Thursday, October 30, 2008

BIG NEWS

Wahoo!! As of 10:30 tonight, we are debt free!!!
This is a huge accomplishment for my family! We have never had credit card debt, and we have been without a car payment for awhile and never plan on having one again. But, we have been chipping away at my student loan for awhile now and just paid it off in full online! Hooray! No more Sallie Mae!

If you don't know, we have become big fans of Dave Ramsey. We discovered, while reading his books in April , that we had already been doing much of what he recommends. But, his tips really helped us fine tune our focus. Now we are on to Baby Step 3! Wahoo!! Let's celebrate!!

Today's Shopping Fun

Walgreens:
1 Gallon Milk...$3.79
Pringles Stks...$2.24
Laundry Detergent X 2...$3.98
Paid with $10 RR, OOP .01!

Target Trip #1:
2 Glade Scented Oil glass... $2.50 each (used $2/1 q x 2)
2 Glade Scented Oil refills... $2.50 each (used $2/2 q)
3 Lipton Pyramid teas... $2 each (used $1 target Q and $1 peelie) FREE
2 25ct ziploc... .85 each(used .75/1 printables)
Paid $4.20 OOP
Got back $5 gc for buying 4 holiday Glade

Target Trip #2:
6 Dog treats...FREE (used 6 Free Coupons)
1 Stocking from Dollar Spot $2.50 (thought it was $1, tricky)
Paid with GC, $0 OOP

Kroger:
2 Naturally Preferred Drinks...Free(Used BOGO CellFire q and bogo paper Q)
1 15+lb Turkey...Free (Used Free Q from Kroger Mailer)
1 Prices Pimiento Cheese...Free(Used .35 q, tripled)
1 Febreeze Noticeables St. Kit $7.49 (Used $5 pgesaver loadable and $5 paper) $2.50 overage
2 Purex Laundry Detergent 2/$5..(Used $1/2 q)=2/$4
Paid $1.72 OOP

Walmart:
2 Martha White Cornbread Mix... .72 each (used .55/2)= .45 each
2 MW Blubery Muffin Mix... .88 each (used .55/2) = .61 each
3 Ped Good Bites Dog Treets... Free after Free Coupons
2 Sunmaid mini raisins... 1.33 each (used $1/2 q) .83 each
2 Nestle Hot Cocoa... $1 each (used two .75/1 q's) .25 each
2 Ronzoni Spaghetti... $1.50 each (used two $1/1 q's) .50 each
Total before coupons $21.72
Total OOP after coupons $5.26 ( I just don't do as well at Walmart)




Total OOP for the DAY: $11.19
Plus $2.29 on Target GC

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Sharing the Love

These vibrant flowers have been blooming in my sunny Texas flower bed all summer. And I am no gardner. Last year a friend gave me a bloom that had tiny black seeds all over it with instructions to sprinkle them in my flower bed. So, that is what I did and promptly forgot about it. Then in the spring, I decided to plant impatients. About the time my impatients couldn't stand the heat any longer, these green seedlings with a purple stem started popping up. I couldn't for the life of me think of what it could be. That was until the beautiful red bloom showed up! These things have required no attention. I have barely watered them and they love the sun.

What a cheery blessing they have been to us just right outside our front door! So, I have been sharing the love, and passing the seeds to many of my family and friends. I have been informed that they are called Cockscomb. They are seeding now, so I am afraid they are about to bite the dust, but hopefully they will come back next year.

This just got me to thinking. In everything, I am to share my abundance. I am so blessed, and am learning how to balance a stockpile of things my family needs and then blessing others with the excess! It is so awesome that I am spending less $$ than ever before, but have more surplus than ever before. That sounds like God's economy! So, come on people, let's share the love!

Coupons from Cellfire.com

I just found out about a new site that allows you to load coupons onto your Kroger card (and their affiliates). It is called cellfire.com. These coupons can be combined with paper coupons. I tried it yesterday and found some great buys.

Active Lifestyle Oatmeal...FREE
Used Free CellFire coupon.

Pep. Farm Texas Toast...$1.80
-$1.00 CellFire coupon
-.45 maf. coupon (doubled)
= .10 overage

Goldfish...$1
-$.50 CellFire Coupon
=.50

Cottonelle...$1.19
-.50 CellFire Coupon
-.25 maf. coupon (tripled)
=.06 overage

Total OOP... .34!!

In case you don't know. There are 2 other sites that load coupons onto your store card:
pgesaver.com
shortcuts.com

I use Hot Coupon World's database to see if I have a matching coupons. Saves me from digging through stacks of inserts.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Restaurant.com 80% off

Restaurant.com is having 80% off until October 31st with code: TREATS. This means you can get a $25 gift certificate for $2 and a $10 for .60, no limits. If they are out of the store you want, get a generic gift certificate and you can come back to redeem it later when the restaurants have restocked. I love restaurant.com for saving money on eating out and for gift giving. Their dinner of the month club is pretty cool. Each restaurant has its own restrictions so be sure to read that. And make sure at checkout you click no thanks to the bonus offers.
This corresponds perfectly with the ebates referral promotion that ends on the 31st. Go through ebates to make your restaurant.com purchase and get 15% back. If you have not signed up with ebates click here and you will get $10 credited to your account with your first purchase, and so will I. They normally only give $5. So, you could spend $2 on a $25 gc and get $10.30 from ebates. That is a pretty awesome deal to me. If you decide to do it...thank you very much!
If you are already signed up with ebates, this is a good time to refer your friends as well.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Saturday Shopping Trips

I had $45 dollar worth of Glade catalinas from Albertsons that expired today, so I had to use them. I also made a trip to Kroger. Here is what I did.

Alberstons trip 1:
Baking Powder...$1.89
Apple Sauce...$2.19
2 Chocolate Chips...$4.58
Milk...$3.79 (you can see we drank some)
Frozen Apple Juice...$1.29
3 Lean Pockets...$4 (used 3 of .50 q that doubled)
big coffeemate creamer...$3.69 (not pictured)
2 pints Blue Bell...$1.76
Bacon...$2.89
Cheese Slices...$1.88
grated cheese...$3.99
green onion... .89
2 gala apples... .76
bag of onions... $1.88
10lb potatoes... $5.99
pecans...$5.99
6 bread roles... .99

My total was more than $50 but the catalinas somehow took off more than $4 each. My tax was in the negative...-$6.76 So after all but one of my catalinas, my OOP was $1.19! I have everything I need to do the potatoes OAMC that I posted earlier. And I had to make another trip to use up my last catalina.

Albertsons trip 2:
French's Worcestershire Sauce...FREE (used Free Coupon)
Coke Zero 12pack...(Used Free Coupon from Coke Rewards)
8 Campbell's Soup...$3.84 or .48 each ( used .40/2 q that doubled)
sm. pumpkin... .48 (for my Riley girl)
pills. Cake mix... .88 (found recipe for diet cake)
- $4 Glade Catalina...
OOP .54!!!

Kroger Trip:
3 Price's Pimiento Cheese...FREE (Used $1 off q)
8 Celestial Seasoning Teas...FREE (Used $1 off q)
OOP... zilcho!!

Total oop for the day... $1.73!!!!
Total Savings $103.33!! off of the shelf price.

My weekly budget is $40. Because of these glade catalinas I spent less than $30. And of that $30 I used some of it for eating out and a Starbucks stop which isn't normally apart of my grocery budget. So I would dare to say I spent about $20 on groceries this week and I do have $10 cash left in my grocery envelope. Since my week starts over on Saturday, I'm excited to see how well I can do this new week. If I can consistently keep it at $40 or below, that will be a new personal best. We shall see!

Frugal Find: Online Freebies

There are a gazillion free sample sign-ups online. Here are some that I think are worth mentioning.

Dunkin' Donuts Dark Coffee: Free Sample, if you've done this one before you can do it again. Don't drink coffee? Add it as a filler in a coffee lovers gift basket.

Haydee Chocolate Truffles: Free Sample of 8 (won't last long)

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser: Free Mini Eraser (this is an awesome product)

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Deals I Am Excited About This Week!

Here are some deals worth getting excited about:

Walmart:
Windex wipes 25 ct.--$1.00

Use $.75/1 coupon from 9/21 Smartsource insert
$0.25 after coupon

Sun Maid raisins--$1.33
Use $1/2 coupon from 10/5 Redplum insert
$0.83 after coupon

Schick 10 ct. disposable razors--$1.97
Use $2 coupon from 9/7 Smartsource insert
Free after coupon

Kraft Easy Mac--$0.75
Use $1/2 printable or $1/2 coupon from 8/24 Smartsource insert
$0.25 each after coupon

Starkist Tuna Creations--$1.48
Use $1/1 coupon from 9/7 or 10/12 Redplum insert
$0.48 after coupon

Martha White Baking Mixes--$0.84 each
Use $0.55/2 coupon from 8/24 Redplum insert
$0.57 each after coupon

Visine (0.5-fl. oz.)--$3.62
Use $3/1 Visine Product from 08/28 All You magazine
$0.62 after coupon (Thanks, Deal Seeking Mom!)

Ore Ida Steam N Mash Sweet Potatoes--$2.00
Use $1/1 coupon from 9/21 Smartsource insert
$1.00 after coupon (actually it is cheaper to do your own, but if you like the convenience...)

Kroger:
For those that get the ALL YOU magazine!I just got mine in the mail and there is a coupon for a free Glade oil warmer when you buy a refill. The refills are $2.79 and you get the $7.99 or lower warmer free AND the warmer triggers the $4 catalina. So a little moneymaker.

Celestial seasonings tea-$1
$1.00/1 Celestial Seasonings Tea Bags 10-05-08 SS
FREE

Price's Pimiento Cheese - $1
$1/1 Price's Real Cheese Spread 10/12/08 SS
FREE


Tip of the day: If the store is out of the sale item, get a raincheck! Rainchecks are our friends! They allow you to collect more coupons for the item and you can come back at your convenience.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Free Coffee at Barnes & Nobles

Go to the Barnes and Noble website here to print out your coupon for a free tall-sized latte, cappuccino, espresso, freshly-brewed coffee, or hot tea (up to $3.20 in value). This coupon can only be redeemed once per customer but I assume that means each person in your family could print and use one. The coupon is good through October 31, 2008. (Thanks Money Saving Mom!)

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Once A Month Cooking

I am being inspired by Erin aka JANE4girls. She has been posting recipes for once a month cooking. I love the latest one using potatoes and thought I would share it with you. Here is the link: OAMC.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Kroger Shopping Trips

Kroger Transaction:
6 Glade Scented Oil Warmers @ $4.49 each
Used BOGO q's, MM after cats
2 Underwood Chicken @ $1.09 each Used .50 q (they double= .09)
1 Mission Tortilla @ $1.00
5 Muir Glen Tomato Paste @ $.75 each
Used .75/1 q's (FREE)
3 Softsoap hand wash @ $1 each Used .35/1 q (they triple= FREE)
3 Johnson's baby oil @ $1.89 each Used $3/3 cat (.89 each, MM after cats)
-$4 Glade cats x3
(rolling from previous Glade purchase)
-$2 Glade cats x2
TOTAL OOP = $1.35

Received back:
Glade cats 6 x $4 = $24
Johnson baby 3 x $1 = $3

Profit $9

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

FREE ARBY"S CHEDDAR MELT

I love free stuff and we are huge fans of Arby's! Click here for a free Arby's Cheddar Melt. The coupon will be sent to your inbox. It says one per person per email, so if you have more than one email, try registering them all.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Frugal Find: Free Flu Meds and Cheap Carrots

Target:
Target has released $1 off coupon for baby carrots, which happen to be on sale for $1.29 in our area. Some areas have them on sale for .99! But I am happy with .29 a bag. Print as many coupons as you like from the Target website under grocery or from Hot Coupon World's coupon generator and stock up on carrots. You can actually freeze carrots if you plan on cooking them later. Go ahead and grate them, slice them or puree them for all kinds of recipes, and then throw them in the freezer. There is a discussion on all the great things you can do with these babies on www.moneysavingmom.com

Walgreens: Time to Stock Up on Cold+Flu Meds
This week, buy 3 Robitussin or Dimetapp meds priced at $3.99 get $10 in Register Rewards back. You can print $2 off coupons at the Robitussin or Dimetapp websites. If you use 3 coupons, you will pay $5.97 out of pocket plus tax and still get $10 RR. This is a Money Maker on meds that we use tons of this time of year. If you can't use it, donate it to someone who can! I bet you didn't think you could ever get this stuff for free!

Restaurant.com:
80% off today only with code: SAVE. That means $25 gift certificates for $2! Remember to go through ebates.com for an additional 15% back. If you want the referal bonus you can use my link on the right hand side of the page. This place is killing me!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Frugal Find: Another Glade Money Maker

Right now at Albertson's (and I bet soon to be Kroger's) if you buy the Glade Scented Oil Plugins for $4.99 you will get a $4 catalina back toward your next purchase. My suggestion is to buy in multiples of 2 and use the BOGO coupon from 9/28 SS. Pay $4.99 and get 2 $4 catalinas. For every coupon you have you will be making $3! I find it easiest to go through the self checkout.

Other than that, the grocery stores are kind of slow this week. $1.67 on boneless skinless chicken breasts at Kroger is a good deal to me. There are some hot promotions at Walgreens and CVS this week. Visit http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ for a good summary of the drugstore deals. Her sight is awesome! Just promise you won't forget about me once you discover her tips!

Friday, October 10, 2008

70% off at Restaurant.com

Through Monday the 13th of October, Restaurant.com is having 70% off with the code SAVE. This means you can get a $25 gift certificate to the restaurant of your choice for $3. The gift options are also 70% off, so if you want to get a gift for someone, now is the time. Can anyone say Christmas? Remember to go through ebates to get an additional 15% back. Read hear to find out how this is a MONEY MAKER! This is an even better deal than when I posted about it before!

Happy Saving!!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Frugal Find: Glade Plugin Money Maker

This is a Kroger deal that goes through 10/12. Buy any Glade Plugin Scented Gel Warmer for $1.79 get a $2.00 catalina at checkout good on your next purchase. Use the BOGO coupons from the 9/14 SS insert or from coupons.com. This will allow you to purchase 2 plugins for $1.79 and receive 2 $2 catalinas at checkout. So, for every coupon that you have you will be making $2.21!! I think you can also print some from the glade website.

I had about 10 of these coupons! That is $22.10 in free grocery money! I am using my catalinas to stock up on meat that is on sale this week. I get asked sometimes how I save money on buying meat and produce, items that you rarely have coupons for. This is one way I do that. I use my overage to stock up on those items, but I still make sure it is a good price.

TIP! When printing coupons from the internet, after the coupon has printed, be sure to hit the back button a few times on your browser until it shows that the coupon is printing again. This will allow you to print at least 2 of the coupons. Most websites limit you to 2, but some will let you print even more.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Attention Walmart Shoppers!

Walmart shopping is something I don't do much of anymore. However, I just came across some good deals I thought I would share.

There have been many $1/1 coupons for these Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers in the last 2 Sunday papers. There are many printables as well. At Walmart they are priced at $1.23 a bag as an everyday low price. So .23 after coupons!


Muir Glen Organic has $1/1 printables on coupon.com and betty crocker websites. Their tomato products are all right around the $1 mark, so they will be free or nearly free. The Fire Roasted tomatoes are a great change for your recipes!


Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta had $1 off coupon in the 10/5, 9/28, and 8/24 SS Sunday inserts. This pasta is $1.50 everyday at my Walmart, so .50 after coupons. And it is a little healthier, too.
Schick Disposable Razors, $2 off any 9/7 SS
If you have this coupon you can get free disposable razors. Walmart carries a 10pk twin blade Schick value pack for $1.97. The packaging is yellow. FREE!
Check out Hot Coupon World's coupon database to find other sources for these coupons. You will have to register, but it is free!

Free Crest Toothpaste

Crest toothpaste is on sale for $1.99 this week at Walgreens.

Use the $1/1 coupon from the 09/28 p+g insert, plus stack with the $1/1 coupon in the October EasySaver catalog and you've got yourself some free toothpaste! Do you have 2 insert coupons? Buy 2 toothpastes, but you will still only need 1 easysaver coupon. It will be applied to both, and you will get 2 free!

If you feel funny leaving the store paying zilcho, remind yourself that the manufacturer's coupon is money for the store. They are loosing nothing. They get reimbursed from the manuf. the value of the coupon plus .8 handling. You may have to remind the cashier of this as well.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Frugal Find: Learning Walgreens

Walgreens is my new friend! I have been a devoted CVS shopper for a couple of years now. Their slogan is something like "Where we pay you!" Well, it is true, I get paid to shop there all the time. But, the same is true with Walgreens!!
This week I will spend some time teaching you about Walgreens. But, not all in one post!

Here are a few Frugal Finds for this week. There are a few things you should know first. Register Rewards are like in store credit that print off when you check out. You also can combine Walgreen's coupons with manufacturer's coupons. And finally, they put out an Easysaver catalog every month that contains Instant Value Coupons(IVC) and their monthly rebate items. I usually run from rebates, but Walgreen's Easysaver program is wonderful and can be done online. Pick up the Easysaver catalog in the store to learn more and I will also explain more this week.

Buy 1 Glade Wisp Candle at $5.99, Get $3 in Register Rewards
Use $5/1 coupon from 9/7 inserts
Free plus $2.01 in overage after coupon and Register Reward

Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush Max Starter Kit--$3.99
Use $3/1 manufacturer coupon from 9/7 inserts
Submit for Easysaver Rebate #30--$1.50 back when you buy one
Free plus small overage after coupon and rebate

Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation--up to $7.49 rebate
Use $1/1 from 9/14 inserts
Free plus overage after coupon and rebate

Visine Eye Drops--$3.99
Use $2/1 in-ad coupon
Use $2/1 manufacturer coupon from 5/11 inserts
Free after coupons

Coffee-Mate 16 oz. liquid--$1.50
Use $1/1 printable here
$0.50 after coupon

There are many more great finds this week than I have listed. And I want you to know I have help finding these deals, I don't do it on my own. Check out HotCouponWorld and Money Saving Mom for more Walgreens deals.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Two Shopping Trips + A Heads Up!

Target Trip:
(Grapes are on sale for $1lb.)
1.17lbs Red grapes - $1 Target printable q = .17
1.22lbs Black grapes - $1 Target p. q = .22
1.15lbs Green grapes -$1 Target p. q = .15
Bananas (no coupon) = .76
Ziplocks $1 - $1 Target q = FREE
Choc Chips $2.79 -$1.50 mauf. printable q. - $1 Target q = .29
OOP = $1.60

Albertsons Trip:
10 six packs of water = $5 (part of Mega Sale) No coupons needed!
5 ZonePerfect Bars = FREE (10/$10 - 5 $1 off mfq)
OOP= $5
Total OOP for both trips: $6.60
Heads Up!
If you missed the Restaurant.com + Ebates deal that I posted about on Monday, you can get 50% off through Sunday at Restaurant.com with the code THREE. Be sure to go through ebates and then tell your friends. Click here to read my earlier post. With this deal a $25gc will be $5 and a $10gc will be $1.50 plus 15% back from ebates.
Leave me a comment! I love to hear from you and I want to help!!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

JANE4girls: An Inspiring Woman

I tell people when they first start couponing/deal seeking that they can save hundreds off of their grocery budget. Then shortly, they want to know how much my grocery budget is. And I am happy to tell them, because I want to encourage them as to what is possible. My family's grocery budget is $200 a month. Now, don't feel sorry for me! My pantries overfloweth!! That is for a family of 3. If we have another baby, I will be able to keep the budget the same. In fact, I could probably do less right now, but I am comfortable with that number. That breaks down to about $46 a week.

I am telling you this for a reason!

Meet JANE4girls. This woman is amazing! She feeds her family of 4 on a budget of $800 a YEAR! This includes eating out. Oh my. That is a little over $15 a week. And they are not missing out on anything! Her real name is Erin. She lives in Katy, Texas just outside of Houston. She mainly covers groceries and couponing on her blog, it is totally worth checking out. She has now become a correspondent for a news channel there giving tips on saving. All I can say is WOW!