Thoughts for Thursday

Wow! I have been really busy this week. I took my daughter to camp yesterday. It was so hot. I didn’t realize that her cabin this year doesn’t have air conditioning. She will be roughing it I guess.  I hope she is having a good time. I miss her already.

I haven’t had much time to blog, since I have been getting her ready for camp. I am normally one to forget things and usually it is something major. We checked the list twice. I feel confident we got everything this year. I even did a great time packing when we went on vacation this year. I think I am getting this down pat.

I did do some shopping yesterday. I will give you that story on Friday when you can link up your shopping totals for the week. Come back it is a good story.

For those in the Dallas area Sprouts has split chicken breast for $0.88 lbs. I am going there tomorrow to pick some up. I will probably go again next week to get some more. That is just a great price for white meat chicken. With the bone in chicken after it is cooked, I can the boil the bones for a broth. I have a lot of chicken broth saved up now for soups and stews this fall and winter. After today I can’t wait

Friday Finals

I did most of my shopping this Sunday. I normally do not get that chance. I am under budget this week. That doesn't happen too often. Here is how I did:

Walmart

(1) Whole Chicken $5.40

(2) Mom’s best Oatmeal $1.00 – 2 $0.75/1 Q Printable

            -Final $0.25 each

(4) Benadryl Anti-itch Pen $2.28 - $2/1 Tear pad at Kroger

            -Final $0.28 each

(1) Little Swimmers $9.97 - $1.50 peelie on package

            -Final $8.47

(4) Juicy Juice $2.67 – 1 Free WYB Little Swimmers All You June, $1/1 WYB All You mag AY June, 2 $0.55/1 printable

            -Final $1.47 each

(1) All You Mag $1.88 - $0.25/1 All You June

            -Final $1.63

(4) Pork N Beaks Van Camps $0.50 - $1/4 All You Mag

            -Final $0.25 each

(2) Scrub Scotch Bright sponge $0.84 each- coupon didn’t scan. I couldn’t find them in order to tell her to take it off. So I purchase higher priced sponges.

I spent $26.95 on groceries and saved $17.02 on $43.97 worth of food. I just added up all the Juicy Juice even though I had three different coupons for the same product and gave my final as price for each. I got the Pork N Beans because of having my binder. These were not a planned purchase. The Benadryl coupon I got at Kroger a long time ago. There were not any restrictions printed on it nor did it say any. I used the coupon and it worked. I always get blinkies and tear pads when they are up in a store. I usually take 4-6. You never know when you will be able to use them.

 

Kroger Shopping

(2) Gallons of Milk $2.39

(1) Hanson Root Beer Soda $2.49 - $0.50/1 doubled

            - Final $1.49

(4) Minute Maid Frozen Lemonade $1.00 - $0.50/1 doubled RP 06/26/11

            -Final FREE

(1) Ronzoni Garden Delight Pasta $1.00 -$1/1 Morning Star booklet in Frozen section

            -Final FREE

(8) Three Musketeers Candy Bar $0.50 - $0.50/2 doubled RP 06/26/11

            -Final FREE

I spent $6.39 and saved $21.77 on $28.16 retail. I didn’t buy much REAL food but I did save $77%. Most of these are snacks or treats.  I use these as gifts or if we have a lot of kids over I don’t mind feeding them snacks and things if I got it for FREE.

 

JCPenney Shopping

I purchased 2 K cup coffee packs and one small plate. I used my $10.00/$25.00 no exclusions coupon. I got these cheaper than through Amazon. I spent $15.63 and saved $30.42.

This week I spent $48.97 and saved $69.21 on $118.18 worth of groceries and care items.

Happy shopping. How did you do this week? LINK UP any shopping or savings trips you may have. I don't have any rules to this Linky, but just for fun after you link up come back the next day and go to everyone's site and leave a positive comment.

Thoughts for Thursday

I have worked in the mortgage industry before I took on my full time roll as the CEO of the household. While I was there I worked in various departments. I worked in the ARM department and we had our own language of acronyms. I always said I could speak ARM. Then I moved to modifications where I learned to speak mod. Now I am couponing so… here is a lesson on how to speak coupon.

Many of you wonder what all the abbreviations stand for in my posts. I will give you a quick run down of what each one means.

SS – Smart Source coupon magazine in the paper

RP – Red Plum coupon magazine in the paper

Peelie -  this is a coupon you can peel off a product in the store

Blinkie –This is the little coupon dispenser you see at the store with the little red light

Q – Stands for coupon

MM/DD/YY – this is the date the circular came out

B1G1 – Buy one Get one Free

B2G1 – Buy two Get one Free

OYNO – On your next order. These are usually catalinas that print to give you money off your next shopping trip

$X/X – This tells you the dollar amount first and how many you need to purchase for the coupon

There may be more than I have listed here. I will repost this once I have accumalated more or if I get a lot of questions where people don't understand.

I have gone to the binder system. I think this takes a little longer to do, but I feel better when I go to the store and I know I have a coupon for something I can quickly find it. I did not feel as frustrated when I was shopping at Kroger the other day and I saw the Ronzoni Garden delight pasta for $1.00 a box and I knew I had 4 $1/1 coupons to get it free. I would have been frustrated had I seen that and not had my coupon to match. My saving percentage went up because I saw several items I could get FREE or really cheap.

My two cents on the extreme couponing people on TLC. I have seen many articles where most of them are using coupon fraud to get the EXTREME dollars off. Also the stores are in on the deal and wave their coupon policy for the film crew to shoot the show. So the person on TV is getting special privileges since they have a TV crew with them.

I try not to use my coupon for any other than the intended purpose stated on the coupon. I have been corrected by a cashier on a couple of occasions trying to us a coupon that is only one per transaction. That is mainly because I forgot to read the coupon. I did not get angry with the cashier. I simply stated I was sorry I did not see that. Please read your coupons to make sure you understand the wording.

Don’t get frustrated you cannot walk out of a store with $1,100 worth of food for only $100.00. You need to feed your family. Purchase foods you can eat, but try to buy items that are on sale and you have a coupon to match. You will save more. If you don’t have time to visit many different stores go to Walmart and bring your sales flyers. Walmart will price match any items and will also match a B1G1 deal if the price is listed in the flyer. Then you only need to visit one store to get a lot of savings, but it may take you longer to check out. Remember time is money.

Be sure to come back tomorrow to LINK UP any shopping and savings you may have to share with others.

Tips for Tuesday

Packing tips for vacations. Things I always pack so we have enough.

I like to pack all the snacks we are going to eat in one suitcase. These can be the most expensive thing to buy when at the grocery store. We don’t eat out very much, since we normally book a room with a kitchen to prepare most of our meals there. The price of crackers per pound is pretty high when you compare it to the price of meat per pound. We try to just buy meat, cheese essentials when on vacation. Still this can get pretty expensive, since I normally have a stockpile of items to get me through having to buy those items when they are not that expensive.

My husband was amazed at how much we spent at the store when we were on vacation last month. It was at least twice my normal grocery budget. I think that really helped him understand how this system works and how amazing I am to be able to run the family grocery shopping on only $60.00 a week. I think he is a little more on board now. Granted we bought things I normally don’t buy like ice cream and some fun things for the kids. Since we were on vacation I thought we should splurge a little. We still spent far less than eating out for a family of five for three meals a day.

I also pack sun screen, lotions and toiletries in Ziploc bags to prevent any spills. I pack a box of ziplock bags and always carry a couple with me. You would be surprised how often you will use one on vacation. If we are going to be around water at all I put my phone and important stuff in a Ziploc bag and keep it in my pocket. Most of the places we stay don’t have any storage containers for leftovers we put the leftovers in bags and the last supper and breakfast the kids can eat whatever they want from the leftovers. My daughter got to eat macaroni and cheese for breakfast. She was in heaven. I don’t think I have ever heard her say she was full of mac and cheese, but it happened.

Our large suitcase normally is always over 50 lbs when we get to the airport. This time I did not pack any liquids in this suitcase this time. I packed them in the kids suitcases. We did not have to make any adjustments when we checked bags. Also if you have little ones bring the car seat. Renting a seat from the rental car company well you might as well just buy one.

I also pack coupons. When we go to the grocery store I want to be prepared for anything we may purchase and still save.

Happy savings. Do you have any great tips to share? LINK UP any tips you may have from previous posts or you have posted today. Can’t wait to see what new tips I will run across.

Money Saving Monday

Happy 4^th of July to everyone in America. My husband is smoking a turkey and a chicken today for the 4^th. I just bought the chicken this weekend and I purchased the turkey around Christmas time when turkey was on sale and we froze it until now. With bones and everything it is close to twenty pounds. This will go a long way in preparing meals in the future.

I think I have gone through a full sales cycle in the stores, since I have started extreme couponing for normal people in March. I can honestly say I really don’t need to go to the store for anything. I might be able to reduce my budget now that I have a great variety of food and healthcare products for my family. Of course I will still be shopping the sales, now I can focus on bigger savings items and healthier options for us to eat.

So if you are just starting out know that it takes around 3 to four months to get a nice stockpile of items to have a rounded out supply of items to make meals for your family. I have a nice stockpile I just need some more room to store everything. I need to get my husband to build some shelves in the wash room.

 I hope everyone is having a fun and safe fourth of July. We are having a great time. What is your favorite fourth tradition you do with your family? What dessert do you enjoy making or eating? What is your favorite summer time drink to cool down?

Friday Finals

It has been a while since I have posted. My computer would not let me log on yesterday. I called my awesome brother and he was able to log in remotely and fix my computer. Not only did he fix it, but it is running faster and better than before. Needless to say it took all day and I didn’t get a chance to post. If you need your computer fixed contact PC Doc. He is awesome.

Thanks to my new recent followers. I have tried to follow back, but the GFC is not working when I visit your page. I will keep trying to see if I can join. Thanks so much for joining my site.

Today is Friday Finals. I missed last week, since I was on vacation. I am back this week to share what I purchased. Kroger is where I did most of my shopping this week. If it has a + it was part of the Mega Event and I received $0.30 off. I have already reflected the $0.30 off in my price at the right.

(2) Ritz Crackers Whole Wheat $2.39 - $1/2 SS 05/15/11
            -Final $1.89 each

(6) Chef Boyardee Whole Wheat $0.69 – B1G1 – Q with Popcorn bowl, B3G1 All You June

            -Final $0.46

(1) Totinos Pizza Rolls $0.99 - $0.35 tripled received from manufacture just for calling

            -Final FREE

(4) Banquet Turkey Sausage $0.89

            -Final $0.89 each

(1.77)lbs Bananas $0.39 per pound

            -Final $0.69

(1) Kroger Natural Apple Juice $1.77

(3) Pillsbury Whole Wheat Biscuits $0.99 - $0.40/3 doubled SS 04/17/11

            -Final $0.72 each

(1) Banquet Frozen Chicken Nuggets $3.99 - $1/1 June All You Mag

            -Final $2.99

(1) Cheeto Puff $1.69

(2) Tositos $2.00 - $1/2 eQ from Kroger

            -Final $1.50 each

(1) Haribo Gummy Bears $1.00 - $0.30 printable No longer available

            -Final $0.10

(2) Betty Crocker Brownie Mix $1.69 –

(4) Ronzoni Garden Delight Pasta $1.00 – 4 $1/1 Q’s SS 05/15/11

            -Final FREE unadvertised deal good until 7/25/11 at my store

(2) Oscar Mayer Turkey Sandwich Meat $3.29 - $1/2 SS 05/15/11

            -Final $2.79

I spent $31.02 and saved $45.60 on $76.62 worth of groceries retail. This is the best deal I have gotten for Chef. I didn’t see any matchups on any site for this deal. Normally the Whole Wheat is not included in the sale. I just purchased some at Tom Thumb not too long ago. This was a better deal and I had my coupon binder with me to know I had coupons for this product. I was able to get a much better deal. I am starting to buy healthier options buy purchasing whole wheat. The Banquet chicken nuggets were not listed on any sites either. I purchased the Cheetos for my daughter. She was not very cooperative while shopping so I used these to bribe her a little. I noticed the Cheetos rang first right before the Tostitos and the Kroger eQ printed on the receipt right after. I am wondering if I could have just purchased Cheetos and Tostitos.

CVS shopping – My Awesome diaper deal

I purchased Huggies diapers for $7.00 for 2 Jumbo packs of diapers this week. This makes them $3.50 each for diapers that will last me for two weeks.

Here is how I did it:

(2) Huggies diapers Receive $4.00 ECBs after purchase

            -Final $3.50 each

Last time I visited CVS I received a coupon for $3.00 off any $10.00 or more diaper purchase. I had two $2/1 Huggies diapers. I had $1.00 ECB and a $3.00 gift from CVS received on my birthday printed.

$18.00 – for 2 Diapers

-$3.00 – gift from CVS

-$3.00 - $3/$10 diaper purchase

-$1.00 -  ECB

-$4.00 – Q’s SS 06/12/11

___________

$7.00

$4.00 ECBs for next time.

In order to grow my ECB’s I am only using the ECBs I would get back from the transaction.

Be sure to link up any shopping trips you have this week. I like to see how everyone else did.

Kroger Shopping

I found a few unadvertised deals at Kroger today

-Haribo Gummies $1.00 - $0.30 Printable Q
($0.10)

-Ronzoni pasta is $1.00 I think the coupons will reset on 07/01/11 to get it for $1/2 again.

-Ronzoni Garden Delight Pasta is $1.00 and Morning Star Coupon booklet pictured below. SS 05/15/11
            -FREE

Both the pastas had good until 07/25/11 on the price tag. So this is going to be going on for a while.

I found the hand baked bread with stone ground wheat about to expire near a section by the refrigerated area for only $1.00. This is normally marked $3.99 a loaf. I purchased the ones with whole grain stone ground wheat and no bleached white flour. I am freezing these and using them to toast or just use a few slices at a time. So keep an eye out for these. They are heartier and heavier than the normal bread Kroger sells.

Stop back by on Friday to link up any Shopping trips you may have.

Money Saving Monday

I have been on vacation for the past week. I do not like to let people know I am on vacation. I was going to try to post, but we had such a great time in Arizona. We stayed in Flagstaff and did day trips to the Grand Cayon, Sunset volcano crater, Meteor Crater, SnowBowl, Painted Dessert and many Indian ruins in the area. We had a great time and are readjusting to the time change and catching up on some rest.

Do you have a smart phone? Do you love to coupon? Did you know there is an app for that? Here are several aps I use on my iPhone for coupons.

Kroger has an app where you can load coupons on to your Kroger card for ecoupons you can redeem when you use your card at the store. You can load them or remove them before you go shopping. I usually check this before my trip.

Cellfire is another great app where you can load coupons to your grocery savings card through your cellfire account. Sometimes Cellfire will have a coupon off your next shopping order. Be sure to check back often.

There is also an app called shopsavvy where you can scan the barcode of an item using your phone. It will find the item and list all the places and prices where you can purchase the item. This is not as effective for small items, this is great for large purchases like TVs and other appliances. You will still need to do some research on things such as shipping and handling costs, and how quickly the item will ship.

Now Saving Star has added an app for your phone. I have recently downloaded this and have started using it.  This will let you store coupons on your savings cards and then as  you use them you are able to redeem gift cards from them. I have not used enough for a gift card yet. If you have please leave a comment on how easy or difficult it was to redeem.

Those are the ones I use the most. I love the fact you can review them while you are shopping and add or remove as needed. Do you have any other apps you like to use?

Kroger Shopping, Tom Thumb Shopping

I went shopping on Tuesday this week. Tom Thumb had the better deals this week. It was similar to a mega event at Kroger. I purchased quite a few things and even more was on sale at the store. If they do that again, I may have to shop and make a list first and go back and purchase items with coupon matchups. I haven’t been doing as well at Kroger lately. They are changing the prices on a lot of items. This may be due to the Walmart opening across the street. I have heard they are going to be taking away the double and triple coupons. This has not happened in my area yet. I hope they keep it, since I will shop at Kroger for a coupon under $0.50, since I know it will be doubled.

Here is how I did:

(1) ½ Gallon Milk $1.79

(3) Wheat thins snack sticks $2.00 – 3 $1/1 Q

            -Final $1.00 each

(1) Pull ups $8.99 - $2/1 Huggies Home Mailer

            -Final $6.99

(2) Mission Tortillas $1.69 – Sale $1.00

            -Final $1.00 each

(4) Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta $1.00 each – 2 $1/2 Q printable

            -Final $0.50 each

(4) Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Pasta $1.00 each – 2 $1/2 Q printable

            -Final $0.50 each

(2) Snuggle Fabric Softner $2.99 – 2 $1/1 Snuggle softner printable

            -Final $1.99 each

(12) Yoplait Yogurt cups $0.50 – 2 $0.40/6 doubled Yoplait cups

            -Final $0.37 each

I spent $27.07 and saved $28.32 on $55.39 retail on groceries this week. 

I couldn’t wait another day to get an additional $1.00 off for the Pull-ups. We were completely out. They are finally carrying the Garden delight pasta, but it was not on sale this time. So I skipped it in hopes it will be available next time. The coupon expires in September. I might have said this last week, but Yoplait is my favorite yogurt. I will buy a bunch when it is on sale.

Here is how I did at Tom Thumb:

(2) Betty Crocker Cake Mix $0.89 each

(8) Chef Boyardee Whole Wheat pasta $0.75 each

(6) Hunts Snack pack pudding $0.69

(2) Cheez –It Colby $1.99 – 2 $0.70/1 Q Colby Cheez – it Printable

            -Final $1.29

 (2) Classico Pasta Sauce $2.99 BOGO - $1/1 Classico Peelie

            -Final $0.99 each

(10) Fuze drinks $0.75 – 5 $1/2 Fuze drinks Q

            -Final $0.29 each
(4) International delight Creamer quart $2.79 - 2 $1/2 Int'l delight quart Q's
           -Final $2.29
(1) Q-Tips $2.49 - $0.30/1 Q-tips Tripled
           -Final $1.59

(2) Cortaid $3.99 - 2 $3/1 Cortaid Q
         -Final $0.99 each
(1) Carl Buddig $2.99 - $1/1 Carl Buddig 12-14 oz Pritable
         - Final $1.99
(1) Odwalla Juice $1.49 - 1 $0.35 Odwalla Juice Q tripled
         -Final $0.44

I spent $34.92 and saved $50.44 on $85.36 retail. I plan on freezing the pudding and sticking plastic spoons in the top. This makes instant popsicles.  There is a coupon in All You magazine for the Whole Wheat Chef; however I didn’t bring it because whole wheat is usually not considered in the sale. This just makes me want to go to the binder system more. I want all my coupons with me when I shop.

My neighbor and I are talking about getting together and putting ours in a binder. Plus I may be able to give her coupons I will not use and she can help me too.

How did you do this week? Link up and share your shopping trips. LINK UP!

Thoughts for Thursday

It is with sadness I write today. I have lost my dog of 11 years to tumors throughout his body. We decided to end his suffering today. I am not one who gets really attached to animals, but this little guy really touched my heart. I still remember the day we picked him out at the shelter. At first he seemed a little boring, until you got him out of the kennel. Then he was a ball of energy. Super hyper and great. He was an Australian Sheppard mix. We love and miss you Scotty.

Before I found out about Scotty’s condition yesterday I was cleaning house. My little one is absolutely terrified of the vacuum cleaner. I usually try to get him out of the house when I vacuum. I got a wonderful idea from a fellow bloggers post. Have them paint the fence with water. This was great. They had a cup and got two paintbrushes and painted the fence with water. You don’t have to worry about any clean up and they can get it all over themselves and it dries. As it dried they painted over it again. Who do you think enjoyed it more? The 9 year old. She was discovering all new painting techniques. I nearly couldn’t get her back in the house. The two year old had a great time too.

 I also wanted to share with you a few sites I visit to make some extra money. You will not become a millionaire, but a few dollars here and there helps with the budget. I use Swagbucks to earn points that can be used to purchase online gift cards. I like to earn the Amazon gift card and use it to purchase coffee at Amazon. If you sign up you will get 80 bucks for signing up. You can take daily polls for 1 buck and visit the survey page. You can also win bucks by using their site to search for things. There are many other ways to earn bucks for things. Stop by and check them out.

I also use is Inbox Dollars. You will receive emails in your inbox. Then you can click on the surveys or emails and receive money in your account. You can then request a check and have it sent to your house. This is very easy to do. You will receive $5.00 for signing up with them.

I usually visit these sites daily to get the incentives. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Tips for Tuesday

With many of us couponing or trying to save money we need to stretch those box meals a little further. For me a simple box meal just doesn’t feed all five of us.  I like to have leftovers for little face and me for lunch the next day. It is easier to decide what we will eat and I don’t have to make a big meal just for two people.

I would like to share with you a few ideas I have for adding flavor to boxed meals without adding sodium. The sodium content of these is amazingly high. I try not to feed these to my family very often, but they are better than buying fast food for five of us. I will do it in a pinch.

The best thing to add to any meal is an onion. I can purchase these for $0.49 lbs. So I am only adding $0.49 extra cost to my meal. I usually use ½ or 1 onion chopped and sautéed . This adds not only lots of flavor but around a ½ to 1 pound of food to the meal. The kids don’t even know it is in there, since most boxed meals have onion powder. Adding onion ramps up the flavor and increases the vegetables for the meal.

I also like to add carrots, especially to higher sodium meals. This will help decrease the salty taste in a meal. I will add around 1 or 2 peeled and either shredded, pureed or chopped finely. This is around ¼ to a ½ cup of carrots. What a sneaky way to enter extra veggies into the kids meals and they don’t even know. I like to add carrots to Sloppy Joes too. We just need a little more to make it stretch to feed all of us.

Corn is the next best thing to add to a meal. I find it goes well especially with Mexican dishes. I try to buy frozen when I can. Otherwise just open a can and pour it in. I like the cream style corn with the Asian Rice a Roni. Use the water from the can for the water to add to the dish. This will add just a little more flavor than just regular water. I will also save the water from the corn and use this for soups later.

Try adding peas to a meal. If you or your kids don’t like the taste of peas try pureeing them and add that to the meal. You won’t see them or taste them either. I like to add peas to fried rice and canned soups.

Beans can be added for extra protein to any dish. I like black beans for Mexican dishes. Sometimes I will add both corn and black beans to stretch a meal.

Try adding a little of two or three of the above mentioned vegetables to each meal to see what you can come up with and not change the taste too much. This is a fun experiment to try with your family. Try other vegetables you like to see what other combinations you can come up with. Look at the box and see what dehydrated veggies are already in there and add the real thing. This is a great way to stretch a meal for just a few pennies per meal.

Do you normally add anything to a box meal? What are your favorite recipes to add veggies to? What Veggies do you add?

*Photos provided courtesy of Wikipedia

Money Saving Monday

I went to my high school reunion this weekend. We all had a lot of fun catching up on memories and what has happened the last 20 years. I lived in a very small town growing up. Most of my classmates and I had gone to school with each other since kindergarten. Some people had stayed and some had moved away. Other still had moved away and came back. I wish it could have been longer. It would not have been possible without facebook. We planned the entire event on facebook. It was also exciting to find out people are reading my blog.

Today I am going to share with you some ideas I have seen or remembered over the years on saving money with some very simply and small steps. I wish I could quote where I got them, but I just can’t remember.

You pay for 10oz of something you might as well get all 10oz out, right.

For ketchup and mustard try to always store the bottle on its head. To get the last few drops out of the bottle use a little vinegar and swoosh it around. Since both are made of vinegar this will give a little more flavor. If you don’t want to use the rest for fear it may have a stronger vinegar taste, pour the rest into a new bottle of ketchup or mustard.  This will also work for Tabasco sauce or any other vinegar based product. If you don’t know, read the label.

Shampoo, conditioner and body wash store them on the lids. This will ensure the product is all at the top and ready to be used.  Once you cannot get any more out try to swish a little water in the bottle and get the remaining product out.

When using liquid laundry detergent and fabric softner wash the cup out under the running water from the washing machine. This will ensure a clean cup every time and get all the soap out for a load. Once you have used all the soap run the container under the water from the washing machine to get all the last bit of soap or softner out and dump in the washer.

 

Lastly toothpaste. There is a reason they say squeeze from the bottom. Yes if you actually do this you will get the most out of the tube of toothpaste. Flatten out the tube of toothpaste, use the edge of your toothbrush to push the remaining toothpaste to the top. Then fold up the end of the toothpaste so it will all squeeze out to the top. I am always amazed at how much toothpaste is still in there.

Does anyone else have any other ideas? Leave a comment below to share with others.

Kroger Shopping, Tom Thumb Shopping, Walmart Shopping

I did a lot of shopping this week with two kids in tow. I had Little Miss and Little Face with me. Little Miss hates shopping. I was interested to see how this was going to turn out. With my surprise, she did great. She wanted to push the cart most of the time. This allowed me to look and concentrate a little more to see if there were any other deals out there and price compare a few items.

I finally hit the 70% saved mark on one of my receipts. There were not a lot of items purchased, but I even had an impulse buy on tortillas with no coupon and still saved 70%. Here is a list of my weekly finals with all the stores I have visited.

You can find my Drugstore CVS post here.

1^st Trip to Kroger 06/07/11

(2) Pineapples $1.00 each - $1.25/2 Del Monte Pineapples

            -Final $0.38 each

(2) International Delight creamers Pint $1.50 each – 2 $0.55/1 Pint Creamers

            -Final $0.95 each

(4) Pert shampoo trial size $1.00 each – 4 $1/1 Pert any size shampoo

            -Final FREE

(4) Mission Tortillas $1.00 on Sale from $1.69

            -Final $1.00 each

I spent $6.65 and saved $16.07 on $22.72 worth of groceries. I saved 70% yeah I finally hit that mark. I am so excited. It may not have been many items. I am still excited since one was an impulse buy.

My Walmart will not let me use the pert $1.00 off on trial sizes. If it is a money maker coupon, it has to be what is on the picture of the coupon or it has to be written on the coupon. They are very sticky there. I would rather get it free than not at all. I usually donate these.

Walmart Trip

(.52) lbs Bananas @0.39 lbs - $0.66

(1) GV Parmesan cheese $2.62

(1) Huggies Pull Ups $8.97 - $1.50/1 blinkie coupon

            -Final $7.47

I spent $10.75 and only saved $1.50. The bananas were an impulse buy since this was such a great price. I should have gotten more to freeze for breads and smoothies. Oh well there is always next week.

Tom Thumb Trip

Tom Thumb has the 8 Mix and Match sale. With Tom Thumb the amount off depends on the product purchased. This is like a Kroger mega event you get $0.50 off of 8 qualifying items.

(2) Chef Boyardee beefaroni $1.25 – $0.50 off

            -Final $0.75 each

(2) Marsh Mallows $1.69 - $0.90 off

            -Final $0.79

(4) Gogurt $2.19 each – 2 $0.75/2 Gogurt, $1.00 off sale

            -Final $1.32 each

I spent $8.34 and saved $8.30 on $16.64 worth of food retail. I may go back next week, since I walked around the store and I found other items I need that I knew I had coupons for. The Chef was an impulse buy and I had to rearrange some items I was planning on getting. I am glad, since we were nearly out of Chef and my daughter loves to eat it.

Kroger Trip #2

(1) Kroger apple juice $1.77

(2) Wheat thins Snack Sticks – 2 $1/1 Q

            -Final $1.00 each

(12) cups Yoplait Yogurt $0.50 each – 2 $0.40/6 Yoplait yogurt doubled

            -Final $0.36 each

(3) Rosarita refried beans $0.98 each - $0.50/3 beans

            -Final $.64 each

(2) V8 Fruit Fusion Juice $2.49 – $1/2 V8 Fruit Juice

            -Final $1.99 each

(1) Ortega Salsa $2.69 - $1/1 Ortega product catalina

            -Final $1.69

(4) Ragu Pasta Sauce $1.85 – 4 $0.50/1 Ragu Pasta sauce doubled

            -Final $0.85

(1) Edge Shave Cream $2.39 - $0.55/1 Edge or Skintamate Shave Cream

            -Final $1.84

(2) Dole Mandarin Oranges $1.34 - $0.50/2 Dole Mandarin Oranges

            -Final $0.84 each

(4) Franks Red Hot Sauce $1.00 – 4 $0.50/1 Any Franks red hot sauce Doubled

            -Final FREE

(1) Ocean spray Sparkling Juice $3.99

I have been buying 3 cans of Rosarita beans for the past few weeks until my coupon expires tomorrow. I was hoping for a sale, but missed the one at Tom Thumb. I thought it was a good deal since it doubled I would be getting one for Free. I also purchased the Oranges since the coupon would double at Kroger. Kroger has the best price on the oranges right now. I did not read my eCoupon from Kroger carefully on the Ocean spray Juice. It was FREE as a B1G1 deal however all it said on my phone was FREE ocean spray juice. Once you click on the coupon it states that it is B1G1 Free. Otherwise I would not have gotten the juice. I could have taken it back. I was still mainly within my budget.

I am running out of time and will try  to post the coupon match ups at a later time.

Did you score any great deals this week? Share your shopping results with others. Link UP!

CVS Shopping

We have had a fun start to summer so far. We have gone  swimming in the pool in the afternoon. Since my husband’s laptop died on Friday, he decided to work from home on Monday. It was fun having him there another day. He was multitasking with work and things that needed to get done around the house.

I did a little shopping at CVS on Sunday. I decided to pick up the battery toothbrushes on sale. My daughter really wanted another one, since hers broke several months ago. When I got to the store they were all sold out. I was bummed. I saw the manager I think he recognized me, since I come in there a lot. He said they were cleaned out at midnight on Sunday. Then he said I could go to another CVS way across town to get one. I then asked when would they get another shipment in. He mentioned Wednesday. I said I would come back then. I told him how I wanted to get one for my daughter and he scanned the code on the rack and said he might have one in the back. He went to get one and then asked me if I wanted another. I said I could give one to my step son. I think he had a lot more in the back and they only put so much out for the Sunday rush. I will have to keep that in mind for next week.

My big goal with CVS is to get things we really need and grow my ECB’s. I could have had less OOP, but I really would like my ECB’s to grow for things I want, but may not need. I try to spend no more than $5.00 a week at CVS. This week I purchased milk at CVS cheaper than I can get it at the store. Milk is already in my budget.

So here is how I did this week:

 

Transaction #1: Sunday

(1) Milk $3.19

(1) Pulsar Tooth Brush $6.00

Coupon $3.00 – PG 06/05/11

Used $3.00 ECB – Previous week

Used $1.00 ECB –Previous week

OOP $2.19

Received $1.00 ECB - Milk

Received $3.00 ECB - Toothbrush

Transaction #2:

(1) Pulsar Tooth Brush $6.00

Coupon $3.00 – PG 06/05/11

Used $3.00 ECB – Previous week

OOP $0.00

Received $3.00 ECB

Transaction #3: Wednesday

(1) Milk $3.19

Used $1.00 ECB –Previous Sunday Transaction

OOP $2.19

Received $1.00 ECB - Milk

Transaction #4

(1) Lamisil Cream $9.99

Coupon $3/1

Used $3.00 ECB – Previous Transaction

Used $1.00 ECB –Previous Transaction

OOP $2.99

Received $5.00 ECB

In total I spent $7.37 and have $5.00 ECB’s for next week. With my next transaction I will get a $1.00 ECB for my bag tag. I have the Zyrtec Coupon for free Zyrtec next week. If they have it in stock to get $5.99 in ECB FREE. This will be a complete money maker. If all goes right I will have $11.99 in ECB next week stocked up. It has taken much restraint to get here. I hope to keep up the savings and keep it rolling. Let’s see how high I can make it go. I heard one person had $100.00 in ECBs. I would like to be able to go in and do all my shopping in one transaction and walk away with the same amount or more in ECBs.

Finals Friday will be tomorrow to share your deals for the week. Come back to link UP!

Couponing 101

I have my first success story. I have been working with my neighbor to help her save money. They both work and have two small children. At the end of last year she had unexpected gall bladder surgery. Even with healthcare there were still out of pocket expenses they needed to pay which put a strain on their budget. I was telling her about the extreme couponing show and how I started using coupons. Then shop the sales at stores and match them with coupons. She doesn’t have time to make several trips to each store so she brings in the ads with her to Walmart to price match and does all of her shopping there with her coupons. It may take her a little longer to check out, but it is worth it. She is so excited to be saving money.

Now she gets the sales papers on Tuesday and goes through them to pick the items she wants and then finds coupons to match up with the sales. The entire kitchen table is hers on Tuesday nights so she can plan. She makes out her list and what stores have the sales. She is organized when she checksout so she does not miss anything. Normally she will go shopping on Saturday or Sunday with her coupons and ads in hand ready to save.

Everyone can save money you just need to know how. Here is my Couponing 101 guide:

Why Pay Full Price?

Do you always pay full price for your clothes? Or do you normally hit the sales rack? Then why pay full price for food? You can shop and get twice as much for half the cost. Every week the grocery stores put items on sale just like the department stores. Look for the weekly flyers you get in the mail and probably toss out as soon as you get them. See if there are any items you use on a regular basis. If there is an item on sale and it is a good price instead of purchasing just one of the item why not purchase as many as you would need for a 3 to 4 month supply. Now see if you have any coupons that match those items to get a further discount. As you shop you will learn the sales cycles for the stores.

Most of you wonder how do you have time to shop all those stores in one day? I can normally do all my shopping in about an 1 hour and 1/2 with little face in tow. I usually hit three stores. He is such a trooper. You can do it too. I have been teaching a friend of mine who has a full time job and two kids how to do this. You will have a list of items you want to purchase and your coupons. And those are the only things you buy that day. This makes the trip to the store very quick.

Coupon$ = Printed Money

Try taking a look at those sale items. Are there any items that are buy one get one free? What if you had a coupon to go along with that deal? Since you are now getting a better deal why not stock up and buy four, six or eight of that item? This would be cheaper than the store brand. That would last you until the next time that item goes on sale. Some stores even allow you to use a coupon on the free item. But check your stores coupon rules before you try this. Kroger allows it, but Tom Thumb does not in the Dallas area. Stores also reguallary change their coupon policies so check back often to see if things change. Kroger will double coupons up to $0.50 and triple up to $0.35 in the Dallas area for three like coupons. Tom Thumb will do the same except for only one like coupon. You may need to check out three or four times at Tom Thumb in order to get the best deals.

How Can I Get The Most For My Dollars?

Most products are on a quarterly cycle or bimonthly for sales and so coupons will print close to those sale to increase a company's sale for a particular item. Also another reason an item may have a great sale is the packaging has been redesigned and need to clear all the old product off the shelf so the new packages will fit. A product may not be moving and instead of throwing away all that food they will reduce the price to get it to move. On non food items this is great to stock up, however, beware on perishable items. Check the date to see if it is going to expire before you will have a chance to use it or if it is already expired. I have gotten a few items for free only to discover they were past their expiration date. If this should happen to you can call the company and they will likely send you a coupon for a Free item.

How do you get coupons to buy something?

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 muliple sets of coupons. 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. 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.

4. 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. Sometimes they 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 go to another computer to print more coupons.

5. 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.

6. If you have a favorite product visit their site 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.

7. 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 for even meat products.

Let me know if you have any questions. I am working on improving this page.

How To Organize Your Coupons?

Now you have a ton of coupons, how do you organize them? There are several theories as to which is the best method. I will explain several to you.

The CLIP and go System

The 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 fell 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 basball 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

·         Catagorized by products ie (healthcare, cereal, dairy...)

There are several options on how to then file with baseball holders. One way is to put all like product coupons in one envelope. Then you can organize them by expiration date. With the one expiring earliest on top. Therefore you can use that one first. Or you can just put each like coupon in a pocket. 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.