How Can I Help YOU?

I'm completely fascinated by the idea that there are actually people reading my blog and it gets me all aquiver with excitement just thinking about it. ("You like me, you really like me!") At any rate, I really want this to be helpful for you-- the few, the proud, the readers. So who better to ask? What would you find interesting to read about here? There are a million websites already giving coupon and deal match-ups--I don't feel like that's going to be the best use of this cyberspace, so I'd like to know what you would find helpful. General money-saving tips? Household management stuff? Recipes? A mixture of all of the above? Speak up!   

The "Change Challenge"

I've had a little experiment in mind for a week or so and I've decided that this is the week to try it. I've told you guys before that we do everything with cash now. We've found it a really valuable way to keep up with where our money goes. This week I've decided not to use any change during my transactions unless it calls for less than a dime. I'm keeping all of the money I'm saving in a jar and I'll count it at the end of the week to see what I came up with. I'm wondering if this wouldn't be a great way to start saving now for those surprise Christmas expenses that always pop up, or maybe for "mad money" for a family trip this summer. I'm anxious to see the results, so come back at the end of the week and I'll let you know how I did!

March 29th Shopping Trip

Publix Trip:

Total Cost: $65.07

Savings: $34.29

Total OOP: 30.78

There were some great deals to be had at Publix this week. I'll give you the run-down of what I bought:

2 Atlanta Journals: $2.34 each 

**Publix gives you a little price break on the papers--they're supposed to sell for $2.50 each, so pick up your weekly Sunday papers at Publix!!

Betty Crocker Blueberry Muffin Mix: BOGO + a $1 off coupon from the back 

of a Bisquick box.--$.30

**Coupons are everywhere! Keep your eyes open!

Barillia Pasta: $1.00 off coupon--made them $.39

Swiss Miss Pudding: BOGO--$1.25

5 Dial Bar Soap Three Packs: BOGO + doubled $.35 off coupon--$.34

Kraft BBQ Sauce: $1.59 

Publix BBQ Sauce: FREE

*Publix is running their "comparison sales" again. They choose a couple of items and if you buy the national brand, they'll give you the store brand for free. LOVE this.

Hormel Turkey Pepperoni- $3.69

Betty Crocker Muffin Mix- $.99

Kashi frozen Dinner: $3.49-FREE

*One of the greatest ways to get high dollar or even FREE product coupons is to sign up for free samples. They almost always come with high value coupons and you can even wind up getting some really neat stuff for FREE! I'll start trying to post lots of those links as I find them!

4 Goldfish Grahams-BOGO-$1.09each

Oscar Meyer Hot Dogs--BOGO

*I'm looking at my receipt right now and it would appear that they charged me full price for these hot dogs. I find that annoying because it means I have to go back to Publix, but it also means they'll give me a refund and I'll get the hotdogs for FREE. If ever they scan the wrong price at Publix, their policy is to refund you the full price of the item.

Lemon Juice: $.99

Mushrooms: $1.50

4 Wrigley Gum: FREE (coupon from last week's paper, I think)

Publix Ranch Dressing: PENNY ITEM

Tomato: $.81

Green Onions: $.50

Publix Hot Dog Buns: $1.17

Apple Slices: $2.99

Cantaloupe $.97

Kroger

Total: $80.69

Total Savings: 34.68

Total OOP: 46.01

I'll save you the gory details of every item of my Kroger trip except for a couple of highlights. 

Land O'Lakes Butter: On sale for 2/$4.00 or $2.00 each. This week's paper has a coupon for $1.00 off, so I got butter today for $1 A POUND. This is a GREAT deal. If you use the "real" stuff--GO take advantage of this deal. It's worth it to buy several papers to take advantage of this deal because you'll recover the cost of your papers on each pound!

Hall's Cough Drops: This week's paper has coupons for FREE Hall's cough drops. Again, worth the price of multiple papers. I bought four.

Johnson's Buddies: Again, like I've posted before. These are almost always free or almost free. Kroger usually also gives you catalinas that make it possible to "roll" the deal. Last week I used manufacturer's Qs to get three free and then they gave me a catalina for another $3 off Buddies products, which means I turned right around this week and got three more! This week I got another catalina for $2.50.I'm getting quite a stockpile!

Over The Moon milk: This is a new product from Mayfield and a couple of weeks ago there was a $1.00 off coupon in Smartsource. You can actually buy the milk and send in your receipt and they'll give you YOUR MONEY BACK. It makes this milk FREE. I have several of these coupons and since it's one per address, I'll buy them up over the next couple of weeks and use my parents' address along with my husband's work or another friend...something like that. :)

HAPPY SHOPPING!

How did YOU do this week? I'd love to hear your stories!

Menu Planning

Remember that one of the most important rules in saving money at the grocery store is PLANNING YOUR MENUS IN ADVANCE! This cute little menu planning template is available for you to print out here. Find what works for you. You can use a printable, you can use a plain spiral-bound notebook or even index cards. I found some cute meal-plan notepads at Michael's for $1.00 last week and I used my 40% off coupon to get one really cheap. They're magnetic, so I can put them on the fridge and keep them right at a glance.

So what are we having this week at my house?

First let me say that I bought a fun cookbook today at BJs. (Their book section is my DOWNFALL--I try not to go very often because I have NO willpower.) At any rate, the book is called Top Secret Restaurant Recipes--you can see it on Amazon here. This week we're going to experiment in dishes from this cookbook.

Here's the rundown:

Sunday: Herb Marinated Pork Tenderloin (an exception: this is an Ina Garten recipe), roasted red potatoes and Hooters Pasta Salad. (Funny, right?) 

Monday: Pizza Hut Triple Decker Pizza with pepperoni and mushrooms

Tuesday (easy night because of a lacrosse game and voice lessons): Hot dogs, macaroni and cheese

Wednesday: Outback Steakhouse's Alice Springs Chicken, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse's Creamed Spinach, Noodles with butter (in case the kids balk at everything else, at least they'll have something in their bellies!)

Thursday: We'll be eating out with my in-laws

Friday: Barbecue Muffin Cups (not sure what else will go with this--it's my wild card meal of the week)

Saturday: Breakfast or leftovers (I'll be out of town for a baby shower, so the guys have to fend for themselves.)

So that's the run down. I'll post my shopping lists later once I've found all of my coupon deals to share!

Dress Your Children for FREE?!?!?

There is a great post here today about how to dress your children for free. I think there's a lot of really, really useful information in it. The article is specifically geared towards Gymboree, but there are lots of ways to use this same principal at any store that offers great clearance prices or "rewards" as Gymboree does. Because we live in Cumming, I do most of my shopping for our kids at the Dawsonville Outlet mall. I almost NEVER spend more than $5 for an article of clothing. I do quite a bit of my shopping in the off season and I just assume what sizes my kids will be in (the older they get, the easier this becomes) and I stock up. Right now I have a TON of stuff for school for NEXT year all stashed away in their closets. Once the weather warms up, all this year's spring/summer stuff will start to go on clearance and you can stock up on warm weather stuff then. It's all very cyclical and it's really pretty easy to find good deals. Another tip for those with younger kids is JC Penny. They often put their store brand of separates (knit shorts/sweat pants and tshirts) on sale for about $4 apiece. I usually stock up on the "basics" when they go on sale. Granted I have boys and I'm not at all overly concerned with "fashion" but when places like Gymboree put their stuff on clearance, you can RACK UP the "cute stuff" and then you don't feel so badly when they have paint spilled on them or spaghetti spilled down the front or they get torn in the yard "working with Daddy" or whatever (can you tell I have boys?!).

Finally, if you do buy name brand clothes from Gymboree or Baby Gap or the Children's Place or wherever, they sell exceptionally well on ebay. I've sold quite a few "lots" of clothes on ebay and had great success. It wasn't complicated, the transactions were straightforward and a lot of other people got some great use out of clothes my boys had outgrown. Most of the clothes that I've sold on ebay have actually been worn by both of my boys and they're still in good enough shape to get a pretty penny out of online. The benefit of buying the name brands is that, in my experience, they do tend to hold up better.

Okay, enough of my yapping. Go read the real article. I just got some Gym-Bucks the other day on the boys' Easter outfits, so I'm going to try my hand at this whole "rewards" process in April and see how it works. I'll keep you posted!

Deals at Wal Mart

There are a lot of good deals at Wal Mart right now and you can read about them here, but my favorite deal is on Knox gelatin. You can print these coupons: one from here and one from here, buy two boxes of Knox gelatin for $1.88 each and wind up with $4.24 in OVERAGES. That means Wal Mart will PAY you FOUR DOLLARS to take home the Knox gelatin. Tuck it in your pantry for a fun fruit pie this summer or find someone at school or church that makes homemade jams or jellies and pass it along to them. 

Another deal I did today was buying Mentos gum. The packages sell for $1.24 each and in the March 1st Sunday paper coupon insert there were coupons for $1 off. I had six of those coupons so today I got six packs of gum for about $1.40. Not bad, huh? And it's actually pretty yummy. :)

Easter Candy Savings

I found a great post here that gives you the run down on all of the different stores around here and what candies and snacks are on sale for Easter. I thought it was really handy since this is the time of year that we're always filling eggs for school or church or whatever. Hopefully this will give you some good ideas for saving some bucks. Double check your coupons for combo deals...I know at Publix this week our favorite Easter candy, Starburst jelly beans, are on sale for $1.50 and I'm pretty sure there's a coupon from a week or so ago for $1.00 off a bag, which makes them super cheap. And YUMMY!!!

MY SOURCES!!

Okay, I'm going to now spill the real secrets. These are the sites that I visit to help me find the really good deals. I check them all almost daily. They give me the scoop on drugstore stuff, groceries and all kinds of other exciting deals. My advice is to bookmark them all and every day when you have time for the computer, sit down and scroll through each one. I'm going to put myself out of the blogging business once you see where I'm getting my info from, but I think it's important for you all to understand the process. Hopefully I can still add value to helping you learn how to change the way you think about shopping, but here are the best sites I know of...trust me, they're worth your time!!

My two favorite sites for all things grocery/drugstore and general money-saving tips are Money Saving Mom and Money Saving Madness. These girls do not kid around. They will give you hints every single day with places you can save money, online coupons you can find, freebies you can sign up for, tips for combining coupons, etc. They will never let you down. I can't tell you how much free stuff I've gotten through tips on their page. I finally get my Martha Stewart Living itch scratched again and it's all thanks to the FREE subscriptions I heard about on these gals' pages.

Another great site for those of you in the south is Saving Your Cents. This site is great for grocery stuff as well as drugstores. These three sites do repeat themselves somewhat, but if you check them all sometimes you'll find things on one and not on the other.

One more grocery/warehouse site that's great is A Full Cup. This one you do have to register for, but it has the almighty Target Coupon Generator on it. It will pull up every Target coupon that's available currently and then you can check some of these other sites for help pairing the store coupons with the manufacturer's for deals like the Mott's deal I got the other day.

Finally, for general deals, I love GottaDeal. When you visit this site, the blue box in the top left will give you the top deals from their entire forum of information. Usually they're GREAT deals--yesterday there were Pyrex containers for $1.99--stuff like that. You can find out things from toys to electronics. And you can spend HOURS prowling around the forum for deals. It's a great spot to check when you start getting birthday/Christmas ideas running around in your head. You'll be surprised at all the cool stuff you can find.

Okay, there's the scoop. I'll try to continue helping you navigate these sites and how they can help you. Have fun playing on these sites! There is GREAT stuff in their archives, so get started looking around!!!

This week's Shopping Trips

Here are the goods from this week's trips to Publix and Kroger. It wasn't one of my better weeks--I spent about $85 total, which is way over what I typically try to spend, but there were a lot of fresh produce items on my lists this week as well as some higher priced items that I just plain needed and couldn't wait until they go on sale. I think the next thing I'm going to post on is name brand vs. store brand and brand loyalty...I get a lot of questions about that.

At any rate: Publix went pretty well...

Total Spent: $23.58

Total Saved: $24.37

My goal is always to save as much or more as I spend. This week was a good week. The packages of yogurt were a particularly good find--I got them for .25 each. They were BOGO (2/2.50) and I had a $1 off coupon for each. The cranberry juice came out to a pretty good sale, the salad came out to about $1 (it was BOGO plus I had a store coupon to stack). I also splurged on some Boar's Head deli meat, a bottle of water (I was so thirsty!) and a couple of eyeshadows, which were free. How do you get free eye shadow? In every Publix in the front when you first walk in there are Easy Saver catalogs. It's green and it's basically a sale paper with coupons inside. You can stack those coupons with a manufacturer's coupon to get some good deals. Cover girl eye shadow singles are $2.99. There is a $2.00 off coupon in the Easy Saver book and then there are $1.00 manufacturer coupons all the time in the paper, so you stack them and get free (well, a penny!) eye shadow.

Kroger:

Total Spent: $60.94

Total Saved: $19.49

Clearly I didn't reach my savings goal here, but there were just some things that we needed to stock up on. I figure that if I play the averages, almost every week I save more than this so every so often it's okay to spend a little more to stock up on the stuff that we need. I did get a good deal on the flat iron steak and the giant slab o' pork in the front there--I'm going to carve that up for a couple of night's worth of dinners. The Johnson's Buddies Soaps that are on the left were almost free. Johnson's puts out lots of coupons for these and you can find printables all over the web. The thing about the Buddies soaps are that they're always right around a dollar and the coupons are always for $1 off, so you can really stock up on these. They're actually free at Wal Mart, but the great thing about getting them at Kroger is that for every one you buy, the catalina printer (the gizmo that shoots out coupons with your receipt) will shoot out another $1 off coupon for another one. So you can "roll" this deal. From what I see so far, it will give you coupons up to 3 per transaction. So buy three for free with your coupons from the internet and then get catalinas for three more free. Pretty sweet, right? My friend Katie is stocking up on these and putting them in her kids' birthday goodie bags this year. Pretty smart! Plus, they're actually really good soaps--they last forever and the kids like them too.

Great Deals on Crocs

There are some great deals at at the Crocs website this week. I got a pair of flip flops for myself, a pair of Mickey Mouse crocs for each of my boys and six jibbitz for $70. That included free shipping (for spending $75) and then I was able to take an extra 20% discount with an online coupon code. We wear crocs year 'round, so anytime I can find a deal on them I think it's well worth it. They hold up so well--my boys have been wearing their current pair for full year. I buy them a tiny bit large and they really handle the abuse of two young boys really well. When they get dirty, I just throw them in for a cycle in the dishwasher. Can't beat that! Here are some coupon codes that I found...if you use them, they'll ask for them near the end of the process and they'll be applied just before the very last page. I can guarantee that the CHOICES009 code works since that's what I used. Happy shopping!

Everything Baked Potato Lasagna

This is the new recipe I tried this week. Mine wasn't quite this pretty, so I borrowed this image from the Paula Deen magazine website. Right off the bat, with my mention of The Butter Queen, you'll probably guess that this wasn't a super-healthy dinner, but it was definitely tasty and one that has a lot of options for lightening up, actually. 

The original recipe is HERE if you'd like to try it. It actually went over really well with my very picky family and while the original called for a lot of high fat ingredients, I was able to lighten it up with some low fat sour cream and low fat cheese and then in addition I think you could even take it the next step and use cauliflower puree instead of the potatoes for a less starchy version. You could also most certainly use low fat milk instead of the cream and whole milk too. I just had a tiny portion the other night because it was pretty rich and heavy.

In general,  my husband thought it could use more bacon (but my husband thinks bacon is a food group, so consider the source). I thought it was actually a little heavy on the mashed potato mixture. I think the next time I make it I may use a little diced ham in there as well just for a little more protein. I'll decrease the potato mixture by about a pound of potatoes as well.

One perk about the recipe is that it most definitely could be made in advance and refrigerated until you're ready to bake it. I dirtied up every pot in the house twice making it, so I would advise that if you're going to make it for your family, make it in the morning when you have extra energy, throw it in the fridge and then pull it out and bake it for an hour or so...that way you're not up washing pots half the night like I was. :)

Hang in there for more coupon posts...they're coming soon.

What are you fixing for dinner this week? 

I'm Just Wild About Animal Crackers...

I found the cutest little cookie cutters at the Williams Sonoma Outlet (on sale, of course!) this weekend and I just have to show them off. They're basically made of  sugar cookie dough with a little extra dose of nutmeg, but they're just adorable and the kids loved them. (And so did their dad!)

Brenda's Chicken Pie

Yummy recipe as promised...

On a rainy Sunday afternoon, there is nothing better than this comforting chicken casserole. It is one of the easiest recipes EVER invented and involves things that you can usually find in your pantry or fridge. This recipe was given to my family when I was a kid and my mom had some surgery. Ever since, it has been a go-to comfort food staple in my house. Sure, you could add veggies and health it up a little, but comfort food is comfort food for a reason. Try it like it is first. :) 

Hope you enjoy!

Brenda's Chicken Pie

2 Cups cooked chicken (you can use a rotisserie chicken, leftover chicken or 2 large cans of chicken)

1 can Chicken Broth

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 stick of butter, melted

1 Cup buttermilk

1 Cup self-rising flour

Spray a 13x9 inch pan with cooking spray. Spread chicken over bottom of pan. In a bowl, whisk together the two cans of soup to combine. Pour over the chicken. In same bowl, stir together melted butter, buttermilk and self rising flour until combined. (It's okay if it's not perfectly smooth--just get the big lumps out.)

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.

Looks a little gross before it goes in the oven...

But is oh, so golden brown and delicious when it comes out!

My little members of the Clean Plate Club:

(largely because of the promise of the cookies I'll show you next...)

March 15th Shopping Trip

This week I went to Kroger early, early Sunday morning. I found a lot of "Manager's Specials" which saved me quite a bit...especially considering this was a week I wasn't able to match many coupons. I managed to save a good bit through these "Manager's Specials" on produce. I found strawberries for $1.50 a package, a pork roast for $3.74 and a 5 lb bag of potatoes for $1.50. I cut up some of the strawberries for this week and then I washed, cut up and froze the rest. All in all, not a bad week. I decided to use the pork roast instead of the chicken I was going to grill since it was cheaper, so that's a slight change to my menu plan. Also, there were no rotisserie chickens ready yet, so I ended up buying 2 cans of chicken instead. 

So here's what I got...  

Grand Total: $56.00

That also included a $1 donation to the Children's Miracle Network. 

And yes, an Us Weekly. 

Don't judge.

Shopping List for March 15th

After looking through the sale papers this week, I wasn't too impressed with the sales. Fortunately, I'm always prepared for that because I stock up when things are on sale, so it doesn't kill me when the sales aren't great...I can just make do with what we have on hand and then stock back up next week when things may be better. Quite a few of the proteins I'm using this week I had on hand in the freezer, so my shopping list is pretty short. I didn't see any overwhelmingly good deals at Publix, so I'm going to skip them this week. This is my list for Kroger:

KROGER:

Rotisserie Chicken

Split Chicken Breasts (on sale)

heavy cream

bacon (BOGO)

4 lb. baking potatoes

pint of whole milk

1 can Pisbury thin crust pizza dough (use 1 .40 off coupon, which will double)

1 box frozen spinach

1 small jar alfredo sauce

buttermilk

butter

fruit (whatever looks good)

2 cans chicken broth (use 1 $.40 off coupon that will double)

skim milk

yogurt

Ken's marinade (use $1.00 off coupon)

Eggs

Johnsons Buddies (printable coupon HERE make these free.)

Huggies (wipes or diapers depending on what deal looks best w/ coupons HERE) 

And that's it. I don't have a lot of coupon pairings this week because I'm buying mostly fresh products and there aren't a lot of sale/coupon pairings because there just aren't that many sales!

Just means next week will probably ROCK! :)

Menu Plan for the Week of March 15th

The first step in saving major money at the grocery store is to plan out your week's menu. I tend to only "plan" my dinners because my children aren't very creative in their lunch choices...we rotate between yogurt, cheese and crackers, sandwiches and fruit, etc. so as long as I keep those things on hand, there's usually no need to "plan" them out. Breakfast doesn't rotate much either. I keep muffin mixes, frozen waffles, eggs, cereal and the like on hand and that keeps everyone satisfied through the week.

Dinners are where I focus my planning energy and then I make my shopping list from there. I incorporate the week's plans (my husband's lacrosse games, my voice lesson nights, etc.) in the meal plan so that I can prepare for the fact that I'll only be feeding the kids on some nights or maybe I'll only be feeding "the boys" on others.

Here's this week's meal plan:

Sunday: Chicken Pie (I'll share this recipe with you tomorrow because it's the easiest, most fantastic, everyone-likes-it-dinner that I know of.)

Monday: Everything Baked Potato Lasagna (this is a new recipe...I'll let you know how it turns out), rolls from the breadmaker

Tuesday: *Lacrosse Game & Voice Lessons* Grilled Cheese and pretzels with fruit

Wednesday: Grilled Chicken, Fried Corn, another veggie that looks good at the grocery store

Thursday: Pork Chops, butterbeans, pasta

Friday: *Lacrosse Game* Easy Turkey Stromboli (another recipe I'll share)

Saturday: OUT!

Clearly, everything is subject to change. If we get a wild hair to go out to eat during the week, then the meals will just shift to make up for it. Flexibility is important! (Especially if it's been a long day and Mama doesn't feel like sweatin' it out in the kitchen!)

Quote of the Day...

What I expect from my male friends is that they are polite and clean. What I expect from my female friends is unconditional love, the ability to finish my sentences for me when I am sobbing, a complete and total willingness to pour their hearts out to me, and the ability to tell me why the meat thermometer isn't supposed to touch the bone.

-Anna Quindlen, Living Out Loud

Fantastic Coupon Opportunity!

If you're like me, I love Old Navy for my kids' clothes. They have great sales and clearances and now there's a chance to save even more money. Old Navy has started a new site called Old Navy Weekly. Drag your cursor over the screen and click and it will pop up different coupon options. There are several to choose from, although you can only use each coupon once. Supposedly if you're on at just the right time, you can actually find a $50 or even $75! off of a $100 purchase coupon. That would be exciting, right?! Just in time for switching out the winter and spring clothes! Let me know if you find any really great deals. Today I printed the $5 off a $25 Purchase If It's Raining coupon. I was just planning to go get started on some spring clothes shopping this weekend and based on the weather, I'm thinking it'll work! Have fun clicking!

Learn From My Mistakes!

Well, I was hoping for a brilliant trip to Walgreen's today...I had a prescription to fill and a coupon for a $25 credit which I was then going to use to buy some products to start getting rebates from them. I wanted to start learning how to "work" their system so that I can pass it along to you guys. Unfortunately it didn't work out that way. It wasn't a total disaster, but let me give you a couple of tips so that you can learn from my mistakes:

1. READ YOUR COUPONS CAREFULLY! Unfortunately the coupon I had for the gift card was only good for a TRANSFERRED prescription. Not a NEW one, which is what I had. I lost out on that deal. (Although next month, I will probably transfer one of my monthly prescriptions to Wag's so that I can use the coupon.)

2. IF SOMETHING DOESN'T WORK OUT, DON'T BE AFRAID TO JUST LET IT GO. As soon as she told me that the coupon wouldn't work, I should have just taken the prescription back and gone to Rite Aid. I still would've gotten $25 and it wouldn't have even added to my stops today--I was going there anyway. But the pharmacist lady was nice and I didn't want to be rude...and blah, blah, blah. The fact of that matter is that she's not paid on commission...it wouldn't have been personal had I chosen to take my prescription elsewhere.

3. IT'S BEST TO KNOW THE RETAIL PRICE OF A PRODUCT BEFORE YOU ACTUALLY GO TO THE STORE. This isn't always possible, but it can save you a lot of thought in the store. Today I bought some shampoo that I really thought I was going to end up getting almost for free based on the coupons/rebates I had, but it turned out to be a lot more expensive than I thought. 

4. DON'T BE AFRAID TO WALK AWAY FROM A DEAL. Today I was hoping to get in on a diaper deal that would've given me some really cheap diapers and a rebate to boot. The diapers they had in the right size didn't match the coupons I had and it really wouldn't have been that great of a deal since they were out of the size I needed. This rule I followed today (the bright spot in my shopping)...I walked away.

5. GET THERE EARLY. When the deals for a drugstore are announced (usually on Sunday), get there as quickly as you can to take advantage of them. There are more people that you realize taking advantage of these deals and they go quickly. Almost everything I was going to get for free at Wag's today was already gone. I was hoping since it was towards the end of the week that they would've restocked from the Sunday/Monday rush, but no such luck. Shop early.

Tomorrow I'll start taking you through the process of how I plan my meals, organize my shopping list and match my coupons. If you want to follow along, pick up an early edition of the Sunday paper at your nearest convenience store tomorrow afternoon!

Make Money with your Prescriptions!

There is no reason right now why you should ever fill or refill a prescription without someone giving you perks for it. The sale papers in the newspaper are filled each week with offers for free gift cards for filling a new or transferring an old prescription to a particular drugstore. Rite-Aid is the best at this. I LOVE their offers. They give you a $25 gift card for each prescription that you transfer or fill. I have so far made about $50 at Rite Aid that I have then used to buy diapers. HOORAY FOR FREE DIAPERS! I have also been able to take rebate deals at Rite-Aid and actually "roll" the gift card money into more money coming back through a rebate. I'll tell you more about how to do that in my Rite Aid post later this weekend.

The other exciting thing about the Rite Aid coupon is that I've been able to use them at Publix. As I've told you before. Publix accepts competitor coupons and I've found it to be true in the pharmacy as well. They accept the Rite Aid coupon and give you a $25 Publix gift card for your prescription. I've gotten probably $75 worth of free groceries by doing this. Our family doesn't use a lot of prescription meds, but during the winter/spring, there are usually a lot of doctor's visits and new prescriptions not to mention those monthly meds that you can transfer from your current pharmacy to take advantage of these deals.

In the interest of full disclosure, I did get a Rite Aid coupon rejected by a Publix store this week. They told me they were no longer accepting them. However, "my" regular Publix hasn't stopped accepting them, so it may be a store by store decision. Let me know if you try it and it works.

Walgreen's also offers a $25 transfer coupon and occasionally Target will offer one as well, although theirs is usually only for about $10. It's a great way to grab a little extra cash for making a purchase that you'd have to make anyway.

Let me know if you try it and how much success you have!!

Today I'm going to experiment at Walgreen's a bit to see what kind of deals I can find there. I'm usually not a big Wag's shopper, but my sources are telling me that they've had better deals lately than CVS, so I'm going to check it out and report back!!

********UPDATE!!!!!!!!*********

As my dear friend, Trudy, graciously pointed out, I forgot to tell you where I'm getting these coupons.  Oops. :)  The Sunday paper is your best bet. Check the weekly circulars for the local drugstores and you'll find all kinds of goodies. That's where Rite Aid usually posts theirs as well as Walgreens. It pays to thumb through the actual newspaper as well. Last week I found a page full of $25 gift card coupons for Rite Aid on the back page of the Living section of the paper. They don't expire for a while, so I'm hoping to be able to use them all before they're gone. Target usually prints their coupons in the weekly circular as well.

Sorry for the omission! Truly, the Sunday paper is the secret to everything!

The Importance of a Second Email Address

I can't emphasize enough the importance of setting up an email account that you can use for your coupon/money-saving purposes. It's super easy to go to yahoo or hotmail or gmail and set up a free account and then you're not dealing with an over-abundance of spam in the inbox of your main email account. Most places are actually pretty good about not sending tons of junk, but it's just a good idea to protect yourself by keeping things separate. 

Also, lots of the places that you sign up will send you more money-saving coupons or deals and it's much easier to have them all in one place on that second email account than to have to page through your work/personal emails to get them.

I have a second account through gmail and I check it about once a week to see if there's anything worth saving.

Victoria's Secret

Today I made a run into Victoria's Secret because I had a bunch of good coupons I wanted to take advantage of. I'll save you the details of my skivvies, but suffice it to say that they have a decent sale going on right now in their undergarment department. Is that discreet enough? :) Anyway, I got a couple of good freebies while I was there that I can share with you. The first thing I got for free was a lip gloss, which was free with any purchase. You don't need to buy $25 worth of underwear like I did, you can buy one other tiny thing and still get this freebie. Whatever floats your boat. The coupon is HERE.

Next, I gave them another coupon I received and got a cute "Pink" tote bag. I had to sign up for this one, but I'm just hoping that they'll send me some more coupons as time goes on. It was free and the site is HERE. 

**This site has been experiencing technical difficulties from time to time, so if you're interested in the bag, just keep trying back. It will eventually work.** 

Also, there's a $10 off a $35 purchase coupon on the print-out as well.

I also had a coupon for a free panty that I received in the mail a while back from having been on their mailing list. So for a grand total of about $26.00 I got six pair of skivvies, a lip gloss, and a cute tote bag that will be perfect for the pool this summer. Not the world's greatest of all deals, but if you're in the market for their products, might as well get some fun things for free while you're at it! 

Here's a pic:

(The piece of paper is what your print-out for the bag will look like.)

I'll spare you the details of my underwear choices.

They're in the bag.

:)

Target

Who doesn't love Target? I'll tell ya, though. I'm not a fan of Target's prices. I usually don't even darken the doors of the place unless they've got some killer deals because there's just too much temptation. Today was a great day of deals, though, so let me fill you in and then you can jump on these deals before they're gone!

Here's what I bought at Target today:

Total OOP (out of pocket): $4.00

Yep. FOUR DOLLARS. And it would've been less than $2.00 if I hadn't caved on the animal crackers. But hey--we've all gotta live a little, right?

Let me tell you how I did this and then you can find these deals yourself. They're all printable coupons online. In addition to the newspaper, there are MOUNTAINS of coupons to be found online. There are a few major sites and then there are several other smaller sites that just pop up with good deals from time to time.

First off, Target will let you combine one store coupon with one manufacturer's coupon. They are a tiny bit anal about their policies (anyone tried to return anything to Target without a receipt? You might as well sell your firstborn) so you have to make sure you have your ducks in a row before you get to checkout. 

Here's how I snagged these deals:

Huggies Wipes: Original price $5.99.

 I used a $5.00 off coupon HERE. 

**Internet coupons will usually print twice per computer. Just use your browser's back button and it should print again. If you have more than one computer in the house, take advantage! Often these coupons will be "reset" after a week or so and you can print them all over again.**

Huggies Wipes: $.99

They are specific as to which KIND of wipe you have to buy--Gentle Care or Natural care or whatever, so pay attention to what you grab or the deal won't work. You can also use this deal on diapers if you choose, but the Gentle Care diapers only go up to about a size 2, so you'll only be able to do that if you've got an itty-bitty one at home.

**Snoop around on that printable site I linked you to up there. Print off anything that might be of value. There are also $3.00 off Huggies coupons as well and those will still make for some mighty cheap wipes...especially if they go on sale somewhere next week. (Which they will, I'm sure.)**

Riceworks Chip: Original Price $2.99

I used a "get one FREE coupon" HERE

Hooray for FREE! And I guess the $2.99 is a sale price because the computer actually gave me a $3.50 credit for it, which means I got a $.51 credit for them. Hooray for MORE than FREE!! And turns out, they're yummy! :)

Riceworks Chips: FREE + $.51 credit!

Mott's Applesauce: Original Price $1.69

I used one $1.00 off Target coupon HERE  and

one $.55 manufacturer coupon HERE

The Target coupon you can print about as many times as you want, I believe. The site makes it look a little like you need to sign up, but you don't. And there are lots of other Target deals there that are worth printing while you're at it. The manufacturer coupon, I believe you can print twice per computer. Again, take advantage of that second (or third!) computer in your world.

Applesauce: $.14 each

So those are the Target deals. Good stuff, right? No reason why you can't make those happen for you...fire up the printer and get started! 

Just resist the temptation to buy all the other overpriced stuff while you're there!!!--Remember...it's all about self-discipline!

CVS

CVSing (yes, it's a verb) is an art form. I'm not going to attempt to explain it all today because I don't have the brain cells (they were sucked out this morning by my cranky two-year-old) and it's going to take me a little time to organize my thoughts to figure out the best way to communicate it.

That being said, here's what I got on my CVS run today.

Total Cost Out of Pocket:  $3.76

Now, like I said, CVS is an art form and it takes a while to figure it out and develop your strategies. Let me give you the run down on what I did today and then I promise, within the next week, I'll give you the scoop so you can start trying this yourself.

Herbal Essence x 4 $2.88each--

then I used 2 "$3 off 2" coupons for a total of $6 off. 

That takes the total to $5.52 for all four.

THEN (and this is where it can get confusing) I received $4 in Extra Care Bucks back.

***Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) are CVS' way of getting you to come back to the store. They choose special items, put them on sale and then when you buy them, they print out a receipt that gives you a particular dollar amount to spend the next time you come in the store. Today the deal was $1ECB for each Herbal Essence you buy. The entire trick of CVSing is combining sale items with coupons and paying for them purely in ECBs. But more on that later. ***

So for the shampoo deal, if you subtract the ECBs from the price, I actually got four bottles of shampoo/conditioner for $1.52. Not bad, eh?

Okay, hopefully you're still with me...moving on...

Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste 1@  $2.99

--then I used 1 "$.75 off" coupon

That brought the toothpaste to $2.24

And then I got $2ECB back making the toothpaste actually $.24

Still there?

Vaseline Total Moisturizing Lotion 1@  $3.69

--then I used a "$1.50 off" coupon

That brought the lotion to $2.19

And then I got 2 ECB back making the lotion actually $.19

Now, in addition, I found some coloring books for a dollar as well as a sticker book and I had a few ECBs that I needed to use because they were going to expire, so I used them on the goodies for the kids. Those goodies brought my total up $4.00.

I used $10.98 worth of ECBs from a previous trip to pay and then the total leftover was the $3.76 I paid out of pocket (henceforth abbreviated OOP).

Now, if you're new to CVSing, that probably will make little sense at best. Hang with me and I'll get you going. If you can build up your ECBs then you can stockpile them for diapers. I have a friend who hasn't paid OOP for diapers in a year. You do end up "buying" things you don't need, but there are always shelters that are happy to accept donated toiletries. I pass a lot of things on to my family and friends as well.

Also, each drugstore has it's own "customer retention" program. Rite Aid has one, Walgreen's has one. I'll fill you in on Rite Aid's this week--I'm familiar with their program. Walgreen's I'm just learning about so I'll keep you posted!

Hang with me for more drugstore info!

One Heck of a Shopping Day!

Well, today I dropped Will off at school, went to the gym for a great kickboxing workout (seriously....don't cross me in a back alley) and then it was off to pound out some great deals. I'm going to go through them bit by bit with tips on each one, so hopefully you can either duplicate some of these deals yourself or at least start getting familiar with the thought process behind putting these deals together.

Ready? 

Here we go!

Comments

Hooray! I found my comments! Sorry I didn't post them sooner. Apparently I'm set to "moderate" them, so I'll keep a better watch. Thanks for reading, guys, and thank you for the suggestions. I'm excited to know that you're out there and that you're interested in this stuff. Tomorrow I'll post my meal plan process for the week and I'll let you in on some great websites to check for deals. I'll also let you know where to look for coupons...they're not just in the Sunday paper anymore. (Although, it's still your best bet!) Keep your thoughts coming and let me know how I can help you...I can't wait to hear your success stories!

Oh! And tomorrow I'm doing some shopping out and about for "research" purposes, so I'll probably have some fantastic deals to let you in on from Victoria's Secret, Bath and Body Works, Target and CVS.

See you soon!!!

This Week's Publix Trip

I don't know if it's going to be helpful to read every gory detail of every single shopping trip that I make, but I thought I would at least post a pic for you of what I bought at Publix this week and give you a couple of helpful hints about shopping at Publix.

Publix is my favorite place to shop for a number of reasons:

1. Their customer service is fantastic. I drive around my elbow to get to my "friendly neighborhood Publix" because the people are so darn nice. They actually try to help me with my coupons to make sure that they all go through and they never give me lip about the number of coupons I use or the amount of time it takes in their line. This cannot be said of all grocery stores (or all Publixes--Publi?) but I LOVE my particular store. They are so blasted helpful, I just can't stand it.
2. Their coupon policy is second to none. PUBLIX WILL ACCEPT ANY COMPETITOR'S COUPONS!!! Check with your particular store to see exactly what that means, but for me, I can use Walgreen's, CVS, Rite-Aid, Kroger, Wal Mart, you name it. They'll take 'em all. It can add up to some MONSTROUS deals.
3. Publix doubles coupons .50 and under. This is just like Kroger, but the exciting part is...
   
4. AT PUBLIX YOU CAN STACK COUPONS. Stacking simply means that you can use more than one coupon on one item. At Publix the rule is that you can stack one store coupon with one manufacturer's coupon. THIS CAN MEAN BIG SAVINGS! Publix very frequently puts out their own store coupons and knowing you can stack on a manufacturer's coupon (that can be doubled if it's .50 or under!!) means good things for your bottom line.
   

Granted, overall Publix is a bit more expensive than Kroger, but with the savings that are possible through their generous BOGO (Buy One Get One Free, remember?) offers each week and their fabulous coupon policy, I often come out spending less at Publix than I would if I bought the same items at Kroger.

So here's what I got at Publix this week. I think I used a coupon on every single item except possibly the Macaroni and Cheese (which was BOGO) and the Klondikes (BOGO) and the ground beef. Also the photo doesn't include the two double papers I bought for $2.34 each as well.

Grand total: $35.61.

Here's the exciting part, though:

Savings Summary:

Store Coupons: -$8.99

Vendor Coupons: -$5.24

Advertised Special Savings: -$22.75

For a grand total savings of: $36.98!! 

I SAVED more than I SPENT! 

And that's my weekly goal. If I can accomplish that through strategies and coupons, then I feel like it was a week's work well spent.

Now if I can just figure out who's been eating the Klondike bars.....

The Importance of the Pantry

While we're on the subject of "stocking up", I thought it would be helpful to see how I organize my stash of food. Let it be said that if there is a nuclear disaster, you can rest assured that we are eating well for quite a long time on the stash we have at our house. Today we'll just look at the grocery stash...I'll show you the drugstore monstrosity later.

I keep two pantries. One in my kitchen that is actually my "working" pantry. It holds all things that have been opened...cereal, granola bars, etc. along with things that I use daily or almost daily in my regular cooking...rice (if it's opened), pasta (ditto), breadcrumbs, jello, whatever. The kitchen pantry looks like this:

Okay, so in addition to the kitchen pantry, I also have the laundry room pantry. This guy is adjacent to the kitchen, so it's super convenient, but it doesn't really have to be as long as it's organized. If the best you've got is some space in your basement, take it--it's worth it to have the space to stock up on things you know are a great deal. My LR pantry looks like this:

(We'll do another post on my freezer another day. It's a whole 'nother ballgame.)

Like I said, though, in the event of a nuclear holocaust, the party's at my place.

This Week's Kroger Run

Now we're getting into the nitty-gritty of how all of this works. Another commandment I should add to the Six Commandments of Couponing, or whatever I called it, is this: 

7. THOU SHALT KNOW YOUR STORE'S COUPON POLICY

Every store is different. Here's what I know about Kroger. Kroger will double coupons up to a face value of $.50. That means if you have a .45 coupon, it's really worth .90 for you. Another important point about Kroger: when an item is Buy One Get One Free (henceforth forever known as BOGO) you DON'T have to buy two to get the sale price. Buy one and you get it for half price. Each Kroger probably has it's own idiosyncrasies, so double check with your store manager if you're unsure.

So here's what I accomplished at Kroger this week for $23.17: (Oh, and there were three boxes of the Fiber One bars, but I've already opened two of them and put them in my stash, so they're missing from the pick.) :)

 And here's the rundown:

*2 x  Quaker Rice Cakes: Sale price .99 (used $1.00 off coupon)= free + $.01 in overage each

*Kellogg's Pops Cereal: Sale price $2.59 (used .70 off coupon) = $1.89

Smithfield Bacon (BOGO) : Two for $5.00

Jimmy Dean Sausage (BOGO) : One for $2.50

*3 x  Colgate Toothpaste: Sale price 1.50 (used $.75 off coupon) = .75 each

*Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks: Sale price $1.99 (used .50 coupon-doubled) = $.99

Baked Beans: Sale Price $1.25

Log Cabin Syrup: 2.49

Bisquick: 3.35 (used $1.00 off coupon) = $2.25

*3 x  Fiber One Bars: Sale price 2.59 (used .50 coupon-doubled) = 1.59 each

Red Potatoes: Sale price $3.49

The great thing about Kroger this week is that if you bought ten items out of a select group of "mix and match" items, then you got an extra $5.00 off of your total. The items with an * are the ones involved in that deal. So if you check the prices and subtract .50 (the $5 split between ten items) you'll see that I got toothpaste for a quarter each, fruit snacks for .50, boxes of granola bars (my breakfast every morning that I work out) for $1 each, etc. This is why the ability to "stock up" is so important. If you can get toothpaste for .25, you should grab several. And combining the coupons with the deals made the $5 deal really easy to reach without spending very much at all. I spent $8.00 and got $5.00 back. I probably could have done even better at Kroger this week, but we have a guest this week and there were things that I HAD to buy whether they were on a great sale or not: bacon, etc. Another reason to stock up when you can: so you don't get stuck paying $2.50 for a bottle of syrup! :)

Coupon Organizational Strategies

So I don't really know if anyone is out there actually reading this, but I'm having fun so I figure we'll just keep plugging ahead, okay? (Okay!)

Let's talk a little today about coupon organization. I've tried several different methods and I think I've finally found one that works for me. After trying the little booklets and the folders and the commercial stuff, I've found that a plain old 3 ring binder does the trick. I filled my binders with page protectors that are meant for 4x6 pictures and baseball cards. The pages that hold 4x6 pictures I use for categories that have lots and lots of coupons like cereal and popcorn and snacks. I use the baseball card slots for things like butter or meats that I may not have as many coupons for or that I want to keep all in one glance. You get two picture slots per page and you get nine baseball card slots per page. I'll go into my personal categories later, but really the most important thing is trial and error until you find what works for you. I find that this part of the deal is constantly evolving because I keep refining my system. I use little white file folder sticker labels to label each slot, that way if I change things up, those are easy to remove and start over with. Plus they're like, maybe a buck for a giant pack of a thousand. That lets me change my mind a million times.

I use two separate books...one for drugstore-type items and one for grocery store items. I started with one book, but it just got too thick. I found the perfect little spot to keep these with me as well. I drive a van (read: Mommy-Mobile) and I have just enough room between my seat and the center console to slide one of these babies right in there. I do the same between the passenger seat and the console and then I have both books on hand at all times just in case I need them for an unplanned run into Target.

These are what the inside pages look like...it's not a great image, but it should give you an idea. The top image has both of my books. You can see that I use the front slide-in pouches for items that may not fit into a regular category or for big-dollar coupons that I don't want to forget about. Also I keep rain checks there so that I don't misplace them.

Hopefully that gives you an idea of how I get started. The most important part of all of this is FIND WHAT WORKS FOR YOU. Everyone's Obsessive Compulsive Disorder manifests itself in different ways...you just have to find what you like and stick with it. 

We'll talk a little more in another post about where exactly I get my coupons. And no, it doesn't involve dumpster-diving. That's what makes my blog different from some of the other coupon-crazies you'll find in the blogosphere. I don't find it necessary to dig through the trash for good deals. Then again, don't knock it 'till you've tried it, I guess...

The Envelope System

My husband and I use "the envelope system" each month for our budget. He's a teacher, so he gets paid monthly instead of weekly or bi-weekly. It takes a great amount of planning to make sure that we aren't out of money or food by the 30th of each month. Here's how it works for us:

• Each month, when his check is deposited into our checking account, I sit down and pay all of our bills online. TIP: I keep a spreadsheet of what I pay to each company (utilities, etc.) each month, so that when tax time comes around, we can easily find our averages for our CPA to deduct. (We have an LLC and I'm considered self-employed, so we can deduct our office space and a portion of our utilities, mortgage, etc. as business expenses.) 
  
• After our bills are paid, we go to the ATM, withdraw cash and put CASH into envelopes for each of our major monthly categories. Depending on how much money you have to spend and how OCD you want to get with your envelopes, you can have more or less categories. The ones we use are: Groceries, Eating Out, Miscellaneous, Drugstore, Chip and Leigh Ann. We keep money in the checking account for Gas so that we can pay at the pump. (The Chip and Leigh Ann envelopes are for our own "mad money"--Chip's usually gets spent at Home Depot for stuff for the yard--his hobby--and mine usually gets spent either at Michael's, JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby or Home Goods.) :)
• The most important part: Once the money is gone from an envelope, then it's gone. There isn't any more. Again, this is about self-discipline. It's not easy, but it keeps us from over-spending and makes us stay conscious about where the money is going.

This has worked so, so well for us. I typically handle the money, bill paying, etc. and we used to fight about where the money went. Chip felt like he didn't have a say in the day to day expenses and I felt like I was doing the best I could--why couldn't he go online and check the accounts the same way I do? This has saved us so many arguments. Now we each have our own money each month that we can budget however we like (guilt-free pedicures, anyone?!) and we can each easily check the envelopes to see what's left in a particular category. We work together to decide how we're going to spend our eating out money and before we take a chunk out of the miscellaneous category, we check with each other to make sure we agree on the expense. And finally, my favorite part: NO MORE CHASING DOWN DEBIT CARD RECEIPTS! I felt like all I did was check the accounts to stay on top of what money had been spent between the two of us and it was just too easy to screw up. Now, we're working only in cash, so other than gas, I don't have to worry about the debit cards at all. And we've put the credit cards away!

This probably sounds pretty wacky if you're not used to it, but it has worked so well for us. It makes us feel like a team instead of being isolated in our spending. It has also kept us well within our monthly budget...sometimes with money left over! If you find yourselves fighting about money in your relationship, I encourage you to try it--even if it's just for a month...you'll be amazed at how well it works and how much arguing it eliminates.

The Commandments

The Six Commandments of Saving Money at the Grocery Store

1. PLAN, PLAN, PLAN. I sit down once a week with my Sunday paper circulars, my coupon books and my computer. I check my favorite websites for tips on how to pair coupons with sales, I scour the circulars for the week's deals and I plan my weekly menu.
2. PLAN YOUR MENU. I base my weekly menu on what's on sale. If tilapia, ground beef and chuck roast are on sale this week, that's what we're having for dinners. If it's chicken, we eat chicken. If there are particularly good deals, I stock up for another time.
3. STOCK UP. Find a place in your house that you can use for a pantry. It's important to have room to stock up because when you find a good deal, you'll want to buy more than one. Everything in couponing is cyclical, so you might get juice boxes on sale with coupons for $.50 this week, but they won't come back around for a while, so you should buy several to stock up for that preschool party you know is coming.
4. BE DISCIPLINED AT THE STORE. I don't buy ANYTHING that's not on my list unless it is a unadvertised sale and I have have a coupon to stack with it. My kids know how it works, so they don't ask for a million things as we go through the store. I try to shop on the weekends without them, but because I go in the store organized and with a plan, it's really not that much of a hassle to have them with me. They know how the plan works and they can help me find things on my list.
5. SHOP ONCE A WEEK. I go to the grocery store once a week. Period. If we run out, we do without. It is impossible to go into the grocery store without spending at least $20--if you do that several times a week, then you're going to end up waaaaaay overspending your budget. There's just too much temptation (and Ben & Jerry's) to go in there without a plan. I have had great luck with this once a week shopping thing. Very rarely do we run out of anything because I've already shopped that week with a specific plan.
6. SET YOUR BUDGET AND STICK TO IT.  This isn't complicated. Decide how much you have to spend and make it work. It's about self-discipline and it takes practice.

First Things First

I am so excited to be starting this blog! I have been having so much fun over the last eight months or so learning how to strategically shop to save tons of money. I have taken our weekly grocery bill from somewhere around $150-$200 down to about $60. SIXTY DOLLARS! To feed a family of four! I'm going to share with you week by week exactly how I do it and try to make it educational enough that you can do it too.

Does it take time to save money like this? Absolutely. Tons? No. The most time-consuming part is the actual clipping and filing of the coupons, but those are things that can be done while watching TV or talking on the phone...women are brilliant multi-taskers--there's no reason for coupons to take over your life! Although if you don't have a good filing system, you'll feel like they're taking over your house! But more on that later... 

There is so much ground to cover that it's a little overwhelming to even know where to begin. I'll try to take things a step at a time and share with you tips and tidbits along the way. I will be directing you to some of my favorite blogs online where I gain a lot of information each week on where the best deals are and hopefully you can begin to frequent those pages as well.  I'm also hoping I can give you some fun tips for your home and your lives. It's not easy to be busy moms...especially in the 'burbs where there is always a lot of pressure to "keep up with the Joneses". There are always ways to accomplish things on a budget--you just have to get creative! I hope I can help change the way you think so that you can tighten your belts a little as we continue navigating the path of our crazy economy.

Let's get started!!!