Tonight's dinner



$2.44 Six chicken thighs
$0.79 One can peaches
$0.25 Blanched Almonds
$0.05 2 Tbs Vinegar
$0.10 1 tsp Curry powder
$0.10 1 tsp Garam Masala
$0.05 Cornstarch
$0.59 Fresh Green Beans on the side
- - - - - - - - -
$4.37 Total.
Two chicken thighs leftover for lunch tomorrow

Third post for today. Since I used my other two posts to talk about how much I had saved for the month, I thought I should also throw in how much I spent for the month.

$193.00 Groceries/Food
$9.00 Meals out (sushi)
$10.54 Cat Food/Litter
$5.75 Cleaning supplies
$49.99 Health & Beauty (This includes the $25 at CVS for 2-180ct bottles of advil)
$66.95 Beverages.

The beverages number may seem high but it includes $18.79 in coffee beans that I had to purchase in order to use my $9 worth of coupons by the end of the month. It also includes $9.50 for gallon refills of water because we don't drink the water from our well.

This is for two adults.

...so far anyway. I had a great month last month at CVS.

For $25.98 out of pocket (not including taxes or bottle deposit) I purchased the following bundle of goods in combination with coupons and ECBs:

180-ct Advil Liquid Gels
180-ct Advil Liquid Gels
12-pack Mountain Dew
12-pack Mountain Dew
12-pack Mountain Dew
12-pack Pepsi
6.2-oz Toothpaste
60-ct Viactiv chocolate chew vitamins
60-ct Viactiv chocolate chew vitamins
16-oz Infusium shampoo
16-oz Infusium conditioner
250-ml mouthwash

DH is loyal to the Advil liquid gels. We go through one of those 180-ct bottles about once a month. My non-sale price on this item is $13.79 at Target. I usually have a $1.00 coupon for it. So 2*13.79 – 1.00 – 1.00 = 25.58. For the price of what I normally pay for Advil, I got the remaining items free. Advil does go on sale but I’ve noticed that when the 180-ct size is on sale the liquid gels are excluded.

DH drinks Mountain Dew and Pepsi so we’ll go through that. DH is loyal to his toothpaste so I’ll end up using the free toothpaste. I don’t normally use the Viactiv vitamins (or any vitamins for that matter) but I am at least trying to remember to eat one of these every day. DH is loyal to his expensive salon shampoo so I’ll be using the shampoo. (Anyone getting the idea that DH is a little too brand loyal?)

Anyway, the CVS deals worked out great for me last month and that was the first time I had ever shopped at CVS. I don’t know if I’ll do it again this month. I was all set to go on Monday and had to talk myself out of it. First, CVS is about 15 miles away. Roundtrip, we’re talking about a gallon of gas. However, I had been trying to incorporate it into other trips into that neighboring town.

The deals for the first week of April are not things that I can see myself using. To get the ball rolling, I would have had to purchase a lipstick for $8.99 and some liquid soap for $4.49. I don’t ever wear lipstick. The two tubes I have in my drawer are stale now so it wouldn’t hurt to get a replacement for special occasions, however, Walgreen’s has it Free after Rebate this month for 5.99. And in that case, I’ll get the money back, not have it rolled over to ECBs which have to be used at CVS again. On the other side, I do have coupons for $1.00 on each of the above mentioned items, so it would be a ‘money-making’ deal. Additionally, I had a save $5 when you spend $20 that expired yesterday. I still have a save $3 when you spend $15 and I also have $3 in leftover ECBs. I don’t know what to do. The deals for the first week of April didn’t interest me that much but I see ones for next week that do interest me. I just don’t know if I want to commit myself to doing this again. On the one hand it’s a hassle to go all the way over there and my house if fairly well stocked with any and every toiletry I could possibly need and it takes time to think about the deals and put them together to best advantage. On the other, it is FUN to do and it is fun to add up the totals as I did above.

4.67 *FREE* Cat Food 3 lbs
4.67 *FREE* Cat Food 3 lbs
4.67 *FREE* Cat Food 3 lbs
4.67 *FREE* Cat Food 3 lbs
2.99 *FREE* Cat Food 1 lb
3.00 Razors. With a $5 rebate, these were FREE
3.00 Shampoo. With CVS ECBs this was $0.50/bottle
3.00 Conditioner. With CVS ECBs, this was $0.50/bottle
0.75 Cleaner. With $1 rebate, final price was 0.75
1.00 Glass cleaner. With $1 rebate, final price was 0.50
1.00 Advil (DH is brand loyal)
1.00 Advil
2.50 Tampons. Final price 0.50 for 16-ct box.
Not my normal brand, but for 0.50 I’ll try them
2.50 Tampons. Final price 0.50 for 16-ct box
0.50 Tampons. Final price 4.38 for 40-ct box. Normal brand and I bought these in conjunction with a spend $20 on P&G products, get a $10 Kohls gift card.
0.50 Tampons (same as above)
0.50 Tampons (same as above)
2.00 ALL detergent. Sale 3/$10 - Final price $1.33
2.00 ALL detergent. Sale 3/$10 - Final price $1.33
2.00 ALL detergent. Sale 3/$10 - Final price $1.33
1.00 Toothpaste. Free after rebate, so this was a money-maker.
1.00 deodorant. Item was B1G1, plus get rebate. FREE!
3.00 Bulk Coffee – Expired 3/31 had to use all coupons this month. Not a problem b/c this is the brand we normally buy.
3.00 Bulk Coffee
3.00 Bulk Coffee
0.75 Frozen potatoes. Final price 1.25
0.75 Frozen potatoes. Final price 1.25
0.75 Frozen potatoes. Final price 1.25
0.75 Frozen potatoes. Final price 1.38
0.75 Frozen potatoes. Final price 1.38
0.75 Granola bars. Reg Price 2.99 Sale price 2.00 After coupon 1.25
0.75 Granola bars. Reg Price 2.99 Sale price 2.00 After coupon 1.25
0.75 Granola bars. Reg Price 2.99 Sale price 2.00 After coupon 1.25
0.75 Granola bars. Reg Price 2.99 Sale price 2.00 After coupon 1.25
0.25 sour cream
0.25 sour cream
0.55 yogurt
0.50 yogurt
0.75 Frozen eggrolls
0.75 Frozen eggrolls
0.50 Frozen breakfast pastry
0.50 Frozen breakfast pastry
0.50 Frozen breakfast pastry
0.55 bread
0.55 brownies. Paid 2.00-0.55=1.45. Will receive rebate for 2.00
1.00 Popcorn. FREE
1.50 Popcorn. FREE and a 50-cent moneymaker
1.50 Popcorn. FREE and a 50-cent moneymaker
1.00 Cereal. Final price 1.16 per box.
1.00 Cereal. Final price 1.16 per box.
1.00 Gum FREE
1.00 Gum FREE
1.00 Gum FREE
1.00 Gum FREE
1.00 Gum FREE
1.00 Gum
1.50 Chocolate bagged candy. Final price after rebate $0.88/bag

Total = $83.82

An above average month because of the free cat food coupons. I did my first online coupon trade this month to get another one of those cat food coupons. Yeh! I had two of the coupons from the newspapers that I bought and I had one extra from my mom’s paper.
Most coupons were for nonfood items because normally I don’t buy much in the way of brand name and/or prepared food. I did buy quite a few of the frozen potato products. Obviously these are much more expensive than buying fresh potatoes but it is convenient to have them on hand and I have room in the freezer.

The granola bars are for DH. The products were new, hence the sale price and decent coupon. Again, this is another prepared food but he takes these to eat in the car and it keeps him from spending $$ on lunch.

The frozen eggrolls are something I buy only when they are on sale and when I have a coupon. Such was the case this month.

The frozen breakfast pastries are not something that I normally buy but they were on sale and I had the coupons. They worked out to $1.16/box. I bought them as a treat.

I doubt my total for April will be anywhere as high as this month.