Under Budget!

All this for $30.33!
The last few weeks I have struggled to stay under budget. Perhaps because of rising costs, or that the deals here have been less than spectacular and did mot match up well with my coupons.
This week wasn't too much different, accept I was able to stay under budget and had some pretty good coupons.
I think we got lots of healthy foods for this price! Fruits, veggies, soy milk, regular milk, eggs, margarine, flour, bread flour, lots of cereal and granola bars, Yoplait yogurt (with added fiber etc. for the little miss), yummy all natural pizza, and juices!

Deals of note:
Fry's has certain General Mills products on sale 4 for 4. I combined this deal with some coupons to get 2 boxes of cereal and 2 boxes of granola bars for $2.15 which makes them about .53 cents per box!
I also got grapes for .96 cents, carrots for $1, and Valencia Orange and Mango juice on sale 3.99 plus $1/1 coupon making it 2.99.
I spent 6.97 after tax at Fry's, saved 20.07, for a total savings of 74%!

Wal Mart had some boxes of Kashi cereal reg. priced at $2. I had two $2/1 coupons, making both boxes FREE!

*If you are wondering if we will be having cereal for dinner every night this week, we will not! Our freezer and cupboards are very well stocked due to previous deals and a church friend who left for the summer gave us what was left in her cupboards and freezer!

$175.58 for $23.55

and we need this stuff!

Well, minus that glucose monitor.

1st Transaction

1 Alavert D 12ct 6.99 (sale from 10.99)

1 Shamrock milk 2.99 (sale from 3.49)

1 CVS rapid release gel caps 3.99 (sale from 4.49)

1 Herbal Essences shampoo 4.29

1 Herbal Essences hairspray 4.29 (bogo)

I Herbal Essences shampoo 4.29

I Herbal Essences conditioner 4.29 (bogo)

1 Speed Stick 24/7 3.99

Used 1 $4/1 Alavert

2 $3/2 Herbal Essences

1 $1/1 ? I can't remember!

13 ECBs

total oop: 3.48

ECBs earned: 11.98

2nd Transaction:

1 Alavert D 12 ct 6.99 (sale from 10.99)

1 CVS Rapid Release gel caps 3.99 (sale from 4.49)

1 Viva papertowel 1.89

Used: 1 $1/1 CVS Viva coupon

1 $4/1 Alavert coupon

4 ECBs

total oop: 4.53

ECBs earned: 7.99

For some reason the scanner would not scan an ECB for more than the total before tax price. For example... my total was 3.88 on the first transaction, so I was prepared to use 3.99 ECB and loose 11 cents, but it wouldn't scan. So I had to run and get a CVS rapid release gel cap... bring the total up, use 4 ECBs and pay more :(

3rd Transaction (different CVS)

1 Freedom Lite Glucose Monitor 10.00 (sale from 79.99)

1 skin effects cleanser 6.99

1 orbit gum 1.19

Used: $2/1 CVS coupon (from purple pamphlet by pharmacy)

15.96 ECBs

total oop: .22

ECBs earned: 15 plus 10.00 rebate for glucose monitor

4th Transaction

1 Miralax 19.99 (sale from 22.99)

1 Skin Effects cleanser 6.99

Used: $2/1 Miralax coupon

$2/1 CVS purple pamphlet coupon

9 ECBs

total oop: 15.32

ECBs earned: 8

(I chose not to use more ECBs, but pay oop because Miralax is something our little lady has to take everyday... a medical expense that I didn't want to loose ECBs on)

ECBs for next week: 18! (I started with about 11.50 this week)

CVS $117.40 for $8.49! (total)








1st Transaction
2 CVS Ultra Diaper 30ct 8.99 each (bogo)
3 EB Nail brushes 1.99 each

used 1 $3/10 CVs purchase
10 ECBs
total oop: 2.12
ECBs earned: 5

2nd Transaction
3 Airwick mini starter kits 4.99 each
2 Benefiber chews 6.79 each

used 2 $2/1 Benefiber coupons
3 $4/1 Airwick coupons
1 $5/20 purchase
5 ECBs
total oop: 4.11
ECBs earned: 10
*On this trip I had a particularly unfriendly cashier. I hate to be a bother with my coupons etc... so I was going out of my way to be nice. However, she was claiming that my total had to be 3.99 more than the ECBs. For example, if my total was 8.00, I could not use 8 ECBs. My total would have to be 11.99 to use 8 ECBs. Wierd! This made my oop a bit higher :( Oh well!














2nd Trip
2 CVS Supreme Diapers 30 ct 8.99 each (bogo)
2 Arm and Hammer detergents 5.99 each (bogo)
3 Lumene Body Activa lotions 1.99 each

used: 2 $1/1 Arm and Hammer coupons
1 $5/25 CVS coupon
15 ECBs
Total oop: 2.26
ECBs earned: 8
This trip I had a much nicer cashier... who knew nothing of this 3.99 nonsense! I also went to a different location this time and was able to finally get the Lumene deal! Yay! I am going to be using these beauty products for Mother's day gift bags for the church.

Bountiful Blessings

Grand total = $2.67 for 185.00 worth of goods!
Before I made my CVS trip I organized, and prayed that God would help me be a good steward...He has answered those prayers!
I have finally mastered this CVS thing and wow is it exciting! I will not go into the detail of all the transactions, but I went in with about 20 ECBs. I matched coupons with CVS coupons and ECBs. I was able to leave with 23.99 ECBs! Plus a $5.50 rebate for purchasing Pepcid.

The only drawback: They didn't have the Lumene lotion or Spa Bodywash and I had to do a bit of revamping on my deals! Also, the toe dividers didn't have the right UPC and wouldn't generate ECBs.

For $2.67, some coupon clipping, leftover ECBs, and a little effort I purchased...

3 pkgs huggies - 8.99 each
6 Sunsilk styling aids - 3.49 each
1 box Pepcid complete - 7.99
3 CVS rapid release pain relievers - 3.99 each
2 boxes 24 ct. Excedrin Extra Strength - 1.99 each
2 Covergirl TruBlend Foundations - 9.49 each
6 Essence of Beauty Facial buffers - 1.49 each
6 gift bags with tissue paper - 1.49 each
1 color ink refill from Walgreens with free coupon - 15.00 value

What will I do with all of this? Glad you asked! Our little lady will go through these 3 pkgs of Huggies in about 1 1/2 weeks (by the way, I bought a little pink potty for her this morning, this kid goes through waaay too many diapers!)
I have 2 teenage sisters who love new hair products! (who doesn't!?)
Big family = lots of birthdays! These gift bags will come in handy!
Ink for printing church bulletins
Giving away the pain reliever we don't need

Looking forward to next week!