What I want now

If only I was allowed to grill at my apartment...because I love the look of this Fyrkat Charcoal Grill. It comes in an array of colors, but this yellow one just makes me smile! Check it out and other great grilling products at bodumusa.com.

Friday's Target Trip

I was pretty excited about heading to Target today on my day off to score some killer deals...especially the free Post-its. I should have known better than waiting till Friday - they were sold out. Oh well, I still managed to get some good buys though...

I snagged:

1 pair C9 shorts

3 travel Tide packs

2 packs of Bic Pens 10ct

1 8oz pack of Mushrooms

1 can Chef Boyardee

2 Clean and Clear face wash, travel size

I used:

$1/1 Tide coupons x 3

$5/1 C9 apparel item

$1/2 Bic Stationary products coupon

$1/2 Bic Stationary products Target coupon

$1/1 Chef Boyardee Target coupon

$1/1 Clean and Clear face wash coupon x 2

Total After Savings = $1.28

Playing the Drug Store Game

I made two stops today on my way home from work, CVS and Rite Aid. I had ExtraBucks and UpRewards to use up before the end of the week. Here is how my shopping trips worked out...

CVS Trip

I bought:

1 Schick Hydro Razor $8.97

1 Schick Shave Gel $3.99

1 Herbal Essence Shampoo, Travel size $0.99

1 Herbal Essence Mouse $4.29

I used:

$5/1 coupon on the razor

The razor had a coupon attached to it for Free Shave Gel, used that.

Used Buy 1 Herbal Essences Shampoo, get one free styler q

Then handed over my ExtraBucks from previous purchases

Total Out of Pocket Cost = $0.03

Got Back $4 extra bucks from the razor

Sending in for Schick Mail in Rebate for $8.97

$12.96 Money Maker!

Rite Aid Trip:

I bought:

1 Schick Hydro Razor $5.99

1 Crest Pro Health Toothpaste $2.69

1 Visine Original Eye Drops $4.99

1 24ct boxes Ziplock Bags $3.99ea on sale BOGO

I used:

$5/1 coupon on Schick razor

$1/1 in ad coupon on Visine

$2/1 coupon on Visine (Rite Aid allows you to use one Store coupon and one Manufacturers coupon)

$1.50/2 Ziplock product coupon

$1/1 Crest Toothpaste coupon

Then handed over my UP Rewards which expired today!

Total Out of Pocket Cost= $0.16

Got Back $3 UP Rewards from the visine
Sending in for Schick Mail in Rebate for $5.99
Also getting $2.69 back for Crest Rite Aid Single Check Rebate
$11.52 Money Maker!

Total for todays trip: I spent $0.19 out of pocket. After rewards and rebates the trips totalled to be a $24.48 MONEY MAKER!

Free Sample of Miracle Skin Transformer

Go HERE to grab a free sample of Miracle Skin Transformer.


Thanks, MoneySavingMom!

Reduce, Recycle, Reuse

Recycling:

My boyfriend is CRAZY about recycling EVERYTHING! I'm all in favor of recycling and saving the earth, in fact I took it upon myself to develop a recycling center at work. However, sometimes he makes my head spin....for example recently I was reprimanded for not putting the empty toilet tissue roll in the paper recycling...really who is thinking of that when their scrambling for tissue because someone left only one square on the roll?! anyway...

We are lucky to live in a neighborhood that collects plastics #1-#7, all glass, tin/metal and all cardboard and paper products, so we are able to put everything in one bin, unsorted, easy-peasy! Unfortunately not all towns make recycling so easy, and recently I discovered that despite the fact that the water bottle your recycling says its a #1 plastic, the cap is not. So what do you do with all those items that your pick up service wont collect?

Here are some ideas and places to recycle that I'd love to share:

Whole Foods - last year Whole Foods started a recycling program with Preserve called Gimme 5 where they will collect your #5 plastics. #5 is commonly used in yogurt containers, syrup bottles, ketchup bottles, caps, straws, medicine bottles, bottle caps, etc. The Gimme5 program also collects/recycles Brita water filters. The store will send all the plastic to Preserve, who uses it to make household products including toothbrushes, razors, tableware, and kitchen products. Pretty cool right?!

Staples - Staples with collect and recycle your old ink and toner cartridges for free and even give you $3 Staples cash in return which you can use on anything in the store. Go here to read more. Additionally, Staples partners with Collective Good to offer free recycling of personal electronics such as mobile phones, PDAs, pagers, digital cameras, and chargers. They also offer free rechargeable battery recycling in partnership with the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation. Furthermore, for a small $10 free (which covers shipping and handling costs) Staples will recycling your old computers and monitors as well. WOW - Go Staples!

Plastic bags - Although I am a HUGE supporter of using reusable shopping bags, we are all bound to end up with a plastic bag now and again. If you haven't yet noticed, take a look around the entrances to your local grocery stores. Many are now collecting plastic bags to be recycled. Just drop them in the bin and you're on your way. Another idea is to donate the bags to local thrift stores and food banks who will use them to distribute goods to their customers. My local thrift store is always short on bags and thrilled to see people bring them in!


More ideas and tips to come.....


If you have any recycling ideas to share, please feel free to comment below!

Swag Bucks Extravaganza!

Today Swag Bucks is giving away at least 5 FREE codes! If you're not signed up with Swag Bucks yet join here and you'll instantly earn 30 FREE Swag Bucks. Then enter the code BackToSchool and you'll get an additional 40 FREE Swag Bucks!

The first EXTRAVAGANZA code is up...check out the Swag Bucks blog page for 7 more Swag Bucks!

Save $0.75/1 Coffee-Mate Creamer

Head here to print a $0.75/1 Coffee-Mate creamer coupon!

I love finding this coupon. This makes for free or almost free creamer if your store doubles. The original 15oz liquid bottle at my local Giant is regularly priced at $1.55, after the store doubles the coupon its only 5cents! These keep for a long time, so at 5cents each we always keep one in the fridge in case we run out of milk for our coffee!

Post-its Post-its Everywhere

You can grab FREE Post-its all over this week!

- Sign up for a free sample of Post-It Durable Tabs and Label Pads here.

- Print $1/1 coupon here (pdf format) and use at Target by 8/14. Target has Post-its on sale for $1 this week, making this free after coupon.

- And some more printable Post-it coupons (also pdf format) HERE

-Also, dont forget about the printable $10 mail-in rebate when you buy $20 worth of Post-it products.

Free Sun Chlorella Cream Sample

Go here for a free 2-week sample of Sun Chlorella Cream!

All Smart Phones Are Not Created Equal

I was perfectly happy with my old cell phone. It made phone calls, had great service, I could use it to text and it even had a calculator which frequently came in handy. Then Verizon had a BOGO sale on the then brand new Palm Pre Plus and Mom and I couldn't pass it up. Now I can't imagine life without constant and instant access to the internet at all times (sad, I know). When I purchased the phone however I was naive to the fact that all smart phones are not created equal. My only exposure to smart phones at that point was the iPhone, which it seemed everyone I knew owned and loved. I was so excited to be able to join in and experience all the cool apps they were always talking about. Little did I realize, the Palm Pre Plus seriously lacked in the world of applications. However, seeing that Verizon does not support the iPhone I was more than willing to keep my new Palm Pre and learn to make the best of what I had.

I should comment that since then I have come to LOVE my phone...and today I came to love it even more...

No iPhone? No problem! The WalkMe app is available to non-iPhone users here on getjar.com!  The application works with all GPS-equipped cell phones to calculate your speed, distance and calories. How great is it to get all the benefit of a pedometer from the item you tote around with you everywhere anyway?! getjar.com has loads of great apps available to people from all walks of phones.

Organic Valley Coupons

My parents should like this one...I don't come across Organic Valley coupons very often, but coupons for organic products are becoming more and more popular.

If you register here for one of Organic Valley’s subscriptions you can get a FREE Farm Friends Welcome Kit which includes Rootstock Magazine, a kid’s activity book, a Go Organic! Bumper Sticker and a booklet of Organic Valley Coupons.

Savvy Coupon Shoppers are NOT the problem!

Have you ever come across one of those really nasty cashiers that almost seems annoyed that you're coming through their line? Try coming across one of those cashiers when you also have a handful of coupons to use on your order, or worse if you're planning multiple transactions in one trip! Many times in the world of couponing you come across difficult situations where employees are annoyed with you due to your coupons. Despite the fact that coupons are just like scanable cash, cashiers usually find us savvy coupon shoppers to be more of a hassle. Well it turns out savvy coupon shoppers are NOT the problem, it's the store associates that are ignorant to coupon policies and how their stores are reimbursed for manufacturer coupons that cause all the hassle. I have known this all along, but I was happy to come across this post on Shannon's page (FortheMommas) sharing some of an internal memo from Rite Aid which explains that even savvy couponers ARE profitable! Go here to read more...

My 1st August Shopping Trip

One of my greatest passions and hobby is finding and getting great deals! I have been couponing for years now, but only started couponing seriously within the past two. I started out slow and it took a lot of time in the beginning. I saved a dollar here and a dollar there but every penny counts right? Well today I would consider myself an extreme couponer. I frequently manage to get freebies by pairing coupons with sales and still find it thrilling to come home from the grocery store having saved 50% or more!

I decided in starting this blog that I would give myself a challenge by setting a monthly grocery budget which you all can hold me accountable for - i'm aiming for $100 per month and only bi-weekly food shopping. I should mention that I have two mouths to feed (mine and my boyfriend's) and we eat breakfast and dinner at home and brown bag our lunches.

So all that being said, I thought I would share my first shopping trip for the month of August....brace yourself, it was a big one!!! (although I bought less items than usual, the value was higher than my usual trips)

I bought: (* q = coupon)
2 x 46oz Juicy Juice (the bf loves this!) @ 2/$5 used $1/2 q
2 x Taco Bell taco seasoning @ $1.18 for 2, used $0.75/2 q which doubled making 2 FREE packets
1 box of Wheat Thins @ $2.50 used $1/1 q
1 loaf Holsum Bread @ $2.69 used $0.75/1 q which doubled to $1.50 off
1 Gallon of Water (for our beta fish)
1 Vanilla Extract 1 fl.oz.
1/2 lb. Deli Ham
2lbs Strawberries @ $3.99 on BOGO (buy one get one free) sale
1 bag Dole Salad @ $2.50 used $1/1 q
                   I then used a store coupon for $2 off a $5 produce purchase
2 x 16oz packs of Hatfield Bacon @ $5.99 on BOGO sale, used $1/1 q on each pack = $2 off
2 x 2lb boneless Hatfield pork loin filets @ $11.68 on BOGO sale, used $1/1q on each
2 x 1lb boneless country style boneless pork ribs on sale for $1.67each
2 x Green's Ice Cream @ 2/$4 used $1/2 q
1 box Luigi's Water Ice @ $2 used $1/1 q
1 cartoon Florida Natural OJ
1 16oz Coffeemate creamer @ $1.55 used $0.75/1 q which doubled to a $1.50 off
8 Yoplait yogurts @ $0.50each, used $0.50/8 q which doubled to $1 off (or two free)
1 gallon milk
1 dozen large eggs
1 bottle Softsoap hand soap on sale for $1, used $0.50/1q which doubled to $1 off = FREE

I then used a $4 off a $45 purchase I had received on my last trip and swipped my bonus card at check out.....

Grand Total before savings = $94.95

What I paid after all coupons and discounts...drum roll please.....$42.44! That is a savings of $52.51!

So what do you think? Was this a post worthy trip?

Starting Out

This blog has been a long time coming and with great hesitation, here it is! It has been over a year now that I have been discussing starting a blog but never got around to it. I follow blogs like it's my second job and so I decided why not have a blog of my own to share my thoughts, ideas, super deals, coupons and daily adventures. So here it goes...

Hello, my name is Cathryn and I'm a blogger.