Show Us Your Life: Couponing Sites...

Although I stopped couponing a few months ago because I got crazy busy at work and wasn't shopping as much, I still appreciate a good deal as much as the next person. And I learned a ton of things when I started couponing that I'll never stop doing, no matter how little time I have. So I thought I'd link up at Kelly's Korner today to pass the torch, so to speak, to the next "generation" of couponers.

($4.65 for everything at Target)

1) Don't Be Intimidated

First, don't let the extreme couponing hype scare you away... you don't have to buy seventeen newspapers a week to save a big chunk of change. In fact, I cut my grocery bill from ~$125/week to ~$45/week by just buying one newspaper a week (which I got for an amazing $1/week in Houston) and a little time and creativity. When I was in law school and money was tight, it was more than worth the couple of hours it took each week to cut/organize the coupons and plan my shopping trips. If you get to a point at which your time is worth more than the money you're saving, then stop. But for me, $360 a month went a long way for a long time.

1) Learn the Basics

There's no sense in me reinventing the wheel here. There are people far more clever than I who have already broken this down for newbies, so go here or here to find out how to get started. In general, My Litter was my favorite couponing site because she was honest, funny, and had good regional deals - she lives in Houston and, when I lived there, provided the best local deals. I also loved Hip2Save, My Dallas Mommy, and Money Saving Mom, as well.

2) Start Clipping Coupons

Buy a paper and start a good collection of coupons. There are tons of ways to organize them, and Tiffany at My Litter suggests a few good options. But don't clip them all. The question I always asked myself was "if I could get this item for free with this coupon, would I buy it?" If I said no (as I did with a lot of things), then I didn't clip it.

3) Wait for a Sale

You shouldn't go out and use your coupons immediately just because you have them. The best approach is to keep them all organized well, wait for store sales, and pair the coupon with a great sale. This will require you to (1) figure out what stores you want to shop at {I chose Kroger/Target for groceries and CVS for toiletries because they were close and usually had the best deals} and (2) subscribe to a blog that posts grocery store sales each week and tells you which coupons to use (see below).

4) Make Your List and Let Others Do the Work

There's no need to reinvent the wheel - there are wonderful people who take the time to dig through all the sales and pair coupons for you, so just find them (Hip2Save is pretty great for all regions) and, when you're making your grocery list, look at what's on sale, and make sure to add anything that is at rock-bottom price that week. I did a menu each week, so I would plan our meals around what was on sale. If chicken and corn were super cheap, I'd seach my recipes for yummy recipes with those things in them to take advantage of the sales (here's one of my favorite chicken/corn recipes).

($3.82 for everything at Target)

5) SHOP!

Once you've got your list, go shop!  And, for non-grocery deals, make friends with Amazon.  I honestly can't tell you how much money I've saved by shopping at Amazon.  Go here to see some of my best deals (and learn about how I was a borderline shopaholic last Christmas.  Go ahead and judge. :))

Again, there are other places to get a super-detailed tutorial, but this is just how I always approached couponing. One thing to remember is that most people don't love the lady who's checking out with a huge stack of coupons to get through. So try and be courteous by having everything organized ahead of time and by being an honest, fair couponer.

Happy shopping, y'all!

Coupon Class!

My cousin Heather, who I consider my coupon guru, is hosting a coupon class in a few weeks, and I would encourage anyone who is thinking about getting into couponing to sign up. The $15 is nothing compared to what you'll save from all the tips you'll learn, I promise (plus, it includes dinner)! I'm planning on going, myself, because I know I'll definitely learn a thing or two. :)

Another great deal!

I swear I'm not trying to become a deal blogger (nor have I become a paid spokesperson for Amazon), but I just had to post this amazing Amazon deal.

It's a Calphalon Hard-Anodized 2 1/2 Qt. Shallow Saucepan, and mine was just delivered last night. I (obviously) haven't had the chance to try it out yet, but I have the Calphalon Hard-Anodized Everyday Pan which I posted about here, and I'm in love, so I have no doubt that I'll love this pan, as well. I think I'm going to slowly try and replace my current KitchenAid pots and pans with these as each piece goes on sale on Amazon. :)

The best part of this deal is that the pan, originally priced at $119, is available $29! And if you're a mom, dad, or take care of children in some way, you can sign up for free on Amazon Mom to get free two-day shipping! Again, Amazon prices tend to change often, so don't wait on this deal if you're interested.

If you're in need of a new purse...

You should check out this bag and this bag on Amazon! Originally priced at $91, you can grab it for $11.99 right now! I just ordered mine, and you'd better hurry because Amazon prices change often! :)

My name is Ryan, and I'm a shopoholic...

I've been doing a bit of online shopping lately. Well, actually a lot of online shopping. Okay, a whole lot. It started in November when I was doing my Christmas shopping, but I've been finding such amazing deals that I just keep on shopping!

I thought I'd share some of my more successful deals - just in case any of you need an excuse to do a bit of shopping, yourselves!

As part of my gift for the women's gift exchange at my Mamaw's, I ordered The Blind Side from Amazon.

I got it for $3.99 shipped!

This was another part of the gift. With a $10 off of a $10 purchase, I got this Peach Bellini Candle from Bath and Body Works, originally $20, for free plus $5 shipping.
This is probably my favorite deal. It's an Invicta watch, worth $695, and I bought it for Micah for our anniversary. Guess how much I paid for it!
$69!! SHIPPED! It looks so good on him, and I just absolutely love it.

I've been wanting an espresso maker for awhile, so when I saw this DeLonghi Espresso Machine, worth $210, on Amazon for $69 shipped, I just couldn't pass it up!

We bought three of these 8 GB Flip HD Video Cameras as Christmas gifts: one for my brother and sister-in-law, one for Micah's mom, and one for Micah's brother and wife. The retail value is around $230, and I got them for $109 on Amazon. And apparently the picture is AMAZING!


Last, but definitely not least, is this Dockers argyle sweater from Kohl's.com.
It was originally $40, and I got it for $3.02 shipped! It's crazy soft, and I can't wait to see it on Micah.

So now you know my secret. I don't buy things we don't need (or at least really want!), and I'm definitely trying to use my powers for good by buying things as gifts. Here's hoping I can keep this new addiction in check. :)

Target savings...

I haven't been couponing much in the last month or so. I've just been too busy with the bar exam to really sit down and plan out my purchases. As a result, we've been way over budget on our groceries for the last few weeks. So today I headed over to Target to see what deals I could find.

Here's what I got.

My total was $4.65!!

The three red and white boxes on the right are travel first aid kits. I mostly just needed more band-aids, so I figured I'd go ahead and get them since they were free after coupons.

For most of the deals, I just paired coupons I had from the newspaper with a good sale. But for the DiGiorno pizzas, go here (if you're on Facebook) and print out a $2/1 coupon. (Use the back button on your browser to print two.) After the coupons, the pizzas will be completely free! :)

SuperTarget savings!!!

Today I achieved something great. Something incredible.  Something unbelievable.

I spent $3.82 for several bags of groceries.  And I saved $29.97.

Okay, so I get that this isn't really such a big deal, but it sure was fun!

Here's a picture of my loot.

Just to make two things clear.  First,  the bottle is pink peach Italian soda, in case you were wondering.  Second,  the baby wipes are for my cousin who is having a baby and also happens to adore a bargain as much as I do - I promise I'm not pregnant.   :)

So, do you want the breakdown?  Of course you do! (If you're new to couponing, check out my general shopping method here.)

Cherries:  The cherries were on sale for $2.49/lb.  I'm in LOVE with cherries, and last week I paid over $9 for a bag, so I snatched some up when I saw that they were marked down.

Pretzels and Italian Soda:  The pretzels and Italian soda were on clearance.  The pretzels were marked down from $1.99 to $.98.  The Italian Soda was marked down from $2.39 to $1.48.  I didn't have coupons for either of them.

Baby Wipes:  There was a $2/1 Pampers Wipes coupon in last week's paper, and it's causing quite the commotion in the couponing community.  :)  Target has tubs of Pampers wipes priced at $2.39, so I grabbed a tub for my cute cousin.

Lysol Wipes:  Target has their Lysol wipes marked down to $1.89, and I had two $1/1 coupons, so I grabbed two.

Orange Juice:  I got a coupon in the mail for a free carton of Tropicana orange juice after going here a few days ago.  So I didn't even look at the price, I just grabbed the juice and threw it in the basket.

Scrubbing Bubbles Daily Shower Cleaner and Refill:  These were the money-maker items.  First, I had a $5/1 coupon for the starter kit from here.  Then, I used a Buy One Starter Kit, Get a Refill Free coupon from here.  And then, because Target lets you stack manufacturer coupons with Target coupons, I used a $3/1 Scrubbing Bubbles Power Sprayer Target coupon from here (click on "Household" to the left to find the coupon more quickly).  And, as if that weren't enough, I had another coupon in my organizer (from the newspaper) which gave me a free $5 Target gift card with the purchase of a Srubbing Bubbles Daily Shower Cleaner.  But when the clerk went to scan it, it wouldn't work - so she just adjusted my price down $5!

Here's my receipt.  I'm still in awe. :)

Head to Home Depot!

Here's a deal I couldn't resist!

Many Home Depots have an incredible deal on batteries right now.  You get SIXTY Rayovac AA batteries for $9.99.  I often see four-packs of AA batteries at the store for $4-$5, so this is an amazing deal! 

Make the bargain even sweeter by using a $1 coupon.  You can get that here (look to the right of the screen where it says "Save $1.00).

Not all stores are participating, so check here to see if your local Home Depot has them. 

My meal-planning and grocery shopping method...

I did my grocery shopping yesterday, and it turned out to be a great week for saving!  My total, before my Kroger Plus Card savings and coupons, was $100.04.  My total after coupons and sales?

$50.82! 

This was including value packs of chicken, shrimp, and lean ground beef.  

I've really become a believer in saving money with coupons and sales.  It takes a little time, but it saves us hundreds of dollars a month, and that's money Micah and I definitely need. 

I'm definitely not an expert, but I thought I'd go through my process with you and show you how the magic works.  

1.  Newspaper 

I subscribe to the Houston Chronicle.  

I have never been a newspaper kind of girl, but when I decided I wanted to start couponing, I realized that I didn't want to have to run to the store every Sunday to pick up a paper.  So I went ahead and subscribed, and even though I spend $52 a year to have it delivered every week, the savings more than make up for that.  Heck, I almost saved that much this week alone!

So every week, I go through the coupon inserts in the paper, clip the ones I might even remotely use, and file them in my handy-dandy coupon binder (made from a cheap accordion file Micah had laying around).  Then I go through the binder once a month or so to clean it out and get rid of expired coupons.

(Ignore my ugly hand in the picture... it wouldn't stand up on its own.)

2. Printable Coupons and Other Deals

Then, I try and keep up with the printable coupons that come out throughout the week.  I generally use Money Saving Mom and My Litter - both post great deals and links to great printable coupons.  Money Saving Mom is based out of Ohio, and My Litter is based out of Houston, so both are useful for different purposes.  My Litter often posts great deals around town - free movie tickets or free restaurant deals.  For my Dallas friends, check out My Dallas Mommy for Dallas-specific deals.

Also check out Coupons.com.  It's an easy site to use, and you don't have to sign up for anything. :)

The first time you try to print a coupon off the web, you'll probably be prompted to install a "coupon printer." Don't be alarmed.  It's not spyware or anything like that.  I think it's just necessary to print the barcodes.  It doesn't take long at all, and it won't take up a lot of space on your computer.

I generally print two of each coupon (that's usually the limit for each computer).  And just like the newspaper coupons, I file them away in the appropriate section in my binder.

3. Sale Papers/Meal Planning 

Sale Papers 

The sale papers for the grocery stores in Houston generally come out on Wednesdays (except for CVS and Walgreens).  Somehow, they just get delivered to our mailbox.  I'm not sure how that happened, but I'm sure that if you're not getting them now, you can sign up on each store's website to have it delivered to you at no cost.  

I generally only shop at Kroger, but occasionally there will be an awesome deal at Randall's or HEB that I just can't pass up.

I just keep them sitting on my desk until Friday.  That's when I do my meal planning and grocery shopping for the week. 

Menu Planning 

On Friday, I sit down and start meal planning.  I usually look at which meats and vegetables are on sale at Kroger and go from there.  I start a list for the grocery store and a menu.

For instance, this week, Kroger had shrimp and chicken breast on sale.  I had been wanting to try Pioneer Woman's Penne A La Betsy, which called for shrimp, so I added that meal to my menu and shrimp to my list.  Then, I thought that I needed to throw something healthy in the mix with all that heavy cream and butter, so I added grilled chicken salad to my menu for the week, as well as the chicken to my list.

So that's sort of the logic - what's on sale, and what can I make with that?

 Match-Ups

At that point, I go back to Money Saving Mom and My Litter (and sometimes other sites) to check out the coupon match-ups.  They'll list the things that are on sale at each store, and show you which coupons you can pair with the sales to generate awesome savings - including links to printable coupons you may have missed!  My Litter also has an incredible new feature - a coupon database! You can search the database for any product, and it'll pop up with any coupons that are available and where you can find them.

These deals may also lead to items for the menu.  Like this week, I saw that Kroger had the Hormel Refrigerated Entrees on sale - buy one get one free.  The matchup listed a $1/1 printable coupon, so that means that I could print two coupons, and after the sale, I could get two Hormel Entrees for very cheap.  So I added Hormel Beef Roast Au Jus (which is SO delicious) and some homemade macaroni and cheese to my menu.

I also try to remember which high-value coupons I have in my binder, so I can make my own deals when the websites miss them.  Like this week, I knew I had two $1.5o/1 Oscar Meyer Bacon coupons.  Kroger had them on sale for $2.99, so each package ended up being $1.49 - a great price for bacon! Then I decided that I could make BLT's one night this week and added that to the menu.

Sometimes I just get a craving for something that may not be on sale.  And in that case, I just bite the bullet and pay full-price for the ingredients I need.  But I do try to plan around sales - especially when they're great like this week!

Target Prices 

I'm discovering as I shop more that I'm developing a target price for each thing I buy - a number I don't like to go over.  

For example, for boneless, skinless chicken breasts, it's $1.99/pound.  Kroger and other stores often put chicken on sale as low as $1.65/pound, so when it goes on sale, I stock up.  That way, I don't have to pay $2.50/pound when I need it in a week or two.

Stock-Up Items 

After I make my menu for the week, I check for things that are at a super-low price that I may need to stock up on.  

Like this week, as a part of a Kroger Promotion, Micah's favorite Aquafresh Extreme Clean toothpaste was on sale for $1.99.  I had a $1/1 Aquafresh coupon, so the toothpaste ended up being only $.99.  That's actually more than I'd like to spend on toothpaste (because you can often get it for free or almost-free at CVS or Walgreens), but Micah's very particular about his toothpaste, and I often have to pay full-price for it.  So $.99 was a great deal.

 4.  Go Shopping!!

And that's basically it!

It sounds like a lot, but I honestly don't spend more than 2-3 hours per week on everything.  I was definitely slower at first, but I'm finally getting the hang of it.  And at this point in my life, the time is worth the savings.  Ask me in a few years, when I'm attempting to juggle kids and a career, and I may have a different answer. :)

Do you want to make $1.50 on some lotion?

You're in luck! Walgreens has a special this month on Vaseline Sheer Infusion Lotion. Buy it at $6.99, get $6.99 in register rewards to use on a subseqent purchase (register rewards basically work like a Walgreens gift card, only it's just a piece of paper that prints out with your receipt after the transaction).

PLUS, if you use a $1.50 coupon (get it and print it here), you can actually MAKE $1.50 on this lotion! (The coupon may require you to install a coupon printer. Don't worry - it just takes a second and won't interfere with your computer in any way).

Just thought I'd pass the knowledge along. I got mine yesterday, and I love it!

A few shopping tips...

If you can make it to a Kroger this week, they're having some great deals!

They've got value packs of boneless skinless chicken breast on sale for $1.99/lb. Plus, their Kroger brand shredded cheese and sour cream is on sale for $1 each. Also, Minute Maid lemonade is on sale for $1.

Micah and I also saw that their big bags of Kingsford charcoal were marked down from $10.99 to around $5.99.

I ended up getting a whole basket of groceries this week for $59! That's including two value packs of chicken, pork chops, and lots of fresh produce!

Also, Micah and I get the Houston Chronicle on Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and there was a great coupon in Friday's paper for $10 off a $50 purchase. That'd make your deals even sweeter!

Our First Easter...

Well not really. We have had six other Easters together, but this was the first married one! And since we were both just ridiculously busy and will be until finals are over, we decided to stay home for the holiday. So the pressure was one for me to cook SOMETHING!

So we bought a roast yesterday, and I put it in the Crock Pot this morning with some carrots, potatoes, onions, and a can of cream of mushroom soup. We also got some bread from Target (which was FREE thanks to my coupon, but I'll get to that in a second) and made some brownie sundaes for dessert. :) So not an extraordinary Easter meal, but at least I set the bar low. It won't be hard to top that next year.

Okay... so I'm on a coupon kick! We went to Target yesterday and got a LOT of groceries for $96! I saved over $20 in coupons! Micah and I usually spend about $130-$150 every time we go to the grocery store. We overbuy for sure. But I'm DEDICATED to trying to save more money on groceries. So I signed up on a coupon site called TheGroceryGame.com. I haven't figured it ALL out yet, but it seems like it'll be a great way to save some money at the store. And you can try it out for just $1 for a month membership. I'll let you know if I think it's worth it. :)

In case you're curious... my little Lilly girl is doing just wonderfully! We taught her to sit, and she's potty trained! She's so cute, of course, and definitely has the puppy energy. But what I love the most is that she's very self-sufficient. She loves to play with us (and we spoil her and give her WAAAAY too much attention), but she's perfectly content to lay on the floor for hours and chew on her toys. She has had some trouble walking on her leash, but she's getting MUCH better!

One other thing... I have to buy myself a new digital camera. My old one pooped out on me, and I want as good a camera as I can get for around $200 or less. Anyone just absolutely LOVE their camera and want to recommend it?

Alright... my brain is done. I have been studying for the better part of the day, and I'm ready to relax and re-read the last Twilight book, Breaking Dawn. MAN... that Edward Cullen... he's something else!