Menu Plan Monday - August 31st

I have gotten so behind on meal planning lately! I don't know what it is about summer but somehow I let it slide and just kept eating out of the pantry. It works but the variety stinks :) This week I finally got my act together and planned out some meals!

Monday: Weeknight Lasanga Toss (this we've had before and it's so good)

Tuesdsay: Chicken Taco Bake - this just looked way too good to pass up! We're adding cheese of course and serving over rice.

Wednesday: Chicken Tortilla Chip Casserole - sounds slightly similar to Tuesday nights but it's just too good to pass up (something about $5 Dinners caught my eye for this week)

Thursday: Moms of Multiples meeting and I will actually be speaking to the club on couponing and saving money on groceries :) And for speaking my meal is free - another great money saver!

Friday: Date Night

Saturday: Chicken & Three-Cheese Potato Casserole

Back To Harris Teeter

Trip #2 this week and it won't be my last. I had way more then 20 coupons so I have plenty of reasons to go back :)

Here's what I got tonight:



Not pictured: 5 gallons of milk/large pack of bottled water

I spent $64.45
And saved: $124.94

Best deals:

Snyders 100 Calorie Snack packs - regular price $3.99 - on sale 2/$6.00
- used $1.00/1 (S 7/26) which doubled and paid $1.00 for an 8 pack of pretzels

Meow Mix Wholesome Goodness Cat Food - regular price $0.99/each - sale price 5/$3.00
- used $1.00/4 (RP 8/23) which doubled so I paid $0.10 each

Herbel Essences Shampoo/Conditioner - regular price $3.29 - on sale 2/$5.00
- used $1.00/1 (RP 8/23) which doubled so I paid $0.50 for each shampoo/cond.
(as a side note - the GG says that you can purchase this and then use a coupon to get a Herbel Essence styling product free but you can't - my HT would not allow it)

And in answer to Kristy's question I have never had HT tell me I've used too many coupons for any item. If anyone knows any different I'd love to hear it but as far as I know there isn't a limit other then the 20 coupons doubled a day.
For more deals check out The Grocery Game. I'm pretty sure I will be going back this week to pick up a few more things!

Dollar Doublers At Harris Teeter

Starting today and running through next Tuesday Harris Teeter is once again doubling coupons up to $1.98. I had a few things to pick up since we have guests in town so I decided to grab a few of my $1.00 off coupons and get some early deals :)

The kids have been bugging me for Pop Tarts so when they're on sale for $1.00 (after coupon) I am all for it and able to stock up. They are normally $1.99 each and I used $1.00/2 coupon (RP 8/2) doubling to $2.00 off making them $1.00 each.

Also picked up Danimals for free :) On sale for $2.00 and used $1.00/1 from S 8/9 so free. Works for me!

Of course I'll head back on Sunday for a whole lot more but that will do me for a few days.

Harris Teeter With Five Kids In Tow

It is actually possible to use coupons and save money when you have all the kids in tow. Tonight, with my husband out of town, I had the "joy" of taking all 5 with me to the store. Fortunately they didn't take anything out of the store that didn't belong to them and I didn't lose any of them in the store.

I even managed to shop:



Not pictured: 2 gallons of milk

I spent: $61.61
And saved: $103.25

Not too bad considering I had big "helpers" asking for all kinds of food. I'm working on the on sale with coupon concept - sometimes they understand and sometimes they don't. Mostly that means they understand when I'm picking up free candy like I did tonight but they don't when they can't just grab their favorite box of cereal. This is the biggest reason I don't take them along!

Best deals:

Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks - $2.79 regular price - on sale for buy 1 get 1 free - used $0.50 coupon off 2 from coupons.com and paid $0.90 a box - this is a great price for me since I can go through more then a box in a single snack time!

Mission Tortillas - $3.19 each regular price. They were out of the ones that were actually on sale but let me substitue some others instead :) So, I got 4 packs of tortillas - sale price $1.99 and used 4 $1.00 off coupons so my final price was $0.99 each and since we use them all the time I think that's a great price - almost got 4 for the price of 1!

For lots more deals check out The Grocery Game! Happy Shopping!

Gymboree Circle of Friends Starts Today!

Starting today you can get 30% off everything at Gymboree including sale items - just use the coupon code GYMCLUB when you checkout. You will also receive FREE shipping on all orders over $100. Coupon is good until August 23rd.

And to top that off you will earn Gymbucks - you earn $25 whenever you spend $50 which will get you $25 off a $50 purchase at a later date. Earning dates are: July 29th through September 27th and redemption dates are October 1st until October 11th.

It's a great time to stock up and finish off your back-to-school shopping!

Late Run To Harris Teeter

Yikes! Not only am I late getting to the store but I was very late there tonight. My receipt said 12:00 AM and there was a LINE! What?! I kid you not, there were people in front of me and behind me. Apparantly I am not the only crazy person shopping at midnight at Harris Teeter.

But I did manage to get through the line and use 18 coupons that tripled. Unfortunately they were out of stock on a lot of things (no surprise) but I still felt like I got a good amount of stuff so I'm not complaining.

Here's what I got:



I spent: $46.17
And saved: $114.58

Since it's late and I'm tired I won't go into my best deals tonight but I do plan to go back tomorrow (or at least send my husband back) to see if he can use some more coupons and I'll post again.

In the meantime be sure to check out The Grocery Game for a HUGE list of deals (I printed out 7 pages and that was after removing what I didn't want).

Back To CVS

Finally. Last week's list seemed a bit overwhelming - just too many options for my brain! So, I waited till this week to go back and bought my first 2 packs of Pull-Ups! Does that mean potty training is in my future? I don't know!!!

Anyway, here's what I bought:



I spent: $12.49
And saved: $24.98
And earned: $6.00 back in extra care bucks

When a pack of pull-ups averages out to be around $4.00 a pack I can afford to potty train my girls! Lucky for them :) And hopefully, eventually for me when I get to the point of actually not need any diapers anymore!

I bought:

Huggies Pull-Ups were on sale 2/$18 - I used 2 $2.00 off coupon from S 7/19 and then earned $4.00 ECB's.

And I needed the make-up :) But I did use a coupon and earn some bucks back!

And just so you know Harris Teeter is once again doing triple coupons this week! So, get to the store and pick your stuff up cheap.

Harris Teeter 8/9 Trip

I apologize for not posting yesterday. I got busy with Ebay - made $60 selling 4 pairs of boots! Not bad for a day's work :) And I got a few more things up for next week - you can check out one of my auctions HERE. I will go into more Ebay detail in a later post.

Today I just want to share how I did at Harris Teeter this week using the Grocery Game.


Not pictured: 5 gallons of milk and 2 20 lb bags of kitty litter.

I spent: $42.55
And saved: $59.47

Not bad but not as great as last week. I did get a lot of produce this week though as you can tell in the front row. Felt like the kids haven't had enough of a fruit variety so I put some of my weekly budget towards that.

I will say that I spent more on the Fruity Cheerios then I ever do on cereal. Pretty much only because I happen to like them and the girls do too :) But at $3.70 a box it is hard to swallow! My only saving grace was that I got a free gallon of milk for buying 3. I guess that helps.

Another good week for Eggo waffles which means I am now fully stocked for a while! Boxes were on sale 3/$5.00 and I used another $1.00 off 2 coupon to make them just over $1.00 a box.

2000 Flushes was also a good deal at Buy 1 Get 1 Free making it 2 for $3.49 - I used 2 $1.00 off coupons from S 7/26 to make them just $0.75 each.

For more deals head over to The Grocery Game.

Finding Freedom Friday: Cutting Back-To-School Costs

It's been a while since we've done Finding Freedom Friday but tonight Phoebe had a new one up. I wish I had tons of ideas on how to save money on school costs but I don't. This is one thing I haven't worked on yet this year. I'm sure it will be a must once the triplets are in school since school supplies times three will be a killer (or really times 5 because of the older 2).

I have found great stuff for cheap at CVS - lots of items free after extra care bucks but you do have to get in there early because it goes fast.

And tonight we shopped at the outlet mall for backpacks - since it is tax-free weekend here in VA it saved us a few dollars but seriously not a whole lot. I must admit we splurge a little on backpacks because it is the one school item that the kids really get to pick. They wear uniforms so we don't buy too many clothes.

But when I do buy them clothes I will be using coupons and shopping sales just like always! I save a lot of money that away especially at Gymboree :)

For ideas on how to save money on school supplies check out Phoebe's blog:

$10 Dinners

This week has been about what I have in my cupboards to throw together a decent meal. Normally this would be difficult but I find that Kraft Foods makes my life so much simpler. Tonight I just searched under beef and found a recipe that looked quick and easy to make and I had all the ingredients on hand:



VELVEETA Cheesy Beef Stroganoff

1 lb. ground beef ($1.49 - still frozen from my last great deal at Giant)
2 cups water
3 cups medium egg noodles, uncooked ($.05 - still using the noodles I got really cheap at HT a few months ago)
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut into 1/2-inch cubes ($2.00 - did get it using a coupon but not on sale)
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup ($0.75)
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Total cost: $4.29 (though really free since I had everything on hand and purchased nothing this week)

BROWN meat in large skillet; drain.

STIR in water; bring to boil. Stir in noodles; cover. Simmer on medium-low heat 8 min. or until noodles are tender.

ADD VELVEETA, soup and pepper; cook until VELVEETA is melted, stirring frequently.

And thanks to Kraft Foods rating system I knew before I made it that over 200 people enjoyed this recipe. Makes trying something new a lot less scary!

Great Night At Harris Teeter

Some weeks are okay and some weeks are really good and tonight was one of the good nights! If you haven't picked up today's paper you absolutely must and while you're at it get three or four copies. There's an entire section of Kellogg's coupons - coupons for cereal, Eggo waffles, cookies, pop-tarts. Very well worth it. There's also a rebate form inside if you buy 10 Kellogg's items in one shopping trip and mail in the UPC and your receipt then you will receive $10 back!

Well, tonight I bought 10 boxes of Eggo waffles for $10 - after I mail in my receipt I will receive $10 back making them free! 100 free waffles :) There's a price I can live with!

Here's what I got:



Not pictured: 3 gallons of milk (and I forgot eggs!!)

I spent: $65.11
And saved: $128.75!!
$40 of that was in clipped coupons ($10.00 was for spending more then $50 - an e-VIC bonus) - not bad for an hours worth of clipping!

My receipt:



Eggo waffles were $1.00/box with $1.00 off 2 coupon from this Sunday's paper (RP 8/2)

Danimals yogurt was $0.99 after the sale and $1.00 off coupon (S 7/26)

Honey Nut Cheerios and Trix were on sale 3/$6.00 or $2.00 a box - using $0.55 off a box coupon from coupons.com your final cost will be $0.90 a box!

For more deals check out www.thegrocerygame.com

Month End Money Recap

So, it's actually the first day of August but it will have to do for reviewing July. I will start out by saying that July was a crazy month. We went out of town, had a birthday, had pictures done and worked a consignment sale. I'm pretty sure I went over budget (yea, I should know for sure) but am looking to August to get me back on track since I don't have too much coming up.

My 2009 Financial Goals:

1. Spend $100 or less on groceries each week. This I know I did - I never went over $100 a week this month. By months end I felt low on groceries and snacks so we did do a BJ's run for the month of August spending just under $100 on groceries which I will deduct from my monthly grocery budget for the month.

2. Pay $10 or less for dinner. Since there were quite a few nights that I was gone and didn't make dinner I'm not 100% sure we did this but at least a good 90% sure we stayed under $10 for a meal except maybe when we were out of town :)

3. Pay down debt. This we did - mostly by adding nothing more but also by paying off the few things I did charge the month before.

4. Continue to buy brand name clothes but pay cash. This I did while redeeming my Gymbucks a few weeks ago but otherwise I didn't buy any kids clothes. I have yet to start Ebaying even though I've intended to do so but as soon as I do that money will go towards more fall clothes.

5. No more credit cards. I did use one card which I intend to pay off this month - I bought a few clothes for me for pictures :) It was worth the splurge! Happens sometimes and I have to forgive myself and move on. I feel as long as I'm careful and don't make it a habit I will do fine.

Here's to a better month in August! Though with the start of school around the corner I am a tad nervous about finances. Ever notice how things like this get harder as the year progresses?!