New Year's Resolutions

As many people do, I've made a few New Year's resolutions. The first one is to lose weight. I've had this as a resolution several times---somethimes I succeed and sometimes I don't. I'm currently within 5 pounds of my heaviest weight. I don't want to post my weight for the world to see, but I will say that I want to lose about 50 to 60 pounds. My lowest adult weight was in the summer of 2001 when I was 26. It was 50 pounds ago. Why did I gain it back? Well, to be honest, some family issues came along and I stuffed my face instead of telling people what I thought. By the spring of 2008, I had gained the 40 pounds back. I lost about 10 of that through a "Biggest Loser" contest at work. Then I met Vince and gained it back plus 10 to 15more----I have seriously eaten out more in the past 3.5 years than I did in the 33 previous years!

Well, this year HAS to be different. By June 23rd, 2011 I want to be 30 pounds thinner! I have a wedding dress to fit into! If that's not a goal, I don't know what is. However, I don't want this to be a quick fix. It has to be a lifestyle change. Vince is also wanting to lose some weight. He had no idea how many calories he concumed in a day until I showed him the calories he ate today and at Subway yesterday. (Not EVERYTHING at Subway is low calorie/low fat---meatball sub = 630 calories and 27 gramsof fat!) He doesn't like to eat first thing in the morning and doesn't have time for lunch most days. Therefore, he's famished by dinnertime at my house and sometimes snacks when he goes home.

Hopefully, we can keep each other motivated to lose weight and as Vince says "get into a shape other than round!"

My other goal is to save money and spend it wisely. I've not been using coupons as -dilengently as I used to. This is due to a few things: not as good of deals to be had, I have a good stockpile of what I need, not worth the gas money to make 50 cents on stuff I don't use. I sure miss the free Bayar meters that gave me $10 Register Rewards to use at Walgreens to get free stuff I needed! I've sure the diabetes clinic I donated the meters to misses it to. Oh well, maybe some more deals will pop up this yeat.

I have been finding some good deals on wedding things, but I'll save that for another post. I'm going to post more this year than I did last year! I'll also try to include a few pictures each time. Here's two today!

Lucky giving love to Ginger on the day she died 11/09/11:


Here's a picture of the engagement ring 11/05/11:

Spring Break

The school where I work a two week long spring break. I thought I would get so much done....and I was WRONG! I've been so lazy!! I have gotten some things accomplished: taxes done, finally got new glasses--it's been 3 1/2 years. Today I'm waiting for the plumber to come back..yesterday didn't get my drains unclogged. Apparently I've got tree roots keeping water from leaving the house effiently. Great...there goes the extra tax refund I was getting back. It's not enough to have to call the plumber---he has to make TWO visits (please God, only two!). I planned on getting my house a good spring cleaning and get three reports done or close to it for work....have I done either? Uhhhh....not really. OK..time to get off here and get something done!

Great Deals at CVS!

CVS has Pampers this week for $8.97 (reg. $11.99). You get 3 ECBs back AND there's a $2 Q in the March 14th Red Plum coupon insert. There's also a $1.50 (maybe $2) coupon in the February 7th Proctor and Gamble insert. The limit for the Pampers is 3 per card, but you can't get all three in one transaction. After ECBs and coupons it ends up being $3.97 per package! (I think Easy Ups are also part of the deal).

I started out yesterday with 5 ECBs (on DBF's card) and none on mine. I spent a total of $24.70 and 10 ECBs (rolled 5 from 1st deal into 2nd)....now I have 20.5 ECBs. Not bad for 2 Bayar meters, 3 packages Pampers, 1 Crest ProHealth, 2 pack Stayfree pads, and a gallon of milk.



And NO, buying diapers doesn't mean I have an announcement to make...just preparing a gift for a friend who is expecting. If it was me, I'd be begging for coupons so I could do the deal 3 more times! LOL

Wonderful Wednesday

I "wonder" why this guy has so many books in his car?? Couldn't he find any boxes to put them in?

DBF, his sister, his mom and I saw this car on the way back from a flea market near Lexington, KY. It was so odd, I had to get a picture!


In other news, my last day at Wal-Mart was the last Saturday in August. Do I miss it? About as much as I miss a root canal! I've got enough to do with teaching about 17 special needs K-5th graders five days a week. I feel overwhelmed at times, but it's getting better. There's not enough time in the day to give all of them everything they need. However, the regular classroom teachers say the same things, so it's not just me.

I finally got a TEACHING check yesterday! This was the first one in four years, so I was tickled. I haven't had any check at all since July 15th! It will be nice to have money to put back each month. Now I can actually make a budget that I can follow. I am going to start putting money back each month because I know that I'll need to replace my car in the next year or so. I also want to start putting money in a Roth IRA instead of the school's 403b. There would be no matching money and with a Roth IRA I wouldn't have to move it again if my job changed. Another positive about TEACHER pay is that I don't have to worry about not having a full check during school holidays. I had two months in the spring when I was only bringing home $800 per month. DBF told me last night that he thought he was going to have to bring me groceries during those two months. Nah, I'm a grocery hound and had shoppied sales before the short checks came. However, I thought I was going to die when I got the $230 gas bill! Thank God I had money from Wal-Mart put back for it.

One more wonderful thing for this post: Snowball turns 15 this month!!!



I don't think she looks a day over 3!

Good Deals at CVS and Picture of Baby Max

Today I went to CVS to get a photobook made. I knew they were on sale for $7.99 and that I'd get a 7.99 ECB that I could use later for something else. Once I got there, the cashier said that I could use the ECB and get another. I could "roll" the ECBs and end up with 6 photobooks for the price of one! How cool is that?? I didn't even have to get the pictures done today. Just bring the books back as I wanted to make the book. Good thing because I tried twice and had trouble both times. I'd get almost done and the computer would mess up. I don't know if it was just in my area or not, but my cashier said the stores were competing to see which store could sell the most photobooks. Makes a great birthday or CHRISTMAS gift.....Christmas is only 5 1/2 months away!




Here's one of Max's first pictures. My mom is wearing the gloves because Max scratched like crazy while taking his bottle. Maybe that's why Little Girl brought him to us and kept the other five. LOL That and the fact that he never got full! Up until he was 6 to 12 months old he'd knead my hair while I slept. I'd wake up and find half my hair matted to the side of my head. He'd also "pet" my head sometimes when he wanted HIS head petted.


I find myself looking at the other black cats and trying to spot Max's white whiskers. I really miss him when I'm in the kitchen because he'd hit my leg with his head and push his way through my calves. I guess that way he got petted on both sides and the same time. I also miss his distint meow. The house just isn't the same without him! :(

Good News!

Lots of good news to report! First of all, I finally paid off my student loan!!!! It took me ten years, but during that time I paid for my Master's degree out of pocket as well as paid for the two classes I took this year. It feels great to have that debt gone! I'm now officially debt free!

Second good news--I just found out last week that there is a Special Education position opening at the school where I currently work as an assistant. It's only for two years, but it would be great to by the teacher again! Please keep me in your prayers. I would practically be working in my backyard with this job. Between the pay raise and the fact that I could walk to work, I could save the gas money and use it for much needed house repairs and a newer car.

Third good new---Guess how much money I have saved with coupons and Register Rewards and Extra Care Buck...go ahead guess! $328.84!!! Now I didn't keep track of how much I spent on food, HBA, household or the furbabies. I do know that I spent about $190.00 in the past 10 days on those things. However, nearly $100 was on the furbabies for flea control ($40!), stocking up on dry cat food and canned dog food
($40) and at least $12 on cat litter. They are expensive little bundles of fur, but they are worth it.



How could you say no to that face?

Why I Stockpile and Use Coupons

Now that this blog is linked to my facebook page and not just to the ladies at The Grocery Challenge, I feel that I should explain why and how I stockpile. I know that it looks and sounds a bit strange to those who do not shop the same way.


I really don't remember the first time I used coupons. I never remember my mom or dad using a coupon or stockpiling anything. I must have been started during college. I know my dorm had a table by the front door where you could leave or pick up coupons that were clipped out of the Sunday papers. I would look through them once a week or so to see what I could use. Then I got a subscription to the Sunday paper from Louisville (still has the best coupons around!). I also remember going to both Kroger and SuperWal-Mart for my grocery shopping. Kroger would double my coupons up to 50 cents, and at the time, they would take expired coupons.

When I started working summers at Wal-Mart, after my freshmen year in college, I started a mini stockpile I guess you could call it. I worked 25+ hours per week in the summer and only 15 hours at my work study during the school year. Therefore, I bought enough toiletries to last for entire the school year. That way I could use my employee discount PLUS coupons. I was then able to use my income during the school year for food and gasoline.

I continued using coupons and sales ads ever since then. However, the major stockpiling and going to CVS started a year ago this past February after I discovered the helpful ladies at The Grocery Challenge. I wish I'd started shopping at CVS years ago! There so many things that you can buy and get the whole amount back in Extra Care Bucks (CVS store credit type coupons).

You may have noticed two tickers at the top of my blog page. I have never kept track of how much I'd save with coupons, Extra Care Bucks, or Walgreen's Register Rewards. I thought I would keep track of it on here. I'm trying to see how long it takes to save $1,000 in coupons and $1.000 in ECBS and RRs. I've only been keep track for 15 days and already saved nearly $100! And I haven't speant a whole lot either. Here's a good story I found on MSN about saving money buying food inexpensively: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/the-dollar-food-pantry.aspx
Ok, now you know a little about HOW I do it. So WHY do I do it? Well, to be honest, some of it is because it's a challenge. I like to see how much I can get for so little. But the major part is because my paychecks are so erractic. During March and April my paychecks from school (at assistant pay, NOT teacher pay), were only for seven days each because of a two week long spring break. Ten day checks are pretty good, I can make that work. But four 7 day checks in a row was tough! Because of my HBA and food stockpile (haven't showed a picture of that yet) I could use those tiny checks to pay the bills and not worry about having food for me and the furbabies. All I really had to buy was perishables, dry cat food and Diet Cokes. I can never have enough dry cat food and Diet Cokes stockpiled!

Another reason why I stockpile is to help friends and family who need it. A month or so ago a family member and his three kids moved and were starting over. I could not help with money, but I could help with HBA products! Below is a picture of things I gathered up from my stockpile. I probably spent less than $5 on all of that!

Money Saving Challenge Update

I've not done so well with keeping up posting about the ways I've saved money. Oh well, a daily report would be dull and very short. So here's the update since the last time.

1. Saved about $100 by not getting Microsoft Office 2007 after my free trial. Friends at church had 2003 that was good for three computers and had only used it for two. It works well enough for what I need.

2. Still have not had the A/C on!


3. Still mowing my own yard. DBF helped today and even cleaned my gutters so I wouldn't have to pay to have it done. Much to chicken to get up there myself. Trees were starting to grow......looked like a rooftop garden!

4. Using coupons at Walgreens to get free items and RRs to use on things like food that I can't get great deals on. Last Sunday at WAGS, I got 6 Nature VAlley Granola bars, 4 cans salmon, 2 24pks freezer pops, and 3 pks Goody's hair accessories. I used two $10RRs, 1 $5 RR and an OOP of approx. $1.50!

5. I also found a $4-$6 toy for DBF's dog on clearance for $1.74 at WAGS!


6. I was gone all of Memorial weekend, so I had nothing on in the house except fans, a couple clocks and a light when my friend was here taking care of the pets.


7. My friend (Tonya) took great care of the animals for FREE so I could go out of town. Taking the dog, Ginger, to stay at the vet would have costed $8 a night for 4 nights = $32 that I saved. Thanks, Tonya!

8. DBF's mom sent 3 dozen farm fresh eggs home with me! I gave 2 dozen to friends (including Tonya) since I had some still left from Easter.

9. I found that Wal-Mart had a special Head and Shoulders pack with shampoo and conditioner for $5 instead of $5.24 for each. I used 3 $1 Q and got 3 shampoo and 3 condition for only $12.xx---much better than $30 it would have cost! I used 10 Q for free Kitten Chow for the local shelter and got 10% off the $19.98 regular price before Q or discout so it took off some from the H&S.

10. I made $180 from private tutoring in the past 3 weeks.

Money Saving Challenge: Part One

I've saved money this week in several ways.

1. Warm temperatures meant no need for heat or A/C!


2. Line dried part of my laundry. Combine loads into extra-large loads whenever possible.


3. Combined errands as much as possible.


4. Today I bought two books of stamps (even though I already had two) to keep from buying them after the price hike.


5. I cashed a $120 check from three weeks of private tutoring.


6. I unplug the microwave and computer when not in use.

7. I spent two and a half hours mowing my yard instead of paying $30 for the neighbor's yard guy to do it.

8. Walked to local businesses instead of driving.

9. Used coupons and ECBs for nearly everything I've bought this week.


10. Printed 4 Qs for FREE KFC meals---DBF will be using two of them Friday night.


11. Tonight I printed 35 $1 off 12 pk Coke Q's.

12. I've fed my 10 cats, one dog and myself out of our stockpile which was purchased on sale and with Qs.

13. Stayed out of all stores (except CVS) since Saturday!


14. Found one coupon insert in Post Office trash can. Already saved 75 cents (on a gallon of milk) because of it.

15. DBF checked one WAGS and found no monitors so I won't have to go out of my way to check tomorrow.


That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure there's probably more that I'm too tired to think of right now!

Happy Easter!

Yes, I know that Easter is still a few days away, but I won't be near a computer then. DBF and I are visiting his family in Kentucky this weekend. They live near Lexington so it'll be about a four hour drive each way. We'll celebrate his niece's 2nd b-day while we are there. We all (his parents, sister, niece and the two of us)will spend Saturday at the Cincinatti zoo. I was already looking foward to spending the weekend with them, but even more now that I know about the zoo! I haven't been to the zoo since a field trip to the Nashville zoo when I was student teaching in 1998! Expect to see LOTS of pictures next week!!

I am almost finished with my "Integrating Technology" class! It's been very interesting which is good since I just found out that I will have to pay full price ($758!) for it. My dad received a purple heart when he was in the military so I qualified for a remission of fees. However, I would have to be seeking a degree. No thanks, I already have a bachelor's and a Masters. All I want to do is keep my Kentucky Teaching Certification! The crazy thing is, this is the paper I got from the university to tell me I'd have to change to degree-seeking status was the first contact that they've made. They never even sent me a letter telling me that I was enrolled! I had to call the Friday before classes started! Oh well, I hate to spend the money, but THANK GOD I have the money put away already to pay for it. It just means that I won't be able to pay off the $400 or so that I owe on my student loans from 11 years ago.

I've had some good deals at the stores lately. I've gone to Walgreens the past two Sundays. I loved getting the Softsoap for only tax! I got three on Sunday night. Then I gave the last Q to DBF (since he works near WAGS and I live 30 miles away) to get some more. Too bad the stores caught on and stop the multiple Qs from printing. DBF said he tried to get four in different transaction during his lunch and the new Q didn't print. Four for the price of one (I used $1 Q on the first one) isn't bad at all!

This past Sunday, I did the Colgate, Skintimate (again!), and Chapstick deals (couldn't find this on 3/29!). I have $6.50 in RRs. Need to check if there is a WAGS near DBF's parents. I already looked up CVS and found one about 30 minutes away from their farm. We will be driving right by it on our way home Sunday so I can get more FREE Softsoap----I love this stuff!

Another great deal was the Pepsi at Target last week. I had just gotten my Pepsi/Frito Lay Qs the day before. I also found the Gillette shampoo/body wash on sale for $2 (I had $2 Qs!). For 5 12packs of Diet Pepsi and 3 of the bodywash I spend a grand total of $6.12!! Plus I got a $5 giftcard to Target! DBF and I saw this kid (12 or 13) loading a cart down with Mountain Dew. It was a funny sight, but I know that if it had been a Coke sale, I would have bought 2 carts worth of Diet Coke!

I got a $15/75 CRT from CVS this week, but I didn't have the right Q from P&G to make it work. If I had Tide/Swifter Qs and could find my Intuition Qs I might have been able to do it.

Oh, I did make a quick $60 the other day! On January 2nd I had to get a script for strep and of course the stupid computers were on the blink so my insurance wouldn't go through. My insurance is throught Wal-Mart and I was filling the script at Wal-Mart-----how hard is that??? Anyway, I paid full price so I could take my meds and go to bed....all $64.xx of it! I never got anything back from it so I went back the the pharmacy and asked. Remember if you don't ask the answer is always NO! That reminds me, I need to check if CVS will take my insurance so I can get some of those $25 gift cards next time I need meds. Too bad I can't get the furbabies meds there----one of them is always needing something!

Well, that's an update of what's going on. I was going to post pictures of my deals, but I'm just too tired! Have a Happy Easter and Happy Passoever!

More Stockpile!

Several of my fellow hounds from the Grocery Challenge sent me coupons Whiska's cat treats ($1 off 2 packages). The coupons used to be $1 off of one which made them a moneymaker at Wal-Mart since they are $1.07 and I get 11 cents off each due to my discount. I was thankful to get the coupons but wasn't sure I'd find a great sale to use them on. Thanks to someone else's blog, I discovered that Whiska's cat treats were part of Kroger's Mega Deal last week. They were 99 cents each and if you bought 10 you saved $5! With 10 cats to feed I need all the cat food deals I can find! I thought the limit was three deals per customer so I had my accomplice (aka DBF)) take twenty of the treats to pay for them separately. I wnet first and bought 30 treats and 3 of the J&J Buddies. I used 15 $1/2 Whiska Q and $3 off 3 J&J items. My total was $5.90. I thought it was a little high, and discovered that only $10 came off for the Mega Deal instead of %15. The cashier then told me that it was a limit of two mega deals per transaction for that week. OOPS! I didn't read the fine print. Oh well, $5.90 is not bad for 30 bags of treats and 3 Buddies. That was still a savings of 91%! The 20 cat treats that I had DBF purchase came up to only $0.99. The receipt says a saving of 100%!

God Always Provides

As everyone who reads my blog knows, I had to replace my computer last month. I knew I would be getting another one soon, but just not THAT soon. Well, I told some friends about it in just general conversation. Today a friend surprized me with a financial gift to go towards the computer! It was more than enough. She said that I could use the remainer for anything I needed. I was floored! I thanked her, but told her that she didn't have to do that. She told me that she felt led by the Lord and I should just thank Him.

Considering that I am off two weeks (UNPAID) from school for spring break, this couldn't have came at a better time! Thank GOD!

Great Deals This Month!

I love Kroger! I wish there was one by me again like there was when I was little. However, there is one about 6 miles from DBF's so the past couple dates include a trip to Kroger!

On the 18th, I got 44 items for an OOP = $37.52! My receipt says I saved $28.70 with manufacture's coupons, but that includes $15 off from the Mega Deal. Bonus coupons were $5.77. Kroger Plus savings were $24.80 for a total savings of $59.27
(62%)!
Here's what I got:



4 pk of Reduced fat Kraft cheese
2 64oz. Tropicana OJ
8 cans Campbell Chunky soup
16 cans of Purina One can dog food (reg. price for all $23.20!)
3 4pks of Cottonelle
1 25oz. Palmolive
1 kroger English muffins
3 boxes Nature Valley granola bars
2 small boxes Kleenex
3 boxes Quaker oatmeal
1 medium size Downy

I had a coupon for everything except the 16 cans of Purina One and the English muffins.



Then I went back on Friday and saved another 70%!

6 Green Giant Steamers (50 cent Q for each)
2 Kraft cheese (75 cent Q for each)
1 Quaker oatmeal ($1 Q)
11 cans Purina One
5 can Campbell Chunky soup
____________________________
MFG Q = $15.50 (including $10 Mega deal savings)
Bonus Q = $3.00
Kroger Plus savings = $16.61
Total savings (70%) = $35.11
Total OOP = $15.62 that's cheaper than the regular price for the 11 cans of dog food!

My annual savings at Kroger's is already $98.69!

Goals for 2009

I know it's a little late for New Year Resolutions, but those are often broken by this time....so I'm having goals instead.

1. My first goal is to lose 46 poounds. I figured that there's about 48 weeks left so it's less than a pound a week---very achievable! I will do this by counting calories and exercizing more.

2. Pay off my student loan---it's down to less than $450! That's less than $41.00 per month and I normally pay $50. However, my paychecks at pre-school will be short in March and April due to school holidays. I have no credit card debt so this is my only thing to pay off.

3. Take 6 hours of Graduate courses to keep my KY teaching certification. I'm currently taking 3 hours and will take three more in the summer.

4. Clean out/organize my house. I just put 4 boxes of items to donate in my car this morning. I still have a bunch of stuff to go through, but will just take it a little at a time. I also need to set up one place for my stockpile. Right now I have things in about 4 different places!

5. Maintain my EF. I currently have enough to pay approximately 3 to 4 months of expenses. With the economy the way it is and my crazy pay schedule at school (my primary job), I don't expect to add much to it----I just don't want to have to dip into it.

6. Read my Bible more.

7. My last goal is the fun one---spend quality time with DBF whenever possible!

A Hound in Training

A life long friend of mine, Lula, asked me to help her learn how to get her grocery costs down. Her husband, an iron worker, is out of work so she is currently working two jobs....as a school custodian and a school bus driver. They have 3 kids so she needs to stretch her paychecks as far as possible. She lives about an hour away from me and with our busy schedules we don't get to visit often. So DBF and I went to visit Lula and her family a week ago this past Sunday.

The first thing I did when she asked for my help was print a copy of Jennysmom's grocery tips for her. Next I got all of my coupon inserts gathered up to share with her. There were many that she could use! I asked her to make a list of what products she used the most so I could put out hound alerts for her or find the coupons myself in future inserts. I gave her the websites for Taylor Town, HCW, and the GC message board. I also told her to get a Extra Care Card since she hss a CVS nearby. Another tip was to buy at least one newspaper each week and use comparison ads whenever possible. She doesn't have a Kroger nearby and Target is too far away, but Wal-Mart is close so she can take the ad there and get a better price.

Lula was happy and excited to find out how to save some money. I showed her and my husband some of my receipts of my hounding trips. They were impressed at how much I saved. DBF even bragged about me! :) I haven't spoke with her yet to find out if my tips have helped, but I imagine they have. She may even make an appearance on the GC board soon!

I love FREE!

In these days of rising prices, it's great to find a good price on anything. However, my favorite price of all is FREE! Before going onto the the MSN money messageboard (specifically the Grocery Challenge thread), I rarely if EVER got anything free. Now, however, that is changing. In the past week I have gotten at least 8 items for free! I actually MADE 50 cents on each of the Colgate toothpaste by using a $1.50 coupon and getting $2.00 ECBS back.





Here's how I got so much for FREE!

Loreal facial cleanser 5.99 at CVS - $1.00 Q = $4.99 and got 5.99 ECBs back
Dawn HandRenewal on hidden sale at CVS (thanks to GC for telling me!) 99 cents - $1.00 Q
Colgate Toothpaste 2 at $2.99 at CVS - $1.50 Q each = $1.49 and get 2.00 ECBs
Cover Girl lipstick on BOGO sale at CVS AND I had a BOGO Q so I got $19.98 for FREE!
Cottonelle TP 4 single roll pack (2 packs) 99 cents each at Kroger - 2 50 cents Qs that double = FREE!

Most of this will be for my personal use (stockpile), but the toothpaste and toilet paper will be used for HBA Christmas baskets for friends and family.

It's Been A Good Week!

I've had lots of wonderful things happen in the past week.

1. I got a beautiful rose from my DBF on Friday.
2. I've seen DBF on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday! We live about 20 miles from each other so it does take some work to get together....not to mention money for gas.
3. DBF has agreed to go to church with me on Sunday. All my friends at church are dying to meet him. He's Catholic and I'm Baptist so I'm especially glad he's willing to go at least once. He's had some bad experieces with other churches----snake handling and speaking in tongues!
4. I got hired to tutor a second grade student in reading for an hour twice a week. It will mean an extra $40 a week!
5. Today I got a letter and two pictures from my nephew who's in prison. This is the first time he's contacted this (his dad's) side of the family in the year since he's been in prison.

Kroger Deal This Week

I went to Krogers this week to stock up on Lean Cuisines. I eat them for lunch several times a week and Wal-Mart currently wants $2.88 for each. The Kroger's deal is: buy $20 in Nestle product, get $5 off---and you can do that 3 times in one transaction.

My trip:

16 Lean Cuisine items @ $2.00 each = $32.00
1 Edy's slow churned ice cream = $ 3.34
2 Cottonelle 4 pk TP @ $0.99 each = $ 1.98
4 Purina One can dog food @ $1.25ea= $ 5.00
1 banana (0.51 lbs @ 0.46lb) = $ 0.23
___________________________________________
$41.55

Minus:
$5.00 Nestle Offer X 2 -$10.00
$0.25 Cottonelle Q X 2 -$ 0.50
Bonus coupon X 2 -$ 0.50
Lean Cuisine Q -$ 1.50
Free Purina One Q X 4 -$ 5.00
Used 3 reuable bags -$ 0.12
____________________________________________
Saved: $17.62

Total saved w/ Q, promotion and sales prices: $31.04 or 60%
Total OOP = $25.32!

That is less than I would have paid for 9 Lean Cuisines at regular price!
The Purina One and Edy's ice cream finished up the second $20 Nestle deal. I had just gotten Q's for free Purina One canned dog food, so I saved $5.00 AND got $5.00 taken off my bill because I bought them! How cool is that?

Buy One Get FOUR Free?

That's basically the deal that I got at Sears yesterday. I bought three tops, a black skirt and a gray skirt (hidden behind the tops) for a grand total of $36.20! I didn't realize until I got home, but each of the five items was originally priced at $36.00. That's 80% savings! My only dissapointment was that all the capris that I found on sale were size 12 or smailler.

CVS Deals

Yesterday, I went to CVS to get the July deals. Frugalsuz had mentioned the CVS make-up removers being free after ECBs so I had to find out if I could get them at my store.

Here's what I got:


2 22pk CVS pantyliners = $1.98
2 Sure 2.6 deordorant = $5.98
1 CVS exfoliant face wipe = $3.49
1 Revlon ponytail holder = $5.99
1 Revlon hairclip = $5.99
____________________________________

Qs I used:

$4 off $20
$1 off each Sure deo (I also have a BOGO mail-in rebate to send in)
$3 off skincare
$11 ECBs

Total OOP = $3.81
Amount saved = $20
ECBs earned = $12.97



When I got to the car, I realized that I had a regular CVS make-up remover wipes in my bag that the cashier forgot to ring up. So I go back in to pay for it (and get 2.99 more ECBS.

1 CVS make-up remover = $2.99
used 1.98 ECBs
Total OOP = $1.08
Earned 2.99 ECBs

Next transaction:

3 CVS 15 ct. make-up removal wipes = $8.97
used $8 ECBS
Total OOP = $1.04
Earned 8.97 ECBs