Climbing the Money Pit

Still Shopping, just slowly updating and looking for bread

2011-11-18T09:29:00.000-08:00

Time runs away from my when my life become 'unstructured.' I've always needed a regular schedule to get the most of of my time. As I no longer work two jobs my shifts at CVS have less structure then before. So I find myself either with too little time or far too much and I want to spend less time on the computer. I should make a weekly schedule for myself. I keep thinking one of those weekly dry eraser boards would work out well right at where my computer sits.

I'm still shopping for my free items at CVS. I love this buy 3 Hallmark get $3 EB. It's nice to go back and look for some $.99 cards for free to set them aside for later. I also picked up on the awesome Aveeno Lotion deal. (It was buy two get $7 EB) At the start of the week the trail size were not included. In the middle of the week the started issuing the EB. Of coarse I had to try it out to see if it worked. ^_~ I'll be using those EB for the upcoming Black Friday sales.

I really want to get back into couponing more. As I am trying to eat more unprocessed foods it becomes more expensive for me. Take bread for example. Before I would buy any whole wheat bread I liked. Has anyone actually bothered to read all the ingredients on bread? The following is the list from my Organic 14 Grain Bread. (I would expect maybe 20 things to be listed because of there being 14 grains, but it's so much more.)

Organic Whole Wheat Flour, Water, Organic Gain Blend (Steel Cut Wheat, Steel Cut Oats, Cracked Tritcale, Cracked Barley, Yellow Corn Meal, Cracked Rye, Spelt Flakes, Kamut Flakes, Sunflower Seed, Bulgur Wheat, Cracked Rice, Quinoa, Millet, Amarath) Organic Sugar, Organic Wheat gluten, Contains 2% or less of the following: Yeast, Salt, Organic Soybean Oil, Organic Honey, Organic Vinegar, Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Malt Extract, Cultured Organic Wheat Flour, Calcium Sulfate, Sea Salt, Ascorbic Acid (Dough Conditioner), Enzymes, Potato Starch, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Corn Starch

33 ingredients. *blink, blink* So much for simple. Just what the heck is Microcrystalline Cellulose anyway? (A quick search reveals: wood pulp. I've been eating wood?!) I've looked high and low in several grocery stores to find some kind of bread with less than 10 ingredients. I had given up on finding something without having to travel 50+ miles or make it myself and settled on the above bread choice. While visiting my mom we went to the grocery store that carries more 'exotic' (read larger ethnic food section from many parts of the globe) items. Lo and be hold! I found a bread! It's 5 ingredients! It has no sugar! (A little honey instead.) It's organic! How much does it cost? $4.69 a loaf. OUCH!

Don't mind the water drops. I freeze my bread to make it last longer.

Right now my bread cost me $3.39 a loaf. That's relatively comparable to most conventional whole wheat bread in the store with the exception of perhaps the generic. (About $2 or so.) I really want to be buy this bread I've just found. How on earth am I going to afford it? Is it really worth the extra $1.30? I think it is. I'll just have to careful about how much bread I eat.

November Budget & Climbing - Where did I go?

2011-11-07T08:46:00.000-08:00

Haven't been blogging much. One reason has been computers freaking out on me. It's clammed down and everything appears to be running smooth. (Although every time it makes a strange sound I start to panic.) I also now have the ability to grab pictures off my camera! I hate doing posts without pics, but what can I do? Sweetheart had gotten a new computer, but then the hard drive died. He only had it for about two months! So we waited three weeks the replacement and we have it back now. (Thank goodness!)

Another reason I haven't been blogging is I needed a break. One where I wasn't posting every couponing trip I managed to make. I've been making fewer of them as I've gotten worn out and run into the 'coupon burnout.' I'm still buying coupons and using them when I spot a good deal, but not nearly as many. So what have I done with my time?

I've been reading and cooking. Wondering how exactly I want to switch from conventional to less processed and more organic options. I had started a post about it, but it got far to long and lengthy for my taste. I think it's going to be a product by product sort of change. Some things were simple enough buying whole wheat flour and then organic whole wheat flour. Others not as much such as cutting out processed sugar or finding a bread with less than 5 ingredients that will not have my traveling 35 miles and paying $5 a loaf. I'm trying.

Ideally I would like to follow the rules listed below:

1. No refined grains such as white flour or white rice (items containing wheat must say WHOLE wheat…not just “wheat”)
2. No refined sweeteners such as sugar, any form of corn syrup, cane juice, or the artificial stuff like Splenda
3. Nothing out of a box, can, bag, bottle or package that has more than 5 ingredients listed on the label
4. No deep fried foods
5. No “fast foods”

Please see Real Food Defined: AKA The Rules, as spelled out by the Lisa the author of 100 Days of Real Food. (It's the site that got me interested in changing my diet.)

I like that these rules are simple and to the point. The simplicity is wonderful, but it's what also makes them hard to follow. No buts, only ifs, no exceptions, no loop holds. Mostly I'm having issues with rules 2 and 3 as stated before. I think I may make a few of my own exceptions as I go (such as Hellmann's® Mayonnaise, something Sweetheart will not compromise on), but that is for another post.

The Budget

Bills (Electric) $100
Bunnies $30
Car & Renter Insurance $46
Car Repair $60
Cellphone $36
Clothing $10
Cruise 2012 $0 *Completed Savings Goal
Free Money $20
Gas $120
Groceries $120
Health $10
Rent $100
Student Loans $372
Emergency Funds $20 *Decided I need a bigger fund

Grand Total: $1044/month (Take home pay.)

No changes for this month. I need to use extra cash for a gift or two . . . After that I think I am going to split it three ways: Paying off Loans (40%), Fixing up Kori, my car (40%) and Computer (20%). The only other additional element to the budget is what I've been earning with Swag Bucks. (Yes, this is my referral link.) I've been doing well enough to earn $25 worth of Amazon credit a month. It's not a lot, but I'm using to further my goal of unprocessed organic food. That amount is almost 20% of my month grocery total! It's a lot in my book. ^_^

Hamburger Salad, it's tasty!

Grand Total Last Month: $39,519.14
New Grand Total: $39,219.38
Amount Paid Off: $299.76

Slightly better than last month. I moved one of my loan payments a little early because of the way pay days fell this past month. I figured I would save myself a little bit of interest. Fingers crossed I actually have some extra money at the end of this month to pay off more!

October Budget and Climbing

2011-10-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

Due to card reader issues I had to find a stock photo. I dislike using them, because they are not really my own. Sorry!

I really thought my computer had died on me. Now it just seems temperamental. It doesn't always want to start up and freezes fairly often when I do manage to get it going. I briefly had use of my XD/SD drive yesterday before it decided to not read anything. My sound said it was on, but didn't actually work. I'm hoping between my dying laptop and Sweetheart's dying laptop I can limp along until I actually have money to buy a new one. Thankfully there will be 3 holidays between now and the end of the year, plus an additional paycheck in the month of December.

I got my first paycheck on Friday that I need to apply to my new budget. This does not look promising. Only an extra $10 left to apply towards anything . . . not so good. I was really bad and didn't think about it until after, but I placed an order with Lock 'n Lock before getting my paycheck and looking at my new budget. Oooppss. I still have some extra cash from the past few months, but I need to be really careful with what I buy from now on. I can't go spending my 'free' money willy nilly any more.

But I want it! *Puppy eyes of doom!*

The Budget
Bills (Electric) $100
Bunnies $30
Car & Renter Insurance $46
Car Repair $60
Cellphone $36
Clothing $10
Cruise 2012 $0 *Completed Savings Goal
Free Money $20
Gas $120
Groceries $120
Health $10
Rent $100
Student Loans $372
Emergency Funds $20 *Decided I need a bigger fund

Grand Total: $1044/month (Take home pay.)

Not sure what exactly I'm going to do with any extra money. Kind of tough to decide. I will need a new computer at some point soon. (Fingers crossed I can hold out until Jan at least!) I also know there will be work to be done on Kori and more than likely new tires for her as well. I also really need a bigger emergency fund because I'm very nervous about how close to the edge I feel at the moment after looking at the numbers. I'd like to avoid more stress if possible.

The morning sun was perfect on these flowers. ^_^

Grand Total Last Month: $39,763.80
New Grand Total: $39519.14
Amount Paid Off: $244.66

Ouch? That is not a number that I wanted to see. I didn't make any extra payments last month in an effort to save up for that promised cruise. I wanted to at least take that pressure away from me so I wouldn't worry about it. With a number like this I would love to just pour all my extra money into my debt. ARG! This is a frustrating scenario. This next month will be just as rough and then November will come. November has two holidays in it and I'm working both. Thank goodness for the extra cash flow a head.

My Computer Died!

2011-10-05T07:08:00.000-07:00

Crud. Will have to see if I've got some way to get something soon. :(

CVS - Part II!

2011-09-30T19:37:00.000-07:00

I actually bought these on Monday, but Tuesday morning I woke up really sick. Fevers are a funny thing. I started feeling better by Thursday, just not up to doing much. I thought I would get in a post, but my computer will not read my XD card. WHAT? It's slowly dieing . . . My CD drive died about a year ago, the sound died a month ago and now my SD/XD reader died. Currently my computer is telling me it's Jan 1st 2007?!

Crud. I need a new one.

So now I finally have my laptop up and running and got my picture onto it via my boyfriends computer and am not sick. So on with the trip!

2 Colgate Optic White @ $2.45 each = $4.90
Renu Sensitive $8.99
Soft Soap Body Wash $3.00
Soft Soap Bar Soap $3.00
Total Before Coupons: $19.89

2 $1.50/1 Colgate Optic White (from a Smart Source)
2 $1/1 Colgate Optic White CVS (my boss said it's a store coupon, so there it goes)
$2/1 Renu Sensitive
$1/1 Soft Soap Body Wash
$1/1 Soft Soap Bar Soap
Total After Coupons: $10.89 (I can't find my receipts for the tax)

Received:
$2.00 EB Colgate Optic White (manual print, 2 offers, limit 2)
$7.00 EB Renu Sensitive
$4.00 EB Soft Soap
Net: $2.11 profit! Love my CVS!

CVS - It's been too long . . .

2011-09-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

Mostly summer clearance and the St Joseph's baby aspirin that was free after EB.

While I haven't stopped shopping at CVS (I work there after all), I have stopped posting all my trips. Now that I am no longer employed at my part time job (see here) perhaps I will have time and energy to actually get around to posting more regularly. Seems like it's good timing with some good weeks not to long past.

This is from two weeks ago. The Fig Newton Fruit thins were a nice freebie. I really wanted to try these since I've seen them out, but didn't want to pay for them. They also don't exactly fall into my 'less processed' food plans. (See here.) I think I may have some rules for myself soon, but I'm still toying around with a few ideas. I was lucky to get this as about 1/2 through the week or so the coupon stopped printing. I think it was underestimated how many stores got and people ran out quick.

Free tampons, free allergy 5ct (this kind actually worked for Sweetheart!) and a bottle of vanilla (because mine 'home made' hasn't matured yet in it's flavor) for 75% off wraps up the week. Oh! The Reese's are a favorite of Sweethearts and he had a birthday not long before that so I got them as a special treat. I nabbed a bag for $1! (Sale $2, and a $1/1 10-20oz bag from the coupon center.)

I still have two or three items to get this week. I would wait to post, but I don't want to procrastinate because that's what got me off track from posting in the first place. (Hoping for toothpaste, contact solution & body wash.)

3 Dawn Dish soap @ $.99 each = $2.97 (raincheck)
2 Excedrin Migraine 8ct @ $.99 each = $1.98 (I gave these to a friend last night. ^_^)
Thermacare 1ct $3.79
Schick Quattro for Women Cartridges 4ct $8.99
Total Before Coupons: $17.73

3 $1/1 Dawn Dish Soap (Hand Renewal Only), adjusted down to $2.97
$5/1 Schick Quattro for Women Razor or Cartridges (Coupons.com, no longer available)
Total After Coupons: $9.76 + $.12 tax

Received:
$1.98 EB Excedrin (limit 2)
$3.79 EB Thermacare
$4.00 EB Schick Quattro for Women
Net: $.11 cost (so basically a little bit of tax!)

Saving Sunday - Shrinking Packages?

2011-09-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or are P&G packages getting smaller? At the beginning of the year Tide went from 50oz to 40oz. (Did anybody else catch it?) Now they are making their dish soap smaller. It's easy to miss the changes until you see the bottles side by side. I wish companies would just raise the prices rather than shrink the package size. It just feels sneaky.

Saving Sunday - Mailbox!

2011-09-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm posting this on Monday. (Luckily I can back date this.) I'm behind on my blogging. I thought I was all caught up, but nope. Running late, again. Why? My boss let me know that as of the 23rd I would no longer be employed at my part time job. He would keep me if he could ("I want to take this out as long as I can"), but the company acquiring his doesn't need me. That doesn't really inspire me to blog much. The good news is I'll get one more paycheck this month, so I can keep my current budget. ^_^

These are items I've gotten in the past month. I haven't been keeping up the the free items as much as I would like. I still love getting these in the mail. A gift to make me smile.

Donation Box

2011-09-04T16:18:00.000-07:00

It's been some time since I did one of these posts. Deals are a bit fewer and harder to come by. I've also been tired and stressed lately, so with my busy schedule unnecessary shopping is being kept to a minimum. Lots of this stuff is from a while back and it was time to pack it up and give it away.

September Budget & Climbing

2011-09-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

I'm worried. Worried about what will happen when my part time jobs ends. This month started out relaxing. I went camping with a few of my college friends. I had a great time, even though it rained & rained. There was a severe thunderstorm that caused us to sleep in our cars and and a house close by. (It was bad.) Still lots of fun, but that relaxed feeling is gone.

I have two budgets to run under for the month. I am assuming that before the month is out I will need to switch to the minimum budget. My Sweetheart has already agreed to pick up most of my part of the rent. I will only be able to afford 1/3 of what I currently do. My boss told me to expect about two weeks . . . I'm thinking he means the 15th. I was hoping to be able to finish out the month. *fingers crossed*

The Budget (regular)
Bills (Electric) $104
Bunnies $30
Car & Renter Insurance $46 *Forgot to change this last month
Car Repair $100
Cellphone $36
Clothing $20
Cruise 2012 $50 *A trip that's been in the works for about 3 years.
Free Money $40
Gas $120
Groceries $120
Health $20
Rent $310
Student Loans $372

Grand Total: $1368/month (Take home pay.)

*Extra funds to be put into savings as I'm not sure when exactly my job will end. I might need the money to 'cushion' a week to make the switch between pay check cycles.

The Budget - minimized

Bills (Electric) $100
Bunnies $30
Car & Renter Insurance $46
Car Repair $60
Cellphone $36
Clothing $10
Cruise 2012 $0 *Gotta make do with what I got.
Free Money $20
Gas $120
Groceries $120
Health $10
Rent $100 *Sweetheart will take over most of the rent when I'm down to one job.
Student Loans $372

Grand Total: $1024/month (Take home pay.)

*Extra funds, treated the same.

The Climb, I feel as if it is slowing to a crawl. I'm still getting somewhere . . . I'm just not sure how the next month will turn out. I had taken some extra funds this month before I knew for certain I would be losing my job shortly. I was really, really hoping I had until the end of the year. No such luck.

I don't really know where I can come up with extra money. Do I need an alternative to working a second job? (Selling on ebay? Creating something and opening an esty shop?) Should I try and find another part time job? Am I going to find one with such a flexible schedule? Will I have an understanding boss if I need to suddenly change my shift last minute? (That would be a tough one to find.) Will it pay as well as this job? If it doesn't, how many more hours will I need to work? Do I have the energy to work two jobs still?

The last question leaves me to believe I shouldn't jump to find something right away. I'm tired. I know there are other people who work two, three or more jobs to make ends meet. I'm running out of steam and fast. When I've been working too much it starts to affect my health. Headaches, stuffy nose (could be allergies or a cold), upset stomachs and digestive systems . . . I notice I feel better when I have just one extra day off. It's time for a break. So when this job is over I will not look for something else until January. I need to chill out.

Monthly Climb!!!
Grand Total Last Month: $40,125.68
New Grand Total: $39,763.80
Amount Paid Off: $361.88

I can get out of debt! I will get out of debt! Just have to do it one small step at a time. My steps might be smaller and slower, but I will do this.

Breaking the Bank

2011-08-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

I've been worried for a while. Worried that my part job will come to an end. An end quick and sudden. I know it's coming and there is nothing I can do about it. I have an idea when it might end, but not an exact date.

It's been up in the air for a while. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. My boss is of that age where he would like to retire. As a small business owner it means either going out of business or selling it. Ideally that latter. He's found a buyer and at some point soon they should be signing a contract for it all. When that happens, my job is gone.

At first we (Sweetheart & I) thought it would be fine, as it was implied they were keeping the current employees. Then they did interviews for those on a salary and then the hourly employees. Sweetheart had his interview and it will be on a trail basis. No surprise really, it's almost as if getting a new job with a new company. (A sort of probation period.)

I however was not asked to interview. It's been a little over a week since the hourly employees got interviewed so I asked my boss if I would still have a job once the sale and moving was complete. He told me I wouldn't be working there as soon as he signed the papers. I can't even help with moving.

Now it's a waiting game. Will I still have a job at the end of this month? How about until the end of next month? Or maybe the one after that? There have been at least three dates for the 'takeover' that we've been given. We've passed each one so far without a fuss. So I really wonder how long it will be until it's done.

In the mean time I'm not going to pay extra on my loans. I'm going to save all that I can, because I don't know for sure how it will work out. I've asked Sweetheart to do the same, just in case. I've reworked my budget and it looks short by about $200 a month. Sweetheart says he'll help with that part. Life will be okay . . . just a much tighter budget than before.

Expanding The Grocery Budget

2011-08-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

Vanilla Beans to make Vanilla Extract & Pumpkin Pie Mix, meant to get plain pumpkin, but this works just as well for my pumpkin muffins.

In my last post I talked about wanting to go organic and unprocessed. I realize that on a tight a budget as mine this is an extremely daunting task. (If anyone knows an easier way speak now please!) I need a way to expand my food budget with out actually putting in some cash. Enter the Amazon stage left & Swag Bucks from stage right.

I've found that many 'savings' bloggers are also members of something called Swag Bucks. It's a web site that you 'win' Swag Bucks at random for using their search engine. That's their main thing. There are many ways to earn Swag Bucks such as 'watching' tons of SwagTV. (I usually just run them in the background while I do other things on the computer.) There are also daily polls, surveys, special offers (such as signing up for netflix or credit cards) & so much more.

Just a brief summary. There are many bloggers who would be more than happy to tell you about Swag Bucks. Me? I'm just letting you know how it fits into this picture. One of the many rewards to be redeemed using the Swag Bucks you've earned are Amazon Gift cards. As soon as these show in Swag Bucks I'm adding them to my Amazon. So far I can usually earn about $10-$15 worth of Amazon credit in a month. Not bad.

Amazon sells almost everything under the sun it seems. This includes food. In my search I've managed to find organic versions of vanilla beans, canned pumpkin/pumpkin pie, oat meal, flour and more. I'll have to buy it in bulk for many items (25lbs of flour?!), but it's almost like getting it 'free'. I've talked to my mom and she's willing to 'split' the cost on some items given she thinks she can use them as well.

Yippie! Now how do I go about actually going unprocessed, organic & local?

Groceries Are Not Cheap

2011-08-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

$15.82 was the cost of items above. That's not a lot of food for that amount. My budget is only $60 for two weeks, that's one forth of it! Outrageous! One of the biggest expenses from this particular trip was the organic cinnamon. It's well worth it because I need it for my raisin & cinnamon baked oat meal and my pumpkin muffins. Nummy!

For some time now I've been following a blog about eating real whole food. (100 Days Of Real Food) I've thought about going organic for sometime, but have come across the idea that it's even better to eat less processed foods. The best combo is unprocessed, organic & local. Unfortunately it's expensive! I read through the original 100 days and then 100 days on a budget. No getting around it, it's a costly undertaking.

So how exactly do I go from a $15 per person per week budget buying what ever appeals to me and is affordable to real food? I don't know. I hope that I can make some starting rules for myself. There is no way on earth I could afford to go complete 'real food' as I would like, but I can try darn it!

First I need to do some major research and price checking. I already started by writing down prices from Target of items I would like to buy. (Or at least fit my definition of 'real food' for the moment.) I've also looked into a local Dairy farm that has milk (obviously), chickens, eggs and beef for sale. It's only about 15/20 minutes from my apartment! That's exciting! Not so exciting is the price $4 for a 1/2 gallon of milk, $4 for a dozen eggs, $10 per pound of cheese? Yikes! What am I getting my limited budget into?

CVS - Freebies!

2011-08-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

It's a good week to stop by CVS and scan your card. Most individuals are getting coupons for free Caramello bars and CVS band aids. Some even luckier people are also getting the the free Carefree! (Although from what I've seen on the boards, it's not an entirely new coupon. Just taking it's good old time getting to everyone.) My store ran out of the Caramello bars on Sunday, so we started subbing any regular sized Hershey Bar. Also out of the specified CVS band-aids, so we are subbing any CVS band-aid up to the listed value on the coupon. We're going to run out of those by tomorrow I think. Then what? Wish we had been told what the items would be before Sunday . . .

Jack Links Jerky $3.50
Caramello $1.19
5 G Fit 02 @ $1.00 each = $5.00
2 Ghirardelli bars @ $.92 each = $1.84 (75% clearance)
Care Free 20ct $1.67
CVS Band-Aid $3.79
Total Before Coupons: $16.99

$1.19 Free Caramello Bar
$4.29 Free CVS Band-Aids (scanned at full value on Sunday, now it asks the cashier for a price.)
$1.87 Free Care Free 20ct (again scans at full value)
Total After Coupons: $9.64

Received:
$5 EB G Fit 02
Net: $4.64 (Not bad for Jerky & chocolate!)

Will I do another trip this week? Maybe, because on Saturday I ran short of time and couldn't pack dinner. I ended up buying some jerky & Starbucks for my meal. (Not that healthy. A bit expensive, but I had EB to burn.) I currently have $9 towards the gas rewards. I'm debating about buying up some TP to finish it off. It's time to check the stash.

Shopping, or Not

2011-08-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

Trip from last month.

I haven't been shopping as much lately. Part of it is because I don't see as many exciting deals as I did a year ago. Another part is all the change in policies. (Rite Aid anyone?) The biggest reason is I'm a little burnt out. I've built up a nice health and beauty stock pile for myself and my Sweetheart. (We don't need anything for a while.) I really want to work on my grocery stock, but with the cash so tight, there is hardly room for extras.

I wonder what direction I should be taking this blog exactly. I started out wanting to write about getting out of debt. I thought a monthly update was good, but I need some more content in between. So my shopping trips got posted. I think I would like to refocus a little on the debt climbing. Not sure how, but I'll give it a shot. Hopefully I'll come up with something soon.

August Budget & Climbing

2011-08-03T18:55:00.000-07:00

This month went by so fast! It's unbelievable. It's been a long month with a chance to learn and grow. I've enjoyed some more training on the Rx end of the store. I'm really hoping to find some time to jump back there and work on my newly acquired skills. Alas, my co-worker hasn't come back from leave yet. Hopefully soon.

I've also learned an important lesson about frozen food. Pictured above is a bento I made a while back. Those strawberries had been frozen at one point. Frozen strawberries are good. Thawed berries are bad . . . very bad. I'll never to that again. Are there any fruits that are okay to freeze and then thaw?

The Budget:

Bills (Electric) $104
Bunnies $30
Car Insurance $36
Car Repair $100
Cellphone $36
Clothing $20
Cruise 2012 $50 *A trip that's been in the works for about 3 years.
Free Money $40
Gas $140
Groceries $120
Health $20
Rent $310
Student Loans $372

Grand Total: $1378/month (Take home pay.)

*Extra money tallied up at the end of the month. All extra funds are to pay off one of my student loans.

Ah! The taste of fresh strawberries! Seriously, what was I thinking about thawing them out?

No obvious changes to the budget this month. My internal change is going from weekly pay checks at CVS to bi-weekly pay checks. It's got me all over the place this month. I had prepared myself for the switch but I had too little and then too much money in my account. I'm a little at a loss. So . . . I took only a $100 extra for payments this month. I'm going to wait and see if I can't get this to all balance out somehow. In the mean time:

Monthly Climb!!!
Grand Total Last Month: $40,482.25
New Grand Total: $40,125.68
Amount Paid Off: $356.57

It's lower than I had hoped, but I'm getting there. Other than the extra $100, which had normally been paid there was nothing to fill out extra payments this month. I'm expected to bring home a larger than normal check because of working a few extra hours for the next check. I would really like accelerate the pay off plan. just have to wait and see what happens.

Saving Sunday - Mailbox!

2011-07-31T19:19:00.000-07:00

I love getting samples in the mail. It makes me smile. ^_^

CVS - Lots of Sales!

2011-07-30T14:12:00.000-07:00

By the end of the day Sunday we had been cleaned out of almost all the really hot deals. My store doesn't normally see so many couponers in one day. I was sort of shocked! Luckily we got more items in on delivery so I could finally buy my deals. (I didn't forget my coupons this week!)

*Please note I did this in multiple transactions, but to simplify things I have it listed as one.

Bengay $6.29
Skintimate $2.19
Oral-B Floss $2.99
Renu Sensitive $7.89
2 Schick Quatro Disposable 3ct @ $9.79 each = $19.58
3 Soft Soap Foam @ $2.00 each = $6.00
U by Kotex Liners $3.49
Total Before Coupons: $45.44

$5/1 any one Bengay
$1.50/1 Skintimate Cream Shave (not shave cream . . . so close)
$1/1 Oral-B Floss
$2/1 Renu Sensitive (signed up at the manufacture web site)
$9.79 BOGO Schick Disposable
$2/1 Schick Disposable CVS coupon (From cvs.com)
2 $1/1 Soft Soap Foam (I'm out of ink, so I couldn't do three)
$1/1 U Kotex Liners
Total After Coupons: $21.15 + $.22 tax

Received:
$2 EB Bengay
$10 EB wyb $20 of selected products (Skintimate & Schick)
$6 EB Renu Sensitive
$3 EB wyb 3 selected soft soap items
$2 EB Kotex U
Net: $1.63 profit! (Good trip!)

Saving Sunday - Mailbox!

2011-07-24T15:47:00.001-07:00

Just a quick picture post. Does instant coffee make for a good coffee milk shake? Just wondering.

CVS - Two Days To Spare

2011-07-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

It's Friday and I finally made my purchases yesterday. I need to work on not being so forgetful. I'm happy to say I was able to get the small Gillette Shaving Cream. Not much else this week. The tea I needed for a raincheck came in. ^_^ I'm actually buying it for a friend for when he comes over to dinner.

Gillette Fusion Shave Gel $2.27
4 Nestle Diet Green Tea @ $1.25 = $5.00 (raincheck!)
2 Oral-B Tooth Brushes @ $1.99 each = $3.98
Total Before Coupons: $11.25

$1/1 Gillette Fusion Shave Gel/Cream
2 $1.25 Nestle Tea Free Coupons
$1.25 BOGO Nestle Tea
$2/2 Oral-B Indicator
Total After Coupons: $4.50

Received:
$2 EB Gillette Fustion
$1 EB wyb 4 Nestle Tea 20oz
$2 Oral-B (two offers)
Net: $.50 profit!

CVS

2011-07-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

This was from last week's sales. I keep forgetting to bring my coupons to work with me so I haven't made any purchases for this week yet. I grabbed these on Saturday night quick. I feel so strange working a Saturday night, but it was a nice change of pace. I usually enjoy putting up signs. I just don't feel like I'm very quick at them.

Dove Body Wash $5.99
Red Vines $1.00
Total Before Coupons: $6.99

$2/1 Dove Body Wash CVS Coupon Machine
$1/1 Dove Body Wash MQ
$.75/1 Red Vines 5.x oz CVS Coupon Machine (I'll try it for a quarter.)
Total After Coupons: $3.24 + $.18 tax

Received:
$2 EB Dove Body Wash
Net: $1.42

It's hectic at work again. My one co-worker is out on leave. My boss and I have no idea for how long. I have a feeling I might be putting in a few hours of overtime again. Everyone is taking vacations at the moment so the help is harder to come by. My boss and I have vacation time coming up soon too. I hope we can use it. On the brighter side I got to use the bento box again. Not my blue one, the pieces from the other set fit into the bag.

Grocery Shopping!

2011-07-15T13:56:00.000-07:00

Vegetable run! June 29, 2011

Time to catch up on this one as well. Again I don't have pictures of everything that I bought nor do I have all my receipts. It's a good thing I pay cash for groceries otherwise I would go way over budget. My major shopping for the past two weeks was done on Wednesday. I'm so glad that I had a day off to start catching up. (Today is baking day!)

They sent out more $10 off $20 purchase! I love cutting the bill in half. I ended spending more because they had the steamer bags on sale for $1. That's my buy price as I haven't seen it go much lower. I managed to hold on to my receipt this week and confirmed that coupon double. At least $.50 and below do. I really should ask CS about that.

Total Price of Merchandise: $42.98
Sales Savings: $10.33
Coupons: $10.90
Coupon Double: $.90
Total Spent: $20.85

This was an expensive trip for the items I got. I bought Turkey Burgers for dinner to have with a friend. I'm happy to say everyone thought they were awesome. $4 for 4 burgers isn't too bad, it's at least cheaper than eating out. (Which Sweetheart and I have been doing far too often lately.) The other big expense is the nutmeg. I want to attempt a better spice mix for my pumkin muffins. (It worked)

Total Price of Merchandise: $33.52
Sales Savings: $1.49
Coupons: $2.75
Coupon Double: $.25
Total Spent: $29.03

I leave a picture of my first use of my bento box. ^_^ I love it!

CVS - Catch Up Time

2011-07-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

It's time I caught myself up on my CVS trips. It's difficult to believe I haven't posted a clear cut trip in about two weeks. I don't have photos of everything mostly due to the fact I don't feel like dragging everything out. I did manage to get photos of some items.

Remember the Dove deal at the end of June/beginning of July? I went a little wild on the men's care items. I had a raincheck from when the deodorant was on sale for $.99. What a deal! Now if only I had realized that it would leave me $1.05 short of the EB I would have only got four for $.99 instead of five. I got a raincheck for the body wash at $3.00 so I could finish off the deal.

Transaction 1:
5 Dove Men's Deodorant @ $.99 each = $4.95
Dove Men's Deodorant $3.00
2 Dove Men's Body Wash @ $3.00 each = $6.00
Nexxus $3.24 (clearance!)
Pringles $1.00
Total Before Coupons: $18.19

3 $2/1 Dove Men's Deodorant
$3 off BOGO Dove Men's Body Wash
$3/1 Nexxus (coupon from a mail sample a while back)
$1/1 Pringles to Go CVS Coupon Machine
Total After Coupons: $5.19

No EB

Net: $5.19 cost

Transaction 2:
2 Dove Men's Body Wash @ $3.00 each = $6.00
Total Before Coupons: $6.00

$3 off BOGO Dove Men's Body Wash
Total After Coupons: $3.00

Received:
$5 EB wyb $15 of selected Dove products
Net: $2.00 profit

Grand Net: $5.19 cost + $2.00 profit = $3.19 cost

Last week I was excited for the Always Infinity deal. $.99 for the small box is an awesome price! I only wish the limit had been higher. I miss those days when limits were typically two. Ah well, take what you can get. Also got a bunch of 2 liters of Coke for $.69! Sweetheart loves this stuff. (The coke isn't included in the transactions below.)

Always Infinity $3.99
2 Oral-B Toothbrush @ $3.00 each = $6.00
Total Before Coupons: $9.99

$1/1 Always Infinity
$3 off BOGO Oral-B
$2/1 Oral-B
Total After Coupons: $3.99

Received:
$2 EB Always Infinity
$2 EB Oral-B (2 deals)
Net: $.01 profit/Free

I was happy to see the one Christophe shampoo marked down to 75% off. I saw on the boards that it went down at other stores about a week ago, but my store finally caught up. There are some coupons on a 'blade' in the aisle of $2/1 full sized product. (A 'blade' is a piece of cardboard that sticks out from the shelving with some kind of advertising or label for a section. Some of these will have coupons.) The conditioner also went down, but the coupons are limit one per customer.

The other clearance item were these black bags. I only found out about it because a customer bought one and it rang up at $.25. That's 90% off?! The customer was surprised, but didn't say anything about it. I went back to our hallmark section and checked it at the scanner. Sure enough it was 90% off. I tried a smaller size and then a different color in the same size and they were all regular price. Hmm . . . So I bought all that we had. Thinking about it I bet someone made the mistake and included these in the Father's Day & Graduation clearance. Yesterday was the last day for those. How lucky is that? ^_^

Balance Bar $1.69
7 Black Hallmark Bags @ $.25 each = $1.75 (90% off)
Christophe Shampoo $2.07 (75% clearance)
Total Before Coupons: $5.51

$2/1 Christophe Shampoo
Total After Coupons: $3.51

Received:
$1.69 EB Balance bar
Net: $1.82 cost (worth those bags!)

As a parting note, what does everyone think of the new look of the EB? I'm not so sure I like it. I feel like we use enough paper already . . . I suppose the corp isn't happy with the EB redemption rate with most customers. Sorry about the fuzziness.

July Budget & Monthly Climb

2011-07-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Muffin!

I'm far behind this week . . . ARG! It's time I sat down and made myself a posting schedule. It's the only way I'm going to really keep up. I've gotten out of the habit. Thankfully next week will be a great opportunity to be all caught up. I asked off for an extra day and the following week I'll only work 4 days at CVS instead of five. This week I'm working 6 days and I'm really getting worn out.

I've been baking a little bit when I get the chance. This is the start of blueberry buckle. I found the recipe at Totally Target. I modified it by using whole wheat flour and raspberries. It's an awesome breakfast. Yummy!

The Budget:

Bills (Electric) $104
Bunnies $30
Car Insurance $36
Car Repair $100 *Need to save for future repairs & regular oil changes (Expensive!)
Cellphone $36
Clothing $20
Cruise 2012 $50 *A trip that's been in the works for about 3 years.
Free Money $40
Gas $140
Groceries $120 *slight increase
Health $20
Rent $310
Student Loans $372

Grand Total: $1378/month (Take home pay.)

*Extra money tallied up at the end of the month. All extra funds are to pay off one of my student loans.

A few changes this month. The biggest thing is my minimum loan payment took a huge drop. $100 dollars! But my monthly budget went up? Huh? $50 for a future trip + $40 additional in car repairs + $20 for groceries . . . it just gets eaten away. Ideally I would take the extra money and keep paying off more of my loans. There are expenses I know that are coming up. I could probably skip the cruise money, but I rather have more than necessary than not enough. Once the trip is over I will put all the extra back into my loans. With the way things have gone lately I should still have extra money at the end of the month.

Monthly Climb!!!
Grand Total Last Month: $41,243.79
New Grand Total: $40,482.25
Amount Paid Off: $761.54

WOW! That a huge number! I'll admit that technically $240 of that should be applied to next month. It makes more sense to show it here as I've paid off another loan! It was going to be finished off in Feb of 2012, that's 7 months early! As a reward to myself I bought a bento box. My rule for my rewards as I pay off loans are to use no more the one month's minimum payment. In this case $100!

I was happy to find Groupon with a great deal of Lock 'n Lock. A $50 credit for $25. My chosen box would have been about $20 so I splurged a little bit more to get some extras. The credit did not include shipping so all told I spent about $32. That means I have that extra to pay off more loans. (Actually I had just enough extra to finish off that one loan and buy my treat. So I get to start my new budget right away.) I haven't had the chance to use my bento yet, but I do have a plan for it.

Quick Post

2011-07-05T06:48:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a good holiday. Sorry, I don't have any pictures at the moment. Of coarse I'm behind again. My schedule's been all switched around lately (a co-worker has been missing a lot of time at work with issues at home) and I've barely had time to adjust. (Yes, I got OT again.) I need to get up last week shopping trips & my monthly climb. Yesterday was a holiday, but working in retail I work most holidays. I figure it's a way to either earn myself an extra day off or pay off my loans a little faster. (Or some combination of both?) Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to squeeze something in.

Just keep smiling. ^_^

Saving Sunday - Mailbox!

2011-07-03T18:34:00.000-07:00

It's been a long week. These are some of the surprises I've gotten in my mailbox. I must say I was rather shocked to see the full sized bottle of shampoo & conditioner. (Actually 30% bonus size!) I love getting freebies in the mail. It just brightens my day.

Monday Madness - Catch Up Time

2011-06-27T08:26:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy week and it's time to catch up with all the shopping I've managed to get in. This week looks as if will also get crammed together. I'm so hoping I can keep on top of things better. *fingers crossed*

Sometimes I hate grocery shopping. I love actually going to the store and picking out what I'll be eating. I love being able to choose organic versions of items when possible. (See the Nature's Promise Ketchup?) What I hate is when I get to the checkout. I think I managed to get some good deals (pasta on sale for $1 and a $1/1 coupon = free!), but things add up quickly. For the money I spend I feel as if I don't get a whole lot. I do the best that I can. I could certainly do worse.

Total Price of Merchandise: $43.95
Sales Savings: $6.35
Coupons: $5.50
Coupon Double: $.50
Total Spent: $31.60

Occasionally I'm asked by my parents to pick up some things. I would like more time to go shopping for them, but often I get asked to pick up things only two or three days before I see them. As I only get a chance to visit about every two or three weeks my next visit is when I need to bring the requested items. I didn't do too badly. $47.97 CVS retail price for $25.53 between the sales, my discount & coupons. Not bad for last minute shopping. (This trip was done on June 18th.)

My own CVS shopping was done late this past week. Things just kept slipping my mind. I better not that happen this week. I'm hoping to get in on the Dove deal! (See here.) I also treated myself to the nail polish pictured here. I love the sparkle it has. I got $5 EB Beauty Club reward and wanted to splurge a little. $7.89 for that one bottle! Ah well, I really love the color. Short and simple summary for this trip.

Total Price of Merchandise: $29.76 (Not pictured 3 more Honest Teas)
Sales Savings: $5.90
Coupons: $2.00
Extra Bucks Received: $17.48 (I included the Beauty Rewards even though I actually spent it.)
Net: $4.38, not bad

Last, but not least was a trip to Old Navy. Last year they did a spectacular special on camis for $2. This year it was on tanks. I'm lucky I was able to get in about 15 minutes after they opened. It was busy! I could have gotten 10 total, but only ended up with 9. I actually made a deal with a friend that I would buy 5 for me and 5 for her. She would then go in and do the same if there was anything left. She managed to find me 4 and only one for herself. We swapped tanks and the difference in cash. I love how it turned out, some for me and some for her. ^_^

Monday Madness - Shopping!

2011-06-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

I did some shopping yesterday. I wish I had more time other than on the days I have off from both my jobs. I would like just a day to relax, but that's not going to happen any time soon. Maybe in the beginning of August?

A quick stop at Gaint for my newspapers. I would like to just get a Sunday subscription, but it's the same as buying from the news stand. What's the point then? I know that there are a few times a year when there are no coupon inserts. Why waste the money? Unfortunately this usally has me picking up something unexpected. I spotted a 'new' flavor of Greek Yougurt. Yum! Also Hebrew National hotdogs are BOGO this week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed to buy up some extra this week. (Depends on funds.)

Total Price of Merchandise: $16.52 (includes 3 Newspapers, not pictured)
Sales Savings: $4.99
Coupons: None :(
Total Spent: $11.53 (W00T!)

Food Loin has sent out more of the $10 off $20 purchase coupons. I've asked a few of my friends in the area if they aren't interested in them I will gladly take them! It's a big help stretching the budget. Unfortunately I didn't get my receipt from my trip. At least I got my change! (And I have a half decent memory)

Total Price of Merchandise: $??.?? (At least $30!)
Sales Savings: $??.??
Coupons: $15.90
Total Spent: $16.72 (WOW! I love this coupon!)

CVS - Two Trips

2011-06-15T13:05:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a busy weekend at CVS. Customers were coming in with 20%, 25% or even 30% coupons. (I think I saw at least one 30%) This generally means the employees get a special discount weekend as well. 30%! So if it's not on sale and I have a coupons to get it free . . . MM! It made for awesome drink trip on Sunday. Normally I don't show my discount, but I wouldn't have got such a great deal without it otherwise.

2 Coke 2L 2 $.79 each = $1.68 (Not advertised. On sale for the next two weeks for $.79 Regional?)
Coke 20oz $1.89
2 Diet Coke 20 oz @ $1.89 each = $3.78
Sprite 20oz $1.89
2 Diet Lipton Tea @ $1.79 = $3.58
Total Before Coupons: $12.72

$3.36 Discount!
$1.69 Free Coke My Coke Rewards (Max value $1.69)
2 $1/1 Diet Coke 16oz or 20oz (IP no longer available)
$1.69 Free Sprite My Coke Rewards (Max value $1.69)
2 $1.79 Free Lipton Tea (Facebook offer)
Total After Coupons: $.40 + $.09 tax (that tax is off, but that's okay)

Received:
$1 EB Green Bag Tag
Net: $.51 profit

I wish there had been more time for me to do my next transaction. I wanted to really roll the EB, but it was so busy! I felt lucky to even get it done. I'm happy I got these first thing in the week, because we ran out of everything except the raisers & eye lashes.

Bayer Advance 20ct $3.00
Hydro 5 Razor $8.00
Hydro 5 Blades 4ct $8.79
2 Motrin PM 20ct @ $4.00 each = $8.00
2 Kiss Eye Lashes @ $3.99 each = $7.98
Zyrtec 5ct $5.99
Total Before Coupons: $31.76

$2/1 Bayer Advance
$2/1 Any Bayer Product CVS coupon machine
$4/1 Hydro Razor
$2/1 Hydro Blades
2 $1/1 Motrin PM
2 $2/1 Kiss Eyelash (IP on manufacture website)
$3/1 Zyrtec (Coupon from a pamphlet)
$3 off $10 purchase First Aid (If it goes in a first aid kit, it counts.)
Total After Coupon: $19.76 + $.31 tax (used $8.50 EB)

Received:
$1 EB Bayer
$4 EB Hydro Razor
$4 EB Hydro Blades
$6 EB Motrin ($3 for each one)
$5 EB Kiss Eyelash
$5.99 EB Zyrtec
Net: $5.92 profit!

Love getting 'paid' to take things. ^_^

Monday Shopping

2011-06-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

Actually one of these trips is from last week. I didn't get a chance to post because in the middle of my shopping I got a call from a co-work and she was sick. Really sick. Could I come in and work her 9 hour shift? Uh . . . sure. Just let me get home to change. I found my receipt from that purchase, but I lost the one from today. How did I manage that?

Not pictured Nature's Promise Frozen Blue Berries.

Total Price of Merchandise: $20.53
Sales Savings: $1.20
Coupons: $2.00 (2 $1 off any Laura's Lean product from the manufacture web site)
Total Spent: $17.33

Lost my receipt, but I remember my total was $30.24. That's almost my entire week of grocery money! The meat & milk alone make up almost half. Hopefully I'm stocked on milk for the next two or three weeks. Too bad I forgot to get myself some bread. I'll just have to pick up some latter.

I've been doing more cooking of late. I made up some pasta with the Philadelphia cooking cream I got a while back. It's so good! Just have to watch how much I eat. Also tried to make a blue berry buckle recipe I found some where. It calls for a crumb topping, but I skipped it figuring the last thing I need to add to it was more sugar. Baked oatmeal is another thing I made this weekend after work. I love baked oatmeal. At the moment I'm trying to find good deals on oatmeal so I can keep making it. It's great for a quick breakfast.

Saving Sunday - Mailbox!

2011-06-12T23:00:00.000-07:00

Free 20oz coke, body wash sample & Root Awakening samples. ^_^

CVS

2011-06-10T08:40:00.000-07:00

I was done with this earlier in the week purchased over two days. (picked up extra hours this week!) It's a good week to stock up on oral care. I actually have plenty, but it makes for a great donation item. I need to go through my stash and trim back again. Also need to grab a box from work so I can pack it up I decide to donate.

Transaction 1:
2 Excedrin Extra Strength 8ct @ $.99 each = $1.98
Honest Tea $1.00
Total Before Coupons: $2.98

$.50/1 Honest Tea
Total After Coupons: $2.48 (used $2 EB)

Received:
$1.98 EB Excedrin
Net: $.50 cost

Transaction 2:
Crest Pro Health Rinse $4.50
Colgate 360 $2.79
Oral-B Pulsar $6.00
Total Before Coupons: $13.29

$2/1 Crest Rinse
$1/1 Colgate 360 (All You, I forget which issue)
$3/1 Oral-B Battery Toothbrush
Total After Coupons: $7.29 (used $6.98 EB)

Received:
$2.50 EB Crest Rinse
$2.00 EB Colgate 360
$3.00 EB Oral-B Pulsar
Net: $.21 profit

Transaction 3:
Crest Pro Health Rinse $4.50
Colgate Max Foam $2.79
Honest Tea $1.00
Oral-B Pulsar $6.00
Total Before Coupons: $14.29

$2/1 Crest Rinse
$1/1 Colgate
$.50/1 Honest Tea
$3/1 Oral-B Battery Toothbrush
Total After Coupons: $7.79 (used $7.50 EB)

Received:
$2.50 EB Crest Rinse
$2.00 EB Colgate Max Foam
$3.00 EB Oral-B Pulsar
Net: $.29 cost

Transaction 4:
3 Honest Tea @ $1.00 each = $3.00 (not pictured)
Seattle's Best Coffee $1.49 (Got it to try. I wasn't lucky enough to get the coupon.)
Total Before Coupons: $4.49

3 $.50/1 Honest Tea (my last ones!)
Total After Coupons: $1.99 (Forgot to use any EB!)

Received:
$2.00 EB wyb 5 selected drinks for $5
Net: $.01 profit

Grand Net: $.50 cost + $.21 profit + $.29 cost + $.01 profit = $.48 cost! Nice!

Rite Aid - The Way I Remember It

2011-06-06T07:02:00.000-07:00

**Update: The Full Repair SCR works on shampoo & conditioner!
***06/16 Today I double check my account and they took it away? What the heck!

This week is a good week for Rite Aid. Too bad all my previous +up had to used up by Saturday. I ended up buying a 1/2 inch binder to go into my bag for my loose leaf papers. I've kept a folder in bag to hold onto full sheets of printed coupons, coupon policies, lists of what I was getting, the start of a price list and anything else paper wise that made it into my bag. Folders don't hold up very well. The top was getting torn and I was thinking the paper would be next. Didn't see much of interest that week except maybe the Renpure shampoo? Thanks, but I'll skip it. Too bad I found another $1 +up latter that night that was expiring. *sad face*

This week makes up for the lack luster sales of the past two. I actually had stuff to get excited for. There's a 'hidden' deal on John Fredia (see here) which makes for some free products. I'm happy that I managed to to use up all the +up that were generated this week and put them into SCR.

Transaction 1:
Veet Gel Cream $6.02 (10% discount)
Veet Cream $5.66 (10% discount)
Total Before Coupons: $11.68

2 $3/1 Veet (facebook offer)
$2/1 Veet - in-ad coupon
$1/1 Veet June VV
$1 off purchase June VV
Total After Coupons: $1.68 + $.05 tax

Received:
$5 +up
Net: $3.27 profit

Transaction 2:
Crest 3-D Whitening Toothpaste $2.57
Oral-B Crest 3-D Whitening Toothbrush $2.57
Oral-B Cross Action Power Toothbrush $5.99
Total Before Coupons: $11.13

$1/1 Crest Toothpaste (from a mail sample a long time ago)
$1/1 Oral-B Manual Toothbrush (from a mail sample a long time ago)
$3/1 Oral-B Battery Toothbrush
$1 off purchase June VV
Total After Coupons: $5.13 (used $5 +up)

Received:
$1.60 +up Toothpaste
$1.60 +up Manual Toothbrush
$2.99 +up Battery Toothbrush
Net: $1.06 profit

Transaction 3:
Blink Tears $7.99
John Fredia Full Repair Shampoo $4.99
John Fredia Full Repair Conditioner $4.99
Total Before Coupons: $17.97

$4/1 Blink Tears Peelie (found on the ground about two months ago)
2 $2/1 Any John Fredia item (I didn't get $5 ones in my paper)
Total After Coupons: $9.97 +.09 tax (used $6.19 +up)

Will Receive:
$7.99 SCR Blink
Net: $2.07 cost

Maybe Receive?
$4.99 SCR Full Repair Shampoo*
$4.99 SCR Full Repair Conditioner*
Maybe Net: $7.91 profit

*I'm hoping that the Full Repair SCR goes through. The store (and from other comments other stores) has these two items marked as being part of the SCR. On closer inspection of the June booklet it says 'Full Repair Styling System.' I don't know if shampoo & conditioner count as a styler, but they are part of the 'Full Repair System.' If it doesn't go through I plan on returning them. I would be very disappointed if it was marked incorrectly.

Definite Grand Net: $3.27 profit + $1.06 profit + $2.07 cost = $2.26 profit
Maybe Grand Net: $3.27 profit + $1.06 profit + $7.91 profit = $12.24 profit.

CVS - Round 2! (3, 4, or more)

2011-06-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

There were a couple of good deals that I missed earlier in the week. Luckily because I work at CVS I'm able to pick up deals last minute, no problem. Cheap Revlon powder was exciting, $.64! Also was happy to see the John Fredia deal. I thought about skipping it because I have enough for a year. As it was only $.50/item I thought it would be worth getting and donating. Also went through my P&G mailers to see if I had any coupons I was likely to use. Two $1/1 Oral-B coupons! Free toothbrushes!

Transaction 1:
Revlon Powder $10.49
Total Before Coupons: $10.49

$6.00 Revlon Color (CVS Coupon Machine)
Total After Coupons: $4.49 + $.15 tax

Received:
$4 EB Revlon wyb $10

Net: $.64 cost

Transaction 2:
Honest Tea $1.00
John Fredia Conditioner $4.99
John Fredia Shampoo $4.99
Total Before Coupons: $10.98

$.50/1 Honest Tea (tear pad)
2 $3/1 John Fredia Root Awakening
Total After Coupons: $4.48 +.05 tax (used $4 EB from previous transaction)

Received:
$3 EB John Fredia (also includes Curel)

Net: $1.53 cost

Transaction 3:
2 Oral-B Toothbrushes @ 1.99 each = $3.98
Total Before Coupons: $3.98

2 $1/1 Oral-B Manual Toothbrush (P&G mailer)
Total After Coupons: $1.98 (used $.99 EB)

Received:
$2 EB Oral-B (two offers)
Net: $.02 profit

Grand Net: $.64 cost + $1.53 cost + $.02 profit = $2.15 cost!

I wanted to finish up the buy $30 get a $10 gas card. I knew buying more nuts would have me a few cents shy, but I wasn't sure by how much. I had hoped we would get more of the south beach mix on truck, but no such luck. So I grabbed the individualized serving multi-pac. Not as much bang for you buck, but it will work. I also wanted to finish off the 5/$5 get $2 EB drink deal. (Which is going on until 7/2.)

3 Honest Tea @ $1.00 each = $3.00
Planters South Beach individual $7.49
Planters South Beach individual FREE (BOGO Free)
Total Before Coupons: $10.49

3 $.50/1 Honest Tea
Total After Coupons: $8.99 (used $1 EB)

Received:
$10 gas card (actually rung as a separate transaction, but was my only item.)
$2 EB wyb 5 selected drinks
Net: $7.99 cost

So $29.95 does the trick for the buy $30 get $10 gas card. (Maybe slightly less?) I'm happy that my last $7.49 purchase could get me $10 of gas. I'll be taking that $10 from my gas budget putting it back into my grocery budget. So over all that means $30 worth of nuts for $20! That's a lot of snacking!

Food Loin

2011-06-04T07:10:00.000-07:00

I went shopping at Food Loin on Monday. No time until now to get to it though. LOL. It happens to be relatively close to the CVS that I stopped out to pick up a few goodies. (See here. I had another special $10 off $20 coupon. I went in hopping to stay as close to $20 as possible so that it would be like getting everything at half price. I managed to do really well.

Total Price of Merchandise: $27.91
Sales Savings: $7.15
Coupons: $10.00
Total Spent: $10.76 (W00T!)

On closer inspection on my receipt I noticed the sugar rang up for $1.24! I hadn't noticed a sale sign or anything, so I suppose I missed it entirely! I headed back the next day. Turned out it was clearanced! I didn't think I was going to get a better deal for 2lbs of organic sugar. Also heard some pasta was on sale for $1 and there was a $1 off facebook offer. You better believe I grabbed this goodie while I could. ^_^

I can't find my receipt for this one. Paid $2.48!

June Budget & Monthly Climb

2011-06-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a good holiday weekend. I work everyday for the last eleven days and I'm tired. I was happy to work the holiday as it means time and a half. Finally some time to relax. Hopefully. A co-worker of mine isn't feeling to good and there is a slight chance of me having to go in tomorrow. *fingers crossed*

I'm going to keep this post short today. (Tired!) So just a budget update and then the climbing!

The Budget:

Bills (Electric) $103
Bunnies $30
Car Insurance $36
Car Repair $60
Cellphone $36
Clothing $20
Free Money $40
Gas $140
Groceries $100
Health $20
Rent $310
Student Loans $472

Grand Total: $1367/month (Take home pay.)

*Extra money tallied up at the end of the month. All extra funds are to pay off one of my student loans.

No big changes. My 'extra' categories have gone into the regular budget. Not having to fill up the emergency fund and seeing plenty of extra money at the end of the month gives me confidence I'll be able to handle it. If for some reason it doesn't work out I'll split then out again.

Imagine a new world . . .

Monthly Climb!!!
Grand Total Last Month: $41,825.44
New Grand Total: $41,243.79
Amount Paid Off: $581.65

The extra funds really paid off! I'm hoping that I can actually have another loan finished within two months. Between the holiday this past week and another one next month it should be done! I'm dancing at the thought of it! I can hardly wait!

CVS

2011-05-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

I had a very good trip this week. Our store's clearance end cap got marked to 90% off! I've been meaning to buy up some cotton balls, but haven't seen any good deals. These were the trail size ones that we'll no longer be carrying. Yippie for me! Spotted two flavors of Chips Ahoy! 75% off making them $.94 a pack. Also exciting this week is the Planters BOGO free deal, part of the gas rewards. (I've been packing these up along with some raisins as a healthy snack.) I purchased this on Saturday night, so some of it is part of last week's deals.

Aqua Fresh Kids Toothbrush $1.00 (raincheck)
2 Chips Ahoy! @ $.94 each = $1.88
2 Coke 2-Litters @ $.99 each = $1.98 (one not pictured)
5 CVS Cotton Balls 25ct @ $.09 each = $.45
4 CVS Cotton Squares 20ct @ $.09 each = $.36
CVS Facial Cleansing Tissue $1.49
CVS Green Bag Tag $.99
Essence of Beauty Jumbo Wedge 4 ct $.09
Honest Tea $1.00 (we only had one green tea in stock *sad face*)
Popcorn Indiana $2.50
Pringles Pizza Flavor $1.34
Pringles Regular $1.33
Stirde Gum $.99
Planters South Beach $7.49
Planters South Beach FREE (BOGO Free)
Total Before Coupons: $22.89

$1/1 Aquafresh Kids Toothbrush
$2 off wyb 2 Coke 2 liters & 2 Pringles
$1.50/1 CVS Facial Cleansing Tissue (CVS Coupon Center a while back)
$.99/1 Green Bag Tag (CVS Coupon Center, last week)
$.50/1 Honest Tea 16.9oz (Tear pad on cooler door. It was there for 3 days & then gone!)
$1/1 Popcorn Indiana (CVS Coupon Center, last week)
Total After Coupons: $15.90 +$.19 tax (used $10 EB)

Received:
$.99 EB Stride
$1.00 Green Bag Tag
Net: $14.90 cost (Higher than normal, but I'll work with it)

Today after I got done with work I headed to another CVS because we didn't have any more of the South Beach diet verity of Planters. I'm hoping to finish it off for a $10 gas card once our truck comes in on Friday. I also wanted to use up the raincheck on the Aqua Fresh Toothbrush as the coupons expire on Tuesday.

3 Aqua Fresh Kids Toothbrush $1.00 each = $3.00
2 Planters South Beach @ $7.49 = $14.98
Planters South Beach FREE (BOGO Free)
Planters Energy Mix FREE (BOGO Free)
Total Before Coupons: $17.98 (forgot my EB)

3 $1/1 Aqua Fresh Kids Toothbrush
Total After Coupons: $14.98

Net: $14.98

Grand Net: $14.98 + $14.90 = $29.88

Geez! That's a lot of money from me all in one week. The nuts count towards my grocery budget as does the coke, pringles & popcorn. The rest is from my free money. Luckily I haven't been buying as much in the past week and I got in some rebates for some food products. That'll help my grocery budget.

Saving Sunday - Mailbox!

2011-05-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

I haven't done one of these in a while! I didn't get anything for a while, but now I have about two or three weeks worth of stuff. Feast or famine. Coffee, cereal, Coke 12-pack (Coke Rewards), dog treats, shampoo, detergent, sweet potato fries and that cute bag from Coinstar! What a fun collection. ^_^

CVS - Nail Polish Free!

2011-05-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

This week is free nail polish at CVS! I don't wear a lot of cosmetics. There are a few things that I go for such as nail polish. I hate having it on my hands, but love it on my toes. Huh? I'm just weird. Some of these colors will be given away to friends or to Mutti. She requested the clear one. Any who . . . On with the trip!

Transaction 1:
2 Revlon Nail Polish @ $4.99 = $9.98
Total Before Coupons: $9.98

$2/1 Revlon Cosmetic
$1/1 Revlon Nail Polish
Total After Coupons: $6.98 + $.06 tax (used $6 EB)

Received:
$8 EB Revlon Nail Polish (two offers)

Net: $.96 profit

Transaction 2 & 3:
2 Revlon Nail Polish @ $4.99 = $9.98
Total Before Coupons: $9.98

2 $1/1 Revlon Nail Polish
Total After Coupons: $7.98 (used $8 EB)

Received:
$8 EB Revlon Nail Polish (two offers)

Net: FREE

Bonus: $5 EB Beauty Club! From buying Nail Polish!

Transaction 4:
Always Infinity $7.99
Crystal Lite single pack $.50
2 Hellman's Mayo $3.00 each = $6.00
2 Reese's Mini's $1.87 each = $3.74
Reese's Mini FREE (Buy 2 get 1 Free)
3 Skippy @ 3/$5 = $5
Total Before Coupons: $23.23

$1/1 Always Pads
$1/1 Always Infinity CVS Coupon Machine
$1/1 Any Crystal Lite CVS Coupon Machine
2 $1/1 Hellman's Mayo (IP a while back, no long available)
$1.87 Reese's Mini Free CVS Employee (Coupon addressed CVS crew members)
Total After Coupons: $17.36 (paid with $5 EB & $8 EB)

*Dear Skippy. I love your peanut butter. Where are my coupons? I haven't seen them in ages!*

Received:
$3 EB Always Infinity
$3 EB wyb $10 of selected Unilever products.
Net: $11.36 cost

Grand Net: $.96 profit + Free + Free + $5.00 profit (bonus EB) + $11.36 cost = $5.40 cost.

Donation Box

2011-05-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

Just a quick look at the Donation Box from the past couple of weeks. I'm glad I started couponing with the goal of saving money and giving back as much as I can. ^_^

CVS - Candy!

2011-05-20T09:42:00.000-07:00

Not much of interested for me this week. I did however plan on getting M&Ms for my candy 'jar'. My 'jar' is actually one of gum ball machines. It's great because when I'm feeling the need for some candy I turn the handle once maybe twice and walk away. I don't tear through bags of candy any more. The Coupon Center gave me a $3 off $15 grocery purchase and a $2/1 Hershey's Reese's Mini's or Drops. Sold!

2 Hershey's Reese's Minis 8oz @ $3.00 each = $6.00
4 M&M Bags (Medium size) @ $2.50 each = $10.00
Total Before Coupons: $16.00

$3 off $15 grocery purchase (CVS coupon)
$2/1 Hershey's Reese's Minis or Drops (CVS Coupon Machine)
$2/2 Hershey's Reese's Minis or Drops
Total After Coupons: $9.00 (used $7 EB + $2.00 cash)

Received:
$3 EB wyb $10 of select Candy
Net: $6.00 (about $1.00 for each bag of candy!)

Rite Aid

2011-05-19T08:56:00.000-07:00

I had a quick Rite Aid run on Monday. They were out of the Colgate 360, so I either need to pick them up latter this week or find something else to spend $4 +up on. Not a bad trip, but not quiet as good as I was hoping either.

Lysol Wipes $3.14 (10% discount)
No Nonsense Socks $.90 (10% discount)
2 Oral-B Toothbrushes @ $2.99 each = $5.98
Total Before Coupons: $10.02

$1.50/1 Lysol Wipes (Facebook offer)
$1/1 Lysol Wipes Rite Aid Coupon (Donation)
$1/1 No Nonsense Rite Aid Coupon (Donation)
$1.50/1 Oral-B
$1/1 Oral-B manual toothbrush (from a sample)
Total After Coupons: $4.02 (used $4 +up & $.02 cash)

Received:
2 $2 +up Oral-B Toothbrushes (limit 2)
Net: $.02 cost

Love getting items for less than a penny each. What will I buy if I can't get more toothbrushes? Maybe Ziplock containers?

Monday Madness and Then Some

2011-05-18T18:56:00.000-07:00

Mondays are turning out to be my day to run around everywhere. At least when I don't have to be at work until 3pm. Running around for most of the morning and then working latter in the evening means I don't have much time for posting. Tuesdays are a 'break' for me as I usually am working at my part time job and cook something for dinner. Wednesdays are often early mornings with cleaning to do in the evening. Thursday being a long day means no posts until latter. I like the idea of being able to have a routine. It's nice. Now if only I can keep it that way for a few weeks. Anywho . . .

Today I have some extra time so I thought I would share some of my shopping trips this week. Okay, two of them are technically last week, but I'm putting them here anyway. Target is always a strange sort of fellow. I still haven't figured out if overage is a normal thing or not on coupons. I wasn't planning on any at all this time because of all the adjustments made last time. I'm happy with the result. I needed to use up my Nivea coupons and Sweetheart desperately needed some Benadryl.

Men's Nivea $3.19
Women's Nivea $2.03
Benadryl 100ct $11.29
Total Before Coupons: $16.51

$3/1 Men's Nivea
$3/1 Women's Nivea
$1/1 Benadryl (found a manufactures coupon booklet for allergies at CVS)
Total After Coupons: $9.51 (actually $9.46 because the coupons created a negative tax of $.05!)

Target, could you kindly make up your mind? I think you should allow the overage as your competitor Walmart does. (Makes sense to me.)

Saturday night I decided to try out a new store: Food Loin. It opened up a few months back, but I hadn't been in to see the prices at all. With another grocery store right across the street does it really make sense to drive 10 minutes out of the way? (Yes, I'm spoiled with the grocery store being across the way.) A $10 off a $20 purchase is enough to entice this girl.

It wasn't super spectacular or anything. They don't double coupons or have a big ad. Some prices are slightly high than my normal store and others are slightly lower. (Comparing the prices of items I normally buy.) I was happy to find my Fruitables juice boxes on sale 2/$4! I've never seen them on sale, ever! Now priced at $2.75 for the lowest price I ended buying a few of these on the spot. Also ended up with some frozen veggies which ended up with me spending a bit more than I intended for this particular trip. It did save me from having to store at my regular store on the way home. (Needed veggies any way.)

Total Price of Merchandise: $44.41
Sales Savings: $7.00
Coupons: $10.00
Total Spent: $27.41 (Not to shabby)

I've stopped at Gaint a few times this week. First I needed my newspapers for the coupons. Second my parents have a cat and had coupons to buy up some cat food cheap! More than happy to oblige. Had to be quick about it as they expired on Monday. Also there's a special deal at Gaint on Oscar Mayer Sub deal. (See here.) I was more than happy to take advantage of. Few more coupons from a co-work and run it again. (Didn't take a picture of that one.)

Merchandise (Including 3 Newspapers): $17.31
Sale Savings: $1.39
Coupons Savings: $.35
Double Coupon: $.35
Total Spent: $15.22

Merchandise: $24.81
Sale Savings: $3.87
Instant Savings: $3.00
Coupons Savings: $15.00
Total Spent: $2.94 + $.18 tax = $3.12 (Parents will reimburse me for kitty food!)

While I managed to get something for the Kitty, I couldn't get in on a deal for the girls. Petsmart is running a special on some dog treats that paired with sale & coupon are free. (I forget which blog I spotted it on.) They were completely out and none in the back. I inquired about getting a raincheck. They do rainchecks! I'm very happy about this. It has to be in an ad flier & a manager needs to sign off on it. I'm hopping I will be able to get some in the next deliver before the sale is over, if not I have a raincheck. (As long as they come in before the coupon expires.)

CVS posting

2011-05-14T16:54:00.000-07:00

Ah, finally a chance to get to my weekly shopping trip. I haven't stopped at Rite Aid at all this week mostly because of time, partly because I haven't been as interested in the deals. I feel like I'm lagging behind. Gerr . . . I need to pop over there at some point this week or waste my +up rewards.

CVS has had some at least okay deals for me. Again for simplicity I'll just summarize everything up. I need to start cooking dinner and would also like to cook up some things in advance. (Part of that 'increasing' grocery budget.)

CVS Trip Summary
Merchandise Sales Total: $40.32*
Coupons/Discount: $31.71
Tax: $.04
EB used: $6.54
Total Out Of Pocket: $2.11
EB Received: $7.00
Net: $1.65 cost

*Ivory Soap was a raincheck for $.99. Even though we restocked on Friday I didn't buy them until this week.

Stamp Out Hunger

2011-05-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

I had planned on doing this tomorrow and posting my CVS trip instead. Blogger it seems had other plans and was down until a few minutes ago. I need to head off to work soon, so Stamp Out Hunger it is. These are the items I'm putting out by my door.

These are all items I got for free/cheap or bought ages ago and never did anything with. (Canned veggies anyone? I seem to eat only the frozen one now.) It feels good to clean out my pantry. Time to figure out what to do with that chicken broth. Why does Sweetheart hate soup so much? It's cheap and easy to make, but he hates almost everything. Miso is about the only one he will eat and even then he leave the broth. Gerr . . . must be more creative!

Increasing the Budget

2011-05-11T17:41:00.000-07:00

*Warning, long post ahead!*

I've been debating with myself a lot lately about increasing the food budget. My current amount works out to $25/week for two people! I don't think that's nearly enough. How on earth have a managed it to this point? I believe I've been able to scrape by for the following reasons:

~Once a week we eat at my Sweetheart's parents. His mom loves to make these fantastic meat balls! They are just great.

~Sweetheart has insisted on eating out two-three times a week. He had been accustomed to eating out even more often than that. We had tried a budget of $50/week for eating out, but alas it didn't last long. (I couldn't get him to go any lower!)

~About every other week we've made it over to my parents for a meal. Sometimes this meant eating out, again. Other times my parents have footed the bill for an in house meal with us bring along dessert.

~All of the above at times meant there was a possibility of left overs. This has meant easy packable meals or quick meals when we've been too tired.

~I've often used Extra Bucks to buy Coke from CVS. These EB were generated from deals that either were MM or stuff that was nearly free or needed but paid for out of my pocket money. So I'm really paying for stuff from my free money instead of the grocery items.

~Some grocery items I've managed to get free after sales, coupons & rewards. (Anyone remember that fantastic week of Edy's Ice Cream, Chex Mix & Lay's Stax at Rite Aid? If not see here.)

A recent meal from our 'vacation' weekend.

Things have slowly been changing. We use to go out more often to eat. Sweetheart's dad ate out a lot. I meal a lot! (Like 5 or 6 days a week sometimes for all three meals of the day!) He often liked to have company around and would invite us to join him. It was not entirely uncommon for him to invite us out twice if not three times in one week. Sometimes I was working and Sweetheart went by himself, but more often than not I was there as well. He hasn't asked as much of late. (As of this posting it's been about two/three months since I've joined him.) We're not sure why but we suspect he's started to keep an eye on his money. (Recently retired.)

Sweetheart has been out less often than what he use to. While it was two to three times a week with me, there were still another two or three times he would out himself when I was not around. Lunch out while at work, a meal out with a friend or getting dinner on the walk home. He takes lunch to work unless he needs to walk there. Our friends come over for a meal in house. Sweetheart doesn't buy his dinner on the way home anymore. He goes through his bread for sandwiches a lot fast than he use to. (Sweetheart loves white bread. I hate it. He doesn't like wheat, but I love it. So we end up with separate bread.)

Not eating out as often means less in left overs. His parents not eating out means even less. There had been times when they would get two large Pizzas and offer us the left overs. We would happily except them and eat them for work.

Lastly food prices are started to creep slowly up. I hadn't noticed much beyond the price changes at work until one of my main packing staples went up by $.25. It's not a lot, but a item originally priced at $2.50 each now at $2.75 is a price jump of 10%! Ouch. That really hurts on a small budget with little room for error.

It's time for a change . . .

Home "cooking". How much of this is really cooking when it's a box mix?

I don't want to honestly, but something has got to give. I'm spending the grocery money fast than it's coming in. Sometimes I know it has to do with my choices. I like Florida's Natural Orange Juice. Yes, it can be pricey, but I love knowing the Orange juice is from the USA. It makes me happy to support 'local' farmers. (Florida's not really local, but Oranges hardly suited to grow well in the PA climate.)

I also buy organic meat, milk & carrots. I'm not exactly sure why I started to buy organic meat. I just did at some point in college. I suppose I thought it was better for you. I certainly think it tastes better. That's all a matter of opinion though. As for carrots, one day I noticed the store I bought them from had regular & organic carrots for the same exact price. Same size bag, identical looking cut and no good reason not to buy organic. (Prices have gone up slightly, but not enough for me to switch.)

I go through phases on milk. Sometimes I drink a lot and a half gallon is gone in less than three days. At other times I'll have one glass from the container and then not touch it for over a week. My milk spoil on me before I could finish it. I also had always thought milk tasted funny after you got about half way through it. Organic milk has a far longer expiration date. The reason is the ultra pasteurization process it goes through. Which meant my milk doesn't spoil if I go through a period when I'm not drinking it. And no more funny taste after the containers been opened for two days. Yea!

Other choices are cheap, cheap, cheap! Sweetheart loves his white bread and at $1.19 for a typical loaf it will make lots of cheap meals. Eggs: Hard boiled, scrabbled, used to make french toast, a cheap source of protein. Buying in on deals even if it's snack items or junk food (Rite Aid!), as long as it's edible enough to eat.

A deal from Giant a few weeks back. The fruit snacks, instant potatoes & granola bars worked out to $.86 after coupons, doubling, instant savings & Cat of $$ off your next order coupons. The other items are things I needed to help fill the pantry.

Now what? I'll start by increasing the budget. Unfortunately I can only add in about $5/week. Ouch! I plan on using it to buy more veggies & fruits. I've decided to eat healthier than prepackaged store bought meals or meals that go from box to table. That is one thing I was to back away from.

I've asked my Sweetheart to chip in. Tonight I made a meal of pasta & chicken. He really enjoyed it. Really, really liked it. I've talked to him about increasing the budget, eating out less and having him help me a little with the food. It's only going to add another $5/week, but it's something.

It would be nice to add more to the budget, but I'm not certain I would spend it in the best way if I jump it up much further. I'm also worried about gas prices. Filling my tank for the past two weeks has cost me about $39 each. That's $4 over budget. I can't do that every week. So that too needs an increase. Also I'm still working on those loans. I want them gone as soon as can be. I'm hoping that this small increase will be enough.

At least I wait for my meat to go on sale. I freeze these for latter because most often they are marked down needing to be sold within two days.

Oral Care is Free

2011-05-07T09:36:00.000-07:00

At least it should be. With all the deals you can get on toothbrushes & toothpaste at the drugstores I really don't think anyone should be paying for oral care items. (The densist is another story.) I'm always surprised when I ring up customers when they just hand me $3-$4 for a tube of toothpaste. Sometimes I want to point out the free after EB specials we run often enough for the same kind in a slightly smaller tube. That's not what people want, so I just smile and take the cash to put in the register. This is what retailers and manufactures want people to do. Ah well.

As always I'm running behind. It seems unless I have a short day on Monday (or have the day off) I don't get around to posting until much latter in the week. I suppose it has to do with the fact I usually end up working at both jobs Tuesday through Thursday.

I'll just do a summary today. If I like this format I'll keep it. It gets tiresome to put in every single coupon I used. It's not as if I do the coupon match ups. I do like see the exact coupons others used and sort of assume they would like the same. Another day. I need to get ready for work.

CVS Summary:
Mechandise Sales Total: $22.55
Coupons/Discount: $9.30
Tax: $.79
EB used: $7.99
Total Out Of Pocket: $8.50
EB recieved: $5.54
Net: $10.95 cost (Those plastice cups were $5 each!)

Rite Aid Summary
Merchandise Sales Total: $12.96 ($1 donation)
Coupons/Discount: $6.00
+Ups Used: $5.76
Total Out Of Pocket: $1.20
Tax: $0.00
Recieved: $8 +up
Net: $1.04 profit

May Budget & Climbing!

2011-05-06T09:35:00.000-07:00

This past month flew by fast. Really fast. I had ever intention of getting the inspection for Kori done, but alas it did not happen. However I did get it done this week. A little over $500 worth of inspection! I was hoping it wouldn't be that much as I just got her in Janurary and the serpentine belt replaced last month. I hope it's all worth it.

The mechanic also told me about a bit of 'play' in part of the tire rod. (Which I have noticed.) It's still within the limits for inspection, but I'm to keep an eye on it. I'll just get it fixed as soon as I can at an estimated $300. *sigh* Oh! Between the inspection and driving home that same night my right head light went out. WHAT!? Gerr . . .

Spring is here! It's an old picture, but it's what I've got.

The Budget:

Bills (Electric) $103
Bunnies $30
Car Insurance $36
Cellphone $36
Free Money $40
Gas $140
Groceries $100
Rent $310
Student Loans $472

Grand Total: $1267/month (Take home pay.)

Extra Funds Notes:
1. Health $20
2. Clothing $20
3. Car Repair $60

*Extra money tallied up at the end of the month. Each category lists a maximum contribution. Any additional funds are to pay off one of my student loans.

No really changes. I would like to increase the grocery budget if possible. Perhaps after I get my next loan paid off. I also really need to increase the car budget. I can't keep wiping it clean. The problem is there is no build up from previous years anymore with buying the car.

I should be getting a raise at some point this month. Not sure exactly when it will hit the pay check. (Hoping next week?) The other change coming up is CVS will no longer pay weekly, but instead switch to a bi-weekly pay schedule. I'm not happy with this move at all. I like keeping one pay checks worth of bills in the bank so if something happens it doesn't mess with all my automatic payments. So instead of using the extra pay week this month to pay off more of my loans I'm stuck having it sitting in the bank. The switch doesn't happen until July, but I will not be collecting nearly enough extra funds between now and then.

Another old spring picture.

2011 Goals

Finical Goals

1. ~~Buy A Car (A Reliable Car)~~
2. ~~Rebuild Emergency Fund DONE!~~
3. ~~Pay my parents Back Not applicable~~
4. Pay off another smaller loan
5. ~~Save $750 for Cruise 2012! DONE!~~
6. Start a Gift Fund for Presents

Non-Finical Goals

*I want to skip this part next month. I don't seem to be getting any further with these. We'll see.

1. Develop a sleep pattern - Going to bed by 11pm, no problem. Getting up? Improving, slowly. I'm actually starting to feel awake when the alarm goes off in the morning.
2. Lose 20lbs. - Not much to say here, other than adding more fruit & a little more veggies to the diet. Cutting out soda again. (Except one a week.) Exersice is null and void at this point. *sigh*
3. Do more stuff that doesn't involve sitting & playing games on the 'couch'. - Still not going anywhere.
4. No more dirty dishes in the sink @ the end of the night. - Still going strong!
5. Clean the apartment more often. - Got that right! Yippie!

Monthly Climb!!!
Grand Total Last Month: $42,204.69
New Grand Total: $41,825.44
Amount Paid Off: $379.25

Once again I messed something up and ended up paying on a loan twice. Ouch! It's not like the bill gets delayed a month if I do that. At least my tax refund was able to cover it. Speaking of which I had enough left over to make another payement to a different company. I can hardly wait to see how much my total will go down next month. I'm excited!

Rite Aid - What happened to all the deals?

2011-05-02T18:51:00.000-07:00

I don't know about everyone else, but there just hasn't been any deals in the last two weeks at Rite Aid the peaked my interest. (There was the Nivea body wash, but I didn't have the coupons.) I ended up running out on the last day for me to use $3 +up. I rolled them as best I could, but I didn't have much to go on.

Some candy missing. It's yummy in the tummy. ^_^

2 M&M Pretzels @ $.88 each = $1.76
3 Reese's Egg 2 $.44 each = $1.32 (50% clearance)
Total Before Coupons: $3.08 (used $3 +up)

No Coupons

Received:
2 $.88 +up M&M candy
Net: $1.32 cost

This week is looking more promising. I'm hoping to grab some toothbrushes & raisers. I'm happy to see there are limits in place. Hoping at the end of the week I can grab something. Not much time until then.

Saving Sunday - Mailbox!

2011-05-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

When I received the cup I didn't know what it was at first. I didn't bother to open it until after I took the picture. I sign up to get free things and often forget in the process what I've signed up for. I was very happy to open it and find the goodies below. Oh Vocal Point! How I love thee!

CVS - Honest Tea & Blink

2011-04-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

Small trip at CVS this week. I'm very happy that I was able to get 4 FREE Honest Tea. I love that stuff so much! Imagine my surprise when I told our coke rep I couldn't wait for our delivery of Honest Tea. He told me I was the only one. I suppose everyone has their preference, but no one? Maybe the stores don't like getting it in because it use to come from the warehouse and have a relatively short expiration date? Matters not, more for me! ^_^

Blink Tears $7.99
4 Honest Tea 2 $.99 each = $3.96
Godiva Gems White Chocolate $2.49 (clearance, the apple caramel is also clearance)
Total Before Coupons: $14.44

$4/1 Blink Tears (Peelie! I felt very lucky to have found it.)
2 $.99/1 BOGO Honest Tea
2 $.99/1 Honest Tea (Adjusted down from $1)
$1/1 Godiva Gems CVS Coupon Center
Total After Coupons: $5.48

Received:
$7.99 EB Blink
Net: $2.51 profit!

CVS - Last week

2011-04-25T07:54:00.000-07:00

Passover/Easter dinner. Makes dinner interesting.

Busy week/weekend. I got the chance to enjoy some time with my parents and latter my Sweetheart's parents this weekend. Just a good time to relax. I'm happy to say with the holiday I'm able to take an extra day off this week from CVS. Yippee! I could have used the extra to pay for student loans, but I'm just so tired of working. (Even though I got a short 'vacation' right before this. It was only one day worth!)

Any who . . . On ward with the shopping! My mom asked for some Godiva Chocolate. She said she saw it on sale at CVS. Alas I think she got her weeks confused. Matters not as one of her favorites was on clearance for 75% off! With $1/2 coupons from the papers I was happy to buy up all we had.

6 Godiva Chocolate Orange Bars @ $1.04 each
Total Before Coupons: $6.24

3 $1/2 Godiva Bars or Bags (I forget how much it had to weigh.)
Net: $3.24 cost! $.54/bar is great!

We ran out of the Aqua Fresh toothpaste & toothbrushes for kids before I had even gotten to work at the beginning of the week. I grabbed rain checks to be sure I could get them latter. Some of the toothpaste came in on the truck. I briefly thought about buying them all, but only grabbed two. I figured if they were on the shelf when I was leaving Saturday I would get them. They were gone. I'll just wait. It's not like I need to make a special trip or something. :-P Also found bath sponges (or whatever they're called) on clearance!

2 Aqua Fresh Kids Toothpaste @ $1.00 each = $2.00
5 Bath Sponges @ $.50 each = $2.50 (90% off clearance!)
2 Head & Shoulders @ $4.99 each = $9.98
Orbit Gum $1.49
Orbit Gum FREE (BOGO sale)
Reach Toothbrush $1.00 (Not regularly carried? Somehow we had one.)
Total Before Coupons: $16.97

2 $1/1 Aqua Fresh Kids Toothpaste
$4.99 BOGO Head & Shoulders
$2/1 Head & Shoulders (P&G Have You Tried This mailer)
$1/2 Orbit Gum
$1/1 Reach Toothbrush (listed w/ a bunch of other J&J oral items)
Total After Coupons: $5.98

Received:
$2 EB Head & Shoulders
$1 EB Green Bag Tag (I'll try to put this in when I remember it.)
Net: $2.98 cost

Let's go for another good week!

Saving Sunday - Mailbox!

2011-04-24T18:30:00.000-07:00

These are all items that I actually got last week. I hope I can get to my CVS post tomorrow. At the latest Tuesday. I want to spend some one on one time with my Sweetheart. Loads of time with the families this weekend. (Although I did work Saturday morning.)

A little of this & a little of that

2011-04-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

Not much shopping this week. I got back from my weekend away late Sunday night. Monday was a day off, but Sweetheart had gotten food poisoning. He was sick early, early Monday morning and then the rest of the day. Not much got done around here. When he's sick at home & I'm around I don't feel like doing anything. I mean nothing! I didn't even want to get out of bed. It's not a bad way to spend the day, just unproductive. Tuesday I played catch up with chores, Wedneday had a friend, Christian over for dinner and Thursday was all day (9:00am-9:30pm) at work between the two jobs.

I did get a chance to head out to Walmart for a quick trip. I wanted to test the overage policy. I did get anything drastic, just some floss, toothbrushes and more Always Infinity. (Of coarse now Target is including the Infinity in the $5 GC deal. I only have two coupons left! ARG! See here.) I've got enough Infinity to last for a long time at this point. I'll use my last coupons and be done with it.

3 Advantage Toothbrush @ $1.97 each = $5.91
Always Infinity $3.97
2 Reach Floss @ $.88 each = $1.76
Total Before Coupons: $11.64

3 $2/1 Oral-B Toothbrush (Specific types listed)
$2/1 Always Infinity
2 $1/1 Reach Floss (No size restriction)
Total After Coupons: $1.64 cost

The cashier hardly looked at me as he took the coupons. I had one on top of each item so it would be easily visible. He just scooped them all up and took a quick glance. The first one beeped asking him to verify the amount. He took another look at it and just entered it all through. (I'm assuming the beeping was because the coupon was higher than the item was priced, because the Always coupon did not beep.) It was nice to use the overage to help pay for something else. Not sure if I want to test the giving me money back portion. I would feel weird.

In other news, I managed to find some of the free rebates I've seen circling around the blogs. (Actually found them a while ago.) I will say that Freschetta By the Slice is AWESOME! I just wish it wasn't twice as much as the Celeste. If only I was as happy with the Snapple. I don't normally purchase diet because sweet diet drinks have a very strange after taste. I didn't spot Aspartame on the label and decided to give it a try. (Aspartame usually means it's got that nasty taste to it.) It's dinkable, but not what I was hopping for. Yep. I'm staying away from diet drinks. (Not worth it!) At least when I have Christian (a diabetic) over he can have something other than water for a while.

I hope I can get my CVS shopping done tonight. I doubt I will remember about it tomorrow. As today is truck day I'm hoping some of the free after coupon items come in. I would like to get another green bag tag to throw on reusable bags & the kids oral care items. We'll see what tonight brings.

I'm alive!

2011-04-21T07:19:00.001-07:00

I'm alive, really I am. Just far too busy. I hope I can post something tomorrow morning. I didn't forget, just out of time. Gotta run!

CVS - Special K & Schick Hydro

2011-04-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

It's a bit late for me to be posting this. I'll be away for the weekend and will not have another chance until Monday at best. Yippie for deals!

Always Infinity 16ct $3.99
Essense of Beauty Anti-Bacterial Soap $4.19
Schick Hydro 5 Raiser $10.49
Schick Hydro 5 Raiser FREE (BOGO)
Schick Hydro Shaving Gel $4.29
Schick Hydro Shaving Gel FREE (BOGO)
2 Special K 'Chips' @ $1.99 each = $3.98
Special k Crackers $1.99
Total Before Coupons: $28.93

$2/1 Always Infinity
$3.99 Essense of Beauty (Facebook offer)
2 $3/1 Schick Hydro Raiser (Facebook offer)
2 $2/1 Schick Hydro Shaving Gel (Look for peelies!)
$2/3 Special K products
Total After Coupons: $10.94

Received:
$1 EB Always Infinity ~ Limit 1 :(
Net: $9.94 cost

A bit higher than normal. Sweetheart prefers Schick Hydro 5 to the Gillette Pro-Glide and this was the best deal I've seen on them in a while. ($4.49 for two raisers or $2.25 each.) The shaving gel was an awesome find! My co-worker spotted it and offered them to me. ^_^ I don't need them, but I think my dad & brother do! ($.29 for two!) I had also hoped to use the free shave gel coupons left over from when these raisers were free, but they expired 4/1/11. Ah well.

I was also hoping the EB deal would still print with the Special K, but alas this week sale cancels it out. (Crackers & 'Chips' for $1.99 is flagged in the system as the better deal. Sometimes it doesn't effect the EB though. Thought I would give it a try.) I did however get a raincheck for the crackers as there were no more to be had. Still not a bad deal and they're tasty!

Trying Target

2011-04-13T04:48:00.000-07:00

I tried my hand at Target again last week. I had see something about OLAY deal here & some Aveeno (see here). When I got there I kept looking at my coupons and couldn't seem to match the product. I had $2 off OLAY in shower body wash, soap or body wash and all I was seeing was face cleansers. So I didn't get it. I went home a bit confused.

More confusion: I thought I spotted a great deal on Always Infinity. I was excited and made a special trip just for the 'deal' today. (Also for the OLAY, only to realize it ended on Saturday!) Turns out while the Infinity had signs advertising 'new lower price' they weren't apart of the buy 3 get a $5 GC. I didn't figure this out until I got to the register. A manager was nice enough to check out the signs for me and even offered to bring up the correct products to the register. My coupons were only for the Infinity though. Disappointing. Just not my day Target!

I did do a quick price check on Nivea Body wash. I peaked a head at the CVS ads and there's suppose to be an awesome coupon for it! (See here. They're priced @ $3.04! Now I'm excited.

At least I didn't go home empty handed this time.

Aveeno = Free, Always Infinity = $3.99 - $2/1 Q - $.05 reusable bag = $1.94

My coupons for the Aveeno would have resulted in overage, but the cashier adjusted it down. (Still free Aveeno.) The day shift cashiers seem well trained with the coupon use. I only wish it was more consitant for evenings and weekends. At least my cashier was really nice about adjusting the coupon. As it was only going to save me $.39 she asked it I would like to save it and use it another time. (No I want to get the product free. That was the point this time. LOL.) She also remembered to scan for $.05 off because I brought in a reusable bag. YEA!

CVS - Finished the Out Of Stocks

2011-04-12T06:34:00.000-07:00

It's a relatively quiet sale week for CVS after last. There are two good freebies for Sunday - Tuesday, but that's about it. (Bubbles & one piece of candy.) I plan on getting in the Airwick sale, but that will have to be latter. For now I managed to get a hold of the hot sale items of last week that we ran out of on Sunday! Truck isn't until Friday. Going like mad as soon as we started unloading! I wrote a LOT of rain checks last week.

Last Week (Saturday, Morning! Gone by the afternoon):
Glide Floss $3.49
Gold Bond Body Wash $5.88
GUM Flossers $2.00
4 Snickers Creme Egg @ $.50 each = $2.00
Total Before Coupons: $13.37

$1/1 Glide Floss
$2/1 Gold Bond Body Wash
$.75 GUM Flosser (IP, no prints available)
2 $1/2 Mars Product (Took forever to find the single snickers listed.)
Total After Coupons: $7.62

Received:
$2.50 EB Glide
$3.00 EB Gold Bond Body Wash
$2.00 GUM Flosser
Net: $.12 cost

This Week:
Bubbles $1.99
Russel Stover Truffle $.74 (not pictured, it's all gone!)
Total: $2.73

No Coupons!

Received:
$1.99 EB Bubbles
$.74 Truffle
Net: FREE! (Gotta love that.)

Rite Aid - Catchup Time!

2011-04-11T11:31:00.000-07:00

While I didn't post about Rite Aid last week, I did shop there. I made one trip earlier in the week and one latter. The first one was great! The second one I left empty handed. I had forgotten my coupons for the poligrip for my earlier trip. There were none to be found when I went back latter. No raincheck. I don't bother getting rain checks for SCR items because I think it's too much of a pain. Who knows when it will show up again anyway?

~This was two transactions, summarized for simplicity.

Gillette Pro Glide $9.99
Neli Nasal Dock $6.00
2 Scunci @ $1.99 each = $3.98
2 Tena Ultra Thins @ $9.99 each = $19.98
Total Before Coupons: $35.95

$5/1 Gillette Pro Glide (P&G "Have You Tried" Mailer)
2 $2.50/1 Tena Ultra Thins (IP)
$3 off $15 purchase
Total After Coupons: $26.95 + $.13 tax ($21 +up used)

Received/Will Receive:
$5 +up Gillette Pro Glide
$6 +up Neli Dock
2 $1.99 +up Scunci (Limit 2 per card)
2 $9.99 SCR Tena(Limit 2 per household)
Net: $7.88 profit

This week there's an awesome deal on John Fredia Root Awakening. (Or just John Fredia if you were lucky enough to get the coupons in the Sunday inserts a while back.) I'm more than happy to create a bountiful supply of shampoo. I have in the past spoiled myself with buying salon brand, but I wanted to see if I could cut back. I know Pantene, Aussie, Dove and several others haven't worked for my hair. I'm hoping the 'Salon Inspired' kind will. Fingers crossed!

Lucky me! I found some bonus sizes! Yes I took all three. Still lots more of the regular size on the shelf.

4 John Fredia Root Awakening @ $5.00 each = $20
Total Before Coupons: $20.00

4 $2/1 Root Awakening (IP, see iheartriteaid.com or houndingwithfrugalsuz)
$2 off $10 select hair care products VV (Hair care brands featured in videos)
$1 off any purchase
Total After Coupons: $9.00 ($8.98 +up used, no tax)

Received:
$10 +up wyb $20 John Fredia, Boire & Curel
Net: $1.00 profit

I used my +up from this transaction to pay for the next. I made small oopps on my part as I didn't mean to give the cashier both of my $1 off any purchase coupons. It resulted in a negative total. I was ready to through on a pack of gum, but she said "It's only $.12. We'll just have to watch it more carefully next time."

WHAT?! *blinks*

You're policy says no overage! Have me grab a piece of candy or void off a manufacture's coupon. It was to late as she already hit a button and her drawer popped open. She handed me the $.12 and I kept asking "Are you sure?" I did watch the total closely . . . there was $10.xx before tax and discount and $10.xx after tax and discount. I figured it would be maybe $.25? Nope, went under somehow. One day I'll figure out their registers.

AMO Complete $7.99
BIC Hybrid 6pk $4.99
BIC Flex4 4pk $4.99
2 Gillette Body wash @ $2.99 each = $5.98
4 Sinkers Creme Eggs 2 $.50 each = $2.00
Visine for Contacts $4.76 (10% discount)
Total Before Coupons: $31.71

$1/1 AMO Complete (kept the peelie on the package for latter)
2 $3/1 BIC (specific ones listed on coupon, I matched them in the store)
$2.99 BOGO Gillette
2 $1/2 M&M Candy (Had to read the coupons twice before I found these specifically listed. It's a long list with tiny words.)
$2/1 Visine in-ad coupon
$2/1 Visine (IP, they're everywhere!)
$3 off $15 purchase
2 $1 off purchase VV (limited by item not transaction)
Total After Coupons: $9.72 + $.16 tax (used $10+up)

Received/Will Receive:
$7.99 SCR AMO Complete
$2 +up BIC
2 $2 +up Gillette (limit 2)
$1 +up Visine
Net: $5.23 profit

*I get it now. The $10 +up must have lowered my tax! The 10% discount gets shown 'after' the subtotal. hmmm . . . must be more careful next time.

CVS x2!

2011-04-08T07:43:00.000-07:00

I shopped some sales on Saturday night this week. It's unusual as I don't normally work on Saturday night. (I get days on Saturday! ^_^) We start are sales at 6pm after the Pharmacy is closed for the day. That gives about three hours to put up all of our signs. For the most part they get finished, although there have been a few times with cosmetics or seasonal to put up Sunday morning.

2 Colgate Toothbrushes @ $2.75 each = $5.50
Gum Eez-Thru Flosser 90ct $2.00
2 Right Guard Body Wash @ $3.88 each = $7.76
2 Salnpas Patch 4ct @ $2.49 each = $4.98
Total Before Coupons: $20.24

2 $1/1 Colgate Toothbrush
$.75/1 Gum Eez-Thru (Forgot my second coupon at home)
$3.88 BOGO Right Guard Body Wash
$3/1 Salnpas
$1.98/1 Salnpas (Adjusted down from $3)
Total After Coupons: $8.63

Received:
$4 EB Colgate Toothbrush
$2 EB Gum Eez-Thru
$3 EB Right Guard Body Wash
Net: $.37 profit

CVS on facebook put out a great $5 off $40 purchase coupon. I just had to find a good deal. I ended up rushing around before work one day to make my purchase. We were out of all the body wash & floss deals. I had to switch things up on the fly. Luckily I had my coupon booklet with the Gas-X preventive coupons from a while back. The buy $20 get $10 EB deal allowed me to rack up the $40 needed quickly.

Complete Contact Solution $8.99
Crest Complete Mouth Wash $3.49
Flinstones w/ Iron $8.29 (for mom, had a CVS coupon expiring that day)
3 Gas X Prevent @ $6.79 each = $20.37
2 John Fredia Shampoo @ $5.00 each = $10.00
2 Oral-B Toothbrushes @ $2.99 each = $5.98
4 Schick Women 2ct @ $1.29 each = $5.16
Total Before Coupons: $62.28 (Went a little over what I had planned)

$1/1 Complete
$1/1 Crest Mouth Wash
$3/1 Flinstones (CVS Coupon Machine!)
3 $4/1 Gas X Prevent
2 $2/1 John Fredia
$2.99 BOGO Oral-B selected types
$2/1 Oral-B
4 $1/1 Schick Raisers (No size restriction, for the donation box)
$5 off $40+ purchase
Total After Coupons: $27.29

Received:
$8.99 EB Complete
$2.50 EB Mouth Wash
$10 EB Gas X (buy $20 get $10)
$3 EB John Fredia (Buy $10 get $3)
$4 EB Oral-B Toothbrush (2 offers)
Net: $1.20 profit!

A good week at CVS.

April Budget & Climbming

2011-04-04T10:40:00.000-07:00

Only small changes in budget this month. I've considered pushing down my gas budget again, but prices are jumping like mad. I've heard rumors about it jumping to over $4/gallon before summer starts. Yikes! I think I'll keep my budget as is. I'll need some extra gas money for a trip latter this month. Extra money can just go to the car fund for Kori's inspection.

Speaking of Kori, she was expensive the other week. Her oil light kept popping on and off, so I decided to get her oil changed. (Which was listed as being done at the end of October, but she's only gone about 2,000 miles since then.) Since she's an older car with high millage I need to get a more expensive oil. As it turned out she also need a tail light replaced and a new serpentine belt. (The old belt was cracked.) There were a few other small items putting my grand total at about $190! I hope her inspection goes better than that. (All these items would have been caught at inspection anyway.)

On the brighter side of that same weekend I did my taxes. I swear I hear people groaning. Tax time is generally a good thing for me as I get some money back. I got enough back to finish off my emergency fund! And enough to finish off my goal savings for my 2012 girls trip, with some left over! The left over part I split between Kori's future inspection & paying off one of my loans. I just need to keep it handy.

Emergency Fund:
Last Month: $782.92
This Month: $1,000.00
Goal: $1,000

GOAL MET!

The Budget:
Bills (Electric) $103
Bunnies $30
Car Insurance $36
Cellphone $36
Free Money $40
Gas $140 (works out to $35 a week)
Groceries $100
Rent $310
Student Loans $472

Grand Total: $1267/month (Take home pay.)

Extra Funds Notes:
1. Health $20
2. Clothing $20
3. Car Repair $60

*Extra money tallied up at the end of the month. Each category lists a maximum contribution. Any additional funds are to pay off one of my student loans.

2011 Goals

Finical Goals

1. ~~Buy A Car (A Reliable Car)~~
2. ~~Rebuild Emergency Fund~~ DONE!
3. ~~Pay my parents Back~~ Not applicable
4. Pay off another smaller loan
5. ~~Save $750 for Cruise 2012!~~ DONE!
6. Start a Gift Fund for Presents

*Not much left for the finical goals. ^_^

Non-Finical Goals

1. Develop a sleep pattern - Get up in the morning still kills me. I'm getting a little better at it. Maybe I should just get up when Sweetheart takes his shower?
2. Lose 20lbs.
-Not even going there . . . I've been terrible. Not exercising in the least. :( I would today, but I'm not feeling that good. (Fevers are not fun.) Good things: I've swapped soda for seltzer water. (mostly) And I've been reading menus more carefully so I choose better options. (I look for those 'healthy choice' symbols and pick from there.)
3. Do more stuff that doesn't involve sitting & playing games on the 'couch'.
- . . . shame on me. (Remember? Not exercising in the least?)
4. No more dirty dishes in the sink @ the end of the night. - This is one I've actually done! There might be an occasional cup or two, but that's it. ^_^
5. Clean the apartment more often. - Schedule is set! For the most part Sweetheart and I have been sticking to it. The bathroom is getting clean almost regularly. (Quick cleans in between the big cleans.) The living room is being vacuumed. (Almost weekly actually.) Now if only we can keep the kitchen neat and the bedroom straightened up. Focusing on just one area a week is helping.

Monthly Climb!!!
Grand Total Last Month: $42,547.41
New Grand Total: $42,204.69
Amount Paid Off: $342.72

Last month was just under $300. Where did that extra pay off come from? It took me a bit to figure it out. My Upromise savings was transferred in the middle of March. Yeah! Let's keep on plugging away! I'll get there some day.

Saving Sunday - Mailbox!

2011-04-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

Free pancakes! Dog food sample & Pyrex Pot Holder!

Donation Box

2011-04-02T11:06:00.000-07:00

Baby items! Thought it could be useful at a women's shelter.

I don't have enough time today to actually post my budget. (I'm picking up a few unexpected hours at work.) Instead I thought I would share the pictures I took of my donation box. Unfortunately I could take one nice large photo. To much stuff at roughly all the same height.

This 'box' is different than the previous one. All medical related items are actually going to Africa. An older couple came into to CVS looking for donations. While the store couldn't I could as an individual. I was hoping to get more items together, but sales just haven't been that great. (Or lack of stock.) The rest of the items are going to a local women's shelter.

I didn't know what I was going to do with those vitamins, but they were on the list!

TP! Everyone could use some TP and dish soap.

CVS

2011-03-30T08:39:00.000-07:00

The larger selection of clearance dropped again from 50% to 75%. I had my eye on some photo albums. I need them to organize my pictures until I have some time to sit down and actually put together a scrap book. I should just take a weekend and block off the time to that. First I need to clean up everything so I have the space. *snickers* Like that will ever happen.

My mom asked me for some body wash the other week. I gave her one out of my stash knowing a few good deals were coming up. Clean & Clear body wash this week was $.99 after coupons and sales. If I had the BOGO from the Sunday paper they would have worked out to $.49 each. Alas, no such luck. Sometimes I get very frustrated when I can't find a hot coupon everyone 'talks' about. There are a few other things that I'm missing. At least I can try and work around it. Any who . . .

2 Clean & Clear body wash @ $2.99 each = $5.98
2 Nestle Tasters Choice Instant Coffee 7ct @ $1.00 each = $2.00
3 Photo Albums @ $2.49 each = $7.47 (75% off)
4 Pert 2-in-1 Shampoo Trail Size @ $.99 each = $3.96
Skintamate $3.19 (my ad was slightly lower than the match ups.)
Total Before Coupons: $22.60

2 $2/1 Clean & Clear Product (IP)
2 $1/1 Nestle Tasters Choice (from a sample Lady in the grocery store the other week)
3 $1/1 Pert 2-in-1 (no size restriction)
$.96/1 Pert 2-in-1 (Adjusted down from $1)
$1/1 Skintamate product* (sometimes I get better coupons than in the previews, ^_^)
Total After Coupons: $11.64

Received:
$2.50 EB Skintamate
Net: $9.14 cost

*Note: The Skintamate coupons is beeping for some products and not others. Not all Skintamate products start with the same bar code and that seems to be the problem.

Saving Sunday - Mailbox!

2011-03-27T07:02:00.000-07:00

~Star Shaped Treat for the girls (Dixie & Noel)
~Cute Beauty Bag From Target. Loads of great Target Q's plus the other items pictured here.

CVS vs Rite Aid: Toothbrush Battle!

2011-03-26T18:51:00.000-07:00

CVS: 1
Rite Aid: 11

This week both CVS & Rite Aid had Reach Toothbrushes on sale for $1.00/$.99 after +up rewards. The CVS I work at didn't carry the Reach Toothbrush that was on sale. I ventured out to another CVS only to find one and it didn't even have a home spot! I briefly considered trying another CVS, but didn't want to waste time & gas for the hopes of one toothbrush. Lots of other stuff though.

2 Colgate White Max @ $2.77 each = $5.54
Essence of Beauty 5/$5 Bath $5.00 (I was hoping these would go on clearance, never did. $1 per Sponge isn't bad for CVS.)
5 Jerzee Ringer @ $1.25 each = $6.25 (50% off, not sure how long these have been around)
4 Kleenex Oval Holiday @ $.80 = $3.20 (These never got marked down either. My manager decided to just be rid of them)
Shamrock Lei $.99 (50% off)
Shamrock Beads $.49 (50% off)
Schick Quartro 4ct Blades $8.79
Cobroxin $18.99
Total Before Coupons: $49.25

2 $1/1 Colgate 4.0oz +
$1/4 Kleenex (yea! Makes each box $.55!)
$3/1 Any Schick Quartro
Total After Coupons: $43.25

Received:
$4 EB Colgate
$4 EB Schick Quartro
$18.99 EB Cobroxin (only reason I got it)
Net: $16.26, not great, not bad. The shirts & sponges alone account for $11.25. Sweetheart & I could use some new shirts.

Instead I headed out to Rite Aid and see what could be found. (Would have preferred to buy at CVS 1. because I work there & 2. Not having to deal with +up or EB after my purchase.) I actually bought six toothbrushes earlier in the week during my normal stop to roll some +ups. While out I was surprised to find the small bottles of Gain Fabric Softer. I've been looking for them since the coupon came out. I found two at the first store (early in the week) & one at the second (today). I bought them all. I didn't feel bad clearing the shelf this time. The coupon expires on the 31st and supplies were limited.

Picked up a few other freebies/money makers. If only I would have remembered them for my second trip! Perhaps next week on the Salons Patches. (Not on special, just a good deal with the coupon.) Would have loved too get Lysol wipes, but both stores were out. Rainchecks for SCR & +up rewards are way to much hassle. I'll just hope for another sale.

Store 1:
2 Gain Fabric Softener (small! bottle) @ $2.69 each = $5.38 (10% discount)
6 Reach @ $2.99 each = $17.94
2 Salnopas Large Patch 4ct @ $2.42 = $4.84 (10% discount)
Veet Gel Cream Sensitive $6.02 (10% discount)
Total Before Coupons: $34.18

2 $3/1 gain Fabric Softener (no size restriction)
3 $2.99/1 Reach BOGO (from Oct! I keep my coupons for 6 months.)
2 $3/1 Salnopas
$3/1 Veet in ad Q
$3/1 Veet IP Q (Don't remember where this one is)
$1 off purchase VV March
Total After Coupons: $6.21 (used $6 +up)

Received:
6 $2 +up Reach
$1 +up Veet
Net: $6.79 profit

Transaction 2:
Gain Fabric Softener $2.69 (10% discount)
5 Reach @ $2.99 each = $14.95
Total Before Coupons: $17.64

$3/1 Gain Softener
$2.99/1 Reach BOGO
3 $1/1 Reach/Listerine product
Total After Coupons: $8.65 (used $8 +up)

Received:
5 $2 +up Reach
Net: $1.35 profit, added bonus: Survey for a $3 off a $15 dollar purchase!

CVS - Little Trip

2011-03-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

I was looking high and low in my store for the $1 Reach Toothbrushes. They are no where to be found. I think I will need to try another store. Mine doesn't carry everything that the other stores do. (Good example: Olay Pro-X? Not here!) It's really frustrating to go into a store that doesn't even carry what's been advertised. At least I do my shopping on the days I work.

Allegra 5ct $6.99
Crest Pro-Health 4.0oz $3.49
Big Chill $1.57
Total Before Coupons: $12.05

$2/1 Allegra (IP)
$1/1 Crest 4.0oz+ Toothpaste
$.74/1 Big Chill CVS Coupon Machine (Read as 50% off one big Chill, Max $.74)
Total After Coupons: $8.31

Received:
$6.99 EB Allegra
$2.50 EB Crest
Net: $1.18 profit

I also noticed at the bottom of my receipt that my purchase of the Honest Tea from last week carried over to this week's deal. I need to pick up some Coke as we are almost out.

Rite Aid - Forever Low Stock

2011-03-19T13:13:00.000-07:00

It doesn't seem to matter when I get to Rite Aid. They just don't have the stock. I saw deals posted about buy Soft Scrub Total, but there were none to be had at my Rite Aid. Nor did I see the Purex Crystals or the smaller size of Gain Fabric Softener. No Dixie plates either, one thing I really wanted. It's kind of sad really. I would have hoped after several months with the +up rewards they would have learned how to better be in-stock. CVS has a strong focus on this, why not Rite Aid? Perhaps it takes longer than I thought.

What did I find?

Chloraseptic Sore Throat Strips $3.99
2 Drano Foaming Liquid @ $3.50 each = $7.00
Drano Max $3.50
2 Gain Dish Soap @ $.88 each = $1.76
Little Colds Multi Symptom $3.99
Thermacare Back 2ct $6.74 (10% discount)
Visine $4.76 (10% discount)
Total Before Coupons: $31.74

$1/1 Chloraseptic (IP)
2 $.55/1 Drano Foaming Liquid (peelies)
2 $1/1 Gain Dish Soap (P&G Everyday Savings Book, mail)
$1/1 Little Colds (IP)
$1/1 Thermacare (in-ad Q)
$3/1 Thermacare (IP, wouldn't scan so it was manually typed in)
$2/1 Visine (in-ad Q)
$2/1 Visine (IP, coupons.com?)
$3 off $15+ purchase (Rite Aid customer survey at end of receipt)
Total After Coupons: $15.64 (used $8+up)

Received:
$3 +up Chloraseptic
$3 +up wyb $10 of selected cleaning products (Draino, not free but Sweetheart and I have long hair so our tub will need cleared out about once every other month or so)
$3 +up Little Colds
$3 +up Thermacare
$1 +up Visine
Net: $2.64 cost (Not bad for 3 Dranio products, which I normally am buying at full price!)

CVS - Better Late, Than Never

2011-03-18T18:57:00.000-07:00

I'm always busy it seems. Luckily I'm getting a break this weekend! So it's time for me to catch up once again on my trips. I shopped early at CVS this week, so I could get a head start on our clearance deals. Lots of items were marked down on Sunday. It was fun putting up signs to see what was left. To bad our Rubber Maid didn't get marked down. That's what I've had my eye on for a number of weeks. Ah well.

Bottle Brush $.49
2 CVS bags ('winter theme') @ $1.15 each = $2.30
2 Jr Clip 3ct @ $.49 each = $.98
3 Scissors @ $.29 each = $.87 (These were hanging off the calendar display marked at 90% off. I'm always miss placing my scissors!)
Tena Ultra Thin $9.99
Theraflu $.99
Total Before Coupons: $15.62

$2.50/1 Tena
$.99/1 Theraflu (was $2/1 adjusted down)
Total After Coupons: $12.13

Received:
$9.99 EB Tena
$.99 EB Theraflu
Net: $1.15 cost (my MM of Tena & Theraflu almost paid for the clearance!)

Second Trip Latter in the week to pick up the rest of my freebies:

Aussie Shampoo $2.99
Aussie Styler $2.99
Carmel $.33 (filler to use up some EB)
Crest Floss $3.49
Crest Toothpaste $3.49
2 Honest Tea @ $1.00 each = $2.00
Irish Springs Deodorant $2.99
Scuncci Coin Purse $.84 (75% clearance)
Total Before Coupons: $19.12

$2.99/1 Aussie or Herbal Essence BOGO
$1/1 Aussie or Herbal Essence (P&G Everyday Savings Book, mail)
$1/1 Crest Floss
$1/1 Crest Toothpast 4.0oz+
2 $1/1 Honest Tea (Recycle Bank)
$1/1 Irish Springs (coupons.com, no longer available)
Total After Coupons: $10.13 (used my $9.99 EB from Tena)

Received:
$2.00 EB Aussie
$5.00 EB Crest (2 offers combined)
$2.00 EB Irish Springs
Net: $1.13 cost

Grand net: $1.15 cost + $1.13 cost = $2.28 cost, not bad for all that stuff. ^_^

Can't find my receipt with the Dulcolax. I think I got it free after coupons. I picked up a few items for my mom that she requested. That's probably why I can't find it. Mmm . . . I should get more organized.

Saving Sunday - Mailbox!

2011-03-13T16:06:00.000-07:00

Not much this week. Some makeup, cheez-it & $1/1 Honest Tea coupons. You better believe I'll be using my Honest Tea coupons for free tea at CVS this week. Yippie!

Target - Pet Food for Pennies!

2011-03-12T06:22:00.000-08:00

I was excited to see there are great deals to be had if you have coupons for GoodLife cat food & Pedigree dog food. I went ahead and order some coupons because it's so good of a deal! Here's hoping there will be stuff on the shelf by the time they get shipped.

Timidly I took a trip earlier this week. I wasn't sure what to get. I've been meaning to pick up the 'free' ibuprofen up&up. (Target Q for $1/1 pain reliever up&up brand.) Twice I had forgotten to look for it. I grabbed that and some GoodLife single serve cat food to see how the Redplum IP would work out. I only got one and knew there would be some overage. Not sure what else to get so I grabbed two single serves.

2 Up&Up Ibuprofen 24 ct @ $.97 each = $1.94
2 GoodLife Cat Food @ $.77 each = $1.54
Total Before Coupons: $3.48

2 $.97/1 Up&Up pain relief (auto adjusted by computer)
$1.50/1 GoodLife Cat Food
Total After Coupons: $.04

After that trip I wanted to use the overage on something else to see how well it would work. I spotted a great deal on Totally Target for Pedigree Dog food. My parent's girls could always use the food. A useful way to help out my parents.

To my surprise when I got there I found A LOT of the GoodLife Cat food on clearance! Some flavors were $.65 each and others $.53 each. W00t! My deal just got better. And thus my hurry to order up those coupons! (Which I don't normally do.) I think I shocked the cashier a little bit with the total. LOL. Wonder what she really thought about it.

3 GoodLife Cat Food @ $.53 each = $1.59
3 Pedigree Dog Food @ $4.00 each = $12.00
Total Before Coupons: $13.59

3 $1.50/1 GoodLife Cat Food (No adjustment!)
3 $3/1 Pedigree Dog Food
Total After Coupons: $.09!

*Dances* Yup. Now that's exciting. ^_^

Rite Aid - Tunaless . . .

2011-03-11T14:22:00.000-08:00

I went to Ride Aid this week hoping to get some tuna. Seems there's been a lot of talk about tuna and +up rewards on the boards of late. First it was printing, then only one for the month, now unlimited again and on Sunday I'm not sure if it will be limit one for the month or non at all? It's really confusing. Didn't matter much to me as my store was out of the tuna anyway. A girl can dream?

I did get a few other items instead. Toothpaste for my mom, the free themacare (bought on Sunday with newspapers quick, not pictured) & 3 SCR items. I bought the SCR because I wanted to use up my Gift Of Savings. I don't know why I saved it so long. It's time I use it up before I forget about it. (I know, I had until the end of April. To be honest I forgot about it until I did some cleaning!)

Ascriptin 100ct $6.99
4 Colgate Clinical @ $2.34 each = $9.36 (only noticed now?)
Doans 24ct $6.99
Keri Lotion $6.99
Total Before Coupons: $30.33

4 $1/1 Colgate 4.0oz+
$3/1 Keri Lotion IP (No longer available? Beeped)
Total After Coupons: $23.33 (Used $20 Gift Of Savings, $3 +up & $.44 GC [$.11 tax])

Received/Will Receive:
$6 SCR Ascriptin
4 $2+up Colgate (Limit 4! $.66 profit each, unexpected!)
$6 SCR Doans
$6 SCR Keri Lotion
Net: $2.67 profit!

Not bad. I'm happy to have turned most The Gift Of Savings mostly into cash. Now if I can just get a survey for one of those $3 off $15 purchase . . .

Junk Food Cheap!

2011-03-09T13:43:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the picture quality. I don't take my camera with me to work, so I used my phone.

Bunch of little trips this week. CVS has some GE potato chips, tortilla chips & cheese curls at 75% off! (Last week was 50%) To my knowledge this is a corporate wide clearance, so look around and see if your store has any. (We have lots & lots left.)

Colgate Total .75 oz $.99
2 GE Potato Chips @ $.69 each = $1.38
2 GE Tortilla Chips @ $.64 each = $1.28
Total Before Coupons: $3.65

$1/1 Colgate Total Coupon Machine
Total After Coupons: $2.65

The Men's Dove Deodorant is a part of the 2/$4.00, just don't get the ones with clear caps. Those are not a part of the sale. That being said, I'm not sure if all stores will have them cut into the shelves. Supposedly it should be about the second or third shelf. Ours is on the bottom, because we couldn't fit all 5 SKUs on one shelf otherwise. Hope you can find them, great freebie.

Coke 20oz $1.89
4 Men's Dove Deodorant/Antiperspirant @ $2.00 each = $8.00
2 Simply Asia @ $.88 each = $1.76
Kellogg's Raisin Bran Crunch single serve $1.00
Total Before Coupons: $12.65

$2.00/1 Drink or Candy CVS Facebook Offer (took off max amount?)
4 $2/1 Men's Dove Deodorant (Hooray for free!)
2 $.50/1 Simply Asia internet printable (I forget where & how long ago)
$1/1 Kellogg's Coupon Machine
Total After Coupons: $.65

I was working on some price changes yesterday, oh my goodness! There was a lot of checkout candy that went up. A single serve bar now cost $.99?! What happened to $.50 each? That's when I started working. It's sad really. Some of the single packs of gum jumped almost $.40 . . . *blinks* . . . that's a 33% increase when you think about it. Ouch!? On the other hand I did price changes for some nail implements most of which were going down by $.20-$.50. That's more of a 'one-time' buy kind of item. Sometimes they hit you where is hurts the most. Maybe I'll just look at it as a diet plan. LOL.

One other thing of note, if you like diet soda keep an eye out for these peelies. $1/2 2 liters Sunkist, Canada Dry, 7up & A&W Root Beer. (BOGO this week!)

CVS Trip

2011-03-04T10:35:00.000-08:00

It was a good week to be shopping at CVS. There were a number of freebies for a change, so I was rather excited. It's a shame that we ran out of the toothbrushes so quickly. I was patient enough to wait until Monday, but then they were gone. i actually did several transactions, but can't find the reiciepts so I don't remember my order. Ah well, I'll just summarize it.

2 Crest Pro-Health 2 $3.29 each = $6.58
Dove Swirl Bar $2.19
2 Oral-B Toothbrushes @ $6.00 each = $12.00
4 Puffs @ $1.00 each = $4.00
2 Reese's Mini's @ $2.50 each = $5.00
Revita Len's $5.99
3 V-day bags 2 @ $.29 & 1 @ $.39 = $.97 (90% off)
Total Before Coupons: $36.73

2 $1/1 Crest Toothpaste 4.0oz+
$2/1 Dove Swirl Bar CVS CRT (Employees only?)
2 $3/1 Oral-B (wasn't so sure on the BOGO paired with a $3/1 combo)
$1/4 Puffs (I was hoping for the $.50/2 Puffs so I could have it doubled at the grocery store that also had Puffs on sale for $1.)
$2/2 Reese's Mini's or Hershey Drops
$2/1 Reese's Mini's or Hershey Drops CVS Coupons Machine (I had hoped for a second one, but no luck.)
Total After Coupons: $21.73

Received:
$6.58 EB Crest Toothpaste
$6.00 EB Oral-B Toothbrush
$5.99 EB Revita Lens
Net: $3.16

Not bad. On Sunday I posted my disappointment with my Chef Boyardee BOGO coupon. Turns out CVS has them on sale BOGO this week! So that means I get TWO free cans of pasta! Okay, not the best, but great to keep at my desk at my second job in case I forget to pack.

March Budget & Climbing

2011-03-04T09:41:00.000-08:00

February was a good month for me financially. I got in a few extra hours & I sold Lizzy to my brother. His car threw a rod or something. It's dead, no resurrection, short of a new engine. So he bought Lizzy. Took her to my parents mechanic and as far as I know she's running fine. (Not stalling!) Still has that coolant leak to look into & the problem with the heater. I just hope she'll last longer for my brother than his last car. (Which was about 9 months for about $1000.) Yea for bonus money! Let's rebuild the Emergency Fund shall we?

Kori is using TONS LESS GAS than Lizzy ever did. LOL. It's partly better gas millage & partly cutting my normal commute to CVS in almost half. Yep. It's like getting a raise. Better actually because they don't taxes out of it. ^_^

Unfortunately the amount I will be cutting back is going to the be eaten up in the increased rent. Sweetheart volunteered to take it, but he pays more than half already. I feel bad enough as is. This is just an easy switch. Nothing to fuss about.

Decorations at a friend's wedding.

The Budget:
Bills (Electric) $103
Bunnies $30
Car Insurance $36
Cellphone $36
Free Money $40
Gas $140 (works out to $35 a week)
Groceries $100
Rent $310 (increased rent)
Student Loans $472

Grand Total: $1267/month (Take home pay.)

Extra Funds Notes:
1. Extra to the Emergency Fund.
2. Categories on hold: Car Repair, Clothing, Health & Savings.
3. Car Repair to be funded by 5th pay week when it occurs as the inspection is due in May.

A gift for being a bridesmaid.

Emergency Fund:
Last Month: $419.32
This Month: $782.92
Goal: $1,000

As I said, a good month.

The tossing bouquet. Sometimes I think I should have been a photographer.

2011 Goals

Finical Goals

1. ~~Buy A Car (A Reliable Car)~~
2. Rebuild Emergency Fund So Close
3. ~~Pay my parents Back~~ Not applicable
4. Pay off another smaller loan
5. Save $750 for Cruise 2012!
6. Start a Gift Fund for Presents

Non-Finical Goals

1. Develop a sleep pattern - Still working on getting up at a regular time.
2. Lose 20lbs.
-Slight change in plans. First I'm starting to look at what I eat. Each day I'm doing an 'approximate' calorie count to see where I stand. If I'm between 1600-1850 I'm good. (That's the range I should be eating to lose weight.) If I'm over then I'm going to mark how or why. (Chinese Buffet . . . Bad idea.) I want to see how much over eating I'm actually doing. Just the act of looking at this is causing me to measure my food out. (1/2 cup chex mix instead of the entire bag at one sitting.)
-I started to gain weight with changes in my diet, including eating out more. Sweetheart treats me out about once or twice a week. I'm okay with that, but rather eat at home. Sometimes I'm just too tired to care or too stressed. When I'm stressed & tired I choose fatty, high calorie foods. Then his parents will turn around and invite us out to eat (and then pay). It all adds up. Time for me to start looking really hard at menus and make better choices.
3. Do more stuff that doesn't involve sitting & playing games on the 'couch'. - Still working on it. Kinetics Sports anyone?
4. No more dirty dishes in the sink @ the end of the night. - Improving, but a far cry from it.
5. Clean the apartment more often. - Set up a 'schedule' on a three week rotation: Living area/Kitchen, Bathroom & Bedroom.

Monthly Climb!!!
Grand Total Last Month: $42,844.31
New Grand Total: $42,547.41
Amount Paid Off: $296.90

Fairy Wings of a bridesmaid. Each one had a different color to represent the four elements: Earth, Air, Water & Fire.

Here's hoping for another good month. If I'm very, very lucky I can finish off the emergency fund either by the end of this month or next.

Late Rite Aid Post

2011-02-28T08:07:00.000-08:00

I'm behind on my posts again. Told you I wasn't going to get around to anything right? At least there doesn't seem much at Rite Aid this week to entice me out the door. I did stop by, but all the 'free' snacks are gone. Better luck next time. I think I'll try at the end of the week to get in on the Always Infinity deal. There's not free by any means, but $4.50 for a large box after coupons & +ups is okay in my book.

I've begun to see Rite Aid as just another store. I felt guilty for shopping at the 'competition' and didn't want to get anything there if I had to pay for it. Now it's just another store and I'm just one of their customers. I kind of like it this way. If only I had figured this out a little sooner. I can only image how much I could have saved. Ah well, such is life. I'm glad I've gotten to this point. (Or I might miss out on the Always Infinity deal!)

Last week the big thing was J&J baby items on sale for $2.99 get $2 +up. There were a number of internet coupons floating around for $1/1, $2/2 & $3/3 for various products. Missing from the picture are the q-tips I bought. Those didn't have a coupon per se, but I read about people using it with the $3/3 J&J baby products. Not so sure about that . . .

The Finish went back down to the monthly sale price of $3.99. There was a VV Q for $1/1 & a manufacture Q for $3/1. (Not available any more.) I don't have a dishwasher myself, but I picked it up for my parents. I like trying to get them stuff when I can. Mom's disabled so money can be tight at times, especially with all the medical bills. Hoping little things can help them save for the future.

The Oreo Cookies were 2/$6 wyb 2 get $1 +up. The monthly up for these were also printing for a total of 3 $1 +up rewards. Add in a $1/2 VV Q and it made them $1 each! That's good for Oreos! ^_^

Net total of all pictured plus missing Q-tips = $3 cost! Not bad.

Time for me to get organizing. The next three days are going to be LONG. 9am-9:30pm between the two jobs. At least one I sit at a desk and the other I'm on my feet. Yippee for money! One more day of normal work and then a three day weekend. (What's that? I haven't had one of those in forever!)

Saving Sunday - Mailbox!

2011-02-27T15:54:00.000-08:00

Not much in the way of samples. Two BOGO coupons. I'm a little disappointed with the BOGO as I was under the impression they would be 'free' coupons. Hope there's a good sale to go with these. At least I'll have my Coffee Mate. ^_^

CVS - Small Trip

2011-02-23T16:27:00.000-08:00

I wanted to get CVS posted 'on time' this week. That means that any other trips I make (Rite Aid?) are going to be posted later. I have lots of cleaning up to do around the apartment. The biggest projects involve cleaning up the bedroom completely & reorganizing the kitchen. That's what I'm going to spend my free time at home doing any way.

Dove Shampoo $1.19 (clearance, 75% off)
EOS Lip Balm $2.99
Physician's Formula Concealer Twins $8.29
Reese's Egg $.75 (SSHH! This is for Sweetheart later.)
Total Before Coupons: $13.22

$1/1 Dove Shampoo (mailed with a sample a while back)
$7 off Physician's Formula (Coupon Machine, from last week)
Total After Coupons: $5.22

Received:
$2.99 EB EOS Lip Balm
$.75 EB Reese's Egg
Net: $1.48

Not bad. I thought about getting the 'free' jelly beans and then wondered who would eat them? I'm very picky. Jelly Belly all the way! Although Gimbles isn't bad and peanut free to boot! (Which matters a lot for one of my cousins.) Better to leave it for someone else latter than to take home free and waste them.

CVS - Last week

2011-02-21T11:15:00.000-08:00

Here's one of my shopping trips from last week. CVS didn't have much to peak my interest. Toothpaste, Honest Tea & Coke were the highlights for me. I'm more excited about some up coming sales with them though. ^_^ Free toothbrushes are coming up. Shh! I didn't say anything. Not that you can't find Ad scans out there already.

Sorry for the lack of quality. I was rushing.

Transaction 1:
Colgate $3.79
2 Honest Tea @ $1.00 = $2.00
Vitality Gum $1.29
Total Before Coupons: $7.08

$1/1 Colgate
$1.29 Free Vitality (Only see with employees?)
Total After Coupons: $4.79

Received:
$3.79 EB Colgate
Net: $1.00

Transaction 2:
Colgate $3.79
Honest Tea $1.00
Total Before Coupons: $4.79

$1/1 Colgate
Total After Coupons: $3.79 (used $3.79 EB from previous transaction)

Received:
$1 EB wyb 3 Coke products (listed in Ad Vitim water, Honest Tea, Smart Water etc)
$3.79 EB Colgate
Net: $1.00 profit

Grand Net: FREE (Love using overage to get other items free.)

Out of time. Hopefully I can get up a Rite Aid post tomorrow.

Appoligies

2011-02-18T14:08:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy week and I haven't had the time to post. A friend of mine is moving so I'll be spending the evening with him before he goes. Then another fried who lives several hours a way is coming to see me for the weekend. Hopefully I can get something up soon. (With details, but probably not.)

Below are pictures of my hauls from CVS & Rite Aid. CVS is actually last week & Rite is this week. I did manage to squeeze in another shopping trip to each between jobs.

Belated V-Day

2011-02-16T10:49:00.000-08:00

I'm not much for Valentine's Day. I didn't start dating until collage, so it's always had this slightly bitter taste. Working at CVS I'm amazed how many people wait until the last minute just to get a card. It's crazy! It's not like it was a surprise to everyone. We started putting out the VD stuff as soon as Christmas started to clear.

I was easily amazed at how much people were spending. $8 for a card? $5 for a single rose? I won't even talk about the guy who bought a balloon, two bears and resuarnt gift cards on top of things like that. All for one person. (He wanted it all in one gift bag!) It just doesn't feel like a day about love with all that rushing around.

Luckily I insist on doing it the day after. Or even waiting until a month latter on Pi day. No sense in paying twice as much for merchandise. I did however enjoy a quiet dinner at home with Sweetheart. He was really cute this year. He took a picture of the bunnies and wrote on it "Some Bunnies Loves You. You Make Us Very Hoppy!" He's corny like that, but sweet. He set it as the background on my computer so I was surprised when I turned it on. ^_^

I had fun 'making' the center piece for our meal. Still not quiet what I want for the metal spinner thing. (I ripped it off a display at work when we went to throw it out.) I'm hopping to get a large wooden plate to stick on it. My own Lazy Susan.

Hope everyone had a good time celebrating love.

Saving Sunday - Mailbox!

2011-02-13T19:13:00.000-08:00

Too tired. It's been a long and busy weekend at CVS. I wonder why everyone procrastinates for Christmas and Valentines Day? I think it's strange.

+Ups to Cash!

2011-02-08T16:11:00.000-08:00

I'm very excited this week to be turning a number of my +ups into cash. When I counted them I had over $60 worth. Yikes! I think I'm going to take my rebate check and put it into savings to build that emergency fund back up. With all the 'profit' I've made at Rite Aid the past few weeks there should be no issues about not having the money to keep things circling 'round.

4 BC Cookie Bags @ $2.00 each = $8.00
2 BC Cake Mixes @ $2.00 each = $4.00
2 BC Chocolate Frosting @ $2.00 each = $4.00
Chestal Cough $6.99
Chestal Children Cough $4.99
Coldcalm 60ct $5.99
Coldcalm Children $6.99
Mini Drop Therapy 30ct $4.99
3 Newspapers @ $1.67 each = $5.01 (10% discount ^_^)
Oscillococcium $8.99
Revitalensmps $4.49 (10% discount)
Scrubbing Bubbles $3.49
Scrubbing Bubbles FREE (BOGO Sale)
Total Before Coupons: $67.93

$1/2 BC VV
4 $.40/1 BC Cookie Mix 17.5oz+
2 $1 off wyb bother BC Cake Mix & Frosting
$1/1 Childrens Chestal
$2/1 Oscillococcium
2 $2/1 Scrubbing Bubbles (no longer available)
Total After Coupons: $56.33 (used $56 +up, total came to .03? not sure how that happened)

Received/Will Receive:
4 $2 +up wyb 2 BC products
8 $1 +up food/snacks (BC products included in monthly sale)
$6.00 SCR Chestial Cough
$4.00 SCR Chestial Children Cough
$5.99 SCR Coldcalm 60ct
$6.99 SCR Coldcalm Children
$4.00 SCR Mini Drop Therapy 30ct
$8.00 SCR Oscillococcium
$4.49 SCR Revitalensmps (up to $4.99 purchase price)
Net: $.86 cost (That's great for 3 newspapers! LOL)

I could have made a larger profit with the Boiron products if I had used more of their coupons. I'm tired of having them beep all the time. I tried the ones from coupons.com, but they still beep. The cashier double checked the items and then pushed it through. Now I kind of wish I had used some of the $3/1 for the children med. I needed to burn through some +ups any way.

Last Call Rite Aid

2011-02-05T17:00:00.000-08:00

This is the last trip to Rite Aid for the week. They have already gotten their delivery and will not get any more stock for the week. What's more, I don't have any more coupons to make the Colgate or Chex Mix free. (Still loads at the store.) There weren't many dog treats left, but I was able to get two boxes. One for each of my parents dogs isn't bad. I forgot to look for my dixie plates, so there is a small chance I'll run out to see if they have them. Also forgot to get a raincheck for the Lays. I want to get two or three plain ones for Sweetheart. (He doesn't like flavored chips or Chex Mix.)

5 Colgate Clinical 4oz @ $2.99 each = $14.95
8 Chex Mix @ $1.50 each = $12.00
2 Hartz Crunch & Clean @ $2.99 each = $5.98
Total Before Coupons: $32.93

5 $1/1 Colgate 4.0oz+
4 $1/2 Chex Mix
2 $1/1 Hartz
Total After Coupons: $21.93 (used $21 +up, paid $.93 cash)

Received:
5 $2 +up Colgate
8 $1 +up Chex Mix (Monthly food promo)
2 $1 +up Hartz (weekly promo)
2 $1 +up Hartz (Monthly?)
Net: $.07 profit

If you haven't tried the dark chocolate mix you really need to. It's awesome!

Stock Up CVS!

2011-02-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

There are a few things that were on sale this week at CVS that I really needed to get. Early this month we ran out of Mayo & ended up paying full price because no one had it on sale! On my limited food budget that hurt. So this week I was excited! Sale prices for peanut butter & mayo are about the same at all the stores right now. The CVS advantage? Extra Bucks! ^_^

3 Hellmanns Mayo @ $3.00 each = $9.00
5 Skippy @ 3/$5.00 = $8.33 (I miscalculated and bought one more than I needed.)
Conair Brush $2.74 (75% clearance)
Conair Brush $2.49 (75% clearance) ~ Love cheap hair brushes. (I have long hair.)
2 Snickers Peanut Butter @ $.89 each = $1.78
Snicker Peanut Butter FREE (Buy 2 get 1 Free)
2 Snickers Original @ $.89 each = $1.78
Snickers Original FREE (Buy 2 get 1 Free)
Nature Made Folic Acid $6.99
Nature Made Vitamin C FREE (BOGO, orional $6.89)
Total Before Coupons: $33.11

$1/3 Hellmanns Mayo (Wasn't happy about the 3. These use to be 2.)
2 $1/2 Skippy
3 Snickers BOGO @ $.89 each = $2.67
2 $3/1 Nature Made (I think I got these from some magazine.)
Total After Coupons: $21.44

Received:
$5 EB wyb $15 Unilever products
Net: $16.44

Got this in the mail yesterday. This should pair with a good sale then.

February Budget & Climbing

2011-02-04T09:42:00.000-08:00

Time again for the recap. I'm in a budget crunch due to taking out a large portion of my emergency fund to buy a car. The good news is I now have a car that works & does not stall from point A to point B.

Meet Kori. She's a '99 Toyota Corolla. She currently has a little over 160,000 miles, but runs strong. Best part is I got her within 'budget' and I will not have any car payments. And I didn't have to borrow any money from my parents. She is mine free & clear. Yippie!

Not sure what's going to happen with Lizzy. She's a good car, but needs some work. Hopefully once I get a little extra money ($200?) I can take her to another mechanic and get a second opinion. If she's really easy to fix I'll get her fixed and give (sell for the price to fix) to my sister who doesn't have a car yet. That's what I'm hoping for. I really think she could go for another 50,000 miles or more. She runs great except for that stalling problem!

That all being said, my emergency fund was wiped out to about $200. Ouch! I need to rebuild that stat! Luckily January was a very kind month in the way of working. So I've doubled what was left in the emergency fund. February is not looking to be so lucky. This is going to take some time. With that in mind some adjustments are to be made.

Ice storm took out a few tress around here.

The Budget:
Bills (Electric) $103
Bunnies $30
Car Insurance $36 *Stayed the same!
Cellphone $36
Free Money $40 *$10 a week isn't much, but it's enough
Gas $180 *Small adjustment. Kori uses far less gas already, but I don't want leap before I take a good hard look. I'll give it some more time.
Groceries $100
Rent $280
Student Loans $472

Grand Total: $1277/month (Take home pay.)

Extra Funds Notes:
1. Everything extra goes to rebuild the emergency fund. There are no 'savings' as this fund gets rebuilt.
2. Categories on hold: Car Repair, Clothing, Health & Savings. All current funds in these areas are holding steady until the emergency fund is full. These will be treated temporarily as emergency funds if a situation warrants between now and then.

Emergency Fund:
Last Month: $202.84
This Month: $419.32
Goal: $1,000.00

It looks so pretty!

I'm not doing to well on a lot of non-finical goals. Really, it's been a bad month for it. Maybe it has to do with having a lot of hours at work? Things are slowing down so here's hoping for free time and a chance to make good on those goals. Although that will slow down the finical goals.

2011 Goals

Finical Goals

1. ~~Buy A Car (A Reliable Car)~~
2. Rebuild Emergency Fund
3. ~~Pay my parents Back~~ Not applicable
4. Pay off another smaller loan
5. Save $750 for Cruise 2012!
6. Start a Gift Fund for Presents

Non-Finical Goals

1. Develop a sleep pattern - Getting there. I need to try and get up on time. Going to bed isn't too bad.
2. Lose 20lbs. - This is the next one to really work on. I need to plan exercise time.
3. Do more stuff that doesn't involve sitting & playing games on the 'couch'. - Um . . working on it . . .
4. No more dirty dishes in the sink @ the end of the night. - Getting closer?
5. Clean the apartment more often. - Totally didn't happen. Time for a major clean up this weekend.

Monthly Climb!!!
Grand Total Last Month: $43,140.15
New Grand Total: $42,844.31
Amount Paid Off: $295.84

This is going to be SLOW!

Got the Munchies Rite Aid?

2011-02-01T08:25:00.000-08:00

Rite Aid has loads of goodies this week. I mean tons of stuff! It's unbelievable all the freebies people can get this week. Some of them don't require manufacture coupons at all. Just amazing. I've done three transactions at two different stores thus far. I really itching to run around and get more, but don't know if I really have the time.

I ran out to the store quick on Sunday. I was working until 6pm, but didn't actually get out until 6:20 because there were so many people in the store right at closing. It was really weird. There's never more than one person in the store at closing. Not sure what bug bit everyone. Even as I stood there open the door to let people out at least four groups tried to come in to go shopping. By the time I got home there was about 15 minutes until my normal Rite Aid where I shopped was closing. I went further out to one that closes an hour latter. Didn't want to get some cashier stuck until 20 minutes after closing!

I must say I was quiet pleased to find most items in stock. I thought for sure the ice cream would be long gone and nothing to say of snacks. While the Lay's Stax were not in stock there were plenty of Chex Mix to be had. I had some choice in ice cream and was satisfied. What really surprised me was all the Dixie plates and bowls were gone! What? Hopefully they will get more in soon. (Out at my normal store as well.) I might just have to get a raincheck.

Transaction 1 (Separated out to be sure I didn't have to many +up on one receipt & to be sure the Up Your Game +up printed. Colgate was thrown on so I could use the $16 +up I had)
4 Edy's Ice Cream @ $2.99 each = $11.96 (Two went to Sweetheart's parents)
4 Chex Mix @ $1.50 each = $6.00
Colgate Clinical Enamel $2.99
Total Before Coupons: $20.95

2 $.50/1 Chex Mix VV (Jan & Feb)
2 $1/2 Chex Mix GM insert (forget date)
$1/1 Colgate 4.0oz+
Total After Coupons: $16.95 (used $16+up, $.95 cash)

Received:
$5 +up wyb $15+ Up Your Game (limit 1!)
4 $2 +up Edy's
4 $1 +up Chex Mix (Monthly deal)
$2 +up Colgate
Net: $2.05 profit

Transaction 2:
3 Afrin @ $5.99 each = $17.97
AMO Complete $7.99
2 Colgate Clinical Enamel @ $2.99 each = $5.98
4 Coricidin @ $5.99 each = $23.96
4 Halls @ $1.50 each = $6.00
Total Before Coupons: $61.90

2 $3/1 Afrin (tried to ring a third one, but it beeped. I thought perhaps I gave her to many coupons, so I took it back. Oh well)
$2/1 Afrin VV
2 $1/1 Colgate 4.0oz+
4 $2/1 Coricdin
$2/1 Coricdin VV
2 $1.50 BOGO Halls (found these on a tear pad in K-mart. I have one left)
2 $.50/1 Halls VV (Jan & Feb)
Total After Coupons: $37.90 (used $37.00 +up, $.90 + $.16 tax cash)

Received/Will Receive:
3 $4 +up Afrin
$7.99 SCR AMO Complete
2 $2 +up Colgate
4 $4 +up Coricdin
2 $1 +up Halls wyb 2
$10 +up Heart Healthy Promo (makes a total of $20 +up received, limit 1)
Net: $14.09 profit (-$.16 tax)

I really wanted the Lay's Stax. I need to get some rabbit food for Snickers & Skittles and my normal Rite Aid was right there. I thought it couldn't hurt to stop and see if they had any left. Good thing I did as there were 4 left on the shelf. Two more bags of Chex Mix as I had another $1/2 q and another Affrin to use up that other coupon. (Discovered the lack of Dixie plates.)

Afrin $5.99
Andes' Mint $.12 (sale? Didn't want to pay much cash)
2 Chex Mix @ $1.50 each = $3.00
4 Lay's Stax (sour cream & onion) @ $1.00 each = $4.00
Total Before Coupons: $13.11

$3/a Affrin
$1/2 Chex Mix
Total After Coupons: $9.11 (used $9 +up & $.11 cash)

Received:
$4 +up Afrin
2 $1 +up Chex Mix
4 $1 +up Lay's Stax
Net: $.89 profit

Grand Net: $2.05 profit + $14.09 profit - $.16 tax + $.89 profit = $16.87
Also @ $80.74 for the Winter Rewards!

HonseTea CVS

2011-01-31T08:32:00.000-08:00

I was hoping to be able to buy more coke on Sunday, but we haven't gotten a delivery yet. On the pallet sits 3 lonely cases of Dr. Pepper. There are only one or two diet cokes in the main aisle. I'll just have to wait until more comes in. I had purchased a single Honest Tea for lunch part of lunch one day. (Running late and no time to pack!) I figured I would go ahead and get 9 more for my $5 EB.

Also on sale this week is Always Infinity. I love this stuff so much! I was so excited to see it one sale. I think the bigger ones may have been on sale about a week or two ago, but I didn't notice until to late. I don't think I want ever use anything else. Too bad these things are mad expensive! $5.49 per box! (14-18 count)

Got a chance to use my raincheck as well. I've been waiting and waiting for the Planter's Nut*rition bars to come in. Finally we got two. I asked my co-worker nicely if he would ring up the two on sale and give my half of the extra bucks. The deal originally required four. (Buy 4 @ $2.50 each get $4 EB.) He rewrote the raincheck for the second two (half the extra bucks) and issued $2 extra bucks. Yippie! Maybe next week I can get the rest? (These are also on sale this week, but I only got $2 EB total. This week's sale isn't enough to entice me.)

3 Alway Infinity 16ct @ $3.99 each = $11.97
9 Bottles of Honest Tea @ $1.50 each = $13.50
2 Planters Nut*rition bars 5ct @ $2.50 each = $5.00
Total Before Coupons: $30.47

3 $1/1 Always Infinity
2 $1/1 Platers Nut*rition bars
Total After Coupons: $25.47

Received:
$5 EB wyb $15 of selected Coke & Kraft products
$2 EB Planters Nut*rition bars (raincheck!)
Net: $18.47 cost

A little high for me, but so worth it.

CVS - Coke & Revlon

2011-01-26T15:01:00.000-08:00

This week the little coupon machine had a surprise for me, $5 off 2 Revlon cosmetics. There are still lots of options to choose with the clearance. I'm not much of a lip stick person, but we only had one gloss left. I do try and get stuff I will use or know someone who will. I also spotted the Oreo cakesters on clearance as I put out all the labels for new items. To bad the double stuffed was still only 50%. The regular were 75%. Go figure?

3 Coke 12 pk @ $3.00 each = $9.00 (Not pictured)
2 Coke 2-liters @ $1.50 each = $3.00
2 Honest Tea @ $1.50 each = $3.00 (Drank one at work)
Revlon Lip Gloss $2.49 (75% clearance)
Revlon Lip Stick $2.49 (75% clearance)
Total Before Coupons: $19.98

$5/2 Revlon Cosmetics CVS coupon
$1.50 BOGO Coke 2 Liter (Recycle Bank offer)
Total After Coupons: $13.48

Received:
$5 EB wyb $15 of selected Coke Products
Net: $8.48

If I get a chance maybe I should try and poke around some other CVS to see what they have left in their food clearance. We still have lots of check out candy items, but I much rather look for cookies & crackers.

Rite Aid - Paid to Shop!

2011-01-24T09:15:00.001-08:00

I didn't think there would be anything this week at Rite Aid. Maybe the light bulbs, but I much prefer the ones with the low wattage to save electricity. I bought a few in the past, but I really don't need them so I'll pass.

I saw a great Nature Made deal all over the blogs & forums, if you have All You Magazine. A few coupons are form last month's issue, but if you have Feb your all set. (You will need to get a second one for additional coupons.) That might mean multiple copies at Walmart for some. The gist of the deal is a double dip into the Healthy Heart & Nature Made purchase of $30.

2 CoQ10 30mg 30ct @ $11.69 each = $23.38 (reg $12.99, 10% discount)
1 Fish Oil 1200mg 100ct $9.44 (reg $10.49, 10% discount)
Total Before Coupons: $32.82

$4 off $20 purchase Jan VV (Watch a lot of commercials of Beauty products)
$3/1 Nature Made Fish Oil VV Feb
$6/1 CoQ10 All You Feb
$5/1 CoQ10 All You Jan
$4/1 Fish Oil All You Feb
Total After Coupons: $10.82 (used $7 +up, $2.81 GC & $1.01 Cash)

Received:
$10 +up Healthy Heart
$16 +up Nature Made
Net: $15.18 profit!

To bad I can't do that again. I could still make a decent killing on it, but then I think I would wipe out the store. They didn't have a lot in stock. One store had only on CoQ10 in the smaller size.

Saving Sunday - Late edition

2011-01-24T09:12:00.000-08:00

There's has been so little in the mail of late. I actually got something, but forgot about it until today! Better late than never. Hoping for something in the up coming weeks.

Another CVS Trip

2011-01-21T07:43:00.000-08:00

My mom asked me to get her some Izzy this week. As the 'extra' from last week carried over (including a 2 litter I bought for mom) I only needed to buy 6 to get the EB. No coupons this time as I maxed out at both computers and mom already printed and used hers. By some sheer luck I ended up with the $10/1 Physicians formula coupon. No idea. I would have loved it more last week. I used in conjunction with the the Izzy so as to lower my OOP due to overage. Yeah! The cashiers are of the "What it scans for is what it is" verity.

I made sure this time that the BOGO coupons for the gum were rung up correctly. The cashiers will put it in for over the max amount if you don't tell them. I'm hoping that eventually they will start to read the coupons themselves. I think I'm starting to get one of them to really look at the coupons they are getting.

This was done in two transactions, but I'm putting it together as one for simplicity.

6 Izzy 4-packs @ $2.99 each = $17.94
Physician's Formula $2.62 (75% clearance)
2 Reach Floss @ $.99 each = $1.98 (These are one sale until 01/31 for $.99)
Snickers Peanut-butter $.89
Blink Tears $7.99
2 Crest Pro Health @ $2.99 each = $5.98
4 Orbit Gum @ 1.29 each = $5.16
4 Orbit Gum FREE (BOGO Sale)
Total Before Coupons: $42.56

$10/1 Physician's Formula CVS Coupon Machine
$3/2 Listerine, Reach Floss or Toothbrush CVS Coupon Machine
2 $1/1 Reach Floss IP (coupons.com I think)
$.89/1 Snickers Peanut-butter CVS Coupon Machine (Only seen with employee cards)
$4/1 Blink Peelie (We still have lots of these on the shelf)
2 $1/1 Crest 4.0oz+ Toothpaste
4 BOGO Orbit Max $1.00
Total After Coupons: $17.67

Received:
$10 EB wyb $20 Pepsi Products, Izzy (Would need another $19 to get a third time)
$4 EB Blink Tears
$4 EB Crest Toothpaste (two offers combined)
Net: $.33 profit (How exactly that happened I'm not entirely sure, but the math is right.)

CVS - Getting Drinks

2011-01-19T10:24:00.000-08:00

I was excited by the Pepsi deal when I first saw it. Then changed my mind as I looked a head and found the Coke would be on special soon. Instead I got Izzy & Starbucks Frappuccino for roughly $.25 each can/bottle! That's an awesome deal for those.

Notice again I had my drink. Great tasting drinks are my down fall.

4 Izzy @ $2.99 each = $11.96
2 Starbucks @ $4.99 each = $9.98
Total Before Coupons: $21.94

4 $1/1 Izzy 4pk+ (Izzy Facebook page)
2 $1/1 Starbucks 4pk (forget which paper)
Total After Coupons: $15.94

Received:
$10 EB wyb $20 of Pepsi Product
Net: $5.94 cost

Now I need to buy more Izzy for my mom. To bad I can't get any more of the Izzy coupons. Those were so sweet! ^_^

Rite Aid - 3 Days Running!

2011-01-19T09:52:00.000-08:00

I've been in out of Rite Aid for three days. Not all the same ones mind you. I originally hoped to score some free TP on my first trip, but everything was gone! I would have gone Sunday, but as I worked all say and had about ten minutes to get to the store before they closed I couldn't go. Win some, lose some. I did at least pick up 4 Hormel Chili for 4/$5 and got back 5 $1 +up! Wish I had known about the TGIF snacks then. They had about 5 bags on a peg.

My second stop brought me to my 'secret' Rite Aid. I seriously think this one is all but forgotten about except by people who are walking. They had tons of TP. No tissues though. I grabbed 4 4-packs. I didn't know Rite Aid Corporate put a limit on the deal of 3. Not going to fuss over $.90. (Love the discount.)

Store 1:
4 Hormel Chili @ $1.25 each = $5.00
Total Before Coupons: $5.00

$1.50/3 Hormel Products (All You Feb.)
Total After Coupons: $3.50 (used $3 +up)

Received:
5 $1 +up Hormel (4 for the monthly deal, 1 for buying 4)
Net: $1.50 profit

Store 2:
4 4-packs TP @ $.90 each = $3.60 (10% discount)
4 Hormel Chili @ $1.25 each = $5.00
Total Before Coupons: $8.60 (used $8 +up)

No Coupons!

Received:
3 $1 +up TP
5 $1 +up Hormel Chili
Net: $.60 cost

My second day I went back to the first store. I was hoping to grab 2-3 bags of TGIF snacks, but there was only one left on the shelf. Bacon & Cheddar flavor. I don't eat pork products and I don't want to eat flavored pork products either. These will go to my dad. I'll ask him to save the $5 off $15 TGIF restaurant coupon on the back. I also grabbed up the BOGO Dixie plates using the $3/2 VV coupon. What a steal! Sweetheart & I are always going through paper plates. Mostly because we don't have time or energy to do dishes. The other issue is my plates can not be microwaved.

Store 1 second trip:
4 Hormel Chili @ $1.25 each = $5.00 (They still have a lot left.)
Dixie 45ct plates $3.99
Dixie 45ct plates $0.00 (BOGO sale!)
TGIF Bacon & Cheddar Skins $.97
Total Before Coupons: $9.96

2 $.55/2 Hormel (IP available at Manufacture's web site, must register)
$3/2 Dixie Jan VV (Wish I had watched the Dec one)
Total After Coupons: $5.86 (used $5 +up)

Received:
5 $1 +up Hormel Chili
$1 +up TGIF
Net: $.14 profit

I wasn't going to go anywhere else figuring I had enough, but I was really close to the Resolution Rewards. I figured I would stop at two other Rite Aids to see what I could come up with to get it. No TGIF at either one. I was really hoping to grab more for my dad. I lucked out at both stores and managed to find 5 Hormel Chili at one and 4 at the other. Just enough to make them free. Didn't see anything else and with only $6 to go I went with Dixie plates and two of the $.97 snacks. $20 +up for me!

Store 3:

4 Hormel Chili @ $1.25 each = $5.00
Total Before Coupons: $5.00 (used $5 +up)

Received:
5 $1 +up Hormel
Net: FREE!

Store 4:
4 Hormel Chili @ $1.25 each = $5.00
Dixie 45ct plates $3.99
Dixie 45ct plates $0.00 (BOGO sale!)
2 Combos Snacks @ $.97 each = $1.94
Total Before Coupons: $10.93

$.50/1 (1 or 2?) Hormel VV Jan
$1 off purchase VV Jan
Total After Coupons: $9.43 (used $9 +up)

Received:
5 $1 +up Hormel Chili
$20 +up wyb $100 of selected products (Dec 26th - Jan 22nd)
Net: $15.57 profit

Grand Net: $1.50 profit + $.60 cost + $.14 profit + FREE + $15.57 profit = $16.61 profit!

CVS - X-Mas Clearance & Free Candy

2011-01-14T08:31:00.000-08:00

These are so cute! They're perfect for any occasion. I think they look particularly wedding-ish being all silver.

Time for another CVS trip. Good deals this week on Christmas clearance (75% off, edibles 50%), with so much left over! It's ridiculous all the stuff we still have hanging around. I wish corporate would let us mark things down to 90% off, but nope. They'll have none of it. So much goes to waste. It makes me a little sad.

I try to keep my eye out for plain wrapping paper. The stuff that once you get further away from Christmas no one will really notice was Christmas wrap? Being that red is Sweetheart's favorite color & he loves snow I got some wrapping paper just for him. ^_^

The TP deal this week is really sweet! I'm very happy to be stocking up. I didn't really want to pay so much out of pocket, but luckily for me I got a $3/1 Cottonelle coupon for the Red Coupon Machine. Not my favorite, but it knocks the price down to something more reasonable. Paired up with two Scott's coupons I was ready to go!

2 Scott Extra Soft 24pk @ $10.00 each = $20.00
Cottonelle 18pk $10.00
Total Before Coupons: $30.00

2 $1/1 Scott TP or Paper Towel
$.50/1 Cottonelle
$3/1 Cottonelle 18pk CVS Coupon
Total After Coupons: $24.50

Received:
$10 EB
Net: $14.50 cost (but it's a lot of TP!)

I forgot my EB at home from buying my free candy. I wanted to use them buying the TP. :( I'll just have to use them latter. The dove bar was a $.50 MM thanks the the Red Coupon Machine. The Vitality gum was free after a coupon that I got at the bottom of my receipt. I've only seen CVS employees getting this one.

I had wanted to do the Mallox/Gas-X deal, but I didn't get any of those great $5/1 Mallox coupons. Nor does my store currently have stock enough for the Gas-X preventative to use those coupons. I'm hoping for some to come on the truck today. Also hoping that we run out of the Finish tablets so I can get a rain check & order some of those coupons. (I didn't get any of those either.) We'll see how the week works out.

Donation Box

2011-01-12T19:06:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I got to post a donation box photo or two. I'm way behind on my shopping for the week due to being sick all of Monday. It was terrible! I hope I'm never that sick again. UGH!

With that note it's no surprise I might not get to any more postings this week. I really need to make up some of the time I missed at one of my jobs, but I also think I need some time to relax. Today started three days of get up go to one job & then head to the next. 9am or so until 9:30pm. Ouch! At least I get a few breaks at each one, but still.

I'm debating about taking Friday morning off with Saturday being a long day, from about 7am until 4pm. Then I'm rushing off to my brother's birthday dinner. Only to more than likely get home late and work all day Sunday. One or two hour break before heading to Sweetheart's parents for dinner Sunday night. Yikes! I don't have an actual day off until the 22nd. I'll have to decide tomorrow.

A special donation that actually made it in time for Christmas. I managed to score this free after sign up credit on one of those group deal sites. Can't remember which one.

Rite Aid - Stay Free & Special K

2011-01-09T12:48:00.000-08:00

I am hoping I can get a second trip to Rite Aid this week. I need to do some better planning. The only reason I managed this trip was I had all the coupons in my folder that I carry around with me. Most of my coupons I leave at home, because the binders are so heavy & I don't even know what's all in them! Hopefully there will still be stock tomorrow when I get off of work.

I must be there often as the two newest employees recognized me as I was carrying around the stay free in my arms. I remembered I had the other two BOGO Special K coupons with me & wanted to get them while I was there. She happily got me a car saying "I know how you shop with all your coupons." For some reason this makes me happy. LOL. Glad Sourpuss wasn't there to spoil the mood. ^_^

2 Special K Cereal @ $4.79 each = $9.58
2 Special K Cereal FREE (BOGO Sale)
8 Stay Free pads @ $2.50 each = $20.00
Total Before Coupons: $29.58

2 $4.49 BOGO Special K Cereal (Max value of coupon, point it out to cashier.)
4 $2.50 Stay Free BOGO (coupons.com)
Total After Coupons: $10.61 (Used $10+up & $.60 GC)

Received:
4 $2 +up Stay free
4 $1 +up Snack
Net: $1.40 profit!

Aside: No Saving Sunday this week. The mail was not as kind. :(

Freebies!

2011-01-08T08:33:00.000-08:00

When my Sweetheart went to Giant to get my weekly newspapers he found some free coupons! Why people just left all this lying around is beyond me. So I went & made a special trip just with these. Too bad they were out of the Breath Rights. Sweetheart could have used those last night. The vitamin water Q wasn't for a free product per-say. Giant does have vitamin water on sale this week for $1. I thought I would give it another try as it was free. (I haven't liked they in the past at all.) As an added bonus I found a coupon for free OJ! They were out of that as well, but I have some time to use up the coupons.

The pasta wasn't free from Giant, but from Weis. They have it on sale for $1 & I happen to get a $.50/1 Q which they doubled to $1! Sweet!

Rite Aid - Cereal!

2011-01-07T08:12:00.000-08:00

Cereal time! I got lots of cereal cheap at Rite Aid this week. I was expecting to get it free, but one of the +ups didn't print like I expected. I'm missing $5 +up wyb $15 Special K. I think it may have been a fluke earlier in the week because the cereal wasn't listed in the ad flier. I still got a lot for very little. Maybe next week?

2 Kashi cereal @ $2.50 each = $5.00
4 Special K cereal @ $4.31 each = $17.24 (10% discount)
2 Wet Ones @ $1.99 each = $3.98
Total Before Coupons: $26.22

2 $3/1 Kashi (one from recycle bank & one from vocal point)
2 $4.31 BOGO Special K (IP, no longer available from what I can tell)
2 $1/1 Wet Ones (IP)
$1 off purchase (DEC VV)
Total After Coupons: $8.60 (used $8 +up, $.60 GC)

Received:
$1 +up wyb 2 Kashi
4 $1 +up wyb Food Snacks (Special K)
2 $1 +up Wet Ones
Net: $1.60 cost (Would have been $3.40 profit if $5 +up had printed)

CVS - Almost Finished

2011-01-07T07:48:00.000-08:00

I started out the week by testing to see if Get It While It Lasts Revlon products would generate EB when you buy two. Sadly it did not. The 2 nail polish was just under $3 ($2.90 for 2) so I decided not to return them. I might pass them on to my sister or perhaps a friend who has hit a bit of a rocky patch with her boyfriend.

I want to finish off the Excedrin deal this week, but I am waiting on deliver (today) to see if we get in some of the 'cheaper' Excedrin. Also hoping that it comes with some planter's nuts bars that are 4/$10 get $4 EB. I have 3 $1 Q, so 4/$3 isn't bad. Here's hoping!

Excedrin PM 20ct $4.99
Excedrin Migraine 24ct $5.49
Excedrin Extra Strength 50ct $6.99
2 Revlon Files @ $3.19 each = $6.38
Total Before Coupons: $23.85

$3.50/1 Excedrin PM (mail)
$5.99/1 Excedrin Extra Strength (mail, 'free' maxim value allowed)
$5.49/1 Excedrin Migraine (mail, 'free')
Total After Coupons: $8.87

Received:
$7 EB
Net: $1.87 cost

Planning to buy Excedrin PM 20ct $4.99
Planning to use $1/1 Excedrin PM
Will Receive $10 EB
New Net: $4.14 profit!

I don't know about you but I'm excited by the Pepsi sale that's to start on Sunday. 6 12pk for $10? (After EB) I think I will mix in some other items rather than getting 6 12pk. Oooo! and free candy. Let's not forget candy. Not that it's needed around here. LOL.