Stock Up Diaper Price at Target! Expires 3/15

There is an in-ad coupon on last page of the Target ad in Sunday paper: $15 off up & up purchase of $40 or more. Valid in-store only.  Coupon expires 3/15/14. OR To get this coupon on your smartphone, text UPANDUP to 827438  (message and data rates may apply).

Combine the $15 off coupon with PLUS 5% off Up&Up diapers through Cartwheel app, and you can get 2 cases of diapers at a great price.  Example: Size 4 Up & Up diapers are coming out to 11 cents each which is a great price! 

A lesson on why to always check the price per unit!

And this is why I always check the price per unit!

If you can't read the small type... on the left is HyVee's flyer for this week. They have Charmin Basic toilet paper on sale for $5.99, for 12 rolls.  On the right is Checker's flyer. They also have Charmin Basic toilet paper on sale, for $5.88, for 20 rolls!

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Bulk Buys: Week of 2/26 (Broccoli, chicken, coffee, potatoes, sugar, toilet paper)

Some nice bulk buys for this week. As always, buy as much as you can use before it expires. Or, in the case of toilet paper, as much as you can store. 

Broccoli (florets/crown only):

Checkers / 0.78 per lb (fresh) / 2/26/14
(Chop it up and freeze what you can't use right away!)

Chicken (boneless, skinless breasts)
Aldi/ 5lb fresh/ 1.59 per lb / 2/26/14
(Freeze what you can't use right away)

Coffee:
Checkers/ 1.50 per 11.5 oz tub/ 2.08 per lb / 2/26/14

Potatoes (Russet):
Checkers/ 10lbs for 2.68/ 0.27 per lb / 2/26/14
HyVee/ 5lbs for 1.18/ 0.24 per lb/ 2/26/14

Sugar (granulated): 
HyVee / 1.48 per 4lb bag/ 0.37 per lb/ 2/26/14

Toilet Paper:
Checkers/ Charmin Basic 20pk for 5.88/ 0.30 per roll / 2/26/14


How do I come up with bulk buys?  I compare the current price with the prices I've recorded in my Price Book.  When a price dips below (or sometimes when it meets) the lowest price I've got recorded, I know to stock up. This way I "lock-in" that price for however long my supply lasts me.  That means I'm paying $0.78 per pound for broccoli all year long, even when the price jumps in a few months from now to $1.09 per pound.  See what I'm saying? 





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Frugal Acts: a few simple things I did to save money this week. Windfall Week!

This week was different as it is a Windfall Week (we received our tax return).  While we saved most of it,
we did spend some of it paying off debt, necessities, and things that will save us money in the future.

Windfall Expenditures:

• Paid off 2 medical bills- obviously they needed to be paid off, but we chose to pay them off in a lump-sum now while we could, rather than paying monthly. This saved us money on interest, plus cut over $100 per month from our monthly overhead.

• Made a larger than usual payment on our credit card debt (accrued last year when my husband was unemployed.)

• Had our dog vetted- she needed her vaccines updated. We would have of course done this anyway, but we put it off by a month until we received our tax return, rather than stretch our tight monthly budget to do it.

• I am researching bulk meat purchasing possibilities. I find that meat is one of the most difficult grocery items for me to find great deals on.  Anyone in N.E. Kansas have a line on a great deal for bulk meat?

"Regular" Frugal Acts:

• Made banana-bread muffins with bananas from the freezer.

• Used up the last of my bulk-purchased apples that were starting to go soft in an Apple Crisp. (It was sooo good! I used this recipe I found on Pinterest.)

• Bulk-purchased dog food when I found a great deal. (31lbs of Beneful from WalMart for $26)

• Waited until end of season clearance to buy new winter boots, and did price-comparisons online before purchasing.

• Made my own natural laundry detergent (way cheaper and less chemicals!). I used this recipe, again from Pinterest.

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Bulk Buys: Week of 2/19/14

Items that have hit STOCK UP PRICES this week:

Brownie Mix (Betty Crocker):
HyVee/  Betty Crocker 18.3 oz for 0.99/ 5c per oz / 2/20/14 (sale goes through 2/22). 
Check the "best by" date on these and buy as many as you will use by that date.  I don't know about your family... but for us that might be quite a few. I will also note that it is still cheaper to make brownies from scratch, especially if you bulk buy the ingredients. However, if, like me, you are not quite up for that, this is a great price for the ready mix. 

Butter:
HyVee AND Dillons/ 1.99 per lb/ 2/20/14
Butter keeps a month in the fridge and 6-9 months in the freezer! This is a pretty darn  good price, though it's possible it will dip a little lower in the summer months. So, I plan to buy about a 4 month supply. 

Clementines:
Aldi/ 2.99 per 2lb bag/ 1.50 per lb/ 2/15/13 
Walmart/ 6.97 per 5lb bag/ 1.40 per lb/ 2/15/13
Possibly on sale other places too.  This is the last hurrah for these little sweeties this year- they are going out of season so the prices will be going up from here. Buy what you can use in a couple weeks from the fridge, or freeze some to last up to a year!

Red/New Potatoes:
Aldi/ 0.99 for 5lb bag/ 20c per lb/ 2/19/14
Great price on these! Buy what you can use from the pantry in a week or two, or cook potatoes to freeze for up to a year! 

Shampoo/Conditioner
HyVee/ Suave 30oz for 1.00/ 3c per oz/ 2/20/14 
Sale price through 2/22.
I don't post a lot of non-food items but this is a great deal I had to share! If you have coupons this will be even better, but it's definitely a STOCK UP PRICE without coupons! Price per ounce for the least expensive shampoos are usually twice this much. I plan to buy about a year's worth.
I went to HyVee to get this, and found that it was no longer listed on their sale flyer, and were on the shelf at regular price. :(  BOOO!

Have you spotted any STOCK UP priced foods I missed?

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Bulk Buys: Week of 2/12/14

Items that have hit STOCK UP PRICES this week:

Apples:
Aldi (mixed bag of red/gala/granny smith)/ 1.88 per 3lb bag/ 63c per lb / 2/12/14
Apples stay fresh in the fridge for 1-2 months, so buy as many as you will use in that time.

Carrots:
Checkers/ 48c per lb- fresh/whole/ 2/12/14
Carrots stay fresh in the fridge for 4-5 weeks, so buy as many as you will use in that time. This is a good enough price that it beats frozen carrots prices, so if you've got the time, chop them up and freeze them. They'll last in the freezer 8-10 months!

Grapefruit:
Checkers/ 3/$1 / 33c each/ 2/12/14
Grapefruit stay fresh in the fridge for 2-3 weeks so buy as many as you will use in that time. This is a good enough price that it beats frozen grapefruit prices, so if you've got the time, chop them up and freeze them. They'll last in the freezer 8-10 months!  Click the link to find out how to prepare for freezing.

Hot Dogs:
Checkers (Bar-S brand)/ 88c per 1lb pk/ 2/12/14
Check the use by date on the package. Buy as many as you will use by that date. Also, they can be frozen for 1-2 months if you freeze them before the use by date.

Onions:
Aldi (yellow)/ 79c per 3lb bag/ 27c per lb / 2/12/14
Onions can be stored at room temperature for 2-3 months. Buy as many as you can use in that time. Also, this price beats BY FAR the pre-chopped frozen onions.  Chop them up in the food processor and freeze- they will stay good in the freezer 10-12 months. 

(Maybe) Pork (chops):
Checkers/ 1.68 per lb in econopk / 2/12/14

I'm not completely sure this is a GREAT price on pork chops, but I know it's a pretty darn good price. If you are needing some meat, this is a good price.  They last up to 5 days in the fridge, but up to 4-6 months in the freezer so buy as many as you can use/store in the freezer. 

Have you spotted any STOCK UP priced foods I missed?

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