I love freebies!

I promise that every blog post I write from here on out will not be about couponing. But this blog post will, in fact, be about couponing!

A few months ago, I made the decision to start using coupons. And not like I'd used them in the past... This time I was going to seriously make an effort to save money using coupons. I had no idea at the time just how quickly I would become hooked! I was so excited about the deals I was getting, that I started posting them on Facebook. I had several people start to ask me how I as getting such great deals. So, I wrote this blog post about couponing. But still, even after I wrote that, I had several people ask me if I thought that couponing was worth the effort. I mean, do I really think that clipping a few coupons is worth the time and effort I have to put into it?

Well, last month I got around $700 worth of items for free. And last week, I saved $102 by using coupons on my weekly grocery shopping trip. That was a personal best for me. To me, that's huge! So, I guess the answer is yes, to me it's worth the time and effort.

This month is only halfway over, and so far I have gotten all of these items for free:

3 magazine subscriptions:


1 bottle of Listerine mouthwash
2 bottles of contact cleaning solution
1 sample (by mail) of Tide Pods laundry detergent
1 sample (by mail) of Simple face wash
2 (3 packs) of bar soap
1 sample (by mail) of Tums
2 tubs of Country Crock
2 bottles of Revlon nail polish
2 bottles of Purex laundry detergent
6 Glade air fresheners
2 sticks of Irish Spring deodorant
2 sticks of Gillette deodorant
16 boxes of Paseo tissues
4 Gillette razors (only 2 are pictured because we're already using the other 2!)
3 bottles of Garnier Nutriesse shampoo (not pictured because I honestly just forgot to put them on the table!)
1 sample (by mail) of Nature Made fish oil
1 pouch Bumble Bee tuna
2 tubes Maybeline mascara
2 (5 packs) Zyrtec
AND...
1 FREE Old Navy t-shirt (that's right, it was completely free! One of the couponing blogs that I follow told me how to get a coupon for a completely free t-shirt.)

I also got 2 cases of drinking water for free, but I didn't feel like lugging them onto the table for the picture! I also got my daughter a pair of flip flops, a pair of earrings, and 2 pairs of leggings, all completely free. This month, I've gotten over $160 worth of items for free, and I've saved over $208 on other items, simply by using coupons. This is just one example of the savings I'm getting by using coupons:

Mighty Dog canned dog food is normally $0.70/can. Dollar General had the cans on sale for $0.55/can. I had coupons to get $2.00 off 8 cans. After the sale and the coupons, I paid $0.30/can. I bought 48 cans (I had 6 coupons that my couponing friend gave me, thank you AS!!!). So, instead of paying $33.60 for those 48 cans, I paid $14.40, for a total savings of $19.20. OR, it's like I got 27 cans for free. My Maggie dog IS a Mighty, Mighty Dog!

A couple of months ago, I also read a post on one of my favorite couponing blogs about all of the birthday freebies you can get. So, I registered with a few of my local favorite restaurants. And for my birthday (which was earlier this week), I got:

A $30 gift certificate to Benihana

Free breakfast at Ihop

Free scoop of ice cream at Baskin Robbins

Free hamburger at Fuddruckers

Free entree at Houlihans

Free entree at Applebees

Free slush at Sonic

Free platter and free dessert at Taco Bueno

Free ice cream creation at Cold Stone Creamery

Free appetizer or dessert at On The Border

Free appetizer at Joe's Crab Shack

Free appetizer or dessert at Chili's

AND...

A $10 gift certificate to Maggianos

The best part about all my birthday freebies is that I don't have to use them all on my birthday. Most of them are good for the entire month.

Still not convinced that couponing is for you? Well, let me give you one quick and easy way to save money, without ever clipping a single coupon. Start taking advantage of CVS deals that earn you Extra Care Bucks. Look in their weekly sales paper. Make an initial purchase that will earn you Extra Care Bucks back, then turn around and use those Extra Care Bucks to make another purchase the following week that will earn you even more Extra Care Bucks. Keep your Extra Care Bucks in a constant rotation, and you can get freebies every week!

Here's an example of what I'm talking about:

I had $10 in Extra Care Bucks from last week. I got a 5 pack of Zyrtec for $5.99, and the Gillette deodorant was Buy 1 Get 1 Free for a total of $4.59. I had a $1.00/2 Gillette deodorants coupon. I also had a coupon to get $0.50 cents off a pack of gum that was $0.99 cents. That brought my total to $10.07. I used my $10 in Extra Care Bucks which brought my total due to $0.07 cents, which I paid in cash (or in coins, as the case would be!). For that purchase, I earned $5.99 back in Extra Care Bucks, which I then turned around and used to get the laundry detergent and air fresheners for free... and so on, and so on.

Have more questions? Feel free to ask...

That's it for today. Happy Couponing!

Going To Extremes

Have you ever seen the reality show on TLC called Extreme Couponing? I'll admit, I have been compelled to watch this show from time to time. The last time I watched it, the woman that was on the show admitted that she spends approximately 4-5 hours a day either clipping, sorting, or organizing her coupons. She also spends 10-15 hours a week actually shopping. For those of you keeping track, that's an average of 44 hours a week that this woman spends on couponing. Now then, I love a good deal just as much as the next person, but I can't even find the time to condition my hair most days, let alone spend 4-5 hours clipping coupons.

Well, please don't worry about me because there is absolutely nothing about my couponing skills that I would label as extreme. I tried couponing in the past, but the amount of time it took to get it all organized didn't really seem to be worth it to me in terms of how much I was actually saving. Plus, I never knew which coupons to match up with which sales, and the coupons always seemed to expire before I could get around to using them.

It wasn't until a few months ago that I realized that there definitely is an easier way to save money using coupons. A few of my friends kept posting all their great deals on their Facebook walls. And so I finally asked them how they find the time, and how they know which coupons to match up with which sales. And well, they told me... And that's what I hope to do for all of you today too!

There are a few really easy things that you can start doing to start saving money now.

1) Start following a few couponing blogs like this one, and this one, and this one. The women who write these blogs basically do the research for you. They match up the coupons with the sales, and find all the great deals for their readers. How awesome is that?!?! There are tons of great couponing blogs out there, but those are the ones that I follow. I also made a point to "like" all of their Facebook pages as well. And speaking of Facebook... think about the products that you use on a regular basis. Go onto Facebook and "like" their pages. Most of them will give you a coupon or a free product simply for liking their page.

2) Go onto a few coupon sites like this one and this one on a regular basis. Here's what is so great about these coupon sites. You don't have to spend tons of money buying newspapers, only to waste the actual paper used to print the newspaper because when all you really wanted is the coupons. You don't end up with tons of coupons that you will never use. And, you only print out the coupons that you want. It's free (other than the paper and printer ink you use). Tip: Set your printer to print in black ink only, and set it to the lowest/poorest print quality.

3) Figure out which days/times that you want to devote to couponing. I check the blogs on Sunday afternoons and Wednesdays. I check them on Sundays because the sales fliers come out on Sundays, so that's when you'll usually find the bloggers telling you about the match-up deals. I also check them on Wednesdays because they tend to post a lot more deals throughout the week, and I usually go shopping on Thursdays.

4) Set up an account with Saving Star. Register your store rewards/savings cards with them, then select the deals from off their website that you plan on buying that week. When you actually go to the stores and buy those items, you earn money back into your Saving Star account. For every $5 you earn, you can get an Amazon.com gift card sent to you.

5) If you like trying new products and getting "freebies," then you should set up an account with Smiley 360. They will send you questionnaires from time to time in order to see if you qualify for their latest "Mission." If you qualify for the latest Mission, they will send you a free product to try. Once you're done using the product, all they ask is that you go back to their site and tell them, and the Smiley 360 community, what you think about the product. I've been signed up for a month now, and so far I've qualified for 3 Missions; I've received a bottle of Children's Advil, and I have a 4 pack of Knorr Homestyle Stock, and a bottle of Woolite coming my way.

6) When you find a really good deal, stock up! Most coupon websites will only allow you to print out a few of each coupon per computer. But, I have found that sometimes, there is no limit. That's when you need to stock up!

You might be asking yourself if the time you are going to devote to all of this is really worth it. So, let me break it all down for you...

Just by following the few steps I listed above, spending maybe 2 hours a week couponing, and another 2 hours actually shopping, these are the deals and savings I got for the month of February.

Week 1

CVS: 1st transaction... 2 bottles of Dimetapp, on sale for $6.99 each, combined with a $2.oo off coupon, made my total come out to $12.96. Yes, I still paid close to $13.00, but I earned $6.00 back in Extra Care Bucks.

2nd transaction... 3 Greeting Cards, priced at 99 cents each, combined with a $2.00 off coupon, which made the cards come out to 97 cents for 3 cards. I also got Krazy Glue, priced at $3.99, combined with a $1.00 off coupon, which made it come out to $2.99. And I also got an InStyle magazine, priced at $3.00, combined with a $2.00 off coupon, which made it come out to $1.00. My total was $4.96. I had $6.00 in Extra Care Bucks that I'd just earned buying the Dimetapp. So, I also got a pack of gum (not pictured), and I winded up paying for everything with my ExtraCare Bucks, which meant I got everything else in this picture for free. And, on top of all of that, I also earned $1.50 in my new Saving Star account.

Walmart: I had $1.00 off coupons for Band Aids and $1.00 off coupons for Scotch-Rite kitchen sponges. The Band Aids cost 97 cents per box, and the sponges cost 96 cents each, so not only did I get $26 worth of items for free, I actually earned 97 cents back on this deal.

Albertsons: I went to Albertsons for my weekly groceries. I transferred a prescription to Albertsons, and earned a $25 store gift card. I combined store sales with coupons, and winded up paying $73.24 for $153.30 worth of groceries, for a savings of $80.06... just by following those blogs and printing out some coupons. By the way, did you know that Albertsons, Krogers and Tom Thumb will all give you a $25 gift card to their store if you transfer an existing prescription to their pharmacy? Well, now you do!

Week 2
CVS: Combined Maybeline make up coupons with items that were on clearance (because they were changing the packaging), and winded up paying $10.16 for $102.86 worth of make up products, for a savings of $92.70.

Target: In the picture above, you'll see a small tube of lip gloss with a pink lid. That was on clearance for $2.17 marked down from $4.99. I had a $2.00 off coupon, so I paid 17 cents for that. I also had a Target coupon for $1.00 off mayonnaise (not pictured), which I combined with a manufacturer's coupon for 50 cents off. Mayonnaise was on sale for $2.99. I got 2 jars, so I winded up getting 2 jars of mayonnaise for $3.00, for a savings of $3.00. By the way, did you know that you can print Target store coupons off their website, and Target stores will allow you to use both a store coupon and a manufacturer's coupon at the same time?

Walmart: In the picture above, I got the tube of toothpaste for free using a coupon, and I got the floss for 25 cents each using coupons, for a total savings of $4.00.

Albertsons: I did my weekly grocery shopping, and for some reason my computer won't load the picture on here of my receipt. So, I will simply tell you and you will have to believe me :-) that I saved $36.00 by using coupons this week. I'd bought so many things the week before, that I winded up needing hardly anything from the store. My total bill for groceries for the entire week was $87.11.

Week 3

Target: I had been holding onto a coupon for $5.00 off any Star Wars toy at Target. I found this $20.00 helmet on the clearance rack for $5.98. I paid 98 cents for it!

Walgreens: The store had marked down Chapstick from $1.99 to 99 cents each. In their store's monthly coupon book (this coupon book sits in a stand by the cash registers), there was a coupon for $1.00 off Chapstick, no limit. I asked the store's manager how many tubes of Chapstick he would actually let me get. He told me that as long as I didn't clear the shelf (which is a couponing "no-no" that is frowned upon not only by stores, but by most couponers as well), that I could take as many as I wanted. And so I left 1 full box of each flavor, and I grabbed 160 tubes. That's $340 worth of Chapstick, for free. The only thing that makes me sad about this entry is that I can not get my picture of my 160 tubes of Chapstick to load on here... :-( Not sure what is going on... Oh well! Moving on...

CVS: The Zarbee's Children's Cough Syrup was on sale for $6.00. I think it was regularly $8.99. Buying it earned me $6.00 back in Extra Care Bucks. So it was like I got it for free.

Albertsons: I had 2 coupons for 25 cents off Ivory Soap. Albertsons triples coupons that are 39 cents or less. So I got 75 cents off each 3-pack, making my total $1.00 for the 2 packages of soap (or 50 cents a package). I also found frozen vegetables that were regularly $2.39 a package on sale for 88 cents a package. I had coupons to get 55 cents off per package, so I got each package of vegetables for 33 cents each. I spent a little over $100 on my weekly groceries, and saved close to $40 by using coupons.

Walgreens

1st transaction: They had an in-store special where if you bought the pony-tail holders for $2.99, you got $2.00 back in Register Rewards (which is similar to CVS Extra Care Bucks). I used $3.00 in Register Rewards that I had earned from a previous purchase, so I got them for free and I earned $2.00 back in Register Rewards.

2nd transaction: I had 2 - $5.00 off coupons for the Tylenol Precise products. This week at Walgreens they are on sale for $5.00, so I got both of those items for free. Walgreens also had an in-store coupon on Softsoap for 99 cents each, limit 3. I used the $2.00 in Register Rewards from the pony-tails, combined with another $1.00 in Register Rewards I already had, making this entire purchase free.

So, those are my deals for the month of February so far. In and of themselves, the savings may not seem like much... $2.00 here... $4.00 there... But when I combined them all together, last month I saved my family close to $700.

There are lots of great blogs out there, that are specifically devoted to couponing. I hope that I haven't overwhelmed anyone. I've just had several people ask me what I'm doing to get all these great deals, and I wanted to make a point to share the wealth! Happy Couponing!