My Savings in 2011

I was curious just how much I saved by shopping sales and using coupons this year so I went back and looked at my Monthly Spending Summaries and did the math. Here is how much I saved each month with both coupons and sales:

January: $551.47
February: $624.50
March: $554.15
April: $410.34
May: $265.12
June: $405.28
July: $206.80
August: $265.95
September: $461.74
October: $330.18
November: $525.66
December: $209.70

That comes to a total of $4810.89!

Add in the rebates (including Rite Aid Single Check Rebates) that I got and I saved over $5,000. So yes, I'm still sold on couponing, just in case you were wondering!

Weekly Spending Summary

I did very little shopping this week. The deals just weren't amazing enough to lure me out and besides we were away most of the week with family too. Other than a small Giant trip that I did I also went to Walmart and got a few things including some grocery items. But I had a gift card that I used for that purchase (I had gotten it with a package of samples etc. for new moms when I purchased something at Motherhood Maternity a while back) so it didn't even count against my grocery budget.

Giant: $1.00
Saved with Coupons: $1.00
Saved with Sales: $1.79

I went to Giant primarily to get some things for the food pantry I shop for. While I was there I decided to buy some WisPride spreadable cheese since it was on sale and I had a coupon.

Weekly Spending Summary

I did more shopping this week than I had expected to but I still think I'll be able to stay under budget for the month/year. My favorite deal this week was the $0.50 Dole canned fruit at Giant. We use mandarin oranges a lot in lettuce salads and this is quite a bit cheaper than what I pay for them at Aldi!

Total Spent: $39.22
Total Saved with Coupons: $38.52
Total Saved with Sales: $24.70
Total Saved: $63.22

CVS: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $2.75
Saved with Sales: $1.20

I had a gift card that I had earned through a previous deal at CVS that I used to pay for this purchase. Otherwise my out of pocket would have been $4.23. The Fiber One bars were a rain check item from the Black Friday sale. Don't they look good? Not that I need more calories right now! :)

Rite Aid: $3.10
Saved with Coupons: $14.00
Saved with Sales: $12.13

Actually, I also purchased a package of Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies to give to Logan's Sunday School teacher and I didn't think to include them on the picture.

Giant: $24.56
Saved with Coupons: $21.77
Saved with Sales: $11.37

Loved stocking up on canned fruit for $0.50/can this week! I also used several FREE product coupons that I had that were expiring 12/31/11. I got the Heluva cheese, Wholly salsa and Treasure Cave feta cheese free that way.

I ended up doing a second Giant trip because my dear hubby was wishing for hot apple cider mix to drink over Christmas. So since we have a Giant just 4 blocks away I decided to do a quick run and get that along with some more Dole fruit.

I also bought 2 large packages of paper plates to take to our family Christmas get together. I failed to remember to add them to the picture. :(

Aldi: $11.56
Just a few things that I needed...

Weekly Spending Summary

Finally getting last week's spending summary posted.

Total Spent: $14.91
Total Saved with Coupons: $42.47
Total Saved with Sales: $15.89
Total Saved: $58.36

CVS: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $30.97
Saved with Sales: $9.50

I used a gift card that I had gotten from a previous CVS promotion to pay for this. Had I not used a gift card to pay for this purchase I would have spent $1.97 out of pocket. I had a FREE product coupon for the Pampers that I got as part of CVS' Buy 6 diapers get one FREE promotion.

Giant: $13.91
Saved with Coupons: $11.50
Saved with Sales: $6.39

I thought I did pretty good at Giant this week...lots of stuff for not too much money.

Misc: $1.00

Weekly Spending Summary

Not too bad of a week. I was happy that I didn't have more out of pocket expense as I'm really trying to keep my spending to a minimum this month so I don't go over budget for the year!

Total Spent: $19.43
Total Saved with Coupons: $59.86
Total Saved with Sales: $25.47
Total Saved: $85.33

CVS: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $28.06
Saved with Sales: $2.50

I had a $5/$30 CVS coupon that was emailed to me that I used on this purchase.

Bought:
* Huggies $9.49
- $3/1 CVS printable coupon
- $2/1 coupon from newspaper inserts

* Candy Canes $1.27

* Buy $20 of select products get $10 Extra Bucks- included were these items
(2) Schick razors $8.19
Skintimate Shave Gel 3.89
- Buy One Get One Free Shick coupon ($8.19)
- $2/1 Schick razor coupon from newspaper inserts
- $1/1 Skintimate coupon from newspaper inserts

Paid: $9.84- used Extra Bucks and gift card to pay

Got back:
$1 Extra Buck for Huggies purchase
$1.27 for Candy Canes purchase
$10 Extra Bucks for Schick/Skintimate purchase

So this was a moneymaker of $2.43 for me!

Rite Aid: $2.14
Saved with Coupons: $19.00
Saved with Sales: $14.90

The Oral-B toothbrush was a rain check item.

Giant: $7.29
Saved with Coupons: $12.80
Saved with Sales: $8.07

I had a FREE product coupon for the Yoplait yogurt- not sure where it came from anymore since I've had it for a long time. I also had a FREE product coupon for the milk. I got that coupon as part of a cereal promotion that Giant ran a couple of weeks ago. And I'm excited that I'll get back $0.73 on this purchase thanks to Endorse.

I also purchased 2 5lb. bags of potatoes that didn't make it on the picture.

On a side note, we've gotten rather addicted to Stash's Vanilla Chai tea! (And it's even decaf!) I make my own latte sort of drink with it. I fill a coffee mug half full of milk, then the rest of the way with water, heat it and then steep my tea in that, add some sugar and yum- it's awesome and lots cheaper than going to a coffee shop!

Misc.: $10.00
This is for milk at a local dairy.

Weekly Spending Summary

A rather normal week in my world of grocery shopping. :)

Total Spent: $32.42
Total Saved with Coupons: $42.22
Total Saved with Sales: $14.17
Total Saved: $56.39

CVS: $0 ($0.25 spare change)
Saved with Coupons: $35.72
Saved with Sales: $12.67

I explained how I did this shopping trip here.

Rite Aid: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $4.00
Saved with Sales: $1.50

I didn't even bother to take a picture of this purchase because the only thing I bought was St. Joseph's aspirin. I was going to get a couple of other things but they were out of stock. Made me glad I was already on a walk going right by the store and didn't make a special trip!

I had a gift card that I got for returning some things they rang up incorrectly. I used that to pay for this purchase otherwise my out of pocket would have been $0.99.

Walmart: $2.45Saved with Coupons: $2.50

I had a $10 American Express gift card that I had earned through a deal at CVS that I used to pay for part of this purchase. I was excited to get some inexpensive foil by using this coupon. And the beans are to cook up my own "canned" beans.
I needed some new yogurt to use as starter for homemade yogurt. I'm always appalled at how expensive bought yogurt is when I need to buy it!

Aldi: $17.97


Misc.: $12.00
Cash for produce at market and items at local bulk food stores.

Weekly Spending Summary

Thanks mostly to Black Friday sales, this was a fun week of shopping. Just check out the amount I saved this week! It was fun to get some amazing deals and my CVS Black Friday run which I did Thanksgiving morning was pure fun. I expected to maybe have to deal with a lot of other shoppers but it really wasn't that busy. I ran into quite a few other couponers and had fun chatting with them. We were all enjoying the deals and it was fun helping each other find stuff.

Total Spent: $30.80
Total Saved with Coupons: $147.85
Total Saved with Sales: $72.48
Total Saved: $220.33

CVS: $0 (gift card)

Saved with Coupons: $81.04
Saved with Sales: $29.79

My Extra Bucks covered the total amount for this purchase. I bought the Pledge with a rain check.

This was my fun Black Friday purchase- talk about getting a bunch of stuff for free! It reminded me of how my regular shopping trips to CVS used to be back before this whole couponing this was so popular and the deals got to be not quite as good.

I used a gift card to pay for this purchase but my out of pocket would have been $4.99. I made around $15 on these things!

Rite Aid: $2.08 (used $0.06 spare change)
Saved with Coupons: $36.11
Saved with Sales: $25.32

I purchased the Zicam with a rain check. The other items were free or moneymakers after coupons and rebates.

This was my Black Friday purchase.

Giant: $26.82
Saved with Coupons: $30.70
Saved with Sales: $17.37

I was about ready to give up couponing today! Not only did I have issues at Rite Aid with the rain check I wanted to use but then at Giant two of my catalinas didn't print! They gave me gift cards for the amounts of the catalinas which was almost nicer than having the catalina itself but it was still a huge hassle and time eater.

The $26.82 was for the 3 packs of Huggies and the package of wipes. I got back $15 in catalina coupons to use on another order (well, some of that was gift cards as I mentioned above) and I'll also get back $2.00 via Saving Star and $3.00 via Endorse. I got the turkey free as part of Giant's free turkey promotion.

I also bought some food later on in the week for a family get together we had in MD over the weekend and I didn't get a picture taken of it since we were gone while I bought it. It was milk, some cereal, ice cream and a few other random things and I used the $15 in gift cards from the previous purchase to pay for it. As I was being rung up that the cashier had deducted a $2 coupon and a $4.50 (a coupon for free milk) twice. I brought it to her attention and she said she wasn't going to worry about it. I'm never quite sure what to do about it because it feels like the store is being cheated, but at the same time I don't want to argue and haggle with the cashier and get them annoyed either!

Misc. $1.90
For a bulk food store purchase.

Weekly Spending Summary

Good news- I got another camera! And I LOVE it. But I only got it on Friday so there are only a couple of pictures in this post. But hopefully from now on we'll be back to normal.

This was a fairly low spending week, which is a good thing since I don't have much left to spend this month. I'm really trying to do better at keeping track of where I am since I'm a little over budget for the year and I realized I was getting a little lax with watching my spending.

Total Spent: $37.88
Total Saved with Coupons: $57.50
Total Saved with Sales: $32.38
Total Saved: $89.88

Rite Aid: $3.34
Saved with Coupons: $1.00
Saved with Sales: $1.29

This was a bit of a frustrating trip. I have a bunch of rain checks so I decided to go to the Rite Aid store downtown instead of my usual store since they tend to have things in stock more often. But unfortunately, they were out of stock on everything as well. And I discovered that they get a truck on Tues. (I shopped on Mon.) so if I had only waited a day I could have probably gotten most of my items. Then at the register the cashier got talking to me about my pregnancy and I totally forgot about using UPRewards to pay! Oh well, I will use them up another time, still I wish I would have remembered.

Bought:
Crest toothpaste $2.99
Orbit gum: $1.00

Coupons Used:
- $0.25 Rite Aid Video Values for Orbit
- $0.75 Crest

Got Back:
$2.99 Rite Aid Single Check Rebate (for Crest)
$1.00 UPReward good on next purchase (from Orbit)

So this was actually a moneymaker of $0.65!


CVS: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $34.50
Saved with Sales: $12.97

Had I not used a gift card for this purchase I would have spent $0.39.

Bought:
2 Pampers @ $9.50 ea.
Purex detergent $1.99
Jif Peanut Butter $2.50 (bought with rain check)
Schick Quatro razor $8.99 (bought with rain check)
Gillette Fusion shaving gel $2.37

Coupons Used:
- $2/2 Pampers
- FREE ($9.50) Pampers CVS coupon (when you buy 6 packages you get a coupon for a free pack)
- $1 Purex
- $5 Schick
- $1 Gillette
- $16 Extra Bucks

Got Back:
$2 Extra Bucks (for Pampers purchase)
$3 Extra Bucks (for JIF purchase)
$4 Extra Bucks (for Schick purchase)
$2 Extra Bucks (for Gillette purchase)
$1 Extra Bucks (for using my own bag and scanning Green Bag tag)

Giant: $30.55
Saved with Coupons: $22.00
Saved with Sales: $18.12

Well, once again I spent more at Giant than I had originally thought I would. What are you to do when you have coupons expiring, there are sales on those exact items and you can get them for a really good price even if you don't need them RIGHT now. But it's items you use all the time? And what about if you realize that if you spend $3 more (than your normal buy price) on a couple of items that you use everyday that you can get a free 20 lb. turkey? Well, those were my dilemmas. So I decided to go for it.

Bought:
4 Gold Medal Flours @ $2.50 ea.
2 5lb. potatoes @ $3.99 total
6 Breakstone's Sour Cream @ $1.66 ea.
2 Cool Whip @ $1.00 ea.
3 Domino's Brown Sugar 2lb. @ $1.89 ea.
1 Domino Confectioner's Sugar 2lb. @ $1.89
2 Kraft Cream Cheese @ $1.50 ea.
4 Kraft Shredded Cheese 8 oz. $3.00
1 Cracker Barrel Shredded Cheese 8 oz. $3.00
Coupons Used:
- 4 $0.50 Gold Medal (doubled to $1.00)
- 3 $1/2 Breakstone's
- 2 $0.75 Cool Whip (doubled to $1.00)
- 4 $0.50 Domino's (doubled to $1.00)
- 4 $1.50 Kraft Shredded Cheese
- 1 Free Product ($3.00) Cracker Barrel

Will Get Back:
Free 20lb. Turkey$0.70 on Gold Medal flour via Endorse

Sharp Shopper: $0.99
I had to run into this store to get some things for someone else and decided to grab a bottle of 100% OJ while there. I love that I can almost always find OJ for less than $1.00 at Sharp Shopper.

Misc.: $3.00
I used a credit I had and bought a Double Take Deal for A Loaf of Bread, a local bread store. And let me tell you, that was some delicious bread! (I also bought a small cookie but it was consumed before I got the picture taken.) :)

Weekly Spending Summary

Good news- I should have a camera in a week which means that these posts will once again contain pictures! And I know the pictures pretty much make this post in many ways.

I spent more this week than I thought I would but it was partly due to the fact that I had to make dessert for 150 people for a church function. This coming week looks like it will be a lower spending week which has me excited!

Total Spent: $71.46
Total Saved with Coupons: $68.65
Total Saved with Sales: $42.94
Total Saved: $111.59

CVS: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $16.10
Saved with Sales: $7.67

I used a gift card that we earned through our credit card to pay for this purchase. I bought some Shout, peanut butter, greeting cards (free after Extra Bucks) and an iron supplement that I had a rain check for.

Rite Aid: $7.86
Saved with Coupons: $17.50
Saved with Sales: $15.11

I started out with $2.80 on a Rite Aid gift card and $1 UPReward. I ended up with $12 in UPRewards.

I purchased 4 toothpastes, 2 deodorants, 1 Stayfree pads, 1 Blistex lip balm and 2 Arm & Hammer laundry detergent.

Giant: $16.26
Saved with Coupons: $20.19
Saved with Sales: $1.26

Since you don't have a picture of this stuff, I thought I'd do something different this week and do a breakdown of my transactions. Here's what I bought and the coupons I used.

2 Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce $2.19 ea.
2 Huggies Jumbo Pack Diapers $9.99 ea.
1 Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup $0.97
1 Bigelow Chai Tea $2.50
2 Giant Big Paper Towel Rolls $1.00 ea.
1 Minute Maid Orange Juice $2.50

Coupons Used:
- $8/$40 Giant
- $2 off Total Giant
- $1 Sweet Baby Ray's
- $2.19 (FREE Product coupon) Sweet Baby Ray's
- (2) $1.50 Huggies
- $1 Minute Maid
- (2) $1 any paper towel Giant coupon
- $1 any soup Giant coupon

I actually bought another Huggies diaper package but I am giving it as a gift so it doesn't get recorded under grocery. However, because I bought 3 packs of diapers I got a catalina coupon for $7 off my next purchase and another coupon for $5 off my next purchase! And I'll also be getting a $1 rebate via Saving Star for the Sweet Baby Ray's.

Weis: $8.35
Saved with Coupons: $14.86
Saved with Sales: $18.90

I got some Fleischman's yeast (free after coupons), Sargento cheese ($1.00/8oz.), Chicken Broth ($0.25/carton), trash bags, and a Weis pie crust (moneymaker after coupons).

Sharp Shopper: $3.01
I bought some hash browns and feta cheese.

Misc.: $15.98 + $20 cash
Some random things I bought for a meal I needed to take to church and also cash to buy food at the bulk food store.

Weekly Spending Summary

A week with a bit more spending again. And another week with a picture-less post. :(

Total Spent: $55.96
Total Saved with Coupons: $33.22
Total Saved with Sales: $14.25
Total Saved: $47.47

CVS: $0
Saved with Coupons: $7.48
Saved with Sales: $4.49

I bought two Listerine's, Puffs tissues, and a coffee drink (which I had a free coupon for).

Rite Aid: $0
Saved with Coupons: $25.74
Saved with Sales: $9.76

Actually my total was $0.02 but the cashier said she'd just use some spare change she had at the register to pay that. :) I bought some gum, cough drops, Kashi cereal, kid's cold medication and two kinds of aspirin. (Later I realized that the cashier hadn't done my rain checks properly and I actually was overcharged around $0.40, but I figure it's not worth running back to the store for that!)

Aldi: $31.51

I bought a bunch of things including sour cream, coconut, beans, corn chips and more.

Misc.: $24.45
- Bought 5 lbs. of cheese and also got out cash for produce and things at the bulk food store.

Weekly Spending Summary

This was kind of a wild week as far as my grocery spending goes. Of the 3 places I shopped, I only actually really "spent" money at one. Again, a no-picture post thanks to my camera acting fluky, but I did try to give details from each store to help you understand what I bought.

Total Spent: $20.00
Total Saved with Coupons: $43.99
Total Saved with Sales: $12.29
Total Saved: $56.28

CVS: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $19.99
Saved with Sales: $1.57

Bought some cosmetic items, 2 bottles of CVS vanilla extract, CVS candy corn and a package of Huggies diapers. CVS is running a promotion right now that when you buy 6 packages of diapers you get a coupon to get the 7th free. I had earned one of those coupons several weeks ago and used it to get a pack of diapers free today.

Rite Aid: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $2.00
Saved with Sales: $0.80

I had a Rite Aid gift card that I had gotten from returning some things a couple of weeks other. I used that to pay for this purchase otherwise my total would have been $1.27. I bought a deodorant and that was it. I got back $2 in UPRewards and I'll also get a $1 Single Check Rebate, so I actually made $1.73 on this!

They were out of the other things I wanted. I have a whole slew of rain checks to use, but so far they are still out of stock on those items. It's getting rather frustrating!

Giant: $0
Saved with Coupons: $22.00
Saved with Sales: $9.92

My total was actually $0.05 but I just used a nickel that I had in my wallet to pay. I had a $10 off-your-next-purchase coupon that I had earned a couple of weeks back during a promotion Giant was running. I used this to pay for my purchase today.

If you could see my freezer right now you would probably laugh. I have so much ice cream from all the ice cream deals lately! It makes this ice cream lover happy. :) At Giant this time I was able to buy 6 Green's ice cream for only $1 each. When ice cream is that price I try to stock up and it's so handy to have ice cream in the freezer for a quick snack when friends come over...or just to eat for the fun of it.

Misc.: $20.00
- Used this to buy things at a local bulk food store.

Weekly Spending Summary

I know that I have some new readers and so I thought it was a good time to once again explain why I do these Weekly Spending Summaries. To be honest, in some ways it can feel rather vulnerable to let you see how we spend our money. But I do these posts because I want to show you just how much using coupons, watching sales, and playing "the drugstore game" can actually save you.

These posts are not meant to be discouraging to you if you spend more than I do. I realize that we all have different grocery/household needs and varying amounts of time and energy to give to this whole money saving thing. But rather I hope to encourage you to do what you can. And if you have questions about my transactions etc., please feel free to ask. I will be more than happy to try to explain and teach you what I have learned!

And I also feel like to be honest, I have to admit that these Weekly Spending Summary posts are partly for my benefit. See, if I have to post what I am spending it helps me stay more accountable. And it also makes for an easy way to keep track of our grocery budget. So I admit, my reason for posting them is partly selfish. :)
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I didn't do too bad this week, which is good considering I've been spending quite a bit lately!

Once again, this a "no picture" post unfortunately since my camera still is acting fluky and not letting download the pictures that are on it. I'm really sorry since I know that to truly benefit from these posts you kind of need pictures. I'm looking for a new camera now and hope to have a new one in several weeks.

Total Spent: $25.26
Total Saved with Coupons: $71.49
Total Saved with Sales: $63.86
Total Saved: $135.35

CVS: $1.24
Saved with Coupons: $36.99
Saved with Sales: $21.50

This was an awesome week for me at CVS. I had a raincheck for Airwick airfreshner so I bought that then I bought 4 packages of Pampers diapers as well and with buying 4 of those I got a $10 American Express Visa card to use on future purchases!

One thing to note, if you don't already, be sure to scan your Extra Care card at the little coupon scanner when you go into the store. I keep getting Pampers coupons and $3/$15 Baby Care Purchase coupons which can be combined with manufacturer coupons as well. These coupons have helped me get some great deals on diapers lately.

Rite Aid: $6.45
Saved with Coupons: $25.00
Saved with Sales: $21.63

Mostly bought a bunch of cold care items that were free or moneymakers after coupons and Rite Aid Single Check Rebates.

Giant: $17.57
Saved with Coupons: $9.50
Saved with Sales: $20.73

I bought some Turkey Hill ice cream, peanut butter and Wisk laundry detergent.

Weekly Spending Summary

Total Spent: $5.88
Total Saved with Coupons: $27.37
Total Saved with Sales: $21.87
Total Saved: $49.24

Rite Aid: $0 (Visa gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $23.37
Saved with Sales: $14.77

I had earned a Visa gift card through a rebate. I used this to pay for my purchase.

Giant: $4.50
Saved with Coupons: $3.00
Saved with Sales: $7.10

Target: $1.38
Saved with Coupons: $1.00

This was for 2 dozen eggs.

Aldi: $5.77

Sharp Shopper: $5.47
- Got some more inexpensive cheese and orange juice!

Weekly Spending Summary

My camera is still not working...so I apologize for a "no picture" post!

Total Spent: $72.01
Total Saved with Coupons: $63.29
Total Saved with Sales: $26.02
Total Saved: $89.31

CVS: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $14.79
Saved with Sales: $5.70

I had a $4/$20 purchase coupon that I used. The Rephresh tampons were bought with a rain check.

Rite Aid: $1.78
Saved with Coupons: $23.00
Saved with Sales: $6.15

The Bayer aspirins were bought with a rain check.

Giant: $24.29
Saved with Coupons: $19.50
Saved with Sales: $14.17

I did a deal where if you bought $25 worth of certain freezer items you got a $10 catalina coupon to use on your next shopping trip. So while my out of pocket was rather high I'm hoping that in the next two weeks I'll be able to score some great deals and use my $10 catalina coupon to pay for them.

Save-A-Lot: $14.12
Saved with Coupons: $5.00

I bought some things for my mother-in-law so my total before coupons was actually $25. I then had a $5/$25 coupon that I used. Aldi had eggs on sale for $1.00 which is the cheapest I'd seen in a long time. I was pretty excited until I went to Aldi afterward only to see eggs there for $0.94! They had just been $1.50 there! Oh well, you win some and you lose some. And actually after my $5 coupon, I guess they were still a bit cheaper at Save-A-Lot.

Target: $2.75
Saved with Coupons: $1.00

Springville Foods: $7.59

Creekside Food Outlet: $4.98

Misc.: $16.50
I got a bushel of grapes to make into grape juice.

Weekly Spending Summary

Okay, so this is frustrating. I've been trying since Monday to get my computer to let me download pictures off my camera to no avail. I've been having some issues with my laptop and this has convinced me that it is time to take it somewhere to get it looked at.

Anyway, I guess you'll have to deal with a no-pictures post. I'm sorry!

Total Spent: $58.82
Total Saved with Coupons: $72.89
Total Saved with Sales: $58.71
Total Saved: $131.60

Rite Aid: $34.98
Saved with Coupons: $45.00
Saved with Sales: $35.29

I bought 4 packs of diapers, two 12 packs of Scott toilet paper, 2 tubes of toothpaste and 1 box of Kleenex. My out of pocket was high because I did a deal where I got $20 in UPRewards for purchasing certain items. I debated for a bit whether or not it was worth it, but finally decided that it was, even though my out of pocket would be somewhat high initially.

CVS: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $15.69
Saved with Sales: $8.97

Had I not had a gift card my out of pocket would have been $11.31. I don't like to have my out of pocket be that high and had planned to buy a few other things and roll the Extra Bucks from those purchases towards this diaper purchase, but unfortunately the CVS I went to was out of the things I had wanted to get. So I decided to go ahead anyway since I still got a great deal on diapers- I got $10 Extra Bucks for purchasing these 3 packs.

Giant: $10.88
Saved with Coupons: $12.20
Saved with Sales: $14.45

The yogurt and tuna were free after coupons. The flour (4 bags) I purchased with a rain check from last week. I had planned to wait to get more until Oct. since I had just gotten some and I'm struggling to stay under budget this month. But much to my chagrin, the flour I bought last week was buggy. Yes, buggy. The gross thing is that I made some biscuits with it before I noticed it too. :(

Sharp Shopper: $12.96

I don't often shop at discount groceries partly because I don't often go near one and partly because with using coupons I can often get things cheaper than I can buy them there. But since the local Mom's Group that attend is near Sharp Shopper I thought I'd stop occasionally and see what deals I can find.

I was pretty impressed with the deals I got and decided that if I ever stop couponing I think I should shop there along with Aldi.

I found eggs for $1.30/doz. (cheaper than Aldi's $1.50!), low-fat cream cheese for $0.50/block (I don't use this in baking but it works great for my Cream Cheese Potato Soup), sharp cheddar cheese (our favorite!) for just a little over $2.00/lb., organic orange juice for $0.99/gal. and a big bottle of French dressing for $0.99 (have had a hard time finding good deals on this with coupons).

Weekly Spending Summary

Finally after weeks of spending too much, I had a week where my out of pocket was incredibly low even though I actually did purchase quite a bit.

I bought some fresh fruit and other things at the bulk food store this week, however I didn't list that below because I used grocery money cash to pay or it.

Total Spent: $8.20
Total Saved with Coupons: $87.84
Total Saved with Sales: $19.05
Total Saved: $106.89

CVS: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $16.98
Saved with Sales: $1.20

Had I not used a gift card to purchase this I would have paid $0.82 out of pocket. I had a $3/$15 Baby Care purchase coupon that excluded diapers so I used it to get nursing pads. The Dawn was bought with a rain check. I've been getting rather frustrated because it seems like CVS is out of stock on so many sale items recently. I ended up having to get a bunch of rain checks once again this week. :(

Giant: $5.82
Saved with Coupons: $7.19
Saved with Sales: $2.49

I charged $2.54 of my bill to a Visa gift card that I received as part of a Kellogg's promotion. So actually my bill was a bit more than the $5.82

Rite Aid: $0 (spare change)
Saved with Coupons: $57.75
Saved with Sales: $14.20

I had two $20 UPRewards that I used to pay for these things. The Prevacid was a rain check item from last week (and should be a moneymaker after a mail-in rebate) and the GUM Perio-Balance was a $5 moneymaker after coupons (the only reason I bought it!). I also purchased a package of Pampers wipes that is not pictured. I got it free after a FREE product coupon. Was fun to have a really good week at Rite Aid again!

Walmart: $0 (Visa gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $3.00

I have a couple of Visa gift cards that I earned as part of a cereal rebate that I used to pay for this purchase. Had I not used that, my out of pocket would have been $5.24.

Target: $2.38
Saved with Coupons: $2.92
Saved with Sales: $1.16

I was excited to finally find a store that carried the small bottles of Simply Orange for less than $1! I had $1 coupons that were close to expiring and since I was in Target for some other things I decided to check and see what they had them priced at. I also noticed that eggs there were only $1.19/doz. Aldi's price right now is $1.50 so I was happy to find some that cheap!

Weekly Spending Summary

I spent more this week than I had hoped, but there were things I needed and I also stocked up on flour and sugar at great prices which will help me out later.

Total Spent: $75.84
Total Saved with Coupons: $43.43
Total Saved with Sales: $51.15
Total Saved: $94.58

CVS: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $17.43
Saved with Sales: $20.09

I would have spent $10.00 out of pocket for this had I not used a gift card to pay for this purchase. I actually made a couple of dollars by buying the Airwick and Finish. Of course that was fun!

Rite Aid: $0.84
Saved with Coupons: $8.00
Saved with Sales: $7.18


Giant: $20.64
Saved with Coupons: $8.00
Saved with Sales: $9.19

I actually purchased 4 Giant brand cream cheese, 8 more pastas and one Heluva Good cheese as well. I thought I had taken a picture of that, but apparently I didn't!

The Planters were free after a FREE product coupon that a gentleman gave me the other day. He saw me using coupons and handed me some that he said he didn't want. Not sure why you wouldn't want free peanuts, but hey, I'll take them!

Weis: $9.49
Saved with Coupons: $10.00
Saved with Sales: $14.69

The chips were $0.49 each and the cereal $0.50 each. I actually was overcharged for the cereal- long story- and when they gave me my credit they gave it to me in cash. So my out of pocket still shows more here than I actually paid.

Aldi: $13.55


Centerville: $22.47


Millers Natural Foods: $8.85
I bought 10 lbs. of raw sugar.

Weekly Spending Summary

Total Spent: $24.94
Total Saved with Coupons: $39.00
Total Saved with Sales: $33.20
Total Saved: $72.20

CVS: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $24.47
Saved with Sales: $11.98

Had I not had a CVS gift card to pay for this purchase, my out of pocket would have been $5.06.

This was a pretty fun trip. I had two coupons from the CVS coupon machine- one for $3/$15 Baby Care purchase and one or $1/1 Pampers Jumbo pack. I also had a $5/$25 coupon that was emailed to me. I used manufacturer coupons for the Huggies and Pampers as well as the two coupons from the CVS coupon machine, which really helped bring my out of pocket down. And I ended up getting $6.99 back in Extra Bucks.

I bought the Bengay with a rain check.

On a side note, I've been waiting to do my CVS trips until Thurs. or Fri. since almost every week I get a coupon for $4/20, $3/$15 or $5/$25 emailed to me. Usually with what I planned to buy I can hit that amount so it makes it really worth it. And this is where my rain checks come in handy. If I'm a little short on hitting the out of pocket that I need to spend to be able to use my coupon, I simply use one of my rain checks to buy something to get my total up.

Rite Aid: $0
Saved with Coupons: $5.00
Saved with Sales: $12.86

I had a rain check for the Oxi-Clean making it free. I've never tried it before so I'm anxious to see what I think. I figured for free I couldn't go wrong!

Giant: $3.08
Saved with Coupons: $5.15
Saved with Sales: $2.44

I had a FREE product coupon for the Cottonelle wipes. Thanks to two Giant store coupons that printed out from the catalina machine a few weeks ago, the Ginger Ale was a $0.25 money maker and Dial soap cost me $0.19.

The Giant coupons I had were for $1.50 off any Health and Beauty purchase and $1 off any carbonated beverage purchase. I'm really hoping to get more of those kinds of coupons!

Darrenkamp's: $12.86
Saved with Coupons: $4.38
Saved with Sales: $5.92

Got eggs for $0.79- a great price any more around here! And just so you know I'm not always a total tightwad, I'll tell you about those chips you see. I was shopping and it was close to lunch time. I saw a display of $0.99 chips and they looked so good and suddenly I was craving them like crazy. We were going to have sandwiches for lunch, so I decided to splurge and buy a small bag of chips. Every now and then I get tired of always being so careful about what I spend and how and it's kind of fun to just buy something for the fun of it!

Expressly Local Food: $0 (used $0.85 spare change)

This was kind of a dud deal in some ways. I had seen a daily deal on Living Social for a voucher for $20 of food at this place for only $10. I had a $10 credit so I figured I might as well get it and I figured I'd use it to get a bunch of raw sugar and then maybe some produce etc. All that they sell is organic and all-natural so I figured I'd be eating healthy too. :)

Well, it turns out that I didn't read the fine print close enough. The voucher was for $20 of PRODUCE, not anything else. That's not all bad, but $20 buys a lot of produce even at a store where the prices are rather exorbitant! But what could I do but go ahead and get some produce. The annoying thing was I had just bought lettuce, apples and potatoes and my in-laws had given us a bunch of peaches too. So we have been eating lots and lots of fruit and potatoes around here! Oh well, at least it's rather healthy stuff. And yes, it was also a good reminder to read the fine print more closely!

Misc.: $9.00
I got cash out to pay for produce at market.

Weekly Spending Summary

Total Spent: $37.09
Total Saved with Coupons: $40.16
Total Saved with Sales: $16.31
Total Saved: $56.47

CVS: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $9.00
Saved with Sales: $3.00


I had a rain check for the Bic Soleil Shimmer razor. Both stores that I frequent had been out of the razors since they were on sale back at the beginning of August. My coupon for it expired but one of the managers assured me that they would honor it anyway when it came in since they weren't getting it in stock. I was pretty impressed!

Rite Aid: $5.37
Saved with Coupons: $13.00
Saved with Sales: $5.58


Giant: $0
Saved with Coupons: $5.16

I had two FREE product coupons that I used for these items.

Weis: $9.98
Saved with Coupons: $7.00
Saved with Sales: $7.73

It's been a while since I was able to get free pasta and I was nearly out, so I was excited to be able to stock up again this week! The sugar wasn't an amazing price, but still cheaper than Aldi so I went ahead and got it since I still have applesauce to do and will need sugar for that. Oh and I can't forgot the moneymaking cheese!

Walmart: $7.04
Saved with Coupons: $6.00

I had two FREE product coupons for the yogurts. And the Cascade sample packs were free after coupons as well. Gotta love doing dishes for free! :)

Aldi: $10.13


Centerville: $0 (used cash that I had gotten out for grocery)

So what's in all those bags? Apples, peaches, lemons and potatoes. Lots of fresh, yummy stuff!

Toys R Us: $2.99
I had called several weeks ago to inquire about ToysRUs.com being out of stock of diapers that were on sale. Anyway, to make a long story short, the customer service rep offered me a $15 online credit good on anything as well as free shipping. So I took advantage of that and got an 84 ct. package of size 1 Huggies diapers. I was pretty pleased as I made out better than I would have with the original deal!

Bed Bath & Beyond: $1.58
I bought a Yankee Candle votive with ShopAtHome's Wild Deal. Since I'll get reimbursed via ShopAtHome for this purchase, I figured it was easiest to just put this under grocery.

Weekly Spending Summary

Well, this is the vacation addition. I had hoped to be able to type a big $0 here but unfortunately soon after we got home, we realized that we had forgotten to stop and get milk at the farm we get it from. And so, Vince had to run to Giant and get a gallon to hold us over. Still, it was fun to have a week of very little spending. And amazingly I had absolutely no Extra Bucks or UpRewards that were close to expiring so I didn't even have to worry about setting foot in one store!

Total Spent: $4.03
This was for a gallon of milk at Giant.