Grocery Store Finals 4/18-4/24

Grocery Store Totals

Subtotal $233.01

Savings & Coupons $164.23

Total Out Of Pocket $68.78
Savings of 70.5%

This is one of those weeks that the grocery stores actually make me happy. I think by now, most of you know that my favorite shopping is always done at the drugstores. I think the grocery stores aggravate me because I see shoppers holding their coupons & shopping lists tightly while swiping shelves clean. You don't have to be a shelf-clearer to create a stockpile. Anyway- we won't get on that again! LOL

Bi-lo
Subtotal $85.13
Savings/Coupons $63.02
TOOP $22.11
Savings of 74%

Publix
Subtotal $147.88
Savings/Coupons $101.21
TOOP $46.67
Savings of 68.4%

Due to my time limitations with school, I've missed going shopping on the first day of the grocery store sales for a while now, so being able to hit the stores early on the first day- WOW! Everything I wanted on my lists was still well-stocked and I had plenty of flavors to choose from. I was really excited about how well the grocery stores have turned out this week for me- how did you do? Post a comment with your totals below! :)
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Shopping Day!

 So, I've had sick kids (sinus junk) for a few days now, and needless to say, they are starting to drive me bonkers with their bickering and bad moods. So, yesterday, I took off from my mom duties to do some much needed shopping. I went to CVS, BiLo, and Walgreens in the morning and then in the later afternoon/early evening, I headed back out to Publix and Target. Here's the totals:

CVS
(Nivea & Coldcalm)
Started out with $7 ECB's.
Subtotal $23.95
Savings/Coupons $23.95
TOOP $0.00
Savings of 100%
Left with 9.99 ECB's. 
Walgreens
(got2b products)
Subtotal $23.98
Savings/Coupons $23.98
TOOP $0.00
Savings of 100%

Target
Subtotal $14.84
Savings/Coupons $12.75
TOOP $2.09
Savings of 86%

Publix
Subtotal $170.95
Savings/Coupons $114.18
TOOP $56.77
Savings of 67%

Bilo
Subtotal $117.77
Savings/Coupons $60.89
TOOP $56.88
Savings of 52%

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Back in the Swing of Things!

So, while I have no pictures because, well I was just proud of myself for dragging my sick butt out of the house tonight in the rain and cold to finally get my week's shopping done. I have been really lazy over the last few months and hardly done any shopping since we had plenty in our stockpiles. So, while I really didn't feel like going out and getting back in the swing of things...I really needed to. First of all, I had ECB's that expired yesterday...Not much, but that's like throwing cash down the toilet! So, I ventured out to 3 of my favorite stores (I probably will be going to Publix on Sunday or Monday)- Bilo, CVS, and Walgreens. The drugstores were really not about getting anything that I desperately wanted, but more about getting some "store currency" so that over the next few weeks I can use that to get the things I do want for free or almost free. So, here's how I did:

First of all, I hit Walgreens because I needed a coupon booklet for my Bilo trip. I was somewhat disappointed because I wanted the Triaminic deal and it was a cleared shelf. Also, I was really wanting to get some of the illy coffee drinks but my Walgreens did not have it on sale, so I passed on it. But, the big money maker was still there!

South Beach Diet snack or meal bars 5 pk $5.99 = 6 RR
Use the $1/1 coupon found here
Pay $4.99 with a 6 RR!
*I did 2 of these transactions*

Subtotal 15.98-6.00 Savings = 9.98 or 37.5% +12 RR

Okay, next up was CVS. I was pretty sure all the "magic coupon machine" coupons would not be printing for me, so I was planning to do some of the other deals. I had 3 ECB to start that I needed to change over because they had expired on Thursday. So, while I was secretly hoping to grab some of the Almay eye makeup for my daughter to play with (I'm a Bare Minerals girl myself), I wasn't too surprised to find that shelf to be completely cleared. So, here's what I did:

Spend $12 on Participating Glade or Oust Products = 4 ECB (Limit 1)
Buy 2 Glade Sense & Spray $5 each
Buy 1 Glade PlugIns Scented Oil Lasting Impressions holder $5 each
Total = $15
Use 2 $3.50/1 Glade Sense & Spray coupons found here
Use 1 $3.00/1 Glade Plugins Scented Oil Lasting Impressions holder coupons found here
Pay $5.00 with a 4 ECB!

Buy 2 Dove Valentine Chocolate hearts 7.94-9.5 oz
Use the $1/1 coupon 1/8 RP
Pay $4 with a $1 ECB!

Subtotal 42.75 - 36.75 Savings = 6.00 or 85.9% +5 ECB (started with 3ECB)

Okay, so now it was time to do the grocery shopping. I had 2 of my 3 children with me, so I don't think it needs to be said that I was influenced to buy some things that *GASP* did not have coupons! Regardless though, I had a pretty good trip for Bilo.

2 Emerald Breakfast on the Go
2 Emerald Flavored Almonds
2 Mott's Applesauce 6 packs
1 Hunt's Pudding 12-pack
2 Hunt's Pudding 4-packs
2 bags of Ruffles chips
1 bag of Coco Dyno-Bites cereal
2 boxes of Wheat Thins
2 boxes of Wheat Thins Stix
1 loaf of Sunbeam bread
2 bags of Millstone Coffee
1 bag of Quick Grits
4 boxes of Mac & Cheese
2 cans of mushrooms
2 boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats cereal
1 Trop 50 Orange Juice
8 bags of Bird's Eye Chef Favorites SteamFresh Veggies
2 bags of DeWafelbakkers Blueberry Pancakes
1 3lb bag of Cuties Clementines
1 bag of Fresh Express 50/50 blend salad mix
3 Too Tarts Spray Candy

Subtotal 143.66 - 88.06 Savings = 55.60 or 61.2%


So how did you do this week? :) I would love to hear in the comments!Pin It

Walmart Savvy! And a Quick Bi-Lo Trip...

 Okay, I can honestly say since I started this whole coupon thing, I haven't been shopping really. There has been no need for anything besides produce, bread, and milk, and meats. Since I've been having a really time consuming semester, I took a break. I've actually enjoyed my time "off" and I fully recommend trying it for any of you that are starting to feel a little overwhelmed or just plain tired. So, this week, I made a quick trip to Bilo to grab some staples and a few of the deals and then I hit up Walmart on Saturday evening to grab some items that I had free coupons for and try to get some overages on my cat litter, lol!

Walmart Trip
1 Garnier Herbashine HairColor
2 Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners
4 Old Spice Travel Size Body Wash
9 Crave Cat Treat Pouches
2 Cover Girl Face Sponges
2 Jergens Natural Glow Foaming Moisturizer
1 Breeze Cat Litter Pellets
2 AquaFresh Extreme Clean Travel Size Toothpaste
4 Dr. Pepper TEN 2L bottles 
Subtotal $62.92
Coupons $58.08
TOOP $4.84
Savings of 92%


Bi-Lo Trip
1 Idaho Spuds Potato Bits
4 Betty Crocker Potatoes
4 Chef Boyardee
1 Lil Hug Drink
8 Healthy Choice Meals
1.95 lb Bottom Round Roast
2.45 lb Cube Steak
2 Hormel Mini Pepperoni
6 lb of Tangerines
2 lb of Baby Carrots
1 head of Cauliflower
10 Buddy Fruits
5.44 lb of Honey Crisp Apples
Subtotal $120.05
Coupons/Savings $62.68
TOOP $57.37
Savings of 52%
*And technically, I still am using those giftcards I won to Bilo, so all of this was FREE!*Pin It

Lovin' this stuff & Grocery Store Totals!

Okay, so we all have that one thing (well, sometimes we have more, but you know what I mean!) that we will pay full price for just because it is something that we love and won't do without. Well, I just found mine. O.N.E. Coconut Water! I'm totally in love! There are some other brands out there that I have tried as well, but so far this one has been my absolute favorite. I have recently made a decision in my life to lose some weight. I'm not dieting. I'm working towards having a healthier lifestyle. I have a friend that I actually have gotten to know better because our daughter's are friends that is helping me along and introducing me to some healthier choices in my life. I'm going to be honest here...A lot of this I already knew, but just was not applying. I've realized that I want to feel better about myself, which means changing some bad habits in my household. I am exercising regularly (3x a week right now for at least 30 minutes a day) and keeping track of my calorie/fat intake on My Fitness Pal. That site is also helping me keep track of my weight management, exercise goals, and more. I'm really impressed with it all. Anyway, back to the coconut water. Gatorade and other sports drink tend to make me feel nauseated after drinking them, so I usually just stick to regular water for hydration, but it is missing some of the key components to getting your body hydrated. Coconut water is a wonderful tasty way to get these electrolytes back in! I can't say enough good things about this stuff! If you are dying to try it...Publix carries it in my area for 1.49 for a single serve carton. I'm REALLY wanting to find some of the ones made for kids for my kids after soccer, but so far have not had any luck finding it...Hoping it will be in our area soon! 

Publix Trip
2 ONE Coconut Water cartons w/ Pineapple
2 boxes of Trix Cereal
2 bags of Rosetto Stuffed Shells
2 bags of Rosetto Tortellini
2 boxes of Nabisco Cinnamon Low-Fat Graham Crackers
2 jars of Prego
1 pack of Yoplait Light Yogurt
1 Pillsbury Egg Scramble
4 Yoplait Smoothie mixes
3 Heluva Good Dips
1 single serving of Activia Parfait
2 Krusteaz Muffin mixes
2 Krusteaz Blueberry Pancake Mixes
1 Kraft Mayo with Olive Oil
1 box of Fiber One Chewy Bar
2 bottles V8 Fusion Juice
Total Before Savings/Coupons: 95.65
Savings/Coupons: 69.20
TOOP: 26.45
Savings of 72%!

Bilo Trip
2 boxes of Kashi Crackers
2 boxes of Kashi Pita Crisps
1 Ragu Sauce
10 cans of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup*
10 cans of Campbell's Tomato Soup*
4 cans of whole grain Chef Boyardee
1 bunch of celery
1 bag of potatoes (10 lbs)
1 bag of onions (3 lbs)
1 acorn squash
1 butternut squash
1 bag of baby carrots
1 bag of baby spinach
3lbs of green cabbage
2 large tomatoes
1 loaf of french bread
Total before Savings/Coupons: 67.40
Savings/Coupons: 35.88
TOOP: 32.52
Savings of 53%!
*I bought these with the intention of donating since I was paying only 38 cents per can. All three of my kids are going to donate them at their school for the food drive tomorrow. :) Otherwise, I would NEVER have bought that many, and I did not even take 10% of what was stocked on the shelf!
So, my TOOP was 58.97 for this week's grocery shopping, if you don't count that I used my Bilo gift cards that I won a few months ago. :) Pin It

FREE Toilet Paper and My Grocery Day!

CVS
FREE TOILET PAPER! Who doesn't love free toilet paper?! This was a deal at CVS that was for this past week's drugstore deals that I was supposed to not be shopping due to my camping trip. But, when I saw this post from Hip2Save...Well, how could I NOT resist? :D

So, 6.95 Subtotal - 6.95 Savings/Coupons = 0.00 TOOP

WOOT WOOT!

So, now on to my Publix trip....I did 2 transactions to show the total savings between food and non-food items like usual.
1st Transaction
131.15 Subtotal - 112.48 Savings/Coupons = 18.67 TOOP

2nd Transaction
36.98 Subtotal - 34.81 Savings/Coupons = 2.17 TOOP

*Side Note: I know it seems silly to "buy" items that you don't use...For instance, this week, the Tena pads were 0.19 together after savings/coupons. Why would I buy that, you ask. Because I save enough to donate to someone that can use them. I feel like in my families medical situation, we receive a lot of assistance and help and if this is a way for me to give back to someone else, then why shouldn't I? I always buy things like this that are free or under $1 and donate to either places I know can use the help or to friends/family members that I know can use the help.

Next, up is my Bilo trip. I really do love Bilo, but here lately I have had some really crappy cashiers. She rang me up for 5 Smart Balance milks (only had 4 and I was using a raincheck) and tried to only give me 1.16 on my free bag of Ore-Ida sweet potatoes fries coupon (she was trying to give me the savings off of the price, not the price of the potatoes), and she forgot a BOGOF coupon on my whole-grain Chef Boyardee pasta. This is like the 3rd time I've had a problem there (all different cashiers) &  it is aggravating. If customer service wasn't so wonderful, I might would find a new one to shop at! Anyway, hopefully they will start getting these ladies better trained!

39.96 Subtotal - 31.15 Savings/Coupons = 6.90 TOOP

  

Finals:

215.04 Subtotal - 185.39 Savings/Coupons = 29.65

A Total Savings of 86%!

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Grocery Shopping (Last Week)

With all of my tests last week and trying to pack to go camping for the weekend, I never got around to posting about my grocery trip...So here's a quick breakdown!

PUBLIX (grocery)
64.13 Subtotal  - 40.78 Savings = 23.35 TOOP

PUBLIX (non-grocery)
23.83 Subtotal - 19.53 Savings = 4.30 - 4.30 Gift Card= 0.00 TOOP
*I had this gift card to Publix as part of a rebate that I did a few months back.

I was excited to get the flashlights for free right before we went camping! I've been trying to get some ever since they went on sale (green advantage flyer) but they were always gone. That and the OFF refills and the Lysol soap dispensers...That I still never managed to find. Oh well! It was still nice to get toilet paper, flashlights, aspirin, and cups for FREE! :)  Just as as side note, I like to seperate my transactions into food/non food because for me, while it is cool to see the food I get for a good price, it is more exciting to me to see the savings on the non-food items...like flashlights! Who would've ever thought you could get flashlights for free?!

BILO
I really wasn't doing Bilo this week for any reason other than to use a few coupons that were expiring and to get some drinks for this weekend's camping trip. I actually made two trips because I needed the water too. No pic of the water trip, sorry! I was grabbing it on the way out to Brevard, NC on Friday morning!
1st trip (pictured)
35.40 Subtotal - 24.79 Savings = 10.61 TOOP

2nd trip (not pictured)
2 cases of Aquafina Water 24 pk
2 cartons of Propel Zero Powder Mixes
18.98 Subtotal - 13.00 Savings = 5.98 TOOP

So my total savings on my grocery trip this week....

142.34 Subtotals - 98.80 Savings = 43.54 TOOP 

A Total Savings of 69%!

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Groceries!

Subtotals 125.12 - Savings 94.82 = 30.30 TOOP 

Total Savings 76%

Typical week, I went out to Publix and then BiLo for groceries. I really didn't see a whole lot on sale at either store, and I was actually very discouraged this week as a lot of the items I really wanted to get only 1 or 2 of for my family were cleared off the shelf. At Publix, they were the Lysol Healthy Touch Hand Soap Dispensers (just wanted 2), 2 OFF Clip-on refills for camping this next weekend and 2 of the flashlights also for camping this weekend. I would get a raincheck, but all 3 of these items were in the Yellow flyer and I was using the store coupons to get them, so no raincheck for coupons. So, I'll pass and maybe get lucky that I'll find a better or comparable deal soon. If not, no use crying over spilt milk, right? ;)   At Bilo, I was a little more frustrated as I just wanted ONE (JUST ONE!) dang olive oil as we are almost out. I got there the first day of the sale at 10am, and the shelf was completly cleared! Olive oil, really?! It wasn't even free...Anyway. I did get a raincheck for my ONE freakin olive oil. I also was wanting to use my raincheck for the Smart Balance milk that was 50 cents last week, and of course that was cleared as well. It probably didn't help that my store is remodeling and it was crazy insane in there...I had a hard time finding regular items as there was like a million rolling shelf carts EVERY WHERE. Okay, enough of that.

Publix
3 packs of Dannon Danimals yogurt
6 packs of Dannon Dan-o-nino yogurt
3 packs of Dannon Coolision yogurt
2 packs of Sargento Reduced Fat Colby Jack Slices
5 Think Thin protein bars
2 packs Crystal Light (quart size)
2 bottles of Dove Men Care Body Wash
2 Mentos Pure Fresh (50 ct)
2 boxes of Magnum Ice Cream bars
4 bags of Lean Cuisine Market Creations 
Subtotal 88.13-Savings 61.77= 26.36 TOOP   Savings of 70%

Bilo
2 bags of Cape Code chips
8 bottles of Fuze
1 bottle of Glass Plus
2.41 lbs of Red Grapes
2 Stouffer's Farmers' Harvest single serve meals
Subtotal 36.99-Savings 33.05= 3.94 TOOP   Savings of 89%

Sorry, no pictures again this week...It is simply too hot already here. My groceries are screaming at me "We're melting!" by the time we get home...Stupid 100 degree days.Pin It

FREE + Overage Pizza at BiLo!

I got up today, and decided I didn't feel like dragging all 3 kids to the grocery store this morning as they are out of school now. Plus, I haven't had a lot of sleep the past couple of weeks due to both my girls' having sleepover birthday parties and this week was test week for me. So, sleeping in till 10 sounded like heaven to me! So, I milled around all morning and cleaned some house and then sat down at the computer and my coupons with the intention of possibly getting out Friday morning to do my groceries this week. Well, Publix did not excite me at all this week...and neither did BiLo until I went through my little coupon box of cut printables and realized that I had 2 of the BOGOF coupons for the Palermo's Pizza that I could also pair up with the 2 $1.00 of coupons! So, I quickly did the rest of the ad and headed up there. Here's how I fared...
Grocery List
4 boxes of Palermo's Pizzas =27.96-14.00 BOGOF Sale=13.96
4 boxes of Lean Pockets 2 ct =10.00
3 Land of Frost Wrap Kits =20.97-6.00 Savings from Sale=14.97
1 Pineapple =4.49-2.25 Savings from Sale=2.24
1 carton of Strawberries =3.99-2.00 Savings from Sale=1.99
Subtotal before Savings=67.41
Total Store Savings=-24.25
Subtotal after Savings=43.16
Coupons
2 BOGOF Palermo's Pizza Coupons =-13.98
2 $1.00 off Palermo's Pizza Coupons =-2.00
3 $1.00 off Land of Frost Wrap Kits Coupons=-3.00
2 BOGOF Lean Pockets 2 Ct Coupons =-5.00
1 $4.00 off $40.00 at BiLo Coupon =-4.00
Total Value of Coupons =-27.98
Total Saved=52.23
TOOP=$15.18  A Savings of about 77%!

Now, I have to be honest, I didn't plan on the BOGOF coupons giving me the full price off of each...But, each coupon had a limit of up to  7.50 and I have gotten accustommed to giving my BiLo card at the end of the transaction to avoid beeping issues with coupons, so I ended up getting 6.99 for each coupon and the sale price was 6.99 for 2! So, with the 2.00 off coupons, they paid me 2.00 to get that pizza! :) So, free strawberries! LOL!Pin It

$64.25 Subtotal - Savings/Coupons = 1¢

Well, I'm behind with sharing about my trip from last week, and its already time for me to go to the grocery store again today, but my baby girl is running a 102 fever, so we won't be doing any shopping today! But, that's okay...I was only buying a few things this week anyway! Maybe I can go later today when Shannon gets home from dialysis or tomorrow if she is feeling better. Anyway, I apologize for being so late with my totals and not having the usual pics to go along with it, but final exams took priority this week!
Publix
There was a lot of good freebies that would give you overage this week, so I was super excited to go! My first transaction was the picture to the left. It was my favorite because of all the John Frieda hair products, my favorite!

Subtotal 64.25 - 64.24 Savings/Coupons 

= 0.01 Order Total (tax was 3.89, not included)

 Savings of 99.9%

Now, on to groceries....I didn't do as well as the previous transaction, but I actually bought quite a few things that were not on sale (I just wanted them, lol), so I feel pretty good about the total transaction.

Subtotal 160.50 - 94.42 Savings/Coupons 

= 66.08 Order Total 

Savings of 59%

BiLo

I did better this week here than what I usually do...Sometimes I wonder why I don't just go to Publix only, but then I have a week like this and I realize why. A big thing is just the fact that they double coupons up to 60 cents...And you won't believe how many coupons are 55 and 60 cents! Here's what I got:

Scoopable Cat Litter

5  Colgate MaxFresh Toothpaste

2 Minute Maid OJ

3 Lean Cuisine Market Fresh Meals

4 Bird's Eye Voila! Family Size Meals

4 Bird's Eye SteamFresh Veggies

Mayfield Half Pint Ice Cream (hubby's treat for going!)

Subtotal 74.43 - 54.32 Savings/Coupons 

= 20.11 Order Total (tax was 0.99, not included)

                        Savings of 73%

CVS 

I actually went to CVS twice. Once Saturday evening because Shannon has this *certain* kind of toothpaste that he likes and he gets all frustrated when he doesn't have it. And of course, I've been out. I got 5 tubes of it at BiLo for 99 cents a tube, but FREE is always better, even if there is a limit of 2 at CVS! Anyway, the reason I went Saturday evening to get it was because my coupons for it were expiring 4/30 (Sat) and for some reason Colgate must think people in SC don't brush or we are all toothless hillbillies because almost everytime we are supposed to get those coupons, they are missing! Needless to say when I finally do get some Colgate coupons that can be used on any Colgate or Colgate MaxFresh, I'm excited! It's almost as good as getting Mentos Gum coupons! :D I don't have a picture of Sunday's transaction, sorry! Now let me tell you about what happened on Saturday. I got there and realized the Colgate had been on sale for 1.97 a tube the previous week, so that sale was still on meaning more than likely the ECB were not going to print. So, I asked my AWESOME manager at CVS and she said it was not a problem that they would just force print them, and thanks for letting them know so they can take care of it! So, I ended up getting 2 tubes for 1.94 after coupons and then got (2) 3.00 ECB back! Well, that was an even better deal than I had hoped for! They paid me to take them out the store! I love when that happens! :D And of course, the Dove Men's deodarant was on sale for 99 cents, and I had 3 1.00 coupons so they were FREE too! Here's the totals for Saturday:

Subtotal 21.35 - 20.40 Savings/Coupons 

= 0.95 Order Total (tax was 0.48, not included)
+6.00 in ECB

Savings of 96%

When I went back on Sunday, I was just getting a couple cleaning products, 3 to be exact: Cascade Dishwasher deteregent, Mr Clean Magic Eraser, and Mr Clean All Purpose Cleaner. Here's the total:

15.07 Subtotal - 12.81 Savings/Coupons

= 2.26 Order Total (tax was 0.49, not included)

+3.00 ECB

Savings of 85% 

And I will have to get Walgreens and Rite Aid another day, because I'm tired and want to go to bed! LOL!

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This is as "Extreme" as it gets...

Okay, I know a lot of you are watching it...Extreme Couponing on TLC. I have not and probably will not. The reason why is very simple- IT IS NOT REAL. Just like most of tv, this show is not really realistic. Stores bend their coupon policies to allow these people come in and show a crazy amount of coupons to be used. Sometimes they even allow coupons to be used for items that are not the correct items...Coupon FRAUD! And you want to know why they do it? Because it is free publicity for their store! It really is a mess...Not to mention, I can't name a single store where you can go in and buy 100 of anything...It simply is not going to be in stock like that! Most stores also have limits (mostly because of this stupid show). It is ruining it for the real couponers. And it makes us all look like crazy insane freaks. LOL

This aggravates me mostly because I don't normally buy obscene amounts of anything, but Shannon chews gum like crazy for his medical condition. And he ONLY likes Mentos Pure Fresh in Fresh Mint. I spend tons of money to keep him supplied...he uses it to keep his fluids down therefore keeping his heart from working too hard. In other words, if he drinks to much fluid, he can have severe heart issues from it. Well, the big packs were on sale this week at Publix BOGOF for 3.29, making each pack 1.64 and with the coupons I have for 1.00 off 1 pack, it makes each pack 64 CENTS! Awesome deal. So, I bought 30 coupons on eBay for this sale. And when I got to the store, they have a 5 BOGOF limit, meaning I can only buy 10 packs. I was disappointed, but I understood...Until I realized they only had 5 packs total of his kind. Very disappointed now, but at least the guy at customer service was extremely helpful and let me get a raincheck for 10. So, I'm hoping to hit them up again this weekend to grab 10 more packs and then again after the sale ends to use my raincheck before my coupons expire on 4/30/11.

But, enough on "extreme couponing"...Here is the REAL thing!

(Ha, I didn't realize my cat was in the pic till just now!)

 This is a combination of Publix and BiLo like usual...I even got 2 free reusable shopping bags this week!

Publix: Subtotal $145.94 - Savings/Coupons $102.63 = TOOP $43.31

BiLo: Subtotal $39.41 - Savings/Coupons $29.14 = TOOP $10.27

Totals: Subtotal $185.35 - Savings/Coupons $131.77= TOOP $53.58

Total Savings: $131.77/$185.35 = 71%

So, I bought groceries, dog food, and even light bulbs this week for my family for less than $60 dollars this week! IS that extreme enough for you? I think this is more realistic than anything you gonna see on TLC! I wish they would show REAL stories...Stories of how families manage to feed and buy their family's necessities for a fraction of a family that doesn't coupon. That's the real extreme couponing!

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My Shopping Week...Dog Food & Almay!

Okay, first of all I have to say, I have very sensitive (and weird) skin. Almost everything breaks me out. I thought acne was supposed to go away when you were an adult. Well, apparently someone LIED to me. I suffer from pretty bad acne even now at almost 29 years old. It's embarrassing and aggravating. It makes me feel bad about myself. Alright, now that we have that out of the way, I can explain to you that I don't wear much makeup. I know that seems backwards, most people would cover it up with the makeup, but I have found that it just makes it worse. I almost always have a huge breakout after wearing makeup, even after properly taking it off. It's maddening. But, about a year ago I spontaneously visited a Bare Minerals (Escentuals?) store. And, I've been in love ever since. I can't say to you that I never break out after wearing it, but I can say that it only happens once in a while and then it is never a full breakout, just a few pop up. So, I can't say that I'm a huge drugstore makeup fan even if its free. So, this week the basically free Almay deal at Walgreens did not excite me. Not at least until I read that you got 5 Register Rewards back for buying the almost free Almay. Then, I got excited. And, I've been super excited about my crazy cheap Pedigree dog food and dog treats from Publix and BiLo this week too! And, I of course went back to CVS to fix the candy deal I messed up. Here's the breakdown:

Publix & Bilo
Subtotal=235.92
Savings & Coupons=136.72
Total Spent= 99.20
Not as well as usual, but a lot of stuff was things we were out of and I didn't have coupons for it. Just the sandwich stuff alone cost $30 (breads, mayo, lunch meat, tomato). Still not too bad though. Savings of 58%.

Publix & Bilo (continued)

Publix & Bilo- Just Dog Food & Treats! I had to do this seperate...I was super pleased with all of this! 4 bags of Pedigree dog treats, 6 (4.4lb) bags of Pedigree dog food and then 1 (20lb) bag of Pedigree dog food for a total of 46.4 lbs of dog food.
Subtotal=57.89
Savings & Coupons=47.57
Total Spent=10.32
Savings of 82%! I feel like I stole the dog food! LOL

CVS Spring Beauty Almay Deal...I actually went back one more time and got 2 more of the eye makeup remover towelttes, so I actually have 32 RR just from this deal! WOW!

What I bought to fix the deal I messed up. I actually only need 3 to complete it, but I had a CVS coupon in my mailbox to take 2.00 off when I bought 10, so I bought 10, which only cost me 3.00 and I (finally) got my 3.00 ECB for it. It also printed a bunch of other coupons for me, not really sure why.

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81% Saved

 

No surprises this week, I hit Publix and BiLo like usual. 

191.18 Subtotal - 154.64 Savings/Coupons = 36.54 Total Spent! Saved 81%!

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Publix + BiLo = 88.64

 

Publix and Bilo: I had to buy a few things again this week that I normally wouldn't get, but all of this for under a 100 dollars made me happy! I had a rain check for the Philly Cooking Creme, so I got each one for only 50 cents EACH! And I made my hubby happy with all the gum...He was out, and since he pretty much refuses to chew any other kind, I was ecstatic to find it on sale at BOTH stores and had plenty of coupons for it. I know that we use tons of this, so as soon as I see a coupon for it, I scour eBay and buy 20 count lots of them for about 2.00 total. I figure it works out in the end; I got the big packs for 1.50 each and the little packs for 67 cents each. The big packs come out cheaper, but I have q's for both, and we will use both, so I buy BOTH. Totals:  258.13 Subtotal-169.49 Savings/Coupons =88.64 TOTAL Spent. I saved 66% this week!

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Why? Part 1: Grocery Store Shopping

I thought I might be able to explain a lot of Jenny's ideas shorthand here. I've had a lot of people question about how this works, how much time, how to start, why certain stores, isn't it cheaper to just Wal-mart, etc. So, I'm going to try to break it down as best as I can, but I truly believe in order for anyone to completly understand what and how this works, you really really really need to go to one of Jenny's workshops. Feel free to ask me any questions, but again, I can't stress enough how much I learned at the workshop....And to be honest, I wish I had time to hit up another one. Abbreviations can be found here. But, here goes!

The first thing you must do is stop shopping your "list". This was hard for me at first. And it will probably take you 6-8 weeks unless you are already stocked up. The basic concept is that EVERYTHING you use will eventually go on sale AT A ROCK BOTTOM price. You don't stock up until that price hits. In other words, if your family eats 2 boxes of cereal a week, and you don't expect to buy cereal again for 4 weeks, you need to buy 8 boxes max. (Not 25, lol, we are not stocking for the apocalypse!) For example, cereal may be on sale this week for 2.50 a box, but next week it went on sale for BOGO at 3.50 a box. So, you saved 75 cents by buying at the BOGO sale. And then if you had coupons for 50 cents off a box, you use TWO coupons if you buy two, even if they are BOGO. So, now you are paying 2.50 for 2 boxes. And then, don't forget the grocery stores that double manufacturer coupons! So, if you are shopping Publix (double up to 50 cents) or BiLo (double up to 60 cents), you now are getting TWO boxes of cereal for 1.50 or 75 CENTS per box! And then, comes the fun part...You can use a MANUFACTURER coupon WITH a STORE coupon! So, if Publix has the BOGO sale for 3.50, you use (2) manufacturer coupons that double to take off a total of 2.00, and then Publix has a store coupon for $1 off 2 boxes, you now are paying 50 CENTS for TWO boxes, or 25 CENTS per box. Another good thing to remember is that Publix takes competitor's coupons to certain stores. In our area, usually just BiLo, Food Lion, Piggly Wiggly, etc. Bilo is also taking competitor store coupons and they are including drugstore coupons as of right now as well as Target. So, remember Bilo and Publix will take BOTH a manufacturer coupon and a store coupon on one item!

Another good concept that completely boggled my mind was OVERAGES. For instance, when I first started this, Maalox gave a manufacturer coupon for $5 off 1 bottle. Well, it was only $4 dollars at some stores. So, they were actually giving me a dollar off of something else to buy it! I've had this work quite a few times and it just totally throws me! LOL My favorites here lately have been the $1 off Mueller's pasta coupon. Publix had Mueller's pasta on sale BOGO for 1.35. So, you use 1 coupon on EACH box, making it FREE plus, for every 2 boxes, you would get 65 CENTS off of something else! I had some really cheap groceries that week!

The next question I get, is how time consuming is it. Well, it depends on how much you want to put into it. I'm full time mommy, full time nursing student, full time wife and caretaker! Plus, I have a million other things on my list (don't all moms?). I choose NOT to clip my coupons. Jenny recommended an accordian file folder and each week when I buy my newspapers, I stick the whole inserts into a file and then I print the weekly inserts list. I keep it with the inserts so, I can refer back to it to see what we received in our inserts (every newspaper varies). Then, I use Jenny's sales list (example of Publix one is here) and simply check every item that we either need or is a good stock up price (the little acorns next to the check box mean to stock up!) and then I head to the next page where I delete all the coupon matchups that I don't have (some magazines, mailers, etc take a while to get or you miss). Then, I can take a good long look at what my actual price is and so forth. Then, I go and collect all the coupons together and put them in an envelope, print the list, and hit the store.

This was pretty vague compared to what I learned, but its a good starting point. Another good thing to remember is that you don't have to buy TWO at BOGO sales with grocery stores. These stores are set up to ring each item half off of its price regardless. Again, though, your best bet is to at least read through Jenny's tutorials and spend some time on her blog.Pin It

Grocery Shopping from Wednesday

Wednesday was a long day for me, and today was not much better. I'm so happy I don't have school for over a week...Spring Break, baby! That being said, I really really really needed a breather. Everything just seemed to crash down on me this week and on top of all of it, I had a test every day. *sigh* I'm just relieved I have a break!

But to get back to the subject at hand, I hit Publix and BiLo this week for my groceries. I can honestly say it wasn't my best shopping experiences, but we had a few things that our household needed and just simply wanted that might not have been "the rock bottom price" that Jenny on Southern Savers would've bought it at. For instance, we use taco sauce in our tacos and we've been out of it for a month now. I've had the taco shells and the seasoning and all the fixins and meat, but no sauce. So, I closed my eyes at the price tag and stuck two large bottles in my buggy. LOL Here's the breakdown for each store, but since Shannon had a procedure that had to be done that afternoon, I had 10 minutes to get my groceries put up before I had to leave again to pick him up from dialysis and take him to the surgery center. So, no pics! Everything in red I didn't have coupons for...I hate buying with no coupons! :( 

Publix
3 Reusable Shopping Bags (I've become a reusable bag addict, and they had 3 new designs! LOL)
4 Stouffer's Easy Express Skillet Meals
2 packs (24-8fl oz bottles) Nestle Pure Life Water
8 boxes Tai Pei Frozen Meals
4 boxes of Aunt Jemima frozen waffles
2 lbs Sirloin Tri Tip Roast
1 carton Pure Silk Vanilla Almond Milk
1 bag Halls cough drops
2 loaves Nature's Own bread
2 jars of Old El Paso Taco Sauce
4 cans of frozen Old Orchard juice
2 boxes Quaker Oatmeal (the Dino kind was on sale, Gavin was pleased!)
4 Bob Evans Refrigerated Sides
2 bags of Hush Puppies
4 boxes of Ritz Crackers
2 Cartons of Strawberries

Wonka Kazoozles (Gavin hit me up for being good on this and the next 2 items!)

Topps Push Pop

22 oz Deli Drink

Subtotal Before Savings=149.53

My Savings=89.54

Subtotal after Savings=59.99

Saved About 60% 


BiLo
8 boxes Gushers*
6 boxes Fruit Roll-ups*
2 boxes Jolly Time popcorn
2 Welch's squeezable Jelly
3 boxes Crunch N Munch
2 Sesame Seed hamburger rolls
1 Pampers Clean N Go 60 ct wipes
3 Pillsbury Cream Cheese Cooking Creme (to try some of the recipes out before my Philly party!)
1 Simply Apple Juice
1 Daisy Sour Cream
2 Earthbound salad mixes
4lb Oranges
1 tomato
1 snack size bag of Wise Cheez Doodles (My son gets treats for being patient with me!)

Subtotal Before Savings= 89.79

My Savings=46.96

Subtotal after Savings=42.83

Saved About 52%

(*Note: I bought the Fruit Roll-ups and Gushers in two transactions...The first in a group of 8 and got a Catalina print out for 3.00 off next purchase. Then, I went back and bought the second 6 boxes and used my regular coupons plus the Catalina, making 6 boxes $6.00 TOTAL! Plus, I have another 3.00 of coupon for my next grocery trip!)

All in all, I'm decently happy with the results, especially for end of the month shopping and buying those few things at regular price!

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