Update 11.09.2010

Walmart 10.15.2010 $2.50

Walgreens 10.25.2010  $5.00

Target 10.25.2010 $11.95

Jewel 10.31.2010 $9.80

Walmart 11.09.2010 $38.95

Swagbucks $10.00

Wisk, Crest, FREE Sigg Water Bottle ($10), Free Schick set ($20).

Tide, Shout, Lotions, Meat, Formula, Post-its, Candle

2010 Saved $577.48

2010 Cash $240.32

2010 Free Stuff $326.34

TOTAL coups d'pon $1144.14

10.13.2010 Catch Up

Swagbucks Amazon Gift Card $5.00

Saved $10 on my Soap.com order, thanks to Groupon.

Target 10/04/2010 saved $6.00

Downy Fabric Softener, Kotex Products, a $5 Walmart Card, Oxy Products, $5.99 from Gerber, and Enfamil formula ($6).

Dove hair care, Emergen-C, Kashi Bar, Quaker Bar, Nivea skin care, Bio True contact solution, Pampers, ALL Laundry detergent, post it notes, a free TRIO block/car set, and $24.40 in rebates from Shop at Home.  If you're not already using Shop at Home, I highly recommend checking it out.  You just simply go to their site before doing your online shopping.  Your savings add up quickly and they simply mail you a check!

2010 Saved $509.28

2010 Cash $230.32

2010 Free Stuff $296.34

TOTAL coups d'pon $1029.94

09.19.2010 walmart, target, swagbucks, ebates,and more

walmart 08.31.10 $18.55

target 09.15.2010 $22.58

Swagbucks $10 in Amazon Gift Cards

ebates $4.07

rebate $6.99 / Bounce Dryer Bar and Refill $8 / Emergen-C / Atkins Bars

2010 Saved $493.28

2010 Cash $194.93

2010 Free Stuff $285.34

TOTAL coups d'pon $973.55

08.21.2010 Mail, Swagbucks, Amazon, and Such

Amazon.com gave me a $5 credit for having ordered any magazine from them this year.  I think I ordered All You (the coupon mag) for almost nothing through them.

YouData deposited $0.19 in my PayPal account.  I love the concept of YouData -- just wish there were more opportunities.  In their defense, I forget to go to the site...

Swagbucks issued us another $5.00 Amazon Gift Card.

I don't feel like pulling our grocery receipits out but I haven't been hard core couponing this month.  I'm just going to put in $10.00 for the month.

And our mail haul:

Free Cover Girl Queen Collection Bronzer $6.50,  Rachel Ray dog food, Better than Ears dog chews, Pantene shampoo and conditioner, reusable shopping bag from NCP $0.99, samples of Nexus shampoo and conditioners, 3 notecards from Shutterfly.com $6.00, Origins eye cream, Silly Bandz (for party gift bags?) we got 100 for five dollars excellent deal, Glade Scented Oil Candle and tin $4.00.

2010 Saved $452.15

2010 Cash $180.86

2010 Free Stuff $270.35

TOTAL coups d'pon $903.36

target, free stuff, swag, and e-rewards

07/28/2010 Target ($43.23)
Swagbucks Amazon Gift Card ($5.00)
e-Rewards Survey Payment to Upromise 529 Account ($20)
Schick Hydro Rebated ($6.47)

And this week's haul of free items includes Hamburger Helper (I have no idea why I rec'd. this) ($1), All Detergent, Fiber One cereal, Dove shampoo, tena pads, Bullseye sauce, mayo, and a pull up.  Most of these items will be passed along to the food pantry or shelter.  I want to get much better at maximizing coupons in order to obtain affordable products that I can share with others.

2010 Saved $442.15

2010 Cash $170.67

2010 Free Stuff $252.86

TOTAL coups d'pon $865.68

jewel, free stuff, rebates

Jewel 07/18 ($25.58)  Seems like I'm averaging 10-15% off in manufacturer's coupons.

Free address labels from Office Depot ($10)  I ordered Christmas labels.  Chex Mix, Dove haircare, Aveeno haircare, EOS shave cream, Clorox rebate ($5), Arm & Hammer shaker, Pull Up, Cottonelle, and Starbucks.

2010 Saved $398.92

2010 Cash $139.20

2010 Free Stuff $251.86

TOTAL coups d'pon $789.98

swagbucks, free stuff, and stracks

Stracks 07/05  ($4.25)
Target ($13.57)
Swagbucks Amazon Gift Card ($5.00)
Johnson Family Rebate ($5.00)
Staples Rebate ($4.00)

Free Salonpas pain relief patch, Oil of Olay body wash, Purina dog food, Zantac, Tea, Starbucks Via, Playtex and Kotex products, Glidden Paint, Crystal Light, and most awesomely, skinny wrap around address labels from Minted. ($18.00)

2010 Saved $373.34

2010 Cash $134.20

2010 Free Stuff $241.86

TOTAL coups d'pon $749.40

swagbucks, free stuff, and walmart

Walmart coupon savings 06.15.2010 ($14.75)
Another free haul from Medco.com ($10.00)

Amazon Gift Card from Swagbucks ($5.00) -- these seem to be coming faster and faster.

2010 Saved $355.52

2010 Cash $125.20

2010 Free Stuff $218.86

TOTAL coups d'pon $699.58

Surveyhead, FREE Stuff and Walmart 06.05.2010

Our Walmart run last week gave us $39.50 in coupon savings.  Joe was so proud.  It was really fun.

Surveyhead deposited $20 into my paypal account for taking small surveys.  I normally take them while watching television or holding a sleepy baby.  I believe they will credit your account $5 for signing up now.

In free stuff this week, we did really well.  L'Oreal Kids Conditioner and Teething Biscuits from Medco.com ($10), Secret Clinical Deodorant, Kellog Meal Bar, Gillette Proglide ($10), Tampax, and eb5 lotion.

2010 Saved $340.77

2010 Cash $120.20

2010 Free Stuff $208.86

TOTAL coups d'pon $669.83

Menards 05.23.2010 coupons ($6.32)

Target 05.24.2010 coupons ($8.19)

Strack and VanTil 05.24.2010 coupons ($3.25)

And this haul:

Pull ups, formula, toothpaste, Pantene products, essential oil ($5), Dove deodorant, soaps, and some really good coupons.  Best of all is the $32 Visa gift card from Staples.  It was a rebate on printer paper.

2010 Saved $301.27

2010 Cash $100.20

2010 Free Stuff $188.86

TOTAL coups d'pon $590.33

swagbucks, dollar surveys, and walmart 05.20.2010

Coupon savings at this week's Walmart run  $27.20.

Amazon Gift Card from Swagbucks ($5.00) -- these are some of my favorite freebies because all I do is search on their site.  I think I mentioned before that I've also been checking out the 'pay for your opinion' websites.  So many of them are (as expected) a colossal waste of time.  I just started doing Dollar Surveys and received $3.00 into my paypal this week.  They're pretty clear cut -- do a survey, get a dollar.  Two surveys were pretty short and only one of them was more involved (10 - 15 minutes).  Not a great hourly wage but every dollar counts and I do these when we're browsing television.

In other developments, I finished my coupon binder this week.  When I first started this in March, I was determined to spend no money until I had stuck with it for a bit.  My coupon covered table and precarious sanity necessitated getting this done ASAP.  So far, so good!  I'm finding a groove and think that soon, this coups will take very little of my time.

2010 Saved $280.26

2010 Cash $68.20

2010 Free Stuff $183.86

TOTAL coups d'pon $532.32

walmart 05.13.2010

For so many reasons, I haven't been a fan of Walmart...  but hokeysmokes their prices!  You really can stretch a budget there.  Coupons for today: $25.97.

2010 Saved $253.06

2010 Cash $65.20

2010 Free Stuff $178.86

TOTAL coups d'pon $497.12

Target, Jewel, FREE Stuff and YouData

YouData threw me a $0.39 bone this week and I happily took it!  We also received a ton of samples this week:

Most of this week's haul are items I'd like to try so it's going to be fun.  The rest will go to the women's shelter or food pantry.

05.07 Jewel run resulted in $43.71 in coupon savings and an 05/04 Target run added $4.00 to the coups.

2010 Saved $227.09

2010 Cash $65.20

2010 Free Stuff $178.86

TOTAL coups d'pon $471.15

FREE Stuff and Craigslist

I sold some of our infant items on Craigslist (sniff, sniff).  It was so easy I could kick myself for not doing more of it in the past.  We sold the baby swing for $50 and some floor gyms for a total of $12.

From reading the couponing blogs, we received free Crest White Strips, 3 free personalized cards from Shutterfly (I used them for mother's day and father's day) ($7.50), 1 free personalized card from Tiny Prints ($1.99), a coupon for free yogurt, and two tshirts (one for Nora, one for Johna) from The Company Store ($10.00).  We also received our Birdy Teether from Franklin Goose.  (12.99) You'd think that wood wouldn't be the best material for a teething toy, but you'd be wrong.  You should see Birdy chew on this thing!

2010 Saved $179.38

2010 Cash $64.81

2010 Free Stuff $178.86

TOTAL coups d'pon $423.05

FREE Stuff and Swagbucks

Anne Lamott's new book came out this week so I used some of my Swagbucks to get a $5 Amazon card.  This was my first redemption, so I was excited.  I learned that I should redeem them before the day I want to use them because it took a couple of days to credit to my account.  In my estimation, it's still worth it for doing basically nothing.

As you can see, this week was a week for formula.  Unfortunately, I don't use it.  But I can share it with friends who do or get it to the shelter.  The other freebies this week were Polyvisol Vitamin D vitamins for Birdy, Purex 3-in-1, Dove for Men, Breathe Right Strips, and a reusable shopping bag.

Our more ordered grocery shopping runs have resulted in fewer trips to the grocery.  Our last run, Joe went on his own to Strack & VanTil (my least favorite store that happens to carry the sauce we love on our pizza).  I didn't want to overload him with my new coups d'pon, so we only scored $3 savings on that trip.

I'm currently looking for a coupon organization system that will work for me.  My current 'system' is making a mess of my dining room.  :P

2010 Saved $179.38

2010 Cash $2.81

2010 Free Stuff $146.38

TOTAL coups d'pon $328.57

FREE Stuff

Free stuff and more free stuff this week.  It was women's hygeine week evidently, but my favorites were the personalized mouse pad (Vistaprint $3.99), notebook (Vistaprint $4.99), pack of 5 Gum ($0.50) and the Nalgene water bottle ($9.95).  We also received two Huggies diapers, some ideal sweetener and a week's worth of Tripleflex.

2010 Saved $171.38

2010 Cash $2.81

2010 Free Stuff $146.38

TOTAL coups d'pon $320.57

04.12.2010 Jewel Osco and House Party

Well, everyone was sick here and I didn't make it to the store on time to use $22.50 in YourBucks.  That made the all-or-nothing part of me just sick.  I am now over it and am happy to report that tonight's run had a coupon savings of $36.99.

I read about House Party on another blog and decided to give it a try.  I was 'approved' for an Green Kids Swap party.  This is the haul that they sent for me and my guests.  Most of this was distributed to friends and family, but I just can't bear to go without counting something of it!  In addition to the cool stuff, the coupons included were good ones.  I'm going to count a box of Kashi granola bars and the dip. ($5) :P

2010 Saved $171.38

2010 Cash $2.81

2010 Free Stuff $126.95

TOTAL coups d'pon $301.14

FREE Stuff

Thanks to an extraordinary offer from a new shop called Franklin Goose , I was able to review some of their baby safe awesome products and receive store credits.  Thanks to Kimberly for sharing the information and a huge thanks to Franklin Goose, my new go-to store for baby gifts.

I liked the Under the Nile organic cotton outfit so much; I ordered one for now and one for later. ($36 each)  As you can see, we also received some Bounce and Downy.  One final deposit of $0.39 (slow week) into my Paypal from YouData rounds out this coups d'pon.

I am evaluating several 'pay for your opinion' sites and I'll let you know whether they are worth it to me or not.  I currently have about five accounts going and YouData is the only one I am sure is 100% legit AND easy.

2010 Saved $134.39

2010 Cash $2.81

2010 Free Stuff $121.95

TOTAL coups d'pon $259.15

FREE Stuff

This has been a good week for free stuff.  No sooner did I take this picture when even more stuff arrived.  So much stuff that it makes me question whether I should do this or not.  Ecologically, it seems less than perfect even if I reuse and recycle the packaging.  Financially, I don't know yet if it makes sense-- that is why I'm tracking it all here.  There must be a balance somewhere.  For now, I'm just going to keep on coups d'ponning.

Free Beneful dog food will be going to my favorite local dog.  The soap will go to the shelter and the granola bar will be lucky to make it through tomorrow morning at our house.

Costco.com had a deal of the day Jump Start 1st & 2nd Grade computer game -- I think it was $17.99 shipped with an $18 rebate. ($18)  This will either be a gift or wait for Nora!

Shutterfly had a code for three free cards.  I used a funny picture of Nora and made blank cards.  ($4.50)

2010 Saved $134.39

2010 Cash $2.42

2010 Free Stuff $49.95

TOTAL coups d'pon $186.76

FREE Stuff

As part of my frugal journey, I am including free samples and simple opportunities to earn cash and/or products.  When possible, I'll keep a running total of these items, as well.  Missing from this picture are samples of Olay Body Wash, Dove Shampoo, and granola bars.  Joe ate the granola bars and the other products were donated to a group who makes kits for women in need.

All Bran Cereal (yum!) sent us samples AND marigold seeds.  I have fond memories of planting themwith my grandma.  Now Nora and I will create memories!

Zondervan sent me a free Busy Mom's Bible. It's the cutest Bible ever.  I shared it with a good friend who just so happens to BE a busy mom whol was also looking for a new Bible. ($24.95)

Tasters Choice sent us their new little packets of coffee.  These will be going to the food pantry as I ordered them with Joe in mind and he doesn't care for them.  I think one of the best parts of this frugal journey is being able to share with others.

Shutterfly has free Wink Photostrips.  I used the cutest baby around to make ours. ($2.50)

I've explored many survey opportunities and my current favorite is YouData .  This week was my first week with them and I found their ads to be very interesting and a perfect fit.  I found myself actually browing the online shops rather than just clicking through to get my credits.  From their site: "They are trying to convince consumers like us that we should be the ones controlling our own data and selling our own attention, not third parties like broadcasters, newspapers, and spammers. By creating a MeFile at YouData.com, I now control what ads I see and when I see them. Best part - I am selling my attention directly to interested advertisers, for real money. That's right, I get paid for giving them my attention. I can use the funds to buy music and video online, donate to charities, give to my favorite blogs and websites, or keep the change myself and do whatever I want with it."

To cement how awesome they are, they deposit your money into your Paypal account each week.  This week I received $2.42.  I highly recommend signing up.  Here is my referral link.

2010 Saved $134.39

2010 Cash $2.42

2010 Free Stuff $27.45

TOTAL coups d'pon  $164.26

03.23.2010 Jewel Osco

Again, I can't say that there was some TREMENDOUS deal that occurred, but altogether I was super impressed.  I've kept at it, haven't purchased things out of the ordinary, and HAD TO HAVE A MANAGER COME OVER AND APPROVE my coupon amount (over $30 in YourBucks from my last Jewel run!)  I didn't even know such a procedure existed.

Total Saved: $54.30
YTD Savings $134.39

bed, bath and beyond 03.13.2010

Our backs have been killing us and a friend recommended trying knee pillows since we are both side-sleepers.  After looking at them online, we decided that we needed to see them in person.  Old me would have run off to the store without a thought.  New exuberantly thrifty me, made a quick check of Bed, Bath & Beyond's website and found that if we enrolled for their email, we were immediately emailed a 20% off coupon.  We were able to print it twice and use one on each pillow.  The pillows also came with a mail-in form for free extra covers -- I haven't had a chance to look at this yet, though.  As a sidenote, the pillows really have made a difference in our backs!  Give them a try if you're an ailing side sleeper.

Total Saved: $8.00

YTD Savings $80.99

jewel osco 03.09.2010

I'm not sure how to record the grocery store since we need so many things and I am not so rock'n roll at this coupon thing that I can show a table overflowing with groceries and show some crazy low amount that I paid for them.  For now, I'll just cover what I saved in coupons.  Because ANY coupon savings is more than I was doing before.  Another exciting addition to my frugal journey is Your Bucks.  This service gives you 'your bucks' for purchasing specific offer items.  You just register your Jewel card and are automatically signed up for whatever offers are currently available.  I didn't change a thing I bought, and got over $32 in Your Bucks that will work like cash my next grocery visit.  Definitely worth checking out.

For now, I will only count the coupons I used this trip (including in store coupons):

Total Saved: $25.93

YTD Savings $72.99

target 03.05.2010

Kashi Cereal… on sale for $2.88
     used $1.50 mfr coupon
GE Reveal Light bulbs… on sale for $3.59
     used $1.00/2 mfr coupon and $1.50 Target coupon
Seventh Generation Disinfecting Spray…..regular price $2.99
     used $1.00 Target coupon and $1.00 mfr coupon
Bandaids… regular price $1.82
     used $1.00 Target coupon  (should have had newspaper coupoon $0.50)
Glade 3 Wick Soy Candles… regular price $8.29
     used $2.00 mfr coupon and will use $5.00 mail-in rebate
Kids Crest Toothpaste…………. regular price $1.97
     used $1.00 Target coupon (should have had newspaper coupon $1.00)
Skittles…...regular price $0.69
      used BOGO mfr coupon (Nisey got the free pack so just imagine it in the picture)
Clorox Toilet Wand Kit………….. regular price $9.69
     used $5.00 mfr coupon and will use $5.00 mail-in rebate

Total Cost: $52.78
Total Paid: $25.09
Total Savings: $27.69

YTD Savings:  $47.06

walgreens 03.06.2010

Sunday Paper (news AND coupons) $1.99

Renpure Organics Shampoo and Conditioner $6.99 each

      on sale BOGO, Mail In Rebate for One Free

Lindsay Black Olives on Sale for $0.99 each
     Mfr coupon $1.00/2
Tylenol PM* on Sale for $2.99

     Mfr coupon $2.50, Walgreens coupon $1.00

Starburst $1.59/2

     Mfr coupon BOGO (0.89)

Total Cost $22.53

Total Paid $ 3.16

Total Saved $19.37

YTD Savings $19.37

*The first visit to the register, I had the wrong size Tylenol PM for the sale.  The poor cashier had to remove it (which then removed all the coupons) and then wait for me to run to the back and find the correct size.  Re-applying the coupons gave him some difficulty and I felt bad about it.  I feel even worse upon finding that he accidently put BOTH packages in my bag.  Tomorrow morning, I'll return the one I didn't purchase!