Never shop when hungry, or when sick with flu.

I told my self I wouldn't go shopping until this coming Friday before little man's bday party. Well, we needed things. Like diapers,milks,juice, and something for me to throw in the oven and get it out when the timer goes off. I also needed one of those neat snack cups for my baby, this way the dog can not get them and little man won't make a huge mess....again. 

I went to Publix this morning and did ok at my shopping. Not the best deals but then again I only went there for milk and Tylenol cold. Which I got, along with Texas toast(it was bogo free and I had 2 mfc's for a total of $1 off, so it was $1.89 for 2 boxes.)  Then I got cereal for hubby. Raisin Bran and cinnamon toast crunch. Little man needed littlest man food, so I got more of that.  Sorry to say but no pics of that small haul.

 Then later after a regretful bowl of chili and a baby without a nap we went to Target. It was part 2 of shopping as we needed diapers and juice. And umm...makeup. There is always room for that. Hey, I am high maitenence mama. I want to look good. And most of my Maybeline was less than $2. I also got a Rimmel lipgloss for $2.  

This all cost me $50 before coupons it was more than $75. Let's face it diapers are expensive. And not only that I had to get extras. Like the juice. The 3 cans of Iams were free. Actually I made money on them. $1.70 for 3 cans and I had a coupon for $2 off 3 so, they were free with a 30cent profit.

The makeup was cheap too.

The E.L.F brush was only a dollar but worth it. They make great brushes. The Mascara was only $2 after coupons and the nail polish by Maybeline was only $1.89. I am the master of getting shampoos,conditioners,and serums free or $1. That Loreal Sleek it, was only $.99! Who said you can't afford to get that stuff for great hair? You can and it is awesome stuff. One post I'll have to show you the stock pile of my bathroom. Once you see that you will do it too.

Ok, so how did I manage that? So, Target had it on sale for $3.99 I had a sc for $1 off and a mfc for $2 off. Math. It was only $.99. Yes that is right $.99! 

Diapers, let's talk diapers before my medicine kicks in and I get a nap while hubby watches boy. (Hubby took his sick nap already ) 

The pampers baby dry were $8.99 every day. I had a mfc for $1.50 off and a sc for $.50 off. That made it $6.99 for the bag. The wipes were on sale for $5.49, I had a mfc for $1.50(which is rare) and a sc for $.50; each bag cost $3.49 that is a great deal!  Over all I would say not too bad, definitely not one of my best trips but ok, none the less. I wasn't at my best either, almost puked while shopping.Be sure to check out the coupon links at the top of the blog for some super savings! 

A day without booger; a bag of groceries, and a glass of wine.

I won't start this by saying oh I went shopping for an hour and saved $50 at Target or Walmart, or wherever. Nope, I am going to start this post by saying I went shopping from 11 am to 8pm, and oh my god I am tired! #mydogsarebarking I went shopping for 8 hours to 4 different stores! All this, just to get that "good" deal. Well folks I did it. I spent a little over $200 but saved $3-400. I have had a glass or two of Moascato, so I am estimating. It is somewhere between $3-400 saved. Wine. 

 I guess in the overall big picture I saved a bit. And I got things to donate to charity. The local Lutheran church gives food to those in need with an open pantry to those who need food. And believe me I know what it is like to go without. And it is rough. It is why I coupon and why I will never stop. I now have so much in my stock that I don't have to shop for a month! Or two. And I am prepared for any financial catastrophe. So, in the event of cataclismic financial issues, we can survive off the stock for months. Yay. 

Our first stop was at Windixie, which is an ok store to shop. Their coupon policy is a bit strange but I did get good bargains. For instance, wine, #herewegoagain was only 2 for $10. And here lately Barefoot wine is $6.97,so this was a great deal! I saved $1.97 on each bottle. So, their coupon policy. If there is a bogo, you can only use 1 mfc and 1 sc. You can not stack the mfc. Bummer. I tried that today....nope. But one this item fabreeze scents; I got on sale and used a coupon. $1.47 for a cartridge. And it was a Christmas pine scent. (Hides cat smell.)  great right?

Then we went to Walmart. And I stocked up on cat food for $2.47 a bag. I had mfc from my coupon site  for $2 off any size Iams cat food. They had a small bag for $4.47. I got a bunch of them along with dog food, tooth brushes for my son, Pampers(not pictured), and Easter stuff. I also got FREE makeup from Wet n' wild cosmetics. How? Well, a $1.00 off any Fergie or regular cosmetic item by that company from the paper. The eye liner was $.93 and the nail Polish was $.93 soooo, free. 

Excuse my Olive Garden box..I got hungry. 

Then we went to Target. This is where I saved a bunch. People let me tell you, Target is a coupon gold mine. If you play the field right you can walk out with so much stuff it is crazy! If you have Redcard and you have the Cartwheel, you can save extra on each item. Example: Glade wax melts. They were on sale for $2.99 each. I had a sc (store coupon) for $1.50 off two and I had a mfc(manufacturer coupon) for $1 off two. There was a Cw for 5% off and Redcard is an extra 5% so, it was roughly $3.14 for two. If you want per item it is $1.57 each. Not bad. There was also a sale on Colgate white mouthwash. This was a steal! $2.99 on sale, sc for $1 and mfc for $1 along with Redcard . I got it for less than $1. I took advantage of that the day before.

Yesterday.

So, I got another bottle. Then there was a good deal on baby food. I had sc and several mfc for $ 1 off two Gerber Graduates baby cereal.  It came to about $.74 a container. I stocked up.My boy needs variety. 

He also got green beans. His fave. The cat litter was $7.49 and I got it for $4.49 after my high value coupon. Mfc $3 off! The spree in the picture was free! They were 10 for $10 and I had $1 coupon for $1 off. The French mustard was $.58. The picture above was photo one of two.

I got my hubby dark chocolate m&ms I had a Cw, sc, and mfc. So they were cheap. $2.99 a bag I got $2.50 off two and the 25% off Cw. Wow. I basically got one bag free.

Glade again. The Mio was on sale for $2.50 I got each one for $1 after the mfc. The Loreal hair, I had a Catalina for $1 off.  Catalina's are coupons that print after or during a transaction, to be used on the next transaction. Cvs has these a lot.  Then I had the mfc for $2 off. I got it for $.99! Yay! The Purex crystals were on clearance. I got each one for $2 and the Downy for $ 2 after sc and mfc's. The Party mix was on sale for $1.50 a bag and I had sc and mfc. Each bag was less than a dollar. The Glade sprayer was $7.99 I had a mfc for $3 off then a rebate from checkout51 for $3, making it $1.99! 

I loved saving the money and if you don't include my bracelet I only spent $80 on groceries here.

Publix.

This picture did not include the freezer items. Which needs to be frozen. So they were not in the picture. I got 12 Maruchan Yokisoba noodles for FREE! I have been holding on to these coupons and there it was a bogo at Publix for these. Normally priced at $.99 each, my coupon for $1 off two made each and everyone free. That is nuts. The Pure Via stevia had a sc for $1 off , I also had mfc's for $1 off. Each box was $2.49 each , after coupons I only paid $.49 each. I had coupons for everything but the vinegar and formula. The razors I got were $9.99 to $10.99 each. I had a sc for $3 off and a mfc for $4 off. Each pack was $2.99 to $3.99. I could not pass that up, ahem it is getting hot again in Fl and that means dresses and shorts. The Pedigree Dentastix was bogo, each set of 2 only cost $1 after a Target sc and a mfc. Along with all the coupons I had Ibotta and checkout51 rebates. This is where you earn cash back for certain items purchased. These are available in the App Store or on google play. As well as online. Combine this with coupons for lots of savings.  

My total at the register was over $200. We all got excited watching the amount go down from the coupons. I love seeing the total go up, nothing better than a slight financial freak out. Then I absolutly love seeing the total go down. One day it will be lower that that, but for now I do not have to shop for a long long time. And the last thing I wanna see is another grocery store as of right now. 

Saturday shopping spree, save save save!

Yeah, I was the girl in line at Target taking forever at checkout. With my stack of coupons I was on fire! I did amazingly well, until I got outside and realized I forgot to use my Target cartwheel. Yay. I am so awesome like that! So, go figure I could have save extra, I always forget something. Like stamps. I always forget stamps! 

Ok, there were some great deals and steals today in grocery land. I got the Heft on sale for $6.95 and used a coupon I had printed from my site for $1.25 off. $5.70 for the box minutes an additional 5% for having the Redcard debit. My milk(not shown) was free after two boxes of Raisin Bran with a coupon, I also had an Ibotta offer off a dollar back and a rebate from checkout51 for the same.I had some great Catalina's for my Gerber baby foods. The mouth was was on sale for $2.99 I had a $1.00 off Target coupon and I am sure I had an extra mouth wash coupon somewhere, but couldn't find it this morning. I had some left over Garnier Fructise coupons Valued at $2 each and got 4 bottles of the stuff for .99 cents each. The Mitchum deodorant was on sale for $2.67 a stick, I had a coupon worth $2 off. Each deodorant was .67 cents. The Secret was a stick for $2.47 and I had a coupon from the manufacturer for $2 off just for writing to them. The French's Mustard was an unadvertised deal,originally $5 Target had it on sale for $1.25 and I had a coupon for .75 cents off. Each bottle only cost .50 cents. Then the items I was most excited about(call me a dork) was the Iams cat food and the Windex. Ok so, Target has a coupon for $1.00 off the Windex touch ups . Then There is a printable  coupon for $1.00 off, this is a mfc. You combine two Target sc's and one mfc, with the mfc bogo coupon. The Windex is $3.49 in Fl, so you used the $3 worth of coupons and only have to pay ........ $.49 for TWO. Seriously, if you hung on to those Windex coupons from a couple of papers ago you too can be rolling in kitchen or bathroom cleaner. I love this deal! Ok then the next one is the cat food. Target has the small cans of Iams cat food on sale for $.59 a can. You can print an Iams coupon for $2 off three. I made $.23 off each set of three, which goes towards my other items.Neat right? I am giving them away to a friend as my cats don't eat them. I never just put things in my stock pile to just "look pretty". I also stocked up on coffee creamer for hubby. $3.98 for two there was a Target printout for $1 off two combine that with the mfc from last Sunday paper and it is only $1.75 for two creamers. Or $.87 (rounded) per creamer, if you like it that way.  Then there is the glade stuff. Yes, I am going to discuss it. Each one was  $2.99 total was $5.98 I had a coupon for $1.50 from Target. I also had a mfc of $1 off. Each set was $3.45 or  $1.74 each and yes there were Cw offers and Ibotta. *sobs quietly*  

I got the Alexia potatoes with a Target coupon and two mfc so $3 off of them making it $5.58 for both and there was a 25% off CW. Bahhh. Would have been $4.19, oh barnacles! 

Over all I spent $180 after coupons and Redcard it was only $70 (before tax) so  not bad. Not bad at all. You need to coupon. It only takes one transaction and you are hooked. Not only hooked but kicking yourself for not doing it sooner. 

$1.97 Revlon and $.24 bic pens.

It was deal hunting day and I found some great deals and I really wanted to share them! At Walmart there was a great deal on hair color by Revlon, it was the color silk butter cream which is the newer kind. In the paper there should have been $3.00 off the color. Normally priced at $4.42 it was after the coupons $1.42 a box! I stocked up! Yes, I am addicted to hair color. As well as deodorant buying, but when it is free, why not? I got more Mitchum deodorant for free, after the $2 off coupon! Using the price match garuntee I was able to get them to match Publix sale price of $1.99;making my deodorant FREE!  Then let us talk pens. Bic pens are only $.24 after the $1 off coupon. Get the crystal ten pack and you can get pens for $.24, this would be great for school supplies.  Then I got more maybeline mascara. It was rolled back to $4.97 and I had a Walmart coupon for $2 off Maybeline mascara. This made my mascara $2.97. I hate paying full price! 

 

It is truly a great deal to take advantage of. And I would have gotten 2 Windex touch ups for $1.97 if they had them in stock. Target has coupons for a $1 off one and I have a manufacturer coupon for bogo. Using 2 $1 off coupons and that coupon makes it $1.97 for both. Or $.99 each. Sadly they were out. 

I also got little man a walker. He is so far liking it, but can't figure out how to make it vroom vroom. 

Couponing chic; getting started.

Thou shall not pay retail. That is what you should think while in the check out line, anywhere. Restaurants, home improvement stores, clothing stores, and especially grocery stores! If you could cut your grocery bill in half, why wouldn't you coupon? The typical excuses are these; I work, I have kids, I have no time, I am just not that committed. Ok, those are just bull. You make time. My sister has 3 kids and is doing it. She doesn't do it as an extreme couponer but as a practical shopper. She is also a working mom, so MAKE TIME. No PC?  Then go to the library. Don't get newspaper? Start. You will be greatful. And check out some great coupon sites. I have some great coupons pages here and here. 

The basics are to know your circulars for stores. Get to know the deals and then think about how to save. Here are some examples.

Example one.

Okay, so your store has a buy one get one free deal on say, cereal. You have 2 manufacturer coupons for say $.75 off one. Well, since you are buy two(one is free) you can combine he coupons. That is a $1.50 off the one box! So, if the box was $3.99 for something like Kelloggs Special K cereal, it would be $2.49 for both boxes or $1.25 per box,rounded up. That is a great deal!

Now, if the store allows competitor coupons you can use that as well! For instance Publix will allow competitor coupons. And say Target had a coupon for the Special K cereal for $1.00 off 2. You could use it! So then after that coupon, it would be $1.49 for both boxes!!! Why wouldn't you do it? Why wouldn't you do that? This is when knowing the store policy is helpful.

Example 2:

The store has soy milk 2for 5. This instance is different than above. You can use the 2 manufacturer coupons still. Now, say you only have a coupon for $1.50 off two. And you have a store coupon for $.75 off one. You can combine them! 2 store coupons and the one manufacturer coupons, super savings there. So $3 off $5, that is $2 for 2 soy milks. One dollar each! Makes it worth it! 

Know the policy.

This important people. The coupon policy can be the register death of many couponers. Even the seasoned couponer can fall prey to a sudden coupon change. I experienced it, and blogged about it here. I didn't realize that Publix will only allow 1 Target coupon for a like item in one transaction. If I had known I would have split my transactions up.You really need to keep up with store policies on coupons as well as price matching. My suggestion would be to keep a print out of the policy. As well as price matching policies if they offer it, like Walmart does. As well as coupon doubling, it all should be there. Keep it with you, as you may need it. This is when having a binder for coupons makes that possible and easy. You don't have to spend a lot on one, and inserts are easy to get in bulk from Amazon.

Where to get coupons?

That is easy at the same time hard. You can print out coupons from my coupon databases as well as going to the manufacturer. I will later on tell you other ways to get them. This is the basic. Some sites allow 2 coupons to be printed per PC . But, you can print 2 off every PC in the house.  You can get the paper from stores. And some stores have digital coupons as well a apps. Target, for instance has the cartwheel app, this fabulous for extra savings. 

This is a good place for me to leave off, for now. Comment down below if there is anything you want to add or ask. 

New toy,and a deal.

Last night I finally got an iPad. It is what I expected and then some. Definitely a more blogger friendly tablet. Let's face it, iPad is a tablet. I have been told that it is not, it is an iPad. It is a tablet. Let's move on. I got iPad air, and yes, I like it.  It made my day better, after dealing with my teething baby. Yesterday was a bad day for him. I wish I could make it better, nothing worse than your baby in pain. Nothing. Poor little man. 

I was up most of the night thinking. About something good and thinking about little man #mylittleluv. It was a great deal on cat litter. The new cat litter by Arm and Hammer Clump and seal. Target has it on sale and there are coupons for it. Like on the box the coupon is for $3 off now and $3 off later. When a new product is release a high value coupon is used. Nice right?  I have a store coupon for $1off. So $3.99 for a box of litter. I can get 2 boxes for the cost of one. I am going to take advantage of that. And then get a  Target debit card for an additional 5% off. Super savings, cause be realistic cat litter is expensive. 

More for Target, ok want free dental floss? I posted about this on Gofashiondeals, but will share here too. Go to Target.com to print out $1 off one oral care item. It can be used on any Up & Up brand oral care item. This coupon can be found under beauty in the coupon section. So, the dental floss is normally $.99 the coupon will make it $0.00, absolutley free! 

 These deals are fantastic! Take advantage!

Today I became a shelf clearer....almost.

Today I finished up my cvs shopping. I got Tide for around $1.75 a bottle. That is for the 32 load bottles that were on sale. For 5 of those, a regular Dawn, and a Panteen Shampoo; I only paid $ 17. Thanks to my Pampers shopping. By the way I did a cruisers instead of easy ups. I almost cleared the Dawn shelf. Yeah....I did. I left 1 bottle of hand renew. Along with a coupon for .25 cents off regular Dawn. So after I got my reward dollars I used them towards my Tide Purchase. I think for more savings I may sign hubby up for CVS. Why not? I want to save money and now I won't need Tide Detergents gor MONTHS!
The savings are there,  you have to be vigilant.
What I did was use 2 $3 off two Tides.  Then a $1 off one Tide. Then I used the .25 cents off mu blue Dawn soap. And a coupon for $1 off Panteen. At checkout I combined those coupons with the $10 off. Sweet stuff, am I right? #financialfreedom #couponprincess
Look!

Extreme couponing.

I was watching extreme couponing on Netflix and you know what, I want to save money like them. I want to be able to buy 1000 worth of groceries and only pay $30. I want to be able to do that. I wish I could. And I am getting better. Today I saved $70 on groceries. My bill was under $200, but I want it lower. And I plan on doing it. Just how I do not know, but I will do it. I learned that certain coupons can be used on items that I was not aware of. For instance, Gerber had a coupon for 3 dollars off formula. My silly butt thought it was only for powder formula. I use the premixed liquids. So, I had been paying full price for a long time! Not cool. I did get free cake today. I had a buy a pie mix and get a free cake, and then the store was doing a buy one get one free on the cake! I got 2 free cakes! YUM! I also got free cookies. I have been bitten by the couponing bug. Sunday, after I get the paper I shall do the rest of my shopping and I plan on spending as little as possible. Can I do it?! Maybe, hopefully. I need to. I really do.

Oh but you coupon so well.

I am a learning couponer. I try so hard to be a savvy shopper and try hard to match wits with my sister and mom when it comes to saving money. Diapers are the thing,besides formula, that I frequently look for coupons for. Pampers which are my fave for my son. Especially the swaddlers diapers, those soft and snuggly diapers are great at absorption and as well as indicating when the baby is wet(for the dads out there). Well anyway, I signed up for the Pampers Rewards program, they make you think you will get free diapers or at least plenty of coupons. I have to say, not so much. The rewards program only gives  a $5 off coupons, and that could be total or a combined number of coupons. In order to enter in the chance to win diapers and wipes you have to use 10 points. WHAT>! Really? I will say, I have been using the program and half my silly codes do not work and I have only got 102 points. Wow. How awesome. To me, these programs do nothing. I have learned it is best to just go get the paper, go to my coupon tab, or go to a coupon site. These rewards things have no real bearing, and are a lot of times a waste of time. Sure, I am sure there are many people out there who would beg to differ, but look at it closely and you will see.
Speaking from experience.

Sunday lazy day? Nah.

Happy Sunday! There is only 17 days left until Christmas! Can you believe how fast it's going by? I can't, on one hand I wish I could skip Christmas this year. On the other hand I don't. Today was a day full of clipping coupons. Then realizing I have too many for my binder. Ugh. But, saving money with coupons is worth it. I am starting to get more of a hang of the whole coupon thing.  Which is why I love my coupon page here on my blog. I have actually saved a ton on diapers,formula, spices, and other things. It is no wonder why people go nuts over coupons. I can totally get it. I understand why they do it to the extreme. It was a lot of work today clipping coupons, putting them in pairs. Store coupons with manufacturers coupons and putting it all together. I know it is worth it.
Today we also had a non-napping baby boy. Here in the kingdom of babydom, we skipped naps and didn't want to eat dinner. And after a big evening of fitting we may have a molar or two. Of course this may mean no sleep, again. He didn't eat his dinner but had 8 oz of formula. However, that does not mean he wont wake up at 3 Am hungry. Teething, it is so hard being a little man, isn't it baby bear? 
#babylife

A glass of wine and some wrapping paper.

I have found my zen. Wrapping Christmas presents is my way of relaxing this time of year. Whenever I wrap a present I can not wait to wrap the thing. Call me crazy, but there is something just so calming to me about wrapping a gift. I just love it. Just love it. I can not count the number of people who hate wrapping. Me, I am obsessed with it.
As far as Christmas shopping, I almost have my baby done. I went with my mother today and bought him some great stuff. I love buying things for that little boy. This year we have a tight budget and I would rather him get things than myself. That baby is all the gift I need. I don't need anything else. Christmas morning all I want is my son, hubby, a cup of coffee, the lights on the tree, and music. Then the fun of watching my son play with every box he unwraps. Thank god he is at the age where his toys are CHEAP and tons of FUN!
I want to get my hubby something, and I found exactly what he needs a wireless Xbox 360 headset. And I can not wait to give it to him. I found it on eBay, and when it comes in I will wrap it. I just hope he doesn't read this. He rarely reads my blogs. But, the headset is within budget. He will hopefully like it.
So, tonight once little man goes to bed, I am going to sneak into the bedroom and wrap his gifts. I try to get this stuff done early.
One more thing I have to share! I went grocery shopping and only spent $120!!! I got a lot of baby stuff and food, snacks,etc. I saved $60.50! I got to continue to save and hopefully my next bill will be smaller!
Now off to butcher the whole chickens I bought.....yum.

It's Sunday clip those coupons!

It is Sunday and you all know what that means?! COUPONS! Yes, the coupons are here today. I love getting that paper and seeing the coupons inside. Why? Because that is money in my pocket. Saving money on groceries means that I can use it elsewhere. Like in savings or something else.Now, I am just starting my couponers journey. I have saved money but it has only been 50 dollars here and 17 dollars there. I am sure I will get the hang of it.

I have found printing coupons online helps a great deal. You can use them combined with store and other coupons. That is if your printer works and isn't out of ink.This link takes you to my coupon  clipper, click here!

It takes patience and some organization, hopefully I can continue to grow and get better at this!
So far, I have yet to pay full price for diapers!

Couponing, a learning curve indeed.

Everyone loves saving money. Especially on groceries, food costs have gone up and coupons are a way to save. But, many people do not use coupons. Many view couponers as crazy and have nothing better to do on a Sunday. Well, I am going to be one of those people. I am an up and coming couponer. I am that crazy person. However, I used to not be. I was a non coupon using food shopper.

Couponing is work, a lot of work. From scouring the newspaper to stalking online coupon sites. Like here.  My sister got me into coupons, ever since I heard how much she saves. She is one savy extreme couponer. Who, need storage for stuff, just like Honey BooBoo's mom has extra storage for items. She has them all organized in a folder according to type. She goes through the coupons all the time and is very devoted to her craft. I, on the other hand, am figuring this coupon thing out. Trying to be organized is hard so I ordered coupon pages on Amazon. I am also trying to figure out what coupons go where. I am also trying to figure out how many coupons I can use at once. It is definitely a learning curve and so far I have yet to pay full price on diapers and formula. Huggies or Pampers I make sure I always have a coupon. Last trip I saved $50 and before that $92Usd. Like I said learning curve, and while Target takes coupons they may not take competitors coupons. Publix Supermarket does take competitors, like Walmart and Target coupons.
I will post my quest to save! Stay tuned!