The Receipt Report

My huge get last week (which I should've updated but didn't but I will right here) was a nearly free CVS trip.

I'm just starting out so I am not an avid "CVS-er" as they've been known to be called (also shopping with CVS as a verb, as in going "CVS-ing." I don't really do that yet fullyentirely). I just sort of did this particular trip by happychance and was superexcited when I did it.

Oh it felt good.

I needed to get some VO5 hot oil treatment for ridicu-hair-tragedy that occurred a little over a week ago now and I couldn't find it (do they even make it anymore?)

I found, however, Nexxus on sale and you get $10 CVS bucks back if you spend $20 on Nexxus products.

OOh lala.

Well, I already had 10.63 in CVS bucks from the previous week, so I only needed to spend $10 of actual money on the Split End Repair conditioner I wanted, which I did. Then I spent $10 more on a leave-in that was also supposed to repair split ends, making it $20. So I got $10 back. And since I already had $10 in extra-bucks coupons, it was like spending nothing.

Sweet.

I also had a $5 off $25 purchase and needed milk so I bought milk (which I had a coupon for) and got that for almost free because I had a coupon for that.

I know. I'm awesome.

OK not really but I was awesome at CVS that day.

Anyway, this week, I'm a little behind in my couponing and listing because we've been so busy with my training, tiny tee-ball and now, tiny soccer, which started yesterday. I had planned last week's menu entirely forgetting there were two meat-free days because Lent started but I improvised with a vegetarian chili and spaghetti leftovers (no meatballs).

So the menu for this week keeping one meat-free day on Friday:

Monday: bbq chicken & couscous
Tues: ground beef pasta skillet, recipe in this week's coupons but it looked good.
Weds: Best crockpot chicken tacos EVER!
Thurs:  ST. PATTY'S DAY! CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE!! Since, ya know, we're the O'family. Ya know we're having some green 64 calorie BECK'S!
Fri: Tilapia
Sat: Leftovers

This week Publix is offering $10 off a $50 gas card (Southern Savers told me) and since I haven't complained out loud about the gas prices yet, I'm getting two. BOOYAH! Mean gas people.

I'm trying to be even crazier couponing person this week so I'll update when I get back tomorrow.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

The Receipt Report: Wow. I'm Like, Stocked Up and All!

This couponing thing is really paying off in the long run. Not only am I saving money on my weekly bill, I'm getting to the point where I've gotten stocked up on staples and won't have to spend any money at all on things like body wash, toothpaste, pasta, rice, paper towels, toilet paper, cereal, frozen and canned veggies, I mean, I am stocked!

This is exciting!

I've been wondering when I'd get to this point and now I am here, I'm excited to see how much I'm really going to save! Hurrah!

My list this week is SO.SHORT!

I need some meats and some cheeses, some salad and bread and that's mostly IT!

My meals for the week:
Breakfasts: Thomas' eng muffins on bogo this week, so I'll stock up for eggbeater/turkey sausage sandwiches.

Dinners:
Mon: chicken/salsa crockpot tacos! (Just chicken and salsa all day in crockpot and then shred it!!)
Tues: Spaghetti with turkey meatballs
Weds: Leftovers
Thursday: BBQ chicken drumsticks with confetti couscous
Friday: Date night
Saturday: Chicken Rice bowls

I know there is still a science to all this and I'm far from being the person who goes out and buys $150 worth of stuff for $20 so I welcome any and all tips! How did you do this week?

The Result:
Letcha know when I get back! I'm shopping Monday afternoon at naps!

The Receipt Report ... Ooh it's gonna be a good week!

OK seriously, being new at this and addicted, I waited with bated breath for the next Publix ad to come out on Tuesday night and woohoo! So much that I get is on bogo this week!! I started writing my shopping list early this week (and this post!)

The Plan

There is a $10 off $40 of groceries from Sweetbay coupon that's printable and guess what? You can use it as a competitor coupon at Publix! Hooray! Thanks again, Southern Savers! I also got another 2 $5 off coupon from Sweetbay and another $5 off coupon from Publix so the next 3 weeks are covered!!

So I'm very excited.

My favorite products on bogo this week:
-Uncle Ben's Ready Rice (I'll get brown rice to make rice bowls again all week, a great quick lunch or post workout recovery  meal). I have a coupon.
-Pam nonfat butter spray for which I have 2 coupons.
-Thomas' Bagels my favorite of all the bagels! (I'll get whole wheat -- my favorite pre-workout meal consists of natural peanut butter on 1/2 a whole wheat bagel with Polaner's All Fruit). Also, last week I stocked up on the bogo Eggbeaters and $1 a box frozen turkey sausage, so it'll make a great egg/sausage on a bagel! Hooray!
-Kellogg's Raisin Bran and Rice Krispies that the kids love. I have coupons for this. I hate to say this but last week I caved in to the request to buy Reese's PB Cup cereal (I know, don't shake your head at me) and while my 4 year old actually didn't end up liking it (thank goodness), I couldn't stop grabbing handfuls of it. I had to put it in the laundry room at one point. So that goes on the list of 'to never ever come into the house unless I find a padlock for it.'
-Green Giant canned veg and Green Giant Steamers veggies

The Meal Plan
Breakfasts:
Oatmeal, Raisin Bran, Rice Krispies, Whole Wheat bagel or eggbeater/sausage on a bagel, Chobani or Yoplait FF yogurts, low-fat Nutrigrain waffles with Polaner All-fruit

Dinners will be:
Tonight: Brown rice and chicken rice bowls with curry mustard dressing like from Chicken Kitchen (I found the recipe! Sort of! Soon to publish...)
Mon: Pulled pork sandwiches with a low-fat version of my full fat coleslaw
Tues: Veggie pasta with low-fat cream sauce (to die for! And this week's recipe o' week this Saturday)
Weds: BBQ chicken breast with confetti couscous
Thurs: Leftovers
Fri: Date night
Sat: Club sandwiches

I'm thinking this week's gonna be a good one for savings! I'll let you know when I get back!

The Result

I spent $110.56
I saved: 67.80

And I'm stocked up on cereal for the next couple of weeks! A couple of things that weren't published out there was that Go-Gurts went down in price a little and with a coupon, it made them just over $2 each for 8 tubes. Also, some nice person left a coupon on top of the Dora/Cars Yoplait yogurts! How nice was that! Random Act of Kindness!

But this week's CVSing really paid off. Arm & Hammer Detergent was on BOGO and I had a coupon, so I spent $4 for two of them. Kashi Go Lean was on sale for $2 a box and Crest Pro Health, Oil of Olay Body Wash and Old Spice Deoderant (all of which we use) was not only on sale, they offered back extrabucks for getting them and I had coupons. So I walked out with $31 in savings and $11 in extrabucks which means technically I paid less than $20 for:
2 Arm & Hammer Detergents (bogo + coupon)
2 Puffs Pluss boxes (sale + coupon)
2 boxes Kashi (extra bucks)
1 Oil of Olay Body Wash (sale + extra bucks)
1 Old Spice Deoderant (sale + coupon)
1 Old Spice Body Wash (free with coupon)
1 Secret Deoderant (free with coupon)
1 Oral B Toothbrush (extra bucks)
2 Crest Pro Health toothpastes (sale + coupon + extra bucks)

CVSing doesn't make sense for me if the items on sale aren't items I normally buy, so I am stocked up now on body wash, deoderant, toothpaste and cereal! All great for the long run! I'm reading everyone's amazing posts at Southern Savers and I'm not getting totals quite like them yet but I'm working on it! Still, this is great savings for our family.

How did you do this week?? If you're interested in anything on my menu list that I haven't linked a recipe to, email me! Have a great week!

The Receipt Report!

Happy Sunday! Time to save some moolah!!

The Plan

OK, this was today's first frustration:

Three papers later, I find the coupons.

OK, so maybe I'm a tad bit obsessed.

I got my one St. Pete Times at the bin thing on the corner, get home ready to clip away and nothing. No coupons. So then the kids are still in their pj's, but I need my coupons, so we head out again, no shoes and all and I get another paper. Nothing. GAH! Finally I get a third paper,  The Tampa Trib, and there are my coupons. Plus, did I mention I still stink because I haven't showered yet from my early morning brick? Also something died in my car, I'm not sure what it is but we can't find the source of it. That's another blog post (you're welcome).

And yes I do realize that I probably offset my coupon savings by chasing around papers with coupons in them but that's neither here nor there.

However,  I had already gone through the sales from Publix and printed all the coupons I can through Southern Savers, and clipped my few coupons that were in the paper and made my list. And I am enjoying that Purex coupon right there because it's on sale at CVS and I will get the laundry detergent for 99 cents.

So, my menu based on the stuff that's on sale this week is this:

Monday: (Won't be home for dinner, will have to do something out.)
Tuesday: Swedish Meatballs with Jennie O turkey meat (sale) and whole wheat wide noodles.
Wednesday: Chicken with saffron and Yellow rice and onions (Purdue on sale)
Thursday: Hopefully seeing the shuttle take off!! Dinner on the road (hopefully healthy!)
Friday: Crockpot Spanish Chicken with leftover yellow rice from Wednesday (I just looked and realized I haven't published that recipe yet! Looks like I have Saturday's recipe post!)
Saturday: Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Bertolli   Barilla Pasta Sauce (Bogo + coupons)

My favorite products in the world that are on sale this week:
-FINISH dishwasher detergent tabs! They're almost always on sale and almost always have coupons and they never ever leave a film on my dishes, I love these!!! On BOGO and 2 coupons, score!!
-Kashi Go Lean cereal! On sale and a coupon.
-Eggbeaters! On sale (no coupon. Wah.)
-I'll be trying the Bertolli Pasta Sauce for the first time since it's on BOGO and I have a Super Target coupon AND a coupon from the paper. But in all honesty, I'm personally a really a big die-hard fan of the 4-Cheese Hunts in a can (I know, it's a can, but it's cheap and delicious and low-fat!) I'll have to scan for a low-calorie Bertolli sauce (no vodka sauce - darn.)
Sidenote: last week there was a $1 off coupon for Athenos Greek Yogurt which was on sale for $1 so I tried it -- it was ok, but it was no Chobani which I have fallen head over heels for.

My list is pretty short this week compared to other weeks because we're starting to be stocked up on things from previous sales (hurrah!)  So, we'll see how it goes!

Off to go shop!

The Result
I'll update with the totals when I get back.
Update!

Spent: $99
Saved: $58.35! Hooray!

I made one flub. I got Barilla sauce instead of Bertolli! What was I thinking?!They were right next to each other. Doh! Dummy.

Anyway, almost everything I got was on sale, from my Yoplait to the All-Fruit, even Hunts 4 Cheese Tomato Sauce in a can which I ended up getting. This was a really great week at Publix, hooray!

My best purchase though was the Banquet Frozen Turkey Sausage Patties which were $1 each, so I bought 5 (there are 8 in a package, I heart turkey sausage!)

Any deals you've spotted this week? Please share!

I'm a Couponing Mini-Van Mom

Yes I am a couponing mini-van mom and I'm not afraid to say it!

Well ok I'm sort of a closet couponing mini-van mom who's outing herself. To you. Right now.

First I just want you to look at the size of my grocery store receipt from this last weekend:

That is the longest thing I've ever seen. (That's what she said.)

It LOOKS like I bought a lot of stuff. Well I sorta did but not that much stuff.

The size of my receipt is the result of my awesome, massive pile of coupons.



I had so many I felt like I was being a bad girl.

I had so many that the guy who was scanning them paused and stretched somewhere in the middle of scanning them and then resumed scanning.

He asked me how long it took me.

I said, "About two hours."

He said, "Well that's not that bad, I know people who spend 15 hours doing this." I do too. I am not that hardcore. But I did save $105 dollars between the $50 in coupons and the other $50 in BOGOs.

And it's actually pretty simple. You all probably know this by now because I'm usually last to the party but if you don't, there is a website called http://www.southernsavers.com/ and it provides you with all of the grocery stores' flyers and sales and it also provides you with printable coupons.

Many times you can use multiple coupons on the same item . You have to find out from the store what they allow but mine allows a manufacturer coupon, an online coupon, a competitor's coupon and a store coupon.

The sweet spot is scoring coupons on items that are on a BUY ONE GET ONE sale! Where you get two and they are both almost free! And then you can stock up! Like on Quaker instant oats (plain) for us! I got 6 boxes almost for free!

You can do this by grabbing a paper on Sunday and clipping the coupons of items you need or would normally use and comparing them to the sales in the flyers and to the printable coupons online. I clip my coupons and go online to southernsavers.com and sift through the Publix and the Target sales. Our Publix will take Target coupons so that's another coupon to stack in the bunch! This week my dad and my mother-in-law got me papers so I used all the coupons I could.

For the past few weeks I've scored pretty big just by doing these simple things, (i.e. $80 bucks for $140 in groceries or my most recent savings of $100.) It takes a little time and a little planning but it's not as hardcore as some couponers who would get everything I got for free! But it's great for anywhere from $30-$100 in saving A WEEK! Money I could totally put elsewhere.

The trick is not buying things though for the purpose of buying them because they are cheap. You can end up paying more that way. You make your list on what you need and products you usually buy and you search for coupons on those things. For me, if I can wait, I'll wait another week on some things to see if a coupon or sale pops up like I did with coffee this week (and voila! 8 o'clock bean coffee just went on BOGO, glad I waited!)

The point is, I was meal planning anyway because I want to eat better and eating better means planning better. Then I started looking at the coupons and noticing that all the items I was buying eventually ended up on sale anyway. And then I found out that there is a cycle to these items and I can actually stock up and save money and stack coupons at the same time.

This process is making me pretty cheap frugal now too. My hairspray just went up to $6.98 from $4.99 and my head is spinning like the exorcist! I'm waiting for a sale on that now, flat hair and all. Out of principle. But I have found that I could get that online for 2 bucks cheaper and free shipping (once it's no longer out of stock, which it is.)

Also there's that whole CVS couponing thing where you rack up bucks back for buying certain items. Which I did this week with Almay makeup, which, by the way, had a $2 off coupon in Sunday's paper this week! SUPER SCORE! I've learned that some people make a living out of the CVS specials but again, I'm not as hardcore as them. But this is FUN!

So do you coupon? Have you ever been to http://www.southernsavers.com/ before? If you're not in the south, is there another site? I'm so intrigued by this new world! Please tell me! I'm obsessed!