- 4 boxes Rice Krispies $1.99 each, used 4 coupons to make them 99 cents
- 4 boxes of Crispex $2.36 each, used 2 coupons to make them $1.36 each
- 3 Reach toothbrushes and 1 floss $0.99 each, used 4 coupons to make them FREE
- 2 Suave shampoos 22.5 oz $1.97 each, used in-store offer to get 2 22.5 oz Suave lotions for free
- 2 ThermaCare heat wraps $2.79, used 2 coupons to get them for free, plus CVS gave us 2 Extra Care bucks worth $2.79 each! It's like getting paid to shop. I will tell you how I am going to use those in a minute.
- 8 Vitamin Waters $1.25 each, used 4 buy 1 get 1 free coupons from their Facebook page to make them $5
- 4 Zhu Zhu Pets $9.99 each at buy 1 get 1, used a buy 2 get one free coupon to get 4 for $10.70
- Dulcolax $7.99 each, used a free coupon, got it for FREE
- 16 Wonka chocolate bars $2 each, used (4)buy one get one free coupons added to (4)$1 off one bar added to (1)$1 coupon out of the Dec Walgreens coupon book for these, and got them for FREE
- Lysol Fabric Refresh $2.50, used $1.50 off coupon added to a Target $1 off coupon to get it for 50cents!
- 5 Whataburgers $13.70 plus tax, used 5 coupons to get them for FREE
- 2 Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion $2.99 each, used 2 of each $1 off and $1.50 off to make them 49cents each
I am A Conqueror
Me on Top of the World
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Savings this week
So here is a list of what I saved on this week. Check it out!
Busy Week
So this week has been packed full of last minute things. I got to show Daizia exactly how the coupons work when she went with me to WalMart and I busted out my coupons for $5 off Monopoly UBuild, which was $5. It was great to see the look of wonder on her face. But then she started to use my bargain shopping spirit against me! She was like "Mom, this Lego set is ONLY $40 here. At Target it is like $100! So this is a great deal." First, I highly doubt that There is that much of a price difference between the two stores. Second, there is no way that I am paying $40 for something that will be digging into the bottom of my foot when I step on it!
And Daizia officially has a boyfriend. YAY for my nerves! He is actually a VERY nice young man who has great manners. He wants to be a lawyer and moved to the United States when he was 3 with his family from Africa. He lives in Houston now and came to Austin to visit his family that lives in our apartments. I have my reservations about his family after he and Daizia were coming back from the store (he had bought her some candy) and his older brother beat him up and stole his QUARTER last night and all that was said when his mom was told was "Give him his quarter back." Now when I say he got beat up, I mean it! His brother had knocked him down and was kicking him and punching him. Of course, Daizia was freaking the hell out because she has never seen anything like that unless she was on the giving end, and she stopped doing that about 2 years ago. And I noticed that he and his brother and cousins were outside all day yesterday and never went home for food. When Daizia wanted some chips and Skip told her that she couldn't just eat in front of them, Daizia's rude self says to them "Aren't yall hungry? Don't yall wanna go home and eat?" They just went outside to play. I was wondering if they HAD food to eat lunch, so today, Skip and I had coupons for Whataburger's 12 days of Christmas good for a free burger. So we took Daizia, her boyfriend, and his cousin for burgers, fries and sodas. Yeah, we only spent $15 on the whole shebang and left there full as ticks, but at least my mind is resting easy tonight not having to wonder if they ate lunch. (Sidebar: Daizia chose a table with only 2 chairs at it, and guess who sat with her while his cousin sat with me and Skip?)
This year has gone by so fast! Christmas shopping is done except for the fact that I want to buy Daizia a set of Kinex to make up for the missing Lego set. Making cornish hens for Christmas dinner, and looking forward to the Christmas Eve church service are all that is left on my agenda.
And Daizia officially has a boyfriend. YAY for my nerves! He is actually a VERY nice young man who has great manners. He wants to be a lawyer and moved to the United States when he was 3 with his family from Africa. He lives in Houston now and came to Austin to visit his family that lives in our apartments. I have my reservations about his family after he and Daizia were coming back from the store (he had bought her some candy) and his older brother beat him up and stole his QUARTER last night and all that was said when his mom was told was "Give him his quarter back." Now when I say he got beat up, I mean it! His brother had knocked him down and was kicking him and punching him. Of course, Daizia was freaking the hell out because she has never seen anything like that unless she was on the giving end, and she stopped doing that about 2 years ago. And I noticed that he and his brother and cousins were outside all day yesterday and never went home for food. When Daizia wanted some chips and Skip told her that she couldn't just eat in front of them, Daizia's rude self says to them "Aren't yall hungry? Don't yall wanna go home and eat?" They just went outside to play. I was wondering if they HAD food to eat lunch, so today, Skip and I had coupons for Whataburger's 12 days of Christmas good for a free burger. So we took Daizia, her boyfriend, and his cousin for burgers, fries and sodas. Yeah, we only spent $15 on the whole shebang and left there full as ticks, but at least my mind is resting easy tonight not having to wonder if they ate lunch. (Sidebar: Daizia chose a table with only 2 chairs at it, and guess who sat with her while his cousin sat with me and Skip?)
This year has gone by so fast! Christmas shopping is done except for the fact that I want to buy Daizia a set of Kinex to make up for the missing Lego set. Making cornish hens for Christmas dinner, and looking forward to the Christmas Eve church service are all that is left on my agenda.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Ok, can I vent for a minute?
Ok, since you have kept reading, I guess that means yes.
So yesterday, I called in and ordered a chest freezer from Lowe's. They said that someone would call me within 24 hours. Well, guess what? NOBODY FREAKIN CALLED! So I spend 20 more of my valuable minutes waiting on hold to be connected to someone at the call center (btw, Lowe's you should REALLY hire more seasonal workers for the holidays. Your wait time is ridiculous). After being connected and explaining the problem, The lady connects me with the store that they sent my order to. Before I go any further, let me state that I understand that the ball sometimes gets dropped and sometimes it isn't by you. At the same time, I really don't want to hear your excuses when I need the freezer tomorrow morning! The manager that i was connected to, Michelle, I think her name is, kept telling me how this has never happened before and that she isn't sure what happened and gee, your delivery address didn't come through and we don't have you down for a delivery today even though we are supposed to get it to you today. Then she asks if she can call me back in 10 minutes to make sure that they HAVE the freezer. ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW???? I stayed calm, for the most part, until she called me back and said that while she has one, she can't get it to me today, no matter what happened or who screwed up (I am cutting to the chase, because I don't have time to type the line of bologna that she gave me), and it will be tough to get it to me tomorrow! By now, I am losing my cool. I ask her about the service where you can rent a truck to bring your items home, and she tells me that her store doesn't do it, but she can try to make a call to see if another store can rent me one, and maybe they will do is as a courtesy, although they will still have to put a hold on the credit card for the deposit. Seriously, YOUR company messed up and you want me to let you hold more of my money to get something to me that was your responsibility to do in the first place? Really? No, where is Ashton Kutcher because I KNOW that I am getting Punk'd! So now, 3 hours after the 24 hours has passed, we are waiting on her to call with some kind of solution. I had to finally let her talk to my husband because I didn't want to start screaming at her because of something that happened between her store and corporate. What am I supposed to do with 100 pounds of food that need a freezer?
Oh, did I mention that of course my husband is all, "There is nothing that we can do about it the past, honey." Wrong answer, buddy! The reply he got was "This is happening now, so don't give me that $#*@!!!!" Thanks a lot Lowe's. Not only do I NOT have a freezer, I have cursed at my husband, on his birthday. Yeah. Here I am waiting on my wife of the year award. Just send it to the address that is supposedly floating in cyberspace because the store never got it!
They finally called Hubs back and said that she found someone at another store to come and do the delivery. I am not happy about the experience, but we are getting our freezer. I will be complaining to corporate about the lack of communication between them and the store and my experience as a whole. Please pray that they don't send out someone with a bad attitude, because the house might blow up if I lose my cool.
And all this after my post about holiday spirit, too. I guess my Scrooge was just waiting to come out!
So yesterday, I called in and ordered a chest freezer from Lowe's. They said that someone would call me within 24 hours. Well, guess what? NOBODY FREAKIN CALLED! So I spend 20 more of my valuable minutes waiting on hold to be connected to someone at the call center (btw, Lowe's you should REALLY hire more seasonal workers for the holidays. Your wait time is ridiculous). After being connected and explaining the problem, The lady connects me with the store that they sent my order to. Before I go any further, let me state that I understand that the ball sometimes gets dropped and sometimes it isn't by you. At the same time, I really don't want to hear your excuses when I need the freezer tomorrow morning! The manager that i was connected to, Michelle, I think her name is, kept telling me how this has never happened before and that she isn't sure what happened and gee, your delivery address didn't come through and we don't have you down for a delivery today even though we are supposed to get it to you today. Then she asks if she can call me back in 10 minutes to make sure that they HAVE the freezer. ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW???? I stayed calm, for the most part, until she called me back and said that while she has one, she can't get it to me today, no matter what happened or who screwed up (I am cutting to the chase, because I don't have time to type the line of bologna that she gave me), and it will be tough to get it to me tomorrow! By now, I am losing my cool. I ask her about the service where you can rent a truck to bring your items home, and she tells me that her store doesn't do it, but she can try to make a call to see if another store can rent me one, and maybe they will do is as a courtesy, although they will still have to put a hold on the credit card for the deposit. Seriously, YOUR company messed up and you want me to let you hold more of my money to get something to me that was your responsibility to do in the first place? Really? No, where is Ashton Kutcher because I KNOW that I am getting Punk'd! So now, 3 hours after the 24 hours has passed, we are waiting on her to call with some kind of solution. I had to finally let her talk to my husband because I didn't want to start screaming at her because of something that happened between her store and corporate. What am I supposed to do with 100 pounds of food that need a freezer?
Oh, did I mention that of course my husband is all, "There is nothing that we can do about it the past, honey." Wrong answer, buddy! The reply he got was "This is happening now, so don't give me that $#*@!!!!" Thanks a lot Lowe's. Not only do I NOT have a freezer, I have cursed at my husband, on his birthday. Yeah. Here I am waiting on my wife of the year award. Just send it to the address that is supposedly floating in cyberspace because the store never got it!
They finally called Hubs back and said that she found someone at another store to come and do the delivery. I am not happy about the experience, but we are getting our freezer. I will be complaining to corporate about the lack of communication between them and the store and my experience as a whole. Please pray that they don't send out someone with a bad attitude, because the house might blow up if I lose my cool.
And all this after my post about holiday spirit, too. I guess my Scrooge was just waiting to come out!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Grabbing deals when other things fall through
Missed out on the movie preview of How Do You Know tonight, because Hubs had to work later than we expected. So instead, we did some "bargain" shopping.
At Randalls, I spent $32.96 but I saved $48.94. Out of my total spent, I don't think that $20 should count, because I earned the splurge. They had Coca Cola on special, 4 for $10.
My BIG savings of the day came at Target, where I went coupon STOOPID! First stop, NYC In A New York Minute nail color, which run $1.74. I grabbed 2 because I had 2 sets of manufacturer coupons and store coupons (which can be combined), each one worth $1. That took $4 off the total, even though the polish onnly came to $3.58. Then on to candles. I grabbed an Airwick candle, which was on clearance for $2.54 and used a $3 coupon (all overages are taken off my total. Hey, I don't know how it works, but it does, so I am going to use it!). Then I grabbed my frozen veggies, 2 BirdsEye and 2 Green Giant, each supposed to be $1, and I had coupons for 50 cents off each item. (The Green Giant rang up for $1.34, and I am going to get my 64 cents back tomorrow. It's the PRINCIPALITY of the matter!) Then CoffeeMate for $1.48, minus a $1 coupon. Then we grabbed three 79 cent Betty Crocker Au Gratin potatoes, minus 55 cents off each one. Our last stop before the checkout was Planters dried, shelled sunflower seeds. Two jars of them for $2.74 each. But you know I used coupons for those too, right? I used 2 Planters coupons for $1 each, and a Target coupon that was buy 2 get $2 off Planters. So can you guess my total? Give up? I initally spent $2.09 for all of my purchases. But remember that I said that they owe me 68 cents? That brings my total down to $1.41!!!!
I consider this to be a major victory, since this is not only the trip that I used the most coupons, but also the one that I spent the least and got the most.
Did you know that you can print out manufacturer's coupons and add them to the discount that store coupons give you? Print out a coupon from Target, WalGreens, or CVS, and then find a coupon that is for the same brand form the manufacturer (try http://www.coupons.com/). Then go use them! Target, Walgreens, and CVS all let you do this, but Walgreens and CVS have their coupons in the sales ad, so it makes it easier on you.
Hope that you have learned something tonight, and that you now want to try your hand at some bargain shopping.
At Randalls, I spent $32.96 but I saved $48.94. Out of my total spent, I don't think that $20 should count, because I earned the splurge. They had Coca Cola on special, 4 for $10.
My BIG savings of the day came at Target, where I went coupon STOOPID! First stop, NYC In A New York Minute nail color, which run $1.74. I grabbed 2 because I had 2 sets of manufacturer coupons and store coupons (which can be combined), each one worth $1. That took $4 off the total, even though the polish onnly came to $3.58. Then on to candles. I grabbed an Airwick candle, which was on clearance for $2.54 and used a $3 coupon (all overages are taken off my total. Hey, I don't know how it works, but it does, so I am going to use it!). Then I grabbed my frozen veggies, 2 BirdsEye and 2 Green Giant, each supposed to be $1, and I had coupons for 50 cents off each item. (The Green Giant rang up for $1.34, and I am going to get my 64 cents back tomorrow. It's the PRINCIPALITY of the matter!) Then CoffeeMate for $1.48, minus a $1 coupon. Then we grabbed three 79 cent Betty Crocker Au Gratin potatoes, minus 55 cents off each one. Our last stop before the checkout was Planters dried, shelled sunflower seeds. Two jars of them for $2.74 each. But you know I used coupons for those too, right? I used 2 Planters coupons for $1 each, and a Target coupon that was buy 2 get $2 off Planters. So can you guess my total? Give up? I initally spent $2.09 for all of my purchases. But remember that I said that they owe me 68 cents? That brings my total down to $1.41!!!!
I consider this to be a major victory, since this is not only the trip that I used the most coupons, but also the one that I spent the least and got the most.
Did you know that you can print out manufacturer's coupons and add them to the discount that store coupons give you? Print out a coupon from Target, WalGreens, or CVS, and then find a coupon that is for the same brand form the manufacturer (try http://www.coupons.com/). Then go use them! Target, Walgreens, and CVS all let you do this, but Walgreens and CVS have their coupons in the sales ad, so it makes it easier on you.
Hope that you have learned something tonight, and that you now want to try your hand at some bargain shopping.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Coupon Mishaps
So I have been using coupons pretty hardcore lately. Let me tell you about an experience that had me hopping mad yesterday.
I went to use my $5 off Pictureka coupon at WalMart. They let me use 2 last week, so I went to stock up yesterday. I had 11 coupons, which meant that I was getting 11 for free, because Wally World selld the card game for $5. I was doing the self check out thing and my coupon wouldn't scan. The lady came to assist me and informed me that they don't take printed coupons. When I told her that they did last week, she said that they shouldn't have. So, in my huff, I didn't bother to ask for a manager. I just took my coupons to Target and got the games for 4 cents each. I was still mad when I got home. And then I looked up the coupon policy of WalMart! Baaaaabeeeee, let me tell ya, I was fit to be tied! They WERE supposed to take my coupons! I was right! They were wrong! Then I looked up the coupon policy of my local grocery store, HEB, that I tried to use my coupons at last month to save $40 (they wouldn't take them either because they were printed on white paper). Well, what do ya know? They were supposed to take my coupons also! So I printed off both policies. I will be taking them with me when I go shopping next time, and they WILL take my damn coupons! I also sent both corporations emails explaining the situtation and letting them know how disappointed I am with their service and their employees turning my coupons away without knowing the policy.
I was so mad yesterday that I could have slapped somebody! Grrrrrr. I am still not over it completely, but I did feel better after emailing my frustrations to them. Yay!
I went to use my $5 off Pictureka coupon at WalMart. They let me use 2 last week, so I went to stock up yesterday. I had 11 coupons, which meant that I was getting 11 for free, because Wally World selld the card game for $5. I was doing the self check out thing and my coupon wouldn't scan. The lady came to assist me and informed me that they don't take printed coupons. When I told her that they did last week, she said that they shouldn't have. So, in my huff, I didn't bother to ask for a manager. I just took my coupons to Target and got the games for 4 cents each. I was still mad when I got home. And then I looked up the coupon policy of WalMart! Baaaaabeeeee, let me tell ya, I was fit to be tied! They WERE supposed to take my coupons! I was right! They were wrong! Then I looked up the coupon policy of my local grocery store, HEB, that I tried to use my coupons at last month to save $40 (they wouldn't take them either because they were printed on white paper). Well, what do ya know? They were supposed to take my coupons also! So I printed off both policies. I will be taking them with me when I go shopping next time, and they WILL take my damn coupons! I also sent both corporations emails explaining the situtation and letting them know how disappointed I am with their service and their employees turning my coupons away without knowing the policy.
I was so mad yesterday that I could have slapped somebody! Grrrrrr. I am still not over it completely, but I did feel better after emailing my frustrations to them. Yay!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Christmas Shopping
I have almost completed my Christmas shopping, and I think that this year went rather well. I didn't go and hit people with carts and curse out other mothers at Black Friday sales. I didn't fight with anyone because they were taking the last "Baby Alive" doll. I haven't tossed the Christmas tree out of the front door even though whenever I look at it, all I see is my light bill getting bigger and bigger.
While I haven't always been cheery, I have been able to smile and remind myself that all children ask for expensive toys that they will only use for a few weeks before they toss it aside even though it cost $100. I also haven't spent $100 on ANY toy. I hit a total of $100 of spending on Daizia's items a few days ago, and that was counting ALL gifts. I have been taking advantage of coupon deals that I get by checking out http://www.mojosavings.com/ and http://www.chitowncheapskate.com/. There are lots of items that I got for FREE! We are talking about Pictureka the card game, Hungry Hungry Hippos travel game, 3 Zhu Zhu pets (I paid for 1 and got 3 free). And then there were LOTS of things that I didn't spend more than $5 on, like Cuponk ($7 before $5 coupon), Crayola PopArt Pixies (crafts that were $9.99, minus the WalGreens coupon of $4 plus another $4 coupon), and lots of other stuff.
While I am super excited about the deals that I got, I am more excited about Christmas being OVER. All this cheer that only comes during the holidays makes me tired. Why can't people be nicce year round? Why does it take a holiday or tragedy to get people to be cordial? What does is hurt to smile at someone? It makes a huge difference in someone's day.
While I haven't always been cheery, I have been able to smile and remind myself that all children ask for expensive toys that they will only use for a few weeks before they toss it aside even though it cost $100. I also haven't spent $100 on ANY toy. I hit a total of $100 of spending on Daizia's items a few days ago, and that was counting ALL gifts. I have been taking advantage of coupon deals that I get by checking out http://www.mojosavings.com/ and http://www.chitowncheapskate.com/. There are lots of items that I got for FREE! We are talking about Pictureka the card game, Hungry Hungry Hippos travel game, 3 Zhu Zhu pets (I paid for 1 and got 3 free). And then there were LOTS of things that I didn't spend more than $5 on, like Cuponk ($7 before $5 coupon), Crayola PopArt Pixies (crafts that were $9.99, minus the WalGreens coupon of $4 plus another $4 coupon), and lots of other stuff.
While I am super excited about the deals that I got, I am more excited about Christmas being OVER. All this cheer that only comes during the holidays makes me tired. Why can't people be nicce year round? Why does it take a holiday or tragedy to get people to be cordial? What does is hurt to smile at someone? It makes a huge difference in someone's day.
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Starlight Star Bright Christmas
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