It is almost here, Black Friday. I really like finding out the history of things. Most people don't know why it's called Black Friday. This is the day of the year most retailers go from operating "in the red" (a deficit) to operating "in the black" (making a profit). Thus Black Friday. This is a big day for retailers, and I think it should remain to just Friday. Let the employees enjoy their thanksgiving with their families and not be so greedy to make them work on thanksgiving. Ok that is my two cents. If you agree please do not shop on Thursday.
Here are a few of my tips for surviving the day. Do your research on the items that are going on sale to make sure that is the item you want. Sometimes it is last years model at a deep discount to clear the shelves. The item may not be the quality you really want.
Just like grocery shopping, you should have a plan and a budget and stick to it. Start by planning which stores are open earliest and have the item(s) you really want.
If you can convince someone to go with you, divide and conquer. Have one person go to one store while you go to another to get the most out of the time limited deals.
Don't worry if you don't get the deal you wanted. Another deal will come along during the holiday season.
Remember to:
1. Research
2. Have a plan and budget and stick to it.
3. Divide and conquer
4. Don't worry if you don't get the deal, another one will come along.
I enjoy shopping online and staying with my family on that day. I really don't like the crowds, but I would love to hear from my readers and I will have an additional black Friday linky for you to share your great deals you find on that day. I can't wait to hear from you.
Frugal living using extreme couponing to buy pounds of healthy food for only pennies on a budget of $50.00 a week for a family of five.
Interesting Links
Showing posts with label Frugal living. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frugal living. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Money Saving Monday - Stockpiling
I wanted to write about stockpiling today, since we are in
another season where it is good to stockpile items. If you have noticed all the
baking supplies in the stores have gone on sale. It is baking season and it is
time to stockpile on all your baking supplies. Each season has different items
you want to stockpile.
Here are a few items that are on sale right now at most
stores and have great coupons to match:
Yeast
Sugar
Canned Soup
French Fried Onions
Corn Starch
Flour
Chocolate chips
The time you want to stockpile and item is when it is FREE or 70% off retail price. I will be making a list and publish it soon of what I
found to be my rock bottom or stockpile price for an item. I started my extreme
couponing hobby in Feb. of this year and I have now seen all four seasons and I
am more familiar when to stockpile an item and when to wait. I used coupons
before, but I would only clip the ones I was going to use and when I went to
the store the next time I would buy that item. I shopped at Walmart so the
prices didn’t change. Or so I thought. Walmart does change their pricing and
they do have sales on items. Especially this time of year. Walmart will change
prices about once a month or once a quarter depending on the season and the
item.
At first this is difficult creating a stockpile. You need to
manage having enough food for your family to eat each week and create a
stockpile. You may wind up spending more in the first month, but once you
acquire a lot of coupons and a lot of variety of items and learn the sales cycles,
you will be a pro in no time. If I can learn how to do this, so can you. After
the second and third month you should start to see a significant savings in
your grocery budget. You will find your list of items you need will decrease, and you spend more money on less expensive items. Saving you money all around.
In order to stockpile you will need a large number of
coupons to combine them with the sales. The more coupons you have the easier it
is to match up with the items on sale. The general rule of thumb is to purchase
as many papers as there are members in your family. I purchase 4
papers and clip the coupons from those in order to match them with the sales
when they come along. I print additional coupons on items I really think my
family will eat. But normally four papers will do it for us. I can then
purchase four of the sale item and create my stockpile when that item is at its
rockbottom price and this will be enough to last me through the next time this
item will go on sale. You don’t need to clear a shelf of an item. That item
will go on sale again and it will have a coupon to match.
I am now at a point where I have a great variety of food to
where I can buy at the rockbottom price and still have enough to eat. This
takes around four to six months before you have a wide variety of food in order
to do this. Stockpiling takes time. If you are like me trying to stockpile and are
on a very strict budget it is difficult to accomplish both, but I like a
challenge.
Here is what my stockpile looks like.
My pantry
Canned and Baking goods
Boxed items, cereal, breakfast items, Boxes meals, Pasta
My laundry room shelf with juice, Paper towels, a few other items
A shelf in my closet with my bathroom items
Friday, November 18, 2011
Friday Finals Kroger- Mega Event, Tom Thumb, Walmart 11/18/11
It has been a busy week for me. I have done two weeks worth
of shopping this week. I will not be shopping next week, but I will still have
a shopping linky. I might have two, one for grocery deals and any Black Friday deals you
want to share. Let me know if you would like to see two to see other deals
people have gotten.
Visit these ladies sites to see other great savings trips. TOP Three Visited Sites Last Week:
If you are still new to couponing, now is the time to stock
up on all your baking needs for the year. This is when you will find your
lowest prices and great coupon matchups on items like sugar, corn starch, baking powder, yeast and more.
Be sure to check expiration dates when stocking up for a long time. There is no
sense in buying something to last a year even if you have a coupon, only find the expiration date is 6
months out. However, items like sugar never expire, so grab what you can to
stock up now. I was so excited when I saw Tom Thumb had really great store
coupons for the month of November that matched with a lot of regular coupons I
had for baking items making them FREE or really cheap. Remember Tom Thumb will
double or triple one coupon. So I had to make a couple of trips. This store is
on my way to take my son to school, so I didn’t feel like I was wasting any gas
making the extra trips. I am trying to stock up for the rest of the year for
all my baking needs now and stay within budget. This is challenging.
I have decided I am not going shopping in the grocery stores
next week. It will be way too crowded, so I doubled my budget for this week to
make up for it. Since I am still working on growing my stockpile, I am a tinsy bit
over budget. But I did a lot of shopping this week. Here are the results:
SPROUTS 11/15/11
1.71 lbs Whole Wheat Flour @ $0.69 lb - $1.18
1.11 lbs Broccoli @ $0.77 lb - $0.85
1 32 oz Stonyfield Yogurt $2.50 - $1/1 Sprouts magazine
-Final
$1.50
1 32oz Stonyfield Yogurt Vanilla $2.50 - $1/1 Sprouts
magazine
I spent $4.98 and saved $2.05 on $7.03 worth of produce and
yogurt this week. If you use your own bags at Sprouts you get a $0.05 credit
for each bag you use.
Tom Thumb 11/14/11
1 Safeway Mac and Beef $0.99 – Catalina Print FREE Safeway
MAC and BEEF
-Final FREE
– I LOVE FREE
1 Wesson Best Blend oil $3.99 – Store Q $0.75/1, $0.30/1
tripled
-Final
$2.34
2 Philadelphia Cream Cheese $1.99 – B1G1 Store coupon
-Final
$0.99 each
1 Wheat Bread $1.50
I spent $5.83 and saved $6.74 on $12.57 worth of food. I
went because the mac and beef coupon was about to expire. I will probably
donate this when my daughter has a canned food drive this Feb. at school. We
have enough Chef already at our house.
Tom Thumb 11/15/11
1 Crisco Shortening Sticks $3.39 – Store Q $0.50/1, $0.50/1
Doubled
-Final
$1.89
1 Betty Crocker Cake Mix $1.79 – Store Q $.50/1, $0.75/ Cake
and Frosting purchase
-Final
$0.92
1 Betty Crocker Frosting $1.69 - $0.75/ Cake and Frosting
purchase
-Final
$1.32
2 Kraft Parmesan Cheese Tubs $2.50 – 2 $1/1 Peelies found at
store
-Final
$1.50 each
2 Philadelphia Cream Cheese $1.99 – B1G1 Store Coupon
-Final
$0.99 each
1 Mission Tortillas $2.19 – Store Q $1/1
-Final
$1.19
2 Dole Tropical Fruit $1.25 – Store Q $0.99 each, $0.50/2
Doubled
-Final
$0.49 each
1 Argo Corn Starch $1.39 – Store Q $0.50/1, $0.30/1 tripled
-Final FREE
– I LOVE FREE
1 Safeway Marshmallows $1.09 – Store Q $0.50/1
-Final
$0.59
1 Fleischman’s Yeast $1.79 – Store Q $0.50/1, $0.30/1
Tripled
-Final
$0.39
2 Bisquick 40oz $2.99 – Store Q $1.00/2, 2 $0.50/1 Printable
1st Doubled
-Final
$1.99 each
1 McCormick Vanilla 1oz. $3.39 – Store Q $1.50/1
-Final
$1.89
I spent $19.46 and saved $25.97 on $45.43 worth of retail
groceries this week. The receipt printed all weird and different on this
transaction, so I did my best trying to make it all match up. The regular price
for the item printed all at once, then the Reward Card savings printed, then
the Store Q, then the Manufacturer Q’s. It was hard to read, but it looked like
every transaction took. I went back to the same Tom Thumb later in the week and
it printed fine.
Tom Thumb 11/17/11
1 Marshmallows $1.09 – Store Q $0.50/1
-Final
$0.59
2 Cans Pineapple $1.25 – Store Q $0.52/2, $0.50/2 Dole
Pineapple
-Final
$0.49 each
1 Fleischman’s Yeast $1.79 – Store Q $0.50/1, She missed my
coupon here $0.40
-Final
$1.29
1 Crisco Stick Shortening $3.39 – Store Q $0.50/1, $0.50/1
Crisco Product Doubled
-Final
$1.89
1 McCormick Vanilla 1oz $3.39 – Store Q $1.50/1
-Final
$1.89
1 Argo Corn Starch $1.39 – Store Q $0.50/1, $0.30/1 Argo
corn Starch tripled
-Final FREE
I spent $6.63 and saved $8.76 on $15.39 worth of groceries.
I am stocking up for the holidays and on baking items for the rest of the year.
I may do one more small trip to Tom Thumb this week to get the free or close to
free items.
Kroger 11/15/11 MEGA EVENT
MEI = Mega Event Item $0.50 off of item
2 Gallons Milk $1.99 each
2 18count Eggs $1.88 each
1 Turkey Bacon $2.00
1 Bananas $1.18
10 Del Monte canned Veggies $1.00 – MEI
-Final
$0.50 each
3 International Delight Creamer 32oz $2.49 – MEI, 1 $0.75/1
Kroger E-Q, $1/2 Int’l Delight creamer
-Final
average $1.40 each
2 I Can’t Believe it’s not Butter $2.49 – MEI, 2 $1/1 ICBNB
Q
-Final $0.99
each
4 Hormel Turkey Pepperoni $2.99 – MEI, $0.55/2 Hormel
Pepperoni Products
-Final
$2.22 each
4 Pringles Cans $1.49 – MEI, $1/4 Pringles Q
-Final
$0.74 each
1 Cool Whip $1.49 – MEI
-Final
$0.99
1 Hillshire Farms Lunch Meat $3.49 – MEI, $0.35/1 Hillshire
Lunch Meat
-Final
$2.64
3 Kleenex Tissue $1.49 – MEI, $0.50/3 Kleenex boxes
-Final
$0.82 each
2 Honey Grahams $2.97 – MEI, $1/2 Nabisco Products
-Final
$1.97 each
2 Ritz Crakers $2.00 - $1/2 Nabisco Products
-Final
$1.50 each
2 Kroger Tuna $0.69 - $0.40/2 Kroger E-Q
-Final
$0.49 each
1 Heluva Dips $1.50 - $0.75/1 Heluva Dips
-Final
$0.75 each
1 Carnation Dry Milk $2.00 - $0.50/1 Carnation Dry Milk
-Final
$1.50
2 Nutri Grain Bread B1G1 $4.09
-Final
$2.05 each
I spent $55.50 and Saved $48.45 on $103.95 worth of
groceries retail. This should have been more.
As I was reviewing my receipt I noticed a few price discrepancies that
should have made it more like 50% savings. I am now stocked up for the winter
on baking and canned goods, which is something my pantry was lacking. I can’t
wait until the frozen veggies go on sale in a few months. I really would rather
buy frozen, but canned it good when you need something fast.
Walmart 11/17/11
2 Huggies Slip on diapers $9.47 – 2 $3/1 Slip on diapers
-Final
$6.47 each
1 Millstone coffee $11.88 - $2/1 Millstone K-cup
-Final
$9.88 each
1 Celestial seasonings Chai Tea $2.28 - $1/1 Celestial
Seasonings Tea
-Final
$1.28
1 Eight o Clock Coffee $4.88 - $0.75/1 All You
-Final
$4.13
1 White Chicken Chili Pack $1.08
2 Minute Maid Juice $2.98 – 2 $2/1 Minute Maid Boxes
Printable
-Final
$0.98 each
2 lbs Sweet Potatoes $0.65 - $0.33 lb. TIME TO STOCK UP. You
can cook these and freeze them
1 Marzetti Pepperocini $1.72 - $0.50/1 ALL You
-Final
$1.22
1 Ovaltine Malt $3.48 - $1/1 Ovaltine
-Final
$2.48
4 Libby’s Veggies $0.75 - $1/4 Libby’s Veggies
-Final
$0.50 each
2 Nestle Cocoa 6 pack $1.00 - $0.55/1 Printable
-Final
$0.45 each
I spent $40.02 and saved $17.35 with coupons for $57.37
items at Walmart. There were a few coupons on items that I wanted and didn’t
want to wait to try to fit them into the budget, so I just got them without
having to keep coming back and work them into the budget each week. Some of the
coupons were close to expiring, so I used them instead of wasting that coupon.
GRAND Totals for the week. I spent $132.42 and saved $109.32
on $241.74 worth of grocery and household items this week for two weeks worth
of shopping. I am a little over, but I can make that up in the next weeks.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Tips 4 Tuesday
First I would like to make sure you are getting all you can
from Pounds4Pennies. I offer additional savings information and HOT coupons on
my Facebook page and in my BlogFrog community. Please be sure to LIKE me on
Facebook to keep up with the latest coupons and savings deals. I also offer additional tips and
coupons on BLOGFROG. If you do like my site be sure to click Top Mommy Blogs
and vote for me. One click = one vote. I am 108 and would love to get into the top 100 this week just eight more places to go. I
know all my fabulous readers can take a few moments to vote for me. THANKS in advance.
I have a few tips to share with you about not throwing things out. My wonderful husband and I try to avoid throwing anything away. If something is about to spoil or we don't think we will use it in time, we just pop it into the freezer. Why let something go bad and have to throw it away. You might as well take that money and throw it in the trash that you purchased that food with. It is basically the same thing.
Do you ever make a pot of coffee and have some left over?
Don’t throw it out. My husband and I love ice coffee. We make a little extra
during the summer, so we can have ice coffee in the afternoons. We take the
left over coffee and put it a plastic cup or make ice cubes out of it. We use
plastic cups, since this is water and it will expand and break a glass
container. We then put confectioners sugar and creamer and blend to make a great
tasting frappe or just have iced coffee. The confectioners sugar dissolves
quickly in ice coffee and you don’t have to worry about the grainy texture from
granulated sugar.
What do you do with the left over heels of a piece of bread?
Again don’t throw them out. There are several great uses for these. I put some
butter on them and toast them in the toaster. Then I place them in my food processor
to finely chop them up. I never need to buy bread crumbs. Another thing I do
with the bread is make croutons. I butter them and cut them into cubes. Then place
them on a cookie sheet and put the oven on broil. Watch very closely as these
can burn quickly. I even sprinkle some seasonings on them to make them extra tasty.
The kids all time favorite is to save these for duck food. We also keep a bag
in the freezer and put left over hot dog buns, hamburger buns or bread crusts
in there. When we want to go to the park we automatically have duck food ready
for the kids to feed the ducks. This also make a great time for family photos.
My husband and I try not to throw anything out. I hope you
will be able to use these tips in the future. Do you have any great tips on how
to save or use the extra things you might consider throwing out? I love your
comments and I would love to hear from you.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Friday Finals 11 4 11
I wanted
to thank everyone who voted for me at Top
Mommy Blogs. I am now #3 on the Frugal
Living page and I am ranked 116 overall. It only takes a second to vote by clicking Top
Mommy Blogs and that gets me one vote. Let’s see if my readers can get me
into the top 100 this week! I would be so delighted. Now on to shopping…
Last week the most viewed were:
1. Weekly Shopping
2. Saving a Bundle
3. Saved by the Sale
Stop by these ladies sites to view some awesome savings!
I went
shopping at Kroger twice this week, since my parents came into town and I
needed a few things. Hence, the tiny shopping trip listed first.
Kroger
shopping
1 Kroger
corn chips $1.00
4 Barrilla pasta $1.00 - 4 $0.55/1 Barrilla Pasta SS 09/18/11
- Final $0.45 each
2 lunchmeat $2.99
I spent $8.78 and saved $3.72 on $12.50 worth of retail food. My parents came into town and we wanted sandwiches. I didn’t have any lunch meat, so I had to go to the store.
Kroger # 2
4 Barrilla pasta $1.00 - 4 $0.55/1 Barrilla Pasta SS 09/18/11
- Final $0.45 each
2 lunchmeat $2.99
I spent $8.78 and saved $3.72 on $12.50 worth of retail food. My parents came into town and we wanted sandwiches. I didn’t have any lunch meat, so I had to go to the store.
Kroger # 2
3 Kuerig coffees 12 Pack $4.49 clearance rack reg. $11.88 each
2 Sour Cream $1.00 each
2 lbs Cheese $2.99 each
1 Planters Peanut butter $2.50 - $1/1 Kroger eCoupons
-Final $1.50
1 Package Sliced Cheese 1lb. $2.99
1 lb carrots $1.00
1 turkey @ $0.59 lb $6.82
$35.74 and saved $18.12 on $53.86 worth of groceries retail.
Walmart
Shopping
No Pic
1 Huggies
Slip on Diapers $9.49 - $3/1 Huggies slip on diapers
-Final $6.49
Overall
this week I spent $51.01 on family needs and saved $24.84 on $75.85 worth of Grocery
needs. This is more savings, since the Kuerig coffees did not reflect as
savings on the receipt. I could add another $15.00 in savings and value.
I need
cheese. If anyone has any good cheese deals out there PLEASE let me know. I am
having a difficult time.
I didn’t
feel like I got a whole lot for my money this week. I seem to be in a bit of a
slump. Does anyone else feel there are not as many GOOD deals out there as
there used to be?
How did
you do this week? Please share your shopping trips below so others can see and
learn how to save.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Friday Finals 10-28-11
Wow
what a night. First my daughter had a soccer game after the cold front blew in
while it was raining. The sign of a true athlete will play in the freezing
rain. The sign of true love is the parents who sit there and cheer them on. It was very cold and it took me a long time to
warm up. Then to come home and stay up late to watch the Rangers loose last
night makes for a very slow day today. Lots of caffeine has been consumed to
write this post. Since I normally prepare my shopping post on Thursday
evenings, I just didn’t have time last night. I will post what I spent and how
much I saved. Then maybe later tonight I can update this post.
I
still would like to see how everyone else did this week, so LINK UP below! Here
are the entries with the most links:
Walmart
I
spend $31.27 and saved $17.10 plus more, since I did several price matches, on $48.37
retail.
Sprouts
$2.28
on fresh produce
Tom
Thumb
I
spent $12.43 and saved $22.80 on $34.72 worth of retail.
CVS
I
spend around $10.00 Saved $6.00 on $16.00 retail at CVS.
I
spent around $56.00 and saved $45.90 on $101.90 retail.
How
did your shopping trip go this week? Link UP below
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Whatever Wednesday - Movie Party Birthday Bash
First I wanted to say thanks for all of you who voted for me at the Top Mommy Blogs. I went from 480 to 127, and I am listed in the top five on the Frugal Living page. You can vote daily. Thanks to all my visitors!
She picked her party theme "A Night at the Movies." She wanted this to be a red carpet event. So I did my best to give her a fabulous Movie Party event on an extreme budget.
The Menu
Everyone had a great time! This was fun for me too,
since most of the party took place outside I didn’t have a lot to clean up
inside.
This year my daughter turned 10. Yep she is double digits now. I can't believe it. Where did the time go? I remember she was born a little over two weeks after 9/11. I was thinking of what kind of world was I bringing her into. Things have not changed as drastically as I thought they might.
MOVIE PARTY IDEAS
She picked her party theme "A Night at the Movies." She wanted this to be a red carpet event. So I did my best to give her a fabulous Movie Party event on an extreme budget.
The Menu
We are
talking eight 9-10 year old girls, so I wanted to keep the menu simple. My
first thought is what do you get at the movies? Hotdogs are served at the
movies. Remember the nearly 20lbs of hotdogs I purchased around memorial day? I
still had some in the freezer. Then I thought nachos. My all time favorite and
hers too. I purchased processed cheese for this event. One of the most expensive
things for the party. I had plenty of salsa from this trip and I bought some chips.
Then of course the most obvious thing at the movies popcorn. I didn't want to
spend my time popping a million bags of popcorn in the microwave. I knew they
could eat a ton from the last party she had. So I borrowed a hot air popper from a
friend. I popped five batches of popcorn. Yes that is a lot of popcorn. Then I
got all sorts of candy from CVS from their sale a couple of weeks ago and chocolate
chips to mix in the popcorn purchased here.
Menu:
Hot Dogs
& Buns
Nachos
Popcorn
Candy
By the way the plain chocolate chips were a big hit. Who knew? Hint hint if you are throwing a party soon, chocolate chips are cheaper than candy.
And of course, since it is a birthday party you will need a cake. I didn’t feel like buying one from the store. So I decided to make one instead. It is a Popcorn cake. Click the link to see how to make this fabulous cake. Super cute. I even made a Popcorn Cake of these for a friend who had a Movie Party.
She enjoyed putting the "popcorn" on the cake.
Decorations
I
purchased a generic silver star set from the party store last year. I choose
this since it would go with a lot of party themes and not be a one time
purchase. We just recycled these and hung them around the house. I found a
cheap red carpet at the party store we place outside our door. I colored large
yellow stars with sidewalk chalk in front of the house to make it look like the
Hollywood walk of Fame. (If I had a little more time I was going to write the
girls name who were attending the party in the stars).
I made her a banner for her birthday. Her name is at the end, I do not want to share it to protect her identity. She loved it.
I found the popcorn buckets at Target for $1.00 each. And the paper ones at hobby lobby for 8 for $2.49. I couldn't find my coupon or it would have been cheaper. They made their popcorn buckets and filled them with candy and popcorn and everything. I didn't care what they ate as long as they had a great time.
For the table I used a red table cloth. I covered
my cake dish with black tissue paper for the stand where the popcorn gift bags
were. I also covered a bowl with black tissue paper to place the Popcorn cake on. I
thought it looked fabulous for a movie party idea.
Entertainment
My
husband borrowed the projector from his work and we hooked it up outside and
put a large white sheet on the back of the house. He used a staple gun to tack
it up. It looked great. I spread several blankets outside on the lawn where
they could lay down eat popcorn and watch the movie. (not too much movie
watching happened) They even had a popcorn fight and I didn't care since all of
this was outside. I just picked up the blankets shook them off and I was done
with clean up. Super easy.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Money Saving Monday
Step 3: Big Savings on your Grocery Bill
If you have been following my couponing series the past couple of weeks, you should have accumulated tons of coupons by now. You can read my previous two posts:
1. How to start couponing. Coupoing 101
2. Go Shopping
If you do not have a lot of coupons you can PRINT COUPONS for free. If you have started trying to acquire coupons, you have probably printed a ton off the internet in order to create a nice coupon stash. I know I did when I first started. I had stacks and stacks of coupons to cut. I had the whole family cutting them out for me for a while. Now it is under control.
Now that you have quite a few coupons and you have made your first trip to the store, you are ready to take it up a notch. How did you feel the first time you scored saving 60-70%? It felt great, right? I know it was great for me, since we needed food and we needed food fast.
Maximizing Grocery Savings
Let's talk about your next trip to the store where you are going to do a larger shopping trip and make a larger list. Go to a matchup website such as Saving Well Spending Less or Southern Savers and pick the items where you can save 60-70% on items. Now that you have more coupons you should find more items to matchup. You will want to find items at the lowest price, then purchase as many of them as you have coupons for. This way you will save the most on that particular item until it goes on sale again. The major grocery stores have sales that are discounted below Walmart price to entice you to go there and do your normal shopping buying items on sale and items that are not on sale.
Make a Grocery List
Now it is a good idea to gather your coupons from the matchup sites and make or print your list. Keep your coupons in a separate folder or envelope. Before you check out, check your coupons to see if they match according to brand size and type. Count the number of items in your cart and make sure you have the same number of corresponding items to match the coupons you have clipped. Then proceed to the check out. Be nice to your cashier as you check out. Find out if they would like coupons as they scan the items or after they scan.
When you are checking out pay close attention to the scanned price of an item and also make sure all your coupons are scanned. This is much easier to do if you don't have your kids with you, but if you are like me, most times that is not an option. If not try to review your receipt before you leave the store. I saved over four dollars on a trip because something didn’t ring up correctly and went to customer service for my refund. Always be courteous, especially if you can calmly explain the error they will give a refund.
My
standard price to buy an item is below Walmart price or 50% or higher. It is a good idea to know
your prices when you are shopping for an item. Walmart claims to have the best
price. What that really means is they have the better than the stores normal
price. I will share a price list with you in a later post. It is not quite
complete, since many rock bottom prices are going up. The only thing I normally
buy that is not on sale is milk.
If
you can also take a moment to vote for me at Rate My Blog @ Top Mommy Blogs
1. How to Start Couponing. Couponing 101
2. Step Two Shopping
4. Step Four Drug Store Shopping - CVS
Have
you tried the first two steps in my series? Do you have any questions? I will
do my best to help answer any questions you may have.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Friday Finals 10/21/11
Wowee wow
wow! I have such exciting news to share today. First, I am a guest blogger at
Grocery Cart Challenge. I am very excited and honored to be chosen. I came
across Gayle’s site and notice she was feeding a family of six with $60.00 a
week. I knew I could do this too! A few years back I was trying to feed a
family of three on $30.00 a week. It was difficult, but I was able to do it.
The most important thing I learned was how to cook from very few ingredients
and make great meals.
The second piece
of exciting new I have to share is I was accepted to the Top Mommy Blogs. In
order to vote for my blog and check out other exciting blogs just click the brown
button located on the left or the link provided. I just received the email last night. It would be
very exciting to get at least one vote.
Now on to
shopping! I didn’t stick to my budget very well this week. I was kind of
winging it again. I didn’t have a great plan. We were out of some items I have been searching for the past couple of weeks and needed to purchase this week. I was able to get cheese and oil on sale, but purchasing both was a bit expensive. My husband and I were dying for
some wings since it has been cold and it is football season. So I splurged for
wings. I have been looking for weeks and just couldn’t find any on sale. In
case you were wondering, yes, they were so delicious. Still cheaper than going
out and buying wings at a restaurant.
I went to Kroger
twice without much savings.
Kroger 10/16/11
2 Capri sun
Juice $1.29 each – I need to buy juice for my daughters soccer game
4 Kettle
Chips $2.50 each – 4 $1/1 Kettle Chips RP 09/25/11
-Final $1.50 each
1 Kroger
Tortilla chips $1.00
1 Pilgrims
Wings $10.49 – Shelf price said $8.19 $2/1 Pilgrims Pride Chicken
-Final $8.49 – Should have been
$6.19
2 Mission
Tortillas $1.00
1 Zapps Chips
$2.19 – Splurge item for my hubby
I spent
$22.47 and saved $11.14 on $33.61 worth of retail. I had two major splurge
items this trip the wings and the Zapps chips. This change in weather has
gotten me a little off my game. I am still looking for cheap snacks for soccer.
If anyone know of any great sales, please share in the comments.
Kroger
10/18/10
2 Gallons
Milk $2.49
2 lbs Cheese
$6.99 – Best price I have found. Cheaper than Wal-Mart
4 Progresso
Soups $1.25 - $1/4 Progresso Soup Coupon GM 09/11/11
-Final $1.00 each
1 Huggies
Slip on Diapers $9.85 - $2/1 Blinkie in Store Slip on Diapers
-Final $7.85
2 Bertolli
Olive Oil B1G1 store deal $10.49 I was nearly out of oil
-Final $5.24 each
3 Kroger
Sweet Corn $0.88 each – I had an eQ for $0.60/3 that did not scan. Not Happy
-Final $0.88 each
1 Kroger
Oatmeal $1.39 on sale – Daughter wanted Oatmeal for the cooler weather.
4 Dr. Pepper
10 $1.00 each – 4 FREE coupons for Dr. Pepper 10 SS 10/09/11
-Final FREE
I spent
$40.39 and saved $24.44 on $64.83 retail. Milk went up again $0.10 a gallon. I
have to say I loved it when milk was a $1.00 a gallon. I would buy four gallons
a week and we would drink it all. Now I have to ration it a little at the
house. I need to make sure little Face gets his share every day.
Sprouts
4.18 lbs Gala
Apples @ $0.69/lbs - $2.88
3.88 lbs
Golden Delicious @ $0.69/lbs. - $2.68
3.47 lbs
Onions @ $0.49/lbs - $1.70
Bag Credit
-$0.10
I spent $7.16
and saved $0.10 on $7.26 worth of produce. I plan on making homemade applesauce
and maybe some apple butter today. I have seen these on others sites and I am
itching to try it. If I do, I will share on Wednesday. I didn't take a picture.
Overall I
spent $70.02 and saved $35.68 on $105.70 worth of retail food and diapers. Not
the best, but there were not very many good deals this week. I needed to buy cheese and there have not
been very good sales for the past couple of months and very few coupons. I had
two splurge items that really put me over this week. But these will last a
while for us. I can make it stretch.
If you are
just starting out I am posting a series on how to coupon every Monday. You can
read my first article here and my second post here. Looking to print coupons
you can go to Coupons.com.
How did you
do this week? Please share your shopping trips below with the linky. If you don't have a blog please share your shopping trips in the comments area. You can
share more than one trip; however, I do ask to keep the trips current. The best
way to learn to save money is to share so others can learn from you experience.
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