This week went well and I was able to purchase a lot of things we were in immediate need of (milk, butter, parmesan cheese and trash bags). You know I am always excited about free organic produce, so I am just holding on to all my Recycle Bank points to use towards those carrots every couple weeks – I hope the coupon stays up for a while! The parmesan chee...se was also a great deal this week at Publix. I paid $.80 for all four containers! Yes, I purchased more floss than my family could use in a very, very long time, but it is not for my family. All the floss and the toothbrushes are going to be donated to Operation Christmas Child, along with several other things I have purchased throughout the year.
This is one of those weeks when I am just simply amazed at the savings possible with coupons! You really can save hundreds of dollars and still make sure that your family has plenty of healthy food to eat. My two favorite purchases for this week would have to be the dog food for $.99 a bag and the all natural breakfast sausages for just $.50 each (regularly priced at $3.49 each)! Oh, yeah, and the olive oil for under $.10 per oz!
As you can see, I also bought a lot of baking supplies. My 4 year old is learning the alphabet and we were working on the letter “S”. I was trying to think of fun ways to reinforce what we are learning… then I thought of the delicious Italian “S” cookies we usually make at Christmas time. So, of course, we made cookies and I am pretty sure my little one will never forget the letter “S” and how yummy it can be!
My total for everything this week would have been over $350…
But I only spent $52.78, including tax!
6 (3oz) bags Whiskas cat food (rain check used - free cat food!)
12 (3.6-4oz) bags Kibbles’n Bits dog food (no shelf clearing – my store was STOCKED!)
18 cans Select Harvest soup (sure have bought a lot of these soups)
2 (32oz) bottles olive oil
1 gallon milk
1 (5lb) bag unbleached flour
4 boxes Lipton tea
5 lbs. apples
2 lbs. bananas
2 heads of broccoli
6 shaving cream
1 (12 pk.) AA batteries
6 Sominex sleep aid (moneymaker at Publix – product will be donated)
1 razor (one refill blade included)
4 Cover Girl blush (needed to quality for the $10 mail in rebate)
1 Hall’s cough drops
1 Crest Complete toothpaste, trial size
1 Old Spice body wash, trial size
2 Biore facial cleansers (love these and just ran out of my last one two days ago)
5 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 (24oz) pork roasts
10 (8oz) packages Al Fresco breakfast sausage (so happy!)
1 bag confectioners sugar
1 (4 pk.) La Crème yogurt (wish the store had more of the coupons – they were all out)
1 box baking soda
1 (2oz) bottle pure anise extract
2 packages Oreo cookies
1 box purAbsorb iron supplement (my iron levels are always low, so this was an exciting deal for me at CVS this week)
Over $350 for $42
Purchased this week:
1 (30ct) Zyrtec allergy medicine (not pictured)
12 V8 Fusion 100% juice
3 Huggies diapers
2 panties from VS (got coupons in the mail for 2 free)
4 K-Y jelly (moneymaker at Walmart)
1 natural kid’s cold and cough medicine
1 travel size Connect 4
1 Monopoly card game
1 Sorry card game
1 Scrabble apple game
2 microwave popcorn
5 Mott’s apple and white grape juice
3 Lumene face cream
2 Revlon make-up
2 Revlon concealer
12 Vick’s throat lozenges (these are great when you have a cold)
12 trial size Cascade dishwasher detergent
6 Orville Redenbacher popcorn containers
1 bag candy corn
3 Blistex lip balm
3 Voskos Greek yogurts
1 dozen eggs
2 rubbery alligators (not pictured - my boys were so good shopping with me that I decided to get them a little treat and they really love these alligators!)
Various candies used as fillers (already eaten)
Note: out of pocket total ($42) includes tax and is before any rebates. The $42 amount is what actually came out of my wallet this week.
That being said, the deal gets even better: There is a mail in rebate on the Lumene to "try it free", so I will be getting a check back in the mail for $13.99 in the next couple of weeks (check can be cashed at my bank and used to purchase whatever I want)! AND, the popcorn I purchased is part of a special rebate type offer that will get me a $10 Publix gift card in about 6-7 weeks.
Over 85% Savings (milk, eggs, juice, games!)
Spent a little bit more this week than last, but I’m still happy with my purchases. Everything was purchased at Publix (three separate stores), Walmart and Kmart. The games (worth over $72 total) are going to make great birthday and Christmas gifts… and I spent under $10 for all of them! My favorite purchase for the week was the juice, though, because my littlest isn’t very fond of vegetables and the juice masks a full serving of veggies quite nicely.
Here’s what I did:
Total value: $397.18
Total out of pocket, including tax: $54.93
That is a savings of over 85%!
3 (2 ct) Pillsbury breakfast biscuits
2 boxes graham crackers
2 boxes microwave popcorn (one already opened… didn’t make it into the picture)
1 box cookies
6 boxes toaster strudels (my husband will be so thrilled when he finds out about these!)
8 (12 ct) Sun Drop soda
16 boxes Puff with Vicks tissues
14 bottles V8 Fusion 100% Juice
2 Cooties games
1 Sorry U-Build game
1 gallon milk
12 bags Kettle Brand chips
11 Febreze warmers
2 travel size Connect 4 games
3 T.G.I. Fridays frozen dinners
2 boxes organic waffles
4 bags Goldfish
2 Sorry card games
2 Monopoly card games
1 Scrabble card game
1 dozen eggs
6 Yoplait smoothie mixes
3 mangos
3 pounds apples (some already eaten)
4 Degree deodorant
2 bottles vitamin D
1 loaf of bread (not pictured)
1 pack cranberry cookies (also not pictured – free with coupon from CVS)
Over $475 worth for $31
This week went really well. I wasn’t able to get everything I wanted because the items were out of stock, but I got rain checks for next week. These items were purchased at Publix, Walmart, Walgreens and a couple things from CVS. All in all, I am happy to have my cereal cabinet restocked (with two of my husband’s favorite cereals), lots of organic carrots, several jars of marinara sauce and some frozen dinners for quick, easy meals. I saved more than 93%!
Total value: $475.33
Amount saved: $444.50
What I actually paid, including tax: $30.83
Shopping list:
10 frozen dinners (sorry, they didn't make it into the picture... I knew I was forgetting something, but didn't realize it was the frozen dinners until after I had put everything else away)
7 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch
4 (12 pack) Sun Drop soda
7 boxes Honey Nut Cheerios
10 jars Barilla marinara sauce (only 9 in picture)
3 bottles shampoo
1 bottle conditioner
1 bottle dry shampoo
3 bottles hair spray
4 boxes Combat ant bate
5 packs Huggies diapers
8 packs orgainic carrots
1 Mitchum deodorant
1 bottle Neosporin
2 bags Goldfish
3 (10 pack) guaze pads
3 cans tomato sauce
1 roll first aid tape
4-5 peppermint candies (My favorite candy, which is why there are only 2 left)
2 Milkway bars (only one in picture… my boys ate the other one as soon as we got in the car)
8 Osteo Bi-Flex (only 7 in picture - I already gave one away, and the rest will be donated)
4 bottles vitamin D
Over 98% Savings!
This was a great week for couponing! All of this was purchased at multiple stores on different shopping trips - no shelf clearing, as always. Here is the what I did:
Over $277.00 worth purchased (not including value of gas card)
Paid $14.08 out of pocket (including tax)
Minus the $10.00 gas card
So, only $4.08 (including tax) for all of this!
I used a few more of my Extra Bucks than usually at CVS, but I ended up with more Register Rewards at Walgreens than I had when I started. Overall, I am pretty happy!
Included in purchases:
$10.00 gas card (I have to go back to pick it up, they were all out)
8 Hefty storage bags
1 box sandwich bag
1 box plastic wrap
1 box cotton swabs
4 body wash
1 shampoo
4 Huggies diapers
7 trail size Cascade dishwasher detergent
2 packs almonds
4 Expo markers 6ct each
10 travel size Pronamel toothpaste
14 Reach toothbrushes
3 Gatorade products
2 Crayola crayons 24ct each
3 trial size Tide laundry detergent
1 pack bandages
3 packs Trident gum
2 cans corned beef and hash
1 can chicken noodle soup (my son has been asking for this for a while, he was so excited to see I had finally gotten him his favorite soup)
14 packs M&Ms
11 Revlon nail polish
1 Hershey bar (already eaten) yum!
Various candies used as fillers (some already eaten)
$9 for Pork Ribs and Organic Carrots
Pork ribs, organic carrots and everything else was purchased for less than $9! Most was purchased at Walmart (not the pork ribs - they were bought at Winn-Dixie) on multiple shopping trips. There were several huge boxes full of Bic pens, so I did not clear the shelves. My husband works out of our home and so we are always in need of pens... I think they vanish into thin air while we are sleeping. :)
Here is my shopping list:
8lbs pork ribs
8 packs organic carrots
1 frozen pizza
1 yogurt
12 Bic pens 10ct each
6 trial size Tide laundry detergent
6 trial size Cascade dishwasher detergent
6 trial size women's Degree deodorant
1 pack Cottonelle fresh wipe (I am going to be potty training my little boy soon, so these will be great!)
Here’s what I got:
8) 12 packs of Cottonelle
1) bag potato chips
1) Gillette Fusion power razor
2) Head and Shoulders shampoo
1) pack Huggies diapers
1) bag IAMS dog food
1) bottle Lumene face mask
2) bottles Lumene make-up remover
3) bottles kid’s Omega-3 vitamins
1) Sunday newspaper
2) boxes U by Kotex pads
2) packs Skinny Cow chocolates
2) packs Goody hair clips
3-5) peppermint candies (these are my favorite $.20 filler and it looks like my little boys snatched them up before I took the picture. Yum yum!)
4) packs Crayola Washable Markers (my boys got these out and starting coloring as soon as I got home... hence, they did not make it in the photo, either)
Here is the breakdown:
Total of $22.47 out of pocket, including $9.34 in tax
Left the store with a total of $2 less in ECB and RR than when I started
Mail in Rebate: $6.99 (there was a coupon to get the dog food for free after MIR)
So, $22.47, minus $9.34 in tax = $13.13
Plus the $2 less in ECB and RR = $15.13
Minus the $6.99 MIR = $8.14, a little better than 95%!
Just goes to show, with a little bit of planning and experience, you can save 95% on almost anything!
$10 gas card for ten cents!
The gas card deals at CVS haven't fit my couponing style in the past, but this week I was thrilled to see the deals available! These items were purchased at two different stores on separate shopping trips (the coupons listed a limit of 4 like coupons per shopping trip).
Purchased:
4 Herbal Essence Shampoo $2.49 each
4 Aussie Shampoo $2.49 each
4 Aussie Gel $1.24 each (clearance)
2 Aussie Spray Gels $2.49 each
2 Herbal Essence Mouse $2.49 each
1 Zyrtec 5ct
Purchased:
4 Herbal Essence Shampoo $2.49 each
4 Aussie Shampoo $2.49 each
4 Aussie Gel $1.24 each (clearance)
2 Aussie Spray Gels $2.49 each
2 Herbal Essence Mouse $2.49 each
1 Zyrtec 5ct
Coupons used:
8 $1.00/1 Herbal Essences or Aussie Product from RP 6/12
8 $3.00/1 Herbal Essences or Aussie Styler when you buy Herbal Essences or Aussie Product from PG 7/3
8 $3.00/1 Herbal Essences or Aussie Styler when you buy Herbal Essences or Aussie Product from PG 7/3
1 Free Zyrtec 5ct coupon from mailbox (I signed up to get the coupon a while ago)
Total for both trips, including tax: $6.10
Paid with: $4 in Extra Care Bucks and $2.10 in tax
Got $6.00 in ECB for the Zyrtec (a rain check deal from a few weeks ago - I have been waiting for my store to get more of the 5ct in since the sale.)
AND got a $10.00 gas card for purchasing the Herbal Essence and Aussie products.
So, only ten cents (after deducting the ECB I got back) and I walked away with over $80.00 worth of product, plus a $10.00 gas card!
