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Savings Saturday: My first week with my $40 grocery budget

January 3, 2009 by

My first week of my $40 grocery budget went better than I expected! I got all of this for $39.68.

Here’s the breakdown:

TARGET – Hillshire Farms lunch meat, Green Giant 5 lb bag of potatoes, 2 Old El Paso taco seasonings, Kikkoman Teriyaki sauce, 2 cans Bush’s black beans, Kraft string cheese

Used: $1 Hillshire Farms lunch meat coupon (it was a peelie on the container…I also have a MIR for this), $1 Target potatoes coupon, $1.10/2 Old El Paso printable, $1 Kraft printable

Total OOP spending = $11.26

KROGER – Sara Lee bread, package of stew meat, package of pork chops, package of sirloin steam, 2 bell peppers, 2 bags Fresh Express salad, 1 lb Roma tomatoes, 2 lbs bananas, Kroger Enchilada sauce, 6 containers Yoplait yogurt, 1 bag Granny Smith apples, 2 gallons milk, 1 package No Yolks noodles, 1 Kroger beef stew seasoning mix, one cantaloupe, one bag carrots

Used: 2 .75 Fresh Express salad mix coupons, $1 off when you spend $3 on fresh fruit Kroger coupon, $1 off when you spend $4 on fresh vegetables Kroger coupon, $1 off milk when you buy Sarah Lee bread coupon, .50 No Yolks printable (which doubled), .50 Yoplait yogurt printable (which doubled), $2.50 off a $10 beef purchase Kroger coupon

Total OOP spending = $28.42

TIP: look for Manager’s Special markdowns on produce and meat that is close to the expiration date. If you do buy a Manager’s Special item, make sure that it shows up on your receipt for the reduced price (I had to go to customer service after checking out because my salad mixes rang up at full price).

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Savings Saturday: CVS ad for 1/4

January 2, 2009 by

I do these coupon match-ups myself and it takes a LOT of time. I don’t mind if you share this information, but please make sure you are giving credit by posting a link back to my blog! Thanks 🙂

I’m posting this a little bit early so people can start planning ahead!

These three items will be “free” after ECBs and coupons this week:

Colgate Total 6 oz, 2in1 4.6 oz, 360 toothbrush or any Max Fresh paste or brush – 2/$5, get $2 ECB (limit 3)
$1.50/1 Colgate Total Aetna coupon
$1 Colgate MaxFresh printable
$1.50 Colgate MaxFresh CVS coupon – check your e-mail!
Colgate Adult or Childrens Toothpaste, any 4 oz.+ .75 (1-24-09)
Colgate Adult Manual Toothbrush, any .75 (1-24-09)
Colgate Total Advanced Whitening, Clean or Fresh Toothpaste, any 4 oz.+ $1 (1-24-09)

*This will be a moneymaker if you got the $1.50 MaxFresh coupon from CVS in your e-mail, but you would need to do two separate transactions to use it more than once….if you did get the coupon, it expires on 1/4, so you need to use it quickly.

Garnier Fructis shampoo, conditioner 10.2-13 oz or styler 2-8.5 oz (excludes serum and deep conditioner) – $2.99, get $2 ECB (limit 1)
$1/1 coupons were in the 11/9 RP, 10/5 RP, 9/14 RP and 6/22 RP. They will also be in the ÂĽ RP insert

Mennen Deodorant or Anti-perspirant – 2/$6, get $3 ECB (limit 1)
Speed Stick 24/7 Antiperspirant/Deodorant, any except .5 oz. B1G1F up to $3.99 (1-24-09) from 1-4 SS insert

Other ECB deals:

Cottonelle bathroom tissue – 20 double rolls – $12.97, get $4 ECB
.50/1 printable here
Cottonelle Toilet Paper, Any 4 Pack + – 12-14-08 SS

Tylenol 8 hr or arthritis value pack – $7.49, get $2 ECB (limit 5)
Tylenol Extra Strength, 8 Hour, or Arthritis Product, any $1 (3-31-09) from 1-4 RP insert
$1 printable coupon here

Zantac 150 or Zantac 75 bonus pack- $9.97, get $2 ECB (limit 1)
$1/1 coupons in 10-26 SS, 11-9 SS, and 12-14 SS
MIR up to $5 in 11-9 SS

Excedrin Migraine or Excedrin PM value pack – $8.99, get $3 ECB (limit 5)
Excedrin Product, any 20 ct.+ $1 (3-31-09) from 1-4 SS insert

Advil value pack – $9.99, get $1 ECB (limit 5)
$1/1 printable coupon here

Ziploc freezer bags twin pack – $5.99, get $2 ECB (limit 5)

Cottonelle moist wipes combo pack – $5.98, get $3 ECB (limit 5)

Chase & Sanborn coffee twin pack – $5.99, get $1 ECB (limit 3)

Boost nutrition drink regular, plus, high protein, Smoothie, or Glucose control 6 pk – $6.99, get $1 ECB (limit 2)
$1/1 Boost multipack – All You, January 23, 2009 (issue 1)

Jack Link’s original beef jerky twin pack – $9.99, get $2 ECB (limit 5)
$1/1 Jack Link’s Jerky, Nuggets, Beef & Cheese, or Beef Steak, 5-count or larger multi-pack or canister – All You, January 23, 2009 (issue 1)

Mrs. Fields Milk chocolate chip cookies twin pack – $5, get $1 ECB (limit 5)

Betty Crocker Warm Delights – $3.99, get $1 ECB (limit 3)

Glade PlugIns scented oil refills (2 ct) or candle twin pk – $5.49, get $2 ECB (limit 5)

Glade Sense & Spray starter kit or PlugIns lasting impressions – $6.99, get $2 ECB (limit 5)

Rogaine Men’s 5% or women’s 2% 3 pk – $39.99, get $5 ECB (limit 5)
$5 printable coupon here plus $15 OYNO

Sensodyne toothpaste – $5.99, get $2 ECB (limit 2)
Printable coupons here

Crest Whitestrips – $19.99, get $5 ECB
$5/1 printable here

Lubriderm – $6.99, get $1 ECB (limit 5)
$1 coupon here

University Medical WrinkleFree Eyes – $29.99, get $5 ECB (limit 1)

Spend $15 on Bayer/Aleve/Alka Seltzer products, get $5 ECB: Aleve – $8, Alka Seltzer – $5, Bayer – $5 (limit 1)
Aleve, any 20 ct.+ $1 (3-31-09) from 1-4 SS insert
Aleve-D Product, any $1 (3-31-09) from 1-4 SS insert
Alka-Seltzer Plus Product, any $1 (3-31-09) from 1-4 SS insert
Bayer Aspirin, any 24 ct.+ $1 (2-28-09) from 1-4 SS insert
FORM Bayer Special Half Price Offer up to $10 Refund (mail-in) (1-18-09) from 1-4 SS insert

Miralax, 30 doses – $18.99, get $3 ECB
$2/1 printable coupon here

Spend $20 on the following Johnson & Johnson products, get $10 ECB: Zyrtec- $13, Motrin – $9, Sudafed – $7, Mylanta – $6, Pepcid – $15, Chlidren’s Tylenol/Motrin – 2/$11, Tylenol Cold & Sinus – $6, Benadryl allergy – $5, Tylenol Extra Strength/PM/arthritis – $8.50, Pediacare/Sudafed Children’s – $6, Children’s Tylenol Plus/Motrin Cold – $6, Band Aid – $3, EPT pregnancy test – $15, Carefree/Stayfree/OB – 2/$9, Neosporin – $5, Viactiv – $6, Imodium – $13, Listerine – 4.50, Listerine Whitening Pen – $10, Listerine Whitening Strips – $20 (Limit 1)
CVS $2.50/10 pain relief CRT
$2.50/1 Zyrtec from 12-7 RP insert
$1/1 Motrin printable here
$1/1 Sudafed printable here
$1/1 Mylanta here
$1/1 Pepcid Product, Any – 12-14-08 RP
$1/1 Benadryl printable here
$1 Tylenol printable coupon here
.50/1 Carefree printable here
$1/1 Stayfree printable here
$1/1 Neosporin printable here
$1/1 Imodium printable here
$2/1 Listerine whitening strips printable here
Tylenol Childrens, Childrens Plus, Childrens Motrin, or Pediacare, no trial $2.50 on 2 (3-31-09) from 1-4 RP insert
Tylenol Cold, Sinus or Allergy Product, any except trail size $1 (4-4-09) from 1-4 RP insert
Tylenol Extra Strength, 8 Hour, or Arthritis Product, any $1 (3-31-09) from 1-4 RP insert
Tylenol Infants, Infants Motrin or Simply Soothing, excludes trial size $2.50 on 2 (3-31-09) from 1-4 RP insert
Tylenol PM or Simply Sleep Product, any except trial size $1 (6-15-09) from 1-4 RP insert
Viactiv Flavor Glides Dietary Supplement, any $1 (2-28-09) from 1-4 RP insert
Viactiv Soft Chews Dietary Supplement, any $1 (2-28-09) from 1-4 RP insert
Stayfree Product, any B1G1F up to $7.50 (3-1-09) from 1-4 RP insert
o.b. Product, any except trial size $1 (3-1-09) from 1-4 RP insert
Motrin Product, any except trial size $1 (3-31-09) from 1-4 RP insert
Carefree Product, any 34 ct.+ $1 on 2 (3-1-09) from 1-4 RP insert

Slim Fast Optima bars or shakes (6 ct) – $6.49, get $2 ECB
$1.25/1 printable here
Slim-Fast Bars, any Multi-pack $1.25 (3-31-09) from 1-4 RP insert
Slim Fast Ready-to-Drink Multi-Pack or Powder Canister, any $1.40 (3-31-09) from 1-4 RP insert

Alli starter kit, twin pack – $59.99, get $10 ECB (limit 1)
$5/1 printable here

Bausch & Lomb ReNu MultiPlus twin pack or Alaway eye itch relief – $12.99, get $3
$1/1 printable here

Buy $20 of Mega-T green tea gum, drink mix, or caplets, get $10 ECB (limit 5)
$1 any mega-t product printable or $1.50 MIR printable here

Spend $15 on Futuro braces, supports, or compression hosiery, get $5 ECB (limit 1)

Visine tears – $5.49, get $1 ECB (limit 1)
$2/1 Visine Tears Product, Any -09-28-08 RP

Spend $20, on Thera Tears, SteriLid cleanser, liquid gel, or nutrition capsules, get $5 ECB (limit 1)

BOGO free deals:
All CVS Pharmacy vitamins/minerals/herbs
Use $3/15 CVS/Pharmacy purchase coupon
All laundry detergent
$1/1 printable here
All L’Oreal cosmetics
Progresso soups
$1.10/1 printable coupon here
.50/2 Progresso Soup, Any Flavor – 12-07-08 SS

Other deals:
*Pepsi 8 pk – 5/$10
*Palmolive – .97 (limit 6)
Palmolive Dish Liquid, any .25 (1-24-09) from 1-4 SS
*CVS products BOGO 50% off – over 1,300 products to choose from

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More scenarios for the Kroger $5 off $25 P&G promotion

January 2, 2009 by


The details for the Kroger P&G instant $5 off when you spend $25 on participating items promotion are posted here. This post also includes links to other participating products and coupon match-ups.

There are new loadable P&G E-saver coupons. Although they are not as good as last time, you can still get some good deals.

Here’s a scenario using manufacturer’s coupons and the new loadable E-saver coupons:

Buy 1 Crest toothpaste – $2.50
$1.50/1 E-saver loadable coupon
.75/1 from 12-28 P&G insert

Gillette Fusion manual – $7.79
$4/1 from 12-28 P&G insert

Swiffer refill – $4.39
$.50 from E-saver
$1 from home mailer

2 Old Spice red zone – $3.89
$1/2 from 12-28 P&G insert
$1/2 E-saver

1 Olay Ribbons – $3.99
$1/1 from 12-28 P&G insert
$1 Esaver

Buy 2 Daisy sour cream – 2/$4
.50/1 printable coupon here (will double if your store doubles)

Cottonelle toilet paper – $1.19
.50/1 manufacturer’s coupon from 12-14 inserts (will double if your stores double)
.50/1 loadable shortcuts.com coupon

Total before coupons = $31.64
Total after coupons = $16.39

Total after instant $5 off – $11.39

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My New Years "Challenges": $40 a week grocery budget and more savings!

January 2, 2009 by

I thought I’d share my personal New Years “challenges” (I don’t want to use “resolution”) with you all to explain some of the changes on my blog. Feel free to participate, too, if you’d like!

My weekly posts will basically stay the same, but beginning on Sunday, I will be making these two weekly changes:

*Mondays will change from “More Savings Monday” to “Menu Planning Monday”

*Saturday will still be “Savings Saturday” but I will also post my total savings for that week

Here are my challenges for the year:

*$40 a week grocery budget (this is for a family of four) – This will include all of my groceries. I do an overall monthly budget, but rather than allotting a certain amount for the month, I am going to try to stay within the $40/week to make it easier for everyone to follow. I do my grocery shopping on Saturday, so the details from this will be posted in “Savings Saturday” but my menu for the week will be posted on Mondays.

At this point, my grocery budget does not include paper products. I don’t really budget for these things because I basically have a six month to year supply of most of these products thanks to CVS/Walgreens. Any additional paper products I do buy will most likely be covered by ECBs or RRs. It also does not include health & beauty products (I have at least a year supply of most of these and buy most of the rest using ECBs or RRs) and does not include our expenses for eating out. This comes out of a separate category in our budget.

The $40/week will be based on my out of pocket expenses. If I use gift cards, coupons, RR, or ECBs, those will not count toward the $40 weekly budget.

**I wanted to add that I see this as a possibility for me because I have a stockpile of items already to work with. If you don’t have a stockpile, it may cost you a little bit more to get started, but I will be posting items that you should stock up on while they are super cheap as they come along. Also, two of the major grocery stores around me triple coupons up to .39 and double coupons up to .50. We also don’t have any food allergies or dietary restrictions that we have to accommodate and I don’t have any babies eating baby food or formula right now.

*Meeting the following savings goals without touching our monthly paychecks

Each month, we save for some things such as auto maintenance/registration; property insurance/taxes/HOA fees (we do our own escrow after a bad experience with our escrow company a few years back); planned vacations; clothing, and long term emergency planning. If you don’t have an ING account, this is a great place to keep all of your “extra” savings accounts because you can create sub accounts and track everyone in one place.

The following savings accounts will not be funded through our monthly paychecks. I will use the “extra” things I do to fund these accounts. You can follow my savings progress through the tickers on the right side bar of the blog.

*Gift savings – This will include Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, and other gifts that we need to pay for throughout the year.

*Baby emergency fund – If you follow Dave Ramsey, you know that this is. Basically it’s $1000 that you keep on hand to cover any emergencies

*Rolling entertainment fund – We have a monthly entertainment budget, but this will cover any spur of the moment “extras” like a weekend getaway or an unplanned family excursion. It’s “rolling” because if we use the money, I’d like to rebuild it 🙂

Here are the ways that I plan to fund these savings accounts:

*Mystery shopping

*Payment from various survey companies – Mysurvey.com and Pinecone Research are my two favorites right now

*Checks from rebates (I earned about $800 last year from rebates and many of the rebates I submitted were for products I bought for “free” using ECBs or RRs)

*Garage sales – we have two community garage sales each year

*Ebay sales – every six months or so, we do a clean out of our house and items that are not being donated or sold at our garage sale get listed on Ebay

*Payment from articles that I write for Associated Content

*Money from our cash back rewards credit cards – this works well for us because we pay these cards off in full every month….I don’t recommend this route if you’re not in a position to do that

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Freebie Friday: Free magazine subscription and free copy of What to Expect when You’re Expecting

January 2, 2009 by

Here are this week’s freebies! Enjoy!

Free copy of What to Expect when You’re Expecting
Sign up for a free nutrition e-news letter and get a free copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting!
Here’s the link: http://www.duetdha.com/just_moms/index.asp

Free magazine subscriptions
Here’s the scoop: As a marketing promotion for Subscription Rewards Newsletter, we are able to offer you a selection of magazines for FREE when you signup for our Free Newsletter. Just pick your free subscription and provide the delivery address.That’s It!

Available magazines are: Family Fun (this is a great magazine!), Computer Shopper, Latina, Weight Watchers, Entrepreneur, and Parenting (this is a 2 year subscription!)
**I signed up for this and the only personal information I had to provide was my name, address, and e-mail address
Here’s the link to sign up for your free subscription: http://www.subscription-rewards.com/index.php

Don’t forget to sign up for the free coupon books listed in this post:
http://melziemomsbargains.blogspot.com/2009/01/coupons-for-2009.html

Here’s a link to freebies from previous weeks:
http://melziemomsbargains.blogspot.com/search/label/freebies

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