Sunday, December 20, 2009

Sorry for the delay in posts!

I wanted to let you all know I haven't forgotten about this blog, I've just been super busy! Hopefully after the holidays it will calm down enough for me to really start this up and give y'all some serious couponing advice :). In the meantime, check out Brandie's holiday gift guide and don't forget to get yourself some free or cheap grocery totes so you can save 5 cents per bag on your grocery bill, and help save the environment at the same time!! I just got 2 free ones in the mail today, I'm so excited!!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Grocery Trip 12-05 and 12-06

As promised, my blog will show you how to save money getting groceries. I work off of a $300/month budget to feed 3 people. Yes, I know that sounds almost impossible without eating Ramen noodles every night, but I do not have to ask my family to sacrifice, and we are still able to have good healthy and filling meals every day. Here are a few of my tricks for saving money:

1.) Look for great sales (I look at Ads from all of my local stores to find out if any stores are having mega sales or any great deals)
2.) Don't drive to 5 different stores hunting down good deals. Target, Walmart, Market Street/United, and I think Albertsons all price match. That means if a good deal is in an ad from another store, they will honor that price. I split my grocery trip between Target and Market Street now, because I figured out that I actually save about $50/month doing so.
3.) Look at Store brands also. One of the main reasons I shop at the two main stores I love is because they have AWESOME store brands. You want to find good store brands that taste/work the same as the regular brands. But, you also want to check store brand vs name brand w/ coupon. For instance, if you need paper plates, and the 28 pack of Dixie brand plates is $3.29, and you have a coupon for $.50 off, and the store brand is only on sale for $3.19, that's not a better deal. But, if the store brand was on for $2.50 for a 28 pack, that's a great deal!! Target and Market Street are both awesome stores to find these deals at! The only other thing I would reccommend with this is to make sure you try the store brand before buying a lot of it. It's rare that I find a store brand that doesn't taste/work the same as the name brand, but it happens sometimes.
4.) Also look for good deals on if you buy more than one product. My biggest example of this is with Pillsbury items, all of their coupons are for if you buy more than one, and it works out to your advantage in the long run. I can serve my family a great breakfast for just around 50 cents/person because I buy lots of the cinnamon rolls and biscuits when they are on sale and I can use coupons!
5.) One of the really awesome things about Target is that they will let you use 1 manufacturer coupon and 1 Target coupon on each item. So let's say for instance, Bounty paper towels are on sale right now for $9.99. I have a $1.50 off Target coupon and a $0.50 off Manufacturer coupon, I can use both of these on this product, making it $7.99!!

So, this weekend I went to both Target and Market Street, and the way I decide what to buy at each store is I have shopped a lot at both places and in general I know how much they charge for items before they're having a good sale.

I had lots of free item coupons, and I found the best deals at each of the 2 places, maximizing my savings! I saved $51.71 at Target with coupons, and I saved $4 at Market Street (bought a lot of items I didn't have coupons for).

A great example of buying store brand vs name brand, Market Street sells their milk for $2.29/gallon as opposed to almost $5 for name brand! Target has their chicken nuggets (dino shaped ones) on sale for $3.99 as opposed to the smaller bag of Tyson which is going for $6.99!
One of the really good deals I got was I had a coupon for Nivea lip care buy one get one free. Then I had another coupon where if I bought 3 Nivea lip care I got a free big bottle of Nivea lotion! So I bought my 3 nivea, only paying for 2, and got a free bottle of lotion!
I usually buy Digiorno pizza, but I saw that Freschetta had peelie coupons on them for $1 off, making them cheaper than Digiorno, so I got the Freschetta instead. Looking for these types of deals and just being willing to try new things will help you save money as well!

I spent $269.80 total on my groceries, and I was able to get an entire month of food for 3 people. That means I can feed my family 3 meals/day for 31 days. Now this cost was including hand soap, body wash, shampoo, a pack of sponges, a scrub brush, and a lot of other non-food related items, plus lots of snacks. I would guestimate that I actually spent about $169 on actual food that we will eat dinner/breakfast/lunch with, making it $1.81/day per person for us to eat.

I also got a great deal at Kohls which I will probably post about tomorrow! Make sure to check the other blogs which I check daily so you can get some awesome freebies! Have an awesome week and email me if you have any questions or need any shopping advice!!

couponmommy85@yahoo.com

New posts coming soon!!

I apologize for the delay in posts, I have very limited amounts of time to do...well....anything at all haha, so I haven't been able to get online to post. I hope you all have been reading the other blogs in the meantime and getting some awesome deals!!

More posts to come in the next few minutes!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!!!


Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!! I hope y'all have a great holiday and have safe travels wherever you may be going!! I am very thankful for my readers (all 4 of y'all ROFL), I want to spread the good news of saving money to whoever I can!! :) Have a great Thanksgiving!!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

2 Free Breathe Right Nasal Strips!

Go here for 2 free Breathe Right nasal strips!!

Thanks again FSF!

Free Steaz Tea!! Full size!!

Go here to print your coupons for your free Steaz tea!! I absolutely love this stuff, it's delicious and it's 100% natural!! I need to branch out and try a new flavor, but right now my fav is the White Tea with Lime and Pomegranate!! This offer is only available to get at Target, so hopefully there is one near you!! It's good until the end of the year also, so you can always wait until you come to visit me to get your free ones!! :)

Free Tomato Seeds!

Go here and vote for your favorite barn, and then after you do that you will be prompted for two codes, code 1 is CX, code 2 is 01, and the type of soup is tomato. Enter your info and the seeds will be on their way!!

Thanks FSF!

NOTICE FOR Free Ultimate Cleaning Cloth DEAL!!!

For those of you who may have seen this freebie on free sample freak (or any other blog) and become a fan, this company is now saying if you want the "free cloth" you have to pay $2.99 s/h. They basically misrepresented their "great deal" by telling us all it was going to be some kind of great deal.

Let me be very clear here though, Brandie at Free Sample Freak had NOTHING to do with this, she was simply passing on a great deal. I don't want anyone to stop visiting her site because of these morons who thought it was ok to false advertise and use trickery to get more facebook fans!

Anyway, I'm stepping off of my soap box now LOL, just wanted to let you all know. I have removed myself from their fan list and reported them to FB!

Brandie, you are awesome!

Free Sample of Slippery Stuff

Haha, make sure the kids aren't in the room for this sample!!

Go here for your free sample of Slippery Stuff personal lubricant!

Thanks FSF!

Free Sample of True Lemon!

Go here for a free sample of True Lemon!

Thanks Free Sample freak!

Free Sample of Arm and Hammer Toothpaste!

Go here and fill in the form for a free sample of Arm and Hammer toothpaste! If the link doesn't work, try pasting http://tryarmandhammer.com/ into your browser!

Thanks Free Sample Freak!

Free Sample of Millstone Coffee

Go here for your free sample! Also, while you are there, look at the other samples available, just click here to see all the samples available! I did a bunch a couple of months ago and have received most if not all of them! Again, 4-6 weeks for delivery :)

Free Kashi Chewy Trail mix bar sample!

Go here and fill out the form to receive your free sample! May take 4-6 weeks to get it, but it's worth the wait! :)

Also, they will ask if you want to join the online community, I am a part of that and they send out some awesome coupons and samples to you!

Freebies on Wednesday!

I had lots of coupons to go use and a day off during the week, so I went and got lots of freebies! Here is the picture and the breakdown...

  • I received the All you mag in the mail
  • I had a $5 off any purchase for hallmark, so I shopped their clearance section and found a CD (which I love btw, been listening to it everyday!), and a very pretty trinket box that says "Live simply", which is my motto haha
  • I had purchased something at Target a few weeks ago that had gone bad before I bought it, so I called their consumer hotline on the box and they sent me a $3 coupon for any market pantry/ archer farms food or beverage purchase. So with that I was able to get a jar of crushed red pepper, a can of green beans, and a box of hot cocoa!
  • I had a $5 Kohls coupon as well (off any purchase), so with that I got a gift bag with body wash, lotion, and a loofah, and then to make it exactly $5 I got a kitchen towel!
  • I got coupons for free Steaz drinks (there is a link on hip2save that I will be posting soon if it's still valid)
So make sure if you've been checking these other blogs I've mentioned that you're getting your freebies! Also, another tip I have is to combine your freebie trips into one night/week so you aren't wasting gas money :).

Some awesome customer service!!

I know many of you are wondering about the free pullups, pads, and cereal I posted this week....well here's the scoop! I had previously purchased some of these same products that had problems. I wrote emails to each of the companies, and as a result I received some wonderful coupons! I greatly appreciate these companies and their fantastic customer service! I highly suggest that if you have a problem with a product you have purchased that you bring this problem to the manufacturer's attention. Sometimes it could be a recurring problem that they aren't aware of, and your email could help solve a major issue!

Oh the other side of that, make sure to send nice emails as well. I make sure to send 2 nice emails for every angry or upset email I send, so I don't feel like a mean old lady! LOL! I sent an email to a company who had sent me a sample of something that I really LOVED and because I sent them an email they are sending me coupons to buy their wonderful product! :)

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Free Sample of Stacy's chips!!

GET a FREE sample of Stacy's® Simply Naked Pita Chips -

http://AllYou.chtah.com/a/tBLAsnVB7uBfoB73RWoDvmXU-qP/stcy2-3

Make sure if you don't want a "trial" subscription that you select that option!!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Big Deal from Target last week!


Ok, I know many of you who are already friends of mine on Facebook were wondering about this deal, so here is the scoop!
On the 11th, I went up to Target just to get a Mr. Potato Head dressed as Santa (pictured above), he was on sale for $5.99 and I had a $5 off coupon. So I happily spent my $1, and out popped a coupon for a $20 gift card if I purchased a new prescription or transferred a new prescription. I just went to the doc a few weeks ago and had a prescription for headache meds, so I took that and got it filled.
I got a $20 gift card!
That night, I needed pullups, and I also needed undershirts for my hubby, so I went back up to Target. I already had coupons for free Always 18 packs of pads (I had 2 of them, you can score these at beinggirl.com, just request that sample pack, it's inside the package with the samples of pads). So I went and got pullups, and found peelie coupons on each package, one was for $1.50 off, one was for $3 off, then I got my hubby's shirts, they were supposed to be $10 but were ringing up at $12. But, after all of my coupons and all the sales, my total was $29, minus the gift card, all I paid out of pocket was $9. Then, I went to customer service after I noticed the shirts rang up wrong, and the very nice lady adjusted it for me and gave me $2 back, making my actual total $7 for 2 packs of pullups, 2 boxes of pads, and a pack of undershirts!
Then, I went to Kroger just to browse and look for good deals. I stopped by the halloween clearance table, and saw some adorable stickers (pictured above also), and then I saw a box of Hefty one zip halloween themed baggies!! This table was marked 75% off, which would've made the baggies 50 cents each!!!! I thought it had to be a mistake, and I had a coupon for $1 off if I purchased 2, so I looked in the baggie section, and of course, they weren't on sale. But when I went to the register, I asked the cashier to price check it, and explained that they had been on that table. She talked to the manager and she marked them down 50%, making them $1/each. So for 2 boxes of baggies and a package of 150 stickers, I paid $1.30!
So, to recap, I got all of the above pictured items for approx $9!

Free stuff from Saturday!


AWESOME day of freebies on Saturday!! First I want to thank Clarins for the wonderful facial and samples!! I won another Glamour contest and for this one received all of the Tree Hut products seen above: body butter, sugar scrub, shower gel, lotion, and body spray! It smells amazingly good! Also, received my name your own brand T-shirt, and my Parenting ...The Early Years magazine. I also received from Beech Nut baby products, coupons for free items, so I was able to get 2 free jars of baby food which I'm hoping I can mix with something like yogurt to make my son like them, and a thing of Oatmeal which I think he will like, it has fruit in it. I had a $5 Hallmark coupon, so I went there and was able to get an amazing peppermint bark bar, a card for a gift, and two spools of ribbon!! I also had an Aveda coupon for free Rosemary Mint body/hand wash. It also smells amazing!! :) Also, not pictured is a 10 oz package of fillet of steak, bacon wrapped, that I got free from Wal-mart!

Free stuff in my mailbox today!!


Freebies in my mailbox today!! A (RED) button, 6 tasters choice coffee individual packs, a pack of Oregon Chai tea which I am drinking now and it's amazing! Also, 6 Pantene coupons, a coupon for the Chai, and a $3 off any market pantry/archer farms purchase for Target (got that one to replace the frozen meal I bought that had already expired 2 months earlier). I would like to say Thank You to the Target customer service hot line. I just called on Friday and the coupon already arrived today!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Free Photo Cards!!! UPDATE

***This one is no longer working***

Go
here and register to receive 50 FREE print cards!! I did an adorable one of my son, the picture is recent but not one that looks like it's from Christmas, but who cares, it's cute and free! Also, at checkout make sure you enter the code newbaby to get your free cards! Free shipping as well!
Thanks hip2save

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Couponing 101

I know a lot of people who have asked me exactly how to get started with couponing. It all depends on each person, and each person's environment. It is imperative that you sit down and figure out exactly what products you use and on what basis you use them. Do you need to buy shampoo once a month or once every other month? It will help to keep your budget functional if you know these things. For instance, I know if I buy an 18 pack of paper towels I can get through 2 more grocery trips before I have to buy more. This is usually a $15 purchase, so I know I won't have to spend that money for a while and that's very reassuring and very useful information.
The basics though, that I tell everyone who asks, is the routine that I do every week. The following is my "couponing schedule":
Sundays I clip all of the coupons (the only ones I don't clip are hair color coupons because my sister in law does my hair) and organize them in my coupon folder. I organize mine alphabetically, and I put them in a binder using baseball card sleeves. Just organize them in a way that makes sense to you.
Monday-Saturday I check the blogs I have listed on the right hand side of my page, and go do any free item runs that I can, sign up for email lists that look safe and do not require any purchases. These 4 blogs are extremely helpful and I am so grateful to these ladies who take time out of their busy days to update them!!
On Thursday of every week, Old Navy has a coupon update on their page oldnavyweekly.com , it happens anytime at an unspecified and unknown time. Just click around their site and you'll find great coupons! They sometimes even have the $75 off $100 purchase coupon! It's like a fun puzzle, and on freesamplefreak.com, the wonderful and talented Brandie has a live chat to discuss with each other where the coupons are located.
The primary stores you will notice that I shop at are Target, Market Street (United), Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, and Kroger. I love Albertsons and Rite Aid, but I unfortunately do not have them in my area. Target has an awesome coupon policy and they will let you "stack" a manufacturer coupon and a store coupon. Some stores such as Market Street I don't receive ADs for in my mail, I live just outside the mailing region, so I just pick up the Ad in store or check online at marketstreetunited.com
Here are some definitions and abbreviations, I will try to avoid using these but I will slip sometimes and use them:
WAGS: Walgreens
MFG Coupon: Manufacturer coupon (this will say "manufacturer coupon" somewhere on the coupon
Store coupon: a coupon that can only be used at the specified store, usually Target has these
Price Match: a few stores do this, check with your local stores to be sure. This is where they will accept a price from another store, provided you have an Ad to prove it. For instance, let's say Walmart has a Mr. Potato Head on sale for $4, and it's $5 at Target, if this is an advertised price in Walmart's ad, you just take that Ad to Target and they adjust the price.
Also, I will post pictures not only here but on my Facebook page as well! Just click on the link on the right hand side of my page to get the FB updates too!
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me anytime at
couponmommy85@yahoo.com !!
I will post some pictures soon of the great deals I have gotten this week along with a description of how I got them! Have a fantastic weekend!

Welcome to Money Saving Mommy!!!

Welcome to my blog, where I will make an effort everyday to bring to you the best deals in the DFW area.
Where should you start when you are a beginner at couponing? My favorite sites and ones I will reference multiple times throughout this blog are metroplexsavers.blogspot.com , freesamplefreak.com , hip2save.com , and mojosavings.com. The lovely ladies who own these websites are so great at finding weekly deals from different stores, and at finding the free samples and items that you can either get by signing up on a website, or just with your coupons!!
My website will primarily focus on how to get your grocery bills down to a minimum while still getting everything you need, however I will also be posting the free things I come across!
I have to work with a $300/month budget for me, my husband and my son, which includes ALL groceries for the entire month. I know it can be hard sometimes to make a budget work, so my goal is to give you all of the advice I can on how to make your budget work for you! So look around, and enjoy saving money!