I'm once again lagging on my blog, so I'll ease back into it with an easy topic - bargain hunting! I'm trying to stick to a strict budget (or "spending plan" as some like to call it), so bargain hunting, couponing, etc., is all part of daily life for us. ;)
This week CVS had Purex laundry detergent for $2.99 a bottle (38 loads for the one I got), with $1 ECB on each bottle, so $1.99 a bottle. You could buy up to 5 bottles (i.e., get $5 in ECB). I found a coupon for $1 off 2 bottles, so picked up 2 bottles: 2x$2.99 = $5.98 - $1 coupon = $4.98 and got $2 in ECB so total cost was essentially $2.98 for 2 bottles, or $1.49 each for 38 loads (about 4 cents per load). I paid using a $4.99 ECB received from an item last week, so total OOP (out of pocket) cost was the tax, or 8 cents. :)
Not quite a good as my homemade laundry detergent I have been making but I'm having some trouble finding Borax locally lately, so these will get us through until I can find Borax and get a good deal on it. Ralphs here has Borax but at the price on it, it is cheaper to find sales on regular detergent!
Then the boys and I walked across to the 99 cent store. Prior to this month I don't think I had gone in there but maybe once in the past 10 years. I saw a post on a message board that people were finding some reasonably good deals in there on food and necessities so I decided to give it a try. Those posters were right! It is hit or miss on what exactly they have that day, but there are some great deals! Here is what I purchased today:
1 package of 8 of the bigger size Sara Lee whole wheat buns ($3.50+ at Vons!)
2 packages of 4 bagels each, better than Vons still
1 box of Nilla Wafers ... okay, so the kids and I were a little hungry ...
2 Lunchables at $1 each for the boys' lunches
1 HUGE loaf of the Sara Lee sheepherders bread, very fresh and soft ($3+ at Vons!)
1 bottle of organic chocolate soymilk to go with the kids' Lunchables
4 cans of cola (79 cents for 4 cans)
1 bag of Back to Nature almond and honey granola
Total cost: $9.xx ... lunch for today for the kids and me (I had PB&J on the new bread with the cola and some of the granola) plus a couple things for the house for the week, good deal for around here!
Again, I was pretty impressed and will be checking in there prior to the grocery store (they are in the same shopping center so no extra gas required). They also had Yoplait yogurt for 49 cents each, personal size watermelons for 99 cents, honeydew melons for 99 cents each, big bags of frozen French fries for 99 cents, really a great assortment. Too bad they didn't have my Borax ...
