I want I want I need I need

Ok, school has started for me, so shopping for deals is more of a hobby than something I am going to get to do regularly (insert sad face here). I've been so pumped about how much I have been helping with our finances. I really have. We are pretty stocked up for this month. Lots of Chicken and Rice and Beans and veggie combinations. The babies are going to enjoy bananas, rice cereal and applesauce this month.

I am going to keep my eyes peeled for FREE or very cheap grocery deals for July and August. God willing, we will get a couple of our CC's paid off that we didn't pay off because we didn't get paid for maternity leave. Please pray for me specifically about that. It is a subject that I am constantly giving to God. I know he can - and will - provide.

Thanks friends -
Marie A.

Cereal and CVS

So, I went to CVS hoping to cash in on this nifty deal but there were no lens cloths left. I was able to get some $3 glasses cases instead, and the deal worked so they paid me $4 to take them off of their hands. I also used Alberta's CVS card and bought her a couple of glasses cases too. I'm rolling up her CVS dollars and keeping them for her until she asks for them.

My favorite deal though was actually with my husband on date night. Thursday, we went to a movie using some BOGO coupons then went to Albertsons to buy some cereal. I knew about the 5 boxes of cereal for $8.88, and I was prepared with my coupon book. We bought 15 boxes of cereal, 3 lbs of strawberries, and 1 dozen large eggs for $19.11. The best part was that on the back of 10 of the boxes of cereal I scored a $1.50 pampers coupon that doesn't expire until 2011. So I left with $15.00 in coupons I'll use too!

The deal on cereal at Albertsons is going on through Tuesday night only. OH, did I mention that they give you $2.50 off your bill if you pick up a pound of strawberries or 6 oz of blueberries or raspberries when you take them up on their 5 for 8.88 deal? Yay for Albies! Go to the Happy Couponing Blog so you can print out and use the coupons too.

OH, and please pray for me as this is week 1 of my 8 week killer Master's level Economics course.
Thanks!
M

~

I'm a rule breaker.

I have this rule based on JFK's quote, "Two elephants for two quarters is only a good deal if you need two elephants and you have two quarters"

Anyway, that is how I keep myself in check when I find good deals. I ask myself - do I need this item? Do I have the money to spend on this item? Otherwise I can get too "deal happy" and buy what I don't need.

So here's my confession. I went to Kroger to pick up some frosting for Alberta (my sister/neighbor). I had a 50 cent off coupon, so I knew I could get it for a dollar off. That was the planned purchase, not the problem.

While I was there, I also used three 50 cent coupons for Ken's Salad Dressing, and was able to get them for 49 cents each. Here's the rub. I never - well, almost never - eat salad. The deal was so good, and I heard great things about them, so I spent the $1.47 on them.

My husband has a hypersensitivity to vinegar - so I've never used salad dressing in cooking. To be honest, dressings usually expire way before they get consumed in my household. I bought these dressings with a *hope* that I will use them to eat more salad and healthy things while I am at home. I will make a valient effort to use them - and make meals that I can eat while Chad is at work. :-)

I have to be aware of these things though. I can't let myself get in the habit of buying what we will not use - UNLESS, I am planning on giving the stuff away.

15 cent Huggies at BRU

This week at BRU (Babies R Us) you get back a $15 BRU giftcard when you buy 2 value boxes of their Huggies diapers. The sale is available only if you go into the store. Look at this link to see the ad.

If that link doesn't work, go to your own Babies R Us site and click on the "View this week's ad" link. It is in the paper ad.

You have to buy 2 value packs to get this deal. Huggies Snug N' Dry Diaper Value packs run around $40.99 for the following sizes

Value box sizes/# of diapers/price/Price per diaper
Huggies Size 1-2/264/$40.99/$.155 cents per diaper (BEFORE $15 gift card)
Huggies Size 3/204/$40.99/$.21 or $66.80 for two boxes/$.16 cents per diaper
Huggies Size 4/176/$40.99/$.23 or $66.80 for two boxes/$.19 cents per diaper
Huggies Size 5/112/$33.99/$.30 or $52.98 for two boxes/$.24 cents per diaper

Here are some Huggies Coupons that I found on HotCouponWorld.com - I am not sure if there are any Pull-Ups or Overnights value boxes.

Huggies Pull-ups $2/1 06-14-09 SS
Huggies Pull-ups $3/1 Printable
Huggies Snugglers or Little Movers Diapers $2/1 Printable
Huggies Pure & Natural Diapers, $3/1 05-17-09 SS (expires on 6/20)
Huggies Diapers $1.50/1 05-17-09 SS
Huggies Overnights $2/1 Printable(Thanks JT at Big Baby Bargains)

I bet you will be able to get your diapers for between 15 and 20 cents a diaper by rolling the gift card into subsequent boxes of diapers.

Also, keep your reciepts/gift receipts with the boxes. If your babies grow out of the size before you've used all of the diapers, you can ALWAYS take it back to BRU for a full refund. Since I have twins, I go through a lot of diapers.

This is the first time I've put up a post like this - let me know if it helped you in the comments. :-)

God be with you - Marie

Diapers week

Last week I was so excited about the diaper deal I got at CVS - but I was limited to how much I could buy from there because they had a 3 diaper pack limit. Well, I've gone through 100+ of those diapers already, so it was time to try to find another 15cent deal like the one I stocked up on back when they were size ones.

Praise the Lord! Toys R Us/Babies R Us (TRU/BRU) sent out a $5 off value pack of Pampers in last Sunday's paper. I was able to take that to BRU and get the value pack of 228 size 2 Baby Dry diapers for $35.99 ($0.157 per diaper!). So I bought 3 boxes. I'll make sure to tape receipt copies to each of the boxes just in case they grow out of the size 2's before we go through the diapers.

Even better, I was able to return a size 1 value box of pampers, so I got $44 in store credit to use for those diapers. Woo Hoo!

This week I spent:
Kroger:$10
Babies R Us: $72.51

Retail prices would have cost:
Kroger:26.10
Babies R Us: 133.11

My price book would have allowed me to spend:
Kroger: 12.00 (4X$1.50 for shredded cheese , 6X$1 2 liter pop, 10X$0 koolaid)
Babies R Us: between 136.80 & 102.60 (15 to 20 cents each diaper)

So I saved Retail(pricebook):
Kroger: $16.10 ($2)
Babies R Us: 60.60 ($0-$30)

So, I saved over $76 retail, and between $2 and $32 dollars in my own book.

Slow week until this weekend

I've been busy with baby ear infections this week, so shopping has been on the back burner - However, I did get a great deal on diapers this morning, and got a really nice high chair for the kiddos yesterday. Here's what I did.

I went to CVS

I bought
1 Jumbo pack Pampers diapers for $8.99, used a $1/1 coupon from this morning's paper, and got back $5 ECB's (think of that like CVS cash back).
paid $8.65

Then, I bought
1 Jumbo pack Pampers diapers
1 Gillette fusion razor for 7.99, used a $4/1 coupon from this morning paper
1 Special K cereal for $4.49, used a $1/1 coupon from this morning paper
1 Frosted Mini Wheats cereal for Free (B1G1 promo), used a $1/1 coupon from this morning paper
and used the $5 ECB from the first transaction
paid $11.21 got back a $4 ECB from the razor and a $5 ECB from the diapers

Finally, I bought
1 Jumbo pack Pampers diapers
1 Frosted Flakes cereal for $5.19, used a $1/1 coupon from this morning's paper
1 Frosted Mini Wheats cereal for Free
Used $4 ECB and $5 ECB from last transaction
paid $4.18

Looking back, I should have mix and matched the cereals differently so I could've saved more since the Mini-wheats were priced at $4.39, the Frosted Flakes at $5.19, and the Special K at 4.49. It really would have only made a $.10 difference, but it could've been more.

Lets talk about inflated prices, shall we? I never would pay $4 for a box of cereal, much less $5.19. Really, I only pay $1 - $1.50 per box.
I would never pay $11.99 for a box of 36 diapers ($.33/diaper), much less the sale price of $8.99/36 diapers ($.25/diaper). I usually pay less than $.20/diaper - $.15 if I can help it.
I do not (nor does my husband) want or need a new razor - so I wouldn't pay $9.99 for a new one, or the sale price of $7.99. I would take one for free though. I can give it to charity.

Lets figure out how much I realistically saved then:
Total I would be willing to pay:
$16.20 to $21.60 for Diapers: 3 packs of 36 = 108 diapers; ideal price $.15/diaper (108 * $.15 = $16.20 (low end), 108*$.20=$21.60 (high end))

$0 for razor: since I don't need one, I would not regularly buy one.

$4 to $6 for cereal: 4 boxes; ideal price $1 to $1.50/box

Total I'd be willing to frugally spend
between $20.20 and $27.60 for this amount of diapers and cereal.

Total I spent:
$8.65+11.21+4.18 = $24.04

So, I landed in my preset perameters for spending. (whew!) And, I have $5 in ECB's to spend next week, as well as a razor for charity.

Praise God!

My dear In-laws want to buy the babies some high chairs, we were able to get one of the ones they recommended from Target at $20 below the price we had budgeted for it! My sweet FIL (father in law) researched high chairs and we decided the two we liked the most were The cozy dinette and the Costco 3 in 1 high chair. Each were priced at $99 - so he sent us a check for 2 $99 high chairs. We were able to get the cozy dinette chair in mulberry at target for $79! I'm excited.

We'll try it out and see if we like it enough to get the blue one at Wal-mart for $99. I hope we like it so I can give back some of the $$. That would be so cool.

Yay! my sister just came over and gave me her CVS card so I can go buy some more of those diapers. Woo hoo! Peace out!

Summer Activities

You MUST check out this post on Cha-Ching on a Shoestring if you have kids and are trying to figure out some fun things to do with them (that don't break the bank).

http://www.chachingonashoestring.com/2009/06/05/summer-fun-round-up/

Thank you Kaley!!

Marie