Observations from a 900 mile road trip

There are quite a few things I learned while on our road trip from northern Michigan and our vacation with my dad and stepmom to our home in eastern Nebraska.

1. 
   No matter how much you try to sleep the night before, you won't.
2. Getting stuck in traffic and coming to a complete standstill for more than 10  minutes will cause a severe need to hit the bathroom - and not just by the little one :)
3. Traveling with only one child makes for less fighting, but more conversations that leave you saying 'huh' 
4. Your hubby will always drive more, but will also always be grumpier.
5. Fast food for two meals in a row is my limit!  Though, it was nice that it wasn't the SAME fast food place!
6. Trying to talk your hubby into stopping for 'just a quick look' is never a good idea - just trust in the fact that he will say no
7. There will always be someone in front of you going to slow or someone behind you going too fast...hopefully the one behind isn't always a semi
8. In Illinois they feel the need to create large construction zones going to one lane with not a worker or piece of equipment in sight but in Iowa, they create really short zones with more workers and equipment than space!

All in all, vacation was a success and a good time was had by all.

We did have some sad news while gone in that Ginger, Emily's cat, disappeared and Sadie, our shared dog with my fil, passed away.  Also, Jay's relative Boyd suffered a stroke and is in need of prayers.

But alas, we made it back to Nebraska and next week school starts - can't beat that!

Many rolls of TP!

So, I headed out today for a doctor visit and then off to CVS, Walgreens and Target to stock up based on sales.
I'll share with you some of my deals that I got from mamacheaps, krazycouponlady, and chicksdigdeals.

First my CVS trip:

• I bought 2 Pantene Pro-V Shampoo/conditioners and used the $3/2 coupon from 5/1.  I got a $1.00 Extra Care Buck.

• I bought 2 All Laundry Detergents and used two $1/1 coupons from 4/10 and got $2.00 in extra care bucks.

• I bought 4 Right Guard deodorants and used 2 B1G1 coupons from 5/1 and got $1.00 in Extra Care Bucks.

•  I bought 1 Herbal Essence Shampoo and 1 Styler and used a B1G1 coupon from 3/13 AND a $.50/1 coupon from 5/1.  I got $2.00 in Extra Care Bucks.

• I bought 2 3 packs of Ivory Soap and used 2 $1/1 coupons from 5/1 and got those for free!!
• I also picked up some Easter Candy for $4.36

Grand total spent:  $25.45 Total Saved:  $40.20  ECB generated:  $6.00  


Walgreens:
I did 2 transactions here for the same items.


I bought 2 12pks Cottonelle Toilet Paper and used 2 $.50/1 coupons and the $1.00/1 coupon found in the May booklet.  Got a $3.00 register reward for each transaction. 
Coupons can be found at:
$0.50/1 Cottonelle Bathroom Tissue, 4 pk or larger – (cottonelle.com)
Or $0.50/1 Cottonelle Bathroom Tissue, 4 pk or larger – (bricks.coupons.com)


I still have some of the $.50/1 coupons so if I get back to town I may do this again.

Target:
My main get at Target looked like this that I'm shamelessly copying from The Krazy Coupon Lady

Buy 1 Bounty Paper Towels 8 pk $9.99
Buy 1 Bounty Paper Towel Single Pack (Free with coupon)
Buy 1 Charmin Double, 24 pk or Mega Roll, 12 pk Bath Tissue $11.99
Buy 1 Freshmates Wipes (Free with coupon)
Use $2.50/2 Charmin Toilet Paper, 6 pk or larger AND Freshmates Wipes, Target Coupon from RP 4/10
Use B1G1 Free Charmin Freshmates, 40 ct when you buy Charmin Bath Tissue, 9 pk or Larger from Target Coupons 5/1
Use $0.25/1 Charmin Product PG 5/1
Use $1.00/1 Bounty Paper Towels, 6 pk or Larger, Target Coupon from RP 4/10
Use B1G1 Free Bounty Single Roll Extra Soft when you buy Bounty, 6 pk or Larger, Target Coupon from Target Coupons 5/1
And Use $0.25/1 Bounty Towels or Napkins from PG 5/1
Pay $17.98, Receive $5.00 Target Gift Card
Final Price: $3.24 each when you buy all 4 Items

I also bought 5 boxes of Quaker Chewy granola bars for $1.92 each.  The fifth was free and I printed 2 coupons for $1.00/2 from the Target Coupon Site.  This deal could be even better if you were lucky enough to get coupons for these in your 3/13 coupons. 

Hope that helps someone save some money! 

My First Post

It's Spring!  And finally the sun is shining and the rain has stopped.  At least for the time being.  We've headed into the farm life known as planting!  That means meals delivered to fields, parts runs and single parenting for at least 4 weeks.  But, as always we get by - simply by keeping too busy to notice.

Welcome to my blog!  I hope to share some stories of my life, my obsession with saving money and my scrapbooking as well as try to better remember my girls as they grow.