Lane Bryant Bra Deal!

I got an e-mail from Lane Bryant that their B2G2 Bra Deal was ending soon and decided to check it out. I normally buy my bras from either Lane Byrant or JcPenney online and they tend to run $30 - $50 a bra, so I'm always looking for a good deal.

Here's what I did to make this deal the best for me:

1st
I went through MyPoints so I could earn points in my account towards giftcards. I don't participate in some of the other sites that do the same thing, so there may be a better deal through one of those sites.
2nd
I visited Retail Me Not and found a code for 20% off your entire order, which worked!
Code: 000208024

So I ended up with 4 bras originally $42/each = $168 - $84 (B2G2 Free discount) - $16.8 (20% off discount) = $67.20 + $4.99 S/H + $6.68 Sales Tax = $78.87

I was able to save about 60% off the original price and ended up with 4 bras for less than $20 each, not a bad deal.

Publix Trip 1-13-10

1 Publix Grape Juice (Penny Item) $2.59 - 2.58 = $.01
12 Voila Frozen Meals BOGO $4.99 = $29.94 - $9 coupons (6 coupons for $1.50/2) = $20.94
4 I Can't Believe It's Not Butter BOGO $2.39 = $4.78 - $4 coupons (4 coupons for $1/1) = $1
4 Lender's Bagels BOGO $1.79 = $3.58 - $2 coupons = $1.58
2 Hall's Cough Drops BOGO $1.65 - $2 coupons = -$.35
2 Muir Glen Tomato Sauce .89/each = $1.78 - $2 = -$.22
1 Scotties Facial Tissue $1 - $1 = FREE
2 Hefty 13 gallon trash bag boxes BOGO $6.49 - $2 coupons = $4.49
4 Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks BOGO $2.73 = $5.46 - $3.20 = $2.26
2 Quaker Fiber and Omega 3 Granola Bars boxes BOGO $2.99 - $1 = $1.99
1 Package of Garden Chedddar Gold Fish = $1 - $.75 coupon = $.25

Order Total: $33.23 + $4.70 Tax = $37.93 oop
Total Savings: $84.21
Total Product Value: $117.44

Thanks to Hot Coupon World for all the information for these great deals. Also, visit CouponMom for easy to print lists for shopping and additional coupon matchups and visit
I Heart Publix to get the great spreadsheet available for weekly deals.

Kroger and Publix Trips

Publix:

2 Keeber 100 calorie snack boxes BOGO 3.19
1 J&J Buddies 1.09
1 Publix Baby Wipes 140 Count 2.39
2 Windex Multi-surface cleaner 2 for $4

-$1 on J & J
-$1 on Windex
-$1 on Windex
-$.50 doubled on Keebler
-$.50 doubled on Keebler

Total 5.67 + tax

I also got a raincheck for the G2, which is BOGO for $2.50 - (2) $.50 coupons doubled = $.25/each - $.55 Publix coupon = -$.30 each

Kroger:

12 Swiss Miss $1 each
1 1/2 gal. Kroger Milk $1.25
6 Del Monte Fruit Bowls $1 each
2 Danimals 6-packs $1.88
2 Rosaritos Refried Beans $1 each
1 Starkist Tuna pouch $1
5 Healthy Choice French Bread Pizzas $1.55 each
1 J&J Buddies $1.09
1 AquaFresh Kids Toothpaste $1.99

- (6) Swiss Miss $.50/2 coupons doubled = -$6.00
- $5 ecoupon for 5 Healthy Choice
- $5 printable coupon for 5 Healthy Choice
- $.50 off Starkist Tuna doubled = -$1
- (2) $1 off 3 Del Monte fruit bowls = -$2
- $.50/2 Rosaritos Refried Beans doubled = -$1
- $1 J&J
- (2) $1 Dannon Yogurt

Total $15.13 + tax

Some other good deals that I didn't do at Kroger:
$1 Suave deodorant -$.50 coupon doubled = FREE
Pillsbury Brownie Mix $1 - $.40 coupon doubled = $.20
Birdseye Vegetables $1 - $.35 coupon doubled - $.3o

Kroger Trip Today!

Some of the highlights of my trips today were FREE Betty Crocker Mashed Potatoes and and a great deal on Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls.

First I had (4) .40 BC potato coupons and they were on sales for $1 a pouch, plus I had a .40 off coupon on shortcuts and a .40 off coupon on cellfire .
4 pouches at $1 each = $4 - 4 (.40 coupons doubled) = .80 - .40 shortcuts - .40 cellfire = FREE Mashed potatoes.

Next, I did the Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls deal. They are also on sale for $1 each and there are printable coupons on several websites, including coupons.com and redplum.com. I got 6 packages of the $1 cinnamon rolls = $6 - 3 (.40/2 cinnamon rolls doubled) = $3.60 - .40 cellfire coupon - .40 shortcuts coupon = $2.80 for 6 packs of cinnamon rolls = .47/each

Doing a similar deal with the Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and (3) .50 off coupons doubling, I was able to get 6 of the crescent rolls for $3.

They also had Green Giant Steamers on sale 3/$5 and there are .50 off coupons which will double taking $1 off each package. Doing this deal I was able to get 5 packages for .67 each or $3.33 total -- not too bad.

Remember, there are printable coupons for all these items.

Also, several of the Keebler items had peelies, which would be great to use on the Target Gift Card promotion.

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!