Saving Money At The Grocery Store

I wanted to share this article with you all today.  The article is titled How To Save On Food.   It is written by one of my favorite bloggers, Ruth from Living Well, Spending Less.  Especially since Thanksgiving has just passed, a lot of us have food on our minds.  Hopefully you were able to give something to a local food drive.  My children's preschool had a Thanksgiving basket food drive that we contributed to.

An easy way to save money and build your own stockpile of grocery items (which leads further savings) to is to shop the sales!  This is pretty basic in terms of theories on how to save on food.  But, it is my favorite because it is easy.

You go to the store and you buy the items that you would normally use anyway that are on sale now.  Buy enough to last until the next sale (usually about 2 months but depending on your grocery store/chain this could be different).  Take the items home and place the extras in a specified area.  If you have room in your kitchen cabinets or pantry, that is ideal.  But, if you don't just find another space.  Now, when you run out of an item, you won't have to pay full price for the replacement.  You can just go into your stockpile and replenish your item.

Repeating this cycle with your different grocery staples will really help your grocery budget over time.  Here is my favorite segment from the article:

Let me make it more clear with an example.  Say your family eats 2 boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios every week.  The regular price for Honey Nut Cheerios is $4.50 a box, but when you go to the store this week, you see it is on sale for only $1.99 a box–more than 50% off the regular price!   Instead of buying only 2 boxes like you normally would for your weekly shopping trip, you buy 12 boxes–enough to last your family for the next 6 weeks at less than half the price you would normally pay.

Read more at http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/2012/11/01/how-to-save-on-food/#ayUfTtmaAvZIkG8o.99

I hope you enjoy the article and the ideas! 

Shopkick

Shopkick - easy to use!

Another App that I am using to save me some money (or, earn me some gift cards) is Shopkick!  I have
been using this for a couple of months now.  This is a really easy to use App that will give you points when you go inside a certain store or when you scan certain products within a store (and answer a few simple questions).

You can open the App and the GPS locator inside your phone will pull up the participating stores around your location.  Certain stores will give you Shopkick points just for entering the store.  These stores include Target, Old Navy and Best Buy.  I have all 3 of these stores within a .5 mile radius of one another.  The 3 stores are only a few miles from my house.  My Target now has a grocery store inside it.  I have a Target Red Card that gets me 5% off of my purchase price so I often pick up grocery items at Target. 

This all means that I am often within the vicinity of all 3 stores and I am often running inside to get the points for entering the store and the points or scanning.  I ended up with a ton of Shopkick points during the 2 week period that I was trying to get a reliable Wi-Fi signal in my office.  I made so many trips to Best Buy for products and advice that I racked up some serious points.  They have double kids car (Geek Squad) shopping carts.  This enables me to bring both kids with me to that store without too much of a headache!

Sometimes when you scan the items, they offer bonus points for scanning everything in a group.  For instance, the other day I scanned three different types of flavored tuna in a pouch.  Because I scanned all three, I got a separate bonus for scanning all the items in the group.  Sometimes, you will be asked to scan the items a second or a third time when you shop on different days.  This is especially awesome because you already know exactly where the product is.  You just pick it up and scan it and you can be on your way without re-locating the product.

I only do Shopkick stuff when I have my 2 car seat belted kids with me about 30% of the time.  If I am alone, I can run in and run out so much easier.  Not to mention that if I have a lot of regular shopping to do, I can't do that many scans because my kids would lose interest and go crazy.  But, you can also do the scanning at some other stores like Walmart, CVS and Walgreens.  So if I end up at one of these stores and I am by myself I sometimes take the time to scan for points.

You accumulate points and then trade the points in for gift cards.  Shopkick has some really great vendors that you can choose from including Target, Starbucks, Sephora, Toys R Us, Best Buy, American Eagle, Macy's, Old Navy and Lowe's.  You can also trade points in for stuff too.  I assume that the "stuff" changes periodically so I am trying not to get excited about the 24" SmartTV that would be fab in my office.

Please let me know if you need any help or want anything clarified.



Disclosure:
I think that I have mentioned this a few times but, I have not been paid or otherwise compensated for my opinions in this post or in any of my other posts.  If the day comes when I am paid or otherwise compensated for my time and/or opinions I will disclose that at the bottom or the top of the post.

Ibotta Deals - October 17, 2013

Ibotta Deals

I haven't had much to say about my Ibotta deals lately.  That is probably because the deals have been quiet.  I have only bought 1 item per week for the past 2 weeks in order to work towards completing the Month In, Month Out Bonus for $2.  It's basically this:  buy at least 1 product per week, submit the receipt and scan the product.  Don't miss a week or you start over.  It does take 8 weeks to complete though!  That is some dedication, right?

As I did with the OJ HDA (that's orange juice Hot Deal Alert for any non-forum users out there), I will do a separate blog entry if I see any really good action with Ibotta anytime soon.

Ibotta has another $0.75 off of any OJ deal!

Save $0.75 on OJ with Ibotta

I especially love deals for our everyday grocery staples.  When one of the Ibotta survey questions asked me what deals I would like to see, I answered milk and orange juice.  I bet they received a lot of the same results and I am so happy to see these deals!

You have to buy a bottle at least 59oz large.  That is the size of a standard container these days so that was no problem.

This size and brand are $2.99 at Target.  Since I would normally buy this at full price, saving some dough is a treat.
 

An example of getting paid to buy something (Or, getting it dirt cheap)

Sometimes when you shop with coupons and deals, you buy something that you wouldn't normal buy

because you get paid to buy it.  Or, when it is really, REALLY cheap you need to buy it if its something you will use.  This example is also one that illustrates why you can't be brand loyal on 90% of the items you buy.

Suave Professional Moroccan Shampoo $2.89 at Target.  

Subtract the $1.50 manufacturer coupon

$1.39 for the shampoo

Subtract 5% for using Target Red Card $0.07

Add MA sales tax (MA taxes on post-Manu coupon price) $0.08

Total cost for shampoo at Target $1.40

Not a bad price for shampoo, right?

Actually, the deal gets better because there were Ibotta refunds of $1.25

So, my total out of pocket for this shampoo was $0.15

Is Suave my favorite shampoo?  No.

But, for $0.15 I can't be too picky so I bought it to build my stockpile.  Next time I come across a shampoo deal, I will only buy it if it is a really good deal or free because I will have some shampoo in my stockpile to use when I run out in my bathroom.

Ibotta Deals at Target Over the Past Week

It's October 1, 2013 and I thought it was time for another Ibotta update.

I am done with the Steady Eddy Bonus for $1.  When I completed it, another similar bonus opened up within Ibotta.  This bonus, for $2, is called Month In, Month Out.  It's basically the same idea:  buy at least 1 product per week, submit the receipt and scan the product.  Don't miss a week or you start over.

I picked up Eggo Chocolate Chip Waffles at Target for $2.39.  I received $0.75 back from Ibotta.  Not a bad price for a box of Eggo's!  And, remember, if you have manufacturer coupons you can save even more.

I wasn't sure if I would get credit toward the Month In, Month Out bonus this week or not.  I finished the Steady Eddy bonus yesterday so, I thought maybe I would have to wait until Monday to start over.  I am happy to report that the new bonus challenge started for me the day I purchased the waffles, the day after I ended the Steady Eddy bonus.

I didn't want to miss out on the milk deal but last week I bought 3 gallons that would hold us for quite a while.  On September 30, 2013 (the last day of the deal) I ran out and bought a gallon of white milk to qualify or Ibotta's deal and my new week of Month In, Month Out.

HDA for Renuzits at CVS

This week at CVS, scan your Extracare Card and get a coupon for $1.50 off of 3 Renuzit Air Freshners.  They are on sale for $0.87 each.  You can get them for $0.37 each after coupons.  Not a bad price at all.  We use these mainly in the basement where our cat litter box is.

Ibotta Deals - September 17, 2013 at Target

At Target I bought regular Oreos.  At first I thought the deal was only for Double Stuff Oreos but it turns out that both original Oreos and Double Stuff Oreos qualify for the Ibotta deal.  By doing 2 Ibotta tasks I qualified for $0.50 back on my purchase of these Oreos. 

I also qualified for 1 week of purchasing a Ibotta product in the Steady Eddy Bonus and the Cash Cow Bonus.  The Cash Cow Bonus is a tough one because you have to purchase over $200 worth of products after all discounts and coupons have been applied.  I just waited until I had a bunch of things to purchase like animal supplies and kid birthday gifts.  Then, I just added my 1 Ibotta purchase into my shopping cart to earn the bonus.

Now, I am working towards PayPal Bonus #3.  For this bonus, you have to transfer $100 from Ibotta through PayPal.  Working towards that $100 is going to take me quite some time!  Maybe there are some great Holiday deals coming up to help me out.

2nd Target Ibotta Shopping Trip 9/6/13 ($38 transferred from Ibotta):

This was my second Ibotta trip.  I figured out that after my last trip, I am close to completing 2 more bonuses.  I looked through my coupons and didn't have too many to match to the Ibotta deals.  But, since I haven't been couponing or stockpiling lately, I decided that it was worth stocking up on some paper products.   I had toilet paper, paper towels and tissues on my BJs Wholesale list anyway.

I was working towards the $5 Autum Stock Up and the $20 for 10 offers deal.  My first Target Ibotta shopping trip helped me fulfill some of these shopping requirements.  I looked at my bonuses and realized that I had to buy 7 deals to earn $25 in bonus money plus the coupon cash value for buying the 7 items.  I made my list and headed out with my 3 year old twins to Target! (Hopefully the Mommy friend that we saw at Target wasn't too traumatized by us when we were in "deal" mode).

Here's what I bought.  It turns out that I qualified for some additional bonuses that I didn't even expect!

Viva paper towels, 12 giant rolls $17.19
Soft soap 8.5oz (not the smaller more popular Softsoap size) $1.84
Kleenex 4pk (3pk would qualify but my store didn't carry them) $5.69
Scott Toilet Paper, 9 double rolls $5.79
Cottonelle, 12 big rolls $6.49
Cottonelle, adult wipes $2.49
Kleenex hand wipes (these are NEW and are paper towel substitutes) $2.99
Poise, fems $4.84
U by Kotex $3.99

Total $53.82 (includes MA Tax at 6.25% - unprepared food is not taxed in MA)

Let's talk about the subtractions:
-0.05 Target coupon for brining my own bag
-2.56 for using the Target Redcard Debit Card (if you shop regularly at Target it is SO WORTH getting one of these).
TOTAL OUT OF POCKET: $51.22 (apparently Target registers have a rounding issue)

I submitted a copy of my receipt via my Smartphone to Ibotta.  Then, I scanned all the applicable bar codes.  You can see that since I am new to Ibotta I am only buying products for the deals during one transaction.  Then, I buy the other stuff that finds it's way into my cart in another transaction so that I don't lose my mind.  Within an hour, I was notified that my receipt was accepted and I received $38 from Ibotta.  I did a Paypal transfer to get the actual cash.

FINAL TALLY:
$51.22 - $38 (from Ibotta) = $13.22 out of pocket

And, just a reminder, if you had a nice selection of coupons, you could have easily got this total down lower.  I only had 2 small weekends of inserts so my coupon selection is low right now.  Since my stockpile of household items is also low, I decided to just jump into some deals.  Now that I have a small stockpile, I can wait to buy duplicate items until I am able to get the free, get paid to buy them or get them when they are at my rock-bottom price.

Here is a picture of my purchases on our kitchen table.  Remember, don' put your stuff away until your Ibotta submission is accepted.

 

If you are interested, please consider using my Ibotta link:

http://ibotta.com/r/ek3svw

DISCLOSURES:
I was not compensated by Ibotta, Target or anyone else for my post.
If you click on my Ibotta link and sign up for Ibotta I will receive some kind of Ibotta monetary bonus.

First Ibotta Shopping Trip

Target Ibotta trip 9/4/13 ($22 received from Ibotta):

I just learned all about Ibotta!  There is a special promotion now called Share the Love.  If you redeem at least 5 offers within the first 2 weeks of registering, then you earn an extra $10.  That offer motivated me to check it out and sign up.  It expires soon though so, if you are interested then get moving now!

You complete little tasks to receive cash back after you buy each item.  They are not coupons.  It's real money that you can transfer to your Paypal account.  The tasks usually consist of watching a short video, Tweeting something about the product, Facebooking about the product or answering a trivia question.

I like to have some ready to eat food in the freezer for those times when someone is starving and needs to eat ASAP or when we don't have anything in the house to bring to work for lunch.  The Ibotta deals that were catching my eyes were for freezer stuff and baby stuff.  Sounds good to me so off I went to Target!  I was able to go shopping alone for this trip.  It turns out that it is really easy to do Ibotta deals because all the info you need is on your cell phone while you shop. 

Here's what I bought:

Huggies wipes, $10.99
Huggies Diapers, $19.59 (Target GC deal WYB 2)
Huggies Pull-Ups, $22.49 (Target GC deal WYB 2)
Barilla Plus Pasta, $2.14
Ore-Ida Potato Wedges, $2.14
2 Bertolli Frozen Meals for 1 $3.29 x 2 = $6.58
Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sandwiches, the Healthier ones were on sale this week, $5.00
Totinos Pizza Roll,s $2.99
Simply Potato Hash Browns, $1.67
Chobani Kids Tubes 16ct, $4.99
Red Baron Frozen Pizza, $3.34

Total $83.12 (includes MA Tax at 6.25% - unprepared food is not taxed in MA)
**This may seem high to those without kids in disposable diapers - but this trip included boxes of diapers, wipes and pullups.

Let's talk about the subtractions:
-0.00 Target coupon for brining my own bag (dang, they didn't give me the $0.05/bag discount)
-3.62 for using the Target Redcard Debit Card (if you shop regularly at Target it is SO WORTH getting one of these).

TOTAL OUT OF POCKET: $79.50
Also, I received a $10 Target Gift Card (GC) for buying 2 boxes of diapers.  I won't reduce my out of pocket to $69.50 though, because you can't use the GC in the same transaction that you earn it.

I submitted a copy of my receipt via my Smartphone to Ibotta.  Then, I scanned all the applicable bar codes.  You can see that since I am new to Ibotta I am only buying products for the deals during one transaction.  Then, I buy the other stuff that finds it's way into my cart in another transaction so that I don't lose my mind.  Within an hour, I was notified that my receipt was accepted and I received $22 from Ibotta.  I did a Paypal transfer to get the actual cash. 

FINAL TALLY:
$79.50 - $22 (from Ibotta) = $59.50 out of pocket
Plus I have a $10 Target GC to use another day.

And, just a reminder, if you had a nice selection of coupons, you could have easily got this total down lower.  I only had 5-6 random coupons in my coupon binder, so my coupon selection is low right now.  Since my stockpile of household items is also low, I decided to just jump into some deals.  Now that I have a small stockpile, I can wait to buy duplicate items until I am able to get the free, get paid to buy them or get them when they are at my rock-bottom price.


If you are interested, please consider using my Ibotta link:

http://ibotta.com/r/ek3svw

DISCLOSURES:
I was not compensated by Ibotta, Target or anyone else for my post.
If you click on my Ibotta link and sign up for Ibotta I will receive some kind of Ibotta monetary bonus.

Home Made/Eco Friendley Laundry Soap

You may have seen The Duggars episode where they had homemade laundry soap. I have had the ingredients for a while but wanted to use us the rest of our store bought laundry soap first. This weekend we finally made it! The secret is going to be the container, I think. We found this awesome container at Target that actually even comes with a scoop. The lid is key. I don't want any spillage.


This is the formula I used. We tripled it in order to use up 1 entire bar of soap.

http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm
This is the website the formula and instructions/tips came from.


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Homemade Laundry Soap

1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above

½ cup washing soda

½ cup borax powder

~You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size~

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

You may have seen The Duggars episode where they had homemade laundry soap. I have had the ingredients for a while but wanted to use us the rest of our store bought laundry soap first. This weekend we finally made it! The secret is going to be the container, I think. We found this awesome container at Target that actually even comes with a scoop. The lid is key. I don't want any spillage.