Busy Mom Soapbox

Archive for March, 2008

Hoping you have a safe and fun easter filled with great memories.

Happy Easter!!

Every year our family does something fun to celebrate Easter.  This week, we got our plastic eggs and stuffed them with candy.  I printed up a sign with a bunny that says, "You’ve Been Egged!"  We snuck out into the dark and distributed eggs at our neighbors.  We hid some in bushes, corners, and all over their front yard.  Once our bags were empty, I put the sign on the door, rang the bell and we ran!!!  From our home, we could still see our neighbor’s yard.  A few minutes later, the kids ran out and you could tell they were pretty excited to see such a surprise.  My kids were smiling from ear to ear ust to see the surprise unfold!  This will be a new tradition in our family.

I put some of the things I learned from my coupon savings class to the test.  I just wanted to share with you a killer deal I got today at Smith’s. I am definitely reaping the benefits from the hours of organizing my coupons and the tedious coupon cutting.
Olay Quench Body lotion is regularly $5.79 a bottle. The special is buy 3 for $3.49 each. But with my coupon for $3.00 off, I was able to get them for $1.49 each!!!
Here’s a breakdown:

Regular Price $17.37 for 3

Smith’s Savings $6.90

Coupon $1.00 off $6.00

each

Discounted Price $1.49 a bottle. That’s a 74% savings

Last night on the way home from work, I went to Rite-Aid. They had a sale on Mach 3 disposable razors, a 3 pack. Regular price, $6.00, A check rebate for $3.00, and a coupon for $3.00. Total Price? FREE, aside from the tax of course. I should be getting my rebate check mailed to me at the end of the week. What’s nice about Rite-Aid is you can enter your rebates online instead of mailing them all in. I haven’t done the Walgreen’s rebates because of this. Maybe one day I’ll try it though.  Right now, I feel like it’s way too complicated for me.  Plus, I’m so bad about mailing things out. 

This morning I am feeling the depletion of any energy I have left in my body. After attending this class, I was on such an all time high on being able to save money, and in some cases make money. I didn’t go to sleep until after 1:00 this morning. As soon as I finished the class at Macey’s, Little Theater, I went to Wal-mart to begin organizing my coupons. Seeing how Amy, savvyshopperdeals.com, spent a little over $100 of food, and then saving over $700 from one store really motivated me to find the deals. I feel like I walked away with so much in just an 1 1/2 hours time. So here are some main points that I jotted down in case you want to try and do this. Amy said things go on sale in cycles. Most of the time, you will see sales for Campbell’s soup, Pillsbury rolls in the canister, cereal, toiletries aka deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste. About a month ago, I got cereal for $1.00 a piece. I thought that was a good deal. But Amy said that she never buys cereal for over 75 cents. She mostly gets cereal for 50 cents!! One thing you need to be is patient. If you can hold off on that favorite cereal until it’s on sale for a screamin’ deal, just wait.
Next, you know those red machines that stick out from the shelf? Those are coupons! A while ago, Scott’s toilet paper had those blinky’s next to them. And you know what?? With those coupons, the toilet paper turned out to be free! So instead of trying to get the kids to stop playing with them. Take a look and see what they are and save money.
Amy gave us a binder/coupon recipe as a guideline to help us get organized.

• Category Section: 10 categories (Amy used tab dividers to keep things simple. I plan on getting mine the next time I’m at the store.)

1. Baby (Diapers/Shampoo, Baby Food)
2. Bread and Cereal (Cereal, Breakfast Foods, Breads, Rice/Pasta, Chips & Crackers)
3. Cleaners (Floor Cleaners, Dish Cleaners, Fabrics, Standard Cleaners, Bathroom Cleaners, Air Fresheners)
4. Dairy (Cheese/Butter/Oil, Yogurt, Misc. Dairy)
5. Dessert (Cookies, Frozen Desserts, Cake/Brownie Mixes, Fruits/Jello/Pudding, Drinks, Candy, Baking Goods
6. Meat (Fresh/Frozen Poultry, Lunchmeat, Breakfast Meats, Misc. Meats, Seasonings, Sauces)
7. Medicine (Cold/Allergy, Pain Relievers, First Aid, Stomach Aids, Vitamins, Misc. Medicines)
8. Paper Goods (Facial Tissues, Garbage Bags, Foils/Wraps/Containers, Plates/Paper Towels, Toilet Tissue)
9. Personal Hygiene (Facial Cleaners, Body Wash, Lotion, Toothbrushes, Toothpaste, Misc. Tooth Products, Deodorant, Shaving Needs, Makeup, Shampoo/Stylers, Hair Color, Personal Items, Misc. Hygiene)
10. Misc (Sauces/Salsa/Ketchup, Canned Goods, Frozen Goods, Salads/Dressings, Misc. Foods, Pets, Misc. Household Items

Phew!! That’s a lot to take in. Buy things little by little and your food storage will grow. Take advantage of printable coupons. Keep in mind that Associated Foods like Macey’s and Kohler’s do not accept printable coupons due to coupon fraud. Because hygiene products are on sale a lot, you can get toothpaste or toothbrushes for penny’s. That’s a good way to stock your storage along with donating to shelters or humanitarian projects. Hopefully I’ve been able to pass along information that I learned last night to you that you can use.

Our area has an online service to help us organize all the store sales with coupons.  I know there are some stores that charge for this service.  But we’ve been blessed to have this free.  Although there may be a fee to join where you are, check into it.  The savings could outweigh the cost.

For helpful videos, click here for more tips and tricks on couponing.