Busted!

Well, turns out I'm not going on my business trip. My company is proactively restricting travel to and from high density offices so that if any of us end up with Swine Flu, we don't spread it. Which on the negative side, means I'll bust my $100 Challenge before we get to May on Friday. On the positive side, I'll now be able to go to my uncle's wedding reception tomorrow... the reception is 2 hours away; gas $ is what will bust me, b/c I could live on stockpiled food this week. It'll be a long day, but I'm really glad I'll get to be there.

On the hounding side, I bought a bayer meter today at WAGS. There is a coupon for a free one back in the 3/22 paper, and you get a $5 RR when you buy it! It's a great deal if you have the Q's. However, tax- even in the low area here- was $1.31, so I definately won't be buying coupons offline; after all the costs (tax, Q, postage) I'd have to buy several more just to recoup that outlay, so I'll just leave the rest on the shelves for my fellow hounds.

Big Spendin'... but still in the game!

My mom was in town (she just went to bed actually, I'll see her in the morning before she leaves), and I was really glad to be able to spend some time with her this weekend. I spent a fair amount of $ on dining out with her and the like, but sometimes it's just nice to spoil yourself with someone you love- especially when that someone lives thousands of miles from you. I spoiled myself with $18.36 Saturday night, $28.50 today at brunch (my treat... after all, this woman birthed me!), and $18 on dinner tonight... which will be dinner tomorrow as well. We also did walking around activities that were free- went to Hollywood and just walked around the mall, Kodak Theatre, and Grauman's where the handprints are; then we drove a little further down and walked Rodeo Drive. Coach was the only store we even went into, and we didn't buy anything, but it was a lovely walk.
I also spent $2.63 picking up more on-sale squash, and $0 OOP but $7.63(ish) off my WAGS GC on a Nivea and 2 papers. I was going to get the contour meter but I didn't have those Q's on me... funny thing is getting home and looking, I'm pretty sure they're in my trunk.

So for My Challenge, I'm down to $3.85 OOP left. Good thing I'm going on a business trip Tuesday, isn't it? No grocery shopping this week!

Hounding Pictures!

We'll start with the most exciting picture- my very first donation basket! There is a team at work doing the Revlon Walk/Run event which raises funds to fight breast cancer, and I'm donating a basket for them to raffle off. The retail value of it is ~$60, and I couldn't have done it without my hound friends, so THANK YOU!

Next we have the Dove skin Vitalizer, which upon finding at CVS I mentally jumped up and down- not only did I have a $3.75 IP, I had a $2.50 CRT. Since these were on sale for $4 (not too late to run out and get your raincheck ladies!) this week, that's a profit of $2.25! At this same CVS I finally found clearanced StayFree while I was looking for a filler to eat up the overage on the Vitalizer. I've been looking for these all month so I was happily shocked to find them.


Now, I bought 2 of the Stayfree (all they had, and I needed both to use my $2/2 MC), but there is only one here b/c as soon as I got home my roomie asked if she could buy a pack off me since she had just run out.

Transaction: $4 Vitalizer + $2.39 Stayfree + $2.39 Stayfree - $3.75 IP - $2.50 CRT - $2/2 MC + tax = $1.11 OOP, "sold" one pack stayfree to my roomie (she insisted on giving me $) for $2, for an IMP (in my pocket) of $0.89, and $4 EB profit from the Stayfree.

Speaking of CVS, their TP and paper towels were on sale this week. While I still have plenty of paper towels, we were actually starting to run quite low on TP, so I did this deal twice. It isn't free TP, but I like the stuff, and my stores only double one same-type Q per transaction, so it's harder for me to execute deals like Angel Soft. Plus, that Stayfree/Vitalizer profit has to go somewhere!

First time:

2*$5 12 double rolls TP

-$2/10 CVS brand

-$7.98 EB

= $0.02 OOP

Second time (different day, got another $2/10 from the scanner)

2*$5 12 double rolls TP

$2.89 Edge

-$2/10 CVS brand

-$2 EB, $3 EB, $4.99 EB (softsoap one, said $4.49 on it but scanned at $4.99)

=$0.98 OOP, $2.89 EB back


And finally, my earth day WAGS purchase. Sadly I didn't notice til it was too late I didn't get the 15% off, but this was still a good transaction because the foundations came with free mascaras at this location.

2*$7.19 Physicians Formula Organics foundation w/ spf and free mascara

2*$1.00 Walgreens medicine

$0.99 Walgreens bag

-$3 Physicians Formula Foundation or bronzer (peelie found at CVS awhile back)

-$1 Physicians Formula MC

-$0.99 Free Walgreens bag Q

-$2 RR, $2 RR

=$9.90 on GC, will get back $11 for Physicians Formula

Oh, and as far as my Challenge goes, I still have $71.34 to spend. It'll all come down to if me and my mom go to DisneyLand tomorrow. If we do, I'll bust (just admission is most of that), but if not I think I can manage pretty easy, especially now that my WAGS GC came.

Earth Day!

Today I did a few things to save me money AND help the planet.

#1: Carpooled! I do this as often as I can anyways since it helps the planet and puts $ in my pocket directly (gas $ and office incentive program) and indirectly (mileage on my car), but we made a special effort to make sure our schedules allowed us to carpool on Earth Day.

#2: Went to WAGS with my 15% off and free bag coupon. I didn't realize til it was too late I didn't get the 15% off- nothing beeped, and it seems a little odd- but it was still a good transaction. I did get my free bag though and, since good 'ol california is going to start mandating a charge on the use of non-reusable bags come July, this one will help save me cash in the future. Don't tell Mama Earth, but I may have to stockpile a few plastic bags before July for my bathroom sized trash cans. No OOP here- my WAGS gift card finally came!

#3: Went to CVS to look for the Dove Revitalizers. No luck, but it's a sale so you can get a raincheck, and my scanner gave me a $2.50 CRT for a Dove face product; hopefully yours will too! I also got a $2/$10 CVS brand CRT and the CVS TP is on sale for $5/12 double rolls, so I got 2 packs of those for $8 after CRT, and used my $7.98 EB from the Colgate sensitive toothpaste for an OOP of $0.02. No EBs back, but this is a good price on TP I like.

#4: Went to the Pavillions (Safeway) in the same parking lot, and walked over instead of reparking (again, I normally do this, but every bit helps right?). I bought zuccini, squash, a cucumber, salad, spinach, a steak, 2 store brand yogurts, and raspberries for $15.16 and used my $14 in CATS to get all the way down to $1.16 OOP. Sadly, the raspberries rang up as $4.99 instead of the $2.50 I thought they were on sale for (trixy strawberry signs! i really wanted raspberries, too), but customer service still gave me a cash refund for the berries. So I used up $10.17 in spending power, but somehow left the store with $3.83 more cash in my pocket.

#5: Got gas in route rather than stopping out of the way- I didn't need to fill up yet (but this is the cheapest station around) so this only cost me $12.25. I paid cash, which saved me a $0.45 debit card fee- the station doesn't take credit cards (which charge merchants boatloads of fees), which is why they're the cheapest.

#6: Downloaded and printed my FAR Reynold's Recycled Aluminum Foil form. This isn't available anymore, but hopefully lots of you got it too.

My Challenge: $71.43 left to spend

Update on all things Anna

So #1 my name isn't really Anna: but it is reasonably close, and it is a nickname (along with "annathy") I've had for a very long time. Plus, it was reinforced by a good friend when Notting Hill came out as me and Ms. Julia Roberts (Anna, in that specific movie) share the same birthday.

#2 My challenge: I spent $3.65 yesterday on yogurtland where I purchased some frozen yogurt (and toppings I haven't been able to eat since my surgery... PARTY!!!) That takes me to $79.87 left for the month.

#3 The seasons here in SoCal are changing- like it was 98 on my way home yesterday. 98. In April. F'real. It's going to cool down though, so I'll hold off on chopping my hair off for now.

#4 On a happy note, I get to go back to my hometown Mother's Day weekend for DBF's friend's wedding- and Mother's Day. Fortunately I'm sure she hasn't found this website, so I'm in the clear on telling ya'll I'm putting some of the lyrics of Taylor Swift's "The Best Day" (all mom's should see/hear/read this song b/c it's awesome- and for you) on her card. I love Swift to begin with b/c the gal is all around talented, reasonably humble, writes her own stuff, plays the guitar, etc. And then there is this song to her mom, which I just love. Below are the lyrics I plan on quoting on the left side of my card (to be hounded shortly!) ... hopefully the annathy mama likes it!


Portions of "The Best Day":

I'm five years old-It's getting cold-I've got my big coat on
I hear your laugh-And look up smiling at you-I run and run

I don't know why all the trees change in the fall
I know you're not scared of anything at all
Don't know if Snow White's house is near or far away
But I know I had the best day- With you today

I'm thirteen now- And don't know how my friends- Could be so mean
I come home crying and you hold me tight and grab the keys
And we drive and drive- Until we've found a town- Far enough away
And we talk and window-shop- Until I've forgotten all their names
I don't know who I'm gonna talk to- Now at school
I know I'm laughing on the car ride home with you
Don't know how long it's gonna take to feel okay
But I know I had the best day- With you today

Now I know why all the trees change in the fall
I know you were on my side- Even when I was wrong
And I love you for giving me your eyes
Staying back and watching me shine

And I didn't know if you knew- So I'm taking this chance to say
That I had the best day
With you, today

The Weekend

is over... :-(

Which is sad, but the good news is that it was fun, my mouth hurts less now than it did Friday (yay progress!), and I'm doing pretty well with my Challenge. Saturday was my first spending- I picked up sugar snap peas, avocados, chicken broth, and wine for $13.42 at Trader Joe's without any Q's, and spent $0.86 at WAGS (I bought the FARR hairties and chapstick and used the $3.50 Colgate RR for most of the cost).

Now today I only spent $2.20 on bus fare to get down to the Long Beach Grand Prix- where parking was running $35 by my friend's condo (which views the course!). As a party guest I brought wine, but I didn't buy it today, so $0 OOP for that. The Prix was a blast- I've never been to a race before and it was really neat despite being incredibly loud. From my friend's balcony, we watched the professional Indy race where Ashley Judd's husband won, and the race after with the modified corvettes and porshes... if any of those drivers decide they don't want their cars anymore, I'd be more than happy to help them out with that!

My Challenge Money- $83.52 left to spend this month

My Challenge

So loads of my hound friends are doing stockpile challenges right now- either using them to keep their OOP as low as humanly possible, or building them up with as low an OOP as possible. These sound like pretty long term goals to me, and I'm a little bit ADD, so I've decided to make myself a short term one.

It goes like this: don't spend more than $100 OOP for the rest of the month. Groceries, gas, splurges, etc. I'm not counting when I pay my rent and utilities, just stuff I can control from right now - 4/30.

Actually, I'm starting it yesterday since that was payday for me and that'll make the challenge one pay period (plus, I didn't spend anything yesterday). I'm also gonna give myself one major exception, which is plane tickets. Because DBF and I are a one hour flight apart, I buy those when I can get a good price on them and keep that part of my budget flexible.

Holy Bertolli!

Thanks to Dancinmama for this fantastic deal!

14*$2.00 Bertolli premium sauce pouch

1*$2.50 Bertolli sauce jar

-5*$1/1 Bertolli premium sauce pouch Q's

-5$$1.50/2 Bertolli any sauce Q's

=$18 OOP, got back $10 ONYO for spending $30 on "feeling great" products (look for the background on the price labels in stores for participating products) AND 7 $2 ONYO from Bertolli (this is $2 for buying 2... it may only be for the pouches, and it MAY only be through today, I don't have confirmation of that either way)- That's a $6 Profit!!! On food!

Then bought this stuff with the $10 Cat (hey, a gal can't live on pasta sauce alone... especially considering I can't eat it yet- the sauce has stuff in it that can get caught in my wisdom tooth sockets)

6*$0.70 Yoplait

$2.50 Safeway Ice cream

$2.50 Imitation crab legs

$0.79 Salt

2*$1.65 Healthy request tomato soup (I hate that these aren't on sale, but I need some tomato soup for lunches this week)

-$0.40/6 Yoplait Q, Doubled to $0.80

-$0.55 Imitation crab peelie, "Doubled" to $1

-$0.40/2 Healthy Request soup Q, Doubled to $0.80

-$10 Catalina from previous purchase

=$0.69 OOP

And before this stop I'd gone to WAGS for some free stuff

Trans 1:

$2.99 Skintimate

$2.00 Scunci Hairties, 18 pk

-$4 GC from yesterday

=$1.15 OOP, got $3 RR and $2 RR back

Trans 2:

$3.29 Toothbrush

$1.99 Chapstick

-$3 RR from Skintimate

-$2 RR from Scunci

=$0.77 OOP, got $3.50 RR and $2 RR back

Survived!

So, my mouth hurts. And these perscription painkillers are a little overrated... I don't really notice a difference when between them and two excedrin. But, I'm alive! I even managed to go to work today, though I wasn't particularly focused. Turns out operating on 8 hours of sleep is rough when your body is screaming for 14. On the way home I stopped at CVS and WAGS on the way home, and I was too dang tired to go lookin' for my colgate coupons, so I settled for free on those babies.

CVS:
2*$3.99 Colgate Sensitive (yay! my roomie has sensitive teeth, and the sensitive brands are hardly ever included in sales, so I'm excited to get these for her)
$4.99 Softsoap apricot scrub (you have to get the apricot or coconut, else no EBs)
-$1 Softsoap Q
-$10 EB from Covergirl
-$1 EB from Pantene
-$1.15 OOP, got back $7.98 EB for Colgate, $4.49 EB for Softsoap, and $0.50 cash from the manager since the ad says the softsoap EB should be $4.99.

WAGS:
$2.00 Scunci hair ties, 18 pk
$1.99 Chapstick
=$4.36 OOP (I burned all my RRs on the garnier last week)
NO RR's printed, so the manager here decided just to give me a gift card. I was exhausted and wished the RRs had just printed, but I didn't show it and now have better than RRs- after all, there's no expiration date on GCs. Hopefully my GC from last months ESR items will get here soon and I can stop spending cash here for a bit- walgreens says it's shipped!

Sorry for the lack of pic... did I mention I'm exhausted? Phew- cus it's bedtime!

Triple Threat!

WAGS, CVS, and RA all in one day... I think I may need some Jim, Jack, and Jose to follow that! I decided that I didn't want to risk my RRs expiring if I don't feel up to hounding next week, so I spent all of them today! Never fear though- I spent it on ESR items, so I'll get some of it back via my GC.

WAGS:
2*$10.00 Garnier lotions (I have sources that tell me it's good stuff, and spf 28 prolly isn't bad for me either)
5*$0.20 Royal Gelatin (filler/more food I can eat this weekend)
-2*$1 Garnier lotion Q's
-3*$2 Chapstick RR
-$3 Skintimate RR
-$3.50 Colgate RR
+$1.75 tax
=$8.25 OOP, and will get $11 back on my GC from the Garnier... I can't count this as profit since I spent $ to get the RRs, but converting them back to $ that doesn't expire is just as good in this case!





Psst... my stacking abilities have quite improved since I learned to post pictures. Just observin'.


Now off to CVS, where I'm sure I doddled for over an hour. But my store was OUT of skintimate, the bogo razors, pringles, and it seemed like everything else I wanted- so I had lots of reconfiguring to do.




$11, 3/11 Coca Cola
4*$3.99 Pantene natural shampoos and conditioners
2*$6.29 Pantene nourishing detangler spray
3*$0.99 Puffs
$13 Olay/Covergirl foundation
$7.99 Covergirl TrueBlend loose powder (you can get mascara here instead and hit the $20 mark even for the CG EB deal, but I'm stocked to the brim on those so I opted to pay the extra buck for this stuff)
$9.99 Physician's formula- has Try Me Free rebate. Keep an eye out for these for the WAGS sale coming up- I'd rather have done it there, but I needed a big filler.
$3.89 Kotex
-$15/$75 CRT
-$1.50 Kotex CRT
-$1.50 CVS CRT cashier put through (I didn't give this to her, I think it was her first attempt to type in the $15 CRT)
-2*$3 off Pantene Shampoo AND Conditioner (must buy both)
-2*$6.29 FREE Pantene Styler when you buy a shampoo and conditioner
-$0.25/3 Puffs Q
-$4 Olay/Covergirl Foundation Q
-$1 Any CG Q
-$15.54 EBs
+3.99 Tax
+1.80 CA can deposit
=$25.12 OOP, got back $15 EB and will submit for $9.99 TMF rebate





Rite Aid free Shampoo

My RA seemed to be out of the Blink stuff, so I just got 5 shampoos instead of 4... I can always use clean hair though!
5*$5.00 John Frieda Shampoos/Conditioners
-$5/25 RA Q
-5*$2/1 John Frieda Q
+$2.19 tax
=$12.19 OOP, will submit for $10 RA single check rebate (and request immediately in case they stop the program... this deal is kinda iffy b/c of that, but I'm feelin' risky so I bought it!)

Oh and for those of you with tons of that Hunt's sauce- 3 cans with 1 lb ground turkey and your own spices made for some pretty yummy pasta sauce in the annathy house this evening. I use italian seasoning, oregano, basil, and garlic.

It's Tuesday?

Ah man, that means I need to get to Ralph's to get this week's sales!

(annathy scurries off)


Phew, got everything!



So I went to WAGS first (surprise, surprise), and picked up the FARR Colgate and ChapStick, which went down like this:
$3.49 Colgate
$1.99 ChapStick
-$3 RR from Skintimate
-$0.75 MC for Colgate
+.51 tax
=$2.24 OOP, $3.50 RR and $2 RR back, for a profit of $0.26- take that Cali sales tax!

Then off to Ralph's, where I bought all food items- so NO tax!


$2.79 Orowheat Bread (price good on double fiber only- but it is whole wheat)
$1.50 Barilla Whole Grain
$1.50 Barilla Piccolini- super CUTE!
$2.50 Barilla Sauce
4*$0.68 Avocado
2*$0.89 Store Brand Corn (these are to be my freeze packs for after I have my wisdom teeth surgery on Friday)
2*$4.99 Bertolli skillet meals (these are for DBF who will be taking care of me this weekend... good man, that one!)
6*$0.50 Yoplait yogurt cups (already in the fridge, and these are for ME to eat this weekend... breakfast next week too since I already had some at home)
-$1/1 Orowheat Q
-$0.50/1 Barilla whole grain Q, Doubled to $1
-$0.50/1 Barilla Piccolini Q, Doubled to $1
-$0.55/1 Barilla Sauce Q, "Doubled" to $1
-2*$1/1 Bertolli Q
-$0.40/6 Yoplait Q, Doubled to $0.80
=$18.97 Total, used remaining $2.82 of pharmacy $ and paid $16.15 OOP

I hate tax hikes

Especially ones you don't get to vote on! I paid 9.25% at one of my WAGS today.

Even so, FARR is still like 90% off, so I picked up 3 more skintimates (that's 7 total now) and 2 chapsticks (6 total now):

I used the $2RRs on the skintimates, and the $3 on the chapsticks with a filler.

Speaking of fillers, one was the cutest card ever!

Store 1, Trans 1: Skintimate $2.99 - $2 RR = $1.25 OOP, $3 RR back

Store 1, Trans 2: Chapstick $1.99 + Card $2.99 - $3 RR = $2.42 OOP, $2 RR back

Store 1, Trans 3: Skintimate $2.99 - $2 RR = $1.25 OOP, $3 RR back

Store 2, Trans 1: Chapstick $1.99 + Trial size JJ baby powder $1.29 - $3 RR = $0.58 OOP, $2 rR back

Store 2, Trans 2: Skintimate $2.99 - $2 RR = $1.27 OOP, $3 RR back

Cutest card EVER!!! Giving it to my DBF for his birthday this weekend... the inside says "you're even cuter than last year". My flash is kinda bright in the pic, but it shows the sparkle too, so you get to see the rainbow effect!

Also, I ran to Ralph's and picked up 6 yoplaits for $0.50 each, and used a $.40 coupon (good through saturday) that doubled and a $0.60 shortcuts came off it too- so $1.60 for 6 yogurts- I'll take that anytime!