How to Look, and Live like the Best for LESS!

What are Some of the Things I do to Save Money?

2010-01-07T05:44:00.000-08:00

There are many other things that can be done outside of couponing that allow me to save money. I think my number 1 money saving habit is shopping the clearance rack. Just Tuesday I spent $7.31 in a store called Cititrends. I walked out with a short set for my son, 2 short sets for my daughter, a pair of baby phat capris for my daughter, a dress for myself, a rip cord motorcycle for my son, and a smocked dress for my daughter. The majority of the clothes in this store are urban brands. Because of this, the prices are a little too high for my taste. I don't even look at the regular racks. I simply walk in and hit the clearance racks to see what deals are to be had. Everything except the toy and the short set for my son were marked $1, the car was marked $1.50, and the short set $2.93. Each rang up $1 obviously, well it was more like .93 cents. I shop all of my stores this way. I have no problem buying things out of season if I have room in the budget. This saves me money and time in the long run. I'm in NC and up until Monday it was not hot, but there were days you could go outside with only a long sleeve coat on. For this reason I often buy my children their winter coats for Christmas. But, during spring/summer when the weather just changes without warning I don't have to be in the stores that weekend with all the other parents trying to buy clothes which equals major chaos. I have a few outfits, possibly an entire wardrobe due to me shopping off season.

A budget is also a good way to save money. I mean actually making a budget, and sticking to it. Start with your income if you work a corporate postion and subtract all your bills from there. Then, I use to allot 10-20% of the remaining money to my savings account. You may or may not be able to do this, that is totally fine. This is an emergency fund for a rainy day if you should need it. After that is done I allot a certain amount on groceries. This depends on the area you live in, how big/little your stockpile is, and once again your financial situation. You can also create an entertainment/spending money group. This is the money you do whatever with. This is the money my $7 shopping trip was purchased with. Once again, depending on your situation you will do what you see fit with it. I have used this money for stockpiling before. We had food in the house so we did not need to go out to eat, movies from redbox for $1 were cheaper than going to the movies, etc.

We rarely eat out. If it is with someone elses money then we're game, but we eat our meals at home for the most part. Monday we were out all day, so we ate McDonalds. Prior to that, the last time we at out was also at McDonalds in September on the way back from Hilton Head Island(we were living in GA so it was not a long trip at all). That right there saves a load of money. When I was working outside the home I took my lunch. Most of the time it was leftovers from the previous night, and sometimes it would be "tv dinner" type things I got on a good deal with coupons. I use to work for IBM and we had a cafeteria. The food was AMAZING! I spent on average $7 a day at lunch. If I did not have time to eat breakfast for whatever reason that was another $5. So, just saying I ate lunch there every day, which I did for a while, I spent at least $35 a week on lunch. That is my total grocery shopping for the entire week now and I can promise you I get more food now than I did then. When I thought of it that way it put things into prospective for me about my spending. I still miss their buffalo chicken tenders even though that was like a $10 meal because I had to have my grapes, and the chicken was sold by weight.

I shop thrift stores, yard sales, craigslist, etc. There is nothing wrong with these places. We have a Goodwill that gets the things target was just going to destroy, as a result I've gotten many great things including a Mr. Potato head for my son that was missing an earring. Really, it's missing an earring so they discard it as unsalable? Well, I guess if I was shopping target I would want all my pieces, but you get my drift. Other things have nothing wrong with them like the overstock Christmas stuff, or Halloween costumes they sell. It's not just about use clothing that people for whatever reason seem to be disgusted by. I have no problem with used clothing either. If you've purchased used from ebay from a seller selling many different sizes chances are they got the clothes from a thrift. Honestly, if you did not get the clothes from a sales associate as they unpack your item from the box then chances are someone has tried your clothes on before you purchased them, thus they're used. I wash everything before wearing it anyway both "new" and used so it does not bother me, but others it does and I understand, I guess. I got a brand new stove(what your hair stylist heats her curling irons up in) complete with the hot pad for $1, a $3 bread machine(which deserves an entry to itself on making things from scratch), $10 rival seal a meal with all the accessories, etc from garage sales. If you live close to a military base check out www.bookoo.com they not just for military people, but they are centered around them. People deploying, or wives moving back home because their husband is deploying put stuff on there for sale amazingly cheap.

Of course I could go on and on about the things I do to save money, but that would take a few pages of my blog and most likely feel like information overload to some. So, we'll save those for another day, and perhaps I can catagorize them or something of that nature.

Accomplishing the (almost) Impossible

2010-01-04T02:09:00.000-08:00

Today I felt accomplished while grocery shopping. My stores double up to .99 cents instead of $1 which would be a whole nother playing field if they did. I mean, just think of all the things we could get free if our stores doubled up to $1 instead of just .99 cents. When they say they double up to .99 cents what they're really saying is .75 cents as I've personally never seen a coupon for .99 cents.........until today that is. Yes, that is my accomplishment, and I felt like a giddy young child the entire shopping trip, heck I'm still smiling about it. Here is how the transaction went down:

I had a coupon that stated buy 2 easy mac cups and get the third one free. Easy mac cups at my store are .99 cents. Thus, my coupon value is .99 cents. Because of this value it will automatically double. This means I'm really buying 1 cup and getting 2 free, or spending a total of .33 cents for each easy mac cup. I started to use these coupons at Walmart since their price is .88 cents, but figured what could it hurt to look at the prices in the grocery store? I'm glad I waited, and I've also already ordered more of these coupons. Although the price was $3 for 15 coupons it was worth it to me. Sadly, these coupons state there is a limit of 1 per transaction. I always do at least 2 transactions at each store, so that is 4 coupons each shopping trip. Depending on the crowd I may go through self checkout and do more transactions if I only need 2 transactions that day as it gets closer to the expiration date. I'm happy with the price, and my kids are happy we now have easy mac stocked once again.

This has got me to thinking about all the bogo coupons I've wasted at Walmart because their prices are cheaper and this item is not, or rarely goes on sale. Things like gum, of course those coupons would double, and most of them will be nearly free if not completely. How much money have I thrown down the drain this way? Oh well, I will not be doing that anymore for sure. All it takes is a quick second to look at the prices either while I'm doing my online "shopping", or while Im in the store myself.

I still ended up going to Wal-Mart as planned. I planned on checking their marked down meat since this is where I get the majority of my ground turkey from, but also to get some boxes of jello. My son could live on Jell-O if you let him. For the past few months there have been coupons that offer me a great deal on Jell-O. The coupon states you'll save $1.25 off the purchase of 3 of the items listed. There is Jell-O Philidephia cream cheese and something else. Since I just used my last coupon Im not really sure what it was. I don't need any of the other products, but Jell-O is always on my needs list since he goes through so much. The price of single boxes of Jell-O at Wal-Mart is .50 cents a box. So, for 3 boxes the before coupon total is $1.50. After the coupon the price is .25 cents for 3 boxes. I got 60 boxes for a little over $5. I will most likely go back and get 60 more boxes. I would love to get 120 more, but I need to put these up to see how much room they actually take up before ordering more coupons.

Below is are pictures of my bounty for the day along with totals.

Is Purchasing that Extra Paper REALLY Worth It?

2010-01-03T16:37:00.000-08:00

Today is Sunday, and what better day to explain, or should I say attempt to explain the various souces of insert coupons. Up until this point, I thought my method of determining if I should purchase more than 5 papers or simply purchase the coupons I want multiples of was rather simple. In trying to type it out for you guys I confused myself many times. Now, I actually use the method and was confused, so I can only imagine what others on the outside looking in will think. So, I'm going to try and break it down without using algorythems and such. There are pretty much 4 ways you can get extra coupons/inserts.

The first is obviously purchasing more news papers. But, if you're only purchasing that paper because of one coupon it's better to not purchase the paper. Todays paper contains 5 inserts. Without a doubt it is probably cheaper to purchase more papers than to order those coupons separately. Depending on the value of the coupons in the papers I tend to set a limit for myself. If I can not save at least $11 from each newspaper I buy then I will not buy them. I can spend that $1(I purchase my papers at Dollar Tree where they are only $1) and get 20 of that coupon I wanted and save much more and have more product in my home.

The second method is buying coupons. Technically you're not buying coupons, you're paying for the persons time to find/sort/clip, and mail you those coupons. You can find a list of places I "shop" for my coupons here. You can buy multiples or simply one of each. Each source has their own purchase requirements.

The third source is having a great relationship with the gas station/store attendants or the paper carrier. They will usually save the inserts for you since they simply throw them out. This is a good free method that helps all involved. If you get one of these sources, especially if it's your personal carrier(meaning they deliver to you at your home) I would make it a point to give them a basket/bag of goodies you got for cheap and/or free. They will appreciat it, and continue to get you inserts.

The final method is dumpster diving. No, you do not actually go dig in a trash can at all. In fact, it's rather clean, and easier than it sounds. Most cities have recycling centers. Some schools are even drop off locations for newspapers as well. There is a section for newspapers and that's where you'll "dive". At any given time you can have around 100 inserts. Why would you need them? I'll explain in a few. But PLEASE make sure you verify that it is alright for you to dumpster dive as in some places it is illegal and I would hate for your coupon savings to be spent on bail.

When/if I determine I'm going to buy 10 or more papers I usually end up making a profit off the papers in the end. This week there are coupons I know i'll use such as the $2/1 all detergent, $2.50/1 electrasol, $1/1 marcel small steps paper towels, .50/1 maruchan yakisoba(fancy name for ramen noodles), .75/1 welchs jelly, $1/1 wanchai ferry dinner kit, $2.50/1 lactaid among many other things. Those just got me to the $11 value I mentioned newspapers must hold in order for me to buy multiple copies. There are actually at least $100 worth of coupons(including the final value after being doubled) that I will use from this paper, so it only makes sense to buy multiple copies. Now, there are coupons I will not use, as there will be for you. With these I simply lot up into groups of 10 and list on eBay for around $1. Of course for higher value and/or hot coupons I will charge a slightly higher handling fee. After paypal/ebay fees I net around .60 cents per set. So, once I sell 10 sets I've made som of my newspaper cost back. This is also why it is good to take the 100 sets you find dumpster diving. You can sell these and make a little money. I personally would not cut them until sold. That way you're not cutting everything out because that is A LOT of cutting when you think about it.

You will soon find your personal threshold as far as coupon sources, paper purchasing, etc. I use a combination and on any given week I may decide I need to buy coupons from 3 papers ago so I visit one of the shopping methods. Nothing is set in stone, and a deal may pop up out of the blue. It's great to have the resources, and knowledge to get those coupons when and if you need them though.

Abbreviation Cheat Sheet

2010-01-02T07:35:00.000-08:00

Here you will find a list of every abbreviation I may use at any given time in my blog. Because I never know when someone new has come each entry will have one abbreviated word that will link to this post. This post contains the break down of every word though, not just the word that linked you here. If you plan on becoming a couponer or simply a bargin shopper these are terms you should familiarize yourself with.

AR = After Rebate
AC = After Coupons
BC = Before Coupons
BLINKIES = In-store smartsource coupons near product (red blinking box)
BM = Brick and Mortar (an actual store location)
BOGO = Buy one get one free
B2G1 = Buy two get one free(any number other than 1 can/will be inserted here)
CAT = coupons you get with your receipt after your purchase
CO= Cents off another name for a coupon with a value under $1
CRT = Cash register tape
ECB - CVS Extra Care Bucks earned for purchases
ESR = EasySaver Rebate (Walgreens Monthly Rebate)
FAR = Free After Rebate
TGG = The Grocery Game
HBA = The health and beauty aids
HTH = Hope this / that helps
IVC = Walgreen's Instant Value Coupon (In the monthly EasySaver Catalog)
IP = Internet Printable Coupon
LOD = Land of Doubles
LOND = Land of No Doubles
MFG = Manufacturer's Coupon
MIR = Mail In Rebate
OOP = Out of Pocket
OYNO = On your next order
P&G = Proctor & Gamble Sunday coupon insert
RC = Rain check
RP = Red Plum Sunday Coupons Inserts
RR = Register Rewards (Walgreens name for Catalina Coupons)
SS = Smart Source or Sunday Supplement coupons
STACKING = Using a store specific coupon with a MFG coupon (most stores allow)
TIA = Thanks in advance
Q = Coupon
WYB = When You Buy
YMMV = Your Market/Milage May Vary = success may vary at your store

Coupon Sources
eBay
The Coupon Clippers
The Coupon Master
Coupons and Things by Dede

This list will be updated on an as needed basis.

Allow me to Reintroduce Myself

2010-01-01T05:39:00.000-08:00

So, this is my first entry of the newly revamped, and renamed savings blog. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Janah, a 26 year old college graduate and mother of two. I live a very frugal lifestyle; although just looking at me you would not know it. I've been shopping thrift stores, using coupons, and hitting garage sales since the age of 19, and I love it. I started all of this out of need. I made too much to qualify for foodstamps and any other government assistance, but really too little to get by on like many "middle class" people as we're classified. I took to the internet as that was my second home(My degree is in Computer Engineering) to find ways to save money, and more importantly make my dollar go further.

In 2002 I found The Grocery Game. The Grocery Game, (herein known as TGG) was my first look into the world of couponing on the major level. Back then the grocery game was a much smaller site and had a smaller following. Today, TGG has a "list" in every state for just about every store you can imagine. The trial was $1, and for $1 I would've probably spent on McDonalds I decided to give it a try for those 4 weeks. Since I was already using coupons on a small scale, and understood the meaning and value of a coupon I caught on really quick. My first deal was at a store called Winn-Dixie. It was on the Campbell's Homestyle Bakes and Corolina Pride lunch meat. I was able to get around $100 worth of name brand groceries from Winn-Dixie for around $20. From that point on I knew I had to do grocery shopping like this on a much larger scale. This is called stockpiling. So, I started my stockpile and have not looked back since.

Today I no longer use TGG, but I am active on their message boards as there are some great things to be found there. Not to mention it is like a large family. Everyone understands why you have 10 tubes of toothpaste, or 20 boxes of cereal, and they even cheer you on. Instead of using TGG I find it more fun to actually find most of the deals myself via my grocery stores online shopping section. I grew from a small Family Dollar accordian style coupon folder to a zippered 3 ring binder with baseball card pages. I've also expanded my message board life and view several daily, sometimes multiple times a day. Aquiring multiple coupons for an item is something many people find hard to do. Each message board I visit plays a different part in my frugal lifestyle. I will expand on the message boards in a separate entry.

Where does the name of my blog come from? Obviously I've already explained the frugal part, but let me explain the urban part, and why it was important to have it as part of the blog name. Being urban does not being black or a minority as many people believe. Although, I do fall in that catagory as do many urban people. Being urban simply means living in a city. Because many people have the misconception that urban is being black or a minority I felt it was a good word to use in my blog to attract my target demographic. My blog is catered towards the younger crowd, the late teens just starting out on their own up to the early 30's. The ones that want to learn how to save money, but don't really know where to start. We all want to wear and have nice things, but if we can get them for a fraction of the price then why not? Many urban people do not know where to begin, thus this blog is here.

I will be moving into my new place and have NOTHING. Literally nothing so you will be starting fresh with me. I like it this way since my main goal is to show people they can look and feel like they're living the exspensive life without aquiring it the exspensive way. Each shopping trip will be documented via this blog and pictures, so feel free to grow with me. I was going to wait until February 1st to actually start this blog since I will officially be in my new place. But, I decided to go ahead and get all the boring stuff out of the way while I only have 1 or two followers, that when when someone does find me via whatever method they use they will have good entries already documenting my savings and how I do it. I can read/listen to someone say things all day long, but it's not real until I see it myself. Renovations will still take place during this time, and some days you may come here and wonder what is going on, but rest assured it will all be on point come February 1st. I hope you still around and grow with me. Please feel free to ask me ANYTHING and I will try my best to answer, or point you in the right direction.

Rennovations

2009-12-28T00:27:00.000-08:00

This website is undergoing a major face lift. As a result, many entries have been deleted, but will return once the rennovations around here are done. Our anticipated relaunch date is January 15, 2010. Many of the main posts of the site have been left, other will be replaced soon. If you are on our mailing list you will be updated should the site be finished before the anticipated date, or even if there is a delay.

Thank you for your understanding,
Administration

I'm almost back on track!

2009-05-15T14:44:00.000-07:00

I want to build my blog base, and start posting things on a regular basis. I also want to have particular days set aside for certain things, ie I was doing something called "Thrifty Thursday". I have great ideas in my head, now it's time to materialize them. With twitter now becoming more popular, and myspace fading out, I believe it's not time to capitalize on this new venture of mine.

Yesterday I spent $18 at bi-lo. I came home with the following:

2 mystic pizzas
30 bottles powerade
6pks mentos gum
1 box little debbie honey buns
1 box little debbie oatmeal cream pies
10 bottles krat bbq sauce
4pks 6ct o-cel-o sponges
4 o-cel-o scrub sponges
1qt milk
3 jars mt. olive pickles

For a total of $18.xx. Not too bad, but little debbie and pickles were not on my list. But, pickles were really cheap with with blinkie coupons they had by them. I will eventually pick up 3 more jars of this type as the walmart brand isn't so great, but their hamburger slices are my absolute favorite(their being walmart brand).

Todays trip was a LOT better since I only got the things I went in for. Due to my son wanting the racecar cart I had a smaller basket and got the following(had to stop since the basket was so small)

1 snuggle creme liquid fabric softener
2 o-cel-o scrub sponges
75 bottles powerade
6 bottles kraft bbq sauce
10pks mentos gum

For a grand total of $7.xx.

How did I do it? Gas station coupons for $5 off a purchase of 5 powerade, along with it being on month long sale for 2/$1 are responsible for the powerade I'm stocking up on, too bad I only had 10 coupons. Final price for each set of 15 powerades $2.50

O-Cel-O single pack scrub sponges $1.31 bogo special for the month + $1/2 coupon. Final cost per 2 .31 cents.

O-Cel-O 6pk regular sponges $1.76 bogo special for month + $1/2 coupon. Final cost per 2 .76pk.

Mentos gum $1.35, bogo special for month + .55/1 coupon doubled to cost of gum. Final cost FREE.

Kraft BBQ Sauce 1.49 bogo special for this week + .75/1 coupon. Final cost FREE.

Mystic Pizzas 3.99 monthly special +$2/1 coupon. Final cost 1.99

Snuggle was 4.69 bogo weekly special or 2.34 + $1/1 internet coupon, and $3.00 on your next order coupon from previous purchase of 6 kraft products(bbq sauce, yes they paid me to take it off their hands). Final price free plus overage. Now that I look at it, I should have purchased 2 bottles and simply paid the .69 for an additional bottle. I have another oyno coupon so I will do this next trip, and purchase laundry soap with the final oyno I get as I have more kraft bbq sauce coupons.

Hair Color and Samples Oh My!

2009-04-14T05:28:00.000-07:00

My sisters, my mom, and myself will be celebrating a Clairol "House Party". I signed up for this via www.houseparty.com. House party is a website that helps big brand manufacturers promote their products. Most of the time it is a new product, sometimes it's just a normal product, and they're trying to beef up the business which is the case with Clairol. The purpose of this house party was/is to give ourselves make overs with new hair color. Yesterday I received my "party pack" which included 7 coupons for 1 box of free hair color, 8 venus breeze razors, 7 samples of shampoo/conditioner, 7 aussie brand hair sprays, 7 scope mouth washes, 7 crest toothpastes, and some booklets to place is good quality clear party bags. The goodie bags will be given out at the actual party, but the coupons are to be passed out before hand so we're able to make sure nobody has an alergic reaction to the product.

Now, the great thing about this is my mom and sisters are brand loyal, their toothpaste/razors/mouth wash are NOT the brands I was given to add to their bags. So, I'll get to keep those items.. Of course, when their favorite brands go on sale I do pick up enough for their household, so it evens out. I was just thinking about how I would manage with my last bic soliel razor from a few years back(when they first came out, and there was a free coupon for them. Yes, that long ago.). I've not been couponing regularly due to my living arrangements, and leaving the state, so I did not stockpile any new razors. Now, I have 8 of them, these will last long enough to stockpile more free razors, whenever that may be.

I now have all the razors/toothpaste/mouthwash/hair spray I need to last me the rest of the year should a free deal decide not to come around, and I also get my hair colored for free. On top of all of this, if we upload before and after pictures to a special website we're entering for a chance to win a trip down the red carpet in NYC, as well as American Express gift certificates. Who wouldn't love that?

Stretching my Drinking Dollar

2009-04-13T11:09:00.000-07:00

Because I'm frugal, and I've started back on my coupon kick I have been testing some things out. My kids drink Hawaiian punch like it's going out of style. We don't do the soda thing(unless mommy has a coupon to make it 30 cents or less per 2ltr bottle, then I try to rarely use it for the kids) so outside of fruit juice, water, and tea that's what they get. Well, they never have coupons, so I'm spending $2 per gallon. NOT cool in my frugal little world. But, I noticed they now have the "singles" version for $1 a box. Now, the box has 8 little packets that each make 16-20oz, depending on your water bottle size, and how sweet you like it. Quick calculations proved 1 box equal 1 gallon, or 128oz(the size of the container they sell ready made).

Right there I could save money by purchasing the powder form and making ours from the packets as needed. They're charging me $1 for their water. My water at home is much cheaper so I'll use that, thanks. When I really thought about it, my light bulb came on. Why not save the container to refill with the packets. When I started the first time I only put 6 packets in as we cut ours with water anyway. It was still too sweet, so the next time my children and I became taste testers. We tried after 3 packs and it was a little bitter. But, we put the 4th package in and it was perfect for us. So, now we've gone from $2/gl to $0.50/gl, a 75% saving. I went ahead and purchased 2 additional bottles, so we can have backup made should the need arise. Not to mention the singles only come in blue, purple, and the orginal red. I happen to like the guyava flavor, so this was sort of my fairwell to it for the time being.

Our local Food Lion currently has coupons for $1 off the purchase of store sugar when you buy 5 packages of kool-aid. Kool-aid is on sale 10/$1, and the 5lb bag of sugar is on sale for $1.50. So, for $1 you get a bag of sugar and 5 packs of kool aid, a pretty good deal for the sugar alone. The orange and lemon flavors add good orange/lemon flavor to some dishes, so I will use them for that. I also read about using the lemon for cleaning, I don't remember exactly what it was, but I will go find it. Then, of course you can use it to add color to home made play-doh which my children will love. All the rest will get donated, and I'll be stocked on sugar for a year.

Happy New Year

2009-01-21T06:21:00.000-08:00

Almost a month into the new year and I'm here to finally say HAPPY NEW YEAR. One of my goals this year is to actually use this thing more often. I want to track my purchases this year, as well as join other bloggers who are on the same mission as myself. I will be relocating within the next few weeks, but come March I'll have some sort of regular schedule, and I'll get back to normal blogging. I honestly can't wait as couponing IS my hobby, and it keeps my sanity. By not engaging in it, I believe I've lost some of my sanity, lol.

Rebates

2008-12-08T12:46:00.000-08:00

I've got more pizza in my freezer than one person should have, and they all were free. Various brands, sizes, etc. All FREE. How you ask? Rebates, I started out with 1(rebate), and quickly got addicted. I'll simply use my red baron as an example because they're the most recent rebate item I've purchased. My local grocery store, Lowes Foods has month long store coupons they print towards the beginning of the month in a sales ad. For the month of October Red Baron pizzas were 4/$10. To make the deal sweeter, I found coupons for a free Red Baron singles with the purchase of a regular size, so we're up to 8 pizzas for $10 which is a good deal in itself. To make it even better, there was a game on the box(I was playing prior to the sale so I already had coupons stacked up, $2.22 for a pizza at my local walmart would've been good with 2 little ones around) that allowed you to print 2 coupons for $1/1 on the large pizza which made the final total 8/$6. But, the orginal total was what qualified for the rebate. I did it twice simply because the rebate was for $15 off a $15.01 purchase, so the pizzas were free in both sets. The second receipt will be used for a $10 rebate form I just aquired, luckily the October deal ended November 4th, and I went in on the 1st to get more pizzas just because, and as it turns out that is the first date you could purchase said items for the new rebate deal. So, I am really making a profit off these pizzas, mommas happy and the kiddos have pizza for months. I will be doing the same with my thanksgiving turkey, and Christmas ham. I have a rebate form for $15 off the purchase of $25 or more of deli platters, turkeys, or hams and they allow more than one receipt.

I like rebates for three reasons, they allow me to try new products, they allow me to stock up on products I love and would not have coupons for otherwise, or the best one of all, they allow me to get products I know and love for free with a combined coupon. Of course, the last reason is my favorite. The above mentioned rebate form was also good on deli meats, salty snacks, ice, condiments, etc. So, I could've combined them with the free frenchs Worcestershire coupons for condiments and made a solid profit if there was nothing I needed from the list. Or, got $1 bags of pretzels from walmart for free. The possibilities are endless. It also helps that I live in a state that prohibits the purchase of beer being required to qualify for rebates. If you're in a NBPR(no beer purchase required) state then these deals are great. If you drink beer, more specifically the brand offering the rebate and you're not in a NBPR state then this is a good deal for you as well.

So next time you're in the grocery store, stop by the beer aisle and see if there are any rebate forms, coupons, or wine tags hanging on/by the products. You would be surprised of the offers that are available. Also, even if you do not use them, pick up a few anyway, you may end up needing them in a trade with a fellow couponer, this can be true of any coupon in the store so I always grab a few.

Back From the Unexpected Hiatus

2008-12-05T08:08:00.000-08:00

Yes, I called myself starting this wonderful blog to document my savings, and spending habits, to help myself keep track of it, as well as giving others hope. Of course, I would eventually branch out and find myself some other women(and men) who blog about similar, as well as different areas of savings, and what happens? Real life jumps up and takes me for a detour. But, I'm back and ready to jump back on the blog bandwagon. Because of that i'll pretty much make a simple post. It's a posting of some of the abbreviations I may use from time to time and their meanings. I found this list on a message board, I'm not sure which one though, one of the many I visit on a daily basis, so I will just give credit to all of those you see over there under favorite sites.

AR = After Rebate
AC = After Coupons
BC = Before Coupons
BLINKIES = In-store smartsource coupons near product (red blinking box)
BOGO = Buy one get one free
CAT or Catalina = coupons you get with your receipt after your purchase
CO= Cents off another name for a coupon with a value under $1
CRT = Cash register tape
ECB - CVS Extra Care Bucks earned for purchases
ESR = EasySaver Rebate (Walgreens Monthly Rebate)
FAR = Free After RebateGG = Grocery Game
HBA = The health and beauty aid section in the grocery store
HTH = Hope this / that helps
IVC = Walgreen's Instant Value Coupon (In the monthly EasySaver Catalog)
IP = Internet Printable Coupon
LOND = Land of No Doubles
MFG = Manufacturer's Coupon
MIR = Mail In Rebate
OOP = Out of Pocket
OYNO = On your next order
P&G = Proctor & Gamble Sunday supplement coupons
RC = Rain check
RP = Red Plum Sunday Supplement Coupons
RR = Register Rewards (Walgreens)
SS = Smart Source or Sunday Supplement coupons
STACKING = Using a store specific coupon with a MFG coupon (most stores allow)
TIA = Thanks in advance
Q = Coupon
WYB = When You Buy
YMMV = Your Market/Milage May Vary = success may vary at your store

I've been slacking....

2008-10-26T02:04:00.000-07:00

But, that's alright. You pick up the pieces where you left off, and continue to go on like you never missed a beat. At least I do anyway....err, most of the time. Last weeks shopping was great, I ended up using all of my easy mac coupons and came home with a total of 54 cups. This weeks shopping was pretty much nonexistent. It only happened because I had $24 in register rewards that were expiring. At Walgreens I scored 4 bottles of St. Ives Elements, 2 bags of reeses cups, a bag of snickers, a bag of baby ruths, 2 halloween pumpkins(see, I missed the free deal at CVS due to saving money this week), a pizza, a container of juice, 2 packs twizzlers, 2 99 cent bags of chips, and a container of pringles. I think that's it. Anyway, I was able to flip 4 of the $3 register rewards into $5 rewards from the St. Ives deal. Worked out great. Thanks to SD as a poster there noted if you're only using 1 register reward and only purchasing 1 item simply give the register reward first and it will not beep. Worked like a charm and I paid a few cents for tax. Did that 4 times, and netted a $5 reward for a total of $20. Then, purchased the other items with coupons and the remaining register rewards for a grand total of $1.21 out of pocket. I now have $20 in register rewards and $4 coming from the candy rebate. So, I paid $1.21 for all of that stuff essentially. I was proud, children were glad for "junk"(pizza) for dinner, and I have enough chocolate to hold me over for a bit. No, I will not give trick or treaters my chocolate. They can have those free life savers I got a while back though, and I have plenty of gum for them. Chocolate belongs to momma. Sucks, I know. No pictures. But, my sister borrowed the camera. Please forgive me.

Lets see, in the world of freebies. Over the past 2 weeks I've gotten the following

1.smuckers uncrustables from a bzz agent
2.won a xbox 360 from hotspex
3.pantene for red hair sample, tide total care sample with coupon from P&G
4. Won a signed print of olympia stadium from this contest
5. Bounce awakenings sample
6. Ponds face cloth sample
7. Received $7 credit to survey spot account
8. 2600 points in say nation account
9. $9 from pinecone
10. 2 different food product tests
11. Cleaning product, product test for $100 and free product for the 9 month test period
12. 5 more music downloads from this instant win
13. 3 Nutter Butter 100 calorie bars from kraft first taste.

And, I think thats it. With the exception of the big product test and a sample, everything was done last week. This week has been exceptionally slow in just about all aspects of my life. I should be back on track this week and ready to take over the world.

Here's to a better week!

Thrifty Thursday

2008-10-23T06:12:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure about the rest of the world, but myself personally, I'm like a kid in the candy store when packages arrive. I'm pretty sure Nyla almost missed her bus this morning because of this issue I have. We opend the door at 7:40am and there was a small package on the ground from fed-ex(I heard them this morning, but ignored it because it was too early). Yes, fed-ex was at my house before 8am, shocked me too. I knew immediately what it was and NEEDED to open it right then and there to confirm. YES! My 2 packages of food product I am supposed to test are here. Well, at least I know what Nigel will have for desert/snack today.

Anyway, today is thrifty Thursday, so lets begin.

Today I will talk about 5 things I do to stretch my dollar. Some may be obvious to many, while there may be other things that make you say "now why didn't I think of that".

1. Save all leftover foods. Vegetables get used in stews, soups, or cassaroles. We mainly use the steamfresh veggies and only use a half bag. I food saver the remaining portions and use them at a later date. Now, that 30 cent bag of veggies was just turned into 2 or more meals. The same with left over meats, juices from baked meats, etc. If there is only one serving of food left it gets sealed up as well. This will make for a quick "tv dinner" type meal on days I'm unable (or too lazy) to cook.

2. Use less laundry soap. Two years ago Walmart ran a special, All Small and Mighty and Snuggle liquid fabric softener for $2 a bottle. Many people got in on the All, but not many on the Snuggle. Luckily, I was a Walmart employee at the time and could scan items to see if they should be marked down. When I read about that tip I checked that night and sure enough they were so I marked them down(if you ever read about a walmart deal don't be afraid to find a friendly employee and ask them to check for you...most will and mark it down if it should be), and changed the sign. We had coupons for $1 off each making them $1 a bottle. I picked up 20 of each. Today, I have 4 bottles of each left over. But, I gave a friend 2 sets, and my mother 4 sets. So, technically, over 2 years I've only used 10 bottles of laundry soap. Granted, I'm only doing laundry for 3 people now, but my son was an infant, his father was still in the home, I nursed and used a few cloth diapers so we did laundry like a larger family. But, I used very little detergent and our clothes were just as clean. I use 1/3 of the recommended amount.

3. Speaking of laundry, use additives. What I mean by additives is substitutes. Out of fabric softener and no coupons or good sale, or just can't get to the store for whatever reason? Use vinegar in the rinse. No, your clothes will not smell like vinegar, but they will be soft and non-clingy. Want to cut your laundry soap even more? Use a dish washer tab(in addition to a little soap). Don't look at me like I'm crazy, I'm serious. Think about it, the soap is good enough to clean dishes you'll eat off, so why not your clothing? I personally use dawn to cut grease stains on clothing. Same concept, only you are using dish washer tabs/powder. If you're like me, then you have plenty electrasol/finish tablets and packets and this is a good way to use up some of them as well as saving your detergent. They also work in HE machines. HE detergent is simply formulated to produce less bubbles, the same thing a dish washer tab is formulated to do. I have recently started doing this due to being "low" in my eyes on laundry products. Try it and let me know what you think.

4. I live in North Carolina. It stays warm for most of the year. Thus, I like to line dry my clothes. They smell great, save electricity, and keep the house cool in the summer since I'm not running the dryer. I line dry everything except socks/under garment type things. Towels and jeans are tossed in the try for about 5 minutes after line drying so they're not stiff.

5. Let your dishes in the dish washer air dry. This little tip will save you more than you think on your electric bill. Yes, even if your appliance is energy efficient. When the machine turns off at night I open it and pull the bottom rack out. This is so the water from the top rack isn't dripping on the dishes. Dishes are dry in a few hours and there are no water spots on the dishes either.

So, there you have it. My 5 ideas for this weeks Thrifty Thursday.

How to get the best price on Amazon.com

2008-10-18T03:55:00.000-07:00

Amazon.com has been my source of many great deals for the past 6 years. But now, more than ever is the time to use comparison shopping. Up until early last month Amazon.com would price match their own products within a 30 day period. What this means is if you purchased widget A for $19.99 and 2 weeks later it has dropped to $14.99 you would get a refund of $5. In my 6 years of history I used it maybe 6 times. This was mainly because once I purchased an item I no longer had a need to look at the page(possibly missing out on some refunds). But, they no longer price match, so the price you pay is final, unless you're up for reordering and returning the prior purchase. Buyer beware, Amazon is known for closing accounts that do too many returns.

I currently have 7 Amazon wish lists set up. This makes for easy shopping, and when I'm looking for a new kitchen gadget I can check the prices on just kitchen gadgets I'm interested in buying, not toys, movies, gifts, etc. Many good deals I get are a result of forums like Slick Deals. If for whatever reason(mainly I haven't won enough gift certificates to equal that amount) I can not, or do not want to purchase the item at that low price I add it to my wish list. I do however, have days I'm bored and may go browsing just to see what I can find.

When the time comes, if I am still interested in that item I will check the price. It takes all of a few seconds and can save you mega dollars. I purchased this for $39.99, the clearance price is $80. That's double what I paid for it simply by watching the price. I also order these. I paid a little over $5 for the set, along with free 2 day shipping as I'm a prime member. I've seen the price as high as the so called "list price" and as low as the price I paid. Since these are just items I don't have to purchase right away I'm able to watch them more closely. I've gotten Wii games for less than $10, sheet sets, other kitchen gadgets which are my weakness. Now, I'm doing this for Christmas. I've gotten 2 toys I know my son will love for less than $10 together.

Amazon prime is a great investment. If you're looking to pick up small items, in my most recent case the martini glasses. I ordered 2 sets of the martini glasses, as well as 2 sets of the white wine glasses. My total was less than $20, so without prime I would've had to pay $16 for shipping. Obviously it would've been cheaper to find something else to make my total $25, but sometimes that may be an issue. If you're like me, you're registered with many survey companies and frequently get amazon gift certificates as rewards. Because of this, I have very rarely paid money oop. Also, after finding those great $4 items time and time again, adding your total up to $25 becomes costly.a Prime membership is $79 a year(or 3 $4 purchases filled with $21 worth of fillers). Every so often they run a special where you get a month or so free trial. That is when I feel in love with it. I did not renew my subscription though and it worked out in my favor. Until the first week in December I'm under a family members trial subscription. They were offering 3 months of free prime membership if you ordered $100 worth of text books. They needed text books, but not the membership. You're allowed to add family in the same household to your account. So, they simply had the books shipped to me so I could take advantage of the trial offer. I will renew my membership once their trial expires. This offer may still be good.

My Formal Introduction

2008-10-15T06:31:00.000-07:00

My name is Janah, pronounced ja-nae. I'm a mid-twenties single mother of two children. My daugher Nyla is 6, and in the first grade, while my son Nigel is 2, and a part time worker for the family business(only kidding). I currently have a degree in Computer Engineering, but as luck would have it, I don't currently use it. Instead, I work from home wearing 3 different career hats. The first hat would be that of a small business owner. I have an online store selling maternity and children clothing. The second hat, is being a part time employee for the wonderful West. I've been an employee with West for a little over a year now, and must say I like it pretty. If you've applied for them and it's been only a few months, don't fret. I was not contacted until approximately 8 months after applying. The third, and final hat would be the hat of ACD Direct. I've only been with ACD for a few short months, and during that time I've worked 1 project. Unlike West, they did contact me right away, but the interview scheduling process was horrible. Sometimes you'd get an email, sometimes not. You must go in and select an available interview time slot, more often than not, there were none available. It took me about the same amount of time to get officially hired for ACD due to the interveiw scheduling.

Because I'm able to work from home my son is no longer in daycare. How do you manage if your surroundings must be quiet? Nap time mainly since he sleeps for several hours at a time. I also schedule hours during the night. I also make the majority of my income from my store. The other positions are back up income, should I need extra money I know I have a place to turn and make the money. My children do love to help with the clothing, so we spend time together sorting it, and getting it prepared for sale. That allows me a few extra hours a week to work on the business, as well as spending time with my children.

I love all things dealing with saving money, mainly couponing, myo, diy, alternative uses, and of course great deals. I also love entering contests and sweepstakes. I haven't won "big" prizes like vacations or cars, or a large amount of money. But, I've won a Macbook Pro, a $2000 check that was supposed to buy me a sony via, pink sony cam, and a cell phone, a $1500 check to buy a John Deere riding mower, and and ipod touch with a $50 itunes gift card. I average about $5000 worth of prizes a year though. Those things are enough to keep me trying for the really big one. spend the majority of my time online on one of 4 websites I use for such things. Those websites are HCW or Hot Coupon World, SD or Slick Deals, OS or Online Sweepstakes, and last but not least, RC Refund Cents. All of these websites make my shopping, couponing, and sweepstakes habits a little bit easier, and MUCH more fun.

I think we have enough frozen veggies

2008-10-13T02:24:00.000-07:00

Well, we will over the next few weeks. Last year, I fell in love with Birdseye Steamfresh Vegetables. The sweet corn taste like it was fresh off the cob. Now, I'm not talking about the grocery store stuff, because that's not fresh considering how long it takes to get to the store. Instead, I'm talking farmer John just pulled it off the stalk a day or two ago, or even better, YOU just pulled it off the stalk along with other fruits/veggies during your towns "farm days". I think that's the name, if not it sounds good to me, so we'll keep it. Farm Day is when you go to the local farm, pay $20, and get to pick/pull your fruits and veggies while learning about the farming process. It's a really neat experience and you always end up with more than you can carry, which is why reusable bags come in handy. Living in the country does have some benefits, and the fresh foods are one of the biggest.

Well, this year of course, they went on sale for .99 each at store #1, Lowes Foods. Being the coupon maven I am, I found blinkies in the store for .55/2. After doubling I paid only .45 cents a bag. I got 20 bags. Now, there are only 3 of us, so these would last until spring since we only eat about half a bag and I foodsaver the rest to use as an ingredient in something else; with the exception of broccoli, my little "Mikey" will eat the entire bag by himself. But, I only kept 5 of those bags. The other 15 were "donated" to my mother.

At the beginning of 2009 I will be leaving the state. So, for these few short months we'll be staying with her, and my two younger sisters. I stockpile my deep freezer as the don't touch freezer and put enough in hers to ensure when I move my frozen goodies will still be there. What? You're moving out of state and you're stockpiling frozen items? Yep, it's only a 3hr drive and the freezer will be full to capacity with either food, or frozen water jugs, so there will be little to no defrosting going on in there, I've already thought this through.

But, as I was saying. Green Giant has now come out with their version of steam fresh, Steamers. They're pretty good as well. Well, the ones I've tasted. I first saw them in Dollar Tree and got a bag of the corn(which happens to be my favorite veggie). Now, I will pick up 20 bags of the steamers for .23 each from Wal-Mart. My mother will get 5 of those bags, she might get more if I'm lucky enough to come across more coupons. Yes, only 5. These are something special. They have more variety and some of them come with sauce. My children love broccoli and cheese so that bag is sure to be a hit, just like the boxed version is. Kroger is bound to have the steamfresh on sale for .99 cents, in which I will use the new .35/1 coupons on them for a total of .30 cents a bag and refill moms freezer if it needs, and fill my freezer with some as well.

See, all coupons have a purpose in my life. Everything always seems to work itself out in the land of coupons. We'll be stocked on frozen veggies for a good while to come. When I move I'm going to have to find new grocery stores, make relationships with the employees, and the same with CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, and Target. So, while I'm getting to know these people, and letting them know I'm not fraudulently using coupons I don't want to buy 20 of a product and freak them out. Although, most of the time I get 20 because I'm supplying for 2 households(unless it's something we REALLY use a lot of, or its something like soap that doesn't expire). Once I leave the state that will not be the case. So, while I'm winning over cashiers, learning new store policies, and making new friends I don't want to have to worry about getting so much stuff you know.

Not too thrilled with Walgreens, but I'm not quite upset either

2008-10-11T13:42:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday I found out Walgreen's would have the Wisp flameless candles for $5.99 with a $3 register reward printing for the following weeks sales. So, since I ONLY had 20 coupons I called and asked the manager to place me an order for 20 of the clean linen scent. I mean, of course we don't want to clear the shelf AND get a rain check, now do we? Not thinking, I failed to have him order me other items that would be on sale as well, namely the scrubbing bubbles max toilet brushes, and the glade carpet and room deodorizer also in clean linen scent(is it obvious I love that scent?). I needed 15 of the scrubbing bubbles, and 10 of the carpet freshener. My order was scheduled to arrive yesterday, Friday. Today I was extremely giddy as I have 20 coupons for $5 off the glade wisps and would be netting around $35 in register rewards(profit when all is said and done) for doing this deal. My Walgreen's is super friendly and do not mind at all if I do separate transactions. I even allow others to go ahead of me if they come while I'm doing the orders.

So, I arrived at the Walgreen's and find Frank, the assistant manager on duty. He looks at the product on the shelf, and goes to the office. There's nothing in there. Never fear, "our truck arrived yesterday, so I'll go check the stock back in the back for you". Fine, as I walk around looking at other do-dads that I don't need, but may just pick up anyway since I'll have $60 in register rewards, $40 of which I have no idea how I'm spending. Once again, Frank returns, this time he has that look, the look of disappointment. My flameless candles are no where to be found. A little upset. Frank apologizes. I accept it, and tell him all is well, it's not his fault. Now, I'm on a headhunt for Jason, the manager that "placed" my order. I take the remaining 8 candles off the shelf, the remaining scrubbing bubbles fresh max kit, and NO carpet freshener, and head to the front. Little Ms. Friendly Cashier was there waiting on me. She rings the first order, takes off the coupon, and tells me my total. That will be $1.39 please. Happily, I swipe my card. Yes, it's sad I do not have cash and must swipe a debit card for $1.39. We do this again(only this time I decide to do the $10 cash back option), for a total of 8 times, and the result is this:

That, my friends, is my latest bounty. There are 8 flameless candles, 5 french vanilla which aren't on my favorites list, 3 clean linen, and a scrubbing bubbles max fresh starter kit. Also, you will see my register rewards, $24 worth to be exact. And, next to that are my receipts, for a total of #12.38oop. One stack is the single orders for the candles alone, the second is the receipt for the scrubbing bubbles kit and a flameless candle. The scrubbing bubbles kit was $0.99 after the coupon, and it also has a walgreens rebate of $1.50, limit 4. Once I get the others I will have 4 for my rebate, and my mother will have 4 as well for a profit of .50 each. What was that? Oh, those little pieces of paper in the front, what are those? THOSE are my little gold mines. Because my order was not there, or could not be found I was able to get a raincheck for my candles. Since the register reward will not print after today my raincheck is for...dun..dun...dun...wait for it $2.99 each. Yes, $2.99 each and he will take the coupon at the $5 face value since I will not be getting the register reward as we've already discussed this so I will be returning when he's available. Have I mentioned I love my Walgreen's? The second is for the scrubbing bubbles kit which will also be free after the rebate. I'm down to my last box from last years free coupons, so these will last a year as well. I did forget to get one for the carpet deodorizer and while it hurts(I've been out of those for a while) I will suck it up and get them there next week since they have the $1 rebate(depending on the price of course), wait until the end of the month when there's another $5/$20 coupon, or I'll get them at Walmart since they're only .92 cents after the coupon.

Monday I will call and see if my order has been found since they should do major stocking tonight for tomorrows sales(which don't exactly thrill me, but that's alright). I'll be busy getting my coupons together for a trip to Lowes Foods. Triples were good, but for some odd reason, things that are free even without triples were out of stock. So, I'll be visiting to get those items, and a few rainchecks I know I'll need. I'll also be scouting the blinkie machines because our K-Mart is getting doubles up to $2 again this week(our sales start on Wednesdays...fun stuff).

Until next time.........