Getting FREE STUFF at TARGET

Here it was the last day of March and I had lots of coupons expiring this day.
I had a FREE ITEM Q for a new Cascade Rinse(it's like Jet-Dry). I also had $2 Qs for Gillette Body Wash. I had been to Target twice already & was looking for those smaller bottle of this Body Wash.....the ones I read that were $2, which would get me FREE Body Wash w/my Qs. So I headed on over to Target to try one last time before the Qs expired.
And BINGO! I finally found the 8 oz. Body Washes. More like they FINALLY had some in stock because the rack where they were located had been empty every trip until this one.
So I was able to use those 11 $2/1 Qs and get 11 FREE bottles along with that FREE Cascade Dishwasher Rinse.
I picked up the Glucerna Cereal for FREE too. The Q is $5/1 and the box is priced at $4.49 at Target & the cashier doesn't adjust it down in price, so it's a .51¢ overage.
I had a $1.50/1 for the Dawn Foaming Dish Soap and it was priced $2.49, so for .99¢ I thought I'd try it. The barcode on the Q rang up/took off $2 instead of $1.50! Basically, added to the overage on the Glucerna(51 cents) I got the Dawn Soap for Free too.
The only items I paid cash for were the Granola bars. They were on sale for $2.50 & I used 3 $1/1 Qs.

TRANSACTION
11x Gillette Body Wash @$2.00
1x Glucerna Cereal @ $4.49
1x Cascade Rinse @ $3.64
3x Granola Bars @ $2.50
1x Dawn Foam @ $2.49
Subtotal........$40.12
Tax.................$.36
TOTAL..........$40.48

Coupons Used....
11x Gillette Body Wash @ $2/1=$22
1x Glucerna Cereal @ $5/1
1x Cascade Rinse @ $3.64/1
3x Quaker Granola Bars @ $1/1=$3
1x Dawn Foam @ $1.50/1-rang up $2
TOTAL.........35.64

TOTAL OUT OF POCKET.....$4.84
SAVINGS of just over 88%!

Basically I paid for the Granola Bars and tax on the cleaning products.
These Body Wash are a good size to send with my #1 son who is going off to college in the fall.
I noticed that they had lots of stuff on the Clearance shelves in the toiletries dept. in Target. Quite a few items marked down I also had Qs for, but none of it would have been Free or under $1 even with a Q. So I just left it all there.
Yah, I'm getting a tad picky about the deals I do. If it isn't Free or I already have enough of it, I leave it.

Unless it's chocolate. You can never have ENOUGH Chocolate!
You can quote me on that.....

Sluggy

MARCH MADNESS...NOT the Basketball Kind

Ok, here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for MARCH 2009.

I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in March.
Grab a cup of something, this could take awhile.

These Totals include Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products & tax where applicable.
We are a family of 5. No kids under 13.

CARONE'S

OOP $83.82
Qs/Ads $62.75
Value $146.57
Savings 42.82%

CVS

OOP $19.27
Qs/Ads $330.84

Value $350.11
Savings 94.50%

KMART

OOP $45.06

Qs/Ads $146.55

Value $191.61

Savings 76.48%

PRICE CHOPPER

OOP $67.97

Qs/Ads $216.61

Value $284.58

Savings 76.12%

REDNER'S

OOP $30.64

Qs/Ads $15.99

Value $46.63

Savings 34.30%

RITE AID

OOP $20.82

Qs/Ads $77.25

Value $98.07

Savings 78.78%

TARGET

OOP $25.48

Qs/Ads $63.92

Value $89.40

Savings 71.50%

WALGREEN'S

OOP $136.72

Qs/Ads $628.34

Value $765.06

Savings 82.13%

WALMART

OOP $78.37

Qs/Ads $42.45

Value $120.82

Savings 35.13%

WEIS

OOP $306.60

Qs/Ads $335.75

Value $642.35

Savings 52.27%

TOTAL Out of Pocket.............................$855.39

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings....$1940.45

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$2795.84

TOTAL Savings % for MARCH......................69.415%

I've decided NOT to track CVS ECBs & Walgreen's RRs. They will be included when used on purchases under "Coupons". Rebates will also show up in the Monthly Totals when spent, but I'll keep track of what rebates are received monthly.

REBATES RECV'D. IN MARCH

Gravy Train.......2x $1 Qs

Suave.................Free Item Q

CVS/Hershey....$5 Gift Card

Rite-Aid............$40.98

Samy..................$7.99

Dr. Pepper.........Free Item Q

Duncan Hines....$2.25

Walgreen's........$56.07 Gift Card

TOTAL Value.....$118.88

$855.39 is fairly good for the month. Way over my Low Spend Goal for March of $250.00 but I've already justified that.

Damn you to hell Heinz, Hormel & Kraft! lolol

My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 78.78%, Walgreen's at 82.13% & CVS at an amazing 94.50%!

This closes out the March spending.

Onward to April and let's see if I can keep it under $500 for Out of Pocket this month & break 70% in Savings.

Sluggy

GREEN & THRIFTY THURSDAY-Being Frugal AND Environmental TIP #3

Today is.... GREEN AND THRIFTY THURSDAY!

That means it's time for another small tip on things you can do to save money AND help the environment. After all, being frugal is great but saving money & time is not so good, at the expense of our Planet!

This week's Tip is a quick one because I am trying to get all my receipts done so I can close out March on the books.
So this G&T Tip is about using water in the Bathroom.

Our Little Planet is quickly running out of Clean Water for evereyone in our world. We are blessed living in this country with all the water we can ever need at the turn of a handle, while a good portion of our world has to walk many miles to fetch clean water, if they can find a source for clean water at all.

It's so easy to get clean water, that we hardly ever think about the awesomeness of that fact! Taking clean water for granted leads to Unconscious Waste of this, one of our most precious and necessary natural resources.

So next time you are in your Bathroom, washing something or flushing your toilet, think about cutting down on running/using water unnecessarily in that room.
Here are a few tips on how to cut your water usage in the Bathroom.

1. Fill & cap a jug of water and put it into your toilet tank. The water displaced by putting an object in your tank will make each flush of your toilet use less water.

2. Before you shower, put a bucket in your tub right under the spigot. During the course of your shower, you will have filled this bucket with water that would have just gone down the drain otherwise. You can use this found bucket of water to flush your toilet once(just pour it into your toilet bowl instead of using the flush handle) OR take that bucket of water outside and water some plants. Plants enjoy a bit of bath water now and again, just don't use it everyday. And if you are on a city's water system where they chlorinate your water, let the bucket of water sit for a few days so the chlorine can evaporate before pouring it on your plants. Plants don't mind the soap generally, it's the chlorine that hurts them.

3. Don't run water while you brush your teeth. Wet your brush, turn off the water and turn it back on to rinse.

If you want to take this Tip one step further, do like Sluggy does. Keep a cup in the bathroom. Fill the cup with water. Dip your toothbrush into the cup to wet it. Brush. Spit the toothpaste out in the sink, then use the water in the cup to rinse your mouth. Any water left in the cup after you are done can go into the bucket in the bathtub/shower. This technique saves the MOST water when brushing your teeth!

Remember, every gallon of water you save, saves you money on your water bill or if you have a well, puts the cost of digging a new well when this one runs dry further out into the future.
Either way you are saving yourself money AND making this natural resource go further.

Sluggy

WAGS For BEGINNERS Spend $4, Get $13 of Stuff

For all my friends out there who don't coupon &/or hound.....

Do you have access to a Walgreen's Store?

Can you make 4 quick trips through the register line.....leaving store between trips is optional.

Do you use Chapstick, Shaving Cream & Body Wash?

Do you only want to spend $4?

Yes?

Well you are in luck this week.

Here are your step-by-step instructions to go be a Hounding Maven.

These instructions are valid for THIS WEEK only-March 29th thru April 4th.

Take with you $4+however much you need for tax on $13 in your state.

Go into the store.

Pick up the Weekly Sales Flyer.

Find the Chapstick product that is on sale for $1.99 this week(100% Naturals and True Shimmer). In my store, it is hanging up by the register.

Buy one. It is $1.99.

You will get back a paper with your receipt. This paper is called a REGISTER REWARD.(Afterward referred to on my blog as an RR.) Do not throw it away...it is MONEY! This particular one is worth $2.

Go find the Edge Shaving Gel or Skintimate Shaving Gel.

Buy one or the other. It is $2.99.

Pay for it with your $2RR & 99¢ cash.

You will get back with your receipt a $3 RR for this shaving cream purchase.

Go find the SoftSoap Body Wash.

Buy one. It is $3.99 a bottle.

Pay for it with your $3RR & 99¢ cash.

You will get back with your receipt a RR good for 1 FREE Softsoap Body Wash on your next shopping trip.

Go find another bottle of the SoftSoap Body Wash you just bought.

Buy it.

Pay for it with your FREE Coupon.

Leave the store.

You have just purchased 1 Chapstick, 1 Shaving Cream & 2 Body Washes for $4 total(plus tax on it's $13 value if your state charges sales tax).

That's $13 worth of stuff for $4.

You used NO coupons-except what the Catalina Machine in Walgreen's gave you while on this trip.

Now could it be any easier to save money?

Sluggy

March Food Budget....torpedoed by Heinz & Kraft & Hormel

Ok, first off, I am insane.

Insane to think that I could anyway possibly stick to a self-imposed food budget of $250 in March for both buying needed grocery items for the weekly menu AND continuing to add to the stockpile in the pantry.

HA!

I sort of kept the weekly spending on food for the menu under $150 as planned. As reported in previous posts I only had to buy 3 or 4 items the last 2 weeks in order to prepare the dinner meals. Add to that the bread, juice & milk we run through quickly w/my 3 teenaged eating machines and you come out at around $150 for the month. That left $100 in the food budget for stockpiling deals I found for the whole month.

Then Price Chopper lured me in with TRIPLE COUPONS & awesome markdowns in their Dairy Dept. at the beginning of the month.

Then I had to take advantage of the Ronzoni Pasta coupons combined with the sale on Ronzoni at the stores in my Teeny Tiny Town to stock up on 14 boxes of pasta @ 50¢ a box.

Then I had to use those dog/cat food coupons to get Pet Kibble for cheaper, to stretch my $$ for the donation to the local Animal Shelter.

Then the chain grocery store in Teeny Tiny Town had Catalina Deals Week. Our Catalina Deals aren't as awesome as the ones at Kroger, Publix, etc. but it's all we gots here, so I had to buy those 10 bottles of Heinz and those 10 LARGE bags of Kraft Shredded Mozzarella(b/c my $1 Hellavu Cheese deal didn't include Mozzarella last month & we need italian cheese in this house, by gum!).

Then I had a stack of coupons for Hormel Chili I had to use before they expired & the grocery store's price freeze on Hormel Chili ended. We go through A LOT of chili here. the Eating Machines have to have something to go with those homemade Burritos, right?

Then the chain grocery store in TTT had boxed Green Giant Veggies for $1 & I had coupons that made them 50¢ a box.

Then that warehouse Grocery Store across the river had really really good price on Toilet Paper for which I had $2 coupons, so how could I not buy 10 packages?

Then it's time to fill those EASTER BASKETS, so finding candy cheaper is put on my radar and eventually purchased.

Then the chain grocery store in TTT clearanced their entire organic grocery dept. to $1 an item. How could I not purchase things we need/use at such low prices through the tears I shed over it's demise?

Then the hubby goes and decides to pick food things up at the store without consulting me.

Then that blasted chain grocery store in TTT said I had to use my Rewards Point last Wed. OR ELSE lose them & the 20% off one entire grocery bill shopping trip discount I had earned by buying stuff there. (This is 20% off BESIDES all the coupons I use!)

Then K-Mart had to go and have another DOUBLE COUPONS Week and I did have some coupons for things that I could stock up on.

In between all this, WAGS & CVS lured me in to get cheap or FREE Toiletries. Cheap doesn't sound dangerous to a budget, but cheap isn't Free and if you buy enough cheap, it DOES add up! Granted some of the cheap toiletries are going to find their way to the local women's domestic abuse shelter in April, but even so....

All this adds up to a combined total expenditure of $855.39 in March for Food & Toiletries.

To put a positive spin on this......

It IS $368.72 lowever than February's total.

And it IS less than the US Govt.'s food plan budget amount for their LOW COST Option of $1038-the option I decided to follow.

So I am not going to beat myself up over this mont's total. It was silly to try to stick to this little amount for 5 adults/teens especially when I was still building a stockpile.

What about April?

Well, let's see......now that the stockpile is pretty much done, I will not have to buy any of these things in April;pasta, ketchup, cheese(except parmesan), tomatoes or spaghetti sauce, chili, soup, cereal, granola bars, canned fruit, bacon, ground beef, frozen veggies, frozen fish, soy milk, sugar, toilet paper, napkins, facial tissue, paper towels(I'll rant about those another day), soap, crackers, seltzer, soda, deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, razors, hair coloring, air fresheners & bandaids.

Heck, I shouldn't have to buy any of the toiletries except the paper goods for 1-2 yrs. from now!

So where does this leave me in terms of a food/toiletries budget?

I'm going to try for a $500 limit for food/toiletries for April and I'm going to post a weekly update this coming month in order to try to keep a closer reign on my spending. If I have to check in with weekly totals, maybe I'll be less likely to be suspectible to the Torpedoes the stores have aimed at my budget.

Sluggy