Middle of the Month Shopping Update

I can't believe that I am already in the middle of the month.  I was shocked when I looked at the calendar but if you are like me, you are just focusing on getting things done before the holidays....mine is before my son gets out of school on Friday because then I will have my special helper with me always.  Shopping is a much better solo activity :) Got lots of trips in that were bigger then my normal trips so I think that I am pretty excited.

Here is what I got so far for the month:

Harris Teeter $30.84

I went to the store to get free gravy, iced tea, rice-a-roni and sugar cookie mix.  I got $0.25 each soda and $0.22 Yardley soap.  There were a lot of deals including some clearance steaks for New Years eve.

Harris Teeter $12.28

There was a deal to get the Kraft Trios, Wilton Sprinkles and Harris Teeter batteries for free on Saturday.  The Rev wrap was free with sale, coupon and electronic coupon.  I also grabbed the deal on the Pringles which were $0.97 each and I had a coupon for $1/4 so they were $0.72 each.  We already enjoyed most of them!!  There was an deal on the oatmeal because they were on sale for $2.50 each and I had a coupon which was $1/2 and there was an instant savings of $3 so they ended up being $1 per box.  I grabbed two boxes of scalloped potatoes which were $1 each less $0.50/2 coupon but I didn't have the electronic coupon so they were $0.50 each and there was a Saving Star credit for $0.50 so they were basically $0.25 each...plus I really like them.

Aldi $18.59

I went to get the bananas and apples that my husband wanted and the popcorn for my dad for Christmas.  I added a few extras like emergency butter, oil, pretzels, chips and crackers because I didn't know what we had in the cupboard.  I splurged on the Aldi brand of the cheese wedges.  They were yummy for lunch with the thin wheat crackers!!  It will make me eat something healthy for lunch at least because they are so easy to grab.

Giant $3.06

My son was out of ketchup so we went to the store with no coupons (because there weren't any) and bought it not on sale (because the sale one was empty).  We needed it for dinner that night so there wasn't a lot of options and choices but we checked at CVS And Giant because they were in the same plaza.  It was almost $2 cheap at Giant if you were holding your breath on the results.

Harris Teeter $30.75

I went to the store quickly on Friday after work and got a few of the sale items that were super low priced.  There were sales on all of the baking supplies for under what you can get things at Aldi so I scooped up Crisco Oil for $1.67, Pillsbury Bread Flour for $1.67, Dixie Crystal Sugar $1.67 (after sale and coupon), and Carnation Evaporated Milk $0.57.  The was a deal on the Diet Pepsi 8 pack min cans for $2.50 (normally $5.19 WHAT?!) and there was a $1 printable coupon and $1 electronic coupon so I paid $0.50. The Cranberry juice was on sale for buy one, get one free so it was $1.95 so I got what I could see on the shelf because it was behind the pole.  My mom loves the Christmas tea Cinnamon Sweet Pumpkin from Celestial Seasonings so I bought that for her gift.   Missing from the picture is the Challenge butter I got for free after coupon.  My impulse purchase was the cranberry sauce for Christmas dinner.

Total OOP $95.52

I had to go to the store a few times this month but not really that many times.  We were out of Cranberry Juice for my husband so I got that on sale for under $2 each.  They both requested cereal (and listed their favorite kinds).  Sadly, they have not been on sale recently so they are still on the list.  I got some gift cards for Christmas from work and my son and I went on an all day shopping event...it was a lot!!  We left the house at 9:30 and went to Kohl's first and used a $5 reward and coupon for 15% off to get these two items for gifts for under $4.  It was great value and wonderful unique presents- one for a birthday present that we needed for that night!!

Then, we went to Target to get some things for my father and another thing for a birthday party he has to go to. Sorry for the pictures on the floor but I was going straight to wrapping so they were on the floor.  I got two of the Star Wars creator sets where the person can color the ships and then use an app to bring them to life (I don't have a clue but there was a 50% cartwheel and my son insisted it was the coolest).  He got one for the party and one for him.  There was a coloring set that he picked out for another party he is going to in a few weeks.  I got two coloring books, brownie mix, 2 boxes of Christmas cereal and granola bars because we were totally out!!!!! We got my fathers presents including Butterscotch Krimpets, Planters Nut Trio, Planters Winter Nut Medley, Planters Winter Brittle Mix, Cinnamon Almonds and Pecans, Ghiradelli holiday mix, Ghiradelli Peppermint Brownie (which my son advised that he might have to try), and Reese Trees.

We checked out with the nicest cashier who price checked three Pokemon things that there was no chance of me buying.  My son had a pizza that we were supposed to get at the Pizza Hut near our next stop from the Book It program but I always forget how long every errand takes when moving with my helper.  We split a personal pizza at Target with an agreement that we would split the second one later in the day but it was already 1 pm when we made it to eat.  Luckily I grabbed popcorn on the way out of the house because he ate most of that before Target.

I realized that there were a few more things that I forgot to get like Excedrin, my son's vitamins and the Smuckers Blueberry Lemon Jelly with honey so we went back and got them all and checked out with the same lady. After the second check out, we had $0.71 left on the gift card so we spent no money out of pocket to get all of these things and our pizza!!

I know that I have a few more shopping trips coming up for the rest of the month although I don't have a clue what we need,  I guess I need to put some work into getting the menu ready for next month so that I know what we need!! How is your month going?