Second Extreme Couponing Trip

Still figuring out all the deals. Not going completely extreme yet. I'm happy with my one paper of coupons and not running out for 4 more. I have read a couple of coupons wrong, so be careful, it can mess up a great deal fast.

I'm just being careful not to buy things that I won't use. Getting what I would usually pay full price for feels pretty good.

Another one of my Mother's Day surprises was from Audrey. She went out to get the Sunday paper for me and separated the ads into 3 piles.

Mommy doesn't want, maybe wants and definitely wants. I thought it was very sweet.

Zoe said that they wanted to cut all my coupons for me, but didn't have time because they were too busy making me pancakes :)

CVS: (Spent 19.50 and have $11.00 for next shopping trip)

Net price: $8.50

Best Deals: 2/$1.98 Xtra, 4/$5.70 Shout, Fantasik & Windex, 3pks/$2.00 gum

Walgreens: (Spent 15.30, but after rebates and $5.00 next purchase, I made $$$)

Net Price: Made $2.66

 Best Deals: 2/$3.00 Glade Oil Candles, Free SunBurnt, Free Carefree, Free Nexcare Bandaids

Jewel: Spent 5.96 in clearance bin

Got invites for Cam's birthday party 50c, John Frieda 99c, Vitamins 1.99ea

I have met some fellow couponers already. It's easy to spot them, because they have the same items in their carts. I met one lady at CVS with her entire binder of coupons. We talked for a bit. She gave me two tips, couponmom.com for coupons and cvs Sunday sales start on Saturday night, I believe she said at 5pm. 

Also, if there is a great deal and none of the product on the shelf, ask for a raincheck! I have 2 rainchecks for absolutely FREE products, I just keep them in my envelope and check every time I go back. I'll get 2 bottles of bodywash and 5 (3pks) of bars of soap . . . with a family of 7, we go through all that really fast!

I need to go to Menards for Deck Wash this week. Need to wash my deck and I can get 4 bottles of it FREE with rebate. Another $10.00 savings.

Once I started looking for coupons, I have found them everywhere. I even noticed a pegboard full of them in the liquor department at Jewel. Never noticed them before, but they are there :)

HAPPY COUPONING EVERYONE!

Extreme Couponing . . . kind of :)

I don't know if I have a future in extreme couponing, but I'm willing to give just about anything a try.

Zoe asked me if I wanted a binder for my coupons for Mother's Day. I told her that I didn't think I was going to need it, but after doing it just once, I can see how people get sucked in.

I vow here and now that I will not let couponing take over my home :) That should make KC feel better.

I had a huge mess for a few days. The coupons didn't seem to match the ads and I was getting very frustrated. Then I started finding a few and a few more.

I would compare it to putting together a jigsaw puzzle. At first it seems impossible, but the more you look, the more that goes together. After a while I started to know my coupons better and the ads. I figure it has to get easier the more you do it.

I didn't get any totals down to pennies, but considering that I seldom use coupons, they were all deals to me. Normally I wouldn't think twice about paying full price. (I would find deals in the store, but never prepare like this.)
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WALGREEN'S

Net price: $49.54 with $16.00 to spend on my next trip

Best deals at Walgreens: flossers (free), Noxzema razors (made $1.01), Gillette Fusion Pro (.89c), Bic Soleil (.99), Tampax ($2.99), Herbal Essence ($1.99)

The bright pink nail polish was $1.99, but Zoe has been looking for it since last summer :)

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CVS

Net price: $50.93 with $28.77 in ExtraBucks for next shopping trip

 Best deals at CVS: Special K (2/$3.94), Gatorade (2/FREE), Bought the Starbucks and Cheese Dips for a total of $7.98, Pantene (2/$2.97), Right Guard (2/.49c), Dawn (2/.48c), Colgate (FREE)
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 TARGET

Net price: $55.72 with $15.00 in Target Cards for next shopping trip

 The best deal I got from Target was the diapers! It was Buy 2, Get a $5.00 TargetCard. I also had the same deal in a manufacturer coupon, the cashier was nice to me, so I got another $5.00 TargetCard and she let me use a coupon for $1.50 off on top of it. The Halls was found in clearance and got them for .28c.

 Charmin was buy 2 get a $5.00 TargetCard. I also had 2 coupons on top of that. And SURPRISE, look at the package :) Coupons in both packages. I figure they could pay for the entire trip :)

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SHOE CARNIVAL

$31.98

KC picked out 2 pairs of shoes that he wanted to buy with his birthday money from my parents and his parents. Shoe Carnival had a BOGO 50% off, so I got the sale prices :) I also found a $5.00 coupon in their ad!

That's what I got done today.

I know I didn't spend the $6.81 on thousands of dollars of products like I've seen on tv, but this was good for me. I am happy with my deals.

KC's comment on my shopping "Boy, I'm going to smell good" And then he smelt all the body wash and deodorants :)

I figure I'll take that $59.77 and see what I can do with it next week. Maybe I can keep the savings rolling from purchase to purchase :)

LOL . . . I have already planned a trip back. With the coupons I got from in the Charmin bags: (2 Dawn/make 2 cents, 2 Ivory/make 2 cents, know there are great Gillette deals, but I think I might have enough of it already . . . I'll have to see how good the deal is, LOL . . .

I think I will try to continue with this one. I will have my eye out for deals . . . I'll try and pass on the great ones :)

I also wanted to share something I saw in the Dominick's ad. "Get a half-price Frappuccino" Happy Hour 3-5pm May 6-15th. I L-O-V-E Starbucks! Don't know if it is offered in more locations, but I wanted to pass it on :)

Where Did My Tulips Go?

Confusion is a theme to the year I am having.

Spring is here. My plants are emerging, leaves are unfolding and the first of my flowers are beginning to bloom.

I was excited to see my tulips popping up. I have three groupings of white tulips that have purple tips. They are my second flower every year, only behind my bleeding heart bush.

I'm always amazed at how fast it grows, unfortunately it's life span ends in early August.

I was very disappointed to come out to this.

The rabbits got two of them.

The rabbits are horrible around here. We have to spray and spray often if we want to have any color in our gardens . . . the smell is horrible!

This is my confusion.

They are pink???

For the last 5 years they have been purple.

Could I have really changed my tulips without remembering? Has the last year been so crazy and stressful that I forgot doing something like that? I'm soooo confused.

Now, all I can do is laugh. Every time I look at them I giggle. My life :)

I am awaiting the opening of the other blooms. Will any of them still be purple?

I caused the rest of my confusion today.

I watch Extreme Couponing and did a little research, looked on the internet for some tips and was blessed with lots of coupons in Sundays paper.

I was able to find a few great deals. I am still working on it. There must be a better way. I gave myself a headache.

I like the thought of saving money. I don't know if I have enough patience to figure it out.

I'm going to give it a try this month. See what deals I can find :)

One of the highlights of our day was a trip to Aldi. I only had a couple of things to get. And they have the best carts to suit my needs.

They are made for twins :)

Couldn't get them to look at the camera because Cameron was crying behind them. He wanted a front seat. He got over it fast.

When we left, he was walking. He was obsessed with the quarter in the cart. I let him plug in the chain and pull out the quarter. He was amazed by the whole thing.

As I was buckling him into his seat, he asked, "Can I put my magic coin in my Scooby Doo bank when I get home?"

I love that boy!