Crazy~Busy Holiday Season

Well as if the holidays aren't crazy busy enough...I have added one more thing to my list of "hobbies".  I got a new monogramming machine.  I have spent countless hours for the last 7 days behind the 4 walls that I call my "sewing room" learning how it works, and I must say it's coming along quiet well.   This explains the delay in posting anything about coupons and my savings lately.
So to answer all the questions about the last few weeks ATL Journal paper inserts, there was only one this past week, a P&G insert.  Sunday before last there was also only one insert.  This is typical this time of year but look for them to increase in the next few weeks papers as cooking for the Christmas season is upon us. 
As for my savings this week...I checked all the sales and coupons and if I am being honest, we just didn't want to spend any money this week for "stock up supply" groceries, so I bought exactly what we had to have this week to replace those weekly used items and my grocery total came to $66.01 at Wal-mart.  I didn't use any coupons, bought all Great Value items with the exception of the meats. I did have one really GREAT find this week at Wal-mart and that was a TURKEY...a whole baking turkey!!  They had them reduced for sale (keep this in mind after Thanksgiving and you can buy your Christmas turkey's very cheap)...I got a $15.00 turkey for only $6.00!!!!  Love, Love, Love this deal!
I am checking sales papers tonight for Publix sale starting tomorrow and will post later this evening to let you know if there are any really great finds.
If you are Christmas shopping for kids and you have Littlest Pet Shop lovers...Wal-mart still has plenty of the $10.00 Pet Daycare deals left over from Black Friday, they are just to the right of the entrance on the Pharmacy side.  There are also several more items that I noticed that were still on the Black Friday price cut as of Sunday late evening.
Cyber Monday...a few of my favorites:
New York and Company...50% off everything and FREE shipping
Old Navy...still running same deals as in store on Balck Friday
Build A Bear...$7.00 animals and FREE shipping
There are soooo many more but these were a few of my favorites.  Most websites will run these deals all week thru Saturday or Sunday.  If you haven't taken advantage of them yet...hurry up - i saw several things that already said "out of stock".
Happy Holidays!
Check back in the morning for the new Publix weekly deals. 
Happy Holidays to you all

Cinderella Cellfire Coupons

Some of you may already know what Cellfire is.  For those of you that are new to this one it is an online site that you can go and download coupons directly to your grocery store card (Kroger Card for those of you in this area). 
If you have a Kroger card go to http://www.cellfire.com/ and sign up, link your Kroger card to your Cellfire account and then from NOON today to until NOON tomorrow, keep an eye on your Cellfire account to see if you have won any of the $1, $5 or $10 OFF coupons that they are giving away.  Sign up today before noon to be entered into this contest...Let me know if you win!

Catching up from the weekend.

This was a very busy weekend and I didn't have timt to post much about shopping...so I am going to try and catch you up.
Publix was the only grocery store that I shopped this last week.  The savings were GREAT and if they had inventory of everything that was on my list my savings would have been much better.  My actual grocery list boasted a total cost of $143.12 before sales and coupons and $52.69 after sales and coupons...however, they didn't have everything that I wanted/needed to buy so my final sales total was $51.08 with $74.36 in savings.  So I didn't do that bad.
The new sales paper for Publix starts today and there are some pretty good savings this week as well.  Go to the Publix website to find the sales paper and browse on-line.
As for this past Sunday's ATL Journal...WOW!  There are some great coupons in there this week!!!  Well over 100 coupons that are "usable".  There were 4 inserts this week, 2 Redplum, 1 Smartsource and 1 Pillsbury.  Also, if you didn't check the "Parade Magazine" that is in the paper you missed out on a Theraflu coupon also.
I haven't had time to check out coupon matchups and "best deals" yet but hope to get to do that tonight.  I will post the Publix best matchups as soon as I can. 
The Kroger sales paper that was in Sunday's paper has some pretty good sales as well.  I will check the matchups tonight for them as well and post.
I am still waiting on more sales to be announced for Black Friday.  Old Navy announced their's earlier in the week and I am just not that impressed with the items or prices.  Some of the things that they say are on sale have been priced cheaper over the past few weekends than what they will be priced Black Friday.
It is also time to start thinking about where to get those holiday pictures processed and printed...check websites like Shutterfly, Snapfish and Kodak Gallery for starters...remember Wal-mart and Walgreens also have online photo storage and processing.  Some of these websites even give 25-50-100 prints for free (you just pay shipping) when you open a new account with them.
As the holidays get closer, I am certain things will get busier and I will do my best to keep up for you all!  Thanks for all the tips and feedback that you all have given me so far...keep it coming! 
For those of you who still need a "coupon class"...it is coming.  Keep watching for a date, time and location.

Black Friday Sales Papers

Just in case you haven't see the latest release by CNN...they leaked some of the sales that will be in the Wal-mart Black Friday sales paper. 
Here is a portion of what will be on sale according to CNN:

According to the circular, Wal-Mart will unveil some Black Friday deals in stores on midnight -- while other, juicier "doorbuster" bargains will be available while supplies last from 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.
A company spokesman confirmed that most Wal-Mart stores will open at midnight that day.

"Customers can avoid standing in the cold waiting for stores to open and get an early jump on the season's best savings," he said. The early sales will focus in items like toys, pajamas, and small kitchen appliances, with the electronics and HDTV deals kicking in at 5 a.m., he said.

Among the doorbuster deals the circular advertises:
32-inch Emerson 720p LCD HDTV for $198
42-inch Emerson 1080p LCD HDTV for $398
42-inch LG 1080p LCD HDTV for $478; Magnavox Wi-Fi Blu-ray player (with a $10 credit for on-demand movie service Vudu) for $68
8GB iPod Touch for $225, plus a $50 Wal-Mart gift card
Kodak C183 14-megapixel 3-inch LCD digital camera for $59
HP 15.6-inch 250 GB harddrive laptop for $298.

Doorbusters also include $7 and $8 videogames, more than 90 DVD movie titles for $1.96, and Blu-ray disc movies for $5 and $10.
Other deals that kick off at midnight on Black Friday include Zhu Zhu Pet toy hamsters for $4 each, $5 Barbie dolls, children's clothes for $4, Rival brand slow cookers and handmixers for $2.97, Hamilton Beach slow cookers and coffeemakers for $9.97 each, and Oster Electric griddles or waffle makers also priced at $9.97 each.
Additionally, deals available only on Saturday include Sony's 46-inch 1080p LCD HDTV for $698

Click on this link to see the full story on Wal-mart for the holidays
http://money.cnn.com/2010/11/13/news/companies/walmart_black_friday_ad_2010/index.htm

There are several websites that are offering sneak peeks at the Black Friday sales papers
http://www.blackfriday2010.com/
http://www.theblackfriday.com/

I'll be there bright and early with bells on! Hope to see you there!

Hobby Lobby Coupon

For those of you who don't know about this coupon...this is one of my favorites!!
http://hobbylobby.com/weekly/coupon.cfm
40% off 1 regular priced item at Hobby Lobby!!!!!  For those of us that sew, this means that if you buy 6 yards of the same fabric and it is all one cut them you save 40% off the fabric's total cost.  This is a great deal, just remember you can't use this coupon with anything that is on sale.
If you're not into fabric...check out the thousands of other items that they have.  With the holidays approaching you are sure to find something that you will want.
This coupon expires on 11/13/2010.

Great deal on EVERYDAY Magazine featuring Rachel Ray

Here is a great deal that I just took advantage of! 
http://www.tanga.com/products/everyday-with-rachael-ray-magazine-subscription--25
Click on the link and sign up to get 1 year of EVERYDAY Magazine for $3.50 when you use Coupon Code EVERYDAY. 
Sign up and then when you start to place your order it will ask you for a coupon code...enter EVERYDAY and then click update and it will automatically adjust the price.  I changed the option to 2 year subscription and it took the discount off of 2 years and I got both for only $7.00.  Payment can be made by credit card of by Paypal which I prefer so if there is ever a problem with receiving what you paid for Paypal will handle it for you.

Time to start thinking about Christmas shopping.

If you haven't already...it's time to start getting ready to do some serious Christmas shopping!  I never start shopping until the day after Thanksgiving and that is my "official" start of Christmas for me.  I have been searching for coupons for things that I might buy for gifts and I have found some things that I think might be helpful. 

Hasbro is offering a coupon for $5.00 off when you purchase $25.00 or more on TRANSFORMERS (expires 12/31/2010).  Here is the link to the coupon.  I don't know how long this offer will last but I am going to keep checking often for updates...hopefully they will add Littlest Pet Shop coupons SOON! 
http://www.hasbro.com/discover/Play-Saver.cfm

Mattell is offering a special THIS WEEKEND ONLY!  Take $25.00 off of a $100.00 order.
Here is the link   http://shop.mattel.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=4213487  They are offering free shipping until the weekend as well.

Zoobles are going to be very popular this Christmas and although I haven't found any coupons for them Kmart is offering 2 of the sets at $5.00 off right now  http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/search_10151_10104?vName=Toys+%26+Games&keyword=zoobles&viewItems=40&sLevel=0  **Note, I checked Walmart.com and they are already out of stock on some of the Zoobles items.

Lalaloopsy Dolls...Walmart has rolled back the price on these for now.  They are $20.00 and were $24.97 http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_constraint=0&ic=48_0&Find.x=0&Find.y=0&Find=Find&ta=1&search_query=lalaloopsy%20doll
I am assuming that these will be on a special sale during Black Friday...if you can get your hands on them. 

Here is the Black Friday ad for Toys R' Us  http://theblackfriday.com/ads/toysrusbf/toysrus-black-friday-ad1.shtml 

I'll keep posting if I find any other deals.

Publix New Sales starting today and going thru Nov. 16th

Here is the link to the Publix Sales Flyer:
http://publix.shoplocal.com/publix/default.aspx?action=entryflash&
Not impressed!  16 page colorful flyer this week and it is not full of sales that I have a lot of coupon matchups for or things that I will really use or need.  There were a few things that I thought were good deals (or free) and I either had a coupon already for them or I was able to print on online for them. 
Here is a rundown of what my list from Publix will look like for this week:
>>If it requires you to sign up, go ahead...this is where the creating the "other" email address comes in.  The good part about this is they will send you coupons via email and if they ask for your address they will send you mailers too!
**Ronzoni Pasta BOGO - $1.39 ($.69 each) 12-16oz box (this is select varities only)  Go to the link below and print out the coupon (.50 off 1) print 2 and it is FREE.  (remember Publix will double the .50 coupon to make it $1.00...you don't get any money back on this but the difference will come off of your grocery bill)
http://www.quickcookpasta.com/landing.cfm?s=0030
**Betty Crocker Cake Mix or Frosting BOGO - $1.71 ($.86 each)  Go to the link below and print out the coupon (.50 off 2 - and you can mix/match with the coupon or you can print 2 copies and get 2 cake mixes and 2 frostings) Total cost $1.42 for 2 cake mixes $.71 and 2 frostings $.71
http://www.bettycrocker.com/coupons-promotions/coupons/coupons
**Nestle Chocolate Morsels BOGO - $2.93 ($1.47 each)  Go to the link below and select the coupons that you want to print.  (This one gives you various coupons including the chocolate morsels)  Total cost for 2 bags $1.93 / $.96 each
http://www.nestlefamily.com/Coupons/ExclusiveOffers/Default.aspx?sc=10086891&utm_source=NF_Jun10&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=June10
**Campbell's Cream Soup - $.80   Go to the link below and select all the coupons that you want to print.  (This one gives you various coupons including the cream soups)  Total cost per can if you use the $1.00 off 4 cans will be $2.20 or $.51 per can.
http://www.campbellskitchen.com/coupon.aspx#chunky
**Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil BOGO - $11.28 ($5.64 each) 32 oz.  Go to the link below and print the coupon for $1.00 off 1.  I printed 2 coupons and will get 2 bottles for a total cost of $9.28 / $4.64 each which is an extremely good buy on Olive Oil.
http://coupons2.smartsource.com/smartsource/operations/offers/Pompeian/PompeianCoupons.html
**V8 V-Fusion Vegetable & Fruit Juice BOGO - $3.99 ($1.99 each)  This is the same link for the Campbell's Cream Soup so you may have printed this coupon earlier.  If not go to the link again print this one too.  $1.00 off 2 Total cost $2.99/2 or 1.50 each
http://www.campbellskitchen.com/coupon.aspx#chunky 
**Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt 6oz $.40 each   This is the link for Coupons.com so there are A LOT of coupons here that you will want to print while you are here.  The coupon is $.50 / 6  Total cost $1.40 / 6 at $.23 each
http://print.coupons.com/couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=13903&nid=10&zid=xh20&cid=15907167
**Olivio Spreadable Butter, 8 oz., $1  Go to the link below and print the $1.00 off 1 coupon.  It will allow you to print it twice...so I did and I'm gettin' 2.  Total cost FREE
http://www.olivioproducts.com/promotionsandcoupons/default.aspx
Total grocery cost before coupons $30.61
Total grocery cost after coupons $18.62
Total Savings $12.00
This is not a typical week of savings but if the sales aren't offering "the goods" and the coupon matchups are not available this is what you get. 


 

Signing up for savings!

You will see once you start clicking on links and going to different websites that they will ask you to "sign up"...it's ok, go ahead and sign up.  This is where you will get them to send you special offers and coupons...these are the mailing lists that you want to sign up for.
Here is the link for Wyeth Brands https://www.wyethallbrands.com/special_offers.aspx click the link and sign up for the coupons that you will see pictured. 
Here is the link for another site that is also a good resource for printable coupons http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/coupons/
Check back tomorrow for a list of items in this weeks Kroger flyer - remember, Wednesday starts the big 4-day event with some really great sales.  I will post those deals tomorrow with coupon matches and final cost.

Thought of something else that you should know

Thought of something else!
BUY ONE GET ONE deals...When you are shopping at Publix and Kroger (in LaGrange) if there is a BOGO sale keep in mind that you do not have to buy 2 items to get a discounted price. When you scan them at the register it will ring up each item at 1/2 price and you can use (1) coupon per item (unless the coupon says something like $1.00 off 2 boxes). Then use 1 coupon and get 2 items.
Example 1:
BOGO Kellogs Cereal 24oz box $3.99 (register will ring 1.99 each)
If you have one coupon with $1.00 off 1 box and you only buy 1 box you would pay $.99 for that one box of cereal.
If you have two coupons with $1.00 off 1 box then you buy 2 boxes and you still only pay $.99 per box.
or if you have one coupon that says $1.50 off of 2 boxes then you get both boxes and you only pay $2.49 for both boxes of cereal...total.

Someone had asked why i didn't give any details about Wal-mart...the Wal-mart in LaGrange is so particular about what they will and will not take in coupons that I just don't spend much of my money there anymore...trust me over the next 6 weeks they will get PLENTY of my money buying Christmas presents!

I am going to check sales papers tonight and do a few of the coupon match-ups on here so you all can see what I am doing.  I will give you the store, their sales price, the coupon matchup and what the final cost should be...STAY TUNED!

Where to start...

Ok, I am here and there is so much to tell you...where to start?
I guess the first thing that you need to know is that saving the amount of money that you see me saving will not happen overnight.  I have been collecting coupons for about 3 months now and have finally collected a great database of coupons and resources.  Here is where I am going to be sharing them all with you.
What do you stand to gain by reading and following this blog?  MONEY!  More of YOUR money in YOUR pocket every week.  Dont' do anything until you have completely read this post - there are "tips" that I will give you throughout this blog!
COLLECTING
Here are my sources for coupons (in this order):
1.  Atlanta Journal Newspaper - you can find these at Spectrum on Lafayette Parkway, Publix Grocery Store, Piggly Wiggly at Lee's Crossing or you can travel to Grantville to the gas stations by the interstate and get them there as well.  GET ONE EVERY SUNDAY MORNING (before they are gone)!!!  "Tip" Check the paper before you pay for it to make sure that the coupon inserts are there, I have found that some of the papers are missing the inserts, whether they were never put in them or maybe someone else took them out...BUT ALWAYS CHECK THE PAPER BEFORE YOU PAY!
There are usually 2 sources for coupons in the paper:  REDPLUM & SMARTSOURCE  http://www.redplum.com/  & http://smartsource.com/smartsource/index.jsp?Link=5S2ZUA6PWPEPO  Sometimes there will be a 3rd from PROCTOR & GAMBLE  http://www.pgeverydaysolutions.com/pgeds/index.jsp  (this a good one because this is usually Tide, Downy, Crest, Nyquil/Dayquil, etc.)  My goal is to post every week before the paper comes out what you can expect to see in your paper so you will know...there may be a week that there are NO inserts and you want to know this BEFORE you go and buy a paper.  **Before you start signing up for all these websites I strongly suggest that you create a new email address with gmail to catch all of these emails.  I did this to keep all of these emails as well as other spam that will be generated for smashing my regular email** yes, this is one of those "tips" that I was telling you about!
2.  Websites:  http://www.coupons.com/ is the first one that you should sign up for.  This site is available 24/7 for you to access and they update the available coupons the first day of every month.  I set a calendar reminder to check the site around 6am on the first of every month for new coupons.  You will get an email from Coupons.com that will say your new coupons are available but if you don't check it early and often all of the good coupons will be gone.  Easy to use - just put a check mark in the coupons that you want to print and then click the print button and they will print.  *If it asks you to run a program to print the coupons say YES, I have not come across one yet that has harmed my computer, these are legitimate sites and are safe.
3.  Grocery Stores: 
Publix - go to their website and sign up for all the newsletters.  Here's the link - http://publix.com/clubs/ClubsAndPrograms.do  even if you don't drink wine...sign up for the wine guide...they send you coupons too!
There are also 2 other papers at Publix inside that you want to get - these are on the inside foyer of the store where the buggies are.  In the tower that has all the recipe cards and the cute kids coloring books (that are FREE and great to entertain kids while you shop...if they ride in your buggy).  There is a GREEN FLYER AND A YELLOW ADVANTAGE FLYER.  Get both of these!!  I'll explain why later!
Publix will DOUBLE any of your coupons that are 50 cents or less. 
Example:  Price on French's Worchestershire Sauce $1.49  I had a coupon for the item that was for $.50 off - registers automatically double that to $1.00 off so that meant that I paid only $.49 (cents) for the bottle!!
OK - here's why you need the 2 other flyers from Publix...they will let you "stack" your coupons.  What does stacking mean?  Stacking means that those little coupons that you cut out of their flyer are store coupons and the ones that you cut out of the paper inserts or print online are manufacturers coupons and they will let you use one of each per item.
Example:  Last week Publix had a Yellow Advantage coupon for $.75 off one Breyer's Yogurt and I had a manufacturer's coupon for Buy One Get One Free (BOGO).  I was able to use both coupons and do the BOGO plus take $.75 off of the price as well.  So I got 2 packs of Breyer's Yogurt with the crunch topping for $1.44 TOTAL!

Kroger - at the store make sure you have a Plus Card and that the store has your email address and home address so they can mail you the store flyers when they send out coupons and advertisements.  Go to the website and sign up as well.  Enter your Plus Card information into the website and go to the link to start loading e-coupons to your card.  These coupons will automatically download to your card and when you slide your card at the register it will automatically take the coupons off of your total bill as well as all the store sales that say "with plus card". 
Kroger will DOUBLE any of your coupons that are 50 cents or less. 
Example:  Price on French's Worchestershire Sauce $1.49  I had a coupon for the item that was for $.50 off - registers automatically double that to $1.00 off so that meant that I paid only $.49 (cents) for the bottle!!

Piggly Wiggly - will ONLY take coupons that come out of the newspaper!!  They will not take ANY computer printed coupons!  I DON'T GROCERY SHOP THERE...but I do occasionally go there to get the Atl Journal :)

Ingles (in Hogansville) - I shop there when they offer TRIPLE coupons.  This doesn't happen very often and so I don't shop there often.  They do double them as a rule every day but I just don't make the drive up there...unless they TRIPLE!

3.  Other websites:  These websites are all manufacturers of grocery or general merchandise items.
http://www.bettycrocker.com/
http://www.pillsbury.com/
http://www.conagrafoods.com/
Those are just a few of the websites that I have signed up for.  You can also become a fan of other companies facebook pages to see what coupons they offer.  Quaker Oatmeal, Ball Park Hotdogs, Zattarans, Hefty as well as many others offer coupons for clicking their "like" button on their page.  Not all of these pages offer coupons all the time.  They do have a limit on the number of coupons per month that they give away.
ORGANIZING
Once you have started to collect coupons you will definitely need a way to ORGANIZE them.  If you don't start organizing them from the beginning you will spend an enormous amount of time trying to keep up with them when you are trying to match sales papers with what you have.
There are 2 methods that you can use:
1.  The index box method is what I use.  I have a 3x5 index box (that I am about to grow out of) that has tabs from "A" Air Freshener to "Z" Ziploc organized by the company or by the type.  For example, Air Freshener for me has everything from Glade, Febreeze, AirWick, etc., Baking, Condiments, Dairy, etc.
I do have certain companies with their own tabs just because I find that I use them more or they may have a greater variety of products to keep up with.  Examle:  Pillsbury - I have tabs for Pilsbury Canned Biscuits and another for Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls and another for Pillsbury Crescents and specialty breads and another for Pillsbury Cookie Dough...and another for Pillsubry Freezer Items (toaster strudels, frozen biscuits, etc.) "tip" It doesn't matter how you sort them...just sort them and organize! 
2.  The notebook method is another good method.  Get a 1"-2" notebook and baseball card clear protector sheets.  Start with alphabetical order again and put coupons in all the slots you will have 9 slots to a page - 18 if you put them front and back.

HOW TO COMPARE TO SALES PAPERS
When each store sale starts:
Publix - starts every Wednesday and runs thru the following Tuesday
Kroger - starts every Sunday and runs thru midnight on the following Saturday
I do make a list of what I NEED because there are still things that you NEED like toilet paper, toothpaste and many other things and that is what I look for first to see who has what product on sale and what coupons that I might have to go with it.  Then after I have determined that what I NEED is either on sale with or without a coupon I start looking at everything else in the sales paper.  We have learned to use products that we hadn't used in the past (switched namebrands on some things) and I can tell that just yesterday I cleaned out my pantry, fridge, freezer and deep freezer and I have TONS of food in all of them! 
I make my list for each store and pair up the coupons with each list.  I take the current sales flyer, my list and coupons with me in hand when I walk into the store...my index box of additional coupons is in my purse and I take it out and check when I see an unadvertised sale to see if I have a coupon matchup!  Once you have been doing this for a while you will remember certain items that you have coupons for because it will be the ones that you use often. 
Before you shop - check out the stores coupon rules!  or email me with questions and I will find the answers for you.  It's a proven fact that the cashiers don't like "us" and they are going to try to refuse coupons that don't easily scan or pull up.  So if you know the rules you can answer the question for them before the manager even gets to the register...and YES I will have them call the manager and YES everyone behind me is looking at me...but when I tell them how much I am saving using my coupons they all gather in a little closer to see what the verdict will be and I have them asking me before I walk out...how much did you save?

I know this is a lot of information for some of you since it is the first time that you are doing this.  Most of you have my number, call me, text me, message me... I am here to help!

You know those little warnings that come on products.....well, here is my warning...
YOU ARE BEING WARNED IN ADVANCE - WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO DO IS ADDICTIVE AND CAN (AND PROBABLY WILL) BECOME HABIT FORMING, CONSUME MORE TIME THAN YOU MEANT FOR IT TO SOMEDAYS AND IS CONTAGIOUS.  PROCEED WITH VIGOR AND DETERMINATION AND YOU WILL SAVE MONEY!

Look for more postings soon!