CVS and Fry's

Went to CVS again this morning. I wanted to get a couple more of the CVS brand rapid release geltabs, because I discovered yesterday that they work really well! Unfortunately, the store I went to was sold out of them, so I had to come up with a different deal:

1 Bic Solei refill cartridges, $5.99
4 Palmolive dish liquid, $1.59 (BOGO)
1 Essence of Beauty Whipped Walnut lotion, $4.99 (I love this stuff)
1 Essence of Beauty compact refills, $1.99
1 Essence of Beauty package of triangle makeup sponge things, $2.99 (my daughters use these)
1 Suave hairspray, $2.69

The E of B makeup applicators were buy 1, get 1 50% off

I used a $3/$15 coupon, $2 off the Solei cartridges, and three 25 cents off Palmolive coupons.

I used $12.99 in ECBs and reduced my total to $2.49, which I put on my giftcard.

Total OOP = $0!

I got $5 in ECBs for the three Essence of Beauty products and $3 in ECBs for the razor refills.


Then I went to Fry's. I wanted to get my Mission Tortillas.

6 packages Mission Tortillas (soft taco size), $1 each
1 Powerade, 69 cents (For middle child's softball game today)
1 bag frozen peas, $1
1 20 oz bottle Diet Coke

I used three $1/2 coupons for the tortillas, total OOP was $6.19.

I just found out that you can get a printable 55cents/1 Mission Tortillas here. After registering on the website, I was able to print it twice, so when I go shopping next Monday, two packages of tortillas free! Good thing you can freeze them. :)

Total for the week: $95.48. Under the budget, but just barely. Hope we don't need anything else this week. Well, unless it's free at CVS. ;)

Deal On Mission Tortillas, Tomorrow Only!!

Starting tomorrow (Wed, April 30th), Fry's has Mission Tortillas (soft taco size, I think) 10 for $10. There was a coupon out a while back that is $1/2 packages. But it expires tomorrow! So make sure you get to Fry's tomorrow and grab those 50 cent packages of tortillas! I know I'll be getting 6. They freeze really well!

Grocery Shopping!

First of all, I have to say that the deal I worked out for CVS last night worked perfectly. Well, except for the fact that I apparently can't add. Actually, I think I just didn't figure in tax.

First trip to CVS, I bought one Bic Solei razor (it comes with an extra cartridge and a shower hanger too! Sweet!) at $5.99, one Just for Men haircolor for $7.99, and one CVS brand rapid release gel tabls, 24 ct.

My total after coupons was $12.something (can't find the receipt), I used $10.49 in ECBs and ended up paying 83 cents OOP and getting back $14.98 in ECBs.

Since they surprisingly had more of the Bic razors in stock, I went out to my car and got the two other mf coupons I had, went back in and got two more razors. I paid with my $7.99 ECB from the Just for Men, and spent 30 cents OOP. I received $6 back in ECBs for the razors.

So, I started the day with $10.49 in ECBs, and ended up with $12.99 ECBs, and spent a grand total of $1.13.

Then I went to Fry's for my main shopping and spent $80.12. I did the $4 back on General Mills deal again with two Fruit Roll ups and two boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios, all of which I had coupons for.

Just a couple of highlights:
Assorted loin pork chops, 97 cents/lb
chicken leg quarters, 99 cents/lb
3 packages David's sunflower seeds, $1.29 (used 50 mf cpn, making them 29 cents)
3 - 28 oz cans of Muir Glen organic tomatoes, on sale for $1.50 (used $1.00 printed mf cpn, so 50 cents each)
2 bags Garden Salsa Sunchips, 2/$4 (used $1/2 coupon, $1.50 a bag)
Red Grapes, 97 cents/lb
Baby carrots, $1 a bag.

I feel like I got a lot for my $80. According to my receipt, I saved $89.05, so 53%. I'm always happy when it's over 50%.

After I picked up the small one from preschool, I realized that I was going to have husband make hot dogs for the kids for dinner tonight, and we were out of ketchup. I said this while I was on the phone with him, and he also said he was out of mayonnaise. Sigh. I had no coupons for either one of these things! Grrrrrr.

So, back to Fry's (a different one this time, because mine was out of the chocolate/peanut Curves bars)

This trip I got:

1 box Curves granola bars
1 box Chocolate Chex cereal
2 boxes Trix cereal
1 large bottle Kroger brand ketchup which was $1.39
1 jar Best Foods mayo, $2.50 (ouch)
1 donut (for the kid!) 50 cents.

I had 75 cent coupons for the Chex and the granola bars, making them free. Another $1/2 General Mills coupon made the Trix cereal 50 cents a box. My total after the $4 instant rebate was $5.56.

Then the little one had to use the store bathroom. While she was in there I was checking out my General Mills coupons, and noticed that the new ones from yesterday's paper included Cheerios! So, back to the cereal aisle for 4 boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios. Used two $1/2 General Mills cereals, making them 50 cents each. Total for that transaction, $2.12.

So, my grand total for this week, including CVS, is $89.29. I think soon, I'm going to revise my weekly budget down $10 to $90 a week, and see if I can stay under that!

Oh, and if anyone needs cereal, I have a lot. :)

1st CVS Idea April 28th

CVS idea for tomorrow:

1 Just For Men - $7.99
1 Bic Solei razor - $5.99
1 CVS brand rapid release pain reliever - 3.99

Total - $17.97

Use: $3/$15 coupon. Find out how to print it here
$2.00 printable Just For Men here
$2.00 off Bic Solei razor from the 4/13 Smart Source

Total after coupons - $10.97. I have $10.49 in ECBs, so my OOP will be close to zero, or at least under $1.

I'll earn $14.98 in ECBs, so that's a money-makin' trip!

Week of April 27th to May 3rd

A new week of savings (hopefully, lots of savings!)

Fry's (Kroger) is running a deal this week where you get $4 back instantly when you buy four specified General Mills products. There are several coupons out there that will make this an even sweeter deal. Unfortunately, you can only do this once per transaction. So I decided to make my first transaction on my way home from work this afternoon.

I bought 3 boxes of Chocolate Chex cereal and 1 box of Strawberry Chex cereal. They were all $2 each. I had three 75 cents/1 coupons for Chocolate, Strawberry, or Honey Nut Chex. I also had a 75 cent coupon for Strawberry Chex on my VIP card. I got that by signing up here: Shortcuts.

So, after the $4 instant rebate and my coupons, I paid 36 cents for the four boxes of cereal. In case your math isn't so great, that's 9 cents per box. Hee. Who said food prices are going up?

To sign up for Shortcuts, click on the link and follow the instructions. If you don't have an AOL or AIM name (which I didn't), you have to create an account, but it's free. Then you link your VIP card and just select the coupons that you want to put on your card. The cool thing is that they'll work even if you've already used paper coupons for the same product. The only thing is they don't double like the paper coupons do.

Even so, you can't beat 9 cents a box. I have coupons for General Mills cereals too, and Honey Nut Cheerios is another one on the sale. 4 boxes of HNC plus $1 off 2 boxes of cereal makes those 50 cents a box. I'll include that in my main shopping trip tomorrow.

Total so far this week? 36 cents. :)

Had to Get My CVS Fix In Today

Does this mean I'm like, an addict? Hmmmmmmm.

Anyway, I decided to hit a store in a neighboring city, because my friend Jen told me that the store she went to where she lives didn't have the Alavert behind the pharmacy, they had it out in the aisle with the rest of the allergy/cough&cold stuff. No having to show ID and all that nonsense. So on my way to drop off the small one at my parents' house before I went to work, I hit a CVS near their house.

I got:
2 Alavert 12D - $6.99 each
1 Softsoap Radiant Spa 18 oz - $5.49
1 2 liter Diet Coke - 99 cents

I got the soda to put me over $20 so I could use the $4 off $20 coupon. Oh, and also because I totally needed it for work. :)

I used the $4 off $20 coupon, plus two $4 off coupons for the Alavert.

I used $6.00 in ECBs from the Maybelline lipstick deal

OOP was $3.25 which I put on my gift card.

I received $5.49 in ECBs for the body wash and $8 in ECBs for the Alavert.

Oh, and I got my $4 off $20 beauty coupon in my email today! Did you get yours?

***************************************************************

PS. It just occurred to me that I never posted about the Maybelline lipstick. That one went something like this:

Tuesday morning, 6am - Oldest daughter, age 16, informs me that we have to leave for school early (We normally leave around 7am) because she needs to stop at the drugstore and get some bright red lipstick for her dance concert dress rehearsal after school.

Me, being the quick-thinking CVS addict that I am, says "Oh, the CVS at Hoosits and Whatsits is open 24 hours. We have to go THERE!"

Daughter - "Why?"

Me - "Because there's a 2 for $9.99 sale on those Maybelline lipsticks, and I get $6 back in Extra Care Bucks!"

Daughter - Looks at me like I'm nuts, but we go to CVS, she gets her bright red lipstick plus another one of her choice, I pay for it with ECBs and get my $6 ECB back. I paid nothing OOP, she has her lipstick, and all is right with the world.

Amen.

Groceries This Week

So after my big fun at CVS this morning, I went to Basha's. The only things I wanted here were the free Gum toothbrushes and the S&W Beans.

3 Gum toothbrushes - 10 for $10
4 cans S&W kidney beans - 20 for $10
4 cans S&W black beans - 20 for $10
1 20 oz bottle Diet Coke ( I had to, I was dying) - $1.39

Used 3 - 75 cents off any Gum toothbrush, making those FREE.
Used 2 - $1 off 4 cans of S&W beans, making those 25 cents each.

My total OOP was $3.75.

Then I went to Fry's, and managed to only spend $66.36. Yay.

A few highlights:

Last week they had the 32 oz Gatorades for 50 cents a bottle. Well, this week they had the same size Powerade for 69 cents a bottle, BUT if you bought 10, you got a case (24 bottles) of Dasani water FREE! I thought that was a pretty good deal.

3 Brut deoderants, free after coupons

4 packages David's sunflower seeds. These were a request from my softball player. The smaller bags (5.25 oz) were 10 for $10, and I had 50 cent coupons. However, the coupons said they were for 8.5 oz size or larger. I tried them anyway, and they worked, didn't even beep. Free sunflower seeds, yay.

There was really nothing else that I needed or wanted that I had coupons for. So my $66.36 was basically spent on needs: Drinks, some $1.77 per lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cheese, fruit, Doritos, ice cream...you know, necessities. :)

So, between Basha's and Fry's, my total for this week is $70.11. Yeah!

More CVS

This is getting redundant, but I'm having fun. I played with CVS all morning while small one was at preschool.

Trip #1

6 bottles of Herbal Essence shampoo and conditioner - $4.29 each, BOGO
1 Speed Stick 24/7 - $3.99
1 bottle 500 ct of CVS brand Ibuprofen - $13.19. Yikes, that's a lot...but hubby is supposed to start taking 1200 mgs a day to help with tissue swelling in his hands that is resulting from his MS. (Long story, anyway, we needed it)

Coupons used:
$4 off $20 purchase
$1 off Speed stick 24/7
3 - $3 off 2 bottles of Herbal Essence

Used $14.99 in ECBs, paid $1.92 OOP on a prescription transfer gift card.

Received $3.99 in ECBs for the Speed Stick.

After this, I went home to plot my next trip. I wanted to hit a different store. I swear there are about 5 of them within a 3 mile radius of my house. I printed out another $4 off $20 coupon and also printed out a couple of the $4 off Alavert coupons, and off I went.

Trip #2

1 Alavert -D 12 - $10.99. This was supposed to ring up at $6.99, but I didn't realize it was a sale advertised in the circular. For some reason, I thought it was an unadvertised sale. Also, I had to get it from the pharmacy and show ID! You know, so they can keep track of how much I'm buying so I don't make meth out of it. There's a daily limit on how much you can buy. Crazy. Anyway, I didn't say anything about it not ringing up at $6.99, because the pharmacists are usually clueless about sales and coupons anyway, and I had to ring up my stuff at the pharmacy.
I also got 6 more bottles of Herbal Essence - $4.29 each, BOGO and one of the 18oz Softsoap Radiant Spa body wash at $5.49.

I used a $4 off $20 coupon, the $4 off Alavert coupon and 3 of the $3 off 2 Herbal Essence. Surprisingly, the pharmacist had no trouble ringing up any of my coupons. He was really nice about it.

I used a $3.99 ECB and a $3 ECB, and paid $6.79 OOP which I put on the gift card. I was kind of bummed about losing $4 on the Alavert thing, but it was on a gift card so I didn't mind too much.

I received a $4 ECB for the Alavert and a $5.49 ECB for the Softsoap.

Trip #3

Actually, this was at the same store. I saw a big bin of the Softsoap body washes on my way out the front, and I just grabbed one and paid for it with my $5.49 ECB and got another $5.49 ECB. Total OOP, $0. Just for the record, after the pharmacist had been so nice to me, the cashier at the front rolled her eyes at my single free body wash purpose. Whatever, chica.

Trip #4

This was a third store. I got:

1 18 oz Softsoap Radiant Spa body wash - $5.49
1 12 pack Cottenelle Double Rolls TP - $5.99.

Used my $5.49 and $4 in ECBs, paid $2.15 OOP which I put on the gift card.

After this, I called my friend Jen, who has really gotten into this CVS thing with me. I asked her if she had tried the Alavert deal yet, and she said that it worked for her, no problem. I thought that was weird, because I was going to warn her that they didn't seem to be on sale here. She's the one who told me it was in the circular, and that I should take it back.

So after I picked up the small one from preschool, I did just that. I took it into the store closest to me with the receipt, grabbed a circular on my way to the counter, and told the cashier that I had purchased the Alavert and it hadn't rung at the sale price. I pointed the sale price out to her in the circular. She had no problem doing a return for the entire purchase price on a gift card, and then selling it back to me at the sale price, paying for it with that same gift card. So I ended up with another gift card that has $4.31 on it as my refund. Yay! Thanks Jen!

I'll probably be doing that Alavert deal a few more times, now that I know it's a sure money-maker. It looks like there's probably a limit of 5 on the 18oz Softsoaps too. I've purchased 3 so far. Funny thing is, I remember about a week or so ago saying that with me and the three girls in the house, I can never have enough body wash and shampoo and conditioner. Well, at this point, I may just have enough. Now I just need a good deal on lotion!

Score at CVS!

Wow, I'm really happy with The Coupon Master right now. I wanted to get in on that deal for the blood glucose monitor at CVS, where you buy it for $14.99 (with a coupon that makes it free!) and get $14.99 back in ECBs. However, the coupon was from back in the middle of March, before I started saving whole inserts. I placed an order with The Coupon Master on Monday night, and they got here today. Awesome. The Coupon Clippers is a good service too, I've used them before also.

So, I went to CVS and got my Contour blood glucose monitor. The coupon is good for up to $30, btw, and the monitor is on sale for $14.99. I had $12 in ECBs, and I used them like this:

1 12 pack of Essence of Beauty eye makeup applier thingies, $1.99.
1 2 pack E of B eyeliner sharpeners, $1.99.
1 Creamy Walnut (or something like that, it smells awesome) E of B body lotion, $4.99.
2 packages of M&Ms, $3.29 (BOGO)
1 Contour blood glucose monitor, $14.99.

My total after the coupon for the monitor was $13.01. I used my $12 ECB and reduced my total to 26 cents. I'm not sure how that works, but the lady at the store told me that when you use ECBs you don't pay tax?? Anyway, I paid 26 cents OOP.

I got $14.99 in ECBs for the monitor, $3 in ECBs for the M&Ms, and $5 in ECBs for the three Essence of Beauty products. So I started out with $12 ECBs and ended up with $22.99 in ECBs. Woohoo!

Also, I transferred a prescription of hubby's to CVS today and had a coupon for a $25 gift card. So I paid $10 for the script, but I now have a $25 gift card. I'm psyched!

Also, since no one living here needs a blood glucose monitor, I took it over to the assisted living facility that's right across the street from the little one's preschool. They were happy to have it!

Slowly But Surely

Well, today was payday, and I'm squeezing $65 out of the checking account to put towards the emergency fund. It's not much, but at least it's moving in the right direction.

Adidas Deal That Could Have Been...

I just saw on I Heart CVS that the May ECB deals will include one where you buy Adidas deoderant for $4.99, and get $4.99 in ECBs. I was all excited about this, because of the free coupons for the Adidas deo in this past Sunday's paper. Then I realized those free coupons expire on 4/25. BUMMER. I mean, you can still go get your free deo, but I wanted them to pay me $4.99 to take it out of the store! :)

In other news, I'm moving my ticker up $30. We have it set up so that once a month, $30 is automatically transfered from our checking to the money market account. At this rate, I should have that money market account up to $2000 by January of 2013. And that's assuming we never have to use any of it, which is a pretty poor assumption. 4+ years to get through baby step 1. Dave Ramsey would be so proud. Hopefully we get some good commission or bonuses or extra income or something here soon so I can kick this thing into gear! I'm not gettin' any younger...

Week of April 13th - April 19th

Wow, one day and I think I've blown my entire grocery budget for the week.

First I went to Sprouts, and got:

Bag of carrots, 69 cents
Gala apples, 99 cents/lb
1 gold and 1 red bell pepper, 50 cents each
1 green bell pepper, 69 cents
Hot House tomatoes, 99 cents/lb
yellow onions, 25 cents/lb
2 clamshells (1 lb) strawberries, 97 cents each.

Total - $8.71

Went to Fry's for my main shopping, and spent more than I meant to! My total there was $83.57. However, I saved $101.29, according to my receipt, so 55%. I'm not going to list everything I got there, but some highlights were:

20 lbs of ground beef @ 99 cents/lb
1 whole fryer chicken at 88 cents/lb, because tomorrow I'm going to try making this.
6 Herbal Essence shampoos/conditioners. These were on sale 2 for $5, and I used three $3/2 mnfr coupons, so paid $1 each.
2 Purex laundry detergents, on sale for $2.50, used $1 off mnfr coupons

I also did the $5 off 10 items 3 times again, and stocked up on Gatorade, cake mix, mustard, peanut butter, paper towels, and Ziploc freezer bags. I'm going to need those bags for my 20 lbs of ground beef!

Then I went and picked up the little one from preschool, and had to make one more trip to a different Fry's. The Fry's I normally go to was out of oldest daughter's favorite type of Gatorade.
So for the last trip,
10 Gatorade @ 50 cents each
1 package hamburger buns (forgot those before)
1 donut (To keep the kid happy), 50 cents

Total: $6.82

Yikes, my total for the week is $99.10! I guess I'm done shopping. Well, actually I'll probably go to Basha's tomorrow and get a couple of half gallons of milk while they're still $1. Over budget this week....booooo.

CVS, One More Time

I made one last trip to CVS this morning. I got two Cover Girl Tru Blend Whipped foundations, which I'm sure the 16 year-old will love.

They were $9.29 each. I used a "Buy one Cover Girl foundation, get a CG face product free" coupon, and a $1 off any Cover Girl coupon. I went to pay with my $10 ECBs, but I had to throw a tube of Carmex and a candy bar in there as filler. Wish I would have thought of a cheap box of dryer sheets as filler instead, I'm out of those!

I ended up paying $1.08 OOP, and I got $12 back in ECBs. I made money on that one, yay!

CVS Again

Well, I'm looking at my savings ticker up there, and it hasn't moved, because I don't have any extra money to put in there. How depressing. The turtle was definitely the right icon.

That's not why I'm here though. I went to CVS this morning, because I am seriously almost out of foundation and my compact is nearly empty. And my daughter keeps stealing borrowing my makeup from me, even though the foundation and the compact are the only makeup I use, and she seems to have a basket full.

Anyway.

I bought 2 Cover Girl foundations and two Cover Girl compacts. They were all $5.49 each. I used two "Buy One CG Foundation, Get A Free CG Face Product" coupons, and two $1 off any Cover Girl product coupons. I used my $5 in ECBs, and paid $5.30 OOP. I also received $10 back in ECB for the "buy $20 in Cover Girl products, receive $10 ECBs." LIMIT is ONE on this promo, in case anyone is wondering. :)

However, the whipped foundation which gives you $6 in ECBs is not included in that particular promo. So, I think that tomorrow I can go back and get two of those, because they are like $9.49 each, use one of the BOGO coupons and one of the $1 off coupons. Then I can pay for that with my $10 in ECBs, and get the $12 back in ECBs with little or no OOP. Wow, that's making money, and getting free stuff!

(I know, but it still kind of amazes me.)

I think that brings my weekly total up to about $95, and I forgot about the eggs at Basha's yesterday. Hmmm, I think I'm just right at my budget this week. And it's only Wednesday. Looks like I'm done shopping for the week, unless it's free stuff!

More Fry's and CVS

I made two trips to Fry's today and one to CVS. My first trip was to Fry's for my weekly shopping. I did another three $5 off 10 items transactions, but also got our need items as well.

Total: $52.72

Then I went to CVS. I decided to get my feet wet again with their Dove/Sunsilk deal. I bought 3 Sunsilk shampoos and three conditioners at $3.49 each. I used 3 BOGO coupons, and also a $2 CVS register coupon that said $2 off any shampoo or conditioner. Actually, I'm just now looking at my receipt, and the manager, who was the one who rang me up, keyed in the BOGO coupons at $3.99 instead of $3.49. I didn't even notice that.

Anyway, I used $4.99 in ECBs and paid $3.07 OOP. I also got $5 back in ECBs. That's 51 cents per bottle, not bad! I also know that the limit on that deal is just ONE per household, so hopefully I can use those $3.00 Dove coupons somewhere else.

Total at CVS: $3.07

Went to a different Fry's after I picked up the little one from preschool. The other Fry's had been out of the Eggo waffles and the Keebler cookies that were part of the $5 off 10 deal. Luckily, this Fry's was well-stocked.

I got:
3 Eggo Nutrigrain Waffles, used 3/55 cents off Eggo cpns
6 Keebler Fudge Shop cookies, used 3/$1 off 2 Keebler fudge shop cpns
6 Gatorade
5 more Goldfish crackers
1 Kroger frozen chicken nugget meal

Small child wanted a kid's frozen meal for lunch. Luckily, I was able to talk her out of the $2.99 (!) Kid's Cuisine, and convince her that the 89 cent Fry's meal with the chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese was the exact. same. thing. You know, except without the picture of the penguin on the box, which apparently costs $2.10. Those things have always been 2/$4 in the past. I can't believe how much the price of everything is going up.

Total for that trip was $11.27.

Right now my grand total spent this week is $89.40, so I'm still about $10 under my budget, and I think the little one has enough Goldfish to last her until next year. Yay.

A New Week - Fry's Sale!

I made my first trip to Fry's today when I got home from work, just to pick up sale things. I had the funniest experience, because the cashier, who was a guy, was really excited about my savings. In 2+ years of couponing, I've never had a cashier react like that before. He announced, "Now listen to this: You spent $16 and saved $80!" He was more excited than I was.

Anyway, I wanted to take a picture of all my stuff like some other people do, but my whole family was home and they'd think I was nuts if I set out everything I bought on the table and took a picture of it. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow when no one is home. :)
I'll do a list instead:

3 Betty Crocker cookie mix
3 Betty Crocker muffin mix
3 packages Keebler cookies
4 Scott Mega Rolls paper towels
3 Windex Antibacterial
3 Windex w/ Vinegar
1 Shout stain remover
2 Pillsbury pizza dough
2 Mama Bella garlic toast
3 Hot Pockets
1 Goldfish crackers
2 Cheetos

I spent $16.68 after coupons and the three $5 back deals.

When I got home from the store, I found out we were out of milk. Wish someone would have told me that while I was, you know, actually at the store. Also, Shannon wanted to make muffins with the muffin mix I bought, but we were out of the little muffin cups. I talked hubby into going to Safeway, because they have 2 for $4 milk this week. So he got two gallons of milk and those little paper muffin cups.

Total at Safeway, $5.66.

Total so far for the week: $22.34

I Am A Moron

So, even though I've been couponing for over two years now, I'm still new to the CVS thing. And boy, did I make a rookie mistake yesterday.

You see, I had $22.96 in ECBs from the Softsoap deal and the Speedstick deoderant. Well, for some reason, I decided that it would be really cool to go get four more body washes. With three girls and me in the house, you can never have enough shampoo, conditioner, or body wash. I had my $19.96 in ECBs from my first Softsoap purchase, so I'll just use that to pay, then I'll just pay the tax out of pocket, and four more free bodywashes!

Yeah, so I'm sure you know what's coming. Imagine my surprise when instead of another $19.96 back in ECBs, I only got $4.99. I said to the cashier, "Shouldn't there be $4.99 for each bottle?" She said there was a limit of five per customer. DUH. I felt so stupid that I just said "Oh, ok...no problem," and took my bag and left.

So, rookie mistake, and definitely lesson learned: Always know what the limit is.

I didn't pay anything out of pocket, (ok, 13 cents), but I felt like I lost $15, which I pretty much did. I was so mad at myself for that. I'm over being mad, but I still feel like an idiot. I'll get this down eventually.

Yikes!

I spent $70 today. You may ask,

"Wow, Shelley, what'd you get? A week's worth of groceries? A lifetime supply of body wash and Windex?"

No...I bought one. tank. of. gas. That will last me a week, if I'm lucky.

I wish we could bargain shop/coupon our gas. CVS needs to put in gas pumps!

I Knew I Wasn't Done Yet

Had to run to Fry's this morning. Normally we go through about a gallon of milk a week, but since I bought Keebler cookies and chocolate syrup yesterday, my kids went through almost a gallon of milk just yesterday!

So, hopped over to Fry's today to grab another gallon before the prices change tomorrow. I also got another four 2-liter bottles of soda @ 75 cents each, plus a bag of Goldfish crackers that Kylie just had to have to take to the park with us. Taking little kids to the store is really a savings killer.

So....
Gallon of milk, $1.99
4 two-liters Coke, $3.00
Goldfish crackers $1.88 (yikes)

New total for this week: $87.51

On the bright side, it looks like Fry's is going to have a great deal going on starting tomorrow. Buy 10 participating products, get $5 back, and you can do that 3 times per transactions. Check out the Fry's preview thread here: Pinching Your Pennies. I know I have coupons for several things on that list, and I'm going to wait and do my shopping after the new coupons come out on Sunday, so hopefully there will be more. I do see free Betty Crocker cookie mix and 50 cent boxes of Betty Crocker muffins at first glance. Goldfish crackers will be 50 cents in that promotion, and would it be asking too much to get a Pepperidge Farm coupon this week? Please? Grands Biscuits will be next to nothing, and so will Hormel Chili, if that coupon is still good. Looks like Shout and Windex will be 50 cents a bottle with coupons too. Ohhhh, I think this week is gonna be fun. :)