Super Savings Saturday - Holiday Edition

Hope everyone is enjoying the nice long, Labor Day weekend! We're busy getting the final supplies needed for Ashleigh's first week of kindergarten. This is uncharted territory for us - first baby to go off to big kid school :( So we're pretty anxious to get started and finally settle into our new routine!

Here's my deals for the week. Not much coupon action this week LOL! But I'm so in love with the quick sale fruit bin at Harris Teeter. Before, I would always just pass by. Until one week I came across 3lb bags of organic bananas in the bin for less than $1! And you know what, they weren't even over ripe or anything! So now I make a point to always pass by just see what good deals might be there waiting.

Grocery Totals:

Total spent: $93.85
Total savings: $48.15

Kroger:

18 jars Beech Nut baby food (sale .40ea - 1.50/8 Q)
2 Huggies Pull Ups (10.99 - 2/1Q)
1 bag KR shredded Mexican cheese blend (sale 1.66)
6 ears sweet corn (sale 2.00)
1 head cauliflower (sale 2.00)
1 bunch broccoli (sale 2.00)


Total oop: $38.33
Total savings: $12.42


Harris Teeter:


1 HT seasoned fries (3.19 - $1.50 e-vic)
2 HT whole wheat tortillas (sale 2/3)
1 box frozen HT Natural (hormone free, grass fed) beef patties (sale 7.99) ---> probably would have been cheaper to make my own using the ground turkey still on sale at Kroger. Live & Learn!
3lb bag bananas (quick sale .92)
1.5lb bag apples (quick sale .75)
1 bunch organic cilantro


Total oop: $16.36
Total savings: $8.28

Lowes Foods:

3 gallons Full Circle organic milk
6 Mott's apple juice (store Q 2/3 - 1/2Q)
3 Meow Mix cat treats (FREE! sale 1.29 - .75/1Q doubled)
4 Mott's apple sauce 6pks (store Q 2/3 - .55/2Q doubled)
1 Butterball Deep fried turkey sliced lunchmeat (sale BOGO - 1/1Q)
1 red bell pepper (sale 2.00)
2lb white, seedless grapes (w/greenpoints .89/lb)

Total oop: $32.66
Total savings: $27.45

Quick stop by Whole Foods for bags of organic dried black beans, green lentils and long grain brown rice - total oop: $6.50

Super Savings Saturday is hosted by Money Saving Mom, helping you become a better home economist!

First Day!

Well, we survived the first day of kindergarten -- with most of my sanity still intact! It was quite a wet morning. I knew it was going to be rainy, but I was figuring on some light showers. It was actually a full fledged hurricane! So needless to say, we were all pretty soaked by the time we made it from the parking lot to the building.

Once we arrived to Ashleigh's class, we were happy to see one of her teachers from the Early Start program. We gave Ashleigh a hug and kiss and she went right on with putting her things away. Strictly business as usual. Dave & I kind of stood there waiting for a bit more to-do, but the teachers gently suggested we go. They are really adamant about the parents not lingering. I didn't think we were lingering in a bad way LOL!

The first day was actually an observation/evaluation day. Everything went well except at lunch time one of the teachers told Ashleigh she couldn't bring her organic snack bar to lunch because it was like candy??? So much for my stockpile of free organic snack bars. Last night we went back to find out the final classroom assignment. Ashleigh's teacher is actually the same teacher that evaluated her for the Early Start program. We also had a nice chat with the teacher's aide. She picked up right away that our last name seems Polish but is actually Lithuanian. She even speaks a bit of Lithuanian herself.

I feel really good about the teachers and I know Ashleigh is handling everything just fine. But the whole process brings to mind a saying from one of my favorite shows, "foolishness and mayhem". It's so overwhelming! There's so much to buy (more supplies and now community snack!), so many forms to fill out. But if you fill out a form for one thing, you still have to tell ten other people because the office doesn't communicate things to the teachers. Uggghhh! It all has my stomach in a knot. I felt like I came away with more questions than answers.

I really don't know if I'm ready for kindergarten!

Financial Peace

What a coincidence that as I'm getting back into the habit of keeping a daily gratitude journal as outlined in Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach, I come across "Gratituesday" at Heavenly Homemakers!

Today, I'm giving thanks for financial peace!

I know there are some that look at our life and feel sorry for us. They feel sorry for us because we don't go out and spend freely the way they do. That we plan our purchases, save up for things and live on the ever dreaded, oppressive budget! But what they don't see, is the tremendous peace we now have in our finances.

There's peace in getting an unexpected bill for $224 in the mail and not worrying about how it's going to get paid. Because even though the bill wasn't budgeted for, since our other expenses were, there's always extra when something pops up.

When you call about the after school program and find out the registration fee AND first payment are due by the end of the week. And you don't freak out because you anticipated the expense and already started setting aside the funds for months in advance - that's peace!

When you look ahead to the future and see yourself being debt-free INCLUDING the mortgage before you're 40 and well before your children start college - that's peace! And I wouldn't trade it for all the stuff and toys in the world!

~

If you're in need of some financial peace in your life, I highly recommend the book The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. This book has been such a tremendous blessing in getting our finances in order. You can also find information regarding Dave Ramsey's radio program, TV program (airs M-F on Fox Business Network 8PM EST) and Financial Peace University classes on his website - http://www.daveramsey.com/.

And if you're looking for like-minded individuals also working the baby steps, visit Living Like No One Else, a free, on-line support group.

Menu Plan Monday - August 25th

Lots of excitement this week! Ashleigh has her first full day of kindergarten this week. And my sister from California will be visiting too! This is also my busy time of the month at work. Whew! Let's hope I can keep it all together. But if all attempts at organization fail, at least I know what we're having for dinner this week LOL!

Here's our dinner menu for the week. For more meal plan ideas, visit Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie!

~ Dinner ~

Saturday - Jamie Oliver's Jools' Favorite Saturday Afternoon Pasta

Sunday - Crockpot Tamale Pie w/corn on the cob

Monday - Veggie Lo Mein

Tuesday - Creamed tuna (with homemade white sauce) over whole wheat pasta & steamed veggies

Wednesday - Chicken Nuggets & steamed, organic carrot sticks

Thursday - BBQ Turkey Meatballs with brown rice & fresh green beans

Friday - Taco Style Lentils & Rice, served in warmed, hard taco shells, with shredded lettuce, cheese, salsa & sour cream

Grocery totals --> This week I spent $89.13 and had $69.69 in coupon & sales savings! For a breakdown of my good deals, visit my Super Savings Saturday post!

Super Savings Saturday!

Woo hoo! Super Savings Saturday is back at Money Saving Mom! My sweetest deal this week was FREE Dixie Crystals brown sugar. The small boxes of Dixie Crystal light & dark brown sugar are .99 at Harris Teeter. Using the .55/1 any Dixie Crystals product blinkie (coupon from machine attached to the shelf - they used to blink, hence the term "blinkie" - ETA: I found these particular blinkies at Food Lion!), the sugar is FREE! Now all I need is some oatmeal and we'll be set for a quick and delicious breakfast!

My grocery totals for the week:

Total Spent: $89.13
Total Savings: $69.69!

Harris Teeter:

3 gallons HT Organic milk
6 boxes Dixie Crystals light brown sugar (FREE! .99 - .55/1Q doubled)
3 Clif Kids Organic Z bars (FREE! .99 - .50/1Q doubled)
1 quart HT Naturals Organic chocolate ice cream (FREE! BOGO - $3 e-vic)
4 Sargento shredded cheeses (sale 2/5 - 1/2Q)
2 bunches fresh broccoli (sale 4.00)
2lb red, seedless grapes (sale .99/lb)

Less $3 OYNO

Total oop: $28.08
Total savings: $31.20

Kroger:

2 Huggies Pull Ups (10.99 -2/1Q)
3 KR frozen veggies - corn, peas, green beans (sale 1.00ea)
2 Horizon Organic shelf stable milk (sale 1.00 -1/2Q)
2 cans Hunt's diced tomatoes
2 cans Hunt's Organic diced tomatoes w/herbs (closeout .99ea)
5 Clif Kids Organic Z bars (FREE! sale .59 - .50/1Q doubled)
8 jars Beech Nut baby food (sale .40ea - 1.50/8Q)
1 dozen Eggland's eggs
6 ears sweet corn (sale 2.00)
1lb fresh green beans (sale 1.25/lb)
2 Shadybrook 93/7 frozen ground turkey (sale 1.66ea)

Total oop: $37.27
Total savings: $17.69

Lowes Foods:

1 Sara Lee Whole Wheat bread (FREE w/coupon)
2 Tyson chicken nuggets (sale 6.00 - 1/2Q)
2-4lb bags Dixie Crystals white sugar (1.99 - .55/1Q doubled)
1 LF napkins (sale 1.00)
6 Motts for Tots juice (store Q 2/3 - 1/2Q)
3lb bag yellow onions (sale 2.50)
1 LF tall kitchen trash bags

Total oop: $23.78
Total savings: $20.80

Realization

I just realized, next week Ashleigh will have her first day of REAL kindergarten! Yikes!!! I haven't even finished shopping for supplies yet. I haven't taken an inventory of her clothes. I haven't bought plastic pocket folders. I haven't found the free Purell hand sanitizer I got from Walgreen's last year that I specifically set aside for when school started. I still don't know what a 12 pocket presentation folder is???

Thus begins a new normal for us. School shopping, teacher conferences, PTA meetings, homework, making new friends, morning drop offs and after school pickups, clipping box tops! Am I really ready for this?!?

Also realized my sister from California will be visiting next week! I'm not really anxious about her visit as she's a delightful guest. I just have to adjust our menus to feed 7. When my sister visits, she doesn't want to be entertained. She just wants to relax, read, cross stitch and play with the kids. Plus the kids are a constant source of entertainment anyway LOL! She even cleans our bathroom, pays for our anniversary dinner and watches the kids. She rocks!

Guess what I'll be doing this weekend, aside from watching the Bristol race?

FlyLady's Crisis Cleaning 101

I shudder at the thought of the amount of cracker crumbs I'm going to find in the sofa cushions!

$1.59 in Savings - And I Was Happy?!?

Frugality is relatively new to me. We have some frugal tendencies. But I really feel like I've only dipped my toe into the deep waters of frugal living. Last week I was reading around some of my favorite frugal living sites and came upon this great post on Frugal Hacks. The part that really stood out to me, was the comment about buying bread crumbs. I laughed because bread crumbs were on my grocery list LOL! But then I asked myself, "Why am I buying bread crumbs?" I have all the essential ingredients for making them - BREAD. So I marked bread crumbs off my grocery list!

Sunday as I was preparing to make the Baked Eggplant Parmesan for dinner, I bravely got out the loaf of whole wheat bread. I put a few slices in the toaster oven set for medium toasty. Crumbled the toasted slices into Dave's mini food processor (one of his yard sale scores! He loves that he can use it to make his own hummus!) and voila - made bread crumbs!

Of course making bread crumbs is no great culinary feat. And I only saved $1.59 by making them myself instead of buying them at the grocery store (my homemade version has no HFCS, which is a big bonus!). But I felt this small accomplishment was a much bigger step for me into the world of frugal resourcefulness. I'm finding this new path of frugality challenging to my sense of creativity. It's making me think about the resources I have on hand before I buy. Showing me how to make do whether the money is there or not. And I like it!

Menu Plan Monday - August 18th

Last week, we tried several new meals and I'm happy to report they were all successes! The lentil chili was both delicious and hearty. Just as satisfying as my regular ground beef chili. And Reedy could not get enough of it! Next up, the tuna tabouli. I was a little apprehensive about the bulgar wheat. But the dish was excellent! A nice, hearty summery salad. Almost like tuna salad but without the mayo LOL! I also made stuffed peppers using the Hillbilly Housewife's taco style lentils & rice. I added corn, onions and tomato sauce to the lentils & rice for the peppers. Dave and my Mom raved about the peppers. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling well that night so it was just scrambled eggs for me :)

Here's our dinner menu for this week. For more meal plan ideas, be sure to visit Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

Dinner:

Saturday - Whole wheat rotini w/homemade alfredo sauce (omitted the chicken from the recipe), steamed broccoli & homemade wheat bread

Sunday - Baked Eggplant Parmesan w/organic salad mix

Monday - Veggie Lo Mein

Tuesday - Lentil Chili

Wednesday - Seven Layer Taco Salad (subbing crushed, hard taco shells for fritos)

Thursday - Tilapia w/brown rice & steamed veggies

Friday - Chicken Nuggets w/steamed, organic carrot sticks

Grocery Totals:

This week I spent $97.64 out of pocket with savings of $94.59! To see my good deals for the week, checkout Super Savings Sunday.

Super Savings Sunday!

Lots of deal hunting this week! I know it comes to question if I'm really saving by shopping at multiple stores with gas prices today. The answer for me is YES! We happen to live in an area with not only a large variety of stores, but multiple same store locations. So I can easily plan my shopping around other errands or what part of town I'm in.

Grocery Totals:

Total oop: $97.64

Total savings: $94.59!


CVS


2 Huggies Pull Ups (sale 8.99 - 2/1Q)
1 Charmin 9ct (sale 5.49)


Less $9.99 CVS Extra Care Bucks (ECBs)


Total oop: $9.48
Total savings: $23.99


Harris Teeter:


3 gallons HT Organic milk
2 dozen Born Free eggs (sale BOGO)
5 Beech Nut yogurt juice blends (FREE! 1.49 - .75/1Q doubled)
2 Kraft singles (sale 2/4 - 1/2Q)
2 Kraft 2% Hormone Free shredded cheddar (sale 2/6 - 1/2Q)
2 Kraft 2% Hormone Free shredded mozzarella (sale 2/6 - 1/2Q)
2 pints fresh blueberries (sale 1.50ea)
3lb bag organic bananas (quick sale 1.06)
1 Clif Kids Organic Z bar (FREE! .99 - .50/1Q doubled)
1 HT frozen tilapia fillets (6.99 - $3 e-Vic)


Total oop: $42.79
Total savings: $32.55


Received $3 Off Next Order catalina compliments of Kraft!


Kroger:


7 Juicy Juice (sale 2.50 - .50/2Q doubled)
1 KR cola (sale .67)
1 Coffee Mate french vanilla (FREE coupon!)
1 can Private Selection organic kidney beans (sale 1.05 - $1 shortcut)
1 can Hunt's diced tomatoes
5 Clif Mojo 70% organic bars (FREE! sale 1.00 - .50/1Q doubled)
5 Clif Kids organic Z bars (FREE! sale .59 - .50/1Q doubled)
2 bunches fresh broccoli (sale 5.00)
1 eggplant (sale 1.25/lb)
5lb bag organic carrots (sale 3.00)


Less $5 Nestle promo


Total oop: $19.74
Total savings: $30.56


Lowes Foods:


2 Tyson chicken nuggets (sale 2/6 -1/2Q)
2 LF paper towels (sale 1.00ea)
2.5lb cabbage head (sale .59/lb)
1lb 93/7 ground beef (sale 2.99/lb)
1 Hungry Jack syrup (sale 2.50 - .55/1Q doubled)


Total oop: $13.41
Total savings: $7.49

Picked up a few remaining items from Earth Fare - spent $12.22 oop. But I think Whole Foods maybe the way to go for us. In comparing the two, I noticed Whole Foods offers alot more store brand products. Which is great when you're shopping for organics on a budget! Plus I felt like I just got more bang for my buck at Whole Foods, even if it is ALWAYS crowded. I did pick up the new Mambo Sprouts booklet, so that was a plus!

Simple Pleasure

In her book, Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort & Joy, Sarah Ban Breathnach describes simple pleasures as those ordinary, everyday occurrences which are often overlooked but bring us great joy. Over the weekend, I added another simple pleasure to my list - the delight of eating homemade bread still warm from the oven!

Over the past few months I've been working to move our meals, especially dinners, from pre-made, convenience meals to fresher, healthier and homemade. In my quest to conquer the kitchen, I've been trying my hand at making from scratch versions of things we normally eat. This weekend, I thought I'd finally give making my own bread a try. This Carolina girl can't even make biscuits, so bread seemed to be reaching for the stars. But, you've got to try, right?

Using the homemade wheat bread recipe from Tammy's Recipes (I love, love, love this site!) Ashleigh & I kneaded and waited. Punched, kneaded again and waited some more. Then baked! Out of the oven, first slice spread with butter - ooooohhhhh! The only word I could use to describe it was DECADENT! It was sooo good, it was almost like it was wrong! Needless to say we made fresh bread all weekend long LOL!

Oh, another reason to love the weekends!

King of the Road

The kids & I (well mostly I) watched Kyle Busch claim his 8th victory of the season at Watkins Glen! That means he will go into the Chase with an 80 bonus point advantage. Dare I say the championship is in the bag?!?

Menu Plan Monday - August 11th

I've got a busy day lined up today, so just a quick post of our menu today! For more meal plan ideas, visit Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

Breakfast & Lunch - Items already on hand.

Dinner:

Saturday - Jamie Oliver's Jools' Favorite Saturday Afternoon Pasta

Sunday - Easy Cheeseburger Casserole

Monday - Lentil Chili

Tuesday - Tuna Tabouli w/ whole wheat pita bread

Wednesday - Lentil stuffed Peppers

Thursday - Stew Beef & Onions with gravy over brown rice

Friday - Breakfast for Dinner!

Had great grocery savings this week! I spent $97.82 out of pocket (including a trip to Whole Foods) and had total sales and coupon savings of $133.14! For a breakdown of my deals, see my Super Savings Sunday post!

Have a great day!

Super Savings Sunday!

Another exciting week of deals! This week I was able to get a "double dip" of savings thanks to the Back to School Kellogg's rebate. August 5th was the last day of a special Harris Teeter back to school promotion in which you could get a rebate of $10 for buying 8 Eggo waffles. The waffles were also on sale for $1.25 each. I bought 10 boxes and used (5) $1 off 2 Qs. Why buy 10 when I only needed 8 to qualify? Well...last Sunday there was a manufacturer's rebate form for $10 back wyb 10 participating Kellogg's products, which started on August 5th. And of course, Eggo waffles were apart of the rebate. Since my Harris Teeter rebate form didn't print at the register as it was suppose to, customer service credited my VIC card with $10 off my next purchase! And this week, I'll send off for the manufacturer's rebate by submitting my receipt and UPC codes from my Eggo boxes!

Please note these were two separate rebate opportunities, which allowed me to get double the savings!

Grocery Totals:

Total oop: $97.82
Total savings: $133.14!

Harris Teeter:

10 Eggo Waffles (sale 1.25 ea - 1/2 Q --FREE after rebate!)
2 gallons Organic Valley milk (5.99 - 1/1 Q)
1 gallon HT Organic milk
6 Beech Nut yogurt juice blends (FREE! 1.49 - .75/1 Q doubled)
2 dozen Born Free Cage Free brown eggs (sale BOGO)
3 Clif Kids Organic chocolate chip bars (FREE! .99 - .50/1 Q doubled)
1-3.15 lb bag 9 Lives dry cat food (sale BOGO - 1/1 Q)
3.3 lb bag of bananas (reduced .96!)
5 green bell peppers (sale .99 ea)
1 HT Sonoma salsa (3.99 - $3 e-vic)

Less $10 of purchase

Total oop: $26.39
Total savings: $55.25

Kroger:

7 Mojo 70% Organic bars (FREE! sale 1.00 - .50/1 Q doubled)
7 Electrasol gel tabs 20ct (sale 2.69 - 2.25/1 Q)
6 KR apple juice (sale 1.50)
2 Huggies Pull Ups (10.99 - 2/1 Q)
3 Kraft shredded cheese (sale 2.50 ea - 1/2 Q)
1 Kraft 2% Hormone Free cheddar block cheese (sale 2.50)
1 KR cola (sale .67)
1 Shady Brook 93/7 frozen ground turkey
7 Clif Kids Organic fruit snacks (FREE! sale .59 - .50/1 Q doubled)
1pk stew beef (Manager's special 3.45)
8 jars Beech Nut baby food (.47 ea - 1.50/8 Q)
4 Hunt's diced tomatoes
6 Starkist tuna pouches (sale .99 - 1/2 Q)

Total oop: $52.30
Total savings: $77.89

We interrupt these regularly scheduled bargain grocery deals for a trip to WHOLE FOODS! Going forward I would like to incorporate more trips to Whole Foods into the grocery budget. Not sure if it's going to be a weekly thing at this point. But this week, there was some room in the grocery budget, so we rounded out our grocery shopping there. I decided to focus on some staples this trip with a few items for the menu.

Whole Foods:

2 Organic Vegetable broths 32oz
2 pks Whole Wheat pita bread 6ct
1 bag frozen cut corn
1 bag Organic dried black beans 16oz
1 bag Organic dried pinto beans 16oz
1 bag Organic lentils 16oz
1 bag Organic long grain brown rice 2lb
1lb Bulgar wheat

Total oop: $19.13

Quick Update!

Met with the ENT specialist yesterday for the follow up to my CT scan. Everything looked fine; just some swelling in a few areas. He recommended continuing with the prescription nasal spray in hopes that will take care of the swollen areas over time. If I continue to do well with the spray, then surgery shouldn't be necessary!

I've had a few headaches since my initial appointment. But the severity of them has been greatly reduced. I'm also not using the OTC medicines as frequently as I was before. Which may have been contributing to "rebound" headaches according to my specialist. I would probably do myself well to cut back on my caffeine intake too. That would be a toughie!

Just In Time!

I was beginning to think I wouldn't get a chance to use those ultra fab $2.25 off 1 Electrasol coupons I ordered. Last year, I was able to use the half off coupons to score the 20ct boxes for .41 each at Target. This year, I got stuck paying over a $1 for a box after the sale at Target ended.

But this week, Kroger came to the rescue! Kroger (Mid Atlantic region) has Electrasol Powerball tabs and gelpacs on sale for $2.69. After coupon, that's .44 a box! It's three cents more than my great deal last year, but with the coupon expiring on the 11th, this looks like the best deal I'm going to get!

My stop by Kroger yesterday:

3 KR apple juices (sale 1.50ea)
2 Clif Mojo bars 70% organic (FREE! sale 1.00ea - (2) .50/1 Qs doubled)
2 Clif Kids organic fruit snacks (FREE! sale .59 ea - (2) .50/1 Qs doubled)
5 Electrasol gelpacs 20ct (sale 2.69ea - (5) 2.25/1 Qs)

Total oop: $6.86
Total coupon & sale savings: $30.50!

Kindergarten - Take One!

July went by in such a hurry, I didn't even get a chance to give an update on how Ashleigh was doing at her Early Start program LOL! Well, she had a great time and I'm glad we got the opportunity to get her acquainted with her new school, the teachers and the kindergarten routine. The first day, Dave & I were a ball of nerves. Ashleigh was completely stoic; she wouldn't even wave goodbye to Dave when he dropped her off at the carpool lane LOL! She was strictly business. I'm kind of glad Dave had the dropping off duty. I would have been in tears driving away from my baby. Luckily, I got the afternoon pick-up!

For some reason I had it in my mind the program would be almost like my college summer courses. An aggressive, cram everything you can into six weeks, kind of deal. But the focus was mainly on interpersonal skills, learning about feelings, resolving conflicts and making friends. And there was a big focus on learning how to write their names the "kindergarten way" - first letter capitalized with the rest in lowercase. They also took a field trip over to the public library. Ashleigh really enjoyed riding an actual school bus during the trip! And she's now the proud owner of her own library card!

On the last day of the program, we got to watch the kids perform some of the songs they did in class. They also got a certificate from the teacher and ice cream sandwiches as a treat. In talking with Ashleigh's teacher, she paid me just the best compliment ever. She told me Ashleigh followed directions to a tee and all the kindergarten teachers will be fighting to get her in their class come Fall! That's my girl!

Each day I drew pictures for Ashleigh on the napkin in her lunchbox. A is for Apple!

Menu Plan Monday - August 4th

Happy Monday y'all! The weekends just seem to fly by. Here's our menu for the week. I had to make an in-store change up to the menu (don't you hate when that happens!) after misreading the Kroger's ad. I thought the chicken breast packs where BOGO but it was actually buy 1lb get 1lb free. So one of the chicken dishes I planned will now be replaced with a meal I have not yet determined LOL! Any ideas?

For more meal plan ideas, be sure to visit Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie!

Breakfast & Lunch ~ Items already on hand.

Dinner:

Saturday - Crockpot Tamale Pie

Sunday - Meatloaf with brown rice & steamed broccoli and carrots

Monday - Baked Potatoes with cheese, sour cream and crumbled bacon & steamed broccoli

Tuesday - Mystery Meal - TBD???

Wednesday - Sweet & Sour Chicken over brown rice

Thursday - Veggie Lo Mein

Friday - Whole Wheat pasta with marinara sauce & homemade wheat bread

Grocery - Total oop: $88.49

This week I had $102.76 in grocery savings and it wasn't even triples! Check out my deals under Super Savings Saturday!

Super Savings Saturday

Wow, can you believe it's August already?!? It seems like July just flew by!

Below are my deals for the week. I'm still stocking up on organic snack bars and single serve milks for the coming school year. The coupons for the Clif Kids bars are from the Mambo Sprouts booklet, which can be found at Earth Fare, Whole Foods (in the Real Deal newsletter) and other health food stores. The Mambo Sprouts coupons are manufacturer's coupons and can be used at any store coupons are accepted. As you can see, I've been using mine at Kroger and Harris Teeter, two stores which double and getting the snack bars for FREE!

The kids love the chocolate chip Clif Z bars and I really like the chocolate dipped Mojo bars for myself. Getting free snacks beats going to the snack machine at work any day!

Grocery Total Spent: $88.49
Total Savings: $102.76!

Kroger:

2 KR apple juices (sale 1.50)
3 Cattleman's BBQ sauce (sale 1.50 - .75/1 Q)
2 Softsoap liquid hand soap (sale 1.50 - .35/1 Q doubled)
3 Huggies wipes 80ct (sale 2.50 - .50/1 Q doubled)
1 Beech Nut baby cereal (1.39 - 1/1 Q)
8 jars Beech Nut baby food (.47 ea - 1.50/8 Q)
5 Clif Mojo bars (FREE! sale 1.00 - .50/1 Q doubled)
5 Clif Z bars (FREE! sale .59 - .50/1 Q doubled)
3 KR shredded cheddar cheese (sale 1.50)
1 KR frozen corn
1pk Perdue Chicken breasts (Manager's special 3.55)
2 Eggland's Best eggs (2.59 - .35/1 Q doubled)
10 Horizon single serve milks (sale 1.00 - 1/2Q)

Less $5 KR Mega Event sale

Total oop: $27.14
Total savings: $45.51

Lowes Foods:

1-3.15 lb bag Paws dry cat food (sale 1.75)
1 LF cola 2lt
1-4lb bag Best Value sugar (.99 after greenpoints)
4 Smithfield low sodium bacon (sale 2.50 - .75/1 Q doubled)
1 Jiffy cornbread mix
1 LF canned diced tomatoes (sale .60)
1 LF white vinegar (sale .59)

Total oop: $9.88
Total savings: $10.90

Harris Teeter:

3 gallon Organic Valley milk (5.99 - 1/1Q)
2 Huggies Pull-Ups Mega packs (sale 11.99 -2/1Q)
3 Beech Nut yogurt juice blends (FREE! 1.49 - .75/1Q doubled)
3 Dove 2in1 shampoo (FREE! 1.94 - 2/1Q)
2-lb fresh strawberries (sale BOGO)
2 fresh broccoli bunches (sale 2/4)
1-5lb bag baking potatoes (sale 3.00)
3 Clif Z bars (FREE! .99 - .50/1Q)
3lb bag yellow onions

Total oop: $51.47
Total savings: $46.35