Time to spice things up a bit with a coupon for .50 OFF Tabasco sauce.
Grab It
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
FREE Pack of Ziploc Freezer Bags
Right@Home has an offer for a FREE 15ct pack of Ziploc freezer bags. All you have to do is be one of the first 2500 to register, so you better do it quick!Click here to register.
FREE Dinner for 4 at EarthFare
When you sign up for their new site starting Feb. 9. Click here for more details.
Possibly 4 Inserts Sunday!
This Sunday should be a good one, it looks like we may have 4 inserts this Sunday, including a Proctor & Gamble insert, 2 RedPlum and a SmartSource!
I'm already looking forward to the Proctor & Gamble insert and the (2) Jimmy Dean coupons in the RedPlum insert. It looks like the other Redplum insert will have SEVERAL Dove & Suave coupons (yay)!
I'm already looking forward to the Proctor & Gamble insert and the (2) Jimmy Dean coupons in the RedPlum insert. It looks like the other Redplum insert will have SEVERAL Dove & Suave coupons (yay)!
Cutting Our Grocery Budget by Over 60%
I just decided to do a quick look back and see just how much we've cut our grocery budget since we started budgeting. I knew we'd cut it a fair amount just by budgeting at all, and I knew I'd been slowly cutting it down every couple of months since but when you look at just how far we've come in just a few months it's pretty amazing.
August 2010: $540 - that's what we spent on groceries (give or take a few dollars). This didn't include anything we might have bought at the drugstore (while picking up prescriptions) and the sad part is that most of this was spent in small $10 quick trips. It's amazing how those quick trips add up!
September 2010: This was the first month we started budgeting and started planning before we spent. At that point our set grocery budget got chopped to $400 for the month. My husband was initially shocked when he saw me coming home with 4 or 10 of a particular item we usually only bought 1 or 2 of but once I explained my plan, he came around. My plan, I told him, was to get our grocery budget down to $50 a week. This would include all the health & beauty items (not OTC drugs necessarily, as there is a small amount built into our "prescription" budget for that).
January 2011: Starting this month or grocery budget was at $50/ wk and I'm still stockpiling. The bulk of our stockpile is built but we are still adding to it as we realize there are items missing. Oh and the bulk of our OTC meds are now included in that budget.
The crazy thing is that in addition to chopping our grocery cost by over 60% we've also drastically cut our dining out/ entertainment budget. As with the grocery budget we cut that when we started budgeting (and we haven't adjusted it since) but we find that we don't go out to eat nearly as often simply because there's less desire. We used to go out to eat just because there wasn't nothing that sounded good in the house, but with our great stockpile there's almost always something good to eat at home now, and we can make going out to dinner something a little more special, and use that entertainment budget for something besides eating
August 2010: $540 - that's what we spent on groceries (give or take a few dollars). This didn't include anything we might have bought at the drugstore (while picking up prescriptions) and the sad part is that most of this was spent in small $10 quick trips. It's amazing how those quick trips add up!
September 2010: This was the first month we started budgeting and started planning before we spent. At that point our set grocery budget got chopped to $400 for the month. My husband was initially shocked when he saw me coming home with 4 or 10 of a particular item we usually only bought 1 or 2 of but once I explained my plan, he came around. My plan, I told him, was to get our grocery budget down to $50 a week. This would include all the health & beauty items (not OTC drugs necessarily, as there is a small amount built into our "prescription" budget for that).
January 2011: Starting this month or grocery budget was at $50/ wk and I'm still stockpiling. The bulk of our stockpile is built but we are still adding to it as we realize there are items missing. Oh and the bulk of our OTC meds are now included in that budget.
The crazy thing is that in addition to chopping our grocery cost by over 60% we've also drastically cut our dining out/ entertainment budget. As with the grocery budget we cut that when we started budgeting (and we haven't adjusted it since) but we find that we don't go out to eat nearly as often simply because there's less desire. We used to go out to eat just because there wasn't nothing that sounded good in the house, but with our great stockpile there's almost always something good to eat at home now, and we can make going out to dinner something a little more special, and use that entertainment budget for something besides eating
Free Samples
Today's Free Sample List
- Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal
- Pop Chips (sign up for Self's Jump Start diet for free and get a free bag of Pop Chips)
- Gas-X Prevention
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Two Ways to Prepare, Print & E-file for FREE
H&R Block Free Edition - Free to prepare, print, and e-file! It's easy and guaranteed to be accurate!
TurboTax Free Edition - Guides you to your Maximum Refund! Prepare, print, e-file FREE!
My suggestion - try doing the process on both and see which one gives you the better return before you hit submit. Chances are that they are pretty similar overall and should be pretty close on the numbers. If not, I'd question if one is missing some key info either in their process or in the numbers you entered.
.45 Net Profit at Publix (After Tax)
I knew there would be some overage but I was still shocked when I saw on the screen that the total was -.45 after tax. I looked at the cashier (one of my favorites) and said "Caleb, do you really owe me money?". He looked up and smiled and said "Yes, I do".
Gotta love it when trips work out like that. And to think if those coupons had arrived a day later I wouldn't have gotten that deal.
And in case you are wondering, I got these great coupons thanks to friends at WeUseCoupons.com
Money Saving Tip: Get the Loyalty Card
It's amazing how many times I had turned down offers in the past for customer loyalty cards at various stores. It seems like most every store has one now. It started with the grocery stores, then the drugstores, now even sporting good stores have gotten in on the action.
There were always two main reasons I turned them down. I was worried that they cost money (some stores do still charge for them, like major booksellers), or I just didn't have the time to fill out the forms. The truth is that rarely do they cost anything (always ask this upfront), and often you don't have to fill out anything on the spot, they will just give you a card and you can then register it online.
There are two basic kinds of loyalty cards:
1. The Savings Card: This is typically what you will find at your drugstores and grocery stores. If you want the sale prices as listed in their weekly ads you will need the savings card. Sometimes you will get lucky and a cashier will be nice enough to scan their own if you don't have one, but often stores have limits on the number of items that can be purchased at the sale price with a card, so don't count on that. Get your own card. Once you get it, be sure to go online and register it at their website. This will often lead to increased savings and extra coupons. Stores like CVS will often email their card holders special coupons for dollars off a purchase of X amount (most often $4 off a $20 purchase) or a coupon for a % off your purchase.
These types of cards also often allow you to load coupons directly to the card. This is the case with your grocery card. You can load coupons directly to it from your grocery store website, as well as Cellfire.com & Shortcuts.com
2. The Loyalty Card: I see these most often in specialty stores, Dicks Sporting Goods now has one as does DSW Shoes. These points earn you money back based on your purchases, at DSW you'll get a $10 Rewards certificate for every $150 you spend. They will also send you a $10 reward just for signing up and special coupons throughout the year.
Whatever the type of rewards card, if it's free sign up for it. If it's not free evaluate how often you shop at the store and also whether or not your current purchase may be enough to make it free. Sometimes the savings earned on one purchase is enough to pay for the card (this is usually when I decide to renew my bookstore card).
There were always two main reasons I turned them down. I was worried that they cost money (some stores do still charge for them, like major booksellers), or I just didn't have the time to fill out the forms. The truth is that rarely do they cost anything (always ask this upfront), and often you don't have to fill out anything on the spot, they will just give you a card and you can then register it online.
There are two basic kinds of loyalty cards:
1. The Savings Card: This is typically what you will find at your drugstores and grocery stores. If you want the sale prices as listed in their weekly ads you will need the savings card. Sometimes you will get lucky and a cashier will be nice enough to scan their own if you don't have one, but often stores have limits on the number of items that can be purchased at the sale price with a card, so don't count on that. Get your own card. Once you get it, be sure to go online and register it at their website. This will often lead to increased savings and extra coupons. Stores like CVS will often email their card holders special coupons for dollars off a purchase of X amount (most often $4 off a $20 purchase) or a coupon for a % off your purchase.
These types of cards also often allow you to load coupons directly to the card. This is the case with your grocery card. You can load coupons directly to it from your grocery store website, as well as Cellfire.com & Shortcuts.com
2. The Loyalty Card: I see these most often in specialty stores, Dicks Sporting Goods now has one as does DSW Shoes. These points earn you money back based on your purchases, at DSW you'll get a $10 Rewards certificate for every $150 you spend. They will also send you a $10 reward just for signing up and special coupons throughout the year.
Whatever the type of rewards card, if it's free sign up for it. If it's not free evaluate how often you shop at the store and also whether or not your current purchase may be enough to make it free. Sometimes the savings earned on one purchase is enough to pay for the card (this is usually when I decide to renew my bookstore card).
Cellfire Football Promo Mystery Q
Cellfire is giving out another mystery Q this Thursday between 10am and 2pm PST, just log in and you can win a coupon good off of .50, $1, $2 or even $5 OFF your next grocery purchase.While you are there be sure to load all the new coupons to your card, as there are quite a number of new ones available today.
Cellfire offers digital coupons that load directly to your store savings card, for stores like Krogers. You can also use Cellfire on your mobile phone and get great discounts on retailers and restaurants.
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