Friday Finals 7/26/2013

I had a great week coupon shopping!  I finished off a $20 gift card at CVS and spent $4 on lots of supplies at Staples!

CVS 7/26/13 - Saved $59.63

Staples 7/26/13 - Saved $15.39

I went to Target today with the kiddos this morning.  We did pretty good considering the amount we needed and I was able to keep kids entertained as I explored all over the store!  Majority of the items I purchased at Target were either on sale or had a price cut.  I even took a few pictures of product marked on sale or temporary price cut to remind myself to grab coupons.  (I'm not that coupon shopper that brings her entire coupon book to the store.  I plan out my shopping trip ahead of time and pull the needed coupons.  I find it much easier.)

I spent $132.93 and saved $65.44 or 33%.  I do not have a picture from Target, but I will mention to make sure you have connected with Target's new Cartwheel program.  It allows you to save additional money on top of manufacturer and their Target coupons that print!

Overall, for this week we spent $153.86 and saved $140.46 or 48% saved!  My goal is to get back to our weekly trips and continue doing our menu planning because that really helps overall on our budget.

Isn't the Savings Tracker awesome!  Find and track your savings at Southern Savers!

Back to School Shopping at Staples on 7/25/13

I sure love Staples!  I went this morning after visiting Teacher's Tools for their Teacher Appreciation special.  I purchased everything pictured for $4.00.  I saved $15.29 in manufacturer coupons and store coupons or 79%!

25¢ Items:
Sharpie 2pack, limit 2
Bic 10ct pens, limit 2

50¢ Items:
Composition Notebooks, limit 5
Filler Paper, limit 5

Other Items:
4 - Folders 15¢
Scissors $1
2 - Purell 8oz $2
-$1/2 Purell product, 8 oz + PRINTABLE
2 - Wet Ones $2
-.75/1 Wet Ones canister or singles, excl 15 or 20 ct. travel pks. PRINTABLE
-.75/1 Wet Ones canister or singles, excl 15 or 20 ct. travel pks. PRINTABLE

I used a $10 Staples rewards and also saved $2.89 using my Back to School Pass.  Don't forget to check out the ad on Southern Savers for the other discounts to help you purchase your Back to School items on sale!

School Supply Shopping at Staples

Don't forget to check out Jenny at Southern Savers.  Here's this week's Staples ad she put together.

When shopping for school supplies, you can save more money by buying supplies each week when the stores place them on sale.  Make yourself a list of the items you need using an online drive, such as Google or iCloud.  We use Google Drive as I purchase items, I mark bought and the price I spent along with where I purchased it.  The reason is if something goes drastically on sale at a much lower price I paid before I can return it.

Plus, if you have not already purchased the Back-to-School Savings Pass you will want to purchase it on your next transaction.  It cost $10, but allows you to save 15% on each transaction.  It can only be used once per day.  It discounts pretty much everything in the store.

I also traded in three ink cartridges which will get me $6 back next month to use toward items.

PENNY DEALS:
Staples Cap Erasers 12 pk.
Staples Ruled 3 x 5 White Index Cards 100 pk.
BIC Round Stic Ballpoint Pens 8 pk.

REBATES:
The Staples computer ream paper is on sale for $6.99, but after an instant rebate it will be $0.01!  The limit is two for this item.  This is a great time to purchase it because they will continue to run specials similar throughout all of the back to school ads.

OTHER GREAT DEALS:
Staples Erasers 3pk - $2
Pocket Folders - $0.15 (These are regularly priced at $0.50 and higher.
Highlighers - $2each
Mechanical Pencils - $1

The total spent on this transaction was $23.14!

Friday Finals - 8/26

We did good this week overall on our total spending along with our totals on groceries and household items!  The goal is to keep it up to continue to spend less, save more, and pay more toward credit cards!

Walgreens
Total Before Savings and Coupons: $62.42
Total Spent: $14.28
Total Saved:$48.14 or 77%

Kroger
Total Before Savings and Coupons: $71.68
Total Spent: $36.03
Total Saved:$35.65 or 49%

Staples
Total Before Savings and Coupons: $13.30
Total Spent: $7.30
Total Saved:$6.00 or 45%

So overall, we spent $57.60 and saved $92.07 last week!  We stayed within our new $100 spending goal including other expenses that we had planned.

Busy Monday! Jakob started 1st Grade and Saving at the Stores!

Ashlyn and I had a busy day after dropping Jakob off for his first day of First Grade!  It seems really odd to still be off of work, but I am still enjoying my time off with her of course.  :) We went to the bank, Staples, Target, and Kroger.  I used a $6.00 reward from turning in empty print cartridges at Staples and picked up paper for my students along with cord cover so my students or I do not trip over the cords running from my projector to my computer.  Using my $6.00 reward, I spent $7.30 and saved approximately 45% off my purchase!

At Target, I returned an item and then quickly before getting the Kids SpinBrush Toothbrush for Jakob.  They are normally $5.79 and were on sale for $4.63 and I had a $1.00 coupon!  Between all the savings including my Target card, I spent $3.26 and saved $2.78!

Kroger did not have everything I was looking for today, but next week's ad is the same to my knowledge according to Southern Savers.  I spent $36.03 and saved $35.65 or 49% today!  I might check back next week for the items they were out of stock on with next week's purchases.  Here's the break down of everything I purchased today at Kroger. Items in red are the coupons and Kroger still triples coupons that are 35 cents (or less) to a $1.00 and doubles coupons that are 40-50 cents up to a maximum of $1.00.  No pictures this week...Ashlyn was hungry about halfway through my trip - had to stop and let her have a bottle!  So overall, I was pretty exhausted after all the trips.  We are on track of our weekly spending goal of no more than $100 counting everything from groceries, household, fast food, etc!  This should really help with our budget especially with Ashlyn starting school soon too!

Fridge or Frozen:
Jimmy Dean Breakfast Skillets or Sandwiches, 14.8 -18 oz, $3.79
-.75/1 Jimmy Dean product (Facebook) printable

Groceries:
2 - Old El Paso Re-fried Beans 99¢
1 - Old El Paso Seasoning

-FREE Old El Paso Seasoning WYB 2 Old El Paso Product

2 - Betty Crocker Boxed Potatoes, 99¢

-.50/2 Betty Crocker boxed potatoes, excl buds and pouch printable

5 - SpaghettiOs, 14-15 oz, 49¢

-.50/5 Campbell’s Spaghettio’s pasta printable

2 - Del Monte Fruit Cup, 4-8 ct., $1.49
2 - Kellogg’s Cereal Frosted Mini Wheats, 17-25.5 oz, $2.49
-$1/2 Kellogg’s cereals, 8.7 oz +, RP 8/07
 3 - Pop Tarts, 8 ct., $1.59
-$1/3 Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts or Mini Crisps, 6 ct +, RP 7/24
2 - Heinz Ketchup $1.99

-.50/1 Heinz Ketchup 8/21 Insert

-.50/1 Heinz Ketchup 8/21 Insert

2 - Nature's Own 100% Wheat Bread $2.99 (B1G1)
King Hawaiian Snacker Rolls

-FREE King Hawaiin Snack Rolls

2 - Wolf Chili $1.67

-.50/2 Wolf Chili (Kroger Catalina Coupon)

Kroger Relish $1.00

Produce: 
Bananas $0.49/lb - $1.62
Red Potatoes $1.29/lb - $1.92
Red Apples 5/$2.00 - $2.00

Meat:
2 - Oscar Mayer Bologna or Wieners, 16 oz, $1.99

Personal Care:
Desitin Cream, 2 oz, $2.99

-$1 off Desitin Rapid Relief Cream printable

Saturday and Sunday Shopping

Saturday evening, Jeff and I went to the mall to JcPenney's and Bath & Body Works.  We did excellent with coupons at both locations.

At JcPenney's, Ashlyn got four new outfits for $6.99 out of pocket!  We had a coupon for $10 off of $25 and a $10 reward coupon from the previous month when we bought the curtains for our bedroom.  Her outfits were also all from the clearance racks making it an even better deal!  JcPenney's also sent us another $10 off $10 coupon and Jeff picked up a clearanced shirt for $15 that he got for $5 plus taxes.

Bath & Body Works was running their soaps on sale.  The special was either 5 for $15 or 7 for $20.  They sent me an email for $10 off $30 so I was able to purchase another item that I put back for a gift.  My mom started buying us these soaps after we moved to our house and we have really started liking them.  Regular price is $5.50 each if they are not on sale, so it was a great time to stock up.  Since I was already thinking about spending $20, I loved the idea of getting something for around $10 free due to the $10 off $30 coupon!

Today, Jeff and I went to Staples, Target, and Kroger after church.  We were primarily shopping the sales with coupons.  At Target, they had Similac Soy Formula on sale for $21.00 each for a 1.37 lb container.  These are normally $23.49 each.  We bought four with $5.00 off coupons making each one $16.  Similac recently sent a sample in the mail containing four $5.00 off checks toward the purchase of Similac.  There were no restrictions regarding using them with other discounts.  The only listed fine print was the item had to cost more than the check, which they did.  Overall, we paid $11.00 each before the Target 5% discount.

At Kroger, we went for a few sale items.  A few items were not listed the same as the ad and they were either incorrect or due to the ad being marked for a different store.  We decided not to worry about it and check possibly the other store based on the discount.  We spent $30.63 today and saved $23.00 or 42%.

Here's the break down of everything Jeff and I purchased today at Kroger. Items in red are the coupons and Kroger still triples coupons that are 35 cents (or less) to a $1.00 and doubles coupons that are 40-50 cents up to a maximum of $1.00.

Fridge or Frozen:
6 - Yoplait Yogurts $0.70
-.40/6 Yoplait yogurt cups, SS 6/12 (exp 08/06)
2 - 2% Milk
-2 FREE 2% WYB FOUR General Mills Cereals/Granola Bars
2 - Silk Soymilk $2.79 (on sale through 8/7 - plan to purchase a few more)
-$1 off Silk soymilk, half gal., SS 7/10
-$1 off Silk soymilk, half gal., SS 7/10
5 - Smart One Meals $2.18

Grocery:
2 - Honey Nut Cheerios $2.79

-$1.00 Honey Nut Cheerios (Internet Coupon)

-$1.00 Honey Nut Cheerios (Internet Coupon)

2 - Cheerios $2.79
-$1/2 General Mills Cheerios cereal printable
Pillsbury Brownie $1.00
-.40/1 Pillsbury Frosting or Brownie mix, RP 6/12
2 - Baby Ruth $0.50

Produce:
Cucumbers $0.67 each - $1.34
Bananas $0.49/lb - $1.17
Roma Tomatoes $1.00/lb - $0.80

Staples: June 13th

Saturday morning, my mom and I needed to go to Kohl's to look for shoes. Next door to Kohl's is Staples. This week, Staples ran an ad for Hammerhill paper for $1.00 after store coupons and rebates. I picked up 2 packs which was the limit and another pack of 4 x 6 photo pages for my coupon binder. I had a $6.00 rebate coupon expiring 6/30, so this special worked perfectly!

(2) Hammerhill Copy Plus Paper $4.99 after store savings; $1.00 after EasyRebate
(1) Staples 4x6 Photo Pages $3.49

I used my $6.00 rebate check from recycling ink cartridges. I like when rebate checks or rewards from companies are pre-tax! It saves more money!

Total After Store Savings: $14.55
Total Spent: $8.07
Total Saved: $6.48 or 45%
Rebate Submitted: $7.98 (Figuring in the rebate, I spent $0.09 cents for everything at Staples.)