Category Archives: Coupons

National Donut Day!

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Today, June 1st, is National Donut Day!  Krispy Kreme is offering a free donut of your choice just for going into the store. If you know me, you realize that these are one of my FAVORITE foods. I have been working long hours this week at work but unexpectedly was finished today a little after 4pm.  Earlier today, we planned a trip to Salisbury which included a meal out, stop at Krispy Kreme and then a quick trip to Harris Teeter.  I initially was not sure that all this would be possible but being able to arrive at the restaurant at 5pm made it so much easier!

Our stop at Krispy Kreme was the highlight of the whole trip, not only did we all get our free donuts, but the original glaze were hot, melt in your mouth, hot, I wish I could eat a whole box, hot!  I had debated on just how many to purchase, the cashier was so nice that after getting our 5 free donuts, a dozen hot glazed and a dozen assorted, she asked if I had a coupon. I didn’t but her next response shocked me “that is okay I have some.” Laying beside her register were BOGO coupons. So we ended up with 29 donuts for $8.55 or $.20 a donut. This is an 80% saving on my favorite food in the world!  So the only thing better than a free donut is a hot fresh free donut!

The stop at Harris Teeter yielded a saving of 55% but no free donuts. I did manage to stock up on bottled water, eggs and hair products.

Did you claim your free donut?

Random Tuesday Thoughts

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  • My Mother’s Day was fun. Matt and the little ones made me an awesome omelet for breakfast. At lunch, we grilled out with friends. Next came a long nap with the rain. We ended the day at my brothers for dinner. The kids played for hours and I ate way way too much.
  • Cheerleading is down to one night a week for the next month. Unfortunately, the practice last 2 and half hours.
  • We survived the yard sale!!!Which means our trip to IKEA on Thursday should be even more fun since I have several things in mind, I want to find!
  • Today is the last “steady ” paycheck for  Matt for at least 3 years.  It is scary and exciting all at the same time.
  • We made a short and one of least expensive trips to Costco on Monday. We were able to spend less than an hour in the store. Of course we have already discovered something we forgot.
  • Our budget for the month is on track.  I am actually hopefully we will finish ahead of the plan.
  • My weight loss for the month is way off tra ck…..UGHHHHHHHHHHHH
  • At least, I am managing to pray and read a devotion 5 times a week.
  • I will soon be moving this blog to it’s own website, the hold up is learning how to use Word Press.
  •  Harris Teeter is starting a Triple coupon event tomorrow and I have no plans on going at all.

Monday CVS Trip

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This was an unusual trip for me to CVS today.  I checked the ads and Southern Savers but was not at all thrilled. My plan was to stop by one day purchase 5 Diet Cokes and get free toothpaste. The plan made a major changed this morning when I realized that I was using my last deodorant, my last shampoo and was totally out of make up removal cloths. Luckily, I remember that I had a raincheck for Speed Stick and also a BOGO coupon in the coupons on Sunday.  After a little bit of searching I was able to add 2 tubes of Toothpaste, 5 sticks of deodorant, 3 packs of make-up wipes, 4 bottles of shampoo and 5 Diet Cokes for $23. My savings was $61 or 73%. This may not seem like a stellar performance but as I  have talked about before, these were on products that we were running low on or out of . I could have easily purchased just one of each of the items and spent the same amount. In case you are curious, I did use both Matt and my card for 2 transactions each or a total of 4 transactions. I spend less than an hour total between searching, organizing and shopping.

Extreme Couponing Does Not Always Equal Free

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Harris Teeter is running it “Super Doubles” Event this week. What this really means is that they will double coupons up to $1.98 in value. I knew this sale was starting but had really decided to just not focus on it instead try to see if we could eliminate shopping until June.  But of course, after we talked about the idea of not grocery shopping for a month or more, made a list of things that we knew we would run out of,purchase the items on our list,  then realize that both the coffee supply and laundry detergent were running low.

Even with no plans for grocery shopping in the next six weeks, I still try to keep reading the coupon sites. I was pleasantly surprised to realize that Starbucks coffee was going to be on sale this week.  After a quick check of my coupons, I decided to put together a list for Matt to pick up today. I use the Harris Teeter Express Lane which basically allows Matt to drive up and pick up the groceries I order on-line. There are 2 draw backs to using Express Lane. First the $4.95 fee involved and second the fact that your coupons do not count toward today’s order but a future purchase.

Today, neither of these really affected my totals because he spent $18.44 and saved $59.55 or 76% today. This includes enough whole bean coffee for approximately 6 months, and Tide Laundry Detergent for a month.  In addition, Matt turned in another $20 of coupons for our next order. I am so excited!!! Hopefully we will get back to the no shopping for a while now!

But as the title says, yes most people consider me an “Extreme Couponer” but that does not mean that I always get everything for free or that I have a huge stockpile of Adult Diapers and Preparation H. I would consider today, one of my best trip because we purchased our favorite “name brand ” items for a fraction of the cost.

Random Saving Thoughts

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I made an excellent trip to CVS on Saturday, spent $4 for a pack of diapers, men’s deodorant, Biore pore strips and cleaner.

I am realizing that coupons this year are not as good as they were a year ago. The value on the coupon’s are generally less and store sales seem to be running on a different cycle than the coupons.

My stock up trip to ALDI was less than $50 today. I purchased several pantry items that I have not been able to grab on a good sale recently.

The reason this was a stock up trip is that starting today, Matt and I are going to try and limit our grocery shopping to the purchase of bread, milk and eggs until the beginning of June. This will encourage us to use up the food that we have previously purchased including the Zaycon chicken as well as you our usual $800 grocery budget for May to pay for a trip we are planning.

We are going to start picking up our co-op box of produce this week. I am excited to not only see what we get but also to try out some new recipes with the food we are given.

The freezing temperature of last week, mean the demise of the majority of my square food Garden. I am still undecided as to if I want to replant things that were lost or just give up this year.

March in Review

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The fact that I am at least 2 days late for posting this should tell you how busy we have been this past week or so. March was not a stellar month on any front but I want to inspire and remind my self of the goals I have set.

Blogging: 8 post for the month. Busy Busy Busy…

Goal: 15 per month

Devotions: 2 months in a row GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL! 
Goal is 3 a week.

Groceries: Wow this should probably be considered an epic failure as we spent $1300 this month. But I used $100 from last month, my plan is also to use some of April’s budget to cover as well. We have been stocking up on meat this month. For the first time, we are purchasing Zaycon chicken. Matt will be picking it up on Friday (6th). We purchased 80# but I have not a clue as too how long this will last. I would think 3 month but really am not sure!
Grocery Budget is set at $800 per month, this includes diapers, cleaning supplies, food and toiletries.

Financially: This is an area that is undergoing constant change. I purchased several used books this month regarding finances, one of the major things I learned is to set a budget/plan for all the reoccurring but unbudgeted items. This include such things as clothing and auto expenses. I know that we will not be able to met the items some months but my hope is by having even half of the money saved it will help to keep us on track.  I was able to pay off 2 small medical bills this month, and one credit card.  It was a difficulty but productive month!

Goal: To be Debt free except for mortgage by the end of the year.

Weight-  I am not sure what is up with this goal. I did meet my exercise goal but not the weight lose. I am going to continue to focus on the exercise and hope the weight loss catches up!
Goal to exercise 3x a week and to be down to 150 by December by losing around 4 # a month.

Different Ideas

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I enjoy reading several blogs, okay I stalk around 20  right now but who is counting?  One of the reasons that I read these blogs is to find new and better ideas.  I am always looking for new ideas regarding meal and of course budget/money matters. Several of the blogs I regularly read, help me stay up to date with coupons and sales, other simply make me realize that my life is not as crazy or mixed up as it can be.  Today I thought I would share some of the most interesting and useful things I have learned lately.

  • The concept of spending 10 minutes a day on projects that seem overwhelming came from The Peaceful Mom. I have been using this concept over the past several weeks to be able to first get and keep my coupons organized as well as stay on top of quizzing and other church responsibilities. My plan is to start trying to organize, delete and combine all the documents and photos that we have saved on the computers in the past 6 years. I am thinking that it will most likely take a month or so to finally get this all done but at least I have a plan for action.
  • Also over at The Peaceful Mom, she is sharing about her family’s challenge of living on 28000 a year. It is so encouraging to read how they are doing. I am still debating the idea of a second checking account to place money for things like clothing and extra irregular expenses.
  • I began to save and use Coke points from Couponing To Disney. One of the awesome new rewards is All magazine. This magazine is only sold at Walmart or via subscription. Currently at Coke Rewards I can earn a one year subscription for 337 points. I need about 30 more points! I have been debating on ordering this for about 6 months now and was waiting for the lowest price of 0.83 an issue again but FREE is so much better.
  • Caring with Coupons, is a lady that is most local for me. She also is the first to announce Harris Teeter triples and Super Double events. We just finished a week of Triples and she is suggesting that Super Doubles will occur in 3 weeks.
  • Southern Savers, is still my first stop for finding coupons and preparing for any deals.  Recently, we were able to go to Vista Print and get the first round of business cards and decals for Matt’s business.
  • My favorite place to find new food ideas is Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures, and we recently tried egg over rice! Simple, easy and filling.

I guess I should mention that none of these ladies know or request that I recommend their sites but it just seem like a good way to share the new things I am learning!

Highlights

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We managed to add to the calender this week to the point where Matt and I actually did not see each other, for longer than 5 minutes on 3 of the 5 nights. Matt is currently serving on the church governing board and the pool board, this month both of the meeting occurred during the same week. I have also been picking up extra hours at work, Lily continues to have 3 nights of cheerleading a week and Haley’s birthday was Friday.
Things that I remember from this week:

1. Today (Saturday), church pictures and Haley’s birthday lunch. The pictures were really dark and I looked HUGE in them so I was not tempted to purchase any!  We ate at Texas Roadhouse for lunch and managed to finish the leftovers for dinner. The meal was really good and Zach had the only meltdown which occured at the end of the meal, while we were waiting for a check. All 7 of us enjoyed several hours together with no major drama!

2. Zach asked to wear underwear today. He managed to stay dry ALL day long even with us being gone alot!   I actually caught him in the act so he even pooped on the potty as well!!! I am so excited. He did not want to wear a diaper tonight so I am hoping this is the beginning of something big!

3. We have finally gone through all the clothes for the little kids. I am very hopefully that everyone has enough to make it though the spring and summer. Lily will most likely need new clothes for school  next year but I am planning to buy those at the end of the season so they should be less expensive. We have been so blessed in this area with Kendall,  not only have I saved alot of Lily’s clothes but we have been given bags and bags of clothes. I was able to totally change out her clothes to the next size today without purchasing anything.  On Thursday, we spent some time shopping for Zach, he needed shorts.  I did not realize he needed these, because several pair from last year are still way to big. I ended up spending around $80 but was able to purchase 4 complete outfits and 2 extra pair of shorts for him.

3. I actually only saw Haley the morning of her birthday! I had to work late, she and Matt have been waiting to see Hunger Games, since last August. They were able to get ticket to the 7:25 show. My parents watched the little kids till I got home from work and I was in bed before they arrived home from the movie.

4. Matt made Haley’s birthday cake. I got pictures on my phone and on the camera, if I can get the other computer to work I will try and upload for Wednesday this week. It is actually one of the best cakes he has made and it is almost all gone today.

5. I have gone WAY over budget for groceries for this month. Harris Teeter had a triple coupon event and we have made 2 trips. In addition, we most likely will be purchasing chicken breast from Zaycon this week as well. My plan is to replace this overage in the month of April. I also plan only to purchase necessities we run out of and things on stock up. I would like to spend including the pay back less than 400 in April.  This would place us in an excellent position for the summer.

6. Ruger has settled in some, he is still peeing in the house but it is down to once a day.

7. I transplanted broccoli outside and it appears that 5 of 6 may survive. I am not so sure of my chills, because of hail, we got today I am afraid it may have killed several of the plants. I am planning to plant both cucumbers and squash this week.

8. Finally I am excited about the weather. We have been have alot of unseasonably warm days. In fact, the temperature has been above 80 on several days. Matt and I have really worked at reducing our electric bill so we have yet to turn on the air conditioning. However, tonight it is cooler, suppose to be in the 50s and rainy so I will be sleeping well!

Lots of Thoughts

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Zach is going through a rough time at night..he has begun to wake up at night, several times a night and is currently screaming because I will not open his door!

Zach is asking to go potty at least once a day, he still does not EVER poop in the potty but this is an improvement.

Ruger is still peeing in the house, this is the only complaint I have with him. Otherwise he is so well behaved and lovable, I would have 3

With the unseasonable warm weather we are having, I need to make an effort to store all winter coats and go through all of Kendall’s clothes. We have already been through Zach’s clothes but I am noticing how small most things are looking on Kendall.

I have been work 4 days a week at the hospital so it feels like I never see the kids especially if Matt has a meeting! Please pray that I have more time with the kids….

I actually planted Broccoli in the square foot garden on Sunday. My plan is to plant cucumber and squash this weekend.  This is one of the earliest springs on record for NC.

At the book sale today, I purchased 2 separate book on financial stuff and budgeting. I am hope to get some inspiration! We actually are on track for the month but I want and had planned for some bigger results.

My weight loss is at a stand still, I am going to continue to exercise 4 nights a week and see what happens. I am hoping with it warmer outside I can eat lighter as well.

Haley’s Birthday is Friday, we also have church pictures on Saturday. She has agree to go out and celebrate on Saturday after the pictures as a whole family.

On Friday night, Haley and Matt will be going to see the Hunger Games. Matt hopes to finish the third book in the series prior to that.

Harris Teeter is having triples this week. I am planning a trip tomorrow and hope to spend less than $20 but really have no clue what I will spend. I will only be purchasing items that I have coupons for but still don’t have a clue.

Saving Money- $0.85 at CVS

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Yes, this is what I purchased at CVS today for $0.85. CVS is an excellent place to start couponing because of the fact that it doesn’t limit you to only purchasing the items that give you ECBs.   You can instead use the ECBs or gift cards to purchase things you need or want.  This week’s ad was not all that impressive and I saw nothing to roll my ECB to. But after my last CVS trip, I was left with 9ECBs. I have been checking out things in the stockpile so I know what I need to stock up on when a good sale comes. We seem to use ALOT of shampoo and conditioner at our house, so this is usually something we need. I did notice that the VO5 was on sale for 0.77 a bottle. We needed the peanuts for dinner today. So after another short day at work, I ran to CVS to cash in some ECBs.   My subtotal was $.61 and the rest was tax.  So now instead of holding on the ECB or letting them expire. I was able to stock up on a product that is used at least daily around here.

For the record

I purchased 8 bottles of shampoo and conditioner, 1 jar of  peanuts and a pack of eye shadow applicators. I used 9 ECB and my out of pocket was $0.85, saving $11.81 or 93%.