Faithfully Frugal

Meal Plan Monday

2009-04-20T10:43:00.003-05:00

Here's my menu for this week. I'm still working on using up things from my freezer. Hopefully by the end of the first week of May, there will be a much more reasonable amount of food in this house!

Monday - Turkey Macaroni Bake

Tuesday - beef stew, biscuits

Wednesday - Italian sausage, pasta, garlic bread, salad

Thursday - tacos, Spanish rice

Friday - pizza or leftovers

Saturday - chicken, fire roasted veggies mix

Sunday - @ in laws

Check out I'm an Organizing Junkie for more great menus for this week!

Jewel Deals 4/9-4/15

2009-04-09T09:15:00.002-05:00

Jewel is offering several ways to get free eggs this week. In addition to what's in the ad, there are apparently other deals advertised in store. Here are the deals from the ad:

2 Tropicana orange juice $6 for 2
4 Pillsbury crescent or cinnamon rolls $8 for 4
coupons in 4/5, 3/15, 2/8, and 1/25 inserts
2 packages Sargento shredded cheese $4 for 2
coupons for "natural" and "artisan" blends in 1/25 inserts
2 Palmolive dish liquid (20-25 oz) $5 for 2
coupon in 3/29 insert, $0.75/1 Printable
2 Kraft Miracle Whip or mayonnaise (32 oz) $5.98 for 2
coupon in 3/29 insert
2 Betty Crocker cookie pouches $4 for 2
coupon in 4/5 insert, $0.50 printable, $0.50 printable, $0.50 printable
3 Kelloggs Pop Tarts (12 ct) $7 for 3
coupons in 2/22, 4/5 inserts
2 Kraft grated Parmesan $9.98 for 2
2 Lipton Tea (gallons) $6 for 2
2 Langers Pomegranate cocktails $6 for 2

Other deals for the week:

Save $7 on any ham when you spend an additional $30 (coupon in ad required)

Sweet Potatoes $0.38/lb
Asparagus $1.48/lb
Pineapple $1.99 (limit 3)
Jewel Brown and Serve rolls $0.99
Kraft dressing 3/$5 -- use the $1.50/1 coupon from 3/29 insert to get dressing for $0.17!

Have a blessed Easter!

Jewel Bargain Meal of the Week 4/9 - 4/15

2009-04-09T09:03:00.003-05:00

Jewel has a few great deals on holiday meats this week, but not much for normal dinner meats. So this week, breakfast for dinner is a great, inexpensive option! My family loves to have eggs for dinner. Jewel is offering several ways to get eggs free when you buy other items. I've chosen the orange juice because it goes nicely with breakfast for dinner, but you should choose whatever makes the most sense for your family.

Buy: 2 pounds Farmland bacon ($5.99), 2 cartons Tropicana orange juice ($6), 20 ct Jewel hash browns ($4), loaf of Sun Maid raisin bread ($2.50), and 1 dozen eggs (free with orange juice purchase). Pay $18.49 plus tax.

Use these for Breakfast for Dinner:

1/2 carton Tropicana orange juice $1.50
Eggs $0.00
1/2 pound Farmland bacon $1.50
4 Jewel hash browns $0.80
1/2 loaf Sun Maid Raisin bread $1.25

Total for meal: $5.05

Menu Plan Monday

2009-04-05T11:54:00.005-05:00

Holy Week is here -- I'm so excited for Easter! We'll be busy with church activities this week, but I've got some easy meals planned to keep us out of the restaurants! Also, Monday is opening day, which at our house means hot dogs! We're not brave enough to be out at the game (too cold! ), but we like to celebrate at home.

Monday - hot dogs, french fries, applesauce
Tuesday - Slow Cooker Sweet and Tangy Chicken , rice
Wednesday - frozen pizza (or leftovers)
Holy Thursday - tacos, Spanish rice
Good Friday - Pinto Beans and Rice, cornbread
Holy Saturday - Turkey Macaroni Bake, peas
Easter Sunday - brunch @ in-laws

I went through my cereal stockpile and found several boxes that expire in the next month or two, so I'll be looking for some recipes to use them up. I also have quite a few eggs to use -- I planned to color eggs with DS, but my MIL brought some over yesterday, so now I have 18 colored eggs and 2 dozen raw eggs!

Check out I'm an Organizing Junkie for more great menus!

Super Savings Saturday

2009-04-04T00:28:00.002-05:00

Sunday I stopped at Jewel to pick up a couple of things - a 3 lb bag of apples, 2 containers of caramel apple dip, and 2 lbs of bacon for a total of $13.20. I picked up 2 packages of biscuits, 2 packages of blackberries (marked down), and a bunch of bananas for a total of $4.30.

I was back at Jewel on Wednesday for some great deals. I got 5 boxes Post cereal, 2 dozen eggs, and 2 Ronzoni meals for $6.80. And, the best part was I got a $5 cat back for the cereal! Also pictured is a pound of butter I got at a local market for $1.50.

I was planning to go to Walgreens, CVS, and Target this week as well. I haven't spent much time getting organized for this, as I have been cleaning out toys for a resale and trying to catch up on housework. Perhaps I will still get some shopping done today and edit my post later!

Check out Money Saving Mom to see how the rest of the blogosphere did this week!

A Savings Challenge

2009-04-01T02:54:00.000-05:00

April is here! This is my favorite month -- spring weather, baseball, and (oh, yeah) my birthday! I'm challenging myself this month to keep my grocery budget under $150. I've planned dinners from my (much too large) stockpile. I'm also going to try to make as many breakfasts and lunches from the stockpile. I want to master baking bread and even plan to try to make my own English muffins.

Here's my grocery plan for the month:

5 gallons milk $10
4 dozen eggs $10
fresh produce $60

The rest will be for those needs that pop up and to buy the great deals that come up in order to keep a decent stockpile going. I love having a stockpile, but it got out of hand the past few months and I want to get it back under control. What I save in groceries this month ($150, if I keep to my planned budget) will go towards paying down our credit card debt.

Anyone else up for the challenge? How much can you shave off your normal grocery budget this month? What will you use the extra money for?

Menu Plan Monday

2009-03-30T09:45:00.001-05:00

Gotta keep at the freezer clean out! I'm excited about a couple of meals this week -- like the chicken roll we got from Market Day and our final Lenten soup supper. (I'm hoping to convince the Ladies Auxiliary to do meals the first Friday of each month to keep up the community atmosphere!) I'm also posting breakfast, lunch, and snack ideas because our the rest of our stockpile needs some cleaning out too!

Breakfasts
oatmeal, cold cereal, waffles, Jumbo Breakfast Cookies

Lunches
healthy choice fresh mixers, hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, leftovers

Snacks
hard boiled eggs, crackers, granola bars, smoothies (w/ frozen fruit)

Dinners
Monday - chicken roll, biscuits, carrots, apples w/ caramel sauce
Tuesday - Easy Pasta Casserole, salad
Wednesday - chicken and stuffing (leftovers), green beans, apple crisp
Thursday - pizza or leftovers
Friday - soup supper @ church -- take blueberry pie from Angel Food Ministries
Saturday - burgers, fries, carrots
Sunday - @ in laws

Check out I'm An Organizing Junkie for more great menus!

Super Savings Saturday

2009-03-28T09:27:00.004-05:00

I did very little shopping this week. Between being out of town and having some family issues to take care of, I just didn't find the time. DH stopped and picked up milk ($2) on Thursday. And today was pick up for Angel Food, which cost $30. I may try to get to Walgreens today, but I'm not sure I'll make it.

For those of you unfamiliar with Angel Food Ministries, it is a non profit organization that provides inexpensive groceries to people from all walks of life. You do not have to qualify to purchase food from them. Their regular box costs $30 and includes food that retails for about $60. The box will feed a family of 4 for about a week. The box we got this week includes:

1.5 lb. Ribeye Steaks (4 x 6 oz.), 3 lb. Split Chicken Breast, 1.5 lb. Country Fried Steak Patties (6 x 4 oz), 1 lb. Package 80/20 Ground Beef, 1 lb. Fully Cooked Meatballs, 1 lb. Mild Italian Sausage, 12 oz. Deli Sliced Ham, 1 lb. California Blend Veggies, 1 lb. Green Beans, 20 oz. Shoestring Fries, 1 lb. Pasta, 28 oz. Marinara Sauce, 21 oz. Condensed Soup (makes 5 servings), 1 lb. Pinto Beans, 32 oz. 2% Shelf Stable Milk, Dozen Eggs, Dessert

In addition to the regular box, there is also a Senior/Convenience box (contains 10 heat and serve meals for 1 person and costs $28), an Allergen Free box (March's box had 5 pounds of breaded meat for $25), and a new seafood box (April's box has 6 pounds of seafood for $35). If you buy one of those boxes (including the regular box), you can also add on special boxes. There are several meat specials as well as a fruit and veggie box.

It's worth a look -- you may find that you can get some good groceries for less than you would otherwise pay.

Check out Money Saving Mom to find out how other bloggers saved money this week!

Jewel Bargain Meal of the Week

2009-03-28T08:10:00.002-05:00

I want to apologize to my readers for not posting this on Thursday as usual. We have had some family issues this week that have prevented me from being here. But, there is still time to snag a great meal for under $5 at Jewel this week!

Try out this fried chicken recipe this week -- it uses drumsticks, so it's great for kids! Macaroni and cheese, veggies, and baked apples for dessert round out this meal!

1 1/2 pounds chicken drumsticks $1.50
1 box Kraft Macaroni and Cheese $0.60
2 cans Jewel veggies $1.20
4 small apples $1

Total: $4.30

Jewel Bargain Meal of the Week

2009-03-19T08:02:00.003-05:00

Spring is almost here! I love the nice weather we've had the past few days and have enjoyed being outside with the kids. I hope you are enjoying it as well.

This week's meal is lasagna. Everyone has their own recipe, but this one is from Allrecipes.com and is very similar to what my dad taught me. (My mom rarely cooked when we were kids.) The recipe is scaled for 12, but is baked in 2 pans, so you can easily cut it in half. The mozzarella price below assumes you got shredded cheese 2 weeks ago when the great catalina deals were running!

15 oz package ricotta cheese $2
1/2 pound ground beef $1 (in 3 pound chub for $5.97)
1/2 jar Barilla pasta sauce $1
1/2 package Barilla lasagne noodles $0.84
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella $0.15
1 egg $0.16

Total for meal: $5.15

Cheap, Fast, Good

2009-03-12T10:30:00.003-05:00

Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross are my heroes. Not my only heroes, but when it comes to cookbook authors, they are tops on my list. Next to my Betty Crocker cookbook, their book, "Cheap, Fast, Good" gets the most use in my kitchen. The goal of this cookbook is to make frugal meals with about 30 minutes prep time. Since I got it 2 years ago, I've made 3 dozen or more of the 275 recipes and have enjoyed all of them (DH, sadly, hasn't, but he's really picky!).

The book is divided into 11 chapters: soups and stews, entrees, skillet meals, pastas, sandwiches (which include some not-really-sandwich options like pizza and nachos), salads, sides, batch cooking (with recipes elsewhere in the book using these make ahead options), sauces, special breakfasts, and desserts. The book also has more than 50 pages of advice for saving money, from "making your own chicken stock" to "other places to shop" to "keeping tabs on your grocery inventory". And, at the end of the book, the authors detail their experiment "Eating On $100 a Week". For some of us, $100 a week seems like a lot, but for most Americans, this would be a huge drop in grocery spending. But even bargain shoppers can learn from this experiment. I realized that serving skillet meals and pastas was much cheaper than meat with sides. This article also made me begin thinking about how much our breakfasts and lunches cost, which, combined, can be more than dinner!

As for the recipes (the most important part!), they are great! They are written with beginning cooks in mind and are great for learning to multi-task in the kitchen. Many remind you to start boiling water before you start chopping all your veggies, so you don't finish your prep work, only to watch a pot boil! They also offer suggestions for dealing with frozen meat -- I know I'm not the only one who gets to dinner time and has forgotten to pull the meat out of the freezer!

The flavor of the recipes is also fabulous. Mexi-Chicken Skillet, Confetti Fried Rice, and Hungry Man's Macaroni are favorites at my house. The book also offers "Cheap and Elegant" meals, great for entertaining. "Island Chicken" went over very well when we had our daughters godparents over for dinner one night. It's inexpensive enough to serve any night of the week, but has lots of color and presents very well at the table.

Probably my favorite recipe in the book is a dessert: Grandma's Eclair Cake. It is a VERY simple dessert which only costs about $2 to make and is wonderful! It's so good, I only make it when I know there are others to share it (otherwise, I might eat all 8 servings myself!)

Amazon has this cookbook for under $7 -- a great deal on a great cookbook!

Jewel Bargain Meal 3/12-3/18

2009-03-12T09:18:00.003-05:00

Today's recipe comes from a great cookbook called "Cheap, Fast, Good" by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross. They are the authors of the Desperation Dinners cookbook (and newspaper column), which focuses on quick meals. This cookbook combines that concept with some frugality and the result is FABULOUS! See my review in this post.

At Jewel this week, buy:

2 packages Perdue 93% lean ground turkey (BOGO price $3.99) -- use one for this meal $2

2 packages Racconto Riserva pasta (BOGO price $2 - use one for this meal $1

Delmonte mexican style diced tomatoes $1.25

Jewel tomato sauce $0.40

bag of frozen corn (either at the store or from your stockpile -- not in this week's ad) use 1/2 bag $0.50

Tex Mex Noodles (serves 6)
1 pound thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta
1 pound ground beef or turkey
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 large onion
3 gloves fresh garlic (or 1 tbsp bottled minced garlic)
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 can mexican style diced tomatoes
1 can (8 ounce) tomato sauce
1 cup frozen corn kernels

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Heat oil in large, deep skillet over medium heat. Peel and coarsely chop onion, adding to skillet as you chop. Add garlic to skillet.

3. Add the meat and cook until browned.

4. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let the sauce simmer, uncovered, until ready to serve.

5. Drain pasta. Serve it on individual plates, topped with sauce.

Total cost: $5.15

Thanks to Erin at $5 Dinners for hosting Bargain Meal of the Week!

Menu Plan Monday

2009-03-09T11:37:00.003-05:00

Monday - Hamburger Helper "crunchy taco", salad, grapes and bananas

Tuesday - crockpot chicken and rice, jello

Wednesday - spaghetti and meatballs, salad, garlic bread

Thursday - turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans

Friday - soup supper @ church

Saturday - @ in laws

Sunday - open faced turkey sandwiches, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce

Check out I'm An Organizing Junkie for more menus!

Super Savings Saturday

2009-03-07T21:33:00.000-06:00

My Meijer trip this week was great -- read about my produce finds here. In addition to those items, I got 1 lb carrots, 4 cans cream soup, margarine, 6 boxes Frosted Mini Wheats (blueberry), and a 12 pack Dr. Pepper. I paid full price ($4) for the soda -- we had run out and DH really wanted it. Made me miss the stockpile we lost when it got so cold this winter! But the cereal made up for it. I had been saving the $1 off coupons I printed several months ago and this sale was worth it! They were on sale 3 for $7, plus you got $2 off instantly when you bought 3. Using my $1 coupons, I got all 6 boxes for $4. Total OOP at Meijer: $16.83 (52% savings)

I don't ususally shop at Dominicks because their prices are high and I have to drive about 10 miles to get to one (I know many of you drive further, but with as many stores as I have near me, it's not often worth the trip for me). But this week it was definitely worth the trip. On my list were 9 pounds split chicken breasts (thanks, Erin, for this post which inspired me), 1 lb strawberries, a 2 liter of soda, a box of Mini Wheats, and 1 lb of butter, which I expected to cost about $12. But, when I got there, I checked out a frozen food deal they had ($10 cat wyb $25) and found Digornio pizzas for $5.99. That's not a great price, but with the catalina deal, it worked out to $3.99 each -- a great price! Total OOP at Dominicks $42.44 (42% savings) -- and $10 for my next trip.

I did pick up a few free things at CVS and Walgreens this week, but never got pictures. I tried to go to Jewel, but had a bizarre experience (read about it here).

Check out Money Saving Mom for other great deals this week!

Wow. Just Wow.

2009-03-07T21:22:00.002-06:00

The weirdest thing happened at Jewel today. I went to get a few good deals, as usual. I got there, pulled into a parking spot, then got out. As I'm walking to the store, this lady starts yelling at me about taking her parking spot and says "my car is gone". (I took that to mean she intended to do something to it.) I wrote down her licence plat number, just in case, but I didn't say anything to her, figuring she'd get over it. No such luck. She saw me in the store (no idea if she went looking for me or just saw me) and started yelling at me again. And then, get this, she HIT me in the shoulder. It wasn't that hard (no bruising or anything), but still! I'm pretty sure this was a grocery store not a playground.

So, after I talked to my husband (an attorney), I called the police, who came and took statements from me and a few people who saw what happened (the woman had left the store by that time -- I certainly wasn't going to go find her in the store!). They said they'd call me after they talked to her. When they came by later, they said she had admitted what she'd done (though she claimed she was just tapping me to get my attention) but recommended against pressing charges because it would take quite a bit of my time. (They were, however, completly willing to arrest her if I wanted to pursue it -- and told her that.) I decided to let it go -- I didn't want to spend time in court over it, plus the police officer said her husband was clearly upset with her for what she'd done and she also seem to recognize she was out of line. I figure she got the message and hopefully will calm down a bit.

Anything weird ever happen to you when you were hunting for deals? (I hope none of you have gone through anything involving the police over shopping experiences!)

Jewel Bargain Meal of the Week

2009-03-05T11:07:00.002-06:00

The weather here is turning warmer, so I thought this recipe might bring spirits up with it! Try Tropical Beef and Noodles this week for under $5.

Jewel is running their Fav 4 mix and match meat sale -- buy 4 packages for $19.99. One of the meats included is 3 pound "chubs" of ground beef. Combine this with whatever other meats you might need.

1 pound ground beef $1.67
1 package egg noodles $1.50
1 can mandarin oranges $0.50 (BOGO at $0.99/2)
1 can pineapple chunks $1

Total: $4.67

Digornio Pizza at Dominicks

2009-03-03T15:14:00.003-06:00

If you live near a Dominicks and can get there today or tomorrow, you can score Digornio pizzas for $4 each! Here's the deal:

Buy 5 pizzas at $5.99 each
Pay $29.95 OOP
Get $10 off your next frozen food order

This works out to $3.99 per pizza - a good deal for this brand (my family's favorite!).

Late Night Shopping

2009-03-03T09:10:00.004-06:00

All of this produce cost $3.15!!!

Since school started this fall, my good friend Suz and I have been going to Meijer together on Wednesday afternoons. It's not that we can't shop alone, but our kids (who claim they are going to get married) don't share any days off of school, so we never get to see each other. So this was our solution! But, my one year old was really crabby on Wednesday evenings because she missed her nap while we were shopping. So, we decided to try shopping after the kids are in bed. Last night was the first time we did this and it was GREAT!

First, there were hardly any people shopping (suprisingly, there are lots of people shopping in the middle of the afternoon on Wednesdays). Second, we had no kids with us, so we could really talk while we shopped. But best of all were the produce mark downs. Our Meijer always has some produce marked down, and we've found some good deals there. But last night we hit the jackpot! I got 5 pounds of clementines for $2, 12 oz of black berries for $0.65, and green leaf lettuce for $0.50! Needless to say, we will be at Meijer every Monday night for the foreseeable future!

Menu Plan Monday

2009-03-02T14:42:00.003-06:00

My adventure in using up what's in the freezer continues! Tonight's chicken is the last of what I had -- I'll pick some up on sale this week to supplement all the turkey and beef in the freezer. Here's hoping DH doesn't revolt due to lots of new recipes in the next few weeks! Check out I'm An Organizing Junkie for more great menus!

Monday - chicken fried rice, egg rolls

Tuesday - Slow Cooker Sausage

Wednesday - pot roast w/ potatoes and carrots

Thursday - bbq chicken, red potatoes, corn

Friday - Lenten soup supper @ church

Saturday - Too Easy Shepherd's Pie

Jewel Bargain Meal - February 26 to March 4

2009-02-26T16:39:00.002-06:00

Jewel is having a 3 day sale (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) with some great items for $1 each (advertised as 10 for $10, but each item costs $1). If you can make it there for this sale, this is a quick and tasty meal for $5.

4 boneless pork chops (5 oz each) $4
1 lb carrots $0.50 (1/2 of 2 lb bag)
1 1/2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes $0.50 (1/2 of 3 lb bag)

Broil or grill your pork chops. I suggest making Glazed Carrot Coins and baked potatoes for sides, because it's quick and easy. But if you have some extra time, Yukon gold potatoes make great mashed potatoes (I prefer them with the skin on).

If you want to stretch your money a bit further, bone-in pork chops are also on sale ($1.49/lb in 3+ lb packages). This sale continues all week. Substituting 1 1/2 pounds of these chops for the boneless variety brings your meal total down to $3.25!

Can't make it to Jewel before Sunday? Serve 1 1/2 lb bone in pork chops ($1.49) with a Fresh Express complete salad ($2) and broccoli ($1.58/lb). You'll still come in at $5.81 for dinner.

Looking for a quick meal for less than $5? Jewel's Culinary Circle pizza is on sale for $3.99 this week. We haven't tried these yet -- anyone have a review for us?

Menu Plan Monday

2009-02-23T09:09:00.005-06:00

When I brought home my Market Day frozen food on Friday, I realized it's time to clean out the freezer. It's stuffed! So, I took an inventory of the meat, then made a list of meals I could make. Then I made a list of what I need to go with each meal (recipe ingredients, sides, etc). Now I can choose meals from my list that match what's on sale to keep my grocery costs REALLY low until my freezer is not quite so full! (And, I can take advantage of any great meat sales to keep my freezer from becoming empty.)

This week is the beginning of Lent, so Wednesday and Friday we'll have a meatless meal. Actually, every Friday this Lent (except Good Friday), we'll be eating at our church soup supper. I'm the secretary of the Ladies Auxiliary and we host the soup suppers, so I need to be there to keep things organized! We ask for a donation, so we will give $5 a week, which will (eventually) go to a charity (less a bit of money for some of the food -- the soup and bread are donated by a local restaurant). If you have an opportunity to attend this kind of event, I encourage you to do so. It is a great way to meet more people in your church and it really teaches kids about community.

Sorry for the rambling -- here's the menu for this week!

Monday - pasta w/ chicken

Tuesday - pancakes (either at IHOP or home) -- it's a tradition!

Wednesday - Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup

Thursday - meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans

Friday - soup supper at church

Saturday - hamburgers, french fries

Check out I'm An Organizing Junkie for more (probably less rambly) meal plans!

Jewel Fav 4 meat deal

2009-02-21T12:36:00.002-06:00

I jotted down a list of what my Jewel had for their Fav 4 meats this week. The ones that are in italics were not in the ad - I'm not sure if these are the same at every store.

2 lbs top loin pork roast
2 lbs chuck pot roast
(4) 5 oz pork chops
Tilapia fillets (3/4 lb packages)
(4) 8 oz pub burgers
3 lbs ground beef
Whole fryer chickens (4-5 lbs)
Italian sausage or bratwurst (1 1/2 lb packages)
2 lbs stew beef
1 3/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
20 oz ground turkey (these had $1 off coupons on the packages)
(2) 6 oz tuna steaks
12 oz breaded tilapia
4 breaded stuffed shrimp
Tyson heat and serve entrees

If you want to take advantage of this sale, look for items you could turn into 2 dinners. The stew beef and 3 lb ground beef packages catch my eye. I use about 1 lb of stew beef when I make stew or chili (yes, I use stew beef in my chili - try it sometime!). $2.50 for the meat portion of a meal is a decent deal. I'd pass on the chicken breasts (the per pound price is $2.85 -- way more than I like to pay), but might try the whole chickens, if I had a plan to make 2 meals from each chicken. The ground turkey isn't a great deal, even with the coupons -- 5 lbs meat for $16 is more than $3/lb. The Tyson entrees might make a good "splurge" for those nights you might otherwise go out. And, if you want a real splurge, get some pub burgers -- those things are FABULOUS (but still expensive)!

Super Savings Saturday

2009-02-21T11:58:00.004-06:00

Ugh. What a week. We got home late Monday night from a trip to my parents house. Wednesday morning, my one year old DD hit her head and then started vomiting 1/2 hour later. So we went to the ER for a CAT scan. Everything was (thankfully) fine. But the vomiting continued -- she had a stomach bug. We were close to taking her back to the ER Thursday because she was dehydrated, but she turned around a bit. She's still not doing great, and now everyone here (her included) has a nasty cold. I did, however, get a little shopping done this week. I did not, however, get any photos!

At CVS, I only got a shampoo and razor (both Gillette, both free after coupons and ECBs).

At Meijer, I got 15 jars of baby food, 5 lean cuisines, 2 cans of soup, 2 - 12 packs of soda, 6 yogurts, 1/2 gallon of ice cream, some dinner rolls, 2 loaves of bread, and some apples. I paid $28.81 and saved $34.51 (55%).

At Jewel, I got store brand diapers and wipes (the stomach bug lead to lots of disposible diaper use), a small steak (which I had for dinner last night), 11 packages of hot cocoa mix (on sale for $1 each, except one box of "diet", which was 2.69), and 6 hershey's bars (free). Total: $25 OOP, got a $10 catalina for the hot cocoa. I saved $18.20 (42%).

I also picked up my Market Day order this week. Market Day is a fundraising program that my son's school uses. They offer a huge variety of frozen foods, which are fairly inexpensive (though most are more than I would normally pay). I always look very carefully at the prices to find good deals. This month, they offered some 6 oz steaks for $1.66 each. Sadly, they must have ran out, because they didn't come. I did, however, get a stuffed chicken roast (10 servings), beef stew (6 servings), egg rolls (24) and a blend of veggies (10 servings) for $47.19. They are fabulous deals, but they do give us some variety and support the school!

Total OOP this week: $101.26

I'm sure others did better than me this week -- check out Money Saving Mom's Super Savings Saturday to see!

Friday's Deals

2009-02-20T15:46:00.002-06:00

Here are a few deals to cut your dining out budget this weekend!

Mimi's Cafe: free breakfast when you join "e-club" (We often eat out for breakfast instead of dinner because it's less expensive. Added bonus -- our kids are better behaved because we aren't dining during "the witching hour"!)

Boston Market: $2/$10 purchase (through 3/22)

TGI Fridays: BOGO entree (through 3/1) -- this site takes FOREVER to load, but it does eventually!

Buca di Beppo: $10/$20 (through 3/4)

And finally, if you wait until Tuesday, you can get a free short stack of pancakes at IHOP! (Please consider donating to Children's Miracle Network.)

Jewel Bargain Meal 2/19 - 2/25

2009-02-19T11:57:00.002-06:00

Jewel is running their "Fav 4" meat sale again. For this sale, if you buy 4 packages of specific varieties of meat, you pay $19.99, no matter what the individual package prices are. I haven't had a chance to get to the store and see what meats (and what sizes) are included. When I do, I'll post again with the best deals to stock up on!

In honor of Mardi Gras, here's a meal with a Cajun feel!

1 package Eckrich smoked sausage $2.50
1 package Zatarain's prepared rice mix, Jambalaya variety $1.50
1/2 pineapple $1

Simply prepare rice according to package directions, add sliced sausage and cook until heated through. Serve with pineapple slices!

Total cost: $5

Wednesday's Deals

2009-02-18T15:53:00.004-06:00

A few freebies:

Goody Barrettes

Betty Crocker potatoes

Degree Men's Absolute sample

Walgreens deals this week:

Revlon Creme lip gloss BOGO (2 for $9.99) -use $2 coupon from 2/8, get $9.99 ESR

Colgate toothpaste $0.99 - use $1 printable

Yes to Carrots lip butter $2.75 (25% off regular price) - use $2 printable and $1 WAGS coupon

Also, in Chicagoland, 3 new WAGs are opening. There is a $3/10 coupon available for these stores (on a wrap-around flyer; I would think they have these in store, but mine came in the paper). The locations are in Harvard, Naperville, and Norridge. You can also get 20 free digital prints, $2.99 one hour film processing, and a $4.99 photo package at these stores only.

Tuesday's Deals

2009-02-17T10:09:00.004-06:00

A few freebies to get you through the day!

Huggies Wipes (Walmart often has great freebies online)

Starbucks instant coffee

Reusable shopping bag

And, if free isn't good enough for you, make $$ at CVS this week!

Neutrogena facial soap bar $2.99 each, buy 2 get $10 ECBs (note: this is not an advertised deal - see more details here)

Colgate Total $2.99, get $2.99 ECBs (limit 2)
use $1 printable or $1.50 from March 20 All You

Gillette Fusion Gamer razor $7.99, get $4 ECBs
use $4 coupon from 2/8 PG insert

Gillette Shampoo $4.99, get $3 ECBS (limit 5 -February deal)
use $2 coupon from 1/18 PG insert

Windex Wipes $2.50
use $1 printable
submit for rebate from 1/11 inserts

That's all I've got today!

Jewel Bargain Meal of the Week

2009-02-11T11:35:00.003-06:00

Welcome to the Valentine's Day edition of the Jewel Bargain Meal of the Week! This week, I've outlined 2 meals: a normal $5 meal and a Valentine's dinner for 2 for $10!

Pork Chops with Pear and Ginger Sauce
1 pound pork chops $1.29
1 large pear (about 1/2 pound) $0.75
Jewel frozen mixed vegetables $1.25
Jewel crescent rolls $2

Total: $5.29

Valentine's Day is so commercialized that many of us feel we MUST go out for an expensive dinner. But if, like me, that's just not in the budget this year, here's a menu that's much more extravagant than our $5 dinners, but still much more economical than a restaurant meal. Feed the kids some leftovers or a frozen pizza, put them to bed, and enjoy a nice dinner with your Valentine.

2 Jewel Fresh Cut Blue Ribbon Beef Fillet Mignon $7
(if you're not into beef, salmon fillets are the same price)
1/2 lb asparagus ($0.75)
1/2 lb strawberries ($1.25) (dip in melted chocolate or whipped topping, if desired)
1/2 loaf Pane Italian Bread ($1)

Total: $10

Jewel Bargain Meal 2/5 - 2/11

2009-02-04T13:28:00.007-06:00

I'm super excited to be part of a great new feature at $5 Dinners -- Bargain Meal of the Week! I'll be posting every Thursday with a meal deal from Jewel. My goal is to not rely on coupons for these meal, but I'll include any relevant ones, in case you have them!

Jewel's ad is a bit light this week -- lots of stock up sales like BOGO items and meat sold in family packs, but not a lot of produce or side items. When planning your meals this week, look for ways to build a stockpile without adding substanially to your out of pocket expenses. Buy a family pack of chicken -- either use the rest in other meals this week or freeze for the future. Also, get 2 boxes off mashed potatoes -- stick the extra in your pantry.

Baked Chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast (1.98)
Hungry Jack boxed mashed potatoes ($1.50)
Birds Eye Steamfresh green beans ($1.34)

$4.82

We love this recipe -- the chicken comes out very moist and the seasonings are delicious!

Meal Plan Monday

2009-02-02T19:44:00.003-06:00

This week is going to be a bit crazy as I plan to get ready for DD's birthday party. On top of that, it's my turn for treats at Bible study on Wednesday. I'm making muffins from my stockpile and bringing strawberries.

Monday - pizza (free from Dominicks)

Tuesday - crockpot chicken and rice

Wednesday - grilled cheese, tomato soup

Thursday - chicken sandwiches, fries

Friday - out to eat (Mom and Dad's treat)

Saturday - birthday party!

Spring Cleaning For Normal People Challenge - Week One Update

2009-01-29T16:21:00.003-06:00

So, today I planned to attack my main floor - living room, dining room, kitchen, 1/2 bath, laundry room and family room. I woke up with a horrid headache, nausea, and dizziness. But since I'm a mom, my only option was to take some (free) Excedrin and try to get through the day. I had gotten the children dressed and fed when my husband reminded me we were going out to breakfast and then to his office today. I briefly felt better after eating and tried to get some cleaning done when we got back. I did clean up the living room and coat closet. (I know, not supposed to do closets, but we got new hangers and I had been meaning to do it anyway, so now seemed like a good time.) And then I took a nap. Post nap (and snack), I'm feeling much better and hope to get at least the kitchen and dining room finished. Maybe hubby will help with the rest after the kids are in bed. But there's always tomorrow, too! (This is why it's spring cleaning for NORMAL people!)

ETA:

Well, I got the dinging room and kitchen done on Thursday, and the family room on Friday. Today, I have some other priorities, but I hope to get things put away in the basement tonight or tomorrow. (We had some flooding after Christmas, so we very recently organized down there, I just need to put away things from the rest of the house!)

Spring Cleaning For Normal People Challenge - Week One

2009-01-27T16:22:00.006-06:00

Spring cleaning always seems like a good idea. A nice, clean, orderly house. No dust, no dirt, no mess. And, of course, once it's done, I'll keep up with it. It won't get this bad again. Sadly, spring cleaning usually entails cleaning one or two rooms really well, then leaving a big mess in the room I start on next. And, of course, I never keep up with it. And it usually gets worse later. So, last time I tried to spring clean, I vowed to never do it again.

But then Crystal from Money Saving Mom, posted that she's starting a spring cleaning challenge at her other blog (Biblical Womanhood). And since she has two little ones AND is pregnant, I felt like I would be a wimp if I said it was too much for ME to do it! Plus, my daughter's 1st birthday party is in less than two weeks, so a clean house seems like a good idea.

This week, my goal is to get the clutter and trash out of the house. I'll post updates as to my progress this week.

Tuesday:

Today I tackled our upstairs, which has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The kids rooms were a big mess -- I hadn't realized how bad I let them get! It took me most of 2 hours to do their rooms, and another half hour in the master bedroom and bath. I brought down 2 bags of trash, moved lots of things from one room to another (funny how many toys wind up in my bedroom!), and filled a box with books for the library (I do this about twice a year - we love books, but there is only so much room!). I also found several items to sell - a couple of larger baby toys (I think we have more toys than a day care center), a diaper genie (we use cloth now), and a few miscellaneous things. And I have 3 boxes of baby clothes for storage (yeah, I should have had two of them in there already!). On a positive note, my upstairs looks great now, even without actually cleaning it! I'm taking tomorrow off (I have Bible study in the AM and a coffee date in the PM), but Thursday I'm tackling the main floor!

Meal Plan Monday

2009-01-24T21:50:00.007-06:00

I've gone through almost all of our grocery money for the month, so this week, I'm using what we have on hand. Fortunately, I just bought produce Thursday, so we have plenty of fresh fruit to snack on and enough frozen fruits and veggies to round things out near the end of the week.

Monday - Tuna Rice Ring, carrots

Tuesday - Chicken and rice, green beans

Wednesday - Pasta with Italian sausage and peppers, salad

Thursday - Chinese takeout

Friday - BBQ chicken, red potatoes, corn

Saturday - leftovers (clean out the fridge!)

Check out I'm An Organizing Junkie for more great meal plans!

Super Savings Saturday

2009-01-24T08:25:00.003-06:00

Here's my contribution to Money Saving Mom's Super Savings Saturday!

My savings this week weren't spectacular, but I'm learning what it means to live off my stockpile and just get the necessities each week. I spent $65 at three stores - Aldi, Jewel, and Walgreens - and saved about $30. That's about a 30% savings -- not great, but workable. I earned a $10 cat at Walgreens. Here's what's pictured: frozen hash browns, 4 packages Kraft singles ($1 each w/ sale and coupon), applesauce, 1 1/2 pounds pears, 5 pounds bananas, 10 pounds potatoes, 3 pounds oranges, 3 bell peppers, 2 pounds grapes, minute rice, granola, 2 packages juice boxes, cream cheese, milk, ham steak, 2 packages bagels, rice cakes, english muffins, eggs, 2 cans ragu and 6 jars peanut butter. The produce should last us until the end of the month, as should the eggs, milk, and bread products. Not much for the stockpile, but some weeks are like that.

In February, I will be paying cash for my groceries and will be trying to stick to $300 for all my groceries, including newspapers (from Menards or the Dollar Store) and pet supplies. In the past, these have not been part of my grocery budget. But we're working hard to pay off our debt, so I'll do my part!

Things I've Learned This Week

2009-01-22T23:23:00.003-06:00

1. I don't like to cook dinner every night. Even if it is cheaper and healthier. (So, from this point forward, we will have one night of takeout or frozen pizza. And I won't apologize for it.)

2. It can get to cold to store cans of pop in the garage. I went to grab a 12 pack early in the week, only to discover that many cans had exploded in the garage cupboard. All 72 cans I had out there were ruined (the ones that didn't explode went flat). Apparently, when the temperature is sub-zero for most of a week, you should bring your pop into the house. (I'm thinking pop will be stored in the basement from now on.)

3. Recipes you used to love aren't always as good as you remember. The Pad Thai I raved about didn't turn out so well. I'm not sure if I had done lots of modifications to get the recipe where we liked it or if we just have different tastes now, but it wasn't too fabulous. (I think I'll wait to rave about a recipe until I've recently eaten it!)

4. It really does pay to comparison shop -- I nearly bought 20 lbs of potatoes at Jewel for $10, thinking it was a great deal. But I checked at Aldi first, only to find that a 10 lb bag sells for $3.50 and a 5 lb bag sells for $2, so I can them cheaper and not have to store as much. Just because they put it on a pretty flyer doesn't mean it's a good deal!

That's all I've got. What have you learned lately?

Meal Plan Monday

2009-01-19T15:57:00.004-06:00

So, as excited as I was about Pad Thai, it never got made last week. Actually, I didn't make the Pull-Apart Chicken or meatloaf either. (The meatloaf didn't get made because we had soup for dinner, since no one was here for lunch.) That makes this week's menu easy! See more menus at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

Monday - Baked chicken, green beans, pineapple

Tuesday - Pull Apart Chicken, french fries, applesauce

Wednesday - Pad Thai

Thursday - Tuna Rice Ring (recipe below), carrots

Friday - Pasta with Italian sausage and peppers, salad

Saturday - Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans

This recipe was a childhood favorite. Originally, it was made with canned salmon and in sticks instead of a ring. It also had a stick of butter in it! This modification is really tasty, fast, and healthy. My mom always served this with peas (and my sister insists this is the only way to have it), but we have carrots because no one else at my house eats peas.

Tuna Rice Ring
4 servings Minute Rice, prepared
3 cans tuna (I use chunk light)
3 TBSP butter
3 slices bread, torn into pieces
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients, then place on a microwave safe plate and form into a ring. Microwave for 10 minutes.

This serves 4-6.

Financial Peace

2009-01-18T14:15:00.002-06:00

I'm finally getting around to posting about our new financial plan. Here's the back story: My parents got involved with Financial Peace University (started by Dave Ramsey, author of "Financial Peace"). My dad, whom my mom had put on an allowance years ago because he wouldn't work with her on budgeting, became REALLY excited about taking charge of their money. He (gently) encouraged me to check out the book and offered to loan me the audio CDs for DH. DH started listening to the CDs right after Christmas. Within days, I noticed behavioral changes. He wanted to find something to eat at home instead of going out; he decided we should get a smaller TV than we had planned on (we're using Christmas money from my parents); he started talking about spending less. It was a pleasant, if slightly irritating, change. (Irritating because I have tried to get us on a budget on and off for 6 years, only to have him listen to Dave for a few hours and be all over it. Too bad I didn't know how easy it could be.)

Dave Ramsey doesn't offer any mind blowing advice. Much of what he says is common sense. But he is extremely motivating and lays out exactly what you should do, which is helpful. His "Baby Steps" are somewhat famous. Here are our specific goals related to the early Baby Steps.

1. Save $1000 in an emergency fund. (Yup, that's what we're gonna do.)
2. Use the debt snowball to pay off all debt except the mortgage. (We're going to wait on our student loans -- which are HUGE -- until after step 3.)
3. Save 3-6 months expenses in emergency fund. (We plan to save 3 months, then pay off student loans, then add some more to the emergency fund.)

Since DH is just starting his law practice, budgeting is tough. He has taken 20 hours of work a week for another attorney, so we will budget our living expenses off that money. Whatever money he brings in from his own cases will be put towards savings or debt repayment. Our goal is to complete these steps by the end of 2009. That will take about $25,000. If DH gets some great cases, we may be able to do this much more quickly. Then we can start on the student loans, which will take us much longer. (DH went to Northwestern Law entirely on student loans and I have some loans as well. I would guess the remaining balance is about $80,000 combined.)

Dave Ramsey suggests using cash for most purchases, so I will now be using cash for groceries. If there is any money leftover at the end of the month, I plan to put it towards debt repayment.

Super Savings Saturday

2009-01-13T09:50:00.003-06:00

Welcome, Money Saving Mom readers, to Faithfully Frugal. I got all my shopping out of the way before the cold weather set in this week. It's nice to not have to run out for anything when it gets so bitter!

My haul from Jewel's buy $30, get $15 sale! I started with 3 jumbo packs of Pampers (not pictured). Then, I did the $30/$15 deal 2 more times, and used my $15 cats to pay for the rest of what's pictured. This represents 3 transactions over the past 2 weeks. It's hard to see how much is here! I got 16 boxes of cereal, a box of Bisquick, 2 boxes Fiber One bars, 2 boxes Fiber One toaster pastries, 2 boxes Capri Sun, 10 cans of soup, 3 cans of Gerber Puffs, 10 packages of baby food, one Gerber graduates, 6 yogurts, 2 Kraft singes, 2 bags of bagels, 1 bag of english muffins, 2 baby spoons, 4 sippy cups, and a bottle of Dawn. Retail value (including diapers): $213.33 Total OOP: $75.37 Savings: 65%

I went to Walmart to pick up milk and produce this week, knowing that Aldi was not likely to have the ingredients for my Pad Thai. The veggies and nuts for the Pad Thai totaled $9.28. It should be plenty for at least 2 meals. I also got hot cocoa (same as the sale price at Jewel), Chai concentrate (Jewel doesn't carry sugar free), stuff for chili, milk, and bananas (yes, we will eat all of those this week!). Total: $29.70

Menu Plan Monday

2009-01-11T22:09:00.005-06:00

I'm always glad to welcome readers from I'm An Organizing Junkie to check out my weekly menu!

I've alluded in previous posts to taking on a new financial path -- I'm still not ready to post fully, as DH and I haven't had much time to talk. But suffice it to say that DH is now motivated to eat at home and actually had a couple of helpful responses to the weekly question: "What do you want for dinner this week?". One was a request for Pad Thai. For more than a year early in our marriage, this was a staple of our diets -- we probably had it once a week. I don't know why I stopped making it, but at his request, I went looking for it. Though I had originally gotten the recipe from my mom, who got it at Weight Watchers, I discovered that I own a cookbook that has it!!! I'll post my frugal modification of the recipe after my menu.

Monday - turkey, twice baked potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts

Tuesday - chili, cornbread with honey butter

Wednesday - Pad Thai

Thursday - Pull-Apart Chicken (Miserly Meals page 149), french fries, applesauce

Friday - leftovers (DH will be out of town)

Saturday - soup and sandwiches (DH will still be out of town)

Sunday - lunch: turkey soup, homemade rolls (Miserly Meals page 163); dinner: meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans
Pad Thai (4 servings)

1/4 pound thin spaghetti
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP sugar
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tsp peanut oil
8 scallions, sliced
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked snow peas, halved
1 tomato, sliced in bite sized chunks
1 cup bean sprouts
3 hard cooked eggs, peeled and finely chopped
3 TBSP dried cilantro
3 TBSP dried mint
3 TBSP dried basil
3 TBSP dry roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Prepare spaghetti according to package directions; drain and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and crushed red pepper.

In a large, nonstick skillet, heat oil. Saute the scallions and garlic until the scallions soften (do not brown), about 3 minutes. Add spaghetti and toss to coat. Stir in vinegar mixture and cook 2 minutes, tossing gently. Add snow peas, tomato, and bean sprouts, cook, tossing gently 1 minute. Sprinkle with eggs, cilantro, mint, basil and peanuts.

(FYI: This recipe has about 300 calories, 10 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber and 11 grams of protein.)

We usually add about 1/2 pound cooked, chopped chicken to this (at DH's insistence). This is a really pretty dish with the red tomatoes and green snow peas, and it's very tasty. I'm excited to add it back to our rotation!

Scenario planning help!

2009-01-08T10:42:00.006-06:00

Crystal over at Money Saving Mom blogged about a great resource at Mommy Snacks. Andrea has a fabulous spreadsheet that really helps with planning your shopping trips. She has graciously shared her spreadsheet and after using it yesterday to plan my CVS, Walgreens, and Jewel runs, I'm SO thankful! I now have a concise explanation of what I'm buying, what coupons I need, and (best of all) how much I'll pay. As we are planning to go to a cash-only system, this will REALLY help! Now I can easily see how much I'm paying at each store and my total for the week, allowing me to modify my list if I'm spending too much (or add on meat to stockpile if we're running low). Check out this awesome tool!

Rocking Jewel this Week

2009-01-04T22:20:00.002-06:00

Jewel is running a great Catalina promotion through 1/14. Spend $30 on listed items, get $15 in cats for your next trip. This deal rolls, so there are great deals to be had.

The first deal you should do, if you or anyone you know needs diapers, is Pampers. From now until Wednesday (1/7), there is also a baby products catalina promotion. Spend $25, get $5 back. Pampers jumbo packs, priced at $10 are included in both promos. So, buy 3 packs for $30 (use any home mailer coupons you might have; or if your Jewel takes expired coupons there are some old insert coupons to be used) and you'll get 4 coupons for $5 off your next order. Even without coupons, this works out to only $3.33 per package!

After I buy my diapers, I'll use my $15 in coupoons from the $30 promo to buy some cereal and soup. Here are the best deals available in this sale, though most of the items listed are a good deal, considering they are half price. Remember to check the Hot Coupon World coupon database as you plan!

Bounty paper towels 8 pack and Downy fabric softner 103 oz are both $10 and both have $1 coupons (from the 12/28 and 12/14 inserts).

Selected General Mills cereals are $2 each. This week's inserts had a $1/3 coupon. There are also printables for Cheerios, Trix, and Total ranging from $0.55 to $0.75 off one. No free cereal, but a good deal anyway!

Progresso soups are $2 each. This week's inserts had a $0.50/2 coupon and 12/7 inserts had a $1/4 coupon. Also there are a few printables available.

2009 is Nearly Here

2008-12-31T09:01:00.003-06:00

Confession time: Despite all my saving money on groceries in the past 9 months, DH and I have yet to implement a workable budget or work towards reducing debt/building savings. DH is a spender and while I want to be a saver, in reality, I am an avoider (let's just pretend the money will just be there). But with DH now working for himself, we've both realized the need to manage our money, not just use it. So we're prepared to take some action in 2009. I'm sure I'll post much more about that as time goes on.

Right now, I just want to complain. Now that we are both very much ready to do this, we have an immediate money crisis. We came home from my parents' house to find two problems. The minor one: our phone doesn't work. The problem is inside the house, not with the phone company, so it's our responsibility. I have no idea what could be wrong, as our Internet access (which is through the phone line) is fine. But the major problem is flooding in the basement. While we were gone, it got very warm and the nearly 2 feet of snow we had melted. We have two sump pumps (on opposite corners of the house), one of which failed and the other of which was overwhelmed. So water came in both sides of the house and is still standing in one side. Today we will have to work to remove that water and figure out why the sump pump stopped working. And then we will have to pull up the carpet as there is already mold growing. What really sucks is that if we had been here, we might have been able to avoid removing the carpet because it is indoor/outdoor stuff, so it is easy to dry out. But it sat too long and now it wouldn't be safe to leave it. It doesn't seem fair that this would happen just as we are prepared to tackle our debt and start saving for the future.

But, fair or not, this is what we have to deal with. 2009 is coming, apparently with water in the basement to start us off! Hopefully this is not an omen of things to come, just a little bump in the road.

CVS $5 Challenge

2008-12-19T20:10:00.006-06:00

Welcome the the CVS $5 Challenge, hosted by Alyssa at Keeping the Kingdom First. CVS has TONS of freebies on Sunday and Monday, so if you're a newbie, this is a great week to build some ECBs. Do these three transactions for $3.18 oop and you'll have $8.68 ECBs for next week. That's a nice little profit!

Transaction #1
Excedrin express gels 20 ct $3.99, use $2/1 printable
pay $1.99 oop, get $3.99 ECBs

Transaction #2
Arm and Hammer Essentials Starter Kit $2.99, use $1/1 printable
Halls Naturals 25 ct $2.59, use $0.50/1 from All You (Sept or Nov) or 12/7/08 SS
use $3.99 ECB from Transaction #1, pay $0.09 oop, get $5.58 ECBs

Transaction #3
Loreal HIP metallic eye shadow duos $6.99, use $2/1 from 10/5/08 RP
EAS AdvantEdge bar $1.69
use $5.58 ECBs from Transaction #2, pay $1.10 oop, get $8.68 ECBs

Total: $3.18 oop, $8.68 ECBs to roll. Also, there is a rebate available for Excedrin Express Gels, found in the 10/19 SS insert)!

Drugstores for 12/21-12/27

2008-12-19T14:35:00.003-06:00

CVS is having a big 2 day sale with lots of free after ECB items. I currently have about $30 in ECBs. Here are my two planned scenarios (I'll likely have to adjust in the store!).

Transaction #1
listerine 2.99
sally hansen nail color 5.99 - $0.50 (9/28)
arm and hammer essentials $2.99 - $1 printable
Loreal eye shadow 6.99 - 2 (10/5)
$15.46 - $3/15 - $10, $2 ECB = $0.46

transaction #2
arm and hammer essentials $2.99 - $1 printable
3 therma care wraps $2.49 * 3
zipfizz $5.99
excedrin express gels $3.99 - $2 printable
halls naturals $2.59 - $0.50 All You
EAS bar $1.69
EAS shakes $7.49
slimquick $4.99
crest pro health $2.99 - $1/1 (11/30), $2 ECB
$30.49 - $9, 8.99, 1.59, 2.99, 6.99 ECB = $0.93

I'll end with about $42 in ECBs and a $4 MIR. Not a bad week!

Walgreens is dividing their ad this week - pre/post Christmas. The only thing I'm excited about is the Conair Gel Grips Hair Dryer, which is $10 with a $10 RR, only on Monday. So, by Monday, I'll have the shopping done and be ready for Christmas!

Shopping this week

2008-12-15T09:55:00.004-06:00

Last week was SO busy. I guess that's a sign of how close Christmas is. This week I need to wrap presents, make some cookies for DS's school party, print photos for the picture frame presents we got, and get DD's pictures taken.

Jewel has Bears apparel 1/2 off. DD needs a new outfit, since she's outgrown her first one! I'll check the prices and maybe buy something for DH as well. Coffeemate liquid creamer is on sale for $1, so if I haven't used all my $1 printables I'll get some of that. Sugar is on sale for $1.67 a pound, so I'll get 2 (the limit) since I actually ran out last week! Selected Kelloggs cereals are 1/2 off, so if flavored mini wheats are included, I'll probably get some of those with my $1 coupons. (I really like the bluberry flavor, but I've never seen it for less than $3.50 and I just can't bring myself to pay more than $1.50 for cereal.)

If Jewel doesn't included mini wheats, I may stop by Dominicks to see if the bluberry is included in their sale this week. They have them for $2.49 and $5 off wyb 5. But I'll also have to see about their internet coupon policy, as lots of people have been reporting problems with Dominicks and coupons.

I went to Meijer over the weekend for cereal, and I don't think I'll be back this week because of scheduling conflicts.

I'm excited about an Olay deal I found out about from Common Sense with Money. Basically, you buy 2 regenerist products and get a $15 gift card (says it can be used at over 100,000 retailers). Walgreens has regnerist on sale buy one get on 50% off this week, and the lotion usually retails at $7.49. Buy two for $11.24 - $5 coupon from this week's paper ($6.24 oop) and get $15 back! That's $9 profit after tax and a stamp! Great deal!

Also at Walgreens this week, 3.5 oz DeMet's turtles are $0.99. The $1.50 coupon from a few weeks ago makes these free+, or get two for $.50. Oral B kids toothpaste and toothbrushes are on sale 2/$4 - (2) $1 coupons from WAGs coloring book - $2 RR wyb 2, so FREE. I'm going to get new toothbrushes for the kids (although DD is only 10 months, she has 7 teeth -- they need brushed!). There are als0 $1/2 coupons from the 11/30 PG insert that make this a good deal.

M&Ms are a good deal at CVS this week $1.88 for a bag. There were $0.50/1 coupons in the 12/14 inserts, making this good if you need some holiday candy. I may get some and get some treat bags to divide them up for stockings. Too dangerous to have them sitting out. Colgate is $2.99 - $1 coupon from 12/7 with $2 ECBs.

That's all I got this week. I should be able to stay under $40 with some produce, milk, and eggs. It's nice to keep the grocery budget down during the holidays!

Meal Plan Monday

2008-12-14T21:33:00.006-06:00

The breakfast menus last week were nice, but waffles were a bad idea. The recipe is my grandmother's. It is both labor intenstive and DELICIOUS! I wouldn't mind the work, but they're so good, I overeat. And since there is little protein, I get hungry too soon. So, omelets are probably on the menu most days, with fruit, yogurt, and muffins on other days.

As for dinner, we got off track a couple of days this week. I forgot how crazy the weekends are when DH is gone. I'm so tired there's no way I could make dinner Sunday evening, even if the kids weren't crawling all over me (he doesn't usually get home until dinner time). So we had Wendy's tonight. And we had takeout once earlier this week. It HAS to stop! But I know some weeks are just like that. We'll try harder this week. Check out I'm An Organizing Junkie for more great menus this week!

Monday - baked chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans
Tuesday - crockpot beef stew, biscuits
Wednesday - chicken sandwiches, french fries, carrots
Thursday - nachos, fruit salad
Friday - penne with chicken, garlic bread
Saturday - grilled cheese, tomato soup, fruit pizza
Sunday - at in laws

Meal Plan Monday

2008-12-07T22:19:00.006-06:00

Since I had no plan for last week, we ate out once and not-so-great food when we ate at home. This week, it's back to the menu! I'm going to try planning for breakfasts this week as well. I usually eat a frozen dinner or leftovers for lunch. DH eats out a lot. DS eats sandwiches most of the time. Check out I'm an Organizing Junkie for more great menu plans!

Breakfast
Monday - homemade waffles and scrambled eggs
Tuesday - omelets
Wednesday - @ Bible study
Thursday - omelets
Friday -homemade waffles and scrambled eggs
Saturday - muffins and fruit
Sunday - donuts @ church

Dinner
Monday - Spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread
Tuesday - crockpot chicken and rice
Wednesday - nachos, fruit salad
Thursday - frozen pizza (GO BEARS!)
Friday - leftover chili, cornbread
Saturday - @ MIL
Sunday - Baked chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans

All I need to buy for these meals is eggs (we go through at least a dozen a week - it's cheap protein and both DH and I are much happier when we get a lot of protein) and fresh fruit. I love my stockpile!

Super Savings Saturday

2008-12-06T13:13:00.004-06:00

My savings this week weren't that super. It was a bit crazy around here (see this post), so I didn't do much shopping. I went to Jewel twice, once to get milk, etc. when we got home from my mom's and once for fire logs. (Our thermostat is in the living room, but we spend most of our time in the family room, which is VERY cold - so we light a fire every night.) I also went to Walgreens.

My combined trips to Jewel totaled $78.13. But only $29.26 of that is from my grocery budget. There was not much savings here -- we splurged on No Name pork chops for dinner. But I also got baby food for 2 weeks, milk, and eggs.

At Walgreens, I got 3 packages of tissue paper, 1 package of gift bags, 40 pounds of rock salt, and 5 coke zeros. I used a $5/20 coupon and a $7 RR. Total on gift card: $13.22. I got a $5 RR back for the Coke. I planned to get to the $25 level to get another $5 RR, but they didn't have several items I wanted.

Hopefully next week will be better! Check out Money Saving Mom for bloggers who did MUCH better than me this week.

Good deals at WAGs this week

2008-12-04T13:43:00.002-06:00

So, Walgreens has decided to be kind to me this week. When I picked up a perscription yesterday, I got a $5/20 coupon! Plus, they're having a deal where you spend $25 and get $5 in RR. Combined with a few other good deals, it looks like a great week. Here's my plan:

(5) 12 packs Coke Zero $16.67 - (4) $1 coupons
(3) 3 packs gift bags $2.97 w/ in ad coupon
(3) 24 sheet tissue paper $0.57 w/ in ad coupon
(4) ice a way rock salt $6 w/ in ad coupon
(2) 8 foot extention cords $5 w/ in ad coupon
(2) reach ultra clean dental $3 w/ BOGO q from 10/12 RP

Total $30.21 - $5 coupon = $25.21
get $5 RR for Coke, $5 RR for more than $25, and $6 RR from reach

Net price $9.21

I'm still alive

2008-12-04T13:04:00.002-06:00

Wow. It's been a crazy couple of weeks. We were so busy before Thanksgiving, and then went out of town for the holiday. DD (who is 9 months old) got a nasty stomach bug while we were away, so we stayed an extra night, thinking she would be better to travel with the next day. She was, a bit, but was still sick when we got home Monday. In fact, Tuesday we had to take her to the hospital where they admitted her for dehdryation. So yesterday was my first "real" day home, and I spent most of it trying to make sure she was getting enough fluids.

Today I am tackling the numerous projects that piled up. I'm trying to get some shopping lists together (this is the fun project!). But before I do, I wanted to share my Black Friday experience.

I didn't used to be a big shopper. My mother used to hate to take me shopping, because after one or two stores I'd start to complain. It's more fun to me now, but family never forgets what you used to be like! So, she was surprised when my sister and I decided to head out at 5:00 Friday (probably also because my sister is more likely, even with 2 kids, to have not gone to bed by 5 as to get up by then). We hit Walmart, Kohls, Target, and Best Buy. The lines were long at Walmart and Kohls (we went to those first), but the shoppers were friendly and we had fun.

I spent about $160 at Kohls on 10 picture frames, a picture collage frame, a towel and wash clothes for DD (she's outgrowing baby towels), a bath toy for DD, a shirt for DS, a new coat for me (retail $90 - sale $31.50!) , and a portable DVD for the car. There is a $30 MIR for the DVD, so my total at Kohls is $130.

At Walmart, I spent $41.38. I got 10 hot wheels for DS, 2 pairs of PJs for DS, 2 dolls for my niece, a pair of jeans for me, and a push toy for DD.

At Target, I spent $23.91 on a DVD for my mom, 2 DVDs for DH, a DVD for me, a Christmas tshirt for DD, and a hopping ball for DS.

At Best Buy, I spent $42.36 for a set of 4 DVDs for DH (one of his favorite TV shows).

Add all of this to the about $60 we spent at Target when they had a toy clearance this fall, and we've spent $300 towards Christmas this year. Since we don't exchange presents with the adults on my side of the family, this represents most of our budget. DH plans to buy me a ring to replace my wedding ring (which I lost earlier this year) -- I told him to spend less than $200. (Hopefully we will be able to save $ to buy a nicer replacement for our 10 anniversary.) We are going to get my in laws a new mattress/box spring for about $300 on clearance, because they have referred several high dollar clients to DH's law firm. We'll probably spend about $100 on other presents. So, it looks like we will be able to do Christmas for under $1000 this year!

What did I do today?

2008-11-24T13:25:00.004-06:00

I really can't figure out where all my time goes. It's already 1:30, and despite my good intentions, I have yet to even get the dishwasher loaded today. This morning, we got up at 8, I nursed DD, made breakfast for DS, had a cup of coffee while I checked my email. Then I nursed DD again, made breakfast for DH, DD, and myself, fed DD and ate my breakfast, and nursed again. Then it was off to the doctor (I thought DD's ear infection was back, but it's just a tooth), then McDonalds for lunch, then dropped off DS at school. We hit Walgreens to pick up my perscription and Jewel for some groceries. When we got home, I nursed DD again, fed her some lunch and finally sat down for a minute. In less than an hour and a half, we'll be off to get DS from school, then it will be time to think about making dinner and soon after getting the kids to bed. Yikes! I guess it's a wonder I ever get anything done.

Update: I'm happy to say I actually accomplished somethings today, somewhat to my amazement. I loaded AND unloaded the dishwasher (this never happens in one day), cleaned a bathroom, and washed diapers. I hope to fold my laundry after the kids go to bed (they always unfold for me) and to bake the sweet potatoes I got on sale so I can freeze them. I guess I can get stuff done!

Grocery stores

2008-11-21T21:44:00.002-06:00

We're headed to my parents for Thanksgiving, but there are a few things I want to get from the grocery stores this week.

Jewel
4 Shredded cheese $12
4 Crystal Light $12
2 Jello $1
10 pillsbury muffin mixes $10
15 pound frozen turkey $15

$7 turkey coupon
$10 off turkey instantly
$5 off pillsbury instantly
$27 cat coupons

$1 + tax oop, get $2 holiday bucks

I'm not terribly interested in the muffins mixes, but I have to spend $30 before the turkey, so it's a good way to go. Most of my cats expire soon, so I'm glad to have a good sale to use them on!

Meijer
3 OreIda Hash Browns $7
1 OreIda Steam and Mash $3 - $1 coupon - $3 instantly (store promo)
6 Corn muffin mix $2
Sweet potatoes $0.28/lb - probably 10-15 pounds

about $12 oop

Holiday Baking

2008-11-20T16:37:00.002-06:00

Tuesday, DS wanted to bake cookies. Specifically, he saw snowman cookies on the cover of All You and wanted to bake those cookies. While there were about a hundred other things I probably should have done, we baked cookies (what's the point in staying home with your kids if you don't occasionally induldge their desires?).

Now, he wants to bake more cookies. So, I'm thinking Christmas gifts! We won't start baking for a couple of weeks, but I'm getting some recipes together. I grabbed all my (free) magazines and these are the best choices so far. One person on our list has Celiac disease, so I'm marking gluten free recipes. I'll make an ingredient list and watch the sales -- and soon my kitchen will be filled with goodies!

Lemon Ornament Cookies - from Woman's Day page 144
Microwave Fudge Sampler - from Woman's Day page 146 (gluten free)
Little Lemon Drops - from Woman's Day page 149
Mocah Yule Logs - from Woman's Day page 151
Stained Glass Biscotti - from Redbook page 192
Mint Meringues - from Family Circle page 109 (gluten free)
Holiday Trees - from Family Circle page 114
Candy Canes - from Family Circle page 116
Pistachio and Tart Cherry Chocolate Bark - from Good Housekeeping page 198 (gluten free)
Chai Spiced Tea Loaves -from Good Housekeeping page 200
Sweet and Sassy Nuts - from Good Housekeeping page 207 (gluten free)
Gingerbread Boys and Girls - from Good Housekeeping page 208
Pecan Clusters - from Good Housekeeping page 209 (gluten free)
Whit Chocolate Cherry Chunkies - from Good Housekeeping page 211

Unplanned frugality - or how I'm getting 10 meals out of a frozen turkey breast

2008-11-20T10:00:00.005-06:00

So I was looking through my freezer a week or so ago, and I found a turkey breast. I bought it a while back when DH was making turkey sandwiches for lunch. DH is more than just picky about food -- he is a major pain in the behind! Deli sliced turkey is not good enough for him; he likes chunks of turkey meat on his sandwiches. Being the "good" wife that I am (not really, but I can pretend), I obliged him. But after a large portion of the last turkey breast went bad in the fridge, I quit trying. (I refuse to make lunch for a 30 year old man. He is perfectly capable; he's just lazy!)

Anyway, I figured if I didn't cook the turkey soon, it wouldn't be so good anymore. So I made it for dinner last night (I know, my menu says Monday, but DH had to work, so we moved things around). After dinner, we had about 3/4 of the "good" meat left. 1/4 of it will be for dinner Saturday. The rest will hit the freezer for a couple of weeks until I'm ready to serve it again (I figure Thanksgiving week isn't a great time for turkey meals!).

But then I started on the bones. First, I pulled all the meat I could off the bones and stuck it in a ziploc. That will go into a turkey and rice dish of some kind. (Suggestions?)

Then I put the bones in a pot, covered them with water, and left it on the stove for several hours. At the end of the night, I had turkey broth -- four cups of it, to be exact. I drained the broth into some containers. The broth will make good soup - I'll add some veggies and noodles and serve it with sandwiches.

Then, I started in on the bones again. The meat I pulled off at the end will either go into another turkey and rice dish or I'll stir it into DD's veggies at dinner time. (She is definately ready for some meat -- her doctor is happy with her recent growth spurt, but she could still use some more weight, plus she's not as interesting in nursing, so we need to replace those calories.)

All together, I'll probably get 8-10 meals out of this turkey. The tag says $17 for this turkey, but I remember I bought it on a BOGO sale, so really I probably paid about $9, give or take. Sometimes frugality is unplanned.

Meal Plan Monday

2008-11-17T10:37:00.000-06:00

Here's what's cooking at our house this week. Check out I'm An Organizing Junkie to see what the rest of the blogosphere is having!

Monday - Turkey, stove top stuffing, cranberry sauce

Tuesday - Grilled cheese, tomato soup

Wednesday - Hamburgers, french fries, fruit pizza

Thursday - Beef and Biscuit Bake, brownies

Friday - Eggs, bacon, hash browns, raisin toast

Saturday - Open faced turkey sandwiches, mashed potatoes

CVS $5 Challenge

2008-11-16T20:25:00.005-06:00

I have two scenarios for Alyssa's $5 CVS Challenge at Keeping the Kingdom First. Both start with Soft and Dri deodorant, but depending on what you need, you can do one of tow things with those ECBs.

Transaction #1

Soft & Dri deoderant $2.99, use $0.50/1 from 10/5 SS

$2.49 oop, earn $2 ECB

Transaction #2, option #1

Vaseline Clinical Therapy 6.8 oz $5.99, use $1.50/1 coupon from 11/16 RP
use $2 ECB from transaction #1

$2.49 oop, earn $2 ECB

$4.98 total oop with $2 ECB for next week

Transaction #2, option #2
Clairol Natural Instincts $5.99, use $2/1 coupon from 11/2 PG
use $2 ECB from transaction #1

$1.99 oop, earn $1 ECB

$4.48 total oop with $1 ECB for next week

Not a great week, but since I need some hair color anyway, I guess it'll work!

Great week at Jewel

2008-11-15T13:26:00.004-06:00

Jewel is having 2 catalina sales this week. One is on ConAgra products, the other is on General Mills products. Both have some good deals to be had.

The ConAgra deal is buy $20 get $10 onyo. Included in the sale are:
Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers 2/$6
Chef Boyardee Pasta 4/$5
Manwich 4/$5
Hunt's pasta sauce 4/$5
Marie Callander Complete Dinners 4/$10
Marie Callander One Dish Classics 4/$10
Marie Callander Pot Pies 4/$10
Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers 4/$10
Healthy Choice Paninis 4/$10
Reddi Whip 2/$4
Swiss Miss cocoa 10/$10 (some of the cocoa is included in the cat deal, but is higher priced)
Hunt's diced tomatoes 10/$10
Rotel 10/$10
Orville Reddenbacher Microwave popcorn BOGO $3.49 (only one counts towards the $20)
Parkay or Flicheman's margaine 30% off
Egg Beaters 2/$6
Banquet Value Meals 10/$10
Swiss Miss pudding 2/$5.50

There are coupons for many of these products. In this month's All You, there is a $0.50 off any Swiss Miss cocoa. If you got 20 of these and could find 20 cocoa mixes at 10/$10, they would be free after the catalina. But I went with the coupons I could get and the items we would really use (who needs 20 boxes of hot cocoa?). See how I did here.

The General Mills deal is buy 10 items, get $15 and free milk oyno. I prefer buy x items to buy $X, so I was excited. In the ad, there are very few things listed and I saw no signs in the store. But over at HCW, someone posted an Excel file with all the included items -- cereals, granola bars, fruit snacks, etc. I posted some coupon matches. The best deals are on fruit snacks and Chex Mix bars (which I got -- we still have PLENTY of fruit snacks!).

Enjoy -- it's a great week to stock on catalinas to pay for your holiday shopping needs!

Preview for week of 11/16

2008-11-15T12:48:00.000-06:00

Walgreens - this week includes double dip days - I'll post those deals later. Otherwise, it's a slow week!

Just for Men touch of grey $7, get $7 RR; mail in rebate $8
scotch tape 3 packs 2/$4, $2 ESR

CVS - big week here!

Thomas english muffin 12 pack $1.99
Welch's juice $2.50 ($1 coupons)
Duracell batteries buy $20, get $15 ECB (limit 3)
(16 AA for $9.99, 8 packs $5.99; $0.75 coupon)
Loreal age perfect pro calcium radiance perfector sheer tint moisturizer 1.7 oz $15.99 - $1 moisturizer coupon, $15.99 ECB
Zantrex 3 insta shot 2 pack $4.99, $4.99 ECB

Super Savings Saturday

2008-11-15T09:00:00.000-06:00

I'm happy to share my week with readers from Money Saving Mom!

Tuesday I went out to get some produce and a few other things we ran out of while I was out of town last week. I went to Aldi and got 3 pounds sweet potatoes, 2 pounds bananas, 2 pounds grapes, 2 packages bacon, eggs, and cheese slices for $14.12. Then I went to Jewel and for $4.97 I got 3 oranges and a pineapple. When I got home, I cleaned and prepped all the produce (including 10 apples I had from a trip to the orchard). I put it on the counter so we will be sure to eat it. Next week, I think I will plan to shop twice for produce to further reduce waste.

After doing my shopping lists, I was ready to hit the stores. Well, almost. On Wednesdays, I meet a friend for coffee and then we shop at Meijer together. Before our kids were in preschool, we got together for a lot of playdates, but their schedules conflict now, so it's just the moms! But this week, I left my list and coupons at home. And since Meijer is a 20 minute drive from my house, it was not worth the time or gas to go back. But I did go to Jewel. I had hoped to take advantage of a buy $20, get $5 off sale, but they were out of the pizzas I wanted. So, I got:

3 Dole frozen fruit @ $2.50 - $1 coupon
2 baking yeast strips BOGO $2.49 - $0.45 coupon
4 pack of premixed mudslides (hee hee!) $3.99

I used two $5 off coupons from my last trip, so my total was $0.98! Plus, I got two coupons for $0.50 onyo from the baking yeast.

Friday I went to Walgreens with the $5/20 coupon. It was actually hard to make that $20 this week, so I let my little guy get a treat.

I got 2 gallons of milk, 2 packages of toliet paper, 4 evaporated milk, 4 boxes of cereal, 3 rolls of wrapping paper and jelly beans. Total after all coupons (including a $2 RR from last week): $17.18. I paid with my gift card so $0 OOP. I got a $2 RR for the cereal, as well.

After Walgreens, I went to Jewel to take advatage of a couple of good sales and to get some yogurt for DD, who is all out (and since she's on antibiotics for an ear infection, she NEEDS yogurt!!).

I have a love/hate relationship with self-checkout. I like to be able to make sure everything is ringing up right, without having to be nice to the cashier at the same time (my mommy brain doesn't like to multi-task). And since I had two transcations to do today, I thought it would work best. But the coupon slot on the checkout I chose was very full, so I had to shove every coupon in with my keys. And I didn't even try to use my catalina coupons, because they require the cashier to come key them in. By that point, I was WAY to irritated to deal with it. I did my second transacation at a regular checkout!

My first transaction I got: 10 Chex Mix bars, 5 Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers, 3 packages of Swiss Miss cocoa, and a package of the yummiest cinnamon rolls ever! Total OOP: $44.12 Cats recieved: $15 for Chex Mix bars, $10 for Healthy Choice/cocoa, $2 "holiday bucks", and up to $4.50 off milk (from Chex as well).

My second transaction I got: 6 Healthy Choice Steamers, 1 Reddi Whip, 1 Egg Beaters, and 1 qt yogurt. I used a $10 cat from the first order and paid $7.39 OOP. I got another $10 cat back. Total OOP at Jewel: $51.51. I have $17 in cats, plus a coupon for free milk.

I haven't been to CVS yet, but my plan is to get:

Garnier Shampoo $2.99 - $1 coupon, $2 ECBs
Glaceau Smart Water: $1.59, $1.59 ECBs
2 Listerine Tinting Rinse: $3.99 - $1/1 printable coupon, $3 ECBs
2 Palmolive Dish Liquid: $2.98 -$1/2 coupon, $2 ECB

My total should be $5.05 plus tax after ECBs and I should get $11.59 in ECBs back.

If CVS goes as planned (yeah, right!), I will have spent about $77 this week, with $30.59 in ECBs, RR, and cats, and a free milk for next week. I don't usually spend this much, but a few months ago I would have spent this much or more and gotten much, much less!

Today I'm thanful for . . .

2008-11-13T17:36:00.002-06:00

It's easy to get caught up in finding great deals, wishing you could have more/better/bigger things, or complaining about the work you have to do. I've been feeling sorry for myself because our financial situation is tough right now, but we are very lucky.

Today I'm thankful for two healthy children. I took the kids to the doctor today and both are growing well. This is especially good news related to DD, who was born in the 15% for weight, but at her last checkup was only in the 3%. But today, at her 9 month checkup, she was up to the 10%, matching right up with her length. I'm very glad there is nothing wrong with her. (Ok, she has an ear infection, but that's minor -- wow, as I typed that I realized that there are some places in the world where it isn't. Antibiotics: another thing I'm thankful for.)

I met a woman at the doctor today who has a 13 month old daughter who was born at 23 weeks. I was shocked to see how healthy she looked. The mom said she is developing normally and doesn't seem to have any problems as of yet. I was shocked and amazed. I don't know the statistics, but I'm sure that not many children survive being born at 23 weeks, much less turn out "normal". This child would have been due about the same time as my daughter. It could have been me having a baby 17 weeks early. I cannot even imagine how difficult it was or how fantastic it must be to watch that child grow.

Menu Plan Monday

2008-11-10T22:34:00.005-06:00

Ok, so Monday is nearly over, but it's the idea, right? This week is pretty inexpensive for food. I'm going to try to keep track of meal costs for a while.

Tuesday - Papa Murphey's pizza ($8)

Wednesday - Grilled Sausage with Potatoes and Green Beans ($4)

Thursday - Golden Chicken and Autumn Vegetables ($3)

Friday - Scalloped potatoes and ham ($0.50!!! - the ham was free from my mom)

Saturday - leftovers or sandwiches

Sunday - ? at in laws? burgers if we're here

Nearly FREE groceries (and not just a few)

2008-11-03T17:22:00.006-06:00

Jewel is having a great sale this week. Spend $30 on selected items. get $15 in catalinas. Here's my scenario.

2 Knorr pasta/rice sides ($2)
4 Betty crocker potatoes ($4)
2 wishbone dressings ($3.33)
1 Betty Crocker cookie mix ($1.67)
1 progresso broth ($1.67)
4 gold medal whole wheat flour ($10)
3 lipton tea to go ($7.50)

subtotal $30.17

coupons
$0.60/2 knorr sides
(2) $1/2 potatoes
$0.75/1 cookie mix
$1/2 wishbone
$1/1 progresso
(4) $1/1 flour
$0.60 tea to go

subtotal $20.22

$15 coupons, $5 MIR on Lipton tea to go

Walgreens update

2008-10-27T11:39:00.002-05:00

In October, I earned $59.92 in rebates, which should be credited to my card in a week or so. That will be added to the $28.05 that is still on my card from September. So, I have $87.97 for November. I will probably use my gift card to buy any gift cards I want to give this Christmas.

There are only 2 items free after rebate this month - Loreal Age Perfect Pro Calcuim radiance perfector ($19.99) and Almay One coat mascara ($6.99). I'll wait for a $5/20 or $5/25 to buy these, both of which have $1 coupons to use. So I'll get a $7 profit for them. Not bad. There are a few other rebates I might get, but not much.

I'm not impressed with the WAGs sales this week, but I do have a $5 RR expiring on Saturday. I'll get 3 canned pineapple ($.89 w/ ad coupon) and some eggs or milk.

CVS scenarios

2008-10-26T20:25:00.004-05:00

CVS has some good deals this week. I'll have to do 2 transactions because I want real Sudafed, which I have to purchase at the pharmacy and I don't like to overwhelm the pharmacy staff with my coupons and such! This week I will grow my ECBs by $1.67 while spending $2.59 + tax OOP. Plus, I'll get a $6 MIR on the Theraflu, so I'm making money! And we're set for medicine for the winter.

Transaction #1 (at pharmacy counter)

Spend $20, get 10 ECB

Theraflu $6 - $2 ($6 MIR)

Alka seltzer $4.99 - $1

Airborne $5 - $2

Sudafed $5 - $1

$14.99, use 9.96, 2.58, 2.29 ECB = 0.16 + tax OOP

$10 ECB, $6 MIR

Transaction #2

CVS vitamin D 100 ct $2.99 (2.99 ECB)

Wellpatch 3 ct $5.99 (5.99 ECB)

5 CVS soap $0.99 * 5 (1 ECB * 5)

crest spin brush $4.99 - $2 IP (2 ECB)

BIC comfort advance $4.99 - $2 (4 ECB)

5 Soy Joy $5 - $3 (4 ECB)

Advil PM 8 ct $0.99 - $2

$19.91, use 10, 4, 1.98, 1.50 ECB = $2.43 OOP

23.98 ECB

Meal Plan Monday

2008-10-20T13:54:00.005-05:00

DH and I put ourselves back on an allowance, so we should be more likely to actually stick to the menu this week (I don't want to spend my cash on takeout!).

Monday - hot dogs, butternut squash fries (DH may hate me for this), brownies (in case he does)

Tuesday - bacon and eggs

Wednesday - Polynesian Chicken

Thursday - chicken and noodles

Friday - tacos, spanish rice, chips and salsa

Saturday - chili cornbread

Playing catch up

2008-10-16T21:53:00.004-05:00

I've been a bit MIA, huh? I'm in another "trying to get caught up" phase, which will likely end soon, only to be followed by another "falling behind" phase. Lather, rinse, and repeat.

After hearing about the $10 for 10 weeks at Sam's Club, I decided to sign up. Since we're in the market for a new computer, I thought it might give us some options, plus I want to find out what, if anything, we can save more on than at the grocery store. I wrote down prices for a lot of items on our first trip, but I'll probably have to do two or three more trips to get a really good idea.

DS did his charity shopping at Walmart this week. I decided to give him $2.50 instead of a dollar, and to give it to him in quarters (easier for young children to understand). He spent $1.72 and got a box of pasta, a pouch of instant potatoes, and a pouch of tuna. Not bad! The cashier was very friendly and encouraging to him, which I was glad for.

I'm hoping to prepare and freeze some potato dishes this week - french fries, hash browns, and maybe mashed potatoes. But I have to find my kitchen counters first!

Menu Plan Monday

2008-10-13T10:15:00.003-05:00

DH has class this weekend, so dinner Friday and Saturday will be just the kids and I.

Monday - Tacos

Tuesday - Chicken and rice (crockpot)

Wednesday - Spaghetti and meatballs

Thursday - Breakfast for dinner

Friday - Baked Chicken and Acorn Squash

Saturday - leftovers

Sunday - Salsa chicken (crockpot), spanish rice

Super Savings Saturday

2008-10-10T15:27:00.004-05:00

I'm officially cherry picking. Much of what made my list this week was better than free. Compared to a few months ago, I bought very little this week. I'm a bit sad about it, because some of the thrill is gone, but it's nice to have easy transactions!

Jewel- proprietary Grocery Game list, paid $21.62 for $34 in groceries.

Walgreens - 4 bags of Nestle/Mars candy and a Glade wisp candle for $8.63 (paid with Sept rebate). Earned a $3 RR and $4 rebate. (But I'm way more excited about my son's first experience).

CVS - 2 Always infinity pads, Bic soliel refill, Vitamin water for $1.80 OOP (used $13.79 ECB). Earned $16.25 ECB.

This week I spent $23.42 OOP for $79 in products, earned $4 in rebates, got a $3 RR, and increased my ECBs by $2.46.

Check out Money Saving Mom to see how others did this week!

Learning to share

2008-10-09T19:17:00.006-05:00

I took my son, who just turned 4, to Walgreens today. Our plan: buy items for charity for $1 or less. Before we left, I gave him $1 and showed him several items he could choose from. Then he clipped the coupons for those items and put them into a small plastic bag, along with his dollar. When we got to the store, I showed him how to find the items he had coupons for and he carried them in his basket. He handed them to the cashier (who wasn't as friendly as I had hoped), along with his coupons and then his dollar. Here's what he bought:

The Crest toothpaste had a $0.02 overage after (2) $1 manufacturer's coupon and (2) $1 IVC. The Colgate was $0.50 after $1 coupon. The Oral B toothbrush was $0.24 after $0.75 manufacturer's coupon and $1 IVC. With $0.25 tax, his total was $0.97. (BTW, the retail price for all of this is $12.86.) We plan to do this every week (though not always at Walgreens) and make monthly dropoffs at the food pantry.

He was so proud to have gotten so much for charity. I'm very excited to teach him about giving to others. And it's a great reminder to me that no matter how bad our finances seem, we can nearly always give something.

Walgreens October Preview

2008-10-07T17:25:00.012-05:00

This is my running list of deals I plan on getting this month at Walgreens. See Hot Coupon World for more deals!

October EasySaver FAR items

Loreal Cleanser (cream, gel, towelettes) ($6.99), $1 (7/20 SS)
Rimmel lasting finish foundation ($7.49), $1 (9/14 SS)
Extreme energy 6 hour shot ($3.99)

Nivea body wash 16.9 oz ($4.99), $1 printable

Lypsyl honey berry 1 oz ($1.99) limit 2

10/5-10/11

Glade wisp candle $5.99, $5/1 (9/7 SS), get $3 RR ($2 overage)
Crest toothpaste $1.99, $1 ESQ, $1 (9/28 PG) (free)
Nestle fun size candy $4/10, (2) $1/1 (printable), $1/2 (insert?) $4/4 ESMIR #36 ($3 for 4)

10/12-10/18
Dove products 25% off, buy 4 earn $5 RR
Dimetapp $3.99, buy 3 get $10 RR ($2 printables = $4.03 MM)

10/19-10/25
Pert Plus $3.49, $2.50 IVC and $1 man. q (home mailer) = free
Triaminic $4.99, buy 3 get $8 - use $1 IVC from coloring book, $2 printable = $2.03 MM
AlkaSelzer plus cold $4.99, get $4.99 RR = free

Double Dip Days 10/24-10/25
Neutra air starter kit $5.99, $3 Nov IVC, $5 coupon

Rolling at CVS

2008-10-07T14:08:00.004-05:00

I'm rolling some ECBs today. I'm starting out with $24.79 ECB ($8, $4, $4, $5.79,$3) Here's the plan:

Transaction #1
Always infinity pads $4.98 ($1 coupon)
Vitamin water $2.29
Bic soliel $5.99 ($2 coupon)
3 Eucerin redness relief lotions $6.99 each (3-$4 coupons)

use $17.79 ECB ($5.79, 8, 4)
pay $1.44 + tax oop
get $23.27 ECB ($12, $4, $2.29, $4.98)

Transaction #2
Always infinity pads $4.98
Bic soliel $5.99 ($2 coupon)
Eucerin redness relief lotion $6.99
Eucerin redness relief serum $12.99 ($7.50/2 coupon)

use $20.98 ECB ($4.98, $4, $12)
pay $0.47 + tax oop
get $20.98 ECB

I'll have $30.27 ECB left ($2.29, $3, $4, $4, $4.98, $12), giving me a profit of $5.48 on these items!

Alternate transaction (w/out Eucerin)
2 Always infinity pads $9.96 ($1)
2 Bic soliel $11.98 ($4)
Vitamin water $2.29

use 17.79 ECB
pay 1.98 + tax oop
get $20.25 ECB ($2.46 profit)

Wow at Walgreens in September

2008-10-07T10:00:00.001-05:00

September at Walgreens was fun! I bought:

1 black ink refill
4 packages of plastic plates
2 packages of plastic bowls
2 bottles of Pepto Bismal
1 Excedrin PM
2 photos (printed)
2 Scrubbing Bubbles wipes
2 Windex wipes
3 Action scrubbers
3 Robitussin
3 Dimetap
1 Crest mouthwash
2 Dove bars (large)
2 Herbert's bars
4 laundry bags (our IKEA ones finally gave out)
10 Hershey's 8 packs
2 Triaminic
2 Reach toothbrushes
1 Pert Plus
1 Lypsyl
1 Excedrin express gels
4 Hershey's harvest bags
4 Glade scented oil candles
2 bags Lindt chocolates
10 Halloween pencils

For all of that - $4.25 OOP. And I have $5 RR left!

How'd I do it? I started September with $60.76 on my rebate gift card. I combined sales with coupons to get the lowest total possible. I paid with my gift card (which I count as free money -- yes I paid it in at some point, but that was quite a while ago now!). Then, I used Register Rewards to further lower my totals.

I'll start October with $68.96 on my card. I wonder how far that will go!!

CVS October preview

2008-10-07T09:11:00.001-05:00

October is looking to be a pretty good month at CVS. Here's my preview -- check out Hot Coupon World for more information.

October ECB book
CVS vitamin D $2.99, $2.99 ECB
Wellpatch $5.99, $5.99 ECB (coupon 7/13 SS) limit 5
Colgate $2.99, $2 ECB (coupons available)
Eucerin $12 ECB wyb $20 (coupons on website) scenario on HCW post 90

10/5-10/11
Always Infinity pads $4.98, $4.98 ECB ($1 home mailer coupon) limit 2
Vitamin water $2.29, $2.29 ECB (limit 1)
Bic soliel $5.99, $4 ECB (printable, 9/14 SS) (limit 5)
Eucerin $2 off this week

10/12-10/18
Covergirl buy $10, get $3 ECB
Skinvitals mask $2.99, $2 ECB
Sarah Peyton Wellness pack $14.99 - xmas present?

10/19-10/24
Pumpkin pail $0.99, get $0.99 ECB (limit 2)
Brach's halloween candy $1.29, get $1.29 ECB (limit 2)
Funlight smart light $0.99, get $0.99 ECB (limit 2)
Powerade $1.69, $1.69 ECB (limit 1)
Butler toothbrush 2 pack $3.99, get $3.99 ECB (limit 5)

10/25-10/31

Everything is breaking

2008-10-05T15:06:00.003-05:00

When it rains, it pours. I posted about getting sand in my digital camera. Then, my computer stopped working. My dad took a look at it, tried a few things, and told me it's dead. And to top it off, my car is having front end problems. I have to take it to a mechanic to find out exactly what's wrong, but it's just SO frustrating to have all of this happen at once.

If I had known the computer and the car were going to be a problem, I would never have bought a new camera. But the camera was a good price ($110 for a Canon) and I really like it. I got some great pictures of Walking with the Dinosaurs, which we saw this weekend.

My dad is loaning me a mini laptop until I can find something. But I'm hesitant to shell out the $500 or so needed until I know what's up with my car. I'm hoping that there will be a good clearance or something so I don't have to spend so much.

A birthday party and some thoughts

2008-09-27T19:15:00.003-05:00

It has been a very crazy week. DS is turning 4 on Thursday and we had his birthday party today! It was a lot of work for me, but it was a great party and totally worth it! He wanted a pirate theme, so we played musical "islands" (not such a great game with 4 year olds!), walk the plank (they had more fun hopping from one island to the next), hunted for treasure (the map was hard to do, but the pinata was an exciting treasure), and decorated our own treasure chests (out of shoe boxes). The kids had mac and cheese for lunch (the grown ups had chili). With their lunch, they had fruit boats -- a banana with grapes for oars, strawberries for people, and pineapple for a flag. The boats were surrounded by goldfish. I made a pirate hat cake and decorated sugar cookies with skulls.

This wasn't the most frugal of parties (I went a bit overboard, to be honest), but I did learn a lot and everyone had a great time! I really enjoyed doing this party. I'm very tired though. :-) Fortunatly, a great friend helped clean up, so I have very little to do! (Thanks!) My one problem: my camera (which was dying anyway) got sand it in and is now very much dead. I'm hoping to find a good deal!

Now that the party's over, I need update my coupon binder. I haven't taken the time to deal with it for about 2 weeks and it's starting to be quite a mess. So that's my number one project for tomorrow. I let DH go to a movie tonight (he doesn't do well with lots of kids around), so hopefully that will earn me a little slacker time!

With all the stuff I was doing this week, I didn't get to compiling a Super Saturday Savings post (and can't even tell you how I did!). My Walgreens trip was pretty good- not exactly like my scenarios, but good none the less. I'll probably go to CVS tomorrow, but that will be my last shopping for September. It was a good month!

WAGs Double Days - $25 profit!

2008-09-25T20:38:00.008-05:00

I didn't get to WAGs on Sunday, partly due to internet outage, partly due to craziness. So, I lost $15 in RR, which sucks. But life happens. Fortunately, there is a $5/20 coupon for this weekend, so here are my 2 scenarios (one with Sept rebates, one with Oct rebates).

Scenario #1
10 Hershey's 8 packs $1 each
2 Triaminic $4.99 each - (2) $2 Triaminic coupons here
2 Reach toothbrushes 2/$5 - (2) $1/1 Reach coupons (6/8 insert)
Pert Plus $3.79 - $1.50 Pert Plus coupon (8/3 SS), $2.50 Pert Plus Oct ESC
LypSyl $1.99
Excedrin Express Gels $3.99
2 Lindt bags 2/$3 - (2) $1/1 Oct ESC

$25.75 - $4.50 RR - $5/$20 = $16.25 - 14.16 on g.c. (aug rebates) = $2.09 oop

earn:
$2 Triaminic RR
$5 Reach RR
$5 Hershey's rebate
$3.79 Pert Plus rebate
$1.99 LypSyl rebate
$3.99 Excedrin rebate

Scenario #2

4 Hershey's harvest bags 2/$4 - (2) $1/2 Hershey's Sept ESC
4 Glade scented oil candles $5.79 - (4) $2 Glade coupons(8/24 SS) , (4) $2 Glade Sept ESC
10 pencils (in ad coupon) $1

$14.16 - 10 rr - 2 rr = $2.16 oop

earn:
$5 Hershey rebate
$8 Glade rebate

Total OOP $4.25
RR remaining $5
September rebates $14.77
October rebates $13

Cloth or Disposable

2008-09-22T19:31:00.003-05:00

Mercedes from Common Sense with Money has a guest post on Coupon Cravings today about saving money on diapers. Her suggestions are FABULOUS! She mentions alternatives, like cloth diapers, which inspired me to write a bit about cloth. First check out this post, where I explain cloth and explore the basic costs.

There are so many reasons one might think about using cloth diapers, from the health of your baby to the health of the planet. But this being Faithfully Frugal, we really should discuss the cost, right?! So, which is cheaper, cloth or disposable?

Flats and prefolds come in at under $0.10 per diaper. Most frugal shoppers I've asked say that is the price they look for with disposables. So, if you use flats or prefolds, cloth is probably cheaper. Contours come in around $0.12 a diaper, so those would be close to the same price as disposable.

The rest of the cloth diapers available cost $0.30 - $0.40 per diaper. If you bought disposable diapers at regular retail (yikes!), you might hit that level, especially with smaller packages and/or larger diapers (less per pack).

Here's where you have to start looking long term. First, remember these figures account for 2 years of diapering. If you aren't so lucky and your child potty trains at 3, that $0.40 All in One now costs you $0.27. Second, these figures are for one child -- most cloth diapers will make it through at least 2 children, sometimes 3. That same $0.40 All in One only costs $0.20 if you can use it for 4 years of diapering (for 2 kids).

So which is cheaper, cloth or disposable? It depends. If you don't have a problem with the more "complicated" cloth diapers (they really aren't so hard!), you can save some money with cloth. If you are planning several more children and you choose well made diapers and take care of them, you can save some money with cloth.

Obviously, I'm a cloth diapering momma (else, why would I know all of this!). We've had an interesting ride with our choices so far, but I'm very happy with the pocket diapers we are using now. While I used higher numbers in my calcuations, I have 21 mediums and will buy 18 larges. When the next baby comes, I'll buy 24 smalls. All together, this will cost me about $950. Over 3 1/2 years (1 1/2 with DD, 2 with the next), my cost per diaper will be $0.15. For me, the slight increase in cost is worth it for the environemental benefits.

Cloth diapers explained

2008-09-22T17:51:00.005-05:00

If you venture into the world of cloth diapers, be forewarned -- you may find yourself confused fairly quickly. When my mother was using cloth diapers with my sister, she had two choices -- wash them herself or use a diaper service. But now, consumers have hundreds of choices. In an effort to simplify, here is a brief explanation.

Some numbers I'm using. 30 diapers (one size)- this allows for 3-4 days between washes (more frequent washing for newborns, less so for older babies). 2 years - time in diapers. Of course, most kids will be in diapers longer than this, but it's a nice round number to work with! 5 disposable diapers per day. At the end of each type of diaper, I'll list the total investment and the cost per diaper (total divided by 2 years divided by 52 weeks divided by 35 diapers). The cost per diaper isn't the cost for the cloth diaper, but rather the cost per use of the cloth diaper. This number is for comparing with the cost of disposables.

Diaper covers (which provide a water resistant outer layer to keep clothes dry, ala the plastic pant) are necessary for most cloth diapers. Covers cost vary, but most are between $10-$20 a piece. Five covers in each of 3 sizes will generally do (you don't need to wash covers unless they become soiled). So, at $15 a piece, covers will cost $225 total.

The cheapest cloth you can use are flats -- essential one large piece of absorbant cloth that must be folded repeatly to fit inside a diaper cover. These are not very popular in the USA, though they are still used around the world (I guess we're just spoiled!). Flats run about $15/dozen. Using flats will cost $262.50 for diapers and covers. That's $0.07 per diaper. (See numbers above.)

Prefolds are the next level of cloth - and are very popular with the frugal set! They require less folding than flats, but are still very inexpensive. Prices vary depending on material used, but $20 a dozen is fairly reasonable. Using prefolds will cost $275, or $0.08 per diaper.

Contour diapers are cut into a baby-like shape, narrow in the middle (between the legs) and wider in the back. Kissaluvs are a very popular brand of contours and run about $7 each. Using contours will cost $435, or $0.12 per diaper.

The rest of the diapers listed usually come in 3 sizes. For these calculations, I'll figure 30 small, 24 medium, and 18 large since babies tend to use fewer diapers a day as they get bigger.

Fitted diapers look a lot like disposables -- they have leg gussets to give them good closure and snaps or velcro at the waist to eliminate the need for pins (or a Snappi). Again prices vary, but $13 is a fair average. Using fitteds (with covers) will cost $1161, or $0.32 per diaper.

Pocket diapers are the next option -- these do not require a cover as they have a water resistant outer layer sewn to an absorbant inner layer. In between is a pocket, into which inserts can be stuffed. Most pockets come in three sizes and $18 is an average price. Using pockets will cost $1296, or $0.36 per diaper.

All in Ones are just like disposables, except you wash them. They have a cover and absorbant inner layers all sewn together. Again, most come in 3 sizes, with an average price of $20. Using all in ones will cost $1440, or $0.40 per diaper.

Of course, if you buy larger quantities most sellers will give you a discount (for example, I looked buying one brand of pocket diapers using package deals and instead of $1296, my total came to $1076, bringing the cost per diaper to $0.30). And, you may get much more use out of your diapers than the 730 days I calculated based upon. Many cloth diapers are able to last through two or more children.

Walgreens 9/21-9/27

2008-09-19T23:05:00.004-05:00

Sunday WAGS trip ($15 in RR expire!)

10 Hershey's 8 packs (reese and kit kat pictured) $1 each
$5 esmir
$5 after rebate

2 Triaminic $4.99
(2) $2 coupons here
$2 RR
$1.98 after RR (for 2)

2 Reach toothbrushes 2/$5
$1/1 coupon (6/8 insert)
$5 RR
$2 overage

$18.98 - $15 in RR = $3.98 on gift card; $7 RR and $5 rebate

Double Dip Deals (9/26 and 9/27)

Pert Plus $3.79
$1.50 (8/3 SS)
$2.50 Oct ESC
$3.79 Sept rebate
$4 overage

LypSyl $1.99
$1.99 rebate
FREE

Excedrin Express Gels $3.99
$3.99 rebate
FREE

$5.77 - $4.50 RR = $1.27 on gift card; $9.77 rebate

Transaction #2

4 Hershey's harvest bags 2/$4
$1/2 Sept ESC
$5/4 Oct rebate
$1 for all 4

4 Glade scented oil candles $5.79
$2 (8/24 SS)
$2 Sept ESC
$2 Oct rebate
$0.84 overage

2 Lindt Chocolate bars 2/$3
$1 Oct ESC
$1 for 2 bags

$14.16 - $10 in RR = $4.16 on gift card; $8 rebate

Total: $9.41 on gift card; $7 RR earned, $22.77 rebate

CVS scenarios for upcoming weeks

2008-09-18T22:40:00.005-05:00

9/21-9/27

L'Oreal Advanced Revitalist anti wrinkle serum $11.99
$3/1 (7/20 SS)
$11.99 ECB (Sun/Mon only)
$3 overage

9 Huggies cleanteam wipes $2.99 ($26.91)
(8) $3/2 (home mailer - the insert coupon expired 9/13)
$10 ECBs (wyb $25)
$4.91 after ECBs
Huggies diapers apply - $15, I have a $1.50 coupon from a home mailer
Cottonelle moist wipes $2 also apply for this deal and there is a $0.50 printable for them.
Kleenex apply - $1 (filler)

Nivea for Men $4.99
$1 (7/20 SS)
$4.99 ECBs
$1 overage

2 Crest Pro health toothpaste (or rinse) $2.99
(2) $0.75/1 (8/31 PG)
(2) $2 ECBs
$0.48 for 2 after ECBs

Adidas Deodorant $4.99
$1 (7/27 RP, 9/7 RP)
$4 ECB
FREE

Candy ECB deal Spend $15, get $7 ECB
several mix bags for Halloween included

9/28 - 10/4

Covergirl Clean liquid makeup $5.49
coupon in 9/28 PG ??
$5.49 ECB
?? overage

Nestle ECB offer $5 ECB wyb $15 in select products
$1 printable

Treading water and a CVS scenario

2008-09-18T09:08:00.003-05:00

For the first few months after DD was born, I didn't feel like 2 was much more work than one. Boy was I wrong. I guess the frozen meals and cleaning lady were way more help than I realized. Now that I'm "on my own" again, I feel like I'm treading water on my good days. On bad days . . . well, you know what happens when you stop treading water. I think I'm going to turn off my computer today to get rid of at least one distraction!

I got a $5/$30 coupon from CVS. Nice, since I haven't been yet and was going to spend more than $30 (before coupons) anyway. Here's my scenario:

Aleve Sinus $3.99 use $1 coupon, get $3 ECB; free
Excedrin express gels $3.99, get $3.99 ECB; free (or $$ w/ coupon)
2 Skippy PB
4 Ragu $10 use 3 $1/2 coupons, get $3 ECB; $0.67 each
3 John Frieda Frizz Ease $15 use $3/2 and $1/1 coupon, get $5 ECB; $2 each

subtotal $32.98

$5/$30 coupon
$1 off aleve
$1/2 Skippy
(2) $1/2 Ragu
$3/2 John Frieda
$1/1 John Frieda

OOP: $19.98 (use ECBs)

ECBs earned $14.99

9/14-9/20 deals

2008-09-13T21:00:00.002-05:00

CVS

6 Skippy PB or Ragu $10 use 3 $1/2 coupons, get $3 ECB; $0.67 each
3 John Frieda Frizz Ease $15 use $3/2 and $1/1 coupon, get $5 ECB; $2 each (limit 5)
Aleve Sinus $3.99 use $1 coupon, get $3 ECB; free
Excedrin express gels $3.99, get $3.99 ECB; free (or $$ w/ coupon)

Walgreens (it sucks that Walgreens is so BLAH right after a great RR week!) I have $6 in RR that expire 9/19 (Friday), $15 that expire 9/21, and $14.50 that expire 9/27.

2 Pantene Beautiful Lengths shampoo $8 use $1/2 coupon (9/14 PG), get $5 MIR, $2 RR (FREE after RR and MIR)

Meijer (FYI - this is what I came up with before checking The Grocery Game list -- I won't note any changes here, but I'll let you know if I missed anything significant!)

Buy 10, get 11th free ($3.80)
4 Green Giant boxed veggies $0.60/2 from eatbetteramerica.com
4 Green Giant poly bag - Steamers - $1 from bettycrocker.com
2 Organic carrots $1/2 from earthboundfarms.com
Dole Salad

Zatarain's Rice Mix 4/$5 $0.75/2 from 9/7/08 insert = $3.50 for 4, $0.88 each

6 pounds 96% lean ground beef $3.49/lb = 20.94

My Meijer trip this week is to prove to the world that shopping frugally doesn't mean eating junk food! I'm paying less than $30 for 6 pounds of lean beef, 4 boxes of rice mix, 8 packages of frozen veggies, 2 packages of carrots, and a bag of salad!

Super Savings Saturday

2008-09-13T20:23:00.004-05:00

No pictures this week. Getting back into fall has been crazy around here. I'm anxious to get used to the routine again.

I did a lot of shopping this week. Some planned, some not so much. I went to Jewel 3 times! Yikes! The first trip was planned. I took advantage of a Box Top promo and spent 13.85 for $29.57 in groceries (53% savings). Plus I got 20 extra box tops for DS's school. Yesterday I ran in for some applesauce (Aldi didn't have unsweetned). Today I needed raisin bread and eggs - I also grabbed a paper.

At Aldi I got milk and oil for $5.17.

I used my Grocery Game list at Meijer to get $20.58 of groceries for $13.75, a savings of 33%. I also got a $3 coupon on my next order.

I hit Target for the Kashi deal. I got 2 boxes of cereal and 2 boxes of cereal bars, plus 2 packages of juice boxes for $5.67. I paid with a gift card from the pop tarts deal and got another $5 gift card back!!! So, I got all of that for a total of 67 cents!

I hit Walgreens twice - once early in the week and once today, after the $10/40 coupon came out. I got 2 robitusin, 2 windex wipes, 2 scrubbing bubbles wipes, 3 action scrubbers, and some photos for 15.31. I got $15 in RR back. Then, I went to do the $10/40 deal today, but my store didn't have the Living Solutions bags (which I was sad about -- I kind of liked them!), so my whole scenario fell apart. I wound up just getting a few things - 3 dimetapp, crest mouthwash, 2 dove bars, and 2 herberts bars. My total was 11.85 and I got $14.50 in RR back. Total value: $81.89 Total on gift card (from Aug rebates): $27.16 Savings: 67% And I got $29.50 in RR. (Which I will struggle to spend, since next week looks crappy at WAGs!) Total OOP: $0

Overall, it was a good week. About $38 oop for about $150 of products, with $32.50 in CATs for next week. I saved about 75% before CATs, or 96% after CATs.

$10.54 profit at WAGs

2008-09-11T20:19:00.006-05:00

I don't know if I'm going to use this Walgreens $10/$40 coupon, since I already went to WAGS once this week, but this is what I'll do if I do.

Excedrin Express Gels $3.99, $3.99 rebate
Lypsyl lip moisturizer $1.99, $1.99 rebate
Pert Plus $4.29 - $1.50 coupon, $4.29 rebate
Living Solutions bag $9.99, $9.99 rebate
Living Solutions bag $5.99, $5.99 rebate
3 Dimetapp $3.99 each - $2/1 coupons, get $10 RR
Crest pro health $4.49, get $4.49 RR
Apricots $1.99
2 Oust air and surface $3 each, use BOGO coupon, $1/1 coupon and $1/1 ESR coupon
2 Herbert's chocolates 2/$3, use $3/2 ESR coupon
2 Dove chocolate bars $3 w/ad coupon, use $1/2 ESR and 2 - $1/1 coupons
$3 filler

Subtotal $40.20
less $10 coupon
$30.20 OOP

$14.49 RR
$26.25 rebate

make $10.54

Weekly Musing

2008-09-09T21:34:00.003-05:00

DH has been sick this week. As annoyed as I am to have him hanging around randomly since he works for himself, it's worse when he's sick. He just sits here, looking pathetic and makes me self-conscious about everything I do. I suppose that says more about me than about him.

Usually I enjoy preparing to shop -- it's a hobby, kwim? But some weeks, like this one, it just seems to take on a life of it's own. It's like I can't get my head wrapped around the deals I'm trying to work. And, my Bible study was canceled tonight, which means I didn't get to CVS today. (I usually stop on my way to save gas.) I've decided to not go to CVS this week for two reasons. One, I decided to get Chex Mix 100 calorie packs at Jewel instead of the regular bags at CVS. No, they aren't free, but they are cheap and they'll save my hips! (Ok, my hips are well beyond saving, but it's an idea, right?) Two, I didn't need any of that stuff anyway.

One thing that is difficult to accept when you start playing this game is that the deals will come back. You see the ad, the coupon, and everyone chatting it up on the internet, so it seems like THE BEST DEAL EVER!!!!! But next week, there will be a new best deal ever. And this one won't seem so fab anymore.

This is my new goal: control the urge to buy just because it's a good deal. Yeah, it's fun. Yeah, it's cheap. But it's also just another way of worshiping money instead of God. Saving money can become as all consuming as spending it, taking a place in our lives that could be filled with something more important (whether that something is God, our kids, our spouses, or even just a good book). And here's another truth (albeit a much less serious one) -- I'm running out of storage space!

Making money at the drug stores this week!

2008-09-06T07:53:00.005-05:00

CVS $1 profit!

Chex mix $1 - $1 q
Malt o meal cereal $1 - $1 q
Loreal cleanser $5.99 - $1 q, get $5.99 ECB (limit 1)
Right guard deodorant $2.99 - $1 q, get $2 ECB (limit 5)

$14.94 oop, $15.99 ECB

Walgreens - $10.50 profit!!!

Transaction #1
Cleaners - buy 7 get $10 RR: (3) Action Scrubbers ($3.79 - $2.75 q), (2) Scrubbing Bubbles wipes ($2.49 - $1 q), (2) Windex wipes ($2.49 - $0.75 q ) = $9.58, get $10 RR

Medicine - buy 3 get $10 RR: (3) Robtiussin ($3.99 - $3 q) = $2.97, get $10 RR

Visine $3.99 - $3 q - $2 ESq = $1.01 overage

Apricots $1.99

$13.53 oop, $20 RR

Transaction #2
Crest prohealth rinse $4.49, get $4.49 RR

(3) Dimetapp ($3.99 - $2 q) = $5.97, get $10 RR

$10.46, use $10 RR from cleaners; get $14.49 RR

Super Savings Saturday

2008-09-05T08:52:00.005-05:00

I didn't get pics this week . . . I have gotten behind in cleaning, so there was nowhere to put things but away! But I did have a good week. My total OOP was $38.82 for more than $140 in products. I saved 72%. I earned $15 in ECBs, GCs, and RRs.

CVS - $1.12 oop (tax), earned $4 ECBs
2 Covergirl Outlast lipsticks FREE after BOGO sale and BOGO coupon
2 Colgate toothpaste $5.98 - (2) $1 coupons = $3.98, earned $4 ECBS
2 Atkins snack bars FREE after (2) $1 coupons

I also transferred DD's prescription and got a $25 gift card. So, when I use that card, I won't count any OOP, since I didn't pay for it!

Target - $23.24 oop, earned $5 gift card
(4) 12 packs of poptarts $7 after (2) $1/2 coupons, earned $5 gift card
(2) packages cookies (for Grandparent's Day) $4.24 after $1/2 coupon
(2) Juicy Juice 8 packs $1.50 after (2) $1 coupons
Salt and Pepper grinders $4.18
Stickers (for Grandparent's Day) $3.98
8 Kraft Easy Mac cups $2.16 after (4) $1 coupons
20 oz Coke $1.39

Meijer - $14.46 oop
Proprietary Grocery Game list - I bought a lot of produce here this week (more than half of my total). I saved 59% at Meijer this week.

Walgreens - $0.00 oop ($14.74 on gift card from August, $4 RR), earned $6 RR
Excedrin FREE after $2 coupon, earned $1 RR
(2) Pepto Bismal $9.98, earned $5 RR
Ink refill $5
(4) packages plates (clearance) $2
(2) packages bowls (clearance) $1

MJ

Buy it vs. Make it

2008-09-03T17:16:00.005-05:00

I've had a lot of fun the past few months building up a stockpile. But my excitement over the good deals made me forget about the value of home cooking. Here's a list of foods on which I plan to compare costs. I'll update this post as I make comparisons. There is a link under "resources" to a recipe cost calculator that is very helpful.

Whole wheat bread

Cinnamon raisin bread

Hamburger buns

Pita bread

Waffles: Completely from scratch, I can make waffles for $0.72 per dozen ($0.06 each). Using Jiffy brand mix ($2.19 for 40 oz at Meijer), the cost is $0.75 per dozen ($0.625 each). Using Bisquick ($3.59 for 40 oz), the cost is $1.05 per dozen ($0.0875 each). So, my price point for prepared waffles is $0.08 each ($0.80 for a standard Eggo package of 10). Also, Biquick is only a good deal if it is under $3.27 for 40 oz.

Pasta sauce

Yogurt (fruit flavored)

Pizza

Soups

French fries

Chicken nuggets

Pudding

Applesauce

Granola bars

My goal is to get a very good idea of when it is worth it to buy a certain item. Time also plays a role here; for example, since it costs me $0.06 to make a waffle, it seems reasonable to pay up to $0.02 more each to buy them (a total of $0.20 for a box of Eggos).

September budget goals

2008-09-03T15:46:00.008-05:00

As September gets started, I want to define some goals I've been working on. I've put together a detailed food budget to try to keep our spending focused on healthy foods (if we're only buying healthy stuff, that's all we can eat, right?).

Milk/Eggs: $25/month. We use about 4 dozen eggs a month, at $1.39/dozen (it keeps going up - two weeks ago it was only $1.09/dozen.). Milk is $2.29/gallon and we go through 8 gallons a month.

Meat: $75/month. We use a pound of meat each night, which makes for dinner one night and one or two lunches. My husband is a picky eater, so we mostly eat chicken, ground beef/turkey, and Italian sausage. We have "breakfast" for dinner once a week, with about 1/2 pound of bacon. We also have a big breakfast at home twice a month, so we go through 3 pounds of bacon each month, spending about $8 there. The rest of our meat budget breaks down like this:

Chicken @ $2/pound - 13 pounds of chicken $26
Ground beef (extra lean) @ $4/pound - 4 pounds $16
Ground turkey @ $2.50/pound - 4 pounds $10
Italian sausage/turkey sausage @ $2.50/pound - 4 pounds $10
Hot dogs/chicken nuggets, etc (variable prices) - $5

Produce: $100/month. This is a lot. But I think produce is the most important food category and I want to make sure we eat it, so being able to buy things we like is important. My general goal for produce is $0.25 a serving, which gets us close to 5 servings a day. Right now, I know we aren't eating near that much, so hopefully I can make sure we have the food and eat it! There is a helpful PDF which I have linked under "resources" on the sidebar. It lists all kinds of produce with serving size (the size is sometimes smaller than what I consider a serving) and how many servings are in a standard purchase amount. It is very helpful to know how many servings of grapes are in a pound, etc.

Other groceries: $75/month. This should cover cereal, pasta & sauce, rice, bread and baking items, etc. Pretty much anything that's not meat, dairy, or produce. :-) I have a great stockpile now, so hopefully this is achievable. The one concern I have here is drinks -- we drink ALOT of soda, probably close to $25/month! Right now, we have 2-3 months worth in our stockpile. I'm going to combine buying on sale with trying to drink less and re-evaluate in a few months. (I'd love to tackle this completely now, but trying to eat healthier is more important to me, so I'm focusing my energies there.)

Non-food supplies: $50/month. This is one area where I think I can be under budget. I have a stockpile of almost everything we regularly use, so I am really only "buying" things that are free or moneymakers. Obviously, there are things that will need replaced as we use them (like toliet paper!), so I will have to spend something on this stuff.

That gets me to $325. Last month, I was just shy of $350 and this month I want to bring it down a bit. Here's hoping!

Target

2008-09-02T09:34:00.005-05:00

Target has some great deals this week.

Poptarts 4/$9, but 4 get a $5 GC -- use (2) $1/2 coupons and 4 $0.50/1 Target coupons (HCW coupon generator) -- free after GC!!!

Juicy Juice 4/$7 -- use (2) $1/1 IP and $1/2 Target coupon from inserts --$0.25 each (great for school treats)

Pantene expressions 3/$10 -- use (2) $2/1 coupons and $3/2 Target coupon (on some bottles) -- free plus overage

Easy mac cups $0.70 each -- use $1/2 coupon -- $0.20 each

I'm doing the Pop Tarts and 8 of the Easy Mac cups. I don't have the Pantene coupons, so I'm not going to do that one. And I also don't have the Juicy Juice Target coupon, but I think $0.75 is still a good deal, so I'll pick up two.

My total for this stuff should be $6.50 plus tax and I'll get a $5 gift card!!

August wrap up

2008-09-01T23:32:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I did some end of August shopping. I went to Aldi and got: milk, eggs, bacon, and all purpose flour ($11.04). Later, I went to Jewel. Now, I didn't do anything wrong, but I failed to "fly under the radar" this time. Usually, I try to keep my coupon total from being "too high" and my final price from being "too low". Either of these can attract attention. And even if you do everything by the book, attracting attention can mean the store employees become suspicious of you. Flying under the radar is about maintaining a good reputation with your stores.

So, here's what I did. I had 6 Crystal light FREE wyb coupons left. I wanted to use them without spending too much, so I got kool aid packets (this is the first time I used Kool aid for a qualifier, but it really wasn't a problem). Now, I knew just getting those would be suspicious, so I planned a shopping trip with the help of The Grocery Game. I was getting some snacks for DS to take to preschool and assorted other things. But, I found a great coupon for free Coke Zero wyb Sara Lee hot dog buns AND Hillshire Farms smoked sausage. Both were on sale this week. I needed hot dog buns, I'd tried the sausage and liked it, and we drink lots of soda. So I picked up 8 coupons and 8 of each product. Well, when you have 14 coupons for free products, your total starts high (nearly $100) and ends low (under $50), it raises suspicion. The woman who came over never said anything to me, only to the cashier (she suggested he'd done something wrong, which I don't think he did, but whatever). I was glad that there was no inquest about my coupons, but it was a good lesson in WHY flying under the radar is important. I don't want those cashiers to be concerned about ME!!! (Oh, my Jewel totals: $155.78 in product for $42.65!!!)

On the subject of wrapping up August, I did stick to my $350 budget. I used $176 in coupons, mailed in $32.29 in rebates, got $60 in WAG rebates for August and already have $48 in WAG rebates for September! My total product value was $950.24 for which I paid $348.35, a savings of 70%!!!!

I mailed in for a lot of rebates and I seem to be running out of storage space, so I lowered my September budget to $325 (and I hope to be more around $300, but I hate to set a goal and fail!).

Aug 31 - sept 6 sales

2008-08-30T13:08:00.003-05:00

CVS Aug 31-sept 6

Covergirl Wetslicks $5.99 - $1 q, $5.99 ECB (make $1)
Colgate Total $2.99 - $1.50 q, $2 ECB (make $0.51)
Atkins bar 10/$10, $1 q (FREE)

Walgreens

Ink refill (50% off)
Excedrin $1.99 - $1 or $2 q, $1 RR (free or make $1)
Pepto Bismal - $4.99, buy 2 get $5 RR

Super Savings Saturday

2008-08-29T21:36:00.003-05:00

My totals this week
Shelf $198.43 OOP $64.41 Savings 68%

I lost $1.31 in ECBs but will get $52 in rebates from Walgreens. Not too shabby! Figuring in ECBs and rebates, I saved 93% this week. One of the best things about the Drugstore game is using the overages to increase your grocery budget. I certainly don't NEED all the shampoo and toothpaste, but if they will pay me to take it, I can use that money to buy things we do need (like the canned pineapple this week).

CVS:

ZipFizz ($5.99), 2 Stayfree ($9), Kotex pantyliners ($1.49), 2 Revlon nail polishes ($5.99 - BOGO), 2 newspapers ($3.98) -- used BOGO stayfree ($4.50), $0.75 kotex, (2) $2 Revlon, $3/15 -- paid $13.79 in ECB, $0.51 OOP for $34.22 in products -- earned $12.48 ECB.

Meijer (proprietary Grocery Game list - no picture): $26.95 in products for $10.84, savings of 60%.

Walgreens:

See this post and this one for the whole run down, but I made $18.XX after tax to "buy" this stuff, worth $87.46! (I paid $34.70 oop, and will get $52+ in rebates.)

Jewel (proprietary Grocery Game list): $49.80 in groceries for $18.36, savings of 63%. These were a couple of clearance finds - biter biscuits for $1.64 a package, and lunch meat "singles" for $0.99 less a $0.55 blinkie.
Check out Money Saving Mom for more savings stories.

$20+ profit!

2008-08-29T16:30:00.002-05:00

Walgreens was fun today (thanks for coming with me, Suz!). The only thing my store didn't have was jelly, so I got pineapple instead. Also, the Garnier eye roller was $12.99 instead of $11.99, but that was fine.

My total before tax was $30.68 -- perfect! I'll get back $47.92 + $4.79 bonus = $52.71 in rebates. So, I profited $22.03 (18.01 after tax)! I never thought I could get paid to buy things!

WAGs double dip

2008-08-28T20:12:00.006-05:00

As if on cue, Walgreens issued at $10/40 coupon for Friday and Saturday. Normally, I wouldn't be interested, since I wouldn't want to spend $30 (your total must be above 40 after coupons). But, with the double dip days, I was already going to spend a significant amount, so this is just extra savings!

Here's my plan:

Chemistry Shampoo/Conditioner $7.99 - $3 Aug IVC = $4.99 oop

3 Garnier Fructis Shampoo/Conditioner $11.97 - $3 Aug IVC - $3 man q (7/20 inserts- also 5/4 & 8/24) = $5.97 oop

Garnier eye roller $11.99 - $5 Aug IVC - $2 printable = $4.99 oop

L'Oreal Revitalift anti wrinkle sale price: $12.27 - $3 man q (7/20) = $9.37 oop

Nivea for Men body wash $4.99 - $1 man q (7/20) = $3.99

Crest pro health $3.79 - $0.75 man q (8/3) = $3.04

Revlon nail polish $4.79 - $2 man q (8/24) = $2.79

4 Glade plugin scented oil 9.58- $8 man q(8/3) = $1.58

3 smucker's strawberry jelly $5 - $1.05 q (8/24) = $3.95

Reach toothbrush $1 - $1 man q (6/8) = $0 oop

$40.67 subtotal

$30.67 oop

September Rebates:
$7.99 Chemistry shampoo (make $3)
$10 Garnier (make $0.04)
$12.37 LOreal (make $3)
$4.99 Nivea (make $1)
$3.79 Crest (make $0.75)
$4.79 Revlon (make $2)
$4 Glade #34 (make $2.42)

$ 52.72 rebate (add 10% for GC)

$22.05 profit

Be sure to check out The "Cent"sible Sawyer for more Drugstore Divas!

Clearance finds

2008-08-28T10:57:00.004-05:00

I was lucky last night at Jewel. I have been looking for a good deal on Biter biscuits for DD and found some on clearance for $1.62 a box. Not fabulous, but it'll do for now. I also found Oscar Mayer singles 2 packs (sliced deli meat) clearanced to $0.99 - not a great deal, IMO, but with the $0.55 blinkie, I bought 4. I figured $0.44 for meat for 2 sandwiches was a decent deal. (These things retail at $2.99 -- who pays that?!!)

My table is groaning!

2008-08-22T22:06:00.006-05:00

My first Super Savings Saturday (I clearly need it -- I think I updated my deals 4 times this week!). This was a busy week for me. Lots of good deals. Here's a pic of (nearly) everything I bought this week - total OOP $56.50, with $34 in rebates, RR, and ECBs left over!! Check out Money Saving Mom for more great stories!

CVS - Dove Skinvitalizer, Revlon mascara, 4 bags G.E. candy: $0.50 OOP, $8 ECB earned

Target - (5) 12 packs soda, Luvs diapers: $10 OOP

Wisteds (local grocer) - 10 pounds of chicken, bananas: $18 OOP

Jewel - 7 boxes fruit snacks, 1 box granola bars, 4 packages hot dog buns, 1 pound strawberries, 2 lean cuisines: $9 OOP

Walgreens - Pert Plus, Jane makeup, 3 bags Russel Stover premium chocolates, Girhadelli extra dark bar, Aveeno baby wash, WAG brand sippy cup, 6 skippy, 4 cheerios, 2 bioinfusion shampoo, erasers, newspaper: $19 OOP, $22 rebate, $4 RR

WAGs $5/20

2008-08-21T21:56:00.006-05:00

My working scenario (small moneymaker):

6 Skippy peanut butter $10
3 Preparation H wipes $11.97
2 BioInfusion shampoo $11.98
4 Cheerios $7.96
Sharpie $0.39 (WAG coupon)

(3) $1/2 Skippy coupons (8/17 insert)
(3) $2 Preparation H IVC (Aug EasySaver)
(3) $3 Preparation H coupons (printable)
(4) $1 Cheerios coupons (Cheerios challenge)

$20.30 after coupons

$5/20 coupon

$15.30 oop, $13.18 rebate, $4 RR (make $1.88)

The Bertolli meals will be my back up for the Cheerios, since my store didn't have them today. They are $5.99 each (buy 2 - so $11.98) and hopefully I can find (2) $1.25 coupons. With the coupons, my revised oop would be $20.43 (but I would get $5 RR, so I would still make $1.75). Without the coupons, my oop would be $22.93, leaving me paying $0.75 total after rebates, etc.

Let the good deals roll!

2008-08-21T21:48:00.005-05:00

Wow. This is turning into a crazy good deal week.

First, my Walgreens trip today. Usually I complain when things don't go how I planned, but today it worked out well. My WAGs was all out of Cheerios, but they did have some GREAT clearance deals. Here's what I got:

Pert Plus $3.79 ($2 q, $3.79 rebate)
Jane makeup $4.99 ($4.99 rebate)
3 bags Russel Stover premium chocolates $1.09 each - clearance (B2G1 q)
Girhadelli extra dark bar $1.69 clearance ($0.75 q)
Aveeno baby wash $1.37 clearance ($0.75 q)
WAG brand sippy cup $0.25 clearance

I used 2 - $5 RR, bringing my total oop to $0.77 + tax. The cashier was shocked!

Then, I came home to post about it. And as I was checking some other blogs, I found out about the $5/20 WAG coupon out for this weekend!! So, when my Skippy coupons get here, I'm going to have fun!

I'm also putting together a Target deal for Luvs and Dr. Pepper (see Money Saving Mom for details on both of these deals). And, Jewel has decided it's time for cheap lunches - I'm getting a loaf of bread , a 6 pack of chips, lunch meat, 2 lean cuisines, and a pound of strawberries for $6.37!

Jewel shop

2008-08-20T21:41:00.004-05:00

I did go to Jewel for a few things tonight. I got 7 boxes of fruit snacks, 1 box of granola bars, and 4 packages of hot dog buns (the good, seeded kind that DH insists upon!). $15.56 subtotal - $10 catalina = $5.56 oop!! I saved 61% on things my family loves to eat!

This week seems to be headed in the really low OOP direction. If WAGs and CVS go how I hope, I'll be around $20 for all 3 stores this week!