Weis this Week & the P&G Catalina Deal

Remember my previous post about buying multiple newspapers to get multiple coupons HERE? I mentioned that the Sunday coupon inserts from June 28th contained a regional coupon for $10 off a $50 order at Weis Markets.
Weis is also having a Proctor & Gamble OYNO Cat Promo this week. When you buy $35 of select P&G products you get a $10 OYNO Coupon. (This sale ends tonight, so get down to Weis today if you plan on doing this deal.)
Well I just HAD TO pair that $10/50 with this P&G Deal and see what I could do.

Transaction #1
3x Kellogg's Cereal(selected varieties)3 for $4.00
2x Wishbone Dressing 3/$5=$3.34
1x Bagelfuls $2.00
1x Digiorno FlatBread Melts $3.00
2x Sourdough Bread Mix clearance @ .94¢=$1.88
1x Corn Meal clearance @ .87=$.87
4x Head&Shoulders Shampoo @$4=$16.00
1x Cascade Gel @$3.88=$3.88
1x Dawn Direct Foam @$2.00=$2.00
2x Old Spice Deodorant @$2.00=$4.00
1x Secret Deodorant @ $1.99=$1.99
2x Olay Body Wash @$3.99=$7.98
SubTotal $50.94
Tax $2.16

Coupons Used
1x $10/50 Weis Coupon=$10.00
3x Kellogg's Cereal $1/1=$3.00
1x Wishbone Dressing $1.25/2=$1.25
1x Bagelfuls $.55 didn't double=$.55
1x Digiorno FlatBread Melts $1.00
2x Head&Shoulders Shampoo BOGO=$8.00
1x Head&Shoulders Shampoo $2/2=$2.00
1x Cascade Gel @$1.00=$1.00
1x Dawn Direct Foam @$1.50=$1.50
2x Old Spice Deodorant @$1.00=$2.00
1x Secret Deodorant @ $1.00=$1.00
2x Olay Body Wash @$2.00=$4.00
Coupon Total....$35.30

$53.10-$35.30=$17.80OOP
Received a $10 OYNO coupon.
I also can send for the Raisin Bran Crunch TRY ME FREE Offer. Not sure from the receipt whether I'll get back $4.39 or $2.00 on that....so ultimately, my OOP is either $14.31 or $15.80 on this order.

I did screw up here though. I have a rebate form for the DiGiorgno Flatbread Melt for a full rebate on the purchase price. But I need the receipt to send for that. I bought the Cereal with a TMF rebate in the same order and the receipt is needed for that too!
Ugh.
So I'll lose out getting back $2 on that one.
It goes to show that even when you write things down and prep fully before going into the store, you can still goof it up! 8-P

Onward to my 2nd Transaction....

Transaction #2

3x Kellogg's Cereal(selected varieties)3 for $4.00
2x Grillmates @.80¢=$1.60
1x Bagelfuls $2.00
2x Mission Tortillas @$2.50=$5.00
4x Pantene Shampoo/Conditioner @$3=$12.00
2x Pantene Styler @$3.00=$6.00
1x Cascade Gel @$3.88=$3.88
1x Dawn Direct Foam @$2.00=$2.00
2x Old Spice Deodorant @$2.00=$4.00
2x Secret Deodorant @ $1.99=$3.98
2x Mr. Clean Cleaner @$2.50=$5.00
SubTotal $49.46
Tax $1.59

Coupons Used
1x $10/50 Weis Coupon=$10.00
3x Kellogg's Cereal $1/1=$3.00
1x Grillmates $1/2=$1.00
1x Bagelfuls $.55 didn't double=$.55
2x Mission Tortillas @$1/1=$2.00
2x Pantene Shampoo $2/1=$4.00
2x Pantene BO'Poo/GO Styler=$6.00
1x Cascade Gel @$1.00/1=$1.00
1x Dawn Direct Foam @$1.50/1=$1.50
2x Old Spice Deodorant @$1/1=$2.00
2x Secret Deodorant @ $1/1=$2.00
2x Mr. Clean @.75¢/1 doubled to $1 ea.=$2.00
1x $10 OYNO Coupon

Coupon Total....$45.05

$51.05-$45.05=$6.00OOP
And I received another $10 OYNO Coupon.
I can also send for the full Refund Price Rebate on the Cereal to my BIL, so that another $2-$4.39 off the OOP.

I just realized that my 2nd order was NOT $50...it was $49.46 before the tax. I had another DiGiorgno FlatBread Melt in this order but had the cashier void it out when I realized I couldn't send for both the cereal and the flatbread melt on the same receipt. She had already used the $10 off $50 coupon but before she rang up the coupon for the Flatbread Melt.
So I was short .54¢ on my order. Oh, I won't lose sleep over it.
Really.
I've spend how much over the years in that store? And how many times have I been overcharged for stuff?
This particular Weis Store will just have to get over this one slip-up on my part.
Serves them right for being about the ONLY STORE on the PLANET that still WON'T ACCEPT INTERNET PRINTED COUPONS!!
Do Ya Hear that WEIS!!??
Yah, I have issues with Weis.....does it show? 8-P

So let's recap today's Adventures in Grocery Shopping.....
2 Orders.
$152.27 in regular retail value groceries
$23.80 spent Out of Pocket
$48.12 in store sales/discounts
$80.35 in coupons
$128.47 in total Savings
A Savings of 85.5%

PLUS a $10 OYNO Coupon for next time.....and Full Refunds on 2 Boxes of Cereal.

Not a bad morning's work....

Sluggy

Buying Newspapers Saves You Money!

The way most of the people in the USA who use coupons acquire those coupons is through the Coupon Inserts in the Sunday Newspaper. While Internet Printed Coupons have taken hold & have wide usage now, some stores still do not accept those kind of coupons. Plus I KNOW this is hard to believe, but there are still people living in our day & age who don't have access to a computer.
The shock.....the horror!!
This means they can't print internet coupons. As a result, the Coupon Inserts are still the champ of the Couponing World.

Most people buy 1 Sunday newspaper. If you are a couponing newbie, & you want to save yourself more money, I am here to tell you that you NEED to buy multiple Sunday papers!

"But that costs more money", you say.
Ever heard the old saying, "It takes money to make money."?
It is so true when it comes to couponing.

Buying multiple Sunday papers to get multiple copies of coupons will cost you a bit upfront, but the savings you will realize is well worth the investment.
This is something I have been trying to get across to Hubby all year. He shakes his head at me every time I buy more than 1 copy of the Sunday paper. He can't see beyond that initial cost to how this outlay saves us so much money in the end.

Let's use the Sunday paper inserts from 2 weeks ago as an example.
My local Sunday paper is $1.50.
So you spend $1.50.
Great.
For that $1.50 you get to see the news, weather & a tv guide.

But, you also would have gotten these.....
Two Coupon Inserts filled with Manufacturer's Coupons.
Let's take a look at some highlights, shall we?
There's a dandy of a coupon, pictured on the left in the photo above, for Buy One/Get One Free StayFree Pads up to a value of $6.99.
Last week Rite-Aid had the small $3.99 reg. priced StayFree Pad Packs on sale for BOGO.
Using this coupon, you could have gotten TWO Packs of StayFree for ZERO MONEY.
I did......actually I got FOURTEEN Packs of StayFree that week at Rite-Aid.
ZERO.
MONEY.

This coupon saves you up to $6.99 on something Most women need to buy anyway.


Here's another coupon for $1 off of 1 box of Band-aids. Rite-Aid had certain boxes of Band-aids on sale Buy One/Get One last week. For the price of one box, $4.49, you got 2 boxes of Band-aids. If you had this coupon, you would have paid $3.49 for 2 boxes & if you had bought 2 newspapers you would have paid $2.29 for 2 boxes after using the Band-aid coupons from both papers. That's $1.25 per box. If you have young kids, you NEED adhesive bandages.
Savings so far for 1 newspaper....between $4.99 & $7.99.

Although not the healthiest of foods, most people eat Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. I hear some are addicted to it.lol
This Buy Three/Get One Free Kraft Mac&Cheese Coupon was also in these 2 coupon inserts.

Lots of stores are running specials on this item now and some have Catalina Promotional Deals where you get "money off your next order"($OYNO) for buying it.
Say a store is selling this item for .79¢ a box on special. You would pay $2.37 instead of $3.16 for 4 boxes. You would also get $1 OYNO Coupon for buying those 4 boxes, so you would save in this instance $1.79 by using this 1 coupon.

Savings so far....$5.78 to $7.78 Pair this coupon with a OYNO Deal and it jumps to between $6.78 to $8.78 of savings.


Here's another useful coupon from those inserts.
It's $1 off 1 tube of Colgate Toothpaste. If you have a CVS or Walgreen's Drugstore where you live, they are always running some kind of special where you can use this coupon to get the toothpaste for free or even for less than free. I have gone to these stores in the past and gotten free toothpaste using a coupon or by pairing a coupon with a Register Reward or Extra Care Bucks deal, have gotten the toothpaste free PLUS had the value of the coupon in Free money to spend on something else in the store.

Savings so far....$8.78 to $10.78(with a OYNO Deal for the Kraft).


This is my favorite coupon from the Sunday paper inserts that week. It's a regional coupon for my area, good for $10 off when I spend $50 at my local grocery store. Use this coupon and even if you use no other coupons, you will save 20% on your bill automatically!
If you are going to go buy groceries here anyway, who wouldn't spend $1.50 on a newspaper that would let you save $10 on something you need to buy?

And this $10/50 coupon is good for THREE WEEKS. If you buy multiple newspapers and get multiples of this coupon to use over the course of 3 weeks, that's even more you'll save!

I've used 2 of these $10 off $50 coupons so far. By pairing them with other coupons, store sales and Freebie coupons, I paid $29.40 on $114.63 worth of groceries last week. That's a savings of 75% on my food bill!

And I just got back from Weis a bit ago since I haven't been grocery shopping this week yet. I got 2 more loads of groceries, where I used 2 more of those $10 off $50 coupons. Check out my post on those 2 trips shortly.

So far, I have used the StayFree, Band-aid & Weis coupons from these inserts, for a total straight savings of $14.99. By pairing these coupons with sales, I bought $22.47 worth of items for $1.25.
2x StayFree @$3.99-BOGO Sale & BOGO Q=$0
1x Band-Aid @$4.49-BOGO Sale & $1/1 Q=$1.25
1x $10/50 Weis Coupon=$0

I spent $1.50 on 1 Sunday paper to save $14.99(or $22.47 with sales).

Do you see the savings buying more than 1 Sunday paper will give you?
And this was just using FIVE coupons from the inserts. There are plenty more coupons in there that have potential to save you a good amount of cash.

The next question becomes...."How many Sunday papers do I need to buy?".
That all depends on two things.... 1-the quality of the coupons in a particular week & 2-what do you buy/how many do you buy for?

I always get at least 1 Sunday paper, unless it's a rare week where there are NO Coupon Inserts. I go through the inserts from that 1 paper and decide whether I need more copies of the coupons or not. Some weeks we get few coupons that interest me and I don't buy any more papers. Other weeks, the coupons are high values and for items I regularly buy, so I'll get 10 copies of that paper. Heck, I've even been known to buy 20 Sunday papers when the coupons have been amazing!lolol But that doesn't happen very often....

If you want to build up a stockpile, I'd recommend buying as many Sunday papers as there are members of your household. A family of 3 should buy 3 papers, a family of 4 should buy 4 papers, etc. as a rule of thumb. This should give you a minimum amount of coupons to work with. Buy additional papers if the coupons are usable for you that week. My Newspaper average seems to be 6 per week.
If you keep a Budget, you might want to budget money from your Grocery allotment for buying Sunday papers. It's an expense that can truly save you substantial money.

Sluggy

$60K Savings Challenge JUNE Totals...Halfway There!

I have posted my JUNE End of Month 60K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I am once again able to say that we finished up JUNE in THE BLACK!
The Savings for June was under $1000. Not great but good. At least we didn't Live Beyond Our Means this month, which is NEVER a good plan.

The MasterCard bill(which is paid off each month-NO BALANCE EVER!)was just over $1584.33 this month. We had some big unusual purchases like the CAR RENTAL(while my van was in the shop due to daughter's accident), the purchase from the local nursery for the garden & #1 son needing new pants & shoes(that boy is so compact that I haven't bought him clothes in 1.5 yrs!). Those 3 purchases alone account for $973.62 of the cc bill.

We had a bit of rolled coins as usual, but I am still sitting out on eBay for now.
I do plan on having a Yard Sale soon. I'll be selling some of my stockpile to raise some cash.

On the recurring utlities front, we saw a $1.20 reduction in the cost of the electric bill from May. We did have a couple of days early on in June where the A/C was run but this hasn't had any impact on the electric bill. The water bill was an identical amount to May's bill which is freaky. Last month water usage was up because of opening the pool for the season. Hubby has been dealing with pool problems in June, where he's had to partially empty and refill the pool so usage is still up. Gas purchases went up, as the price of gas at the pump rose.

The Food Budget costs for June are in another post, which is located Here. Food/Toiletries spending in June was my lowest monthly total for the year. I am determined to bring that total down even more in July. No stockpiling is needed & the garden should start producing this month, so if I can stay out of the grocery stores I can have a VERY low monthly food spending for July.

We are Six Months into this Challenge. At the HALFWAY MARK, we have a Savings Total of $12,146.75 for the year.

Not the $30 Thousand(halfway to the $60 Goal) I was shooting for at the halfway point, but still, $12 Thousand could have a significant impact on anyone's life.

What's ahead for July.....I plan on a much lower Food/Toiletries Spending. We also have a bonus week in the pay schedule so a 3rd paycheck is coming this month. Between those 2 things and the normal amount we usually save in a given month, I am hoping to realize approx. $4000 toward the Savings Challenge for July. It might have been a higher number, except for some CC charges coming due(4 pair of prescription eyeglasses, hotel stays, food & gas bought for the 970 mile trip we had to take last week)later this month.
If I get around to doing the Yard Sale too, that should add to my Savings total for July.

Check out Money Saving Mom's Blog May Financial Update Post to see how others are saving money and living more frugally Here.

Sluggy

June BUDGET RESULTS-Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JUNE 2009.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in June.
These Totals include Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5. No kids under 13.


BIG LOTS
OOP $97.04
Qs/Ads $?
Value $1?
Savings ? They don't take Coupons. The prices are discounted but no way to figure reg. retail.

BOYER'S
OOP $42.61
Qs/Ads $92.76
Value $135.37
Savings 68.5%

CARONE'S
OOP $16.21
Qs/Ads $3.38
Value $19.59
Savings 17.75%

CVS
OOP $11.58
Qs/Ads $222.67
Value $234.25
Savings 95%

KMART
OOP $113.43
Qs/Ads $390.45
Value $503.88
Savings 77.50%

OLLIE'S
OOP $12.29
Qs/Ads ?
Value ?
Savings ? They don't take Coupons. The prices are discounted but no way to figure reg. retail.

PRICE CHOPPER
OOP $17.30
Qs/Ads $98.62
Value $116.57
Savings 85.50%

RITE AID
OOP $72.55
Qs/Ads $281.12
Value $353.67
Savings 79.50% **This is before Single Check Rebate & Gift Cards earned.**

SHOPRITE
OOP $112.81
Qs/Ads $146.95
Value $259.76
Savings 57%

WALGREEN'S
OOP $8.38
Qs/Ads $688.71
Value $697.09
Savings 98.75%

WALMART
OOP $49.36
Qs/Ads $54.28
Value $103.64
Savings 52%

WEIS
OOP $130.14
Qs/Ads $768.74
Value $898.88
Savings 85.50%

TOTAL Out of Pocket.............................$699.91
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings....$2703.19
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$3403.10
TOTAL Savings % for JUNE......................79%

I've decided NOT to track CVS's 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 JUNE

Rite-Aid SCR......................$138.68
Hatfield Ham Rebate...........$3.00
Unilever Ham Rebate.........$17.79
Unilever Ham Rebate(bil).....$17.70
Sure Rebates.....................$5.98
Pert Rebates......................$5.00
Peter Pan PB Rebate...........$2.25
SubTotal............................$190.40

Gift Card Rebates
Rite-Aid Gift Cards............$50.00
Kmart/Kellogg's Gift Card..$5.00
SubTotal..............................$55.00

TOTAL Value of Rebates..$245.40

My best 3 Store Savings Totals were at Weis and Price Chopper tied at 85.50%, CVS at 95% & Walgreens at 98.75%! If you figure the Rebate I am due back from Rite-Aid, then my Savings % there is 95% also.
This closes out the June spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
Well, I set out to keep the Grocery/HBA spending under $600 for June. I didn't meet that goal but I did keep it under $700 which is my best Montly OOP Total for 2009!
I was heading toward a total of under $600-Waaay under-until a couple of those INCREDIBLE SHOPPORTUNITIES I talk about presented themselves to me.

I.
Have.
NO.
Willpower.

Seriously.

How could I say NO....
to all that GILLETTE for almost nothing out of pocket?
Or all that Almost FREE Toilet Paper and Facial Tissue?
Or Kmart Double Coupons again?
Or the Shop-Rite Kraft/Unilever/General Mills Catalina Deal?

For July, I am down 1 kid, so we are 4 in the house now. IF I can stay out of the grocery/drug stores I have a shot at keeping the Grocery/HBA Monthly spent under $500....I think.lol
So I'll shoot for $500 or less this month.

That being said, KMart is having a Double Coupons Event AGAIN this week. My longtime readers know that I can't resist the Siren Song of Mr. BlueLight. I'll try to keep my trips to KMart this week down to 6. I've already made 4 trips but thanks to some Gift Cards, I have ZERO OOP at the moment. With $0 spent, I am doing well so far for July.

I do need to take a hike to Shop-Rite in the next 10 days to use my $44 in free food coupons before they expire.
I'm going to try to spend as close to ZERO OOP as I can on that grocery trip.

I have hopes that the garden will help to keep the total down this month. We have Salad for Days!! at the moment. By the end of July other veggies should be pick-able.

Cross your fingers for me that I can stay under $500 this month!

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday.....July 6th Edition Eat from the Stockpile & Leftovers Mostly

Here's what our family of 4 will be eating this week...

Monday--Stuffed Shells(leftover), Salad(from garden), Garlic Bread
Tuesday--Grilled Fish, Grilled Summer Squash, Potato Salad
Wednesday--Asparagus & Bacon Quiche(leftover), Cantaloupe
Thursday--Boston Baked Beans(from scratch),Cornbread
Friday--Grilled Chicken, Potato Salad(leftover from Tues.), a yet to be determined Veggie
Saturday--Fettucine Alfredo Primavera(using leftover squash from Tues.)
Sunday--Pork BBQ(from freezer), a yet to be determined Veggie, Coleslaw

You will notice that I'm utilizing 3 leftover meals--the Stuffed Shells & Quiche I made extra of last week before leaving town and the Pork BBQ was extra I made in May from the freezer.
When I make friday's grilled chicken, I will grill enough chicken for 4 meals. I plan on using 3/4 of the chicken grilled for 2 meals next week...a chicken ranch pizza & for chicken enchiladas(also using leftover enchilada sauce I made awhile ago) and the last 1/4 will be used to make Burritos for the freezer. I plan on having a burrito making session this weekend.
The Baked Beans will be made in the crockpot from scratch. Here's the recipe. Tuesday's fish is from the freezer and I have everyting for saturday's alfredo meal, except for some broccoli.

As for grocery shopping, I'll need to pick up a Mega pack of Chicken & see what veggies are in season and looking good at the farm stand mid week. I think I'm stocked with everything else needed for this menu. Unless something else comes up, I should be able to get by on spending approx. $20 or less for the weekly menu.

Of course, I am continuing in the "Clean out the Freezer & Pantry Challenge" this month, since my freezer still has buried treasures from month's past in there. The fish & assorted frozen veggies will be used and older noodles & beans from the pantry too.

Food Waste Report.....some salad mix that went slimy while we were out of town. Not wasted, just composted.

Check out Organizing Junkie's Website Here to see what other Home Cooks are serving this week!

I'm off to go snip some salad greens from the garden for tonight's dinner. I am so excited!! I didn't think we'd see any greens big enough to munch on until Oct. at the rate things were growing(or NOT growing). All that rain finally stopped and we had some decent heat last week while away and all the baby plants decided to do some growing. ;-))

Sluggy