Weekly Spending Report: 03/08-15/2014

This week we did a LOT of shopping, or so it felt.  I spent more than usual, but we are still on track for the month, and we were able to stock-up on a LOT of great deals.  This included diapers, ground beef, and cans of cat food.  Overall, I'm very pleased with our haul.  Here's how this week went down...

• Sunday's Petco Trip (no picture, just 1 can cat food, used a coupon): $1.01 oop
• Sunday's ALDI Trip: $18.84 oop
• Tuesday's CVS Trip: $3.14 oop, Earned $25 ECB's and$7.99 MIR
• Tuesday's Petco Trip (no picture, just 1 can cat food, used a coupon): $1.01 oop
• Tuesday's Giant Trip: $23.56 oop
• Friday's Dollar Tree Trip: $14.48 oop
• Friday's Giant Trip: $9.72 oop 
• Saturday's Giant Trip (no pictures, just 2 newspapers, Dollar Tree was out): $5.30 oop
• Earned $63.58 Wal-mart Gift card for a return
• Earned $5 Amazon Gift Card from Swag Bucks
• Earned $15.04 from Amazon

Total OOP: $77.06
Total Earned: $116.61
Total Remaining for March: $97.66

Linked to Couponaholic! 

Friday's Giant Trip

Friday Joe and I also stopped into Giant to grab some lunch items, and things for my freezer-stocking session Saturday.  Here's what we ended up with...

10 slices Deli Muenster Cheese $2.02

0.61 lbs Deli VA Baked Ham $4.26

5.1 lbs Reduced Bananas (only $0.39/lb) $1.99

1-6 pk Club Rolls $2.50 - $1/1 Day Old Bread Coupon = $1.50

- $0.05 Reusable Bag Credit

Total OOP: $9.72

Friday's Dollar Tree Trip

Joe and I stopped into the Dollar Tree today mostly to use up some coupons I had that were about to expire, and to pick up a few things we needed, like allergy medicine.  Here's how it went down...

2-2 pk Mailers $2

2-14 ct boxes Generic Zyrtec $2

1 pkg Medical Tape $1

1-3 oz bottle Cinnamon $1

1 pkg Mailing Tape $1

10 boxes Hormel Pepperoni $1 ea - $1/2 MC x 5 = 10/$5

3 bottles Softsoap Hand Soap Refills $1 ea - $1/1 MC x 3 = 3 FREE!

+ $0.48 Tax

Total OOP: $22.48 - $8 coupons = $14.48 oop!  Savings of 36%!

Tuesday's Giant Trip

Tuesday we also stopped into Giant, where our ground beef was finally on sale.  I also picked up some freebie deals, and a coupon things to stock-up the freezer.  Here's what we ended up with...

3 pkgs Laura's Lean Ground Beef $7.59, $7.66, and $7.66 - $1.77 Sale = over 3 lbs/$21.15
2 pkgs Simply Mashed Potatoes $3.69 ea - $1.69 ea Sale - $0.75/1 MC doubled to $1.50 x 2 = 2/$1
2 containers Yoplait Yogurt $0.75 ea - $0.25 ea Sale - $0.30/1 x 2 doubled to $1 total = 2 FREE!
2 Powerades $1.19 ea - $0.19 ea Sale - $0.50/1 MC doubled to $1 x 2 = 2 FREE!
1 pkgs Club Rolls $2.50 - $1/1 day-old bread coupon = $1.50 (this will make 3 meals of garlic bread)
+ $0.06
- $0.15 Reuseable Bag Credit
Total OOP: $36.73 - $13.17 Sales/Coupons = $23.56 oop!  Savings of 36%

ALDI Deals, Starting 03/12/2014

Here are some of the AWESOME deals this week at ALDI...

• Weds. 03/12 ONLY: Fresh St. Louis Style Spare Ribs $1.99/lb
• Cattlemen's Ranch USDA Choice Flat Cut Corned Beef Brisket $3.49/lb
• Mushrooms 8 oz $0.69 ea
• Baby Carrots 16 oz $0.49 ea
• Little Salad Bar Garden Salad 12 oz $0.99 ea
• Red Potatoes 5 lb bag $1.49 ea
• Cabbage $0.99 ea
• Yellow Onions 3 lb bag $0.79 ea
• Deutsche Kuche Black Forest Ham 3 lb $8.99 ea
• Deutsche Kuche German Breads Assorted Varieties 7.6 oz $1.79 ea
• Deutsche Kuche Bavarian Soft Pretzels 17.57 oz $2.99 ea
• Deutsche Kuche Bavarian Brand Wieners 12 oz $2.99 ea
• Deutsche Kuche Pretzel Dough Sea Salt or Cinnamon Sugar 14.3-16.6 oz $2.49 ea
• Deutsche Kuche Pound Cake Marble, Marzipan, or Lemon 14 oz $1.99 ea
• Combos Cheddar Cheese Pretzel 6.3 oz $1.69 ea
• Reeva Lavender or Shea Butter Dish Detergent 24 oz $1.89 ea
• Easy Home 6 pc Scissor Set $3.99 ea
• Easy Home Stackable File Box $8.99 ea
• Easy Home Carpet Cleaner $59.99 ea
• Easy Home Steam Mop $29.99 ea
• Easy Home Wet/Dry Rechargeable Vac $19.99 ea
• Welby Foam Cushion $5.99 ea
• Huntington Home 18x30" All purpose Mat $6.99 ea
• Huntington Home Plush or Berber Area Rug $19.99 ea

For more information about shopping at ALDI, visit their Homepage!

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Day 6

Today's challenge involved a quick pick up of the house, and cleaning out the car.  The first was easy, since it was Monday, it was my day to clean the house anyway.  So everything got picked up and straightened up, and cleaned.  Below is the after of the kitchen and bathroom.

The other item, cleaning out the car, was interesting to say the least, since I'm 8 months pregnant.  We're also going to install the car seat we recived over the weekend at my shower, but we haven't got that far yet! 

 Trunk

 Front Seat

Back Seat
I also decluttered 14 pieces of trash out of the car.

Linked to Money Saving Mom!

Tuesday's CVS Trip

Tuesday Joe and I stopped into CVS to roll my ECB's, and we were able to pick up some AWESOME deals.  I broke my purchases up into 3 transactions to make the most of my ECB's and CVS coupons.  Here's what we ended up with...

Transaction #1:

3 Jumbo pks Huggies Diapers $11.99 ea - $3 ea Sale - $2.50/1 MC x 3 +

1 pkg Huggies Wipes $8.29 - $2.30 Sale - $0.50/1 MC - $5/$30 Baby Items CVS Coupon - $10 ECB's wyb $30 = 4/$9.96

+ $1.69 Tax

- $13.74 ECB's used to Pay

- $7.91 paid with gift card

Total OOP: Zero, Earned $10 ECB's

Transaction #2: 

2 pkgs Almay Eye Shadow $7.99 and $7.49 - $3.50 Sale - $5/2 MC - $6 ECB's wyb 2 = 2/$0.98

1 Naturemade Vitamelts $9.49 - $3.50 Sale - $1/1 MC - $4 ECB's = $0.99

+ $0.72 Tax

- $10 ECB's used to Pay

- $2.09 paid with gift card

Total OOP: $0.60, Earned $10 ECB's

Transaction #3: 

2 Motrin PM 40 ct $9.89 ea - $7.42 ea clearance - $3/2 MC = 2/$1.94

2 bottles Clearasil Superfruit Cleanser $7.99 ea - $3.20 CVS Coupon (20% off) - $1/$8 Face Wash CVS Coupon - $1/1 MC x 2 - $5 ECB's wyb 2 - $7.99 MIR = 2 FREE + $3.21 Money-maker!

+ $0.82 Tax

- $10 ECB's used to Pay

Total OOP: $2.54, Earned $5 ECB's and $7.99 MIR

Total OOP: $3.14, Earned $25 ECB's and $7.99 MIR!

Linked to Simply CVS!

Tempt Your Tummy Tuesday: Banana Crumb Bread

There were bananas in the freezer that needed to be used up during our pantry challenge, so I went in search of a new recipe, and found a delicious Banana Crumb Muffin recipe.  However, I didn't want to fool around with making muffins, and crumb topping each one, nor did I follow the recipe perfectly.  So this is my version...

Batter:

1 1/2 c Flour (I use unbleached)

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

2 ripened Bananas

1/4-1/2 c Milk (each batch is different, you just want to thin the batter out a bit)

3/4 c Sugar (I use Raw)

1 Egg

1/3 c melted unsalted Butter

Topping:

1 tbsp cold unsalted Butter

1/3 c packed Brown Sugar

1 tbsp Flour

1/8-1/4 Tsp Cinnamon (depending on your taste)

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Mix bananas, egg, sugar, and butter.  In a separate bowl mix salt, baking soda, baking powder, and flour together.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined.  Add milk as necessary to thin the batter.

2.)  Pour batter into a greased loaf or muffin pan.

3.) Mix topping ingredients in a bowl and combine with a pastry cutter or 2 knives until everything is evenly crumbly, and the butter is disperse evenly throughout.

4.) Top batter with crumb topping.  Bake in preheated oven until done, about 20 minutes for muffins, or 35-40 minutes for a loaf (although this may vary based on your oven).

5.) Allow the loaf or muffins to cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing and eating :)  Store in an airtight container.  Enjoy!

*Makes 1 loaf or about 12 muffins

Linked to One Project at a Time, the Super Saturday Link Party, and Thrifty Thursday!

 

Sunday's ALDI Trip

Sunday Joe and I had a delicious dinner at Texas Road House using a coupon and a gift card.  Afterwards we stopped itno ALDI to pick up a few needed items.  Here's what we ended up with...

1 dozen Eggs $1.79
1 bottle Light Olive Oil $2.99
1 pkg All Natural Bacon $3.89
1-1 lb bag Shredded Mozzarella Cheese $3.49
2 boxes Wheat Thin Crackers $1.25 ea = 2/$2.50
1 canister Quick Oats $2.29
1 box Granola Bars $1.89

Total OOP: $18.84

Menu Plan Monday: 03/10/2014

This week I'm again joining along in the '4 weeks to a more organized home' challenge at Money Saving Mom.  Also, our families had a baby shower for us over the weekend, and I really need to work in the nursery this week to make room for everything we received.  So that is a TOP priority this week.  I hope to post my progress as I go.  I also have my OB appointment on Tuesday, as well as errands to run.  With all that in mind, I kept this week's menu VERY simplistic.  Here's what we're eating this week...

Breakfasts: Waffles or Granola Bars for Joe, Oatmeal for Me

Lunches: Leftovers, Sandwiches (using leftover meats and rolls from the shower)

Dinners:

Sunday -Texas Road House with a coupon and a gift card :)

Monday - Crock-pot Pork Roast with Baked Potatoes

Tuesday - Leftover Pork Sandwiches with Baked Onion Rings

Wednesday - Homemade Pizza

Thursday - Working at Joe's Grandfather's house, so we'll probably eat out with him :)

Friday - Grilled Bacon Cheese Burgers with Baked Tater Tots

Saturday - Leftovers/Sandwiches

Extras: Homemade Butterscotch Chip Cookies

For more AWESOME menu plans, visit Org Junkie!