Giant & Safeway

Well today in the DC/Metro area, it feels like summer outside, which is a decent change from the rain we've had the past couple of days. I hit 2 stores - both packed, I guess the Saturday shoppers went today instead of yesterday and I don't blame them.

Giant:

2 Glade gel plug-ins (yay! They were actually in stock - thanks to Money Making Mom for the heads up on these at Giant and Safeway)
2 boxes of Keebler Cookie Crunch (on sale 2/$4)
2 boxes of 12-count Cinnamon Frosted Brown Sugar Pop Tarts (on "sale" 2/$5)
1.17 lb red peppers (on sale for $1.99/lb)

- Buy 1 get 1 free Glade ($1.79)
- $1/2 pop tarts (expires today)
- $1/2 Kelloggs cereal (expires today)
= $11.34 which I paid with one of our giftcards so $0.00 Oop, plus I got $4 back from the Glade deal

Safeway:

2 cans of Safeway brand black beans (on sale for $.84)
1 can of Safeway brand pinto beans (on sale for $.84)
2 bags of Safeway brand marshmallows (on sale for 2/$3 - I'm making Cheerios Krispy Treats with the excess cereal we have around here)
1 dozen Lucerne large eggs (on sale yesterday and today only for $1.28, limit 1)
6 Yoplaits (on sale for 5 for $3.75 - I had a coupon for 6)
2 Lysol NeutraAir (on sale for $6.99 each)
2 Lysol toilet bowl cleaners (on sale for 2/$5)
2 Glade gel plug-ins (more expensive at Safeway, $1.99)
2 Arnold bread (on sale for Buy 1 get 1 Free)
1 Healthy ones Turkey (on sale for $2.69)
5 navel oranges (on sale yesterday and today only 5/$1)
2.00 lb gala apples
1.73 lb sweet yellow onions (on sale 10 lbs for $10... but you don't need to buy 10 lbs, thank goodness)

- a bunch of coupons plus a $2.50 off shopping order I received last time

= $33.00 Oop plus I got $4 back for the Glade deals

Running tally for this week: $33.00/$50 + $16.48 = $66.48

I was way under budget last week to the tune of $48.17! But I'm not going to roll over, given that in previous weeks I've gone over, and it'll all equal out in the end. I am, however, going to add a rebate I received back from Rite Aid ($16.48) to this week's budget and I will continue to add rebates to budgets the weeks I receive and/or cash them in the future, and not include them when I'm calculating weekly tallies.

Running tally for last week (Sept 21-27): $1.83/$50

In other good news, the boyfriend had to refill a prescription today and I urged him to use one of our Rite Aid, transfer Rx get $30 giftcards at CVS, which he was a tiny bit apprehensive about but there is a huge red sign in the front of the store urging you to do just that and Rite Aid only lets you use their coupons every 6 months, so we have yet another $30 giftcard for CVS in our arsenal.

Hooray.

CVS - Toilet Paper Expedition

After realizing that we were down (and nearly through) our big multi-pack of Charmin', I was off to CVS again today to do the Kimberly Clark deal. Of course, I promised I wouldn't be out long so I fumbled a bit and bought more than I needed to, but that's ok. It's going to be fall/winter soon so I have no doubt we'll go through the Kleenex.

Also, even though both the Gatorade & Kimberly Clarke deal say limit 1 in the circular, they are still showing up as "active" at the bottom of my receipt. I don't know if any of you have tried doing the deal multiple times, but I may early this evening if I'm feeling up to it. I slept till 1pm today and am generally under the weather, plus this morning we had a leak coming from the 4th floor neighbor's washing machine (it was fun, came dripping through the vents!) so I'm a bit less energized in general. Planning on going food shopping tomorrow.

Anyway, I purchased:

$12.98 2 12-roll Cottonelle Ultra
$6.00 Kotex tampons 36 ct
$2.00 Cottonelle wipes
$5 Kleenex tissues
$3.89 1 gallon skim milk

- $2/$10 CVS
- $1/2 Cottonelle
- $1/1 Cottonelle wipes (CVS coupon from red machine)
- $1/1 Kotex
- $3 Extrabucks
- $4.99 Extrabucks
- $7.00 Extrabucks

= $16.88 which I paid with a giftcard for (the total should have been $10.00)
I have $1.05 left on my giftcard and a new one with $6.88 on it
I received $10 in Extrabucks from the deal

*edit*
Well, apparently, I didn't overdo it, the idiot cashier charged me for 3 toilet papers even though I only bought 2. I just drove back to the store. The cashier made me go back into the store to get a toilet paper so he could return the item to me and was not apologetic at all and slightly annoyed. I just wrote an e-mail to CVS customer service. Hopefully they'll address it.

I was given $6.88 back onto another gift card and was just over the $25 required for the deal, so I did not mess up, but was right on track (I spent $25.98 before coupons on Kimberly Clark products).

Frugality Budgets & Money

Most people on the web that blog about money will list their super secret skills and how to be frugal. Most of their ideas focus on taking things out from your life that give you a little pleasure. Why spend money on the movies when you can invest it in a mutual fund (well, now that is questionable), but why go to the movies when you can netflix? Why netflix when you can rent DVDs from the library? Why buy the expensive brand of [insert item here] when you can get the store brand for 50 cents less?

Well, why live life without living life now?

Sure, do spend within your means, but somehow I manage to buy my favorite brand of nearly everything (this is especially true at the grocery/drugstore) and still keep my costs down. It is true I am only budgeting for 2 people, but I don't foresee my habits changing that much in the future.

I think if you get happiness from a certain brand of paper towels (like my boyfriend does, and I have to admit, I've grown fond of them myself), buy them. Buy them on sale with coupons, but you can still buy them. You don't need to sacrifice everything if you are still budgeting well.

Just my 2 cents.

CVS - Fumbling Cashiers Are Oh So Fun

I've done my share of retail, in fact, last fall, I worked retail part-time on top of my full time job and part-time graduate school studies. PS - That's not often a good idea unless you want no social life - although during that time I managed to meet my boyfriend, so nevermind, disregard said advice. Either way, some people are not made for retail, and my cashier tonight was one of those people. The fumbling, if anything were to go wrong he/she freaks out sort of cashier. What wound up happening was instead of waiting 2 seconds while I went to grab my Extracare card, he started ringing up the items, then at the end after coupons, I was at a negative amount. Flustered, he exclaimed slightly exasperatedly that he would have to void and re-ring the entire purchase.

He had, of course, misplaced some of the coupons, which I pointed out to him, arguing with him didn't do anything and he wound up missing one in the end, which his manager reimbursed after I had left and come back in. It was only $1 but it's the principle.

Anyway, I bought:

$6 6 Sobe Waters
$9.99 1 Hershey's big pack
$7.50 3 bags of Hershey chocolate of various sorts

- $2/$10
- $1/2 Sobe
- $1/2 Sobe
- $1/2 Sobe
- $1/3 Hersheys
- $2/1 Hersheys
- $11.99 Extrabucks
- $2 Extrabucks

= $1.83 Oop

Received $3 in Extrabucks from the Sobe deal and $7 from the candy deal = $10 in Extrabucks back

Running tally for this week: $1.83/$50 - though I was $20 over budget last week and I am going food shopping tomorrow... hmm

The good news about this visit was the Sobe lifewaters had coupons on them for $1/2, which I used 3 of (I bought 6 even though the promotion was only good for 5). And I had a $2/off the big Hershey's bag that printed out from the amazing red coupon machine of awesomeness.

CVS

I wanted to get to CVS today early, just in case the L'oreal deal was gone. I got there at the early time of 9:45am! In fact, I asked my boyfriend to wake me up at 9am to make sure I was up and about before most of the world on a Sunday.

I also wanted to make sure I was able to stock up on the Schick Quattro razors, in which I had coupons expiring today and lord knows how many razors I tend to go through, it's nice to have a stock of them just in case.

Anyway, I purchased:

$4.99 Nivea for men body wash
$2.99 Crest pro health toothpaste
$11.99 L'oreal Advanced Renewal wrinkle serum
$9.99 Schick Quattro razor
$0.00 Schick Quattro refills
$9.99 Schick Quattro razor
$0.00 Schick Quattro refills

- $2/10 CVS coupon
- $4/1 Schick Quattro refill
- $4/1 Schick Quattro refill
- $2/1 Schick Quattro razor
- $2/1 Schick Quattro razor
- $1/1 Nivea for men body wash
- $1/1 Crest toothpaste
- $3/1 L'oreal Advanced
- $3.99 Extrabucks
- $2 Extrabucks

= $16.88
- $9.81 remainder of giftcard
= $7.07 which I paid with another giftcard, so $0.00 Oop
(I still have $17.93 on this giftcard plus another $25 one)

Which I hopefully won't have to use for awhile because I received the following in extrabucks!
$4.99 for the Nivea
$11.99 for the L'oreal
$2.00 for the Crest
= 18.98 in Extrabucks!

Revlon Coupons

I don't know if you remember the Expired Revlon Coupons that I blogged about after receiving last weeks newspaper. Well, I sent them an e-mail and got a response yesterday:

"Dear Ms. XXXXX:

Thank you for your recent communication regarding the expired Revlon coupon in the September 14th Sunday newspaper insert. We appreciate you taking the time to contact us regarding this matter.

Due to an error in printing, a small percentage of these coupons have an incorrect expiration date.

Despite the incorrect expiration date, the coupon is fully functional and will scan properly. You should not experience any problem redeeming these coupons at your local retailer.

Thank you for your loyalty to our products. Please be assured of our desire to be of service whenever possible.

Please do not reply to this e-mail. Replies sent to this email address cannot be answered. If you have additional comments about this issue, please click here:

http://www.econsumeraffairs.com/rev/contactUsFollowUp.htm?F1=002032231A&F2=RE&

If you have comments on a separate issue, please return to our corporate website: http://www.revlon.com

Sincerely,
Rachel Evans

Senior Consumer Services Representative
Revlon Consumer Information Center"

Well, if I do run into problems, Ms. Evans will surely be the first to find out! Hah!

Safeway

Well, in my excitement over the buy 5 get $5 off sale I went a little haywire this week (ie over budget) and actually messed up the deal and had to return some items when I was done, but in general, I would say the trip was a success.

I purchased:

2 packs of Tava
2 boxes Fiber One bars
4 boxes Nutrigrain bars
3 packages Oscar Mayer shaved turkey breast
1 Activia Light Raspberry
2 boxes Frosted Mini Wheats (large 24oz boxes)
1 box 100-calorie pack
1 can Meltta Coffee
10 bottles lemon-lime Gatorade (at .59 cents each I couldn't pass these up, the boyfriend loves it)
1 loaf whole wheat bread
1 gallon skim milk
2 boxes Nature Valley granola bars
2 packages Keebler cookies
2.95 lb gala apples (on sale .89 cents a lb!)
5 lb bag potatoes (on sale for .99 cents!)
6.22 lbs chicken thighs (on sale .99 cents a lb!)
1 box Bisquick Heart Healthy (large 40z box)

= $44.24 Oop (after the return of 4 items)

Running tally for this week: $71.10/$50 $21 overbudget but I feel ok about it

The other deal I was hoping to pick up was the Honey Bunches of Oats which was long gone... oh well. I did spend enough and we do have plenty of cereal.

Safeway Deals This Week!

Got my Safeway circular this week and wow, I am excited for the deals!

Saturday and Sunday only
$.59 Gatorade (even cheaper than Walmart and the boyfriend likes so I'll be getting my 10 limit)
$.89 lb Gala apples

Super Coupons
Post Honey Bunches of Oats $3/2 (limit 2)
5 lb bag white potatoes $.99 (limit 1)
Oscar Mayer shaved deli meat $7/3

And of course the buy 5 save $5 promotion going on...
guess who is waking up early on Saturday to beat the crowds for this one? Me!

CVS

The boyfriend needed some Vitamin D and since, CVS carries them, and I knew I would get a good deal on them, I went there.

I purchased:

$4.40 5 bags of Gold Emblem candy (the boyfriend has already eaten a bag of peach rings!)
$6.49 1 box of Tylenol Cold
$3.99 1 box of Excedrin Gels (the ones that are free with extrabucks!)
$2.49 a 2-pack of CVS brand sponges
$5.49 CVS brand Vitamin D

Now, here's the exciting part. When I walked in the store and went to the coupon-giver machine, it gave me a $1 off for the Excedrin and a $2 off coupon for cold medicine! This particular store is difficult so they probably wouldn't have let me use the Excedrin migraine coupon, but I wasn't expecting any coupons at all, anyway...

- $1/1 Tylenol
- $2/$10 CVS
- $2/$10 CVS brand items
- $1/1 Excedrin
- $2 off any cold medicine
- $3 Extrabucks
- $3 Extrabucks
- $1 Extrabucks

= $7.86 but I used one of the giftcards we have for transferring Rx - and I'm going to get another one in the next week or so, so $0 Oop
Received $3.99 for Excedrin, $2 for Tylenol in Extrabucks = $5.99 back

Rite Aid (Success!) and Superfresh (less success)

I made two stops (though they are in the same shopping center) after work today, Rite Aid and Superfresh.

This particular Rite Aid actually had the L'Oreal cleanser that turns out free (actually, makes me $1 after rebate/coupon)

Rite Aid transaction:

$5.99 L'oreal Cleanser
$.88 M&Ms

-$1/1 L'oreal
= $6.29 which I put on the giftcard I'm still going through so $0 Oop

Superfresh:

Now, this was unknown to me, but Superfresh does not take internet coupons which completely destroyed the Cheerios deal I was trying to do. I even was basically forced to argue with the front-line supervisor saying that General Mills sent me the coupons and I did not copy them, but they would not budge. They gave me a number for corporate and said they would probably send me a giftcard... reasonable, I suppose. Anyway...

2 (small) boxes regular Cheerios
2 boxes fruity Cheerios (select GM cereals half price - Cheerios were about $1.59 a box)
3 boxes hamburger helper (on sale $1 each)
3 bottles Pepsi products (on sale $.79 each)
3 bottles seltzer water (3/$1)
3 pretty bowls for the counter (75% off, came to $1.76 each)
1 box sweet n low (50% off)
1 large package pork chops ($2.79 lb plus -$2 MGR special coupon - came to $6)

- $.75 (doubled)/3 hamburger helper
- $.75 (doubled)/1 fruity cheerios
- $.75 (doubled)/1 fruity cheerios
- $1.00/2 cheerios (wanted to use 2 of the $1/1 from the challenge, grrr!)

= $21.30 Oop

Running tally for this week: $26.86/$50

CVS - Again!

It's no big surprise that CVS really is one of my favorite stores. I had intended to purchase items at Rite Aid also, but apparently at the Rite Aid near our apartment, and I quote the manager "the women come in when we open and buy armfuls of the freebies". When I mentioned that the rebate is only 1 per household, he said that they give them to their neighbors and stuff. Not fair! They were completely out of the free after rebates skin cleansers. I'll probably try another store before the week is out, oh well.

I stopped at 2 CVS stores today, armed with coupons and match-ups and of course, there was another upset. Does anyone know if any CVS in the DC-Metro area carry the St. Ives elements line? I was hoping to do the St. Ives deal but I couldn't find the items at either of the stores that I went to! With the buy 1 get 1 free coupon and the other $1/1 coupon it would have been a money maker, but I couldn't find the items so I wasn't able to complete the deal. Anyway...

Transaction #1:
$5.99 1 Covergirl TrueBlend foundation (got the one that was the most expensive usually)
$2.99 Covergirl eyeshadow
$2.99 Covergirl eyeshadow
$4.29 Sally Hansen nailpolish
$2.99 Pledge Duster Starter Kit (25% off - usually $3.99)
$3.99 Aleve

- $2/$10 CVS coupon
- $1/1 Covergirl eyeshadow
- $1/1 Covergirl eyeshadow
- $1/1 Covergirl foundation
- $1/1 Pledge
- $1/1 Aleve
- $1/1 Sally Hansen peelie
- $3 Extrabucks
- $6 Extrabucks

= $5.56 Oop
Received $3 back for the Covergirl, $2 for the Sally Hansen, $3 for the Aleve = $8 Extrabucks back

Transaction #2:
$6.68 4 Ragu Pasta Sauce
$3.32 2 Skippy peanut butters
$1.00 2 Power Ice Lime (on clearance 75% off)
$.88 Gold Emblem soft peppermints
$8.97 3 Purex laundry detergent

- $2/$10 CVS
- $1/2 Ragu
- $1/2 Skippy
- $1/2 Purex
- $.50/1 Purex
- $3 Extrabucks
- $2 Extrabucks
- $3 Extrabucks

= $7.33, but I used one of our CVS giftcards so $0.00 Oop
Received $3 EB from Purex and $3 for food items = $6 EB

Running tally for this week: $5.56/$50

Expired Coupons

As I'm sure all you CVS-ers are digging through your Sunday coupons looking for match ups, I'm not sure if you noticed that in the Smart Source, the Revlon coupons expired 1/14/08! Don't know if CVS will take them for the foundation deal (that I wouldn't be participating in anyway - I never pay money for cosmetics anymore really) but I have e-mailed Revlon to let them know. Just wanted to give everyone the heads' up!

Note: Not sure if this is for everyone, but at least for the Washington Post area readers.

Bloom - A Near Disaster

Ladies and gentlemen, do not go to Bloom for these triple coupon days, or if you do, bring as many people as you can with you so you can do several transactions and not run into the issues that I did.

I perused the store and found quite a few things that made the triple coupons worth it and when I got to the cashier, I mentioned that I understood that the triple coupons had a limit of 5 and if I could do 2 separate transactions. She said sure, so I handed her five coupons with some items and grouped the 2nd transaction on the belt which she proceeded to scan anyway! "Oh", she said, "it won't be a problem". I really shouldn't have believed her because once she hit the 5 limit, the coupons scanned but did not triple, so she calls her manager over. The manager said, "you can only use 5 coupons" and I replied, "I know. When I asked if I could do 2 separate transactions she said yes but then she scanned them all". "Oh" said the manager, "you'll have to void the transaction and do it again".

So at this point a line had formed behind me and I was apologetic to the other customers but at this point was pretty annoyed at both the cashier and her manager. So they void the purchase, group the items/coupons as I had done previously and started scanning away. The first transaction goes fairly smoothly, the 2nd however is another story. The coupons failed to triple. The manager tried enter them manually but then accidentally charged me the couple tripled amount and then would take it away - 5 times. At this point I had been standing at the register for a good 15 minutes. Just so you can get a feel, I only purchased 19 items.

Then the manager walks away for a few minutes and returns with her manager who is able to ring the other coupons through and have them triple.

Exasperated, I leave the store. Even though I got a good deal, I would not recommend going today or tomorrow unless you physically (with multiple people) do separate transactions so not to run into this issue.

Anyway, this is what I got:

Transaction #1:
2 Welch Squeezables jams (strawberry & grape)
2 boxes Chex Mix chocolate bars
1 box Hot Pocket Panini
1 box Nature Valley variety granola bars
1 gallon skim milk

Total after coupons: $9.88
(your savings: $11.25)

Transaction #2:
4 boxes of various shaped Bloom pasta (on sale .89 a box)
2 big bags of bloom frozen vegetables
1 Kikkoman Teriyaki sauce
2 Ortega taco mixes
1 package Land Lakes deli shaved turkey meat
2 cans select harvest campbells soup

Total after coupons: $7.32
(your savings: $12.67)

Total: $17.20

Running tally for this week: $57.39/$50 $7.39 over budget, but worth it, mostly

Free Samples!

The best piece of mail that I received in my mail today were free tampons. Not entirely exciting but useful none-the-less and I love getting things for free. You can too here. They are the Playtex Sport variety. I'm not particularly picky with my tampons, any brand will do, sale, clearance or free!

I sometimes get the info for these free offers from other money-saving blogging sites, but mostly from a Live Journal community free stuff.

"The best things in life are free, but you can save it for the birds and bees, I want money --- that's what I want"

- from the boyfriend... dancing

CVS

After printing out 2-$1 off Chex Mix coupons and the $3 off Renuzit, I wanted to get back to CVS to do a couple more deals before the week was out.

I purchased:

$8.97 3 Soft & Dri Pulse Deodorants
$7.99 2 Schick Quattro disposables (buy 1 get 1 free)
$2 2 bags of Chex Mix
$7.99 1 Renuzit tri-scent
$4.49 Act Restore mouthwash
$1.00 Gatorade

- $2/$10 CVS
- $.75 Soft & Dri
- $.75 Soft & Dri
- $.75 Soft & Dri
- $1/1 Chex Mix
- $1/1 Chex Mix
- $3/1 Renuzit
- $1/1 Act
- $2/1 Schick
- $2/1 Schick

- $3 Extrabucks
- $15 Extrabucks

= $1.94 Oop
Received: $3 EB for Renuzit, $6 EB for Soft & Dri, $2 EB for Act = $11

Running tally for this week: $40.19/$50

Target & Safeway

Stopped at Target and Safeway after work today. Target to do the Kashi deal and Safeway to pick up more lunch meat for the boyfriend (why is it that they always say they are out of something when they have <1 serving left and it would be far more convenient if I didn't have to rush out of the house lest he have no sandwich meat!)

Target:

2 Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal
2 Kashi Granola bars

4/$11.00 promotion

- $1/1 Kashi Go Lean Crunch
- $1/1 Kashi Go Lean Crunch
- $1/1 Kashi granola*
- $1/1 Kashi granola*

* These had a hard time going through and didn't scan, so the cashier had to manually enter them

= $7 (to pay I used the $5 giftcard for last week's poptart promotion and the remainder on my free Target giftcard from Capital One - $2 - and of course I received a new $5 for completing the promotion).

Then I went to Safeway:

$7 3 packs of Hormel natural luncheon meat (2 roast beef, 1 ham) w/super saver coupon expired today
$3 oven roasted turkey breast

- $1/1 Hormel (used the chicken strip coupon, it beeped but the cashier pushed it through)
- $1/1 Hormel (same above)

= $9.58 Oop

Running tally for this week: $38.25/$50

CVS, Safeway & Cute Shoes!

I hit 3 CVS stores today. This is unusual for me, especially for a Sunday which I usually reserve for grocery shopping, which I did after the CVS runs.

CVS #1:
$.99 adorable 90% off sandals (see below for pics!)
$1.00 Chex Mix
$3.99 Revlon nailpolish
$5.99 L'Oreal cleansing wipes

- $2/$10 CVS
- $1/1 L'Oreal
- $1/1 Revlon
- $.50/1 Chex Mix
- $2.00 Extrabucks
- $5.99 Extrabucks

= $.60 Oop
Received $5.99 + $3.00 Extrabucks back from the L'oreal + Revlon

CVS #2:
$.99 adorable 90% off sandals (see below for pics!)
$2.49 Aussie shampoo
$2.49 Aussie shampoo
$3.99 Revlon nailpolish
$.50 Stacey single serving pita chips

- $2/$10 CVS
- $2/1 Revlon
- $2/2 Aussie
- $3 Extrabucks

= $1.76 Oop
Received $2.00 + $3.00 Extrabucks back from the Aussie + Revlon

CVS #3:

$20.97 3 RightGuard Professional Deodorants
$1.49 Diet Coke

- $2/$10 CVS
- $1/1 Rightguard
- $1/1 Rightguard
- $1/1 Rightguard
- $1.49 Free Diet Coke
- $2 Extrabucks
- $3 Extrabucks
- $3 Extrabucks
- $5.99 Extrabucks

= $2.37 Oop
Received $15 in Extrabucks for the RightGuard

Now, for the super cute sandals! I was perusing the Summer Clearance sections for something to take me up to $10 for the $2/$10 coupon and came upon these sandals. They are decently made and are perfect for a quick trip out. The boyfriend has a serious issue with flip flops for some reason so I've been wearing little ballet flats but these are so perfect for summer and boyfriend approved. Originally $10 a piece. Just found out they are $15 on their website!





Aren't they cute?!

Then I went to Safeway where I purchased:

$2.91 3 bags of Mission tortilla chips (on sale yesterday and today only for .97 each)
$1.99 dozen eggs
$3.99 gallon fat-free milk
$1.28 1.29lb onions
$1.89 soft tacos
$1.99 Ronzini Smart Taste pasta
$2.99 Quaker Oats
$4.48 2 boxes Live Active cereal
$.80 fat free refried beans
$5.67 6 Sierra Mist (3 diet/3 regular)
$1.39 enchilada sauce

- $1.89 Sierra Mist (buy 1 get 1 free coupon)
- $1.89 Sierra Mist (")
- $1/1 Ronzini
- $1/2 Post (LiveActive)

= $23.94 Oop

Running tally for this week: $28.67/$50

Safeway and Questions about giftcards & rebates

As I found previously when I asked questions to my readers, or make that reader, well, that about sums it up. It seems not a lot of folks read this, but, where do you count rebate dollars in your budgets? For example, a few weeks ago I bought items to do the Kelloggs deal. I haven't submitted the receipts/UPCs yet (I plan to next week) but which budget do I add the $10 to? The week I receive the money? The week I purchased the items? For CVS bucks it is easy because I get them right away and don't count them during the one shopping trip in my Out of Pocket, because I am still paying the out of pocket amount... however, when I do use them, I subtract them as I would coupons. Rite Aid I haven't had to worry about because I've been using giftcards for all of my purchases. Speaking of giftcards...

I've been trying to limit my giftcards when I buy my weekly grocery items. I know that in a few months if I used the Giant gift cards every week, my budget will look nothing like it does now. I try to alternate places I shop with giftcards and without (I do most of my grocery shopping at Safeway which is a place I have no giftcards for - Giant, we will shortly have $54 worth of giftcards - but I only bought some meat there last week). So what does everyone do? Do you space it out? Do you use them right away and roll over the budgeted money to another week? Do you consider gift card money as spent in your budget and count the money spent but then deduct the savings and put them somewhere (say in a high yield savings account)? What do you do?

We are expecting a pretty awful storm/hurricane this weekend, Hanna here in the northeast so I decided to go food shopping today in case I can't go out over the weekend. I went to Safeway which is starting to be my favorite store to shop (it helps it is right across the street).

What did I buy?

$2.50 Dark Chocolate Chex Mix (this is highly addictive but so good)
$.69 can of corn
$.69 can of peas
$4.99 bottle of extra virgin olive oil
$2.64 3 Powerade
$3.00 3 Gatorade
$2.50 tortilla chips (the boyfriend wanted them after he saw them sitting for the luncheon yesterday)
$2.50 Snyders pretzals
$2.25 3 Yoplait creamy lights
$3.00 YoPlus 4 pack
$2.50 Activia 4 pack
$5.49 Scrubbing Bubbles scrubber (will get full amount back in rebate)
$3.99 Scrubbing Bubbles cleaner
$2.50 Arnold 100% wheat bread
$.50 marked down turkey breast (sell by 9/4)
$.50 marked down turkey breast (sell by 9/4)

- $1/1 Powerade
- $1/1 Powerade
- $1/1 Powerade
- $1/1 Activia
- $1/1 YoPlus
- $.60/3 Yoplait
- $.75/1 Scrubbing bubbles
- $.60/1 Chex Mix

= $33.60 Oop

(Will be mailing in rebate to get $5.49 back)

Running tally for this week: $57.87/$59.22

Target

My best friend at work is leaving to move back to North Carolina with her husband. I have volunteered to help buy some things for her luncheon tomorrow(and her gifts), so I stopped at Target after work.

I purchased:

$7.27 address book (part of her gift - $100 giftcard to Ann Taylor is the other - work collected $95 and I contributed $5 myself)
$1.79 chips (for luncheon)
$2.49 tortilla chips (for luncheon)
$2.69 salsa (for luncheon)

and for us:

$4.50 2 packs Keebler Grasshopper cookies (these are really good frozen!)
$4.48 2 12-pack pop tarts

- $1/2 Keebler
- $1/2 Pop Tarts

= $21.66 and I received a $5 Target giftcard for buying the 4 snack items - but since this was still on my Target giftcard, I spent $0.00 Oop (after the giftcard, the Keebler/Pop Tart items come out to $.50 a piece or $2 total! I might go back before the end of the week and do the promotion again)