Okay so I am making a few changes. At first this was a family/personal blog. Then I changed it to couponing. Now I think I am just going to use it as an EVERYTHING blog.
Still couponing, but also post about the family and my life.
I will also be blogging about the 30 day health challenge with my girls in SHABIO at cafemom.com!

Albie's/Walgreen's Trip 7-30-09

Walgreens Transaction:
* 4 scotch mailers - FREE with overage... they were on sale for .39 and I used 4 .50/1 (RP 7/26)

I purchased a tea with this to soak up the overage, it was hot!

1st Albie's Transaction:

* 2 ziploc freezer bags - $1.25 each after $1.50/2 printable at this link

* 3 Tuna cans - On sale for only $.39/each

* 2 Albie's cereal boxes - $.99/each

* 5 boxes of poptarts -$1/each (promo buy 5 get each one for $1)

* 2 gallons of milk - 1.99/each

* 2 half gallons of chocolate milk - FREE after printables for purchasing white milk

* 2 packs of bic pens - FREE plus $1 overage. They were on sale for $.50/ea and I used 2 $1/1 printable found here

* Bananas- $1.08

* Watermelon - $2.56

* Carrots - $ 1.79

* Grapes - $ 2.13 (On sale for .88/lb)

I also used $1/$10 for produce and 2 doublers. Made my total to 16.67. I saved $37.28. That is 69% savings!

2nd Transation:

* 2 chefboyarde cans - $.25 after using 2 $1/1 printables here

* 2 half gallons of my new favorite tea (Swiss) - $ 2.38/both after using $1/2

Then I used 3 doubler coupons bringing my total to an overage of $.12! But after taxes I paid OOP 6 cents! LoL We saved over 100% I LOVE IT!!

3rd Transaction:

** So in this transaction there are purchases made by my hubby for work so we paid full price**

* White rice - $6.99

* Soy sauce - $1.69

* Daisy Sour Cream - $2.19 after using $.50/1

* Beechbut cookies for lilman - $.59 after using $1/1

* Pork ribs - $ 3.92 (only .99 a pound! We saved $9.90 on these)

* 2 packages of steak - B1G1Free $8.51 for both

We used 2 doublers which brought our total to $22.39. Saved $21.35. That is 48% saved.

So take all 3 transactions. We spent $ 42.22 for everything. Saved $65.91. Thats $108.13

worth of groceries and saved 60%!

JCP Clearance!

FYI JCPenney is doing their annual 70% off clearance deal! Today I got shirts as low as $2.98! Go check it out before all the good stuff is gone! =)

Tried something new this sunday

So since I am out of school for a month, and have a little more time on my hands I thought I would try something new. I decided to clip every coupon of items that I may want... I know seems like a lot of work but it really wasn't! It only took me 35 minutes to clip and file the coupons above. That included some re-organizing of my binder and throwing away expired coupons.

The reason I wanted to try this is because honestly I am sick of filing away inserts, I never know if I have a coupon filed away for something I am either purchasing or found for a great deal! So this is my 3o day test. As you can see I clipped a ton of coupons, I just kept thinking "Would I buy this if it was a really good deal"... if so I clipped it.

Few things I learned: 3 pages of holders is a must in beauty, cleaning, and paper goods. If not more..

Shopping trip from Friday

Just wanted to post this picture really quick, they are always fun to look at. I lost the receipt =(

I still saved about 50% even with all the produce, toilet paper & diapers!

The video I've been promising...

So I made this weeks ago, I just forgot to submit it! I hope it helps =)

Albies Preview

Find it here!
Remember this is for Utah, so Idaho's may differ.
Some great things I am excited about (lets hope they are included for Idaho!)

Healthy eating on a budget?

A large myth when it comes to couponing is that you can only get the packaged, high in sat. fat foods on sale because of the manufacture's coupons. I am here to prove that is not true. I am one of the millions of American's that are overweight and dieting. But even more than that, I want my family to get the nutrition they need to stay healthy. I am doing the weight watcher's diet, which in my mind is the best meal plan for anyone out there trying to lose weight AND live a healthy lifestyle.
It is tough when other blogs out there are raving about free ice cream. I admit I fell into it as well, getting free ice cream, buying 10 hamburger helpers because they were so cheap... But you can get items that are healthy for inexpensive as well. For example, yogurt (which you will probably never see me buy because it makes me yack.. unless I feel like making fruit & yogurt parfait) or milk or Albies does sales all the time on produce, and even fish. You should be saving so much money on the staples (salad dressing, sauces etc.) its ok sometimes to spend a little more and get that yummy salmon from the butcher.
The shopping trips ahead I am committing myself to finding the best deals on produce, fish, dairy, and whole grains. But also its okay to have a little treat (like the free McCafe at McDonalds today.. just if your hungry get a fruit & yogurt parfait or something LoL)

No one said it would be easy, being a new mom and a new college student. Everything has been pretty crazy but I am happy to say this week is finals week, its all that is left for the summer semester!
I have a lot on my plate even after school, next week I have 5, that's right 5 appointments, then you add in grocery shopping, my weekly playdates (Interested? Check them out here) and everything else that comes with a 8 month old, its crazy!
Austin has an appointment with a helmet specialist next week, we are trying to make the most informed decision whether or not to put him in a helmet since it is just cosmetic. Also we will have a meeting with a physical therapist later this month. Having a preemie is not easy in the beginning, but the struggle doesn't go away for a while..
I only have 1 month off and then Fall Semester begins. I have 2 trips to take, all these appointments to get done (my poor dogs need groomed so bad! LoL) and I need to catch up on things like Austin's baby book.
And one thing high on my list is continuing to educate people on couponing. Last week I did a speech to my Comm 101 class about the importance of couponing, it went well and I think I truely persuaded people to begin couponing. I hope that anyone skeptical reading this puts their fears aside and e-mails me! To efficiently collect/clip coupons you only need about 2 hours a week! That isn't much!
Anyway there is my little update. Little shoutout to my mom and grandma who keep up on this ;-) Love you guys!

Quick trip

I am getting so much better at this! I didn't use many coupons today... a lot of the stuff I bought was just on sale at a great price and I did it all in 1 transaction.

* stride gum - clearence for $.64

* Albies chips - $1.89 (for the free dip lol)

* Tortillas - $1.99

* Bread - $1.79

* 2 Reser's dips - FREE (after 2 $1/1 coupons)

* 4 flavored milks - $ FREE (after 2 $1/1 coupons and doublers)

* 3 coffee mate creamers - $2.50 for all (after $1.50/2 and $1/1 coupons)

* 4 stir fry veggies - $1/each

* pretzels - $1

Total OOP- $16.09. Saved - $ 27.60. Thats 63%!

OH AND I GOT A $1 OYNSO FROM COFFEE MATE =)

Shopping trip 7-12

On this trip I did not use GrocerySmarts.com because there was nothing I needed. I was just purchasing things I needed, a yummy dinner for tonight, and using doublers, therefor the savings percentage is not as high as usual.

First I went to Walgreens:

* 2 jumbo packs of Huggies diapers - $12 for both after using coupons and getting $5 RR

* 2 Palmolive dish soap - $.99/each after Walgreen's coupon

Then Albies:

1st transaction:

* Coffee creamer

* Cat food

* Baked tostitos

* 1 gal milk

* 2 2 lb bricks of cheese

* 2 lean pockets

* 5 jars DHA baby food

* A little over a pound of fresh salmon

* French bread

I used in store coupons $.28/1 for lean pocket plus $.75/2. In store coupons of $1/1 for the cheese and 2 printables of $1/1 $.75/5 gerber DHA, then $.75/1 milk. And 5 doublers.

Total OOP - $36.42 Total saved - $ 13.83, should have been $14.83.

2nd transaction:

* Kraft Mayo

* 5 DHA gerber jars

* Huggies baby wipes

* Oral B tooth brush (FREE after coupons)

* 3 lunch meats

* Grapes

* 2 Lemons

* 2 corn ears

* bag of mixed fruit

I used $.75/1 mayo, $1/1 toothbrush, $.75/5 DHA gerber jars, $.75/1 baby wipes, $1/3 lunch meat, $1 off produce, and 5 doublers. I spent $22.54 and saved $14.03.

Oh BTW, we had yummy salmon, corn on the cob and french bread tonight.. it was soo good! LoL

Last 2 weeks of summer semester

I apologize I will not be as "active" it is the last 2 weeks of the semester and I will be busy with projects, speeches and exams! But I am about to plan my shopping trip for today... so I will be sure to add that =)

WALMART TAKING DOUBLERS!

NEWS: WAL MART IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING DOUBLERS =(

So I just read from http://discountqueens.blogspot.com/ that Walmart on Garrity is accepting Albie's doublers!! And from what it sounds like there is no limit of coupons per transaction!
WHOA!!

Happy Wednesday!

The GrocerSmarts list is up! http://www.grocerysmarts.com/idaho/lists/indexg83ro1.php?a83lb2
As of now I don't think I will be making a trip. But I am waiting until Sunday to see if we get 3 more doublers. Which would be awesome to use up some of those coupons expiring this month.
I am going to make a trip to Target tho! Sounds like they have some great deals =)

FREE Mocha Mondays

I was looking around and found McDonalds is doing a promotion starting July 13th- August 3rd to give a FREE sample of their McCafe iced or hot mocha.Get more info here!
You all know how I looove coffee ;-) But the best kind is free!

More Doublers!

Get the paper tomorrow for more Albie's doublers!

Free Redbox!

So I thought I would post these from now on so my fam & friends can get with the times and use Redbox! LoL

For this summer every first Monday of the month they have FREE codes for movies. It is only one free movie rental per credit/debit card. You must return the movie before 9 PM Tuesday to not be charged. After that it is $1 a day.

Anwho here is the one for today: 4J7LF6

And one that is good until July 7th: 7HE79B

It's that time again...

Albies preview is HERE
Looks like they are still doing the epic deal... so again this may be another small transaction week... or if you are just starting this is a great week to stock up!

Walgreen's trip 7-6

So I ran out of TP and thought what better time than to use my Walgreen's RRs (register rewards) since they expire on the 10th. I thought I would share because we all run out of things, then run to the nearest/easiest place to pick it up and typically pay full price... then buy other things on a whim ( like I did... but I will show you why thats OK if you are buying on sale)

Prices:

* 4 Mars candies - usually .89/each (ok I didn't NEED these but they are good movie candy)

* 4 rolls of cottonelle - $3.79

* 4 rolls of scott - $3.79

After using my $4 RRs, 2 $1/1 TP coupons, and an in-store coupon to make the candy $.49 I only spent $3.54! Thats 68% savings! =) So keep on top of your coupons and OYNSOs so if you do have to run out and get something you can grab a few coupons to save money... its a life style change people... LoL

Albies shopping trip 7-5

If you got the paper today you probably noticed Albies has 3 doublers on their ad! So since my wonderful mom is here I went on a quick trip and it went flawless (yay!)

Here is my purchases (the manager went ahead and combined my 4 transactions into 1, which makes it even easier):

* Lysol wipes - $1.29 (after $1/1 and doubler)

* Mayo - $.49 (after $,75/1 and doubler)

* Pickles (large jar)- FREE (after $1/1 and doubler)

* 2 Wishbone Boutifuls - FREE plus $.66 overage (after 2 $1/1 and 2 doublers)

* 4 Kraft BBQ sauces - FREE plus $2 overage (after 2 $1/1 and 2 $.50/1 and 4 doublers)

* 2 Kraft Dressings - $1/each (after 2 $.50/1 and 2 doublers)

* Colby jack cheese - $ 3.99 (after $1/1 and doubler)

So I spent $5.09 on this shopping trip! And saved $35.79 thats 87% savings! MY BEST EVER!!!
Its time for a celebration! =)

7/1-7/7

I think last nights shopping trip will be mine for the week unless I need to run over and get hotdogs.. or decide to get a few more things I am still unsure but these are the only things I found appealing this week:



Oscar Mayer beef franks 16 oz.
B1G1FREE
Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs, any $1/2 (Expires: 7-5-09) SS-5/10 and $1/2 (8-16-09) SS-6/21
*****
Kellogg's cereal - Jumbo Krispies 11.2 oz., Rice Krispies 12 oz., Little Bites Mini Wheats 14.5 oz., Blueberry Muffin Mini Wheats 16 oz.
$2.50
Extra promo: Save $2.50 instantly when you buy 3. Kelloggs Mini-Wheats, Rice Krispies or Crispix Cereal, any flavor 10 oz. or larger $1/1 (7-19-09) RP-6/7
$0.67
****
Kellogg's cereal - Jumbo Krispies 11.2 oz., Special K Blueberry 11.4 oz., Touch of Honey Corn Flakes 12 oz., Rice Krispies 12 oz., Raisin Bran Extra 14 oz., Little Bites Mini Wheats 14.5 oz., Blueberry Muffin Mini Wheats 16 oz., Corn Flakes 18 oz., Raisin Bran 20 oz.
$2.50
Extra promo: Save $2.50 instantly when you buy 3.
$1.67
*****
Kellogg's cereal - Raisin Bran 20 oz., Raisin Bran Extra 14 oz.
$2.50
Extra promo: Save $2.50 instantly when you buy 3. 1.00/1 printable at Group C
$0.67
*****
Kellogg's cereal - Raisin Bran Extra 14 oz., Special K Blueberry 11.4 oz., Raisin Bran 20 oz.
$2.50
Extra promo: Save $2.50 instantly when you buy 3. Kelloggs All-Bran, Special K or Raisin Bran Cereal, any flavor 11.5 oz. or larger $1/1 (7-19-09) RP-6/7
$0.67
*****
Kellogg's cereal - Special K Blueberry 11.4 oz.
$2.50
Extra promo: Save $2.50 instantly when you buy 3. 1.00/1 printable at GroupA print it twice
$0.67
****
Kraft BBQ sauce 18 oz.
$1.00
Kraft Barbecue Sauce, any variety .50/1 (7-14-09) SS-6/14
$0.50

*****
Wish Bone Bountifuls 9.5 oz.
$1.67
Wish-Bone Bountifuls Dressings, any 9.5 oz. bottle or larger $1/1 (9-19-09) RP-6/28
$0.67
****
Wish Bone dressing 16 oz., Bountifuls 9.5 oz., Spritzers 7 oz.
$1.67
Wish-Bone Bountifuls Dressing, any 9.5 oz., Wish-Bone or Wish-Bone Western Dressings, any 16 oz. or larger or Wish-Bone Salad Spritzers Dressings, any 7 oz. .75/1 (7-8-09) RP-5/17
$0.92
****
Wish Bone dressing 16 oz., Bountifuls 9.5 oz., Spritzers 7 oz.
$1.67
.75/1 printable at this link
$0.92
*****
Wish Bone Spritzers 7 oz.
$1.67
Wish-Bone Salad Spritzers Dressings, any 7 oz. or larger $1/1 (7-8-09) RP-5/17
$0.67


And this will happen, which is why you bulk buy... and when things are a great deal you spend a little more. Its best to have a monthly shopping limit than a weekly because again you may not spend much next week but next week could be AWESOME and you spend double your weekly.

After hours shopping trip..

Okay just a little tip: make sure you check all coupons and DOUBLERS for their expiration date. I guess I made a mistake in reading the Albies doublers and thought they expired today... not yesterday. Well at 10:30 at night I decided to look at them... and realize my mistake and try to hurry and grab some coupons and go. So I didn't plan for this trip like I should have, therefor I made mistakes BUT I still saved a ton of money thanks to the doublers.

1st transaction:

* Kraft Ranch

* Kraft BBQ sauce

* Kraft Pasta

* Kraft Tarter Sauce

* Jolly time popcorn

* Simply lemonaide

* 4 bagel bites

* Grapes

* Cherries

* Watermelon

* 6 ears of corn

I spent $30.68. I made a mistake somewhere because once again I didn't get the $5 off for Epic deal and looking back I know where it could have been. But again that was a last minute thing and I didn't plan like I should have. Also I spent $15 on produce instead of $10 (I did use $1/$10 coupon) But this is all stuff we will be using this weekend since my mom will be here today.

I also used $1/1 kraft salad, $1/1 popcorn, (2) $1/2 bagel bites, and 3 doublers coupons.

2nd transaction:

* Gal of milk (.75/1 coupon)

* 2 gerber foods (.75/2 coupon)

* Jar of pickels ($1/1 coupon)

and I used 3 doublers. My total on this transaction was only $3.61

3rd transaction:

* 3 starbucks coffees

mmm my weakness.. used 3 $1/1 coupons and 3 doublers which meant I paid $2.06 after tax for these.

Not too bad for only $36.35 but it should have been about $10 less if I would have planned.