Posts Tagged ‘
budget ’
Monday, June 17th, 2013
Some of you have wondered where I get my printable coupons. Here are the main coupon sites that I use: Coupons.com, Coupon Network, Smart Source, Red Plum and Saving Star. Manufacturer websites and Facebook pages are another great source.
Favorite buys:
- 20 Yoplait Greek yogurts that I made $16 on!
- Turkey Hill All-Natural ice cream for less than $1.00/box
- $0.50 General Mills cereal (that also got me free milk!)
- Fruttare Frozen Bars for $0.50/box
Total Spent: $92.69
Total Saved with Coupons: $59.97
Total Saved with Sales: $72.62
Total Saved: $132.59
Giant: $69.05
Saved with Coupons: $29.00
Saved with Sales: $30.13
Wowzers, this was an amazing week at Giant! I did a bunch of gas deals where I bought a bunch of things and then will get off so much a gallon of gas. All told, I should $2.80 off each gallon of gas that I buy. Our tank holds at least 20 gallons so I’ll be getting at least $56 back once I purchase my gas! That means really I only paid $8.05 for all of the above items! And in all actuality, I’ll likely be able to put more than 20 gallons in our tank so my savings will be more. (I’ll show the gas savings as a grocery credit once I purchase it. I typically take the savings as grocery savings since I only purchase those grocery items due to the gas deals.)
I was especially excited about the Turkey Hill ice cream. We love ice cream and we especially love Turkey Hill’s All-Natural ice cream which is made with only simple, basic ingredients. For the last year or so I haven’t seen it for less than $2.50/box and most times it was more than that even on sale. After my coupons and gas points I paid around $0.90/box (maybe less depending how much gas I get!). Thankfully I have lots of freezer space right now, so I stocked up hoping that this will last us till at least fall sometime. By the way, Turkey Hill is great about sending out coupons if you just simply call them and ask for the coupons. They actually have told me to do this so they really don’t mind!
The Fruttare bars weren’t free but at $0.50/box I figured they were an inexpensive summer treat. Far cheaper than going out for ice cream anyway!
The Yoplait yogurt was a moneymaker of at least $16 after coupons/gas savings! Yes, you read that right. I don’t even like Greek yogurt but my husband and kiddos do and even if they didn’t I’d have bought it and give it to our neighbors or something. 
A little side note. I make my own homemade yogurt but my kiddos think eating bought yogurt is the coolest thing ever….something about those little cups just enchants them.
The Tasters Choice was a great price for instant decaf coffee- something I have to keep stocked up on so that I can keep myself supplied with yummy Homemade Iced Coffee all summer long!
Bought:
- 4 Texas Toast Croutons $1.59 each
- 2 Nature’s Promise Organic Ketchup $1.79 each
- 6 Sargento Shredded Cheese $2.50 each
- 20 Yoplait Greek yogurt $1.00 each
- Tasters Choice Coffee Sticks $1.05
- 4 Fruttare Bars $2.00 each
- 10 Turkey Hill Ice Cream $3.50 each
Coupons Used:
- Two $1/2 Texas Toast croutons coupons from Sunday newspaper coupon inserts
- Two $1.00 Nature’s Promise product coupons
- Four $1/5 Yoplait printable coupons
- $1.00 Taster Choice coupon (came with sample pack)
- Two $2.00 Fruttare printable coupons
- Two $1.00 Fruttare printable coupons
- Two $0.50 Turkey Hill coupons requested from manufacturer (doubled to $1.00 each)
- Eight $1.00 Turkey Hill coupons some from newspaper coupon inserts, some from magazines and some from manufacturer
Weis: $11.80
Saved with Coupons: $30.97
Saved with Sales: $42.49
I got the General Mills cereals for $0.50 each plus because I bought so many I got 2 gallons of free milk! (you got a gallon for every 10 cereals.) We don’t each much bought cereal but it’s fun to have occasionally for a treat and I also like to have it on hand for when we have guests. Plus, I was to take some to a family get together for the weekend so the timing of this sale was perfect!
The donuts and the Beech-nuts were both free after coupons/sales. Again, things I don’t typically buy but if they are free? Why not?
Bought:
- 20 General Mills cereals $1.49 each
- 2 Tastycake donuts $3.99 total (on sale Buy One, Get One free)
- Beech-nut Fruities $0.89
- 2 Whole Milk $4.33 each
Coupons Used:
- Two $1/2 General Mills printable coupons
- Sixteen $0.50-$0.75 General Mills printable coupons (doubled to $1.00 each)
- Free Tastycake product coupon from Facebook promotion (took off $3.99)
- $1.00 Beech-nut coupon received via mail from manufacturer
- Two Free Milk coupons- got for buying the cereal (took off $3.99 each)
Aldi: $10.08
- Mayonnaise $1.99
- Saltines $0.99
- Bananas $0.44/lb.
- Sugar 4 lb. $2.29
- Brown Sugar $1.29
- 2 Tortillas $0.99 each
Save-A-Lot: $3.98
I headed to Save-A-Lot to do the gift card deal (it’s over now) and grabbed some sugar while I was there. I was surprised to find their sugar is cheaper than Aldi’s since most times Save-A-Lot’s prices are a bit more than what I find at Aldi.
Misc.: $3.78
Made 2 batches of freezer jam this week. I love this Mrs. Wages No Cook Freezer Jam Fruit Pectin. It’s super easy and the jam tastes so fresh- like you’re eating fresh strawberries. And the thing I really love? It only takes a small amount of sugar! (If I remember correctly, it was 1 1/2 cups sugar to 4 cups crushed berries.) Finally a jam that I don’t have to feel terrible about eating!
Credits: $6.00
Some of the cereal that I bought was for my sister-in-law- this is the the reimbursement for that.
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Monday, June 10th, 2013
Some of you have wondered where I get my printable coupons. Here are the main coupon sites that I use: Coupons.com, Coupon Network, Smart Source, Red Plum and Saving Star. Manufacturer websites and Facebook pages are another great source.
I was really happy to have another week of very little spending- and another week that was kind of a break from deal shopping. I did get some good deals though…my favorite of which was Huggies diapers for less than $3 a pack! Read on for the details.
Total Spent: $9.97
Total Saved with Coupons: $11.57
Total Saved with Sales: $35.00
Total Saved: $46.57
CVS: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $11.57
Saved with Sales: $35.00
Haven’t had a good week at CVS like this in a while. I was super happy to get diapers for just $2.66 a pack after coupons and sales! I seriously wished that there wasn’t a limit of 3 per customer. Oh well. The Tena was a small moneymaker of $0.21 and the Kotex was a moneymaker of $0.43.
Bought:
- 3 Huggies $10.00 each
- Tena Pads $3.79
- Kotex Liners $1.57
Coupons Used:
- Three $3.00 Huggies printable coupons
- $1.00 Tena coupon from Sunday newspaper coupon inserts
- $2.00 Kotex printable coupon
- $3.00 off any purchase CVS coupon received via email
- $20.00 in Extra Bucks (CVS coupons that print at register for purchasing specific items)
Got Back:
- $10.00 Extra Bucks coupon for purchasing the Huggies (can be used on next purchase of any item)
- $3.00 Extra Bucks coupon for purchasing the Tena (can be used on next purchase of any item)
Sharp Shopper: $6.20
I stopped by my favorite discount grocery store hoping to find cheese for a great price but unfortunately couldn’t find any. I was needing some disposable dishes for some freezer meals I want to make (to help save my sanity over the next couple of busy weeks) and so grabbed these since they were a great price. I pretty much never buy Bakers chocolate because it it so expensive but for $0.99 I decided to get some to have on hand for a few recipes that I take it. And the bananas? Well, we can always use bananas.
Bought:
- 2 Bakers Chocolate $0.99 each
- 4 Pans $0.25 each
- Bananas $0.49/lb.
Save-A-Lot: $3.77
I headed to Save-A-Lot to do the amazing gift card deal that they have right now and while I was there I grabbed a few other things too. I made a strawberry pie and it just isn’t complete without real whipped cream so I grabbed some whipping cream to make it. The cilantro and taco seasoning was to make Crockpot Tamale Pie for a family get together. That stuff is seriously so good and yet so simple to make!
Bought:
- Cilantro $0.50
- Lemon $0.50
- Whipping Cream $1.99
- 2 Taco Seasonings $0.39 each
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Monday, June 3rd, 2013
I was determined not to do much shopping this week since I’ve been struggling with going over budget and thankfully I was successful! It was kind of nice to have a break from all the running too. Most weeks I enjoy it- it’s just part of my routine. But occasionally it is nice to have a bit of a break too.
Total Spent: $8.03
Total Saved with Coupons: $12.95
Total Saved with Sales: $3.62
Total Saved: $16.57
CVS: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $2.37
Saved with Sales: $0.44
Stopped by CVS to get a few deals but couldn’t find several of the things I was hoping to buy. So I just got these two things for free.
Bought:
- Twix $0.75
- CVS Bodywash $2.37
Coupons Used:
- CVS FREE Bodywash coupon ($2.37)
Got Back:
- $0.75 Extra Bucks coupon for purchasing the Twix (can be used on next purchase of any item)
Rite Aid: $0
Saved with Coupons: $10.58
Saved with Sales: $3.18
It’s been a while since I was able to get toothpaste for free and my stockpile was getting kind of low so I was excited to see this deal at Rite Aid! I typically can get enough toothpaste for free that I can keep a lot of our extended family and sometimes a few friends supplied as well as have plenty for ourselves.
Bought:
- Coke $1.61
- 3 Colgate toothpaste $2.99 each
Coupons Used:
- Coke FREE product coupon from Facebook promotion ($1.62)
- Three $1.00 Colgate printable coupons
- $5.96 in UPRewards (Rite Aid coupon that print at register for purchasing specific items)
Got Back:
- Three $2.00 UPReward coupon for purchasing the Colgate (can be used on next purchase of any item)
Aldi: $8.03
Yup, I needed to go to Aldi again this week. Somehow I forgot to get tortillas when I was there last week and we go through a lot of them, especially in warm weather. I went ahead and got canola too while I was there.
Bought:
- 4 Flour Tortillas $0.99 each
- Bananas $0.44/lb.
- Canola Oil $2.69
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Tuesday, May 28th, 2013
Spent way too much this week. I was trying to stock up on pantry things and also was buying some food for our Memorial day picnic and for a few other events but still…. After last month’s reality check, I’m realizing I need to really work at getting my spending lower again. The good news is that I plan to do very, very little shopping this week. Hopefully that will help!
Total Spent: $113.01
Saved with Coupons: $21.39
Saved with Sales: $20.08
Total Saved: $41.47
Rite Aid: $0
Saved with Coupons: $2.99
Saved with Sales: $2.00
I actually went to Rite Aid for more than this but had to get rain checks for the other items.
Bought:
Coupons Used:
- $1.00 Flame Disk Rite Aid Video Values coupon (found on Rite Aid’s website)
- $2.00 Flame Disk printable coupon
Giant: $12.39
Saved with Coupons: $15.40
Saved with Sales: $17.28
I was happy to get mustard for a good price again. I used to be able to get mustard free throughout the summer but the coupons just aren’t quite as good anymore. However, $0.30 for a bottle of mustard is still a great price and the Dijon mustard was actually free.
The wipes were a great buy at $1/pack and the veggies were only $0.50 bag! That’s cheaper that what I can buy veggies and freeze them myself.
Bought:
- 4 Pampers Wipes $2.00
- 4 French’s Yellow Mustard $1.00
- 4 French’s Dijon Mustard $1.00
- Nature’s Promise Organic Ketchup $1.79
- 4 Bird’s Eye Vegetables $1.25 each
- 8 Bird’s Eye Steamfresh Vegetables $1.25 each
Coupons Used:
- Got $5 instant savings for buying the 12 Bird’s Eye products
- Four $0.50 Pampers printable coupons (doubled to $1.00 each)
- Four $0.30 French’s printable coupons (doubled to $0.60 each)
- Four $0.50 French’s printable coupons (doubled to $1.00 each)
- $1.00 Nature’s Promise coupon from coupon booklet found in-store
- Four $1/2 Bird’s Eye Steamfresh printable coupons
Weis: $5.12
Saved with Coupons: $2.00
Saved with Sales: $0.80
If you follow me on Facebook you might remember me posting that I had a Weis shopping trip that had me so frustrated that I was about ready to give up couponing. This was the trip. I went there for several deals and only ended up getting this one because the rest didn’t work like they were supposed to. And even this one ended up costing me more than I had thought it would. It still was an okay deal although I definitely wouldn’t have gone there just to buy these beans since it wasn’t that great of a price!
Bought:
Coupons Used:
- Two $1/4 Goya printable coupons
Target: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $1.00
Had to run into Target for some other stuff and grabbed these straws while I was there. Our kids love drinking from straws and since we do lots of fun drinks in the summer I thought I’d make them more fun by buying these straws and letting them use them.
Bought:
Coupons Used:
- $1/2 Target UP Brand printable coupon
Aldi: $19.24
Every week I think I’m going to get enough stuff at Aldi so that I won’t have to go the next week but every week it seems like I still have to go for some reason. This week it was for potatoes and brown sugar. Aldi was out of potatoes last week and since I was totally out myself I knew I had to go and get some. I also found out last week at our menu planning session that I’m supposed to take a bunch of baked stuff to my husband’s family get together in a couple of weeks. So I needed more brown sugar and chocolate chips for that since I wanted to start making stuff to freeze so I’m not going crazy trying to do it all last minute.
Bought:
- Sugar $2.29
- Pure Vanilla $1.99
- Powdered Sugar 2 lb. $1.29
- 2 Brown Sugar 2 lb. $1.29 each
- 2 Orange Juice $1.29 each
- Bananas $0.44/lb.
- 2 Red Potatoes 5 lb. $2.69 each
- Chocolate Chips $1.79
Sharp Shopper: $25.25
Just a trip to my favorite discount grocery store to stock up on whatever great buys I could find.
You might remember that shredding my own cheese is one of the money saving things I won’t do. Guess how I got those 3 lbs. of mozzarella shredded? My sweet sister-in-law. I know, I’m terrible, aren’t I? She doesn’t mind shredding cheese though and since she was here one day last week helping me I took advantage of the fact.
Bought:
- 2 hot dog rolls 24 ct. $1.49 each
- 2 Orange Juice 0.99 each
- 2 lunch meat 1 lb. $1.99 each
- 3 mozzarella cheese 1 lb. $1.99 each
- 2 hot dogs (the no preservatives, no fillers kind) $1.49 each
- 2 Hillshire sausages $1.49 each
- Chives $0.89
- Pure Vanilla 8 oz. $3.49
Centerville Bulk Foods: $26.01
I wasn’t really needing anything that badly from our local bulk food store but decided to stop and stock up since I was in the area. I don’t get over that way terribly often so I try to stop when I can so that I don’t have to make a special trip.
Got things like oatmeal, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, cornstarch, rice and honey.
Misc.: $25.00
The lettuce you see above was from my in-laws. They havelotsof beautiful lettuce and often share with us (which we love!). I bought the garbage bags from Hogar Crea, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. They frequently come knocking on our door to do fund raising and I like to support them occasionally. The money for them came from my grocery cash.
- $20 for money to buy milk from a local dairy (love our fresh, raw milk!)
- $5 for cash to buy produce at our local farmer’s market
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Saturday, May 25th, 2013
Well, I went over budget again this month. While I was really frustrated when I crunched the numbers and found that out, it has been a good thing because it has made me reevaluate how I’m spending our grocery money. In asking myself the question of why am I going over budget when other years I didn’t have very much problem staying under budget, I began to realize a couple of things. One is that food prices are definitely rising and our two children are eating more than they ever have. Also, this year we’ve been eating healthier than ever and that has cost a bit more. I’ve switched to using only butter and no vegetable shortening, we’ve eaten lots of salads, I’m trying to avoid high fructose corn syrups in several things that we use a lot and the list could go on.
But the real thing that I was forced to realize – and if I’m honest I think it’s made a big difference in my grocery spending too- is that I simply have gotten into the bad habit of not following my cardinal rule of doing without if we need to. There are some things that I didn’t used to buy that I have begun to consider a necessity. I’m still processing what to do about this. My husband and I need to have a discussion about it and decide if we are simply going to spend more for groceries or if we should tighten the purse strings so to speak and try to do without some of those things that we have come to think we need.
I’m not sure what we’ll decide, but I do know that I am determined to be more intentional than ever about what I purchase. And I also am determined to be more on top of knowing how much I’m spending throughout the month. Because I used to do so well I’ve gotten lackadaisical about keeping up with my spending as I go and instead wait to find out the month’s “fate” at the end when I do this Monthly Spending Post. I want to work on changing this and keep better track of what I’m spending as I go.
And now for the details….
If you want to see exactly what I purchased, check the posts under My Deals for more details.
Monthly Grocery/Household Budget: $200
Total Spent: $259.42
Total Saved with Coupons: $239.22
Total Saved with Sales: $119.35
Total Saved: $358.57
Week 1: $3.64
Week 2: $56.39
Week 3: $30.87
Week 4: $81.61
Week 5: $86.91
Credit: $6.99
This was for a Staples Easy Rebate that I received for buying printer paper.
Ending Monthly Balance: $59.42
This is the amount that I am over budget for the month.
Ending Annual Balance: $11.90
In case you are confused, this is the amount I am over (yes, OVER) budget for the year. 
Photo Source: Shutterstock
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