Oct. 4, 2008 - Budget time & God's provision
I have tried to put us on a budget in the past but it never seems to stick. So, I decided to do something different this month. I am using the envelope system. This is nothing new that I came up with. I know a few people that do this and it is also in Dave Ramsey's books. I even found a wonderful blog explaining this system. Thank you, SimpleMom. Anyway, I started October 1st with envelopes for groceries, gas and miscellaneous. I averaged out what I think we spend a month for gas & groceries and halved the amount. I just set an amount for the miscellaneous. Note: the gas category is only for my vehicle.
Now, paying with cash is new to me. I never keep much cash on hand because it seems to disappear rather quickly. This will truly be a test for me. So far I have filled my gas tank (half of my allotted amount) and got groceries. Here is where I ran into trouble. I had not been to the grocery store in a couple of weeks so we were low on lots of stuff. After looking at the sales for two of main local chains, I made a list. I went to one store on Thursday where I got the bulk of my groceries. I only had about $50 left after this trip. I start wondering how we are going to last until the next payday which is 12 days away and I still have some items to get at the second store. I go to the second store on Friday and now only have about $5 left. I decide not to worry about it though because I am confident we are well stocked to last 12 days.
Here is where the amazing provision of God comes in. I had dropped off some bookkeeping work at a client's this week and they were having a giveaway of numerous items including gas cards. They told me to register so I did. Friday afternoon, after spending almost all of my grocery funds, I get home to a message saying I had won a $100 gas card! I truly believe this is all His doing! The message was left Friday morning. He provided for us before I even knew we would need it. I now can use the rest of the gas fund money for groceries if needed.
I looked up a couple of verses pertinent to this.
Matthew 6:31-34 "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Blessings to all who visit!
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Aug. 5, 2008 - Ziploc Steam bags & Glade products giveaway
SC Johnson is giving away Ziploc & Glade product pack to the first 10,000 people. Here is the link:
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Jul. 10, 2008 - This week's savings
Finally, there were some CVS deals I could use! It has been a skimpy few weeks. I also hit RiteAid for a few things. I prefer CVS because I like to get the rebate (ECBs) right away but Rite Aid had a couple of things that will be FREE after the rebate and I can always use the rebate for other FREE deals. Here's how I did:
CVS: SP $150.83 Pd $57.49 Savings $93.34 or 61.8% ECBs earned $22.00 (I used $24.45 ECBs)
here's what I got: 4 Pringles, 2 Dawn detergents, 1 Cascade, 3 Olay body wash, 4 Olay face products, 2 Dole fruit cups, 2 Covergirl mascara, 2 CG eye shadow, 2 CG lip color, 3 Wet & Wild nail polish (for my girls), 1 Garnier eye treatment (my mom's), 1 men's sandals (dh). WOW!
Rite Aid: SP $33.23 Pd $13.70 Savings $19.53 or 58.7% Rebates $10.73
here's what I got: 3 Shampoo, 2 applesauce, 1 Venus razor, 1 Crest toothpaste
Now, if I could only get my grocery savings up. I am hitting around 30% but would like to get it to at least 40%.
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Jun. 19, 2008 - Good Deals & Great Deals
I thought I would post an update on my savings for the past week. I did really great in some things and just so-so in others.
Summary
Bath & Body - SP $167.00 Pd: $53.00 Sav: $114.oo or 68%
Walgreens #1 - SP $43.55 Pd: $18.56 savings:$24.99 or 57%
Walgreens #2 - SP $39.42 Pd:$13.42 savings:$26.00 or 66%
Bi-Lo - SP: $161.06 Pd:$107.56 savings $53.30 or 33%
Bath & Body
I went to Bath & Body last week b/c they had the antibacterial hand soap on sale (which I love). Well, they also had a great summer clearance sale going on. Not only did I get my 7 hand soaps ($21) but there was a 75% off clearance table. Of course, being in my stockpile mode, I immediately thought "Gifts". I got another 15 items for a total of 22 items. Here's the breakdown of my great deal:
Shelf price: $167.00 paid: $53.00 savings: $114.00 or 68%
I figured out that I have 5 great gifts ready that cost me $6 each. Woo hoo!
Walgreens
I hit Walgreens two times during the past 7 days. The first trip I stocked up on 2ltr Coke products and Pringles chips. I normally do not buy Cokes or Pringles but they were on sale at a good price so I splurged. Also, this trip was on Friday and there was a coupon on Walgreens website for $5/$20 good only for that day. So, combined with the mfg q's & store q's, I did pretty well:
Shelf price: $43.55 paid: $18.56 savings: $24.99 or 57.38%
My savings for my second trip to Walgreens was great but I was disappointed that a deal I was trying did not work like I was hoping. They have the Oral B 2 pk Cross Action toothbrush on sale for $5.50 with $5.50 register rewards at time of purchase. There was a mfg coupon in Sunday's paper for B1G1F (actually there were two q's). I did one transaction for two of the 2pks using the B1G1F mfg q. My RR printed and then I did a second transaction for the same along with some other items again using my 2nd B1G1F mfg q and also the $5.50 RR I had received on the previous transaction. I was hoping I would get another RR for $5.50 but did it did not print. After talking to the mgr, she said it was b/c their computer recognized the RR I used coming from the Oral B product and so it would not generate another one b/c I would essentially be getting both on this transaction for free. I should have done this deal at CVS which is giving $3 in ECBs so using the mfg q you would get $6 in ECB but only paying for 1. I know you can use ECBs for the same item you got the ECB for. I may have to find another set of q's and see if it works, even though I don't need toothbrushes( have about 12 right now).
2nd trip totals- shelf: $39.42 paid: $13.42 savings: $26.00 or 65.96%
Bi-Lo
My savings goals seem to go out the door when I go to Bi-Lo. Of course, I do most of my shopping there so my totals are a little higher than other stores. My totals for this week:
Shelf: $161.06 paid: $107.56 savings: $53.50 or 33% (this seems to be my avg for Bi-Lo)
My goal is to increase my Bi-Lo savings. I'll continue to post how I'm doing. I would love to hear your tips and ideas.
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Jun. 11, 2008 - My great CVS trip today
I made my CVS run today and did really great. I saved 83%!!! I'm still a newbie at CVS but I think I did really well. I used two different CVS cards so I could get more of the limited qty deals. Here is what I got(wish I had taken a picture):
(4) 12pk coke products
(3) CVS bandaids (finally, I've been to 3 stores and they have been out)
(1) Listerine Smart Rinse
(1) Oral B toothbrush 2pk
(4) Kotex feminine pads
(2) movie boxes of Milk Duds
(2) movie boxes of Whoppers
(2) Reese PBC
(2) Snickers
(2) 3 Musketeers
(2) bags of Dumdum lollipops
(2) bags of Pixie stix
(4) bags candy necklaces (these were on clearance for 25cents)
(1) Ped Egg (wanted to try it)
Shelf price: $80.58 OOP: $13.51 Sav: $67.07 or 83.2% ECBs earned: $24.45 
I used Qs totaling $5 and ECBs totaling $39.45. I did not get back as much in ECBs as I used but I am still happy with my trip. All the candy I bought is either for birthday party treat bags or our movie theater stash.
I was excited to see one of those scanners others have mentioned but it did not have any paper and the cashier said they didn't have any. The scanner had just been installed. I was really hoping for a great coupon to use. 
Now, if they would just build a CVS closer to me.
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Jun. 3, 2008 - CVS is great!
I had started tracking my grocery savings several months ago but stopped a while back. I recently decided to start focusing on that again. A favorite blog of mine to visit for savings tips is Money Saving Mom. I especially like to see the CVS scenerios she comes up with. So, this week, I decided to really apply myself and try CVS. I really did great on card 1. Card 2 was higher than I would have liked but I did not have any ECBs to use like I did for card 1. I have the two cards so I can get more of the limited deals. Here is how I did:
Card 1
1 Chex Mix
2 Dawn detergent
1 Listerine Smart Rinse
2 Oral B Cross Action toothbrushes 2pk
Shelf Price: $30.14 before Qs & ECBs: $20.47
Qs & ECBs used: $24.24 OOP: $1.23 Woo hoo! ECBs earned: $18.47 (earned more than I used!)
Card 2
1 Chex mix
2 Bounty paper towels
2 Charmin TP
1 Listerine Smart Rinse
1 Oral B Cross Action Toothbrush 2pk
2 Colgate Total Advanced toothpaste
Shelf Price: $50.91 subtotal: $37.43
Qs used: $9.00 OOP: $28.43 ECBs earned: $20.48
Summary: Got $81 of stuff for $29 (savings of 63%), earned $40 in ECBs
I still need to get the CVS Band Aids which I will use ECBs and get them back again. Gotta love CVS!!
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Jan. 23, 2008 - I'm at 50.3% savings for the month
I have always used coupons when grocery shopping but it was not until December that I really started taking full advantage of them. Thanks to a discussion in my homeschool group, I discovered The Grocery Game. This is a service you subscribe to that tells you each week how to maximize the sales and coupons for the best price at various stores. I have added a link on my sidebar to their website. Here are my totals for this month so far:
Shelf Price: $1,002.42
Out of pocket: $498.43
Savings: $503.99 or 50.3%
Bi-Lo helped a lot last week with their triple coupons promotion. Thank you Bi-Lo!
While at Walgreen's this week, I noticed they had regular size candy bars by M&M Mars on sale with their ad coupon 4/$1.00. Going into to my savings mode, I bought the limit of 8. I am saving these for when we go to the movies. The girls are not big on popcorn, so instead of stopping at a convenience store to get something that costs $1.00-$1.50 or even buying it at the theatre for $3-$4, I have now only paid 25 cents per candy bar. So, when you are looking at the sale papers, don't just think of immediate needs but think also of saving now for future needs.
