Recyclebank--easy way to score coupons!



If you haven't heard of or signed up for Recyclebank, you should!  It's free and easy and it's a quick way to earn points to put towards coupons, gift cards, and other prizes.  I haven't been a member for long, but so far I've printed coupons for Honest Tea (that's why the free bottles keep showing up in my pictures :)), Kashi, and several other hard to find coupons.  The website is geared towards teaching people the benefits of recycling and rewarding you for learning about ways to make your life a little greener.

After you sign up, you have the opportunity to take short quizzes, watch videos, or make a pledge to earn points.  You can cash in your points for the prizes.  It's very easy to earn enough points to download coupons; quizzes range from 5-50 points each and point values for coupons and prizes start as low as 10 or 15 points at times.  You can choose to spend your points on printable coupons (current coupons include Coke, Honest Tea, Kashi, Ziploc to name a few), magazine subscriptions (i.e. Cosmo, Food Magazine, Whole Living, etc.), gift cards to restaurants (Olive Garden, Ruby Tuesdays), gift cards to retail stores ($10 off $30 at Bed Bath and Beyond, $10 off $50 at Macy's), or my recent purchase of $10 off $50 at Harris Teeter for only 195 points!

Click on the picture above to join! 

Disclaimer:  The link above is my referral link, so I will earn points if you join.  Don't feel obligated to click this link, but it's appreciated!

Grocery Trips 7/13

Today I went to Harris Teeter and Farm Fresh to pick up a few sale items.  Harris Teeter didn't have much going on sale-wise that was worth getting, so most of the items in the picture are from Farm Fresh.

I bought:

From Harris Teeter:
2 boxes Duncan Hines brownie mix: $.50 ea (Don't ask how many boxes of brownie mix I currently have.  I heart brownies from a box.)
2 boxes Suddenly Salad: $.50 ea
1 bag HT rice: on sale for $.89 (not pictured, I forgot about it until I looked at the receipt to write this post)

Total after coupons: $2.99

From Farm Fresh:
Emerald Trail Mix: $.50
2 boxes Carnation Instant Breakfast: $2 ea, plus I got a $2 coupon at the register off my next purchase
2 bottles Honest Tea: free
1 value pack bonesless chicken breats: $1.99/lb=$8.26 (not pictured, obviously)
8th Continent Soy Milk: $1.59
Tyson Grilled Chicken Strips: $.89
They have an advertised deal where you purchase four General Mills products for $10 and receive a coupon for free milk as well as a $2 coupon printed at the register, so for this deal I bought:
2 boxes Fiber One bars: $1.70 ea
1 box Honey Nut Cheerios: $1.50
1 box Golden Grahams: $1.50

Total cost after coupons: $21.86
Only saved 44%, I can't seem to do much better than that lately.

There was a little issue at the register where my coupons and free milk coupon didn't print and apparently they hadn't been printing all day.  I had planned on just taking my stuff to the car and going back in for the milk since we need it.  The cashier was trying to write a note on my receipt for next time so I could get the discount on my next trip.  That seemed like another issue waiting to happen, so I told her about my plan just to go get the milk and $4 worth of stuff.  Fast forward to me getting a gallon of milk and 2 cartons of ice cream for $2.05 after discounts.

I've put myself in a tad bit of a budget crisis for the rest of the month.  I only have $34 for the rest of the month for groceries and household items.  That's $17 per week.  It will be tight, but it can be done.  Luckily we're good on meat and paper products for the rest of the month.  Next month I'm attempting to get our grocery bill down to $200.  It's a challenge I'm willing to try.  I'm pretty sure hubby would owe me at least an ice cream date if I was able to make that goal.  Hmm...

Menu Planning

One of the easiest ways to save money on your groccery budget is to work from a menu plan.  I'm not very good at doing this consistently, but I've done it enough to know that it works.  There was a time that I planned out meals for a month at a time, but that can be overwhelming.  Plus, it's easier to go week by week based on what you have on hand in an attempt to use only what you have or what's on sale. 

I haven't bought meat in a while, so we're down to several small bags of chicken, 1 bag of ground turkey, and 2 bags of ground beef.  Since hubby works night shifts for half of the week, I usually just eat leftovers or make something easy (my go to favorite: buttered noodles) on the nights he's not home.  Here's what I plan to make this week (3 days) for dinner:

Monday: Basil Chicken with Pasta (it was yummy!)
Tuesday: Chicken Kabobs with veggies
Wednesday: Turkey Burgers with French Potatoes

A co-worker just shared with me a link to a website called Food on the Table.  It seems like a great tool if you're trying to meal plan based on grocery store sales.  You choose the grocery store you prefer, then site tells you what's on sale and provides you with recipes containing whatever item you choose.  Then, you can plan out your meals for the week.  Best of all, it's free!

This weekend I'm looking forward to making my own bagels.  I've never done it before, so I hope it goes well!     

Great Magazine Website

If you enjoy reading magazines, but don't like paying for a subscription due to the cost, check out this website.

They have great prices and if you subscribe to their newsletter they send a $5 coupon at least once per month that you can use towards a subscription.  I just received a $10 coupon for their "Christmas in July" promotion and was able to get a subscription for free!  Other subscriptions I've received cost between $.97-$5.00 thanks to the coupons they regularly send.  (They also send a $5 coupon for your birthday.  The downside is you can only use 1 coupon per order, but it's still a great deal!)

Happy reading! :)

Free Betty Crocker Downloadable Cookbook

Get some of 2011's best Summer and Spring recipes from Betty Crocker, all in an easy to download PDF file!

I have to say, some of the desserts look REALLY yummy.

Free Sample of Febreze Set and Refresh

"Like" Febreze on Facebook

I just bought 2 of these and so far I really like the one I opened!  There are only 3,000 samples though, so get on it if you want one!

Farm Fresh trip 7/6/11

There are quite a few good deals at Farm Fresh this week.  The only thing I didn't have coupons for were the bananas, juice, chicken, and bread; however, all were on sale this week and there was a $1 off coupon on the juice (expiration date is this week).

I bought:

2 Betty Crocker Suddenly Salad: $1 ea.

2 Mueller pasta: $.15 ea

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser: $.79

2 Febreeze Set & Refresh: $.79 ea

Farm Fresh sandwich bread: $.88

2 Uncle Ben's Whole Grain Rice: $.50 ea

2 bottles Honest Tea: free

Hormel sandwich meat: $.99

Perdue Oven Roaster: $.79/lb ($6.31)

Bananas: $.55/lb

Richfood orange juice (been craving OJ, noticed a $1 coupon on the carton): $.99

I saved 50% off my total and paid about $16 out of pocket, with over $6 of the total coming from the chicken.  Not too bad, but I'd like to get that to at least 60%.  I'm still new to this and miss a lot of small details.  This was also the first time I actually remembered to take a reusable bag-- note to self: get more bags.

Free pet stuff!

$1 off PawSafe cleaner (on sale now at Petsmart for $0.99=you can get it free!)
Free dog or cat toy from thepaws.com
Free "Life's a Dog" bumper sticker while supplies last!

Happy Flag Day! Celebrate with coupons...

Click the link below to print coupons for Ziploc, Shout, and OFF! products:

https://www.rightathome.com/offers/pages/2011-06-group.aspx?sid=coupon&cid=group201106&rid=110822077&email=forgtfulone@hotmail.com&om_rid=BpD2mY&om_mid=_BN94uXB8buchLH



Click on the picture to join Kellogg's newsletter and receive coupons instantly for Special K cereal and protein products!

Getting Started Part II

After you've read a few blogs, you'll find some may be more helpful than others or some update more than others, leaving you with a couple to which you stay pretty loyal.  Most couponing blogs do weekly coupon match ups with store deals, showing you how much you'll pay for sale items while using coupons.  The blogs I find most helpful are the ones that provide the printable lists so that you can click on the items you want to buy and the list prints out not only the item price but also the coupons you'll need to use to get the best price.  I usually paperclip the coupons I'm going to use to the list so that I'm already organized and know what I'm buying when I get to the store.

Since I've already shared where I find my coupons, I'll move on to sharing other little tips that I haven't mentioned:

• Walmart price matches!  I haven't tried this yet, but apparently you don't even have to take the competitor's ad to Walmart with you, they just change the price.  Since I don't like to hold up the line any more than I have to, I probably won't do this unless it's a really great deal.  Here's the policy on price matching: Walmart policy
• Many stores deduct 5 cents off your total if you use recyclable bags!  I know for sure that Target and Farm Fresh do this.  Can anyone tell me what other stores do this?
• When I started couponing, anything cheaper than what I normally paid for an item seemed like a great deal.  Once you get into couponing, you learn that just because toothpaste is .50 doesn't mean that's a great deal (well, it is, but just wait).  I really like My Coupon Teacher's list of goal prices.  She tries not to pay more than what's stated for each item.  This has helped me a lot because now I don't buy toothpaste unless it's free (see what I mean?)!
• You will most likely rarely find coupons for meat, produce, milk, and bread.  It's tough because those are some of the more expensive items I buy.  The helpful thing to remember is that you've saved so much on other grocery items that it's okay to have to pay full price for milk once in a while.  Bread can be purchased at a bread store for a discounted price, produce can be purchased from a farmer's market if you have one (better quality and you're supporting local economy!), and meat could be purchased from a butcher shop if you have one nearby and really want to take that extra step to get more for your money in the meat department.
• Just because you have a coupon doesn't mean you have to use it!  Don't spend money on something you don't necessarily need or want just because you don't want to lose a coupon. 
• Most sales circulate every 12 weeks meaning coupons usually do, too.  It also means if you missed a sale on your favorite laundry detergent, it will most likely go on sale again in about three months (I've been noticing that a lot of items go on sale a lot sooner than that!).

Please keep in mind I'm still a newbie so I don't claim to be a pro, nor do I know all there is to know.  Please feel free to share your tips because I'm certain I don't know them all!

Getting started Part I

One of the hardest parts of saving money for me is actually getting started.  I've always wanted to save, but never really knew how because I love going to stores a little too much.  We have a budget and I've tried to stick to it but usually fail miserably, unfortunately. 

About two months ago I caught an episode of "Extreme Couponing"  on TLC (Side note: I've only watched about 1.5 episodes of that show, I'm not a fan) that featured a mother getting items to not only store enough food/personal items for her family for several months, but she also donated a lot of items to churches, other families, charities, etc.  I remember thinking, "Hmm, could I do that?"  And then I forgot about it.  Not long after, the hubby and I were visiting his uncle and aunt and they were watching the show.  His aunt said she'd attended a couponing class by a local blogger who teaches others how to search store ads for deals, compare prices, stack coupons, the whole deal.  She said she learned a lot and had gone shopping at Harris Teeter that day and saved about $50 using coupons.  The hubby and I were both in agreement that it would be nice to save, but I didn't really know how to get started.  I already saved coupons and used them as needed, but I didn't know how to use them to their full potential.  His aunt recommended I look up the blogger, A Frugal Chick, for tips on saving money.

The next day, I was hooked.  Hooked on reading blogs about saving money, that is.  From A Frugal Chick I found The Coupon Challenge and from there I found My Coupon Teacher.  I began reading about how to get started in the world of couponing, how store coupon policies work, how to stick to a weekly budget, and how to start what a lot of people call a "stockpile" (I prefer to call mine a "Shelf of Fun," because that's about all the space I have) so that you always have what you need on hand.  The whole idea made me excited because I learned I could still go shopping and get things we needed, but I could save a lot more money by following their techniques. 

It's been about two months since I really started couponing.  I've been able to cut our monthly grocery bill by about $50 so far and hope to get it down another $50 in the next few months.  Since there are only two of us, there's no reason why I should have been spending what I was each month on groceries.  My ultimate goal is to cut the bill by 50% within a year. 

If you're new to couponing, I'll be honest--it's overwhelming at first.  If you're totally lost, I recommend The Coupon Teacher's free 12-week course on Becoming a Savvy Shopper.  A lot of the items in the course can be completed in a much shorter amount of time, but the point is to not overwhelm people who are new to couponing.  It's easier to print out all 12 weeks and read through them a few days at a time as you feel more comfortable.

I spend about 2-3 hours per week reading coupon blogs, preparing my lists, organizing coupons, etc.  This may seem like a lot of time to some people, but I choose to spend that much time.  Others may spend more or less time.  I'm not an extreme couponer, I don't make multiple transactions at the store, and I don't pitch a fit when a store won't accept my coupon.  I've been told I'm a nice couponer by several cashiers.  :)

To sum it up, these blogs have helped me get to the point I'm at now:
A Frugal Chick (Hampton Roads based)
The Coupon Challenge (Hampton Roads based)
My Coupon Teacher (NC based)
Frugal Living and Having Fun
Money Saving Mom

I would recommend finding locally based bloggers as they will have the best local store prices/deals as most store prices vary by region.


How did you get into couponing?  What advice do you have for people who are just starting out?  

Today's finds

Even though I'm trying not to spend money until pay day, there were a few deals I found that I wanted to go ahead and purchase.  I grabbed some change from the change jar and limited myself to only spending whatever amount I had grabbed (I ended up grabbing $2.75).  Normally, I wouldn't expect to buy very much with this little amount (all in quarters, of course :)).  However...

...I bought $11.88 worth of stuff for $2.28!

Here's what I did:

Rite Aid

-Nestle Pure Life Water 24pk $3.88: I had $3.20 in Up Rewards that expired this week, so I got the water for $.78 after tax.  I was pretty excited about that one.

Target

-Nivea Men's Body Wash $3.04: I used a $1/1 Nivea Body Wash Target coupon stacked with a $2/1 Nivea for Men coupon from the paper last week and paid $.04!

-Wet Ones Wipes $1.97: I used a $1/2 coupon and got them for $.97 ea. Not a great price, but for someone who's constantly dropping food/make-up on my clothes, it works.

-Tic Tacs $1.02: I used a $.75/1 coupon and paid $.27!

Anyone else find some good deals this weekend? 

 

A few finds for the day



$.75 off 1 box of Uncle Ben's Whole Grain White Rice

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/liptonicedtea?sk=app_209126879105964

"Like" Lipton Tea and they'll offer you a free coupon to try their new Iced Tea.  I haven't tried to use mine yet, but most places don't accept internet coupons for free items so it may not work.

http://www.campbellsoupcompany.com/Feedback.aspx

If you use Prego sauce or any products from Campbell, such as Swanson, Pepperidge Farm, or Hillshire Farm, you'll receive a $2 coupon good for any of those brands if you contact Campbell's and just tell them you like their product.  I received my coupon today, I'm pretty sure that means I'll get free pasta sauce!

Sears Friends and Family Event on Facebook!

Family & Friends

"Like" this Sears event on Facebook and you can enter to win several different prizes, from a gift card to a portrait package! The contest ends tomorrow at 6 p.m. and you can enter once per day.

Saving tips

If you're new to couponing (I still consider myself a newbie) and have no idea where to look for coupons, it's simple: they're everywhere!  Obviously the Sunday paper usually has a few inserts, but the Internet is a great source as well. 

These are a few sites that update coupons every month and you can usually print each coupon at least twice:
http://www.coupons.com/
www.smartsource.com
www.redplum.com
www.couponnetwork.com

Other ways to find coupons:

• If you shop at Target, go to www.target.com/coupons and print store coupons that can be stacked with manufacturer coupons for bigger savings.  These coupons are printable up to 2 or 3 times and they sometimes reset within the month so you can print them again.
• Sign up for newsletters that send monthly updates and potential coupons.  One of my favorites is Proctor & Gamble  because you can register for samples and receive coupons in the mail.  Also, Vocalpoint sends out samples of new products periodically, as well as high-value coupons for the product.  We recently received samples of Mini Wheats Touch of Fruit and Breve Creme and both came with coupons for a free item, as well as several coupons for future purchases.
• Check product websites.  Email companies and tell them you like their products.  "Like" companies on Facebook.  All of these have worked well for me.  I received the Wellness dog food coupon just by telling the company how much my dog loves their food!  I've also received several other coupons from companies I contacted.  Not everyone responds with a coupon, so don't always expect it, but they do appreciate the feedback.

There are so many ways to find coupons and get deals and I'm sure there are still sources I'm not aware of.  I do know people have been asking me how I go about couponing, so I wanted to at least share the basics, even though I'm only a month or two into it.  Please feel free to share your ideas or thoughts!

Recap of the week

Since this whole blog idea is new, I figured I'd look back over the week at how I saved/spent money.  Keep in mind I'm not an extreme couponer, nor do I plan to be, so I'm sure there are people who could score a better deal than I could.  I'm really just trying to save money as simply as I can.

Last Sunday, I hit up Walgreen's and Rite Aid for a few items.  We were completely out of trash bags and it just so happened that Walgreen's had trash bags on sale!

Here is a list of what I bought:

Walgreens:
Dawn dish soap: on sale for $.99, used $.50 coupon= $.49
Glad trash bags: on sale for $6.99, used 2 $1/1 (one store, one manufacturer) coupons= $4.99
I also had a $1 Register Reward from the previous week that was about to expire, so my total cost was $4.88 and I saved $7.00.

I was pretty excited about this considering before we went to Walgreen's we stopped by Walmart to price check Glad trash bags and they were $7.48 for the same box that I bought.

Rite Aid:
(Okay, this trip is nothing special, in fact it's pretty bad.  We needed toothbrushes though and I'll admit I bought these only for the UP Rewards.)
2 Oral B toothbrushes for $3.65, with tax, got $3.20 in UR's, only saved $2.84.

On Wednesday, I couldn't pass up the chance to go to Farm Fresh for double coupons.  I didn't do such a great job of sticking to my list, but it's because I found other sale items not advertised once I got to the store.  I didn't have coupons for everything (if you ever find a coupon for potatoes, let me know!). but I still did alright.

Farm Fresh:
Without going into specific detail as to what I bought because that's tedious, I had 44% savings, which isn't TOO bad.  I would have done better except I bought apples, potatoes, bread, and sandwich meat because we needed those items for the week.  I did, however, end up getting a few good deals:
2 free bottles of Hunt's ketchup
Garnier Fructis shampoo and conditioner .50/ea
Free Crest toothpaste
Yoplait Smoothie Starters for .49/ea
Cheerios for .89/ea

I also had a $5 off $25 coupon for signing up for Farm Fresh's newsletter. 

Today, I went to Food Lion for toilet paper (I'll admit, I've held out till today just so I could get the better deal--don't worry, we still had 1 roll left :)).

Food Lion:
2 6-packs Charmin Mega Roll: $4.99/ea, had 2 $1/1 coupons=2/$7.98
2 Breyer's ice cream BOGO=2/normal price I pay at Walmart, but I'm out of ice cream.  That shouldn't happen.

Petsmart:
(Doggie needed food!  And treats.  And flea spray.)
Wellness dog food: $56.99 (ugh!)
Wellness dog treats: $7.99
Sentry Flea and Tick Natural Spray: $12.99

So, this looks a little scary (because it is), but I had a $5.00 off any Wellness product that I used for the treats (making them $2.99), and a 15% off entire purchase Petsmart coupon that I used for the other items.
In the end, I saved $15.95 and spent a whole lot on that ridiculous dog, who I actually really like a whole bunch.

This week, I turned down the chance to go out to lunch when I would have gone any other time.  I also didn't make any 7-11 purchases--that's pretty big!  I even returned a pair of shoes I bought at Payless because I realized I just didn't need them.  AND, we sold a book on Amazon for $27.  Pretty decent week, minus the Petsmart run.  Gets me every time.

Let the challenge begin!

CONFESSION: I'M HORRIBLE WITH MONEY.

Well, wait-- I'm GOOD with money, if we're talking about spending it.  I'm HORRIBLE when it comes to saving money and I've never really done a good job with it.  Maybe a little here and there, or if I wanted to buy something that required saving, but I've never been able to save on a regular basis.  I enjoy shopping WAY too much to the point that even going to the grocery store for toilet paper is exciting for me.  I wouldn't say I have an addiction or a problem because I feel like I would have more to show for it if I did (maybe that's called denial?).  I just have a bad habit of spending money when I don't need to or from impulse buying.

I don't spend a lot of money on clothing or shoes.  The sad part is I choose to waste money at the grocery store.  And on silly 7-11 purchases.  Or cupcakes from the little cupcake place near my job. 
So, what is the point of documenting my inability to save money?  Well, I'm hoping to keep myself accountable to a challenge I'm making with myself: save money every day.  Not necessarily to set aside money in my savings account on a daily basis, but rather to find a way to spend a little less, find a good deal, or just not spend money at all for once.  Every update will hopefully include the latest way I was able to save money.  I'll also include tips from other bloggers or friends so others can benefit as well. 

If this is something you have difficulty with, or you're simply here to read along as I venture into the world of becoming a money saver, feel free to comment with suggestions, advice, criticism, jokes, whatever-- I can take it. :)

WARNING: There will be talk of couponing.  If this offends you, cease reading now.