Blogging Break - Be Back Soon!

I have some personal and family health issues going on this week, so I am taking a break from the blog. I plan to be back by next week with a new Menu Plan Monday and grocery wrap up.

In the mean time,check out my friend Ronica over at Keeping Our Cash. She's got a great post about saving money on prescriptions here and here

Have a great week!

Nashville Zoo Half Price Day Sunday

Sunday is the Nashville Zoo's annual Zooperbowl Event. Admission is half price.

Adults $7.00

Children (3-12) $4.50

Now, let's hope it's not like last weekend with the snow & ice!

1/2 Price Day at Goodwill

It's my favorite Saturday of the month! This Saturday is half price day at all Middle Tennessee Goodwills. Go here for a list of locations.

Happy treasure hunting!

My Money Making Trip to CVS & Final Grocery Tally

I went to CVS to do the Huggies ECB deal they have going through Saturday. I also received a CVS coupon for $3 off one Glade candle. They have the little 2oz candles for $3.29 so I got one of those too.

Here's what should have happened:
2 Packs Pullups
Sale Price: $10 ea
- (2) $2/1 Printable
= $8.00 ea

1 Glade Candle
Reg Price: $3.29
- $3/1 CVS Coupon that came from in-store scanner
= .29

- $10 ECBS from survey
= $6.29 OOP and receive $5.00 ECBs

But something went wrong at the register and a strange unknown $3 dollar item was rang up. I didn't catch it until we had completed the transaction. The only way to make it right was for them to do a return and refund and then ring it up correctly again. But I had used coupons and ECBs and the register considers those cash so the manager had to come over, approve the transaction and they refunded the entire purchase in cash! The manager said "This is your lucky day". They then rang up the items again, used the same coupons and ECB's and I paid the correct amount. Here's how it went:

Old OOP: $10.80
Refunded cash: -$25.44
New amount due w/ tax: $7.25
Money maker: $ 7.39 cash + 5 ECBs for the huggies and $1 ECB from the green bag tag

So, please always look at your receipt after you check out. It can not only save you money, but once in a while it can actually MAKE you money!
I felt okay about this because 1.) I had the manager's approval and blessing of sorts, and 2.) I spend hundreds of dollars (maybe thousands now) a year with CVS on prescriptions. They'll be okay without that $7 dollars.


I also had to make an extra trip to Publix this week because I forgot a couple of things. I've lost the receipt, so I'm going off memory of exact price:

One A Day Kids Vitamins
Sale Price: $4.22
- $2.50/1 Publix Family Magazine (Publix Q)
- $2/1 SS 1/3
= FREE + Overage

Pop Secret Popcorn - I promised my child I'd buy her popcorn and since my budget was blown anyway......
Sale Price: $2.19
- $1/2 RP 1/3
= $1.69 ea

Gatorade
Reg Price: $7.99

Total OOP w/ tax: $12.57

My new weekly total including my earlier trips here is: $60.95.

For the Locals: Cheap Bread Update

One of the best kept secrets in Nashville is that you can get .50 cent Pepperidge Farm bread at the Apple Market on Nolensville Road. It's day old bread that comes from another bakery.

Lately, there has been a shortage of the bread. Here's the skinny on the shortage:

The man that delivers the bread has recently sold 9 of his bakeries and so his supply has greatly decreased. He does still make regular deliveries on Tuesday and Fridays (but it's never guaranteed). But, if you want this cheap bread, get there early. The store employee told me that they have people that line up and wait for him to deliver. They don't put limits on the amount of bread you can buy, so often folks are buying 15 or more loaves at a time.

Free Eggs coupon on Friday

If you become a fan of the Incredible Egg on Facebook, you have a shot at a B1G1 coupon available Friday on their Facebook page. The coupon will be available for the first 30,000 people to get it. Go here to become a fan. You do have to have to be signed up with Facebook to join, but Facebook is free!

They released this same coupon a few months ago. I was able to combine the coupon with a sale and another coupon and got 2 dozen organic, cage free eggs for $2.00! Can't get that deal every day.

Weekly Shopping Wrap Up

I got a little carried away with the Kroger Mega Sale today. I got some great deals, but I went over my weekly budget. I will have to do better next week. The good news is that I came in $9 under budget total for the month of January! That is grocery budget, don't ask me how the rest of our budget went.

But on with the grocery wrap up ......

Aldi's

Baby Carrots .99 ea
Broccoli 1.49
Tomatoes 1.69

Publix

Knox Gelatine
Reg Price: $1.39
- $4/1 RP 1/24
= FREE + Overage

Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
Sale Price: $1.72
- $1/1 Printable
= .73 ea

8 O'clock Coffee
Sale Price: $2.49
- $2/2 Printable= $1.49 ea

Juice Juice
Sale Price: $1.50 ea

Total OOP: $12.57



Kroger
Kroger continued their Mega Sale this week. You buy 10 participating items and get an automtice $5 (or .50 each item) off at check out. I did three sets of 10 and got a total of $15 off. The items starred are the Mega Event items and the price listed is the price after the .50 cents off has been applied.

* Chex Mix
Sale Price: $1.49
- .50/1 (doubled) Printable
- .50 Cellfire & Shortcuts
= FREE

*Rotel
Sale Price: .50
- .30/1 (doubled) SS 1/24
= FREE + Overage

*Quaker Rice Quakes
Sale Price: .79
- .75/1 Kroger Mailer
= .04 ea

*Frank's Hot Sauce
Sale Price: $1.19
- .50/1 (doubled) SS 1/24
= .19

*Nature Valley Nut Clusters
Sale Price: $2.19
- $1/1 Printable
- $1/1 Cellfire & Shortcuts
= .19 ea

*Hunt's Canned Tomatoes
Sale Price: .50 ea
- .45/3 SS 1/24
= .20 ea

*Kraft Deluxe Mac & Cheese Dinner
Sale Price: $1.36
- $1/2 Printable
= .86 ea

*Chi Chi Salsa
Sale Price: $1.49
- $1/2 SS 12/6
= .99 ea

*Mission Tortillas
Sale Price: $1.49

*Tombstone Pizza
Sale Price: $2.49
- $1.50/2 Catalina
= $1.74 ea


8th Continent Soy Milk
Sale Price: $2.49
- $2/1 Printable (no longer available)
= .49

10 lbs potatoes
Sale Price: $2.49

1 lb Almonds
Sale Price: $2.99

Organic Romaine Lettuce
Sale Price: $2.79

Healthy Lifestyle Bread
Reg Price: $2.75
- .50/1 doubled
= 1.75

OOP: $37.64
TOTAL OOP: $55.77. And to be honest, this will not be the total for the week. I still have some items at CVS to get and I realized hubs was out of gatorade after I returned home. So, my total for the week will be closer to $60.

UPDATE: my new total OOP: is $60.97 Go here for my CVS overage story.