Saving Money on Projects in our Yard

So not only can you save money by using coupons, you can do your own yard work! Mowing the grass is 1 thing you can do yourself, but what about cutting down trees? Well we have a lot of trees to cut down in our yard. We have cut down 6 trees in our yard by ourselves and we still have at least 3 more to cut down.  We have also have ripped out Juniper brushes. We have even replaced our mailbox. All of these tasks have really improved the look and feel of our yard and it only costs us a few days of time and lots of sweat! We have saved at least $500 by doing all those projects ourselves.

Here are a few pictures of our latest adventures in the yard -

Learning to Save Big at Pharmacies

Shopping at pharmacies with coupons can be overwhelming and intimating. When I first heard about Register Rewards, Extra Care Bucks, and UP Rewards, I thought it was a crazy idea to spend money to get a store credit to buy more stuff. Why would you spend money to get back just a small portion of it in store credit? At first I didn't bother trying to learn because it seemed like a waste of time and coupons. If you've ever tried to buy food or health and beauty items at a pharmacy without coupons, you know how expensive things can be there! Well hopefully after reading this post you will know that there are major savings to be had if you learn all the tricks and tips to shopping with coupons at pharmacies.

Last week I looked online at the deals to be had and I made my list of sale prices and the coupons I had to go along with them. I always calculate the final prices and write them down before I go to the store. The reason I do this is because what may be a great deal to someone, may not be considered a great deal to me so rather than waste my time at going to the store, I calculate everything to determine if it's worth my time and energy.

Here are the deals I got last week -

At Rite Aid

Transaction #1:
Crest Scope Outlast toothpaste $2.69
- $1 off Manufacture coupon
$1.69 + get back $2.69 in UP Rewards

Transaction #2:
Ritz Crackers on sale for $1
Diet Coke 1.25 liters $1.59
- $1 off Manufacture coupon for Ritz crackers + Coke

Excedrin 20 - 24 count on sale for $1.99, get $1 in UP Rewards for 1
- 75 cents off Manufacture coupon
Used $2.69 UP Reward from 1st Transaction, paid 44 cents after tax! Got back $1 in UP Rewards

Transaction #3:
Stayfree Maxi Pads 16 - 24 count on sale 2 for $5, plus get $2 in UP Rewards when you buy 2
- $1 off Manufacture coupon
- B1G1 Manufacture coupon
- $1 UP Rewards from previous transaction
89 cents with tax! Got back $2 in UP Rewards

Transaction #4:
Pringles on sale 3 for $3.99
- $1 off 3 Manufacture coupon
- $2 UP Reward from previous transaction
$1.07 with tax!

Altogether I spent $4.30 for 1 tube of toothpaste, 1 box Ritz crackers, 1 Diet Coke, 24 count of Excedrin, 2 packs of Stayfree pads, and 3 cans of Pringles. Not bad for food, medicine, and toothpaste! And it only took me 3 minutes to check out and 30 minutes to put find everything in the store.

At CVS

Transaction #1:
Pantene Pro-V Shampoo or Conditioner 12.6 oz on sale 2 for $6.97
- $2 off 2 from Red Magic Coupon Kiosk
- $3 off 2 Manufacture Coupon
- $1 in Extra Care Bucks from previous week
$.97 + get back $2 in Extra Care Bucks
Total cost after $2 in ECB, FREE

Transaction #2:
Scott single roll of toilet paper on sale for $1
- $1 off Manufacture coupon = FREE

Finish Gel Pacs Dish washing detergent on sale for $2.99
- 75 cents off Manufacture coupon = $2.24
Total cost after using $2 ECB from 1st Transaction = 55 cents with tax! 

Altogether I spent a grand total of $2.06 for 2 bottles of shampoo, 1 roll of toilet paper, and 20 gels packs of dish washing detergent. Not too bad for 30 minutes of shopping!

I hope reading the details of these 2 shopping trips has taught you that couponing at pharmacies is possible. If you're new to couponing or just want to start shopping at pharmacies, check out each store's coupon policy on their website so you know the rules.

My tip for the week - At most stores you can use a B1G1 coupon with a cents off or dollars off coupon. The reason is you are allowed 1 Manufacture coupon per item. So for example, 1 of the deals above was for Stayfree pads, I used a B1G1 Manufacture coupon and a $1 off Manufacture coupon. Most people are surprised to learn this, but it's really awesome!

Super Doubles Adventure + Target Frustration

Super Double coupons is going on this week at Harris Teeter! I have not been super pleased with my 2 shopping trips so far mainly because I don't have any Register Rewards or Food Lion coupons to take off my bill like I did during the last super doubles. Anywho, the first trip I saved $78.30 and on my second trip I saved $55.49. So that means I took home $177.36 but I only paid $43.57! Wow now that I see the figures myself, I didn't do as bad as I thought I did.

Here is a list of a few things I got so if you have a HT in your area, maybe you can take advantages of some these deals this week -

Hefty Slider Storage Bags B1G1, ring up $1.45 each - $2 off 2 = 89 cents for 2
Shout Wipes to Go $2.69 - $2 off any Shout product = 69 cents
Cologate Advanced toothpaste $2.50 - $2 = 50 cents
Reach Floss $1.65 - $2 = FREE
Duncan Hines Chocolate Glaze $2.69 - $2 = 69 cents
Dove deodorant $2.50 - $1.50 = $1
Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs B1G1, ring up $1.99 each - $2 off 2 = $1.99 for 2
Smuckers Jelly $2.99 - $2 =99 cents
Hormel Kids Compleat $2 - $2 = FREE
Welch's Grape Jelly $1.79 - $1.50 = 29 cents
Hungry Jack syrup $1.99 - $2 = FREE

Here is a picture of my 2nd trip so you can see what great items you can get if you do super doubles this week -

All this for $15.71! A total of 23 items making it an average of 68 cents per item!








Now my Target trip, the shorter version of my adventure is I saved $34.55 and I spent $33.78 so just over 50% savings.

Here are some the great deals I got -

Johnson & Johnson travel first aid kit (love these) $.97 each - $1 off 2 Manufacture coupon = 94 cents for 2
Icy Hot Patch (in the travel section) $1.89 - $1 off any product Manufacture coupon = 89 cents
Benadryl Itch Relief Pen (much needed item for my allergies) $2.29 - $2 = 29 cents!
Newtons Cookies $3.29 - $1 off Manufacture coupon - $1 off store coupon = $1.29
Magnum Ice Cream Bars (so delicious!) $3.29 - $1 off Manufacture coupon - $1 store coupon = $1.29
Dove Shampoo $4.99 x 4 - $1.50 off 2 Manufacture coupon - $2 off 2 store coupon = $12.96 for 4 huge shampoo bottles + FREE $5 gift card when you buy 4 so it's really like getting 4 for $7.96!
Playtex Mealtime utensils $4.19 - $1 off Manufacture coupon - $1 off store coupon = $2.19
I also got some pretty sweet deals on meat! I got ground beef for $1.99 each because they are close to expiring and they want to sell them!

Here is a picture of my trip to Target -

I'm not going to go into all the drama and headaches I went through at Target, but I will say that I called customer service and I talked with a very friendly and helpful supervisor. They are mailing me 2, $3 off store coupons for anything in the store in lieu of all my troubles and not getting a $5 gift card like I was suppose to. I'll just say, word of advice - check your receipt before you the store and read up on their coupon policy and it would even be helpful to have their coupon policy with you because employees do not always know their own coupon policy.

Ending on a happy note - check this out, I went to Wal-Mart and I found several clearance aisles! I managed to find candy for $1 each! Well I had coupons to pair with these candies. Guess what??! I got 4 bags of candy for $1.31 after tax!

Tips for the week -

1. When you save money whether it's at the grocery store, at a restaurant, online shopping, etc. think of how you can use your savings. Can you treat yourself to dinner? Can you use it to pay off debt? Think of a creative way or fun way to put your savings to use! For us we use our coupon savings to pay off debt so just in this week alone, we can pay $168.34 MORE on 1 bill instead of spending it on groceries!

2. Savings money for yourself or your family is great, but think of others. Since I started couponing really heavily, I have been able to pick up some items for free after coupons so with those items I plan on putting them in our Operation Christmas Child boxes this year. I already have 6 bars of soap, 6 tissue packs, 1 toothbrush, and floss that I plan on putting in our boxes. You can find your own charity or organization you feel passionate about to donate items to. I know there have been some great pet food coupons in the paper lately and pet shelters would love donations!

This Past Weekend

Hey Friends! I have heard from several of you that you love our blog and enjoy reading about our savings, but yet I see no comments on our blog! I really want to hear from you - what do you like about our blog?, what ways have you found to save money?, what coupon questions do you have for me?, and anything else exciting you want to share!

This weekend we saved $59.90, 36 cents of that was refunded to us a day later because we got home and realized we were overcharged! It pays to pay attention to your receipt!

So here's a little bit of what we saved this weekend -

IHOP
I went to IHOP's website and I joined their Pancake Revolution. After joining I received an email with a coupon for a FREE Rooty Tooty Fresh N Fruity meal, a $6.99 value! So we went to IHOP for lunch and we saved $6.99 simply for joining their club. On my birthday and on N's birthday we'll receive the same coupon to go again!
*Total savings $6.99

Staples
I had printed out a $3 off your purchase coupon so I went in to buy paper towels, but quickly changed my plan when I saw they were $5.99 for 6 rolls. We have plenty of paper towels at the moment so I searched the aisles and sale paper to see what I could find for free! I scored some major free stuff! Here's what I got - Scotch Tape on sale for $1 - $1 Manufacture coupon = FREE, Scotch 2 pack stick glue $2 - $1 Manufacture coupon = $1, Wet Wipes $1 each - $1 off 2 Manufacture coupon = .50 each, and 8 pack of travel tissue for $1. Altogether I got 5 items for .22 cents, including tax!
*Total savings $6 

Kroger Gas 
Now until June 19th Kroger is doing a promotion where you get 4 times the points when you buy gift cards. So we bought 3 gift cards and earned 300 points which meant we were able to get .30 per gallon at the pump! We just bought gift cards for Father's Day and the third one was for us, a place we planned on shopping at anyway. You can get up to 35 gallons at the discounted price with your points so we filled up both cars and .30 per gallon saved us $6 in gas!
*Total savings $6


Target
I didn't do too well at Target this weekend. I managed to get 2 packs of Always for $3.50, they were on sale for $2.75 each - 2, .50 off coupons - $1 off 2 store coupon. I also got 2 packs of Kraft Shredded Cheese for $2.98, they were on sale for $2.49 - $1 off - $1 off 2 store coupon. Hershey's Bliss was on clearance for $1.98 - $1 off Manufacture coupon = .98 and they're so yummy!
*Total savings $13.50

I went to Target again yesterday to relieve some stress! I wasn't really planning on buying anything, but then I realized that saving money makes me happy so I pulled out my coupons and I had a great time! I spent $13.05 for 2 jars of hot fudge, a pack of bandages, Crystal Light drink mix, 3 cans of Pringles, 2 packs of paper towels, and a 6 pack of dress shorts. I saved a total of $21.80, over 50% savings! 

Lowe's Foods
I found Nightquil on clearance for $2.46 and I had $1 off Manufacture coupon so it was $1.46 for Nightquil that doesn't expire until 2013! I also found Hormel Compleats for $2 on sale - $1.50 (.75 coupon doubled) = .50 each! We also bought some meat that was on sale - Sanderson Farm Chicken .99 lb, Pot Roast $1.49 lb, Chicken Patties $3, and Chicken Nuggets $3. I used a Food Lion coupon for $3 off $25 or more so basically we got a pack of chicken for free!
*Total savings $25.50 

My tips for the week -
1) Don't be too proud to shop at garage sales or thrift stores! I've been able to buy Golden Books for 25 cents each and VHS tapes for 50 cents each at a thrift store near our house. I have even found brand new stuff at garage sales for really great prices!
2) Pay attention to your receipt before you leave the store! Unfortunately this weekend at Target, N had put the receipt in his wallet so I didn't look at it in detail until we got home. I realized they overcharged us so N went back to the store on his way home the next day and got the difference refunded to us. Yesterday I checked my receipt at Target and I realized my 2 jars of hot fudge rang up wrong so I went to customer service and got back $1.50. Stores and computers are not perfect so don't be shy about checking to make sure everything rung up right and the total is correct.

Thanks for reading! Post your thoughts in the comment section!

On Sale Trap

This past week I exercised a lot of self-control. I'm proud to say that I only bought a few things and most of them were a few cents or free! I think I am on my way to our savings plan this month of not buying as many groceries as last month.

Here the deals I got this past week -

Wal-Mart
Carefree pantyliners  .94 - $1 off coupon = .06 credit
Ivory Bar Soap 3 pack  .97 - $1 off coupon = .03 credit
* Coupons at Wal-Mart do not automatically adjust to the retail price so you can make money by buying items that are on sale, clearance, close-outs, or great buys with coupons and walk away with cash or with money off the rest of your order. 

Harris Teeter
Ragu Pasta Sauce $2.79 B1G1 - $1.25 off 3 = 97 cents each
HT 18 Large Eggs $1.57 eVic member price

Lowe's Foods
Steamfresh Vegetables .97 with in-store ad coupon - .35 coupon doubled to .70 off = .28 after tax!

Target
Pringles $2.51 - $1 off 3 - $1 off 3 Target coupon = $2.58 for 3 after tax!

Kerr Drug
2 liter Pepsi products on sale for .99 - $1 off 2 = .50 cents each!

CVS
M&Ms on sale for .50 each - .75 off 2 =  .25 for 2 bags! Plus I got $1 in Extra Care bucks!
Used my $1 ECB to get a bag of Hershey's Bliss, on sale for $3 - $1 off coupon - $1 ECB = $1. 

I spent very little money and time finding these deals. Since we have a stockpile of groceries at the moment, it feels really good to know that I can take a week off from buying lots of food and not go hungry! We still have plenty of spaghetti noddles and taco shells to have for dinner!

My tip for this week is know your prices. What is marked as "on sale" is not always a great buy. For instance, Harris Teeter had Hillshire Farm lunch meat "on sale" for 3 for $7 during triple coupons. Well since that's a lunch meat we buy on a regular basis, I know that it's $3-$3.12 at Wal-Mart everyday before a coupon. So I took 1 look at my $1 off coupon and realized that even getting it on sale and with my coupon, I would still pay $2.50 while I could get the same lunch meat at Wal-Mart with my coupon for $2 or $2.12. Another thing to watch out for candy is typically way overpriced at pharmacies so even if you have a coupon, you could potentially be paying more than the regular, everyday price that other stores offer.

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!