Money saving Monday - Extreme Couponing

Good news… My neighbor CC, who lives right behind me, was out shopping at Wal-mart and a lady noticed her binder and how organized her coupons were. She asked CC if she would mind doing a class showing how she coupons and gave CC her card. She works for a women’s advocacy place. Where they try to teach women how to get back on their feet after a tragedy or who need assistance. My neighbor said she would call her back after she talked to me. I was so excited she told me about it and gave me the opportunity to do this with her. I have wanted to teach a class. So I am going to be expanding my Couponing 101 series and featuring this on my Monday segment Money Saving Monday. I will be writing most of the copy and she will help with graphics and the Power Point. She is much better than I am. If you don’t want to miss the posts, be sure to join via GFC or LIKE Pounds4Pennies on Facebook to receive all the latest updates.  I post more items on these sites than my blog.

Couponing 101

How can I save 60% or more on my shopping trips? I will show you all the basics to learn how to start extreme couponing, where to get free coupons, how to organize coupons and how to stockpile by using coupons. Each store has a sales cycle that runs anywhere from a 6 to 8 week cycle for an item. Then the item will be at a rock bottom price. This is when you want to purchase the item and combine it with a coupon to get the most food for your dollars. 

How and where do you get coupons?

1. Ask your friends if they are going to use their coupons in their Sunday paper. If not, ask if you can have theirs.

2. Purchase 2-6 papers. So you can have multiple sets of coupons. Also Parade Magazine is in the paper and has coupons in there from time to time. And check through the paper. I have found coupons on the back of some of the sections in an ad. A good rule of thumb is to buy as many sets of papers as you have in your family.  Why so many? If there is a good sale on a product you will want to buy as much of that product as you can to have enough to last you until next time that item goes on sale.

3. All You magazine has many coupons in the magazine. It usually over $50.00 in coupons. This usually pays for itself each time I purchase this magazine. It is well worth it.

3. Places of business. Check with your local coffee shop, auto care center or dr. office to see if you can have the coupons from the Sunday papers they receive. I have to say I have never done this, but I have heard you can try.

4. Grocery stores or convenience stores have blinkie coupons. Blinkies are the little smart source machines in the Grocery store that blinks at you to take a coupon. Now that you are looking for them, you will be surprised at how many you will see. Again rule of thumb would be to get 4 or so, but don’t take them all. Leave some for the next person. You probably aren’t going to use them all anyway.

5. Coupon fairies leave coupons by products that they are not going to purchase or they do not want. You may get lucky and find some coupons there. I always leave formula coupons by formula for people with babies.

6. Products have peelies that can be peeled off to use at a later date. These are usually higher in value than other coupons. Also be sure to look to see if there are any peelies on the product you are going to purchase or if there are coupons included inside the product.

7. There are several sites you can print coupons from and some even reward you for printing and using a coupon from their site. I use quite a few printable coupons every week. I recommend getting a cheap laser printer. Some time the printed coupons are a higher dollar value than the ones in the papers. Go to SwagBucks and signup. You will get rewards for using coupons. Coupons.com, SmartSource.com, Red Plum.com and Target are other great resources for coupons. You can normally print these coupons twice. You will need to use another computer to print more coupons.

8. Facebook is a great resource for coupons. Many times if you like the page of a particular item you can then get a printable coupon from them. Please note they will then want access to your friends and your information. After you like them and print your coupon go in and remove that program from your apps to prevent them from gathering your information and your friends information.

9. If you have a favorite product visit their website to see if they have coupons available to print. Check back once a quarter to see if they will refill the coupon prints. At the start of a quarter they will usually reset the coupons for you to print.

10. Call or write the company and tell them how much you enjoy their product. Sometimes they will send you coupons to get the item for free. I know several people who do this and get free items, even for meat products.

Bottom line More Coupons = More Savings

Ok now I have tons of coupons what do I do with them?

How to organize your coupons?

I don’t have the best answer for you, but I can tell you what I do to organize all my coupons. I started with the Clip and go system, then I transitioned to the Binder System. I use the binder method to organize my coupons. I like knowing all my coupons are always at my finger tips whenever I go to the store. This is more time consuming than the other methods I will show you, but you can ensure you will always have your coupons with you.

The CLIP and go System

This filing system is one of the easiest to get started. Take your inserts from the paper and put them in a hanging file folder. Label the folder with the date of the inserts. This is easy and I feel this is the best way to get started so you don't feel so overwhelmed at first. You just pull the insert from the folder and go to the coupon you want and clip it.

Baseball Card Binder System

The second way is the Baseball card holder/Binder system. Purchase baseball card plastic holders and place them in a large binder. You will need at least a three inch binder or bigger and a lot of baseball card holder pages. Cut coupons you would most likely use. File them in baseball card holders. I have seen several different methods used for this.

• Alphabetically by product name
• Grocery aisle
• Categorized by products ie (healthcare, cereal, dairy...)

However your brain works to categorize things is the best way for you. There is nothing set in stone here. You customize this to the way you are going to remember how to find the coupon when you need it in a moments notice. This just depends on how much time and energy you will have to devote to this.

Combination system

Clip the coupons you are most likely going to use and file them according to the baseball card/binder system and organize them. Then the left over coupons you can file in the clip and go system for deals you may still want to get on items you may not normally buy, but you may need later. This is great for seasonal items. I like to wait until a good sale to stock up on.

Ok now you know where to get coupons and how to start organizing them. Take some time and figure out what your plan of action is going to be to acquire coupons and what method you are going to use. Go out and purchase the items you need to get organized and set up your system. This will make it easier as you get more coupons you can file them right away and be done with them.

Leave me a comment on how this goes for you or if you have any questions. I will do my best to help.

Happy Couponing!

Friday Finals

Wow I have been busy this week. I have started several posts only not to finish them, so I have saved them and will post these next week. I am hoping to do some work this weekend to make posting during the week a little more frequent and easier to do during the week.

I had little face with me when I went shopping at Wal-Mart and he was not totally cooperative at check out. It was after I got home that I noticed many items rang up at a higher price than on the shelf. Be sure to check the prices as they ring you up at Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart

1 Lemon Juice $0.88

1 Lime Juice $0.88

1 Terra Sweet Potato Chips $2.58 - $1/1 Terra Chips SS 08/28/11

            -Final $1.58

1 Millstone Coffee K-Cups $11.88 – Price on shelf $11.28

1 Libby’s Cream Corn $0.75 - $1/4 Libby’s canned Vegetables RP 08/28/11

            -Final $0.50 each

10 lb Bag of potatoes $3.00

I spent $20.22 and saved $2.00 on $22.22 worth of retail groceries. I also purchased a couple of items for my daughter’s birthday party this weekend. This food come out of the party budget. One thing was hot dog buns. The shelf price was listed at $0.88; however, it rang $1.25. I was not very happy when I looked at my receipt and discovered that.

Tom Thumb had something similar to a Mega Event also. When you buy eight or more qualifying items you get the discount price. The price off varies from item to item.

Tom Thumb

MEI= Mega Event Item

3 Wolf Brand Chili $0.99 – MEI $0.75/3 SS 10/02/11 (I think)

            -Final $0.74 each

2 Betty Crocker Cake Mixes $0.99 each - MEI

5 lbs Brown Rice $0.35 each– MEI

1 Nestle Toll House Dk Choc Morsels – MEI, $0.50/1 doubled Nestle Dk Choc. SS 08/21/11

2 Dole Pineapple $0.99 – MEI, $0.50/2 Doubled Printable

            -Final $0.49 each

I spent $8.42 and saved $12.35 on $20.77 worth of groceries retail. I love chili and soups and I am so glad they are back in season. I started in Feb. with couponing and stockpiling and I didn’t get a good stockpile of my favorite chili, Wolf brand. I am stocking up this time to make sure I have some over the summer when I want chili dogs and chili con queso.

Kroger

1 Hogie Rolls - $1.00

5 Mission Tortillas $1.00 each – $0.55/1 EQ at Kroger

            -Final $0.89 each

3 Dozen eggs $1.25 each

2 Whole Chickens $0.79 lb $8.41 total

I spent $17.61 and saved $8.32 on $25.93 worth of groceries. I have purchased a lot of varieties of meat lately, since they have been on sale. I may go back and get more chicken. I really would like to do a crock pot chicken.

CVS

2 Listerine Total Care $3.99 each

2 Edge Shave Gel $1.99 each

1 Huggies Pull ups $8.99

Used

2 $1/1 Listerine Total Care SS 07/31/11

1 Edge Manufacture FREE Q

1 $0.75/1 Edge Printable

1 $1.50/1 Huggies diapers SS 09/11/11

$4.98 in ECBs

Received

$4 ECBs from Listerine Total Care

$1 ECB for Huggies

I spent $9.73 and saved $11.24 on $20.97 retail worth of healthcare items.

I spent $55.98 this week Woo Hoo! Under budget this week! I have to say I am surprised. I didn’t plan as much as I normally do to make sure I stay under budget. I really thought I was over. I need to stay under budget for the next few weeks in order for my budget to work out, and figure out how to start stockpiling soups for this winter. My pantry is already stocked and shelves in my laundry room and my top shelf in my closet and cabinets in my kitchen. Where am I going to put it? Hmmm I feel like a project for additional shelves is needed for the closet under the stairs. We will see if I can get my husband to take on this challenge one weekend soon.

How did you do this week? Share your shopping trips below.

Friday Finals

I have not been feeling real well this week. I have been very tired all week. Last night I felt like I got a really good night sleep. I did manage to do some shopping this week. I went way over budget, since two stores had some really good sales. So I may not shop next week.

Tom Thumb had a Mega sale for mix and match buy 8. Tom Thumbs policy is they will only double or triple one like coupon.

2 Wolf Brand Chili $0.98 each (Q in this Sundays Paper)

1 Nestle chocolate chips $2.49 - $0.50/1 doubled Nestle dark chocolate SS 08/21/11

            -Final $1.49

1 Dole Pineapple $0.99 - $0.50/2 double Dole Pineapple printable

            -Final $0.50 each

2 Mission Artisan Tortillas $1.49 each – 2 $1/1 Mission Artesian tortillas Printable

            -Final $0.49 each

2 Philadelphia Cream Cheese $2.99 – B1G1 free Store Q, $1/2 Philadelphia Cheese Printable

            -Final $0.99 each

1 Imperial Margarine $1.19 – Store coupon for $0.89

            -Final $0.89

1 Welch’s Juice $1.99 - $0.75/1 Welch’s Juice SS 09/25/11

            -Final $1.25 – this is the cheapest I have bought Juice!

1 Pork Tender Loin $20.07 on sale for $8.05. $1.88@lb

            -Final $8.05

I spent $17.70 and saved $27.38 on $45.09 retail.

Sprouts

2 Voskos Greek Yogurt 16 oz. $2.00 – 2 $0.75/1 Any Voskos Yogurt Printable

            -Final $1.25 each

2 Packages of Pork chops $5.32

1 Package Chicken Breast Tenders $4.02

1 Lettuce $1.29

2.04 lbs Roma Tomatoes @ $0.39 lbs - $0.80

3 Hass Avocados @ $0.39 each $1.17

0.71 lbs White Onion @ $0.49 lbs - $0.35

I spent $15.45 and saved $1.50 for $16.95 worth of food. I am going to dehydrate the tomatoes to make them sun dried tomatoes. I am going to get as much as I get in a jar that costs around $4.00 for only $0.80 plus a little electricity. If you don’t have a dehydrator, you may want to think of getting one for things like this.

CVS

1 CVS Training pants 6.99

1 Quatro For Women $8.99

2 Gallons Milk $2.99 each

2 Excedrin PM 8 ct $0.99 each

1 150 count Tums

Used:

1 $5.00/1 Quatro Coupon Printable

$7 ECBs

$3.69 ECBs

$2/1 Tums CVS printable coupon at Kiosk

$1/1 Tums Coupon

Received

$2.00 ECBs – for Training pants

$4.00 ECBs – For Quatro razor

$2.00 ECBs – For Milk

$1.98 ECBs – For Excedrin

I paid $10.24 and saved $18.69 on $28.93 retail. I received the Quatro Razor for FREE, since I had the $5.00/1 coupon. This trip was great, since I paid less for Pull ups and Milk than I normally allow for budget. I also spent less than I normally spend for healthcare during the week.

Kroger Mega Event

MEI = Mega Event Item. This is an automatic $0.50 off

1.60 lbs. Lemons @ 1.50/lb - $2.40

2 Packages Italian Salad dressing $0.59 each

1 Sirloin Steak for 2 steaks ½ off $6.52

1 Deli chicken $7.99 – $0.80/1 Kroger eQ

            -Final $7.19

1 Pepsi Cola $1.25 – BO Kroger Deli Chicken G1 2 Liter Pepsi FREE

            -Final FREE

4 Yoplait four pack Yogurt $2.19 – MEI, 4 $0.50/1 4 pack Yoplait SS 09/11/11

            -Final $1.19 each

4 Marzetti Salad Dressings $2.99 – MEI, 4 $2/1 Marzetti Dressing SS 09/11/11

            -Final $0.49 each

1 Kraft BBQ sauce $1.00 – MEI

            -Final $0.50

10 Del Monte Canned Fruit $1.39 – MEI, $2/10 Del Monte Cans, Q found in Albertsons Ad

            -Final $0.69 each

2 Nurti Grain Bread $2.00 – 2 $0.75/1 Nurti Grain Breads Printable

            -Final $1.25 each

2 Fruitables Juice Boxes $2.99 – MEI, 2 $1/1 Fruitables Juice SS 09/18/11

            -Final $1.49

1 BestLife Margarine $1.99 - $1/1 Best Life Margarine SS 07/31/11

            -Final $0.99

4 Knorr Stock 4 tubs – 4 $2/1 Knorr Concentrate Stock RP 09/11/11

            -Final $0.99 each

5 Velveeta Mac and Cheese cups $1.00 – MEI, $1/5 Peelie

            -Final $0.30 each

2 Nestle Sweetened Condensed Milk $1.49 – MEI

            -Final $0.99

2 Yoplait Gogurts $2.19 – MEI, $0.75/2 EQ from Kroger

            -Final $1.31 each

I spent $48.26 and saved $70.67 on $118.93 worth of groceries retail. Wow this is my best saving yet a Kroger.

This week I spent $91.65 and saved $118.24 on $209.89 worth of retail groceries. There is more savings if you include the savings on produce from Sprouts, but I don’t include the full price of the item, since it is not listed on the receipt. Due to both stores having great sales this week, I will not be doing very much shopping next week.

Have a great time shopping! How did you do this week? Please share your trips below.

Money saving Monday

I had a really great relaxing weekend. We went and fed the ducks at our local pond and enjoyed a fabulous sunset. Then on Sunday my husband smoked a brisket using my dad’s recipe. It turned out awesome. Just about as good as dad used to make. This was my husband’s best brisket yet. I think he is really getting the hang of this bar b cueing thing down. I am looking forward to it. Yum Yum. As you can see little face enjoyed helping daddy cook too!

I wanted to share something with you I have been thinking about for a while now. Do you want to find more deals? Be sure to LIKE Pounds4Pennies on Facebook and also join my BlogFrog community. I will be updating these from time to time with great finds and steals and deals I find at the stores. Or I will be giving some advice where to find really good coupons or posting deal scenarios I find. I don’t want to fill up my blog with a bunch of posts of single deals all day long. There are enough of those blogs out there already. I have been trying to find a way to share these great finds with you, so I decided I would use these tools to do so. I didn’t want to start another blog with just deals. I really like to take the weekends off and it looks like you have to stay on top of all that on the weekends too. 

As always, happy shopping! I am here to help you save more money.

Friday Finals

It is starting to feel like Fall here in Texas. Thank goodness. I am tired of the heat. We have had the house open for two days now. It feels great. Hopefully this will cut down on the electric bill to help pay for Aug. Whew that bill was a high one.

Yeah it is Friday Finals time again. It is time to share your savings with everyone else. Let’s see how we did this week and see who got some of the best deals.

With the Kroger Mega event going on and no doubling and tripling, I still managed to get some awesome deals this week. I even had some great eCoupons too! However, I have not won a single thing on the game Kroger is playing on line. Bummer. I normally win something. I have been playing every day and different times of the day to try to win. Still nothing. Now on to shopping.

Kroger 09/20/11:

MEI= Mega Event Item -$0.50 off the price

1 Birdseye Frozen Veg $1.49 – MEI, $1/1 Birds Eye WYB Van de Kamps Fish Product Printable NLA

            -Final FREE

1 Van de Kamps Fish Sticks $6.19 - $2/1 Kroger eCoupon

            -Final $4.19

5 Velveeta Cups $1.00 – MEI, $1/5 Velveeta Cups Tear Pad in store a long time ago

            -Final $0.30 each

4 Marzetti Salad Dressing $2.49 – 4 $2/1 Marzetti Salad Dressing RP 09/11/11

            -Final $0.49 each

4 Carnation Evaporated Milk $1.29 – MEI, 2 $0.50/2 Printable

            -Final $0.54 each

2 Nestle La Lechera sweetened condensed Milk $1.49 – MEI

            -Final $0.99 each

2 Fruitables Juice Boxes $2.99 – MEI, $1/1 SS 09/18/11

            -Final $1.49 each

1 Tape $0.69

2 Ozarka Water $1.09 – MEI

            -Final $0.59 each

3 Kroger canned Tuna $0.69 - $0.40/2 Kroger eCoupon

            -Final $0.56 each (I should have bought just two)

2 Driscoll Raspberries $1.25

            -Final $1.25 each

4 Libby’s Corn $0.80 - $1/4 RP 08/28/11 – ($0.75 at Walmart)

            -Final $0.55 each

1 Loaf Bread $1.00 – Discount area

I spent $24.19 and saved $41.95 on $66.14 retail. I am going back next week to grab some more savings on items that normally don’t go on sale. Such as the sweetened condensed Milk, Fruitables I have more coupons and maybe some more salad dressing.

Sprouts had an AWESOME sale on Bulk items this week. It was 25% across the board on all bulk items. There are some things that just don’t go on sale except for this sale. I decided to splurge a little and stock up on some baking staples I wanted for muffins and snacks and not have to buy the retail versions. I could buy just what I wanted and it was on sale. They also have this great section with spices in bags they sell for $1.25 per bag. Each bag is about what you get in a bottle. Sometimes way more and sometimes a little less, but the prices are way better. I get these and open them up and place them in my bottles for storage. It is a great deal.

Sprouts 09/18/11 - No PIC available

BULK ITEMS – 25% off every price listed

0.48 lbs Chocolate chips @ $2.99/lb - $1.44

0.85 lbs Whole Wheat Pastry Flour @ $0.67/lb - $0.57

0.50 lbs Wheat Bran @ $0.52/lb - $0.26 WOW! You cannot pay that price at the store

0.05 lbs Cardamom @$53.88/lb - $2.69 – to make Indian dishes

0.53 lbs Sunflower seeds @ $2.02/lb - $1.07

0.55 lbs Oat Bran @  $1.12 - $0.62

1.05 lbs Multi Grain Pancake mix @ $2.09/lb - $2.19

0.90 lbs Chili Peanuts @ $1.87/lb - $1.68

0.49 lbs Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) @ $4.49/lb - $2.20

GROCERY items

1 Curry Powder - $1.25

1 Ginger - $1.25

1 Tumeric - $1.25

PRODUCE

1 lb baby Carrots $0.99 – Snacking for my husband at work

2 lbs Carrots $1.49 – For cooking

1 Celery $0.88

2.82 lbs Zucchini @ $0.88/lb - $2.48

2.60 lbs Onions @ $0.49/lb - $1.27

1 carton Grape Tomatoes $2.50 – dehydrated these for sun dried tomatoes

2.20 lbs Red Grapes @ $0.77lb - $1.69

0.78 lbs Roma Tomatoes @ $0.88/lb - $0.69

I spent $28.46 at Sprouts. I saved more than if I would have purchased these at a retail chain. I probably saved around half. I can’t wait for the next bulk sale!

CVS –

I can’t find my receipt for CVS. This is close to what I spent.

1 Scott Paper Towels $5.99

2 Bengay Cream $5.49 each - rain check

Used:

$1.00 ECB

$1/1 Scott RP 09/11/11

2 $5/1 Bengay Cream SS 09/11/11

Paid around $4.97 and saved $12.00 on $16.97 worth of retail product.

I also went to Kroger before the Mega sale for a few essentials:

2 Gallons milk $2.39 each

1 Pack K-cups discounted $3.99

2 Loaves Bread $1.00 each

1 Sunscreen discounted $2.00 exp 2013 Awesome deal!

I paid $12.94 and saved more than receipt showed since most items had a manager special tag.

This week I spent $70.56 and saved $53.95 plus more since some items were on sale and I didn’t have time to do all the math on each item. I also picked up a lot of great deals not reflected in my receipts as savings.

How did you do this week? What were your great finds? Please share with others below and LINK UP your savings.

Whatever Wednesday - Biscuit Empanadas

Now on to food. It is out of necessity we create or invent. I am not sure if that is a quote, but it is something I am saying now. I have been getting tired of eating the same thing. I really wanted empanadas, but I didn’t have any pie crust. And I was just too lazy to make some. So the mother of invention stepped in and I looked at my fridge. I had taco meat, cheese and biscuits bought on sale and BOOM! Biscuit empanadas were born. We have had this twice. It has gone over well both times. I have been telling my friends and they are willing to try it too.  You can get biscuit coupons here.

Biscuit Empanadas

Ingredients:

1 Can 8 count Biscuits
1 lb. Browned Ground Meat with taco seasoning
1 Cup Cheese
1 Cup Onion (Optional)

1. Open Biscuits and take a rolling pin and flatten out each of the 8 biscuits into about a 6-8 inch circle. Using flour for dusting so they won’t stick.

2. When all are rolled out, take about 1 ½ tablespoons of Browned Taco Meat and place in the center. Then top with Cheese. Fold the dough over and seal with a little water and a fork. 

3. Bake in the oven per instructions for the biscuit empanadas. Super simple and very delicious.

Do you have a recipe you would like to share? Please leave a link below.

Tips for Tuesday

I really love food and finding new and interesting ways to make creative dishes. Starting tomorrow I will be hosting a recipe swap on Wednesdays. I try to use things from my stockpile and things that are on sale for that week. Stop by tomorrow if you have a great recipe to share.

I have purchased a lot of cleaners, since they were on sale. I have a nice stockpile. However, I have decided I would really like to spend that money on food instead of things I am using just to wipe things off with. Food is always better. I have been researching how to make your own cleaning supplies. I posted about making your own laundry soap here and your own fabric softner here.

Today I am going to provide you with a recipe for Glass cleaner aka Windex.

Ingredients:

1 cup vinegar – I usually get this on sale and a coupon

2 cups Warm Water

1 spray bottle

Mix the first two ingredients and pour inside spray bottle. This is also great if you have run out of cleaner and there is no sale or coupon out and you need some more. You will save around 97% compared to the purchased brand name. Unless you can find it for FREE. I always like FREE. Who doesn’t.

Do you have any tips to save money? What about cleaning something that is difficult? Or any money saving tips you may have. Just Link UP below to share any informative posts you have.

Friday Finals

I made one last stop at Kroger on Tuesday before the big no more double and triple coupons. I have to say that I am really disappointed in this decision by Kroger. I wish they would have limited it to either one or two can be doubled at a time rather than removing the entire program. The other really big piece that has been taken away is you can no longer use a coupon on a free item such as a B1G1 deal. This was very helpful for vitamins. I found some really good deals on children’s and adult vitamins.

Kroger has been putting some very high value coupons on the eCoupons site. You may want to go and check them out, if you are going to still shop at Kroger.

With all that said I did pretty well in my shopping this week. Here is the breakdown by store:

Walmart 09/09/11

(1) Huggies Flushable Moist wipes $1.64 - $1/1

            -Final $0.64

(1) Speed stick Deodorant $0.97 - $0.75/1 Catalina

            -Final $0.22

(4) Cascade 3 count Paks $0.97 – 4 $1/1 Any Cascade P&G

            -Final FREE +$0.03 Money Maker

(1) Lamasil Foot Spray $5.97 - $3/1 Any Lamasil Product

            -Final $2.97

I paid $3.71 and saved $8.75 on $12.46 retail worth of products. The Lamasil is a great deal.

CVS 09/11/11

(1) Fruit Newtons $2.50

(1) Irish Spring $2.99

(2) Herbal Essence $2.99 each

(1) Huggies Pull Up $8.99

(1) CVS Allergy 5 count

USED:

$2.50 – FREE Fruit Newton print from Kiosk

$5/25 – Coupon loaded onto card

2 $1/1 Herbal Essence Conditioners

$1.50/1 Huggies Diapers

$1 ECB

$1 ECB

$3 ECB

$7 ECB

I paid $2.72 for all the products listed above and saved $23 on $25.72 items retail.

RECEIVED:

$2 ECB – Irish Spring

$3.69 ECB – Allergy Medicine

$2.00 ECB – Herbal Essence

$1 ECB – Huggies

I had a great time shopping at CVS. I went in only to pick up my papers this Sunday. I decided to go to the Kiosk to print out my coupons to see what it was printing this week. To my surprise my $5/$25 was good until Tuesday and I got FREE Fruit Newtons. I thought the $5/$25 had expired. I was so glad I brought my binder with me. I really scored today at CVS.

Walmart 09/13/11

(1) GV Soy Sauce $1.64

(1) Nutella $3.18 - $1/1 Nutella Printable

            -Final $2.18

(4) Planters Peanut butter $1.98 - $.75/1 Planters Peanut Butter

            -Final $1.23 each

(1) Benadryl Stick $2.28 - $2/1 Benedryl product Peelie

            -Final $0.28

(1) Whonu Cookies $2.78 - $1/1 Whonu cookies

            -Final $1.78

(1) Peter Pan Peanut Butter $1.49 – Price Matched to Albertsons $0.50/1 All You

            -Final $0.99

(4) Velveeta Nacho Skillet $0.99 each – Price Matched to Albertsons, $1/1 Velveeta

            -Final FREE

I spent $11.75 and saved $11.50 on $23.25 at Walmart. This is the first time I have tried the price match. It went really smooth. Albertson’s has better prices than Tom Thumb and Kroger. So I may be doing more Walmart price match shopping soon. I needed Soy Sauce and the coupon I had for Kikkoman did not make this cheaper than the Walmart brand.

Last Double and Triple Coupons at Kroger 09/13/11

(2) Yoplait 2 lbs $2.69 each – 2 $0.50 doubled

            -Final $1.69 each

(1) Ronzoni Pasta Garden Delight $1.00 - $1/1 Garden Delight Morning star Booklet

            -Final FREE

(4) Pilsbury Cinnamon Rolls 5 count $1.00 – 4 $0.30/1 Tripled

            -Final $0.10 each

(4) Huggies Baby Wipes $1.99 each – 4 $0.50/1 Doubled

            -Final $0.99 each

(2) Disney Vitamins $6.99 B1G1 - $2/1 Disney Vitamins Printable

            -Final $2.50 each

(6) Pilsbury Crescent Rolls 4 pack $1.00 – 3 $0.40 each doubled

            -Final $0.60 each

(2) Fliechmans Yeast $1.59 each – 2 $0.40/1 doubled Printable

            -Final $0.79 each

(2) Chef Boyardee $1.00 each  - $0.50/2 doubled ALL YOU

            -Final $0.50 each

(2) Land of Frost Lunch Meat $2.50 each - $0.55/1

            -Final $1.95 each

(1) Jennie –O Turkey Bacon $2.50

(2) Frenchs Onions $2.07 - $0.50/1 Any French’s Onions

            -Final $1.07 – Walmart is a better deal

(1) Pull up Baby Wipes dispenser $2.79 - $2/1 Huggies coupon Mailed

            -Final $0.79

(1) Welchs jelly $1.99 - $0.35 tripled Welchs Jelly

            -Final $0.94

(1) Minute Maid Juice $3.50 - $1/1 Coupon Printable

            -Final $2.50 Cheaper at Walmart

(5) Hunts Snack pack Pudding $1.00 – 1 $0.50/2 doubled All You, 1 $0.45/3 doubled

            -Final $0.62 each average

I spent $35.01 and saved $46.42 on $81.43 worth of retail groceries at my final double and triple coupon shop. It was later that I realized I used the Land of Frost coupons incorrectly. The coupon states it is for the Premium 1 lb size. I didn’t know this until I got home and I was going to tell a friend about it. I pulled my coupon and it was for the incorrect item. I try to use my coupons responsibly and do not intentionally try to use fraud. This was an error on my part. Sometime I just get excited to see I have a match for something I don’t always read exactly what the coupon says.

At Sprouts I spent $5.04 and used one coupon for eggs $0.55. If I have some time I will post this later tonight.

This week I spent $58.23 and saved $90.22 on $147.90 retail. How did you do this week? What are your thoughts on Kroger changing their coupon policy so drastically?

Thoughts for Thursday

*

Do you ever wonder how the pioneer women did it all? I mean I have a vacuum; I don't have to beat the rug. I don't have to make the rug to be able to beat it. I even have a small electric sweeper. The pioneer women, if they had a wooden floor had a broom to sweep.

Cooking involved getting the food and preparing it from scratch. Like going to get the still clucking chicken and cleaning it for a meal. Then she would have to start a fire in the stove and get it to the right temperature. Then cooking and preparing the meal then clean up.

I have running water in my house and don't have to go to the well to pump it to wash dishes, take a bath or get some to drink.

I have a dishwasher that cleans my dishes sparkling clean with the press of a button. The pioneer women washed everything by hand and dried it and put it away. They normally had only one set of dishes for the family, so the dishes must be cleaned after every meal.

I do have a bathroom to clean, which I am very thankful for considering what the option was for the pioneer women. But I do have to clean it.

Doing laundry involved scrubbing each piece on a washboard in a tub of water. Granted you did not change your clothes as often as we do today. If so,  I think I would spend 40 hours a week just on laundry.

And she did all this while three or four small children running around with no TV, or computer, and very little toys for the children.

It just goes to show you how thankful for all the inventions we have to help us. Think about it. What would be hard for you to do without?

*Photo The Prairie Is My Garden Painting by Harvey Dunn. Image taken from Laura Ingalls Wilder Country: The People and Places in Laura Ingalls Wilder's life and Books, by William Anderson

Tips for Tuesday

My husband thinks I am not organized at all. However, I feel I don't have all the tools to help me get organized and stay organized.

One of the things that helped make this theory more concrete for me, is when we purchased our fabulous bookshelves in the kids playroom. Everything is now picked up and off the floor. All of this stuff in the bookshelf was lining the walls of the play room. It was aweful. I wish I had taken a before picture. I just love going in there now.  We even created little stations for the kids to play. Now I just need to paint this room.

The other day the kids got a lot of toys out to play with. It was so easy to pick them up because we knew where everything went. When we were done it looked just as fabulous. It has looked like this for almost a month. It is so nice to go in there and not have all that STUFF on the ground.

 My next project is to organize my closet under the stairs. This is where I keep my birthday bags and tissue paper for presents and a few other items. It is a weird space, but I know if I put a large chest with some drawers in the back and the rest was lined with shelves I could organize everything in there. Plus have room to store more things like food!