And now a word from our sponsors

I added a link for some advertising on this page. I do not think I can control it, as I am learning, but hopefully the links will contain some good coupons. You'll see the ads on the left under Sponsors. Let me know how it is working, as I am not supposed to be eligible for them.

See you at the sales!

Melisssa

Tips to ponder while I'm coloring my hair

Well I have a few minutes while I am beautifying myself. I am tired of the natural blond platinum highlights in my hair, so I am covering them. I thought I'd use my time to let you in on a few general tips.

I keep an ongoing grocery list of things that I need due to running out or for something special. I look for these items in the sale papers and when I get lucky sometime I can pick them up. But generally the rule of thumb is buy things (especially non-perishables) when you don't need them and buy enough so that you'll have them when you do. I have a little "store" in my laundry and garage that I go to when I need to replenish my pantry. There is nothing wrong with having 108 rolls of toilet paper, it's not like it is going to go bad. Not to mention that is a necessity that you don't want to run out of!

Also I meal plan around what I already have in my freezer and fridge. I buy meat ONLY when it is on sale whether I need it or not and put it in Ziploc bags with labels and dates so when I want to serve it, I have it. I also keep a spreadsheet of what I have in my freezer and update it (using my receipts) when I go shopping. You don't have to be so anal, I am an accountant and what accountant doesn't love spreadsheets. You could also keep a spiral notebook on top of your freezer or a magnetic dry erase board attached to the door and just update it as necessary. I use my inventory list to plan my meals. All Recipes is a great website that you can search for recipes by ingredients to help with meal planning.

OK all for now, I must run before I look like Dracula!

See you at the sales!

Melissa

Wow is Lowe's copying Bi-LO?

I got an email from Lowes with ad. A certain part (the pizza meal deal at the bottom) looks an awful lot like one from their competitor Bi-Lo. What do you think?

Anyway here is what I have found at Lowes this week:

Ground Beef 1.99

Edy's ice cream B1G1F

if this includes the dibs variety then there is a $1/2 tearpad q

Spring water B1G1F

(I'd rather have the Dasani from Walgreens)

Digiorno meal deal

if they let you use the Digiorno coupons that are out there this may not be a bad deal

Tennessee Pride sausage B1G1F

use .50 q from 5/18RP

Land O Frost deli meat 2.99 (not bad if you really need it)

use .55 q 5/11RP

Sargento Shredded Cheese 2$4 (not bad if you really need it)

use $1/2 tearpad q find on Panda display

Heluva dip 2/$3

use .75 printable

Blue Bunny ice cream bars B1G1F

use $1 printable

California Pizza for one $2.50

use .75 q's from 5/4SS and 6/1SS

Cool Whip in a can $2

use $1 q 6/1SS

Chex Mix B1G1

use .65 internet printable

Dole Salads 1.89

.50/2 q 3/9SS

B1lb Boars head turkey or get 1/2lb cheese free

(be aware of how much the turkey costs!)

There are also some great Lowes foods store coupons (ask CS if they have any more) that came out a few weeks ago in their flyer that don't expire until 7/1) from memory they were for several freebies and decent deals on a lot of dairy items.

See you at the sales!

Melissa

Harris Teeter at midnight

Well after my trip to Super Bi-Lo last night, I decided to run to Harris Teeter since it was just across the street. I am leaving for beach on Sunday so I need to get my deal shopping done before I go. Hopefully we will have triples when I return.

There were several freebies this week if you have the coupons. Here's what I found at the Teeter this week:

Strawberries B1G1F

Bag of Red Potatoes 1.99

Beef Ribs 1.99 lb (I bought these and marinaded them in sesame ginger marinade and put them in the crock pot for dinner tonight, they smell soooo good, and my kitchen is cool)

HT ice cream B1G2F (not sure if you can buy one), I have no room in my freezer, so I am passing on this deal

Pepsi B2G3F

Scott towels 4pack(equiv to 10rolls) long lasting (these are the most gigantic rolls I've ever seen) 5.99
use $3 catalina that I got while I was shopping at HT

Clorox Bleach .99
use the .50 coupon found on mops at Target (if you have it, I did not)

Tide 4.99 limit 2
use .50 in 6/1 P&G

Check Mix B1G1F
use .65 internet printable

Tava Sparkling Beverage .99 (you will get a .51 overage on this one)
use $1.50 internet printable

Lawry's marinade B1G1F
use .50 coupon 4/6RP, 5/18RP, 6/22RP

Playtex tampons 2/$6
use $2 coupon in Rite Aid ad
and use $1 coupon in 6/22RP

Oscar Mayer beef hotdogs B1G1F
use .50 6/15SS

French's mustard 14oz .99
use .50 coupon 3/9SS

Blue Buny Champ Cones B1G1F
use $1 internet printable

Heluva Good dip 2/$3
use .75 internet printable

Keebler Crackers B1G1F
use $1/2 coupon 6/1RP
also there are some $1 MIR winetags off of crackers that I found recently

See you at the sales!

Melissa

Walgreen Coupon Fri 6/27 Only

I awoke to a pleasant surprise in my inbox this morning. A coupon from Walgreens! It's for $5 off $20 today only. Unfortunately for me I have already made the Walgreens run this week but maybe some of you can use it.



There wasn't a whole lot exciting and thrilling the Walgreens paper, but here are some suggestions:



If you haven't gotten this months "freebates" listed in the Easysaver catalog you may want to pick those up and take advantage of the coupon. They are not as great as months past, but I was able to get a couple things.



Dasani water 24 pack 3.99 limit 3
use the coupon in the Walgreens ad


Revlon makeup B1G1F
use $2 coupon from 5/18SS (some Walgreens will only let you use 1 coupon on B!G!F items)


Natures Bounty Vitamins assorted sizes B1G1F
use $1 coupon from 5/4RP


Loreal HiP Cosmetics assorted sizes, B1G1F
use $1 coupon from 6/1RP


Bayer Aspirin 24-36 ct
use Walgreens Ad Coupon and .75 from 3/16SS

Hersheys Bliss Chocolates 9.6 oz 2/$3

use $3 coupon from 5/14SS

also check out the Dixie paper plate deal on Money Saving Mom's blog

See you at the sales!

Melissa

How to clip coupons

This is a neat little trick. Of course I have never had THAT many inserts, but it works when you have even a few.

How to clip coupons

See you at the sales!

Melissa

Why is the coffee store at Super-Bilo always closed?

I met someone to go over some coupon basics last night at the Super Bi-Lo coffee shop. Of course it was closed, seems like it's always closed when I am in there and my friend Erin has noticed the same thing. I think I've figured it out though, I guess we need to start shopping BEFORE 9pm! That is how you know when your coupon addiction has gone to far, when you shop at night to avoid bringing the kiddos and just enjoy hanging out in an empty grocery store without hearing "Can we buy this?" and "Are we done now?" every 2 minutes. Alas I digress, back to why I originally made this post.

What I noticed on sale at Bi-Lo this week:

Kraft salad dressing B1G1F
use the Free coupon from the Kraft magazine that expires 6/30
or use the insert q from 6/15SS $1/3 (you can buy 3, they will ea. ring up 1/2 price)

Hefty Cinch kitchen trash bags 30 ct marked down to 3.46
use the .75 Hefty insert q 5/18RP (this starts with a 9 and will not double, but I needed trash bags)

Gatorade 5/$4
use .50 tearpad found in conv. stores

Chinet Plates 2/$5
use the .75 blinkie q from Food Lion
you can also combine it with the free Heinz ketchup Chinet tearpad (if you have it)

Little Debbie muffins 2/$4 (my son loves the Chocolate chip ones)
.75 IP (internet printable) from coupons.com sadly I've reached my print limit :( , but you all enjoy

Jack Daniels Grilling Sauce 1.79
use .55 from 6/22SS

Coke product 12 packs 1.99 ea.
(some of the Dr. Pepper's had peelies on them for $1/2)

Wild Alaskan salmon filets 2.99
use the $2 wild alaskan salmon winetag from Hogue wine (in NC you do not have to purchase the wine)

Peaches .77 lb.

.99 produce sale:
Fresh Express bagged salad
squash or zucchini
green beans
tomatoes
red onions

Sobe Life Water $1
use the .50 tearpad q

Kraft cream cheese 4/$5
use the $1/2 Kraft tearpad found on the Panda display at Lowes Foods and Harris Teeter

Daisy Sour Cream $1 8oz.
use the .50 insert 6/1RP
(if you have the Lowes Foods store q that came out a few weeks back this will be a better deal their as it is a 16oz ctr for .99)

Domino Sugar 1.99
use .30 from 5/4RP
or use .25 from 6/22RP

Nature's Own bagels or muffins B1G1F (1will ring up 1/2 price)
use .55 5/11SS

For my coupon friends that have the Blue Rhino rebate, I noticed a coupon in the monthly Bi-Lo circular for free salad dressing and free marinade when you exchange your BR propane tank (I have some extra rebates if anyone needs one)

Post your finds in the comments and I'll add them to this post.

See you at the sales!

Melissa

Triple your savings

Today a word about triple coupons. Triples are when stores triple the face value of a coupon. In our area several stores occasionally offer triple coupons. I read a rumor on Hot Coupon World that Harris Teeter may offer triples the weekend after July 4th. The stores in this area will triple up to .99, which means a .25 coupon has a value of .75 and a .50 has a value of 1.50.

Here is my preparation for triples strategy. Once the store has officially announced it either with a sign, something on their website or a confirmation on a coupon message forum, I start going through my coupons. I pull coupons with a .50-.90 denomination. Mostly a lot of .75 as those will be worth 2.25. Pay close attention to the bar code on the coupon if it starts with a 9 be warned it will not double or triple.

Once you have your coupons gathered you need to know whether or not the item will be a good deal. Just because you have a coupon does not mean the item will be a bargain. I look at the sale circular first and pull coupons that match up to the items that are on sale. For example let's say Oscar Mayer hot dogs are on sale for 2/$4 and I have a .55 coupon. That coupon will triple to 1.65 making the hot dogs .35 a pack.

After I have gone through the sale circular I look for the regular priced items and unadvertised sales to find deals. There are a couple ways to do this. You can make a reconnaissance trip to the store and go up and down the aisles and write the prices down. I usually write the price on the coupon that way when I get home I can figure out if it will be something I want to purchase. I usually try to make my recon trip the day before triples. You have to be aware of the day the sale cycles start though. Most grocery ads come out on Wed, so if your store is running triples starting Thurs, if you go Wed you will be able to see the current sale prices on the sales tag on the shelf. Most stores will have a date somewhere on the sales tag that tells you how long that sales price is good for. The other way is to take advantage of the online shopping websites through your grocery stores. Harris Teeter is Express Shopping and here is Lowes Foods . You don't have to buy the items online just use their websites to search for the items you have coupons for and see what their prices are. Keep in mind that different areas may charge different prices for the same things, but you can get a general idea if the item will be a deal or not.

Some key points:

Know your stores policy: Harris Teeters official policy states 20 per day; however it is possible to use your VIC card up to 5 times in one day. Same things at Lowes Foods. I usually go through the line, take my items to the car, come back in and start the process all over again. Some people are bold enough to take a cart up there and split it up, I however find that rude to other people waiting behind you in line and I think you are drawing attention to yourself. If you were to use 20 coupons per transaction for 5 transactions each day spread over 3 days that is the possibility of redeeming 300 coupons! That is some serious savings ladies! Also Harris Teeter and Lowes limits you to 4 of each item per transaction. Those hot dogs I told you about, I could only use 4 coupons to purchase 4 packs per transaction. The idea behind this rule is so one person doesn't go in and wipe a shelf clean of something. Harris Teeter will only let you use two Internet printables per transaction. I have not seen this enforced, but it is their policy.

Make a cheat sheet: Do the math for each possible face value of a coupon on a 3x5 index card. That way you won't have to remember that a .55 coupon is really worth 1.65.

Be Organized and have a plan of attack: Group your coupons you plan to use according to the layout of the store. I usually start getting all my non-perishable items on my first few trips and end with the dairy, meat and frozen. That way you if you are making several trips at one time your ice cream is not melting in your car while you are in the store getting your free toothpaste.

I promise you it is addicting!! Please comment on your past triple sucesses and once you experience a triple come back and tell me about it.

See you at the sale!

Melissa

Where for art thou coupons?

Usually the first question people ask me is where do you find all of your coupons? From several different sources: the paper, magazines, the Internet, tear pads in stores, brochures, dispensing machines in front of product, hanging off bottles, peelies on products, inside packages, inside samples, and trading with friends and relatives.

The easiest way to start your coupon collection is by getting a Sunday paper. In the Sunday paper is something called an insert that is usually with all the sale papers. With the exception of major holidays (coupons usually do not come out on major holiday weekends), you can usually get on average about 2 inserts per week. The two major printers are Smart Source and Red Plum (formerly know as Vlassis). You can even receive Red Plum in your mailbox. I usually get mine in Tuesday's mail. If you want to get on their mailing list here is a link: Red Plum . I get a subscription to 1 Sunday paper and I will either buy additional ones if I see that there are great coupons one week. You can also get friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family to donate their unused coupons to you. Share your "free" stuff with them as a thank you. I put a sign up on the bulletin board where I work asking for coupons and I was amazed how many people started bringing me theirs. If your brave enough you can also search through recycle bins or go to your locale recycling center.

My next favorite way is to go "coupon shopping." In my area Food Lion is my favorite coupon shopping store for several reasons. They usually have quite a selection of "tearpad" and "blinkie" coupons that I can use at other stores for significant savings. You know those blinking little machines that your children always love to pull the coupons out of over and over again as you tell them "please stop doing that, honey?" Well tell your children stop no more, in fact encourage them to pull them! Save those coupons to use for future sales or to take to other stores in your area that double or triple the coupon amount. For example I have three stores in my area that double up to .99 every day: Bi-Lo, Harris Teeter, and Lowes Foods. Those blinkie and tearpad q's that I pick up at Food Lion will usually double at those other stores. (The reason is the barcode on the coupon starts with a "5," any coupon barcode that starts with a "9" will not double).

You can also write companies or email them praising their product and asking for coupons. I stumbled across this listing the other day that someone put together with companies internet addresses to write for q's: Big Big Forums .

There are also several places on the internet to find coupons, but I think I will make that another blog post.

Magazines are a great source for coupons. Family Circle, Women's Day, First usually always have some in there. My favorite magazine is All You . I subscribe to it just for the coupons. It averages around $40 worth of coupons every month. You can purchase the magazine only at Wal-Mart for less than $2 an issue or subscribe.
Start paying attention to store displays. Those cardboard displays that junk up the aisles of grocery stores will often have a tearpad stuck somewhere on them with coupons. My advice take the coupon and figure out when and how you will use it later. Often you will find ways to combine your coupons to make money or get things for free!

However you find them start collecting them, even if you are not sure you will use them. I have found that either I use or trade the majority of my coupons, so I keep them all. I learned my lesson the hard way by throwing away a coupon for a diabetes monitor, thinking I'll never use that. Well CVS ended up having them on sale and with the coupon I would have made $20 just for buying it! I was kicking myself for not saving that coupon!



See you at the sales!



Melissa

OK I'm FINALLY doing it!

I've decided to start a blog, since I have been ROUTINELY reminded by a dear friend that I should start one for the purpose of posting hot savings tips and helping others save money. She tells me it's easy and it does seem that it would be easier than sending an email out to several people, so here I go headfirst into the blogging pool.

First let me tell you a little about myself. I am a Mom that tries to juggle parenting, running a household, and working part time. I also have always loved to shop and even more than that I have always loved a bargain. The more I could save the bigger the rush I would feel. There is nothing better than hitting the clearance bin jackpot on a cute top that was $40 but been marked down to $6! I've also always used coupons, but didn't really get heavy into coupon usage until a little over a year ago. I started trying to find ways to cut back on my grocery bill and a friend of mine rekindled a old love of couponing. With all of the information available at your fingertips online, I found it much easier than it ever used to be to save lots and lots of money. I now spend about 39% of what I used to for groceries and I have tons of stuff now. It is rare that I run out of anything. I am also able to donate and share far more than I ever thought possible, even in an economy where the food prices are soaring to record levels. Through this blog I hope to help you too cut your grocery bill way down. It won't happen overnight but after several months, you will see a huge difference in spending.

My goal is to add tips over time. I'll start with basics and include some hot bargain tips for this area when I find them. Hopefully there will be info on this blog for the novice as well as the savvy couponer. Feel free to post questions in the comments section and I will try to answer them.

See you at the sales!

Melissa