A Coupon Crazy Week

I don't often go out and coupon at multiple stores during one week, but there were just so many great deals everywhere this week I had to give it a try, especially when bringing my favorite money-saving apps into the mix. Here is what I've bought (so far...) 

At Walgreens: 

• Bought 6 Snickers Bites (at two different stores) $3.99 regular price
• On Sale for 2/$6
• Used $1 off 2 Walgreens Coupon booklet
• Used three $3 off 2 Snickers Bites (coupons.com)
• Paid $1.00 each, or $6.50 total
• These are so gloriously delicious that I'm not even the least bit ashamed of buying so many, or of hunting them down across 3 stores. This deal saved me over $18!

At CVS: 

• Bought 2 Nexxus Shampoo, $10.99 regular price. Spend $20 get $10 Extra Bucks.
• Used $3 off $15 Hair Care CVS coupon
• Used 20% Off Purchase CVS email coupon
• Paid $14.50, got $10.00 Extra Bucks
• Bought 2 Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Buy 2 get $2.00 Extra Bucks.
• Sale price 2 for $5.00
• Used two $0.50 off 1 (coupons.com)
• Paid $4.00, got $2.00 Extra Bucks
• Bought 1 Skintimate Shave Gel, $3.79 regular price. Buy one, get $2.00 Extra Bucks.
• Used $1.00 off 1 printable coupon
• Used 20% Off Purchase CVS email coupon
• Paid $2.04, got $2.00 Extra Bucks
• Bought 1 Paper Towel Roll, $0.79 sale price
• Used $0.79 off CVS coupon
• Free
• Total at CVS was somewhere around $20, but I used $7.00 in Extra Bucks from last week, so my Out of Pocket was around $14. Then I received $14.00 in Extra Bucks, which in my mind is as good as free. 

At Walmart:

• Bought 4 P3 Power Protein Packs, $1.00 each
• Used two $1.00 off 1 printables
• Used two $0.75 off 1 printables
• Paid $0.50 for all
• Bought a bunch of bananas, 0.48 cents/lb (around 3lbs.)
• Paid about $1.30
• Submitted for $0.50 rebate with Checkout 51
• Bought one VO5 Shampoo and one VO5 Conditioner
• $1.98 each regular price
• Used two $1.00 off 1 printable
• Paid $1.96, submitted for $0.75 each rebate at iBotta, plus received $0.50 bonus credit for submitting both in one receipt. Got $2.00 credit total, which makes these free! 
• Bought one box of Fiber One Fruit Snack, $2.00 regular price
• Used $0.50/1 coupons.com printable
• Submitted for $0.75 iBotta rebate
• Submitted for $0.75 Checkout 51 rebate
• Free after rebates!
• I love these adult version of Lunchables, they're great for a mid-afternoon snack! Plus the child in me loves bringing Fruit Snacks to work. Total at Walmart was around $7.00 for $13.00 worth of product, plus I got $4.00 in rebates. 

At Target:

• Bought 6 cans of Iams cat food, $0.59 regular price
• Used 5% Off Cartwheel
• Used two $2.00 off 3 Iams wet cat food (coupons.com)
• Free, plus $0.64 overage
• Bought 1 gal. Market Pantry white milk, $3.19 regular price
• Used 5% Off Cartwheel
• Submitted for $0.50 iBotta rebate plus $0.50 bonus
• Submitted for $0.50 Checkout 51 rebate
• $1.53 after rebates
• Bought Post Honey Bunches of Oats Morning Engergy, $2.55 price cut
• Used $1.00 off Target printable
• Used $1.00 off manufacturer coupon
• Paid $0.55 
• Gained a new favorite cereal
• 7th Generation Dishwasher Gel, $3.49 sale price
• Used $1.00 off Target printable 
• Used $1.00 off manufacturer coupon
• Used 10% off Cartwheel
• Submitted for $1.00 credit at iBotta
• Submitted for $1.10 credit at Jingit
• $0.96 Money Maker after rebates! 
• One Up and Up Multi-Surface Wipes, $1.92 sale price
• Used $1.00 off Target Mobile Coupon
• Submitted for $1.00 credit at Jingit
• $0.08 Money Maker after rebate!
• One Colgate Optic White Toothpaste, $2.99 regular price
• Used $1.50 printable
• Used $1.00 off Target Mobile Coupon
• Paid $0.50 

Wheew! What a week! I almost gave up on typing all that out. My total in rebates was $7.85 using various apps (iBotta, Checkout 51, and Jingit). It's challenging to really find a total for money saved vs. money spent because of the Extra Bucks and rebates, but I'm confident this was a week well spent screening couponing websites, punching numbers in my calculator, and draining my iphone's battery more than once. It's all worth it! Now I'm off to find some more cat food coupons (I donate these) and make some sugar cookies stuffed with Snickers Bites! 

Cheap Cereal at Target!

Yesterday I found out about these awesome cereal deals at Target and had to go try them out. Here's what I purchased:

• Triscuit Crackers, $2.94 regular price
• on sale for $2.39
• Used $1/1 printable coupon
• Redeemed for $1 credit at Checkout 51
• Paid $1.39, and got $1 credit
• Kellogs Frosted Mini Wheats, $3.14 regular price
• Used $0.50/1 printable coupon
• Used 50% Target Cartwheel
• Paid $1.07
• Kellogs Special K Red Berries, $2.74 regular price
• Used $0.50/1 printable coupon
• Used 50% off Target Cartwheel
• Submitted for $0.75 credit at iBotta 
• Paid $0.87, and got $0.75 credit
• Honey Bunches of Oats Morning Energy, $3.24 regular price
• Used $1.00/1 printable manufacturer coupon
• Used $1.00/1 Target printable coupon
• Paid $1.24

My total for this small purchase was $4.57 for $12.06 worth of items, plus I got $1.75 credited with other apps, so it really was $2.82 for 3 cereal boxes and some crackers! Yummy! 

My Lifestyle

Couponing has it's tricks, and not all of them involve tracking down the correct newspaper insert. For all of you smartphone lovers, here is a collection of cool apps that give money back for purchasing select products, all you have to do is open the app, snap a picture of your receipt, and select the item you purchased. It will then give you credit for the item, and once you reach a certain amount (say $5.00) you can receive it via PayPal or a variety of other great gift cards.
Here's what to do:

Register with ibotta! http://ibotta.com/r/fa4g If you're going to register, please follow that link, it will give me credit for referring a friend. (Help me out here! Thanks in advance!). This is one of my favorites, it uses your location to see what stores are around you, and once you've purchased something off their list you can upload your receipt and you'll receive the credit in a few hours. The payout amount for this particular one is an easy-peasy $5.00. 

                                                        
Register with Checkout 51! http://www.checkout51.com/ (no, this one doesn't give me credit for referring) This one is a little simpler to use, and it's the same concept. You choose the store, upload the receipt, and select the items on the receipt you'd like credit for. It has a payout amount of $20.00, which takes a little longer to accomplish, but is definitely not unattainable for the active deal-seeker I'm sure you are.
                                    
 Register with Shopmium! http://www.shopmium.com/en You'll have to do this one via the app store,  but if you register with my referral code you get a FREE Lindt chocolate bar! Here it is: GFYHFKQF, hope it works out for ya! I actually haven't been using this app as long as the others, so I'm not too familiar with all the ins and outs, but it's very user-friendly and much like the previous ones, only requires you to snap a photo of your receipt and select the product purchased to get the rebate. 

Register with Receipt Hog! http://app.receipthog.com/share/7z6ko89b I'm not sure if I actually get anything from referring a friend, but if I do, thanks in advance! The picture of my Hog looks rather skinny (oops). That's because I haven't used it as much as I use all the others. This particular one does not give you cash for certain items, rather, it gives you "coins" per each receipt you upload. Once you reach 1000 coins you receive a $5.00 payout. It's not the biggest money-maker, but you can upload any grocery receipt and get coins, so over time you'll reach the goal. 

 
Register with Jingit! https://www.jingit.com/?ref_id=343294&s=p This app not only gives you credit for things you buy, but you can also earn money by watching ads, taking surveys, and completing other small tasks. It asks for a one-time fee of $3.00 in order to get a Visa debit card sent to you, but after that you can use your Visa card anywhere it is accepted and pay with your Jingit balance. 

     

Extra Googliness

This is an extra addition to my "couponing" category. Not all extra cash comes from clipping and paying with 'newspaper money', some of it comes from finding just the right additions to your money-saving tactics. Below are two of my favorite Google Chrome extensions and the reasons why I love them so. Check them out and I'll let you be the judge.

Screenwise Trends

My favorite web browser is Google Chrome. I am set in my ways and they will never change. Why? Because I love the googliness of it & I GET PAID to use it! That's right, you heard correctly. Since I'm at a computer at work 40 hours a week, I am literally working to get paid to get paid. Here's why: I have a nifty little extension called Screenwise Trends Panel which nowadays gives me $1.00 per week just for using Chrome as my web browser. This is all marketing research; companies basically want to know how and why you use the internet to that they can advertise better. Now I know that $1.00 a week is not much, and they don't pay out until you have reached $25, but hey... wouldn't you be happy if you found $1.00 on the ground every week? It's free money! Think of it, if you Chrome your way through life, that's like adding an extra $50 a year to your cash flow for doing things you already do anyway. Isn't it great? Follow the link to learn more! 

Honey 

Who doesn't love online shopping? I love it so much I can type out my credit card info in my sleep. After you've clicked and added items to your cart to your heart's content, you're ready for ordering... but not quite ready to dish out all that money. So what do you do right before clicking that checkout button? You search for any possible coupon codes and spend the next 30 minutes getting sidetracked trying out every possible number-and-letter combination out there, all to no avail. What if I told you there is an extension which does it all for you? Honey does just that! Once you get it installed (in Chrome) a honey-yellow button appears near the checkout button of almost any online store that says "Find Savings". You press it and it instantly locates and tries every code that is internet-available to get you the biggest savings. Now, there's not a coupon code for every single item out there, but I must tell you that last year I saved nearly $80 on my wedding invitations by ordering from Shutterfly just by pressing this button. I had no idea that code was out there, but Honey sure did find it! It's an awesome addition for the web shopping aficionado. 

I hope I just got you hooked on Chrome, and more specifically on these two great additions to your money-saving lifestyle. If you happen to find any other great extensions spread the wealth!  In the near future I will be posting all about my other favorite ways to make extra cash; cellphone apps and surveys! See ya soon!

-Damaris

Easy Chicken and Veggies

We had company over for dinner last night, and since we have lived at our new apartment for 4 days, we have yet to go grocery shopping. I had NO IDEA what to make for dinner, so of course I went with the 'make it up as you go along' plan.
This was an extremely easy dish with a preparation time of 15 minutes and a cook time of "stick it in the oven and forget about it until everyone is hungry". But really, it was about 1.5 hours.

Ingredients: 

Olive Oil
Mustard
Chopped garlic
Parsley
Rosemary
Salt 
Pepper
Butter
Chicken thighs 
Potatoes
Baby carrots


The amounts you'll need really depend on the quantity you'd like to cook. I used a 9x13x4 pan and it was enough to bake 7 chicken thighs, half a bag of baby carrots, and an entire bag of small round potatoes. I hardly ever measure anything I cook, so I couldn't even begin to tell you measurements, sorry!

Steps:

1. Lay out chicken thighs on pan
2. Cover with quartered potatoes and baby carrots
3. Mix all remaining ingredients in a bowl
(melt the butter first, then add the rest)
4. Spoon mixture onto chicken, and use the remaining to drizzle over the potatoes and carrots. 
5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 1.5 hours.

6. If you wish, uncover and bake for 15 more minutes to add an extra crisp to the potatoes. 

It was a great meal, and very inexpensive. It fed 5 people (plus leftovers) on less than $20 worth of groceries. Definitely a quick fix to add to my dinner list :)

2014 03 18 Sleep Talking

This starts off, as always, with me wide awake and Philip deep asleep, and in complete silence:

Philip: K I guess we'll just talk about it later then
Me: ??? (whats going on?)
Philip: I think we should do it tomorrow
Me: What are we doing tomorrow?
Philip: the hotel
Me: the hotel?
Philip: Uhum
Me: Okay then.

I must add that we have absolutely no plans to vacation anywhere anytime soon, so I have no idea where this hotel idea came from.

Living with In-Laws

Due to some rather unfortunate circumstances which were out of our control, Philip and I were left without an apartment for a month and a half. Thanks to the wonderfully giving nature of his parents, we were able to live at their house during this time (about 7 weeks). It was a lot tougher for me than it was for him, and although I am eternally grateful to his parents for letting us stay there, I can't say I was always 100% comfortable not having my own house. Nevertheless, I did learn some insightful things from this experience:

1. Doing laundry is much much simpler when you only have 1/5 of all your clothes available to wear. 
2. No flat-ironing, curling, or chemicals for a 7 weeks does wonders for my hair. 
3. Having more than one dog in a house is nuts. Although I'd love to one day get Venom a lady Labrador, it's definitely never going to happen until we have a house with a large enough back yard for them to terrorize. 
4. You can never have enough dog kibble and bathroom tissue... Venom consumes copious amounts of both, to our wallet's extreme annoyance. 
5. Since Phil and I now longer have the freedom to hang out in separate bedrooms, we either get along or life sucks. Having just one room to be together has done wonders to our problem-solving and discussions. 
6. I learned how to share a bathroom. Sort of. Although I never stopped getting confused with all the shampoo and conditioner bottles, it really wasn't that bad. I suppose normal people from large families think nothing of bathroom sharing, but I've always had my own, so it was new to me. 
7. Even if I had my entire array of church clothes, I'd probably still stick to the same 2 skirts. I didn't even notice the heavy depletion of my wardrobe on Sundays. 
8. Having 2 pairs of shoes will not kill me. By the end of our stay I didn't even remember what the other 28 pairs looked like. 
9. Being 24 years old, holding a Bachelor of Science, and a full-time almost professional job does NOT make me any less scared of dark hallways and open closets at night. 
10. TELEVISION SUCKS! I have always seen TV as something you do only when there's nothing else to do, but in mom and dad Wyeth's household, a TV is on at any time when people are awake. I can see why it's so entertaining to some people, but not to me. And it was a challenge finding a quiet place to read a book. I think the lack of quiet accounted for about 60% of the challenge of living in a house besides my own. 

I'd like to again mention how utterly grateful I am to his parents for giving us a place to live during our time of need. My largest struggle was to swallow my pride and allow someone to help us out, but all that means is that I have issues with humility, which I am trying to improve. I'm looking forward to our new apartment and will keep my fingers crossed that we only have to move ONE more time (into a house) for the next several years. Good luck to us! 

On Manila Folders

Dale's quote of the day is as follows:

"Some day I'm going to remember to grab a handful of Manila folders and keep them by my desk so I don't have to get up each time I want one. Actually, maybe it's a good thing that I get up, I don't want to wind up looking like Cartman in South Park." 

3/10/14 Target Haul

Have I ever mentioned how much I love couponing at Target? Only all the time? Well here I'm saying it again: I love couponing at Target! Here's what I got from today's haul... and I plan to go back for more tomorrow! 

• Two Ragu pasta sauces, $1.84 regular price
• On Sale for $1.59 
• Used $1.00 off 2 Ragu Products from Sunda paper 3/9
• Used $0.75 off 2 Ragu Pasta Sauces Target Printable
• Paid $1.43 total
• Two Oscar Mayer P3 Protein Packs, $1.79 regular price
• Used two $0.75 off 1 printable (coupons.com)
• Used 50% Target Cartwheel
• Paid $0.29 total 
• Two Market Pantry Turkey Breast Lunchmeat
• On Sale for 2 for $3.76
• Used $1.00 off lunchmeat item Target Mobile coupon
• Used 5% off Target Cartwheel
• Paid $2.61 total
• One package of Romaine Lettuce, $2.09 regular price
• On Sale for $1.09
• Used $1.00 off Vegetable Purchase, Target Mobile coupon
• paid $0.09 total
• One package of Smart Bite mini potatoes, $3.99 regular price (hidden behind lunchmeat)
• On Sale for $0.99 
• Used $1.00 of Vegetable Purchase, Target Mobile coupon
• FREE
• Two packages of Market Pantry Chicken Breast, $6.99 regular price (hidden behind lunchmeat)
• On Sale for $5.29
• Used two $3.00 OFF coupon sticker on package
• Used two $1.00 off Fresh Meat Target Mobile coupons
• Paid $1.29 each, or $2.58 total 
• Two oranges, $0.89 each regular price
• Used $1.00 off Fresh Fruit Target Mobile Coupon
• Paid $0.78 total
• Five bananas, $0.24 cents each, regular price
• Used $1.00 off Fresh Fruit Target Mobile Coupon
• Paid $0.20 total
• One Suave Professionals Shampoo, $2.74 Sale Price
• Used one $1.50 off 1 Manufacturer Coupon (coupons.com)
• Used one $1.50 off 1 Target Printable Coupon
• FREE, plus $0.26 overage
• One Colgate Optic White Toothpaste, $2.99 regular price
• Used one $1.50 off 1 Manufacturer Coupon (coupons.com)
• Used one $1.00 off 1 Target Coupon
• Paid $0.49 total
• Two Say Yes To Cucumbers Makeup Wipes, $2.99 regular price
• Used two $3.50 off 1 Manufacturer Coupons
• FREE
• Four Oscar Mayer Lunchables, $1.59 regular price 
• Used two $1.00 off 2 Manufacturer Coupons (coupons.com)
• Used 10% off Target Cartwheel 
• Paid $3.76 total

Total on my receipt was $11.02 (although I just added all that up and it's slightly more than that) for about $52 worth of items! That's a whole lot of savings! After sale prices were applied I saved a total of $34.09 (according to my receipt). 

2014 03 04 Target Mini Shopping Trip

Today I ran into another couponer while grabbing a few things at Target. I thought to myself "do I really look that insane?"... but then I realized I'd rather have more money in my pocket and look silly than pay full price for an item.
This is what I purchased today, I did pretty good counting the fact that some of the things I planned to purchase were sold out.

• 3 Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
• $0.89 each, sale price
• Buy Two, Get One Free special promotion
• Paid $1.66 for all
• Also printed out a Catalina coupon at the register for $1 OFF 4 boxes
• Velveeta Cheese Casseroles Dinner Kit
• $1.99 sale price
• Used 20% off Target Cartwheel 
• Paid $1.59
• One Betty Crocker Frosting and One Betty Crocker Cake Mix
• $1.52 and $1.12 each regular price
• Used $0.75/2 Manufacturer Coupon
• Paid $1.89 for both
• Two Up & Up Ibuprofen 50 Count
• $1.88 each, sale price
• Used $2 off 2 Target Mobile Coupon
• Paid $1.66 total
• Colgate Optic White Toothpaste, 4 oz
• $2.99 sale price
• Used $1.50/1 Manufacturer Coupon
• Used $1.00/1 Target Coupon
• Paid $0.49
• Wrigley 5 Gum Multi-Pack
• $2.99 regular price
• Used $0.75/1 Target Mobile Coupon
• Used 10% off Target Cartwheel
• Paid $2.01

Total savings of $8.18, paid $9.50 for $17.68 worth of items. 

2014 03 04 Sleep Talking

Apparently Philip was worried that I'd get cold last night. This was our conversation while he was sleeping:

*complete silence while I'm Pinteresting and he's sleeping* 

Phil: Do you want me to go get a blanket from the closet?
Me: Uhh what? Philip do you want a blanket?
Phil: Nah I'm alright
Me: Are you warm
Phil: Uhum. (continues sleeping) 

Intro to Couponing

The following are lessons I've learned through trial and error in my quest to become a so called "extreme couponer". I'm sharing these mostly for the benefit of a handful of girlfriends who asked about it and want to give it a try, but if anyone out there has any questions, feel free to ask :) 

1. Get a Sunday newspaper subscription OR go out and buy a newspaper every Sunday. Sometimes subscriptions are more expensive because you have to pay extra for deliveries or be forced to "tip" carriers. If this is the case, just pick your closest favorite gas station and purchase it there. Typical price is $2 per copy, but sometimes there are well over $100 in coupon inserts, plus who doesn't love Garfield comics? Personal lesson learned: once you've gotten into the couponing habit, do not miss purchasing these papers, not even for one Sunday. You'll regret it later. 
2. Get organized. Go purchase a 3-ring binder, one or two packs of 9-pocket plastic sheets (the kind used to hold baseball cards), page protectors, and divider tabs. As soon as I got my first newspaper, I clipped every single coupon available (even for cat food and baby wipes, and I have no need for either) and then stuck them all in a letter envelope. Almost 100% of these were thrown away because I forgot all about them. Personal lesson learned: find a system that works for you, and then stick to it. 
3. Pick and choose which coupons are for you. My biggest mistake was to clip every single coupon in the paper, bring them to the grocery store, and use as many as I could on every item possible. WRONG thing to do. If you don't need Old Spice deodorant, spicy hummus, or 4 bottles of air freshener, then don't even clip the coupons. Look through them all and clip your "basics" for things you purchase regularly, like milk, soap, toothpaste, dog food, laundry detergent, etc. Then do a second run and clip coupons for things you might consider buying if the price is right; candy, makeup, and junk food are in my category. Toss the rest away. Personal lesson learned: attempting to use all your coupons wastes A LOT of money. 
4. Find websites for printable coupons. Not all of your coupons will come from Sunday newspaper inserts, they will also come from your very own computer! My shortcut is to follow thekrazycouponlady because they keep up a running database of over 2,000 printable coupons plus list the current newspaper coupons as well. You'll have to install a 'coupon printer' on your computer, and make sure you have your default printer set and working because you only get two printouts per coupon per printer. Personal lesson learned: if you use several printers installed on one computer, make sure you are printing out of the correct one and that you have ink and paper in there, because you only get two chances to click Print, and then it's gone. Note: it is illegal to photocopy coupons, but if you have more than one computer, you can print multiples (hint, you can go to a public library and print two per each computer you use). 
5. Pick a store. Or two. Perfect your couponing strategies a little at a time. My top two couponing stores are Target and CVS, which offer different items on sale each week and allow you to "stack" a store coupon with a manufacturer coupon for extra savings. Go to their respective websites, find their coupon policies, and read over them carefully. If possible, print out a copy and stick it in your coupon binder because a lot of the time cashiers have no idea what they're talking about when the try to deny you the use of a coupon. Personal lesson learned: don't let a huffy, annoyed cashier get the best of you. Be nice, polite, but stand your ground if you know you're right. And don't be afraid to talk to managers. 
6. Judge a book by it's cover. This goes along with understanding each store's coupon policy. When you're ready to pay for your items, do not be afraid to profile the cashiers. Always try to go for the young, male cashier who looks ready for quitting time, not for the lady who takes her job too seriously. They will care less about the coupons you're using and not try to fight you on anything. (that's my experience anyway). Be polite, smile, and state upfront that you will be using coupons with your purchase. It doesn't hurt to ask if they'd like the coupons in a specific order. Personal lesson learned: don't attempt a large shopping trip at 5pm on a Friday when the store is packed and everyone gets annoyed with difficult transactions.