Category Archives: Coupons

Random Tuesday Thoughts

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  • Matt has been working on cleaning out the building and I ordered a new stand up freezer today. I went ahead and purchased the largest one available. It is suppose to be delivered next Thursday which gives us a week before the chicken arrives.  We are also planning on getting some wireless thermostats to use to monitor the temperature in the building and both freezers.
  • I received my first Disney gift card today. I need to earn another $150 not from our budget in order to book our next trip.
  • The kids have 2 and half weeks of school left. Thankfully I was able to take a couple of days off in order to attend most of the special events at the end of the year.
  • We have a swim team meeting on Thursday and Zach is planning to swim. I am so excited!!! I LOVE watching swim team meets!
  • Amanda is hosting a yard sale on Saturday and I am hoping to make $100. I have already made $45 this weekend on furniture. This is a much needed boost in income to help cover summer expenses like swim team.
  • We have now not used heat or air for 6 weeks with only 2 days used in the four weeks before that. Our electric bill was $161 for last month!  This is the lowest it has been in around 18 months!  Huge win!
  • I have started a new diet/ work out program this week so I am hopefully for good results even by the end of the month.
  • We have been able to harvest basil and dill. Yesterday I got a squash that is small but it is a start!

Savings With Only 2 Coupons

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I apologize upfront because I had ever intention of getting this post up last week but life happens.  I do use coupons as much as possible but it is not just the coupon that makes a great deal. A great deal is sometimes finding the right sale.

This week we were able to find the right sale at Harris Teeter. I will continue to wish that another grocery store moves in our area but until then I will plan and drive 30 minutes each way for sales like this.

Harris Teeter is having a “stock up sale” The one big catch to this sale is that you must Buy 2 and get 3 Free.  This week we spent $170.60 and saved 228.75 which is 57%.  All the items we purchased are things we normally use so this is a good deal for us. I did use 2 $1.00 off coupons for Ken’s Salad dressing. Unfortunately these did not double. I was also able to grab a raincheck for 10 additional packs of cheese which I will use when needed. Things we purchased included 10 12 packs of soda, 6 bottles of Salad Dressing, 7 small containers of yogurt. 10 pounds of potatoes, 5 packs of Provolone cheese, 3 blocks of cheese for Matt and the kids, 10 containers of ice cream, 7 bags of chips and 5 bags of frozen shrimp. As you can tell this was a huge trip but it is likely that this will last us through the summer.

Step by Step CVS Trip!

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I started my trip with $5 ECB from last weeks trip, I also received $5 ECB from Beauty  Club Rewards. I will explain these below.

CVS tracks your spending in several ways that end up helping you. First if you buy a CVS brand item you get 2% back at the end of the quarter.  This shows up on the bottom of your receipt each purchase but does not include anything from today. Second is the “Beauty Club.” You actually have to sign up for this but it is very simple. It tracks how much you spend on soap, hair care, body wash, make-up and other random items. This cost is considered pre coupon, for example, I purchased a razor today that was marked at $13.49,this is the amount that is counted as beauty club. These is also are tracked at the bottom of your receipt but do not show items purchased on the same day. Both these items print automatically when you scan your card at the red machine. Quaterly ECB print the first time you scan in April, July, October and January. Each time you reach the $50 mark of Beauty Club they will print in approximately a week.

I spent approximately 30 minutes on Thursday or Friday evening looking at the upcoming weeks list at Southern Savers.  Click on Drug Store at top, then CVS, last click weekly deals and pick the correct week. It is very simple to make a printable list. For me I pick all free items after coupons, and then I usually pick items that we use that are less then $1. I try to check my coupon inserts so that my list only includes items that I actually have coupons for. I print my list and stick in my folder with the coupons I will use. Next step is to decide how many transactions?  I will also label this on my printed list if I have more than 2 or 3.  I have learned that it is easier to do multiple transaction and then you can use ECB for the next one. This week, I planned two transactions.

I ended up actually going to CVS prior to work today because I got too busy yesterday. My first transaction was for the Woman’s Razor. I use a coupon for $3 off from Smart Source 4/24 and $10 ECB that I listed above. Total cost was $1.08. I earned $5 ECB. My second transaction was for a total of 4 bottles of Suave, 2 were the 3n1 Kids and the other two were Suave Professionals. I had a coupon for 3 of the items again from Smart Source 4/24.  After coupons and ECB my total was $4.84 and I received 5 ECB,

Total spent $5.92, saved $26.86 or 82%

The razor has been on my list for several weeks and will last me most of the summer. The shampoo is one of the items along with deodorant and body wash that I always stock up on if possible for around $1 each. I NEVER pay for toothpaste or mouthwash.

Do you have a question that I missed?

 

Saving on Saturday 04/23/2016

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sos

I actually have 3 ways I have been saving this week to share with you today. First is a very common one, CVS.   I have actually not been to CVS in three weeks but this was definitely a week that I needed and wanted to go. I consider a good trip saving over 60%.  This weeks’ trips met the criteria as I spent $26 and saved $38 or 60%. I am more pleased that most of the items purchased were on my list of things we needed including deodorant for Lily, body wash for Matt and bathroom cleaner. As you probably already know Diet Cokes are always on my list. The second way, I saved this week is by purchasing chicken breast from Zaycon (my referral link). They sent me a coupon good for 20 cent off a pound which saved me 11% or $25. I also had a credit from a previous pick up where I was short some pounds of pork tenderloin and a referral credit. I was able to purchase 120# of chicken breast for $198.04!  Finally I did not save money but earned free money from Swagbucks. I have been completing less than an hour a day answering survey question and or watching videos, letting them run on my screen for the past month. I cashed out Swagbucks for a $25 Target gift card and discovered a $5 Amazon card in my account!   Free money is better than saving money!

How did you save this week?

Miscellaneous Monday

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  • Our menu plan is very simple for this week. Leftovers for Monday and Wednesday and Pulled Pork on Tuesday.  I want to try and clean out as much of the refrigerator as possible before our trip.
  • I am working hard to achieve a good work/life balance.  I am finding it impossible. Work is crazy busy and the kids are crazy busy as well.
  • I am really looking forward to this trip just to have some down time without feeling rushed or like I should be doing something else.
  • The weather is starting and predicted to start warming up, I still do not have a plan for the square foot garden so I need to get this down on paper soon.
  • The heat is back on in our house. I am hoping that once we leave on Thursday, that will be the end of the heat for the year.
  • I have given myself a goal to earn $200 from Swagbucks by December of this year. I am so close to cashing out my first $25 that it is tempting to purchase an item that is 100% back but I don’t want to spend any money. So I will patiently or not so patient wait till closer to the end of the month to achieve this.
  • Zach is continuing to make huge improvement in soccer. He was able to score 2 goals this weekend and made 2 stops as goalie.
  • Lily has found her backhand spring at cheerleading! It is so nice to watch her tumble!

Saving on Saturday 3/19/2016

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sosThe weather has been warm and sunny the last week. This has made Saving a little bit easier for us. We decided to turn off the heat and air around 2 weeks ago and managed a solid 10 days without the use of either until today. I am hopefully that we can again turn it off next weekend. My goal is always to go an entire month without use either which will reduce our electric bill by approximately $100 for the month.

The warmer weather has also got me thinking about our garden. I purchased some new netting and some lawn fabric to use. The netting is specific to square foot garden but is also much cheaper than wire so I am hoping that it will last for several years. I am also trying something new this year. We still have sweet potatoes from our harvest in the fall, so I am trying to start a new crop from the ones we have. The kids enjoying helping with this project. I am not sure if this will give us enough but I am thinking that once I see it working I may start a second batch as well to equal the amount we planted last year.

imageI read last month that you could grow romaine lettuce using a similar water method. The red cup you see is out second head we have attempted. Last week, Zach and I planted the first one in the garden.

imageI realize that we may not be able to have a continual harvest and most like will only get a few extra leaves from this but as I have said before, every little bit helps.

Other areas of saving is our grocery budget, so far we have managed to spend $125 out of pocket for the month of March in addition to less than $1000 for the entire year so far.   This has been the best and most controlled my grocery budget has ever been. I will admit that monthly meal planning helps but we also are buying on a rotating schedule. Our March spending should remain well below $200 however I will need to purchase meat in April so the budget will again be higher.

Finally, I am attempting to save money by using Swagbucks. My goal for each month is to earn one $25 gift card.

What are your saving secrets?

5 Things Friday-3/18/2016

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  1. Amanda purchased a new to her car yesterday, so we should be able to stick to our gas budget for the next several months. Which means paying off the tires on my van and for the last couple repairs on her car that finally died.
  2. I splurged today and got a new color and haircut. I can’t post a picture because my allergies are going haywire and my eyes are swollen.
  3. Matt has made some progress on the kitchen this week, hopefully he will be able to finish up plumbing and we will have our new dishwasher next Friday. My plan is to wait and post pictures once the dishwasher is completely in place. I am also optimistic that with the purchase of the dishwasher and new upper cabinets, we will stop spending for the summer.
  4. I will be travelling to Raleigh tomorrow alone for a workshop on correct documentation. I am sad to be missing Zach’s soccer game but not sad to miss sitting in the rain to watch it.
  5. We will be starting gardening in the next couple of weeks. I have been growing lettuce from scraps and plan to start sweet potatoes from our leftovers on Sunday.

5 Things Friday

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5thingsfriday-logoRED1. On top of our already busy schedule, Zach started spring soccer this week. That means at least 2 practices and one game a week.

2. Over the past month, the car that Amanda drove has started to fall apart. The car had 282,000 miles but after $500 in repairs it finally died yesterday. Today, we received $150 for the scrap value.

3.In good news, the weather has turned warm quickly. We turned off our heat and based on the forecast for the next week, we should be able to keep it off for a couple of weeks. I will be amazed if we are able to not turn it back on but every penny counts and our electric bill jumped almost $100 for the month of February.

4. We have made absolutely no progress in the kitchen this week. I am hopefully to get some painting done tomorrow night but that is even doubtful.

5. The one area of our budget that I have managed to keep great control of is our groceries. I am continuing to cut the grocery budget this month by using a “credit” from American Express. I was able to purchase all the items on my list for less than $50 using this credit.

Snow Sunday Savings!

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The sun came out today which began the melting process for us! Matt has worked most of the afternoon clearing our driveway so I can head to work tomorrow.  After he finished he asked if we wanted to venture out to CVS and Walmart.  Considering that I had already opened my last 2L of Diet Coke, I agreed. This was another excellent week at CVS.  I completed 3 transactions spending $1.92 and saving $27.16 or 93% I grabbed 8 bottles of Diet Coke and 3 tubes of free toothpaste. I should have grabbed another Diet Coke but my calculations were off.  Next stop was Walmart to grab a couple of items that we will run out of prior to the end of the month, I was able to use a calculate and list and stay on track spending $30.73 which puts me at $199.83 for the month.

Since we all have been at home since Thursday and the kids really have been at home for a week, we used some of the time to clean and re-organize. I was seriously thinking about needing to push some more storage containers on Thursday but instead, found and repurposed things we already had. We are in the process of reducing the playroom and I took the shelf from it and moved it to Zach room.

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The best part of this shelf is that it originally was a kitchen cabinet/bar in a house that my brother and sister in law purchased when they were first married. I was helping with some of the work and originally place this shelf in my  building. As you can tell it has been moved and reused but still is a large steady piece of furniture. I also reconfigured my closet and was able to place this smaller shelf in the playroom.

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Total spend on this project which ended up taking a full day Zero.

A final way we have saved money this weekend is cooking at home and using items that we already have. I am hoping to stick to a lower budget for at least February and most likely even March. I am realizing that we have a lot of food that I have purchased and by keeping a rolling stockpile, I should be able keep at least that line item lower for several month this year, therefore reducing our total expenses significantly even with resuming the $700 a month budget in April or May.

January Money Diet Update

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I am not surprised at all to say that several thing have occurred this month that I did not originally think about or plan for. Fortunately, we have adapted and managed to spend as little as possible. One of the bigger things that has happen is the sudden dramatic weather change that has brought us temperature not rising above freezing for several days in a row. I discovered that we had a significant draft in our living room. We were able to purchase and reduce this draft for around $20 but this was totally unplanned. Next up was a computer problem, we ended up purchasing a new operating system for one of our computers which was $130 but in addition after spending several hours working on and around this problem, Matt and I both needed a mental break and headed to Cracker Barrel for Dinner. I am honestly glad we did because after coming home it took another 3 hours to get the computer back to a workable state. I am really enjoying this diet challenge because it allows us to stop and thing before spending, even if we decide to spend the money.  Now on to more positive news.

1. Grocery spending of $200 or less- Currently I have spent $168 after both a trip to Costco and Aldi. I am so excited by this number. I don’t see any reason we can not stay in our goal for the month. We also went ahead today and did a rough menu plan for the month of February. I can see that we should be able to maintain a low budget of $400 or less for February!

2. Challenge #1– Give away 31 things- I have a box of kids clothing already packed and have a couple of options. I am going to make sure this box is gone before the end of the month.

3.Challenge #2– Figure your Net Worth-  I did not complete this totally simply because this number has no meaning to me at this point. What I have done is make a spreadsheet to keep up with real number as I work at paying off credit cards and other debits. I also know the value of all our vehicles. Finally today, I set up access to my retirement account so I can at least glance at it from time to time. As an interesting side note, it has lost over a thousand dollars in January already.

4. Challenge # 3- Do something to earn an extra $25 or more this month.– I have several items listed on Facebook for sale right now.

5. Challenge #4- Reduce at least one expense– I stay pretty on top of this to begin with. But I was able to get a $14 credit on our cable bill due, this month and finally think we have that bill straighten out. I do need to check on our cellphone bill to make sure it is as low as possible.

Overall I am happy with our progress and this challenge is definitely helping me to find some money that can be saved.