Black Friday shopping

There's method to my madness. Always remember my mantra when you read about my weird shopping trips.

I had a plan for Kohls. I wanted to check what athletic shoe deals they had, because I refused to pay the higher prices last year (silly me. hard lesson learned) which resulted in no spare shoes for us. So I went to bed a little early and was up before midnight last Saturday, so I could start shopping the minute the sale started at 1 am. I filled my cart with items I thought might be on sale and then waited. My planning paid off. While I didn't get the prices I wanted, I got athletic shoes (the ones I found on clearance last year, were cancelled immediately after placing order). We wear a select brand and style. I've been buying the same style for years, because I have high arches and this is the most comfortable shoe for me. Not even my expensive running shoes are this comfortable. Kohls used to have this style on BF sale every year, until the pandemic hit. 

I bought 7 pairs of shoes for myself and DH. No, that's not a typo. 3 Pairs for DH. The men's shoes still had our favorite style available. I don't care that his shoes are all the same color. It's comfortable, the price was right, so into the stockpile it goes. If he decides at a later stage he doesn't want it, then I can sell it for uber $$$ because the style is now rare. Either way, it's a win-win situation.

Not the same ease with my purchase though. I bought different styles and brands. I bought this many, because I wanted to see what fits comfortably. Whatever I don't like or want, I will sell for a profit. 

I also bought a few more bras. Not really needed, but the price is too good to pass up. I'm sure most of you have heard of the new Covid strain by now. This is going to make supply chain issues even worse. Not due to shipping, but due to manufacturing. Well, that news hit after I made my purchases, so I'm glad I bought more. Got DS some sweatpants and a spare pair of gloves. 

So just how much did Kohls suck out of me this year? I was only supposed to buy shoes after all. 

I cashed out for some gcs. I stacked those with some rewards and coupons. I did multiple transactions, because Kohls now only allow 2 gcs per transaction....grrrr. It used to be 4. So on Sunday I went to RA and bought $100 Kohls gcs that earned me $16 BC (bonus cash). Bought a Macy's gc that also earned me another $16 BC. So an extra $32 in my pocket. 

Total OOP (incl gc purchase) $344.63

KC earned : $150.00 (I did a separate transaction for household items that's not included in my OOP cost. I'll use the $30 KC though)

I'll also get another $20 Y2Y/KC reward on the 1st, so that's $170 total earned

Rakuten : $2.17

Okay Rakuten is a bit of a cluster. For the 1st transaction, my computer froze as I was checking out. So I got that fixed, but had to switch browsers, then couldn't remember my Rakuten password...lol (I know my password, but it kept telling me it's wrong.ugh). So I need to submit a ticket for that transaction. 

My last transaction yesterday morning shows my purchase pending on Swagbucks. Huh? I didn't check out through Swagbucks. However, Swagbucks is paying out more than Rakuten, so I'm not complaining. 

So I spent $344.63

Earned : $170 Kohls + $32 RA = $203

The KC will be used to purchase items to resell. I'll also sell the shoes I don't want (I'm still waiting on many items to be delivered). According to my calculations, I'll be making a nice profit (I do it every year) on my BF shopping (including the household items I purchased). So to me it's basically free shopping. I just put in a bit of work and voila, we have everything we wanted. 

I wasn't planning on going to RA, but I really wanted the Planters nuts and Russell stover candy. So while we were out & about today, I told DH to stop at RA so I could grab those and the freebies (oops just noticed that one Palmolive is turned back to front).  

2 x R. Stover $9.98

2 x Planters nuts 11.98

2 x Scunci 6.00 F

4 x Palmolive 4.00 F

2 x Nestle crunch 1.00 F

2 x Russell Stover singles 1.00

Less BC (32.00) earned from gcs

Tax 0.60

OOP $2.56

Earned $24 BC

This wasn't my regular RA and I still told DH that I don't know if I'm gonna find what I'm looking for, because I know that my store always sells out of the freebies on Thanksgiving day (I wasn't in the mood to go shopping yesterday). I was pleasantly surprised to see everything in stock. I could've added other items to get to $50 and earn and extra $15 BC, but I didn't want to spend extra cash OOP. I also don't want to be stuck with a bunch of BC, because Covid is really bad in our state again. So the fewer shopping trips I need to take, the better. 

So that's my BF shopping folks. I didn't spend any other money. I'm thankful that shopping's now completely done. I can now start saving $20 a week again, to help pay for holiday gcs next year or whatever gcs get discounted throughout the year. I can also get back to saving my earned gcs again. I'm pooped. I need a shopping break...until the next sale...lol (hey that's only after Christmas...lol).

Have a great weekend everyone!

Busy week

This week is a busy week for me, so I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.  

I went to bed early last night & overslept this morning. Oy vey. Well, not exactly overslept per se. I get up an hour before I need to, but I have my routine down pat, so it throws me off when I do oversleep (which is a rare occurrence). I was doing BF shopping in the middle of the night (Saturday) and only slept for about 6 hours afterwards, so I was exhausted. 

Jackie (In the land of the living skies). I know you mentioned needing bras before. I don't know if it's worth having things shipped from the US, but I know that Kohls ship to Canada. They currently have different bra brands on sale for $14.99 less 15% discount. So $12.74 each after discount. You also earn $15 Kohls cash for every $50 spent. I'm not sure if this is worth it to you, but thought I'd mention it just in case.

I'm not cooking anything until Thanksgiving day. We have lots of leftovers to eat, so that's what's for lunch & dinner until Wednesday. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Hope it's a wonderful day for all. Stay safe, warm & healthy. I'll be back to blogging next week.

Friday chit chat

Another week down. It's crazy how fast this year is going by. Nothing much happening here. I've just been trying to get things processed and listed for sale. 

• Went to Sams for pumpkin pie on Tuesday and there were NO pumpkin pies. I felt like crying. Seems like everyone else had the same idea as me to buy their pies early too. I especially went to the store to get pies. I came home with everything but the kitchen sink...lol, but no pies. Okay, I didn't buy much, but I mainly went for pie & yogurt. I always buy my pies early, because I hate shopping Thanksgiving week. The stores are packed and I don't have the patience for long lines. 

• Decided to go to Sams before the lunch time crowd hit on Thursday and got my 2 pies (there were only 9-10 pies available. Unusual for Sams).Phew! One for the guys and one for me...lol. I'm kidding, but I do love pumpkin pie. Crazy thing is that I won't just eat plain old pumpkin. Same with green beans, but I love green bean casserole. It's the French's onions that does it for me. 

• I forgot to buy cool whip and decided not to get any. None of us care if we have cool whip for the pie or not, so I'm not gonna bother. Less sugars and calories for us too.

• I'm back to making my own flavored coffee again (I mainly do this in winter). I just add my spice of choice (cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, pumpkin pie) and voila! flavored coffee minus the sugars and artificial junk.

• Stopped at Ollies to use the 15% Q that expires this weekend and bought Evoo that I needed and some books. 

• Eddie Bauer had free shipping yesterday, so I bought a Free t-shirt with my $10 Q they sent. The kicker is that I also earned 10c Rakuten cash for my free t-shirt...lol. MM, yay!!..lol I should probably do a post about all the freebies I scored the past month. I still have some rewards to redeem then I'll do the post. 

• I have a BBW mailer q for free product that I need to redeem. Today I received another Q for a free item. You can now redeem the free Q online too, so I'm hoping they'll do a free shipping day sometime, otherwise I have to make a special trip to the mall.

• Picked up a rotisserie chicken and sandwich croissants at Sams on Tuesday, so we made sandwiches with the leftover chicken & croissants (added lettuce, tomato, cucumber to the sandwich) and added leftover veggies for dinner tonight. No junk food carry out and no extra money spent. 

• Submitted all my WAGS Crest receipts to PG and earned another $5 Starbucks gc. 

• I also stopped at CVS to roll $13 EBs, cause yikes my EBs were expiring again. CVS always reminds me of how fast a month goes by. The deals weren't good this week, but I managed a low oop.

2 x Garnier shampoo $7.00

2 x Loreal shampoo 8.00

2 x Softsoap b/w 7.98

Less Garnier q (3.00)

Less Garnier DQ (1.00)

Less Loreal q (3.00)

Less $2/2 Softsoap DQ (2.00)

Less Softsoap DQ (1.00)

Less EBs (12.98)

Tax 1.20

OOP $1.20

Earned $9 EBs ($4 Softsoap, $3 Loreal, $2 Garnier) and should get another $3 Beauty EB.

I'm not sure if I'm gonna do drugstore BF deals this year. Both CVS & RA only have 4 freebies (WAGS hasn't had BF deals in years), although RA has a $15/50 BC deal. I might get some gcs at RA, then use the BC for BF. 

I only want to pick up Diet Coke at Meijer next week (24pks are on sale for $6.99 and I have $1 Q) and roll my WAGS RRs. We don't need anything else. 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Stay safe & warm.

Rolling RRs at WAGS

I decided to shop & post WAGS deals early in case anyone else wants to take advantage of this week's deals. 

Trans 1 (DH account)

2 x Dove deodorant $12.00

4 x Colgate Optic ($3.99 ea) 15.96

2 x Crest t/p 6.00

Less Dove DQ (2.00)

Less Colgate DQ (5.00)

Less Colgate DQ (2.00)

Less Crest DQ (3.00)

Less RR (store Q)(5.00)

Less RRs (Manufacturers Q (9.00)

Tax 1.74

OOP $9.70

Earned $3 RR (Crest), $14.28 WC ($8 Colgate, $6 WYS $25, 28c everyday points), $3 Ibotta (Dove), $2 Fetch (Dove)

Total earned $22.28

The Dove is supposed to print a $5 RR too. I'm guessing that the RR I used was a Dove RR from 2 weeks ago, that's why a new one didn't print. I actually expected this. I just wanted to use that RR before it expires in 2 days. 

It's happened before that Store RRs roll into new RRs. They usually have different event codes (I know this sounds like greek to some of you..lol), so you'll still earn a new RR. I guess WAGS changed the rules again. 

Crest is also free after rewards this week. 

There are 2 different Colgate deals. One is buy 2 @ $2.99, get $2 WC. The one I did was buy 2 @ $3.99 get $4 WC. I figured it's better to do the bigger size, because it comes to the same price after rewards (25c each). Bigger is better...lol

There are 2 different Colgate DQs. $5/3 (or $5/2) and $2/1. Buy 4 items and both DQs will attach. 

When paying with RRs, please remember. You can only use ONE Store RR per transaction, but multiple Manufacturer RRs in one transaction. You can also combine a Store & Manufacturer RR. 

Trans 2

3 x Loreal cleanser B2G1F $13.58

4 x Colgate Optic 15.96

3 x Crest t/p 9.00

Less Loreal DQ (2.00)

Less Colgate DQ (5.00)

Less Colgate DQ (2.00)

Less Crest DQ (5.00)

Less RR (store Q) (5.00)

Less WC points (20.00)

Tax 2.01

OOP $1.55

Earned $8.13 WC (Colgate), $3 RR (Crest)

I desperately needed face wash. I'm on my last bottle (I found a bottle of Aveeno in my stockpile, but Loreal is my preferred brand). I'm so happy to have my favorites again. I had to mix & match, because it's all they had on the shelf. I don't mind since they're both Revitalift. 

I used my $3/2 Crest DQ last week, so I bought 3 t/p so I could use the $5/3 DQ. I don't mind paying $1 for the 3 tubes, because I needed to get my total high enough to redeem $20 WC. 

The WAGS gods are still smiling down on me. Another smooth shopping trip. I'm just gonna play it cool and not try to jinx myself...lol

So FREE Dove, Crest and 25c Colgate after rewards this week. All you need to do is clip those digital coupons before going shopping. 

If you are new to WAGS and have no rewards to use, try the following.

Trans 1

2 x Dove $12.00

Less Dove DQ (2.00)

OOP $10.00 + tax

Earn $5 RR + $3 Ibotta + $2 Fetch

Trans 2

4 x Colgate $8.96 (after Qs)

Less $5 RR from trans 1

OOP $3.96 + tax

Earn $8 WC

Trans 3

2 x Crest t/p $3.00 (after Qs)

Less $3 WC 

Pay tax only

Earn $3 RR

You'll pay $13.96 OOP, but still have $5 WC + $3 RR to use for future shopping. Not to mention those Ibotta & Fetch rewards. 

Happy shopping everyone!

An unproductive week

I don't know what it is with my back, but I've been having quite a few problems with it lately. I've never had back problems before, so this is strange. On Saturday morning I was busy at the kitchen sink, bent over slightly to turn on the garbage disposal & felt the shockwave across my lower back. I couldn't move for a few minutes and didn't know what it was. I finally managed to get to my phone to call DH to come in from the shop. He said it's muscle spasms. What the heck? He's had it before, but not me. I ended up spending the weekend in bed, I could hardly move. I still move slower than usual, but finally started feeling better. By yesterday, I woke up feeling great. Then by the evening, my thigh was in pain. So back to feeling crap again. I had this grand plan to just stay home all week & list, but that didn't happen. Best laid plans....

Monday I decided to run all my errands, so that it's out of the way. 

• Went to the produce market and came home with a box of apples. Mind you, I nearly dropped that huge box of apples, picking it up from the shelf. I never learn...lol. I made some applesauce and we've been eating fresh apples every day too. I'm gonna have to bake some more apple muffins.

• Picked up the Ibotta Thanksgiving freebies at Walmart and ended up having enough points to redeem for a $25 Walmart gc. I will use the gc to get our pumpkin pies and yogurt at Sams. I've never made corn muffins, so wish me luck.

• Picked up more Christmas cards at DT and mailed them. 

• Loft sent me another $25 Q. Boy, they must really miss me, because they've given me $60 total in the course of one month. It was only good for this week & I, once again, decided to wait & see if they'll do a free shipping day. For Veteran's Day they had extra 50% + 11% off all clearance & free shipping. Count me in!! I bought 3 shorts and a jeans. Spent $6.76 OOP. I didn't want to spend any cash, but it turns out that you can't use the reward if your total is under $25. At first I added a pair of socks to get over $25. Then I changed my mind because I really don't need any more socks. I still have enough socks to last me 2-3 years.  I opted for another shorts instead of wasting cash on socks. 

• I still had a WHBM birthday gift, which I used to buy a pair of jeans. I actually bought 2 pairs and paid for the rest with a gc. I now only have $2 left on those gcs I got for my birthday & Christmas last year. I think I had about $820 gc total (birthday, Christmas, Valentines or Mother's day). That lasted so long and I bought a ton of stuff. I filled half a closet (about a 2 meter wide closet) with all my purchases (clothes, shoes, purses, jewelry). I have a friend who told me that she once spent $1K on clothes at just one store. I couldn't believe it! She was a couponer too. We used to coupon together. Here it takes me a year to spend less than that & I'm more of a fashionista than she is.

Kroger saw me a few times this week. They had the 97c/18 ct eggs again, so I went and bought the limit. I had a few things on my list, but they didn't have any stock when I went the first time

Trans 1

5 x 18ct Eggs $4.85

Less KC (1.00)

OOP $3.85

Earned 20c Ibotta (10c receipt, 10c eggs)

Trans 2

4 x Thomas english muffins BOGOF $6.58

2 x Oscar Mayer Smokies 4.00

Less Free OM mailer Q (2.00)

OOP $8.58

Earned $5.10 Ibotta ($5 Thomas, 10c receipt) + $1.50 KC (Thomas)

Trans 3

3 x 12pk soda $12.00

Bottle deposit 3.60

Less KC (1.50)

OOP $14.10

Total OOP at Kroger : $26.53

Total earned : $6.80

Yep, it was a good week at Kroger. We were completely out of soda and I've been waiting for a good sale. I didn't care which store had the sale. I just wanted some cheap soda.

The week was even better, cause guess what.... WAGS actually worked slick as snot. The WAGS stars must have aligned...lol I wasn't planning a WAGS trip, but figured I'd make a pit stop since I was already out. 

Trans 1 (DH account)

2 x Tresemme $10.00

2 x Colgate t/p 7.98

1 x Bic razor 5.99

Less Tresemme DQ (5.00)

Less Colgate DQ (2.00)

Less Bic DQ (5.00)

Less WC points (10.00)

Tax 1.44

OOP $3.41

Earned $5 RR (Tresemme), $4 WC (Colgate)

Trans 2 (my account)

2 x Tresemme $10.00

2 x Crest t/p 8.00

1 x Bic razor 5.99

Less Tresemme DQ (5.00)

Less Crest DQ (3.00)

Less Bic DQ (5.00)

Less WC points (10.00)

Tax 1.44

OOP $2.43

Earned $5 RR (Tresemme), $5 RR  (Crest) $3 WC (WYS $12)

Submitted Crest receipt to PG.

My transaction turned out even better than expected (a small MM). I forgot that I had a $3 Spend DQ. I wanted to do a little happy dance. I don't know what was in the WAGS water, but I'm not complaining. 

I didn't do the Crest deal on DH's account, because I deleted the $3/2 Q last week. I had both the $3/2 and $5/3 clipped last week and I knew that it would apply the lowest Q first. So I deleted that Q (you can't unclip their Qs) so that the register would accept the $5/3 Q instead. So I just bought Colgate instead and still got a decent deal. 

Now I'm stuck with $24 RRs that needs to be used in the next 2 weeks. I also have so many other rewards, I need to make a list to keep track of everything. Stores just keep sending me Qs wanting me to come shop. I'm just waiting on free shipping days, otherwise I'll ignore their Qs. Easy peasy. It's not like I want to spend my own money. 

I did no CVS shopping this week. I haven't even looked at the ad. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

This week's this & that

Not much happening here this week, since I was out of commission the first half of the week. Thankfully, I'm back in the saddle again. 

• I made a Sams run and spent $200. Ugh! $100 of that amount was for meat and a bottle of detergent, $28 for yogurt. Prices are crazy. So much for my $250 budget this month. I'm still gonna try to stick to my budget since we don't need much and I still have the gc to spend at Walmart. I just need to pick up pumpkin pies & bottled water at Sams before Thanksgiving and hit the produce market. 

• Redeemed a $5 Starbucks gc (they didn't have DD) from PG. I still had old points to use, but PG now limits the amount of rewards you can redeem per month. 

• Partly cleaned out the garden. It's still a work in progress. I wanted to do it sooner, but the garden wouldn't stop producing. Temps will be slightly higher next week, so I'll finish it then. It's been rather cold this week. I don't know why I'm surprised by the cold, because it's November after all. We turned on both gas fireplaces to keep us warm. 

• Mailed my Christmas cards. They all went abroad, so I had to get them out early. I've been buying individual Hallmark cards at DT. It's so nice to send people personalized Christmas cards and it only costs 50c each. A small price to pay to make my family & close friends feel special. I need to pick up a few more and get them mailed. 

Earlier this week, I opened my last spare deodorant and decided to keep an eye out for a new deal. It just so happens that WAGS has my deodorant on sale this week. 

Trans 1

2 x Dove deodorant $12.00

3 x Crest t/p 9.00

Less Dove DQ (2.00)

Tax 1.26

OOP $20.26

Earned $5 RR (Dove) $3.21 WC (WYS $12)

What the heck?! It doesn't matter how long I stay away from WAGS, something must always go wrong. I immediately noticed that my $5/3 Crest DQ didn't deduct. When I make my shopping lists, I always add the numbers so that I know exactly how much my OOP will be. 

I just told the cashier I'll contact CS when I get home, cause a line was already forming behind me and they had 2 registers open. Then I'd have to wait on a manager to add points to my account. But then I checked my receipt and noticed that I did not get a RR for the Crest either. Ugh, are you kidding me WAGS? I didn't know if I was supposed to get points or RR, because their new ad no longer displays the details. So back to the shelf I went to take a pic before heading home. Contacted CS and they added $9 WC to my account. 

So here's the new breakdown.

Earned $5 RR (Dove), $3.21 WC (WYS $12), $9 WC (Crest), $2 Fetch (Dove).

Total earned $19.21. So it basically cost me sales tax after all my rewards. I opted to pay cash instead of using rewards, so I could earn the $3 bonus. 

They don't carry my regular Dove scent, but at this price I'm not complaining. I went to a different WAGS today to do the deal on DH's account. 

Trans 2

2 x Dove deodorant $12.00

3 x Crest t/p 9.00

Less Dove DQ (2.00)

Less Crest DQ (5.00)

Tax 1.26

OOP $15.26

Earned $5 RR (Dove), $4 RR (Crest) $5.21 WC (WYS $20) + $2 Fetch

Total earned $16.21, so a small MM

Success!! I decided to get a different Crest that I know the DQ attached to online and it worked slick as snot. The Spend deal amount is based on your pre-coupon total. We always get different amounts on our accounts. I don't know why. 

Also submitted my receipts to PG (Crest). That's 300 points. You only need 750 points for a $5 gc, so I'll buy all the free t/p that I can cause it gives me free coffee money...lol

So, I spent $35.52 OOP, but earned it all back in rewards. 

I will be posting Christmas treats recipes soon, so if you have one to share, please post recipe or link in the comments. 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

October monthly check in

Ever had one of those days where you're just ready to tackle the day, then something happens to interrupt your plans? That was me yesterday. Early in the morning I picked up something heavy (it wasn't even that heavy) and threw out my back. Then silly me decided to still have my workout afterwards. I knew it wasn't a good idea, but I was determined to burn my calories. Bad idea! I was in excruciating pain all day. By late afternoon I took an Extra Strength Tylenol. That didn't help one bit. Then early evening I took a stress relief aromatherapy bath, hoping that it would relax my back muscles. That didn't help either. I was in bed by 8pm, watching Holiday Baking Championship. Next thing I know, I had fallen asleep and it was 9pm. So I figured I can still watch the rest of the show. Fell back asleep again and woke before 10. I think I only saw about 5-10 minutes of that 2 hour show. I did not sleep well. I woke up every time I rolled over. I didn't even go vote today, because I can't handle the pain. I feel like I've been hit by a truck. The only time I feel half decent, is when I'm sitting at my desk. So my plan is to list and sleep today. I'm just throwing Italian sausage, onions & peppers into the instant pot and making baked potatoes. We can add the leftover veggies of last night. I usually eat a salad for lunch, so the veggies will work for tonight. 

On to October's numbers

Groceries/HBA/Cleaning

CVS : $5.39

Dollar Tree : $4.00

Indian store (spices) : $29.43

Local grocery store : 17.00

Meijer : $9.03

Ollies : $38.58

Rite Aid : $5.43

Sams : $411.31

Total OOP : $520.17

Earnings 

$25.88 Ibotta 

My earned drugstore rewards are not included in this amount.I count them when I spend it. 

I did not go to the produce market this month. I shopped there so late last month, that we didn't need a trip this month. I just filled in the odds at Walmart. I'm not mad at Sams. I did quite a bit of stocking up there last month, meat, juice, coffee, etc. 

MONEY EARNED (SIDE HUSTLE)

GCs Earned $25 (Mypoints)

Personal items (things we've had listed for the past 2 years) : $72.87

2021 Closet cleanout : $81.22

Big goal : $0

Drugstore items : $12.76

Total earnings : $191.85

Again, nothing listed. I'm just in work mode. I know that things are crazy in November. Everyone's in shopping mode, so I just have to keep my nose to the grindstone. 

YTD Earnings :

GCs (point earning sites) : $585

Ibotta : $442.82

Personal items : $832.02

2021 Closet cleanout : $343.70

Big goal : $641.03

Drugstore items : $185.12

Total Earnings (excl Ibotta) : $2586.87

YTD EXPENSES (Clothing/shoes/accessories, Christmas gifts)

OOP : $52.95  DS socks

Christmas gifts : $44.03 DS Kohls

Total OOP $96.98

Yay! Christmas shopping done & dusted. I just need to go get the gcs. The best part is that I don't have to worry about any holiday expenses. Holiday gifts are all paid for and gcs are budgeted for. Such a relief to not have to think about holiday expenses. I'm not even sure if I'm gonna do BF shopping this year. There's nothing we really need. 

The Christmas number is for DS's gifts I picked up at Kohls. I returned the other one and am just waiting on the company to issue my credit. 

The Christmas box to my family finally left the country, after sitting at the Chicago hub for almost 2 months. Crazy!! Now I can mail the other box. It might not arrive in time for Christmas, but they at least get to have another taste of Christmas after the holidays. Who doesn't like celebrating Christmas more than once? :) I really want to add a small gift for our old neighbor, but there's only so much I can fit into a flat rate box. I'm gonna have to repack that box, so I can squeeze in a gift for her. 

YTD OOP (clothing/shoes/accessories, Christmas gifts) : $1942.85

YTD side hustle income (personal, closet cleanout, drugstore) : $1360.84

YTD Balance ($582.01)

As mentioned before, I received a gift which I applied to groceries. That's why there's no Walmart numbers. I still have a small amount left, but we don't need much. I'm budgeting $250 for Sams & the produce market. I need to get meat & yogurt at Sams. I'm hoping to come in under $250, but who knows with the continuously rising food costs. 

I've also applied a new strategy for my stockpile. I've been adding a big All detergent jug from Sams every month. After doing the math, I realised it costs about the same price as all those little bottles when they're on sale at the drugstores. The downside is that the Q is normally a limit of one. So instead of taking multiple trips to the drugstore, I just buy a big bottle at Sams. Huge time saver for me. I also replace those big items like detergent, paper products, etc when I open a new pack or bottle. This ensures that we never run low or out of those things. I don't have to go crazy with shopping, I just replace it whenever I go to Sams. 

Our October numbers weren't the best, but I'm hoping that November will be way lower since we're fully stocked.