Free Snacks!

I have a ton of things that I'm looking forward to blogging about, but I just have a minute, so I'll share this quickie. I got these for .68 cents today! Woohoo! I really like these fruit leathers for Iain (and me too!) because they're 100% fruit. Sadly, they're also a bit pricey. But I wrote to the company complimenting their product and requesting some coupons and they gave me some coupons for free fruit leathers. So I only had to pay tax on these. Writing to your favorite companies really pays off because you can get coupons for the stuff you love-- and maybe even a few freebies. What a blessing!

Bargain Shopping

I've had a few people ask me how to do this, so I'll pass along a few tips. I'm no expert at this, but I'm happy to share what I know.

I always thought I was pretty good with coupons and deals, but my friend Marissa opened up a whole new world to me this summer. (Thanks so much Marissa!)

1. Get a coupon stash. To get these good deals you need to start accumulating manufacturer's coupons that you can combine with sales and store coupons to get good deals. If you can get multiple copies of the same coupons, all the better. But for our family, we just get the Sunday paper and I make do with those. I also print coupons from www.coupons.com and other places online. Make sure to check to see if your store accepts coupons printed from the internet before you get in the checkout line.

2. Watch the deals. I look through the ads and coupons on Sunday and I follow several blogs that track the sales and deals. These sites will show you how to combine sales, store coupons, manufacturer's coupons, and loyalty rewards programs. I like:

www.moneysavingmom.com
www.couponmom.com
http://grocerycartchallenge.blogspot.com/
http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/

3. Read the fine print and know your store's policies. Be sure to read your coupons carefully. Check the sizes, quantities, and styles included in the offer. Sometimes it looks like you can use a coupon with a sale, but a tiny detail will make your coupon ineligible. :( Sometimes you have to buy a certain quantity of an item to get a sale price, but sometimes you only have to buy one. Some stores limit the number coupons you can use in a transaction. For instance, Walgreens doesn't allow you to use more coupons than you have items, so you may need to plan to purchase an extra small item. Don't be afraid to ask questions if a coupon is rejected or a sale price doen't ring up. In my experience sometimes I have misunderstood an offer but other times things just don't ring up correctly and my order can be adjusted. If you are using lots of coupons, be prepared to have the manager called to help with your order. Have the store ad at hand to show them.

4. Set aside some money to invest. Walgreens has a rebate program that gives you your rebates back on a gift card. To begin building up a credit on your Walgreens card, you'll need to lay out some money initially. Every month they offer free after rebate items, but it takes about a month to get that money back on the card. But once you've made that initial outlay you can use that same money over and over to buy the free after rebate items. It also helps to give yourself a little money to spend while you are starting out because it is easy to make a lot of mistakes as you begin learning.

5. Give yourself some grace.Don't fret when you do make a few mistakes. And don't worry if you miss a deal or two along the way. Just do your best and thank God for what he provides for you.

6. Don't succomb to coupon obession. The one problem with following the sales is that you become more susceptible to marketing. This can foster the desire to go shopping or to buy new things that you don't need because it is a "good deal". Limit yourself to buying things that your family needs or would use anyway. Know your prices and don't buy things that you can get cheaper elsewhere without coupons-- at a garage sale, at the dollar store, or your local discount grocery store.

Happy shopping and be sure to let me know if you get some good deals!

Walgreens 10/12-10/15

Yes, it is yet another bargain post. I'm so thankful to the Lord for providing what we need, and I'm hopeful that other people can benefit from these great sales too. Technically I got all of this for .84 cents!

I got all of what is pictured above for 18.57 out of pocket, and I'm due to receive an 18.12 credit on my Walgreen's gift card for my next shopping trip! Here is how I did it:

Transaction 1:
3 Kotex products for on sale for $9, with $3 in Register Rewards back. (Register Rewards are a coupons that print out along with your receipt after the transaction is complete.)
Minus $2.00 in coupons from the Sunday paper, but you can also print some from coupons.com.
Total $3.77
I paid that with the credit on Walgreens gift card from last time. Total out of pocket: $0.

Transaction 2:
Buy 4 Dove products receive $3 in Register Rewards.
I bought 2 bars of soap at $1.00 each and 2 deodorants at $2.00 each for a total of $6.
Then I had $1.50 coupon for the deodorants from this Sunday's paper.
So my total came to 4.97, which I again used my gift card to pay for. Total out of pocket: $0.


Transaction 3:
One package of Walgreens diapers on sale for 5.99.
Minus $3.00 Register Rewards Coupon.
Total: $3.35, again paid for by the trusty gift card. Total out of pocket: $0.

Transaction 4:
Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation 7.49 (Free after rebate on Walgreens gift card)
L'Oreal Cleanser Towelettes 7.99 (Free after rebate on Walgreens giftcard)
Minus $1.00 coupon from the beauty counter in store.
Parsley .50 Cinnamon .50 using 2/$1 coupon in Walgreens ad
Pert Shampoo 3.49, minus 2.50 EasySaver coupon, and $1.00 coupon from the paper, free
Candle $4.00, no coupons, just a blessing for me and my family to enjoy
Hershey's candy, .39 each using Walgreens coupon (I had another coupon, but I forgot to use it!)
Arm & Hammer detergent, $2.99, minus $1 rebate and $1.00 coupon, .99 cents.
Minus $3.00 Register Rewards coupon and .39 remaining on the gift card. Total out of pocket 18.96, 18.12 in rebates to be credited to my gift card.

Woohoo!

I just got a $23.00 check in the mail from Ebates. They offer a small percentage discount at online retailers. The best part is that you can stack coupons on top of this and save even more. I'm thrilled because I only use Ebates for stuff I'm planning to buy online anyway. If you are interested in joining, check it out at www.ebates.com. And if you do sign up, can you please tell them I referred you (jordannicole20@hotmail.com)? I get a $5.00 credit and so do you!

Albertson's sale Oct 1-7

You can get General Mills cereal for $1.50 a box at Albertson's this week when you buy 10 boxes. The flyer says select varieties and it pictures Cheerios, Fruity Cheerios, Kix, Trix, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Total, and Lucky Charms. I'm guessing there are probably a few more that are on sale but not pictured. There's a coupon from the newspaper a few weeks back that is good for $1 off two boxes, and you can print some more coupons from www.coupons.com. I see .55 cents off Cheerios, .75 cents off Kix, .55 cents off Trix, $1.00 off two Chex, and .75 cents off Oatmeal Crisp. Be sure to ask if your store accepts coupons printed from the internet. With the coupons, you can get cereal for .75 cents to a $1 a box! I'm hoping to make it to Albertson's later this week, but I thought I share this deal now so you have time to grab it too!

Update: I did manage to make it to Albertson's. I got 10 boxes of cereal for 12.85! The sale is going on until Tuesday, and it is limited to the varieties listed above. I was disappointed that more weren't included because I could have saved another dollar or two!

Walgreens 9/26

I am so excited and thankful to the Lord for providing this deal. I've been practicing getting the good deals at Walgreens, and I'm really happy about this one. I got all this stuff for 5.14 out of pocket, and I'll be getting $16.00 back on my Walgreens gift card in rebates!

Here is the breakdown:
Kashi GoLean Crunch on sale 2/$5, minus $3 in coupons= 2/$2.
Walgreens Diapers Buy one get one 50% off= 2/$12
John Frieda Shampoo on clearance $1.62, minus $3.00 coupon= 2/.24!
Sunsilk Waves Conditioner on clearance $1.50, minus $1.50 coupon= free!
Chemistry Leave-in Conditioner 7.99, minus $1.00 coupon= 6.99 (7.99 rebate)
Crest Pro Health Toothpaste, 3.79, minus $1.00 coupon from Oct. EasySaver and .75 coupon
from manufacturer+ 2.04 (3.79 rebate)
Excedrin 3.99+ 3.99 (3.99) rebate
Plus I used a $5.00 off a $20 purchase coupon that I received via e-mail from Walgreens. If anyone else needs this coupon, let me know and I can forward it to you.

Total=24.13
Walgreens giftcard -18.99
Total out of pocket = 5.41, plus 16.00 earned on rebate gift card

WOOHOO! I'm so thrilled. Thank you God!

Albertson's 9/23

I'm always looking for a way to make a dollar stretch, and lately I've been enjoying reading some bargain-oriented blogs, particularly Money Saving Mom (thank you to Marissa F. for recommending her to me!) So I've decided to devote occasional posts to budgets, bargains and the like. My apologies to those of you who have absolutely no interest in this sort of thing.

One of my favorite strategies is to shop at the cheapest grocery store in town, but then go and scoop the sales at the other grocery stores. Usually they have a few items every week that they sell for even less than the discount grocery stores do. I went to Albertson's today and managed to get a pretty good deal on some soup, crackers, and ground hamburger.

I got 17 cans of soup, 2 lbs of lean hamburger, 2 bags of goldfish crackers, and 1 plastic tablecloth for $16.44. The tomato and chicken noodle soup are on sale for fifty cents each, the selects soups are 1.00 and the microwaveable soups are 1.25. The hamburger is on sale for 1.99 a pound. The sale on soup runs until Tuesday and if you clip coupons, you should have a stack of Campbell's coupons from two weeks ago that will take a few more dollars off.