Making my money grow!

Ok, so BiLo has this current promotion going on where if you buy $50 worth of Gift Cards (not including BiLo) you get a $8 OYNO Cat or for $100 you get a $20 OYNO cat. I have been racking my brain to try and figure out how to do this without actually spending any extra grocery money since we are trying to live WITHIN OUR MEANS.

As I said earlier this week I got ALL of my grocery money for the month last weekend (which then my husband decided he would take $30 of it making it $245) and I knew the hardest thing for me will be keeping the $100 for the second part of the month like I am used too....So this morning it dawned on me after reading some other peoples posts on Hotcouponworld.com that I should spend the $100 I have in grocery money for the second month on an American Express gift card. The cost of that card is $5.95 in addition to the amount you decide to buy. So I had $18+ left of my grocery money and I decided to go ahead and do that. Stupidly when I tried to buy the GC through uscan I was told I couldn't so I knew I Had enough CASH to buy the other stuff I had so I did. However, now I have no cash left, just a $100 American Express GC and a $20 GC for BiLo. I mean I have some pocket change but that is it. OH WELL! Guess I am forced to either shop at BiLo or make due without.

My first transaction at BiLo

9 Kelloggs Pop Tarts (1-$.55/1+8-$1/2Q) sale bogo $2.39/2
1 Southern Home Toastee Tarts (FREE wyb 1 Pop tart store IP)
6 Lays chips ($2/2Q) reg 3/$1 -my kid ate 3 bags on the way home!
5 Lance crackers ($.55/1 peelies) bogo $2.89/2
1 Luzianne Tea ($.60/1) sale bogo $1.99/2
1 Eggo ($1/1 peelie) sale bogo $2.50/2
1 SH Waffle (Free wyb 1 Eggo IP)
$.10 bag credit

Paid $8.65 (cashier put in wrong price for waffles, they owe me $.65!)
($37.95/$17.38Q)

Received a $10 certificate to mail in for Kelloggs (b8g$10MIR) and also since I bought 10 I can file for a $10 MIR too.

Second transaction was $100 American Express Gift card

Paid $105.95
Received $20 OYNO catalina


Third Transaction

$20 BiLo gift card
Paid with $20 OYNO Cat

$00 oop!
($20Q)

So lets see...I spent $8.65 and will get back $20 in Mail in Rebates I also spent $105.95, have $100 to spend anywhere and also received in essence a $20 Gift card from BiLo! So I will end up with a Net $25.40 in my pocket!


Went to Food Lion next. I had heard they have Capri Sun on sale for $2. Not that I have a whole lot of money left. Of course I had forgotten to print out those flips-so I got HiC instead. Got some other stuff too. I had my son with me so we each did an order.

5 Glade Candle Holders ($2 Q) sale $2
2 Healthy Accent hand sanitizer ($1 HA flip) sale $1.29
1 dz Eggs ($1 GS flip) sale $1.29
1 Campbells Cream of Mushroom Soup ($1 GS flip) sale $1
2 Home 360 Tissues ($1/1 360 item) sale $.95
1 HiC ($1/1 HiC flip) sale $2

Paid $2.76
($19.99/$17Q)

SO I guess I actually came home with more money than when I left-I spent $117.36 and came home with $120 in gift cards and all the stuff in the pictures. Plus the TWO $10 MIRs (that are going in the mail tomorrow).

Total YTD
Total OOP $1840.93
Total spent buying coupons $143.13(Extra papers + coupons from ebay)
Total saved $5968.45 (coupons+gift cards used+ECB used)
BiLo GC $20
American Express $100
CVS ECB -$1.98
Dilworth Coffee $16.89
total $18.87