Wednesday, April 22, 2009

I have moved!


If you have stumbled here you'll find soon that dust is collecting, please follow me  as I move to a new location.  The Frugal Find is my new home!  I hope to see you there!

Monday, April 20, 2009

It's a CONTEST!.

I am moving from blogger to wordpress and I need a new website name.  If I choose your website name suggestion you win a $5.00 Starbucks gift card.  My husband is winning at this point!  Post your suggestions in the comments section.  Good luck! Publish Post

Ok, so this is VERY exciting news...


Kmart is doubling Manufacturer coupons! This has made my week. If you have been clipping coupons at all over the past couple of weeks, this is a GREAT opportunity to get several items at free or nearly free after the coupon double. I went to Kmart last night to see how the double coupon deal works, it was so incredibly easy. The register automatically deducts the coupon a second time, that's it. I am now prepared to go back and really stock up!

A few examples of items I purchased last night in my trial run:

Scrubbing Bubbles Flushable Wipes or Foam Cleaner - On sale 2/$5 w/$2 off/1 = $0.50 ea
Herbal Essence Shampoo & Conditioner - On sale 2/$6 w/ $2 off/2 = $1.o0 ea
Pledge Multi-Surface Cleaner - Reg. Price $4.19 w/ $2 off/1 = $0.19 ea
Secret Deodorant - On Sale $2.33 w/ $1.00 off/1 = $0.33 ea
Participating Kelloggs Cereals On Sale 4 for $10 (get a $5 Kmart Gift Card) w/$1.50 off/2 = $0.87 ea
Oust Surface & Air Sanitizer $3.79 w/$2 off/1 = FREE
Dry Idea Deodorant $3.99 w/$2 off/ = FREE

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A couple more things...
  1. Make sure you pick up your Kmart Spring Savings Booklet. I found mine in the health and beauty section, lots of GREAT manufactures coupons inside, only 2 are for Kmart only.

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    Common Sense With Money
    has a great list of all the coupons in this coupon booklet, plus a ton of other great articles!


  2. Sign up online at kmart.com for even more savings! They sent me a coupon for $5 a purchase of $50 or more, which of course I would never spend out of pocket but this is good BEFORE manufactures coupons.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

My savings today...

Today was a great deal day, I have been meaning to get to the store for a few days and I finally got to run out today.  I went to Safeway, Walgreens, and Longs.  I bought things we needed, will need, and a couple of things I wanted :)  I am going to post the pictures below but if you want details about how much and where I purchased any of the items just ask, I'd love to share my deals!  The kids are going to be knocked off their feet when they see that mommy bought "Sunday Sugar Cereal" again!

TOTAL RETAIL COST $144.65

TOTAL OOP (out of pocket) $43.93

I earned $17.00 in RR (register rewards) basically $17 towards a purchase of $17 or more for Walgreens, and I don't have to use them all at once.  

So, my total cost for the day was $26.93


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Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Free Homeschool Magazine Offer

If you plan to homeschool, are considering homeschooling, or already are a homeschool pro this magazine is an invaluable tool.  Lots of useful information is packed within the pages of Home School Digest.  Click here for your free sample.

Tax Day Deals

So the dreaded tax day is upon us, but no fear... regardless of whether or not you are sending out a check or receiving one this year there are deals to be be found on 4/15/09.

  1. Cinnabon aka Yummy is having a fantastic deal, FREE BITES on tax day from 5-8pm.  Click the link for more details.
  2. PF Changs is offering 15% off your entire food/beverage bill tomorrow 4/15/09, clicHERE for the details.

I think maybe we will have a Cinnabon Bite for dinner tomorrow night :)

Monday, April 13, 2009

Want some coupons?

I have an overload of coupons, I simply cannot use them all.  Does anyone want them?  I have an envelope FULL of great coupons!  First person to comment gets them.  I hope they can be useful to someone.  Remember, cash and coupons is the best way to keep your money where it belongs, in your pocket!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Target trip today...

There was one deal that stood out to me, in the Target ad this Sunday there was a sale on Gillette Fusion Power razors for $7.99 (usually 10.99) and a sale on the shave gel for $1.89 (usually $3.29).  If you purchased one of each (there were other items too, like the Gillette Body Wash) you would get a $5 Target gift card.  ALSO...in this Sunday's paper there was a coupon for $2 off the razor and $1 off the shave gel...SO I will give you a second here to do the math... Yep, that's right they end up being FREE!  Got my razor and shaving gel and my target gift card, which I will most certainly use next time I shop at Target.  

I got some other great deals as well on Pantene Shampoo/Conditioner.  They are now on sale for $5.50 each, combined with the Target coupon that came in the mail a few weeks ago AND the coupon in this Sunday's paper AND the coupon that was stuck on the Pantene bottle itself,  I ended up paying $1.50 per bottle. These are the larger bottles too so it was a great deal.  


Total before coupons $36.91
After $21.54 (and I got my $5 gift card) so technically $16.54 - over 50% off with coupons alone.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Walgreens FREE Deals!


So I am just beginning to learn about how Walgreens FREE rebates work, but so far, it seems VERY worthwhile.  Each week in their ad, they will have a few things that are absolutely FREE after Rebate.  Free?  Yes, free.  You can send in your rebates online or in the mail, but you can only do the rebate process once a month per family, that doesn't mean you can only participate in one free rebate per month, it simply means they are trying to save themselves some work and want you to combine all your rebates on one form.   The form is provided for you HERE.  It gets even better...if you choose to have your rebates paid to you in the form of a Walgreens Gift Card, you will earn an additional 10%, so they are paying you!  

So this weeks FREE deals that I am going to take advantage of are:

  1. Purchase $10 in Physicians Formula ORGANIC Makeup and get a $10 Rebate.
  2. Purchase Ink (Black or Color Cartridge - 100's of brands) for $7.50 get a $7.50 Rebate
  3. Purchase Wall-Itin (Walgreen's Allergy Medicine 30 Count) on sale for $6.99 get a $6.99 Rebate

Take advantage of these FREE offers, what have you got to lose?  

Monday, March 30, 2009

Another FREE Redbox Code














Last week the kids enjoyed a Bolt movie night for FREE!  Thanks redbox :)

Code - 89ZQJ3
Expires - Midnight 3/30/09


Coupon Clipping

Each Sunday after church I get so excited to put the kids down for a nap, grab my newspaper, and jump into the sales ads and coupons.  I sit down with my tools at hand, a cup of coffee, and this becomes "mommy time".  I am going to share a few things that I am learning on my coupon adventure.

As far as tools...
  • I make sure to have a good pen for list writing.
  • Sharp scisscors for cutting.
  • A clean and clear kitchen table.
  • My coupon file (many people have different ways to organize their coupons)
  • Sales Ads
  • Laptop
So far my coupon file has 4 categories
  1. Groceries
  2. Health & Beauty
  3. Household 
  4. Misc. (these are coupons for book stores, bed bath & beyond, etc)
I look through all the sales ads in search of items that are on sale that I also have the coupons for.  Sometimes you can get them nearly free!  And often times they are free!  When I find a newspaper that has a good amount of deals, I will buy another paper and double up on coupons. This is also how I make my meals plans, based on what is on sale and what I have coupons for.

Also, I met a lady this weekend who told me about this website, it is a WEALTH (literally) of information.   There are forums, blogs, and more that go into a ton of details about the world of coupons and deals that are available to you, and if you can believe it, it is free!  Ready, set, SAVE!








Thursday, March 26, 2009

Free? That's one of my favorite words...

Free is even better when the item or commodity is of a high value. While I love a free deal no matter what, when it gets into the $10's and $20's I get pretty excited.  So how does $64.85 translate into free for my family?  Well just like this...Wachovia Wednesdays at the California Academy of Sciences!  Every 3rd Wednesday you can get in FREE!  

Come experience the new Academy — from the rainforest to the aquarium to the planetarium to so much more.


Pack a picnic lunch and get away for the day!  You can't beat free...well I guess you could if they paid you to go!







Monday, March 23, 2009

I saved 47% on my shopping bill this week!

I went armed with my shopping list, coupons, sales ad, and envelopes into Safeway this Sunday. It was packed!  I had a blast shopping, my goal was to save as much money as I possibly could while purchasing everything I needed  to feed my family for 2 weeks.  I needed to make 11 complete dinners, and 14 breakfasts, and 14 lunches.  There are 6 of us total.   Now we do have staples in the house already, so I wasn't starting from absolute scratch.   

I came out spending $65.10 with a total savings of $59.28.  I chose Safeway this week based on the store ads that I got in the mail.  I weighed the deals against each other and then based on which one had the best bargains I made my meal plan.  

So with my safeway club card I saved $41.98 and with my manufacturers coupons I saved an additional $17.30.  It wasn't a big coupon day, I had several I wanted to use, but if the item is still at full price I don't use my coupons.  I will adjust my menu to wait until the item is on sale. 

Hope this inspires you to plan ahead and clip those coupons!  It is well worth it. 


Saturday, March 21, 2009

Where do you shop?

So you ask, Julia...where do you shop?  I am so glad you asked!  I would also LOVE to hear where you shop, maybe there is a single stone I have left unturned out there.  I don't doubt there is, please share. 

Groceries:

Safeway
  • A lot of times I make my meal plan based on what's on sale at Safeway that week.
Grocery Outlet
  • Never know what you're going to find here!  This is a store I caution you to be prepared in advance for, it's easy to sway from your list with some many great deals.  It is ok to do so once in a while, but you can easily over-spend here.
$99 Cents Only Store
  • Best place for discount produce, unless it is in season, then sometimes you can find it cheaper at Safeway or the farmers market.
Costco
  • We have certain staples we always buy here.  I will buy these things at Safeway too, but I rarely find them at a cheaper price anywhere else.  I have taken the time to list the items I buy regularly at the price per ounce, so I am positive if it is deal or not.
Farmer's Market
  • A great place to get your fruit and veggies, especially if you go near the end you can get   great prices.  They need to move the fruit, so they will give you bags for a set price.

Toiletries:
 
Walmart
  • Walmart and Target are very comparable in price for toiletries, however on average Walmart is a few cents cheaper. 
Target
  • Great place if you have a variety of items to buy, bring your coupons!
Costco
  • Bulk.  :)
Grocery Outlet
  • Again, you never know what you're going to find here but most of the time it going to be a good deal.  However I was just there tonight and have decided that it is NOT the place to buy chips, for whatever reason they are single-handedly the highest price on chips around.

Clothes:

Goodwill & The Salvation Army
  • Note: Goodwill rarely has sales, when they do they seem to be on holidays, ie Labor Day and 4th of July.  The Salvation Army on the other hand has sales on a regular basis, most of the time it is sorta random I just pull up and see the gazillion yellow flyers taped inside the windows.  However, you can always count on the LAST FRIDAY of EVERY MONTH to be a 50% off storewide sale. But be prepared, it gets very crowded.
Teen Challenge
  • This is my favorite thrift store, always a great deal to be found here.  
Garage Sales...boy I can't wait for the summer!  Nothing can be a garage sale price!

I go into each store armed with a list of what I need, my envelopes, and my coupons!  While you can't always use coupons, I have never had anyone turn away my cash.  Happy Shopping!

Safeway Steals, I mean...deals!

It seems more often now I am seeing great deals on the front page of the Safeway ad.  Well this week is one of those weeks!  Good until March 24th are the following deals:

  1. Purchase 10 participating items in a single transaction and receive and additional $5.00 off!  There is no limit to how many $5 discounts you can recieve.  Be careful though, if it's not something you need or will use you're not saving money!
  2. $1.99 lb Pork Loin Roast
  3. $1.99 lb Ranchers Reserve Top Round London Broil
  4. $1.99 lb Safeway Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts, Thighs, or Combo Packs
  5. Lucerne Yogurt $0.40 ea (this is the same price as buying in bulk at costco, but you don't have to to buy 20 yogurts and you don't have to have a membership)
There are good deals to be had!  You just have to shop around :)  



Thursday, March 19, 2009

How to start an envelope budget.


My #1 tip ever is to use cash only and always. I speak from experience having gotten into thousands of dollars in debt, cash is absolutely the only way to go. I know at first it might sound crazy, you might think if I have cash I will just blow it! However, I think quickly you will see just the opposite happen. You will begin to ask yourself, do we really need this? You will find yourself using coupons more often and shopping at the discount store you always avoided. When you are on a fixed budget you will see that you actually DO have the time to hit a couple of different stores in search of a deal or sale. Amazing how this happens!

Step 1 - Define your categories, what can you possibly pay for cash with? One key here is to only include categories for things that you can’t pay online or through an invoice or bill. Anything that doesn’t come as a bill in the mail is probably a good candidate for cash.

Here is a list of our envelopes. Notice I do not have an envelope for gas, it's not that we don't have it budgeted, but it's because I don't want to leave the kids in the car while I go into the gas station to pay the attendant. We use our debit card for this expense, note DEBIT, not CREDIT. You'll need to figure out what best fits your families needs.

ENVELOPES

1. Groceries
2. Toiletries
3. Clothes
4. Gifts (Birthdays, Christmas, etc)
5. Date Night
6. Eating Out
7. Spending Money
8. Car Maintenance
9. Kid's Date
10. Kid's Allowance
11. Trip Money


Step 2 - Determine how much you spend in several categories per month, ie. groceries, toiletries, clothing, etc. Not while on a budget, but what you have spent on a regular basis. This make take some time, and you may have no idea because you haven't kept any track at all so you may have to start this process now for the next 30 days. Now hold on to your seat, you're going to be shocked.

Step 3 - Figure out how much you THINK you will NEED in each category, but the key here is to be flexible, it will change. It will change more than once, twice, and possibly even three times. Life is always changing and so will your budget. Another baby? Up goes the toiletry budget! Or maybe you just potty trained your 2 year old, well that saves $30 a month!

Step 4 - Get the cash! We go every week on payday to withdraw our cash, it is easiest if you can keep it to an even $20 amount so you can go to the ATM machine at your bank, saves you a trip inside the bank. This has got to be the best part, it's like playing a game of monopoly. Divide your cash, you may need to go into the bank every once in a while to get $5's, $10's, etc depending on your envelope amounts.

Step 5 - Start saving money! When the envelope is empty, that's it, your money is gone and you CANNOT purchase anything in that category until the next envelope payday. But remember, the first couple of months you need to be flexible. Also, please remember to make your budget realistic, if you undercut yourself too much, you will give up. So that is why my family has an eating out budget, because the reality is, while we shouldn't eat out, we do. We put $15 a week into our eating out budget, if we save it up we can go out to a sit down dinner, otherwise it gets us a pizza night once a week.

I hope this has been helpful, it is something that we live by and it's the only way he have been able to to live without credit cards for 2 years now. I am happy to go into even more details if you need it, just contact me!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Free Movie Rental!


So if you haven't tried redbox yet, I would highly suggest it. You can rent from a very large selection of movies, including new releases. It is very simple, $1 per day plus tax. You must return it before 9pm the following day or you are charged another $1. No late fees, at some point...I can't remember what dollar amount, you then own the movie. Not something I would suggest! You can return the movie to ANY redbox location. There are frequently FREE rental codes if you sign up for email updates from redbox. Well it just so happens I have one to share! This is open to anyone, this code is good for today only (3/18) and will expire at midnight tonight. They are doing a Wednesday March Madness event with a free movie code every Wednesday, enjoy a midweek movie break!


Free Online Wednesday Code

GTL456

www.redbox.com

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Do you wear eye glasses?

Can you imagine wearing a pair of glasses that cost you $8 plus shipping? Yes they are prescription glasses! My husband's grandma told me about this website while I was in the process of getting my vision checked. I was given a prescription and as soon as I got home I couldn't wait to start my search for the perfect $8 pair of glasses. Believe it or not, it is true! I am wearing them as we speak, they are cute and comfortable, more importantly I can see. I ordered 2 pairs because I couldn't decide which one I liked better and still I was well under the cheapest pair Kaiser had to offer.

They are a California based company too! Happy shopping.

www.zennioptical.com

2009 Entertainment Books - 50% Off!

We purchased one for full price at the beginning of 2009, we do so every year. It pays for itself typically by the time we have used the first or second coupon. We are going to buy our second book for the year! For $15 you are getting a book that has a combined savings of $23,200 in coupons (East Bay coupons, it is a different amount for each location). Sounds like a deal to me! I know you're thinking, "Isn't it just a book full of coupons that I will never use?" Some of our favorite coupons in the book are for places we go regularly like Safeway, Grocery Outlet, Roundtable Pizza, Target, The Jungle, Lindsey Wildlife Museum (I do have a cheaper way to get in here though, I will blog about this later), Pixie Land, Brenden Theaters, Dots N Dashes, and so much more!

Oh and I just remembered a very cool story about how our entertainment book saved us $200 in just one instance. Last year our roof was being re-done at our rental house, well long story short, it made a HUGE mess inside our home and we could not stay there. Our landlords said they would pay for us to stay at a hotel for a couple of nights, but with 4 kids we didn't want a hole in the wall place. We were given a budget of $100 per night. We immediately got out our entertainment book to see what kind of lodging coupons there were. We found the Hilton Hotel listed in the book, so we called and asked what the rate was for 2 nights. The gentlemen told me it would be $175.00 per night for a room that would accommodate our family. Gah! I said "Sir, we have the Entertainment Book, and it lists your hotel as one of the sponsored participants. What kind of deal do we get? We ended up getting the hotel for $75.00 a night! So we saved $200, $50 for our landlords and $150 for ourselves!

So don't hesitate, start saving money today!

http://www.entertainment.com/discount/home.shtml