Tuesday, February 8, 2011
FREE Chef BoyArDee Coupon Finally Live!
The FREE Chef Boyardee coupon that we were hearing about a couple of weeks ago is finally live! Click here to grab it, it will go fast.
Spending Goals: February Week 1 Report
Hmm... yeah so February is not going so well. I've saved a good bit, but I've spent way too much. Mostly, (as I reported in my last post) due to poor planning.
So here's what I've got so far:
Total Value of Items: $394.74
Total Savings: $267.44 (or 67.75%)
So, I am definitely over budget for the month. I've been taking money out of my personal envelope to fund the extra groceries. This means that when the envelopes get filled again at the end of this week, there will only be about $50 going into the grocery envelope to last the next two weeks.
The good news is that I have a good amount of RR and +UPs that should last for the rest of the month. The other good news is that from what I've seen there's not really anything in next week's ads that we need to stock up on, so we can just get basic staples that we need.
Had I rolled my +UPs and RR on my Rite Aid and Walgreens trips I would have landed in much better shape, and I'd probably be just where I needed to be budget-wise.
I've also realized two things in the last week or so.
1. I pay less in tax shopping at Publix because I shop at one that is in the county rather than in the city.
2. I tend to save a lot more shopping at Publix, in general. One one hand, it's easy to think that it's because Publix regular prices are higher so the sale price savings is greater. But, overall I think that's not the case. I actually leave Publix with a lot more for the money I spend than I do Kroger. I think it's a combination of sale savings and the coupons (since they accept competitor coupons AND double manufacturer Qs).
These two realizations are going to have me shopping at Publix that much more and really evaluating whether or not the sales at Kroger are worth while.
So here's what I've got so far:
- Publix - $33.56 (for $110.54 worth of groceries)
- Kroger - $34.89 (for $74.88 worth of groceries)
- Rite Aid - $15.83 (for $29.85 worth of groceries)
- Rite Aid - $39.34 (for $114.77 worth of drugstore items) - left with $30 in +UPs
- Walgreens - $13.34 (for $16.98 worth of drugstore items) - left with $17 in RR
- CVS - $11.67 (for $47.72 worth of drugstore items) - used a $10 gc that I paid $5 for
Total Value of Items: $394.74
Total Savings: $267.44 (or 67.75%)
So, I am definitely over budget for the month. I've been taking money out of my personal envelope to fund the extra groceries. This means that when the envelopes get filled again at the end of this week, there will only be about $50 going into the grocery envelope to last the next two weeks.
The good news is that I have a good amount of RR and +UPs that should last for the rest of the month. The other good news is that from what I've seen there's not really anything in next week's ads that we need to stock up on, so we can just get basic staples that we need.
Had I rolled my +UPs and RR on my Rite Aid and Walgreens trips I would have landed in much better shape, and I'd probably be just where I needed to be budget-wise.
I've also realized two things in the last week or so.
1. I pay less in tax shopping at Publix because I shop at one that is in the county rather than in the city.
2. I tend to save a lot more shopping at Publix, in general. One one hand, it's easy to think that it's because Publix regular prices are higher so the sale price savings is greater. But, overall I think that's not the case. I actually leave Publix with a lot more for the money I spend than I do Kroger. I think it's a combination of sale savings and the coupons (since they accept competitor coupons AND double manufacturer Qs).
These two realizations are going to have me shopping at Publix that much more and really evaluating whether or not the sales at Kroger are worth while.
To Roll or Not to Roll, that is the Question!
So, I think I'm finally figuring out the value of rolling ECBs/+UPs/RR at the drugstores. When I first started couponing our grocery budget was higher so it was really easy to just buy everything in one transaction and take the rewards I received and use them the next time I visited the drugstore. In January, it worked out really well for me at CVS as I did a transaction early in the month that was almost free but gave me $20 in ECBs. I used part of those on another transaction which earned me another set of ECBs and so on. I continued that through January and finally used them all up at the end of the month.
However, I started out February with only a few +UPs at Rite Aid and no rewards anywhere else. If only Rite Aid had been the only store with good deals at the beginning of the month. OR, if only I'd been smart enough to roll my rewards and do multiple transactions.
What I did: I did two transactions at Rite Aid on my first trip of the month last week. I knew I'd be spending a bit out of pocket but I hadn't really calculated how much. Mistake #1. So I did two transactions, the first was to purchase the 15 jugs of Gatorade which would produce another $5+UP to go with the stack I already had. In the second transaction I put everything else. That second transaction cost me $40 OOP, and gave me back $30 in +UPs.
What I should have done: I should have broken that second transaction down into several smaller +UP producing transactions. Had I done so I would have spent less than half of what I spent out of pocket and still walked away with a few +UPs.
So, why didn't I do it? Because it's a lot of work and it takes a lot of time. As if my transaction didn't already take a good bit of time and create a lot of work since some of the product didn't ring up correctly. Another point for doing smaller transactions is that it's easier to identify mistakes (on the part of the computer). We often just assume that if it says it's on sale that the computer will get it right, but that's often not the case.
I'm still learning and I doubt I'll jump into doing 10 different transactions on my next drugstore visit, but I will start trying to break it down a little more to cut my out of pocket spending. While my husband keeps telling me we can raise our grocery budget back up to the level it was in Dec (basically $100/mo more than it currently is), I know we can do just fine on the current budget - I just have to learn better spending habits. And, sometimes the only way to learn is to make yourself do something.
However, I started out February with only a few +UPs at Rite Aid and no rewards anywhere else. If only Rite Aid had been the only store with good deals at the beginning of the month. OR, if only I'd been smart enough to roll my rewards and do multiple transactions.
What I did: I did two transactions at Rite Aid on my first trip of the month last week. I knew I'd be spending a bit out of pocket but I hadn't really calculated how much. Mistake #1. So I did two transactions, the first was to purchase the 15 jugs of Gatorade which would produce another $5+UP to go with the stack I already had. In the second transaction I put everything else. That second transaction cost me $40 OOP, and gave me back $30 in +UPs.
What I should have done: I should have broken that second transaction down into several smaller +UP producing transactions. Had I done so I would have spent less than half of what I spent out of pocket and still walked away with a few +UPs.
So, why didn't I do it? Because it's a lot of work and it takes a lot of time. As if my transaction didn't already take a good bit of time and create a lot of work since some of the product didn't ring up correctly. Another point for doing smaller transactions is that it's easier to identify mistakes (on the part of the computer). We often just assume that if it says it's on sale that the computer will get it right, but that's often not the case.
I'm still learning and I doubt I'll jump into doing 10 different transactions on my next drugstore visit, but I will start trying to break it down a little more to cut my out of pocket spending. While my husband keeps telling me we can raise our grocery budget back up to the level it was in Dec (basically $100/mo more than it currently is), I know we can do just fine on the current budget - I just have to learn better spending habits. And, sometimes the only way to learn is to make yourself do something.
$10 for $25 Worth of Dried Fruit & Nuts
Groupon's National Featured Deal today is $10 for $25 worth of dried fruit & nuts from NuttyGuys. To check out the deal click here. After you login select "featured deal"
MamaPedia Daily Deals
Mamapedia is another hot new Daily Deals site. Recently, they had a great deal for a $10 CVS gift card for just $5.
Today's Hot Deal is $40 worth of Natural Beauty products from OrganicBeautyNow for just $20. Check it out and be sure to sign up for each new daily deal. When you join they will instantly give you a $5 credit just for sharing the site.
Click here to check out MamaPedia
Today's Hot Deal is $40 worth of Natural Beauty products from OrganicBeautyNow for just $20. Check it out and be sure to sign up for each new daily deal. When you join they will instantly give you a $5 credit just for sharing the site.
Click here to check out MamaPedia
55% Off at ICE.com
WOW.com has a great deal today for 55% off some sweet jewelry at ICE.com - grab $100 worth of jewelry for just $45. Get the deal.
Friday, February 4, 2011
$1/1 CoffeeMate Coupon
If you missed the opportunity this afternoon to get the coupon for a free bottle of CoffeeMate, that's the bad news. The good news is that they are offering a consolation prize in the form of a $1/1 Printable Coupon. And if you play your cards right and combine that with a sale, it should mean you'll still end up with an ALMOST free bottle of creamer.
To grab the coupon, go to their Facebook page and click the "Free Flavor Friday" tab. You'll see the "get coupon" button and you'll just need to enter your email address to download and print the coupon.
FREE: Bag of Tom's Snacks
Head over to Tom's Snacks Facebook page for a coupon for a FREE Bag ($1.50 value).
FREE Sample: Planters FlavorGrove Almonds
Check out Mr. Peanut's Facebook page on Sunday Feb. 6 at 6pm EST to snag a free sample of their FlavorGrove Almonds.
Grab $10.50 in Arm & Hammer Coupons
Sign up for up to $10.50 in coupons from Arm & Hammer® Clumping Cat Litter. Click Here. These coupons are good on a variety of different A&H products.
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