Saling Sunday

Sorry it's late, but here's Saling Sunday. We just got back into town today, so I didn't have alot of time to search out great sales. I went to Giant tonight, and I did manage to score some pretty sweet freebies and almost freebies! A few weeks ago, I found a site (and I apoligize that I don't remember what site it was) with a coupon for a free bag of Rice Works. I printed out 10 of them. Giant has them for $2.73 per bag. I got 10 bags for free! That's $27.30 worth of product for ZERO DOLLARS! I was really excited! It even made me overlook the very young, very much laughing at me, register clerk what had to double scan each of those coupons during my 10 transactions. Also, they are discontinuing the Chef Boyardee ABC/123 and Dinosaur shaped spaghettios (in the larger containers, not the microwavable ones), so I was able to get 10 cans for $.37 each.

Chicken of the Sea (Solid white Tuna in water) 10/$10
Pepsi 2-liters 10/$10
Giant Italian Bread 10/$10
Juicy Juice for Tots $1.99 (buy 3 get $1 off next order)
Skippy Natural 3/$5 (plus I had a $1 coupon)

I didn't need a whole lot, so I just picked up the basics, plus a few things for dinner this week. There are other sales, just check out https://www.giantfoodstores.com/index.html for the full sales flyer. I live by this site!

Be watching for a new post this week: Walmart: Friend or Foe?

Crazy Coupon Lady?

Am I am Crazy Coupon Lady?

The question just occurred to me. I recently read the phrase over at Pudget: Losing Weight on a Budget and it's made me wonder? Am I a Crazy Coupon Lady? I'll admit, it has a snazzy ring to it. Kinda just rolls off the tongue. When I was in high school, my friends use to refer to me as the Comma Queen. I knew all the comma rules and could use them properly. I used to edit their papers. Maybe if I would have charged them to do this, I would be clipping coupons each week. Strangely, I'm still kind of proud of the nickname. And not so strangely, I became an English teacher. So, if I had that nickname in high school, and became and English teacher (a respectable occupation), then doesn't it stand to reason, if I call myself a Crazy Coupon Lady, something good will come of that too?

I only hope Jessica at Pudget has copyrighted that name.

Do I have a point to this? Not really. It's late and I'm 'sleepy blogging.' I'm just coming to the realization that something good can come from anything. I never wanted to be a Coupon Lady, let alone a Crazy one at that. But, I did pay for my groceries in 10 transactions this week just so I could double my coupons. I think that qualifies me as one....at least in the mind of the very patient cashier who had to keep adjusting my coupons. I just want to pay for my groceries in the regular checkout, not worrying about handing over all my applicable coupons, because it's really embarassing to walk back into a store to tell them that you forgot to use a $1 coupon and would like them to reimburse you for it. Yes, I know this from experience. But wait.....why should I be embarassed? I am saving my family valuable money. We all know the state of our economy. It's not going to miraculously right itself overnight. So in the meantime, I'lll continue to trudge through my coupons and sales flyers each week. It is kind of a thrill to know that you would have had to pay full price for most items had you not carefully selected them, and their corresponding coupons. After all, I did walk out of Giant this past week, head held high, having spent $87 for over $140 work of groceries. Who's laughing now?

Humble Pie

Coupon shopping, bargain shopping, budget shopping, whatever you want to call it -- it's a humbling experience. I spend hours pouring over sales flyers, coupons and recipes. Then I go to the stores, where I wander up and down the isles at a snail's pace, occasionally stopping to hunt down stray coupons. I finally find all the items on my list, and head to the check out. In the interest of saving time in the long run, I head to the self checkout so I can go at my own pace, making sure all my items ring up at the correct price. Heaven help you if they don't and you need to assistance of a cashier. Next up: coupons. Sometimes they need to be scanned in a certain order. Sometimes they don't scan. Again, you are in need of assistance. Sometimes you have to do 10 transactions because you are buying 10 of the same item, have 10 coupons that can be doubled, but the store you are in only doubles one per transaction. People get in line behind you and you just want to warn them that you'll be another 20 minutes so you get your savings. Finally, you load all your bags into the cart, grab your 10 receipts, your list, your coupons, your club card and wallet and head out the door while the cashier stares at you for taking 30 minutes at the checkout.

I've seen people do this, and recently, I joined the ranks of the money savers. I will admit that I have chuckled to myself at these people do whatever it takes to get the best deal. I've thought badly of these people. I've judged them as being poor. Now it's my turn, and I just want to turn to people and say, "I'm not poor! My husband has a good job! I'm just doing this to help save money! Don't you know that I will eventually have to put two kids through college and pay for weddings?" But I don't. I just keep doing what I'm doing, half embarassed, half thrilled at the amount of my savings.

I just want to say that I've learned my lesson. I'm sorry to all those I've judged at the checkout counter. I truly regret my uncharitable thoughts, and I wish it didn't take being in your shoes to make me realize this.

Updates and Rebates (Ebates and Shop at Home)

Wow! So it's been a while since I've had the time to post anything. We were away last weekend, and we had to come back early Sunday morning to make it to small group Sunday night. I started physical therapy for my neck and back this week, so I'm pretty sore in strange places. Plus, both of my kids are sick.

So, I have nothing major to report, except that I am still signing up for freebies. I received, cereal, splenda and 2 $10 Target gift cards just this week. The gift cards are from Ebates, which along with Shop At Home (SAH), is a pretty cool site. Just link to your store through the Ebates or SAH site and you get a percentage of your total bill (minus shipping and tax). Each store has a set percentage, and sometimes they offer specials. I know Snapfish does 10%. At Christmas, I spend $150 on pictures and gifts from Snapfish and I got credited or $15 from SAH. They mail checks every month but it's like a 3 month delay. This month (February) they are mailing checks from November. Also, if you have less than $20 in your account at the end of the month, they roll it over to the next month and they will send you a check once your account balance is $20 or higher. Click the link on the bottom of my home page to visit Shop at Home.

Ebates works a little differently, you only have to have more than $5.00 in your account to get a check. With Ebates you get a bonus for signing up. That was my $10 Target gift card. I got two of them for some reason, and I'm not sure why. You also get a $5 bonus for anyone you get to sign up.

I don't generally shop online a lot. But I love these programs. I did most of my Christmas shopping online this year because I had a 2-year old and a not quite 1-year old to take with me! Not the most ideal shopping situation. But most stores were offering free shipping and I got some amazing deals. And Walmart ships to the store for free so it was a breeze to order and just run in to pick it up. I highly recommend these programs.

So back to updates, I am still trying to stay on budget. This week I went a little over, but that was because we went out of town and I needed stuff for a party there and snacks for the drive. And RiteAid was having Softsoap for $.99 and Suave for $.99. I had coupons for the Suave and I like to stock up when I can. They also had Colgate buy one get one free and Speed Stick 4/$9 with a $5 rebate. I had a coupon too so I got 4/$3. I couldn't really pass up $.75 deodorant. I also invested in (not on sale) a new Zwipes binder for my coupons. I'm giving a seminar in a few weeks and I want to see how this works for me before I suggest in to others.

Hopefully, things will slow down for me next week. Look for some new weekly posts coming soon. I am working on:
My Menu Monday -- my menu for the week
Save Me Saturday -- calulating my spending and saving for the week
Saling Sunday -- not a typo, going through the next week's sales flyers and coupons

Adventures in Money Saving

So I have been looking at my receipts from yesterday's shopping excursion (yes I must call it that and you'll see why) and I've done well. I spent a total of $157.53. Yes, this is over my weekly budget by $17.53, but I spent $16.48 on diapers and pull-ups, which I don't count, so I'm only over by $1.05. I wanted to be under budget but I got some really good deals, so I'm not complaining. On that note, I shouldn't need deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, dish detergent or dishwasher tablets for months...if not the rest of the year for some of those items.

I also figured out how much I saved just in coupons this week:
Weis Markets -- $11.00
Giant Foods -- $20.91
Rite Aid -- $7.00
CVS -- $9.00
CVS ECB -- $20.49

Grand Total Coupon Savings: $68.40 (this is not even including sales and bonus buys)

My total savings (coupons and sales)
Weis Markets -- $31.90 (31%)
Giant Foods -- $50.79
Rite Aid -- $19.36 (plus tax and I'll also be getting $7.00 in rebates)
CVS -- $47.99 (plus I also found another $2 ecb attached to my receipt. I was only expecting $3 so I missed this one.)

Grand Total Savings (coupons and sales): $150.04 not including the $7.00 rebates and $2 ECB

Not Bad

Keep watching for my next post: How to Conquer the Hoarder in You!

No Week of No Spending for Me

Alright, so if you've been following me as I journey through COUPONLAND and BARGAIN-SHOPPINGVILLE, then you know how much I like to spend money....not something I'm proud of. To read my confession, click here. So, I thought that I'd really like to try Mindi's (over at Moms Need to Know) plan for The Month of No Spending. I was really challenged and intruiged by this idea, so I decided to try it for myself. Except....I don't have quite the stockpile of food and necessities needed, since I'm relatively new to all of this. I thought I'd try for one week, instead. Then I got my weekly Weis Markets and Giant Foods flyers. There goes that idea. But really, Weis is having their 10/$10 sale and Giant's got some really good buys too.

With that in mind, I've altered my plan. Here goes: I'm going to spend money this week.

In all fairness, very little of what I purchased in needed for my meal plan this week. The hoarder in me comes out when I can get meals for my kids for $1 each, and apple juice and eggs and butter for $1 each. I NEED TO STOCK UP. But seriously, I didn't do that bad. I took cash with me so remind me to stick to my budger. And I did. My total at Weis Markets was $69.16, with a savings of /$31.90 (31%). I used a Huggies coupon about the expire and got a jumbo pack of diapers for $8.49. I also got one Sargento's Salad Finisher free (with the purchase of 2 bags of salad mix which I will take with me to NY this weekend) and another Salad Finisher for $1.79 since I had a coupon for $1.50 off 2. 23 of my items were only $1 each with the 10/$10 sale. Plus I had $9.50 in coupons and didn't pay full price for anything.

Updates

Good Evening! I have some updates for you tonight. First, I went shopping with my Mom today. I purchased one item, a pair of Nike sneakers for my daughter. They were on clearance for $14.98, and they are one size up from what she's wearing now. Technically, I didn't even purchase them. I used some of her birthday money to buy the shoes. THANKS GRANDMA AND PAP-PAP!

Another update, I've been thinking about my meals. I see a lot of people posting how much their dinners cost, and I wondered how much mine cost. I don't know if I can break it down into a lot of detail, but here goes:

Chicken Tetrazinni
Chix - $1.50
Sour Cream - $.99
Chix Broth - $.43
Mozz Cheese - $1 (not bought on sale, although I did buy the store brand)
Butter - $.63
Margarine - $.22
Linguine - $.75
salt, pepper, bread crumbs, garlic and onion powder - $.40 (high estimate since I use very little of each except bread crumb -- 1 cup)

Grand Total: $5.92 -- then I split the entire casserole into 2 dishes (one for us and one for mom and dad)
$2.96 each, four servings in each dish, for a
Total per serving: $.74

Not bad.

Beef Stew - this one is more guessing since I used frozen veggies I'd bought, not on sale, awhile ago.

Beef Cubes - $4.19
2 Potatoes - $2.19
1/2 bag frozen onion - $1.00 (an estimate, probably a little high)
1/2 bag frozen pea - $1.00 (ditto)
2 fresh carrots - $.28
Celery - $.30 (I honestly have no idea how much this cost. I bought it at least 6 weeks ago and keep it in my Tupperware fridgesmart containers. It keeps almost forever!)
1/2 bag frozen corn - $1.00 (same as above veggies)
ginger, bouillon, salt, pepper, cornstarch - $.50 (a high estimate)
1/2 bag frozen green peppers -$1.00 (ditto with veggies)

Grand total $10.96 (I'd say this is a high estimate since I don't know the exact price I paid for the veggies)
2 meals, 4 servings each, gives us a grand total of
$1.37 per serving

Still, not too bad. I could have cut it down farther if I'd followed the recipe, but I put more veggies in it. This beef stew is really fabulous! I omit the raisins since I think it sounds gross. I also added, corn, peppers, potatoes, and maybe the peas too. But it's really tasty, as my 2-year old son would say.

Try it and let me know what you think.



I could have used a fresh onion, but my onions are so strong that the last time I chopped one my eyes burned for a hour afterwards. I was going out after making this stew so I didn't want to have to deal with burning, watery eyes.

Giant Foods trip 2/2

Can I make a confession?

I LOVE TO SPEND MONEY

This is difficult for me to admit, because it makes me sound like I need to be going to shoppers anonymous meetings. But it's true. I love to spend money.

But this year, we're trying to save more money....afterall, we have 2 toddlers who will want (hopefully) to go to college. So, we put ourselves on a budget. This is difficult, seeing as how I like to spend money. However, I realized today that it really doesn't matter what I'm spending the money on, just as long as I'm making a purchase. I'm starting to see the advantages to shopping on a budget. I get to go to 3 or 4 stores, depending on sales, and I don't go all on one day. So, I'm getting to spend a little money here and there, buying stuff I need, satisfying my money spending habit, all throughout the course of the week.

So, of course, I'm making light of this topic. I'm just really enjoying my money-saving journey.

Sunday I went to CVS, but I'll list those savings in another post. Today I did my main grocery shopping for the week at Giant since they had better buys than Weis Markets. I mentioned in anther post that my weekly grocery budget is $100. Well, we had initially made it $140 and I'm going back to that. I want to stay at (hopefully below) $140 right now, since I'm new to using coupons. Once I'm more familiar with it, I'll lower my budget until I get it to $100. So, here's my spending/savings for this morning.

2-liter Pepsi -5/$5 (the sale is 10/$10 but you don't have to buy 10 to get that price)
San Giorgio Pasta 3/$3 (again, 10/$10)
Giant brand Potato bread 2/$3.38 (I splurged since I was hungry for potato bread)
Swanson Chix broth $.69 (2.69 minus $1 coupon, plus extra $1 off since Giant will double 4 $1
coupons this week)
Swanson Beef Broth $.69 (same a chix broth)
Banquet chix nuggets $2.00
Ham Steaks 5/$10
Purdue Chix nuggets $2 (regular price $3.99, sale price $3 and $1 coupon)
Pam Cooking spray 2/$3.70 regular price $2.85 each, $1 coupon when you buy 2 plus extra
$1 off)
4 Split Chix Breast $4.78 (BOGO)
2 Eye Round Roast $20.32 (BOGO -- I cut each one in half at home, packaged separately, so I
have 4 roasts)
Birds Eye Veggies $.89 (Reg. price $1.79, sale price $1.59 plus $.35 coupon doubled to $.70)
Giant brand frozen veggies 4/$4 (10/$10)
Yoplait kids cups (6-pack) 2/$2.78 (reg. price $2.67 each, sale price $2.39 each, plus $1 coupon,
doubled)
Eggland's best Eggs $1.49 (reg. price $2.39, sale $2.19 plus $.35 coupon doubled)
Pillsburg frozen dinner rolls $1.99 ($2.99 plus $.50 coupon doubled)
Giant brand Sour Cream $.99 (reg. price 1.53)
Giant brand margarine $.89 (reg. price $.99)

I did buy a few things not on sale, like a gallon of whole milk, a pack of juice boxes (1.99), Gerber cereal bars (2.73), 6-pack applesauce (1.79) and a cake mix (1.25), icing (1.25), beef stew meat (4.19) chix breast (4.69), potatoes (2.15), carrots (.99) and instant pudding (.75) but overall I was pleased with my purchases.

Grand Total:
Before discounts $148.15
Discounts $56.56
Total Paid $91.89

This will last me more than one week, since I'm not even planning on using the split chix breasts or the eye round roasts this week. Now, if we can just use up all the leftovers.

I almost forgot to mention my savings for 2009 so far at Giant. $129.37