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Archive for August, 2021

$$Great Deals$$

August 29th, 2021 at 10:18 pm

I went to CVS early this morning for some itemsHere is what I purchased: 

 

2 Colgate toothpastes (these were 2 for $7.98, but CVS sent everyone a digital coupon for $7.98 off 2 to your CVS card, so these were free) 

1 pack of 4 Charmin TP (mega rolls) (on sale for $4.99) 

1 small bottle of Palmolive dish soap (on sale for .99 cents) 

7 cans of Bumble Bee Solid White Albacore tuna (on sale for .99 cents a can) 

5 boxes of Special K Cereal (on sale for $1.99 a box) 

 

After using coupons and CVS Extra Care bucks earned on previous purchases, and my $10 CarePass Bucks for the month, I paid zero out of pocket! The only thing I had to pay was tax of .54 cents. The Trip Summary on the bottom of my receipt indicates that I saved $62.54 for a Savings Value of 100% 

 

I am well stocked now on personal care products and paper products, so I am focusing a little more on food items. With this purchase I am nicely stocked for breakfast and lunch for a few weeks. This really helps me to keep my grocery bills down as food prices keep rising.  

 

I received an interesting email from my senior center. It said that they will be doing a food give away this Wednesday for members of the center. They intend to do this once a month for the foreseeable future. This senior center was brand new and opened back in 2019 just a few months before Covid hit. Then it closed because of the virus. It reopened a few months ago before Delta, but I haven’t been visiting due to an increase in the positivity rate of lateI think I will take advantage of this though. Anything I receive that I won’t use I will donate back to the food pantry where I volunteer.  

 

Praying for everyone in Hurricane Ida’s path. We expect to have a lot of rain here from the remnants of the storm later this week.  

Free Milk!

August 25th, 2021 at 07:44 pm

I was volunteering at my usual food bank today and we got an unexpected milk donation from one of the local grocery stores early this morning before we opened. We were able to give most of it away, but there were still a few gallons left after we closed so the distribution manager said the volunteers could take a gallon if we wanted. We don't have any way to store it so I was OK with taking a gallon home so it wouldn't go to waste. 

It was funny because I had planned to go to CVS to buy some cereal anyway and now I had free milk for it. The cereal deal was:

Cheerios were on sale for $1.77 a box. I bought 2 boxes for a total of $3.54. I used a $1 off coupon, and a $2 CVS Extra Buck that I earned on a previous purchase, bringing the total out of pocket price down to just .54 cents for 2 boxes. Plus, I earned a $1 Extra Buck to use toward a future purchase. My trip summary on the bottom of my receipt said I saved $10.94 or a 95% savings rate. Not bad!

I also just cashed out my points from Fetch for a $10 CVS gift card. I have another $10 of extra bucks from my Carepass, and $3 of other extra bucks earned so I have a total of $23 to spend on upcoming purchases. I'll see what kind of deals are coming up in the next couple of weeks. 

 

 

Mid Month Spending Update and $Deals$

August 15th, 2021 at 04:15 pm

I went to CVS this morning and got a pretty good deal on these items: 

2 Lady Speed Stick deodorants 

2 Colgate Max Fresh Toothpastes 

 

After using coupons and CVS Extra Bucks that I earned on a previous purchase I paid: 

$3.46 out of pocket (includes tax of .77 cents)  

 

My receipt says that I saved $13.87 for an 83% savings rate. Plus, I earned $5 in CVS extra bucks to use toward a future purchase. So, I technically earned more than I spent. These are products and brands that I routinely use. 

 

At mid-month my total spending so far is at $1106.68, with only my cell phone bill and any grocery spending left for the month. I do have an eye exam appointment tomorrow and there will be some cost for that but not sure how much yet.  

 

I had challenged myself to stay at or below $160.00 total spending on groceries this month and so far, I am at $72.42Right on track. I also already earned enough grocery club card points for another $5 off a $25 purchase coupon which I will use this coming week 

 

On the fun side, I went to my brother’s last night to celebrate his birthday. We had pizza and cake and he opened his gifts and cards. Then we had a great time watching our NFL team win its first preseason game!  

 

After an oppressively hot week with temperatures near 105 degrees with the heat index, it is finally much cooler today, and it is predicted to stay cooler for most of the upcoming week. I’ll take it! 

August Grocery Challenge and $Deals$

August 3rd, 2021 at 08:51 pm

I decided to do a grocery challenge for myself for the month of August. My goal is to stay below (or at) $160.00 for the month. Food only. 

 

On 7/31 I noticed that I had some grocery store club card points that were going to expire, so I ran over to the store and picked up a carton of 18 large eggs. These were priced at $2.49. After using my points, the cost was just .99 cents. I eat an egg every morning for breakfast, so I am set for a while. 

 

Total spent: .99 cents 

Total saved: $1.50 

 

On 8/3 I did my weekly grocery shop and spent $39.74. By using my club card and e-coupons I saved $7.50. I used a $5 coupon off any total over $25 that I earned from July’s points and $2.50 in e-coupons through the store’s app.  It really pays to just spend a few minutes here and there filling out the surveys at the bottom of the receipts to earn pointsand by clipping the app coupons before I go.  I also earned 50 Fetch points by scanning in my receipt. I am almost halfway toward earning another $10 CVS gift card through Fetch. For anyone interested, my main grocery store is Weis. I think this is a mainly east coast grocery chain.  

 

Total Spent: $39.74 

Total Saved: $7.50 

 

I also did a pretty good deal at CVS on 8/1.  

I bought: 

4 cans of Bumble Bee Solid White Albacore Tuna (on sale, 4 cans for $5)  

2 packs of Cottonelle TP (9 mega rolls per pack, 18 rolls total) 

3 pack of Kleenex tissues (each box has 144 tissues).  

I used a combination of coupons, CVS extra bucks earned on previous purchases and a $10 CVS gift card earned through Fetch. And, I earned a $5 extra buck to use on a future purchase.

 

Total out of pocket spent: $5.18 (includes tax) 

My trip summary at the bottom of my receipt says that I saved $35.88 or a 71% savings rate.

 

I don’t know if people are interested in these types of small savings posts. I am pretty low income these days and these types of small savings here and there really help me. Maybe they will help, or interest others too.