Money Saving Mom®

You may or may not have noticed, but I took the past week and a half “off” from blogging. I still posted deals and shared a few guest posts, but I didn’t write any personal posts or the regular weekly features.

I started the week feeling very much in need of a “brain break”. I usually am very inspired with post ideas, but I just felt creatively tapped out this week.

And I know exactly why.

You see, the last nine months, I’ve been pouring my heart and soul into my book-writing project. I finally got the last of the copy edits turned in on Monday evening, so it’s officially “done” on my end.

By the time I reached the book-writing finish line on Monday, I had nothing left in my creative juices tank. So I decided to followed my own advice to not worry about what the right or wrong way to blog is, and just took an unannounced break from all blog-writing.

Instead of my usual blogging hours, I spent a lot of time offline soaking up the sunshine, reading, hanging out with friends, celebrating our birthday girl, camping out with friends (even a little target practice), and just enjoying more intentional quiet.

It was exactly what my brain and spirit needed and I’m feeling so refreshed and ready to get back into the swing of my usual blogging again. So be prepared for lots of posts coming your way again on Monday. 🙂

Wondering what my new book is about? After years of mulling over this project and months of work, I can finally give you a little sneak peek…

Say Goodbye to Survival Mode is the story of my struggles and journey from living in survival mode to finding margin, passion, and purpose in life. It’s filled with practical strategies and big picture perspective to help exhausted and overwhelmed women climb off the hamster wheel of survival mode and get on the path of living all of life on purpose.

This book is slated to release in January 2014 and will be a hardcover book. And yes, I’m kind of a wee bit excited about it — if you can’t tell. 😉

For more information, you can check out the description on Amazon here. More details and all sorts of fun things coming closer to the launch date.

Thank you so very much for sharing in my excitement. Your support and cheerleading of the past many months of working on this project means the world to me!

I thought you’d enjoy seeing Johanna’s shopping trip that she emailed into me. Here’s what she wrote:

I just wanted to share with you my shopping trip from tonight. I haven’t been using coupons for a while due to the all of couponing changes in several stores. But this trip, and another shopping trip I had earlier this week, really got me back into couponing 🙂 Thanks for all you do, I really appreciate it!

All of these items were free – only paid tax 🙂

Kroger
Bought 3 Kotex Tampons – $3.99 each
Used $4/1 on Facebook – (no longer available)
4 Huggies wipes – $1.99 each
Save $4.00 when you buy 4 (Kroger Mega Deal) -$4.00
Used 4 $1/1 coupons from Facebook link
FREE

Dollar Tree
2 Colgate toothpastes – $1.00 each
Used $2.00 off 2 Colgate coupon
FREE

Walmart
2 Langers Juices (only one pictured since kids drank part of the 2nd
juice!)
Used 2 FREE Langers coupons that came in the mail
FREE

Have you gotten a great deal thanks to a tip you’ve found here on MoneySavingMom.com? Take a picture of your deal/purchase and write a short post on the deal details and submit it here. If your submission is chosen to be posted, I’ll send you a $25 Amazon gift card! Note: the more creative, unique, and well-written your post, the more chance it will have of being posted.

Dillons

Items a part of the Buy 4, Get $4 off instantly promotion: 

1 Glad Kitchen Bags (80 ct) – $5.99, used $0.50/1 printable (doubled) – $4.99 after coupon and sale

3 Smart Balance Butter – $1.59 each, used 3 $1/1 coupon from the 6/2 SmartSource insert – $0.49 each after coupons and sale

4 Ken’s Salad Dressing – $0.99 each, used 2 $1/2 coupon from the 5/5 SmartSource insert – $0.49 each after coupons and sale

2 Cascadian Farm Cereal – $1.99 each, used 2 $0.85/1 printable (doubled to $1) – $0.99 each after coupons and sale

2 Kraft Shredded Cheese – $1.99 each, used $0.50/2 printable (doubled) – $1.49 each after coupon and sale

2 Gillette Satin Care Shave Gel – $1 each, used 2 $0.55/1 coupon from the 6/2 P&G insert (doubled to $1) – Free after coupons and sale

1 Turkey Hill Natural Ice Cream – $2.49 after sale (We LOVE this new Turkey Hill ice cream with only 5 ingredients in it!)

1 Juicy Juice – $1.88, used $0.50/1 printable (doubled) – $0.88 after coupon and sale

4 Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese – $0.99 each, used 4 $0.50/2 printable (doubled) – $0.49 each after coupons and sale

Other items:

1.13 lbs Bananas @ $0.52/lb – $0.59

1.65 lbs Sweet Potatoes @ $1.09/lb – $1.80

1 Snickers Ice Cream Bars – $2.99, used $2/1 printable – $0.99 after coupon

1 Dove Ice Cream Bars – $2.99, used $2/1 printable – $0.99 after coupon

1 Kroger Toilet Paper – $2.95

1 Tostitos Cantina Chips – $3, used Free e-coupon (no longer available) – Free after coupon

1 Romaine Lettuce – $0.99

1 Kroger Potatoes (5 lbs) – $2.29

2 Driscoll’s Strawberries – $1.77 each, used 2 $0.50/1 printable (doubled) – $0.77 each after coupons

1 Kroger Flour – $1.69

1 Nature’s Harvest Bread – $2, used $0.55/1 printable (doubled to $1) – $1 after coupon

2 Brut Deodorant – $1 each, used 2 $1/1 coupon from the 6/9 SmartSource insert – Free after coupon

1.22 lbs Broccoli Crowns @ $0.99/lb – $1.21

1.22 lbs Roma Tomatoes @ $0.99/lb – $1.21

1 Kroger Buns – Marked down to $0.49

1 Kroger Tortillas – $1.59

1.04 lbs Peaches @ $0.99/lb – $1.03

1 Cucumber – $0.59

Total with tax before coupons and sales: $112.96

Total with tax after coupons and sales: $44.37

Menu Plan for this Week

Breakfasts

Cereal, Toast, Healthy Banana Muffins (I need to use up a bag of frozen bananas I found in my freezer.), Oatmeal

Lunches

Cheese Quesadillas, BLT Sandwiches, Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, Baked Potatoes, Homemade Mac & Cheese

Dinners

Tacos, Strawberries

Pepperoni Rolls, Tossed Salad, Green Beans

Baked Ziti (I’ll be making a few modifications since I can’t eat dairy), 30 Minute Rolls, Steamed Broccoli

Savory Crescent Chicken Squares, Tossed Salad, Fruit

Hamburgers, Homemade French Fries, Green Beans

World’s Best Pancakes, Eggs, Hashbrowns, Bacon

Steak (gift from Crystal), Texas Roadhouse Copycat Rolls (these are SO good!), Tossed Salad

Katie sent me the details of her shopping trip at Dillon’s yesterday. I was so impressed that I thought I’d share it with you all:

2 Pampers sensitive tub wipes $0.99 each, used 2 coupons $0.50/1 doubled = FREE
2 Pampers fresh scent tub wipes $0.99 each, used 2 coupons $0.50/1 doubled = FREE
3 Satin Care shave gel $1 each, used 3 $0.55/1 doubled = FREE
1 Secret Deodorant $1.29, used $1/1 coupon = $0.29
2 Secret Expressions Body Sprays $2.49 each, used 2 $1/1 coupons = $2.98
2 Denali Old Spice Deordorant $2.49 each, used 2 $1/1 coupons = $2.98
3 Gillette Body Wash $2.99 each, used 3 $1/1 coupons = $5.97
1 Old Spice Body Wash $2.99, used $1/1 coupon = $1.99

Used $5 Catalina from last week
Before Dillon’s card and coupons: $54.05
16 items with the save $4 when you buy four took off $16
Paid $8.17 + $1.59 tax = $9.76

Great job, Katie!

Brock Eastman, co-author of one our family’s favorite Imagination Station books, found out we love the Imagination Station books so he asked if he could send us one of his other books. And I’m so glad he did!

From the moment I picked up Taken, I was pretty sure it was going to be a book Kathrynne would enjoy. Boy, was I right!

The characters are fascinating, especially if you love mystery, science fiction, and high-tech gadgets. The storyline is fast-paced and packed with adventure and cliff-hangers. (Kathrynne was on the edge of her seat while I was reading aloud. She kept begging for “Just another chapter, please!”)

Because we loved Taken so much, we were excited to read the next book in the series, Risk. And once again, we were not disappointed! We’re excited that Brock has another book in the series coming out very soon called Unleash.

Get a Copy of Taken, Risk, or Unleash for just $5.99 + Shipping!

If your family is looking for a family-friendly science fiction novel, you’ll definitely want to consider getting a copy of Taken, Risk, and Unleash. Best of all, Brock has discounted all three of these books to just $5.99 each right now.

Go read more details and order your copies for just $5.99 here.

Health Food Store

1 Organic Kale – Marked down to $0.99

1 Rudis Organic Sandwich Flatz – Marked down to $0.99

2 Grapefruit – $0.50

0.86 lbs Peaches @ $0.99/lb – $0.85

Total with tax: $3.57

 Dillon’s Meat Trip

We were getting low on meat so I made a run to Dillon’s on the day they mark down meat. I was super excited to find some great prices on our favorite brands! This will keep us stocked up on meat for the next several weeks. 

3 lbs Laura’s Lean Beef – Marked down to $1.99 each

1.7 lbs Simple Truth Organic Chicken Drumsticks – Marked down to $3.80

Total with tax: $10.48

Dillons

Transaction #1

I did 2 transactions at Dillons. On the first one I only bought items that were part of the General Mills catalina sale (Buy 5 participating items, Get a $5 catalina). I used the catalinas from the first transaction to buy groceries we needed on my second transaction.

6 Totino’s Pizza – $1.33 each, used 2 $1/3 printable – $1 each after coupons

4 Green Giant Sweet Potato Chips – $2 each, used 2 $0.50/1 coupons from the 6/9 SmartSource insert AND 2 $0.60/1 printable (coupons doubled to $1) – $1 each after coupons

2 Chex Mix Muddy Buddy – $2, used 2 $0.50/1 printable (doubled to $1) – $1 each after coupons

2 Mott’s Fruit Snacks – $2, used 2 $0.75/1 printable (no longer available; doubled to $1) – $1 each after coupons

2 Cocoa Puffs – $2.50 each, used $1/2 printable – $2 each after coupon

2 Original Cheerios – $2.50 each, used 2 $0.50/1 printable (doubled to $1) – $1.50 each after coupons

1 Multigrain Cheerios – $2.50, used $0.75/1 printable (doubled to $1) – $1.50 after coupon

1 Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch – $2.50, used $0.75/1 printable (doubled to $1) – $1.50 after coupon

Paid $28.64 out of pocket (total with tax), Received 4 $5 catalinas ($20 total)

Transaction #2

1 Surf Detergent (40 loads) – $2.99, used $1/1 coupon from the 6/2 RedPlum insert – $1.99 after coupon (This is normally $6.25!)

2 Suave Shampoo/Conditioner – $0.99, used 2 $1/1 printable – Free after coupons

1 Annie’s Mac & Cheese – $1, used $0.35/1 printable (doubled) – $0.30 after coupon

1 Hunts Spaghetti Sauce – $1

1 Kroger Glass Cleaner – $1.79 (We haven’t had glass cleaner in months now and I’ve been trying to make do with other cleaner but I decided last week it was time to buy actual glass cleaner since my windows are full of toddler fingerprints these days. 🙂 )

1.88 lbs Bananas @ $0.35/lb – $0.66

1 Kroger Ice Cream – $2.50

1 Cucumber – $0.59

1 Romaine Lettuce – $0.99

1.24 lbs Tomatoes @ $1.99/lb – $2.47

1 Kroger Cheese – $1.50

1 Dillons Bread – $1

6 Oranges – $0.49 each ($2.94 total)

1 Garnier Fructis Hairspray – Marked down to $0.99, used $1/1 coupon from the 6/2 RedPlum insert – Free after coupon (I just used up my hairspray this morning so I was excited to find this deal!)

1 Dillons Gallon Milk – $2.98

2 Dove Soap – $1 each, used $1/1 printable – Free after coupon

Used 4 $5 catalinas from Transaction #1

Total with tax: $2.57

 

Total for both transactions before coupons and sales: $88.48

Total for both transactions after coupons: $31.21

Total for all grocery items: $45.26

Menu Plan for this Week

Breakfasts

Oatmeal, Cereal, Toast, Bananas, Juice, Oranges

Lunches

Mac & Cheese, Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Turkey Sandwiches, Baked Potatoes, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Dinners

Leftovers, Steamed Broccoli, Fruit (We’re using up stuff in our refrigerator from last week.)

Salad Bar, 30 Minute Rolls

Italian Chicken Drumsticks (I just pour Italian dressing on them and bake.), Green Beans, Tossed Salad, Homemade Bread

Spaghetti, Peaches, Tossed Salad

Steak (gift from Crystal), Biscuits, Sliced Oranges

Date Night (yay!)

Dinner with extended family for Father’s Day