Friday, April 1, 2011

March and Current YTD totals

Ok, since it is officially April 1, 2011 (Happy Birthday to my beautiful daughter Serena who just turned 7 today!) I thought I would go ahead and put in my March Before and After totals and Percentage saved as well as my Year to Date (YTD) totals. So here goes.

March spending was off a little because I was so sick during the month of March. I didn't plan my trips as well due to how I felt so things were a tad off, but we still saved pretty good despite my being sick and not planning well. Our month of March totals were:
Total Before : $667.99 (before sales/coupons)
Total After   : $343.11 (after sales/coupons
Percentage saved : 48.64%
Not the 50 % and higher savings I aim for but I was close. This month I hope to do better!

Ok YTD totals. These numbers blow my mind because it's hard to imagine food costing this much (Thank GOD for coupons and sales!) but we do feed 4 and since we homeschool we're home all day long except for Eric while he's working. And 2 growing girls can go through quite a bit of food!!!  :)  So here are the YTD totals.
Totals Before : $2,248.60
Totals After   : $1,000.69
Percentage saved : 55.50 %

So for three months we've saved just over 50% on our groceries and cleaning supplies! I'm telling you if you aren't planning shopping trips and clipping coupons then you are just throwing money away! Now our family is on a very tight budget, so the coupons help keep our food budget nice and together as well as keeping our pantry nice and full! Since clipping coupons and planning my grocery trips we haven't had to worry about groceries running out before the next payday. We also are able to afford things I would once have said no way to due to having to pay full price for the items. Like last week I got 8 boxes of Betty Crocker Fruit by the Foot, Gushers, and Fruit Snacks for only like 88 cents each. Full price I wouldn't have been able to do that by no means! So it's nice to be able to get things like this for the kids. They also like the whole coupon thing! We've not paid more than a QUARTER for a 4pk of yogurt in months and yogurt is like a must have for my kids!  That stuff isn't exactly cheap either and at the rate they go through it... lets just say I'm very grateful for my coupons! Anyway, I hope this finds you having a great day and if you aren't already coupon clipping I urge you to start! Email me at dysblog@live.com anytime if you have a question! Thanks!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Publix 3.29.11 - Not alot of Q's today but still did ok!

I'm not doing a detailed list again, just not up to it do to the POTS/DYS. We did get a lot of stuff and cheap snacks (Fruit roll-ups, by the foot, gushers, etc) for the girls (they love these) for something like .89 cents a box. Bought some cantaloupe (.50) I love getting cheap fruit and this is one of my favorites! Anyway, since we are hoping that the weather will be right for camping on the weekend of the 8th for Serena's birthday (she'll be 7 in 3 days! AAAHHHH!!!)  I am working on getting easy things like sandwich meat, hotdogs, snacks, drinks for pretty cheap in hopes of making it an EASY weekend for me! Hoping that Publix or somewhere will have just the right sales for us between now and then! Anyway here are my totals for today. I didn't have as many great coupon deals this time, but the store savings were pretty good. I did get a rain check for the dog food, Kibbles and Bits .49 with my coupons, and she gave me a rain check for 5 deals (10 bags)! So I'm gonna look online for a few more coupons to help me out with that!

Total before sales/coupons : $207.56
Manuf. Coupons   $18.00
Store Coupons     $12.37
Special Price Savings $79.18
Final Cost :    $98.01
Percentage saved : 53%

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Publix 3.15.11

Hey all! Been dealing with poison ivy for the last week (still a problem and still broke out...ugghh) so I haven't taken the time to post my last shopping trip. Due to how I feel I'm only going to post amount saved and spent and percentage saved.

Total Amount: $257.20
Total out of Pocket : $130.14
Percentage saved : 49.4 %

I got several items that I didn't have coupons for but most were on sale. I did check my candy coupons for the mentos candy and gum as well as the 6 pack Airheads. Got the mentos and Airheads free plus overage and only paid 1.50 for the extra large packs of the mentos gum each. 
I have my trip for this week planned out already and had planned on going today, but just didn't feel up to it yet. Hope you are having a happy couponing week! 

Monday, March 7, 2011

Publix – 3.6.11

For coupon and savings, shopping with kids is NOT advised! :)
I’m not listing everything today. I just don’t feel like it. I did leave with a buggy full again though. My savings weren’t as good as usual, but I had the girls with us this time. They were DETERMINED to get cereal and we needed cereal, but what they wanted wasn’t on sale (of course) and the only coupon was $1/3 so that didn’t save much…lol  So on 3 boxes of cereal it was 12.50 minus my measly $1 coupon. WAY more than I usually spend on cereal now but oh well. I also picked up a few other sale items that I didn’t have coupons for. Gatorade 32 oz was on sale 10/$10 so I got 10 of those since they are a must have with POTS/DYS.  Also ended up buying Ice Cream, but I convinced them to get Ice Cream Sandwiches which were on sale but again, no coupon!

I did get some freebies though. Publix Cocoa Butter Lotion, Publix Rubbing Alcohol, 2 Jars of Karo Syrup, and a bag of Hall’s Cough Drops (which was a money maker!), and a box of Milk-Bone’s for the Dogs. So it wasn’t horrible, but still I don’t like spending more than I save now! 
Anyway, here are my totals for yesterday’s trip.  I WILL do better next time…lol
Total before Sales and Coupons $203.23
Total I paid out of pocket after sales and Coupons $114.96
Coupon Savings (store) $9.96
Coupon Savings (Manuf.) $26.69
Sales Savings $51.08
Total Saved $87.73
Percentage Saved 43.5%

Friday, March 4, 2011

Just totaling January and February Savings :)

Ok, just a quick show of how big of a help using coupons and sales can be to your grocery budget here are my January and February before and after totals.

January I bought $603.99 worth of groceries and cleaning supplies. I only paid $256.40 out of pocket giving me a total savings of $347.59.  I'm not certain but there may have been a couple of trips that I didn't blog about so that month might be off a tad.

In February I bought $976.62 worth of groceries and cleaning supplies. I only paid $401.18 out of pocket giving me a total savings of $575.44.

Now I'm sure there were a few quick runs to the store for basics like a gallon of milk or bread, but that's to be expected around here!  Each month I'm planning on totaling my before and after shopping trips so that at the end of the year I can see just what I've saved my family. I'm pretty excited about the totals I've already saved for the first two months of 2011 and can't wait to see that end of the year total!

Just to show the 2 months together : Total before : $1580.61  Total After: $657.58 Savings of $923.03
That's a 58.4% savings for the first 2 months of 2011!!!

Monday, February 28, 2011

Publix Shopping – 2.27.11

 

Total  before Sales and Coupons $316.97

Total I paid out of pocket after sales and coupons

$111.69

Coupons Savings (Store.)

$30.10

Coupons Savings (Manuf.)

$50.26

Sales Savings

$124.92

Total Saved

$205.28

Percentage Saved

65%

 

Qty. Product Reg. Price Sale Price Q Used Final Cost ea
8 Mueller’s Pasta $1.35 .67 $1/1 Free+.33
4 Progresso Soup $2.29 $1.14 $1/4 manuf.
$1/4 Publix
.64
6 Hunt’s Tomatoes $1.35 .67 2- .45/3 .37
4 Green Giant  Vegetables $1.29 .64 $1/4 .39
2 Pam Cooking Spray $3.29 $1.64 2- .35/1 .94
4 Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice $1.99 .99 2- $1/2 .49
4 Doritos Tortilla Chips $3.99 $1.99 4= Buy 1 Get Pepsi Max Free $1.99
4 2 L Pepsi $1.89 .94 Used Above Coupon @ $2.09 FREE + $1.15
4 Keebler Club Crackers $3.89 $1.94 2- $1/2 $1.44
1 Sundown Vitamin B-6 150ct $3.59 none $3/1 Publix .59
8 Kotex Pads $3.75 $1.99 4- $2/2 .99
2 Kotex Tampons $3.75 $1.99 2-$1/1 .99
2 Colgate Toothpaste 6oz
(*One rang up .99 instead of $2.39!)
$2.99 $2.39 2- .50/1 Manuf
2- $1/1 Publix
Free +1.01* &
.39
3 Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Shaved Meat $3.99 $3.00 $2/3 Target $2.33
4 Marie Callander’s Dinners $3.49 $1.74 2- $1/2 $1.24
4 Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers $2.39 $1.19 2- .50/2 .69
5 Gorton’s Fish Fillets and Fish Sticks $5.49 $2.74 5- .50/1 $1.74
8 Lysol Disinfectant Bathroom Cleaner
Lysol Mildew Remover
$3.69 $1.84 4- $1/2 $1.34
1 Glass Plus and Multi-surface Cleaner $2.49 $1.24 .50/1 .24
2 Oscar Mayer Carving Board Lunchmeat $4.29 none 2- .75/1 Target
2- $1/1 Manuf.
$2.54
2 Gen. Mills Cocoa Puffs $3.99 $2.00 2- .55/1 $1.45
2 Nature Valley Granola Bars $3.19 $2.00 2- .50/1 $1.00
6 Idahoan Mashed Potatoes 4oz Bag $1.25 $1.00 2- $1/3 .66
6 Hunt’s Snack Pack 4pk pudding $1.25 $1.00 2- .60/3 .80
3 Hunt’s Manwich Sloppy Joe Sauce $1.59 $1.00 $1/3 .67
4 Pillsbury Grands Biscuits $1.89 $1.00 2- .30/2 .70
1 Country Crock Butter (lrg tub) $3.89 $2.50 .40/1 $1.70
1 Paper Plates $4.19 none none $4.19
3 Publix dog treats $2.00 none none $2.00
1 Publix Greenwise Ketchup $2.39 $2.00 Buy Theirs Get Ours Promo FREE
1 Heinz Organic Ketchup $2.99 $2.99 “same” $2.99
1 Publix Syrup $3.65 $2.99 none $2.99
           
1 Promotional Coupon     Buy 20 Partic. Products get $5.00 off $5.00 off total

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Publix 2.15.11

The Cleaning/paper products except for a pack of Angel Soft, already in use...lol
The Food portion of today's shopping trip.



Qty. Product Reg. Price Sale Price Q Used Final Cost ea.
2 Hebrew National Franks $4.99 $2.49 NONE $2.49
2 Reddi Whip 14oz $4.49 $2.24 2- .50/1 $1.24
3 Betty Crocker Cake Mix $1.95 .97 3- .75/1 when you buy cake mix and frosting. .75
3 Betty Crocker Frosting $2.05 $1.29 See Above .75
2 Zatarain’s Jumbalaya Rice $1.99 .99 1-.50/2 .49
4 Emerald Dry Roasted Nuts $3.19 $1.59 2- $1.50/2 .84
2 Nabisco Chips Ahoy Cookies $3.79 $1.89 1- $1/2 $1.39
22 Yoplait Fiber One Yogurt 4pk  $2.50 $1.25 22- .50/1 .25
4 Smart Balance Spread 13-15oz $3.09 $1.54 2- $1/2 $1.04
2 Cool Whip Whipped Topping $1.85 .92 2- .50/2 .42
2 Old El Paso Taco Shells $2.25 $1.12 NONE $1.12
2 Hefty Trash Bags $6.89 $3.44 NONE $3.44
4 Lysol Disinfectant Trigger Spray Cleaner 22oz $2.69 $1.34 2- $1/2 .84
4 Angel Soft 9pk Double Roll $6.99 $5.00 NONE $5.00
2 Clorox Toilet Bowl Cleaner $2.19 $1.67 2- .75/1 .92
4 Athenos Greek Yogurt 5.3 oz $1.20 $1.00 2-$2/2 FREE
6 Birds Eye Steam Fresh $2.27 $1.13 (50% off) 2- $1/3 .79
4 Kraft 4Cheese Deluxe $2.09 $1.59 NONE $1.59
2 Publix Marshmallows $1.29 .99 NONE .99
There will be 2 separate tables below showing the totals because 12 of the yogurt were on a separate ticket.  I know it looks strange to buy that much yogurt, but you haven’t met my kids! lol  They will eat yogurt for every snack and desert during the day. So I love when this deal comes around and I really take advantage of it. Aleah has been wanting yogurt for the last 2 trips, but I couldn’t find a deal that I was willing to spend on and I knew from the cycle of the sales that this one was just around the corner and it was!  This yogurt will definitely not be wasted and thrown away, I can assure you!  I also have 7 nieces and nephews coming into town this weekend, one of whom I’m positive will spend the weekend with me. So when they are here, there will be yogurt to snack on!
Total  before Sales and Coupons $208.04
Total I paid out of pocket after sales and coupons $87.70
Coupons Savings (Manuf.) $24.60
Coupon Savings (Store) $10.10
Sales Savings $85.64
Total Saved $120.34
Percentage Saved 58%
And now for the 12 separate yogurt.
Total  before Sales and Coupons $30.81
Total I paid out of pocket after sales and coupons $3.81
Coupons Savings (Manuf.) $6.00
Coupon Savings (Store) $6.00
Sales Savings $15.00
Total Saved $27.00
Percentage Saved 88%
Not to shabby of a “savings” trip :) Happy shopping and I hope you have a great productive week in savings! Remember a dollar saved is a dollar earned!!!
Just the food portion a little closer in.

Food portion a little closer in.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Publix – 2.11.11

Ok, I had to send Eric in to town to go to Publix because the 11th was the last day of the Yellow Advantage Deals this go around and they were out of these 2 items when I went in last. It was well worth the trip into town though! Special thanks go to my awesome husband for doing this for me! Love you Eric!
And one thing I need to mention. Publix told Eric that he could use the amount of Publix coupons this time only but to check the website because there are big changes coming in the Publix coupon policy. I went to the website and couldn’t find anything so I emailed them. I’m still waiting to hear back. I really hope this doesn’t put a crimp in our shopping too much because we really rely on those deals to keep our pantry stocked! So keep a watch out, because I’m going to be posting that email as soon as it arrives!
Qty
Product
Reg. Price Sale Price Q Used Final Cost ea.
5 Krusteaz Pancake Mix $2.27 $1.89 .50/1 .89
16 Scott Towel Extra Long Lasting $3.19 $2.50 16 - $1.50/1 Publix Q’s $1.00

Total  before Sales and Coupons $64.46
Total I paid out of pocket after sales and coupons $22.52
(of this $2.07 was tax)
Coupons Savings (Manuf.) $2.50
Coupon Savings (Store) $26.50
Sales Savings $12.94
Total Saved $41.94
Percentage Saved 65%
So now I’ve started my stock of paper towels (Eric was excited about this, because I usually forget to buy these…lol) and I have plenty pancake mix for a while!  Which is something the girls like!  I really do hope that Publix doesn’t drastically change there coupon policy though! Can’t wait for that email to get here so we can all find out at least what our McCalla/Tannehill Publix will be changing!

Publix shopping – 2.6.11

Qty Product Reg. Price Sale Price Q used Final Cost ea.
12 12pk Pepsi products (various flavors) $4.99 $2.49 none $2.49
1 Lloyd’s BBQ Meat $5.49 $2.75 1-.75/1 $2.00
3 T. Marzetti’s Dip (Ranch) $3.49 $1.74 3- $1/1 .74
2 Pompeian Imported Olive Oil $5.99 $2.99 2- $1/1 $1.99
2 Kraft Mayo 30 oz. $4.69 $2.34 none $2.34
2 Mt. Olive Pickles $2.79 $1.39 2- .50/1 .39
4 Knorr Sides (Noodles) $1.29 .69 2- .50/1 .14
4 Kraft Shredded Cheese $4.00 $2.00 1- $1.25/2 Target
2- $1/2 printable
$1.19
2 Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough $5.00 $2.50 2- $1/1 printable $1.50
4 Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese $2.09 $1.25 2- .50/2 Manuf.
1- .50/2 Target
.63
2 Krusteaz Muffin Mix $2.59 $1.29 2- .55/1 .74
6 Rotel Diced Tomatoes $1.39 .69 2- $1/3 .36
1 Planter's Dry Roasted Peanuts $3.19 $1.59 1- .75/1 .84
4 Cheez-It Snack Crackers (box) $3.89 $1.94 2- $1/2 $1.44
4 Kraft Velveeta Cheese $3.85 $1.92 1- .50/1 Target .92 (1)
$1.92 (3)
4 Reynolds Wrap Alum. Foil $4.43 $2.99 4- .75/1 $2.24
30 Campbell’s Condensed Soup (LOTS of varieties for eating and cooking) $1.50 $1.00 15- .40/2 .60
2 Deer Park Sport bottle water (6-pk) $4.00 $2.00 2- $1/1 $1.00
4 Gatorade 32oz G2 4/$5.00 none $1.25
4 EZ Bake Pans $1.99 .99 none .99
1 Brillo Pads $2.99 none none $2.99
1 Hertz Hamster Food $6.99 none none $6.99
2 Keebler Chips Deluxe $3.95 $1.98 none $1.98
8 Barilla Noodles (bowtie and mostaccioli) $1.37 .68 none .68
2 Gatorade (gal) $3.99 $3.00 none $3.00
The following were Raincheck items. It PAYS to always get your rainchecks!
6 BallPark Franks Jumbo 6pk 3.99 $2.00 6- $1.00/2 $1.00
3 Borden Singles Cheese $2.89 $1.00 (not sure why, but these were supposed to be $2.00) 3 FREE
2 Freschetta Pizza : (just noticing I didn’t get my rain check price. Lesson learned: make sure that EACH item is on it’s own rain check even IF they are listed in the sale together.) 2- $1/1 $5.91
2 Red Baron Pan Pasta
4 French’s Mustard 14 oz $1.85 .94 2- .30/1
2- .50/1
2- .34
2- Free
2 Publix Reusable Shopping bags .99 Buy $10 of Pepsi Products get one free FREE
There may have been some other things that I’ve left off of this list. I honestly have no clue! But point is I got some really great deals this week!  Eric was especially excited about the soda deals. Anyway, here’s the breakdown of amount spent and saved.
Total before Sales and Coupons $356.35
Total I paid out of pocket after sales and coupons. $175.46
of this amount $18.13 was tax
Coupon Savings (Vendor) $42.15
Coupon Savings (Store) $16.58
Sales Savings $122.16
Total I saved $180.89
Percentage saved this week 51%
Not great, but considering a lot didn’t have coupons I feel okay with this!
So the biggest thing to remember on next shopping trip.  1. Make sure that all rain checks are written with each item individually regardless of the sale being together (I.E. My Freschetta and Red Baron Rain Check were on the same one and the cashier only did the Red Baron pizzas. Cost me about 7 bucks… lesson learned!  And a side note learned… watch the cashier while ringing up rain checks OR check out all rainchecks separate from regular items!

Monday, January 31, 2011

Publix Shopping – 1.30.11

Qty.
Product
Reg. Price
Sale Price
Q used
Final Cost ea.
2 Tasteful Selections Potatoes 24-28 oz bag $3.99 $1.99 .50/1 .99
2 A1 Steak Sauce 10 oz. $4.49 $2.24 2-Man. .30/1
1-Target $1/2
.74
6 Kraft BBQ Sauce $1.69 .84 NONE .84
6 Kellogg’s Cereal (2 each-Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, Apple Jacks) $4.39 $2.19 2- $1/3 $1.86
8 Campbell’s Chunky Soup $2.45 $1.22 4- .50/2 .72
4 V8 Splash 64 oz $2.79 $1.39 2- $1/2 .89
2 Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Shaved Meats 7-9 oz $6.00 $3.00 1- Target $1/2 2.50
4 Arm & Hammer Toothpaste 6-6.3oz $3.00 $1.50 4- $1/1 .50
10 Juicy Juice 8pk boxes $2.99 $1.49 2- .50/1
2- $2/4
2 @ .49
8 @ .99
10 General Mills Chex Mix (flavored) $2.50 $1.25 5- .50/2 .75
4 Orville Redenbacher’s Popping Corn (2-Butter & 2 Kettle Corn) $5.07 $2.53 2- $1/2 $2.03
6 Gorton’s Premium Battered Tilapia Fillets $7.73 $3.86 6- $1/1 $2.86
4 Totino’s Pizza Rolls 40ct $4.49 $2.24 2- .50/2 $1.81
8 Pillsbury Savorings (several dif. varieties) $4.49 $2.24 4- $1/2 $1.74
2 Marie Callender’s Dinners Fresh Steamers (loaded Mac N Chs) $3.59 $1.79 2- $1/1 .79
4 Solo Heavy Duty Plates 22ct $2.99 $1.50 2- Target $1/2 $1.00
2 Purina Beggin’ Strips 10oz $5.29 $2.64 2 – Free purina Busy Product w/ purchase
2 – Publix $1/1
$1.64 (plus  free treat)
2 Purina Busy Bone Dog Snacks $3.50 $3.00 Coupon above FREE
** Price before the coupons for the dog treats 17.58 SAVED - $14.30!
2 Chobani Greek Yogurt 6oz $1.20 $1.00 2- .30/1 .40
4 New York Texas Toast $3.29 $1.64 4- .50/1 .64
4 Hillshire Farm Deli Selects 5-6oz $4.00 $2.00 2- Publix $1/2
4- $1/1
.50
4 Ragu Pasta Sauce $2.45 2- .50/2 1.95
4 Publix Pasta Sauce $2.45 Buy theirs Get Ours Free Promotion FREE
2 Mueller’s Spaghetti Noodles $1.49 2- .55/1 .94
2 Publix Spaghetti Noodles $1.15 Buy theirs Get Ours Free Promotion FREE
1 Hellmann’s Mayo w/ olive oil $4.94 $4.94
1 Publix Ketchup $1.59 $1.29 $1.29
1 Angel Soft 9roll Double $5.69 $4.99 $4.99
1 Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Snacks $2.19 $2.19
1 XBox magazine $9.99 $9.99
2 Publix Margarine $1.19 $1.19
1 Gal. Publix Milk $3.59 $3.59
1 Qt. Publix Choc. Milk $1.59 $1.59
1 Gal. Barber’s Choc. Milk $5.29 $5.29
1 Reese’s Hearts (bag) $3.99 $3.99
1 Publix Cat Food $3.39 $3.39
1 Gatorade gal $3.99 $3.99
1 Publix Ice Pops Variety $2.99 $2.99
1 Publix Ice Pops Banana $1.79 $1.79
Total before Coupons and Sale Prices $431.56
Total After Coupons and Sale Prices $194.80
Coupon Savings (Manuf.) $47.20
Coupon Savings (Store) 21.10
Sale Price Savings 168.46
Total price of extra items not planned in the shopping trip $51.21
Had I not had Eric and Aleah “I want this” shopping, lol,  my total price would have been approximately $150.00
PERCENTAGE SAVED TODAY 45%
Percentage I WOULD have saved without the extra stuff 55%
So, lesson learned on this shopping trip, don’t take 3 year old and husband on shopping trip together! I found myself having a harder time saying no to a 3 year old than I usually do to my husband…lol  Usually I stick straight to the shopping list and rarely buy anything that I’ve not got a coupon for and is not on sale. As you can see my husband will spend $10 bucks on a magazine… I won’t if it’s just for myself. He doesn’t do it often which is why I don’t mind bending my shopping rules when he does want one…lol  And my little girls and husband are suckers for Choc. milk. I should have paid attention though, because I wouldn’t have spent that much on Chocolate milk either, I would have gotten generic!  Plus I try and get my milk at ALDI which is way cheaper, but no time this weekend.  Not a bad shopping trip though. Everyone was happy and instead of freaking about my coupons (I LOVE PUBLIX CASHIERS!) they were walking through the store while I got my rain checks talking about my total saved. I did find out that only 1 more person has been to this Publix, and been through those ladies line, who had saved more than $200.00. That lady saved about $280.00, but I did remind the cashiers that I had quite a few rain checks for a good deal of items that I had planned on buying but they weren’t available…lol  Anyway, I hope your shopping trips for this week were as productive and full of savings as mine was! Don’t forget to check out CVS this week! Good stuff, and if you are new to CVS and don’t have a card, register for one and get a printable $4 coupon!  Jennie at Southern Savers has all your favorite stores and current sales ads along with coupons printed so head on over and get to saving!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Savings Tips from Katy!

Tip 1: buddy up with deal seekers. Let savings bloggers do the heavy lifting. Coupon Mom, Deal Seeking, My Chicago Mommy,
Tip 2: hop on a coupon train. Trade with friends & get deals you really want. Online coupon trading forum : Hot Coupon World or A Full Cup. After signing up you will receive an envelope in the mail with a pile of coupons (between 25-100). Take the ones you like, replenish it, & send it to the next person on the list. And it keeps going on!
Tip 3: Download deals to your grocery card. Make sure that your card is scanned at checkout and save instantly. CellFire & Zavers are a couple of great sites to get started on!
Tip 4: Discover sale products on the fly. Look for discounts while you shop. Look on each aisle for coupon dispensers & attached to products. On the way out check your receipt for coupons printed out & on back. Just remember to be courteous to other shoppers. When taking coupons from the store shelves, these are your blinkies and peelies, remember that others will be along behind you. Common courtesy says take 2 each trip to the store if you desire to. Also don’t take coupons from a product if you are NOT buying that product!

Tip 5: Save everyday on all the products you buy. Snap up store specials: JC Pennys, Shoprite, Target & other retailers deliver deals through their own mobile apps & via text messages.  Savings aren’t just for groceries but for everything you buy!
Tip 6: Get savings in the palm of your hand! Phones have opened up a whole new world of coupons for you! If you own a Smartphone there are coupon apps which help you organize & store coupons - and even compare prices with other stores on the spot. Look into Facebook for iPhone or android. Many times you can find coupons on product pages on FaceBook and if you simply LIKE their product they will allow you to print a coupon for their product!  Check places for individual deals (discounts, free stuff, or other rewards), friend deals (where you & a pal claim something together), loyalty deals (for regulars ) & charity deals (businesses donate to a cause every time you check in). 
     Redlaser for iPhone. To figure out if you are getting the best deal - you point your phones camera at the product bar code & receive prices from nearby stores & popular online retailers. If you find it lower elsewhere ask a manager to match it.
CardStar for iPhone, blackberry, windows or android. Keep track of all your reward cards with this handy app. Enter all your membership numbers into the app , Toss out your cards & let the cashier scan your phone to get your points.
Yowza for iPhone, blackberry, android or palm pre. This aggregator scours the Internet for you & let's you choose the coupons you want. You can also create a list of your favorite stores. To redeem coupons, have cashier scan from your phone.
Shared by: blogger – Mash Up Mom
More Tips from coupon experts.
Simplify your search - use PPGazette to save time from searching many websites.
Do your research - check Free Snatcher on Fridays to get a list of coupons that will be in the Sunday paper. If the deals are good get more than one paper.
Shop prepared - take a calculator to figure out which brand is cheaper by the ounce with the coupon deducted.
Question authority- Ask manager if store takes expired coupons or price matches competitor coupons. Save a bundle when you pair sale items & store coupons.
Be charitable - never throw out a coupon - donate it to a food pantry or Womans shelter or trade it.
Editors tip - Check out The Find a website that will tell you were to buy the product, lists coupons, & reviews.
Join the moms club. Check out Mothers & More - great resource for connecting with other Moms in your area for advice, child care & play groups, and to buy & sell or swap kids items.
Shop on Deal days: Target slashes kids clothing on Mondays. Old Navy & Gap often markdown items midweek. Shop the sales at the end of the season for the following year & you'll pay a fraction of the full retail price.
You can resale outgrown clothing to resale & thrift stores for a little extra cash.
Go green & trade outgrown clothes for new ones: thredUP , kizoodle , Zwaggle & Peace Love Swap .
Simplify to save by leaving the kids at home. Buy clothes that will last. And don't overbuy.
Spend less on entertainment, books & toys. Search for printable coupons for toys & games at Coupons.com , target.com & Hasbro play saver.
Save on refurbished at BestBuy & GameStop both have pre-owned video games & gadgets & give store credit for old ones.
Drop into discount stores like TJMaxx for quality marked down toys.
Go green - Toys To Trade , Swap My Games , and swap.com for books CDs DVDs & games. Or find in person swaps near you at: Peace Love Swap.
Spend Less on baby gear. Hold a swap - gather moms in your area to trade kids gear. Start by using All You Swap.
Find discounts - BabyCheapSkate scours the web for the best deals every week.
Join Amazon mom at Amazon.com for deals on diapers & related accessories (30% off), plus free delivery extends to most amazon items.
Buy & sell at RockBuyGear & it donates 2% of all proceeds to Children's charities.
Go green - for baby & maternity gear FreePeats & Swap Baby Goods
Also check out All You (also for exclusive coupon codes for online ordering) for more info on any of the above or pick up a copy of all you magazine at Wal-Mart & for sure get a subscription:-) Awesome magazine!! While you are at there website visit there FREEBIES page and every day there is a new product that you can try for free. Remember that these often come with 1 or more coupons!
Hope y'all got a little piece of info you may not have already known;-)  May you each have a great week!!
Hugs & God Bless~
Katy

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Coupons 1.23.11

Ok, Southern Savers posts a coupon insert preview every week. You can view the full list HERE and see if it's worth getting the paper for you. If you are like me and you just get the papers regardless as long as there are inserts then this Sunday there will be 2 inserts. 1 RedPlum and 1 SmartSource.

The Binder Method

I decided that I'd make a quick post on coupon binders. This is NOT the easiest method by far. It takes time to gather, clip, sort, and file your coupons. But for a POTSY like myself, time is something I usually have plenty of. This method has been the best for me because everything is sorted by category in one location, my binder. I got my binder categories from The Krazy Coupon Lady's website. You can go straight to the categories HERE and print ready made sheets or make your own. I actually split the Pets category into Cats and Dogs because it was easier for me this way. I made my own dividers just using construction paper and a marker. This allowed me to tweak the categories provided.  By using the categories, you can get the most out of your binder. It allows you to flip straight to soups if you are looking for a soup coupon.  Or if pasta is what you need, then flip to the pasta section! I would also invest in tabs that you can place on your divider sheets so that you can flip faster and more efficiently. I started out without tabs and it took me too long to find the sections. Tabs made it much easier!
Next, perhaps the most important part of the binder is the way you store your coupons. Get to your local supercenter (Target or Wal-Mart) and find baseball trading card holders. These are thing plastic sheets with 9 pockets per sheet. You can store up to 18 different coupon sets per sheet. Just turn the sets back to back and slide into a card slot. Some don’t like folding their coupons to fit into the slots, so they prefer using the photo sheets. I did a quick search and found 2 different types that I myself might be interested in. Both by We R Memory Keepers and found on Amazon.com but I’m sure that you could find what you prefer at Wal-Mart, Target, or even a craft or hobby store.  Basically these will allow you to store your larger coupons without having to fold them. If I do decide to go ahead and buy these and use them, I’ll post a photo showing you. I’m sure that not having to fold a stack of coupons would save space as far as thickness of the binder, so this is probably something I’ll definitely look into getting. I’ll let you know! :)
Perhaps the absolute most important part of the binder method is the binder itself! I had a briefcase binder that my husband had bought for me several years ago, but many use the binders that you find in the school supplies at your local store. Just be certain you get one that is large enough because you don’t want to outgrow your first binder if you spend money on it! So don’t shop too small!
binder
This is the inside of mine. As you can see there are pockets allowing many different uses here. I have slots where I keep all my store bonus cards. There are is a slot on the left that is perfect for holding a small calculator (a must have when following a budget!). The slot on the right is probably for a cell phone, but I place my coupons that I don’t use during a shopping trip in it. Many times I’ll have coupons pulled that I intend on using but the item is sold out. So that I don’t lose my coupons I don’t use, I slide them in this slot and put them in their proper place later on.  There are also two folder slots, you can see one folder sticking out of the front slot there. I put inserts in these, as well as coupon books that I’ve not yet clipped out of like the P&G books you can get by mail. Oh and a pen or pencil and there are 2 slots here for those. In the back of my binder there is a notebook that I make my lists on every week. And last but not least I always keep envelopes in my binder. I have one for each of the main stores I frequent. I just reuse these every time I shop. This gives me a place to store the coupons for the planned shopping trip without misplacing them and mixing the different stores up.  For instance, all the coupons I plan on using at Publix go into my Publix envelope and so forth.  If you are super frugal then just use the envelopes from junk mail, they are great for this and they are always plenteous!
Well I guess that just about does it on the binder method. Like I said this isn’t the easiest or quickest of the methods, but it is the one that has worked the best for me. I have everything I need in one place. Categorized and portable.  It does take quite a bit of time clipping the coupons and storing them, I usually spend several hours on one day of the week doing this or I split it up. One day I’ll take out all the inserts and separate the pages. The next I might start the clipping process and only do a few pages and store those away. It all depends on how I’m feeling.  You might also be thinking about clipping being doing a page at a time. What I would suggest is to separate the pages. Then take 3-5 sheets of the same page, and either using scissors or an exacto blade cut the coupons out all at once. I use a cutting board and a razor knife and this works best for me. Anyway, Good luck with your binder! And since there may be some who do not think the binder method is best for them, I’ll try and find posts around the internet on the other methods being used.

Friday, January 21, 2011

PUBLIX 50% off sale!

This Saturday and Sunday (1.22 and 1.23 2011) Publix will have ALL Kellogg's Cereal and Pop Tarts at 50% off. Grab your coupons and head in for some GREAT deals and stock up!

Publix trip 1.15.2011

Ok, it’s taken me a week to finally get a chance to type up this list of savings, but I’m finally getting it done today! Here was my last shopping trip at Publix last Saturday, and I did say that I will never shop Publix again on a weekend! Not because of the store, but because their were more people around making it more difficult for me to take my time and focus on the task at hand. If you have P.O.T.S. then you understand!  A little stress from an environment change really can wreak havoc on me! Anyway, here are the items that I bought. Many of the sales I had intended on getting, well those shelves were empty. I guess McCalla shoppers were busy this week!  If you take a look at the PastA-Roni and the RiceARoni coupon you’ll see that I used a Buy 3 RiceARoni and get 1 Pasta Roni Free. My coupons rang up at $2.00 off each, which means that I also got 2 of my RiceARoni’s free since everything was only $1 a box. Not bad!
Product Quantity Reg. Price Sale Price Coupon Used Final Cost
Tyson Chicken Breast Tenders 1 $6.59 BOGO none $3.30
Tyson Honey Breast Tenders 1 $6.59 BOGO none $3.29
Tyson Country Fried Steak Patties 1 $6.59 BOGO none $3.30
Ore Ida Hash Brown 3 3.25 no sale $2 off 1 Target Q $1.25 each
=$3.75
Aunt Jemima Waffles 2 1.95 BOGO none .98 & .97
=$1.95
Oscar Mayer Variety Pack lunch meat 2 2.99 none, got the wrong size! none $5.98
Ronzoni Spaghetti 2 $1.39 BOGO none .69 & .70
=$1.39
Ronzoni BowTie 2 $1.39 BOGO none .69 & .70
=$1.39
Betty Crocker Potatoes (different varieties) 10 $1.99 10 for $10
or $1 each
.50/2 .50
=$5.00
Hamburger Helper (different varieties) 6 $1.99 10 for $10
or $1 each
.75/3 .75 each
=$4.50
Rice A Roni
(different varieties)
6 1.29 10 for $10
or $1 each
buy 3 get 1 free pasta roni $1.00
=$6.00
PastARoni Shells & Cheddar 2 $1.29 10 for $10
or $1 each
See Above FREE plus each Q rang as $2 off!
Price before Sales and Q’s (TAX not included) = $84.08 
Price after Sales and Q’s  (TAX not included) =  $37.85
Total Savings (TAX not included) = $46.23
With tax I paid $41.98.
Savings percentage : 45% Saved!

Links from a friend

Hey guys, these are links that a friend emailed me. I haven't used them yet, printer is still down, but I trust Katy so I'm going to post them here to share with everyone! enjoy!

Chinet comfort cup for coffee or any chinet product visit:
www.mychinet.com
to get a $1 off coupon

Buy any johnson's natural product & get a free gift. Text TREE to 467467 to receive your free Tree in a box gift ($6) value. Be ready w/UPC code of Johnsons natural product. 
www.johnsonsnatural.com

Babies R Us announces great trade in in parent magazine offer from Jan 28 - Feb 21, 2011. You trade in ur old big item & get 25% off a new product. 1-888-222-9787
www.babiesrus.com

horizon Organic milk w/DHA: learn more & get coupons:
www.horizonorganicDHA.com

proctor & gamble : Save up to $30 in coupons
www.pgeverydaysolutions.com

coupons sites that really save (per parent magazine):
www.mommysavesbig.com

www.cheapstingybargains.com

www.couponmom.com

www.currentcodes.com

Thursday, January 20, 2011

I Just Won 9 Swag Bucks on www.swagbucks.com

I Just Won 9 Swag Bucks on www.swagbucks.com

Today I've already racked up quite a few bucks and these 9 were just some I won doing a search for hotmail. I search for everything instead of just typing the addy in. The reason I do this is becauseI check my email and facebook many times during the day, so why not get points for doing that?!? So if I need my hotmail, I just search hotmail.com in my swagbucks toolbar. Same for facebook. It takes a couple seconds longer, but at the end of the day when my SB's are adding up and I'm that much closer to those $5 Amazon gift cards, it's well worth it! ;) Happy searching. Oh and if you haven't started a SwagBucks account, click HERE to get started! Good Luck!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Publix deals are Hot this week!

Ok everyone, thanks to Jenny at Southern Savers we are now able to get the Publix ad on TUESDAYS! That's right, every Tuesday we'll get a jumpstart on our PUBLIX shopping. FINALLY we can get our list ready the day before the sale starts so jump on over to Southern Savers and check out this weeks deals. To get you a head start click HERE and you'll go straight to PUBLIX deals for this week! AWESOME stuff! Good luck!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Winn Dixie 1-12 thru 1-18 2011

Ok, I was just checking Southern Savers and making my Publix shopping list and I decided to look in on Winn-Dixie while I was there. There are a lot of BOGO deals this week. But I love the deals Winn Dixie has where you buy certain products and they give you several free products. This week there are 2 of those deals!  Here is a great cleaning product deal.
When you buy Sparkle Paper Towels, 12 ct (price $13.99) you'll get these items FREE!
Joy Dish Detergent, 14 oz
Fantastik All Purpose Cleaner, 32 oz
Glass Pluss Glass Cleaner, 32 oz
Glad Tall Kitchen Trash Bags, 22ct
The free items are an $11.78 value! I think I'm gonna have to try and get over to WinnDixie because I'm going to have to buy all these items anyway!
The other deal like this for this sale cycle is: Buy 3(three) Special K Cereal or Granola, 11.4-19.5 oz for $11.97 and get these items free!
WD Cranberry Juice Blend, 64 oz
Kellogg's Special K Bars, 3.8-4.8 oz
WD Gallon Milk (exc. Chocolate)
2- WD Yogurt, 6oz
The free items value is $10.65 and if you need breakfast items this week, then this is good! There are also coupons for these deals which you can find on Southern Savers on the Winn Dixie post here. I'm so appreciative that Jenny gets all this stuff together and it's easy to find whatever you need! Check out the grocery/coupon listing she's put out there for us to use and if you go shopping, drop back by and leave a comment letting me know how your trip went!

A lesson on Organization

Well, it truly does pay to get organized and stay organized! During the holidays I kind of let things slide with my coupon binder and organization. Well today while getting prepared for my shopping this week I came across a Publix mail-out coupon. This was supposed to have been used on a shopping trip before it expired but because of my lack of organization throughout December it didn't get used and it's now expired! I'm so disappointed in myself because by using coupons and sales that $5 could have went a long way! So a lesson learned for me today. Get organized. Stay organized. And be aware of your coupons and use them!

Oh and a note of advice. If you haven't already gone to Publix's website and signed up for all their mail-outs you should do it! Go to their website HERE and check out their Clubs & Programs. Sign up for all of them because you don't want to miss out on a coupon that could come straight to your mailbox! Good luck!

Free $5 Amazon Gift Cards!

Ok, so some have asked about SwagBucks and how they work. So here's a breakdown for you.

This week I earned another $5 Gift Card to Amazon.com. And if you've never shopped at Amazon there are things that even $5 will get you! And if you have an Amazon Prime account you can get free shipping on all the Amazon Prime items!  So since Christmas I've earned 2 $5 Gift Cards. I'm going to try and accumulate several and hope that I can find an awesome birthday gift for my oldest little girl. She turns 7 on April 1! Can you believe that!?! Well I can't!  But since I'm disabled and unable to work, I feel that I am never the one getting her a gift ya know?  So this year I am hoping to be able to combine the SwagBucks I'm earning, get those $5 Amazon cards, combine with a great deal on Amazon and actually giving my daughter a gift that is entirely from me! For Christmas I was able to get them The Crayola Glow Explosion Spin Magic. I found them on sale for something like 6 bucks each on Amazon, regular price was 29.99. I used my Amazon gift cards I earned and got them from free!
I got 2 of these FREE using my SwagBucks, trading them in
for Amazon gift cards, and combining with a sale!
I think that's pretty awesome! So now that I've shown you what I was able to buy with what I earned let me tell you how it works.  We all surf the net. We look for coupons, websites, email, and every other thing under the sun. Well why not earn points while you surf?  I downloaded the SwagBucks toolbar (works with IE and Firefox, but not Google Chrome yet). It shows me how many points I have and updates them automatically anytime that I win points! I just keep letting them accumulate until I get 450 points then I cash in on my $5 Amazon gift card. I have to confirm that I cashed in via an email. Then in a few days I have a code on my SwagBucks account that I use on Amazon when I cash out. It's definitely worth it, after all you are going to be surfing the net anyway! You can also do surveys, tasks, freebie offers, etc to earn points to if you are inclined to do so. I do these every now and again to boost my point accumlation.

Here's my link to get you started.  !!!SWAGBUCKS... Get Started!!!  Oh, and since I began with SwagBucks I think it was like end of October or beginning of November maybe, I've earned $25 in Amazon gift cards!  Enjoy... I have!


Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Leave your comment!

Ok, since I'm trying to help people find deals to help out with their grocery savings, I am thinking that maybe I should know where the majority of you do your shopping? Since I began coupon/sale shopping I have dropped Wal-Mart completely from my places to grocery shop. I find that coupons are too difficult to use there. I have added Publix as my main grocery store. At one time I thought that Publix could never be a place I could afford to shop, and it's true they do have slightly higher prices on some things. Yet they have awesome Buy One Get One (BOGO) sales and their coupon policy is great. They accept Manufacturer, Store, and Competitor coupons. And all those coupons can double if they are .50 and under. Combining coupons (or stacking) with the BOGO sales often results in extremely great deals. So Publix is my favorite grocey store. Oh and I forgot to mention that our local Publix is awesome when I use my coupons. I have never gotten looks that could kill or snappy comments from any of the cashiers. In fact I see so many others doing their coupon thing there too!

So where do you grocery shop? Would you be willing to use another store if it lowered your grocery bill significantly? Are you willing to shop the sales instead of making a list of need-to-buy-today? Just curious where you guys stand and what you are all willing to do in order to save an average of 50% or more on your grocery budget.

Comment and let me know. If we all work together we can definitely make a difference in all of our finances!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Great deal for homeschoolers or parents with beginner readers!

Ok everyone. I know that there are a few of the POTSIES that I'm linked with who homeschool. If you are like me you are always looking for something that can help your children learn even more. For the month of January only there is a free download at Funnix.  I'm really excited to get this installed on our computer. My 6 year old does great when we utilize the computer for learning helps and I've been looking for a while for a great deal.  So I'm looking forward to seeing how and if this program will help Serena with her reading! If you download and like it, come back and leave a comment!

Just a tip...

For those of you looking to get into the whole freebies in the mail thing, I'd suggest you go to hotmail, gmail, yahoo or some free email site and set up an account for these things. This will keep you from having your main email overrun by junk mail!

Freebies, Samples, and Rebates

Thanks to Jenny over at Southern Savers for posting this update!
Go to this link for a long list of Free stuff!
And while you are there surf around Jenny's site. It's awesome!

First of blogs on the savings blog!

Ok, I've had several of my POTSY friends getting interested in getting started in coupons. After considering this and the fact that I've been posting all my coupon blogs on my Dysautonomia blog I decided that maybe I should make 2 separate blogs and keep the two topics separate.
So here we go. I hope to have lots of links and information to savings websites and blogs that I use and hope to find along the way. I'll also do my best to post my current savings from my shopping trips.  Maybe this blog will become a blessing to other potsies and regular people who need to save money on the necessities so that they can live a life with less stress due to finances. I know it has been a blessing to my family in the few months that I've been doing the coupon thing. There have been weeks when I had just a scarce amount of money and had it not been for my utilization of sales and coupons I don't see how I could have managed to feed my family as well as we have been able to. So here I go. A new adventure for me and hopefully you'll tag along as I begin my very own blog of savings!