Confessions

I really want Baby Turner to be a BOY!! I know that I have no control over whether baby is a boy or girl, but my heart really wants it to be a boy! If Baby Turner is a girl then God is going to have to change my heart and change it quick because we only have 5-6 more weeks before we find out the gender! So since I really want a boy first, my 2nd confession is that yesterday I bought Baby Turner an airplane crib set. In my defense I was not looking to buy a crib set. Since N flies remote controlled airplanes I periodically type in "airplane" in the search bar on Craiglist so when I typed in "airplane" on Tuesday night I saw this post for an airplane crib set. Of course I was curious so I clicked on it. I was pleasantly surprised to see an airplane crib set I had never seen before. We had already picked out an airplane crib set we liked at Wal-mart but this one was cuter and more adolescent looking and not baby-ish like the one we had picked out. And to make it even better, I could not beat the price! Here's what I got - 1 bumper, 1 bed skirt, 1 fitted sheet, 1 blanket, 1 mobile, 3 extra fitted sheets, waterproof mattress cover, and 3 receiving blankets are for $25! There's 1 sheet that I don't like because it doesn't match the set and another sheet is girly looking so I will have find a purpose for those, but I still have 2 fitted sheets to use. Everything was in great shape! The lady said she never used the bumper or blanket because she was afraid of SIDS and I can tell they weren't used, they look brand new! So if Baby Turner is not a boy then we'll still save this set in hopes of baby 2 being a boy. Now that you've heard my thinking and rational behind getting this set, tell me what you think of it!

Our Life is Changing!

We are expecting our first child in April! Back in March during our 1 year anniversary trip we talked about when we would want to start trying to have a baby. We decided that getting pregnant in August, September, October time frame would be perfect so I could avoid being pregnant in the summer months. Well God's timing is perfect and He's in charge - we were only in our 2nd month, SECOND month of trying when I took an at-home pregnancy test and it was positive! I took the test at home on August 6th and then the week that followed I had a positive test at my OB's office. Every since then life has not been the same! We feel truly blessed to have gotten pregnant so quickly and when we wanted. The first few weeks we were in shock, it's still unbelievable at times to think it took less than 2 months to get pregnant!

We made it to 12 weeks!!! As of yesterday I am 12 weeks pregnant! 2nd trimester here we come! I have not had any morning sickness, no nausea, no cramps, and no spotting! I feel normal aside from having to pee more often, sleeping more, and eating more at times. At 10 weeks I think I felt the baby move. It's hard to tell since I've never been pregnant, but it was around 9:30 and I was laying in bed and just felt a flutter. It was a feeling I have never experienced before. Since then I feel flutters a lot mostly in the morning or late a night. Our next appointment is this Thursday, but it's only with the nurse so I'm going into it not expecting to find out much like the heartbeat, measurements, etc. Then the following week we get to the see the doctor and I'll have a full body exam done, which will be fun - NOT! I'm hoping we'll get to know the heartbeat or better yet have an ultrasound done which would make the exam worth all the pain.

Preparing for Baby Turner - we already have a TON of stuff! We have several packs of diapers that I've bought along the way with couponing. We have quite a collection of books - Dr. Seuss, Golden Books, and Disney stories. We also have some kid movies - Veggie Tales, Baby Einstein, and Disney. Our plan is not to buy anything until after all the showers. We realize that we may have to buy some of the expensive items but we're hoping to get some gift cards that we help with the cost.

Before Baby Turner gets here - We just had our fireplace cleaned and capped. We plan on getting estimates for tree removal and getting 3 trees removed which will be expensive! We put vent flow directors on all the vents downstairs in hopes of keeping our house warmer this winter. We are enjoying time together and continue to make our marriage top priority. We know that once Baby Turner is here we will focus all of time and energy on him or her and spend less time on each other. We will still go out and spend time together we just realize it won't be the same. Right now we can be selfish and go out whenever we want, stay out as long as we want, and do whatever we want without having to think about finding a sitter, when baby will wake up, and how often baby will cry while we're gone. Yesterday we went out on a date. We saw Courageous and we went out to dinner. We only spent $18.50 on dinner and a movie!!! Yes, I still use coupons! Going out doesn't have to expensive. We had a lot of fun. The movie was really good! We both cried! And dinner was fun, we flirted with each other from across the table. I spun an unwrapped straw on the table acting like it was spin the bottle, it was fun!

Less Than $1 per item

Didn't do too bad at super doubles this week. I managed to take home $211.42 worth of groceries for only $60.14. This was not accomplished in 1 trip that would be impossible since you can only just 20 coupons per day. I feel like I've done better during other super double weeks. I did manage to spend less than $1 per item so knowing that makes it better. The best deal I got was 4 boxes of Fiber Plus cereal for $2.78, that's 69 cents a box! I also managed to score 2 cans of shave gel for free, Soft Scrub bathroom cleaner for free, Fiber Plus bars for free, 4 packs of Taco seasoning for free, and several things for 50 cents each.  Since I'm not the breadwinner, never will be, every time I save lots of money on groceries I feel I make a huge contribution to our family. We have a fully stocked pantry now that should last us at least 3 weeks so fingers crossed, this month our grocery spending should be under $130 for the month.

Here are pictures of my goodies from super doubles at Harris Teeter -

There are 2 things not in these pictures - 1 pack of chicken leg quarters and 1 bag of frozen potatoes. Altogether I took home 61 things for only $60.14 of my own money and used $151.28 worth of coupons! How did you save on groceries this week?

My tip for the week - You're not really saving money if you're using coupons to get things that your family doesn't like or won't eat. Everything you see in the 2 pictures above will be gone in the next 3-4 weeks! I skip over deals and even freebies if I know it's something we won't eat or use. Many new couponers make the mistake of using coupons just to use coupons. Instead save money by only buying items you know you'll use. It may sound like common sense, but you'd be surprised by the # of times I've read or seen someone post their deals and outright say, just wanted to grab this deal to say that I did it, no plans on using it.

Knowing Where Your $ Goes

Great news - my husband is not getting laid off again!!!! He received an email on Thursday morning letting him know that no one on his team will be affected by the lay offs. I was home that day and he was working from home so it was very neat to see each others' reaction to the news! Talk about a huge relief!!! Now we're just waiting to hear about my job, whether we received another 3 years of grant funding. I think we will receive funding, it's just a matter of when we'll hear the news.

Now on to other things, every month at the end of the month we put all of our expenses in a spreadsheet and then compare it to last month's numbers. We started this spreadsheet routine when we were engaged and wanting to keep track of wedding expenses. It's a great way to see where all our money goes! And we use it to set our financial goals and sometimes it has caused us to reevaluate our spending on certain items. The exciting thing about July is for the entire month, we only spent $136 and some change on groceries for the entire month!!! Isn't that crazy??!!! We use to spend $300-$315 a month so $136 makes me very happy!!! I couldn't have done it if it wasn't for super doubles! I have learned to stock up on things we eat during super doubles and doing that has made us not have to buy as many groceries during non-super double weeks. Super doubles for this month will start on Wednesday!!! So excited! We are almost out of tacos, Silk soy milk, and vegetables so I hope to stock up on those.

To give you an idea of the deals I get, here's what I bought yesterday -

2 cans of Skinimate shave gel for 89 cents each, 1 pack of Pampers Easy Ups for $1.99, 3 boxes of Lance Creations $1 each, box of pasta for 15 cents, 3 bags of Bugels 66 cents each, 42 pack of Poise pads for $1.75, FREE Tic Tacs, and FREE Crystal Light mix. Bought everything for $11.16, with 13 items that's an average of 85 cents per item!!! I try to hit at least 50% savings everywhere I go. Typically I'm able to hit 60-65% savings. I have my "buy" prices and my "not for that price" prices and I try to stick to those prices unless we absolutely have to have it.

My tip for the week - Know where your money goes. For us we work hard for our money so it's important for us to know exactly where our money goes every month. If you're not keeping track of all your expenses then you may not know that you spend $300 a month on groceries or $250 a month on gas. Maybe you're wondering how your electric bill could be so high. Well if you're able to compare it to last summer's bills then you can tell the difference to determine if your AC unit needs to be serviced. Maybe you think you're saving as much as you can. If you have a spreadsheet with a % break down every month like we do then you can tell how much of your pay check goes toward gas, electricity, groceries, cell phone, etc. At first it might be depressing to look at, but you set a goal and reach it, like we have done then it's fun! I really enjoy seeing our progress from month to month.

Use Coupons Even on Your Birthday!

Ok as I promised, this post is all about what you can get for FREE during your birthday month!

• Baskin Robbins - sign up for their birthday club and get 1 FREE 2.5 oz scoop on your birthday! 
• Burger King - join their Club BK and you'll receive a FREE Kids Meal on your child's birthday! 
• Champps -  join their Fan Club and you'll receive a coupon via your email address for a FREE dessert with the purchase of 1 entree. Just for signing up you'll also receive a coupon for a FREE burger!
• Chili's - sign up for their email club and you'll get a coupon every week, plus on your birthday you'll get a FREE dessert with the purchase of 1 entree. 
• Firehouse Subs - this is probably the most convenient one - simply go to any participating Firehouse subs, show your driver's license ON your birthday and you'll get a FREE medium sub of your choice! You can also subscribe to their newsletter and you'll instantly receive an email for a FREE Large Coke or Lime Aid with the purchase of a sub. 
• IHOP - join their Pancake Revolution and you'll receive a coupon for a FREE Fruity Rooty Fresh n Fruity just for joining and then you get the same coupon during your birthday month! You can also add your spouse's birthday so they can receive the sweet deal too!
• Moe's Southwest Grill - join Moe's E-World and you'll receive exclusive offers and coupons throughout the year. For your birthday you'll receive a coupon through your email for a FREE entree, excluding fajitas, no other purchase necessary.
• Red Robin - click on JOIN and they'll mail you a Red Loyalty card. Once you receive the card in the mail, go to their website and register the card. After you have registered the card you have 2 weeks to redeem your FREE burger of your choice and fries for your birthday! No other purchase necessary, you can get it to go and save on drinks and tipping. 
• Ruby Tuesday's - Sign up for So Connected and you'll receive a B1G1 coupon just for signing up and then on your birthday, they will email you a coupon for a FREE hand crafted burger of your choice, which also includes your choice of sides! No other purchase necessary, you can even order it to go! 
• Zaxby's - join their Zax Mail Club and they will mail you a coupon for a FREE Meal Deal. During your birthday month you'll receive a coupon through the mail for a FREE nibbler!

These are all the free deals I know about for your birthday!  Sign up now and if your birthday is months away, and if you're like me, you'll forget you signed up and you'll be in for a lot of free surprises!

Shopping at Pharmacies - Outlined by store

So I thought I would take a few minutes to give all of you a brief overview of basic coupon rules and tricks listed by store. Here are just the pharmacies, later on I will do grocery stores -

CVS

• Takes Manufacture coupons. 
• Extra Care Bucks or ECBs are CVS rewards that will give you money back to spend in the store on your next purchase. Always remember to have the cashier scan your Extra Care card first so you never miss out on the Extra Care Bucks! Every week, there will be ECB deals advertised in the weekly ad. Basically you will have to purchase a select product, and then, after purchasing the item, you will get a certain amount of Extra Care Bucks back. The Extra Care Bucks will come in the form of a coupon at the end of your receipt. These Extra Care Buck items will come with different limits. Some items will give you one ECB per card… other items may give you five ECBs. Sometimes there will even be FREE after Extra Care Buck items advertised! This means that you will buy an item for a certain amount and then get that same amount back after purchasing the item in the form of Extra Care Bucks! And even sweeter, if you have a manufacturer coupon to use on the free after Extra Care Buck item, then you’ll turn this deal into a moneymaker!
• CVS store coupons from the red kiosk machine - If you've ever been in CVS then you might have noticed a red kiosk machine. If you scan your CVS card then it will magically print out store coupons that have your name on them! You can pair a store coupon with a manufacture coupon and with ECBs.   
• When a product is on sale Buy One, Get One Free (BOGO), you are only allowed to use one manufacturer’s BOGO coupon.This means that you get 2 items for free! CVS allows this because they will get money back from the manufacture coupon for the free item.
• Once you’re ready to checkout, put your coupons in this order: $4 off $20 store coupon (or any other money-off store coupon), CVS store product coupons, manufacturer coupons and finally Extra Care Bucks.

Rite Aid

• Takes Manufacture coupons.
• Store coupons for products can be found in their weekly ad, check for limits though. Store coupons can be paired with Manufacture coupons. 
• Video Values Program - You spend a few seconds or minutes watching various video advertisements and for doing so, you earn video credits that allow you to print off coupons that are redeemable only at Rite Aid. Once you earn 20 video credits, you’ll get a bonus $5 off $20 purchase. Note:This offer is not available every month. And the best part, Video Values coupons can be stacked with manufacturer coupons for even more savings!
• One of the biggest perks of having a Rite Aid card is the fact that you can take advantage of their UP Rewards Program. The UP Reward program is an incentive program that allows manufacturers to provide a UP Reward to consumers for buying a specific product and/or specific number of products. Each week, different items, which generate a UP Reward, are advertised in their weekly ad. Note: This program is very similar to the Walgreens Register Reward program.  An UP Reward is a coupon or a number of coupons that print at the bottom of your receipt and can be used on your next purchase. Each advertised +UP Reward is limited to one per Wellness card (unless otherwise stated). Keep in mind that you must give the cashier your Wellness card or the phone number, associated with your Wellness card, prior to the items being scanned in order to be eligible for the UP Reward(s). And here’s the best part: There is no limit to the number of +Up Rewards redeemed in a single transaction as long as the pre-tax total is greater than the combined value of the UP Rewards. 

Walgreens 

• Takes Manufacture coupons. 
• No loyalty card needed.
• Store coupons for products can be found in their weekly ad, check for limits though. Store coupons can be paired with Manufacture coupons.
• Register Reward Program - manufacturer coupons that print out from a Catalina machine at the register after you have completed your transaction. The Register Rewards print out after you buy a participating product, which may be advertised in their weekly ad. There are also Register Reward deals that are not advertised in the weekly ads but are posted inside the store. When you have a RR in hand to use, you can only use ONE RR per item purchased. For example: If you are purchasing five items, you can use up to a combination of five manufacturer coupons and/or RRs. If you attempt to use more than five, the register will beep. If you run into a situation where you have more manufacturer coupons/RRs to use than products, look for “filler” items to add to your purchase. "Fillers" are inexpensive items, and they allow you to apply more coupons at checkout. Great options for filler items include clearance merchandise, small candies, and pencils. Note: Walgreens store coupons do NOT count towards your coupon-to-item ratio. In other words, the register will not beep if you are using more Walgreens coupons than items. Have I confused you yet??! Another important thing to note about RRs is if you purchase more than one of the same Register Reward participating item per transaction, you will only receive 1 Register Reward, NOT 2! For example, if Walgreens has Fusion Pro Glide Razors on sale for $9.89, get $5 RR when you buy 1. If you buy 2 razors, you will only receive 1 RR.Another important thing to note is that Register Reward deals do NOT roll! This means that if your receive a $5RR for purchasing 1 ProGlide Razor, you cannot use this same RR to purchase another ProGlide Razor and expect another $2RR to be generated, it will not happen!
• If there is a Buy One, Get One free or a Buy Get One 50% Off promotion, you can use two coupons for the items. You can also use a Buy One, Get One free coupon for items that are currently part of a Buy One, Get One free promotion–this essentially makes both items FREE! If you have any issues using two coupons on a Buy One Get, One free sale, refer to their coupon policy, which specifically states "When items are featured in a Buy One, Get One free promotion, up to two coupons can be used against the items being purchased, as long as the net price does not go below zero for the items being purchased."

I'd like to end by sharing a recent trip I took to Walgreens -

Dove Men + Care 6 pack on sale 2 for $12, get $4 in RR
 - 2, $4 off Manufacture coupons = $4
+ filler item: Crossword puzzle book on clearance for 49 cents
used $4 RR from previous week to make it a grand total of $1.33

Now I have $4 RR to use for next week or to use at Harris Teeter or Walmart - both stores take manufacture coupons from competitors.

8 Razors for 27 cents!

I recently wrote about how to save money at pharmacies, well you don't always need Register Rewards, Extra Care Bucks, or UP Rewards to get the best deals. This week I got 8 razors for 27 cents! How'd I do it? Rite Aid had Noxzema razors on sale for $2 and I just so happen to have $2 off coupons for them. So I hit the sale early in the week and got 2 packs for 27 cents!

As if the razors weren't exciting enough, I found some great deals at Target this week as well. Target had Dove Men + Care body washes and Dove + Men Care deodorants both on clearance for $3.38. I managed to get 4 body washes for $6.76 and 2 deodorants for 76 cents! I used a buy 1, get  $3.75 off for the body washes and I used $2 off coupons + $2 off 2 Target coupon for the deodorants. I found some more great deals in the food section. I managed to get a 12 pack of Sierra Mist for $1.50 by using a $1 off Target coupon. I also got 2 bottles of Kraft BBQ sauce and Country Time lemonade mix all for $1.64 by using a $2 off Manufacture coupon. Fresh Express salad was on sale for $2 and then I had a 75 cents off Manufacture coupon so it was $1.25! I also got Chips Ahoy for 99 cents each after $1 off Manufacture coupon. I discovered that Kroger has them on sale for $1.68 so I have to go back and do price matching, which means I'll be refunded 62 cents for the 2 packs I bought. Always check out the meat section for meat that's on clearance because it's close to expiring. The day I went I managed to score to packs of ground beef for $1.79 each! So it's possible to save on meat too, just check for packs that are marked down. Now before I get a ton of questions about why there's a pregnancy test in this picture, no we are not expecting. I got it because it costs me $3.99 after coupons which is an amazing price! And it doesn't expire until 2013 and I'm pretty sure it will be used before then. Now is the time to check for deals on school supplies and if you're like me and not in school or a teacher, stock up on office supplies! I got 10 pens for 2 cents by using $1 off Papermate item off Target's website.

My tip for the week - Every time you go into a store, pick up their weekly ad and carry it with you. Even if you're not a couponer, I cannot tell you the # of times something has rung up wrong! If you have the ad with you then you'll know the prices and will have the ad ready to show the cashier if items ring up wrong. If you don't have the ad in front of you then it's likely that you'll overlook a great deal or pay more than you should. I always grab the ad when I walk in even when I have made a list and then when I'm done shopping, I put the ad back so I don't take it home with me thus avoiding stacking up papers!

Stay tuned, my next post will be about FREE meals during my birthday month!!! You won't want to miss what restaurants deals to sign up for before your birthday!!!