We don't really get much chance to take advantage of mass coupons because we shop so much generic. I read Maismom's blog with interest (all her amazing coupon deals) since she is local. But most the time I don't find it terribly helpful to me since we don't buy that kind of stuff.

BUT dh made a killing at target yesterday and he was very proud. Nothing on the level of the coupon masters. But good for us.

He scored 4 packages of poptarts for $3. That wasn't half bad. They were the big packages, so 48 poptarts for $3.

They were on sale for $2.25 each, he had a $1 manufacturer coupon, and a $5 off Target since he spent $50.

He also stocked up on Tide and Pantene shampoo for me. I laughed when I saw the 3 shampoos - I joked they would last 3 years. Honestly I probably go through one bottle every 6 months. But I don't spend much of anything on my beauty regime, so yes, Pantene is my splurge. At $9 for an easy year's supply (probably 18 months really), I would hardly call it a splurge anyway. I am very frugal with my shampoo - only wash every other day and you really need little more than a pinch - it lather sup so much. I actually ran out of shampoo and was using dh's Pert and I realized I needed to use a lot more with each washing. Just an interesting observation. So is Pert more frugal? Not so sure.

Dh also stocked up on laundry detergent and granola bars, and earned another $5 off for his next trip (I think that was from the poptarts, why he applied yesterday's $5 coupon to the poptarts specifically).

I need to buy some shoes and have a $5 coupon for payless. Will try to run by there this weekend.

I am sure dh will save the $5 off target coupon for groceries another time.

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Trying to be extra frugal this month to scrounge up extra cash for the dentist and such.

So we are looking at the month and trying to plan it out. We usually don't really do that. We kind of do things as they come along and by the last weekend of the month maybe we don't do anything because we have hit our budget earlier on.

So we were talking about all the stuff we wanted to do, much we put off from last month, and I decided we need to prioritize.

Will have to sit down and do that before the weekend.

Things we want to do:

*Meeting BM's friend at Chuck E Cheese. I have coupons.

*I wanted to take the kids to a park I frequented as a child and rent paddle boats. It was what we did when I Was a kid and my parents were broke. Wouldn't you know - $12 for paddle boat for 1/2 hour? Yeesh. We can skip the boats but still visit the park I guess.

*One trip to San Jose - to see fam - that is decided (we may pay $30 gas but we'll get lots of free meals - it kind of evens out).

*Train museum - we have been wanting to go to the train museum and get membership. It's relatively cheap. We had planned to replace our zoo membership with train membership. If we don't get to it this month, October is good - they have Halloween train rides and such.

*Hiking - we kind of want to do some hikes with the nicer weather. There's gas and usually parking fees.

*San Francisco - I don't think we will get to this in September, but we have been putting off this trip all year. Just popped into my head because weather-wise it is a good month.

*Davis Farmers Market, while the weather is nice. The priceyness is in the gas. We would probably pack a dinner and buy some food there, picnic, and enjoy all the free entertainment. To be more frugal we could not buy anything at all. But it is a good 20 mile drive and a decent gas outflow.

I am sure I am forgetting something.

We are leaning towards the park and the trains, and I think that might have to do it for this month. Perhaps Farmers Market on the cheap, if we can squeeze it in. They have live bands and a water feature to play in - kids LOVE it.

Oh yeah, and Chuck E Cheese is a given. I would probably skip eating there though. Blech. LOL. So I don't expect to spend more than a few dollars there.

San Francisco - the weather would be lovely but not sure where we would squeeze it in - kind of a busy month. & anyway, that would be PRICEY - going to tourist territory.

What I need to do is look up the costs of the train museum membership because I just don't remember. Everything else hinges on that I guess.

Oh yeah, I just remember the kids wanted to go to the drop-in care place. We skipped it for August, with all the expenses, but dh has free movie tickets so we will probably oblige. Will be in the $30 range - babysitting- for our date.

Yeah - we have to prioritize and estimate.

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Update:

I came up with the following - it still looks rather spendy when you add it all up:

Chuck E Cheese - $10
San Jose - $30 gas - $10 food savings? = $20
Kids’ babysitting for free movie - $35
Lake Elizabeth – no paddle boats this time – pack picnic - $0
Farmers’ Market – GAS/Food $25 (MAYBE)
Train Museum - $16 one visit/$35 one year membership + parking
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TOTAL $125+ ("entertainment/Misc" for September)

Dh and I discussed a date dinner in San Jose with the free babysitting, but I realized that will fit easily enough in our "dining out" budget.

I do have to remember that I may be eating out for 48 hours (perhaps expensive airport fare) with our Colorado trip. Likewise, we may treat our parents, or even more family, to dinner. After all, they are paying for our ENTIRE trip. So something else to consider in the budget I guess. We could/should drop $100 on the fam. I am just wondering how under budget we will really be this month, when all is said and done.

Then again, we kind of want to rush and do all this while we can. Winter will not be filled with activities - it is much more spent indoors. The farmers' market, the train rides, the pleasant lake weather - they all end with September...

Then again, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas (& birthdays galore) have their share of expenses...