This is How We Do

We had a great Memorial Day weekend! On Monday we washed both of our vehicles and we even vacuumed and cleaned out the inside! It's amazing how much dirt and random things you can find if you only clean out your car once a year like us! After being productive, we decided to go on a date! We went to see Hang Over Part 2, it was not a good movie, thankfully we used 2 of our $3 off coupons from M&Ms so it was $9 for the 2 of us to see it. I'm not hard to please when it comes to movies, especially funny, stupid movies, but man it was not worth spending even $9 to see it. After the movie we walked around, spending most of our time at Home Goods! We walked to all the stores and with the 90 degree weather we were hot! I let N pick the restaurant for dinner and he picked TGI Fridays. We don't eat there often so I was a little hesitant, but it was the best decision of the day! They have a deal where you get a 3 course meal for $12.99! I did the 3 course meal and N got a chicken sandwich with fries. I had a $5 off coupon when you spend $15 so altogether our bill was $17 before tip. Not bad for a huge, delicious dinner! By far the best part was dessert, vanilla bean cheesecake! Yeah I wasn't going to let my dairy allergy stop me from delighting in that goodness! After eating 3,457 calories a piece at dinner, we drove across the street to Target and Lowe's! I managed to score some decent deals at Target. I got 6 bottles of deodorant for $3.07 (including tax) an average of 51 cents each. I also got a pack of 100 multivitamins for $3.

The moral of the story is - I don't take a break from saving, even on holidays. And save your money by not seeing Hangover Part 2.

In other news, I scored some great deals at Food Lion today! I got 6 stocks of corn, 2 cartons of ice cream, a bottle of All unscented laundry detergent, and a bag of Tostitos all for $6.35, including tax! Here's the breakdown: Corn on sale 6 for $1, Breyers Blast ice cream on sale for $1.99 each - $1.50 off 2 = $2.48 for 2, All laundry detergent on sale for $2.99 - $1 off coupon = $1.99, Tostitos on sale for $2.50 - $1 off manufacture coupon - $1 off Food Lion coupon = 50 cents!

Goal for June is to save money by only having to buy meat, fruit, breakfast foods, and perishable items. We'll see if I'm able to stay away from the temptation of using coupons for items we already have plenty of. 

Stacking Coupons = Maximum Savings!

On Friday I was able to snag up some deals at Target.

Here's how I stacked coupons to save the most money -

• 3 Greeting Cards $3.97 - $1 off Target coupon - $1 off American Greeting coupon = $1.97 for 3 cards 
• Breyers Blast Ice Cream on sale for $2.99 - $1.50 off 2 Target coupon - $1.50 off 2 manufacture coupon = $2.98 for 2 cartons of ice cream! 
• 80/20 Ground Chunk Beef on sale for $2.49 - $1 off peel-off coupon = $1.49 
• Kraft Sliced Cheese on sale for $2.45 - $1 off 2 Target coupon - $1 off manufacture coupon (I used 1 per pack) = $1.90 per pack or 95 cents each! 
• Crystal Light drink mix packets on sale for $1.97 - $1 off 3 Target coupon - B2GO manufacture coupon ($1.97 off) = $2.94 for 3 or 98 cents each! 
• Stride 5 Gum $1.27 each - $1 off 2 Target coupon - $1 off 2 manufacture coupon = 54 cents for 2 packs of gum! 

For this trip I actually saved more than I spent! Finding items on sale and stacking coupons can make buying groceries on a budget possible! 

The Sweet Taste of Savings!

Just today alone I managed to save $29.88 on groceries! I hit up triple coupons one last time and I also stacked some coupons at Target to get some great deals!

Here is the breakdown of my trips today -

At HT I saved $16.13, spent $4.87 for 8 items.
* Best deal -  Betty Crocker Cake Mix and Frosting for 31 cents!
The exciting thing for me is when I buy things for my hubby that I know he will use. Just in this week alone with triple coupons I managed to buy him 3 cans of shaving gel and 1 deodorant for him and it only cost me $2.52 for all 4 things!

At Target I saved  $13.75, spent $15.29 for 10 items.
*Best deal - 2 boxes of Ore Ida French Fries for 34 cents! 
I managed to find a sweet deal on Breyers Ice Cream. Target has it on sale for $2.99 this week, I used a $2 off 2 store coupon plus a $75 off 2 manufacture coupon. So it was $3.73 for 2 cartons of ice cream. Then I also scored a box of Magnum Ice Cream bars for $1.29 after two $1 off coupons. Stacking store coupons with  manufacture coupons is the way to save at Target!

I have 2 tips to share with you -

1.  If a coupon's bar code starts with a 5 then it will still double or triple. If a coupon's bar code starts with a 9 or 0 then it will NOT double or triple.Most people are surprised when I tell them that coupons still double or triple even if they say not to. The bar code will scan and automatically double or triple if it starts with a 5.
2. Stores are starting to reward go green. Target will take 5 cents off your order every time you bring your own re-useable bag for your goodies! Kroger will give you 10 points every time you bring your own recyclable, re-useable bag for your groceries! I wish I had known about these incentives a long time ago! I keep my recycle bags in my car so every time I go to one of these stores I just bring the bag in the store with me. It's also nice not having a stockpile of plastic bags laying around!

If you've learned anything from reading this post, please share!

More Triple Savings

We just got back from our 2nd triple coupon trip! We got $59.44 worth of groceries and we only paid $10.91!!! The best savings this trip was realizing we only paid $3.81 for 4 boxes of cereal!

Here is the break down of the deals we got -

Planter's Nutrition Bars $3.49 - $2.25 = $1.24 each
Butterball Turkey Bacon $3.49 - $1.95 = $1.54 each
Betty Crocker Supreme Bars $2.99 - $1.50 = $1.49
Eggo Fiber Plus Waffles $3.29 - $2.25 = $1.04
Lipton Tea 16 ct. Family Size Bags $1.29 -  $1.20 = .09
Smucker's Jam $2 - $1.65 = .35
Edge Shaving Cream $2.39 - $1.65 = .74
Chinet Dessert Plates $1.84 - $1.65 = .14
Knorr Pasta Sides $1 each - $1.50 off 2 = .50 for 2
Pampers 72 count Wipes $3.29 - $1.50 -.50 Digital coupon = $1.29
M&Ms $.99 - $2.25 off 2 = FREE
Kraft Salad Dressing $1.50 each - $1.65 = FREE
General Mills Cereal - Deal was $4 off when you buy 4 select GM Cereals

Here's the breakdown with the $4 off factored into the prices -

Honey Nut Cheerios $2.69 - $1.65 - .55 Digital coupon = .49
Cinnamon Toast Crunch $1.99 + Golden Grahams $1.79 X 2 = $3.58 - .75 Digital coupon - $1.50  off 3 = $3.32
*That's an average of $.95 per box! 

We used a $5 Register Reward from Walgreens so I look at as we got 1 Planter's Nutrition Bar, 1 pack of Butterball Turkey Bacon, Betty Crocker Supreme Bars, Eggo Fiber Plus Waffles, Lipton Tea 16 ct. Family Size Bags, Smucker's Jam, Edge Shaving Cream all for free! That's right, all those items add up to exactly $5 after coupons so with the RR they were free! We bought 21 items for only $10.91, that's an average of 52 cents per item!

I am extremely pleased with our savings this trip! From our 2 triple coupon trips we got $169.30 worth of groceries for only $46.76! That's 73.3% overall savings!

Savings to Date

Today I took on the challenge of calculating how much we have saved this month and how much we've saved since January just by using coupons. 

Here's what our figures are -

We spent $147.53
We saved $248.91
We took home 135 items and went to 1 movie
Average per item $1.03
Overall average of 59.3% savings!

I am not extremely thrilled with these results. My goal moving forward is to more picky about what sales I take advantage of and to stick with our monthly grocery budget. Our budget is $200 in groceries every month and in April we went over by a few dollars so my goal for this month is to not go over! Since we have a stockpile on things on hand, we will only have to buy meat and produce next month so just by not having to buy much groceries next month we will save money!  

Since January we have saved a grand total of $889.14 and that does not include how much we've saved when using coupons to eat out. My guess is we've saved another $30 when using coupons when we've eaten out at restaurants. It's neat to look at the break down of each month. I will say that I have gotten better at savings with sales and coupons since January, in fact this month has been my highest savings yet!

How much have you saved this month?

Triple Savings!

We got through our first ever triple coupon event at Harris Teeter. We walked out with $109.86 worth of groceries and we only paid $35.85, which is a total savings of 67%! I left with $74.01 still in my pocket! I won't go into detail on everything we bought, because I can't remember all the prices, but I will share the prices and deals for items I had written down on my list prior to my trip.

Welch's Concord Grape Jelly 32 oz. $2.69 - $1.65 = $1.04 each
Jolly Time Popcorn $2.79 - $1.50 = $1.29 each
Always Dri-Liners 50 count $2.50 - $1.50 - 50 cents digital coupon = 50 cents!
Mazola Cooking Spray $2.59 - $1.50 = $1.09
Keebler Ready Crust $1.50 each - $1.50 off 2 = $1.50 for 2
Special K Crackers $2.49 - $1.50 = 99 cents!
Best Life Butter Spread $2.59 - $1.50 = $1.09
Sara Lee Pound Cake $4.15 - $2.25 = $1.90
Jimmy Dean Breakfast Bowl $2.89 - $1.65 = $1.24
Trop50 Lemonade $1.99 - $1.50 = 49 cents!
Stovetop Stuffing $2 - $1.50 = 50 cents!
Bagelfuls $2.85 - $1.65 = $1.20
Cologate Toothpaste $2.99 - $2.25 = 74 cents!
Ortega Taco Seasoning 99 cents - $1.50 off 2 = 48 cents for 2
Old El Paso Taco Seasoning $1 each - $1.80 off 3 = $1.20 for 3 packs!
Mueller's Pasta Noodles $1 each - $1 off = FREE!
Ortega Taco Seasoning 99 cents - $1 off = FREE!  

The greatest thing about the items we got is that with the last Super Doubles we got 6 boxes of taco shells and now with this Triple coupon trip we got 6 packs of taco seasoning to go with our tacos! We eat tacos once a week so having 6 taco kits on hand means we won't have to buy tacos for 6 weeks! The other great thing is we needed breakfast food and with this trip we were able to get Bagelfuls for $1.20 and the Jimmy Dean Breakfast Bowl for $1.24 so that will last us a week.

My savings tip for this week is use digital coupons and stack them with manufacture coupons to maximize your savings! Harris Teeter and Kroger both offer digital coupons now. All you have to do is go on their website and sign up! If you already have their loyalty card then you're half way there! For HT you just sign up to become an eVic member and then on every Wednesday you'll receive an email with their specials for that week and you just click on the link in that email to load your card with digital coupons. Digital coupons do not double or triple and you can only buy the product one time to get the savings and then you have to load the coupon again, if it's 1 that will allow you to re-load onto your card. Since the digital coupon program is new, I would highly recommend printing out the list of what's on your card and then pay attention at the register and on your receipt to make sure you got your digital coupons taken off. If you didn't then go talk to customer service and show them your list of coupons loaded onto your card. They should give you a gift card or cash for the amount you should have saved.

If you have any tips or questions, please share them in the comments! 

N.T.'s Long Over Due Update

N. here.

I'm long over due for an update/entry into this blog. But truth be told not much out of the ordinary has been happening to me. But here is a very quick update. The small 70 person company I was working for got acquired by a huge 70,000 person company so we spent 2 months at our old site, then spent 2 weeks packing equipment, then after the moved we spent another 2 weeks unpacking and setting up equipment. So I was busy and extra tired those weeks. The move has doubled my commute and causes my wife and I to no longer carpool on the days we work. We're adjusting to this change, and fortunately my manager will allow me to work from home a day a week, so that will help.

I've been spending a lot of time in our backyard tearing down an old shed. The previous owners had a nice 10x12 shed in the back yard, unfortunately it was not properly waterproofed and taken care of. So there were rotted holes in the roof and rotted/termite damaged wood around the floor. So it had to come down, and not to mention by taking it down I'm hoping to fly my Ultra Micros in the backyard. This task proved to be more daunting than expected. Long story short: the roof didn't want to come down with only one corner and 3 walls weakened/missing and it's slow going pulling all the shingles and plywood for the roof off b/c nails are rusted and parts of the wood is rotted. I found an old mud dobber's nest in the shed that has to be the biggest mud dobber's nest I've seen. It was literally 1.5 times the size of my fist. Since it's old wood and I'm a boy (as my wife says) I like to burn things. So I've burned some of the wood, a big sheet of plywood goes up in a huge ball of fire! And I learned tar paper burns really well (excellent fire starter source) but gives off a huge cloud of black smoke. So I have to not burn that so much.

Model aviation wise, not much has been happening. I discovered a broken motor mount screw the last time out. Got that replaced recently, but discovered the gasket between the muffler and engine was broken. So that is next to be replaced. I acquired a new battery pack and charger for my largest plane. This week I've been cycling the pack to get going. Almost there, but still got some ways to go. I'm itching to get this plane running and in the air again, but I need to do it right to prevent problems.

Well, that's it until the next time I'm bored or have something really interesting to blog about.