Since I've been doing quite a bit of baking, I was out again today to get eggs. I decided to go to Shoppers just because that's the closest grocery store and their prices on dairy/eggs in particular are generally lower than at Safeway or Giant.
Though I usually buy a dozen eggs, I bought 18 this time. Why?
Eggs are usually $1.69 for a dozen at Shoppers:
$1.69/12 = $.141 per egg x 18 = $2.54
The pack of 18 is $2.49 - not a significant savings (5 cents) but I have even more baking to do so I know I'll use them.
I also got my fiance more of the comic book jelly candies (on clearance for $.50 each = $1.00)
Total shopped trip was $3.55 including tax.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
Giant & CVS
Giant's sales this week are particularly good which is surprising as normally Safeway tends to out-sale them, but this week, there are a few things worth mentioning:
Anyway, on to the purchases:
CVS (Sunday):
$4.00 4 bottles Gatorade (on sale 4/$4)
$8.99 Schick Intuition
$3.79 gallon skim milk
- $2/1 Schick
- $1.69 Extrabucks
- $5.98 Extrabucks
- $5.99 Extrabucks
= $1.12 which I put on a gift card so $0.00 Oop
Received $5 EB back for the Schick deal.
Giant (today):
$1.85 8-pack Gatorade mini boxes (on sale 50% on mark-down carts)
$1.85 8-pack Gatorade mini boxes (")
$1.25 Giant brand rice krispies (")
$1.29 cupcake cups
$1.94 5.89 lbs bananas (in reduced bags)
$10.98 5 boxes of various coke products = $2.196 a box
$1.64 honey wheat bread
$1.59 wheat bread
$1.14 Aunt Jemima low fat waffles
$1.14 Aunt Jemima low fat waffles
$3.00 3 boxes mini pizza bagels
$.50 mints (50% off holiday)
$.74 holiday marshmallows
$.74 holiday marshmallows
$2.99 Selenium (recommend by my Dr. for my dermatitis)
$2.99 Selenium (" - these were 50% off so I stocked up)
- amount on giftcard
= $27.67 Oop
- Coke 12-packs are buy 2 get 3 free (yup, cheaper than 50% off) - limit 5 (1 transaction)
- Aunt Jemima frozen items are 50% off - the low-fat 16 ct waffles turn out to be $1.14 a box
- Giant brand mini pizza bagels are 50% off making them $1 for a box of 9
- Schmidt bread products are 50% off making wheat bread $1.59 a loaf and honey wheat $1.64 a loaf
Anyway, on to the purchases:
CVS (Sunday):
$4.00 4 bottles Gatorade (on sale 4/$4)
$8.99 Schick Intuition
$3.79 gallon skim milk
- $2/1 Schick
- $1.69 Extrabucks
- $5.98 Extrabucks
- $5.99 Extrabucks
= $1.12 which I put on a gift card so $0.00 Oop
Received $5 EB back for the Schick deal.
Giant (today):
$1.85 8-pack Gatorade mini boxes (on sale 50% on mark-down carts)
$1.85 8-pack Gatorade mini boxes (")
$1.25 Giant brand rice krispies (")
$1.29 cupcake cups
$1.94 5.89 lbs bananas (in reduced bags)
$10.98 5 boxes of various coke products = $2.196 a box
$1.64 honey wheat bread
$1.59 wheat bread
$1.14 Aunt Jemima low fat waffles
$1.14 Aunt Jemima low fat waffles
$3.00 3 boxes mini pizza bagels
$.50 mints (50% off holiday)
$.74 holiday marshmallows
$.74 holiday marshmallows
$2.99 Selenium (recommend by my Dr. for my dermatitis)
$2.99 Selenium (" - these were 50% off so I stocked up)
- amount on giftcard
= $27.67 Oop
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Budget Summary
I've been a bad blog mommy (?) and still haven't added up my purchases from last week and am nearly mid-week without any trip summaries either! I'm not going to be going through my several CVS purchases over the last few (aside from the one yesterday obviously) but I bought a great deal of loot and adding up my extrabucks this afternoon, I found I had over $60 of them (this is not including the $9.97 worth that I am due from my purchases yesterday) but is still pretty impressive! I'm relieved that I was able to roll over the ones from Black Friday fairly quickly and not have to worry about them expiring.
Anyway, the amount spent last week:
December 14th- 20th:
Sunday December 14th CVS: $3.00
Sunday December 14th Safeway: $13.38
Tuesday December 14th delivery pizza: $21.12
Wednesday December 15th CVS: $1.39
Wednesday December 15th Giant: $49.92
Wednesday December 15th Giant: $13.02
Saturday December 20th Shoppers: $15.92
Way over budget this week mostly due to the Giant trips for gift cards and the pizza - although we've been using the pizza for meals this week and still have leftovers in the freezer!
total: $117.75, ouch! $67.75 over!
However, thanks to Hannukah leftovers from my parents, stocking up on cereal and CVS paying for our milk, this week we've spent $2.26 so far, and thanks to the Christmas holiday and our annual Chinese dinner, I don't imagine we'll be spending much more either.
For all who celebrate any holiday, Happy Holidays!
Anyway, the amount spent last week:
December 14th- 20th:
Sunday December 14th CVS: $3.00
Sunday December 14th Safeway: $13.38
Tuesday December 14th delivery pizza: $21.12
Wednesday December 15th CVS: $1.39
Wednesday December 15th Giant: $49.92
Wednesday December 15th Giant: $13.02
Saturday December 20th Shoppers: $15.92
Way over budget this week mostly due to the Giant trips for gift cards and the pizza - although we've been using the pizza for meals this week and still have leftovers in the freezer!
total: $117.75, ouch! $67.75 over!
| DAYS | MONEY SPENT |
| 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 |
| NOV 30 - DEC 6 | $25.49 |
| DEC 7 - DEC 13 | $24.32 |
| $117.75 | |
| DEC 21 - DEC 27 | $2.26 |
| DEC 28 - JAN 3 | $? |
| JAN 4 - JAN 10 | $? |
| JAN 11 - JAN 17 | $? |
| JAN 18 - JAN 24 | $? |
| JAN 25 - JAN 31 | $? |
However, thanks to Hannukah leftovers from my parents, stocking up on cereal and CVS paying for our milk, this week we've spent $2.26 so far, and thanks to the Christmas holiday and our annual Chinese dinner, I don't imagine we'll be spending much more either.
For all who celebrate any holiday, Happy Holidays!
Monday, December 22, 2008
CVS - Utter Disaster
I have had several CVS trips between yesterday and today but have not had time to blog due to my crazy work schedule and holidays. I am working part-time at a makeup store in the area for the holiday season and have recently gotten some crazy hours that force me to get up at 5am. I am not exactly my best at 5am, and even less so if I would so happen to stop at a store after an 8 hour shift on my feet.
That being said, I absolutely love working at the store that I do because customer service is really our #1 focus and it's so fun working there - we can do so many things for customers that other retail stores would never do, so it's a complete 180 when I stop at say, CVS and run into one problem after another. At "makeup store" we go above and beyond. Our return policy is basically, if you ever dislike a product, you can return it no questions asked (though if you return without a receipt over $100 worth of products, it needs a manager's ok). We sample out products, we give things away.
So, today's CVS shopping trip was especially annoying (might I add, after being on my feet for 8 hours and having just come in from the freezing cold).
I get my items. I go to check out. Everything is fine, until the receipt prints out, or should I say, doesn't print out, unless you count a mangled white piece of paper printing out.
The cashier's printer basically destroyed my receipt, including the $10 or so Extrabucks along with it, and oh, all the products I bought, along with their prices (usually, I double check my receipt after purchasing to make sure they haven't charged me full price on marked down items... I'd say 1/2 times at least they have and it has to be checked and I get refunded the money on a gift card) so of course I wanted my receipt printed. The supervisor claimed that he could not reprint extrabucks (false) and that I needed to call the 1-800 number (no way was I waiting on hold for 10+ minutes for a store mix up). There was also no way for him to reprint the receipt, help me or do anything else. I was pissed. So I said that I wasn't calling the 1-800 number and that he should do it for me and I've been to several CVS locations that do know how to reprint extrabucks. He claimed I was lying. It took him 10 minutes to go to the office to call the 1-800 number - he came down to say that he was tired of waiting on hold (oh really? How funny! That's exactly why I wanted him to call!) and was going to give me the extrabucks in cash. Now this of course does not correct the receipt issue but I accepted the $10 and walked out of the store and my purchase summary below will confirm or deny whether or not I was overcharged. If so, I am calling the 1-800 number and going... umm [expletives] and demanding some amount of my money back.
Anyway, here's what I got, roughly - since I have no receipt!
$5.98 2 Listerines
$3.99 Excedrin
$4.50 gallon skim milk (I have no idea how much this cost but let's say $4.50 to be safe)
$2.99 Physician's Formula bronzer (clearance)
$1.75 Styli eyeliner (clearance)
$1.00 WetnWild cream eyeliner (clearance)
$1.00 WetnWild brow kit (clearance)
$1.99 Rimmel Foundation (clearance)
$1.99 Rimmel Foundation (clearance)
$.75 Essence of Beauty lipgloss (clearance)
$.75 Essence of Beauty lipgloss (clearance)
$7.99 Revlon lipgloss (supposed to be 50% off and buy 1 get 1 free)
$7.99 Revlon lipgloss (supposed to be 50% off and buy 1 get 1 free)
should have cost $3.995 for both
Plus some 75% off Altoids (I have no clue, let's assume $1)
- $1/1 Listerine
- $1/1 Listerine
- $2/1 Excedrin
- $2/1 Physicians Formula
- $2/1 Styli
- $1/1 Rimmel
- $1/1 Rimmel
- $2/1 Revlon
- $2/1 Revlon
- $2/1 Essence of Beauty (from CVS beauty book)
- $2/1 Essence of Beauty (from CVS beauty book)
= $14.685
I was told it was $22 before my Extrabucks (I only paid $.21)... looks like it was the Revlon. Looks like they overcharged me at least $7.99 - not insignificant. I'm going to call.
See? Wasn't that fun?!
*edit*
I just called the store and told the supervisor that I dealt with that he overcharged me for the items. He was pretty unapologetic (I was not surprised - he was nasty in the store) and told me to call the store manager tomorrow.
I basically ignored him and called CVS customer service, where I spoke to a lovely lady that apologized several times and is fixing my Extrabucks and told me to keep the $10 that the supervisor gave me in lieu of the extrabucks for the things that I overpaid for.
That being said, I absolutely love working at the store that I do because customer service is really our #1 focus and it's so fun working there - we can do so many things for customers that other retail stores would never do, so it's a complete 180 when I stop at say, CVS and run into one problem after another. At "makeup store" we go above and beyond. Our return policy is basically, if you ever dislike a product, you can return it no questions asked (though if you return without a receipt over $100 worth of products, it needs a manager's ok). We sample out products, we give things away.
So, today's CVS shopping trip was especially annoying (might I add, after being on my feet for 8 hours and having just come in from the freezing cold).
I get my items. I go to check out. Everything is fine, until the receipt prints out, or should I say, doesn't print out, unless you count a mangled white piece of paper printing out.
The cashier's printer basically destroyed my receipt, including the $10 or so Extrabucks along with it, and oh, all the products I bought, along with their prices (usually, I double check my receipt after purchasing to make sure they haven't charged me full price on marked down items... I'd say 1/2 times at least they have and it has to be checked and I get refunded the money on a gift card) so of course I wanted my receipt printed. The supervisor claimed that he could not reprint extrabucks (false) and that I needed to call the 1-800 number (no way was I waiting on hold for 10+ minutes for a store mix up). There was also no way for him to reprint the receipt, help me or do anything else. I was pissed. So I said that I wasn't calling the 1-800 number and that he should do it for me and I've been to several CVS locations that do know how to reprint extrabucks. He claimed I was lying. It took him 10 minutes to go to the office to call the 1-800 number - he came down to say that he was tired of waiting on hold (oh really? How funny! That's exactly why I wanted him to call!) and was going to give me the extrabucks in cash. Now this of course does not correct the receipt issue but I accepted the $10 and walked out of the store and my purchase summary below will confirm or deny whether or not I was overcharged. If so, I am calling the 1-800 number and going... umm [expletives] and demanding some amount of my money back.
Anyway, here's what I got, roughly - since I have no receipt!
$5.98 2 Listerines
$3.99 Excedrin
$4.50 gallon skim milk (I have no idea how much this cost but let's say $4.50 to be safe)
$2.99 Physician's Formula bronzer (clearance)
$1.75 Styli eyeliner (clearance)
$1.00 WetnWild cream eyeliner (clearance)
$1.00 WetnWild brow kit (clearance)
$1.99 Rimmel Foundation (clearance)
$1.99 Rimmel Foundation (clearance)
$.75 Essence of Beauty lipgloss (clearance)
$.75 Essence of Beauty lipgloss (clearance)
$7.99 Revlon lipgloss (supposed to be 50% off and buy 1 get 1 free)
$7.99 Revlon lipgloss (supposed to be 50% off and buy 1 get 1 free)
should have cost $3.995 for both
Plus some 75% off Altoids (I have no clue, let's assume $1)
- $1/1 Listerine
- $1/1 Listerine
- $2/1 Excedrin
- $2/1 Physicians Formula
- $2/1 Styli
- $1/1 Rimmel
- $1/1 Rimmel
- $2/1 Revlon
- $2/1 Revlon
- $2/1 Essence of Beauty (from CVS beauty book)
- $2/1 Essence of Beauty (from CVS beauty book)
= $14.685
I was told it was $22 before my Extrabucks (I only paid $.21)... looks like it was the Revlon. Looks like they overcharged me at least $7.99 - not insignificant. I'm going to call.
See? Wasn't that fun?!
*edit*
I just called the store and told the supervisor that I dealt with that he overcharged me for the items. He was pretty unapologetic (I was not surprised - he was nasty in the store) and told me to call the store manager tomorrow.
I basically ignored him and called CVS customer service, where I spoke to a lovely lady that apologized several times and is fixing my Extrabucks and told me to keep the $10 that the supervisor gave me in lieu of the extrabucks for the things that I overpaid for.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Shoppers
I figured I'd make a Shopper's trip today even though I know when I do my calculation tonight I'll be way over budget this week, but I'm ok about it considering in the past 2 weeks I've only spend $25 a week, so I have money in the "bank" so to speak. Anyway, this shopping trip was a breeze and I guess because everyone is in the holiday spirit people apologized if rounding the corner too fast and weren't mean in line. I had the same cashier as last time and she was a hoot - also the ladies beyond me were basically in awe after they heard my total and I told them about the Vocal Point program (which really helped me out this trip - can't wait to use the $2 off the Kashi bars whenever they go on sale).
Anyway, my purchases:
$1.79 Gerenic Rice Krispies (my FMIL -future mother in law- sent us 3.5 lbs of Plush Puffs and Rice Krispies are the only cereal we don't seem to have in the house so I bought generic so I'll make treats sometime this week)
$1.50 Sweet n Low substitute
$2.19 Minute Rice instant brown ($.19 after $1 off that doubled)
$2.00 4 smaller bags of those Marvel gummies I bought last trip
$4.00 4 Sobe Life Waters (had $.40 coupons for each that tripled, made me $.80)
$15.96 4 boxes Hillshire Farms turkey breast (once again there are $1 off coupons attached to these that double)
$10.00 8 del monte fruit cups (wound up costing $2 total after Vocal Point coupons)
$1.49 Wholly Guacamole (made me $.50 cents after $1 off that doubled)
$2.39 Green Giant steamfresh veggie blend ($.50 that tripled)
$1.99 Colgate toothpaste (free after $1 off on back of circular that doubled)
$2.39 Nivea chapstick ($.39 after $1 off coupon that doubled)
total was $15.92 out of pocket including tax after coupons
"You saved a grand total of $33.29 or 68%"
Anyway, my purchases:
$1.79 Gerenic Rice Krispies (my FMIL -future mother in law- sent us 3.5 lbs of Plush Puffs and Rice Krispies are the only cereal we don't seem to have in the house so I bought generic so I'll make treats sometime this week)
$1.50 Sweet n Low substitute
$2.19 Minute Rice instant brown ($.19 after $1 off that doubled)
$2.00 4 smaller bags of those Marvel gummies I bought last trip
$4.00 4 Sobe Life Waters (had $.40 coupons for each that tripled, made me $.80)
$15.96 4 boxes Hillshire Farms turkey breast (once again there are $1 off coupons attached to these that double)
$10.00 8 del monte fruit cups (wound up costing $2 total after Vocal Point coupons)
$1.49 Wholly Guacamole (made me $.50 cents after $1 off that doubled)
$2.39 Green Giant steamfresh veggie blend ($.50 that tripled)
$1.99 Colgate toothpaste (free after $1 off on back of circular that doubled)
$2.39 Nivea chapstick ($.39 after $1 off coupon that doubled)
total was $15.92 out of pocket including tax after coupons
"You saved a grand total of $33.29 or 68%"
Friday, December 19, 2008
Hooray!
I went to another Giant today to try to find $15 gift certificates and I lucked out! I'm not counting the $25 I spent out of pocket today to buy these gift cards, since gifts are not a part of my "grocery" budget, but I spent $25 and got the following, even the cashier was excited!
$15 Itunes (for my brother)
$15 Itunes (for my dad)
$15 Starbucks
$15 Starbucks
$15 Starbucks
= $75 worth of gift cards
So it turned out not to be "too good to be true" after all. I'm fairly relieved.
It was absolutely disgusting today but I might go out before the evening is over to Shopper's to get some stuff for the double/triple coupon promotion, although, really, we are rather stocked over here so I'll only be buying free after coupon or very very cheap after coupon items.
$15 Itunes (for my brother)
$15 Itunes (for my dad)
$15 Starbucks
$15 Starbucks
$15 Starbucks
= $75 worth of gift cards
So it turned out not to be "too good to be true" after all. I'm fairly relieved.
It was absolutely disgusting today but I might go out before the evening is over to Shopper's to get some stuff for the double/triple coupon promotion, although, really, we are rather stocked over here so I'll only be buying free after coupon or very very cheap after coupon items.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Yesterday's Last 2 Giant Trips
Looks like I am going to be keeping my 9 tubes of toothpaste after all, reference my last entry where I work the numbers.
Anyway, the last 2 transactions were wonderful because I managed to find folded up $1 off coupons in the bonus packs of Crest. I was able to use 6 of them for all 6 tubes of toothpaste making each $1.99.
transaction #1:
$8.97 3 tubes of Crest (I picked up a few more with the coupons in the bonus packs)
- $1/1 Crest
- $1/1 Crest
- $1/1 Crest
= $6.51 including tax Oop
transaction #2:
$8.97 3 tubes of Crest (I picked up a few more with the coupons in the bonus packs)
- $1/1 Crest
- $1/1 Crest
- $1/1 Crest
= $6.51 including tax Oop
Tomorrow I'll be hitting another Giant in hopes of finding some $15 giftcards!
Anyway, the last 2 transactions were wonderful because I managed to find folded up $1 off coupons in the bonus packs of Crest. I was able to use 6 of them for all 6 tubes of toothpaste making each $1.99.
transaction #1:
$8.97 3 tubes of Crest (I picked up a few more with the coupons in the bonus packs)
- $1/1 Crest
- $1/1 Crest
- $1/1 Crest
= $6.51 including tax Oop
transaction #2:
$8.97 3 tubes of Crest (I picked up a few more with the coupons in the bonus packs)
- $1/1 Crest
- $1/1 Crest
- $1/1 Crest
= $6.51 including tax Oop
Tomorrow I'll be hitting another Giant in hopes of finding some $15 giftcards!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Another One!
Today is not my day apparently. For any of you doing the Olay deal, the $15 giftcard is good only on Olay products (at many locations nationwide). Just want to make sure none of you are buying the products thinking you'll get $15 in something that resembles cash back if you aren't an Olay user.
How do I know this? I just talked to someone at the number located on that form.
Just FYI.
How do I know this? I just talked to someone at the number located on that form.
Just FYI.
Too Good To Be True
Giant won't let you use more than 1 -$10 voucher at a time. I just learned that after spending $50 on toothpaste and deodorant. Oops.
Now the question is, is the deal still worthwhile knowing that I will be spending quite a bit out of pocket in addition to the products for the giftcards? And also knowing that at least at my Giant location, nearly all of the giftcards are $25 at the minimum.
Would it be horrible of me to return most of the products? Does anyone know of any Giant locations that even have $10 giftcards or even $15?
I should have known this would happen. Deals too good to be true.
Well, asides from CVS. CVS "too good to be true" deals usually are true.
I'm a bit dissapointed and a bit annoyed. Blah. What to do what to do?
*edit*
After reworking the numbers, it looks like as long as I can find some $15 gift cards, it is worth it. As long as I buy $15 certificates, I'd only be paying $11.51-$12.95 for them out of pocket, which is pretty good if I can find any (I managed to find $6 worth of $1 off Crest coupons in the tubes with free samples - there's a little folded up thingy inside with 2-$1 off coupons in it) so I was able to get the last 2 vouchers for $6.51 including tax + $5 is only $11.51 for a $15 giftcard, saving or making me $3.49 per card x 5 = $17.5.
Giant & CVS
Thanks to Money Making Mom for revealing the sweet deal I got at Giant today (and I'm going to go back to finish it shortly). In this week's circular there is a deal where you buy 3 of a P&G product and you get a $10 voucher for a gift card (which excludes Giant and a couple others). Crest toothpaste is on sale for $2.99 (plus there are coupons in the most recent P&G coupon insert. Old Spice deodorant is also part of this deal and is 2/$5 (making it $7.50 total even without coupons for a free $10 voucher). I'm about to see if there are any Old Spice coupons to use, but I did 2 rounds of the deal with Old Spice and 1 round with Crest (only 1 per transaction). There is also a coupon from the Sunday Washington Post on page A19 for a free dozen eggs with a $20 or more purchase. I also had a 5% off coupon for filling 3 prescriptions at the Giant pharmacy.
I also stopped at CVS, first of course due to perishables, and am going to redeem the $15 giftcard for buying 2 of Olay in a little bit. There were $5 off coupons in the latest P&G coupon insert (sensing a trend?) and the moisturizer was on sale for $17.99. Doing the deal makes the Olay products $5.49 each (or nothing if you have lots of Extrabucks to burn through from Black Friday like I do). Not the best deal, but great for gifts.
Anyway, on to the purchases:
|CVS|
$17.99 Olay Regenerist moisturizer
$17.99 Olay Regenerist moisturizer
$2.99 Colgate Advanced
$8.99 Complete 12oz contact solution (December EB deal, free after EB - limit 2)
$8.99 Complete 12oz contact solution (December EB deal, free after EB - limit 2)
- $1.50/1 Colgate
- $2.00/1 Complete
- $2.00/1 Complete
- $5.00/1 Olay
- $5.00/1 Olay
- $2.99 Extrabucks
- $6.00 Extrabucks
- $6.99 Extrabucks
- $6.99 Extrabucks
- $6.98 Extrabucks
= $12.05
- $.63 CVS money card (from returns or price adjustments)
- $.02 CVS money card (from returns or price adjustments)
- $10.01 Amex rewards (leftover from fiance)
= $1.39 Oop
Received the following in Extrabucks:
$17.98 for the Complete
$2.00 for the Colgate
= $19.98 in Extrabucks!
|Giant|
I did this trip in 3 different transactions and am going back for 2 more (so I have $50 worth of vouchers to get either 1- $50 or 2- $25 giftcards.
transaction #1:
$9.00 6 packages of Healthy Ones turkey breast (on sale for 2/$3)
$8.06 4 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breast (on sale $1.99/lb)
$1.13 3.42lbs (at $.33lb) ripe bananas
$2.29 loaf whole wheat bread
$1.23 1.24lb sweet onions
$2.84 2.87lb mcintoch apples
$1.59 200 coffee filters
$1.99 large white eggs
$2.29 unbleached flour
$2.99 Crest toothpaste
$2.99 Crest toothpaste
$2.99 Crest toothpaste
- $1.97 (or 5%)
- $1.99 free large eggs with $20 purchase
- $1/1 Crest
- $1/1 Crest
= $34.02 Oop (recieved $10 giftcard voucher)
transaction #2:
3 Old Spice deodorant
= $7.95 Oop (received $10 giftcard voucher)
transaction #3:
3 Old Spice deodorant
= $7.95 Oop (received $10 giftcard voucher)
As I said, I'm going back to do the deal 2 more times, and I will certainly be over budget this week, but thanks to the giftcard vouchers, it will be worth it. Also, I'll have some things to donate to not only the shelter, my younger brother in college and the fiance (who wears Old Spice), but I'll have $50 worth of giftcards, making the out of pocket expenses minimal.
Total out of pocket will be $65.82 (less if I can find some Old Spice coupons) and I will get $50 in giftcards. Not too shabby considering I also bought groceries that have nothing to do with this deal. If I didn't include the grocery amount, it's $47 out of pocket, for $50 in giftcards.
I also stopped at CVS, first of course due to perishables, and am going to redeem the $15 giftcard for buying 2 of Olay in a little bit. There were $5 off coupons in the latest P&G coupon insert (sensing a trend?) and the moisturizer was on sale for $17.99. Doing the deal makes the Olay products $5.49 each (or nothing if you have lots of Extrabucks to burn through from Black Friday like I do). Not the best deal, but great for gifts.
Anyway, on to the purchases:
|CVS|
$17.99 Olay Regenerist moisturizer
$17.99 Olay Regenerist moisturizer
$2.99 Colgate Advanced
$8.99 Complete 12oz contact solution (December EB deal, free after EB - limit 2)
$8.99 Complete 12oz contact solution (December EB deal, free after EB - limit 2)
- $1.50/1 Colgate
- $2.00/1 Complete
- $2.00/1 Complete
- $5.00/1 Olay
- $5.00/1 Olay
- $2.99 Extrabucks
- $6.00 Extrabucks
- $6.99 Extrabucks
- $6.99 Extrabucks
- $6.98 Extrabucks
= $12.05
- $.63 CVS money card (from returns or price adjustments)
- $.02 CVS money card (from returns or price adjustments)
- $10.01 Amex rewards (leftover from fiance)
= $1.39 Oop
Received the following in Extrabucks:
$17.98 for the Complete
$2.00 for the Colgate
= $19.98 in Extrabucks!
|Giant|
I did this trip in 3 different transactions and am going back for 2 more (so I have $50 worth of vouchers to get either 1- $50 or 2- $25 giftcards.
transaction #1:
$9.00 6 packages of Healthy Ones turkey breast (on sale for 2/$3)
$8.06 4 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breast (on sale $1.99/lb)
$1.13 3.42lbs (at $.33lb) ripe bananas
$2.29 loaf whole wheat bread
$1.23 1.24lb sweet onions
$2.84 2.87lb mcintoch apples
$1.59 200 coffee filters
$1.99 large white eggs
$2.29 unbleached flour
$2.99 Crest toothpaste
$2.99 Crest toothpaste
$2.99 Crest toothpaste
- $1.97 (or 5%)
- $1.99 free large eggs with $20 purchase
- $1/1 Crest
- $1/1 Crest
= $34.02 Oop (recieved $10 giftcard voucher)
transaction #2:
3 Old Spice deodorant
= $7.95 Oop (received $10 giftcard voucher)
transaction #3:
3 Old Spice deodorant
= $7.95 Oop (received $10 giftcard voucher)
As I said, I'm going back to do the deal 2 more times, and I will certainly be over budget this week, but thanks to the giftcard vouchers, it will be worth it. Also, I'll have some things to donate to not only the shelter, my younger brother in college and the fiance (who wears Old Spice), but I'll have $50 worth of giftcards, making the out of pocket expenses minimal.
Total out of pocket will be $65.82 (less if I can find some Old Spice coupons) and I will get $50 in giftcards. Not too shabby considering I also bought groceries that have nothing to do with this deal. If I didn't include the grocery amount, it's $47 out of pocket, for $50 in giftcards.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Take Out
Tonight is the first time I've been so exhausted that I haven't had time to cook and we have ordered pizza. We did use a buy 1 get 1 free coupon that I received from The Washington Post Post Points program so it is costing us roughly $22 ($21.12) to get 2 large pizzas (including tax and tip). We will obviously not finish it tonight so it'll be lunch/dinner (with some sort of vegetable when I have more energy) tomorrow. Usually I don't count "eating out" as part of our grocery budget, but since this is "eating in" I am.
running weekly tally: $37.50
*edit* 2 slices a piece was far more than enough to get us both full so there are now 12 slices of pizza in the freezer (which thankfully reheats well in the oven) which means that we have another 6 "quick" meals ready to go. Some quick math tells me that the $21.12 divided by 7 meals equals $3 a meal. Not too shabby.
running weekly tally: $37.50
*edit* 2 slices a piece was far more than enough to get us both full so there are now 12 slices of pizza in the freezer (which thankfully reheats well in the oven) which means that we have another 6 "quick" meals ready to go. Some quick math tells me that the $21.12 divided by 7 meals equals $3 a meal. Not too shabby.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
CVS
I went to CVS again today because I had CRTs that I didn't realize I had that matched up with some of the deals, so of course I had to go back before I forgot which is likely since I had forgotten they existed in the first place.
I bought:
$2.99 Colgate toothpaste
$1.49 cute credit card holder on clearance (I actually need one of these so I was pleasantly surprised to see a cute one so cheap!)
$3.89 Stayfree maxi-pads
$2.00 Physician's Formula 100% natural lip veil (on clearance, regular price is $7.99)
- $1/1 Colgate CVS CRT
- $1/1 Colgate
- $2/1 Stayfree CRT
- $2/1 Physician's Formula
- $4.00 Extrabucks
= $.37 which I paid with a giftcard so $0.00 Oop
I received $2 back for the Stayfree and $2 back for the Colgate = $4.00 Extrabucks
I bought:
$2.99 Colgate toothpaste
$1.49 cute credit card holder on clearance (I actually need one of these so I was pleasantly surprised to see a cute one so cheap!)
$3.89 Stayfree maxi-pads
$2.00 Physician's Formula 100% natural lip veil (on clearance, regular price is $7.99)
- $1/1 Colgate CVS CRT
- $1/1 Colgate
- $2/1 Stayfree CRT
- $2/1 Physician's Formula
- $4.00 Extrabucks
= $.37 which I paid with a giftcard so $0.00 Oop
I received $2 back for the Stayfree and $2 back for the Colgate = $4.00 Extrabucks
Safeway & CVS
I just had to get to Safeway this morning for the cereal deal. They are running another buy 5 save 5 promotion and the last time I tried doing a second trip, most everything was gone, so this time I just did 2 at once. Now we are 8 boxes of cereal (plus 2 pop tarts)... richer and I don't have to worry about my fiance's Frosted Mini Wheats at least for a week or two.
I also went to CVS since I still have tons of Extra bucks leftover from Black Friday to do one of the Sunday/Monday only deals as well as the deodorant deal (and I only did this because the deodorant had $.55 coupons attached to them so they wound up being $.44 each after Extra Bucks).
Anyway, on with the purchases!
Safeway:
$4.58 2 boxes of Crispix
$4.98 2 boxes of 12-count pop tarts
$7.47 3 boxes of Frosted Mini Wheats
$2.49 1 box of Apple Jacks
$5.98 2 boxes of Special K w/ berries
$6.49 Viva 6-pack paper towels
- $10 Buy 5 save $5 (2x)
- $1/1 Crispix
- $1/1 Crispix
- $1/1 Frosted Mini Wheats
- $1/1 Frosted Mini Wheats
- $1/1 Frosted Mini Wheats
- $1/1 Apple Jacks
- $1/1 Special K
- $1/1 Special K
- $1/1 Viva 6-pack
= $13.38 Oop (excluding the Viva, that comes to $.789 a box, including the pop tarts that I didn't even use a coupon for!)
CVS:
$2.99 Soft n Dri
$2.99 Soft n Dri
$.77 CVS brand Garlic Powder
$.77 CVS brand Black Pepper
$.77 CVS brand Black Pepper
$7.99 Sleep MD (free after Extra Bucks)
$3.79 gallon skim milk
- $.55 Soft n Dri
- $.55 Soft n Dri
- $2.99 Extrabucks
- $5.99 Extrabucks
- $6.99 Extrabucks
= $3.00 Oop
Received the following in Extrabucks:
$7.99 for the Sleep MD
$4.00 for the Soft n Dri
= $11.99 in Extrabucks!
I'm kind of sad that the Extrabuck deals have been so slim recently. I'm kind of hoping that at least the day after Christmas I'll be able to use some of them... most of the ones I have expire on the 27th or 28th and I don't want to not use them - thankfully they have been paying for our milk for quite awhile so I don't feel guilty about not rolling them over.
I also went to CVS since I still have tons of Extra bucks leftover from Black Friday to do one of the Sunday/Monday only deals as well as the deodorant deal (and I only did this because the deodorant had $.55 coupons attached to them so they wound up being $.44 each after Extra Bucks).
Anyway, on with the purchases!
Safeway:
$4.58 2 boxes of Crispix
$4.98 2 boxes of 12-count pop tarts
$7.47 3 boxes of Frosted Mini Wheats
$2.49 1 box of Apple Jacks
$5.98 2 boxes of Special K w/ berries
$6.49 Viva 6-pack paper towels
- $10 Buy 5 save $5 (2x)
- $1/1 Crispix
- $1/1 Crispix
- $1/1 Frosted Mini Wheats
- $1/1 Frosted Mini Wheats
- $1/1 Frosted Mini Wheats
- $1/1 Apple Jacks
- $1/1 Special K
- $1/1 Special K
- $1/1 Viva 6-pack
= $13.38 Oop (excluding the Viva, that comes to $.789 a box, including the pop tarts that I didn't even use a coupon for!)
CVS:
$2.99 Soft n Dri
$2.99 Soft n Dri
$.77 CVS brand Garlic Powder
$.77 CVS brand Black Pepper
$.77 CVS brand Black Pepper
$7.99 Sleep MD (free after Extra Bucks)
$3.79 gallon skim milk
- $.55 Soft n Dri
- $.55 Soft n Dri
- $2.99 Extrabucks
- $5.99 Extrabucks
- $6.99 Extrabucks
= $3.00 Oop
Received the following in Extrabucks:
$7.99 for the Sleep MD
$4.00 for the Soft n Dri
= $11.99 in Extrabucks!
I'm kind of sad that the Extrabuck deals have been so slim recently. I'm kind of hoping that at least the day after Christmas I'll be able to use some of them... most of the ones I have expire on the 27th or 28th and I don't want to not use them - thankfully they have been paying for our milk for quite awhile so I don't feel guilty about not rolling them over.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Apple Crisp
I made this delicious apple crisp a couple days ago because we still had about 1/4 of the bag of apples when they were on sale at Giant a few weeks ago for $.88/lb (in bag) and I hate for things to go to waste. I didn't have a whole lot in the house but thanks to the sales, I've been stocking up on baking supplies. And because this recipe doesn't call for anything really outrageous, I didn't even need to leave the house.
I took this recipe and altered a little bit.
Ingredients I used:
"filling"
5 med-large gala apples
1/4 stick butter (or a couple tablespoons)
1/2 cup sugar
several general shakes of cinnamon (I'd guess about 1/8 c. total)
"crust"
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 stick butter
For the filling, I basically cored, peeled and sliced the apples. Then I put them in a pot with the other ingredients and cooked them down on low covered till the apples had reduced and the liquid was brown and syrupy.
The crust was supposed to be easy. You basically combine the ingredients in a food processor or mixer till it becomes crumbly, but my food processor broke (thankfully it is still under warranty and they are sending me a new one) but I mixed all the ingredients by hand. I now know why something as simple as a crumb cake was a big to-do several years ago. It is a pain in the neck but delicious!
I put the apple mixer in a sprayed glass pan (Pam is my friend). Added the "crust" and smoothed out on top and then added a few more generous shakes of cinnamon and little more brown sugar.
Baked at 400 degree for 45 minutes till browned on top.
Not exactly the pinnacle of health, but few ingredients, especially if you are trying to create something before something (in this case the apples) go bad. This and banana bread are my 2 easy recipes when bananas and apples are about to go. I bet it would be good with any fibrous fruit - pears I think I'll do next.
Bon Appetit!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
CVS Shopper's and Target
Well yesterday I didn't wind up having the time nor the energy to hit either of the 3 stores that I was planning so I did them today.
First was CVS, where I filled/transferred some Rx and got a $20 giftcard!
Then I bought the Powerade that gets Extrabucks back and 2 packs of skittles on clearance 75% off, total was a little over $2 but I used a giftcard so I spent $0 Oop and received $1.59 back in Extrabucks for the Powerade deal.
Next was Target. I purchased the following:
$11.07 3 boxes of 20 ct Fruit Roll ups (each being $3.69 - that's twice the amount in the regular boxes for quite a bit less comes to a little around $1.80 a box - the $1.99 10-count boxes were ringing full price this time)
$4.49 3-pack Kleenex
$4.49 3-pack Kleenex
$6.99 3 packs Fudge Shoppe Cookies
$2.50 1 box Club crackers
$2.50 1 box Town House crackers
- $1/2 Keebler crackers
- $1/1 pack Kleenex
- $1/1 pack Kleenex
= $29.58 but used a couple giftcards so nothing out of pocket, plus now I have a $5 gift card from the Keebler promotion!
And then Shopper's for some groceries:
$1.69 wheat bread
$1.00 Domino brown sugar
$10.00 5 boxes of various 12-pack soda (2 A&W, 2 Ginger Ale, 1 Diet Sunkist on sale this week for $2 a box)
$1.50 Adorable Marvel comic gummies on clearance (these are a "just because" gift for the fiance - he's a huge comic book dork)
$.85 $1.35 lb bananas
$1.35 .90 lb sweet onions
$3.49 5 lb bag golden potatoes
$3.75 gallon skim milk
= $24.32 Oop
First was CVS, where I filled/transferred some Rx and got a $20 giftcard!
Then I bought the Powerade that gets Extrabucks back and 2 packs of skittles on clearance 75% off, total was a little over $2 but I used a giftcard so I spent $0 Oop and received $1.59 back in Extrabucks for the Powerade deal.
Next was Target. I purchased the following:
$11.07 3 boxes of 20 ct Fruit Roll ups (each being $3.69 - that's twice the amount in the regular boxes for quite a bit less comes to a little around $1.80 a box - the $1.99 10-count boxes were ringing full price this time)
$4.49 3-pack Kleenex
$4.49 3-pack Kleenex
$6.99 3 packs Fudge Shoppe Cookies
$2.50 1 box Club crackers
$2.50 1 box Town House crackers
- $1/2 Keebler crackers
- $1/1 pack Kleenex
- $1/1 pack Kleenex
= $29.58 but used a couple giftcards so nothing out of pocket, plus now I have a $5 gift card from the Keebler promotion!
And then Shopper's for some groceries:
$1.69 wheat bread
$1.00 Domino brown sugar
$10.00 5 boxes of various 12-pack soda (2 A&W, 2 Ginger Ale, 1 Diet Sunkist on sale this week for $2 a box)
$1.50 Adorable Marvel comic gummies on clearance (these are a "just because" gift for the fiance - he's a huge comic book dork)
$.85 $1.35 lb bananas
$1.35 .90 lb sweet onions
$3.49 5 lb bag golden potatoes
$3.75 gallon skim milk
= $24.32 Oop
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Budget Last 3 Months
| DAYS | MONEY SPENT |
| 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 |
| NOV 30 - DEC 6 | $25.49 |
| DEC 7 - DEC 13 | $24.32 |
| DEC 14 - DEC 20 | $? |
| DEC 21 - DEC 27 | $? |
Tomorrow the plan is to go to Shopper's for some produce and then CVS for milk and to do the few Extrabuck deals this week. Thanks to stocking up at Shopper's during the triple coupon promotion, we don't really need much else so unless one of these stores does another big promotion, we'll be just fine doing smaller grocery trips for the month. Oh right, and I want to stop at Target to do the Keebler promotion!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Amazon Grocery Deal
I haven't yet decided if this is even worth pursuing for us, but there's a new Amazon grocery deal out. You can read about it here. Basically, on select brands in their grocery area you get $25 off instantly when you spend $75.
The only problem with this for us is:
a) We don't use all of these brands
b) The ones we do use seem overpriced; and
c) Do I really need to stock up on what would amount to 20+ boxes of cereal?
Probably not, but in case you're interested, the code is Q4DEAL25.
The only problem with this for us is:
a) We don't use all of these brands
b) The ones we do use seem overpriced; and
c) Do I really need to stock up on what would amount to 20+ boxes of cereal?
Probably not, but in case you're interested, the code is Q4DEAL25.
CVS & Safeway
Stopped at CVS in hopes of stocking up on more lemon-lime gatorade, but alas they were all out. I did manage to purchase some Propel but forgot to bring my coupons so I'll be back (it's on 50% off at a location near me).
I bought:
$3.20 4 Propel 20oz strawberry
= $3.40 but paid with a giftcard so $0.00 Oop
And then went to Safeway to get some staples that we are running low or out of:
$5.00 2 boxes of Kelloggs Frosted Mini Wheats 18oz size (not a great deal but we're near out)
$10.00 10 bottles of lemon-lime gatorade (for the fiance)
$5.00 2 1lb bags of Snyders pretzals
$2.00 1lb bag of frozen peas (Safeway brand)
$1.89 loaf of bread
= $24.49 Oop (not too bad considering I had no coupons)
I bought:
$3.20 4 Propel 20oz strawberry
= $3.40 but paid with a giftcard so $0.00 Oop
And then went to Safeway to get some staples that we are running low or out of:
$5.00 2 boxes of Kelloggs Frosted Mini Wheats 18oz size (not a great deal but we're near out)
$10.00 10 bottles of lemon-lime gatorade (for the fiance)
$5.00 2 1lb bags of Snyders pretzals
$2.00 1lb bag of frozen peas (Safeway brand)
$1.89 loaf of bread
= $24.49 Oop (not too bad considering I had no coupons)
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Target
Nothing very exciting today. Just Target to get some more fruit by the foot and fruit roll ups which the fiance is addicted to. I'll probably go back soon for more fruit roll ups sine they are marked down to $1.75, which is super cheap for them, considering at the grocery store on sale they are never less than $2 a box and more than usually $2.50- $3.00.
Anyway, I bought:
$5.04 3 boxes of fruit by the foot (on clearance for $1.68 each)
$1.75 1 box of fruit roll ups (on sale from $1.99)
and I bought a black long sleeved shirt on clearance for $3.24.
= $10.22 , but I used a newly acquired gift card so I spent $0.00 Oop.
Anyway, I bought:
$5.04 3 boxes of fruit by the foot (on clearance for $1.68 each)
$1.75 1 box of fruit roll ups (on sale from $1.99)
and I bought a black long sleeved shirt on clearance for $3.24.
= $10.22 , but I used a newly acquired gift card so I spent $0.00 Oop.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)