I found a couple of printable coupons on the Internet for free Thomas Trains at Toys R us. I plan on saving one for a Christmas gift and giving one to my son on our vacation. Hopefully it will help keep him occupied on the plane.

Albertson's Trip June 28th

I heard they were having good deals at Albertsons this week so I decided to go check it out. I had everything planned down to the penny and matched up with my coupons. Wouldn't you know that they would be out of several of the things I wanted and really needed. This left me scrambling to find things to add so I could get the deal. You had to buy 10 of the listed items and you got $5 off your purchase. You could only do 2 deals per transaction so I had my husband do one and I did the other. He isn't familiar with coupons so I did my best to make his easy. Of course...that is the one that was messed up.

Transaction #1

2 Kraft mayo--$2.50 each
planter's peanuts--$2.50
crouton's--$1.00
18 count eggs--$2.00
French's spicy brown mustard--$1.00
Cool whip in a can--$2.00
A1 steak marinade--$2.00
marshmallows--$1.00
cream cheese--$1.50

Coupons Used

$5 off from the Albertsons deal
$3 for the planter's peanuts
.30 off the mustard
$1.00 off A1 marinade

This transaction total was $8.96 and I saved $24.80 with sales and coupons.


Transaction #2

Cheerios snack mix--$2.00
Betty Crocker brownie mix--$2.00
4 suddenly salad's--$1.00 each
Bull's eye BBQ sauce--$1.50
planter's peanuts--$2.50
croutons--$1.00
French's mustard--$1.00
2 strawberry flavored cool whip's--$1.00 each
2 cool whips in a can--$2.00 each
pinto beans--$1.00
Vlasic relish--$1.00
2 A1 steak marinades--$2.00 each
2 pkgs Kraft cheese--$2.00 each
5 lb bag potatoes--$3.99
1 lb strawberries--.99

Coupons Used

2 $5 off for the Albertson's deal
$3 off planters
$1 off cheerios snacks
2 .50 off suddenly salad
.75 off bulls eye BBQ sauce
$1 off cool whip in a can
.30 off French's mustard
.40 off Betty Crocker brownie mix
2 $1 off a1 marinade
$1/2 Kraft cheese

For this transaction I spent $15.03 and saved $51.45 with sales and coupons. I really wanted to stock up on olives but they were out so I had to add 5 things I didn't plan on adding.

Fry's Trip June 26th

There wasn’t a whole lot on sale at Fry’s this week that I needed. I just stopped in to get a couple things that I needed and I will do the rest of my shopping at Albertson’s this weekend.

Transaction

2 3lb bags of Kroger chicken tenders—on sale for $4.99
1 jug Fry’s apple juice--$1.88
1 bottle of Powerade--.79
1 dozen eggs
1 bag chocolate chips--$1.12
1 bag powdered sugar--$1.99
1 bag shredded cheese--$1.64
$19.50 bottle corn syrup--$2.29
1 Minute Maid lemonade-- .99
1 block cheese--$1.64

Coupons Use

.40 off Kroger eggs
.75 off of powerade—fry’s doubles so they added the extra .04 to make the Powerade free
.45 off Kroger cheese

Not the best shopping trip ever but the things I needed weren’t on sale. My total was $22.12 and I saved $19.50 with sales and coupons.

CVS Trip June 22

I headed out before church today to get some deals. I was able to return the Head & Shoulders shampoo from the other day so they gave me a gift card for $6.48. Oh and I also found all my missing coupons. Turns out they fell out when I was taking out expired coupons and I accidently threw them away. Luckily I figured it out before the trash went out. All were in perfectly good shape. Whew!!!

Transaction

1 Aussie conditioner --$2.99
1 pack of Duracell 9 volt batteries--$5.29
3 packs of Charmin TP--$5.99 each
1 Colgate Sponge Bob toothbrush--$2.99
2 Colgate toothpaste--$2.99
8 Soy Joy Bars--$1.00 each
2 Huggies baby wash--$3.49 each
2 Johnson’s buddies bars-- .99 each

Coupons Used
$10 off $50 purchase
2 25 cents off Charmin
50 cents off Duracell
2 $1 off Johnson’s buddies
2 $1 off Huggies products
2 $1.50 off Colgate toothpaste
B2g1 coupon for Soy Joy—saved me $1.39

ECB’s Used
$1.99, $2.00, $2.00, $3.00, $3.98, $6.00, $6.98.

Used $6.48 from the gift card and paid $1.05 OOP (out of pocket).


ECB’s Earned
$4 for huggies body washes, $10 for Charmin & Duracell, $2 for Aussie hair care, $6 for colgate products and $8 for Soy Joy bars.


So I spent $25.95 in ECB, $6.48 on gift card and $1.05 oop. Earned back $30 in ECB. Not too bad!

Fry's Trip June 21

The sales weren’t great this week but there were a couple okay deals. So I loaded Trevor up and we headed over to Fry’s. He likes grocery shopping because he can get a free cookie at the bakery counter. I like it because it keeps him busy for a few minutes. I realized while looking for a Powerade coupon that all my drink coupons somehow fell out of my binder. I am extremely bummed because I had some good ones. Oh well. Not much I can do about it.

Transaction

2 Fry’s ½ gallon milk—on sale for $1.00 each
2 Jiffy cornbread muffin mix—2/.88
2 Corn on the cob—2/$1
3 Excedrin PM—on sale for $1.99 each
2 Fry’s wheat bread--$1.00 each
1 Kraft Live Active cheese sticks—on sale for $3.99
3 Rice a Roni’s-- $1.00 each
10 Koolaid packets-- .10 each
1 package salad mix--.88
1 package ice cream cones--$1.29
1 Cantaloupe-- $2.10
4 bananas-- .95
2 packages baby carrots-- $1.00 each
Grapes-- $1.57
1 lb Kroger shredded cheese-- $3.00

Coupons Used
2 $2 off Excedrin PM
$1.00 off Live Activ product
$1.00 off Dole Salad mix
$1.00 off 3 rice a roni’s

After sales and coupons I spent $23.01 and saved $40.48. I am hoping for better sales next week. And maybe I will find my missing coupons.

CVS Trip June 19th

My friend Jen B wants to learn how to “CVS” so I met her tonight to show her how I work my deals. It was fun having a buddy to shop with.

Transaction

2 CVS diapers 2/$12
2 Russell Stover chocolates (clearanced for $1.60)
2 Whitman Samplers (clearanced for $1.00)
Tylenol extra strength $4.49
2 Oral-B power toothbrush heads $5.99 each
2 Head & Shoulders shampoos $5.99 each
2 Listerine Smart Rinse Mouthwash $3.49 each
2 CVS bandaids $1.99 each

Coupons used
$10 off $50 purchase
$2 off $10 cvs purchase
2 $1 off listerine smartrinse
$1.50 off pain medicine from CVS
$1.50 off tylenol
2 $20 off Whitman Sampers
2 $2 off Russell Stovers
$8.29 off Oral-B toothbrush heads (not sure where the amount came from)
I had a b1g1 coupon for head and shoulders but for some reason he didn’t ring it.

ECB Used
$10, $6, & $6.99 and paid $1.54 out of pocket

ECB Earned
$6 for Oral-B toothbrush heads
$6.98 for Listerine Smart Rinse
$3.98 for bandaids
$2 for Tylenol
$2 for Head & Shoulders

I ended up spending $3.57 because the b1g1 Head & Shoulders coupon didn’t print. I am going to return the second one next time I go to the store and get back the $5.99 I spent for it.

CVS Trip June 15th

I realized this morning that we had run out of diapers and I didn’t have any backups. So I set off to CVS to see if I could find a bargain. This is what I ended up with.

2 pkgs CVS diapers- regular price $9.49 on sale for 2/$12
2 Oral-B power toothbrushes- regular price $8.29 on sale for $5.99 each
2 Almay one coat mascaras- regular price $7.99 on sale for $6.99 each
1 Oral-B twin pack manual toothbrushes- regular price $7.99 on sale for $6.99
1 CVS sheer bandaids- regular price $2.29 on sale for $1.99
1 Brut deodorant- $2.89

Coupons Used
$10 off $50 purchase
$2 off $10 CVS purchase
.55 off Brut deodorant
2 $1 off Almay products
B1G1 Oral-B power toothbrush

ECB Used $1.49, $2, $3, $3.49, $4 & $10
Used the rest of my gift card $2.78 and put $3.65 on my debit card

ECB Earned $6 for the 2 Oral-B power toothbrushes, $10 for 2 Almay mascaras, $6.99 for Oral-B manual toothbrush, $1.99 for Bandaids & $3 for the Brut.

So after it was all said and done I ended up actually spending $2.43. Not bad for 60 diapers plus all the extra stuff.

Walmart trip June 14th

My husband, son and I were out running around this morning when I remembered we needed to pick up some apple juice. I worked out some deals real quick to help me cover part of the cost of the apple juice and get a couple extra items.

As you can tell from the picture there are several small trial sized items. I don’t really need any of these but I buy them to help pay for the items I do need.

Transaction:

2 Mott’s for Tots Apple juice $2.48 each – (2) .75 Q =$1.73 each
2 Powerade drinks 60 each – (2) .75 Q = .15 overage for each
2 Farmland hams $2.88 each – (2) $2 Q = .88 each
4 Old Spice Red Zone Body wash .97 each- (2) $1 Q = .03 overage for each
Mott’s for Tots Apple Juice 9 pk $2.67 - .75 Q = $1.92
2 KY Jelly’s $2.57 – (2) $3 Q = .43 overage for each
4 Gillette 2 in 1 body wash .79 each – (4) $1 Q = .21 overage for each
Travel kids toothpaste 50 cents
3 Oral-B dental floss .97 each – (3) $1 Q = .03 overage for each
1 Kotex pantyliners $1 - $1 Q = free
2 Mac N Cheese .62 each

Before coupons I would have paid $33.81. After the coupons I paid…$8.06. This price includes $1.38 for tax.

Here are some pictures of the binder I keep my coupons in.

The left side has an accordion file so I can keep all my weekly ads with me.

I have a notebook to jot down totals and deal ideas and I always have my calculator and lots of pens.
Here is an example of one of the pages that holds the coupons. It is actually a photo album page but works great for coupons. I put labels on so I can easily tell what type of coupon each slot holds.

Fry's Trip June 12th

I went today to do my weekly shopping trip. There were a few good things on sale so I decided to stock up.

Purchases:
2 Bakery rolls-marked down to $1.29 each
Graham Crackers - $2.99
2 bags of cat chow- $1.00 each (these will be donated to the Humane Society)
4 Right Guard Deodorants -$1.00 each
6 Dial Liquid Soap- $1.00 each
2 Nesquik syrup -$1.99 each
2 Ragu Alfredo Sauce -$1.67 each
2 bags Iams Dog Food -$13.99 each
2 Lipton/Knorr rice -$1.00 each
4 pouches Ragu Sauce -$1.67 each
1 6 pk Hershey’s Chocolate Bars- $2.50
2 Minute Maid Juices- .99 cents each
Worchestershire Sauce -$1.99
Apple Juice -$1.88
1 gallon Milk- $2.67
Country Crock Butter- $2.77
1 pork loin- $7.62 (this is enough for 2-3 meals)
Marshmallows- $1.50
Honey -$3.19
Dole Pineapple chunks -$1.25
4 small tomato sauce- .25 cents each
Can of Jumbo olives- $1.39
3 Aquafresh Toothpaste- $1.00 each
2 pork ribs -$6.72 & $6.03
2 Dole salad packs- $1.49 each
Lunch Meat- $2.00
2 bags Sargento shredded cheese- $2.50 each
1 bar Kroger cheese -$2.17
Carrots -.56 cents
Bananas- .52 cents
Eggs- $2.39

Coupons Used:
$9 off $90 purchase
2 55 cents off dole salad
$1.00 off honey maid graham crackers
Free Land O Forest lunch meat
2 50 cents off nesquik syrup—doubled to $1.00
2 25 cents off Ragu pasta sauce—doubled to 50 cents
4 75 cents off Ragu pasta sauce pouch—doubled up to $1.00
.75/2 Lipton Knorr rice
$1.00 Worchestershire sauce
2 $2.50 off $10 pork
$2.50 off Iams dog food
$5.00 off Iams dog food
2 free cat food
55 cents off shedds country crock –doubled to $1.00
6 60 cents off Dial liquid hand soap—doubled to $1.00
3 $1.00 off Aquafresh toothpaste
$1/2 Sargento cheese
$1.00 off Right guard deodorant
3 75 cents off Right guard deodorant –doubled to $1.00

So before sales and coupons my total would have been $221.77. I ended up paying $73.14. This is over my budget by $3.14 but $2.35 of that was tax. Not too bad and I ended up with a lot of stuff for free.

Walgreens trip June 10th

There are a few things on sale at Walgreens this week that I wanted to get so I headed over to see what kind of deals I could find.

2 Reynolds wrap aluminum foil (regular price $1.59 each, sale for 89 cents each)
1 Grape Nuts (on sale for $1.99)
5 boxes of Jell-O (regular price 89 cents each, sale for 39 cents each)
1 small bag Iams dog food (clearance for $3.89)

Coupons Used
$1 off 2 Reynolds Wrap
$3 off Iams
After coupons and sales I paid $6.08. Not bad for things I needed.

CVS June 8th

My son needed diapers and my husband needed shaving cream and after shave. So I set out to CVS before church this morning to get my shopping done for the week. Sadly the coupons I had were for Neutragena and not Nivea. I didn't figure it out until the cashier tried to scan them and they didn't work. So unfortunately my deal didn't turn out quite like I had planned.

Transaction
1 pkg Huggies (on sale for $7.99)
1 Listerine Smart Rinse $3.49
1 Gillette Fusion Razon $9.99
1 Kotex Lightdays $1.49
2 Nivea shave gels $2.79 each
1 Nivea extreme shave gel $3.99
1 Nivea after shave $6.39
1 Nivea extreme after shave $7.99
1 Brut deodorant $2.89
1 Johnsons buddy bar .99 cents

Coupons Used
$10 off $50 purchase
.55 off brut
.99 off johnsons
$1 off listerine smart rinse
$1 off huggies
$4 off gillette razor
$4 off Nivea extreme shave gel and after shave

ECB Used
$3.49, $10, $4, $5, $6 plus paid $1.71 on gift card

ECB Earned
$3.49 for Listerine Smart Rinse
$4 for Gillette Fusion Razor
$1.49 for Kotex
$10 for Nivea products
$3 for Brut

So I lost $8.22 in ECB's. Had I been able to use the coupons I had thought I would have spent under $4. Oh well. Next time I will pay better attention.

We didn't need much at the grocery store this week so I just grabbed a few things that were on sale and a couple of things for my son.

2 boxes of popsicles $1.67

1 apple juice $1.88

1 flour $1.88

1 simply orange juice $2.99

2 nesquik syrup $1.99

1 arm floats $2.50

2 sour cream $1.00 each

5 packs koolaid 10 cents each

1 dozen eggs 99 cents

1 3 pk pizza pan $1.89 (I am taking my friend dinner. She just had a baby)

1 pizza cheese $2.17

1.81 lds red grapes $1.59

2 ears corn 50 cents each

2 bananas .44 cents

5 donuts 50 cents each (to eat while fishing)

Coupons Used

45 cents off cheese

2 50 cents off nesquick--store doubled to $1.00

2 50 cents off sour cream--store doubles to $1.00

$1 off simply orange juice

Total spent $24.31

Total saved $22.15

Not my best trip by far but I shouldn't have to buy anything else this week except dog food and diapers.

CVS Trip June 3rd

I had a few more things I wanted to get this week at CVS so I broke it up into two transaction.


Transaction #1

1 Breeze 2 monitor $30.00
1 Oral B 2 pk toothbrushes $6.99
1 Huggies disposable wash clothes $1.75
2 Brut deodorants $2.89 each
1 Huggies baby wash $3.49
1 Bliss chocolates .50 filler
1 M&M plain .79 filler
1 M&M peanut $1.49 filler

I had it planned where the washclothes were $3.49 but ended up being on sale so I had to quickly add the candy filler.

Coupons Used
$10 off $50 purchase
$30 monitor
2 $1 huggies products
2 $1 brut products

ECB used $2, $2, $3 spent .10 oop

ECB earned $6.99 for toothbrushes, $2 for huggies products and $6 for the brut

So on this transaction I came out $7.89 ahead


Transaction #2

1 Contour monitor $30.00
1 chex mix $1
2 pampers diapers $7.99 each
2 pampers wipes $2.99 each

Coupons Used
$10 off $50 purchase
$30 monitor
$1 chex mix
2 $2 off pampers products

ECB Used $6.99 plus $1.37 on a CVS gift card

ECB earned $5.00

So for this transaction I lost $3.36

Not a bad day I got all of this stuff plus I still came out $4.53 ahead. Woohoo!!

CVS June 1st

Today was a great day at CVS. I went to two stores and did one transaction each. I first went to the store over by our church. I was going to do two transactions there but my son was crabby so I just did one.

First Transaction

4 6 oz solid white tuna 66 cents each
1 Listerine Smart Rinse Mouthwash $3.49
1 Brut Deoderant $2.89
2 Huggies Bath wash $3.49 each

used a $3 off $15 coupon
1 $1 off listerine mouthwash
2 $1 off huggies bath & body
$9 ECB--Extra Care Bucks

and paid $1.11 on a gift card that I had from returning an item.

I earned $3.49, $4, and $3 ecb.

So I earned 38 cents extra in ECB's.

My second transaction I did at the CVS by my house.

1 Contour monitor $30 (used this to increase my amount to $50. Will send it to my grandma)
1 8 roll pkg Bounty paper towels $5.99
3 9 roll charmin TP $4.99 each

coupons use
$10 off $50
$30 contour monitor
.25 cents off bounty
.25 cents off charmin

used $10 ECB
paid 54 cents oop

Earned $10 ECB's for the bounty, charmin deal--buy $20 get $10 ecb.


Pretty successful day. Between the two trips I spent 16 cents and got all that stuff. Plus the monitor has a mail in rebate for $30.

I am starting this blog so I can track my bargains. I generally shop at Fry's, Walmart, CVS and Walgreens. I plan to give details of my shopping trips and post my spending vs. savings.