Out for the weekend

I really did not see and great deals this weekend so I am going to take it easy. If you find some really good deals let me know.

Where do you put all those coupons

We live a long way from town so I just get to go once a week. Because you don't know what kind of deal you will come across I cut each and every coupon. So needless to say I have a ton of coupons that I need to take with me. How you store your coupons really depends on you. There are so many methods but because you are the one that has to maintain it and be able to use it do what works for you.

Since I have so many coupons and such a limited time to shop I prefer the binder method. My Husband had to make me a binder after I split the zipper one the biggest one I could find.

So here it is. We went to Walmart and bought a CD/DVD binder. It holds like 250 Cd's. He took the rings out of 2 binders and attached them inside the CD binder. It is huge and weighs 5 pounds but it works! I have to admit I fell like everyone is looking at me when I carry this in the store but I just keep thinking if they could get they groceries almost free they would be jealous.








There is also the box method but because I am so clumsy I try not to take this in the store. I can just see me dropping this on the floor and what a mess that would make!

After I do all my cutting I sort them in here to file in the binder. It is easier for me if all the coupons are sorted out by categories.

This is a box to file pictures in with index card dividers.

Cutting your cutting time

I get 5 copies of the Sunday paper and there can be a lot of coupons to cut some weeks. So here are some tips to make the process go a little faster.

• Make sure you have sharp scissors. They can really help!
• Have plenty of room to work in.

I start by getting all my coupons together and each section separated.














Then I take each section and separate them by pages.














Then I take separate each page and stack them together for cutting.










Once you have all five pages together I cut the whole group at one time. A whole lot less cutting but BE CAREFUL! As they say in carpentry "Measure twice, cut once." Check your coupons before you cut. Sometimes they don't line up so you will have to adjust. And hold the pages tight so they don't slip.

I have found that doing this has saved me so much time especially if you can find someone to do the sorting for you! Thanks to my Hubby!!!! That is his job.

Where do you get all those coupons?

I get this one a lot. There are so many places to get coupons but you do have to be careful. There are counterfeit coupons and spoof sites on the internet that attack your computer with viruses. So to protect yourself you need updated virus software on your computer and common sense to know that if the coupon is to good to be true, it probably is.

Here are a list of places to get coupons. Both paper and electronic.

Paper Coupons

• Sunday paper- but the weekly paper sometimes has coupons for local stores and activities
• Store- a lot of stores have booklets that have coupons in the back. I pick up any ad in the grocery store and the drug store
• Company- if there is a product that you love contact the company. Most of the time they have coupons they can send you.
• Product Panels- Some companies have panels you can join to try their new products. Jergins sent me a full size bottle of lotion and 5 coupons. Ex. First Taste and Pssst
  
• Magazines- I have noticed that several magazines have coupons in them now. All You normally has lots and really good ones.
• Receipts- some stores have coupons on the back of the receipt or print out with it.
  

Internet Coupons

• Coupon sites- there are several sites just for coupons.
  
• Company site- most companies have coupons for their products on their site. If they don't email them and see if they have any.
• Store site- several store sites have coupons that can be used with a manufacturers coupon. Ex. Target and Walgreen
• Email- Join sites. You will probably need an email address just for this but you do get coupons this way.
  
• Search engine- if there is something on sale and I don't have a coupon I type it in the search engine to see if there are any out there. BE CAREFUL I have been lucky (knock on wood) so far but remember if the coupon is to good to be true it probably is and make sure your virus protection is up to date. But this is a way to find coupons you may have missed and make a good deal better.
• Download coupons- there are a great way to triple your coupon. These coupons can be used with a store coupon and a manufacture coupons. You go to the site and download them to your store card. Ex. Kroger and Cellfire

Don't forget to ask friends and family. No one else in my family coupons so when they get them in the mail they send them to me.

Protect yourself- passing off a counterfeit coupon is a punishable offense with a fine and possible jail time. Several people have been prosecuted for selling illegal coupons on Ebay and other sites. So don't pay for anything the company gives away for free.

This weeks posts.

This week I am going to show you how I do it. I am not going to hide anything or leave important bits out. I will try to keep it simple so that you don't have a lot of other stuff to read. If you have any questions let me know.

Target trip- Saved 85%

Here is my huge Target trip this weekend. If it wasn't for cat food it would have been better.

7 Glade candle refills
1 Glade candle
6 All detergent (trail)
10 M&M's
5 Poptarts
5 Kellogg's Cinnamon bars
4 Kellogg's Yo-go's
1 Kashi cereal
1 box Instant oatmeal
3 loaves bread
2 Ponds packs (trial)
12 Arm & Hammer toothpaste (trial)
6 Head and shoulders shampoo (trial)
1 12 pack Quilted Northern toilet paper
1 Purina cat food 18 lbs
5 KY (trial)
2 Spiderman book (clearance)
10 Market Place string cheese

Total Purchase $131.64
Total OOP $17.83
Total Savings $113.81

Saved 85%

There was a really good coupon for the bread in the Kellogg's Fuel for School brochure. I got mine at Food Lion. It was for $2.00 of a loaf of bread when you purchase 2 Yo-Go's. Target has Yo-Go's on sale for $1.75 and bread for $1.07.

A whole lot of cutting this week.

Heads up- There are suppose to be 5 coupons packs in the paper this week. I can feel my corporal tunnel acting up already!

Ok I only had 4 in my paper. Oh well :(

Walgreen- $5 profit

All this month Walgreen has Carefree Ultra Liners on sale for $1.99 with a $2.00 Register Rewards. So they are free after the rewards but in the Sunday paper there was a coupon for $1.00 off. If you don't have the coupon from the paper you can go here and print 2 $1.00 off coupons.

I purchased 6 packs at $1.09 each and have $12.00 in Register Rewards.

TIP* Only one Register Reward per purchase so if you buy more than one pay for them separate!

I also use my Register Rewards to buy my newspapers the next week.

Coupons from eatbetteramerica.com

Eat Better America is a web site from General Mills to promote health eating and lifestyle. There are some really good recipes on there but they just added some really good coupons.

Click here

Cool website

There are several web sites out there that compare the prices of your grocery items at several different stores. You normally have to pay to join these web sites but I have found one that is free and just as good. I have been using it for a while now when I need something and I want to get the best price now. It is mygrocerydeals.com.

Let me know what you think and if it helps!

Free Coke

My Coke Rewards and TGI Fridays is offering 25 bonus points on your rewards account. 24 points will get you a coupon for a 20 oz Diet Coke. Go to mycokerewards.com and click on the TGI Friday logo. Sign up for T.G.I. Friday’s® “Give Me More Stripes®” program to get Bonus Points and free stuff. TGI Fridays will send you a coupon for a free appetizer and then you will get an email to confirm your sign up and to get your Coke rewards. In the email is a code to enter here to get the 25 points. Once they have been added to your account you can request a coupon for a free 20 oz Coke, Dasaini, or a Power Aid.

I just did it and it worked. It said I will get my coupon in 3-5 weeks.

DEAL* Walgree has specials sometime where if you buy a Coke product you get a free candy bar.

$5 off Rite Aid

Coupons.com has just added a $5 of $25 at Rite Aid. You can print two of these but they are only good 9/7-9/19. They are starting to put some of their school supplies on clearance so this would help if you need to stock up on notebooks.

For other deal ideas go to iheartriteaid.com.

TIP* Give this coupon to the cashier before you hand them any others. If you give them your other coupons first this one will not work.

Free Secret Deod

Vocalpoint is offering a Secret Clinical Strength trail. Just click here and sign up. They normally send you full size products and some really good coupons. You just have to answers some questions about how you liked it. Definitely worth it. But there is a limited amount of products so sign up now!

Who couldn't use an extra $250

Couponmom.com is giving away $250. All you have to do is enter your name and email address here. Good luck and I hope I win :) (sorry) you win!

Lets start at the beginning.

My Husband and I was watching Inside Edition and there was this woman that was telling how much money she saved using coupons. Here is the story if you want to read it. So we tried it for one month just to see if we could save any money. My goal was to save maybe 20%. That would help but I ended up doing so much better and the more time I put into it the better I did. This November I will have been cutting coupons for 1 year. One month I decided to keep all my receipts and see just how much I was saving. It was over $2000! IN JUST A MONTH. My Mom accused me of stealing and most people don't believe me. It is hard work and it takes time but you get out what you put in it. Every little bit helps so if you only have a few minutes just clip what you use.

There are so many sites that will help. Some you pay for, some are scams, but some are really useful. I have listed my favorite sites to the right. I don't use as many computer generated coupons as I did when I first started. So many stores are not taking them now because of counterfeit ones and because it was costing so much for ink and paper. I was also spending to much time on the computer and not enough time with my family. It is amazing how obsessed you get with getting that great deal. They only thing I pay for is my Sunday papers. I do not pay for web sites or buy coupons off the internet. I just don't see the reason for it.

Next week I am going to show you exactly what I do from start to finish. I am going to try to make it as simple as possible and not overload you with info.

New Coupons

Box Top for Education has just added some good coupons to their site. I noticed that several of these items are on sale at Kroger this week and Target has a deal going on with the Fiber One products.


Click here for coupons

Target Deals 9/6-9/12

I got this from one of my favorite sites moneysavingmom.com. I so wish I wasn't staying home this weekend. There are so many great deals here. We love the Fiber One products. They are very good but a little pricey. I bet I end up making a trip anyway!

Target: Deals and freebies for the week of September 6-12, 2009

There are some great deals at Target this week again! I've listed my favorite deals below and encourage you to head over to Stretching a Buck for the full list of deals and coupon match-ups for this week:

Buy 5 selected Fiber One Products, Get a $5 Target gift card
There are $0.40/1 and $1/2 Fiber One Cereal Bar coupons here, here, and here.
There are $0.50/1 Fiber One Muffin Mix coupons here and here.
There are $0.75/1 Fiber One cereal coupons here, here, and here.

*Best Deal*
Buy 5 boxes of Fiber One cereal at $2.50 each
Use 5 $0.75/1 coupons here (or $1/2 coupon here or in the 8/23 SmartSource insert)
Plus, use 5 $1/1 Target General Mills cereal coupons here (if your store allows you to use multiple Target coupons)
Spend $3.75 plus tax out of pocket, Get a $5 gift card back
Free plus $1.25 overage after coupons and gift card!

*Deal Idea #2* (Thanks, Krazy Coupon Lady!)
Buy 4 Fiber One Toaster Pastries at $1.79 each
Buy 1 Fiber One cereal at $2.50
Use 2 $1/2 Toaster Pastry coupons from the 8/9 SmartSource insert
Use $0.75/1 Fiber One cereal coupon here
Use $1/1 Target General Mills coupon here
Spend $5.91 out of pocket, Get a $5 Target gift card
$0.18 each after coupons and gift card

*Deal Idea #3* (Thanks, Krazy Coupon Lady!)
Buy 2 Fiber One Muffin Mixes at $2.69 each
Buy 1 Fiber One Cereal at $2.50
Buy 2 Fiber One Granola Bars at $2.50 each
Use 2 $0.50/1 Muffin Mix coupons here
Use 1 $1/2 Fiber One Chewy Bars here (or 2 $0.40/1 coupons here)
Use $0.75/1 Fiber One cereal here
Use $1/1 Target General Mills coupon here
Spend $9.13 plus tax out of pocket, Get a $5 Target gift card
$0.83 per item after coupons and gift card

Vaseline Aloe Fresh lotion (travel size)--$0.99
Use $1/1 coupon here
Free after coupon

Joint Juice (single bottle)--$1.00
Use $1/1 coupon here
Free after coupon

Kotex Liners (48 count)--$2.94
Use $2/1 Target coupon in 7/26 SmartSource insert
Plus, use $1/1 coupon in the 7/26 RedPlum insert
Free after coupons

All Laundry Detergent (travel size)--$1
Use $1/1 when you sign up here or $1/1 from the 8/2 RedPlum insert
Free after coupon

Head and Shoulders Shampoo (travel size)--$1.00
Use $1/1 coupon from the 8/2 Proctor & Gamble insert
Free after coupon

Tide Detergent (travel size)--$1.00
Use $1/1 coupon from the 8/2 Proctor & Gamble insert
Free after coupon

General Mills Cereal Cups--$0.99
Use $1/1 Target coupon here
Free after coupon

Arm & Hammer Toothpaste (travel size)--$1.07
Use $3/2 coupon from the 8/16 insert
Free after coupon

Market Pantry String Cheese--$0.50
Buy 2 and use $1/2 Target coupon here
Free after coupon

Chef Michael's Dry Dog Food--$4.49
Use $3/1 coupon in the 8/23 RedPlum insert
Stack with $1.50/1 Target coupon here
Free after coupons

Chef Michael's Canine Creations Dog Food (cans)--$0.89/ea
Buy 2 and use B1G1 coupon in 8/23 RedPlum insert
Stack with B1G1 Target coupon here
Free after coupons

Artisan Mini Loaves of Bread--$0.99
Use $1/1 Target coupon here
Free after coupon

Renu Contact Solution (travel size)--$1.54
Use $2/1 coupon here
Free after coupon

Carmex--$1.04
Use $1/1 coupon here
$0.04 after coupon

Olay Body Wash (travel size)--$1.07
Use $1/1 coupon from the 8/2 P&G insert
$0.07 after coupon

A-1 Steak Sauce (small bottle at Super Target)--$2.09
Use $2/1 coupon from the 8/16 SmartSource insert
$0.09 after coupon

Rimmel Mascara--$2.24-2.99
Use $2/1 here or in the 8/23 RedPlum insert
$0.24-0.99 after coupon

Kellogg's Cinnabon Bars--$1.75-$2 (price varies at some Target stores)
Use $0.50/1 Kellogg's Grain Snacks coupon
Stack with $1/1 manufacturer's coupon here
$0.25-$0.50 after coupons

Dove Visibly Smooth Deodorant--$3.29
Use $2/1 coupon here
Stack with $1/1 Target coupon here
$0.29 after coupons

Kellogg's Yogos--$1.75
Use $0.50/1 Target Kellogg's Fruit Snacks coupon here
Stack with $0.50/1 manufacturer's coupon here
$0.75 after coupons

Cheerios (12 oz.)--$2.44
Buy 2 boxes and use $1/2 coupon here or from the 8/2, 8/16, or 8/30 SmartSource insert
Stack with 2 $1/1 Target coupons here
$0.94 per box after coupons (Thanks, Theresa!)

See more deals at Target this week here.

How to make money off your stash

What do you do when your stash starts to look like this?

After a point I forget what I have so I have to pull it all out and sort it up. This does not include any food. It is just toiletries and cleaning. I would list everything here but it would just take to long and get very boring to read.

A couple of times a year I sort through this mess and send a box to a local battered women shelter. Here is where the making money comes in. I get a tax deduction. I have two $250 receipts from the for the donations I have made. They will take anything! I have sent diabetes monitors, cleaning products, air fresheners, food, drugs, etc. It makes me feel good because I don't have the money to donate to help them and they are very appreciative because it saves them money because most of the women there have kids and leave without packing anything.

Another thing you can do with your stash is make gift baskets. I made gift basket for someone who was having a baby and filled it with full sized items. Including so things for her like lip gloss, fingernail files, and lotions. I was really nice and I paid maybe $2.00 for the whole thing. You can make house warming gifts with the extra cleaning stuff you have or pampering kits with the lotions and soaps. My Brother-in-law is getting a coffee basket for Christmas. My boys are going to decorate a cup and I am going to fill it with coffee samples that I have gotten in the mail this year. I just picket up 4 boxes of creamer for free to add to it.

I hope this gives you some ideas!

Drum Roll Please- Saved $346.29 this weekend

Ok here is the grand total for this holiday weekend

Merchandise total $409.38
Total OOP $63.09
Total Savings $346.29

I saved 85% this weekend. Now I plan on staying home this weekend because my stash is huge. I will post that later.

Kroger- Saved 79%

Made a stop a Kroger to hit the 10 for $10 sale, and here is what I got.

6 Bounty paper towels
6 Dial liquid soap
10 Hefty storage bags
2 Post it notes
2 Kraft Mayo
1 Kroger tomatoes
2 pouches Starkist tuna
2 Hefty paper plates
6 Reach dental floss
1 Wonder bread
1 Cattleman's barbecue sauce
1 24 case of water (not shown)

Total $92.23
OOP $20.17
Savings $72.06

The Wonder bread was suppose to be on sale for $1.50. When I checked my receipt it rang up for $2.39. I know that most people would not take the time to go back in the store but Kroger has a policy that if you are not charged the correct price for an item you get the item free. So I got $2.45 back in cash. That made my bread free plus my coupons for $1.10.

Saved 79%

Walgreen- Saved 79% Free Dish Det

I am planning on staying home this weekend and not spend any money so I went tonight a got a few things I could not pass up.

2 Palmolive
1 gummy bears

Total $5.09
OOP $1.09
Savings $4.00

I had the coupon out of the Walgreen flier for $.99 Palmolive and 2 $1.00 coupons from coupons.com. Walgreen is not allowing more coupons than items. It messed up my savings and I could have gotten something cheaper but Hubby and the boys were in the car.



Saved 79%

Food Lion- Saved 97%

Here is what I got

2 large Glade Candles
2 Suave shampoo (clearance)
12 Noxema razors
2 Ritz crackers
2 Wheat thins
1 Ritz Crackerfuls
1 Koolaid pouches
2 Chubby colas (boys for the ride home)

Total $62.64
OOP $2.14
Saved $60.50

Ritz was on sale Buy one get one free. Then I had a coupon for a free Wheat Thins when you buy Ritz. I also had a coupon for a free box of Crackerfuls when you buy Ritz.

Saved 97%

Walmart Trip- Saved 74%

Here is what I did at Walmart.

8 packages of Ball Park franks
5 Lunchables
4 boxes Carnation creamer
5 Success brown rice
6 Febreeze luminary refills
4 Adams dog collars (money maker)
8 Wet ones trial packs
6 Tide trial packs
6 Suave lotions
2 Carmex chap stick
1 Blank ink for printer
Bananas
12 Glade candles
1 Palmolive dish det (rebate)
1 Pepsi (for Hubby)

Total $141.27
OOP $36.49
Savings $104.78

The ink cost $14.97. That messed up my totals a little bit but the Adams flea collars were a money maker. They were on sale for $.99 and my coupon was for $3.00. There was a $2.00 profit for each one taken off my other items.

Saved 74%

Target Trip- Saved 97%

I went to two different Target stores because one didn't have what I needed and would not give me a rain check. So here is what I got.

1st Store

4 Bounce dryer bars (Target coupon and manufacturer coupon)
1 bag Jack Links buffalo chicken nuggets (Get one bag free from All You Magazine)
2 Quattro razors (Target coupon and manufacturer coupon)
3 boxes Kotex pantyliner (Target coupon and manufacturer coupon)
5 post it notes (clearance) (manufacturer coupon)
4 packs Bic pens (Target coupon and manufacturer coupon)
2 dollar toys (have to keep the boys busy while I shop)

Total $54.11
Out Of Pocket (OOP) $1.41
Saved $52.70

2nd Store

5 409 Cleaner (manufacturer coupon)
5 Quattro razors ( (Target coupon and manufacturer coupon)
2 packs of Skittles (again for the boys) (manufacturer coupon)
1 Diet Coke ( so I don't end up with a negative balance)

Total $54.04
OOP $1.79
Saved $52.25

The razors where a money maker. They are normally around $8.00 there was a coupon in the Sunday paper for $4.00 off and then Target had a coupon that took another $4.00 off and to make it a money maker they were on sale this week for $6.99. After the coupons they were free with a profit of $1.00 each.

Total for together $108.05
Total OOP together $3.19
Total Saved together $ 104.95

I saved 97%

This is it!

Ok, people have been asking me how I am able to save 75-100% on my weekly grocery bills. So I am going to show you. I will keep you up to date with what I am buying and give you heads up on deals that will save your family literally thousands of dollars. I know it sounds to good to be true, and I thought so to until I went to Kroger and got $110 worth of groceries for $.27. I had to buy a candy bar or they would have owed me money. It isn't easy but it is worth it. It is how I afford to stay home with my kids. I refuse to pay full price and you shold too.