Thrifty Thursday: Online Coupon Codes

I hope this isn't news to you... but just in case (or as a reminder)...

There are TONS of websites out there that offer the latest shopping discount codes!!! When you are shopping online at major stores or sites make sure to check for these discounts!

My favorite site is retailmenot.com
They offer lots of discount codes but they also rate them and the average savings customers got. There are some codes that don't work but it is worth it to try them out.

If you cannot find what you are looking for there, just google the name of the store and "discount code" or "promo code" or "coupon code" depending on what your site asks for at check-out.

I have recently used this feature for multiple Shutterfly books as well as free shipping. This is great because it means I get to use "coupons" with my online bargain hunting as well!!

Have you found any great online deals lately?

Thrifty Thursday: Starbucks Rewards

I LOVE a cup of coffee... I love hot coffee with some flavored creamer... I love a latte with some delish syrup... I love a mocha... I love coffee... I love it year round (even in the heat of the summer)... I love coffee!
I get to treat myself to a cup of Starbucks coffee about once a week... and I have a limit of how much I can spend on coffee each month. That is where Starbucks Rewards comes in handy!
If you register your Starbucks gift card and then use that card to buy your coffee... there are some awesome perks! I am able to get free shots of syrup, free refills on brewed coffee, free wi-fi, a free drink on my birthday, a free drink for every 15 purchases. I almost always save $0.40 on a visit for a shot of syrup... and I am sure that as often as I visit, that would add up to a couple cups of coffee!
I have one card that I use, and at the beginning of the month, I reload it with the set amount of money for the month. Then I only use that card to pay for my purchases.
If nothing else, I love that I save on my coffee each visit! How fantastic!

Have you used Starbucks Rewards?!?

Thrifty Thursday: Clearance Items

Last day to enter the Abigail's Hope Designs Giveaway !!! Check it out HERE until March 18.
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Today I have just a quick post for you... but it is one of my most favorite ways to be thrifty... CLEARANCE!!!!

I love a good sale... and even better, I LOVE a good clearance sale. Items that are perfectly great... but out of season (which in the fashion world means right on season), nearing their sell-by date (yet still good for quite a while in most cases), old packaging... or no apparent reason... are marked down anywhere from 25-90% off!
Knowing where to look for these items as well as when the markdowns happen will help you get some great deals.
My number one favorite place to find clearance items is at Target. They typically keep clearance on the outside end-caps. This is true for all the stores in town, and most out-of-town stores I have visited as well. If you check with your local store, they will likely tell you what day items are marked down... and they typically go from 30% to 50% to 75% to 90% (one week apart). If an item is on clearance, and you have a coupon... you just scored a super fantastic deal! This week I was able to get my swimsuit top and bottom on clearance for $7.48 each... and I had a $5 coupon that printed from the register a few weeks back... that made the whole swimsuit $10 (normally $36)! What a super deal! A couple weeks ago I got some Physicians Formula Organic makeup (mascara and lip gloss) for free because they were on clearance and I used a coupon on them! So keep your eyes peeled for those little red stickers!

The other place where I have started getting some great deals is the grocery store! There are many items that have sell-by dates... but their shelf-life is much longer! For example, this week I got some pasta on clearance for $.79 and I had a coupon for $.55/1 making the pasta $.24 a box. I was also able to get some amazing ice-cream for $1 that was on clearance because the store was not going to carry that flavor/brand any more... Um... I'll take $1 ice cream! One more deal I got this week... super cheap diapers... I was able to get diapers that were marked down to $5.99 for a package... then I paired it with a $2.00 coupon and a doubler (for $1) and got the package for $2.99! Super deal!!! At my local grocery stores, the clearance items are most often placed in shopping carts and placed in out-of-the-way locations... like in the back of the store nooks. However, there are some items that are in their normal location but marked with that super red sticker.

So... I encourage you to keep your eyes peeled for clearance items... and then see if you can match it up with a coupon!!

Good luck!

Thrifty Thursday: Coupon Tips

Looking for the BooBoo and Norm GIVEAWAY? Check it out HERE until March 11.
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Here are a couple little tips I thought I would share with you after this weeks shopping trip!

1. Take your own bags if you have them. Most grocery stores will give you a $.03-.07 credit per bag if you bring your own. You might have to ask about it, but I have even been given the credit at some of the big stores just from asking. The worst the cashier can say is no... but you might be surprised by how often a cashier will give you a discount just for asking! *And this is so much better for the environment than using the plastic bags!*

2. Keep your eyes peeled for in-store coupons. This week I got Seattle's Best Coffee for $3.99 a bag. Here is how:
Regular Price: $8.99
Sale Price: $6.99/1 or $4.99 wyb 3
In Store Coupon: $1/1
Bringing the total to $3.99 each when you buy 3 bags. This is like getting 3 bags of good coffee for the regular price of one bag! Wahoo!
I also found coupons for Starbucks Coffee as well!

3. Check your products for additional deals... cereal boxes, rice boxes, coffee bags, etc for additional deals. I found that when you buy a marked bag of Starbucks coffee, you can get a free tall beverage! Just take the empty coffee bag in to your local Starbucks and exchange it for your drink! That means that I got a bag of coffee plus a tall drink for $7! That is a super deal!

4. Keep your eyes peeled for clearance deals. Coupons still work on clearance! This week there was a $1/1 coupon for Physicians Formula makeup... and I know that I saw some clearance items at Target this last week.

5. Take your coupons with you! I was out of town this weekend and I had to run to Target to get some baby wipes (of course I would forget something) and I came across so many good clearance items that I had coupons to match... and I hadn't brought my coupons with me. I am hoping to find some of those same items at my local Target, but I am not sure if I will.

6. If you have a Chick Fil 'A in your area... keep your eyes (or ears) open for awesome deals! At my local CFA, if you visit on Friday (March 5) and save your receipt, you can return in the near future (I think within the month) and get everything on your receipt for free! That is a major BOGO deal! CFA is often doing great deals like this. In January, I was able to get a free chicken sandwich each Wednesday... and I know of another CFA that had a free breakfast item every day for a week! So listen on the radio for details, or check out their website to see if you can score some free chicken!

7. Beware of stores that don't accept coupons. Many discount stores won't accept manufacturer coupons. This is true of Big Lots and Fresh and Easy. However, many stores do price matching or price beating. Target will match prices if you have the current advertisement in hand. So if you see a great sale at a store that won't take manufacturer coupons, take it in to a price matching store... get the sale price and use your coupon! Check your store policies for more details!!

Best Deal This Week:
All this should have cost: $62.30... but I got it all for $16.85 (plus a $5 gift card and a $15 rebate)
Here is how:
Kashi: $2.88 - $1.50/1 coupon = $1.38
Excedrin: $7.29 - $1.50/1 coupon = $5.79 - Free Coupon = free (up to $5.99)
3 Venus Razors: $5.99 ea - $2.00/1 coupon = $3.99ea
3 Olay Body Washes: $5.50 (+$5 gift card wyb 3) - free wyb Venus Razor coupon= free
4 Gillette Body Wash: $1.79ea -$4/2 = $.84 overage
Lip Tint $1.12 on clearance
All this came to $16.85 plus the $5 gift card and I am submitting for a $15 rebate here. To make this a moneymaker!

Thrifty Thursday: Coupon Organizing

Have you started clipping coupons yet? Have you found a good way to organize them?

How you organize your coupons depends on how involved you plan on getting. I started with an accordion file that fit into my purse. That worked for about 5 weeks... until I had too many coupons and they no longer fit inside the file! Then I had the coupons organized by envelopes sitting in a basket that went to the store with me one week. My hubby was so embarrassed by the basket that he agreed with me when I decided to get a binder (not that he will be less embarrassed by the binder when we go shopping).

Here is what I did:
I started with a 1 1/2 in. binder...
I added 10 pages of 4x6 photo protector sheets... this created 40 pockets. For now I just have my old envelopes placed in each pocket. As I begin to create my shopping list for the week I will pull the coupons out of the envelopes.
I then have 12 pages of tinted sheet protectors. These are for store specific coupons. I am also able to place the store ad and my shopping list in these pockets! I have them color coded...
Red=department stores
Blue=grocery stores
Green=drug stores
Yellow=has yet to be filled


In the very back I have some baseball/trading card sheet protectors that can be used for skinny coupons... or very specific categories. This page has water filters, eye care products, batteries, light bulbs...

I still use a little envelope to store some specific coupons that go with me always (craft stores, restaurants, and gift cards).

I really like the binder approach so far. I feel like I am able to keep everything in one place and stay organized. I also like being able to keep my store ads in the binder with the coupons for easy reference. Now when I head out the door I grab my binder and my grocery bags and I am all set... and the hubby can't be too embarrassed when the cashier rings up all my groceries and the total is way low thanks to my coupons!

What are you using for coupon organization?

Thrifty Thursday: Coupons and Lobster

Today we will have a bit of this and a bit of that...

First... have you been couponing? I got this awesome deal at Alberstons this last week... Super Bowl Sunday brought out some great sales!



I got 4 12-packs of Coke ($5.99ea), 2 DiGiorno freezer pizzas ($7.49ea) and 2 4-packs of yogurt ($3.09ea) for a steal! This would have cost me $45.12 before sale or coupons. The sale and coupons brought it down to $14.72!!!!! The soda was $4 for all 4 12-packs! AMAZING! (I took the picture after I put everything away... this is just a representation)

This week I will probably be shopping at Vons...

Betty Crocker Cake Mix on sale $.69
*use $1/2 coupons so the total is $.38 for two boxes

Yoplait YoPlus or Fiber One Yogurts 2 for $4
*use $1/1 coupons so the total is $1 for a 4-pack

Pop Tarts on sale $1.88 a box
*use $1/3 so the total is $1.54 a box

Check out more coupon deals at these blogs...
http://www.fabulesslyfrugal.com/
http://www.littlemisscoupon.blotspot.com
http://www.athriftymom.com

Now... I bet you are wondering about the lobster? Well... a few years ago, the hubby and I decided we didn't want to go out and fight the crowds on Valentines day... but we still wanted to celebrate in a special way. We decided to have lobster... and thus started a tradition. We have tried a new lobster recipe each year. So this year, I will be trying a new recipe on Sunday! The beauty of this plan is that the lobster is on sale for $4.99 at Albertsons until Tuesday! We will be having a tasty lobster dinner for 2 for under $15... totally thrifty! Even if you don't want to make lobster for Valentines, you can still take advantage of the sale, and freeze the lobster until you are ready to cook it!

Thrifty Thursday: Couponing 101

Since I am not working right now and we are living on a significantly lower income, I have decided to see what all the couponing craze is about! I have been at this for the past 6 weeks and I have learned a bit about what I think is useful and what I think is more time than it's worth.
I will use some Thrifty Thursdays to share couponing tips as well as great deals I have found for the week.

This week I will start with how to get started!

Where to get coupons:
I purchase a single copy of the LA Times each Sunday. You can get your local newspaper if you like, but after comparing the coupons in our local paper and the LA Times, I decided the LA Times had better coupons.
You can also print coupons from the internet... the following websites are great sources for coupons:
coupons.com
redplum.com
You can also find great coupons on manufacturer websites. Many of these are also published on couponing blogs.

How it works:
The most important things to know about couponing...
-you can use one manufacturers coupon per item
-you can use one store coupon per item
*you can however use one store coupon and one manufacturers coupon on the same item.
-you can use coupons on sale items to maximize savings (sometimes free or even money making)

Example:
If Cereal was on sale for $1.50 a box, you have a cereal coupon for -$1/1 box and a store coupon for -$1/1 box... then it could work like this:
$1.50
-$1.00 (cereal coupon)
-$1.00 (store coupon)
-----------------------
=$.50 overage (some stores will credit this to the rest of your purchases! Some stores will just adjust the pricing so the item is free... it just depends on who rings you up!


How to organize the coupons:
I bought a little expanding file folder in the dollar section at Target.
I have the following sections (sub sections are separated by envelopes):
-Baking
-Dairy/Meat
-Canned
-Grains/Bread/Cereal/Pasta
-Snacks
--Candy/Sweets
--Chips/Nuts
--Drinks
-Misc.
--Makeup
--Body Care
--Home Supplies
--Baby
--Cleaning

I sometimes have to just wing it with the coupons and items that don't have a real home... for example, produce. There aren't often produce coupons, so this isn't really a problem.

I encourage you (if you don't already) to start getting a Sunday paper and clipping coupons! The longer you clip the coupons, the better the deals you can find. And if you have friends/family that throw out their coupons... snag those too! The more coupons you get, the more savings!

Shopping the sales:
A big part of the couponing and money saving efforts is shopping the sales. This can be as complicated and time consuming as you allow it. I typically go between Vons and Albertsons and look at their weekly ads. Whichever has the best sales is where I go. Then I look through the ad and compare it to coupons I have. So when I plan my menu and my shopping list for the week, I am purchasing items that are on sale and then I have my stock up items that have corresponding coupons. I then paper clip my coupons to the list. I also take my little coupon folder with me in case I find something on sale and I think I might have a coupon for it as well. There are people who go to lots of stores during the week and gets lots of sales... I don't know how they do it!

I know that couponing can be overwhelming... but start slow and you will get the hand of it. In the four weeks I have been doing this, I have noticed a large savings on my grocery bill. This week for example I shopped at Vons and without sales and coupons, I would have spent $87. After sales and coupons I only spent $42! Well worth the cost of the Sunday paper and a bit of time.

One final note... I spend about 2 hours a week on couponing (not counting the shopping trip). I usually spend 1 hour making the menu (and looking up recipes) and shopping list... so adding the other hour to organize coupons isn't too terrible. I just do it all at once now. I also read a few blogs and look at store ads online. I do this while I am pumping and am therefore attached to my computer anyway! This can get addicting and very time consuming... so I really recommend starting small!

Good Luck!