Saving... one coupon at a time

New year... new me.

2011-03-30T20:12:00.000-05:00

So it has been a year since I posted last.... which means I have not be faithful to blogging... but also I ahven't been faithful to clipping coupons. I am determined to save my family money by using the coupons. Luckily I have a great family who saves the coupons for me. We also get them in our local paper.

I shop at Walmart, Walgreens, and Rite Aid in my town. We also have Dollar General, Freds, and Piggly Wiggly. I travel out of town to Kroger, Publix, and Target as needed.

I have recently restocked my coupon binder and hope to see the saving add up.

Menu plan for Week 1/4/10

2010-01-03T17:39:00.002-06:00

I have decided to post my menu plan. I hope this helps me with my grocery planning. Also I am trying to eat from my pantry with just minor grocery shopping this month.

Monday: eat at my parents house (meetings)

Tuesday: Crockpot Ranch Chicken, green beans, garlic potatoes

Wednesday: Hamburger steaks, baked potatoes, green beans/ green peas

Thursday: Soup and grilled cheese sandwiches

Friday: Out? (meetings)

Saturday: Sandwiches/ leftovers

Sunday: Breakfast

Lunches for me will be leftovers or frozen meals. The kids eat at school. Don eats out but I might send lunch with him this week if possible.

A new challenge!

2009-12-29T20:22:00.002-06:00

Kelly from Faithful Provisions posted about eating from your pantry challenge. The challenge is to eat from your pantry for the entire month of January. I'm not sure if I can do it for the entire month but I am willing to try it to clean out my pantry of those foods about to expire.

So I am going to do this challenge with a spin to it. I don't have alot of meats in the freezer so I will need to pick up some meat through out the month. I do have lots of side items in the pantry that need to be used.

I pray that I can do this. Also we tend to eat alot of heat and serve foods... chicken nuggets and fish sticks being the kids faves... but my plan is to put a stop to alot of it this month.

Upset with myself

2009-12-29T20:09:00.002-06:00

I sat down tonight to sort through what was left of my coupons.... you see, I stopped using coupons for about 6 months.... why you ask.... because I got lazy! And as I was sorting through the coupons that are still good, I find one for the rolls that I bought Sunday. If I had that coupon with me, I could have saved $1 off the rolls that coat me $2.60 a package.

So tonight I am vowing to get back into coupons. I can't imagine how much money I could have saved if I had continued to use coupons.

stock pile eating

2009-06-30T15:40:00.002-05:00

I really haven't been buying groceries over the last three months. I have bought the necessities and a few other items, but that is all. I haven't even kept up with what all I have spent.

Beginning July 1, I will start keeping track of my groceries again. I have my coupon binder almost back in order and a stack of coupons to clip this week. I will buy the necessities again this week, and then July 15 I will buy several things that I need for my stock pile.

March... the first 10 days.....

2009-03-11T18:51:00.003-05:00

The first 10 days of March have been busy for our family. Kaitlyn is having a birthday party this coming weekend and Don and I went to the mountains this past weekend. My shopping lately has reflected all of this.

I am not going to break my trips down completely, just post where and when and how much. I will work on posting better from now on.

March 1:

Walgreens:
trans #1: Spent $12.10 saved $9.43 plus $2.56 with store discount (thanks to my dear hubby!)
trans #2: spent $42.97 saved $21.07 plus $11.22 store discount
trans #3: spent $38.61 saved $27.98 plus $8.06 store discount.

Total spent $93.68 OUCH! But saved $80.32
Don decided he needed new replacement heads for his razor and those were $25. We also stocked up on Zyrtec since I could get a RR from it. Those three items alone were $58.

March 6:
Walgreens:
returned the replacement heads that Don got earlier because they were the wrong ones.
trans #1: returned razor heads and bought J&J baby products for my (former) step daughter who is expecting.
Spent $0.74 saved $8.75
trans #2: spent $0.62 saved #11.80

Walmart:
Bought food for trip along with snacks for Girl scouts (cupcake cake for Kaitlyn's birthday)
Spent $51.73 No coupons used :(

March 7:
Walgreens:
Spent $15.59 saved $15.30 I forgot my comb and brush so I had to run to the store to get new ones... and then bought flip flops while there.

March 9:
Walmart:
Spent $82.30 No coupons here again... but I bought shoes and clothes for the kids mainly here. Not alot of this was food. I won't be counting this toward my monthly budget.

Walgreens:
Trans #1: spent $22.70 saved $13.97 this is mainly pullups for Will but I did get diapers for Cecilia
Trans #2: spent $15.53 saved $20.47 this was all diapers for Cecilia.

total spent in the first 10 days: $200.59. YIKES! That is almost my entire budget. I realize that this month is not my normal since we did have a trip and birthday. Kaitlyn is having a total of 3 parties... which means spending alot of money on food. I will be making cupcakes for her sleepover and think I will see if my mom will make her a cake for our family party.

February

2009-03-11T18:47:00.002-05:00

February was a rough month for me. For some reason, I misplaced several receipts for Feb which means i can not post what I spent for the month. So I am beginning fresh. March here I come.

My month

2009-02-17T21:21:00.002-06:00

I was sitting here trying to think of what I have spent this month and then realized that this month is almost over! I was worried that I had gone over my $350 a month because I spent $160 at Walmart last Sat. I still have to blog about my trips this month and I only have just over a week left in the month.

The good news is our income tax refund will be in this week. Bad news is it is almost completely spent before I get it. Dh wants to get a new laptop so we can stop fighting over this one. I want new sheets and we need a new mattress cover. I figure since I haven't bought new sheets in 5 years, I was entitled to some.

So tomorrow I will sit down and blog about my shopping this month to date. I am sure I still have the reciepts in my purse since I never clean it out.

Will's birthday party

2009-02-06T10:37:00.002-06:00

Will turns 3 next week! He has been so excited about his birthday for almost a month. This year he first wanted a Mickey Mouse party.... then I showed him the plates that were in my party box. This is a box of party supplies left over from previous parties. Four years ago Kaitlyn had a firetruck party. I found party supplies in a party store on clearance. I paid $25.00 for a box of firetruck party supplies. There were enough plates, cups, hats, and invitations in the box for at least three parties. Kaitlyn got her party 4 years ago. Now it is Will's turn.

So on Sunday, I will put out the firetruck plates, cups, and napkins. I will gather the kids together and let them play with the party hats. I will light candles on a cake made by my mom in a fire fighter cake pan I bought 4 years ago. And the cost of the party will be the cake mix, and the koolaid mixes.... and of course his present from us.

The best thing about the party is that is costing me next to nothing!

Budget checkup

2009-01-21T09:36:00.002-06:00

So this is my first month of trying my coupon/budget. I am also working on building a stockpile.

It is Jan 21 and so far I have spent $353.89. That is $153.89 over my attempt at $200. So maybe $200 was a little low for me to start with. I will try to stick to $300 from now on. The good thing is I have pretty much everything I need to get through the end of the month. Next month I will try the envelope method to see if I can stick to my budget.

My savings so far this month is $305.83. So I have cut my budget in half by the look of my savings. Now if only I just had that $300 to put in the bank. ;)

Walgreen's 1/18

2009-01-21T09:22:00.003-06:00

Went to Walgreens on Sunday thinking I could stock up on Don's Sierra Mist. but they were still out of it.

So I bought:

1st transaction:
2 Ragu pasta sauce
2 Lipton tea
4 Skippy PB
used 2 .40 coupons
2 .50 coupons
1 .60 coupon
1 .75 coupon
and $5 RR
total 11.16
total savings 18.19
and got $10 RR

2nd transaction:
1 pullups
2 bandaids
candy
used $2/1 pullups
$1/1 pullup IVC from coloring book
$1/1 bandaid IVC from coloing book taking off $2
$10 RR
total OOP 3.52
total savings 18.50
got $3 in RR ( $1 from pullups and $3 from bandaids)

3rd trans:
4 Peeps
1 Pullup
1 candy
1 paper
used Peeps sc
pullups $2/1
pullups IVC $1/1
$4 RR
total OOP 8.44
total savings 9.61
got $1 RR frompullups

last tranacation
1 zyrtec
1 candy
used $4 coupon
$4 off sc
$1 RR
total OOP 13.44
total savings $9.00

total spent $36.56
total savings $55.30

Walmart 1/16

2009-01-21T09:15:00.003-06:00

Had to run to Walmart to get Will's soy mikl and had a short shopping list with me. I picked up four frozen meals for us along with some fresh fruit. I also snagged several free things thanks to my coupons.

subtotal before coupons $65.70
subtotal after coupons $ 46.00

Total OOP $51.29
Total savings $19.70

Walmart and Walgreens 1/15

2009-01-21T09:08:00.002-06:00

So payday was on the 15th and we were running very short on some things for the kids.

I stopped at Walmart first and bought:
2 boxes of cereal bars 2.08 ea
1 box of poptart 1.86

total OOP spent 6.49

Then ran to Walgreens and got:

1st transaction:
5 pepsi 12pk 5/$15
2 Totsitos 2/ $7
total OOP $23.71
got $10 RR back
Savings $10.93

2nd transaction:
2 packages of Pullups 2/ $20.98
1 1/2 galloon of milk (for my mom) 1.99
used 2 $2/1 coupons
and $10 RR
total OOP $11.06
savings $14.00

total OOp for this day $41.26

total savings $24.93

updating

2009-01-20T18:46:00.006-06:00

I have been to Walmart and Walgreens this past week however in my cleaning I have put the reciepts away. I promise to post them tomorrow as soon as I find them.

tracking rebates

2009-01-16T08:11:00.003-06:00

I am mailing out for some rebates:

Bayer Special 1/2 Price offer: Flintstones $4 rebate
*PO Box 1057 Grand Rapids, MN 55745-1057
mailed 1/16/09

Theraflu Warming Relief: $2.25 rebate
*PO Box 6843 West Caldwell, N 07007-6843

P&G Year of Savings Rebate: $120 worth of coupons
*PO Box 750289 El Paso, TX 88575-0289
(mailing one for my mom also)

Walmart trip last week

2009-01-11T19:44:00.003-06:00

I only went to Walmart once last week and that was to get milk. Daycare called to say that Will was out of his milk, so I stopped on my way to get him.

Not sure where my receipt is but I bought:

1 half gallon of Silk soy milk
1 half gallon of milk

Walgreens trip Jan 4

2009-01-06T19:31:00.004-06:00

I went to Walgreens with my mom and hubby with a list and a list of which items to buy in each transaction. I didn't do it just right because I ended up with more OOP than I should have. Also due to the problem of the sale prices not being loaded into the computer, I got really messed up.... then when a manager came over to help I was told I wouldn't be able to use the $1 off coupons on the Garnier Fructis shampoo or the Reynolds Wrap. I still got some good deals and still have $5 in RR to spend later.

I began with $20 in Register Rewards (RR).

I got:
4 Frosted Flakes
4 Triaminic
1 Tennessean paper
2 Ben & Jerry's ice cream
4 Reynold's Wrap
9 Garnier Fructis
2 Quaker Oatmeal
2 Walgreen's candy
4 Flintstones vitamins
1 Cars car (for Will.... dh kept him busy in the toy aisle)
1 Palmolive soap
2 theraflu
3 12pk cokes
2 walgreens Ibu. tablets (b0go)
1 Electrasol tablets

total for all transactions: $36.23

total savings: $112.47

total savings to date: $205.90
total spent to date: $224.78

Walmart trip

2009-01-06T19:27:00.002-06:00

I finally found my reciept for Walmart trip last week.

I spent a total of $45.84 and saved $18.75. I got 6 Johnson and Johnson Buddies soaps for free, along with two Luminair candles for free. I had coupons for several things that I bought, however I did not have a coupon for Will's soy milk and $9.00 of it was a toy for Will. This will be the last toy I buy until his birthday.... now to keep that promise.

The price of convience....

2009-01-06T17:55:00.003-06:00

I never really knew the true price of the convience of the chicken I was buying. I would buy boneless/ skinless chicken breast for our meals at three breasts for $2.50 a container. Last week I bought two 10 pound bags of chicken quarters with skin on for .39 a lb. That made it 20 lbs for $7.80 + tax. I just put it up for the freezer and was amazed at how much skin I had to cut off. Then add in the cut fingers because I used my new knife. But I will get 8 meals + leftovers out of $7.80 instead of one meal with no leftovers for $2.50.

So maybe it was worth it... even with the cut fingers. Now to just find some crockpot recipes for the chicken.

Visitors...

2009-01-05T21:05:00.001-06:00

Hello and welcome to my blog. I hope you are able to find some information that helps you. Let me know you have stopped by.

Walmart, Piggly Wiggly, and Valu Plus trips

2009-01-03T22:00:00.002-06:00

I have forgotten to list my trips to Walmart, Piggly Wiggly and Valu Plus this week. I spent more at Walmart than I meant to (Hubby and son were with me) and I ended up putting back two things that I had (one is snow boots for son that I will get later).

My first stop was Piggly Wiggly where I got two ten pound bags of chicken leg quarters for .39 a lb. That comes out to $3.90 a bag! I also picked up some Luck's beans for .50 a can and a bag of salad mix for .69.

Next stop was Valu Plus where I got hamburger meat for $1.39 a lb. Spent around $10 there and have already browned the meat and have it in smaller bags for meals later on. I will be able to get about 6 meals out of the hamburger meat.

I will list my Walmart trip later... I did manage to score some Johnson Buddies for the kids for free thanks to the coupons I had for them. Hope to get some more soon once I get more coupons!

Will post my totals for all three stores later when I find my reciepts.

My stockpile

2009-01-01T18:49:00.002-06:00

I decided that today would be the day I would organize places for my stockpile. I cleaned out the kids bathroom and have places for the kids shampoo and soap and my box of toothbrushes and the kids toothpaste. DH worked on my pantry and I now have a wonderful place for my groceries. And tomorrow I will clean my laundry room so I can store my shampoo and toliet paper.

Dh asked me the other day what I was doing with all that shampoo. He thinks it is strange that I have so much already (especially since one bottle lasts him half a year) He really hasn't seen anything since I will be bringing home more free shampoo on Sunday. But he didn't laugh when I handed him some free toliet paper.

Kroger visit 12/31

2008-12-31T15:41:00.003-06:00

So I decided while I was off for Christmas break that I would drive to the closest Kroger and do some shopping. Closest one is a 30 min drive which wasn't bad. I left Will at Mom's and went by myself... very relaxing!

So I had a list of things I had coupons for that I wanted to get. I figured I could get a good deal with my coupons since Kroger doubles up to .50. SO I went in figuring I would spend $100 on groceries. I know that I have said I wanted to stay within $200 a month, but I am thinking that might not be feasible right now since I am needing to stock up on some things before I cut my budget.

So armed with my coupons and their sale paper... I went in. I ended up spending $104.65 total but saved $63.20 total. I was able to get my frozen meals that I eat at work for under $2 a meal, plus the yogurt I will be eating was .50 each and I had coupons for both of them. I ended up getting two frozen meals for free with my coupons and the yogurt ended up being .25 each.

so total for this trip was $104.65. I still need to buy meat and Soy milk. Piggly Wiggly is having a 3 day sale starting tomorrow on the meat and Mom and I are heading there tomorrow. Will needs his milk tonight so I will head out to Walmart later this evening once Don gets home from work to watch him (or go with me).

On a seperate note.... Happy New Years!!

Walgreen's trip 12/29

2008-12-29T20:37:00.003-06:00

I wasn't going to go to Wags anymore this week, but after hearing about the money maker of Garnier Fructis I decided that I needed to go tonight instead of waiting until tomorrow. I am glad I did because there wasn't much left.

1 transaction:
3 Garnier Fructis conditioners $1.79 each
6 GF styling products $1.79 each
1 Huggies Pullups $9.99
2 Christmas bows $0.49 each
20 Christmas bags $1.20
1 Infusion Conditioner $3.19

used:
1 Huggies IVC $1/1
1 $2/1 Pullups
1 $3/1 Infusion
3 $1/1 GF shampoo/conditioner
6 $1/1 GF styling products
1 $2/1 Garnier Fructis IVC (taking off $16.11)

total before tax: $0.36

Total OOP: $3.27
Total saved :$58.65

Total spent to date:$16.06

Shopping trip 12-28

2008-12-28T15:12:00.002-06:00

I went to WAGS with my mom. Don had a prescription to refill... which I transferred to Walgreens with a coupon from the makers of Singulair that got me the script for free. I also had a coupon for a free $25 gift card with a transfer.

And thanks to Hot Coupon World and A Full Cup, I knew about a glitch with the cat machine in which the Robitussim/ Dimetapp was making $20 in Register rewards instead of the $10. Thanks ladies!

total transactions:

5 Robitussim at $4.00 each
5 Dimetapp at $4.00 each
2 Christmas light sets on sale $1.25 each
2 Always Infitity pads at $4.99 each
1 Tennessean newspaper .99 (which had three sets of the coupons YAY!)
4 Christmas tumblers on sale .06 each
1 Glade scented oil sets $3.99
1 Dawn dishwashing liquid $1.99

used coupons:
1 $2/1 Robitussim
2 $2/1 Dimetapp
3 $1/1 Dimetapp
4 $1/1 Robitussim
2 $1/1 Always infitity
1 .50/1 Dawn
1 $1 Wags coupon on Dawn (making it .99 before coupons)
1 $2.50/ 1 Glade scented oil set
1 $10 Register Reward from 1st transaction.

Total cost:
1st transaction: $13.85 gift card
2nd transaction: $5.33 cash
3rd transaction: $11.15 gift card and $7.46 cash

total OOP $12.79 cash

Total saved: $58.27

Recieved $30.00 in register rewards (spent $10.00)
Will recieve $1.10 in rebates

For a grand total of $8.31 to me in rebates/ rewards.

I already have plans for the register rewards for next week since they expire then... can't wait to see what I can do with them!

My first planned visit for the new year

2008-12-27T22:24:00.000-06:00

Ok so technically it isn't the new year yet, but I will be beginning my shopping tomorrow for the new year. DH just told me that he is out of his meds... which I almost jumped up and down about. This means I can transfer his meds and get a $25 gift card to Walgreens. Add in the $20 singulair coupon we got in the mail, I get his meds for free plus a $25 gift card.

I do have a list of things I would like to stock up on and be able to start my supply of RR's from Wags. I should come out with just over $3.00 on my gift card while using a $10 register reward (RR) and getting $1.10 back in rebates. Now this is if I do purchase everything on my list... I might wait on some of them since my coupons are not that great for a few items.

My plan for the new year

2008-12-25T20:34:00.000-06:00

I have a new plan for the new year. I am always saying I will save money and budget my money better every Jan. but never manage to follow through with it. This year I plan on doing it and blogging about it. I plan on reducing my monthly grocery budget by half since I think we are spending too much on groceries each month.

My plans:

budget $200 a month to be spent on groceries, household items, cleaning supplies and pull ups.
keep track of all savings due to coupons, rebates, etc
build up a good stockpile of canned food, household supplies, etc.

I think I can do this and will use this blog to keep track of my progress. The stores I will be shopping at are Walgreens, Walmart, Fred's, Rite Aid, and Dollar General. I might be able to make it Kroger some but that is usually only once a month and can't be guaranteed.

So check back often. I plan on posting here as often as I can.