Deals of the Week: Back in the swing of things

So we haven't done one of our "regular" grocery shopping trips probably since the end of July. The past few months have been so busy and our weekends have been occupied with other things so we've just been pretty much getting whatever we needed at Aldi. Thanks to small trips here and there and a huge stockpile, we haven't felt like we've been out of food at all.

Today we went to Dominicks, Aldi, and CVS. At Dominicks I only used ***drumroll please *** a total of 4 coupons. Spent $58.61
Saved $59.44
Received a coupon for 2 free movie rentals from Blockbuster Express. (Anyone want to take any bets as to whether we actually use this to rent movies before the coupon expires? It expires December 10, and let me just tell you that the last time we went to the theater to see a movie was to see Star Trek in 2009 and the last time we rented a movie was in the Spring of 2007 when Tom's sister Jackie came to visit us).

We did some damage at Aldi too, spent more than I would have liked but stocked up on a lot of stuff. No pics.

And now for CVS, where I basically got paid to shop there (love when that happens!)

Spent $14.31
Saved $57.14
Received $12 in ECB's and a $10 CVS giftcard. Love it!!!

Deal of the Week: CVS

We're stocked up for all of the Trick-or-Treaters next week!

Spent $11

Saved $22

Received $10 in ECB's

Deal of the Week: $10 Coffeemaker and $10 Blender

There are a small handful of "frugal blogs" that I follow on Google Reader, but to be honest, I miss most of the deals because they post SO MANY times a day that it gets to be overwhelming. I randomly check them at night and sometimes come across a deal that's still good. Last night, I saw Money Saving Mom's post about JCPenny.com's deal on Cook's blender, coffeemaker, and waffle iron.

Click on the link for all of the details and How To's, but basically they are having a sale on the above mentioned products, there is a coupon code for $10 off, there is a $10 rebate (if you purchase online until tomorrow, 10/16), and if you shop through Shop at Home you receive an additional 9% cashback on your purchase. So after all of the rebates and savings (with free ship-to-store), you can get each one of the above for $10!

I ordered the blender (originally $60) for Tom (he likes to use it for his protein shakes) and our blender recently passed away in a crab-bisque explosion. I also bought the coffeemaker (originally $50), because, let's face it, our current one has been used almost daily for the past 5 years and it's not going to last forever. For $10, this one will be an awesome backup and only costs a few dollars more than if we had to go to Starbucks for our morning coffee (should our current one break).

Deal of the Week: Urban Outfitters

So, as I mentioned the other day, the Urban Outfitters by my work was having a HUGE sale. Almost every single thing in the store was marked down to pretty reasonable prices (reasonable for Urban Outfitters at least), and then there was an additional 50% off of the sale prices! I tried on a handful of items, but only came away with 2 that I really liked.

The first top ended up being only $4.99!! Originally $59 (see, ridiculously overpriced)! It's perfect because I've been looking for something longer that I can wear over leggings, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a longer top that I would only wear once in a while.



The second top was a little bit more, ringing up at $15, but it was originally $89!! It's big and flowy and will be a nice breezy top to wear during the summer!

Who is Frugal?

Confession: I've kind of taken a break from being completely frugal. I haven't cut or used coupons to go grocery shopping in probably a little over a month! *gasp* I have, however, cut the occasional coupon for a cheap/free drugstore deal on the way to/from work.

So, what have I been doing that's not making me frugal? Well, for starters, there was the iphone. Which, as stated, I don't regret at all, but still, not completely frugal.

Then come the boots. I've been on the search for tall tan boots for the past month. I found a pair that I LOVED, ordered them on a whim, and have yet to return them. In the meantime, I've searched high and low and tried on MANY boots that just don't quite fit the bill. They cost more than I ever imagined I would spend on boots but I LOVE them (and look forward to wearing them when it's no longer 80 degrees in Chicago this fall!)

Then there was the incidental green flip flop purchase from the clearance section at DSW (while I had intended to go there only searching for tall tan boots). Oh well, I have A LOT of green so I've had my eye out for some comfy flip flops with green on them for a while now. Not a bank breaker, but not on SUPER clearance either.

That brings me to today. When I went out after work just to make sure there weren't any tall tan boots in the Chicagoland area that I hadn't tried on. Urban Outfitters was having a ridiculous sale....and I actually scored an awesome deal on 2 tops....so I'll save that for another post, since this post is about paying full price for items and NOT getting good deals. So anyways I went into a store that I've been meaning to check out for a while, and came out with this ridiculously overpriced (but totally awesome) jacket that I already have fallen in love with.

So that almost sums up my out of control spending. If you add about 70 Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks then I think that completely covers it :)
But hey - the benefit of being frugal 95% of the time? There's plenty of money to cover these little splurges and coupon breaks from time to time :)