deals and steals

I had lots of blessings with my shopping trips to Kroger and Walgreens on Thursday.  It definitely took me a little bit of time to plan out my shopping trips (probably about one hour).  However, overall, I saved $19.74 in coupons.  I like to look at this as money I have made to supplement our income....if you're not spending it, you're making/saving it.  If you make $20 an hour and work a 40 hour a week job...that would be a $41,600 salary.  (Plus I get to save this money...and it's tax-free...even better!) I think that's definitely worth the one hour a week of clipping coupons, printing coupons, meal planning, and list making.  To add to that, because I had my trips completely planned out...down to a sticky note with the list for each store and coupons already pulled for each store and separated, I was finished with Kroger, Walgreens, and a bank stop all in less than an hour.

Kroger

Total spent: $30.94

Total saved: $16.74

35% savings

Best deals:

*Kroger is running a summer savings special where you get $4/4 items on their designated list (which includes a lot of items...you can find the entire list in the store or part of the list in their weekly ad.) Remember that at Kroger you can use an ecoupon loaded onto your Kroger card and a MC from coupon inserts.

For this deal I purchased the following four items:

Charmin 12 pack- $6.99

-use $3/1 Kroger ecoupon

-use $.25/1 coupon that will double from 8/1 P&G

-Summer Savings bonus $1 off

$2.49

Downy Fabric Softener- $4.99

-use $2/1 Kroger ecoupon

-$1/1 coupon from 8/1 P&G

-Summer Savings bonus $1 off

$0.99

Two Old Spice Body Washes- $2.99 each

-use $2/2 Kroger ecoupon

-Summer Savings bonus $1 off each

$0.99 each

Other Kroger deals:

Cascadian Farms Organic French Fries- $2.49 on sale

-use $.75/1 from coupons.com

$1.74

Private Selection Organic Natural black beans- on sale for $0.89

Right Guard Total Defense Deodorant- $2.49 each

-use BOGO coupon from 7/25 RP

-use $1/2 coupon from in-store coupon generator

$.75 each

Walgreens

Total spent: $1.67

Total saved: $3.00

64% savings

First Transaction:

Crayola crayons 24 pack- on sale for $1

Get $1 in Register Rewards

Pay $1 plus tax out of pocket

Second Transaction:

Two 10 pack Penway #2 Pencils-$0.09 each

Cottonelle Fresh Wipes 42 count-$1.99 with in-ad coupon

-use $0.50/1 coupon from July All You

$1.49

 *Use $1 RR from previous transaction

Pay $0.67 plus tax out of pocket

There are many opportunities to give away school supplies right now.  My church is collecting supplies for kiddos in need of supplies, many stores allow you to purchase and leave supplies right there in the store, and you can even call your local school district and/or specific schools around you to ask for specific supply needs.  These are all great options for some of the deals and freebies you can find right now in the school supply sections.

Found any of your own great deals lately? Feel free to share them in the comment section!

Walgreens trip and a coupon organizing idea

  

I finally made it to the stores today and found some great deals.  I had to make a quick trip to Walgreens before going grocery shopping because I found some great deal scenerios on some blogs this week. (Tip--I take notes throughout the week so I don't forget where the deals are when I am ready to shop over the weekend.)

Neutrogena Intensive Moisture Body Treatment Lotion--$6.00 on clearance--used a $1/1 MC...$5.00 (this is a great value for this lotion...I haven't found lotion that beats it and it's definitely not a cheaply priced product)

John Frieda Frizz-Ease Smooth Start Condition--$6.79--used a $3/1 MC and stacked it with a $2/1 Walgreen's coupon from their coupon book at the front of the store...$1.79 (again, this is a great deal for a great product)

Bonnybell Lip Gloss--$0.95 on clearance--used a $1/1 coupon printed out here....FREE plus $.05 overage (my Walgreens had a lot of Bonnybell Lip Smackers in their clearance section--thanks Thankfully Thrifty for this idea)

$0.50 shipping envelope on clearance...handy to have around...going into my stockpile for future use

Total before coupons--$14.24

Total after coupons--$8.09

(before tax that's a 50% savings for today...whoo hoo)

And about that coupon organizing idea....

I used to just buy items at the store when I needed them thinking this would save me the most money.  Now I have learned the importance of buying things in advance if I know I will use them and there is a great deal on them.  Now i'm really serious about shopping for items when they are on sale and racking up any and all freebies I can that we will use in the future or I can donate.  Because of this, I have gotten a little overwhelmed on keeping my coupons organized.  I keep the main coupons I will for sure use because they are items I buy anyway in my coupon album (made from the picture album).  I keep this in my purse and always have it ready to use.  You can get this idea on my post here.  But when I find deals and scenerios on blogs, a lot of times they refer to a specific group of coupons from the Sunday newspaper by the date they came out.  So I decided to do my own little system to organize the coupons I will return to as I find deals and scenerios online.

I put each stack of coupons I have from the past two Sundays in March, and then all of February's coupons combined (because I wasn't quite on top of things last month) into separate file folders and labeled the file folders with the date the coupons came out.  Now when I read a deal or scenerio that refers to a specific date...I can quickly find the stack of coupons to search.  I will of course toss the stacks as they expire and then refill the files with different stacks.  I just used a letter organizer we already have on our desk to place the file folders upright and easy to access.

Hope it helps!

Saturday Savings

You read about my two-week grocery shopping trip here.  Although I did well last week, I didn't come out with savings as great as I did today.  First, let me explain that the shopping for two weeks thing didn't really work for me.  Maybe it will in the future or maybe it's one of those sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't kind of things.  But I still had to go to the grocery today for some food items.  Mainly though we needed those annoying things that pop up all the sudden like batteries and an ink cartridge.  Well in the meantime, I decided to do some "freebie" shopping because of some great deals I had found on some blogs throughout the week.  Mix those great deals with the sunshine...and I was quite inspired.  So inspired...I shopped Wal-Mart and Kroger today.  Oh, and shopped for a few deals at Target tonight where the hubby got to see me in my coupon-crazy action.  (He was impressed by the way, and decided if I had been present for Jesus' feeding of the 5,000 that I would have told Jesus not to worry, that I had coupons for free food to feed the crowd and He could save His miracle for another occasion.  He makes me laugh.) I usually don't shop that many stores in one day, but it paid off today!  Check out my great deals.

Wal-Mart Deals and Freebies

*$2.97 Herbal Essence Spray Hair Gel--free after purchase of $.97 travel size Herbal Essence conditioner with buy one/get one coupon (paper insert coupons)

*$1.97 12-pack Schick disposable razors--free and $1.03 overage with $3/1 coupon (paper insert coupons)

*$7.94 Schick Quattro Titaniam razor with trimmer (Justin is excited about this)--free after rebate (paper insert coupons)

*$1.00 16-pack Kotex Pantyliners--free with $1/1 coupon (online printable)

Kroger Deals and Freebies

*1.00 Reese's King Size--free for playing Kroger's March to Savings online game (the item was loaded onto my Kroger Plus card)

*4 cans of Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls (for a yummy recipe to be shared soon) and 2 cans of reduced fat Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls (not pictured)--$7.38 ($10.98 without coupons-I used 5 different coupons in this transaction)...with my savings I got the cinnamon rolls free when purchasing the crescent rolls I need for a dessert I am making for my grandma's 80th birthday party next weekend.

*$3.88 Pedigree Dentastix I have wanted to get for Boone to try--$1.88 with $2/1 coupon (paper insert coupons)

Target Deals and Freebies

*$1 two-pack Dial bar soap--free with $1/1 coupon (online printable)

*9.64 Clorox Toilet Wand Starter Kit--free with $0.31 overage after $5 online printable coupon and $5 rebate found here.  [side note--these are wonderful...and now we'll have one for our bathroom downstairs, too...how handy!]

*$4.64 Pledge Fabric Sweeper--$3.64 with $1/1coupon from the first one we bought, $2.94 Pledge furniture wipes--$1.94 with $1/1 coupon from paper insert, $3.89 Pledge All Purpose wipes--$2.89 with $1/1 coupon from paper insert.....it gets better.....I had a Target coupon for a $5 Target gift card with the purchase of three Pledge items.  That makes all three items $3.47, which is cheaper than just the fabric sweeper with coupon [which is a wonderful item for all that dog hair and we were going to purchase a new one anyway].

TOTAL FREEBIES: $15.88

TOTAL COUPONS SAVINGS from today (including freebies and rebates):  $41.51

Just some cute deals I couldn't pass up at Wally World ....

$3 shoes (so cute and comfy and will be perfect with capris)

$3 cute contact paper on clearance (I already have a couple projects in mind)

$1 pack of 12 adorable file folders on clearance (a teacher can never have enough)

*In case you're wondering: My coupon sources are the inserts in the paper and I find links to awesome printables from great blogs such as Deal Finding Chik (which links to many other great bloggers), Money Saving Mom, Thankfully Thrifty, and My Pet Savings.  I also use sites such as Freeflys, Redplum, and Shortcuts.  You can also find printable coupons and coupons to load directly to your Kroger card here or visit Target's website for their printable coupons.  (You can use a manufacturer's coupon and company coupon at Target and Kroger.) 

And this post wouldn't be complete with a shout-out to my hubby about an experience he had today. 

Check out what I found for my pitiful peanut-allergy husband...

I'm sure this has been around.  I just haven't looked for it before.  He was thrilled.  I was thrilled myself that he actually liked it....especially since it came from our little "organic corner" of Kroger.  This is completely peanut-free and is made from soy beans.  It has the same texture as peanut butter.  (Anyone out there know if they make it just plain creamy?) You have to realize this is a man that had a love for peanut butter when he was little and then found out he was allergic.  He's been without peanut butter for about 15 years.  Needless to say, today was a good day for him. :D

Found some great freebies or deals this weekend?! Let me know! Maybe this little blog could start to have a Saturday Savings post each week...whatcha think? I love any and all feedback.

Happy savings!

grocery deals and freebies!

We had another snow day today.  That means we're into June now before we are out of school for the summer.  Annoying, but it was a good day.  Justin didn't work today, so I got to make breakfast and we spent a relaxing day together around the house.  Once he left for school this afternoon, I was off to the grocery store....coupons have been burning a hole in my coupon album! I was so excited to have a free afternoon to spend as much time as I needed with my grocery list and coupons.  As I mentioned here, we are on a $50 grocery budget...and that has been slashed in half from our first year of marriage.  (Could I get good enough at this that we could slash it in half again for our third year of marriage?!)  Since I had extra time for grocery shopping this week due to the snow day and Kroger was running some really good deals that end Saturday, I went ahead and planned my meals, created my list, organized my coupons and shopped for two weeks worth of groceries.  This includes stocking up on some personal hygiene items we use regularly because of good sales and great coupons.

Here's the stash:

(minus my new Venus Spa razor kit and Olay body wash--for some reason it didn't make it into the pic)

This is $158.77 worth of groceries and other items.

After my Kroger plus savings and coupons I paid......$89.84

I saved.....$26.62 in coupons and $42.31 in Kroger plus savings.  Even including the personal hygiene items that we rarely buy, we came in $10.16 under our two-week grocery budget, or $5.08 per week.  Most of these items will last us even more than two weeks...yay! (Can't wait to see what happens the third week of our grocery budget for March....this is like a game for me!)

Free Items:

-$2.09 Gallon Kroger 2% Milk....Free
-$2.09 Gallon of Kroger Skim Milk...Free
(Kroger is running a promo where you get 2 gallons of milk free when you purchase four Kellogg's or Keebler's items for $2.50 each....however, use $1.75 in coupons like I did for the purchased items, and you get an even better deal!)
-$2.00 6-pack of Diet Cokes....Free
(after purchasing 2-12 pack of diet cokes...plus I used a Kroger coupon for $1.50 off)
-$4.99 Salmon fillets....Free
(Buy one/get one promo...I purchased Gorton's frozen shrimp for $3.99 with a $1.00 coupon and got the salmon free)
-$5.47 23 oz. Olay Body Wash....Free
(after purchasing the Venus Razor kit for $4.94 with a $2 off coupon)
TOTAL FREEBIES:  $16.64

Great Deals:
-$1.99 Suave Body Wash for Men...$0.99 after using a $0.50 coupon that was doubled
-$1.00 Blistex lip balm (with 50% more)....$0.30 after using a $0.35 coupon that was doubled
-$1.00 Trident Layers gum....$0.25 after using at $0.75 coupon
-$2.35 Minute Brown Rice....$1.35 after using a $0.50 coupon that doubled
-$3.69 All Detergent-concentrated on sale....$1.69 after using $1 cut-out coupon and $1 coupon loaded to my Kroger card from their website
-2 @ $1.55 each Right Guard deodorants....$0.55 each after using a $2 off 2 coupon
-Diet Coke...after Kroger coupon for $1.50 off of $10 in soft drinks and a free 6-pack of diet cokes, $0.26 per can

Can you tell I was excited about my great week at the grocery? And I bought a lot of extra stockpile items...not items we don't use...but items we use on a regular basis that were on sale.  Of course, because this is a welcomed challenge for me, I have things I can improve on.  Just taking one step at a time toward spending less money.  Hope this will inspire you!

So what makes my grocery budget work?  I cut out coupons from the Sunday papers, load coupons from Kroger's website onto my Kroger Plus Card, and I print coupons for items I need from websites such as Cellfire.  I also study, study, study those ads, plan our meals for the week before going to the grocery store, and only buy items that we really need.  Check your grocery's website for store-specific deals and coupons loadable to your shopper's reward card.

Happy budgeting!


I'm linking up....

a budget warm and fuzzy

I discussed here how the hubby and I follow Dave Ramsey's envelope system.  (FYI...it's a cash-crazy, insanely intense form of budgeting).  Sounds fun, huh?! Oh...it is! (No sarcasm there...I am budget-crazy enough to really mean that.) Check out his website for details...or email me personally if you have questions of what all the fuss is about.

Anywho...when we first got married I had no, I mean no idea of how to grocery shop for the two of us.  I had done the minimum grocery shopping needed to get me by in the dorm and my apartment in college.....but that didn't prepare me for "wifehood".  Well, so we budgeted a whoppin' $100 a week (yes, I said week) for groceries...for the two of us.  No babies.  Not even a puppy for the first 8 months.  This is where I will give you permission to laugh at me.  Yes, laugh at my ignorance.  It's okay, I'm human. :) Well, let's just say after a year and half of marriage, I kinda feel like I have our eating patterns down.  I know what we need for lunches (we both take our lunch every day to work) and I plan my meals for the week before I go to the grocery.  So I dropped our grocery budget to....drum roll.....$50 a week.  Oh my heart is smiling.  That puts us at a savings of $200 a month.  That's $2400 a year.  I could keep going. My mind plays these little games on the envelope system. 

February has been our first month on this "slashed in half" grocery budget.  Last week I came home sad.  Before leaving, I cut my coupons like crazy (only the ones for items we actually buy), had them organized just-so like I blogged about here, studied Kroger's ad, strategically planned my list according to sections of the grocery so I wouldn't be distracted by running all over the place and could focus on my coupons and unit prices, and I still came in over budget.  With coupons...my total came to $61.00.  Boo.  However, I got home, pouted a little, and my sweet hubby reminded me that I had cut our grocery bill by $39.  With that, I felt better and even more determined to win this fight.

So fast forward to this week's grocery trip.  After reflecting...last week's trip did include our drinks that last us a couple weeks and other items that are a little more expensive, but last us a while.  (I have learned that it seems every other grocery trip is like this.  The next week's trip is usually just for some "necessities" to add to the pantry for the week.) This week was one of those "necessity" trips.  I do use that term lightly...as I am still learning, folks. :)  Are you ready for this? Remember how I told you I get easily excited? Well I was tonight.  Our grocery bill came out to be $28.75! Yay for the "newlywed" wife!

So if you add the previous week's bill, this week's bill, and the $9.50 we paid for Boone's food that we bought this week (yes, we include his food in our grocery budget.....he is our child after all).....we came in at $99.25 for two week's worth of groceries.  (Some of the items of course will continue to carry over into other weeks.)  That means for the first two weeks of this month we have spent what we spent on just one week's groceries in past months.  Oh, I love this!

A few things that made this week's shopping trip so "warm and fuzzy":
-Boone's Purina dog food was on sale from $14 to $11 and then I had a $1.50 off coupon.
-When pouring Boone's food into his bin, we found a "free" coupon for a Purina granola treat...so he got a $3.99 treat for FREE. (We love our frugal puppy.)
-Kroger doubles coupons $.50 and under....even if it says "do not double"....gotta love those grocery rebels!
-Simply the fact that Kroger has great "generic-brand" products that are much cheaper and you don't feel that you are sacrificing quality.

Check out our $28.75 spread....that does include the ingredients to make a heaping amount of that yummy tortilla soup I gave you the recipe for on a previous blog.  (We have snow on the way, people.  A good homemade soup is a must-have!)

Of course, Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace has been a huge inspiration for our budget.  However, for more grocery saving inspiration in the blogging world, visit Money Saving Mom.  You can find great coupon scenarios, printable coupons, freebies, links to other money-saving bloggers and tons of other thrifty tips.

Happy budgeting!! (Don't you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?)


blessings, Cait

decluttering bug

I have the decluttering and organizing bug. 

When I get in this mood....I better utilize it! I love to organize and declutter, but the truth is...I'm not always in the mood.  (Especially in this cold weather when I just want to be a couch potato.) Well the bug hit....one, because the winter weather pretty much traps you in your home with a deathgrip and two, I get inspired by lovely bloggers that I find in this world of blogging.  (Bless you, ladies!) So I did the big project a few weeks ago....the hubby's closet.  (Boo me for not taking a before picture.)  The "after" is still evident.  You'll just have to take my word on this one.  I am thinking positive on this one but my unorganized free-organizational-spirit husband doesn't always keep a space decluttered.  So get excited...you may just get a glimpse into that closet before and after...um...let's say this spring or summer.  (I think he can keep it clean...I think he can keep it clean...)

Now onto the little projects that may seem so silly and trivial to you....but they were driving me crazy! These little projects are three cabinet spaces in our kitchen.  Blah.  You know how you sometimes have to "learn to love" something....well that's me with our kitchen cabinets.  I am grateful for what we have...but it takes creativity to make it work! :)

This is our lovely top cabinet over our awkwardly tall cabinet space that we use as our "pantry".  This houses our lunchboxes, bulk bags of chips (Side note...I'm not a "bulk" shopper, but they were cheaper unit-price wise this week at the grocery store...hint, hint), our George Foreman, tea maker, grill tools, etc.  I look at this and cringe.

Before

After

(Not perfect to you organizing queens...but this works great for us.  Accessible and simple.)

Tupperware......

Really?! I let it get to this?!

(please don't tell Martha Stewart)

Before

After

I matched lids to bottoms, recycled the oddballs, and as you can tell, moved the contents to one of our big drawers.  Ahhh.  I can breath easier...this makes so much more sense in our kitchen.

Where the tupperware was now holds oven mits, new sponges and napkin rings (in the white basket), and my aprons.  (Again, it makes sense.  Oven mits directly next to the oven.  Duh, Cait.)

So no longer can my hubby sit in the living room and crack up as he hears me saying some unpleasant words to the tupperware as they topple out of the cabinet and I shove them back in with one hand while closing the door with the other.  Oh darn.

So there you go....hopefully I'm spreading the decluttering bug to you.  Start little....it'll make your progress so much more rewarding as the projects snowball....(like that Dave Ramsey talk?) 

....Now what else can I declutter and organize?

____________________________________________

p.s.  I moved my 2010 coupon savings running total to my sidebar.  Follow me through the year as I pinch pennies with coupons.  Call me a nerd if you want to...but it's so much fun.  Hope it will inpsire you!

mini-makeovers with pillows

I am a little pillow-crazy. I love how a simple pillow can add so much coziness to a room. So, I have recently completed some mini-makeovers using pillows within our home. Check out the befores and afters.

This fall I changed out our dreary dark red pillows on one of our couches to light, cream colored pillows. I'm not sure if it was the changing seasons or the thought of the creamy, white snow of winter. Whatever it was that inspired me, it's amazing how the new pillows lighten up the room! (Each white pillow was $9.99 at Target.)




Just today I was at Kohl's and found a pair of these great floral pillows for $4 each on super clearance. I could not pass up a deal like that! It really helps cozy up this wicker chair in our living room. (The matching pillow found a home on our extra bedroom bed as I did a little re-arranging with the pillows that were originally on that bed.) See below...



So you may have recently heard the newly coined phrase by thrifty desingers called "shopping your home". We all have that extra "stuff" lying around that we aren't using or that could simply be used in a better way somewhere else in the home. This is a great way to refresh your rooms withouth dishing out any cash from the budget! Well that's exactly what I did...I shopped my home and found these great pillows on the bed in our guest bedroom. Think outside the box...these pillows go with the set from out guest bedroom but look just as great (maybe even better...) with our master bedroom set.
Lastly, you'll see no before pic because we've had this little basket of pillows in our living room since we moved in. I had these pillows but didn't know where to put them...had the basket but nothing to put in it. I loved them both and didn't want to store them in the basement...soooo they become a floor accessory. :)
So you think a room or a few rooms need some refreshing in your home...add (or rearrange) some pillows! You'll love the result!


_________________________________________________
2010 Coupon Savings Running total:
*I saved $5.79 with coupons on my $8.83 Target bill today.
*2010 savings so far....$16.89
(Tip...I had a "buy one get one free" coupon and used a dollar off coupon on the same item. Don't be coupon shy at the store!)


I've linked this post to Thrifty Decor Chick's Before and After Party.

organizing coupons--coupon album

Early in my first year as a newlywed I was going through the grocery store and saw this amazing lady weaving into the aisle next to me. In her hands was something that would change my budgeting life! :) It was the most creative and sensible way to organize coupons. I have been through just piling them in my wallet and using one of those silly small pocket thingies that you can organize the coupons into sections. No offense if that works for you....I just hated flipping through the coupons in the sections. Check out this amazing invention.....

Purchase a small flimsy picture album.

(You can purchase these for under $1 at places like Wal-Mart).

Cut your coupons out and simply slide them into the pages where you would normally place pictures.

I like to organize mine with food coupons in the front, Boone's dog food and treat coupons next, then household item coupons (dish detergent, toothpaste, etc.), and finally department store and restauraunt coupons in the back.

Yes, GENIUS! This has made my coupon organization so easy that I use a coupon almost everywhere I go. I am never without my coupons because this light album fits right in my purse. Go for it, you'll be amazed by how easy it is to access your coupons!

_____________________________________________

2010 Coupon Savings Running total:

*I saved $7.60 with coupons on my $74.00 grocery bill today.
*2010 savings so far....$12.10


I'm linking this post to Thrifty Decor Chick's So Fresh and So Clean Party

"SNOW!!!!"

Wow. That's all I can say about my last three days.

Not only are the kiddos CRAZY after getting back from Christmas....ahem....Winter Break, but we are now expecting the largest amount of snow we've had this season. That makes for craziness among the younger bunch! :)

A glimpse into my day....
(Soft, quiet music playing in the background in hopes that it will soothe their little, busy minds)
As we're packing up to go home I hear these shouts...and yes, SHOUTS.
"You know, we're going to have a snow day tomorrow."
"Yeah, at first it was supposed to come in on Friday, but now it's coming in overnight."
"I'll call you if we have a snow day. I CAN'T WAIT"
"I don't want a snow day. I'll cry."
"Have you heard of Costco? Well, we got a new sled at Costco."
As teeny, tiny...maybe you could see with a magnifying glass...snowflakes spit in the sky....
"Mrs. Gentry...it's already SNOWING!"

I go back to my original word to sum up the day....Wow.

Hehe, gotta love those little cuties though...they make the day so fun and eventful.

______

Oh yeah....I'm starting a coupon savings running total for 2010. This is because I'm curious as to just how convenient my coupon commotion truly is.

I have only spent money at Kroger so far in 2010 (wow, really?)....my total savings, $4.50.

______

Whew....after not blogging over my entire "Winter" Break....I have so much to say! I've always been a wordy writer...big plus for college!

Anyways...
Final thought for today....think about how your actions affect others. truly. in every aspect of your day....God only promises us today. Make the most of it and love on others.


xoxo, Cait

oh..and ps...I got an iPhone for Christmas and iAm oh so lovin' it! more on the helpful, very useful, and just plain fun apps.