My favorite thing for this week is my ipod. I love to listen to podcasts. I have a long commute to work and I can catch up on Dave Ramsey, Clark Howard, Focus on the Family, as well as listen to all kinds of podcasts about my hobbies. There are podcasts on quilting, sewing, scrapbooking, knitting....you name it and there is a podcast about it. I've even found a couple about frugal living. Now, if only I could find one about extreme coupon shopping.....hey......

Be sure to visit Fiddledeedee to see other My Favorite Things.

Kroger Mega Sale

Super Savings Saturday

I haven't been shopping much this week. We really have a well stocked pantry, and with careful meal planning I could have probably gone without much shopping. However, we did need milk and eggs, and I knew I could get some awesome deals at the mega event this week at Kroger. So, my husband and I went to Kroger Friday afternoon. We knew we would only be shopping for 30 items from the mega deal, and the milk and eggs. We also planned to pick up Hormel pork roasts because they were on special and I have $1.25 coupons. We had $53 left of our $400 budget for July groceries. Here is what we got:

2 Hormel pork roasts
2 Dr. Peppers
2 Frank's Red Hot sauce
3 Warm delights
4 Lean Cuisine
8 Ball Park Franks (going in Freezer for future party)
2 Sour cream
2 Ore Ida Frozen Potatos
2 Betty Crocker cookie mixes
1 gallon Milk
1 dozen eggs
1 Lysol trigger
2 Pledge furniture polish
4 Advil (24 ct)
1 Suave shampoo
1 Kroger yogurt

Total before coupons and Kroger savings: $118.32

Total after coupons and Kroger savings: $ 33.17 (including tax)

A savings of 73%! And, we still have a few dollars left in the budge for July. I already made menu plans for the next two weeks, and we have plenty. After that, I will have to look for some really good deals on meat.

Grocery Budget Success

It's Working!!

I have now been intense about couponing for three months, and I am starting to see the positive effects of shopping the sales with coupons. My grocery bill for the months of May and June were $500 each.This amount is for a family of four--me, my husband, a 20 y.o. son and 13 y.o. daughter. As of July 24th, my total grocery spending for July stands at $330. Also, we have plenty of food in the pantry and fridge to last well beyond the end of the month. I know I will be going to the store for milk and produce this weekend, but I should end the month well within my goal of $400 for July. Hooray!

Menus for July 21-26

Here is my first menu plan submitted at I'm an Organized Junkie. Sorry for the first link!

Breakfasts will consist mostly of cereal (see earlier blog) and french toast sticks (BOGO Publix sale).

Lunches will be leftovers of dinners.

Dinners:

Monday:
Meatloaf
Mashed Potatoes
Green Peas


Tuesday:
Chicken Stew
Rice
Brocolli
Salad


Wednesday:
Ham
Diced potatoes w/onion
Asparagus
Salad

Thursday:
Scrambled eggs
Bacon
Southwestern Hashbrowns
Salsa
Toast

Friday:
Homemade Pizza
Salad

Saturday:
Hot dogs
Baked Beans
Green veggie
Potato Salad

Be sure to visit I'm an Organized Junkie for more menu ideas. Have a great week!

Walmart Bargins

Steal!

I acquired six more powerade coupons yesterday, so I decided to make a quick stop at Wal-mart to purchase them while they are still $0.60 each. I had 4 $0.75 and 2 $1.00 off coupons. This made me have an overage of $1.40. I have been carrying around 11 $1.00 coupons for Malt-o-meal cereal for a while, hoping that Wal-mart would get the $1 bags back in stock. Score! There on the main grocery action alley was a stack base of $1 Malt-o-Meal! I bought 11 assorted bags. Here is the transaction:

11 bags cereal $1 each (11 $1 coupons)
1 gallon milk $3.48
6 powerades $0.60 each (4 $0.75 and 6 $1 coupons)
2 Frizz ease $0.97 each (2 $1 coupons)
1 gold bond lotion $0.97 (1 $1 coupon)

Total before coupons: $20.99

Total after coupons: $1.99

I now have about 30 boxes/bags of cereal. Will probably share and donate some of them.

Personalized Burp Cloths

Great baby shower gifts!


I just realized that I had never posted pictures of the baby burp cloths that I make. These cause quite a stir at baby showers! I sell a lot of these to friends for their gift giving needs. I love to give them as well.

Xavier's Birthday

Here are a few pictures from my great- nephew's pool party this past Sunday. It was raining off and on and a pretty dreary day, but the kids had fun. They look a little chilly, though!


Baby sister Hannah also got to have some fun! Here she is with her Granny.

Publix Cereal Deal - Special Guest Blogger

Hey everyone, I'm Tom, Lisa's husband and I wanted to share about a cereal deal that I picked up at Publix. Lisa had mentioned this last night and since I'm a teacher and hanging out at home, clinging to the last couple of weeks before going back to school, I decided to go get this deal today. Fourteen boxes of assorted Cheerios!

Publix has Cheerios on sale for 2/$5 including Apple Cinnamon (our daughter's favorite!). There was also a $5 off a $35 order coupon in the Publix flyer. Plus, Lisa had 16 $1.00 off coupons for Cheerios!

So, this afternoon, my daughter and I headed off, armed with a fist full of coupons! We loaded up 6 boxes of Apple Cinnamon, 4 boxes of Honey Nut, 1 Berry Burst, 1 Oat Cluster Crunch, 1 Yogurt Burst Vanilla and 1 Yogurt Burst Strawberry.

Total cost after coupons - $16.60! That's around $1.19 per box!

The latest expiration date is June 2009, so it looks like we'll be eating Cheerios for a while...

Rite Aid

Rite Aid Trip 7/12/08

While out yard sailing this morning, I decided to stop in at Rite-Aid. Rite Aid is the closest store to my house, but I haven't done much shopping at that store. The rebate system doesn't see as user friendly as CVS. But, since it is only 2.8 miles from my house and CVS is 5+ miles, I thought I would give it a try. Also, the cashier told me that I can use the rebate check like cash to pay for purchases in the store. That will help lower OOP. Now, if they would only put the rebates on a gift card...Here is the transaction.

Herbal Essences shampoo
and conditioner (2/$5) $5.00
-$3.00 off 2 coupon
-$2.00 Single Check Rebate (SCR)
Final Price:Free

Venus Embrace $7.99
-$2.00 coupon
-$5.00 SCR
Final Price: $0.99

Infusium conditioner $4.99
-$3.00 coupon 7/6 P&G
-$1.99 SCR
Final Price: free

Advil 50ct liquigels $4.99
-$2.00 coupon on pkg
-$1.00 SCR
Final price $1.99

Crest Herbal Mint (my fave) $2.49
-$0.75 coupon 7/6 P&G
-$1.74 SCR
Final price: free

Tag Body Spray $2.99
-$1.00 coupon 7/6 P&G
-$1.00 SCR
Final price: $0.99

So, all of this stuff only costs $3.97 + tax--pretty good. I almost forgot the best part! I got two Herbal Essences that were specially marked to recieve a free manicure & pedicure. I have already filled out the redemption form and should receive a voucher in 4-6 weeks!

Blueberry Season

It's time for picking Blueberries in North Georgia!

Earlier this week we made a quick trip around the corner to a u-pick blueberry farm. We know the family that owns this farm and they let you pick berries on the honor system. They have a scale to weigh the berries yourself and a locked box bolted to a picnic table to pay for the berries. We got six pounds of blueberries for $1.50/lb. For a total of $9.00.

Now, what to do with the berries. Blueberries freeze very well. If you have the chance to pick some this summer, be sure to stock up. We try to pick enough to last all winter. Once you pick the berries, lay them out on a paper covered table for 24 hours. This is to let the moisture on the berries evaporate. I then put the berries in freezer bags. Don't wash the blueberries until you take them out of the freezer to be used! I freeze my berries in 3 cup batches. That is the exact amount for Blueberry Crunch--a favorite dessert of my co-workers and family. See recipe below.


Blueberry Crunch

Butter a 9x 13 baking dish. Spread the following in layers in this order:

1 (20 oz) can undrained, crushed pineapple
3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup sugar (optional) - we usually skip this
1 box yellow cake mix (dry from box)
2 sticks melted margarine or butter
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup sugar, sprinkled over the top of the layers
(again, optional, we usually skip)

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes until it tests done and is brown on the top. If the berries are still frozen when put in the baking dish, the baking time will be increased.
Last step, Enjoy!

CVS and Wal-mart

CVS Trip 7/11/08

I didn't really need anything from CVS today, but while we were out I drove by just to scan my card. The coupon machine gave me a neat coupon for a free hand sanitizer pen and $1 off Gold Emblem pretzels. So I made a quick transaction:

2 Gold Emblem pretzels $0.69 each-- $1.00 off scanner coupon
1 CVS face cloths $2.99-- $2.00 off Beauty Handbook coupon
1 Hand sanitizer pen $1.79-- $1.79 off scanner coupon

Total Retail Value $6.16
ECBs Used $0.99
Out of Pocket $0.43
ECBs Earned $1.00


Wal-mart Trip 7/11/08

I had some high dollar coupons that resulted in overages to be applied to my other groceries. That is my favorite part of couponing at Wal-mart. They NEVER adjust coupons down to the price of the item. Example in the above picture--I purchased 3 KY Jellys at $2.57 each. I had 3- $3 off coupons. So for each one I had the extra $0.43 applied to other items. My subtotal before coupons was $51.11. After coupons was $25.52. Not too bad! I got most things on my list and a few items for Christmas gift baskets.

Want to see more CVS savings? Visit The "Cents"ible Sawyer's CVS Superstars!

Are you new to CVSing? Want to learn how to create your own CVS deals? Check out CVS for Newbies to get the scoop!!!