My first trip after was to cash in three $0.75 coupons for the oatmeal that I bought and forgot to use the coupons since I had the help of my little one so I got $4.70 back before even starting shopping so it started on a great note :)
Here are my other shopping trips for the month:
Harris Teeter $12.03
I had a coupon for free milk and there was a sale on milk on a Saturday only deal. There was another deal where I got money back through Ibotta for the milk. There was a deal on Old El Paso where I put together 3 shells, 2 stand and stuff shells and 3 seasonings packets which came to $10 so I got off $4 instantly and used lots of coupons to save more and got an evic zvr coupon so they were really inexpensive and I will be getting a Saving Star too! I also grabbed the tuna which was a free Saving Star coupon so I got $1 back for that too!! There was another deal on the applesauce pouches where they were not much and I got back more money through Ibotta. It was a crazy complicated deal for me but I decided that it was good to try it out. I also finally transferred some (a little over $23) of my Saving Star money to Pay Pal so that we can actually use it.
There was a sale and coupon on the Dial soap and though it felt like a splurge because we didn't need it, I decided to throw it in the cart. We also weren't in total need of tissues but we usually go through a bunch during cold season because my son isn't the greatest at using the tissues until they are totally used and picks out a new one and of course, I had a coupon and there was a evic zvr coupon.
I used a rain check for the eggs and the Dixie Crystal sugar and used coupons to make them even better priced. We needed eggs lots so I was glad to get them for $0.87 per dozen which is a great price. I didn't need the sugar but I love getting them when I have the rain check and the coupons to match up so they were $0.38 for 4 pounds!!
Giant $4.76
I had my $10 credit for being part of the Giant community to use to get some deals so I headed to the store. We really needed some pasta so I ended up with 10 boxes!! Most of them were the white fiber one and there were two gluten free and two plus. My son picked out two boxes of Apple Jacks. There was also a deal on the Skippy Peanut Butter so I got the limit of two. I still had a little more money left so I grabbed the Cottonelle toilet paper and there was a coupon right on package!! Bonus but that is why my total was so high because I should have just grabbed some more pasta!
Wegman's $22.20
I went a little crazy at the store getting ground beef and an entire case of mac and cheese. I added the Red Baron pizzas and Cheese Its which was a huge splurge since it wasn't a really great price but my husband really wanted the Cheese Its and my son wanted the pizza.
Aldi $19.51
I got stick margarine and tub margarine which we needed. My son's favorite was the pepperoni so we grabbed two packages. We also decided to grab a bag of Cheese Tortilla chips and Cheese crackers. I went for another splurge and bought the dry milk powder that I wanted in order to make my homemade biscuit mix.
CVS $0.71
I had my $5 ECB for getting my medicine at CVS so I decided to use it on two boxes of Frosted Flakes which were on sale 2 for $5. I used a coupon and decided to add the small box of Cheese Its which was also on sale. I love when you got the really low totals on your transaction because you have the ECBs.
Giant $4.00
I had to get ham for my husband because we were totally out even though I was trying to be done with the shopping for the month. I used coupons and also grabbed two powerades which were free after coupons. One of the ham package isn't pictured because I went to my husband's work and dropped off a package for him to add to the sandwiches that I made him that morning (which were missing the ham).
Harris Teeter $19.22
I went to the store to get some chickens since they were on sale for $0.79 per pound. I grabbed the limit which was 4 and found only one Cran-Grape left on the shelf.
Harris Teeter $22.27
I went to the store to get some more deals that were going on this week especially the buy 10 for $10 deal and get $2 off. I grabbed 10 boxes of the Mueller pot sized spaghetti and one of the Veggie Spaghetti and used a ton of different coupons to get them super cheap. It is always great to have that in the cupboard to make a few meals out of each month. I got two free Power Ades which my husband has been enjoying. I also got a free yogurt but the area was really picked over and there wasn't that much left.
We were totally out of cheese and rice which are two main staples in our house. I grabbed the cheese deal where you buy two and get a caalina for your next purchase. The catalina machine wasn't printing so I got cash back from customer service when I showed them my little promotion sheet. The Mahatma rice was on sale for $2 and there was a $0.50 coupon which doubled so I got them for $1 for 2 lbs. It seemed like a good deal even though I had stocked up before for less.
There was a deal at the bottom of my receipt for Quaker Oatmeal at $1.97 which I don't know where it came from but I grabbed two of them and used a coupon because they are one of my son's favorites.
Splurges that we really didn't need were the two boxes of Cheese Its and the three Red Baron Pizzas but they were all good prices and I had coupons. It goes to show you that you might not need to get everything just because it is on sale and you have a coupon :) Of course, they won't go to waste here. I also grabbed the Texas Toast tortilla strips instead of the croutons because we ate those last time much faster but these were $0.17 instead of free after coupon.
I also decided that I would get Bugles for my son because they are not normally included in the sale and coupon but this time I had a coupon, zvr and saving star. They were $1.19 for two bags less the $0.50 that I will get back from Saving Star so they will eventually be $0.35 per bag. Then, I got the Hamburger Helper which was $1.45 for four boxes and I get back $0.75 from Saving Star which makes it $0.18 per box. Another deal that I couldn't walk away from but I have a hard time adding the Saving Star money into the savings because it doesn't go back to the food budget. It is great to have but I transfer it to my pay pal account and then it sits there waiting for an online purchase to buy something (never food).
I might have lost sight of the budget during the last trip with everything sounding like a good deal. I did leave one of the coupons at home for the Vidal Sasson hair color which would have given me the overage to pay for some of my other groceries. UGH!! Well, I guess I will be using that at the beginning of February to save on some more things.
I was happy with all of the things that we got this month but I didn't use a lot of things in the house like I should have because I didn't have a lot of time. I am going to make a batch of baking mix and some sour cream biscuits with it. I am also going to refill my baking jars in the cupboard so that I have some things that are easy to reach and make. I have to make pancakes and waffles to fill the freezer again because my son finished them all off for dinner last night.
We were totally out of cheese and rice which are two main staples in our house. I grabbed the cheese deal where you buy two and get a caalina for your next purchase. The catalina machine wasn't printing so I got cash back from customer service when I showed them my little promotion sheet. The Mahatma rice was on sale for $2 and there was a $0.50 coupon which doubled so I got them for $1 for 2 lbs. It seemed like a good deal even though I had stocked up before for less.
There was a deal at the bottom of my receipt for Quaker Oatmeal at $1.97 which I don't know where it came from but I grabbed two of them and used a coupon because they are one of my son's favorites.
Splurges that we really didn't need were the two boxes of Cheese Its and the three Red Baron Pizzas but they were all good prices and I had coupons. It goes to show you that you might not need to get everything just because it is on sale and you have a coupon :) Of course, they won't go to waste here. I also grabbed the Texas Toast tortilla strips instead of the croutons because we ate those last time much faster but these were $0.17 instead of free after coupon.
I also decided that I would get Bugles for my son because they are not normally included in the sale and coupon but this time I had a coupon, zvr and saving star. They were $1.19 for two bags less the $0.50 that I will get back from Saving Star so they will eventually be $0.35 per bag. Then, I got the Hamburger Helper which was $1.45 for four boxes and I get back $0.75 from Saving Star which makes it $0.18 per box. Another deal that I couldn't walk away from but I have a hard time adding the Saving Star money into the savings because it doesn't go back to the food budget. It is great to have but I transfer it to my pay pal account and then it sits there waiting for an online purchase to buy something (never food).
I might have lost sight of the budget during the last trip with everything sounding like a good deal. I did leave one of the coupons at home for the Vidal Sasson hair color which would have given me the overage to pay for some of my other groceries. UGH!! Well, I guess I will be using that at the beginning of February to save on some more things.
I was happy with all of the things that we got this month but I didn't use a lot of things in the house like I should have because I didn't have a lot of time. I am going to make a batch of baking mix and some sour cream biscuits with it. I am also going to refill my baking jars in the cupboard so that I have some things that are easy to reach and make. I have to make pancakes and waffles to fill the freezer again because my son finished them all off for dinner last night.
Total Monthly Retail $583.36
Total Monthly Savings $415.36
Total Monthly OOP $168.00
Yup, ended at $100 more then my mid-month review and at another whole dollar with no change. How does this happen?? I really was thinking about returning something to come under budget but I used the justification that I made about $45 on ebay this month, $2.85 through Saving Star, and $1.25 through Ibotta. I was close enough and I am going to try to learn from buying so many things this month that were splurges because I didn't make enough things at home for yummy treats. I am hoping that with my son back in school and things back to normal so that I can get some things done (he only went 10 days in January with all the snow days). Here is hoping that I jump to it and I am making a list of all of things that I have to do to make February go a little better :) How was your month???
What do you mean by "$10 credit for being part of the Giant community"? How exactly did you earn that?
ReplyDeleteSorry, I have posted about it in the past and I feel like I am repeating myself if I post it everytime but I a little over a year ago, I got an email from Giant if I wanted to be in the online community and if I did their surveys, discussions and more then I would get a $10 credit on my Giant card to get groceries (less milk, alcohol, and few more exclusions). I quickly said yes and I have been active every month since I started and get $10 free towards anything that I want each month at Giant. It is a great way to get some good deals if I save it for the week where there is something that I need and I match with coupons. I do get some surprised faces because I start with $40-$50 of groceries and end at a few dollars. I am really excited to share my opinions and get a little money for it straight into the grocery budget!!!
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