How to Save Money Using Coupons!

So I'm sure you all have seen or at least heard of the show Extreme Couponing (I don't think they have new episodes airing anymore, but I see re-runs on my guide often). If you've been living under a rock and haven't seen it, it's a reality show where people use coupons and store sales to save tons of money on groceries, some about 99% of their total bill! While some of these people walk into a store, buy 300 packs of tic-tacs and walk out having only paid $.50, others seem to buy more practical items like commonly used cooking items or cleaning products. Not to knock buying 300 packs of tic-tacs, but someone must have really bad breath...just sayin'! The concept of the show is very interesting to me, however it is somewhat frustrating to those of us who actually coupon by the rules because what is depicted on most of these episodes would not happen in most stores by most people. All stores that I know of have a limit of how many 'like' coupons they accept, some how many you can use total in one day, and some how many coupons the store will double per day or transaction. Those limits are usually WAY less than 300. That being said, the concept that is always explained on the show is legit and can save a person a lot of money. The basic concept of couponing is simple; Using a coupon will save you some money. Getting an item on sale will do the same. However when you combine those store sales with a coupon (especially one that the store will double), results in a much larger savings! Then, once you get an item you use frequently at it lowest price, you don't just buy 1, you buy as many as you 1) have a coupon for and 2) that your family will use before it expires, or before there is another great sale on the item. 


The grocery store that I go to will double manufacturer coupons any day you go in, as long as the face value of the coupon is $.99 or less (so a $.75 coupon from the newspaper will actually deduct $1.50 from your total). However, this store also has coupon events where they will triple a coupons face value, or double coupons with a face value of $2 or under. The latter was the case just a few weeks ago and I wanted to share with you some of the best deals I got! Again, pay attention to the concept (and not just the items) so you can apply it to your next grocery trip and start saving!!

Cat Food

A bag of Purina Cat Food at my grocery store normally costs $5.89. However, this week, they had it on sale, buy one get one free (each item rings at half price), making each bag only $2.95! That in itself is a great deal! But wait, there's more! There is currently a coupon out for $1.05 off of the bag of cat food, making it only $1.90! Hold on, the best is yet to come! This week, my store is running a 'super doubles' promotion, where every coupon $2 or under will be doubled once scanned! So, my $1.05 off coupon becomes a $2.10 off coupon and I only pay $.85 per bag of cat food!!  That is a savings of $5.04 PER BAG (or 86%)!!! Unbeatable!! So do I only buy 1 bag? No way!! I stock up and buy as many as I can at that price (while sticking to the store and coupon rules by doing so in multiple trips and transactions). With this sale I purchased about 20 bags, 3 per transaction (I've made a lot of trips to the store!). Yes, 20 bags of cat food may sound like a lot all at once, but when you have 4 pretty fat cats to feed, it goes quickly!! Here is an easier to read breakdown of the sale.

$5.89 Regular price
     $2.95 Sales Price ( Buy one get one free)
    -$1.05 Coupon
      $1.90
   - $1.05 Doubled coupon
       $.85 TOTAL Price (plus tax) 

Dish Soap
Another deal I got this week was on Seventh Generation Dish Soap. This soap is normally $3.39 per 25 fl oz bottle, pretty expensive for soap if you ask me! But the store had it on sale for $2.50 per bottle and I had a coupon for $1.00 off per bottle, which doubled, making each bottle only $.50! This again, was a stock up price for me, so I purchased 6 bottles-which is still less than the regular price of 1 bottle! I saved $2.89 per bottle or an 85% savings! What's great about cleaning products is that they usually don't expire and I know we will use them sooner or later (usually sooner), so I stock up when I find a product I like at such a cheap price. The coupon used here was a printed coupon from www.coupons.com and the site only allows each computer or smartphone to print a coupon twice, so between my 2 laptops and iPhone, I was able to print 6. Had I been able to legally print more, I certainly would have purchased more of these!

$3.39 Regular price
   $2.50 Sale Price
  -$1.00 Coupon
    $1.50
  - $1.00 Doubled Coupon
      $.50 TOTAL price (plus tax)

Bread
The last deal I will share with you was on Arnold bread. This is something we use often between lunches for my husband and son and occasional grilled panini sandwiches, I definitely took advantage of this deal and got 4 loaves! (Bread freezes wonderfully in case you didn't know-as does shredded cheese!) I had a coupon for $1.00 each loaf of bread and with the sale price and doubled coupon, these 4 loaves of bread were totally free!! This coupon was also a printable and I could have printed and used 6, however we don't eat it super quickly and I only have so much room in my freezer (if anyone wants to buy me a deep freeze, I might just be your new best friend!)  I was super psyched!! Who doesn't love free bread!!

$3.99 Regular Price
     $1.99 Sale Price (BOGO)
   -$1.00 Coupon
      $.99
    -$.99 Doubled Coupon*
     $0 TOTAL Price (I only had to pay tax on this item)

*My store does not give overage for doubled coupons, so if the doubled amount is more than the total price remaining, they give you the item free, but do not give overage-in this case it would have been a $.01 money maker, but the store will not allow this.

These are just a few of the deals I got during the super doubles coupon event a couple weeks ago, there were more, but these were my best deals of the week. I also get great deals when there aren't special coupon events by using the same coupon and sale matching technique. Let me know in the comments below if you'd like to see more posts on couponing, I have learned a lot over the past few years and have saved a lot of money and I'd love to pass that info along to whoever wants to read it! 

-A

Spaghetti and Meatball Bread

If you've been to my house for dinner, it's pretty likely that you've had this dish. It's so easy to make and delicious, I love making it for guests! I stumbled upon this recipe on Pinterest (of course), and I have to say, it is one of my all time favorites! I mean, who doesn't LOVE pasta and garlic bread?? The first time I make a new recipe, I usually follow it exactly. We try it and while eating, my husband and I will discuss ideas to make it suit our tastes better. So with this one, I have a few modifications-try it the original way, try it my way, or put your own spin on it! Any way you make it, I can pretty much guarantee you will LOVE it!

Moving Tips

First, I have to apologize for my absence on the blog, I've been sick. Allergies, a cold, the plague, I'm not sure what I have, but it's sure been hanging around for much longer than I had hoped. Little Mr of the house has the same issues going on, so I'm thinking it's just lovely spring time allergies...lucky us!

Military families tend to move a lot, except us. There's an old saying to the effect of  'once in the 82nd, always in the 82nd' and it seems my husband has fallen victim seeing as we've been here for 3 1/2 years with no glimmer of orders elsewhere (not that I'm complaining, we love our house and I despise moving!). However, I moved a lot as a kid and have several times as an adult, so I've added a few tricks to my arsenal. A friend of mine is preparing to move, so her need for advice has prompted me to write this blog and share my ideas with everyone! Some of these apply only if you are moving yourself, some if you have movers coming to pack and/or move you, and some are just general tips.

5 Spring Cleaning Tips/Tricks

We had some gorgeous weather last weekend and it inspired me to get moving on this blog with some of my favorite cleaning tips and tricks! With spring-like weather comes spring cleaning, organizing and refreshing your home (at least that how it works in my house)! My favorite thing to do on a nice day is to just open the windows and let the fresh air in, nothing is better than feeling the breeze through the house!

Easter Basket Ideas...NO Candy!!

My kid is crazy active. Really active. My friends (who also have kids around my sons age) ask me how I can possibly want more kids and how crazy life must be on a daily basis with my son and all of his energy. My response usually includes something about wanting to pull my hair out some days and how wine really is the cure-all for Mamas, but mostly that I'm just used to it! Luckily, little man is not a sweets eater-he never has been, if he were, I'd be in BIG trouble! Hyperactive kid + sugar = crazed mama!

The only sweets he eats are the sugar cookies from the bakery at the grocery store and Nutter Butters. I'm happy he doesn't love all kinds of junk food (his love for Cheetos is another story), however it does pose a dilemma at Easter time. Most parents fill their kiddos baskets with chocolates and sugary snacks (mmmm peanut butter eggs...), but I don't have this option, so I have to get creative! I suppose I'd rather have this problem than my child being all hopped up on sugar and me actually pulling my hair out! Although the bottle glass of wine I'd be rewarded with at the end of the day does sound appetizing!

In the past with my step daughters, I've had the same opinion on kids and Easter baskets--they don't need a basket full of sugar. The Grandparents in our family seem to supply plenty of candy and I never felt the need to add to it. So I thought I'd share some of my non-candy ideas for Easter baskets in case others had the same feelings but lacked ideas! I somewhat broke it into 3 lists, boys, girls and gender neutral, but some items are also age specific and may not work for your kiddos.



Girls
Hair Bows/Headbands/Hair Ties
Barbies
Costume Jewelry
Fashion Scarf with super cute designs
Nail Polish
Purse
Baby Doll
Accessories to Baby dolls or Barbies they already have
Lip Gloss




Boys
Hat
Hot Wheels
Legos



Anyone!
Art Supplies ( We LOVE Crayola Color Wonder products!)
Books
Swim Suit
Beach Towel
Flip Flops
Sunglasses
Summer Outfit
Pajamas
Bubbles
Crayola Bath Fizzie Balls
Flash Cards
Slippers
Sidewalk Chalk
Sports Balls (soccer balls, playground balls, etc)
Kids Golf Club Set
T Ball Set
Gardening Tools (LOVE this super cute set! Melissa & Doug Sunny Patch Tootle Turtle Tote Set)
Flower pots
Tooth Brush (with their favorite character, of course!)
DVD's
Squirt Guns
Hula Hoop
Jump Rope
Bedroom Decor--Fun picture frames, wall stickers, throw pillows
Outdoor chair (folding or Adirondack style)
Music Instruments (plastic maracas, tambourines, recorders)
Small fish tank with fish (beta fish in a bowl are super easy!)
Puzzles
Craft supplies
Sticker Books
Play Doh
Crafting Kits (loom bracelet kits, etc)
Science Project Kits (grow crystals, ant farms,Bag Of Science Kit, etc)
Board Games
Video Games
Personalized Cup/water bottles (This one is perfect for summertime!)

Here's a few ideas for the itty bits in your life!
Teething Toys
Gerber Puffs
Floor play mats
Stuffed Animals

In our family, tradition is to have an egg hunt first, then open baskets. For the egg hunt I will use things like fruit snacks, goldfish and the small graham crackers to fill them as well as coins for the kiddos to put in their piggy banks. I've also gone to Party City and picked up some of the little toys and things they have for 5 or 10 cents each. When you are dealing with a variety of ages of children, I've found its best to designate one color egg for each kid to ensure the older ones don't grab up all of the eggs before the littles can even get 2. Then I just fill the same # of eggs for each kid (smaller babies/toddlers may not need as many as they usually take longer to collect theirs) and let them go at it.

One thing that my mother in law does that I have always liked is that the "eggs" you hunt get smaller as you get older. So babies/toddlers get the large plastic eggs, then you move down to the regular sized ones, then things start to get more fun. She will move down to the small chocolate eggs, then to M&Ms, then to Nerds, then the big ice cream sprinkles, and I think the last year we were with her for Easter, my husband was looking for the tiny sugar sprinkles (you know those ones that are almost translucent and about the size of a crumb? Ya, those!)!! It keeps the hunt fun for the older kids and allows mom to torture all of us as we relentlessly search the living and dining room for specs of dust! I plan to keep this tradition alive as our kiddos get older if we don't find ourselves living back near family.

What other ideas do you have for candy-free Easter basket fillers?? Leave your ideas in the comments below, I'd love to hear them!

-A

White Chocolate Mocha Hack!

Just in time for your Monday morning blah's, I thought I'd post how I make my favorite coffee drink at home!

Husband and I quite enjoy White Chocolate Mochas from Starbucks. On the other hand, our bank account does not (neither does my waistline!). At $4 and $6 a cup, we try to limit ourselves to indulging just once a week (usually on Sunday's when we grocery shop because the Starbucks is inside the grocery store. Who can resist that??)