September Spending Totals

I feel pretty good about September, but I could be doing better. If you take off the extra $75 a month The Bambina is eating in babyfood right now, we're pretty close to on budget. Now I just gotta work on getting The Bambina's food intake worked into our budget!

This month also included some last minute snacky foods I bought for a trip we took (...so I didn't spend twice as much buying the same food at a gas station while driving...). So I saved a little, but still spent a lot. Must. Try. Harder. This. Month.


Spent in September: $243.50
Saved in September: $464.01 (66%)

October Is My Favorite Month @ Rite Aid -- Round 2!!

Next week brings round 2 of free after rebate cold and flu supplies at Rite Aid! Check out the sweet deals below. There are even more money-makers next week than there are this week!

Make sure to print and gather the applicable coupons now, just in case they're not available next week.


$6.99 BioGuard Advanced Probiotic
-$6.99 SCR
= FREE

$6.69 Cold Buster Warming Syrup
-$6.69 SCR
= FREE

$3.99 Dr. Thompson's Cold War
-$3.99 SCR
= FREE

$6.99 Thera Max Allergy Spray
-$6.99 SCR
= FREE

$2.49 Bee M.D. Cough Drops
-$2.49 SCR
-$1 MIR HERE
= $1 profit!

$2.99 Beyond Bodi Heat Wraps
-$2.99 SCR
-$1 peelies on some products
= $1 profit!

$4.99 Chestal Cough Syrup
-$4.99 SCR
-$1 MFQ HERE or $1 peelies
= $1 profit!

$7.99 Blink Tears
-$7.99 SCR
-$4 peelies
= $4 profit!

$2.99 ThermaCare Back Patch
-$2.99 SCR
-$1 September/October Video Values Coupon
-$1 MFQ HERE
= $2 profit!

$4.99 Children's Oscilloscoccinum
-$4.99 SCR
-$2 MFQ HERE or $1 MFQ HERE
= $2 profit!

$3.99 Simply Saline
-$3.99 SCR
-$1 MFQ (SS 10/13/09, SS 11/15/09) or HERE
= $1 profit!

$3.99 Simply Saline Children's
-$3.99 SCR
-$1 MFQ (SS 10/13/09, SS 11/15/09) or HERE
= $1 profit!

Stay tuned to see what great scenario's I've got in store!

August Spending Totals

In August we took The Bambina to her 9 month checkup, at which point we found out that her weight percentile had dropped to less than 10%. It has been decreasing steadily for the last few months.

Why, you ask? Because I can't get this girl to eat! Seriously. Every single bite of food into her mouth is a fight. Something she loves one day, she hates the next. So every day is a new challenge, opening and preparing a billion different foods until you find the magic one that captures her fancy.

So in August, I had a big grocery shopping trip the day after her doctor's appointment where I bought pretty much everything in sight, in an attempt to find something she likes. I've tried making homemade baby food but she screams and gags over it. So we've had to stick with Gerber because she seems to tolerate it okay. We go through 2 1/2 packages of Gerber 2nd foods a day at our house (assuming the flavor you open first is the flavor she's in the mood for...so sometimes it's more), which has added an extra $75 to our grocery bill lately. Yikes!

But it's worth it, because I think The Bambina is doing better. Now that she can feed herself with some finger foods, she enjoys eating a lot more and I can get bites of other food in her mouth while she's self-feeding.

I also discovered that she LOVES shredded meat, like when I make a crockpot beef roast or a crockpot of slow-cooked chicken. She sees us eating it and wants to try it, which is wonderful. Spendy, but wonderful (if you cook them all the time). We just have to be careful that it doesn't have any dairy in it, since she's allergic to milk!


Spent in August: $277.18
Saved in August: $397.34 (59%)

Yikes!

July Spending Totals

Okay, I just realized I'm behind on posting my budget totals! When my computer died in July (have I ever mentioned how much I hate Windows Vista?), I couldn't access my savings spreadsheet for about a month there. I still kept track of things, just not in their usual place. As a result, I didn't really know where my budget was at so I was a little bit over budget for July. But I had a really good savings percentage this month.

Spent in July: $163.60
Saved in July: $465.60 (74%)


I'll be posting totals for August and September this week, so stay tuned...

New Ebay Policy Regarding Coupon Purchases

Do any of you ever buy extra coupons on ebay? I do. I often purchase individual sets of a specific coupon for an upcoming sale, and occasionally I'll buy a whole insert if it's really great.

Sometimes I'll buy coupons from a clipper (such as thecouponclippers.com), but most of the time I use ebay to avoid handling fees and minimum purchase requirements. It's just so gosh darn convenient!



Ebay is currently in the process of changing their policy regarding the purchase of coupons on their site. On October 26th, their new policy will go into effect which forces sellers to list sets of coupons individually (rather than saying they have a certain quantity available).

This is going to drastically increase the cost for eBay sellers listing coupons, which will result in a drastic reduction of the amount of coupons for sale on eBay. And because we know a little about economics -- this means the price of those few individual sets will go up up up with the high demand.

Additionally, Ebay has chosen not to alert buyers of this change! Boo, eBay!

If you are a coupon purchaser (or think you might be in the future) please take the time to read the explanation and letter to eBay located HERE -- and if you agree, please sign the petition.

You can help spread the word by letting your friends know via a link to facebook, twitter, or email. We want eBay to hear our concerns and consider their change of policy before October 26th!

Update: New NeilMed Rebate!

I just got an email about a new NeilMed mail in rebate that makes our Rite Aid scenario #1 just a little bit sweeter this week!

Buy NeilMed Naso Gel ($5.99) at Rite Aid or Walmart and get a check by mail for the full purchase price! See the details HERE.

Now our new and improved scenario #1 looks like this!

Scenario #1:
$11.99 Huggies Jumbo Pack
$9.99 NeilMed Nasa Mist
$5.99 NeilMed Naso Gel
-$5/25 RAQ
-$1/10 cold/flu RAQ
-$2 NeilMed MFQ
-$2 NeilMed MFQ
-$3 Huggies MFQ HERE
-$1 Huggies RAQ (October)
= $13.97 + tax
(And get back $15.98 SCR and $5.99 MIR == $8 profit and FREE diapers!)

Target Deals (10/3 - 10/9)

Bring a reusable bag to Target and get $0.05 credit per bag at checkout.

{Print the Target coupon policy HERE.}

The deals at Target this week are pretty scarce, so we're skipping them while I'm on vacay! (Hit Rite Aid instead this week!) You can check this week's Target deals out HERE at Coupons, Deals & More.

Walgreens Deals (10/10 - 10/16)

{Confused? Learn how to shop at Walgreens HERE.}
{Print the *NEW* Walgreens coupon policy HERE.}

$1 Halls Refresh Lemon Raspberry Drops, 20 ct
-$1 RR
-$0.75 MFQ (All You Magazine, Sept/Oct 2010)
= $0.75 profit!

$2.49 Crest Pro Health Toothpaste, 4.2 oz
-$1 MFQ (P&G 9/26)
-$1.50 RR
= FREE

3/$10 Gillette Body Wash
-$2 MFQ (P&G 9/26) x 3
-$3 RR
= $1.00/3

$3.99 Noxzema Disposable Razors, 4 pack
-$3 RR
-$1 MFQ (RP 8/8)
= FREE

$8.99 Huggies Jumbo Pack Diapers
-$2 RR
-$2.50 MFQ HERE or HERE
= $4.49

$0.89 Snickers Candy Bars x 2
-BOGO MFQ (RP 9/26)
-in-ad WAG Q (will deduct $0.80)
= $0.09/2

$4.99 Garnier HerbaShine Hair Color (with in-ad coupon)
-$3 MFQ HERE
= $1.99

2/$3.99 Right Guard Total Defense 5
-$3/2 MFQ HERE
= $1.00/2

2/$1 Comet Cleaner, 14 oz (with in-ad coupon)
-$0.35 MFQ (SS 10/10) (if we get this)
= $0.15

Rite Aid Deals (10/10 - 10/16)

Don't forget to use the $5/25 RAQ pdf that expires 10/31/10!

Just a reminder that Rite Aid has joined Upromise, so don't forget to register your card HERE. You can add Upromise e-coupons to your Wellness+ card for extra savings!

{Confused? Learn how to shop at Rite Aid HERE.}

{Print the Rite Aid coupon policy HERE.}

$2.99 Sucrets, 18 ct
-$2.99 SCR
= FREE

$1.99 Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula
-$1.99 SCR
= FREE

$1.49 Blistex Ointment, .21 oz
-$1.49 SCR
= FREE

$4.99 PediaCare Children's Cough Syrup or Multi-Symptom Cold
-$4.99 SCR
-$1 MFQ (SS 10/10) (If Utah get's this one -- could be regional.)
= FREE to $1 profit!

$2.99 Antiox Immune Support Shots
-$2.99 SCR
= FREE

$5.99 NeilMed NasaDOCK Plus Drying Stand
-$5.99 SCR
= FREE

$3.99 Comtrex, 24 ct
-$3.99 SCR
= FREE

$4.99 Kids Cold-EEZE
-$4.99 SCR
= FREE

$3.49 Emergen-C Immune Booster Shots, Citrus 2-pack
-$3.49 SCR
= FREE

$9.99 Neilmed Nasa Mist
-$2 MFQ HERE (it's a pdf!)
-$9.99 SCR
= $2 profit!

$5.99 Neilmed Naso Gel
-$2 MFQ HERE (it's a pdf!)
-$5.99 SCR
-$5.99 MIR HERE
= $8 profit!

$6.99 PediaCare Gentle Vapors
-$6.99 SCR
-$1 MFQ (SS 10/10) (If Utah get's this one -- could be regional.)
= FREE to $1 profit!

$0.89 Gain Dish Detergent
-$1 MFQ (P&G 10/10) (if we get this one)
= $0.11 profit!

$11.99 Benefiber
-$2 SCR #42 (limit 3)
-$1 September/October Video Values Coupon
-$2.50 MFQ HERE
= $6.49

$11.99 Gas-X Softgels or Prevention
-$2 SCR #36 (limit 1)
-$1 September Video Values Coupon
-$2 MFQ HERE
= $6.99

$11.99 Ex-Lax, 48ct+
-$2 SCR #39 (limit 1)
-$1 September Video Values Coupon
= $8.99

$7.99 Clairol Natural Instincts Hair Color
-$3 +UP Reward
-$2 in-ad RAQ
-$2 MFQ (P&G 9/26)
= $0.99

$4.99 John Frieda Hair Care
-$1 +UP Reward wyb 1
-$2 MFQ HERE
= $1.99

2/$7 Pantene Hair Care
-$2 +UP Reward wyb 2
-$1/2 MFQ (P&G 9/26)
= 2/$4

$2.99 Coast or Dial Bath Bars, Dial or Tone Body Wash
-$1 +UP Reward
-$1 Dial MFQ HERE or $1 Tone HERE or $1 Coast HERE
= $0.99

$11.99 Bounty Paper Towels or Charmin Tissue
-$1 +UP Reward
-$0.25 MFQ for either (P&G 9/26) or $1 Charmin (P&G Year of Savings)
= $9.99 - $10.74

2/$4 Hershey's, Reese's or Kit Kat Bagged Candy
-$1 +UP Reward wyb 2
= 2/$3

3/$3 King Size Candybars or 8-pack snack size
-$1 +UP Reward wyb 3
= 3/$2

Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Care is BOGO50%. Get a $3 +UP Reward wyb 2. There are $2 September and October Video Values Coupons, and a $2 MFQ (RP 10/10, if we got it) or $1 MFQ HERE and HERE.

All Cetaphil skin cleansers are BOGO50%. Get a $1 +UP Reward wyb 1. There is a $2 MFQ HERE or HERE, and various coupons HERE.


Note: If you are buying any of the free after rebate cold/flu items this week, don't forget to use the $1/10 cold or flu wellness+ coupon found HERE.


Scenario #1:
$11.99 Huggies Jumbo Pack
$9.99 NeilMed Nasa Mist
$5.99 NeilMed Naso Gel
-$5/25 RAQ
-$1/10 cold/flu RAQ
-$2 NeilMed MFQ
-$2 NeilMed MFQ
-$3 Huggies MFQ HERE
-$1 Huggies RAQ (October)
= $13.97 + tax
(And get back $15.98 SCR and $5.99 MIR == $8 profit and FREE diapers!)

Scenario #2:
$2.99 Sucrets
$1.99 Palmer's Cocoa Butter
$1.49 Blistex
$4.99 PediaCare Cough Syrup
$2.99 Antiox Immune Support
$5.99 NeilMEd NasaDOCK
$4.99 Kids Cold-EEZE
-$5/25 RAQ
-$1/10 Cold/flu RAQ
-$1 Pedia Care MFQ (if we get this one)
= $18.43 + tax
(And get back $25.43 SCR == $7 profit!)

Scenario #3:
$3.99 Comtrex
$3.49 Emergen-C
$6.99 Pedia Care Gentle Vapors
$0.89 Gain Dish Detergent
$2.99 Tone or Dial bodywash
2/$4 Bagged Candy
3/$3 Candy
-$5/25 RAQ
-$1/10 Cold/flu RAQ
-$1 Gain MFQ
-$1 Pedia Care MFQ (if we get this one)
-$1 MFQ Tone or Dial
= $16.35 + tax
(And get back $3 +UP Reward and $14.47 SCR == FREE Halloween candy!)