Weekly Shopping, Elections
Nov. 4th, 2008 10:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
same_skyI think I will give in and start a blog for my thrifty shopping hobby. I just need to come up with a name for it. Any suggestions? In the meantime... I can't stop myself from posting about it sometimes. It is so so much fun. I took a week or so more or less off, due to illness, houseguests and crappy sales, but I have already jumped back in this week and had a blast. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, they say. Maybe that's true.
Kroger
Kroger is having a pretty excellent sale this week--$5 off when you buy ten (selected) items. With coupons, it makes for some pretty hot savings. I spent $26.42 and saved $26.95 with coupons, $3.95 with doubles and $23.01 with the Kroger card for a total savings of $53.91. That would be 67% off. I am still working on my grocery couponing skills, so to me, this is a really really good percentage and I am all bouncy about it. See the evaporated milk, though? Yeah, I shouldn't have bought that. I made my list from an online ad that had it for half the price ours did. I was only buying it because it was going to be free, but it was $0.50/can. I am really going to need to figure out what to do with evaporated milk now. Suggestions? Anyway! That is twelve boxes of cereal and five boxed potatoes--one of my secret vices, though I guess it's not so secret now? You usually can't buy twelve boxes of cereal for $26, much less everything else. And the Toaster Strudels... uhh. Well. I haven't had them in years so they accidentally fell into my cart for fifty cents. :)
Walgreen's
I've been twice to Walgreen's, as I found myself driving by the friendlier one this morning so I thought I'd run in. Yesterday, I bought two packages of Walgreen's diapers, four Schick Quattro razors, mascara and eyeshadow. $2.37 profit after rebates. (Hmmm.. did better on that one than I thought I did.) Today, I bought four packages of diapers, one mascara, one makeup remover and a Glade flameless candle (yes, Carrie, one just like the evil one we hid in the basement, now disassembled and the smelly part thrown away because I was having honest-to-goodness dizzy spells on Sunday from it being in the basement... but they were giving me money to take it so how could I refuse??) Total out of pocket (actually on gift cards) was $15.34; after rebates--$5.45. Just ignoring the makeup and candle here for a second, that makes it $1.36 per package of diapers. (p.s. Today's rebate are actually for my mom. I don't really have two accounts, but I do buy stuff in her name upon occasion.) Three dollars and eight cents for everything mentioned. Awesome.
CVS
I bought two Pampers, the Nova Max diabetes testing kit, and four cases of Sprite and Sprite Zero.. not pictured cause I didn't want to lug them across the room. And cause I forgot. I spent $6.08 out of pocket ($25.97 ECBs from previous transactions) for a total spent today of $14.06. (ECBs are printed at the register and used as cash on future transactions. I count ECBs when received, not when spent, so I removed the ones that I used today from my total and subtracted the ones that I received today--it feels more "fair" that way because most of my ECBs are for things I wouldn't have bought if not for the ECBs.)
RiteAid
Ten SoyJoy bars, a surge protector and two toothbrushes. I used three B2G1 free coupons for the SoyJoy, which gave enough overage to bring my total for these three items to $0.05. The surge protector was a dollar after rebates (not free) or this one would have been profitable. Still! Not bad for a nickle. ;)![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
grain_damaged! I think SoyJoy is gluten free (based on what someone on a message board said about having celiac disease.. no personal research done.) If you like them, go get ten free, if you have a RiteAid nearby. :)
Q&A Time!
K, isn't that a total of eight jumbo packages of disposable diapers you have there?
Yes, that's right.
K, don't you... uhh... use cloth diapers?
Yes, that's right.
....
Did you not see how cheap they were?? Okay, just kidding. Well, no, I'm not kidding about the price but I do not buy things just because they're cheap if I can help it. I buy things just because they're free, sure (if I can justify the cost of tax) but I try very hard to not buy things I wouldn't otherwise buy just because I see a good deal on it. It sort of defeats the purpose, if you know what I mean. We are still using cloth diapers, but we started putting her in trashies at night a month or two ago. Her needs increased and my previous night diaper solution started failing. I started noticing that when she was in cloth, she woke up in the middle of the night. I do not like being up at night. I kept thinking that I would just put together a new solution, but I just never got around to it. Maybe later, but at this price... eh. I don't know how high a priority it is, adding one or two diapers a day to the equation. And, we almost always put her in paper before we go out, especially if we're going to be away for the weekend. You can do cloth quite well when you travel, but M and I are fundamentally lazy people and there always seems to be a space issue in the diaper bag.
Are Walgreen's diapers any good?
I hope so! I have only used about three of their cheaper type so far, but they remind me of Pampers. (I bought the Pampers today because they were cheap, but also because I already have some Huggies that will not last her through the night, and I wanted to have some that I knew would, just in case the Wags diapers don't work out for overnight.) The premium ones are supposed to be even better, but so far, the ones I've tried have been good... but no overnight data available yet.
How did you pay so little for them?
Three things. The first is that they're having a Buy One Get One Free on diapers this week, so they're $4.50/ea--already a great price. Then, there are coupon sheets available at the pharmacy for asking about their prescription savings plan--it takes off $2/pack. (Theoretically, there's also a deal that takes off $2/pack on all diapers this month, but it didn't work for me.) And third, the mascara was free after rebate this month (and Almay is B1G1 this week, so there's something else free!) I used a $2 coupon--found at Kmart--on both items in each transaction. The razors were also a complicated moneymaker--I won't get into the details, and the candle was, too. Plus, there's a 10% bonus to the rebate items. The overage really helped, but without it, the diapers still end up being $2.50. For a reference to those of you without kids in diapers--a "sale" on Pampers/Huggies is about $9.50. It's funny because I have seem several of the coupon bloggers who actually do not use cloth for financial reasons. At prices like these, I am wondering how much money we even save--laundry isn't free, after all. Of course, we have other reasons for using primarily cloth, but it's something to think about.
This link explains it step-by-step. This would be an excellent time to stock up on diapers, if you need/will need them.
Aren't you tired of talking about diapers yet?
God, yes.
What do you DO with this stuff?
Stack it in our storage room, drink it, eat it, use it, give it away, donate it, let Evelyn climb on it.
Doesn't it take you a long time to do this?
Yeah, kinda. I spent an hour or so clipping coupons, and maybe a couple of hours writing out a shopping list. (Kroger made it take a long time.. it's usually not that long.) I have maybe spent four hours doing the actual shopping, but that's from two days, and I take my time with it because I enjoy having errands to run with the baby to break up my day. I don't always go to all the stores during the week. My Walgreens, Kroger and CVS receipts for just these two days put my savings at $244, though. That's $35 an hour for my time. ;)
In other news, this is Election Day! OMG I bet none of you even realized that! :) Everyone is all abuzz with the "I voted" today. I did, too, of course. I actually strapped Evelyn into the mei tai and walked down there. I mean, I know that most people wouldn't consider this a monumental undertaking but I live in a rural area with no sidewalks. Also, something I failed to consider was how very uphill the return trip would be. ;) Still, I was only gone twenty minutes, total. There was absolutely no one in line when I got there--the parking lot was packed when I drove by this morning, though. There's something to be said about waiting until four p.m., apparently. In any case, I think that the workout I got means that I can have ice cream, so I'd better go do that before I have to go to bed instead.
Kroger
Kroger is having a pretty excellent sale this week--$5 off when you buy ten (selected) items. With coupons, it makes for some pretty hot savings. I spent $26.42 and saved $26.95 with coupons, $3.95 with doubles and $23.01 with the Kroger card for a total savings of $53.91. That would be 67% off. I am still working on my grocery couponing skills, so to me, this is a really really good percentage and I am all bouncy about it. See the evaporated milk, though? Yeah, I shouldn't have bought that. I made my list from an online ad that had it for half the price ours did. I was only buying it because it was going to be free, but it was $0.50/can. I am really going to need to figure out what to do with evaporated milk now. Suggestions? Anyway! That is twelve boxes of cereal and five boxed potatoes--one of my secret vices, though I guess it's not so secret now? You usually can't buy twelve boxes of cereal for $26, much less everything else. And the Toaster Strudels... uhh. Well. I haven't had them in years so they accidentally fell into my cart for fifty cents. :)
Walgreen's
I've been twice to Walgreen's, as I found myself driving by the friendlier one this morning so I thought I'd run in. Yesterday, I bought two packages of Walgreen's diapers, four Schick Quattro razors, mascara and eyeshadow. $2.37 profit after rebates. (Hmmm.. did better on that one than I thought I did.) Today, I bought four packages of diapers, one mascara, one makeup remover and a Glade flameless candle (yes, Carrie, one just like the evil one we hid in the basement, now disassembled and the smelly part thrown away because I was having honest-to-goodness dizzy spells on Sunday from it being in the basement... but they were giving me money to take it so how could I refuse??) Total out of pocket (actually on gift cards) was $15.34; after rebates--$5.45. Just ignoring the makeup and candle here for a second, that makes it $1.36 per package of diapers. (p.s. Today's rebate are actually for my mom. I don't really have two accounts, but I do buy stuff in her name upon occasion.) Three dollars and eight cents for everything mentioned. Awesome.
CVS
I bought two Pampers, the Nova Max diabetes testing kit, and four cases of Sprite and Sprite Zero.. not pictured cause I didn't want to lug them across the room. And cause I forgot. I spent $6.08 out of pocket ($25.97 ECBs from previous transactions) for a total spent today of $14.06. (ECBs are printed at the register and used as cash on future transactions. I count ECBs when received, not when spent, so I removed the ones that I used today from my total and subtracted the ones that I received today--it feels more "fair" that way because most of my ECBs are for things I wouldn't have bought if not for the ECBs.)
RiteAid
Ten SoyJoy bars, a surge protector and two toothbrushes. I used three B2G1 free coupons for the SoyJoy, which gave enough overage to bring my total for these three items to $0.05. The surge protector was a dollar after rebates (not free) or this one would have been profitable. Still! Not bad for a nickle. ;)
grain_damaged! I think SoyJoy is gluten free (based on what someone on a message board said about having celiac disease.. no personal research done.) If you like them, go get ten free, if you have a RiteAid nearby. :)Q&A Time!
K, isn't that a total of eight jumbo packages of disposable diapers you have there?
Yes, that's right.
K, don't you... uhh... use cloth diapers?
Yes, that's right.
....
Did you not see how cheap they were?? Okay, just kidding. Well, no, I'm not kidding about the price but I do not buy things just because they're cheap if I can help it. I buy things just because they're free, sure (if I can justify the cost of tax) but I try very hard to not buy things I wouldn't otherwise buy just because I see a good deal on it. It sort of defeats the purpose, if you know what I mean. We are still using cloth diapers, but we started putting her in trashies at night a month or two ago. Her needs increased and my previous night diaper solution started failing. I started noticing that when she was in cloth, she woke up in the middle of the night. I do not like being up at night. I kept thinking that I would just put together a new solution, but I just never got around to it. Maybe later, but at this price... eh. I don't know how high a priority it is, adding one or two diapers a day to the equation. And, we almost always put her in paper before we go out, especially if we're going to be away for the weekend. You can do cloth quite well when you travel, but M and I are fundamentally lazy people and there always seems to be a space issue in the diaper bag.
Are Walgreen's diapers any good?
I hope so! I have only used about three of their cheaper type so far, but they remind me of Pampers. (I bought the Pampers today because they were cheap, but also because I already have some Huggies that will not last her through the night, and I wanted to have some that I knew would, just in case the Wags diapers don't work out for overnight.) The premium ones are supposed to be even better, but so far, the ones I've tried have been good... but no overnight data available yet.
How did you pay so little for them?
Three things. The first is that they're having a Buy One Get One Free on diapers this week, so they're $4.50/ea--already a great price. Then, there are coupon sheets available at the pharmacy for asking about their prescription savings plan--it takes off $2/pack. (Theoretically, there's also a deal that takes off $2/pack on all diapers this month, but it didn't work for me.) And third, the mascara was free after rebate this month (and Almay is B1G1 this week, so there's something else free!) I used a $2 coupon--found at Kmart--on both items in each transaction. The razors were also a complicated moneymaker--I won't get into the details, and the candle was, too. Plus, there's a 10% bonus to the rebate items. The overage really helped, but without it, the diapers still end up being $2.50. For a reference to those of you without kids in diapers--a "sale" on Pampers/Huggies is about $9.50. It's funny because I have seem several of the coupon bloggers who actually do not use cloth for financial reasons. At prices like these, I am wondering how much money we even save--laundry isn't free, after all. Of course, we have other reasons for using primarily cloth, but it's something to think about.
This link explains it step-by-step. This would be an excellent time to stock up on diapers, if you need/will need them.
Aren't you tired of talking about diapers yet?
God, yes.
What do you DO with this stuff?
Stack it in our storage room, drink it, eat it, use it, give it away, donate it, let Evelyn climb on it.
Doesn't it take you a long time to do this?
Yeah, kinda. I spent an hour or so clipping coupons, and maybe a couple of hours writing out a shopping list. (Kroger made it take a long time.. it's usually not that long.) I have maybe spent four hours doing the actual shopping, but that's from two days, and I take my time with it because I enjoy having errands to run with the baby to break up my day. I don't always go to all the stores during the week. My Walgreens, Kroger and CVS receipts for just these two days put my savings at $244, though. That's $35 an hour for my time. ;)
In other news, this is Election Day! OMG I bet none of you even realized that! :) Everyone is all abuzz with the "I voted" today. I did, too, of course. I actually strapped Evelyn into the mei tai and walked down there. I mean, I know that most people wouldn't consider this a monumental undertaking but I live in a rural area with no sidewalks. Also, something I failed to consider was how very uphill the return trip would be. ;) Still, I was only gone twenty minutes, total. There was absolutely no one in line when I got there--the parking lot was packed when I drove by this morning, though. There's something to be said about waiting until four p.m., apparently. In any case, I think that the workout I got means that I can have ice cream, so I'd better go do that before I have to go to bed instead.
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Date: 2008-11-05 06:19 am (UTC)