This week has been a so-so week with bargains. I will be making a trek to CVS and the grocery store later on Saturday. However I am still finding great buys at the my favorite thrift store.
This past week my husband and I went to the store and found more awesome things for our sons and my husband. They had more great Ralph Lauren Polo brand shirts: a long sleeved polo, an awesome plaid long sleeved dress shirt, two more short sleeved standard polos, and two red sweaters by RL. But I think my husbands favorite buy was buy one pair of sunglasses get TWO free! They were one dollar a pair. One of those sunglass kiosks at the mall had gone out of business and the glasses were donated to the thrift store. I don't know about your kids but ours go through sunglasses like crazy. Of course they are picky but when the boys mow their customers lawns they don't have to always be stylin' and profilin'! LOL!
The shirts were anywhere from 5.00 to 7.00. We spent around 30.00. Once again one of the shirts had NEVER been worn! Still had the 65.00 tag on it.
We have not been to CVS in quite awhile. I am pretty stocked up and see no sense in getting more right now. I have a list for this next week so I am ready to hit the stores.
I am hoping to find canned beans, chicken broth, and veggies on sale this week at the grocery store. We are getting very low in our various types of beans we keep on hand. However, since we buy them by the caseloads they have lasted us for MONTHS. It should be about time for them to be on sale again. Let's hope so because it is now chili season and I use lots of beans in the winter.
For more Super Saving Saturday ideas head over to Money Saving Mom.
Showing posts with label Super Saving Saturday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Super Saving Saturday. Show all posts
Friday, October 24, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Super Saving Saturday 10-4-08
This week has been one of the most thrilling of the entire year since I began couponing!
I have had great times in the past with CVS but grocery stores not so much. First let me preface this by saying we have terrible grocery stores in Oklahoma....no Krogers, Randalls, Thom Thumb, Albertsons, Winn Dixie, Publix, Whole Foods, Lowes, etc., etc., We have Homeland, Walmart, and Mom and Pop stores. Last Tuesday I had a slew of coupons that were expiring that night. They were for things we used and some new things that I wanted to try for the kids. After work I hurried home and got dinner for my children and then headed out to our local Wal Mart SuperCenter.
Numerous things I received for free because I had duplicate coupons for the Kraft deal that was in the August All You magazine. I purchased Koolaid, a Kraft item, and received my free Wheat Thins, Kraft Singles, Oscar Meyer hotdogs, Crystal Light, and Kraft Dressing. I also scored on several items that only cost me .50 cents after the coupon such as Rozoni pasta, hairspray, and a few things for the childrens lunches. I had everything put in groups such as the shampoo deal I worked with Pantene (free product) and the Kraft deal. There was a huge line and I was hoping that things went smoothly.
Finally the cashier said, "That will be 84.78. I calmly told her I had coupons and handed them to her. She proceeded to take off the coupons and after several minutes she said those magic words, "Wow, you saved a lot!". I only had to pay a little over 42.00 for all the items! I had 42 coupons and I figured the average price for each item in my cart would have been around one dollar.
I was trying not to pump my fist in the air and jump up and down! The long line of people behind me started asking how much I saved with those coupons. It was thrilling!
My husband and I also tried using Homeland for some deals since they double coupons. At Homeland alone our purchases were 65% off of what they normal cost would have been and I was able to get free Dawn soap and Kleenexes! We also made our CVS run the same evening. When we tallied up our receipts we have saved just this week over 150.00 for our family!
I have been talking about it so much at work that I have a couple of friends now wanting to try out using coupons. My path to simplicity and frugality began out of necessity back when I was a single mom years ago but the one thing I did not do was coupons or CVS. Oh how much easier my life would have been if only I had known or had someone to come along side of me and teach me this wonderful discipline!
For more Super Savings check out Money Saving Mom!
I have had great times in the past with CVS but grocery stores not so much. First let me preface this by saying we have terrible grocery stores in Oklahoma....no Krogers, Randalls, Thom Thumb, Albertsons, Winn Dixie, Publix, Whole Foods, Lowes, etc., etc., We have Homeland, Walmart, and Mom and Pop stores. Last Tuesday I had a slew of coupons that were expiring that night. They were for things we used and some new things that I wanted to try for the kids. After work I hurried home and got dinner for my children and then headed out to our local Wal Mart SuperCenter.
Numerous things I received for free because I had duplicate coupons for the Kraft deal that was in the August All You magazine. I purchased Koolaid, a Kraft item, and received my free Wheat Thins, Kraft Singles, Oscar Meyer hotdogs, Crystal Light, and Kraft Dressing. I also scored on several items that only cost me .50 cents after the coupon such as Rozoni pasta, hairspray, and a few things for the childrens lunches. I had everything put in groups such as the shampoo deal I worked with Pantene (free product) and the Kraft deal. There was a huge line and I was hoping that things went smoothly.
Finally the cashier said, "That will be 84.78. I calmly told her I had coupons and handed them to her. She proceeded to take off the coupons and after several minutes she said those magic words, "Wow, you saved a lot!". I only had to pay a little over 42.00 for all the items! I had 42 coupons and I figured the average price for each item in my cart would have been around one dollar.
I was trying not to pump my fist in the air and jump up and down! The long line of people behind me started asking how much I saved with those coupons. It was thrilling!
My husband and I also tried using Homeland for some deals since they double coupons. At Homeland alone our purchases were 65% off of what they normal cost would have been and I was able to get free Dawn soap and Kleenexes! We also made our CVS run the same evening. When we tallied up our receipts we have saved just this week over 150.00 for our family!
I have been talking about it so much at work that I have a couple of friends now wanting to try out using coupons. My path to simplicity and frugality began out of necessity back when I was a single mom years ago but the one thing I did not do was coupons or CVS. Oh how much easier my life would have been if only I had known or had someone to come along side of me and teach me this wonderful discipline!
For more Super Savings check out Money Saving Mom!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Super Saving Saturday 8-2-08
Wow! Today has been an awesome day! We are having a tax free weekend in Oklahoma. It would have been great if school supplies were included, but I guess we can't have everything. At Dillards all the items already on sale from 50% up to 75% off you can get another 30% off of that! Today we found some great bargains for back to school.
My hubby and I first started the day off at TJMaxx. We found a backpack (for a student we are helping at church). We also found football gloves for one of our boys that at Academy would have cost 50.00---we would not have purchased them at that price anywhere but today we found them for 19.99-Underarmour linemen gloves...the cheap ones at Academy last year cost us 19.99 and they tore up before the season was over. This brand is the best and now we don't have to worry about his hands getting torn up by cleats. We also found underarmour shirts for the boys to wear under their football uniform for 5.00, four dresses for our daughter, four pairs of shorts for the boys (each pair was ten bucks), my favorite perfume, and a jacket for me. There was a lot of stuff and we both thought it would be around 200.00 but was well underneath that total and we only had to pay 2.89 in tax!!! The only things taxed were the perfume and the gloves.
On to Dillards...we found shirts for the boys, my husband, and several (8 pieces) work items for me. I found a darling 3/4 length jacket marked down to 22.00 and I got another 30% off of that price! The jacket was originally over 100.00!! WOO HOO! My husband found an Austin Reed shirt that was originally 95.00 marked down to 17.47. We think it was a mistake because the other shirts just like were 37.47. Needless to say it rang up 10.47! We love Austin Reed shirts because of their quality. We were thrilled with the purchase! We found two collard polo shirts for our sons first day back to school. They were originally over 60.00 but we paid just 10.68 for the shirts!
All in all today was very productive and something that we only do twice a year....at the end of winter and again summer. It pays to watch the sales and hit the large chains when they are trying to rid the store of last seasons clothing. It really pays off for a large family.
Five years ago they had a huge sale at Dillards. Everything was marked incredibly low...I mean Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren shirts for under ten bucks. We loaded up on things for each of the kids and shirts for my husband. In the end the total value for all the items that we purchased was over 3200.00 but the kicker was we did not pay but 250.00 for these items. 200.00 that clothed our entire family of six for more than one year. The shirts my husband bought still look brand new and the boys still wear some of the Polo shirts we purchased.
I still prefer great consignment and thrift stores but when I can find first quality, never worn merchandise at an incredible savings I am all for it. Today was awesome and my husband and I are worn out. For more Super Savings check out Money Saving Mom.
My hubby and I first started the day off at TJMaxx. We found a backpack (for a student we are helping at church). We also found football gloves for one of our boys that at Academy would have cost 50.00---we would not have purchased them at that price anywhere but today we found them for 19.99-Underarmour linemen gloves...the cheap ones at Academy last year cost us 19.99 and they tore up before the season was over. This brand is the best and now we don't have to worry about his hands getting torn up by cleats. We also found underarmour shirts for the boys to wear under their football uniform for 5.00, four dresses for our daughter, four pairs of shorts for the boys (each pair was ten bucks), my favorite perfume, and a jacket for me. There was a lot of stuff and we both thought it would be around 200.00 but was well underneath that total and we only had to pay 2.89 in tax!!! The only things taxed were the perfume and the gloves.
On to Dillards...we found shirts for the boys, my husband, and several (8 pieces) work items for me. I found a darling 3/4 length jacket marked down to 22.00 and I got another 30% off of that price! The jacket was originally over 100.00!! WOO HOO! My husband found an Austin Reed shirt that was originally 95.00 marked down to 17.47. We think it was a mistake because the other shirts just like were 37.47. Needless to say it rang up 10.47! We love Austin Reed shirts because of their quality. We were thrilled with the purchase! We found two collard polo shirts for our sons first day back to school. They were originally over 60.00 but we paid just 10.68 for the shirts!
All in all today was very productive and something that we only do twice a year....at the end of winter and again summer. It pays to watch the sales and hit the large chains when they are trying to rid the store of last seasons clothing. It really pays off for a large family.
Five years ago they had a huge sale at Dillards. Everything was marked incredibly low...I mean Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren shirts for under ten bucks. We loaded up on things for each of the kids and shirts for my husband. In the end the total value for all the items that we purchased was over 3200.00 but the kicker was we did not pay but 250.00 for these items. 200.00 that clothed our entire family of six for more than one year. The shirts my husband bought still look brand new and the boys still wear some of the Polo shirts we purchased.
I still prefer great consignment and thrift stores but when I can find first quality, never worn merchandise at an incredible savings I am all for it. Today was awesome and my husband and I are worn out. For more Super Savings check out Money Saving Mom.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Super Saving Saturday 7-19-08
Today has been the BEST savings day!!!! I just can't wait to share about it!
My husband last night scoped out some ads for garage and estate sales. It was so sweet. He had it all planned out. One place in particular was a antique dealer moving to Dallas from Edmond and she was selling things from her darling store in OKC. I found some French Country items that I adore. I found a beautiful red and white chenille bedspread that is gorgeous. I am going to use the fabric to cover an ottoman that I have. An old watering can with the spout...you know the awesome, big aluminum ones. I am going to put sunflowers inside it. I found a very old blue willow plate, an awesome long wire basket that I can put my old mason jars inside and then use it as a vase for fresh flowers. Waverly toile fabric was in the bottom of this big box and I grabbed it too. There was also some chicken wire that was brand new plus two cans of Rustoleum paint in a flat black plus an apple red paint. The total for everything was 23.00! SCORE! The most expensive item was the bedspread at 10.00!
We stopped at an estate sale in our neighborhood and I found a Peterboro large Picnic basket from the 50s for 2.00!!!!!! Everything was still inside the basket. It is AWESOME! I also found a milk glass hobnail dish..that is very small with a lid. I think it was for jam. Very cute!
But the biggest find of the day....was at Goodwill. A brand new in the box, still taped down with instructions and warranty....a 2008 Cuisinart 12 Cup Coffee Maker.
Okay my fine frugal friends....I paid 5.00!!!! FIVE DOLLARS! The girl asked me if I had a discount card....I have never heard of Goodwill having one but I was about to jump out of my skin paying only 5.00 for this 100.00 coffee maker that was BRAND NEW!!!!! Thank you Jesus!!
The Lord is so good. I had a wonderful day and we did not spend over 40.00! WONDERFUL!
I hope ya'll had a great productive day too!
For more Super Saving Saturdays check out Money Saving Mom.
My husband last night scoped out some ads for garage and estate sales. It was so sweet. He had it all planned out. One place in particular was a antique dealer moving to Dallas from Edmond and she was selling things from her darling store in OKC. I found some French Country items that I adore. I found a beautiful red and white chenille bedspread that is gorgeous. I am going to use the fabric to cover an ottoman that I have. An old watering can with the spout...you know the awesome, big aluminum ones. I am going to put sunflowers inside it. I found a very old blue willow plate, an awesome long wire basket that I can put my old mason jars inside and then use it as a vase for fresh flowers. Waverly toile fabric was in the bottom of this big box and I grabbed it too. There was also some chicken wire that was brand new plus two cans of Rustoleum paint in a flat black plus an apple red paint. The total for everything was 23.00! SCORE! The most expensive item was the bedspread at 10.00!
We stopped at an estate sale in our neighborhood and I found a Peterboro large Picnic basket from the 50s for 2.00!!!!!! Everything was still inside the basket. It is AWESOME! I also found a milk glass hobnail dish..that is very small with a lid. I think it was for jam. Very cute!
But the biggest find of the day....was at Goodwill. A brand new in the box, still taped down with instructions and warranty....a 2008 Cuisinart 12 Cup Coffee Maker.
Okay my fine frugal friends....I paid 5.00!!!! FIVE DOLLARS! The girl asked me if I had a discount card....I have never heard of Goodwill having one but I was about to jump out of my skin paying only 5.00 for this 100.00 coffee maker that was BRAND NEW!!!!! Thank you Jesus!!
The Lord is so good. I had a wonderful day and we did not spend over 40.00! WONDERFUL!
I hope ya'll had a great productive day too!
For more Super Saving Saturdays check out Money Saving Mom.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Super Savings Saturday 6-7-08
This past week has been an amazing time of savings for our family!! Let's start with last Saturday evening.
We went to Walmart first to use up some May 31st coupons. We ended up getting three boxes of free cereal, free shampoo, and used over 32.00 in coupons. Our savings at Walmart was thrilling. The grand total before coupons was over 89.00 but we paid less than 50.00! SCORE! On to CVS.
The above picture has only some of the items purchased that evening. Many others were in the fridge. We had an entire cart full of tuna, Ozarka water, deoderant marked down to .82 cents, detergent, dish soap, chex mix, makeup etc., etc. The total rang up to 79.00. I had several large ECBs that I needed to use or they would expire plus I had coupons for most of the items in our cart. After coupons and a 19.98 ECB, a 9.98 ECB, and a 2.00 ECB our grand total was 1.50! We carried all our loot out to the van and were so excited!
Wednesday night I made a quick run down the street back to Walmart. I had more expiring coupons plus I had read about the WalMart deals online. I had a mission and was in and out of there. I bought four pounds of bacon, four pounds of sausage, two Honey Bunches of Oats w/Chocolate, LiveActive cereal, Yogurt, and the only things I did not use any coupons for were four packages of hot dogs. The rest I had multiple coupons. The total before tax was 55.00. The total after my coupons was 24.00!!! The bacon cost me .50 a pound! The sausage .23 cents! I was very excited!!
My savings from those two trips was over 140.00! I had so many things in my cart that ended up being free. I had never had that experience at Walmart and was so thrilled!
Today we got up early and hit the garage sales. Our boys love to hunt. Our oldest has an awesome bow but had been looking for another type of bow. Well we came across two in awesome Cabela cases with arrows and all the gear that goes with them. One was obviously brand new and had never been used. The other was older. We are talking about archery bows that cost upwards of 500.00! The father just wanted to get rid of them. He told us the one had never even shot an arrow. His friend kept saying that it was a steal at 100.00 and that he kept telling his friend not to sell them at the garage sale. We KNEW it was a bargain. We called our son and told him what we found and that the one bow was brand new. It was priced at 100.00. He told us to buy it. The other case and bow was priced at 15.00. We took both! Later in the same neighborhood we found an awesome framed Michael Jordan poster from his very early years at Chicago. We bought it for our sixteen year old for 1.00. The day was awesome. While many may not understand the expense of the bow.....it was a HUGE bargain! If we wanted to we could turn around and sell it easy for over 300.00 but our son will be using this in the fall.
We saw so many awesome things at the garage sales but the one constant today that really caused my husband and me to laugh was everyone was selling their old televisions. It was almost hysterical. Of course we still have ours and do not own the new flat screen yet but people are not going to buy these old televisions if they don't have the converter box or digital cable. EVERY garage sale had numerous televisions for sale.
If you would like to see more super savings visit Money Saving Mom.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Super Saving Saturday 5-24-08
This has been the most amazing week for savings in our family!!! I have no pictures but will tomorrow. Last week I had a couple of great CVS runs.
Tonight I just got back from getting three nail polish from Revlon, 2 Addidas deoderants and gave 12.00 in ECBs, 3/1.00 off of 1 coupons for the nail polish, and I had a free Addidas deoderant coupon. I paid 1.31 OOP and earned back 18.98 in ECBS! We now have a grand total of nearly 80.00 in ECBS from the past week of shopping! Last Saturday I had purchases that totaled 75.00 but when it was all said and done with coupons, ECBs I paid a little more OOP than normally 16.00 but earned back nearly 50.00 in ECBS! I will post pictures tomorrow morning! I have not had the 3/15.00 coupons to use but did have 10.00 ECBs from answering a couple of surveys.
This morning we hit the garage sales in our area. We were up and out early. We found some amazing deals! I had been wanting this tin sign at Hobby Lobby for my kitchen but was too frugal to pay 10.00 bucks for it. I looked at it each time it was half off but never bought it. Today at the first garage sale we went to I found it for .50 cents!!!!! Brand new!!!!! WOO HOO!!!! They also had an adorable tin bucket to plant my herbs in, a cute black bear yard ornament that I adore, a Red Rooster iron planter that I have seen at Hobby Lobby for 29.99 (paid 2.00 for it), and my husband bought a garden tool for a buck. We headed over to our next place and I found a great pine TV cabinet for 25.00, an old croquet set, plus the basket that picks up tennis balls, some picture frames (.50 cents each...nice heavy wood frames I am going to paint), and a blue and white child's tea set and we spent only around 33.00!
Oh and my husband found a brand new Brinkman Smoker for get this.....ONE DOLLAR at a garage sale!!!! Yea, we were excited!!!!!
Today our total at the garage sales was 36.00 and I earned 18.98 in ECBs...I'd say this week was a great time of savings!
For more savings head over to Money Saving Mom.
Tonight I just got back from getting three nail polish from Revlon, 2 Addidas deoderants and gave 12.00 in ECBs, 3/1.00 off of 1 coupons for the nail polish, and I had a free Addidas deoderant coupon. I paid 1.31 OOP and earned back 18.98 in ECBS! We now have a grand total of nearly 80.00 in ECBS from the past week of shopping! Last Saturday I had purchases that totaled 75.00 but when it was all said and done with coupons, ECBs I paid a little more OOP than normally 16.00 but earned back nearly 50.00 in ECBS! I will post pictures tomorrow morning! I have not had the 3/15.00 coupons to use but did have 10.00 ECBs from answering a couple of surveys.
This morning we hit the garage sales in our area. We were up and out early. We found some amazing deals! I had been wanting this tin sign at Hobby Lobby for my kitchen but was too frugal to pay 10.00 bucks for it. I looked at it each time it was half off but never bought it. Today at the first garage sale we went to I found it for .50 cents!!!!! Brand new!!!!! WOO HOO!!!! They also had an adorable tin bucket to plant my herbs in, a cute black bear yard ornament that I adore, a Red Rooster iron planter that I have seen at Hobby Lobby for 29.99 (paid 2.00 for it), and my husband bought a garden tool for a buck. We headed over to our next place and I found a great pine TV cabinet for 25.00, an old croquet set, plus the basket that picks up tennis balls, some picture frames (.50 cents each...nice heavy wood frames I am going to paint), and a blue and white child's tea set and we spent only around 33.00!
Oh and my husband found a brand new Brinkman Smoker for get this.....ONE DOLLAR at a garage sale!!!! Yea, we were excited!!!!!
Today our total at the garage sales was 36.00 and I earned 18.98 in ECBs...I'd say this week was a great time of savings!
For more savings head over to Money Saving Mom.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Super Savings Saturday 4-5-08
This week I have tried to stay out of the stores and such. I have not been to CVS in a couple of weeks mainly because there is not anything that we really need, however, I do have a bang of ECBs to use before the middle of April.
I have mentioned before that my teenagers think my couponing is a little weird and they tease me about it quite frequently. The old adage that my parents always shared with me, "more is caught than taught!" is coming true! I have been saving the coupons that come in the mail at times for Long John Silvers, KFC, Arby's, etc., in hopes that it might inspire my oldest, who works three days a week when he is not in class, to start using them for his lunches out. I have kept them in plain sight and even one night this week when everyone else was out of the house I purchased dinner out and brougth it home....using one of our coupons. I saved a total of six dollars. It impressed him. This morning I noticed that some of the coupons had been clipped and my daughter (the all knowing little sister) said that Matthew had put some in his wallet! Glory be! That is what I was hoping for....that they would see value in saving money!
I guess my super saving saturday this week would really be that my teens are starting to come around and look for ways to save money....as long as they can 'save face' while doing so it is even more attractive to them.
I will post an update if I get some great bargains tomorrow. I am getting pretty low on some pantry goods and will be heading out tomorrow to try and find some ever becoming extinct deals at the local grocery store.
I would like to leave you with this link to a story I read today on CNNMoney about frugality. The way that some of us choose to live our lives is becoming quite popular out of necessity for todays families. I am just forever grateful that we no longer are slaves to credit cards or consumer debt. We have had the last seven years to hone our skills and while it has not always been easy or popular, right now we feel a sense of freedom that can only come from not having to deal with the burden of debt that is suffocating so many in America today.
Happy Savings!
I have mentioned before that my teenagers think my couponing is a little weird and they tease me about it quite frequently. The old adage that my parents always shared with me, "more is caught than taught!" is coming true! I have been saving the coupons that come in the mail at times for Long John Silvers, KFC, Arby's, etc., in hopes that it might inspire my oldest, who works three days a week when he is not in class, to start using them for his lunches out. I have kept them in plain sight and even one night this week when everyone else was out of the house I purchased dinner out and brougth it home....using one of our coupons. I saved a total of six dollars. It impressed him. This morning I noticed that some of the coupons had been clipped and my daughter (the all knowing little sister) said that Matthew had put some in his wallet! Glory be! That is what I was hoping for....that they would see value in saving money!
I guess my super saving saturday this week would really be that my teens are starting to come around and look for ways to save money....as long as they can 'save face' while doing so it is even more attractive to them.
I will post an update if I get some great bargains tomorrow. I am getting pretty low on some pantry goods and will be heading out tomorrow to try and find some ever becoming extinct deals at the local grocery store.
I would like to leave you with this link to a story I read today on CNNMoney about frugality. The way that some of us choose to live our lives is becoming quite popular out of necessity for todays families. I am just forever grateful that we no longer are slaves to credit cards or consumer debt. We have had the last seven years to hone our skills and while it has not always been easy or popular, right now we feel a sense of freedom that can only come from not having to deal with the burden of debt that is suffocating so many in America today.
Happy Savings!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Super Savings Saturday 3-29-08
This week I have not been to CVS or Walgreens. I plan on making a trip to both later on Saturday morning. I am also going to head to Target for a few sales I saw on MoneySavingMom. This week has been a great bargain week however in the clothing department for our teenager boys.
As I mentioned in my Frugal Friday post, my husband found Levi and Wrangler jeans for two of our teenage sons on clearance for 4.98 a pair! They were pumped. They totally loved the jeans. They are both SO picky on jeans. One likes classic jeans the other son prefers the baggy, full leg type jean. They are so close in age but SO far apart in their style of dress.
Tonight we hit TJMaxx to pursue the sale racks. My boys love to wear the long, madras plaid shorts that have been popular the last few summers. We hit the jackpot with three pairs of shorts for them. We found another pair early last week. More often than not, they share their clothes when it comes to t-shirts, shorts, or dress shirts. We were really excited because they were regular priced at around 50.00 a pair from the manufacturer but TJMaxx had them for under ten dollars! WOO HOO! They are all from a great popular men's designer and look awesome! We have purchased their spring/summer looks for under 60.00 for two young adult teens.
This weekend I am also headed to a couple of Estate sales/garage sales. It is finally the season again and I am on the hunt for wicker sofas for our back patio.
I have checked out I Heart CVS and found out about sales for the next few weeks, so I am saving my ECBs to use on several great items coming up in April.
For more Super Savings Saturday post go to MoneySavingMom.
As I mentioned in my Frugal Friday post, my husband found Levi and Wrangler jeans for two of our teenage sons on clearance for 4.98 a pair! They were pumped. They totally loved the jeans. They are both SO picky on jeans. One likes classic jeans the other son prefers the baggy, full leg type jean. They are so close in age but SO far apart in their style of dress.
Tonight we hit TJMaxx to pursue the sale racks. My boys love to wear the long, madras plaid shorts that have been popular the last few summers. We hit the jackpot with three pairs of shorts for them. We found another pair early last week. More often than not, they share their clothes when it comes to t-shirts, shorts, or dress shirts. We were really excited because they were regular priced at around 50.00 a pair from the manufacturer but TJMaxx had them for under ten dollars! WOO HOO! They are all from a great popular men's designer and look awesome! We have purchased their spring/summer looks for under 60.00 for two young adult teens.
This weekend I am also headed to a couple of Estate sales/garage sales. It is finally the season again and I am on the hunt for wicker sofas for our back patio.
I have checked out I Heart CVS and found out about sales for the next few weeks, so I am saving my ECBs to use on several great items coming up in April.
For more Super Savings Saturday post go to MoneySavingMom.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Super Savings Saturday 3-22-08
Wow this week has been awesome! Truly since last Saturday I have saved a bundle for my family at Walgreen and CVS.
My camera is not shooting clear pictures at the moment so I don't have a picture but let me tell you what I purchased last week:
I hit a couple of CVS stores in the Dallas area when we were down there last weekend.
WOW! How I wish our stores were stocked like these! I made two very awesome transactions. Well actually three.
One transaction my OOP (out of pocket) ended up being .86 cents! I did not even have any coupons to use or CVS coupons. I used ECBs and ended up generating 28.00 in ECBs!!!!! Oh my goodness I was so excited!!! I had another transaction buying the 8.99 Maybelline lip gloss. I used two ECBs, no other coupon, and the OOP was almost 3.00 but I generated nearly 20.00 in ECBs!
Why you might be asking yourself? Well I had forgotten about the online survey I filled out a few weeks ago for CVS. Not only did the transaction generate my 8.99 for the lipgloss but it generated a 10.00 ECB for filling out the survey!!!! WOO HOO!
My last transaction at another store I purchased:3 Vitamin C, 2 Listerene Mouthwash, 4 Lypsyls, 2 pkgs of plastic Easter Eggs, 2 Dove Bars, 2 bags of Jelly beans, 6 Snickers Protein Bars that were marked down to .37 cents each, 1 pkg. of Sour Patch candies for my daughter. I used the two ECBs that totaled 18.99 plus I had three CVS gift cards that I had been given when ECBs did not print out...they totaled: 10.58 and my total OOP was around 7.00! But the big news is I generated: 32.00 ECBs!!!!!
So currently I have 59.00 in unused ECBs and my total OOP for last Saturday for 3 transactions was: 10.00! I did not buy one thing that we will not use. This program has been a huge blessing to me and my family. My daughter could not believe her eyes when I pointed out that the huge bag she was carrying out of the store only cost me .86 cents! I had only shopped at CVS maybe twice in my entire adult life! I felt it was too overpriced and could not understand their Easy Care Card program. Let me tell you that I am thankful for MoneySavingMom sharing her knowledge about CVS and I am now a confirmed FAN of CVS!!
Now on to this week!
I decided I would try and finish a few deals here in Oklahoma. I was not too confident since our stores seems to not have the stock on the beginning of the sale let alone the end. I ended up going to two stores and this everything that I purchased:
1 Lypsyl to finish my limit, 2 shaving creams, 3 packages of Soleil replacement razors, 1 Soleil Razor, 1 hand scrubber, 5 Irish Spring Speed Stick deoderants, 14 Pria Protein bars marked down to .37 cents, 1 Woman's Day magazine, and I think that is all.
My total OOP for both transactions was: 1.47!!! I earned back around 24.00 ECBs.
At Walgreens this week they had Stay Free on sale for 2/5 and I had coupons for 2.00 off of 2. I bought four packages. I also had 1/1 coupons for Rimmel Mascara. All the Rimmel was on sale BOGO so I used two coupons and got the mascara free. I also used Soleil coupons for the razor on sale for 5.99 and I had a 2.00 off coupon. With the purchase of a razor you received the replacement razor heads for free, a 6.99 value. When it was all said and done I had used 8.00 in manufacturers coupons, received a 6.99 gift of razors, and 11.86 was Walgreen sales. My total was 12.45 OOP and I had saved over 26.94. The cashier was amazed, however, with CVS it is much more dramatic in savings.
All in all it was a very productive week. Tonight I will be putting all the free candy I have received at CVS into the free Easter Eggs I have received....getting ready for the family hunt tomorrow after church and lunch. Easter Blessings All!
For more Super Savings ideas head on over to MoneySavingMom.com.
My camera is not shooting clear pictures at the moment so I don't have a picture but let me tell you what I purchased last week:
I hit a couple of CVS stores in the Dallas area when we were down there last weekend.
WOW! How I wish our stores were stocked like these! I made two very awesome transactions. Well actually three.
One transaction my OOP (out of pocket) ended up being .86 cents! I did not even have any coupons to use or CVS coupons. I used ECBs and ended up generating 28.00 in ECBs!!!!! Oh my goodness I was so excited!!! I had another transaction buying the 8.99 Maybelline lip gloss. I used two ECBs, no other coupon, and the OOP was almost 3.00 but I generated nearly 20.00 in ECBs!
Why you might be asking yourself? Well I had forgotten about the online survey I filled out a few weeks ago for CVS. Not only did the transaction generate my 8.99 for the lipgloss but it generated a 10.00 ECB for filling out the survey!!!! WOO HOO!
My last transaction at another store I purchased:3 Vitamin C, 2 Listerene Mouthwash, 4 Lypsyls, 2 pkgs of plastic Easter Eggs, 2 Dove Bars, 2 bags of Jelly beans, 6 Snickers Protein Bars that were marked down to .37 cents each, 1 pkg. of Sour Patch candies for my daughter. I used the two ECBs that totaled 18.99 plus I had three CVS gift cards that I had been given when ECBs did not print out...they totaled: 10.58 and my total OOP was around 7.00! But the big news is I generated: 32.00 ECBs!!!!!
So currently I have 59.00 in unused ECBs and my total OOP for last Saturday for 3 transactions was: 10.00! I did not buy one thing that we will not use. This program has been a huge blessing to me and my family. My daughter could not believe her eyes when I pointed out that the huge bag she was carrying out of the store only cost me .86 cents! I had only shopped at CVS maybe twice in my entire adult life! I felt it was too overpriced and could not understand their Easy Care Card program. Let me tell you that I am thankful for MoneySavingMom sharing her knowledge about CVS and I am now a confirmed FAN of CVS!!
Now on to this week!
I decided I would try and finish a few deals here in Oklahoma. I was not too confident since our stores seems to not have the stock on the beginning of the sale let alone the end. I ended up going to two stores and this everything that I purchased:
1 Lypsyl to finish my limit, 2 shaving creams, 3 packages of Soleil replacement razors, 1 Soleil Razor, 1 hand scrubber, 5 Irish Spring Speed Stick deoderants, 14 Pria Protein bars marked down to .37 cents, 1 Woman's Day magazine, and I think that is all.
My total OOP for both transactions was: 1.47!!! I earned back around 24.00 ECBs.
At Walgreens this week they had Stay Free on sale for 2/5 and I had coupons for 2.00 off of 2. I bought four packages. I also had 1/1 coupons for Rimmel Mascara. All the Rimmel was on sale BOGO so I used two coupons and got the mascara free. I also used Soleil coupons for the razor on sale for 5.99 and I had a 2.00 off coupon. With the purchase of a razor you received the replacement razor heads for free, a 6.99 value. When it was all said and done I had used 8.00 in manufacturers coupons, received a 6.99 gift of razors, and 11.86 was Walgreen sales. My total was 12.45 OOP and I had saved over 26.94. The cashier was amazed, however, with CVS it is much more dramatic in savings.
All in all it was a very productive week. Tonight I will be putting all the free candy I have received at CVS into the free Easter Eggs I have received....getting ready for the family hunt tomorrow after church and lunch. Easter Blessings All!
For more Super Savings ideas head on over to MoneySavingMom.com.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Super Savings Saturday 3-8-08
Wow this week has been such a rush for me saving money for my family! It started last Sunday. I went to two CVS after church because I could not find everything I wanted/needed at one store.
The above photo combines the two visits. Missing from the photo are several packs of gum, a hair prodcut, and distilled water.
My first transaction my OOP was .72 cents!!!! I had manufacturers coupons, ECBs, and the 5 off of 15.00 coupon. I was able to purchase six bags of candy for my teens Easter baskets and the Easter egg hunt with all my nieces and nephews; 2 boxes of cookies, gum, distilled water, one crest mouthwash, four Colgate toothpaste. I earned back in ECBs around 21.00! There was a young woman standing behind me when I was purchasing these items. She started laughing when I was handing over my coupons. It was around 44.00 at first. I then started handing the cashier my coupons and when he said, "Wow, that will be .72 cents!" Then the ECBs started printing and he told me the total on the long tape. As I was walking out the door I heard her ask him, "How in the world did she do that?" Yea for CVS!!!
My second transaction consisted of one more Crest mouthwash, a pack of gum, a snack pack of cashews, and a free bag of candy I earned when I scanned my card. I paid with a 5.00 ECB and a coupon for the Crest. My grand total OOP was .76 cents but it came off a CVS gift card that I had been given two weeks prior due to an ECB not printing out....so in reality it was free! Plus I earned the 3.49 for the Crest!
Last Sunday my OOP from my own pocketbook was .72!!!!! I was on a roll!!!
Today I just got back from a run to the CVS closest to my home. A man was stocking the shelves by the razors and I have been looking for the elusive Venus Embrace. He asked if he could help me and he pulled one out of the infamous blue bins he was unloading. He then told me he was the manager and we struck up a conversation. He told me when the stock arrives at all the stores in my area. He was so nice.
I ended up purchasing quite a few things we needed plus some had ECBs coming back. The grand total scared me a bit since I have not spent money like that since beginning CVS. I do not mind paying for things OOP everything now and then, since I am no longer lining the pockets of those at corporate in Arkansas; home of the big box store.
Grand total at first was 88.00!!! But after my ECBs from last week, coupons, my 5/30 that I got in an email this week my ending total and out of pocket was 37.91. However, I received around 27.00 in ECBs back!!! Making my true OOP around 10.00!! I was able to purchase some protein bars that were marked down 75% off for .30 cents and .40 cents a piece! My boys go through them like crazy. I bought nothing that we did not use or need.
All in all this week has been a very good week indeed. My kids are getting on board more now in regards to spotting deals and letting me know their needs ahead of time. The boys now ask if I have a coupon for such and such. I think they see the change. What great lessons they are learning for their futures!
For more great saving ideas, head over to Money Saving Mom!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Super Saving Saturday 3-1-08
Crystal mentioned getting ready to increase their grocery budget from 35.00 to 40.00 per week. The news is full of stories that can make one a little uneasy about the future of our finances and budgets. Every time you turn on the television or pick up a newspaper you can read stories of recession, gas prices, grocery prices, and on and on.
Today, on Super Saving Saturday, I wanted to share a few ways we are trying to be proactive and find ways to lower our food budget. I have mentioned before with four teenagers, three of whom are boys, we cannot feed our family on 35.00 a week or even 60.00 a week. I wished that we could. However, we have been trying to find ways to cut back on our grocery bill. One thing I will not resort to however, is buying convenience foods, even if I can get them free or nearly free. We also are not going to go back to buying regular pasta instead of whole grain. The health benefits far outweigh the cost associated with these items.
One thing that we are doing this spring that I am so excited about is planting a garden! I have always wanted a garden. We hope to have tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, cabbage, carrots, and I am not sure what else. If ya'll have any ideas, please let me know! My goal is to have plenty of fresh produce throughout the summer and to flash freeze some of the peppers, onions, squash for use in the fall and winter.
I have printed off the plans from Martha Stewart for a cold frame planter so that we can grow some items during the fall and winter such as spinach. We buy at least two bags of spinach and salad greens a month from Sam's. I have already noticed the prices have gone up to the tune of over 1.50 just on the bagged spinach alone.
I posted yesterday about what we have done to save money on snack items for our children.
Saving money for me has become like a game. It is a thrill, however, I have had to pull back and reevaluate to make sure that I am only purchasing things that we really need. It is easy to jump on the savings bandwagon and begin to buy items that perhaps you have never used before or would never consider using in the past. The thrill of getting something for free or nearly free is a rush. I have noticed that there are never many coupons available for organic or health foods which is what we tend to eat the most in our household.
My Super Saving Saturday this week is much like that last few....I have saved more money out of the store than in it. Today I am going to try and make our own protein bars. I can't wait to see how they turn out. I am hopeful that they will be more economical than the purchased ones we buy each week. I am also making homemade granola.
For more Super Saving Saturday ideas go to Money Saving Mom.
Today, on Super Saving Saturday, I wanted to share a few ways we are trying to be proactive and find ways to lower our food budget. I have mentioned before with four teenagers, three of whom are boys, we cannot feed our family on 35.00 a week or even 60.00 a week. I wished that we could. However, we have been trying to find ways to cut back on our grocery bill. One thing I will not resort to however, is buying convenience foods, even if I can get them free or nearly free. We also are not going to go back to buying regular pasta instead of whole grain. The health benefits far outweigh the cost associated with these items.
One thing that we are doing this spring that I am so excited about is planting a garden! I have always wanted a garden. We hope to have tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, cabbage, carrots, and I am not sure what else. If ya'll have any ideas, please let me know! My goal is to have plenty of fresh produce throughout the summer and to flash freeze some of the peppers, onions, squash for use in the fall and winter.
I have printed off the plans from Martha Stewart for a cold frame planter so that we can grow some items during the fall and winter such as spinach. We buy at least two bags of spinach and salad greens a month from Sam's. I have already noticed the prices have gone up to the tune of over 1.50 just on the bagged spinach alone.
I posted yesterday about what we have done to save money on snack items for our children.
Saving money for me has become like a game. It is a thrill, however, I have had to pull back and reevaluate to make sure that I am only purchasing things that we really need. It is easy to jump on the savings bandwagon and begin to buy items that perhaps you have never used before or would never consider using in the past. The thrill of getting something for free or nearly free is a rush. I have noticed that there are never many coupons available for organic or health foods which is what we tend to eat the most in our household.
My Super Saving Saturday this week is much like that last few....I have saved more money out of the store than in it. Today I am going to try and make our own protein bars. I can't wait to see how they turn out. I am hopeful that they will be more economical than the purchased ones we buy each week. I am also making homemade granola.
For more Super Saving Saturday ideas go to Money Saving Mom.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Super Saving Saturday 2-16-08
For the past few weeks I have had great pictures to show our savings, however, this week I have no pictures nor do I have lists of fantastic buys that I purchased this week. I think the greatest savings that I have had over the past week has been the money that has stayed in my pockets.
This week the outflow of money from our account has been extremely minimal. Matter of fact, I wrote my first check of the week yesterday evening and spent no cash during the week! There have been a few meals out (Valentine's) and last night we purchased Little Cesears instead of making our own pizza but overall it has been a fairly money free week.
I was not that impressed with the CVS savings this week and right now there is not anything that we are needing for our personal care items. I am on the hunt for canned goods to be on sale but in Oklahoma we do not have all the great grocery stores that my friends have in Texas. Gosh the sales have been great down there!
I did stumble on a few good savings yesterday as I was picking up ginger ale and saltine crackers at the local grocer (stomach virus has now invaded our home....again). I bought the last three boxes of Valentine cookies for those that are not sick at home to share. The iced sugar cookies were 50 cents and the heart shaped shortbread cookies were .35 cents. Can't beat that!
I am gearing up for this next CVS ad and checking out what our grocers have in store. It is time to restock my canned goods since they are starting to get low.
This week I have been able to resist the urge to shop and check out the sales on my lunch hour. A penny saved is a penny earned and this week our family of six saved quite a few!
Vickie
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Super Saving Saturday 2-9-08
Today over at MoneySavingMom.com, Crystal is asking how many stores we shop at each week.
I go to our local grocer at least once a week, to Sam's at least twice a month, and I have now started going to Homeland for the deals, and of course my all time favorite now CVS!
The picture above is not complete. Missing in action are the cookies, MMs, a couple of kingsize Snickers, and my daughter's makeup, which is with her this weekend at her church function.
Since this week has been so chaotic for our family with events and sick children (as well as parents) I am going to share what I purchased, how much OOP, and how many ECBs I still have to use. I am wanting to make haste while I have three of my four teenagers gone until tomorrow after church. I have a huge 'to do list' and I want to get busy. Here goes:
The purchased above are from last Saturday (3 CVS stores - 2 cards - mine and my husbands), Sunday morning (CVS), Monday evening (CVS), and last night at Walgreens.
Saturday 1st CVS - Total value of product - 30.75 - 19.00 in coupons and ECBs = 4.13 out of pocket and I earned 10.00 ECBs this transaction. I had purchased the Phenom razor, Arm and Hammer toothpaste (which I now realize is not in the picture), and a Crest Pro Health 2 bottle special that was dated to be sold from 2-1 - 2-8 with 2 ECBs back and I only saw this at one CVS. They had to put the ECBs on a gift card because it did not ring up. I also bought some Loreal eyeshadow .75% off for .99 cents!
Saturday 2nd CVS - Total value of product -20.36 - 12.29 in ECBs-4.89 OOP and I earned 8.00 in ECBs.
Saturday 3rd CVS - Total value of product - 52.67 - 22.00 in ECBs - 8.00 in coupons = 22.68 OOP....I know a lot of out of pocket but I made a miscalculation...hey I am still new to this! I earned 16.00 in ECBs so in reality I was out 6.68.
Saturday 4th CVS - Total value of product - 42.18 - 9.00 ECBs - 12.18 in coupons and deals = 21.70 OOP, another big out of pocket but I earned 13.29 in ECBs.
Sunday CVS - I ran in and bought 2 Maybelline eyeshadow trios, the Exedrin deal, and since I can't find my receipt at the moment I can't remember but I DO remember it was over 30.00 in value and I paid with all ECBs except for 1.15 in OOP. I also earned around 30.00 in ECBs
Monday CVS - I did the Colgate deal, bought the manual Phenom razor, and a few fillers of items I needed. Total value of items purchased 33.21 - ECBs and coupons 26.98 = 1.05 OOP
Last night at Walgreens - I ordered the Valentine Family Portrait package for both my husband's account and my account at Walgreens. Each packet was worth 4.99. We each received them free. I have photos of my husband in his uniform for me and the kids plus his Dad and my parents. I also have photos for my 16 year old to give to his friend.
Total value of items this week:
235.87
Out of Pocket this week:
UPDATED: 55.60, I made an error on my calculator and posted the wrong amount that I spent OOP. After reading the post again this morning I realized my mistake, to the tune of 20.00. oops!
ECBs earned
78.29
My goal for this next week is to not have so much OOP. I do understand though to get started I needed to spend some out of pocket. I have had great success and then some miscalculations. It is frustrating that I can't find the deals that I have 'ready' when I go to the store. I then have to re-figure and sometimes I just don't have the time to stand there in the corner of the store and recalculate. I truly wish I could find the Sambucol!!! I don't care about the ECBs so much as I care about the price and the product. We use this product. We have bought it in the past from the health food store for 17.99! We are almost out of ours and I have not been able to find this at the five or six CVS stores I have repeatedly checked. I am praying to find Sambucol this week!!!
Head on over to MoneySavingMom.com and see how people saved money this week!
Friday, February 1, 2008
Super Saving Saturday - 2-2-08
I can't believe I have waited until this weekend to make this post! I have been SO excited since Tuesday night but I guess having the flu has made me forget a little about wanting to post my savings so badly!
Tuesday evening I had to drive across the other side of town to take our 15 year old to watch the varsity play basketball against one of the other high schools in our school district. I realized that I was near two CVS stores that are about two miles apart. I decided to try and find some of the items that I have had trouble locating. This was going to be my third attempt at CVSing, as I call it.
I gathered up my coupons and my list and entered the store. They had some slim pickings but I did find a few things that I needed. They also had one of those scanners where you can scan your card....I had never seen one. I kept going over and over things on my calculator and in my head. I waited until no one was around at the checkout since my first two times were humilating with my not knowing what to do and people waiting around for me to finish.
I began my transaction and at first seeing the amount on the little display screen I was freaking out because I began to think I had miscalculated and was already mentally beating myself up and really felt like giving up this whole CVS thing. I handed over my coupons, which I wished I had printed a coupon for 50.00, I can' t remember if it is 5/50 or not but I gave my 5/30 coupon and then all my manufacturers coupons. Finally, I handed the cashier my ECBs that I had been collecting from my previous two transactions. I was nervous because I felt like I had made a mistake when suddenly I heard the cashier say, "Ma'am, I can't pay you and right now I owe you .87 cents" I suddenly remembered fillers....I grabbed two King Sized candy bars and when I gave them to the cashier the crowd that had gathered behind me began to cheer! I was red-faced again but this time with total shock and amazement!
The sweetest little old lady ever behind me said, "Honey, do you want me to take your picture?" It was hysterical and I was so excited. I told her "No thanks" and went on to tell her that I could not believe what had just happened! She and her little friends all had their baskets loaded up and their EasyCare Cards in hand. They told me that they were Coupon Freaks! COUPON FREAKS I say! It was so cute.
So I ended up paying 2.56 for 56.00 value of items AND earned around 20 ECBs. I was so pumped that I called my sisters and my Mom. I would have called my sweetheart but he was asleep since he was working an all nighter later on. I then drove to the next CVS and bought some more shampoo, cereal, Garnier Fructis Skincare and some food items that have already been eaten at my house plus the Soy Joys. I wanted to hang on to my ECBS since I am just starting this and do not have a lot to spend plus I had just earned the most ever! I paid out of pocket 29.00 (I know, I know probably not the best idea) and then the manager went crazy...in a good way....he said, "Oh my goodness look at all the ECBs that are printing out!" He counted them all for me before he ever handed them over...almost 26.00 worth of ECBs printed out!
People, I am pumped! I love the Soyjoys, my daughter is in heaven with the shampoo, the boys love all the candy that I never ever buy, and my husband is so proud of me.
Don't give up you newbies out there! I still feel a little unsure of myself but Crystal gave me very wise advice when I emailed her early on in this adventure. She told me to start small. If you look back at my pictures some of them are mighty slim. This picture does not have that much item wise and it is the culmination of two trips but I am getting there!
If you want to see more Super Savings Saturday head over to Money Saving Mom!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Super Savings Saturday - 1-26-08
This week has been so busy for me that I was not able to get my act together to head out to CVS and Walgreens early. I have determined that the early bird does indeed get the worm and I hope to have my plan together after Crystal posts her CVS and Walgreens online tonight.
All was not lost and since this is only my second time to do this CVS shopping I felt like I did okay but not as good as I would have if 1) I was not last minute in getting it done; and 2) I was not running a fever and feel like a Mack truck was rumbling in my head. This is what I did at both places and one product I received in the mail for free this week minus a few products:
Okay now for the list:
Last night at Walgreens I purchased two boxes of Hershey Sticks (not shown...eaten by three teenage boys). Each box was marked 1.99 and I had 2 $1.00 off coupons, which made the final for each box .99 cents. I purchased a Garnier Fructis curling gel, which is not shown, 3.99 original price plus I had a 1.00 manufacturer coupon plus a 1.50 coupon from the Easy Saver catalog at Walgreens, which made the gel 1.49. One Rimmel mascara for 2.99. Purchased Jane Mineral Make up BOGO free with the original price being 6.99. I did not see alot of markdown Jane products at our Walgreens. I puchased a markdown lipstick by Jane for 2.59. We also purchased two Snicker eggs for a 1.00.
I have discovered at my Walgreens they are not careful about coupons. I was shorted a 1.50 but they would not correct since the manager quickly gathered up my coupons and put them away. I was very frustrated but thought next time I would go to another store. All in all the total value of products were:
28.53 before tax
10.00 in coupons, 6.99 free item
Total before tax 11.54; Total out of pocket this trip 13.21
I was disappointed with how much out of pocket I had spent but they were items we needed and the price of the gel was better than Walmart so I felt good after I reviewed my receipt.
CVS - this morinng. I was miserable (getting sick) and looked it. My daughter went with me and this is what we were able to find in stock....most things I wanted like the deoderant, Sambucol, and a few other things were sold out.
3 large Hershey Bars in Dark Chocolate
8 Soy Joys - all they had left
4 M and Ms - all they had left Dark Chocolate which is what I wanted in the first place.
1 Cotton Balls, 1 Cotton Pads
34.13 value - free M&Ms 6.98= 27.15, should have added more to up it to 30.00 but was not feeling well at all and ready to get home.
I used:
my 7.00 ECBs - first to ever use
4/20.00
3/15.00
2/10.00
My OOP ended up being 9.21 w/tax
I Earned 16.00 ECBs
I was excited that I earned 16.00 ECBs and look forward to doing better next time. I never buy candy and I am going to have to dole this out or my boys will eat this all today! They burn so many calories working out but we really limit sugar intake in our home. It was exciting to purchase this for them and two bags are for their Valentine's.
I welcome any comments on how I can work this better. I still feel that I am not doing it quite right and really relish reading each of your posts to get a better handle on how to work this to our family's advantage.
Oh and one item in the picture is a free Contact solution we received free in the mail after I sent off a request for it weeks ago when my husband received his new contacts. Woo Hoo, I love free!
My daughter and I also used two coupons at Chick Fil A today and received two free chicken sandwiches with the purchase of medium fries/medium drinks. Savings: 5.18
Total OOP this weekend: 27.51 Total value of items: 67.84
Check out Super Saving Saturday at Money Saving Mom for more great ideas!
All was not lost and since this is only my second time to do this CVS shopping I felt like I did okay but not as good as I would have if 1) I was not last minute in getting it done; and 2) I was not running a fever and feel like a Mack truck was rumbling in my head. This is what I did at both places and one product I received in the mail for free this week minus a few products:
Okay now for the list:
Last night at Walgreens I purchased two boxes of Hershey Sticks (not shown...eaten by three teenage boys). Each box was marked 1.99 and I had 2 $1.00 off coupons, which made the final for each box .99 cents. I purchased a Garnier Fructis curling gel, which is not shown, 3.99 original price plus I had a 1.00 manufacturer coupon plus a 1.50 coupon from the Easy Saver catalog at Walgreens, which made the gel 1.49. One Rimmel mascara for 2.99. Purchased Jane Mineral Make up BOGO free with the original price being 6.99. I did not see alot of markdown Jane products at our Walgreens. I puchased a markdown lipstick by Jane for 2.59. We also purchased two Snicker eggs for a 1.00.
I have discovered at my Walgreens they are not careful about coupons. I was shorted a 1.50 but they would not correct since the manager quickly gathered up my coupons and put them away. I was very frustrated but thought next time I would go to another store. All in all the total value of products were:
28.53 before tax
10.00 in coupons, 6.99 free item
Total before tax 11.54; Total out of pocket this trip 13.21
I was disappointed with how much out of pocket I had spent but they were items we needed and the price of the gel was better than Walmart so I felt good after I reviewed my receipt.
CVS - this morinng. I was miserable (getting sick) and looked it. My daughter went with me and this is what we were able to find in stock....most things I wanted like the deoderant, Sambucol, and a few other things were sold out.
3 large Hershey Bars in Dark Chocolate
8 Soy Joys - all they had left
4 M and Ms - all they had left Dark Chocolate which is what I wanted in the first place.
1 Cotton Balls, 1 Cotton Pads
34.13 value - free M&Ms 6.98= 27.15, should have added more to up it to 30.00 but was not feeling well at all and ready to get home.
I used:
my 7.00 ECBs - first to ever use
4/20.00
3/15.00
2/10.00
My OOP ended up being 9.21 w/tax
I Earned 16.00 ECBs
I was excited that I earned 16.00 ECBs and look forward to doing better next time. I never buy candy and I am going to have to dole this out or my boys will eat this all today! They burn so many calories working out but we really limit sugar intake in our home. It was exciting to purchase this for them and two bags are for their Valentine's.
I welcome any comments on how I can work this better. I still feel that I am not doing it quite right and really relish reading each of your posts to get a better handle on how to work this to our family's advantage.
Oh and one item in the picture is a free Contact solution we received free in the mail after I sent off a request for it weeks ago when my husband received his new contacts. Woo Hoo, I love free!
My daughter and I also used two coupons at Chick Fil A today and received two free chicken sandwiches with the purchase of medium fries/medium drinks. Savings: 5.18
Total OOP this weekend: 27.51 Total value of items: 67.84
Check out Super Saving Saturday at Money Saving Mom for more great ideas!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Super Saving Saturday - 1-12-08
Update:
I have made my first CVS run and went to Walgreens too. You ladies rock that can do this so efficiently and save so much more than I did today. But I am getting there!The total value of all items is: 122.58
Out of my pocket tonight: 31.34
ECBs earned 7.00
ECBs spent tonight (beginner) 2.00
Expecting rebate of: 19.99
earned register rewards 3.50
I am not sure how you ladies work the final tally. I am choosing to take my total spent: 31.34 - 19.99 rebate - 7.00 ECBs - 3.50 RR = .85 cents will be my final out of pocket once all is completed OR 31.34 spent tonight - 19.99 rebate = 11.35 with 10.50 in earnings to use later. However, you choose to look at it....this rocks! I have had alot of stress trying to figure this out but now that I have gotten over the first hurdle of actually going through the process, I know I made it too hard on myself!
I have two One Touch Ultra blood sugar monitors, two Arm and Hammer detergent (my children love this and how it smells - a consumer reports pick for laundry detergent); 4 Reeses Whips; 2 Pro Vive Shampoos; 2 Garnier Fructis Shampoos; One Garnier Curly Spray; 4 Orbit gum packs; 2 Mentos gum packs; 4 boxes of General Mills cereals, and one Colgate toothpaste.
I will be heading out later on today for my weekly shopping and hope to post pictures upon my return. However, I am very excited about the One Touch Ultra monitor that I was able to purchase for 'free' today! I am sending off the rebate later today. I am curious to see what takes place and if the company actually sends the rebate.
I went to a different Hobby Lobby this week and found three more ornaments to match the previous ones purchased last week at 80 percent off. I also found a star for the top of our tree that matches our stocking, tree skirt, ribbon, etc. Our Colorado lodge look is now complete.
I purchased three items for Valentines Day gifts for my teenagers friends. They had picked them out last week but I told my children I was sure they would start pricing the items 50 percent off soon. Sure enough, the Sunday paper confirmed my theory and I went and snagged the cute items for 50% off.
I also have been waiting for the decorative wood sayings to be on sale. I wanted one that said CREATE for my craft room. I never pay full price at Hobby Lobby because they have a regular sale schedule and you can pretty much get whatever you are needing/wanting on sale if you are patient. They had the decorative words on sale for 50% off. Total worth of items purchased: 49.00 My cost: 16.00.
Check back later today for more bargain updates! Check out Crystal's site for more Super Saving Saturday.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Super Saving Saturday - Hobby Lobby Bargains
Update: Just got back from SuperTarget where all Christmas items were 90% off. Not much left, however, we did pick up Christmas gift tags at .09 cents per package of 100! We also picked up two 2008 calendars for two of our boys that love Dale Earnhart, Jr. for .99 cents down from 9.99! Bags of bows - silver and white ones and a bag of gold bows for .18 cents a bag of I think 25 bows in a bag. We also picked up the last of the gingerbread cookies and a shortbread cookie and they were all under .45 cents a box. We hardly ever buy sugary snacks so this was a real treat for the kids. All in all it was a great last minute stop on our date night.
Robin and Shannon both call my favorite store the same thing: the Mother Ship. I think anyone that loves to decorate, craft, or scrapbook knows exactly the store I am talking about: Hobby Lobby!
Today was my fifth or sixth time to hit H.L. during the last two weeks! I have bought things at half off, 66% off and today 80%! Granted the groovy red glass bowls that I was really wanting I missed out on. Even at 66% off they were not frugal enough for me to part with my cash. Besides, right now I'm not sure where I would put them. Honestly they were more of a want than a need so it is a moot point.
I did pick up the most awesome ornaments, more curly bows, a few more gift bags, several awesome larger Christmas items. To give you an idea of what I found ornament wise...I bought three silver and glass tea pot ornaments for ornament exchange gifts next year. Each were regularly 4.99. I bought all three for 2.99! Two dollars and ninety-nine cents people! Less than what one cost regularly! The average original cost of the other ornaments, which were the old fashion, mercury glass type ornaments, was around 5.99 - 7.99 apiece. I got them for 80% off!!!
The six packages of curly bows that I bought were 2.99 a pack. They have I think four or six bows on each pack. They are darling bows that I can use for birthday gifts since they are not Christmas colors. So let's assume there were four bows on each package that would make 24 bows total. The original price was 17.94 for six packages; 8.97 at 50%; 6.10 at 66%; and at 80% 3.59. So since I love numbers, to break it down further: I bought a total of 24 of the cutest curly bows in hot pink, lime green, silver and white, blue, pink, and I can't remember the other color and they equal out to .14 cents a bow!
The smaller gift bags cost me around .20 cents! Better than Dollar Store prices!
The Edmond Hobby Lobby is getting sparse on the East side of Edmond but there are still a couple of aisles of great items. I would check out your local Hobby Lobby.
So in closing I bought: 15 ornaments, six packages of speciality bows, ten gift bags, a wooden 3 foot tree, a large Christmas lodge look Moose and Bear with the same red and black buffalo print that my tree skirt and stockings are made from. Also four photo boxes for my new craft room, Christmas scrapbook stickers, two silk candle rings, and a stamp set with embellishments and cardstock for my daughter to make her cards next year all for around 38.00! The only things not 80% off were the photo boxes and they were 50%.
After coming home and looking at the original prices of just two of the larger items they totaled more than all the items together that I purchased today.
The lesson is hit those after Christmas sales. I have not had to pay regular price for wrapping paper, bows, ribbon, gift bags, etc., for over seven years! It is of great benefit to my family. So tonight my gift wrap area is now re-stocked, the gift drawer is full too and I am ready when one of my children have a party to attend.
Robin and Shannon both call my favorite store the same thing: the Mother Ship. I think anyone that loves to decorate, craft, or scrapbook knows exactly the store I am talking about: Hobby Lobby!
Today was my fifth or sixth time to hit H.L. during the last two weeks! I have bought things at half off, 66% off and today 80%! Granted the groovy red glass bowls that I was really wanting I missed out on. Even at 66% off they were not frugal enough for me to part with my cash. Besides, right now I'm not sure where I would put them. Honestly they were more of a want than a need so it is a moot point.
I did pick up the most awesome ornaments, more curly bows, a few more gift bags, several awesome larger Christmas items. To give you an idea of what I found ornament wise...I bought three silver and glass tea pot ornaments for ornament exchange gifts next year. Each were regularly 4.99. I bought all three for 2.99! Two dollars and ninety-nine cents people! Less than what one cost regularly! The average original cost of the other ornaments, which were the old fashion, mercury glass type ornaments, was around 5.99 - 7.99 apiece. I got them for 80% off!!!
The six packages of curly bows that I bought were 2.99 a pack. They have I think four or six bows on each pack. They are darling bows that I can use for birthday gifts since they are not Christmas colors. So let's assume there were four bows on each package that would make 24 bows total. The original price was 17.94 for six packages; 8.97 at 50%; 6.10 at 66%; and at 80% 3.59. So since I love numbers, to break it down further: I bought a total of 24 of the cutest curly bows in hot pink, lime green, silver and white, blue, pink, and I can't remember the other color and they equal out to .14 cents a bow!
The smaller gift bags cost me around .20 cents! Better than Dollar Store prices!
The Edmond Hobby Lobby is getting sparse on the East side of Edmond but there are still a couple of aisles of great items. I would check out your local Hobby Lobby.
So in closing I bought: 15 ornaments, six packages of speciality bows, ten gift bags, a wooden 3 foot tree, a large Christmas lodge look Moose and Bear with the same red and black buffalo print that my tree skirt and stockings are made from. Also four photo boxes for my new craft room, Christmas scrapbook stickers, two silk candle rings, and a stamp set with embellishments and cardstock for my daughter to make her cards next year all for around 38.00! The only things not 80% off were the photo boxes and they were 50%.
After coming home and looking at the original prices of just two of the larger items they totaled more than all the items together that I purchased today.
The lesson is hit those after Christmas sales. I have not had to pay regular price for wrapping paper, bows, ribbon, gift bags, etc., for over seven years! It is of great benefit to my family. So tonight my gift wrap area is now re-stocked, the gift drawer is full too and I am ready when one of my children have a party to attend.
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