What I've Been Up To...

I have immersed myself in the study of couponology and money savedness.  I have learned much grasshopper.  I am refocusing this blog to reflect my new found skills.  Enjoy!

$67.45 of Products for $2.85!

This is my biggest Rite Aid victory yet! I got all of this:

for $2.85! This was my first week to get multiple papers and I was a little worried that I bought too many.  My husband was very impressed.  The scenario broke down like this:

4 x Crest Pro Health 1 Liter Wintergreen Mouthwash,
Reg 6.49, Sale 4.99-3 +UP*-2 coupon = FREE

5 x Crest 3D Whitening Toothpaste,
Reg 3.79, Sale 2.99-2 +UP-1 coupon = FREE

2 x Oral B Cross Action Toothbrush
Reg 4.99, Sale 2.99, BOGO-2 coupon = .99 for both

Dawn Dish Detergent
Reg 1.99, Sale .99-.20 coupon = .79

Bounty Basic 8 Roll pack
Reg 7.99, Sale 5.49-1 +Up-1 coupon = 3.49

4 x Scott Single Roll Toilet Paper
Reg 1.29, BOGO = 2.58

Subtract One $5 off $25 Rite Aid Store Coupon

Total Worth = $67.45, Total After +Ups and Coupons ... $2.85!!!!!



*+Ups are part of Rite Aids loyalty program. They print out on your receipt and spend like cash on your next visit.

I did have to pay sales tax on all this stuff, no getting around that, but I can live with that.  I didn't need the toilet paper, but I was afraid I was not going to have enough for the 5/25 coupon.  I miscalculated and really could have come out paying 27 cents.  That would have been more impressive.  Oh well.

Record Amount of Free (Baby) Stuff

I've been learning how to play the drugstore game and get stuff for free. Today I scored big. This is my biggest haul of free stuff yet. I heard about this on howtoshopforfree.net and decided to give it a try. I had one J&J coupon and a $4 off $20 coupon from the Rite Aid Video Values. I also had a J&J coupon from coupons.com. I signed up with the Johnson and Johnson site and printed out about six or seven coupons. So, I put it all together like this:

I bought 7 15oz. Johnson and Johnson Baby Products for $3.99 (sale price)
I bought one baby oil gel for $4.29 (my mistake, I thought it was on sale)
My total was $32.22 before taxes and coupons

Used 4 $1 off 1 coupons
Used 2 $2 off 2 coupons
Used my Sept $4 off $20 Video Values Coupon
I also had $5 worth of +up dollars that I put towards the total
I paid $17.19 in cash and got $14 in +up (would have been $16, but the gel wasn't part of the special)
When I got home I submitted the receipt to the Single Check Rebate site and I will get a gift card for $10 in the mail at the end of the month.

Total profit - $6.81 and I got all of this for free:

Free Nivea and Make a Dollar!

CVS has Nivea for Men Active3 on sale for $4.99 with $4.99 extra bucks.  There was a $1 off coupon in the 7/25 Redplum, but if you missed it, you can sign up on Nivea's website for their newsletter and they will give you a printable $1 coupon good for any Nivea product.   So, pay $3.99 and get $4.99 back.  Make a dollar and get free lotion. My kind of deal.

Multiplied

Btw, no longer preggo....

Score!

JC Penney's had men's Arizona jeans on sale for $13.99 this weekend.  Only, I thought the ad said $9.99, so I drug my husband twenty-five minutes across town to get him some cheapo pants.  He hates going to the mall and only went because I told him we could get two pairs of pants for $20.  Then we get there and he is all like, "I didn't sign up for two pairs of pants for $28.  You said 20."  I was all like, "well, let's go see Clarence".  So, we hit the clearance racks and found two pairs of jeans for $6.47 each.  Then we slid over to Old Navy and found a pair for $7.97.  Three pairs of jeans for $20.91, and a happy man.  Nice.

 

More $.99 Meat...and a Salad

I love boneless, skinless chicken thighs.  They are so versatile.  My buy price is $1.29, but my bulk price is $.99.  Adams Fairacre Farms has these on sale about once a month, so I stock up when the price drops from the regular $1.99 a lb.

I bought this fresh, but forgot to take a picture before I put it in the freezer.  I like to have a light meal prepared for my husband when he gets home.  I call it first dinner as an homage to the Merry and Pippen in LTR, (as in,"what about second breakfast?""I don't think they've heard of second breakfast.") Nerd alert.  Anyway, today I used my much loved boneless, skinless chicken breasts to make this tasty salad:

I used one thigh for two salads, about $.50 worth.  The romaine was on sale for $.99 a head.  I used about $.25 worth.  There was also about a quarters worth of red bell pepper and cucumber.  I fancied it up with some Danish Bleu Cheese.  It runs $6.99 a lb.  I bought a sliver that ran me $1.65.  It is a high dollar item, but a little of this stuff goes a long way.  I used about $.30 of the cheesey gold for this salad.  So, if my math is correct, it cost $1.55 for both salads before you add salad dressing.  And...the man liked it.

Too Much Information

Why would I buy Dulcolax?  Besides the obvious.  And, no, I don't need Dulcolax...today.  I bought it because it was on sale for $9.99.  I had a $3 coupon and got a $9.99 register reward back from CVS.  So, this was a $3 money maker deal. 

I also had a $5 coupon of off Schick Hydro Razors.  They were on sale for $8.97.  So, I paid $3.97 and got a $4 register reward.  So...free.  Now, we have $7 register rewards going into next week when they post the new deals. 

Now, the question on many a mind is...is it worth it?  Well, yes and no.  If you don't enjoy this type of activity, then no.  You would be better off working an extra hour a week or taking the hit on your budget for toiletries.  But, for Lil Bit and I, this is a game.  She told me today that it was like having a membership to a secret club where you get free stuff.  It is really fun, if you don't overdo it.  We live less than three blocks from CVS, so we can stop by on our way to just about anywhere. 

Alot of people complain that couponing doesn't really save you money unless you eat a bunch of processed foods.  I challenge that assumption.  We eat fresh fruits and vegetables and very little processed foods.  There aren't alot of coupons for apples and grapes.  However, with our system, we spend almost nothing on shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, deodorant, hairspray, and the like.  These things can add up, especially if you have more than one female in the house.  That puts a lot of room back into the weekly shopping budget.  And, we are using all name brand items.  We are just getting them for free, or almost free. 

And, I've created a couponing monster.  Lil Bit can't wait for next weeks circulars to get here, so we can get started on our next deals.  We have a combined $22 in +ups, register rewards, and ECB's to wheel and deal with.  Free is fun.

Low Falutin Victory 8/10

My husband and I have decided to write a book, or actually a series of books, on our Low Falutin' lifestyle.  This is encouraging me to take advantage of more frugal resources.  One of the resources I've recently started taking advantage of is Couponmom.com .  This site is great, especially for beginning couponers.  She has a great system that is fun and easy.  I logged on yesterday and printed out the deals for Rite Aid.  I found that they are having a sale on Old Spice 2 for $6, with a $2 plus up coupon good for your next purchase.  I bought two and it came to $6.49.  I had $4 worth of plus ups that were about to expire, so I used them.  I ended up paying $2.49 and recieved the $2 plus up.  Not bad.  Net $.49 for two items that were regularly $4.49 each.

Our (I had Lil Bit with me) next stop was Walgreens.  Yesterday, I signed up for an email subscription to  Krazy Coupon Lady's Blog and got a cool heads up in my inbox.  Walgreens has a sale on Secret Soothing Deodorant.  They are regularly $4.99, but were on sale for $2.29 each with a $3 register reward good towards next purchase.  Lil Bit and I both bought one.  So, we spent about five dollars and got $6 back in register rewards. 

Then we stopped at Kmart (it is in the same strip mall) and used our $1 off 1 coupons for Post-it Super Sticky Notes that we found in an email from MoneySavingMom.com .  We printed off three.  They were $1 a piece and so free after the coupons.  I used two and Lil Bit used one.  I used my Kmart rewards card and got a Kching prize of a 15oz bag of Pretzels. 

To Sum up, we spent a total of $6.13 (we had to pay taxes on the free stuff) and recieved $8 worth of coupons to use like cash on our next purchases...and free pretzels.  And had some good Big Mama/Little Mama fun.  Can't beat that.

btw...all of these stores are within one square mile of each other, so this trip took about thirty minutes.

School Supplies

Hey Ya'll,
It is school supplies time again.  Walgreens is having a killer sale.  I just picked up 1 subject notebooks for .29, 6pks of papermate highlighters for .19, 3 for $1 legal pads, 10pk of pencils for .10, and 3 prong 2 pocket folders 6 for $1.  Some of this stuff is so cheap that you might want to pick up some extra for your desk drawer or drop some off at your local shelter.  Link to the site here.  Btw, if you go, pick up a circular at the front door.  Some of the savings have to be scanned from the coupons that are in it.  I caught a couple of times the cashier didn't automatically know the stuff was on sale and I had to point to the coupon.
Smooches,
April

Frugal Fashion Alert!

Old Navy has a secret sale that is ending today. Get up to five camis for $2 each with the secret password, cami4me or you can print out this coupon, if you think you might forget the password. They are really cute. One word of warning...the extra larges are actually extra large. The ones I bought actually fit my eight month pregnant belly.

Trying to end the Ritual of Torture (or laundry day)

Okay, so I didn't mean to let so much time elapse, but we have been busy. As you all know, I am EXTREMELY preggo. My husband has been working extra hard in anticipation, so the laundry duties have fallen to me. That was just fine until this week. I hauled NINE loads of laundry to the mat, washed and folded in 98 degree weather, and hauled them back again. I put my foot down. NO MORE! Of course, that could mean no more clean clothes. So, I decided to research some laundry alternatives. We don't have washer and dryer hookups, so I started searching for "apartment washers". I figured in this heat, I could line dry, if I had to. I narrowed my choices down to these two:




















My husband really liked the Haier, but it was $174, best price, at the time. I liked the Wonder Washer. Especially after watching this video:



Then, as I was reading some reviews on the Wonder Washer, I read a comment that said basically, "why don't you just use a bucket and plunger like in the old days?" I went, "HUH?" So, I did a search on bucket and plunger laundry. I came across this site.

Sounded kinda weird, but I decided to give it a whirl. So, the Big Guy and I set out for Home Depot. We bought a five gallon bucket with lid and a new plunger for $6.18. Big Guy cut a hole in the lid and holes in the plunger, and we were ready to roll.

We gathered some clothes together and put a little bit of detergent in the bucket with some hot water.

We figured fifty plunges to wash and thirty or so to rinse.

That was no problem. The pain in the ass was the wringing. Then we had wet clothes hanging all over the house. We drove over to Kmart and bought two of the wooden accordion dryers. They were crap, so we had to drive back and buy the metal one. I say one, because it was more than twice as expensive. Almost 27 dollars. It took about two days for the laundry to dry all the way. This system was not going to supplant my weekly nine load ritual of torture. But, it might push it to a week and a half, or possibly every other week. That is progress. But, I had a bigger dream.

Stay tuned.

Comparison Shopping

Okay, I know this is not a life-altering frugal strategy, but comparison shopping and price matching is a staple of our Low Falutin' life style.  I submit two cases for your perusal. 

Case 1:  I was desperately in need of a new computer.  My only computer was a netbook that I had on short-term lease (not frugal).  I was leasing because when my last computer died, I didn't have the money to buy one outright.  Bad planning on my part, but we heavily rely on the internet in our family.  Anyway, the buy out on the netbook was ridiculous, so I started comparison shopping.  I found a desktop emachine with 320GB Hard Drive, and 2GB Ram online at Walmart.com for $278. 

I didn't want to wait for it to be shipped, that would have left me with no portal to the outside world...unthinkable.  So, I called my local Walmart and asked if they had it in stock.  They did, but it retailed for $318.  The manager said that the in-store price was sometimes different than the online one.  I asked him that since Walmart price matched other stores, couldn't he just price match their online one.  He paused for a minute and then said okay.  That question was a savings of $40.  I don't think this is their standard policy, but the point is that it never hurts to ask.

Case 2:  I have one room in my apartment that is carpeted.  It is in big need of a steam cleaning.  The rug doctor at the local grocery store rents for $54.  That is a little steep for a one time cleaning, so I started pricing cleaners to buy.  I found one that I liked at Kmart.com for $79 plus shipping.  I had seen the same one in the store for $89.  Next, I tried Target.com.  Same price...$79 plus shipping.  Next, I tried Old Faithful aka Amazon.com.  I found the same model for $64 with free shipping.  Guess what came on the UPS truck while I was writing this post...

Yeah!  I save fifteen dollars and got free shipping.

Full Disclosure

Okay, I do have one High Falutin' weakness:

yummy

Nothing Like Brand New

From my first post, you may have gotten the idea that I only wear gently used clothing.  Not so my fellow Low Faluter.  I love the feeling of stepping out in brand new clothes.  What woman doesn't.  I do, however, try to confine my new clothes shopping to sales.  Take for example my new pair of maternity pants.  They are super cute:

I mean look at these pockets!

Even better, look at that price!  It says $5.98.  I'm okay with that.

I Love a Sale!

I am a huge proponent of Low-Falutin'.  As opposed to High-Falutin' where you brag about how much you spent on whatever unnecessary item you just bought, Low Falutin' is basically a philosophy of living the best possible life on the least amount of money.  Yard sales, coupons, drug store gaming, home cooking, and your basic run-of-the-mill creative home economics are all part of the fun.  So, this is where I am going to be bragging, not about how much money I spent, but about what great deals I've found or money-saving ideas I've come across.  For instance, the outfit I'm wearing in the picture below cost me $1 at a garage sale yesterday.  Why in the world would I spend good money buying maternity clothes that I'll only be able to wear for three months, when I can bounce around in duds this cheap?

This is me being frugal and multiplying at the same time. 

                                   

I'm a big fan of the Economides.  They wrote the book America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money.  They say you should buy in bulk when a designated item hits your buy price.  My husband makes a killer pasta sauce with Italian sausage.  We have it about once a week, usually on Friday night.  Italian sausage costs $3.49 a pound regularly.  I've actually seen it for $4.29.  That is just too much to spend on something we eat every week.  So we wait for it to hit our buy price.  If it hits $1.99 a pound, we will buy one pound.  If it hits $.99, we stock up.  It was on sale for $.99 a pound tonight at Stop and Shop.  So, we bought 20 pounds.  That may seem excessive to some, but we have the main ingredient for one of our favorite dishes...for the next twenty weeks.  We spent $19.80 for $69.80 worth of meat.  I do the same for hamburger meat, boneless chicken thighs, turkeys, corned beef and more.  This system guarantees that we are always eating at the lowest price.  We want to take it to the next level and buy more at a time, but we are waiting to find a deep freezer at a good price.  I'll keep you posted.