CVS Deals of the Week 9/28/08-10/4/08

Just one trip to CVS for me this week. I wasn't sure I was going to go but I just couldn't pass up a deal on my kids' favorite toothpaste and the razor for my dear husband.



What I bought:

2 Colgate Kids Toothpaste $5
1 Gillette Fusion Power Razor $9.99
3 Johnson's Buddies Soap $3.57


Qs Used:
2 75 cents off Colgate Toothpaste
1$3/3 Johnson's Buddies
1 $4 off any Gilette Fusion Razor
$7 ECBs


Total OOP: $3.75
Earned: $9.50 ECBs which includes my Summer quarterly earnings.


For more great savings be sure to check out Money Saving Mom's Super Savings Saturday and The "Cents"ible Sawyer's CVS Superstars.

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Deals of the Week 9/21/08-9/27/08

I love when there are great deals on things I really need. I was down to my last couple of rolls of paper towels. I'm good for months now.

CVS Trip #1

1 12 pack Cottonelle TP $6.49

2 8 packs Viva Paper Towels $12.98

1 Kotex Pads $6

1 Twix bars 88 cents

1 Adidas Deodorant $4.99

Qs Used:

1 50 cents off Cottonelle

2 50 cents off Viva

1 $1 off Kotex

1 $1 off Adidas product

$5 0ff $30 purchase

$11.28 ECBs

Total OOP: $12.41

Earned: $14 ECBs

CVS Trip #2(getting ready for the Trick or Treaters edition)

2 bags Hershey Kisses $5
1 Twix bars .88
1 Mars Chocolate Mix bag $9.99

Qs Used:
$1 off 2 bags of Hershey Kisses
$10 ECBs

Total OOP: $5.17
Earned $7 ECBs

I'm adding one more shop even though I don't have pictures to share. We had a new Crazy 8 store open nearby this week. I received an email with a $10 off $30 promotion. They also had graphic tees advertised for $5 and jeans for $10. When I got to the store they were givng away 20% off entire purchase coupons that could be combined with a $10 off $30 Crazy Cash that they were handing out. I was able to get my girls a total of 5 shirts and 1 pair of jeans for a total of $25.85 with tax or $4.30 per item. I was very pleased. That's a great price for cute, new clothing.

For more great deals be sure to check out The "Cent"sible Sawyer's CVS Superstars.

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Tuesday Tip

It's always nice to have a cushion in your checking account, especially if your budget is tight. An unfortunate subtraction/addition error on your part can lead to very unwanted insufficient fund fees. Having a cushion can keep you from bouncing a check if you've made a mistake and think there is more money in your account than there actually is. But where do you come up with the money for a cushion when there is little to nothing left over at the end of the month? I do it by rounding. Whenever I write a check or use my debit card, I round up the amount I deduct from my checking balance. For example, if I spend $41.25 at the grocery store and use my debit card to pay, instead of subtracting $41.25 from my checking account I subtract $42. That adds 75 cents to my checking account cushion. And when I make a deposit I round down. So instead of saying the deposit was $259.71 I'll enter it as $259. Over time this really adds up. You can track this however you like. If you want to be aware of every single penny, write the amount down in a separate column and add it up at the end of the week/month when you balance your checkbook. I don't pay too much attention to mine. I just know when I balance my checkbook I always have more than what I should have. Earlier this year when we were having a really tight month, I balanced the account and was able to use some of the extra money for something we needed while still keeping a couple of hundred dollars in the account as a cushion. Decide on how much cushion you'd like to leave in the account and you can periodically transfer any excess to your savings account.

Some banks offer accounts that use this same basic principle but they transfer all the money into a savings account. I prefer my method since it helps build up the cushion in your checking account and the excess can still be used for savings. Do you keep a cushion in your checking account? If so, share your ideas for building/keeping a nice cushion in your account.

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Menu Plan Monday 9/22/08-9/28/08

On the menu this week:

Monday: Sandwiches, chips, fruit

Tuesday: Grilled pork chops, wild rice, salad

Wednesday: French Bread Pizza

Thursday: Baked Tilapia, sweet potatoes, salad

Friday: Pork & Veggie stir fry, brown rice

Saturday: Grilled steak, baked potatoes, salad

Sunday: Leftovers

Our family favorite isn't on the menu this week but you can see our recipe for Black Bean Burritos HERE.

For more menu planning ideas, check out I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday.

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Deals of the week 9/7/08-913/08

TARGET:


We love Kashi products so I had to take advantage of Target's Kashi promo this week.
4 Kashi products for $11
-1 Go Lean Crunch cereal
-3 Kashi Cereal Bars
Qs Used: $2 off Kashi Go Lean Crunch
Total OOP: $9
Earned $5 Target Gift Card




CVS

There were a few deals that drew me in this week.

1 Lawn Chair $1.99(90% off summer clearance)
4 Chex Mix $4($1 each)
1 Loreal Skin Genesis Cleansing Towelettes $5.99
Qs Used
$1/2 Chex Mix
$1/2 Chex Mix
$1 off Loreal Product
$7.99 ECBs
Total OOP: $1.11
Earned $5.99 ECBs

For more great deals be able to check out Money Saving Mom and The Centsible Sawyer's CVS Superstars.

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Fast & Frugal Meal

I thought I would share my favorite frugal meal. It is everything I love in a meal: simple to cook, ready in a hurry, inexpensive and most importantly, very tasty. This originally started as a soup and one day I decided the ingredients would be great wrapped up in a tortilla. I always have these ingredients on hand so it's a great "go to" meal when you're pressed for time.

Black Bean Burritos
1 can black beans(rinsed and drained)
1 can corn niblets(drained)
1 can diced tomatoes with jalepenos
1 package whole wheat tortillas
Cumin to taste
Optional: shredded cheese, sour cream/plain yogurt, salsa

Just dump the first 3 ingredients into a skillet. Sprinkle with cumin and heat through. Serve wrapped in warmed tortillas. You can add the optional ingredients if you have them on hand but I find this meal perfectly satisfying without them. This makes plenty of food for a family of 2 adults and 2 children. We always have enough leftovers for a couple of lunches.

Alternate recipe:
Add 2 cans of chicken stock to the beans, corn & tomatoes and heat through in a large pot and you have yourself a filling and delicious soup.

Enjoy!

For more Frugal Tips be sure to check out Frugal Friday at Biblical Womanhood.

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Menu Plan Monday

Here's what's going to be served up this week.

Monday-Turkey Tacos & Mexican Rice

Tuesday-Baked Salmon, Brown Rice, Salad

Wednesday-Linguine with Red Clam Sauce, Salad

Thursday-Homemade Pizza

Friday-Breakfast for Dinner-Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, Biscuits, Cantaloupe

Saturday-Grilled Burgers & Hot Dogs, Baked Fries, Fresh Fruit, Brownies

Sunday-Leftovers

Be sure to check out more menu ideas at I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday.

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CVS Deals of the Week 8/31-9/6

I skipped going to CVS last week. There just weren't any deals to draw me in. This week, however, I saw some items I could use so off I went. I only had $5 ECBs and my OOP was higher this week than it normally is, however I earned quite a few ECBs for future use.

Here's the breakdown:

1 Sudacare Shower Tabs $1.25(clearance 75% off)

4 Suave Body Wash $8

2 Dawn Ultra $1.98

2 Colgate Total $5.98

1 BC Headache Powder $1.29

1 Covergirl Wetslicks $5.99

2 Johnson's Buddies Soaps $2.38

Qs Used

50 cents off Dawn

50 cents off Dawn

$1 off Johnson's Buddies

$1 off Johnson's Buddies

$1 off Colgate Total

$1 off Colgate Total

B1G1 Suave Body Wash

B1G1 Suave Body Wash

$5 ECBs

Total OOP $14.18

Total ECBs $13.28

I really messed this one up too. I went in planning to use the B1G1 Cover Girl lip product for the wetslicks. They would not accept it and I didn't have my $1 off CG product Q with me since it never occured to me they wouldn't accept the B1G1 Q. I know I could have had a lower OOP by doing multiple transactions but that's not something I'm comfortable doing at this point. Oh, well, this is a learning process for me.

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Menu Planning Monday

One of the best ways to save money is to plan out your menu for the week so you won't be tempted to run through a drive thru or order take out. Both are big budget busters. I plan my menu based on items I already have on hand and things I know are on sale that week. Here's my menu for this week:



Monday: Grilled Turkey Burgers & Tater Tots

Tuesday: Teriyaki Stir Fry Pork & Veggies w/ brown rice

Wednesday: Creamy Chicken & Rice w/ raw veggies on the side

Thursday: Pasta Marinara & salad

Friday: Italian Roast Beef Sandwiches, Turkey Joes, Veggie Pasta Salad & chips(We have family coming in for a weekend visit.)

Saturday: Eat out or grill out(still need to discuss plans with the visiting family)

Sunday: Leftovers

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Frugal Fabulous $5 Find

I'm a bargain shopper from way back. I remember the first Christmas my sister and I were given money by our parents for Christmas. While more eager to go out and spend it rather than save it, I was thrifty enough to want to get the very most out of that money. I've always shopped the clearance racks. My husband has learned over the years to not even bother looking at something that isn't on sale. But over the years I've come to realize some of the most fabulous finds aren't on the clearance racks. No, often the really fabulous finds are to be found at thrift stores and yard sales. Now that both of my kidlets are in school I have the time to go and take my time looking for a good deal. So with that new freedom, I recently went to our local Goodwill to look around. For some time now I've been wanting to add a trench coat to my wardrobe. I had no luck with the clearance sales at the end of winter. The few I found were either too big, too small or just not clearanced enough for my budget. Imagine my glee when I found the exact trench coat I've been searching for in my size. It fit perfectly. And it was only $5. I couldn't get it in my cart fast enough. I brought it home, washed it up and it looks perfectly brand new. This one goes into my Thrift Store Find Hall of Fame I believe.

Special thanks to the 8 year old for contributing her photography skills and to the 5 year old for styling my hair for the photo shoot.

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