I'm so glad to see we only have a few more weeks left of winter. I think we did pretty well this year so far with not much snow. We did have a stint of freezing temps, but overall we made out well. Hopefully Spring will be here soon and we'll really get to enjoy it!
This is a big month for us. Our little lovebug turns 6 months tomorrow. I can't believe how fast time has flown! She amazes me more and more each day.
I will be travelling for work this month, my first time away from my family. I know I will be okay and will miss her like crazy. It's a short trip and I'm on the east coast so won't be too bad. I am looking forward to sleeping in a bit though, at least for one morning!
With March I've created some new goals to achieve. Last month I wanted to incorporate a fitness schedule and began using one that was focused on Abs. While it would have been a good challenge if I did other workouts, it just wasn't working for what I eventually wanted to do. This month I am challenging myself to work out 14 times. With my travel schedule, I think 14x is fair since I know I won't workout while I'm away. I am only looking to do 30 minute videos, which is very possible to do. If I do more than 14 times so be it, but my goal is 14. I know this will in turn help me lose weight faster which I would like to do. Baby steps!
My other goal is to not spend more than $50 a week at the supermarket and that includes formula. I will allow myself to carry money over from one week to the next, but this will be tough! I will have to be a bit more strategic with this. I do very well with coupons, but I feel as though I spend frivously while food shopping. I buy it because it's on sale and a I have a coupon, not because it's something we necessarily need. I think this will cut down on our grocery bill a lot. We really only need produce weekly. I stock up on meats when they are on sale. (I'm about $80 away from my free ham or turkey. Not sure what I will select.) I also need to do a better job of eating what we already have in the freezer. We have 2 freezers stocked with stuff that I can make for meals. No excuses to buy more stuff unless it's a necessity. I spent $43 yesterday so I'll take that leftover $7 and use it for next week, giving me $57. I only plan to buy 1 coldcut, milk and produce. We're stocked on cereal, yogurt, canned goods, etc. I'll have to find a very cheap corned beef either at ShopRite or King Kullen but I can hold off on that until at least the following Friday.
This should be a fun challenge!
Showing posts with label coupons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coupons. Show all posts
Monday, March 4, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Happy Tuesday!
I have to say I can't believe that this month is almost over. We have only 8 days left!
This weekend was a whirlwind for sure. My little lovebug had her first cold. She just seemed more uncomfortable than anything. I called the pediatrician to see what we could do to help make her more comfortable and they said the basics - humidier, nasal aspirator, prop up her mattress so it's on an include, saline drops - all because she can't take any medication yet. I had a humidifier in the attic that I had used several times. I pulled it out and set it up in her room. Well it decided to make our fire alarm go off! Aparently our house fire alarm is super sensitive and warm mist makes it go off. (That was so fun at 3:30am!) Needless to say I went and bought a cool mist one the next morning.
After my running around that morning, we took her to her first swim lesson. She did really well and I'm excited for this weekend's class since she won't have her headcold. Following that we went to get our taxes done and all because of the energy credit forms, our taxes could not be submitted yet. Thank you Congress for waiting until the last minute to change things. So we have no clue when we will get our refund. We did learn that Ken was paying too much in federal taxes because he never changed his deductions to married 0. He was still claiming as single 0. This will lessen our tax return next year, but he will also be getting a big chunk of money in his paychecks. We much rather have the money now than wait.
Sunday morning was a big day for us since it was Abby's baptism. We got to the church around 10am and already a lot of our family was there. Following the service we went to the restaurant for a tasty lunch. It was a nice day. I'm so glad I planned her baptism for this weekend. We were both off on Monday which we needed!
Yesterday I was able to sit and relax in the afternoon for a bit. We did some grocery shopping in the morning and did well with coupons again. The total before they swiped my store card and scanned the coupons was $191. After it came to $136. I still never figure out how our bills are so high. We've been good about not buying stuff we don't need. I do know that coldcuts, produce (we get a lot), and meat are the bulk costs, but I don't always buy meat. We also did have a case of beer, but that would have only brought the total to $115. I did buy Allegra so $24 would be alloted for that as well. Some of my coupons included:
$1/2 Diet Pepsi
B1G1 Diet Pepsi
$1/2 Brisk
$.55/1 Sargento Shredded Cheese
$.60/3 Old El Paso items
$.60/3 Old El Paso items ecoupon
$.60/3 Old El Paso items Savings Star
$2/1 70 count or higher Aleve
$2/1 70 count or higher Aleve ecoupon
$2.50 fresh meat department
$.55/1 Friendship Cottage Cheese
$.35/1 Colgate toothpaste
I had others but don't remember them off the top of my head. I got toothpaste for $.31; Aleve for $4.99, 2-liter bottles of soda for $.40 each, Old El Paso items for $.20 each, shredded cheese for $1.40 each, cottage cheese for $1.40, etc. I didn't have any ibotta deals either. I know this stuff will never be free for me, but I definitely want to see an even smaller grocery bill. We'll see what happens next week.
This weekend was a whirlwind for sure. My little lovebug had her first cold. She just seemed more uncomfortable than anything. I called the pediatrician to see what we could do to help make her more comfortable and they said the basics - humidier, nasal aspirator, prop up her mattress so it's on an include, saline drops - all because she can't take any medication yet. I had a humidifier in the attic that I had used several times. I pulled it out and set it up in her room. Well it decided to make our fire alarm go off! Aparently our house fire alarm is super sensitive and warm mist makes it go off. (That was so fun at 3:30am!) Needless to say I went and bought a cool mist one the next morning.
After my running around that morning, we took her to her first swim lesson. She did really well and I'm excited for this weekend's class since she won't have her headcold. Following that we went to get our taxes done and all because of the energy credit forms, our taxes could not be submitted yet. Thank you Congress for waiting until the last minute to change things. So we have no clue when we will get our refund. We did learn that Ken was paying too much in federal taxes because he never changed his deductions to married 0. He was still claiming as single 0. This will lessen our tax return next year, but he will also be getting a big chunk of money in his paychecks. We much rather have the money now than wait.
Sunday morning was a big day for us since it was Abby's baptism. We got to the church around 10am and already a lot of our family was there. Following the service we went to the restaurant for a tasty lunch. It was a nice day. I'm so glad I planned her baptism for this weekend. We were both off on Monday which we needed!
Yesterday I was able to sit and relax in the afternoon for a bit. We did some grocery shopping in the morning and did well with coupons again. The total before they swiped my store card and scanned the coupons was $191. After it came to $136. I still never figure out how our bills are so high. We've been good about not buying stuff we don't need. I do know that coldcuts, produce (we get a lot), and meat are the bulk costs, but I don't always buy meat. We also did have a case of beer, but that would have only brought the total to $115. I did buy Allegra so $24 would be alloted for that as well. Some of my coupons included:
$1/2 Diet Pepsi
B1G1 Diet Pepsi
$1/2 Brisk
$.55/1 Sargento Shredded Cheese
$.60/3 Old El Paso items
$.60/3 Old El Paso items ecoupon
$.60/3 Old El Paso items Savings Star
$2/1 70 count or higher Aleve
$2/1 70 count or higher Aleve ecoupon
$2.50 fresh meat department
$.55/1 Friendship Cottage Cheese
$.35/1 Colgate toothpaste
I had others but don't remember them off the top of my head. I got toothpaste for $.31; Aleve for $4.99, 2-liter bottles of soda for $.40 each, Old El Paso items for $.20 each, shredded cheese for $1.40 each, cottage cheese for $1.40, etc. I didn't have any ibotta deals either. I know this stuff will never be free for me, but I definitely want to see an even smaller grocery bill. We'll see what happens next week.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Lots to learn with couponing
Knowing that CVS was offering a lot of ExtraCare Bucks on certain purchases, I decided to give it a whirl to see how good I would do. My goal was to spend the least amount of money possible. I screwed up and could have saved more, but lesson learned. This stuff takes time. This is what I went in for:
Spend $30 on specific P&G products get $10 ECB
Buy Colgate Optic Whitening get $2.50 ECB
I had coupons for:
$3 off one Gillette cartridge (included in deal) and one razor
$2/2 Pantene products
$1/1 Robitussin
$5 off $25 purchase
I scanned my ExtraCare card when I got into the store and got coupons for:
$1.50 off $5 shampoo, conditioner, styling products (not salon)
$2.50 off Colgate Optic Whitening Toothpaste
I put the following items in my basket:
Gillette cartridge (P&G deal)
Gillette razor
Pepto Bismol (P&G deal)
Robitussin
3 Pantene conditioners (P&G deal)
2 Cadbury eggs
I really should have read the info on the ECB a bit more carefully. I thought I would be able to do this no problem, but it didn't happen that way. I ended up spending about $32 out of pocket. I did end up with some free stuff, but I could have done better. I think my issue was that in my first transaction I only had about $28 toward the P&G ECB deal and the one Gillette razor was not included in that but I had to put it with that to use my coupon. My total came to over $30 and I used the coupons (Gillette, Pantene, $5/$25, $1.50/$5) which brought me to $26 with tax. I had to ring up the Pepto separately so I could get the $10 ECB. I then had them ring up the Robitussin and Cadbury eggs, gave my coupon and had over a $5 credit. I had to get something else so I wouldn't lose the credit so I grabbed the Colgate Optic White toothpaste and then owed about $.67 at the end. I used a colgate coupon but I completely forgot about the $2.50 off coupon I got when I scanned my card! So I could have gotten something else too. I also realize I could have gotten 6 Pantene items and would have hit the $30 and would have been able to use my other Pantene coupons. I didn't need the Gillette things, but got them because of the coupon. I need to strategically plan this out better for next time.
When I got home I had 2 ibotta deals and submitted those too for an additional $2 back. I plan to go back and pick up another Colgate toothpaste and get it for free. I got another ibotta deal for it as well for $1.50.
In the end I still have that $2.50 coupon and also received an additional $5.50 in ECB to use towards my next purchase. I'll see what I can get this week. I already plan to get the Barilla microwaveable meals since I have several $1/1 coupons.
Saving money like this is fun. I enjoy figuring this stuff out! We'll see what happens next time!
Spend $30 on specific P&G products get $10 ECB
Buy Colgate Optic Whitening get $2.50 ECB
I had coupons for:
$3 off one Gillette cartridge (included in deal) and one razor
$2/2 Pantene products
$1/1 Robitussin
$5 off $25 purchase
I scanned my ExtraCare card when I got into the store and got coupons for:
$1.50 off $5 shampoo, conditioner, styling products (not salon)
$2.50 off Colgate Optic Whitening Toothpaste
I put the following items in my basket:
Gillette cartridge (P&G deal)
Gillette razor
Pepto Bismol (P&G deal)
Robitussin
3 Pantene conditioners (P&G deal)
2 Cadbury eggs
I really should have read the info on the ECB a bit more carefully. I thought I would be able to do this no problem, but it didn't happen that way. I ended up spending about $32 out of pocket. I did end up with some free stuff, but I could have done better. I think my issue was that in my first transaction I only had about $28 toward the P&G ECB deal and the one Gillette razor was not included in that but I had to put it with that to use my coupon. My total came to over $30 and I used the coupons (Gillette, Pantene, $5/$25, $1.50/$5) which brought me to $26 with tax. I had to ring up the Pepto separately so I could get the $10 ECB. I then had them ring up the Robitussin and Cadbury eggs, gave my coupon and had over a $5 credit. I had to get something else so I wouldn't lose the credit so I grabbed the Colgate Optic White toothpaste and then owed about $.67 at the end. I used a colgate coupon but I completely forgot about the $2.50 off coupon I got when I scanned my card! So I could have gotten something else too. I also realize I could have gotten 6 Pantene items and would have hit the $30 and would have been able to use my other Pantene coupons. I didn't need the Gillette things, but got them because of the coupon. I need to strategically plan this out better for next time.
When I got home I had 2 ibotta deals and submitted those too for an additional $2 back. I plan to go back and pick up another Colgate toothpaste and get it for free. I got another ibotta deal for it as well for $1.50.
In the end I still have that $2.50 coupon and also received an additional $5.50 in ECB to use towards my next purchase. I'll see what I can get this week. I already plan to get the Barilla microwaveable meals since I have several $1/1 coupons.
Saving money like this is fun. I enjoy figuring this stuff out! We'll see what happens next time!
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