Catching up... AGAIN...

Being down to 1 computer in the house slows down my updates!

Jan 28th

Kroger
10 Kraft shredded cheese 8 oz pkgs ($5 instant savings wyb 10, $0.75 cpns)

Spent $6.85 OOP (That's $0.69 a pkg!)

Jewel
Transaction #1
1 gal milk ($1 cpn)
1 loaf bread (FREE item coupon)
5 Tyson frozen chicken nuggets & patties ($3 sale, $1 cpn, $5 catalina wyb 5)

Spent $1.48 from a gift card. Nothing out of budget.

Transaction #2
5 Tyson frozen chicken nuggets & patties ($3 sale, $1 cpn, $5 catalina wyb 5)

Spent $0.15 using a gift card - none out of budget.


Jan 29th
Wal-Mart
1 Clorox Ready-Mop refills

Spent $2.28 using a gift card & $3.70 cash (out of budget)

Target
10 Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice ($1.99 sale, $1 Target coupon, $1 mfr coupon)
1 Clorox Ready-Mop solution refill

Spent $3.86 cash

Kroger
8 Quaker Rice Quakes (used raincheck for $1 sale, $1 coupon)
10 Hormel chili ($1 sale, $5 instant savings wyb 10, $1.50/3 coupons)

Spent $1.68 cash

Meijer
4 Renu contact solution travel packs ($2.79 sale, $2.50 cpn)
6 Goldfish ($1 sale, $1.50 cpn)
2 cracker sticks ($2.50 sale, $1.50 coupon)
9 Whole Grain Bagel-fuls ($0.52 clearance, $0.50 cpns)

Spent $6.22 cash

Catching up...

So I am a BIT behind on logging my purchases! We are down to one computer right now, so we're all taking turns and playing nice. :-)

1/24/09
Jewel
2 Ltr Cherry 7Up
2 Kraft Singles
1 5 lb clementines
2 lb salad mix
2 lb bananas
5 Tyson chicken nuggets
2 gal milk
4 pkgs chicken breasts
1 something I can't figure out from the receipts :-) $3.99

Spent $4.14 OOP and earned a $5 cat for the Tyson

1/25/09
Kroger #1
30 Quaker rice cakes
3 pies (clearance for $1 each!)
1 danish (clearance for $0.50)

OOP $3.84

Kroger #2
18 Quaker rice cakes

OOP $0.18

1/26/09
Jewel
2 bread
2 gal milk
1 instant rice
2 8 oz shredded cheese
2 3lb apples

Spent $0.55 on gift card. $0.00 OOP

1/27/09
Jewel
5 Tyson chicken nuggets
3 pkgs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 pkg Pub burgers
2 sloppy joe seasoning mixes

Spent $2.62 on gift card. $0.00 OOP

Jewel & Walgreens

I stopped at Walgreens again last night. For 8 jars of peanut butter I spent $12.88, and received another $10 of RR for my next trip. So net effect of $2.88 for 8 jars. I also got 4 bags of chips & 4 dips & 4 cans of cashews for $8.25 after using a $10 RR to pay. I received another $10 RR to use next time.

I also went to Jewel where I purchased 4 packages of boneless, skinless chicken breast (14 lbs), 2 bags french fries, 1 box shake n bake, 2 bagged salad, 2 1/2 lb bananas, & 1 plastic wrap. I spent $1.27 OOP!

Another $9.52 out of my budget!

1/22 Update

I went to Walgreens this morning and got:

4 bags Doritos
1 bag Tostitos
3 Tostito salsa con queso dips
8 jars Skippy Peanut Butter

I spent $26.15 OOP, but received $20 in catalinas to use on my next trip.

I also bought coffee at Wal-Mart on Tuesday and spent $5.62 OOP.

Weekend Shopping Update

Quite a bit of shopping for me over Friday and Saturday.

Schnucks
Ice Melt - $3.59 (not out of my budget)
Glade candle - $1.59 (used $2.50 coupon, netted free)

OOP = $3.07 - none out of my budget

Target
2 bags Doritos ($2 sale, no coupons)
3 pkgs Kotex ($2.79 sale, $2 Target coupon, $1 mfr coupon)

OOP = $3.43 (out of budget)

Jewel
1 party peanuts ($2 sale)
2 Kid Cuisines ($2.19 ea!! special treat for the kids)

Paid with $5 catalina
OOP = $1.44 (out of budget)

Kroger
4 Nabisco Ritz minis ($1 sale, $1 coupon)
1 Nutter Butter bites ($1 sale, $1 coupon)
3 Chicken nuggets ($1 sale, no coupon)
1 Chiquita Bites ($1 sale, $1 coupon)
1 Freeman foot cream ($3.79, FREE coupon)

OOP = $3.39 (out of budget)

Meijer (did multiple transactions b/c my store only doubles 2 of the same coupon per transaction)
1 pint blueberries ($1 sale)
1 pint blackberries ($1 sale)
24 Heinz jarred baby food (3/$0.99 sale, $1/8 coupons)
4 Betty Crocker muffin pouch ($0.81 sale, $0.40 cpn doubled)
1 Betty Crocker muffin box ($1 sale, $1 cpn)
17 Chex Mix ($1 sale, multiple coupon values)
2 Hormel Pepperoni ($1 sale, $0.55 coupon)
1 Dole salad ($1 sale)
3 Betty Crocker frosting ($1.34 sale, $0.40 cpn doubled)
2 - 1/2 lb ground beef ($1.09 & $1.13, used $1 cpns)
2 Hamburger Helper ($1 sale, $0.75/2 coupon)
6 Betty crocker brownie/cake mix ($1 sale, $1 winetags)
6 Betty Crocker Warm delights ($1 sale, $0.50 cpn doubled)
2 Bisquick ($1.99 sale, $1 coupons)
2 Betty Crocker potatoes ($1 sale, $0.40 cpn doubled)
2 Grands biscuits ($1 sale, $0.40 cpn doubled)
2 - 2 Ltr 7up ($1 sale, $0.50 cpn doubled)

OOP = $15.57 (out of budget)
Also earned 140 Bonus Box Tops for my son's school. I should have received 140 more, but there was a problem with the catalina machine. I should receive a call from catalina tomorrow and they should be sending me the other 140 Bonus Box Tops. That will be a total of 280 box tops, which will make my school $28!!

So total over the last couple days I spent $20.44 out of my budget.

General Mills coupons

General Mills will send you a booklet of coupons when you sign up on their website:

Link

These would match great with the next General Mills sale that comes! And don't forget to clip the Box Tops for Education off your packages! Each one is worth $0.10 for a local school!

Fast Fixins deal & coupons

Kroger has Fast Fixins frozen chicken products on sale for $1. They have this every every month or two.

You can get free coupons from the fast fixins website.

Website link

I saw this great deal on Jane4Girls blog. There is a link on the right hand side of the screen towards the bottom. She has great deals on her site! And she's only spending $800 a year on her groceries!

Jan 14th - McDonalds for supper

Even though I had pork stir-fry planned out (meat marinated and everything) we decided to pick up McDonalds for supper. We each got one of the $3 meals (choices of McChicken, McDouble, or Double Cheeseburger) which each include the sandwhich, medium fries, & medium drink. Adam normally gets a large, but I gave each of the kids 1/2 of their fries - so Adam ate part of the extra fry. Spent $13.16 out of the budget.

Jan 14th - 2 More Jewel runs

Made a couple trips to Jewel today. It was the last day of the $15 off $30 purchase deal.

Transaction #1
1 - Doritos
1 - Fritos
6 - Dawn 28 oz
3 - Yoplait kids drinkable yogurt
4 - Cheerios
4 - Trix
1 - Cascadian Farms granola cereal
4 - Cocoa Puffs
1 - Scotch Brite dishwashing sponge refill
2 - Mac & Cheese flavor powder
4 - Fiber One bars

Paid with $50 in cats and $5.64 cash. Earned $45 in catalinas.

Transaction #2
10 - Trix cereal

Paid with $10 in catalinas and $1.15 cash. Earned $15 in catalinas and received a $5 instant savings for a separate General Mills promotion that is running.

Transaction #3
6 - Fiber One bars
3 - Yo-Plus yogurt

Paid with $10 in catalinas and $3.70 cash. Earned $15 in catalinas. Should have received $5 instant saving as well, but didn't get it.

Transaction #4
4 - Yoplait kids yogurt
6 - Yoplait kids drinkable yogurt

Paid with $15 in catalinas and $0.20 cash. Earned $15 in catalinas and should have received $5 instant saving as well, but didn't get it.

So total spending from my budget today was $10.69.

Jan 13th - More Jewel runs

Went to Jewel again today - the deal ends tomorrow!!

Transaction #1
6 - Fiber One bars
4 - Cascadian Farm granola cereal
1 - Fuze drink
1 - Minute Maid orange juice
2 - Coke 6 pks 24 oz bottles
2 - Yoplait Yo-Plus yogurt

Used $25 in catalinas to pay and $1.93 cash. And I earned $30 in catalinas.

Transaction #2
2 - Gold Peak teas
7 - Minute Maid orange juice
1 - Fuze drink
1 - Coke 6 pk 24 oz bottles
3 - Trix cereal
2 - Total cereal
4 - Multigrain Cheerios
1 - Cascadian Farm granola
5 - Fiber One granola bars

Spent $35 in catalinas and $4.03 cash. And I earned $45 in catalinas.

Total spend today - $5.96 cash - which will come out of my budget. I also spent a total of $50 in catalinas and earned $75 in catalinas. So I made $25 profit from my catalinas and only spent $6 in cash - so I netted an earnings of $19 today! These extra catalinas will come in handy when I buy meat, milk & produce - things which rarely have coupons.

Jan 10th - Walgreens

Made a last minute run to Walgreens. Wasn't planning on spending any money, but ran out of balances on my gift cards. Spent $18.13 against my budget. Here's what I got:

4 Flinstones gummy vitamins
2 Triaminic cold medicine
8 Loreal makeup (concealer & concealer sticks)

I received $15 in Register Rewards and will send in for $8 in manufacturer rebates. The register rewards will not be counted back into my budget - I will spend them later, thus spending less out of pocket. When I receive the mfr rebates, I will add $8 back into my budget.

1/9 - Jewel & Walgreens

I went shopping today at Jewel & Walgreens. I used gift cards to pay for all of my purchases, so nothing comes out of my budget today.

I also placed a case lot order at Jewel to purchase items for one of the local food pantries. I am their "personal shopper". I go to the store during big deals like this and special order cases for them. Then I donate my extra coupons and pay for their items. Then I take the receipts to the pantry and they reimburse me for what I've spent. The will be getting 13 cases of cereal (12 boxes per case), 4 cases of Fiber One bars (12 bars per case), 1 case paper towels (30 rolls), 72 tubes of toothpaste. It will cost them $30 and they will have $50 in catalinas leftover in the end! So in the end they will MAKE $20 on these items thanks to coupons!!

1/8 Jewel run...

Yes, Jewel once again... Probably every day between now and the 14th, when the sale ends.

Today's order included:

3 - 6 pks of Coke 24 oz bottles ($2 winetags)
3 - Cheerios ($3/3 peelie coupon)
1 - Cascadian Farms granola ($1 insert coupon)
4 - 8 lb Iams dog food ($5 insert coupons)
3 - 4 pks Yo-Plus yogurt ($1 insert coupons)
5 - 4 pks DanActive yogurt drinks ($1 Avenu savings, $1 insert coupons)
1 - $15 gift card (to use for future purchases)

I paid using $30 in catalinas from previous trips and $22.86 in cash that will come out of my budget. I also earned $45 in catalinas. And I have a $15 gift card to use as well. So the net effect of today's transaction - Spent $52.86 (catalinas & cash) and have $60 to spend (catalinas and gift cards). So I "made" $7.14 today!

1/7 - Carry out dinner

My brother is in town and we had gotten together with my other brother (and wife and 4 kids) for pictures and dinner. We ordered 4 large pizzas from Papa Johns. I have a spirit card that I purchased through a fundraiser - this entitles me to a Buy 1, Get 1 free deal. I found out kind of by mistake that Papa Johns has a $2.50 delivery charge (not to mention whatever you would tip your delivery guy) so I picked it up instead. The total was $33.39. My brother pitched in $15 so $18.39 will come out of my budget for the year.

1/7 - More Jewel fun...

Went to Jewel and did 2 transactions:

Transaction 1
6 Minute Maid OJ 64 oz ($1 off Orange juice winetags)
3 Coke 6pk of 24 oz bottles ($2 off soda winetags)
6 Yo-plus yogurt ($1 insert coupons)
1 fiber One bars ($0.60 internet printable)

Paid with $20 in catalinas from previous shopping trips. Paid $1.86 using a gift card & $3.12 in cash (out of my budget). I earned $30 in catalinas! So the net effect was that I earned $6.88 during this transaction.

Transaction 2
10 Cheerios ($3/3 peelie coupons)
1 Trix ($3/3 peelie coupons)
1 Fiber One cereal ($3/3 peelie coupons)
1 Total cereal ($1/1 peelie coupon)
2 Cascadian Farms granola cereal ($1 off any internet printable)
1 Hershey's syrup

Paid using $15 in catalinas from previous shopping trips. Paid $4.80 in cash (out of my budget). I earned $30 in catalinas! So the net effect was that I earned $10.20 during this transaction!

I call it a GREAT day when I am basically aid $17.08 to shop!! And get free food on top of it! Total spent out of my budget today was $6.66.

1/6/09 - Another Jewel trip

Had dinner guests, so went to Jewel to get bread & wine. Decided to do a run of the $15 off $30 deal as well. Got 3 bags of dog food (8 lbs), 10 cake mixes, 1 single serve bottle of Fuze, 2 bottles of wine, 2 loaves of French bread. I spent $30 in catalinas and $8.14 out of pocket - including the wine! And I earned $30 in catalinas!

1/5/09 - Clearance Baked Goods

I went to Kroger to go "peelie hunting" and picked up a couple baked goods clearance items. Spent $1.52 total.

Free croutons at Schnucks

Schnucks has New York style croutons on sale 10 for $10. There are $0.50 coupons from newspaper inserts. Schnucks doubles coupons up to $0.50, so I only paid tax! $0.06 for 11 packages of croutons! These should make great salads for a few months!

Jewel $15 off $30 purchase

Jewel has a great catalina promotion going on right now. Buy $30 worth of participating products, get (3) $5 catalinas to use on your next purchase. I did 2 orders of Iams dog food, paying only the $2.25 in tax. I also picked up a fried chicken meal for dinner and a bag of chips.

A lot of times I will do deals like this multiple times during each store visit. Usually the out of pocket expense is small amounts. To avoid the multiple small charges coming across my bank account, I also purchased a $10 gift card. I have not used any of the gift card left, so there is $10 still waiting for my next shopping trip.

I also have $15 in catalinas left to use next time.

Total spent from my budget today: $16.95

Free batteries at Target!

Target has Rayovac batteries in the "Dollar Spot" area. These are marked down to $0.25 a pack at my store (75% off). In the 11/23 Smartsource coupon insert there are $1 off 2 pks of Rayovac coupons. I used 1 coupon for every 4 packs and got them for tax only!

I bought 44 packs of batteries for $0.75!!

I also bought some stocking stuffers for next year that were marked down 75%. Those totaled $1.42.

So I spent a total of $2.17 out of my grocery budget today.

A Couple Interesting Blogs

Just passing along a couple other blogs from fellow couponers.

$1800 annual budget
http://retirewithcoupons.blogspot.com/

$800 annual budget
http://jane4girls800dollarannualbudget.blogspot.com/

2009 Challenge

So I notice I haven't posted in MONTHS! Having a newborn will do that to a person!

I've made a New Year's resolution to keep up my blog this year.

In addition, I have set myself an ANNUAL grocery budget of $2000 for 2009. This will include groceries, diapers, dog food, restaurant eating out/ordering in, toiletries, toilet paper - basically everything.

I will start the year with numerous gift cards, catalinas, and Register Rewards. Here is a summary:

• Walgreens Register Rewards $38 (can also be used at Jewel)
• $25 gift certificate to Wings Etc
• $92.99 Walgreens gift cards
• $4.78 Subway gift card
• $20 Chuck E Cheese gift card
• $35 Darden gift card (Red Lobster, Olive Garden)
• $4 Kmart gift card
• $7.07 Starbucks gift card
• $5 TGI Fridays gift card
  

I'll work on keeping my blog updated to record my progress!

Hope everyone has a happy new year!