I’ve had a request to post my shopping list, so here goes. I know this will look funny (the format is funky and I can’t figure out how to change it), but you get the gist. I also bought the organic strawberries and two packages of goldfish crackers as bribes for the kids. (I know, I broke my #1 rule of shopping alone.)

I had coupons for most of everything, plus three $1 off catalinas, the Gnarly Head egg coupons, my milk coupons and PNS card. I spent about $68 and saved $40.28.

Here’s my sparse list for today:

Dairy
			2 Organic milk
			2 Half and half
			2 Kraft Shredded, Chunk or Crumbles Cheese , Selected 5-8 oz. Varieties, Save up to $3.18 on 2		2/ $4.00 04/15/2009
			1 Florida’s Natural Orange, Apple, Grapefruit or Cranberry Juice , Selected 59-64 oz. Varieties (Excludes Growers’ Pride), Save up to $1.41		$2.48 04/15/2009
	Deli
			1 Carolina Turkey Breast, Sliced the Way You Like It , Oven Roasted or Smoked, Fresh From Our Deli, Save up to $1.00 lb.		$3.99 lb.   04/15/2009
	Frozen
			5 Eggo Waffles, Bake Shop Swirlz or Muffin Tops , Selected 7.7-13.3 oz. Varieties, Save up to $1.61		$1.48 04/15/2009
	Grocery
			1 Breadcrumbs
			1 Worchestershire sauce
			2 Softsoap Liquid Handsoap , Selected 7.5 oz. Varieties		10/ $10.00 04/15/2009
			2 Keebler Town House or Club Crackers, Chips Deluxe, Soft Batch , or Famous Amos Cookies, Selected 9-18 oz. Varieties, Save up to $2.01, Limit 2		$1.98 04/15/2009
	Personal Care
			1 Colgate Toothpaste , Selected 6.4 oz. Varieties, Limit 2		98¢ 04/15/2009
	Produce
			2 Bananas
			1 Onions
			3 Chilean Red Seedless Grapes , Save up to $1.00 lb.		99¢ lb.   04/15/2009
			3 Washington Extra Fancy Large Gala, Braeburn or Fuji Apples , Save up to 60¢ lb.		99¢ lb.   04/15/2009

I did my grocery shopping early today, and I noticed that organic strawberries are on sale 2/$6 today at Pick ‘n Save. That’s a great price this time of year! I noticed that next week’s sale flier lists them at $3.49/package, so picking them up today will save you some change.

I also noticed that the organic section is looking a little bigger lately. Maybe it’s just because more produce is coming into season, but I’m taking this as a good sign.

I bought three pounds — one for each girl. Which will last through the weekend, I hope.

Reallocating the budget

Today was a small shopping trip. I spent about half of my budget, which left a nice chunk for something else. I will save most of it, but I took my family out to lunch, too. It was a great way to celebrate the beautiful day without dipping into our entertainment fund.

Your local public library is a fantastic spot for saving money — especially with kids. If you haven’t checked out your library, take advantage of National Library Week this week — April 12 through 18 — to do so. You won’t regret it.

In honor of this week, I’m listing a few of my favorite things to do at our library.

Free storytime

I go to Oconomowoc Public Library’s free storytime every Tuesday morning, which is a great way to kill a couple of hours with my girls. Betsy Bromley, the children’s librarian, does a fantastic job during storytime. I am really impressed with her program.

The Oconomowoc library also recently remodeled their kids’ section to include more toys and games. My girls love it! We often see some friends there, too, so it’s impromptu playtime.

I love renting kids’ videos for free and checking out books for all of us (which saves me from impulsively running to Books & Co. to buy myself books). Better yet, when I do return something late, I feel no guilt. I consider my late fees as a way of financially supporting our library. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.

American Girl party

This Saturday, the Oconomowoc Public Library is hosting a FREE American Girl party from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. This great event includes crafts, games and other fun activities to celebrate the American Girl dolls. You can bring a doll with you or just bring yourself.

This party is open to kids in 4K through 6th grade, and kids under 8 need to be accompanied by an adult. Please register with each child’s name, age and phone number at the information desk, by calling (262) 569-2193 or emailing childrens@cooney.lib.wi.us.

Read with Rover

I think this is so cool: Kids can practice their reading skills with Buddy, a certified therapy dog. Maybe this will help an animal-loving reluctant reader find joy in the printed page. You can sign up at the information desk for a 15-minute with Buddy. Call 262-569-2193 and ask for the children’s librarian Betsy Bromley.

Enjoy National Library Week! And remember to thank your librarians for all their wonderful work.

My friend Jenn emailed me today because she’s having trouble posting a comment. I know another reader had a similar problem last week, so I’m looking into it.

Jenn had some great thoughts about my post on organic milk. I wanted to share some of her email with you, since I think she raises some really good points:

I have to admit that I’m not a huge organic-food person, mainly because of the cost. However, I give my daughter organic Roundy’s brand whole milk. I made this decision because of the large amount of milk she drinks. I figure I’d rather have her going organic on the things she eats/drinks in large volumes and on a consistent basis.

Over time (and when I become a millionaire, ha ha ha), I’d like to go total organic. Isn’t it sad that we have to decide between eating cheap chemicals or going broke over organic?!? And we wonder why everyone is getting cancer. Its pretty scary when I don’t even know what most of the chemical-ingredients are on the side of my cereal box.

Bottom line, I’ve been happy with Roundy’s organic milk and I think the ‘Organic Farms‘ milk is a rip.

Jenn thinks like I do: I try to stretch my budget to fit around a few key organic items that my kids eat a lot of. Then I try to choose the healthiest non-organic food to make up the difference. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than going broke trying to eat only organic food.

Thanks for the comment, Jenn!

I just checked out the PNS online ad, and it looks extremely thin on deals. I know it’s a short sale week because of the Easter holiday, but this seems a little extreme. Has anyone been in a store recently? Are there more in-store deals than are advertised online?

I guess if it’s a bad week for deals, my wallet would be happy. But I’d especially like to know if more produce is on sale.

Let me know what you’ve seen in the store. Thanks!

It’s a holiday weekend, so there aren’t any coupon inserts today. There are a few circulars and ads, but the paper is pretty slim. Take a break from clipping coupons and check out some links:

The Value of Social Capital @ Get Rich Slowly

Easter Weekend Reading @ Dividend Money

Everything Finance Blog

Festival of Frugality @ I’ve Paid for This Twice Already…

How the Government Spends Our Money @ Free Money Finance

Happy Easter!

My friend Marla is an incredible artist who creates lovely rendered drawings from photographs. (You can see an example of her work here.) She’s also a great humanitarian. She and her family are walking in the March for Babies walk in Minneapolis on April 26. As part of her fundraising efforts, she is offering a great deal to anyone who donates to her cause:

Donate $25 or more to the March of Dimes March for Babies walk in Marla’s name, she will give you 50% off anything in her Etsy store!

Her drawings make great Mother’s Day gifts (hint, hint). I know my mom has been hankering for one, and I’m sure my in-laws would love one, too. Maybe this is the time to do a good deed and give a great gift.

Check out Marla’s work in her ArtLadyManor Etsy shop. (If you’re not familiar with Etsy, you really should be. It’s an amazing resource for handmade items you can’t find anywhere else.) You can also find out more about the walk at her March of Dimes page.

I’m running low on TP, and I need help finding cheap — or, better yet, FREE — toilet paper. Anyone know a good deal coming up? I stocked up on Charmin last December, and I haven’t purchased TP since then. Which means I haven’t really learned how to stalk and shop the toilet paper deals. I’m not sure what’s a great price. Anyone know what to look for?

If anyone has any advice or insight on buying TP, I’d love to hear it! Thanks.

I just found out about this deal, and I hope you still have your Journal Sentinel to take advantage of it. Sorry that I didn’t flag it right away. Just goes to show that I need to peruse the Pick ‘n Save forum at Hot Coupon World more frequently.

There is s $1 coupon for Kemp’s milk in the MLB ‘09 special section of last Sunday’s Journal Sentinel. This is a manufacturer’s coupon, so it will double at the register today. It expires 4/11, so clip it and use it this week.

I still have several milk coupons from the Kellogg’s deal, and I’m trying to figure out if I can pair this coupon with those to score even more free and cheap milk. Even if I can’t pair them up (it might be considered coupon fraud, and I stay far, far away from that!), I will get some great milk deals this week.

Last night I went out with my Minivan Mamas — three of my friends who all drive the obvious — and we talked about Wags on our way into The Melting Pot. (Which, by the way, has a Monday night Ladies’ Night Out cheese-salad-chocolate deal that is a fantastic.)

As I’ve said before, Walgreens can be a haven for deals. One of the things I’ve taken adavantage of is the Prescription Savings Club. I joined in February, and now I get 10% back on any Walgreens products — plus discounts on prescriptions. My insurance covers most of our prescriptions pretty well, so I’m not as interested in that aspect as I am in the 10% back part.

I thought that 10% would come off my total at checkout, but instead the savings are added to a debit-type card that I can use during my next purchase. It’s not as convenient as I hoped, since I have to use those dollars at Walgreens. But I’m scoring deals at Wags anyway, so that money is always well-used. I feel it is worth it.

To sign up for the Prescription Club, go to the pharmacy. You just fill out some paperwork, pay the yearly fee ($20 for an individual and $35 for a family) and wait for your cards to come in the mail. For us, the 10% savings alone will pay for the plan within the year.

This week’s plan

Last week I got two Listerine mouthwashes on sale for $11, plus I used a $2 coupon and then got $5.50 in Register Rewards. (Register Rewards are coupons you get at the register for money off your next purchase at Wags — kind of like the catalinas you get at the grocery store. They can be really handy for getting free items at Wags.) During that trip, I also bought four packages of Wags diapers for 2/$9, which put 10% of my diaper purchase on my Walgreens card.

This week I’m going to pair that Register Rewards with the savings on my Wags card to buy more diapers (I think they’re still 2/$9) — which means at least one package will be free.

I also need to get some fillers for the kids’ Easter baskets like stickers, a couple of those plastic cups they love, and maybe some crafty items. They already have eggs, chocolate, seeds and trowels for the baskets, but I’d like a few more items to fill them up.

As I told my Minivan Mama Becky, part of the reason I love Wags is that it’s open 24/7. Which means the Easter Bunny will have plenty of time to get some fun stuff in those baskets.