saving some cash

Stuff I bought this weekend:

A $6 bottle of laundry detergent
6 packs of gum that cost over $1 each at most stores
a family sized frozen meal that goes for over $3
A giant bottle of juice that goes over $3
two containers of sour cream that are normally over $1 each
two oral b pulsar toothbrushes that are normally $6-$7
8 deodorants that are normally about $2.50 each
a box of 50 kitchen trash bags that goes for around $8
A bowl like can of beef stew that costs $2.75
two candy bars for the kids (they were giving out bags of candy to people and I promised them I'd save them a bag...but then they decided to give those out to...they're some pretty good kids) that are 2/$1
A bag of Ore-Ida steam and mash potatoes - I think those are $2.50ish
2 boxes of cereal that would cost around $4 each
2 boxes of Pop Tarts that would cost around $2 each
3 bag of candy to fill up the kid's stockings -$2 each

I'm guessing I'm forgetting a few things - the totals were almost exactly $100 before coupons.

I paid a total of $5.38
I should also mention that I left Walgreens with a $5 gift certificate...so I'm really sort of out 38 cents.

The first question people always ask is, "so how much of that stuff would you normally have bought?"

Honestly, not much.  Before, we bought generic paper towels and toilet paper...and whatever was on sale for a lot of the other stuff.  (you won't see those on the list because we have so much stored away)  We just started using Viva paper towels for example- they're the single greatest paper towel you could ever use...but they're WAY expensive.  We wouldn't have bought those, or a lot of the other stuff, because it was so expensive.  Annie was able to stock up on some stuff two days ago that she never would have bought before, but with the coupon and the sale...it was free. Now we can stock up - we have enough razors, shampoo, conditioner, soap, toilet paper, trash bags, kid's soap & shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and cereal to last us through the winter...of 2010.

This is stuff we will definitely use.  Not only did we save a ton of money this weekend, but this is stuff that will save us money 6 months from now when we're still not buying deodorant or toothpaste.  Our only issue now is finding space for all of our free stuff.

And we can donate some of this stuff.  We can also use the money we're saving to give to something that will last a lot longer than toothpaste or delicious tarts that fit right in your toaster...