Albertsons Weekly Deals

Albertsons is having an 8 hour sale tomorrow. You could also do their weekly deal where you buy 10 Kelloggs, Keebler, Eggo and/or Sunshine products and get 2 movie tickets (a $24.00 value, so you are getting almost all those products for free. It is a money maker if you have the coupons to match up with some of the products.)

Go here for all the information and match-ups. Thanks Frugal Mommy!-Amber

Farmer's Market

We found the Farmer's Market by accident last week in the parking lot of the mall. We were running too late to check it out so we went bright and early this morning. It is Wednesday's from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. I heard a rumor that they start marking stuff down at about 12:30 p.m. so they don't have to take it with them. I am not sure a few cents will be worth cutting into naptime, but maybe we will go late next week and see. Maybe we will see you there.

I would love to have a garden, but for now...

I spent $17.00.

10 lb Oranges $5

Cauliflower $2

Tomatoes $1/lb

Apples $1.75/lb (there are 2 missing :)

Huge cucumber $.50

Bag of onions $1

Bag of Lemons $1

Carrots $1

Green onions $.75

Lettuce $1 (Somehow it went missing, does that ever happen to anyone else?)

I am going to start puree-ing (sp?) carrots and cauliflower and sneaking them into some of our foods. I got the Deceptively Delicious book on Ebay for $10 and started looking into how that works. We will start small for now. Interested in any tips you might have if you have ever done it before. Amber

Checking other sites for deals

I wanted to suggest a few sites for you all to check daily. My favorites are A Thrifty mom (Drug Stores), Southern Savers (Drug Stores), Frugal Mommy (Abertsons) and It's Hip to save. Unfortunately like most of you I have a load of things to do everyday so I won't repost most of what I find. It will be up to you to do some of the searching. It would be great of some of you want to repost some of the great deals also. I will try and show you the best deals, but not all of them. It is SUPER easy to get on our site and check the blogs listed to the right. Amber

FREE FULL SIZE RIGHT GUARD

HURRY! Celebrity Apprentice is giving away 10,000 full size Right Guard deodorants! Get your printable coupons (2 per computer) by clicking on “click here” when you go here. This is a Java SmartSource coupon that does take some time to print so be patient! It’s worth the wait!! Thanks to Money Saving Madness for this Thrifty Tip

I stole this post from A Thrifty Mom. If you have never checked out her site she is AMAZING!! We cannot take advantage of her grocery store deals because they are different, but she is great at getting stuff for free at Walgreens!

K-Mart

K-Mart Second Trip

K-Mart Second Trip

I think I am stocked up on a LOT of things for now!!

$180.00 total

$55.00 after coupons

KMART Double Coupon Sale

Total before Coupons-$133.80

Total after coupons-$34.52

(2) Scott 12 roll TP-(RP=$11.00) $1.99 each=$3.98

Angel Soft=(RP-$1.99) Free

(5) Capri Suns (RP $13.45) $3.45

(2) Huggies (RP $19.98) $13.98

V-8 Frusion (RP-$3.99) -$1.99 (only had one coupon from LA times, were none in the 4 Press Ent that I got :(

(4) Herbal Essence (RP$12) - $4

1 Hefty Garbage Bag Box (RP-$6.99) $3

(4) Post Cereal (RP-$11.16)=Free

1 Halls Breezes($1.99) =Free

Secret Deodorant ($2.33)=.33
Diego Bandaids ($2.19)=.19

Vitamin Water ($1)=Free

Pledge All Surface ($4.19)=.19
(6) Loreal Eye Shadows-$1.74 (These would have been $4.29 e, paid $.29
Secret Flawless Deodorant ($4.49)=.49

Soft Scrub Scrubbers($2.50)=Free

(2) Clean and Clear Facewash ($8.98) = $.98

(2) Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Refills ($7)=$3

2 Reeses Eggs for the kids for putting up with it all .68

This was a CRAZY trip. It took a lot of organization and I had a headache. The kids were running around like crazies afterwards and the lady behind me was throwing her hands up in the air. They called another checker for her, whew. Then Danielle was behind me and luckily another lady took her. I did 3 transactions. The first two were $50 so I could use a $5 off $50 Kmart coupon on each of them. The third didn't quite make it to $50. It was a tough one, but when you see those $2 coupons double to $4 off, it is very much worth it!! I might go back later this week because I have a few more ideas, but I will wait until I can leave the kids behind. Just wanted to get there bright and early today to see what the Sunday shoppers had taken. Only a few items were barren. Maybe they will restock before the end of the sale.

Danielle said that she got half off of her purchase by using her coupons!! Yay, I am so glad to have witnessed a savings from a club member!! So...now it's your turn to share Danielle!

Albertsons Ground Beef

Albertsons

Ground Beef 3 lb chubs (73% lean) on sale for $2.97!! That's just $.99 a lb! I cut them down to 1 lb and store them in the freezer. I will go out on a limb and say that you most likely won't find a better deal on ground beef.

K-Mart Double Coupons Sale

K-Mart Doubling Sale

K-Mart apparantly has a double coupons sale every year. It is next week. I emailed K-Mart and our stores are participating. They said they are doubling coupons up to $2. I am not understanding if that means they will double up to $2 or double a $2 coupon up to $4? This was the exact line from the email: "We will double up to the $2.00 face value of a coupon, not to exceed the retail value of a single item." If anyone smarter than me knows if that means it will be worth $2 or $4 please let me know. We can only use 25 coupons a day at our store. Any excess change from using your coupons will not be given back to you as cash so make sure you get enough items that you will not be left with them owing you change. Use it to your advantage with product. I wish that the sales would start Monday as we are a disadvantage with it starting Sunday, but I am sure there will be a lot left. I don't shop at K-Mart, but a lot of the expert savers say that it is more expensive than most places. So, I would advise following lists compiled by blogs on the right of our blog in order to get the most savings.

It's hip to save has compiled a list of mega savings, most items free. I am not really in the market for anything, but if I can get free items to store that is what I am going to do.

http://hip2save.blogspot.com/

I promise I will learn to "hotlink" soon for anyone that is annoyed by me putting the whole link up.

Happy Shopping!

Rite Aid

Rite Aid

Well, I definitely have to thank Ambrea for giving us the heads up on the prescription transfer at Rite Aid. I have had nothing but problems with the Savon pharmacy at Albertsons by us since we started. I have several stories. So I was more than happy to make a little drive to Rite Aid. I took my prescriptions to be transferred on Wednesday and she said she didn't think the process would be done until 5 p.m. So we went back Thursday. The same lady was there and was very kind. I gave her my coupons for the $25.00 gift card. I had to do 3 separate transactions in order to get the gift cards. My copay is $5 so I paid $15.00, got my prescriptions and $75.00 in gift cards to Rite Aid. I was SO thrilled. It's not often that I get "luxury" items anymore or just things I want to try out. I felt like with free money I could get a few of these items that I just plain "want." This is the great thing about working hard at this couponing, once in awhile the mom can get something she has been wanting. I would NEVER spend $14.00 on that scrubbing bubbles shower cleaner. I would rather scrub the old fashioned way than spend that much. But, if it's $2.99 and free on my gift card I can try it. It's also been a long time since I have been able to buy the Air Wick Oils. They were 2/$5 - my $1 mc and free on my Gift card. I have also been wanting some new makeup. Almay was Buy one get one 50% off so it was a total of $11.23-$2 Rebate=$9.23 for eyeliner and shadow.

So this is what I got and how much it cost:

Scrubbing Bubbles Shower Cleaner:
$12.99-$7 printable http://www.rightathome.com/offers/200902-sb/Default.aspx?email=#top
-$3 SCR=$2.99

Air Wick Refill Oils
2/$5-$1 MC from paper=$4.00

Shout
(2) $1.99-(2) $1 MC=$1.98

Kotex
(4) .99 (4) $.75 MC=$.96

Angel Soft 4 packs
$.88 each=$3.52

Swiffer Dry Cloths
$3.99-$2 SCR=$1.99

Soft Soaps
(2) $.99 (2) $.50 MC=$.98

Almay
Eye Shadow $7.49
Eye Liner $3.74
-$2 SCR=$9.23

Rite Aid Acetaminophen $.99

I also got 4 nail polish at $1.79 for the Achievement Day activity yesterday.

Important Note: I separated this stuff into two purchases so I could use (2) $5 off $25.00 coupons found here. http://www.nba.com/media/cavaliers/riteaid_coupon_3.pdf
This one scanned, but another one I had did not. The manager had to come over for the one that would not scan to approve the cashier entering it it. He said their policy is that if it does not scan they will not take it. He got so frustrated with it not scanning that he went ahead and took it though. I guess it just depends on who you get.


Total purchase: $60.40 (including tax)
Total after coupons $34.60
Total after rebates $27.60

Rebate checks coming back=$7.00

Total OOP (out of pocket)=$15.00 for prescriptions-$7 rebates=$8

Total left on Gift Cards=$40.40

I think this is the best I have ever done and I finally got some WANTS for ME out of the deal!!

Stater Bro NEW and TRANSFERED RX

I was reading the posts about the RXs and I wanted to add that for a long time Stater Bros on the back of their receipts were offering a $20 gift card for new and transferred RXs. I haven't checked my receipts for a while but I am pretty sure they are still doing it. I think they are the only ones doing the NEW RX gift card coupon. It might be worth seeing if other pharmacies would accept that coupon. **Sandy**

Target Deals

Target

Not very impressive load at Target, but a few great savings. Some bloggers were listing the All Small and Mighty at $2.99 at Target, but ours was only marked down to $4.54. A while back there was a day you could print a MC off the web for $1/1 and then print the Target on and stack. So it was $2.54 today.

V8 Fruit Fusion Juice $2.99, but you can print a $2 coupon. I would never, ever buy a tiny juice like that for $2.99, but for $.99 it's worth trying. Juice deals are hard to come by. If you go to Frugal Mommy's Target deals for the week she has the links you can print from. They say they are only for certain flavors, but our Target didn't have those so they let me use them for what they had.

Ketchup-$.95

Mustard-$1.17-$.50 MC

Progresso Bread Crumbs-$1.79-$1/2 MC

Total: $17.12

Total after Savings: $10.93

Also listed on other blogs were Dove deodorant on clearance or sale to use with coupons. Ours does not have them listed low. Secret is at $2.19 and you should have $2 off coupons for the Secret Flawless. I did not try and see if they would work though so not sure.

One VERY important note about stacking coupons at Target. NONE of the cashiers at ours know that you can do this. When they try and scan the second coupon their machine tells them that this item is not purchased or something like that. Their screen won't let them take it without them hitting another button. If they don't know this policy they have to check with their supervisor. Be patient and tell them that you are allowed to stack a Target coupon and a Manufacturers coupon. Even if it's only for a dollar one trip just be patient. We have to teach them :) The supervisor comes over and says yes, it's a target and an MC it's ok. If you see a young girl named Veronica go to her. She was my cashier and she said they don't have a lot of people that come in with coupons so now she knows that rule. Come on ladies, get those Target coupons going!!

Rite Aid

To go along with Ambrea's note about the $25.00 gift cards at Rite Aid for transferring prescriptions...if you are going there anyway, check out these scenarios.

http://www.southernsavers.com/2009/04/rite-aid-weekly-ad-412-418/

Walgreens

Peanut Butter at Walgreens

Deal Idea:

First Transaction: Buy one Colgate Max Fresh or Max White toothbrush @$3.29, use the $.75 Colgate toothbrush coupon SS 3/29 or click here, sign up and you will get a $1 off coupon.

http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/OC/SpecialOffers.cvsp?Section=OralCare

After you purchase the toothbrush you will receive $3.50 back in Register Rewards. Final Cost out of pocket either $2.54 or $2.29, but you get $3.50 towards your next purchase.

Important note: These toothbrushes at my store were marked at $3.49. Just look for the one in the ad and take it to the register and ask them to make sure it's ringing up for $3.29.

2nd transaction

Buy 4 Skippy Peanut Butters @$3.29. (But, they are B1G1 Free) Use your $3.50 RR, (2) $1/2 Skippy PB from the Unilever Insert on 4/5. Final Cost of 2nd transaction: $1.08.

Final Cost out of pocket for both transactions: $3.62.

Repeat first and second transaction if you use lots of peanut butter. They are limit 4 so you have to do a few transactions.

Important note: Use your RR for $3.50 first then your $1 off coupons. For some reason when I used it last the register said it was too much. Sometimes if you are getting into tax $ it won't let you use the RR last. I read on someones blog last week that you always want to use the RR for the most amount first and then your little coupons because you want to get the most off that you can.

Chex Mix is $.99 this week and you might have $.50 off coupons from previous papers. I only had one and I am not sure which paper it was from. Makes it $.49 each.

Also Kleenex 110 boxes-there is a coupon in the Walgreens ad for $.89 a box. You can use this up to 3 times. Plus you might have a $.50/3 from SS 4/5. This will make it $.70 a box so $2.10 total.

You might be asking yourself why would I buy a toothbrush for $3.29??? That's a lot for a toothbrush. If you know you are going to buy things at Walgreens that do not have RR's then look for something to buy first that you can use that does have RR's. You are going to spend the money on the second item anyway so why not get something free out of the deal? It makes for a better deal if you buy something with RR to go towards something that you were going to buy anyway. Just remember to do separate transactions in order to get your best deal!

Any questions please don't hesitate to ask!! Happy Shopping-Amber

Rite Aid Prescription Transfer Gift Card Coupon

Hey Girls!

If you have any prescriptions to refill go to Rite Aid. You can get a $25 gift card for each transferred (bummer, new ones don't count) prescription...I think the limit is 4! That could be $100!!! I don't think it counts for government insurances like Healthy Fams or Medical, but I'm not totally sure, so check on that. If you have anything to refill do it and just have it on hand, especially if your insurance covers it!

Click here for the coupons! http://content.riteaid.com/rabrand/index2a.html?utm_source=web_coupon_6C&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=LONGS&gclid=CISjwoKL75kCFRwpawodbk_FQw

Good luck!

*Ambrea

Walgreens Photo Center 10 cent pics

10 cent pictures this week at Walgreens when you enter HEARNEWS at checkout online.

Staples Paper $1/500 Sheets

Staples Brand Computer Paper for $1!!

Hi Gals,

Tansy told me about Staples Brand computer paper (500 sheets) for $1. I went today to ours by Target and there were only 2 left. So on our way home from town today we stopped off on Madison. They have about 20 left I would say. When you walk in they are on the wall to your left. I called the one on HW 79 and they said they had about 10 left this afternoon. They are $6.99 and there is a rebate for $5.99 making them $1 per package. If you have a staples or office depot coupon $10 off $50 purchase you can use it and get them for free!! Mine expired on the 4th, darn!! I bought 10 and took some to Tyler's school. They can ALWAYS use paper at the schools so it's a great way to help out. The rebate is mail in or an easy online entry.

Swagbucks

Check out Coupon Geeks blog to learn about swag bucks. If you sign up using the code COUPONGEEK within the next 24 hours you will earn 5 free swagbucks. I am not sure what I think yet, but it's worth a shot.

Free Coupons

Free Coupons

Take advantage of free coupons. You will have to subscribe to a few newsletters, but it only takes a few minutes. You will also have the opportunity to receive 2 free issues of "Cooking Light" when you sign up through the Del Monte one.

http://www.couponcravings.com/

Albertsons

Albertsons Weekly Ad

I am sorry to report that although I am usually thrilled with the Albertson weekly sale I am not impressed this week. When I saw the coupons on the back of the ad I was excited. After taking some time to look it over though I feel like it's a trick. The items listed on the back with the coupons are higher than my price point (what I am willing to pay) because I know that other Albertsons sales in the past combined with coupons can be lower. They are saying "free eggs," but the sale is not as low as I like it to be so I feel like I would be paying for the "free" eggs. Hopefully that makes sense. There are 24 different scenarios listed in coupons in this ad to get free eggs. If you need some of this stuff maybe this sale works for you.

I will pick up the Crystal Geyser water 24 pack at $2.99. Maybe 2. This is an excellent price. We don't drink bottled water anymore so I grab one or two for our food storage every time it is on sale this low. I also love it when the shredded cheese is 3/$5. Remember you must take your ad that you received in your mailbox to take advantage of these coupons. I have forgotten mine before and the ads in the store don't usually have these coupons on the front of them. Ralphs does, but I haven't had any luck with Albertsons having them. Don't forget to swipe your Albertsons card. If you don't have one it is very easy, just a sign up.

If you have Pillsbury Manufactured coupons you can get the grands rolls which are 10 for $10 for $.85 each depending on how many you have. Something important to note on the 10/$10 sales: most of the time on these sales you don't have to get 10 of the item. The register is set to ring up at the sale price. This week will probably be no different, however you have to follow the rules on the coupon to get the free eggs. So if you want those you must get 10 this week.

The "Frugal Mommy" blog has some more of the sale items listed on her blog if you need further assistance this week.

Amber

Sunday Coupons on Easter

Just a note, there will be no coupons in the paper this Sunday. I know, I might have just ruined you day, but I am sure there will still be deals to be found :)

Hot Tip 4/8/09 - Pyrex

http://www.shopworldkitchen.com/


Amethyst 9" x 13" Baking Dish - reg $9.99 now $1.99

Amethyst 3-qt Oblong Plastic Cover - reg $2.99 now $0.99

Amethyst 8" Square Brownie / Cake Dish - reg $7.99 now $1.99

coupon code A20350 - 20% off

The offer is posted on the front page.

Pringles

20 cans of Pringles $.38 each = $7.60

I got extremely lucky with this deal as I should have only been able to get 10 cans. Regular pringles are on sale this week at CVS for $.88 a can. I had 5 $1/2 MC's for regular and 5 $1/2 MC's for fat free. The CVS I went to on Los Alamos only had fat free ones and when I asked a lady if there were any more regular ones in the back she said no, but she would discount the fat free ones from $2.99 to the $.88 for me. Great, because I wasn't going to be able to use the fat free MC's for the sale!! So I got 8 fat free ones there. I decided to cut across and take HW 79 home and there was a CVS right before the turn to go home. We ran in there and they are still fully stocked. I got 12 cans of regular Pringles. I used 5 of the coupons and then asked the cashier if she thought I could use my last fat free one for regular. She took it and let me use it.

Now I know what you are thinking...Amber, what do you need 20 cans of Pringles for? Well, it's that whole stocking up idea. My kids love Pringles. When we go to Winco they get to pick out one can a piece if they are $1. If they are any more than that they don't get them on that trip. So why not hide these in the closet for their special treat for months to come? Why not pay $.38 a can instead of the normal $1.00. These are $1.50 a can at Wal-Mart right now and the CVS regular price is $1.79.

It's always so funny the looks you will get from people when you do these stocking up sales. There were two guys behind me and they said, wow you guys must really like Pringles. I told them, yes for $.38 a can we LOVE them. They said what???, how do you do that? I told them about the deal and they were wishing they had my coupons. Always fun to impress :)

Thanks to my friend "menjiness" for the Vitamin Water post. She likes to speak in code in her blogging for privacy. I invited her to join our blog yesterday as she is a way better savvy shopper than I. Stay tuned on how I got 20 cans of Pringles for $.38 each today! And, I just got my Albertsons ad and am going crazy over the doublers on the back. (You can double store coupons with your Manufacturer coupons, did you know that?) Hopefully I can get some deals together for tomorrow and maybe find some more ideas from Frugal Mommy who I found yesterday. She is a fellow So Cal Albertsons shopper which was hard to find. Albertsons ads are different across the country so I am hoping ours match up with hers, depending on the area she is in they might. A shout out to her, thanks for the great Albertsons cereal deals! And, I forgot to tell you on my comment Frugal Mommy I am so sorry that your Albertsons checkers are stinkers. We have been blessed here to have wonderful checkers. Hopefully yours will get better!! It's sad that you have to drive instead of going to the one you can walk to!!

Vitamin Water Tip

This last sunday was a 1.00 off coupon for Vitamin Water. Right now they are 10/10.00 at Target and Walmart. This makes it free!

My Favorite Target Deal this week

This is a perfect example of why to buy more than one Sunday paper. Gilette shaving gel is on sale at Target this week $1.89 and the paper had a $1 off coupon in one of the inserts. Degree was on clearance for $1.97 and I had the $1 coupon. Total = $4.53

Three pack sample of diapers

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2009/04/free-threepack-sample-of-huggies-pure-and-natural-diapers.html

The $800 a year budget lady

I would LOVE to be like this lady. She has a store called Randalls and it sounds like a couponing person's dream. She said that stores she shops at doubles coupons up to 50 cents and triples up to 39 cents. She also has no sales tax. Take a minute to read her section at the top of her blog that says "About my $800."

http://jane4girls800dollarannualbudget.blogspot.com/

Sales Cycle Flyer
January

Quaker offers hot deals.Pepsi & Tostitos go on sale in mid-January.Chili, comfort foods and warm dishes go on sale.Post-holiday sales.White sales.Sports and weight loss equipment.Computers.Winter apparel and accessories.Organizers, Rubbermaid totes, shelf organizers, planners, filing cabinets, etc.

February

Many of the same food items as January are still on sale.Electronics.Floor coverings.Housewares.Furniture.Candy and chocolates.

March

Frozen food month.Spring cleaning items.Easter, so eggs and ham go on sale.Kraft products.Paper towels, napkins and plates.Beverages items.Spring apparel and accessories.Winter sports equipment.Gardening supplies.Luggage.

April

Spring apparel and accessories. Coats and hats.Paint and wallpaper.

May

Loads of deals on BBQ sauce, condiments, frozen veggies, baked beans, condiments and meats for the grill.White sales.Auto maintenance.Home maintenance.Sodas and bottled beverages.Bug repellents and sunscreens.

June

Summer apparel and accessories.Pianos.TVs.Building materials and hardware.Dairy products.

July

Air conditioners.Summer sports equipment.Sportswear.Craft supplies.Sodas, hot dogs, hamburger, condiments and other BBQ items.Loss leader school supplies start now through the end of August.

August

White sales.BBQs and patio equipment.Back to school supplies.Bathing suits.Fresh fish.Vegetables.Breakfast foods such as cereal, juice, waffles, etc.Cold lunch items for lunch boxes.Prego coupons at the end of August for price wars next month.

September

Lunch box foods and snacks such as pudding cups, Capri Suns, fruit snacks, peanut butter, jelly, etc.Lunchables.Sauce wars between Prego and Ragu.Use Campbell's Soup coupons from the end of August.Back to school supplies and apparel.Gardening supplies.Housewares.Bicycles.Canned goods.

October

Holiday foods like Stove Top, turkey, instant mashed potatoes, broth, cranberries, marshmallows, pie shells, etc.Kraft deals abound.Cars.Fishing equipment.Crystal silver and glassware.Candy.Baking and candy making items such as chocolate chips, sprinkles, vanilla, etc.

November

Winter apparel and accessories.Quilts and blankets.Heating devices.Turkey.Sweet potatoes.Canned goods.Baking goods.

December

Toys.Gifts items.Party ware.Post-holiday sales.Party foods.Baking items.Various holiday meats.Canned goods.

Southern Savers Blog

Southern Savers is my favorite blog to check after getting all the ads out of the Sunday paper. She matches up all your coupons to the deals for Walgreens and CVS. She does a few more stores, but I am not familiar with them.

Match up your coupons this week to get deals at these stores. She has a section called "Working Walgreens" every week that tells you how to get a few things for free.

http://www.southernsavers.com/

Welcome to the Menifee Thrifty Mom's Club

Hi Ladies!! Emily beat me to making the first post on our blog. After talking to her on Tuesday night I think she should have been put in charge. She taught me a few things on the blog and showed me several sites for saving!!

I gave the login information for this blog to the gals who were at the meeting on Tuesday night. Scratch that. Emily taught me a better way. She taught me a way that will allow several people to be working on the group blog at the same time. I was worried that if one person was logged in at their house to the group blog and another person tried to log on they might not be able to. So I will send in invite to your email to be a contributor on this blog. If you already have a blog through blogspot when you sign up to be a contributor our group blog will show up on your dashboard under your personal blog. If you don't have a blog all you have to do is sign up to be a contributor to our blog through the invite I send you. You don't have to have a blog of your own to be a contributor. If all of this blogging stuff stresses you out :) then please feel free to just send an email to the menifeethriftymomsclub@yahoo.com and I will forward it to the group. If I don't send your email out I might not be receiving it. I have tried to forward emails from my verizon address to the yahoo one and it is not receiving it. If you think I might not be receiving your emails then please email me at trentamber23@verizon.net. I have a feeling that it is going to take some time to get all the kinks out and get everyone on the same page, but we will get there.

On Tuesday night at our first meeting we barely scratched the surface on learning where to get coupons and how to use them. I played a few podcasts which I will post here for those of you who were not able to make it. These types of sites are really going to be beneficial in you learning how to get your best deals. Sharing sites and deals is really going to be the best way for us to save $$.

One thing I forgot to talk about was where to put your $$ for your monthly budget. If you have ever listened to Dave Ramsey (TV financial personality) he talks about the envelope system. He takes his money out in cash monthly and puts it in envelopes with labels on them. Groceries, clothes, entertainment, etc. We used to do this before we had ever heard of him and it made me nervous having that cash around the house. Shortly after we stopped our home was robbed. Luckily we didn't have our monthly money in cash at home. After that I quit doing the envelope system. What I do now is similar though. I was having a difficult time knowing what I had left for gas and groceries because that money was mixed in with our other monthly funds. I went down to our bank and opened a seperate account with a seperate debit card and every month I transfer our funds for groceries and gas to that account. This way I know how much I have and when it is gone it is gone. Just an idea to help you save money because you will not overspend on your grocery bill if you know your budgeted money is gone for the month.

The most important thing we talked about was getting the Sunday paper. I am not sure how you gals want to get yours, it is up to you. You can either go to the newsstand on Sunday mornings and drop your quarters in or you can have the LA times weekends only edition delivered to you. I would strongly suggest getting it at the newsstand your first few weeks to see if couponing is for you. You don't want to spend the money for a yearly subscription only to learn 4 weeks down the road that this really isn't fun for you and then feel like you have wasted your money. If you already subscribe to the Press Enterprise Tansy shared that if you don't want to receive it all week you can call and ask to get weekends only for a discount and if they won't do it tell them you are going to cancel and they probably will do it for you. The best savings are by getting the weekly inserts from the Sunday paper. If you don't get a paper you will most likely not benefit very much from this group. There are several places online to print coupons, but most times to get the best deals you will need coupons from the Red Plum, Smart Source and P & G saver.

Melissa Pearson aka The Savings Queen is in my friends ward in Texas. She is very good at saving and one month after starting their savings club a gal in their ward saved $300 on her monthly grocery bill.

http://www.thewinonline.com/shows/thesavingsqueenshow.html

On Tuesday night we listened to "Coupon Resources" and "You want to save big with coupons." I would highly recommend listening to all of her podcasts. They all can be very beneficial.

Some things to remember when starting to coupon are to take baby steps. You are most likely not going to save hundreds of dollars your first time out. The first month that I started just shopping ads and buying mainly the items we use when they are on sale I ended up spending a little more than normal when stocking up. (The idea is to only buy things on sale and stock up on them until they are on sale again.) The second month that I only shopped sales I saved $200 on my monthly grocery bill. There are women out there who are savings hundreds a month and thousands a year by ONLY buying things on sale. I am not to that point and don't know if I ever will be. It just depends on how much time you have to spend on getting organized. I can guarantee you though if you have just 30-45 minutes a week to clip coupons from the Sunday paper and match them up to store ad sales, you WILL save something. When I started I would save $10-$20 on my monthly Wal-Mart run. In learning to shop the drugstore ads (Walgreen) I don't even have to buy my hygiene products at Wal-Mart anymore because I get them anywhere from $1-Free at Walgreens now. I think it's my new favorite spot! I am definitely not an expert like these ladies online so we will learn together.

Don't get frustrated if the first few times you use coupons you don't do it right or you don't get the maximum savings. It is a learning process. Just like anything new, you WILL get better with practice. I have been couponing for 3 years and have just recently figured out how people get things for free. You will get there. It definitely takes organization and lots of PATIENCE.

Take some time to search through the blogs I have listed to the right side of our blog. There are some definite SUPER SAVERS here and great resources. A lot of times the deals on these blogs are the same so pick your favorite 2-3 to check daily. We cannot take advantage of EVERY deal out there so I suggest choosing 1-2 stores weekly and hit their sales. My two are Albertsons and Walgreens, yours will most likely be different. For all you Ralph's shoppers they double coupons. This means that if your coupon is for 50 cents, it is worth $1 when you use it there.

This is about all I have time for today, but MUCH MORE to come!! Amber

Good or Free Deals & 20% off coupon at JoAnn's

I reposted some good deals found at a really neat blog call Good or Free Deals. It's awesome. Just click on this button to check them out.

I just found this 20% off PRINTABLE coupon for your ENTIRE purchase at Your Coupon Buddy. I never knew you could use TWO coupons per transaction, as long as the coupons are coded different, at JoAnn's!!! Where have I been?? They currently have a coupon in there ad for 40% off a single item. So when you combine both coupons you can get 60% off one item, plus the 20% off the other items you buy!! SWEET! Coupon is Valid from April Friday the 3rd-Sunday 5th 2009 Click HERE to find a Joann's near you!

FREE Sample of Glad

Get a FREE sample of GLAD ForceFlex Tall Kitchen Garbage Bags. Limit one sample per household. You NOT need to be a Sam's Club member to snag this sample. Just follow the highlighted link.

Getting Started: Organizing Coupons& The Insert Schedule

Hi Everyone,

Here is a link to a website that might be useful as you start collecting your coupons. http://www.savvyshopperdeals.com/ Watch the tutorials for ideas on how to create an organized binder.

I was hunting around and found the schedule of the coupons in the paper on the Southern Savers website. It looks like this Sunday is a great day to get started with lots of inserts.

2009 Coupon Inserts Schedule

April
5 — 2 Smart Source & 2 Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
12 — No Inserts
19 — Smart Source & Red Plum
26 — Smart Source & Red Plum

May
3 — Smart Source & Red Plum
10 –Smart Source & Red Plum
17 — 2 Smart Source and 1 Red Plum
24 — No Inserts scheduled
31 — Smart Source & Red Plum

June
7 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
14 — Smart Source Only
21 — Smart Source & Red Plum
28 — Smart Source & Red Plum

July
5 — Procter and Gamble only
12 — Smart Source & Red Plum
19 — Smart Source Only
26 — Smart Source & Red Plum

August
2 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
9 — Smart Source & Red Plum
16 — Smart Source & Red Plum
23 — Smart Source & Red Plum
30 — Smart Source & Red Plum

September
6 — No SS or RP Inserts -
Labor Day One Procter and Gamble
13 — 1 Smart Source & 2 Red Plum
20 — Smart Source & Red Plum
27 — Smart Source & Red Plum

October
4 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
11 — Smart Source & Red Plum
18 — Smart Source & Red Plum
25 — Smart Source & Red Plum

November
1 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
8 — Smart Source & Red Plum
15 — Smart Source & Red Plum22 — Smart Source Only
29 — No Inserts scheduled

December
6 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
13 — Smart Source & Red Plum
20 — No Inserts scheduled
27 — No Inserts scheduled