Monday, July 5th 2010 Part #2

Later that day I was able to get out sans kiddos. I planned to go to the bank buy got sidelined by spending way too much time at Super Target. I think the time spent was worth it but you be the judge. Target total $98.66, saved $92.84 for a savings of 94%. I returned an item on the way in and had $8 to spend. I found a gift card in my wallet with $6.02 on it so I didn't spend any new money, have 20 cents remaining plus the $8 I received for the return. I bought:
Pampers wipes $1.97, used $2 coupon
Gerber formula $22.59, used $22 formula check -sign up here http://www.gerber.com/AllStages/Special_Offers.aspx
Airwick Motion starter sets x 4, $4.49 each, used $4 off each http://www.airwick.us/access/index.html
Drano Max $6.99, had freebie coupon from emailing company for $6.75 off
Tide, 2 sample packs, 97 cents ea, used $1 off coupons
Oscar Meyer deli meat, family size x2 99 cents each, used $1 off coupons
Hillshire farms deli meat x 8, 75 cents each, used 75 cent off coupons on package
Bar S 16 count corndogs $5.29, used $5 off coupon from emailing company
Tropicana juice x2, 50 cents each, used one $1 off coupon http://juicyrewards.tropicana.com/login/home.aspx
Market Pantry juice 50 cents

There were a ton of items marked down today because they were getting close to expiration which doesn't bother me at all since we go through it so quickly. I have found that lunch meats freeze well so I try to buy them at a low price and freeze. I purposely did not clear everything out as I was tempted to do so there would be good deals for the next person. It really bothers me when someone uses coupons to clear shelves to buy excessive quantities, especially when it is too much for them to ever use. Tropicana Juice has a reward program I entered the juice codes for which I can exchange for discounts like BOGO museum tickets or BOGO eating out. Airwick has a new reward program that you can enter your codes in exchange for contest entries and more coupons. I used the ones I had to print 2 more $4 off coupons to get more 49 cent starter kits.

Monday, July 5th 2010

Started off the day with a frugal breakfast. My daughter and I treated ourselves to Chicken Mini's from Chick Fil A. We used two free coupons we received in the mail. I had two because we were in the process of moving when these were sent out so we got one at each house. Then we went to King Soopers where we had free fruit samples and got the free kids cookie from the bakery. Yum! I transferred a prescription to get the $25 gift card. At checkout we spent $.05 with a 101% savings on or order, our total would have been $38.92 prior to coupons. This wasn't a major trip for us but more of an opportunity to get out of the house and start the challenge off on the right foot by using some freebie coupons we had. Here is what we got for that shiny nickel:

Hubbla Bubba Tape Gum-$1- payment for the "shopping helper"

Sister Shubert Rolls $3.29, had freebie coupon from sending email to company, also I think there is a Upromise bonus on this I will add to total when I find

Clorox Ultra bleach $1.99-had freebie catalina coupon

Kroger Deluxe ice cream $1.88 had ecoupon for 50 cents

Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls $1.65, had 95 cents off bricks coupon, doubled to $1

Kids Clif bars x 2 79 cents each, had freebie coupons from emailing company

Pantene shampoo and conditioners, trial size, $1 each x 5, used 4 $1 off & 1 $1.50 off manufacturer coupons

Gold Bond lotion, trial size, 79 cents, used 75 cents off coupon, doubled to free

Saved today:

$38.92 on groceries, $5 on breakfast and got $50 in gift cards to fund grocery shopping for the month. 

July Challenge

So my goal for this month is to create $1000 in additional income/value by coupon shopping, rebates and reward programs. To make this even more inspiring I am planning to use only the money I make as profit to fund the project. I started Monday this week and will report my progress as I go along. Feel free to join me in this and report how your challenge is going. What goals will you set for yourself and what are some frugal ideas you use that help to keep your family, fed, clothed and entertained? With summer break we are finding some inexpensive activities to fight boredom and there are a lot more snacks to buy. There is also back to school shopping looming large and that can derail any one's budget.

Free French's mustard this week at Albertson's

Yes, I did intend to go in just for free mustard and nothing else but the french bread smelled so good... And the Chex Mix was .25 for a large bag and had to try the new Keebler Wheatable crackers at $1.99 less $1.50 IP coupons. My receipt was a mile long and the cashier said "well you saved more than you spent" which I choose to take as a compliment. So now we have a nice assortment of mustard. Picked up some free BBQ sauce too. Last month my husband bought several quarts of it from Sam's and I was so upset. Couldn't he wait until free BBQ sauce season started, it was only weeks away. Surely he could have used another condiment rather than paying for what I could have got free if he had just been patient. And this is the point where I am reminded that I am lucky to have a husband who will go to the store even if we are now committed to use those Sam's Club sized drums for the next 12 grilling seasons. He bought ketchup too.

My coupon holder

As you can see it is probably about time to move to the more sophisticated binder method. My little holder is overflowing and I am missing a lot of good deals because I just can't find that coupon! I did try to make a change about 6 months ago but my label maker ran out of tape which I took to be a bad omen. Since this beast won't fit in any purse I own, it now rides around in a torn, reusable shopping bag, usually filled with crumpled up coupons I printed but just haven't taken the time to cut out and organize. Professional couponistas would be horrified but it works for me...most of the time.

Baby formula

My son is 18 months so we are well past the days of having to buy formula but are now using the "follow up" formulas because I am getting them so inexpensively. I have some extended family that are young, newly married, newly homeowners and new parents. The father just recently lost his job and the mother is terribly, terribly stressed because breastfeeding is not working for her. The birth was early due to complications and was completed by c section after induction and many, many hours in hard labor. She has since suffered another surgery (gallbladder) and many physical complications in addition to her emotional turmoil over having a new baby, lost jobs and having their home, cars, credit and health insurance in jeopardy. I think most of us can relate in some ways to this story as sometimes life's best blessings come when everything else is in turmoil. The husband is feeling a lot of pressure and has said that the breastfeeding has to work because they simply cannot afford formula. And at about $80 a month I certainly understand. So I suggested my approach to couponing in an effort to assist. Hopefully it will work for them.... So formula, with my first child breastfeeding didn't work for similar reasons to the story I just mentioned. I remember digging through the couch cushions and cashing in change to afford it. I actually used a "free trial" coupon for a daycare center so I could get to a job interview. My daughter got ringworm from that "free trial" but I did get the job and was able to work partially from home and still care for her. So I certainly feel for anyone going through this but the point I want to make is that it doesn't have to be that hard! With my second child he didn't take to breastfeeding well so I exclusively pumped for six months. At six months I could no longer delay starting a medication that I desperately needed and started using formula. Don't get me wrong, I strongly believe that breastfeeding is best but for some this simply isn't the best option or try as they may, it doesn't come naturally. I think I pumped about 12 hours a day, during TV shows, after every meal, before bed, in the middle of the night several times and still only got about 12 ounces a day with the most expensive rental pump. Sorry, too much information! Anyways, at $80 a month, formula is cost prohibitive for some. I talked to another mom recently that said her hospital samples were running out and asked what I though about store brand formulas. My initial reaction was way too much money! I signed up for the various formula clubs while I was still pregnant and was raking in the formula savings. They advertise $250 in free "gifts" aka formula checks. If you sign up for all three major brands you might just have enough to cover your first year or formula. I have combined these "checks" with manufacturer coupons for free formula many times over. Right now we are using Enfamil Enfagrow which is $16.99 on sale at Safeway. I use a $5 printable manufacturer coupon plus about $10 in formula checks each month that are still coming. I think Safeway also has an ecoupon. so $1.99 for a large can which lasts us about two weeks now that he also drinks regular milk and juice. This is a good fill in for the days when he doesn't eat much or isn't feeling well. And at $1.99 it is certainly cheaper than milk and is readily available in the pantry if I need it.

So back to diapers ....

Sorry but I really have a charge on this. Like I said, in the before days, I thought nothing of paying $10 a pack for diapers. Then I realized I had been paying $10, twice a week for something I THREW AWAY and would pay $10, twice a week for the next 102 weeks. Yikes, it really adds up fast! I have made it my mission to reduce that as much as humanly possible. For starters, I started combining the coupons I got in the paper with sales and found that I could get a jumbo pack for about $5-6. Then I started paying attention to drugstore ads, rebates and ecoupons. I hadn't been to a drugstore in years, since I discovered Target and thought it would be too time consuming. But if I look at saving $20 for 20 minutes of my time it starts to make a lot of sense. Originally our plan to "save money" on diapers was to buy at Sam's Club. Once I was enlightened I realized that the price per diaper was much, much higher there. Still better in a pinch than the grocery store, in order to really save I had to venture into the drugstores. For example, earlier this year Rite Aid did a P & G promotion. I think it was a $35 Visa card rebate for every $100 spent on P&G products. So I bought a big box of Pampers for $19.99 and something else P G to get to $25 (Pantene or wipes?) and used the $5/$25 readily available on the Internet, and used the manufacturer coupons I requested from the websites (more on that later), bringing my total to $13 a box. Did this several times. Then I got a $35 rebate and various incentives and "single check rebates" from Rite Aid. I also used those receipts for P&G's promotion for a coupon book (x2) which netted me several free rolls of paper towels, free Olay cleaners (which I sent in for another rebate) and various other discounts. In the end, very little out of pocket 300 diapers, 8 bottles of Olay, may free paper towels. Albertsons' recently did a promotion for P & G where you got $10 back for every $25 spent. So again, I used my coupons, sent in for rebates and got a very good deal. Last month I bought Pampers packs at Safeway for $2.99 a pack. Signed up online for P & G ecoupons (ecoupons are our friends!), used store sale coupon for $7.99, had $2 ecoupon and $3 manufacturer coupon. You can get Huggies at Walgreens during a promotion for about $3.99 a pack and Rite Aid does a promotion where you get a free pack for every certain number you buy ( I think it's 5 or 6). Coupons. com had had a $3 off printable lately (send me your name and email if you want to turn printing grocery coupons into a money maker) so as long as you are not running low you can usually buy these a few packs at a time and still qualify for the free pack. Pampers and Huggies both have rewards programs. I saved up my Pampers rewards for a free Diego potty seat (retails value about $10) and have won many times on Huggies when I play late at night when the site is less busy. They both offer rewards like gift cards for Starbucks, Kohl's, Visa or free products. I won on Huggies twice in about 5 minutes when I was playing late at night. I used those 2 free product coupons at Rite Aid to get closer to my free pack, meaning I only spent about $12 for 6 packs. Hopefully I will be able to upload pictures soon but this week Rite Aid was having a 50% off sale on Mega packs. These are not as big as box but larger than Jumbo's. So I signed up for the rewards card, printed 4 John Frieda hair care coupons (I had already used the ones that came in the paper) & printed a $5 off $25. The hair products were 4/$20 with a $10 "reward". So I used the $10 in manufacturer coupons, bought some fillers (got some free Splenda and Stayfree) to get to $25. My out of pocket was about $6. Then I used the $10 reward to buy a mega pack of Huggies ($8.99 and $3 off) and a pack of Pampers training pants (6.99 and $2 off) for a total of $1.01. So basically $7 for two large packs of diapers, Splenda, 4 packs of Stayfree and four hair products. Much less than I used to spend and I will save the receipts in case any rebates come up.