March Mission -- Day 10

Today:
Breakfast at home, saved $5.
Lunch at school/work.
Dinner at home, saved $9.
Total saved today: at least $14.
Total saved this month: $92!

Yesterday:
Breakfast at Whataburger, spent $13 (I HAD to! I had stayed up until 1:00 am the night before doing school work. I needed the pick me up of a bacon bob and a diet coke.)
Lunch at school/work.
Dinner at home, saved at least $9.
Not counting anything as "saved" for the 9th, since we spent $13 on breakfast.

My Wish List for Publix, 3/10

I don't know how to find the newest Publix ad -- starting tomorrow or Thursday -- like some other bloggers. And I know that Publix deals vary from area to area; a blog I follow, mysweetsavings.com, has some great deals listed. I've tried following her steps to make the same deals, only to find that the sales aren't the same in my store, even though we both live in Florida.

So, I've done a little research using other people's sites having no idea if these deals will be good here in Pensacola. These are the deals I'm hoping to find:

Hebrew National Kosher All Beef Franks, Original, Reduced Far, 97% Fat-Free, Jumbo, or Knockwurst, 11 or 12 oz, BOGO $4.99
-$.75/1; $1/1 Any one package of Hebrew national Beef hot dogs – 03-07-10 SS

Flatout Bread, Assorted Varieties, 11.2 oz bag, BOGO $2.89
-$1/2 Flatout Flatbreads, Publix coupon – Healthy Meals Healthy Kids

Ragu Pasta Sauce, Traditional: With Meat or Regular; or Chunky Gardenstyle: Garlic & Onions, Green Pepper & Mushrooms, or Super Mushroom, 45 oz jar, BOGO $3.35
-$1/2 Ragu Pasta Sauces – Multiply your Meals & Savings
-$1/2 PRINT

Barilla Pasta, Assorted Varieties, 9 to 16 oz box (Excluding Barilla Plus) BOGO $1.99
-$.55/1; $1/2 Barilla Piccolini, Any One Package. – 03-07-10 SS
-$.55/1; $1/2 Barilla Whole Grain pasta – 03-07-10 SS

Land O Lakes Spread, Fresh Buttery Taste, 2 ct, 7.5 oz or 15 oz tub or Pure and Creamy Margarine, 15 oz tub, BOGO $1.89
-$.40/1; $.30/1; $.50/1 Land O Lakes Fresh Buttery Taste Spread, any (DND 5) – 02-07-10 SS

Jimmy Dean D-Lights Sandwiches or Chicken Biscuit, Assorted Varieties, 16 to 20.4 oz box, BOGO $5.99
-$1/1 Jimmy Dean Sandwich Item, Any – 03-07-10 RP

Stay tuned to find out if I am able to find (any of) these deals!

Thanks to iheartpublix.com for the match ups!

March Mission -- Day 8

Oh, how badly I wanted to eat out today!
But we resisted!
Breakfast and dinner at home; lunch at school/work (don't have to pay).
Subtracting the cost of our groceries for the day, we saved at least $14 today.
A total savings for this month: $78!

March Mission -- Days 5-7

Friday, March 5
No eating out!
Saved at least $9!

Saturday, March 6
We traditionally eat at Chik-fil-a for breakfast, and we wanted to keep this tradition. We spent $15 there.
We had a $10 snack at Sam's Club that turned into dinner.
So we spent $25 on Saturday, a pretty normal amount for us.

Sunday, March 7
No eating out! (at least not yet!)
Breakfast and lunch at home, and plans for dinner at home.
A savings of at least $9 so far.

A savings this weekend of $18, and a total March savings of $64!

My Favorite Coupons This Week -- 3/7

As I looked through the coupons in the paper this morning, I found several that I thought would make for really great deals. Some will need a good sale to make a great deal happen; some are great all on their own. I thought you might benefit from knowing which coupons I think are especially great today. Being fairly new to coupons myself -- on my third month of couponing -- I'm sure there are great deals to be had that I can't discern yet. At any rate, here are my faves:

Smart Source:

$.75/3 Hamburger Helper

Save this for a sale or BOGO deal!

$.50/1 and $.50/2 Fiber One bars
I love these bars, so I love finding coupons for them.
Look for a sale -- last week Walgreens was offering RR, so there's got to be another good sale coming along somewhere sometime soon.

Free Yoplait Greek Yogurt (Publix coupon)
FREE is a no-brainer! If a BOGO sale comes along, you might score 2 for free!

$1 Colgate
Combined with a sale and/or ECB/RR deal, this could net some free toothpaste. Will definitely not pay more than $.50 for a tube of Colgate.

Free Marcal
Hope to find this somewhere. I've yet to find this brand in Pensacola.

Several AirWick coupons
May work for cheap or free air freshener at Walgreens or CVS.

$2 Bic
Could land us a free razor with a sale at CVS, Walgreens, Target, or Wal-Mart

$1 GE
Have used a coupon like this before to get a free lightbulb.

$1 Revlon
I bought those eyeshadows recently with a sale and coupon combo at Walgreens for $.99 each! They are regularly priced at $4.99, so that was a great deal. I hope something similar will come along soon.

Red Plum

$1 on Garnier Fructis Shampoo/Conditioner and $1 on Garnier Fructis stylers
You may be able to combine these on an ECB or RR deal and get some really great product for little or nothing.

P&G:

$.50 Dawn Hand Renewal
One of the first good deals I ever got with couponing came with this same coupon. CVS often has Dawn on sale for $.99, so that makes this $.49 per bottle. A great deal!

Several Febreeze coupons
Just waiting for a great deal at CVS, Walgreens, or Target!

$1 on Tide
I LOVE this coupon! Look at Wal-Mart or Target in the travel section for the single-load size of Tide liquid. They usually are around $.97 or $.99 each. With this coupon, it's FREE!

BOGO on Oral-B Advantage toothbrushes
Again, look for a BOGO sale or an ECB/RR deal to really make this coupon pay.

Several Old Spice and Gillette coupons
I have gotten so many products for extremely cheap or free thanks to these coupons. Can't wait to see what store sales will make really great deals.

$1 on Covergirl
Hang on to this for a BOGO sale at CVS or Walgreens. Remember that you can use 2 coupons in a BOGO sale, so you can make out really well.

$3/2 Pantene
Combined with the CVS deal this week, you can make a really great deal. Try this:
Buy 2 Pantene Shampoo/Conditioner/Stylers at 2 for $6.97
Use the $3/2 coupon in today's P&G
Pay $3.97
Get $2 in ECB
You can do this twice, so do two transactions. On the second transaction, use another of the same coupon and also use the $2 ECB that printed in your first transaction. For the second set of Pantene, you'll pay $1.97 then get $2 ECB back, so it's like getting that second set for free!

$.55 on Satin Care shave gel
Buy the travel size from Target and pay $.43 or so.

$1.50 on Nyquil
Use this with a sale at Walgreens or CVS and get RR/ECB back. Or, if it gets close to the 4/30 expiration date, use this at Publix and get the single dose size for free, plus overage! (You'll have to look in the travel-size section in the toiletry/medicine section. It's currently around $1.30.)

My Picks for CVS, 3/7 - 3/13

My thanks to Heather at www.mysweetsavings.com, Collin at www.hip2save.com and Kristin at www.couponingtodisney.com for putting together great lists for CVS this week. I chose my favorite of the deals to share with you. See their websites for more deals, or see www.hotcouponworld.com.

Oral B Cross Action Toothbrush — $4
Coupon: $.75 or $1 from 2/7 or 2/21 P&G
Pay: $3 or $3.25
ECB generated: $4 (limit 2)

Nivea Lip Care — $2.99
Coupon: B1G1 from 2/7 RP
Total: 2 for free!
Pay: $2.99
ECB generated: $2.99
(You'd think I'd be sick to death of Nivea deals -- I bought 10 thsi week alone! -- but I'm not!)

Gillette Deodorant — $3.99
Coupon: $4/2 from 2/21 SS and (2) Buy a Gillette deodorant and get a free body wash from 3/7 P&G
Deal: Buy 2 Deos and 2 Gillette Body washes. Use the above coupons. Pay $3.98 and get $2 ECB.
Pay: $4
ECB generated: $2 ($1 per deoderant purchase; limit 2. This deal takes care of the limit.)

Welch’s Grape Jelly (32oz) — $1.50
Coupon: 75c from 1/3 SS
Pay: 75c

Gillette Fusion — $8.99
Coupon: $4 from 2/7 P&G
Pay: $4.99
ECB generated: $4 (limit 1)

Pantene Hair Care — 2/$6.97
Coupon: $3/2 from 3/7 P&G
Deal: Buy 2 and use $3/2 coupon.
Pay: $3.97
ECB generated: $2 (limit 2)

Stacy’s Pita Chips — 2/$5
Coupon: $1 printable
Deal: Buy 2 and use (2) $1 coupons.
Pay: $3
ECB generated: $1 (when you buy 2) (limit 1)
(I'm excited about this deal because I got a $1 CVS coupon at the price scanner recently. So, I'll pay $2 and get $1 back in ECB!)

Buy 2 Cascade Gel or Powder 45 count $2/$5.97
Use the $0.25/1 coupon from the 3/7 PG
Pay: $5.47
ECB generated: $1 (limit 1)

Pepsi Products 12 pack 2/$7
Pay: $7
ECB generated: $2

Buy $10 or more of Easter Candy
Deal Scenario:
Buy 4 bags of Starburst Jelly Beans 2/$5
Use 2 $1/2 coupons from the 3/7 RP
Pay $8
ECB generated: $3 (limit 2)

Walgreens, Friday, 3/5

Two transactions today. I left the Diet Mt. Dew out of the picture. It has already joined the rest of the stockpile in the utility room.

First transaction:

6 Revlon eyeshadows -- $1.99 each (sale price, regular price is $4.99 each)
Used 6 $1 coupons purchased from the coupon clippers
Paid: $5.94 for all 6

4 Nivea lip products -- $.99 each with in-ad coupon (regular price is $3.99 each)
Used BOGO coupon purchased from the coupon clippers
Paid: $1.98 for all 4
*I had to make sure to hand over the manufacturer's coupons before the store coupons. That way I got $3.99 off for each of the 3 free items. Then, when I handed the store Q over, it took off $9 for the 3 I had to pay for to get them for $.99 each

3 Reach toothbrushes -- $.99 each with in-ad coupon (regular price is $1.99 each)
Used 3 $1 coupons purchased from the coupon clippers
Paid: all three for FREE!

2 packs Dentyne -- $.69 each with in-ad coupon (regular price is $1.29)
Used $1/2 coupon purchased from the coupon clippers
Paid: $.38 for both!

6 Motrin PM -- $2.99 each (sale price; regular price is $4.99)
Used 3 $3/2 coupons purchased from the coupon clippers
Used $1.50 coupon from the Walgreens March Savings Booklet (took off $1.50 per item)
Paid: all 6 for FREE!

2 Starburst jellybeans -- 2 for $5
Used $1/2 coupon in the March Savings Booklet
Paid: $4 for both

2 single size M&M's -- $.69 each
no coupon
Paid: $1.38

3 packs of Kotex pads -- $2.99 each
Used $3/2 printed coupon (I've had it for a while and don't remember the origin)
Paid: $5.97 for all three
RR generated: $5

Total before coupons but after sale prices: $70.41
Total after coupons and $13.50 RR used: $3.66
Total savings, including sale prices, coupons, and RR used: $99.09

Second transaction:

2 Motrin PM -- $2.99 each (sale price, regularly $4.99)
Used $3/2 coupon purchased from the coupon clippers
Used $1.50 coupon from the March Savings Booklet
Paid: 2 for FREE!

2 Revlon eye shadows -- $1.99 (sale price, regularly $4.99)
Used 2 $1 coupons purchased from the coupon clippers
Paid: $1.98 for both

2 packs Dentyne gum -- $.69 with in-ad coupon (regularly $1.29 each)
Used $1/2 coupon purchased from the coupon clippers
Paid: $.38 for both

Total after sale prices before coupons: $24.77
Total after coupons and $5 RR used: $9.57
Total savings on this transaction: $29.17
RR generated: $3

Again, I give props to the coupon clippers. I saved $66.48 today, for a total savings this week of $151.25! Some of that, admittedly, did come from internet coupons or a few coupons I had here at home already. I think it's a safe estimate to say that 90% of that savings, or $136, is thanks to the $11.60 order I bought from the coupon clippers this week. I cannot say enough good about them. Click the banner to the right of this post and get set to buy your coupons for a great shopping excursion!

March Mission -- Day 4

No out of pocket expense today for meals, other than what was already spent on groceries.
Cereal with milk for breakfast
School/work lunch
Pizza for dinner (instead of going out)

Approximate spent on groceries: $4
Since we ate dinner at home instead of going out, I estimate we saved AT LEAST $11 today.
That brings our March total to $46!

Awesome Walgreens Trip, 3/3

Amazing!
No picture, because everything is put away already.
I can't list my shopping results without giving props to thecouponclippers. Most of the deals I did today used coupons I purchased from that wonderful site. There should be a banner to the right of the newest post on the blog for you to click. I hope that, after you read this post, you'll be inspired to try out the coupon clippers yourself!

Here's the run-down:

3 boxes Fiber One bars -- $2.49 each
Used 2 $.40 Q
Paid: $6.67
RR generated: $1.50

2 Purex 3-in-1 laundry sheets -- 2 for $9
AND
2 Purex 50 oz. liquid detergents -- Buy 1 at $5.99, get one for free
Used 2 BOGO coupon purchased from the coupon clippers
Paid: $5.99 for all 4!
RR generated: $2

2 12-pc. Dentyne gum -- $.69 each after in-ad coupon
Used $1/2 coupon purchased from the coupon clippers
Paid: $.19 each

3 Revlon eyeshadows -- $1.99 each (sale price, regularly $4.99)
Used 3 $1 coupon purchased from the coupon clippers
Paid: $.99 each

3 Reach toothbrushes -- $.99 each with in-ad coupon (regularly $1.99 each)
Used 3 $1 coupons purchased from the coupon clippers
Paid: all three for FREE!

6 Nivea products -- $.99 each with in-ad coupon (regularly $3.99 each!)
Used 3 BOGO coupons purchased from the coupon clippers
BOGO coupons took off $3.99 each
In-ad coupon took off $9
Paid: $2.97 for all 6!

4 Motrin P.M. -- $2.99 each on sale (regularly $4.99)
Used 3 $3/2 coupons purchased from the coupon clippers
Used $1.50 coupon in March Savings Booklet
Paid: all four for FREE!

2 M&M single bags -- $.50 each
no coupon
just a reward for 3 little ones who shopped fairly well
Paid: $1.00

Accucheck Aviva blook glucose monitor -- $14.99
Used $10 coupon purchased from the coupon clippers
Paid: $4.99
RR generated: $5

6 boxes Kleenex -- BOGO @$2.19 each
Used 2 $.40/3 Q
Paid: $5.77 for all 6
RR generated: $3

3 12-packs Diet Mt. Dew -- 3/$11
no coupon
Paid: $11
RR generated: $3

Total after advertised sales but before coupons: $108.65
Total after coupons and $29 RR used: $5.90
Total savings including coupons, sales, and RR used: $154.66!
Total RR generated: $13.50

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I could not have made this deal happen without the coupon clippers. Click the banner to the right of the newest post on my blog to access their site and start putting together your order. I spent $11.60 on my order of coupons and have a ton left for other transactions. What a deal!

March Mission -- Day 3

Our normal day would have involved breakfast at home, lunch at school/work, and dinner at a fast food restaurant. We would have spent at least $15 on dinner.

Instead . . .

Breakfast at home -- around $1.00
Lunch at school/work -- no out of pocket costs
Dinner at home -- around $3.50
Total spent on today's groceries: $4.50, plus a trivial amount on snacks.

Saved at least $10.50 today, totalling over $35 this month already!

March Mission -- Day 2

Today's normal meals would have been something like . . .
Breakfast at Whataburger -- at least $9
Lunch at school/work -- $0
Dinner -- maybe home . . . maybe not

Here's how we did today:

Breakfast -- yogurt and leftovers -- less than $3
Lunch at school/work -- $0
Dinner -- pizza at home -- around $3

We saved at least $6 today. Combined with our savings from yesterday, we've saved at least $25 in 2 days! That pays for a nice lunch at Disney or half the gas to get there!

I'm so excited about this challenge! I hope we can keep up the no-eating-out determination as the week and month get busier!

FREE Vitamin Water!

Go here to fill out the info to get a free Vitamin Water! It's only available to the first 100,000, so don't wait!

FREE Photo Book from HotPrints!

Go here to make your own free photo book from HotPrints.
I've only just decided to try it, but from what I read you can get a free book every month this year! (Hmm, how many people need to get photo books for Christmas? Just kidding, family.)
Looking forward to trying this!

More Swagbucks Every Day!

I LOVE Swagbucks! I earn more Swagbucks every day now, thanks to the "Special Offers" tab on the website.
It's so easy! All you have to do is click on "Ways to Earn", then "Special Offers". Click skip through several ads, then TA-DA! Swagbucks! I got 3 today, and I can go back tomorrow and every day to win at least 3 more. Some days I'll win 10 or maybe more! And that's just for the "Special Offers" tab.
I'll also win some swagbucks at some point today because I do all my internet searching on swagbucks. I'll earn anywhere from 10 to 50 per win, and I can win several times daily.
I've recently changed my mind as to what prize I was working for. I thought I'd go for the Paypal $5 payout (700 swagbucks), but I think I'm going to go for the $5 Amazon.com e-gift card (450 sb). Getting close!
It doesn't cost anything to join, and it's so fun that I can get free prizes for searching that I would have done anyway. Click here to join and get started earning your own prizes. You can also click the link found on the right hand side of my blog. I'd love to read what you are working towards.
Happy Swag-Searching!

March Mission -- Day 1

Fellow blogger and Disney enthusiast, Kristin, over at couponingtodisney.com, is having a challenge this month. I've decided to get on the band wagon by commenting on her daily posts this month, but I'm also carrying that over here.
For someone who calls herself a "wannabe cheapskate", I sure do allow myself to eat out a lot. And I mean A LOT!!! It's usually my idea, as opposed to my husband's prompting, although if he suggests, I go for it! We have been eating out so much lately! At least 4 times for breakfast and 3 times for dinner each week. We'd easily spend $75 per week just on eating out. Well, my mission for March, just like Kristin's, is to cut WWWAAAYYY back on how much we eat out.
I want to cut it down to 25% of our recent habits, leaving room for at least 1 meal out per week. (We have a Saturday morning Chik-fil-a tradition.)
We often choose Whataburger for breakfast on Mondays, but ate at home today for FREE! We saved at least $9! (Thanks to my sister, Mandy, for making a great breakfast! You made it easy for us today!)
We often choose a fast food restaurant on Monday nights -- a place like Steak n Shake. At least $15 spent there. Today we are having Hamburger Helper and ciabatta rolls. We spent around $5 for all the ingredients, so we saved at least $10 on dinner.
That's a savings of $19 in just one day!
Here's the challenge for you: Decide what changes you want to make to your family's eating habits (eating out less, eating more healthful meals, eating together more, etc.). Post your goal as a comment on this post. Then, each day on my post for the day, comment your progress. Let's see what we can accomplish in the area this month!