I usually don't shop at Rite Aid but I couldn't stay away this week as they had Herbal Essences on sale for Buy One, Get One Free. I got everything above for $2.37. I'll even get back a SCR of $2 for the lightbulbs. So only $.37 after SCR! I threw in the Reese's Cups to get my total up to $20. I was just $1.50 below $20 and I had a $4/$20 coupon I wanted to use. I decided it would be a nice little treat for my hubby since he watched the children for me while I was shopping!
Wal-Mart - $16.84
Kroger I - $18.29 They have some very good deals this week! The cereal was all free after doubled coupon! This is the first time since I've been married that I bought a turkey. !Gasp! I am not the type of person to bake a turkey for our supper but Monica got me motivated to bake it and pick it all off the bones then can it. I have the turkey thawing right now and I plan to bake it on Monday. Stay tuned for more on that next week.
Kroger II - $2.08 This is my second shopping trip to Kroger. Kind of a weird combination cereal and pop! I basically wanted the cereal but was kinda embarrassed to only buy the cereal because my total would have been $0. Then I spotted Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash 2 liters on sale for only $.77 and they also had hang tag coupons for $1/4. So I decided to buy 4 of them. This pop is really good and you can only buy it around the holidays so I decided to stock up.
CVS - $.84 I almost scratched CVS off my list this week but decided to stop and get some Crest Toothpaste. I was glad I stopped because the Crest Whitening Expressions was included in the ECB sale! It's my favorite toothpaste and since I've been couponing I haven't ever seen it included in an ECB sale at CVS. I had a $2/2 Gold Emblem Nuts coupon that I used for the cashews.I also stopped at Lannings and bought 7 lbs of apples for $5.00.
Total spent this week $45.42
If I wouldn't have used any coupons this week I would have spent - $109.01 My normal budget for groceries is $70 (That includes all paper products and diapers). This week I was well below that. I've been thinking of trying to cut it down to $60 a week. Maybe I should start posting my spending every week so I'm accountable to someone?
I posted this in hoping that I'm encouraging you to use coupons and that you can see it is definitely worth it! It can be time consuming at times and I wonder why on earth I decided to start using coupons. But then when I'm at the checkout and I see how much I saved it's so worth it!
What kind of deals were you able to score this week?
Way to go! I'm not down that low yet, but I have been spending less! It sure helps that I've not been buying more pampers for Patrick. I will check back about the turkey... I'm curious how that goes! Usually, I pick it off and pour the broth back over it to freeze it... keeps the meat moist that way. Maybe I should try canning it. Is the celery and onions and spices for that project?
ReplyDeleteI plan to go to Rite Aid too... a little worried that those items on sale will be out but someone on Hiptosave told me how to get the deals with rainchecks by faxing it.
I'm gonna try that Sierra Mist! Grace
My turkey is thawing, too....I'm baking mine on Monday, too. Then, I will can it on Wed. when I am at my mom's house. I am thinking of using James's Kroger card to get another one next week, because the biggest one they had there was 17.7#. I really wanted the 25# one, but the lady said they were still on the truck and she didn't know when they would unload them. :(
ReplyDeleteI had to skip Rite Aid and CVS this week....to much stress and I was getting overwhelmed!!
I was really happy with my deals at cvs this week. I made 2 stops, the first time I got the crest toothpaste, a quattro razor, 4 bags of emblem nuts and something else, but for the life of me can't remember what it was. I owed 5 cents. (I was happy that I pulled 3 off of 15 at the scanner!) Today I went again and got 2 garnier face scrubs, 2 dawn dishsoaps, (Had a raincheck) 2 bags nuts, one box ziplock sandwich bags and 2 simply asia noodle bowls for 0.00. I did have a 4 off of 20 coupon. I'm also 2 ebc's ahead of when I started. I should probably keep track better of what I'm saving.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: How do you find out what upcoming sales will be? Some people will post upcoming deals, and I've wondered how they find out.
And way to go on your turkey. Ours here have been 49 cents, so I have two now. Tim loves turkey. I'll make them for a meal, then I'll freeze the leftovers to use like I do cooked chicken.
Grace,
ReplyDeleteThe onions and celery was for vegetable soup that I made with my mom. (we canned it).
When I was in at RA on Monday evening they were already out of the oral toothbrushes. Grrr. So I got a raincheck but it messed up my scenerio because I wanted to use a $4/$20 coupon but then I just threw in that candy instead.
Monica,
ReplyDeleteAre you not allowed to get more than one turkey per Kroger card? just curious because I didn't read this anywhere in the sales flyer. Are they going to be on sale again next week or did you get a rain check?
Twila,
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're doing good at CVS! I've never gotten a coupon for $3/$15 from the scanner! That would be a nice surprise!
I go on www.iheartcvs.com to see the upcoming sales.
Yea Monica.....I want another one next week too!!!
ReplyDeleteWay to go Michelle!!! I didn't take any pictures of my stuff but I think I spent around $45. Now that I have my budget down to $50, I am wondering if I could do the $40 budget like moneysavingmom!!! I think you should do a post like this every week! I love it! :)
Rachal, I bet if you tried hard enough you could do $40 especially since you're not buying diapers right now. I could probably do $40 every now and then but not every week. There's some weeks where I buy alot more produce and then I naturally spend more.
ReplyDeleteI might try it...after all the stress of moving is over! :)
ReplyDeleteAbout the turkey....I was thinking it said Limit 1 per customer, and I guess I thought you could only do it one time. Last year the deal was for a couple weeks, because I remember buying mine the week of Thanksgiving and it had been going on for a few weeks before that.
ReplyDeleteYea, you're right! Usually they have the turkeys on sale for several weeks, so we should be able to get more!
ReplyDeleteI have an post idea for you ladies! I would like to see a weeks worth of menus that you ladies make! :-) I'm thinking what do you all eat for $50. The last two weeks I did spend under $5o, but I hardly bought any meat. I'm thinking either we eat a lot of food! Or I'm not cooking right! I know I don't spend as much time and effort couponing, so I don't get all the deals that you all get, but I want to cut back on spending where I can. So, what does your family eat? Grace
Ok.....I'll try to write down what we eat in the next week. :) We do eat vegetarian one or two days a week. I know our breakfast costs almost zero, since we have had so much free cereal.
ReplyDeleteOh, Grace I'd be embarrassed if you saw what we ate sometimes. We're one dish type of people. Often I make a casserole and that's all we have. Gasp! I buy all my hamburger once a year from my brother and dad. He raises all his own beef. So that helps alot that I don't buy meat in the store. I do occasionally buy chicken. But I was hoping with having this turkey on hand I won't have to buy chicken as much.
ReplyDeleteMichelle- enjoyed your spending analysis of the week. most of the stores we shop are the same with the exception of kroger. :( when my husband and i started our budget i went over my grocery budget EVERY month. funny thing is now i've cut that budget amount in 1/2 and i think we're eating just as good if not better then we were. it takes time and dilligence on my part though.(which i'm sure you know.)
ReplyDeletespeaking of menus- my husbnad loves meat. i meal is not complete if you don't have a big chunk of meat. :) casseroles are a rarity at our house. when i try and cut out meat, he ends up hungry for 'real' food and we go out to a restaurant and spend $30.00 for one meal. i pay a bit more to buy steak or shrimp but it keeps us from eating out and ends up saving us money in the end. we do love eggs and breakfast foods so sometimes i make 'breakfast' for supper. we also enjoy soups- such as hearty ham, seafood chowder, etc.
Heather H
Michelle, I really enjoyed your post...made me consider doing it. I always thought it might be boring to people, but I guess not. :) And I'd love to see regular posts like this. I know I sure found when I posted my spendings it kept me more accountable.
ReplyDeleteGrace, just a warning about faxing the RiteAid rebates...you have to be VERY diligent. I've done it a couple of times and unless it is a major savings have sort of decided it is not worth it. I always have had the store fax it for me (you can ask someone in the pharmacy to do it) and we always got a confirmation that the fax went through. But twice the items never showed up on my account and I ended up having to make phone calls, have it refaxed etc. So you might find it worth it and may not have any trouble, but just really watch your account and make sure the items post.
Rachal, I bet you could do $40 a week. We are big eaters and I can usually get by on around $50 a week and we don't typically have as good of grocery deals you all do. I'd love to see you try, but then it's your life! :)
Lydia,
ReplyDeleteMaybe that can be part of my new years resolution!
Michelle, don't feel bad about eating casseroles! If it works for your family, then great! We are big protein eaters... Heather, my husband is the same as yours when it comes to meat... still feels hungry if I don't feed him much... and I get headaches if I don't have protein. So I try to incorporate beans and eggs into our diet as much as possible. -Grace
ReplyDelete