Cheap. Frugal. Free.

With money always being tight around our house, I've really enjoyed the freedom of free $$.

You heard me.

About a year ago a friend turned me on to "ehow".  A website that lets people write articles about stuff they know.  So I took the time to write a few articles, set up a paypal account with them and now every month I get free money.  For doing nothing.

My articles earn money from people that read them.  These consumers sometimes click on an ad along side the article, which in turn brings $$ from the ad company to Demand Media (owners of ehow) to my paypal account.

With my free money I've enjoyed purchasing books, movies, random stuff off ebay.  Even car parts.

But it's time to expand.  On word into another realm of free $$ with swagbucks.

Another company that I can earn points just by using it as a search engine and then turn my points in for purchasing items.  Like gift cards.  Which I can't wait to use to buy christmas presents.  By just clicking here, you can link yourself to my swagbucks page and start your own free $$.  It will have you download a "search engine" just like yahoo or google to put at the top of your internet web browser.  Totally easy.  Completely worth it.

Smile.

This purchase had me smiling the whole

way home.

Beaming like a proud parent.

Now just remember,

all of these products are high end

and usually $5 each.

Oh and let's not forget the 2 butterfingers

not pictured due to offering them as a thanks

for the girl who played with my kids

so I could go somewhere...

ALONE!!

Total cost?

$8

LOVE IT!!

Good Things Come In 3's

I can't help it.
The old me is back.
Maybe it's the last trimester "nesting" thing,
but I've been itching to use my coupons and
craft up a storm.

So when the new ad for Kroger came out
on Wednesday, I was salivating.

While dragging the terrible 3-some along,
I limped and waddled my way
down the aisles...smiling.

Because today I would be going home
with name-brand items I don't normally buy.
Like Right Guard for $1.
Dole and Tropicana Juice.
Dryer's Fruit Bars.
and Nestle Dibs.
Things I NEVER splurge on.

So I guess good things DO come in
triples.
34 items purchased
for
34 dollars
saving another
34 dollars.

I'm back!

Elated & Exhausted

HOW MUCH WOULD YOU PAY FOR ALL OF THIS?

Mind you, there are little things you can't see like...
Benadryl, 2 packs of batteries, Excedrin, 2 rolls of sausage,
2 shower cleaners, 2 hair detangling sprays and about 10 yogurts.
Not only did I buy my weeks worth of food,
but purchased WAY WAY WAY more than usual!!

And that milk is no regular cow stuff!
It's the $4 milk, fortified for kids with extra vitamins.

Normally I allocate $100 a week for food.

Today at Kroger in Texas and Louisiana they are
offering to double your coupons up to $2 instead of $1!!

My fellow coupon friends and I were ecstatic.
It's all we talked about for the past 3 days.
We even went on an excursion last night to
scope out the deals, find the exact spots,
and hide a few choice drugs we were afraid
would sell out.
(I felt a little guilty about that...but only for about 5 seconds)

All in all, I spent about 5 hours shifting through coupons
and organizing myself so I could zoom through
the store guaranteeing nothing I wanted would be
sold out.

And it was worth it!

Have you figured out how much you would spend for all that?
The crazy thing?
I had to stand on a chair and put my hand all the way up
to the ceiling to get a picture that barely caught everything
in one shot!

So here is my total:
(it's in 2 transactions because you
could only use 1 like coupon per transaction)

I spent $76.81
(less then my designated weeks worth,
with some to spare)

I saved $176.53
plus $10 more in a mail-in rebate
to Kellogg's

There's nothing like saving 70%
of your grocery bill to put a smile on a girls face!

Turn That Frown Upside Down

There was only one way I knew how to make my inner zen at peace. (especially after making the mistake of the century)

And how do we, LADIES, find stable ground in a world full of fluctuation?

SHOPPING!

But the only kind of shopping I love is the kind that saves me $$. Hence a trip to Walgreens that ended with purchasing ten items.

Spending $10.49

and

Saving $37.86

Now, I feel gooooood!

I Have My Target In Sight

When I first starting cutting out coupons, ages ago....
I *hated* it!!

It was annoying.

Things seemed to always expired before I used them.
I was lost when it came to pairing them up to the grocery store.
And found myself cutting out coupons for things I NEVER used.

These are normal complaints.

Things that MOST of my friends hate about coupons too.
But there are many things that have come about
these past years that can assist in that.

#1. Websites that go through the ad's for you
and tell you where the best deals are.
Try here, here and here.

#2. Work it out with friends.
Everything is more fun *together*.
If a good ad comes out for your favorite
local grocery store, call a few of your friends over
whip out the lap top and compare the paper coupons,
internet coupons and the store ad!

#3. Don't get suckered in.
Don't be tempted to buy it just because it's a good deal.
Come to terms that good deals always come around again.
Especially if you are already stocked full of that item.

*case in point: My sister. She has 50 shavers.
More then enough to last her family for a year or MORE.
OR
My friend. She was 50+ boxes of cereal.
I think she's mastered the technique of food storage!

#4. But remember, when in doubt...
CUT IT OUT.
You never know when you'll need that coupon,
OR you can swap a friend for some,
OR you can get something cheap to give
to homeless shelters or as Military care-packages.

Plus if you can get something like a fun family dessert
for mere change. It's worth the splurge!

*case in point: My trip to Target today.

I can ALWAYS use a box of cereal.
We go through them like no-bodies-business
around my house.
Deodorant is a necessity,
especially with humidity and temps like ours!
My kids THINK chocolate syrup for "cho-moo"
is a necessity.
And our treat for playgroup was the 2 bags of candy.

And let me tell you...
It was worth the $6.82 I paid!!

Thank you, TARGET!

Shhhh...It's A Secret

This morning with a pile of coupons in hand and 4 kids in tow I dragged them around my FAVORITE grocery store. I had spent the night before search websites, the grocery stores ad and comparing it to my stock pile of coupons. By sticking to my list I was able to STOCK UP on shampoos, soap, toothpaste, box desserts and the Kid-o's snacks (a must have for the summer).

And the grand total is....

I spent $42.

I saved $45.

A few of you asked HOW?

Besides having a little elf deposit PILES of the newspaper Parade packet that includes that weeks coupons in the Kitchen at our church building, printing coupons from here, here and here, I have also started depending upon DIGITAL coupons.

What are those?

Those are coupons you can load on to your grocery stores saving cards that dangle from your keys!! Who knew they could be so valuable? So stop letting your toddler use for a chew toy and check out here, here and here.

The best part is that not only can you use store sales, paper coupons and digital coupons all for the exact same product, BUT you can use a duplicate coupon from any of the digital coupon websites that might be for the same product!

Resulting in something that looks like this. The "BC Choc Cake" (aka: Betty Crocker Warm Delight Cupcakes) was normally $1.89. I had a $.10 off from the grocery store and 2 $.50 off from the internet. Resulting in paying $.79 for them. That's worth a little FHE dessert.

Besides the fact my grocery store had all L'oreal products "buy one get one free". Plus I had 4 $.75 coupons. Because even though one of the shampoos were free I still got to use a coupon for it!

I hope this inspires all of you. To save as much as you can!! Good luck!

I Hate To Brag

Even with purchasing my usual 2 weeks worth of food
AND
stocking up on a few items that boasted a great sale
for the 4th of July weekend,
I stayed with in my budget of spending under $200.

Thank You COUPONS!

More Than Monopoly Money

Lately I've been trying to change my way of thinking.
Instead of shoving coupons into the bottom of my purse
or stashing them in a drawer.
I savor them.
Treat them special.
Like it was "paper money".
Because really, if I'm smart about them,
they will make my dollar bills stretch farther, longer!

Even on Saturday I was stoked to save $42 for my 2 week grocery trip.
And then this morning my sister called with a celebration of saving over $60.
The manager was called over to her checkout
and had to override the transaction!
I love it!

So with my paper money burning wholes in my pocket
I tried again and headed out to CVS and Walgreens.

I got these 3 boxes of cereal for $2.64 (including tax).

THEN at the next store...

I got ALL of THIS!!
For this...

Technically with just purchasing the 2 shavers and
2 lg bottles of sunscreen I should have spent $40.

How could you not keep these coupons under LOCK and KEY?

Going Green...Money Green That Is.

This morning I got up super early to beat the crowds and
enjoy fresh pickings of the newly stocked aisles at the grocery store.
(thanks to Larry for getting up early with the kids, he's a trooper!)
There's nothing more relaxing then to be able to focus on the $$ saving
aspect of the groceries and
not whining kids that want to run up and down every aisle.

I spent the previous 2-days organizing myself
by searching through coupons, online coupons, the store ad
and then making a 2 week meal list.
(it's a tedious process, but a necessary one)

The funny part is that coupons aren't ALWAYS the biggest
$ savers.
Most of the time, even with a coupons purchasing the store
brand can save you more.

And after all was done I came out saving $46!!

But I'm also excited to say that my $ making is getting better too.
Currently my "ehow" articles have profited me a
WHOPPING
$7.11!!!

I'm rich!



(kind of)

Internet Coupon Codes

I stumbled across this great web page. It has thousands of coupon codes for reduced shipping prices, etc. This is a huge find for me since lately the cost of gas and dragging 3 kids with me justifies the use of internet shopping more and more!
Click here.