Grocery Trip 8/11

This week was pretty cool for me.  After last weeks haul I had showed my grandfather everything I had gotten withing my budget.  He was very impressed, since he loves all things fabulously frugal.  He said so you really get things for free or next to nothing.  And I said yes, it's possible some weeks to get a couple things for free and other get a lot of things for under a dollar.  We then came up with a plan.  He has always tried to make donations to our local food pantry.  Especially when they have sales of 10 for $10 and similar sales.  He can't really use 10 of something since he's one guy and doesn't eat a lot so he'll buy the 10 and donate some of it.  He realized that we'd be able to donate a lot more using my coupons and he would give me $20 a week towards whatever I could get to help out other people.

This week not only did I get to buy two weeks worth of donations for the food pantry and toiletry drive at my church, but I also got to buy lots for our pantry/stockpile while keeping in my budget and meal plan.  Here's how it all went down:

They were running a Shop From Home special of $20 off $150.  The total of $150 is before and coupons, e-coupons, rebates or gift cards.  Considering I usually save a minimum of 50% each week my estimation was I would spend $150, estimated 50% in savings, and then $20 off would put me at $55.  This would keep me within my $50-$60 range for groceries for the week.

Unfortunately I went over budget this week.  I thought I was $8.91 over budget this week.  However, two things happened which I didn't factor.  First they missed a coupon and I didn't discover it until I was already home - which was $1.  Then they also charged me for 1 lbs of Flounder Filets that never made it home.  ( I would not have purchased the catfish nuggets had I remembered that I purchased the Flounder Filets.)  So I have a credit $5.24 waiting for my next shop from home order. They were also supposed to be on sale for $4.99 but they didn't ring up that way.  Long story short I'm not being charged for them making me only $2 over budget before rebates. *Note, I don't include "rebates" in my budget since I have to spend the money this week and sometimes can wait months for those rebates.

Here is a quick breakdown of the labels I'll use to define how I saved:

* -  Paper coupon (either printable or clipped from and insert)

e - e-coupon from the store for an automatic savings at the register

Ib - Rebate through Ibotta app

Ss - Rebate through Savingstar app

51 - Rebate through Checkout 51 app

Here is the breakdown of the items I bought:

Transaction#1 (Shop From Home Order)

2 - Colgate Advanced Toothpaste *

2 - Colgate Advanced Mouthwash *

2 - Palmolive Dish Soap *

Receive $5 off  OYNO catalina

2 - Caress Body Wash *

2 - Degree Ultra Deodorant *

Receive $5 off OYNO catalina

1 - Barilla Italian Entree * e

2 - Nabisco Popped Chips e

2 - Arm & Hammer Laundry Detergent *

2- Lysol Disinfecting Wipes *

3 - Kleenex Tissues with lotion * e Ib

2 - bags of Chex Mix * e Ss

6.5  - lbs of Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

4 - Hatfield Ham Steaks *

2 - cartons of cherry tomatoes

1 - lb of fresh green beans

8 - Fresh Limes

2 - lbs of green seedless grapes

12 - Newman's Own Yogurts *

2 - Dole Smoothie Shakers * e

2 - ShopRite Brand French Bread pizzas e

1 - 1lb bag of Flounder Filets

5 - Fresh Bagels *

2 - 4ct Schick Xtreme Razors * e

1 - Arm & Hammer Toothpaste *

1 - Suave Shampoo *

1 - Suave Conditioner *

2 - Suave Kid's Shampoo 2 in 1 * e

1 - Nivea Men's Body Wash * e

1 - Axe Body Spray * e

2 - Mitchum Deodorant * e

(Received at $20 off $150 Shop From Home order, Received two - $5 ONYO. I used 31 Paper coupons, 10 e-coupons, Submitting for $1 Rebate from Ibotta for Kleenex  and $.50 Rebate from Savingstar for Chex Mix. Used a $5.00 Gift Card from previous rebate promo)

2 - coupons were missed for a total of $3.00 (I brought the to customer service and received $3.00 cash.)

TOTAL OUT OF POCKET: $80.88 for 73 items

(It's also worth noting I had about $40 to spend for donations, so my personal oop was $40.88, since I pride myself on keeping my budget between $50 - $60 a week. And I want to keep my meal plans true to my actual OOP costs.)

Transaction #2 (In-Store #1)

1- Nature's Bounty Multi-vitamin * e

1 - Nature's Bounty Fish Oil *

(Used 2 paper coupons, and 1 e-coupon, Resusable Bag Rebate of $0.05, used $3 from missed coupons above transaction)

TOTAL OOP: $0.83

Transaction #3 (In-Store #2)

1 - Gallon 2% Milk

1 - Dozen Eggs

3 - Dole Smoothie Shakers * e

3 - ShopRite Brand Cream Cheese

1.5 - lbs of Catfish nuggets (50% manager special)

1 - Mega Box of Hefty Scented Garbage Bags *

1 - Suave Shampoo *

1 - Suave Conditioner *

2 - Suave Kids 2 in 1 Shampoo * e

6 - ears of corn

3 - Kleenex Tissues with Lotion * e Ib

1 - Mitchum Deodorant * e

1 - 4ct Shick Quattro Disposable Razors * e

1 - Barilla Italian Entree * e

1 - 1lb head of broccoli

3 - Arnold Sandwich Thins * e

(I used 13 paper coupons, 7 e-coupons, two - $5 OYNO catalinas from first transaction, Received $0.20 Reusable Bag Refund, Submitting for $1 Rebate from Ibotta for Kleenex, $0.40 Savingstar Rebate for corn.)

TOTAL OOP: $27.20

Total Price of items before sales & coupons: $348.33

Total out of pocket spent for all transactions: $108.91

Total Rebates from Savingstar App: $0.90

Total Rebates from Checkout51 App: $0.00

Total Rebates from Ibotta: $2.00

Total Rebates from Inbox Dollars: $2.50

 Grand Total After Rebates = $103.51 ~ 70% Savings

Last Note:  These are the items we are donating to the Toiletry Drive & Food Pantry this week:

2 - bottle Suave Shampoo

2 - bottles Suave Conditioner

3 - Stick of Mitchum Deodorant

2 - Sticks of Degree Deodorant

2 - Bottles of Caress Body Wash

1 - Tube of Arm & Hammer Toothpaste

2 - Barilla Pasta Entrees

Total: 12 Items for donation!