Oh the Frugality!

FREE DIAPERS

2008-07-11T13:11:00.000-07:00

$60.00 worth of diapers and wipes for... FREE!

This is what I did in one transaction:

2 Jumbo Pack Pampers 8.49
1 pgk. Easy Ups 8.49
3 pkg wipes 5.99
1 pkg Pampers Swimmies 9.99

Coupons used:
3 Target coupons for $5 off when you buy Pampers diapers and wipes
3 Target coupons for a $5 gift card when you buy Pampers diapers and wipes
3 1.50/1 Pampers diapers
3 .50/1 Pampers wipes
1 Target coupon for 1.50/1 Pampers Swimmies
1 2/1 Pampers Swimmies

Used $20 gift card I recieved FREE for setting up a baby registry!
Total oop: 11.00
Gift cards recieved: $15.00

I was affraid they wouldn't let me get away with using all of these coupons... so I got prepared. I called Target corporate and asked about thier coupon policy. They then e-mailed me a copy of the policy to have handy in case they gave me any trouble. She also said to call corporate while I was there to get it resolved. I was ready! When I was ready to checkout I chose a male cashier (the middle -aged women ALWAYS give me trouble with coupons), he scanned every coupon without question. Then I asked about the $5 gift card ones because I didn't think you could use 2 Target coupons for one item... but he said he would give it a go... and they went through! Woo Hoo!

The little lady is not sufficiently stocked for a couple weeks and I have started my stockpile of wipes for the new wee one!

CVS this week

2008-06-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

This is what I brought home from CVS for $11.00 out of pocket! Also, I left with more ECBs than I went in with... can't argue with that!!

6 Nivea shaving gels
6 boxes Honey Nut Cheerios
2 boxes Fiber One bars
Huggies
Huggies Wash
2 boxes Q-tips
Listerene Smart Rinse
and lots of candy!

I don't have the energy to give you the whole run down... sorry! I thought it was so funny when I walked in and everyone knew me! The manager cracks me up, he saw me and said "It's my favorite shopper! Always getting the good ECB deals!" Then when it was time for me to check out, he opened up a register just for me because he wanted to see for himself what I would get! Too funny... it sure helps when the staff is nice and excited about the deals.

Loving CVS

2008-06-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

This is what I purchased at CVS this week for $12.00 out of pocket!

Here's how my transactions broke down:

I had to revamp my scenarios when I got there because they didn't have any Huggies lotion or wash.

Transaction #1:

2 pkg. Pampers @ 7.99

1 Listerine Smart Rinse @ 3.49

Used:

3/15 CVS coupon

2 1.50/1 Pampers coupons

1/1 Listerene coupon

4.69 in ECBs

Total oop: 8.87

ECBs earned: 3.49

Transaction #2

1 pkg. Pampers @ 7.99
2 pkg. Chex Mix @ 1.00

1 Listerene Smart Rinse @ 3.49

Used:

3/15 CVS coupon

1.50/1 Pampers coupon

2 1/1 Chex Mix coupons

1/1 Listerene coupon

Used 11.18 in ECBs

Total oop: .99 cents

ECBs earned: 5 and 3.49 = 8.49

Transaction #3

1 Chex Mix @ 1.00

1 Gatorage @ 4.50

1 CVS Bandages @ 1.99

1 Oral-B Cross Action 2pk @ 6.99

1 Brut Deoderant @ 2.89

Used:

3/15 CVS coupon

1/1 Chex Mix coupon

*could have used Brut coupon from recent insert, but I did not have one.

14.49 in ECBs

Total oop: 1.97

ECBs earned: 1.99, 6.99, 3 = 11.98

Transaction #4

1 Gatorade @ 4.50

1 Apple Jacks @ 1.88

1 Brut Deoderant @ 2.89

Used:

8.98 in ECBs

Total oop: .29 cents

ECBs earned: 2, 3 = 5

FREEBIES!

2008-06-02T20:31:00.001-07:00

I signed up for Disney's Wonderful World of Reading and got a little scratch card in the mail to get some books FREE... anywhere from 3-7 books. I scratched away and wouldn't you know, I got SEVEN books free!

The only snag is I have to send one of the back, Cars (which is not pictured). Not too bad, huh? The little miss sure is enjoying her new books.

The Dove lotion to the left is a freebie I recieved this week.

The Seattle's Best Coffee was one from a little while ago.

I just thought I'd share how signing up for freebies was working out for me!

Does this happen to you?

2008-06-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

$41.00 got us these groceries at WalMart.

I had to sacrifice frugality for what is practical at our house right now. i.e. - things I can keep down and/or things Hubby can fix quickly! Hence the frozen chicken, pot pies, toaster strudels, and waffles! I usually just shop the sales and stock accordingly, but that's just not working right now... we end up eating out ALL the time which is obviously NOT frugal!

I did shop some sales though...

I bought 4 Post-it-note flags at .97 each

I used 2 $3/2 coupon found here: forums.slickdeals.net/showpost.php?p=11471716&postcount=65

So I got paid $2.12 for buying four!

I think you can print as many of these as you want!

YoPlait YoPlus yogurt was $2.50

Used $1/1 coupon

I was totally ready for the deals below, but they didn't have them in stock or the prices were higher, making the great deal not so great... (The below deals are thanks the The Centsible Sawyer... she has a GREAT post on the current WalMart deals, I don't know how to get you there directly, so click her button to the side and scroll on down!)

Ken's Salad Dressing (small bottles) are $1.14.Use the $1/1 coupons from the 05/11 newspaper insert. Final price is $0.14

However, there were no small bottles!

Cheerio Mix is $1.50 Printable $1/1 coupon HERE Final Price $0.50

My WalMart had it for $2.50 :(

Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta regular price is $1.50 $1 off Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta 2/17 SS exp. 5/31Final Price: $0.50 cents each

Not in stock

Fuze Drinks are $1.00Get a Printable coupon HERE for $0.50/1 Final Price: $0.50

Not in stock AGAIN!

Cascadian Farms Organic Purely Steam packages are $1.22. Use this PRINTABLE coupon for $1/1 HERE and HEREFinal Price: $0.22

Guess what... not in stock! I am really sad about this one and will be checking the other two WalMarts in town, this is just too good! Especially with the way our little miss eats steamed broccoli!

I had lots of coupons for other things I bought, but no spectacular deals to note.

Any tips on trying to stay frugal while battling morning sickness? Hubby is a great helper, but I can't even stand the smell of food in the kitchen sometimes so it wouldn't matter if he did the cooking...

2008-05-31T10:09:00.000-07:00

CVS $3.39 oop for $22.37 worth of goods!

Trans. #1

Tums @ 4.69

Huggies @ 10.99

Used:

$1/1 Huggies Coupon

$2.25/1 Tums Coupon

$3/15 CVS Coupon

$7.99 ECBs

oop: $1.83 on gift card

ECBs earned: $4.69

Trans #2

Tums @ 4.69

Used:

$2.25/1 Tums

$2 ECBs

oop: .44 cents on gift card

ECBs earned: $4.69

I wanted to do the Life Water deal buy 2 @ $1 each, get 1 ECB and use a BOGO coupon... but they weren't in stock!

Also, I know Pampers are going to be on a great sale this upcoming week... but I HAD to get diapers because the little miss was soaking through those CVS ones :(

If you would like to see more CVS savings... check out CVS Superstars at the Centsible Sawyer! Click the button to the right.

Morning sickness still has me down, so this is the best I could do! All this for $26.00...

Nothing spectacular, just what we needed to make it through this week! We have been eating out WAY too much because I can't bear to cook, or even eat sometimes.

2008-05-24T11:14:00.000-07:00

This was my weekly shopping trip. I did come in under budget, at about 30 dollars. I have been so sick that I had to invest in some "insurance" items for my hubby, like the Digorno. It was on sale for $2.00 at WalMart and I had two $1/1 coupons... not too bad. Also, granola bars, popcicles, and waffles are for me... too sick to eat much else. The sausage was $1.20 and I had a $1/1 coupon making it .20 cents! The Grillin Beans were 1.25 I used a $1/1 coupon to make this .25 cents.
The Johnson's softlotion was .97 cents, I had a $1/1 coupon making this free!

Chicken was BOGO at Fry's.

Other than that I was just lucky to have made it to the store and back! My hubby even set this picture up for me... I was just too sick!

I skipped out on CVS due to the illness. There weren't any great deals that I just had to have. Maybe I will be able to try it this week! I am finally on some meds for the nausea!

CVS - Meeting my NEEDS

2008-05-15T13:29:00.000-07:00

$46.75 worth of goods for $5.85 on a gift card!

ECBs for next week: 9

Not the best "rolling" of ECBs... but I got things I needed almost for free, and that's the point, right?

Transaction #1

1 Scott 12 pk bathroom tissue on sale for 6.49

1 Degree Deoderant for 1.88

1 Schick Intuition Razor for 9.99

1 2 pack Lysol wipes for 3.49
Used:

$3/15 CVS purchase

.75/1 Scott coupon

$1/1 Degree coupon

$1.50/1 Lysol coupon

$4/1 Schick coupon

11.37 ECBs

OOP: .86 cents on a gift card

ECBs earned: 6

Transaction #2

1 Energizer AA 4 pack on sale for $2.99

1 Glade Air Freshener .97

1 Colgate Total Advanced for $2.99

1 Viactiv Flavor Glide 60 ct for $5.49

2 Rolaids plus 12 ct for 2.89

Used:

$3/15 CVS purchase

$1/1 Engergizer

$1/1 Glade

$1/1 Colgate

$2/1 Viactiv

6 ECBs

OOP: 4.99 on gift card

ECBs earned: 9

I didn't go just for all of the free items to maximize my ECBs because we really needed toilet paper, batteries, and Lysol wipes (to ease cleaning for myself and hubby while I'm battling "morning" sickness). Also, the Rolaids have already come in handy!

I will be making another trip tomorrow to see if the other CVS has Addidas Deoderant and Hawaiian Tropic chapstick...

OOPS!

2008-05-15T13:05:00.000-07:00

All good things must come to an end, right? Well this week I ended my under budget streak. I suppose I can rationalize it by saying it all evens out. I think I will say that for peace of mind! All things considered, I only spent 49.83 for all of this. My grocery "budget" (this term is applied quite loosely) used to be around 75.00.

Deals of note:
Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaners were on roll back for $12.00, I used a $10 off 1 coupon making it $2.00! And it cleans my shower for me!

Milk was on sale for $1.99 at Fry's. I just took the AD with me and they lowered the price at checkout.

Honey Bunches of Oats was on sale for $1.98, I used the $2 off 1 coupon found here: http://www.kraftfoods.com/honeybunchesofoats/offers.html (I don't know how to put this whole link into one word "here"...maybe someone can help me out with this?) Which made this box free.

Live Active Cereal was $3.12 I used two of the $3 off 1 coupons found here: http://www.kraftfoods.com/liveactivefoods/whatsNew/index.aspx Making these .12 cents per box!

Silk was on sale at Fry's for $2.99. Again, I presented thier AD and they adjusted the price at checkout. I used one $2.25 off one coupon found here: http://www.silksoymilk.com/drtv/ Making one of these .74 cents!

YoMommy yogurt was $2.78, I used $1 off 1 coupon making it $1.78

YoBaby yogurt was $3.52, I used $1 off 1 coupon making it $2.52

I almost went into shock when the cashier told me the subtotal.... 92.00! ish... I can't remember exaclty. I was like... whoa I really blew it this time. However, total after coupons came to 64.82, then I had to subtract the printer ink I bought at 14.99 because it isn't part of the grocery budget, making the total 49.83. Oh the power of coupons!

Better late than never

2008-05-15T12:56:00.000-07:00

This was last week's CVS haul.... sorry it's late. I will not burden you with the "run down" as most of that sales are done! I did got all of this for less then the price of the prenatals (which I now need). I also left with 11.43 ECBs for next week.

Living the frugal life

2008-05-09T10:12:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking recently... just what are we doing as a family to live frugally, and green at the same time?
Frugality and living "green" do go hand in hand sometimes. In my ignorance I thought being green was just buying ridiculously priced organics at Whole Foods... However, my eyes have been opened and I am compiling a list of things we have been doing to live "Frugally Green".

1. Wash clothes in cold water. Very frugal. Very green. (I would dry them on a line, and believe me they would dry in minutes... however, they would need washed again as they would innevitably be covered in dust!)
2. Drive 65 on the interstate. Saves gas... which obviously saves money, and the environment! Oh, and you wont get a ticket!
3. Incorporate trips to town. Example: If I have an appointment, I will think hard about all the other errands I could possibly run while in town. Combining trips saves gas! (and the environment... getting old?)
4. Use cloth dish towels when possible. We have not done away with paper towels completely, we use them for particularly "germy" accidents. Think: raw eggs, raw meat, baby messes. However, by making use of cloth towels we save SO many paper towels. Which means... less buying of papertowels and very green!
5. Don't run the water while brushing teeth. (an old habbit I have broken!)
6. Turn off lights when not in use.
7. Keep the blinds closed in the Summer. (Sad for me because I love the sunshine... but the air runs so much less!)
8. Make one grocery shopping trip per week. Shop the sales, use coupons, make a menu and stick to it! Less trips means less gas, less money spent.
9. Use canvas bags for groceries. I have not built up my supply enough to use these exclusively, however, when shopping at Fry's I usually only buy the amazing-can't-miss-sale-items, which fit into my canvas bag. Plus they are taking 5 cents off your grocery bill for BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag!).
10. Getting most of our movies free at the library or from Redbox with free one night codes. Not so green but definately frugal!
11. Potty train the little miss before she turns two (a work in progress). We will save so many diapers, which are crazy expensive and awful for the environment. Sorry... I can't even think about using cloth! Hats off to those who do...

What are some tricks of the trade that you are doing to save money... and possibly "go green" at the same time?

Under Budget Again

2008-05-02T16:44:00.000-07:00

Yay! We came in under budget... again! I had some pretty good coupons, combined them with sales to get all of this for...

$33.23!

This weekend our church will be hosting a missionary couple on deputation and I am responsible for their meals for the most part. Also, this coming friday we are having the youth over to BBQ hamburgers and hot dogs, and I still managed to stay under! Yay!

Deals of note:

At Fry's...

Sargento cheese for 1.88 each, plus a $1/2 coupon made these $1.38 each

Mission Tortilla chips on sale for 1.99 plus $.25/1 made these $1.74

Kraft BBQ sauce .77 cents

Fry's sent me some coupons for being their customer, among those was a coupon for free Oscar Meyer Franks!

2 Liters of Coke products .67 cents each

At Walmart...

Suave lotion .97 plus $1/1 coupon makes it free!

Old Spice .97 plus $2/2 coupon makes these free!

Huggies Clean Team flushable wipes $1.67 each plus $3/2 makes these .14 each!

Silk $3.23 plus 2.25/1 coupon made this .98!

Fiber One yogurt 2.67 plus $1/1 coupon made this $1.67

This week's CVSing

2008-05-01T14:04:00.000-07:00

All this plus 2 2-liters of soda for....

$4.91!

Saved...

$74.04

Not the BEST week, but definately good!

What I did...

First Transaction

1 Lint roller 2.50

8 Post-it things 2 for 4

2 Palmolive 1.59 BoGo

2 2-liters Pepsi prod. 1.69 BoGo

Used

.25/1 Palmolive

$3/1 CVS

$1/1 Lint Roller

(2) $3/1 Post-it

ECBs used: 8

Total oop: $0.00!

ECBs Earned: 0

Second Transaction

One more Post it 2.00

2 BIC Soliel razor 5.99

1 Just for Men Touch of Gray 7.99 (good gag gift!?)

Used

$3/1 CVS

(2) $2/1 BIC

$2/1 Just for Men

ECBs used: 10

Total oop: 3.72

ECBs earned: 18.99

Third Transaction

1 Playskool wipes 5.79

1 Playskool Diapers 14.99

Used:

$1/1 Playskool CVS

$1/1 Playskool Wipes

$3/1 Playskool Diapers CVS

$3/1 CVS Brand

$4 off $20 purchase of Playskool

ECBs Used: 7.99

Total oop: 1.19

ECBs Earned: 0

I lost ECBs for things I needed like the Palmolive, Diapers, and wipes. But I still have 11 ECBs for next week!

Under Budget!

2008-04-26T10:22:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-04-21T14:23:00.000-07:00

$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)

2008-04-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-12T11:11:00.000-07:00

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!