Extreme Couponing Week 4 - Headway and Roadblocks _ Total Savings This month 33%.

Yesterday was my big monthly shopping day. I spent several hours Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday preparing my list, organizing my coupons and gearing up.

My kids and I went to Sam's, Wal-Mart and Kroger.
Last month, I spent over $500, this month, the grand total was $244! Yipee!
Sam's - I bought those things I knew I couldn't really get cheaper anywhere else without a coupon.
Wal-Mart - I had over $30 in coupons. The most fun was getting steaks for $.49 each with my coupons. I was able to buy 10 steaks!

At Kroger's the bill total was $106 and after Kroger discounts, coupons and WIC, it came down to $49.
This family now has 20 pounds of hamburger meat at $1.98 a pound, 15 boxes of Hamburger Helper, 10 cans of Pringles, 20 bottles of Fuse Banana Daquire water, Terra chips, rice chips, Spaghetti sauce,pizza, chili, chips, cheese, biscuits, cinnamon rolls, things for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and desserts.

For those that are curious, my weekly menu options looks like this:
Breakfast: Cereal, Toast, or leftovers
Lunch: Leftovers, Sandwiches, Pizza, corn dogs, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches or chicken nuggets or patties, fish sticks, pasta
Dinners:
Two days a week we eat leftovers
Monday night is Breakfast night : pancakes or waffles, bacon, eggs, toast, biscuits, (whatever we want to fix)
Tuesdays: Hamburgers, Chicken Sandwiches, Tots & Onion Rings
Wednesdays: Pizza sometimes Pasta & salad too
Thursdays: Chicken cheese enchiladas, chili, cheese, chips, tortillas and guacamole
Friday night is leftover night, usually Sat too.
Some Saturdays, I'll go get one Chinese lunch buffet full of chicken and beef and bring it home and add my own rice, eggrolls, fruits, vegetables and noodles to the meal. ( We love that!)
Sunday lunch - I usually have something nice prepared ahead of time: chicken, roast, pork tenderloin, brisket or lasagna
Sunday evening is usually leftovers or quick pasta.

We are rather simple here and as prices increase, I will increase my efforts to continue saving money. I did not reach my goal this month of only spending $500 on groceries and gas. I will say though, that I just looked at our Discover bill and this month's efforts reduced our monthly bill by 33%. I don't think that's too bad for my first month.

There is a potential roadblock however. I'm not the only one out there learning to do this. That's obvious when I enter a store with a "HOT" coupon only to find the shelf cleaned. Somebody beat me to it!

Yesterday was also the first day I could order this next week's coupons coming out in Sunday's paper. The May 1st Coupon Inserts will be BIG! and full of Savings. Within one hour of releasing the sale on wholecouponinserts.com, they were completely SOLD OUT!!

So, I am emailing others and looking for alternative ways to get my hands on next week's coupons without spending $25 on Newspapers. I've been buying 10 newspapers worth for $16 from Whole Coupon Inserts, hopefully I will be able to get them for the same price or cheaper from someone else on Monday.
We shall see.
Enjoy your weekend.

Getting The Hang of This Extreme Couponing

Week 3 of my adventure and I'm getting better at this, but sometimes it's not very easy.
This last week, my extreme coupon friend Parksy Hancock from Houston, Texas, taught me how to take coupon overages and apply to non-coupon sales.

For Example: I'm expecting baby #5.
I received a coupon for $5 off Similac Formula
Wal-Mart sold it for $3.84, that extra $1.16 came off my total bill. They call those money makers and they are fun!
This past week, I've gotten Easter supplies, baby formula, razors and nail polish for free, Splenda sugar, mashed potatoes and taco seasoning, personal products, body wash and hair color all for free!!!!

During my Wal-Mart trip for Easter this past week, I had many things to buy for the special weekend, but altogether, the Total bill was $127 and after coupons, I paid $89 at WAL-MART!
$38 in coupons. That was pretty cool!

At Krogers, I bought 20 cans of Dole Pineapple at $.50 a piece after coupons. However, be watchful at the register. I got a cashier who was about to get off work and she messed up on the coupons. I should have paid $10, I paid $11.

I've begun collecting quite a stash of CVS Extra bucks and Wal- Greens Register Rewards.
I walked out of CVS yesterday with (3) 12 packs of Dr. Pepper 3 for $10, paid with ECB's and got $3 back for next week
At Walgreens, I paid $4 for everything and have $7 RR for next week, which I hear there will be a huge sale on Cottonelle Tissue.

Also, learning that on Holidays, there are no coupon inserts, but the following week, the companies usually make up for it with lots of coupons. I buy coupon inserts from Whole Coupon Inserts. I place my order on Thursday or Friday before the Sunday paper comes out and the coupons are in my mailbox on Monday.

My biggest days to plan shopping trips are Sat for CVS. I go on Sunday evenings or Mondays, and Wednesdays are when the grocery ads start. I usually go grocery shopping on Thursdays.

This is quickly becoming a GAME to me. GAME ON!
I have a goal of reducing my cost of groceries/gas down to only $500 a month total for our family of 6 soon to be 7.
This is fun!
I'm learning that with a little work and a lot of networking with other couponers, I can " SAVE" or " Make" more money couponing than I'm making writing online.

This week, I quit one of my writing jobs. The site had many changes and it just wasn't working out anymore. I was earning less than  $1 a day. I'm saving much more than that by couponing now, and it's so much more fun knowing I'm doing more and providing more for my family by couponing. There's a great sense of accomplishment in that.

So, that's all for now. Tomorrow is Wednesday. I'm ready! Bring on the grocery ads!

Learning to Extreme Coupon - Week 1&2 Summary of CVS, Kroger's, Wal-Mart, Dollar General & Albertson's

Ok guys, I'm beginning to get the hang of this and I'm saving more and more and despite the gas price increase this week, I should see a major decrease in my overall monthly expenses this month. My goal is to eventually only spend $500 a month on groceries and gas for a family of 6, soon to be 7, that includes 2 cars and gas for the two cars.

This week I found a blog that shares weekly deals with coupon matches for Wal-Mart, CVS, Wal-Greens, Dollar  General, Kroger's, Albertson's, Brookshires's, ( Every store I shop at,) Check out Grocery Shopping For Free . It saves me a lot of time looking for deals.

I am also beginning to understand how to collect, organize coupon inserts, Smart Source, Red Plum and Proctor and Gamble. I know many say don't buy coupons, get them for free or your defeating your purpose. I'm currently buying the equivalent of 10 newspapers of coupons each week  for $16 ($1.60 a paper) from either Whole Coupon Inserts or an Ebay Store called Coupon Clipper Kelly. There's also one called Mad Coupons that does the same thing for only $14, but they require an order deadline on Wednesday before the inserts come out. I missed the deadline this week.
$14 - $16 may seem like a lot to spend each week on coupons, but take a look at what I'm doing with them. I'm obviously getting my money's worth out of these coupons and then some and the proof will be at the end of the month when the Discover card bill ( used for gas & groceries) comes in much much lower than it was before.
Here is what I've done in the last two weeks using coupons, ads and networking.

First week : My first trip to CVS, spent right at $51, but I got $28 back in Extra Credit Bucks to spend on next weeks trip and came home with:
14 boxes of Finish Dishwasher Detergent
6 boxes of Kellog Bars
2 Russell Stover Eggs
2 bottles of bubbles 
4 bags of M&M's
2 bags of Hershey kisses

Wednesday, April 13, after Dr visit, went to Subway with 3 kids, had a coupon, buy a drink, get a 6" sandwich free, bought 4 drinks at $1.61 each, sandwiches would have cost $2.50 each, got 4 dr. Peppers and 4 6" subs for $6.44, and brought them home. I only eat half a sandwich at a time, it made 8 meals, not bad. I love Subway sandwiches. The kids don't eat the sandwiches, they enjoyed the Dr. Pepper and each one got a donut, spent $2 on the donuts. Everyone's happy!

This past Friday
I went to Wal-Mart and got 9 packs of razors and 9 packs of mashed potatoes for free, in fact, Wal-mart owed me $1.88 after coupons, but I didn't wait for the manager to get it. I was just happy to shop Wal-Mart for free

I bought 10 bottles of mustard and 1 suave shampoo and 1 suave conditioner at Kroger's for $5

At Albertson's I spent $46, after coupons, I came home with
4 boxes of fish portions
4 boxes of fish sticks
24 packs of Ramen noodles
2 half gallons of Blue Bunny ice Cream
1 12 pack of Dr Pepper
8 loaves of sandwich bread, ( my son loves cheese sandwiches and cinnamon toast)

Saturday I had $5 off a $25 purchase at Dollar General
I used it along with some Pringle's coupons to get
4 bottles of my son's medicine
4 boxes of sanitary pads for my daughter's
3 tubes of Pringles

Sunday, April 17, CVS All free with ECB's and coupons
2 bags of Easter Grass
2 Egg coloring kits
2 boxes of Stove top
2 bottles of dish washing liquid
36 rolls of tolit paper
and I now have 20 ECBs for next week
2 Ocean Mist bottles of body Spray

Ok, that's all for now. I'll look at ad's on Wednesday and grab more deals on Thursday when I go to town.

Feel free to share and comment.

Recognized As A Featured User on Redgage For My Blogs and Articles

For a professional online writer, I suppose $3 here and $5 there, doesn't really seem like much of a paycheck, especially if that person is depending solely on their writing efforts to pay all the bills. However, for this stay-at-home, home-school mom of 4 children ( soon to be 5), the thrill of a $5 bonus here and a $3 bonus there and a monthly check of $200 or so, well, it just makes me smile. Why? I smile because I'm accomplishing something. I'm helping others by submitting informational articles and I'm slowly building a readership on every site I write for: Redgage, Suite 101, my blog, (How Much Do You Save? ), and Christian Music Report. Somebody out there is reading and I must be doing something good.

As a stay-at-home and home-school mom, I know in my heart that I was "called to be Momma," I love what I do. On a typical day I organize and clean the house, do laundry, plan the menus, and cook most of the meals. I have two little children that I personally home-school here at my work station, and at the same time, I'm monitoring the older two as they complete their home-school studies on the computer using Switched on Schoolhouse.

While the 7 year old is reading to me, reciting spelling words, Bible verses etc. I'm on here writing for RG, Suite 101, and CMR. I answer emails and Facebook questions throughout the day and I'm constantly on the look out for sales, deals, coupons and gift cards. I earn free CVS gift cards using My Points and Amazon gift cards on Swagbucks that I use in conjunction with coupons and weekly sales to help buy our family's groceries and necessities. The money I earn on these writing projects help pay for the oldest child's piano and violin lessons.

I heard someone say this weekend that " Parenting," is not considered a full-time job. For many stay-at-home, home-school moms around the world, I'd like to speak up. Those that say things like that. Those that think we do very little, we watch soap operas and eat bon-bons. Those that do not recognize motherhood as a calling and a full-time career, you have no idea.

Actually, as a stay-at-home mom, I probably do much more in a day than the average 8 hr worker, Monday thru Friday. My average work day is 13 hours long, six days a week, Monday thru Saturday. I do manage to slow down on Sunday.

So, here I am, saluting those who hardly get the salute. Most of my writings are for you, the stay-at-home mom or stay-at-home, online worker. I write to help you save money by sharing what I'm learning as an Extreme Couponer. I share recipes to help you plan your dinner and holidays like Mardi Gras, St. Patrick's Day, Passover, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Occasionally, I'll share with you about Women's health issues: infertility, fertility treatments, diet and nutrition. The main point here is I share, and that's what Redgage is all about, sharing and networking together. You probably won't get rich on Redgage or anywhere else similar like Suite 101, Hub Pages, Helium, About.com etc. Somedays, you'll make pennies a day. Some days you'll manage a $1 or $2 a day and then sometimes, you'll submit a good link, picture or blog, like my blog on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and score a big bonus. The key is to never give up. Don't get discouraged. Share everything you can. You never know. What you post may help someone else in a unique way. You do matter. You do deserve recognition for all you do in a day, no matter what your job title may be or how others label you. Everyone who does their best to succeed in whatever they do deserves to be chosen as a Featured User on Redgage. Keep Sharing. You do matter. You're the reason Redgage is alive and well! Best Wishes!

Amy

Learning How To Be An Extreme Couponer at CVS

This week, the new show, Extreme Couponing, premiered on TLC. It shows on Wednesday nights. Basically, it profiles four smart consumers who have learned to clip coupons. shop the ads and make the most of every dollar. The first episode was amazing to watch. Several of the consumers bought $500-$600 worth of groceries and products but walked out of the store paying only $5 - $6 for everything. So, the big question is, " How is it done and is it worth all the work?"
Extreme Couponing at CVS
Depending on location, many consumers will be limited to only a few stores where they can take full advantage of double or triple coupons, store incentive programs, etc. Those in bigger cities might find more opportunities. Those in smaller towns may only have one or two stores they can focus on. With the recent news that Kroger grocery stores are stopping their double and triple coupon program, those in smaller, rural towns are having to learn to do things a little differently to get the most for their money. Many are learning to extreme coupon at CVS Pharmacy and Wal-Greens. In this article, the primary focus is CVS.
Extra Credit Bucks
CVS offers what is known to most coupon users as ECB, ( Extra Credit Bucks). This are earned by first signing up for an " Extra Card" at the CVS store or online at the CVS website. Then each week, CVS will offer certain ECBs for buying certain items. For example: this next week, buy $20 worth of Lysol, Air Wick or Finish products and receive $10 in ECBs to use on the next purchase. Coupon consumers have learned to match up the sales and incentives with available online coupons and the coupon inserts in the Sunday paper.
Coupon Match Ups
How does a consumer find all of the coupon match-ups? Many extreme coupon users have set up blogs and websites to share what they have learned/ For CVS, one website that is very helpful is the Simply CVS website. The woman who writes for this website has saved thousands of dollars by shopping CVS and stretching her dollars using coupons, ECB incentives and CVS gift cards. Consumers check this website each week and look at the ad, print online coupons and check their stockpile of coupon inserts to grab the most bargains. Organized shoppers will make a detailed and precise list of products, prices and end result expenditures or profits before they ever enter the door to CVS. It's also helpful to have more than one CVS Extra Card because certain limits apply to each card. Since only one Extra Card can be applied to an mail, many saavy consumers have learned to have at least two emails and two Extra Cards. Having more than one email also helps when printing online coupons since many websites limit the amount of coupons printed per account.
How To Get Coupons
In the old days, the only way to get coupons was to buy a Sunday paper or get them at the grocery store or on the back of products. However, in this modern technology age, the internet has become a valuable source for those looking for coupon deals. Coupon websites like Coupons.Com are highly utilized as well as Smart Source, Redplum and Protor & Gamble. Many companies have coupons available on their website and on their Facebook sites. There's no need to buy a Sunday paper anymore. There's even a website to buy coupon inserts by the pack of 6 to 10 at a time. Check out Whole Coupon Inserts. Coupon consumers can buy a pack of 10 Smart Source inserts and 10 Redplum inserts for $16. That's the equivalent of buying 10 Sunday papers at $1.60 a paper. Bye bye paper boy!
Earning and Using CVS Gift Cards
Another way to make every dollar stretch at CVS is buy earning free CVS gift cards online or through CVS incentive programs. Almost weekly, CVS offers a $25 gift card if a consumer transfers a prescription to CVS. For those that don't have prescriptions, consider earning free CVS gift cards by completing free offers and surveys and polls on My Points. Also, if the consumer has a Discover Card, instead of getting cash back on the Discover Card, cash in the cashback rewards for a CVS gift card. It actually works to the consumers advantage. On a regular Discover Card a $45 cashback reward can be exchanged for a $50 CVS gift card. On the Discover Miles card, 7000 miles get a $50 CVS gift card and 4000 miles gets a $25 CVS gift card. These cards can be used in conjunction with the sales, the ECB incentives and coupons for outrageous and amazing profit.
Network, Strategize and Organize
Today's focus was on CVS. However, this can also be done at Wal-Greens and Wal-Mart as well as other grocery stores, pharmacies, mega marts and department stores throughout the U.S. It takes a little work and effort. It involves networking with others who have learned or are learning. Stay in touch with Extreme Coupon users and Coupon Divas using Facebook, Twitter, blogs, chat groups and websites. Start collecting weekly coupon inserts. Check the ads weekly and also match up any only coupon deals with the upcoming ads. With a little practice, anyone can learn to be an extreme couponer and save money on every purchase.

Learning to Extreme Coupon at CVS

I'm learning to do the Extreme Coupon thing at CVS, using coupons, their extra card, and CVS gift cards that I earn off of Swagbucks, My Points and my Discover Card cash back program

My first trip tomorrow, I'll probably spend right at $46.50, but I'll get $28 back in Extra Credit Bucks to spend on next weeks trip and should come home with:

14 boxes of Finish Dishwasher Detergent

6 boxes of Kellog Bars

2 Russell Stover Eggs

2 bottles of bubbles 

4 bags of M&M's

There's a website called Simply CVS Shopping  to help with CVS

I'm also buying newspaper coupon inserts from Whole Coupon Inserts. If you buy the pack of 10, it's like getting 10 Sunday papers for $1.60 a paper

I'm beginning to learn the websites and organize my coupons and create a stock pile.

Right now, it's taking me about 3 hrs a day as I learn, but I'm writing about it for my online writing jobs too, so that 3 hrs is doing double duty.

As I learn more and get more efficient, it will take less time.

I'm focusing on CVS & Walgreens right now

Kroger's has stopped their double/triple coupons,

so I'm learning to do this to replace Kroger and fill in with Sam's & Wal-Mart & Dollar Tree where I need to. That's all we have here in East Texas.

Feel free to ask questions

Learning How To Extreme Coupon

I'm spending some time learning how to Extreme Coupon and get the most for my money.
Here in East Texas, gas is now over $3.60 a gallon, my monthly expenditures for gas/groceries/necessities averages $1500, half our monthly budget, something has to give.
Kroger is threatening to stop doubling & tripling coupons,
Albertson's is about closed down
and my Wal-Mart has said no more internet printed coupons ( they can't do that by the way, I have printed the Corporate Wal-Mart Coupon policy), they can leave me alone now!
and I don't even go into Target at all anymore.
I think my best savings are going to be at CVS with Register Rewards, coupons and free CVS gift cards I earn online.
Learning from the other couponers.
Check out Amanda http://www.moneysavingamanda.com/overnight-celebrity-give-a-way/#comments at Money Saving Amanda.com
She has a Facebook page too
and watch the new TLC show Extreme Couponing every Wed night.
Good Luck! and Save! Save! Save!