Spending Money to Make Money

So here's some shopping I did this past week.....

Sis-IL went with me to Weis on Tuesday.  I waited until she got here to make a meal since I didn't know what she would/could eat this time.

I spent $52.78 on....
1 Qt. Yogurt reg. price
4 1lts. Half&Half Soda Mixers on sale
2 Rolls of Breakfast Sausage half price
2 2lts. Diet Coke on sale(only thing SIL drinks)
1 Small jar of Honey  reg. price ouch!
3 lbs. yellow squash on sale
2 bags Sargento shred cheese on sale
4 blocks Weis block cheese on sale
2 bags of Onions BOGO
1/2lb. American cheese on sale
1 container of Strawberries on sale
3 red peppers on sale
1lb. mushrooms on sale
1 box of corn dogs reg. price ouch
5 pkgs. OM lunchmeat *

Total included a $3.50 off $45 order Catalina, 5 x .50/1 Peelies on the OM lunchmeats and a "Senior Discount" of $3.29.  It was Senior day.  This is the first time I've gotten an automatic old people discount at Weis.
Damn that teen boy cashier!  Not everyone over the age of 20 is a senior citizen....

The lunchmeat packages were reg. .99¢ each and each had a .50¢ store discount Q on.  Buying 5 caused a $4 OYNO Catalina Q to spit out at the register, so basically I paid $2.50 and the store gave me back $4.00.
Nice!! 8-))

There was also a Dairy Deal-buy select items, get an instant $3 off your order.
The cheese I bought qualified, though I bought more than I had to because it was working off the shelf price....3 bags of Sargento and 1 block of cheese would have been enough.
oh well....

I saved 40% off of reg. retail price on the order and I got that $4 OM Cat back and saved $3 more on the cheese I bought.

So Saturday Hubs and I went back up to the store......
I wanted to do the P&G Catalina Deal(buy 5 select items, get $5 OYNO Catalina Q)and the Clorox Catalina Deal(buy $20 select items, get $7 OYNO Catalina Q).

I wanted to buy 5 Bounty napkins for the P&G Deal but they were totally out.
So the Manager gave me a raincheck for the $2.50 price for 5 packages and a $5 Weis gift card since I wouldn't get the $5 Catalina next week when the napkins came in.
So I got $5 for buying nothing......
I could really get use to that!lolol

So I am "up" $5 and I haven't bought anything yet. 8-)

I purchased 4 Clorox Clean-up cleaner bottles(necessary for the chihuahua who poops in the house) and 3 jugs of Clorox bleach.  $19.96 + tax OOP and I got a $7 Cat Q back.
Unfortunately there are no Qs out now for these products to bring my OOP down, so $12.96 after Catalina or 7 products for $12.96.

Then I bought "$12" in cheese(based on the reg. shelf price).....3 bags of Sargento shredded and 1 block of cheese for $8 on sale, minus the $3 instant discount=$5.00 for 4 containers of cheese.  This makes them $1.25 each which is rock bottom here for cheese!  (I did this cheese deal 5 times in total.)

I also bought 2 Cantaloupes as they were BOGO and actually smelled like cantaloupe, a box of frozen breakfast biscuits sammies for the teens(on sale for $3.99),as well as a beef tenderloin(6.66 lbs. at $3.99lb)for $26.57. (I got 12 thick steaks out of that tenerloin as well as a bag of stew beef after I broke it down.)
My total OOP this trip, after using my $4 OYNO Cat from the OM lunchmeat from earlier in the week was $56.71.
I got the $7 OYNO Cat for the Clorox stuff(and the $5 gift card).

Then I bought.....
3 more Sargento cheese bags
1 more block of cheese(the $3 discount deal again)
5 pkgs. of the OM lunchmeat at .99¢ w/.50¢ discount stickers on them
2 Store Gift Cards totaling $50

I didn't use my $7 Cat or the $5 gift card and paid $57.45.
Of that amount, $7.45 comes out of my food budget.

I received a $10 OYNO Catalina(for buying $50 in select gift cards)...ok, the Cat didn't print so the CS gave me a $10 voucher on a raincheck form-same thing.  I also got another $4 OYNO Catalina for buying the 5 pkgs. of OM lunchmeat.

All my $26 in free grocery money for next week.....

I am OOP $64.16 today or $116.94 for the whole week from the food budget.
I also have $26 in free Cats/gift cards to spend next week.....so I "spent" $38.16 this past week.
Ok, not really, just in that fuzzy logic way in my head way.lol

And I have 30 more gas points, 10 for each other 3 trips over $50.  My next gas fill up I get .80¢ off per gallon.

Here's a frugal tip.
If you are going to have to spend money on something anyway, buy a gift card that gives you a benefit to pay for that expense.

Last week(and this week at Weis)when you buy $50 total in gift cards, you get a $10 OYNO Catalina Q good on anything in the store(except smokes, lottery tickets, etc.)
I bought the $50 in gift cards because we are going on a trip next week.

And we are going to have to spend money anyway to eat and Hubs wants to eat better than fast food.  So I googled what eateries are out where we will be staying and picked up 2 $25 gift cards. (One of these places we have locally here to, in case we only want to go out one night and not both that we will be in Columbus.  We can use the other at a later date here.)

Why not spend the money on a gift card to a restaurant that is located where we are going and get the free $10 worth of groceries to spend later?
So by purchasing these ahead(and the cost doesn't come out of the food budget) I get $10 in free groceries later.
Works for me! ;-)

Rite-Aid also has a Buy a certain Gift Card good at "Home Improvement" Stores Deal this week.
Buy the $50 gift card and get a $10 +Up Rewards good for $10 worth of stuff at Rite-Aid.
If you are going to spend money anyway at a Home Depot, Lowe's or one of the other stores that qualify, why not buy that gift card ahead and get the free $10 credit in goods at Rite-Aid?

We have home improvement projects coming up so buying these gift cards at Rite-Aid for free shampoo, tp and other stuff is a no brainer for us.  

I might actually go do the Gift Card deal again this week for another free $10 in groceries.
#2 Son needs some clothes before he packs off to camp next Sunday and dropping $50 on clothes won't take much effort, will it?
ugh.
Might as well get some free food to ease the pain in my wallet on that score too. ;-)

Have you done any Catalina Deals lately?
Have you saved money on one category of your spending by taking advantage of a deal in another area of spending?


Sluggy


 

I Have Sunk The Food Budget for June

Yes, it's official.
I have sunk my food budget for June.
With 4 more days to go, I have spent $374.77.

I was doing ok until I decided to buy fresh lobsters for Hubs and I as a belated Happy Father's Day present last week.  $42.98 later and my budget was officially shot to heck.

After that I figured I might as well do some more damage....what could it hurt, right?lol

I had 2 $7 Catalina Qs for Weis Markets that were expiring on July 2nd.  As there were 2 Catalina Promotions last week(ended 6/25)at Weis, I went ahead and rolled them instead of waiting until this week and hoping there would be a Catalina Promotion this week.
I'm glad I didn't wait as there are no Cat Deals at Weis this week! 8-)

I took advantage of a few good deals while I was there, so here is what I bought on Saturday....

One Cat Deal was Buy $20/Get $7 Cat Q.
I bought 2 large bags of charcoal(not pictured)and the Clorox Clean-Up Spray.
After the $7 Cat Q I used I spent $11.98 on these items(plus tax)and received another $7 Cat Q.

The other Cat Deal was GM products, Buy $35/Get $10 Cat Q.
I bought--2 Chex cereal, 5 Chicken/Tuna Helper, 4 Suddenly Salad, 3 Totino's pizzas, 2 Froot by Foot.
After the other $7 Cat Q and other Qs, I spent $11.50 and received a $10 Cat Q.
There was a double dip as well on the Helper....buy 5 and get a $2 OYNO off of meat Cat Q.


I also picked up 3 blocks of Helavu Good cheese on sale for $2 each.  My .50/1 IPQs doubled to $1/1, so my cheese was $1 a block after Qs.
The muffins had a 50% off sticker so were $2.25 a pack.
The bags of salad and strawberries were both BOGO.
The Perdue ground chicken was on sale for $3 and each package had an instant $1.50 discount meat sticker making them $1.50 each.
I picked up 2 bags of frozen mushrooms on sale for $1 each.  This price made them a better deal than fresh or the canned ones.

The only item I paid reg. retail for was the bag of bagels for $2.99, but by the bag they were less than buying them individually. ;-)

Reg. retail on all would have been $105.17 and I paid $47.88 after sales and Qs.
The Catalina items cost me $23.48 and I received $19 in Catalina Qs back.

Now I'm going to try to stay out of the grocery store for 4 more days.
Wish me luck!lol

Sluggy

Rite-Aid & Weis on Saturday....and Shopping Plans for This Week, Anyone?

After I snapped out of my funk from Fridays happenings I still had $30 in expiring +Ups to roll/convert/burn by Saturday evening.
So Hubs went with me up to Rite-Aid and then Weis Markets.

I did 2 transactions at Rite-Aid....one of my card for the Biotene/Aquafresh Deal and one on BIL's card for the Colgate 360 toothbrushes Deal.
Here's everything together....

I did the Biotene/Aquafresh Deal twice(Buy $15/Get $5 +Ups) and used my $1.98 extra from the 1st time I did that deal earlier in the week, so I only had to buy $28.02(2 x $15 for each deal-my overage from earlier in the week).
After coupons/sales the 1st total came to $7.46.  I used $7 in +Ups and put the .46¢ on my gift card.
I received $10 in +Up Rewards back(2 x $5 Biotene/Aquafresh).

The 2nd transaction which included everything else(along with 5 12-packs of soda which is not pictured), came to $33.49.  I used the last of my raincheck on the Glad trash bags, but the soda, cookies, chips and toothbrushes(or so I thought!)were all on sale and the only coupons I used were the in-ad Q for the soda and 2 $1/1 ManuQs for the toothbrushes.  I used $33 in +Ups and put the .49¢ on my gift card again.
The $10 in cookies qualified for SCR #48 for $2.00.

This transaction was all screwed up.  None of the 360 toothbrushes were marked(only 1 kind was part of the +Ups deal)and I bought the wrong kind since they were out of whatever was on the other peg hook.  These ones weren't on sale, so my total was higher and they didn't produce the $2 +Ups.

So after I returned the toothbrushes, I got $8.96 credited back onto my Rite-Aid gift card.
The end result for all was $.95 off my gift card, $8.96 back onto it, I used $40 in +Ups, got $10 in +Ups back and a total of $120.28 worth of stuff.
So of the $46 in +Ups I used this week, I converted $8.96 into gift card 'cash', converted $2 into SCR cash, rolled $10 worth, which leaves $25.04 worth that I burned through.


THESE TRIPS
Number of Transactions.....2
Total Spent....$.95 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$120.28
SCR qualified for...$2.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$10.00
+Up Rewards spent.....$40.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$57.00  And I am back up to $47.72 left on my gift card.


Rite-Aid GRAND TOTALS--MAY Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......17
Total Spent....$8.74 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$826.70
SCR qualified for....$14.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for May SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 5/18.....$87.00
+Up Rewards spent....$103.52
+Up Rewards earned....$109.52
+Up Rewards left....$57.00  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period


I had a $5/$50 Weis Q and a $1/1 any Full Circle Product item Q.  I also had a $6 Cat from last week's trip to Weis(when I rolled my $8 Cat by buying Pizza Rolls and Suddenly Salad....don't judge!).
Saturday was the end of the sales week there with 2 Catalina Deals-a Unilever and another one featuring Glad/Kingsford/Clorox/etc.
So I went with plans to roll my $6 Cat into 2 Cats worth $12, and find enough other things we needed on sale so my total was $50 and I could use the $5/$50 Q and get some gas points.

I have no photo for y'all but I found 6 packages of bacon on clearance for $.99, marked down from $4.99 each, 2 packages of Smithfield lunchmeat for $.99, marked down from $3.99 and 2 dozen free eggs with the Free Egg tearpad Qs wyb Hungry Jack hash browns(dehydrated ones and they were also on sale)I found in the store.
I ended up paying $36.47OOP for $97.10 worth of groceries AND have $12 in Cats to roll/use.  Hopefully, Weis will have another Cat Deal in the next 2 weeks so I can continue to roll these Cat Qs.
That's my problem with Weis Markets Cat Deals....they hardly ever have subsequent Cat Deals within the 2 week expiration timeframe.  Most of their Cat Deals are staggered at least 3 weeks apart which keeps you from getting full value for your shopping dollars.

This week is a light Rite-Aid week for me as I only have $16 +Ups expiring on Saturday.  This seems to be a good thing as there is not much to roll your +Ups with this week.
Besides the Degree/Suave/Dove/Vaseline Deal, what is everyone else planning on buying at Rite-Aid?


Sluggy

More Boring Weis Catalina Rolling Trips.....Yes, this is the Last Post!

Saturday was the last day for the Catalina Deals at Weis so I did 4 more transactions before calling it quits.  the 1st two transactions were done at a Weis Market south of here....the regular shelf prices were a bit lower in this town but luckily I noticed in time to make sure I have a high enough total in shelf prices to get the Cats.




Transaction #1

5 x Chef Michael Dry Dog Food  Shelf price $3.79=$18.95/Sale price $3.50=$17.50
4 x Nestle Hot Cocoa Mix  Shelf price $1.95=$7.80/Sale price $1.00=$4.00
3 x Carnation Evaporated Milk  Shelf price $1.19=$3.57/Sale price $1.00=$3.00
2 x Aquapod Water  Shelf price $2.50=$5.00/Sale price $1.00=$2.00
SubTotal....Shelf price $35.32/Sale price  $26.50   **Shelf needed to be over $35 this time.**

Coupons Used
5 x $2/1 Chef Michael Dry Dog Food ManuQ=$10.00
4 x $.50/1 Nestle Hot Cocoa Mix doubled to $1.00=$4.00
1 x $.50/2 Carnation Evaporated Milk doubled to $1.00=$1.00
1 x $10 OYNO Catalina from last transaction=$10.00
Coupon Total.....$25.00

$26.50-$25.00=$1.50+$1.05tax=$2.55 OOP
And received a $10 OYNO Catalina.





Transaction #2

4 x OEP Taco Seasoning  Shelf price $.85=$3.40/Sale price $.625=$2.50
2 x OEP Refried Beans  Shelf price $1.39=$2.78/Sale price $1.00=$2.00
4 x Pillsbury Crescent Rolls  Shelf price $2.19=$8.76/Sale price $1.66=$6.67
2 x Pillsbury RTB Cookies  Shelf price $3.39=$6.78/Sale price $2.50=$5.00
1 x Yo-Plus Yogurt  Shelf price=$2.59/Sale price=$1.50
1 x Choc. Cheerios Cereal  Shelf price=$3.59/Sale price=$2.50
1 x Wheaties Fuel Cereal  Shelf price=$3.99/Sale price=$2.50
SubTotal....Shelf price  $31.89/Sale price  $22.67 **Shelf needed to be over $30 this time.**

Coupons Used
1 x $.60/2 OEP IPQ doubled to $1.00=$1.00
1 x $1/2 Pillsbury Crescent Rolls ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $.40/2 Pillsbury Crescent Rolls ManuQ doubled to .80¢=$.80
1 x $1/1 Pillsbury RTB Cookies ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Yo-Plus Yogurt ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $.55/1 Choc. Cheerios Cereal IPQ doubled to $1.00=$1.00
1 x $.75/1 Wheaties Fuel Cereal IPQ doubled to $1.00=$1.00
1 x $10 OYNO Catalina=$10.00

Coupon Total.....$18.80

$22.67-$18.80=$3.87 OOP
And received an $8 OYNO Catalina plus a $4 OYNO Catalina(Pillsbury)& a $3 OYN Meat Purchase Catalina(OEP).

Then it was back to Teeny Tiny Town Saturday evening to finish up.....






Transaction #3

6 x Green Giant Veggie Steamers  Shelf price $2.50=$15.00/Sale price $2.00=$12.00
2 x Progresso High Fiber Soup  Shelf price $2.19=$4.38/Sale price $1.34/.33=$2.67
1 x Yo Plus Yogurt  Shelf price=$2.79/Sale price=$1.50
3 x OEP Refried Beans  Shelf price $1.45=$4.35/Sale price $1.00=$3.00
4 x OEP Taco Seasoning Mix  Shelf price $.89=$3.56/Sale price $.625=$2.50
SubTotal......Shelf price $30.08/Sale price $21.67  **Shelf price needed to be over $30 this time.**
1 x Ground Beef  4.81lbs.($6.15+$5.83)=$11.98
Total(using Sale price for Catalina items)......$33.65

Coupons Used

4 x $.40/1 Green Giant Veggie Steamers ManuQ doubled to $.80=$3.20
1 x $1/2 Green Giant Veggie Steamers ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $.50/2 Progresso Soup ManuQ doubled to $1.00=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Yo Plus Yogurt  ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $.55/2 OEP ManuQ doubled to $1.00=$1.00
2 x $3 Instant Discount Sticker on Ground Beef=$6.00
1 x $8 OYNO Catalina from last transaction
1 x $3 OYN Meat Purchase Catalina from last transaction
Coupon Total......$24.20

$33.67-$24.20=$9.45 OOP
I received an $8 OYNO Catalina and a $3 OYN Meat Purchase Catalina.(And I still have my $4 Pillsbury Cat which I didn't spend in this transaction.)







Transaction #4

4 x OEP Refried Beans  Shelf price $1.45=$5.80/Sale price $1.00=$4.00
2 x OEP Taco Seasoning Mix  Shelf price $.89=$1.78/Sale price $.625=$1.25
2 x OEP Taco Shells  Shelf price $2.29=$4.58/Sale price $1.25=$2.50
2 x BC Cookie Mix  Shelf $2.19=$4.38/Sale price $1.67=$3.34
4 x Pillsbury RTB Cookies  Shelf price $3.19=$12.76/Sale price $2.50=$10.00
1 x Pillsbury RTB Cookies  Shelf price $3.49/Sale price $2.50=$2.50
1 x Pillsbury Crescent Rolls  Shelf price $2.29/Sale price $1.67
SubTotal.....Shelf price  $35.08/Sale price  $25.26  **Shelf price needed to be over $35 here.**

Coupons Used
1 x $1/2 BC Cookie Mix ManuQ=$1.00
2 x $1/2 Pillsbury RTB CookiesManuQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Pillsbury RTB Cookies ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $.25/1 Pillsbury Crescent Rolls ManuQ doubled to .50¢=$.50
1 x $4 OYNO Catalina=$4.00
1 x $8 OYNO Catalina=$8.00
Coupon Total....$16.50

$25.26-$16.50=$8.76 OOP
And I received an $8 Catalina, a $4 Catalina and a $3 OYN Meat Purchase Catalina.

***********
Well, that is what was SUPPOSE to happen!
What actually happened was that the Taco Shells did NOT ring up at sale price and I ONLY got a $4 Deal Catalina instead of the $8 Catalina, along with the $4 Pillsbury and the $3 OEP Cats.
Looks like the Taco Shells either were not included in the eligible items for the Cat or they weren't coded right.  They were correct according to the ad, the shelf tag, etc. so I get to call Catalina tomorrow to see if they were included or not.  I may get my $8 Cat or I might not depending on what Catalina says.  Either way, the store screwed up(ad price not ringing up correctly)so I'll go back to the store and make Weis honor their "If it rings up wrong, you get it free" Policy.  At least I'll get my $4.58 back and get to keep the Taco Shells so it's all good.

Because of the Taco Shell problem, my OOP was $10.84 instead of $8.76.
After I get the $ back from Weis for the shells my OOP will be $6.26(after deducting the $2.50 the shells should have been.)
I did get the 2 $4 Cats and the $3 meat Cat so $11 in Cats, added to the 2 $3 meat Cats I still have for a total of $17 in Cats leftover.
No big loss on the $4 instead of $8 Cat if I don't get the $8 from the Catalina company, since I wasn't planning on rolling these Cat Deals anymore this week.

GRAND TOTALS for this Week's Catalina Deals
Value of  Items purchased....$339.64
Out of Pocket......$50.91
Catalinas Earned.....$119.00
Catalinas Used.....$102.00
Sales & Coupons Used.....$186.73
Savings of.....85% + $17 in Catalinas to spend

After the last 2 weeks of Catalinas I am going to take a well deserved break from grocery stockpiling.  I need to spend the next week in the garage putting away and organizing it all.

Sluggy