eisor|rosie

Unexpected Detour

2008-07-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

On my way to work this morning I got a message from a friend asking if we could exchange coupons. I ended up shopping at Publix and Office Depot!

The Publix $5/$35 coupon from a while back expires today. I decided I'd use up some rainchecks.

I bought the following:
4 - Nature Valley Organic Bread
14 - Smucker's Low Sugar Jam/Jelly
4 - Stacy's Chips

I spent $12.09. However, My mother is buying half of the Smucker's off me. I will charge her $0.60 a jar. She is also going to buy two loaves of the bread. So, that takes my total down to $2.70.

I also went to Office Depot this morning. I purchased two laptop backpacks. One for DH for school this fall and one for me. I will need mine to take my laptop & papers back and forth from school. I got them both for $13 each and they are NICE!!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
spent today: $2.70
spent so far: $27.78 (w/out dining out $13.83)
amount allotted: $50.00
amount available to spent: $22.22 (w/out dining out $36.17)

Candy, Pads & Clothes?

2008-07-30T03:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to Walgreens and got in on the Hershey Bliss deal. Here is the breakdown:

$14.00 - Hershey Bliss x 4
-$3.50 - Bliss BOGO
-$3.50 - Bliss BOGO
-$1.00 - Bliss $1/1
-$1.00 - Bliss $1/1
-$4.00 - IVC $2/1 x 2
=$1.00
Get back $5.50 (10% bonus) on my rebate!

I decided to go ahead and include this $1 in my monthly spending.

I also went to Target and used up 18 $5/3 coupons! Here is what I got:
10 - Stayfree Pads
6 - Bandaids
6 - Buddies Bars
3 - Buddies Products (body wash, detangler, shampoo)
8 - Carefree Liners ($2.69 packs)
21 - Carefree Liners ($1.04 packs)

I also purchased the following clearance items:
$9.98 - Cardigan Sweater
$9.98 - Cardigan Sweater
$6.98 - Merona Top
$6.98 - Merona Top
$6.98 - Merona Top
$2.24 - Merona Top
= $43.14

How much did I pay?? Approximately $18 and that inlcudes tax!!!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
spent today: $1.00
spent so far: $25.08 (w/out dining out $11.13)
amount allotted: $50.00
amount available to spent: $24.92 (w/out dining out $38.87)

Past Few Days

2008-07-29T09:35:00.000-07:00

So, not much has been going on the past few days. Over the weekend we tackled our whole apartment and got a lot of things in order. We also bought a new TV! :)

I've done a lot of school supply shopping. Trying to get things for my classroom and for Andy going back to school. Food-wise, we really haven't bought much.

The only thing we've purchased is pita bread and that was $2.29. Seriously, that is it.

Wait, I did purchase Trident XtraCare Gum last week and Lifesavers this week from CVS. But, those were free. I just had to pay tax.

Over the weekend I also headed to Walgreens and took advantage of the Cutter deal. I used the overage to buy a gift for my niece.

I went to Kroger on Saturday and I picked up some Speedstick and Huggies wipes. I want to go one more time this week to get more Speedstick, Advil and Sargento cheese.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
spent today: $2.29
spent so far: $24.08 (w/out dining out $10.13)
amount allotted: $50.00
amount available to spent: $25.92 (w/out dining out $39.87)

7/23 Publix

2008-07-24T12:10:00.000-07:00

I headed to Publix yesterday with my sister. I did two transaction and got a ton of stuff. I only spent $11 (including tax). YAY!

3 - $0.45 AC - Lysol All Purpose Cleaners
2 - FAC - Honey Bunches of Oats Individual Bowls
2 - FAC - Revlon Nail Clippers
2 - FAC - Sundown Vitamins (coupon adjusted down - although incorrectly! I paid $0.50)
16 - $0.67 AC - Hot Pockets
~2lb - $3.22 - Grapes
6 - $1.52 - Bananas
2 - $1.00 - Plums
4 - $3.38 AC - Flatouts
4 - FAC - Bic Mechanical Pencils

I used a 2 - $5/$35 coupon and a $2/$5 produce coupon, so I will deduct them from the amount I spent on food. Also, I will not be including tax.

So, when all is said and done, I spent $7.84 after all the coupons.

I also went out to Arby's because of an unexpected schedule change (our meeting was moved up an hour). I did the 5 for $5.95 deal.

DH also went out to dinner and spent ~$8.00 on chicken at Publix.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
spent today: $21.79 (w/out dining out $7.84)
spent so far: $21.79 (w/out dining out $7.84)
amount allotted: $50.00
amount available to spent: $28.21

7/22 Shopping

2008-07-23T07:27:00.000-07:00

I went to Walgreens and I got more back to school supplies and I also did the Reynolds wrap deal. Here is what I got:

3 - $1.12 - Expo Dry Erase Markers BOLD
5 - $0.05 - Mini Composition Books
2 - FAR & Coupon - Pantene Beautiful Lengths
5 - $0.05 - Papermate Mechanical Pencils
11 - FAC - Reynolds Wrap (Free After Coupons)

So, I was at Office Depot last night and noticed they are selling the same school box that Walgreens is selling. But, they are asking $1.99 for it! YIKES! The quality is horrible, even for $0.50!

At Office Depot I purchased:

2 - $0.15 - Filler Paper
10 - $0.01 - Poly Folders

I went to Office Max this morning to get the deals ($0.01 flexible ruler and $0.10 mini sharpies) and they were sold out. They said that they have a truck coming in on Friday. I may or may not check back. We'll see.

Today I'm headed to Publix, so I'll post back later with my haul.

7/21 Walgreens

2008-07-22T05:31:00.000-07:00

So, I headed to Walgreens yesterday to pick up some school supplies. Here is what I got:

1 - $1.99 - Expo Dry Erase Markers - Standard Colors
2 - $1.12 - Expo Dry Erase Markers - Bold (they were ringing up cheaper!!)
5 - $0.10 - Poster Board
1 - $0.50 - School Box (the quality isn't great, I may return it)
5 - $0.05 - Papermate Mechanical Pencils
1 - FAR - G2 Pens (red for correcting papers!)
1 - FAR - Crayola 20pk Markers
3 - $0.05 - Highlighters (one of each color)

I paid a little over $8 for everything! :)

I'm planning on going to a different store today to get some more supplies. I also want to get the Reynolds Wrap & use the overage on the school supplies.

Coupon Sharing

2008-07-21T11:16:00.001-07:00

I recently shared at my church's Christians Should Be Prosperous: Tips for Saving Money and Practical Living meeting. I talked about the ins and outs of couponing. I made sure to go over where to get coupons, how to match coupons with sales, how to organize coupons, the do's & dont's of coupons and much more.

For a review, check out my sister's blog post.

Also, here is a copy of the pocket size guide that I passed out.

~~I also had two more handouts, which I have at home. I will add a link later.~~

Here are the handouts I passed out.

7/16 Shopping Trips

2008-07-16T07:02:00.000-07:00

Target went well. I am so happy I had a good cashier!

I purchased the following items:
8 - Stayfree
1 - Carefree
6 - Bandaids
8 - Buddies Bars
1 - Johnson Baby Cotton Swabs
14 - Archer Farms Chips individual size
5 - Archer Farms Chips family size
2 - Renu Travel Contact Solution
40 - Ziploc Bags 25ct
1 - Swim Suit Top - clearance
1 - Swim Suit Bottom - clearance
1 - Shirt - clearance
3 - Dollar Spot items
1 - Worcestershire sauce

I ended up paying about $11 for everything. I didn't have my Stayfree BOGO with me. Just my $2/2. So, I missed out on some overage there. I was planning on doing the Head & Shoulder trial sizes, but I had a brain fart. Long story. So, that was $10 in overage I missed out. But, I'll do it next week.

I'm not counting any of the above as food costs. I used the overage to pay for the food. The Ziploc bags were $10 and the clothes were $15. All of which I was planning on buying even without the overage that I had.

I also headed to Kroger yesterday. Unfortunately none of the P&G deals that I wanted to do were included in the GA sale. I ended up leaving empty handed.

I also stopped into New York & Company to exchange some things. I ended up finding a GREAT pair of jeans for $7.99. YAY!

I'll be out of town until Sunday, so I won't be back to update until Monday. I won't be including our vacation in the challenge because it is something we have already budgeted for.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
spent today: $0.00
spent so far: $0.00
amount allotted: $50.00
amount available to spent: $50.00

$25 Challenge

2008-07-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

I've decided to take on the $25 July challenge that many other coupon bloggers are doing. I'm starting in late, so I decided that mine would run 7/15 to 8/15.

I'm going to only include food in the $25 challenge. HBA & household goods won't count towards the total.

My household consists of just DH and I, so only two mouths to feed. I think this challege will be very good for us. I don't currently have a monthly food budget, but it'd be great to keep it under $25 a person. So, I'm going to give myself $50 to spend.

I'm headed to Target today and will be buying a few food items. So, I'll post back tomorrow with some details.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
spent today: $0.00
spent so far: $0.00
amount allotted: $50.00
amount available to spent: $50.00

No More CVS for Me

2008-05-16T05:07:00.000-07:00

I've made the decision to stop with CVS. It's just not worth it for me anymore. I don't like that I have to spend so much "real" money to get stuff I don't need, so that ultimately I can get something I need. I'd rather just get the stuff I need from Walgreens with my giftcard. So, sad to say it, but no more CVS for me!

5/4 - Walgreens P&G Deal

2008-05-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

Walgreens is having a great deal right now on P&G products. I stopped by yesterday and did a few minor transactions.

Transaction 1
$2.99 - CoverGirl Eye Pencil
$3.49 - CoverGirl Eye Shadow
$2.99 - CoverGirl Eye Pencil
$3.49 - CoverGirl Eye Shadow
$2.99 - CoverGirl Eye Pencil
$3.49 - CoverGirl Eye Shadow
= $19.44
- $2.50 - Manu CG Coupon
- $2.50 - Manu CG Coupon
- $2.50 - Manu CG Coupon
-$1.74 - 50%
-$1.49 - 50%
-$1.49 - 50%
= $7.22 + tax OOP
Get 2 - $10 RRs

Transaction 2
$3.49 - Charmin TP
$3.49 - Charmin TP
$3.49 - Charmin TP
$1.29 - Dawn Soap
$1.29 - Dawn Soap
$1.29 - Dawn Soap
$1.29 - Dawn Soap
=$15.63
-$0.25 - Charmin Manu
-$0.25 - Charmin Manu
-$0.25 - Charmin Manu
-$0.25 - Dawn Manu
-$0.25 - Dawn Manu
-$0.25 - Dawn Manu
-$0.25 - Dawn Manu
-$3.50 - 7-Day WAG P&G
= $10.38
-$10.00 RR
= $0.38 + tax OOP

Transaction 3
$2.50 - Cascade Gel Pacs
$2.50 - Cascade Powder
$2.50 - Cascade Powder
$2.50 - Cascade Gel
$2.50 - Cascade Gel
$2.79 - Charmin Freshmates
$2.79 - Charmin Freshmates
$2.79 - Charmin Freshmates
$2.79 - Charmin Freshmates
=$23.66
-$0.50 - Cascade Gel Pac Manu
-$0.25 - Cascade Manu
-$0.25 - Cascade Manu
-$0.25 - Cascade Manu
-$0.25 - Cascade Manu
-$0.25 - Charmin Manu
-$0.25 - Charmin Manu
-$0.25 - Charmin Manu
-$0.25 - Charmin Manu
-$3.20
=$17.96 + tax OOP
Get 2-$10 RRs.

Transaction 4
$9.95 - Nature's Bounty Flax Seed
$9.95 - Nature's Bounty Flax Seed
$2.99 - Charmin TP
= $22.89
-$1.00 - NB Manu
-$1.00 - NB Manu
-$0.25 - Charmin Manu
-$9.95 - BOGO
=$10.69
-$10.00 RR
= $0.69 + tax OOP

I still have $20 in RRs and I want to do a few more transactions. I'm waiting for my rebate gift card to reloaded from the April ESR. I want to get the Venus & Zantac, but my store was out. So, I hope they restock.

I'm back!!

2008-05-05T11:21:00.000-07:00

I hadn't posted to my blog in a while, so I deleted the old posts and I'm starting fresh!

If you were following my blog before, you know that I stopped CVSing back in January because I was beginning my student teaching. Well, I completed my student teaching a few weeks ago and it went really well. I'm excited to be done with school and to be graduating this weekend.

I'm still debating whether I'm going to go back to CVSing. I viewed the ads for the next few weeks and nothing looks that exciting. I don't really need any of the items that are on sale.

I have been doing the deals at Walgreens the past couple months and I'm actually liking it better than CVS. I like that with my monthly rebate gift card I'm not spending any money out of pocket for the register reward (RR) deals.

With CVS, I spent over $100 out of pocket in less than 3 months. That is a lot of money. I definitely don't want to do that again!

For groceries I'm shopping at Target, Kroger and Publix. Kroger not so much anymore. I've been getting really great deals at Publix and Target though.

Anyways, I'm excited to get my blog back up and running. Look forward to more updates in the future.