Saving Money

As I've mentioned before, I've been using TheGroceryGame.com to try to match sales with coupons to get the best price.

I've also discovered a few blogs that list many of the sales/coupons out for you for free! They don't list everything on the ad, but they do list many of the sales where you have a coupon to go with it. They also tell you when you could use a printable coupon, too, and link you to the printable coupon.

Here are some of my favorite blogs (in no particular order):
Growing Up Gabel
Money $aving Methods
My Penny Pile
Southern Savers
It's Hip to Save!
Deal-Seeking Mom
Money Saving Mom
A Thrifty Mom

Each blog is a little different, some tell of online sales, some link to printable coupons for restaurants, some go through all the sales ads (not just the ones available in my area or at the stores here), some give menus/recipes for meals made using the foods on sale, etc. Some tell you where you can go to sign up for free products and samples. Anyone have any other blogs/sites they recommend?

I've also learned through a Yahoo group that I'm a part of (Evelyn's Gleaning, if you're interested in joining, too) that you can upload e-coupons onto your Kroger card and use them along with printed coupons or manufacturer's coupons. Whoa! Sometimes that means double the savings! Using printable/manufacturer coupons and e-coupons, I've gotten toilet paper for free, a $10 Venus razor (my favorite one to use) for $2 and such. I use P&G eSaver and Cellfire.com.

I've also discovered that Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy offer reward bucks (that print out when you purchase certain items listed in their sales ads) that you can use the next time you shop with them.

Whew!

If that sounds overwhelming to you, you're not alone! I feel like I've spent the last few weeks hibernating, just browsing through ads, clipping coupons and reading blogs/e-mails to figure this whole thing out. However, I feel like I am ready to emerge from the blanket of coupons and sales ads that I've been hiding under and share some of the great sales I've found. Not that I've learned everything, because I definitely haven't "arrived" at Coupon Queen status or anything, but I feel a little more comfortable "working the system" at the stores in my area. I'm also still learning what a "good" sale is and what a "great" sale is and how to know to wait for a great one.

I wanted to share my shopping experience this morning. I hit Walgreens and CVS (two seconds apart on the same street!) as well as Target. I have just learned that you can print Target coupons that can be used with regular printable coupons or manufacturer's coupons. It's like using electronic and regular at Kroger. Suh-weet! You can go to Target's website, which has a few or you can get lots here (you don't need to register or anything).

Walgreens:
Betty Crocker chocolate frosting (we like to spread this on graham crackers every once in a while) 2/$3, plus you get a $1 Register Reward (RR) that prints out to use the next time you shop, kinda like making them 2/$2. Plus, I had printed two coupons from coupons.com for .55/1. That made them both .45 each!
Colgate Total toothpaste for $3.49 (more expensive than Wal-Mart, I know) and got $3.49 in RR to use next time. It's like getting it for free! Plus I used a $1/1 coupon, so it was like I got $4.49, instead of just $3.49.

I also have $4.50 to use next time I go to Walgreens.

CVS
Skintimate Shaving Gel on sale for $3.49 (not much of a sale!), but I got $3.49 in Extra Care Bucks (Extra Care Bucks), making it free! Kinda...
Colgate MaxFresh toothpaste on sale for $2.99, with $2.00 in ECB, making it .99, plus I had a coupon for .75/1, making it .24

I have $5.50 in ECB to use next time I shop.

Target
Pledge Multi-Surface Cleaning Spray $3.89. I used a $2/1 printable coupon and a $1/1 printable Target coupon, making it .89. I got two.
Cheetos (Big Grab size by register) $1.25. I used a $1/1 printable Target coupon, making it .25. I got two. Randall loves Cheetos in his lunches.

I bought other items that were on small sales or things I just needed on my list, too. Like, Target had their milk on sale $1.99/gallon and other things like that.

Unfortunately, no pictures because I put everything away before I decided to post this. Sorry! I'll do better next time.

Some sites for printable coupons to go with the e-coupons or use alone:
SmartSource.com, Shortcuts.com and coupons.com. I'm sure there are others, but those seem to be the most popular.

It is a little more time-consuming to do this coupon clipping shopping, and I'm still learning what I need and what I only *think* I need, but it's actually kinda fun! And, it's getting easier and faster as I figure it out. You should try it, too! Tell me if you do!

A look at my day--Facebook style

Today has been a good day and I noticed that I chronicled much it on Facebook, so I thought I'd use my Facebook statuses (or the ones I would have used, had I remembered to update at the moment) to blog about the happenings today.

I packed the boys lunches this morning in their Laptop Lunch boxes for a little variety. I made sandwich wraps and gave their apples a little checkerboard fun. My status would have said: Jaime is spending way too much time just to cut up her boys' apples for their lunches.

I was very pleased with the result, though!




I found out when the boys got home from school that both liked the apples, but neither liked the sandwich wraps because they had cucumbers. Oh, well. You win some, you lose some.

I was busy and didn't post about this, either, but if I had, it would have said: Jaime 's sweet hubby helped to start her day off right.

This morning, after everyone had left for school or work, I grabbed my cell phone to see if I'd missed any texts or anything during the night and discovered a sweet love note from Slade folded up and placed inside. What a lovely start to the day. It is tucked in my wallet.

Jaime just discovered that Febreeze does not have a lid and if you pull the little handle-thingy that looks like it would lift a lid off, you will get sprayed.

I went shopping this afternoon using my online coupons, my regular coupons and my sales fliers and came home with some great deals! (A whole 'nother post on that later!) One of my great deals was a $2.99 can of Febreeze for $.99. I was going to try it out and grabbed the lid (or so I thought) and promptly sprayed myself in the face. I admit it. I am an idiot. But, I smelled great all day.

You will be happy to know (or at least, I was happy to know) that Febreeze doesn't sting when sprayed directly in your eyes at a very close range. So, go ahead and give it a try. Everybody's doing it. At least, that's what I tell myself...

Here are my great deals:


I bought $78.62 worth of groceries and household items and only paid $33.78 (some stuff wasn't on sale but I needed it anyway) thanks to the ridiculous amount of time I spent cross-referencing and checking for the best deal and such. It was worth it, though! I'll post the details of the trip later. And, hopefully, I'll get quicker at finding those good deals so I don't lose my mind.

Next status: Jaime wants a baby. Actually, I just want *this* baby that I'm holding while I type this!

I offered to watch my friend, Eun-Jin's adorable little guy while she got her hair cut today and after a little bit of playing, he slept most of the visit. Am I that boring?!


A close up of his sweet face.


Isn't he adorable?! He's the perfect size and has the sweetest little personality. Playing with him really did make me want another one. Usually it's just the little girls that do that to me.

For dinner: Jaime just made homemade pizza. I think it's the first time ever. It was Gwen's pizza crust recipe--Thanks, Gwen!! It was YUMMY!

I made homemade pizza tonight. All by myself. Like a big girl! I was so proud. I used Gwen's recipe for the dough (recipe below) and my own simple, no brainer recipe for the pizza sauce. Then the boys helped me add the toppings. I should say "boy" because Randall was having a difficult afternoon and wasn't in the mood to help, nor was I in the mood to have him help at that point. My status would have said: Jaime has a 5 year old boy that is free to a good home.

For the pizza toppings, I browned some hamburger meat and we had one hamburger pizza (half with chopped bell peppers and onions for Slade and me) and one meat lover's pizza--hamburger, salami and turkey chunks. I used mozzarella cheese and a Fiesta blend (whatever that is) because I didn't have enough mozzarella.

The pizzas before going in the oven.


Done and delicious!




Pizza Dough:
3 C flour
2 T sugar
1 t salt
1/4 C oil
1 pkg yeast
1 C warm water

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Let sit while measuring other ingredients into large bowl. Add yeast mixture and mix well. Let stand for 5 minutes. Press onto greased 17x11 pan. Top as desired. Bake at 400* for approximately 20 minutes.

So easy and so good!!

Pizza Sauce:
I took a can of tomato paste and watered it down by filling the can with water one time. Then I added 2 Tablespoons of Pampered Chef's Italian Seasoning. It was delicious!

So, it's been a good day. For some reason, right now, Facebook isn't working for me. It won't let me do anything. So, I'll post my final status here: Jaime should be getting ready for bed, but is blogging instead.

Good night, blog friends! And, if you're on Facebook, look me up!

Grocery Game Update

Well, I've used The Grocery Game for my regular shopping trip twice now and I thought I'd post an update on what I think of it.

I have mixed emotions...

Pros:

* I love the convenience of just checking online for the sales and having them tell me which coupons will work, too. It saves me the trouble of digging through ten million coupons (only slightly exaggerating here--I have three Sundays of coupons and there are SO many--it's overwhelming!) to see *if* I happen to have one for the items on my list.

* It is also easier to see what's on sale when it is listed out, versus flipping through the sales fliers.

* Since I am used to using the sales fliers, I don't feel like I am spending much extra time by clipping the coupons, too.

* It is less than $1 a week for me to have the convenience of someone else "flipping through my coupons and sales ads", so to speak. That is a huge pro!

Cons:

* I will never be able to say that I "saved half off of my average grocery bill" because I have almost always made out a menu and shopped off of the sales ads without the coupons. I might save an extra $10 here and there or even $20 sometimes, but not always. I know there are those that have been amazed at how much they've saved by doing a menu, planning a shopping list, using the sales ads and clipping coupons. I'm just not one of them.

* I was under the impression that The Grocery Game people would tell me when would be the absolute best time to use the coupons I had, but they just tell you every time when you can. I might use a coupon one week because crescent rolls are on sale and then, come to find out, they were on an even better sale the next week and would've been even cheaper if I'd saved my coupon.

* I could do it myself, if I was willing to invest the time.

So, I don't know if that helps anyone or not, but it's my follow up on my experience and thought about using The Grocery Game. I do recommend it, especially if you are a "drop by Wal-Mart on the way home from work" kinda person. I also recommend it if you have never used your sales ads. You can save so much by using them, and, as I'm learning, even more using the coupons with the sales ads. I don't recommend investing the money if you aren't a menu-maker. You will end up with a lot of things that you purchased for cheap that will just sit in your pantry. Not much help, really.

So, I guess I give it a thumbs up and a thumbs down, but the thumbs up is more excited than the thumbs down is sad. How's that for clear as mud?!