A Little Effort Paid Off

If you have a product that you really prefer using and you can't find any coupons for the item, you can email the company and see if they offer coupons. I really love peanut butter by Peanut Butter and Co. This product is between $5 and $6 a jar. This seems HIGH to me now that I have been using coupons so much. I have not seen any coupons for this product. I decided to email the company. I told them how much I love their product and that I never see coupons for it. This took only a few minutes to do. They emailed me back and were very appreciative that I use their product. A few days later I got a letter in the mail from them. The best part was that they sent me coupons!! This was so quick and easy to do. A little effort on my part paid off.

REMEMBER...SAVING MONEY MAKES CENTS.

Coupon Policies

The first time I heard of a coupon policy, I thought to myself "What in the world?" I really didn't think of the importance of the this. I just assumed that employees of each store knew about their individual policies on coupons. WRONG!!! I decided to read each store's policy that I shopped at. I printed them also. I was kind of heistant about this at first. I really thought I would never come into a situation where I would need it. WRONG AGAIN!!! I have learned that most cashiers have no clue about the coupons you are giving them. Just recently, I had to pull out my coupon policy for Wallgreens. I was buying an item that was advertised as B1G1 free. I gave her two manufacturer coupons for the items. She said that I could only use one coupon since it was a B1G1 Free promotion. I told her that according to their policy, I could use two coupons. She tried to argue with me and that is when I pulled out the Wallgreens coupon policy.

It clearly states:

WHEN ITEMS ARE FEATURED IN A BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE PROMOTION, UP TO TWO COUPONS CAN BE USED AGAINST THE ITEMS BEING PURCHASED.

She realized she was wrong and scanned both coupons. I have had to do this on several occasions. I ALWAYS carry the coupon policies with me for the stores that I shop at. I have them in my coupon organizer. I also have parts highlighted on each policy that occur most often. Coupons policies can be printed from each stores website or you can just google for each policy. I strongly suggest printing the policies and keeping each one with you. This is just another important step in saving money using coupons.

REMEMBER...SAVING MONEY MAKES CENTS.

Where Can I Find Coupons???

When someone finds out that I use coupons, they usually ask me , "Do you really save money and where do you get all your coupons from?" My answer is YES and I get coupons from many different places. The first and most obvious place is the newspaper. Last week, I bought three Sunday papers because there were two different sets of coupons in each paper. The next place I get most of my coupons from is online. There are tons of websites that offer coupons. I will list some of the ones that I use most frequently. Also, many of the Manufacturers websites offer coupons. You just have to take the time to go to their websites. If I see a good deal at a store on an item that I don't already have a coupon for, I will go to the Manufacturer website and try to find one. Most of the time I luck up and there is a coupon available. One thing that I have learned about printing coupons is to change your printer settings to black and white. Most of the coupons have color and your ink will go FAST if you don't change the printer options. Some magazines also offer coupons. I find most of mine in "All You." You can find really good deals on household products and beauty products. I don't use e-coupons as much. These are the ones that you can load to your savings cards. I personally like to hand the coupons over, so I know they are being scanned. Some places that double coupons do not double e-coupons. I try and stick with the newspapers and online coupons mostly. I hope this is helpful. Here are the websites that I use most of the time:

http://thekrazycouponlady.com/

http://coupons.com/

http://smartsource.com/

http://redplum.com/

http://couponmom.com/

REMEMBER..."SAVING MONEY MAKES CENTS."

Run To Rite Aid

Rite Aid can be a great place to shop with coupons by taking advantage of their +Up Reward, Single Check Rebate System, and Video Values. Rite Aid allows you to use a Manufacturer Coupon and a Rite Aid Coupon on a single item. That's two coupons for one item, which can mean BIG SAVINGS! The +Up Reward coupons are special coupons printed at the bottom of your reciept from a prior purchase. They can be used on non-prescription purchases. Multiple +Up Rewards can be used up to the amount of purchase before sales tax. The Video Value is also a pretty neat way to get a coupon. On the Rite Aid website, you can watch the videos they have advertised. Once you watch video, you can print the coupon. This coupon is considered a Rite Aid coupon. Therefore, a Manufacturer coupon can be used too! Videos range from 15 second to 3 minutes. Most of the ones I have watched are not over a minute long. How easy is that?!?! Be sure to sign up for the Wellness +Rewards card. This is free and used in the same way a Kroger card is used. The Wellness card saves you 20% and helps you earn points everytime you shop. The more points you earn, the more rewards you get. I just wanted to share some helpful information I have learned about shopping at Rite Aid.

Rite Aid has some great deals going on right now. I got 4 Powerade Zeros for $ 2.00. I had two B1G1 Free coupons. Nature Made vitamins are B1G1 Free in their sales paper. I had an additional $2.00 off coupon. I ended up getting 2 bottles of vitamins for $5.29. Dial bar soup three pack is advertised B1G1 Free. The price is $3.29, but I had a $3.00 coupon. I got 6 bars of Dial soap for $0.29!! I also got 2 Gillette body washes for FREE. The normal price is $5.29 a piece. Oral B toothbrushes are on sale for $2.99. I had a $2.00 off manufacturer coupon and a $1.00 off Rite Aid coupon. I got 2 toothbrushes for FREE! I earned $3 off my next purchase with +Up Rewards. On the bottom of my reciept I noticed a survey for $3.00 off your next purchase of $15. All you do is go online, enter a code, and take a quick survey. This took me all of maybe two minutes to earn the $3 off. I think I got some pretty good deals today. I encourage everyone to go to Rite Aid and check out the deals.

Remember..."SAVING MONEY MAKES CENTS"

My Sunday Savings

School and work seem to have my schedule a bit CRAZY right now, so I'm thinking weekends are going to be my best time to "coupon." (Unless I find a really great deal during the week that I CAN"T pass up!!) The Sunday paper has two great sets of coupons today. I bought extra papers today to take advantage of the great coupons. After I clipped my coupons and organized them in my album, I read the sales papers to see what deals I could find and needed this week. I decided to go to two stores and buy a few things. The first deal I found was at Dollar General. They have Pedigree Dentastix buy 1, get 1 FREE. The regular price is $2.00 and I had two $1 off coupons. I ended up getting 4 packs of the Dentastixs for a total of $2.28 including tax. This is a great deal for me since I have 4 dogs. Four packs for cheaper than one pack would cost! Yay me!! I also went to Wallgreens this morning. They have Dawn Dish liquid for $0.99. In todays coupons they have a $0.25 off coupon. This would make the Dawn $0.74 a piece. I bought 3 Dawns for $2.22. I got 3 for what 1 bottle would normally be. I also bought Herbal Essence shampoo and conditioner. It was 2 for $7 and a $2 Register Reward back. Of cousre, I had a coupon for these so I paid $2.oo for the shampoo and conditioner and got the $2 RR. That means basicly it was FREE. I also ended up getting a "special gift" if you bought certains things they had sitting on a table and checked out in cosmetics. Luckily for me, the Herbal Essence was one of the items. My "special gift" was a bunch of samples and coupons of beauty products of different brands like Olay, Eucerin, Garnier, and much more. All in all, I think I had a pretty good morning buying a few items. For less than $8.00 I got a lot of things I needed. This "couponing" is seeming easier than I thought it would be and fun to me. I feel like I'm in a competion everytime I go to checkout. According to my hubby, I like to WIN so I think this "couponing" thing is great for me!!

The Coupon Challenge

Last week, I spent the best ten dollars money could buy! I went to a Coupon Class at Casabella Interiors with my two best friends. Kelly, Janet, and I learned soooo much. Emily Tate who taught the class is AMAZING!! She spends less than $200 a month on groceries and toiletries for a family of five. WOW!! If she can spend that little on five people, I know I can do it for two. I started clipping coupons and printing them from the internet. I alphabetized my coupons in a small photo album according to brand name. The photo album is perfect because of the clear holders. This did take a little time, but is clearly worth it. Being organized is a key to this process.

Yesterday, I decided to try and challenge myself. I saw where Wallgreens had Colgate Total toothpaste for $2.99. It was buy two and get $4 register rewards. I also had coupons for the Colgate. I ended up getting 4 things of Colgate Total toothpaste for FREE and $4 back. I got PAID to buy toothpaste. I was SHOCKED!! Next, I went to Kroger for my big challenge. I bought 28 items which should have been around $60. After coupons and Kroger deals, my total that I paid was $11.92!!! I was very proud of myself!!! For less than $12, I bought dog food, chips, toilet paper, frozen french fries, ice cream, cheese, bodywash, and much more. Most of these were Brand names. I think everyone should be doing this. Why not SAVE money and spend it on something else you need or want???

Here are a few tips I learned from the class:

* Oraganize your coupons (binder, photo album, by date, or by brand)

* Coupons can come from newspapers, magazines, the internet, & Electronic coupons (load to your savings card)

* Wait for a SALE to use your coupons

* Kroger doubles coupons less than $0.60

* Don't be afraid to ask for management

* Some stores like Wallgreens will let you use a Wallgreens coupon and a Manufacturer coupon (Thats TWO coupons for one item)

* Learn the lingo (BOGO- buy one, get one; RR- register rewards)

Couponing now seems to be the theme of my blog (This is for you Kel). I am going to try and post deals and coupons links on here. I challenge everyone to try this. It is well worth it!!!

School, school, and MORE school

Okay, so I must say that I am the worst blogger around! It has been almost a YEAR since I have updated my blog. I have been so busy with school and work, that I didn't even realize how much time has gone by. I'm making a promise to myself, family, and friends to keep my blog going. This way everyone can know what's going on and I can have a some downtime to express what I'm thinking. (PLUS TAKE A HOMEWORK BREAK)

Chase and I have had so much going on since the last time I updated, that I don't even know where to start. Mostly we stay busy! I started Clinicals on January 1o. I will graduate July 29!! I CAN'T WAIT!! I am soooo glad that I have found a real passion for what I'm studying! What can I say??? I love blood, poop, urine, and other body fluids!! LOL! Never in a million years, did I imagine I would LOVE Clinical Laboratory Science, but I DO!! I started off my clinical rotation in the Chemistry department. It went very well and I really enjoyed it. I am now in Blood Bank, which I am also really enjoying. It is so interesting to me to Type and Screen blood. I will stay in Blood Bank unitl April, then it will be time for my Microbiology rotation. I'm excited about this also, except for the smells. I have smelt some pretty nasty things in that department. I have learned a trick though... a little Vicks under the nose goes a long way. Clinicals Monday through Thursday, studying every night, homework questions, and having test every Friday is exhausting! I will be so happy to be done soon and I know Chase will be so happy too! I think he misses our old routine of me cooking almost EVERY night! Chase has started back to school too. He is working on his Masters. I am VERY PROUD of him!! I also think he his getting a taste of my medicine. Sometimes you need to do homework, instead of cooking and folding clothes. LOL! We are just trying to get our lives in order and both done with school before we have a "Baby Bradley" in a few years.

Another important thing that happened is I am now married to a celebrity! My hubby killed a HUGE buck! I really didn't understand how big it was until I saw it. I joke with Chase about it because he looks happier in the deer pictures than he does on our wedding day. LOL! This deer was such a big one, that he made the cover of Mississippi Sportsman magazine. There is a great article about him in the magazine and on their website. I'm very happy and proud of my "handsome hunter."