These are my totals for the last 8 weeks:
YTD spending total: 388.50
YTD savings total: 472.02
My spending average:
$388.50 / 8 weeks = 48.56
My saving average:
$472.02 / 8 weeks = 59.00
This means that every week, I am getting about $108 worth of merchandise for less than $50.
That feels good.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Week 8 - Walmart
I went to Walmart tonight while Phillip was enjoying youth night at church. He had a great time, and Libby and I had fun price-matching!
Price matched items:
5 electrasol dishwasher gelpacs regularly 3.50, matched to Meijer at 3.00 = 15.00 (saved 2.50 with the match)
- 5 coupons x 2.50 = -12.50
= 2.50 (YES!! I have enough dishwasher stuff to last me 5-6 months for less than 1 box of the generic stuff that only lasts a couple of weeks!! These are the deals I love to find.)
1 pound strawberries regularly 1.50, matched to Meijer at 1.33 = 1.33 (saved .17 with the match)
= 1.33
3 cans Hunt's spaghetti sauce regularly .98, matched to County Market at .69 = 2.07 (saved .87 with the match)
=2.07
1 gallon milk regularly 2.55, matched to County Market at 1.99 = 1.99 (saved .56 with the match)
=1.99
So, just on price matching, I saved 4.10.
8 cups yogurt x .50 = 4.00
- 1 coupon x 1.00 = -1.00
=3.00
4 double rolls toilet paper x 2.00 a package
- 1 coupon x .50 = -.50
=1.50
I also got- without them being on sale, and without coupons- bacon and cinnamon rolls. Guess what we're having for breakfast tomorrow!
My out of pocket at Walmart was 19.16
savings of 14.00, between matching and coupons.
Some people say that price matching for just a few pennies isn't worth the trouble. I think it is. Every penny adds up. If you save just a couple of dollars every time you go into Walmart, you'll save a couple hundred over the course of a year!
Weekly spending total: 67.13
Weekly savings total: 50.55
YTD spending total: 388.50
YTD savings total: 472.02
Darnit. Over for the week. But that's OK. I've had enough weeks where I was quite short that a week here and there where I am over is OK.
Price matched items:
5 electrasol dishwasher gelpacs regularly 3.50, matched to Meijer at 3.00 = 15.00 (saved 2.50 with the match)
- 5 coupons x 2.50 = -12.50
= 2.50 (YES!! I have enough dishwasher stuff to last me 5-6 months for less than 1 box of the generic stuff that only lasts a couple of weeks!! These are the deals I love to find.)
1 pound strawberries regularly 1.50, matched to Meijer at 1.33 = 1.33 (saved .17 with the match)
= 1.33
3 cans Hunt's spaghetti sauce regularly .98, matched to County Market at .69 = 2.07 (saved .87 with the match)
=2.07
1 gallon milk regularly 2.55, matched to County Market at 1.99 = 1.99 (saved .56 with the match)
=1.99
So, just on price matching, I saved 4.10.
8 cups yogurt x .50 = 4.00
- 1 coupon x 1.00 = -1.00
=3.00
4 double rolls toilet paper x 2.00 a package
- 1 coupon x .50 = -.50
=1.50
I also got- without them being on sale, and without coupons- bacon and cinnamon rolls. Guess what we're having for breakfast tomorrow!
My out of pocket at Walmart was 19.16
savings of 14.00, between matching and coupons.
Some people say that price matching for just a few pennies isn't worth the trouble. I think it is. Every penny adds up. If you save just a couple of dollars every time you go into Walmart, you'll save a couple hundred over the course of a year!
Weekly spending total: 67.13
Weekly savings total: 50.55
YTD spending total: 388.50
YTD savings total: 472.02
Darnit. Over for the week. But that's OK. I've had enough weeks where I was quite short that a week here and there where I am over is OK.
Week 8 - Aldi
I did a big grocery run at Aldi this week. Again. The grocery prices at other stores just haven't been good recently and we were out of staples because I've been waiting for good prices at regular stores.
I know that shopping at Aldi, I am going to save about 25% off Shop n Save's prices right off the bat. Some items are a little more than that, others a little less. I've worked up my receipts the last few trips, and 25% is a really good estimate.
From now when I shop at Aldi, I am going to roughly figure out how much I saved by going there, and add it to my total. Say I spend 75 dollars at Aldi. I know that I saved about 25 dollars by going there, so I'd add the 25 to my "savings" for the week. No, that's not cheating.
This week's trip:
corn flakes, saltines, stuffing mix, breakfast bars, chicken nuggets, mac n cheese, tortilla chips, tortillas, yogurt, eggs, milk, bread, juice, grapes, soup, chocolate chips, salad, applesauce, refried beans, sour cream, tuna, salad dressing, parmesan cheese, spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, pretzels, hot dogs... etc. For 43.72 out of pocket. I estimate that I saved about 12 dollars by shopping there.
Weekly spending total: 47.97
Weekly savings total: 36.55
YTD spending total: 369.34
YTD savings total: 458.02
I know that shopping at Aldi, I am going to save about 25% off Shop n Save's prices right off the bat. Some items are a little more than that, others a little less. I've worked up my receipts the last few trips, and 25% is a really good estimate.
From now when I shop at Aldi, I am going to roughly figure out how much I saved by going there, and add it to my total. Say I spend 75 dollars at Aldi. I know that I saved about 25 dollars by going there, so I'd add the 25 to my "savings" for the week. No, that's not cheating.
This week's trip:
corn flakes, saltines, stuffing mix, breakfast bars, chicken nuggets, mac n cheese, tortilla chips, tortillas, yogurt, eggs, milk, bread, juice, grapes, soup, chocolate chips, salad, applesauce, refried beans, sour cream, tuna, salad dressing, parmesan cheese, spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, pretzels, hot dogs... etc. For 43.72 out of pocket. I estimate that I saved about 12 dollars by shopping there.
Weekly spending total: 47.97
Weekly savings total: 36.55
YTD spending total: 369.34
YTD savings total: 458.02
Week 8 - Walgreens and CVS
Walgreen's and CVS both had sales this week where a few products were free (or almost free) after the reward you got back. At CVS, it was some toothpaste, and some Edge shave gel. At Walgreens, it was Edge shave gel, Mitchum deodorant, and Chapstick naturals.
I got the maximums allowed at CVS- that was:
2 crest prohealth x 2.88 = 5.76 (and each give 2 ECB back)
- 2 coupons x .75 = -1.50
= 4.26
1 Edge gel x 2.89 = 2.89
and a toy... that i am not including in my total, cause the guy we got them for will pay us back:
= total out of pocket 0.16 (yes- 16 cents!)
Total saved: 11.90
Walgreens:
I did the deal a few times. I'd buy a shave gel, and use the 2.99 I got from that to buy deodorant. And so on. I only got 1 Chapstick, because honestly, I have about a thousand of those things laying around. And I bought the first shave gel using rebate money from last month. So- nothing out of pocket at the beginning!
Overall, using those Register Rewards back and forth, over and over, along with a few other coupons, I got:
3 shave gels, 2 deodorants, 1 chapstick, a bag of peanut M&Ms, and a reusable shopping bag for 4.09. And I have 5 dollars in Register Rewards left over for use next week! I saved a total of 12.65
Weekly spending total: 4.25
Weekly savings total: 24.55
YTD spending total: 325.62
YTD savings total: 446.02
I got the maximums allowed at CVS- that was:
2 crest prohealth x 2.88 = 5.76 (and each give 2 ECB back)
- 2 coupons x .75 = -1.50
= 4.26
1 Edge gel x 2.89 = 2.89
and a toy... that i am not including in my total, cause the guy we got them for will pay us back:
= total out of pocket 0.16 (yes- 16 cents!)
Total saved: 11.90
Walgreens:
I did the deal a few times. I'd buy a shave gel, and use the 2.99 I got from that to buy deodorant. And so on. I only got 1 Chapstick, because honestly, I have about a thousand of those things laying around. And I bought the first shave gel using rebate money from last month. So- nothing out of pocket at the beginning!
Overall, using those Register Rewards back and forth, over and over, along with a few other coupons, I got:
3 shave gels, 2 deodorants, 1 chapstick, a bag of peanut M&Ms, and a reusable shopping bag for 4.09. And I have 5 dollars in Register Rewards left over for use next week! I saved a total of 12.65
Weekly spending total: 4.25
Weekly savings total: 24.55
YTD spending total: 325.62
YTD savings total: 446.02
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Week 7 - Shopping Trip 3 - Meijer
2 milk x 1.67 = 3.34
1 eggs x .99 = .99
1 bread x .98 = .98
4 double-packed Marcal Small Steps paper towels x 2.69 = 10.76
- 4 coupons x 2.00 = -8.00
= 2.76
Total out of pocket: 8.94
saved 8.62
What I did here is what makes shopping like this work. You saw from my Kwik-E Mart post, that I certainly do NOT need paper towels. I'm not low at all. I have 10 rolls in my closet. But I got decent paper towels for about 35 cents a roll. You can't beat that price! The trick is to always buy as much as you can afford when something is crazy cheap.
Weekly spending total: 27.52
Weekly savings total: 38.41
YTD spending total: 321.37
YTD savings total: 421.47
This was another "small" week- there just weren't great prices on anything. My pantry is getting bare.... I'm going to have to bite the bullet next week and get some things even if they aren't at rock bottom prices. I am actually off to look at the bootlegged ads as soon as I post this, to try to come up with a good plan for next week.
Oh, and with some of the extra money this week, we treated ourselves to Chinese food. Yummy!
1 eggs x .99 = .99
1 bread x .98 = .98
4 double-packed Marcal Small Steps paper towels x 2.69 = 10.76
- 4 coupons x 2.00 = -8.00
= 2.76
Total out of pocket: 8.94
saved 8.62
What I did here is what makes shopping like this work. You saw from my Kwik-E Mart post, that I certainly do NOT need paper towels. I'm not low at all. I have 10 rolls in my closet. But I got decent paper towels for about 35 cents a roll. You can't beat that price! The trick is to always buy as much as you can afford when something is crazy cheap.
Weekly spending total: 27.52
Weekly savings total: 38.41
YTD spending total: 321.37
YTD savings total: 421.47
This was another "small" week- there just weren't great prices on anything. My pantry is getting bare.... I'm going to have to bite the bullet next week and get some things even if they aren't at rock bottom prices. I am actually off to look at the bootlegged ads as soon as I post this, to try to come up with a good plan for next week.
Oh, and with some of the extra money this week, we treated ourselves to Chinese food. Yummy!
Week 7- Shopping Trip 2 - CVS
2 CVS brand tissues x 1.29 = 2.58
- coupon for 1.00 off 2 CVS tissues
= 1.58
softsoap body wash 4.99
- 1 coupon x 1.00 = -1.00
3.99
2 Colgate toothpaste, enamel care or something x 3.99 = 7.98
= 7.98
= 13.70 total, paid with 11.99 in ECBs, and 1.71 in cash. So, saved 13.99 with coupons and ECBs.
The softsoap gave 4.99 ECBs, and the toothpaste each gave 3.99 back, so I got 12.97 back!
Weekly spending total: 18.58
Weekly savings total: 29.79
YTD spending total: 312.43
YTD savings total: 412.85
- coupon for 1.00 off 2 CVS tissues
= 1.58
softsoap body wash 4.99
- 1 coupon x 1.00 = -1.00
3.99
2 Colgate toothpaste, enamel care or something x 3.99 = 7.98
= 7.98
= 13.70 total, paid with 11.99 in ECBs, and 1.71 in cash. So, saved 13.99 with coupons and ECBs.
The softsoap gave 4.99 ECBs, and the toothpaste each gave 3.99 back, so I got 12.97 back!
Weekly spending total: 18.58
Weekly savings total: 29.79
YTD spending total: 312.43
YTD savings total: 412.85
Week 7 - Shopping Trip 1 - County Market
2 Creamette pasta x 1.49 = 2.98
- store coupon for 1.00 off each = - 2.00
= .98
1 Kellogg's Frosted Flakes x 3.79 = 3.79 (I cannot believe people would pay this price for cereal! An even bigger box of the same stuff costs less than a THIRD of this at Aldi!)
- store coupon to make it .99
= .99
2 Dole Fruit cups x 2.69 = 5.38
- store coupon making them 1.29 each
= 2.58
Bananas @ .19 cents a pound, thanks to coupon = 0.68
3 Jack's frozen pizzas x 4.09
- store coupon making them 1.99 each
= 5.97
bread 1.29
milk 1.99
kleenex 1.50
salt .59
16.84 out of pocket
15.80 saved!
Weekly spending total: 16.84
Weekly savings total: 15.80
YTD spending total: 310.72
YTD savings total: 398.86
- store coupon for 1.00 off each = - 2.00
= .98
1 Kellogg's Frosted Flakes x 3.79 = 3.79 (I cannot believe people would pay this price for cereal! An even bigger box of the same stuff costs less than a THIRD of this at Aldi!)
- store coupon to make it .99
= .99
2 Dole Fruit cups x 2.69 = 5.38
- store coupon making them 1.29 each
= 2.58
Bananas @ .19 cents a pound, thanks to coupon = 0.68
3 Jack's frozen pizzas x 4.09
- store coupon making them 1.99 each
= 5.97
bread 1.29
milk 1.99
kleenex 1.50
salt .59
16.84 out of pocket
15.80 saved!
Weekly spending total: 16.84
Weekly savings total: 15.80
YTD spending total: 310.72
YTD savings total: 398.86
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
My Kwik-E Mart
Doug went to get shampoo out of the closet the other day, and said he felt like we had a Kwik-E Mart in our closet... Yeah, I can see that.
I had to have him clean a closet out so that I had room for all the stuff that wasn't fitting in the bathroom closet anymore.
That's about 11 shampoo/conditioners, 3 body wash, 4 Oust, 3 fancy razors, at least 10 deodorants, 7 toothpaste, 4 glade carpet things, some lotion, some hair gel, some medicine, tons of feminine stuff....
about 100 diapers, a big thing of wipes, 10 rolls of paper towels, and a few rolls of toilet paper (note to self: get toilet paper this week! we're getting low!)
And, since these pictures were taken, I have added several cleaning supplies to this cabinet from my cleaning supply cabinet because it was overfull.
The best thing? I got nearly all of these items (other than the TP and towels) for no more than 50 cents each, and many of them were actually free. Yeah!!
I had to have him clean a closet out so that I had room for all the stuff that wasn't fitting in the bathroom closet anymore.
That's about 11 shampoo/conditioners, 3 body wash, 4 Oust, 3 fancy razors, at least 10 deodorants, 7 toothpaste, 4 glade carpet things, some lotion, some hair gel, some medicine, tons of feminine stuff....
about 100 diapers, a big thing of wipes, 10 rolls of paper towels, and a few rolls of toilet paper (note to self: get toilet paper this week! we're getting low!)
And, since these pictures were taken, I have added several cleaning supplies to this cabinet from my cleaning supply cabinet because it was overfull.
The best thing? I got nearly all of these items (other than the TP and towels) for no more than 50 cents each, and many of them were actually free. Yeah!!
Week 6 - All trips in one post!
I apologize for being so late on week 6's update. We've all been suffering from pretty bad colds, and I've been tired. And, I don't have pictures for everything.
I swear that we do not go shopping every day. Like, this week, I did the first 3 "trips" during naptime on Sunday afternoon. It got me out of the house without kids, and doing something productive. The 4th trip- Meijer- was Doug and Phillip getting out Sunday after naptime, to run around before we killed him for running around like a crazy person in the house again (Phillip, of course, not Doug).
Trip 1 - Walgreens
Transaction 1
Colgate toothpaste 3.49
3.52 out of pocket, earned 3.49 in Register Rewards, good towards next purchase.
Transaction 2
4 Oust air and surface sanitizers x 2.99 = 11.96
- 3 coupons x 2.00 each = -6.00 (I had another $2 coupon that they wouldn't take, because I would have had more coupons than I had items, when you counted the Register Reward. Oh well!)
- 3.49 register reward I earned = -3.49
= 2.46 = tax = 3.39 out of pocket, saved 13.50.
So, for 6.91, I got 4 Oust and a toohpaste. PLUS- the Oust is good for 1.00 rebate each. I'll get $4 back next month.
CVS
Transaction 1
1 CVS brand diapers 10.00
1 Shaving lotion 3.49
1 Easter basket (I actually had two and just realized in looking at my receipt that they only rang one of them up.)
- $3 off $15 purchase they emailed me
- 10.50 ECBs
= 2.13 out of pocket, 17.49 saved, according to the receipt
Earned 1.99 ECB for the basket, and 3.49 for the shave lotion
Transaction 2
1 CVS brand diapers 10.00
1 Huggies wipes 5.00
- 1 coupon x 0.75 for the wipes = -0.75
- 8.97 ECBs
= 5.75 out of pocket, saved 16.20 according to the receipt.
Earned 10.00 ECBs for the $25 I spend on "selected baby products." Yay! Cheap diapers that give ECBs! You can't beat that.
So, overall for CVS last week, I spent 7.88 out of pocket, saved 33.69 and got 10 ECBs back.
Aldi
Ah, Aldi, my old stand-by.
Spent 14.30
Best deals were some yogurt that was close to its date marked down to 0.50 for 4 cus, and butter at 1.40 a pound. Everything else was their standard price.
Meijer
Needed coffee for work....
2 coffee x 5.49 = 10.98
1 sugar x 1.98
- free sugar if you bought 2 coffees
some cookies Phillip picked out 1.69
Total out of pocket 12.87, saved 3.83 according to receipt.
Random trip for milk and bread and Easter candy to fill the aforementioned CVS baskets, and I can't find the receipt. I know it was roughly 15.00, no savings.
Weekly spending total: 56.79
Weekly savings total: 51.02
YTD spending total: 293.88
YTD savings total: 383.06
I swear that we do not go shopping every day. Like, this week, I did the first 3 "trips" during naptime on Sunday afternoon. It got me out of the house without kids, and doing something productive. The 4th trip- Meijer- was Doug and Phillip getting out Sunday after naptime, to run around before we killed him for running around like a crazy person in the house again (Phillip, of course, not Doug).
Trip 1 - Walgreens
Transaction 1
Colgate toothpaste 3.49
3.52 out of pocket, earned 3.49 in Register Rewards, good towards next purchase.
Transaction 2
4 Oust air and surface sanitizers x 2.99 = 11.96
- 3 coupons x 2.00 each = -6.00 (I had another $2 coupon that they wouldn't take, because I would have had more coupons than I had items, when you counted the Register Reward. Oh well!)
- 3.49 register reward I earned = -3.49
= 2.46 = tax = 3.39 out of pocket, saved 13.50.
So, for 6.91, I got 4 Oust and a toohpaste. PLUS- the Oust is good for 1.00 rebate each. I'll get $4 back next month.
CVS
Transaction 1
1 CVS brand diapers 10.00
1 Shaving lotion 3.49
1 Easter basket (I actually had two and just realized in looking at my receipt that they only rang one of them up.)
- $3 off $15 purchase they emailed me
- 10.50 ECBs
= 2.13 out of pocket, 17.49 saved, according to the receipt
Earned 1.99 ECB for the basket, and 3.49 for the shave lotion
Transaction 2
1 CVS brand diapers 10.00
1 Huggies wipes 5.00
- 1 coupon x 0.75 for the wipes = -0.75
- 8.97 ECBs
= 5.75 out of pocket, saved 16.20 according to the receipt.
Earned 10.00 ECBs for the $25 I spend on "selected baby products." Yay! Cheap diapers that give ECBs! You can't beat that.
So, overall for CVS last week, I spent 7.88 out of pocket, saved 33.69 and got 10 ECBs back.
Aldi
Ah, Aldi, my old stand-by.
Spent 14.30
Best deals were some yogurt that was close to its date marked down to 0.50 for 4 cus, and butter at 1.40 a pound. Everything else was their standard price.
Meijer
Needed coffee for work....
2 coffee x 5.49 = 10.98
1 sugar x 1.98
- free sugar if you bought 2 coffees
some cookies Phillip picked out 1.69
Total out of pocket 12.87, saved 3.83 according to receipt.
Random trip for milk and bread and Easter candy to fill the aforementioned CVS baskets, and I can't find the receipt. I know it was roughly 15.00, no savings.
Weekly spending total: 56.79
Weekly savings total: 51.02
YTD spending total: 293.88
YTD savings total: 383.06
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Week 5 - Shopping Trip 1 - County Market
2 Creamette pastas x 1.29 = 2.58
- 2 store coupons x .80 = - 1.60
= .98
2 Dole fruit bowls x 2.49 = 4.98
- 2 store coupons x 1.20 = -2.40
= 2.58
1 County Market sugar x 2.29
- 1 store coupon x 1.30 = -1.30
= .99
3 Pork and beans x .89 = 2.67
- 3 store coupons x .56 = -1.68
= .99
2 Xtra laundry detergents x 3.29 = 6.58
- 2 store coupons x 1.80 = -3.60
= 2.98
2.21 pounds bananas = 1.30
- store coupon .80
= .50
2 Dole salads x 1.99 = 3.98
- 2 store coupons x 1.20 = -2.40
= 1.58
3 Borden cheeses x 3.29 = 9.87
- 3 store coupons x 1.80 = -5.40
= 4.47
Deli ham
~1 pound at 6.11, half off = 3.05
- maufacturer coupons .55
= 2.50
Bread 1.19
Total spent: 19.15
Total saved: 23.59
Weekly spending total: 19.15
Weekly savings total: 23.59
YTD spending total: 234.50
YTD savings total: 332.04
We also got milk at CVS this week. That was all we got, at 2.59. So our actual totals for the week:
Weekly spending total: 21.74
Weekly savings total: 23.59
YTD spending total: 237.09
YTD savings total: 332.04
Yep. That was it for this week. There just weren't many good sales. Hopefully next week is better!
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