April Month End Shopping Update

This month has felt like I blinked and missed it.  I don't know what was going on but I guess that we were trying to get through the last week of school before spring break and then we were away and then we were just trying to settle in after being gone for a week.  We started soccer which is three times a week and things have just gotten crazy.  Shopping took a back seat and I didn't go looking for deals which was tough because we were running out of things in the freezer and pantry.  I came back from spring break and had to do a lot of cooking to catch up.

Aldi and Trader Joes $0

My mom bought all this stuff for us at the beginning of the month when she was here visiting.  She likes to spoil her grandson with things that I don't buy and she needed a few things for herself also pictured which she took home with her but we did a good job eating lots of the stuff here already.

Target $32.65

I went to the store to pick up a few things for my son's easter basket including jelly beans, chocolate bunny, toys and I put some of his vitamins in the cart to because they were on sale and their was a cartwheel.  I wasn't sure what I got when I looked at the total later but I put a bunch of things in the cart without coupons!!  UGH!!  I also didn't even take a picture but I bought an incredibly overpriced chocolate bunny that I knew he wouldn't eat and it melted before Easter :(

Rite Aid $7.49

Wegman's $17.10

My husband took my son and cousin to Wegman's to get breakfast and some other treats.  I sent them with a coupon for a free case of soda and I know that they came home with Gatorade too.  I am sure it could have been worse....shown by my Target trip :)

Aldi $2.04

Wegman's $24.80

My husband and son were headed out to the dump to drop off logs and pick up mulch so they kindly stopped and got these groceries and sent me a picture of the cart.  When he got home, he said that I didn't need a picture because I had the picture from the cart :)  For some reason my son is sitting under the cart if you see his little bottom and shirt because the mac and cheese.

Aldi $27.87

I went a little crazy at the store but I made a list and got everything on the list.  We were totally out of a lot so I grabbed oyster crackers, pringles, pretzels, tortilla chips, wheat things, rosemary triscuits, and eggs.  We were running low on cheese so I stocked back up on it and lunch meat.  I put one tub of margarine in because we just opened the last one.  I splurged and bought garlic herb cheese spread because I haven't had laughing cow in awhile and I thought it would make a tasty lunch.

Harris Teeter $9.01

I was excited to have time to make it to the store to use my rain check for hot sauce that I wasn't able to use a rain check any more because they are changing their process with rain checks and the coupons expired on 4/29 so I just barely made it.  I got an amazing check out clerk who was super helpful (although she had been with the company since 2004 and wants to quit because they wouldn't let her transfer to another store).  I got three packages of yeast for $0.09 each after coupon which expires on 4/30 and this was my first chance to use it.  I got the evic price for the eggs for $0.87 because they were way more at Aldi's when I was there.  I also got the deal on the cereal so they were $0.97 each after sale and coupon.  I paid $1 for each pack of the ramen noodles because we were almost out and they are good little lunch for my husband especially when he is feeling under the weather.  We were out of stick margarine and it was sadly $0.97 each but I grabbed two because it is the same price at Aldi.

Aldi $10.51

I wasn't expecting to stop at Aldi but we were picking up my husband's car from the shop so we would pass it on the way home.  We needed milk so it was super easy to pull in and there were four lanes open and lines were out of control.  While in line, I grabbed rice and threw it in the cart.  My husband grabbed pepperoni and my son picked out two ice cream treats after our incredibly hot day mostly outside.

 Total OOP $131.47

I am pretty happy with the outcome of the month even though I know that I could have done better getting deals and stocking up on things at rock bottom prices.  I just sorted through over 9 coupon inserts that I hadn't cut this month so I am hoping that this work and a little hunting around next month will improve my shopping deals even though a lot of coupons went straight to recycling.  Sadly, even found a coupon on the jelly beans that I bought and left in the car that we didn't bring to Target.  If I was a little more together, I could have even gone back and gotten the money back later but I didn't :(  Life was busy and I still made it under budget so that was the best accomplishment.  

Here is hoping that you have had a great month too and gotten lots of great deals!! 

Middle of the Month Shopping Update for April

I was not doing the best keeping track of our spending this month because we were on vacation for a little bit over Spring Break so I thought we were doing pretty well but things got away from me quickly.  The great part is that we are halfway through the month so it isn't horrible but here is what I spent and what I got.

Target $32.65

I went to the store to pick up a few things for my son's easter basket including jelly beans, chocolate bunny, toys and I put some of his vitamins in the cart to because they were on sale and their was a cartwheel.  I wasn't sure what I got when I looked at the total later but I put a bunch of things in the cart without coupons!!  UGH!!  I also didn't even take a picture but I bought an incredibly overpriced chocolate bunny that I knew he wouldn't eat and it melted before Easter :(

Rite Aid $7.49

I went to the store to get some medicine for my son because he was sick while we were away.  This helped get rid of some of the snot..YUCK!

Wegman's $17.10

My husband took my son and cousin to Wegman's to get breakfast and some other treats.  I don't even know what they got but I sent them with a coupon for a free case of soda and I know that they came home with Gatorade too.  I am sure it could have been worse....shown by my Target trip :)

Aldi $2.04

We went away for vacation and came back to really yucky milk.  I dumped it out and went to the store and grabbed only milk which I was thinking was the first purchase of the month.... was I mistaken or what?!

 Total OOP $59.28

I still have $100 left for the month so there is a lot of spending left and lots of thing already in the fridge, freezer and pantry so still hoping to be under budget for the month.  

How is your month going??  Do things like holidays and vacation send you off budget quickly like it does me?  My husband likes to say that we should be able to get it because we are on vacation but without a little control, we can't afford the vacation expenses.  I am quick to fall into the same thing a few times especially when I haven't planned as much ahead as I should of!!  We deserve to have special treats but my husband and son took a little advantage of me this week but luckily we are getting back on track now that we are home...hopefully I will catch up around the house too!

Reader's Trip to Rite Aid for $0.47!!

Do you want to see a great trip to the store?  One reader told me that she had a great trip to Rite Aid and some new couponers were asking about how they could get diapers and get into the drug store game.  I think that this is a great example of how great you can do at the drug stores.

Here is a picture of her receipt!!  She spent $0.47 out of pocket after wellness savings from the Rite Aid card and all coupons and Rite Aid UP rewards.  That is $0.10 plus tax!!  Bags of stuff for pocket change is always the best trips because you leave feeling amazed.

She got $30 of UP Rewards back to spend next time. 

Couponers just cheered because they know how fun it is to use your UP Rewards to get things that you want and have more UP Rewards to use on their next purchase. 

New couponers just said, "How do I do that?"  It just takes a little planning and it is a lot of fun!!!

Way to go Lisa from PA!!  

Want to know more about the reader who had this wonderful trip? Lisa is a mother of 6 and Grandmother of 9 and has been couponing/refunding for 36+ years before it became "the thing to do". She started this journey a long time ago when her aunt gave her a refund magazine called "Moneytalk" and a rebate form for Duncan Hines cake mix for $1 cash. She was "HOOKED". Although she does not have a blog, she has many people tell her to have classes to teach this. But she has not taken the step to do so yet, maybe one day. She still learns so much to this day reading wonderful blogs about certain store deals etc. Love this hobby she has done for so many years. If anybody gets a chance, she recommends the book "Coupon Crazy" by Mary Potter Kenyon it tells you all the aspects about couponing/refunding from the good to the bad things that have happened through the years. When you read about Lisa from PA that is her!.

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

Shopping to start the month with quick trips to Harris Teeter and Rite Aid

I had a lot of children's activities planned for the beginning of the month so I didn't get much shopping done. I was also working on my big plan to clear out the fridge and freezer so that I could clean it.  In case you didn't see, I cleaned it!!!  I was really excited to get that done before my husband went back to work.  I moved everything in the morning to the upstairs fridge.  I took out all the things that didn't need to be in the freezer like the oats, chocolate chips, and corn meal and put them out on the counter.  I still had a few things like tortillas that were frozen that I put in a cooler while I quickly cleaned out the freezer.  I think that this is the best job that I have done so far.  I got everything put back in it that night with the exception of the little baggies of things that I left in the upstairs freezer so that I could find the perfect container to put them all in so that they weren't all over the freezer.  I am really happy with the results and I can no start shopping and cooking to fill up the freezer!

We were super busy and pretty well stocked for the month from super doubles at the end of last month.  I didn't even make my list of what I needed to get for the month and it was already a week into the month!!!  I guess we are having a slow start to the month which is always a good thing for the budget.  But my luck ran out and so did we, of milk and eggs that is :)

I decided to run to Harris Teeter to get eggs and milk.  I had a rain check for both and it seemed like a good enough price especially since we were totally out.  The total is sadly what I would have paid for just the milk since milk is $4 per gallon in this area :(

Total OOP $4.45
Total Savings $2.20 + $3.84 egg rain check +$1.42 milk rain check= $7.46

Then, my son and I went to three different Rite Aids the next day (in between library and park trips). They had my deodorant (also my mom's) on sale for $0.89 instead of $3.59.  My mom and I were both using our last one.  My mom uses the unscented kind which is hard to find which is why we went to three.  I got 9 for her (not pictured) and the rest for me.  I think that I am stocked for a good long time!!

Total OOP $21.69
Total Savings $62.10

The crazy thing is that I only used two coupons in this whole transaction to save almost $70.  It pays to shop sales and stock up on things that you use when they are cheap because it will save me lots later when I don't have to rush out and pay the shelf price :)