Confessions of a Couponer

Last week I confessed to you readers that I had experienced some "Coupon Burnout".

The response to that post was overwhelming! We appreciate all your wonderful comments and e-mails. We are lucky to have such supportive and relate able readers.

We had so much fun with that post we thought we would launch a new post idea where we will make a weekly

"Coupon Confession"

We want you guys to know that we are "normal" too. We aren't some super human coupon girls. We have families, laundry and errands to run too. It would be nice to be able to suck in coupon air every minute of every day, but face it, our houses would be disgusting if we did that. We update the blog as often as we can. When we do update it is usually between nap times, coloring time, breakfast and afternoon walks with our kids. That's why occasionally there are grammar and spelling errors. We do our best with our little ones banging on the keyboard as we edit our posts. We wish we could sit and update our blog all day, but our poor kids would miss their mommies.

Coupons are wonderful and yes, we seriously do save $6,000 in a year at the grocery store, but we also enjoy photographing our kids, going to the mall, meeting up for play dates, watching movies with out families and turning off our computers for a day.

So, my coupon confession this week is......

The deals that we post here on the blog, we only personally participate in about 25% of them. GASP, SHOCK AWE! When we tell you about things like .13 goldfish it doesn't mean we ran out to our cars and ran into the store to just buy goldfish. I printed off the coupons and if I make it to the store to use them I will be sure to put them in my cart, but I NEVER make a special trip for a coupon cheapie. Can you imagine if you looked for coupon freebies all day and than you ran out to go buy everything. Coupons would become a FULL time job. You really could drive around town and pick up freebies all day long and eat freebies at fast food joints while you were out, but let's face it if you did that you would be coupon burned out ALL the time. You would want to throw the towel in. Not to mention how expensive that habit could end up getting. Coupon blogging and shopping can be addicting and that's why Emily and I limit our shopping trips to once a week. Whatever we buy in that week that's it. We rarely go back for an item that was out of stock. We figure it will go on sale again someday and we'll hope to buy it then.

So what's your "Coupon Confession" this week?

What a week for shopping!

I LOVE SEEING MY TOTAL DROP AT THE CHECKOUT!

I had so much fun today! I ran into Smiths to pick up some things on the Mega Sale. At the checkout the total was 108. and dropped to 32.00! And a $2.00 off catalina printed out too! I am not going to lie, it brings a smile to my face that sticks all day long when there is savings found like this!

This week we stocked up on crackers since they are a favorite snack at my house!

Here is what I came home with:

2 boxes Ritz Crackers

2 boxes Wheat Thins

10 Bags of Goldfish crackers

2 packages Solo plates

2 packages Solo Cups

2 Packages Deli Meat

2 bricks of Cheese

2 bags of Cheese

1 bottle of Tide

1 box Toaster Strudel

2 Flats of Arrowhead Water (not pictured)

and a big smile on my face!

Buying Coupons on eBay

You know you are a couponer when your week starts on Wednesday (the day of the new sales) not Sunday. You shop FIRST thing on Wednesday's. You know what a shelf clearer is. Your Sunday morning is almost like Christmas morning when you see your newspaper on the driveway. Your husband asks you what language you are using when you drop words like Catalinas, Red Plum, and P&G.

Now, here is another method to acquire coupons that may cause your friends and family to wonder what habit you have gotten yourself into! We all know you can buy just about anything on e-bay, but did you know that you can buy coupons there! I shared that with a grocery store clerk and they about fainted right at the register.

There really is a whole little coupon universe out there isn't there!

Why Buy Coupons on EBay

I highly recommend that if you are trying the coupon thing that you get at least 1 set of Sunday newspaper coupons per person in your home. Newspaper coupons are guaranteed and reliable. Bottom line I couldn't save the kind of money I am without my newspaper coupons.

However, there are acceptations where people may not live in an area where newspapers are delivered and you may need to purchase your coupons through a 3rd party like e-bay. If you live in an area where coupons are in the paper it would be silly to buy your coupon inserts from eBay because they cost more than they do to just buy the Sunday paper.

The main reason why I purchase coupons on eBay is to maximize a sale. I never buy an insert from eBay, but rather if I see an item I want A LOT of and there is a corresponding coupon I check out eBay to see what deals I can get on MULTIPLES of that ONE coupon.

How to Buy Coupons on EBay

If you E-bay coupons you wouldn't believe the amount of listings that will come up. When I just searched "coupons" 31,023 listings were available! Wow! You will want to search for a specific coupon. Maybe you noticed a coupon that was high value on Sunday or maybe you are looking for an item you know you use a lot of, or maybe you wait until you see the item go on sale and then you purchase the coupons.

After you search for your coupon be sure to do your homework. Be sure to figure in the cost of shipping on the coupons, the cost you are paying to buy the coupons and the expiration date on the coupons.

Also be sure if you buy coupons on eBay (or any other online purchase) that you use your ebates account to get a percentage of cash back from your purchase.

When to Buy Coupons on EBay

After I saw that Quaker Rice Quakes were FREE after coupon this week I took a look at some of the coupons on eBay to see if I could get a deal on some extra coupons. The best deal I saw was for $3.75 for 10 coupons and then .50 for shipping. The total cost would have been $4.25. I figured out that after my coupon each package would end up costing me .42. Well, without a coupon at Smith's each package only ends up costing me .49. To me those coupons wouldn't be worth buying.

On the other hand I know that I use Electrosal Dish washing tablets and that I wanted as many boxes as I could get my hands on. They were on sale for .49 after coupon at Smith't this week and I ended up being able to buy 10 more $2.50 coupons for $3.50 and I would get FREE shipping. After I factored in the cost of buying the coupons on eBay each box would end up costing me only .84. That is still a great deal! I love that I have 18 boxes sitting underneath my sink now!

Word of Caution

Be careful when you buy coupons that you aren't buying online printable coupons. Not all stores accept Internet printables and you might end up paying money for online coupons that you won't be able to use.

Be aware of the expiration date. Don't buy coupons that expire on 1/31/10 on 1/29/10. That would be a risk and your coupons may not make it to you on time for you to use them at the store.

And as always with eBay be sure to check the sellers credibility when buying from them.

Maybe you are thinking this is CRAZY! Who buys coupons on eBay and I do agree with you! I am crazy and no I don't make a habit of buying coupons on eBay. I think I have bought coupons on eBay maybe 5 times. Does the idea of this scare you to death, but you like the idea of having extra coupons? Try out a Coupon Train!

.13 cent Goldfish Crackers

Be sure to print this .75/1 Goldfish coupon! This week at Smith's Mega Sale goldfish are on sale for .88 after mega sale savings and after the .75/1 coupon it would make them .13 a bag. In the past the Mega Sale has ran for two weeks, so if you have already been shopping you might be able to wait until next week to use you coupon.

FREE Discount Drug Card

This FREE discount card will come in handy! All you do is enter in your name and e-mail address here. On the next page you can print off your FREE pharmacy savings card. You can save up to 75% on prescription drugs and the card is accepted in over 75,000 drug stores.

VistaPrint Freebies Receipt

So, I just went through VistaPrint and finished placing my order. A couple of the things like the mouse pad, sticky notes and tote bag that I uploaded pictures to didn't end up costing me any extra! I was pleasantly surprised! I ordered all the FREE things except the photo book and I ended up adding mailing labels for $1.49. My total came to $31.11 and I saved $104.38!!!! I did choose slow shipping which means my items won't be here in time for V-Day, but I have other plans for my freebies!

How much did you end up saving on your order?

Free Vista Print Products

Go to Vista Print and you can get FREE samples of their following products!

250 FREE business cards
4x6 FREE photo flip book
25 FREE checks
1 package 3x3 sticky notes
1 package regular notepads
100 FREE Standard size postcards
10 FREE invitations
1 FREE mug
1 FREE mouse pad
1 FREE canvas tote gag
1 FREE T-shirt

You only have to pay for shipping and processing on your order. I went through and ordered one of every FREE item. Some if the items I made I fully intend on using for Valentine's Day gifts for the grandparents in our lives! To make them personalized I did end up uploading photo images on some of my items so I did have to pay a little extra for that, but I couldn't get a better deal on a personalized photo gift!

These offers go quickly so be sure to snag you FREE items.

ANOTHER A Lot for Less

Here is another A Lot for Less from She Shops Smart reader Cindy! I met Cindy at an Enrichment night about 5 months ago and I have since taught a class for her friends and family. Cindy is so awesome at using coupons and gave some of the best advice to her friends that were new at using coupons. She told them to stick with it for more than a month! So many times I see people "try"their hand a couponing and if they haven't seen AWESOME results in 2 weeks they give up. Cindy told her friends to at least stick with it for 3-4 months and they would notice a drastic difference in their budgets and pantries! Cindy keep the awesome advice coming and I can't believe what an amazing trip you had this week! Thanks for sharing with us! I bet your glad you stuck with coupons! BTW- I love that Cindy didn't have enough room on her counter to get all her groceries into one picture!

3 bags Armour Meatballs
4 bags birds eye steam vegi’s
3 loaves of smiths bread (love this stuff)
Bananas
1 tub of I can’t believe…butter
1 box of I can’t believe…butter sticks
10lb bag of potatoes
Baby back ribs
2 4ct dannon activia
5 4ct danimals
3 gal of milk
3 bags of buddig lunchmeat
4 24pkcs of arrowhead water
2 6 pcks of arrowhead water ….FREE!
4 10pcks of Capri Sun
2 16oz Daisy Sr. Cream
4 boxes of Electrasol dishwasher detergent
5 Milk chocolate hersey bars
5 Hershey bars…FREE! (these will be great for my emergeny packs!)
5 bags of shredded kraft cheese
3 bars of kraft cheese
9 boxes of kraft mac&cheese (riley loves this stuff)
3 boxes of kraft mac&cheese…FREE!
5 boxes of krusteaz cookie mix (which I was able to use on muffin mixes too)
1 bag lays potato chips
2 cans of Lays stacks
4 boxes of toaster Strudels
6 boxes of Quaker chewy bars (we love these)
2 bags of Quaker rice cakes
5 Solo plastic items (cups & plates)
4 Tide Laundry detergent
1 tub of sanitizing wipes
2 honey bears
4 tubs of Philadelphia cream cheese
4 boxes of Nabisco crackers

114 items

Total $329.64
Paid $137.81
Saved $194.83

Online Coupons Reset

It is the first of the month, so you know what that means! The online coupons, Group A-Group C have reset. Here are some tips about online or Internet printable coupons:

The IPS (internet printables)

• Manufactures set limits on the amounts of coupons printed. When the limit is reached they pull their coupons off. That means occasionally you will go the print a coupon and it will be gone unless you printed it off at the beginning.


• This is even more important toward the end of a month. Coupons group A-C are reset at the first of the month, so on the FIRST, when the coupons reset, they start out at zero.


• Sometimes manufactures will reset their coupons after the limit is reached, but don't count on it. Just consider yourself lucky if they do.


• I know some people are having problems with IPS. I wish I could help out in that area, but I am not tech savvy enough. I have heard that switching browsers can help. Example: On Internet Explorer and they won't print try Fire Fox or vice virsa. Another great resource is pinching your pennies. They have an entire forum to troubleshooting your IPS.

Some questions to commonly asked IP questions answered:

• Where are online coupons located? All over! You can see over the the left hand side of this there are online coupons, group A-Singles . You can also find coupons on manufactures websites, you can receive them via-email and sometimes websites will give them to you after you join their mailing lists or take a survey for them. When the Grocery Smarts lists are up you will see links that take you to online coupons. The best part about those lists are that if there are coupons online, they are on the lists. You will never have to search for coupons for items on the list yourself! Grocery Smarts lists do all the work for you.
  
• "Are IP'S worth it? It seems like a lot of paper and ink to be wasting." My answer is it depends. I think after you have a couple months worth of newspaper coupons its hit and miss. I only print ones of that make things close to FREE or if it is something I really like or know I will need. You'll never catch me printing of cereal coupons or toothpaste coupons. That is because I have DOZENS of them from my newspaper.


• Now, if you are staring out and only have a few coupons from the paper on the list then I definitely recommend using IPS to maximize your savings. My sister in law started out and only had a weeks worth of coupons, but wanted to start saving right away, so she maximized her coupons by using IPS. She told me her husband was frustrated by all the paper in ink she was using, but after she shopped she had saved over $50. That paper and ink WAY over paid for itself. IP'S are a great way of subsidizing newspaper coupons, but not a great substitute! Newspaper coupons will benefit you way more in the the long end.


• "How long do IP'S last". IPS have expiration dates on them the same way other coupons do. Most times they expire WAY faster than the ones in the paper. That's why I only print the ones off from the list that week. Otherwise they tend to expire before I have a chance to use them.


• "Can we print them off in black and white?" It depends on your store. Some stores will take black and white, some will not. Be sure to ask if you are planning on trying black and white. There reason behind that is they are trying to protect themselves from illegal photocopied coupons.


• Do all stores take IP's and the answer is no. Not all stores do take IPS. I do know that Albertsons and Smiths DO and as of August first Associated Foods started accepting IP's again. My suggestion with other stores is call ahead and ask if you are planning on using them on your shopping trip.

Also don't forget the two IP's per HOUSEHOLD rule! Have fun printing!

Babies R Us Trade in Event

"From Friday, January 29 through Saturday, February 20, all Babies"R"Us and Toys"R"Us stores nationwide will accept returns of used cribs, car seats and other baby products in exchange for savings on a new item during the “Great Trade-In” event. The event is designed to draw attention to the fact that certain used baby products can carry potential hazards, but are still in circulation."

You can return your baby items in exchange for 25% off certain baby gear and equipment. You do not need a receipt to exchange your items and you did not have to purchase them from Babies R US. There is no limit, so you can trade in as many items you would like.

To read about the participating brands and products check out Babies R Us' website for all the details.

Hershey's Pieces Pouches at Kmart

I was surprised to see some deals worth mentioning at Kart this week.

My favorite deal is to buy 4 bags of Hershey Pieces Pouches on sale $2/5.

Use (4) $1/1 from SS 1/31.

Kmart will then give you a $10 Gift card when you buy 4 bags.

• Pay $10 for the pouches
• -$4 in coupons
• Factor in the $10 gift card and you have a money maker of $4 on hand.

After you finish eating up one of your bags be sure to save your wrapper. Take that wrapper, fill out this form here and you will recieve a coupon for a FREE bag up to $3.69.

After your rebate this deal turns into a $4 moneymaker on 5 bags of Hershey's Peices.

Thanks Money Saving Mom for the scenario!

In the fine print it does say that the gift card will come via mail in certificate and that the gift card is for a future purchase of Hershey products. I am not sure if that means we can only buy Hershey products with the gift card or not.

Kmart also included some in store coupons in their ad this week. There was a coupon that made Oreo's $1.88 (limit one), Angel Soft Toilet Paper 12 pack for $4.49 (limit 1) and 2 liters of Pepsi for .77(limit 2). They require you to purchase a minimum of $10 before taxes, discounts and coupons are applied to use these coupons.

Parade Magazine Coupons

Be sure to pull out the Parade Magazine out of your papers today! There is a coupon for $1/1 package of Keebler Club Crackers 9oz or larger any flavor. While I was browsing through the ads Walmart had them on Rollback for $1.94 each. Use this coupon and it makes them only .94 a box!

Has anyone seen somewhere else to use these coupons at? I can't remember if these were apart of the Mega Sale at Smith's.

Coupons in Sunday's Paper

In the Daily Herald you should have received:

1 SS insert
1RP insert
In the SLT/DMN you should have received
1 SS insert

To read about how the Red Plum coupons are distributed click here!

To start your newspaper coupons right away, learn about the awesome newspaper deal we can get you here.

*If you ordered the paper and you didn't receive your paper or didn't get the correct number of papers please call the newspaper company first and let them know. Their numbers are on the left side of the blog. Occasionally if you are new to a route your carrier may miss your home. The newspaper companies are super easy to work with and will make sure your papers are delivered.

Think Ahead

One of my favorite things to think about when we have amazing sales like this week is what plans do we have coming up.

My oldest is about to celebrate his 3rd birthday. We are going with a Forest Ranger theme for his birthday. While I was at Smith's I ran across the new S'mores Goldfish bags. I knew they would make great party favors for his friends. At .88 a bag that is cheaper than any dollar store cheapie toy and what kid wouldn't want to get their own bag of Goldfish. I threw 10 bags into my cart and it cost me less than $10!

I also know we are coming up on the infamous Superbowl. My husbands family usually gets together that afternoon to watch the game. Of course my VERY inexpensive Velveeta Cheese, Hormel Chili, chips and paper products will make a great addition to the party.

Think ahead to what you have going on in the next week, month or year and see if anything on sale would come in handy for that event or events. In the long run you'll save money if you buy it on sale NOW!

Another-A Lot for Less

Another newbie tries their hand at couponing and does AMAZING! I am partial to this newbie because we are related, but seriously Shannon, GREAT JOB!

Thank you for sending in your picture! Seeing how well everyone does at the grocery store is so motivating!

"I finally gave coupons a try & I'm so glad that I did!! This was my second time trying and I feel like I did pretty well! This is something that I will definitely continue doing for a very long time!! Thanks for always sharing all the good deals with us!!!"

10 packs of Gold Fish Crackers
10 packs of Velveeta Easy Mac
10 packs of Kraft Easy Mac
8 Cans of Hormel Chili
4 Boxes of Wheat Thin Crackers
3 packs of Finish Gel Tabs
1 Box of Tide Laundry Detergent
3 (6) Packs of Dannon Danimals Yogurt Drinks
2 Boxes of Pillsbury Toaster Strudels
4 Bags of shredded Kraft Cheese
2 packs of Oscar Meyar Deli Shaved Lunch Meat
1 Jug of Motts Apple Juice
1 Bundle of Bananas
Cost: $138.23
Spent: $49.89
Saved: $88.34
That's an average of $0.85 per item!!!

That is an awesome second trip using coupons! Can you believe a HUGE box of Tide Detergent averaged out to only .85!

A Lot for Less from Jessica

This week our e-mail has been flooded with your awesome A Lot for Less photos! Many of you shared with us that this was your very first shopping trip! You guys are doing awesome! Keep it up!

Here is an e-mail from Jessica.

Hi Tori & Emily,
I have only been receiving the newspapers since late December and had only used a couple of coupons until last night. Due to the added deals with the Mega Event at Smith's I decided to jump in with both feet. I researched, prepared and went shopping. Prepping took a little longer then I wanted but I think that will shorten as I start to have some stock at home and get in the hang of filing coupons, especially those print ables.
Last night my total came to $163.74 then I had $66.46 off in Fresh Values savings and another $31.85 off from my coupons. That's a total of $98.31 in savings...I only spent $65.43!! That's a good start if you ask me. Here's to hoping that the prep time will be less and less as time goes by.
Thanks!!

Great Job Jessica! Yes, your prep time will get better with time. It looks like the time you put into it paid off too!

Old Navy 30% off today and tomorrow ONLY!

Look at the e-mail we had come from the Old Navy Newsroom!Hello,

D’ja hear that 30 is the new 20? 30% off that is! Old Navy is hosting a 2-Day Super Sale Friday and Saturday. (1/29-1/30 only). Shoppers get 30% off on every single item in stores – except gift cards – even items already on sale! Seriously…shoppers can shop ‘til they drop for what THEY want and save. If they want new jeans, tops, accessories, workout gear - presto, bingo – they save 30%! Love that new floral spring top – get it for 30% less – this Friday and Saturday only. And get this, no coupons required. They just shop and save! In fact, we’re so sure the ladies are gonna love the 2-Day Super Sale so much that no new coupons will be available at OldNavyWeekly.com until Sunday. So, let your readers know the inside scoop by being the first to write about the 2-Day Super Sale.

Cheers,

Nicole D.
Thank you Old Navy! I have been itching to do some shopping for some spring capris and shorts! Have you had your eye set on some new clothes too!

Mega Swag Bucks

A couple months ago I shared with you about a new way to search the Internet called Swagbucks. You get paid in "swag bucks" to search the Internet the same way you already search for things. After you earn your swagbucks you can redeem them for gift cards and other prizes from the swag store. You can read my post about swagbucks here for all the details.

As if it was already sweet enough to get rewarded for doing something you are already doing, how about having a MEGA swag buck day!

"Every Friday, Swagbucks gives you a chance to win huge, gargantuan, oodles, tons of....Mega Swag Bucks with your searches. From 3 to 100 Swag Bucks, we give away up to 10,000 Swag Bucks in Mega Bills every Friday!"
Taken from Swag Bucks official blog

So, make sure on Friday's you do some MEGA searching to win MEGA swag bucks! Be sure to check out our Swag Bucks tips here.

If you don't already have Swag Bucks go here to sign up. After you sign up check your e-mail and they will let you start searching!

I just bought a gift card for $50 to Southwest Airlines with my Swag Bucks. Emily and I both celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversaries this Summer and we are going to use our Swag Bucks to surprise our husbands and pay for airline tickets! Emily and I hope we can get enough gift cards to fly us to Galveston, TX so we can leave on a cruise!

What are looking to buy from the Swag Bucks store? I have several friends that say they bought ALL their Christmas presents with their Amazon gift cards from Swag Bucks!

Ranch Dressing for $1.00

Kraft Ranch dressing (and it may be more than just ranch) is apart of this weeks Mega Sale at Smiths. It's on sale for $1.99 and if you buy 10 participating items it makes them $1.49. In the Party Play Book that I showed you I found at the store there is a coupon for $1/2 Kraft dressings. Use that coupon and it makes each dressing $1.00!

My husband couldn't believe that I was paying more that .25 for dressing. I explained that my supply from this Summer finally came to the end and I even had 2 dressings end up expiring! I thought that they would still taste good, but expired Ranch Dressing does NOT taste good! Yuck!

BTW- When I went back to Smith's yesterday and I looked at the Party Play books, someone had taken all the coupons out of all the booklets! Please only take what coupons you know you will use! You will never use 30 booklets full of coupons. I promise you!

Free Butter at Smith's

This week Smith's has their I Can't Believe It's Not Butter STICKS on sale for $1.49 and if you buy 10 participating Mega Sale items is makes each package .99. Use I Cant Believe Its Not Butter Sticks, any $1/1 (2-7-10) RP-11/15 and you've got yourself FREE Butter!

They also have their spreadable butter on sale for $1.49 and if you buy 10 participating Mega Sale items is makes each package .99. Use the I Cant Believe Its Not Butter product, any .50/1 (2-7-10) RP-11/15 and you have .50 cent butter!

I freeze both butter in sticks and in tubs and it always tastes fine. This amount of butter will last my family and I a LONG time!

Scenario:

• Buy 4 packages of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Sticks
• Buy 4 tubs of I Can't Believe Its Not Butter spreadable butter
• Buy 2 Bottles of Sobe Life Water @.49 each
• Use :
• (4) $1/1 for the sticks of butter
• (4) .50/1 for the tubs of butter
• (1) BIG1 FREE Sobe Life Water
• -5 for Mega Savings
• Total: $2.41 plus you will pay tax

A Lot for Less

Yesterday when I went shopping at Smith's I was in a HUGE hurry and didn't have a lot of time to walk around and check out some of the unadvertised deals. My two little ones and I packed up this morning and took a stroll around the aisles to see what deals we could find. If I take my kids with me and I am using coupons I usually head over to the deli and grab them corn dogs and french fries to snack on. That keeps them entertained and I can go quickly. I was surprised how well I did today even with my kids with me! I am loving this sale and I am stocking up on tons of stuff that will last me at least 6 months!4 bags of Armour Meatballs@ $2.49

2 Bags Tyson Chicken Tenders @4.49

2 Bags Tyson Chicken Dinosaur Nuggets @$4.49

4 Tubs of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter @$1.49

4 bottles of Sobe Life Water @.99

2 packages Mission Tortillas @$2.50

2 Packages Goldfish @$1.38

2 Danimals Yogurts @ $1.88 (not apart of the mega sale)

1 Gallon of Milk (not apart of the mega sale)

Used:

4 .55/1 Armour Meatball coupons SS 1/24

4 .50/1 Butter coupons RP 11/15

2 B1G1 FREE Sobe Life Coupons

2 $1/1 Mission Tortilla Coupons SS 1/10

2 $1/1 Danimals Coupons SS 1/10

Minus (2) $5 off for purchasing 20 participating items

Total $30.70

Saved $43.44

I purchased 30 items so on average each item only cost me $1.33!

A New Family Favorite- Yoplait Smoothies

Last week I bought a couple of the new Yoplait Smoothie pouches and my kids went nuts and kept asking for more. All you do is add milk, the fruit and blend for a super yummy smoothie. My kids have been having one every morning with breakfast. Today I even snuck in some cucumber and carrot in their smoothies and they still loved them. I am always try to sneak healthy foods into their diets. Be sure to use this $1.25/1 coupon so your family can try them out too! It's a brick coupon so you can print off 2 coupons!

B1G1 FREE Sobe Life Water

Thsi week at Smith's Sobe Life Water is a part of the Mega Sale (Buy 10 items get $5 off). When you buy 10 items total each Sobe Life Water ends up only costing .49. Use this B1G1 FREE online coupon, print it off twice, and you'll end up with 4 waters for only .24 for each one!

Thanks Hip2Save!

FREE $5 Babies R Us Gift Card

Today only when you become a fan of Babies “R” Us on Facebook here, you’ll get a free $5 gift card to Babies “R” Us! This $5 gift card will be emailed to you and can be used in-store or online. I have a baby shower coming up for a very good friend and I have been wanting to get her something around $50 and this will help off set the cost, and then if I can combine a coupon with the gift card it will make the present even less!

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

Home Depot Savings Newsletter

I always have dreams for these huge do it yourself projects for my future home, but right now all we end up doing are fix it yourself projects. The other night we ended up taking apart out garbage disposal for a penny that my son threw into it! Either way this Home Depot Savings Newsletter gives you access to special savings via email to help off set the cost of your projects. Just sign up to receive the newsletter and you are set to go!

A WHOLE Lot for Less

I had so much fun today at the Smith's Mega sale! I have been dying to show you how I did!

I am going to break it down for you exactly what I purchased because there are some AWESOME rebates that go with this current sale at Smith's.

First Transaction
5 boxes of Capri Suns used 2 $1/2 online coupons
5 Kraft Easy Macs (no coupons)
10 boxes of Nabisco Crackers/Cookies (used the $1/2 any Nabisco cracker/cookie coupons from $55 Back to School Booklet)
Total came to $22.99 after mega savings and tax
Submit this receipt for the $20 rebate that came in the $55 Back to School Savings Booklet
You can't request this rebate again, but if you have it on hand, be sure to use it!
Total after rebate $2.99


Second Transaction
6 Boxes Premium Saltines( These were not a part of the Mega sale, but I found coupons for $1/1 when you bought I can of soup or chili at the store)
Final Cost $1.50
2 Cans of Planters Cashews $1/2 coupon here
Final Cost $4.98
2 Boxes Ritz Crackers use $1/1 SS 1/24
Final Cost $1.98
8 Cans of Hormel Chili use .55/2 SS 1/24
Final Cost $4.16
2 bags of Kraft Cheese $1/2 coupon from here
Final Cost $1.98
2 Boxes Toaster Strudels $1/1 here
Final Cost $.98
Total $15.58
Submit this receipt for the $10 Jingle Rebate
Total after rebate $5.58


Third Transaction
1 Digiorno Pizza $1/1 SS 1/24
Final Cost $3.99
2 Velveeta Cheese Bricks used $1/2 here
Final Cost $5.98
4 Solo Plates $1/1 SS 12/6
Final Cost $1.96
3 Solo Cups .75/1 SS 1/24
Final Cost $2.22
Total Cost $14.15
Submit this receipt for a FREE Digiorno Pizza Coupon

(Found this rebate at my Fresh Market 2 weeks ago)

4th Transaction
6 boxes of Electrosal Tablets $2.50/1 SS 1/3
Final Cost $2.94
1 box Finish Quantum Tablets $1/1 here
Final Cost $1.99
3 Boxes of Kleenex .50/3 SS/3
Final Cost $2.46
Total Transaction Cost $7.39


5th Transaction
2 bags Lays Potato Chips no coupon
Final Cost $3.56
6 boxes Cheezit Crackers $1/2 RP 12/13
Final Cost $8.94
2 Jars of Tostitos Salsa found a $1/1 Tostitos Salsa when I bought a bag of Lays Chips
Final Cost $2.00
Total Cost $14.50

Submit for the Budweiser $8.00 rebate
(I found this at my Fresh Market store 2 weeks ago)

Final Cost after rebate $6.50


6th Transaction
3 Bottles of Tide Laundry Detergent $1/1 P&G 12/27
Final Cost $13.47
3 boxes Krusteaz Cookies Mixes $1/1 SS 12/6
Final Cost $1.47
4 bottles Sobe Life Water no coupon
Final Cost $1.96
4 Philadelphia Cream Cheeses (Found $1/2 coupon at the store in this booklet)
Final Coast $1.96
8 Bags of Kraft Cheese $1/2 SS 1/24
Final Cost $7.92
4 bags of Quaker Rice Quakes .75/1 RP 1/10
Final Cost FREE
4 bags Goldfish Crackers no coupon
Final Cost $3.52
1 loaf of bread $2.00
2 Nestle Cookie dough cookies $2.88
8 Hershey Candy Bars $2.00
Total Transaction Cost $37.18

My plan today when I went shopping was to divide up my transactions like this, but after my first transaction the checker told me she could print off duplicate receipts for me instead of doing everything in individual transactions.

Now that I am home I wish I would have divided up the transactions anyway just so things were easy to sort through, so I would recommend the different transactions if you are going to use any of the rebates I did. After I paid for my first transaction and my bill came to $22 and I was going to get a $20 rebate back I was feeling pretty awesome! Then all the rest of my items came up to over $380!!!!!! I about died. Then I scanned in my Preferred Savings Card and the total went down to $219!!!! I handed over my coupons and they did their magic! My total cost for that transaction was only $92! My total for EVERYTHING ABOVE only cost me...........

$115.11

My total cost after my rebate will only be

$77.11 and a FREE pizza coupon

To make this work for me it definitely took some work and planning on my part, but it totally paid off! I teased my husband and told him saving this kind of money at the store is like paying myself to work! I can't believe how much money I saved and how many groceries I came home with! Be sure to send us your pictures from this weeks sale too! We love seeing how awesome you guys do!

BTW I had so much fun running into so many of you readers today! Thank you for always be so sweet to me! Amy totally offered to give me her blue Solo plates so I didn't have to take the red ones and Krisiti ran back to grab me the bread I almost forgot! You guys are the best and you are why I love updating this blog!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!

Coupons To Look for at Smith's

Be on the lookout for this coupon booklet at Smith's when you go. It has a few coupons that go great with the sale. I only ended up using the $1/2 Philadelphia Cream Cheese coupon, but I know I'll use more of them later. I also found this $1/1 Tostitos Salsa when you buy Lays chips, and both are on sale this week!

Smith's Mega Event Previw List

Here is a look at the upcoming list at Smith's this week! I am so excited for this Mega Event sale! The deals look awesome! This is one of my favorite sales. Most times this sale will run for two weeks too! It's about time I get giddy about a shopping trip! I called and told my husband to plan on going in late to work tomorrow because I am so excited to go shopping!

Thanks PYP for the early look at tomorrows sale!

Tomorrow's To Do List:

• Grocery Shop
• Take the boys on a FREE trip to Hogle Zoo
• Sit back and enjoy how little I spent on a wonderful day!

BOGO Sandwich at Subway

I do not feel like cooking tonight so here is what my family and I are doing! Eating with a coupon at Subway!

Subway is offering a great coupon, buy one 6″ sandwich and 32 oz. drink and get another 6″ sandwich for FREE! Just go to their website HERE and build your own sandwich to receive your coupon!

Thanks The Thrifty Couple!

HOT Online Printable Coupons

Be sure to print off these high valued Kraft coupons here!

Thanks Krazy Coupon Lady!

Utah's Hoogle Zoo's Wild Wednesday

Visit Hogle Zoo for FREE on "Wild Wednesday", tomorrow January 27th! Utah's Hogle Zoo offers free admission all day to thank voters for supporting the Zoo Arts and Parks (ZAP) fund. Emily and I plan on being there tomorrow, so if you see us be sure to stop and say hi!

Thanks She Shops Smart reader, Carolyn for the reminder!The last time we went to the zoo my oldest was just a baby and I was SUPER pregnant. My boys are so excited for tomorrow!

A Lot for Less

Here was my latest shopping trip! I ended up taking a stroll into Fresh Market and then Macey's. Most of their prices were the same, my Macey's was all out of All laundry detergent, so I ventured into both stores.

12 All Laundry Detergents @$2.99-$3/2 coupon RP 1/3
3 Packages of Tennessee Pride Sausage $2.19-$1/1 coupon RP 12/3
3 Yoplait Frozen Smoothie Bags $2.99- 1 for free and 2 coupons for $1.25 from the mail
5.8lbs of Bananas(My kids eat one every day) @.59lb
1 package green onions .69
1 head of lettuce .99
1 green pepper .99
1 bag of potato's $1.48
1 pair of Scotch scissors for $1.49

1 loaf of bread for $2.00

Total Spent $34.65

I still can't believe how much All I was able to pick up for only $1.49 a piece! I am still debating on picking up some more for $1.99 after using the $1/1 coupon from the RP 1/3. This wasn't an amazing trip, but I was able to pick up HE laundry detergent for an amazing price and that will easily last me 4-6 months!

Free Oreos On Facebook This Afternoon

Ready to score some FREE Oreos?

Today at 3:00pm EST or 1:00pm here in Utah head over to the Oreo Facebook Fan page to receive your FREE Oreos!

Thanks Krazy Coupon Lady!

*Update- The website is up and running very fast and those cookies are going even faster. Once you get there, go the the DSRL News Tab. Then click on the picture that says click here for FREE cookies. You will then fill out a form and a coupon for FREE Golden Double Stuff Oreos will be mailed to you!. Yeah for FREE cookies!

This Weeks Walgreens Scenario

This week at Walgreens there is a great deal on super bowl snacks again. I went to snag up some of the deals last week, but the sale continues, so I thought I would share a couple scenarios with you!

Spend $20 on the following products (you can see them on the list) and receive a $10 checkout coupon for your next purchase. Limit of 1 per household.

Scenario One:
4 Tostios Bags of Chips @ $2.50
4 Jars of Tostito Dips of Salsa @ $2.50
Total $20.00
Use 4: Tostitos Tortilla Chips, any flavor/any variety, 9 oz. or larger bag AND (1) jar of Tostitos Dip, any flavor 11 oz. or larger .55 (2-14-10) SS-1/17
Total $17.80
A $10 RR will print out
Total with RR Factored in $7.80

Scenario Two:

(3) Bags of Chips @$2.50
(4) 12 packs of Soda @$3.33

Total $20.82
$10 RR prints out
Total with RR factored in $10.82!

Here is what my latest transaction looked like:

(5) 12 packs of Soda (last week they were on sale 5 for $15)

(2) Bags of Tostitos Chips @$2.50
Total: $20.00
A $10 RR printed out
Total with RR factored in $10

Second Transaction

Bag of clearnaced Christmas Candy .62

60 photo prints for $6.99

Bottle of Netrogena Shiled Sun Screen clearanced to $2.74

Used my $10 RR from my previous transaction and my total came to $1.03

Then a $2 RR printed out for the clearanced Sunscreen

Money Maker of .97 for this transaction

Then here is the best part! I am going to submit my first reciept for a Coors Superbowl rebate that requires you to spend $20 worth of Tostitos Chips, Dip, Pepsi Soda, Condiments, Plastic Cups, Ice, Paper Plates, and/or Deli Items. You will then recieve a rebate of $7.50.

After I recieve my rebate I will have only spent $11.57 OOP for EVERYTHING above! Sweet deal!

.75/1 Gold N Plump Chicken

My .75/1 Gold and Plump All Natural Chicken coupon just reset! Be sure to print this one off. Many times Associated Food Stores have put this chicken on sale for $1.00. That would make a package of chicken only .25!

You Need a Newspaper Per Person in Your Home-Even Babies!

The reasons for getting multiple papers in your home is obvious (because we STOCK UP) but, do we really need a newspaper for the babies in our homes?

My answer is YES! Although small children and babies consume very little, what they do use is very expensive! Tons of money goes into buying diapers and formula for those little ones.

It isn't every day that we see GREAT deals on diapers, but when we do we hope to be able to get as many packages as we can for that GREAT price. If you don't have enough coupons to stock up on those diapers when they are on sale you will end up paying full price for them. This week as I glanced through the adds I found quite a few good deals on diapers if you have multiple coupons.

This week at Target when you buy 3 packages of Jumbo Huggies or Pampers diapers you will get a $5 gift card to Target.

If you like Pampers:

Use 3 $2/1 coupons from P&G 12/27

AND

Use 3 $2/1 Target Store Coupons from RP 12/6

Total $26.97 (plus tax)

Use $12 in coupons

Get $5 Gift Card

Total for all 3 packages comes to $9.97 or $3.32 for each package

If you prefer Huggies try out this scenario at Walgreens:

Spend $25 or more on the following products (see them in the grocery smarts list) and receive a $5 checkout coupon for your next purchase:

Buy 3 packages of diapers for $26.97

Use $2/1 coupons here or

$1/1 from SS 1/17 or

see if you have those Huggies mailers with the $3/1 coupons in them

I will use 1 $3/1 coupon and 2 $2/1 coupons

Total after coupons: $19.97

Factor in the $5 RR that will print out

Bottom Line: $14.97 for all 3 packages or $4.99 for each package

Now, obviously the more coupons you have the more times you can repeat these scenarios and the MORE diapers you can score for less. This is exactly why I tell people to be sure to get a newspaper for even the babies in your home. In fact did you know that if you live in Utah County you can get up to a total of NINE newspapers, 5 Daily Heralds, 2 Salt Lake Tribunes and 2 Deseret Morning Newspapers!!!!

If you had that many newspapers, you could use each of these scenarios 3 times for a total of 18 packages of diapers for about $80 (depending on which type of diaper you are buying and how many online coupons you are using) for an average of $4.44 a package!!!!

That is what I would calling stocking up!

If you need helping getting EXTRA newspapers check out the awesome deal we can help you get.

$8 Money Making Scenario

Ready for an easy money making scenario? Try

this out! Buy 2 Olay Regernist products then submit for this $15 rebate.

Yesterday, at Smith's, I found Olay Regenerist Facial Cleanser on sale for $6.49. I bought two of them and used (2)$3/1 coupons from P&G 1/17.

After I mail in my reciept and rebate from I will have actually made money on those facial cleansers! Here is how it breaks down:

1. Buy 2 Olay Regernsits for $6.49
2. Use (2) $3/1 coupons from P&G 1/17
3. You will spend $6.98 before tax
4. Send in for your $15 rebate
5. Money maker of around $8 depending on the amount of your tax

Pretty sweet deal! Just be aware the last day you can buy products for this rebate is TODAY 1/24! We are sorry we are just barley getting the news about this one out, but if you read our last post you'll see we are just getting back into the swing of things.

Confessions of a Burned Out Couponer

Emily and I have a confession to make to our readers.....we just experienced some

"COUPON BURNOUT!"

Since Thanksgiving time until about last week Emily and I didn't go on a shopping trip that included coupons. Did your mouths just drop? Honestly Emily and I we were just plain tired of grocery shopping, printing off online coupons, planning our menus and pulling our coupons out of the newspaper. Neither one of us could motivate the other and we were just so busy with the holidays and our little ones we couldn't find the drive to start using coupons. I think we were enjoying our break so much that we didn't even think about coupons until our husbands started pointing out the amount of money it was costing us to NOT use coupons.

This last week I told myself that I just needed to jump right back in. So, I started off by actually pulling the coupons out of the paper from (you aren't going to believe this) NOVEMBER! It took some work sorting through my mess, but I finally had things organized enough that I could start shopping again. I sorted through the grocery smarts lists, planned my menu, cleaned out my fridge, and made my way to the store and found myself GASP-enjoying using coupons again. The fact that I spent half of what I had been spending at the store and came home with 3x the amount of stuff definitely made my "coupon trip" exciting.

I remembered how I felt after I learned about using coupons for the first time at the store. Coupons were all I could think about, in fact I often time dreamed about how wonderful coupons were. I told everyone I knew about how wonderful coupons were. That was the whole reason I started this blog!

So, since we love sharing our coupon experiences with you, we thought we would share with you some tips to remember if you ever go through your own "Coupon Burnout".

• Don't stop your newspaper from coming each week- Despite the fact that I wasn't using coupons each week, now that I am using them again I am grateful that I have the coupons I need to save money at the store.
• Pull the coupons OUT of the newspaper- Sometimes a insert can be missing and unfortunately if it is one from November there is nothing the newspaper can do about it. If I had realized it was missing that week, the newspaper company would have brought me my missing insert, but to know it is missing I would have to actually take the paper out of that plastic bag.
• Be sure to use up some of your stockpile on your coupon break- I loved being able to shop from my pantry when I didn't want to go the store. I was able to use up a some of those items that were collecting dust so that I could make room for the stuff I would be buying in the future.
• Everyone deserves a little break, so don't feel guilty about taking one- Using coupons is a lifestyle and sometimes there are seasons in our lives when that lifestyle doesn't meet our needs. In fact that is exactly why I needed a little coupons break. Using coupons just wasn't fitting into my schedule. I had some family things come up that just seemed so my bigger to me than using coupons. I am over that bump and am ready to start saving at the store again. Of course, I feel bad that I wasted so much money that could have been saved by using coupons, but it also helped me to appreciate the value of a coupon.

Have any of you ever experienced a "Coupon Burnout"? If so, why do you think you burned out and how did you get back into the swing of things?

Coupons in Sunday's Paper

In the Daily Herald you should have received:

1 SS insert
1RP insert
In the SLT/DMN you should have received
1 SS insert

To read about how the Red Plum coupons are distributed click here!

To start your newspaper coupons right away, learn about the awesome newspaper deal we can get you here.

*If you ordered the paper and you didn't receive your paper or didn't get the correct number of papers please call the newspaper company first and let them know. Their numbers are on the left side of the blog. Occasionally if you are new to a route your carrier may miss your home. The newspaper companies are super easy to work with and will make sure your papers are delivered.

Easy Italian Soup

Yesterday was a soup kind of day and today is no exception. Here is one of my families favorites and guess what, it is all stuff that I keep on hand. I love being able to put my food storage to good use.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. Italian Dressing
• 1 lb. bulk Italian sausage
• 2 cans chicken broth
• 1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen stir-fry vegetables (white onions; sliced green, red and yellow peppers) I prefer using fresh and cutting them up myself.
• 1 can kidney beans drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup elbow macaroni, uncooked (Sometimes I will throw in a ravioli pasta)
  
  Directions:
• Add the Italian dressing to your pan like you would some cooking oil. Brown your sausage, stirring occasionally to break into small pieces. Drain and then add your vegetables. If you are using fresh make sure to brown them.



• Add your broth, beans and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Stir in your pasta and simmer until the noodles are soft. Serve with cheese on top.
• I really like making soup mid morning and throwing it into my crockpot until dinner time. Be sure to not add the noddles until later if you plan on doing the same.

This dinner ended up costing me less than $4.00 and my family loved it!

Coupons in Sunday's Paper

In the Daily Herald you should have received:

1 SS insert
1 P&G insert
In the SLT/DMN you should have received
1 SS insert

1 P&G insert

To read about how the Red Plum coupons are distributed click here!
To start your newspaper coupons right away, learn about the awesome newspaper deal we can get you here.

*If you ordered the paper and you didn't receive your paper or didn't get the correct number of papers please call the newspaper company first and let them know. Their numbers are on the left side of the blog. Occasionally if you are new to a route your carrier may miss your home. The newspaper companies are super easy to work with and will make sure your papers are delivered.