Valpack

Check out Valpack.com for some great coupons in your area!
Also watch for them in your mail box... I found $1 off paper plates in mine today!

Coupons!

Click here to get 15% off at the Children's place! Pile this on their 50% off items and save BIG!

Click here to get a FREE sample of bronzer or lipstick! At JCP Sephora only!

I'm back!

I am so sorry for the long absence! My life has been so crazy with school, babysitting and my son's 1st birthday.. I haven't had much time. But my Mom asked about the blog a few days ago, and I really want to get it back up and running.
I am still couponing, but not as much as I use to because lack of time. I am still finding new ways to save money. So this is my attempt to get back into it. It is so important to me to save money. I also want to still use this blog as an update for family. So it's a little bit of everything!

Update

I have had a rough couple days, we have a lot of stressful situations going on and I just can't pull myself together. I've made a lot of changes in my diet though, eating TONS of fruits and veggies. Last night when we went out to eat instead of ordering fries with my sandwich I got a salad with dressing on the side so I would just get a small dip per bite.
Today's MC was to name 3 healthy foods with a low glycemic index, measure recovering heart rate, and listing what we were doing today.

Albie's Shopping Trip 8-4-09

Albertsons is having some awesome promos going on right now! But I noticed today a lot of stuff was selling out quick.

Okay so today I did 3 transactions.

1st:

* 100 Cal chex mix - $1.17 (after printable $.50/1 coupon)

* skippy peanut butter jars - 2 for $3.25 (after using $.75/2 coupon)

* Lipton tea bags - $2 (after $.50/1 coupon)

* boxes of cereal - 2 for $3 (after using $1/2 coupon)

* suave body wash - $1.25 (after using $.75/1 coupon)

* suave hair spray - $1.25 (after using $.75/1 coupon)

* degree deoderant - $3.50 for both (after using $50/1 coupon.. I had another one idk what happened)

* dove deoderant - 2 for $3 (after using 2 $1.25/1 coupons)

* dove soaps - $1.50 ( after using $1/1 coupon)

Plus I used 2 doublers. Total out OOP was $19.52. I saved $33.75. Plus because I spent the $30 on participating items I got $15 of OYNSO catalinas.

2nd transaction:

* 6 cans of mighty dog food - FREE (thanks Ali for the coupons!)

* Meow mix cat food - $6.39 (this was not on sale or coupons, just had to buy it lol)

* Classic bread - $1 (after $1/1 coupon)

* Ritz crackers - $1.99 (after $1/1 coupon)

Then I used one of the $5 OYNSO and 2 doublers. Total OOP was only $4.51. I saved $12.55.

3rd transaction:

* 2 tide detergents - $9.99/ea (after 2 $1/1 coupons)

I also used 2 doublers and my other 2 $5 OYNSO. I paid $9.18 OOP. I saved $26! Plus $5 for my next shopping trip printed out! Woohoo!

I got $105.51

Total OOP - $ 33.21 Total Savings = $72.30 Thats 68% savings! =)

Extra Val Challenge:

i did leg lifts with Austin, it was fun! I plan to do them more often...

Also I did 2 reps of ten of lifting him up and down... that hurt good ;-)

Day 4 of challenge

Today has been so far so good. I have 28 points for WW each day. So far I have had a bowl of mini wheats and 1% milk - 5 pts and a cup of coffee with no sugar creamer - 1 pt. Also a cup of watermelon - 1 pt. For lunch I need to eat a raw veggie. So I will be eating carrots (which are ZERO points!) Val said tuna.. and that sounded really yummy. So tuna sandwich with carotts? We will see, still have 2 hours til lunch. LoL.
DH and I are going for a walk tonight, and hopefully every night since its suppose to cool off the next few nights. Its going to be 80s this weekend (ahhh a break from high 90s!) So I really want to go do a sport... what should we do?

Challenge from Val:

So a challenge was just posted to do an exercise with our Octobabies. What should I do?

Cheese & Yogurt

Any cheese or any yogurt coupons are available here
Hurry they don't last long!

Day 1 of 30 day challenge.

I did HORRIBLE today! I had a horrible day, a lot of drama and stress. Although I did eat some carrots, grapes and broccoli.
Today's MC was to drink 64 ounces and a yoga stretch. I did neither. I am so dissapointed in myself!
Tomorrow WILL be a better day... tomorrow's MC is to eat raw or steamed veggie with lunch... so more carrots =) also a muscle relaxation technique. I will check back tomorrow to let you know how it goes =)

Start couponing!

If your thinking of couponing today is the say to begin, and go get papers! There are 4 inserts in the statesman today (typically theres only 1 0r 2) There are some great coupons!

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.

Albie's Preview!

I planned to do a lot yesterday on here, but instead I went shopping with my best friend ALL day! So I know I am a little behind!
Anwho, here is the Albertson's preview for Wednesday. It is very similar from last week, but definitly some good deals!
Okay back to class...

Good morning!

I've been meaning to post these for a the past 2 days, I have just been busy dealing with my grumpy teething baby. On Friday I made a couple shopping trips after the Albertsons one I wanted to show off. Because there are other places you can shop like WalMart, Walgreens, & Target! I suggest you follow http://athriftymom.com/ , http://attentiontargetshoppers.blogspot.com/ , http://attentiontargetshoppers.blogspot.com/ , http://www.fabulesslyfrugal.com/ , and http://hip2save.blogspot.com/

Okay so first I went to WalGreens and here are my purchases (mainly I just wanted to try it out and see how the register rewards work, and they work just the same as Albie's OYNSO from the catalina)

* Aquafresh toothpaste - $3 + $3 register rewards which technically makes it FREE

* Lysol Mildew remover - $ 2.50 - $1 off coupon = $1.50

* Lysol Wipes - $2.50- $.50= $2 plus I got $1 OYNSO so pretty much I got 2 for the price of 1!

Next is Wally World (WalMart) Now I found this info at http://hip2save.blogspot.com/ I used coupons for trial sizes to get stuff for more than FREE! I spend $1.57 on these items! Heres how:

* 2 trial size Dove deoderants - .97/each, used $1.50/2 = $.44 for both

* 2 floss/tooth picks - $1/each then used 2 $1/1 coupons = FREE

* 2 boxes of bandaides - $1.50/each used 2 $1/1 coupons = $1 for both

* 2 floss - $1/each, used $2/1 = FREE + $2 in overage!

* 1 baby powder - $.97, used $1/1 = FREE + $.03 in overage!

* 2 starbucks ice cream - $ 2.58, used $2/1 = $.58/each

* 1 loaf of bread (which is made in NAMPA BTW! and is way yummy) - $1

Just a little example

So I wanted to show you all this because when you first start out you may just want to start small to get use to how it works.

So here is what I got:

* 2 Banana Boat Baby Sunblocks

* 2 starbucks cold coffees

only 4 items. I spent $10.02 on these items. I spent less on the whole purchase than ONE sunblock is itself. So the sunblock was buy one get one FREE. So I bought 2. I also had a coupon for $2 off of one. That means for 2 sunblocks that cost $10.99/each I got both for $8.99. Then the coffees I had 2 coupons for $1 off each 1. So from being $2.59 each they went down to $1.59... then I used doublers on those 2 $1 off that means they were .59/each! I saved $18.79 this trip 65%!

What is Catalina and OYNSO?

Okay another question I had was what is catalina and OYNSO?

Okay catalina is a machine that Albies uses to market to their customers who use preferred cards. So you make your purchases, they scan your preferred card... they examine what items may interest you and out comes a coupon or OYNSO coupon! (When your reciept prints)

They typically look like this:

So on Wednesday I recieved:

Save$2.50 on starkist

Save $2 on OxyClean

Save $3 for General Mills

Save $2 on Special K Protien bars

OYNSO is simply a coupon that you can use that is a certain dollar amount off your next transaction/shopping order. As you see below on Wednesday I got a $1 OYNSO... which I will be using next time I go shopping at albies!

How to get prepared for a shopping trip

Someone asked me, how do you keep organized and know what to put in seperate transactions.

Well I have tried many methods and this is the one that works for me:

Well on Wednesday I pull up the grocery smarts list. I shrink it to the items I would like. Then I go through and put numbers on the side of quantity (how much I need/want of each item) And make it work with whatever promo/deal or even how many I can buy with the coupons I have. Then I add up the prices and make sure it is in my price range. (Also so I know a round about number or what I should be spending... its never exact because I always get there and find someone else on sale that I want.. lol)

Then I write out, sort of like a list, what I need in each transaction... so I know what will be in each transaction before I even leave home. Then I paper clip that to all the coupons that belong to that transaction. Which looks like this:

I hope this helps, and feel free to ask any more questions!

Mess up

So on my last post I forgot to post a few things like the tomatoes and pork chops!! I will do better next time ;-)

Shopping trip today

Well... I thought it went really well until I got home and checked my receipt. I did 2 separate transactions to buy 10 and get $5 off. Well on one of them I have gone over and over and cannot figure out why I didn't get the $5! I bought 4 mac & cheese, 5 tuna fish , and monster drink. All had the tag showing the promo.

I am bummed, but these things happen. I can't figure out where I went wrong... just maybe the monster drink was in the wrong spot and I didn't buy the right one... But hey it happens. I still saved a ton of money.

Another thing I forgot to do was use my doublers on my first transaction... (the one the $5 was missing from as well) PLUS PYP said that for 4 mac & cheese you would get a $1 OYNSO.. I only got the one for the tuna! =(

But on the positive side this time was much quicker... even tho I didn't have hubby with me. I think I need to start going with him.. so he can watch the baby lol.

So here is my haul:

1st transaction:

* 2 Airwick Air-fresheners. $.50/ea (after $1 coupon should have been FREE with doublers)

* 4 boxes of Mac & Cheese - $1/each (should have been $.50 if I had the $5 promo go through)

* 9 Hamburger/Chicken/Tuna Helpers - about $.74 each ( I had 3 coupons - (2)$.75/3 and (1)$.80/3)

* 5 Tuna Pouches - $1.25 each (should have been $.75/each with promo) =(

* 1 Monster energy drink - $1.50 (should have been $1 with promo)

* 1 gal milk (

If I had used doublers and had the promo work right I would have saved an extra $6.80!! UGH! The cost of this transaction was $23.71. Actually I just realized she didn't scan my milk coupon!! so that's another $.75 I could have saved. That's what I get for going to the upset cashier!

2nd transaction:

* 2 Taco Bell Shells ($.50/each)

* 4 Airwick Air-fresheners (FREE)

* 2 cans of re fried beans ($.50/ea)

* 1 Taco Bell taco sauce ($.50)

* 1 fruit snack box ($1.49)

* 1 bottle of spray-n-wash ($1.99! after using $1.50/1 coupon)

* 1 Airwick freshmatic ( $1.49 after using $4/1)

* 1 Airwick imotion ($2.49 after $3/1)

* 1 South Beach cereal bars ($.99 after $1/1)

* 5 jars of baby food ($.29/each after using $.75/5 and they were clearance)

* Pork Chops ($1.88/lb so I paid $4.46)

* Romain Lettuce ($.99)

So I loved this receipt!! I also used doublers and had an extra $1.75 off! Check this out:

I don't know if you can see but I saved a lot! So I got $116.50 worth of groceries and only spent $41.68. That's a savings of $74.82 = 64%! It would have been 70% had I not messed up.. which would be my highest savings yet. Everyone makes mistakes =)

Happy Wednesday!

The list is now up on GrocerySmarts.com

Just a pointer that I believe I forgot to mention before. When pulling up the list at the top you will see a little button that says "start" then what you do is click the items you want on your list.. press "shrink" (in that same area) and wala! You have a list of just the items you will be purchasing.
Also make sure to grab the Albertsons ad because it sounds like their should be doublers in them! Doublers are double the coupon, up to $1. So if you have a coupon for $1 off of cheese, you would be getting $2 off!

Have fun, and please e-mail with any questions!

Great coupons!

Got to this link:
http://print.coupons.com/couponweb/Login.aspx?pid=12812&nid=10&zid=dl89

Group A is offering .75 off any milk, $1 off any cheese, and $.75 off any yogurt! These typically do not last long, so go print them NOW!

Thanks to..

My mom & dad I now have a tripod!! Woohoo! That video is coming soon ;-)
Followed by many others hopefully.. I love making them.. its so much better demostration than typing!

Albie's Preview!

Here is a preview for Albie's new GrocerySmarts.com list!

Remember this does not start until Wednesday.. wait until then to print/make your shopping list!

Click Here!

Also HERE is a preview of thier ad!

Check out PYP at this LINK for even more deals...

ohh ohh I see doublers coming... may be a good time to use those $1/1 for starbucks.. cheap coffee is always the best! =)

Randomness

I thought every now and again I could post tips or tricks.. not always necessarily shopping...
I thought of this today while cleaning, especially with all that extra newspaper we get... its a great tip that many people don't know:

When washing your mirrors use newspaper instead of a paper towel or cloth towel. It will leave no residue and be 100% streak free!

It's Sunday!

**HAPPY FATHERS DAY!! I would like to say a special thanks to the 2 best daddy's I know, my dad, and my wonderful hubby, Jason. It is his first with our little man. Austin and I got up this morning and made daddy a special breakfast in bed (using all items I bought for great prices at Albies I might add) and gave him our gifts and cards.**

I know I promised a video today I'm so sorry but that's not going to happen today =( #1 I forgot it was Father's Day and #2 I didn't get to buy a tripod like I wanted to be able to do videos having both hands free.

Anyhow there were some great deals in the paper today..and I am getting so excited to see the preview for Wednesday. I wanted to show you what I do on Sundays now that I have figured out my "groove" lol.

First of course I gotta check out the coupons! I lay out the inserts and label them with the date as shown below:

Next I figure out which coupons I want to clip to carry in my binder. I will be showing a quick way to clip these in my video... but most probably know how.

So today I saw the sets of huggies coupons (2) $1.50/1 , $2/1 for overnights, and $.75/1 for wipes. Which do not typically go on sale at Albies but is something I buy weekly! Also in the middle you will see $1/1 for starbucks coffee... I had to clip these because I love to drop by a gas station before school to get one. Finally, $1/1 kraft salad dressing and $.75/1 kraft mayo... now your probably wondering why I would clip these as they most likely will go on sale at Albies... I KNOW on my next shopping trip I will be purchasing these, even if they are not on sale because we are out of these. Obviously I will buy the minimum if it is not on sale.

And finally I file the inserts away in a manila folder with the date. I personally do not file them under SS June or RP March (etc), I think it works better for me this way. But again it is whatever works best for you.

This literally took me 5 mins. this morning. Then I went to change my son's diaper and saw we are almost out of diapers, so now I have the coupons with me to just go and buy them =) Again, Happy Father's Day... make sure to call those special men today and let them know you appreciate them!!

Grocerysmarts.com

Good afternoon! Today I am going to give you a little breakdown of how to use GrocerySmarts.com!
Lets look at the image above.

1st Column (red) - This is where you will initially check to see how good of a deal it is. More stars, especially those in red means it is a good buy and you may want to stock up if this is something you frequently use.

The 2nd column (green) - Just states the items

3rd column (orange) - Says the sale price, how much you could purchase it for without the use of coupons.

4th column (blue) - shows what coupons you can use (I will go more in detail later)

5th column (purple) - shows the price per item after the use of the indicated coupons.

Next photo..

First thing you see boxed in yellow is a promo.. it is in bold. So this promo states that when you spend $25 on the following items you get $10 off OYNSO (on your next shopping order) Then it shows the prices before and after the $10 (essentially 40% off) followed by the coupons you can use, and the prices after those coupons. Please note this is the price AFTER using the $10 OYNSO but that doesn't come until check out, after you have paid... so you may be doing multiple transactions or saving the $10 for next time..

Next circled in red.. I just wanted to point out to watch the sizes when you go shopping!

Now on to the coupons...

Circled in purple is an online printable coupon, these are GREAT to use. Simply print and go. But remember typically you can only print 2 at a time, and another thing I have learned is never to hit "clip" and not print, then close out of the screen.. it will count it as you printed it (idk why)

Next with the green arrow indicates the value of the coupon, on this one it says .35/3 this means you get 35 cents off of 3 cans.

Next the blue arrow... also in parenthesis is the expiration of the coupon.

Last but most important, with the pink arrow is where to find this coupon. Here is says SS- 5/31. This means it is found in the Smart Source insert in the Sunday paper on MAY 31st.

Inserts:

SS - Smart Source

RP - Red Plum

PG - P & G

I really hope this helps, and again feel free to ask any questions!

As promised...

I know this is blurry and hard to see, but those are his 2 bottom teeth!

Oh and here is another from today, he is so goofy and nods yes. We love to just hang out and play with toys after mommy gets home from school..

Stop throwing away your money!

Start saving hundreds on your monthly/yearly grocery bills!

My suggestion is first watch the videos on this link:

http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/CouponIntro.php

I am organizing my coupons very similar to the video about clipping them. I clip what I KNOW I will need within the next 6 weeks, especially on items that do not typically go on sale at Albies. For example, hair gel or gerber purees (baby food)

Last night I made my coupon binder, on Sunday I will be making a video showing it off!! So look forward to that!

Second I suggest you check out 2 wonderful ladie's blog (and of course mine..)

http://sheshopssmart.blogspot.com (see side link) now she is in Utah, so there may be differences..

and http://aliscouponadventures.blogspot.com/ Ali is the one who introduced me to this, she has some awesome posts, you will notice some similar to mine, everyone figures out different methods that works best for them!

Then check out www.grocerysmarts.com I will be making a blog on how to read this hopefully tomorrow during naptime.

From there you have your list, you gather your coupons.. and go fill up your cart!

I know at first it seems like a lot, but once you get familiar with terms and how to do it (and if I could do it you can do it!) it will be a breeze, it will come down to saving your coupon inserts from your sunday paper, some clipping if thats the route you want to go, then planning out your shopping trips.

I plan on adding posts on all the things listed with time, but if you have any questions please ask! I am still learning as well, but I can help figure out the info.

My first promo shopping trip!

I am definitely getting the hang of this, and this shopping trip went so much better as my hubby went with and the baby was actually really good.

I am very disappointed that I cannot keep up this blog as much as I would like to, summer semester is crazy for school between that, homework, my teething son (he got his first 2 right in a row... pics later!), babysitting, and everything else I am just exhausted.

I also purchased a binder to clip coupons as well as filing. I hope to make a video on this soon.

Anyway.. here is my haul:

To get the most out of the 2 promotions I split it in 3 transactions, I did one, handed my $10 OYNSO to hubby for his transaction.. he took the kids and groceries to the car and I went back to use his $10 OYNSO for other sale items. (Promotions: spend $25 on items get $10 off your next shopping trip and 5 Sarah lee items get $5 off instantly)

1st transaction:

2 loafs of Sarah Lee Bread - $4

3 Puddings - $3

2 Hunts Manwich - $1.60 (after .40/2 coupon)

3 chef boyarde - $2.65 (after .35/3 coupon)

4 Healthy Choice dinners - $6 (after 2 $1/2 coupons)

2 Healthy Choice entrees - $2 (after 2 $1/1 coupons)

2 Marie Callanders entrees - $3 (after 2 $1/1 coupons)

1 Jimmy Dean bacon - $ 3

2 Jimmy Dean Sausage - $6

I received $5 off the whole purchase for 5 qualifying Sarah Lee items. Also a $10 OYNSO.

2nd transaction:

2 Crunch n Munch- $2

1 Wesson Cooking Oil- $3

5 Hunts Ketchup - $5

5 Hunts Spaghetti Sauce - $5

8 Banquet meals - $8

1 kids cuisine - $2

3 Hillshire Farms lunch meats - $6

1 summer sausage - $2.50

1 Hillshire Farms sausage - $3

On this purchase I used the last $10 OYNSO and also received another $10 OYNSO. Also an automatic $5 for the Sarah Lee promo.

3rd transaction:

1 Albertons water - $2.99 (after $.51 off coupon)

6 boxes of kelloggs cereal - about $1.15 each... this one is hard to explain. I had 2 $1.50/2 and 2 $1/1 coupons... plus albies had a deal for $3/3 so I got $6 off.

1 butter - $ 1.79 (after $.71/1 coupon)

2 dozen eggs - $1.98

1 digiorno flat bread - $1 (after $1.5/1 coupon... I was so bummed because albies was cleared out of these except for 1! it was such a good deal!)

On this one I used the last $10 OYNSO.

Okay for $172.93 worth of groceries I only spent $57.59!! That's a savings of 66%! I am also at $.20 off per gallon of gas. Okay off to work on my binder...

Today's savings

Okay so I have been so busy with school I haven't been much keeping up with this. I plan to start stockpiling my groceries more once I get my school funding. Here is what I got today:

1 gal of Viva milk

2 .5 gal of darigold milk

1 fuze water (I was dying of thirst after dealing with a screaming baby all through the store)

2 American singles cheese

2 pkg. of hot dogs

2 dial hand soaps

I spent only $ 14.32 with a savings of $14.32. LoL so exactly 50%!

Grocery Trip 6-7

Okay so this may not seem as much savings but here is my purchases:Dog food - $15.49

(2) Sobe Life Water - Buy1get1Free I paid $1 for both

(2) 100 cal packs - $1.59/each

Crystal light - $.50

Dryers Ice Cream - FREE

(4) Gerber foods - $.45 for all 4! (about $.11 each)

1 FREE redbox rental

This would have cost me $46.03 but I paid $20.62 that is over 50% savings! Okay so again doesn't seem like much savings but when you consider we pay usually $18.99 for the dog food and we got 3.50 off plus free ice cream & redbox rental... we saved a lot. Now the 100 cal packs and baby food was not on GrocerySmarts list. But I had coupons for these, plus I had double coupons through Albertsons. So because these are something I buy anyway I had to take advantage of the savings, especially the baby food. One jar is typically $.55. I plan to do another shopping trip within the next 2 days (to use more double coupons)

So have you started?

Have you started to look into saving money on groceries? It is such an easy and awesome program. The longest/hardest part is in the beginning just reading how to do it, and asking all your questions... FEEL FREE TO ASK ME ANY QUESTIONS. No I am not a pro at this yet but I am sure I can figure out the answer.
Have you looked at http://sheshopssmart.blogspot.com/ yet?
Just in the last week she has posted 2 blogs which pretty much puts all the instructions on how to do this. With pictures and everything! Seriously I suggest following her, she has so much information. But again, she is from Utah so a lot of the extras she posts don't apply to us idahoans! But she puts on there if its just in Utah.
I just noticed she is even posting some pretty awesome recipes!
Get to it people! Its time to save money!

I'm officially a college student

On Tuesday I went to my first class in over 5 years. I am taking 6 credits, although really its like taking 12 because the classes are doubled up for summer school (8 weeks instead of 16) It has been crazy, I have already had to read 5 chapters, write and perform 1 speech, a 1 page essay, and about 6 other assignments.
I am so proud of myself for doing this, I know a lot of people doubted me because I am also a new mother. He is the reason I am doing this! And I am so excited to make something of myself for him.
So with that things have been an adjustment here. Austin is getting use to being watched by his grandma, I'm learning how to manage my time better.
On a side note, I managed to smash my toes into my bed twice this week... I think the pinky toe is officially broken. Also as for the shopping trip this week, there may not be one due to lack of money unless somehow I get my financial aide check in the mail.

Shopping trip yesterday:

Yesterday was the first time I went so I didn't save as much as I'd like but still got some great deals

Here is a list of what I got:

(2) 5 packs of mac & cheese (1 @ $5.69 the other FREE)

(2) boxes of sunrise capri sun (both FREE)

(2) eggo bake shops ($1.38 each)

(2) 100 cal packs ($1.88 each)

(1) box of special k bars ($.88)

box of raisen bran & mini wheats ($1.13 each)

(1) box of hannah montana cereal ($1.88)

(2) bottles of apple juice ($ 1.49 each)

So that is a total of $ 56.06 in groceries that I spent only $18.72 on! That is a savings of $37.34 = 66% savings! The kelloggs wasn't a great deal since you had to spend $20 to get $5 off on all their products but for my family (+ the daycare kiddos) cereal practicly runs out the door, so it saved a lot of money! Although I think I did overpay for the Apple juice, I just can't figure out where I went wrong, oh well I'm still learning so it will take time! =)

Saving $$ on groceries

Recently I added a girl I went to high school with to my friends list on MySpace. She had been posting blogs that caught my eye immediatly. She was getting groceries for more than half price, sometimes even 80% off! So I wrote her an e-mail asking her how she was doing it! She told me about a place called grocerysmarts.com. But first she told me to check out 2 other sites to learn how to do this. First is a woman in Utah's blog: sheshopssmart.blogspot.com. She gives a TON of info, and if you are interested in doing this I suggest to start there. I love her idea of filing the coupons.
Next is pinchingyourpennies.com. Also known as PYP. This is a great site for support/ideas/questions. There is forums by state, I haven't spent too much time on this site but I'm sure I will.
Finally go to grocerysmarts.com. You need a passport to get into your state. I only know Idaho's, so for others that live out of state I would probably google it. Then from a drop down menu you choose which store (here Albertsons usually has the best deals)
The list it provides is awesome, shows you sale prices as well as which coupons to use.
I will be posting more info as I figure it out as I am very new to this but again the woman from Utah has some great ideas/info on her blog.

Little tub in the big tub

Last night Austin was upgraded to the big boy tub... well sort of. We put his baby tub in the big tub (so we could fill it up with more water) He had a blast splashin' around! Mommy even grabbed the bubbles!