Show & Tell - My Shopping Expedition ~

I never come home from a shopping trip without substantial savings but this week's shopping day was particularly successful.

I purchased $472.31 worth of products for only $154.79. That's a savings of 68% across the board and I have $21 Register Rewards and $14.37 ECBs to use next week.

Also, I have to mention for any new readers we may have that when I am figuring my savings percentage, I do not figure in Homeland ONE card savings. I only calculate my total value and savings based on sale price plus coupons used. I do this because Homeland's regular prices are so outrageously expensive that I do not feel it is accurate to include these savings.

First stop, Walgreens (not pictured, two gallons of milk):
I purchased these items in five separate transactions so I could use my register rewards efficiently. My total out of pocket was $26.11 with 82% overall savings and $21 Register Rewards to spend next week. All the deals I did are listed here.

I spent $7.99 at CVS and earned $14.37 ECBs to use next week. I was very excited about the Aveeno deal. I bought five and used a $4/$20 and (5) $2.00/1 coupons. After coupons and ECBs, I paid only $1.20 a bottle! And of course bought items to donate. You can view these deals and more here.
At Target, I spent $13.98 out of pocket with a savings of 82%:
You can view all the deals I did here. I'll be donating the baby bottles, Kotex, Johnsons Buddies and A-1 Sauce.

At Aldi I spent $45.11. Since Aldi's does not take coupons, this was straight out of pocket but the savings are still substantial. You can view the deals I found here.Last two stops were Homeland and Crest:

At Homeland I spent $19.48 over two transactions (not back to back) with a savings percentage of 76% (not including ONE Card savings. I did use a $5/$25 on each transaction. These coupons are on a flyer at the front of the Santa Fe store.

Most of my deals are listed here. I did purchase Rhodes Warm n Serve for $2.69 and used $1.00/1 (SS 5/3, 6/14, 7/19, 8/16) making them $0.69. Also the Coffee Mate Creamer was $2.39 and I used a $1.00/1 printable making that
$0.39. And Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters are $2.99. I used the $1.00/1 (SS 8/9 or 8/23)and paid $0.99.

At Crest I spent $42.42 out of pocket with a savings of 45%. You can view the rest of the deals here.


The most awesome thing is that my total out of pocket ($154.79) includes not only my household spending but many, many items to donate as shown in the photo below. Also, most of the items I purchased this week were "stock up" items as I had a very short grocery list of things I actually needed.

I hope these shopping trips help you see how stockpiling and participating in customer rewards programs can really stretch your budget.