Thursday, April 30, 2015

Oops.. I Saved again

Coupon Kitten strikes again

Oops... I did it again! I played with your heart... I mean I saved again. Sorry I got a little carried away there with my Brittany Spears impression. This week was a pretty damn good week for me savings wise. I got *drum roll please* $244.87 worth of product for a whopping $120.70!!! I shopped at only 2 stores this go around Target (My FAVORITE place to shop now) and Albertson's. I made 2 trips to Target, and one to Albertson's. How did I do it you might ask? Well just keep reading and I will let you in on my shopping secrets. Look at the bottom of the post to see a picture of all the good finds I got this week. 

Target Trip #1
° Purex Power shot laundry soap $3.99
  I had a $2 off manufacture coupon from coupons.com
  Right now at Target if you buy Purex power shot you can submit for a rebate up to $3.99
  So today I paid $1.99 but after a mail in rebate this item is FREE

° Skinny Cow candy $3.50 X 2
  I had 2 manufacture coupons from the Sunday paper $1 off any Skinny cow candy
  Right now there is a $0.75 off Target online coupon. I printed that off at home and brought it in.
  Final Price $2.13 each

° Speed Stick men's deodorant $3.50
  Used a manufacture coupon from the Sunday paper $2.00
  Used a Target printable coupon $1.00
  Final price $0.50

° Purina Cat food $12.79 X 2
  On sale for $11.00
  Used a manufacture coupon from the Sunday paper $1
  Used one Target coupon that was in the Sunday paper for $5 off any two Purina cat food bags

° U Kotex Tampons Super $5.69 X 3
  Used one $1.00 off any two kotex products from the Sunday paper
  Used one $0.50 off any Kotex product from the Sunday Paper
  Used one Target printable coupon $2.00 off any Kotex product totaling $10 or more
  When you buy 2 get a $5 Target gift card
  And used a 5% off U Kotex Target cartwheel offer
  Paid 13.57
  Final price after Target gift card $2.86 each

I also got a Target baby registry welcome bag with a bunch of goodies inside. 
Right now if you create a Target baby registry they will give you a goody bag while supplies last. 

Grand total without savings used would have been $68.13+tax
After all the savings $38.21+tax

Albertson's
° Betty Crocker Corn Break Muffin mix $0.89 X 8
  On sale for $0.25 each
  Final price $2.00

° Everyday Essentials diced tomatoes $0.99 X 4
  On sale for $0.50 each
  Final price $2.00

° Tillamook White cheddar cheese $6.49 X 2
  On sale for $4.99
  used 2 $1.00 off any sliced Tillamook cheese from the Sunday paper
  Final price $7.98

° Jimmy Dean Chorizo sausage $6.49 X 2
  On Sale for $4.99
  Used two Manager's special coupons I found on the product
  Final price $7.98

Grand total with out savings would have been 37.04+tax
After savings $17.96+tax

Target trip #2
° Bamboo and glass water bottle $14.99
  On clearance for $10.48

° Camelbac water bottle $19.99
  on clearance for $7.06

° Playtex sport tampons $6.99 X 6
  Used 3- buy one get one free coupon from coupons.com
  The Playtex sport tampons are on promo right now, buy 3 get a $5 Target gift card
  Paid $20.97
  Final price after gift card $15.97
  Or $2.66 for each box

° U Kotex Super tampons $5.69 X 2
  Used $1.00 manufacture coupon from Sunday paper
  Used one Target printable coupon $2.00 off any Kotex product totaling $10 or more
  Used $1.00 off any Kotex product catalina coupon I received from my first Target shopping trip      earlier in the week.
  When you buy 2 get a $5 Target gift card
  And used a 5% off U Kotex Target cartwheel offer
  Paid $6.82
  Final price after gift card $1.82
  Or $0.91
***If you want to score a similar deal-
Use $1.00 manufacture coupon from Sunday paper
Use one Target printable coupon $2.00 off any Kotex product totaling $10 or more
Use a 5% off U Kotex Target cartwheel offer
When you buy 2 get a $5 Target gift card
Pay out of pocket $7.82
Final price after $5 Target gift card $2.82
Or $1.41 each***

° Country Time berry lemonade $3.99 X 2
  On clearance for $3.38
  Used $1 off two Country time drink mixes
  Final price $2.88 each

° Crystal light liquid drink mix $2.89 X 2
  On clearance for $2.02
  Used $1 off two Crystal light drink mixes
  Final price $1.52 each

° Air wick plug ins $4.99
  On clearance for $3.48
  Used $1 off two single Air wick or one Double pack from Sunday paper
  Final Price $2.48 Or $1.24 per plug in

° Hanging closest storage drawer $6.99
  On clearance for $3.48

° Heart shaped cookie cutter set $2.99
   On clearance for $1.48

° Baby onzies $5.00 X 2
   On clearance for $3.50
   Used 20% clearance baby and toddler clothing Target cartwheel

° Market pantry Vinegar 16 fl oz $0.89 X 5
  On clearance for $0.44
  Used 5% off Market Pantry vinegar
  Final price $0.41 each

° Market Pantry Vinegar 1gl $2.74 X 3
  On clearance for $1.91
  Used 5% off Market Pantry vinegar
  Final price $1.81 each

Grand total with out savings would have been $139.70
After savings $64.57

This weeks shopping trip I saved 50% all together.


I've just recently started the extreme couponing. Let me tell you, it can be addicting. The amount of money you save is magical! I was asked today if I am going to be one of those people who buys something just because it was a good deal. The answer to that question is NO. If it is not something I would use I won't buy it. Unless I can get it for free, I will then donate those items to my local woman’s shelter. Everything I bought this week I WILL use. It looks like I won't have to buy tampons for awhile. Thank heavens!! I hate having to buy them almost every month. And ladies you know how spendy those things can get for the good kind.

Buy shopping sales, clearance, and using coupons you can save big too!! Even small savings count. Every penny you save is a penny you can spend elsewhere. Subscribe to my blog to see how I keep doing it. You might even be able to take some of my savings ideas and use them at a store near you. If you have any questions please ASK! I won't know them unless you voice them. I love saving money, and I love helping others do it too.




Everything that was in the Target baby registry gift bag








Tuesday, April 21, 2015

The DI bandit

Today I went shopping in Rexburg with a friend. It was the first time I have been out there. She introduced me to the DI and a nice little place called The Family Crisis Center. I found a TON of goodies and made out like a bandit. I could have spent way longer at the DI in Rexburg, but after an hour and a half I decided I should take my purchases up to the front and check out. Plus little miss was getting tired.

I LOVE shopping at thrift stores. It is good to go into thrift shops with an open mind. It can be a bit frustrating sorting through all the stuff. But if you have the patience you can find some really great items. Today I went out looking for light weight sleepers for the little miss. We have very few of the light weight ones, and a lot of the heavy weight ones. With summer fast approaching those will not be very handy. I got some sleepers and some other great finds too! Today's haul was quite the success. I got all this for just under $60!!! I was ecstatic. I got


  • 2 wood stools
  • 2 wood shelves
  • 2 ceramic bowls
  • 2 baby sleepers
  • 1 pair of toddler pj pants (for my niece)
  • 1 pair of fuzzy pj pants for me
  • a mini expandable file folder(for coupons on the go)
  • wet/dry pampered chef measuring cup
  • pampered chef trivet
  • a giant king sized blanket
  •  Full size deep pocket sheets
  • Terra-cotta pot and base
  • desk




The stools are for our breakfast bar area. I plan to give them a nice sand down and a new coat of paint. The shelves both have heart cut outs on them. They need a good cleaning, and maybe new coat of paint. They are going to go in little miss's room. They even have pegs to hang things on :) The desk is for The lair. I will re-paint it black to match the other desks that are already in there. And that beautiful terra cotta pot is going to go right out front of our house. I want to put some brightly colored flowers in it. All in all I was VERY satisfied with my finds today.

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Why cloth diaper?

Why cloth diaper?

Honestly, the thought to cloth diaper had never occurred to me when I found out I was pregnant. I didn't know the idea really existed. I just assumed I was supposed to use disposables. Well, because that is what everyone did. Right? And the hospital sends you home with disposables. So, that must mean that you need to use disposable diapers. Boy, how I was wrong!

It wasn't until later in my pregnancy that I was introduced to the idea of cloth diapering. My husband was actually the one to bring up the idea. His parents had cloth diapered him and his sister. He was interested in the idea to save money. I told him, I would give it a try. But, if it did not work for me then I was done. We did not start cloth diapering right away. Our little one, tadpole, as my husband calls her, was just that, a little one. She weighed in at 5lbs 12oz when she was born. It wasn't until she was about 3 months old that we officially started using cloth diapers. We were lucky enough to get covers, and pre-folds from the beau's sister. After just a few days of covers and pre-folds I decided that was not for use. I then went to the world wide web and did research on different kinds of cloth diapers. It was then that I discovered pocket diapers. As soon as I decided I wanted to try pocket diapers, a post on my news feed for Facebook showed up about a local momma who was selling some of her extra pockets. I decided, I would give it a try and bought 5 from her. After just a day of using the pocket diapers I was in love!! As soon as I was able I bought the reaming diapers she had for sale. Ever since then we have been using cloth diapers.

For about a month after I bought the pocket diapers, I still used disposables at night. Once I got comfortable enough using them, and figured out a night time solution to prevent leaks I was golden. I now 100% use cloth diapers. I even use cloth wipes. The venture to start out using cloth diapers was to save money. However, after doing research I now do it to save the environment, and to keep unnecessary chemicals away from my baby. Cloth diapering has opened my eyes to a whole new world. In just the few short months I have been introduced to a whole new niche, made friends who also cloth diaper, and feel good about it!! The amount of money we have saved has been great! The money that we would be spending on diapers we put towards something else. Such as savings, or house remodeling. 

The items I have in my cloth diaper stash are:
Pockets and enough inserts + a few extra for night time
3 wet bags for traveling with cloth diapers
Home made wipe solution
Cloth wipes
2 pail liners

1 step trash can that I use as a diaper pail

You can check out my cloth diaper Pinterest page by clicking HERE

If you are interested in learning more please feel free to ask. By no means am I an expert. But I will tell you what works and does not work for us. 

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

I saved how much?!?!

This weeks shopping results are in! I was able to save a grand total of $90.62!!!!

Whew, that is a lot of savings. How did I do it you might ask? Well keep reading and I will let you in on my strategy. First things first, I shopped at not one, but THREE different stores. I used sales, gift card promos, clearance, mail in rebates, and coupons on top of it all. The stores I shopped at this go around were 1) Albertsons 2)Target 3) Wal-Mart

Alberstons
  • Fiora toilet paper- regular price $7.39
  • Juicy fruit gum-regular price $1.00
I got it for free! Thanks to some instant winner monopoly game pieces I got form a previous shopping trip these items were free!!!

Total savings at Albertsons= $8.39

Wal-Mart
  • Almay Eyeliner- regular price $4.97
  • Almay Mascara – regular price $4.97
  • Almay Eyeshadow- regular price $4.76
(I had three $4 off any one Almay product from last Sunday's paper)
  • Kids N Pets Stain Remover- regular price $4.98
(I paid for this one today, but by submitting a mail in rebate, I get the item for free. You can find the rebate offer by clicking clicking here)
  • Oxy-Clean laundry detergent- regular price $4.97
(Select bottles of Oxy-clean laundry detergent have a rebate offer. I had a $2.00 off coupon from the paper, so today I paid $2.97, submit for the mail in rebate, and I get it for free)

Total Savings at Wal-Mart= $20.95


Target
  • Tide free and clear 100oz x2- regular price $11.99
(I had two $3 off any Tide 75oz our larger coupons from coupons.com. And, right now if you buy 2 you get a $5 Target gift card for another purchase)
  • Boost Plus vanilla 6 count x3- regular price $9.99
(These were on clearance at my Target for $4.98, I had 3 coupons for $3 off any one Boost product that I got from a Sunday paper)
  • Small rolled gauze x4- regular price $2.99
  • Benadryl itch relief stick x2
(Right now select Johnson and Johnson products are buy 2 get one free. And I had two $3 off any 3 Johnson and Johnson products, again from a Sunday paper)
  • U Kotex tampons- regular price $7.59
(I found these on clearance for $3.78)
  • Dreft stain remover x4- regular price $2.99
(Right now Dreft stain remover is on sale for $2.49. I had 2 coupons for $4 off any two Dreft products that I got from last Sunday's paper, and there is a 5% off cartwheel offer)

Total savings at Target=$61.28

Below is a picture of my fabulous haul from this week. The tadpole was super good the whole time :) She likes to help. More like she eats my papers, but hey babies are cute. And of course, since I took her with me, just about everyone we saw had to stop and say Hello to her. She is such a happy baby. It makes shopping so much more fun. 




Follow my Pinterest page bt clicking HERE
** These numbers do not include tax**

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Money saving apps and websites

These are a few of my favorite money saving apps and websites. Some of them even give you money or gift cards!

Websites:


I really like mypoints because you get points for shopping online. And those points can then be turned into gift cards or cash via a Paypal account. There are several ways to earn points. Such as taking surveys, purchasing items online, watching videos, and printing grocery coupons. Their online grocery coupon section is powered by coupons.com. If you download their add on it will let you know how many points per dollar you will receive and if there are any online coupon codes. Some examples of online coupon codes would be free shipping or a free gift with purchase. With this website I have already made enough points to get $100 in amazon gift cards. And I used those to buy Christmas and birthday presents.
If you are interested please PM me and I can send you an invite.


I love coupons.com. Before I go out for my grocery shopping I always check out their site (through mypoints, but if you decide not to use them you can go directly to coupons.com). They allow 2 prints per coupon per computer.(So if you have 2 computers, you could print the same coupon 4 times!!) They even sometimes have coupons for car care, movies, and prescriptions.


The krazy coupon lady is probably by far my favorite website. On their website you can find all sorts of steals. If you have not checked them out you should. I could go on and on for days about how wonderful they are.
Apps:

IBOTTA
My favorite shopping app is Ibotta. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them! This app gives you rebates for buying things you already buy. Such as fruit snacks, baby food, milk, and eggs, just to name a few. To unlock the rebates you simply answer a short survey (I have never had one more than 2 questions), learn a fact, or watch a short clip. Their are bonuses available for buying more than one item in a category or redeeming the same rebate 2 months in a row. There is also a teamwork section, if you and your teammates reach certain goals during a month you get extra cash! With this app I was able to cash out and buy Christmas presents. Purchase the item and snap a picture of your receipt. This app is available in the Google play and apple app store. If you sign up be sure to enter my referral code: efwsdfr

CHECKOUT 51
Another one the money saving apps I have in my arsenal is checkout 51. Unlike with Ibotta, most of the items can be redeemed at any store. Simply purchase the item, snap a picture of your receipt and boom! Money in the bank. You do have to get a total of $20 before you can cash out. But it is not hard. This too was another app I used around Christmas time and used it to help pay for gifts.

RECEIPTPAL
Receipt pal is not a money saving app, but they do give you points for shopping. Those points can then be turned into gift cards. They simply want to know what you are buying. Take a picture of your receipt and wait for the points to be credited to your account. Receiptpal does not discriminate against the type of receipt. As long as it has a purchase date and time, vendor name and items they will accept it.

RECEIPT HOG
Receipt hog is another app that likes to know what you are buying. This one gives you coins in turn those coins can be turned in for gift cards or cash through a PayPal account. They accept coins from grocery stores and major retailers. The amount of coins you get is based off the total purchase price. For example if you make a purchase that is less than $10 you will get 5 coins. If you make a purchase that is $50-100 you get 15 coins, and if you make a purchase of $100 or more you get 20 coins. Some receipts give you spins. You can use those spins to get extra coins, or even win $100. If you wish to try this one out add my referral code: clong289

RETAILMENOT
This is a great app for when you are on the go. They have mobile coupons for many stores such as Jcpenny, Joann's, and Kohl's. Whenever I am out somewhere I always search to see if the store I am at has a coupon through this app.

FAVADO
Favado is an app that searches what is on sale. If there are coupons that you are able to stack on top of the sale they let you know where to find the coupon and what your final cost would be.

TARGET CARTWHEEL
This app is only for Target stores. This app gives you additional savings on hundreds of items. If you do not have a smart phone, but still wish to use cartwheel you can. Simply sign up for it online and print out your own personal bar code. You can add items to your cartwheel via app or online.

WALMART SAVINGS CATCHER
The Wal-mart savings catcher can be found inside the Wal-mart app. If you shop at Wal-mart simply scan the bar code at the bottom of your receipt and if there is a lower advertised price they will give you the difference on an e-gift card.


About Me

I am a stay at home mom (SAHM) I love to do all things crafty like baking, sewing, drawing, etc. I may not be very good at all of them, but I sure do enjoy doing them. I am married to a wonderful man. He does what he can to make me happy. And he does a pretty darn good job! I am the mom of one BEAUTIFUL little girl. She is now 6 months old. I love every minute of being a mommy. I was going to school for my BA in Geology. However, that is on hold for the moment. I will hopefully be going back in the Fall. 

Since I stopped working to become a SAHM I have begun to shop smart. By smart shopping, I coupon, shop sales, and go to thrift shops. 

I am the proud owner of 6 lovely chickens. They have their own coop and everything. My ladies just love to roam around. I sometimes find them at the neighbors house. I am so blessed to have such wonderful neighbors.