First part of week 9/28-10/4 and September Budget Totals

I just want to start by saying, yes I was already over budget before I went shopping on Sunday, but all the items in this picture cost me less than $28 oop !

Kroger 2 trips but I will combine the receipts

2 cartons country club ice cream 1.98(.99 each)

4 tennesse pride sausage gravy 4.00(1.00 each)

-4$.55 coupons doubled to $1

reduced hamburger wheat buns .49

hot dog buns 1.00

3 newspapers 2.97(.99 each)

4 martha white wheat muffin mix 4.00(1.00 each)

-2$.55/2 or .50/2? coupons doubled

6 underwood chicken spreads 6.54(1.09 each)

-6$.50 coupons doubled

10 trident gum 6.45(1.29 for 2, on sale bogo)

-5$.55 coupons doubled

3 packs of pork sirloin chops 6.45(1.99 lb, about 3.25 pounds)

-$1.50 wybo $5 of pork coupon

2 bags reduced bag spinach 1.98(.99 each)

1 revlon nail clipper .90

-$1 coupon

1 revlon nail filer 1.22

-$1 coupon

also used 8 $2 oyno catalinas

total was 2.52

saved 60.63, $35 in coupons

Target

7 boxes electrosal 19.53(2.79 each)

-7$2.25 coupons

1 trial size baby shampoo .97

-1.00 coupon

8 ziploc sandwich bags(25 ct) 4.00(.50 each, clearance)

-4$1/2 coupons

total was 5.28(1.53 tax), paid with $5 gc and .28 cash, .28 oop!

saved $19.75 in coupons

CVS

1 cg clean makeup 5.49

-$1 coupon

1 cg blush 4.19

-1 free wyb foundation coupon $4.19

4 dawn dishsoap 3.96 (.99 each)

-4$.50 coupons

2 dawn hand renewal 1.98(.99 each)

-2$1 coupons

1 reeses .50

also used 4 ecb and 3 ecb adjusted to 2.93

total was .55 tax on gc 0 oop!

saved 22.92, $16.12 in coupons

Walmart

8 ez mac cups 6.00(.75 each)

-4$1/2 coupons

4 small franks red hotsauce 3.44(.86 each)

-4$1 coupons

2 huggies clean team wipes 3.28(1.64 each)

-$3/2 coupon

2 lemon endust spray 5.26(2.63 each)

-2$2 coupons

3 j&j buddies soap bars 2.91(.97 each)

-$3/3 coupon

2 toll house chocolate chips 5.36(2.68 each)

-2 $1.50 coupons

1 zantac cool 8 pack 3.98

-$5.50 coupon

total was 3.69(.96 tax)

saved 27.50 in coupons

Meijer

4 gel glade plugins 7.16(1.79 each)

- 2 bogo free coupons 3.58

2 ore ida frozen fries 4.98

- both free (frozen deal buy one fast fixin get one ore ida free)

-$1/2 coupon

1 pack ground beef 3.02 ($2.19 lb)

-1$1 on ground beef wyb 2 kraft dressings

1 cascade rinse aid 3.94

-free coupon 3.94

4 bumble bee salmon steaks 10.00(2.50 each)

-2 $1.50 ez pic saving wyb 2

-4$1 coupons

2 bumble bee 3oz tuna pouch 2.00(1.00 each)

-2$.55 coupons doubled to $1

1 box ronzoni healthy harvest penne ..99

-$.50 coupon doubled

4 ronzoni healthy taste pasta 3.96(.99 each)

-4$1 coupons

2 loaves aunt millies bread 1.98(.99 each)

-2$.35 coupons doubled

2.4 pounds green cabbage @.33 lb .80

4 yoplus yougurts 8.00(2.00 each)

-4$1 coupons

2 kraft dressings 3.34(1.67 each)

-2 free wyb 3 coupons 3.34(I forgot the koolaid!!!They worked fine with out them though)

3 kraft singles 7.50(2.50 each)

-3 free wyb 3 coupons 7.50

1 4 lb bag frozen chicken tenders 7.96

2 bags fast fixin dino bites 8.00(4.00 each)

-$1/2 meijer coupon

-2$1 coupons

also used a $5/$35 coupon a nice lady gave me because I shared fast fixin coupons with her. She saw my binder and was like "are you one of those people who save 50% on their groceries with coupons"lol I said I usually try to save more than that.She asked me a few more Q's, like how long does it take me to shop and am I on the internet alot.

total was 21.14(.70 tax)

saved 76.03, 38.75 in coupons

got back 4 $2 oyno cats, $5/$25 general merchandise, and $2 off angus beef cats.

This trip almost got ruined because I dropped 4 of my free coupons. I found two on the ground behind me, and went to the service desk to get them taken off my total and then found the other two at the bottom of my cart. It was $11.44 worth in just those 4 coupons!

Monday DH realized he was out of sugar to make tea with so he said he would get some when he went to the bank. He Stocked up on lemonade while he was there too. I wish he had let me buy the sugar at walgreens and the lemonade at meijer so the oop would be $0. BOO!

5 frozen lemonades 3.90(.74 each)

2 5lb bags of sugar 3.36(1.68 each)

total was 7.29(.23 tax)

no savings

Tuesday

I had to run out and use up the last of the kraft coupons

Kroger

2 packs beef hotdogs 8.78

-2 free wyb coupons 8.78

2 kraft dressings 3.38(1.69 each)

-2 free wyb 3 coupons

12 kool aid packets 2.40 (.20 each)

total was 2.40

saved 12.16 in coupons

spent $35.08 and saved$224.54, $149.28 in coupons alone!

Total left to spend for the month of September

Grocery $-37.17

Misc $-8.25

Clothing $46.33

Fun $-19

Last minute shops for 9/21-9/27

I couldn't resist the double dip days and the $5/$20 at Walgreens so I ran out after the kids were in bed on Saturday.

I also noticed that Kroger had the glade gel plugins in stock Friday when I picked up my wine.

Walgreens(this got really messed up!)

4 scented oil candles 17.97(5.99 each)this is the first part that got messed up, the cashier didn't scan one of the scented oil candles.

-4$2 coupons

-3$2 ivc

2 fabric sprays7.98(3.98 each)

-1$1.50 coupon(only would accept one because the register beeped and he scanned 4 of the scented oil coupons when only 3 candles were scanned)

-2$1 ivc

rimmel foundation 7.49

-$1 coupon

loreal cleanser 6.99

-$1 coupon

also used the $5/20 coupon

total was 18.14(2.21 tax)on gc no oop

saved 20.50,$19.50 in coupons

will get back $6 for the candles, $2 for the spray, $7.49 for makeup,$6.99 for the cleanser=$22.48 + 2.25 bounus for putting it on a giftcard!

Kroger

8 gel plugins 15.12(1.89 each)

-4 bogo coupons $7.56

total was 8.51(.95 tax)

saved 7.56 with coupons

got back 8 $2 oyno catalinas!

I also recieved my rebate for Blueberry miniwheats +3.89

DH spent $8 on accesories to a rock tumber and I got a hair cut (used coupon)$7.99 + $5 tip

Total left to spend for the month of September

Grocery $-2.09

Misc $-8.25

Clothing $46.33

Fun $-19

Night Clubs...

...are just not for me,lol. My dh and I had alot of fun going out Friday, but we would have had more fun somewhere else. I feel so old. Maybe if I could dance or play pool we would have had more fun. I am terrible at both of these things, and even have a sore thumb from trying to figure out how to hit the pool balls with the stick(stick burn). This place was also very "adult content". I think a strip club would have been a little less "adult ".

We felt pretty lame when DH got picked out of a drawing to get $20 in club bucks to be handcuffed to a random girl for 15 minutes. When he went to get the handcuffs on they saw his ring and were like"your married?" and he was like "yes". They wanted to know were his wife was and he said "she is here". Then the girl he was handcuffed to insisted on going to get me. Dh found out that she went to the same school as him and that her family lives in the same subdivison as one of his sisters. The poor girl wanted to dance with a random guy and got stuck talking about boring stuff with a married guy and his wife,lol. She was the first one back at the booth when the 15 minutes was up.

From now on we will stick to concerts when we want to have fun with a large crowd.We really enjoy going to these. We might also take a dance class, since Dh says my dancing was so terrible(blush).

cost break down

motel: $45.xx /stayed at extended stay america and booked through hotwire(mypoints merchant)

booze we bought before going out: $9.xx for me and $10 for DH = $19

Drinks and cost to get in club: $5 for DH to get in , was ladies night so no cost for me. spent way to much on drinks for me at the bar, and I didn't even get drunk:(, seems like the drinks were very weak $35 tips included =$40

total =$104

DH decide he would rather wait to drink till we went back to the motel, so we didn't need a taxi.

I really feel this was money well spent(expect the money spent at the bar).Bonding time with Dh is very important. We are together everyday, but most of the time we are so busy caring for the children , getting chores done(or not,lol), getting lost in our own seperate world's, and day to day task we aren't really"together", we are just in the same space.

It was so nice to have that time for just one another. Even in the evenings when we put the kids down for bed we don't get that kind of quality time because one kid is teething like crazy(3 going on 4 new teeth in the past 4 weeks:( ), the other kid is in out of her bed 3-4 times getting"drinks" and "going potty"(she is worried she is missing out on fun when she gets put to bed), and then there are all the distractions like the computer, neighbors, etc.

Total left to spend for the month of September
Grocery $2.53
Misc $12.74
Clothing $46.33
Fun $-19

Weekly shop 9/21-9/27

I did all my shopping on Sunday when my mom was here, expect the last cvs trip(that was unplanned).


I did three Kroger trips but will combine the last two.

#1

2 cartons Kroger icecream 3.98(1.99each)
3 newspapers 2.97(.99 each)
2 cottonelle 4 packs 1.98(.99 each)
-2.$50 coupons doubled
1 4pack Yoplait yogurt 2.49
-$1 coupon
-$1 e coupon

also used $3 oyno

total was 4.00(.06 tax)
saved 12.26 , $7.48 in coupons

#2

1 clamshell ps baby augural clearance .79
19 koolaid packets 3.80(.20 each) only had 18 but she scanned one twice?
2 kraft dressing 3.38(1.69 each)
- 2 free wyb 3 coupons -3.38
2 fresh express bagged salads 1.98 clearance(.99 each)
-2$1 coupons(.02 overage)
3 cottonelle 4 packs 2.97(.99 each)
-3$.50 coupons
2 kraft singles 8.38(4.19 each)
-2 free wyb 3 coupons only supposed to be up to $4 but she took off the whole amount -$8.38
2 packs beef hot dogs 8.78(4.39 each)
-2 free wyb 3 coupons -$8.78
4 delmonte fruit cups 4.00(1.00 each)
-4$.55 coupons doubled to $1

total was 4.66(.09 tax)
saved $33.47,$29.51 in coupons(don’t know how much saved on produce)

Walgreens (also 2 trips)

#1

3 2packs energizer e2 AAA batteries 17.97 (5.99 each)
2 reach ultra clean toothbrushes 3.98(1.99 each, the sale was 2/$5, woot!)
-2$1 coupons

also used $2 rr, $10 rr

total was 9.32(1.37 tax)
got back $5 rr for the 2 tooth brushes, will get $10 + 10% for batteries
saved $18, $14 in coupons

#2 I went to a different Walgreens looking for the space bags

2 reach ultra clean toothbrushes 5.00(2.50 each, this store had the right sale price, so not a money maker w/o couponsL )

total was 5.31(.31 tax)
got back $5 rr
saved 2.98

Another set of 2 for cvs,lol

#1

11 soyjoy bars 5.50(.50 each)
-$3 coupon, -4 bogo coupons@ .50 each, -1 b2go @.50
4 boxes sb diet bars 10.00(2.50 each)
-4$2 coupons
1 nivea for men body wash 4.99
-$1 coupon
1 adidas deodorant 4.99
-$1 coupon
1 aveeno baby lotion 5.69
-$1 crt on any lotion
-$2 coupon

also used a $5/$30 coupon(email), 3 ecb, and 3.99 ecb
total was .68 on gc, 0 oop
got back 4ecb, and 4.99 ecb
saved 45.14, $25.49 in coupons

#2 I had to fill 2 Rx’s for the baby and saw these on the clearance shelf

1 energizer e2 4 pack AAA 1.45
1 2pack of energizer lithium AA 1.50

total was 3.14(.19 tax)
saved 8.83

Meijer

2 kraft dressings 5.36(2.68 each)
-2 free wyb 3 coupons $5.36
2 kraft cheese singles 7.78(3.39 each)
-2 free wyb 3 coupons$7.78
1 cascade crystal clear rinse 3.94
-free coupon
2 om beef hotdogs8.98(4.49 each)
-2 free wyb coupons $8.98
2 bumblebee tuna pouches 2.00(1.00 each)
-2 $.55 coupons doubled to $1
4 bumble bee salmon steaks 10.00(2.50 each)
- 2 $1.50/2 ez-pic promos
-4$1 coupons
18 boxes mac and cheese 6.66(on sale b3g3 free @.74 each)
3 dole mandarin oranges 2.70(.90 each)
3 dole fruit salad 2.70(.90 each)
1 maxwell coffee 1.74
1 maxwell French vanilla 2.49
2 purex detergent 3.98(1.99 each)
-2$.50 doubled
4 drinkable Yoplait kids yogurt 8.00(2.00 each)
-4$1.50 coupons
2 airwick mini’s 9.98(4.99 each)
-2$4 coupons
1 large can hunts tomatoes reduced price .60

also used .75 oyno coupon

total was 26.16(1.06 tax)
got back 2 .75 oyno coupons, one for buying 3 fruit salads and one for buying 3 mandarin oranges
saved 82.71, $51.81 in coupons

spent $52.59, saved $203.39, $112.78 in coupons
I did three Kroger trips but will combine the last two.

#1

2 cartons Kroger icecream 3.98(1.99each)
3 newspapers 2.97(.99 each)
2 cottonelle 4 packs 1.98(.99 each)
-2.$50 coupons doubled
1 4pack Yoplait yogurt 2.49
-$1 coupon
-$1 e coupon

also used $3 oyno

total was 4.00(.06 tax)
saved 12.26 , $7.48 in coupons

#2

1 clamshell ps baby augural clearance .79
19 koolaid packets 3.80(.20 each) only had 18 but she scanned one twice?
2 kraft dressing 3.38(1.69 each)
- 2 free wyb 3 coupons -3.38
2 fresh express bagged salads 1.98 clearance(.99 each)
-2$1 coupons(.02 overage)
3 cottonelle 4 packs 2.97(.99 each)
-3$.50 coupons
2 kraft singles 8.38(4.19 each)
-2 free wyb 3 coupons only supposed to be up to $4 but she took off the whole amount -$8.38
2 packs beef hot dogs 8.78(4.39 each)
-2 free wyb 3 coupons -$8.78
4 delmonte fruit cups 4.00(1.00 each)
-4$.55 coupons doubled to $1

total was 4.66(.09 tax)
saved $33.47,$29.51 in coupons(don’t know how much saved on produce)

Walgreens (also 2 trips)

#1

3 2packs energizer e2 AAA batteries 17.97 (5.99 each)
2 reach ultra clean toothbrushes 3.98(1.99 each, the sale was 2/$5, woot!)
-2$1 coupons

also used $2 rr, $10 rr

total was 9.32(1.37 tax)
got back $5 rr for the 2 tooth brushes, will get $10 + 10% for batteries
saved $18, $14 in coupons

#2 I went to a different Walgreens looking for the space bags(they didn't have them)

2 reach ultra clean toothbrushes 5.00(2.50 each, this store had the right sale price, so not a money maker w/o coupons :( )

total was 5.31(.31 tax)
got back $5 rr
saved 2.98

Another set of 2 for cvs,lol

#1

11 soyjoy bars 5.50(.50 each)
-$3 coupon, -4 bogo coupons@ .50 each, -1 b2go @.50
4 boxes sb diet bars 10.00(2.50 each)
-4$2 coupons
1 nivea for men body wash 4.99
-$1 coupon
1 adidas deodorant 4.99
-$1 coupon
1 aveeno baby lotion 5.69
-$1 crt on any lotion
-$2 coupon

also used a $5/$30 coupon(email), 3 ecb, and 3.99 ecb
total was .68 on gc, 0 oop
got back 4ecb, and 4.99 ecb
saved 45.14, $25.49 in coupons

#2 I had to fill 2 Rx’s for the baby and saw these on the clearance shelf

1 energizer e2 4 pack AAA 1.45
1 2pack of energizer lithium AA 1.50

total was 3.14(.19 tax)
saved 8.83

Meijer

2 kraft dressings 5.36(2.68 each)
-2 free wyb 3 coupons $5.36
2 kraft cheese singles 7.78(3.39 each)
-2 free wyb 3 coupons$7.78
1 cascade crystal clear rinse 3.94
-free coupon
2 om beef hotdogs8.98(4.49 each)
-2 free wyb coupons $8.98
2 bumblebee tuna pouches 2.00(1.00 each)
-2 $.55 coupons doubled to $1
4 bumble bee salmon steaks 10.00(2.50 each)
- 2 $1.50/2 ez-pic promos
-4$1 coupons
18 boxes mac and cheese 6.66(on sale b3g3 free @.74 each)
3 dole mandarin oranges 2.70(.90 each)
3 dole fruit salad 2.70(.90 each)
1 maxwell coffee 1.74
1 maxwell French vanilla 2.49
2 purex detergent 3.98(1.99 each)
-2$.50 doubled
4 drinkable Yoplait kids yogurt 8.00(2.00 each)
-4$1.50 coupons
2 airwick mini’s 9.98(4.99 each)
-2$4 coupons
1 large can hunts tomatoes reduced price .60

also used .75 oyno coupon

total was 26.16(1.06 tax)
got back 2 .75 oyno coupons, one for buying 3 fruit salads and one for buying 3 mandarin oranges
saved 82.71, $51.81 in coupons

spent $52.59, saved $203.39, $112.78 in coupons

Total left to spend for the month of September

Grocery $2.53

Misc $12.74

Clothing $46.33

Fun $85

This kid is going to cost me a fortune to dress and feed!

I got out all of the clothes I bought the baby for fall and removed the tags and washed them. I went to put a really cute Gymboree bodysuit and some navy colored twill pants on him this morning only to find He is almost too BIG for them already! And I thought Gymboree ran big...

He is 9 months old on Sunday(25 lbs), and he is already out growing 18 month clothing. I have some fall/winter clothes in 24months put away, I just wasn't anticipating him needing that size until he was at least 1 year old. His little tummy hangs over his pants that I could barely button, and his bodysuit was hard to snap too. He wasn't even wearing a cloth diaper! I would't have been able to snap it if he had been. I think he already eats more than his big sister who is 5!

Del Monte foods

Did you notice their ad in the Sunday issue of Parade Magazine? Sign up for the Just One More monthly e-newsletter at www.delmonte.com/solutions and get up to $35 in coupons!

I'm going to blow through the rest of my fun budget in one night!

And I might even go over the remaining $85 for this month. My husband and I have been bickering and have had foul moods toward one another for a few months now. We sit down and talk about what is wrong, blah blah. Come up with solutions and either follow through with the solution for a day or so, or just keep talking about doing the things we have deemed as the solution.

Well, one solution that we keep talking about, and we really think will help out more than anything thing else, is a night out and away from the kids doing something fun together. And we want to both sleep in past 7:30 am! So that means we have to pay grandma(in stockpile items-she picked her pay, lol), a motel/hotel, and then our alcohol and whatever else we decide to do.Right now it looks like we will be going to a dance/night club.

My husband picked that,lol. I don't dance but I guess I can try! If I have a few drinks of booze I am willing to try most things. I am usually wasted by time I have more than 3 drinks because I rarely ever do drink so that shouldn't be a problem. I am not sure of the cost of the club or the room we will be getting. We will probably buy our drinks from a liquor store before we go. I have a mail in rebate for $3 back when you buy 2 arbor mist, my favorite! Hopefully there is a motel/hotel near the club so we can just walk. If not we will have to get a taxi or a friend to bring us back to the room. We don't drink and drive and if dh ever thought about doing it I would kick his butt!

So here is my estimate of what everything will cost

grandma -some toothpaste, mac and cheese, cereal, cheese singles, koolaid packets, toothbrushes, shampoo, razors, and some other junk

hotel/motel- $45

alcoholic beverages -$15

couple waters at the club-$5(they over price water at establishments right?)

club admissin-$30

possible taxi-$10

So if everthing cost what I expect it will be $105, $20 over budget.
we will take the extra from next months fun money and only have $80 left for October. I can live with that.

Now I am just hoping my mom's work doesn't decide to work on Saturday.

misc. spending for last week

Monday when the power was out we were also told to conserve water because the water treatment plant was without electicity as well. So I picked up some disposable diapers and some ice to help keep the food cold.

total was 21.64

Thursday picked up some icecream(used .65 coupon), frozen lemonade, 4 3rd foods babyfood

total was 3.65


I think I am going to cut myself a little slack on the $200 grocery budget this month. I say if I go over by $50 I will still be pleased with my spending.

Total left to spend for the month of September
Grocery $51.98
Misc $15.88
Clothing $46.33
Fun $85

Sunday September 14 shopping trips

So I had just gotten home from shopping when the power went out. I went to Cvs, Walgreens, Meijer, and Kroger.



Kroger #1

4 news papers 3.96(.99 each)

used 3 oyno coupon from the sb diet pizzas last week

total was .96
saved $3 in coupons
Cvs

I had to do 2 transaction because the aleve had to be paid for at the pharmacy.

#1

aleve d 3.99
-$1 coupon

total was 3.24(.25 tax) on gc $0 oop
saved 3.30, $1 in coupons
got back 3 ecb

#2

1 box flavor ice 7.49
4 boxes malt o meal cereal clearanced 1.96(.49 each)
-$1 coupon and $1 adjusted to .96
1 excedrin express gel 3.99
1 cvs reusable shopping bag .99

also used 10 ecb

total was 2.63(.16 tax) on gc $0 oop
saved 23.00, $11.96 in coupons

got back 3.99ecb for excedrin, should have gotten back $5 for the flavor ice(need to call cs about this)

Walgreens

2 sobelife waters 2/2 w inad coupon
-bogo coupon $1
1 pert plus 3.79
-$2 coupon
2 pantene beautiful lengths shampoo/condition 8.00(4.00 each)
-$1/2 coupon

also used 4.50 in rr

total was 6.15(.86 tax) paid 5.34 on gc and .81 oop
saved 12.06, $8.50 in coupons

got back $2 rr, 3.79 esr for pert, 5 esr for pantene beautiful lengths


meijer

4 boxes aunt millies whole grain muffins 6.00(1.50 each)
-4$.50 coupons doubled (did two transactions because meijer only doubles 2 like coupons in 1 transaction)
4 bags freshlike veggies 4.00(1.00 each)
-2$.55/2 coupons doubled

total was $4, forgot to use my .75 oyno q
saved $8 in coupons

Kroger #2

2 broccoli crowns 1.98(.99 each)
3.39 lbs bananas @ .48 lb (1.63)
1 bag ps organic romaine hearts 2.00
-$1 e-coupon
1 very expensive red onion 2.13
2 packs fresh express romaine salad 4.00(2.00 each)
-2$1 coupons
-1 $1.50 off $5 produce purchase
1 package chicken drumsticks 4.22lbs @ 5.02
-1$1.50 off $5 poultry purchase coupon
5 boxes nature valley bars 10.95(2.19 each)
- 1 free box coupon 2.19
- 4 $.50 coupons doubled
- $.60 e-coupon
8 packages hormel natural choice roast beef 15.16 (3.79 for set of 2 on sale bogo)
-4$.55 coupons oubled to $1 each
20 cans campbell's chicken noodle soup 12.00(.60 each)
-5 $.40/4 coupons doubled
20 cans campbell's select harvest soup 25.00(1.25 each)
-10 $.50/2 coupon doubled
2 boxes natures way rice a roni 2.14(1.07 each)
-2$.50 coupons doubled

also got 3$3.00 promo's off
used $3 oyno coupon from the sb diet pizzas last week

total was 37.22
saved 104.23, $38.60 in coupons

got back a 3.50 oyno for the 5 nature valley bars and a free subscription to good house keeping for buying $20 of products with their seal on it(a pleasant surprise for me!)



total spent for the day $42.99

Total left to spend for the month of September:
Grocery $77.27
Misc $15.88
Clothing $46.33
Fun $85

I am SO Tired!

76 hours without power. There are still over 200,000 households in my area without electricity. A few streets over there is STIll a tree pulling down the power lines. WHY? Why hasn't anyone bothered to remove the tree? I am not ungrateful, don't get me wrong, but the people right across the street from me are still sitting in the dark! This is absurd.

I am so happy to be able to wash clothes and bottles and shower with warm water! And to turn a light on. One good thing that came from this is we finally got renter's insurance, something I have been meaning to do for more than 18 months.

Unfortunately, I think I am going to have to toss out everything in my freezer. I brought everything in it to my mom's house, which never lose power(the people across the street from her were with out power until yesterday too-76hrs). She had a chest freezer she wasn't using, so I turned it on and made sure it was getting cold. I loaded it to the top with my food. When I left her house Monday evening the freezer was turned on. Tuesday her boyfriend says it was turned off, and he turned it on. Then my brother says he turned it on after the bf said he did. So what really happened was the bf turned it off!! What an idiot! I don't think it was staying very cool to begin with. It is a really old freezer. So despite hauling all that food across town twice, I think we will be throwing most of it away. The meat was half thawed but still cold and the frozen veggies were almost all thawed. I don't know if it is save to eat any of this stuff or if I can refreeze some safely? I definately don't want to get sick.

Hurricane Ike

So even though we are really far from the coast up here in ohio, we still had some winds that were hurricane strength @ top speeds of 78 mph! Geeze! I am currently w/o power, along with 600,000 other households in my area. I am using my brother's laptop, my mom never lost power! I will update once our power is restored. Duke(our electric company) is estimating some people wont have power for a week!

summary of the weeks shopping 9/07-9/13

Saturday my husband picked up some charcoal no coupons

Total was 3.71(.22 tax)

My first run of the week was Kroger on Sunday

Transaction #1

4 sb diet pizzas 11.96(2.99 each)
-3$2 coupons(had 4 but he missed one and for some reason these beeped? They were printed from the website and were only for the pizzas that I bought1)
3 newspapers 2.97(.99 each_
no coupon
4 sara lee bread 8.00(2.00 each)
-4 free coupons -8.00
1 9pack large tb 3.99
-1$.25 coupon doubled
-1$.50 e coupon

total was 12.15(.23 tax)
saved 22.64 , $15 with coupons

got back $3 oyno from the sb pizzas(last day for this cat was Sunday)

transaction#2

4 sb pizzas 11.96(2.99 each)
-4$2 coupons

total was 3.96
saved 12.00, $8 with coupons

got back $3 oyno from the pizzas

Next I went to Walgreens

3 robitussin 11.97(3.99each)
-3$3 coupons
1 excedrin express gels 3.99
no coupon
1 lyposyl 1.99
no coupon
1 visine A 6.99(shelf said 4.49?)
-1$3 coupon
-1$2 ivc
1 crest prohealth rinse 4.49
no coupon

also used $1,$1 and $9 in rr

total was 6.27(1.84 tax) on gc no oop
saved 32.90, $25 in coupons

got back 4.50 rr for prohealth, 10 in rr for robitussin, 1.99 rebate for lypysol, and 3.99 for Excedrin!

Then cvs

5 right guard deodorant 14.95(2.99 each)
-5$1 coupons
3 revlon nail polish 11.97(3.99 each)
-3$2 coupons
-1$2 crt on Revlon
1 loreal cleanser 5.99
-1$1

also used 4ecb, 5.99ecb, 5.99 ecb

total was 3.87(.94 tax) on gc no oop
saved 41.48, $29.98 in coupons

got back 10 ecb for rightguard, 5.99ecb for loreal, 9ecb for Revlon

I decide to go to Meijer on Sunday, since I missed out on going the past two weekends(grandma day is great!) I filled a prescription for my husband, used a $10 meijer coupon and used a loyalty card so I got the meds and a $10 coupon oyno free, and the pharmacy automatically game me a $1 oyno coupon!

1 3pack girls tank top 4.99
1 5 pack girls socks 5.99
-1$1/2 coupon I was trying to do the fruit of aloom and Nabisco deal again but I forgot to grab the 3rd pack of undies and they changed the price of the family sized wheat thins so I screwed up in 2 ways! Oh well!
-1$8 wyb $110 or more(found this in the bottom of my cart a few weeks back!)
2 pack reduced price fresh tomatoes .94
no coupon
3.78 pds bananas at .59 a pound 2.23
21 koolaid packets 4.20(.20 each)
4 kraft sb diet dressing 6.72(1.68 each)
-4 free wyb 3 coupons -6.72
1 pack Meijer frozen strawberries 2.29
- $1 coupon
1 12 meijer soda 2.34
-$1 coupon
6 boxes gg veggies 6.00(1.00 each)
-2 $.50 /2 coupons and 2$.25 coupons doubled
1 pack ebf baby carrots 1.00
-$1 coupon
2 packs land o lakes butter 2.00(1.00 each)
-2$.50 coupons doubled
2 lysol kitchen cleaner 2.28 (1.14 each)
-2$.50 coupons doubled
8 lysol disinfecting wipes 9.92(1.24 each)
-8 $1 coupons
4 lean cuisine meals 6.44(1.61 each)
-4 $1.00 coupons
4 cartons ice cream 10.96(2.74 each)
-4$1 coupons
2 1lb packs xtra lean ground beef 6.98(3.49 each)
-2 $1 coupons($1 off wyb 2 kraft salad dressings)
6 assorted varieties or dannon yogurt 12.00 (2.00 each)
-5 $1 coupons(Had 6 but forgot one on my cart!)
6 cans red gold tomatoes 4.80 (.80 each)
-2 $.50/3 coupons doubled
1 pack Hormel bacon 2.50
-$1 coupon
1 3lb sack onions 1.67
4 pack jack links beef jerky bogo 11.18(5.59 each set of 2)
-4 $1 coupons
3 family sized wheat thins 7.98(2.66 each)
- 3 free yb 3 coupons 7.82he put one in at 2.40?)
1 pack frozen hash browns 2.00
-$1 coupon

also used the $10 and $1 pharmacy coupons

total was 43.70(.97 tax)
saved 136.88, $74.70 in coupons

I should have gotten back $3 oyno for the sb diet dressing and there was a sign saying you get a cat for the gg veggies but not a single thing printed, maybe the machine was out of paper?




The next 3 trips were just for a few things I missed

Cvs

2 cristophe shampoo/conditioner 15.98(7.99 each)
-$5 coupon
-bogo coupon $7.99

total was 3.49(.50 tax) on gc no oop
saved 12.99 with coupons

got back 5ecb for buying 15 worth of cristophe

Walgreens
2 chex mix 1.98(.99 each)
-$1 and $.98 coupons
2 oust surface and air sanitizers5.98 (2.99 each)
-bogo $2.99
-$1 man
-$2 ivc
4 herberts bars 2@ 1.99 and 2 adjusted to 1.01 to make it 2/3 loke the sign said
-$5.02 ivc (apparently adjusting to 1.01 screwed me out of the last .98 cents off? Oh wellL)

total was 1.34 (.37 tax) on gc no oop
saved 19.01, 12.99 in coupons


Meijer (This one was awesome!)

8 packs gg steamer veggies 8.00(1.00 each)
-8 $1 coupons
4 packs lol butter 2 kinds 4.00(1.00 each)
-2 $.50 coupons doubled and
-3 $ .55 coupons doubled to 1.00 (I was using u scan and in the middle of scanning coupons it says to get cashier so she rescanned a coupon I already scanned. I didn’t catch this till I was home)
2 loafs aunt millies bread 2.00 (1.00 each
-2 $.35 coupons doubled
- $1 for promo buy 10/10 get 11th free
2 lysol tb cleaners 2.08(1.04 each)
-2 $.50 coupons doubled
2 lysol kitchen cleaners 2.28(1.14 each)
-2$.50 coupons doubled
2 spray and wash 2.28(1.14 each)
-2$.50 coupons doubled
1 4pack gel pens on clearance 1.00

total was .66(.42 tax)
saved 44.11, 20.40 in coupons




Target

I had my first grouchy, uncoupon friendly cashier at target today. She tried telling me I couldn't use a coupon on trial size even though the coupon said any size. She was unpleasant in other ways too, but I was overly nice, just so I could annoy her, lol.

3 box kashi soft snack bars 8.25(2.75 each)
-2$2 coupons
1 box go lean crunch cereal 2.75
-$1 coupon
4 easy mac 3.08(.77 each)
-2$1/2 coupons
2 single serve cheerio bowls 2.00 (1.00 each
-2$1 coupons
4 all small and mighty travel size 4.00(1.00 each)
-4$1 coupons
free $5 gift card for buying 4 kashi products

total was 7.33(.25 tax)
saved $13.00 in coupons



I spent 79.95 this week, that seems like a lot!
3.67 in clothing, 4.37 in misc, and 71.91 in grocery

Total left to spend for the month of September
Grocery $120.26
Misc $15.88
Clothing $46.33
Fun $85

Walgreen $10/$40 coupon and Other News

So I got this in my email earlier today and started planning my trip to use it. Then I realized I only have 4 or 5 bucks on my gc left and the total has to be $40 after discounts and coupons! I cannot afford that high of an oop or I will definately go over my budget! So as tempted as I am I will be sitting this one out.

In other news.... I gave my two weeks notice Saturday! I really enjoyed working for Kohl's, but since I had my baby I dread going to work! It isn't so much that I miss him(though I do, of course!) as it is I can only work weekends because my husband has to be up so early for work-3 am- and the baby wont sleep for my husband. I can put him to bed before I leave, but then he is up again about 1hr after I am gone. It's like he senses my absence!So with me getting home after 1am and him needed to get ready for work at 3am he wouldn't get any sleep. The weekend is the only time we get to spend adult time together and it seems to be our catch up on all the crap we let slide during the week time. I was lucky to work 2 nights a month any way. For example I worked sat the 6th and the next day I work is sat the 20th. That is my last day as well.

Another problem I have with this job is everytime I go to work I start wanting all those shiny new things all over the store! I resist, but then the store throws a triple discount at me and I lose control!! I believe I have only made $600 this year and probably spent more than that(or at least half).

And the last reason is with two kids I hardly ever get time to do things I need to do when they aren't up or needing something, so at this point in my life my free time is worth more than the job pays. Not to mention I can make more on a trip to walgreens or cvs than I can in one night at kohl's plus I get the stuff free!Well I can't always but the trend seems to be I can at least once a month for each store.

I am off to work on my shopping post for this week. I still need to go to kroger for this weeks deals(our ad runs mon-sun) and I wanted to hit up Target and Walmart as well.

mail call week ending 9-06

So this is wayyyyy late again, but the baby has been teething and then came down with a cold , so he is very clingy and not sleeping for more than 15 mins in the day. At night he will sleep 30-90 mins at a time. I will have a post of all my shopping up by saturday night. I had one really great trip to Meijer where I only spent .66 for 21 items that you wont want to miss!



I also got a rebate check for Scrubbing bubbles action scrubber 5.49
and 2 more $3 checks from pinecone!

New Budget

You my have noticed I broke down my spending categories into 4 groups: Grocery, Misc., Clothing, and Fun.
I didn't include gas or car repair in this because it is so variable. I will obviously try to save for these expenses and get the best deal I can, but I never go overboard purchasing gas so I don't need to keep an online log of what I spend(I will start one for my own use though).

Here are the amounts I am allowing myself to spend on these groups monthy

Grocery $200
Misc. $50
Clothing $50
Fun $100


We don't really do many fun things right now but we plan on making that a priorty from now on.This category can include dinners out with friends/family, board games or toys that we play as a family,movie tickets/rentals and of course the cost of going other fun places.Misc. will be anything from gifts to things the kids need that aren't food or clothes(the walker).

Totals left over from one month will be rolled into the next one. If we go over budget one month I will take the overage out of the following month.This looks like it will work for us, but It will take some disipline to stick to.

I forgot we went to Coney Island on Monday. My SIL had free tickets, so the cost was pretty low. We paid $6 for parking and DH decide we NEEDED to have icecream for $9(we only got 3!) It was almost 100 degrees there so he was right about needing icecream, this time.


Total left to spend for the month of September
Grocery$192.17
Misc$ 20.25
Clothing$50
Fun$85

Kroger, Deals, and Reruns

Kroger

1 can frozen lemonade .78

total .78

Deals(like a family dollar store but they don't take coupons and are owned by Dollar Tree)

2 cans smoked oysters 2.00(1.00 each)

1 weird ball thing 3.00

3 horseradish sauce 3.00(1.00 each)

1 minute maid 20 oz drink 1.00

total was 9.25(.25 tax)

Reruns for wee ones (children's resale shop)

1 winnie the pooh walker 24.99

total was 26.56(1.57 tax)

Total for the day $36.59

grocery $6.84

misc. $29.75


Amount left to spend for the month of September:
Grocery-$192.17
Misc-$20.25
Clothing-$50
Fun-$100

Walgreens Monday September 1st

I did two transactions. The last only had 1 item.

Transaction 1

walgreens acid controller 7.99(FAR)
no coupon
2 visine different formulas 8.98(4.49 each)
-2 $3.00 coupons
- $2 ivc(I bought the wrong kind apparently because it didn't go through on it's own. She would only take the $2 off 1 because it says limit one on the coupon though we all know it would have taken off for both it it rang through on it's own. The wording on the IVC says on assorted varieties but I'm guessing it only works on the Visine -A kind -which is pictured)
1 revlon nail polish 4.49(FAR)
-1 $2 coupon
2 herberts fully loaded candy bars 3.98(1.99 each- though the sign said 2/3 I didn't feel like arguing.)
-1 $3 IVC
1 Nivea men's body wash 4.99 (FAR- last one on the shelf too!)
-1 $1 coupon
1 excedrin migrane 1.99
-1 $2 coupon

also used
$9 rr

total was 9.20 (1.78 tax) paid with gc no OOP!

got back

$1 in rr for excedrin

2nd transaction

1 excedrin migrane 1.99
-1 $2 coupon adjusted to 1.99(the register wouldn't allow the coupon to pay .01 in tax, lol)

total was .12(.12 tax) paid with gc no OOP!

got back

$1 rr for excedrin!



total left to spend for the month of September $199.01

CVS Sunday August 31st

I didn't have adequate time to prepare for this trip because we had to get ready to go to my DH's parent's , so I didn't do alot of deals. hopefully I will make it back for the bogo outlast and some more Monster Javas(dh loves these)

2 monster javas 3.00(1.50 each)
no coupon
3 dawn dishsoap 2.97(.99 each)
-3$.50 coupons
2 colgate total 5.98(2.99 each)
-2$1.50 coupons
2 covergirl amazemint lipgloss 11.98(5.99 each)
-1 bogo coupon 5.99
- 1$1 coupon

also used
1.49 ecb
5.00 ecb
5.79 ecb

total was .71 (.55 tax) paid for with gc oop $0


got back

5.99 ecb for the covergirl
4.00 ecb for the colgate

Their newspapers didn't have coupons in them for some reason so I went across the street to BP and got one for .99.



Total left to spend for the month of September $199.01

Walgreens Rocks!

I just checked my rebates for september and I already have $66 worth for this month, and I still have 4 FAR items to buy! I also plan on doing the battery rebates. Hopefully they will have another $5/$20 coupon.

I only got $67 back last month.

I have $13 on my giftcard and $11 in RR to work with for the rest of the month.

mail call week ending 8-30

So this post was way over due but here are the goodies that cam e in the mail last week.



I also got two $3 checks from pinecone!!