Worst luck in the world

I am seriously beginning to think Nate and i have the absolute worst luck in the world! Guess what happened to us AGAIN!? Yep you guessed it... OUR FREEZER went out.. pretty sure we had just refilled it too. Not a very happy us right now!

Sad Day For a Couponer..

So last night while i was working on my nephew’s birthday cake i went to go put it in the freezer. And notice some meat that was defrosted and kind of looking not so good. Which we had just had some go bad in the fridge. So i thought maybe Nate had just forgotten and put it back in the freezer by accident. i come walking in holding this nasty meat asking Nate if he had just put it back  in the freezer and he gave me this look like why would i put that back in the freezer?? Right then it hit me OMG the freezer is unplugged!!! NOPE worse... it’s NOT WORKING! The light is showing it is on, and everything is plugged in….. it’s just not working. We bought the freezer in JULY!!  We have had the freezer for less than a year and it’s already broken?!! L We called a repair guy to come out and look at it. Hopefully he will have good news or a free new freezer for me! i am so upset i had to throw out 3 garbage bags full of food!! That was over 2 months worth of dinners!!! The really upsetting part is that i was not planning on going grocery shopping for a MONTH!!  LITERALLY A MONTH!! If i had not been so concerned about getting my cakes into a freezer i probably would have just broke down and cried!! Instead I made Nate play Tetris with our little freezer until the cakes fit. Remember those unexpected things that ALWAYS happen.. This is EXHIBIT A!!!

Budgeting

Occasionally budgeting and planning our bills out makes me want to pull my hair out!!! It keeps me up at night until i sit down and figure out how it is going to work out or close enough that i feel like we will make it. i do things like this..

This spreadsheet has PROVEN to be rather handy already though... Just saying..

I finish it i feel great about it and then i remember i forgot something..... it throws off the entire thing! Unexpected things always come up and always will it is part of life, and yet i still make charts knowing it probably wont happen like this.. But its the thought that counts right?

I guess sometimes for me its have some sort of structure or "guideline" that finally calms down my nerves. Or makes me feel a little less crazy...

Spring Tulip Wreath

My latest project...To welcome SPRING (so this new found snow from this morning needs to go away!)

 I found this lovely wreath on Pinterest hoping there would be a tutorial on it... unfortunately there was not. But i was determined not to spend $80 by buying this wreath...

Being that i am a blog stalker i have learned that there is always a way to figure out how to make it yourself, for less than buying already made. Wreaths scare me though, when we were making them for work around Christmas my wreaths had ISSUES! Anyways… so i just kind of jumped into this project blindly.

 
 I picked up my stems and trimmed them to the length that i wanted.  (i also hot glued the petal to the stem so i didn't have to worry about them falling off while in storage or anything like that) Then just kept adding, and adding, and adding.... The more flowers that were added the better it started to look.

A coworker today pointed out that my tulips were a lot bigger than the ones in the example i was going from. Which were the only ones my HOBLOB carried, they also didn't have the two pinks colors so i just went with the two. That difference and that my leaves were a lot bigger than the example as well which I’m sure is because of the fact that my tulips were bigger.

So this project took:
8 bundles of tulips @ 6.99 each - 50% off = 3.49 each
1 Foam Wreath @ 7.99 -40% Off Coupon = 4.79
1 Roll Ribbon @ 3.99 -50% off = 1.99
Hot Glue

TOTAL for this project = 34.70
Saved by making it myself = 45.30 + shipping & tax

Smiths 1/9/12

Is it sad that my trip to the grocery store has become one of the highlights of my week? Sometimes of my month, since i don't go weekly?...

When i do my trip i am planning my entire month of food plus all my coupon items.. We budget $200 a month for groceries and couponing items. This trip i had a full list of all the things i needed plus a separate list of all my coupon items.. Luckily my food list was MOSTLY fresh fruits and veggies and a couple other loose odds and ends ( which added up ) BUT my coupons were all in order! We collected all of our items and headed to the register. Nate and i started making our bets, of what we thought the total would be. i could tell Nate thought we were going to be over budget. It didn't help that by the time everything was scanned it was showing 341!! I even panicked a little when i saw that! After we scanned our Fresh Values and handed her my stack of 50+ coupons all valued at a $1 or more we just watched the numbers go down and down. All the way down to 141. That is $59 dollars UNDER my budget and i am OK with that!
Spent $66 on groceries for the month & $75 on my coupon items
All of my couponed items would have been $195 which means on that alone i saved $120 with coupons and items being on sale.

Our haul included..
7- Old Spice Body Washes
7- Olay Body Washes
7- Secret Deodorants
14- Old Spice Deodorants
7- Boxes of Tide
7- Herbal Essence Hair Spray
8- Covergirl eye shadows

Our haul!

The receipt went down to my knees!!

Gracie loves when we make little forts for her!

Old Spice Deodorant Coupon Trip

So i did this shopping trip awhile ago and i wrote about it in my Journal but i am STILL talking about it so i figured i should blog about it too.. :)
My wonderful husband is VERY brand specific which for couponing is NOT ideal. But since i know the feeling of you like what you like, i work with it.  He uses Old Spice body wash and deodorant. We'll stick to the of the deodorant facts since that's what i bought.

At Walmart you can buy  (these are online prices)
*Twin pack for $4.47 that's about 2.24 a piece
*3 Pack for 7.68 which is 2.56 a piece
* or a single for 3.97
Just with that information ALONE you can tell it is of better value to buy the twin pack...  BUT with coupons you want to buy the single item. Because when you are buying the twin pack you are getting 2 products but they are being scanned as 1, so you can only use 1 coupon.
Smiths had a sale a while back that had their Old Spice deodorant marked WAY DOWN ( down far enough i would have bought it WITHOUT the coupon)  and i had a buy 1 get 1 coupon. I ended up buying 10 deodorants and spending $7.70 that was WITH tax!! That is .77cents EACH!!!

Chex Cereal Couponing Trip 12/13

Chex Party Mix is one of my ABSOLUTE favorite things to have around the holidays. AND..... Chex cereal ALWAYS goes on sales around this time of the year, usually at Maceys. I don't regularly shop there except in November for Turkey vouchers (which they didn't do this year! insert mad face now!) and in December when Chex cereal goes on sale! They had their cereal marked down to $1.49 a box and the coupon was for $1.00/2 making them .99 cents each!! AND WORTH EVERY PENNY!

Walgreens 7/25/11

Like always things don't always go as planned. When we got to Walgreen's some EXTREME COUPONERS had been there before me and basically cleaned out the store. So i wasn't able to get a couple items on my list. Here is what i did get:
2 Charmin 6 Pack Rolls
2 Off Bug Sprays ( which we even forgot to take with us fishing...)
2 Packs of Perfection Tampons
2 Bottles of Tums
6 boxes of Tissues

Before Coupons: I can't remember! :S
Total Cost out of pocket: 5.66
Total Savings:42.00

Random Smiths Trip

I will try and remember everything we got it was kind of a spur of the moment trip here is the run down.
KellogsCereal 15 boxes @ .67 cents
Kraft Salad Dressing 15 @ .99 cents
Colgate Toothe Paste 10 @ .25 cents
Pasta Roni 5@ .56 cents
Easy Mac 3 @.49 cents
and some couple loose odds and eats!
We spent 67 and some change out of pocket and save 98 dollars
On the list was Chicken, Ground Beef and Fresh Fruit. I was a little sad when we left the store because i really didn't want to spend more than $50 but once i started taking off the extra stuff like meat and fruit and other odds and ends i realized we were UNDER the $50!! So i left with a smiling happy face!

Sorry its side ways it wont turn!! But Nate wanted to carry in ALL 15 boxes on his own!!

Coupon Round 3 & overview of 2!

I finally feel like i am getting a hang out this whole thing! Round 2 doesn't have its own post because it was a half effort. We were leaving for our 4th of July Fish Lake trip with the Jensen/Beck family and i still hadn't done my trip to Walgreens. It wasn't planned out very well and Nate went and did it without me. I can't even honestly tell you what we saved or anything but we did get lots of Dove Body Washes for me and twizzlers. But it helped me learn more what to do and what not to do. Sooo... best outcome will come from GREAT planning ahead of time! Since Nate has been working double the hours to help us get out of my Dads house sooner, Sunday night he helped me plan out my trip so that my register rewards would not expire. I had $16 dollar in register rewards to use on this trip. Here was the plan:
10 Boxes of Brownie Mix 
- 10 for 10 sale
- $1.25 of 2 coupon
Unplanned for only 8 boxes were available!

10 Bags of Blueberry Muffin Mix which turned into 12
-10 for 10 sale

2 Tampax 18 count
-3.99 w/ 1.00 RR = 2.99

6 EOS lip balm
-2/6 w/ 4 RR = 2/$2 or $1 each

2 Teething Gel
-1/$5 w/ 5 RR
-$1.00 of Coupon
I earned a dollar with this purchase

Tweezers
-30% off sale price
I didn't have an extra coupon for this but it was a need and i had alot of RR

On this trip i saved over $45 dollars and also received $24 in Register Rewards for next week!! I think if you save more than you spend it is a successful trip!

Store: 2 Katelyn: 1

Couponing Round 1

I had my first rush at couponing, i have to admit i was some what disappointed. Granted it was only my first time so i guess i need to quit watching Extreme Couponing on TLC because that is REALLY unrealistic! As i was calculating things up in my head there was a couple items i was iffy on and i wish i would have just put those items back but instead i convinced myself they were a good deal. Here is what i ended up with....

6 Old Spice Body Wash       2.99 each
3  Reynolds Foils     .89 each
3 Wax Paper         .89 each
4 Shaving Creams    .99 each
1 Off Bug Spray
2 Secret Deodorants
6 Palmolive Dish Soap          .89 each
6 Cans Mandarin Oranges      .50 each
12 Hunts Canned Tomato Sauce     .33 each
1 Eye Drops
2 M&M Pretzels
2 Lo Real eye shadows
2  3 Pack of Venus Razors
2 Lash Serum w/ Mascara
2 Chips Ahoy
2 Double Stuffed Oreos

Total before coupons: 203.84
Total spent: 124.86
Saved: 78.98

I'm not going to lie after this trip i really wanted to throw in the towel.. Nate is making me stick with it for at least a year. I remember Sally telling us at my coupon party that it took her about 2 months before she really felt like she was getting good deals and knew what she was doing. Hopefully it doesn't take me that long! Better luck for next time though when i get that iffy feeling i will listen!

Store: 1 Katelyn: 0

How to Coupon

This is stuff we learned in our coupon class and also things i have researched and added myself. 

Where can i get coupons?

• Sunday Newspaper, the Sunday paper has Smart Source, Proctor & Gamble (Red Plum) Call 801-344-2959 to get your papers. Thursday has coupons too. I ordered Thursday and Sunday papers 5 copies for about $17 a month. The recommendation of the number of papers to get is 2 for every 1 person in the home. 
• Online, print coupons from www.coupons.com, www.smartsource.com & manufacturer websites. You are allowed to print 2 of each of these coupons NEVER PHOTO COPY THEM!

• Manufacturer's # call or email with a compliment or complaint and you will get coupons.

In-store Coupons:

• Catalina, a coupon printed at the register. Usually good for you next purchase or can also be used on a separate transaction.
• Blinky, found in the store on a shelf has a "blinking light" 
• Tear Pad ("beer rebate") a coupon/rebate offer which can be torn off a glued stack, often found in the beer aisle. Limit one rebate per household.
• Peelies, coupons found attached to products usable for that purchase.
• Store Rewards grocery and retail store reward programs= extra value for every dollar spent.

Matching Coupons to Sales:

• Shop Smart, use coupons when products are on sale in your price point, not just because you have a coupon. Don't always be brand loyal- it can be expensive!!
• Price Points, the point at which a product is at a price you are willing to pay.
• Save Time & Money-PANTRY SHOP Prepare weekly meal lists from food-already on hand- at your "own store" from items purchased on sale. Its Cheaper. Stock up on staple foods your family regularly uses. Shop ones and get up to 5x more groceries for less!!

How to Organize my Coupons:

• Cutting Method. Separate & stack coupons by page & cut once up to 5 copies ( be careful not to cut off bar code or numbers under it!)
• Portfolio Method ( BINDER) 9 clear baseball card pages, Pocketed Dividers, Tab Dividers
• Accordion File (MY CHOICE) 2 12 tab files

She categorized her BINDER into 3 MAIN SECTIONS 
     1- STORE SECTION

• Your favorite grocery & drug stores for Rain Checks, Shopping list and Store Coupons all for each store.
• ** Also is you are price matching to make it easier on yourself bring the store ad you are matching. 
• KEEP THE STORES COUPON POLICY WITH YOU!
  

    2- Category Section 10 or more tabs (with recommended amount of baseball pages for that section)

• Baby- 2 pgs Diaper, shampoo, baby foods
• Bread & Cereal - 5 pgs Cereal, breakfast foods, breads, rice, pasta, chips and crackers
  
• Cleaners- 8 pgs Floor cleaners, dish cleaners, two fabrics, standard cleaners, bathroom cleaners, and 2 air fresheners
• Dairy- 4 pgs Cheese, butter, oil, yogurt, misc dairy
• Dessert- 8pgs Cookies, frozen desserts, cake, brownie mixes, fruits, Jell-o, pudding, two drinks, candy, baking goods
  
• Meat- 6 pgs Fresh or frozen poultry, lunch meat, breakfast meats, misc meats, seasonings and sauces
• Medicine- 8 pgs 2 cold & allergy, pain relievers, first aid, 2 stomach acids, vitamins, and 1 misc medicines
  
• Paper Goods- 4 pgs Facial tissue, garbage bags, foils, wraps, & containers, plates and paper towels, toilet paper
• Personal Hygiene- 14 pgs Face wash, body wash, lotion, misc tooth products, deodorant, shaving needs, make up, shampoo, stylers, personal items
  
• Miscellaneous- 9-10 pgs Sauces, salsa, ketchup, 2 canned goods, 2 frozen goods, salads, dressings, misc food, pets, misc household items

   3- Coupons you aren't currently using that are NOT expired yet

  ( I personally am not going to use the binder method I am going to use 2 accordion files 1- for the coupons i am planning on using that week sorted by categories listed above and the other for the coupons i am not planning on using that week that i will organize according to expiration.) 

They have really cute accordion files on etsy!! Take a look!!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Laa766?section_id=6145713

OK how about some more terminology?

• Price Matching: Match the price of another stores add (only works if a price is given for the item. example: buy one get one will only work if it is a buy one at 2.50 and get the other one free)
  
• Double Coupon: Walmart does DOUBLE COUPON Tuesdays they will match any coupon UP TO $1 ** Warning you will need all your coupons as the item is being scanned and tell them you are double couponing for it to work.. Weather the 20 cents is worth it to you is your choice.
  
• Rain check: a Rain Check is for an item you are wanting to buy that they are out of. Take it to customer service and they will write you a rain check you can use when the product is restocked usually for the next week with the sale price still usable.

          ***YOU CANNOT PRICE MATCH AND DOUBLE COUPON AT THE SAME TIME!!!

 Go register at www.savvyshopperdeals.com

• Free weekly emails
• Training/ Support
• Shopping Wizard
  

What is the Shopping Wizard?

• You can browse and select products and coupons from the weekly store ads and then print a customized shopping list stored by Store, Aisle, Percentage of Savings, and Amy's Price Point Rankings.
• Amy's price point ranking will let you find WOW deals GREAT deals and GOOD deals ( Sally who taught our class said she basically only shops the WOW deals)
  

Use your regular shopping center and ALSO a drug store either Rite Aid or Walgreens. Both Rite Aid and Walgreens do a rewards program.
 If you would like more information on these feel free to ask questions!!

Don't try to take on more than you can handle start at one store and feel good about it before you take on another one! 

Why to Coupon?

• Save Money 50%- 80% on retail prices each week.
• Prepared Pantry/ Food Storage Perfect for busy moms. Cut your shopping trips by more than one half!
• Help Others. Donate inexpensive/FREE products

For me why I want to coupon is because in our monthly budget what is set aside for food does NOT cover anything for food storage. Money got tight a couple months ago and our cupboards became very bare because we were using everything we had. I don't want it to EVER be like that in the future. Times will get hard and I feel like its very important for us to have a food storage and to be able to provide for our family when that time comes. But to do it within our means and staying in our budget which has already been established which is why I am going to coupon.

The spread for my coupon party!

No bake cookies and Oreo balls

Crowd favorite Brownie Bites

And the last minute Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting