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2009: Year in review!

December 31, 2009 by

At the beginning of the year, I set a few “goals.” I thought I’d share how I did at keeping up with those goals today. You can read the full post here.

*$40 a week grocery budget (this is for a family of four) – I managed to do this all year long and some weeks I actually came in under budget!

*Meeting the following savings goals without touching our monthly paychecks

–Gift savings – This will include Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, and other gifts that we need to pay for throughout the year.

–Baby emergency fund – If you follow Dave Ramsey, you know that this is. Basically it’s $1000 that you keep on hand to cover any emergencies

–Rolling entertainment fund – We have a monthly entertainment budget, but this will cover any spur of the moment “extras” like a weekend getaway or an unplanned family excursion. It’s “rolling” because if we use the money, I’d like to rebuild it 🙂

I was able to do this partially. This year we were met with a few “unexpected events.” Among other things, my husband was laid off at the end of June and then I was mugged in early October. These events (and others) changed our priorities a bit.

We do have our Baby Emergency Fund in place and have managed to keep it “in place.” It really gives me peace of mind to know that money is there in case of emergencies and other “unexpected events.”

We also managed to have a 100% “cash Christmas” this year. It is such a relief to not have post-holiday credit card bills looming over our heads right now!

I loved our family vacations growing up, and we did manage to take one small family trip this year (which we paid for 100% with cash, too and even had money left over!), but our priorities have changed some. We have focused more on quality family time at home and one of our favorite things has become “family game night.” Thanks to the Amazon sales recently, we managed to fully stock our game closet and we can’t wait for even more game nights during the upcoming year!

My husband and I took Dave Ramsey’s “Financial Peace University“ class together earlier this year and I honestly believe that we are at the point that we are at now because of the changes that we made as a result of that class. Had we not taken the class and put some of those changes into place, some of the unexpected events that we faced this year probably would have had a much greater impact on our family.

I can’t say enough great things about this class (and no, I don’t get paid a cent to say good things…). Even if you’ve read the books, if you’re wanting to get on track financially (whether you have debt or you would just like to be better at managing your money), I strongly recommend that you take the class. I had read all of the books, but take the class with my husband was truly life changing. We are on the same page financially and we can actually have discussions about our finances rather than arguments.

Have said all of that, I hope that everyone has a safe and Happy New Year’s Eve. I’ll be posting my goals for 2010 tomorrow morning before we head out for our free day at the zoo!

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Sunday coupon preview is up – FIVE inserts this week!

December 31, 2009 by

The Sunday coupon preview is up and you can access it here. There will be FIVE inserts this week! One of the ways that I am able to stockpile items and spend so little out of pocket is by stocking up when there are hot coupons.

I sometimes will buy coupons on eBay, but lately, I have been using a coupon clipping service. The service that I use the most these days is My Coupon Hunter. You can check them out here:

Their turn around time is incredibly fast, they typically have the coupons I’m looking for in stock (including the “hot” coupons) and they don’t have minimum purchase requirements or charge as high of a “handling fee” as some of the other coupon clipping services. I do get a 5% “commission” if you order coupons using the link above, but that’s not why I’m recommending them ~ I’m recommending them because they are reputable and have the best prices from what I have found!

Here are some of the highlights that I see this week:

General Mills Everyday Saver

.50/2 Betty Crocker Fruit Shapes, Fruit By the Foot, Fruit Gushers, Fruit Roll-ups, Fruit Stickerz, and boxes – typically at this time of year, there are catalina deals that match up with these coupons, so you can stock up on fruit snacks for cheap!0

.40/1 Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers frozen vegetables – if your stores double or triple coupons, you should be able to get really cheap veggies using these because they typically go 10/$10 every few weeks

.40/2 Pillsbury Crescent Dinner rolls – good to match up with sales if your stores double or triple

.30/2 Pillsbury Refrigerated Grands Biscuits – good to match up with sales if your stores double or triple

Smartsource coupon insert #2:

$1/1 Carnation Instant Breakfast Essentials product multipack – we use this stuff daily, so these coupons are always great for me!

$2.50/1 Finish (formerly Electrasol) Quantum Powerball Tabs or Gelpacs – this will be a HOT coupon, so if you want some, you will probably want to try to get them starting early Saturday morning – in the past when this coupon has come out, I have been able to stock up on these at Target and I have paid .25-50 out of pocket per box!

$1/1 Frito Lay Baked! Snacks – I LOVE Baked Lays, and there are hardly ever coupons, so I can’t wait for these!

.50/1 Old El Paso Heat & Serve Sides – I have seen these go 10/$10 before, so they would be free if your store doubles coupons!

Smartsource #3:

$1/2 Barilla Plus pasta – makes it .50/each when they go 10/$10 – I always stock up when this happens!

$.75/1 Colgate 360 manual toothbrush – it seems like there are always deals on these at CVS and Walgreens, so they are good to have on hand

.75/1 Colgate Total, Max White, Max Fresh, Sensitive, or Kids toothpaste – it seems like there are always deals at CVS and Walgreens, so it’s good to have on hand

Red Plum #1:

$1/2 Special K cereals – there will likely be good deals on these for all of the people starting their “New Year’s Resolutions”

$1/2 Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice – I love this stuff for side dishes when I’m in a hurry!

Red Plum #2:

$2/1 All liquid laundry detergent – there have been some great sales on this lately!

$1/1 Band Aid product – if you have the Walgreens activity book, those coupons don’t expire until 3/31/10, so you can pair the $2 coupon there with this coupon and get free or close to free Band Aids!

$1/1 Johnsons Baby product – you can get Johnsons Buddy bars for free at Target/Walmart with these!

$1/3 Rice a Roni or Pasta Roni – this makes these .66/each at Kroger and Randalls this week!

BOGO free Stayfree products (up to $7.50 value!)

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Hot CVS Vitamin deal!

December 30, 2009 by

I posted earlier this week about the deal on Nature’s Bounty vitamins. The vitamins are buy one, get one free, and you get a $3 ECB when you buy two! There is a limit of six on this one (meaning you can buy 12 vitamins total!).

This is a great time to stock up on vitamins! My husband uses a lot of different vitamins and when this sale comes along, I’m usually able to get most of what he needs to last the entire year.

If you join the Nature’s Bounty website here, then go to “Redeem My Rewards Now” and there should be an option for a $2 printable coupon. This is a “bricks” coupon, so you can print two by clicking on the back button on your browser.

You can also enter codes from your vitamins in your account to get more valuable coupons. There is information regarding other codes that can be entered in this thread here (thanks SlickDeals!).

There are also $1 printable coupons here. Remember, you can use two coupons on BOGO free items!

Use the $5 off a 20 purchase CVS coupon here and you end up paying next to nothing out of pocket while stocking up on vitamins.

Here’s what I ended up doing: (I had to revise my scenario because they were out of contact solution)

Buy 4 Nature’s Bounty Niacin – $8.99/each
Buy 2 Nature’s Bounty Vitamin B-12 – $8.69/each
Buy 1 Colgate Total toothpaste – $2.99/each
Buy 1 Gillette Fusion razor – $8.99
Buy 1 Scope Outlast – $3.49
Buy 2 Gold Emblem candy – .99/each (BOGO 50% off)

Use $5/20 CVS coupon
Use 2 $5 Nature’s Bounty coupons (you need 500 rewards points to get this)
Use 2 $3 Nature’s Bounty coupons (you need 300 rewards points to get this)
Use 2 $2 Nature’s Bounty coupons (you need 200 rewards points to get this or you need to sign up for the first time)
Use $1 Colgate coupon
Use $4 Gillette coupon
Use $1 Scope coupon
Used $1/2 Gold Emblem candy CVS coupon
Used $10 ECB
Used $2 ECB (adjusted down)
**My ECBs expire today, so I needed to use them!

Earned $9 ECB (vitamins), $2 ECB (Colgate), $4 ECB (Gillette), $1 ECB (Scope) – now I have six more vitamin codes to enter so I can get more points and print more coupons! I plan to do the vitamin deal again and get six more bottles of vitamins.

TIP on the BOGO free vitamins: When you buy the vitamins, the least expensive one comes off as “free” so you want to make sure that you are buying vitamins that are similar in price if you are buying in multiples like I did.

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Kroger deals for the week of 12/30

December 30, 2009 by

My Kroger store is located in the Texas/Louisiana region. Prices and offers in your area may differ. My stores double the face value of three “like” coupons up to .50 and triple the face value of three “like” coupons up to .39.

This is another great week at Kroger! Here are some of the ad highlights:

*Bartlett pears – $.99/lb

*Boneless chicken breast or breast tenders – $1.88/lb

*Broccoli crowns – $.99/lb

*Campbell’s Cream of Chicken or Cream of Mushroom soups – 4/$3 – $.52/each when you buy 4 and use coupons!
.30/4 Campbell’s Condensed “Great for Cooking” soups – 10-11 SS (should triple)

**This is the time of year to stock up on cream soups and this will probably be your last chance to get them at these prices

*Cucumbers or peppers – 2/$1

*Dole or Fresh Selections Garden Salad or Cole Slaw – 10/$10 (you do not need to buy 10 to do this deal!)

*Dole Pineapple, Fruit, or Mandarin oranges – 10/$10 – .73/each after coupons (when you buy 2!)
.55/2 Dole Pineapple – 11-8 SS

*El Monterey taquitos – BOGO free – use 2 $1 off coupons for bigger savings!
$1/1 El Monterey taquitos printable here (these are Smartsource coupons)

*Freschetta pizza – $3.99/each – $2.99/each after coupon!
$1/1 printable coupon here (you must register, you can print 2 per computer!)

*Haas avocados (ripe, jumbo) – 10/$10 (you do not need to buy 10 to get this deal)

*Hot, Lean, or Croissant Pockets – $1.78 – $1.45/each after coupons (when you buy 3!)
$1/3 Lean Pockets & Hot Pockets – 10-25 SS
$1/3 Hot Pockets or Lean Pockets printable here (this is a manufacturer’s coupon found on pg. 5)

*Kroger hamburger buns, hot dog buns, or sandwich bread – 10/$10

*Kroger shrimp rings – BOGO free

*Lays potato chips or Lays Dorito’s – $2.50/each ($2/each when you buy 2!)

*Lean Cuisine Entrees – $1.78 – $1.45/each after coupon when you buy 3!
$1/3 printable coupon here (this is a manufacturer’s coupon, iti s on pg. 6)

*Mini peeled carrots – 10/$10

*Nabisco Snack Crackers or Keebler Town House crackers – 2/$4
$1/1 Nabisco crackers or Easy cheese (any variety) – 11-8 SS insert
$1/2 Nabisco crackers printable here
$10 MIR (when you buy 10) here

SCENARIO#1:
Buy 10 boxes – 2/$4

Use $1/1 coupon
Use 4 $1/2 printables

Spend $15 OOP, get $10 MIR – it’s like getting 10 boxes for .50/each!

*Pasta Roni, Rice a Roni, or Knorr rice/pasta sides – 10/$10 – 2/$1 after coupon (on Knorr products)!
.50/2 Knorr Rice and Pasta Side dishes – 11-15 RP (should double)

*Nature’s Bounty, Nature Made, or Sundown vitamins – BOGO free
$3/2 Sundown Vitamins printable here
$1/1 Sundown Vitamins printable here
$1/1 Nature’s Bounty printable here

*Pepsi or Dr. Pepper products – 4/$12 plus get one free when you buy 4 (it’s like getting 5/$12!)

*Spend $25 or more on participating P&G products, get an instant $5 off your purchase: pictured in ad ~ Tide laundry detergent or powder – $11, Charmin bath tissue – $10, Bounty paper towels – $7, Dawn dish detergent – $2, Pringles 3/$4, Herbal Essences Shampoo or conditioner – $2.77, Swiffer Duster Kit, Refills, or Furniture Polish – $3.99, Downy Fabric Softener (also includes Bounce and Tide Stain Release) – $5, Iams Dog Food – $16, Pantene – 3/$10, Crest Premium Toothpaste – 2/$5, Duracell Batteries – $5.99, Pampers Diapers or Easy Ups – $19.49 (the jumbo packs which are $9.77 are also part of this promotion), Nice ‘n Easy Hair Color – $5.99, Crest Pro Health – 2/$9, Always Maxi Pads – $5.49, Cover Girl Cosmetics – 25% off, Gillette disposable razors – $5.99, Fusion Gamer razor – $7.99, Gillette or Old Spice body wash – 2/$7, Old Spice deodorant – $3.99, Prilosec OTC – $24.99

**Check your 12-27 PG insert for coupons to match up with this deal! There are also lots of great loadables here (these expire on 12/31, so hurry!)

*Tostitos tortilla chips, salsa, or queso dips – $2.48
Save $1 when you buy Tostitos chips and salsa – December All You Magazine – get chips and salsa for $3.96!

CRAZY MEAL DEAL: Buy bone-in or boneless wing bucket, get a free 2 Liter of 7Up, mini peeled carrots, Kroger ranch dressing, and a 10 ounce Just Bake It Baguette (save $4.73 with your Kroger Plus card!)

PROCTER & GAMBLE SCENARIOS:

Here are a few scenarios that I have done already: (they would need to be completed by 12-31)

TRANSACTION #1:
Buy Iams dog food – $16 (this is the only dog food my dog eats, so I always try to take advantage of deals like this)
Buy 1 Pampers Cruisers – $9.77

Total before coupons = $25.77

– $5 instant (for spend $25)
– $2 Iams coupon (this is from the PG Year of Savings Booklet and is no longer available)
– $2 Pampers Cruisers coupon (12-27 PG insert)

Total out of pocket = $16.77 (it’s like I got the Pampers for free!)

TRANSACTION #2:
Buy 1 Pampers diapers (any variety) = $9.77
Buy 1 Pampers Extra Protection = $9.77
Buy 1 Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive = $9.77

Total before coupons = $29.31

– $6 (three $2 manufacturer’s coupons from the 12-27 inserts)
– $3 (for the loadable coupons below)
$1/1 Pampers diapers (expires 12/31)
$1/1 Pampers Extra Protection (expires 12/31
$1/1 Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive (expires 12/31)
-$5 (instant $5 off)

Total after coupons = $15.31 (that’s $5.10/package!)

**If you buy the Pampers, don’t forget to sign up for the Gifts to Grow program (if you haven’t already). There are codes worth 140 points here. Also, you get a bonus 50 points if you enter 3 diaper codes by 2/15/10. Details are here.

A few more scenarios:

SCENARIO #1:
Buy 2 Olay Regenerist – $5.60/each
Buy 2 Always Maxi Pads – $5.49/each
Buy 1 Tide Stain Release – $5

Total before coupons = $27.18

-2 $3 Olay coupons (11-29 PG insert – these expire on 12/31)
-$3.50 (BOGO free Always coupon 12-27 PG insert)
-$3.50 (BOGO free Always loadable coupon here)
-$3 Tide Stain release coupon (12-27 PG insert)
-$1 Tide Stain release loadable coupon here

Total after coupons = $10.18 (then, submit for the $15 Olay rebate here and it’s a $5 moneymaker!)

DISCLAIMER: I can’t guarantee that both the loadable and paper coupons will work on the Always, but I know they both worked on the Pampers.

SCENARIO #2:
Buy Dawn dish detergent – $2
Buy Bounce dryer sheets – $5
Buy Tide Stain release – $5
Buy Crest Premium toothpaste – $2.50
Buy 1 Pampers diapers – $9.77
Buy 1 Pampers wipes tub – $2.69

-.50/1 Dawn dish detergent loadable here
-.25/1 Dawn dish detergent – 12-27 PG insert (will triple)
-$1/1 Tide Stain release loadable here
-$3/1 Tide Stain release – 12-27 PG insert
-.25/1 Bounce dryer sheets – 12-27 PG insert (will triple)
-.50/1 Bounce dryer sheets loadable here
-$1/1 Crest – 12-27 PG insert
-.75/1 Crest loadable here
-$2/1 Pampers diapers – 12-27 PG insert
-$1/1 Pampers diapers loadable here
-$.50/1 Pampers wipes – 12-27 PG insert (will double)
-.25/1 Pampers wipes loadable here
-$5 instant promotional savings

Total before coupons = $26.96

Total after coupons = $9.46

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Hot clearance sale on kids clothing and PJs at Kohls + 20% off and free shipping!

December 30, 2009 by

Kohls has a lot of great clearance deals right now on kids PJs and clothing. Some of the PJs are priced at $4. There are lots of leggings for $3 and shirts for $4!

Plus, you can get an additional 20% off when you use the code EXTRA20 at check-out and free shipping when you enter the code NOCHARGE. You can use both codes!

*Check out the clearance deals on infant clothing here
*Check out the clearance deals on toddler boys’ clothing here
*Check out the clearance deals on toddler girls’ clothing here
*Check out the clearance deals on girls 4-6X clothing here
*Check out the clearance deals on boys 4-7 clothing here
*Check out the clearance deals on girls 7-16 clothing here
*Check out the clearance deals on boys 8-20 clothing here

If you haven’t signed up for Ebates yet, you will get a $5 bonus when you sign up here. If you are already an Ebates member, you will get an additional 4% cash back when you shop through their links!

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