Walgreen's..again

I was going through my coupons expiring by today and discovered 3 $2/1 Olay Body Washes. Since Walgreens had them on sale 3/$10 and earn $3 RR, I figured I better run and get some

3 Olay Body washes 3/$10

used 3 $2/1

Pert Shampoo $3.79

used 1 $2/1

Total $13.79

coupons $8

OOP $5.79(w/o tax)

earned $3 RR, $3.79 rebate

Question

I know some sites have listed that Walmart has the Pert Shampoo on rollback to $2.88. I went and looked. My Walmart only has the regular Pert rolled back. Does the $3/1 coupon for the Botanicals work on those? Please let me know, I have 5 coupons and would love some free shampoo if they work!

Wordless Wednesday

Check out this deal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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What makes this deal so good is that this ebook package includes the ecourse Supermarket Savings 101--this course alone is worth much more than $5.97 and will teach you how to drastically reduce your grocery bill. If high fuel and food costs are discouraging you and leaving you strapped for cash, you definitely need to buy this ecourse. You'll learn how to cut your grocery bill by up to 50% or more and have fun saving money at the same time!

Go here to read more about this huge sale! Hurry, though, the price goes up tomorrow--get this money-saving ebook package at a ridiculously low price while you can!



When I first started on the road to saving money at the store, I purchased Supermarket Savings 101. It helped tremendously, breaking it down to wear I didn't a migraine trying to figure it all out. You will earn your money back the first time you go to the store!



Plus, you are helping me out with every set bought through my site! So, send your family and friends here!

Dillons

I made a run to Dillons today to take advantage of their Mega Event. I'm so glad they are running the sales next week also, there are a ton of things I can stock up on. This is what I got today:

10 Tubs of Huggies wipes

used 5 $0.50/1 coupons, 5 $1/1 coupons

9 Lysol Toilet Bowl cleaner

used 9 $0.50/1 coupons

1 Lysol Bathroom Cleaner

used 1 $0.50/1 coupon

10 10 pound bags Tidy Cat litter

used 10 $1/1

I bought some milk, eggs, bread, cheese, pork rinds, and some snack items with everything coming to just under $46

Since the sale is going on for next week too(just found out!) I'm going to order some more Huggies wipes coupons to add to my pile

Cheerio Challenge

Sign up here for a free box of Cheerios plus 6 $1 off coupons!

CVS

While I was out, I went to CVS also. I had ECB's expiring tomorrow and we will be at then fair most of the day. I took a loss...there just wasn't a whole lot screaming my name.

3 Glade Scented oil refills

used B2G1 free

1 Box Johnson's Band aids

4 boxes Theatre candy

2 packs Stride Gum

4 Candy bars

1 pack Energizer E Squared batteries

1 Revlon Limited Edition Lip gloss(great stocking stuffer for Thing 1)

Total $49.04

used $35.95 ECB's, $3.49 coupon

OOP $4.70(w/o tax) earned $19.99 ECB's

I hated taking the loss but at least I earned some to work with later. It's my own fault sitting home all month letting them pile up.

Walgreens

Had to go...it was about time to get back on track. Here's what I got

10 cans Pringles

used 3 $0.30/3

1 Pert shampoo $3.79

used 1 $2/1

1 4 pack Walgreen's light bulbs $1.99

3 packs Duracell batteries $2.99 pack

used 3 $0.75/1

1 bottle water $0.50

Total before sales/coupons $36.54

After $20.70

OOP $0

Earned $3 RR and will get $5.78 back n rebates

Saved 43%

Not smoking hot but a start. I'm all up for free light bulbs. We have switched to the compacts except for the kid's room. The globe on their ceiling fan is small and the one we use everywhere else are too big.

Super Sample Sunday

The week before last, I received nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada. The dry spells really make going through the mail really boring. This past week was a little better.

Earthbound Farms Reusable Shopping Bag plus some coupons

From VocalPoint: 6 $1 off 12 pack of Coke Zero

and

3 Greeting Cards

and the best one:

One pack of the Huggies diapers in my pile had some faulty diapers. 6 diapers out of the pack had a tab pull off before I even got it on Baby Girl. I sent Huggies an email. It was really nice. I told them how I have used Huggies since my oldest(now 11!) was born, how I really appreciated their great products and that I just wanted to inform them of the pack. They sent me......

2 $6 off 1 pack of diapers and 2 $1 off any Huggies product. They are good until March of 2009 but something tells me I will use the coupons before then.

Check out The Thrifty Soaper's Super Sample Sunday!

I need some sales!!!!

I eyeballed some of my stockpile today. I'm down to 30 rolls of toilet paper, 19 rolls of paper towels, 4 bottle of laundry soap, and good lord, only 3 packs of wipes and 2 unopened packs of diapers! Sales, where are you????????????????

Using coupons for Travel Sized Items

I love coupons that don't put a size restriction on what you can buy. We had to run to Walmart for some stuff and I ran through the travel size section and picked up a few things

6 Travel Head and Shoulder's shampoo $0.97 each

used 3 $3/2

3 Gillette 2 and 1 Body wash $0.79 each

used 3 $1/1 coupons

1 Kotex Liners 16 count $1

used 1 $1

Total $9.19

After coupons $3.81 overage

Granted, we ended up spending over $100 after groceries, dog and cat food, and Thing 2 a belated birthday present, but it's nice to get some stuff for free.

I recently had to buy a bigger storage tub for all my freebies through the mail and travel sized stuff I've "purchased" for free. I stuck them in the basement with all out emergency supplies for "just in case"

Recipe Swap

Gayle at The Grocery Cart Challenge is hosting a Friday recipe swap. This week: dinner. My son calls these Hamburger Nachos. I'm not sure what to call them, I made this dish when I worked at a daycare and had to feed 50 people(and most everyone loved it). It's a good dish to use up odds and ends of cheese and chips.

1 pound ground beef

16-24 slices American Cheese

1 small can diced tomatoes

Tortilla Chips

Brown ground beef. Drain. Place back in skillet on low heat. Add cheese slices(I break up into quarters so they melt faster). Keep stirring until all cheese is melted. Drain tomatoes and add to the mixture. Serve over chips

This is a great way to use up some cheese in the frig. There has been times when I just had a few slices of American cheese so I added in some Velveeta. These also work good over Nacho Chips :)

You can also use a fresh chopped tomato if you have one from the garden

Re-using

I've been slacking in being frugal due to being sick for the last month. Trying to get back into "the groove" I've been picking up tips for re-using food/household items so they don't go to waste. Here's a list of a few:


• Save used dryer sheets and use them to scrub dirty spots on your kitchen floor, oven, or counter. It’s abrasive enough to get the job done, but gentle enough it won’t scratch the surface.

• save medicine bottles and use them to store herbs. Herb don’t like light, so medicine bottles are better than the glass or plastic. rinse them first to make sure there’s no residue.

• When finished squeezing the juice out of a lemon or lime, use the citrus to clean the counter or faucet. If using a lot of citrus, then fill a pitcher with water and add the citrus to the water. It adds a lovely flavor, particularly orange and lemon slices.

• zest a lemon or orange before squeezing out the juice. Then freeze the zest for future use.

• save orange peels and dry them on the counter for several days before placing them in plastic jars. They are good used in sweet and sour recipes, like chicken with soy sauce, pineapple and orange peel.

• When finished with jarred artichokes, save the marinade it comes in (refrigerated) and use it for a future vegetable marinade for grilling.

• When done with a jar of jalapenos, keep the liquid in the jar and use it in meat marinades.

• save the vinegar from olives in olive jars to use to make salad dressing in the future.

• tear up stained clothes to make kitchen rags.

• Use used coffee grounds for composting.

• Save stale tortilla chips to encrust meats or fish.

• Save stale crackers to use in breading. Oven baked chicken is great coated with crackers.

• If you’re not going to be able to use up grapes or watermelon, freeze them and use them as ice cubes in the future for cocktails or child-friendly drinks.

Check out Frugal Fridays for more great tips!

update

Still here :)

Yesterday was such a long day. My surgery was scheduled for 10:30 but the surgeon was running behind so my turn didn't come until 2:00. By 5:00 I was home. It went really well. The gas they pumped into my abdomen made my shoulder really sore but I came home and took a nap for about 3 hours and woke up better. The anesthesia also made me sick but once it was out my system I felt a lot better.

Joe got me some throat drops(was sore from the breathing tube) and a salad for dinner and I vegged out on the couch drinking water and watching TV. I actually slept from 11:30 last night until 11 this morning!

Boy was I sore when I got up though. I feel like I was hit by a semi truck :) The more I move around, it seems to help, except when the abdominal muscle cramps.

That hurts.

I can't lift for 2 weeks which Baby Girl isn't too happy about. The cats aren't too happy either because they kept trying to lay on me last night and I kept pushing them off.

It really stinks not being able to do anything. Sneezing hurts like heck. Poor Joe is running his tail off getting me water and helping me up off the couch every time I need to go to the bathroom. Hopefully in a couple days I'll go back to my independent self.

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow is my surgery. I'm still trying to talk my way out of(no luck so far, grrr!)

I told Joe I think the Dr. is trying to dehydrate beforehand...my surgery isn't scheduled until 10:30 am!

Nothing to drink(I literally drink 2 gallons of water or more a day) I told him to have a big cup of water waiting for me when I get out.

The surgery only takes about 30 minutes and I'm broke out in hives worrying about the general anesthesia(never had it before).

I am so NOT looking forward to this!

I will try to update tomorrow night sometime...hopefully I'll come home with some fabulous pain killers!

I apologize for not being very motivated on blogging lately. I really haven't been very motivated on anything since I got real bad last month. Hopefully, I'll be back to my rambling, bargain shopping self pretty soon...at least in time to take advantage of some kick butt sales at the mall going on right now:)

Done!

I didn't slack on something!

I purchased all the supplies the Things need for school except for Kleenex. Two kids for under $10(granted, most of what Thing 1 needed was paper and folders)

Now all I need to do is find a good sale on Kleenex in the next month.

You know you are getting old when...

you used to be able to stay out all night, go home, shower, eat and then go to work for 10 hours and now a 2 hour party for a 9 year old boy makes you want to take a nap!

It was fun yesterday. Thing 2 made out like a bandit. No one knows what to buy him so he gets mostly money. He ended up with almost $300(!). He really wants a Wii so Joe told him he would pay the difference(we didn't get him a present, we were just going to take him today to pick out something) if he wanted to get it. He also received 3 Nintendo DS games, and hermit crabs(from Thing 1). I'll post pictures of Panini(Thing 1's crab) and Racer(Thing 2's) as soon as I can get a shot of them out of their shells. Baby girl keeps calling them fish :) (or her word, Pish)

I cheated on the cake. I had originally planned to make him one but the issues with my gall bladder made me afraid I wouldn't feel like it so I just ordered one.

Now I get a little bit of break to start working on Christmas presents

Happy Birthday Thing 2!

glitter-graphics.com



Happy 9th Birthday Sweetheart!

Super Sample Sunday

Last Sunday, I was either snoozing on the couch or had my head in the toilet, so here is my list of goodies I have received for the last 2 weeks

12 ounce canister of Enfamil Second Steps formula plus $9 in checks

Kiehl's Facial Cleanser

Dove Deodorant

Pupperoni Ribs plus coupon

Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner plus $1 off Nice and Easy

Multigrain Cheerios

Clorox Bleach For Colors

Sample pack from Kotex that had 2 Tampons, 1 pad, 1 liner and a coupon

Clean Home team: coupons plus 2 Ziploc Bog Bags

Playtex Personal Cleansing Cloth

Check out The Thrifty Soaper's Super Sample Sunday to see what other people are receiving in their mailboxes!

CVS

I did the unthinkable. I let $21.99 in ECB's expire at the beginning of the week. I have felt so bad I haven't put much into finding the deals and let them pile up and expire.

I'm so ashamed.

I had almost $18 expiring this Saturday so i had to make a trip to try to find something so they were not wasted.

This was not a good trip OOP wise.

1 Clairol Perfect 10 Hair color

1 Febreeze Candle

1 Febreeze Fabric Refreshener

1 Febreeze Air Effects

2 Glade Scented oil candle refills

1 Lipton Sweet Tea

used $2/1 Clairol Hair color, Buy Febreeze Fabric, get Air Effects free coupon, $2/2 Glade refills, and $17.49 ECBs

OOP $11.75(w/o tax)

Earned $12 ECB, plus CRT's on Excedrin, Irish Spring and Speed Stick

Saved $27.78

My store is getting a card scanner machine soon too.

Want to see better shopping trips? Check out The Centsible Sawyer

Still kickin...sort of :)

How I have missed the internet! Confined to the couch, and my laptop still not fixed(Thank so much Toshiba!) makes for some long boring days. The last meal I ate was on June 29th. Seriously. It was breakfast and then the agony began. By July 1st, Joe forced me to go to the emergency room. A whole 5 hours after waiting to see the doctor, she finally told me my gall bladder was pissed off and needed out. The intense pain was from spasms. I swear it felt like someone was pounding my stomach with a sledge hammer constantly

Fabulous.

She wanted to do it that night but the on call looked at the ultrasound and since it was just inflammed and he couldn't see any stones, he said we would schedule it as outpatient. Armed with painkillers and nausea meds, I was sent home. Up until 2 days ago, I lived on broth, toast, and the occasional banana.

Then, this past Saturday, Joe had to drive his dad back to Florida because he was running out of oxygen canisters and between the VA Hospital in Tampa and the local medical supply companies, we practically needed to go through Homeland Security to get them refilled. So that leaves me on painkillers and nausea meds that make you doze off every 5 minutes, no food in my system, in pain, in charge of 3 kids.

3 very bored kids.

Let me say that Thing 1 needs a big round of applause(or her own TV show). She was able to make sure Baby Girl was fed, diaper clean(I had to do a couple because they were really gross), entertained, and out of trouble for the most part. She also kept tabs on Thing 2, made sure I had enough toast, and never let my water cup get empty.

She did this all without complaining.

Much(she is only 11)

She's had her eye on a game for her PSP for awhile that I'm going to go pick up this weekend when Joe gets back.

So July 21st is the lovely day. I'm not really looking forward to surgery(never had any that required general anesthesia) but my mom swears I'll feel a whole lot better when it's out and it's a pretty quick recovery.

I'm trying to avoid the "bad stuff"....you know, meat, dairy, high fat. Grrr. I'm doing ok but I would really like a piece of bacon.

And cheese. Definitely cheese.

:P

CVS

One thing about feeling terrible...it keeps you home and out of the store. I had to go to CVS with some ECB's expiring.

Here's what I got

2 CVS brand pantyliners

1 Accucheck Compact monitor

1 Right Guard Professional

1 Crest toothpaste

used $2 in coupons, $17.96 in ECB's

OOP $0.99 (not including tax) earned $20.47 ECBs(that includes my $2.50 for Spring spending)

I saved $85.76

They were out of the Physician's Formula Mascara and The Coppertone Face sticks that I originally went for.

My Spring savings were $577

Want to see more savings, check out The Centsible Sawyer!

June Review

Slacking again :) Actually, I've been doubled over on the couch from my gall bladder Since Sunday morning. After 5 hours in the emergency room last night, I was pretty much told I have no choice anymore, it has to come out. Oh yippee :) I go talk to the surgeon tomorrow. I'm hoping to put it off for a couple weeks. Joe is taking his dad home Saturday and Thing 2's birthday is on the 14th. I really hate to see how much this is going to cost(I have no insurance). I guess my new found frugalness now has a purpose. Here's some numbers for June

Groceries $304.60 $195.40 under budget That was feeding an extra adult for the last 2 weeks also :)

Household $143.57 $6.43 under budget. Dog and cat food has gone up quite a bit. With Lucy having very little fur, she has seemed to become a favorite biting object of flies. $45 of that was for spray and ointment for her poor ears.

Average Grocery Savings 49%

Average Household 80%

I would like to increase the average for groceries. I'm working more using the Grocery Game to plan my menus to keep costs low. I have a feeling after my gall bladder is removed, I will have to limit my fat intake and opt for leaner meats a lot more fruits and veggies.

Budget Busters

Utilities $226 The biggest portion of that was electricity. I have been slowly increasing the thermostat up (currently around 76 most of the time)

Gas $225 We replaced the fuel filter on the F150 yesterday so hopefully it will start to get better gas milage than what it has been. Thing 1's recitals are done, so the long treks back and forth to rehearsals are no more. We are planning to stick close to home this month(especially since I will have surgery)

Hopefully I won't have a heart attack after I receive the bill for the surgery. This is one reason why I have put it off for so long.