I'm back!

Hi everyone

2026 was off to a rough start for me. First, I was sick with the flu for a week. Then DS had the same flu the next week. Then the bad weather hit and more snow is expected tomorrow. I feel like this year has kicked my butt thus far.  Despite all of this, I still managed to stockpile quite a bit. 

One of my favorite stockpiling items was Dave's killer bread at Kroger. They've been running some good sales lately. The Dave's bread & buns are all BOGOF (ends 1/27), but last weekend Ibotta also had deals that made them $2 each after all discounts. I bought 4 loaves of bread and 4 packs (8ct) buns. I ended up paying $16 for $55.92 worth of bread. I call that a great deal! 😊I love their bread, but there's no way I would pay $7 per loaf. 

I also stocked up my face moisturiser at Wags. This normally costs me $17-20 each (depending on retailer), but I scored 8 jars for $17.60 OOP. That's another $118 savings

I also did our annual coffee stock up at Sams. I paid $62.34 for 3 Dunkin Donuts containers. I still have some of the old (larger containers), so I only purchased some decaf. We now have more than a year's worth of coffee. There's been a few other things, but I can't remember it all (I did too much shopping 😂). After stocking up on coffee at Sams last summer, I noticed that the Dunkin Donuts containers have shrunk by 5 oz! I've never ever noticed shrinkflation at the warehouse clubs before. I, thankfully, managed to get the old, bigger containers before shrinkflation hit the shelves. The crazy part is that the price has increased. I've always purchased the coffee when the clubs have discounts on it though. The other thing I like about these containers is that they stay fresh long after the expiration date. I'm a food snob and I can tell you that the coffee still smells & tastes fresh long after it has expired. I didn't even realise I was drinking coffee that expired 3 months ago 😂 I'm guessing it's that stay fresh seal on the container that helps the coffee retain it's freshness. 

However, I'm not letting rising food prices and shrinkflation get me down. BF & I decided that our monthly grocery budget is $700 this year. That amount includes groceries, HBA and cleaning materials. We eat very little processed food and we use all name brand HBA. In fact, we eat very well, because I buy organic meat and some organic produce. We just get creative with shopping and spending. I also have a huge HBA stockpile (we have enough for over 2 years), so we're in great shape. 

Our clothing budget for this year is $0!

Same goes for Christmas - $0! 

That's doesn't mean that we won't purchase anything. Again, we are going to get creative about how to pay for Christmas. We really don't have any clothing needs, but many of you know that I get lots of free money, so I'll utilise that for when we have needs. 

We have really BIG financial goals that we'd like to achieve, so we are going ALL IN when it comes to saving on our needs. I know that we can do this, so I'm excited about it. 

Hope everyone stays safe & warm. Have a wonderful weekend peeps!

Wags P&G fun this week!

Hi everyone

It's a good week at Wags with the P&G promo (both online & in store) - ends 11/01

In store - Buy $30 select P&G items, earn $10 RR

Online - Buy $60 select P&G items, earn $15 WC

To check qualifying items, go online and click on one of the items I purchased below. Then click on the part that indicates the promo. It will display all items that qualify. 

Please note : The $10 in store RR expires within one day, so please be sure to use it immediately.

I apologise for using the above old pic instead of taking a new one. I currently have a lot on my plate (hence the lack of posts) and didn't bother taking a new one. Here's what I did.

Trans 1

1 x Crest t/p $9.00

1 x Crst t/p 9.00

2 x H&S shampoo 17.98

Less Crest DQ (5.00)

Less Crest DQ (5.00)

Less H&S DQ (3.00)

Less WC (20.00)

Tax 2.16

OOP $5.14

Earned $16 RR ($10 WYS $30 P&G, $3 Crest, $3 H&S). 

Trans 2

1 x Crest t/p $9.00

1 x Crest t/p 9.00

2 x H&S shampoo 17.98

Less Crest DQ (5.00)

Less Crest DQ (5.00)

Less WC (10.00)

Tax 2.16

OOP $18.14

Earned $16 RR ($10 WYS $30 P&G, $3 Crest, $3 H&S). 

Ugh, I was supposed to earn $5 for the Crest, but just noticed that I got $3 instead. Uh oh! Somebody forgot to clip the H&S Q on this account. I didn't have enough WC to redeem on this account, so I only used $10.

The H&S is $7 online, but I paid 8.99. I noticed that others in my coupon group paid the same price that I did. I know that Wags' online prices are often lower that the in store price. Makes no sense

Then I noticed that the P&G RRs expired the next day, so I went back inside to redeem them

Trans 3

3 x Crest t/p $12.00

2 x Colgate t/p 8.00

1 x Dawn 0.99

Less Crest DQ (5.00)

Less Colgate DQ (3.00)

Less RR from Trans 1 (10.00)

Less WC (4.00)

Tax 1.26

OOP $0.25

Earned $9 RR ($5 Crest, $4 Colgate)

I added the Dawn as a filler to attach to the P&G RR. I don't know if it was needed, but it worked out great for me. 

Trans 4

3 x Crest t/p $1.50

2 x Colgate t/p 8.00

1 x Dawn 0.99

Less Crest DQ (4.00)

Less Colgate DQ (3.00)

Less RR from Trans 2 (10.00)

Less WC (3.00)

Tax 1.17

OOP $0.66

Earned $9 RR ($5 Crest, $4 Colgate)

I bought different Crest t/p and wasn't even aware that it was priced lower than the others. I also only had a $4/2 Crest Q clipped (there are several different Qs available)

The online Crest deal is Buy 2, earn $3 WC

The in store Crest deal is Buy 3, earn $5 RR

Breakdown

Number of items purchased: 20

Total Qs used : $38.00

Total Rewards used : $57.00

Total Rewards earned (RR, WC, Ibotta, Fetch): $50.00

Total OOP : $24.19 ($1.21 per item - this includes sales tax)

Total Retail value : $127.90 (excl tax)

I'm also sharing some Pampers deals for my family members with babies. 

ONLINE

Check your accounts for a Spend $45 earn $15 P&G and also Spend $60 earn $15 DQs. Clip both.

Scenario 1

4 x Pampers Diaper packs B1G2nd 50% off $64.64

2 x Pampers wipes B1G2nd 50% off 5.68

2 x Crest t/p 8.00

Less Pampers diapers DQ (3.00)

Less Pampers wipes DQ (1.50) IVC/Store coupon

Less Crest DQ (4.00)

OOP $59.93 + tax

Earn $33 WC ($15 WYS $45 PG, $15 WYS $60, $3 Crest)

The $1.50 wipes coupon is a store coupon/IVC (instant value coupon). It can be used multiple times until it's expiration date. You need to keep clipping the Q on your account after each use. So clip again before shopping in store

or 

Scenario 2

2 x Pampers diapers boxes $71.98

Less diapers IVC/DQ (10.00) It's $5 per box, but will apply to each item

OOP $61.98 + tax

Earn $30 WC ($15 WYS $45 PG, $15 WYS $60)

Then go in store

Trans 1

1 x Pampers Diapers box $35.99

Less Diapers IVC (5.00)

Less $20 WC from online deal (20.00)

OOP $10.99

Earn $10 P&G RR

Trans 2

4 x Pampers wipes B1G2nd 50% off $11.36

2 x Colgate t/p 8.00

Less Pampers IVC (3.00)

Less Colgate DQ (3.00)

Less $10 RR from trans 1 (10.00)

Less WC from online deal (2.00) or $3, depending on register

OOP $1.36

Earn $4 RR (Colgate)

You might want to add a filler item to be on the safe side, so all Qs can attach. Just add a small bottle of 99c Dawn. It works perfectly. You can do the in store transactions over and over (in this order), however, you'll need other fillers in place of the Colgate, because the DQ is one time use. 

Total OOP $72.28 (Scenario 1 + Trans 1 & 2) and you'll still have $15 ($11 WC + $4 RR) in rewards left. You'll have

4 packs diapers

1 box diapers

6 packs wipes

4 toothpaste

$72.28 - $15 rewards = $57.28 for 15 items. I don't like to count my rewards twice, so I count it when I spend my rewards. However, I wanted to give you an idea of what everything would cost

Happy shopping peeps! 🛒

Frugal Friday 10/17/25

Hi everyone

I don't really have much to report this week. All I did was some grocery shopping and then stayed home the rest of the week. Here's a few things that I did this week.

• Purchased a pants with a Birthday reward and paid $2.86 OOP.
  
  Then, today, they sent me another $10 reward (valid today only) and I still had a free shipping reward. So I ordered the same pants in a different color and paid $5.30 OOP
  
  
• Redeemed a reward and paid $10.60 for a pants at Chicos and still have a Birthday reward to redeem (all amounts include sales tax).
  
  
• Ordered a free bracelet with reward at WHBM. Their styles and service have deteriorated so much that I couldn't find anything I liked. I decided to not waste that $30 and just purchased the bracelet instead.
  
  
• Received another surprise reward this week, so I purchased BF a designer item at over 90% off. 
  
  
• Found organic chicken breast marked down 20% at Sams and bought 2 packs. 
  
  
• Stopped at Meijer for Sargento cheese slices (on sale for $1.99 this week) and also purchased my favorite face cleanser (I can only find it at Meijer & Wags, but Meijer's cost $3 less than Wags. I purchase some every time Meijer has it on sale). The cleanser is Buy 2, save $5 instantly. When I checked my account afterwards, I saw that I earned $5 Mperks rewards for the cheese & cleanser. I forgot about those Mperks deals and was only aware of the beauty one. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I'm close to more rewards for other items (it tracks). With the instant discount and MP reward, the cleanser ended up saving me 50% total. Score!
  
  
• Picked up at quarter in the Aldi parking lot. 
  
  

That's about it for me for the week. I didn't even go to the drugstores. I think I'm outshopped 😂

Have a wonderful weekend peeps!

This week at Wags

Edit : I don't know why my spacing's so weird and why it changed the font in the last paragraph. 

Hi everyone

Wags was fun this week, despite me messing up some things. I haven't done any drugstore shopping in about 2 months and it definitely showed with the mistakes I made. Here's what I did

Trans 1

2 x Head & shoulders $18.00

2 x Crest t/p 9.00

2 x Garnier styler 8.98

Less H&S DQ (3.00)

Less Crest DQ (10.00)

Less Garnier DQ (7.00)

Less WC (20.00)

Tax 2.46

OOP $3.44

Earned $20 RR ($10 WYS $30 P&G, $3 H&S, $3 Crest, $4 Garnier)

Trans 2

2 x Head & shoulders $18.00

2 x Crest t/p 9.00

2 x Garnier styler 8.98

Less H&S DQ (3.00)

Less Crest DQ (10.00)

Less WC (20.00)

Tax 2.46

OOP $10.44

Earned $20 RR ($10 WYS $30 P&G, $3 H&S, $3 Crest, $4 Garnier) + $7 WC (see below) = $27

I purchased the same items as above, except my Garnier Q didn't deduct. I contacted CS when I got home and they added the $7 WC to my account. I still have the Q available to use tomorrow. It's a MM deal if I purchase just the Garnier.

 

Trans 3

2 x 2ct Bounty p/t $9.98

2 x Gain 9.98

2 x Garnier shampoo 8.98

Less P&G RR from trans 1 (10.00)

Less Gain DQ (1.55)

Less Gain DQ (1.50)

Less Garnier DQ (3.00)

Less WC (10.00)

Tax 1.74

OOP $4.63

Earned $4 RR (Garnier)

Trans 4

2 x 2ct Bounty p/t $9.98

2 x Dawn 9.98

2 x Garnier shampoo 8.98

Less P&G RR from trans 2 (10.00)

Less WC (20.00)

Tax 1.74

OOP 0.68

Earned $4 RR (Garnier)

I needed to use those P&G RRs, because they expire within 2 days. I didn't want Gain, but the P&G deal only works on select items, so I opted for the Gain & Bounty. 

The 2nd store didn't have any Gain, so I purchased Dawn instead. However, I messed up by adding the Garnier. I initially added it so I could use $10 WC, because the Gain Qs took my total to below that amount. The Dawn, on the other hand, didn't have any Qs so the Garnier wasn't needed. Ugh 🤦 I also didn't have the Garnier Q clipped on this account, so I ended up buying 'Expensive' (in my book 😂) shampoo that we don't even need. Double ugh 🤦

But wait... there's more. When I went through all my RRs, I realised that I never received RRs for the Buy 4 P&G deal (trans 3 & 4). After checking the ad, I realised that the Bounty is a completely separate deal. Triple ugh 🤦So I lost out on another $9. How many ughs are we on now? 😂

Breakdown:

Number of items purchased: 24

Total Qs used : $39.05

Total Rewards used : $90.00

Total Rewards earned (RR, WC, Ibotta, Fetch): $55.00 + $15 (PG) = $70

Total OOP : $18.75 ($0.78 per item - this includes sales tax)

Total Retail value : $195.96 (excl tax)

I felt like such a rookie this week, but realised that I didn't do too badly. I sure put those rewards to good use 😂

Have a wonderful weekend peeps!

Frugal Friday 09/26/25

 

Happy Friday Everyone

It's been a rather frugal week for me. I hardly did any grocery shopping and haven't been to the drugstores in weeks. I know. Shocker! 😂

Here's my list of frugal things for the week:

• Picked up 2 free BBW b/w with rewards. 
  
  I've been diluting my BBW b/w for a few years now to stretch it. I've loved BBW for many years, but they've gotten wayyyyy too expensive to pay regular price for anything. So I dilute the b/w and it still smells great. Diluting doesn't work on all brands though. I tried it with the Old Spice and that didn't work well.
  
  
• Got a free shirt from Chicos with rewards.
  
  
• Got a free RR cheeseburger & fries with reward
  
  
• Redeemed Fetch points for a $25 gc
  
  
• Redeemed Microsoft points for a $10 gc
  
  
• We have lots of leftover food, so we're not getting any carry out this weekend. We'll just eat whatever's in the fridge to combat waste. 
  
  

As you can see, it's been a slow week for me. 

Have a wonderful weekend peeps!

Frugal Friday 09/19/25

Here's some frugal things I've done lately

• Redeemed CC points for $250 gcs that were 15% off. That saved me $37.50 in points
  
  
• Used one of those gcs to purchase something for myself and earned 15% back at Rakuten. I love when free money earns me more free money 😂
  
  
• Saw a post that IGC was working again, so I redeemed for a $25 gc. The site has been down for about a year and I had points to redeem. 
  
  Redeemed for another $10 gc on my other account.
  
  
• Redeemed Swagbucks points for a $25 gc
  
  
• Purchased a gift for DS for a brand that never goes on sale, nor offers any discounts and/or coupons, at 10% off. 
  
  
• Purchased RR gcs at 20% off. I still purchase the $10 burger & fries for DS, so that $14.99 burger costs us $8 after all discounts. That's an almost 50% discount on his favorites.
  
  
• I ran out of iron pills (something I need to take daily), so I searched for the best price online. Sam's had the lowest price, but the item was only available online. So I headed to Costco and got the pills for 49c less. I bought 2 containers. This is why I have a membership for both stores. Sams has moved many items to online only and shipping starts at $8. The Costco membership more than makes up for all these shipping costs.
  
  
• I decided to stop at the produce market (it's near Costco) to get minneolas for DS. The minneolas were 99c each and I was going to pay that price, until I spotted bright orange bags in their markdown section. Whaddya know! They had bags of minneolas for $1 per bag. I bought 2 bags. This bag contained 13 minneolas and 2 lemons. That save me almost $14 per bag. I wanted lemons too, but didn't want to pay 89c each. What a blessing this turned out to be. 
  
  
• Received a $30 WHBM reward. I let my last $15 reward expire, because the quality of things are so poor these days and I didn't want to spend extra money. I'm hoping I can find something good.
  
  
• Got BF some free athletic shorts with Kohls rewards.
  
  
• Saw that Jockey had my favorite undies for $15.99 (6 pack). I only wear cotton, so I bought 8 packs. I purchased enough to qualify for free shipping. I also earned a $5 reward and used it to order another pack. 
  
  I knew that I bought quite a bit the last time (a year or 2 ago) I posted about it, but with the poor quality and tariffs, I knew that I needed to stock up again. I'm so thankful I did that, because it's now sold out.
  
  
• Discovered that Aldi offers triple the amount of green onions that the grocery stores have, for the same price. I bought a package, used what I needed, then diced and froze the rest. I've been using it in our omelets every day. 
  
  
• I have quite a few rewards from various retailers available, but only take advantage of free shipping ones. I also don't want to spend extra money (we don't need anything), so I only purchase items that I can get for free or near free.
  
  

Have a wonderful weekend peeps!

Stockpiling item of the week - Detergent

Hi everyone

I had a different post planned, but wanted to share this one before the deal ends tomorrow (09/16/25)

Kroger currently has a weekly digital deal (limit 5) on Persil detergent - $8.99 with digital Q (must clip Q before going shopping).

Ibotta also has various rebates (cash back) on Persil:

$3 on 84-100 oz Persil (exludes Activewear) - limit 2

$4 on 84-100 oz Persil Activewear - limit 2

$4 on Persil Ultra packs (pods) - limit 2

Here's what I did

2 x 84 oz Persil Oxi $17.98

2 x 84 oz Persil Activewear 17.98

OOP $35.96

Earn $14 Ibotta ($6 Oxi, $8 Activewear)

Total cost after rewards = $21.96

This is the Best price I've ever seen. Sams currently has the 201.6 oz bottle on sale (monthly Q discount) for $20.98

Sams sale price per ounce = $0.10

Kroger sale price per ounce (after Ibotta ) = $0.07 (0.065)

My total savings = $11.76 compared to if I had purchased this at Sams (which was my original plan). These bottles retail for $13.99 each at the grocery stores. Yikes! I'm so used to purchasing everything on sale that I tend to get sticker shock when I see what things actually retail for. Paying $4.99-5.99 per bottle is wayyyyyy better than that $13.99 price tag.

I'm stocking up, stocking up, stocking up on all the great deals, because grocery prices continue to increase. I looked at our YTD grocery expenses and saw that we are $119 over per month (I average our monthly cost). This is not good! It gets worse, but more on that later. 

Please do yourselves a favor and stock up on the good deals, because prices will keep getting worse. Stay tuned for more.

Happy shopping peeps!