June 09 Debt

Consumer Debt:

Current Balance - $34,236
Original Balance - $50,547
Paid off since June 08 - $16,311
Percent Paid = 32%

Frugal Focus 5/25/09

If you like to make coffee at home, Coupons.com has some great coupons for top quality tea and coffee this week, including $1.50 off Seattle's Best, $1.50 off Tazo tea and $1.50 Starbucks. Match these with sales at your favorite grocery store, and you can save quite a bit.



This past weekend there were no coupon inserts in the Sunday paper, so it was a good chance to get caught up. I did receive, the All You magazine for June, which has quite a few good coupons in it. I exchanged some Northwest airlines miles for a subscription to this magazine last fall. It's definitely been worth it.

CVS 5/25/09

Today at CVS I spent $1.30 out of pocket, and received $13.99 in Extra Care Bucks.

Here's how:

Purchased 1 Revlon Nailpolish $3.99 - received $3.00 ECB
- $1.00 coupon from 4/26 Smartsource insert
Purchased 1 Colgate Total Advanced $2.99 - received $2.00 ECB
- $1.00 coupon from May All You magazine
1 Playtex 18 ct tampons $3.99 - received $3.00 ECB
- $1.00 from May All You magazine
1 Box Bandaids $2.99 - received $2.00 ECB
- $1.00 from 4/26 Redplum insert
1 Speed stick Men's Deoderant $3.99 - received $3.99 ECB

Total after coupons = 13.99
Used $13.00 ECB
Total with tax = $1.30

Frugal Focus 5/20/09

Today I received in the mail a $10 preloaded Mastercard debit card from sending in $20.00 in receipts for Swiffer refill products. These were purchased at CVS with extra care bucks and coupons, so I spent no money out of pocket. The rebate is still available here, items must be purchased by 5/15/09 and mailed in by 5/30/09.

I also did a couple of surveys through E-rewards, a site that I was referred to through my Borders Rewards card. This site gives generous rewards currency for surveys that you can exchange for rewards such as Borders gift certificate, Blockbuster rentals, magazine subscriptions and travel points. Today I got a certificate for two FREE previously viewed movies from Blockbuster. Last month I got $20 certificate for Borders.

Frugal Focus 5/19/09

I received a coupon booklet in the mail from ConAgra foods. They make brands such as Hunts, Reddi-whip, Orville Reddenbacher and Peter Pan peanut butter. The coupon book also has a rebate form. If you send in receipts for $25 in ConAgra purchases, they will send coupons worth $35.00.

I also completed $8.00 worth of surveys through Opinion Outpost. They pay out via check when your balance has reached just $5.00!
Sign up, here

We negotiated a small discount with Comcast, who has our cable, internet, home phone service. Our rates were scheduled to go up since our bundle rate was for one year. So, yay for no rate hike!

New printable coupons

Organic Valley has just released new coupons for eggs, milk, cheese and soy milk.

Also, sign up with Horizon to get $1.00/1 Horizon Organic milk.

May 2009 Debt Update

Start Debt: 50,547
Current Debt: 35,001
Paid: 15,546

We are down to 3 credit cards with balances. All of them are low interest, although we are looking at moving one balance to a 0% balance transfer card to be able to knock it out quicker.

CVS April 19, 2009

Today at CVS I purchased:

1 Clariol Natural Instincts $5.99
- $4.00 coupon from today's insert

2 Box Kleenex .99/ea
- $1.00/2 coupon from Kroger insert

2 Crest Pro-Health $2.88/ea receive $2.00/ea Extra Care Bucks
- .75/ea coupon from 4/5/09 PandG insert

2 L'Oreal Hip Eyeliner Buy one get one free
- 2 $2/1 coupons from today's coupon insert

2 Rimmel lip gloss B1G1 Free
- 2 1/1 coupons from today's coupon insert

1 One a Day women's vitamis $7.99 receive $4.00 Extra Care Bucks
- $2/1 coupon from today's coupon insert

Subtotal = $38.20

- 5/$30 from coupon machine at front door
- 4/$20 beauty purchase from CVS email
-$14.50 Manufacturer's coupons
- $5.99 extra care bucks
new total = $8.71 plus tax

Received $8.00 extra care bucks

Free pet coupons!

I have at least 50-100 coupons for cat and dog food, pet treats, litter, etc that I am not able to use. These are from recent Smartsource and Red Plum coupon inserts (including today's) and are not expired.

If you are interested, please leave a comment with a way to contact you --link to your blog or your email address.

I will end this give-away on Wednesday, April 22nd.

One winner will be selected randomly and I will send our your coupons on Thursday.

Thanks, and good lucK!

CVS April 12, 2009

Today I bought:

2 bottles Pantene = $7.00 get $2.00 Extra Care Bucks
- $3/2 coupon from 4/5/09 Proctor and Gamble Insert

3 7-up, Sunkist, Candada Dry or A&W = $11.00 get $3.00 Extra Care Bucks
- $1/1 coupon from A&W Peelies at the store (use 3 and get 3/$5 after coupons and ECBs)

1 Colgate Sensitive pro-enamel $3.99 get $3.99 Extra Care Bucks
- .75 coupon from 2/22/09 Smartsource Insert
- or $1/1 online

1 Softsoap Apricot Scrub $4.49 get $4.49 Extra Care Bucks
- $1.00/1 coupon from 3/29 Smartsource insert

1 5 oz box Oreos $1.00

1 package otis spunkmeyer muffins $2.29

Total = $30.28
- $5/$25 order
- $5.75 coupons
- $10.49 extra care bucks
= $9.83 with tax

Received = $13.48 Extra Care Bucks
Net = $3.65

CVS 4/5/09

Don't forget to scan your CVS card, to get your 2% quarterly purchases back! I got $3.00 :)

At CVS this week I bought:

1 Bag Lindt Truffles $3.00
- $1.00 coupon
*if you buy 2, you will get $1.00 extra care buck - from receipt*

Glide Floss $3.49

Johnson and Johnson Soft Lotion $5.99 receive $1.00 Extra Care Bucks
-$1.00 coupon Smartsource coupon 2/8/09

Skintimate Shave Gel 3.49 receive $3.49 Extra Care Bucks

2 Lindt Truffle Trio $2.98
- Buy one get one free coupon $1.49

Nivea Lip Balm
- Buy one get one free sale
- 2 $1.00 coupons from 2/8/09 Red Plum Coupons

Trident Gum $1.29

Colgate Max Fresh toothpaste $2.99 receive $2.00 Extra Care Bucks

Total - $25.22
-$5/25
-$5.25 coupons
-$6.00 extra care bucks

Subtotal = 8.98 plus tax = $9.98
Put on CVS gift card
Out of pocket - $0.00
Extra Care Bucks received - $9.49

Walmart Plan 4/7/09

Rimmel Mascara - Sexy curves
-free with coupon from this month's All You Magazine (available by check-out at Walmart)

3 2-pack bars of Oil of Olay Soap ($1.97 each)
-free with coupon from 4/5/09 PandG coupon insert

2 packs extra gum
- buy 1 get one free coupon from 4/5/09 coupon insert

Cheaper by the Dozen 1 and 2 (i have seen these in the $5.00 bin)
- $3.00 off DVD from Smartsource online

Aqua Juice
- Buy 1 get 1 free from Coupons.com

April 09 Debt

Debt Paid Since May 2008 - $12,777
Debt as of April 2009 - $37,700
Percent paid - 25%

Marsh sales 4/2/09

These are the best deals I saw at Marsh for the week of April 2 - 8

Red or Black Seedless grapes - .97/lb

Washington Red Delicious Organic Apples - .18/ea

Kraft Cheese Slices/Shredded/Bricks 1.66/ea
-Save $1.00, on one package 2% Shredded Cheese and Oscar Meyer Turkey Bacon

Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce - B1G1 free

Freshlike or Green Giant Vegetables 5/$5.00
-Coupon .60/2

Cottonelle Fresh Wipes 2/$5.00
-Coupons for .50/off (doubles)

Swanson Broth .80/ea

Suave Deoderant $1.79/ea
-3/29 Red Plum Insert (.50/one doubles)

Weekly roundup

During the past couple of weeks I have received:

-Check $17.10 from Opinion Outpost for surveys completed.
-Check $3.19 from Windex (mail-in rebate) for trying their new wipes.
-Gift card $10.00 for T.J. Maxx from Lightspeed Panel (survey site)
-$15.00 Borders gift card through their e-rewards program

And, one of my state tax returns which will be going towards credit card debt, once the other comes in.

I have never really done rebates before on grocery items, but I am seeing more and more of them in the Sunday coupons.

This week I plan to mail in one for Salad Finishers (full purchase price)and another for Madagascar 2 ($5.00 when you buy 2 Voila Meals. I bought the DVD at Target last weekend for $10.00)

It's probably a good idea to buy these items separately, as often rebates require you to mail in the original receipt.

Planning shopping trips

In the last several months, we have seen a significant decrease in the amount of money we spend on household items and groceries. This is due to my use of coupons and sale prices to find the best deals. Some weeks we may just buy fruits, vegetables, bread, milk and meat since our pantry is very stocked with the basics. I take out $100/week cash for all of our food, personal and household expenses, and most weeks I spend less than that!

The local groceries (Kroger and Marsh) send out their weekly ad on Wednesday. I scour it thoroughly and write down the best deals. Then I go through my coupon binder and pull out the coupons that match the sales. Recently I found Pilsbury Pizza dough (usually around $3.00/roll) for .75/roll, so I bought four!

On Thursday, I check out the emails sent to me by Coupons.com and Smartsource.com and print any coupons that will match the grocery or CVS sales. I also look at the upcoming CVS flyer to plan my Sunday CVS trip. At CVS I try to pick up at least two Sunday newspapers as well as the best weekly deals. I sometimes buy items that we need in order to get my subtotal up to be able to use the $5/$25 that I usually get from the coupon machine.

On Friday, I plan the dinner meals for the following week and check the pantry to see if we need anything for our daughter's lunch. Thankfully she does not like to buy lunch at school and we can certainly feed her for less than $2.75/meal (the current cost of school lunch!).

Thankfully, our Marsh, Kroger and CVS are at the same intersection so if we need to we can stop at all three stores while out.

Opinion Outpost

Opinion Outpost pays members to do online surveys. There is no upfront cost or obligation and they usually send about 3 survey opportunities per week, so they do not spam you. The surveys usually pay between $1.00 - $3.00 and take anywhere from 5 - 30 minutes.
You can cash out at any time (it used to be that you had to be up to $20.00) and they will send you a check in the mail.

I have received a little under $100 so far, for very minimal work as I do the surveys when I have time in the evening.

To join click here: Opinion Outpost

CVS 3/8/09

I did two transactions at CVS today.

2 Boxes of Garnier Nutrisse Hair color $10.00
- $2.00 coupons x 2
1 Claritin - 30 Ct $19.99
- $5.00 coupon

Subtotal = $29.99
- $9.00 Coupons
- $5.00/$25
- 8.99 Extra Care Bucks

= $7.00 + tax = $8.12
Received $10 Extra Care Bucks
Saved $33.97

4 Coke 12 packs (receive $3.00 extra care bucks)
2 Newspapers $3.25
1 Q-tips $3.29
1 Eye makeup remover $7.99

subtotal = 27.53
- $5/$25
- $10 from previous transaction
- $1.00 neutrogena coupon
= $11.52 + tax = $12.18
Received $3.00 extra care bucks
Saved $26.16

Spent $20.40
Saved $60.13

CVS 2/08/09

Succesful CVS shopping tips:

1. Have a plan. Look at the CVS ad ahead of time. The ads are available weeks ahead of time at http://www.iheartcvs.com

2. Shop early. I do my CVS shopping on Sunday morning, as the sale starts on Sunday and many times the really great deals are sold out.

3. Check your Sunday paper before you go. Today there were 2 coupons for Nivea lotion and lip balm, which were on sale at CVS.

4. Swipe your CVS card at the price check machine near the front of the store. It will print out coupons, usually the $4 off $20 or $5 off $25. Sometimes it prints coupons on items that you've purchased before. Today I received a coupon for a free small CVS antiseptic mouth rinse.

5. Stick to your budget. Try to spend at least but no more than the amount on your $5 off $25 coupon...or whichever one you have. Using this coupon, combined with your Extra Care Bucks from previous purchases and manufacturer's coupons, you should be able to spend under $10.00.

6. Don't buy what you can't use or pass on to others.

Today I bought:

M&Ms Bags $2/$6.00
Receive $2.00 Extra Care Bucks

Garnier Vibrant Colors Hair Color $5.99
- $3.00 coupon
Receive $2.00 Extra Care Bucks

Nivea Lotion on sale $7.99
- $1.00 coupon
Nivea Lip Balm on sale $2.99
- $1.00 coupon
Purchase $10.00 Nivea products receive $3.00 Extra Care Bucks

CVS 250 ml antiseptic mouthwas $2.59
- $2.59 coupon = Free

Total before coupons = $25.56
- $5.00 off $25 purchase
- $5.00 manufacturer's coupons
- $2.50 CVS coupon
- $10.00 Extra care bucks from last week
= $2.97 + .56 tax = $3.53
Received $7.00 extra care bucks
Total saved= $25.57 (from bottom of receipt)

CVS 2/1/09

I bought:
$5.99 Loreal Revitalift Cream Cleanser
- $2.00 Loreal skincare product
$13.99 Loreal Revitalift Deep Set Wrinkle Repair
- $2.00 Loreal skincare product
$7.99 Loreal mascara
- $2.00 Loreal mascara

=$27.97
- $5/$25 purchase
- $6.00 coupons
- $9.00 extra bucks from last week
= $7.97 + tax = $8.52 out of pocket
Received $10.00 extra bucks for purchasing 2 Revitalift products
Total savings (from bottom of reciept) = $30.00

CVS 1/25

With my $17.00 in Extra Bucks from last week, I took two trips to CVS. My personal philosophy about shopping at CVS is to limit my spending out of pocket to $10.00/week and purchase all of our personal and cleaning items. I like to spend Extra Care bucks on purchasing more Extra Care Bucks, but that doesn't always happen particularly when we need things like erasers or my favorite shaving cream. This week I spend about $7.50 and set us up with a couple months worth of shampoo!

Reese Whips 4 @ .50
- 2 $1.00/2 coupons
= free

Johnson and Johnson Bath Buddies 1.19
- $1.00 coupon
= .19

Eraser Pack $3.49

Photo 5 x 7 $.99
Subtotal = 7.67
- 3.00 coupons
- $4.00 Extra Bucks
= $.93 out of pocket
CVS savings (from bottom of receipt) $9.06

2nd Transaction

Head and Shoulders $4.99
- $1.00 coupon
$3.99 Receive $3.00 Extra Care bucks

2 Pantene Expressions $9.98
- $3.00/2 Pantene
$6.98 receive $6.00 Extra Care bucks

1 Pantene Shampoo plus Condition 72 oz = $7.99
- $2.00 coupon
$5.99

1 Aveeno Shave Gel $4.99
- $1.00 coupon
$3.99

2 Mentos Gum (buy one get one free) $1.69
- .55 cent coupon
$1.19

1 Sunday Paper $1.50

Subtotal = $33.40

- $5.00/$25.00 purchase
- $7.55 coupons
- $13.00 Extra Care bucks
Total out of pocket = $6.40
Extra Care Bucks received = $9.00
Net = $2.60
CVS Savings (from bottom of receipt) $31.14

CVS deals this week

I just got back from CVS shopping this morning. Here's what I came home with:

2 St. Ives Apricot Scrub on sale $2.99
- used 2 $2.00/1 coupon
= .99 each (1.98 for 2)

1 Clairol Natural Instincts Hair Color on sale $5.99
- $2.00 coupon from paper
= 3.99 plus received $2.00 in Extra Care bucks

1 Colgate 360 Toothbrush $3.49
- $.75 coupon from paper
= $2.74 plus received $1.00 Extra Care bucks

1 Shick Quattro Titanium Razon $8.99
- $2.00 coupon from paper
= $6.99 plus received $3.00 Extra Care bucks

2 Bottles Dawn dish washing liquid (Buy one get one free) $1.99
- .50 and .25 coupon from paper
= $.62 each ($1.24 for 2)

1 Kleenex 3 pack 3.69
- .50 coupon from paper
= 3.19 plus received $1.00 Extra Care bucks

2 Maybelline Mineral Makeup $17.98
- $2.00 off $10 cosmetics
= $15.98 received $10.00 Extra Care bucks

3 Johnson and Johnson Buddies Soap $3.57
- $3.00/3 J and J coupon
= $.19 each ($.57 for 3)

I also had $2.00 in Extra Care Bucks plus a coupon for $10 off a $50 purchase. There is a machine at the front of the store that you should always check by swiping your CVS card. It will print coupons off of products and usually once per week will give you a coupon for money off a purchase. I usually receive the $5/$25.

Grand total = $27.32
Extra Care Bucks received = $17.00
Total saved = $36.49

Extra care bucks can be spent just like cash. The fun of shopping at CVS is that you can use your extra care bucks to buy products that are on sale or that you will give you more extra care bucks. I was a little low this week, so I spent more cash than I usually do, but I will be all set for next week with $17.00 in Extra Care bucks and probably won't spend any more out of pocket.

Free Johnson and Johnson soap

Johnson and Johnson Soap buddies are great for kids. They have a nice fruity scent and a wash-cloth surface with the soap inside-- kids can wash themselves and you don't have to worry about the soap melting in the bathtub.

These are usually priced at about $1.00 each at major retailers, so this coupon for $3 off 3 JandJ products, would make them free.

You have to have a coupon printer installed to use this coupon. It's a quick download and just a way for the coupon company to keep folks from making too many copies.

shortcuts.com

Shortcuts.com is a website where you can add free coupons directly to your shopper's card so that you don't have to worry about clipping coupons or bringing them to the store.

Currently it appears that they work with Kroger stores including Payless, Frys and Dillons.

You log in and check the current coupons they are offering for the week. It's about 20/week. They are especially good for items such as diapers. In our shopping trip today, we bought a $10.00 pack of Huggies for a baby shower. We had a coupon for $1.50 off from the Sunday paper, a $1.50 off via shortcuts and we'll receive $1.50 in our u-promise account (college savings). Pretty sweet deal for a baby shower gift.

They only ask for zip code, gender, name and grocery card number. I haven't received any spam mailings, although they do email when new coupons are added.

weekly menu and shopping

Sat- Meatloaf and sweet potatoes
Sun - Fried chicken, salad, brocolli
Mon - Manicotti or Lasagna
Tues - Chili
Wed- Tacos
Thurs - Calzone
Friday - Out!

Lunches for Kiddo
Mon - turkey bagel
Tue - pizza rolls
Weds - tuna
Thurs - chicken nuggets
Fri - PB and J

Shopping List
Ground Beef
Sweet Potatoes
Tuna
Chicken Broth
Bagels
Redi-whip
Chocolate Syrup
Frozen Turkey Sausage
Fruit rollups
Granola Bars
Apple juice
pizza crust
Recipe starters - onions, green peppers,etc.
Red Gold Tomatoes
Huggies (for our cousin)

Finding coupons online

Where do I find coupons? I don't spent a whole lot of time looking for them, now that I have my favorite sites. I also receive emails from most of these websites so that I know when new coupons are released (usually weekly).

Most stores do accept printed coupons from the web. I haven't had any problem using them.


Smartsource
Coupons.com
Health e-savers
Eat Better America
Betty Crocker
Right at home
Coupon Loop - a list of hundreds of current online coupons

I have also had luck going directly to the websites of products that I like and signing up for their newsletters. Often they send out coupons or opportunities to get free samples. By signing up with Morningstar, I recently received two $1.00 off coupons for their breakfast patties (our favorite veggie sausage).

Shortcuts is a site that works with Kroger and adds electronic coupons directly to your shopper's card. When you purchase something from your shortcuts list, it automatically adjusts the price at the register. Sweet!

You may wish to set up an alternative email address for your coupons as they can fill up your inbox.

Free coffee at Borders

Seattle's Best Coffee is offering a buy one get one free coupon at their Borders coffee shops. The coupon expires March 4, 2009.

A great opportunity for a frugal date...coffee and book-store browsing.

Weekly roundup...

I met to post this over the weekend!

This week I received:

Old Navy gift card $10.00
Barnes and Noble gift card $25.00
These two came from American Express points saved up

Amazon.com gift card $20
Check $21.00
These are both from survey sites that I participate in. I give them my opinion...they give me money. More on that later.
Total gift cards/cash = $76.00

We also returned some random stuff to Walmart (their after Christmas return policy is extremely generous) and received $37.00 gift card that we used towards groceries.

Meal Planning and Shopping List

For the past couple of months I have been making weekly meal plans to guide us during the week. There's nothing worse than getting home from work with no or uninspired dinner plans.

Usually on Friday I plan for the following week. This is after I have looked at the weekly grocery store fliers and check out the best deals. I also look in our pantry and fridge to see what we have.

Next Week:
Dinners
Saturday- Pancit (Philippino noodle dish)
Sunday - Beef Stew
Monday - Beef and Broccoli
Tuesday - Cheesy Mac (with turkey sausage and green peas)
Wednesday - Chicken Calzones
Thursday - Vegetarian Burrito Bowls (black beans, rice, cheese, lettuce, sour cream)
Friday - Salmon Patties


Lunches (for Kiddo)
M - Bagel with turkey and cream cheese
T - PB and J
W - Tuna Sandwich
Th - Popcorn Chicken
F - Crackers and Turkey

Sides - fruit cup, apple sauce, granola bar, chips, juice box
*C and I meet up for lunch at home and usually have soup and sandwich.

Breakfast Ideas
Bagels, Bacon and eggs, yogurt, biscuit and sausage, creamed eggs on toast.

Shopping List
Rice Noodles
Beef for Stew
Beef for stir fry
Chicken Breast
Eggs
Tuna
Chips
Spinach Salad
*We have been trying to buy meat on the day we will eat it- so we may be going to the grocery several times this week. Everything else for the menu we have in the pantry.

Download Suze Orman's new book

As part of the "Live your Best Life" series, Oprah and Suze Orman have teamed up and are sharing Suze's new book for free. It will be available on Oprah's website for one week. This is a 200 page book and will be published/available in bookstores, so get it now while it's free!

Free toilet paper at Kroger/Frys/Payless!

Hey everyone!
Here's a deal that everyone can do -- minimal effort and maximum return because it's free!
At Kroger this week, Cottonelle four-pack is on sale for .99. Print the coupon available here and Kroger will double it.

Stay tuned for more opportunities to save money, learn how to get what you use for less and share in our debt reduction journey.

Jenna