I have been so busy with holidays and birthdays that I have not had a chance to post. We have been celebrating though because we got awesome news about my dad earlier this week. He went back for a followup MRI now that his first round of cancer treatments are complete, and there are no new tumors! He has stage IV cancer, so we know it will always be there, but for right now, the cells are not active! Hurray for lazy cancer cells! Thank you all so much for your prayers and good wishes! Anyway, here are some good deals to post!
Walmart
Twelve boxes of Kellogg's Cereal at $2.50 each Three boxes of Poptarts at $1.56 each Two boxes of Bagelfuls at $1.87 each One bag of Steamers at $1 One package of Kotex at $1
Total before coupons - 37.43 Coupons Used 12 $1 off Kelloggs Three $1 off Poptarts peelies on each box Two $1 off Bagelfuls (Print from coupons box on this page!) $1 off Steamers $1 off Kotex (All You Magazine)
Total OOP - $18.43
These were all in the clearance aisle at Walmart. I don't know the exact prices before the sale, but I will give you the sale prices. Awesome!
Two bags of Wilton Halloween cookie cutters (packs of three) - $1 each One box of fall cookie cutters - $1 Two large bottles of sprinkles - $1 each Three small bottles of sprinkles - .50 each Four bags of cupcake liners -.47 each
I didn't plan it, but today turned into a day of cooking! I went to the grocery store early this morning with plans of making chili this afternoon, and I found some awesome deals on vegetables also. I found so many organic vegetables marked down to under $1 because they had to be sold this week that I changed my menu plans. I also took advantage of the $5/10 item Mega Sale at Kroger to stock up on tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. When I came home, I decided to go ahead and get several dishes going. I browned all 10 pounds of ground beef and chopped vegetables for a while. I put together a large stockpot of chili, two crockpots of Amish Veggie Beef soup and another crockpot of spaghetti sauce. My counters are full of crockpots and my freezer will soon be full for the winter! :)
I have used this challenge as a reason to do some of my busy work that I always say I will do another day. You know what I mean! All of those things you know need to get done but somehow get pushed to the wayside while you make sure the dishes are washed and the clothes are clean. So, here is just a few of the busy projects I got out of the way this week! I really wish I had taken before pictures, but I will try to get some of the after pictures done and posted later this week.
- Soaking the children's bath toys in water and bleach to get the junk off of the toys! I did it in the bathtub so I could use the time to clean the bathtub too! - Cleaning off my nightstand and washing my tablecloth. Unfortunately, my cat loves to lay on it, so it always has a mess of cat hair around the edges. While it was washing, I used the time to sort through all of the paper and books that have slowly piled up until there was nowhere else to even put my clock or telephone. Now it is nice and neat! - Completely empty the battery drawer and sort them all out. I put in a silverware organizer and pulled all of the batteries out of their packages. I sorted them into the silverware slots and now I can tell how many we have of each one instead of getting down to the last batteries in the remote and having them die! - Cleaning off the top of the refrigerator and dusting it. I have always used the top to store my crystal pitchers and vases, and they rattle when the washing machine is running. It also looks so cluttered, and drives my husband crazy. So, I found a way to put all of these items into cabinets and now it looks so neat! - Not a big one, but found the perfect sized basket to put all of the baby's toys that seem to make their way into the living room. It is so easy to just throw them all into a pretty basket instead of trying to stack them in a corner.
This is not everything, but these are definitely the highlights. I have also signed up for the Oprah "Clean Up Your Messy House Tour" here. Peter Walsh assures us that in six months our homes will be completely organized if we will just do our homework. I will give it a shot, and in six months, we will see! I already feel better when I look at my refrigerator and my nightstand! Also, there is a bonus! When you sign up, you get a 20 percent off coupon for The Container Store. Hurry though! The promotion ends at 11:59 p.m. CST Nov. 19.
I am following along with Biblical Womanhood's Making Your Home A Haven here. I have already started working toward decluttering our home through putting things away for a spring yard sale or donating to the local St. Vincent DePaul or Christian Food Bank. This is just an incentive to get things moving! I was excited about the progress I made today.
- Cleaned living room of all clutter to make room for the guys to put up crown moulding tonight. - Put away the "TV House" my daughter has been playing in all summer and fall long. It is a playhouse made out of a big box that our television came in a couple of years ago. We keep it in the sunroom because that room doesn't get much use during this time of year. Now that it is time to start using the hot tub again, that room needs to be clutter free! - Washed and folded four loads of laundry including school uniforms for the entire week. - Cleared drying rack of dishes, loaded and unloaded dishwasher and finished washing extra dishes that didn't fit in the dishwasher. - Prepared filling for chicken enchiladas first thing this morning after shopping trips so it could simmer all day in the crockpot. - Shopped Kroger and Walgreens between school drop off and morning nap. Managed to get it all put away at once instead of one piece at a time all day!
I bought six cans of Libby's canned pumpkin with a seven day coupon. You could only buy three cans per coupon, so I did it in two transactions.
First Transaction Three cans of pumpkin (Reg. $1.79 each) at .99 each
OOP - $2.97
Second Transaction Same as above
Total OOP - $5.94 Savings - $4.80 - 56 % savings! Kroger Above was purchased with the $5/10 items Mega Sale.
Eight cans of Carnation Evaporated Milk at $2 each Two boxes of Betty Crocker Potatoes at $1.50 each Two bags of Betty Crocker cookie Mix at $2 each One box of Betty Crocker Banana Nut Muffin Mix at $2.50 One Quaker Oats at $1.50 One Peter Pan Peanut Butter at $2.50 One Colgate Toothpaste at $1.50 Four boxes of Zatarains at $1.50 each
Coupons Used Four $1/2 Carnation Two .40 off Betty Crocker Potatoes (doubled to .80) here Two .75 off Betty Crocker Cookie Mix here One .45 off Muffin Mix (doubled to .90) here One $1 off Quaker Oats One .50 off Peter Pan (doubled to $1) One .75 off Colgate Two $1/2 Zatarains Total before coupons and discount was $37. Total OOP - $6.44 or 82.6% savings!
These were items that happened to be marked down while I was in Kroger. Missing is the sippy cup my daughter has already started using!
Two French's Mustard at .60 each (Reg. $1.30 each) One Playtex Baby Einstein Sippy Cup on sale at $2.99 (Reg. $5.19) Package of Chicken Breasts at $2.53 (Reg. $8.50) Package of Chicken Breasts at $3.83 (Reg. $8.97) Package of Chicken Breasts at $4.20 (Reg. $8.20) Package of Chicken Breasts at $6.03 (Reg. $11.76
Here is a quick trip to Walmart using coupons I got here at Centsible Sawyer. I would have also had two boxes of Nestle Hot Chocolate, but you can see what happened there here.
Two boxes of Bagelfuls at $1.98 each Two bags of Cat Chow at $4.33 each Two cans of Progresso Soup at $1.50 each Two Shrimp Poppers at $1.25 each Nine Johnson's Buddies Soaps at .97 each
Total before coupons - $28.85
Coupons Used Two $1 off Bagelfuls Two $3 off Purina Two $1.10 off Progresso Two $1 off Shrimp Poppers Three $3 off three Johnson's Products
Total after coupons - $6.69 (More than 75% savings!)
I took the Nestle's Hot Chocolate coupons to Walmart today and was told they will not accept them because they have to be redeemed in El Rio, TX. They said any coupon with that address will not be accepted because they cannot be reimbursed for them. The CSM told me those were to be considered fraudulent. Has anyone else had this problem?
I am learning to be frugal after years of excess! I didn't realize how easy and fun it would be to provide for my family's needs with much less money than I was spending before!
Site Dictionary
ECBs - Extra Care Bucks - This is money CVS pays back after you make a purchase. This prints at the end of your receipt and is to be treated like cash. If an ad says $1.99 with $1.99 ECB back, that means you pay $1.99 and then a credit of $1.99 prints at the end of your receipt to use on another purchase.
OOP - Out of Pocket - The actual cash spent on items without use of Extra Care Bucks, Register Rewards or coupons.
CRT - The coupons that print at the end of a CVS receipt. Normally $$$ off of $$$ purchase or $1 off purchase of item, etc.
Money Maker - Item that will give you back money after use of coupon. This happens when the sale price is less than the coupon such as item on sale for .99 and coupon pays $1.25. This would be a money maker of .26. Some stores adjust coupons down to sale price, but many will credit the money toward something else on your purchase.
WYB - When you buy - Items that are free or discounted when you buy another product.
The tips and information I provide here are for entertainment purposes only. I do not take responsibility for any website links. However, I hope you find some great deals and help for budgeting for your family!
