Coupons to Support Veterans

There are some high value coupons that you can print at the Believe in Heroes website. Each of the companies(All, Sweet Baby Ray's, Heinz, Minute Maid, Ocean Spray, & Motts to name a few) represented in the coupons has donated to and supported the Wounded Warrior Project to help wounded veterans. 

Blessings from a Friend!

So I had a friend that I don't get to see very often email me a couple of weeks ago to ask me if I could use some clothes for my boys! I told her "sure", I could use some clothes especially for my "growing weed" aka oldest son! In her email, she told me that she would be in my area in a couple of weeks, well she came by on Friday with her "loot"! Her "loot" consisted of a 10 gallon tub without its lid, an 18 gallon tub without its lid, and 2 1/2-13 gallon trashbags of clothes!(I wish I had gotten a picture of the stash before I went through it all!)

I feel overwhelmed and extremely blessed by all that she brought to us! It was like Christmas around here for all four of my older kids. I took the time to go through everything and divided it into piles of the different sizes. Here are the results...

Here is a purse/bag that she made out of a pair of old jean shorts and a Land's End parka! My daughter loves the purse! As for the coat that fits my daughter for this winter, which she needed!

These are all the shirts that fit my oldest son! Actually there is a sweater, a hooded sweatshirt, long sleeve and short sleeve shirts. The shirts are either dress shirts or knit shirts!

These are the stacks of 24 dress/cargo pants, 6 pairs of jeans, 5 jean shorts, 4 dress/cargo shorts, and a bathing suit that are for my oldest son, who happens to be in 16/18 slim or 27x30 student size pants!! If you have boys, you know that getting second hand pants with no holes is a rarity! Well out of all of these there was only a couple that really looked loved the rest were in excellent condition! There was even a pair with the tags still on the pants!

This is the stacks that will fit son #2!! There is a sport coat, a hooded sweatshirt along with several shirts and pants. There was a pair of pants in his stacks with the tags still on too!

These are the stacks for son #3!! There was 2 sport coats and a dress overcoat, along with several sweaters, shorts, pants, short and long sleeve shirts!

Now for the results of what I kept and what I decided to pass on because one doesn't need a TON of clothes! Most of the pants in son #3's stash were size 8, which is one size too small for him so those pants I am giving to another friend who has 4 boys!

All those pants and shorts for oldest son, I went through them with him and we are going to be keeping about 1/2 of them! The rest are going to other friends, whose oldest only had one pair of good jeans that fit him.

So while it is sooo fun and overwhelming getting all these clothes for my children, I know that the excess of my blessing will be blessing someone else in return. I told my friends who I gave the excess to that if they didn't want them or couldn't use them they were to bless someone else or make sure they ended up in our church's clothing closet ministry.

Thrift Store Finds

I actually did it!! I stayed out of the grocery stores this week! I decided that after my shopping last week I had plenty on my shelves to feed the family so I took a break from the deals at the grocery stores.

I was trying not to spend any money this week! But when my oldest son and only daughter are seen wearing the same things every day or they are asking if I can get some laundry done so they have some clothes to wear it is my signal to head to the thrift stores and see what I can find that looks good and is their size!

This past Sunday while passing my favorite local thrift store, I saw the sign said "All Children's Clothes Buy 1 Get 1 Free". So I got the opportunity on Tuesday after voting to go and see what was on their racks. I found ....

• 1 pair of girlie pink sweat pants


• 1 pair of knit pants


• 4 long sleeve girlie t-shirts


• 1 solid pink turtleneck


• 1 layered t-shirt hoodie


• 1 long sleeve nightie



• 1 Health-tex cordoroy jumper


• 2 denim jumpers


• 1 long sleeve dress
  

Now for my oldest son I found...

• 3 pairs of lounge pants for pjs


• 1 thermal shirt for pjs


• 1 navy blue turtleneck


• 1 Land's End long sleeve polo shirt(looks brand new!)


• 1 long sleeve dress shirt



• 1 black sweatshirt


• 4 long sleeve t-shirts


• 1 pair of gray sweatpants

I don't remember all the brands of the clothes but they were all name brands like Sonoma, Hanes, Falls Creek, Land's End, Gap, etc.

All total with tax, I spent $37.99!!! I had a punch card that was full so I cashed that in for a 20% discount, which was $7.25! Which made my out of pocket total of $30.74!!! There was 26 items total which makes them around $1.18 each!!

Now I just need to find my oldest son a pair of decent snow pants/bibs for the winter months and he will be fully set for winter hopefully(this is my child who is growing like a weed!--the one who needs student size 27x30 pants who was just in a 14 slim pants 4 months ago!).

For more savings stories head over to MoneySavingMom's Super Saturday Savings and Becentsable's Centsable Saving Stories.

Shopping Sales & Clearance Racks!

Here a couple of days ago, hubby and I went to Kohl's to return a pair of jammies that didn't fit the boy who Grandma intended them to fit. So we went and exchanged them for some lounge pants to go with what he already had and we did some other shopping!! BOY did we make out like a bandit!

Here is what we got....


outfit for daughter...girly sweatpants and a layered shirt. The short sleeve shirt part is a fuzzy fleece with a hoodie while the long shirt part is just a light weight knit. Brand new outfit for $16.50! Grandma had sent us $15 to spend!

2 outfits for youngest son...two long sleeve shirts and two pairs of jeans(no holes!). Total for those outfits $24.00! Grandma sent us $25 to spend! We also found him a pair of flip flops for next summer for 80¢!!! We grab two pairs of the flip flops because one pair we are going to put in our Operation Christmas Child Shoebox!

After getting those outfits, we also started checking the clearance racks and found shorts for the older boys!! These shorts were originally $22 a piece! However, six pairs were marked for $2.20 each and one pair was $6.40 and another pair $3.20!!! So 12 yo boy has 3 pairs of dress shorts, 10 yo boy has 3 pairs of dress shorts, and 8 yo boy has 2 pairs of dress shorts ALL for $22.80!!!

All total with tax everything was $68.79!!! So if you can get to Kohls and have the patience to check out their clearance racks where things are marked at 80% or 90% off!! You can score some brand new clothes at thrift store prices!!

Thrift Store Finds!!!

This past Sunday driving to church I saw that my favorite local thrift store(not Goodwill!) was going to be having a sale this week on clothing! The sign read "ALL CLOTHING Buy 1 Get 2 FREE"!!!!! Sooooo I kept telling myself all week that I needed to get in there!! Well the store isn't open on Sundays, and they close early so waiting til after dinner when hubby is home is out of the question. So I finally just went today! I left my kids with 12yo son in charge, and 21mo sleeping and trekked over there to see what they might have on their racks. As usual, I was not disappointed and I walked away with a bag full of clothes for $14.84(including tax)!!!!

I got myself a Paradise Bay navy skirt, and 2 pairs of Studio Works shorts(tan and black) for $4.00!!!
I got my oldest son 2 pairs of boxer shorts(uses for pjs), a swimsuit, a pair of cotton shorts, and a pair of Land's End quick dry nylon shorts. Also in the picture is a pair of shorts with the Detroit Tigers logo on them for son #2. I got all 6 pairs of shorts for $4.00!!!
I couldn't leave the store without looking for things for my only daughter!! I purchased 2 pairs of shorts, a navy skort, 3 pairs of knit pants, a pair of navy dress pants, a pair of dressy sweatpants and a pink flower short sleeve shirt. All of it was for $6.00!!!!

My daughter will have to grow into a couple pairs of the pants. The Land's End nylon shorts are too big around for my oldest son so those either will get passed on to someone else or I will hang on to them for ones coming up behind him.

I love being able to get clothes that look decent and are in style for a fraction of the price they would be new!!

Restauraut Coupons

ATTN. MICHIGAN Readers...

There is a relatively new website called Wendy's Saves Michigan Money where you can enter the county you live in and get several coupons to use at their local Wendy's Restauraut. Right now thru 6/30/08 you can get 2/$5 Chicken Sandwiches or 2/$5 Double Cheese Burger or Buy One Single Burger get one Free or $1 off a Garden Sensations Salad or Combo Meal. The coupons will probably change to something different on 7/1/08.

ATTN. Chicagoland/Rockford IL and Grand Rapids, Flint and Traverse City, MI Readers

Taco Bell that serves Chicagoland and Rockford, IL and Grand Rapids, Flint, and Traverse City, MI has a website "My Local Taco Bell". You register with email addy and password and there is access to download coupons to use at the local Taco Bell. The 5 coupons currently on the site are good thru 7/13/08.

Weekly Shopping Trip--Stretching Last Weeks

Remember last week when I saved $92.71 and purchased a bunch of markdown meat??? Well aside from a $20 shopping trip yesterday and trip to Save A Lot earlier in the week, I am going to be able to stretch what I purchased with what is in my pantry for another 8 days!!! (Which translates til next pay day!!) No major shopping trip for me this week other than to get WIC items(like milk and eggs) in the next 8 days. :)

Since my pantry challenge ended, I have been able to restock my pantry decent enough to be able to this next 8 days! (See pic below)


Yesterday I went to Family Fare to finish a couple of meals for this next week and get hubby some Wild Cherry Pepsi(his morning "coffee").

Here is what I purchased...

• 4 cases Wild Cherry Pepsi $9.00
• 1 bag lettuce shreds $1.00
• .58 lbs Roma tomatoes 58 cents (these are safe ones!)
• 1 bottle Ortega Taco Sauce $1.67
• 2.49lbs bananas $1.47

Total $19.61 with tax & bottle deposits.

I also found some clothes for my dd this week!!

So there is the deals/savings that I found and did this week! Stay tuned to see what my menu is going to look like for the next 8 days!

To read about others weekly savings, head over to MoneySavingMom's Super Savings Saturday and BecentsAble's Centsible Shopper Show N Tell!!

Clothes Shopping Oh My!!!

Today I went out to Save A Lot to grab a few things that I had forgotten in my weekly shopping trip and next door is Once Upon A Child advertising that there is a 50% off sale going on!! Needless to say, I did not resist temptation!! I went in to see what types of things they had on their racks!!

I am always looking for things for my girl, not because she is the only one but I haven't found a good outlet(ie church friends) for hand-me-downs for her. So I checked the racks for her size and lo and behold I found some things I couldn't resist in getting her!!

I got everything in the picture for $13.78(includes tax)!!!

Here is a rundown of what I purchased...

• Youngland brand cotton dress(blue with pink gingham check and flowers and butterflies along the bottom) $4.50-50% off = $2.25
• Izod brand knit dress(aqua, pink and white stripe) $6.50-50%off = $3.25
• blue jean capris with pink stitching $3.50-50%off = $1.75
• Children's Place tan khaki skirt with the tags still on it! $4.50-50% off = $2.25
• Children's Place tank top(orange with fish) $2.50-50%off = $1.25
• Kidslook's denim shorts with butterfly patch $4.50-50%off = $2.25

I can't imagine going into the mall stores and picking these items up for regular price!!

If you are not familiar with Once Upon A Child, you should go check out the link and see if there is a location near you! It basically is a chain thrift/consignment store.

Spent only $53.57!!!!

After last week and only spending $27.37 and also trying to spend as little as possible while challenging myself to empty my pantry!! This week proved to be a bit more challenging! First challenge was trying to set an amount that I was going to spend. I said $40.00! I went over by $13.57!!! I think I should have said $60.00!! LOL! Second challenge was not spending money to get all the good deals that popped up this week. One of my "corner/local chain" stores was having a killer 3-day sale!! Things like 3lb bags of quick frozen chicken breasts for $1.66/lb or 1dz. eggs for 99 cents(limit 4 dz.)!!! It has been forever since I have seen deals like this on those items! However, I showed a bit of restraint and didn't go all hog wild in stocking up! I limited myself to just those things that were on sale that I needed to complete next week's menu.

Since I am talking about my "corner/local chain" store(Family Fare)....

2.60lbs Fresh Ground Chuck $5.20 ($2/lb)
2-3lb bags QF Chicken breasts $9.96 ($1.66/lb)
3 doz. Eggs $2.97 (these days reg. price is $1.69/doz.!)
5.37lbs bananas $3.17 (59 cents/lb)
1-Herbal Essence Shampoo $1.97 minus $1/1 coupon = 97 cents!!

Total with tax $22.39
Total Savings $16.71


Onto Meijer....

2 Aunt Millies Honey Buns $3.19--one was free!
2 bags Lays Potato Chips $3.79--one was free!
1lb Strawberries $1.34
3 Mott's Apple Juice $5.00 minus $1/2 coupon = 3/$4 or $1.33/64oz bottle
2 Tropicana OJ $5.00 minus $1/2 coupon = 2/$4 or $2/64oz carton
4 boxes Kleenex $5.00 minus 50cents/3 coupon = 4/$4.50 or $1.13/200 count box
2 tubes Crest Pro Health Toothpaste $4.88 minus 2-$1/1 coupons = $2.88 or $1.44/tube

Total with tax after coupons $24.29
Total Savings $19.94
(side note I got the Crest Toothpaste here rather than going to CVS or Walgreens because I was already there getting other things so it made it cheaper than using the gas to make another stop going the opposite direction to where I needed to go!)


Last stop....Aldi's

4 boxes corn muffin mix $1.16
2 bags baby carrots $1.98
2 lb bag carrots 99 cents
4 cans evaporated milk $2.67 (I have in my pantry instant pudding so now I can make my "lunch box dessert" for my hubby and munchkins!)

Total $6.89
Total Savings...priceless! LOL!

GRAND TOTAL $53.57
GRAND SAVINGS TOTAL $36.65

My evaluation of my shopping this week... Despite going over my projected amount that I threw out as a possible weekly grand total, I think I did quite well! Only spending $80.94 for two weeks worth of food, household, paper, and HBC products, I think is fantastic! IF you consider that just two weeks ago, I was spending on average $150/week for food, household, paper, and HBC products!!! I am a work in progress!!! I will find that happy medium to spending money to keep my family fed and keeping a pantry stocked of goodies to use to help keep my spending to a minimum.

To find out how others did...head over to MoneySavingMom's Super Savings Saturday and BeCentsAble's CentsAble Show N' Tell!

Spent only $27.37!!!!

With usually spending between $100-$150 each week and after making the challenge to myself to work from my stockpile, here is what I purchased this week(sorry no pics, kids helped me put it away!)...

• 2 -10lb bags of potatoes $4.98
• 2 Juicy Juice $4.50 (minus 50 cent coupon)
• 3 pkgs. Azteca flour tortillas $4.59
• 2 loaves of Aunt Millies Bread $3.19(buy one get one free!)
• 3 cases of Wild Cherry Pepsi plus a free case of Sierra Mist $11.00 plus $4.80 bottle deposit(the store had the deal of buying 3 cases of any Pepsi product get a case of Sierra Mist free!)

I brought in empty bottles so I had $5.20 bottle refund. So my total after coupon, and bottle refund was $27.37!!!!!(everything I purchased counts as food so there was no sales tax!)

I would have spent less but I had to restock hubby's morning pop/soda supply of Wild Cherry Pepsi!

To check out other's savings this week, head over to BeCentsAble's CentsAble Shopper Show and Tell and MoneySavingMom's Super Saturday Savings!!

Finding Coupons

I have been asked by a reader...

Do u have any suggestions as to where to get coupons? Sunday paper dont put only about 5 of them out and usually it is all for cat/dog food...and none of the stores around here take printable ones! Its horrible! I've looked into all those great websites everyone talks about where I can look up sales ahead of time and save...but the problem is where I live there arent any stores that they list. We dont even have a CVS! :(

My answer:

Start by writing or calling companies asking for coupons. Look at the labels of things that you buy to find the addresses or phone numbers of the companies. To make things a little easier for you, Wendy-Its More Than Enough has posted many companies' 800 numbers along with updates as to what the companies have sent in the way of coupons. I also found Tom--$39 dollar experiment, who took a roll of stamps (back when stamps were 39 cents) and wrote to 100 different companies looking for samples or coupons. He posted his letters and his results. I found it very fascinating. I wonder though if he would have gotten better results from the companies that didn't send him anything if he had asked for just a certain product or had given feedback about their products.

I have also taken the time to write or call companies, however I haven't just asked for coupons but I gave them feedback on the quality of their product. Just to name a few.... I wrote the local Wendy's franchise telling them about the service and quality of food in one of their restaurauts. Their response was a letter along with coupons for free frostys and french fries. Another was Pillsbury that I wrote via letter using their online comment form/email telling them about the quality of a tube of cinnamon rolls. Their response was a snail mail letter filled with coupons for free tubes of cinnamon rolls. Another was Spartan Stores that I called their 800 number telling them that I purchased some milk with a sell by date 2 weeks away and it already tasted sour. The results they sent me coupons for free milk to use at the store that I purchased the milk.

I have found that companies are anxious to hear from the consumer about their products.

I find it very interesting that stores will not take the printable coupons. I would think as long as there is scanable upc codes on the coupons the stores should not have any problems accepting them. If your stores allows for internet printable coupons. Here is a list of websites to find coupons also head over to this SlickDeals forum thread for a listing of other websites for regional stores....

Betty Crocker free sign up required

boodle.com

boxtops4education free sign up required along with school choice.

CoolSavings.com free sign up required

Coupon Bar

Coupons,inc

Eat Better America

Mambo Sprouts free sign up required using email address

Red Plum

Smart Source

Special Offers.com

Target/SuperTarget Coupons


Also a couple of favorite sites of mine....

Coupon Mom --free sign-up required....grocery deals by state, printable coupons, free offers, free samples and more!

Freebies4Mom a "hot spot" to find all the current freebies/offers/coupons available! :)

Coupons Galore!

Over the last couple of weeks, I have had some great success in getting coupons outside of the inserts in my Sunday paper!


I got a set of coupons and a sample for filling out the mail in survey from Shoppers Voice. It had:

• Children's Claritin--$3 off one 4oz liquid or 10ct tabs.
• Visine Products--$2.50 off any 1/2oz size
• Glade Scented Oil Refills and Warmer---$1 off each
• Afrin Nasal Spray--Free with coupon
• Off Products Powerpad Lamp or Lantern--$3 off one
• Off Products Insect Repellant--$1 off one (on the back of the Powerpad coupon)
• Free sample of Gold Bond Ultimate Healing Lotion.

Also in the picture above is my coupon for Free Yoplait Kids Yogurt or Yogurt drink. Go to their website(follow link) and you can get your free coupon as well(not available in all states). Thanks to Freebie Fridays at MomAdvice for posting this freebie!

Then yesterday, I did my weekly shopping trip to Meijers to get the weekly deals and when I checked out I got LOTS of Catalina coupons to use on subsequent visits. Here is what I got:

• Ziploc Containers---$1 off one
• Dove Go Fresh Deodorant---$1 off one
• Pillsbury Ready to bake cookies---FREE (I bought 4 Pillsbury Crescent rolls to get this coupon---Thanks to NeedANap2 for leaving me a comment about this deal!)
• Yoplait GoGurt Fizzz---FREE
• $5 off next $75 purchase
• $7 off next $110 purchase
• Advertisement telling me of a deal where if I buy 5 Colgate Palmolive Products in one transaction between 4/27-5/3, I will get $5 off my next shopping trip. Makes me wonder what kind of deals they are going to have next week on those products!!