Coupon Psycho...

Meijer MPerks

2010-08-25T09:15:00.002-04:00

Welp, Meijer is jumping on the Digital Coupon Bandwagon. It's sort of cool, now that I've caught up with the rest of the world and got a texting phone (read: my old phone was dropped at the bottom of Lake Leelanau for 20 minutes, not to be resurrected, even though we did put it in a bag of rice, take it apart and left it in the hot sun to dry out. Fortunately, we were eligible for an upgrade! Woohoo!).

Anyyyyyyyyyyhooooooooo -

Check out Bargains to Bounty's post here about the new Meijer coupon program. I signed up, the coupons that are available right now are sort of lame and, of course, mostly for Meijer products, but they do have a $5 off the purchase of $5 one available...which, to me, translates into FREE MILK, baby :) Although, now that milk has gone down to $2.49/gallon (regular price!) I'll have to throw in a bag of M&M's to get my total above $5.

Darn. :)

Raking in the Diapers

2010-08-20T11:29:00.003-04:00

If you get the Parents or Parenting the Early Years magazine, you are going to want to check out this fantastic deal posted on MoneySavingMom here.

I was able to collect quite a few codes, some from the library and a couple from some friends (thank you!!!!), plus I added in 2 $5 Amazon gift cards collected from SWAGBUCKS (why aren't you swagging, yet??) and managed all in all, to have 3 BOXES of Easy Ups and 1 box of Size 5 diapers shipped to my FRONT DOOR for $22.60. I'm serious.

Do you know how AWESOME that is? We're talking about 364 diapers here! We're talking SIX cents per diaper, folks.

Wow. I think I can make it to Christmas on these babies.

Random

2010-08-05T15:51:00.004-04:00

Well, I get the bad blogger award. And randomly, today, I felt like blogging. Who knew?

Well, lots has happened since May 6th. Although, not particularly in the couponing world. Looking back to last summer, I can see that I definitely have the tendency to slack in the summer. Even though we are still within our budget (I haven't increased it any) I don't record my receipts and I am not as frugal as I should/can be. It's generally about this time in August, when I start feeling guilty and hie up the reins, bring back the old resolve to do better and get my b*tt in couponing gear.

On a happy note, though - I have body wash to last me for a year. :)

And one big thing that happened for us this summer, that sort of applies to couponing - in the sense that couponing is trying to make your finances work and being smart about your money/finances - is that we paid off our truck. Woo-hoo! 3 months early and now we own both our vehicles free and clear. Yay! That's a good feeling. And we did our entire vacation is cash. Double Woo-hoo!

It's little things, isn't it?

As far as bargains so far, the only thing I'm really down on is that there are really cheap Huggies wipies at Walgreens -->see here and even that, I missed the 15% discount. Boo.

and there is a Super Saturday Sale at Meijer -->see here, where I am going to stock up on toilet paper. The Kelloggs deal interests me, but I don't think I can collect that many coupons and I'm finding out that our family doesn't eat the sandwich crackers or cereal all that well. Although, we probably could for a $5 moneymaker.

All I need is one fantastic freebie deal to get me hooked again!

Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs

2010-05-06T19:05:00.002-04:00

Woohoo - I can fulfill my $20.00 rebate with somemore cheap/free Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs. Thanks to this awesome post over at Commonsensewithmoney.com, I just saw that if you "like" Nabisco on Facebook, you can print off a coupon for a BOGO Nabisco 100 calorie pack. (Of course back space to do 2!)

Check out her post for info on the catalinas that print out when you buy these!

This week and Monday are my hectic week at work, so I haven't been able to post much or think about the deals for the week, but I wanted to be sure to post about this one!

Coupon Tip Tuesday

2010-05-04T11:24:00.002-04:00

Sign up to get Walgreens Ad Previews!

Last week, I was searching to see what kind of deals are coming out from Walgreens next and I found this little tid-bit!

Did you know you can sign up for Walgreens Ad Previews to come right to your inbox! I never knew that! Before I would always go to HotCouponWorld.com and look through their boards or wait for other blogs to post the deals for the upcoming week, but now I can get them delivered right to me.

Nivea Coupons

2010-05-03T08:53:00.002-04:00

In case you hadn't *heard* there was an H-O-T Nivea Body Wash coupon in the papers yesterday! I didn't buy any papers, but I did order some from Dede. I ordered 8 of the $4/1 Women's Body Wash coupon and 8 of the $3/1 Men's Body Wash coupon. I do believe with the Tone, Dove and St. Ives collection I have that I will be set till next Spring!

I have read around the Coupon Blogosphere that at Rite Aid the Nivea Body wash is priced at $3.99 - which would make the Women's free and the Men's for $1.00.

Also, at Walgreens - there is a Register Reward going on for $15 in Nivea Products. You can read an excellent scenario here. She also posts that you can get it FREE at Target, if you live close to a Target.

I think I'll be getting my women's at Rite Aid and using the Men's coupons at Walgreens.

If you want in on this deal, you should start scoping the clipping sites or Ebay now, because I don't think the supplies will last very long!

Nabisco Cookies

2010-05-03T08:28:00.002-04:00

Today is the first Monday of the Month! Become a fan of Nabisco Cookies on Facebook and you can print out a coupon good for a FREE package of Nabisco Cookies when you buy another package of cookies and a gallon of milk.

I've got mine and that should help finish up the Nabisco Rebate, as the Easy Mac cups are on sale this week.

Hurry! Print now, before they're gone and do be mindful of the expiration date. Usually it's not very long.

What I'm Working On This Week

2010-04-30T11:12:00.004-04:00

Well, there isn't much in store by way of bargains for this weekend, unless I found out about some major deal. There are a couple of transactions I'm planning, though.

Walgreens - Going to stop at Wags once more. I have a $3 Skintimate Shaving Cream. If there is any left, I'll probably try and roll it into the Stayfree RR and then get another Skintimate and one more Stayfree. This week has been fairly productive in the personal hygiene area! Thank you, once again, Wags!

Meijer - Only stopping in for milk and Nabisco 100 Calorie packs. Nothing else that I need. I really, really, really want to find a Kraft Easy Mac freebie deal for my rebate, so if you see one, holler! (please!)

Rite Aid - Just read about this one this morning over at Commonsensewithmoney.com. Apparently Rite Aid sells Kid Foster Grant Sunglasses for $5.99. There is a $5/1 coupon on their AdPerks Video Coupon Program. It's pretty easy, you sign in (or create an account if you don't have one) watch the video for the $5/1 Foster Grant coupon and then print! You only get 1 coupon per video per account, so I signed my hubby up for an account too and now we have 2 - $5/1 coupons.

I want to get sunglasses for my girlies for vacation this summer. Although I really don't shop at Rite Aid (the Three Rivers store doesn't accept Internet Printables - humph!), I have a $1 SCR from a Pull-Ups deal a while ago and I plan to use that as well. So, I'm basically looking at paying $11.98 for two pairs of kids' sunglasses, using $11 in coupons and paying .98 (+tax) for 2 pairs. I do believe there is a $2 SCR when you buy 2, as well, so I'll continue to dabble at Rite Aid. Thank you, Mercedes. Love it.

That'll just about wrap my weekend up. I love grocery shopping and bargain hunting, but I also dearly love not having to do a full-blown shopping trip every blasted weekend!

Mega Swagbucks Today!

2010-04-30T08:38:00.003-04:00

Did you know that every Friday is MegaSwag Bucks day? The more you search, the more chances you'll have to win every day, but Friday the Swag Team gives out bigger rewards for the searches!

All you have to do to start earning Swagbucks (you get 30 off the bat for signing up!) is click here and sign up. It's totally FREE (and we like FREE!) and instead of using Google or Yahoo - just use the Swagbucks search engine to do your searching with. I don't even type any web address in my browser anymore, I type it into the Swagbucks search engine - because the more you Swag, then more chances you'll have of winning those bucks. And those bucks add up!

Plus, you can invite your friends to join and you'll get Swagbucks when they search. Totally a win-win situation.

If you read lots of money saving blogs, you'll probably see advertisements for Swagbucks and Mega Swagbucks Friday and this is with good reason, because for me, Swagbucks does NOT disappoint!

So what are you waiting for? Give it a try and sign up, start searching and start earning those Bucks!

Walgreens Trip #2 for the Week

2010-04-29T09:55:00.002-04:00

I was pretty wired last night after the girls went to bed, so I asked Hubs if I should go to Walgreens.

"Why, what do you need?" he says.

I laughed. "I don't need anything!"

But I went anyway, 'cuz I had 2 - $3 RR burning a whole in my pocket.

When I walked in the cashier was throwing her water bottle up and down and yawning, so I took that as a good sign that I'd be okay to do multiple transactions!

I had 2 - $3 Tone RRs, so my first transaction was:

1 Skintimate - 2.99
1 Stayfree Pads - 2.99
1 Candy bar - .39

Used 2 - $3 RR
OOP - .73 and a $3 RR for Stayfree and a $3 RR for Skintimate popped out.

Transaction #2

Tone Body Wash - $3.99
1 gallon of milk - $2.29

Used the Stayfree and Skintimate RR's I just received. Paid .52 OOP and received a $3 RR from the Tone.

Transaction #3

1 Skintimate Shaving Cream - 2.99
1 Butterfinger - .39

Used the Tone $3 RR I had just received and paid .56 OOP and received a $3 RR.

I decided to call it quits there because there was someone behind me, the store was about to close and well, you just don't want to press your luck.

So for the items pictured below, I spent: $1.81 OOP, saved $20.10 and walked out with a $3 RR.

In the words of Adam Sandler, "Not too shabby!"

Meijer - 100 Calorie Nabisco Packs

2010-04-28T10:17:00.004-04:00

I was reading over at Bargains to Bounty and she has a post about how to get some free (after catalinas!) 100 Calorie Nabisco Packs.

Apparently, they are on an unadvertised sale for $2.00 each, and when you buy 3 - $5 worth of catalinas (1-$2.00 & 1-$3.00) will pop out. Making them 3/$1. That's a nice price!

I have a $1/2 coupon from the Back to School Booklet from last September and I'm currently working on fulfilling that rebate - it's a $20 rebate you can send in when you buy 10 boxes of Nabisco cookies or crackers, 5 Kool-Aid Jammers or Capri-Suns & 5 Easy Macs.

It may seem like an overwhelming amount of things to buy to fulfill the rebate, but so far everything has been F-R-double E! I also have $6 in catalinas from last week's awesome deals - so I think I can get 3 boxes of Nabisco and a gallon of milk for about $1.89 OOP and get back $5 in catalinas.(btw - is it just me or did milk jump up .50 this week???)

I currently have 6 things of cookies/crackers that have all been free - with these 3, that'll take me to 9 and I have my 5 free Capri-Suns from last week, so all I need now is one more box of cookies or crackers and a good deal on Easy Mac and this rebate will be a total moneymaker!

Keep your eyes open for me!

Walgreens This Week

2010-04-27T12:01:00.000-04:00

Three Rivers Walgreens were either, all out of the Tone Body wash, or they had them hidden someplace special. I was toting an impatient 4 year old, so I didn't bother asking anyone about them. But, I did head to Sturgis today on my lunch break and voila! There were quite a few of them sitting there. Woohoo. I figured since I had taken extra mileage to get there, and I didn't know when I would need to run to Sturgis again, I was going to go for broke. This was six, yep, that's 6 transactions folks and well worth it.

I did three of them at the register and three of them at the beauty counter. Collectively, I paid OOP $6.17 and walked out with $6 in RR. Not too shabby, eh?

How did I do this? Check it out here...

Coupon Tip Tuesday - Recycled!

2010-04-27T10:00:00.000-04:00

I know my life changed when I read the following information. It's pretty simple really, but it had just never really occurred to me.

"You can use 1 manufacturing coupon per item. Translated: If you buy 2 of something, you are able to use 2 coupons. Most coupons say "limit 1 coupon per item." If it says limit 1 coupon per transaction", well then that's another story. But those types are few and far between."

So - if Wheat Thins are on sale this week for 1.67 and you have 5 $1 off coupons. Buy 5 boxes and you can use 5 coupons to get them for .67 each! Then you won't have to buy Wheat Thins for a while.

Menu Plan Monday - The BLAND edition

2010-04-26T12:30:00.003-04:00

My daughter, Annie (2) has been, for the last year, randomly (or so we thought) puking probably about 2 or 3 times a week. She vomits when she eats too fast, when she gets upset, when she gets scared, when she gets hurt, when she lays down, sometimes for no apparent reason at all - out it comes. It's actually quite disturbing. Our pediatrician has seem fairly lax about it saying that some kids just have a really sensitive gag reflux, make sure she's elevated at night and to ride it out. I did finally at our last appointment get her to prescribe some baby Zantac in the case that Annie has acid reflux, which I do believe she does have in some form, because while the Zantac has helped at night, it has not abated the problem by any means. (And yes, Krista, I'm looking for a new pediatrician! :) )

So, poor little Annie - not sleeping and puking every week - and it's starting to worry me TREMENDOUSLY. Not just because I don't sleep either, but because I'm worrying about her stomach lining and her esophogus and because twice now we've taken her to a restaurant only to have rounds of throwing up and embarrassment and having to buy new clothes at the store next door. I'm sorry Dr., I just don't think this is normal.

So, I posted about it on Facebook and was connected with a gal whose son had sleep issues (which is what I think Annie may have too along with the digestive issues) and she takes him to the chiropractor with phenomenal results. I have been taking Annie for almost a month now and it has helped some and merits further appointments as the dr. is talking with me and his nutritionist about Annie's digestive enzymes.

So, how does this tie in to Menu Plan Monday? We are going bland folks. We are attempting to trace patterns of what Annie's trigger foods are and so far, we've definitely hit upon the fact that fried foods are just TOXIC to her. She will throw up every time - no matter what it is. It's too heavy or something for her. I'm also attempting to use the Deceptively Delicious book's techniques so as to get some decent nutrition in to my eater who is fussy, but can eat anything and my eater who isn't fussy, but can't eat anything!

So - here's what we're looking at this week.

Macaroni & Cheese - with sweet potato or cauliflower thrown in -(can't remember which it is!)

Pasta with sauce

Grilled Chicken, rice and peas (<- I really like rice & peas mixed!)

Mozzarella, Tomato & Cheese Cauliflower pizza - I'm going to attempt to get this right. First time I tried it, it wasn't crispy enough, and I didn't try to give it to the girls.

Hamburgers, baked potatoes & corn

Scrambled Eggs, Pancakes & Bacon - Annie won't have the bacon, but the eggs and pancakes have sweet taters & cauliflower in them...

Leftovers

So bland it is for us, hopefully, as we continue on, we'll be able to pin point other food sensitivities or triggers for my sweetie pie. Anybody have any experience with these? ANY tips will be welcome!

If you would like to find some more exciting or interesting menu plan/meal ideas - check out Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com!

Saturday Savings

2010-04-24T09:23:00.003-04:00

Well, actually, more like "Awesome Friday Evening" savings, but I didn't get a chance to blog last night. So, I did my Meijer run and it was awesome. I, of course, went immediately to the pallet of Mac and Cheese boxes looking for those wonderful get a FREE Capri-Sun peelie and I don't know who did it, but every.stinking.peelie was GONE! Even the packages in the middle of the pallet had the peelies ripped off! It was either an employee or customers, but it was a brand new pallet and there was not a peelie to be seen.

So, not to be deterred, I went over to the regular aisle of mac and cheese and there at the bottom were about 10 5-packs or so of what I was searching for WITH peelies. So I was a happy, happy camper.

So, all in all, the above picture is missing 1 gallon of milk, 8 yogurts, Doritos and 2 bags of 100-calorie cheese packs (and...BLECH! The 3 cheese blend one is awful.)

I paid: $32 OOP, saved $82 and received $6 back in OYNO coupons and $3 back in bottle deposit. So, it's like paying $23 for all the above!

Which bears mentioning that if I had paid full retail price for just the laundry detergent - I would have paid $25 OOP. Good grief. And I used to pay it too! The lady in front of me had a ton of coupons as well, so I was silently congratulating her, but the lady behind me was ticked with all of my coupons. If she's willing to pay that extra $82 for me to speed things up, well, by all means - I'm happy to oblige. But she didn't offer, so I'm guessing she's not.

Oreo Fudge Cream Coupon

2010-04-23T10:26:00.003-04:00

If you don't get the ALL YOU magazine and the Oreo Fudgream $1/1 coupon I was talking about yesterday sounded yummy, never fear!

You can become a fan of Oreos on Facebook and get 2 - $1/1 IP's (don't forget to hit the back button!) for these cookies that look extremely yummy! Just click on Oreo Savings once you're a fan and head over to Meijers because these are part of the Buy 5, get $5 off event!

Meijer Super Sale

2010-04-22T11:24:00.004-04:00

You are going to want to check out Bargains To Bounty's post on the Super Sale coming up for Meijer this Friday and Saturday!

I wonder if Meijer *heard* all of us couponers talking about how slow of a week it was! *heehee*

As for me, I'm especially interested in...

Kraft Macaroni 5 packs - $2.49 (Part of the Buy 5, get $5.00 off)

Use the $1.00/1 Meijer Mealbox Printable and we're looking at .49 for 5 boxes and I'm hearing reports that there are peelies on these packages for FREE Capri-Sun Roaring Waters. I'm not as much interested in the Mac and Cheese (although I can donate that to the sitters or church) as I am in the cheap Capri Sun. I need to buy 5 of them to complete a $20 rebate from last year! Here's hopin! If I can find the peelies, I'll be getting five of these and five Capri-Suns for $2.45! Bwah-ha-ha!

I'm also interested in the Oscar Meyer Lunch Meat that will be .50 for a package!
AND the Nabisco Cookies. I still have one of the Buy 1 Gallon of milk and a Nabisco Cookies coupon, get a free Nabisco coupon left. And I have a FREE ANY Nabisco Cookie coupon, so here's my plan: (by the way, you can only do 2 of the Buy 5 get $5 off deals in one transaction - so you may need to do separate transactions!)

Along with the Kraft mac and cheese and Capri-Sun (I hope, I hope!) - I'm going to try this:
2 Oscar Mayer lunch meats - $2.00 each
3 Nabisco Cakester Fudge Cremes - $2.19 each
1 gallon of milk - $1.77

Total before coupons and discounts: $12.34

Get $5 off instantly at the Register - $7.34
Use - $1.00/2 Oscar Mayer IP
Use - Facebook Coupon Buy 1 Nabisco Cookie and gallon of milk, get one Nabisco Cookie free (should be worth $2.19<--this expires 4/23 TOMORROW if you still have yours!)
Use - FREE Nabisco Cookie Coupon from botched up Oreo giveaway - (sent in the mail) - (2.19)
Use - 1.00/1 ALL YOU (May) magazine Fudge Cremes cookie

We're looking at a grand total of .96 for all of the above!

Put together with my Kraft Macaroni and cheese and Capri-Sun and oh, it's mind boggling!
25 boxes of Mac and Cheese
5 Capri-Suns
3 packages of Nabisco Cookies
1 gallon of milk
2 packages of Shaved Lunch meat for a whopping:

$3.41 OOP and it seems like I'll be having a $3 OYNO coupon from something...

Yeah, this is going to be fun!!! Wish me luck!

Free at Meijer: Kraft 100 Calorie Cheese

2010-04-22T09:58:00.004-04:00

I was reading over at MoneySavingMom this morning and if you haven't seen it, she's posted about a way to get free 100 calorie Kraft cheese at Meijer. (Anybody ever tried this??) I don't know if they are cubes, slices, chunks or shredded, but free bears checking out!

Here's how ya do it:

Buy 3 100 Calorie Cheese packages - $2 each
Use 3 - $1/1 100 Calorie Cheese Coupons

Pay $3 out of pocket and get a $3 catalina back.

If you can gather more than three coupons (and I plan too...) you can do the same scenario and pay with the $3 catalina you just received for a $0 OOP and then still receive another $3 OYNO catalina. I really enjoy how Meijers register coupons roll! It's a nice change from the Register Reward madness over at Walgreens :)

Happy Hunting!

Earth Day at Wags

2010-04-22T08:33:00.003-04:00

Don't forget to get very, very, very CHEAP ink cartridge refills at Walgreens today!

There is a coupon in their weekly flyer good for today (4/22) only! You can get your black or color ink cartridges refilled for only $1!

I am loving that. Usually it's about $20 to get the refills. There is always the chance that the cartridge refill won't work ( I have no idea why, but it did happen to us once in the past ), but I don't think they charge you for it, so it's harmless to try!

This will come in handy to print off that Tone coupon for the body wash sale next week, because currently my ink cartridges are bone dry!

Possible Walgreen Scenarios for Next Week

2010-04-21T10:48:00.001-04:00

I was investigating HotCouponWorld.com for the Walgreens ad for next week to see if I could come up with some decent scenarios to roll the $5 Nature's Bounty RR into. My personal first inclination is to go for the Tone Wash, but that will leave you with $2 of the RR to either fill (and milk is always a good filler! Buy the Body Wash + 1 gallon of milk, use the $1/1 Tone Coupon and the $5 NB RR and you should wind up paying about .59 + tax OOP and getting a $3 RR back) but there are some other things you could do:

Scenario 1:

1 Tone Body Wash - 3.99
1 Stayfree MaxiPad - 2.99
1.02 worth of filler -(candy or milk, etc...I would choose food as the filler, so you don't have to worry about tax!)

Use 1 - 1/1 Tone Body Wash IP
Use 1 - Stayfree $2.00/1 MQ from 3/28 insert
Use 1 - $5 RR

You're OOP will be whatever over $1.02 that you choose (+tax) and you'll receive 2 $3 RRs from the Stayfree and the Body Wash!

Then...

Scenario 2: You could purchase 1 Skintimate Shaving Cream - $2.99 and pay for it with a $3 RR from Tone Body Wash and have zero OOP (+tax) and get another $3 RR from the Skintimate.

Scenario 3: Purchase 1 Stayfree Pads - $2.99 and pay for it with the $3 RR from the Skintimate. OOP (+tax) and get another $3 RR from the Stayfree.

You could just roll these $3 RRs all week long and stock up! Just remember, you cannot roll a like RR into the same product and have another RR pop out. In other words, don't buy the StayFree with the StayFree $3 RR. It won't roll.

There are SO many ways to roll the RR's this week, to stock up on pads, shaving cream and Body Wash! I'm getting excited!

Tone Body Wash

2010-04-21T08:31:00.003-04:00

I was reading over at Commonsensewithmoney.com this morning and she has a post up about a nice deal on Tone Body Wash next week at Walgreens.

A nice stockpile price for bodywash is something I've been on the look-out for a while. I was able to stockpile some last spring and it's lasted me about a year and I just finished my last bottle from last year's Softsoap deal. I've seen some good deals these past few weeks (i.e. Dove, St. Ives, etc...) but I just haven't found enough coupons to execute a really great deal on a bunch of them.

I'm noticing the trend though, that Body Wash you can accumulate for free or very cheap in the spring. Getting ready for warmer weather - which makes sense!

So, I'm excited to see this coupon/scenario for next week.

Buy 1 Tone body wash (18 oz) for 3.99, get a $3 RR back.
If you use the $1/1 Tone Body Wash IP here, you can get it free after RR.

This would be a good thing to roll those $5 Nature's Bounty RR into, if you haven't used them all up on Pull-Ups! <--speaking of which, does anybody have any awesome tips on how to get a 4 year old OUT of Pull-ups at night? I realize it's only one package of Pull-Ups a month, but I'm tired of buying them for her!

Coupon Tip Tuesday

2010-04-20T20:33:00.001-04:00

I'm going to start resurrecting some of my old Coupon Tip Tuesday posts. It's always good to review, and maybe some of you have not heard them!
+++++++++++

One of the first things I noticed when I started to coupon heavily is that I had to change my mindset about grocery shopping.

Instead of putting together your menu, looking for items that are on sale and then looking to see if you've got a coupon in hopes of lowering your cost, try doing it backwards:

1. Look at the sales

2. Look for coupons to match the sales to get items at the lowest price

3. Stick to the list

4. Plan your meals from what you have in the pantry.

Do this for two or three months and I promise you - you'll see savings in your grocery budget. I can't really even remember how I used to do my grocery shopping. It was certainly never with a sales flyer, that's for sure. I used to be so surprised when my calculator would hit my budget number and I only had a few items in my cart. There was never any wiggle room for fun stuff. Now, I'm saving tons and I never have to use my calculator 'cuz I've got it all planned out!

So - here's a tip: Get into a bargain hunting mindset before going grocery shopping! Be a tiger - hunt out those deals. Grrrrr...

This was originally posted on May 12, 2009.

Anybody else have a coupon tip they'd like to share? Let me know!

Ink Cartridge Refills

2010-04-20T14:44:00.001-04:00

If you're like me and you put off buying new ink cartridges or refills, then you'll love this Thursday, April 22nd!

To celebrate Earth Day, Walgreens has black or color printer cartridge ink refills for only $1! (You do have to use the coupon in the flyer, though)

Sweeeeeeeeet. I hope mine take! We've been out of ink for about 2 months now, because I just can't seem to bite the bullet. But I'll get them refilled for a buck each.

Hooray for Earth Day!

SwagBucks Craze

2010-04-20T06:24:00.000-04:00

Seriously. I've used Swagbucks as my search engine for almost a year now and have enjoyed it, but now that I've got the Hubs into it - he's a maniac! He loves to search on the Internet anyway, so when the girls turn on Max & Ruby, he heads into the bedroom.

In fact, we were watching the ACM Awards Sunday night and this singer, Laura Bundy Bell (or Bell Bundy or something) came on to perform. We had no idea who she was, and without a word, he popped up from the couch and I hooted, "Go Swag her, honey!" ha ha ha. Is that a trip or what? I'm cracking up right now just remembering it.

So, the point is, the more you search, the more you win. I've got a couple of referrals (thanks, guys!) and that's fun to watch too, because whatever they get, I get! And it's totally free!

They have free codes out almost every day and special offers, too. I even got so carried away on Friday that I signed up for a free 2-week subscription to Netflix (under the Swagbucks Special offer page) and got 750 bucks! Yep, I'm raking the Amazon gift cards in.

So, if you aren't using Swagbucks as your search engine - you are missing out! Get yourself signed up, start searching, refer your friends and start earning. It's totally FREE!

And we like FREE. Oh, yes, we do.

Walgreens + Pullups

2010-04-19T15:17:00.002-04:00

Well, here's a slick little scenario for you, if you're looking for a good price on Pull-Ups.

First you'll need to register at Nature's Bounty and receive your $2/1 Coupon(s).
Then, go to Walgreens!

Transaction #1 -
1 Natural Bounty High Potency Vitamin D-1000 for $5.
Use the $2/1 Coupon. Pay $3 and get a $5 RR.

Transaction #2 -
1 package of PullUps - $8.99
1 Walgreens reusable tote bag - .99

Use 1 - $2.00/1 or $1.50/1 MQ (from the newspaper)
Use 1 - $2.00/1 Walgreens April Coupon Booklet coupon (located in the front of the store)
Use the In-Ad coupon (IVC) for 3/$1 Resusable Tote Bag coupon (the coupon is actually get 3/$1 - but you don't have to buy 3 to get the sale price)
Use the $5 RR from Nature's Bounty.
Pay .31 (+tax) for all of the above!

Total out of your pocket will be: $3.31 (+tax).
Total IN your pocket will be Vitamin D, Pull-Ups and a reusable tote.

$3.31 is definitely a NICE price for Pull-Ups!

I did this transaction this afternoon, only I multiplied it by 3 because I had already purchased my Nature's Bounty one by one yesterday. You must purchase the Vitamin D one at a time to get all of the register rewards. However, the PullUps are the type of deal, where you can do them all together because they don't produce register rewards.

I purchased:

3 PullUps
3 Reusable Totes

Used 1 - 2.00/1 PullUps
2 - 1.50/1 Pull Ups
April Savings Booklet $2 Pull Ups coupon (it deducted $6.00)
The 3/$1 Reusable Tote In Ad Coupon (IVC) (it took off $1.97)
3 - $5 RR's from Nature's Bounty.

Total was 1.97 (+tax) - Savings of $35.47.

Slick!

Menu Plan Monday

2010-04-19T11:13:00.001-04:00

It's the greenest Spring we've had in a long time, BY FAR! And I'm in the mood to declutter the house or be outside. Lots of the Mommy blogs have jumped on the Spring Cleaning de-cluttering bandwagon and now that all 4 of us are healthy again, I'm tackling a few projects of my own. Because we always participate in a neighborhood garage sale the second week of May, we are preparing items for that sale and making the house more easy to maintain <-- a must since I don't feel like being domestic at ALL these days!

Needless to say we've done lots of grilling and lots of random meals. I try to stick to the Menu Plan and I would say for at least 4 out of 7 meals I do. The rest of the time is either snacky meals, something else that looks good or, in the case of last Wednesday, when my daughter cranked up the heat to 89 degrees (unbeknownst to me BEFORE we left for the day and came home to a flippin' SAUNA) we went to the ice cream shoppe for dinner. (!)

So, here's what we'll attempt this week. For what it's worth, I'm totally digging avocadoes and strawberries right now. I could put down 7 meals of guacamole and be happy as a clam. My girls - not so much.

Mexican Night

Hamburgers, Mashed Potatoes & Corn

Steak & Salad

Breakfast

Chicken Enchiladas

Pulled Pork Sandwiches, veggies & chips

Pizza

Lately Grace keeps asking me why we have to eat supper. She doesn't want to stop what she's doing to take time and eat it. What the heck am I breaking my brain over for then? Coupled with the fact that I read an article about how 3 square meals a day isn't really the best option for toddlers, rather small meals through the day and actually that does seem to be best for Annie, I've decided that I'm not going to stress out about making grand, elaborate meals every night. That can wait until they are old enough to appreciate good food. For the time being, unless I feel like baking, I'm KEEPING IT SIMPLE!

Check out TONS more menu plan ideas at Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com!

Walgreens This Week

2010-04-19T08:48:00.004-04:00

Some pretty decent deals at Wags this week. Here's what I did yesterday:

I had a $5 RR from the Biore deal last week that was burning a hole in my pocket, so I headed over there and helped myself to this little deal:

T#1
2 St. Ives Body Washes - BOGO ($3.29)
1 Nature's Bounty Vitamin D ($5.00 <--sale this week)
1 Garlic Powder (.99)

Coupons Used:
2 - 1.00/1 St. Ives Body Wash Coupon -from Facebook promo a while ago (expired yesterday!)
1 - 2.00/1 Nature's Bounty product - create an account here and get 3 of these!
1 - $5 Biore RR

Grand Total: .20 + tax! (.48 altogether) and a $5 RR from the Nature's Bounty popped out. I made $4.52 'cuz that's the way I roll. (get it?)

The Nature's Bounty Vitamin D is a moneymaker with the $2.00/1 coupons this week.

For Transactions 2 & 3 - I did:

1 Nature's Bounty Vitamin D - $5

1 2.00/1 NBV coupon

Paid him $3.00 and received a $5 coupon RR (X 2).

Total OOP for Sunday? $6.48. Savings? 28.46 RR? 15. It's like making $8.52 :)

I'm going to take those RRs and turn them into cheap Pullups!

Menu Plan Monday

2010-04-12T14:48:00.001-04:00

Here's what we're looking at for meals this week:

Leftovers

Chicken Drumsticks, potatoes & veggies <--anybody got a good recipe to make interesting drumsticks that doesn't include frying them??

Crescent roll pizza & chips

Grilled pork chops, rice & peas

Mexican w/homemade guacamole

Chili & Cornbread

Nothing amazing, but it'll get us through and use up some stockpile.

Be sure to check out Orgjunkie.com for lots of other Menu Plan ideas! It's really a wealth of information!

Meijer Deals This Week

2010-04-12T12:33:00.000-04:00

Don't forget to check out Bargains to Bounty for this week's Meijer matchups. This week has some pretty decent deals! Here's what I did on Sunday while I let the Hubs take a nap!

1 gallon of milk is not pictured...

Total for all pictured: $17.82
Savings: $27.85

These were the free items for this transaction!

We did shop on Friday to take advantage of last week's deals as well, although there is no picture. I scored a couple of free items then too, including some Philadelphia Cream Cheese Minis and a full-size bag of Sunchips! Signing up for stuff pays off, ya'll!

Total spent this weekend on groceries, including Walgreens + Meijer: $110.56.

Savings: $240.51!!

Yeah - couponing is worth it to me.

Biore Deal at Walgreens this Week

2010-04-12T09:50:00.003-04:00

So, Walgreens TOTALLY ROCKED this weekend!

Last week I had ordered some of the Garnier Fructis $1/1 coupons and 8 of the Biore Buy One ANY SIZE Nose Strips and Get One ANY SIZE Cleanser free coupons in anticipation of the Biore Register Reward Deal this month. I have been on the lookout for stockup deals on skin care because I'm so cheap that I normally just wash my face with soap and water. Lately I've been thinking about when I once had Mary Kay's full line of face treatments and how pampered it made me feel to actually concentrate on my skin, but holy smokes I just can't do their (her?) prices. And no, I don't want to sell it to get it cheap.

I've been watching and this coupon + promotion sparked my eye.

For the month of April, Walgreens is running a buy 2 Biore products, get a $5 RR back. Bing! I can buy one product and get the other free, and have it prompt the $5 RR. Regularly priced at $7.49, that's a stock up price for me.

Even better is that this week they are priced at $5.99! Buy a strip and a cleanser, use the BOGO coupon and pay $5.99 (+tax OOP) and get a $5 RR in return. It's like paying .99 for 2! Total stock up price.

So, on Saturday I went in and was looking at the Garnier shampoo (the deal was to buy $20 worth, get a $10 RR back and the regular sized bottles were on sale $3/10). My plan was to buy 6 regular size bottles, use my 6 $1/1 coupons and pay $14 (+tax!) and get a $10 RR back. I found the family sized bottles of shampoo and conditioner on clearance from $6.99 to $3.29! So I was able to double my volume for an even cheaper price. Yay me.

I paid for 5 of those (all they had) + 1 regular - OOP was $15.30 (that includes tax) and I received a $10 RR. Then, I turned around and used that on 2 birthday cards I needed for the weekend, the Biore and had to buy a Reeses to get my OOP total high enough to cover the tax! I paid $1.82 for my second transaction and recieved a $5 RR! Loved it.

Then I proceeded to do 2 more transactions in which I only purchased the BOGO Biore. Paid OOP $5 and got back the $5 RR. In coupon world, that's FREE ya'll.

But, oh, then, on Sunday it got so much better! I had saved the 3 $5 RR from Saturday and since I couldn't find anything to effectively roll them into before they expired, I just decided I would go and get more Biore and use up the RR's. See, at Walgreen's USUALLY if you use the Register Reward from a promotion on the same promotion, you won't get another Register Reward back.

But yesterday was not a usual day. I bought 6 Biore yesterday (3 strips, 3 cleansers), used 3 BOGO coupons and my 3 $5RR (+some Dora and Barbie stickers!) and paid $7.50. I was expecting that to be the end of it and what to my wondering eyes should appear? Another $5 RR! My eyes just flew open!

So, of course I had to test it out again. Took another box of strips and another bottle of cleanser - used the BOGO and the $5 RR, paid $1.71 OOP and yes siree! Another $5 RR popped out. Rolled it one more time and then I had to call it quits because, well. They were out of strips! I was deee-lighted to see that RR roll, especially since I had read reports of the RR not printing out for some people at all and here it was rolling for me!

I have one more coupon that I'm going to try on my lunch break to see if it will roll again for me and then I'm out of coupons!

I'm such a geek, but I was totally stoked! Rolling RR's are usually fixed sometime soon after the Wags execs figure out there is a glitch in the system (but maybe they wanted this to happen? Who knows?) But even if it wasn't rolling, it is still a good deal in my book.

The pictures in this post include:

5 Family Size Fructis Shampoo

1 Regular Size Fructis Shampoo

2 Birthday Cards

2 Packs of Girlie Stickers

1 Reese's Cups

8 Biore Pore Strips

8 Biore Cleansers

Grand Total? $37.91!!!! <--most of this was the Garnier! I actually only spent $22 on Biore!

Savings? $152.97

Way better than Mary Kay's prices! Seriously, I'm so excited about this, you're lucky I'm not posting a picture of my pore-free nose.

Ritz Muncheables Coupon

2010-04-11T13:34:00.001-04:00

Become a fan of Ritz Muncheables (the pretzel cracker!) on Facebook and get a $1/1.00 coupon! Don't forget to back space and print 2...

What I'm Working On This Week - Meijer Edition

2010-04-08T13:09:00.000-04:00

Not a whole lot I see for deals this week. But I do have a couple that I will be partaking in:

Barilla Whole Grain Pasta - on sale for .89, I have 5 - .55/1 coupons + 2 - $1/3 Meijer Mealbox coupon to get 6 boxes of Pasta for .60 - .10 is a stock up price on Barilla in my opinion. I never had a chance to get to Kroger for all the free Ronzoni, so this is my way of redemption!

B1G1 Free Pompeiian Olive Oil. I love this sale! Use 2 of $1/1 Coupon printables here (if the store will let you - some do, some don't) I buy the two smallest (cheapest) bottles I can find and then get $2 off and 1 free. Usually works out to be about $2 or so for 2 bottles of olive oil. Love it!

Chicken - I'm fresh out. My parents brought over an extra rotisserie chicken last night for us to eat and my girlies totally gnawed up the drumsticks, so I think I'll just some drumsticks this week until I can find a sale on breasts. Drumsticks and thighs are on sale for .99/lb.

That plus veggies, fruit & milk will probably sum it up for me this week at Meijer. Check out Bargains To Bounty for a complete list of sales/coupons matchups!

Coconut Cake

2010-04-08T10:37:00.005-04:00

I know that Valentine's Day and Christmas have passed (for the time being), but I wanted to share a frugal gift idea for your special someone that is working out very well for me! (I totally stole it from MoneySavingMom, btw...)

For our anniversary in December, I printed up Clint a certificate off of Publisher that said he was entitled to one homemade dessert of his choosing, redeemable on the 28th of every month (we were married on 12/28/02) for the year 2010. This coming from a girl whose baking skills were/are limited to Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines.

So, needless to say, Clint was ecstatic about his gift and is faithful to redeem every month. I've enjoyed it to, because hey - I figured out there is a way to make cake without a box (who knew?) and am finding that while I'm fairly messy and the presentation generally leaves much to be desired, the actual taste of the dessert has prevailed and I'm actually a decent baker!

I'm also finding out that my husband has a hidden (even from himself!) love for cake. Every dessert he has requested so far has been a cake! So, my skills haven't been taken to the extreme yet, but he's a happy hubby at least one day out of the month and I'm learning to bake without a box and a tub.

The cake of his choosing for March (yes, I'm tardy on this assignment due to family stress and of course, Easter!) was a coconut cake. I took the cake recipe from Paula Deen on the Food Network website and this frosting recipe and made a triple-layer coconut filled, coconut frosted cake and the result was sloppy, but tasty. I wish I'd taken a picture of the HUMONGOUS piece he cut for himself! Sheesh. Even he couldn't finish it all.

So, all that to say, the Homemade Dessert of the Month Club was, is and will most likely continue to be a big hit in the gift area! Best part of all is that it's fairly inexpensive and it's not an item I have to find a place for and store!

Swag Bucks

2010-04-07T09:02:00.000-04:00

Okay, if you don't use Swag Bucks yet, you totally have to! You've probably seen it advertised on a ton of different sites and I saw it to for like a year before I bit and tried it out. Let me tell you, I LOVE SwagBucks! It's free money right in your pocket (sort of) for doing something you would normally do.

I am writing about this today because I just recently downloaded the toolbar on our home computer, so Hubby can use it for all his wonderful randomness and just in the past 4 days that we've had it at home, my buck numbers have jumped tremendously!

Here's how it works and believe me, I was skeptical too. INCREDIBLY skeptical, but I have nothing but a good experience with it.

Swagbucks is a search engine that you can use to surf the web. When you open an account, you'll get 30 Swagbucks just for opening it and then you'll be prompted to download a toolbar right to your browser. After that, it's easy (and that part isn't hard!) You just type in to the SwagBucks search engine like you would into the Yahoo or Google search engine to do your surfing and it will award different amounts of Swagbucks to your account. The more you surf, the more rewards you'll get. You can also get more bucks by referrals, searching through the SwagBuck blog, their Facebook page, etc... Then, you can cash those bucks at the SwagBucks store. They have all sorts of things you can "buy", but the favorite among all the sites I read is the $5 Amazon.com e-gift card, because let's face it - Amazon has everything (even diapers!)and lots of sales!

Last year, all I did was use the SwagBuck search engine to go to my usual websites and to do any searching that I needed to do. I was earning about 10 bucks a day, and by Christmas time I had $20 in Amazon gift cards that I was able to use for Christmas presents. I think I was able to get two people crossed off my Christmas list, just by using the SwagBucks that I earned and cashed in for Amazon gift cards. Like money in my pocket, for something I was doing anyway!

As I said, I was HIGHLY, EXTREMELY doubtful, but decided to give it a go, and now I love it! Just bought a $5 gift card last night as a matter of fact, and that's what prompted me to tell ya'll about this. I think I even dreamed about SwagBucks last night!

Go here if you would like to sign up. And then start searching and earning! I can tell you from experience that it's easy-peasy!

Menu Plan Monday

2010-04-05T14:55:00.001-04:00

Well, I've been sketchy at best about Menu Planning. I'm not a huge planner, I would like to be and I do try, but I'm sort of a haphazard, random kind of gal, and let me tell you, when life gets stressful, I get even more random and haphazard. And life was stressful in March. VERY stressful. As a result, we were not as frugal or industrious as we might have been with our menu and that always makes me feel ten times worse in the area of all things domestic. So, this is my attempt to gird up my Suzy Homemaker loins and jump back in the battle.

Without having to grocery shop this week, I could make the following meals:
Grilled Hamburgers + mixed veggies + tater tots

Chicken/Broccoli Poppyseed + organic flavored rice

Homemade Pepperoni Pizza + breadsticks + carrot sticks

Grilled Pork Chops + Mashed Taters + Peas (or maybe I'll stuff the chops…)

Sausage/Spinach Spaghetti

Chicken Tostadas/Quesadillas

Ham + Homemade Macaroni & Cheese

Wish me luck! I am so excited that it's gorgeous out these days and the grill can be utilized. Things always taste soooo much better!

Nabisco Cookies

2010-04-05T08:24:00.000-04:00

Every first Monday of the Month Nabisco is running a promotion where if you become or are a fan of their facebook page, you can print off a coupon for a free package of cookies when you buy another package of cookies. I paired this coupon last time with a free item coupon and got two packages of cookies FREE :) Worked out pretty well.

Anyway, here's the link if you want some free cookies!

Don't forget to hit the back button or try to print it twice!

Bad Coupon Form

2010-04-01T13:58:00.001-04:00

Boo! Boo! Bad Coupon Form to one of my fellow Three Rivers Walgreens shoppers! Someone went through and took the $1.50/1 coupon peelies off the Dove Shampoo this week! Bah. These were on the bottles that are FREE after Register Rewards this week. I did manage, by scrounging to the back, to find one. But I certainly saw a lot more square plastic marks on many others.

It is EXCEEDINGLY rude to tear peelies off of items that you don't intend to purchase. Purchase the item that has the peelie on it. Come on now!

Don't do it, I tell ya. Don't do it!

April 1st

2010-04-01T13:12:00.000-04:00

It's a new month! The coupons at Coupons.com, Smartsource.com, Redplum.com, Pillsbury.com and BettyCrocker.com should be reset. I know for a fact that the McCormick $1.00/1 has been reset! Stock up on that extract!

These sites release new coupons every month and they usually expire in one month as well. Try typing in 10001 for the zip code, as that usually produces a few more coupons. And don't forget, you can print out two copies! If you don't see them at Coupons.com right away, check the last pages of the coupons. Usually the ones that you printed out once appear at the end of the list. Then, after printing out two, you've reached your print limit.

Happy Shopping!

March Recap

2010-04-01T10:20:00.001-04:00

Just to report in on March, I didn't hit as low as I expected when the month first started, but still kept within my goal of $200 - $250/month coming in at $227.01 OOP and saving $312.08 this month. Not my best, but not bad considering I purchased oh, 15 packages of Diapers/PullUps thanks to the awesome Huggies coupon and RR at Walgreens. And I'm always happy if I can double my money!

We're still trying to clear out our freezer and pantry a bit, we've got so much food stockpiled, and yet I struggle feeling like preparing/eating it! KWIM? But, I do want to clear some of it out to make room for the fresher foods that will be coming our way this summer due to Farmer's Markets & the garden. So, we'll keep plugging away at the old freezer food.

Doesn't summer weather just make you want to abandon the kitchen?? This is when I find it the hardest to be frugal, when the weather is nice! I just want to say, "Hang dinner, let's go get ice cream!" (But I don't...)

FYI on Pantene

2010-04-01T09:09:00.000-04:00

My Walgreens had Pantene Items *CLEARANCED* to $3.19. As in all of their shampoo + conditioner items.

Now, a mark down of $1.30 to me isn't a huge clearance price, perhaps if I keep my eye on them...

But there are $3.00/2 Pantene item coupons out that don't expire till April 30. That takes your price down do $1.69, which is a good price for Pantene. I wouldn't buy out the place on that price, but I did partake in 2... I'm keeping my other coupon until the end of April or until the stock gets low, in case the price goes down any further.

Check your store out...may be that Pantene is discontinuing this item? Not sure, but I like the price.

What I'm Working On This Week - Meijer Edition

2010-03-31T15:01:00.000-04:00

UPDATE: Okay, so I did this transaction at Meijer last night, and realized that my math in this post was wrong. I think it would be a better deal and you'd get less OOP if you did them 2 at a time, rather than 4.

At Meijer, I'm looking to stock up on vanilla and almond extract.

They are on sale for $2.50. Pair it up with the $1.00/1 (MQ – although I don't know which insert…) or the $1.00/1 IP. Also, use the $1.00/2 Meijer Mealbox coupons (here) to get them for $1.00. Right now, if you buy 2, you'll get a catalina (register coupon) for $1.50 off your next order. That's like paying .50 for both! If you buy 3 or more, you'll get a $2.50 OYNO catalina. So, my plan is to:

Buy 4 vanilla extracts (or another flavor)

Use 4 $1.00/1 coupons (I've collected lots!)

Use 2 $1.00/2 Meijer Mealbox coupon

Pay $4.00 OOP (Out Of Pocket) and get a $2.50 catalina back. Like paying $1.50 for 4!

Then, I'll do a second identical transaction, only I'll include the $2.50 catalina I just received and pay 1.50 OOP and get another $2.50 catalina back. It's practically free by that time J

That's the one MAJOR difference between Meijer register catalinas and the Walgreens Register Rewards. You can almost ALWAYS roll the Meijer coupons, but at Walgreens you can't roll the same RR into the same deal. It's a bummer, but it keeps you on your toes!

Check out BargainsToBounty.com for other Meijer deals that might fit your grocery list this week!

Thank You MOPS & Baby Einstein!

2010-03-31T14:28:00.000-04:00

Here's some fun coupon math for me this weekend! J

+ =

Yep – I got all four Baby Einstein Rebate Checks in the mail this week! Put together with a $25 gift card from the awesome Tecumseh MOPS group made for a wonderful birthday weekend.

I did have money budgeted for Annie's party and gift, but I just love how God brings in the extras when you have extras to deal with! Three years ago, that gift card and those checks would have saved Annie's birthday for us! J Now that we've gotten our budget under control (thanks to couponing!), these unexpected things aren't so much lifesavers as much as they are just reminders of how God has provided, provides even now and will continue to provide in the future.

What I’m Working on This Week -Dove Edition

2010-03-31T03:40:00.000-04:00

With Easter and things like baskets and dresses in the works for this week, I'm not really planning a grocery shopping trip this week. Thanks to stockpiling, I can do that! No empty cupboards here J

There are a few deals I have cashed in on, like the Dove deals at Wags this weekend:

I broke the above items up into 3 transactions (FYI Walgreens was DEAD on Sunday morning, otherwise I normally limit myself to 2 transactions at a time)

T#1 Milk, Sour Cream, Dove Shampoo

Used 1 $2.00/1 Dove Shampoo IP (no longer available)

1 $5 Huggies RR

Paid: 1.02 OOP, recieved a $4 RR from the Dove (FREE after RR)

T#2 Sour Cream, 2 Sidewalk Chalks (Easter baskets!), 1 Dove Conditioner

Used 1 $2.00/1 Dove Shampoo IP (no longer available)

1 $5 Huggies RR

Paid: .85 OOP, recieved a $4 RR from the Dove (FREE after RR!)

T#3 Dove Styling Mousse

Used 1 - 1.50/1 PEELIE! Look for these at Walgreens this week. Coupon is right on the item! I saw a TON of them.

Paid: 2.74 OOP, recieved a $4 RR from the Dove (FREE after RR!)

So, for the above picture I paid a grand total of $4.61 on $19.25 worth of items and walked out with $12 in RR. Not too shabby!

I also purchased 2 bottles of the body wash along with another conditioner on Sunday, but I can't find my receipt. I used 2 coupons and 2 $5 RR on the transaction and paid less than $1.00 and received a $4 cat back...sad I can't find my receipt to add to my savings, but I'm LOVING the Dove deal at Wags this week.

I'm really sad that we didn't get the Dove coupons that came out in the paper in our region.

Unexpected Deals on Saturday!

2010-03-30T09:07:00.000-04:00

X 10!

Sorry, this deal is dead as of Sunday, but I wanted to share the awesome deal I scored unexpectedly at Meijers!

This past week Meijer was running a promotion on Quaker Oats where if you purchased 10 items, you would automatically get $5.00 off at the register (i.e. .50/each item). I had heard of others scoring some great prices on their True Delights bars, but we've had some family stuff come up this week and I just didn't have the time/focus to really put it all together in my head – I have so much stockpiled, I really only needed milk & eggs!

So, our grocery trip this past Saturday was for the milk, eggs and some party supplies for Annie's birthday party. Meijers had a ton of free samples this week and actually a lady that I grew up with was one of the sample servers and she offered me a sample of Quaker Oat Squares cereal (which Annie loved and I really like them too!) and then told me that they were on sale for $1.69 and that she had coupons in her pocket for $1.00/1 to make them .69 each. Which, in and of itself is a really good deal. So, because .69 still isn't free, I only took 2 coupons.

Then, I got to reading the advertisements about the $5.00 off at the register. If I bought 10 of them, I would get an additional .50 off each one, making them… .19/box! Now THAT is a stock up price! I asked Debbie if I could have 8 more coupons, pointing out the deal to her and she gave me 8 more coupons!

10 boxes of cereal for $1.90 is fantastic!

So, at the birthday party – the take home gifts were boxes of Quaker Oat Cereal J And I still have 7 in my cupboard.

Disney Baby Einstein Videos

2010-03-26T15:02:00.001-04:00

Well, the deadline for the rubric a few weeks past, but in late February I sent our 4 Baby Einstein videos back to Disney for a refund and have been wondering if this offer would actually work. (They had to offer to either upgrade or refund the Baby Einstein videos because of their advertising claim of making babies smarter. Turns out they can't effectively prove that the videos actually did make babies smarter!)

And…got my first rebate check today! $15.99! I expect three others to come tomorrow or next week. For whatever reason, you had to send them all in separately, so I'm assuming they are refunding separately as well.

Yay! As an item that would most likely have been sent to Goodwill this summer, I enjoy getting my money back!

Sunday Inserts

2010-03-26T10:27:00.001-04:00

Check out the post about this Sunday's coupon inserts over at BargainstoBounty.com (formerly Macomb Moneysavers). There is going to be a $3.00/1 Snuggle Fabric softener! This would be a good coupon to stock up on Snuggle with. If it has the same wording as the last time, you can get free or cheap sheets at Dollar General. Or wait for a great sale!

If I didn't have 15 of these bad boys stockpiled in my basement, I would for sure order some of these coupons from TheCouponClippers.com or Coupons and Things By Dede!

Right@Home

2010-03-25T09:10:00.001-04:00

Found $9.00 worth of coupons in my INBOX this morning because I am registered with Right@Home. They are a website run by the SC Johnson Company and put out tons of coupons throughout the year. The products are mainly on household cleaners (i.e. Scrubbing Bubbles, Pledge, Windex, etc…), Ziplock & Glade products. Register an account with them by clicking here and start getting these high value coupons sent right to you!

Today I found:

$1.00/1 Pledge

$1.00/1 Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Gel ßI really like this stuff!

$5.00/1 Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner starter kit

$2.00/2 Scrubbing Bubble Automatic Shower Cleaner refills

I think that if you go to this page directly, you can print the coupons off without registering for them, but I'm not positive on that.

Planters Coupon

2010-03-24T13:08:00.001-04:00

Become a fan of Mr. Peanut on Facebook and you'll be able to print out a $1.00/2 Planters Product Coupon.

Here's how to do it: You must be logged in to Facebook first J

Go to the Mr. Peanut page and Become A Fan

Click on the NCAA Sweeps Tab and scroll down.

You should see a link to print off a coupon for $1.00/2 Planters Products. Click Print!

You may have to install a coupon printer, but once you go through this (and it's a FAST install) you won't have to install it to print out other Internet Printable (IP) coupons. Be sure that once you print the coupon, you hit the BACK button on your browser until you get another one to print out! Normally, you should be able to get 2 prints (and they are DIFFERENT coupons – check the numbers!) to use.

This coupon can be used on ANY two Planters products. It doesn't specify any particular product, so find a deal!

There is a deal at Walgreens on Planters Trail mix right now to get them, not free, but cheap!

They are on sale $2/3 right now and you can use a $1/2 Walgreens IVC Coupon (located in the booklets at the front of the store, with the ad flyers) + this $1/2 Internet Printable to get 2 bags of Trail mix for $1.00.

Not free, but not bad!

Philadelphia Minis

2010-03-24T11:12:00.001-04:00

As it so happens, after I returned home from a talk on couponing, what should I find in my mailbox to greet me? Two coupons for a new cream cheese product! One of the coupons was for $1.00/1, but the other was a coupon for a FREE package of Philadelphia minis. I had signed up for this through Kraft First Taste, because I had created an account with them a while back. This is a website/program that promotes new Kraft items and almost always leads to high value coupons or better, yet, FREE coupons for its participants. Last month, I got FREE Doublestuff Cakesters. J

I, of course, used my Gmail account to register with them and get emails from them as well as tips on the latest promotions. Totally worth signing up for! I'm fairly certain you can register and sign up with them at any time and get started trying out those new products. Just go to Kraftfirsttaste.com, create an account with them and wait for the promos to hit!

Good Luck!

Shout-out!

2010-03-24T10:19:00.001-04:00

Hi there, all you Tecumseh MOPS'ers! Thank you for welcoming me to your group yesterday! Such fun and I apologize that I did not get through all of the material! Hopefully, you'll have some inspiration to get started saving money using couponing techniques. If you would like a download of the Couponing Powerpoint Presentation that I had yesterday, send me an email at couponpsycho @ gmail . com and I'll forward it to you. That way you won't have to worry about losing your notes J

Also, if you have any questions now or in the future, please don't hesitate to email! I love to talk about coupons!

To anybody out there who is reading and doesn't know what I'm talking about – I had the awesome chance to visit my BFF's (J) MOPS group yesterday and talk about couponing and how it's greatly made a difference in my life! I should have started talking earlier, because I ran out of time and didn't even get halfway through what I wanted to say.

There is just so much to share!

Lots & Lots of Huggies

2010-03-22T15:10:00.001-04:00

Oh, I have not yet begun to buy diapers! I knew there'd be some sweet diaper deals this month. It was just a matter of being patient.

The Rite-Aid in Three Rivers doesn't accept Internet Printable coupons, unless they have the Rite-Aid logo on them. (BOO!) But, I found out the one in Sturgis does…

Just in case you were wondering – I did the scenarios that I found over at Commonsensewithmoney.com and they worked!

At Wags: Got 3 packages of Huggies & 2 Mars Candy Bars (so I could use 2 - $4.00 RR from last week!)

Paid 12.00 and got a $5.00 RR back.

At Rite-Aid: Got 1 package of Pull-ups & 1 Package of Huggies for $8.80 and can submit for a $1 SCR. (I would have saved more, but the IP for Pull-Ups was on the MEGA pack, rather than the JUMBO pack. Poo L ) I also had the chance to educate a couple of fairly friendly Rite-Aid employees on the idea of stacking manufacturing coupons with store coupons.

All in all: $20 for 5 packages of Diapers with $6.00 back in RR's and SCR. Not bad for $14! J

And believe me, I'm just getting started. I have 16 of these beloved $3.00/1 Coupons! Print them out here, here and here!

Kmart Coupon

2010-03-22T10:55:00.001-04:00

I posted on Friday how I was going to try and use the $10/$20 Coupon at Kmart. Well, it was a major hassle, they didn't combine it with my $3.00/1 Huggies Coupon; so while I did get 2 packages of Huggies & 1 Johnson & Johnson Buddies Bar for 11 bucks, it certainly wasn't the deal scenario I had hoped for.

Turns out the coupons, although posted on Kmart's website, weren't intended for all locations and they have since pulled it. So, if you did print it out, but haven't used it yet - don't bother!

Menu Plan Monday – March 22 - 27

2010-03-22T10:00:00.001-04:00

Here's what we are looking at for this week. I am definitely feeling the need to get back in to Menu Planning. There is nothing like getting sick (the whole family!) to bring any sort of organization to a screeching halt.

Monday – Chicken Quesadillas/Barbecue Chicken Nachos.

Tuesday – Chicken Nuggets & Fries (I'm guessing!) Kids & Daddy are on their own. (I'll be heading back from Tecumseh, from doing a COUPON PRESENTATION to a MOPS group!) And yes – I'm excited.

Wednesday – Pancakes & Bacon

Thursday – Spaghetti & Bread

Friday – Eat out

Saturday – Annie's Birthday Party. ßYeah, I haven't started on that one yet.

I'm going simple this week. There's a lot to do with the trip to Tecumseh and planning Annie's Birthday. No time to do any fancy pants dishes!

Holy Awesome Coupons, Batman!

2010-03-19T09:29:00.001-04:00

There are some fantastic coupons that have been released lately! It's amazing.

Check out this $3.00/1 Huggies Coupon!

While you're there, check out the $1.50/1 Right Guard Deodorant and the $2.00/1 Nivea Body Wash coupon! (Just in time, too. I'm down to my last bottle!)

I've got high hopes for these, because Kmart is doubling coupons up to $2.00 the week of April 4^th!

The Huggies Coupon won't double, so on my lunch break, I'm going to attempt using this $10/$20 coupon, paired with the $3.00/1 coupon to get some cheap diapers! Again – just in time J

I'm saving a ton of these high value health & beauty coupons that are coming out right now in hopes of taking advantage of the Kmart doubles. My stockpile is getting to the point where I need to be finding these deals again! It's been a year! Check out this website for $2.00/1 Dove Shampoo or Conditioner coupon!

I'm getting excited!

Menu Plan Monday

2010-02-08T09:43:00.000-05:00

Well, we did pretty well last week. Actually ate 3 of the meals I had planned! But we never ate out! That's the goal, really, in all of my menu planning. To plan healthier meals and have the plan ready with the food on hand so that I am not tempted to just "run for the border." Here's what I see on the horizon for us this week:

Grilled Chicken & Salad
Pork Lo Mein (didn't get this one in last week) and rice noodles
Tacos/Tostadas
Turkey a la King
Chili & Hot Dogs (we have a LOT of chili left over from SuperBowl (SOUPer Bowl?? *hee hee*)

Family is coming for the weekend AND it's Valentine's Day. I'm totally going out on Vday!

My goal these days, with such a packed freezer (we have a 1/4 of a cow and a pig in there!) is to find a decent stockpile price on chicken and to try and incorporate a different meat in each meal throughout the week. That way, we will use the meat in the freezer and not just have it, which has happened quite a bit. Nothing to eat, but a ton of frozen meat in the freezer! Not anymore! I am proud to say, though, that I cleaned out the fridge (as in DEEP clean) and I hardly had to throw anything away! I'm getting better at using stuff up and not wasting as much. You could say I'm becoming one with my inner Susie Homemaker.

Pillsbury Sweet Rolls Moneymaker

2010-02-05T09:39:00.001-05:00

I found a .95/1 Pillsbury Sweet Rolls coupon over at Commonsensewithmoney.com. This is a perfect coupon to use at Meijer this week, as I believe they are on sale 4/$5 and there is a catalina available if you buy 4 - you'll get a $2.00 OYNO coupon, buy 5 - get a $3 OYNO coupon and buy 6, get a $4.00 OYNO coupon.

If you can collect 6 coupons, you can buy 6 and pay 1.80 OOP and get a $4 coupon back! This is my plan anyway! The other two would be moneymakers as well, if you can find that many coupons.

Sweet, eh?

Kroger Mega Sale Event

2010-02-03T10:57:00.000-05:00

Headed to Kroger Monday & Tuesday. No pics, but on

Monday...

4 - 12 oz Red Hot Sauce (we love that stuff!) - 1.19 (after the -5.00 Mega Sale Event). Used the .50/1 Newspaper Coupon and here and here.

3 - Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce - 1.9 (after the -5.00 Mega Sale Event). Used .75/1 Newspaper Coupon and the .50/1 here and here.

1 - French's Classic Mustard - 1.19 (after the -5.00 MSE). Used .50/1 Newspaper Coupon

2 - I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Baking Sticks - .99 (after the -5.00 MSE). Used 1.00/1 Printable +.01 for each!

Paid .75 OOP. Saved? 26.59

Tuesday's Trip

8 I Can't Believe It's Not Butter packages of baking sticks - .99 (after the -5.00 for the Mega Event). Used this $1.00/1 coupon here: - +.01 for each one! (Try printing this coupon out 3 times - it's done that for me a few times!)

2 Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers - .88 (after the -5.00 for the Mega Event) Used this .75/1 coupon here - .13 for each!

Paid .18 for all of the above. Saved? 21.46.

Total Spent at Kroger this week? .93! Saved? 48.05!

I love these baking sticks! They freeze well and work great.

Planning one more trip to Kroger on Friday, hopefully with more Goldfish coupons in my hand!

Found my Diaper Deal!

2010-02-03T08:54:00.001-05:00

Check out next week's diaper deal at Walgreens over at Commonsensewithmoney.com!

My plan is to get the Dove stuff first (using the coupon, of course), then roll that Register Reward into the Huggies deal. Then, of course, roll the Huggies right back in to the Dove stuff.

Repeat and repeat!

Close to free Goldfish!

2010-02-02T13:40:00.000-05:00

Here's a coupon I saw on Commonsensewithmoney that I'm super excited about!

.75/1 Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers. They are part of the Kroger Mega Event, where if you buy 10 qualifying items, you automatically get $5.00 off at the register (.50 off each item). The Kroger sale will make the Goldfish .88, but with the coupon, they'll be .13!

I'm definitely collecting these bad boys. Be sure that you have 10 qualifying items, otherwise the $5.00 won't come off!

Coupon Tip Tuesday

2010-02-02T11:14:00.000-05:00

I've said it before, and I want to re-iterate it again.

When it comes to being a hard core couponer, you are wise if you can establish a good relationship with the cashiers! If you are in a store over and over with a ton of coupons, be wise in who you choose as a cashier - believe me, you get to know the coupon friendly ones pretty quickly. This probably works best if you live in a small town, like I do, but there is one cashier at Meijers that I will stand in line for, rather than go to a smaller, faster lane. All because she understands coupons and welcomes them! Last weekend, she told me all about how she never bought anything she didn't have a coupon for when she was raising kids. She commends me on my savings and my savviness. In a world where everyone is impatient and only about 10% understand the true value of frugality, that was so nice to hear!

And when you find that special cashier - give them props. Forgive when they make mistakes. Thank them for their help. Email the corporation about them so they get a special star pin for their uniform. Believe me, they'll return the favor in excellent service!

Menu Plan Monday

2010-02-01T14:02:00.000-05:00

I've still been Menu Planning for the most part, January has been looking a little different, as we're trying to be a lot healthier and incorporate more veggies - hello, Weight Watchers! Our breakfasts and lunches look pretty much the same. The girls eat those meals at the sitters and Hubs and I have our own little routine:

Hubs Breakfast - yogurt or cottage cheese & fruit

My Breakfast - Kashi Honey Sunshine Cereal (I call it organic Cap'n Crunch!)

Lunch - salad with peppers, garbanzo beans, cucumber, lettuce and tuna, baby carrots and some sort of 100 calorie snack (because I have/had a ton of them in the stockpile). String cheese and maybe some peanut butter & celery.

On to our dinners for the week:

Steak Fajitas
Red Bean, Sausage & Rice Soup (WW recipe)
Fish, baked potatoe & cheese
Chicken & Fried Rice (WW recipe)
Pork Lo Mein

That's what we're eatin' this week folks! This past month I've been very domestic, in that I've done some attempts with making various items from scratch, that I've never made in the past. I'm no Susie Homemaker that's for sure! But, in the attempts to keep the WW points down and my family eating cleaner, I'm giving things a whirl.

For more Menu Plan Ideas, head over to Orgjunkie.com!

Wow. It's been over a month

2010-02-01T09:55:00.001-05:00

Since my last blog post! And yet, I've scored some sweet deals in January! So, the lack of posting is not due to a lack of content, it has more to do with the fact that:

Things have been insanely busy.

I had a terrible case of tendonitis or carpal tunnel over the first of the year. It was awful! My hand still goes numb sometimes, but I've got some braces to wear at night and these funky support gloves with the fingertips cut out to wear at work while I type, although they make me look like Mickey Mouse, they are getting the job done.

So, with no time to blog and pain involved, well, that's what's happened. However, work has slowed down tremendously with a big project being completed over the weekend, so here we go! I need to dust up and get going.

January update: Came in at 248.48 for Grocery Budget. Saved 297.25.

I'm sticking with my 2009 goal of keeping the grocery budget to $200-250, (less if I can help it!) and trying to at least double my money. Meaning that I save more than I spend. I realize this money isn't actually going in to savings, but it shows what I would have had to pay, had I paid retail value, rather than sales, coupons and register rewards.

So, we're off to a good start. I'm keeping my eyes out for a decent diaper deal. I had to buy diapers this weekend for the first time since early December and it stunk! Last year, it was March that was Baby Month, so I'm on the lookout!

Meijer $5/$25 Food Purchase Coupon

2009-12-10T12:32:00.000-05:00

Who doesn't spend $25 at Meijer?? Here's a great link to get a Meijer 5/25$ Food Purchase Coupon for signing up for their email alerts.

Sa-weet!

$5 Holiday RR at Wags

2009-12-10T10:07:00.000-05:00

Woohoo! I loved, loved, LOVED this deal last year. It's a get $5 RR when you spend $25 on anything in store. Last year, we were able to use coupons to get prices down below 25$ but as long as your original total before coupons was 25.00, the RR would print. Here's what I'm working on for my scenario:

1 Renu Multipurpose Contact solution - 9.99 - Use 2.00/1 IP found here!
1 Neutrogena Men's Skin Care (great stocking present!) - 4.99 - use 2.00/1 from All You magazine
1 Stay Free Pads - 1.99 - use 1.00/1 IP found here!
2 Arm & Hammer detergets - 2.49 each - use 1.00/1 IP found here!
1 Toy - 9.99 - use 4.00/1 in ad coupon -

Subtotal BEFORE coupons should be 31.94 (+ tax)
AFTER coupons should be: 20.94 and get: $17.00 back in RR's

Which would be sweet to use on the Huggies sale that's coming next week! (Buy 2 @8.99, get a 2.00 RR)

There's a good chance I'll do this scenario more than once. I know there are some Theraflu and Triaminic moneymaking scenarios out there, but we don't like Triaminic and we don't use Theraflu, so I think I'll let them pass. Lately, I'm trying to stick to things we only use or someone in my family will use...

November 18?

2009-12-07T12:50:00.001-05:00

Really? It's been that long since I posted last?

Hmmm...I guess blogging is something that comes and goes.

Comes with awesome deals! Of which, I've had a few these past couple weeks!

and

Goes with weeks of kid's being sick, holidays and a very severe case of carpal tunnel <--this probably being the main factor in my absence!

So, here's to December - may it be a month of a wonderful Christmas season and of course, awesome deals!

Kinda Blah this week

2009-11-18T10:11:00.001-05:00

I haven't really had much going on this way, by way of deals from Meijers & Walgreens. I'm still waiting for there to be 3 bottles of Lubriderm at the Walgreens so I can get in on the $5 moneymaker, but that's about all I'm looking at right now. That's how couponing goes, it cycles. Peaks and valleys. Kroger Mega Event & Free Almay Mascara = Peak. This week = Valley!

Right now there are a lot of baking supply deals, but none that I've found that are totally outstanding enough to stockpile, for me, anyway. I did order a bunch of Folgers 1.00/1 coupons last week in hopes of a good coffee deal. Since I've NEVER seen a 1.00/1 Folgers coupon, I'm holding my breath in anticipation. Last year there was a fabulous promo at Meijers right around December, so I'm hoping for a good one again. If there is one, I'll buy 15 tins of coffee for Hubs to use in 2010.

I did join a stockpile challenge for the month of November, where you see how little you can spend on groceries, using coupons, RR's, rebates, sales, etc... My goal was to only spend $100.00 on groceries for the month. As of right now, I'm sitting at 56.07. I don't anticipate much more spending, other than our turkey. (I'm only in charge of cranberries & green bean casserole for the family Thanksgiving dinner - not expensive!) But we want to put a turkey in our smoker so we can have sandwich meat. Leftovers-Yummmm!

So, not such a great deal week for me this week, but that's perfectly okay s far as the challenge goes. Personally, I miss the high and the hunt during these quiet weeks, but that keeps the burn-out to a minimum, I guess.

Could I be anymore random today?

Coupon Tip Tuesday

2009-11-17T12:50:00.000-05:00

Here's a tip that I don't get to use very often, myself, but I sure have found it helpful when budgeting, planning coupon scenarios and executing them successfully:

LEAVE THE HUBS AND KIDS AT HOME!

Seriously.

I can concentrate way better if I do not have the girls (who really don't want to be there) with me.

I do not have extra "must have" items in my basket if Hubs does not come along.

All in all, deals are best acquired without kids and generally without spouses. (Well, mine, anyway!)

Do I really need more butter?

2009-11-17T10:03:00.000-05:00

Updated! The buzz on HCW is that the OYNO are not printing now. Hmmm...I certainly don't need more butter if I have to pay for it!

Well, I have 18 packages of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter baking sticks in my freezer, thanks to the Kroger Mega Event a week ago (which was AWESOME and I miss it!). Now, Meijer is running an ICBINB money making promo this week! It's basically the same deal as Kroger, with the little modifications, at Kroger I received 2.00 for every 2 packages I purchased, whereas, the deal at Meijers now is, buy 1 package and get a 2.00 OYNO coupon. There are also Meijer Mealbox coupons to sweeten the deal:

My scenario looks like this, although I'm waiting to hear from the HCW boards if anyone else has tried it and been successful:

Buy 2 packages of ICBINB baking sticks - 1.69 each
Use 2 - 1.00/1 Internet Printables Coupon
Use 1 - 1.00/2 Meijer Mealbox Coupon

Pay .38 + get 4.00 in OYNO cats!?!? Gee, I hope this works because that's a fabulous deal, although - do I really need MORE butter? Anybody out there try this yet?

2.00/1 Welch's Sparkling Juice

2009-11-14T08:25:00.000-05:00

Go here to print off a 2.00/1 Welch's Sparkling Juice coupon. Reported to be on sale next week at Wags for 2.50! Great to save up for holiday celebrations and New Years. I know I'll be collecting these!

Next Week's Meijer Ad

2009-11-13T11:59:00.001-05:00

Here's a link to MyPriceSavings, which is a blog that always has the next week's Meijer Ad preview! Helps to plan :)

Of course, it's all about Thanksgiving!

1.00/1 Pillsbury Grands

2009-11-11T09:48:00.000-05:00

'Tis the season for baking! I'm thinking we're going to be see a lot of these Pillsbury promos. Enjoy this 1.00/1 Pillsbury Grands Biscuits coupon! I'm fairly certain there will be a promo or sale at Meijers on these babies.

Stockpiling 101

2009-11-11T09:02:00.000-05:00

If you're new to couponing, you should check out this post over at Moms By Heart. It is a fantastic explanation of stockpiling and her pictures are wa-a-a-a-a-ay better and more organized than mine would ever be in a million years!

She explains it beautifully! I can't say it enough, "How in the world did I shop before hitting the coupon craze???" And, "Why did I not find out about all this sooner?" But, I'm very thankful I have stumbled on it and been able to learn the "Art of Stockpiling"! It has helped our finances and our attitude about being frugal and thrifty, tremendously!

I've been at this for a little over a year now, and although I've made lots of mistakes along the way, I feel as if I've settled into a bit of a groove and have a decent handle on things. We probably have at least 6 months worth of meals in our pantry and who knows how much shampoo! :) Not too mention, being able to make some nice, decent donations to different food pantries. It's been awesome. I am certain, that as our financial situation improves (Lord willing!- I can't wait for no day care costs!), I will never go back to convenience shopping again! Couponing is the only way to go!

Coupon Tip Tuesday

2009-11-10T08:45:00.001-05:00

This isn't so much a coupon tip per se, but, I highly encourage people to keep a spreadsheet of their grocery receipts. I just have a simple one on Excel, and every time I get back from the store(s), I type in a general description of what I bought, what I paid Out Of Pocket and what I saved. Most stores (with the exception of Wal-mart!) have your savings printed at the bottom of the receipt. That's what you would be paying if you were buying retail and using no coupons or sales.

I do this for a few reasons:

1.) To track my spending to ensure that while I'm getting good deals, I'm not going going over budget getting them. No sense in putting yourself in debt to save money, eh?

2.) To prove to any doubters that couponing is totally worth it!

3.) To encourage myself when couponing and trying to be thrifty is burning me out. Because, while it's a total high to walk out of a store with $100 worth of merchandise for 1.27, it's also a lot of work to hunt the deals, organize the deals and keep them straight so that they actually are deals. Despite that coupon high, there are some days when I just want to throw the towel in, put whatever the heck I want into my basket and not clip a single coupon! But, well, that's just silly! Fortunately, those days don't come too often. But looking at my spreadsheet helps to remind me of what I could be paying and what I actually am!

Good-bye Kroger Mega Event! I'll miss you.

2009-11-09T17:24:00.000-05:00

But, boy am I wiped out!

I have loved, loved, loved the Kroger Mega Event - but today may have officially wore me out! (Between that and the Almay Mascara!)

Although, I did call my BFF regarding my transactions because today may possibly been my personal best!

No pics, but just for the record:

Transaction #1 - returned cone coffee filters for basket ones - +1.59

Transaction #2

- 14 packages of ICBINB Baking sticks - used 9 - 1.00/1 & 5 .75/1 coupons
- 2 cans of Dole Fruit - used 2 - .50/1 doubled to 1.00
- 4 boxes of Betty Crocker Au Gratin Potatoes (which, incidentally all had Coke coupons on the back!) used 4 - .40/1 doubled to .80/1
- used 1 .40/1 Cellfire e-coupon

-10 for the Kroger Mega Event - paid .47 OOP - savings of 41.21

AND, it spit out 14.00 in OYNO coupons from the butter! (2.00 for every 2 I purchased) - yeah, I knew it was gonna do that! :)

Transaction #3 -

1- 33 oz Folgers Coffee (used 1.00/1 MQ)

- 1 package of Huggies Snug & Dry Diapers (used 1.00/1 Cellfire ecoupon & 1 - 2.00/1 IP here)

- 1 package of Huggies Wipes (used 2.00/1 IP from a while ago)

- 2 gallons of milk

- 1 bag of tortilla chips

- 1 can of French's fried onions (for Tgiving!)-used .50/1 coupon doubled

- 18.00 in OYNO coupons

Paid: 2.31 OOP, savings of 29.52!

So, alltogether Out Of my Pocket (including the return) I paid: 1.19 today. Definitely worth the trip! But, boy am I tired!

I think I'm done with Kroger's for a while. That was a nice little stretch there, though, while Meijers has been quiet. :)

Hot Kleenex Deal

2009-11-09T15:09:00.000-05:00

Okay, for all you sickies out there! Here's a hot Kleenex deal, I'm planning on hitting tonight!

Check out MoneysavingMom's post and print your coupons out!

Your nose will thank you :)

Personal Coupons!

2009-11-09T11:28:00.000-05:00

I just had to share these personal coupons that a high-school friend of mine shared with me!

Check this link out for coupons for an evening of dinner & dancing or breakfast in bed!

Probably would come in handy after a day of bargain hunting! It's fun, but couponing and deal-hunting is WORK, ya'll!

Hopefully you can redeem at least one of these!

Meijer Super Saturday Sale

2009-11-06T11:03:00.000-05:00

Check out Meijer.com and take a look at the Super Saturday Ad for tomorrow. There are some good deals, but I'm mainly interested in the Fast Fixin's Dino-Bites Chicken Nuggets. These are actually (speaking as an adult and not a 4 year old chicken nugget fanatic) pretty tasty. All white meat. They are on sale tomorrow for 2.99/bag. Go here to FastFixin.com and sign up, you'll get 5 -1.00/1 coupons! Plus, if you log in the website after registering you can take a survey and get another $2.00/1 coupon. They also have a promotion where you send them back 10 of the UPCs and they'll send a coupon to you for a FREE item. Loving this! I sure hope they are handing out Rainchecks on these. They went incredibly fast the last time this sale was going on and the coupons I printed out are good until January 2010.

Happy Bargain Hunting!

Almay

2009-11-06T09:59:00.001-05:00

What a fantastic time to run out of makeup! Seriously, my eyeliner was dead on Wednesday....

The makeup deal on Almay at Walgreens is just out of this world. Last night I did two transactions to score some more makeup. (I had to go for milk anyway! I swear!)

Transaction #1:

6 Almay One Coat Mascaras (+1.01 for every two!)(BOGO)
1 Pure Blends Foundation 9.99 (BOGO)
1 Plum Eyeliner 7.99 (BOGO)
1 gallon of milk

Used the $4/1 IVCx6 coupon in the November booklet and 1 $5 RR from the previous night's deal.

Paid 5.71 OOP (that's including my tax!). And received at $10 RR from the foundation. Saved: 57.56.

Transaction #2
6 cans of Hunt's Tomato Sauce 3/$1 using the Flyer Coupon
2 Almay One Coat Mascaras (BOGO)
2 Almay Eyeshadows (BOGO)
2 Gillette Body Wash + Shampoos

Used: 2 - 2.00/1 Gillette Coupons, $4/1 IVC Mascara Coupon x 2, 2 - $1/3 IP Hunts Coupon (Recession Payback game) and the $10 RR from Transaction #1.

OOP: 1.83 (that includes my tax!) Savings of 43.26. Received a $5 RR from the eyeshadows and a $2 RR from the Gillette.

So, I spent 7.54 OOP and got $7 in Wags Money in return (RR). Love it!

Month's Grocery List

2009-11-06T09:19:00.000-05:00

Well, I figured out the list of items I will have to get to complete my Month Long Menu Plan. It is an incredibly small list, which is GREAT! I only have about 75$ left in my challenge, and uh - well, I'm having fun buying makeup at Wags.

I should mention, that I really only plan dinners. Monday - Friday, the girls eat breakfast & lunch at the sitters, Clint and I are on our own for breakfast and we pack leftovers from the night before for lunches. I rarely buy anything that is specifically for lunch, really and neither of us are big cereal buffs, so we generally grab toast or fruit or nothing for breakfast. (Not that I recommend nothing!)

Grocery List:
Peas
Soup
Potato Chips
Coleslaw Mix
Coleslaw Dressing
Egg Noodles
Broccoli
Sour Cream
Soft Tortilla shells
Hamburger Buns

That's it. Just add produce and milk each week. And actually, I really don't have to buy a lot of produce this month because we just bought a bushel of apples and a bushel of pears from the local farms - that should last us for a while.

Well, sweet fancy Moses.

Free Hunt's Tomato Sauce

2009-11-05T11:22:00.000-05:00

I haven't done this deal myself, yet, but you should also be able to score some free cans of Hunts Tomato Sauce - the small kind. Should be an IVC coupon in the Walgreen's flyer making them 3/$1. And here is a link to play the Recession Payback game (which is actually pretty funny!) and you can print off a couple of $1/3 coupons. Making them free! Woohoo! I like these to beef up my spaghetti sauce, and they are exactly the right size for homemade pizzas and dipping breadsticks in!

Free Makeup!

2009-11-05T08:12:00.000-05:00

So, if you haven't heard by now - big moneymaker at Walgreens this week. The Almay TOPCOAT (only this kind!) that sells for 6.99 is on sale, B1G1 FREE. The signs will say that it is B1G1 50% off, but they are ringing up FREE. Use the $4/1 Coupon in the November Walgreen's booklet, and it will take off $4 for each one that you buy - so if you buy 2, pay 6.99, get $8 taken off. Make 1.01 for every two that you buy! Be sure to have something in your order to cover your overage!

I scored 10 of them last night + some foundation and lip gloss (only 7 are pictured, because I gave 3 to my DCP and her girls). My second transaction was this:

Buy 8 Almay TopCoat Mascara - 6.99 each

Buy 1 Almay Pure Blends Foundation - 9.99 (get a $10 RR)

Buy 1 Almay Pure Blends LipGloss - 7.99 (get a $5 RR)

The Foundation and Lipgloss actually do ring up B1G1 50% off, so I used the 4.04 overage from the mascaras to apply to that total. I paid 8.23 (on a FREE $10 gift card I scored) and got $15 back in RR's! Woohoo. Love FREE makeup! And actually, now that I'm looking at my receipt, it's showing up that my lipgloss rang up free also. Holy cats! Go Almay! I'm for sure going to try and hit some more stores before this deal is done!

Month Long Meal Plan

2009-11-04T15:18:00.000-05:00

Okay, so, I'm in this "Live off Your Stockpile Challenge" over at Hot Coupon World. Plus, I'm bored at work, so I thought I would make an attempt at a Month Long Menu Plan using up stuff that we have currently stockpiled. My goal is to only spend $100 this month (not counting the cost of the pig we just had processed) and that has to include diapers and eating out, etc... So, should be interesting! Here's hoping for lots of freebies and a lot of discipline!

Menu Plan

11/4 Mexican Chicken Bake (I'm throwing Soup & Sandwiches out the window because Kid's Club got cancelled!)
11/5 Eating Out for Grace's Birthday Dinner
11/6 Pizza
11/7 Grace's Birthday Dinner
11/8 Spaghetti at Mom & Dad's House

11/9 Hamburgers, French Fries & Mixed Veggies
11/10 Pork Chops, Rice & Peas
11/11 Soup & Sandwiches
11/12 Chicken Stir Fry
11/13 Staff Party at Work!
11/14 Sloppy Joes, Tater Chips & Raw Veggies
11/15 Leftovers

11/16 Pulled Pork Sandwiches/Coleslaw/Apple Crisp
11/17 Beef & Noodles
11/18 Soup & Sandwiches
11/19 Chicken/Broccoli Alfredo Linguine
11/20 Reunion with High School Friends! Hubby is on his own (I'm guessing Hot Dogs :P )
11/21 Date Night! Eat out
11/22 Leftovers

11/23 Baked Ziti
11/24 Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes & Corn
11/25 Poppyseed Chicken & Broccoli
11/26 Happy Thanksgiving!
11/27 Thanksgiving Leftovers
11/28 Thanksgiving Leftovers
11/29 Chicken Enchiladas

11/30 Spaghetti
12/1 Chicken Tostadas
12/2 Soup & Sandwiches
12/3 Leftovers
12/4 It's my BIRTHDAY! I'm going OUT!!
12/5 Pizza

Welp. That's my attempt at the month long planning menu. Most of this stuff, I already have. Maybe tomorrow I'll come up with a grocery list of items that I will need to purchase, and have a lookee at where I am standing at.

As you can see, I don't do too much baking or complicated meals. I just don't have time!

Three Great Coupon Links

2009-11-04T12:03:00.000-05:00

Found these great links this morning:

Here's a great coupon for those break -n- bake gourmet cookies!

1.25/1 Pillsbury Simply Delicious Cookies.

(this one came from jamieisamoneymagnet.com - and she really is!)

AND

1.00/2 Kraft Cheese has been reset.

(found that out at Moneysavingmom.com)

and another one from Money Saving Mom:

$1/1 Scotties Facial Tissue

Now, just waiting for the sales!

So Sad

2009-11-03T12:01:00.000-05:00

To see the Snuggle Deal end:

I'm all out of Snuggle Coupons. I had 25! I gave 3 to our day care provider and one bottle to a friend and used the rest of them up myself: Here's one of the transactions at Kroger (Less the one I gave away)

So that's right folks, we have 17 bottles & 4 boxes of Fabric Softener in our basement. We should be set for a while, eh? With the price of coupons + tax all figured in, I paid 20.77 - 21 things of fabric softener. That's getting 5 dollar fabric softener for less than $1.00. That's a stock up price for me! Especially since that's the brand my hubs likes...

Coupon Tip Tuesday

2009-11-03T08:31:00.000-05:00

You always have to pay at least the tax on non-food items.

This is important to remember when you are figuring out scenarios for deals.

For instance: Yesterday I went to Kroger's to get some deals for their Mega Event - which has some pretty awesome coupon matchups. A couple of my items were going to give me overage, and I was going to buy 5 bottles of Snuggle. Because the Snuggle is non-food, I knew I would have to at least pay out of pocket .90 because of the tax. Because I had some food items that were going to give me overage, I had to figure in at least .90 worth of food items to cover payment of the tax. Overage doesn't apply to tax, only the cost of the item.

And don't forget - stores tax on the price/sale price BEFORE coupons.

Here's what I had planned for yesterday's Kroger Trip:

5 bottles of Snuggle - 3.49 (2.99 after Mega Event)

3 Keebler Fudge Shoppe Cookies - 1.49 (.99 after Mega Event)

2 Dole Mandarin Oranges - 1.00 (.50 after Mega Event)

5 Rotel Tomatoes - 1.05 each

1 Frank's Red Hot Sauce - 1.25

The Mega Event at Kroger is if you buy 10 of the participating items, it will automatically deduct 5.00 from your total (or .50 off each item)

I used

5 - 3.00/1 Snuggle Coupons (+.01 each!)

3 - 1.00/1 Keebler IP coupons (not available anymore) (+.01 each!)

2 - .50/1 Dole Mandarin Orange coupons - doubled to 1.00 (+.50 each)

2 .50/1 Rotel Coupons - doubled to 1.00 (.05 each)

1 Buy 2 get 1 FREE Rotel Coupon - (2.10)

1 .501/1 Frank's Red Hot Sauce Coupon -doubled to 1.00 (.25)

I knew that I would have 1.08 in overage after buying these 10 items, because my coupons covered more than their prices. That's where the Rotel Tomatoes come in. I bought 2 extra cans so that I would have enough overage to cover my tax. I paid 2.12 for all of the above. (Savings of 41.55!)

Tax can get tricky, be careful!

Oh, and this puts me at 3.87 for the month of November: 96.13 left in the budget!

Menu Plan Monday 11/1 - 11/7

2009-11-02T12:54:00.000-05:00

Here's what this week is looking like for meals:

Sunday (yesterday) - birthday party at my brother's house. Mexican!

Monday - Hamburgers & French Fries

Tuesday - Poppyseed Chicken & Veggies

Wednesday - Soup & Sandwiches (Quick! Gotta go to church!)

Thursday - Spaghetti

Friday - Pizza

Saturday - Grace's Birthday Party #1

Lots of birthday parties, as you can see! Good times.

I've also joined up on a forum at HotCouponWorld to live off my stockpile for the month of November. We each set a budget goal to challenge ourselves and see how much we can clear/clean out of the stockpile/fridge/freezer and also to see how little we can spend on groceries. We just purchased a pig and had it processed, so I'm setting my goal at $100.00 for the month of November, and that includes any Health & Beauty items, diapers, food and eating out.

Wish me luck!

First of the Month!

2009-11-02T10:24:00.000-05:00

It's a new month! Don't forget to check out all the coupon sites for reset coupons!

Smartsource.com, Coupons.com, Redplum.com, Bettycrocker.com, Pillsbury.com to name a few!

Remember - you can print 2 of each one by hitting the back button.

Kroger Mega Sale Event

2009-10-28T11:33:00.000-04:00

Welp, I'm off to Kroger again, folks!

I have 22 Snuggle Coupons and they are running their huge mega-sale event, where if you buy 10 participating items, you get $5 off instantly at the register. The Snuggle (the RIGHT size) is part of that event. Here's what I plan to do, granted they have enough stock:

20 bottles of Snuggle - 69.80+ tax

Use: 20 - 3.00/1 coupons - 60.00

Less 10.00 off at the register - +.20!

All I'll have to do is pay the tax and I'll probably need to throw some item in there to cover the .20 overage.

Now, I'm certain they won't have 20 bottles of Snuggle on the shelves this afternoon. But, I'm guessing they'll have 10. I'm thinking I'll have to make two trips, but well worth it for this deal!

Wish me luck!

Meijer, Kroger & Wags Matchups

2009-10-27T16:22:00.000-04:00

Check out Macombmoneysavers.com for the Meijer matchups this week.

And check her out for the Kroger matchups!

And check out Cincinnati Cents for the Wags matchups!

Happy Hunting :)

Snuggle Fabric Softener

2009-10-27T12:05:00.000-04:00

A while back, Snuggle put out a 3.00/1 Fabric Softener or Fabric Softener Sheets coupon. I ordered a bunch of them on-line, because I was fairly certain that this would translate into some near-free softener and Snuggle is the brand my hubs likes. (I can't smell really, so it makes zero difference to me!)

There's been some controversy over this coupon because the coupon states that it is $3.00/1 when you buy 32 LOAD or higher liquid softener or the 70 count or higher sheets. Well, a lot of places (Kmart & Dollar General) have the 60 oz bottle on sale for $3 (which would make them free) and I was very excited until I got to the store and read that the 60 oz bottle is only 24 loads and therefore, it would be coupon fraud to use the coupon on that particular item. I know there are a lot of people out there either not paying attention or not caring about the difference in the wording and getting a bunch of softener for free because the coupon goes through anyway. In my opinion, it doesn't matter if it goes through anyway - if you don't follow the directions on the coupon, that's wrong.

You can get free boxes of 70 count sheets at Family Dollar. They are regularly priced for $3/box. And that's just what I did yesterday. Got 4 boxes for .72! ( you do have to pay tax ) I hope they restock before the coupon expires (11/15)

Heads up, though - if you do have the coupon still - I've heard rumors that the correct size/load liquid bottles are on sale for $3.39 at Meijer this week - which would be .39 +tax for a bottle of fabric softener. That's a sweet deal, even if it's not free!

Nothing like a lunch run

2009-10-27T09:16:00.000-04:00

I read about this awesome deal on Nut Valley Clusters over at Moneysavingmom.com last week and was totally excited to try it today!

I had been holding on to my NVC coupons that Vocalpoint sent me, waiting for them to be cheap or free, but a moneymaker is even better! And let me tell you. These things are TASTY. I am quite certain that they will not be in the house for long...

This may be the best I've ever done at Kroger! I don't go often, but this was too sweet to pass up...

Transaction #1 8 bags of Nature Valley Nut Clusters - on sale for 2.50, get $4 off instantly at the register when you buy 4. That comes down to 1.50/bag.

Use 8 - 1.60/1 coupons - .80 overage!

Use 1 - 1.00/1 Cellfire e-coupon - 1.00 overage!

Use 1 - 1.00/1 Shortcuts e-coupon - 1.00 overage!

2.80 in overage on the Nut clusters!

To use the overage I purchased -

1 - Jar of Peter Pan Peanut Butter - .50/1 Internet Printable (IP) doubled to 1.00 - 1.50

1 - bag of Kroger Tortilla chips - 1.00

1 - Gallon of Milk - 1.98

Grand total? 1.68!

Transaction 2 ( I had to do two, because the $4 coming off was limited to twice in one transaction - so I just did the last 4 by themselves - I had 12 coupons!)

4 Nut Valley Clusters - 2.50 - buy 4, get $4 off instantly at the register - used 4 - 1.60/1 coupons - .40 in overage!

1 Peter Pan Peanut Butter - 2.50 - used 1 - .50/1 IP doubled to 1.00 - 1.50, less the .40 overage from the Nut Clusters

Grand total? 1.10!

Total Spent at Kroger Yesterday: 2.78. Saved: 54.82!

Coupon Tip Tuesday

2009-10-27T09:11:00.000-04:00

Don’t be brand loyal.

Sale cycles at stores generally run every 6-8 weeks, so you’re savings will be few and far between if you only buy a specific brand. Generic or store brand products really aren’t all that different either! If it’s cheaper, then go generic.

Weekend Update

2009-10-26T14:06:00.001-04:00

Well, we're rounding out the month of October coming in a little bit higher than I would have liked, but well, that's what you get when you take your husband grocery shopping with you - he always manages to find things that we *need* that weren't on my list. But, all is well, all is well. 6 weeks of diapers were involved, so I'm not complaining.

We actually went grocery shopping, (not just deal hunting!) this week, as we were running out of many things.

Here were my actual - I-didn't-pay-a-dime - freebies. Totally stoked about the lunch meat! I had been holding on to those $3.00/1 coupons for a while now, and I didn't even know they were on sale till my hubs pointed it out.

These will be free + overage after I send in my $10 Kraft Keep the Jingle in Your Holidays rebate. Man Kraft has a lot of rebates!

That will make a total of $75 in rebates that I hope to receive around Christmas time. Yahoo :)

Don't need a sale!

2009-10-24T17:08:00.000-04:00

Wow - NOTHING I needed to buy at Walgreens was on an actual sale, and yet I slashed my OOP by at least 1/2. I was so excited, because a couple of the things were fairly pricey. My savings were largely due to the awesome Zantac moneymaker. Took me 4 transactions, but it was well worth it!

Here we have

2 Zantac - 8.99 each

1 Children's Motrin - 6.99

1 Chapstick - 2.99

1 TwinPack of OptiFresh Saline Solution - 15.49

4 Reeses - .69 each (fillers!)If I had purchased these items with no coupons, I would have spent 48.82, instead using coupons and register rewards I spent:

11.77! Savings of 37.05. Ka-ching!

Times like these when we need saline solution & motrin - it makes the work of learning about couponing and studying up on the deals, totally worth it.

Just In Case Anyone Was Wondering...

2009-10-24T10:38:00.000-04:00

I tallied up the cost/savings on

last week's Meijer Pepperidge Farm Bread, Campbell's Soup, Ziplock and Kraft Shredded Cheese Deal and here's how I cashed in:

9 Loaves of Pepperidge Farm Whole Grain Bread

11 boxes of Ziplock Sandwich Bags

45 Cans of Cream Soup (Mushroom & Chicken)

15 Bags of Shredded Cheese

All for the grand total of: 27.21 Savings of: 97.65 with a $5 coupon left to spend!

AND I sent in 15$ of rebates, which will be like paying:

12.21 cents for ALL THAT. (7.21 if you take off the $5 coupon!)

One of my transactions was actually 5 soups, 1 loaf of bread and a gallon of milk for .03. Three cents!

I'm gonna miss this deal.

Back on Track

2009-10-23T15:21:00.001-04:00

Well, I feel as if I'm back on track, although the girlies are still sick, I've got a handle on things. Got my menu plan, got my shopping plan, and over my lunch hour I sent in about 7 rebates. I meant to do this last week, but with all the sickness, I'm behind. I am still hoping that I will get most, if not all, of them back in time for some extra cash at Christmas, though!

Here's what I sent in today:

Wolverine Workboot Rebate - 15.00

3 - SC Johnson Rebates - 15.00 (5.00 each)
1 Caregiver's Marketplace Rebate - 10.50 (although there has been lots of talk in the rebate world about how some of the UPCs don't match up on the rebate with the products, etc... but it doesn't hurt to try!

1 Kraft Throughout the School Rebate - 20.00

1 Snow White/Hefty Rebate - 5.00

So - we're looking at possibly 65+ bucks coming back. Plus, right now, I'm working on this Kraft "Keep the Jingle in your Holidays" rebate right here. More crackers :) Rebates are totally worth it, if you are either getting stuff you need or getting things for free anyway. Double bonus if they are stuff you need AND getting it for free!

Monday Menu Plan on a Friday - 10/25 - 10/31

2009-10-23T11:49:00.000-04:00

With everything so messed up at the house and our schedules, TOTALLY out of sync, I'm feeling the need to reorganize. Regroup. And I'm starting with next week's Menu Plan. This week has been one heck of a scrounge fest, which is okay since no one really felt like eating anyway, so here's hoping for better appetites next week and renewed energy for cooking a decent meal.

Sunday - Potluck at church...excuse me: Carry-In Luncheon. Apparently potlucks are outdated...

Monday - Bingo. This is basically what my husbands family called Tater Tot shepherd's pie, growing up.

Tuesday - Chicken, Cheesy Rice & Peas

Wednesday - Beef & Noodles

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - I always plan a meal here, but honestly, it never works out. We have whatever the heck I feel like making when I get home or we order out. Sometimes I feel like I "check out" at 4pm on Fridays! And that includes dinner.

Saturday - Halloween! Most likely get something on the run...

Meijer Deals Coming Up

2009-10-23T11:20:00.000-04:00

Check out the ad for the Super Saturday Sale at Meijer tomorrow. There are some decent savings in there! I'm particularly interested in the chicken wings...2.00 cheaper than normal...not a "stock pile" price, but a nice deal.

Suave has a .50/1 coupon out now, if you have it, could make for some cheap shampoo.

Don't forget the 2.00/1 Nestle bags & Wonka bags of candy at Coupons.com, when you're picking up your Halloween candy! Gotta be a good deal somewhere, eh?

Blech

2009-10-22T11:00:00.001-04:00

We've got the respiratory crud going around at our house this week. So, I'm seriously behind on EVERYTHING.

I did do the Zantac deal once so far this week. That was nice. We were able to buy a vaporizer for 1/2 the price thanks to that little moneymaker.

And I bought milk & juice at Walgreens for 1.19 this week.

So, I've seen the deals around, just not gotten there.

And don't even get me started on the menu plan!

Here's looking for a better/healthier week next week!

I just can't help it...

2009-10-15T13:33:00.000-04:00

I LOVE THIS SOUP DEAL FROM MEIJERS!!!!

I went again yesterday and scored 5 cans of soup, 1 loaf of bread, 1 gallon of milk and 5 bags of cheese for 3.12 OOP, saved almost 20 bucks and got a $2.00 OYNO cat.

Okay, I promise no more postings about soup, bread, cheese or ziplock till I'm all done with the deals. Can't help it, I'm hooked and these are the kind of deals we need! I've been wanting to stock up on cheese and have been waiting for a good price, coupon and catalina.