Couponing 101

HyVee Red Hot Sale

2010-01-17T19:10:00.000-08:00

HyVee was having a red hot sale on Sat. and Sun. I made two trips each day. If our HyVee wasn't 25 min away I would have done a lot more. Here's a run down on what I bought:

Trip 1
5 pkg's kraft shredded cheese for $6
Buy 5 pkg's for $6 and get a $5 coupon good on your next order
Total spent $6

Trip 2
4 boxes of Kelloggs cereal
LOTS of bananas (on sale for 29 cents a lb and you can freeze them)
3lb bag of onion
1 loaf of wheat bread
1 bag of Bob's Red Mill multi grain cereal
3 cans of HyVee tomatoes
lg container of plain yogurt
1 box of generic granola cereal
lg container of cat's pride litter
Total spent $16.29
I used the $5 coupon from the first transaction plus some other coupons for the cereal and cat litter that I had.

Trip 3
5 pkg's of kraft shredded cheese for $6
Total spent $6

Trip 4
2 sm containers of coffeemate
1 loaf of bread
1 doz. eggs
2 boxes of cereal
1 container of sour cream
Total spent $2.84
I used the $5 coupon from the previous transaction plus a few store coupons from the ad.

Total spent on all four trips: $31.13
Including coupons and discounts, total saved was $52.17!

Like Bisquick?

2010-01-17T11:53:00.001-08:00

I like bisquick but not the price so I did some research today and what do ya know...wikipedia told me how to make it. It's very simple...One cup of Bisquick can be substituted by a mix of the following ingredients: 1 c flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tbsp oil or melted butter. I plan to make some using the dry ingredients and storing it in a mason jar. Then when I need bisquick all I have to do is add the oil or melted butter. I bought some whole wheat flour and plan to use that to make it even healthier. How simple, easy and cheap!

Target clearance

2010-01-14T19:52:00.000-08:00

I just went to Target tonight and they are doing good clearance sales on baby stuff. I got three pairs of shoes for $3.74 each. They were originally $15. They also had 2 pack of carter's pj's (2-piece, top and bottom kind with no feet) for $3.75 which I got in two dif. sizes for Wyatt. They were also originally $15. They had several long sleeve tops for $2. All the basic hanes sweatpants and sweatshirts were 98 cents so I got him a few pairs of pants. I stocked up for clothes for him for next year. I'm so cheap that I only stock up on next years clothes if it is under $2 unless it's a multi pack like the pj's were. You can try and guess at what size he will be wearing next year but just in case I don't want to spend too much money on it.

For those of you that know me, you know we don't shop at Walmart. Well, I went there tonight. I have 35 coupons for the beech-nut let's grow food. It's for $1/1 and Walmart has the little bowls for $1. Everywhere else has been about $1.15. Since I was only going to be paying tax for them I figured it was worth going to walmart. I bought 10 bowls for free, one let's grow banana cookies for 74cents (1.74 minus $1 coupon). I also bought a baby shirt and pants for next fall/winter. They were on sale for $2 so I spent $5 all together at Walmart for a shirt, pair of pants, 10 baby meals and 1 box of baby cookies. I guess spending a few bucks at Walmart is ok once in awhile :)

I did pay 10 cents for each let's grow coupon but even with that I only spent $6.10 for all of that merchandise. Not bad.

My grand total for tonight was $57 and that included various other things from Target like diapers and wipes and some b-day presents.

Sales cycles

2010-01-11T17:58:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder what's going to be on sale and when? Well, here is a list of (generally) how and when sales happen on certain products...

JANUARY - Historically, Quaker has hot deals on cereal/all items. We see Pepsi/Tostitos go on sale mid-January (again, rebates abound for these). Other items of note this time of year are chili, side dishes, anything for hearty/warm meals.
• Post-Holiday Sales
• White Sales
• Sports and Weight Loss Equipment
• Computers
• Winter Apparel and Accessories
· Organizers, Rubbermaid totes, shelf organizers, planners, filing cabinets

FEBRUARY – many of the same food items as January
• Electronics
• Floor Coverings
• Housewares
• Furniture
• Candy and Chocolates

MARCH - Frozen food month. You'll find many stores are offering free freezers or fill-a-bag deals. Between March and April, look for spring cleaning deals, so many cleaner items will be on sale. With Easter, looks for eggs, ham, Kraft products to cycle into good sales. Paper products like towels, napkins, plates are starting to come on strong. Beverage items.
• Spring Apparel and Accessories
• Winter Sports Equipment
• Gardening Supplies
• Luggage

APRIL –
• Spring Apparel and Accessories
• Coats and Hats
• Paint
• Wallpaper
• Jewish Foods and Eggs

MAY - get ready for summer! Here come loads of deals on BBQ sauce, frozen veggies, baked beans, and condiments of all kinds, summer-time meats (ribs, hotdogs, and ground beef). Also with all the holidays, look for tons of paper goods that match the holiday and pick them up after clearance. These deals generally continue through September!
• White Sale - Linens and Towels
• Spring Cleaning Supplies
• Auto Maintenance
• Home Maintenance
• Sodas & Bottled Water, Hotdogs, Hamburger Meat, Condiments, Paper & Plastic plates & cups
* Raid/Off bug repellents and sunscreens

JUNE –
• Summer Apparel and Accessories
• Pianos
• Television Sets
• Building Materials and Hardware
• Dairy Products

JULY –
• Air Conditioners
• Summer Sports Equipment
• Sportswear
• Craft Supplies
• Sodas, Hotdogs, Hamburger Meat, Condiments
* Loss leader school supplies start now through the end of August

AUGUST –
• White Sale - Linen and Towels
• BBQ and Patio Equipment
• Back to School Supplies
• Bathing Suits
• Fresh Fish and Vegetables
• Breakfast foods (Cold cereal-Juice-Waffles-etc)
• Cold lunch items for in lunch boxes

SEPTEMBER - back to school; time to fill up on snacks! Pudding cups, Capri suns, fruit snacks, cereal sales start up hard again, peanut butter/jelly. Also, like clockwork, there will be Prego coupons in August, and plan on getting lots and using them in a hurry before they expire in September when the spaghetti sauce goes on sale. Sauce wars between Ragu and Prego this month. Campbell’s soups will go on as well and there will be coupons in the end of August for these as well. Lunchables are on sale this time of year, too.
• Back to School Supplies and Apparel
• Gardening Supplies
• Housewares
• Bicycles
• Canned Goods

OCTOBER - Stock up on holiday foods – Stove Top, turkey, instant mashed potatoes, broth, cranberries, marshmallow, ice cream, pie shells, whipped cream, pudding. Look for great Kraft deals again this time of year. Piggyback those Kraft coupons when you can. Crackers are a biggie - going on for $1 or less a box. Lots of extra deals like $ off cheese WYB crackers. The real kicker is the after Christmas food deals! Save your coupons because pie fixings, fried onion, broth and canned green beans will be on deep discount. I got those onions for .50 a can, normally almost $4. These generally continue through December.
• Cars
• Houses
• Fishing Equipment
• Crystal, Silver, and Glassware
• Candy
· Baking/candy-making items (choc chips, sprinkles, vanilla, corn syrup, nuts, etc)

NOVEMBER -
• Winter Apparel and Accessories
• Quilts and Blankets
• Heating Devices
• Turkey, Sweet Potatoes
• Canned goods (soup, chicken broth, condensed milk, veggies etc)
• Baking goods

DECEMBER –
• Toys
• Gift Items
• Party ware
• Post-Holiday Sales
• Party Foods, Baking Goods, and Various Meat
• Canned goods (broth, soups, etc)

Year-round after a holiday, you can always pick up cheap cookie dough and any food related to a holiday.

Continual sales are candy, popcorn, chips, anything snacky, cereal (heavier in the fall/winter, but still around in the spring).
Frozen food sales seem to centralize on a brand and the switch brands the next month. I think the manufacturers buy slot time for sales. So last month, Stouffers was on sale hard, now lean cuisine is. Save the entire frozen coupon and then keep checking back for the brand of the month.

Frozen pizzas go on sale in the fall and then again the spring; not often in the summer because people don't want to turn their ovens on in the summer.

By all means, this isn't everything that you can get on sale, but if you follow the cycle and stock up (I never buy BBQ sauce in the winter), then you can get where you have enough on hand and only need to refill when the items are in season. The result is that you spend less and less with each successful cycle

50 Pictures for free

2010-01-11T13:37:00.000-08:00

Snapfish has a deal right now but today is the last day for it. I just happened to stumble upon it today and of course I took advantage of it. Just order your 50 photos at snapfish.com and enter the code newyear50 for your discount. With shipping it should be about $3.50 for 50 photos. Don't forget to go through ebates and get an additional 10% back!

Planner pages

2010-01-11T08:27:00.000-08:00

While this isn't a coupon or discount it is a great tool that I found. It is planner pages. They have pages for you to put on your freezer so you know before opening it what is in it, how long it has been there, etc. They also have meal planner pages with shopping lists, meal prep pages if you plan to cook several meals in a day to freeze. Anyways, check it out here.

$15 olay rebate

2010-01-10T09:12:00.000-08:00

Click here to download the rebate form...buy 2 olay regenerist items that qualify and get $15 back. You don't have to buy it through amazon, this is just where i found it.

$10 J and J rebate

2010-01-10T07:01:00.000-08:00

I'm too lazy to type this all out...plus I'm typing one handed since Wyatt is sleeping in my arms. Click here to see mojosavings deals on this rebate.

Target, playskool sit n spin 98cents

2010-01-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

Next time you’re at Target, look for the Playskool Sit & Spin on clearance for just $10.98! This may not be marked correctly, so definitely go price check this toy. If it does in fact ring up for $10.98, then use the $10/1 Sit & Spin coupon that was previously available online to score this toy for just $0.98! What a sweet deal!

I'm sad I didn't get this printed out before it was gone but if you did it's a pretty sweet deal.

Did you adopt a dog in 2009?

2010-01-07T13:24:00.000-08:00

If you adopted a dog in 2009, you can get a free month of dog food from pedigree here!

$15 in Proctor and Gamble coupons

2009-12-28T17:22:00.001-08:00

Click here to take you to a link to fill out your address and info to receive $15 in coupons for free! It took me less than a minute to fill out.

FREE FREE FREE....

2009-12-28T17:16:00.000-08:00

Lots of free samples and things here.

Enjoy!

Free electronic Martha Stewart Thanksgiving recipe book

2009-12-27T22:16:00.000-08:00

Better late than never, right? I stumbled across this tonight and figured the recipes would still be good to have for any night. It's a pdf of Martha Stewart's Thanksgiving recipe book. It's 56 pages and full color pictures and good recipes. Enjoy

Free stickers

2009-12-27T22:13:00.000-08:00

Annie's organic foods are giving away free be green and recycle stickers...well, you have to send them a sase.

Click here to go to the link to see pics of the stickers.

$3 rebate on filtrete air filters

2009-12-27T20:07:00.000-08:00

Everyone needs a filter so why not get some money back!

Clean Air Club members get valuable rebate offers, special promotions and sweepstakes opportunities, seasonal reminder eNewsletters and the latest news on 3M products.

Plus, they will send you a Welcome Kit that includes a Homeowner's Journal & Guide to Better Indoor Air Quality, a "My Size" wallet card, and an Air Care checklist.

Simply complete your registration.
Then download the $3 rebate form.

Click here for the website.

Dollar General coupon for Saturday the 19th.

2009-12-18T03:12:00.000-08:00

Dollar General has an early Christmas present for all of their Facebook Fans. A link to an internet coupon for savings across the store on Saturday, 12/19/09 will be placed on the MyDollarGeneral Fan Page on Friday, 12/18/09.

Click here to become a Dollar General Facebook Fan and print your coupon.

I just checked and it is not up yet but it's only 5am.

Walgreens 15%off today only...printable

2009-12-18T03:10:00.000-08:00

Click here to print out a coupon good for today only to save an additional 15%

Shutterfly coupon code for $15 off $15!

2009-12-17T14:04:00.000-08:00

Click here for the details and code. You need to save this by the end of today but you don't have to use it until this summer. It does not work on shipping but it's still a great deal!!

Free menu planner for babies

2009-12-15T19:23:00.000-08:00

This came to me in an email from Gerber and I thought I would share. It is a menu planner that is based on your childs age and bf or formula fed. It then gives you a week menu that makes sure your baby is getting all the nutrients it needs especially iron. It's a good little tool even if you only use it as a guide to help tweek your current menu. Click here and towards the bottom is the link for the menu planner.

Online Sale codes good for Today, Dec. 14th only

2009-12-14T09:18:00.000-08:00

I got this in an email. There are several stores listed with pretty good sale codes on them. Click here for the offer.

JCPenney code

2009-12-13T03:39:00.000-08:00

JCPenney has coupon code NICE4U out right now for $10 off your purchase of $10 or more.

Shipping starts at $5.95, or you can save a little by having it shipped to the store. The code is good through December 24th.

Hallmark Store Coupon

2009-12-05T05:33:00.000-08:00

Click here to print out a $5 coupon for Hallmark Stores. It doesn't specify that it has to be a minimum amount but I didn't print out the coupon either. Good luck!

Free Photo Cards

2009-12-04T18:37:00.000-08:00

SeeHere has extended their offer of 50 FREE photo cards, either 4x8 or 5x7 size. If you don't need holiday cards at this point, consider making a bunch of thank you cards for use after the holidays. You could even think way ahead, dress the kids in red, and snap a Happy Valentine's Day photo.

This is a great deal, and it's so easy to do:

1. Set up an account with SeeHere.
2. Upload your photo to make a 4x8 or 5x7 Photo Card.
3. Order 50 cards to your cart. Use code newbaby as the promotional code, and you get the 50 cards FREE, paying only $3.19 for shipping.

This offer will run through December 31st.

20% off lots of online stores

2009-12-03T18:35:00.001-08:00

Click here and it will take you to a page with coupon codes for various online stores for at least 20% off.

Yankee candles

2009-12-03T06:09:00.000-08:00

Yankee Candle is honoring friends and family with a 30% off printable coupon. Save 30% off of your entire purchase through December 6, 2009. Go here to print your coupon for your next purchase

or go here to print a coupon for $10 off of your next $25 purchase. This coupon is good through December 26, 2009.

If you prefer to shop online enter this code, B28RZF, to get the $10 off $25 purchase.

Pampers/Huggies Deal at Target

2009-12-02T14:37:00.001-08:00

This week Target is having a sale on Pampers and Huggies boxes of diapers. They are on sale for $18.99 and if you buy 2 you get a $5 gift card. Well I did this deal already this week and now I have my $5 gift card. I had two $1.50 coupons that I used as well. Not including the gift card that brought my cost down to 18 cents a diaper which is pretty good. But...I am going to do even better. Today I got some target baby coupons in the mail. I got a $5 off baby purchase of $25 or more and a pamper coupon for $2. I have another coupon for pampers for $1.50 off. So...I plan to go back and buy 2 more boxes. I will pay $38 for the two boxes minus the $5 gift card, $5 coupon, $2 coupon and $1.50 coupon. That will bring my total to 26.50. Not bad...Also, Target has a coupon for $1.00 off up and up wipes that you can print from here: http://www.dealseekingmom.com/target-free-up-up-baby-and-toddles-wipes/. At my target they were $1.89 so after the coupon a package of 88 wipes cost me 89 cents. Oh...the coupon says one per transaction but I did 5 and they never said anything.

Free toilet paper

2009-12-02T06:03:00.000-08:00

There is a coupon that was in the insert a few weeks back for free or $1 off marcal small steps single roll of toilet paper. The toilet paper at my grocery store is 89 cents which means free toilet paper. I went to coupon master where you can purchase clipped coupons and bought 10 (10 was the limit on that coupon) of these coupons. I still paid a small fee to purchase the coupons but since the toilet paper was free it is still worth it. You do have to buy other coupons though if you go through coupon master because they have a minimum that is around $3.

Vitacost

2009-12-02T05:58:00.001-08:00

I have discovered a new place to get vitamins, medicines, etc. It is vitacost.com. They have amazing prices on their items. To get even more bang for your buck, go through ebates. Ebates is an online rebate program. All you have to do is go to ebates.com and sign up. Then in the search bar look up vitacost. If they have any online coupon codes those will show up as well to save you even more money. Vitacost through ebates gives you back 5% of your purchase. I believe it is every 3 months that ebates sends out checks. Anytime I make a purchase online I go through ebates first to see if they give any % back.

Free or cheap Nabisco crackers

2009-12-02T05:54:00.000-08:00

I took a break for awhile while we were moving but I'm back up to give you great deals. It took awhile too to get used to the stores around here and their sales.

This week at Family Dollar they have wheat thins, triscuits and ritz crackers on sale for $1.50 a box which by itself is a great deal. I don't think I have ever seen them below $2 a box. On top of that my grocery store has a holiday display of those crackers and next to it is a booklet with lots of coupons in it and a rebate. The coupons are for $1 off 2 boxes which now makes them $1 a box! On top of that, the rebate is if you purchase 10 items you get $10 back. So, in the end it makes them free!

Harris Teeter triples this week

2009-08-12T19:05:00.000-07:00

HT is tripling coupons up to 99 cents this week until Tuesday. Because we are moving I'm not stocking up on a lot of food but I did stock up on deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouth rinse. I spent $20 and saved $44. I just hope I can still find good deals like this in/near Morrison without having to drive too far.

CVS this week

2009-08-11T02:57:00.000-07:00

SO I went to CVS last night. I bought a large container of similac, a tube of toothpaste and two small things of cvs mouthwash. I paid just under $7 for all of it. I used the $5 off $25 coupon, $5 similac check, $5 similac coupon, $5 ecb and a $1 coupon for the toothpaste. In Aug, the first time you go to cvs there is a freebie that will print on the bottom of your receipt. Mine was the mouthwash and it happened to be buy one get one half off this week. Not bad...

$5 off $25 coupon at CVS

2009-08-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

Go to cvs.com. In the middle of the home page should be an add for the ready fill program. If you click on it, it will take you to a short quiz. It took me under 5 minutes to complete. Once you complete it it will give you a coupon to print out for $5 off $25 purchase or more. Also if you ask the pharmacy for the ready fill booklet it is full of coupons including 2 $4 off $20 purchase. I bought 2 packages of Pampers last week when it was 2 for $20 with $5 ecb. I used a $4 off $20 coupon, 2 $2 pamper coupons and ecbs and all I paid out of pocket was $10. This week I am going to buy formula with my $5 off $25. I have a $5 coupon and a $5 check to use plus my $5 ecb from the pampers deal. There is $20 off right there!

A fun way to get Old Navy coupons

2009-08-06T18:56:00.000-07:00

Oldnavyweekly.com is updated about once a week (on random days and times) with new coupons. There is a limited number of each coupon, which ranges from 10% off of your entire purchase to $75 off your purchase of $100 or more. The higher value coupons are gone fairly quickly, but even a 10% or 15% savings can be beneficial. The Old Navy coupons are valid for a short period of time and are to be used in-store only. Each coupon has a unique code so they cannot be duplicated or used more than once.

Recently, oldnavyweekly.com has enabled a feature where you can send a coupon to a friend when you find one for yourself. If you were to find a high value coupon, say $75 off of your purchase of $100 or more, you could share this coupon with another email address so they can take advantage as well. The coupons will have different codes so they both can be used.

Each week the coupons are reset and a new scavenger hunt is presented. In most cases coupons are hidden in the video, or you need to click on certain areas within the page to uncover the coupons. The Old Navy coupon locations always vary and are usually unpredictable. You may need to click an item and drag it to another location, or sometimes you need to click on certain areas in a pattern etc. At the top of oldnavyweekly.com there is a ticker that will tell you which coupons are still available, and which ones have all been found.

I have gotten a few of the smaller coupons but you have to hit the site fairly quickly to get the big coupons....I'll just keep trying. A $75/100 coupon would be worth it!

Consignamaniac!

2009-07-28T18:11:00.000-07:00

I went to the Once Around the Block consignment sale tonight. They have expanded to be even bigger than before! I had my list of items I was looking for and got them all for way under what I expected to pay. I got a diaper champ ($7), baby einstein exersaucer ($15), pack and play ($20), pacifiers (new), teething toy, bottle warmer for the car (perfect for this weekends trip) $2, and Slimer from Ghostbusters (puppet) - it was mostly for Toby. I couldn't believe I got all of this for $53!

Then I ran to Target b/c I new they had formula on sale this week and I needed some diapers soon. I got the large container of similac formula, on sale for $20.99 which is the best deal I've seen. I used a $5 check and $5 coupon= $10.99. Then I got a package of Pampers diapers (48 ct) for $9.47 and a package of 231 wipes for $5.99. I used a coupon for $1 off wipes, $2 off diapers and a Target coupon for $3 off when you buy both. I got the entire order for $23! That's usually the price of the formula. I saved $16 in coupons alone!

Now I'm home enjoying looking at my wonderful baby items taking up space in the living room. Oh well, it's totally worth it. I stuck Wyatt (he is just a tad too small for it) in the exersaucer and he loved it already. He was very interested in the toys and could touch the bottom with his toes.

Kids Consignment Sales

2009-07-26T05:03:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day for the wee wares sale which means it is half price. It is from 12-4 and it is near Old Hickory Blvd and Nolensville - on Old Hickory.

My personal favorite is the Once Around the Block Sale.
July29-31 Weds-Thursday July 29-30,
9AM-7:30PM
Friday July 31, 9AM-6PM (most items 1/2 price)
Payments Accepted are Cash and Check Only

West End Community Church 235 White Bridge Rd Nashville, TN 37209

Hand Me Ups sale is at the Fairgrounds.
Thurs-Fri, July 30-31 9:00am-8:00pm
Sat, Aug 1* 8:00am-4:00pm
* (most items 1/2 price)
They also accept visa/mastercard.

Harris Teeter-2nd Run

2009-07-26T04:58:00.000-07:00

Super Doubles is going on until Tuesday so you still have time. I went last night and spent almost $15 and saved $39. Here is what I bought:

Bisquick-wasn't the greatest deal but we needed it
baby wipes
small container of similac formula-paid $3.89 after a $5 coupon and $5 check
2 boxes of zatarains rice mixes
12 pk store brand soda
3 pkg's floss=free
3 pkg's of wholly salsa=free
3 pkg's of buitoni pasta=free
1 dz eggs-no sale or coupon, just needed them

CVS and Harris Teeter

2009-07-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

Went to CVS the other night. They were out of some things so all I got were a package of batteries and pantyliners. Total spent-24 cents and I got 1.89 back in extra care bucks.

Went to Harris Teeter last night. I spent $9.27 and got 24 rolls of tp, 3 tubes of toothpaste, package of baby wipes, cat treats, floss and shampoo/conditioner in one for Toby.

Free Diapers + $10

2009-07-19T19:35:00.000-07:00

Diaper testing, free diapers plus $10.00 check, call in
this is a call in test panel with many openings

for girls call
1-888-342-7372 ext. 646

for boys call
1-888-342-7372 ext. 634

Arquest (the company doing the testing) sends you free diapers. Fill Out Survey when done with diapers. You will get a call back from Arquest then receive check for $10.

CVS-week of July 19th

2009-07-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

There are some great deals going on for back to school items. Here are some of the things I found that I will be doing (some are only a 3 day sale)

pencils are 1.99 and 1.99 ECB = free
Duracell batteries 2.99+1ECB= 1.99 -.75 coupon=1.24
cvs pantyliners .89 + .89 ECB=free
papermate pens .99 + .99ECB=free

The colgate toothpaste looks like a good deal,
colgate max fresh/max white 2.99+1ECB= 1.99-1Q = 99cents but next week
Colgate total will be 2.88+2ECB=.88 - 75Q = 13 cents! Limit of one only though :(

Also, kroger is doing their buy 10 get $5 off. There are not a lot of things good for me on this sale except Kraft and Sargento cheese. I have a bunch of random coupons for $1 off 2 which brings them down to $1 per package.

Rumor has it...

2009-07-16T13:53:00.000-07:00

The rumor is that Harris Teeter is having super doubles again on July 22nd. Time to purchase any coupons you want. I use the coupon master. Here are a few things that look like they might be good purchases.

These are the things that may be free or under $1:

Wholly guacamole
Kotex pantyliners
Reach floss
Sure deodorant
Crest toothpaste
Dawn
Kotex tampons
Reynolds wrap
Right Guard Extreme

Cheap:
Zatarains box dinners
Chicken Sausages

Best way to get formula (that I have found)

2009-07-11T06:40:00.000-07:00

So, anyone that is feeding their baby with formula knows how expensive it is. I have been trying hard to find good deals and I think this is the best I can find. First of all, do some price shopping. Find who has the best everyday price on formula. For me, it is actually Kroger. Then use a check and a coupon together if you can. Right now similac has $2 and $5 coupons and they send out $5 checks. I got a $5 coupon from my pediatrician. BUT...they are always selling these coupons and checks on ebay. But if you don't want to pay money for them you can do this...I get enfamil and good start checks and coupons. Some come to me in the mail (I signed up for their clubs) and others I get when I check out at the grocery store. I get a lot of good start coupons that way. Save them til you get at least 2 or 3. Then put them on craigslist for sale. Have people pay you with paypal and then you mail them to them. Then you have money in paypal to use towards your ebay purchases. If you are buying a large container of formula that is priced at $21 but you have a $5 check and a $5 coupon that almost cuts the price in half. May not be free but that's the best I have come up with for formula.

CVS deals this week

2009-07-09T07:16:00.000-07:00

Ok...so this is a little late in the week but I am just now getting around to my cvs shopping. I will do 3 transactions and if I go in the evening and the nice red head is working she will let me do them as separate transactions. The reason for the separate transactions is to roll over the ecb's (extra care bucks). I am starting with $1 ECB.

Transaction 1:
Dawn dish soap 2/$2 - 50cent Q= $1.50 + $1ECB
CVS pantyliners 89cents + 89cents ECB
Total OOP= $2.39 - $1ECB= $1.39 + $1.89 ECB

#2
Hellman's Mayo 2/$6 - 60cent Q = $5.40-$1.89ECB
Total OOP = $3.51 + $2 ECB

#3
3 pkg's Pampers diapers=$26.97-$6Q-$2ECB=$18.97 + a package of free batteries.
Front page of the ad has a deal of buy $25 worth of p&g products on that page and get free batteries. The $25 is before coupons.

For all of these I will spend $23.87 before tax.

kids consignment sales

2009-07-09T06:32:00.000-07:00

If you have a child or one to shop for, this is the place to go. Once Around the Block consignment sale is my favorite one I have been to. It is enormous! Since I have a wee one I am actually consigning some things so on top of making some money I get first dibs at items. It runs July 29-31, here is their website: http://www.oncearoundtheblockkids.com/3601.html.

There is also a weewares sale coming up July 23-26th. I've been to one of these sales and it is good but just doesn't quite compare to the amount of stuff that is at the other sale. Here is their site: http://www.weewares.com/Weewares/Welcome.html

A few of the best finds that I have found in the past are: bags of socks=cheap, a play gym for $3 and lots of infant lamaze toys.

Harris Teeter trip today

2009-06-24T08:51:00.000-07:00

Went to HT this morning. I spent $29.08 and saved $87.99, $61.51 in coupons and $26.48 in vic savings. Here is what I bought:

2 boxes of reg. cheerios $2/2
Purina Dog chow 18lb bag $4.39
2 bottles of Lysol toilet bowl cleaner free
3 canisters of Lysol wipes free
Lawry's marinade 49 cents
Archway cookies 99 cents
Huggies 64 ct wipes $1.79
bag of Wacky Mac pasta 9 cents
floss 9 cents
Buitoni fettuccine pasta free
Daisy sour cream 67 cents
2 large containers of coffeemate creamer free
3 pkgs of Al fresco chicken sausages $6
Best find was Pampers sz 5 diapers, 46ct orginally $17.99, marked down to $9 and I had a $2 coupon=$7.

If you are in need of diapers always keep your eye out for clearanced diapers. A lot of times it is b/c they are coming out with new packaging. There is nothing wrong with the clearanced diapers.

If I have time I plan to go back for more. You can only use 20 coupons per day- :(

Harris Teeter super doubles starts tomorrow

2009-06-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

I guess HT is not doing triple coupons this time but super doubles instead. They are doubling coupons up to $1.98 which is great except that I have a $2 coupon for similac-darn that would have been too good of a deal. I found the preview for the ad here: http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/harris-teeter/252846-harris-teeter-6-24-6-31-ad-preview.html.
Here is a list of what I have coupons for, the prices listed sometimes vary by a few cents just depending on where the person is that put the ad up.

4 oz J&J baby powder 1.79, 1q= free
regular cheerios 2.00, $1/2q = $2/2 boxes
Kraft shredded cheese, 2.00, $1q=free x 3 coupons
Kotex pantyliners $2.58/2, $1q= one free
Lawry's marinades b1g1 $1.62 each, 50cent q= 62 cents
colgate total b1g1 $1.64 each, $1q=free x 2 coupons
reach floss, $1.59, $1q=free x 2 coupons
Buitoni pasta 2.29, $1q=29 cents
Right guard extreme 2.50, $1 q=50 cents
Bertolli pasta sauce 2.89, 75cent q = $1.39
Archway cookies 2.99, $1q= 99 cents
Daisy sour cream 16oz 1.67, 50cent q= 67 cents

If you want the best selection you have to get there early, especially if you go to the Hillsboro Village one since it is a smaller store with less selection. Luckily I am still off of work so I plan to get there bright and early for once to get what I want and not whats left.

Remember only coupons with a barcode that begin with a 5 will double. If it begins with a 9 it will not. Even if a coupon says that it will not double but starts with a 5 it will double. Some cashiers won't let them double but I've never run into that problem-yet.

Not all rolls are created equally

2009-06-22T13:04:00.000-07:00

When buying products look at the price but also look at the little price on the lower corner of the tag. This is the price per unit. I was looking at toilet paper today. A company had one package that was 12 big rolls=to 24 regular rolls. The same company had another package that was 18 large rolls. Both were the same price. The 18 pack of large rolls had more square footage per roll and therefore was a better deal even though it was less rolls than the other package.
When comparing prices be sure to read the bottom line: the price per unit. They try to trick you and will word things anyway they can to reel you in. Don't play their game :)

Getting items for free or nearly free.

2009-06-22T11:36:00.000-07:00

The key to getting items for free or nearly free is to combine a coupon with a sale. A lot of grocery stores will double coupons. Kroger doubles up to 50 cents. Coupons whose barcode begins with a 5 will double, 9's will not. Also keep your eye out b/c our local Harris Teeter triples coupons up to 99 cents every few months. Remember that you can combine an e-coupon with a paper coupon. Also baby food formulas always send out checks usually in $5 increments. You can combine those with a coupon b/c the check is not considered a coupon. Also Kmart has been doing double coupons at select stores. They double up to $2. You can get similac cheap if you have a $5 check and the $2 coupons that are out right now if your Kmart is doubling. You can find out at hotcouponworld when Kmarts are doubling.

Couponing...where to begin.

2009-06-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

I am in no way an expert but I do know quite a bit. I thought I would start this blog to share with others what I have learned. To start couponing you have to know where to find them. First, start off with your local Sunday paper. I can buy the Sunday paper the following week at our Kroger for $1. I usually buy 2 and if the coupons are really good I will buy more. You can also buy coupons online at places like: http://www.thecouponclippers.com/ and https://www.centsoff.com/. These sites are really good if you know of an upcoming sale that you want specific coupons for or if you just use that item often and want multiples of one item. Ex. Toby drinks coffee with cream so I buy multiples of the cream coupons. You can also print coupons from various sources online. There are even e-coupons now that will load to your shoppers card. I use Kroger stores mostly and on their website is a link to p&g coupons, cellfire and shortcuts. All of these load directly to your Kroger card and they automatically deduct when the cashier scans that item. The best thing about the e-coupons is that you can use them with a manufacture (paper) coupon for even more savings. Hotcouponworld.com is a great site. It lists grocery stores, drug stores and department stores. It is a forum type site and people post about sales and deals they find. Often times they will post sale ads weeks in advance so you know what will be on sale when. It is full of other great info as well.

Today I went shopping at Kroger. I spent $69 and saved $54. How did I do it and what did I buy??
They are offering a deal of buy 10 participating items and get $3 off your order. We use cheese slices in our house all the time. They were on sale for $1.29. So I bought about 14 packages...look at the exp. date when you buy in bulk. These didn't expire for a few months and I know we will use them. After all what's a great deal if they expire before you can use them.
I also bought a Kroger private selection steak and 6 Harvestland (great chicken!) chicken breasts. I had a coupon for $2 off any ps beef and the steak was only $3.36 to begin with. This was a coupon that had printed off with my receipt. I had another coupon for $3 off $15 purchase in fresh meat (mailed to me from Kroger). When you are combining coupons like this the total is $15 before coupons. Don't subtract the $2 coupon otherwise you are just buying more than you need to.
In that buy 10 items get $3 off I also bought coffee, garbage bags, 8 pk paper towels and detergent. I had a coupon for all of those items. I also got two bottles of Dawn dishwashing soap. I had two coupons for $1.50 off and the soap was on sale for $1.99. I also had one e-coupon for 50cents off which means I paid 50 cents for both.

Once you have coupons how do you organize them?
This took me awhile to find a system that worked for me. I will share this with you but it may not work for you. I hated flipping through tons of coupons at the grocery store trying to find the one you want. So...I bought a three ring binder and baseball card sleeve pages. I divided it out into categories: dry and boxed food, frozen and refrigerated food, baby stuff, etc. Each coupon goes into a baseball card slot. If there are multiples of one coupon they all go together. Then when I am at the store I just flip through the pages. As far as cutting out coupons I don't cut them all out. Basically I cut it out if I would want the item if it was free.

I hope this will help get you started...