Eat from the Pantry Challenge

Okay, so I have found some good deals but I have spent more than usual this month. So starting tomorrow, I am joining in on Learning the Frugal Life's Pantry Challenge. I would like to spend no more than $30 a week on groceries this next month. I have plenty of food in the freezer, pantry and even a few items coming along in the garden so this challenge shouldn't be too hard. I'll keep you updated.

Another Great Deal for This Week

I know this is a grocery savings blog, but I had to share with you the best deal I have found all week. We are getting a new bedroom suit and we needed king size sheets. I happened to notice that a Target was directly across the road from the furniture place so we went in to get a few items that had been listed on some other blogs as sale items (Kraft mayo, Kraft salad dressing, Quaker snacks, 100 calorie snack packs, etc.). I decided to take a detour through the linens just to see what was available and am I ever glad I did. I found 450 thread count king size sheets (with 4 - not 2 - pillowcases) for $35.98. These had been marked down $20. I got two sets since my preschooler is still at the age that we have an accident or sickness occasionally.

We stopped by Wal-Mart on our way out of town for some cat food (he's very picky and only eats the Wal-Mart brand) and I decided once again to detour through the linens. I found sheets there for $35 but they were 250 thread count.

I'm really excited about the new furniture, but I'm ecstatic about my savings for the linens.

To see more exciting deals for the week, visit Getting Ahead.

Walgreens and CVS Deals This Week

I've mentioned before that we don't have a Walgreens or CVS in my small rural town - only a grocery store and a locally run pharmacy (non-chain). However, on Sunday we ventured into a large town about an hour and a half away to look at some furniture and stopped in at both a Walgreens and a CVS. Since I'm relatively new at this couponing thing, I didn't have any register rewards or extra care bucks that could be used. Here's what I was able to get.

Walgreens:

3 12pks of Diet Mtn Dew (for the hubby) $11.00 with $3 RR
1 8pk of Brawny Paper Towels $6.49
2 Mazola Extra Virgin Olive Oil at $3.49 each (these were almost twice that at the grocery store)
1 Reynolds Wrap 20 sq feet $.99
2 Aquafresh Toothpaste $1.99
2 Colorsilk Hair Color Products $1.99
3 General Mills Cereals $7.00 - $1 coupon

Total Out of Pocket Expense with Tax $42.95

Walgreen coupon savings: $9.40
Walgreen advertised savings: $16.37
Mfg coupon savings: $1.00
Total savings: $26.77


CVS

2 cans of Pringles marked down to $.75 minus $1/2 (made these $.25 each)
2 Crest toothpastes at $1.99 minus 2 $.75 coupons (made these $1.24 each) plus earned $2 ECB
2 Zooth toothbrushes on sale for $1.99 each minus Buy 1 Get 1 Free which subtracted $3.29 the original amount of the toothbrush (made these $.35 each)
1 Always Infinity on sale for $4.49 minus $1 coupon (made this $3.49)
2 All Laundry Detergent - buy 2 for $7.49 minus $.35 coupon and $.45 coupon (made these $3.35 each)

Total Out of Pocket Expense with $15.78

My receipt says that I saved $23.26.

Okay, ladies. I am hooked. I can see now how couponing can save you quite a bit of money. I did much better this week at CVS, but even with the higher OOP at Walgreens I still feel like we got some really good deals. The paper towels alone were lower than I have seen these in quite a while. I had decided I just wasn't going to pay $10-$12 for 6 or 8 rolls of paper towels. And I paid almost twice that earlier last week for EVOO at the grocery store so I stocked up even though I didn't have a coupon for it.

I can see where this couponing can be addictive. My husband kept asking how much more toothpaste did I think we needed. LOL! I tried to explain that this had to last until we had coupons that were just as good and a sale just as good. By the way, all but one of the coupons that I used were set to expire on 4/30. Not only did I save money but I got rid of some of the coupons that weren't going to be good much longer.

I do realize that I could have saved a little more if I had broken it up into 2 transactions at each place. I decided to forego the 2nd transaction at Walgreens because my little one had just had enough of shopping (you know what I mean) and then I didn't even realize that we were going to get any ECB at CVS. Those items were just on sale and I had good coupons, too.

Weekly Menu Plan for April 26 - May 2

This week I am going to challenge myself to spend no more than $30 for groceries. That will include trips for milk, bread, etc. This may be a little difficult because on Tuesdays and Thursdays (our t-ball nights) I am trying to feed 7 people instead of just 3. We have invited my little one's grandparents over each night before the game (or after as the case may be on this Thursday). We call him "Boo" so I may refer to him at times by that name. Anyway, here's the plan.

Sunday - Grilled cheese sandwiches, Tomato Soup (or I may try this recipe) - freeze leftover soup for later in the week

Monday - Tacos

Tuesday - Campbell's Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings, Field Peas, Fruit Salad

Wednesday - Quick Beef and Rice, Steamed Cabbage, Biscuits

Thursday - Swanson Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore, Ceasar Salad, Garlic Bread

Friday - Easy Hodge Podge Soup (this recipe is from the ebooks available from my blog - I have listed this one below) - I'm going to use any leftover tomato soup and vegetables from earlier in the week instead of the canned items that it calls for

Saturday - Grilled steaks and hot dogs, roasted potatoes, salad


Easy Hodge Podge Soup
1 lb Hamburger
1 Chopped onion
Salt and pepper
1 cn (10.75-oz) tomato soup
1 cn (16-oz) mixed vegetables
1 cn (16-oz) kidney beans
1 Box (14.75-oz) spaghetti
Brown hamburger and onions. Drain excess grease. Add tomato soup and half a
can of water. Stir in vegetables. Run knife through spaghetti to cut strands. Add
to soup mixture. Bring to boil, simmer 15 minutes.

For more Menu Plan Monday, visit Organizing Junkie.

My Best Deal of the Week

As I've stated before, we don't have any drug store chains like CVS or Walgreens here in our small town, but this week I found my best deal at our local pharmacy. They were having a buy 2 for $1 sale for the month of April. Here's what I got:

2 bathroom wipes

2 kitchen wipes

2 acetominophen caplets (60 each)

2 ibuprofen caplets (30 each)

2 sinus headache PE caplets (18 each)

I also got some calcium antacid (50 tablets) for $1 and 2 children's acetominophen chewables (30 tablets) for $1 each - these are nearly $4 at other stores.

They had lots of other cleaning and medicinal products on their new $1 aisle.

For more weekly deals throughout the week, visit Saving Our Cents Saturday.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Tara and Minding Momma. Since I don't have either one of your emails and couldn't access them through your profiles, please email me through my profile and I'll send the two ebooks right away.

Congratulations and thanks to all who entered.

Photo courtesy of Fotosearch.

Menu Plan Weekly for April 19-25

These are the plans for this week.

Sunday: Ham, rice with pork backbone (my mother-in-law cooked this for us), leftover potato salad, sliced tomatoes

Monday: Baked flounder, cheese grits, baked beans, fresh pineapple slices

Tuesday: Spaghetti, cucumber slices, garlic bread

Wednesday: Grilled pork chops, speckled butter beans, stir-fry mushrooms and onions, fresh sliced strawberries and bananas

Thursday: Hamburger casserole with potatoes and carrots (I'll post the recipe later as an update - this is something a lady at work cooks and she's going to get me the recipe early in the week)

Friday: Grilled chicken breast sandwiches, potato logs (oven fried), marinated tomatoes and cucumbers (the tomatoes at our local produce market have been wonderful)

Saturday: Fried venison steak, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, steamed baby okra

Oh my! My mouth is watering already!

To see other wonderful meal ideas for this week, visit Menu Plan Monday at Organized Junkie.