The Adventures of the Super Coupon Mom

Long Time no Write.

2011-08-17T12:53:00.000-07:00

It is that time of year again...BACK TO SCHOOL! I know that all parents have mixed emotions about this. I am always reminded of how blessed I am to have a phenomenal school for my kids. I am thankful for a great school and so I am glad that they are ready to go back. I will miss their daily antics though.

The other reason I am ready for school is so I can start shopping again. 2011 has been a ridiculously crazy year for me and my family. Now that the kids are headed back I am ready to get busy shopping again.

I am rebuilding my coupon stash and desperately trying to understand all the new coupon rules. Thank you TLC for irresponsible television.

PLease feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about couponing, and keep a look out for new posts on the deals I find.

Quiznos Coupon

2011-02-09T05:40:00.001-08:00

If you are looking for a great lunch deal, print this coupon for a yummy lunch at quiznos.

My Kroger and Randall's Lunch Time Trips

2011-02-01T15:01:00.000-08:00

I love my lunch break shopping. I work in a part of town where it isn’t very popular to use coupons. This helps when there is a hot deal, because the shelves usually aren’t bare and I can also often find hot coupons in the stores. This week I am 2 for 2 on my lunch break shopping trips.

Yesterday I went to Randall’s only,
Thank you to Stephanie at Katycouponers for the HOT Skippy Peanut Butter deal.

Skippy Peanut Butter is 2/$5 this week, use the coupon in the Sunday inset to make them $1.49 each. There is a limit of 4 and you have to spend $10 to make the coupon work.
Yesterday I got a 2 pack of Ranchers Reserve T-Bone Steaks Regularly $8.75- Manager special 50% off- $2/1 Rancher Reserve (Randall’s Joy of Football).
2- Pillsbury Holiday Shapes Frozen Cookie Dough Regularly $3.99-Managers Special 50%-$.50 eCoupon-$1/2 Mfg CO.
2-Skippy Peanut Butter 2/$5-Flyer-1-$1/1 (Randall’s Joy of Football)-1 $.50/1(doubled) Mfg CO (1/30 RP)
In a separate transaction I got 1 Rancher’s Reserve Skirt Steak $2.33- $2/1 Rancher Reserve (Randall’s Joy of Football).

So I got all of that for $4.87.

Today at Randall’s
I only wanted to get the Skippy Peanut Butter so I did the transaction a lot like Stephanie suggested. I am lucky to have both Skippy Mfg CO’s so I got a $10 Randall’s CG and 2 Peanut Butter’s and paid $10.98. Tomorrow and for the rest of the week I can now take that $10 GC and roll it into more Peanut Butter.

Today I was mostly concerned with making my first run to Kroger for the Mega Sale. If you are not familiar with the mega sale it is a sale at Kroger where you Buy 10 items and get $5 off at check out. This time it is a lot of staple items. So I have been really wanting to stock up.

Today I got
6-Kleenex - $5.0/3 (doubled) (insert)
2-Kraft Deluxe Mac and Cheese ( No cpn)
2-Velveeta Shells and Cheese ( No cpn)
2-Philly Cream Cheese $1/2 (Guys Big Bite Book)
2- 2Liters Big K soda -$1 off 2L of soda when you buy 2 craft products (Tearpad) (all 4 Mac & Cheeses are part of this deal.
9- Asst Cans Del Monte Vegetables (after Mega Sale these are only $.32 each)
12-Cans Rotel -$1/4
9-Cans Hunts Tomatoes - $.45/3
6- Bar S Hot dogs - $1/2 1/30 RP
2- Orvile Redenbacker’s Microwave Popcorn - $.55 Blinkie there is also a $1/2 (Randall’s Joy of Football).
All for $24.xx

I hope to head back to Kroger and Randall’s again tomorrow to stock up some more.

A fun FRUGAL day

2011-01-21T19:20:00.000-08:00

So this year has started off at a ridiculously fast pace for me. I have not been able to focus much on deals and shopping, but with all that is going on in my life the deals are more important now than ever. I don't have much extra time to blog but I can't help but share today's adventures.

I have been reading all week about the great new Joy Of Football coupon book at Randall's this week, I even went in search on my one free lunch break this week. I was really wanting to find this book, because it has several great high dollar coupons.

This afternoon I had an appointment to get my oil changed in the Mom-Mobile and it happened to be near a Randall's. I was so excited to see the display at the front door that is supposed to hold these coveted coupon books! It was empty! I was bummed, but I knew I didn't want to waste a trip to Randall's so I headed to the back of the store where they have their clearance section. On my way through the meat department, I glanced at the 50% off meats and saw a few really great single packs of steak. Since my stock of meat is running low, I grabbed them the most expensive was going to be only about $2.75. Then I looked behind me at a small shelf and saw a huge stack of the coupon books! WOOOHOO! I took three and headed to the clearance section. While I was browsing the deals I found several six packs of apple sauce. Even without a coupon, these were going to be $1.15 each. Since the kids both like to take a lunch from home I grabbed six of these.
Ready to check out I glanced through my new coupon books and saw a $2 off 1 Ranchers Reserve coupon. Turns out the steaks I grabbed were Rancher's Reserve. I was so happy. Three steaks for under $2.

I still have to find a few more deals tomorrow, with my sidekicks along for the ride, it should be a fun day! Oh yeah and that oil change I got today, yeah, it was FREE! I got a letter from several local shops welcoming me to the neighborhood when I moved in here in April. I haven't paid to have the oil changed in my Mom-Mobile since then.

One more Frugal thing happened today! Both of my incredible sidekicks came home with PERFECT report cards. Those perfect report cards are rewarded with FREE kids meals from Chick Fil A. SO tomorrow's lunch is FREE too!

TLC show Extreme couponing

2010-12-29T18:06:00.000-08:00

I wasn’t going to watch this show. I really didn’t plan on it. I didn’t even set the DVR when I went out last night. As the show began to air I began to see so many conversations about what was happening that I couldn’t resist. When I got home I set the DVR to catch the second run of the show.

My initial thoughts when I heard that a show was being made were how much negative backlash it would create. I don’t think my concerns were far off. I believe that it was staged, 100%, fake. Yes, it is mathematically possible, but probable, not at all. The network must have contacted the stores to get the permission. I am sure that the stores were promised a few well placed logo shots in return and probably well compensated. I am by no means the COUPON POLICE, I don’t want to judge the people who participated in the show, but I am very disappointed.

Crying because a coupon doesn’t scan, and taking over every square inch of floor space in the house are all signs of an addiction or of Hoarding. I don’t believe that even with kids anyone can use the amount of stuff two of these people have in their house.

I believe every one of them when they say that they make regular donations to their local charities. As do most all of us who coupon shop. I just have one thing that really bugs me about the show, and the way things were portrayed. Before I ever went on my first shopping trip armed with my coupons I did a lot of research. I found tons of sites, all with incredible information. The one thing that was taught at every site was to fly below the radar. It is a hard thing to remember, especially when you are new to the game. But, it is vitally important. You don’t want to come to the attention of the stores. All it takes is one moody cashier or manager and you are going to have trouble every time. If a store begins to notice me I pray that it is because I am a nice person, and I stand out for that reason only. I do think that calling ahead to order stuff is a good idea; I will never clear the shelves of a deal, unless there is only one left when I get there. I have not ever ordered extras, but I have considered it. If I ever encounter a deal I cannot pass on I would definitely do it.

I have never gotten in a recycling bin to look for coupons. Again, I wouldn’t put it past me though. Given the chance, I believe I certainly would.

I don’t believe that any of my stores, even stating that I have an AWESOME group of managers and cashiers that I have gotten to know would order me 1100 of any one item.

I want to help others; it is what we are called as Christians to do. But, I will not give up my time with my family, my sanity or my reputation to do so. I will teach anyone who wants to learn and I will continue to donate all I can to any charity I can. But, I will not ask my family to make major sacrifices for me to do so. I do not clip coupons during family time, I do not shop at all hours of the night, I do not miss special events to go get a deal and I do not spend more hours clipping coupons than I do at the office. I am already away from my family too much as it is for work. We all have our own way of being, and to each their own, I just really hope that the stores and manufacturers don’t begin changing the rules again because these four people exposed the tricks of the game.

100th Post

2010-11-18T11:51:00.000-08:00

Wow! I totally missed that one! My last post was my 100th post! I am really enjoying being a blogger. I am so busy right now with work and the kids schedules that I am so far behind. I am really looking forward to the holiday season so I can have a few extra hours to work on my blog and on my shopping. I am on the look out for great Christmas deals for you all, and I will certainly post them as I find them.

I would definitely recommend watching the Groupon deal sin the weeks to come. There are going to be some great deals no doubt!

My Kroger Trip Today

2010-10-23T16:19:00.000-07:00

So all of the speculation seems to be true. I asked the manager at my Kroger today and they are no longer limiting the number of like coupons per transaction nor are they limiting the number of double/triple like coupons per transaction. I scored big time today, and it makes it so much easier to get in and out since I don't have to do several transactions.

Today I got all of this...

15 - Softsoap Liquid $.99 - $.35/1 mfg co (spanish Smartsource)

9 - Dial Bar Soap $1 - $.35/1 mfg co

3- Everready Flashlights $1.39 - $1 mfg co

2-Old Orchard Apple Juice $1 - $.50/2 mfg co

3- Bounty Basic Paper towels $1.09 - $1 Kroger e coupon - $.25/1 mfg co

4- Dole Fruit Jars $1 - $.50/2 mfg co

10 - Yakisobas $.80 - $.50/1 mfg co

10 - Totinos Pizza Rolls $1 - $.35/1 mfg co

10 - Kids Cuisine Meals $1.89 - $5/10 Frozen Food Promo - $.50/1 mfg co

12- Mc Cormick Grinders $1 (Buy three or more receive $3 catalina)

Thank you ZM for this deal

1 - Athenos Hummus - $1 Mfg co

2- Ceasers Bistro Dog Food - BOGO

12- Sani Hands Wipes $1.04 - $1 mfg co.

I also used a $5/75 coupon that was in the boyscout coupon book last fall.

The total before coupons was $95 something( I don't have my receipt with me to be exact) and my total out of pocket was $.12. Plus I still have $6 in catalinas to use on my next trip.

I did all but the Mc Cormick Grinders in one transaction. Those required separate transactions because the catalina will only print once per transaction.

FREE Gain Dish Soap at Walmart

2010-10-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

Walmart isn’t always my favorite store for couponing. But, right now it is the place to be if you have any of the $1/1 Gain Dish Soap Coupons.

The small bottle is only $.97 regularly at Walmart so it makes for a freebie. Make sure that you grab a small item to cover any overage if the cashier does the coupon wrong. If they do it right they will mark it down to $.97.

I have 12 already and I am going for one more tonight.

I like to keep a year supply of this type of daily use item in my stockpile. I also keep a year or more of Laundry detergent, fabric softener liquid and dryer sheets as well as dish detergent.

Randall's Highlights

2010-10-12T18:16:00.000-07:00

Like I told you earlier, I went to Randall’s at lunch today.

I found some great deals.

1 – Totino’s Pizza Roll’s 15ct - $1.29 (10% off Frozen Foods Randall’s Flyer, $.35/1 – Any Pizza Rolls Tripled)

2 – Pillsbury Cutout Cookies Clearance 50%off $1.99 ($1/2 Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough)

1 – 3 Pack Steak $3.41 (30% Off)

2 – Barilla Spaghetti Sauces 2/$4 ($.75/1 Barilla Pasta Sauce x 2)

2 – Barilla Piccolini Noodles $1 FREE when purchase Sauce ($.55/1 Barilla Piccolini Noodles x2)(Makes this a $.55 Money Maker each package.)

3- Hallmark Cards @$1.49 each

Received a $3.49 Pediasure coupon, $1 Barilla Coupon, $1 Catalina For the Barilla Deal and $5 Catalina for purchasing three Hallmark Cards.

I think Randall’s will be on my to-do list again tonight.

Thank you to ZM @ Katycouponers and Kimberly @ Just Frugaliscious for the Hallmark Lead.

Thank you to Tiffany @ Mylitter for the Heads up on the Barilla Pasta.

Back Again

2010-10-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

Oh my, it has been a while. I had such a busy summer and now fall. Don’t let my absence fool you, I have been working hard and saving loads of money. I hope that you have too.

We had a great summer with loads of family time, a short vacation and an awesome back to school shopping experience. I mean wow, even in the clothing stores it is easy to find great deals if you stop to look.

My sidekicks are in school and we are adjusting to their new schedules, which now also include Softball and T-ball. So it goes without saying that our evenings are a little busy.

I am back now. My coupons are finally caught up, my fingers are ready to type and I am excited to share my bargains with you all.

I was able to make a Randall’s run during my lunch break today and I will post all the details this evening, including a pic!

I hope that you are all ready to hit the ground running because I have some great deals for you to get in on.

Brugo Mug Giveaway

2010-07-15T12:35:00.000-07:00

If you are a coffee or tea drinker go check out Tifani's Mom. She is giving away a really cool Brugo Mug! These are so cool!

Fun Soda Stream Giveaway

2010-07-09T05:11:00.000-07:00

Check out Frugality in the Making's Blog. She has a fun giveaway for a Soda Stream machine. This is such a cool kitchen tool. I know my kids would have a blast making their own drinks. The giveaway ends tonight so hurry over and check it out.

Kroger Summer of Savings

2010-06-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

Don’t forget to play Kroger’s Summer of Savings game. You can play once a day until you win. It appears that you can win once each month during the promo.

Make sure that you have your Kroger Plus card in hand so you can link the number to their system. The prizes are loaded directly to your card and come off automatically when you scan your card at check out.

I can’t play again till July, but I won a FREE Bob Evans Side dish.

Good luck. If you win something post a comment so we can all see how everyone is doing.

I love checking the mail!

2010-06-30T08:09:00.001-07:00

I know that I have said it before but couponing sure makes it more fun to check the mail. Yesterday I got my FREE Suave coupon. I had to run to the store for a quick after dinner snack and was able to get my FREE full Size bottle.

I am working on a new system of writing to manufacturers more regularly in order to see what coupons I can get. I will let you all know how it is going. I will also post links to the comment sites for the manufacturers that I write to.

If you are interested in getting started couponing, join Facebook! So many of the companies have created fan pages, some retailers also have pages. They use these pages as free marketing and they often have great freebie coupons available. That is how I got the FREE Suave coupon.

Busy Month!!!

2010-06-30T07:48:00.000-07:00

Man June was busy for me. I have been shopping I just haven't had time to post.

There is one glaring change… what do you think of the new look?

Do you love it as much as I do?

Thank you so much to Jessica at the Frilly Coconut Design Shoppe. She did a fantastic job on the design. She was very professional and worked really hard to make sure that I felt my design was perfect. You can also check out her Facebook page HERE.

If you are looking for a blog designer, I definitely recommend Jessica.

I look forward to catching up on my posts during the next few weeks. Princess Random and Captain Obvious will be staying with their dad for a while so I will have too much time to myself. So keep on the look out for more shopping adventures and maybe even a few installments of The Adventures Of The Super Coupon Mom!

I NEED TO SHOP!!!

2010-06-04T05:49:00.000-07:00

I miss shopping! There are so many great deals out right now and I am too busy to take advantage of them. Now that school is out, hopefully I will have more time. I can't wait to get busy shopping this weekend.

Cheap Listerine Agent Cool Blue or Smart Rinse CVS

2010-05-05T19:54:00.000-07:00

If your kids are like Captain Obvious and Princess Random, brushing their teeth can be a challenge I love this kids Listerine. It makes brushing fun for them which makes it painless for me.

This week all 3 types of Kids Listerine is on sale for $3.99 at CVS, if you buy one you get a $2 ECB. There is also a $1/1 Mfg. C/O that came the 6/14/09 Smart Source (exp. 5/31/10). After coupons and ECB it is $.99 per bottle. Seeing as how there are 3 bottles on the kids bathroom shelf at all times, I like to stock up on these. The limit on these is 2 per card. I have two cards, mine and my moms. SO I was able to get 4.

Picture tomorrow!

Dollar General Pedigree Dentistix FREE

2010-05-05T19:49:00.000-07:00

If you have a Dollar General near you here is a great deal to look for. In the April All You Magazine there was a $2.1 Mfg. C/O (pg. 2). There is also a $2.1 Mfg. C/O in the 4/25 Red Plum. The 4 pack of Dentistix is $2. So you only have to pay tax.

I hope that you are able to find some.

Nivea Body Wash Money Maker at CVS

2010-05-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

If you have any Nivea coupons it is time to head to CVS to stock up. This Sunday there was a $4/1 Nivea for Women Body Wash Mfg. Co. in the Red Plum Insert. There is also a BOGO Nivea Body Wash Mfg. Co. in the May All You Magazine. Some CVS stores will allow you to use both if you are buying two bottles. Remember that when you go to CVS you should always scan your CVS card at the Coupon Center. Scan it several times, until it says no more coupons. I have been getting a $2/2 Bar Soap or Body Wash CVS Coupon each time I scan, if you get this it can be combined in the offer. The body wash is on sale for $4.88 this week and there is a promo for $5 ECB if you spend $15 on Nivea. Reports are that the limit to this deal is 5.

Here is the scenario I am doing.

6- Nivea Body Wash @ $4.88 = $29.28

3- $4/1 Co - $12

3- BOGO Co -$14.64

1-CVS $2/2 Body Wash Co -$2

Total $.64

So after the $5 ECB this deal is a $4.36 Money Maker.

WOW Now that was LUCKY!

2010-05-03T08:06:00.000-07:00

I didn't have time yesterday to stop and grab my newspapers. On a whim this morning I stopped at my Kroger to see if they had any papers left. Not one! Bummer! But, I decided that I still had time to go to Walmart and see if they had any. Grabbed the first parking spot in the row, and got out to go into the store. I noticed a little older gentleman loading the papers in his car. I stopped and asked him if I could buy some he sold me them for $1. I was stoked, got my ten papers and was about to leave when I saw that he had a stack of Sunday ads as well. I asked him if I could buy them and he just gave them to me. Woo Hoo! He told me I can stop by every monday and he will sell them to me.

Beneful Incredibites Dog Food Deal!

2010-04-29T15:41:00.000-07:00

If you have any of the $3/1 Beneful Incredibites Dog Food Coupons you
might want to head to Petsmart. I first saw this deal last week and I
didn't have any coupons for it, so I ordered my Coupons and waited patiently.
They finally came yesterday and I loaded up the kids and off we went.

Here is how this deal works…
Buy 1 Trial Size Incredibites per $3 coupon. Each bag is $.99 the
coupons will ring for the full amount creating a $2.01 overage per
bag. I got 20 bags so I had $40.20 overage, So I got two large bags
of Beneful $9.99 each, two medium bags of Beneful $5.99 each, One
large box of Milkbone treats$4.99 , and one bag of Jerky Treats $3.99
(I had coupons for both of these but I don’t remember the
denominations). I was still in the negative after using only 19 of my
coupons so I grabbed two packs of Pup R Mints ($1.99 each) at the
register. My original total with tax was $66.67. Total OOP= $1.32.
Woo Hoo! Thank you Purina. I am sure my dogs will love their free
food!

Be On The Look Out

2010-04-14T15:53:00.000-07:00

Kroger has a great high dollar value pharmacy coupon book out right now. It is located on the pharmacy counter.

This is what you are looking for.

Here is a list of the coupons in the book. All of the coupons expire on 12/31/10. Lots of time to find great deals.

Mfg Coupons...

$2/1 Afrin Pure Sea 4oz. or larger

$2/1 Claritin 10 ct./or 4oz. syrup or larger

$2/1 Miralax (except 7 dose)

$1/1 Coricidin HBP 16 ct or larger or liquid

$2/1 Centrum Cardio 60 ct or larger

$2/1 Centrum Kids 80 ct or larger

$2/1 Caltrate 60 ct or larger

$2/1 Centrum Ultra 100 ct or larger

$2/1 any Advil 120 ct or larger

$2/1 ThermaCare 2 ct or larger

$2/1Advil PM 32 ct or larger

$2.50/1 Natures Bounty Vitamin or Supplement

$1/1 Colgate Total Toothpaste

$1/1 Colgate 360 Toothbrush

$3/1 QuickClot Nose Bleed

$.35/1 Softsoap Liquid Handsoap

$1.50/1 Abreva Tube or Pump

$1.25/1 Breathe Right Nasal Strips

$2.50/1 Tums Dual Action

$1/1 Atkins Shake 4 Pack, Bar 5 Pack, or 2 Advantage Bars

$3/1 Acne Free Skin System, Face Lift, or Wrinkle Free Eyes

$3/1 Soothe XP or Preserve

$.50/1 Mentholatum Ointment

$1/1 Rohto Eye Drops

$2/1 Dulcolax Balance 8.3 oz. or larger

$2/1 Zantac 24 ct or larger

$3/1 Rayovac Hearing Aid Batter 8 pack or larger

FREE Accu-Check Monitor w/ purch of test strips

$1/1 Promise Spread

$1/1 Pure Via

$1/1 bag Tyson Boneless Chicken Breasts or Tenderloins

$1/2 Mrs. Dash Blends or Marinades

Store Coupons...

$1/1 Kroger Adult Protective Wear

$.50/1 Kroger Plastic App Tampons

$1/1 Kroger Omeprazole 14-42 ct

$1/1 Kroger GentleLax 8.3-17.9 oz.

$1/1 Kroger Comforts or Touch of Nature Diapers Size 3-6, 56-96 ct.

$1/1 Kroger Comforts Infant Formula 23.2-25.7 oz. (includes organic)

$1/1 Kroger Comforts Training Pants 19-44 ct. (includes Nite Pants)

$1/1 Kroger Private Selection Alstromeria Bouquet

$1/1 Kroger Fortify Nutritional Drink

$.50/4 6-7 oz. CARBMaster Yogurts

Back in the routine

2010-04-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

Since I decided to move my family across town I had to take a break
from my shopping for a few weeks. I was so frustrated with this but I
still read the blogs and read with some regret about all of the great deals
that I was missing. One night I read about the $3/1 Snuggle Coupon.
I was so angry that I had not gotten my papers that week, I knew that I
was down to 2 bottles of fabric softener and on my last box of dryer
sheets.

I searched all the clipping services and they were all sold out,
bummer. Ebay, however had plenty and I ordered 20 coupons. As with
every transaction I have had I Ebay my envelope arrived quickly,
unfortunately it was also the day that I had to drive across town to
sign the papers on the house and get the keys. Grabbed my envelope
from the mail and took off to go handle the move. So now we are all
settled in and I am ready to shop.

I cleaned out my coupon bag, and binders, and folder, and NO Snuggle
coupons. I was so mad at myself. So for two weeks now I have scoured
the new house in search of my coupons. To make the matter more urgent
Kroger is running their Digital Choice promotion and Snuggle Liquid
and sheets are both on the list of Promo items.

Yesterday as I was driving home, I thought about one more place to
look, and lo and behold there are my snuggle coupons, well all but 2
of them. So I load the kids in the car and it is off to Kroger we go.

By the way, I love my new Kroger! They are very coupon friendly, they
even have a coupon swap basket at Customer Service. My kids love to
bring my un-needed coupons to drop off. I was so happy to see the
shelves still full. So we did six transactions that were all
identical.

3- Assorted Snuggle - $3.50 ea – 3 $3/1 Mfg Co
6- Caeser Bistro – $1.09 ea - 2 B2G1F Mfg Co (Peelies and SS)
1- Yakisoba Noodles – 10/$10 - Filler to make 10 Promo Items
3- Sani-Hands 15 ct Wipes - $1- $1/1 Mfg Co.

Each transaction was just under $6, I know I could have done a lot
better but, I am so stoked that I got 18 Various Snuggle for $.50
each.

Don't forget about the Kroger Digital Choice Promotion. If you buy 10 Promotional items you get a catalina coupon with a code on it. That code is good for 15 FREE Song Downloads, 15 FREE Ringtones, or 1 FREE Movie ticket. There are lots of coupons out there to match up with the promo items. I have gotten 9 Codes, so for me I have 4 FREE movie tickets and 75 FREE Songs to add to my iPhone!

I am so glad to be back in the shopping routine.

I have missed you all!

2010-04-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

I am back! Pardon the interruption, but I have been a little overwhelmed. But, I am back now and ready to go.

I have moved, I am no longer in Katy, I have moved back to Spring. This is where I grew up, I have been in this general area since I was six, and I am very happy to be back.

So I will be posting deals again starting tonight. But, bear with me I have to get back up to speed.

One great deal for all of you Mom's out there.

If you have a Food Town near by they have their 4.5 oz Lunchables on sale this week for $.99. There was a $1 Mfg C/O a few Sundays ago and it is giving overage. I was able to ask them for the actual boxes and I have stocked up on Lunchables to finish out the school year. The sale includes the cracker version as well as the new sandwich version. My kids love them all, so I use them as a starting point for lunch. I don't think there is enough there to get them through the day so I add some fruit and a snack of some sort.

I also have a stack of Snuggle coupons I am looking for the best deal on. As soon as I locate one I will share it.

I look forward to hearing from you all.

Don't forget to look for the new blog design coming soon from The Frilly Coconut. If you are interested in a blog make over go check out Jessica's work. She is AWESOME!

Kroger March Madness Game

2010-03-03T08:58:00.000-08:00

We all know Kroger has great deals for us. But, here is a new instant win game. All you need to do is register your Kroger card and sign up. If you win the prize will be put on your Kroger card and available for your next shopping trip. Good luck, and remember that you can play daily from now till April6. I didn't win anything today, but yesterday I won a 20 oz. Coke Zero.

Blog Her

2010-02-17T10:12:00.000-08:00

Are any of you readers going to the BlogHer convention this year? I am so excited about it, I have really fallen in love with blogging and the network of AWESOME women that it has introduced me to. The Blog Her network is a devoted network of women bloggers, it gives us all a platform to use our voices. You can find women who blog about everything, from family to politics, to food, to stress and everything in between. If you are not a member I would definitely look into it.

I have applied to be a volunteer at the conference, i can't wait to see if I get a spot. I am such a people person, I love to meet new people and I think that working at the registration desk would be an amazing way to meet people.

I look forward to meeting you all there. Find out more about it here.

Plus, it is in NYC this year. By far my FAVORITE city I have ever traveled to. I cannot wait!

P&G A Year Of savings

2010-02-17T10:02:00.000-08:00

Proctor and Gamble has a new coupon offer. If you purchase $50 or more of P&G products between 2/1/2010 ans 4/15/2010. (Before Tax and Coupons).

Circle the P&G products on your ORIGINAL receipts(s) and mail the form (not up yet) to:

P&G Year of Savings
Dept. M, P.O. Box 460643
El Paso, TX 88546-0643

Your Coupon Booklet will arrive in 6-8 Weeks.

If you need more details look in the P&G insert in your Sunday paper 0n 2/21.

I bet these will be great coupons, if I find any deals to make it better I will post them.

BTW, if you haven't done the Olay Rebate, then make sure you get a duplicate receipt.

FREE PEN

2010-02-17T09:58:00.001-08:00

I wanted to share this link with you all. It is for a free Uni-Ball Super Ink pen. This pen has a special ink that prevents check washing. I can't wait to see how well it works.

Click Here to get your own pen.

WOW!!!!

2010-02-17T09:55:00.000-08:00

So remember that I posted about a contest at the Frilly Coconut. I won, I am so excited. I can't wait to see what amazing creation Jessica comes up with for the blog. Stay tuned it will be fantastic. In the mean time check out her site. If you are interested contact her about your own blog design.

Blog Design Giveaway

2010-02-05T08:58:00.000-08:00

So it is on my list of goals for 2010 to redesign my blog. I want it to be much more user friendly. I found this contest today by one of the blog designers I like.

She is giving away three blog designs. Check out her great work here.

Good luck to all of you.

January Spending!

2010-02-03T08:14:00.000-08:00

In 2010 I challenged myself to keep a detailed expense record. I am notoriously disorganized with my finances and can become very distracted by the simple thought of balancing the checkbook. I have really used this blog to challenge myself in many ways, so when I decided to keep track of my spending it seemed like a great idea to make my challenge public.

We all have those monumental ideas, but without accountability we tend to let even the best of intentions fade away. Well, I do anyway.

So last month when I shared this post with you all I made myself accountable to each of you. I am still working on having a gadget created that will track my spending more regularly, but for now I will post monthly updates.

January 2010 Spending

103 Transactions (YIKES)

Beginning Amount: $1527.34

Manufactures Coupons: $400.34

Store Savings: $728.44

Total Oop: $408.62

ECB/RR/GC: $113.50

Rebates: $60

Total Savings: $1373.80

I hope that next month will be a better month with a lower Out of Pocket number. This month had 2 shopping trips to Wal-mart that were unplanned and one of those included repairing the flat tire I got in their parking lot.

February starts out with a great stock pile. The Kroger Mega-sale has been really building up some of the essential things as well as the filler pieces for lots of recipes. I also want to start tracking how much my family spends on food outside of home, I feel like we do a terrible job using all of the great deals that I gather. I know there are leftovers most nights and we just don't take them with us the next day. I also know that I am the biggest culprit of eating out in my family. Some things I am doing to make a difference in this part of our budget is bringing more things to work with me. I brought a 12 pack of Diet Coke from the stock pile yesterday, and I need to bring breakfast and lunch from home. I usually keep a few snacks in my desk drawer but I have let that slide lately too. I know that I can cut down on so much wasted money if I just apply myself.

So look for my next update to see if I am able to cut back on my excess spending.

Home Depot Deals

2010-01-30T05:46:00.001-08:00

If you are in the process of remodeling, or just touching things up around the house you can definitely use a discount on your materials. Sign up with Home Depot for their email news letter. It has deals, specials and ideas. It is real simple to sign up just go HERE and submit.

Checking the Mail

2010-01-29T06:55:00.001-08:00

One thing that I have learned from coupon shopping is that it is possible to enjoy checking the mail. Remember that feeling as a kid? Hoping day after day to see your name on something in the mail box. Day after day was a disappointment, until a holiday or your birthday when some distant relative would send you a card.

As an adult we know that 99% of the time the mail box is only going to hold junk mail or bills. neither is much fun. But, since I started this journey, I have learned that checking the mail can be fun again.

I love the anticipation of knowing that the mailbox might hold coupons from a trade, or freebies from a manufacturer, maybe even a rebate check or reward gift card.

Yesterday's mail was fantastic! I have been waiting on a reward for signing up for a club's trial membership. It was supposed to be $25 gift card to Target and a $25 gift card to Starbucks. This has been a tough on e to collect on and I had just about given up hope when all of the sudden I received them in the mail. The Target card was there but not the Starbucks, instead it was a $25 Wal-mart Card. No complaints from me there. I also received a pro rated refund from Apple for a mistake they made on my protection plan for my iPhone. All told I made $103.53 just for checking the mail.

Not bad huh?

We Now return to the Adventures of the Super Coupon Mom

2010-01-29T06:08:00.000-08:00

When we last saw the our friend Emily she was just getting into her holiday shopping. As we all know that experience can drain even the greatest super heroes.

The holidays have passed and the Emily and her beautiful children are back to their regular schedules. Today we join them for a quick trip to Kroger for Hamburger buns. Watch out, here we come to save some money.

Emily quickly dashes to the closet and dusts off her Super Coupon Mom uniform, insert comedic closet avalanche here. Our heroin decides that she needs to get Captain Obvious and Princess Random back into super sidekick mode so she calls them down to help. You see, it may be a quick trip for hamburger buns, but the Super coupon Mom also knows that it is the first day of a Kroger Mega Sale. Woo Hoo! Grabbing her weekly ad from the daily mail pile the Super Coupon Mom quickly notes some great deals and calls out the product names to Princess Random. Princess Random finds the coupons in the trusty coupon binder, and passes them to captain obvious who stashes them in the special coupon holder on his super helper tool belt.

Armed and ready for battle the trio heads off to the nearest Kroger hoping to find the deals and save The Almighty Dollar! DUN, DUN, DUN.....

Once they arrive at Kroger The Super Coupon Mom and her faithful sidekicks grab their equipment and get to work. Princess Random is on coupon patrol, looking high and low for any new coupons through out the store. Captain Obvious gets straight to work as the shopping cart divider (he was grounded so he had to stay in the cart). He was a pro at the task of keeping the Mega Sale items separate from the non sale items. This is after all a HUGE responsibility, since the Mega Sale items need to be in sets of ten to capitalize on the best deals. This job make sit much easier for The Super Coupon Mom to keep track of her total number of Mega Sale Items.

Left and right, high and low, they scoured the store for the deals, knowing they were out there, no deal escaping their watchful eyes. They got 40 Mega Sale items this trip, for an instant $20 savings.

To the register they went, ready to see how well they did in their attempts to save The Almighty Dollar. When all of the sudden Princess Random stops in her tracks. Oh no, does she sense danger? Did we count wrong? What could possibly be wrong with our little friend?

"Hey, Super coupon Mom, isn't this the Kroger that owes you money from the catalina that didn't print?"

"Oh goodness Princess Random, it sure is. I can't believe you remembered! WOW! We better speak to a manager."

As our fearless heroes approached the near by manager, our Hero knows that it is quite possible that he won't be able to help her. Still she explains the story to him.

"Well, yes mam, I remember the call, I was standing next to the manager you spoke to when you called that day. What was the amount again?" Asked the helpful manager.

"$3, it was $1.50 for the Betty Crocker deal and I did it twice." Replied our shocked hero.

"Okay then, why don't we go right here to this open register and I will take care of you myself." responded this new friend.

Amazed at what had just happened our team headed to the register, The Super Coupon Mom would again receive a shock from this manager when he asked Captain Obvious if he wanted to help him scan. Our favorite four year old was ecstatic, he scanned and scanned to his hearts content.

When all 44 items had been scanned The Super Coupon Mom handed her new friend her coupons and waited to see her results. Coupon after coupon he scanned, as she watched the amount due shrink from $90 to $7. Our hero knew that once again she had been successful at saving The Almighty Dollar.

Join us next time when our heroes tackle the local Walgreen's! Can they conquer rude sales clerks and bare shelves and still manage to save The Almighty Dollar? Tune in next time to find out.

Kroger Lunch Trip 1-13

2010-01-13T10:53:00.000-08:00

Update!!!! When I went back to review my receipt I realized that the Softsoap is ringing up as $.50 overage. Good deal if you have the coupons. I believe they are from the 1-3-10 paper. Good luck.

Wow! Today's lunch time trip was a great success. I learned a lesson about paying attention to what my total should be so that if it is off I know right away to look into it.

Grocery stores run their new prices every Wednesday so today was a good day to check things out.

Remember that Kroger doubles 3 like coupons up to $.50 and triples 3 like coupons up to $.35.

Here is what I got...
Transaction 1...
3- All Small and Mighty $3.19- $2/1 mfg C/O
3- Sani-Hands Purse Packs $1-$1/1 mfg C/O
3- Oikos Greek Yogurt $1-$1/1 mfg C/O
3- Softsoap $1-$.35/1 mfg C/O
3- Gatorade G2 32oz $1-$.50/1 mfg C/O
3- Birdseye Steamfresh Vegetables $1-$.35/1 mfg C/O
1- Del Monte Can Green Beans $.89-$.50/1 mfg C/O

Total Oop. $3
Total Before Savings $33.63
Savings $30.63

Transaction 2...
3- All Small and Mighty $3.19- $2/1 mfg C/O
3- Sani-Hands Purse Packs $1-$1/1 mfg C/O
3- Oikos Greek Yogurt $1-$1/1 mfg C/O
3- Softsoap $1-$.35/1 mfg C/O
1- Kroger Brand Stuffing $.89 (no coupon but, I needed it for a recipe.)

Total Oop. $3.70
Total Before Savings $23.86
Savings $20.16
Not pictured 1- Softsoap, 3- Sani-Hands, 2- Oikos (forgot to bring them up to my desk) and 6 All because they are too heavy to be toting around the office.

New Goal for 2010

2010-01-11T12:30:00.000-08:00

I mentioned earlier that I have a lot of goals for my blog in 2010.

I will start today by letting you know what goal number 1 is.

Goal #1

Track all grocery spending/saving/earnings for all of 2010. In order to achieve this goal I have created a spreadsheet that tracks my price with out sales and coupons, my savings using manufacturer coupons, my savings from store sales and coupons, and Register Reward's/Extra Care Bucks/Catalina's earned, refunds/rebates, and finally my total Oop.

I am really excited to see how this will play out for me. I know that I am saving an amazing amount of money for my family, but I want to be able to see it in black and white.

In order to hold myself accountable to my progress I will post an update each month that shows you how I am doing.

I will also include in this any gift cards I receive from promotional giveaways and sweepstakes, and I will include rebates that I sent off for in 2009 if I receive the checks in 2010.

I hope that this may inspire some of you to take a look at your spending and see just how much you can save if you learn the tricks of the trade. If you are interested please contact me soon about setting up a coupon class. You can find more information on hosting coupon classes HERE.

Another Kroger Run

2010-01-11T12:20:00.000-08:00

I love working in different are of Houston than where I live. It may seem inconvenient to some, but I love having two sets of easily accessible stores to shop at.

Today after CVS I went to Kroger to get some more All Detergent.

This store didn't have it marked $3.19 so I took one bottle up to customer service. He checked it and it was on sale, so I went back and got 5 more. Since I brought it back to him he allowed me to do one transaction versus two and accepted all six coupons.

So I got 6 bottles of All Small and Mighty for $1.19 each.

Total Oop - $7.12.

That is 12 bottles down, I hope I can find 18 more before the sale ends.

CVS Lunch Run

2010-01-11T10:17:00.000-08:00

I was so busy yesterday with Princess Random's 8th birthday that I didn't get to go get any newspapers. So I had to scramble to find a store that still had some.

There is a CVS near my office that isn't shopped by many coupon shoppers. I love it because I can often locate great sale prices on clearance merchandise, go home that night to get my coupons matched up and still find the deals the next day.

So that store was the first store I found that had any Sunday papers left, so I headed there for my lunch break. I was happy to see a sign on the door announcing 90% off Christmas Merchandise. Woo Hoo!

I of course headed straight there, and cleaned up on Christmas merchandise.

I had $10 ECB to spend so I filled my cart with Christmas goodies. Some of the stuff was as low as $.07.

Here is what I got...

Transaction 1..

3- Sunday Houston Chronicle $5.25

Used $5 ECB

Total Oop $.025

Transaction 2...

1- Pack Snowman Peeps $1.50 clearance $.15

1- Crayola Sugar Cookie decorating set $1.99 clearance $.19

3- Asst Gift bags $1.99 clearance $.19

8- Curling Ribbon $.69 clearance $.07

5- Rolls self adhesive gift tags $1.99 clearance $.19

6- 24 Ct Christmas Stickers $1.99 clearance $.19

7- 3 Pack Large Shirt Boxes $2.99 clearance $.29

1- Transformer Ornament $7.99 clearance $.79

2- 10 Pc Writing set $.99 clearance $.09

1- Jonas brothers hair set $5.99 clearance $.59

1- Tinkerbell Ornament $5.99 clearance $.59

1- 2009 Ornament $3.99 clearance $.39

After using my other $5 ECB my total Oop was $3.32

I can't wait to see these items this December when I pull out the Christmas boxes.

I think this was my 4th Christmas clearance shopping trip, between the various stores, we are going to have some great new Christmas stuff this year.

Kroger Deal Saturday 1-9-10

2010-01-11T10:12:00.000-08:00

If you have any of the $2.00/1 All Laundry Detergent Kroger is the place to use it.

I found the Blue bottle of All Small and Mighty on Markdown for $3.19. With the coupon it makes it only $1.19. It is the 26 load size so it makes it less than $.05 per load. My maximum price point for detergent is $.08 per load so I am going to stock up on this deal.

Tonight I was able to get 7 bottles for $right at $9 after tax.

I will definitely be going back for more. This is also a deal that I would check the trading sites for larger quantities of coupons. I have 30 so I hope that I can find enough bottles.

Another great Walgreens run

2010-01-08T12:52:00.000-08:00

This run was a lot of fun.

I went to see if I could find more of the Register reward Deals.

This is what I got.

Transaction 1...

1- Electrasol- $3.49- $2.50 mfg C/O

3- Walgreens Bleach-$1.99- $1 Wags C/o

6- Folders $.19- with in ad C/O

1- Bag Gummy Cola- $1.49 ( I had a craving)

3- Hunt's Tomato Sauce - $.39 with in ad C/O

4- Reynold's Foil- $.89 with in ad C/O

Total Oop $ 0000. Paid with RR from yesterday.

Total Before C/O $16.82

Savings $16.82

RR Earned $1

Transaction 2...

1- Electrasol- $3.49- $2.50 mfg C/O

Total Oop $1.07

Total Before C/O $3.77

Savings $2.50

RR Earned $1

Savings $

Walgreens Meter' Electrasol, Neosporin, Reach.

2010-01-07T18:34:00.000-08:00

Wow! Walgreen's is full of great deals this week, I have had so much fun getting back into shopping mode.

Today I had to go back to the store I went to Tuesday, my RR for the Bayer Meter didn't print and the manager was going to fix it for me.

So I was able to get several RR deals as well as free Reach Dental Floss.

Here is how I did it...

Transaction one...

1- Contour Meter $14.99- $14.99 mfg C/O

2- Neosporin Lip $4.00- $3.oo mfg C/O

1- Electrasol $3.50- $2.50 mfg C/O

Total Oop = $3.07

Total Savings =$23.49

RR Earned $5(meter), $3(Neosporin), $1(Electrasol)

Refunds $14.99(meter)

$24 Money Maker

Transaction Two...

2- Neosporin Lip $4.00- $3.oo mfg C/O

1- Electrasol $3.50- $2.50 mfg C/O

Total Oop = $3.07

Total Savings =$8.50

RR Earned $3(Neosporin), $1(Electrasol)

$.97 Money Maker

Transaction Three...

2- Neosporin Lip $4.00- $3.oo mfg C/O

4- Reach Advance Dental Floss $3.99 -2- BOGO Mfg C/O- 4-$2/1 Wags C/O

Total Oop=$1.98

Total Savings=$22.00

RR Earned $3(Neosporin)

$1.02 Money Maker

All this and I am getting paid $25.99 for taking it out of the store. Works for me.

A super quick CVS run

2010-01-05T18:33:00.000-08:00

This afternoon I had to run an errand before I went home, so I made a quick detour to CVS. I wanted to get the Oust spray that is on special this week, but they were out.

But, the trip wasn't wasted.

CVS publishes a magazine called Reinventing Beauty. It is always full of coupons. The newest issue was just released with $25 in coupons for only $.99. I was able to get 4 of them.

I also got 3 Dawn Hand Renewal they are usually $1.99 but I had a rain check making them $1. I had 3 mfg C/O fro $1/1 from a Proctor & Gamble mailer.

I was also able to find 4 more of the Nivea Lip Balm. This store had them on sale for $2.99, and I had the BOGO Coupon from this Sunday's paper.

So after all the coupons and one of yesterday's $5 ECB my total was $5.50.

I'm BAAAACK!

2010-01-04T11:43:00.000-08:00

I am so glad to be back. Pardon the temporary disappearance. I decided to take a few weeks break and really enjoy my family during the holiday season. We had a great Christmas and New Year's and I pray you all did too. I am still having major issues dealing with it being the year 2010.

I didn't even read any of my favorite websites. So here we are it is the beginning of a brand new year, and I am ready to SHOP! Today at lunch I went to CVS and Walgreens to get a few great deals. I did two transactions at CVS and one at Walgreens. I can't wait to go back tomorrow and do some more.

Here is what I got at Walgreen's...

1- Bayer Contour Meter $14.99 - $14.99 MIR- $14.99 mgf C/O

1- Electrasol Dishwashing tabs 20 ct. $3.49 - $2.50 mfg C/O - $1 RR

Total Oop - $1.07

RR- $1

MIR- $14.99

Total - $14.92 Overage

CVS Transaction 1...

2- Christmas Hershey Kisses $3.99- Clearance $.89

4- Christmas Peel and stick gift tags $1.99- Clearance $.49

24- 12 ct. Tylenol Cold and Sinus $.99 - Clearance $.09

24- 12 ct. Tylenol PM $.99 - Clearance $.09

4- Nivea Lip Balm -$3.19 -2 BOGO mfg C/O- $5 ECB WYB $10

Total Oop- $13.62

ECB $5

Total- $8.62

CVS Transaction 2...

4- Nivea Lip Balm -$3.19 -2 BOGO mfg C/O- $5 ECB WYB $10

Total Oop- $6.56

ECB-$5

Total-$1.56

All in all it was a great welcome back to the coupon shopping world.

MckMama is having a giveaway!

2009-12-09T13:30:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite mom bloggers, MckMama is having a great giveaway. Go on over to her blog and check it out. HERE.

She is a very faithful woman who does not hold back her feelings. Through rough days and great days, she is very forth coming about her faith. If you take the time to read about her beautiful MSC, you will be amazed. Her youngest Stellan is a true miracle in every way. I promise you will fall in love with her blog.

Swag Bucks!

2009-11-18T13:46:00.003-08:00

I want to introduce you all to a great way to earn FREE stuff. SWAGBUCKS is a search engine that works just like all of the other search engines with one large exception. You can earn Swagbucks when you search. It is just as easy as your regular Internet search.

My favorite way to redeem my Swagbucks is for Amazon.com gift cards. It only takes 45 Swagbucks to earn a $5 Amazon gift card. I have several links on the right toolbar it is as easy as clicking on one of the links. It will take you to the Swagbucks site a quick registration and you are all set.

COUPON CLASS!!!!!!

2009-11-18T13:46:00.001-08:00

So it is official...I am ready to teach a coupon class. That's right, I am ready to come to you where ever you are and teach you the secrets of The Super Coupon Mom. These classes are going t be so much fun, and you will be amazed at the amount of money you will be able to save your family.

Here is how it works...If you are interested in hosting a party email me at supercpnmom@gmail.com. You have all been to or hosted the scrapbook, or cooking party. Now you have the chance to host a party that can teach you how to save money on those items as well.

Once you contact me I will send you invitations, and all the information that you need. In exchange for hosting you will get a special hostess gift, and your class fee is waved. Each of your guests will pay a $10 fee. They will receive the class material, and we will have lots of door prizes etc. I am already working with my first hostess, and I am looking forward to meeting so many of you.

I am available to teach classes anywhere in the Metro Houston Area. I will hold classes at your home, your community center, school cafeteria, even your church gym. Hostesses with groups of 50 or less will receive fill in the blank postcard size invitations. If you want to host a class at your church or other larger venue I will create custom invitations for your event.

I want you all to think outside the box...want to host an event at the church, turn it into a fill the pantry for the local food bank. Ask each guest to bring a non-perishable food item and I will donate special gifts for each guest that makes a donation.

I can't wait to get out there and meet you all and teach you all great ways to save your family lots of money. We can all use the help in these tough economic times.

Logical Media

2009-11-12T17:56:00.000-08:00

I am still a relative newbie to the blogging scene. But, I am learning at a pretty quick rate. I am going to start writing a few promotional entries for companies. I will promise you that while I may/may not receive some form of compensation from the company I will ALWAYS give an honest opinion. I may not know all of the tricks but I am not afraid to ask questions. I have been asking a few other coupon bloggers and I have heard nothing but good things from all of them about Logical Media.

A couple of days ago I applied to be an affiliate blogger for them. This is a big step for me. I mean HUGE! But, I am assured by several women that I trust that it is a great program. If you are a blogger and would like to make your blog work for you. Follow this link and see what Logical Media has to offer.

A great way to save on your holiday printing

2009-11-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

I went to Vista Print today to order some business cards and address labels. I am so excited to share these deals with you all.

Right now you can order 250 Free business Cards, all you pay is shipping. I even ordered an extra 250 after my original order on a special offer they made. Since I am not in need of these right now I was able to pay for the cheapest shipping and get all 500 for 3.67 and a little over $5 for shipping. I can't wait to get these. I really love the design i chose and I am excited to look for future deals for postcards, magnets, and letterhead.

They have another FREE offer right now for 140 Free Address Labels. All you have to pay is shipping. I joined a Christmas card exchange with a group of coupon/refund women all over the country and I am so excited to use these.

I think I might even order another set as gift tags. I will just leave the address off and only include TO: & FROM:.

One last promotion they have right now is 50% off Christmas Cards. So hurry and get that perfect shot ready and go order some great high quality custom cards.

If you are interested in any of the deals Vista Print is offering I have included a Widget on the right side of the blog. Simply follow that link to take advantage of a special offer just for my readers.

Target Toy Shopping and some groceries too!

2009-11-10T11:03:00.001-08:00

It always amazes me that I can get so distracted sometimes when my sidekicks come shopping with me. We still did a great job at Target on Friday. Friday is usually my shopping time, since I get off work at 10:00. I go home get Captain Obvious, take him to pick up lunch and we go to Princess Random's school to join her for lunch. Then I get four hours to shop while Captain Obvious is at school too. This week though they had early release since it was the end of a grading period. So we all went to lunch together and made a quick shopping trip.

We did four transactions (I did two and each kid did one, they love doing their own transaction).

Transaction 1:

8- Chef Michael's Can Food $.87

4- Fancy Feast Appetizers $1.20

3- Scrubbing Bubbles $3.54

1- Windex $2.54

1- Goodlife Cat Food $4.49

1- Archer farms Artisan Bread $.99

1- Loaf Archer Farms Sandwich bread $2.39

4- Aluminum Reusable Water Bottles Clearanced from $8 to $2

1- Skippy Peanut Butter $1.93

6- Glade Oil Candles $2.50

7- Refills $2.50

Coupons Used:

Mfg.-

4-BOGO Chef Michael's

2-BOGO Fancy Feast Appetizers

1-$2/2 Scrubbing Bubbles

1-$1/1 Scrubbing Bubbles

1-$1/1 Windex

5- BOGO Glade Candle Tin get Refill Free

3-$1.50/1 Glade Candle

2- $2/2 Glade Candles

Target-

4-BOGO Chef Michael's

2-BOGO Fancy Feast Appetizers

1- $1/1 Skippy Peanut Butter

1- $.50 Archer Farms Bakery Product

1-$1/1 Archer Farms Bread

1-FREE $5 Gift Card WYB 4 Windex or Scrubbing Bubbles

Total before coupons: $108.61

Total After Coupons: $34.06

Savings: $74.55

Recieved 2 $5 Gift Cards for buying 10 Glade Candles, 1 $5 Gift Card for buying Scrubbing Bubbles and Windex.

Transaction 2:

8- Chef Michael's $.84

1- Skippy Peanut Butter $1.93

1- Archer Farms Bread $.99

Coupons Used:

Manufacturer:

4- BOGO Chef Michael's

Target:

4- BOGO Chef Michael's

1- $1/1 Skippy Peanut Butter

1- $.50 Archer Farms Bakery Product

Total Before Coupons:$10.24

Total After Coupons:$1.47

Savings:$8.77

Transaction 3:

8- Chef Michael's $.84

Coupons Used:

Manufacturer:

4- BOGO Chef Michael's

Target:

4- BOGO Chef Michael's

Total Before Coupons:$7.27

Total After Coupons:$0

Savings:$7.27

Transaction 4:

4- Wii Game $19.99

2- Wii Game $14.99

Coupons Used:

3- Target $10/2 Wii Games

2- Free games from promotion B2G1 Free

1-$5/50 Toy Coupon

1-$.05 Reusable Bag Credit

Total Before Discounts: $132.85

Total After Discounts: $42.80

Savings:$90.05

30 Days of Giving Day 9

2009-11-09T18:52:00.001-08:00

For today's giving I went to CVS and bought two of the Nova Max Glucose Monitors. It was a great deal since it was free after ECB's and I know that the food pantry can certainly find someone that will be able to use them. It is never easy to have to deal with diabetes, but I hope that our donation will lighten someone's burden.

30 Days of Giving Day 8

2009-11-08T18:52:00.000-08:00

Today's giving was a little different for us. Since it was a weekend for Captain Obvious and Princess Random to be with their dad we had very little family time.

So when they came home tonight I had cooked a great steak dinner and we all gave each other our time. We ate together and then we all went on a walk together.

It was something very special to give each other something that is a very precious commodity.

I am still looking for a few soldiers to send packages to. If anyone knows of a soldier please email me. Supercpnmom@gmail.com.

Target Toy Shopping

2009-11-08T17:46:00.000-08:00

I went to Target today to get some groceries and see what Toy deals I could work.

I did two transactions so that I could use the gift cards from the first transaction on the second.

First transaction..

2-Lb Apples

2-Lunchables (Princess Random Really wanted them so it is a surprise for lunch tomorrow)

1-Disney Lunch Pack Raisins Clearance $1.62 (Surprise lunch)

1- Disney Fruit Snack ( Lunch)

1- Archer Farms Ciabatta $.99

1- G.I. Joe Costume Clearance $1.97

2- Candy Corn Clearance $.24

8- Chef Michael's can dog food $.84

2- Fancy Feast Appetizers $1.20

4- Under bed Storage Boxes Clearance $2.98

2- Christmas Mr. Potato Head $5.99

1- 2 Pack Ring Pop Clearance $.09

2- Nintendo DS Games $19.99

1- Windex Outdoor Window Washer Starter Kit $12.99

7- Glade Holiday Scents $2.50

3- Glade Holiday Scent Refills $2.50

Coupons Used

MFG.

$3/off Windex Outdoor

4-BOGO Chef Michael's

1-BOGO Fancy Feast Appetizer

3- $1.50/1 Glade Scented Oil

1- BOGO Glade Candle/Refill

3-$2/2 Glade Candle

2-$5/1 Mr. Potato Head

Target

1-BOGO Fancy Feast Appetizer

4-BOGO Chef Michael's Can Food

1- Free $5 Gift Card WYB Windex Outdoor

1-$.50 Archer Farms Bakery Product

1-$1/2 lbs. Apples

1-$10/2 Nintendo Ds Games

1-$5/50 Toy Purchase

Received 2 $5 Gift Cards for buying 10 Glade Candles, 1 $5 Gift Card for buying Windex Outdoor. Also received 1 $5/50 Toy Purchase.

Total OOP: $79.97

Total Savings: $

Transaction Two:

1-Leapfrog Tag Reader $39.99 (Reduced)

1- My Pal Violet $14.99 (Reduced)

Coupons Used:

MFG

1-$10/1 Leapfrog Tag Reader

Target

1-$10/1 Leapfrog Tag Reader

1-$5/1 My Pal Violet

1-$5/50 Toy Purchase

Used 3- $5 Gift Cards from first transaction and received 1 $5/50 Toy Purchase and 1 $5/75 Purchase.

Total OOP: $11.79

Total Saved: $

Old Navy $1 Scarves

2009-11-07T14:50:00.000-08:00

Today only Old Navy is selling all of their Women's and Kids Scarves for $1. There is a 5 scarf limit, but most stores are doing that limit per transaction not per person. I got lots of cute scarves and also donated a bunch to the Boys and Girls club. These will definitely be under my tree this Christmas.

30 Days of Giving Day 6&7

2009-11-07T14:41:00.000-08:00

Today giving opportunities seemed to be everywhere for me. It was nothing at all for me to see great ideas for giving of my time or resources.

Day 6: One of the girls on Princess Randoms soccer team has been missing practice, I wasn't aware why until I talked to her mom. Turns out that for financial reasons the mom has had to return to work, and now there is no one to take her to practice. I was able to convince her that I would love to come pick her up each week to ensure that she is able to come to practice. I know it made the mom happy, I know the daughter will be happy, and I know that Princess Random will be so excited. Win, win, win.

Day 7: Old Navy had one of the $1 sales this morning. This time it was their scarves. I went in to buy several for my little family and also for gifts. When I was checking out with my first transaction, I noticed a small sign on the counter asking for coats, hats, scarves and gloves to be donated. I went back and got more scarves and handed them to the cashier as a donation and several other people asked why. I hope that it maybe spurred a few more donations. It was nice to hear from the manager that the donations are for the local Boys and Girls club. SO all of the donations will stay in the area.

There has been a lot of talk about the blessings that come from giving. For me the biggest blessings are the positive thoughts that I have during a very trying time for me and my little family.

30 Days of Giving Day 5

2009-11-05T10:58:00.000-08:00

Part of this challenge for me is to focus on Him, and on the amazing good He can accomplish when we trust in Him.

On the Facebook group for the challenge I read this quote someone posted and it has been ringing true for me today.

When seeds of kindness are sown prayerfully in the garden plot of our lives,we may be sure that there will be a bountiful harvest of blessings for both us and others. ~ W. Phillip Keller

One challenge that I face daily is allowing my emotions to be dictated by other people's actions. All too often i allow some small thing someone else says or does to create negative feelings inside me. There are three men that I work with that do just that to me. The industry I am in is a very male dominated one, and it is very typical for young men just starting to have HUGE ego's. As they grow with in the company the ego seems to shrink, but these three are not shrinking yet. They are the one's who think I am a terrible person because I am divorced, and feel the need to share with me and others exactly how they feel.

Today though I had an encounter with one of them and I immediately became so angry I was shaking. A few minutes later I was approached by yet another one...this one has just told us this week that he got married back in May and that he is expecting his first child in December. He was passing out flyer's for a baby shower for them and my first instinct was to mock him. I could not believe that I could be so shallow. So I prayed and regrouped, I realized that it was sad for him, his wife and their baby. See, his family is not being supportive, her family doesn't live here and they have very few friends. So I immediately decided that I would go through the stock pile and choose several great gifts for this sweet baby girl.

It was one of those moments in life where a moment of frustration can be either used for good or for bad. I am so thankful for this challenge for helping me remember to stay focused on the positive opportunities.

Target Toy Shopping

2009-11-04T11:12:00.000-08:00

With the holiday season fast approaching I have started looking for great deals for Christmas gifts for all of the people on my list. I of course actually started this summer by watching the toy clearances, so i already have a few things put away.

Since there are so many great high dollar toy coupons out there in the weekly inserts and online, I have been trying to get a hold of as many as possible.

Now Target went and sweetened the deals by releasing all of the coupons from their Toy Book for online printing.

So now you can stack your Manufacturers coupon and Target Coupon.

The best deal i have seen so far is for Wii games. This week Target has all of their Wii games buy 2 get 1 free. This includes the ones that are already value priced at $14.99. So I bought 3 games $45. Minus $15 for B2G1 and then I used the Target Toy coupon for $10/2 Wii games. So I was able to get 3 Wii games for only $20.

It gets even better because it seems that using the coupon also triggers a $5/50 Toy purchase Catalina. This is a great one because it doesn't expire until Christmas Eve. So you have lots of time to collect and use them.

The rest of my Target trip today was to get more free dog and cat food and see what other clearance deals I could find.

Here was my haul.

40-Cans Chef Michael's Dog Food $.87-BOGO mfg c/o-BOGO Target C/o= FREE

5- Bags Purina Cat Treats $1.89- Try me Free Mfg. C/o= FREE

5-Playdoh Value Packs $4.99-Halloween Clearance for $1.24

14-Fancy Feast Appetizers $1.20 -BOGO Mfg C/o-BOGO Target C/o= FREE

1-Fancy Nancy Board Game Clearance $3.74

1-HSM Gem activity set Clearance $3.74

4- Kids DVD's $4.75

1-Transformers Temporary Tattoo Set $3.99 Halloween Clearance $.99

3-Wii Games $14.99-B2G1-$10/2= 3/$20

All told I made a great dent in my Christmas shopping, and I will definitely be going back for more.

Total Saved. $135.56

30 Days of Giving Day 3 & 4

2009-11-04T06:58:00.000-08:00

Last night we had a great family talk about giving. It was so Awesome to watch the kids process the things we talked about. I loved the ideas that they had about the gifts that God has given them and how they can use their gifts for other people.

Our day three giving was a family decision to give some classroom items to Captain Obvious' Pre-K Class. Each month his teacher puts a list of things that she needs for the classroom. So we sent two boxes of Huggies wipes and a 3 pack of paper towels. He is always happy to bring things to his teacher so he was super excited.

For our day four giving we decided to give time to each other. We are so often bombarded by the craziness of our everyday lives that we forget to enjoy each other. So we enjoyed a nice family dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. We used this time to further discuss giving with the kids. We talked about some of the opportunities we have found already to volunteer our time. We are going to work at the food pantry, help in the community garden and hopefully find a great place o help serve Thanksgiving Dinner to those in need.

My kids may be too young to understand the awesomeness of their actions, but it does amazing things for my heart to see how much they are not only willing but that they are wanting to give.

Target Deal

2009-11-03T09:20:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to make time to run to Target for some more Free Chef Michael's can dog food. So On Saturday after our lovely lunch date we went to Target. I knew we needed to buy dry cat food as well, so we took the entire binder in to try to find the best possible deal.

I was so excited when the first page I turned to had my $3 off Goodlife Recipie Dog or Cat food coupons. The smallest bag target had was $4.49. So I was very happy to get 8 bags for $1.49 each. No this is not my lowest price point for cat food, but it was low enough that I decided to stock up until I could find a lower price point.

We were also able to get 16 more cans of Chef Michael's. Both of our dogs absolutley love this stuff. I am going to be spending a lot of time in Target coming up. The coupons expire in two weeks and I have enough for over 200 cans.

This works like this, stack 1 BOGO Mfg. Co with a BOGO Target Co. It is such a great deal that I traded for a lot of these coupons.

Good luck with these deals.

Don't forget to start looking for the great Target Christmas Toy Book.

30 Days of Giving

2009-11-03T08:05:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to write this stuff down and share with you guys. I have been inspired by a fellow blogger Alyssa, to join her movement this month. She has titled it 30 Days of Giving. Check out her blog here Kingdom First Mom.

Here is what we are doing. Starting on November 1st we are asking God to lead us all, to show us an avenue in which to give of ourselves.

It may be any form of giving, from time to money or any amazing gift in between.

God has blessed us all in so many ways, he gave us each special gifts that He wants us to use to spread His word.

So this month, I have chosen to give of myself in any way possible. In a time where my heart is hurting and my family is struggling through some really rough moments, I truly believe that this challenge is God calling me to stay focused on Him.

I realize that I am a day behind on my giving updates but I would like to write about yesterday and today in this first post.

I will take a photo each day just to help keep myself accountable.

Day 1. I was able to find a few extra moments this weekend to sort through my stockpile. I was able to pack up 1 large box, and several grocery bags full of grocery, baby, and hygiene items to donate to my local food pantry. The kids and I took all of this to Katy Christian Ministries. This is a charity that I hold dear.
They were so excited to help. They helped me load the car and they got to unload the car into a shopping cart and push it into the building. The volunteer who was there was so sweet and showed them around. He told us that the last two days they have served more than 300 families.

Day 2. Princess Random and Captain Obvious chose to give to their school's School Supply Drive. They are collecting books and school supplies to send to kids in Nigeria. So they went through the school supplies in the Stockpile. It really makes my heart glow to see them give so openly and proudly.

Iwant you all to know that this is not a bragging post... Oh look at me, look what I did. This is me trying to keep my self accountable.

I believe that as parents we have moments in life where we can truly teach our children what it means to be Christ like. For me this is one of those moments. When my kids see me broken from the stress of the last couple of months, I want them to see that I am not only human. Yes, mom's do cry...but, i want them to see that I picked myself up and stayed focused on Him. I believe that there is no greater lesson for them to learn.

I also believe that as blogger's we are given an amazing opportunity for outreach. What an easy amazing way to spread the message of God's love for us.

I challenge all of you to join the movement. Even if you think you have nothing to give. I challenge you to stop and listen. Pray, that he will lead you, and I am sure you will find a way to use the amazing gifts that he has given to you.

Premature Return

2009-10-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

So I was so determined to return to my coupon shopping a few weeks ago. I had every intention of giving this my full attention. I had my no idea what chaos was waiting in the shadows for me and my family.

I have learned a lot in the past six weeks. I have never been more thankful to God for His mercy, and patience or for the amazing Angels He has placed in my life.

We are starting to see the light at the end of this tunnel. I am recovering from a horrible battle with a sinus infection and bronchitis, and now the LOML is feeling under the weather too.

I must say though that the Stockpile has been a major blessing in this time. the LOML HATES to shop. More than most people, I mean despises it. So while I was down for the count for 9 days it was nice to be able to go get stuff from the garage instead of loading everyone in the car and going shopping.

Princess Random and Captain Obvious will be with their dad this weekend, and we have plans to meet up with some great friends for a fun outing on Saturday. But I will be using my time Friday and Sunday to clip, organize, and hopefully shop. I will be back to blogging my great finds on Monday.

Lowe's Update

2009-10-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

So I mentioned that I got those great Lowe's Gift cards as a gift for a trial membership. This ended up being a great deal. I have been putting off purchasing a few things we needed at the house because I dislike the thought of paying full price.

So I used this opportunity to purchase those items. I got a new outdoor trashcan, two large Sterilite storage containers, and my favorite...a NEW SHOWER HEAD!

We have wanted a shower head with a sprayer, and I found a great deal at Lowe's for one that had a hose and a fixed shower head. It is perfect.

The trash cans we have been using outside came with the house. I am pretty sure they were left because they were falling apart, but they served us well enough. It was definitely time for new ones.

I can always use more storage boxes for my stockpile. I like to find them on clearance and stock up. I would have spent all $50 on boxes, but apparently Lowe's is hard on them. I bought the only two that were still in one piece.

CVS is my favorite lunch spot!

2009-10-01T10:19:00.000-07:00

My lunch date didn't happen today so I decided to try my luck with a CVS run. I am so glad that I did. I didn't even have my coupon binder with me. Luckily I had my trusty purse size organizer. This is where I keep all of my CVS coupons and ECB's so it worked out great.

This is how I did this.

Transaction #1...

10- CVS Permanent Markers Clearanced $.13 (If you are anything like me, you can never find one)

2- 3 Piece Stationary sets Clearanced $.25

7- Assorted Hannah Montana & HSM Coloring books Clearanced $.39

2- Tide stain Release gel pacs $4.00- 2x $1/1 Mfg c/o (blinkie on the shelf)

1- 12 Pack binder clips $.99 (rain check from july)

2- 2 Pack Dyna Pep Energy Shot $4.99 (rain check from a few weeks ago)

1- LaCross Tweezers $1

1-Lighter $.99

Total Oop $.52

CVS Coupons used

1x $5/$25

$15 ECB

Recieved $11 ECB's

Transaction #2

11- Assorted Hannah Montana & HSM Coloring books Clearanced $.39

1-16 Pack Duracell AA Batteries $10

1- Tide With Bleach Alternative $6 - $1/1 mfg c/o

1- Tide stain Release gel pacs $4.00- $1/1 Mfg c/o (blinkie on the shelf)

3- Tide stain Release liquid $4.00- 2x $1/1 Mfg c/o (blinkie on the shelf) and 1 $1.50/1 mfg c/o

2- Caramello $.89 (these were supposed to be BOGO Free but I missed that it didn't ring that way.

Total Oop $9.28

CVS Coupons used

1x $5/$25

$19 ECB's

Recieved $10 ECB's

So I got all of that for a grand total of $9.80.

Plus I got a rain check for the Dawn Hand Renewal that is on sale for $1. I have $1/1 Mfg c/o's that will make it FREE. My favorite word.

Where Have You Been Hiding?

2009-10-01T08:10:00.001-07:00

I would like to apologize for my absence. I have had a rough couple of weeks; personal challenges that I never imagined facing. I have once again come through this battle with the help of God, and the angels he has placed in my life. Today marks my official return to the coupon world.

I have followed all of my favorite sites, and I am ready to get busy again.

It has been a blessing through these two weeks though to have a stockpile, it has made life so much easier.

So here I am back at the beginning. Tonight I am going to go to CVS and maybe Walgreen's depending on the amount of time I have. I really got myself fired up yesterday while Princess Random and Captain Obvious played in the front yard, I got to put away several piles of stuff that was waiting for a home in the Stock pile.

I hope to have a great update for you in the morning, including pictures. I cannot tell you all how much I have missed my money saving excursions. I don't actually remember the last time I made it to the store.

So here goes....

It is the first of the month, make sure you check all of the coupon printing sites.

They all reset on the first.

Also remember to go to Cellfire, U-promise and P&G E-saver to load your coupons on your Randall's and Kroger cards.

Good luck.

I am a little behind...

2009-09-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

I know that I am behind on my coupon clipping when I can barely lift the bag I carry it all in.

This was my pile this morning.... about 8 inches tall.

Plus all of these clipped coupons still need to be organized.

If you want a little word of advice wait to clip your coupons until you have enough time to have them completely put away. I try to use any free moment to clip and then I end up with gallon bags filled with unorganized coupons. I know what I am doing for lunch today.

Great mail week this week...

2009-09-14T07:33:00.000-07:00

Since the beginning of my coupon adventures I have felt like a kid going to check the mail every day. The anticipation you used to feel looking for something fun in the mail. I have gotten lots of great coupons through trades and coupons to try a produce FREE from the manufacturer. But this weekend I received my first refund check. This one was $3.99 for buying a Goody Ouchless Headband. I got the headband on sale for $3.99 minus $1 mfg c/o. So i made $1 profit off the headband. I also received $50 in Lowe's Gift Cards for purchasing a trial membership to a website called Complete Home. The trial membership was $1 so I made a $49 profit off the membership. My total profit was $50. Woo hoo what a great surprise in the mail.

Sunday Preview

2009-09-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

Just to let you all know.... If you are planning to buy Sunday papers this week. It is a great week to buy extras. This Sunday there will be 5 inserts. I am so stoked.

There will be 3 Smart Source Inserts and 2 Red Plum Inserts.

And at a glance it looks like there are a lot of deals out there.

A quick look at my weekend deals

2009-09-07T18:28:00.000-07:00

I had to go to work for a few hours on Saturday. When I left I decided to go to one more Target that I had not been to in search of a few last minute deals. The Gerber and Johnson's coupons were expiring so I wanted one last shot at the deals. I found 11 Johnson's Buddies and 12 Gerber Bottles. I also grabbed new colander and liquid measuring cup from the dollar section. I was very excited to find the Travel size Hungry Hungry Hippos $4.99-$4/1 mfg. printable c/o. I also grabbed two of the Blue Ray DVD Value Packs of the Hannah Montana Movie, one for my Princess Random, and one for her to give as a gift at an upcoming party. I have been needing storage boxes for my stockpile so I also grabbed two more 56qt Sterilite Boxes on clearance for $3.24. Of course I couldn't help but look for more Glade Candle Tins with Coupons, I found six more, $1.66 - $1.50/1 mfg. c/o.

I had made lunch plans, since I still had time to kill I stopped at Walgreen's to look for a few deals that I had heard about. I was able to find the Reese's Whips on Clearance for $.45 and was able to get 4 which got me 2 20oz Diet Cokes for free. I was also able to find a lot of the Walgreen's Children's Activity Books. Which I paid for with my Register Rewards for buying Breathe Right Strips.

All in all I had a successful morning.

I have a plan up my sleeve for a few of the Walgreen's books. I am working out the details now and will post as soon aas I have it all worked out.

My Personal One Week Challenge

2009-09-04T16:02:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I made a quick trip to Target for cat food. I had just received the coupons I traded, and I decided to look for the Chef Michael's that would be free with coupons. I Grabbed a couple bags of cat food and a few of the Chef Michael's.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the BOGO can of Chef Michael's wet food coupon rang up for the price of the dry food bag. Combined with the $3 Chef Michael's Bag mfg. c/o and the Target $1.50 off Chef Michael's Dry food, and Target BOGO can Chef Michael's it created a huge overage. With this overage I was able to also get the cat food for free. I decided when I got home that I would challenge myself to see how well I could work this deal. I originally was only going to shop at Target, but on Friday I realized that I was still about $30 from my $100 total so I made a stop at CVS. All in all it made for a very successful week.

My goal was to spend less than $100 in one week, how much I could get for that money and what I would save by doing so.

So here is my final total for one week.

14- Trial Size bag Chef Michael's ($.50)

9- Small Bag Purina Healthful Life Cat Food ($2.14)

6- 4 lb. Bags Meow Mix ($3.57)

1- 3.15 lb bag Friskies ($3.57)

40- Medium Bags Chef Michael's ($4.26)

85- Cans Chef Michael's ($.89)

1- Big Grab Bag Funyun's ($.99)

3- 20 oz. Bottles Aquafina ($1.29)

36- Johnson's Buddies Soap ($.97)

1- Can Snawsome Dog Treats

24- 8oz Gerber Baby Bottles ($.99)

19- 4oz Gerber Baby Bottles ($.99)

4- Ceaser's Bistro Dog Food ($

8- Meow Mix Can Food ($

3- Archer Farm's Artisan Bread ($.85)

25- Glade Candle Tin's ($1.66)

2- 4 pack Glade Candle Tin Refills ($2.50)

3- Glade Soy Candles ($4.49)

9- Large Bags Chef Michael's ($9.24)

5- Various Size M&M's ($.59)

2- Sterlite 56qt Containers ($5.00)

2-24 count Tylenol 8 hr ($.47)

1- Theraflu 24 ct ($.39)

4- Value Packs Coppertone Neutrashield ($1.29)

1- Coppertone Neutrashield ($1.29)

12- Coppertone Sport ($.97)

2- CVS Key ring Sunscreen ($.29)

20- Glade Carpet Fresh Powder($1.66)

1- NYC Blush (.29)

1- Neutrogena Base ($1.29)

6- Kodak B&W Disposable Cameras ($.97)

2- 24 count CVS Junior Ibuprofen ($.39)

2- 40 Count CVS Allergy Relief ($.39)

List of Coupons used...

MFG...

Free Trial Bag Chef Michael's

$3/1 Chef Michael's

BOGO Can Chef Michael's

$1/1 Glade Carpet Fresh Powder

$1.50/1 Glade Candle Tin

$3/1 Item from Glade Fragrance Collection

Free Glade Scented Oil Candle Refill When you buy Candle

BOGO Ceaser's Bistro

$1/4 Meow Mix Wet Food

$1 Snawsomes treats

Free Chocolate (free Chocolate Friday)

Target Printable...

BOGO Chef Michael's Can

$1.50/1 Bag Chef Michael's Dry Food

$1/1 Archer Farms Artisan Bread

$1/1 Gerber Feeding Accessory

$1/1 Johnson's Bath Product

CVS Coupon

$1.50/1 Coppertone Sunscreen

$5/30

$4/20

So the Grand totals...

Total before clearance and coupons- $1095.16

Total After Clearance and Coupons- $93.14

Total Savings- $1002.02

So my $100 dollars really stretched very well. I was so proud of how much I was able to get.

More Target Adventures

2009-09-02T18:36:00.000-07:00

I have had such a great time this week finding all of the great deals at Target.

I am saving the picture for Friday...I want to do a full weeks shopping in one post. I can pretend all day that it is to impress you all. But really it is for me, I can't wait to see how well I did.

But, I do want you to know about a few of the awesome deals out there this week.

Gerber Baby Bottle Singles 8oz. and 4oz. $.99

$1 off Gerber Feeding Accessories Target printable

FREE

Johnson's Buddies Scrubbing Soap Bar. $.97

$1 off Johnson's Baby Product Target Printable

FREE

Chef Michael's Can Dog Food $.89

BOGO Mfg C/o

BOGO Target Printable

2 Cans FREE

Chef Michael's Dry Dog Food $4.26

$3.00 Mfg c/o

$1.50 Target Printable

FREE

Glade Fragrance Collection Large Candle in Jar $4.50

$3.00 Mfg c/o Printable Coupons.com

Glade Candle Tins $1.66

$1.50 Mfg c/o inside tin (open the tin and look for a loose piece of paper)

Glade Candle Refills $2.50

Free Refills when you buy Tin Mfg c/o Printable Coupons.com

Archer Farms Artisan Breads Price varies starts @ $.85

$1 off Archer Farms Artisan Breads Target Printable.

These are some of the AWESOME deals available this week.

I have found also that at some stores the BOGO Mfg c/o for the Chef Michael's Can Food is ringing up for the full value of the dry food, if you buy them both on the same transaction. Your mileage may vary on this, nut combined with the $3 Mfg c/o, the BOGO can food Target Printable and the $1.50 Dry Food Target Printable this can create some major overage. I have had several transactions this week that I have paid only the sales tax.

Need Target Printable Coupons try...

www.organicgrocerydeals.com

as well as

www.afullcup.com

Also visit...

www.coupons.com

and...

www.redplum.com

I can't wait to show you all my week of Target deals. I have been having so much fun with this one.

WOW Target Cat food trip.

2009-08-29T19:09:00.000-07:00

So we had a great family night tonight, just the four of us at our favorite Mexican restaurant plus dessert at a great little boutique. After dinner I went to Target to grab some dry cat food. We were completely out and Target was next door to the restaurant.

Since I was in the pet food aisle and I had my Chef Michael's coupons with me I decided to grab a few transactions worth of that deal.

I got 16 cans of Chef Michael's wet food, 10 bags of Chef Michael's Dry food and 3 bags of Purina Healthful Life cat food.

16 cans @ $.89 each =$14.24

10 bags @ $4.59= $45.90

3 cat food @ $2.14 = $6.42

Total cost with out coupons =$66.56

Total cost after coupons =$4.14

Percent saved 94%

Walgreens and CVS 8-28

2009-08-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

Since Captain Obvious has started Pre K, I decided to use my new found freedom on Friday afternoon with a CVS and Walgreens trip. I went to three Walgreens and got 15 Huggies wipes, 15 Character Bandaids, 2 more of the coveted Children's Activity Books and 4 coloring books.

At CVS I was able to get 1 case of Gold Emblem bottled water, two rolls of CVS paper towels, I pack of CVS cookies, 1 bottle CVS liquid hand soap, 3 boxes of Sani Hands for Kids hand wipes, 1 Canister of CVS sanitizer wipes and 4 packs of Kotex Panty liners.

My grand total oop was $19.93.

Kroger Double Day Saturday 8/15

2009-08-14T06:18:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the big day at Kroger. Kroger stores in Texas will be doubling coupons up to and including $1. This can create some amazing deals. Don't forget to get the Sunday paper on saturday, because there are some great deals in this weeks paper too.

They will only double one like coupon so plan your trip well.

I have been following a blogger in my area who has done all of us a huge favor and created a great Excel spreadsheet of great deals.

http://katycouponers.blogspot.com/2009/08/kroger-doubles-in-txla-saturday-8-15.html

Open the google document and go to file - export- .xls. This will allow you to edit the document in Excel, and print it as large as you need it.

Hope that everyone has a great trip.

Back to School Shopping

2009-08-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about back to school shopping this year. Princess Random will be in second grade and she is so excited to get back to school. This year will also be Captain Obvious' first year at the elementary school. I can't believe he has gotten so big.

Tradition in my family was that each kid got a special day alone with Mom to do our school shopping. It was always a special day, I have a lot of fond memories of these shopping trips. I remember how special it made me feel. Every year this special day would end with a Back to School fashion show. Which was always a lot of fun.

This year I will take Captain Obvious first since it is his first time, and I am really stoked about this special time with my son.

But, always trying to save a buck, I am always on the lookout for coupons to make my limited budget stretch a lot more.

My mom got this flyer in her mail this weekend and passed it on to me. There are two 15% coupons for The Childrens Place. We will definitely be using these. I love their jeans, and I have always appreciated that they have very high standards. Their pants last a long time even being worn by a four year old.

I am also going to try to get a great coupon in the weekly Old Navy Coupon Hunt. I have never been lucky enough for a big dollar one, but I would be thrilled to get a 15% off for Old Navy too.

FREE Highlighters and $.04 Huggies Wipes

2009-08-12T10:22:00.000-07:00

WOW!!!!

Walgreens is HOT this week.

Remember that I found the $2 off Huggies coupon in a flyer at the front of Walgreens? So even though it says it is a mfg coupon it is a misprint. You can stack it with a mfg coupon since it is a store coupon.

So some Walgreens sell their Huggies wipes for $2.79. So I used my $.75 coupons I posted about yesterday that I found at Marble Slab and stacked it with the Walgreens coupon. Making each box of wipes $.04. WOW!!! Even if you don't have kids in diapers this is a phenomenal item to pick up to donate to a food pantry or the Church Nursery. I know many of mine will be going to Katy Christian Ministries. So many of the food pantries are really hurting right now. More need because of the economy combined with less donations because of the economy.

I also found a coupon for Sharpie Highlighters $1/1. Walgreens has a four pack on sale for $.99 cents this week. I grabbed a small filler item just to make sure it didn't freak out the machine to have overage.

So today's lunch break I spent $1.91 and I got

22- Boxes Huggies Wipes

10- 4pk Sharpie Accent Highlighters

1- Sharpie Permanent Marker

I didn't drive to work today so I don't have a picture of all the wipes I will take one tomorrow when I get them all home.

Good Luck.

Sharpie Coupon. It is a PDF file and while they are not always legit, i have emailed the company and I am assured that they are legit. Here is the link. You can print as many as you want.

http://schoolyearseve.cookiemag.com/pdf/SYE_Coupon.pdf

FREE Huggies Wipes

2009-08-11T20:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a hot tip for you all...

Marble Slab Creamery had free Huggies Wipes Samples right on the counter. There are also $.75 mfg c/o there as well.

Good luck hope that you are all able to find some.

Please remember to be a responsible couponer and only take a reasonable amount, leave some for others.

Target $19.07

2009-08-11T20:13:00.000-07:00

When I was looking for coupons for cat food yesterday I discovers that I had a whole batch of Target coupons that expired the same day. These were some great high dollar coupons that were in a mailer Princess Random found in the parking lot of a Target a while back. I have used several and didn't want the rest to go to waste. So I went through the rest of my coupons to match up what ever coupons I could.

I was able to match several coupons so this is what the transaction looked like

2- Bags Chef Michael Dog Food ($4.49, 2- $3.50 i/p mfg c/o, 2- $1.5o Target c/o)

4- Cans Chef Michael Dog Food ($.89 , 2 BOGO Target c/o)

1- Bag Meow Mix Cat Food

1- Bag Purina Cat Chow Healthful Life (I don't remember the price - Free Target c/o)

1- Bag Hefty Bowls (I don't have the receipt with me right now)

1- Box Bounce Dryer Sheets (I don't have the receipt with me right now)

1- 10 Pack Hanes Underwear For Girls (BTS Promo $5.00, 1- $1.00 Target c/0)

I will update the actual prices of the last few items when I have the receipt.

CVS Weekend shopping

2009-08-10T11:24:00.000-07:00

I only did one trip to CVS this weekend so I had to make it count.

I have to remind you to always scan your card at the price checker before you start. It is a fantastic little deal. This time I got 3- Free Hair Coloring up to $10 c/o's and a $5/$25.

I even got a bonus and didn't have to count this trip in my Grocery Budget because my dad gave me money for just this. He encourages my coupon shopping and as he was leaving from visiting us handed me the money to do this shopping.

I got

1- Swiffer Wet Jet Pads Refill

2- 3 Packs of CVS Paper towels

4- Packs of Sour Patch Kids

14- Value Packs of Twizzlers Various flavors

4- Three Packs of Winterfresh Gum

3-Three Packs of Juicy Fruit

4- Three Packs Extra Gum

3- Loreal Preference Hair Color

1- 24 Pack of CVS Toilet Paper

7- Three Musketeers Bars

9- Snickers Bars

6- Twix bars

Unfortunately I don't have my reciept with me to explain the transactions in more detail, but I got a lot a of great deals and I do know that it was seven transactions.

Before anyone asks, No, we won't be eating all of the candy. I will use it for giftbaskets etc.

Another Lunch Break Adventure

2009-08-10T10:54:00.001-07:00

I ran to CVS and Kroger today during my lunch break and scored some really great deals.

CVS...

2- Listerine Smart Rinse/ Agent Cool Blue (Clearance $2.85, 1-BOGO mfg. c/o, 1- $1 mfg. c/o)

1- CVS Toothbrush ($1.99, 1 Free CVS Toothbrush C/O)

4- Three Musketeers (2/$1, $1/2 mfg. c/o)

6- Twix (2/$1, $1/2 mfg. c/o)

1- 7 pack CVS Erasers (Rain Check $.99)

2- Three Packs Juicy Fruit (2/$4, 2- $1 mfg. c/o)

2- Three Packs Extra (2/$4, 2- $1 mfg. c/o)

2- Three Packs Winterfresh (2/$4, 2- $1 mfg. c/o)

Oop = $11.30

ECB's $5-$1

Total = $5.30

Savings of 93%

NOT BAD

Kroger...

14- Oral B Indicator Tooth Brushes (10/$10, 7 $.50/2 coupons double)

16- Glade Scented Oil Warmers ($1.99, 8 BOGO mfg. c/o, generates $1 catalins for each one)

1- New York Style Foccacia Sticks ($3.99, Free store c/o)

2- Beamans Gourmet Sausage ($5.39, BOGO sale, Free store c/o)

1- Private Selections Asparagus and Hollandaise sauce ($2.99, Free Store c/o)

The Kroger near my office is having a Grand Re-Opening and sent my mom some great coupons for lot's of free groceries so I went there with the intention of looking for the toothbrushes and air freshener.

Oop = $23.26

Catalinas = $13.00

Total = $10.26

Savings of 77%

This photo also has my Sushi for lunch pictured. No I didn't have a coupon for that. Bummer.

WOW So if I had paid retail price for this stuff today I would have spent $137.85. Not a bad way to spend my lunch hour.

Walgreens $8

2009-08-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

I also made a Walgreens run tonight, I had picked up a stack of the new Back to School Coupon Pamphlets earlier this week. I wanted to get some Huggies Wipes with the coupon, so I could pass them on to a friend who had a baby.

Walgreens sells their Huggies Wipes for $2.79 this coupon is a $2 mfg c/o. It is not a Walgreens Coupon so it won't stack.

Still $.79 wipes is a great deal.

I got...

6- Huggies Wipes (1 $2 mfg c/o) It automatically took $12 off with just the one c/o.

1- High School Musical 3 Card Game $2.99 Clearance. This will be a great Christmas gift.

Another CVS trip

2009-08-07T20:25:00.000-07:00

I made another quick trip to CVS this evening.

I was looking for the Blink Tears that are an ECB Deal this week. But they are all out. But I got a Rain Check.

I did find...

2-Listerine Smart Rinse Clearance for $2.29 (1-BOGO mfg c/o)

1- Bag of Cotton Squares

11- Clairol Naturals Loving Care Hair Color (11-$4 mfg c/o)

Minus 1 $5/$25

Minus one $2 ECB

Total Oop $3.43

Kroger Trip Week of August 4-10

2009-08-06T19:43:00.000-07:00

This was my most expensive shopping trip this week.

I spent $60 Oop.

Ouch!

But I got a lot for my money.

4-cans biscuits ($.44)

12 - Crest Toothpaste - 10/$10 ($.50 mfg c/o) Remember Kroger doubles up to .$50 so FREE!

3- Family Packs Chicken Breast (Reduced for quick sell)

1- Family Pack Chicken Thighs (Reduced for quick sell)

1- Pack Ground Beef (Reduced for quick sell)

1- Family Pack T-Bone Steaks (Reduced for quick sell)

1- Pack Honey Ham

2- Loafs of bread ($.79)

1- Bag Red Beans

2- Tide Stain Booster ($.75 mfg c/o) P&G $4/4

4- Herbal Essences Shampoo (BOGO mfg c/o) P&G $4/4

2- Herbal Essences Conditioner (BOGO mfg c/o) P&G $4/4

3- Twizzler Cinnamon (Clearance $.79 - $1/3 mfg c/o)

Pssssst...

2009-08-06T19:31:00.000-07:00

A while back I signed up for a consumer panel for General Mills called Psssst. I am so excited about this opportunity.

I just received my first testing assignment from them. I will be going tomorrow to get my free product. Next week I will write my first product review, and I will also be passing out great high value coupons to interested people.

So stay tuned to see what I thought of this product.

CVS Trip this week

2009-08-06T19:10:00.000-07:00

This weeks CVS trip was a great success. I received another $5 off $25 from the magic coupon printer to go along with the one I already had. I needed to either create two $25 transactions or one $50.

This is the break down of what I got.

4- Downy Fabric Softener (4- $.50 mfg c/o)

2- Clorox Color Safe Bleach (2- $1 mfg c/o)

6- Listerine Agent Cool Blue (6- $1 Ip c/c + 3 BOGO mfg c/o)

2- 4 Packs CVS Batteries (1 Free AA Battery CVS c/o + BOGO Sale this week)

2- Packs Sour Patch Kids (1 $1 CVS c/o)

1- Venom Energy Drink (1 Free mfg c/o)

1- 8 Pack CVS Paper Towels (1 $1 CVS c/o)

2- Scrubbing Bubbles Instant Shower Cleaner Refills (1 BOGO Mfg c/o)

8- Clairol Natural Loving Care Hair Color (8 $4 mfg c/o)

Total Oop.- $15.63

The Big Question

2009-08-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

So I have decided to address the biggest question I have faced since starting my coupon shopping.

Why do you do it? It can't be worth it? You are doing as much as a second job!

I hear these questions a lot. Yesterday I was actually ridiculed by a guy at work because I was working on my coupons at my desk during my lunch break.

His ridicule made me wonder for all of a few seconds. Then I remembered why I do this.

Yes, it does take a lot of work. Yes, it is over whelming sometimes. But, I have said it before, and I will say it again. I am a mom and partner first. The three people who I am responsible for make every minute that I spend couponing worth it.

My coupon shopping allows us to have food on the table, a roof over our head, and the bills paid. Before I started this our grocery spending was in excess of $600 a month. Now I am able to feed all four of us, and all six animals for under $300.

I hope that as I continue to grow in this endeavor I will be able to lower that amount even more.

I thought that this would be a good time to show you what I do each week in order to accomplish this.

These pictures were taken this week on my iPhone so they are not the best quality.

I start on Saturday by reading the coupon preview on Refund Cents. This helps me decide how many papers I am going to want.

This week I learned that there were going to be five inserts in the paper. One Proctor and Gamble Brand Saver, One Kellogg's insert, One Red Plum insert and two Smart Source. Based on this I decided to get 20 papers. This is by far the most I have bought, but I used my ECB's and gift card. So I didn't have to pay out of pocket making it a great start to the week.

This is one stack of coupons, only one quarter of the ones I clipped this week.
The remaining three fourths of the coupons waiting to be clipped.
My recycle bin in my office. I give this a work out when I clip at work.
This is one bag of two of clipped coupons. Time to start sorting.

Swag Bucks

2009-08-01T18:01:00.001-07:00

Many people have asked me how I find all of these great deals. I have a great trick for those of you who are online alot.

SWAGBUCKS

That's right we all know what Swag is... we all wish we could get the fab Swag the stars get.

Well here is your anwser. Swag Bucks.com

All you have to do is go to www.swagbucks.com, register your email address, and add me as a friend.

Use Swag Bucks the same as you would any other search engine.

Need a recipie? Need a question anwsered? Just search through Swagbucks. You will earn swagbucks s you search. Redeem your Swag Bucks for giftcertificates and other great Swag.

I like to get the Amazon $5 gift card. I know I will be able to use them (think Christmas) and they are only 45 Swag Bucks.

Give it a try today. Don't forget to add me as a friend and spread the word to all of your friends.

Walgreens Friends and Family Day Tomorrow 7/31

2009-07-30T11:06:00.000-07:00

Don't miss tomorrow's Friends and Family Day at Walgreens. Print out the coupons I have here

http://www.walgreens.com/dmi/instorespecials/default.html?ec=hn1028sr_getcoupon

and take 15% off entire purchase and 20% off Walgreens Brand purchases.

Don't forget to buy their pharmacy plan card. It is $20 for one year and you ear 10% of your Wlagreenss brand purchases in rewards. So if you buy the card, then buy a walgreens gift card for the amount you are planning on spending, make sure and scan your Pharmacy Card. You will be credited 10% of the value of your gift card. Then when you go check out scan your pharmacy card again and the 10% will be deducted from your current transaction, then pay with the gift card you bought.

So a $20 giftcard just took $2 off your next transaction. Plus you get a great coupon book for signing up for the pharmacy card. Make sure to ask the pharmacist about it.

Episode Three.... Brand New Store....

2009-07-30T10:22:00.000-07:00

This episode finds our hero well rested from a few days alone with her One True Love, and ready to shop till she drops in her continued effort to save the Almighty Dollar.

Fresh from a great clearance score at Target Super Coupon Mom heads to the other side of the highway to take on the newest CVS in the area.

"WOW!" She exclaimed as she entered the bright and clean store. "This is shaping up to be a promising outing."

Without delay Super Coupon Mom grabs her handy shopping cart, and heads straight to the Magic Coupon Machine.

The Magic Coupon machine must have been in a good mood today, because Super Coupon Mom scored a $5 off $25 coupon. "Woo Hoo!" She thought to herself, "If I can create a pre coupon total over $50 I can use both of the $5 off $25 coupons that I have."

Super Coupon Mom immediately began to calculate her transaction in her head.

"What high dollar items do I need to add to the stockpile?" she asked herself.

Quickly figuring that she definitely needed to add laundry detergent to the stockpile Super Coupon Mom set out to build her transaction around that goal.

After a thorough scan of the CVS Flyer Super Coupon Mom sees that CVS has Arm & Hammer Laundry Detergent on sale at 2/$6.99 with a $2 ECB for each set of two. Since the transaction limit was three per card. Super Coupon Mom quickly added six bottles to her cart.

"That will be a great start to building up to $50, now I need to find a way to fill in the difference." She said to herself.

Quickly remembering the three things she knew she had coupons for Super Coupon Mom added 16 individual packs of Mentos Gum, 1-3 Pack of Mentos Gum, 2 Composition Books (On both kids school supply list), 2 cases of bottled water and 2 packages of cashews. Having finally achieved a total of $51 Super Coupon Mom exclaimed, "Perfect, now to the checkout to save the Almighty Dollar."

With a skip in her step our Hero heads to the cashier already feeling triumphant.

After handing the stunned cashier her coupons and ECB's Super Coupon Mom paid only $14 oop.

AHHHHH... But wait. That $14 came from the gift card that CVS so nicely rewarded me with last week for filling prescriptions with them. So Super Coupon Mom’s total OOP is $0.

Giddy with her victory Super Coupon Mom passes the time by counting her new ECB's as she waits patiently for the cashier writes up her Rain checks for some of the school supplies they were out of.

New ECB's totaling $13 and another $5 off $25 in hand Super Coupon Mom Heads home to rest and prepare for her next adventure.

Reorganizing

2009-07-30T10:15:00.000-07:00

My stock pile has gotten out of control... I have had a few weekends that have been very busy trying to enjoy my time while the kids visit their dad. Needless to say I have kept myself very busy, so shopping had to take a back seat. I was able to score some great deals at several places but, haven't had time to finish my biggest project... The Stockpile.

I am about 3/4 of the way through the task. I have most of the shelving where I want it and I am in the process of finding homes for everything. The biggest issue is that I still have a HUGE TV in my garage that I need to sell. It literally takes up half of my wall space.

I just received a free deep freeze and I need to transfer the contents of my overflowing inside freezer, I need to find a place for the 200 AMP Energy Drinks I got for free, and the cases of water also need a home.

Tonight is my last night before my kids finally come home. I hope to tackle the freezer, stockpile, and their laundry before I call it a night. Wish me luck. Hopefully I will have pictures of the finished product in the morning.

Target Clearance Finds

2009-07-30T10:02:00.000-07:00

Sunday I went with a freind to Target to introduce her to the joys of coupon shopping. While we were there we happened upon the summer clearance section. All of the items were 75% off. So we set out to find some great deals. My daughter has been wanting a volleyball, there was one for $1.50. Can't beat that. I also found some great storage buckets for $1.50, some kids dinner plates for $.37, and two great water bottles one for each kid for $.99. I also found some great kitchen items and a bucket of Margarita Mix for $1.50. Remember that while all Target stores do their mark downs on the smae days, they are often different percentages.

At lunch on Wednesday I went to target with my mom, and was able to get 12 boxes of Kellog's Pop Tarts for $.22. They are on sale for $1.52 I used 12 $.55/1 mfg c/o stacked with 12 $.75/1 Target c/o. These also qualify for Kellog's Fuel for School Rebate so I have a $10 Rebate coming too. In addition I found Olay in Shower Body Lotion on Clearance for $2.88, I used 5 $2/1 mfg c/o and got this great high cost lotion for $.88 each. We also found a great Christmas gift for my son on clearance for under $5.

I am going to try to go to another store tonight or tomorrow and get some Crest White strips Advanced for Free. I will update with those later if I find some. I am also going to try to get my hands on a few more Scrubbing Bubble Shower Cleaners. Target has them on sale this week for $12.99, there is a $7/1 ip c/o on the Scrubbing Bubble site and A Target c/o in ine &/26 Samrt source insert for a $5 gift card when you purchase one. I already got one, but I want to roll my GC into a few more.

Home Made Simple

2009-07-30T06:28:00.000-07:00

Deal Seeking Mom has a great post for all of you beginners. Fill out the form and Home Made Simple will send you a booklet of great high priced coupons for household cleaning prodeucts. Febreeze, Cascade, and many many more.

Check out Deal Seeking Moms site for this info and tons of other great deals.

http://www.dealseekingmom.com/yet-another-home-made-simple-coupon-booklet/

Target and CVS another fun lunch excursion

2009-07-21T13:49:00.000-07:00

I had to get two prescriptions refilled today, so I searched the internet and found a coupon from Kmart for up to $100 in gift cards for transfered prescriptions. No we don't have Kmart here, but CVS will honor competitor coupons in their pharmacy. So I called the store had all of my transfers done and went to pick them up. I gave the cashier my coupon and CVS card and was rewarded with a $50 giftcard for spending ony $40 on prescriptions. This is probably a better money maker for those with insurance.

I went from there to Target, I really wanted to take advantage of their sales this week. I wanted to find the Quattro Razors but they were sold out. I did find a clearance swimsuit for my daughter, an AXE three piece gift set ($1.49), two Softsoap refills ($1.79) and two Softsoap Bodywash (.99). I also was able to get two Head & Shoulders shampoos for $2.29 (BOGO mfg. co. and a $2 Target co). My other stacking was a Venus Embrace Razor for $4.99-$2.00 mfg. co.-$4 Target co.+ $1.99 For Shave gel -$2 Buy Venus get Shave gel free. Total for those two items was Target paid me $1. Not bad.

Hope that you are finding some great deals. Target is a fun one because you can stack a Manufacturer coupon with a Target coupon, this often leads to free items. There are several place to find Target Internet Printable Coupons....

Target has them on their own web site.

http://sites.target.com/site/en/supertarget/page.jsp?title=coupons_specials&ref=nav_footer_coupons

A Full Cup. Sign up for these.

http://www.afullcup.com/target-coupon-generator

My Favorite

Organic Grocery Deals

http://www.organicgrocerydeals.com/forums/view.php?pg=coupon_generator

Also Check out...

Attention Target Shoppers

She has a printable spreadsheet every week of coupon match ups at Target, including Mfg. and Target co.

http://attentiontargetshoppers.blogspot.com/

Kroger AMP Deal

2009-07-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

Kroger stores in our area are having their Mega Sale. This is a great time to stock up on lots of great items. So far I have focused on the AMP Energy Drink deal. This is how it works, buy 10 AMP 16 oz. cans. Use your Kroger card and pay $10.72. They are going to ring up $2.49, $1 will come off for scanning you Kroger card, and when the cashier hits total an additional $5 will come off because you bought 10 items. Pay for your ten cans how ever you choose. A catalina coupon (CAT, register coupon) will print that is worth $10 on your next order (OYNO). While you are in the store grab a grocery gift card from the gift card center. Go up to the customer service desk and hand the clerk your Kroger card, gift card and catalina. They will scan all three and your gift card will have a $10 balance good for gas or groceries.

I was able to go to five Kroger stores and get 120 cans. I have already drank a few. This can actually be a money maker if you have any AMP coupons. Mine came today after a trade so I will try again for a few more. I still have $25 on my GC so this could add up nicely.

How do you do it?

2009-07-20T19:16:00.001-07:00

Today some friends asked me how I do my coupon shopping. So, I decided to start a couponing 101 section.

My first advice is to start slow...no I didn't follow my own advice. I have days (today) where my stockpile can overwhelm me. I have a lot to do in the house and that has to take priority so my stockpile is not looking its best.

But to answer a few questions...

1. Where do you get all of your coupons?

I started out just buying a few copies of the Sunday Houston Chronicle each week. I also found several sites that allow you to print coupons. As I learned more I found chat rooms and websites devoted to trading coupons. (It is illegal to sell coupons, if you are paying someone to send you a coupon make sure that this is very clear. All EBay coupon transactions must state this. You are paying for their time and effort to locate, clip and sort the coupons for you).

I also learned that coupons can be found in so many other places. Of course on the grocery store aisle (blinkies), or attached to a product (peelies), but also a gas station can often have several great coupons, usually they are attached to the cooler doors.

2. What advice do you have for someone who is interested in trying extreme coupon shopping?

Stay under the radar. This is the key to your success. Try your hardest not to draw too much attention to yourself. Don't try to cram 100 identical items into one transaction, try two or three smaller ones. Take your stuff to the car and come back through, or if you live in an area with several of the same store move on to the next one.

I have a circuit I like to use for CVS and Walgreens in the area where I live, but I also have a circuit in the area near my office. This way I don't attract any undo attention. If you do find a clerk who is excited to help you and excited to see your great deals, learn her schedule. This can be a very valuable resource.

There is another piece of advice that will keep you from angering people, both in stores and chat rooms, never take the last one. It is a simple courtesy, sometimes it is very tempting to snag all of a great deal, but imagine being the harried mom who just needs one pack of size 3 diapers and having to go to several stores. We have all been there, or will be soon. It is no fun.

3. Is it worth it? What do you do with items that you don't need or near expiration?

Yes, it is absolutely worth it. But, that is my personal opinion. Many of my family and friends are in awe of what I do; others see it as a waste of time. For me it is several things a hobby, an escape and a third job. I am a mom and partner first and foremost, I have to focus on that at all times, and second I have to focus on my career. But, part of my role as parent and partner is keeping us fed, clothed, healthy and safe. If I can achieve all of those things and save money in the process, then why not?

As for the items I do not use or are close to expiration, I have several options. One, food items I will donate to a local charity. I have been through those rough patches and I told myself that if I can one day help some other mom keep her kids fed and still hold her head high I will always do so. I take a digital picture of the items I donate to any charity; I keep a list of how many, what size and the full retail value of the item. This will come in handy at tax time

A second option is to collect items for free and cheap for a stretch of time and have a yard sale a few times a year. Several sites will even give you a pricing list based on their previous yard sale experiences.

I hope that I have answered any questions you might have, if not please email me or leave me a comment. I will respond as quickly as possible.

Good luck and happy couponing.

The Adventures of The Super Coupon Mom Episode 2

2009-07-19T05:27:00.001-07:00

When we last saw our Hero she was celebrating her victory at CVS with her young side kicks. Sadly today Super Coupon Mom is on her own in her efforts to save the Almighty Dollar.

Alone and feeling a little down with out her super side kicks our Hero headed out to see if she could find a great deal to lift her spirits.

Her first stop was CVS to create some great Photo Books. These free albums are a great glimpse down memory lane, and this helps Super Coupon Mom find the strength to carry on.

Revitalized by the happy thoughts of Princess Random and captain Obvious, Super Coupon Mom heads down the road to Kroger. This next deal was going to require some leg work, always ready for a challenge Super Coupon Mom grabs her trusty binder and a shopping cart.

She quickly makes her way to the soda aisle and spots her target...AMP energy drinks. "The Mega Sale today makes these only $1 each, and I know that they are printing a $10 gift card Catalina if you buy ten". Super coupon Mom revels in the thought of FREE products for a moment and then begins to formulate her plan of attack.

"I will start with 10, get my gift card and come back for more. Then I will go to a few more Kroger’s and see how many I can stock up on".

She dashes to the register with her super shopper speed, all the while dodging crying babies, and inconsiderate shoppers. Super Coupon Mom makes it to the Express Lane. Insert victorious music here. But, Oh, What is that? The dreaded Manager is helping check out in this lane.

"Drat He spotted me; I am stuck in his tractor beams." She exclaimed.

"Hi, Mam, do you have your Kroger card today?" He asks.

"Yes, sir. Here it is." She says quietly handing him her card.

"Isn't this a fantastic deal? Did you know that it is going to give you a coupon for $10 off your next purchase?" He asks a very stunned Super Coupon Mom.

"Why yes, I did know. I can't believe you are happy about it; most store managers do not take kindly to coupon shoppers. Why are you different?" She asks him, confused by this recent turn of events.

“Well, we still get paid, you get your drinks, and everyone is happy". He stated very bluntly. "Plus, I plan on taking advantage of this deal myself when I get off."

Clearly dumbfounded our Hero merely mumbles, "Wow."

This new friend of Super Coupon Mom asks her "Were you planning on purchasing any more?"

"Yes."

"How many more are you going to get?'

"Maybe 40, if you have enough."

"Let's go to the customer service Desk and get you all situated then. I will start your gift card and we will take care of the rest of your transactions up here."

Picking her jaw up off the floor Super Coupon Mom follows her newfound friend to the Customer Service Booth. Five minutes later she heads back to the Soda Aisle gets her 40 more AMP drinks. And Walks out the door to the waiting Mom-mobile, with 50 AMP drinks, and $10 dollars left on the Gift Card.

"What a great day," she thought to herself. "I sure do miss Princess Random and Captain Obvious, but that was certainly fun. I think I will head to the next Kroger and see how I do there".

My Stockpile A Quick Tour

2009-07-15T13:44:00.001-07:00

When I first started researching coupon shopping the first thing I read about was stockpiling. It is designed to ensure that you always have enough of what you need so you don't have to pay full price. So when an item reaches its rock bottom price you stock up, and go SHOPPING in your own stockpile when you need something rather than pay the premium price.

I have wanted to take pictures of my stockpile to show people. This morning before work I ran out to the garage to snap a couple of pics. They are nothing special. I really want to get some new shelves to put stuff on. In just under six weeks I have already run out of room. MY freezer, pantry, medicine cabinet, and three shelving units in the garage are full. I really enjoy finding these great deals, and sharing them with others.

This shelf has 14 toothpastes, three Listerine, two body wash, 6 Renu Contact solutions, three Playtex Tampons.

This shelf has too many dish soaps to count six Soft-soap hand soaps and two CVS panty liners.

This shelf has three each Tresemme shampoo and conditioner and 1 hair gel. 7 Johnson buddies soap, three deodorants and 5 aspirin.

This is my Dish Detergent stash, 19 boxes.

And my air freshener stash of 26 cans.

This one is 4 notebooks, 4 rulers, and 2 Pictureeka card games, countless deodorants, 8 packs of Dove soap, 2 Kotex Panty Liners, Two laundry soaps and one fabric softener.

This one has 1 Venus Embrace razor, 3 Gillette Fusion Razors, 6 Colgate Wisps, 1 Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, 16 Body Sprays, 4 LED Candles, 4 School glue, 5 Mentos gums, 8 Dental floss, and 8 Tooth brushes.

This is the second storage shelf. It is a terrible pic, but it will do. I keep all of the food in here since it has doors that I can close to keep it safe. I won’t go into detail here about its contents.

I have left a lot out. This weekend I am getting a deep freezer, and I can't wait to clean out my freezer inside as well as my pantry. Maybe I will get sometime to take much better pics. The best thing I see when I look at all of this is that the most expensive item in all this was $2.00. The majority of it was free or under $.50.

CVS IS great this week.

2009-07-15T13:33:00.000-07:00

I had to make a quick trip to CVS for my mom today at lunch. So I planned to start taking advantage of their 6x8 Photobook sale. This week it is on sale for $7.99 with $7.99 in ECB's back = FREE. Originally the limit was 1 per card, but as it turns out other bloggers discovered that it is 5 per card. So I have been planning to create 15 books, five for each card. I have organized and edited all my pics, and was ready to go. The CVS I went to not only didn't know about the limit change but, the albums were ringing up incorrectly ($9.99 with no ECB). I knew this was not going to go the way I wanted. Little did I know that I had just encountered a great cashier and manager. I forget their names, but, I have her id number to call and brag. They manually did the ECB's for all 4 of my transactions. I will be going back on Friday to a different CVS to continue this deal. But, I am so excited about my albums. They will make great gifts.

The Adventures...Super Coupon Mom conquers CVS.

2009-07-14T11:01:00.001-07:00

In the further adventures of the Super Coupon Mom we find our hero sweltering in the intense Texas heat. "Hottest July in decades....hmmm I better think of something to do today that won't keep me out in this heat," thought Emily. "I know," she thought, "Let's go to CVS and see if we can find some great deals. Maybe we can even save that Almighty Dollar." With her trusty sidekicks in tow Emily quickly changed them all to their alter egos(gotta help the youngsters)...Super Coupon Mom, Princess Random and Captain Obvious. So they all dashed to the Mom-mobile(Trailblazer), and off they went. This CVS was not a great windfall, it was a little to far out in the burbs. All of those great razors were gone, but never fear Super Coupon Mom is here!!!!!

Straight to the pharmacy isle for clearance Alavert. Yes we all have allergies, even super heros have weaknesses. The 12 count Alavert was on Clearance from $10.99 marked to $2.75. Two of the boxes had $2 peelies (p/e) and Super Coupon Mom just happened to have a $2.00 c/o in her trusty binder. All of the other clearance medicine was gone so our heros set out in search of other great bargains.

"Look Super Coupon Mom, over there" cries Captain Obvious, "the clearance table." They all rushed to the table to see what bargains awaited. Super Coupon Mom turns to Princess Random and says, "Princess do we have any coupons for Mentos Gum?"

"Why yes, look here $.55 c/o." Cries Princess Random. Great so they grabbed 5 at $.42. Cha-Ching!!! Free gum!!

"Quick Captain Obvious, get our handy CVS card and ECB's and lets go check out!"

Our Heros head to the cashier where they present their finding to the clerk. After the total they present all of their coupons and ECB's and the Cashier says, "that will be $.06 please."

Captain Obvious reaches into his little pockets and pays her with a dime.

Once again our fearless heros have conquered evil and saved the Almighty Dollar.

Stay tuned next week for more adventures of Super Coupon Mom, Princess Random, and Captain Obvious.

A new feature.

2009-07-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

I have decided to write a weekly narrative just for fun. Each week I will detail one of my shopping trips in story form. I hope that this will become a fun weekly release. Enjoy the Adventures of Super Coupon Mom, Princess Random, and Captain Obvious.

CVS Deal Today....

2009-07-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

For a while now bloggers have been posting about this great clearance deal on Bic Soleil Razors. CVS had a bonus pack with 4 blades attached for $2.99. Great price, but dig into my handy coupon binder and woo hoo I have a $3 c/o. So I have been searching high and low for this deal. I searched through at least 10 CVS stores. Today for lunch I decided that I needed to try one more time. I mean what super hero can give up on a challenge like this. So I mapped a route that would take me to 3 CVS stores I had never visited.

First stop was my Jackpot!!!!!!!!!!!

They had not one or two razors..... they had 14. It was official I had won.

I got one and went to scan it just in case. Wow! Not $2.99, but $1.49. Sweet so my handy $3 c/o would net me 2 and I would only have to pay tax. Sweet! But, what what's that. Oh look I have three coupons for free blades if you buy the handle. OMG!

So I got 10 Razors, each with a bonus 4 pack of blades, and three extra packs of blades.

As always in CVS I checked the clearance section. Scoreboard. 90% off Clearance was packed. I got a Crayola Hannah Montana Color Wonder kit for $1.30, a Hannah Montana Candy container for 13 cents and a set of Hannah Stickers for 40 cents. All will be in my Christmas stash for this year. I also got 6 two packs of Colgate Wisp for 13 cents each, and 5 Sally Hansen Nail Polishes for 1.39. Oh look a .50 c/o in my binder. Woo. And for my super reader seven year old side kick, I found a book she has been eyeing at the bookstore for a while only 70 cents.

So a very successful trip even if I didn't buy anything at the other two stores. I also have two more coupons for the razors.

In the beginning...........

2009-07-13T11:57:00.000-07:00

Let me introduce myself, I am Emily, a mild mannered single mom to two great kids. I work full time, do photography on the side and work very hard to make my little ones my first priority. Recently I discovered a super power..... the power of the Almighty Dollar. My life till now has been all about living from paycheck to paycheck, I am tired of it. So on June 1, 2009 I decided to try my hand at extreme couponing. I have done the research and joined the chat groups. I have really enjoyed the challenge and love to revel in my successes. My hopes for this blog is to connect you to the great deals and through my ups and downs help others learn the tricks that will help them in their quest to save the Almighty Dollar.