I love saving money, using repurposed items, thrifting - about anything to do with saving!
Tonight I am reorganizing my coupons, something I've been putting off for a long time! It just about kills me to go to the store for something I need and have to pay full price, so I'm committing to getting back into careful planning and preparing well!
This plan can be applied across my entire life, preparing well, for work for study for play.
Can I stick to it, I'm not sure but if desire counted for anything then I've got it licked.
How cool would it be to spend each day offering our best because we prepared really well? I would love it if I could be remembered as someone who prepared well! My 2013 goal...
This is a rather lame post in comparison to something spiritually deep that I learn, but, fun none the less!
For the first time since Easter I began to coupon again today. It was fun!
Big spender at Meijer! Pickles for $.37, spicy mustard $1.29 for 2, Suddenly Salad $1.00 for 2, and crackers $.30.
Target - with coupons I spent $12.00 and got a $5.00 gift card. So for the cost of 1 1/2 shampoos I got all of these items.
And then I hit Walgreens. This took a while to figure out. What I learned today was not to trust the websites that list 'how to' work the deals. You also have to look at the add and read carefully. Finally after going to my car to grab more coupons I worked out the following deal.
Each of the Gillette Items above sell for $4.99. The razor $8.99. Get this - I got all of these items for $19.00 and got two Walgreens Bucks to spend next time equalling $15.00! So I spent $4.00 for over $40.00 worth of products, a good day!
Some of you have been asking me about couponing - so I thought I'd just put up my day of shopping for all to see! Now on to more serious things!
I have just a few hundred more coupons to file and then it's off into the day. awww....
This could easily become a part time job - NOT what I'm looking for!
As I looked at my piles of coupons preparing to take advantage of the remaining sales that will disappear at midnight tonight, I realize again that even this 'good' thing could easily become stressful instead of helpful.
Many things, good things, would love to eat up our days. Interesting how even a hobby requires evaluation if you are a child of God.
As soon as I get a moderate savings system figured out I will probably teach the couponing class at Crossroads this winter that girls are asking for...only if I can offer a system well organized and protective of their other more important responsibilities! Meanwhile - it will take a couple hours of my day to prepare well and know that I have exactly what I need to walk in - get great deals on things my family actually will use - and then on to the next good thing.
I woke up excited today to fellowship and worship at Crossroads tonight - first I will finish the day's responsibility to my family! Enjoy your day!
I bought a Dove Hair Conditioner product that was on sale for $4.00 and used a #1.50 off coupon, and received a $4.00 Walgreen bucks back!
I then took my Walgreen bucks to another Walgreen and purchased a $5.00 - 12 pack of Scott toilet paper using a $1.00 off Walgreen coupon and got it for FREE except .34 cents tax! The clerk said it was the lowest sale she had ever made!
I went back the next day for another Dove Hair conditioner and now have Walgreen bucks = $4.00 that I'm going back to get something that my hubby asked for today, FREE! YAY - so fun.
I actually did quite a bit of couponing this week - Snuggle Fabric Softener and dryer sheet deals, Hasbro games at Toys R Us and on and on!
PLEASE share your best deal this week - because with Easter coming I cannot spend anymore time this week looking for deals! Can you help all of us!! Thanks!
Did any of you Kroger shoppers get 3 coupons in the mail for free items at Kroger? Although Kroger is possibly my favorite grocery store I don't often go because their prices are higher. However, when I get coupons in the mail for totally free items, that gets my attention.
Last night I ran in for a couple things with one of our son's band members Bryant in tow and as I checked out even the cashier was amazed at my 'free' coupons. She complained loudly that "she had never received anything like these" - in a funny way!
Even Bryant commented as a total of 4 items were deducted among my other coupon discounts.
This is what I got free.
Kroger Carrots Full sized Crest Toothpaste Hellmans Mayo Frosted Flakes (my hubby's favorite!)
Some of the other items I needed, I checked the prices of but didn't purchase because I knew I could get them cheaper somewhere else - so if I go prepared with a list and coupons are already pulled I am not easily tempted to buy anything I don't HAVE to have at that moment.
Based on that, I wonder how worth while it is for the stores to give free coupons away? Us coupons girls, we are pretty stingy and not easily tempted!! ha ha
QUESTION: when you go to the store for their bargains or to use their store coupons - do you spend a lot of additional money or stick to the deals??
The website that talked about the Olay sale said there should be $3.00 coupons that we can use on several different Olay facial cleansers or moisturizers. Not only those worked, but also 2 - $1.00 off coupons worked!
So...
I bought 3 OlayRegenerist Facial Cleansers for the sale price of $5.47 each.
I used 2 - $3.00 off coupons and 2 - $1.00 coupons and paid - $8.41 plus tax.
I then copied off this Rebate form and mailed it in to collect $15.00! So I MADE almost $6.00 to buy these 2 products!
I have had very little time to really dig into deals this week, but, one thing I would really encourage you to do is to sign up for Twitter. I know, a lot of people think it's lame, but you can sign up to ONLY use it for coupons sites!
On almost every coupon site there is a facebook or twitter sign up. I like the coupon feed on Twitter over Facebook, so my facebook page doesn't get loaded up with things no one wants to read about. Twitter on the other hand isn't for reading really...ya know what I mean.
Anyway - I would suggest you subscribe to sites using Twitter!
The only deal I have had time to take advantage of earlier this week was at Meijer. I had a few Catalinas to cash in...translation - Meijer bucks - so thought I'd grab a few things. Among them I bought a 40 count box of Bagel Bites that were finally on sale and I used a $2.50 off coupon from the "All You" magazine I just purchased. Besides fresh produce, I only purchased sale items that I had additional coupons for.
I saved over $20.00 and got $6.00 worth of catalinas without even trying! If I get to go back out later this week I'll fill you in! Happy savings!
This day follows a horrible sleeping night - or I guess I should say sleepless night! Our son's band was here and one of them - I AM NOT EXAGGERATING had the worst cough I have every heard in my life!
This kid is probably 6'4" and 250 pounds and it sounded like he was coughing up a lung all night long! Since he's 24 years old it's not like I could trot upstairs and rub Vicks on his chest or shove a spoonful of medicine down his throat. But HOW I wanted to! ha ha
Anyway all that to say - I got up prepared oatmeal, scrambled eggs, sausage, toast, juice and coffee before they headed to Indiana.
Now my day off begins with a headache, a blanket, my computer, books to read and the couch covered with coupons and grocery lists with lots of inexpensive - nearly free grocery items to add to my stockpile. I love a good bargain!
So...I've been racking my brain to see if there might be something I could do to encourage people in this difficult economic time. Don't get too excited, I am not giving anything away~
What I thought I would try for a while is to begin the "Cheap is Good" post on Wednesdays. A place where people can share their biggest deals of the week so I can pass them on to all of you!
If you would like to send me weekly deals, coupons or ways you cut back or overcame the economic downturn, email me at cccbiddle@yahoo.com this week and I'll begin to post them next Wednesday.
Bad times mean HUGE opportunities for God's children. Opportunities to share His love in practical ways. So lets get started!
I have spent the entire morning sorting out the old and putting in the new. Fitting I guess!
Throwing away:
old coupons
old food in fridge
old newspapers
old mail
Putting in:
new coupons into my coupons notebook
fresh food after grocery shopping
food in the crockpot for this evening's meal
outgoing mail to the post office dropped off
This type of re-organizing I love. It just makes the week begin better, more organized. After I go to the gym I have a stack of reading - conference opportunities, magazines and old to-do lists. Following that reading there will be more throwing away.
This new year promises to be filled with many potentially stressful personal responsibilities. I plan to talk to God a lot this year, because during stressful situations come amazing opportunities if we can view them through God - eyes. Potential life changing opportunities in 2010...that sounds like it is worth preparing well for... Happy New Year!
Today seemed like a good day to finish preparing for Thanksgiving. It is now 7:11 p.m. and I have done nothing I planned except grocery shopping with my hubby.
I am used to shopping alone and he is used to avoiding having to go. But, following breakfast out together we decided it would be the least busy time of the day to go.
I had tons of coupons with me - sounds good, but, did I mention I hadn't sorted them yet from this weekends fliers? Not good - thank goodness there was a Starbucks in the grocery that I could distract him with!
We needed 2 of the turkeys over 18 lbs. that were limited to one per person as well as requiring a $30 minimum with each. And of course we didn't ask if that was before or after coupons so....we stood with 2 carts mid aisle and tried to make sure we met the minimum digging all the while through my unorganized coupons. (I am happy to report the coupon savings was close to $15.00 and each turkey under $7.00 each - my husband is still trying to figure out if it was worth buying newspapers and the hassle for that amount of savings.) Finally an hour and a half later we made our way to the check out!
Couponing does create conversation opportunities, today as I stood flipping the pages in my 'sport card' coupon holder notebook a lady stopped by remarking, "good for you honey, I should do that too!"
A few days ago I picked up a couple of things at store I don't typically go to and used coupons and the check out guy said, "You don't strike me as the couponing type". What does that mean??
Two weeks ago a young check out guy proclaimed, "you win first prize for having the best system of organizing your coupons!"
You would think it's the highest accomplishment of my life!
All of this to ask you the following questions:
Is couponing worth the effort?
Does any tiny savings justify doing it?
Do you only do it when prime opportunities arise with combinations equaling huge savings?
I welcome any tips you are willing to throw my way! Or if you want to be the Biddle's private coupon consultant that would be good too!
Coupons everywhere! Oh my goodness my girl friends are doing great things with coupons, so of course I have to be involved too!
I'm not very good at it...
I see the glory adds, $145.00 worth of groceries for $37.99...HOW??? I want to save money, I really, really do! Michelle, Stephanie, Penny and Maureen seem to breeze right through coupon-ing with spectacular results. I am very competitive and I am determined to master this!!
Determined to succeed I surrounded myself with coupons today. The were all still inside newspapers, which were still inside grocery bags, which were all still inside the closet...well, I had good intentions. So I pulled everything out, cut everything out, spread it all over the place and tried, really tried to organize them. I think I had 500 at least.
I went to Meijer and bought $17.95 worth for 7.50...sort of good...I tried!. The best news was, I ONLY bought sale items that I had coupons for, very disiplined! (First time for everything)
Ater returning home with my prizes I began to realize that the hours I invested to save 10 bucks probably cost me $75.00 worth of time. Oh well, I'll get it figured out as soon as possible, but, for now...back to the closet with the coupons hopefully remembering to get back to it before they all expire.
