Fall Time Savings

It should be no surprise that I love I bargain!  I especially love it when it is for such a high volume item.  Couponing is actually nothing more than a game.  You have to learn the rules, read between the lines and hunt for the deals.  Although most places leave the accepting of a coupon up to the manager's discretion, if you go in there armed with your whits, confidence and charm, you are gonna get the deal.  

Perfect example.  I had 2 different coupons for the same product.  For Herbal Essence products, one was a "buy one get one free" AKA B1G1.  The other was for $3 off of 2 Herbal Essence Shampoo/Conditioners.  A lot of times it will say on coupons, "one coupon per item", but neither of these did! :)  Now it was just a matter of getting the manager to accepts it, and they did!  I paid $0.19 a bottle.  SCORE!!!!  It was not wrong and it was just a matter of using the coupon and it's working to my advantage.

Next deal I had was for Gillette Razors.  Although we are fond of the more expensive type of razors, (the more blades the better the shave for husband who shaves his head), a great deal on them makes them great!  I again had 2 coupons.  One was a B1G1 the other again was for $3.00 off.  The coupon stated you buy one of any pack of Gillette razors you get the Gillette Mach Turbo for free.  It had a value of nearly $9.00.  Since the buy part technically didn't use a coupon to save, they let me use the $3.00 on the cheaper razors that were priced $4.59 a pack.  When all was said and done, I paid $1.59 for one cheap and one Turbo razor.                                                                                                      

I have only had luck a couple of times with tooth brushes, and now make that 3!  I found the mother load of coupons for Reach!  They are for $2 off a Reach product.  And while at Walmart, I found a 2 pack of the Reach Crystal toothbrushes for $1.97!  There was no limit on how many you could use, the only stipulation was one coupon per product, not a problem!  I think I bought 15 packs and I still have about 15 coupons.  The only reason I didn't get more is because I hate to wipe out a shelf if I don't have to.  The coupons are good until sometime next year, so I can go back and use them up sometime soon.

My last great buy of the week was Treeseme products.  There were a lot of B1G1 free coupons out there this week.  This was a surprise deal, because for one, I don't usually use this brand and for 2 I didn't know the deal was there until I was at the store.  We were are CVS picking up some medicine for one of our kiddos.  We always scan our cards at the Kiosk every time we are there.  We both got coupons for $2 Tresemme product and $1 ECB (extra care bucks).  While paying for the medicine, we then got another $3 ECB!  I thought I might as well look at see what the shampoo.conditioner was on sale for.  SALE!  They were regularly priced $4.99, on sale for 2/$7 and I on top of the CVS coupons, I had one for B1G1, by a shampoo and conditioner, get a styling product for free, (up to a $6 vaule).  They also have their bonus bucks (or some name like that for program) going on.  So here's the math:

$3.50 -Shampoo
$3.50 -Conditioner
$3.50 -Hair Spray
Total
$10.50

Savings:
$2 CVS coupon
$2 CVS double days bonus
$3 ECB
$3.50 manufacturer's coupon

Grand total...FREE, (well, I paid $0.16 in tax).

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!  Until next time, save big!!!!

  

Oops, I did it again!

This evening I had no intention of finding any deals at the store.  In fact, I just went to the store to buy a few items for Grandma's birthday dinner tomorrow.  I didn't even have my coupon book with me for crying out loud.  I have noticed that the store had a grocery cart full of Ken's Salad Dressing for $0.99 for about the past week.  It was 3 different flavors, all of which I like, but the expiration was around mid November, so I had no intention of stocking up.  Until tonight...

After seeing the cart, and starting to  turn away, the wall behind us caught my attention.  It was lined with tons of the salad dressing!  I saw a paper on a lot of the bottles and upon closer inspection I realized they were coupons.  $1 off coupons at that!  Making them FREE!  I grabbed up a ton of them, and I know we will never use them all.  But the Harvester's Food Collection barrels are at the exit of the store, I had it figured out! I am also going to give most away to co-workers, family and such.

I just happened to glance to the left of the Ken's dressing and saw an equally as large display of Sweet Baby Ray's, on sale for $1 with $1 off coupons on them!  I grabbed up 25.  The BBQ sauce doesn't expire for over a year, so we kept every bottle.  We like to BBQ!  In the picture you will notice the Bic Flame Discs.  I didn't get those tonight, but wanted to share with you the great deal, as they were also free!  I got them last week.  

As you can see on the receipt, I spent only $4.18 for the salad dressing and BBQ sauce.  With a total savings of $195.96 off of the regular price.  So, for not planning on getting any really great deals and being unarmed without my coupons, I would say I did pretty damn good! I love surprise bargains!  These were special coupons by the way.  They are sent to the store in the box with the products.  They never know when they will get them. It seemed to be a good way for the store to get rid of the older stock to make room for more.  They will get back exactly the price they were asking for it.  It was a win-win kind of deal!  

If any of you run across this kind of deal, I highly suggest taking advantage of it and to the extreme if no limit is stated by the store.  But PLEASE, do NOT hoard!  Pass on the good fortune of your couponing deals to others.  Pay it forward, and more good deals will come your way!

Gold Medal Shopping!

I love a bargain, who doesn't!  But I really love free and I did it again!  I just wish I had more computers to print these from!  Last nights deal was Neutrogena Transparent facial bars.  They are normally $1.96 at Target and Walmart.  Thanks to my handy dandy $2.00 off any Neutrogena Face Product coupon, FREE!  It was again the play on words, the picture on the coupon was of make up, but it stated "face product".  One website I found suggested using the coupon for the Facial Cleaning Wipes, (7 ct package).  That is what I went there for, and apparently so did everyone else in the area.  It took about 10 seconds for my husband to spot the soap bars.  We snatched up all that we had coupons for and away we went to check out.  

This weekend I have a few sales to hit with my coupons.  My local double couponing store has a special on softsoap, $0.89!  I have $0.40 off coupons, that double!  Score!  Ken's Salad Dressing is going to be another big one, it's on sale for $0.99 and the coupon is $1 off of 2!  

Other deals I like to hit are the "buy this and we give you that for free"...so, at Sunfresh I have to purchase 4 lbs of their ground chuck @ $2.99/lb and I get Taco Bell brand sauce, seasoning, refried beans, Kraft shredded cheese and lettace...all for FREE!  That is such an awesome deal, we might just do it twice! 

Shampoo is a good one that I like, but I am picky about my hair.  After coupons and sale price, I will get the goods for a$1 a bottle!  It's on sale for 2/$5, and my coupon for 2 different brands are each $3 off of 2 bottles.  

I am always on the hunt for a good bargain, and I think this is going to be a good weekend to shop!  Until the next big deal...happy couponing! 

Oh Yeah, free razors and Bath and Body Works Sale!

I can proudly say, I have FINALLY gotten free razors!  It may sound like a small accomplishment, or it might make me sound like a freak...but it seems like its in every couponer's basic stockpile, free razors.  How the heck have they been doing it all this time?  I know that I have missed a couple of deals, either because I didn't realize the deal was there or the deal was so good, the store was sold out the entire time the coupon was valid. 

I was only able to get 8, that was all the store had left and I only had 10 of the coupons anyway.  And I need to rephrase the "free", I actually made $0.12 on each pack of them, go me, lol.  That is my big braggin' deal of the week.  I didn't use many other coupons this weekend.  I plan to have a bigger trip this next weekend.  I am have been keeping a lookout for the small bottles of Dawn dish soap to go on sale for $0.99 again.  I have some coupons that are itching to be used!  I still have about 15 bottles, but soap is a great stockpile item and I like to get the freebies!  I also have some coupons that are for one free health bar of some sort.  I can't remember the name right now, and I don't know if they are good or not, lol.  But, they are free and that makes it worth trying!  

Another of my favorites to stock up on is Softsoap...it's not as easy to score a great deal on it, but once in a while I get lucky with it!  Last time I had coupons I lucked out and my double coupon store had some of the Softsoap in the clearance section.  It was marked from 25%-50% off the price and then I used my coupons.  I don't think I paid more than $0.50 a bottle.  And the worst bottle had a cracked pumped.  I just poured it into another bottle.  It was a great deal!

Now, if my my most favorite soap was ever to be that cheap...I would be in Heaven!  I have a fascination with Bath and Body Works products.  But I also have 6 sinks to stock with hand soap.  For the most part, the kids' sinks do not get the Bath and Body Works stuff, lol.  My 8 year old would have a bottle gone in about 3 days!  However, right now they are having yet again another HUGE sale.  The antibacterial soaps are priced at 7 for $20, then I have a 20% off coupon code to use.  Plus, I have a coupon for a free "Signature Collection" item when I spend $10 or more.  It will take 2 transactions to use both of my savings, but well worth it!  

So, that is my savings and shopping for the past few days.  I will post any other deals I run across.  Until then...save BIG! 

I'm Baaaack!

Well, after taking a little break from couponing while we moved, I jumped back into it head first!  It has been about a month since I bought a newspaper, so most of my coupons were expired, (*sigh)...but last week was the perfect week to resume my coupon collecting!  I found some great coupons that I cashed in on this week, just check out the pic below:

I left the store with 30 packs of Bic pens, for FREE!  I got the coupon last week for $1 off 2 Bic Stationary products.  I was fairly certain with back to school sales I would be able to strike a good deal, and boy did I! I am sure that I have more than my family will ever need, but someone is always asking for something to write with around our house, now we're set! 



My next big score was Suave Deodorant, $0.15 each!  You read that right!  They offered 2 sizes, so I chose the smaller one which was $1.15.  Armed with my $0.50 coupons that doubled, I stocked up! These were not trial sizes and granted they do not last too long, but $0.15, it was well worth it! 

Franks Hot Sauce is always a good one, and something we will never run out of!  We usually get it for about $0.25 a bottle, (again, the little bottle). I have found a few new ways to use it, and need to work a few more.  I LOVE to coupons that do not have exclusions on them, but if they do it is usually a "no trial size" exclusion.  With that said, I had $0.50 off coupons for Band Aid Brand Adhesive Bandages.  The coupon stated no trial size.  I happen to find the travel pack size, at $0.99 each.  It's all in the wording, travel and trial are not the same thing and the store agreed with me, so I got a bunch for FREE! 

It's not always about the coupons, sometimes these great deals can happen without coupons, you just have to watch out for them!  It pays to research and read every ad!  I would normally never shop at some of these store I get ads for, but sometimes their deals are too amazing to pass up!  We took advantage of the sales that Office Depot had for school supplies.  I know they place these items all over the store to get you in and buy something else, but we were on a mission!  Armed with the ad and my husband, we both went after the limit on these products and this is what we each got:  

-3 packages of notebook paper, $0.25 ea

-3 bottles of school glue, $0.01 ea

-3 packs or 3 erasers, $0.25 ea

-3 pencil sharpeners, $0.25 ea

After taxes, we each paid $2.48...it was about a $10 savings! 

Out of all the products purchased during this shopping trip, the only thing I paid full price for were the 2 drinks we got at the checkout at the grocery store.  It was such a successful trip that it really made me feel like I had accomplished something BIG!  It peaked my interest into full swing again.  I felt weird this past month shopping without any coupons.  I still priced matched at Walmart, but I felt like I was missing something...it was SAVINGS!  I have my ears open and my eyes peeled for the next great deal.  It's time to build back up my reserve and get better at this whole couponing thing!  And this savings shown above is just how I do it!  

Free for Me!

                                                        


I love a great deal and I have found a few lately!  Yesterday was a goldmine! Coupons for $7 off any Allegra...that equaled 11 free boxes!  Also, one of our local grocery stores seems to always have the 9 oz. Dawn dish soap on sale for $0.99.  This is also the store that doubles coupons up to $0.50.  I had coupons for $0.25 off regular Dawn and $0.50 off the Olay ones...which equaled FREE for the Olay!  Here's to better looking dish pan hands at no cost! LOL  


I have yet to find one of those great overages or totally cheap trip total, but I will forge on and enjoy the savings I am finding while still trying to make the big score.  I have gotten behind again on clipping my coupons, and the pile was starting to get out of control.  In fact, some of the coupons had expired by the time I finally got to them.  I would like to come up with a new way to organize them...maybe where I do not have to clip them.  This is where a tablet would come in handy.  I can just sort them all and enter the info into a program on a tablet.  It could save me tons of time!  I could have expiration dates and such all organized and then it would make it a lot easier than flipping through like I do now.  What I need to make that happen is a few good weeks of deals to save up some money!  lol  That's what my husband would say anyway, lol.

                                                 


I continue to stock up on items that I find great deals on, and I try to avoid things I would not normally purchase.  I also try to avoid junk food, candy and such...unless it is such a deal that I can't pass it up!  Oh!  We did get 2 other GREAT bargains!  We got toothpaste for $0.10 and tooth brushes for $0.30!  They were all on clearance at Walmart and I had COUPONS!  It was one of those weeks where I wish I had more papers!  But I was still happy...got 6 tubes of tooth paste and 12 toothbrushes.  Those are the bargains I love to find!  I have also been lucky on laundry soap a few times.  One of the grocery stores around here has a little clearance rack with all kinds of items.  Usually the times are about 50% off the regular price.  I have been lucky to have coupons when they had laundry soap.  And it usually when the bottle gets dented or something, lol.  I can still use it! 

                                                


That is about all of the savings I can ramble on about right now.  I will let you know about the next big deal as soon as it happens!  Until then, keep clipping and saving!

Size Matters

                                                  




OK, just when I think I am starting to get the hang of this coupon thing, I see someone at the store who is totally kicking ass at it!  I mean TOTALLY!  I actually had coupon envy.  She made my binder feel inadequate and ashamed of  her small size...it was a sad, sad day indeed! :(  They TONS of dog food products, dry packages, (the smaller ones) and canned.  There was other stuff, but it was already bagged.  And to top it off, she wasn't really all that nice.  She didn't like that we tried to speak to her about coupons.  I think she was looking down on my binder size, lol.  She had a lot of overage we decided.  What we don't know is where she gets that many coupons, because I will tell you what, that particular woman was not dumpster diving for them! lol


She had well over 100 bags of dog food and I am not sure of other amounts.  But there was a coupon for each one...On a good week I might, and I mean MIGHT be able to get 20 same coupons.  Hmmmm...at the most of Internet coupons I can get 12 on a good day.  I print 2 of each coupon off of all 5 of our computers and one set from work.  WTH?  I have got to figure this out and build up my resources.  

                                              


These TV shows make it seem like these couponers plan for months to make these big shopping trips happen.  Well, that to me seems impossible.  They can't plan that far in advance. Sale ads are a week to week thing and as far as I know, coupons previews are not listed any more than a week ahead of time.  Am I missing something here?  It seems to me that you have a few weeks at the most to get your coupons in order and hope the store put these items on sale.  Maybe I need to research this a little more.  I wanna save more!!!!


I got very behind on clipping my coupons, I was backed up for a month and even missed some good deals because of it.  I won't let that happen again.  It is a time consuming job, but it is paying off.  My little stock pile has gotten other's interested.  And it is no where near the amount as the ones on the TV show.  I can only dream of that someday!  I continue to use certain stores to get the most for our money.  One store I would never go to often I frequent often now because they double coupons and have improved their sales.  They offer several deals a week via text messages and those alone have saved me tons in the past few weeks!  And of course the good old Walmart price match...now if they would just double coupons, I would be saving a couple of trips!


I have been learning the ropes of stacking and it seems the best place around for that is Target.  You can get some items nearly free!  Its still a big game and I am still learning the rules.  I still plug away at that one time goal of the big score shopping trip!  Until next time...

                                                    




       

Where Are The Deals?

As much as I would love to say I saved soooo much money, it is just not the truth.  I tried, and did OK at one store.  My savings were 37%.  With Walmart, I think I saved more money with price matching.  I got some great deals though, so I am not totally disappointed.  My best bargain was the Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner I got for $1 a bottle after price matching and coupons.   Sure did beat paying $2.84 a bottle!  We also got a bargain on Soft Soap...the 1st store had some in their clearance section that was marked down 25% to 50%, then I used the $0.40 off coupons which the store doubled!  I don't think I paid more $0.50 a bottle.


There were a few more little bargains, but I can't help but to think I am missing something.  How in the heck do these other couponers do it?  How do they get those bargains every single trip and pay little to nothing?  I realize the show really exaggerates and spotlights the best ones, but they still have a knack and I want to know what it is!


I have found only one store (Walmart) in my metro area that will pay overage and with the surge in couponing use, the trial size money making deals are becoming far and few between.  Not that I am picky, but I do not like to buy much of my fresh meat from Walmart.  I just have standards and it is tough to get a good deal.  But I am willing to pay for a good product, I would just love to get it cheap! lol  


So, I picked up my papers today for the Sunday coupons.  There were not a lot of great ones, but enough to make it worth the trip.  I will search the Internet far and wide, possibly search some recycling dumpsters...all in the name to ave the all mighty dollar!  Stay tuned!!!!!

So, this week was a bust for my couponing...don't get me wrong, I used coupons, but it wasn't much!  To make it worse, I went to a store closer to my house and I am not very familiar with the layout yet, that might have kept me from finding a better bargain.  This weeks goal was to make a list, stick to the list and keep it cheap.  With the holidays, we needed to keep costs down as much as possible with no extras.  And it would make sense that coupons would help with that.  But actually when I am saving money, I am also spending it.  Are you lost yet?   


Let me explain...I have found the "golden ticket" of coupons several times now.  That is when I find a coupon that will make an item free or nearly free.  Or just down right cheap for that item.  That is when you want to find multiple coupons like that and stock up.  A couple of weeks ago it was like that for canned goods and frozen veggies.  I paid no more than $0.25 a can for the canned veggies and about $0.50 a bag for the frozen ones.  Veggies are now off of my shopping list for a while.  I also stocked up on canned fruit at $0.50 a can during that time.  So, in the long run I will save money by getting it that cheap, but I have to pay for it all up front.  Hence the spending money to save money.


We have done that with several things and are starting to get the hang of it, but it is not as easy as they make it look on TV! lol  We are learning that these product coupons come out in cycles, sometimes they are great ones, other times you wonder why they bothered to spend more on the paper than the coupon was worth.  It is a lot of work, time and effort to make this work but I am determined!  I dream of having a stock pile like some of the people of the show Extreme Couponing.  I would love to be able to go to my pantry and know I have tons of needed items.  


I have also noticed that when you get those coupons, and use it to stock up, the next time they come around the price has been raised or the coupon value is dramatically lower.  It slightly irks me to see them do that.  Just because we have figured out a way to use the coupons to their full advantage and get a great deal is no reason to make it harder.  If you do not want all of those coupons used, then do not publish that many...gezzzz!


So, with the start of the new year, I vow to to rule this couponing game and save my family some money while getting great deals!  I know this blog is a slow work in progress, but please check back frequently and I will keep you informed of the great deals I come across!