I WON something! Shocker!!

This is probably the most incredible news that I've gotten all week...A. because I never win ANYTHING, and B. it's been a pretty crappy week in the news department. AKA - not sure if I will have a job next year. I know you can get worse news, but that really is not fun news to hear. The GOOD thing is, I won something! The awesomeness that is Busy Bee Lauren (of course she's even more awesome because she shares my name with me!) had a giveaway for a photo session with Inner Circle photography, which is run by a lovely local girl named Miranda. From her website, you can see that she takes INCREDIBLE pictures...they are so artistic and soooo my taste! Which is why I am so excited! Not only do I get a free photo session, but I ALSO get a $100 printing credit toward my pictures! How cool is that? Once I get more details I will let you know! Maybe you can help me decide what I want my photo session to include?!

You can see Miranda's work HERE!

Check out Lauren's post on Inner Circle photography HERE!

YAY!

My Shopping trip (5/3/2011)

 

Since I am still so new to using coupons to get things for rock bottom prices, I have been doing little bits of shopping at a time. I had about an hour to kill after work on Tuesday before heading to Nick’s. I wanted to hit up Walgreens and Meijer, and maybe Target if there was some time left. Here is a wrap-up of my trip:

Stop #1: Walgreens

1 – Tylenol Precise Pain Relieving Heat Patches 3 pk. - $7.99

2 – Right Guard Body Wash – BOGO Free ($4.49 each)

4 – Easter Pencils - $0.25 each

1 – Arizona Green Tea can – on sale for $0.49

Coupons used:

BOGO Free Right Guard Products

$5 off Tylenol Precise product (www.precisepainrelief.com)

$3 off Tylenol Precise product (Walgreens May Savings booklet)

$1 Register Rewards

TOTAL COST (w/ tax) = $1.30

Stop #2: Value City Furniture

(Ok…so I had a coupon for a free stuffed animal (Kare Bear) from VC Furniture. I wasn’t going to go, but I thought I’d just pop in and check the place out anyway since I was right there. I’m kind of glad I did. Although I don’t have much use for the Kare Bear, I can donate it. It was a $7.99 bear, so it was worth it.)

TOTAL COST = Completely FREE

Stop #3: Meijer

I went in to check out the prices at Meijer, because I had a lot of MFT’s coupons that matched up with the Meijer Beauty coupons from their website. (Go here for some great savings:  http://meijer.shoplocal.com/meijer/default.aspx?action=entryflash&storeref=70)

Needless to say, it wasn’t a very worthwhile trip. Since the coupons are good until June, I might wait this one out a few weeks. I did however find L’Oreal eye shadow for $4.79 – and with two $2 off coupons, it was a good buy!

So I bought: 1 – L’Oreal eye shadow (@$4.79)

Used: $2 off one L’Oreal eye product (Meijer Beauty book)

$2 off one L’Oreal eye products (MFT coupon)

TOTAL COST (w/ tax): $0.96

TOTAL MONEY SPENT (out of pocket): $2.26

This experiment is turning into an awesome thing for me…you see I have this shopping problem, where I have to go to the store at least once a week. I usually hit up Target and spend $20-$40 on different things I find there, whether I need them or not. I’ve spent less than $20 this whole week – and I’ve gotten about 4x the stuff I could have in a Target trip. I’m starting to realize how much money I am actually wasting. So, I have been satisfying my need to shop (and I actually haven’t even wanted to go to the mall!) while saving lots of money. I hope to keep getting better at it, and eventually working my way into using food coupons (yikes!). It’s a scary thought!

Freebies!

Here are some things that I’ve gotten for FREE either by mail or in-store over the past few weeks!

1-    Aveda Hand Relief travel size lotion ($7 value)

1-    Full-size hand sanitizer from CVS ($3.99 value)

1-    CoverGirl NatureLuxe foundation – full size ($11 value)

2-    Reach dental floss ($2 value)

1-    Sample of Dream Angels “Forever” perfume

2-    Lever 2000 cleansing wipes

1-    Beyaz pill holder (free with new prescription)

1-    True Blue shea butter hand lotion ($5 value)

1-   Sample size Secret deodorant

1-   Taster’s Choice instant coffee samples

3-   Tampax tampons

4-   Always pads and liners

Some of these things I will use, but the others will be added to my collection of freebies that will be going to my aunt at the end of the year! I love that I can help out without spending money!

My pictures from the Heidelberg

 

 

 

Another great deal...just in time for Mother's Day!

If you are looking for a cheap but great Mother's Day gift - check this one out!


80% Off at Restaurant.com

You can save 80% with the  new Restaurant.com coupon code to get a $25 certificate for only $3. Just use coupon code: MOM at checkout.  Deal is good through 5/8/11.

I wasn't sure if this would actually work, so I tried it! Make sure you look up the restaurants in your area that accept the gift card. There were a couple of my favorites on there, so I bought one! You can't go wring with $25 worth of food for $3!

Let me know if you go for this deal!

Deals of the Week

I know it’s only Monday, but I want people to be able to get this deal if they can! I am hoping to post deals of the week every Sunday or Monday to come. Since I don’t buy many groceries, I will focus my deals on things I use the most. Here are this week’s best deals:

CVS:

Ivory Soap – on sale for $1

Use $1 off Ivory product (found in 5/1 insert) and get it for FREE!

Colgate toothpaste - $2.77

Buy one, get $2.77 ExtraCare bucks – like getting it for FREE!

Can also use $.75 off 1 Colgate product coupon, then you make money.

 
Walgreens:

Scotch Tape – coupon in ad for $.39 tape (originally $1.29)

Noxema Disposable razors - $3.99

Get $3 Register Rewards (money off next purchase) which makes them $.99

Use $2 off Noxema razors coupon (5/1 insert), you MAKE $1.00.

(You can only do this once per transaction – so go back another day if you have more coupons!)

Have you found any good deals for the week?

Adventures in Couponing

I’ve always been one for finding deals and finding things on sale for what I think is a reasonable price…which basically tends to be more than 40% off of retail price. You’d think this would be hard, but with some time and effort, it’s really not very hard at all. You just need to have PATIENCE, which is something I possess a lot of luckily. :)  I started doing this when shopping for clothes and accessories, but now it has overflowed into my other purchases.

So the past couple of weeks, I have been experimenting with using coupons and finding deals. I’ve built up a small collection of coupons – mostly for things like shampoo, body wash, razors, lotion, toothpaste, makeup, and anything else I frequently buy. I have also been visiting blogs and websites that help you get the most out of your coupons – some of my favorites include The Krazy Coupon Lady and Living Rich with Coupons. With these resources, I have been able to score some incredible deals! Some I even figured out on my own, and it makes me feel like a proud soccer mom!

Now, in order to do this correctly, it takes a lot of time and (again) PATIENCE. You have to spend time planning and looking for sales. Here some things I have learned so far:

·    Stores don’t advertise ALL of their sales. You have to physically GO to the store to see what they have on sale. For instance – I never know what’s on sale in the beauty department at Meijer. They don’t post it on the website and usually only have a page or 2 in the weekly ad. Luckily I live only a couple of miles away!

·    You get the most out of your money when you stack your coupons. Stacking means that you use a manufacturer’s coupon with a store coupon. If you can also find the item on sale, THAT’S when you start getting things for dirt cheap or free. I have a bunch of Meijer coupons to use that I am going to match up with my MFT’s coupons, so I should be getting some really great deals here in the next month.

·    It’s worth it to pay money up front to get rewards back. Here is an example – at CVS this week you can buy Crest toothpaste for $2.77, and you get $2.77 ExtraCare bucks back. Basically that means you are getting the toothpaste for free. You have to pay the $2.77 up front, but you then have $2.77 to spend at CVS on anything you want. You can also use coupons to make it cheaper if you have them! I spent $9.04 at CVS yesterday, and got $7.54 in ExtraCare bucks back. I pretty much got 2 toothpastes, a body wash, and a deodorant for free! (Or $1.50) It would have been cheaper if I didn’t have to pay the sales tax on my sister’s wine she made me get her!

·    It’s worth it to buy 2 or 3 newspapers! Enough said! If you don’t have any other way of getting more than 1 set of coupons, buy more papers! It’s a small investment on big savings! Plus you can donate or recycle the coupons you don’t use. The school I work at collects discarded coupons for soldiers. I have been bringing all of my unused or extra coupons in to donate. Find someplace that does that!

Want to know some of the things I have been getting? You may not believe me when I show/tell you, but I have the receipts to prove it!

My favorite deal so far I got last week at CVS. I’ve never been much of a CVS or Walgreens shopper before last week, but after finding out the deals I could get, I have drastically changed my shopping habits. I would go in there occasionally, but it always seemed like their prices were higher than Target or Meijer. Coupons have definitely changed my feelings on that!

So last week they had a “buy $15 worth of Clean & Clear products, get $5 ExtraCare bucks” deal going on. I remembered that I had a BOGO Free coupon for Clean & Clear body wash – which sells for $5.99 there. I also live on Clean & Clear Oil sheets, so that was my third product – all 3 costing $17.97 before tax. I used my BOGO Free coupon, so there went $5.99. I also used two $2 off 1 Clean & Clear product, and one $1 off 1 Clean and Clear product. I had $5 ExtraCare bucks from a previous purchase too. I paid a whopping $1.98 before tax, and I also got a $5 ExtraCare bucks. I MADE MONEY! This deal I came up with all on my own – I didn’t see anyone else on any websites doing this.

Yesterday I went to Family Dollar armed with my Reach toothbrush coupons and also a $1 off Febreze coupon. I got 4 toothbrushes and a full size bottle of Febreze for $1.88. Here’s a rundown:

BOUGHT:
4 Reach toothbrushes @ $1 each

1 Febreze Thai Dragon Fruit fabric refresher @ $2.50

COUPONS:

2 - $2 off 2 Reach toothbrushes

1 - $1 off any Febreze product

Now, I understand that I don’t really have a need for 4 toothbrushes. The best part about this whole experiment is that I am going to donate whatever I don’t use. I am going to keep using my coupons and finding deals, and whatever I have at the end of the year that I don’t need or don’t plan on using will be donated. My aunt collects travel sized products and purses to donate to her church, where they fill the purses with products and give them to needy or homeless women. My sister and I have been helping her out with the collection the past 2 years, and I can’t wait until she sees how much stuff I am going to have for her this year! I was also thinking about making care packages for US Soldiers (like the crazy man on Extreme Couponing!) if I can come up with enough stuff. I don’t really have anywhere to “stockpile”, so a little at a time with have to do for now.

I know it’s nerdy, but I am really excited for this! It’s a good experiment and in the end it will help out people who need it. Does anyone else do this? (Or just soccer moms? LOL)