Black Friday -- Updated :)

I was looking forward to this Sunday's paper so that I could check out the sales going on this Friday. Unfortunately, my memory must be failing. I could have sworn that Sunday's paper last year had all of the ads! I couldn't find any ads...I will have to check Wednesday's or Thursday's paper to see if they are in there. (Maybe AZ does things differently, though...I am a new transplant, you know.)

-- Just talked to my sister who loves the whole stand-in-line-forever shopping after Thanksgiving...I guess the ads don't come out till Thursday. I'm sure everyone knew that but me, right?

Tip of the Day

Defining Coupons

Manufacturer's Coupons can be found everywhere. The ones for me most often acquired are in the Sunday paper. But they can also be found in magazines, on product packaging, even in your grocery store (look for the little coupon dispensers on featured items!) They will say manufacturer's coupon at the top .

To use a MF CPN: You can only use one coupon per item...even if you have two completely different mf cpns for the same item. I always hand them to the cashier after all of the items have been scanned...don't forget to use your club card, too!

In-Store Coupons are usually found in the store ads, but are sometimes in the Sunday ones as well. These coupons will have the store name on them and may even say only good at... on them. The ones I see the most of are from Walgreens, but Target prints it's fair share as well.

To use a store coupon: Same as the MF CPN but these can be combined with a MF CPN! That means you can use two coupons on one item...giving you amazing savings! (like FREE Pop Tarts)

On a side note, Walgreens creates a monthly catalog called the Easy Saver Catalog. It's full of in-store coupons, plus some really great rebates. They can only be picked up at the store, though you may be able to print stuff off from their site online. I'm not really sure since I simply get the catalog from the store when I go pick up my papers.

Never Take The Hubby!

I made the mistake of going shopping with my hubby tonight. Of course, we bought waaay more than we actually needed. Okay, just candy and oranges, but it felt like a lot of extras :)

Got a lot of great stuff, though!

three boxes of Pop Tarts for free (had three $.55 off manufacturer's coupons plus an in-store coupon for buy 3 for $3).

four 2 lb bags of brown sugar for $.50 a piece (on sale in the store for 2 for $3 but used a coupon giving $.35 off each bag...Safeway is tripling coupons for another month :) ).

In order to get the Pop Tarts, I had to purchase at least $10 worth of stuff. No problem with my husband along!

Saving on Milk

Never spend over $2 on a gallon of milk...that is my new mantra.

The other day, I was completely out of milk and couldn't figure out who had it on sale. I simply gave up on finding a deal and spent $2.67 at Wal-Mart. Again, what was I thinking?

Fry's (Kroger brand) now has their milk on sale for $1.87...if only I had waited one day!

Usually at least one other store, like Albertson's, Safeway, or Basha's, has milk on sale for a good price, even if Fry's doesn't. These stores are a major drive for me, though. Not worth the price in gas just to pick up a cheap gallon of milk.

But here's the trick. Go to Wal-Mart with the ad. They price match any advertised item. You just need to get Wal-Mart's generic milk (Great Value, or something like that) and take it up to register with the ad. I've even forgotten my ad once or twice and they still price matched it! So now you really should never spend more than *$2 a gallon for milk :)

*I guess I shouldn't put a price tag on the savings...milk in Florida or Montana or Michigan (etc.) may be a lot cheaper/more expensive than I realize. Just know that you should be able to get milk on sale each week.

Post Office Offenses

Did I do something to offend the mail "person?" (Don't want to offend them further if so...better just stick with person.) Yesterday, my SIL brought all of her grocery ads that she got the night before to the park with her, including the Basha's ad that I NEVER get in the mail :( When I got home, I went back over the mail we received and again saw nothing! Nothing, I tell you, nothing!

Today, my hubby came home with all the ads in the mail. I only live one minute from my SIL's house...how does my mail get delived one day later than hers? This is one question that may never be answered.

Of course, some of the Thanksgiving things I purchased at Wal-Mart the other day are now on sale *sigh* If only I had more patience.

If I could give one tip today, it would be to wait patiently for the sale you know is coming...like Thanksgiving foods the week before Thanksgiving. What was I thinking?

Breaking down the Binder

As mentioned earlier, I love shopping with coupons. Yesterday, I went to Wal-Mart to get some regular old stuff that couldn't really be bought with coupons. The $42 I spent made my eyes bug out...I haven't spent that much at a store in months!

But I still took my massive coupon binder because, what works for me, today, is the lined paper I have placed in the front of my binder. It is a new addition to my binder that I just love! I put my shopping list there...sometimes even two or three shopping lists if I happen to be going to multiple store that day.

What a bargain!

Yesterday I went to Fry's (and encountered the CN) but still got a great deal.

I spent $6.94 on these twenty-six items:

six Cottenelle Toilet paper, 4 packs -- free!
three packages of Betty Crocker cookie mix -- $.50 each
three boxes of Betty Crocker scalloped potatoes -- free!
three cans of Pam cooking spray -- $1 each
six sticks of Pillsbury cookie dough -- $1 each
three boxes of Colgate toothpaste -- free!
two cans of Carnation Evaporated Milk -- free!

If you add up the numbers as I just have, you'll notice I may have gotten back more at the register than I should have...must have been something that the CN did to me.

Cashier Nazis

Who knew that there were cashier Nazis out there plaguing our supermarkets?

True, I tell you. Today I ran across one for the first time in my couponing history (which has only been recently resuscitated).

Little did I know that you can only use three coupons total for each product you purchase. Which breaks down to using three coupons to buy three cans of Pam...make sense? After that, Fry's isn't "required" to double, or triple the coupons. No problem for a casual couponer. When you only get one newspaper a week, you wouldn't normally purchase 6 sticks of cookie dough with 6 separate coupons, now would you?

To set the scene, imagine my basket full of twenty-six items...each ten participating items giving you $5 back at the register (the leftover 6 were rolls of toilet paper, also an important factor to my story). I had three of almost everything except the cookie dough (6 of them, remember?) and toilet paper (6 of those). The CN (cashier Nazi) informed me that Fry's would only triple the first three coupons but she could "help me out" and let me split my groceries into two orders so that I could benefit from the triple coupon policy. How sweet...and I mean that in a sarcastic way. I pulled three of my cookie dough sticks and three of my toilet paper rolls off the belt and set them aside. The other groceries rolled past and were scanned in but to my surprise, the total of my bill came to $12.35, shocking for someone like me who had gotten used to a great deal that was 80% less than expected.

For those smarties out there, who have already figured it out...you need at least 10 participating items to get the $5 off at the register! I was short three items (the toilet paper wasn't part of the sale, just a great deal I was taking advantage of at the moment...free, I might add). When I explained the dilemma to the cashier, she seemed surprised that I would have even noticed the problem. As she "wondered" how to resolve this situation, I almost bagged the whole thing and told her I wouldn't be getting anything, storming out of the store in a royal huff to top it all off :) I could always come back and avoid the CN's line, right? "Oh, no" she assured me. She could just credit the five dollars on the next order, the one containing three FREE rolls of toilet paper and three sticks that would cost me only $1 a piece.

Boy was she surprised when I ended up getting a refund of $5.45! Maybe next time she'll consider not being such a Nazi about coupons and just let me buy my 6 darn rolls of toilet paper at one time!

Tip of the Day

I didn't go shopping today but I looked through the adds again and planned for next week...I probably won't go shopping until Monday so that I can make use of the new coupons in tomorrow's paper.

But on to the tip. Yesterday, I mentioned how to cut out the coupons...but after their cut out, what do you do with them? Isn't hard to handle large stacks of flimsy scraps of paper? What are you supposed to do now, darnit!?

There are many different options for organization. The method I choose isn't the fastest or "easiest" by far...though, in the end, it really is the easiest. Here's a breakdown of your options.

1. 8x10 picture holders

Have as many picture holders as you have categories. Place each stack in the holders! Plave the holders in a binder. Simple :) The problem comes when you are searching for coupons to use. It may take a while. Plus you may miss a few in the long run because you've forgotten about them.

2. Envelopes

Very similar to the above method. Instead place the coupons in envelopes. Has the same pros as above but also the same cons.

3. Cut-When-You-Need-It

Invest in some sticky notes and office clips when using this method. Each week when you get coupons, simply clip them all together and label them with a dated sticky note (the date is printed on the edge of the first page, right off the fold, but the sticky note makes it quick and easy). Every time you plan to go shopping, you would need to go onto one of the many coupon websites and check out what coupons you do have available (it's called a coupon database...try pinchingyourpennies.com or couponmom.com. I plan on talking about all of the websites out there on a later day.) Compare your weekly shopping ads with the coupon list and decide which coupons to cut out. Then cut only what you need. Also very simple :) and possibly even a better idea than the envelopes and picture holders because you could access all of the coupons easier. There is a downside to this method, though. If you are getting more than one newspaper, you would need to collate all of your pages before cutting anyway. It may take more time than it's worth...I wouldn't know because I have only read about this method.

4. Baseball Card Holders

This is the "hardest" method because it takes such a long time to do. My SIL almost gave up coupons because it's kind of a pain to do this type of couponing. You will need to purchase at least two packages of baseball card holders. They are found at Wal-Mart or Target...maybe other stores, too, but I have only shopped those two places for them. Place them in a binder that is between 2 and 3 inches. You will also need dividers...I made my own out of cute scrapbooking paper. Write your categories onto the dividers and place them in the binder. Then comes the hard part that makes this method so much work...you need to place each coupon in each holder. This, plus cutting, is what takes me the full hour. But when it's done, it's really easy to keep track of all of your coupons. Shopping also is much easier, as well.

In the end, the last method is the one I prefer. I will confess that I don't organize all of my coupons, though. My medicine, hair color, and make up categories are placed in an 8x10 holder, instead. I don't use those ones as much and figure it's worth it.

There may be other options out there that I haven't even encountered. But I am very satisfied with how I am doing it now...I think I have mentioned before that I am addicted :)

Tip of the Day

Cutting Coupons

If you read some of the "helpful" websites out there about coupons, they'll tell you that couponing shouldn't take too much time. Maybe 10-15 minutes to cut out and organize your coupons. It's too bad that they are all liars :)

I personally take about 45 minutes or so to cut out coupons (maybe it's not that long, but I watch old episodes of Lost online while I do it and can make it through a whole episode.)

Here are some tricks to quick cutting:

1. Get a LARGE and wide trash bag out and place it on the floor at your feet. I use my IKEA Take-Home bag (the big blue one if you know what I'm talking about.) It's stiff enough that it holds it's shape and big enough to allow no-looking-while-throwing-garbage-around cutting. Plus it's easy to simply dump the entire contents of the bag into your recycler when you are done. Now that I'm finished convincing you to purchase an IKEA bag...
2. Take out all of your ads...sometimes there's as many as three or four in one week's paper. Work with one ad at a time and collate your pages before cutting. Basically, take page one from all of the P&G ads, stack them together, and cut all of them out at once...much easier than cutting each page individually.
3. As you cut, try stacking the cut coupons in categories. Make a stack of refrigerated goods, bath and body items, medicine, etc.
4. Avoid cutting the bar code or numbers under the bar code...sometimes the stacks don't exactly line up, so it can be easy to mangle the bottom layers as you cut.
5. Watch for random coupons in the Parade Magazine or the inserts of the newspaper.

In the end, cutting the coupons in only half the battle. Coupons need to be organized in some way, otherwise they are simply paper scraps destined for the recycler. But that is another tip for another day :)

$129.08 Grocery Bill...

But my debit card only had to put out $23.85 :)

If you are as bad at math as I am...that's 82% savings.

It's funny how savings of 60% or less seem not worth my time and effort anymore.

Today, I went to Fry's (which seems to be my store of choice now) and bought 30 items, as per the sale going on right now (buy 10 participating items and save $5 at the register -- limit of 3 transactions at the register; thus the 30 items)

(x4) 48 oz. Breyers Ice Cream -- $.50 (on sale for $1.50)
(x5) 12 oz. Nestle Choc. Chips -- $.50 (on sale for $1.50)
(x4) 5 lb. C&H Sugar -- $.50 (on sale for $1.50)
(x3) 32 oz. Shout -- $1 (on sale for $2)
(x4) 12.5 oz. Pledge -- $1 (on sale for $2.50)
(x6) 28 oz. Hunts Tomatoes -- $.50 (on sale for $1) (and these were huge cans!)
(x3) 3-4 ct. Orville Reddinbocher Popcorn -- $.50 (0n sale for $1.50)
(x1) 3 pk. Dial Soap -- $.10 (on sale for $1)

I also bought a dozen large eggs at $.97 and 4 packs of Philly Cream Cheese (on sale at 4 for $5) but used an Albertson's coupon that gave me B1G2F. Each box of cream cheese ended up being $.40 each I think (again, my math is not the best and unfortunately those calculations weren't neatly printed on the bottom of my receipt.)

Tip of the Day

Buying Newspapers

Believe it or not, there is a science to buying newspapers if you're simply buying for the coupons...which paper offered has the best ads? How many papers are worth buying? Where do you buy these famed papers? So many questions...but there are just as many answers. (Right here if possible)

Surprise, surprise...not all newspapers are created equal. Though your town may offer more than one major paper, each paper may have variations in the ads they carry. I didn't know that at first here in Phoenix. When I purchased the Tribune rather than the Republic, I was disappointed to find out my sister-in-law had better coupons than I did. I didn't want to fall behind in my coupons just because the paper I bought, though less expensive, wasn't cutting it. Now its only the high-class Republic for me. No shoddy papers allowed in my house.

I began by getting two papers each Sunday at our local Walgreens (where it's $.15 less than at the Circle K...every penny counts, especially when you are trying to save money on coupons. It's all about pennies with coupons, right?). We only have three people in my house, and one of them is a small guy (only 21 months), so I wouldn't need too many coupons...or so I thought. Little did I know how addicting this could become for me. Two papers wasn't enough any more. I now get three papers, with the extra ad coming in the mail during the week making my coupons total four sets each week.

I recommend subscribing to the paper and having it delivered (Can I recommend something that I don't actually do? Does that seem hypocritical...maybe not since it is me that is suffering for the lack of the subscription while the rest of the world actually does things to make it easier for themselves.) That would make it easier on me, of course. Then I wouldn't be scrambling out at 9:30 to get to Walgreens by 10:00.

"Oh, you're out of papers?...Try Fry's, you say? Thanks!

...Oh, you're out of papers, too? Maybe I'll spring for the full $2 a paper at the Circle K, instead

...What? You need a paper, too? But there are only three left and that's how many I buy...I get it that you are a cute little guy in your pj's running into the Circle K for your mom...is that supposed to make me more sympathetic to your cause?...Fine, I'll give in and give up one of my own precious papers."

The newspaper distribution in our area doesn't allow for Sunday-only delivery, though, and the rest of the papers each week are simply a waste of a good tree in my book. So I will continue with my routine and buy them Sunday night.

Tracking My Coupons

I'm doing this blog to track my coupon deals...which are pretty amazing if I don't say so myself.

Fry's right now is doing this great sale:

Buy 10 participating items and get $5 back at the register.
Tostino's Pizza Rolls -- $1.50
Toaster Strudels -- $.50
Au Gratin Potatoes -- free
Disposable Razors -- free
Toothbrushes -- $.50
Toothpaste -- free
Activia Yogurt -- $.50
ScotchBrite Sponges -- free
Quaker Oats -- free

I bought thirty items and spent under $13.50 after tax. That averages out to $.45 cents for each item...crazy!