E-coupons

I know there are some of you out there who don't want to bother with paper coupons--the clipping, filing, and researching and all. Well, you can still save! If you have a Kroger card, you can have coupons loaded onto your card that will come off automatically when you buy that item. Now I realize that Kroger doesn't have the cheapest prices on a regular basis. But you've got to admit that when they have a sale, it's generally a good one. And they double coupons too. I shop more at Kroger now than I do anywhere else, just because we are living mostly on the things I get from there really cheap on sale with a coupon or whatever.

These three websites have e-coupons for Kroger:
Shortcuts.com
Cellfire.com

PGesaver.com

I load on the ones that I will use, and I check the sites before heading out to see if there are any e-coupons for items that I already have a manufacturer's coupon for (that's doubled) or are on sale. If an item is on sale and I have a paper coupon for it, the e-coupon still comes off too! There is one e-coupon for $.50 off a 4-pack of Cottonelle. The regular price for it at Kroger is $.99, so it ends up being only $.49.

You can use the coupon for only one item, but you can re-load the same coupon back on your card for the next time you go. Before I go to Kroger, I stop to see if there are any coupons I want to load.

To keep track of which coupons I have, I print out the page with my coupons listed. (I print them enlarged.) Then I cut them apart and file them with my regular coupons.

Look what Lee brought home!

Yep--I mentioned something about a bread maker for Christmas, and I guess Lee decided that it was such a good idea, that we couldn't wait until Christmas for it! We got a few ingredients that we were missing, mainly yeast, at Aldi this afternoon, and set out to make a yummy loaf of warm, fresh bread.

I read the directions carefully for the "quick" bread which takes all of an hour to mix and bake. I put the ingredients into the machine in the proper order and turned it on. A short while later, Lee called me up, and the machine was smoking a little out the back and smelled like something was burning. Upon looking into the machine, the ingredients were really dry (looked like sand), so flour must have escaped the pan and gotten onto the burners. I guess I somehow measured something wrong--water or flour or something. So after the machine cooled, Lee measured up a batch and turned it on. An hour later, we were removing a wonderful-smelling, beautiful, crusty loaf of white bread. I sliced it up right then and there, and little of it remains. Lee used two big slices for an enormous sandwich, Molly used two small slices for a sandwich, and Adam and I just ate warm bread with butter on it. MMMMmmmmm.... Then Adam ate the rest of Lee's sandwich that he couldn't finish.

We are going to experiment with different recipes and find one that we like that doesn't cost much to make. I am going to try freezing the slices to make them last longer (no preservatives=spoils quickly). I figure I can freeze two slices and take them straight from the freezer to the kids' lunch boxes. Well, that is, if the loaf can even survive long enough to cool off good.

We have set out to find ways to save money various ways--by couponing and stockpiling, and by making our own stuff, when it is cheaper to do so. We want to make eating at home more attractive than eating out. And, since I'm not so crazy about fixing up elaborate gourmet meals, we have to work hard to keep the restaurants out of our minds. The bread machine is just another step in this journey.

KMart is doubling coupons again!

And most of their food items are on clearance 40% off. They are getting ready to remodel or something. But be prepared--they are sold out of a lot of things. But I did manage to get 72 items, and my total was $71.11! I put it all away before I thought about taking a picture. But it was a lot of stuff, and mostly food!

$157.09 - merchandise total (after some were discounted 40%)
(95.34) in coupons (after doubling)
9.36 tax
= $71.11 total oop (out of pocket)

I actually still need to go to the store to get bread, ground beef, lunch meats, etc. since Kmart was cleaned out of that kind of stuff. I got lots of cookie dough, and a bunch of Ziplock containers. So I can make and give away lots of Christmas cookies! Oh, there I go again, posting about Christmas presents. Well, I didn't say WHO I would give them to, now did I?

A whole day of shopping

I spent the day yesterday finding deals, sorting coupons, and shopping. We needed some groceries, so I figured it was time to do some serious bargain hunting.

I started at Walgreens, went to another Walgreens, Schnucks, Aldi, Kroger, and Piggly Wiggly.

I added up all my purchases last night, all my coupons, the money out of pocket, and the rebates. In all my shopping, I purchased $231.54 worth of items (nearly all were on sale). I used $96.81 in coupons, bringing my total spent to $134.73. I will be getting back $55.97 in rebates, so that's a total of $78.76 spent. I also used a gift card from Walgreens which contained my rebate from last month to pay for $50 or so, so that is only $84.69 out of pocket. I got a few small Christmas gifts, groceries, and a few personal care items.

It's kind of time-consuming, but if you really need to lessen the amount spent at the store, it's worth it!

Piggly Wiggly specials - 10/15-21

Kool-aid: 15 for $1.00
Small Lunchables: $1.00
Colonial bread: $1.00
Patio burritos: 3/$1.00
Hidden Valley dressing: $2.99
Handi Snak puddings or Kool-aid gels: 4pk $1.00
Red Gold canned tomatoes: $.80 - 1.00 off 3 coupon = $.47 each
Chicken leg quarters in 8 lb bag: $5.49 = $.67/lb
Land O' Frost premium lunch meat 1 lb: $3.89

Not very many great deals, and few coupon matchups (at least to what ones I have), but still some good deals to stock up on.

KMart couponing

Well, it took me a couple of hours--3 to be exact--but I got some good buys! The specials I posted yesterday must have ended yesterday, because none of them existed anymore. Here's what I found instead:

Right Guard invisible solid: $2.69 - 1.00 coupon = $.69 (I got 4)
Suave deodorant: $1.79 - .50 coupon = $.79
Dry Idea roll-on (the only kind I use): $4.19 - .75 coupon = $2.69 (I got 2)
Dove shampoo 12 oz: $3.79 - 1.50 coupon = $.79
Dove shampoo 24 oz: $5.79 - $2 coupon = $1.79
Crest kids: $2.19 - 1.00 coupon = $.19
Colgate Total: $3.49 - 1.50 coupon = $.49
Renuzit Pearl air freshener: $2.50 - 1.00 coupon = $.50
Purex fabric softener 1 gallon: $3.49 - 1.00 coupon = $1.49
Glad ziplock sandwich bags: $2.19 - 1.00 coupon = $.19 (I got 4)
Goodlife cat food 3 lb bag: $3.99 on sale - 2.00 coupon = free
Ronzini Smart Taste pasta: $1.99 - 1.00 coupon = free
Tyson Anytizers: $3.03 sale - .75 coupon = $1.53 (I got 2--dinner tonight!)
DanActive yogurt drinks 4pk (Adam likes these): $2.49 - 1.00 coupon = $.49
ReddiWhip canned whipped cream: $2 sale - .75 coupon = $.50
Hamburger Helper: $1.25 - .75 off 3 coupon = $.75 each
2000 Flushes: $2.99 - 1.00 coupon = $.99
I also got some apples that were $3.99/3 lb bag and on sale buy-one-get-one-free.

So I got 29 items which totaled $67.32, and after coupons and adding tax, it totaled $29.83!

KMart - super double coupons! Again!

From what I've read, the KMart on Austin Peay is doing double coupons again, Wednesday through Saturday (10/14-17). I am going to go over there tomorrow morning (Wednesday), so I will come back and post what I found.

From looking at the current ads and studying my coupons, here are the deals that I will definitely be searching out:

Tic Tacs .65-oz. single pack sale 79¢ - $.55 off 2 Q - $.24 each
1-pack Bic SureStart multi-purpose lighter sale 2.99 - $1 off Q - $.99
Renuzit Pearl Scents air freshener sale $1 - $1 off coupon - free
Renuzit adjustable air freshener sale $1 - $.55 off 3 coupon - $.63 each
Dove hair care sale $3.79 - $2 off Q - free

There may be more--I'll find out tomorrow!

I married a couponaholic

Here's a post on another coupon blog that really cracked me up--I Married A Couponaholic. If you've just started collecting coupons, this will give you a hint of what you are in for. Be sure to have your spouse read it too--it will help them better understand what is happening around them!

Free (or almost free) cleaning supplies at Walgreens

Check out this post on Money Saving Mom--free cleaning supplies

I printed out all the coupons, and got a bunch of stuff free or almost free after rebate. For some reason, the register beeped on two of the coupons, and if it beeps on an internet coupon, they won't take it. So I think I will go back tonight or tomorrow to a different Walgreens and try those two again.

Schnucks buys for 10/8-14

Turner Ice Cream 16 oz: $1.00

Birds Eye Steamfresh frozen veggies: $1.00 - $1.00 off 3 printable = $.67 each
(The coupon I had was for a different brand--oops.)

Crunch N Munch: $1.00 - $.40/2 doubled = $.60 each
(These will be great for my hobby night snack tonight.)

Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers frozen veggies: $1 - $1.00 coupon = free
(I must have already used this coupon elsewhere.)

Betty Crocker cookie mix: $1.67 - $1.00/2 printable = $1.17 each
- or: $1.67 - $.40 doubled = $.87 each

Betty Crocker Warm Delights bowls: $1.67 - $1.00/2 printable = $1.17 each
- or: $1.67 - $.50 doubled = $.67 each
(I had 4 of these coupons! And I just ate one of the brownie ones--yumm!)
- or: $1.67 - $.55 printable doubled = $.57 each

Campbell's chicken noodle soup - $.60 each - $.40/4 doubled = $.40 each

Be sure to sign up for their discount card. Each time you spend $25 at once, you get a $.05 per gallon discount on their gas. And the Schnucks on Hwy 64 just east of I-40 had gas for $3.06 a gallon this afternoon. I filled up.

Kroger buys for 10/8-14

Gallon milk: $2.99

Pillsbury Grands: $1.00 - $.75 off 3 = $.75 each
- or: $1.00 - $.50 off 3 doubled = $.67 each

Pillsbury crescent or sweet rolls: $2.00 - $.30 off sweet doubled = $1.40
- or: $2.00 - $1.00 off crescent printable = $1.00

Yoplait yogurt: $.50 - $.40 off 6 coupon doubled = $.37 each

Birds Eye Steamfresh frozen veggies: $1.47 - $1.00 off 3 printable = $1.14 each
(Schnucks has them for $1.00 though)

Pillsbury pancakes, toaster strudel or scrambles: $2.50 - $1.00/2 printable = $2.00 each
- or $2.50 - $.35 off 1 doubled = $1.80 each

Hot Pockets: $1.67 - $.50 doubled = $.67

Lean Cuisine: $2.20

10 lb potatoes: $3.99

Split chicken breast: $.99/lb

Suave shampoo or conditioner 15 oz: $.88 - $.75/2 = $.51 each



These are the Catalina deals that I have found at the Bartlett Kroger. (A Catalina is the little machine next to the register that prints coupons after you have paid.) These items give you a coupon for money off your next Kroger purchase:

Renuzit Tri Scents: $9.99 - prints a $3 coupon
Renuzit Tri Scents refills: $5.99 - prints a $1 coupon
Glade Oil Plug In: $4.49 - prints a $4 coupon
Glade Oil Plug In Nightlight: $6.99 - prints a $2 coupon
Glade Oil refills: $5.35 2 pk - prints a $2 coupon
Glade Oil refills: $3.75 1 pk - prints a $2 coupon

The Bartlett Kroger was sold out of all the Glade plug-ins and refills. But the one on Hwy 64 just east of I-40 had tons of them this afternoon.

Birthday Freebies

Here's a great site I stumbled across: MemphisLovesKids.com
There is a whole list of places to sign up to receive something free on your birthday.

Kids Eat Free (or almost free) nights

Don't count on my information being up-to-date. I try, but they change without notice, and some locations have different policies than others. Call before you go to confirm.

Monday
Abner's in Cordova - 1 free kids meal with each adult meal purchased
Logan's - $2 kids meals
Incredible Pizza Company - a kids buffet is $.99 with each adult buffet purchased
Pig 'N Whistle (Bartlett) - 2 free kids meals with each adult meal purchased

Tuesday (this is the night to eat out!)
Danvers - one free kids meal with each $5 adult purchase
Pizza Hut - 1 free kid's buffet with each adult buffet purchase
McAlister's - 2 kids meals for each adult entree purchased
Chick-Fil-A (Germantown Road @ Wolf River Pkwy) - free kids meal with each adult meal purchase
Texas Roadhouse (behind Wolfchase) - kids eat free
Logans - kids eat for $2.00
Perkins - kids eat free
Back Yard Burger - $.99 kids meal with each adult purchase
Fazoli's (Riverdale Road) - kids eat for $.99
Holiday Ham and Deli - kids eat free
Joe's Crab Shack - kids eat for $2.00

Wednesday

Stevie B's pizza - kids eat for $.99
IHOP - one free kids meal for each adult meal purchased

Thursdays

Captain D's - 2 free kids meals with each adult meal purchased
Piccadilly - 2 kids eat for $.99 or $1.99 for big kids with each adult meal purchased
Holiday Ham and Deli - same as Tuesday
Back Yard Burger - same as Tuesday
El Chico (Poplar at Highland) - kids eat for $.99

Fridays

none

Saturday

Perkins - see Tuesday

Sunday
Tellini's (Hwy 64) - kids eat for $1.00 with each adult meal purchased

Piggly Wiggly specials - 10/8-14

I visit the Piggly Wiggly at Summer and White Station, or you can visit their website to see other locations. The one I visit is small, kind of old and dim looking, and the bathroom is a scary situation. But the people there are very friendly, and go out of their way to help. Their website is very user-friendly, and they even have a shopping list feature where you can select which specials you want to buy then print out a list. Plus, they double coupons, and their prices are reasonable.

Here are the specials I plan to take advantage of this week:

Boston butt pork roast: $.99/lb

chicken drumsticks or thighs: $.89/lb

dozen medium eggs: $.92

Ronco spaghetti, vermicelli, or elbow macaroni: 3/$1

Libby's Juice Juice 46 oz bottles: $2.25 - $1 coupon (printable) = $1.25

Welch's 64 oz juice: $3.00 - $1 coupon (Sunday's paper) = $2.00

4 lb naval oranges or 3 lb tangerines: $2.99

tomatoes: $.99/lb (They were sold out of the regular tomatoes, so I got the Roma ones. They were the same price.)

Yoplait Yo-Plus : $2.00 - $1 Yo-Plus coupon (Sunday) = $1.00

Go-gurt: $2.00 - $.75 off 2 (Sunday) = $1.63 each
or $2.00 - $1.00 off 2 (printable) = $1.50 each

drinkable Dora yogurt: $2.00 - $.50 off 2 doubled = $1.50 each

Armour lunch makers (like Lunchables): $.92 (My kids were thrilled that I got these.)

Birds Eye frozen veggies: $.78 - $1 off 3 coupon = $.45 each

Incredible Pizza Company - free $25 game card

We've eaten at the IPC before, but after paying nearly $10 per person to eat at the buffet, we don't want to spend more money playing games. I signed up for their mailing list on the website and got an e-mail with a printable coupon for a free $25 game card. I printed one, and I will have Lee sign up and print another one from the other computer. Click HERE to sign up. The coupon is good through 10/20.

Kroger - Glade Flameless Candles

These look really cool, although I've never actually used one. They seem to be run on batteries, and it warms an oil refill and has a flickering light like a candle. Anyway, they are $9.99 at Kroger, but right now, with each one you purchase, the register prints out a $4 coupon that you can use at Kroger later for whatever. There are buy-one-get-one-free coupons on their website that you can print out, and there was a $5 off one in the newspaper recently. So you could get 2 candles = $19.98, get one free = 2/$9.99, get $5 off = $4.99 for 2. Then you would get back $8 in coupons to use the store on anything else you wanted. I picked up 4 of them myself, but then I found another coupon, so I'm headed back tomorrow.

KMart - super double coupons!

Through 10/5, KMart is doubling all coupons with a face value of up to $2! So if you have a coupon for $2 off, they will give you $4 off! I hit the Raleigh store today, and racked up big. I ran out of time, though, so I didn't even get through half the store. Don't worry--I WILL be back! I got several things completely free, including 4 pouches of cat snacks. I got lots of Hamburger and Chicken Helper (we eat a bunch of that around here), 4 bags of cat food, some cleaning wipes, air freshener, hot sauce, French fried onions, taco sauce and seasoning, pasta, and Uncle Ben's mixes. Here's a pic:

There were 35 items, $75.18 worth of stuff, I had $46.25 in coupons, so I paid only $28.93! And this is all stuff that we will use. I had coupons for other things that I passed up, just because it still wasn't cheap enough for me.

The cat food is Kasey's favorite, and it's usually just under $4 at WalMart. It was $5.29 at KMart, but I had a $2 off coupon, making them only $1.29. Everything else was less than $1. I had a coupon for $1.50 off Frank's hot sauce, and I went looking for it, figuring it couldn't be much more than $3. It was only $.99! And KMart will give you the coupon overage off the rest of your bill, so they actually paid me $.51 to take it. They won't double more than the item costs, though--so they wouldn't have given me $3 (double the $1.50 coupon) off. The cat snacks ended up being free, so Kasey won't be hungry for some time to come.

The ringing up was confusing, because every time the cashier scanned a coupon, it only showed up on the screen once. He kept assuring me that it was taking it off, and as I watched the total, the coupons were coming off double. The receipt is very confusing too, but it seems to be right.

I had thought about heading back tonight, but I don't think I'll venture into that part of town alone at night. I'll have to squeeze it in tomorrow or Saturday sometime.

The first thing I learned...

Save any and all coupons! You never know when some store will have a special deal when you can get that item free or even make money by buying it with a coupon. So, even if you think you won't use it, save it! Now, there are certain ones that I wouldn't buy even if the item were free, like dog food (we don't have a dog), diapers (no babies either), and certain medications or glucose monitoring systems, etc. But I do usually save those and give them to someone that I know will use them.

Here's an example: I'm a smell-good kind of person. I like good smells, and I hate bad ones. I mean more than most people, I think. I go through Yankee Candle tarts and votives faster than my Adam goes through a sandwich. So when I started seeing a bunch of Glade coupons for plug-ins, candles, etc., I never thought I would use them. But lately, Kroger has been running a special where when you buy certain Glade products, the register will print out a coupon for you to use the next time you shop at Kroger. And I don't mean $.30 off a bag of frozen vegetables. It prints a coupon for $x.00 off my next Kroger purchase. Who knew? Right now, their Glade gel plug-ins are $1.74, and you get a $2 off your next purchase (OYNP) coupon. You can use that coupon on milk, bread, eggs or whatever. Or, you could even use it to buy something else that gives you a OYNP coupon. Cool! And if you have coupons for the plug-ins, which have been in the paper and online lately, you make even more money. Classic example. And my house has never smelled nicer.

So start saving those coupons! Most of mine come from the Sunday paper. And having multiples of the same coupon is good! Ask all your friends and relatives to save the coupons from their paper and give them to you. That is, if they don't read this blog and learn to use them themselves.

Another good source is the All You magazine that WalMart carries. I've never seen it anywhere else. It costs only about $2, and it has tons of coupons in it. There is even a list of what coupons are included in the back of the magazine. Buy it early, because they many times sell out, especially when there is some really good coupon in there.

There are many coupons available to print right off the Internet too. However, printing these is time consuming, and uses up precious paper and ink, so only print the ones you know you will use. You can always go back and print it later if you decide later that you need it. Some places will not take them--I know the Bartlett Kroger will only take them if they are for $1 or less, and I think Walgreens still takes them. But many other places will not.

I'll post more later on coupon organization and details on specials.

Welcome!

Hi! Welcome to Memphis Mommies!

I don't have to tell you that the economy is tight these days. Prices are going up, and I no longer just shop at WalMart and buy everything there to save time. I do the research and comparing, stock up on sale items, and try to do the best I can to save money, especially on groceries and such. My house cleaning business is slow right now, so there is no money to play with either. So rather than spend my time shopping for fabric or some other stuff that I can't afford to buy, I have found it's fun to see how much money I can save just by paying attention.

I spend so much time on the Internet researching, reading, comparing, and trying to find details on good buys, sales, specials and such. I thought it would be a nice idea to have one place to go to find money-saving strategies that are customized for our area. I am talking about kids-eat-free days, special sales, good deals on groceries, etc. So I'll be posting anything that I come across.

Please post in the comment section if you have something to add, or just e-mail me. I'll try to keep the posts updated as new information comes in. As we get more and more blog posts, I will upgrade to a blog format that will allow me to categorize the posts to make certain ones easier to find.

So check back here often!