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New Blog

2011-08-18T17:24:00.001-07:00

I have a new blog- It is located HERE HERE HERE!

I'll be leaving this one up and a few of my favorite posts will be relocated over to the new blog. Any new blog posts will be located there and of course, I'll be posting deals on my Facebook!

Thanks guys! :)

-Kristen

Buying Gift Cards

2011-08-16T09:52:00.001-07:00

Are you the kind of person that would be embarrassed to use the $2.04 left on a gift card? What about $1.13? If so, this is not right for you. By leaving value on the card, you're throwing good money (any any discount you get) in the trash.

Are you the kind of person that will not only use that $1.13 left over, but will use 4 cards with similar value? READ ON!

There are several websites out there that buy your unwanted gift cards and sell them for a price cheaper than the value. The one that springs to mind most readily is "Plastic Jungle".

Your general merchandisers like Target and Walmart offer a lower discount- 3%, as compared to 5% at a more specialized store like Best Buy. Some extremely specialized (ie, no one really wants them) cards offer 35% back!

In browsing the website, it should be no shock that Walmart gift cards seem to sell out first.

With the correct planning, you could save some serious money. Or you could waste a great deal. Which happens is up to you.

Let's say you plan to buy a new computer from Best Buy. By doing your research, you understand you will be spending $600 after taxes (because it's a nice round number and makes this easier..).

You could spend that $600 cash/check/debit, whatever and that's what you've spent. Period. Hopefully you have a Best Buy rewards card and you get a few points towards your cash out of a store voucher (for $5, $10, whatever). That's the end of the story.

Now let's say you think of Plastic Jungle. You check it out and see that a $50.00 gift card costs $47.50 (with free shipping). You quickly do some math and buy 12 cards, valued at $600 total.

What did you just spend for your new computer? $570. PLUS you earned the same amount of rewards points with your buyer's card. Not too bad, especially since that is money you had planned to spend anyway.

Now think how this could help out with daily expenses. If your budget for food is $100 and you know you'll spend $100 at Walmart, why not consider buying a giftcard? Even at only 35 savings, or $3 off your $100, that's $3! Especially if money is so tight it's squeaking, every bit helps. This is also helpful to couple with huge sales- like the PetSmart Friends and Family sales twice a year, or the Bath and Body Works end of the year sale- IF you normally purchase from those stores anyway.

However- are you willing to pull out a $25 or $50 gift card every time you make a purchase? Tim is forgetful and often uses his debit card automatically.

Are you willing to buy $75 worth of items and use the $2.42 you have left on that gift card? Because as you see- you're "only" saving $1.50 per $50 gift card if you buy Walmart or Target cards. If you don't use that $2.42, you've paid MORE for your cards.

Maybe this is an option you'd rather keep in your back pocket for those large purchases, like that computer I mentioned earlier- that's fine too! Maybe you want to use it only to purchase Christmas gifts, if you typically give cash or gift cards anyway- no problem!

No rule says you have to do anything you are uncomfortable with or use a money-saving idea every time you make a purchase. It's definitely food for thought though!

As always, start small and with what you can afford. If you convert your entire paycheck to Best Buy gift cards, that isn't going to help pay your rent.

-Kristen

How to save a TON of money on hand soap

2011-08-13T05:58:00.000-07:00

I've talked before about my super cheap method of using hand soap, but as a refresher course:

Purchase one of those foaming hand soap dispensers, or ask a less frugal friend to give you theirs, if they plan on throwing it away when it is empty.

Buy 1 large refill bottle of REGULAR liquid hand soap. Squirt approximately 3/4 inch of soap in your dispenser, then fill up with water. Pump a few times to make sure it's not too thick.

Well- we've been doing this for literally years on the same bottle of hand soap- it takes FOREVER for it to run out. I recently participated in a market study involving Bath and Body Works hand soap and it smelled so delicious, I missed the scented soap. Not enough to pay $3 a bottle, but I did miss it.

Then I had an AHA! Moment.

I grabbed one of my small travel size bottles of Dancing Waters bath gel, which I received for free with another purchase, courtesy of coupons.

I gave the bottle a generous squeeze and let a dollop fall in to the pump, then filled the rest up with my soap and water mixture. Voila! Scented Bath and Body works soap at LITERALLY penny on the dollar. Yes..penny on the dollar :). I may have the mixture just a *TAD* too thick right now, but it's a work in progress. You'll find a little playing around with the amounts makes all the difference and once you get it down, you've got it!

So there you go- how to save money on hand soap and still feel like you are pampering yourself.

-Kristen

Coupons- the newest "Buzzword"

2011-08-10T07:37:00.000-07:00

I've been couponing- I mean seriously couponing- for several years now. In that period, I've explained "serious couponing" to dozens of people. I've had the pleasure of watching a solid half dozen become serious couponers on their own, then go on to share the "good news" with others.

I've watched at least twice that number become casual couponers- and hey, there is nothing wrong with that. I love knowing they saved $5 a week on groceries, thanks to a newspaper subscription or the occasional printable coupon I pass along.

I've watched even more folks, to whom I painstakingly described all the various stages of couponing, fall by the wayside and not even lift a finger to take a coupon I clipped and gave them and use it at a store.

It is amusing to me how much coupons have become a "Buzzword". It seems to me that those who can't be bothered to use them are violently opposed to them. A friend posted her first successful "serious couponing" shop on Facebook and the first thing that happened was someone commented how THEY could never get those deals. Another made a nasty comment about getting stuck behind "couponers". Not long after, here came another dragger-down who wanted to know how far she'd driven to get "all those deals". Those of you who I have spoken to know the first thing I talk about is not spending $5 in gas to save $0.50 and my friend was able to share that she was within a block of these stores when she went to work. Ha! No "congratulations, you just got $30 of groceries for $5!". It was all jealousy.

However, these same people (not the exact same, but this type) will get angry at me because I didn't tell them how to get X great deal. No matter how often I invite them to come along shopping or tell them they need to sign up for this coupon deal or subscribe to a newspaper, they seem to labor under the delusion that I just magically reach in to my pocket and poof- there is the perfect coupon! No work necessary.

Piggy backing on this are the ones who preach the "coupon gospel"...after having couponed for all of a week. I find these tend to burn out REALLY quickly. After all, it's hard being an expert. At the risk of bursting a bubble or two out there... just because you look at one couponing blog once a week, doesn't mean you know all the ends and outs. I'm still learning myself and store policies are constantly changing.

It does tickle me to see people sharing deals they've found on Facebook and forums, don't get me wrong! I love people taking that extra bit of time to share something that might make someone else's life a little easier, or a little better.

Regardless of positives or negatives, the world is abuzz with "couponing". TV shows, blogs (hehe), social networks- social couponing sites! It doesn't matter where you look. Part of this buzz is great... Walmart is considering doubling coupons and has stores in test markets currently running scenarios! Without a mass quantity of couponers, that would have never happened!

However, more couponers also means it's harder to find the deals, less inventory- and the new extreme stockpilers out there (or the ones who get items for free via coupons and then resell them for a profit) hurt the newbies who are just beginning or those of us who coupon as a supplement to our pitiful incomes.

That's why I coupon- because if I can get it for free, it means I've put more money in to our pockets. Every $5 I save is that much more I can use to pay other bills. I "shop" out of my stockpile to provide things to my dad, who was affected by job loss in this bad economy.

I think we need to add a buzzword to coupons. How about "Considerate"? That goes for everyone. Don't be mean just because someone else is putting in the work to get a good deal. Don't take EVERYTHING on the shelf unless you truly, truly need it. Don't act like the expert you are not. That only gets on people's nerves.

-Kristen

Birthday Freebies

2011-08-05T06:21:00.000-07:00

Are you signed up with your favorite restaurants, to be on their mailing lists? If not, YOU SHOULD BE!

My birth month is August and today alone I received offers such as these:

Free Rooty Tooty Fresh and Frooty from Ihop (or something of like value)
Free Coldstone (recently updated to be a BOGO coupon instead of just plain free..sigh)
Free TCBY
Free Burger from Ruby Tuesday
Free Burger from Fuddruckers
Free Milkshake from Arbys (with any purchase)
Free Dessert from Boston Market

Free gift pack from Sephora (not food, but another freebie)

That was just yesterday! My birthday isn't until August 12 and most of these last until August 19th- OR LONGER!

That means when Tim just HAS to go out to eat, I can steer him towards one of these places and we can eat for half price! Yeahhh :).

So get out there and start signing up! It doesn't take long to just delete any emails they send you through the year and then on your birthday- VOILA! Free free free! :D.

-Kristen

DIY: Remove stuck on foods

2011-07-27T07:25:00.000-07:00

I despise baking things like chicken in the oven- and you know why. Things get stuck on, you have to soak the dish and then half the time you still have to scrub like crazy to get the stuck on food off- EVEN if you use Pam or another cooking spray. Eurgh.

However- if you use dryer sheets, you can put one in the water (in the pan you are soaking). It helps soften the food up even more and make it easier to scrub off! You can even use a dryer sheet you've already used (in the dryer). That's a great way to get extra oomph out of them.

-Kristen

Financially Risky

2011-07-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

I'm looking at doing something- well I shouldn't say financially risky. It's a little imprudent, but if I stay on top of things (and I tend to do that), it should be fine.

What is it?

I'm thinking about getting a credit card to pay bills/make purchases with... for cash back. Yep, I am thinking about buying in to the rewards programs. As long as I am VERY careful and I make payments same-day, I shouldn't have to pay interest fees, should never be caught behind... and should make money back on normal purchases.

However... if even once I screw up and carry a balance, the interest rates would erase my benefits. It's a lot to think about, so I'm doing a lot of research on the cards and programs before I fully decide.

-Kristen

DIY- Remove smells from Tupperware

2011-07-20T09:40:00.000-07:00

You know that sometimes even after it is washed, Tupperware or plastic containers will hold on to smells of previous foods- not awesome if you had fish in it last time and want to put cake in there this go round.

A VERY cheap and eco-friendly way to deal with this problem is this:

Wash the container, then crumple up a few sheets of newspaper and put them in the container. Seal it and let it sit for a few days. Then, simply open the container up, recycle the newspaper and rewash the container.

Voila. No need to go out and buy more :).

-Kristen

It's here!!

2011-06-02T12:52:00.000-07:00

The 15% off PetSmart Friends and Family coupon is here! WHEEEE!

I stock up on 6 months worth of cat litter and cat/dog food! :D Plus anything else I've had my eye on.

Valid June 9-12th!

-Kristen

Rite Aid Coupon Policy Change

2011-05-26T06:52:00.000-07:00

This comes from Common Sense With Money:

"I really do hate to be the bearer of bad news. There have been some updates to Rite Aid’s Coupon Policy and one of them is kinda shocking. Here is in my opinion the wort change:

Buy One Get One Free coupons cannot be used in conjunction with a Buy One Get One Free promotion.

This means no more Free Items when combining a buy one get one sale with a buy one get one free coupon.

Another change:

Rite Aid may accept up to 4 identical coupons for the same number of qualifying items as long as there is sufficient stock to satisfy other customers within the store manager’s sole discretion.

This is not a “bad” change per se as limits help protect us from shelf clearers. The last change:

A customer can use one “cents off” coupon in conjunction with the item they are purchasing on a Buy One Get One Free promotion (or with a Buy One Get One Free coupon), although the value of the cents off coupon cannot exceed the selling price of the item.

So, no more using two coupons when an something is on sale buy one get one free. I do not understand why they are saying they won’t accept a cents off coupon that exceeded the selling item of the price since they get reimbursed the full amount from the manufacturer.

While I understand that Rite Aid is a Business Enterprise and they are in it to make money, that last change makes the least sense to me. Because it is actually discouraging sales. Imposing limits is not necessarily bad nowadays since there is so many people hunting deals. Limits can be good in ensuring everyone can take advantage of a deal or offer. "

This will definitely hurt my shopping there! :(

-Kristen

2011-05-25T06:20:00.000-07:00

You can get a FREE card from Tiny Prints, or have it mailed directly to the recipient for 44c. Just make your card and then in check out enter the code "TYOPRAH" (no quotes) to get the card free AND free shipping. If you don't need to send one right now, order it blank and send it in the future!

-Kristen

HOT Tidy Cats Coupon

2011-05-23T09:50:00.001-07:00

HOT HOT HOT Purina Tidy Cats Coupon!

Go "like" them on Facebook. You can print a $2/1 coupon for cat litter! It doesn't expire until 06/22. I'm going to save mine and hope the PetSmart Friends and Family Sale comes along soon like I think it's going to! You can print 2 of the coupons.

GO NOW! STOP READING AND GO PRINT!

-Kristen

Recipe #37- Copycat Cracker Barrel Chicken

2011-05-19T15:49:00.000-07:00

You'll need:

4 chicken breasts (or chicken strips)
1 cup Italian Dressing (I like Kraft Zesty Italian...nom nom)
3 tsp honey
2 tsp lime (or lemon) juice

Put your marinade ingredients in a container and shake them up!

Take your chicken breasts and cut them in to strips. Put them in a baggy, dump your marinade on top of the chicken and then stick it in the fridge for at least one hour.

Dump the baggy (marinade and all) into a large skillet and cook over medium heat. It's going to look super watery and gross. That's ok.

Around 40 minutes, a lot of the moisture has cooked out of the concoction and you start getting the marinade to turn a nice golden color. Take your chicken pieces and rub them on the caramelized marinade, getting each piece coated.

Voila! :D

If you want to make it just like Cracker Barrel, cook a few strips of bacon (1 per breast) and lay it on top, then put a few slices of cheddar cheese over top of the chicken while warm.

-Kristen

Another free can of Alpo

2011-05-17T08:47:00.001-07:00

Like Alpo on Facebook and you can sign up for a free can of dog food!

If you don't want it, donate it to a shelter or give it to a friend with a dog :)

-Kristen

$10 Sam's Club Membership!

2011-05-17T07:18:00.000-07:00

Through June 5th, you can get a membership to Sam's Club for $10! Ok, so it's only good for 10 weeks and you can only get it if you aren't a member already- it comes out to only $1 a week so hey, well worth it!

I may have to get in on this deal myself! Just go to your local Sam's Club to get this deal.

-Kristen

Why I keep ALL my old coupon inserts

2011-05-14T12:48:00.000-07:00

I have a hugely thick binder full of every insert that is still active. Why?

Because you never know when a deal is going to drop out of the sky.

For instance, do you still have your 2/27 inserts? If you do, take out the Redplum insert and look for a $2.50 off any Purina Pro Plan Roasted Slices dog treats.

These treats run around $4-$5 normally. However, right now at PetSmart they are on sale for.. dun dun dun... $2.50.

Yep, I walked in, picked up a package and walked out with them for $0.19- the cost of tax. It's a way my newspaper keeps paying for itself beyond the initial coupon clipping!

Hold on to your inserts until every coupon is expired. I may throw out inserts if there are only a few coupons still active in there, but I keep these pages and they go in the front pockets of my binder. You never know what deals are going to pop up later and you sure don't want to know you had that coupon and tossed it away- especially if it means free $4.00 dog treats!

It doesn't take much time or effort to keep the inserts. You can even just paper clip them and toss them in a box if you want to. My binder stays on one of the bookshelves in the living room. I date the insert with a sharpie marker and put it in a protective sleeve in order by date. Voila! It takes perhaps 2 extra minutes of my life each Sunday and I can't tell you how many great deals I've been able to take advantage of because I keep them!

-Kristen

Knowing When NOT to stockpile

2011-05-12T07:09:00.000-07:00

I'm twitching as I write this. I've always been a saver- a pack rat even. I'm better than I used to be but..you just never know when you might need it!! *whine*

Right now, there is a deal at Target on Body Wash. You can take the BOGO coupon from the 5/1 Redplum insert and print 2 $1/1 Target Coupons off the website. Since Body Wash is on rollback for $3, that makes your transaction come out to 50 cents per bottle.

I'm twitching you guys. I'm feeling the itch to run to Target!

However...we have plenty of body wash. No, we have more than plenty. It's taking over our lives. I don't NEED more, Tim doesn't NEED more and good bodywash deals are a dime a dozen.

Sometimes, you have to stop yourself and realize you're one giggle away from dropping off the cackling edge and completely losing your mind. Will we run out of bodywash before another deal comes along? Never. Is it a good price? Yes. Is it a unique price? No, not at all.

Does it make sense to spend $1 now when I don't need to and could possibly get more body wash free in the future? Ehhh I guess not :(.

You sometimes have to stop yourself, mid-deal and ask- Do I need it? Is it a never-repeatable deal?

A friend was mentioning that she saw Extreme Couponing and one lady had 3 years worth of toothpaste stockpiled. I have three tubes. I'd like to have more, I'll be honest, but three years worth? That will end up going bad, or else she'll have to donate it. While donating it is great... you have to remember, you do still pay tax on those items in most states (NC is one... tax is often more than my merchandise total).

Don't let stockpiling take over your life, even though it can be tempting. Right now, I'm going to estimate we have over a year's worth of body wash- not including the free samples. I think that is enough for a while. After all, I have to have room to store my shampoo stockpile! :D.

-Kristen

Free Chickfila Sweet Potato Fries on Friday, May 13th

2011-05-12T07:03:00.000-07:00

Well, it says it all in the title! On Friday, May 13th, Chickfila will give away a free sweet potato fry to everyone who comes in between 3 and 6 and says they want to try them!

-Kristen

Old Spice Freebie-

2011-05-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

On Facebook, Old Spice is going to be giving away 10,000 free samples today! I don't know when yet, so go on over and like them to be ready!

-Kristen

2011-05-10T06:53:00.000-07:00

Go like Clairol to see a possible announcement on 5/13/11 about *possible* FREE Clairol Natural Instincts. I've heard they will be giving away 25,000 coupons per day, May 13th through 15th at 12pm (EST)

Starting today, May 10th, Swiffer will be giving away 100,000 Starter Kits on Facebook. Twice a week during May, they’ll be giving away 12,500 each time for a total of 100,000. Go like Swiffer now, I'm not sure when this will become available.

Friend my Rabbitry profile to get more deals or see them sooner! I sometimes don't think about coming to the blog to post the deals, but usually will share on FB :).

-Kristen

CVS Deal for the week of 5/15

2011-05-09T14:29:00.000-07:00

Redplum has a great coupon for the upcoming CVS ECB deal (the week of 5/15):

$10 ECB wyb 2 Neutrogena Sunscreen $7.99 ea. (Limit 1)
Buy 2 Neutrogena Sunscreens and use 2 of the $2/1 printable coupons.
Pay $11.98 OOP and get $10 ECB back

That makes each bottle only 99 cents!

You can use zip code 32817 if you don't see the coupon under your zipcode. I'd print two very quickly, sometimes Redplum hits the print limit pretty quickly!

If you have $10 worth of ECBs on hand already, this is a great way to roll your ECBs forward! For instance, I have $9 ECBs on hand, so I'd pay less than $2 OOP and get $10 ECBs back! That's getting paid to shop right there ;).

-Kristen

CVS Deals!

2011-05-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

Spend $15 on select Revlon Cosmetics and get $7 in ECBs (limit 1)
Buy 2 Revlon Luxurious Color Single Eyeshadow- $4.99
Buy 1 Revlon Color Stay Eyeshadow- $6.99
Use the $3/2 coupon from 5/8 Smart Source
(I got the $2 Revlon Color Cosmetic Coupon... siiigh)
Plus use CVS coupon machine for $3 off (It's printing out $3/$10 for everyone right now!)
Pay $7.97 and get $7 ECB
Total: 32c ea

AND this counts towards your $50 Beauty Club purchases. If you are a member of the CVS Beauty Club, you get $5 in ECBs for every $50 you spend on beauty items!

-Kristen

Recipe #36- Roast

2011-05-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

Roasts are one of the most versatile recipes out there- it's super easy to make and you can adjust what you want to put in there- plus, roasts are often in the "clearance" meat section at my local Food Lion AND there is always enough for leftovers!

Drag out your handy dandy crockpot.

You'll Need:
Roast
Onion
Carrots
Potatoes
Gravy

Get a roast- I don't care what size you get, as long as it fits in your crockpot and will feed your family :).

Chop your carrots, onions and potatoes. Does your family not like onions? Then don't use them. Don't like carrots? Leave those out. I use whole baby carrots and then chop my potatoes in to roughly 1 inch cubes.

I put half the veggies on the bottom, toss in the roast, then dump the other half of the veggies on top.

Pour in a 10 oz. can of beef gravy. Store brand is perfect!

That's it! Set your crockpot on high for 3-4 hours or 7-8 on low.

Your entire meal is in one pot! Yay!

-Kristen

Free Bath and Body Works Item

2011-05-07T15:55:00.000-07:00

Go here and print off the coupon to get a free travel sized signature collection item with ANY purchase (even if it's one of the anti-bac doohickies). Good through May 18th.

-Kristen

Save money on steaks

2011-05-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

Steaks are expensive! There is a pretty easy way to save money when you're willing to put a little work in to it.

First, start off buying an Eye of Round. We recently got one that was on sale at a local grocery store- 50% off and it was a 2.5 lber. I think it ran me something like $9. (Be sure to check the clearance meat as well- I often see these marked way down, but they still look good- they are just coming up on their sell by date.)

Decide how big of a steak you want. Tim and I decided we wanted 1/2 lb steaks (before they were cooked).

Slap that meat down on a cutting board and lightly press the knife into the meat, making light lines every little bit. In our case, we made 4 lines, which showed where we wanted the 5 steaks cut. This will help you cut them in to more equal slabs.

Cut the meat!

We marinated two steaks for immediate use, then put the others in ziploc bags with their marinade and tossed them in the freezer. 5 steaks for around $1.80 each!

Pair with a nice side salad, baked potato or corn on the cob (or whatever you want) and you've got a $20 meal for pennies on the dollar. We spent right around $5 for our steak and baked potato meal.

-Kristen

Free Comic Book Day May 7th!

2011-05-06T07:38:00.000-07:00

Free Comic Book Day is the first Saturday in May when participating comic book shopgive away comic books FOR FREE to anyone who comes into their stores.

We went two years ago and there were all kinds of comics- an archie comic, super hero comics, etc. Now, these aren't gonna be anything super, super awesome, but if you love to read or want to see if a kid would be interested in comics, definitely check it out!

You can go here to read about Free Comic Book Day, and go here to see if there is a store around you participating!

-Kristen

Free Sample of Emeril's Essence

2011-05-05T18:43:00.001-07:00

What an odd thing to call it... Emeril's Essence.

It's free though and as best I can tell, it's some kind of flavor packet.

-Kristen

Nurses Week

2011-05-05T14:32:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow kicks off Nurses Week at Cinnabon! Go between May 6 and May 12 and flash your healthcare badge for a free cinnabon roll!

Nom nom nom.

-Kristen

Nivea Deal

2011-05-05T14:24:00.001-07:00

Do you still have the $3 off Nivea Body Wash coupon from the 4/17 Red Plum insert? If so here is a hot deal at Target-

Nivea Body Wash $2.54
$3.00/1 Nivea Body Wash, any 8.4 – 16.9 oz-

Don't forget- you can get these for free at Walmart as well!

This is a great time to stockpile body wash! If you don't have the coupon, take a look on ebay! I'm sure there are a few still on there.

-Kristen

Walmart Rumble

2011-04-27T07:28:00.000-07:00

I almost had a throwdown in Walmart last night.

No joke.

We stopped in to peruse the Easter Candy sales (50% off! WOOT WOOT! There is still a very good assortment too). We bought a few little things, then headed to the grocery section to use up some coupons. I had one for a free package of the new JELLO Temptations cups, one for a free Glade product that I won from the Right at Home giveaways and then I had 2 coupons for $2.00 off ANY size ketchup.

Since ketchup keeps forever, I got one HUMUNGOUS ketchup container priced at $1.98 and a much, much smaller one for $1.76. Inside, I was dancing a little. It's called the overage dance and no I will not show it to you.

We get to the checkout and put our items up and the lady behind the counter looks at my $2.00 off coupons (at the end of scanning our items) and immediately cops an attitude.

"Neither of these ketchups even costs $2.00".
"Yeah, I know." (This is me. Can't you tell by the irritation in my voice?)

She hems and haws a bit and reads, then rereads the coupons. I offer to whip out the handy dandy Walmart Coupon Policy, where it very clearly states that coupons may exceed the value of an item and in that case, overage is to be given either towards the basket price or in the form of cash back. We're quibbling here about 2 free bottles of ketchup and approximately enough spare change to pay the tax on them. No joke.

So, she declines to look at the policy I try to hand her and waddles off to find a manager. The people in line behind me are having hysterics and I rolled my eyes and sighed- right about the time she turns around to look at me. Nice.

Big shocker, the manager tells her the coupon policy and she has to give me my overage. I know this, because as she walks back towards me, she has a look on her face like someone just slapped her.

I guess my overage comes out of her pocket...bah.

So she stands in front of us and theatrically reads the coupons again, then puts them through, muttering to herself the whole time. Imagine my face at this point. Go ahead- imagine it.

This is why it's important to be willing to stand your ground and to carry a copy of the coupon policy if you're going to use high value coupons. Walmart gets the $2.00 face value back, plus 8 cents PER COUPON for handling. So... when I get my $4.00 off, Walmart gets paid $4.16. When they cheat me out of my extra cents, in this case all 26 pennies of it, they get paid $4.16 when they only "paid" out $3.76. Don't even get me started on mark up!

Stand your ground. As long as you aren't trying to run a scam, YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT. A policy is a policy, no one forces them to honor coupons and don't let a surly or lazy cashier push you out of money. Imagine if they cheat 100 people out of 26 cents a day. That's $26 a day. If they do that every single day- that's $9490.

-Kristen

No Coupons this Sunday!

2011-04-22T18:46:00.001-07:00

As usual, there are no coupon inserts in this Sunday's (Easter) paper. So no need to buy it if you're going to just look for coupons!

Siiiiigh, I'm sad.

-Kristen

Print Now, Use later!

2011-04-20T08:06:00.000-07:00

If you go here and print the $1/1 Dove Men's Deodorant coupon, you can use it on Sunday at CVS, when they will be putting the deodorant on sale for $0.99! It says "redeem at Walmart" but this is a Manufacturer's coupon, which means you can use it anywhere you want to!

-Kristen

HOT Coldwater Creek Coupon!

2011-04-20T08:03:00.000-07:00

Go here to print this $20/$20 purchase coupon! YES it looks like you can get free items at a Coldwater Creek near you! This would be a great way to splurge on yourself a little- or else stock the "gift closet"!

-Kristen

"That's Going to be One Expensive Bag of Candy!"

2011-04-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

At Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, we were hanging out in the Harry Potter section- Hogsmeade. I was in Honeydukes's, the candy store (having sticker shock) while Tim was waiting in like to get a butterbeer, when I heard the best quote of the trip.

"That's going to be one expensive bag of candy!" It doesn't sound awesome, but imagine being in Hogsmeade, listening to a preteen british girl berate her father and her little brother as the two males giggle wildly at the dispenser of Bertie Bot's Every Flavor Beans.

And she was right! 1/4lb of candy was almost $4.00. As the father discovered, when he was ready to turn off the despenser, another large handfull cascaded down before it shut off- adding that much more weight to his already hefty bag. But it is such fun to see the colorful jelly beans drop down through the dispenser, isn't it? The fact is, based on just a naked eye estimate, I'd guess he had a good $15 worth of jelly beans there. That's all they are- jelly beans.

A Chocolate Frog? $9.95. A small glass container of old fashioned candy? $12.95. Don't get me started on the chocolate wands or "candy floss" (cotton candy)... or even worse, the prices of the homemade fudge and handdipped candy apples.

It is SO easy when you're immersed in an experience, like Disney or Universal Studio's Hogsmeade, to want to buy. Buy buy buy buy buy. Chocolate frogs, just like in the book! But they aren't. They don't move. They don't chirp. They are a molded piece of chocolate candy and to be frank, it's probably not even very good tasting chocolate. Yes- the "every flavor beans" really do have some nasty flavors, like in the book. I imagine it's hilarious the first time you get ear wax or vomit...but after that, I imagine it gets very irritating. Not to mention you've paid $4 a quarter pound to be grossed out and toss out handfuls of candy! Chocolate wands- who cares? You're going to eat it and then your $10 will be a distant memory- as will the cleverly molded chocolate. I'm not saying don't go, don't buy, don't enjoy- but recognize why you're buying what you are. Tim wanted to try a butterbeer- well why not? This is the only place you can get them, they aren't bottled and it adds to his experience both on our vacation and in reading the books.

I struggled hard, standing in Honeydukes, with not buying anything. I wanted a chocolate frog so badly. The package was brightly colored and it was a chocolate frog, omg, just like in the books, and I would buy it in Honeydukes and omg.... It's not real. I didn't want the candy, I wanted the experience. I wanted the books to be real. The people that pushed past me with well over $70 in candy (no joke) wanted it to be real as well. I'm sure they'll enjoy the first bite of their candy, but the feeling is going to fade. If it's awful, then what? A waste of money. Even if it's good, is it better than a $0.50 Hershey or Dove chocolate bar? Sometimes, it's best to just step back, remove yourself from the area and seriously consider what you're about to spend. Once I left Honeyduke's, I didn't feel like I had to have a chocolate frog. In fact, as I am sitting here I'm very glad I didn't buy one. There is so much more I'd rather do with my $10- like save up for next year's vacation!

-Kristen

Disney Savings Tips

2011-04-16T14:26:00.000-07:00

Well, we returned from Florida last year! I've got some fresh and interesting blogging ideas, but I'm going to cop out today with just a few helpful tips-

Did you know that you can order FREE water at any of the places that sell fountain drinks in Disney? It's true, and I love them for it! I talked Tim in to going with water and saving $2.50 a drink. I had to promise the opportunity for a snack or a special something later on, but hey- $5.00 in our pockets right there and most of the times the "special something" was a strawberry lemonade from McDonalds- only $1.59!

Split meals! Especially if you take kids, split the adult meals either between kids, or one adult and one kid! Tim and I split one meal in the parks a few days- it keeps you going until dinner and we didn't drop $20 on some frankly forgettable food! It was also easier than trying to haul around a cooler all day.

Did you know Disney allows soft-sided coolers? Yup. So feel free to pack your food if you want to! I'd recommend getting a locker and then going back to it later on, unless you have a stroller you can pile it on top of.

Take advantage of free park-reentry. We would go in after eating an early lunch and then leave for dinner. Then we'd just come back in, or park hop! Or, we'd go in before lunch, split a meal, then leave around dinner time. Just make sure you know when each park closes, so you don't do this and miss out on the last few hours at a park, when a snack could have kept you going until closing!

If you head to Universal Studios, I'd take advantage of the free refills cup. It costs $6.00 (at least the one Tim bought as part of the meal plan package did) and you got FREE soda refills all day. We shared the drink and definitely got our money's worth. You also get free locker rentals for each ride, so you don't have to deal with trying to carry a full drink on a roller coaster, or leaving it sitting unattended while you ride.

Speaking of meal plans- you're not supposed to share the one at Universal Studios. IF you are willing to break that rule and IF you are willing to get caught and have to pay for the additional meal... you can share them and make a $20.00 meal plan much more affordable. Just sayin'- that's completely up to you and what you think is right.

-Kristen

Free Popcorn-

2011-04-01T07:38:00.000-07:00

Go here to request your free sample of Orville Redenbacher's new pop up bowl of popcorn! Available for the first 50,000 who request it.

-Kristen

Free Sample of Wellness Pet Food

2011-03-31T16:25:00.000-07:00

Go here and "like" Wellness Natural Pet Food on Facebook to get a free sample of the dog and cat foods!

Back when I had pet rats, I'd get these free samples of dog and cat food to supplement their diets. Now I just use it as treats for the dogs and cats :).

-Kristen

Free Organic Seeds

2011-03-31T10:29:00.000-07:00

If you grow your own food (or at least a little of it) and are interested in certified organic seeds, do I have a deal for you! Seeds of Change Foods is giving away 100 million seeds, all certified organic, for FREE. You, as an individual, pay the $4.99 shipping and handling charge and are allowed to get 25 packets of seeds.

Uhm, wow. Go to Walmart- a single packet of organic seeds is $2. Shoot, a decent packet of seeds with a guarantee to grow is $1. It's definitely worth it- or if you don't think you'll need 25 packets, you can always split S/H with a friend and share the seeds.

This would also be GREAT for a community garden project!

-Kristen

Walgreens Friends and Family Event!

2011-03-30T13:22:00.000-07:00

Go here to print your Walgreens Friends and Family coupons! You can get 15% off all store purchases, and 20% off Walgreens brand items!

Not valid on diapers, baby formula, photo, pharmacy, electronics, contact lenses, newspapers, stamps, dairy, cards and a few other items, so make sure to check the coupon.

This would be great to pair with some of the deals they are running, especially register rewards (which I hate to mess with, since they have to be used in the next week- BOO!!)

-Kristen

Covergirl Free Sample Possibilities!

2011-03-27T14:08:00.000-07:00

Go to Facebook and Like Covergirl!

Take a survey and help them "create the next COVERGIRL mascara by telling us what YOU think kicks lash. You could win a LashBlast Volume Mascara!"

It doesn't take more than a minute or two. :)

I'm a BzzAgent and I'm telling you about this Covergirl opportunity through them!

-Kristen

Discount Tickets

2011-03-26T10:48:00.000-07:00

We're going to Disney World on vacation this year for our 5th anniversary. Disney is WILDLY expensive- a pair of tickets (6 day) for me and Tim, with park hopper, was going to be over $630. YEOUCH.

Instead, I got on the internet and begin to research discount tickets. First off- BEWARE. NEVER buy partially used tickets. These can be fraudulent and you'll be out the money before you ever discover they won't work. Ebay or craigslist is not an acceptable place to get discount tickets, ever. Even if they aren't fakes, if they are keyed to someone else's finger print (which Disney likes to do when you go through those turnstiles), then what? You're still out of luck!

Also beware the "too good to be true" deals. A week "all access" pass to Disney for $100? If your Bull-crap meter isn't going off, it should be. We already saw that a base ticket with park hopper was going to be over $300. No one can give you a 2/3 discount AND all the frills and make money. More than likely you're going to be out a $100.

Once you find a place that looks likely (like undercovertourist.com), start researching that specific company. A great place to do this is to check several established disney websites (like mousesavers.com) and the Disney Boards (just google that, they'll come up). See what people say about the website you are considering. Check and see if the website you're considering has a return policy and read that in great detail.

Then you have to decide- is it worth it to take the plunge? I did. I signed up with mousesavers.com and got a discount code sent to my email to use when I purchased tickets through a designated link that led me to undercovertourist.com. Once it was all said and done, I saved over $60 on the tickets for myself and Tim.

Then came the "oh geez...will it work? I did all my research, I think it's legit... will it work?" period of time.

Imagine my relief when the tickets arrived! Perfection. I saved over $60 by doing 30 minutes worth of research. Now you know- Undercovertourist.com is a great website to use to get discount tickets for attractions in Orlando. I know I'll keep them in mind in the future. Meanwhile, we've got $60 extra in our pockets!

-Kristen

How to save a little money

2011-03-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

We're all looking to save a little money and there are small ways to do this that you may not normally think about.

For instance, we're about to go on vacation and we have a netflix account. I can suspend our account for the days we will be out of town (not watching the movies and not using the streaming option). We won't be charged for those days!

If you know there won't be coupon inserts in a Sunday newspaper, or you are going out of town and don't want delivery, call and put it on hold! This is another great way to not be charged for something you aren't using anyway!

-Kristen

Free Suave- Again

2011-03-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

Go here and watch the 8 videos! Make completely random guesses as to which model is using Suave professionals. If you get 4 correct, you can get a coupon for TWO FREE PRODUCTS. 3 correct gets you 1 free product, and there are of course other prizes.

I got 7 of the 8 :P.

Yeah...be jealous hehee.

-Kristen

Free Uncle Ben's Rice

2011-03-23T17:10:00.001-07:00

Click here and then look for the "coupon" that is offering a free Uncle Ben's Ready Rice. Click the link where it says "click" and then fill out the form.

It's being super slow.

-Kristen

Free Neti Pot!

2011-03-23T07:55:00.000-07:00

Go to Facebook and like NeilMed Neti Pot! Fill out the form and take the quick quiz at the end (you can just change your answer if you don't get it right) and they will send you a free Neti pot with 2 packets of solution!

If you don't want this, you can always donate it (unopened) or give it away :). Apparently they are pretty popular. I ended up letting mine go at a yard sale because we were moving and I didn't want to haul more than I had to with me. It got snatched up immediately.

-Kristen

Super Cheap Koolaid

2011-03-23T07:43:00.000-07:00

Enter Koolaid's sweepstakes on Facebook! You have a chance of winning a nifty prize every day (today is a blu-ray player) and even if you don't win, you can print out a coupon for $.50/5 packets of koolaid. Who Said Nothing In Life is Free is reporting you can get koolaid for $.11 per packet at Target, which means 5 packets are just $0.05! These are great to make popsicles with in the summer, if you don't really drink koolaid.

-Kristen

Free Suave Coupon tomorrow 3/24

2011-03-23T07:39:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Suave is going to give away a coupon for good for a FREE FULL SIZE Suave product! This is going to be available only to the first 200,000 people that request it. That's a great number, you won't have to be the first person to sign up for it, but I would do it as soon as you can.

It's a facebook giveaway, so make sure to like them on Facebook! Keep checking their page through out the day tomorrow, I'm not 100% sure when it will go live.

-Kristen

YAY!

2011-03-20T17:46:00.001-07:00

I figured out (finally) how to change my template! This I feel like is a lot lighter and cleaner- a little less depressing than the all browns it was :).

-Kristen

Free Sample of Dove Men's Deodorant

2011-03-20T17:37:00.000-07:00

Go here to get a free sample of Dove Men's Deodorant from Walmart.com! The travel sizes are fantastic to take on trips :). Or to keep as an emergency back up in case someone in the house runs out!

-Kristen

$10 Walmart Gift Card Offer!

2011-03-16T18:49:00.000-07:00

Buy any 2 items above and get a $10 Walmart gift card!

Go HERE to print out the rebate form! I bought 2 boxes of the Family Sized Frosted Flakes- at $3.50 each! That makes this a $3.00 money maker :D.

-Kristen

Walmart's Overage Policy

2011-03-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

I heart the Mart has a really interesting blog based on a scenario that has the couponing community in an uproar. Basically, a person used a ton of coupons on a travel sized item and got $157 in cash back from walmart, per their new couponing policy.

I am not here to judge if that was wrong or right. The lady had her reasons for doing it and if you read the linked article above and the comments, you'll get her side of the story.

The thing that is worrisome is that she's definitely not the only person taking advantage of Walmart's coupon loophole.

I fully expect to see a revision to the coupon policy before the month is out, either limiting the number of like items per transaction or no longer allowing the "cash back" option.

Personally, I wouldn't opt for the cash back unless there were extenuating circumstances. Since I buy most everything at Walmart anyway, it's much more beneficial for me to have extra items in my cart to absorb the overage- especially things like fruits and veggies and meat, which we rarely see coupons for. It's a great way to stockpile canned goods, paper goods- shoot, you could even use coupon overage to pay for clothes, socks, shoes- whatever. In my mind, there aren't many circumstances where getting cash back would be necessary.

Besides, remember that every time you use a coupon, that's extra money in your pocket. Getting overage and using that to pay for your weekly groceries is just as helpful as getting cash back- the difference is it will keep Walmart happy and encourage them to keep up this new policy! It won't take many large cash-back payouts to give them second thoughts.

Again, it's up to you and your thoughts on how you want to coupon. The folks getting cash back aren't unethical or immoral. They are taking advantage of Walmart's policy. Just remember- if you get greedy, you'll spoil it for everyone else- and that includes spoiling it for yourself!

-Kristen

The Garden!

2011-03-13T15:39:00.000-07:00

I'm excited! My iceberg lettuce seeds have started to sprout! I've also got a few shoots of corn coming up.

This year I'm really planning on doing a rotation in the garden. I plan to start some corn now, then as soon as it is big enough to transplant, I'll start more seeds- same story with the lettuce. That way we have a longer harvesting season, instead of 30 ears of corn coming ripe at the same time.

I am a bit antsy- I haven't been able to get my hands on a tiller for the garden plot yet, so I haven't been able to plant my garlic and onions! They REALLY need to be in the ground like, yesterday. I think it would be worthwhile to look in to investing in a small tiller. Unfortunately, the cheapest I've found that I think will meet my needs is $200! OUCH! I may have to do some serious saving (and stockpiling) to pony up the money for that!

-Kristen

Free Purex with Zout Sample

2011-03-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what Zout is. Nor why we want it. But hey- if you do (and when it's free, who doesn't?) Go here and fill out the form for your free sample! You can also request a $1 printable coupon instead of the sample if you'd prefer. The freebie should arrive within 12 weeks.

-Kristen

Reynold's Slow Cooker Liners

2011-03-11T12:25:00.000-08:00

I am completely stocked up on these things- it makes using a slow cooker so easy, especially the bigger ones!

Go here to print a $1/1 coupon.

-Kristen

Dove Men's Deodorant Deal

2011-03-11T12:02:00.001-08:00

This deal is only good until Tomorrow, Saturday March 12.

Go to www.coupons.com and print off TWO of the Dove Men's Deodorant coupons. These coupons are $2/1.

Go to CVS and pick up two Dove Men's Deodorants, with the solid gray cap. These are included in the 2/$4.00 sale. If you question if you've picked up the right one, go to the coupon scanner at the front of the store and scan it!

By the way, don't forget to scan your CVS card- right now it's printing a $1.00 off any Kellogg's cereal coupon which will net you a small bowl of cereal (in the snack aisle) for free!

Use the two $2/1 deodorant coupons (and buy the bowl of cereal) and pay $0.33! If you don't get the cereal you pay $0.31 for the deodorant- basically just tax!

Not bad since the regular price for this deodorant is $4.99 EACH!

It's a great stockpile item!

-Kristen

Free Sample of Wisk!

2011-03-07T13:32:00.000-08:00

CVS is giving out a free sample of Wisk detergent. Just go here to claim it!

I love when we get the free samples, they are great to take on vacation with you if you need to do an emergency load of laundry... or just to use to stretch your own detergent a little farther!

-Kristen

Housing Market Going Down

2011-03-07T09:46:00.000-08:00

If you are in the market to buy a house- hold off!

If you are in the market to sell your house- hold off!

Experts think that the housing market is about to take a nosedive- AGAIN - and will actually end up going lower this time than the original crash.

Many individuals and companies who are in the business of buying and selling houses are waiting for the crash before they begin buying again- consequently, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The housing market is going to drop off.

This becomes a time of great indecision for me. If you have the money, it will be a GREAT TIME to buy a home. However, if you're in the financial situation we are- 100% great credit, but already a little stretched with student loans, car payments, etc., it's a quandary.

We could absolutely afford to buy a house. Especially with 100% financing, which we will qualify for. However. What happens if one of us gets in an accident (knock on wood) and we suddenly have a large medical bill each month? Or I lose my job? Or one of any other of a hundred scenarios that could end up causing us to have an additional, significant monthly bill occurs? In that case, things would be ridiculously tight financially if we shoulder the responsibility of another large monthly bill.

We are lucky in that there are things we could cut to lower our bills. I spend $90 a month in rabbit feed. Sell out the rabbits- $90 a month in our pockets, plus energy to the building, plus hay, plus show entry fees. It's the worst case scenario, but we could do it. We can cut off Netflix at $16 a month. We're stuck with our satellite bill, because we just switched providers. So unless we want to buy out our contract (OUCH), we'll still have it. We can pare down a few bills should we have to. I imagine it would be tight trying to pare down $300+ out of our already pretty reasonable bills, but with enough incentive (read: We HAVE to), it could be done.

My thought right now is, should we decide to try to take advantage of the "buyer's market" in the housing sector, something would have to give. We would definitely have to pare down and cull out some of our miscellaneous fun bills. I think the rabbits would almost certainly have to go.

Not to mention, the house would have to be just right and just the right price. I also want land. A ridiculous amount of it. Well- not ridiculous, but 8-10 acres wouldn't hurt my feelings.

It's tempting to jump up and down and buy a house. It really is. Even better if it could be rented out to make the house payments! But what happens when the pipes burst or the roof needs to be repaired? Not to mention we'd be saddling ourselves with a 30 year loan. We wouldn't be able to live in the house ourselves, because Tim has to move around a lot.

These are all things to consider if you are thinking of trying to buy a house in the next little bit. You don't want to dig yourself in a hole you can't get out of trying to "save money."

So if you are already looking to buy a house- wait a little longer. Prices are expected to drop significantly. If you want to sell your house- unless you are willing to take a large loss, expect to keep it around a little while longer.

-Kristen

Grow Your Own

2011-03-05T11:51:00.001-08:00

Speaking of starting seeds- Red Robin is giving away a free packet of tomato seeds so you can "grow your own ketchup."

Might as well sign up! They are slated to get here in 4-5 weeks, so sign up today!

-Kristen

Garden Started

2011-03-05T11:38:00.000-08:00

I've got my seedlings started!

Well, some of them anyway. I started from seed corn, carrots, iceberg lettuce and parsley. My goal is to get those thriving and then in a few weeks/a month, start more. That way I have a month headstart on the garden, then I will have another set of veggies and produce available later on in the season.

I'll be buying some started tomato and pepper plants. I think Tim wants some cucumbers as well, so I'll probably also buy those started. I work for someone who has a greenhouse and he sells his plants for 75 cents each- NOT BAD!

The carrots and parsley are mainly for the bunnies.

I wish we had a tiller- we'll have to borrow one, which can be such a pain and also puts us on someone else's timetable. I have onions and garlic that NEED to get in the ground though! I may have to hunt around on craigslist and see if I can find someone selling a used one.

-Kristen

Layout Change

2011-03-04T07:39:00.000-08:00

On a similar note, I now hate the layout of this blog. Can someone tell me how to change the theme and such? I've tried using what I think is common sense and it won't let me.

I'm tired of it being DEPRESSING.

-Kristen

Free Chickfila Fries!

2011-03-04T07:37:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to stop by Chickfila today from 2-4 and ask to try the new ketchup packets! This will get you a FREE medium fry! WOO HOO!

Tim and I bought the chickfila calendar, so I plan on cashing in our coupon for a free Diet coke too! That will be a nice little snack.

-Kristen

No Dining Out Challenge Day 28

2011-03-01T09:02:00.000-08:00

How Did You Do?

Well, lunch was a quick sandwich because I had some shopping to do.

Dinner was Chicken with cheesy broccoli and rice!

So- the challenge is over! We spent a total of $54.50. That's not too bad, considering there is no way we usually spend less than that. My only sadness is that I went on the PA trip- without it, this number would have been even lower!

So now, my target each month is going to be to spend less than $55 on eating out at restaurants. I won't necessarily hit that mark every time and I sure won't subject you to reading about it daily, but that's the goal! I hope Tim has seen that he won't die if we eat out a little less often.

To celebrate... I'm gonna take $55 from our checking and put it in to our savings! Wooo I am a partay animal.

:D

-Kristen

Taco Bell Deal-

2011-02-28T09:22:00.004-08:00

For a limited time, Taco Bell is selling their crunch wraps for $0.88! It is limited to 2 per person. Someone told me these things normally sell for around $2.00 each! They are still trying to convince us that their meat is really meat!

-Kristen

No Dining Out Challenge Day 27

2011-02-28T09:22:00.001-08:00

How Did You Do?

We took the new intern out to Golden Corral- but it was comp'd by the church :D.

Dinner was sandwiches!

No Dining Out Challenge- Day 26

2011-02-27T12:49:00.001-08:00

How Did You Do?

We had hot dogs for lunch and went to a friend's house for dinner! :D

No Dining Out Challenge- Day 25

2011-02-26T12:24:00.000-08:00

How Did You Do?

Well- I caved. We had coupons, so we went to McDonalds. Spent $7.96, but dang it, it was worth it!

Dinner was chicken nachos :D.

Total Spent so far: $54.50

No Dining Out Challenge- Day 24

2011-02-25T10:25:00.000-08:00

How Did You Do?

Lunch was a tuna fish sandwich, dinner was grilled chicken! No eating out AGAIN!

On a completely related note, we need to go grocery shopping tomorrow!

No Dining Out Challenge- Day 23

2011-02-24T18:24:00.000-08:00

How Did You Do?

No eating out! :D I had a salad for lunch and we went to a friend's house for pizza :D.

No Dining Out Challenge Day 22

2011-02-23T08:28:00.001-08:00

How Did You Do?

Once again, we didn't eat out! Lunch was a scrounging affair for me, Tim had leftover steak. Then we had spaghetti for dinner!

How to Cash in When a Store Closes

2011-02-22T15:13:00.001-08:00

Borders (the book chain) has filed Bankruptcy. While that is awful (more jobs lost- ugh), you have an opportunity to save a little money yourself.

Check out the Borders Reorganization List- 204 stores are closing. One near me is on the chopping block. So, keep an eye out for good deals! Your store will probably be selling EVERYTHING, from books and gifts to the chairs people sit in!

Keep a level head in the clearance sales. If a book is 50% off, but you can get it at a used bookstore for a dollar or two and are willing to go that way- it's not a great deal. However- this is a perfect time to find gifts for loved ones, where you don't really want to go used, but maybe don't want to pay $24 on that hardcover book they've been wanting.

-Kristen

No Dining Out Challenge- Day 21

2011-02-22T15:12:00.001-08:00

How Did You Do?

No eating out for us! We grilled out and had steaks for dinner! :D.

No Dining Out Challenge Day 20

2011-02-21T07:41:00.000-08:00

How Did You Do?

We had chicken for lunch and dinner was sandwiches (I had grilled ham and cheese, yum yum).

Still going good! :D.

-Kristen

No Dining Out Challenge- Day 19

2011-02-20T10:37:00.000-08:00

How Did You Do?

We had to go eat out for my mom's birthday- we spent $15.04 at Shane's Rib Shack.

For dinner we had chicken pie at my dad's house! :)

Total Spent this month: $46.54

No Dining Out Challenge- Day 18

2011-02-18T14:32:00.000-08:00

How Did You Do?

Lunch was delicious crockpot cajun chicken.

Dinner was joni-zones (calzones).

No Dining Out Challenge- Day 17

2011-02-18T04:21:00.000-08:00

How Did You Do?

No eating out for us today! We did treat ourselves to a yummy steak dinner! Hooray for hitting Food Lion *just* at the right time- we managed to find two huge, beautiful steaks on clearance that were still pretty and red!

-Kristen

No Dining Out Challenge- Day 16

2011-02-17T09:44:00.000-08:00

How Did You Do?

Lunch was another sandwich. It's amazing how I can eat these nearly every day. I also need to figure out a better "quick lunch" option.

Dinner was our special "Dinner Dip". It's so unhealthy I hesitate to even share it- velvetta cheese, salsa and hamburger, dipped with tostitos.

Maybe next month I need to do a "healthy dinner" challenge? lol

-Kristen

Hot Target Deal on men's body wash and deodorant

2011-02-17T06:29:00.000-08:00

Right now, Gillette Men's Body Wash is on mark down at Target for $2.95. Most of the different kinds ALSO have a $2/1 Target peelie good for an Old Spice or Gilette Deodorant.

Use the $2/1 Gillette Body Wash coupon from the 1/30 P&G insert.
Grab the peelie and pick a cheap deodorant-

You can get both for just over $1.00!

If you have TWO copies of the Gillette Body Wash Coupon, grab two, then two deodorants.
Use the two Target peelies.
Then use the $1/2 Old Spice Deodorant coupon from the 1/30 P&G insert.

You'll end up getting all four items for just over $1.00!

This is definitely a stockpile price!

-Kristen

P&G Coupons

2011-02-16T15:48:00.000-08:00

You can sign up (or sign in) here to get $39 worth of P&G coupons! I signed up for them all, you never know when the stars will align and a good deal will come along! They will be mailed to you in 4-6 weeks.

-Kristen

No Dining Out Challenge- Day 15

2011-02-16T12:57:00.000-08:00

How Did You Do?

Another successful day- lunch was chicken tenders and orange juice (I totally didn't say I eat healthy. In fact, do not eat like I do).

Dinner was chicken and dumplins! YUM YUM YUM.

-Kristen

Rockin' Rite Aid

2011-02-15T14:01:00.001-08:00

What can $10 at Rite Aid get you these days?

All this- plus change!

People laugh when I mention I'm plotting my shopping strategy, but I'm going to show you exactly what spending 20 minutes this Sunday did for me. The best part is you can do it too! Unless you have the coupons I had, you won't get exactly the same deal (this is also why I save ALL my coupons), but you can definitely get a great deal right now.

First off, are you familiar with UP rewards? These rewards print on the bottom of your receipt. When you look at the Rite Aid circular, make special note of what is printing them and how many you have to buy. They work to take off money on your next purchase.

So here we go. I took a look at the Rite Aid circular for this week and noticed Colgate toothpaste was free after UP rewards (Buy 1 for $3.50, get a $3.50 UP rewards- so you just pay tax). Sweet! Do I use Colgate? No. Am I willing to if it is free? Oh yes. A thousand times yes.

I went through the circular and made a list of what I was interested in:

Colgate ($3.50, printing a $3.50 UP reward)
Gain Laundry Detergent (On sale from $8.99 to $4.99)
Secret Clinical Women's Deodorant ($7.99, printing a $3.00 UP reward. It's high dollar stuff, but it works so well and it is what I use anyway!)
Ragu Sauce (2/$3, printing $1.00 UP reward)
Ziploc Bags (2/$5 printing $2.00 UP reward).

I know some of these items are normally cheaper elsewhere, but with the UP rewards, it makes Rite Aid the place to get them- like the Ziploc Bags.

Now, I already knew generally what was in my coupon book. There is usually a ziploc coupon each month, $1.25 off 2 boxes. I used my Ragu Sauce coupon already (sigh), so I took a "loss" there, but $1 a jar (after UP reward) is still a great bargain. I knew I had a $2.00 off coupon for Secret Clinical and the newspapers often have at least a $0.50 off coupon for Colgate, making it a money maker. When in doubt, use a coupon database. Just type in the product name and you'll see all the coupons available for that product, either printable or that have come out in newspapers and are still valid.

We went to Rite Aid and I loaded my basket with 2 Colgates, a Gain, a Secret Clinical, 2 Ziploc bags and 2 Ragu Sauces. Then I took out my handy-dandy scenario list and headed to the checkout.

What is my scenario list? It is where I plot in what order to buy these items and how many transactions to do so that I spend the least out of pocket (OOP) and get the most.

Let me pause and say now, I love the Rite Aid Cashier Amanda. I will be letting corporate and her local store know that she is incredibly sweet to put up with me. Thank you Amanda!

So here are my transactions and the actual amount I spent per transaction. I'm putting them down the same way I wrote them on my scenario list, with the only difference being the actual cost (including tax) instead of what I projected.

My Wellness Card (like a Food Lion MVP card or a CVS card, it just gets you the "special prices". IE "Gain on sale for $4.99 with your Wellness card, regularly $8.99" type thing.) was scanned each transaction. *It should be noted that when someone came up behind me at the register, I finished my transaction then let them go before I continued on. This happened twice to me, but there is no reason to make folks wait behind you when you have this many to do*

Transaction 1: Buy Colgate. Use coupon ($.50) + $2 UP (previous purchase).
Spent $1.27, got $3.50 UP Reward

Transaction 2: Buy Secret Clinical. Use coupon ($2.00) + $3.50 UP Reward.
Spent $3.11, got $3.00 UP Reward

Transaction 3: Buy Ziploc Bags. Use coupon ($1.25) + $3.00 UP Reward.
Spent $1.14, got $2.00 UP Reward

Transaction 4: Buy 2 Ragu Sauces. Use $2.00 UP Reward.
Spent $1.06, got $1.00 UP Reward

Transaction 5: Buy Colgate (Limit 2 with UP Reward per household). Use coupon ($0.50) + $1.00 UP Reward.
Spent $2.27, got $3.50 UP Reward

Transaction 6: Buy Gain Detergent. Use coupon ($1.00) + $3.50 UP Reward.
Spent $0.88.

Total Spent: $9.73.
Total Coupons/UPs tendered: $20.25
Total Wellness Card Savings: $14.94

Total Savings: $35.19

I basically paid 27.6% of the retail value of the merchandise I purchased. YAY!

These deals are still going on, so if you got a Sunday paper, get that Gain, Colgate and Ziploc Bag coupon out and go run to the store! If not, you can still spend $3.50 on Colgate and get $3.50 back in UP rewards that you can roll forward to get savings on other items!

Any questions?

-Kristen

No Dining Out Challenge- Day 14

2011-02-15T13:55:00.000-08:00

How Did You Do?

We did well again! YAY!! Lunch was a sandwich (again) because as soon as I got home I got a survey call. Since this is one I actually get paid to do (for testing products), I had to take it! Tim made me a cheese sandwich, yum yum.

Dinner was a salad topped with chicken! GASP something healthy!

-Kristen

No Dining Out Challenge- Day 13

2011-02-14T12:23:00.000-08:00

How Did you Do?

Wow, so we had a free breakfast at one of Tim's churches as a "valentine's day" deal. Then lunch was leftovers from the church dinner the night before (after church). Dinner was Papa John's pizza with some friends!

No cost eating out.

No Dining Out Challenge- Day 12

2011-02-13T11:22:00.000-08:00

How Did You Do?

For lunch we had hot dogs again. Dinner was a church event. No cost for eating out! YAY! :D

I would kill to go to McDonalds right now.

Minnesota Juicy Lucys! Recipe #35

2011-02-12T15:54:00.000-08:00

Here is a fantastic recipe that is easy to make- and cheap!

You'll need:

Hamburger meat
Black pepper
Worcestershire sauce
Jalapenos (optional)
Cheese (block form, whichever you prefer)
Hamburger Buns
Fixins

Ready? Here we go!

Decide how big you want to make your burgers. For the sake of argument, let's say you're going to make two half-pounders. Mix in some black pepper and worcestershire sauce. If you want to add in jalapeno, now is the time. Finely chop the jalapeno and mix it in to the meat. Divide your meat in half, then half it again! So you have 4 balls, each 1 quarter pound.

Smush your first ball of meat down in to a patty. Cut 4 pieces of block cheese in to pieces approximately 1/4" thick. Put two down, then put the other two pieces on top of those in the opposite direction. Smush down the second ball of meat into a patty and lay it on top of the cheese and first patty.

*whew* Next, push down the edges of the meat and pinch them together to form one solid patty. YAY! Then repeat for the other burgers.

Toss your burgers on the grill. Be sure to keep an eye on them, so cheese will probably end up escaping and you'll see some flare ups on the grill. It's bound to happen.

I toast our buns on the grill, then build our burgers like we like them.

Take a big ole bite and VOILA! Enjoy the juice and cheese that comes pouring out. Be careful though, that cheese can be HOT!

This is just a fun little spin on a typical hamburger. It's pretty famous in Minneapolis, Minnesota where two restaurants claim to have invented the "Juicy Lucy".

Enjoy!

-Kristen

No Dining Out Challenge- Day 11

2011-02-12T09:21:00.000-08:00

How did you do?

We did really well! We had chicken and mashed potatoes for lunch, then ate homemade "Juicy Lucys" for dinner. Recipe for the Juicy Lucys is coming up later today! :D We very nearly went out with friends for dinner, but that fell through at the last minute.

No Dining Out Challenge- Day 10

2011-02-11T08:19:00.000-08:00

How Did you Do?

I cobbled together an odd lunch of leftover pizza, pickles and baby carrots. Yes, sounds appetizing I know.

Dinner was hot dogs! So no eating out for us :).

No Dining Out challenge- Day 9

2011-02-10T08:20:00.000-08:00

How did you do?

Lunch was leftovers

It was a "catch as you can" dinner, so I had yet another sandwich and Tim got an omelette.

No Dining Out Challenge- Day 8

2011-02-09T19:08:00.001-08:00

How did you do?

We're back on the wagon! No eating out yesterday :D. Woot woot.

-Kristen

No Dining Out Challenge Days 3-7

2011-02-08T07:45:00.000-08:00

How Did You Do?

Figures I would choose to do this in a month where I had to be gone for 3 days, huh?

Day 3: I was good! Lunch and dinner were both cooked :). We had sandwiches for lunch and chicken n dumplins for dinner!

Day 4: On the road to PA, we stopped at Chickfila and I spent $6.10 on lunch. That night we stopped at a little Italian place for dinner and I spent $5.09. So $11.19. Blah.

Day 5: No money spent on lunch for me, I ate some snacks I packed. Super healthy, right? That night we went out to The Farmer's Hope Inn. I spent $12.00 total, including the tip.

Day 6: Again, nothing spent on lunch. We were on our way home when we broke down and ordered pizza somewhere around 8 that night. Which reminds me, I need to chip in (I gave all my cash to help tip the tow truck driver). So Day 5 I actually didn't spend anything.

Day 7: This was the unexpected day on the road- I ended up spending right around $3.30 at Sheets for lunch- 2 hot dogs, a doughnut and a coke. Not bad :D.

I also noticed Tim sneaked away to Subway while I was gone and spent around $5. Cheater.

So, a week in to the challenge, our total spent is $31.50. Blah. Since 5/6 of that is my fault, I'll tell you- I made sure when I was eating out to order water when I could, and to look for the cheapest acceptable items on the menu. Believe me when I say that this total could have been so much higher if I had given in to some of those yummy menu items.

So there we go- down $31.50 for the month.

-Kristen

Valentines Day

2011-02-04T15:51:00.000-08:00

Ugh. Valentine's Day. Just ugh.

We don't celebrate it. But if you do, consider some ways to save some money.

Cook at Home
Make a favorite or special dinner that night. Light some cheap candles and turn the lights down low- voila! Way more romantic than a crowded restaurant that you had to wait for 3 hours to get in to. Cheaper too!

Preorder Flowers
If you absolutely HAVE to have flowers, make sure your hubby or boyfriend preorders them. Use a site like ebates as well, there are some fairly decent deals running out there right now. The closer you get to Valentine's Day, the higher the markup of the already overpriced roses.

Make your own gift
Consider "love" coupons the person can redeem. Maybe it's for one favorite dessert or a favorite meal. One free back rub or foot rub is another good one! You can make adorable coupons with the simplest of computer programs. You really know the person you are giving a gift to better than I do, so consider something they'd really like.

Buy plain gifts
My husband loves anchovies. If I was going to give him a Valentine's Day gift, it would probably be a gift basket of food I don't like that he loves- anchovies, pretzels, maybe some snickers bars- tons of things we don't buy often (or in the case of anchovies, never). You save so much money and it's practical!

Make an extra payment on a bill
If you've been struggling to get out of debt, consider taking that $50+ you were going to blow on dinner and a movie (or roses and chocolate) and make an extra payment on one of your bills. Give your significant other a hand written note telling them how much you love them and add "I paid an extra $50 on the car payment. I can't wait until it's paid off and we can finally take a romantic getaway!" or whatever your goal is.

So there you go, hopefully these are a few helpful ideas for you!

-Kristen

Hurry Hurry Run!

2011-02-03T12:04:00.000-08:00

Go here on facebook. Vote for cheez-it's new cheese flavor and you can request a free sample! Supplies are limited though.

-Kristen

No Dining Out Challenge- Day 2

2011-02-03T08:49:00.000-08:00

How did you do?

Another successful day! I had chickfila chicken soup (that I got for free with a coupon) for lunch and dinner was sandwiches. YAY!

-Kristen

No Dining Out Challenge- Day 1

2011-02-02T04:59:00.000-08:00

How did you do?

No eating out for us yesterday! Tim and I both had lunches provided by our jobs (yay) and then we made "joni-zones" (calzones) for dinner!

Day 1 was definitely a success! WHEW :D.

-Kristen

Recipe #34- Easy Crockpot Ribs

2011-02-01T15:28:00.000-08:00

This is not what we got! lol

I plan on doing another version of this recipe in the future! Right now, here is the easiest, most simple recipe EVER.

We were in the grocery store the other day, perusing the discounted meat, when Tim spotted a cheap package of bone-in ribs. These were three long, separated ribs, not the cutesy little ones you see in restaurants (or in the picture! Seriously, get the cheapest ones, it'll be fine).

Pork Ribs (bone in is fine- they are usually cheaper and the meat falls right off the bone!)
1 yellow onion
1 bottle of favorite BBQ sauce.
Texas Pete to taste

That's all you need!

Put the ribs in the slow cooker. Chop the onion up and put it on top of the ribs. Dump 75% of your BBQ sauce on the ribs (or just cover them, it depends on the size of your bottle or the size of your slow cooker.) Dump a little Texas Pete on top.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 3-4.

Boom. That's it. They are DONE!! I just recommend you use some of the leftover sauce to either dip the meat in, or spread on top when they are done.

This is a great way to utilize cheap pork. It doesn't cost much and it really tastes great!

-Kristen

No Dining Out Challenge.

2011-02-01T05:06:00.000-08:00

Can you go an entire month without going out to eat? What about a week or a day? Can you cut your dining bill by 20%, 50% , 75% or more? That is what I challenge you to do!

How can this help you Save Money?

Take a look at your current dining out budget. How much did you spend last month going out to eat? That is money that could of gone into savings account instead! Try cutting your out to eat costs this month and adding the difference to savings.
Set a weekly dining out budget, if you resist going out to eat, add that amount to your savings instead.
If you were seriously about to go out to eat (like had your coat on and was going out the door or pulled into the drive thru and then pulled back out), add the amount you would of spent to your savings account.
Going out to eat and using a coupon or paying with a gift card? You could add that amount to your fund too. For example… if you had a $25 gift card to Cracker Barrel and you used it, you could take $25 cash out of your budget and add it to the savings account. Or if you used a $10 coupon, you could take $10 cash out of the budget and add it to your account!

The rules:

You must challenge yourself. Try to spend less than you spend now. If you don’t go out to eat at all, challenge yourself to try new meals this month. As long as you are challenging yourself when it comes to your family’s eating habits, you can participate!
You are allowed 1 freebie meal that you don’t have to count or report back to us about. Please report on everything else though so we can encourage and support one another!
Free meals do not count against you. This is a challenge to spend less money going out to eat than you usually spend. If someone else is paying for the meal or you have a coupon to make it free, great!

Let's do this! :D

-Kristen

Free Bath and Body Works Item

2011-01-31T19:55:00.000-08:00

Did I tell you, or what?

Until February 22nd, you can print out this coupon and get a free travel sized signature collection item with any purchase. You can even get those little 50 cent anti-bac holders. The travel sized items (lotion, shower gel or the mist spray stuff) are around $5. Spend $0.50 to get a $5 item? OK! Plus, right now when you buy something they are handing out coupons good for later on in February- Spend $10 and get a free full sized signature collection item for up to $12.

-Kristen

Start your Christmas gifting early

2011-01-30T09:39:00.000-08:00

I know what you're thinking- talking about Christmas already? But, I made mention in the last blog about some gift baskets I was going to tell you about and that involves talking about Christmas.

So here goes- Freebies Gift Baskets.

Wait wait wait wait wait wait- I know you think this sounds really cheap, but it can be FANTASTIC if you get an early start on the gift collecting and really do it right.

There are several ways you can do this and several baskets that can be made- a free for all basket, a "pamper yourself" basket- even a food basket! For the sake of everyone involved though, wait until closer to time to collect for the food basket.

In this case, I'm going to tell you about the "pamper yourself" basket I plan on making, but this can be done with any kind of basket you want to put together.

I'm stocking it with various things, some are the freebies from Bath & Body Works that they give away frequently (it seems like every week or two is some new coupon!). The best coupons are the ones that are completely free, like the little candle from the other day. Keep these items in a box somewhere, so you aren't tempted to use them! Also remember- that tiny little free candle is a $3.50 value. The small 3 oz. travel body washes and lotions? $5.00 value! So your freebie basket can quickly reach $50+ in value, without you ever spending a dime!

You can also use items you got for free by stacking your coupons- this is a GREAT way to incorporate full size items in to your gift basket.

Do you shop CVS, Walgreens or Rite Aid? If so, there are often items you can get 100% free after the Extra Care Bucks, Register Rewards or whatever the store gives. Also a great way to add full sized items to your baskets!

Sign up for tons of mail freebies. Often you can get small sample sizes of expensive shampoo or hand lotion- or even bath gel. I sometimes get coupons for free food items via the mail!

I got a gorgeous basket on sale for 75% off from this year's After Christmas sales. Craft stores often have baskets for rock bottom prices though and since you have a year to work on your project, you can keep an eye open for 40-50% off coupons that are often in the paper.

Keep in mind the kind of person you're going to be gifting this to (and it works for birthdays, mother's day, etc, etc)- for someone like me, a freebies laden gift basket would be SUCH a fantastic gift. It's the thought that counts in my book and these things take effort- not only in bargain shopping and signing up for the freebies, but in keeping them and putting the baskets together. For someone that is a bottom dollar "how much did you spend on me" kind of person, this is probably not a good idea.

If all else fails, just signing up for these freebies and working the deals helps you pamper yourself and save you money that you can spend on your Christmas shopping later on.

-Kristen

HOT Toilet Paper Deal

2011-01-28T19:33:00.001-08:00

Do you use toilet paper? If so, keep reading ;).

Go here and use zip code 78620. You'll also want to choose 50 mile radius. There is a $2.00/1 coupon for Cottonelle Toilet Paper!

Starting Sunday (1/30) at Walgreens is a deal for 12 rolls of Cottonelle Bathroom Tissue for $5. Then, they have a store coupon for $1 off. Use your $2/1 coupon to pay a total of $2.00 for 12 rolls. That's 16.6 cents per roll! I just stocked up on Charmin at 41 cents per roll, so this is an incredible deal.

-Kristen

Free Tiny Candle from Bath & Body Works

2011-01-28T09:42:00.001-08:00

If you're heading out to an area where there is a Bath & Body Works, you may want to print out this coupon. Good for this weekend only (Friday-Sunday), you can get a FREE 1.6 oz candle in one of two scents, Island Colada or Pink Sangria. I have one of the pink sangria ones and it smells FANTASTIC.

NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY! The coupon also has a code that you can use if you plan on making an online purchase.

This would be great for the gift baskets I plan on telling you guys about in the very near future.

-Kristen

Making a Master List

2011-01-19T12:52:00.000-08:00

Have you ever seen a deal for something, let's say toilet paper, turned to a family member and said "But wait...how much do we normally pay for that?"

I do that all...the...time. It's obnoxious and annoying to not know if a deal is really a deal or not.

So, come up with a Master List. It's ok to start off small with just a few items you use a lot of- say toilet paper, soft drinks and paper towels. You can build your list as you go.

You can keep this all handwritten in a notebook or just scribble the numbers and enter them in an excel file later- really it's whatever is most helpful for YOU! I keep my Master List written by hand in my coupon folder, where I can always grab it quickly, though I really need to put it in to an excel file, just in case!

Write the average price of several stores- say Walmart, Target and your local grocery store. You don't need the average price at EVERY store around, just a few of the "biggies" your normally shop at. Not only will you know where to go to buy the item regularly, but when they do the "roll backs" and "price cuts", you'll know if it's a REAL deal.

I suggest putting the regular price in one column, then the price per unit in a second one. Price per ounce, per 100 sheets, per roll, whatever. Just make sure it's equal across the board. An example of things you need to track might look like this:

Date/Brand Name/ Store/Size/ Price/ Price per unit

1/17/11- Coke- Walmart- 2 liter/ $1.49/ (whatever unit it may be in- whether you choose to just put 2 liter here is fine because in this example, it's a standard size. This is more important for things like Toilet Paper, because roll size varies greatly among stores like Walmart and CVS).

1/17/11- Coke- Target- 2 liter/ $1.50/ $1.50

See? Easy Peasy. The important thing is to keep your book updated at "regular" prices and not only concentrate on sale prices or rollbacks. For instance, if you have your handy dandy Master List with you when you notice Cokes are "on sale" at CVS for $1.25, you can instantly recognize that is $0.25 cheaper than Walmart's average price. Not a stockpile price, but not bad if you need to pick up a single coke. However, let's say you know Walmart normally charges $1.50 for a 2 liter Coke and they are running a rollback price of $0.88. That is significantly less than both Target and Walmart's normal prices, so it might not hurt to grab a few at that price.

Too easy? Want to get more in depth? We can do that!

If you're really committed, enter the price every time you go shopping. This will help you identify sales cycles. Say every 2 months, you notice Walmart puts Coke on sale for two weeks. Well, then you know to buy enough Coke to last you 2 months, then you can stock up again during the two week price break.

If you don't want to get in to the sales cycles, your simpler Master List of regular (non-sales) prices is helpful when you're flipping through sales circulars each week to say "Hmmm, Coke at CVS for $2? NOT A DEAL! Coke for $1.48 at Walmart? That's only a 2 cent break! No reason to rush right out!". I do recommend at least updating your prices once a month or so!

It takes literally seconds to do, especially if your list is short! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how much time (and gas! and HEADACHE!) your master list saves you. No more rushing out to get THE DEAL of the a lifetime, only to head to the next store and realize it was 10 cents cheaper regular price.

-Kristen