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Martin's 4/22





I realized that I didn't post last week's Martin's trip, but it wasn't a big week, either, nothing impressive. I also don't have a picture this week but I had to put everything away because my kitchen was a wreck! Anyway, here is this week's trip to Martin's!

(Only sale prices are listed this time)
Note: Items with ** are discussed at the bottom of the post!

1 Gerber Cereal with DHA @ $2.51
7 Gerber 1st foods 2 packs @ $1.13 ea.
4 Beech Nut 1st foods @ $.45 ea.
3 Puffs Plus Lotion @ $1.00 ea
1 Luvs size 5 27ct @ $7.49
3 Snuggle Fabric Softener @ $2.99
2 Guaranteed Value 80 ct Wipes @ $1.49**
1 GIANT brand grated cheese @ $2.49
1 2 liter Diet Cola @ $.89**
1 Gerber Nursing Pads 60ct @ $6.49
1 Nuk 2 pack pacifiers @ $4.29
2.5lbs Bananas @ $.69/lb= $1.73
1.07lbs Grapes @ $1.99/lb=$2.13
2 Grapefruits @ $1.00 ea
2 Del Monte Fruit Naturals @ $1.00 ea
Chicken Thighs @ $1.00/lb=$1.78**
Drumsticks @ $1.00/lb=$4.01**
4 pack Whoopie Pies @ $5.49**
2 Celeste Pizzas @ $1.00ea
2 Olivio Butter Spreads @ $1.00 ea
1 Tampax Pearl 18ct @ $2.99
2 Tylenol Infant Drops @ $5.39 ea

Total + tax= $98.42

Coupons Used:

3 $3/1 Snuggle(adjusted to $2.99 for the third)
1 $1/3 Gerber Organic 1st Foods
1 $.75/1 Gerber Nursing Pads (doubled)
1 $.75/1 Nuk Pacifiers (doubled)
3 $.50/1 Puffs plus Lotion (doubled)
1 $2/1 Luvs
1 $3/2 Infant Tylenol
1 $1/2 Olivio Products
1 $2/1 Tampax
Total Coupon + Sales Savings: $38.06 Total OOP: $61.96

I did the math and about $25.02 of my purchases do not fall under my $30/week budget, which brings my total down to $36.94. That means that without my impulse purchase of the whoopie pies @ $5.49, I would have gone less than $2 over budget since last week, I only spent $27. The reason why I bought the whoopie pies was simply a moment of weakness. I was forced to detour through the bakery and just couldn't help myself. It's unlike me! My advice is to stay strong and avoid these impulse purchases. Keep checking back as I am working on a post about items frequently purchased that should be AVOIDED except for occasional treats :)

I used to only buy wipes at Wal-Mart since the Parent's Choice brand is always cheapest, regardless of coupons and no matter how you slice it! My husband bought some last night in an emergency, and they are tougher, thicker wipes but the 88ct package is $1.96. The price for the 80ct package of Guaranteed Value (an exclusive generic at Martin's) is $1.49. Here is the cost breakdown:

Parent's Choice: $.022 per wipe
Guaranteed Value: $.018 per wipe

This is just to show you, in case you don't live near a Martin's, what price you're looking for. If your kids have allergies (mine don't) this can make it difficult, however, Parent's Choice has a sensitive version that I find to be even higher quality than name brands.

Also, I wanted to touch on the chicken. I don't buy much of it, only when I personally find the price reasonable. However, if you can make the switch to dark meat, you will see significant savings. If you really must have chicken breasts, at least try buying it bone in. You're paying an awful lot of extra money for the convenience of having the bones removed. Also, a bonus to buying bone-in chicken is that you can use the bones to make stock. This time, I bought a bunch of legs, made 6 for dinner and froze two bags of four. Last time I did this, I cooked 4 legs in the crockpot all day long, used the meat from two of them to make a soup (which stretched to leftovers for at least 3 meals), and of the other 2 to make quesadillas.

Hopefully next week I'll be more on top of my game and be able to stay within my $30 budget.

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