLo and procured this week's groceries.  I was able to find everything except mirin, and I only forgot to get one item - tomatoes.  I also got some household items that I had coupons for, and with 25 items in my cart, I got out of there for 50.45, saving 11.49 between sale pricing, coupons, and coupon doubling (up to $0.55!!)

So I have 8.82 left for mirin, tomatoes, and whatever else.  Yippee!

CVS-ing

Not quite as complicated this week.  Nora was with me, so I'm pretty glad the ad wasn't as lucrative on multiple transactions (at least as far as I was interested.)  This week, I got a bunch of stuff to donate for Operation Christmas Child - at church they mentioned that collections were starting.  Kind of boring stuff - but necessary items.

• 3 Oral-B Advantage Toothbrushes     10.47 reg/7.47 on sale/4.50 ECBs
  
• 3 CVS Toothbrushes   2.97
  
• 1 CVS Toothbrush  1.99
  
• 1 Colgate MaxFresh toothpaste  2.99/2 ECBs
  
• 1 Colgate Total Advanced toothpaste 3.49 reg/2.99 on sale/2 ECBs
  
• 2 Ivory Soap 3-pks  2.78/1 ECB
  

Total  24.69 reg/21.19 on sale/9.50 ECB

Coupons

• $4/$20  
  
• .99/1 toothbrush
  
• 1.00/3 toothbrushes
  
• 5.79 ECBs (got these from the infant Advil deal for August) 
  

Total coupons  11.78

GRAND TOTAL  9.41 OOP, 9.50 ECBs earned

Next week, I have big plans for those ECBs - time to start stocking up on baby necessities!!

Centsible Savings is giving away a $5 CVS Gift Certificate - check it out!!

CVS-ing

I've been doing a bit of research on how to play the CVS "game".  Last week, I picked up a prescription and got a $4 off of a $20 purchase coupon.  I checked out the ad, and was able to find a good sale on training pants (still!), and a few other things to total $21 and change, and got $7 in Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) to use on a future purchase.  This week, I really planned it out - I went in by myself (thank you Toddler Time!!), selected a basket full of items, and then sorted it out into 4 transactions at the checkout counter.  The cashier was incredibly patient, as I had picked a couple items that didn't follow my plan, and talked about how she liked to play the "game", too.  So, here's todays purchases:

Transaction #1

• Carefree Pantiliners / 13.78 / 9.00 /accumulating
  
• Neosporin / 5.49 /5.49 / accumulating
  
• Neo To Go / 6.49 / 5.50 / accumulating
  
• $4/$20 coupon      -4.00
  
• $2.00 ECB           -2.00
  
• $5.00 ECB          -5.00
  

TOTAL / 25.76 / 9.62

Transaction #2

Item / Regular Price / Sale Price / ECBs

• J&J Bedtime Cream / 4.29 / 3.99 / 10 (combined with T#1 purchases)
  

TOTAL / 4.29 / 3.99 / 10

Transaction #3

Item / Regular Price / Sale Price / ECBs

• Starburst / 0.79 / 0.50 / accumulating
  
• Hershey's Nuggets / 3.49 / 2.50 / accumulating
  
• Kitkat 4 pack / 1.29 / 1.00 / accumulating
  
• Trident 3 pack / 2.79 / 2.00 / accumulating
  
• M&M Premium / 4.99 / 4.00 / 5
  
• Old Spice Deodorant / 3.99 / 2.99 / 0
  
• $10 ECB -10.00
  

TOTAL / 17.34 / 2.99 /5

Transaction #4

Item / Regular Price / Sale Price / ECBs

• Scott Towels 8 pack / 9.99 / 4.99 / 0
  
• Bandaids / 3.29 / 2.99 / 2
  
• $5 ECB -5.00
  

TOTAL / 13.28 / 2.98 / 2

GRAND TOTALS  Regular Price Sale Price ECBs

TOTAL / 60.67 / 19.58 / 2

That seems like a pretty good deal to me.  I stuck to buying only items that we'll actually use.  I also got another $4/$20 coupon, which I will use next week.  I definitely wasn't very smooth, but as I said, the cashier was very patient and nice.  Even adding this to the rest of my grocery spending (for this two-week period) leaves me with $35 for items that come up, saving for future meat purchases, and next week's CVS-ing!

Grocery Budget

We recently revised our budget for groceries down a bit, and I am happy to report we are staying on budget.  Last week, we came in at $59 for the week.  The next two weeks are a bit different, as we will be traveling on the weekends for family functions, so I sketched out a menu and grocery list for 9 days.  Nora and I went to the grocery store and CVS yesterday, and we spent $68 - including a small bag of gummy worms.   I think I've even got all of my staples covered.  I will probably buy a gallon of milk at some point; if we have any kind of cereal in the house, it disappears fast.

Part of staying on or under budget has been making some of the foods we used to buy from scratch.  Tortillas, syrup, and croutons all turned out very well.  I think we're going to start baking bread ourselves, too.

The other (major!) part of our grocery-store-economy is that we have a freezer full of venison.  Working that into meals sure drives the cost down.  My plan (hope?) is that we will be under budget so consistently that when we do finish using the venison, we will have a kitty to spend on a side of beef or some other comparable large amount of meat for the freezer.

Now if we could just be more disciplined about our entertainment budget, we'd be doing great!