Easy Money Saving Tip- Part 2

In case you missed my first easy money saving tip post, you can get caught up here.

I promise all my tips are not food related.  This is simply the order that my family discovered the little things that we can cut to save money in the long run.

My second tip is......

Yummy and super sweet- sugar.  We discovered that our family loved Kool Aid.  We would drink a rather large pitcher that used 2 Kool Aid packets to fill it up every day.  That not only meant that we had to buy the Kool Aid packets but we were going through a 5 lb bag of sugar every week- just in Kool Aid- Yikes!!  And that is when sugar was $2 for a 5 lb bag.  So, I ran the numbers...

$2- Kool Aid packets for the week

$2- Bag of sugar for the week

$4/ week

$4 a week doesn't seem like a lot. 

I then took the 4/week X 4 weeks= $16 a month

$16/month X 12 months= $192- WHAT!!!  I was spending $192 just in Kool Aid and sugar. 

But we decided to take things just one step futher.  Since we were taking away something the kids loved, we thought it was only fair to take away one of our guilty pleasures- Soda.

Michael and I could drink a 12 pack a week each.  And I thought I was doing great buying it on sale.  So, I ran the numbers just to prove to myself that our little soda habit didn't cost that much.

$3 for a 12pk soda X 2 people= $6 week

$6/week X 4 weeks= $24 month- see we were only spending about $20 month- no biggie

$24/month X 12 months= $288 a year on soda- Oh my- that was an awful lot of money.

If you combine the $192 in Kool Aid and sugar and add it to the $288 in soda we were spending- that equals $480 a year in sugar.  That is a whole lot of sugar and a whole lot of money.  Not to mention the mention the money we would save on dental bills if we gave up our sugar habit. 

So, we bit the bullet and decided to try just drinking water during day and I was shocked at how much we don't miss all that sugar.  And we were able to put the almost $500 we were spending towards a bill:) 

Give it a try- run your numbers and see what you are spending in Kool Aid and soda and see if you come close to my numbers.  And then think about all the different things you could do with that sweet money........

Photo Credit

Kroger Instant Win game

Kroger has a new Instant Win game.  You load 4 P&G coupons to your card and then you spin the wheel if you win.  I won $1.00 off your next purchase loaded to my Kroger card. 

You can play once per day and there is a limit of 2 prizes per person.

Instant win game runs from 08/28/2011 until 09/10/2011 at 11:59 PDT

Coupons I got from Martins

I went to Martins on Sunday to see if they had any markdown bread.  I did find 1 loaf of bread on the markdown rack and I bought 1 loaf of regular price bread.  Which the price has gone up from $1.00 to $1.09 for regular Martin's bread.  I checked out and received the following Martins coupons (catalinas):

$1.50 off your next Health & Beauty purchase
$1.00 off your next carbonated soft drinks purchase

Then I noticed on my receipt it stated:
Free coupon book with Flu shot purchase worth over $20 in savings (while supplies last)

My Shopping Day- 08/28/2011

Since Hurrican Irene prevented me from going to church and to see my dad on Sunday, we decided to do our shopping instead and here is what we got:

Walgreens- I had $1 RR that was expiring needed to use and didn't find anything

$0.85- Clearance 8pk Hershey Chocolate bars
$0.85- Clearance 8pk Hershey Chocolate bars
$1.70
-1.00 RR
$0.74 with tax

Dollar Tree
$1.00- Hairspray
$1.05 with tax

Martins

$0.54- Markdown bread
$1.09- Bread
$1.66 with tax

CVS- I had my list and coupons and headed out only to discover that I left my ECB's at home :(
$2.00- Sunday paper
$2.10 after tax

Walmart
$8.70- 3 gallons skim milk
$2.24- lunchmeat
$0.82- mustard
$1.33- (2.84 lbs) bananas
$2.88- Sugar
$1.92- Flour
$0.78- Navel orange
$2.00- GV cereal
$21.19- Total with tax

My August spending post has been updated to reflect this shopping trip

Caterpillar Update

We are so happy:)  Two of the butterflies emerged from their cocoons in the middle of the night.  What a beautiful way to wake up in the morning.  We are learned so much studying these amazing creatures.  We also had to tell the boys about a red liquid called meconium that is leftover color and unneeded tissue that the butterfly will release.  We didn't want the boys to become alarmed thinking it was blood.  They made a nice mess in their butterfly habitat.

We were pleasantly surprised when the 3rd butterfly emerged and we were able to see it.  We talked with the boys about how they cannot fly right away and how it takes a couple of hours for their wings to harden so that they can fly.

We had 2 caterpillars not make it.  We were so over joyed by our 3 beautiful butterflies, we took the boys outside to play while the butterflies rested and did their thing.  As soon as we came back in, our cat decided to get a closer look at the butterflies and knocked over the habitat.  We are not sure what happened to the 2 caterpillars born the night before as we cannot seem to locate them.  And the cat got ahold of the newly born butterfly that couldn't even fly yet.  I was able to save the butterfly but unfortuntately, his poor wing is torn and you can see some holes in one of its wings. 

We put him/her (not sure how to differiantiate the difference between male and female butterflies) back into the habitat with some sugar water to eat and hung the butterfly habitat from the shower out of view from the cat.  The butterfly seems to be doing well and eating even though it is having a hard time flying.  So, I guess we won't be releasing this butterfly if he/she cannot even fly.

We are happy to report that one of the missing butterflies landed on my shoulder while I was in kitchen.  Kind of took me by surprise.  We are still missing one and wondering if the cat did in fact eat it as it has been 2 days since the incident. 

We are having so much fun watching them eat and studying the two.  We hope to release the one not injured butterfly in a few days.  We read that once released they may stay in the area- that would be really neat.

Menu plan for the week of 08/29/2011

Breakfast
Oatmeal
Baked Oatmeal with apples
Banana Bread
Smoothies & PB Toast
Yogurt & PB Toast

Lunches
Boys lunches for school:
sandwich, banana, sliced cucumbers and popcorn

Lunch for baby & I:
sandwich, tomato slices, popcorn & banana or Melon from the garden

Dinners
Mexican Pasta & Veggies
Pineapple Salsa Chicken served over rice
Tuna Alfredo
Breakfast for dinner- Waffles
Grilled Cheese & chicken soup
Stroganoff & Veggies

Snacks
Animal crackers
popcorn
Ambrosia Melon from garden
Cherry tomato from garden
Cucumbers from garden

Homemade brownies- Try New Adventures Thursday

I must admit I have never made homemade brownies.  I have always run to the store and bought a box of brownie mix and made it.  This last time I ran to the store to buy brownie mix, I was floored by the amount it went up.  I wondered if I could make brownies that tasted great.  So, I set out for the perfect brownie recipe.  I found Laura from Heavenly Homemakers recipe and decided to give it a try- it looked incredibly easy.  I didn't have all the same ingredients, so I did substitute:

Chocolate Chip Brownies (without the chocolate chips)
1 stick butter, melted
1 C sugar
1/4 C Cocoa powder
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 C Flour
1/2 C chocolate chips- which I left out (Laura makes her own chocolate chips- how cool is that)

Stir in melted butter, sugar & Cocoa.  Mix in eggs and vanilla.  Stir in flour.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Bake in 8X8 pan at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

I doubled this recipe for a 9X13 pan and baked for 30 minutes.

Yummy Chocolate goodness before baking

The finished product- looks so good

I was so excited about how easy it was to make and how yummy it looked after baking.  It was hard to let it cool.  My whole house smelled of chocolatey goodness- Mmmmm:)  I had to taste test it to make sure if was safe to eat- at least thats my story:)  It was sooo good.  The boys could hardly wait until dessert time.  They gave it a huge thumbs up and in the recipe box this recipe goes to make often:)

This post is linked up to Alicia's Homemaking Try New Adventures Thursday

Gardening Adventures

We are so very blessed with the amount of  fruits and veggies that are coming out of our garden.  We are being blessed with way more than we can eat before it goes bad.  We are blessing others with cucumbers and Ambroia Melons and have given my dad a few green peppers.

Cucumbers

2 of the Ambrosia Melons

Yummy:)

The Ambrosia Melons smell so sweet and taste so divine.  Everything that has come out of our garden has tasted so wonderful.

This is a picture of our garden when we first planted everything- looks kind of bare.  The Lord has blessed this garden and it now looks like:

Back to school

The boys started school on Monday, August 22nd.  Chris started 11th grade, Kevin started 9th grade and Nathan started 2nd grade.  Kevin was a little nervous about going to a new school since he was in the much smaller middle school last year.  Oh my, I have 2 high schoolers this year.

I forgot to take a picture of the boys before they walked to the end of the driveway to wait for the bus.  Chris, being a teenager, refused to turn around and get his picture taken with his brothers.

The first day of school went very well.  The boys all had a fantastic day.  YEA!!!  The second day of school seemed to be going well until we had an earthquake.  That was quite an event.  There is nothing like getting the little one down for a nap and falling asleep with him- he is such a sweet cuddler:)  And waking up by a strange sound then your whole house starts shaking.  It scared me until I realized what had happened.  For a moment, I thought the hurricane that is supposed to hit got here early.  Nope- we had an earthquake.  I am so happy that all the boys seemed OK when we talked about what had happened.  I knew Chris and Kevin would be OK but was concerned with how Nathan felt.  But he reassured me that he was OK and that the earthquake didn't scare him.

I hope and pray that the rest of the week, the boys have an uneventful, wonderful first week of school:)

My shopping day- 08/22/2011

The boys are back in school and hubby was not so excited to go grocery shopping with me on Monday:) 

Here are the details of Monday's shopping trip:

Office Max

$0.10- 2 packs pencils
$0.30- 2 packs crayons
0.42 with tax

CVS

$2.99- Colgate Optic White toothpaste
$2.99- Colgate Optic White toothpaste
$5.49- Sundown fish oil
$11.47- before cpns
-1/2 Colgate toothpaste cpn
-2.00 Sundown fish oil cpn
-1.99- ECB
-4.00- ECB
-2.00- ECB
$1.05 Total with tax and got $6.00 ECB's

Walgreens

$5.99- Aquafina
$2.00- Degree deo
$2.00- Degree deo
$9.99- before cpns
-2.00 Walgreen Aquafina in ad cpn
-1/2 Degree deo cpn
-5.00- RR
$2.29 with tax and got back $1 RR

I went to another Walgreens as the one I was just at didn't have everything I was looking for and I had a $2 RR that was going to expire this week, so I had to use it.  The next Walgreens I went to didn't have what I was looking for either but I did run across this deal:

$4.99- Colgate Pro Relief cpn
-2.00 RR
$3.24 Total with tax and the sign stated that a $3 RR was supposed to print out, which it didn't.  The awesome Walgreens manager gave me a gift card with $3 on it due to the RR not printing.  The sign stated that this deal is good until 10/14/2011:)

Walmart
$0.98- Frozen sweet peas
$0.98- Frozen green beans
$3.28- 2 frozen Welchs grape juice
$11.60- 4 gallons skim milk
$2.22- tub of butter
$1.84- 2 packages stick butter
$1.48- popcorn
$2.49- Bananas
$1.00- Ziti
$1.00- Radiatore
$1.00- M&M's for the baby- he was so good
$28.55 with tax


My August Spending post has been updated to reflect this shopping trip:)  With the exception of the Office Max trip as that goes under our school supply budget.

Caterpillar Update

All but one of the caterpillars made it to the top of the container:

They hang upside down and then less than 24 hours later they are snug in their cocoons:

We then moved them from their small cup into their new home:

And now we wait and talk to the boys about the wonderful, beautiful transformations that are taking place.  We cannot wait to see what species of butterflies we will have. Until then....

Menu plan for the week of 08/22/2011

Breakfasts
Smoothie & PB Toast
Banana Bread
Egg sandwich
Baked Oatmeal
Oatmeal packets
Pancakes

Lunches
Boys lunches for school:
sandwich, banana, sliced cucumbers and popcorn

Lunch for baby & I:
sandwich, popcorn & banana

Dinners
Taco beef pasta & veggies
Stuffed shells & veggies
Parm Tilapia, rice & veggies
Pancakes & Fruit
Homemade Pizza
pasta with cheese sauce, breadsticks and veggies

Snacks
Cherry tomatoes from garden
Cucumbers from garden
Popcorn
PB crackers

Office Max Back to School deals for the week of 08/21/2011

12pk Just Basic pencils- $0.05- Limit 2

Schoolio composition notebooks- $0.50- Limit 5

Office Max glue- $0.15- Limit 3

Crayola crayons- $0.15- Limit 2

Schoolio 1 subject notebook- $0.01- Limit 5

Free download Microsoft Outlook, Publisher & Access for new and existing college students and teachers when they purchase Microsoft home & student

Free Microsoft Wireless Mobile mouse 4000 with Nano receiver when you buy 2 same HP toner

Free Post Its 3X3 Canary Yellow notes when you buy $60 HP ink

Staples Back to School deals for the week of 08/21/2011

Zebra Z-grip mechnical pencils- $3.99 and get $3.99 easy rebate

Sharpie 2pk black- $0.285- Limit 2

Staples mini composition notebooks 2pk- $0.25- Limit 2

Simpy poly binder- $0.25- Limit 4

Staples 1 subject notebook- $0.01- with a $5 minimum purchase- Limit 6- SUN - WED ONLY

Staples dual dome sharpener- $0.50- Limit 2

Staples photo supreme paper - $14.99 and get $14.49 easy rebate- Limit 2

Staples pencil box- $0.50

Staples jumbo paper clips- $0.50

B2G1Free Bic products
$1/2 Bic stationary cpn- 07/31 SS

Free colored duct tape when you buy any colored duct tape

McAfee Antivirus Plus 2011- $39.99 and get $10 instant saving and $30 rebate

Office Depot Back to School deals for the week of 08/21/2011

Office Depot spiral notebooks- $0.01 - Limit 3

Office Depot eraser caps- $0.01- Limit 3

1" Vinyl binder- $0.50- Limit 3

Scholastic glue sticks 4pk- $0.50- Limit 5

Purell hand sanitizer jelly wrap- $0.50- Limit 3

Sharpie highlighter 3pk- $0.50- Limit 3

Office Depot white copy paper- $6.49 and get $5.99 mail in rebate- Limit 2

Brother TZ pink tape when you buy 2 Brother TZ tapes- Limit 2

Typing Instructor for kids platinum- $20 and get $20 mail in rebate

Norton 2011 Free with combined purchase of any Microsoft Office Suite after $30 mail in and $20 mfr current user upgrade mail in rebate

Walgreens deals for the week of 08/21/2011

** We live in a test market, so we have a Walgreens Rewards card that tracks points to use to get rewards- so we don't get alot of RR's- as some areas do- instead we get Bonus Points**

Buy 5 and get 5X points from the following:
Pepsi or Dr. Pepper 12pk- $13/5 with in ad cpn
Wonderul Pistachios or Blue Diamond almonds- $4.99 with in ad cpn
$1/2 Wonderful Pistachios cpn- 06/26 SS
$0.60/2 Blue Diamond Almonds cpn- 06/26 SS
Huggies Jumbo- $8.49 with in ad cpn
$2 Huggies diaper cpn- 08/14 SS
Arizona tea or drink- $1/2 with in ad cpn
Maxwell house instant coffee- $4.99 with in ad cpn
Aleve or Bayer low dose- $5 off with in ad cpn
$2 Bayer Advanced cpn- 06/12 SS
$1 Bayer cpn- 05/01 SS
24pk Aquafina- $3.99 with ad cpn
Dawn- $0.99 with in ad cpn
$0.50 Dawn cpn- 07/31 P&G
Big Roll bathroom tissue- $1/2 with in ad cpn
2L Pepsi or Dr. Pepper- $5/4 with in ad cpn
7 UP, A&W, Sunkist, Canada Dry or Hawaiin Punch 2L- $0.99 with in ad cpn
Skippy PB or Ragu- $4/2 with in ad cpn
$0.75 Skippy PB cpn- 07/31 RP
$1/2 Ragu cpn- 07/31 RP
Stouffers Mac & Cheese or Hot Pockets- $3/2 with in ad cpn
$1/3 Hot Pockets cpn- 08/21 SS
Smartwater or Vitamin water- $3/3 with in ad cpn
Walgreens soda- $0.39 with in ad cpn
Geisha canned fruit- $0.89 with in ad cpn
Chicken of the sea pink salmon or white tuna- $0.89 with in ad cpn
Brachs autumn candy- $0.99 with in ad cpn
Morton salt, Nice or Deerfield baking soda- $1/2 with in ad cpn
Nice or Deerfield seasonings- $0.89 with in ad cpn
Butterball chicken broth- $1/2 with in ad cpn

M&M's- $5/2 and get $1 RR
$1/2 M&M cpn- 07/24 RP

Kelloggs Rice Krispies treats, Keebler or Cheeze Its- $2.99 or $10/4- Spend $10 and get 10X points
$1/2 Kelloggs Rice Krispies treat cpn- 08/07 RP
$1/2 Keebler or Sunshine multipack cpn- 08/07 RP
$1/2 Keebler cookies cpn- 08/07 RP
$0.75 Keebler sandwich crackers cpn- 07/24 RP
$0.75 Keebler granola fudge bars cpn- 07/10 RP
Pur Filter & Faucet mount or refill. Brita 3pk, pitcher or faucet mount- 25% off and get 2X points
$4 Brita pitcher or faucet mount cpn- 08/21 SS

$5 Mail in Rebate when you buy Sylvania appliances

AirWick Freshmatic or Lysol Neutra Air Freshmatic- $7.99 and get 7X points
$4 Air Wick Freshmatic Ultra or Freshmatic Compact Starter cpn- 08/14 SS
$4 Air Wixk Freshmatic Ultra cpn- 07/10 SS
$4 Air Wick Freshmatic Compact cpn- 07/10 SS

Glade 4pk scented oil refil, oil refill or warmer, carpet & room eliminator, candle, Sense & Spray refill or Relaxing moments- $2.99 or $5/2- Buy 2 and get 5X points
$1.50 Glade twin pack oil refill or 2 single refill cpn- 08/21 SS
$1 Glade oil candle holder or 2 refill cpn- 08/21 SS
$1.25/2 Glade candle cpn- 08/21 SS
$1/2 Sense & Spray refill cpn- 08/21 SS
$0.55 Glade Premium room spray cpn- 08/21 SS
$1 Glade Plug Ins or 2 refill cpn- 07/31 SS
$1 Glade Fabric or Odor Eliminator cpn- 07/31 SS
$1.50 Glade Automatic spray refill cpn- 07/31 SS

Drano, Shout color catchers, Scrubbing Bubbles toilet gels, Auto Shower refill, foamer, Pledge fabric sweeper, 25pk wipes or spray- $3.99 or $7/2- Buy 2 and get 3X points
$0.55 Shout cpn- 07/10 SS
$1/2 Scrubbing bubbles bathroom cleaner cpn- 07/31 SS
Buy Scrubbing Bubbles toilet gel and get Free Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush cpn- 07/31 SS
$1 Scrubbing Bubbles mega shower foamer cpn- 07/31 SS

All 2X laundry detergent- $9.99 and get 3X points

ROC or Select J&J Purpose skin care- 20% off and get 2X points

Pantene, Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essence or Aussie- $5.99- Buy 3 and get 3X points
$3/2 Pantene cpn- 08/21 SS
$1/2 Pantene cpn- 07/31 P&G
$1/2 Head & Shoulders cpn- 07/31 P&G
$0.50 Head & Shoulders cpn- 07/31 P&G
$1 Herbal Essence or Aussie cpn- 08/07 RP

Just for Me or Soft & Beautiful botanicals relaxer kit or texturizer- $4.99 and get $4 RR

Select Clean and Clear skin care or bodywash- $5.39 and get 3X points
$1 Clean & Clear cpn- 07/31 SS

Organix hair care- $12/2- Buy 2 and get 10X points

Dove or Degree Clinical deodorant, lotion, bodywash or 6pk bar- $18/3 and get $6 RR
Buy Dove Women Clinical deodorant and get Free Dove Men Care deodorant cpn- 07/31 RP
$0.75 Dove beauty bar cpn- 07/31 RP
$1 Dove Men Care bodywash cpn- 07/31 RP
$1 Dove Men Care bar cpn- 07/31 RP

Gillette Venus ProSkin, Breeze or ProGlide razor- $9.89 and get $4 RR
$4 Gillette ProGlide razor cpn- 07/31 P&G

Huggies Slip on diapers- $9.49 and get $2 RR
$3 Huggies Slip on diaper cpn- 08/14 SS

Dove or Degree deodorant- $4/2 and get $1 RR
Buy Dove Women Clinical deodorant and get Free Dove Men Care deodorant cpn- 07/31 RP
$0.75 Degree deodorant cpn- 07/31 RP
$1 Degree Premium deodorant or body mist cpn- 07/31 RP

Tampax or Always- $11/2 and get $4 RR
$0.50 Tampax cpn- 07/31 P&G
$1 Tampax Pearl or Pearl Compack cpn- 07/31 P&G
B1G1Free Tampax Pearl Compack cpn- 07/31 P&G
$1 Always Infinity cpn- 07/31 P&G
$0.50 Always cpn- 07/31 P&G
$1 Always liners cpn- 07/31 P&G

KY Yours & Mine- $14.99 and get $5 RR
$2 KY cpn- 07/24 SS

Wal-Zan, Acid Reducer or SmoothLax- $9.99- Buy 2 and get 2X points

Omeprazole- $19.99 and get $6 RR

Prilosec- $18.99 and get $3 RR

Wal-Fex- $16.99 and get $4 RR

Zyrtec- $18.99 and get 5X points
$4 Zyrtec cpn- 08/07 RP

Advil- $2 off in ad cpn and get 200 Bonus Points
$5/3 Advil cpn- 08/14 RP

TRUEresult blood glucose monitor- $12.99 and get $12.99 mail in rebate

Tena Serenity- $5 off with in ad cpn- Buy 2 and get 3X points

Dial Nutriskin bodywash- $3.99 and get 30X points
$3/2 One a day womens healthy skin multivitamin AND Dial Nutriskin lotion or bodywash cpn- 07/24 RP

Colgate Sensitive Pro Relief- $4.99 and get 25X points
$1.50 Colgate Sensitive Pro Relief toothpaste cpn- 07/31 SS
$1 Colgate Sensitive Pro Relief toothbrush cpn- 07/31 SS
$0.50 Colgate toothpaste cpn- 07/24 SS

Crest 3D White toothpaste- $5/2 and get $3 RR
$1 Crest toothpaste cpn- 07/31 P&G

Duracell batteries- $9.99 and get $2 RR when you buy 1 or $5 RR when you buy 2+
$0.50 Duracell cpn- 07/31 P&G

Rite Aid deals for the week of 08/21/2011

**Please remember that Rite Aid allows you to use 1 manufacturer cpn and 1 Rite Aid cpn and 1 Video Value cpn together on 1 item:) **

Mead compostition notebook- $1.98/3 and get $1 UP when you buy 3- Limit 2
$5 SCR when you buy $10 or $5 SCR when you buy $20

Sally Hansen cosmetics and beauty tools- B1G 50% off and get $5 UP when you buy $25- Limit 2
$1 Sally Hansen beauty tool $2+ cpn- 07/31 RP
$2 Sally Hansen beauty tol $3+ cpn- 06/12 RP

Crest toothpaste, 3D white rinse, Oral B CrossAction toothbrush, floss or floss picks- $2.99 and get $1.50 UP- Limit 2
$1/2 Crest toothpaste cpn- 07/31 P&G
$1 Crest kids toothpaste cpn- 07/31 P&G
$1 Oral B Pulsar CrossAction advantage cpn- 07/31 P&G
$0.75 CrossAction advance cpn- 07/31 P&G
$0.75 Oral B floss or floss picks cpn- 07/31 P&G

Tresemme hair care- $7/2 and get $2 UP when you buy 2- Limit 2
$1 Tresemme cpn- 07/31 RP
$1 Tresemme styler cpn- 07/31 RP

A4K & Brite Star 6pk or 10pk socks- $4.99 and get $1 UP- Limit 2

Sandisk 4GB SDHC card or cruzer, PN4 4GB flash drive- $12.99 and get $3 UP- Limit 2

Vivitar digital video recorder- $24.99 and get $10 UP- Limit 2 AND
$5 SCR

Art skills, Darice, Crazy art, Playschool art and craft supplies, Royal poster board, Mead art tablets, Elmers, Krazy glue, Acco dry erase boards, Expo dry erase markers, Pentel pens, pencils, highlighters and lead- B1G50% off and get $1 UP when you spend $5- Limit 8

Whitmans Sampler- $6 and get $1 UP- Limit 4

7UP or Diet 7UP- $12/3 and get $3 UP

Nestle Pure Life- $3.99 and get $0.75 UP

$15 UP when you buy $50 CoverGirl cosmetics
$1 Cover Girl cpn- 07/31 P&G

$7 UP when you buy $15 Conair brushes, combs or rollers

Revlon foundation, blush, powder, concealer or bronzer- B1G 50% off and get $3 UP- Limit 2
$3 Revlon ColorStay Aqua Mineral mkup Video Value cpn

Physicians Formula face & eye cosmetics- B1G 50% off and get $5 UP when you spend $20- Limit 2

Old Spice Red Zone deodorant or bodywash- $6/2 and get $1 UP when you buy 2- Limit 2

Loreal Sublime bronze towelettes- $6.99 and get $2 UP- Limit 4

$5 UP when you spend $15 Garnier moisturizer or cleansers- Limit 4
$2 Garnier moisturizer cpn- 08/07 RP
$1 Garnier cleanser or moisturizer cpn- 06/19 RP

Samy fat foam color- $8.99 and get $5 UP- Limit 2
$3 Samy fat foam cpn- 07/31 RP

No nonsense- B1G 50% off and get $2 UP when you buy 2- Limit 8

Natrol supplements, Laci Le Beau super dieters tea or Promensil- B1G1Free and get $1 UP when you buy 2- Limit 4

Slow FE- B1G1Free and get $1 UP when you buy 2- Limit 4

Schiff supplements- B1G1Free and get $1 UP when you buy 2- Limit 4
$2 Schiff Glucosamine cpn- 07/31 SS
$3 Schiff Mega Red cpn- 07/31 SS
$1 Schiff vitamin or supplement cpn- 07/31 SS
$5 Schiff Move Free cpn- 06/19 SS
$2 Schiff vitamin or supplement cpn- 05/15 SS
$3 Schiff Glucosamine cpn- 05/15 SS
$2 Schiff Mega-De cpn- 05/1 5 SS
$3 Schiff Mega Red cpn- 05/15 SS

Lipo-Flavinoid- B1G1Free and get $1 UP when you buy 2

Stamina rx- shot- B1G1Free and get $2 UP when you buy 6

Urinozinc- B1G1Free and get $1 UP when you buy 2

Alive- B1G1Free and get $1 UP when you buy 2
$2 Alive cpn- 05/22 SS

Cosamin ASU or Omega mint chewables- B1G1Free and get $10 UP when you buy 2

Irwin Naturals- B1G1Free and get $1 UP when you buy 2

Lil Critters gummy vites or drops or Vitafusion gumy vitamins- B1G1Free and get $1 UP when you buy 2- Limit 4

Barefoot Coral Calcium complete- B1G1Free and get $1 Up when you buy 2

Zyrtec- $18.99 and get $4 UP- Limit 4
$4 Zyrtec cpn- 08/07 RP

Excedrin- $7.99 and get $1 UP- Limit 2
$1.50 Excedrin 80ct cpn- 08/21 SS
$1.50 Excedrin 80ct cpn- 08/14 SS
$1.50 Excedrin 80ct cpn- 07/17 SS

Boiron Arnicare gel- $6.99 and get $6 UP

Stopain analgesic spray or roll on- $7.99 and get $7 UP

Stopain gel- $5 and get $5 SCR

Allegra- $17.99 and get $3 UP -Limit 2
$2 Allegra cpn- 07/31 SS
$2 Allegra Rite Aid Video Value cpn

NatuRelief- $5.99 and get $5 UP

Ace, Futuro or Nexcare- B1G 50% off and get $10 when you spend $30
$0.55 Nexcare cpn- 06/05 SS
$0.55 Nexcare cpn- 05/01 SS
$0.55 Nexcare cpn- 04/03 SS
$1/2 Nexcare cpn- 04/03 SS

Aveeno or Benadryl- $4.99 and get $1 UP -Limit 4
$2 Benadryl topical cpn- 06/19 RP

$2 UP when you buy Clear Care, Aquify or GenTeal- Limit 4
$1 Clean care cpn- 08/21 SS
$1.50 GenTeal cpn- 07/17 SS
$1.50 Genteal cpn- 05/08 SS

Zicam- $8.99 and get $4 UP- Limit 2

First Response- $12.99 and get $3 UP- Limit 2

Aleve, Bayer and Bayer Advanced- $4 UP when you buy 2- Limit 4

Act- $4.49 and get $1 UP- Limit 4
$1 Act cpn- 08/21 SS

Crest Complete extra white plus scope or Deep clean effervescent mint- $2.99 and get $2 UP- Limit 2
$1/2 Crest toothpaste cpn- 07/31 P&G
$1 Crest kids toothpaste cpn- 07/31 P&G

$3 UP when you buy Trojan- Limit 4
$1 Trojan cpn- 06/26 SS

$5 UP when you buy KY Intense, Yours & Mine and Kissables- Limit 2
$2 KY cpn- 07/24 SS

Pampers Cruisers or Baby dry big pack- $21.99 and get $3 UP
$2/2 Pampers diapers AND wipes 60ct+ cpn- 07/31 RP
$1/2 Pampers bags or 1 box cpn- 07/31 P&G

$ UP when you buy $15 Irish Spring and Softsoap- Limit 2
$1/2 Softsoap bodywash or bar cpn- 08/14 SS
$0.50 Softsoap bodywash cpn- 07/24 SS

Duracell, precharged or mini charger- $9.88 and get $1 UP
$0.50 Duracell cpn- 07/31 P&G
$1 Duracell rechargeable or charger cpn- 07/31 P&G

Xtra oir Dryel starter- $5.99 and get $2 UP- Limit 2

Arm & Hammer super scoop cat litter- $12/2 and get $2 UP- Limit 2

$10 UP when you buy $30- Limit 2
Kleenex or Scott single roll- B1G1Free
$0.50/3 Kleenex cpn- 08/14 SS
$1/8 Scott toilet paper cpn- 08/14 SS
Scott mega roll papertowels or toilet paper- $7.99
$1/4 Scott Papertowels 4 rolls+ cpn- 08/14 SS
$1/8 Scott toilet paper 8 rolls+ cpn- 08/14 SS
Kotex or U by Kotex- $7/2
$2/2 Kotex cpn- 08/07 SS
$1.50/2 Kotex tampons cpn- 08/07 SS
$1.50/2 Kotex liners cpn- 08/07 SS
$1 U by Kotex tampons cpn- 07/24 SS
$1 U by Kotex pads cpn- 07/24 SS
$1 U by Kotex liners cpn- 07/24 SS
$1 Kotex Rite Aid Video Value cpn
Glade relaxing moments, Fantastik, Scrubbing Bubbles aerosol or Shout- $5/2
Huggies Jumbo- $9.99
$0.55 Glade Premium room spray cpn- 08/21 SS
$1 Scrubbing Bubbles Fantastik cpn- 07/31 SS
$1/2 Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaners cpn- 07/31 SS
$0.55 Shout cpn- 07/10 SS
Colgate toothpaste, toothbrush, Irish Spring deodorant or Speed Stick Stainguard
$1.50 Colgate Pro Relief toothpaste cpn- 07/31 SS
$1 Colgate Pro Relief toothbrush cpn- 07/31 SS
$0.50 Colgate toothpaste cpn- 07/24 SS

Gillette ProGlide or Fusion refill, Fusion shave gel or ProSeries skin care- $10 UP when you buy $30- Limit 2
$4 Gillette ProGlide razor cpn- 07/31 P&G
Buy ProGlide cartridge and get Free ProGlide shave prep cpn- 07/31 P&G
$2 Fusion skin care cpn- 07/31 P&G

Depend or Poise- $11.99 and get $2 UP- Limit 2
$1 Depend cpn- 08/14 SS

Max Freeze- $6.99 and get $6.99 UP

Rite Aid hand sanitizer- $1 and get $1 UP- Limit 3

Folgers or Dunkin Donuts coffee- $9.99 and get $1 UP- Limit 2

CVS deals for the week of 08/21/2011

Don't forget to....
1) Go to cvs.com/email and sign up for the ExtraCare email and receive a $4/20 cpn
2) Stop by the Red ExtraCare coupon center and get cpns
3) You can use a manufacturer's cpn along with a CVS cpn
4) You can use a B1G1Free cpn along with a B1G1Free sale to get both products for free:)
** This weeks Extra Care cpn is $3 off $15 stomach remedy cpn**

Spend $30 and get Free $10 gas card from the following:
Allegra- $17.99
$2 Allegra cpn- 07/31 SS
Crest baking soda with peroxide, cavity, tarter control, cool gel, with scope, kids toothpaste or Oral B Indicator toothbrush- $1.99
$1/2 Crest toothpaste cpn- 07/31 P&G
$1 Oral B stages Zooth toothbrush or Crest kids toothpaste cpn- 07/31 P&G
Fruit bars, Eskimo or Skinny Cow- $3.99
Cheerios- $5/2
$1/3 Cheerios cpn- 08/07 GM
$1/2 Cheerios cpn- 07/17 SS
Planters mixed nuts or cashew halves- B1G1Free
Depends- $10.99
$1 Depend cpn- 08/14 SS
Palmolive- $0.89
Aluma Wallet- $10.99
Kettle Chips or Tias- $5/2
$1 Kettle chip cpn- 08/07 RP
Folgers Coffee- $5.99
Green Giant corn, green beans or sweet peas- $5/4
Sunsweet apricots or prunes- $2.99
7UP, A&W, Canada Dry or Sunkist 2L- $0.88
Tilex mildew, Pine-sol, SOS or Clorox wipes- $5/2
$1/2 Clorox clean up, Clorox toilet bowl cleaner, Tilex and Pinesol cpn- 08/21 SS
$1/2 Clorox wipes cpn- 08/21 SS
$0.25 Clorox wipes cpn- 08/21 SS
Clorox beach- $1.99
$1/3 Clorox bleach cpn- 08/21 SS
$0.35 Clorox bleach cpn- 08/21 SS
Formula 409, Clorox bathroom cleaner or Clean up- $5/2
$1/2 Formula 409 cpn- 08/21 SS
$0.50 Formula 409 cpn- 08/21 SS
$1/2 Clorox clean up, Clorox toilet bowl cleaner, Tilex and Pinesol cpn- 08/21 SS
Barkery, Waggin Train, Jerky tenders, Beggin strips, T Bonz or Busy bone- $9.99
$1 Waggin Train cpn- 07/10 SS
$1 Waggin Train Chicken Jerky tender cpn- 07/10 SS
$1/2 Beggin cpn- 08/21 SS
$1/2 Beggin cpn- 07/24 RP
Listerine pocketpaks- $2.99
$0.50 Listerine pocketpak cpn- 04/17 SS
Excedrin- $6.99
$1.50 Excedrin 80ct cpn- 08/21 SS
$0.75 Excedrin 20ct cpn- 08/21 SS
7" Sylvania netbook- $99.99
Craig wireless touch screen tablet- $99.99

$10 ECB when you buy $25 of the following:
Charmin  16pk big roll- $9.99
$1/2 Charmin cpn- 07/31 P&G
$0.25 Charmin cpn- 07/31 P&G
Bounty 12pk paper towels- $9.99
$1 Bounty paper towels cpn- 07/31 P&G
$0.25 Bounty cpn- 07/31 P&G
Puffs Plus Lotion 124 ct tissues- $3/2
$0.25/3 Puffs cpn- 07/31 P&G

Lipton tea 128 oz- $2.49 and get $1 ECB

Izze or Wolchs juice- $4/3 and get $1 ECB

Powerade, Honest Tea, Fuze, Vitaminwater or Smartwater- $5/5 and get $1 ECB

Spend $15 and get $5 ECB Five Star notebook or binders- Limit 5
$2 Five Star notebook or binder cpn- 08/07 RP
$1 Five Star cpn- 08/07 RP

$10 ECB when you buy 2 HP ink cartridges- Limit 4

$5 ECB when you buy 2 American Express prepaid visa gift cards

Spend $15 and get $5 ECB on the following"
Dove Men Care bodywash- $5
$1 Dove Men care bodywash cpn- 07/31 RP
Dove bodywash- $6
$1 Dove bodywash cpn- 07/31 RP
Caress, Dove or Lever bar- $7
$0.75 Dove 6pk bar cpn- 07/31 RP
$0.75 Caress bar cpn- 07/31 RP

$5 ECB when you buy Celebrity Fragrances

Softsoap bodywash, liquid or foaming hand soap- $9/3 and get $ 3 ECB
$1/2 Softsoap bodywash cpn- 08/14 SS
$0.50 Softsoap bodywash cpn- 07/24 SS

Mennon Speed stick- $2.99 and get $1 ECB

Spend $20 and get $5 ECB Burt Bees

Spend $25 and get $10 Loreal skin care
$3/2 Loreal skin care cpn- 08/07 RP
$1 Loreal skin care cpn- 08/07 RP
$1 Loreal cleaner cpn- 07/24 RP
$1 Loreal moisturizer cpn- 07/24 RP
$1 Loreal skin care cpn- 07/10 RP

Spend $15 and get $5 Loreal hair care
$1 Loreal Vive Glossy or Studio cpn- 08/07 SS
$0.75 Loreal Vive cpn- 08/07 SS
$2 Loreal EverPure, Sleek or Strong cpn- 07/24 RP
$1 Loreal Studio or Vive Glossy cpn- 07/10 RP

Spend $10 and get $3 Loreal lip
$2 Loreal Infallable lip cpn- 08/07 RP
$1 Loreal Paris lip cpn- 08/07 RP

Spend $7 and get $2 Maybelline mascara
$1 Maybelline New York mascara cpn- 08/017 RP

Rapidlash- $49.99 and get $20 ECB

Spend $10 and get $3 ECB Garnier hair care- $10/3
$1 Garnier hair care cpn- 07/24 RP
$1 Garnier styler cpn- 07/24 RP
$1 Garnier hair care cpn- 06/05 RP

Head & Shoulders- $4.99 and get $2 ECB
$1/2 Head & Shoulders cpn- 07/31 P&G
$0.50 Head & Shoulders cpn- 07/31 P&G

Schick Hydro 3 or 5 razors or refills- $8.49 and get $5 ECB
$2 Shick Hydro razor cpn- 08/07 SS
$2 Schick Hydro refill cpn- 08/07 SS

$2 ECB Gillette cartridges
Get Free Fusion ProGlide shave prep when you buy Gillette ProGlide cartridge cpn- 07/31 P&G

Act- $4.49 and get $1 ECB- Limit 2
$1 Act cpn- 08/21 SS

Colgate Optic white toothpaste- $2.99 and get $2 ECB- Limit 2
$0.50 Colgate toothpaste cpn- 07/24 SS

Always Jumbo- $7.99 and get $2 ECB
$0.50 Always cpn- 07/31 P&G

Tampax Pearl or Always Infinity- $7.99 and get $2 ECB
$1 Always Infinity cpn- 07/31 P&G
$0.50 Always cpn- 07/31 P&G
$0.50 Tampax cpn- 07/31 P&G
$1 Tampax pearl or Compaq cpn- 07/31 P&G
B1G1Free Tampax Pearl Compaq cpn- 07/31 P&G

Genteal, Clear care or Aquify- $14.79 and get $3 ECB
$1.50 Genteal cpn- 07/17 SS
$1.50 Genteal cpn- 05/08 SS
$1 Clear care cpn- 08/21 SS

Sundown supplements- $5.49 and get $2 ECB
$2 Sundown fish or C0Q10 cpn- 08/07 RP
$1 Sundown or Marvel vitamin or supplement cpn- 08/07 RP

Zyrtec- $18.99 and get $4 ECB
$4 Zyrtec cpn- 08/07 RP

Claritin 45ct- $26.99 and get $1 ECB
$6 Claritin cpn- 08/21 SS

$2 ECB when you buy Bengay, Precise or Icy Hot
$3 Bengay cpn- 07/31 RP
$3 Bengay cpn- 06/19 RP
$3 Tylenol Precise cpn- 07/31 SS
$3 Precise cpn- 06/12 RP
$2 Precise cpn- 05/08 SS
$2 Icy Hot Naturals cpn- 07/31 SS
$1 Icy Hot cpn- 07/31 SS

$1 ECB when you buy Benadryl, Caladryl or Aveeno
$2 Benadryl topical cpn- 06/19 RP
$1 Caladryl cpn- 06/19 RP

Spend $30 and get $10 ECB when you buy Select CVS health and beauty products- B1G50% off

Revlon lip- $6.99 and get $5 ECB- Limit 3
$1 Revlon color cosmetic cpn- 07/31 SS

Frozen Hot Chocolate~ Try New Adventures Thursday

Today was such a long day.  I had to get up early and run some errands, then get back home to eat lunch and go to the elementary school and the high school to meet the boys teachers.  Then had to fix dinner when we got home.  Luckily, we had breakfast, so it was easy to prepare.  The boys kept asking me what they could have for dessert.  I was trying to come up with something easy and creative.  Then it hit me- a couple of months ago, Kevin had found a coupon for Dunkin Donuts for a free cup of frozen hot chocolate.  He thought it was so delicious.  I found it to be too sweet.

I looked through the cabinets and realized we had hot chocolate packets- YEA!!!  I pulled out:

My GE Single Serve blender, hot water, ice and hot chocolate packets.  Lets see if we can recreate the frozen hot chocolate.

I took 1 packet of hot chocolate mix and put it in the cup of the blender.  I then added ice cubes all the way to the top and filled the cup with hot water.  Put the blade on the cup and inserted in the blender.

I mixed it for a couple of seconds and took the top off and I was pleasantly surprised- it worked.  I had made frozen hot chocolate:

Sorry it is so dark.  With the flash on you couldn't see it clearly.  Now that the boys are all excited about this concoction, the next thing is the test taste.  They give it a ....

Thumbs up- they loved it:  Not too sweet- just right.  I was so pleased I was able to make this so easily.  So, that is my new adventure today:)

This post is linked to Alicia's Homemaking Try New Adventure Thursday

Adventures in Gardening

My garden is still going strong.  I am so blessed.  I was able to give my dad a couple of green peppers from the garden.  I ate one of them and it was sooo good.  My ambrosia melons are getting so big and turning from green to tan, which from what I have read means they are ripening:)  Here are some pictures of my garden this week~ Enjoy:)

Cherry Tomatoes

Tasty green pepper

Cucumbers & Melon

Ambrosia Melon looking good

Ambrosia Melons chilling out in their hammocks

Watermelon getting so big

Tomatoes

Cayenne Pepper

Quick Walmart trip- 08/18/2011

Since I was out this morning, I decided to stop by Walmart real quick before heading home.  I'm glad I did, I was able to get the following:

$4.77- Airwick Freshmatic Ultra with refill
$1.97- Huggies baby wipes
$0.97- Suave deodorant
$1.96- Sure deodorant
$2.98- Planters PB
$2.91- 3 bottles gain dish liquid
$15.56 before coupons
-4.00 Airwick Freshmatic cpn- 08/14 SS
-0.50- Huggies wipes cpn- 08/14 SS
-0.50- Suave deo cpn- 08/14 RP
-1.00- Sure deo cpn- 08/14 SS
-1.00 Planters cpn- Kraft First Taste printable cpn
-0.50- Gain dish liquid- 08/14 RP
-1/2- Gain dish liquid- 08/14 RP
$7.06- After coupons

More **HOT** CVS coupons

I ran out to Walgreens this morning in hopes of getting some of the Krill that is on sale.  I went on Monday and was told that their truck came in on Wednesday night.  I figured if I had a couple of errands to run that I would run by and see if they had any.  Well, when I got there I was greeted with the same empty self I saw on Monday.  So, I am guessing that either they sold and or any that came in or none came on the truck.

I did want to run by CVS real quick since my trip on Monday gave me a nice $3 CVS Huggies Slip on diaper coupon that I was going to pair with the $3 Huggies Slip on diaper coupon that was in Sundays paper.  Everytime I step into CVS, the first place I visit is the Red Coupon Machine and it was feeling real generous today as it spit out a $4 CVS coupon on the purchase of diapers and wipes- BINGO!!

I went and picked up the Huggies Slip on diapers and got a package of CVS baby wipes:

$8.99- Huggies Slip on diapers
$2.49- CVS wipes
-3.00 CVS Huggies Slip on diaper cpn
-3.00- Huggies Slip on diaper cpn
-4.00- CVS diaper and wipe cpn
$2.05- Total with tax
Awesome price for diapers and wipes:)

Easy Money Saving tip

I wanted to write a series where I can share with you the different "little" things that we do to save money and you can do also.  If you are like me, you have researched this topic before and found all these cool and interesting ways to save money, only to try them all at once and fail.  Then I feel miserable because things didn't work out like I had wanted.  I am so blessed to have such a wondeful family and awesome husband who have "gone along for the ride" on several of my money saving adventures that just didn't work. 

I am going to post about one "little" thing that you and your family can do each week that can save you money and add up in the long run.

One of the first things we did when we were trying to save money is too look at all the things we buy and see if they were necessity.  Something that stuck out at me was CHIPS!!  We all liked different flavors, so we were buying 3 bags of chips a week.  We were buying the Walmart kind and thought we were saving money.  It wasn't until I ran the numbers and found out that even though we were only spending $3 a week at that time.  Walmart chips have now gone up to $1.50 a bag.  $3 a week didn't seem like much, then I multiplied that by 4 and we were spending $12 a month- still didn't seem like much.  But take that number and multiply that by 12- WOW!!  Were we really spending $144 a year just in chips?  Do you know what I can do with $144 extra dollars?

We decided to not buy chips but to buy bananas and whole unpeeled carrots.  Later we discovered homemade tortilla chips- YUMMY. Will share the recipe later this week.  At first, I thought the teens were not going to be thrilled.  I am so happy they welcomed the change.

So, my "little" money saving tip this week is to:
Check your receipts and see what you currently pay for chips.  Take that number and multiply it by 4 and see what we pay each month and then take that number and multiply it by 12 and see what you are really paying for chips over the course of a year- you may be surprised.  Then take that number and write it down in your budget notebook ( I encourage everyone to have a budget notebook, will blog on this in depth later).  Alot of times, when I write down the number, it becomes more real.  Take that number and think about what you want to do with it~ maybe you can use your chip money to pay off a bill, set it aside for an unexpected emergency or maybe set it aside for something you really want and cannot afford right now.

Until next week.....

Photo Credit

Our Back to School supplies and clothes budget

Some of you are anxiously awaiting to see the school supplies we have bought for this school year.  Because I did not participate in the earlier back to school deals, we didn't do as well as we had in previous years.  But we stiill did OK and stayed within our budget.

Before we could do any back to school shopping, we had to see how much we could spend on school supplies and clothes.  I looked over our written budget to see if we had any wiggle room in our budget that maybe we could use for school shopping.  That didn't go too well.  We had a very hefty dental bill come in and that was eating any excess we had in our budget. 

Praise the Lord that my husbands commission check came in and it was more this quarter than last.  We sat down with our budget book and revised our budget to include the new amount of the commission check.  We were so excited that is until we got a letter in the mail about the high school marching band band camp- it was double what it was last year and the letter stated the money must be in 2 weeks later.  Write that down in the budget book- marching band is very important to Kevin.  Then it hit me~ we are going to have 2 kids in high school and in JROTC this year- YIKES!!  Thats 2 JROTC dues and 1 Freshman dues and 1 Sophomore dues- that is $100 all by itself.  Write that down in the budget book.  Plus baby Michael's ( I don't know why we still refer to him as baby Michael, my baby will be turning 2) birthday is in 10 days.  It was all adding up- how were we going to make this work. 

We sat down with our budget book and came up with a plan.  We were going to pay our bills as we normally do.  We were blessed that the commission check this quarter was more than last quarter and were able to pay for band camp, to get baby Michael birthday presents (on really good sales), JROTC & high school dues and still have $100 left for school supplies and new to them school clothes.

We end up with:
Dollar Tree
$1.00- freezer bags
$1.00- zip quart bags
$2.00- 2 boxes facial tissues
$2.00- 2 (5) ct highlighters
$1.00- dry eraser markers
$5.00- 5 boxes 20ct pencils
$12.20 with tax

Walmart
$1.48- 2 boxes colored pencils
$8.73- 9 packages tab dividers
$4.60- (5) 1" binders
$2.00- 5 bottles Elmer glue
$2.00- 5 packages Elmers glue sticks
$2.48- 600 index cards
$21.29- tax free weekend

Walgreens
$1.17- Wexford pencils
$0.78- PaperMate highlighters
$1.95- tax free weekend

Office Max- these trips were not made on the same day. I am just grouping them together.
1st trip
$.60- 3 containers of grips and erasers
$2.00- 75ct box pencils
$2.73 with tax

2nd trip
$0.60- 3 containers pencil grips and erasers
$0.30- 3 pkgs pecils
$0.03- 3 pks filler paper
$0.98 with tax

3rd trip
$1.50- 5 bottles hand santizer
$0.02- 2 rulers
$0.02- 2 boxes crayons
$0.20- 2 pks pencils
$2.00- 4 Composition notebooks
$3.82

4th trip
$2.00- 4 Composition notebooks
$0.02- 2 boxes crayons
$0.40- 3 pks pens
$0.20- 2 pks pencils
$0.02- 2 rulers
$1.00- 5 pks filler paper
$2.00- 2 boxes Kleenex
$5.74- Total with tax

08/22/2011
$0.42- Office Max- added 2 packs pencils and 2 packs crayons

My grand total for back to school supplies is........$49.13

Not too bad for school supplies for 3 kids.  This post turned out to be longer than I intended, so I will post about our school clothes deals later:)

New Staples Back to School deals

I got an email this morning from Staples that read that there were a couple of newly discounted school supplies.  These are on sale until through Saturday- August 20, 2011.

Staples 4 oz school glue- $0.05- Limit 2

Staples pencil top erasers 12pk- $0.05- Limit 2

2 pocket folder- $0.05- Limit 10

My Shopping Day- 08/15/2011

I took Kevin with me shopping today.  We had fun.  Since school starts on the 22nd, this makes the last Monday grocery shopping that the boys will get to come with me.  Here is where we went and what we got:

Target

$4.99- Dropps Laundry detergent $2.39- Orbit Gum 3pk
$2.39- Orbit Gum 3pk
$0.99- Trident Single pack
$0.99- Trident Single pack
$0.99- Trident Single pack
$2.69- Dannon Danimals Smoothies
$2.09- Activia
$2.99- Tums Ultra
$0.99- Bic ballpoint pens
$0.99- Bic ballpoint pens
$1.00- PaperMate pens
$2.49- Market Pantry cereal
$2.49- Market Pantry cereal
$1.75- Market Pantry Apple Juice
$1.75- Market Panrty Apple Juice
$31.97 before coupons
-2.00- Dropps Target cpn
-1.00- Dropps cpn found on package
-1.00/2- Orbit 3pk cpn
-1.00- Orbit 3pk Target cpn
-1.00- Dannimals Smoothie Target cpn
-1.00- Activia Target cpn
-1.00- Tums cpn
-1.00 Tums Target cpn
-1.00/2 Bic pens cpn
-1.00- PaperMate Target cpn
-0.99- Trident Target cpn
-2.00/3- Trident Single pack cpn
-1.00/2- Market Pantry cereal Target cpn
-1.00/2- Market Pantry juice Target cpn
-2.00- ???? cpn~The coupons listed at the bottom of the receipt do not indicate what product they go to.  I have 1 coupon that was unaccounted for but I doubt my $0.50 Dannimal cpn rang up a $2 coupon.  I have the corrent number of coupons taken off, so either one of my $1 coupons rang up $2 off and my $0.50 Dannimal coupon rang up as $1 off- we may never know.
$14.63- Total after tax

Martins
$2.99- 5 lb potatoes
$0.50- Mark down bread
$0.50- Mark down bread
$0.50- Mark down bread
$4.56- Total after coupons

Dollar Tree
$1.00- puzzle for church project
$1.00- puzzle for church project
$1.00- Hand sanitizer for church project
$1.00- Zip sandwich bags
$4.20- Total after tax

CVS

$1.19- Carmello candy bar
$5.00- Scott Mega roll paper towels
$3.89- CVS Antibacterial bandages
$2.27- CVS fresh bodywash
$12.35 before coupons
-3.89 CVS bandages cpn
-1.19- CVS Carmello cpn
-3.00- CVS bodywash cpn
-1.00- Scott paper towel cpn
-2.00- ECB
-1.00- ECB
My total out of pocket was......

Yup- you saw that right- $0.53- I was doing a very happy dance out of CVS:)

Walgreens
They didn't have everything I was looking for.  The very nice sales guy told me that their truck comes in on Wednesday night, so I will be heading back up there on Thursday.

$3.00- Aussie conditioner
-3.00 Aussie cpn
$0.15 Total after tax and I got a $1 RR- YEA!!!

Walmart
$8.70- 3 gallons skim milk
$1.97- Tater tots
$2.97- cat litter
$1.96- 2 bags frozen peas
$5.64- 3 bags Italian shredded cheese
$4.48- lunchmeat
$2.00- Pepperonis
$1.76- 2 pkgs hot dogs
$1.00- Chicken fried rice
$3.96- 2 bags frozen corn
$4.98- Parm Tilipia
$5.47- Whiting filets
$0.98- Kraft sour cream
$1.68- Jumbo shells
$3.36- 2 big cans of fruit
$1.14- baking powder
$3.76- 4 cans spaghetti sauce
$1.54- 2 cans chicken broth
$1.24- diced tomatoes
$1.50- 2 cans mushrooms
$1.00- mints
$5.97- diapers
$3.24- canaster Quick Oats oatmeal
$1.13- bananas
$1.92- 18ct eggs
$78.20 Total after tax

My August Spending post has been updated to reflect this shopping trip:)

Menu Plan for the week of 08/15/2011

Breakfasts
Baked Oatmeal
Banana Bread
Homemade Oatmeal packets with fruit
Pancake & sausage muffins
Chocolate PB Banana Smoothies
Pumpkin Bread

Lunchs
Turkey, ham, grilled cheese, tuna salad, PB&J sandwich, Chicken Nuggets
Cucumbers and cherry tomatoes from garden
Banana

Dinners
Ham, Baked Potatoes & veggies
Bean & Ham pasta with veggies
Mac & Cheese with tuna & peas
French Toast
Hamburgers, hot dogs, French Fries & Fruit
Spaghetti with meatballs, garlic bread & veggies
Leftovers

Snacks
Banana
Cucumbers from garden
Cherry tomatoes from garden
Animal crackers
Popcorn
PB Crackers

**HOT** CVS Coupons

I went to CVS this morning and as always stopped by the Red Coupon Scanner machine.  Usually, I get coupons for products I don't even use.  But not this morning- YEA!!!! 

I got a coupon good for a FREE box of CVS brand bandages, not to exceed $4.29.  I got a coupon good for a FREE Carmello candy bar- LOL- of course I got a free candy bar coupon when I am trying to lose weight:)  I also got a coupon for $3 off Huggies Slip on Diapers.

I wish I had of brought the $3 Huggies Slip on Diapers coupon from Sundays paper.  I have to go back in that direction on Thursday, so I will take both coupons with me, to do this deal:

$8.99- Huggies Slip on diapers
-3.00 CVS Huggies Slip on diaper cpn
-3.00 Huggies Slip on Diaper cpn- 08/14 SS
$2.99 for a pack of Huggies Slip on diapers- I like that price:)

Let me know if you find any awesome deals you would like to share:)

Free CVS Bodywash coupon - **EXPIRED**

I got an email this morning that stated if you "liked" CVS Minute Clinic's facebook page then filled out your email address and zipcode, they will email you a coupon good for a FREE Full Size bottle of bodywash. 

Offer ends 08/17/2011 at 11:59 EST

Office Max Back to School deals for the week of 08/14/2011

Metal Compass or 6" Plastic protractor- $0.05- Limit 3

Westcorr 5" Scissors- $0.50- Limit 3

Schoolio classic markers- $0.25- Limit 3

Schoolio 1" or 1.5" Poly Binders- $0.30- Limit 3

Schoolio 2 pocket folders- $0.01- Limit 5

12" ring binder ruler- $0.01- Limit 3

Hammermill copy plus paper- $6.99 and get $6.98 Max Perks Bonus Rewards- Limit 2

Office Max Multiuse copy paper 10 ream case- $39.99 and get $20 Max Perks Bonus Rewards- Limit 2

Buy 2 Get 1 Free deals
Sharpie, Expo & Uniball pens
Select Crayola art supplies
Locker accessories
Really Useful storage
Office Max clips, fasteners, staplers, staples, scissors, stamps, rubber bands, tape & self adhesive notes
Fashion binders, folders & notebooks
Select Post It notes
Office Max Premium folders
Office Max Poly notebooks
Avery, Elmers & Office Max glue sticks
Select Scotch office & packaging tape
(In) Place Heavy Duty view binders
Select Avery Durable Write on or Edge Insertable plastic dividers
Office Max filler paper

Buy 3 Get 1 Free deals
Office Max Durable binders

Buy 1 Get 50% off deals
Sparkle papertowels
Brawny papertowels
Lysol toilet bowl cleaner
Lysol Spring waterfall or Crisp linen spray
Mr. Clean magic eraser 4pk
Clorox Lemon wipes 35ct
Clorox Rain clean toilet bowl cleaner
Clorox Clean up spray
Cascade Lemon gel dishwasher detergent
Cascade Actionpacs