Sorry it is so late but here is Super Doubles from October/November

Overall I think this was one of my best hauls ever. We included Lowes' Foods  in this week's adventures because they were doing super doubles as well.

 Harris Teeter:

SAVED: $65.80

SPENT: $10.21

Lowes:

SAVED: $57.22

SPENT: $13.67

Harris Teeter:

SAVED: $82.63

SPENT: $.89

Lowes:

SAVED: $74.51

SPENT: $16.48

Harris Teeter:

SAVED: $62.42

SPENT: $10.47

 Lowes:

SAVED: $23.77

SPENT: $11.38

Overall this was an amazing week. I love Super Doubles and I take advantage of them. I buy many items my family will use and since it is the holidays I bought things for parties and for donations as well. 

OVERALL I SAVED: $366.35

And I only SPENT: $63.10

This was  my best super double week since I started in July. I am very proud of myself. I hope this encourages more people to take a few minutes out of each day to just save a little. It is easier to get started than you think and there is no age limit on when to start. I started in 2011 and I am glad I did, it has saved my family a bunch over the past several years. 

Some couponing 101

Alright so I have had a request to get some couponing 101 on the blog, so I am going to post some recent deals from the past 2 days with where I got the deal, which coupons I used and what I came out paying exactly. Hopefully having a visual will kinda help you out as well.

Kmart haul: Sparkle paper towels (8 pack), 4 boxes of there brand mac & cheese, 2 Kraft BBQ sauce, and 4 packets of kool aid. 

• (1) $1/1 (6 pack or larger) printable for the sparkle
•  Kmart member rewards points $6.52

PAID: $3.20

SAVED: $10.70 including the points I used

CVS haul: 4 puffs, 2- 2 litter sodas, 1 dove candy bar, 1 can chicken noodle soup

•  1 instant store coupon for the chicken noodle soup making it $.50, 
• used 1 instant coupon to make one of the puffs FREE, also used $.25/3 puffs coupons.
•  I also had $5 back in rewards from last week to cover everything. 

PAID: $1.23

SAVED: $13.05

Target haul: 2 Windex no touch, 1 wet ones, 1 disposable Gillette razor, and 4 trial size Gillette shaving cream

•  (2)$1.50/1 Windex no touch manufacture coupon
• (2) $1/1 target printable coupon
• (1) $.75/1 wet ones printable coupon, and the cartwheel app
•  (1) $3/1 Gillette disposable razor coupon
•  (2) $3/2 Gillette shave prep coupons

PAID:$.89<<<<<TAXES SUBTOTAL WAS $0

SAVED: $12.75

Family Dollar haul:(4) snausages dog treats  (1) dingo dog treat, (1) scrubbing bubbles with fantastic

• (2) $1.50/2 snausages printable coupon 
•  (1) $.75/1 any dingo product printable coupon
• (1) $.75/1 scrubbing bubbles with fantastic 

PAID:$3.31

SAVED: $4.50

The toothpaste came from Walmart and the nail polish from Walgreens. This is how I did it. 

Walmart- each Colgate was only $.94

• (3) $.75/1 coupons

PAID: $.77

SAVED: $2.25

Walgreens- each nail polish was only $.99 and that is why I couldn't use my other coupon. The subtotal was lower than a $1.00

•  (1) $1/1 any wet-n-wild or fergie coupon. 

PAID: $1.12

SAVED: $1.00

Okay since this was my first step by step post let me know if it was helpful or not, or what else I need to add to help you out. I am hoping this helps you guys out some.

HAPPY COUPONING!!!!!

Helpful apps and cards

There is a lot of apps currently out their to help you when you coupon as well as save more money. I am mainly going to share the ones I personally use at the moment first then list a few extra that I haven't heard anything really bad about yet. Remember I don't currently have a smart phone so I can't tell you personally how some of the apps are, I can only suggest them by reviews and word of mouth.

Apps I currently use: Cartwheel app by target

Sites I use to shop or gain points to help me earn free stuff: Savingsstar, recyclebank, my coke rewards, swagbucks,

Cards I have: Shop your way rewards-Kmart/sears, Walgreen's balance rewards, CVS card, Rite Aid, Harris Teeter, MVP card,

Apps other's find very useful: Ibotta app

What's the average price of items I buy

Okay so everyone wonder's how I score so much for so cheap, I have a code. I try to stick to under a dollar on a lot of my items but of course that isn't possible for everything. So I have been couponing for so long that I have a basic idea of what the most is that I am willing to pay for an item, because I know from first hand there is always sales going on...you just gotta be patient and stock up when there is a good one. Here is a basic list to help you out when you think of your prices. Now since I am a civilian and don't shop at the Commissary these are prices I have used out in town. So you might be able to get things cheaper than me and that will be awesome. Some items I am sure I scored for less but I don't have that good of a memory :)

Men's shaving cream FREE- $1.50 

Women's shaving cream $.75-$1.50 

Razors FREE- $1.50 (If you watch the sales you can always score these for free)

Toothpaste FREE-$.50

Hand soap $.50-1.00

Dish soap $.50-$.75

Baby Wipes/Big-kid wipes $.50 -$1.00

Pasta $.33-$1.00
Pasta salad $.25-$1.00

Eggo waffles $1.00

Quaker Cooked grits $.50

Quaker bars $1.00

Protein bars/balance bars/etc. FREE

Pasta sauce $.25-$.98 (I try to stock up on this at $.50 or less though, it is more common then you think)

Can veggies $.50- $.70 (Best time to stock up are around Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas)

Fresh veggies-$2.00 (If you look online there is coupons starting to appear more often for fresh veggies)

Jelly/Jam $1.00

Peanut butter $1.25

Chex mix $.50-$1.00/bag

Dip $.50

Yogurt $.12/per cup

Toilet paper $.20/per roll

Dog treats FREE-$1.00

Cat treats $.75

Mac and cheese $.25-$.99 (There is always sales going on for this)

Feminine products FREE- $1.99

Cereal $.69-$1.99 each

Laundry soap $.99-$1.49

Makeup FREE-$1.50

Deodorant FREE-$1.50

Soy sauce FREE-$.50

Mentos gum FREE-$.50

Stride gum $.33/pack

Powerade drinks FREE-$.80

2 litter Soda $.99-$1.25

Yakisoba noodles FREE-$.50

Heinz ketchup $.25-$.50 (stock up during cookout seasons)

French's mustard $.25-.50 (stock up during cookout seasons, and EASTER)

Instant coffee FREE-$.50

Coffee creamer $.40-$98

Ziplock bags $1.50-2.00 each (stock up when school sales are going on)

Advil $.99

Bayer $.25-$.99

Shampoo and conditioner $.99-$1.99 each

Febreeze products FREE-$.99

Soft scrub liquid $.49

Soft scrub 4-in-1 toilet $.98

Lysol toilet bowl cleaner $1.99

Heinz 57 steak sauce $.50-$.75
Baking cups FREE-$.35
Fabric softener FREE-$.98
Pickles FREE-$1.00
Mayo $1.50
Milk $2.99-$3.49
Eggs (dozen) $.99-$1.99
Lunch meat (pound)  $.99-$3.00
Bread $.99-$2.00
Sandwich cheese $1.00-$3.00

Hope this gives you a general idea to help you know what is a good price from a bad one. Also Freebie coupons help me out a lot at times, I love my freebies and also don't forget your printable coupons as well. Also depending on what region you are getting your coupon inserts from out of the paper will vary on the price of each coupon. 

cvs trip 8-29

So thanks to the end of the month approaching I wanted to find a good deal for my B1G1 free head & shoulder coupons and I did. They are on sale this week for 2/$10. My coupon took off $6.99 off of each for my free ones :) and the Charmin single rolls are on sale for 2/$1.99 and you get an instant store coupon at the big red machine for $1.49. Could have gotten them free if I wouldn't have taken my charmin coupons out of my binder already but hey cheap toilet paper is still a great deal.

All together I paid $8.06 with tax and got back $5 in ECB rewards, so I basically paid $3.06 for everything. Great trip if you ask me. My total savings with sales and coupons was $21.78.

Why I coupon

People in my family tend to pick on me about my couponing sometimes because I can't go to a store with someone and they pick up an item I have a coupon for without saying something. The quote I always say is "I have a coupon for that." There has not been many days that Mike has come home from a quick grocery trip and I not get mad because I had coupons at home. Coupons are a way of life for me, I am not as addicted as other's but my stockpile has saved my family a lot of times. That is how me and Mike survived for the first several months in our home and are able to do different things like finally celebrate an anniversary and take our first weekend getaway. Savings don't just show up overnight and you can't get disappointed if at first you don't do as well as others. The key is to not give up and keep pushing yourself till you can come home saying I cut my grocery bill in half, or I paid taxes today or the best one is I got this, this, and this for FREE!!!! Over the last 3 years I have went from couponing to be just a hobby to my way of life and I can't complain and honestly I don't think Mike does often either. Sometimes it is hectic and crazy but when you can come home with grocery items you need or cleaning supplies for under $30 you have done very well.

last weeks trip to target

This trip I finally got to use the cartwheel app. I really like this one because you can print off the coupon if you don't have a smartphone. A lot of apps aren't like that and you have to use a fancy phone.

I ended up using 3 manufacture coupons total, 3 target coupons, and the cartwheel. My final price for all three items was $.92. I paid taxes. I don't mind paying taxes. These are the trips I look forward to.

Harris Teeter Super Doubles for August

I got to do these trips with my younger sister who actually hadn't had the privilege of accompanying me yet for a super double. Now of course I am about to start her binder. I am glad she was able to do this week with me and even got to get somethings for her family as well. We did our trips over a total of 3 days with 4 transactions. Our last one was our best because we paid just taxes. We are excited and look forward to doing another SD at Harris Teeter.

1st trip included: 4 boxes of cereal, 2 bags of chex mix, 4 boxes of eggo waffles, 2 activia 4-packs, 6 mueller yogurts, 4 met-rx bars, 4 packs of kool aid, 2 boxes of cook grits, 1 box of instant grits, 1 febreze car clip, 1 revlon lipgloss, 2 deli meats, 1 deli cheese, 2 soy sauce, 1 teething baby meds, 2 things of jelly, 2 boxes of quaker chewey dips, 1 magnum box of icecream

Total retail was: $116.12

Savings was: $69.51

Out of Pocket: $47.92

2nd trip included: 4 boxes of cereal, 2 boxes of eggos, 2 magnum icecream boxes, 1 bag of chips, 2 old orchard juices, 2 cook grits, 1 syrup, 1 soy sauce, 4 cans of chef boyarde, 3 classico pasta sauce, 2 wheat pastas, 4 boxes of mac and cheese, 2 quaker chewey boxeds, 2 activia, 2 revlon lip gloss, 2 mentos gum, 2 barilla  microwave pasta sides and 2 met-rx bars. This trip was done in 2 seperate transactions. 

Total retail: $119.90

Total saved: $97.66

Total spent between both transactions: $26.74

Last trip to Harris Teeter:  This trip was the first time ever I used ZVR's and I was happy we were finally able to get the cards to work. We only used 17 coupons for this last trip instead of the usual 20 or more.Trip included: 1 febreze, 3 dawn, 4 spam pouches, 2 met-rx bars, 8 balance bars, 2 pure protein bars, 1 final touch fabric softner, 1 always radiant pads, and 1 tampax radiant. 

Total retail: $53.42

Savings: $53.15

Total out of pocket was only $1.46 and that was basically taxes. 

We are very proud of ourselves. 

We got $289.44 worth of groceries for just $76.12. That is an awesome deal. 

Past several weeks random coupon trips

Sorry I have fallen behind with posting my deals and showing you how to score some yourself but I had to deal with some family things. However I hope everyone is still couponing, scoring those freebies and having a blast while doing it.

This was a Walgreens run a few weeks back. They had them on sale for $2.99 each and I had B1G1 coupons so altogether I only paid $6.82 and saved a total of $9.18. I could not complain with that deal.

This is a walmart run that I scored some free pens. Thank you Bic :)

And here is another walmart run from just 2 days ago where I scored more freebies. I actually made a few cents off of these items. Used (2) bic stationary coupons, (2) bic shaving coupons and (2) gillette coupons. Altogether I had $20 in coupons so I made $.22. I personally can't complain with free stuff. 

Harris Teeter Super Double trip for July 2nd

Since I didn't get to go at all this time and it was the very last day many things stood in my way of all the freebies I originally had planned including lack of items, lack of my free coupons and I wasn't feeling that great to top it off. I ended up with several freebies though and did VERY well I believe.

Here is what my haul included:

(2) lysol toilet bowl cleaners -one not pictured 

(3) dips 

(2) windex cleaners

(4) bird's eye veggies

(4) suddenly pasta salad boxes

(2) chex mix

(3) packs of activia yogurt

(2) motts apple juices

(2) softscrub cleaners

(2) balance bars

(2) met-rx bars

(1) pickle

(1) chinet plates

(2) deodorant

(3) baking cups

(1) toothpaste

(1) nailclipper

Retail price was $101. 05

 Savings was $82.56

And I only paid out of pocked a grand total of $19.27

These are the items I actually got for FREE!

And when I got home I got to check my mail for the last 2 days and there was the goodies I had waiting for me :)

We now have the stockroom getting really full and I am still trying to get Mike to build me a new shelf system to replace what I have so I can put a table in my room at the moment so I can just coupon in that room instead of around the house till it is officially too full to where I won't have room for a table. I will try and post pics of what I currently have soon so you guys can see how we stockpile :)

Sorry it has been so long

Sorry guys I haven't posted any of my trips over the past month it has been hectic. I finally got to do my first super double at Harris Teeter last month. We went 2 days in a row, sadly we didn't take a pic of the 2nd day but I do got one from the first. I am hoping to be able to go tonight and enjoy another super double at Harris Teeter that has been going on since Wednesday. Yes, I am slacking this time sadly. However it has made it to where this time I am hoping to score more freebies than last time.

Here was the pic from my 1st trip ever for super doubles!

Retail price: $95.24. Savings: $70.85 and oop: $25.81.

It was a very good trip overall and I was very excited. I got 9 boxes of pasta, 3 things of salt, 3 things of advil, 2 bottles of wisk, one herbal essence shampoo, one box of pads, 1 big juice, 2 6-pack of juices, 2 toothpaste, a french's mustard, 2 different sauces and a marinade in a bag as well as 2 protein bars. It was a very big haul. And the whole time all I could say was "I did it". 

small trip to target

Paid only $.64 each for the Beggin' strips and only $.99 each for the kandoo wipes. Saved $6 and after taxes only paid $3.77 OOP. I was hoping to get my All laundry soap but they were all out so maybe next time. Overall it was worth the trip.

Walmart grocery trip

Well sadly I had to change my original shopping list :( But I still did okay. Since I didn't have exact prices on many items and certain ones aren't carried at my Walmart it threw off my whole list but, I think I pulled it off well. Before coupons with tax was a total of $64.42. We paid OOP with taxes $46.12. We saved a total of $19.30 with coupons. Now this didn't include any junk food. Just some freebies and everything we needed for the week. It was a total of 62 items in all.

This is just my free items I was able to score. My free hair color one expired on the 10th so I couldn't get that. And I didn't find the yogurt or the cat food that I needed at Walmart for my other 2 free coupons. I made a total of $2.88 profit off of my free items though, definitely can't complain there.

walmart

Since I seem to love shopping at Walmart lately because it is one of the few stores around me that does overage since many of my stores don't double close by, I thought I would post some of the great deals I found for complete freebies or are money makers. Here are the ones currently on my shopping list for tonight.

(printable) Duncan hines frosting = I have 4 coupons so I am making $.48 for all four
(printable) eco tools product = I have 3 of these coupons so I am making $.06 for all three
(printable) U by kotex product = I have 1 coupon and am making $.76
(manufacture) Neutrogena product = the acne wash has a trial size and this coupon doesn't say no trials so I am making $.03
(printable)Any foldgers product = I have 3 of these coupons so I am making $1, I also have another foldgers coupon (manufacture) for the fresh breaks product so I am scoring that for free as well.
And last but not least I have 2 coupons for the vlasic product so I am making $.04 there. (printable)

Overall I making $2.37 off of just those few coupons and that is helping me get some of my other grocery items. My goal is to get as many possible items for under $60. This is not only for my grocery list but for some extra items for the food drive this weekend.

I will post an update of how it went after I go.

Monday's shopping trip

I am nearly a week behind on posting this and I apologize, things have been hectic around my house lately. But time to tell you all about my great coupon adventure. I ended up going to just Walmart and Foodlion and saved $32.51 in coupons and mvp and only spent a total of.....$22.79. I did excellent. Now that is just my savings. I went out with my sister and helped her save over $8 on just one can of formula and a few dollars off another. As an aunt I also signed up for Gerber formula coupons and also had some I was able to print. So I was able to help feed my neice as well. Which that little chunky monkey seemed very happy about. lol.

Overall the trip was great. I scored a bunch of freebies.

This is what I got between the two stores.

Angel soft toilet paper, 5 packs of ramen, 2 boxes of mac and cheese, 6 boxes of hamburger helper, 2 boxes of triscuits, 1 pack of tortillas, 2 shaving creams, 4 glade products, 1 packet of kikkoman seasoning, 2 packets of duncan hines frosting mix, 1 box of polygrip, 1 u by kotex liners.

And also I had coupons for knorr pasta sides that we used for my sister so in my haul I had 4 boxes of those not pictured in my shopping trip. The following items were free: The tortilla shells, the 4 glade products, The fusion shaving creme, the kikkoman packet and also the 2 frosting packets, and the polygrip behind the liners was also free. Along with one box of the triscuits. Overall it was an amazing trip. 

I already have my next one planned because I didn't get to use a lot that day. But I can't complain. I had a lot of fun and saved a lot while doing so. 

I just don't get it

Last night I went out to get my dinner and since it was really late already I just wanted to use a few coupons that expired today. There was a total of 8 coupons for 16 items. The cashier went from all happy to completely rude when she saw my coupons. Now these weren't fill in the price or anything but since they were $3 off coupons she had to hit a button on the keyboard after scanning each coupon. I personally could not understand why the lady got so rude considering no one was in her line, the store was completely empty and she had been flirting with my boyfriend 5 seconds earlier. Now if anyone should have been mad it was me. lol. But by the end of this trip I had saved $24 dollars and scored my free hair spray and mouse products and even had a few cents taken off the rest of my buggy. So I was happy. Plus I got some more holders for my coupons as well as a cutter to help me cut when I have a bunch of inserts each week. And the   cutter was marked down over $10. So I saved on it too :)

My mailbox loves me

This week I got a free Fusion Pro Glide Razor, free Excedrin,  free coupon for Tortillas and some of the coupons I ordered offline. Overall it was a very good week. I also got some late Easter tattoos for eggs and stuff. There wasn't many days that something didn't come in the mail this week. Over all I am ready for my next shopping trip. I have several freebies to go and get and can't wait. I did the stockroom like I said I would in my last post but then redid it. I realized that with the upcoming trip a lot of items would be under a $1 so I would need a bigger area so for now I only have a FREE section, which will be all the freebies I get in the mail along with the items I get for free with coupons. Then I have my tall shelf for house hold items and the other shelf will be for food items. Hopefully soon I will have the shelves put up in the closet to also give me more room. I am hoping to save a lot when I go in the next few days and can't wait to tell everyone about it. I am super excited myself. In the meantime I have  been trying to keep up with what me and my boyfriend spend and save and so far I keep forgetting to get receipts from him but for the items I do have were doing really good on the saving part. Even when it comes to things for his work we are hitting sales. I am going to start printing off some coupons to help us in that department as well. And since it is going to be warm this week I am going to try and find some coupons to help me at either Lowes or Home Depot for my paint supplies I plan on going to get. I am very excited for the warm weather to come and help me get our home in order. As well as having a full house of goodies :)

Also don't forget to get your coupons tomorrow, it looks like this week is going to be a really good one. 

Redoing the stockroom

Since I am getting back into my version of extreme couponing again and scoring a lot of freebies like in my last trip I am thinking of redoing my stockroom. Right now I have several shelves in it and organized by food in one area, cleaning and other house hold products in one, samples in another area, and so on. But I don't have a FREE section so when people come to visit I can never say look at all the stuff I scored for free unless I point out different things around the room. So I think over the next few days I am going to redo the room. I want just a FREE section as well as a $1 and under section. Then I am not sure how I will organize the rest yet. I just know that with the next trips I plan on scoring several freebies and $1 and under items so I need to have a nice place to show it off. It is nice to know that you are doing your share when it comes to taking care of the ones you love by putting in effort to find the best deals to help save money and still support your family.

My coupon shopping trip

I was finally able to go out this weekend and do my coupon shopping. Sadly it wasn't as big as I had hoped for. Our dollar tree does not carry a lot of name brands because of where we are located so that set me back a bit in what I hoped to achieve but price wise I did....EXCELLENT.

Between Walmart and Dollar Tree I scored:
2 boxes of Olay bar soap, 2 Swiffer dust and shine sprays, 2 soft scrub toilet bowl cleaning kits, 7 cans of John Frieda moose, and 5 cans of John Frieda hair spray.

Total before coupons added up to $26.86 and I had $24.47 worth in coupons. Overall I did great. I scored all my John Frieda products free, one of the Olay bar soaps was free as well as one of the Swiffer dust and shine sprays and then I had over ridge. I was very happy with my trip.

I also got an email saying that I got paid for one of the surveys I did :) Only made $.25 but I found a site that pays automatically and you don't have to wait to cash out. That site was dollarsurveys.com so far they don't have a limit to when you can cash out. So that is pretty awesome.

GOODIES!

So yesterday I decided after the past several crazy days of taking care of my sick boyfriend that when I took my shower I would get another item from my magical box. I chose a Nivea body wash sample I had. It was AMAZING. Smelt so good and just made my day. On top of that I got a new smiley360 challenge. I can't wait till it gets here. Plus I have been constantly scoring freebies. Still haven't been able to go shopping with my coupons yet due to the fact of having a sick boyfriend but hopefully in the next few days. Who knows I might even score better deals. Luckily I planned my shopping trips for Walmart and Dollar Tree and they always have the same prices unless Walmart has a clearance deal which would make my deals even better. lol. Good news is the new match ups are coming out for this week already so who knows I might be able to add some more goodies to my lists for when I do make it out.

For all those that were wondering what smiley360 is, it is a site where you can post reviews on items you have tried and even be able to try out new products. It is actually a very good site. So far I am not complaining with it. I am also trying out a few websites for me to be able to do surveys and stuff but so far a lot of that is up in the air. Not sure what is good for me and what isn't. When I find something that is, I will let you guys know. Till then I have to return to finding goodies and try not to think about a sink that needs fixing.

Finally my coupons arrived :)

The coupons I ordered finally got here today for my trip to Walmart and Dollar Tree. I have several hair products I am hoping to score for free and some cleaning products and possibly more if I get to print some out as well. This trip has been in the making for nearly a week and things keep trying to stop it. Yesterday the boyfriend came home sick with a stomach bug so I am taking care of him all while trying to not catch it. I keep disinfecting things and washing things, and washing my hands so much they are completely dried out :( but this is a part of life. On another note I have been requesting more samples the past several days and I am hoping to be getting a bunch of great spring and Easter goodies in the mail shortly. It always brightens my day to walk out to the mailbox and find something awesome in it. Yesterday when I went to visit my boyfriend's mom she actually had a sample of seasoning with a coupon I requested from so long ago I forgot requesting it....but I can't wait to use it. This is how I find some amazing seasonings I like :) That's why Mrs. Dash is in my kitchen and was used to cook my dinner tonight.

Today's goodies so far :)

I couldn't sleep well last night so even though I tried to sleep in some and enjoy my boyfriends company on his day off I was up scoring freebies early. So far today I have scored a free bottle of Excedrin, free Fiber One protein bars, free U by Kotex charm bracelet, free sample of Calico Mineral skin care product. And that is all within the last 2 hours.

Here is some links so you can score some of the freebies too:

fiber one protein bars
excedrin (the excedrin went fast but this is a promotion that is done daily till the 23rd of march)
charm bracelet
calico minerals freebie

Hopefully the day keeps going like it is and more freebies will appear throughout the day. Hope you guys can score some of the freebies like I did :)

Random shopping

Today I went to Walmart with my younger sister and niece  I had a small list in my mind so I didn't bother with taking my binder since I had no coupons to help me. Wouldn't you know I still hit a good deal anyways?! My sister took a detour into the purse section. Now I am a sucker for a cute tote bag, especially if I can also use it for my couponing trips. I got one today for....$.88!!!!! I asked my sister to find a price check because it couldn't be right and of course it was so it came home. I looked at it as a sign of good luck so I plan on using it for this weeks trip. I have my coupons I ordered on there way and I am looking to hook up the printer to my computer tonight and see about going to get some ink and work on the rest of the coupons I need tomorrow if not tonight. HEHE. I am hoping to score several freebies if everything works out right. I will keep you posted on how things go.

Too many coupons, so little time

I am trying to get my binder together to go and see about doing some coupon shopping within the next few days. My boyfriend is setting up a computer just to print off coupons and I am looking forward to it but I am looking through now and seeing which ones I can benefit from the most. A lot of times we just go crazy and print a bunch and waste ink knowing we aren't going to use them all. I am trying to see which ones I can have downloaded to my cards and which ones I have to print.

So far these are some of the stores I know you can get coupons sent right to your card:

www.foodlion.com
www.harristeeter.com


So not only are you saving money by using the card method, your going green as well and using less paper :) It is a win, win.

As I find more sites that allow you to put coupons directly to your card I will add them to this post.

I am in love with Freebie Fridays!!!!!!

So far today I have been on a roll when trying to get  as many goodies as possible. I haven't been able to really do this in a while because I just finally got my internet hooked up the other day when I started posting. I have coffee, shampoo, perfume, a dart set, beer mug, and a few other items already today. And last night I downloaded the free Netflix app on my Kindle Fire and received a $1.00 worth of credit for amazon's mp3 store.

Tonight I am hoping to get my computer set up just for couponing so I can score some Walmart freebies as well as some Target ones. Then off to do some extreme couponing this weekend. I am looking forward to it.

My magical box

I have so many samples that when I started I had to get small totes that fit in my closet. They are in three categories: Medicine's and first aid products, hair products, lotions and other girly stuff in one, and then my feminine  products in another. Today I figured I would use some of my hair products and stuff since I have been feeling kinda down lately. So I broke out my samples of TRESemme Split Remedy shampoo and conditioner as well as a PANTENE PRO-V silky moisture whip to finish it off and even an Aveeno Smart essentials daily detoxifying scrub, and I feel SOOOOOOOOOOO much better. Not only did I get to use items out of my magical box of goodies but the smells and combination of those few things is great! So not only are samples good for vacations and over night trips there great for those pick me ups when you need it.

Another coupon morning

Today I finally went through and uploaded all mycokerewards codes. My dad LOVES his Coca-Cola and a while back I started putting the caps to good use. I decided to start entering the codes when I realized I could get coupons for free items! It seems like we have a bad habit when we go out to waste money picking up a soda at the end of shopping trips, well now those soda's are FREE. All thanks to me taking a  few minutes and typing in the codes on the mycokerewards website. It is easy! You just set up an account and start entering codes and after so many points  you get to pick out free coupons and free items.

Going Green

So far for my "Going Green" process we recycle, but we also reuse a few items as well. I am in love with candles since we got our own place. I started to think of ways I could reuse them. I have so far started using them in my bathroom for cotton balls, and cotton squares. It is different but since they are the same size it looks good on the shelf. We also reuse our coffee grinds. Instead of just throwing them in the trash I use them in the yard for the stray cats as well as getting my garden area ready for the flowers I will be planting soon. There is a huge list of ways you can use coffee grinds that no one even thinks about.

Here is a great link for other suggestions on ways to use your old coffee grinds:

Uses for coffee grinds


There are many ways of going green that everyone can do even if you don't want to switch around your everyday lifestyle. Just by reusing those two candle holders I not only was able to save it from the trash, I saved money by not having to purchase anything to put my stuff in.

Saving money with coupons

 When it comes to saving money these days everyone is doing it. I started couponing originally in 2011 more for a hobby than for the financial reasons. It was something I could do while my boyfriend did his computer games, but after a while it became more....it eventually became a lifestyle. I have now been couponing on a budget these past few years to get us ready for when we moved into our own place. In November of 2012 we moved into our own place and had a decent stockpile to bring with us. I ended up expanding my small shelf to it's own room. 

I started out with couponing for simple things like: shampoo, conditioner,  deodorant, body wash, toothpaste, and dish soap. This of course has now expanded into all of that plus: laundry soap, baby stuff, feminine products, can goods, cereal, drinks, cleaning supplies, as well as first aid items. 

And we can't forget the SAMPLES! I love samples. Free items that come through my mailbox has been a lot of help since we moved in. It was one of the things I enjoyed most about starting my hobby back in 2011. I had something to look forward to everyday when the mail came. Since we moved into our home we have been able to put to use many of those samples and I can honestly say I just had to start using the first aid items I have actually bought myself. 

Now that I have been couponing for so long I know most of the ins and outs of how things work. I have even started a coupon trade group locally for several people to exchange the coupons they won't be using for the ones they actually could use for their family. I thought I would pass on some of my everyday knowledge to help others who are just starting out. Their are many great bloggers out there that do this as well and many help me. I just want to help in anyway I can as well.