Long Time no Write.

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.

Kroger Double Day Saturday 8/15

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.

The Big Question

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.

Target Clearance Finds

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

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/

Kroger AMP Deal

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?

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

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

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.