Propping up my eyelids with toothpicks...

I’m pooped. I should be in bed but tonight is our weekly watering night (thank you, city of San Antonio and your restrictions) and only from 8 to 10pm. So I have to stay up and move the sprinkler around. Avery is at an off-duty job until 10 anyway, so I’m going to try to stay awake until he gets home.

We’re getting our windows replaced in two weeks!!! You have no idea how thrilled I am about this. We have old, single-pane casement windows on our home. Half of them are painted shut, two are cracked, and several don’t have screens. But in two weeks we will have double-pane windows with screens that we can open…and just in time for the nice fall weather!

Today was my grocery shopping day plus coffee at my in-laws. I really enjoy getting out of the house but boy am I exhausted by the end of the day! Or, by 5-o-clock, I should say. The kids watched two VeggieTales videos this evening just so I could pick up the house in peace and get them straight to bed afterwards. Yes, I know I’m a bad mother.

Grocery shopping was successful though. I’ve been gradually trying to incorporate healthier food into our diets while still staying under budget. Things like cutting out high fructose corn syrup, buying more organic produce, and cutting out processed foods. This week I went to three stores and came home with this:

Target: $18 for lunch meat, Coke, Annie's mac n cheese, and ice for the cooler.
Sprouts: $20 for eggs, produce (minus bananas and lettuce), and trail mix.
H.E.B.: $47 for the rest of the produce and everything else pictured.

I haven’t even been couponing much recently because I don’t really have time for it. Plus the coupons for produce and organics are few and far between. Still, I used four coupons for this trip (guac, napkins, mayo, and Oxiclean) plus a $5 off total purchase at Sprouts. I mostly focused on shopping the sales. Aside from the wipes, trail mix, cheese, Triscuits, bread, tortillas, and C-Boost, everything I bought was on sale or I had a coupon for. The mac n cheese, oranges, apples, green onions, milk, and eggs are organic.

Tomorrow we’re having homemade fish sticks for dinner with the cubed potato/sweet potatoes that Jess recommended on Facebook and leftover broccoli. I have to remember to start dinner by 4 though because AWANA starts at 6-o-clock and we’ve been having a hard time getting out the door on time.

Well, that’s all the time we have for today, kids. Remember, God made you special and He loves you very much. Goodbye!

(See? I told you we watch too much VeggieTales!)

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 #9

I could have skipped the trip to Walgreens again this week, but their Register Rewards expire about two weeks from printing, so I made a quick trip on Tuesday to use the $5 I had before they were no good.
- Pantene hair wax (for hubby) = $3.34
- 3 2-oz Glade soy candles = $2 (after $3/2 mf & 1 FREE mf coupons)
- Rembrandt canker sore whitening toothpaste = $4 (after $1/1 mf coupon)

Total OOP = $4.37
Total Savings = $14.52
(RRs Received = $6)

I headed out to CVS on Thursday and was excited to find them marking down all their summer merchandise! So I browsed those aisles for a bit and came away with two pairs of cute flip flops and some toys for the munchkins. I started off with $4 in ECBs and I also had a CVS coupon for $4/$20 purchase.
- sidewalk chalk = $1.25 (75% off)
- inflatable baby pool = $3.25 (75% off)
- 2 pairs fashion flip flops = $1.99 each (75% off)
- baby pool float = $2.49 (75% off)
- 64-count Crayola crayons = $2.99 (after $2 ECB reward)
- 2 bottles of Dawn dish washing soap = $0.47 each (after two $0.50/1 mf coupons)
- Glade soy candle = $4.99 (after $2/1 mf coupon + $6.99 ECB reward)
- 4 parfait cups = $0.50 each (75% off)

Total OOP = $17.20
Total Savings = $52.32
(ECBs Received = $8.99)

We still have a pretty stocked freezer and pantry, so my HEB shopping list was short. I also picked up a few extra items I had coupons for and some snack food.
- Hass avocados = $1.58 for 2
- Green onions = $0.69 for one bunch
- Bananas = $1.74 for 3.78 lbs.
- Matchstick carrots (because I always cut myself slicing them) = $1.49
- Greenhouse tomatoes = $1.61 for 0.9 lbs.
- Cucumbers = $0.50 for one
- Romaine lettuce = $1.79
- HEB magic erasers (I've discovered these are the ONLY things that will clean the lime build-up off the shower walls!) = $1
- HEB potato chips = $1.09
- Chock Full O Nuts coffee = $2.87
- HEB extra virgin olive oil = $4.79
- 2 bottles of HEB Quench (i.e. Gatorade) = $0.69 each
- Daisy cottage cheese = $1.84 (after $0.65/1 mf coupon)
- Yoplait fridge 8-pack = $2.97 (after $1/1 HEB yellow coupon)
- HCF (Hill Country Fair) hot dog buns = $0.99
- 100-count Vanity Fair napkins = $1.99
- HCF 18-count extra-large eggs = $1.49
- HCF wheat bread = $0.94
- Austin cheese & peanut butter crackers = $3.00 for two packs (after $1/2 HEB yellow coupon)
- Ken's tomato vinaigrette dressing = $1.26 (after $1/1 mf coupon)
- Ken's lite Caesar dressing = $1.26 (after $1/1 mf coupon)
- Simple Green all-purpose cleaner = $2.59 (after $1/1 mf coupon)
- 2 cans Grands biscuits = $0.45 each (after two $1/1 mf coupons)

Total OOP = $40.50
Total Savings = $12.89

Total Weekly Grocery Spending = $42.50
($17.50 under budget)

[Now that I have a good handle on this, starting next week I will be reducing our budgeted weekly grocery spending to $50.]

Cutting Costs 101: The Grocery Budget

In a day and age where the cost of living is rising and companies are making cuts in personnel and salaries, saving money is essential.

So you've dropped your cable subscription, sold one car, refinanced your house, sold some old clothes on eBay, and now might be thinking, "what else can I do? Everything else is a necessity!"

Have you looked at your grocery spending lately? Yes, it's vital to feed your family and that's definitely not discretionary spending, but do you really need to spend that much? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2006 the average American family (2.5 people) spent $3,417 per year on food prepared at home. This averages to $285 per month or $66 a week. That may not seem like much at first glance but remember, that is $66 per week on food items: fresh produce, meat, dairy, etc. Don't include your household products or dining out when figuring your average spending.

Once you know how much you spend, analyze your shopping habits and see what can be changed. Depending on how much you spend, you can save up to 50% of your weekly grocery spending just by following some simple guidelines.

1. Never shop hungry! This may seem like a strange tip, but research shows that individuals will inevitably purchase more than they need when shopping on an empty stomach.


2. Make a list. Again, seems basic, but this simple step will save tens of dollars in unneeded food products.


3. Shop the deals. Take the time to peruse your local grocery ads before heading to the store. Find out what's on sale and see if you can't match those deals with coupons to save even more money. As a basic rule, see if you can't avoid buying anything unless it's on sale or you have a coupon (other than your basic items such as milk, eggs, bread, etc.).


4. Shop at multiple stores. Obviously this needs to be done within reason. If you're spending more on gas than you're saving, cut back on unnecessary trips. However, oftentimes by comparing prices and specials at several different stores, you can save even more. For instance, CVS Pharmacy regularly has milk on sale for $2.69 a gallon, which is much cheaper than you'll get at H.E.B.


5. Stock up. When you find a really good deal on something, buy as much as you can! Like I mentioned in my previous article, Stocking the Freezer 101, pretty much anything can be frozen and most foods can be frozen indefinitely. Steaks on sale for $2.88 a pound? Buy four, keep one in the fridge to use that week and freeze the rest.


6. Plan your menu after you shop. Planning a menu in general can help you save money, but believe it or not, you can save even more money by planning your menu after you go grocery shopping. If it helps to have an idea beforehand, check the grocery ads, make a list, and then plan a tentative menu based on the list and what you already have at home.


7. Avoid over-processed, pre-packaged foods. Sometimes you can find good deals on easy-prep foods, but for the most part you'll save more if you focus on fresh produce, raw meats, basic dairy, bread products, etc. Typically, the fewer the ingredients, the cheaper the product, and it's much healthier as well.


8. Don't buy what you don't need. Again, this seems simple enough, but even the most seasoned shoppers fall into the trap of buying something extra just because it appears to be a great deal. Remember, if you don't need it you're not saving money by buying it.


9. Freeze leftovers. If you cook too much in a meal, don't throw it out or give it to the dog, freeze it in single portions and save it for a "leftovers" night. This works especially well if you wait a couple of weeks to serve the leftovers because then it feels like a brand new meal (as opposed to serving it two nights later).


10. Drink water. Flavored drinks such as soda, juice, and alcoholic beverages are terribly expensive. Drink more water during the day and your grocery bill is sure to drop.

And that's just a few ways to lower your grocery spending. Find out what works for your family and put it into practice!

Weekly Savings - CVS - 8/3/09

This is certainly the week of great grocery deals! I browsed through the circulars and coupon inserts last night and was thrilled with how much I found! This morning Shiphrah and I headed to CVS and I plan on making trips to Target and Walgreens later this week.

To see which deals you might be interested in, check out your local CVS store circular. They're usually in the Sunday edition of your local paper or you can find them on the CVS website.

CVS is running several great deals this week that I was able to take advantage of in three separate transactions. (If you're new to CVSing you don't have to do separate transactions but I choose to use my ECBs right away in case I don't go back before they expire.)

• Transaction #1: Bought two jumbo packs of Pampers diapers on sale for 2 for $20 and 1 roll of CVS quilted paper towels. Used 1 FREE CVS paper towels coupon (they are running a free gift with purchase special this week), 1 FREE voucher coupon from Pampers (received as a gift) and one $2/1 Pampers coupon from the August P&G coupon booklet. Used $1 ECB from previous week's purchase making OOP (out-of-pocket) expense $5.42. Received $5 ECBs after purchase.
• Transaction #2: Bought two boxes of Velveeta Shells and Cheese on sale for 2 for $6. Used $5 ECBs from previous transaction making OOP expense $1. Received $3 ECBs after purchase.
• Transaction #3: Bought 1 gallon of Oak Farms whole milk on sale for $2.69 and one 10.3 oz bottle of Dawn dishwashing soap on sale for 99 cents. Used $3 ECBs from previous transaction and a $0.25/1 coupon from the August P&G coupon insert for the Dawn making OOP expense $0.44. Received $1 ECB for milk purchase.

So all of this... ...cost me exactly $6.86.

Not bad, huh? How did you do this week?

Edited to add...
I guess I should have included my total savings as well. According to my receipts, I saved a total of $30.95. And before ECBs and coupons my total would have been $31.83, not counting the specials CVS was running (it would have been approximately $35 without the specials).

Late nights, diapers, and sewing a dress

Both kids are napping, Avery is off to work, and here I sit sipping an ice cold Code Red Mountain Dew. Ahhh, life is good. :) Of course, I'd rather all the above be true minus my husband being gone, but you take what you can get, right?

I'm rather surprised I'm feeling as upbeat as I am. Last night was a late night...so Avery finally made it home a little before 2 am (his shift ends at 10 pm). I stayed up waiting for him...I hate going to bed without him because he ends up waking me up when he gets home anyway. (I had taken a nap earlier in the afternoon anyway so I wasn't exhausted.) So we got to bed around 2:30 and then slept in until about 10:30. I felt really achy and groggy this morning though...Kirk is still waking up about every 3 to 4 hours so I feel like I never really sleep very well (although my body has adjusted to it so it's not bad anymore).

But despite the late night, I'm surprisingly perky today. :) I'm even contemplating taking both kids grocery shopping after their naps. Speaking of shopping, Target is running a great deal this week: one of their "buy 3 products, get a $5 gift card" deals. And Huggies are on sale for $8.99 and included in that deal! Plus I have two $2/1 coupons and a $1.50/1 coupon and a $5 Target gift card from the last time I was there. So I figure it'll cost me about $16.50 + tax and I'll end up with another $5 gift card. Which isn't bad at all for three Jumbo packs of diapers!

Uh oh, the boy is already awake. Excuse me for a minute while I go get him.

Kirk is funny: I can usually get him to take his three naps a day, but at least two of them are usually only about 30 minutes long. Sometimes that middle or last nap will be an hour or two, but oftentimes not. It's frustrating just because he gets so grumpy and tired by 6-o-clock in the evening, but I don't want to put him down then because if I do he's wide awake around midnight or 2 am.

Anyway, where was I? I finally pulled out my sewing machine again after several months (more like a year) of non-use. I cut out all the pieces to make a dress (which personally I think is the hardest and most time-consuming step out of the whole process) the other night and then last night I sewed about 2/3 of the dress while waiting for Avery to get home. Of course, because I can't sew anything without screwing up somewhere, I goofed and then didn't realize it until five or so steps later. But, being the stubborn person that I am, I refuse to take the whole thing apart and start over, so instead I created my own fix. :) Hopefully it'll still look okay. Unfortunately, I discovered that ironing the fabric makes it change colors permanently (it gives it a yellowish hue) so I'm going to have to iron the whole thing just to make it look okay. Bah, problems like these make me want to give up sewing completely...I'm just not an understanding or patient enough person. :)

Well, that's enough rambling for now. Kirk is being a grouch and wants to be fed already, so I'd better go. Happy Monday, everyone!

June already??

We're still not completely well around here, but it's gradually getting better. Kirk passed his cold to Shiphrah, who spent the past two days whining and smearing snot everywhere. Thankfully she's been in a much better mood today and hopefully will only continue to improve. Kirk is still a bit congested at night and hasn't gone back to sleeping those wonderful 7-hour stretches yet. Soon, hopefully. I was a little worried I was coming down with the cold after I started losing my voice yesterday, but so far I'm still feeling pretty good. Here's hoping that will continue.

Friday we had the kids' doctor appointments (Shiph's 18 month and Kirk's 2 month). Both kids are on the chart in weight percentiles (Shiphrah, 5th; Kirk, 50th) but nowhere near that in height. Poor Avery was so distraught to hear that his son was short too. :) Both kids got shots: Kirk got three (DTaP, HIB, and PCV) and Shiphrah got two (HIB and PCV) and I think I was more upset about it than they were. Is it supposed to be more traumatizing on the parents than the kids? I was impressed with how fast and efficient the nurse was though. Her hands were moving so fast I almost couldn't see what she was doing. Much better than when I saw my little sister get her booster shots. That was traumatic.

Saturday we headed out to the lake for the first part of the day. It was the second annual church lake day, although unfortunately the boat broke right before we got there so we couldn't actually do any laking. The water was too low to even swim in so the kids got to soak in the baby pool for about an hour and the rest of us just enjoyed the gorgeous weather. There was a really nice breeze most of the time so it didn't get too hot at all.

(Can you believe he's only 4 months older than Shiphrah??)

Yesterday was Avery's first day on B-shift. So we had to rush home after church and have a really quick lunch before he left. Today was just as rushed (he had an eye doctor appointment this morning) but hopefully we'll get into a groove pretty soon. My sisters came into town yesterday afternoon so we could go look at bridesmaid dresses for Rachel's wedding in September. We picked out a cute one and then decided to spend an hour or so at North Star Mall. Catherine (youngest sister) wanted to go shopping at Agaci, so that's where we spent the whole time until Kirk decided he was hungry and we had to head home. That store is sooo addicting! Most of it is a bit too young for me (although I was surprised at how many middle-aged ladies were shopping there) but they have such a huge selection that it's easy to spend hours there. I stayed strong through the shoe section (cute shoes for under $10!!) and all the cute skirts, purses, and jewelry, but I did end up buying one cute peasant dress. It's not something I can wear out of the house (at least until I find a brown shrug or maybe if I put a tank top under it) but it's sooooo cute and comfy and flowy that I couldn't resist. Sometimes I wish I had a husband that was a bit less laid back when it came to money. I can throw down several hundred dollars on something and he doesn't bat an eyelash. He says it's cuz he trusts me so much. :)

Part of Avery's Father's Day present arrived the other day. It was just SO cute that I couldn't help but give it to him right away. :) It's a little 4 x 4 photo book from Shutterfly full of the kids' pictures so he can show them off. He loved it. :) Speaking of photo books, I also ordered two from http://www.photobooksetc.com/ because they were running a special for a free photo book that Money Saving Mom had advertised. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend them, even though their prices are pretty reasonable. The layouts are really cute, but the print quality isn't very good and the quality of the paper itself isn't nearly as good as Shutterfly.

Let's see, what else? It's going to be a busy week around here. Tomorrow I have a meeting at the church for a WOC program my co-president is putting together. Right after that is coffee with my MIL if the babies can last that long. Then Thursday is a funeral for one of the ladies from the church, which of course means I'm coordinating the reception. We're doing finger sandwiches, veggies, fruit salads, and cookies, so I have to pick up the sandwich trays on Thursday morning before Avery goes to work. I don't know how I'm going to fit them in my fridge though...hmmm. And then Friday is my little sister's high school graduation (yay Cat!!) so we'll be heading up to Dripping Springs for most of the day Friday and possibly spend the night as well (the graduation is at 8 and I'm not too excited about driving back at 10 or so).

Oh, I emailed General Mills last week about their Fiber One products. (Avery and Shiphrah both had negative reactions to the fiber in their chewy bars and yogurt.) Today I opened the mail to see that they had sent me $24 in General Mills voucher coupons! Woo hoo!! Sometimes it pays to complain. :) I was a little perturbed because GM responded with a "well, some people just aren't used to that much fiber and maybe you just need to gradually build up your fiber intake." Maybe that's true for some, but we can eat the same exact amount of fiber that's naturally occurring and not have any problems. (For instance, Kashi's waffles have the same amount of fiber per serving and they don't cause any weird stomach problems.) So just a warning: Fiber One's products that have fiber additive in them can cause painful cramping and the urge to run to the bathroom every 10 minutes. Their cereals seem to be okay...I think that's because the cereal has more naturally occurring fiber than the imitation stuff.

Is it the end of the day yet?? Kirk has been really needy today (he's napped all of an hour) and Shiphrah took a short nap too. She's in a pretty good mood though so I can't complain too much. Well, I'm off to try to get some chores done!

Weekly Savings - Target - 5/13

If you haven't spent all of your grocery budget for the month, go HERE and then click on the links to print some super-duper coupons and then run to Target to stock up on some goodies! (For a list of the best deals, click HERE.) Target has a bunch of store coupons that you can match with manufacturer's coupons for some really great steals. (You can find all of the current Target coupons HERE.)

I headed out this afternoon with Kirk after Shiphrah went down for her afternoon nap. The shopping itself took me about 45 minutes, but it took the poor cashier 20 minutes to finish ringing me up. (I had at least one coupon per item.) In my defense, the cashier was extremely particular about checking and rechecking every single coupon. She'd look at each coupon carefully, check to make sure I had the correct items, scroll back up on the computer to make sure the coupons weren't worth more than the items, and then scan each coupon. So I had to tell about half a dozen people or so that they might want to try another line because I was going to be slow. Still, it was worth it to get the great deals!

Total spent = $36.75
Total saved = $80.53

I won't break down each item and price, but to sum it up I purchased a total of 42 items which comes out to about 87 cents a piece. That's INCREDIBLE considering the high value of a lot of the items (four 12-packs of soda, a family pack of chicken thighs, etc.). I did have two $5 gift cards from last week's deals, so that helped bring down the total too. (And I know I promised Avery I wouldn't buy any more cereal, but after a coupon the Rice Krispies were only 99 cents a box! So I told him I'd make Rice Krispie treats with them. )

And now my pantry...

...and my freezer...

...are completely STUFFED. So for the next two weeks or so I'm going to do my best to avoid buying things that must fit in either of those two places. It's become addicting though...saving money is so much fun!!! (Avery asked me the other night if I was actually saving money by doing all this coupon-shopping. I checked our budget and I'm still staying well under the allotted amount. Yay!)

Oh, and Shiphrah wanted to help me sort my coupons today. I think we have another couponer in the making!

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 - CVS - 5/3

I just got home from CVS. I don't usually go this early in the week, but I had a coupon expiring today and we needed decongestant. I was so excited about the deals I found that I just had to blog about it right away!!

I went into the store planning on buying CVS brand decongestant ($9.79) plus one less-than-a-dollar item and using my $2/$10 CVS brand coupon. I also was planning on taking advantage of the ECB cereal and toothpaste deals. (Buy 3 select Kellogg's or Special K cereals for 3/$10 and get $5 ECBs and buy select Colgate toothpaste for $2.99 and get $2 ECBs.) But once I got into the store, I happened to notice several items on clearance for GREAT prices. (Apparently they mark down items on Sundays?) So I scoured the store and found Degree deodorant on sale for 92 cents, Mitchum deodorant on sale for $1.25 (this is the only deodorant Avery will use and it's usually $3 or something), Gerber 2nd Foods apple-banana-strawberry for 42 cents per 2-pack, CVS brand baby shampoo for 82 cents, and my most exciting find: Lansinoh nursing pads for $1.50 for a 36-count box (!!!).

So I ended up doing two transactions: I got the CVS brand items for $8.61 (a savings of $4.47), and then used my $8 in ECBs from last week plus 3 $1/1 coupons for the cereals and a $1/1 coupon for the toothpaste to get everything else for $6.34 AND I got $7 ECBs back (a savings of $32.35 plus $7 ECBs)!

Total spent = $6.34
Total saved = $32.35
ECBs received = $7

(So in a way, CVS payed me 66 cents to buy everything in the picture. )

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).