WorkingHardMom

Shopping Trip 1/16 - CVS & Winn-Dixie

2012-01-16T18:34:00.003-06:00

I didn't do any shopping last week since I had a busy week with other commitments.

I only did two stores this week (so far, I may do more on Saturday). I think my goal is going to be to try to stay under $10.00 a week at CVS.

CVS:

I took a survey for 10 ECBs and had 5 ECBs left over from my last trip.

Transaction No. 1:

2 packs of Huggies Goodnights: 2/$19 (- 2/$2 MFQ)
Total: $15.00
used 15 ECBs for a total OOP: $.36
received 1 ECB

Transaction No. 2:
Arm & Hammer Spinbrush: $5.99 (- $2 MFQ)
Total: $3.99
used 1 ECB from previous transaction for a total OOP: $3.53
received 2 ECBs

Transaction No. 3:
Arm & Hammer Spinbrush: $5.99 (- $2 MFQ)
Total: $3.99
used 2 ECBs from previous transaction for a total OOP: $2.53
received 2 ECBs

TOTAL OOP: $6.42 and 2 ECBs for next trip

WINN-DIXIE:

I am going to try to budget my weekly trips to Winn-Dixie at $50.00.

I didn't have any really good deals this week, but I did save:
$21.73 in rewards card purchases
$4.10 in manufacturer coupons
Earned $.20 Fuelperks.

Total spent: $46.30

Winn-Dixie Trip - 1/8/12

2012-01-09T18:28:00.000-06:00

I did not stay within my $40.00 budget. My total with tax was $97.67.

The "good" bargains I got included Campbell's soups being on sale 10/$10 and I had several coupons totallying $1.00 so I got 11 cans of "cooking" soup for $10.

My mistakes were buying the wrong variety of a product.

I did earn $.65 in fuelperks though, so I did save me money on gas this week.

Walgreens - razor, tomato sauce, Advil & bonus candy bars

2012-01-06T14:26:00.005-06:00

My trip to Walgreens was not that eventful, except learning that they now lock up the razors! I didn't realize that they were such a hot comodity that they needed to be under lock and key.

The trip went as planned, mostly. Apparently I miscalculated the cost for my second transaction and had to throw in some fillers.

Transaction No. 1:
Gillette Fuson Razor: $9.99 (- $5.00 MQ) = $4.99 + tax ($.86) and earn 4 RR
TOTAL: $5.86 and earned 4 RR

Transaction No. 2:
3 Hunts Tomato Sauce: in ad sale for $.39 each
Advil (24 ct): $3.00 (- $1.00 printable MQ)
TOTAL: $3.17 + tax (this is where my miscalculation came in, I don't think I took into account the $1 coupon for the Advil)

add:

2 Snickers bars: $.69 each
TOTAL: $4.55 + $.35 tax
Used 4 RR from prior transaction for $.90 OOP

Grand total OOP: $6.76

DAILY TOTAL: $9.23

The only other store I plan on shopping at this weekend is Winn-Dixie. I haven't done my homework for this one yet, but I hope to keep the total under $40.00.

New Year, New Shopping Habits

2012-01-06T09:38:00.003-06:00

I am making a New Year's Resoluation/lifestyle change this year.

I've been couponing for a long time, but never really made it a priority. When I got good deals with very little out of pocket I was excited, but it never had much of an impact on my shopping habits.

I also decided that paying off bills is a priority this year. I'm tired of living paycheck to paycheck with little or no left over each week/month. I did manage to pay off my car last year, but there has been a lot of extras that have popped up to keep us from getting ahead. I want to get ahead!

I talked to my husband about it and told him what my plan was for this year. Of course, he is in total agreement with paying off our debt. I even told him that I was not going to be making unexpected/last minute trips to the grocery store to get anything. We were going to have to make due with what we have in the house and what I buy, which means we will have to be creative with our meals.

I will be shopping mostly at CVS, Walgreens, Target, Winn-Dixie and Dollar General. I have found that I can get a lot of grocery items at a really good price at Dollar General AND they take coupons. They also offer a $5 off $25 coupon for shopping on Saturday. I will also look at the Wal-Mart ad to see if they have anything really worth the trip, but I don't have one in close proximity to my house or work so if I don't have to spend the gas to go, I won't.

I'll post when (not if!) we pay off bills and my shopping trips (as you can see from the CVS trip posted already).

Here's to saving money!

CVS Shopping Trip

2012-01-06T09:03:00.004-06:00

I have started my new year, new shopping habits. I'm trying to get things we need/use for as little money out of pocket as possible. I know I'm not always going to be able to, but I have decided to dedicate a few hours a week to organizing my coupons (I'm still working on the best strategy for this), looking through the sale ads and researching on the internet to find the best "bang" for my buck.

I'm going to treat my couponing like a part-time job by dedicating time in the evenings a couple days a week to do the work that needs to be done to minimize my spending.

That being said, I did my first trip to CVS this morning...

My plan was as follows:

Transaction 1:
Oral B spinbrush: $5.99 (-$3.00 coupon from P&G) = $2.99 (earn 2 ECB)
2 Dawn dish soap: $.99 each (-$.50 for Hand Renewal & -$.25 for regular) = $.49 & $.74
Eggs: $1.49
TOTAL: $5.71 + tax (approx $.50)*
use 5.99 ECB from previous purchase for approx $.22 OOP + earn 9 ECB for quarterly earnings + 2 ECB for toothbrush

Transaction 2:
Huggies Overnights: $9.49 (earn 1 ECB)
3 Hunt's Snack Pack (10/$10): $3.00 (-$.45/3 manu coupon) = 2.55
TOTAL: $12.04 + tax (approx $1.05)
use 9 ECB + 2 ECB for approx $2.09 OOP + earn 1 ECB

Transaction 3:
CVS Ibuprofen 500 ct: $9.99
TOTAL: $9.99 plus tax (approx $.88)
use 6 ECB from previous purchase + 1 ECB for approx $3.86 OOP

Of course they were totally out of the toothbrushes so I had to regroup my transactions.

Here's what I actually did:

Transaction 1:
Huggies Overnights: $9.49 (earn 1 ECB)
3 Hunt's Snack Pack (10/$10): $3.00 (-$.45/3 manu coupon) = 2.55
TOTAL: $12.04 + tax ($.94)
used 5.99 ECB + 6 ECB for $.99 OOP + earn 1 ECB and quarterly ECBs (9 ECB) + bonus 5 ECB for Beauty Club Rewards which I was not expecting.

Transaction 2:
2 Dawn dish soap: $.99 each (-$.50 for Hand Renewal & -$.25 for regular) = $.49 & $.74
CVS Ibuprofen 500 ct: $9.99
TOTAL: $11.22 + tax ($.26)
used 9 ECB + 1 ECB for $1.48 OOP

and I still have 5 ECBs for next week.

TRIP TOTAL: $2.47

Not bad in my opinion. It's all stuff we use and/or need. I plan on a trip to Walgreens later today and will post after I finish to see how I did.

*We have a weird sales tax system that taxes food items at a different rate from everything else so I'll estimate the taxes for the transactions.

Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual Sale

2011-12-29T13:13:00.004-06:00

It's that time again. Bath and Body Works has pretty good discounts on their body wash, lotion, wall flowers, candles, hand sanitizer and hand soap.

I'm starting my New Year's Resolution early! I'm going to TRY to focus on getting the most for my money (meaning spending less) in 2012. With that in mind, I did order some body wash and lotion in matching sets to give as gifts. The next Semi Annual sale will be in July so I will get some more stuff then for friends, teachers, etc.

If you order the Ebates.com you can also get 3.0% cash back from your purchase.

If you don't already shop through Ebates.com it's a good way to get cash back on your purchases. They have a lot of merchants and the cash back for each merchant varies.

They have a referral program. You get $5.00 for each friend you refer. Here is the link for me.
http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=i%2FYPnC15PNVZYl0803Zkmw%3D%3D

Juggling

2011-11-07T15:09:00.002-06:00

I have been doing a LOT of juggling over the last few months. Since school is back in session, I have been trying to fit in all of the things I need to do and failing miserably!

Between working a full-time job and doing homework with my kids at night, it feels like anything and everything else is not getting done. I haven't been diligently couponing because I don't have the time to dedicate to searching for all the coupons I need, and have been unsuccessful in finding a lot of the ones posted on blogs because my weekly paper just simply does not have them which is depressing!

I'm keeping my chin up, but only barely.

I have been trying to stretch my grocery budget as far as possible so I have been doing a couple of things to get multiple uses out of my grocery items. Some of these things I have read about on other blogs, but here are a few things that I do to save a SMALL amount of money:

1. When I buy a bunch of bananas and we don't eat them all, I stick the over ripe ones in the freezer to use for baking.

2. I have been buying a roasted chicken to make chicken salad for lunches. After I pick the chicken and cut up all of the vegetables, I throw the bones and skin from the chicken along with all of the discards from the veggies and make chicken stock.

3. When we finish a loaf of bread, I stick the ends in the freezer until I have several, then I put then in the oven to dry them out and put then in the food processor for bread crumbs.

4. This weekend I took the pumpkins from Halloween and roasted the pumpkin and the seeds. I use the pumpkin to make pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving (and other baking) and the seeds make a delicious snack.

Good Shopping Day

2011-04-02T17:35:00.002-05:00

I had a pretty good shopping day today. I found these flip flops at Academy Sports + Outdoors priced $2.99, but they rang up at $.88. They had them in this hot pink color and a bright blue. TARGET I was also able to get cheap Zyrtec on the 5 pack package. I had a $4.00 Targe Coupon and stacked it with a $2.00 printable. I can't really tell if they were free (it looks like I was charged $.76 for each) because the receipt is really confusing.

I also got 2 of the Purex Crystal Softeners for free (I think!). I had a $2.00 manufacturer coupon and stacked it with a $1.00 Target coupon. My total savings at Target for my entire trip was $30.99.

1/25/11 CVS Trip

2011-01-26T09:06:00.002-06:00

I was able to get 5 cases of Coke products for $6.00 + tax and CVS sleep pants for $5.49 + tax. Here's how.

This week CVS has Coke 12-packs 5/$15.
I had 2 coupons for a free 12-pack from MyCokeRewards and 3 ECBs.
$15 - $6 for the MyCokeRewards coupons - $3 ECBs = $6.00
Earned 5 ECBs

Bought CVS sleep pants (I know Huggies are on sale this week w/ECBs but I need a bigger size) for $10.49 - 5 ECBs from Coke purchase = $5.49

Total spent: $11.49 plus tax (less than the original price of the Cokes!)

Not a bad trip!

Back on Track

2011-01-12T11:55:00.002-06:00

Wow! I didn't realize how long it's been since I posted, but it's almost 2 years. 2010 was a tough year and I pretty much gave up on using coupons except on the rare occasion when I had easy access to them.

It took me a while to figure out what I was going to have as my New Year's Resolution for 2011, but I finally figured it out over this past weekend.... I'm going to start couponing again! I have depleted my stockpile so I need to rebuild it and the best way to do that is by doing the research, pulling those coupons together and planning BEFORE I go shopping.

I had pretty good trips this weekend to both CVS and Winn-Dixie. I have been utilizing Winn-Dixie's new Fuel Perks program to get cheaper gas while still checking their sale ad to make the most of my shopping trips, but I just didn't use coupons as much.

Saturday is my usual shopping day and I'm going to designate time on Sunday to do all the research needed to compile the list and coupons I need for my shopping each week.

I'll keep you posted, and wish me luck!

Finally, a store that doubles!

2009-04-26T08:07:00.002-05:00

Last Sunday I received a flyer for a store that had some really good deals in it, but I wasn't sure that there was one in my area. It did have a website listed so I checked it out. Fred's is a family discount store that doubles coupons (up to $.70 on Saturdays only). Go here to link to their website to see if you have one in your area. The best way I can describe their store is that it reminds me of Big Lots. It has a little bit of everything, clothes, shoes, groceries, home interiors, drug items and it even had a pharmacy.

I did a test run yesterday and here's what I got:

Pedigree Complete dog food (4 lb bag) - $4.59
Used: $1.50 MQ (did not double)
= $3.09

Angel Soft 4 roll toilet paper - $2.00
Used: $.50 MQ (doubled)
= 1.00

2 Domino sugar (4 lb bag) - $1.99 each
Used: $.50 on two MQ (doubled)
= 1.49 each

Oral B Cross Actions toothbrush - $3.99
Used: $1.00 MQ (did not double)
= 2.99

2 Old Spice deodorant - $1.89 each
Used: $1.00 on two MQ (did not double)
= 1.39 each

2 Zantac 75MG 4 count - $1.99 each
Used: 2 $1.50 MQ (did not double)
= .49 each

2 Revlon Color Silk - $2.50 each
Used: $1.00 on two MQ (did not double)
= 2.00 each

There was a bunch of other stuff that was marked down and on clearance but I had one of my kids with me, and this was a trial run so I didn't do too much digging to see what coupons I had to match their reduced items.

Cheap Deodorant from Target

2009-04-21T16:47:00.002-05:00

Target has select varieties of Secret deodorant on sale this week for $4.00.
There is a $2.00 MQ off Secret Flawless or Flawless Touch.
I bought 2 for $4.00. It's like buy one-get one free.

$2.99 Chicken

2009-03-19T11:03:00.002-05:00

This week (again) Winn-Dixie has rotisserie chickens for $4.99. If you go in the evening - around 6:00 p.m. or so, they should have a "coupon sticker" on them for $2.00 off, making it $2.99. Not bad for a whole chicken.

I have done this a few times in the past few weeks and again last night.

If we don't eat it for dinner, I will pull it apart and make chicken salad.

Cheap Pizza Rolls at Winn-Dixie

2009-03-02T15:01:00.004-06:00

This week Winn-Dixie has the 15 count Totino's pizza rolls 10 for $10. If you have any $.35 coupons, you can get them for $.65 a piece. It's not free, but it's cheap.

Also, they have Ronzoni pasta BOGO. There was a blinky for $.50 off right on the shelf.

CVS Trip - 2/20/09

2009-02-21T08:48:00.003-06:00

Being that it's Mardi Gras season around here, I got to leave work early yesterday so I took the opportunity to get in some CVS shopping.

I did 3 transactions in 2 different stores. Here's what I got.

Transaction No. 1:

2 Neutrogena soaps

$2.99 each = $5.98

- 2 ECB

Total: $3.98 + tax

Earned 10 ECBs

Transaction No. 2:

4 Diet Coke 12-packs

1 Tylenol

4/$14.00

$6.00

- 4 $1.00 MyCokeRewards coupons

- 10 ECB

Total: $6.00 + tax

Earned 10 ECBs

***I had a small accident bringing the 12-packs to the register as you can tell by the picture.

Transaction No. 3:

2 Wheat Thins

6 Suave Body Washes

1 Suave Kids Shampoo

2 Herbal Essences Conditioners

2 Herbal Essences Stylers

2/$5.00

$1.99 x 6

$2.00

$2.99 x 2

- $2.00 MQ

- $1.50 MQ

- $1.00 MQ

- $3.00 MQ

- $1.00 CVS coupon off Shampoo or Conditioner

1 $10 ECBs

Total: $8.40 + tax

Earned: 8 ECBs

Resolutions?

2009-02-19T09:49:00.003-06:00

It's official, one of my resolutions for this year is already busted. I wanted to blog more, I had every intention of blogging more, I even gather all my receipts after my shopping trips to blog about them, but alas, it's not working. One reason, I'm not shopping as much. The second reason, as the title of my blog implies, I'm a Working Hard Mom.

Between being a dedicated employee, attentive mom and dutiful housekeeper, blogging has not been a priority (or even on the list of priorities). I'm trying to find my groove so I can do more of the things that I WANT to do in addition to the things I HAVE to do.

I can tell you that the last couple of times I have gone to CVS, I've gotten compliments from the cashiers on the little bit of money I'm spending for the items that I'm purchasing, so I think I'm following the right path with being frugal - at least so far this year.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-09T16:02:00.002-06:00

I wanted to share with you an easy treat that I made last year and plan on making again this year for Valentine's Day. I saw this recipe for Santa Hats and modified it. Instead of shaping the meringue into hats, I shaped them into hearts. They came out perfect.

I just made some home made ice cream which called for 8 egg yokes, so now I can use the whites for this.

Quick trip to CVS

2009-01-31T16:24:00.003-06:00

I got an e-mail from CVS for $5/$30 and wanted to put it to good use.

I went through their ad and my coupons to see what I had, since I have a lot of coupons expiring today and came up with a quick trip.

My plan was to get:

2 Gillette Shampoos (4.99 each, earn 3 ECBs) - $2 MQ

1 Gillette Fusion Gamer razor (7.99 each, earn 4 ECBs) - $4 MQ

2 Centrum Cardio (BOGO 50% off, $9.99 & $4.99) - $3 MQ

1 Clairol Nice & Easy (5.99) - $2 MQ

1 Sudafed (6.49) - $1.50 MQ

This would have given me the Gillette shampoos and razor free after coupons and ECBs. However, my CVS didn't have any of the razors so I just left that off of my order, since I still was spending the $30 before coupons. So here's what I got:

I had $5 in ECBs and a $10 gift card to help bring down my OOP.

Total after coupons, ECBs and gift card + tax: $6.41.

I really like the part of the receipt that states:

"Today You Saved 32.50"

The cashier was impressed and said she wants to go shopping with me!

I earned $6 ECBs for my next trip.

More free batteries

2009-01-27T16:38:00.001-06:00

I did a quick run to Winn-Dixie yesterday to pick up the milk I forgot and got more Rayovac batteries. I'm out of coupons, so my stash (about 50 packs) should last me a while ... I hope!

Free Rayovac Batteries

2009-01-25T17:33:00.002-06:00

Winn-Dixie has Rayovac batteries on sale this week 10/$10. Match that up with a $1 MQ for some free batteries.

I snagged myself 20 packs today, and still have more coupons. I need to go back to the store and get some milk (the only thing I forgot to get when I was at the store today) and I'll pick up some more!

Confession!

2009-01-14T08:44:00.003-06:00

I'm sticking to my resolution of not buying stuff I don't need, and trying to stick to the blogging resolution (more blogging!) But I have a confession to make... I have an expensive habit! I'm addicted to The Republic of Tea's Daily Green Tea, Honey Ginseng flavor. There I've said it and I feel so much better. It's a little expensive, and no, there are no coupons anywhere for it!

I have been able to find it at World Market at the same price ($9.50) as it is online, but I don't have to pay shipping.

Saturday Shopping

2009-01-10T16:02:00.005-06:00

Saturday is generally my day to do shopping. Last week I only went to one store, Walmart, because I needed to stock up on some stuff and I had a few coupons that were expiring. I also wanted to see what Christmas stuff Icould get on sale.

My total before coupons was $99.20, after coupons $81.46. Probably more than I should have spent, but I hadn't gone shopping in a couple of weeks. I did get a couple of things for free - 7 lb bag of Iams dog food (coupon from Iams) and Crest Weekly Clean (coupon from Vocalpoint). I also got 2 cans of Progresso soup for $.40 each (priced $1.50 - $1.10 IP).

I got 5 packs of shatterproof ornaments for $.75 each.

Today I didn't want to run around to too many stores, so I did three transactions at 2 different CVS's and 1 Walgreens.

The only reason I did the 2 CVS trips was because I had a coupon that I received in the mail from CVS for $4.00 off 2 Theraflu. Unfortunately, I didn't read the coupon carefully enough at home because I thought it was $4.00 off of 1 but noticed that it was for 2 at the store. I knew that there was another CVS close to the Walgreens, so I stopped by my house and grabbed another coupon I had at home.

CVS Trip #1:

2 Febreze candles ($3.99 - $2 MQ) These were fillers. *Regularly $7.99
1 Huggies Pull-Ups ($9.49 - $2 MQ)
1 CVS Fabric Softener ($3.99) - This was a filler.
3 Johnson & Johnston First Aid Kits ($.99 x 3 - $3/2 MQ) - FREE (coupon was adjusted down to $2.97)

Used: ECBs $7.29 and $7.50

Total: $1.54
Paid using gift card from MyPoints

Total OOP: Zero! Balance on gift card: $1.97

CRTs:
Save $3 on $15 Cosmetics Purchase
Save $1.50 on any Viologie Hair Care
Save $3 on Photo Calendars - order at photo counter
Save $1 on Advil Cold & Sinus 20 ct.

ECBs earned:
None

CVS Trip #2:

2 Theraflu caplets (2/$10 - $4 CVS coupon - $2 IP - $1.50 MQ)

Total: $3.04
Paid with gift card: $1.97

Total OOP: $1.07

CRTs:
$1,000 survey

ECBs earned:
None

Walgreens Trip:

2 Reynolds Wrap ($.99 weekly saver price)
2 Quaker Oatmeal ($1.99 weekly saver price - $1 MQ)
2 Softsoap ($.99 weekly saver price - $.50 MQ)
2 Splenda with fiber ($4.29 - $.55 MQ) *These were not included in the weekly saver price
1 Splenda granulated ($2.99 weekly saver price - $.55)
2 Arm & Hammer laundry detergent ($6.99 BOGO)
2 Electrasol Gel Tabs ($3.49 - $2.50 MQ) *Earns $1.50 Easy Saver Rebate*
2 Hunts Tomato sause (3/$1 weekly saver price)

Total OOP: $26.92

WAG Coupon Savings: 10.83
WAG Advertised Savings: 11.99
MFG Coupon Savings: 9.65
TOTAL SAVINGS: 32.47

Since the amount I paid is less than the amount of savings, I'm gonna call it a good shopping trip!

I also got a MQ redeemable at Walgreens for $2 off three (3) packages of Quaker Instant Oatmeal or Quaker Old Fashioned or Quick Oats.

Reflection! - Part II

2008-12-30T13:18:00.001-06:00

In trying to implement my desire to do more blogging, I've come to realize that I need to get myself back to a state of organization that I haven't seen in many, many years.

I started this past weekend by going through a couple of the piles of papers that I have accumulated. I know that organization will simplify my life, I've just not been able to keep up with it. That being said, this 4-day weekend is probably going to be consumed with paper!!

This is a task that is going to require a lot of upkeep and decision making on my part, which is why I'm making it one of the many resolutions that I have for 2009.

Reflection!

2008-12-29T09:50:00.001-06:00

I have not done a lot of posting over the last few weeks. I've even cut back on the amount of shopping I've been doing. Which leads me to wondering what I want to make as my New Year's resolution, and I think I've come up with a couple of things...

I want to blog more. I've got a pretty good stockpile of razors, shampoo, conditioner, lotion and smell good stuff (candles) right now, so I'm going to search for deals that will reduce my food budget and see what can be "bought" for free! Even if I'm not going to buy anything myself, I'm going to try to post deals that I find.

I REALLY want to reduce my food budget. It's really hard for me because we don't have a Kroger, Safeway, Aldi or any other discount food store. I will see what deals are in the Winn-Dixie, Target, Wal-mart, CVS and Walgreens and share what I find.

Quick CVS Trip

2008-12-23T08:17:00.002-06:00

I wanted to take advantage of this week's 2 day freebie blowout at CVS, so yesterday I gathered up the coupons I had for stuff we use/need and headed to my local CVS.

I had coupons for Thermacare (they were out, of course), Zantac 150 and Benefiber drink mix sticks.

I had some left over ECBs (3.00 & 2.00) and wanted to keep my OOP as low as possible.

Transaction #1:
Zantac 150: $4.99 - $1.00 MQ
Total: $3.99
Used: 3.00 ECB

Total OOP with tax: $1.12 (I think, I lost my receipt somewhere so I'm not 100% sure of the OOP) - paid with gift card.
Earned: 4.99 ECB

Transaction #2:
Benefiber Drink Mix: $7.29 - $2.00 MQ
Total: $5.29
Used: 4.99 ECB from Transaction #1

Total OOP with tax: $.42 - paid with change in my purse.
Earned: 7.29 ECB

I also received an interesting CRT - 25 Free Digital Prints (up to $7.25 value). I have one from a previous trip of 10 free digital prints (up to $2.50 value). I have some pictures that I had taken over the Summer that I wanted to get printed up, so now I can get them for FREE!!!

Free Luminair? Another Target experience

2008-12-17T13:40:00.006-06:00

I read a lot about the Luminaire start up kit being marked down to $4.99 at Target and using the $5 MQ that was in the Sunday flier to make it at least free, if not getting a $.01 overage.

Here's what I got and the coupons I was able to use at the register:
2 Luminaire @ $4.99 each - $3 MQ
4 packs of batteries @ $1.00 each - 4 @ $1 MQ (free after coupons)
1 package Goodnites @ $10.49 - $1.50
2 Snowcone Hot Chocolate mix @ $4.00 each
4 Cheezit @ $2.50 each - 2 @ $1/2
2 Fudge Shoppe cookies @ $2.33 each
1 Velvet color poster @ $1.00
1 Wall Calendar @ $1.00

Total OOP: $41.57 (At some point during my travels to the different departments in the store, I misplaced my Keebler coupons, so I would have bought different items and paid less).
And I earned a $5 GC for the purchase of 5 Keebler products.

Now for the fun part. The cashier tried scanning the $5 Luminaire coupon. It wouldn't go through so she called for backup (a/k/a a manager). I got the same story as the last time, I couldn't use a coupon for more than the price of an item. After some argument on my part about how they get reimbursed for the amount of the coupon, I was told that it was Target's policy to not accept coupons for over the amount and that they couldn't adjust a MQ down, they could only adjust down a Target coupon. When I realized that the manager was not going to budge on the issue, I told them to check me out and I would take care of it at Customer Service.

When I got to Customer Service, the girl told me that the she had already been called about the situation and that the manager was coming. I didn't have my copy of the coupon policy with me, so I asked for the corporate number and called while I was standing at the CS desk. I talked with a REALLY nice guy. In the meantime, a CS manager came up and was trying to explain to me that I couldn't use the coupon because when she scanned the coupon it came up to a negative amount. The guy from corporate tried talking to her and explaining to her how to override the coupon so I could use it. The CS manager was not very nice and argued with the corporate guy. She even told him that they needed to change the way the computers were programmed because she was told that they couldn't accept coupons over the amount and she wasn't going to do it. Unfortunately, their conversation got disconnected before he could tell her how to adjust the coupon.

In the end I was able to use the coupon, by returning both kits, having them both re-scanned, she keyed in my $3 coupon, used the $5 coupon and I paid the difference. It was a confusing and complicated issue that could have been resolved by the cashier hitting the K1 button to begin with.

The best part was, the different cashiers and managers kept telling me that they couldn't take coupons that would make an item free because they couldn't sell me anything for free. Luckily they weren't smart enough to see that I got 4 packs of batteries for free!

Cheap CVS trip

2008-12-16T22:31:00.002-06:00

I wanted to add a photo to my Christmas cards, and I still had some free 4x6 prints in my CVS account, so I decided to use it as an opportunity to possibly roll my ECBs from a couple of weeks ago.

I am making an effort to see how much stuff, that I will use and/or need, for the cheapest amount of money out of my pocket. I'm talking about utilizing coupons and ECBs to keep the amount of cash I use to pay to a minimum.

I needed to pick up the pictures so I could get my Christmas cards out (I know I'm late on getting these out, but better late than never), so I browsed through this week's ad to see what I could come up with.

Here's what I came up with:
1 Schick Quattro Titanium Trimmer: $7.99 - $2 MQ
2 Johnson & Johnson First Aid Kit: $.99 x 2 - $3/2 MQ (coupon was adjusted down to $2.97)
1 CVS Lip Balm: $.99
Used $5.99 ECB
TOTAL OOP: $.45 (which is the amount of the sales tax)

The receipt shows:
Subtotal: .00
Sales Tax: .45
TOTAL: .45

I think that's why the $3 coupon was adjusted to $2.97 to cover the sales tax.

I also earned a $3 ECB. I still have 2 ECBs left from my last trip that I have to use soon.

Kmart coupon event

2008-12-16T22:23:00.004-06:00

I apologize for the delay in posting this, but I did go to Kmart for the Super Double coupon event on December 6th. I started at $90.00+ dollars before coupons, and only paid $45.24. I got a lot of stuff to add to my stockpile, but there were only a couple of things that I got for free, though:
Gummy Savers (2 bags)
Gillette Body Wash (1 bottle)

Pumpkin, pumpkin and more pumpkin!

2008-12-05T10:27:00.002-06:00

The question was asked the other day: "What's for dessert"? My answer was, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins and lemon meringue pie. Anyone notice a trend?

I have been doing a poor job of keeping up with my posts as I do frugal stuff, I'm sorry. I started my pumpkin extravaganza right after Halloween. We had three pumpkins for Halloween, 2 that I purchase from Whole Foods ($2/$10) with a coupon that was floating around back then and 1 from a local pumpkin patch. Last year we carved our pumpkins too early, so by Halloween night they were a gross moldy mess, so this year I was going to wait. Well, I waited so long that we didn't carve them at all.

I had been reading different blogs about cooking pumpkins to make puree and then using the puree to make all kinds of yummy goodies, so I did an Internet search to find a website with easy recipes since it was my first time cooking pumpkins. I found this one. I cooked the pumpkin in the microwave and froze the puree. I even roasted some of the seeds which are delicious.

I used their pumpkin pie (including crust) and pumpkin bread recipes, both of which turned out really good. I don't remember where I found the pumpkin muffin recipe, but I used this pumpkin cheesecake recipe. Everything turned out really good, except the muffins, because I ran low on puree and had to modify the recipe.

I will do this again next year.

Kmart Super Double - FINALLY!

2008-12-05T10:17:00.003-06:00

I have been so frustrated reading all the posts about the Kmart double coupon opportunities especially since we don't have any stores around here that double coupons.

I heard an ad on the radio yesterday morning on my way to work and couldn't wait to get into the office so I could pull up the website to see if it was true. IT IS!

Kmart will be doubling coupons up to $2.00 through Saturday, December 6th. I'm working on putting together some deals with the advertised sales, items that I'm running low on and possibly some stockpile items.

I'll let you know how well I did.

Black Friday Shopping

2008-11-28T15:48:00.007-06:00

After looking over all of the sales flyers for Black Friday, I decided that the only stores that I was going to go to on Friday were CVS and Walgreens. Both stores have good deals on things that I already need, and I don't have that much Christmas shopping left so, it seemed like the logical choice.

First, I went to Walgreens. I did 4 different transactions to use Register Rewards to reduce my total out of pocket.

Here is everything that I bought.

Transaction No. 1:
Venus Embrace $9.49 - $4 MQ
Total: $6.34
Paid with Gift Card
Earned $6 RR

Transaction No. 2:
2 Bounty Basics @ $.89 each (weekly ad coupon)
2 Kleenex @ $.89 each (weekly ad coupon)
3 Tylenol Cold $4.99 each - $4.50 MQ
1 Schick Quattro Midnight $3.99 - $3 Easy Saver Coupon
2 M&M Premiums 2/$8 - $1 ESQ - $2 MQ
Used $6 RR from previous transaction
Total: $16.45
Paid with Gift Card
Earned $5 RR

Transaction No. 3:
1 Venus Embrace $9.49 - $4 MQ
1 Trident Xtra Care Gum $1.49 (needed 2 items because I was using 2 coupons)
Used $5 RR from previous transaction
Total: $2.90
Paid partially with Gift Card and $1.03 OOP
Earned $6 RR

Transaction No. 4:
2 Lil Webkinz $6.99 BOGO
Used $6 RR from previous transaction
Total: $.99 + tax
Paid $1.62 OOP

Total cash out of my pocket $2.65.
The gift card I used was from rebates which is now empty, but I'll work some more deals later to refill it. Plus I have a coupon for $3 off my next magazine purchase.

CVS

Part of my decision to go to CVS is all of the free after ECBs deals. The other was a coupon I received in the mail for $5 off $10 for a new store that opened, which helped to start rolling ECBs.

Transaction No. 1:

2 Aussie Products $2.99 each - $2 MQ

1 Bic Soleil $5.99 - $3 MQ

1 Schick Quattro Trimmer $7.99 - $2 MQ

- $5 mailer

Total: 9.31

ECBs received: $5.98, $5.99, $6.00

Transaction No. 2:

1 Right Guard Professional Strength $7.99 - $1 MQ

1 Complete Multi-Purpose solution $8.99 - $2 MQ

1 Crest Pro-Health $3.49 - $.75

1 Lypsyl

- $5.98 ECB

- $5.99 ECB

- $6.00 ECB

Total OOP: $2.23

ECBs received: $7.00, $8.99, $3.49, $1.00

Transaction No. 3:

1 Right Guard $7.99 - $1 MQ

2 Softlips $3.99 each - $1 MQ

1 CVS Acid Reducer $3.69

4 Crystal Light @ $.50 each

- $3.49 ECB

- $7.00 ECB

- $8.99 ECB

Total OOP: $.30

ECBs received: $7.00, $2.00

Transaction No. 4:

1 Right Guard $7.99 - $1 MQ

2 Motrin $6.99 each - $2 MQ

- $1.00 ECB

- $2.00 ECB

- $7.00 ECB

Total OOP: $10.05

ECBs received: $7.00, $5.00

Transaction No. 5:

1 Bic Soleil $5.99 - $3 MQ

1 Crest Pro-Health $3.49

- $7.00 ECB

Total OOP: $.70

ECBs received: $5.99, $3.49

ECBs left for future transactions: $5.00, $5.99, $3.49

CRTs received: Save $2 on Playskool Cottony Cloths Baby Wipes (160 or 240 ct), $3 off In Store 6x8 Photo Books - Make it in minutes

In total I spent $25.24 and still have $14.48 in ECBs to spend at CVS and added stuff to my stockpile, got things I needed and a couple of Christmas presents. I probably could have planned better to have less OOP, but I think I did well at Walgreens using RRs and a gift card. Besides $.99 for two Lil Webkinz is as close to free as you can get.

Bonus Christmas Shopping

2008-11-19T11:32:00.002-06:00

I read a lot about ways to "save" money while shopping. One of the places I get ideas from is Imommies.com. One of her posts was about a site called Ebates.

I usually do my online shopping through MyPoints (you get points for shopping which you can redeem for gift cards) or Upromise (you get money posted to your account to use for your child(ren) for college), but with Ebates you can choose to get cash back for purchases. The downfall is that they only pay out quarterly.

Ebates gives you up to 26% Cash Back every time you shop online. You can shop at over 1000 stores including Barnes & Noble.com, Gap, Target, Buy.com and Expedia. Plus you get additional savings with exclusive coupons, free shipping offers, and limited-time sales! (If you sign up with Ebates through this link: http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=i%2FYPnC15PNVZYl0803Zkmw%3D%3D, we'll each get a $5 bonus when you make your first purchase!)

I made my first purchase last week using Ebates and have received a credit of $11.50 in my account. I think I've found my new favorite place to start me online shopping.

Target Shopping Trip

2008-11-14T14:12:00.003-06:00

This week's sales flyer had the Scrubbing Bubbles shower spayer on sale for $14.99. The ones my store had were a bonus back that included a "caddy" or shelf to put shampoo, etc.

I had still had the IP coupons from a few weeks ago for $10.00 off and they expired today, so my cost was $4.99. I bought two.

I need paper towels and since they don't go on sale very often, I bought 2 rolls of the Bounty Basics ($.99 minus $.29 MQ) for $.75. I bought two of these also.

The last thing I bought was Pictureka (a board game). It was on sale this week for $15.00, minus the $5.00 Target coupon = $10.00.

Total OOP: $25.13 including tax
Total savings in coupons: $25.50

I had yet another "difficult" check out. I had to have the "one per purchase" discussion with the cashier. The best part was that none of my coupons beeped and none of them had to be pushed through.

CVS Trip

2008-11-07T08:19:00.003-06:00

Here's the deal I have worked for today.
This is how it worked out...
Coke 12 pk. 4/$12
- 2 BOGO coupons from Mycokerewards.com (The coupons had to be manually entered)
4/$6 - Done
Earn 3 ECB Earned 3 ECB

Dawn $.99 x 2
- 2 $.25 MQ
1.48 - Done

Crest Pro-Health Whitening $3.49 - Didn't have any on the shelf
- 1 $1 MQ
$2.49
Earn $3.49 (money maker)

Kellogg's Cereal 2/$5
- 2 $1 IP
2/$3 - Done

Went during lunch and was hungry so I bought some Pringles. $1.99

Total OOP: $12.97 - 1.69 ECB = $11.28 Actual OOP: 11.47
Earn 6.49 ECB - Earned 3 ECB

CRTs (Cash Register Tape coupons) that printed were:

Save $2.50 on any Pain Reliever Purchase of $10 or more

Save $1.00 on any (3) Kleenex

Save $2.00 on your next Gillette purchase of $10 or more

$2.00 off Pediacare Gentle Vapors Plug & Nightlight

These all expire on 11/21/08 and can be matched up with manufacturer coupons for extra savings.

Problems with Target

2008-10-20T10:55:00.002-05:00

I called Target's Guest Relations number listed on the e-mail I got from them for my inquiry last week about their coupon policy. They were no help at all. Basically I was told that they (corporate) work with the individual stores in interpreting their coupon policy. What!! That is so frustrating.

Every time I've gone recently I get a different story about exactly what their policy is. First I was told that I couldn't get anything for free unless the coupon said "free" on it. Then I was told that they cannot adjust the manufacturer coupon but they could adjust Target coupons, and I could only get the Lipton tea that was pictured on the coupon.

Why are they making it so difficult to use coupons?!

I tried explaining to the woman in corporate that I just want to know exactly what the coupon policy is. She told me that the e-mail I got was everything that I needed. Well apparently not, since I showed that to the cashier while I was in the store and it didn't make a difference.

My target is not a Super Target, so there are a lot of "deals" that I cannot get, but when I find something that I actually use and can get it's very frustating to not be able to get it.

The person from corporate told me that I could make an appointment with the Executive Team Leader on duty today to discuss it with her. I may try to call her later, but right now I'm so angry I might yell at the poor girl and she wasn't even there on Saturday.

Shopping Saturday

2008-10-18T22:31:00.003-05:00

I did some power shopping today. I hit Target, Walgreen's (2 of them) and Walmart.

TARGET

Target ended up being an experience again. I tried using the $1 Target coupons on the Lipton To Go 4 pack located at the check outs priced at $.99 and again tried to get the trial size Bausch & Lomb ReNu Multiplus Solution. Long story short... the store manager was called and said that Target's policy was that Target coupons could be adjusted down, but manufacturer coupons could not and I could use the Target Lipton coupon on the Lipton To Go because it was not what was pictured on the coupon. I tried calling the customer service number while I was in line but apparently it is only open Monday - Friday! I have every intention of calling them on Monday to complain and get absolute clarity about the coupon policy since I get a different story every time!

I did have a pretty good trip otherwise, I did the advertised 10/$10 Vitamin Water/Smart Water to get a $5 gift card and got sandwich size Ziploc baggies (25 pack) for $.50 each. I had a bunch of Target coupons that I received in the mail to use with manufacturer coupons to get cheap pet food and toilet paper and there were some Glade Scented Oil Candles priced at $2.50. I have $2.00 coupons, which made them $.50 each.

I ended up spending $69.xx (the receipt shows: YOU SAVED 48.XX, I'm not sure what all is included in that amount) and earned a $5.00 gift card.

I also got a flu shot while I was there. They gave me a gift pack with a travel size tissue, bottle of vitamin C, hand sanitizer, a sample of Theraflu attached to a $2 coupon and a list of the generic prescription drugs that you can get for $4 a month.

WALGREEN'S

I pretty much had sworn off of doing any shopping at Walgreen's after the "incident" I had with them about their prescription plan, but I am almost out of paper towels and wanted to use the coupons I had for Bounty and they had Arm & Hammer laundry detergent at an awesome price, $2.99 a bottle. I figured since I was there, I would get some things on the rebate list to build up the gift card I had. Besides, you can never have enough smelly stuff and cleaning supplies, right!

The Arm & Hammer was a limit of one. I wanted to get at least 2 bottles because I was able to print out two $1 coupons making them $.99 each. I prefer to use the A&H detergent if I can get if at a good price because I like the smell and feel that it gets our clothes cleaner. So, I decided to go to another store.

Between the two different stores that I went to, I ended up spending approximately $125.00. The amount I saved using coupons, advertised savings and WAG coupons was about $86.00. I estimate the amount I'm going to get back in rebates at $21.00 plus 10 %. I would have done better, but I realized as I was getting my coupons together for the second store that I had put a number of my coupons that I was supposed to use for the first store, in the wrong place in my binder, so I bought them again at the second store.

UPDATE: My rebate will be $24.20.

WAL-MART

I went to Wal-mart looking for Glen Muir canned tomatoes, but apparently they don't carry them any more. While I was there, I picked up a few things that we needed, all of which I had coupons for, of course!

I should also note that I have both kids with me for this marathon, so my nerves were pretty shot and after all that shopping, I'm pretty exhausted!

Frugal cooking

2008-10-13T08:30:00.003-05:00

I was inspired by MoneySavingMom's post about eating beans for a week - almost (View post here).

Beans are a good source of protein and are filling. In New Orleans people have been eating Red Beans and Rice every Monday for as long as they can remember. Beans are also very versatile, you can use them as a base for a soup or stew, they can be a side dish or the main ingredient for your meal.

I'm trying to be more frugal and waste less by reusing things we already have and throwing away less food since that's pretty much just throwing money away, so I bought 3 different bags of dried beans (split peas, 16 bean soup mix and pinto beans) to see how many uses I could get. I decided to start with the pinto beans. I soaked them over night and cooked them in my slow cooker with some garlic and an onion and cooked them all day.

I used 1/2 of the beans and made refried beans (loosely based on this recipe), combined with left over taco meat, rice, cheese, tomato and tortillas for a Mexican bake. MEAL #1.

For the next meal, I used the other 1/2 of the beans and made a chili. I cooked some ground turkey, added pinto beans, cumin, chili powder and canned tomatoes. Served it was rice. MEAL #2.

For the last meal, I made flour tortillas, filled them with the left over chili and cheddar cheese, melted some Velveeta and salsa to pour over them, baked it for about 20 minutes, MEAL #3 - Enchiladas.

Not bad for one bag of pinto beans!

I have come up with some other creative meals with leftovers. One of them is Chicken Fried Rice. I found an easy recipe and have been making this for a couple of months. It's a good way to use the extra rice from a previous meal, stretch a package of chicken and incorporate vegetables into one meal.

I start by chopping an onion and carrots and cooking them in a large skillet with little olive oil until the onions are clear. Next I add chicken cut into cubes, some pepper and cook until no longer pink inside. Then I add the rice and some soy sauce and cook until most of the soy sauce is absorbed. Make a hole in the middle of the pan and cook 2 eggs. Stir to incorporate the eggs throughout the pan, add some frozen peas, cook until peas are warm. From start to finish, this meal takes about 20 to 25 minutes to make.

Fun day at Target!

2008-10-09T19:29:00.005-05:00

I had a pretty good haul at Target today. I would have done better, but neither the cashier nor her manager would allow me to use some of the $1.00 coupons I had for $.99 trial sized items. The coupons did not say "excludes trial size" so they should have taken them but the manager said that I couldn't because I was going to be getting them from free - DUH!

She said that the only way you could get something for free using a coupon, was if the coupon said "free" on it. I tried explaining to her that they get reimbursed from the manufacturer for the coupon so it shouldn't matter what product I was getting as long that there weren't any exclusions on the coupon. She wouldn't budge. What was worse, another manager got there before her and started telling the cashier to adjust the coupon to the value of the product, but the other one told her that wasn't the store's policy.

Needless to say, I e-mailed Target to get clarification on their policy so I can have it in my hand the next time I go there (which will be soon, so I can get my other "free" stuff).

Anyway, here's my haul...

The total before I returned the items they wouldn't let me use coupons for was $33.xx. My total after crediting back the 4 $.99 items and all my coupons (I didn't buy anything a I didn't have a coupon for) was $4.52 including tax. My goal was to stay under $5.00 and I did it!

I have to give credit to Money Saving Mom for her post on this week's deals (you can see her post here) in helping me.

Here's the breakdown of what I got:

Carnation Instant Breakfast - $3.94 x 4 - $14 = $1.76

Sunsilk - $2.99 - $2 = $.99

Kotex - $.99 - $1.50 = $.48

Johnson's Buddies - $.99 x 6 - $6 = -.06

Clean and Clear - $.99 - $1 = -.01

It helps to do your homework before going to the store AND having your coupons with you at the store because you never know what deals you're going to find.

I need to vent!

2008-10-01T16:14:00.003-05:00

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been doing a lot research to plan out my shopping trips, trying to coordinate coupons with sales, getting ideas from the various websites/blogs and I have become very frustrated. How is it that a company/retailer can advertise a sale or list prices for an item in one place and not in another?! I know that there are different "markets" out there for the stores, but it's really starting to irritate me.

There is not one store that doubles coupons in my area. Not even one day a week! I also have a hard time even finding products people are getting for "free". To make things worse, I went to Wal-Mart get some stuff that I knew they carried AND I had coupons for, but the shelves were bare! Now my coupons are expired and I've lost out of some pretty good deals.

I'm really determined to get the most for my money and get out of debt, but if this keeps up, it's going to be a long time before my family will be in a "good" financial position.

Thank you for listening, like I said, I needed to vent!

New Routine!

2008-09-17T09:42:00.004-05:00

I'm trying something new to help make my time in evening a little less hectic. I've started doing the preparation work for dinner a day ahead of time. So far this week our menu has been:

Monday:
BBQ pork sandwiches (I put leftover BBQ'd boneless ribs in the crock pot with some extra sauce)
Baked beans

This is a meal created from a previous meal.

Tuesday:
Asian Shrimp and Coconut Soup (I got this recipe from Parents Magazine, you can see it here.)

It calls for pre-cooked shrimp and cut veggies. So I cooked the shrimp on Monday night and pre-cut the veggies and stored them in the refrigerator. It made the prep time less and we were actually sitting down at the table eating 30 minutes after I started cooking!

Wednesday:
Spaghetti
Salad

I pre-cooked the ground turkey so all I have to do is warm it up with the can of sauce while the pasta is cooking. (I'll have to pre-cook the pasta next time to make it quicker).

Thursday:
Chinese stir fry

I really like the Wanchai Ferry kits. (You can go to their website here.) I make two of them, Spicy Garlic Chicken for DH and I and Sweet and Sour Chicken for the kids and add frozen Chinese vegetables to make it a more nutritious meal.

My prep for this one is going to be difficult. I'll have to decide tonight what I'm going to pre-cook.

It's a start. I figured that since I was in the kitchen anyway, why not start the next meal while I was already cooking.

Mailbox goodies!

2008-09-11T20:27:00.003-05:00

After not getting any mail for almost a week. This is what I found in my mailbox.

A brochure full of coupons from Target, shampoo and conditioner samples from Dove (with a coupon) and a Schick Quattro Titanium Trimmer.

Freebies

2008-08-27T10:17:00.003-05:00

I get almost ALL of my freebie information from posts by MoneySavingMom. She always has a lot of useful information on her blog.

Well just this week (and it's only Wednesday) I've received 2 freebies. The first and most exciting was a free Swiffer Sweeper. Yes, I said FREE! These usually cost around $10.00. This is by far the best freebie I've received yet.

I also received a free sample of the new Orville Redenbacher 100 calorie snacks in the mail yesterday.

It's always fun to get home and check the mailbox. I don't know if it's going to have a special surprise for me or just bills! ;}

Coupons & samples

2008-08-25T11:26:00.003-05:00

I got an e-mail from Tide and it had several coupons you could sign up and get by mail and a Bounce sample. You can get them by clicking here.

Christmas in July!

2008-08-01T09:51:00.002-05:00

I have subscribed to and visit frequently Imommies.com which is a great website for getting information about discounted (sometimes free) stuff. One of the recent things posted was for Restaurant.com.

Restaurant.com offers discounted gift certificates to restaurants in your area. All you have to do is punch in your zip code and it provides you with a list of restaurants where you can get gift certificates.

I hit the jackpot yesterday. I was able to get $250.00 worth of gift certificates for $27.00, which included a gift certificate for my aunt that lives in the Chicago area.

We have several people that we give gift certificates to for Christmas, and since I usually start my Christmas shopping early, I thought this would be a good place to start with the bonus of saving LOTS of money.

Being Green-er!

2008-07-30T07:14:00.005-05:00

To me being Green is about recycling and reusing things you already have and conserving energy whenever possible.

I have purchased some energy efficient light bulbs and am using them to replace the old bulbs as they burn out. (I'm caught between going green and saving green right now). We also purchased an HE washing machine and dryer when we bought our house. We have a programmable thermostat and keep a/c temperature higher during the day when we're not home, so we are not cooling an empty house. I've also started turning on only the light in the room I'm in, turning it off as I leave the room, and opening the blinds during the day. (You must know, I have always been someone who turned on every light in the house because I was going to go back "in there".)

My latest "green" idea came for someone else's blog (sorry, I can't remember who). The question was asked about what people were doing with all of the plastic shopping bags you get from CVSing, etc. Someone wrote that they use them for their "smelly" garbage. Well, I had so many of them and nowhere to recycle them, I decided to start using them all the time. I even found a garbage can at Target specifically for those types of bags.

I usually only have to take one trip out to the "big" can a day.

Not only am I recycling the bags (being green), but I'm also saving money by not spending money on trash bags (saving green).

More home grown

2008-07-30T07:12:00.004-05:00

I have been pretty successful with my Roma tomatoes, so I decided to try some more vegetables.

This time I bought seeds: cucumber, lettuce and baby spinach. In less than two weeks my cucumber seeds have sprouted and grown much faster than I anticipated.

While I don't have any buds on them yet, I am very optimistic about have lots of cucumbers to eat.

Small Talk

2008-07-29T15:10:00.003-05:00

I am always amused by some of the small talk people come up with in short casual situations, such as riding in an elevator, in the check out line, etc. Sometimes its quite humorous and if you're at work, it breaks up the day, especially if you are having a bad/long day.

This brings me to the comment I just heard. I was walking toward the door to the building that I work in and there was a lady on the other side. I could tell that she was trying to push open the door. The problem was, she needed to pull. After she realized her mistake and opened the door, I jokingly commented "pull". She said "Yeah, the OTHER pull".

At least it made ME laugh!

Budget Shopping

2008-07-23T10:45:00.003-05:00

I have put myself on a VERY strict budget (which includes DH, 4yo, 12yo & pets). I am only buying what is absolutely necessary.

That being said, you may not thing that the things I purchased yesterday as absolutely necessary, but...

BIG LOTS

I was browsing through the Big Lots thread at Hot Coupon World and saw that they had underwear for $2.00. It is a 3 pack of Hanes little girl underpants size 4T which we desperately needs because 1) 4yo is going to a sleep over camp next week and I will need to send extras because she still has "accidents" and 2) our dog is a magician and can find little girl underpants and chew them up without me even knowing how he got them.

Total spent: $2.18 including tax

OFFICE DEPOT

Since 4yo was accepted into "big" school, I hadn't even started supply shopping for her. I have almost all of 12yo's supplies, but I still have a few things to get and I'm meticulously scouring the weekly adds to see what's on sale so I can get everything at a reduced price.

4 transparent pocket folders - $.01/each
4 packs of 150 count loose leaf filler paper - $.15/each

Total spent: $.70 including tax

TARGET

While I was on the Hot Coupon World website, I saw that Target had shoes on clearance. 4yo NEEDS (and I mean NEEDS!!!) shoes for school. I found a cute pair of little tennis shoes for under $4.00.

Total spent: $4.00 + tax

More Coupons!

2008-07-18T15:55:00.002-05:00

I have been extreme couponing for a few months now and am surprised at all the different places that you offer printable coupons. Well, I just discovered one more! BoxTops4Education has coupons. Click here for the link. The bonus is that all of the items you can purchase with the coupons have the BoxTops4Education on them that you can turn in to help raise money for a local school.

Even if you home school you children, I'm sure you know someone that could use them!

Shopping Saturday

2008-07-14T16:51:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I lied in my Frugal Friday post about not shopping this weekend. Turns out, I needed dog food, so a shopping I did go.

As I was cleaning this weekend I ran across a $10 CVS gift card I had redeemed from MyPoints. Since I technically would not be spending any of MY money, and I couldn't let the dog starve, I decided to see what I could do to get some ECBs because I am going to need to get diapers/pull ups really soon. And I did really well!

Here are my freebies:

It's not a lot, but it was free. Here's how and the rest of my trip:

Olay Regenerist moist wipes ($5.99) minus $3.00 Mfr coupon and $3.00 CRT = .01 overage
CVS Pantiliners ($.99) minus $1.00 CRT = .01 overage
2 cans of Pringles (2 for $2.00) - treats for my girls as a reward to being good while shopping
5 cans of dog food @ $.99

Total after tax: $7.63 (on gift card)

Earned: $1.99 in ECBs
BONUS: $8.50 ECBs for Spring Spending.

I have a $2.00 ECB from previous purchase so I have $12.49 in ECBs for diapers and to roll over and earn more ECBs.

Home grown!

2008-07-11T11:58:00.002-05:00

I've been meaning to post about this for a couple of weeks. I even took pictures, but I can't find them on my camera!

I bought a some vegetable plants a few months ago: a sweet pepper, a jalapeno pepper and a Roma tomato. To date, I have had 2 jalapeno peppers and over a dozen tomatoes. The tomato plant is still producing and I have about a dozen more in various stages of ripening.

Considering I usually kill the plant that I really like and/or have plans for, I'm pretty impressed.

Exciting blogs!

2008-06-24T11:13:00.002-05:00

I surf around other blogs and carnivals and read other people's blogs all the time (it's part of what made me want to start my own blog). The Secret Is In the Sauce has an awesome prize that they are giving away, you can link to the site here.

Thank you Kashi!

2008-06-17T10:46:00.002-05:00

Because I'm trying to not spend money on things I'm not going to use, I've been signing up for free samples of things that I would be interested in trying.

For example, I signed up for a free sample of Kashi's Mountain Medley granola. I was excited about trying this product because I have tried other Kashi products and have liked them. Sadly, when it arrived in my mailbox, it was full of ants. I immediately threw it away and didn't think of it further, until I received an e-mail from Kashi wanting feedback on the sample. I would love to comment on it, but since I didn't get to try it, I couldn't.

This made me think, Kashi really wants to know what people think of their products, so I should let them know that I couldn't comment on the granola because of the ants. I pulled up the Kashi website and type a nice little e-mail to the customer service department letting them know about my incident. Guess what I got in the mail yesterday! Go ahead, guess!

A very nice letter of apology and explanation from Kashi and 3 coupons for a free sample of any Kashi product. I will be putting those to good use!

Like I said, Thank You Kashi!

Useful Office Supplies

2008-05-23T13:47:00.002-05:00

I strive to find things that will make my life a little more organized. It may be reusing a basket I received as a gift to store something that I've been looking to put in a more user friendly place or combining similar things so that I don't have to do a "mad" search to find that one particular item that I need.

Lately I've discovered that the boxes that business envelopes come in make really handy storage boxes for all those CVS items I've accumulated. I use the stickies to lable them and store them on the shelves in my garage. I even have a scrapbooking friend who will decorate the box with some pretty paper and give it as a gift to a new mom. It's a great way to reuse and recycle while being environmentally friendly.