Kroger Trip 9/03/09

I love Kroger. I haven't stopped by in several weeks because I've been a little lazy and it's a lot easier for me to just grab stuff from Wal-mart, since I work and live within a mile of the place.

However, I finally decided that it was time to get the coupons together and make a trip to Kroger.

I'll start off by acknowledging that I spent a lot of money $91.21 (saved $51.71), especially compared to what I used to spend on groceries ($25 - $50 a week), but I've started doing grocery shopping a little less often, with trips in between for just milk and necessities & I bought 3 packages of diapers which, unless you find a great sale, are always going to increase the total by $10 to $20.

I also bought a lot of just plain junk. I'm pregnant, and feeling nice and lazy right about now, so I bought some frozen pizzas and convenience foods for my husband.

Here are some of the deals from today's trip:

Popsicle brand treats (Normally 4.19 each) On Sale for $1.99 * 2 = 3.98 - .75 ecoupon - $1 coupon from Kroger mailer = $2.23 for 2 boxes

Blue Bell Ice Cream 1/2 Gallon (Normally $6.49 each) On Sale for $4.99 - $1 tear pad coupon = $3.99 each

Lunchables on Sale 2/$3. I bought 1 for $1.50 and used a $1 off coupon from the Kraft magazine that just came in the mail = $.50

FREE Lay's Potato Chip with Kroger mailer coupon

FREE 18 oz. box of Rice Crispies cereal from Vocal Point

Bounty Basics Papertowels on sale for $1 - $.25 coupon (doubles) = $.50 a roll

Some deals that didn't work out like I thought were the Wonderbread $2 - $.55 coupon and I was supposed to have an ecoupon for another $.55 off, but it didn't show up -- apparently, the coupon at shortcuts is only for the classic or classic white and I grabbed the whole grain white, oops.

Also, I bought the new Bounce Bar originally $8.49, on sale for $6.99 - $2.50 coupon from Vocal Point = $4.49 - $1 P&G ecoupon (didn't ring up) would have been $3.49 which is a decent price for a product that it supposed to last about 4 months. I'm not sure why this one didn't come off. I'm a little disappointed, but sometimes I think it takes a few days after they are loaded before they actually start to work and I just loaded them yesterday.

Overall, I'm pleased with this trip. It's definitely not like the trips I used to make, but I'm working full-time (45 + hours a week), and caring for a toddler, so I'm happy that I even found the time to gather up the coupons and make it to the store!

CVS 75% off Summer Items

First stop of the day was CVS. I heard that some of the CVS stores had started marking summer items down and thought I'd stop by just in case. I found a pair of men's sandals for $3.50, women's sandals for $1.99 and two floats for the pool for $1.49 each.

It's time for coupons!

It's the beginning of the month, so don't forget to visit the following sites and load or print your coupons:


coupons.com
shortcuts.com
redplum.com
cellfire.com
Kroger/Unilever
P&G eSAVER
Betty Crocker
Pillsbury

Diapers

Recently, I received an e-mail about Diapers:

"I used to use Costco’s brand diapers, but felt like they weren’t that great of a deal. So I switched to Target’s store brand, which recently raised its prices and lowered its quality and I no longer want to use those. So I decided to do a little sleuthing around to see what the best deal is on diapers.

I only compared 3 stores (Dollar General, Target and Costco), but here’s what I found:Dollar General is by far the least expensive for diapers, even in the smaller packages

Target is the next best, on Huggies or Pampers on sale (plus, you can use coupons)

Then Costco’s price on Huggies is next best

Finally, and shockingly, Costco’s Kirkland brand is THE most expensive!!!

But, Costco’s wipes are the cheapest, so I’ll still get those there." - April

This got me thinking about Diapers. I have my own system and I know what I consider a good deal, but what about everyone else? What do you consider a good deal on diapers and where do you generally buy them?

Personally, I generally buy Walgreens brand or Kroger brand diapers. They are the same diapers, just different store names on the packaging. I can usually pick up a pack for about $4 - $5 and the quality is acceptable. It may not be pampers, but it does the job and it's half the price.

BTW, Thanks, April, for the e-mail.

Camping -- an inexpensive summer vacation

After I had my daughter, I quit my full-time job to stay at home more. Doing so meant I also had to figure out how to manage our family's finances with a lot less income. Camping is something we've found that we really enjoy and are able to do fairly inexpensively. Luckily, my mother-in-law owns a camper and my husband and I have a boat that we are able to take on camping trips. The combination of a boat and camper make for a pretty nice week-long vacation or weekend getaway. If you don't have a camper and boat (you can also rent a boat at some campgrounds) there are still a lot of things you can enjoy while camping tent-style: fishing, camp-fires, playing outdoors games, swimming, hiking, and some campgrounds even have a beach and playground for the kids. Last year we spent about $150 renting campsites over the course of the summer. That is still much less expensive than a trip that would require paying for a motel and spending a lot of money on gas. This summer, my mother-in-law actually rented a campsite for the next 4 months, paying a monthly rate. We are able to leave the camper and boat at the campsite and just load up the car and go camping anytime we want. So far the only money we've had to spend is on our fishing licenses. I know that camping may not be a great vacation for some folks, if you're like my friend, Nicole, who takes two showers a day, even when she's clean, you probably won't enjoy the outdoors. But, if you enjoy getting out in nature and spending time with friends and family, I recommend planning a camping trip this summer. It's a great way to relax and helps me reconnect with nature and myself. It's also a great opportunity to reflect on all the good things and people you have in your life. I find myself remembering what is truly important in life when I get a chance to get away from the hectic life and enjoy a few days without working, appointments, play dates, and the like.

Wal-mart Trip Today

I hear folks talk about Wal-mart having great prices, so I thought I'd give them a try today. I haven't been much in the last 2 years simply because I spend so much less at other stores. Lately, I haven't invested much time into collecting, cutting, or organizing coupons, so I ended up paying full-price for everything. I wasn't too concerned about not using coupons because I was really just going to the store to buy items that I don't typically find coupons for anyways: milk, produce, an air filter for an air purifier in my daughter's room, and a 3-pack of filters for the PUR water filtration pitcher that I use (I quit buying bottled water because it's a waste of money and bad for the environment to use all those plastic bottles), & a large bag of cat food (I haven't been able to find the deals some folks brag about for cat food). I decided to separate my purchases and ended up with one for $26 (paid in cash) and another for $103 (Yikes!). I paid for the $103 order and then started to walk out with my purchases but decided to check the prices on my receipt. I usually know what I will be paying, and this seemed really high (I wasn't paying that my attention checking out because my daughter was being rather cranky). Many of the items rang up differently on the receipt than they were marked on the shelf. I went to customer service and returned $46 in items that were incorrect. The lady at customer service was very polite, but given the inconvience of the situation, manuvering around a huge store, and spending twice my normal budget, I don't think I'll be shopping Wal-mart again anytime soon. In the end, I ended up spending the $26 on the first transaction and a little less than $60 on the second transaction. Eighty-six dollars is two weeks worth of groceries for us. And, unfortunately, I don't have $86 worth of milk and produce! I have to admit $30 of that is cat food and the PUR filters, the air purifier filters were returned because they rang up at $24.98 (no thank you! I'll find them some where else). So, only a portion of that was actual groceries, but it still didn't feel like I was getting any bargains. And, I've got to say that it's easy to want to pick up things I didn't intend to buy at Wal-mart because there is such a large selection. I think I'll be sticking with Aldi for my staples and using coupons at Kroger and Publix; I seem to get better deals at these stores. . .

ALDI

Aldi Foods is growing all over the country and they have great prices. I have been stopping at Aldi to pick up the majority of my groceries and then stopping at Wal-mart or Kroger to get anything that Aldi doesn't carry. Aldi stores do not accept coupons and I know many of you all use coupons regularly. The deals at Aldi Foods stores are generally good enough that they are still better than a regular grocery store even with a coupon. Most of the prices at Aldi are the same week after week, so it's easy to know if I should pick an item up at Aldi or if I can get a better deal at another store. I have found that the prices at Aldi are generally very low and the quality is very good (most of their items are made by the same companies as the name-brand items). I still shop Kroger a lot and get great deals there, but I have found that I can save a lot of time every week by doing the bulk of my shopping at Aldi and then stopping at Kroger to get anything else. I was spending hours every week checking out several different couponing sites and blogs, organizing coupons, and doing my shopping. Now I'm able to do all my shopping and planning in about an hour a week. I've been doing the deals long enough now that I've got a pretty good stoockpile and I can generally work off that. For those of you who are still building a stockpile, I recommend grabbing staples at Aldi and stopping at the other stores in your area only for deals for items you actually need or will need.

Gardening

This year I am making my first real attempt at gardening. Last year, I thought about it and even planted some tomatoes (a little late in the year) and was even able to eat a few before the first frost. This year, however, I am making a much more serious attempt. I have already started a little greenhouse in my laundry room. The plants (plum tomatoes, large tomatoes, zucchini, broccoli, lettuce, and peppers) should be ready to put in the garden around early May at which time, I will also be planting corn, carrots, onions, and potatoes directly into the garden. Between now and then, I need to find or rent a rototiller (I believe that's the type I need) because our yard is very compacted and I'm basically starting from scratch. Although, this will be my first garden, I am lucky to have a father, who maintained a vegetable garden throughout a substantial part of my childhood, and a grandfather, who at 85 is still an active gardener, to help answer any questions I may have. I consider this kind of an adventure. I am sure that I will end up with more vegetables than our small family will eat, but I have lots of friends and family in the area who will enjoy the extra and this should save us a lot of money on vegetables. So far I've spent $42.66 on tools, seeds, plant food, etc. I probably spend about that much or more in a couple months on vegetables, and don't get nearly as much for my money. I'm looking forward to seeing how this all works out. I am hoping to have enough food to keep our family as well as several of our family members and a few friends well-stocked this summer!

Zoo Membership

The Nashville Zoo has a promotion going to get $10 off your Zoo membership for 2009. Use the code "WILD09" and save $10.

The family membership is a great deal. Not only are there lots of animals and programs at the zoo, there's also a huge play area for kids. Access to the play area itself is worth the family membership.

Instant Breakfast for a toddler!

Last week I got some free Carnation Instant Breakfast at CVS. This morning I realized we were out of milk and it's icy out so I made a yogurt shake for my daughter.

1 packet of Carnation instant breakfast
1/2 cup milk (I substituted water)
2/3 cup of yogurt

I stirred it up and served it as a yogurt drink. My daughter loved this!

Kroger, CVS, Walgreens 3/05/09

My first stop this morning was Kroger. I had a short list for this week, just about 12 items, but I thought I'd grab a couple of the items that were on sale in addition to my usual items, simply because they were such a good deal. This week at Kroger, I was able to pick up the following items for $53.83, not great but a savings of 46% on some of my staples:
- 6 Freschetta Pizzas $3.49 each after coupons
- 2 Boxes of Toaster Strudels $1.29 each after coupons
- 2 Bags of Amour Meatballs $1.99 each
- 2 Boxes of Barilla Whole Wheat Pasta $.39 each (used 2 FREE pasta coupons up to $1 coupon from Armour)
- 3 packs of Baby wipes $1.99 each - $5 off 3 coupon = $.98 for all three packages
- 1 package of Kroger Comforts diapers $6.49 - $3 coupon = $3.49
I also picked up some fruit, soup, milk, half and half, chips/salsa, popcorn and a few other items on my list.

My next stop was to Walgreens. I grabbed 4 packs of Diapers 2/$9. I paid 19.67 after tax and will get 1.80 back on my W card.

My last stop for the day was CVS. I picked up all this for $11.26 oop and was able to get $6.99 back in ECBs to use at a later date:
- 2/$1 Skor bars (we love these)
- 1 box of the Carnation shakes 10 pack $4.99 with $4.99 ECB
- 2 Bags of Gold Emblem Chocolate Macadamia Nuts reg. $3.99, marked down to $2 each and used a $2 off two Gold Emblem purchase
- 2 True North Peanut Cluster bags, regularly $3.49 each, marked down to $1.75 - $1 coupon = $.75 each
- 2 True North Almond Cluster bags $.75 each after coupon
- Magnetic Dry Erase Board/Calendar for my fridge -- marked 50% off @ $5
- 1 ream of high-quality printer paper (I was almost out!) $3.75
- Humidifer protection cartridge (it's supposed to kill the bacteria that can build up in a humidifier) $1.82
- 1 pack CVS sentsitive baby wipes $2.99 - $2 CVS skincare coupon = $.99

My total savings for the day was $109.22 and my spending was $84.76, a saving of 56.3% -- not too bad considering that I did it all on-the-go.

Honeymoon/Anniversary Getaway

For those of you looking for the less expensive options for celebrating your Honeymoon or Anniversary, I highly recommend checking out your state parks. In Tennessee, we have great parks with several of them offering getaway packages for couples. My husband and I did this last year and we're doing it again this year. We're going to a different park, but still within a reasonable drive. At our parks, they offer a meal with your room package and great lake/river views. Check out Tennessee State Parks or your local state parks for options close to you.

Kroger Trip February 12th

There are some great deals at Kroger today. I've been needing some more apple juice and was excited to see that the Mott's was going to be on sale for .99 today (only). So I got in to Kroger a little before 9am and grabbed the juice before it was all gone. I also grabbed 5 Starkist Tuna pouches with $1 off coupons I got in the mail and 1 bottle of Kroger brand glass cleaner (somehow I ran out?) . I paid $11 and got a $1 OYNO from the StarKist deal. The Tuna was on sale for $1 each - $1 coupons = FREE + $1 OYNO coupon!

CVS Trip 2 /02/09

The Triscuits and Plnaters were FREE with coupons from Kraft. I used ECBs to pay for everything else, and ended up spending making money on this deal. I could have sworn that some to the January deals ran into February and didn't find out until I bought them that there were no ECBs printing. I got a refund on those items and actually ended up with $11 extra from the deal and another 12.50 in ECBs to keep rolling. By the way, the Loreal wipes are great for taking off makeup at the end of the day!

Free Energy Evaluation and KIt

Check out this site: www.energyright.com to get a free home energy e-Valuation and a free kit.

This is through the TVA, but it's a good idea to check out the power company in your area to see if they have similar programs.

Thanks for letting me know about this, Chris!

Lemonade Award!

I am passing on the Lemonade award to:

Living on a Dime
Swanzy Family
$1200 Frugal Challenge
Coupons are great
Shepherd's Savings
Making Cents of Savings
Use your Cents
Two Moms
Mom is Crazy
The Way I Save

Please check out the information from Cheap by Choice and Jane4Girls regarding this award!

Kroger Trip 76% savings!

I love to save money! I decided to make one last trip to get the 2% cheese that's on sale. I got 10 bags, 1 gallon of 2% milk, and 1 box of the SeaPak shrimp (free) with coupon.

The total was 12.56 oop with $1.87 being tax. I saved 76% ($35.29 off the regular retail price).

There are also a bunch of the steamers I got earlier in the week in this picture.

For the year:

Spending = $374.67
Savings = $673.40
Total value of items purchased = $1060.07

My freezer and cabinets are really full. I shouldn't have to buy cheese for a while. I've 18 bags of the Kraft and about 10 packages of the Hickory Farms cheese to go through. In fact, other than the basics and sales, we don't really need much.

The items I'm still looking for great deals on are:
Viva Big-rolls
Diapers -- I'm probably going to get these this coming week at Wags for $5.99 a piece - $2 when you buy 2 packs makes them 2/$9.98 - 10% savings with W card = about $4.50 a piece, not too bad!
Cat food -- I just ordered coupons, hopefully they'll get in before the sale at Publix ends -- I hate to pay full price for cat food

Publix & CVS

I stopped at Publix to use my Mott's for Tot's coupons and got several other items that were on sale. On the way home, I stopped at CVS to see if they had a few items--they didn't, so I just used up some coupons and a $5/$15 CVS coupon that expires in two days. Here's what I got for $23.81:

-7 Mott's for Tot's Apple Juice 64 oz
-12 - 2 liters of Pepsi products
-1 gallon 2% milk
-1 container of half and half
-4 Betty Crocker Muffin Mixes
-4 I can't believe it's not butter (15 oz. containers)
-10 Green Giant frozen vegetables
-2 - 6 packs of Lender's bagels
-1 Lay's potato chips
-1 Tostito's tortilla chips
-1 Tostito's salsa

Basically, I would have spent about the same amount for the juice, milk, and half & half without coupons, so everything was pretty much a bonus--at least that's the way I look at it. . .

Creating a Personal Budget

Here are some links on how to create a personal budget and other budgeting information:
eHow
Seeking Success -- at the bottom of this article there is a link to a really great Budget Worksheet.
Sound Vision
Dave Ramsey -- this is one of the best sites with really great information
Suze Orman -- Her site and books are generally more investment oriented. Once you get to the point that you need to start investing some of your money, she's got some great advice.
My Money -- established by the government to help Americans get their financial problem under control. It looks fairly basic, but has a lot of great information and links.
MSN Money there are several helpful articles here.

Personally, we use an excel spreadsheet that I created, which lists all of our expenses and then delegates them out to either myself or my husband. He is responsible for some of the expenses and I am for others (we have never combined accounts). At the end of the month, I reconcile actual money spent versus the budgeted amount. Things come up sometimes, and we aren't about to let our lives fall apart for the sake of a budget. However, we strive to make our budget monthly. It's not always easy. My husband is in college, and there aren't easy-to-find scholarships when you're in your 30s; through planning, we've been able to add those expenses into the budget to avoid having to pay for student loans.

Really take the time to look at areas you can cut costs. We have a few bills that we should cut but haven't or have taken on more than we should at times. It's going to be difficult to save if you aren't willing to cut some of the costs that aren't really neccessary. Example: We don't have cable. It's not worth the cost for us because we generally just watch the basic channels anyways.
We also don't have a home phone. We had a home phone and I had a prepaid cell phone, but I found a cricket plan that gave me unlimited calling and texting for a few dollars more than my home phone and I decided it was worth it to have a cell phone that wasn't out of minutes when I needed it (and I no longer have to pay for the pre-paid phone--it's basically a wash). Some people may need the home phone and not the cell phone--the idea is to look into your expenses and figure out what is really working for you, what isn't, and what needs changed, dropped or added to your budget.

Be realistic. My husband is a smoker. Most people don't want to admit how much money they waste, so it was no surprise that my husband told me $50 a month. Ummmm, no, I think the average smoker spends more than $50 a month and I can say this because I am an ex-smoker. The point is, you have to be willing to take a hard look at how much you really spend and be realistic with yourself about it. If you lie to yourself about your spending, you will never get a handle on it or be able to control your budget.

Give yourself a little wiggle room. I have always been a type A personality. High-strung, stressed out, perfrectionist, who can't stand for things to be anyway other than the way I expect them to be. Well, the truth is, that isn't going to work with a budget. We're all human (I hope) and we're going to make mistakes and sometimes unexpected expenses occur (babies are the first to come to mind). There's no point in beating yourself up for not always making your budget. Expecting perfection in this case will likely just create more stress than it's worth.

Re-evaluate. At least once or twice a year you should re-evaluate your budget. Is it working for me? Are these still our financial goals? What could we cut or add to make this work better?
Ask yourself some of these questions to make sure the budget you created is still the budget you want and need. If it's not, fix it.

Accountability. Hold yourself, your spouse and other family members accountable and they should do the same for you. Just don't get into the blame game. There's a fine line between reminding someone that there's no money budgeted for a certain item and blame or even the perception of blame (for there not being money available).

If you don't already have a Personal Budget, I hope you'll take the time to make one. If you've already got one, take some time and review it to make sure it's what you really need!
Good luck.

Coupons!

Thanks to Cheap by Choice for the link to slick deal's list of printable coupons!

Some other sites you can check out for coupons:
Cellfire
Shortcuts
P&G
A Full Cup
Coupons.com
Smart Source
Eversave
Upromise

And, you can always check out the links at couponmom. com.