Weekly Savings #12

WALGREENS
- 2 packages of Huggies Snug & Dry diapers: $6.99 each (after two $2/1 mf coupons)
- 1 trial size package of Walgreens diapers: $2.79 (on sale from $3.99)
- 2 Glade scented oil candles: 50 cents each (after sale, two $1.50/1 coupons and a $1 RR)
Used $3 RRs on this transaction.

Total OOP = $17.05
Total Savings = $16.98
(RR Received = $1)

CVS
- 2 12-packs of Mountain Dew: $3 each (on sale 4/$12)
- 2 12-packs of Pepsi: $3 each (on sale 4/$12 with $3 ECBs WYB 4)
- honey roasted peanuts & roasted almonds: $6.20 (after $2/2 CVS coupon)
Used $10.99 in ECBs on this transaction. If I had been smart I would have rolled my ECBs and split this into two transactions, but I had Shiphrah with me and I never think well on my feet when I'm multi-tasking.

Total OOP = $7.29
Total Savings = $19.74
(ECBs Received = $3)

H.E.B.
We had some extra breathing room in our monthly grocery budget, so I spent a bit more than normal on this shopping trip. Still snagged some good deals though.
- 2.32 lbs. bananas: $0.90
- 8 jars Beachnut baby food: $0.64 (after 2FREE, and two $1/3 coupons)
- Cheerios: FREE (after GM voucher)
- HEB potato chips: $2.19
- HEB 25-count paper plates: $1.98
- 3 boxes Gerber organic oatmeal baby cereal: $2.13 (clearanced for 71 cents each)
- HEB 1/2 gallon whole milk: $1.99
- 2 Trop 50 Orange Juice: $4.98 (on sale for $2.99 each plus a yellow $1/2 coupon)
- 2 boxes Kraft Velveeta Shells & Cheese: $1.54 (after $1.50/2 mf coupon)
- 2 cans Old El Paso refried beans: $1.38 (after $0.60/2 mf coupon)
- 2-pack Wholly Guacamole: $2.69 (after $1.50/1 mf coupon) --> this is the BEST tasting store-bought guac EVER!
- Lawry's seasoned pepper: $2.66
- HCF onion powder: $1.13
- Van Camp pork & beans: $1.59
- Pace Picante sauce: $1.74
- HEB American cheese: $1.67
- HCF cat food: $5.88
- Angel Soft 12-double-roll toilet paper: $5.47 (after $0.50/1 mf coupon)
*HEB MEAL DEAL*
- Pre-cooked thick & tasty hamburgers: $8.99
- HEB tortilla chips: FREE
- HEB Cola: FREE

- HEB hamburger buns: FREE
- Kraft deli-sliced Swiss cheese: FREE
- HEB French Onion dip: FREE
*HEB COMBO LOCOS*
- Kraft shredded Parmesan: $3.59
- Barilla pasta: $0.30 (would have been free but I wanted the lasagna noodles)
- Barilla sauce: FREE
- HEB Premium mesquite bacon: $5.89
- Mission home style tortillas: FREE
- HCF shredded cheddar cheese: FREE

Total OOP = $60.92
Total Savings = $33.10

Total Weekly Grocery Spending = $62.69
($12.69 over budget)

Weekly Savings #11

WALGREENS
Nothing exciting this week, but I had Register Rewards that were expiring so I had to make a trip (it's annoying that RRs are only good for two weeks).
- True North Almond Crisps: $2 (after $1/1 mf coupon) plus $3 RR
- 4 cans Progresso Soup: $3.90 (after 4/$5 sale and $1.10/3 coupon)
- 12-count box of CankerMelts: FREE (after mf coupon)
- pencil case (for Shiph's crayons): $1.99
Used $6 RRs on this transaction.

Total OOP = $1.89
Total Savings = $19.95
RRs received = $3

CVS
Didn't have to hit CVS this week, but it's literally a block down from Walgreens, so I figured why not. :)
- pretty notebook: $1.25 (on sale 50% off)
- 3 bottles of Suave body wash: $4 (after Buy2Get1 mf coupon) plus $2 ECBs
Used $5 ECBs on this transaction.

Total OOP = $0.27
Total Savings = $10.01

ECBs received = $2
[YTD CVS Savings = $300.99]

H.E.B.
Still good on meat and most staples, so the list was short.
- 2 avocados: $1.58 (these aren't cheap, but I love them in my salads)
- green onions: $0.69
- bananas: $0.95
- 3 Roma tomatoes: $0.48
- Romaine lettuce: $1.79
- 1 cucumber: $0.50 (on sale 2/$1)
- 4-pack submarine sandwich rolls: $1.69
- HCF wheat bread: $0.94
- Trop 50 orange juice: $1.99 (after $1/1 mf coupon)
- HEB unsalted butter quarters: $1.99
- HCF country spread: $1.79
- Wholly guacamole: $0.50 (after 2/$4 sale and $1.50/1 mf coupon)
- Johnsons buddies soap bar: FREE plus 1 cent overage (after $1/1 mf coupon)
- Prego spaghetti sauce: $1.19 (after $0.75/1 HEB mf coupon)
- 2 cans HCF canned mushrooms: $1.18
- 2 cans Campbell's cream of mushroom soupon: $1 (after $1/2 coupon)
- Wacky Mac pasta: $0.54 (after $0.75/1 mf coupon)
(I also bought $24 worth of groceries from the Schwans' guy this week...frozen fruit, hash browns, mini cinnamon rolls, and a pie for our church dinner next week.)

Total OOP = $18.79
Total Savings = $6.28

Total Grocery Spending = $46.68
($3.32 under budget)

FALL/WINTER CLOTHES
Shiphrah and Kirk have both been blessed with family and friends who graciously have given them hand-me-downs. Unfortunately at the rate Shiph is growing, it'll be years before some of the clothes fit her and she's starting to get off-sync with sizes vs. seasons (most of the fall/winter clothes we have from her cousin Livi are 24 mos and Shiph is still barely fitting 18 mos clothing). Kirk has a few long-sleeved onesies and jackets for the fall but no pants. So I talked my wonderful hubby into making a trek to the San Marcos outlet mall to visit Children's Place and Old Navy. I wanted to end up with about a week's worth of outfits for each child. Shiphrah mainly needed shirts (she has plenty of jackets and jeans from last year that still fit) and a few Sunday dresses. Here's what I ended up with (and they should be set until April/May...Texas only has two seasons...Summer [April - September] and Fall/Winter/Spring [October - March]):

Shiphrah
4 long-sleeved shirts

1 sweater

2 dresses

1 pair of khaki pants

1 white shrug for Spring

Kirk
1 pair of shoes
2 pairs of pants
2 long-sleeved onesies
1 long sleeve shirt

Total Spent = $94.48

Weekly Savings #10

Just HEB this week and no picture (I had to feed a hungry baby so the groceries had to get put away quickly). It was a frustrating trip for several reasons: I went right when all the parents with their freshly-picked-up school kids were there too (crazy kids running through the aisles), the store was very crowded, plus the shelves were very understocked or missing items. So I had to buy the higher-priced sugar, I couldn't find the store brand parmesan cheese, and they didn't have the pasta I was looking for. I did get some pretty good deals though:
- 3 boxes of Pasta Roni: 69 cents each (after $1/3 mf coupon)
- 1.02 lbs of white seedless grapes: $1.01 (on sale for 99 cents/lb)
- 2 16-oz bottles of Coffeemate creamer: $2.04 each (after $1.50/2 mf coupon)
- packet of Betty Crocker bacon/chedder potatoes: 85 cents (after $0.40/1 mf coupon)
- 2 containers of Starbucks ice cream: 99 cents each (after two $2/1 mf coupons)
- 3-pack of Ivory bar soap: 83 cents (after $0.25/1 mf coupon)
- bag Kraft shredded cheddar: FREE (after G1 FREE with purchase of hot dogs HEB coupon)
- 5 jars of Beechnut Homestyle Fruit: FREE (after five G1Free mf coupons)
- A1 Classic Steaksauce Marinade: 34 cents (after $2/1 mf coupon)
- Barilla Whole Grain penne pasta noodles: 75 cents (after $0.50/1 mf coupon)
- Borden whole milk: $2.76 (after $1/1 mf coupon)
- Mitchum deodorant: $2.79 (after $0.75/1 mf coupon)
- Oxiclean laundry stain remover: $2.04 (after $0.75/1 mf coupon)

Total OOP = $37.97
Total savings = $20.43

Total Weekly Grocery Spending = $37.97

($12.03 under $50 weekly budget)

Weekly Savings #8

Since I've been so good at stocking up the freezer and pantry lately, this week's grocery list was pretty minimal. And since the drugstore deals weren't phenomenal, I opted to just hit HEB. I hadn't bought baking supplies in a while though, so I used the extra money on that, plus a Brita filter (ours was at least 5 months old).

My total savings at HEB is never very high because they don't have coupon match-ups (most of their in-store yellow coupons are just a scam to get you to pay more, except the meal deals and combo locos) and many of the items I purchase there are store-brand goods (bread, paper plates) or non-coupon items (potatoes, fresh produce, meat). However, this week I had my highest savings to date there so that was pretty exciting. :) Here's a breakdown of the deals I got (not including regularly priced, non-coupon items):
- 2.07 lbs. red seedless grapes: $2.01 (on sale for $0.97/lb.)
- 2.91 lbs. Dole bananas: $1.34 (on sale for $0.46/lb.)
- Borden whole milk: $2.68 (after $1/1 mf coupon)
- 5 lbs. russet potatoes: $1.99 (sale)
- two 4.75 oz. Glade soy candles: $0.99 each (after two $2/1 mf coupons)
- 6 Beachnut Homestyle Stage 3 fruit baby food jars: FREE (after 6 Get-1-Free mf coupons)
- 2 French's mustard: $0.77 each (after two $0.50/1 mf coupons)
- beef shoulder roast: $6.53 (on sale for $1.99/lb.)
- Brita replacement filter: $5.98 (after $2/1 HEB mf coupon)
- Best Mail dill relish: $0.44 (after $0.55/1 mf coupon)
- Jif peanut butter & Smuckers jam: $3.35 and $2.09 (after $1/PB&J mf coupon)
- Meow Mix cat food: $2.99 (after $1/1 mf coupon)

Total OOP: $54.75
Total savings: $24.86

Once I found out about the great baby coupons Target has HERE, I also made a special trip there to stock up on some diapers and such. As I checked out, I was excited to notice the sign that said they are now price-matching other stores' ads! That should make for some really good deals after coupons pretty soon (even if it does mean more prep work for me). Anyway, here's the breakdown of what I got:
- Jumbo pack of Target UP diapers: $6.34 (these weren't on sale, but I've never tried them and have heard great things about them...we'll see if they can beat the pee-machine that is Shiphrah at night)
- Jumbo pack of Huggies: $6.74 (after $1.50/1 store coupon & $1.50/1 mf coupon)
- Jumbo pack of Pampers & small pack of Pampers wipes: $6.49 and $0.72 (after $2/1 mf coupon & $2.50/diapers & wipes store coupon)
- Jumbo pack of Luvs: $6.49 (after $1/1 store coupon)
- Purina One cat food: $2.99 (after $2/1 store coupon & $1/1 mf coupon)
- 2 10-packs of BIC pens: FREE (after $1/2 store coupon & $1/2 mf coupon)
- Huggies wipes refill: $3.99 (after $1.50/1 store coupon & $0.50/1 mf coupon)

Total OOP: $36

Total savings: $16.50

Total Weekly Grocery Spending: $54.75
($5.25 under budget)

(Disclaimer: diapers are not included in weekly grocery budget.)

Weekly Savings - 8/16 thru 8/22

Four stores this week: CVS and Walgreens on Tuesday and HEB and Wal-Mart on Thursday.

CVS deals were a bit slim this week, but they were running an excellent Pepsi deal (an essential for a sleep-deprived mama) through Tuesday (buy 4/$12 get $4 ECBs, like paying $8 for 4 12-packs). I also had $4 ECBs from my purchases last week so I used those to purchase the sodas. After my purchase, two coupons printed with my receipt, a $2/1 Huggies wipes coupon and a $1/1 shaving cream coupon. I got a 64-count tub of wipes and Barbasol shaving cream (the cheapest they had there), used the coupons that had just printed plus a $0.75/1 Huggies wipes manufacturer's coupon.

Total OOP: $10.32
Total savings: $14.56

ECBs received: $4

[YTD CVS Savings: $234.16]

At Walgreens, on the other hand, the deals were a-hoppin'. :) I started with $4 in Register Rewards from last week's interesting trip. This week I went to a different store and it was so much easier. Here's the breakdown of what I got:

- 2 Super Stack cans of Pringles = $2 ($1/2 manufacturer's coupon + 2/$3 in-ad coupon)
- 4 Velveeta Shells & Cheese cups = FREE (after $1 RR, $1/4 store coupon, + 2 B1G1 coupons)
- Softsoap bodywash = FREE ($3.99 with $4 RR after purchase)
- Tub of Huggies wipes = 79 cents ($2/1 store coupon + $0.50/1 manufacturer's coupon)
- 2 Twix bars and 1 Snickers = 47 cents (49 cents ea. in-ad coupon + $1/2 manufacturer's coupon)

Total OOP: $3.77
Total savings: $14.59

RR received: $5

Shiphrah accompanied me to the stores on Tuesday and Kirk came with me on Thursday. This would have been fine except he was asleep when we got to HEB, so I put his carrier in his stroller and then tried to fit all the groceries in the basket under the stroller and in the reusable bag I brought. My arm was killing me by the time we were done. :) Once again, I didn't take a picture of everything I bought...mainly because it was so hot that I needed to get the cold stuff put away right away, but I did take a picture of all of the items I either had coupons for or got for free with a meal-deal (minus the ice cream, which was melting, and the ranch style beans). Here's the breakdown:

- Mott's applesauce = 79 cents (after $1/1 manufacturer's coupon)
- Velveeta Shells & Cheese = $1.02 each (after $1/2 manufacturer's coupon)
- Blue Bell cookies 'n' cream 1/2 gallon = $3.50 (after $5 sale + $1.50/1 manufacter's coupon)
- Kraft shredded cheese = FREE (after purchase of 2 packages of Oscar Meyer hot dogs)
- Knorr pasta side & Ranch Style beans = FREE (after purchase of Eckrich sausage)

I also picked up yogurt, eggs, bread, honey, salad fixings, bananas, lighter fluid, oregano, brown sugar, hot dogs, sausage, tortillas, italian salad dressing, coffee, and a few other random items.

Total OOP: $50.88
Total savings: $14.36

I also made a quick run to Wal-Mart because I noticed they had their Huggies Pure & Natural diapers for $9.72 (most places have them priced at least $3 or $4 above regular Huggies diapers). So I bought three Jumbo packs and used three $3/1 manufacturer's coupons to make them $6.72 a piece. I also found four jars of Beachnut Homestyle fruit and used four '1 free jar' coupons (most places are sold out of these because of the coupon...so far Wal-Mart is the only place I've been able to find them).

Total OOP: $21.80

Total savings: $12.25

Total Weekly Grocery Spending = $64.97

(And no, my numbers don't match up because diapers are in a different budget category. :) But other than that, all paper products and most personal care items are included in "grocery spending.")

Weekly Savings - 8/8 thru 8/15

While there weren't any especially amazing deals this week, I did find a few good buys. Of course, they were all at different stores so I actually went to five different stores this week. I don't usually do that, but Avery was gracious and the stores are all within a 5-minute drive so it's not too much extra gas (that's one of the great things about living in a big city).

I always do the bulk of my grocery shopping at the H.E.B. a few minutes from my house. Their deals run Wednesday-Tuesday though so I usually wait until mid-way through the week to do any shopping. With Avery's days off being Wed/Thurs this works out quite well for me...I usually go during the kids' nap time or take one kid with me and Avery watches the other. (I can take both babies with me, but it's exhausting and takes twice as long...especially when I'm trying to sort through coupons.) Anyway, since I had stocked up on meat last week, my HEB run was mostly made up of coffee, fruit, toilet paper, orange juice, and a few other essentials. My total was $30.73 and I saved $5.86 with coupons/sales. (Sorry, no picture.)

I actually took Kirk with me on that run (wore him in my Mei Tai) but brought him home before heading to Wal-Mart because he was getting too hot (that boy sweats like a little pig and hates being hot). I went to Wal-Mart for just two items: charcoal (we were out and I had a coupon) and Flintstones gummy vitamins (on sale for $5). The charcoal was $7.50 and I had a $4/1 coupon and I had three $1/1 coupons for the vitamins.

Total before coupons/sales: $22.50

Total OOP: $15.60

Total saved: $6.90

Those two trips were on Wednesday. Thursday we packed up the kids and headed out for shopping and lunch as a family. We went to Lowe's first where Avery picked up some sandpaper inserts for his sander (boat project) and then to Target. At Target I got a Jumbo pack of Pampers Sensitive diapers for $6.89 with a $2/1 Target coupon and a $1/1 manufacturer's coupon (it was supposed to be $2/1, but apparently it was coded wrong because it only rang up $1 off), ten boxes of PopTarts for $1.02 each with five $1/2 coupons (and I have submitted my receipt for the $10 Kellogg's Fuel for School rebate), two bottles of Coffeemate creamer for $2.29 each with two $0.50/1 coupons, and two bags of Kraft shredded cheddar cheese for 89 cents each with a Target $1/2 coupon and manufacturer's $1/2 coupon. We also picked up a loaf of bread, a bottle of 7-UP (for the punch for my sister's wedding shower), and a 12-pack of razor refills (I'm not including those though because my husband is picky and buys very expensive products...separate budget category anyway).

Total before coupons/sales: $43.33

Total OOP: $23.24

Total saved: $20.09

After lunch at Chili's, the kids went down for their naps and I headed out to CVS and Walgreens. I had a $5/$25 coupon for CVS that I wanted to use but other than their Huggies ECBs deal (buy 2 packs at 2/$18 get $4 ECBs), I wasn't sure what else I was going to buy to meet the $25 mark. No fear, CVS to the rescue again! I think Bounty is doing away with their Basic 8-packs of paper towels because everyone has them on sale this week. CVS blew away the competition though by pricing them at $1.99 each!!! (That's 25 cents a roll, y'all!) So I picked up four and that easily pushed me past the $25 for the coupon. I used two $1.50/1 Huggies coupons, $1 ECB, and the $5/$25 CVS coupon.

Total before coupons/sales: $57.32

Total OOP: $18.34
Total savings: $38.98

(ECBs received: $4)

[YTD CVS Savings: $195.18]

Finally, I headed over to Walgreens. I could have done without this trip, but we have a brand new store that opened a few minutes away and they mailed us a $3/$10 coupon that I wanted to use. Plus I had heard of a pretty great Huggies wipes deal that I wanted to try. This was my first couponing experience with Walgreens and I was a bit skeptical because I have heard of so many bad experiences with cashiers and such. Well, those fears were well-founded. Although I did score some pretty great deals, I had to convince the cashier to push through several coupons. She couldn't understand the whole free-after-coupon concept and the need to override the price UP so that the coupon would match (another cashier ended up doing it for me) and she was downright grumpy about the whole thing. They were also out of stock of a lot of the items I was looking for, and I hear this is pretty typical of Walgreens in general. (They were stocking when I got there though so at least now I know their stocking day is Thursday.) Anyway, the Campbell's soups were 29 cents each after a 1 @ 79 cents Walgreens coupon and $1/2 manufacturer's coupon, I bought 2 boxes of Bandaids at $1.99 each after a $1/1 manufacturer's coupon ($4 Register Rewards with purchase), one bottle of Women's One A Day for $3.49 and Flintstones vitamins for $2.89 after two $2/1 Walgreens coupons and a $3/2 manufacturer's coupon, and one package of Sharpie Accent highlighters for free after $1/1 manufacturer's coupon. They were all out of the 64-count of Huggies wipes, but I went ahead and got a refill pack because it was still a decent deal. (I say that, but now that I'm looking at the receipt, I think they left off the $2/1 Walgreens coupon, so nevermind, the wipes were $6.24 after a $0.75/1 manufacturer's coupon.)

Total before coupons/sales: $27.61

Total OOP: $15.44

Total saved: $12.17

(Register Rewards received: $4)

Taking out the non-grocery items like the vitamins and diaper products, that brings my total grocery spending for the week to $58.95, just under our $60 weekly budget amount.

And with that, both babies are being very fussy tonight so I think I'm going to put them (and myself!) to bed early tonight.

Weekly Savings - Target & HEB - 5/9

Target:

Total spent = $14.10
Total saved = $29.11
Gift cards received = $10

Chocolates = $0.99 after $1/1 Target & $1/1 manufacturer coupons; Glade soy candles = $5.99 each, $4/1 coupons plus $5 gift card making them FREE plus $1 overage; Purell (for Avery) = $4 for two after $2/2 coupon, Fiber One products = three $0.50/1 coupons, one $1.35/1 coupon making them $0.09 each after the $5 gift card; Banana Boat sunscreen (trial size) = FREE.

H.E.B.:
This was my monthly "fridge/freezer stocking" trip, so I spent a bit more than my weekly grocery budget ($60) but that's okay considering the last two weeks I spent $30 and $20 respectively. For roughly $70 I got two packages of T-bone steaks (on sale for $3.99/lb), a package of pork tenderloin (on sale for $2.99/lb), a package of boneless-skinless chicken breasts (on sale for $1.99/lb), plus all the regular essentials (milk, beans, rice, bread, pasta, potatoes, orange juice, etc.), and a few extras (ice cream, dinner rolls, chips). All together I saved $14.98 with coupons.

Weekly Savings - Target & HEB - 5/1

I skipped CVS this week because none of their deals seemed worth the extra trip. But I did score some awesome deals at Target and some cheap groceries at HEB.

Target:

Spent = $8.98
Saved = $22.53

Like I mentioned before, Target is running an awesome deal this week where you get a $5 gift card for purchasing five Special K products. There are tons of $1/1 Special K coupons circulating on the internet, so combined with the gift card they came out to 69 cents a box. The waffles were about 85 cents a box after $1.50/1 coupons, the deodorant was free, the apples were a little over $1 for two pounds after a Target $1/1 coupon, and the Nabisco products were about $1.50 each after $1/1 Target coupons. I also got a 12-pack of Dr. Pepper for $3 with a Target $1/1 coupon (not included in the total). Hubby was excited that I brought home so many things he can munch on when he's waiting for dinner (the man is SO impatient).

H.E.B.:
I didn't take advantage of any meal deals or "combo locos" at HEB this week, but I did use several coupons and ended up saving nearly $8. Our weekly grocery budget is $65 and I spent $55.01. This is really good considering I only spent $20 last week at HEB and next week I should be able to skip the grocery store all together (unless they're running any deals on pork tenderloin or beef steaks).