Last Ever Publix Trip!!

I am so sad that they don't have Publix in Chicago!! I almost got teary eyed walking out of the store the other day! I had to go shopping on Wednesday so I could get the Penny Item one last time. For my last trip, you know I had to go out with a bang! So here it is:

Spent: $10.97

Saved: $31.24

5 Purchases I don't regret

Regardless of how frugal you are or how much you try to save money, there are definitely some things that are absolutely worth spending money on. Here are my top five.

1. Bailey. I love, love, love our dog. She didn't really cost a lot of money ($75 from the shelter) but all of the things that come along with owning a dog certainly add up. We've actually been pretty fortunate in that she's a pretty low maintainence and so far (knock on wood) we haven't had any emergency vet visits.


2. Our tv. I watch a decent amount of tv. I really enjoy it and it helps me unwind. Plus sports are awesome in hi-def.


3. My netbook. I was kind of going back and forth on getting one, but I'm really, really glad I did. I'm definitely getting my money out of it.


4. Our apartment. We could definitely live in a smaller place or different area and pay less in rent. It's all relative, as what we pay now is equivalent to what I paid in Philadelphia and we easily have twice the space plus a few extra nice amenities (private outdoor space, use of the pool, tennis courts, W/D in apt, dishwasher). (Even though this will all be changing soon!)


5. Our car. We didn't exactly do the smart thing with our first joint car purchase....we leased it. But our lease has ended and we purchased it outright. In the longterm we've paid more on the car than it's worth, but we learned our lesson and we really enjoy not having a car payment.

Menu Plan Monday

This is going to be an interesting one! We basically need to eat whatever is in our freezer this week and a little bit into next week before our big move! We're finally on our last bag of tortellini!

Sunday: Hamburgers, broccoli and mozzarella cheese mixture
Monday: Broccoli quiche
Tuesday: Cheesy Chicken & Rice casserole
Wednesday: Jim 'N Nick's
Thursday: Tomato, mozzarella, & pasta baked mixture
Friday: Tortellini, garlic bread, salad
Saturday: Almond chicken & rice casserole

Be sure to check out Menu Plan Monday over at Org Junkie's site. Over 300 bloggers link up which means lots of new recipes and ideas!

Walmart: Not Frugal, Not Fun

Not frugal because they overcharged me. Not fun because their customer service is terrible!

I have never been a "fan" of Walmart, but I must confess that I continue to shop there because it is so convenient (literally less than a mile from where we live) and usually pretty cheap. I don't do the bulk of my shopping there, but I will run in if we are out of something or need eggs, creamer, etc, because it is usually cheaper there than anywhere else. From now on, I'm making a pledge to avoid Walmart like the plague. I think it's time I jump on the Hating Walmart bandwagon and never look back. (I mean, there is a reason why Google produces 271,000 results when you type in "I hate Walmart.") Here is a copy of the lovely letter I filed on their website:


Dear Walmart,

I was in your Walmart (Store #1481, Transaction # XXXX) today (10/24/10) and I bought 19 of the Key Lime flavored waters (we thoroughly enjoy them). I did not count how many we had prior to our transaction, but I did count them along with the cashier as she was ringing them up. I counted 19. As the cashier handed me the receipt, I saw that she had charged us for 21 waters. I double counted the waters in the bags in my cart because I thought maybe I had miscounted. No, there were still only 19 waters.

By this time the cashier was ringing up the next customer, so instead of interrupting her I went over to the (already long) Customer Service line. I waited in this line for about 10 minutes, as there was only 1 person working at Customer Service (despite there continuing to be a long line of customers behind me). Finally, a Customer Service “Manager” came to help, and I happened to be the next person in line.

I explained to him that I had only purchased 19 waters (still all in my cart in case he wanted to count them) but I was charged for 21. He proceeded to try to refund me 3 waters, even though 21 minus 19 equals 2. However, he was unable to get the register to work (after about 5 minutes of trying) to refund the money on my debit card.

In the past when I have been overcharged (yes, this has happened several times at this Walmart), the Customer Service representative simply refunded the difference to me in cash.

The Customer Service "manager" said I would have to go to the next Customer Service representative/register, even though there were 2 other registers open next to him. I had already wasted 15 minutes of my life, simply to get the $1.28 + tax returned to me for which I had been overcharged. I did not feel like wasting any more time in this store because Walmart employees could not count, so I left, very upset.

It’s not about the money. I will certainly be able to put food on the table and I won’t lose my apartment just because Walmart stole $1.28 from me. It’s the principle of the matter, that not one, but two Walmart employees could not accurately count, and the amount of time I wasted in your store today was ridiculous.

There is a rapidly growing fan base against Walmart and I can easily see why. I certainly would rather go out of my way and spend more money than return to this Walmart and chance facing another unpleasant experience such as this one.

Sincerely,
Anne

Publix & Walgreens

Two weeks ago I ran a morning full of errands, right up until the minute I hurt my back. I immediately went home and later went to the ER, and then I spent about a week on the couch and the past week readjusting to work, so I never got around to posting about my deals. The best deal I got was at Walgreens where I bought 2 Vicks Sinex products, used two $4 off coupons, spent $3 out of pocket (including tax) and received $5 in Register Rewards (RR) to be used on my next purchase at Walgreens.

That brings me to today, where at Walgreens I spent $3.44 and saved $21.41 and received $2 in RR to be spent at my next visit. Then I went to Publix and spent $3.26 and saved $12.13. I had some simple miscalculation errors on my part (I guess it shows that I haven't been couponing in 2 weeks?!) or I would have saved even more!

Publix Trip (on the left) Walgreens Trip (on the right)

Spent: $6.70
Saved: $33.54

Whip Your Grocery Budget Into Shape: Give it away!

Welcome to the second major series of posts on Frugal Made Fun! Each week, I'll post 1-2 tips on how to develop your own plan to save money on groceries. I'm going to start with some of the most basic, easiest things you can do to save money, and then progress from there. You can take as much or little advice as you like. As the series progresses, a little more work may be involved, but you will definitely save more money.

You know you have reached Expert Level in couponing when you get free items with coupons just to donate or give away to those in need.


This is the end of the Grocery Budget Series! Stay tuned for something new and exciting on Frugal Made Fun!

Menu Plan Monday

I'm really glad that I was organized (read: anal-retentive) enough to make our menu plan up for Sept-October in August. Between my back injury and the move we would be eating chips and pizza every night if I hadn't planned it out! This is the "plan" for this week. You will notice that we have a lot of veggie burgers and tortellini to eat up before we leave!

Sunday: One Pot Spaghetti
Monday: White chicken chili in crock pot
Tuesday: Potluck Going Away Dinner with work
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Tortelleni with vodka sauce, garlic bread, salad
Friday: Spicy black bean veggie burgers, rice, salad
Saturday: Tortellini Soup

Be sure to check out Menu Plan Monday over at Org Junkie's site. Over 300 bloggers link up which means lots of new recipes and ideas!

Whip Your Grocery Budget Into Shape: Maximize your list

Welcome to the second major series of posts on Frugal Made Fun! Each week, I'll post 1-2 tips on how to develop your own plan to save money on groceries. I'm going to start with some of the most basic, easiest things you can do to save money, and then progress from there. You can take as much or little advice as you like. As the series progresses, a little more work may be involved, but you will definitely save more money.

If you're anything like me, you’ve been shopping with a grocery list for some time now. Why not make it a little better? There have been several times where I picked up the wrong item or accidently brought along the wrong coupon, or even had an item ring up at the wrong price but I didn’t realize it until after I got home.

In addition to your list items, you will want to write down how many of the items you want and how much the items should cost after your coupons. This also gives you a really great idea of how much you will be spending before you even step foot in the store! I'll also write down the size of the item on sale or the size the coupon is for, because there's nothing worse than buying the wrong size item and paying full price!! (Okay, there are plenty of things that are worse than that...but it still makes me mad!)

Finally, if I have a lot of time, I'll even write down the items in the order that I will find them in the store. It takes a little extra prep time but significantly cuts down on my time in the store!

Whip Your Grocery Budget Into Shape: Use multiple coupons

Welcome to the second major series of posts on Frugal Made Fun! Each week, I'll post 1-2 tips on how to develop your own plan to save money on groceries. I'm going to start with some of the most basic, easiest things you can do to save money, and then progress from there. You can take as much or little advice as you like. As the series progresses, a little more work may be involved, but you will definitely save more money.

Shop at stores that allow you to use multiple coupons on the same items. Some stores allow you to use a store coupon with a manufacturer's coupon on the same item...when combined with a sale this can mean free or close to free items!

A few common stores that accept multiple coupons on the same item are CVS, Publix, Walgreens, and Rite Aid. Some stores require that you have at least as many items as you do coupons. And sometimes stores will put out coupons that *look* like store coupons (i.e. they say "Publix" or "CVS" on them but they may also say "Manufacturer Coupon" somewhere on them so be sure to double check before you try to combine coupons!

Menu Plan Monday

Our menu plan for this week is completely up in the air due to my back injury. We'll be eating a couple of meals out of the freezer and I've planned a few other simple things that won't take Tom too long to whip up.

Sunday: Best ever chicken noodle soup (from the freezer)
Monday: Chicken Tortilla Casserole (from the freezer), salad
Tuesday: Spicy black bean veggie burgers, rice, broccoli
Wednesday: Fettucini Alfredo, salad
Thursday - Saturday: We were supposed to go to Chicago to find a place to live, meet with potential employers (for me), and meet with Tom's lab. I'm not sure if we're both still going to go.

Be sure to check out Menu Plan Monday over at Org Junkie's site. Over 300 bloggers link up which means lots of new recipes and ideas!

Publix Trip: Quadruple Savings!

This may have been my best Publix trip yet! I feel like I say that every week ;) It's really nice when you don't have to buy food because your pantry and freezer are stocked (even though you're trying to widdle them down before moving!) There were quite a few items that were free or better than free after coupons. I also went to CVS and paid $1 OOP for a razor and got another $5 back in ECB's.


Spent: $10.42
Saved: $43.75

Bought:
2 bottles Hidden Valley salad dressing
3 containers bread crumbs
Green beans
Salad
2 cans Chunky soup
2 bottles iron pills
2 bottles vitamins
2 boxes of pasta
Resolve Spray 'n Wash
Taco seasoning
Publix Cola (penny item)


This may be your last awesome Publix Trip post in a while, unfortunately. I can't even fathom standing up long enough to cook dinner let alone going to the grocery store. And a $150 ER co-pay also makes me want to save a little money. You can read all about that here.

Whip Your Grocery Budget Into Shape: Only buy things when they are on sale

Welcome to the second major series of posts on Frugal Made Fun! Each week, I'll post 1-2 tips on how to develop your own plan to save money on groceries. I'm going to start with some of the most basic, easiest things you can do to save money, and then progress from there. You can take as much or little advice as you like. As the series progresses, a little more work may be involved, but you will definitely save more money.

Only buy things when they are on sale - this takes patientce and discipline...this is why I put this toward the end of the series. If you use coupons, buy things when they are on sale, and buy enough to last you 6-8 week,s until the next sale, you will be set! Not to mention you will be saving a ton of money!

There are few things (if any) that I pay full price for. Almost everything we purchase (groceries, toiletries, household items) can be bought when they are on sale and stored until you need them.

Whip Your Grocery Budget Into Shape: Follow frugal bloggers

Welcome to the second major series of posts on Frugal Made Fun! Each week, I'll post 1-2 tips on how to develop your own plan to save money on groceries. I'm going to start with some of the most basic, easiest things you can do to save money, and then progress from there. You can take as much or little advice as you like. As the series progresses, a little more work may be involved, but you will definitely save more money.

I posted about this in my 100 Frugal Tips, but it is certainly worth mentioning again. And it really makes grocery shopping so EASY!!! There are several frugal bloggers who post all the sale items each week for various grocery stores and tell you where to get the coupons from. They do all of the work for you! All you have to do is make your list, gather your coupons, and off you go!

Here are a few of my favorites:
http://www.southernsavers.com
http://www.moneysavingmom.com
http://www.hotcouponworld.com

If you can't find your grocery store match-ups on any of the above sites, google your grocery store name + "coupon match ups" and see what comes up!

Menu Plan Monday

I've come to accept the fact that our weekly "Menu Plan" has become more of a weekly "Menu Suggestion/Guideline."

Sunday: Leftovers from grilling on Saturday
Monday: Ravioli, garlic bread, salad
Tuesday: Pizza meatloaf, mashed potatoes, broccoli
Wednesday: Fettucini Alfredo, salad
Thursday: Broccoli & cheddar soup
Friday: Possible celebratory dinner out
Saturday: Cheesy Chicken & Rice casserole

Be sure to check out Menu Plan Monday over at Org Junkie's site. Over 300 bloggers link up which means lots of new recipes and ideas!

CVS & Publix: Spent $22 Saved: $43.32 ECB: $5

I really am trying to keep my shopping to a minimum these days, but it seems I am a deal junkie. Plus, I really just got into the CVS game so it's fun to get a lot of quality products for dirt cheap.

Publix

Spent: $14.51
Saved: $24.85
Bought
2 New England Coffee
2 jars Pace salsa
1 box Fiber One bars
4 blocks of cheese
1 pack Cheese singles

CVS

Spent: $7.50

Saved: $18.47

Received $5 in ECBs to be used on my next trip to CVS. (So if you count the ECB, I actually spent $2.50 at CVS).

Bought

2 packs Tampax Pearl

1 Dawn dish soap

2 Olay face wash