The main reason for my lack of posts is I made this ridiculously long and detailed post about all my shopping last week and somehow only a small part of it posted. I don't have the energy to do it over again.

I checked our finances and have decided that this week we will be saving extra money by using food from our stockpile and avoiding spending money, at all costs!

I will be getting the free items at Kroger and Meijer. I already went this morning for emergency frozen hashbrowns (the only thing my son will eat for breakfast) and free Hall's cough drops at Kroger. I regret not planning my trip better because there are apparently quite a few more freebies this week. Oh well, I'll go back.

I already checked the CVS near by and they were out of razor's by Monday morning. Pisser. I just left. ALex was with me and trying to come up with a money making scenario would have been impossible with him.

My inlaws arrive in town on Thursday and I'm thrilled. I truly love it when they visit. And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they buy us groceries :) I'll never pass up free groceries... and it's always an added bonus when I don't have to plan and use coupons!

Lots of recent shopping



TODAY

Kroger

Purchase:
(4) Ultra Nail Saver Sponges - $4.00
(2) Green Giants frozen veggies - $2.00
(2) Cottonelle 4-pk - $1.98
(1) Soft Soap - $1.00

Used:
(4) -$1.00 Ultra Nail Saver IP Coupons - $4.00
(2) -$0.50 Green Giant frozen veggies MFQ - $2.00 (both coupons doubled)
(1) -$0.50 Cottonelle MFQ (randomly found on hanging out in a drawer at home!) - $1.00 (doubled)
(1) -$0.35 Softsoap MFQ - $0.70 (doubled)
(2) -$0.50 Cottonelle shortcuts coupon loaded to card - $1.00
(1) -$0.50/2 Green Giant shortcuts coupon loaded to card - $0.50

Total: $0.16!!

I couldn't believe it. I hmmmed for a couple minutes over whether to pick up the softsoap (don't usually use these) as a filler because I was worried I was going to be in the negative because of the shortcuts coupons. I'm glad I did!

Revving it up!

I'm kicking my deal shopping into high gear for the next couple weeks. As winter approaches, the amount of money Mike and I will be making will decrease. We both work at the same restaurant and bar, owned by my father. Mike's income shouldn't be affected much because he's a manager. If business is slower, his tips will be lower. But, we still anticipate the same number of hours. My work is affected more. We have outdoor seating that draws major crowds, when winter comes that means we close the outdoor seating and have far fewer shifts available because a whole entire section of the restaurant is closed.

Anyways. I'm blabbing. It has already started to effect us. I'm feeling the pinch. To alleviate some of the stress, I am working on having our basement as stockpiled as possible.

Today I left Alex home with Mike and spent a few hours running around town getting some good deals. I was even able to stop at Goodwill and Aldi, which I hardly EVER go to.

I'll update with all my shopping later.

Kroger 10/21

Went to scoop up some of the freebies at Kroger today. Once I got there, I realized I forgot to load my shortcuts coupons. Er!

Purchased:
(1) MS Organic Whole Chicken - $4.70
(1) MS Roll of Pork Sausage - $1.59
(1) MS Horizon Organic Milk - $1.59 (I think?)
(3) Johnson's Buddies Bars - $2.97
(4) Brut Deodorants - $4.00
(4) Celestial Tea - $4.00
(1) Puffs - $1.00

Used:
(1) -$3.00 off 3 Johnson's Buddies MFQ - $3.00
(4) -$1.00 off any Brut MFQ - $4.00
(4) -$1.00 off any Celestial Tea MFQ - $4.00
(1) -$0.25 off any Puffs MFQ - $0.50 (doubled)

I thought there was a $1.00 off Organic coupon loaded to my card. Guess not. Oh well.

This particular store didn't have the $1.00 Sally Hansen. Or else they weren't marked. I price checked the bottle that looked like the one in the picture and it was $4.25. Who knows...

I spent $10.xx OOP.

I would have also purchased the Green Giant frozen veggies, but I didn't know if that coupon was loaded to my card. I probably would have also scooped up some soft soap, except Alex insisted on using the GIANT shopping cart shaped like a car and it was IMPOSSIBLE to push through the store. By the time I remember the soft soap, I didn't feel like trying to push our way to the other end of the store. Oh well. I will probably go back later this week for the veggies and the soft soap.

Did some major grocery shopping today. Hit up Kroger and Meijer. Had to get some things that weren't super great deals. But, I think all-in-all, everything was at least on sale. Some highlights...

Kroger:
(1) Prilosec OTC 12-ct - $9.99 - Used $5.00 P&G Esaver loadable coupon, plus a $3.00 MFQ that I clipped from some random newspaper insert (not a coupon insert). Paid $2.00
(1) Febreze Noticeables - Don't know retail price - Used $5.00 P&G Esaver loadable coupon, plus $5.00 P&G MFQ. It was free plus overage
(4) Kroger cheese - were $1.67 a piece
(1) 1/2 Gallon of whole milk - $0.99 on manager special

There was a TON of meat and nice bread marked down, but we just don't have room in our freezer for it

Meijer:
(4) Orville Redenbacher's Natural Popcorn - $1.59 a piece - I used $1.00 MFQs and got them for $0.59 a piece!
(3) Bottles of Juicy Juice - $2.25-ish a piece - I used $1.00 off IPs and paid about $1.25-ish. I still have about 5 more of these coupons that will expire on the 15th. I'm actually tempted to go to Kroger where they are on sale for a slightly higher price (about $2.59) because their juice boxes are included in their sale and we would get more use out of juice boxes.
(2) Boxes of Kelloggs cereal - $2.00 - used $1.00 IPs and made them $1.00 a piece
(1) 24-pack of Pepsi - $6.00 - Eh, at least it's a better deal than paying $3.67 for a 12-pack
(1) Bag of Meijer brand Kettle potato chips - $2.49 - Used $1.00 mealbox coupon and paid $1.49 which is pretty darn good deal for chips because I can never find coupons for chips.


I also got a lot of fruit from both stores. Meijer has a deal on Michigan apples right now (I live in Michigan though). You can grab one of their paper tote bags and mix and match with various kinds for $0.79 a pound which is about half the price they were at Kroger.


I think thats about all. I also got a nice bathmat that was 30% off and ended up only being $15.00. I'm not sure if I could have gotten a better deal going to BB&B and using a coupon. But, I just don't have time to make multiple trips.

Back to painting that bathroom.

Expensive week to come...

So, this week is going to be more expensive than most. We have our first real houseguests coming to stay with us in 6 days and I didn't really prepare my stockpile for it.

I know we'll need a lot of easy snacks - cheese, dip, crackers, chips, pop, fresh fruits (which I wouldn't have purchased ahead of time anyways). So this week I'm going to have to make some purchases of items I don't have coupons for.

Thank goodness for Meijer mealbox coupons. There is one for baked lays and one for their Meijer brand kettle chips. This morning Alex and I already made a trip to purchase one of each.

I'm going to have to pour of the sales flyers this week and decide where to buy the rest... fruit, pop, crackers, toilet paper (our stockpile is dwindling) and cheese. I'm thinking Target has a pretty good deal on Coke - 3 for $11. We'll see.

Anyways, yesterday I made one last trip to Walgreens for the week. I couldn't pass up the $10 shower cleaner coupon. I have been dying to try one but still couldn't stomach the $5.00 OOP it would have been with just a $5 off coupon. I love that it's now free after rebate. Plus, I needed some Windex. I've been using Lysol the past few weeks to clean windows and it just isn't cutting it.

Yesterday we scooped up a really great deal at one of our local grocery stores. We purchased a boneless sirloin roast for about $15.00. This is something we wouldn't normally buy, but that my husband LOVES. He's a true carnivore. Anyways, the reason we purchased one yesterday, is it came with a free 5# bag of potatoes, 3# bag of carrots, ?# bag of onions, Heinz gravy, a disposable roasting pan and an apple pie. So, at some point this week we will have a roast for dinner. He's pumped. The thing is huge, so I intend to use the leftovers for beefstew. Or something.

All for now. Back to preparing for our houseguests.

CVS Confession

Ok. First lets start out with my trip to CVS today. I did one transaction:

(4) Colgate MaxFresh toothpaste - $11.96
(2) Colgate MaxFresh 2 in 1 toothpaste - $5.38 (they were 25% off)
(3) CVS Gold Soap bars - $2.97
(1) Bic Soleil - $5.99

Used:
(6) -$1.00 Colgate Maxfresh MFQ - $6.00
(1) -$2.00 Bic Soleil - $2.00
$5.99 ECB
$5.00 ECB
$3.00 ECB
$2.50 ECB
$1.00 ECB

Paid $2.xx OOP most ofwhich was tax, I believe.

I received $19.00 ECBs. I did it all in one big transaction because I couldn't really think of a better way to do it now that we don't have any $/$$ coupons.

I dunno about CVS anymore. I just feel like I might make it a monthly, or twice monthly trip for me. GASP! I know... Something has gotten into me and I get so insanely nervous everytime I step up to the regester to pay. And I've never had a nasty cashier before! ::knock on (fake) wood::

I'll be brutally honest.

I live less than 5 minutes from a really great CVS. Most good ECB deals are always still stocked. The clearance section is nice. My favorite cashier works there.

But, it's right SMACK in the middle of student housing for Michigan State University. Hence the reason why all the deals are always still there. It's probably an insanely profitable CVS because college students don't care at all about snagging a good deal (or, most I should say). Plus, it's right among all the bars so I'm sure they have quite a few that stumble through and buy a week's worth of potato chips to chow down on after a drunken night out.

And thats why I get so nervous. I look like a college student myself. And I just feel like the eyes of a dozen beautiful young co-eds are burning the back of my head as I stand at the register and hand over 6 tubes of toothpaste and 20 coupons.

I can't even imagine what it'd be like if my coupons beeped and I had some drunk idiot behind me who wanted to be rude about taking so long... which is entirely possible because I went at 10pm tonight and they were all out in full force.

So, I apologize if the CVS transactions are a bit sparse. My nerves are getting the best of me.

Plus, I feel like everything that is a good deal, I already have 10 of. Tonight I bought toothpaste I don't even need just so I could roll some ECBs that were going to expire in a couple days.

We'll see what happens.

Another good Wags trip

I mainly went tonight to get Chapstick and more Glade Scenter Oil Holders. Well, they were out of the holders. Instead I ended up with:

(3) Pert Plus - $10.47
(2) Glade carpet and room deodorizer - $1.98
(2) Chapstick 3-pks - ?? (regular price not marked)
(2) Oral-B Indicators - $3.98
(4) Halloween goody bags - $0.50

Used:
(3) -$1.50 Pert Plus MFQ - $4.50
(2) -$1.00 Glade carpet and room MFQ- $2.00
(1) -$1.00 Oral-B Manual Toothbrush MFQ - $1.00
(1) -$0.75 Oral-B Manual Toothbrush MFQ - $0.75
(1) -$2.50 Pert Plus October ES IVC - $7.50 (take $2.50 off for each item purchased)
(1) -$?? Chapstick coupon (made each chapstick package $2.99)
(1) -$4.50 RR

Total: $4.xx Will get back $2.20 in rebates. Not bad considering we needed the Chapstick that my husband is addicted to. I also just noticed that 3 of my goody bags rang up as $0.25 and 1 rang up at $0.13. Hmmm...

Will post my Kroger trip later

Sicky-poo

My little dude is really sick. We decided to take him to the ER lastnight when we discovered his temp was 104 and he was acting lethargic. 6 hours and 2 IVs later, everything is much better... but still icky for him. He has moments of normalness and moments and sickness. He was very dehydrated due to all the puking. Oh, and all the screaming. Lots of screaming.

It totally sucks watching your babe in pain. It was really tough to keep it together.

Despite the fact that we could use the Motrin on sale at CVS this week (the nurse said everything 3 hours we could alternate tylenol and motrin for maximum fever coverage), I opted not to make a CVS run. It's one of those times where I really don't want to leave Alex at all.

I promise for a CVS trip soon. My ECBs expire on the 11th and I have $3 off coupons for the Soleils... so I'm really hoping they still have some in stock when I go.

All for now.

Frugalness

So, here is most of Alex's fall/winter wardrobe that was purchased for less than $70. Please note that there are a few things missing from the picture (two pairs of Kohl's pants and a long sleeve shirt - 5.00 a piece. And a winter coat - FREE!)

I had to pay more OOP for pants at Kohls because I couldn't find any cute ones at the thrift/resale. They were all very 80's-esque and acid-washy. Ick.

Most of it was purchased at a local 2nd hand shop, or thrift stores. The shoes are brand new (2 pairs!) that I got when Meijer was having their buy1get1-for-$1 sale. Even the fire truck onesie that Alex is modeling was a garage sale find for $0.50.

My favorite deals are the winter coat (not pictured) that I received WAY BACK when I was pregnant at one of my baby showers. And the doggy pajamas (on the left) that were also a shower gift. The khaki colored fall jacket was an AWESOME find... it's so adorable on him and it was only $6, it even has a removable red liner.

Best of all, this picture display's my many attempts at being frugal.

The past couple of weeks Target had a ton of comforters, sheet sets, curtains, etc on clearance and I scooped up the red comforter (king size) for only $20.

The curtains on the windows came with our house (it was part of the agreement that the seller would leave all window treatments). While at JoAnns, my mom and I found that cool dot patterned fabric (and used the 40% off coupon!) and she sewed the band onto the pre-existing curtains... making it a cheap alternative to buying all new ones. I love them! I'm not big on traditional baby/toddler themed rooms. I think the colors are often muted and boring. And especially when it comes to little boys, Alex LOVES cars and trucks but all the car/truck themed comforters were so BLAH.

Now, I'm not sure why he has a book on his head. But, at least he didn't make a mess of the clothes in the picture before I could take a shot.

Wags 10/05

Went to a Walgreens I'd never visited before. It went very successfully. They have a much better clearance section than my usual Wags. The cashier was great, although I have found that all Wags cashiers are nice. Anyways, here is what I scooped up:

(3) Glade Scented Oil Candle Holders - $11.97
(4) Glade Candles - $7.96
(1) Glade Carpet and Room Deodorizer (? is that what it's called?) - $1.99
(3) Oral-B Indicator Toothbrushes - $5.97
(1) 60 ct. Tuf's Trash Bags - $3.99
(1) 54 ct Tampax Pearl - $4.00 (clearance)
(4) Halloween Goodie Bags (not pictured) - $0.50

Used:
(3) -$2.00 Glade Scented Oil Candle - $6.00
(4) -$1.00 Glade Candle - $4.00
(1) -$1.00 Glade Carpet and Room - $1.00
(3) -$1.00 Oral-B Manual Toothbrush - $3.00
(1) -$1.00 Tampax - $1.00
(1) -$1.00 Oral-B Indicator Oct ES IVC - $3.00 (took $1 off for each toothbrush purchased)
(1) -$10.00 RR - $10.00

Total: $11.xx

Will receive $12.10 Rebate. Sweet! We really needed the trash bags. I wanted to do the other tampon deal, but couldn't get the coupon to print. 54 tampons for $3 works for me. I also wanted to score some free toothpaste but debated over whether or not the P&G crest coupon really applied to the $0.99 cent tubes... I opted to wait and see if it works for others.

Not a bad trip in my opinion!

Big sigh...

Well, pooey!

Another $5/$25 CVS coupon goes to waste. Alex and I finally made a trip out and they didn't have any well patches or beauty bars... which totally ruined my scenario. Had I been alone, I made have been able to figure something out. But, I had the kiddo. And as soon as we set foot in the toothpaste aisle he pulled as many tubes of toothpaste off the shelves as he could. I knew sticking around and trying to come up with a scenario on the fly wasn't going to work.

But, yet again I'm thrilled about this upcoming week at Wags. I'll post later about my most recent trip. Plus, I plan to go tomorrow... I think I'll make Sunday my Wags day.

Must go. Kid is fussing.

Shopping sure is tough with a toddler that has tantrums every 2 seconds. Literally.

Mark my word. I WILL be using my 5/25 CVS coupon even if I have to buy things we don't need (toothpaste, bar soap and arthritis care). I am having CVS withdrawls.

In other news, I was going to make a stop at Walgreens for more body wash. I can't find my $28 in RRs. I plan to turn the house upside down after Alex goes to bed. Thats a lot of RRs to lose.

POOEY!