Forgot to Mention...

I completely forgot to mention why I got so much of everything.  Now that I have a surplus in my grocery budget (yes, took some hard work, but I have “extra”) I have decided that it is now time to work on getting back ups of everything.  I am starting with laundry stuff, cleaning supplies and toiletries.  My goal for right now is six months of back up for each category. 

Right now I think I have enough tooth paste for a year, enough fabric softener for about four months (hopefully longer), dryer sheets for about six months and I think that’s it.  I would LOVE to get an abundance of paper products (toilet paper and paper towels) because that always seems to be expensive.  Granted, I buy when on sale and with a coupon, but I need to get better at it.  Maybe learning the CVS game will help me.

I am going this weekend to use the rest of my RR at Walgreens to get things we need and then will attempt the CVS game.  I don’t think I’m “done” with the Walgreens one but CVS seems to have more deals for what I need right now. 

OH… speaking of Walgreens… if you have the All You Magazine Issue 10 October 23, 2009 (has caramel apples on the front) there is a coupon inside for Buy one get one free on Rimmel cosmetics.  These will be B1G1 free at Walgreens Saturday only from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  I suggest you head on over and get that this weekend!

Some Skippy and Snuggle

During lunch I went to Target yet again.  I bought three big bottles of Snuggle fabric softener, a box of Snuggle dryer sheets and six jars of Skippy peanut butter for a grand total of $9.16!  I love getting deals like that.  Snuggle is on sale (softener and dryer sheets) for $3.99 each and there was a $3.00 coupon in this past Sunday’s paper.  I’m pretty sure it was in the Red Plum insert.  On the back of the Snuggle coupon page is a .40 coupon off Skippy.  Skippy is on sale for $2.04 so I stacked the .40 coupon with a Target $1.00 coupon off Skippy so that made it .64 each.  My hubs was just telling me three days ago we were out of peanut butter.  Well babe, guess what… not any more!!!

Here is the link to the Target printable coupons.  There is no print limit on them and target does not have a coupon quantity limit.  Check out the coupons here and then you can go here to see Target’s coupon policy which is finally available.  I suggest you print and put this page in your coupon “thing” (whatever you use) so you have it with you should anyone ever give you any grief.

This weekend I will be trying to post an abundance of great information and will post more on my coupon book and how it works for me.

Have a great day!!

Goals, Walgreens, Surplus and Great Friends!

I have set some more goals for myself.  I am bad at keeping up with them (like taking two classes this year and doing the shutterfly books for the “year in review”) but I think these I will keep up with.

I want to do a book on how to coupon shop and how to keep within a grocery budget.  It’s not going to be super long by any stretch of the imagination, but as time goes by I can always add more.

I also would like to post an ad to teach people how to shop with coupons, live within their set grocery budget, how to get their coupon book set up and more importantly… how to keep up with it!

I think I need to get a little instruction type booklet done before I advertise to teach other people how to do what I’ve accomplished over the past year.  I haven’t been doing it for ages, but I am now mad at myself for not having done it sooner.  I will start on the book this evening, maybe tomorrow… OH, here it comes… the procrastinator!  I will fit this in and get started on it over the weekend and hopefully have a lot of it done.  I’m hoping to have the book done, put in PDF format and have a nice little e-Book going.

 

Forgot to tell you about my other shopping trip yesterday to Walgreen’s!

I spent out of pocket… $3.29 and bought the following… 4 cans Campbell’s chicken noodle soup (.50 each with in ad coupon and stacked with 2x$1/2 man. Coupons = FREE), 3 cans of Swanson chicken broth (.69 ea with in ad coupon and stacked with .40/3 manufacturer cpn = $1.67), three boxes Fiber One bars with two bars each (cost $1.43 each and used .40/1 and $1.00/2 = $2.89 or .96/box), Nivea post shaving balm (6.99, no special but hubs had to have), 2 packs of Trident Layers gum ($2/2 and earned $1 RR)… I put a lot of RR’s on this order and only spent $3.29 for all of that.  I’m quite happy with that considering that hubs’ shave balm is $6.99 alone so I took the money for this purchase out of the “toiletry” fund.

 

Also, I have a surplus in my grocery fund!  Two weeks ago I took out my $40 in cash.  Last week’s $40 I didn’t take out until this week since I was gone for the weekend, so that was $80 total.  I spent $5.00 at the grocery store on eggs, provolone cheese and toothpicks to round out what we needed to complete our menu for the week.  Then, I spent $2.60 at Target on the two big things of Snuggle fabric softener.  Last night I spent $2.34 at Kroger (see below for that breakdown).  I have $70 in my grocery fund right this minute and will be taking out another $40 tomorrow!  That means I will have $110 in my grocery fund. 

 

Kroger = $2.34

2 colgate toothpaste = free (on sale $1, have $1/1 coupon)

Tyson fajita chicken strips = clearance $1.69- .55 cpn = $1.14

½ gallon whole milk = clearance .99 (date on it is today, but baby will have gone in two days or I will bake)

 

Now I have a question… I noticed one of the other blogs I read that the lady freezes milk she finds on clearance and uses it when she bakes and stuff, but my question is… don’t liquids expand when you freeze them? 

I think I have been overly ambitious on my to do list for this week.  Even though it’s not that long I just can’t seem to get it all done.  I think we all have weeks like that and this week is most definitely mine.  Since my trip this weekend with my friend and her two children wore me slam out and then I didn’t get home from our trip until 5:00 p.m. Sunday only to realize that since I wasn’t driving my car I didn’t have my garage door opener or my keys!  Yep… locked out of the house!  We had our windows open so much last week because of the gorgeous weather so I thought that there had to be one window unlocked because we never lock them (yes, I know that is smart).  I walk around the house peeking into the windows and hoping that I found one unlocked.  Do you think that happened?  NOPE!

I ended up calling my mother in law to come let me into my own house.  While I was waiting on her I was unpacking her MDX that I drove (needed the third row since transporting four children and two adults) I realized that I need to find a good place to hide a key around the house.  If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Well, we finally get IN the house and all is well.  The baby still wants to nap so I lie her down, the eldest wants to watch her shows (Noggin) and play and wow… I realize how much of a mess our house is.  There are no dirty dishes and grime around, but just the clutter from being neglected from trying to get everyone packed (hubs went to Chicago with his dad so we were all gone this weekend) that I didn’t do my normal declutter and wipe down that I do on Friday nights and you could tell!  Not to mention that the house didn’t get it’s weekly scrub down that Saturday either.

It was worth it to overlook those things to have some time with my girls, but wow… it’s hard to catch up.  Not only did I not get back until 5:00 p.m. (later if you count the fact I couldn’t get in the house yet) but I still had to plan the meals for the week, hadn’t gone grocery shopping, laundry needed to be done and wow… it was overwhelming.  So much so that it’s not all done yet and it’s Wednesday.  Granted, I do work full time and hubs is now home every night, but I don’t have the nights that he normally works to catch up on everything and he’s used to the house being clean all the time.  I think he’s realizing how much I do the nights he’s not home to keep the house running.  BUT he does help so that is awesome.

Tonight is a busy night… the eldest has dance, mother in law wants to take us out to dinner afterwards, so I think hubs is taking the eldest to dance and will wait there with the baby.  I am going to go to Kroger and get some free toothpaste and cheap ground turkey.  Colgate is on sale 10/$10 and I have $1/1 coupon so only have to pay tax.  They have the 1 lb rolls of ground turkey 3/$5 ($1.67 each).  I normally buy it at Aldi’s for $2.49/lb so this is a savings of .82/lb.  Anyways… I have surplus in our grocery budget.  I took out $40 for the week before last and still had it.  I spent $5 out of it for a few things at the grocery and then another $2.60 on the fabric softener.  I took out the $40 for last week so I still have $72.40 in my budget and then take out another $40 in two more days. 

I was hoping that Harris Teeter would have triples this week since I have a surplus in the grocery budget, but they didn’t.  There are some things I can get for cheap this week so you will still find me there.  Possibly Friday night after the kids go to bed, hubs will be home and I can go alone.  That would be awesome, but we’ll see how it goes.

Have a great day!

50 Free Photos

Who doesn’t always have photos that they need to print out but hate paying around .25-.30 per print?  “I DO I DO!!”  Here is the solution… go to the CVS Photo page here and sign up for their services.  Once you do this you will be sent an email where you have to click on a link to activate your account.  Once that is done they add 50 free photos to your account.

I did this today and am going to upload my pics tonight and have them printed off so I can get free pics to make photo albums for Christmas.  That would be one more way to cut costs and I’m all about cutting corners!!

Dove Dimensions

Sign up online for Dove Dimensions here.  This is a great way to possibly win free stuff and get coupons and such for some great beauty products.  If you sign up for Dove Dimensions they have a game online where you can play up to three times a day.  It’s like a slot machine type game.  If you match three like products on a spin then you get a full size of that product for free.  Took all of one minute to play.  I may have lost but I can play again tomorrow.

There are also two coupons on there right now for $1.50 off any one Dove Cream Oil Body Lotion (excludes trial size) and another one for $1.00 off any hair care product (also excluding trial sizes).  There is also a link to register to win a $500 gift card and who couldn’t use that!?!?  I know I could!

Try it and see.  It’s worth it if they send you coupons in the mail or via email to take the few minutes to sign up.

Have a GREAT day!

$3 Snuggle Coupon

There was a GREAT Snuggle coupon for $3 off dryer sheets or fabric softener in this Sunday’s paper.  Target has the fabric softener on sale for $3.99 each.  After the coupons and tax my total was $2.60 for two big bottles of wonderful smelling fabric softener.  Not that I was near the possibility of running out this week (or this month) I went ahead and bought it.

That is where coupons come in great!  You stock up on stuff when you have a coupon paired with a great deal or sale and get it for next to nothing (or much cheaper than usual).  Then you don’t have to worry about paying full price or running around everywhere trying to get a good deal versus a great deal when you can.  Living within my $40/week budget I actually have more stuff in my pantry, laundry room and back up in the linen closet than I do if I was just buying what I needed when I needed it without living on a budget.  I rarely run out of things and normally when I do, I have back up!

Living on this budget has got to be the greatest idea ever!  Not that it was mine by a long shot, but now that I’ve been doing it for a while I don’t understand why more people aren’t doing it?  I save so much money, have more stuff than normal and rarely run out of things.  It’s great and I will sing it’s praises from the highest mountain once I get the nerve to start climbing it!

Real Love

My friend sent me this today and I couldn’t happen but read it and smile.  It is very true.  I hope you read it and it makes you smile. 

"Love in most cases, doesn't just happen… And even if it does, it isn’t always enough to carry you through the trying times. Love is about learning how to live with each other after the romantic feelings are no longer in the forefront of the relationship. Love is cherishing each other during financial hardships, demanding careers, crying infants, never ending housework, in-law/relative drama, and other relationship issues. Love is when the most wonderful words your partner can say to you are “I’ll take the kids away for the day so you can get some rest” or “why don’t you go hang out with your buddies, you deserve to have a little fun.”

Love is more than the wistful feelings you experience when things are still young. It’s about the mellowing and ripening and deepening of a genuine relationship as time progresses. It’s about building a foundation based on respect, trust, faithfulness, compromise, consideration, and forgiveness.

It has always been my thought that you shouldn’t love someone “because of.” You shouldn’t love a man because he can take care of you financially … or a woman because she looks like a supermodel. You should love “despite of.” You should love him despite the fact that his finances are a bit messed up and you should love her despite the fact that her body isn’t what it was at age 20.

That’s what love is. It’s making an account for being human."

 

Cougar Town

If you are looking for a new show to watch that will make you laugh, can I please suggest Cougar Town?  It is absolutely hilarious.  It’s based on the main character (Courtney Cox) being a newly separated “single woman” with a teenage son.  The good part is that her and her separated husband get along, so that’s a nice switch from the animosity.  It’s hilarious.  She is learning how to be single again at the age of 40 something.  She missed her 20’s because she was married and had a child. 

My hubs asked me to put the TV on the other night to something he wouldn’t be interested in watching so he would fall asleep.  I figured Cougar Town would be a good option since it’s based on a “girly” premise, but he stayed up for the whole show and was dying laughing as much as I was.  We normally watch all crime based shows… CSI, Bones, Lie to Me, etc. so this is a good switch to something that will make you laugh out loud.  I rarely laugh out loud at shows and this one had my stomach hurting.

 

Lady at the Store

I was grocery shopping last Sunday (without kids for once, very peaceful LOL) and was stopped by this lady mid-aisle. 

Question #1

“OK, seriously.  Does using coupons REALLY work for you or is it more time consuming than what it saves you?

Answer… More than worth it!  I use idle time to cut my coupons and sort and put into my three ring binder (will show you mine later).  I have a $40 weekly budget for groceries.  This includes all food, snacks, paper products, dog food, etc. for a family of four.  Most times it includes the toiletries as well but I started $10 weekly budget to learn how to play the drugstore games to get those.  Regardless, we are a family of four and I do it on this budget each and every week.  I think I’ve gone over one time.

Question #2

She asked if she could look at my coupon book and was intimidated by it.  I have a 3” three ring binder that is packed full of everything!  Baseball card protector sheets, dividers, zippered pockets, etc.  I am very organized because it makes the shopping easier, especially when you have two children with you.  She asked how long it takes me to do each week.  Probably an hour, but when I first started it took me longer because I was NOT organized but it was well worth it.

Question #3

How long does it take you in the store each week to get your shopping done?  I asked with or without kids?  I normally have both of my girls with me and with them in tow it takes much longer, about an hour and a half, but with just me an hour or less.  I have learned to go first thing on Saturday mornings.  The store is not busy because people generally sleep in longer than on the week days.  I stop and get the girls breakfast at Chick Fil A and bring drinks.  They sit in the cart and eat while I get the first half of the store done.  The second half is what takes the longest.

Question #4

Do you shop from a list or how do you get it all figured out?

I first plan my menu for the week from home on Friday evenings.  I go through the freezer see what meat is there and come up with all the main dishes.  Then, head to the pantry to write down the sides and then the freezer (sometimes the pantry) for the vegetable.  I try to make my entire menu from what I have on hand and if I’m missing an ingredient or two, no big deal, I just add to my shopping list.  If I can make the whole menu from what we already have at the house then that’s when I do the best coupon shopping because that’s all I’m shopping for… the deals and the steals.

Question #5

If you aren’t shopping completely from a list then how do you make sure you have enough for the next week (week after the menu already planned)?

When I get to the store I first hit the meat section.  If split chicken breast is on sale for .99/lb or less I buy it.  This can be used in casseroles which go a really long way.  Then, I buy whatever they have on clearance that we would eat.  When I get home I put ALL the meat in the freezer because we already have the menu planned for the week so I will use that towards the next week’s menu.

Question #6

How did you get so many coupons?  I am not a coupon snob and will get them from anywhere I can.  I get multiple Sunday papers each week, I get people’s coupons that they don’t use or all of their coupons if they don’t use them at all, I got to coupons.com and print them all there (print twice the ones I need from multiple computers, product websites, links from other blogs, Target’s website has grocery coupons, drug store fliers, samples in the mail normally come with coupons so I request them whenever I find them, sign up online for different “communities” (like huggies.com for baby stuff and things like that) and you will get them in the mail or online via email, and wherever else I can find them!

Question #7

This all seems intimidating, what advise do you have for someone just starting?  Treat it as a game.  There is so much you can get for free, next to it, or much cheaper than normal and you have to make a game of it and try to “beat” it.  As long as you treat it like a game and have fun with it (which it can be addicting) then you will win.  It takes time to get it organized, but once there it is easy to maintain.  Keep your head on straight and don’t let it overwhelm you.  Start with just making a menu and keep to it.  That was difficult for me since our schedules change all the time and often at last minute but I have learned that just by sticking with that and using what we have on hand saves a lot of money.  That way you only buy stuff that is on sale and you have more food this way then before when you just bought whatever without a second thought.  Start with a larger budget and once comfortable, work your way down.  It can be done and is the easiest place to start when trying to save money.

This lady really made me smile because I could really talk about coupons and saving money for hours on end and it’s become a game to me.  I told her about rain checks and trying to master one store first and then branching out once you feel more comfortable.  Like me starting on the drug stores.  It’s a game and once you “have it” at one place then start the game over again with another store. 

It is possible… just breathe, keep clipping and take your time!