My new grocery shopping strategy

Hi everyone

I apologize for my lack of posts. I've just had a lot on my plate lately. 

I've decided to increase our grocery budget, because it's just plain hard to keep up with the ever increasing prices.I've increased it to $400 per person per month. This includes food, HBA & cleaning. My goal is to only spend $300 p/m, but I'll take whatever savings I can get. 

To add insult to injury, Kroger kept skipping MI with the egg sale price. Well, the last time I went to the store for sale eggs, I saw a sign that our state passed a law that only Cage Free eggs can be sold in grocery stores. That explained our high egg prices. That's fine with me. I'm all for better quality food, but I sure wish they would pass a law for better meat. None of that 'broth' filled junk and stuff that doesn't even look or taste like meat. I told BF that I'm gonna check Trader Joe's & Whole Paycheck (aka Whole Foods) for organic chicken. I bought grass fed ground beef at Sams and what a difference that was in flavor and it doesn't even cost much more than their regular ground beef. I've noticed that their regular ground beef smelled & tasted different for the past month, hence my decision to try the grass fed beef. That's now my new ground beef of choice.

BUT

I still need to do something about the financial side of shopping. Walmart has been my go-to store since just before the pandemic, because of their low prices. Well, for the past year I've noticed that many of their store brand prices are now higher than some of the grocery store name brand prices. Then I switched to doing the bulk of my shopping at Sams (which I love) and the rest at Walmart & just cherry picking at the other grocery stores. 

Change of plan. Sams will remain my go to store. I will then fill in the gaps with sale items from Kroger, Meijer & Target. These stores also offer coupons and rewards, which add to the savings. Aldi has always been a cherry picking store for me. I mainly pick up bread, pie crust and a select few produce items at Aldi. I noticed that their eggs are 70c more than Kroger's. I'll still continue doing my drugstore shopping, although the deals are becoming more scarce.

I won't be purchasing everything at Sams. I noticed a Wags deal for Nature Made supplements for 99c, so I decided to stock up on my Iron pills. It turns out that the sale price is just for Zinc pills. My iron is $17.99/365 ct at Wags. So I decided to check Sams and saw that they charge $10.98/365 ct. Guess where I'm getting my supplements from. The same thing happened when we ran out of oatmeal (which I use for baking too). Sams unit price was way less than Walmart's. However, their Tide cost more than Target's (which also comes with coupons and usually a gc deal). Well, I'll use my discounted Target gcs (10% off) to roll into the Tide deal. 

I've always comparison shopped. The internet makes it so easy for us to find the best prices for things that we need. It takes a bit of time, but it's definitely worth the savings. Here's to hoping we can stay under budget while still living well. 

Have a wonderful evening peeps. Stay healthy safe & warm. 

Wags Christmas clearance - The Valentine's Edition

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. I'm sure that, like myself, many of you are ready to get back into savings mode. 

I know my post title has some of you scratching your heads 😂 

I had zero plans to go after Christmas shopping. The mood just wasn't there, but when we went to Kroger earlier this week, I decided to just swing by Wags since their Christmas were 70% off. Well, I get to the Christmas section and the tags still showed 50% off (I knew it was 70% off, cause my coupon group posted about it). There were also quite a bit of goodies to be had, so I took advantage of this. 

I did a big order first (can't post it, because it includes goodies for BF & DS). I first asked the cashier to check if it was 70% off, since she was clueless about it. Success! It is 70% off, although one of the items I asked her to remove (only scanned at 50% off and this cashier was a pita), only to discover that she never did. It showed the $7.49 credit on the screen, but I don't know what she pressed to add the item again. Yeah, I paid $7.49+tax for nothing, because Wags has the item. CS was useless and told me to email another CS division. Sigh. But...... other things still worked great!

My absolute favorite find of the day was the Chips Ahoy priced at $1.58 and Ibotta has a $1.50 rebate (only works on this holiday flavor). Whoo-hoo for 8c cookies! Gotta love my coupon group. It's thanks to them that I knew about the 70% discount & cookies. I just wish my store had more than one available. 

I also purchased one bag of the Lindt mint chocolate (my favorite and it's only available over the holidays). When I checked my receipt in the car, I saw that the Lindt was priced at $1.94. So I told DS that we should just go buy more candy to use for school. 

So back in we went & did this deal:

11 x Ghirardelli slabs $14.08 (1.28 each - regular price 4.29)

4 x Lindt bags $7.76 (I know it's not all mint, but it's all they had and I wanted to use WC)

Less WC (20.00)

OOP $1.84

Why all the chocolate? I'm using them as Valentine's gifts. I did a similar deal for Christmas gifts (it's a long post that I still need to write). I'll get some Valentines cello bags at DT and add the cards. At this price I have 11 gifts and 5 bags of chocolate for myself. I'm one happy girl 😊 The slabs alone would've cost $47.19 at the regular price.

Above is what I did for Christmas. Each of DS's classmates got a big slab of chocolate and it didn't cost me much OOP. So Valentine's is done & dusted. Well, at least for school 😊 

I also bought some Hallmark gift tags for $0.74 each. Not the best price, but I love Hallmark's quality. 

I used a total of $70 WC (and I still have lots left to redeem) and $16.28 OOP. 

Earned $1.50 Ibotta (cookies) + $3 RR (Colgate) + $7.94 (money Wags owes me) = $12.44

Retail value : $206.74

We had a great shopping trip. Even DS was happy. 

Have a wonderful weekend peeps! Stay healthy, safe & warm.

Frugal Friday - the Holiday Shopping Edition

PSA

Target store gcs are 10% off tomorrow & Sunday only. Clip the Circle Q to activate your discount. 

Hi everyone

I thought I'd switch things up & share some holiday shopping savings this time around. 

• Last Friday Red Robin sent me an email regarding their gc deal. Earn $20 bonus card for every $50 spent. I needed no 2nd invitation, because I actually needed gcs for DS. I've had RR gcs in my Sams cart for about 2 weeks, but never bothered to check out. So glad I didn't, because this deal was way better. I jumped on the RR deal, because y'all know I love free money 😂 Bought $300 gcs, earned $120 free food (bonus cards) and cash back on my CC. 
  
  
• Bought my guys' Christmas gifts that came with a $160 free gift. I've had my eye on this item for about 6 months and was actually planning on purchasing it. So when the BF free gift deal rolled around (there were 3 different gifts to choose from), I didn't think twice. I was a little bummed when this deal was still available on Cyber Monday, because Rakuten had 20% cash back vs 12% I received on BF. I'm still happy with my freebie, because it's something we can all use. I know that BF's gonna like the freebie as much as I do 😊
  
  
• Used a $5 Birthday reward and purchased a Christmas gift for DS. I just paid the extra $5.xx in cash and checked another gift off his list. 
  
  
• Got myself a free $170 WHBM dress with my Birthday reward (see above).
  
  
• Eddie Bauer sent me another $10 reward as compensation for the delayed shipping (they had moved warehouses, so some items showed as backordered, but I've already received everything) on my previous order. When they had free shipping on Cyber Monday, I ordered DS another t-shirt. Paid $6.56 difference.
  
  
• Kohls had our systems jackets as part of their BF sale, so I bought myself & DS 3 jackets each. Why so many? You can't find these jackets anywhere else. We've been wearing this brand for almost 20 years and it's our favorite. Also, the zippers keep breaking, so I figured it's best to keep spares. $50 per coat and $15 KC + 5% monthly reward ($2.50) = great deal 😊 
  
  
• Did my Kohls shopping through Swagbucks (6% cash back vs Rakuten 1%). Then I redeemed for a discounted $25 Kohls gc and bought a Panini Press with the gc (paid the difference in cash, not realising I still had another $10 gc) and earned another $15 KC. 
  
  I actually like shopping through Swagbucks, because their $25 gcs are discounted by 12% Yes, I still look for discounts on free money 😂
  
  
• Did some Wags deals (I still need to write a post), earned Ibotta cash and redeemed for a $25 gc that I used for some groceries at Sams today. 
  
  
• Ordered quite a few freebies with my Birthday rewards. I can't even remember everything I 'bought' 😂
  
  
• Ordered DS a Christmas gift and books for myself (B2G1F) from Target and used the last of my discounted (last December's 10% off deal) gcs and some earned ones from Microsoft & P&G. 

Other than my coats, dress and a pair of cutesy slippers, I didn't shop for myself. I only shopped for BF  & DS. I need one more item for DS (waiting to purchase my Target gcs tomorrow and will use that to pay for the gift), then I'm done with Christmas shopping. I'm ready to wrap gifts now. 

That's all I can think for now. I'm worn out just typing about the deals 😂 It's been a busy 2 weeks of shopping.

Have a wonderful weekend peeps! Stay healthy, safe & warm.

This week's drugstore shopping 11/17/24

Hi everyone

It's been a crazy week. We had a death in the family at the beginning of the week, I went to the dreaded dentist and it's that busy time of the year. I had to go drugstore shopping, because I had a pile of rewards expiring. Here's what I did

Favorite store 😂 Y'all know what that means by now 😊

Trans 1

2 x Aussie B1G40% off 2nd $10.38

2 x Garnier shampoo 8.00

2 x Crest t/p 7.00

2 x Trident 3.00

Less Aussie DQ (4.00)

Less Garnier DQ (3.00)

Less Crest DQ (3.00)

Less Trident Q (3.00)

Less RR (9.00)

Less WC (5.00)

Tax 1.52

OOP $2.90

Earned $9 RR ($3 Garnier, $3 Crest, $3 Trident) + $3 WC (Aussie - see below)

Trans 2

2 x Aussie B1G40% off 2nd $10.38

2 x Garnier shampoo 8.00

2 x Crest t/p 7.00

2 x Trident 3.00

2 x Snuggle BOGOF 4.99

Less Aussie DQ (4.00)

Less Garnier DQ (3.00)

Less Crest DQ (3.00)

Less Trident Q (3.00)

Less RR (6.00)

Less WC (10.00)

Tax 1.82

OOP $6.19

Earned $9 RR ($3 Garnier, $3 Crest, $3 Trident) + $3 WC (Aussie - see below)

The Trident Q keeps getting rejected (it's happening nationwide), so the cashier manually entered it. I especially bought more Trident to get rid of the Qs, but it printed new ones. 

Just as I was about the leave the store, I realised that I didn't get any RRs for Aussie. So I got the manager and she added $6 WC to my account. I just showed her both receipts and she added everything to one account. No complaints from me, cause she added it to my account that's low on WC. 

Wags round 2. Before I went out, I told BF that I didn't know how long I was gonna be, because I'm stopping at my favorite store first. He already knows how that goes 😂

Trans 1

2 x Aussie mousse B1G40% off 2nd  $9.58

2 x Garnier shampoo 8.00

Less Aussie DQ (3.00)

Less Garnier DQ (3.00)

Less WC (10.00)

Tax 1.05

OOP $2.63

Earned $24 RR ($3 Aussie, $3 Garnier)...

Wait for it!...

I had 2 Dentyne in this transaction too, because I want to get rid of these Qs. I already knew that the register would reject that Q, but I had a very stubborn cashier who refused to manually enter the  amount. Nope, she was gonna redo the whole transaction. Doesn't matter that I explained that it's happening at all stores and that the price matches the coupon value. By now the CAT machine had already printed RRs for the transaction. So she rescans everything, scans the Trident Q too, hits enter and whaddya know, it gets rejected again. Come on girl. I just explained the whole thing to you. Just enter the amount. The product even matches the pic on the Q. Nuh uh, she was gonna cancel the transaction AGAIN and redo it. The CAT machine just keeps printing and I told her to just exclude the gum and return the Q. So the 3rd transaction looked like the one above. So I'm over there wondering how she's gonna handle all those RRs, since she was too stubborn to enter the Q. Imagine my surprise when she handed me all the RRs. I politely thanked her and did my 2nd transaction. I actually didn't know that it printed more Gum RRs too, until I got home and checked everything. So her stubborness earned me an extra $18. Whoo-hoo! Compensation for all my time she wasted 😂

Trans 2

2 x Aussie hairspray B1G40% off 2nd  $9.58

2 x Garnier shampoo 8.00

Less Aussie DQ (3.00)

Less Ganier DQ (3.00)

Less WC (5.00) I didn't have enough WC on this account to use $10.

Tax 1.05

OOP $7.63

Earned $6 RR ($3 Aussie, $3 Garnier)

Breakdown

Number of items purchased: 26

Total Qs used : $38.00

Total Rewards used : $45.00

Total Rewards earned (RR, WC, Ibotta, Fetch): $54.00

Total OOP : $19.35 ($0.74 per item - this includes sales tax)

Total Retail value : $128.94 (excl tax)

I stopped at CVS too, but I forgot to take pics. I didn't do anything spectacular. I just rolled the expiring EBs into the Eucerin deal that earn me $10 EB. 

Have a wonderful weekend peeps!

Frugal Friday 11/15/24

 

Not exactly frugal, but I wanted to say Thank you to Belinda for sharing about the Softsoap she purchased. I'm not using mine as gifts, so (geek that I am) crunched the numbers on whether the small bottles or the big refill bottle cost less per ounce. The big bottle was the clear winner (Ibotta added a rebate for it after I already purchased mine & it was too late to submit my receipt). This bottle will last a whole year by using my foaming soap dispenser.  I absolutely love mint flavored things and this scent smells yummy. A few frugal things I did recently.

• Had an abundance of apples, so I decided to make apple muffins again. 
  
  
• Added more cereal 'crumbs' (the crushed parts that's usually at the bottom of the box) to my ziploc bag. I have a muffin recipe that requires crushed Bran Flakes, so I just add the crumbs to my stash every time I open a box of cereal then add it to my baking. 
  
  
• Used face scrub on my heels in the shower. The scrub works great and I just soften/moisturise the heels with Vaseline afterwards. I guess I created my own hack 😂 I had a pumice stone with brush that broke years ago and I never bothered to replace it. Good thing, cause I have lots of face scrub to use 😂
  
  
• Received some items I ordered in large poly bags, so I used the bags in my office trash can (it's a 13 gallon bin/trash can), which saves me money on trash bags. 
  
  
• Kohls had a BF sale last week, so I bought myself a spare coat for $50. Paid with earned gc (so free coat) and earned $15 Kohls cash. I still need to submit a ticket to Swagbucks, because I noticed that my cash back isn't pending. I normally use Rakuten, but Swagbucks had 6% cash back vs 1% at Rakuten. 
  
  
• Received 10 rewards for my birthday thus far. Hooray for more free money! 
  
  
• My CC once again had 15% discount on select gcs, so I used my points to get a BBW gc. I will use that during their semi annual sale (which is about the only time I shop there, unless they send me Qs for free items). I need to write a post about these discounted gcs. 
  
  
• Received a $15 Eddie Bauer Q. I wasn't planning on using it, because I didn't want to pay shipping. Then I found some good t-shirts for DS on clearance (they had extra 60% off clearance), so I decided to just order his items, pay shipping and score myself 2 free t-shirts (with Q) too. 
  
  I tell ya, retailers love me. They keep sending me free money. As long as they're offering free shipping, I'm shopping 😂🛍
  
  
• Replaced lots of HBA items (shampoo, deodorant, body wash, moisturiser) from my stockpile. I love being able to just grab items from my stockpile any time we run out. 

I know there's more, but that's all I can remember now. 

Have a wonderful weekend peeps!

This week's Wags tripping 11/10/24

Hi everyone

I finally got my computer issues fixed. Huge sigh of relief, cause it took me almost 2 weeks to do so. 

So, back to the deals it is. 

PSA - FREE TRIDENT & DENTYNE this week

Buy 2 get $3 RR

Trident's on sale for 2/$3 this week. I didn't check the Dentyne price, but it might be the same.

2 x Trident $3.00

OOP $3.00

Earn $3 RR. 

This is not like a regular RR. You can ONLY use it on the gum, but it does not roll. If you purchase more gum & pay with the RR, you won't receive another RR. So, if you're looking to stock up on the gum, do a few deals and pay with cash, WC or any other RR. Then when you've had your fill, use the gum RRs to pay. 

I had $22 RRs expiring today, so here's what I did.

Trans 1

4 x Crest t/p $16.00

2 x Trident 3.00

Less Crest DQ (6.00)

Less RRs (11.00)

Tax 0.96

OOP $2.96

Earned $9 RR ($6 Crest, $3 Trident)

Wait a minute, no RRs printed. Cashier checked CAT machine and we notice that it wasn't even turned on 😡 So she tells me we'll use the other register. I asked her if she's gonna redo the transaction or just add my points. She said she'll add points, which I'm very happy about cause that gum RR doesn't roll. 

Trans 2

2 x Garnier $8.00

1 x Colgate t/p 4.50

1 x Colgate t/b 5.50

3 x Trident 4.50

Less Garnier DQ (3.00)

Less Colgate DQ (3.00)

Less Colgate DQ (3.00)

Less RR (11.00)

Less WC (3.00)

Tax 1.08

OOP $0.58

Earned $9 RR ($3 Garnier, $3 Colgate, $3 Trident)

My math was off on this transaction. I kept thinking my Garnier OOP would be $3 (instead of $5) 🤦and wanted to get my total over $11 to use my RRs. Yeah, my total was over $11 without that extra Trident 😂 It's been one of those days. I couldn't even clip DQs online, cause they did site maintenance in the middle of the day. When it finally worked, my other account had no Garnier Qs. It had just vanished into thin air.

I also wanted to do a GC deal (that earns bonus gcs), but the cashier couldn't tell me which Wags gc works for the deal and there's no sign by the gcs. Sigh. 

No breakdown yet, cause I'm not sure if I'm done shopping at Wags for the week. 

Happy shopping peeps!

Menu Plan Monday 11/04/24

Hi everyone

I'm still dealing with computer issues, but I can at least write posts without pics 😊, so here's our menu for the week.

Monday : Slow cooker roast beef, mashed potatoes, veggies, gravy

Tuesday : Pesto chicken casserole & rice (there's veggies in the casserole)

Wednesday : Same as Monday

Thursday : Same as Tuesday

Friday : Either Sams pizza from the freezer or a mexican dish

Saturday : Red Robin (DS)

Breakfasts :  Banana oatmeal muffins, bacon, breakfast sausage, eggs or omelets, toast, chocolate brioche or raisin bread french toast, bagels, cereal, muesli

Lunch : Leftovers or protein from freezer with salad 

Dessert : Still no dessert, but I was tempted to buy a pumpkin pie to 'taste test' 😂

There's always fresh salad fixings and a variety of fresh fruit & veg available. 

I had an abundance of overripe bananas, so banana muffins it is. I actually wanted cranberry muffins, but didn't want to freeze the bananas. 

The leftover roast beef will be saved to make beef pot pies next week. I always plan ahead this way when I buy a roast.

Has anyone had issues finding pie crusts at Aldi? I haven't found any in the past few weeks, but Sams saved the day with their Pillsbury crusts. 

As you can see I didn't bother much with cooking this week. The time change had me waking up an hour early today and I'm already dragging. 

Bon Appetit peeps!