My New Coupon Binder!

My wonderful MIL made the binder for me. I put in the sleeves. Interested in one? She is selling them for $25. This would make a great gift for the couponer in your life! Leave a comment with your email address if you are interested.

Shop N Save 12/17

Here was my SNS trip today- What fun! You can see the ad match-up here (thanks couponstl!) The ad is good for two weeks this time, but I don't plan on grocery shopping next week!

8.00 (8) SNS Cheese 8oz chunk ($1.50/2lbs. cheese IP)
1.50 (3) DelMonte Vegetables (.50/1 homemailer)
2.88 (6) Prairie Farms Yogurt (B2G1 Q)
5.76 (12) Jello Gelatin/Pudding ($1.25/3 tearpad Q)
1.50 Prairie Farms OJ ($1/1 OJ winetag from a coupon train)
3.34 (2) Bagel Bites ($1/1 Blinkie)
.88 SNS Whip Topping
1.00 Prairie Farms Onion Dip (.50/1 Q)
3.28 SNS (Velveeta) Cheese 2lb. ($1.50/2lbs. cheese IP)
3.72 (3) Philadelphia Cream Cheese ($1.25/3 tearpad Q)
5.00 (2) Hillshire Farms Lil' Smokies ($2off wyb 2 Keebler Club)
7.92 (4) Keebler Club Crackers ($1/2 Q)
5.28 (6) Dole Pineapple Cans ($1/3 tearpad Q)
1.97 Healthy Balance Grape Juice ($1/1 Q)
52.03 Before Coupons
-10.00 Thursday $10/$50 Discount
- 5.00 Entertainment Book Q $5/$50
- 5.00 Catalina from last week
-25.71 Qs listed above
6.32 + Tax

I was also lucky to find the Keebler Club Crackers with the $10 Toy tokens on them. I only need 1 more token for a $10 toy rebate!! - Go Here to see details on this offer.

Shop N Save Trip

Check out this week's ad matchups here

8.30 (5) Lean Pockets (3) .50/1, (2) .40/1 HM
4.62 (6) Kraft Easy Mac (2) $1/2 IP, (2) B1G1 IP
1.71 (3) Idahoan Potatoes (clearanced .48, .48, .75) .75/3 IP
2.50 (2) SNS Fruit Snacks
4.96 (2) Wheat Thins FREE wyb Ritz
4.96 (2) Ritz Crackers $1/1
1.20 (2) Mighty Dog FREE
6.67 (4) Old Orchard Healthy Balance Juice 1.00/2
8.68 (4) DiGiorno for One - Thin, crispy $1.50/1
6.64 (2) Kraft Naturals Shreds, Chunks .50/1
1.44 Gum & Candy - Last minute!!
0.14 Cashier forced register b/c my total was negative
51.82
-10.00 Thurs. discount
-15.00 Catalinas from last week
-24.75 Coupons above
-1.78 Cashier scanned B1G1 Kraft Qs for the wrong items (That is why I had to grab stuff at the end and I still have a $1 cat left)
-.29 Tax???
.01 Total

Received the $5 cat and $20 rebate form from Kraft!!!

I forgot that the SNS cats take off tax too - so that is why I thought my total was negative. I didn't realize until typing this up that he put in the wrong amounts for my coupons.... I will probably try to pay them the difference next time I go in - I would want them to pay me if it was the other way around!

Target Deals today

I went to Target today to cruise the clearance deals and look for an anniversary gift for my dh.

5.00 (5) All Small&Mighty Detergent trial size
1.67 (1) Poptarts 8ct.
0.99 (1) Bounty Paper towel roll
1.74 clearance gift I found (copper - 7yrs!)
9.40
-5.00 (5) All $1/1 Mfg Qs
-.75 Target Q for Poptarts
-.55 Mfg Q for Poptarts
-.50 Target Q for Bounty
-.25 Mfg Q for Bounty
-1.00 Mystery coupon**
1.35 + tax

** I tried to purchase Kotex pantiliners $2.75 with a $2 target Q and a $1 Mfg Q. The cashier refused to adjust the Target Q, so I had her take it off the transaction. I am pretty sure that is how we ended up with an extra coupon???

ALL YOU - Grocery Challenge - Summary

Well, I didn't keep up my blog records on our challenge progress, but I did keep records of our experience so I will summarize it now!

WEEK 1
Breakfasts $3.48 (QT coffees)
Lunches during the week $31.79
Dinner during the week $0.00 - we made dinner Mon-Thurs!!
Friday Dinner $8.67 (Little Caesars Pizza/Breadsticks)
Beer for guys night out $7.54
On Saturday, we went to the zoo and splurged on lunch $18, also spent $2.21 at the Gas station on the way to the zoo.
Saturday night - Chris and I had a date night at the mall. $9.26 for food, $0 for the movie tickets.
Sunday we went to a family BBQ - we purchased the buns $4.57 and I bought a soda for $1.05.

This week I shopped at ShopNSave on Thursday. We didn't really "need" anything this week, but My sister needed some items for a BBQ with her sorority so she asked me to help her plan the budget/shopping list. She only had about $30-$35 of items needed. Our grocery store gives a $10 discount on a $50 purchase on Thursdays. So, I added some items we could use to get the total to $50. We ended up with $59.87 in groceries before coupons. After coupons, the total was $24.39. Her sorority reimbursed me the $24.39 and I turned in the receipt for a $10 rebate. $10 money maker!!

Total spent on food Week 1 - $76.57
***********************************************************************

WEEK 2
Breakfasts $7.22 (QT coffee, and a Hotzi the morning my ds was sent home sick)
Lunches during the week $21.22
Dinner during the week $0.00 - we made dinner Mon-Thurs again!!
Friday we had out-of-town family visiting and we treated them to our favorite - El Maguey's $30.38
Saturday we had a Poker event at our house and we ate from those goodies all day long. I did spend $4.05 on vegetable oil and marshmallows for baking. And I spent $3.78 on candy at Target for the tournament.

This week I shopped at ShopNSave on Thursday. All of the food for the tournament was reimbursed by the players. I split up the shopping list into two orders and I added some items we needed to get the totals to $50. We ended up with $102.60 in groceries before coupons. After coupons, the total was $69.04. I was reimbursed the full amount and I turned in the receipt for a $5 rebate.

We also spent $10.69 at Save-A-Lot on bread, milk, and fruit this week.

On Saturday, we picked up our Angel Food boxes (the standard box and the Fruit/Veggie box) that we had paid for last month $0.00

Total spent on food Week 2 - $77.34
***********************************************************************

WEEK 3
Breakfasts $3.48 (QT coffees)
Lunches during the week $35.88
Dinner during the week $10.76 - Subway Monday - we made dinner Tues-Thurs
Friday night we had El Maguey's again $19.26 (my sister ate dinner with us too)
Saturday for lunch we had Wendy's $15.29 and for dinner we went to a Family BBQ - We got a soda and coffee from the gas station $1.85
Sunday - Grandma treated us to lunch after church - dinner was frozen pizza

This week I stockpiled Poptarts from Target - 13 boxes for $3.26
I also purchased Capri-Sun (5 boxes) from ShopNSave for $3.35 (these are part of a $25rebate)
We bought bread, milk, fruit, frozen pizza from Save-A-Lot $12.40

I went to ShopNSave on Thursday. We got $50.44 of groceries for $5.79 total after coupons!! I turned the receipt in for the Kelloggs Fuel For School Rebate of $10. $4.21 Money Maker!!!

Total spent on food Week 3 - $101.32 (a little over budget...)
***********************************************************************

WEEK 4
This week we lost our groove! It was so VERY hot here over the weekend and even the thought of cooking was unbearable..
Breakfasts $3.48 (QT coffees)
Lunches during the week $28.19
Dinner during the week $10.85 - Subway Thursday - we made dinner Mon-Wed.
Friday night - Chris and I had a date night at Steak-N-Shake $15.20 (we forgot to use our $5 giftcard...)
Over the weekend, we spent $39.49 on food!! Ouch, no family BBQs or parties to spread the budget this week. I did purchase fruit at Schnucks on a giftcard from my sister's dad - that was a nice gift!

Thursdays ShopNSave trip - $53.47 of groceries, $17.65 after coupons and I received $16 in catalina's for next week!

I also placed next month's Angel Food order this week $28.00

Total spent on food Week 4 - $142.86 (whoops...)

What a Challenge! It is great to know we can do it if we put our minds to it. We just got really sloppy the last week. I think everyone needs a break sometimes. The coupon world can really be hard work!!

Great Give-A-Way!

Check out this great give-a-way my church is sponsoring:

Angel Food Ministries Give-a-way!!

Kim at stlmommy.com was gracious enough to put our give-a-way on her site!

Ends Friday - hurry!

Hurry - Target kids shoe clearance!

Target has kid's shoes on clearance up to 75% off! This is what I found today:

Size 9 and Size 6 Spiderman velcro lightup tennis shoes $4.24ea.
Size 8, Size 5 and Size 6 Transformers velcro tennis shoes $8.48ea.
Size 8 and Size 6 Sandals $3.74ea.

41.40 for 5 pairs of shoes!!!

My little one REALLY needed shoes and I hadn't found anything good for less than $12 yet!!

All You Grocery Challenge - Day 2 to Day 4

Day 2 - July 14, 2009
Breakfast:
Pantry Items $0.00 (me)

Lunch:
Lion's Choice $5.69 (me)

Dinner:
Freezer/Pantry Items $0.00 (family)

Day 2 Total: $5.69
Week 1 Total: $12.86


Day 3 - July 15, 2009
Breakfast:
Pantry Items $0.00 (me)

Lunch:
Food from work $0.00 (me)
QT -iced tea .51 (me)

Dinner:
Freezer/Pantry Items $0.00 (family)

Day 3 Total: $.51
Week 1 Total: $13.37

Day 4 - July 16, 2009
Breakfast:
Pantry Items $0.00 (me)

Lunch:
China King $4.79 (me)

Dinner:
Freezer/Pantry Items $0.00 (family)

Day 4 Total: $4.79
Week 1 Total: $18.16


I will update this post as soon as I get more info from DH!!

Monday, July 13th - AllYou Grocery Challenge

$ Spent on Food
Breakfast-
QT coffee $1.16 (DH)
Pantry Items $0.00

Lunch-
QT -iced tea .51
McDonalds $5.50
My lunch was from the freezer $0.00

Dinner-
Freezer/Pantry Items $0.00


Weekly Total: $7.17

ALL YOU - Grocery Challenge!

I entered the All You magazine Grocery Challenge - Our goal is $100 ($25 per person) on food each week for a month. I read about the challenge at CommonSenseWithMoney.

Show off your shopping smarts by spending no more than $25 per family member per week on groceries over a four-week period beginning July 13. That's $100 a week for a family of four. You could win a $1,000 grocery card plus a year's supply of Knorr side dishes and the chance to appear in ALL YOU magazine.

Follow these guidelines:

During the contest, groceries that you purchase count toward your weekly total. However, feel free to grow, barter or use stockpiled food to supplement your meals. Creativity and ingenuity count!
--If you eat at a restaurant or buy takeout, the cost must go toward the week's total.
--Household supplies and toiletries do not count toward each weeks total.

Of course, take-out will be our biggest challenge, but we are up to it. Wish us luck!

Deals the Week of 1/25/09 to 1/31/09

Walgreens - thanks to CommonSenseWithMoney

And thanks to StlMommy-
Walgreens
Walmart
ShopNSave

Coupons, Coupons, and Some Rebates!!

Keep an eye out for the following at ShopNSave stores:

-$10 Savings Pound for Pound Challenge - Booklet found at Customer Service Desk. Includes 10 $1/1 Mfgs - FiberOne, Cheerios, GreenGiant, Steamers, Yoplait, Total, YoPlus

-Bud Bowl Big Game Big Party Big Savings - Booklet found on Bud Display - Includes coupons and rebates - bottled water $10, Deli/Meat/Pizza $15, etc.

-"New You" - a booklet found at the front of the store in the bin with the ads. It is a "healthy" magazine by Kelloggs. It has a $10 Gift Check by mail rebate wyb Kelloggs products 2/4/08 to 4/20/08.

-Sara Lee Tearpads by the bread and at customer service. Free Bread wyb 2 Jif or Smuckers.

Happy Hunting!! (I found mine at the O'Fallon, MO store)
___________________________________________________________________________________
I also found Sara Lee Tearpads at Target yesterday. $1 off milk wyb Sara Lee Bread.

Walgreens 12/28 Ad

This week I am buying Robitussen and Dimetapp. No, we don't need any more of this, but I can't pass up the Money Maker of a deal! Read about it here and here at CommonSenseWithMoney. Hurry - some of the deal ends 12/31.

I also purchased A LOT of Hershey Kisses. They are 75% off and ring up .62ea. I used $1.50/3 Insert Q and paid .12 per bag of candy!!

Shop N Save Update

Well, my ShopNSave Spree has finally come to an end! Here is a summary of how I stretched $45 for a month:

11/13/2008 - Giftcard $50.00 -$5.00Q - $45.00 OOP
11/13/2008 - Groceries $51.71 - $20.35Qs - $33.19 on GC - Earned $31.50cats, $2.67rebate
11/20/2008 - Groceries $50.45 - $49.15Qs - $0.28 on GC - Earned $15cats
11/26/2008 - Groceries $25.23 - $13.50Qs - $11.73 on GC - Earned $11cat
12/4/2008 - Groceries $61.43 - $37.00Qs - $4.80on GC $19.76 OOP - Earned $10cats, 5Redboxcodes, $10rebate
12/18/2008 - Groceries $10.41 - $9.00Qs - $1.00 OOP - Earned $10rebate

249.23 Total Groceries (at price paid before Qs - might be a sale price)
65.76 OOP
(2.67) Kelloggs Rebate
(20.00) AB Rebates (2 @$10)
43.09 OOP
Still have $1 HB and 5 Redbox Codes

Walgreens Update

Wow - it has been awhile since I posted again.... I haven't stopped shopping.

Last week at Walgreens I was able to get 28 Reach Toothbrushes. They were on sale 2/$6 and buy 2 get a $6RR. I had B1G1 Qs from a wonderful coupon buddy. I used my giftcard balance to purchase them. $3 + tax for each set of 2. That is really about all I did last week - searched stores for toothbrushes ; ) The other sales weren't of much interest to me.

In the end:

I spent $42 +tax on my GC
Have 28 toothbrushes (which I have already started to donate)
Earned $84 in RR

I used the RR to buy rebate items - so the $ will end up back on my GC. I also used the RR to purchase a Christmas gift. And I still have 1 $6RR left.

This week - the ad is somewhat slow, but the 4day sale is going on and you do receive a $5 Holiday Reward for every $25 you spend. The $25 is pre-coupons.

Here is what I did yesterday:
9.50 Photo Order (for Christmas Cards)
5.07 Reynolds Wrap (3 @ 1.69)
13.98 Arm & Hammer Detergent (2 @ 6.99)
28.55 Before Coupons

Less:
-3.00 3 $1/1 Reynolds Wrap Mfg
-2.00 2 $1/1 A&H IP
-10.00 A&H 4day Ad Q (Sale is 1.99ea)
-2.10 Reynolds 7day Ad Q (Sale is .99ea)
-5.00 Holiday Reward earned last week

6.45 OOP - I actually paid for this, since it was for our Christmas cards I figured it didn't have to come out of my Fun budget (ie. giftcard)

I earned another $5 Holiday Reward also.

Another great deal during the 4day ad is the Entertainment Book. Walgreens sells them for $25 - There is a $10off Q in the 4day Ad. You will also earn a $5 Holiday reward for your purchase ($25 or greater)

Mercede at Common Sense with Money has put together some nice scenarios here

Shop N Save 11/16 Ad

Since I have all the Catalina's from last week (they have a 2 week expiration) - I am going tonight to do the $10/50 deal.

Here is my plan:

5.00 - (3) Poptarts (.55/1)
1.67 - Mardi Gras Napkins
1.00 - HandiSnaks
5.00 - (2) Kraft Singles (.50/1)
10.00 - (8) Philly Cream Cheese ($1/2)
1.00 - Cool Whip ($1/1 and 2 pudding)
1.00 - (2) Jello Pudding
4.00 - (2) Kraft Salad Dressing ($1/2)
7.98 - (2) South Beach Bars ($2/1 IP)
2.50 - Butter (Guessing on Price??) ($2/1 wyb Pillsbury)
5.00 - (3) Pillsbury Sweet Rolls ($1/1 IP)
3.33 - (2) Pillsbury Crescent Rolls ($1/1 IP)
3.19 - Whole Milk Gallon ($4.50/1 Cat)
50.67 Before Coupons

Less:
-10.00 SNS Discount
-22.15 Mfg Qs
-10.00 Catalina
-5.00 Catalina
-2.00 Holiday Bucks

1.52 Total

Earn $10Cat on next meat purchase, $4 cat for cream cheese, $2 Holiday Bucks!

Restaurant Discounts!

Check this out! I read about it over at I will Teach You to Be Rich.

Restaurant.com is offering 80% off (!!) on gift certificates for restaurants.
-Get $25 Restaurant.com gift certificates for $2 (no joke)
-Get a 12-month Dinner of the Month Club membership for $24

Use code "SURPRISE" to get the discounts. (They usually sell $10certificates for $3 and $25certificates for $10)

This is only available until tomorrow so Hurry and get your certificates now!!

Be sure to read the exclusions for each certificate you are interested in. Some state a minimum purchase amount to use the coupon.

I purchased 4 certificates:
$25 Game Day Grill (Valid with a minimum food purchase of $35. Present prior to ordering. Not valid with any other offer. Excludes alcohol.)
$25 Little Hills Restaurant and Winery (Valid Monday-Friday with a min purchase of $40. Excludes alcohol. Reservations required)
$10 Frankie Tocco's Pizzaria (Valid with a minimum food purchase of $20)
$10 El Azteca (Valid Sunday-Thursday with a minimum purchase of $25)

So:
10.00
10.00
3.00
3.00
26.00 Total
-20.80 Discount
5.20 OOP

Walgreens 11/16 Ad

This week is another slow one. Double Dip is this week (Fri/Sat) so I will let you know what my plans are for that.

Here is the only thing I got this week so far:

1.98 - 2 ChexMix at .99ea
3.95 - 5 Dr. Pepper 2liter at .79ea
1.39 - RootBeer 20oz
7.32

Less
1.20 - (2) .60/1 Chex Mix IP
1.00 - $1/1 Rootbeer catalina
4.00 - (2) $2/1 RR from last week

1.12 plus tax (Paid for with Walgreens Rx Card Balance)

Shop N Save 11/9 Ad

Whoo Hoo! I did the ShopNSave Deal today ($10 off $50 purchase)

Here is how it went down:

First, I went to SnS and purchased a $50 Giftcard. I had a $5off Q from the Entertainment Book. Paid $45 OOP.

5.00 - (5) $1ea Banquet Meals
3.00 - (3) $1ea Chef Boyardee Pastas
2.00 - (2) $1ea Snack Pack Hunts Pudding
10.00 - (5) $2ea Healthy Choice Frozen Meals
18.80 - (10) $1.88ea Cocoa Puffs/Golden Grahams/Trix
4.40 - (2) $2.20ea California Pizza Kitchen
2.50 - (2) $1.25ea Shop N Save Fruit Snacks
3.34 - (2) 3/$5 Fazzio Gnocchi
2.67 - Smart Start Strawberry Bites Cereal
51.71 Total

Less:
-10.00 - $10/$50 SNS Discount
-.35 - .35/3 ChefBoyardee Pastas
-2.00 - B5/G1 Healthy Choice Meals
-5.00 - $1/2 IP GM Cereals
-1.00 - $1/1 Smart Start Cereal Mfg
-2.00 - $1/1 CPK Pizzas

31.36 + Tax OOP

Earned $10 Cat for ConagraFoods, Earned $15 Cat for GM, Earned $2Holiday Bucks, Earned a cat for a free milk. And there is a Try-Me-Free offer for the SmartStart Strawberry Bites - Will receive $2.67 Rebate from Kelloggs.

So for $45 - I have $50 worth of groceries, $27 in coupons for future SNS purchases, Coupon for a Free milk, will receive $2.67 from Kelloggs, and $17 remaining on the giftcard.

Not too bad!

Walgreens 11/9 Ad Week

Here are my Walgreens trips this week. It has been another slow week. There is a $5/$20 purchase coupon for Tomorrow and Saturday. That will probably get me back in there.

10.00 Smart Start Cereal (4 @ 2.50 ea)
1.98 - Baking Powder (2 @ .99)
4.50 - Betty Crocker Frosting (3 @ 1.50)
12.00 - Progresso Soup (4 @ 2/$6)
.25 - Christmas Cup
28.73

Less:
4.00 - (4) $1/1 IP Kelloggs Cereal
4.40 - (4) $1.10/1 IP Progresso
7.00 - Progresso Wag 7day Q (4/$5)
1.10 - (2) .55/1 Betty Crocker Frosting IP
.50 - .50/1 Betty Crocker Mfg
1.53 - Betty Crocker Wag 7day Q (.99ea)
.13 - Christmas Cup 7day Q
.98 - Baking Powder Wag 7day Q (2/$1)
1.00 - $1/2 Baking Powder Mfg
3.00 - RR Q
5.09 + Tax

Paid with Gift card. Earned $2 RR for the Cereal. Will earn $10 MIR for the Kellogg's cereals.

Round 2
7.50 Smart Start Cereal (3 @ 2.50 ea)
2.50 Smart Start Cereal (1 @ 2.50 ea)
3.00 Betty Crocker Frosting (2 @ 1.50)
12.00 - Progresso Soup (4 @ 2/$6)
3.94 - Misc Items
28.94

Less:
4.00 - (4) $1/1 IP Kelloggs Cereal
4.40 - (4) $1.10/1 IP Progresso
7.00 - Progresso Wag 7day Q (4/$5)
1.10 -(2) .55/1 Betty Crocker Frosting IP
1.02 - Betty Crocker Wag 7day Q (.99ea)
11.42 + Tax

Paid with Gift card. Earned $2 RR for the Cereal. Will earn $10 MIR for the Kellogg's cereals (actually my grandma will).