Buys:
*Britax Roundabout carseat $50 (looks almost brand new--was used in 2nd car--and is only 2 years old)
Sells:
*3 canisters Enfamil formula $21
I don't normally count these transactions in the monthly budget totals because I try to use my money earned from selling things as my money for buying things.
Friday, February 13
Wednesday, February 11
Amazing Savings: Gap, CVS, Stride Rite, Maola, Walmart!
We went out for about 2 hours tonight, and boy, did we rack up!
In total, we got 2 gallons of milk, a King size Snickers candy bar, 5 Gerber onesies, an infant shirt, infant Gap overalls and matching hat, and a pair of Stride Rite tennis shoes, all for $25.90 out of pocket!!! We saved $50.54 for a total savings of 66%!
Our first stop was Baby Gap at the mall. DS turns 1 tomorrow (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY!!!!) and we had to grab him a birthday/picture outfit since we are taking him to have his portraits made at Sears in the morning. I had picked out an outfit that I loved a few days ago from Gap, but DH vetoed it. Well, he reconsidered and we went back to get it tonight, and guess what?!?!?! It was on sale!!!
Gap 2/11:
+ Gap Striped overalls $26.50 (marked down to $14.99)
+ matching bucket hat $12.50 (marked down to $8.99)
- coupons ($20 Gap Card reward)
= $4.25 out of pocket, $34.75 saved, 89% savings
Avg. cost per item: $2.13
Our next stop was Walmart to find a onesie to wear with the cute Gap overalls. We found those and also found a shirt that we had been searching for all week(the reason is a surprise!), and it was on sale!!!
Wal-Mart 2/11:
+ 5 pack Gerber onesies
+ surprise shirt $5.00 (marked down to $3)
- gift card $5.00
= $7.78 out of pocket, $7.00 saved, 47% savings
Avg. cost per item: $3.89
We stopped at Ross next. I had been there this morning and saw cute Stride Rite tennis shoes for $12.99 there. I almost bought them this morning, but decided I'd like for DH to see them first. He liked them, too! (I didn't mark any actual savings on these shoes because they were full price at Ross, but keep in mind Stride Rite shoes average costing about $50 at the SR store!)
Ross 2/11:
+ Stride Rite tennis shoes
= $13.87 out of pocket
The final stop was CVS. We needed some milk and I have tons of ECBs built up, so I decided to use some up. I added a candy bar to the mix to add up to enough to use my $7.98 ECB. DH appreciated it. :)
CVS 2/11:
+ Maola Skim milk gallon
+ Maola Whole milk gallon
+ Snickers king size candy bar
- ECBs ($7.98)
= $0.69 on gift card, $0.00 OOP, $8.10 saved, 100% savings
Avg. cost per item: $0.00
*Plus 4 coupons printed on my receipt! :)
Total left for this month: $261.80
In total, we got 2 gallons of milk, a King size Snickers candy bar, 5 Gerber onesies, an infant shirt, infant Gap overalls and matching hat, and a pair of Stride Rite tennis shoes, all for $25.90 out of pocket!!! We saved $50.54 for a total savings of 66%!
Our first stop was Baby Gap at the mall. DS turns 1 tomorrow (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY!!!!) and we had to grab him a birthday/picture outfit since we are taking him to have his portraits made at Sears in the morning. I had picked out an outfit that I loved a few days ago from Gap, but DH vetoed it. Well, he reconsidered and we went back to get it tonight, and guess what?!?!?! It was on sale!!!
Gap 2/11:
+ Gap Striped overalls $26.50 (marked down to $14.99)
+ matching bucket hat $12.50 (marked down to $8.99)
- coupons ($20 Gap Card reward)
= $4.25 out of pocket, $34.75 saved, 89% savings
Avg. cost per item: $2.13
Our next stop was Walmart to find a onesie to wear with the cute Gap overalls. We found those and also found a shirt that we had been searching for all week(the reason is a surprise!), and it was on sale!!!
Wal-Mart 2/11:
+ 5 pack Gerber onesies
+ surprise shirt $5.00 (marked down to $3)
- gift card $5.00
= $7.78 out of pocket, $7.00 saved, 47% savings
Avg. cost per item: $3.89
We stopped at Ross next. I had been there this morning and saw cute Stride Rite tennis shoes for $12.99 there. I almost bought them this morning, but decided I'd like for DH to see them first. He liked them, too! (I didn't mark any actual savings on these shoes because they were full price at Ross, but keep in mind Stride Rite shoes average costing about $50 at the SR store!)
Ross 2/11:
+ Stride Rite tennis shoes
= $13.87 out of pocket
The final stop was CVS. We needed some milk and I have tons of ECBs built up, so I decided to use some up. I added a candy bar to the mix to add up to enough to use my $7.98 ECB. DH appreciated it. :)
CVS 2/11:
+ Maola Skim milk gallon
+ Maola Whole milk gallon
+ Snickers king size candy bar
- ECBs ($7.98)
= $0.69 on gift card, $0.00 OOP, $8.10 saved, 100% savings
Avg. cost per item: $0.00
*Plus 4 coupons printed on my receipt! :)
Total left for this month: $261.80
Going Green!
In addition to trying to save my family money on groceries and household items, I've also tried to take us down a "greener" path. In the last few months, here are some things we've implemented in our household to reduce waste.
*reusable shopping bags: We have some cloth canvas ones from a local store and also some Baggu ones. I love how you can fold the Baggu bags down so small. I keep 3 in my purse and then I also have a carry-bag full for trips to the grocery store. Here is a post on Jane4girls about other types of reusable bags and a giveaway!
*cloth napkins: I bought a pack of 10 from Bed, Bath, & Beyond with one of their 20% off coupons. I also picked some up when Linens N Things was going out of business. We use them instead of paper napkins with meals and also for cleaning up small messes (and faces!).
*cloth paper towels: I actually use flour sack towels from Target. Their actual purpose is for drying glassware lint free. I absolutely love them! They are large enough that you can use each corner for a different purpose before you have to wash it. They are very light-weight, but also very absorbent.
*cloth diapers: We've been using cloth diapers for one year now--since DS was 4 days old. I love how DS never gets rashes and I actually look forward to diaper changes because his diapers are so darn cute. We've tried out lots of different brands and all different styles. Some of our favorites are BumGenius pockets, Fuzzi Bunz pockets, Thirsties AIOs, Goodmama fitteds, and PeanutButter & Ellie bamboo velour preflats.
*front load washer: When our top-load washer was on it's last legs, we looked into getting a front loader. They use lots less water in a wash cycle than a top-loader does. We ended up going with a Frigidaire machine, and I absolutely love it. It uses less water per cycle and I think it gets our clothes (and diapers) a LOT cleaner!
What do you do to be GREEN?
*reusable shopping bags: We have some cloth canvas ones from a local store and also some Baggu ones. I love how you can fold the Baggu bags down so small. I keep 3 in my purse and then I also have a carry-bag full for trips to the grocery store. Here is a post on Jane4girls about other types of reusable bags and a giveaway!
*cloth napkins: I bought a pack of 10 from Bed, Bath, & Beyond with one of their 20% off coupons. I also picked some up when Linens N Things was going out of business. We use them instead of paper napkins with meals and also for cleaning up small messes (and faces!).
*cloth paper towels: I actually use flour sack towels from Target. Their actual purpose is for drying glassware lint free. I absolutely love them! They are large enough that you can use each corner for a different purpose before you have to wash it. They are very light-weight, but also very absorbent.
*cloth diapers: We've been using cloth diapers for one year now--since DS was 4 days old. I love how DS never gets rashes and I actually look forward to diaper changes because his diapers are so darn cute. We've tried out lots of different brands and all different styles. Some of our favorites are BumGenius pockets, Fuzzi Bunz pockets, Thirsties AIOs, Goodmama fitteds, and PeanutButter & Ellie bamboo velour preflats.
*front load washer: When our top-load washer was on it's last legs, we looked into getting a front loader. They use lots less water in a wash cycle than a top-loader does. We ended up going with a Frigidaire machine, and I absolutely love it. It uses less water per cycle and I think it gets our clothes (and diapers) a LOT cleaner!
What do you do to be GREEN?
Updating Totals
Eating Out:
+ $9.05 Cafe Central 2/2
+ $5.39 Subway 2/9
+ $24.53 Bass Lake Ale House 2/9
Merchandise:
+ $24.53 Alumni Hall 2/7 (BIL birthday present)
+ $8.62 Target 2/7 (total was $18.62 but saved $10 by using a gift card that we had gotten for free a few months ago by using a coupon and spending $100 at Target for Christmas presents)
Returns:
- $16.00 Target 2/7
Total left for this month: $287.70
+ $9.05 Cafe Central 2/2
+ $5.39 Subway 2/9
+ $24.53 Bass Lake Ale House 2/9
Merchandise:
+ $24.53 Alumni Hall 2/7 (BIL birthday present)
+ $8.62 Target 2/7 (total was $18.62 but saved $10 by using a gift card that we had gotten for free a few months ago by using a coupon and spending $100 at Target for Christmas presents)
Returns:
- $16.00 Target 2/7
Total left for this month: $287.70
Sunday, February 8
A Thrifty Meal
We were pressed for time tonight and needed a super quick meal. So, I thought I'd make use of some of our great buys from Harris Teeter.
We used from our new HT stock:
*1 can Hunt's Fire Roasted Tomatoes ($0.65 after sale/coupons)
*1/2 box Minute brown rice ($0.50 after sale/coupons for whole box)
*1 can Sweet Sue's chicken ($0.74)
We used from existing stock:
*a splash of olive oil
*one clove fresh garlic
*one teaspoon fresh (frozen) basil
*one box Green Giant frozen snap peas (I bought a ton of these types of veggies with coupons when they were on sale...prices ranged from free to $0.50/box.)
I sauteed the garlic in olive oil and added the canned chicken (drained) to brown it a bit. Then I added in the frozen basil, followed by the can of tomatoes (not drained). After letting the mixture come to a boil, I reduced the heat.
Meanwhile, I cooked the Minute rice according to the directions on the box in another pot, and also microwaved the Green Giant veggies. The entire meal was done in about 15 minutes.
It cost less than $2.50 total, it fed 2 adults and a toddler, there is still 1/2 a box left of uncooked brown rice, and there were enough cooked leftovers for my lunch tomorrow!
We used from our new HT stock:*1 can Hunt's Fire Roasted Tomatoes ($0.65 after sale/coupons)
*1/2 box Minute brown rice ($0.50 after sale/coupons for whole box)
*1 can Sweet Sue's chicken ($0.74)
We used from existing stock:
*a splash of olive oil
*one clove fresh garlic
*one teaspoon fresh (frozen) basil
*one box Green Giant frozen snap peas (I bought a ton of these types of veggies with coupons when they were on sale...prices ranged from free to $0.50/box.)
I sauteed the garlic in olive oil and added the canned chicken (drained) to brown it a bit. Then I added in the frozen basil, followed by the can of tomatoes (not drained). After letting the mixture come to a boil, I reduced the heat. Meanwhile, I cooked the Minute rice according to the directions on the box in another pot, and also microwaved the Green Giant veggies. The entire meal was done in about 15 minutes.
It cost less than $2.50 total, it fed 2 adults and a toddler, there is still 1/2 a box left of uncooked brown rice, and there were enough cooked leftovers for my lunch tomorrow!
Final Results of the HT Triples Sale...
The Harris Teeter Triple Coupon Event is ending tonight and thank goodness it is because I don't think I could take another day of this madness! Here's how we did overall:
* 10 trips
* 160 items
* spent $74.11 OOP
* saved $269.77
* 78% savings
* average cost per item = $0.46
* average savings per item = $1.69
* 10 trips
* 160 items
* spent $74.11 OOP
* saved $269.77
* 78% savings
* average cost per item = $0.46
* average savings per item = $1.69
I heart Cellfire @ Kroger
I forgot to load my cellfire coupons to my Kroger card online before I went for this trip, but I have internet on my cellphone and was able to add the coupons from my phone while sitting in the car in the parking lot. The screen said they would be ready to use in 10 minutes. I went into the store, did my shopping, and sure enough they worked when I checked out! Yipee!
Also, Kroger is running a great deal on cans of Hunt's Manwich this week. The cans are $0.88 and if you buy 10, then you get $3 off your order at checkout, making the cans $0.58 each. I had 5 x $0.50/2 coupons that doubled to $1.00 off of every 2 cans, making them $0.08 each.
Kroger 2/8:
+ 8 Cottonelle 4-pack single rolls (25 cent cellfire coupon)
+ 3 jars Ragu spaghetti sauce
+ 10 cans Hunt's Manwich (5 regular, 5 bold)
+ 1 Fiber Plus Yoplait yogurt multi-pack ($1 cellfire coupon)
+ 1 YoPlus yogurt multi-pack ($1 cellfire coupon)
+ 1 bunch organic bananas (2.40 lbs.)
+ 5 Anjou pears (3.23 lbs.)
+ 4 Sweet Potatoes (2.67 lbs.)
+ 1 3-lb. bag Organic Russet potatoes
+ 1 Johnson's Buddies soap bars
- Coupons
+ Tax
=$19.33 out of pocket, $24.70 saved, 57% savings Avg. cost per item: $0.55
Total left for this month: $343.82
Also, Kroger is running a great deal on cans of Hunt's Manwich this week. The cans are $0.88 and if you buy 10, then you get $3 off your order at checkout, making the cans $0.58 each. I had 5 x $0.50/2 coupons that doubled to $1.00 off of every 2 cans, making them $0.08 each.
Kroger 2/8:
+ 8 Cottonelle 4-pack single rolls (25 cent cellfire coupon)
+ 3 jars Ragu spaghetti sauce
+ 10 cans Hunt's Manwich (5 regular, 5 bold)
+ 1 Fiber Plus Yoplait yogurt multi-pack ($1 cellfire coupon)
+ 1 YoPlus yogurt multi-pack ($1 cellfire coupon)
+ 1 bunch organic bananas (2.40 lbs.)
+ 5 Anjou pears (3.23 lbs.)
+ 4 Sweet Potatoes (2.67 lbs.)
+ 1 3-lb. bag Organic Russet potatoes
+ 1 Johnson's Buddies soap bars
- Coupons
+ Tax
=$19.33 out of pocket, $24.70 saved, 57% savings Avg. cost per item: $0.55
Total left for this month: $343.82
Harris Teeter Triples Trip #10
This is our last Harris Teeter triples run this go around. This is trip #10!
Harris Teeter Triples Trip #10:
+ 1 Lysol toilet bowl cleaner
+ 1 can Del Monte tomatoes (no salt added)
+ 1 Quaker old-fashioned oats
+ 1 Hormel lasagna
+ 4 bottles French's Worcestershire sauce
+ 1 Wet Ones wipes
+ 2 Snyder's MultiGrain tortilla chips
+ 1 Blistik lip balm
- Coupons
+ Tax
=$7.31 out of pocket, $20.78 saved, 74% savings Avg. cost per item: $0.61
Total left for this month: $363.15
(You can click the photo to enlarge.)
Harris Teeter Triples Trip #10:+ 1 Lysol toilet bowl cleaner
+ 1 can Del Monte tomatoes (no salt added)
+ 1 Quaker old-fashioned oats
+ 1 Hormel lasagna
+ 4 bottles French's Worcestershire sauce
+ 1 Wet Ones wipes
+ 2 Snyder's MultiGrain tortilla chips
+ 1 Blistik lip balm
- Coupons
+ Tax
=$7.31 out of pocket, $20.78 saved, 74% savings Avg. cost per item: $0.61
Total left for this month: $363.15
Harris Teeter Savings Thus Far
Since triples started at HT on Thursday, we've done 9 trips. Here are the combined results for all trips so far:
* 148 items
* spent $66.80 OOP
* saved $248.99
* 79% savings
* average cost per item = $0.45
* average savings per item = $1.68
* 148 items
* spent $66.80 OOP
* saved $248.99
* 79% savings
* average cost per item = $0.45
* average savings per item = $1.68
Triples Mania!
Ok, so we did a few more Harris Teeter triples trips today and may go back this evening since we got a few new coupons in the paper today that might be good ones to use. On trips 6-9 (pictured below), we spent $23.52 OOP and saved $47.12, a savings of 67%. We purchased 37 items, each with an average cost of $0.64.
Harris Teeter Triples Trip #6:
+ 1 Newman's pasta sauce
+ 8 cans Hunt's tomatoes
+ 2 cans Ortega refried beans
+ 3 cans Sweet Sue's chicken breast
+ 1 French's fried onions
+ 1 can Rotel tomatoes
+ 1 can Polaner All Fruit
+ 2 cans Old Glory black eyed peas
+ 2 Suave deodorant
+ 1 loaf Merita bread (DH insisted)
+ 1 Blistik lip balm
- Coupons
+ Tax
=$13.31 out of pocket, $33.17 saved, 71% savings Avg. cost per item: $0.58
Harris Teeter Triples Trip #7:
+ 8 cans Hunt's tomatoes
- Coupons
+ Tax
=$5.34 out of pocket, $6.80 saved, 56% savings Avg. cost per item: $0.67
Harris Teeter Triples Trip #8:
+ 4 cans Hunt's tomatoes
- Coupons
+ Tax
=$2.67 out of pocket, $3.40saved, 56% savings Avg. cost per item: $0.67
Harris Teeter Triples Trip #9:
+ 1 bag Synder's whole grain tortilla chips
+ 1 Heluva Good dip
- Coupons
+ Tax
=$2.20 out of pocket, $3.75 saved, 63% savings Avg. cost per item: $1.10
Total left for this month: $370.46
(You can click the picture to enlarge.)
Harris Teeter Triples Trip #6:+ 1 Newman's pasta sauce
+ 8 cans Hunt's tomatoes
+ 2 cans Ortega refried beans
+ 3 cans Sweet Sue's chicken breast
+ 1 French's fried onions
+ 1 can Rotel tomatoes
+ 1 can Polaner All Fruit
+ 2 cans Old Glory black eyed peas
+ 2 Suave deodorant
+ 1 loaf Merita bread (DH insisted)
+ 1 Blistik lip balm
- Coupons
+ Tax
=$13.31 out of pocket, $33.17 saved, 71% savings Avg. cost per item: $0.58
Harris Teeter Triples Trip #7:
+ 8 cans Hunt's tomatoes
- Coupons
+ Tax
=$5.34 out of pocket, $6.80 saved, 56% savings Avg. cost per item: $0.67
Harris Teeter Triples Trip #8:
+ 4 cans Hunt's tomatoes
- Coupons
+ Tax
=$2.67 out of pocket, $3.40saved, 56% savings Avg. cost per item: $0.67
Harris Teeter Triples Trip #9:
+ 1 bag Synder's whole grain tortilla chips
+ 1 Heluva Good dip
- Coupons
+ Tax
=$2.20 out of pocket, $3.75 saved, 63% savings Avg. cost per item: $1.10
Total left for this month: $370.46
Harris Teeter Triples Haul
Here's a pic of everything we've gotten from HT since triples started this week. We've done 5 trips which I've blogged about already.
(You can click on the picture to enlarge it.)
We spent $43.28 OOP and saved $201.87, a savings of 82%!
There are 111 items, with an average OOP cost of $0.39 each, and an average savings of $1.82 per item!
(You can click on the picture to enlarge it.)
We spent $43.28 OOP and saved $201.87, a savings of 82%!
There are 111 items, with an average OOP cost of $0.39 each, and an average savings of $1.82 per item!
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