Good Day

Today was a good day financially speaking.  While I did spend money, it wasn't as much as I was expecting.  YAY!  Well, I spent less in one place and a little more in another, but it was all for good.

OK...first I had to bring my boys to the dentist.  This was our first time here because the pediatric dentist they went to before closed his office in our city and now only has his office in the city to the north of us.  Not a long distance, but inconvenient when they have appointments during school time and I don't have time to pick the other up.  Then they both have to be pulled out of school!  Anyway, this was a new pediatric dentist, who like many dentists nowadays does not take insurance.  AT ALL!  Not a big deal because our last one didn't either.  That means I have to pay for everything up front, send in a claim form and wait for reimbursement.  I was expecting to pay hundreds of dollars today on my credit card on two kids for cleanings, x-rays (including an additional panoramic for one), and flouride treatments--to be paid off whenever the insurance company got around to sending me my money.  Nope...no such thing!  As a courtesy, this dental office will take a copay only, send in the claim for you, and bill you for any remainder not paid for by the insurance company.  So instead of hundreds of dollars for this initial visit I paid $50.70 in total--for both of them.  That is great considering the statement with the breakdown said the total for all services rendered was $507.00!  I still have to bring them in to take care of some other issues, but I expected that to be on top of the full bill I would have paid today.

Afterwards we went back to the new SuperTarget because I forgot a few things...mostly groceries plus I wanted to look for some sort of mats to put under the pet's homes (DS1 has a parakeet and DS2 has a betta fish).  Well, I initially needed bread and milk, but the boys had some flouride stuff painted onto their teeth and they were told not to eat anything too sugary because they cannot brush their teeth tonight.  I didn't think I had too many items they could eat so I picked up some bananas and grapes for them to snack on.  Plus it was getting late so I added some deli chicken for lunch and some french bread for dinner.  I also remembered that I forgot DS1's protractor for school when I bought school supplies.  At the register I remembered that DH needed some cash, which we rarely carry.  So I tacked on the minimum allowed--$10.  The total was $36.80--not bad considering $10.00 of it was cash, $8.29 was for items other than grocery, and $18.51 for groceries.  That brings my total groceries to $213.59 for the month.

Outlet Mall and New SuperTarget

We've had a good weekend.

Yesterday we went to both the indoor and outdoor outlet malls in the city next to ours.  At the Disney Store, we found a shirt for our oldest that said, "I Didn't Do It"  for under $8.00 to go with current shirts he owns that say, "Trouble is my MIDDLE name" and "It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time".  At two VF Outlet stores I spent a combined $51.89 for clothes for the boys (4 shirts and 2 denim cargo shorts) and me (1 top).  Not a single item was over $14.00...actually all except 2 items were under $5.99 there.  Across the street at the outdoor mall, I got them some books (3 total) for $9.51 at the Book Warehouse.

Today we went to the new SuperTarget that just opened today in our own city along with a Michael's, PetSmart, and others.  I am so happy I no longer have to drive to the city to the north for a regular Target or the city to the south for a SuperTarget.  And I don't have to go to Walmart if I don't want to!  *sigh* 

Anyway, they had some great sales for their first day open.  I found a bunch of items that would be great for Christmas!  I make little gift baskets for the women in the family--four of them--and I found great containers and stuff to put in them.  Total cost: $18, including 2 extra containers for our office desks to hold little things.  

School supplies were great!  I even stocked up on some items I didn't need any more of because I know they will need them again in the middle of the year or next year.  I got:

• A Hulk lunchkit for $9.00 for my youngest (he is obsessed with the Hulk)
• A 128MB USB for $4.99 for my oldest (he can bring home pics or files, then delete, if needed, without us worrying about losing a more expensive USB
• A dual-sided soft pencil case for $3.99 for my oldest (his old one was too bulky for his desks and backpack)
• 4 packs of 24-count Crayola crayons for $0.22 each or $0.88 total
• 2 packs of 24-count Crayola colored pencils for $2.00 each or $4.00 total
• 6 composition books at $0.50 each or $3.00 total
• 2 1-inch binders at $0.97 each or $1.94 total
• 6 2-pocket folders at $0.10 each or $0.60 total
• 4 packs 5-tab dividers for $0.89 each or $3.56

I think this was even better than my good deals found the last time at the grocery store, though those were pretty good, too.

Next will be some new shoes for them.  I have to wait until next week after the new Payless opens on July 30th.

Groceries and School Supplies

I did pretty well when I went to the grocery store yesterday.  In total I spent $156.43, which mostly went towards food though I did buy some school supplies while I was there.  The school supplies only cost $12.80 out of that total.

So you are probably wondering why I'd buy school supplies at the grocery store.  Well, firstly it was convenient.  I was already there and didn't have to drive around spending gas money to go to another store.  Secondly, they were on sale.  For $12.80 (including tax) I got:

• 2-8 oz. bottles of hand sanitizer
• 2-8 count boxes of washable markers
• 3-24 count boxes of crayons
• 3-4 oz. bottles of glue
• 3-1 subject spiral notebooks
• 2-6 pack of portfolio folders
• 3-10 pack of #2 pencils

There were other supplies on sale, but I didn't need any of them.  Other things I needed were not on sale so I didn't buy them.

The rest was to buy food, which should hopefully last at least two weeks minus the occasional trip for milk and bread.

Working on school work and online spending

Oh my I haven't posted for a few days.  Really I've been pretty busy with school work.  Only three more weeks until this term is over--five more weeks until the boys go back to school--six more weeks until the next term for my new classes start.  Phew!

I've been doing some shopping lately online.  I put through another order with drugstore.com through ebates.com (got to get the cash back on my purchases).  This time I went through the house (what I should have done the first time) and made sure I had a list of anything that was needed.  I got a lot of great deals on the items I needed so it wasn't a total waste to put in another order.

I also bought some items for our home office.  I noticed that my computer that I've set up temporarily on the first table complete sticks to it sometimes and removes the paint a bit.  So I picked up some clear desk mats to protect the tables I'm making.  Those should be in next week.  

Today I bought some things for my oldest son at PetSmart.com (also through ebates.com).  We promised him a parakeet.  The new PetSmart here in town doesn't open for another two weeks, but I figured we could get all the supplies now, set it up, and then go pick out a couple of parakeets when the store opens.  He's really happy about it.  In addition to the cash back with ebates, I also got 15% off from PetSmart.com so that was great as well!

I think my shopping days will be over for a little while now.  I've pretty much bought out everything I've been meaning to buy for now.  Though I do still have my bi-weekly blow money coming up.  Gotta keep the UPS guys in business, right?

Good Shopping Trip

I had a very good shopping trip -- on my computer!

I needed some items for our family that normally I would either pick up at CVS or the grocery store when I go.  But with the boys home for the summer and gas prices the way they are, I have been trying to limit my trips out.  I really hate shopping with the boys -- it becomes so stressful!

So I went to drugstore.com through ebates.com to check out some items.  I found everything I was looking for -- actually I forgot some items and remembered after I placed the order so I'm starting up a new list for the next time.  

Before checking out I decided to look on CVS.com and see how much the same prices cost there and whether it would be cheaper with the coupons I have from previous shopping trips.  The same products generally cost $1.00 or more than they did at drugstore.com plus I got free shipping (would have also gotten at CVS), no sales tax (not sure about that), credit to use in October (may or may not have received another coupon at CVS), and 6% cashback from ebates.com (no cashback for CVS)!

Not only did I save $2.00 at drugstore.com over CVS.com, but I will also get about $3.17 cashback from ebates.com.  It definitely makes sense to compare prices before placing an order.  And looking for online deals is a must if it means not having to spend gas money when you can get something shipped to you for free.