Quick Walmart Trip 2/27/14

We are pretty stocked up on groceries from the Food Lion promotion and Harris Teeter Super Doubles this past week, but I couldn't help running by Walmart to pick up some cheap items this afternoon.  

Here is the coupon match ups:

(2) Rice Dream $1.97 each = $3.94

(4) Gold Fish Mac & Cheese $0.75 each = $3.00

(2) Oscar Mayer P3 $1.00 each = $2.00

(2) Tai Pei Single Entrees $2.00 each = $4.00

(3) Birds Eye Recipe Ready Veggies $1.00 each = $3.00

(1) Pull Ups Big Kid Wipes $1.64 = $1.64

(6) Iams Purrect $0.58 = $3.48

Total Before Coupons = $21.06

Used:

(2)  -  $2.00 off Rice Dream

(2)  -  $0.55 off two Goldfish Mac & Cheese boxes

(2)  -  $0.75 off Oscar Mayer P3

(2)  -  $1.00 off Tai Pei Single Entree or Appetizer

(2)  -  $0.75 off Birds Eye Recipe Ready Vegetables

(1)  -  $1.00 off Birds Eye Recipe Ready Vegetables from SS 1/12

(1)  -  $1.00 off Huggies Pull Ups Big Kid Flushable Wipes

(2)  - $2.00 off three Wet IAMS Cat Food

Total After Coupons = $4.96

Harris Teeter Super Doubles Trip 2/20

Harris Teeter doubles coupons up to 99 cents everyday.  They run two special coupon promotions.  One is their triples promotion where they triple coupons up to 99 cents.  The other promotion is the one that they currently have going on, which is called Super Doubles!  During doubles, all coupons up to $2.00 (yes, $2!!) double!  This is a great time to stock up on some great items for super cheap!

I had two transactions, but remembered to take a picture of the second transaction, so forgive me :)

Here's what I picked up:

(2)  12 Double Roll Angel Soft Toilet Paper - $5 each, $10 for both (sale price)

(1)  Purina Dog Chow Dog Food - $6.99 (sale price)

(2)  Tennessee Pride Sausage Biscuits - $4.97 each, $9.94 for both (sale price)

(2)  International Delight Coffee Creamers - $1.66 each, $3.32 for both (sale price)

(1)  I Can't Believe It's Not Butter - $2.00 (sale price)

(1)  Helluva Good French Onion Dip - $2.00 (sale price)

(1)  Febreeze Car Clip Freshner - $2.99 (sale price)

(1)  Febreeze Candle - $3.49 (regular price)

Total before coupons:  $40.73

Coupons Used:

(2)  -$2.00 off Angel Soft 12 pack double (printable no longer available)

(1) - $2.00 off Purina Dog Chow coupon from RP 1/26

(2) -$1.00 off Tennessee Pride Breakfast Sandwiches coupon from RP 1/12 or you can use PRINTABLE

(1) - $1.00 off International Delight Coffee Creamer coupon (printable no longer available)

(1) - $0.55 off International Delight Coffee Creamer coupon PRINTABLE (must sign up with email addy)

(1) - $0.60 off I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spread coupon from RP 1/26

(1) - $0.75 off Helluva Good Dip coupon from SS 1/26

(1) -$1.00 off Febreeze Car Clip coupon PG 1/26 AND $1.00 off Harris Teeter EVIC Coupon

(1) - $1.00 off Febreeze Candle coupon PG 1/26 AND $1.00 off Harris Teeter EVIC Coupon

Total after coupons $13.28 (plus taxes)

Here are some coupon match ups for other deals you might be interested in by some great couponers:

WRAL Smart Shopper

Moola Saving Mom

Southern Savers

CVS Trip 2/17

I did two transactions.

Transaction 1:

Bought:

2 Right Guard Deodorants - $8

2 Maybelline Mascaras -$8.98

2 Wet N Wild Brow/Eyeliners -$1.98

Used:

-$2 off $8 Deodorant (CVS coupon)

-$3 off $10 Eye makeup (CVS coupon)

-$2/2 Right Guard printable from coupons.com

-$2 Maybeline mascara

-$2 Maybeline mascara

-$1 Wet N Wild product

-$1 Wet N Wild product

=$7.24 with tax, got back $4 ECB

Transaction 2:

Bought:

2 Crest Mouth Washes -$10.48

Used:

-$0.75 Crest Mouthwash mfg

-$0.75 Crest Mouthwash mfg

-$3 off $10 oral care (CVS coupon)

-$4 ECB

=$2.69 with tax, got back $5 ECB

So it's like I paid $4.93 with taxes after ECB :)

Make sure to take advantage of those CVS coupons that print on your receipt and the red machine.  Stack them with manufacture coupons towards ECB deals!

Cheesy Chicken Casserole *Budget Meal*

Serves 6

Ingredients

-1 pound of chicken
-10oz of No Yolk Egg Noodle
-corn
-green beans
-peas
-2 cans of cream of chicken
-8 oz sour cream
-Ritz crackers
-3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
-1 medium onion

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Cut chicken into bite size chunks.  Cook in a pan with butter.  Salt and pepper chicken while it's cooking. Put chicken in a large mixing bowl.
2. Dice onion and cook in a pan with butter (you can use Pam if you'd like)
2. While the onion is cooking, pour 2 cans of cream of chicken, 8 oz of sour cream, veggies, 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese into the large mixing bowl.
3. Add onion and uncooked egg noodles and mix everything together.
4. Evenly spread mixture in a baking dish.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. While the dish is baking, get 1 tube of Ritz crackers.  Put the crackers in a zip loc bag and crush the crackers.
7.  After 20 minutes, remove the dish, sprinkle Ritz crackers to make a crust on top of the casserole.  Then sprinkle 1 cup of cheese.
8. Bake for an additional 15 minutes.


ENJOY!!

How can I make this meal on a budget??

Watch the sales!

I always buy boneless chicken breasts in bulk.  The grocery stores will run $1.99lb sales on their chicken breasts.  This is a great deal, so often grocery stores will sell out of the chicken at this price.  No biggie, just pick up a rain check.  I love rain checks because I can go back to the store when the chicken is NOT on sale, and get it for that great price!

Veggies are fairly cheap whether you buy them in cans or in the frozen section.  Look out for Birds Eye coupons and pair them with store sales.  I can almost always count on getting their veggies for pennies or even FREE.   I've noticed Del Monte has been putting coupons for their canned veggies in the newspaper coupons lately.  So I was able to buy 3 cans of veggies for less than $1.  I took 1/3 of each can and put them in freezer bags and froze them so that I had ready made bags of mixed veggies for meals like this.

Pasta is something I NEVER pay full price for.  My pantry is always stocked with free pasta.  This is an item you can almost always get for free.  There are tons of pasta coupons floating around out there.  Muellers and No Yolk are a household favorite because I can almost always find a coupon for either.
Here is one for No Yolk:  $1.00 off 2 No Yolk
Here is one for Muellers: $0.75 off Mueller's Pot Sized Pasta

Ritz Crackers can sometimes be pricey and coupons for this can sometimes be rare.  I know this because we go through Ritz crackers like crazy in this house.  An alternative can be croutons or toast crunched up.

Cream of Chicken - Don't pay $1.00 for a can of Campbells cream of anything.  Campbells ALWAYS offers coupons and grocery stores have these on sale almost weekly.  Pair the coupons with the sales so that you are paying $0.50 or less for each can.

Sour cream is a fairly cheap item on its own, but believe it or not manufactures offer coupons even on this item!  There is a $1.00 off coupon for Breakstone Sour Cream right now on coupons.com which paired with a sale, makes this sour cream very cheap:  PRINTABLE

CVS 2/16 Top Printable Coupon Deals

Here are some coupons that you should go ahead and print now to be ready for CVS on Sunday February 16th:

*Buy 3 Mars M&M's Mega or Birthday Cake Singles Candy (1.4-1.48oz) - $2.25
Use 1:    B2G1 Mars M&M Chocolate Candies 1.10-1.74oz PRINTABLE
=$1.50, get back $0.75 ECB (it's like you paid $0.25 for each pack of M&Ms)

*Buy 2 Triaminic Night Time or Day Time Liquid 4oz, get $3 ECB
Here is your scenario:

Buy 2 Triaminic Night or Day Time Liquid 4oz medicines - $9.98
Use 2:  -$2.00 off Triaminic 4oz product PRINTABLE
=$5.98, get back $3 ECB (it's like you paid $1.50 for each)

*Buy 2 Right Guard Deodorant or Total Defense Body Washes, Get $4 ECB
Here is a couple of scenarios:

Buy 2 Right Guard Total Defense Body Washes - $8
Use 1:  -$2/2 Right Guard Products (excluding Right Guard Sport) PRINTABLE
=$6, get back $4 ECB (it's like you paid $1.00 each for the body washes)

Buy 2 Right Guard Deodorants - $8
Use 1: $2/2 Right Guard Products (excluding Right Guard Sport) PRINTABLE
=$6, get back $4 ECB (it's like you paid $1.00 each for the deodorants)



*Spend $15, Get $5 ECB on Sparkle 8pk Paper Towels, Quilted Northern Ultra Plush 9pk, or Angel Soft Bathroom Tissue 12pk.

Here is a couple of scenarios:
Buy 2 Sparkle 6 count or larger Paper Towels & 1 Angel Soft 12 double roll or large Toilet paper - $15
Use 2:   -$1.00 Sparkle 6 count or larger
Use 1:   -$1.00 Angel Soft 12 double roll or larger
=Pay $12, get back $5 ECB (it's like you paid $2.33 per pack!)


Buy 1 Sparkle 6 count or larger Paper Towels & 1 Angel Soft 12 double roll or larger Toilet Paper - $15
Use 1:   -$1.00 Sparkle 6 count or larger
Use 2:   -$1.00 Angel Soft 12 double roll or larger
=Pay $12, get back $5 ECB (it's like you paid $2.33 per pack!)




*Buy 3 Pampers or Huggies Jumbo Packs and get a $5 CVS Gift Card

*Here is the scenario for just Pampers:

Buy 2 packs of Pampers Baby Dry $8.99 each
Buy 1 pack of Pampers Swaddlers $8.99
Use 2:  -$2.00 Pampers Baby Dry Diapers  PRINTABLE
Use 1:  -$2.00 Pampers Swaddlers Diapers PRINTABLE
=$20.97, get back $5 CVS gift card (it's like you paid $5.32 each for pack!)


*Here is the scenario for Pampers & Huggies:

Buy 2 packs of Pampers Baby Dry or Swaddlers $8.99 each
Buy 1 pack of Huggies Little Movers $8.99
Use 2:  -$2.00 Pampers Baby Dry Diapers PRINTABLE or  -$2.00 Pampers Swaddlers  PRINTABLE
Use 1:  -$1.50 Huggies Little Movers PRINTABLE
and Use 1:  -$1.50 Huggies CVS Coupon  PRINTABLE
=$19.97, get back $5 CVS gift card (it's like you paid $4.99 for each pack!)





If you are wanting to get several deals, break up your deals into separate transactions.

For example, do the paper towel/toilet paper deal first.  That way you can use the $5 ECB towards the purchase of the deodorant/body wash deal, then use the $4 ECB to purchase the diaper deal.  I almost always break up my deals in separate transactions to limit the amount I pay out of pocket.  :)

Food Lion 2/12-2/18 Best Deals

Food Lion is having this great Gold Medal promotion.   Certain products qualify for this promotion and they are labeled throughout the store.  

Buy 10 products and save $5 instantly
Buy 15 products and save $10 instantly


Here are the deals I purchased under this promotion:

Transaction 1: 

*15 Powerades $0.89 each - $13.35
-$10.00 instant savings with your MVP card
=$3.35 out of pocket 

Transaction 2:
*7 Cheez-It To Go Cups $0.99 each - $6.93
*4 Pillsbury Fudge Brownie Mix $0.99 each - $3.96
*4 Powerades $0.89 each - $3.56
Total - $14.45
-$10.00 instant savings with your MVP card
=$4.45 out of pocket

Other great deals this week:

* Pepsi Brand 6-pk bottles - $2.00
-$2/2 Pepsi 6-pk bottles from SS 1/26
=$1.00 each 

*Yoplait Greek Yogurt - $5/5
-$1.00 off 5 Yoplait Greek Yogurt store coupon (printing from the MVP Coupon Kiosk)
-$1.00 off 5 Yoplait Greek Yogurt PRINTABLE
-$1.00 off 5 Yoplait Greek Yogurt ecoupon (deposited in your Saving Star account)
=$2.00 for 5 (making it just $0.40 each!

*Ragu Pasta Sauce 16-26oz - $1.50
-$1/2 Ragu product RP 1/26
=$1.00 each

*Wish-Bone Salad Dressing 16oz - $1.89
-$0.50 Wish-Bone Salad Dressing store coupon (printing from the MVP Coupon Kiosk)
-$0.70 Wish-Bone Salad Dressing RP 1/26
=$0.69

Lowes Food 2/12-2/18 - Deals $1.00 and under

Lowes Food is one of my favorite places to get groceries.  Yes, I'll admit, their prices tend to be higher than Walmart or Food Lion, but they run really great sales and they double coupons up to $0.99 EVERYDAY!  So many times, I'm able to get items cheaper than I would elsewhere.


Here are some deals that I spotted at Lowes Food for $1.00 and under:

*Starkist Tuna Creation Pouches $1.50 (regularly $1.79)
-$1.00 off 2 coupon
=Pay $2.00, making it $1.00 each pouch

*Pop Tarts Gone Nutty! $2.00 (regularly $2.49)

-$0.50 off 1 Kellogg's Pop Tarts Gone Nutty Toaster Pastries 6ct or larger RP 2/2

=Pay $1.00

*Smart Balance Spread 7.5-15oz $2.00 
-$0.75 off Smart Balance Spreadable Butter PRINTABLE
=Pay $0.50

*Noosa Yogurt $1.50 (regularly priced $2.29)
-$0.75 off Noosa Yogurt PRINTABLE
=FREE

*Muellers Pot-Sized Pasta $1.89

-$0.75 Mueller's Pot Sized Pasta PRINTABLE

=Pay $0.39

CVS Clearance Deals

When items go on clearance at CVS you can pair them with CVS Store coupons and manufacture coupons and really get some great deals!

One thing I've learned about clearance in general, no matter what store you go to, is to always scan it to double check that it isn't cheaper than the sticker or tag is labeled.

This morning I scored some really great deals.  I'll be honest, looking at the tags, I would not have purchased these items, because they were still way overpriced.  But after scanning them, I discovered that they were actually 75% off instead of 25% off.  Pair that with coupons and it makes for some steals!

Here's what I got:

*Lysol No-Touch Antibacterial Hand Soap System - $3.32 (regularly priced $13.29)
-$0.75 Lysol No-Touch Antibacterial Hand soap PRINTABLE (register your email address, print through site)
or -$2.00 Lysol No-Touch Antibacteral Hand Soap SS 2/9
=Pay $1.32

*Lysol No-Touch Hand Soap Refill - $1.09 (regularly priced $4.39)

*Dial Body Wash - $1.49  (regularly priced $5.99)
-Buy 2 get 1 free coupon from RP 1/26
=Paid $2.98 for 3 body washes, making them $.99 each

*Olay Body Wash  - $2.62 (regularly priced $10.49)
-$1.00 Olay Body Wash PG
=Pay $1.62  (offer applies towards in store $10 ECB when you spend $30 on P&G Product promotion)

*Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste $0.94 (regularly $3.79)
-$0.50 Crest Toothpaste PG
=Pay $0.44

*Mio Water Enhancer Strawberry Watermelon or Berry Pomegranate $0.99 (regularly priced $3.99)



Most of the coupons I used were from newspaper coupons. Remember to get your coupons weekly and don't use all of them right away just to use them.  Save them to pair up for a really great deal.


Check out your local CVS to see what you can scoop up!

CVS Week of February 9th

CVS is one of my favorite, favorite, favorite places to coupon!  They have this great program called Extracare Bucks (you'll see them labeled as ECBs).  With this program you earn FREE money for the store just for buying certain products each week.  Pair this up with coupons and this adds up to lots of savings and even FREEBIES and MONEYMAKERS!

If you don't have a CVS card it's super easy to sign up in store.  



Here are the BEST deals at CVS for the week of February 9th: 


*Crest Be or Sensi-Relief Toothpaste 4.1-4.5 oz $4.99 (limit of 2) - Receive $3 ECB
Use  -$1.00 off Crest Be Adventurous Toothpaste PRINTABLE
or  -$1.00 off Crest Sensi-Relief Toothpaste PRINTABLE
=Pay $3.99 (get $3.00 ECBSs, making the toothpaste just $.99)

*got2b Hair Stylers $4.99 (limit of 1) - Receive $2 ECB
Use -$2.00 off Got2B product from RP 2/09 
=Pay $2.99 (get $2.00 ECBs, making the hair styler just $.99)

*Crest Tartar Protection 16.9-33.8 oz, Pro Health 500 ml, Clinical Rinse 16 oz, $3.99 (limit of 2) - Receive $3 ECBUse -.75/1 Crest rinse, 458 mL+, from PG 1/26
=Pay $3.24 (get $3.00 ECBs, making the rinse just $.24)

*Nivea Lip Care .17-.59 oz  $2.50 (no limit)
Use -$3/2 Nivea lip care tin 0.5 oz, stick 0.17 oz or tube 0.3 oz  from RP 2/09
=Pay $2.00 (making it just $1.00 per product)


*Nivea Shave Gel $4.19 (limit of 1) - Receive $5 ECB
Buy 2
Use -$2.00 off 2 shave gels or foams from RP 2/09
=Pay $6.38 (get $5.00 ECBs, making each shave gel just $.69)




Not too many deals this week at CVS, I'll be updating you soon with the deals for the upcoming week.  Remember to get your papers on Sunday! :)

I'm here to help! Let's get organized!

So yes, I'm guilty!  I'm that crazy couponer that posts all those pictures of the deals I get and don't even tell you how I got them.  So i've received facebook messages, texts, even people approaching me asking me how I do it.  So this blog is for you!

This is just a disclaimer.  Couponing is not like it is on TLC's Extreme Couponing.  Many of those stores bend their rules just for the sake of the show, so just keep that in mind.  Couponing takes a little work, but in the end, if it saves your family some money, the little time is worth it.

I know a lot of my friends are just beginning to coupon so maybe you don't have any coupons yet, but you must promise me that from here on out you will at least get 1 Sunday paper a week so you'll have coupons.  Deal? Deal!

I personally get 2 papers each week.  I get two, because sometimes the deals I get require me to buy two of something like Buy One Get One deals for example.

You can get the Sunday paper for just 99 cents at Walmart or Walgreens.  I promise you that you will earn your money back and then some!

Until you build a good collection of coupons, I'll try my best to give you deals and scenarios that have some online coupons.  Using online coupons are great when you are starting off, because you can still take advantage of deals even though you don't have some of the older coupons.  So get your printers ready!!

Here is how I organize my coupons:

I have a coupon organizer (they sell these in the $1 section at Target) for all of my food coupons.  I organize them by types of coupons so they are easy to search through when I'm looking for specific coupons.

I have a coupon organizer for all of my toiletry and home products.  I also organized these by types.

Then I have a coupon organizer (a larger one) to separate all of my store deals.

I take all of these and put them in a Thirty One Zipper Pouch and it sits perfectly in the baby seat of the shopping cart.

I've tried the coupon binder method like you see on those Extreme Couponing shows, and it just didn't work well for me.  It was big and bulky and honestly annoying putting each coupon in each little baseball card pocket.  But all in all, do what's best and easiest for you!


I hope these tips are helpful for getting you organized.  I'll be posting some deal scenarios for different stores later.