since my little boy has been sick and we have had to spend a lot on prescriptions and doctor visits not to mention the spacer and mask that I had to pay for out of pocket and hope that the insurance at least adds it back toward my deductible.
So far I have been to Kroger twice this week yesterday we went to get Scott's prescription filled after visiting the doctor for the 3rd time in 4 days. I was very excited to find so many things on manager specials. I got 2 loaves of bread, a pack of whole wheat sandwich buns, 2 packages of hot dog buns, a box of donuts, 2 packs of Scotty's favorite yogurt that I refuse to pay full price for, & two 6 packs of applesauce cups as well as some cepacol sore throat fizzlers. I also got 4 packs of coke since they were on sale and with the lack of sleep caffeine is important this week. I didn't use any coupons because most of the stuff was store brand and I also forgot I had one I could have used. Love when they mark things half off. I think I spent about $22 on all that but finding my receipt would take to much time. :)
Today I went in because I saw some Claritin for Scotty on mark down and knew I had seen coupons online I could print for it. So I was able to print 2 coupons for $3 off and that brought my total to $1.79 a bottle and since I usually spend about $9 each for the same thing I was very happy. I was able to get two things of deodorant for Brad for free with coupons. I also got a box of Ronzoni pasta for 45 cents. After using my coupon from buying granola bars a couple of weeks ago I spent $1.22 out of pocket. I also went back to the pharmacy and asked about getting my store credit for a new prescription yesterday in all the confusion I forgot to ask. They were nice enough to add the $20 to my card so I will have that to use on future purchases. Yeah for nice workers that helped me out. :)
I also went to Aldi yesterday where I picked more fruit some Strawberries, grapes, and bananas. I also got 3 canisters of sugar free koolaid type stuff for Brad because it was a good price as well as 3 cartons of eggs because they were also cheap and 4 cans of baked beans for labor day weekend. Amazed that blueberries more than doubled in price from last week so Scotty is out of luck on that one. Back to buying frozen ones. Knowing the prices is what it is all about. :)
Happy saving money!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Kroger Shopping
I have to say the deals at Kroger were not very good this week and I did not find a lot of great deals even in the store. I did find they had marked down some of the cups that had built in straws even more and I got a few more for Scott as well as a couple for his friends. I might add them to their treat bags at his party or better yet use them for the drinks at his party. Oh now the blog is making me think and I think I need to go back for more. LOL No squeezed juice boxes!!! I also got Scott some plastic divided plates that hopefully the dishwasher will not kill but for 25 cents I can't go too wrong. They had Scott's favorite drinkable yogurt on sale so I got more of that as well as a different kind of Oatmeal that there were BOGO free coupons for. I used my coupons from buying stuff last week to get Scott a Thomas spinbrush toothbrush and some Thomas Toddler toothbrush. After the coupons I paid just over $1 for both. Scott really seems to like it. I am hoping it means less fights when it is time to brush teeth. He is really getting into to Thomas the train.
Also thrilled I got a coupon from Qdoba for a free entree with the purchase of a drink. Check it out if you like their food. http://www.foodloversfightingburritoboredom.com/The_Cure Scott and I are headed there after Music tomorrow. :)
Also thrilled I got a coupon from Qdoba for a free entree with the purchase of a drink. Check it out if you like their food. http://www.foodloversfightingburritoboredom.com/The_Cure Scott and I are headed there after Music tomorrow. :)
Savings at Meijer and Target
Savings at Target and Meijer
The budget is kind of slim this week because of other stuff we needed. Thankfully there were some good sales and I have two mystery shops that will pay for some groceries.
So I hit Target armed with a $2 off Target coupon and a $2 off Manf coupon for Huggies so diapers for $5.47 with tax. I also picked up two packs of Bic pens using two coupons for $1 off 2 on store one Manf. Love that they let you do that.
Then onto Meijer where I did two transactions to get the Catalinas and free Chex mix with double coupons. The first one I paid $2 and got back a $3 cat. I got 8 cans of Progresso soup and 2 bags of Chex mix. The second transaction I got 8 more cans of soup and 2 more bags of Chex mix. Then I got 6 packs of Ziploc containers and 4 bags of Ziploc bags for 50 cents each. I also got 6 packs of Scott’s favorite Lance crackers for 45 cents each after the sale and a 55 cent off coupon. I also picked up some Pizza Rolls for my sister at 60 cents a box and one free box for buying 10 items from the 10/$10 sale get one free.
I also got a couple of bags of bread flour and some cabbage that were on sale. I spent $17.36 and saved $68.32. Great shopping trip. This was without 2 of my coupons that should have doubled doubling. Some weird computer glitch and then the cashier didn’t double when she put them in manually. I should have been paying more attention. She told me they were saying coupon conflict error. Now what the heck does that mean? New one to me.
I also took Scott’s clothes into Once Upon a Child hoping to sell some to have money to get some of the stuff he needs for winter. They really did not buy that much this time. I am hoping as he gets bigger we will be able to sell more of it. I think I will try taking what is left to Re-kid and see what they might take since it’s all good stuff. I did get over $34 in store credit and picked up 3 pairs of jeans and a pair of the Gap dress pants I love for Scott in a size 2T with the adjustable waist so we get long enough without falling off. I also got him Bambi II on DVD and we still have a little over $11 left for next time.
The budget is kind of slim this week because of other stuff we needed. Thankfully there were some good sales and I have two mystery shops that will pay for some groceries.
So I hit Target armed with a $2 off Target coupon and a $2 off Manf coupon for Huggies so diapers for $5.47 with tax. I also picked up two packs of Bic pens using two coupons for $1 off 2 on store one Manf. Love that they let you do that.
Then onto Meijer where I did two transactions to get the Catalinas and free Chex mix with double coupons. The first one I paid $2 and got back a $3 cat. I got 8 cans of Progresso soup and 2 bags of Chex mix. The second transaction I got 8 more cans of soup and 2 more bags of Chex mix. Then I got 6 packs of Ziploc containers and 4 bags of Ziploc bags for 50 cents each. I also got 6 packs of Scott’s favorite Lance crackers for 45 cents each after the sale and a 55 cent off coupon. I also picked up some Pizza Rolls for my sister at 60 cents a box and one free box for buying 10 items from the 10/$10 sale get one free.
I also got a couple of bags of bread flour and some cabbage that were on sale. I spent $17.36 and saved $68.32. Great shopping trip. This was without 2 of my coupons that should have doubled doubling. Some weird computer glitch and then the cashier didn’t double when she put them in manually. I should have been paying more attention. She told me they were saying coupon conflict error. Now what the heck does that mean? New one to me.
I also took Scott’s clothes into Once Upon a Child hoping to sell some to have money to get some of the stuff he needs for winter. They really did not buy that much this time. I am hoping as he gets bigger we will be able to sell more of it. I think I will try taking what is left to Re-kid and see what they might take since it’s all good stuff. I did get over $34 in store credit and picked up 3 pairs of jeans and a pair of the Gap dress pants I love for Scott in a size 2T with the adjustable waist so we get long enough without falling off. I also got him Bambi II on DVD and we still have a little over $11 left for next time.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
How to save money on vacation
We love to travel and now that we have a little one we still want to be able to do that without breaking our budget. Currently my husband is working a lot of overtime so we have extra money to do some fun stuff.
So I start with trying to find a hotel if we are only driving if we are flying I start with the airfare. So we went to Cincinnati this weekend and we wanted to stay overnight so we could do more the next day without driving back and forth. With my son we really need a room with two separate rooms which takes the price up. He goes to bed early and if we don't want to go to bed early or worry about waking him so I look for one bedroom suites. I start by checking websites like Expedia.com to see what is available and figuring out what area we want to stay in. I also use www.tripadvisor.com to make sure that the hotel is a good one to stay in. Right after Brad and I got married we booked a hotel without checking it out and it was the most miserable weekend where all I wanted to do was go home. This time by reading the reviews I read where people were getting a great rate through a homewood suites for just $99 a night for a one bedroom. So I went to the website for the museum that was giving them this rate and they just had a code that you could enter when you booked the room to get that rate. I was so happy because some of the stuff I also look for in a hotel this chain owned by Hilton has. They have a free hot breakfast which means we get protein which makes it last longer. They also offer free internet access which saves us money and allows us to use our computers for free. If we were staying longer the full kitchen this hotel offers and the weekday meals would also be money savers as well.
Now onto the activities. One of the best things we did this year was to buy a zoo membership. Even though the zoo is an hour from our house we have already been several times this summer with friends saving $13.95 each time and it has a guest so twice we have saved double that. We also used it when we went to the Columbus zoo for 1/2 off a savings of $13. This weekend we used it at the Cincinnati zoo and saved another $14. After adding up what we would have spent I found we had already saved over $40 and it's good until the end of June next year. We got it at the beginning of June which gave us almost an extra month of use vs getting it at the end of May meaning it would have expired at the end of May so a day or even two made a months worth of difference. :)
We were going to take Scott to the Cincinnati Children's museum but due to some bad timing having hoped to get a morning nap in we never made it. There was an accident that had traffic stopped and by the time we would have made it up there I was afraid Scott would have been to tired to enjoy it and the money would have been wasted. I had however found a great way to save money thanks to a reminder from Scott's Gymboree teacher. www.tropicana.com has a reward program when you buy OJ then you get points. Then you can use the points for all sorts of great things like BOGO free admission to museums and other places. I have also gotten a BOGO free movie ticket as a special reward as well as free OJ. It's a cool program and well worth collecting points from. I'm hoping my friend might want to go back up this week or next and take the kids to play so we can use the coupon. If not I only used one point to get it.
While we were near the outlets in Cincinnati I decided to take a trip to check out the Stride Rite store. I found a great pair of hiking boots that are just dressy enough Scott can wear them to church this fall/winter. They were on clearance for $16. I also went into the Gymboree outlet and got him a Shirt that says "I make noise and cause trouble". I also found a pair of jeans on clearance with the cool adjustable elastic in a size 3 for later this winter and a one piece outfit in a 2T that is super cute with a puppy dressed as a pirate. Love those outfits. They are soft and so easy to put on.
So I start with trying to find a hotel if we are only driving if we are flying I start with the airfare. So we went to Cincinnati this weekend and we wanted to stay overnight so we could do more the next day without driving back and forth. With my son we really need a room with two separate rooms which takes the price up. He goes to bed early and if we don't want to go to bed early or worry about waking him so I look for one bedroom suites. I start by checking websites like Expedia.com to see what is available and figuring out what area we want to stay in. I also use www.tripadvisor.com to make sure that the hotel is a good one to stay in. Right after Brad and I got married we booked a hotel without checking it out and it was the most miserable weekend where all I wanted to do was go home. This time by reading the reviews I read where people were getting a great rate through a homewood suites for just $99 a night for a one bedroom. So I went to the website for the museum that was giving them this rate and they just had a code that you could enter when you booked the room to get that rate. I was so happy because some of the stuff I also look for in a hotel this chain owned by Hilton has. They have a free hot breakfast which means we get protein which makes it last longer. They also offer free internet access which saves us money and allows us to use our computers for free. If we were staying longer the full kitchen this hotel offers and the weekday meals would also be money savers as well.
Now onto the activities. One of the best things we did this year was to buy a zoo membership. Even though the zoo is an hour from our house we have already been several times this summer with friends saving $13.95 each time and it has a guest so twice we have saved double that. We also used it when we went to the Columbus zoo for 1/2 off a savings of $13. This weekend we used it at the Cincinnati zoo and saved another $14. After adding up what we would have spent I found we had already saved over $40 and it's good until the end of June next year. We got it at the beginning of June which gave us almost an extra month of use vs getting it at the end of May meaning it would have expired at the end of May so a day or even two made a months worth of difference. :)
We were going to take Scott to the Cincinnati Children's museum but due to some bad timing having hoped to get a morning nap in we never made it. There was an accident that had traffic stopped and by the time we would have made it up there I was afraid Scott would have been to tired to enjoy it and the money would have been wasted. I had however found a great way to save money thanks to a reminder from Scott's Gymboree teacher. www.tropicana.com has a reward program when you buy OJ then you get points. Then you can use the points for all sorts of great things like BOGO free admission to museums and other places. I have also gotten a BOGO free movie ticket as a special reward as well as free OJ. It's a cool program and well worth collecting points from. I'm hoping my friend might want to go back up this week or next and take the kids to play so we can use the coupon. If not I only used one point to get it.
While we were near the outlets in Cincinnati I decided to take a trip to check out the Stride Rite store. I found a great pair of hiking boots that are just dressy enough Scott can wear them to church this fall/winter. They were on clearance for $16. I also went into the Gymboree outlet and got him a Shirt that says "I make noise and cause trouble". I also found a pair of jeans on clearance with the cool adjustable elastic in a size 3 for later this winter and a one piece outfit in a 2T that is super cute with a puppy dressed as a pirate. Love those outfits. They are soft and so easy to put on.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Another good Kroger trip
I was happy when I called this morning to find that I will get my coupon that didn't print when I was shopping yesterday. It did take a little bit on the phone but was worth it. So hopefully next week I will have it to use. I have two more mystery shops next week so plenty of groceries. :)
I am not 100% sure how much I saved today because my receipt printed half way and stopped and nobody could ever get it to print right. I have some weird copy that the manager printed out but it doesn't really give me any details which is a bummer for sure. I know I saved more than 50% though and if you buy something marked down it never counts that because it takes it as regular price when really it is discounted by 1/2 in this case. I also got $6.50 in coupons for my next trip. I got cans of soup for 32 cents each after coupons, the sale, and a catalina. :) I also got 5 boxes of granola bars for 9 cents a box after the deals. That is just crazy even to me. I got more yogurt for Brad's lunches for 79 cents for 4 containers. So he will have granola bars and yogurts for many more lunches for very little money. LOVE THAT! I got some free Chocolate Pillsbury moments desserts and some free Gardettos snacks.
Then I had to find something to keep the sun out of Scott's eyes while we are driving this week. Thankfully my Amazon Prime membership still has a few days so I was able to order a shade with free shipping but I decided it was worth the extra $4 to get it tomorrow so we have it for Thursday morning. Sometimes I can't always save the most money. My other online purchase today was another example of that but since I save money as often as possible I sometimes will splurge. I got Scott some Wonder Pets underwear for potty training. I think they are going to be a huge hit and I was scared to wait for fear they would sell out. Wonder Pets stuff is getting harder and harder to find.
I am not 100% sure how much I saved today because my receipt printed half way and stopped and nobody could ever get it to print right. I have some weird copy that the manager printed out but it doesn't really give me any details which is a bummer for sure. I know I saved more than 50% though and if you buy something marked down it never counts that because it takes it as regular price when really it is discounted by 1/2 in this case. I also got $6.50 in coupons for my next trip. I got cans of soup for 32 cents each after coupons, the sale, and a catalina. :) I also got 5 boxes of granola bars for 9 cents a box after the deals. That is just crazy even to me. I got more yogurt for Brad's lunches for 79 cents for 4 containers. So he will have granola bars and yogurts for many more lunches for very little money. LOVE THAT! I got some free Chocolate Pillsbury moments desserts and some free Gardettos snacks.
Then I had to find something to keep the sun out of Scott's eyes while we are driving this week. Thankfully my Amazon Prime membership still has a few days so I was able to order a shade with free shipping but I decided it was worth the extra $4 to get it tomorrow so we have it for Thursday morning. Sometimes I can't always save the most money. My other online purchase today was another example of that but since I save money as often as possible I sometimes will splurge. I got Scott some Wonder Pets underwear for potty training. I think they are going to be a huge hit and I was scared to wait for fear they would sell out. Wonder Pets stuff is getting harder and harder to find.
Monday full of errands
What a crazy day of errands. I decided to cram a bunch into one day yesterday but it did all seem to work out. Scott fell asleep on the way to Sam's club. Got to love a place that is far enough away to fall asleep on the way there. I wanted a Rotisserie chicken and Sam's has the most bang for my buck. They are $4.98 and huge. They are cheaper than buying a whole chicken and cooking it myself unless there is a really good sale which is rare. While I was there I picked up some yeast for baking bread. I had no idea that it was so cheap there until I read another blog about it. I can buy a 4 oz jar at the grocery store for about $3 which isn't bad but they sell 2 one pound bricks for just over $4. The shelf life is a couple of years unopened and the other blogger is saying that once opened you can freeze it without any issues. I will let you know what I discover but it sounds like a great deal to me. :) One of my favorite things to do in Sam's club is to check their discounted section for damaged goods that are marked down. I once got a box of diapers for $15 off just because someone damaged the box. Nothing was wrong with the diapers at all. They were all still sealed in plastic inside the box. They rearranged the store and last time I was there I couldn't find it. Yesterday I stumbled across it and was thrilled to find a crushed box of ziploc sandwich bags. I always buy ziploc bags at Sam's club because unless you find a great sale they are cheaper than even Aldi and we use them for Brad's lunches. So these were marked down over $3 because of the crushed box. So an awesome deal for something we use everyday. :) I love finding deals like that.
I also picked up a new DVD player. Now it was probably not the best deal in fact I know it wasn't but ours broke and I tried another one we had but it wasn't working any more either so I just wanted to get one picked up. When I went to Aldi for my next stop I saw and remembered that they had one there for about $8 less and I had thought about getting it the week before and forgot multiple times. I don't know what happened to my brain but it's GONE! Oh well we got a new DVD player so Scott and Brad can watch their DVD shows down stairs again. It was still less than $40.
Then as I said we were off to Aldi. I got my normal fruit and they had baby carrots on sale so I got some to make some carrot souffle for Scott. Now just need to get it done. It freezes well so I can just pull out a little bit for a meal when I want it for him. I also picked up some romaine lettuce which is my new thing instead of buying bagged salad. I still don't always get it used but at least it doesn't go bad in less than a week and costs less than one bag of salad and lasts a lot longer. I also broke down and bought Brad more packaged oatmeal. I really should just make some up for him and save money but I have trouble getting anything done right now. Maybe as Scott gets bigger I will have time. Ha Ha
Then I had a mystery shop scheduled in the afternoon and it almost wasn't worth it. I love that I get money toward groceries but this one was a drive and Scott really was not very good. On top of that the people who worked at this store were not very friendly. Then as I was leaving I discovered I did not get my catalina so today I need to call and see if I was supposed to have gotten one at this store. If not I need to return them to my regular store and get the catalina because if I get that I am out about 30 cents for my shopping trip and you can't beat that. Even for a mystery shop where I had to buy a deli item I saved 76 percent. I had $24.50 in coupons not to mention that there was $6.50 in doubled coupons. My total was $17.80 and I saved $58.70.
I was so excited to get a $3 off coupon for Huggies diapers. I emailed them to ask about how their overnight diapers were made because I wanted to know if Scott would have issues. They really could not tell me but they did send my the $3 coupon and a $1 coupon good on any Huggies product. So that made my diapers after the sale $5.49 for the pack. I also got a Target coupon for some more and I will combine that with one of my other coupons Internet Print coupons if I can make it in there this week for another cheap package. Love that Target lets me use two coupons for one item. One is theirs and they pay for it the other is the Manf who pays for it.
I also picked up a new DVD player. Now it was probably not the best deal in fact I know it wasn't but ours broke and I tried another one we had but it wasn't working any more either so I just wanted to get one picked up. When I went to Aldi for my next stop I saw and remembered that they had one there for about $8 less and I had thought about getting it the week before and forgot multiple times. I don't know what happened to my brain but it's GONE! Oh well we got a new DVD player so Scott and Brad can watch their DVD shows down stairs again. It was still less than $40.
Then as I said we were off to Aldi. I got my normal fruit and they had baby carrots on sale so I got some to make some carrot souffle for Scott. Now just need to get it done. It freezes well so I can just pull out a little bit for a meal when I want it for him. I also picked up some romaine lettuce which is my new thing instead of buying bagged salad. I still don't always get it used but at least it doesn't go bad in less than a week and costs less than one bag of salad and lasts a lot longer. I also broke down and bought Brad more packaged oatmeal. I really should just make some up for him and save money but I have trouble getting anything done right now. Maybe as Scott gets bigger I will have time. Ha Ha
Then I had a mystery shop scheduled in the afternoon and it almost wasn't worth it. I love that I get money toward groceries but this one was a drive and Scott really was not very good. On top of that the people who worked at this store were not very friendly. Then as I was leaving I discovered I did not get my catalina so today I need to call and see if I was supposed to have gotten one at this store. If not I need to return them to my regular store and get the catalina because if I get that I am out about 30 cents for my shopping trip and you can't beat that. Even for a mystery shop where I had to buy a deli item I saved 76 percent. I had $24.50 in coupons not to mention that there was $6.50 in doubled coupons. My total was $17.80 and I saved $58.70.
I was so excited to get a $3 off coupon for Huggies diapers. I emailed them to ask about how their overnight diapers were made because I wanted to know if Scott would have issues. They really could not tell me but they did send my the $3 coupon and a $1 coupon good on any Huggies product. So that made my diapers after the sale $5.49 for the pack. I also got a Target coupon for some more and I will combine that with one of my other coupons Internet Print coupons if I can make it in there this week for another cheap package. Love that Target lets me use two coupons for one item. One is theirs and they pay for it the other is the Manf who pays for it.
Monday, August 16, 2010
How to make the most of coupon savings
I know people swear by papers and even buying multiple papers but I feel a lot of times where I live the coupons are not always good enough to warrant me buying a paper let alone more than one. I think most things are moving to online coupons and in some cases ecoupons meaning that you add them to a loyalty card and don't have to take anything to the store with you. I shop at Kroger where you can load all sorts of coupons onto your card and currently I am still able to use those plus a paper coupon at my store so I am going to keep taking advantage of that while I can because it often will give me free stuff.
My favorite place to print coupons is through www.mypoints.com not only to I save money with the coupons but I earn points for using them which are good for getting gift cards to a lot of cool places. I have gotten them to Applebees, Panera Bread, Amazon.com, and Target.com and have points currently to get more if I want them. These are great for treating myself when money it tight or buying something you want or even using as gifts to help save money. If you would like to sign up send me a message with your email address and I will happily send you an invite to join. You also get points from them for shopping online and for just clicking on emails. It's so easy. :) The coupons on my points are the same as on coupons.com so you will not be able to print them both places but since I get points for using my points I always try to print them there.
So if you don't join my points then the two places to get online coupons are www.coupons.com and www.smartsource.com you can also get some from www.redplum.com but theirs go quick so check often usually there are new ones at the first of each month but they are added in between sometimes too. If you see one you want I recommend printing it then because they often go fast. Especially if it's a diaper coupon or something like Goldfish crackers. Those never last very long and my son loves them.
If I have something I really want and don't have a coupon for I will just put what it is and coupon into google and see what pops up. Sometimes they are just old ones but sometimes the website of the product has coupons you can get.
A few other places I use to get extra coupons are
http://www.pillsbury.com/coupons-promotions/CouponsPromotionsLanding.htm
http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/coupons/
http://www2.kelloggs.com/Product/KelloggCoupon.aspx?id=1992
http://www.snackpicks.com/couponHolder_with.aspx
You have to register but the coupons are free. I use a different email address for all this kind of stuff so I don't get spam to my regular stuff since I never know which ones will send it and I love getting coupons and free samples.
I get daily emails from a couple of bloggers that have constant updates of all the best deals.
www.moneysavingmom.com and www.bargainbriana.com I get both on facebook as well as an email update once or twice a day. This way I know when there are freebies or new samples or coupons available and I can get them while they are still available.
I also enjoy reading the message boards for my stores on www.afullcup.com This is another one you have to join but it is well worth it. It does not cost anything and seems to have all the big stores on there. I shop at both Kroger and Meijer so I watch those and I watch the Target clearance one so I am updated on when things are being marked down and can get deals on toys and such for presents. I start buying for birthday's and christmas a year or sometimes more in advance depending on what it is. The toys if not used for the person I think make great cheap birthday presents where it looks like you spent a lot but really you got it for 75% off. :) Looking to start stocking up on toys for older kids for Scott to take to birthday parties as he gets bigger and starts to be invited to more of them.
One other thing about Target. They have coupons on their site and some of them are Target coupons. They allow you to use their coupon plus a manufacturer coupon per item. Meijer also has mealbox coupons where you can do the same thing. Hence the free milk last week. :)
Please ask any questions you might have. I would love to help people get better at using coupons.
My favorite place to print coupons is through www.mypoints.com not only to I save money with the coupons but I earn points for using them which are good for getting gift cards to a lot of cool places. I have gotten them to Applebees, Panera Bread, Amazon.com, and Target.com and have points currently to get more if I want them. These are great for treating myself when money it tight or buying something you want or even using as gifts to help save money. If you would like to sign up send me a message with your email address and I will happily send you an invite to join. You also get points from them for shopping online and for just clicking on emails. It's so easy. :) The coupons on my points are the same as on coupons.com so you will not be able to print them both places but since I get points for using my points I always try to print them there.
So if you don't join my points then the two places to get online coupons are www.coupons.com and www.smartsource.com you can also get some from www.redplum.com but theirs go quick so check often usually there are new ones at the first of each month but they are added in between sometimes too. If you see one you want I recommend printing it then because they often go fast. Especially if it's a diaper coupon or something like Goldfish crackers. Those never last very long and my son loves them.
If I have something I really want and don't have a coupon for I will just put what it is and coupon into google and see what pops up. Sometimes they are just old ones but sometimes the website of the product has coupons you can get.
A few other places I use to get extra coupons are
http://www.pillsbury.com/coupons-promotions/CouponsPromotionsLanding.htm
http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/coupons/
http://www2.kelloggs.com/Product/KelloggCoupon.aspx?id=1992
http://www.snackpicks.com/couponHolder_with.aspx
You have to register but the coupons are free. I use a different email address for all this kind of stuff so I don't get spam to my regular stuff since I never know which ones will send it and I love getting coupons and free samples.
I get daily emails from a couple of bloggers that have constant updates of all the best deals.
www.moneysavingmom.com and www.bargainbriana.com I get both on facebook as well as an email update once or twice a day. This way I know when there are freebies or new samples or coupons available and I can get them while they are still available.
I also enjoy reading the message boards for my stores on www.afullcup.com This is another one you have to join but it is well worth it. It does not cost anything and seems to have all the big stores on there. I shop at both Kroger and Meijer so I watch those and I watch the Target clearance one so I am updated on when things are being marked down and can get deals on toys and such for presents. I start buying for birthday's and christmas a year or sometimes more in advance depending on what it is. The toys if not used for the person I think make great cheap birthday presents where it looks like you spent a lot but really you got it for 75% off. :) Looking to start stocking up on toys for older kids for Scott to take to birthday parties as he gets bigger and starts to be invited to more of them.
One other thing about Target. They have coupons on their site and some of them are Target coupons. They allow you to use their coupon plus a manufacturer coupon per item. Meijer also has mealbox coupons where you can do the same thing. Hence the free milk last week. :)
Please ask any questions you might have. I would love to help people get better at using coupons.
Friday, August 13, 2010
My week of wonderful deals
Sort of behind on my blogging this week. Lots of great deals to be had and even with the extra spent last week I did well this week. Next week I will get a few more of the deals from Kroger since their sale will still be going on.
Sunday I went into Kroger thinking there were some cereals that crossed over and would give me the catalina but still found nothing so it was a crazy trip with way to many people for nothing. I also was frustrated because nobody knew which of the Huggies diapers were on sale and went with the Mega Sale. Very frustrating when you need 8 items to do the deal and can't find what you need. I still did pretty well and got some good deals. On Tuesday Scott and I went to Meijer. I had my coupons all ready to get my free Smart Balance milk. I got 8 1/2 gallons and got an extra $1 as well. It's all about having the right cashier. I had my catalina's worth $13 from last week. So I got 4 gallons of milk, a box of hair dye, Scott's allergy meds, and 3 jars of Welch's grape jelly and spent less than $4. That was pretty exciting. Then we ran to Aldi to stock up on fruit. I love summer for all the fresh fruits and veggies I can get at such great prices. Spent about $13 and got 2 bunches of bananas, 4 pints of blueberries, a pound of strawberries, and 4lbs of grapes.
After naptime we went back for a second trip to Kroger for the week. I did really great on this one. I spent about $23 and got back $6.50 in cats to use next week. I got 5 boxes of granola thins, and bars and with the cat got paid to buy them. I got some cheap fruit snacks even though I am not sure Scott needs them. I might end up donating those. I finally figured out the diapers and was able to use my $2.50 off coupons. And a few other things to round out the mega sale.
Next week I will get more stuff with the new coupons I have printed this week and I have a mystery shop there so I will save a bit doing that which will help. :)
Happy Shopping.
Sunday I went into Kroger thinking there were some cereals that crossed over and would give me the catalina but still found nothing so it was a crazy trip with way to many people for nothing. I also was frustrated because nobody knew which of the Huggies diapers were on sale and went with the Mega Sale. Very frustrating when you need 8 items to do the deal and can't find what you need. I still did pretty well and got some good deals. On Tuesday Scott and I went to Meijer. I had my coupons all ready to get my free Smart Balance milk. I got 8 1/2 gallons and got an extra $1 as well. It's all about having the right cashier. I had my catalina's worth $13 from last week. So I got 4 gallons of milk, a box of hair dye, Scott's allergy meds, and 3 jars of Welch's grape jelly and spent less than $4. That was pretty exciting. Then we ran to Aldi to stock up on fruit. I love summer for all the fresh fruits and veggies I can get at such great prices. Spent about $13 and got 2 bunches of bananas, 4 pints of blueberries, a pound of strawberries, and 4lbs of grapes.
After naptime we went back for a second trip to Kroger for the week. I did really great on this one. I spent about $23 and got back $6.50 in cats to use next week. I got 5 boxes of granola thins, and bars and with the cat got paid to buy them. I got some cheap fruit snacks even though I am not sure Scott needs them. I might end up donating those. I finally figured out the diapers and was able to use my $2.50 off coupons. And a few other things to round out the mega sale.
Next week I will get more stuff with the new coupons I have printed this week and I have a mystery shop there so I will save a bit doing that which will help. :)
Happy Shopping.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Yard Sale fun for the week
I love my yard sales. To bad the next couple of weeks are probably out for hitting any or at least next week for sure. Today I didn't find a lot but did find some stuff I had been looking for. To bad that man who told me he would hold the dresser for my neighbor flaked on me and sold it right as she got there. I guess he was afraid she wasn't coming. I would have paid him for it if I knew that was going to happen. :( I did buy some cars for Scotty from him though. I also found another bread maker. I have one but it makes the loaves straight up and down and this one will make loaves that look more normal. It was only $5 so I figured I would give it a try and if it doesn't work out I will resell it for at least what I paid for it. The lady from that sale also gave me a free outdoor umbrella that doesn't work 100% right but it will give my friend shade until she can get something different or maybe it can be fixed who knows.
Then I was off to a sale that benefited some fire fighters families and found some fun stuff there as well. Some more cars and trucks for Scott as well as a ball all his favorites right now. I also was very excited to find a great pair of flip flops for me. I have this bad habit of buying cheap ones and they either hurt my feet or fall apart quickly. These are Clarks so they are well made and seem to fit well and look nice. Hoping they will last a while. Can't beat that for $1. I also found a basket to hang on the wall to put all the hats and gloves in this winter. I really wanted something like that last year and never did get it so I'm happy to have that this year. I also found a clipboard palate that looks like it will be perfect for Scott to use when we are in the car for drawing or whatever. It will hold the paper so we will see. I figured for 25 cents I would try it. My total was $3.25 so I gave them $4 and told them to keep the change as a donation.
I did hit a neighborhood sale but it was pretty much a loss. I got two sets of scrapbook stickers and a pair of sandals for Scott which made the trip worth it since we needed another pair of dressy ones to get through until it's time to start wearing long pants to church again. Can't beat $2.
Then I was off to a sale that benefited some fire fighters families and found some fun stuff there as well. Some more cars and trucks for Scott as well as a ball all his favorites right now. I also was very excited to find a great pair of flip flops for me. I have this bad habit of buying cheap ones and they either hurt my feet or fall apart quickly. These are Clarks so they are well made and seem to fit well and look nice. Hoping they will last a while. Can't beat that for $1. I also found a basket to hang on the wall to put all the hats and gloves in this winter. I really wanted something like that last year and never did get it so I'm happy to have that this year. I also found a clipboard palate that looks like it will be perfect for Scott to use when we are in the car for drawing or whatever. It will hold the paper so we will see. I figured for 25 cents I would try it. My total was $3.25 so I gave them $4 and told them to keep the change as a donation.
I did hit a neighborhood sale but it was pretty much a loss. I got two sets of scrapbook stickers and a pair of sandals for Scott which made the trip worth it since we needed another pair of dressy ones to get through until it's time to start wearing long pants to church again. Can't beat $2.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Meijer today overload
Well I went in with all these great deals and coupons and ended up spending more than I intended. That hasn't happened in a really long time. I knew the deals kept growing but didn't realize that it was so much. So next week I will make up for it by not spending as much and I am blessed not to live pay check to pay check so it doesn't matter and I should remember that. God blesses me very richly and allows me to be a SAHM with my sweet little boy. It helps that we bought a house we could afford on on salary and don't have any car payments or debt we have to pay off. I do still owe for Scott's surgery but the money is ready to pay it just haven't gotten the bill yet. Crazy people took a year to get it billed and through the insurance. I think I would be finding a new person to do my billing if they did that to me. Crazy!!
So back to my trip. I picked up 2 24 packs of Diet Mt Dew for Brad and for when my dad comes to visit they were on sale for $3.99 each which is an unheard of price and you got a free bag of doritos or tostitos too. :) They were having a buy $10 worth of Keebler Cookies or Crackers and get $10 off 3 packs of hanes this week. So even though I didn't really need the oreos I got them because I did need the socks and will need the underwear for Scott in the foreseeable future. Might as well get free stuff while I am at it. So 4 packs of Oreos and a pack of sock for Scott, a pack of socks for me, and a pack of underwear for Scott for about $16. Not bad at all. :)
I also found a deal on Juicy Juice where I got four bottles for a $1 after a Catalina it printed. I also got 2 Stouffer's Skillet meals for free after coupons. They look yummy but we will see. I am usually pretty happy with their stuff and it's great to have on hand for when I have a long day and don't feel like cooking. They had Cottonelle Bath Tissue on sale for 1/2 price so I picked up 2 packs of that because I don't really have any extra so I was happy with that. I got 2 containers of nesquick powder hoping that it might help me get Scott to drink milk since we don't currently have much luck with that. After coupons they were 49 cents each and regular price was $2.99. I also got for packages of break and bake cookies for $1 each. I can hardly buy all the ingredients for that price. Also got for packages of chocolate and other flavor chips for $1.17 each which beats and price I have seen recently. Nestle was good to me this week with coupons as was Meijer mealbox. To round it all out I was thrilled to get 4 boxes of Cinnabon cereal for 25 cents each and 6 packs of Keebler Peanut butter or cheese filled crackers for 75 cents a pack and for buying those 10 items I got a $10 catalina back so $5.50 out of pocket and got back $10. Can't beat that.
I spent just under $57 so I was about $20 over for the week but I got back $13 in catalinas so really only about $7. I have seen the ads for next week and there are a couple of things I want to stock up on but they won't cost a lot and I have Gymboree paid for this month so there is more money in the budget next week anyway.
Next week I want hair dye while it's on sale with my catalina's. Meijer is going to have free or cheap Smart Balance milk with coupons. :) And Kroger is having a Mega Sale with $1.19 cinnamon rolls and crescent rolls with 40 or 50 cent coupons off each already printed and ready to go. Maybe some cheap cereal to round it all out.
I hope everyone else is out there finding great deals. I did run into Target today and came out with some Bear Naked Granola with my BOGO free coupon but was mad at them because there was a sign that said it was $3.50 and it rang up $3.79 and Scott was being a bear so I didn't fight them. I also got him a Hot Wheels ramp thing for when he is bigger at 75% off.
I also had to get a wedding gift and while I try really hard to do this sort of stuff in advance I really just dropped the ball on this one and ended up buying a cute butterfly cake pan she had on her registry because I love butterflies and she knows it. So perfect gift from me. Next time I will work on saving money.
So back to my trip. I picked up 2 24 packs of Diet Mt Dew for Brad and for when my dad comes to visit they were on sale for $3.99 each which is an unheard of price and you got a free bag of doritos or tostitos too. :) They were having a buy $10 worth of Keebler Cookies or Crackers and get $10 off 3 packs of hanes this week. So even though I didn't really need the oreos I got them because I did need the socks and will need the underwear for Scott in the foreseeable future. Might as well get free stuff while I am at it. So 4 packs of Oreos and a pack of sock for Scott, a pack of socks for me, and a pack of underwear for Scott for about $16. Not bad at all. :)
I also found a deal on Juicy Juice where I got four bottles for a $1 after a Catalina it printed. I also got 2 Stouffer's Skillet meals for free after coupons. They look yummy but we will see. I am usually pretty happy with their stuff and it's great to have on hand for when I have a long day and don't feel like cooking. They had Cottonelle Bath Tissue on sale for 1/2 price so I picked up 2 packs of that because I don't really have any extra so I was happy with that. I got 2 containers of nesquick powder hoping that it might help me get Scott to drink milk since we don't currently have much luck with that. After coupons they were 49 cents each and regular price was $2.99. I also got for packages of break and bake cookies for $1 each. I can hardly buy all the ingredients for that price. Also got for packages of chocolate and other flavor chips for $1.17 each which beats and price I have seen recently. Nestle was good to me this week with coupons as was Meijer mealbox. To round it all out I was thrilled to get 4 boxes of Cinnabon cereal for 25 cents each and 6 packs of Keebler Peanut butter or cheese filled crackers for 75 cents a pack and for buying those 10 items I got a $10 catalina back so $5.50 out of pocket and got back $10. Can't beat that.
I spent just under $57 so I was about $20 over for the week but I got back $13 in catalinas so really only about $7. I have seen the ads for next week and there are a couple of things I want to stock up on but they won't cost a lot and I have Gymboree paid for this month so there is more money in the budget next week anyway.
Next week I want hair dye while it's on sale with my catalina's. Meijer is going to have free or cheap Smart Balance milk with coupons. :) And Kroger is having a Mega Sale with $1.19 cinnamon rolls and crescent rolls with 40 or 50 cent coupons off each already printed and ready to go. Maybe some cheap cereal to round it all out.
I hope everyone else is out there finding great deals. I did run into Target today and came out with some Bear Naked Granola with my BOGO free coupon but was mad at them because there was a sign that said it was $3.50 and it rang up $3.79 and Scott was being a bear so I didn't fight them. I also got him a Hot Wheels ramp thing for when he is bigger at 75% off.
I also had to get a wedding gift and while I try really hard to do this sort of stuff in advance I really just dropped the ball on this one and ended up buying a cute butterfly cake pan she had on her registry because I love butterflies and she knows it. So perfect gift from me. Next time I will work on saving money.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Way Behind on posting my deals
The last two weeks have been a blur. Lots of fill in work for a nanny that quit and just not feeling like myself. Found a few deals last week but nothing amazing that I remember. Saturday I used a coupon from parents magazine along with an online coupon and a deal for subscribing on Amazon to get a box of 88 size 5 diapers for less than $16 shipped. Had to go back in and cancel the subscription but it took about 30 seconds and it was a great deal. Still not loving pampers but they work so if they are cheap I get them. I do remember now that I also got to small packs at Kroger for $5.99 each along with a big pack of Charmin for around $3 and a bottle of body wash for Brad for 49 cents. I used the last of my catalinas from the cheese deals and the crayon deals to get these for even less.
So far this week I have been to Aldi and bought a bunch more fresh fruit that is making Scott very happy. Loving summer for all the fruit prices. Love not feeding him fruit out of a can because it's so much cheaper in the winter to do that. I have been buying a couple of loaves of whole wheat bread, lots of fruit, and a couple other misc things for about $16 the last couple of weeks.
This morning I hit Kroger because they are having a half price 4 day sale here and was disappointed to find that most of the stuff I had worked hard to print coupons for was not included in the deal. I did however have a great trip and loved that they paid me to buy Brad some deodorant. :) I had a BOGO free coupon for Right guard and online I added a $2 off when you buy 2 coupon to my Kroger card. Kroger is currently giving you the full price even if it's on sale on a free product coupon so I got $3.99 off even though they were on sale for $2.49 each. So even with tax I still got over 70 cents toward my other groceries. I got 4 boxes of Chewy fiber one bars for 47 cents a box. That makes them less than 10 cents a bar. I also got some chex mix bars for 74 cents a box. All great for lunches. I got a bag of Nut Clusters for free. I haven't tried them yet but can't beat free. I also got 4 things of yogurt whips for a pie I want to try making. I had 2 55/2 coupons and they were on sale for 50 cents each. :) So all total I spent $5.61 and saved $33.39 or 86 percent. :)
I plan to go to Meijer and Target tomorrow for some deals I found there. Debating trying to make the Hanes deal work to get some more socks for Scott and maybe some for me. I did a deal for Fruit of the Loom last week but they don't make socks small enough for Scott or don't sell them at Meijer not sure which so I have the next size up ready to go and I'm sure it won't be long some underwear for potty training ready and some white t-shirts for the winter. I spent about $15 and got that stuff plus 3 boxes of cereal one that has a rebate and two boxes of poptarts so pretty good. :)
I also need to sell some more of Scotty's clothes so I think I am dropping them at the consignment store while I run the rest of my errands. I really need to find Scott some dress sandals or shoes since he is outgrowing the ones he has and none of the ones I got him actually fit him right. :( So I am hoping they have something that will work to trade for.
All this after I go to the chiropractor because my back is causing headaches again. :( To bad he's closed on Thursdays.
I hope you are all saving some good money too.
So far this week I have been to Aldi and bought a bunch more fresh fruit that is making Scott very happy. Loving summer for all the fruit prices. Love not feeding him fruit out of a can because it's so much cheaper in the winter to do that. I have been buying a couple of loaves of whole wheat bread, lots of fruit, and a couple other misc things for about $16 the last couple of weeks.
This morning I hit Kroger because they are having a half price 4 day sale here and was disappointed to find that most of the stuff I had worked hard to print coupons for was not included in the deal. I did however have a great trip and loved that they paid me to buy Brad some deodorant. :) I had a BOGO free coupon for Right guard and online I added a $2 off when you buy 2 coupon to my Kroger card. Kroger is currently giving you the full price even if it's on sale on a free product coupon so I got $3.99 off even though they were on sale for $2.49 each. So even with tax I still got over 70 cents toward my other groceries. I got 4 boxes of Chewy fiber one bars for 47 cents a box. That makes them less than 10 cents a bar. I also got some chex mix bars for 74 cents a box. All great for lunches. I got a bag of Nut Clusters for free. I haven't tried them yet but can't beat free. I also got 4 things of yogurt whips for a pie I want to try making. I had 2 55/2 coupons and they were on sale for 50 cents each. :) So all total I spent $5.61 and saved $33.39 or 86 percent. :)
I plan to go to Meijer and Target tomorrow for some deals I found there. Debating trying to make the Hanes deal work to get some more socks for Scott and maybe some for me. I did a deal for Fruit of the Loom last week but they don't make socks small enough for Scott or don't sell them at Meijer not sure which so I have the next size up ready to go and I'm sure it won't be long some underwear for potty training ready and some white t-shirts for the winter. I spent about $15 and got that stuff plus 3 boxes of cereal one that has a rebate and two boxes of poptarts so pretty good. :)
I also need to sell some more of Scotty's clothes so I think I am dropping them at the consignment store while I run the rest of my errands. I really need to find Scott some dress sandals or shoes since he is outgrowing the ones he has and none of the ones I got him actually fit him right. :( So I am hoping they have something that will work to trade for.
All this after I go to the chiropractor because my back is causing headaches again. :( To bad he's closed on Thursdays.
I hope you are all saving some good money too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
