How I've earned $100 in free gas!

By shopping at Bi-Lo! Yes, simply buying groceries has scored atleast $100 in free gas or more, I haven't been keeping up with it very well.
Tonight I earned 7 gas tokens in one trip, here's how:
I spent $58 in groceries, that earned 4 tokens (its in the sales paper), I bought 2 packs of Southern Home (S.H) cheese (1 token), 2 jars SH peanuts (1 token), & $10 in Suave body wash (1 token). The great part is I really only spent $5.27 on 5 bottles of Suave because of coupons. I added one more token from a previous trip to get a $25 gas card.
All together I bought $104 (pre-tax total) for $52 (pre-tax) for a savings of exactly 50%, plus $25 in free gas!!

Here is what I bought:
15 bottles of Power Ade
5 bottles of Suave body wash
1 gallon milk (earned a milk token)
2 bags of SH cheese
2 jars of SH peanuts
1 african violet
2 boxes reese's puffs
1 box cinnamon toast crunch
2 rolls of sausage
2 chuck roasts
1 box of toaster struddles
1 tub of whipped cream
1 gal oj
2 lbs organic bananas
1 loaf cinnamon raisin bread
1 motts tots apple grape juice
2 12 packs of diet Dr Pepper
1 johnson's baby shampoo


Are you earning free gas???

CVSin'

No pictures again this week. I have been slacking in the department lately. I'll do better next week. Good week at CVS. I made extra ECBs and have plenty left for next week's deal, though they are currently not looking too promising. Anywho, on to the details ...



Transaction 1

2 Oral B Toothbrushes
1 Scotch Tape Pop Up Dispenser
4 Scotch Tape Pop Up Refills
1 CVS Cotton Swabs
1 CVS Band Aids

-$4 off $30 purchase
-$5.99 (BOGO toothbrush)
-$6.99 ECB

OOP $1.80 (on gift card)
ECBS earned $9.99

** I had gotten 2 of the oral b stages electric tooth brushes and then realized my q was for manuel so I was still able to use the $4 off $30.

Transaction 2

2 6 pack hershey bars
2 bags MMs
1 bag of Twizzlers
2 Oral B replacement heads
1 Listerine Smart Rinse

-$1.00 listerine
-$5.99 oral b (BOGO)
-$16.00 ECB

OOP $3.10(on gift card)
ECBs Earned $14.49

I love having that $25 gift card! I still have over $9 on it and have been using it since the beginning of June!

I also transferred a rx to Rite Aid on Friday and got a $30 gift card!

Everything is Blooming!

After reading Jen's blog about all things plum I decided to head out and check on our apple tree. While admiring all the apples that are not ready to eat yet (just ask my 4 yo, not too tasty) I walked the yard and admired all the other reminders of just what an awesome God we serve.

Some apples on our apple tree .... You know, ripe or not, I don't think we will be eating them. I think the tree is diseased but all the same it is rather lovely.



Hydrangeas are my favorite flower. I used them in our wedding!



Daisies .. I think these are "Becky" daisies like the ones we saw at Brookgreen Gardens in Myrtle Beach. Correct me if I am wrong.



Last summer we bought 18 impatiens to line our driveway with. We thought that they would not come back but we have been pleasantly suprised to find atleast 24 new plants growing in the bed where we planted them last year.



And lastly, the mums are all about to pop. There are hundreds and hundreds of little buds on our plants but this one has already began to display its beauty.

I Don't Usually Shop on Tuesdays

But today it paid off. CVS was good to me but I will save that for Friday's CVS Superstars. I did well at the mall too but I won't go into that.
WALGREENS
Crest Radiance
on sale for $7.99
- $3 WAGS coupon
- $3 manu coupon
Total OOP $2.37

Bi-Lo
I spent $35 (pre-tax) on $78 (pre-tax) worth of grocries and earned 8 tokens that I can cash in for a $25 BP gas card.

16 Yoplait yogurts
3 lbs grapes
3 lbs bananas
1 bag oranges
2 boxes sh vanilla wafers
6 boxes toastee tarts
2 bags sh cheese
2 12 pack diet dr pepper
1 5lb bag sh flour
1 jello pudding
1 mayfield ice cream
2 boxes totinos pizza rolls
2 potatoes

And I forgot to get a loaf of bread :(

I need to sit down and make out a menu ... that will be posted later!

My Husband is Such a GREAT Daddy!

We had a wonderful, relaxing weekend! Those don't come often anymore but it sure was appreciated!
Saturday we went to the Creative Discovery Museum, ate a yummy meal at TGI Fridays and then had ice cream at Cold Stone. We came home and just sat in the backyard. The girls went ahead and gave Adam their gift to him, a grill brush for the grill that was his actual Father's Day present but he got it on Memorial Day and peg boards to hang in the shed once he gets it remodeled. Sunday was church and then we had a cookout at a local park. Fun times indeed.
I am very blessed to have such a wonderful husband and the girls are blessed with a super great Daddy!

Stock Piling Makes SO Much Sense!

Its all coming together now. Stock piling really does pay off. I spent more on groceries in this past month than I normally do though certainly not alot on groceries in comparison to others. This week the deals were slim picking at CVS as I don't get all the good coupons in my paper and can no longer get the Atlanta paper - bummer! That is OK though, because what I was able to get was still an awesome deal and because I'm stocked for a while having an off week isn't a big deal.

One trip to CVS this week:
4 boxes Nature Valley Almond Sweet & Salty bars
1 Nature Valley Honey & Oats bars
1 Fiber One bars

Total $20
- 3 $0.65 N.V qs
- 2 $0.55 N.V qs
- $1.00 Fiber One q
- $12 ECBs

OOP (on gift card) $2 and some change
ECBs Earned $10

Bi-Lo was better to me this week. I bought $60 worth of groceries for $16!!
Here is what I got if I can remember all of it:

1 gallon of milk (free w/milk tokens)
2 Honey Nut Cheerios
2 Lucky Charms
12 Yoplait Yogurts
4 lbs grapes
3 lbs bananas
2 Ban Deodorants
2 Betty Crocker Chocolate Frostings
1 box of brownies
2 Dominos powdered sugars
1 Cresent rolls
1 sausage
1 dz eggs
1 loaf of bread

To see more CVS superstars visit The Centsible Sawyer.

I like to call myself ...

I was thinking tonight and thinking requires lots of effort on my part these days. I was trying to come up with something clever and original to call myself in my search for frugality. I call me a ....
bargainpreneur!
Yep, that is what I am. And I googled it and google had never heard of it so I must have come up with it. It is mine, my own little title.
Becky, Bargainpreneur.
Has a nice ring to it, huh?

My Dear Friend

Yesterday one of my dearest friends,Holly, was here and I was able to spend a few hours with her. In September of 2007 she left to serve on the mission field in South Africa with her husband. I have missed her so much and realized how true it is that you don't always know a good thing until it is gone. I knew she was good, great infact, but I never imagined I would miss her so much.
She is home for the summer, where ever home may be for her now. She was able to stop by here for a couple days to see who she could and I am so lucky to be one of the few! It was so good to see her at my backdoor yesterday! My girls were very excited to see her too but you would never know by the way they clammed up once she actually arrived. After she left their vigor was renewed and that is all they have talked about since. DD1 was really hoping to see my friend's cat, Dixie, but I had to explain, and explain again and again, that Dixie went somewhere else to live and we wouldn't be seeing her. Funny the things that stick out in their little minds.
Holly, of course, brought gifts for the girls. Barbie, renamed Jasmine, and My Little Pony, Horsey, haven't been left for much more than 5 minutes since about noon yesterday.
It was good to catch up with Holly and talk about life, something I really miss. Hopefully I will see her again before they go back to South Africa in August.

Summer Time, Summer Time, Good Ol Summer Time

You would never know by the near 100* days we've been having that summer is not offically here yet. My girls have already enjoyed many days in their little pool. Last night was hard evidence that summer has come and settled here in the valley.
We started pulling weeds in our flower beds after dinner last night. The storm earlier in the afternoon had cooled things down a bit and made it easier to pull the weeds from the semi-soft earth. At some point DD1 found a water gun and dutifully attacked all around. As I moved to the last flower bed I decided it was time to pull up the weed stopper carpet stuff that hasn't stopped one weed in the 3 years its been in the flower bed. Wow! That was tough. Not so much hard to do just hot!! Out came the water hose for what assured me the seasons had changed. Nothing says summer like drinking from the hose. You know the story doesn't end there, before it was all said and done we were all dripping and running around the front yard like we were 4 years old. Only one of us really is.

Overflow in the Bathroom is not *Always* Bad

Target,you had me at hello. How do I love thee? Let me count the razors, diapers, wipes, birthday gifts, cookies and trail mix that I brought home for only $14.
Seriously, my bathroom cabinets are almost in overflow with razors, toothpaste, toothbrushes & deodorant. I love it! I love that I don't even have to think about it when I empty a tube of toothpaste .... just open the bottom drawer on the left and take your pick. There you will also find your choice of deodorant and toothbrushes. Bottom drawer on the right houses extra shaving gels and lotions. Top drawer on the right makes a lovely spot of all the extra makeup and skin care products I have aquired. Under the sink you will find atleast 6 unopened razors ... no more expensive refills for me! I think that I much prefer Target's razor deal this week. Buying a Gillete Fusion & a Venus Embrace Spa Kit (it included a travel bag & full size shaving gel) for a total of $10.14 after coupons landed me a $10 gift card! Better than CVS's bucks back for the Gillette this week.
Bi_lo, you too are a winner in my eyes. Last night I spent $63, a little more than I was hoping for but not too bad all in all. Here is what I bought at Bi-Lo for really just a small amount.

2 DiGiorno Ultimate Pizzas
1 Lipton Lemon Tea (1.5 L) FREE
1 Garlic Knots FREE
1 Pepperidge Farm Peppermint Cake FREE
1 TGI Friday's Steak Quesadillas FREE
1 Trix Cereal
2 Lawry's Lemon Pepper Marinade
5 Little Debbie Snack Cake Boxes
2 64oz Bottles Juicy Juice
2 Packs Juicy Juice Boxes
1 Package of Spagetti
2 Cattlemen's BBQ Sauce
3 Packages of Toastee Tarts (earned 1 gas token)
2 Southern Home 3 Liters (earned 1 milk token)
1 Jell-o Pudding
2 Yoplait 4 packs
1 Southern Home OJ
2 Southern Home Gallon Milk (1 Gallon was free using milk tokens & earned 2 milk tokens)
2 Mayfield Ice Cream 1/2 gallons (yumm .. caramel cheesecake & banana pudding)
2 Southern Home Hashbrowns (earned 1 milk token)
1 Turkey Sausage
1 Canteloup
3 1/2 lbs bananans
1/2 lbs Butterball Oven Roasted Turkey
$25 BP Gas Card (FREE for cashing in previously earned gas tokens)

And I am half-way through another free gallon of milk!!

Also while I was out last night I ran into WalMart and picked up a few more things; Chocolate Honey Bunches of Oats , pickles, green beans & index tabs!

I don't normally spend this much in groceries but when Super Bi-Lo was opening they sent out a coupon book with free items & $5 off $25 coupons. Its been great to fill my cabinets with so little out of pocket and now I will only need to make small trips for things that don't last long like bread & milk!

Its Been a Long Week!!

We had Vacation Bible School at our church this week and it was absolutely crazy! I helped with the 4 & 5 year olds, all 32 of them. The theme of VBS was Power Lab. Jesus gives us the power to be thankful, to help others, to not be afraid and to live again through Him! What a fun week!! DD1 had lots of fun and was very excited to learn new songs and Bible verses. To top off her excitment about the week she won first place for the girls and won a cool ball pit!



While we were getting ready for VBS DD2 kind of disappeared. She was awfully quiet so DH went looking for her. This is what he found ...





Isn't she pretty??