Jewel's Corner

After Christmas Shopping: Spent $3.31 Saved $167.20!!!!

2010-12-26T10:19:00.003-05:00

This will probably be my last entry for this year as I don't plan on doing any more shopping this week. My totals are updated and it looks like I came in well under my budget of $2500! Here's what I did:

JC Penney-

Chris Madden Luxplush Blanket- KING SIZE $89.99
On sale for $29.99
- $10 coupon
-$19.93 (refund for returning an item I bought last month)
PAID: $1.36

WalMart-

4- Gerber Graduate Smart Sips
3- Hefty trash bags (20 ct)
1- Gallon milk
Total: $20.56
- $12 (for Gerber, but since the q's were for $3/1 and the sips were only $2, I got $1 of overage on each!)
- $6 ($2/1 Hefty)
PAID: 2.72

Target-

Charmin 18 ct double rolls normally $11 but on sale for $9.49
- $1/1 Coupon
- $5 Target GC (from trading coupons at HCW)
PAID: 3.96

CVS-
1 Pantene hampoo
1 Pantene conditioner
2 Always pads
1 Tide 40 load Powder
1 Olay Bodywash
1 Olay Lotion
1 Tone Bodywash
1 Colgate Toothpaste
Total: $58.96
-$3.50 (BOGO Pantene)
-(2) $1/1 Always pads
-$1/1 Tide
-$7 (BOGO Olay)
-$1/1 Tone
-$1/1 Colgate (CVS q)
-$23 ECB
PAID: $5.27 but got $10 ECB

Total Spent: $13.31 (really $3.31 counting the ECB!!!)
Total Saved: $167.20!!!

Almost FREE Yobaby Yogurt!

2010-12-23T14:39:00.004-05:00

So, today is the last day to use your $1 Giant doublers and here is this excellent deal I stumbled upon!

I bought:

10- 16oz V8 Fusions
4- 4pk YoBaby Yogurt

Total: $31.12
- (4) $1/1 Yobaby MQ's
- (4) $1/1 Giant Doublers
- (10) $0.75/1 V8 (doubled to $1.50

Total after coupons: $8.12 which I put on a Giant gift card I got as a gift. Then, a $2 coupon good on my next purchase printed out compliments of Stonyfield farms (who makes Yobaby! So it was like I got 16 yogurts for $0.36!

CVS and WAGs Trip

2010-09-16T17:20:00.002-04:00

CVS:

1 Nivea Men's Body Wash
2 Nivea Women's Body Wash
1 Nivea Lip Care
2 Maybelline Duel Eyeshadows
1 Clearasil cleanser
1 Clearasil acne cream

Total after coupons: $19.83 Saved: $22.00 Got $18 ECB

WAGs:

3 John Frieda Root Awakening Shampoos
2 Schick Intuition Razors (BOGO!)
2 Schick Quattro Razors (BOGO!)

Total after coupons: $13.73 Saved: $48.35 Got $5 RR

Not bad, huh? :)

Updated Totals

2010-08-31T13:55:00.006-04:00

After my CVS and Giant shopping trips during lunch time, I updated my totals. The retail value of my spending crossed $5000 today, yet I've spent just under $1500! I'm so proud!

Look at these lovely receipts!

Yes, that's the deal I just posted about at Giant- 4 Fruit Loops for $3.15!

Yes, you're reading that right! I spent $3.21 and saved over $37!

GDA on Kellogg's Corn Pops or Fruit Loops at Giant!

2010-08-31T12:48:00.003-04:00

Giant currently has select cereals on sale 4 for $6 (must buy 4).

Coupons.com currently has a printable for $1.50/2 Kellogg's Fruit Loops, Apple Jacks, or Corn Pops.

Combine with the 4 for $6 sale at Giant:

4 Fruit Loops or Corn Pops (Apple Jacks NOT included in sale)- $6 - 2($1.50) =

4 boxes for $3! That's $0.75/box of cereal!

Spent $6.70, Saved $39.06... CVS, how I love thee!

2010-08-09T14:25:00.002-04:00

I had some ECBs to burn at CVS this week, and unfortunately, the coupons I ordered for some of this week's HOT deals aren't in yet, so I was a bit stuck. Fortunately, I worked it out. Here's the breakdown:

$05.00- 2 Honey Nut Cheerios
$15.38- 2 Garnier Nutrisse Skin Renew Cleaners
$10.98- 2 Mitchum Lady Extra Strength deoderant
$07.92- 2 Rimmel Nailpolish

Total: $39.28
- $1 off 2 CVS coupon for Cheerios
- 2 $0.75/1 Honey Nut Cherrios MQ's
- $5.49 BOGO CVS coupon for Mitchum
- 2 $1/1 Michum MQ's
- $3.99 BOGO Rimmel Nailpolish MQ
- 2 $2/1 Garnier Nutrisse Cleaners peelies (right on the shelf next to the cleaners!)
- $17 ECB

Total: $6.70 BUT I received $5 ECB!

Back in the Game- Toilet Paper Deal

2010-07-27T12:57:00.003-04:00

After what feels like an eternity, I'm finally getting back into the coupon game. It's good to be back.

Giant is currently having a sale (through Thursday) on Angel Soft Toilet Paper 2 for $11. Combine this with 2 $0.50/1 Angel Soft Bath Tissue, 6 Double Roll +, Any - 05-23-10 RP (which double) and you only pay $4.50 per pack.

Let's see how this breaks down:

The Angel Soft sale is on 12 double roll packs or 24 single roll packs, so either way, you are getting 24 rolls of toilet paper. My stockpile price for toilet paper is no more than $0.25 per (single) roll of toilet paper. Did I beat my stockpile price?

$4.50/24= $0.19/roll!

Total before coupons/sales: $31.46
Total after coupons/sales: $19.00 for at least a month's worth of toilet paper if not more.

More updates

2010-07-20T10:42:00.002-04:00

I've updated my totals again, and also included $21.50 in rebates I received so far this month. That brings my rebate earnings up to $266.50, and I'm hopeful I can make it $300 by the end of the year. I need to be more diligent in this area so next year I can make even more!

I have $1,108.62 (plus my rebate money) to last me until the end of the year. As I'm not planning on doing any more spending until August, that leaves about $221.72 per month for the rest of the year. Very manageable, as I usually spend around $200, unless there is a really good sale to stock up on.

Wow!

2010-07-12T12:52:00.002-04:00

Wow, it's been a month and a half since I updated! Why? Well, I really haven't done that much couponing or shopping since the beginning of June. We've had some expected changes and so I won't be really getting back into the coupon/rebating game until a bit later, but I should be able to still stick with my budget so I'm happy with that. I'm updating my totals now!

Updated Totals

2010-05-30T16:58:00.000-04:00

Just updated my totals for May. I only spent $150.65 on groceries in May, which I'm quite proud of. I'm still on track for making my $2500 budget for 2010!

VOTE for your FAVE Picture!

2010-05-19T20:59:00.006-04:00

Okay, I've narrowed down the choices for pictures. Please vote from these top 4!

1.

2.

3.

4.

CoverGirl Blast- Not a hit with me

2010-05-13T08:34:00.003-04:00

I posted a couple days ago on Facebook that I received my free sample of CoverGirl Blast from Bzz Agent (a site where you volunteer to participate in campaigns to try new products). I wore it all day yesterday and applied it again today and I have to say I wouldn't buy this product.

The Good: I loved the colors. I got the Purple Plume eyeshadow and the Ignite lip gloss, both of which were bright without being over-the-top. I also liked how the eyeshadow was set up like a lipstick that you just roll on as opposed to traditional eye shadow powders where you have to use the little applicator that I am always dropping and end up losing.

The Not-So-Good: The application method for the eyeshadow, while good, worried me because it felt pretty hard on my eyeball and somewhat uncomfortable. Also, the lip gloss stick was difficult to get in and out of the gloss.

The Bad: The minute I tried to applied the second shade on my eye, the eye shadow stick BROKE off! I wasn't pressing hard, I didn't turn the stick so the shadow was all the way out, but for some reason it smeared unevenly on my eye and when I looked at it, it had broken off and was laying on the side of the tube. It's still usable if you are careful, but who even wants to deal with something that breaks so easily?

Also, the eye shadow clumps in the creases of my eye very quickly. And by very quickly, I mean I applied this morning at 7:30am and by 8:30 when I checked in the rest room, there was pretty visible clumpage in my eye crease.

Lastly, the lip gloss seriously dried out my lips, not to mention it didn't smell very good to me. It's not any different from most other lip gloss. I think I'll stick to Nivea, which is my preferred brand for lip care.

Overall: I'm on the fence about it. It wasn't completely horrible, but I definitely will NOT use the CoverGirl coupons they sent on the Blast line.

CVS- They owed me!

2010-05-10T14:52:00.005-04:00

Went to CVS today on my lunch break (as usual) and here is the breakdown:

$1.00- 1 Carefree liners
$4.98- 2 Right Guard deodorants
$4.99- 1 Kotex U pads
$7.38- 2 Stayfree pads
$8.99- 1 Schick Hydro razor

-$13.50 in ECB I had
-$1 for Carefree (making it free)
-(2)$2 for Stayfree (it was a money-maker after coupon and ECB!)
-$1 for Kotex (it was a money-maker after coupon and ECB!)
-$3 for Right Guard (it was a money-maker after coupon and ECB!)
-$5 for Schick (free after coupon and ECB!)

My total came to -$1.79. CVS does not give cash back, so the cashier voided one of my ECBs and I put $1.21 on a gift card.

From this transaction I received $17 ECB!

I need YOUR help!

2010-05-06T09:19:00.012-04:00

My favorite radio station is doing a Battle of the Babies contest. The grand prize is $1,000! I have two weeks to submit the cutest possible picture of Caroline I can, and then people vote for the cutest baby. I have decided that my plan of attack will be in three phases:

Phase 1) Take cute pictures of Caroline and/or gather all pics of Caroline that anyone else may have taken with their phones, cameras, etc.

Phase 2) Have my readers and friends VOTE for the best picture to submit to the contest.

Phase 3) Ask my readers and friends to go to the website daily and vote for Caroline!

Now for a bit of incentive for you guys, even though I KNOW you all would help me from the kindness of your hearts, right??

Anyone who votes during Phase 2 for the picture I should submit, gets entered into a random drawing to win a FREE NIVEA LIP CARE.

I will choose a random winners and I WILL MAIL the brand new lip care right to your house, so I'm not limited to people who live in the DC/MD/VA area! The voting will be right here on my blog, and I will post the pictures I'm considering on Monday, May 10th.

Anyone who votes during Phase 3 on the station website (that I will post), also will get entered into ANOTHER FREE NIVEA LIP CARE drawing, and I will choose ANOTHER 3 WINNERS (you may win twice!)

Now, for the REALLY good part. I'm going to give away prizes based on how far Caroline gets in the competition. One random winner will be drawn for each of the prizes:

If Caroline makes:

The Top 50- A set of two Glade fragrance collection candles!

The Top 20- $5 gift card (to a store of the winner's choosing)

The Top 10- $10 gift card (to a store of the winner's choosing)

The Top 2- A Gift Bag (or box mailed to your house) filled with the winner's choice of household items that I frequently stockpile- body wash, lotion, soap, shampoo, conditioner, razors, shave gel, scented candles, etc. Those are just examples! Basically a FREE box of NICE stuff to pamper yourself or someone in your life! (Est. retail value of $30 or more!)

And, if Caroline is the winner (and thus wins the $1,000 prize) I will draw ONE random winner (from everyone who helped during this process) who will win a $50 gift card of their choosing!!

This could be Target, Walmart, CVS, a restaurant gift card, A Visa gift card, etc. Those are just examples.

How you enter: I'll be posting here on my blog for each phase, so you have to make sure you post in the comments section HERE that you voted. I will keep track of all the names, and since you can vote on the station website once per DAY, you can enter to win my prizes once per day as well! I will keep track of all the entries, announce cut-off dates for voting in the various rounds, etc. So be sure to check here for updates and to VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!

*All prizes are given at my own expense and all prizes will be given for the various rounds of the contest REGARDLESS if we will the top prize or not!*

So, who's down to help us win?

I got my groceries free at Giant today!

2010-05-04T13:54:00.003-04:00

I went to Giant on my lunch break. I wanted to use my $1 Giant doublers (available exclusively in the mailed Giant ads from last week) that my friend Ayrielle sent me. With the Giant doublers, you have to have a minimum (before coupon) total of $15.

2 cans of Enfamil Ready to Feed formula
8 jars of Kraft BBQ sauce (on sale 10 for $10)

Total before sales: $22.90
Total before coupons: $14.32

I used 4 $1/2 KRaft bbq sauce coupons, 4 $1 Giant doublers, and two $4 formula checks.

I was SUPPOSED to walk out only paying $0.89, but a manager error (they entered my formula checks as the total amount instead of the amount the formula checks were marked for) left me walking away without paying a single penny!!

Triples, CVS, and FREE water

2010-04-30T09:00:00.004-04:00

I just updated my totals to include my shopping trips this last week. Having a vehicle again is a really nice thing. I ended up with 60 bottles of FREE Propel flavored water (well, I paid $1.50 in tax) which doesn't include the 50 or so bottles I gave my sister last weekend, a bunch of free Reese's and Coca-Cola products (thanks to ECBs at CVS), and $56 worth of groceries for $12, thanks to triples at Harris Teeter.

I'm almost at the halfway point with my budget, however, we're NOT almost at the halfway point of the year. I was initially concerned that I wouldn't be able to meet my budget, but then I remembered two things. 1) I've already made $200 in rebates this year, which would have been more if I'd been more on top of it and 2)I could comfortably stop buying any shampoo, soap, razors, toothpaste, toothbrushes, conditioner, body wash, and laundry detergent and have enough to last the rest of this year and JUST buy food, which I also have a good stockpile of. I probably have enough mustard, peanut butter, jelly, Pasta Roni, pasta noodles, and spaghetti sauce to last the rest of the year as well.

I will continue to get what items I can for free and I will also continue to support a few local charities. I've also been known to give my friends stockpile stuff, too. I just wanted to throw that out there so no one thinks I'm a greedy hoarder, LOL.

So, to sum up, I'm happy with how this year and my budget is going so far. For May, I'm getting back into shopping at Walgreens, which will be a HUGE test since they are usually the most ANTI-COUPON (other than Walmart... must be the "Wal..." stores, hehe) of all the stores. I will, of course, continue to write about my exploits! :)

Enter the "It's Great to be a Mom at Hotcouponworld" Mother's Day Wishlist Contest Now through May 2nd - Hot Coupon World

2010-04-22T15:03:00.000-04:00

Enter the "It's Great to be a Mom at Hotcouponworld" Mother's Day Wishlist Contest Now through May 2nd - Hot Coupon World

HT Triples Again??

2010-04-22T09:24:00.004-04:00

According to my fave coupon site, HCW, Harris Teeter might be doing triples again the week of 4/28 - 5/4! Click here for details and here for a list of possible great deals!

Is it me, or are they doing these big events (triples and Super Doubles) a lot lately? I'm not complaining, though!

What am I most excited about? Hmm, that would probably be McCormick Grill Mate Spices. There is a $0.50/1 coupon out so I'm hoping to snag some FREE or really cheap spices!

Updated Totals

2010-04-21T10:40:00.001-04:00

It's been awhile since I posted. Crazy life stuff happens, and I've been without a vehicle for the last two weeks, so there's been no way to chase crazy deals. I look at it as a good thing, though, b/c I saved some money!

CVS- FREE Formula

2010-04-09T21:46:00.003-04:00

I am sure many moms would agree that formula is the most expensive part of raising a baby. So, whenever I get a chance to get my hands on some free formula, I never pass it up! This week CVS is having a sale on Enfamil (and Similac) ready-feed formula- Each can is only $4.99 (normally $6.79!) and when you spend $25, you receive $10 ECB

Here's how it worked out:

6 cans Enfamil ready-feed formula- $42.78 w/tax retail, 31.48 w/tax sale price
-$5/$25 coupon (sign up for those CVS emails!)
-$5 Enfamil formula check
-$5 Enfamil formula check
-$5 Enfamil formula check
-$5 Enfamil formula check
-$3 Enfamil formula check
-$2 Enfamil formula check
Total: $1.48 (on giftcard)

I also received 10 ECB for this transaction and also received $7.50 for my winter spending (CVS gives back a portion of your spending each quarter, so make sure you scan your ECB card every time, even if you are not a regular coupon user!)

Harris Teeter Triples... and I'm swimming in beverages!

2010-03-26T09:28:00.003-04:00

Harris Teeter is tripling coupons again, and of course I couldn't resist making a trip. Here's the breakdown!

4 Bertolli Pasta Sauce (one of which I promptly BROKE as soon as I got home *sad face*)
3 French's Classic Yellow Mustard
3 3lb bags of Mahatma Rice
3 Propel Water (for my sister)
3 Tubs of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter
3 Breakstone Sour Cream

Total before coupons/sales: $50.65

Total after coupons/sales: $10.69

Also, another Giant trip yesterday for more cheap stuff to drink. Think I have enough??? (Keep in mind this is in addition to the stuff in the pictures I posted a couple days ago!)

Two More Giant Trips

2010-03-25T10:25:00.003-04:00

Did another Giant trip yesterday after my friend Ayrielle clued me in to the fact that you can double-dip on catalina deals with Pillsbury crescent rolls (get $10 for purchasing $20 AND get $4 back when you buy 6 Pillsbury products), so here is what I did:

8 Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls
1 Loaf Whole Wheat Bread
1 Marie Callendar Dinner
2 Kraft Cheese
1 large tub of ice cream
20 Fuze drinks
1 Bottle Propel water (for my sister)
2 V8 Fusion

Total before coupons/sales: $86.48

Total after coupons/sales: $44.43 and I received $7 back for the Fuze, and $14 back for the Pillsbury for a total $21 back!

I also did a mini trip this morning and bought 10 more Fuze and 8 Propel waters (for my sister).

Total before coupons/sales: $26.25

Total after coupons/sales: $5.35

Up to my eyeballs in Fuze and V8 Fusion

2010-03-22T15:13:00.003-04:00

Made another trip to Giant today. Since V8 Fusion is on sale at $3 each (which, while not the best price I've ever gotten, is not that worst either) I decided to use my $.75/1 coupons that doubled to snag 11 bottles at $1.50 each.

I also picked up another 20 bottles of Fuze- using my BOGO FREE coupons meant I spent $10 for them AND got back a $7 OYNO catalina for buying $20 in Coke products.

Spent: $30.15
Saved: $54.99

I have at least another 15 BOGO FREE Fuze Q's as well as several $0.75/1 V8 Fusion Q's coming in the mail, so I anticipate doing this deal at least one more time!

Awesome Shopping Weekend!

2010-03-21T21:26:00.002-04:00

Since Shoppers Food Warehouse had triples AND super doubles going on this weekend, and Giant has some GREAT catalina deals this week- I made out like a bandit! See pics:

Total: $107.01 with $19 OYNO catalinas, so it's like I paid $88.19!

Saved $138.92

AWESOME Giant Deals Starting Friday!

2010-03-18T11:39:00.002-04:00

For my local people with a Giant food store- check out the sales this week starting tomorrow. There are THREE different catalina deals for money back after purchase!

Check it out here!

Kelloggs is paying me $35.20 to eat their cereal??

2010-03-15T13:48:00.004-04:00

Safeway is having an awesome sale on Kelloggs Apple Jacks, Corn Pops, and Fruit Loops this week (good through tomorrow). If you buy 5, you pay just $1.50 each. There is even a coupon next to the cereal for $.70/1 cereal.

Thanks to HotCouponWorld.com, I was able to get the same coupons with one very important difference- the coupons I got will DOUBLE (the ones in the stores will not), making them worth $1.40. See where I'm going with this? That means (with tax) I pay $0.12 per box of cereal.

How are they paying me? Kellogg's also has a rebate out where if you buy 10 Kellogg's products, they will give you $10 back. The best part? You can submit up to 8 rebates per household (I have 4 rebates left)!

So, 40 boxes of cereal at $0.12 each = $4.80 - $40 in rebates = $35.20 money maker!

The good news for YOU is that this is still a good deal with the coupons you find in the store's cereal aisle, even if you don't have the rebate forms. You end up paying $4 for 5 boxes of cereal which is still an awesome price, so go out and take advantage of this deal!

Giant Trip

2010-03-14T18:05:00.001-04:00

Because of the CVS trip I did this morning (which I outlined in my previous post), I now have enough HBA (shampoo, body wash, deodorant etc) products to last at least a year, maybe more. I also have no less than 100 candles and other air freshening products. At this point, I don't plan on stockpiling anymore of these items, unless that are free or close to it (like the deal I did about a month ago where I got 8 bottles of Garnier Fructis for $.50).

Now I'm going to focus completely on stockpiling food. I was very pleased with my Giant trip today. Here's what I got:

1 Gallon Milk
1 Welch's Juice Cocktail
6 Healthy Choice meals
1 Lean Cuisine meal
3 boxes Cap'n Crunch peanut butter cereal (my DH's favorite)
14 32oz bottles of G2 Gatorade
2 bottles of V8 Fusion (love, love, LOVE this stuff!)
3 packs of boneless chicken breasts

Total before coupons and sales: $87.89
Total after coupons and sales: $32.46 (saved $17.38 w/ my Giant card and $39.34 in coupons)

Among the coupons I used: $10/$40 Harris Teeter coupon (Giant honors competitor coupons!), the $5 oyno Giant catalina from last week's frozen food deal, and 14 $0.50/1 G2 Gatorade coupons (that made them all FREE!)

Can't WAIT until Sunday at CVS!

2010-03-12T16:16:00.003-05:00

Usually I post my deals only AFTER I do them, but I'm so excited, I'm going to give you a sneak peak at what I'm doing at CVS on Sunday!

Dove is on sale $15 get $5 ECB, and there is a great $2 Dove deodorant IP out. There is also a Glade deal $10 get $4 ECB(limit 2!!) and I plan on doing both plus using the $5/$30 coupon I got in my email to make a SWEET deal!

Buy 3 Glade Sense & Sprays ($6 ea) and 2 scented oil candle refills (2/$5)- 6 x 3 + 5 = $23
-(3) $4/1 Glade Sense & Spray starter kit coupons
- (2) $1.50/1 Scented oil candle holder or refill pack coupons

Buy 4 Dove Deodorant (2/$5) and one Dove Men body wash ($5)- 4 X $2.50 plus $5= $15
-(4) $2/1 any Dove deodorant IP
-(1) $1 any Dove Men product (there are also $1.75 IPs, but I already printed the max )

Now for the math!

$23 + $15 = $38
-$5 ($5/$30 Q)
-$12 (sense & spray q's)
-$3 (scented oil q's)
-$8 (Dove deoderant IPs)
-$1 (Dove men Q)
TOTAL: $9 with $13 ECB and submit for $5 SC Johnson rebate, so a BIG moneymaker after the rebate!

Besides the deals I previously posted this week- I am buying 10 of the Cheez-it crackers that are on sale 5/$5 and submitting them for the $10 Kelloggs rebate (buy 10 Kelloggs/Keebler/Sunshine products and get a free $10 prepaid VISA) to make FREE CHEEZ-ITS!!!

More Laundry Detergent!

2010-03-09T21:31:00.003-05:00

As if I need anymore laundry detergent (see previous post), but there is an AWESOME deal on Tide at CVS today. It's on sale for $5.97 (my stock-up price- Tide is usually $9-$10), get back $1 ECB. I used a $1/1 coupon from last Sunday's paper and got it for $4.97. I also purchased another Nivea Lipcare.

If I had gone to CVS to purchase the Nivea lipcare on Sunday, I could have used the BOGO Nivea lipcare coupon, but I forgot about it and the coupon expired on Sunday, so I lost a chance for another free Nivea. One free is still a good deal, even though two free would have been sweeter.

Total before coupons/sales: $14.43

Total after coupons/sales: $8.41 which I put on my giftcard and received $4 ECB for the Tide and Nivea.

I still have one $25 giftcard and $16 ECB to spend at CVS!

Totals and Two Trips!

2010-03-09T12:03:00.004-05:00

Updated my totals for the year as they were a little behind.

Went to CVS yesterday:

2 Oral B Toothbrushes
7 Glade candles
2 Almay Eye make-up removers
1 Gillette Fusion razor

Total before coupons and sales: $62.36

Total after coupons and sales: $17.36, which I put on a giftcard I got free with prescription, AND I received 12 ECB!

Also hit Giant:

Spent $48 and got 12 two-liter sodas, some fresh Salmon and several pounds of chicken. Just submitted for three rebates ($5 on Lemon Lime soda for the Sprite, $5 on Meat, and $6 on fresh seafood). The detergent in the picture was from previous trips.

Great Kellogg's Deal at Giant!

2010-03-08T10:57:00.002-05:00

Right now at Giant, Kellogg's cereal is on sale 3 for $5. While at Giant yesterday, I found a blinkie in the cereal aisle for $0.70/1 Kellogg's Apple Jacks, Corn Pops, or Fruit Loops, making each box of cereal $0.96! The only downside is that these blinkies will not double (as Giant usually doubles all coupons up to $0.99). However, on Hot Coupon World, I am in the process of trading for blinkies that WILL double, and if I am successful, I'll be able to get Kellogg's cereals for JUST $0.26 per box!

Target Trip 2/27

2010-03-01T16:19:00.004-05:00

I've been trying to trim my spending a bit as we've had some unexpected moving expenses and so far I'm a bit over budget for the year, but I couldn't resist a trip to Target!

Target:

(20.16) 14 - 40pk Up & Up (Target brand) baby wipes
(19.71) 9 - Johnson & Johnson Baby Bath items (powder, wash, lotion)
( 2.65) 1 - Johnson & Johnson Baby Oil
Total (including tax): $44.65
Used 10 - $2/1 ANY J&J Product
Used 14 - $0.75/1 any Up & Up wipes (peelies found on other Up & Up products!)

Total after coupons: $16.65!

CVS Trip 2/15

2010-02-17T09:51:00.002-05:00

Here is a quick blurb about my CVS trip on Monday. One of the benefits of my time in the ER a couple weeks ago is that my doctor wrote me a prescription for some meds! CVS puts out these WONDERFUL coupons where if you get your prescription filled there, you get a FREE $25 Gift Card. So I, never missing an opportunity, got a free gift card and used it this past Monday at CVS along with my coupons and here is what I got:

-2 Covergirl Powder Foundation
-1 Colgate toothpaste
-4 Apple Cinnamon Glade candles
-1 Aussie Shampoo
Total before coupons: $31.48

Used:

$7 ECB
1-$1/1 Aussie Q
1- BOGO Covergirl Q
2- BOGO Glade candle Q's

Total: $11.48- Used CVS GC for $0 oop expense!

I'm Back!

2010-02-17T09:32:00.005-05:00

First of all, I want to thank everyone who has helped me or wished me well during the past two weeks as I've struggled with some health issues. You all rock!

Second of all, I want to express my disappointment that when I updated my totals, I'm down to a savings of only 68% (it was my own secret goal to maintain a 75% average or better), but I've had to change my diet significantly and drastically in the last two weeks, so we'll see how it goes. I'm also lucky to have received about $100 in rebates I submitted in late December/early January, so that will help me bridge the budget gap as I'm learning to adjust my eating/shopping habits.

Thirdly, I'm SOOOO happy to announce that Harris Teeter is doing ANOTHER SUPER DOUBLES!!! Yes, you read right, SUPER DOUBLES is happening again, for the SECOND time in the last two months! If you are a newbie, this means that any coupon value up to $1.98 will DOUBLE in value (HT will double 3 like coupons per transaction and 20 per day). $1 coupons are worth $2, $1.50 coupons are worth $3, etc! I will make sure to post about the trips I make this week!

February Mini-Budget Challenge

2010-02-02T09:57:00.002-05:00

I did so well with stockpiling in January, I decided to join HCW's February "Living Off Your Stockpile" challenge. The goal is to spend as little oop and use up things in your stockpile, and since we are moving at the end of this month, I decided to try it. My goal for the entire month of February is $100 oop.

Yesterday- RECEIVED $40 in REBATES!!!! Yay!!!!

Spent $0.50 at RiteAid and got 8 Garnier Fructis shampoos and conditioners (see previous entry)

Spent $28.51 at Target and got 2 24oz cans of Enfamil Premium formula and one tub of baby wipes, but I also got a $5 giftcard for buying the formula, but will submit for a $15 MIR on the formula.

Spent $0 at Walgreens and got 2 small cans of Enfamil Premium formula, some clearanced stuff, a chapstick and and 2 packages of Keebler Fudgestripe cookies. I used $10 RR and a leftover giftcard for the $0.81 tax, and I got $4 RR back!

Spent $32.06 at Giant, got beef (enough to submit for a $15 MIR rebate) and Betty Crocker brownies.

$32.06
+$28.51
+$00.50
-$40.00
$21.07 with $5 Target GC, $4 RR and will submit for a total of $30 in MIR!

FREE Garnier Fructis Shampoo/Conditioner!

2010-01-29T10:04:00.003-05:00

I told myself I was not going to go get 8 free bottles of Garnier Fructis shampoo/conditioner at Rite Aid on Sunday... It's bad to lie to yourself, isn't it? I'm sorry, but I can't resist FREE. FREE beckons me, calls to me, BEGS me to go take it! So I will. Here's the deal.

Garnier Fructis 2.50 each (starting Sunday at Rite Aid)
Grab 8 of them = $20

- $5 off $20 Video Values coupon (make sure the cashier scans this coupon first!)
- $8 x $1/1 off Garnier Fructis Rite Aid Video Values coupon
- $7 x $1/1(RP 1-10) Garnier Fructis MQ (you can use 8, but this will result in overage which might not go over well with the cashier, so use your judgment here)
= FREE! (or $1 MM)

About Video Values Rite Aid coupons. Go here to see what it's all about, but basically, you watch a quick commercial, and then win a coupon to print at the end. Earn 20 video credits, and you get that sweet $5/20 coupon (takes 15-20 min to earn). The best part, you can print MULTIPLE copies of each coupon INCLUDING the $5/20 to use on all your upcoming RA trips!

*A Quick Note- I really like this deal, because even for those of you who don't clip coupons from the paper yet, you can still get a good deal on this, since you can sign up TODAY for the Video Values coupons. The shampoo won't be free for you, but it will be $7 for 8 bottles, which is not bad for getting your feet wet and starting to see if you want to pursue "this couponing thing"!

No shopping lately

2010-01-27T16:15:00.002-05:00

I miss blogging about my deals every day! Unfortunately, I just haven't been shopping. Money is a bit low since we are saving for a big move (in 30 days- yikes!!) so we've just been living off of what I've already bought. I DID go snag some free Gatorade at Giant yesterday (on sale for $1 and I had $0.50/1 coupons), but nothing other than that.

I'm really bummed about the lack of funds this week b/c there are some really good diaper/wipe sales going on! I posted about the Pampers deal at Target, but also at Walgreens, if you buy $25 of Huggies, you get $5 RR, and I saw my friend do this deal for baby wipes!

Oh well, the one thing you have to remember in this business is that THERE WILL ALWAYS BE ANOTHER DEAL!

Great Diaper Deal at Target!

2010-01-25T20:43:00.001-05:00

There is a great deal on Pampers at Target this week. Buy 3 packs at $8.99, get a $5 Target gift card. If you use the $2 Target Pamper coupons and $2 manufacturer coupons on Pampers (both from the 12/06/09 inserts), you get them for $4.99 ea, so only $9.98 for 3 packs of diapers after the giftcard!

Target Trip

2010-01-22T23:29:00.003-05:00

I went to Target tonight to buy some formula and baby food. Here is what I got:

1 tub Pampers baby wipes
2 12.5oz cans formula
1 24oz can of formula
10 cans ready-feed formula (32 oz each, one can feeds DD for one day)
1 Pedialyte
4 Gerber infant cereal
10 Earth's Bes Organic baby food jars
3 2-Pk Gerber baby food

Total before coupons/formula checks: $122.03

Total paid (after coupons/formula checks): $43.17

With this purchase, I am happy to announce that I have enough baby food and formula to last DD now until at least the end of February/early March, if not a bit longer. Also, I will not be purchasing anything that is not a deal I can't pass up as we now have a sufficient stockpile of everything (except perishables) to last us at least the next 6 weeks, so m shopping will slow down a bit.

Rite Aid $35 Visa Card Rebate (#1)

2010-01-22T12:35:00.004-05:00

Right now Rite Aid is offering a $35 Visa card rebate when you buy $100 worth of select P&G products. You all know me, so you know I'm not actually going to spend $100 of my own money, LOL. Luckily, you can use coupons AND do it in multiple transactions, so here was my first transaction I did yesterday:

$6.99 - 1 Always 44ct pad
$3.99 - 1 Always 18ct pad
$3.99 - 1 Dayquil 12 ct

-$3.99 BOGO Always coupon
-$2.00 Vicks Dayquil coupon

Total: $9.53

BUT, I will get back $3.99 for the Dayquil from my Health FSA, $3 in Single Check Rebates (thru Rite-Aid), so, I spent $2.54, with $14.97 counting towards my $100 rebate!

Giant- Spent $42.64 Saved $78.74

2010-01-19T14:37:00.002-05:00

Thanks to the P&G deal I posted about on Friday, I did pretty well at Giant today:

3 packs of 24 double roll Charmin (24 double rolls each = 144 rolls OR enough toilet paper to see me through May)
2 Tide 2x Laundry detergent
21 Ronzoni SmartTaste Pasta (basically, enough spaghetti pasta for at least a month, maybe a bit longer)
1 Ensure 6 pack

Total before coupons: $118.93

Total after coupons: $42.64

PLUS, with the P&G deal, I got a coupon for $10 off my next order. The sweetest thing about it: the person in front of me left a coupon for "FREE Eggs with $10 purchase". He said he didn't want it (I made sure to ask), so I gladly took it!

I'll be going again this evening!

GREAT Catalina at Giant this week!

2010-01-15T12:22:00.003-05:00

This week at Giant, they are offering a GREAT deal!

Buy $30 P&G Products and receive a coupon for $10 off your next shopping trip! Click here to find their weekly circular!

A Small Sample

2010-01-12T22:16:00.006-05:00

A few people have asked for a pic or two of my stockpiles. I have decided to oblige with these two pics.

This is what I've bought for baby food/formula in the last two weeks. Spent about $30 oop for all this- including the formula you see.

My current HBA (health & beauty) stockpile. This is what was left after Christmas and what I've bought over this last week. Look closely, as you can't see everything at first glance. Also, keep in mind I've got another (small) box of stuff in storage, and I gave away about 12 small giftbags of various shampoo, shave gel, toothpaste, etc for Christmas.

Rite Aid Trip 1/11

2010-01-12T19:30:00.003-05:00

First off, happy birthday to my wonderful husband of almost 4 years! LOVE YOU!

Went to Rite Aid yesterday to attempt this scenario from Deal Seeking Mom. Turns out, they didn't have the smaller sizes needed, so I had to use the rest of my gift card and spend some more money oop, but didn't do too bad.

1 Lubriderm Lotion
1 Aveeno Lotion
1 Aveeno Conditioner
1 Clean & Clear Foam Cleanser
1 Clean & Clear Astringent

Total before coupons: $33.03
Total after coupons: $12.27 (Used $6.31 left on gift card) spent $5.96.

So, $5.96, BUT with the Johnson & Johnson $10 rebate, I'll have made $4.04!

Also did two more trips to Harris Teeter to finish up Super Doubles. I have so much stuff, I don't even know what to do. Totals updated!

Lastly, my lovely friend Jeannette was so kind as to send me $15 in rebate checks she received from SC Johnson! I will add that to my savings.

Updated totals!

2010-01-11T16:48:00.001-05:00

Did some shopping this weekend- Too many trips to post them all as I've hit Harris Teeter every day along with CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens. Will post about my Rite Aid trip that I will make tonight, tomorrow! I did update my totals ---> (see "About my Budget").

Rite Aid Update

2010-01-08T11:50:00.003-05:00

Yesterday in the mail, I received a nice letter from Rite Aid, thanking me for being a customer and taking the time to report a not-so-good experience in addition to a good experience at a different store later in the day. Included in the letter was a $10 Rite Aid gift card!

So, I'll still be shopping at Rite Aid. I should add that both times I called, they asked for specific details about my experience including the names of employees there so they could pass the feedback along, so make sure you are honest in your feedback to them!

Day 2 of HT SD- Spent $28.55, Saved $106.22

2010-01-08T09:44:00.003-05:00

Day Two of Harris Teeter Super Doubles- Here is the breakdown:

3- Cans of formula- $50 at retail, but w/formula checks and coupons I paid $17
(one 26oz can and two 13oz cans)
2- Packages of beef
1- Package of hamburger
4- Package of Gerber baby food
1- Gallon of Milk
2- Herbal Essences Shampoo/Conditioner
2- V8 Fusion 46oz
1- Arm & Hammer Toothpaste
1- Olay Soap Bar 2-Pack
9- Jello Gelatin
3- Marie Callendar HomeStyle Creations
3- Pasta Roni
2- Cans of chicken meat
1- Prego pasta sauce
1- 3pack of Ivory bar soap

Total before coupons and sales: $134.77
Total after coupons and sales: $28.55

So, basically, I paid for formula, milk, and meat. The rest was free or under $0.50. I'm especially proud of the formula b/c for $17, I got enough formula to last DD for at least 2 weeks, which is awesome!

Spent $9.10, Saved $70.72

2010-01-07T09:52:00.005-05:00

Can I just say that I LOVE HT Super Doubles?!? I went last night and rocked it. Here is the breakdown:

2- Packs of Ziploc EZ Zip Expandable Bags
6- Pasta Roni
2- Arm & Hammer laundry detergent
1- Olay Soap Bar 2-Pack
9- Jello Gelatin
3- Marie Callendar HomeStyle Creations
3- V8 Fusion 46oz
1- Campbell's Select Harvest soup
2- Crest Whitening Expressions toothpaste
2- Herbal Essences Shampoo/Conditioner

Total before coupons and sales: $79.82
Total after coupons and sales: $9.10

When I walked up to the register with my cart and coupons, the cashier said "Think you're going to save a lot of money today?" And I said "Yes, I probably won't pay more than $10 bucks." She looked at me like I was crazy, so after I paid I said "You didn't believe me, did you?" Hehehee

My friend, Jess, went with me, spent $11 and saved $67. We're going back today for day two!

Just had to post this:

2010-01-06T14:40:00.002-05:00

Picture of my little cutey. I can't believe she'll be 6 months old in a little over two weeks.

Where are my V8 Fusion fans?

2010-01-06T12:14:00.003-05:00

I LOVE V8 Fusion juice. I really do. And I'm SOOOOO excited to tell you that you can get it at Harris Teeter this week for $0.50/bottle!

Go here to print your two coupons. Take it to Harris Teeter where they are having it on sale 2 for $5, give them the coupons (which will double thanks to Super Doubles) to pay $1 for two bottles!

FREE Glade Candles!

2010-01-06T08:13:00.006-05:00

Who doesn't LOVE free stuff?

I did this transaction at WAGs yesterday:

$10- ($2.50 ea) 4 Glade glass candle holders
$10- ($2.50 ea) 4 Glade candle refill packs
-$1.50 Any Glade scented oil candle item coupon
-$1.50 Any Glade scented oil candle item coupon
-$1.50 Any Glade scented oil candle item coupon
-$1.50 Any Glade scented oil candle item coupon
-$2.50 FREE Glade refill wyb (when you buy) candle holder coupon
-$2.50 FREE Glade refill wyb candle holder coupon
-$2.50 FREE Glade refill wyb candle holder coupon
-$2.50 FREE Glade refill wyb candle holder coupon
+ $1 Tax

Total: $5! (Total without coupons: $34.78 at regular prices, $21 at sales prices)

I'm going to use this receipt to submit for the $5 SC Johnson Rebate (click here for details).

$5 - $5 = FREE!

The candle holders are actually really nice, and since my MIL (mother-in-law) LOVES candles, I've got gifts for her birthday, Mother's day, and a couple other gift-giving occasions throughout the year!

Also made a run to Giant- Bought 8 boxes of Cheerios, 2 Green Giant steamable veggies, and splurged on a magazine. Spent $15.55.

Free Stuff Giveaway?!

2010-01-05T15:34:00.003-05:00

While going through my coupons today, I noticed another BOGO Nivea Lip Care Coupon! That means I can get two more- FREE!

So, I was thinking, maybe one of my readers could benefit from my good fortune as well. Maybe if I get some comments on some of my blog posts, I would be willing to give away a free Nivea Lip Care! Hmmm, the possibilities... :)

SUPER DOUBLES at Harris Teeter!

2010-01-05T14:15:00.004-05:00

Starting tomorrow, Harris Teeter will be doing Super Doubles through 1/12! (They will double coupons up to $1.98!) See here for more discussion on this, as well as a preview for what is on sale (and what you may be able to get for free!)

Other normal doubling restrictions apply as outlined in their coupon policy.

Rite Aid Has Redeemed Themselves

2010-01-04T19:01:00.004-05:00

Thanks to the Gainesville store.

I went to the Gainesville Rite Aid tonight on my way home. COMPLETELY different experience than earlier! The girl said "hi" to me when I came in, she told me two different places to look for Nivea, they were out of Stayfree but she took my name and number and said they get a shipment on Saturday and she would call, and she gave me a raincheck. She even complimented my choice of Nivea (little did she know I took all but one, and the only reason I didn't take the last one was b/c it wouldn't have been free without another one, LOL). It was fabulous. So, I called customer service back and had them put a report in her file about how nice she was.

So, I will continue to shop at the Rite Aid in Gainesville, and will avoid the McLean store like the plague.

Used the last of my giftcard to buy a Listerine mouthwash for $2.50, but I will get a SCR of $3, so I really MADE $0.50 off that transaction.

Did a second transaction to buy 10 Nivea lip care- paid $1.84 after coupons, saved $32.91!!!

CVS Challenge 2010 Begins!

2010-01-04T14:13:00.004-05:00

Last week I posted here about showing everyone how to do CVS deals like me. I challenged myself to start with $20 and not pay anymore (unless tax) for things for the rest of the year. It's going to be difficult, but I'm going to try. Here is what I did today!

CVS is currently having an ECB sale where if you spend $10 on Nivea Products, you get $5 back. It just so happens that in yesterday's paper, there were several Nivea coupons:

-Nivea Lip Care, buy any one .17oz and get one Nivea Lip Care .17 oz. free valid up to $3.99
-$5/2 Nivea Body Lotion (13.5 fl oz, 250 ml), any
-$2/1 Nivea Body Lotion (13.5 fl oz, 250 ml), any
-$2/1 Nivea Body Wash for Women (16.9 fl oz, 500 ml), any

Here was my transaction:

2 Nivea Body Wash ($5.99)
1 Revlon (cleananced cosmetic!) ($2)
1 Revlon (cleananced cosmetic!) ($2)
-$2 Revlon Color Cosmetic product (from 12/13 paper)
-$2 Revlon Color Cosmetic product (from 12/13 paper)
-$2/1 Nivea Body Wash for Women
-$2/1 Nivea Body Wash for Women
Total: $8.73 (BUT, I received $5 ECB for the Nivea deal).

Also, CVS gives you ECB at the end of each quarter based on how much you spent during that quarter. I got a nice coupon for $4 ECB on my receipt for my Fall spending!

So- spent $8.73, have $9 ECB to roll into next week!

I also made a small trip to Giant today during lunch, picked up 6 boxes of Pillsbury brownies and 2 things of floss for $3.25.

Rude at the Rite-Aid in McLean!

2010-01-04T12:19:00.003-05:00

So, I went back and showed them the policy. The manager maintained that she'd done it right and told me that I was wrong. Then, I just asked for a return and she said fine. She gives me my money back, and then BEFORE I EVEN LEAVE THE COUNTER, she starts talking to the cashier about me! About how I don't know what I'm talking about (nevermind that I showed her Rite-Aid's own coupon policy that proves she is wrong). I will not be shopping at THAT Rite Aid again.

I just got off the phone with customer service rep Steven (who was very nice) and he assures me that this is not a habit in Rite-Aid stores.

Going Back to Rite-Aid... For a Refund

2010-01-04T09:55:00.002-05:00

One of the lovely ladies over at Hot Coupon World (see links) directed me to Rite-Aid's coupon policy. (Let me take a moment to saw I LOVE HCW and highly, Highly, HIGHLY recommend you join up there if you haven't already).

This is the OFFICIAL Rite- Aid Coupon Policy (as applies to my situation):

"If a customer presents a Buy One Get One Free coupon for the purchase of two items that are on a Buy One Get One Free promotion; we accept the coupon, essentially making both items free." Not half off, not half off a half minus the half plus half or whatever crazy "half" interpretation you come up with. FREE. (With tax)

So, looks like I'm going back to Rite-Aid to get some money back.

Rite-Aid Trip... Disappointing

2010-01-04T08:31:00.004-05:00

Using coupons does not always work out the way you want it to, and with success sometimes comes failure.

Rite-Aid this morning went horribly, horribly wrong.

Rite-Aid has a sale where all Stayfree products are BOGO free, and all Nivea Lip Care are BOGO free. Yesterday's paper came out with BOGO coupons, so, in a perfect world, I would have paid only tax for 6 Stayfree and 6 Nivea. This was my plan.

Went in at 7:15. Got 6 Stayfree, 6 Nivea Lip care, and 1 Listerine. Went to register. Cashier said computers were down so they had to do everything manually and could only take cash. I say that's fine, as I have cash. Well, the cashier (who was very nice, btw) kind of freaked a bit at my coupons (BOGO for Stayfree and Nivea), so she called the manager. What SHOULD have happened, was I SHOULD have paid ONLY $5.37 (BOGO sale plus BOGO coupons SHOULD equal paying only tax plus price of Listerine).

The manager decided that the ad meant that the Stayfree and Nivea Lipcare should be entered as half off, and that my coupon applies to one of the halves. So, two of my Stayfree were $6.99- she entered them in as $3.49 each and took off one, so I paid $3.49 for two. And on this went. I finally got out of the store at 8:00am. What was supposed to be a quick transaction ended up being 45 minutes. Good thing I didn't use all my BOGO coupons.

My total was $20.41 and I'll submit the receipt for the $3 SCR (Single Check Rebate that Rite-Aid does monthly). I'm not that upset about it, b/c full price would have been $60.25, so I saved 66%, but it's disappointing.

It's important to remember two things when transactions don't work out:

1) You never win by losing your temper.
2) Courtesy gets you further than rudeness.

So even though I was overcharged, I kept my head, remained polite, and I've learned my lesson for next time.

SFW 1/2/10

2010-01-02T16:20:00.001-05:00

Went to SFW today for their $1/lb chicken sale. It's a good thing I went early b/c the sale started today and there was hardly anything left. I saw 8 packages, and I took 4, which amounted to 18lbs of chicken. DH assures me he can make it stretch for at least two weeks. Here is a breakdown of what I spent:

$17.84 lbs of chicken
$7.79 hair color (No, I did not use a coupon, but I really wanted to treat myself to a new hair color since I haven't really changed anything since getting pregnant with DD, but in my defense, I got the cheapest brand that had the color I wanted)
$0.84 tax.

Total: $26.47, but again, I used the giftcard I got for Christmas (thanks Aimee!) so I spent nothing oop.

Total left on giftcard: $12.76

First Trip of the New Year

2010-01-01T21:16:00.005-05:00

Hit Giant tonight. Here is what I got:

1- All Laundry Detergent
2- Pillsbury Brownie Mix
2- Pillsbury Frosting
3- Pasta Roni
4- Progresso Veg Classics soups
2- Green Giant Veggie Steamers
1- Ronzoni Smart Taste thin sphagetti pasta

Total before coupons/sales: $32.04
Bonus Card Savings: $11.71
Coupon savings: $10.10
Tax: $0.54

TOTAL PAID: $10.77
However, I used the $50 gift card I got for Christmas (thanks Aimee!), so I paid nothing oop.

Happy New Year! Time for a New Start!

2010-01-01T15:52:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year to all my family, friends, and readers! I'm so excited that 2010 is here at last!

As many of you know, it was my goal to do a $2500 spending challenge for 2010. I am sticking to that, and I am also adding another new goal for 2010. I want to put an extra $2500 in savings by the end of the year.

Here are the guidelines for my challenge:

-Money from mail-in-rebates (MIRs) can either be put in savings or re-invested back into my grocery budget.
-I am starting 2010 off with a $50 Visa giftcard I got for Christmas, $50 in MIR money I am expecting at any time, and a decent stockpile of laundry detergent and HBA items (such as shampoo, razors, and toothpaste).
-Each time I go shopping, I will make a list of what I spent, what I saved, and what I got.
-I will keep totals throughout the year of what I spend and save.

Here's to a great 2010!

DEAL ALERT- $10 Rebate Card

2009-12-29T10:54:00.002-05:00

Valid tomorrow 12/30 through 1/5 at HARRIS TEETER

P&G GO FOR THE GOLD--PURCHASE $25 OR MORE IN 1 TRANSACTIONS & RECEIVE A FREE $10 VISA PREPAID CARD BY MAIL (SEE AD DETAILS)

***Note***--Prices are VIC Prices at HT without P&G brandSaver Coupons--

Tide Liquid Detergent (100 oz.) $11.99/each
Tide Stain Release (34 count) $10.99/each
Downy Liquid Fabric Softener (52-60 load) $4.49/each
Bounce Dryer Sheets (80 count) $3.69/each
Bounce Dryer Bar (2 month) $3.79/each
Bounty Napkins (180-200 count) $2.99/each
Bounty Paper Towels (8 roll) $6.99/each
Charmin Toliet Tissue (6 Mega or 12 Big Roll) $6.99
Cascade Liquid Dishwasher Detergent (75 oz.) or Cascade Action Pacs (20 count) $3.99/each
Dawn Dish Detergent (19-24 oz.) $1.99/each
Dawn Hand Care (19 oz.) $1.99/each
IAMS Dry Dog Food (17.5 lb.) $16.88/each
Pringles (5.71-6.42 oz.) 3/$5.00
Pampers Diapers (Big Pack) $19.99/each
Pampers Wipes (3X Refill) $5.49/each
Luvs Diapers (Jumbo Pack) $5.99/each
Duracell Batteries (8 count AA/AAA) 2/$10.00
Pantene Shampoo & Conditioner (12.6 oz.) 2/$7.00
Herbal Essences Shampoo & Conditioner (12 oz.) $2.49/each
Secret Flawless Deodorant (2.6 oz.) $3.99/each
Nice N Easy (1 Application) $5.99/each
Olay Regenerist (50 ml.) $15.99/each
Olay Body Wash (12 oz.) $3.99/each
Gillette Fusion Razor (1 count) $7.99/each
Gillette Body Wash (12 oz.) $2.99/each
Old Spice Ever Clear Deodorant (2.6 oz.) 2/$7.00
Prilosec OTC (42 count) $24.99/each
Vick DayQuil or NyQuil (6 oz.) $3.99/each
Always Infinity (16 count) 2/$10.00
Glide Floss (50 m.) $2.99/each
Crest Paste (6 oz.) $2.50/each
Oral-B Advantage Toothbrush (1 count) $2.49/each
Crest White Strips Advanced Seal (14 count) $34.99/each
Crest Rinse (1 liter) $4.99/each
Always or Tampax Selected Varieties 2/$10.00

Offer valid 12/30/09 to 01/05/10. Mail-in offer. Official form will print via checkout printer at the end of qualified transaction.

Original cash register receipt showing retailer must be obtained from the same participating store. Purchase MUST BE MADE IN ONE (1) TRANSACTION. Limit One (1) per household. See mail-in offer for complete details.

***** spend $25 BEFORE coupons! That means you can combine with coupons (last Sunday's insert was a P&G w/ coupons you can use) to lower your OOP cost!*****

Where do I get my coupons?

2009-12-28T10:19:00.002-05:00

Another FAQ I get is, where do I get my coupons? I've decided to reveal my sources for those who may want to start doing the deals with me!

1) Newspaper inserts - I currently live in an apartment building where all the mailboxes are together. The post-person puts inserts in our local paper, and since many people just throw them away or leave them lying around our mailbox common area, I pick them up.
2) Hotcouponworld.com - I cannot say enough good things about HCW. Not only do they often have ads posted in advance, when new ads come out, the lovely moderator teams posts match-ups (sale prices with current coupons available to use for bigger savings). There is also a trading forum where you can trade coupons you need for other coupons, stamps, small handling fees, giftcards, or anything as long as the trade is acceptable to both parties. Nine times out of ten, I check here for the coupons I need first. I highly recommend everyone check it out if you haven't already.
3) lorihas3kids.com - She is a coupon clipping service. For a small handling fee (and no shipping charge) you can order coupons from her. She is a good place to get some of the coupons you may not see in your area. For example, most of the coupons we get here in the DMV (DC, MD, VA) are $1 off 2 (b/c most stores double up to $0.99, manufacturers send $1/2 Q's to get around this). Most of those coupons also come in $0.50/1 in certain areas, so Lori is a good place to get those. Remember, any coupon under $0.99 doubles at most stores here including Giant, Shoppers, and Harris Teeter).
4) Thecouponclippers.com - Just like Lori, but you pay shipping.

Now would be a great time to start using coupons to save money!

So, how do I get started at CVS?

2009-12-28T09:51:00.003-05:00

Yesterday at church, at least 5 people mentioned to me that they'd been following my blog. You'd never know since no one comments (I've adjusted the settings to make it easier), but apparently I have several loyal readers.

The top question I've been asked is how to get started at CVS, so I'm going to answer that question starting next week, just in time for my 2010 budget challenge. Here is what is going to happen:

-I have set aside $20 to spend as an investment, and then I will never spend any more money out-of-pocket at CVS (other than tax, which is always less than $1)
-I will post my weekly CVS trips as well as exactly what deals and coupons I use so you (if you choose) can duplicate everything I do.
-After the $20, I will use *only* coupons and ECB to pay for items purchased at CVS.
-The $20 will most likely NOT all be spent at once, but I will keep a running tally so you know I haven't spent over $20.

It is my hope that you guys can follow along with me and start to see the savings add up!

CVS 12/28

2009-12-28T08:34:00.002-05:00

This week was not a great week for CVS, plus, I did not have coupons for two items I bought, but I will still post because there are a few important tips I can add to those trying to learn CVS.

Remember, I had 14ECB from last week to use for this transaction.

$3 for 3 2-Liter Cokes (w/ 1ECB)
$8.99 for 1 Gillette Fusion Razor w/ shave gel bonus pack (w/ 4ECB)
$2.99 for 1 Colgate toothpaste (w/ 2ECB)
-$4 coupon for Gillette fusion
Total: $10.98 plus tax so the total SHOULD have been $11.72 get 7ECB)

I paid, grabbed my receipt, and headed for the car. Before I left the parking lot, I checked my receipt, which I should have done in the store, but I did not. I noticed that I'd paid $9.99 for the Gillette razor and NO ECB for that had printed.

I went back to CVS, showed the lady the ad and my receipt, and she said I purchased the wrong item. I then showed her that the razor pack I picked up was marking as $8.99 w/ 4ECB on the actual item, and she investigated.

Apparently, the item on the shelf was marked wrong, but they decided to let me have it, and they printed off $5ECB ($1 overpaid plus 4ECB) for my trouble. If they had maintained that I bought the wrong item, I would have processed a return and exchanged the item.

Total overall was $4.72 (4ECB, I paid $0.72 tax).

Two important lessons here:

1) CHECK YOUR RECEIPT- Know what the sale prices are and know how many ECB you should get back
2) GO BACK IF THERE IS A MISTAKE- If you purchased the wrong item, ask for a refund or an exchange.

Happy shopping, all!

Christmas

2009-12-26T22:10:00.002-05:00

We had a very nice Christmas. We went to my friend Jessica D's place for brunch. This woman is a godsend! The food was fabulous and Jess is such a sweetheart! She is due with her first baby (a girl!) in February, so how she cooked such great food for the six of us is a mystery to me! Lunch was at my friend Jessica C's place with all our other friends. It was great to just have a laid back time with my friends. We also stopped by and had dinner with the in-laws.

Today I did some after-Christmas shopping. I picked up a lot of yarn at Michael's and then hit Joann's Fabrics for some sewing pins and a tape measure. I then took my daughter to see my sister, which was nice.

I know it's late, but Merry Christmas everyone!

St. Ives Body Wash- $0.99 at Giant

2009-12-23T09:24:00.002-05:00

I went to Giant this morning, which is usually my routine as I like to get a donut sometimes and look for coupons lying around the store. I noticed they have St. Ives body wash on sale for $1.99, and since I have $1 coupons that expire the end of this month, I decided to put them to good use. Needless to say, I purchased 14 bottles of body wash. They will make a perfect addition to some of my holiday gift baskets this year! :)

Rocked CVS today!

2009-12-22T09:48:00.003-05:00

I usually make a weekly trip to CVS on Sunday, but this week I was delayed due to snow, so I didn't get a chance to go until this morning. Here is the breakdown of how I did:

Listerine $3.99, Nivea body wash, $5.99, Crest $2.88, $12 Glade (1 Lasting Impressions $6, 1 candle holder $3, 1 refill pack $3), and 4 trial size Schick razors ($1.29 each). Total was $31.52 with tax.

$31.52
-$5/$30 coupon (check those emails from CVS! They are not all junk!)
-$4 ECBs (from last week)
-$2 Nivea printable (coupons.com)
-$1 Listerine coupon
-$1 crest coupon
-4 ($1) on any Schick coupons
-$3 lasting impressions coupon
-$2 candle holder coupon
-$3 (free refill pack wyb holder) coupon
TOTAL OOP (out-of-pocket): $6.52, got $14 ECB

Yes, that's right. I only paid $6.52 and I have $14 ECB to use on my next trip.

Totals:

Spent- $6.52
Saved- $39 ($25 plus $14 ECB) which is a savings of 84%!

A Wonderful Charity-Kitten Angels

2009-12-17T11:22:00.008-05:00

I want to take a minute to share about a wonderful charity I have been sending coupons to. My friend Arie lives in NY and along with a small group of volunteers and foster families, has been running a charity called Kitten Angels. They rescue cats and kittens and take in strays. They are currently supporting several animals in foster homes as well as at least two cats with special needs- one that is blind, and another that was rescued after serving as bait to train pit bulls for dog fighting.

About two months ago I'd heard that their main donor had stopped donating food to her charity and her and the other volunteers had taken on the cost of buying all the supplies for Kitten Angels.

Here are some pictures of the kitties they have and their stories from Arie. Please be warned that some of these might make you cry.

Babies - These are some of the newest additions who are adoptable. They were given names, but I can't tell them apart. LOL.

Boots - he's our jail house cat! He was found (and taken excellent care of) by an inmate until he could get into our program. He is THE most lovable cat from an unfortunate situation.

Cloud - is an adult cat who holds a special place in my heart. We got a call from the police department that there was a pit bull fight going on in a terrace of 4 apartment buildings. (Here in NY, it's common to have 4 buildings all against each other forming a + shape. The the center of the + is a empty lot, usually called a terrace... if that makes any sense). Apparently, there was a pit bull fight ring set up in the terrace, and they were using kittens as bait to train the pit bulls. Cloud was one of those kittens. We rescued her and rushed her to an emergency vet, where they actually had to construct artificial bowels and a rectum for her, and piece her back together. (I didn't see this thank heavens, but she was literally in pieces I'm told.) After months of intensive care, she was deemed healthy, but unadoptable because of her fear of movements, dogs, and loud noise. She will probably never be adopted, but she is one of our forever kittens. We'll keep her with us always and give her the best life we can.

Feather - he was a happy, healthy kitten who found a home the day after he became available!

Mr.Sunshine - Feather's brother. Another happy, healthy kitten. He and Feather went to the same home on the same day!

Snuggles - is my BABY! She is an adult cat who has special needs. She was a stray cat, who was hit by a car. The accident was so fierce that it detached her retinas, rendering her totally blind. She is SO happy, and SO loving, and just wants to snuggle and cuddle and be held. We're still looking for her forever home, but she is currently in foster care with a long time foster family who is taking care of her.

Tucker - He's an abandoned stray kitten that we took in recently. We had to bottle feed him because he wasn't even old enough for wet food yet."

I am happy to report they were able to buy all the cat food they needed for their kitties for just $44 this month! But they can definitely use any other coupons we can send. Many people throw their cat food coupons away, but please, just take a minute to think of these cute faces. All it takes is a few minutes to clip coupons and a $0.44 stamp to send them. If anyone has any coupons to donate, please let me know!

Keep up the good work Arie!

$4.71

2009-12-14T08:10:00.002-05:00

Have an idea of what I bought yesterday for $4.71?

No, it wasn't Starbucks coffee, though that is about what my favorite drinks costs.

Here's the rundown:

I had a $2RR that expired yesterday. Since we're low on cash and I didn't see anything I really need to roll my RR, I bought some milk (on sale for $2.99) so with tax I got that for $1.06.

The I hit Shoppers Food Warehouse (they are doubling coupons up to $0.99 this week!!)

Bread- $1.00
4 Yakisoba soups (FREE after doubled $0.50 coupon!)
1 Tasbasco sauce ($0.69 after doubled $0.50 coupon!)
2 Nestle Nesquik ($0.49 after doubled $0.50 coupon!)
1 16 oz Daisy sour cream ($79. after doubled $0.60 coupon!)
Spent $3.65 with tax.

I could have done better if the sour cream, tabasco sauce, and Nesquik were on sale, but I'm pretty pleased with myself for what I got for only $4.71 oop.

Let's Say Thanks

2009-12-11T15:57:00.003-05:00

Xerox is doing something awesome!

If you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving overseas. You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.

How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! It is FREE and it only takes a second.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our soldiers over there need to know we are behind them.

This takes just 10 seconds and it's a wonderful way to say thank you. Please take the time and please take the time to pass it on for others to do. We can never say enough thank you's.

Thanks for taking to time to support our military!

Deal Alert!

2009-12-10T14:01:00.001-05:00

Hallmark has a coupon out for $5 off your purchase. Click here to get it (I was able to print two)!

Rooting for Laura!

2009-12-10T13:36:00.002-05:00

My friend Laura (check out her blog here) has decided that if she can commit to a budget through the rest of December, she is going to join me for my $2500 in 2010 grocery challenge! Awesome!

Be nice!

2009-12-09T15:42:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to post this.

Today, I was going downstairs on my lunch break to take my bags and stuff to my van, and the maintenance man, Tom, happened to be coming through the door at the same time, and he stopped and held it open for me and said "I'm glad I was here to help you. You've been so nice to me." And I replied "Thank you, but why wouldn't I be nice to you?" and then he said "You'd be surprised how people treat you b/c you are working in maintenance, but you've always been so kind that I'm glad to be associated with someone like you."

I thought that was one of the nicest things anyone could have said about me. I don't even remember being particularly nice to Tom. In fact, Tom is relatively new to the building, and I've only seen him a handful of times, though I did make it a point to learn his name and thank him when he comes to fix things in our office.

This is just another example that you never know the effect you may have on someone, so it really pays to be nice all the time.

Two FANTASTIC deals I did recently!

2009-12-09T12:38:00.003-05:00

I feel I should address the non-believers for a moment. Anyone who uses coupons has heard someone say "I just don't think they save you much money." One of my friends recently told me that she didn't see how the Sunday paper coupons could help her. I thought I'd post two deals I recently did using coupons from the Sunday paper- no non-inserts of any kind, just easily accessible Sunday paper coupons.

1) Grocery Store (*)

9 Lives cat food was on sale $4.99 Buy One Get One Free (BOGO). The week before, the Sunday paper had $0.75/1 coupons and this particular store usually doubles coupons up to $0.99 but this week was one of those rare triples weeks, so coupons up to $0.99 were tripled.

2 Bags of cat food- Normally $9.98 full price.
Start: $9.98
- $4.99 (BOGO deal)
- $0.75 coupon
- $1.50 (tripled)
- $0.75 coupon
- $1.50 (tripled)
Total: $0.49 plus tax for TWO 3lb bags of cat food! (I ended up with 18 bags over the course of that week).

*Please note some stores will not let you use two coupons on BOGO items so check your store's coupon policy. The store I did this deal in general does not, however, my transaction was cleared by a manager before I did it.

CVS

3 Gillette Deodorant and 3 Gillette Body Wash- Normally $31.44 full price (deo is $5.49 and body wash is $4.99). I used two coupons from the Sunday paper on this deal- One was "Buy any Gillette deoderant, get any Gillette body wash free", and the other was $1/1 any Gillette deoderant (Using coupons this way is perfectly legal since the first coupon saved on the body wash and the second saved on the deodorant. If the second coupon had been for body wash, I could not have used it since you can't use two different manufacturer coupons on the same item).

Start: $31.44
-$4.99 (bogo q)
-$4.99 (bogo q)
-$4.99 (bogo q)
-$1 (q)
-$1 (q)
-$1 (q)
Total: $13.47

BUT, I had $13 in ECB, so I actually only paid $0.47 plus tax AND since my total exceeded $25, CVS was doing a promo (buy $25 get $10 ECB) I received $10 ECB back.

Just wanted to do a quick demo to show that coupons CAN save you money.

Stockpiling!

2009-12-09T09:33:00.011-05:00

My last blog mentioned that my budget for 2010 would be $2500, and I've been going back and forth thinking about if that should include stockpiling or not. *For those (few, hehe) not familiar with stockpiling, it's basically buying in bulk when you find a GREAT deal such as $0.49 cat food, $0.39 razors or FREE shampoo).*

Anyway, I thought about it, and that budget should allow for some decent stockpiling, especially for Health & Beauty (HBA) items. I'm on a great roll with my CVS Extra Care Bucks (ECB), and with just an initial $20 investment, I've been able to roll my ECBs over the last month to include Glade, various shampoos including Dove, more razors, and most recently I rolled ECB's AND BOGO Gillette coupons into the Buy $25 get $10 ECB deal (though I did have to spend $0.69 oop, which is not bad for a $25 purchase!

I've been trying to get into Walgreens (WAGs) deals so I can roll Register Rewards (RRs), but with different stores making up their own rules on how customers can use their RRs, it doesn't seem worth it. The most common made-up rule I've heard is that you can only use one RR per TRANSACTION, which is ridiculous, and FALSE according to how their RR program works, but I hear more and more people saying their WAGs managers are now making up this rule. In my experience, however, when a cashier says this to me, and I tell them I'm fine with doing a separate transaction for all my items so I can use all my RRs... this rule is amended, but be aware of this if you are a regular WAGs shopper.

I already prefer CVS b/c at WAGs you can't use a coupon and an RR on the same item, a restriction that CVS does not have. Who wants to always have to worry about fillers? Not me. I am okay with shopping there when they have free shampoo. Most recently they did $2.99 Herbal Essences and $2.99 Aussie (both had $1/1 coupons out), where if you purchased them, you got $2 RR, which made them free. A redeeming quality about WAGs is that they do not have a rewards card, therefore their deals have no limits, unlike CVS, though, in order to do multiples of the same deal (and get multiple RR), you have to do different transactions which can be frustrating and time consuming, and the occasional cashier/manager will not let you do that. Definitely not for the "get-in-and-get-out" kind of shoppers.

Anyway, to sum up, I'm okay with the $2500 to include all my food, baby, pet, HBA, needs for the year, as well as to allow for stockpiling. I hope you guys follow me, as I will be posting all about it here!

Julie's 2010 Grocery Challenge!

2009-12-07T16:38:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I've been following Vicky's blog where she's spent ONLY $1200 for the ENTIRE year of 2009! It's very inspiring (see "Vicky's Grocery Challenge" on My BLog List). I'm thinking of doing something similar for 2010. I've learned SO much this last year of couponing and I want to put it to good use in 2010 to hopefully avoid some of the pitfalls and craziness that occurred this year.

I have to have a reasonable budget for myself, DH, DD, and two cats to include all of our food and personal item needs. I've done some thinking about it, and since this is my first "year" I want to give myself a little leg room, so I've come up with a budget.

2010 Budget: $2500!

This works out to be approximately $208/month or $48/week to include all food, baby stuff, personal items (like shampoo and toilet paper), and stuff for our two cats.

Anyone want to join me for this challenge?

Coupon Preview!

2009-12-03T16:55:00.000-05:00

Some GREAT coupons coming out this week! Check out:

http://www.thecouponclippers.com/coupons/calendar.php

Click on Smart Source or Valassis to preview what might be coming out this week.

Personally, I am excited about: Target diaper coupons, Birdseye Steamfresh coupons, and ALL detergent!

DEAL ALERT- FREE EGGS

2009-12-02T13:32:00.002-05:00

Hurry!

Go to GoodEggProject.org, click on "Take the Pledge" on the bottom right- fill out the info and print your coupon for BOGO EGGS! First 10,000 only!

Cheap Enfamil at Target!

2009-12-01T15:32:00.002-05:00

For those of you who have spent time collecting Enfamil Printable coupons and formula checks, it pays off at Target this week!

Enfamil 32 oz Ready Feed can just $5.49 (regular $6.59)
Enfamil 16 4oz packs of powder just $9.72 (regular $10.78)

The deal:

Buy one of each, use two $5 formula checks and 1 $5 Enfamil coupon (the pre-packaged packs of powder do count for the coupon).

$9.72 + $5.49= $15.21 - $10 checks - $5 coupons = $0.21 plus tax!

Harris Teeter: No Super Doubles in Sight

2009-12-01T15:27:00.003-05:00

Well, the rumors proved false, as rumors often do. No super doubles at Harris Teeter so far and none for their upcoming ad. Click here for a sneak peak at their ad for 12/2- 12/9. The only thing of note I saw was that Purex detergent is Buy One Get One Free. There have been several coupons out for it, so combine for a good deal.

Save on Glade Candles at Target

2009-11-13T11:39:00.002-05:00

Glade Holiday candles are on sale at Target. Candles are $2.50 and when you buy 5, Target will give you a $5 gift card. Combine this deal with the coupons and it makes for a sweet deal. Here is what I did at my Target yesterday:

10 Glade Holiday Candles $2.50 each
- 5 $1.50/2 coupons from recent insert
Total: 17.50 (subtract $10 in Target GC and only pay $7.50 oop for 10 Glade Candles)

Harris Teeter Triple Coupons!

2009-11-10T11:59:00.000-05:00

Good morning, all!

I survived Harris Teeter triples with minimal economic damage! I have way too much shampoo, fabric softener, dish soap, rice, and cat food then any sane person should have.

Now there are rumors going around that Harris Teeter will have Super Doubles starting 11/18. For those of you not familiar with Super Doubles, Harris Teeter which normally doubles up to $0.99 will be doubling coupon values up to $1.98. I will try and confirm this as soon as I am able!

Cats can catch Swine Flu???

2009-11-04T16:13:00.000-05:00

A 13-year old cat in Iowa is now confirmed as having swine flu.

http://www.avma.org/public_health/influenza/new_virus/

CDC Recommends 3 Actions to Fighting Flu

2009-11-04T15:23:00.001-05:00

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/preventing.htm

Quick Preview:

Flu is a serious contagious disease. Each year in the United States, on average, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized and 36,000 people die from seasonal flu complications. This flu season could be worse because there is a new and very different influenza virus causing illness called 2009 H1N1. CDC expects both 2009 H1N1 flu and seasonal flu to cause illness, hospital stays and death s this season and is preparing for an early and possibly severe flu season.

Check the link for 3 Important Ways to help combat the both the seasonal and swine flus.

New Favorite Magazine- Children's Health

2009-11-04T14:58:00.000-05:00

DH and I have each been following Men's Health and Women's Health, and they have finally collaborated to produce Children's Health magazine. Below is one of the most eye-opening articles of their debut issue: The New American Diet.

Quick preview: Exposure to pesticides and toxins during pregnancy and early childhood can set up children for obesity later in life. The ways babies and kids are exposed to these pesticides is shocking.

Children's Health Magazine : Babies : The New American Diet

You might want to think twice about visiting Wal-Mart for awhile...

2009-11-04T08:44:00.000-05:00

ISS - Wal-Mart's stingy sick-leave policy may contribute to swine flu's spread

"Wal-Mart's policy of punishing workers for taking sick leave risks spreading swine flu.

So concludes a new report from the National Labor Committee that finds that employees of the Arkansas-based retail giant -- even its food handlers -- feel they have no choice but to work when they're sick. That's because the company gives workers demerits and deducts pay for staying home when they're sick or caring for sick children.

Said a worker at one Wal-Mart supercenter:

Plenty of girls are coughing their brains out. But they cannot go home because of points. Everyone comes in sick. You can't stay home and God forbid if you leave early.

The report found that the only time the company is removing sick workers from the food section is when they are coughing too loudly or violently -- and then the person is merely transferred to another department rather than being sent home.

Wal-Mart's sick-leave policy conflicts with recommendations for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which calls on employers to advise workers to be alert for symptoms of flu-like illness and to stay home if they are ill. The CDC also asks employers to allow workers to stay home to care for sick family members.

According to the NLC report, a senior vice president for Wal-Mart sent out a memo nationwide to all employees on preparing for the flu season. It told employees to "cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze," "wash your hands regularly" and "avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth":

Not a single word was said about the critical CDC recommendation that workers with "any signs of fever and other signs of influenza-like illness...stay home if they are ill."

The memo goes on to tell employees to familiarize themselves with the company's sick leave policy. But as the NLC notes, that policy is the problem.

Wal-Mart has a demerit system that punishes workers who cannot come to work due to illness. Employees who miss a day due to sickness receive a one-point demerit and lose eight hours of wages.

Employees with more than three absences a six-month period face discipline, and a fifth absence -- even for a sick day -- will result in what the company calls "active coaching" by management.

A sixth absence leads to what Wal-Mart calls "Decision Day," when a worker can be either terminated or put on a year-long trial period during which time he or she can be fired for any infraction and cannot be promoted.

The situation is particularly difficult for Wal-Mart workers who are single parents. The NLC reports on an instance in which an employee got a call from her four-year-old's preschool telling her to pick up the child, who had a fever of 103 degrees F. Despite the fact that the employee had already worked for four hours that day, she got a demerit point for leaving and lost her wages for the rest of the day. The report says:

Parents have no choice but to load their children up with Motrin and Dimetap to mask their symptoms so they can go to school.

The NLC is calling on Wal-Mart to immediately end its demerit and wage docking policies."

Great Holiday Traditions

2009-11-03T13:02:00.000-05:00

My favorite time of years is coming up. I love the holiday season! Getting together with family and friends is something I look forward to every year. I thought I'd start off by sharing some great holiday traditions. Most of these are courtesy of some lovely people at Hot Coupon World, so enjoy!

1. Give a gift to charity

We all look forward to seeing the joy in our family members’ faces when they open a great gift we have given them, but in the holiday shopping frenzy that encompasses the entire month from Black Friday to Christmas Eve, it can be easy to overlook those who may not receive any presents this year. Make a donation to charity in honor of the holidays, or sponsor a toy drive for a local charity such as Ronald McDonald House. Kids can get involved by donating toys they no longer play with, which can teach them valuable lessons about giving and social responsibility.

2. Bake some Christmas cookies

Gingersnaps, snicker doodles, chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and butter cookies in the shape of little Christmas trees were my favorite holiday cookies. I loved helping my grandmother put them in tins to give to our mail carrier, favorite bank tellers, and good friends. This is a great activity to do with kids- they can add sprinkles, icing, and help use the cookie cutters. Just make sure they don't eat them all before you get them out!

3. Give a Christmas ornament

Specialty craft shops always have lovely ornaments to decorate your tree. Picking out an ornament to give as a gift is not only inexpensive, but also personal, as you can include why you chose that ornament for the recipient in the accompanying card.

4. Listen to a great Christmas story

Old Time Radio had a series called "The Cinnamon Bear". Listen to one episode each night from December 1st through the 24th to see if Judy, Jimmy, and the Cinnamon Bear will find the silver star needed for their Christmas tree. It was stolen from their attic by the Crazyquilt Dragon. (The series can be ordered from Amazon.com).

5. Indulge in a Christmas Movie Marathon!

Spend some time enjoying a Christmas movie with family. Popular choices include Miracle on 34th Street, Home Alone, Home Alone 2, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life, Prancer, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, White Christmas, A Christmas Story, and (my favorite) a Charlie Brown Christmas!

Feel free to leave a comment and add your own favorite holiday traditions!