Recycle Bank

Hi Blogger Friends!

I just recently join a site called Recycle Bank and I wanted to let everyone know about it.  Going green is easier than I thought and this site encourages you and gives you points to win coupons and other free items.  The link is not letting me make a quick link, so just copy and paste this in your browser.  I'm working on fixing this issue.  Here's the link:

http://www.recyclebank.com/referafriend/?___store=us&bl=Y2hyaXN0aW5hdHJlbWJsYXlAeWFob28uY29t&utm_campaign=Refer-a-friend&utm_medium=direct%20link&utm_source=T2569396&cm_mmc=Refer-a-friend-_-direct%20link-_-T2569396-_-referral

Let me know if you sign up under this link!  I get points for referrals!  :)

Sorry for the delay in blog post lately...I have some long blogs that will be arriving soon.

Great Coupons for Walgreens this weekend!

Walgreens will have Scott Paper Towels on sale for $3.99!  With the $1 off coupon on coupons.com, (use the link below) it will make them $2.99, 50cents per roll!  Not too shabby! :)  I just printed one for myself!

Publix Couponing! :)

My latest shopping trip at Publix!  I was pretty proud of myself.  I got a few things for free and the other stuff was really cheap.  Total before Coupons or Publix Sales: $230.67 after coupons and sale items my out of pocket was $109.43.

My free items:
2 Stayfree Pads(Publix Coupon and MFR Q stacked)
1 Huggies Wipes(Publix baby club coupon, buy Huggies Diapers, get wipes for free)
9 Fuze Drinks(I bought 15, don't worry..didn't clear the shelf, I barely made a dent, they had a sale going on for 10 for 10 and I had 4 buy two save $1 mfr q's and 1 Publix Q, buy 10 get 5 for free.)
4 Texas Toast Croutons(we eat salad a few times a week!  I wanted to buy more, but didn't want to clear the shelves....that is bad couponing manners.  Publix sale 99cents, I had 4 MFR Q's that doubled)
2 Lenders Bagels(Publix BOGO, 2 MFR q's, buy Country Crock get $1 off Lender's Bagels, so that made them free with Publix BOGO sale)
4 Free Baby jars Beech Nut(1 MFR Q they mailed to me from website)
6 Free Baby jars Beech Nut(2 MRF Q's I printed offline)
4 Yoplait Dora Yogurts(Madi eats yogurt every morning with breakfast, Publix Sale 2 for $4, 2 $2 Publix store Q WYB 2, I had 4 .50cent Q's that doubled to a $1)
2 Kraft BBQ Sauce Publix BOGO 2 for $1.33(2 MFR 50cent q's that doubled, I made a 33cent profit)
2 Small Smart Balance butters Publix BOGO sale $1.50 for both(2 75cent MFR Q) 


Almost Free Items:
2 Cover Girl Cheeker Bronzers(Publix sale, $2 off blush, made them $1.59, 2 $1 off MFR and 1 $1 Store Q, it actually made them 9cents each, but that's practically free!  haha)
1 Publix Spagetti Sauce(1cent Penny Wed. Mystery Item, 1cent is close to free to!)

Items with coupons, not free but cheap...or cheaper:
2 Sundown Vit. D $4.99 each(1 Publix Q $6 off wyb 2 Sundown Products, 2 MFR Q's $1)total $1 each
1 Chinet Napkins Publix BOGO Sale $1.08(1 MFR Q .75cents) total: .33cents
2 Mezzetta Gardinia Mix Publix sale $1.99(2 MFR Q's) total: 99cents each
1 Playtex Cloths $2.39(1 MFR Q $1) total: $1.39 
1 Huggies Size 3 diapers $10.99(Publix Sale $2 off, $2 MFR Q and I used the Publix Q buy Diapers get wipes free) total: $6.99
1 Huggies Swimpants Small $8.79(Publix Sale $2 off, Store Q $1.50, MFR Q $2) Total: $3.29
1 Huggies Swimpants Med. $8.79(Publix Sale $2 off, Store Q $1.50, MFR Q $2) Total: $3.29
1 Huggies Pull-ups $9.67( Publix sale $2 off, MFR Q $2 off) $5.67
1 5lb Dominoe's Sugar Publix Sale $2.99 ($1 MFR Q) $1.99
1 2lb Ground Chuck $5.80($1 off fresh meat when you buy 2 Webber Grinders) $4.80
1 Sargenta Cheese Slices Publix sale $3(1 MFR Q .75cent) $2.25
1 Arm and Hammer toothpaste BOGO $1.48(1 75cents MFR) total: .73cents
1 Frenches Mustard sale $1.25(MFR Q .30cents Dbld) total: .65cents
2 Weber Grinder Seasonings sale $1.69 each(2 MFR $1 off) .69cents each
1 Weber BBQ Seasoning sale $1.50(1 $1 MFR) .50cents
2 Gerber Fruit puffs $2 each(.65cents MFR) $3.35 for both
2 Frenches Spicy Brown Mustard $1.25 each(2 $1 MFR Q) .25cent each
1 Glad Drawstring 40ct $7.99($1 MFR) $6.99
1 1/2lb Boars Head Roast Beef $6.09($1 off any Deli Item Publix Baby club Q) $5.09

Extreme Couponing again...

I posted this on my facebook page and found it today and realized I never added it to my blog.  This shopping trip happened at the end of March, these are the details and picture:

 This purchase only cost me $5!!

This is the breakdown:

Back on March 31st Walgreens had a one day Family and Friends coupon you could print off their website for 15% off so everything was discounted with that coupon at first.

2 Ziplock Bags: $1.69 each = $3.38, 1 Q buy 2 get $1.25 off= $2.13

2 Skintimate Gel 7oz bottle: $1.70 each =  $3.40 1 Q $0.55cents off 1= $2.85

2 Colgate Total Toothpaste: $2.55 each =  $5.10, 2 Q's for $$1.50 off = $2.10

2 Trivosol  50ml Infant Vitamin Supplement: $2.12 each = $4.24, 2 Q's for $2 off= $0.24cents

2 Charmin 6 dbl Rolls:  $3.22 each = $6.44, Walgreens in store Q $1.36 + $.25cent MFR Q = $4.83

1 Super Pack Walgreens Diapers 55ct.=$3.59 on Clearance, $1.60 Walgreens Q in Infant Care Booklet(it would have been the $2 q, but since I received 15% off already the Walgreens Q was changed to $1.60)

I used two Walgreens Register Rewards from the week before equallying $10.  My total out of pocket was only $5.60.  Toilet paper is more than $5 for one roll!!! :)  I saved, $43.09 with my coupons and Walgreens clearance. :)

Extreme Couponing again...

This is my biggest haul ever! :)  My total was $300 at Publix and after my coupons I only spent $124.22, with tax the total was $132.84.  I saved, $175.78 with coupons and Publix BOGO deals.  I purchased a lot without coupons that's why my total was still over hundred.  But, not too shabby.... :)  Here's a few pics, I loaded the stuff up, it doesn't look like a lot, but I will break it down to.  This was a good week to stock up on snacks..so I did!  I have started a nice stockpile of food, so I can buy the things on sale with my grocery budget now and get things super cheap, like treats that I wouldn't normally buy. LOL  :)

20 jars of Baby Food Meat 99cents each          Beech Nut Rice Cereal                       2 Ragu Spaghettie Sauce                                   Oxi Clean(big tub)                             Magnum Ice Cream Bars                                    Nature's own Bread                             2 Boxes of Frosted Flakes                                  Smart Balance Milk                           2 Meat Kabobs($4 each)                                      1 Ground Round($4) 3 Perdue Fresh Chicken($6 each)                                       2 Boxes Frozen                                  2 Tyson Anytizer($6.99each)                                  Velveeta                                           2 tubs of Helleva Good Dip                                   2 Odwalla Smoothie Drinks             Corona Light($11.99)                                              2 Perrier Lime liters                        2 boxes of 90 Calorie Fiber One Bars                4 Boxes of NW Granola Thins           2 boxes of Golden Graham bars                         2 boxes of Chex Mix Bars                  Publix Brand Bagged Salad                                2 Oreo Fudge Cream Mint packs Nantucket Dbl Choc. Chip Cookies                   4 18ct. Boxes of Playtex Tampons     2 Tubs of Gaviscon AntacidTablets($7.98each)                                                           2 Boxes of Frozen Fillo Dough                             2 Publix Frozen Veggies                   2 Fridge Del Monte Cups                                       2 4pack DOLE Fruit Cups               Lay's Cheddar Chips                                              3 Cans of Rotel                               1 Package Huggies Pullups($9.67)                     Huggies 184ct Wipes Refill               Huggies Toilet Wipes                                             1 Moscato Wine                               1 John Frieda Full Repair Shampoo                   1 Cover Girl Eyeshadow.

(I have no idea why my list looks like this, they are all in order when I edit! UGH)

At Target these were my deals:

Nivea's Men's Body Wash: $3.04, used $3 off Q= $0.04cents!

Kandoo Wipes: $1.42(on clearance), used $1 off != $0.42cents!

Nivea Sun Kissed Glow: $8.99(regular price), used Target Q $2 off & MFR Q $3 off= $3.99

Aveeno Hand Cream Travel: $2.69(sale price), $2 off MFR Q=$0.69cents

Colgate Battery Toothbrushes: $5.64(clearance), $3 off MFR Q's=$2.64each

Transaction total: $11.34 without tax

I printed my Nivea Sun Kissed Coupons, Tyson Coupons, John Frieda and others from here!!!  Go print some coupons from my link! :)  Thanks!

Steals and Deals of the week! :)

So this weeks shopping trips weren't too bad.  At Publix my total was $200 and after my coupons on Good Friday I paid $101.  I don't have any pictures because I bought a lot of Refrigerated stuff. :)  I got a free "Earth Day Bag," free Keychain, 2 free Cover Girl Eyeshadows, something else for free but I can't remember..I think it was an Air Wick item maybe.

At Target my total was $90 and after just Coupons, since they don't double or have a savings card, I paid ONLY $23, here's the picture of all my good deals. All the Similac Ready-to-Feed were free and two orange one's were money makers on discount for $3.94 and I had 2 $5 coupons, the AD Ointment was free and a money maker, my coupons were $3 and $2 off and the price was $3.94.  And the Nivea glow was only $2 after my coupons, its normally $7.99 or more. :)

At Walmart my total was only $1.38  I used some Walgreens Register Rewards that I had from the week before to pay some of it bringing my total down. :)

Don't forget to print your coupons below!!  There are a lot of great coupons this week:


There is a "deal" of the week for $2 off Wisk, .50cents off Ballpark Hotdog and $1 off Sarah Lee Deli Meat at the Deli Counter.  :)

Freebies and SUPER Cheap deals.

These are my freebies of the past few weeks! :)

This is from Target!  I signed up awhile back when they had this freebie available.  The bag alone was $5.99 on the shelf at Target.  And the little freebies were $1 each.  And I received an entire booklet with $25 worth of coupons.  I've already used a lot of them. 

A friend blessed me with the Enfamil Lipil and 4 easy packs of Formula, I got those in the mail yesterday.  The other Enfamil Samples came free from my doctor at my daughters last visit. :)  Love the freebies, they are such a blessing.

 I bought the Enfamil Lipil below from Walgreens.  It was on mark down for $3.49, I had a coupon for $2 off a regular size can and it made it $1.49!!!  I was so thrilled.  

 Busy week!  I have a lot to catch up on, just wanted to share a few deals. 

Don't forget to print your coupons this week off coupons.com! :)

Extreme Couponing!

Deals and steals from the past few weeks!  Sorry it has taken me awhile to update, but these are just a few shopping trips here and there.

At Publix, I got eye pencils for $0.50.  This week I got 2 Eye Shadows for free, because I had a 2 Publix Coupons for $1.50 and 2 MFR(manufacture) for $1.50 and they were $2.99. 

At Target I bought AirWick Freshmatic for $0.24.  I had a MFR Coupon for $4.00.  The week before I got 2 of them completely free at Walgreens AND I received Register Rewards so I made money.  I just couldn't resist to buy another one for 24cents!  Very close to free! :)

Walgreens shopping trip: $23.65 was my out of pocket. $17 back in Walgreens Register Rewards, so I only really paid $6.65 for everything above in the picture.

Breakdown: 

Almay Eye shadow $5.59 sale, $2 Coupon and $5 RR money maker

Almay removable Eye Make up pads $4.19 sale, $1 MFR coupon and $5 RR(money maker!! Yeah baby!!)

M&M's Candy on sale $2.50 each,  I had two $1 MFR Q and  one $1 off Walgreens coupon when you buy 2.

Huggies Wipes $5.99 Sale, $2 Walgreens Infant Care Booklet Coupon $3.99 for 184 wipes!! Not bad!

Puffs tissues $1.99 and 99cents, I had a BOGO MFR Coupon so it made them 50cents each.

Palmolive was $1 sale, 25cent MFR Coupon and I received $1 RR(made it free)

Scrubbing Bubbles Extend a Clean $3.49 Sale, used $3.00 MFR Coupon, made it 49cents...haha

Schick Quattro Razer for him and Schick Quattro refills for her were $8.99 each on sale, I had two $3 MFR Coupon, and $6 RR received on both made them each $2.99

Olay Body Wash $7.99 Sale & Olay Acne Wash $7.99, Walgreens deal, Buy one get one half off, so Body was was $4, then I had a BOGO MFR, so that took off $7.99 and $4.00 so I only paid 99cents for both!!!  LOL  How crazy is that???!!!

I did a few transactions on this one, only because I needed both of the razor items and both of the Almay items.  But, they only give you one RR per deal, so the Make up counter lady was patient enough with me to do multiple transactions.

Don't forget to print your coupons off this link!  Its where I printed my Airwick Freshmatic coupons among others!  They have awesome coupons this week. I just printed one for $5 off Enfamil..those are few and far in between!

Frugal Friday 3/25/11

Another themed day from the Blogging world:

Frugal Friday!

 In lieu of my new coupon-ing venture I am sharing my new "Coupon Train" rules.  Like most Military Families we have friends and family living all over.  To keep in touch we all use the wonderful world wide web, that sparked a light bulb to start a group called "Coupon Trading."  In the group we now have a "Coupon Train" circulating with coupons that we can't/won't use ourselves, but hate to see go to waste.  In the Coupon train we all share the love of our coupons.  One person needs doggy items, I need formula items, some want specific laundry detergent and so on.

Here's the rules I made for my group, feel free to adjust the rules to fit your friends/families needs.

Coupon Train Rules/Etc..

Conductor: (insert your name here)

 I started the train with 3 separate envelopes going to different random people on the list.

 I also dated each envelope beside my address when it was mailed and do the same when you mail yours so you can get an accurate time of how long the train takes to circulate.

Right now I started with 20 coupons.  I want to build up to 30-40 coupons, so I encouraged my friends who had extra to throw them in.

  

COUPON TRAIN RULES:

 1. Please contact the Conductor with any questions, concerns, address changes, unable to participate at anytime so we can keep the train going and keep it fair for everyone else involved.

 2. If you want to receive great coupons from others, you need to send out great coupons to them. Sure, you are exchanging the coupons you don’t want for those that you do. But that implies that the person receiving coupons from you will be getting great coupons from you, too, just not ones you can use yourself.

3. In general, never put in expired coupons, store-specific, Catalina (check-out coupons or register rewards), or internet printed coupons are of limited use to others, and can increase postage costs. In contrast, inserts, non-inserts, wine tags, peel offs, rebate forms, are often useful but not available in all areas, so can add great value for other members of the train. If you aren’t sure, ask!

 4. Also, don’t “gut” the train by removing everything great. If there are multiple copies of a fantastic coupon, take ONLY one and leave the rest for others.

 5. You may add 3 items beside you address on your "wish list" so if someone not using those coupons can mail them to you directly.

 6. A member who removes 10 coupons must replace them with exactly 10 coupons.  Replace with the exact number you remove.  You are allowed to add more if you have tons of the same one, but don't take all 20 coupons and only put back in 10.  We have to be fair to make sure everyone is getting full benefit of the train.

7. Occasionally people go on vacation, have a family emergency, or may need to leave a train. There may be an addresses change or typo that’s been updated. Always check your routing list before mailing the train!  PLEASE Contact me if  you need to opt out of the train, then you can contact me and I will add you back at anytime. 

8. If you are unable to participate one week, i.e. no coupon's to add to the stash, then just simply mail the coupons to the next person on the train.

 9. Start building your stash now so when the train comes you will be able to participate.

 10. Expiration Dates – Ideally members will remove expired coupons, and any that will expire within 20 days of when THEY will mail the envelope. So for an envelope to be mailed on 4/1, the coupons should be good through 4/20 or longer. This helps to ensure that members don’t receive expired coupons due to postal delays. Take into account holidays and three day weekends, when mail may be running up to a week behind.

 11. You have 1-2 days to mail the coupons back out.  Don't hold onto the envelope, we need to keep the train moving at all times.  So the faster turn around, the faster you will get another envelope. 

Hope that helps you become a new Frugal Goddess like me! :)

Coupon Binder

The infamous HOT Pink Binder:

  I purchased binder on clearance at Target. Office Max for three different sets of plastic protectors, clear trading card(baseball card), 3x5 Picture and 4x6 Picture Protectors.  I use the 3x5 and 4x6 for larger coupons and multiples.  The binder has pockets on the front and back to place Grocery/Drug Store ads and my envelope for specific coupons for that day's shopping trip.  I use http://www.coupons.com/alink.asp?go=14602yf7310&PLID=CJ&CRID=CJ_20090225 to print all my coupons. I also have a link on my left side bar.  I have saved so much printing coupons, sometimes they will have better deals than the Sunday paper.

Picture of Binder completed.

The left side shows the Baseball card clear protectors and on the right is the 4x6 protector that is holding my internet coupons that I printed here: http://www.coupons.com/alink.asp?go=14602yf7310&PLID=CJ&CRID=CJ_20090225

I purchased dividers with tabs and wrote the name of the section on the tab.

In the front and back pockets I place Grocery/Drug Store ads along with my envelope of coupons for that store/day's shopping trip and with a list, including price of item and coupon amount.  I always know the deal information when using coupons because prices can be wrong often.  Aveeno was on sale for $3.99 at Target, at the registers it was $6.99.  My coupons were for $2 making it $0.99, but item and clearance tag were in the wrong place.  I canceled the transaction and saved my coupons for another time.  Normally I would have made a fuss, but its important I build a good rapport with the sales associates and managers.  Not all stores are coupon friendly.

Sections are:

Frozen

Dairy

Meat/Cheese/Butter/SourCream

Can/Rice/Pasta

Cake Mix/Spice/Dressing

Cereal/bars/cokes/snacks

Home(cleaning, paper products)

Personal Care

Baby

Having my coupons organized made a world of difference saving money and not causing me to get a headache when searching.  I take my binder every single trip, just in case I find something on clearance that is not on my list.

Happy Shopping!

Dollar General Deals

Like most small towns we have the wonderful store called Dollar General.  I don't shop their often, but its there when I need something quick.  We had one roll of toilet paper left and needed it ASAP.

Anytime I run to the store, even for a minute I grab my binder.  You never know when the stars will align and you find that "deal!"  I'm so glad I did.

Here are my 3 "deals" from yesterday:

Febreeze was $3.50

Coupon for $1 off P&G Sunday Paper

Making it $2.50

Gain Fabric Softener 40 loads $3.75

Coupon for $3 off P&G Sunday Paper

Making it $0.75cents

Magic Eraser was on Clearance mark down aisle for $1

Coupon for $0.75cents 

Making it $0.25cents

All that for $3.50!  YAY!!!!!!!  Not too shabby.

I also bought Scott Extra Soft Toilet paper 8 BIG rolls for $5 and had a $1 coupon, but that wasn't a significant deal to me.  Its hard to find good, cheap toilet paper and coupons to go with it. We needed toilet paper regardless of a sale or not. 

Extreme Couponing my version!

This week is Walgreen's BOGO Diapers/Pull up's sale, so I grabbed 6!  Used my $2 off Walgreen's coupon from the Infant Care Booklet and received $8 off my order I also received some face wash for free.  Here are the pictures and I will break it down for you. :)

Infant Care book at Walgreens with TONS of awesome coupons.

Leftside: Pull-ups, Middle Size 5 Wag Diapers, Right Size 2 Wag Diapers

Sorry its blurry!  My phone was ill tonight.

Breakdown:
Diapers $8.99 per pack = $53.94
Clearasil Face Wash $5.79(on sale for $3.79)
Tax: $3.46
Total before discounts/coupons: $63.19


BOGO Sale on Diapers and Pull-ups Discount:  $26.97
Infant Care Coupon: $2(quadrupled for 4 items)= $8.00 off 
Clearasil Walgreen's sale: $2 off(originally $5.79)
Clearasil Coupon(online print out): $2 off
Walgreen's Bucks to use next time in store: $2

Final Cost including tax: $22.13 Not to shabby from $63.19!!!!!

Couponing March 6th

Sign up to receive your $50 in savings coupon book from Publix!  Here's the link!  I just ordered mine.  I LOVE Couponing.  I'm always looking for the best deals.  Please post any deals or place to get coupons in the comment box!

Thanks!!!

Here's the link: http://www.stockingspree.com/signup

My first shot at Extreme Couponing!

Being recently inspired from the new hit TV show Extreme Couponing and  following Southern Savers and Thrifty mom,  I never knew I could save so much money by taking time to use coupons.  My previous experience using coupons was the item I was purchasing with a coupon was more expensive than another brand without a coupon so I gave up since I believed it to be a waste of time.  This week I decided to give it another try with my new found knowledge of tips and tricks.
These are my recent "DEALS" from Target and Walgreens:
Walgreens has Diapers on sale for Buy one Get one Free and a Infant Care Coupon Book that I requested from a Manager, the book was not displayed at the front. Scanning my coupon once it took $2 off every pack. This is what the deal looked like:
$8.99 x 4= $35.96
BOGO - $17.98
Coupon - $8.00($2 off each pack)
Total:  $9.98 for 4 packs of diapers!!!!!!  YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Target Deals this week:

Bounce Dryer Bar was on the Clearance end cap on sale $5.08, originally $5.99.  My bounce coupon took $1 off making it $4.08.  Not bad for 3months of dryer sheets and they smell awesome!  My husband even complimented the wonderful new aroma of our clothes.  Here is what it looks like inside my dryer.  So far, I'm sold on the product.

Next we have the Suave Children's Hair/body wash and Detangler for my 2 1/2yr old.

Originally $5, on clearance for $4.25, using a coupon for a $1 off made it $3.25.  Not to shabby making the items a little over a $1 each. :)  Especially something used often at our house.


Last but not least my BEST deal of the week:

Scrubbing Bubbles Daily Power Shower spray originally $6.99, on clearance for $3.48.  I printed a coupon for $3 off at coupons.com(you can find the link for coupons.com on the left side of my blog) making my Daily Shower Sprayer 48cents!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  AAAAHH!!!  This particular purchase sold me on using coupons again.  :)




Helpful links for couponing:

http://press.discovery.com/us/tlc/programs/extreme-couponing/
http://athriftymom.com/
http://www.southernsavers.com/