Cleaning supplies – A penny pinched

Category : Cleaning supplies

Delegating

April 2nd 2011 Posted at Budget, Cleaning supplies, Costco, Coupons, CVS, Groceries, Hen House, Personal care, Price Chopper, Walgreens, Walmart
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I was busy this past week, so I delegated the grocery shopping. All in all, it wasn’t too bad, although a few small mistakes were made. I’m such a control freak, and this was a good experience in letting go and learning to be appreciative.

Walmart
Ken’s salad dressing, 16 oz: $2.24 – $1.00 coupon = $1.24 (this is what happens when you delegate)
Yakisoba noodles: $0.62 – $0.50 coupon = $0.12
Degree travel size deodorant: $0.97 (coupon didn’t scan. grrr!!)
Spent: $2.67

Walgreens
Walgreens aluminum foil, 20 sq ft: $0.69 – 20% off coupon = $0.55
2 bottles Renuzit, 13 oz each: $2.99 – 15% off coupon – two $1.00 coupons = $0.54
Spent: $1.37
Saved: $5.44

Hen House
Post Honey Bunches of Oats Raisin Medley, 17 oz: $2.00 – $1.00 coupon = $1.00
Lipton tea, 29 ct: $3.99 – $0.60 coupon = $3.39 (messed up)
Spent: $4.87
Saved: $3.29

CVS
5 Pepsi bottles, 2 liters each: $4.40
Skintimate shaving gel, 7 oz: $3.49 – $0.55 coupon = $2.94 (generated $2.50 ECB)
2 Clean & Clear shower gels, 16 oz each: (2 x $2.99) – BOGO coupon – $2.00 coupon = $0.99
Used $7.99 ECB from a previous transaction
Spent: $2.06
Saved: $24.69

Price Chopper
2 Tony’s four cheese pizzas: ($1.69 x 2) – $1.00 = $2.38
2 mangoes: 2 x $0.69 = $1.38
Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers: $$0.69
2 Yoplait Greek yogurts: (2 x $0.99) – $0.60 = $1.38
4 lbs oranges: $1.69
0.77 lbs green beans: $0.77
1.06 lbs asparagus: $1.05
Spent: $10.24
Saved: $10.16

Costco
36 flour tortillas, 63 oz: $3.99
Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches, 20 ct: $9.45 – $2.75 coupon = $6.70
Organic baby spring mix, 1 lb: $4.29
Kirkland Signature Parmigiano Reggiano, 1 lb: $14.99
Kirkland Signature wheat bread, 4 lbs: $3.79
Spent: $37.01

GRAND TOTAL: $58.22
TOTAL SAVED: $43.58

Week ending on 3/20/11

March 20th 2011 Posted at ALDI, Budget, Cleaning supplies, Costco, Coupons, CVS, Groceries, Hen House, Hy-Vee, Pinching penies, Price Chopper, Walgreens
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This past week I shopped at SEVEN stores on two different days. I’m crazy, I know.

First, I ran to Walgreens and CVS last Sunday, and those were by far my most impressive shopping trips of the week. I’m pretty well stocked up, and I don’t need lots of things from the drugstores anymore, so I’d forgotten just how great it can be to walk out of there with a cart full of things for which you paid only a couple of dollars. It’s even better when the cashier can’t believe you’re getting such a good deal, and she asks to see the flyer before she lets you walk out of there with all those things.

Friday was my regular shopping day, and I went to Hen House, Hy-Vee, Price Chopper, Aldi, and Costco. I could’ve skipped Hen House and Aldi since I only went to each of them for a single item. Sometimes it makes sense to go a little out of your way if the savings are worth your time and money, but not always. Even when the savings justify it, make sure you grab the right item so that you don’t wipe your savings by overpaying.

All in all it was a great week. I was only slightly over my initial budget of $50/week, which I have actually upgraded to a more realistic $75/week. I figured that $50 was much too restrictive, especially since I use that money not only for groceries but also for cleaning supplies and personal care items. Moreover, even the thrifty USDA food plan for a family of 2 is $82.60/week as of January 2011. More often than not, I hover around $50/week anyway, but I no longer feel like I’m constantly failing whenever I go above.

Walgreens

Spent: $0.40
Saved: $8.98

CVS

Spent: $3.93
Saved: $42.42

Costco

Spent: $26.03
Saved: $3.00

Price Chopper

Spent: $12.98
Saved: $16.40

Hy-Vee, Hen House, and Aldi

Spent: $10.08
Saved: $9.36

GRAND TOTAL: $53.42
TOTAL SAVINGS: $80.16

February 2011: How did we do?

February 27th 2011 Posted at Budget, Cleaning supplies, Groceries, Personal care
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We were well under budget this month, with only $176.91 spent on groceries, household supplies, and personal care items. As if that’s not good enough already, $25 of it went to a subscription to The Grocery Game. Yes, *gasp*, I pay for something I could get for free on a multitude of websites. I may write about it more in another post, but it works for me and it makes my life easier.

I’m missing one week of photos, but here’s what $124.00 buys you. I know it’s not as impressive as the Target deals some people have been getting this past week, but my freezer is already stuffed, and I have nowhere to put an upright or a chest freezer. I’ll keep dreaming of one.

Week ending on 7/11/10

July 11th 2010 Posted at Budget, Cleaning supplies, Costco, Coupons, CVS, Groceries, Hen House, Hy-Vee, Personal care, Target, Walgreens
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I ALMOST stayed under budget this pas week. Almost. I spent a total of $52.19 and shopped at Target, Hy-Vee, Hen House, Walgreens, CVS, and Costco. I know that sounds like a lot, but four of them are lined up on the same street, fairly close to each other. In fact, CVS is right next to Hy-Vee and Walgreens is across the Street from Hen House. The only reason I mention this is because it’s not as big of a hassle as it sounds. The only store that was out of the way is Target, and I may or may not continue to shop there in the future. In any case, it was a pretty good week. Here’s a breakdown of where my money went.

Target
Spent: $5.13
Saved: $10.75

CVS
Spent: $2.31
Saved: $16.74

Hy-Vee
Spent: $13.30

Hen House
Spent: $17.01
Saved: $25.10

Walgreens
Spent: $4.48
Saved: $24.56

Costco
Spent: $9.96

TOTAL SPENT: $52.19
TOTAL SAVED: $77.15 (does not include savings at Costco and Hy-Vee)

Hen House deals on 7/8/10

July 10th 2010 Posted at Cleaning supplies, Coupons, Groceries, Hen House, Personal care
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Charmin Basic 12 big rolls (not pictured) – $4.33 after doubled $0.25 coupon
Bounty Basic 8 big rolls (not pictured) – $4.33 after doubled $0.25 coupon
Roberts 1% fat cottage cheese – $0.67 after doubled $0.50 coupon
2 Palermo’s Classics pizzas – $2.34 after $1.00 coupon
2 Breyers ice creams (extra dark chocolate and coffee) – $3.21 after $0.75 coupon
0.72 lbs beef round steak – $5.25
TOTAL: $17.01 after coupons and after a $5.00 Hen House reward
SAVED: $25.10

Hy-Vee deals on 7/8/10

July 9th 2010 Posted at Cleaning supplies, Coupons, Groceries, Hy-Vee
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Newman’s Own Lemonade, 64 oz (pictured below) – $1.09 after $0.50 coupon
2 cans Butter Kernel green beans – $1.00
3 cans Butter Kernel whole kernel corn, no sodium added – $1.50
Hy-Vee split top wheat bread – $0.99
Old Orchard 100% apple juice, 64 oz (pictured below)- $0.68 after $0.50 coupon
Marcal Small Steps paper towels – $0.34 after $1.00 coupon
1 cucumber – $0.50
4 lbs strawberries – $3.99
2.57 lbs seedless green grapes – FREE (should have been $2.49, but the cashier rang them up as red grapes and the CS girl refunded the entire price)
1 honeydew melon – $1.99
2 Sunkist organic lemons – FREE (should have been $1.00, but the cashier rang them up as regular lemons at a higher price and the CS girl refunded the entire price)
TOTAL: $13.30 after the $6.77 refund

CVS deals on 7/8/10

July 8th 2010 Posted at Cleaning supplies, Coupons, CVS, Personal care
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2 x Cascade dishwashing gel, 45 oz each – $5.24 after coupons ($0.25 and $0.50, also generated $1.00 ECB)
Head & Shoulders shampoo, 23.7 oz – $5.99 (generated $2.00 ECB)
Total: $2.31 after using $10.00 ECBs
Saved: $16.74

I also got $2.00 ECB for my spending this past quarter, so that means I have a total of $5.00 ECBs to use next time.

Target deals on 7/7/10

July 8th 2010 Posted at Cleaning supplies, Coupons, Groceries, Personal care, Target
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2 x Kellogg’s Fiber Plus cereal at $2.66 each – $0.03 after $1.00 coupon and B1G1 Target coupon (it deducted $4.29 for some reason)
Dannon Danimals smoothies (12 pack) – $3.69 after $1.00 coupon (should have been $0.89 and I’ll go back tomorrow for the difference)
Pampers Kandoo Wipes – $0.65 after $1.00 coupon
Tide 2X Ultra travel size – FREE after $1.00 coupon
Vaseline Aloe Fresh – FREE after $1.00 coupon
TOTAL: $5.13
SAVED: $10.75

I’m thinking about dropping Walgreens in favor of Target. I’m really not liking the Walgreens Rewards pilot program that they’re running in the Kansas City area.

Shiny kitchen sink

May 22nd 2010 Posted at Cleaning supplies, Pinching penies
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Before

I try to follow the FlyLady as best as I can, although I’m usually not very good about doing the very first and probably most important step in her routine: shining the kitchen sink. As much as I like her, she recommends using bleach and finishing up with Windex. Well, I’m not very green, but I’m awfully nervous about mixing chemicals, so I was really excited when I stumbled upon this sink scrub recipe. Not only is this easy and green, it’s also cheap. I don’t know how well you can see the difference, but it was pretty significant, especially right above the disposal system. I think the FlyLady would be proud.

After

Costco – best deals

May 21st 2010 Posted at Cleaning supplies, Costco, Groceries
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I have a Costco membership that I use quite often because I’m only 1.7 miles away from the store and because Costco has some pretty good deals. Not everything there is a great deal, which is why I always cringe when I see someone with a full shopping cart, especially when they have items that I know without a shadow of a doubt are bad deals.

The good

Gas. In my experience so far in both Maryland and Kansas, gas is always cheaper at Costco. However, I wouldn’t drive out of my way for it because that would cancel out the savings.
Milk. It’s $2.12 per gallon of skim milk, while I’d rather not even think about the grocery store prices. Most similar lists say dairy is a good deal at Costco but I haven’t found that to be universally true, especially when it comes to eggs. You can get cheaper eggs at the grocery store or even at the drugstore.
Cheese. I buy shredded and sliced Cheddar cheese and it’s considerably cheaper than in the grocery store.
Frozen fruit and veggies. Every once in a while you might be able to do better on frozen veggies in a grocery store, but I still love my frozen berry mix.
Movie tickets. If you absolutely cannot attend a matinee, the movie ticket package sold at Costco is a much better deal than paying full price at the theater.

The bad

Cereal. People see the big boxes and assume they’re getting a great deal, when they’re really not. I can do much better in a grocery store or drugstore, especially when using a coupon.
Soda. I don’t understand this one at all. Grocery stores routinely advertise better sales on soda and you’d think people have it drilled into their skulls. I only buy a 12 pack fridge box when it’s $2.25 or less. The Costco price is laughable.
Meat. I know most people love the Costco meat department for its quality, but I’m not a huge meat lover and most grocery store meat is good enough for me. The Costco prices for meat are by far not the best, but they might not be bad if you’re really picky.
Toothpaste. And toothbrushes. And pretty much anything in the personal care and beauty department. I guess the drugstores spoiled me with free toothbrushes and cheap toothpaste, but I can’t see myself ever paying as much as Costco charges for the convenience of a giant pack of toothbrushes or toothpaste.
Detergent. This one probably belongs up there with cereal and soda. I think people still don’t understand that larger sizes don’t always come with a lower price per unit. You can get much cheaper detergents someplace else, even if you absolutely must have your Tide.