October Savings

I can't believe it...October is over.  The monthly numbers are in and this month I'm still loving my coupons:

Total spent in Oct.:  $338.02
Retail Value:  $1,185.12
Total saved in Oct.:  $847.10, or 71% saved

This month I stocked up on baby wipes, apple juice, canned veggies, laundry detergent, and meat!

I am anticipating great sales on baking items over the next couple months and I plan on stocking up for the year.  We shall see where that puts my spending for November.

Want to join the challenge and keep track of how much you save?  Feel free to download the spreadsheet I am using HERE.  (Click "File" at top left, "Download as", and choose the program you would like to use to download the spreadsheet to your own computer.  I use Excel.  The formula is set up so you just have to enter how much you spent and how much you saved and it will calculate the retail amount automatically.)

Happy Savings!

Safeway: Check Your Just For U Prices and Coupons!

I paid $4.96 for this without cutting any coupons...simply load these deals onto your Safeway card.

I was checking out my Safeway Just For U prices to see if I had the price to get the Skippy peanut butter deal.  Happily, I did...and I noticed some other great Just For U prices and coordinating e-coupons!

Remember, these are my personal Just For U prices, so yours could be different, but it's worth checking!  Add both the Just For U prices and the e-coupons to get some sweet deals.  They will both come off when your Safeway card is scanned.

SELECT Seasonings Premium Grinder - J4U FREE

Knorr Sides - J4U $0.79, limit 4
$0.50/1 Safeway e-coupon
Final price:  $0.29

Wishbone Dressing, 8-24 oz. - J4U $0.99, limit 2
$1.50/1 Safeway e-coupon
Final price:  $0.24 each (I got 2)

Cookie Crisp - J4U $1.97, limit 4
$0.75/1 Safeway e-coupon
Final price:  $1.22

Best Foods Mayo, 30 oz. - J4U $2.49, limit 2
$1.50 Safeway e-coupon
Final price:  $0.99

Skippy Peanut Butter - J4U $1.49, limit 2
$1.00/2 Safeway e-coupon
Final price:  $0.99 each and get back $1 Catalina WYB 2 Skippy Naturals
Like paying $0.49 each

Grand Total:  $4.96 (plus $1.00 Catalina back)
Price without J4U savings and coupons:  $34.22
Amount Saved:  $29.26 or 85%

My Shopping: $23.66

I ran to two stores today with my boys.  It's been fun having so much "help" while they're on track break from school.  (See below for proof.)  The boys are excited for their party tonight.  They're planning on pizza and soda while I'm away.

Scolari's - $15.76
3 Kikkoman Sauce - $0.69 each
2 Sierra Mist - $0.49 each
2 Land O Frost Ham - $0.49 each
CPK Pizza - $2.79
2 Digiorno Pizza - $2.79 each
Yogurt, 32 oz. - $0.99 (clearance)
3 Loaves of Bread - $0.79 each (clearance)

Find Scolari's Deals HERE. (Thanks, Centsible Sisters!)

Raley's - $7.90  ($3.00 Catalina back)
10 Del Monte Corn - $0.39 each
2 Cheetos - $1.00 each
2 Fritos Chips - $1.00 each

Find Raley's Deals HERE or HERE.  (Thanks, Clever Housewife and Frugal Find!)

I'm loving the deal on canned veggies at Raley's.  Every time you buy 10 you get a $3.00 Catalina back.  Then you can use that $3.00 to buy another 10, making them just $0.39/can!  That's cheaper than even the case lot sale.

Grand Total Spent - $23.66
Total Before Sales and Coupons - $64.46
Total Saved - $40.80 or 63%

September Savings

Again for the month of September I tracked how much I spent and saved.  Oh, how I love coupons!

Total spent in Sept.:  $387.85
Retail Value:  $963.26
Total saved in Sept.:  $575.41, or 60% saved

I was right that my numbers will vary from month to month.  This month was the Smith's Case Lot Sale and I stocked up on a few things, accounting for the higher amount spent this month.  I'm still curious to see how it fluctuates throughout the year, so I'm going to keep tracking.

Want to join the challenge and keep track of how much you save?  Feel free to download the spreadsheet I am using HERE.  (The formula is set up so you just have to enter how much you spent and how much you saved and it will calculate the retail amount automatically.)

Happy Savings!

Free Movies at the Drive-In Tomorrow!

Sounds like a fun free outing to the drive-in!  Too bad my kids are in school...



Visit the West Wind website HERE for more information.

September = National Preparedness Month

Did you know September is National Preparedness Month?  Now you do! 

There is a great article HERE (from Meridian Magazine entitled "Prepare Now for the Next Irene") with daily ideas for the month of September to help prepare our families and homes for the unexpected.

Check it out!  There are some great and simple ideas.  We're already a few days into September, so play catch-up and get prepared.  I printed out a copy of the article and we're going to give it a go!

(Thanks for passing on the article, Gail N.!)

Groupon: $15 for $30 at Flirty Aprons!

It's been a while since I've bought a Groupon, but I just couldn't pass this one up!
 
$15.00 for $30.00 at Flirty Aprons. This is showing up in Southern Georgia, but it's a national deal to use online, so you can purchase it no matter where you live. I think I might use mine to purchase a gift!

To get in on this deal just head on over to GROUPON!

Save Mart (8/31-9/6)

There are some pretty good deals at Savemart this week.  You can find the entire match-ups HERE and HERE.  But I thought I'd highlight some of my favorite deals.

*****4-day Sale (Fri.-Mon.)*****
Sweet White Corn - $0.14 each

Lean Ground Beef - $1.99/lb

Heinz Ketchup, 40 oz.- $0.99 with in-ad coupon
$0.50 from 8/21 RP
Final Price: $0.49

Kingsford Charcoal,  16 lbs. - $4.99 with in-ad coupon
$3.00 from Safeway MDA booklet
Final price:  $1.99

*****Regular Sale*****
Old Orchard Juice - $2.00
$2.00 printable coupon (Facebook)
Final price:  FREE

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, $1.99/lb.
(Not advertised but that's what it was priced when I was there Fri.)

Kimberly Clark Promo. - Spend $40.00 in qualifying items, Get $10.00 Catalina
Deal idea:
Buy 3 Cottonelle Toilet Paper, 12 ct. - $6.99 each ($20.97)
Buy 2 Viva Paper Towels, 6 ct. - $6.99 each ($13.98)
Buy 2 Kotex, variety - $2.99 each ($5.98)
=$40.93 before coupons

Use (3) $1.00/1 Cottonelle from Safeway booklet in 08/28 paper
Use (2) $1.00/1 Viva from Safeway booklet in 08/28 paper
Use (1) $4.00/2 Kotex from Safeway booklet in 08/28 paper
=$31.93 OOP, get $10.00 coupon back

My stock-up price is usually $0.25/roll for t.p. and $0.50/roll for paper towels.  This deal puts them a little bit higher than that BUT I haven't been able to stock up on good-quality papergoods for quite awhile.  Maybe my stock-up prices are changing with rising prices?! 

With this deal I figure it's like paying the following prices when all is said and done:
$4.39 per 12-pack toilet paper ($0.37/roll)
$4.39 per 6-pack paper towels ($0.73/roll)
FREE Kotex

(Thanks, The Frugal Find and My Frugal Adventures!)

Safeway Coupon Booklet: $16 in Kimberly Clark Manufacturer Coupons

We got little coupon booklets in the 8/28 Sunday paper from Safeway.  These have some GREAT manufacturer coupons inside:

$1.00/1 U by Kotex
$4.00/2 Kotex pads, lightdays, or tampons
$1.00/1 Cottonelle Ultra 12-pack
$1.00/2 Kleenex 75-90 ct. or 200 ct. +
$1.00/1 Viva Towels 6-pack
$2.00/1 Huggies Wipes 320 ct. +
$3.00/1 Huggies Diapers, Box 48-96 ct.
$3.00/1 Pull-Ups or Goodnites

I used some at Raley's last week and some this week at Savemart.  Let us know if you see any other good deals that match up to these coupons!

Scolari's: C&H Sugar $0.37/lb.

We've got some SWEET stock-up prices on sugar this week at Scolari's.  This week (8/31-9/7) the 4-lb. bags of sugar are on sale for $2.99.  Use the $0.75 coupon from the 8/28 RP (taking off $1.50 when doubled) and pay just $1.49 for four pounds of sugar, or $0.37/lb.

C&H Sugar, 4 lb. - $2.99
$0.75 from 8/28 RP
Final price:  $1.49 (or $0.37/lb.)

Below are other stores' prices for comparison so you can see that this is a GREAT price.

LDS Cannery, 25 lbs. - $21.15 (or $0.85/lb.)
Costco, 50 lbs. - $30.49 ($0.61/lb.)
Smith's Case Lot April 2011, 40 lbs.- $18.90 ($0.47/lb.)

Planter's Peanut Butter - $0.73 a jar!

There are stock-up prices on Planter's Peanut Butter this week at Walgreen's (8/29-9/3) or Sak n Save (8/31-9/6). 

Walgreens
Planters Peanut Butter, 16.3 oz. - 2/$3.00
(2) $0.75 from 8/21 SS
Final Price:  $0.75 each WYB 2

Sak N Save
Planters Peanut Butter, 16.3 oz. - $1.48
$0.75 from 8/21 SS
Final Price:  $0.73

Comparison pricing of Skippy at Costco:
Costco, 96 oz. - $8.39 (or $1.42/16.3 oz.)

The stock might be running low at these stores, so don't forget you can price match either of these ads at Walmart and get the same deals.  Happy PB&J's!

August Savings

Well, I completed my challenge for the month of August.  I tracked how much I spent and saved on household items for the entire month.  It was actually kind of fun and I realized just exactly how much I truly do save by using coupons and shopping the sales.

Total spent in August:  $229.38
Retail Value:  $668.15
Total saved in August:  $438.77, or 76% saved

These numbers seem right to me.  Before I was couponing, I spent between $100.00 - $200.00 a week on household items (food, toiletries, diapers, cleaning supplies, etc.)  Since couponing, I figured I spent about $75.00 a week on household items, but I wasn't completely sure because I never really kept track.  Now I know and I am excited that I did so well this past month!

I learned a lot by doing this.  Keeping track of my spending and savings made me very aware of how much I was spending and in turn I wanted to spend as little as possible.  It really made me think before I purchased something.

I am going to continue keeping track of my spending/savings because I think my spending will vary from month to month, depending on what I am stocking up on and what I already have stockpiled.  For example, I didn't buy diapers at all this month because I had already stocked up months ago.  This month I stocked up on wipes so that won't be an expense in months to come.  I'm curious to see how it fluctuates.

My mom emailed me her tracking spreadsheet for the month and she saved about 50%  even after including a meal for 50 at a family reunion!  Want to join the challenge and keep track of how much you save?  Feel free to download the spreadsheet I am using HERE.  (The formula is set up so you just have to enter how much you spent and how much you saved and it will calculate the retail amount automatically.)

Raley's Deals (Ends 8/30)

Raley's had some pretty sweet deals this week.  You can find all the match-ups HERE and HERE. 

The deals I did today include this promo:

Buy 3 of the following Kimberly-Clark products, Get a $5 Raley’s Giftcard
Huggies Diapers, PULL-UPS Training Pants or Goodnites Underwear 12-50-ct. – $8.99
Kotex, U by Kotex Pads, Tampons, Liners 14 to 64-ct. – $2.99
Huggies Baby Wipes refill 184 to 216-ct. – $5.49
Depend Underwear & Poise 14 to 72-ct. – $11.99


I did the deal below twice (bought six in one transaction) and got 2 $5 Raley's Giftcards.

Buy (3) Kotex Products – $2.99 each ($8.97)
$4.00/2 Kotex from Safeway booklet in 8/29 newspaper
$1.00 Kotex 7/24 SS or $1.00 printable or $1.00 from Safeway booklet in 8/29 newspaper
Final price:  Pay $3.97, Get a $5 Raley's Giftcard!!!

All 2x Liquid Laundry Detergent 50-oz. - $3.50
Snuggle Liquid or Fabric Softener 32-oz. – $3.50
Clorox Bleach 82 to 96-oz. – $1.99
Save an additional $2.50 when you buy one of each (store promo, comes off automatically)
$0.25/1 Clorox bleach 8/21 SS
$1.00 All Detergent from Safeway MDA coupon booklet
$1.00 Snuggle from Safeway MDA coupon booklet
Final price:  $4.24 for all 3, or $1.41 each!

Tropicana O.J. - $3.99
$2.49 store coupon (takes off $1.50)
$2.00 Tropicana emailed to me from Trop. Rewards
Final price:  $0.49

GRAND TOTAL:  $14.56, Got $10 in Raley's Giftcards

(Thanks, My Frugal Adventures and Frugal Find!)

Hurricane Buy List...Preparing for emergencies

I thought this article was interesting, especially for anyone gearing up for a hurricane!  I personally am not currently getting ready for a hurricane, but I think the following list has good things to think about for any emergency.

It is time to invest in Hurricane Irene. That does not mean to buy stocks, oil, or precious metals. It means spending money to make sure you can ride out the storm. Your total cost will vary, depending on what you already have in stock. (Which is why I love stocking up BEFORE the storm, preferably with a sale and coupon!)


1. Save your financial life. Get a a water-proof case for key financial records, stock certificates, and personal records. A large cooler will do, if it can be securely sealed.


2. Get your cellphone and PC ready. Each may come in handy if you are trapped indoors for a couple of days. And if you lose electricity, products like the "Power Monkey" ($50) could come in handy. Some come with the ability to use the sun to charge the device.


3. Get some cheap walkie talkies. These can definitely keep you in touch with loved ones for up to a mile if you have to make it out into the storm in an emergency.


4. Three flashlights should be enough for two or three days with new batteries in them. And, you probably already have a flashlight somewhere. Spend a few dollars on new batteries.


5. Get a mobile inverter for your car. It connects to a car's battery or through the cigarette lighter Make sure you have jumper cables in case you need to charge the battery in the SUV that might be needed to travel in the storm. The car battery will last longer if the car is running, so, don't forget to fill up your tank. That tank of gas may be the most expensive thing on the list because regular is still about $3.60 most places.


6. Buy some food. You probably already have items like protein powder, tuna, can soup and pasta in the kitchen. Make sure you have enough non-perishable food to last three or four days.


7. Everyone needs toilet paper. Eight rolls will probably cost less than $10. While you're at it, get some paper towels, too.


8. Load up on plastic garbage bags. They're good for garbage, and to put up on windows if the glass is broken by high wind. Two big packages might cost $20.


9. Fill your tub(s) with water. Clean them first. The water may be absolutely necessary. Depending on what your city or town charges for water, the cost may be a few cents. If you have a well, it's virtually free.


10. Keep a few hundreds dollars in cash. You may need it if you run out of essentials and ATM machines are not working for whatever reason. It may seem like a lot of dough, but if you don't spend it, you don't loss a dime - except for a fee you might pay for get the money from a cash machine that is not at a branch of your bank.


11. Sandbags. These are expensive, but some stores are already selling out as customers stock up. In many cases, municipal authorities, local fire or police offices, or state disaster relief organizations give these out.


12. Generators. These are also pricey. But, if you don't have a car battery or solar power, they may be necessary. Sears sells them for as little as $429.99. And, you can keep them for the next time a storm or summer power outage pulls the plug on your electricity.


The full article can be found HERE.