CVS

Yes, I'm addicted. I realize this. I actually originally went to CVS to fill a script, but it turns out the medication has been on back-order for over a month! At least now I know to get my doctor to write me a script for another one.

Anyway, this is what I wound up getting:

$4.00 Gatorade 32oz (on sale 5/$5)
$4.99 Extreme Energy

- $8.99 Extrabucks

(actually this transaction was a mess. I originally brought up a different Extreme Energy, but it wasn't ringing up on sale, it was $5.99, then she returned that and put it on a giftcard and sold me the correct one for $4.99, using the $5.99 giftcard, which now has a balance of $1.00 - although I spent $1.00 out of pocket because she over charged me originally)

= $1.00 Oop

And I received $4.99 for buying the Extreme Energy which is going to my younger brother in college.

CVS Black Friday III

Ok, so on the way to see a family friend and their new arrival, I stopped at 2 CVS's to finish the Black Friday deals.

First stop:

$8.99 Maybelline foundation

- $3.00/1 Maybelline
- $4.69 Extrabucks

= $.50 Oop

Received $8.99 back for the Maybelline deal.

Second stop:

$7.99 Schick Quattro Trimmer

- $4.00/1 Schick from "All You" Magazine
- $3.99 Extrabucks

= $.24 Oop

Received $6.00 back for the Schick deal.

Weekly tally:

Sunday, November 23rd Shopper's: $14.73
Monday, November 24th CVS: $0.00
Thursday, November 27th CVS: $.43
Friday, November 28th CVS: $.49
Saturday, November 29th CVS: $.50
Saturday, November 29th CVS: $.24

= $16.39 Oop

And I have a stash of roughly $50 Extrabucks to use in upcoming weeks!

Some deals for this week include:

• Spend $10 get $5 extrabucks when you buy Febreze fabric refresher 27oz (2/$7) or Febreze air effect 9.7oz (2/$5) limit 1

• Pay $4.99 for Extreme Energy Orange or Berry flavor 2pk, 4 oz total, and get $4.99 in extrabucks free! limit 1

Well, that's really all I see this week, though not surprising after the awesome Extrabucks deals for Thanksgiving. I won't be really participating because we have enough air freshening products to last us quite some time and we don't celebrate Christmas so none of the cheaper decorations are of all that much interest.

Hope everyone has a great week!

CVS Black Friday II

So I went to CVS again today to do some more deals and grab some milk. I want to go back tomorrow to get the Schick razor that I have a $4 off coupon for and maybe some more Maybelline.

Anyway, I bought:
$5.69 Johnson and Johnson lotion
$2.99 Colgate Total
$6.99 L'oreal Colourjuice
$3.79 gallon skim milk

- $1/1 Johnson
- $1.50 Colgate
- $2/1 L'oreal
- $1 Extrabucks
- $4.47 Extrabucks
- $9.00 Extrabucks

= $.49 Oop

And received the following in Extrabucks:

$6.99 for the L'oreal
$5.69 for the Johnson and Johnson
$2.99 for the Colgate

= $15.67 back in Extrabucks (still profited roughly $1 even after the milk and used extrabucks)

CVS Black Friday

So my plan was to leave the house at roughly 11:30pm last evening to get to CVS in just enough time to grab the items before the sale started at midnight but I was exhausted and fell asleep at 9:30pm! So by the time I actually got to CVS 12 hours later at 9:25am this morning, I wasn't expecting everything I wanted to be there, but lo-and-behold, it was! I was psyched. I was in and out of the store in a half hour even with the issue that not all my Extrabucks spit out of the register after I paid.

However, I was a bad blog-mommy and forgot to blog about a recent very cheap CVS purchase on the 24th:

$8.99 Maybelline foundation

- $2/1 Maybelline foundation

= $7.53 Oop but paid with a gift card and received $8.99 back

During that visit a $10 off $50 spitted out during the red machine of awesomeness which I used on my trip this morning.

$.50 Hershey's chocolate bar
$3.49 Crest Pro Health
$3.49 Crest Pro Health
$1.00 large size Hershey's chocolate bar
$2.99 Aussie leave in conditioner
$5.99 Bic Soleil razor
$6.99 L'oreal colourjuice
$6.99 Universal remote (was hoping to get the earphones, but they were gone)
$3.99 5 hr extra energy
$8.99 Maybelline mineral foundation
$1.49 Gatorade G2
$1.49 Gatorade G2
$1.49 Gatorade G2
$3.29 Blade sensitive shave gel

(ok, I just found something, the cashier forgot to ring my Garnier - that would explain why the coupon didn't scan but he pushed it through, oops)

- $10/$50 CRT
- $.50 free Hershey's bar
- $2/1 Blade from beauty book
- $3/1 Maybelline foundation
- $1/1 L'oreal lipcolor
- $3/1 Bic Soleil
- $1/1 Crest
- $1/1 Crest
- $1/1 Aussie
- $1/1 Garnier
- $15 Extrabucks
- $8.69 Extrabucks (out of the $8.99 coupon)
- $4.99 Extrabucks

= $.43 Oop

Then I received the following in Extrabucks:

$9.00 for the Maybelline
$2.12 for the Blade (monthly deal that didn't print, it's on a giftcard - wrong amount because the CVS didn't have any November ads and I had forgotten)
$2.99 for the Aussie
$6.99 for the L'oreal
$5.99 for the Bic Soleil
$6.98 for the Crest (monthly deal)
$6.99 for the Magnavox
$3.99 for the 5 hr energy
$1.00 for the Hersheys
$4.47 for the Gatorade

= $50.52 in Extrabucks!

I might go back to actually buy the Garnier and possibly do the L'oreal gloss deal again, we'll see.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Another Shopper's Visit

Since we needed the "boring" stuff (milk, eggs, bread, etc), I went out to Shopper's again about an hour ago. I spent significantly less than my Thursday trip and bought less too.

The loot:

$1.00 1 box brown sugar
$2.59 100% wheat bread
$3.49 Eating Right veggie chips
$3.49 Eating Right veggie chips
$.89 Thai Kitchen instant noodles
$4.00 4 Sobe Life waters
$2.25 Simple Asian teryaki noodle side dish
$3.50 Hillshire Farms turkey
$3.50 Hillshire Farms turkey
$3.50 Hillshire Farms turkey
$1.69 dozen large eggs
$3.99 gallon skim milk

- $1/1 Eating Right that doubled
- $1/1 Eating Right that doubled
- $.50 Thai Kitchen that tripled
- $.50 Simply Asian that tripled
- $.40/1 Sobe Life water that tripled
- $.40/1 Sobe Life water that tripled
- $.40/1 Sobe Life water that tripled
- $.40/1 Sobe Life water that tripled
- $1/1 Hillshire Farms that doubled (on packaging)
- $1/1 Hillshire Farms that doubled (")
- $1/1 Hillshire Farms that doubled (")
- $.55/1 bread that doubled
- $.50 coupon from buying yeast last shopping trip

= $14.73 Oop

"You saved a grand total of $19.40, that is a savings of 57%"

Our Budget and Good News!

Before I get into a post about money, budgeting and food shopping, I just wanted to share the news with this side of the internet world. My boyfriend proposed to me this morning and I said yes, so I'll be mentioning him as my fiance now. I am very excited, as is expected and very happy. We are going out to dinner tonight to celebrate (as well as celebrate my 25th birthday, which is today). We are planning an early Spring 2009 wedding and I will try to keep that out of my budgeting blog as much as I can, but I'm sure I'll be mentioning it.

Back to the fun stuff.

Shopping trips this week included:
November 16th CVS: $10.25
November 16th Safeway: $25.21
November 17th CVS: $.63
November 18th Giant: $1.73
November 20th Shopper's: $42.34
Total: $80.16 (or $30.16 over budget)

DAYS	MONEY SPENT
AUG 10 - AUG 16	$118.24
AUG 17 - AUG 23	$48.11
AUG 23 - AUG 30	$40.78
AUG 31 - SEP 6	$57.87
SEP 7 - SEP 13	$57.39
SEP 14 - SEP 20	$71.10
SEP 21 - SEP 27	$1.83
SEP 28 - OCT 4	$49.18
OCT 5 - OCT 11	$13.88
OCT 12 - OCT 18	$75.08
OCT 19 - OCT 25	$10.04
OCT 26 - NOV 1	$43.58
NOV 2 - NOV 8	$42.00
NOV 9 - NOV 15	$20.94
NOV 16 - NOV 22	$80.16
NOV 23 - NOV 29	$16.39

Our budget is $50 a week, or $200 a month, and while I usually like to stay under the $50, sometimes I go over knowing well that I'll still stay below the monthly amount. This way, I am able to take advantage of deals (like the double triple promotions at Shopper's and other area grocery stores) without feeling guilty and know that in the end, I will still be under budget, because the stockpiling allows us to spend less other weeks. I may very well go over budget in November (I am heading back to Shopper's tomorrow and will probably buy more stockpiling items though not nearly as many as my last trip) and then there are some drugstore deals and Black Friday drugstore deals that I want to take advantage of, but I feel that limiting myself and our budget makes me stress out about money more than I should.

We are doing fairly well and to stress out over going over a grocery budget - food that we are eating to sustain ourselves - not exactly anything extravagant is somewhat silly.

This is what works for us.

I just wanted to make another note that thanks to Capital One, I will be receiving another $100 giftcard to Target shortly. I will have made $221 from Capital One this year and have not paid them a dime over what I charge on my card.

Recipe: Onion Garlic Sauce with Pork (and rice and peas)

I promised my boyfriend I would write this recipe down because he really liked it. This is my own invention and basically that means that I throw ingredients into a pot, sniff, add some more, sniff, add some more, etc. Somehow this works out but don't go by these measurements exactly.

The most important part of this recipe is the onion garlic sauce.

It starts with 1 onion (I used sweet yellow - I'm sure any would do).

I sliced the onion and put it into a pot with about a Tbsp of oil (canola) - waited till they cooked down and turned clear.

I then added the following:
1 dash salt
1 dash pepper
a pinch of ground ginger
1 Tbsp ground garlic (the kind in a jar that's refrigerated)
2 tsp parsley (used dry)
1 tsp sweet basil (used dry)
a few generous shakes of onion flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
a few generous shakes of minced garlic (dried from jar)

When the onions start to turn golden I turned off the heat, and transferred the onions to a blender, added about 1/4-1/2c of teryaki sauce, 1/4-1/2c olive oil and about 1/4 c brown sugar. I then blended on liquify for about 30 seconds and then pulsed for another 10 seconds and transferred the contents back to the pot and turned it on low.

I then used the already cooked pork tenderloins I recently purchased at Shopper's. These are usually $6.99 for 5 small medallions of smoked pork, but I paid $4.99 because of a doubled coupon, and in the greater scheme of things, under $1 based on the number of items I purchased and the total for the grocery bill.

I took the tenderloins straight from the refrigerator and heated some more canola oil (not very much - just enough to coat the bottom) in a pan on high. I then sauteed the tenderloins till they were golden on both sides. I plated the tenderloins with some leftover rice and then added some frozen peas to the pan and sauteed them in the leftover "juices" from the pork.

Adding the peas to the plates, I added about 1 Tbsp of onion sauce to the plates and served. I wish I took a picture but the boyfriend was very hungry and it smelled so good.

There is about 1/4 cup of sauce leftover and 1 pork tenderloin (the boyfriend will be having it reheated tomorrow for lunch). This recipe would probably be good with chicken or salmon as well as the pork and could easily be doubled, tripled, etc.

Because of the coupon deals at Shopper's, I was able to make this for well under $5

Shoppers Trip

I need to leave soon, but I am just ecstatic over my Shopper's Food Warehouse grocery trip. I bought a lot of stuff, some that we needed desperately, some that was free or very very cheap after coupons. There were some items that I didn't have coupons for but I got overage for some things that I wasn't expecting, so without further adieu.

I spent $42.34 for all of the above items!

I saved a grand total of $66.95 or 61%!

I bought 46 items so everything came out to less than $1 an item!

This included:

100 ct box generic Sweet n Low
1 box Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa
2 packages warm delights minis
2 bags Cheerios snack mix
2 boxes fruit by the foot
2 boxes Fiber One toaster pastries
1 jar Betty Crocker frosting
2 boxes Success Rice
1 box Kelloggs Chocolate pieces special K
1 "string" rapid rise yeast
1 bottle Kraft Olive Oil Greek dressing
1 box chicken broth
1 box Celestial Seasoning tea
4 boxes Barilla Piccolini pasta
4 pouches Starkist tuna creations
3 bottles Sobe life water
1 can Mazola no stick cooking spray
1 bag Tysons chicken nuggets
2 boxes Hillshire farms turkey breast
1 package Smithfield cooked boneless pork chops
1 roll kosher salami
1.25lb Smithfield pork sirloin chops
1 red bell pepper
2 Dell Monte fruit cups
2 boxes flat bread
1 package findlandia swiss cheese
1 large bag Green Giant vegetable medley
1 can Reddi-wip
1 package yo-plus yogurt
1 container Lysol wipes

I am way over budget this week but completely ok with it (ya think?) and will be writing up another post on Saturday discussing the budget and how I budget that works for us.

Triple/Double Coupons!

Shoppers is once again running a triple up to $.50 coupon and double up to and including $1.00 coupon promotion again running from Thursday, November 20th (tomorrow) to Wednesday, November 26th! I am very excited about this since I missed the last major double/triple days due to the bronchitis.

"Limit 4 coupons for identical items to ensure sufficient supply of products for all our customers. if the value of the truple or double coupon exceeds the retail price of the item, you will receive the item FREE. Coupons stating "not subject to doubling" or "do not double" will not be eligible for tripling or doubling" but as stated in many blogs if the scu begins with a #5, then it will probably double/triple anyway.

Happy Shopping!

Quick Giant Trip

I had a Rx to fill, and I had a transfer Rx get $20 GC expiring, so I went to Giant to get that filled, and I also picked up some Zip Lock bags. Yup, that's it. Not very exciting. I am hoping for some more transfer Rx coupons that don't expire in November, hopefully after the holidays Giant will put more out, maybe, possibly, hopefully!


$2.19 bags
- $.55 coupon

= $1.73 Oop (including tax)

CVS Trip

Apparently the Duracell battery coupons are causing issues with the CVS system. This happened both the 1st and 2nd time I used them, except this time, the manager couldn't even override. The system allows the $5/2 coupon to go through but then will not allow you to use any Extrabucks over $5 to complete the purchase. It is very strange and the manager wound up giving me a giftcard with the $10.99 leftover from the $15.99 extrabuck print out he could only use $5 of. I hope they resolve this issue because standing at the cashiers for 15 minutes while they play around with a line of people behind of me is not fun.

Anyway, I bought:

$.49 Wet n Wild Halloween black nail polish (75% off - this I only bought because my total was under $15 when I first checked out and I didn't think to take them off after keeping it over $0.00 was a moot point - oh well)
$.49 Wet n Wild Halloween dark red nail polish (")
$5.99 Duracell AA 8-pack
$5.99 Duracell AAA 8-pack
$1.69 Oceanspray cranberry sauce
$0.00 Oceanspray cranberry sauce
$1.69 Oceanspray cranberry sauce
$0.00 Oceanspray cranberry sauce
$4.99 Zantrex-3 (I have no idea what I'm going to do with these, thoughts?)

- $5/2 Duracell
- $5 Extrabucks

= $11.51 Oop (Received a giftcard for $10.88 so really $.63 Oop)

I received the following in Extrabucks: $4.99 for the Zantrex and $15 for the Duracell = $19.99 in Extrabucks

Anyone else having issues with the Duracell coupons and Extrabucks used together?

CVS & Safeway

I'm going to be doing several CVS trips this week so I can take advantage of the $5/2 Duracell coupons (which are limited to 1 per purchase, but if I hit the 3 CVS stores around here, I can split it up).

today's trip:

$15.99 L'oreal Anti-Aging moisturizer
$5.99 Duracell batteries
$5.99 Duracell batteries

- $5/2 Duracell
- $2/1 L'oreal (the makeup coupon works for this even though the cashier argued with me, it didn't beep)
- $1.50/1 Duracell (in today's paper)
- $10.00 Extrabucks

= $10.25 Oop (received $15.99 for the L'oreal, am $8.02 away from getting $15 for the Duracell)

Then I went to Safeway, where I purchased the following:

$.66 Diet Sierra Mist cranberry (super saver coupon from today's paper)
$.66 Ginger Ale (")
$.66 Ginger Ale (")
$3.50 Diet Coke mini bottle 8-pack
$1.75 Safeway frozen peas
$1.75 Safeway frozen string beans
$4.98 2 boxes Pledge grab it cloths
$.99 Hallmark card
$.99 Hallmark card
$2.49 Hallmark card (my Dad's birthday is coming next week and I couldn't find a $.99 one I liked)
$2.50 honey wheat bread
$7.98 2 tubs of Hillshire Farms turkey breast
$3.00 3 boxes of Kelloggs pop-tarts (super saver coupon from today's paper)

- $4.39 free Diet Coke with 3 Hallmark card purchase
- $1/2 Pop Tarts
- $1/1 Hillshire
- $1/1 Hillshire

= $25.21 Oop

Running weekly tally: 35.46

I'll be a bit over budget this week because of CVS but given my low totals in previous weeks, I am not too concerned about it.

CVS - Lots of Chocolate

Well, I couldn't really pass up the Hershey's deal this week, given that I had a number of coupons that would keep the price significantly down. Also, we needed milk. Enough reason for me!

$12 4 bags of Bliss chocolates
$5 2 boxes of Hershey's 100 calorie snack packs
$2 4 single bars of Hershey's (2 milk, 2 dark)
$1 1 large Hershey's milk chocolate bar
$3.99 gallon skim milk

- $2.50/2 Bliss
- $2.50/2 Bliss
- $.50 Buy 1 milk get 1 dark bar free
- $.50 Buy 1 milk get 1 dark bar free
- $1.59 Extrabucks
- $11.99 Extrabucks

= $4.65 Oop
Received $10 back for the Hershey's deal.

I am so excited about the buy $20 of Duracell batteries get $15 back deal! I picked up several $5/2 Duracell coupons and I'll be stocking up on batteries for... well, ever since the limit is 3!

Running weekly tally: $20.94

All You Magazine Coupons (December 2008)

I finally got my first issue of All You (which I haven't been able to find at any of the local grocery stores, including Walmart) so imagine my glee when I finally got this in my mailbox yesterday!

The coupons in the December issue are as follows:

Dove $3.50 off when you buy any 1 Dove SkinVitalizer (exp 2/13/09)
Dove $1.50 off when you buy any 1 Dove Cream Oil Body Lotion or Hand Cream (exp 2/8/09)
Suave $1.00 off any Suave Moisturizing lotion (18oz or larger) (exp 2/13/09)
Orville Redenbacher's $1.00 off any 1 Orville Redenbacher Kernel popcorn (exp 2/8/09)
Orville Redenbacher's $1.00 off any 1 Orville Redenbacher Popcorn oil (exp 2/8/09)
Slim Jim $.75 off any 1 Slim Jim 16-count canister or larger (exp 2/8/09)
Redi-wip $1.00 off any 1 Reddi-wip 6.5 oz can or larger (exp 2/8/09) used
Rimmel Buy NEW Sexy Curves mascara and get a FREE Colour Rush eyeshadow (exp 1/31/09)
Rimmel $1.00 off any lasting finish lipstick (1/31/09)
Nestle $1.00 off any 2 packages of Nestle Toll House morsels (2/1/09)
Nestle $1.00 off any 2 packages of Nestle toll house refrigerated cookie dough (2/1/09)
Jergens $1.00 off when you buy any Jergens moisturizer 7.5oz, Jergens natural glow face 2oz, or body 4oz (3/1/09)
Pom $1.00 off 2 or more POM wonderful pomegranates (1/31/09)
Wet Ones $.75 on your next purchase of 1 wetones wipes 40 count or larger canister or 1 box singles (3/31/09)
FREE 1 day membership for Sam's Club (November 29-December 26 2008)
All You $.50 off All you Health & Fitness Special Issue (1/31/09)
Dole $.55 off any 2 cans of Dole mandarin oranges or tropical mixed fruit (1/31/09)
Scick $4.00 off any schick quattro titanium razor, refill or travel gift set (1/16/09)
Brut $1.00 off any Brut product (1/15/09)
Tyson $1.00 off any single or twin pack of Tyson Cornish Hens (1/31/09)
Domino $.65 off any 2 domino sugar products 2lb or larger (1/31/09)
Mrs. Dash $.50 off any 1 Mrs. Dash Seasoning Blend (1/31/09)
Marzetti $.55 off any 1 Marzetti Dip 11oz or more (1/31/09)
Ore-Ida $1.00 off 1 Ore-Ida Steam n' Mash potato product (1/31/09)
Heinz $1.00 off 2 Heinz Cocktail sauce (5/31/09)
Marie Callender $2.00 off any 1 Signature Sautes (2/8/09
ZipLoc $1.00 off any 1 Ziploc Zip 'n Steam bags (2/28/09)
Betty Crocker $1.00 off any 2 box or pouch betty crocker potatoes (2/1/09)
Chex $1.00 off any 2 chex cereals (2/20/09)
Colgate $.75 off any kids toothpaste (3/31/09)
Colgate $.75 off any kids toothbrush (3/31/09)
New York $.50 off any New York frozen product (2/28/09)
Swiss Miss $.50 off any Swiss Miss Sensible Sweets (2/28/09) used
King's Hawaiian $.55 off any bread product (except 4-pack roll) (3/31/09)

Wow! 34 coupons plus recipes. I'm impressed, even though we won't use all of them, it was worth the under $20 a year subscription fee.

Yesterday's Shopping Trips

I decided not to go to Safeway to use the $10 off $50 coupon. We are really well stocked on food, especially since my mother brought over an enormous pot of chicken soup which we are still trying to eat through (and there's another container in the freezer!). So, I've just picked up some odds and ends. Yesterday I was able to get a lot done.

At CVS I finally found the beauty book and there's also a magazine "reinventing beauty" with the beauty book in it plus other coupons for $.99 - so now I have 2 sets. I also bought some candy corn that was 90% off, and I spent $1.33 Oop.

At Costco I renewed our membership and also bought a large bottle of minced onion (we use a lot of minced onion and garlic): $3.30 Oop

At Walmart I picked up the following:
$18.97 Sterilite cart for the closet (obviously not part of the grocery budget)
$.92 lb macaroni
$.92 lb macaroni
$.60 Campbells cream of mushroom soup on roll back
$.60 Campbells cream of mushroom soup on roll back
$6.97 special muffin cups (also not part of grocery budget but I needed them)
$1.18 cornmeal
$2.98 Crisco vegetable oil on roll back

I used the rest of my Walmart giftcard that I've been working through and paid $5.10 Oop.

I also went to Target and picked up a muffin tin, a grey tank top (on clearance $2.48) and a dust buster which we have needed so badly! None are part of my grocery budget but I finished using my $100 Target giftcard and spent under $15 out of pocket after the giftcard was used up.

We also received our dehumidifier in the mail! Now that it's almost winter we shouldn't need to use it too much, but we generally don't have to turn on the AC when it's hot since we're on the first floor - but it gets really humid - but it should be helpful come spring or during warm days.

Out of pocket expenses towards grocery budget: $9.73
Running weekly tally: $16.29

Two CVS Trips

I found Halloween clearance at 75% off - I'm actually heading back today because the boyfriend has requested more. Anyway.

trip #1:
$.32 Brach candy corn
$.32 Brach candy corn
$.49 milkmaid caramels
$.49 milkmaid caramels
$.75 Reeses crisp bars
$2.99 Garnier anti-frizz cream
$11.99 L'oreal Revitalift serum stuff

$2.79 Tootsie Roll pops (this is a mistake which she then returned and resold to me for the proper price of $.70)

- 1/1 L'oreal
- $1/1 Garnier
- $5 Extrabucks
- $12 Extrabucks

= $1.33 Oop (which I got back with the return - resel of the pops so $0.00 Oop)

Made $11.99 off the L'oreal and $2 off the Garnier.

trip #2:

$1.59 Glacier water
$4.09 gallon skim milk

- $1.00 Extrabuck
- $2.00 Extrabuck
- $2.00 Extrabuck

= $.68 Oop

Received $1.59 back from the Glacier water.

Budget So Far II

DAYS	MONEY SPENT
AUG 10 - AUG 16	$118.24
AUG 17 - AUG 23	$48.11
AUG 23 - AUG 30	$40.78
AUG 31 - SEP 6	$57.87
SEP 7 - SEP 13	$57.39
SEP 14 - SEP 20	$71.10
SEP 21 - SEP 27	$1.83
SEP 28 - OCT 4	$49.18
OCT 5 - OCT 11	$13.88
OCT 12 - OCT 18	$75.08
OCT 19 - OCT 25	$10.04
OCT 26 - NOV 1	$43.58
NOV 2 - NOV 8	$42.00
NOV 9 - NOV 15	$20.94
NOV 16 - NOV 22	?
NOV 23 - NOV 29	?

August: $207.13
September: $188.19
October: $191.76 (yes! Even with the extra week)
November: $159.49

1st Shopping Trip in a Week!

Well, I indeed was able to go out, though I'm feeling a little tired now. I think CVS will have to wait till tomorrow - hopefully the things on sale will still be around, if not, oh well. I love how relaxed I get with illness! Hah!

Anyway, I made 2 stops: Giant and Safeway...

Giant:

$1.87 Arnolds Honey Wheat Bread (on sale 33% off)
$3.34 Hillshire Farms turkey breast
$3.34 Hillshire Farms turkey breast

- $1/1 Hillshire Farms (on product)
- $1/1 Hillshire Farms (")
- $5 off next shopping trip from Crest deal

= $1.49 Oop which I paid with a giftcard

Safeway:

$1.69 Quaker Simple Harvest cereal
$1.69 Quaker Simple Harvest cereal (on sale yesterday and today only!)
$3.50 Diet Coke 8-pack
$4.00 2 Florida's Natural orange juice (on sale yesterday and today only!)
$6.00 Cute Holiday Pup
$2.97 3 Thanksgiving cards at $.99 each

- $6.00 Coke promotion
- $6.00 free plush
- $1/1 Simple Harvest
- $1/1 Simple harvest

= $5.88 Oop!

Now the 3-card promotion takes $6 off your total (a lot more than the coke so you get overage!) but it didn't automatically take off the plush toy so the cashier had to do that manually. Check the screen when you check out! I'm going to try this again tomorrow when I go back to hopefully use the $10 off $50 coupon.

Sick

Well, this week my "feels like the flu" turned out to be bronchitis, so I have been on the couch for the entire week (and only barely making it up and on the computer). Anyway, the only thing that was bought other than my visit on the 2nd was a gallon of milk (the boyfriend picked that up) which brings us at approximately $42.00 OOP for the week, obviously under budget. I am actually excited about some of the CVS deals this week and will be out food shopping (not for too long) tomorrow. Any deals I should be on the lookout for?

Giant & Safeway

Two stops today, although the body isn't so happy I ever went out. Seems I have come down with something, which is great because I was just about to get my flu shot. Oh well. Aches, cough and all other cold symptons. It's fun, really. My shopping trip was far more fun.

Giant:
$7.50 3 tubes of Crest toothpaste (on sale for $2.50 each)
$2.00 2 boxes of frozen spinach
$1.66 1.68 lbs of bartlett pears

- $1/2 Crest
- $1/1 Crest

= $9.61, which I paid with a giftcard, received $5 back for the Crest deal!

Safeway:
$.59 Betty Crocker cakemix
$.59 Betty Crocker cakemix
$.59 Betty Crocker cakemix
$.59 Betty Crocker cakemix
$.59 Betty Crocker cakemix
$.59 Betty Crocker cakemix
$5.59 vanilla extract
$4.19 Canola oil
$2.50 Snyders pretzals
$1.99 dozen large eggs
$2.50 mexican cheese mix
$2.00 Minute Maid orange juice
$9.60 12 Yoplait yogurts
$5.75 Safeway chicken breasts (several lbs at $1.99/lb)
$5.73 Safeway chicken breasts (several lbs at $1.99/lb)
$.69 1.76 lb of bananas

- $.80 Yoplait
- $.80 Yoplait
- $4.33 10% discount

= $38.15 Oop

Alright, back to the couch.

New Weekly Tally

So, especially after this week and last, where I bought several free after rebate items from Rite Aid and had the "I'm way over budget" scare, I've decided that I will not include these purchases in my weekly tallies if I get either the price I paid or more back from Rite Aid's program. And I will only do this for Rite Aid - not any mail away offers because those can't always be trusted. Additionally, I will use my credit card (earning rewards points) for all free after rebate items.

So that makes this week a little more reasonable.

Week of October 26th - November 1st (not counting Rite Aid trips):
Sunday October 26th Safeway $24.73
Sunday October 26th Girl Scouts $10.50
Monday October 27th CVS $0.22
Thursday October 30th CVS $2.18
Thursday October 30th Safeway $5.95

Running weekly tally: 43.58

Not sure if I'll be going out today, but I'll definitely be doing the Crest deal at Giant (there are coupons in today's circular) and then stopping at Safeway tomorrow (check your coupons for a Safeway election circular with a 10% off coupon!) for the 2 day specials and using the 10% off coupon!