Second Extreme Couponing Trip...Still Getting The Hang Of It

I'm still trying to pick out the best sales, pick and choose my coupons wisely.  I have gotten a bigger notebook and am searching for more baseball card sleeves for keeping my coupons neat & organized.  This morning, i did search for a few items i needed coupons for and signed up for email coupon lists. 

I had a few odds & ends to get today and a gift for a baby shower, not much of a list.  I made a trip to Bi-Lo, since their sales seemed to cover the majority of our needs.  

My purchases include::
3 boxes of Hamburger Helper (Sale $1 a box; coupon for $0.75 off purchase of 3)
12 Hershey Almond Bars (BOGO- $5.88 for all, covers hubby's lunch & snacking for the week)
2 Packs of Reese Cups (BOGO- $0.98 for both)
Lysol Wipes (2/$5; coupon for $0.50 off purchase of 2)
Whiskas Wet Pouches for our furbaby (Regular Price)
2 Clear Value Paper Towel Double Rolls ($1.35 per roll; had 2 coupons for $1.00 off each roll)
Pampers Swaddlers (Sale $9.99; Coupon for $1.50 off the pack)
Scott Naturals 12 Pack Toilet Paper (Sale $7.49; Store Catalina for $1.50 & $0.75 MFR Coupon)
3 Pack Brita Filter Refills (Sale $17.99; Coupon from Coupons.com for $3 off the pack)
Spinach (Regular Price)
Bananas (Regular Price)

*I also had a coupon for $10 off a $50 purchase that my aunt received in the mail as well.

Before my savings from my Bonuscard my total was a whopping $100.42.  My Savings between coupons & Bonuscard brought my savings total to $57.54.  I got $100 of groceries for $45.68.  I also earned $0.25 in Fuelperks today between their bonus items and my total.  I'm hoping to start planning all of our food & snacks around sales and cut my grocery bill in half ASAP! Just wanted to share my second awesome trip! 

Extreme Couponing : Day One

So over the course of the past week I've made the decision to attempt to extreme coupon. I've read a few ladies' blogs/posts/sites to do research & until I came across one in particular, NONE of it made sense. So many of them only show you the coupons and not how to organize the chaos that is coupon mountain.

I used to put my coupons in a little folding organizer with 6/7 tabs. I'd forget to look at them and usually let them expire before I ever had the chance to use them. This weekend I got a 1" 3-ring binder with about 30 baseball card sleeves. I clipped all of my coupons before I sorted them into departments. Then I stuffed them into Their individual pockets. If I had multiples of one item, I put them in together. I did all of my clipping, sorting and stuffing this morning in about 35-45 minutes while my daughter napped. I haven't read up on any store policies for couponing YET! I just decided that with us building within the next year or so I couldn't afford to pay full price for groceries anymore. I PLAN to tighten our grocery budget even more over the next few months.

Anyhow, today I made 2 grocery trips. I went to food lion first, used very few coupons due to sibling rivalry in the cop car buggy. However my second trip, to Bi-Lo, was much more productive. I was able to turn a $106 grocery trip into a $48 grocery bill. I had a $10 off $50 purchase coupon, along with several catalina coupons (store print outs), and a few manufacturer coupons. Saving $58 at the end.

Also to any mommies who are okay with freebies & getting email coupons:

*Visit the websites of any companies you use (ex: Kraft, P & G, Gerber) and sign up for coupons.
*Get any rewards cards at any stores you frequent
*My personal favorite savers are Disney Movie Club & Disney Movie Rewards.  I have absolute no issues with deep discounts & freebies from the Rewards club.  We've gotten our 15th free DVD this past month and have gotten 2 free DVDs from referring a friend to the Movie Club.
*Publix Paws & Publix Baby Club also send great coupon for all babies (furry or not) and send birthday cards and simple gifts to your children.
*I'll update anymore i become aware of, those are just off the top of my head.

I just wanted to share this amazing new hobby with my friends & loved ones and outline just a few starter tips since I've had a few ask how I have done it =)

AMAZING Bible Storybook for Children

A few weeks back, i finally found a Bible storybook that met my standards.  "Jesus Calling Bible Storybook" by Sarah Young covers the entire bible.  Many i have looked at have had poorly drawn illustrations, lacked vibrant colors, and didn't include scripture.  I got every single expectation met with this one.  Reading from The Last Supper to Easter Sunday had my three year old very interested, as he illustrated everything he saw and understood.  If any of you moms were looking for a good Bible storybook to help teach your children about Jesus, this is definitely it.  I got our copy from Walmart for $15 on sale, and it may be available for less on sites like Amazon & eBay.  I've attached a picture of the cover, illustrations & the scripture.  Enjoy!

Easter 2013

We had lots of big plans for Easter, some which didn't go as planned.  We made it to our Easter Journey at church Saturday morning.  The kids had LOTS of fun, played with their cousins & friends & made some pretty cool crafts.  After a while of playing on the playground & tantrums in refusal to go home, we finally dropped papa off and made our way back home.  And that's when it happened.  I got Kyleigh out of the car, blazing hot with a fever.  After coming inside she got weaker by the minute.  We dosed her with Motrin, threw her in the tub & she got some rest.  While sissy got some rest, i ran to the store & got some McCormick Neon Food Coloring, Vinegar, Paas Color Cups & Eggs.  I usually use Paas Dye kits with the tablets, but i wanted more vibrant eggs this year as opposed to more dull colors.  Also this year, we got a chance to dye eggs without a horrible mess & everybody else got a nap.  To avoid Kade spending the whole weekend inside, we let him spend the night with Mimi & Papa.  He had a blast, got new toys & candy & got to goof off all night.  We spent the remainder of our Saturday with a weak, feverish baby.  She woke up sick in the middle of the night & that's when i noticed she had blisters on her feet.  It appears Kyleigh picked up Hand, Foot & Mouth from nursery.  Not quite the Easter weekend i had planned when i laid their clothes & shoes out and had gotten so excited about our sermon at church (which we all missed).  Luckily, our church's website has the sermons available for listening.  

Later Sunday afternoon, Ky was back up and being her silly, sassy self.  We decided to load up & go to Mimi's house for Easter dinner and to get their baskets.  The kids played in their inflatable, played in the woods with the goats & loved on their grandparents.  Not a bad weekend by the end of it.  And of course, I read to Kade & explained to him the real reason behind celebrating Easter isn't about a big, goofy looking bunny rabbit and candy and toys.  He understands that Jesus died and suffered for our sins on the cross and was risen three days later.  I love my children and want them to never to forget what real love is.  

Hopefully, next Easter my kids can dodge sickness & we can make it to church as planned. 
Below are some of the highlights of our weekend.  Enjoy!