Saturday, November 7, 2009

Apologies

I have not been posting lately. I have been run-down and with birthdays, thanksgiving, christmas (oh and The Husband coaching Lacrosse) all descending I have taken to curling up on my sofa from 7pm. I haven't clipped coupons in two weeks, and with tomorrows inserts that will make three -- eek!
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Friday, October 30, 2009

Pull! Grab! Dash! 11/01/09

Time limited? Kidies in tow? Pull your coupons now, put into seperate envelopes, write the list on the front and off you go!

WAL*MART 11/01-09:

Item & QuantitySale PriceCouponFinal Cost
Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce 10 oz2.48

$2.00/1(9/27 Red Plum)

.48 ea
Reeses Candy Single Pack 0.65$0.55/1 (8/23 Smart Source.10 ea
Revlon Compact Tweezers1.88

$1.00/1 (10/18 Smart Source)

.88 ea
Reach Floss 55 yd$1.12$1.00/1 (10/18 Red Plum); $1.00/1 (10/4 Red Plum) .12 ea
Kotex Light Days Pads $1$1 off any homemailerFREE

TARGET 11/01/09:

Kellogs Cereals $2.66 (see weekly ad for details)

Buy 4 boxes for $7.98
Use 3 $1/1 coupons and 3 $1/1 Target Web Coupons
Final Price: $0.66 a box

IF your store allows coupons on free boxes:

Buy 4 boxes for $7.98
Use 4 $1/1 coupons and 4 $1/1 Target Web Coupons
Final Price: $.02 Profit

WALGREENS 11/01/09:

Campbell's Soup* $ .50 (limit 4)

Use $1.00/4 (9/20 SS)

Final Cost $ .25 each

*see weekly ad for products


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Sunday Coupon Preview

Sunday Coupon Preview has the 11/01/09 coupon inserts lists ready for you!

Click on the button to find out what will be in this weeks P&G, RedPlum and SmartSource.

I was personally hoping for a few more coupons to go with the Kroger Mega Deal Promotion. But I am blessed with my last trip, which saved $143.


Be sure to check my GRAB & DASH LIST this afternoon, for all the busy Mom's with only a few seconds to spare in each store!
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Thursday, October 29, 2009

Kroger Mega Event Etc ...Saved $143.31!!

Is it sad to say that I had a lovely time in the aisles of Krogers with The Husband? Well I did. No kids, just the two of us. Him pushing the cart, me throwing in the stock. First time I have grocery shopped late at night without the girls. We were blessed to have our very responsible nephew stay last night, aka babysitter!

I pulled my coupons, wrote my lists and set out with four envelopes labeled Trans #1, Trans #2, Trans #3 and Just In Case. It was like a ghost town in the store! The shelves were pretty well stocked, so even after my raid there was still plenty to go around. Here is what I was able to buy:




Trans #1:

OOP $21.30 Saved $73.28

Item & QuantitySale PriceCouponFinal Cost
Kotex Maxi Pads x21.99 ea*

$1/1 Home mailer

.99 ea
Kotex Tampons x21.99 ea*$1/1 Home Mailer.99 ea
Bumble Bee Tuna x2 0.50 ea*

0.55/1 9/13SS

FREE
Birdseye Steamfresh Meals x4 $5.49*BOGO FREE$2.75 ea **
Pepridge Farm Garlic Bread x3$1.49*0.40/10.69 ea
Del Monte Canned Tomatoes x100.50 ea*1/5 cans0.30 ea
LandoLakes Butter x30.99 ea*0.40/10.19 ea
Yoplait Kids Drinks x31.49 ea*0.35/10.44 ea
Snuggle2.99 *3/1FREE
Gerber 3rd Foods x60.71 ea1/6 jars0.54 ea
Yakisoba Noodles0.99 ea0.35/1FREE
Bananas1.16 (0.49/lb)1.16


Trans #2:

OOP $18.45 Saved $49.50

Item & QuantitySale PriceCouponFinal Cost
Heinz Ketchup x51.49 ea*

0.75/1

.74 ea
Yoplait Yogurtsx31.49 ea*0.35/1 and one .80 SC Loadable.44 ea
Bumble Bee Tuna x2 0.50 ea*

0.55/1 9/13SS

FREE
Birdseye Steamfresh Meals x2$5.49*BOGO FREE$2.75 ea
Pepridge Farm Garlic Bread x3$1.49*0.40/10.69 ea
Hormel Chilli With Beans x90.79 ea*2/3 cans0.12 ea
LandoLakes Butter x30.99 ea*0.40/10.19 ea
BE Steamfresh Veggies x11.49 ea*0.35/10.44 ea
BE Steamfresh Lightly Sauced1.49 *0.50/10.49 ea
BE Steamfresh Brocolli x21.50 ***0.35/10.45ea

Trans#3

OOP $3.69 Saved $16.54


Item & QuantitySale PriceCouponFinal Cost
Del Monte Canned Tomatoes x 50.50*

$1/5

.30 ea
Yoplait Drinks x3 1.49 ea*0.35/10.44 ea
PF Garlic Bread x21.49 ea*

0.44/1

0.69 ea
Twix 0.44FREE COUPONFREE

Trans #4:

OOP $0 Saved $3.99/114% Profit $0.50
As we were checking out Trans#3 my husband spotted discarded catalinas. One of the was for a free Half Gallon of Silk Soy milk! The cashier let us have it, made my night!

Item & QuantitySale PriceCouponFinal Cost
Silk Soy Milk 1/2 Gallon2.99

FREE COUPON Catalina

-0.50 ****

* Reflects price after 0.50 Mega Event Promotion for purchasing 10 items

** These rang up as $1.50 should have been $1.99, did not register as part of MegaEvent. They are advertised, so will go back today for a $5 ME refund.

*** The regular price of these are $7.69 which is the amount they took of for each free item, instead of the sale price $5.99

*** The regular price of this product is $3.49 we used a free item coupon, and instead of refunding $2.99 they refunded $3.49, giving us $0.50 back!



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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Make A Monthly Budget ...

With 2010 fast approaching (too fast for my liking), now would be as good a time as any to sit down and get your budget together for the New Year. Why now? It takes on average 21 days to change/create a habit. So over the next few weeks you can grab all your financial stuff, ready to put on paper, add a sprinkle of reluctance/procrastination and you should have created the budget by December. Keep to your budget for December, then hopefully by the start of the News Years you will have formed a new habit of saving and keeping reins on your money! This is one New Years resolution you'll be able to keep. But you need to get a grip on it now.

I make it sound simple ... because it is. So where to start? Go grab a pen and paper, wage slips, bills, reciepts anything that will tell you where your money went for the last 10 months. Got them? Good. Now let's get going ...


1. Complete a yearly expenses list.


Include all known and anticipated expenses that you expect to see in 2010. This is going to stop you overlooking any bills, repairs, gifts, vacations etc. We are going to get them, before they get us! Add up these total expenses and divide by 12. You know have an amount you can save per month towards these.


2. Complete a monthly budget.

This will be your personal framework for telling your money where it belongs. Here is my budget that I created at Dave Ramseys, Total Money Makeover site:




Found this helpful? Check back soon for a post on matching incoming with outgoing! It'll help you avoid late fees, over-spending at the start of the month and make you feel in contol of the green stuff.



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Budget For Family Fun Too!

When creating your budget, make sure you budget in fun. Dave Ramsey, made a comment recently, that children should still have access to fun and treats (just not in a grotesque, unaffordable, debt-causing amount). I agree.

We have a tradition in our house, which is visiting Houston Zoo for Halloween. We have gone very year since 2006. It was the first place we went for a family outing when I immigrated to Texas. It was the place I walked around 5-6 cms dilated, praying that the zoo vet wouldn't be the one to deliver our new arrival. I had promised my oldest I would take her ... no matter what. I don't like to break promises.

So even though the budget was tight, what with baby Bella's first birthday in the same month, four relatives coming to stay, ect ... We committed to going. It cost us $31 which paid for 2 adults, 1 child and two carousel rides. We did save a heap of money though, by taking a picnic. It included most items I had used coupons for, Capri Sun, aqua pods, cheap bread, cheap Sara lee ham ... you get where I'm going. My parents purchased the Halloween costumes, which is also turning out to be another tradition. This of course helps the budget even more. Thanks Mum!

Here is our budgeted Halloween 2009 fun in action ...







Read more about budgeting family life and fun ...

Happy Budgeting and Freebie Hunting!!
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Monday, October 26, 2009

Lakeshore Learning Online Sale



As you can see from the image , Lakeshore Learning are having another online 75% off sale! I love Lakeshore Learning sales. I homeschool my soon to be preschooler and I care for two very clever little kiddos! So any resources I can gather at bargain bin prices, I do! I got some great items in the last sale (read about it here), and hope to do so this evening! There are items here that make great stocking fillers, fill-in activities, and for everyday fun and learning! I'll let you know what I find later ...
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Would $3250* make you happy?

I was going through my inbox and saw this in the subject field (I've changed the name):

Subject: Bella, would $3250* make you happy?

Then I opened up the email and was greeted with this image:

Followed with this:

Get $3,250 or more*
for whatever makes you happy!

This is where I have a problem with loan and credit companies. It's good business and marketing on their part. But these images and statements really do play on people's minds. Imagine what $3250 would do you for you this Christmas? ... Ok now think ... How many months will it take you to pay back those gifts, 36 months, 48 months? At what level of interest? Those asterisks that follow dollar signs make me edgy.

There was a time when we would have taken out loans in order to meet the need to please ourselves and others. Seeing the joy and hearing the squeals of glee, would melt my heart. They still do. Last Christmas, the gifts I gave were smaller. Paid for with cash too. The level of joy and the squeals of glee were all there too. Plus, a personal satisfaction that I would not be paying it off for x amount of years on a credit card or at a high interest rate with a loan company.

Would $3250* make me happy? Heck yeah! Cash that I earned and saved ... without an asterisk right by its side!

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