Deal Hunting Duo

Envelope Pillows

2013-07-07T18:05:00.001-04:00

I bought some fun fabric to make pillows for my new couches. I wanted to do something easy yet classy. I used this tutorial to create these beauts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LJnPEvjdDo

I bought a yard of each of these fabrics and six pillow forms.

After some serious ironing, the envelope pieces were created. My pillow forms are 16x16, so I used the following measurements for the pillows. Dimensions for other sized pillow can be found on the youtube tutorial.

Pillow form 16x16
(1) 17x17
(1) 17x12
(1)17x13

The finished product:

Casserole Carrier

2012-08-14T19:21:00.002-04:00

Found a great gift idea from The Two Little Hooligans via Pinterest. I have pumped out 5 of these out of my sweatshop. They're really fun for wedding gifts.

http://www.2littlehooligans.com/2010/10/24/casserole-carrier-tutorial/

Their tutorial provides the dimensions and instructions on how to make the Casserole Carrier. I substituted belting in for their homemade handles. I also added a spoon holder. This is 3 inches x 2 inches (ish).

To add to the gift, I etched the couples last name to a 9x13 dish. The names were created with Cricut machine and vinyl. The height of the text is 1 1/4". The vinyl is a sticker and applies easily to the dish. We used a sponge brush to apply the Armour Etch and let it sit for about a minute. Washed it off in the sink and then were left with an awesome finished product.

My Aunt Marlae made me a cupcake oven mitt for my bridal shower. I used it as a pattern outline. It should be just shy of a full 81/2x 11 piece of paper. I sewed the top part of the mitt through to the two line marks.

Cupcake Mitt Instructions:

Cut out two pieces of fabric and one piece of insul-bright the size of the pattern below.
Sew the three pieces together leaving a gap to turn inside out.
Top stitch the 'wrapper' section of the mitt.
Top stitch vertical lines on the mitt to create the wrapper effect.
Cut out two pieces of the top fabric and one piece of insul-bright. The swoops will extend a bit farther than what needs to be sewn to the 'wrapper' part of the cupcake.
Top stitch the 'frosting'.
Cut out a piece of fabric for the hook. Fold over and iron.
Sew 'frosting' and hook to the cupcake 'wrapper'.

Click to make larger. Remove margins when printing.

Here is another example of the finished product:

Birdbath Revival

2012-06-23T20:54:00.003-04:00

Every Saturday my husband and I go garage-saling. It's an exhilarating hunt for new treasures and good deals. Today we found this broken down birdbath that was looking for a good home and heck, the price was right. The dude threw this 'junk' in with some sprinklers we bought.

The birdbath surface was super uneven and some spots had holes. Originally I thought I could repair what was there, but that was a lost cause. So, I started out by whacking out the guts. I left the lip intact so me future feathered friends would have a ledge to stand on.

I evened out the pedestal's lip by taking a sawzall to it. Be afraid.

I just happened to have some concrete glue leftover from another project. This stuff is awesome!


The 'before' shot

After - with a new coat of paint!

I found some glass beads hanging out in my garage. I added these to the rim of the bird bath and in the middle with a hot glue gun. After that, I applied a sealant spray paint.

Now let's hope the birds come out and play!

Revamping Flower Pots

2012-05-22T19:10:00.000-04:00

Found some flower pots at a garage sale for a BUCK each. We were looking into buying pots new; they cost an arm and a leg, so this was a steal of a deal. They were looking a little sad, so I decided spruce them up with a coat of paint.

Using a gloss spray paint makes the pots look like their ceramic. This a cheap way to get this rich look.

Here's the finished product. They'll eventually hang out on our patio... once we're done making the patio...

Home Made Piñatas

2012-05-12T12:06:00.002-04:00

For Cinco de Mayo I wanted to make some piñatas for my fiesta.

First I blew up a balloon and shredded some newspaper:

I applied the strips of paper using a flour and water combo. (One part water, one part flour: boiled and cooled. Makes for a strong paste!)

After letting the strips harden over night, I applied another layer of newspaper.

I felt that the newspaper wasn't as strong as I would like it to be, so my next layer was with a thick cardboard/ cardstock material. I also applied it to the balloon form with the flour paste.

Once that was thoroughly dried, I began applying the decorative shell. I took several layers of tissue paper and cut squares. I applied the tissue to the balloon with a glue stick.

When I was close to completing covering the balloon, I cut a hole to insert the goodies.The balloon popped inside and shriveled up. Upon removing the balloon, I inserted the candies. Once completed, I used duct tape to seal up the hole and finished gluing the tissue paper on it.

The the finished piñatas:

Fan Scarf

2012-01-23T20:56:00.000-05:00

I originally saw this scarf on Pinterest from One Flew Over.

It's a super easy pattern that can be found at this link.

Valentine Poof Balls

2012-01-08T18:42:00.002-05:00

Getting ready for V-Day

Supplies:
6 Styrofoam balls
Crepe Paper
Muslin fabric
Plastic tablecloth
Hot glue gun

I folded over the top and started twisting the streamers until it formed a flower.

After I formed a few, I started gluing them to the ball.

I cut out white ovals then folded them hot dog style, then again hamburger style. These were each glued to the ball. No real strategy here.

The last two balls are made out of a random tablecloth I bought at a g'sale. I cut off about 2 inches off of one end off the folded tablecloth and glued them to the balls.

Here are the completed balls!

Wall Art

2012-01-08T18:07:00.000-05:00

Saw this done on Pinterest... Thought I'd give it a go.

http://www.everythingmom.com/decorating/diy-decor-distressed-numbers-canvas.html

I started out with 6 12x12 blank canvases.

Paint - Based on the I used Americana paints in Snow (Titanium) White, Buttermilk, Burnt Sienna, Lamp (Ebony) Black - I grabbed a couple extra black just in case.

Once the canvases dried, I flipped them over and stapled them together.

Next I cut out the numbers and arranged them.

I traced them with a pencil, then painted with a mix of the three colors.

Finally I sprayed a gloss on the top. Ta-daa!

Tornado Disaster Relief Donations

2011-05-08T17:47:00.001-04:00

After a few months of couponing, we have accumulated quite the stockpile. We've read on several blogs that tornado victims are in need of several of the items hanging out in our pantry.

A fellow couponer - Couponing to Disney - is organizing a donation drive. Donations are being accepted by her church and she is helping distribute the materials. You can send items to:

Disaster Relief
c/o First Baptist Church of Moody
902 Church Street
Moody, AL 35004

Here's what we'll be sending along...

Deals found on Mother's Day

2011-05-08T17:29:00.002-04:00

Rite Aid:

Breath Right 10 ct – FREE with coupon

Receive $1 Up with purchase

=FREE +$1 Money Maker

Hershey's Single Serve– BOGO
Pair that with 1 FREE Hershey’s Bar wyb Select Hershey’s Bars, exp. 6-17 (SS 05/01/11)
= 2 FREE chocolate bars

Starbursts Easter Candy –75% off = $0.62 per bag
Mfg $0.50/ 2 Starburst or Skittles
$0.25/1 Starburst Video Values Coupon (it pictures a single serve, cashier may not accept)

=$0.49 for 2 bags or $0.25 each bag

Precise Tyenol Heat Patch / Cream – On sale for $5

Use $5/1 Precise Product printable

= FREE!! These bad boys work great for back pain... not that this old dancing body would know...

Cadbury Eggs – On clearance for $0.22

Use $0.50/2 Cadbury Eggs Video Values coupon
= Free w/ overage

Athletic Shorts – On clearance for $1.74

Willy Wonka Scrubdiddlyuptious – Currently $4.99
Our Rite Aid had a sign up saying they are 75% off. Supposedly this sign was supposed to be for 5/10, but they gave us the clearanced price of $1.25. Pair that with a $1/2 Willy Wonka Coupon from Coupons.com and they wound up being $1.50 for 2 bags or $0.75 a bag!!!!

Walgreens:

Nexcare bandages – $3.99 each

Mail In Rebate up to 3.99 per type = up to 11.97
Use this $1 off one Coupon thrice
or Use $0.55/1 Nexcare from SS 5/1
or Use $0.55/1 Nexcare Product, SS 04/03
= FREE (after rebate) and up to $3 money maker

Gillette Proglide Razor $9.89
$5 Register Rewards back after transaction
Use $4/1 from P&G 5/1
= $0.89

Sunburnt Gel -$3.99
Free after $3.99 mail in rebate
Rebate prints during check out
Also use $0.50 Coupon
= FREE (after rebate) and $0.50 money maker

On the Border Products
Buy one Margarita Mix, and Chips, Get Salsa FREE
No 'real' coupons for these. We used these as filler items to use our register rewards from prior purchase. Walgreens considers the money back as a mfg coupon and you can only have one mfg coupon per item. So since we had several $2 off rewards we need to pair them with products that didn't have coupons. (yeah.. pretty tricky)

CVS:
Carefree Pantiliners $1
$1/1 Carefree Product 5/8/2011 SS
=FREE

Revlon Makeup - Get $7 wyb $15
The magic CVS machine printed out $3 off of $10 of Makeup
Use (2) $2/1 Revlon Products from today's news
So $7 worth of coupons, get $7 back, = about a buck for 2 items. :-D

Chef Boy Ravioli - $1 each
We used a buy 4 get 1 coupon from the latest All You Magazine.

Kellogs Cereal - $1.97 eachLimit 6
$1/2 Kellogg's Krispies Cereal 4/17/2011 RP Insert (exp 5/29/2011)
$0.70/1 Kellogg’s Raisin Bran Cereal Kelloggs 4/12/2011 (exp 5/10/2011) $1.50/3 Kellogg's Cereal 4/10/2011 RP Insert (exp 5/22/2011)
$1/2 Kellogg’s Rice or Cocoa Krispies Kelloggs 4/4/2011 (exp 5/10/2011)
= Final price varies

After Easter Deals and More!

2011-05-01T15:48:00.000-04:00

Today's Spoils

Here's what we did today...

Walgreens:

G-U-M Eez Thru Flossers 75-90 pk $2

get back a $2 Register Reward after you pay
Final Price: FREE

Bic Razors: Soleil, Flex 3, Flex 4, Comfort 3, Advanced $5.99

get back a $2 Register Reward after you pay
ues the $3 from 5/1 Smart Source
or printable HERE – Soleil
Final Price: $.99

Tylenol Precise pain relief $7.99

use the $3 from May coupon booklet
and the $5 printable HERE
Final Price: FREE

Rite Aid:

Revlon Beauty Tools Sale: 40% off - Nail Clipper on Sale for $0.87

Get $4 Up wyb 2 Revlon Beauty Tools
We did this the max amount of times (4).
Total = 6.96, with $16 in Register Rewards back

Butterfingers Snackerz Sale: $.50

MQ: $1/2 Butterfingers Snackerz printable.
Total: FREE!

Lays Kettle Chips Sale: $2.50

Video Value Coupon $1 off 2
2 MQ: $1 off 1
Total: $2 for 2 or $1 each!

Brother PT-80 Personal Labeling System 29.99

On sale for 75% off = $7.49
After using a $4 off reward, we got this bad boy for $3.49!!

Reese's & Cadbury Eggs

Easter Candy 75% off = $0.22 each
Use Video Values $.50 off 2 Reese's egg and $.50 off 2 Cadbury egg = FREE!

CVS:

Colgate MaxClean, MaxWhite or MaxFresh toothpaste $2.77

$2.77 ECB
$1 from May ALL YOU magazine
Final Price: FREE with $1 profit

Hershey Easter Chocolates 2 / $6

(2) $1 /1 coupons
Total 2/$4 or 1 / $2

Target:

Skittles $0.69

$1 / 2 Target Coupon
$0.50 / 2 MQ coupon
Total: FREE

Smart Ones: Sale price $1.89

Buy 10 and use $4/10 printable (There is also a $3/10 printable here and here)
Pay $14.90 and get $5 gift card
Total: $0.99 each

Extra Dessert Delight Gum $0.49

Clearanced at $0.49, Paired with 50c off 2 = Cheap Gum!

King Elroy found a new toy.. / bag

April Savings

2011-05-01T13:41:00.000-04:00

April Spending & Saving Details

Monthly Budget

$ 250.00

Total Shelf Cost:			$ 389.39
Total Mfg Coupon:			$ 86.71
Total Savings:			$ 317.80
Amount Paid:			$ 121.57
April Saving Rate:			68.78%

note: total savings = mfg coupons, store coupons, store bucks, & store discounts

Sunday Preview

2011-04-30T14:13:00.000-04:00

Word is there could be up to SIX coupon inserts in tomorrow's paper!!!
Here's a link to all the potential coupons. Potential 5/1 coupons

Kitty Litter Galore and a Walmart security camera

2011-04-28T21:46:00.001-04:00

This is my first posting...so don't expect much.

Took an out of the blue trip to Walmart to cash in on a few good deals. We were in need of ice cream (the healthy kind) and some fancy new cat litter for Elroy (he only has a little bit left).

I walked out with 60 pounds of cat litter (6 bags @ 10 lbs each) and 5 personal sized ice cream cartons for $5.12. If you skip to the end you can read the best part, or you can go to the next line to get the boring details, your choice.

10 lb Cat Litter $1.77
- $1.10 Manufacturer coupon (x6)
= $0.67 per bag x 6 bags
Total = $4.02

Skinny Cow Ice Cream Cups $1.22
- $1.00 Manufacturer coupon (x5)
= $0.22 per cup x 5 cups
Total = $1.10

Total Spent : $5.12
That's about $0.46 per item average

Yes, that is a slightly soggy $10 bill sitting in front of it all. When I got done putting the items in my trunk in the parking lot I walked around to my driver door and FOUND A $10 BILL floating in a nearby puddle. The only way to make a shopping trip where I spent $5.12 better is getting a $10 bill and making $4.88 on it all. I still have not decided if that bill will be put back into the economy or hung on our wall in remembrance.

Walmart caught me on camera today.....

That's all folks....
-Jacob

Freebie

2011-04-26T19:34:00.001-04:00

~~Free Ore-Ida Fries HERE~~

Scores at Rite Aid and others

2011-04-19T21:24:00.001-04:00

Rite Aid $2.65 out of Pocket
They have a deal this week to get $10 when you buy $30 worth of select cleaning products.

Here's what we did to make this deal work:
See Southern Savers for Coupon Links & Strategies (Household Products UP Promotion)
2 ZipLoc Bags
2 ZipLoc Containers
2 Glade Candles
2 Glade Premium Aerosols
2 Neutra Air Fabric mist
2 Baking Sodas

Another great deal was the FREE Got2B Hair Product:
On Sale for 5.99
-- Rite Aid VV $2 coupon
--Got2B $2 coupon from AllYou May 11
= $1.99
Receive $2 UP reward coupon
=$0.01 Money Maker

Walgreens $1.94 out of Pocket
Scotch tape = 3 FREE
See Wild for Wags for Details

Goody Hair band = FREE after $3 register coupon

AirWick Mini sprays = FREE
On sale for 50% off paired with a $4 mfg coupon.

CVS $1.97 out of pocket
More Listerine and Tooth floss for FREE
M&M's on sale for $1.97 each
$2 off of 2 Mars products
=$1.94 for 2

See Nicole's Nickles for more deal scenarios

Target

Picked up the latest Harry Potter and received a free bag for Earth Day... or maybe Jacob was flirting with the cashier...

<º)))))>< Elroy Enjoys it ><((((º>

March 2011

2011-04-09T20:06:00.001-04:00

March Spending & Saving Details

Monthly Budget

$ 250.00

Total Shelf Cost:			$ 645.89
Total Mfg Coupon:			$ 201.91
Total Savings:			$ 470.76
Amount Paid:			$ 175.13
March Saving Rate:			72.89%

note: total savings = mfg coupons, store coupons, store bucks, & store discounts

Free Cards, Gum, and more!

2011-03-27T16:27:00.000-04:00

3.27 Deals

Even a shared cold doesn't stop us from hitting the town. We didn't think at the start we would find that many awesome deals but boy were we wrong. Here are our purchases from today:

Walgreens:

Snickers Eggs $0.29:
We missed the boat on this one; we couldn't figure out how people bought 7 for a few cents. We ended up getting 3 for free using $1 coupon. Later we found out that if we bought seven we could've used two coupons and paid $0.03. Oh well... My dentist already hates me, so we're better off without the extra four. ;-D

Colgate Toothpaste $3.00
Buy two get a $4 print out at the end.
Use 2 $1.50 mfg coupons
=$1 Money Maker

The garbage bags and foil were on a pretty good sale $2 and $0.60 respectively.

Rite Aid:

FREE Greeting Cards:
Anyone can do this. Walk into Rite Aid, grab an ad at the door and pick out 3 $0.99 cards. In the back of the ad there is a $3/3 coupon for greeting cards. BOOM Free Cards!

Revlon - Buy $10 worth get $3 back:
This is before coupons. So we did their 40% tools sale, which got us to a little over $10 worth of product.
Jacob found some sweet $2 off Revlon tool product coupons a few weeks ago. We had five of those bad boys. This ended up being a Money Maker! Woot woot.

Specific Cleaning stuff - Buy $15 get $5 back:
(2) Finish Detergent = $4.98
(2) Freshmatic Air things = $9.99
(1) Lysol Air spray thing = $2.50
That got us over the $15 threshold, then for the coupons...
(2) $4 / Freshmatic Air things mfg Coupon = $8
(1) $1 / Lysol Spray thing mfg coupon = $1
= $8.47, and with our $5 back = 3.47 for all that jazz!

Orbit Gum BOGO paired with BOGO = FREEEEEWe had 2 BOGO coupons, paired with the BOGO sale = free gum
Also, we signed up for free flip flops from Orbit, they ran out but sent us a free coupon for Orbit gum. Pair that with a BOGO = Free!!
Pretty sweet deal, especially since I just ran out of gum!

CVS

M&M's:
Buy 2 get 1 paired with Buy 2 get 1 coupon.
We're not exactly sure how this worked. We ended up thinking if we bought 2 we get 2 free. Which seemed to be true, except the receipt makes it look like we could've got another free. IDK. It remains a mystery to us.

Physicians Formula Mascara:
Besides it's awesome leaf shaped bottle, this doodad is FREE with a peelie rebate. AND Physicians Formula kicks out $7 Hot diggity!

Colgate Maxfresh $2.99:
$1/1 Colgate Toothbrush from 3/27 insert
Pay $1.99
Get $2 Bucks Back
Final cost $FREE!

Target:Super awesomeness below...
Final out of pocket: $7.59

Dove Deodorant:
Buy 4 get $5 Target Gift Card
Price: $3.99
(4) $2 mfg coupon
=$6.96 with $5 back = like $1.96 for 4 deodorants.

Yoplait Yogurt:
10/$5 sale
$1/10 mfg coupon
=10/$4 or $0.40 each!

Secret Deodorant Combo Pack:
Clearanced for $3.64
$2 mfg coupon
=$1.64

Visine:
$1.99 sale price
$2 mfg coupon
=FREE

Glam Shot!

Nothing like a great freebie!

2011-03-26T19:12:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I signed up for Target’s Bag of Beauty. Today it arrived!! Jacob signed up for one too… He’ll be lookin’ snazzy in the hot pink lip gloss. Muahahaha

Pantene Shampoo
Fekkai Shea Butter Moisturizing Shampoo & Conditioner
Nivea Express Hydration Daily Lotion
Neutrogena naturals lip balm
Revlon ColorBurst Hot Pink Lip Gloss

Even though they have run out of bags, you can still get the coupons HERE.
Combine the Target coupons with Manufacture coupons for super savings!
Below is a list of the coupon awesomeness inside:

· $1.00 off Revlon Custom Eyes Mascara, Top Speed nail color or ColorBurst lip gloss (excludes travel/trial size)

· $1.00 off CoverGirl cosmetics item

· $1.00 off Olay facial care item (excludes trial/travel size)

· $ .75 off Suave Professionals Hair Care item

· $1.00 off Neutrogena facial care item (excludes cleansing bar and trial/travel size)

· $1.00 off Nivea skin item (excludes trial/travel size)

· $1.00 off with purchase of two hair care items - Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, Aussie (excludes trial/travel size)

· $2.00 off L'Oreal hair color item

· $5.00 off John Frieda Precision Foam Colour hair color item

· $3.00 off With purchase of two John Frieda Full Repair hair care items (excludes trial/travel size)

· $1.00 off TRESemme hair care item (excludes trial/travel size)

· $1.00 off Aveeno body care item - Skin or Sun (excludes trial/travel size)

· $3.00 off Nivea Body Care item - 2.5 oz. good-bye cellulite serum, 6.7 oz. Sun-Kissed Beautiful Legs moisturizer, 6.7 oz. good-bye cellulite gel-cream, 8.4 oz. Sun-Kissed Radiant Skin, 13.5 oz. Skin Firming moisturizer

· $1.00 off Burt's Bees lotion (excludes trial/travel size)

· $1.50 off Pond's facial care item (excludes trial/travel size)

· $1.00 off Neutrogena cosmetics item (excludes trial/travel size)

· $1.00 off Maybelline FitMe cosmetics item (excludes trial/travel size)

· $1.00 off Hansen nail item - Color or Care (excludes trial/travel size)

Chex Mix & Other Super Deals

2011-03-20T17:49:00.001-04:00

Walgreens

We scored big time on the Chex Mix and Bugles. These were on sale for 3/$4. We used (3) $4 of of 4 coupon for these. They ended up being $0.33 each.
Pretty sweet!

Chinet Plates:
On clearance for $1.49 each.
Online coupon from MyChinet for $1
=cheap cheap $0.49

Reach Toothbrushes - Money maker:
On sale for $0.99
(1) $1 off coupon, (1) $2/2 coupon from coupons.com
=Free + $2 from the catalina.

Almay - Money Maker:
Mascara on sale for $5.49
$2 off mfg coupon
=$3.49
Get $5 for 1 or more Almay Products
=$2.51 Money Maker

Power Bars:
On sale for $0.99 each
$1 off coupon
=FREE

Funky toothpick thingys:
On sale for $2 each
$2 printed from catalina for next purchase
=FREE

CVS

$5 back when you buy $15 of Wheat Thins-Triscuits:
On sale for 2/$4.
Before coupon price = $16
Use (8) $1/1 coupons each from Facebook.
Get $5
= $3

Allegra Allergy Meds:
On sale for $6.99
$2 off coupon
=$4.99
Get $6.99 back for next purchase
=$2 Money Maker

Veet - for Elroy / Jacob's feet
On clearance for $5.49
Our CVS takes RiteAid coupons: $3/veet
Mfg coupon $3
=FREE ish

An Excellent Day for Finding Deals!

2011-03-13T17:02:00.002-04:00

All this awesomeness for $21.19. Jacob thought it would be cool to have a sign.

Rite Aid

Motrin PM $3
$2/1 Motrin from 3/13 SS - OR - $1/1 Motrin printable or from 1/9 SS
Video Values: $1/1 Motrin printable from March.
Get $1 Up Reward
Total: FREE + $2 Moneymaker after Up Reward!!
Reach Dental Floss $1
MQ: $1/1 Reach printable.
Total: FREE

Salonpas Heat Patch $1

Our Rite Aid goodies

MQ: $3/1 Salonpas printable.
Total: FREE!!

Hershey Kisses, Assrt Hersheys, Reeses $3.99 each
Sale: $1.99 each
MQ: $1/3
Total: $4.97 / 3 or $1.65 each

Reese Minis / York Pieces Pouch $3.99 each
Sale: $2.50 each
MQ: $2/2 MQ 1/30 SS
Total: $3/2 or $1.50 each

Spend $10 get $3 Up Rewards: Pinesol: 2/ $2
Clorox Wipes: 2/$2
Clorox Toilet Bowel Cleaner: $2
- $1/2 Clorox product MQ
-$2, (2, $1 off Rebates)
-$7 in Up Rewards
Total: Free + $5 Up Rewards

Spend $15 get $5 Up Rewards:
Cheez-It 2/ $5
Sun Maid Raisins Sale 3 at $1.99 each
Lays Kettle Chips 2/ $5
= 15.97
- 2, $1/ off Lays Mfg
-$10 in Up rewards
=3.97 + $5 Up Rewards

Walgreens

Royal Gelatin

Sale for $1/5

Aussie or Herbal Essences hair care $2.99

get back a $1 Register Reward after you pay

use the FREE styler wyb Herbal Essences coupon 3/13 SS

Final Price: two for $1.99 or $1 each

Irish Spring body wash or deodorant 2/$6

get a $4.00 Register Rewards after you pay on two

use the $1.oo off 1 printable coupon here

or $1.00 from 3/13 Smart Source, use two

Final Price: two for FREE

Lean Cuisine Clearance - $0.90

Elroy / Vanna showing off our CVS goods

CVS

Ragu Sauce & PastaSale 3/$5
MQ: Buy two Ragu Sauce, get FREE Pasta up to $1.25
Total: 2 Ragu for $3.33 and FREE pasta

Chex Mix Sale 2/$3
MQ: $0.50
Total: $1.25 each

The boys were tired after shopping.
Okay. Elroy never has a reason to be tired.

February 2011

2011-03-03T17:35:00.000-05:00

February Spending & Saving Details

Monthly Budget

$ 250.00

Total Shelf Cost:			$ 513.40
Total Mfg Coupon:			$ 112.19
Total Savings:			$ 345.08
Amount Paid:			$ 168.32
February Saving Rate:			67.21%

note: total savings = mfg coupons, store coupons, store bucks, & store discounts

I would like to formally blame Jacob for the hit to this month's total percent saved.... he bought 'real groceries' on the last day of the month. Those tend to be a bit harder to coupon hunt for. Prior to that we were at 79%. Better luck next month!

2/27 - Freebie Sunday

2011-02-27T12:50:00.000-05:00

Rite Aid

Nivea Lip Care
on sale for $1
use $2 / 2 lip care from facebook
= FREE

Lays Stax
on sale for $1
RiteAid rewards $1 coupon prints out
=Kind of free

Another Finish Quantumatic doo dad
on sale for $3.99 with rewards card
$1 off coupon from Rite Aid Videos
$3 off Finish coupon from Finish website

= FREE

Butterfinger Snackerz
on sale for 2 / $1
mfg coupon for $1 off 2
=FREE

Walgreens
Kleenex & Colgate
Total together: 5.78
Discounts / Coupons: 4.70

Paid $1.08
Walgreen bucks that printed: $3
Profit: $1.92

CVS
Crest Pro Health
on sale for $3.29
mfg coupon $1
paid $2.29
CVSs bucks back: $4.29
Profit: $2

CVS has a green tag program, where you use no bag or a reusable bag.
Every 4 trips you get a buck back :-). Pretty sweet!!

Target Clearance and a Rite Aid Deal

2011-02-26T19:23:00.000-05:00

Elroy making a mad dash by our spoils

Target Clearance:
Vaseline Sheer Body Lotion - ~~$2.99~~ to $0.54
Clearance: $2.54 (yeah.. a whopping $0.45 discount)
Target Coupon: $1
Mfg Coupon $1
= $ 0.54

Loreal Clean Artiste - ~~$9.49~~ to $0.37
(removes waterproof makeup)
Clearance Price: $2.37
Coupon from lorealparisusa.com: $2
=$0.37

Covergirl Wet Slicks Amaze Mint - ~~$4.94~~ to $0.23
Clearance Price $1.23
Mfg coupon from paper $1
=$0.23

Almay bright eyes - ~~$5.95~~ to $0
Clearance Price: $1.74
Mfg coupon from paper $2
= $0

Rimmel 5x Volume Mascara - ~~$4.99~~ to $0.48
Clearance Price: $3.48
Target Coupon $1
Mfg coupon $2
=$0.48

Cat treats ~~$1.79~~ to $0.29

$1.50 Mfg coupon from paper
=$0.29

Rite Aid Deal:
Finish Quadramatic doo dad ~~$10.99~~ to $0.99
Reg 1 / 10.99
Sale 1 / 3.99 with card
Coupon $3
=$0.99

Overall, we forked out $0.33 at Rite Aid and $3.99 at Target... Not too shabby :-)
Oh and a one-time 10% shopping pass at Rite Aid printed out with our receipt!

Another Great Sunday Shopping Trip

2011-02-06T15:41:00.000-05:00

February 6 - $94.13 of product for only $6.29 out of pocket

Today we hit up the three Rite Aids in our vicinity and the token Walgreens. Highlight of the day.. the checker gave us our 'salary' after one of our transactions. Above are our scores of the day, our coupon photo book and the cat. Sir Elroy struck a pose after checking out our deals.

Rite Aid Deals:

Betty Crocker Cake mix & frosting:

Regularly: 1/ $2.49
Sale: 1/ $2.00
Coupon: $1 / Cake mix and frosting combo (from newspaper)
Or $0.50/ Cake mix and frosting combo (from BC online)
Rewards to use next time: one $2 for Betty Crocker combo AND two $1 food purchase (+UP Rewards)

So.. In other words buy for $3, earn $4 = $1 profit.
We used former rewards bucks.... so we pretty much got them for free and made some for next time.
Now I'm hunting for some fun recipes that need cake mixes....

Welch's Grape Juice:
Regularly: 1/ $5.19
Sale: 1/$3.00
$2 off 1 coupon from Welch's Family Vine Tool
Get $1 +UP Reward on 2
Since we got the buck back and spent +UP rewards to get it... we saw it as a $0.50 purchase for each.

At Rite Aid if you spend $100 worth of product you get $20 back in rewards for the month of February. At our last stop we picked up some shades for our trips... that put us above the $100 line. Pretty fun to see a $20 coupon print out with the receipt :-D . If I did my calculations correct -- and I'm 99.99% sure I did -- we spent a whopping $5.08 out of pocket to receive that glorious $20.

Walgreens Deals:

FREE Excedrin 8-count:
On sale for: $1.49
Use $1/1 Excedrin Product
PLUS Use $1/1 Excedrin Walgreens Coupon in February coupon booklet
Free after coupons

Right Guard Total Defense 5 Body Wash
On sale for: $3.99
Look for $1 off peelie sticker
Get $3 Register Rewards
= Free after coupon and RR