It's Cyber Monday! It was the biggest shopping weekend of the year this past weekend. I hope you all found good deals without getting maced.
Now you can sit and relax in your jammies! Shop online in peace! Use the code "blackfriday2011" for FREE WORLDWIDE shipping at Badge Reels.I have badge reels great for ID holders, scissors fobs, keychains, and more! They're not just for scrubs!
I have a TON of reels available and many more coming over the next month!
Also, over at MicroMops, the ENTIRE shop is 20% off!! Let's get clean for the holidays! Good through Christmas!
Buy One Set of Swiffer Pads get One Set FREE! ONLY in MicroMops! MUST Mention in notes to seller "blogfreeset".
Good on November 7th--November 11th purchases ONLY!
Hey all!! Time to start my new blogging schedule! Mondays, (or Sunday nights if I get ahead of myself!) will start the Deal of the Week in one of my shops!
This week, it's Badge Reels on Etsy. Use the coupon code "freeship" in checkout for Free US Shipping!!
I'll be adding new reels continually for the next few months, many designs coming!! :)
I accomplished one of my goals today. If you'll remember I blogged a few days ago my VERY lofty goals on WHY this disconnect was important to me. One of my to-do's is to ensure I start my family on a healthier lifestyle. I watched "Food, Inc" and I must say. If you've NOT seen this movie. You absolutely must. No, it didn't make me a vegetarian but it did make me ANGRY. Now if you read this, you KNOW I am a big fan of capitalism, business and personal responsibility. However, what the food industry has done to us is shameful, horrifying and disgusting.
I wonder am I powerless to change anything? But as the end of the movie points out, you CAN make a change...with every bite you put in your mouth. Every time you buy groceries you are voting...you are making a difference by shopping. If you only purchase Twinkies and YooHoo's, that's what the industry is going to provide.
I've been on a lifelong battle to eat better. I was raised on high fat, high sugar, cheap, "low income" kind of foods. Food shouldn't be based on a class system. Just because you make more money you shouldn't be able to feed your kids healthier food than others. So how do I, a middle class stay at home mother cause change?
By re-examining our diet. It will be a sloooooooooow process, I know that. I am a big fan of couponing and saving money...and it's said you CAN'T coupon on a natural/organic diet. Well, that sounds like a challenge to me. And I am INCREDIBLY hard-headed and stubborn. I want to see if that's really true.
What I have to remember, every time I go shopping, is at what price is it worth my kids health? I've been a 'natural' or "crunchy" kinda gal for some time now...which is hard for people to understand because I do so love my sugary treats, and I am at heart a libertarian....which means I'm all for keeping the government OUT of my life.
But what infuriates me more, is that there are government agencies (the FDA, the USDA) that are FAILING us. Every day. Every meal. I am not a fan of government, you know that. But for those of you who ARE....how does this not infuriate you?? How does this not make you angry? How do you support such institutations that are KILLING people? I hear much talk about how many politicians are in bed with the meat industry, the corn industry, etc....what about those in bed with Monsanto? What about those who turn a blind eye to high fructose corn syrup? It's NOT just Republicans and you are niave if you think so.
I, for one, never had much faith in our government. Not since I've been alive. So it's up to me and my faith in God that we stay healthy. So I have to do MY part. I have to purchase responsible foods. Even if it's at a cost. Maybe this means we eat a little bit less. Maybe this means I coupon and donate the foods we don't use to food banks. Maybe this means I help my friend with her garden and NEXT year I try it myself??
I don't know ALL the changes I will be able to make. Massive change always starts with one small step. So my challenge for this month is simple.
*Grocery shop only at a local store and Whole Foods. Conciously examine WHERE the food is coming from and how the meat is fed and cared for. Let's see JUST how much more costly eating better is. And how can I save money in other ways to MAKE this happen??
I have a Whole Foods gift card burning a hole in my pocket. Let's just see how much of my normal groceries I can get there and at our locally owned grocery store and for HOW much more money??
And if you're brave enough, consider checking out Millions Against Monsanto. If there ever has been an evil corporation...they are it. And this is me...the girl who's a big fan of personal responsibility and business....saying this. Pure evil.
Thus ends day 3 of my disconnect. We're off to meet our dog tomorrow and hopefully tomorrow I can introduce you to Maxwell the dog!!
~~Amy
Ok, so I'm slowly getting the hang of it. Today was my first real venture into the world of CVS and Extra Bucks!! I'm no guru like many others, but I'm working it!
So I created my coupon binder this week! Much easier! I was even able to just hand a lady in the store a coupon that I didn't really need, so hopefully that saved her a buck :)
Today I hit up Walmart, Winn-Dixie, CVS, Walgreens and Target...all with the 5 yr old in tow. He did really well and I thought it was important to bring him to show him WHY Mommy does what she does...that if we plan and work at it, we can save enough money to do fun things!!
So here's today's deals!
Walmart is hard to save a ton of money in, and overall MOST of their prices on groceries are pretty good. I should note NOWHERE local doubles coupons..NO ONE. Target will "stack" manuf. coupons with Target ones but NO grocery store doubles. Bites, big time.
Anyhoo, so here is this week's Walmart finds...not pictured is another bag of chips ....DH stole those before I could take the pic. Between coupons and price matching, I saved 10-11 bucks...not major but helps! Grand total: $40.65
Winn-Dixie: I should note, I'm not a fan of most of the local grocery stores. Their "sale prices" are really not that great a deal when you look at how much cheaper they are at Walmart or even in bulk in Sam's or Amazon. But, their Buy 1 Get 1 (B1G1) deals are usually a pretty good savings. Not fab but not horrible. This round cost me $21.04---but I SAVED $23.16...more than I spent! So the non perishables go into my stock pile and the salads are to enjoy this week. I should mention...bagged salads are not NORMALLY a good deal. The CouponMom ran the numbers once and you basically are paying someone 5k a year to cut lettuce for you. Her theory is, if it takes you less than 5 minutes to do it yourself...DO IT. However, EVERY now and then, the bagged salads will be a better deal than the by the head lettuce. Today at Winn Dixie even the iceberg lettuce was 1.69 lb, so sometimes it's worth it for the convienence to me!
Next up, Walgreens. This one was funny because my son thought the Arizona teas were beer! Yes, little man...you stressed mama out so much she needs a Colt 45! They were out of the Crest Whitening Strips that were on sale, so I got a raincheck...but it's ok, I scored those later also at CVS.
Total at Walgreens: 2.68 saved 2.96. The teas were .50c ea with in store coupon, and the pantiliners were .99c with in store coupon PLUS I had a .75c off manuf coupon! ROCKED that one.
I didn't snag a picture of Target, it wasn't THAT impressive. 48 roll of Scott toilet paper, toy for the little human, movie for the little human (hey what's the point in saving if I don't splurge every NOW and then...his splurge cost me all of 13.00 bucks.) and 10 yogurts for 33.00! Not to shabby! Remember to sign up for the Target Red Card..you do NOT have to make it another credit card!! Mine is linked to a checking account and it gets you 5% off EVERY day!! If you're going to use a debit card anyway, not having a RedCard is like throwing money away!
Ahhhh, last but not least...CVS. Now...I'm a coupon virgin still compared to some and I haven't learned all the in's and out's of drugstore deals. I've not touched learning Rite-Aid yet...I wanted to master CVS and Walgreens first! So this is the first time I really paid attention and worked the CVS Extra Bucks program. The best way to work these deals is to break your purchases up! Also, the cashier told me, scan your CVS card every time you go in--REPEATEDLY! She said keep scanning it til it doesn't shoot any more coupons out!! She also said do it FIRST so you can help plan your shopping right when you walk in.
So today's CVS deal..I know many of ya'll can do WAY better, but this is great for me!
Grand total of $32.17 and that includes a 31.99 box of Crest White Strips (way in the back there if you can't see em!)
So basically I paid retail for the white strips then the cereal, candy, toothpastes, keychain and candy were free!! Now, I don't normally BUY Crest White Strips, but I figured I'd give it a try since it was such a good deal.
My point is...it CAN work. IT IS doable! You saw no meat purchases because I hit up Sam's and the recent sales already for that. My pantry and freezer is stocked! Just start slow and you can do it too!!
Well my Adventures in Couponing is 2 months in. I can't really say whether it's totally paid off yet, although I do obviously see the savings at the register. For instance my bill yesterday at Walmart went from 318 to 272 with coupons! Mind you, this was a BIG shop but included hardly no meat...it was the "coupons are expiring shop". :) I now have a plentiful supply of bath and body/cleaning/personal products. Our teeth shall always be clean in our house!!
But that is one of the points from CouponMom, you should NEVER run out of stuff like toothpaste, tissues, toilet paper, etc, if you shop with coupons and when it's on sale. Those are also items to combine savings at drugstores on and save them for easy donations. For example, a .97 Secret deodorant with a .50 coupon means for .47c you can donate that deodorant to your nearest women's shelter for a woman who has quite possibly escaped with only the clothes on her back. Will you save her life? No, not literally, but you could provide her with a little comfort and nicety in a difficult time for her.
Also, please don't forget the military. Military families on bases can use coupons past their expiration date. So NEVER throw out those coupons! You can find info on the Military program here. PLEASE follow the rules and do not waste time sending coupons that are over 6 mos expired. Remember you also don't have to wait til their expired. As you go through your coupons, if you will not EVER use the product, put it in your folder for military ones!
I will say, I have not hardly bought any meat since the first of November! I went then and purchased boneless, skinless chicken breasts, ground meat, bacon and lunchmeat from Sam's Club. I also snagged 3 turkeys when they were on sale for Thanksgiving, and 2 Roasts when they were on sale in November. Since then I have only had to buy 2 ground meats (and really only because they were on deep sale, I didn't "need" them.) and 1 bag of chicken leq quarters (which at 6 bucks a bag, makes 5-6 meals in my house, so that's a good price!).
So only time will tell if all this stockpiling is really going to save me money. I suspect that I will not actually SPEND less but I will get FAR more. I have an extra stock pile of non perishables in the garage, and have been able to splurge on some sodas and a few things for the boys that I don't normally because I saved money in the food dept. I'll be reevaluating my spending in January as that will be the 3 mo mark of starting my adventure, and we'll tally it up and see if I REALLY got more for my money :)
The main lesson I've learned is, if you'll REALLY use it, and the coupon makes it cheaper than the store brand...go for it!!
So how goes your frugality!? Finding any good deals? Learning new ways to save money??
My next major post on frugality will be on how to use social networking to help save you some dimes, but I wanted to check in and share this week's major savings!
Walgreens has Coffee Mate buy 1 get 1 free (liquids 2.49 value). I used this coupon and you can find more here. So I snagged 2 Coffee Mate liquid creamers (french vanilla was all they had, but hey!) for .49c!! Can you beat that?????
I also snagged up the Reynold's Aluminum Foil for .89...the ad was for 20 sq feet but they didn't have any, just the 25 sq feet, so I snagged up 3 of them for .89c each! :) That goes in my extra stock pile in the garage along with other non perishable items!!
I'm enjoying the challenge of saving money and hope you are finding some good deals too!
~~Amy
Pssst, don't forget to enter my giveaway to win a badge reel or ponytails!! Hurry before Thanksgiving, because once the Saints/Cowboys game is over, the giveaway is over!
So I'm actively attempting to save money and thought I'd share this week's adventures! :)
I checked out the ads in the free paper they throw around my neighborhood and it has the weekly ads in it. I knew Toy Story 3 was coming out, and that I had to get my son's blood work done on Tuesday, when the movie came out (nifty coincidence so that could be his reward!)
So I saw the CVS ad and noticed if you bought 25.00 worth of certain items you got the movie for 3.99. Usually I disregard those type of ads because they are lures and it's not really worth the savings. The movie itself is 15 bucks at Walmart or Target usually, so spending to save doesn't make sense to me usually!
But this time I did the math. I looked at the items on sale that qualified for the deal. I looked through my coupons. Lo and behold I had a coupon for every single item I would have normally bought in that deal! So that's how I ended up with:
20 count Charmin Toilet Paper for 9.97
8 rolls of Bounty Paper Towels for 6.97
10pk Duracell batteries (x2) for 5.97 eac
Crest Pro Health Toothpaste (x2) for 2.75 each
Dawn dishwashing soap for .97c
Puffs Tissues for .97.
So that meant I got the movie for 3.99.
So in the end I spent 39 and got all that stuff plus the movie. I could have not gotten for example, the batteries, but everything I bought was stuff we use on a normal basis. Everything I got was on sale and had a coupon, not too shabby considering the movie itself (with its fancy useless to me blue ray disc) is 30 something alone in some stores.
And I have plenty of toilet paper...can't complain about that....
