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Wednesday, January 7, 2009

A mixed bag

As I type this I can hear the sleet and rain hitting my living room windows. I'm so happy we
have a home, heat and power! I'm not terribly excited about having to shovel,
but as long as I get to come into a warm house I'm content!
Plus, I get to make some coffee. Coffee always makes things better!


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We're still going strong on the potty training fun. Although we seem to have hit a bump in the road. For some strange reason Caleb doesn't get that poopy goes in the potty. He gets all the rest (most of the time) except for this. Figures too! The worst one to end up in his jeans and boxers...

Oh, and another thing. Boxers and boxer briefs for little boys are the most adorable thing ever!!! It's so funny to see him running around in boxers. He's like a little Mike!

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On another note..

One of my commitments for this year is to reduce our grocery shopping bill. It seemed to me
it's the best way to save some money. It's much wiser and a whole lot healthier too. That means I
make menu's, buy the food I need, cook it and *voila* money in the bank.
Ok, so maybe money in the bank isn't that easy, but it's a good start.

What I've been doing is going through all the flyers for Walgreens, Rite Aid and CVS. If wasn't already a "rewards" member I made sure to sign up. Then I would clip the store coupons, combine them with coupons from the Sunday papers, circle the deals I needed to take advantage of, and then go shopping.

For instance, last night I went to Walgreens with a small list of items I needed to buy. Some of the items are not what I usually use, but when purchased with the coupons and rewards it saved tons of money. I went up to the register with these items in my basket.


After the cashier finished ringing me up the total came to $57.59! Ouch, right? (Pharmacy stores like that always seem to be more expensive anyway)

BUT after my register rewards, store coupons and regular coupons combined with the sale prices, I paid a whopping total of...are you ready?

$16.41

That's right!!! I saved $41.18.

What can be better than that! I walked out with a smile on my face! It's almost like a game. And I won!

After I got home I entered my receipts at Walgreens.com. (At the end of the catalog period they will send you your money on the items that had mail in rebates. If you have it refunded to you in the form of a Walgreens gift card they will had an extra 20% to the gift card total! FREE MONEY!) So, in all I truly ended up spending $14.91.

I figured I would share my very happy news because I was so excited and to show you how easy it is to save money on items you use every day. If I can do it, anyone can. I had to let go of brand loyalty, but that was easy. Especially after seeing my receipt.

Don't forget to take advantage of coupons and flyers too! There are so many savings in those. As long as you are only purchasing what you really use. Don't buy stuff just because you have a coupon.

Look for great deals and pair them with a coupon or two.

It's a great way to save money!

Happy shopping and saving!

Oh yes...I also enjoyed one of these today...


It's a smoothie made with unsweetened soy milk, bananas, strawberries, and honey.

Delicious!



1 comment:

Amy said...

you sound like me you frugal girl you :)