Back from the Beach

Gran-Mommy helping Luke walk across the lily pads.

Sorry I haven't been around much lately. We actually just got back from a 10 day vacation in Kure Beach, NC. It was SO relaxing and much needed. My mom and sister live in that area, so it was a lot of fun to see them. Anyway, I didn't have Internet access as anticipated, so that's why I haven't posted in a while. We visited the aquarium, Luke got to ride the carousal for the very first time, we saw the fireworks on the boardwalk, watched Gnomeo & Juliet on the big screen by the lake, and of course we went to the beach! Here are a few pictures of the boys having fun at the playground. I have a bunch of other pictures from the beach and aquarium, but they're still on my camera and I haven't uploaded them yet. So here are the best of the few that I have access to. So, the boys had a great time and Delvin and I are well rested. Thank goodness, since school is right around the corner. But, back to work and back to blogging. I'll be posting much more often in the next few weeks. I've been busy unpacking, cleaning, doing laundry and unwinding since I came home yesterday, so I'll get back to blogging in the next few days. I hope every one's summer is going good and hopefully enjoying the sun!

Jake smiling for a picture while Gran-Mommy swings him.

Read more »

Saving Money on Disposable Diapers

While I LOVE my cloth diapers, I realize they aren't for everyone. I have said before that I believe more people would use cloth diapers if they just gave them a chance. That being said I realize that there are lots and lots of people who will never touch a cloth diaper, and that's okay! Some moms cloth diaper smaller babies and switch to disposables when the poop gets really stinky (and who can blame them?) Fortunately for those who use disposables there are plenty of ways to save. Since I started "couponing" and realized the deals that are out there I have wanted to kick myself lots of times for paying full price for certain items. Diapers are one of these items. There are a few easy ways to save on disposables, here are some of them:

Amazon:
Amazon.com usually has pretty decent deals on diapers. The prices can vary so try to keep track of what you pay to know whether or not you are getting a good deal. If you subscribe to Amazon Mom (free!) you will save 15%. Sign up for subsribe and save (also free!) and you will save another 15%. That 30% is almost always cheaper than the prices you would find at stores like Wal-Mart or Target. I normally use Amazon.com to buy pull-ups for my son since he is almost potty trained but grew out of his cloth. You can cancel subscribe and save as soon as you order, or set the ordering times really far apart so that you can change sizes or brands if you need to. You can't use coupons on Amazon but they do sometimes have sales. If you need diapers fast and can't find other good deals Amazon is a good choice because of free two day shipping with Amazon mom.


Coupons:
Pampers and Huggies both have newspaper coupons fairly frequently. Other brands will occasionally have coupons as well. Huggies and Pampers both have mailing lists that send out coupons every now and then. These coupons typically range from $1.50 to $3.00 off one pack of diapers. $1.50 off a pack of $10 diapers may not seem like much, but every little bit helps. Combine coupons with sales for maximum savings.

Drugstore deals:
Stores like Walgreens or CVS often have sales on diapers that include Register Rewards or Extra Bucks. If you shop at these stores anyway and roll you RRs or EBs following these sales can save a lot of money! An example of this at Walgreens would be a sale price of $8.99 plus receive a $2 Register Reward. If you combine this with a $2 off coupon it would be like paying $4.99, which is about half of the regular price. If you don't typically shop at drugstores this may not be the best deal because you may forget or no know how to use the register reward or extra buck.

Clearance deals:
Lots of stores will put their diapers on clearance from time to time for various reasons such as the diapers being repackaged or discontinued. These prices are often half of the regular price or even less! Combined with coupons this can make diapers very, very cheap!

Stockpiling: Find a GREAT deal on diapers? Stock up!! If you can get diapers for $3 or $4 or less for a jumbo pack (and it does happen more often than you'd think!) buy some for a few months! Find a great deal on diapers that are a size or two up? Buy them anyway, kids grow fast! The same applies for wipes, since there are great deals on wipes all the time.

As you can see there are plenty of ways to buy diapers without paying retail prices. All of these deals can apply to disposable wipes as well. Diapers are one of the most expensive baby items but by following these simple tips it is very easy to save!

Read more »

If You Love Swagbucks...

If your a fan of Swagbucks, then you're going to love MyPoints! At MyPoints you can earn points for doing the things you already do, like; shopping, reading emails, playing games, searching the web, taking surveys, and more! Now, I know that Swagbucks addicts are probably thinking How can I join MyPoints and do these things, when I already do all of this with Swagbucks? I totally understand what you mean. But, the good thing about MyPoints is that A) They have certain websites for you to shop at that Swagbucks doesn't offer, and B) You can receive 3-10 emails from them every day and simply view the website in the email for points. I've only been viewing the websites for about a week and I already have over 900 points! They will also send you survey invitations if you choose, and even if you don't qualify, they'll still give you 10 points for non-qualification. So, technically you can continue to do all of the things you do with Swagbucks (searching the web, taking the polls, etc) and still earn points at MyPoints.

You can redeem your points in their rewards section for almost any gift card imaginable! Even some that Swagbucks doesn't offer like Wal-Mart! You can even redeem your points for gas cards, airline miles, and hotel discounts. So go ahead and join MyPoints and start
earning some points! You'll be happy you did!

Read more »

Free Huggies Sample!

Head over to Target.com for a free sample of Huggies Snug and Dry diapers. You can choose from size 3, 4, or 5. Check it out quickly because deals like this never last very long!

Read more »

Cheap Huggies wipes at Walgreens

Huggies wipes are $2.49 at Walgreens this week. There is also a $1 off Huggies wipes coupon in the July coupon booklet. You will find this booklet at the front of the store near the weekly ad. There was a $.50 off Huggies manufactures coupon in the paper a while back or if you are on Huggies mailing list they sent a coupon for $.75 off wipes (with a couple of coupons for diapers as well.) With these manufactures coupons you could get the wipes for either $.75 or $1 since Walgreens allows you to stack on manufactures coupon with one Walgreens coupon. I normally use cloth wipes at home but I do use disposables for going out and I prefer Huggies (unscented) to most others.

Read more »

Eight Weeks to a Cloth Diapering Stash at $20 per week - Week Three

First make sure to check out week 1 and week 2 so that you know what is going on! I am showing you how it is possible to cloth diaper using only the money you would usually spend on disposables. There are many ways to do this and I will show you some examples!

Week three:

Week three will be fairly easy. The first thing you will want to do is buy some wet bags. Wet bags are great for when you go out with your diapers. They also work for baby clothes that have gotten dirty or other things. This two pack from Kushies sells on Amazon for about $11. Make sure you are signed up for Amazon mom (it's free!) for 2 day free shipping. These wet bags work great, I have four of them myself. However they are not "large" even though they say they are. Each one will hold 5-6 diapers or 3-4 bigger diapers. They do work great for diaper bags even with the drawstring closure. You can also use them at home since you will be washing every day for a while. Use the remaining $9 to buy one or two more diapers. Again try eBay, cottonbabies clearance (free shipping) or diapperswappers. Check out week 2 for recommendations on brands and what to look for on eBay or diapperswappers.

Continue using your "flats" and covers when you need to and using your pockets or AIOs for outings and at night. If you need a little extra absorbency (especially at night) there are lots of things you can use. T-shirt material can be folded into a pocket or just stuck inside of a cover for extra absorbency.  By now you should be getting the hang of what works for you and what you like and what you don't. Stick with it, sometimes cloth diapering is hard at first but once you figure it all out you will probably before it to disposables (I know I do anyway!)

Read more »

Step 2: How to Organize your Coupons

First off, you have to decide whether you're going to clip every coupon as you receive it, or whether you're going to store your inserts, magazines, etc in their entirety and just clip the coordinating coupons as you find deals.

How do I decide which method is best for me?
That's easy! Are you the kind of person that goes to the store for 3 things, and walks out with a cart full? If your an impulse shopper, then you'll want to use Method #1. This way, you'll have all of your coupons with you at all times. If you see something that isn't on your list, you can quickly see if you have a coupon for it. If you are the kind of person that makes a shopping list and sticks to it, then Method #2 will work for you.

If you're going to clip every coupon as you receive it (Method #1), read on. If you're planning to store your inserts and magazines (Method #2), you can skip down to Method #2.

Method #1:
I used a method that many couponers believe to be the simplest way to organize and find coupons. The binder method. You may not think you have nearly enough coupons to fill a binder, but once you start clipping 95% or more of the coupons you get your hands on, you'll be thankful that you chose the binder method. I really started couponing just 8 days ago, and my binder already has over 60 pages full of coupons.

What You Need:

• 2-3 inch Binder (if you have small children, I recommend getting one that zips closed)
• 7-8 Packs of Tab Dividers
• 50-100 Pages of Clear Baseball Card Holders

1. First you want to separate your coupons into categories. You can make up your own, or you can use what I use. This is the printable Table of Contents and Dividers from The Krazy Coupon Lady, aka Joanie Demer (the first couponer to premiere on TLC's Extreme Couponing show). 
2. Once you've separated all of your coupons, you want to fill out your dividers. (I have the category written on the front of the divider and on the tab.) 
3. Now it's time to add some baseball card holders to your binder. (Since I have 36 categories and only 65 baseball card holders, I have some categories with two holders and others with only one. It depends on how often you get coupons for certain categories.) 
4. Now you can start putting your coupons into their spots. (I put them by expiration date, so the closest date is in the front and the farthest dates are towards the back. This is very time consuming when your putting your binder together for the first time, but it will be much easier to upkeep. You may have to trim coupons or fold them to fit them in their place holders.)  
5. I also keep one card holder in the very front of my binder with all of my full size membership cards in it. This way, if I ever look on my keys and my key chain is missing (or I have the wrong set of keys), then I still have my membership card with me.

Once you're all done, you will be SO proud of your binder, you'll know it was worth it. It will be SO easy to find coupons in a hurry!  

Method #2:
If you are the type of person you plans every shopping trip down to the penny and never strays, then this is the method for you. You'll be planning every single transaction prior to going to the store and only bringing along the coupons that you plan to use.

What You Need:

• 2-3 inch Binder (if you have small children, I recommend getting one that zips closed)
  
• 150-200 Clear Page Protectors

1. First you will need to gather all of your newspaper inserts, and magazine pages with coupons, tear them into single pages, and sort them by date. (I've heard that it's easier if you put the newest ones in the back.)
2. You'll want to write the date the newspaper came out on each single page somewhere, and the month each magazine came out on those pages too.. (This will help when your looking through price matches and you need to find the 7/3 P&G insert quickly.)
3. Next you'll want to get your binder out and put all of your page protectors inside your binder.
4. After that, your going to want to start putting your inserts in the page protectors. (If you have an insert that has an advertisement on the back with no coupons, you can put another one behind it, back-to-back, to save space.)

Once you've got all of your inserts in your binder, your ready to go. It will be very simple to find coupons for price matches this way.

Great job! Now you've got all your coupons sorted and your ready to find those low, low prices. In the next step we'll talk about all of the great resources that are available online for clipping, price matching, and talking to other great couponers.

Read more »

Deal of the Day - Amazon video games

All video games and accessories are buy one get one free until July 9th! Amazon has really good prices on video games anyway so this is a pretty awesome deal! You can also use Amazon gift cards that you earned from Swagbucks or from doing surveys at Opinion Outpost. If you haven't signed up for Swagbucks or Opinion Outpost check them out! I make a little extra money through both each month.

Read more »

Step 1: Where do I get all of these coupons?

In this step, we are going to discuss how to get your hands on those all too valuable coupons.

1) Newspaper Inserts - The very first place to look for coupons is obviously in the Sunday paper. You can either do this by going to the store and buying the paper every weekend (just make sure the plastic insert is inside your paper before you pay for it), or you can subscribe to the Sunday edition by calling your newspaper or going online. If your a new subscriber, they normally have really good deals on the Sunday edition.

2) Magazines - I subscribe to All You magazine, which you can also buy monthly at Wal-Mart. This particular magazine has a great deal of valuable coupons in every issue.

3) Printable - These are coupons that are available from numerous websites. You have to be very careful with internet coupons though. Some stores do not accept them due to fraud. Check with your stores and make sure they accept them first.

4) Peelie - These are coupons found directly on the package. You don't have to use these at the same time you purchase the product. I suggest peeling these off as you put your items on the belt, or else the cashier will scan it right away.

5) Hangtag - These are coupons or forms found hanging from a tag around the neck of a bottle or jar.

6) Catalina - These are the coupons that are dispensed from the small machine at the register after your purchase. They are only redeemable at the store that it printed at or at stores that accept competitor store coupons.

7) Blinkie - These are the in-store SmartSource coupons that are located in a dispenser near the product, usually from a red blinking box attached to the shelf.

8) Product Packages - Another way to find coupons is to look on the inside of boxes and bags of already purchased, empty items. For example; Jimmy Dean almost always has coupons inside their boxes of breakfast foods.


That is a great start to accumulating your coupons. In the next step we'll discuss how to organize and store your coupon collection.

Read more »

Become an Expert at Couponing

Have you seen the new show Extreme Couponing? It's a little crazy, I know, but realistically I believe many people are jealous of the fact that someone can walk out of a store paying just under $20 for over $1,200 worth of groceries. I know I am!

Well, I've been slowly but surely working on becoming a couponer. I've nailed the basics and I'm moving on to building a stockpile. I don't need a grocery store in my basement (heck...I don't even have a basement), but I would love to have enough of my family's every day necessities on hand so I don't have to worry about running out of toilet paper (which happened last week :-P). So, I'm going to start small, by stocking up on things my family uses often like; toiler paper, body wash, toothpaste, Coca-Cola, rice, pasta, etc.

I am going to be spending this week walking you through the basics of couponing. My goal is to share the planning with you, so you can successfully start to create your own stockpile in the next 6 weeks. Hopefully you'll all be able to save 65% or more on your groceries. Amy and I will also be sharing our couponing shopping trips with you. Of course, you want to see proof that it can be done...even by beginners like us! :-)

Couponing FAQ's

How much time will I have to spend clipping coupons and browsing sales ads?
The good news is, there are a lot of resources online that do a good amount of the work for you. You obviously will still have to clip coupons, but depending on which option you choose to do this, it may take you as little as 5 minutes a week (as much as 15 minutes). Using the resources available online, you will most likely spend 15-20 minutes "browsing ads".

What exactly is a stockpile?
A stockpile is a reserve amount of items your family uses everyday. Some people choose to buy large quantities of items they will never use, just because they got it for pennies. I am not going to teach you how to do this. I am only going to show you how to create a stockpile that simply suits your family's needs.

What happens when I can't find a coupon for something?
One of the first things any couponer will tell you is to be open minded. Brand loyalty goes right out the window if your really looking to save money. For example; if Foldger's does not offer coupons but Maxwell House does, then think about trying a new brand. This doesn't mean that you can't say "Well Foldger's coffee is my one item I refuse to change." Of course you can, and I'll show you how to buy that Foldger's coffee when it's at it's rock bottom price (and only when it's at it's rock bottom price). You'll learn how to never pay full price for your groceries again!

When will I start seeing a difference in my grocery bill?
This depends on many factors. If you already clip coupons, then your one step ahead of the crowd. If not, you'll have to start collecting coupons to build up a supply. If you follow my lessons, in the next 4-6 weeks you will undoubtedly start to see your grocery bill go down.

Keep a look out for our first step on How to Become an Expert at Couponing, Step 1: Where do I Get all of These Coupons?

Read more »