Shopping for the First Half of the Month

I was trying to decide what we needed to get for the Halloween party at the end of the month as well as what was on the list that we needed to get this month.  I wasn't really sure so I was afraid to start out the month too strong and not have enough to prepare for the party without going over budget.  We really needed yeast so I went out and got that first thing so that I could make bread and rolls.  Then, I decided to shop a few sales and get some bargain deals.  Then, I finally came up with my list.  We need:

Cheddar Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
Popcorn
Turkey Lunch meat
Ocean Spray Cran-Grape
Cheese Its (per my husband's request)
Goldfish (per my son's request)
Pretzels (combined request)
Tortilla Chips
White Vinegar
Celery
Lettuce

I have the first half of the month shopping down and I need to get going on the list and get ready for the Halloween party which is coming up faster then I thought it would!!  UGH!!  I better get shopping and figure out what I have to make this week.

I didn't get up a lot of trips this month but if you want the details on the first two Harris Teeter trips, click on the total and it will bring you back to the original post.  For the others, I have put a brief breakdown of what I got and how I got my deals.

Target $4.14

I used one $0.40 coupon and got a $0.05 bag credit. 

Giant $0.38

I went to get the ham which was on sale for $0.50 each and I had the $1/5 coupons so I grabbed 15 packages.  There was a deal to get the 100% Juice for $1.77 limit 2 so I grabbed two.  Then my husband begged for some Cheese Its so I got one box because they were on sale for $2.50.  I got my $10 Giant credit, $3 Buddig coupons, and 5 bag credits.  I was so excite that I had exact change and could pay out of the change in my hand.  The cashier even called someone else over and said... do you want to see the lowest  total ever???  YUP, that is me :)

CVS $8.99 

I got my quarterly spending for $0.50 and then the $5 ECB for getting way too many prescriptions since I have been a little sick.  My son declared that he disliked the vitamins that I bought him (per his request) and wanted to go back to his favorite bear vitamins.  I went to my CVS and they didn't have any so I went to the one by my son's school and grabbed everything that they had on the shelf because they were on sale for buy one, get one free.  Total saved was $19.48 and my son is eating vitamins again instead of me finding something sticky stuck to the couch in the morning- PRICELESS :)

Harris Teeter $3.34

Harris Teeter  $4.16

Giant $1.53

This time I was looking for the Barilla pasta sauce deal that was ending that day and there was only one left on the shelf.  I could use the $1 coupon and make it free. But then I would not get the bag credit and I had a $2 catalina that came out for all of my Gerber purchases (expiring soon) so I decided to get something else.  I finally had a Cheez-It coupon for $1/2 so I grabbed the two boxes. I used the $0.75 coupon for the Barilla and got the overage so it brought the total down more!

Rite Aid $5.45

I went through my coupons in the morning to try to get organized because things were in piles and my coupons were everywhere.  I found four Ocean coupons and I remember seeing a note that would make them free after coupon at Rite Aid.  I grabbed the paper to make sure that this was this week and not last week and it was!!!  WHAT, how does it work that totally unorganized, I still could get the deal?  I also got a mailing from Rite Aid to get a free 24 count Excedrin which we had just run out of so it seemed like fate.  They also sent a $4 off any 100 ct Excedrin.  The sale ad said that those were on sale for $9.49 so it would be a great deal too and provide me a little more headache medicine that I greatly needed.  Total wellness + savings was $17.50 and coupons savings $13.49.  I was super impressed and even went to a different store that was closer to the house.  I had a great check out person and they had plenty of stock.

Giant $1.14

I was not thinking that I would find any Barilla on the shelf at the store since my store didn't have any so I was prepared to get another rain check so that I could get them later but they were totally full!!!  I got 20 different pasta sauces and then grabbed the Buddig ham and turkey with the other coupon to cover the bag credits and the overage from the one printed coupon that I still had.  This is why I am super happy to have so many newspaper inserts because I can fill up on pasta sauce and donate what I don't need to Northern VA Family Services.  I did get some weird looks from the person in front of us and he asked if I was feeding an army and I told him that I was getting them for donation but didn't mention that it would cost me pocket change to get tons of bags of groceries.  Half of my total was tax so that is always a good sign that you used some great coupons!  Total savings on just this order was almost $58!!!

In my attempts to not spend too much, I went the total other way and didn't spend even spend 20% of the monthly budget.  Of course, that means that I will have a busy end of the month getting the other things on the list but here is hoping that I stay on course for staying well below budget and using what we already have in the cupboards.  Going on a hunt to see what is left :)

Total Retail Cost $252.38

Total Savings $223.25

Total OOP $29.13