How long does it take two doctors to fill four welcome packets and one coupon train?

Five hours!

Seriously.

Why? Well, we want to do a good job, ensure that everyone gets their wish lists filled, and, well, there are THAT many coupons!!!

DH did kick me out of the room for an hour while he focused on one list.

Nothing quite like playing Santa!

So...debtfreeme, kashi, amorphous02, garthbarth1, and the Northeaster train...watch for snail mail envelopes!

Well, inquiring minds wanted to know, so of course I emailed Kashi, thanked them for the coupons, told them they were gone in 60 seconds, including my FREE product coupon! I admited I did know which promotion I had received them under, but obviously was a good ambassador for them, and was it possible to get, well, some more coupons...???

Today, I received a box, which contained a packet with one more set of 5 $1.50 coupons and one more FREE PRODUCT coupon! YEAH!

It does pay to ask!

On a related note, I wrote to Eden organic, which makes SO many different organic products, and asked for info and coupons. I received a STACK of brochures, recipes, coupons, and a recipe book containing another 8 coupons.

Also, GREAT information on their products.

It took ONE EMAIL each...and the web page to find their contact forms is UP, just select your brand, click on the link, and ASK.

(BYW, Kashi makes great products. And Eden has products for almost every food allergy...soy free, gluten free, etc...)

Since we have reduced the new coupon train members to only established savingadvice/blog/DAGG or other proven track records, the stress is less...but I'm still overrun with coupons! More so than ever.

If you have a wish list...post a detailed list. Lisa's done a great job. 5 top items is great for sending around, but when I have 1000 coupons here, I need more guidance from everyone! What do you need?

DH is helping more...since he made all these categories for coupons (thanks Lisa, but don't give him any more ideas for categories!). He helped me fill out the welcome packets and new trains, and he went down everyone's list in great detail! He even pulled of few coupons out of MY private stash for someone, after deciding that WE probably wouldn't use them (that's one way to remove temptation ). He really is that kind of a guy.

I've also started trading coupons our members can't use for one they need. Seems to be working fairly well.

So, let me know where to direct all these coupons!

And a reminder, email those companies! I emailed Pictsweet (thanks Lisa!) to compliment them on their products, and they mailed a thank you letter, with TWO coupons for free packages. (exp. 12.31.06)

Are you a member of the Kashi Club? If so, today's mail probably brought 5 - 10 $1.50 on ANY Kashi Item, and 1 - 2 FREE PRODUCT Kashi coupons. Mine did! They expire 8/31, and as much as I enjoy Kashi, DH reminds me we are fully stocked...so to the "have list" they will go!

For all of you looking for great organic and natural product coupons, I was going to remind to you to go to

Organic Contacts


Unfortunately, I realized that I signed up to the Kashi club through the Mambo sprouts site...and the link for the Kashi Club is not on our site yet!

Their newsletter sign up page is at

Kashi signup

They also have a user's group, so to speak, and when you sign up you are entered into a sweepstakes to win a years supply of Kashi. That would certainly help the grocery budget!

Sweepstakes
and sign up!

Mercy me! Oreo has a coupon out now, buy any two oreo products, get $3.99 in free milk. Any two Oreos means...those little teeny snack packs count. Suddenly, this simple little coupon became the hottest deal around. 20 cents for cookies and free milk during the summer when kids are home EATING.

Oops! Not quite what Nabisco was looking for. And so...while the displays remain up in almost every supermarket, the tearpads of coupons have been removed. Making the coupon even hotter!

For our trains, well, if you hoped for the coupon, the 3 I had were traded...for around 30 other coupons for train members. The beauty of knowing people's wish lists.

Still, much to ponder. I'm still trying to get my mindset around coupon trading. It's fun, and fascinating. But tracking thousands of coupons that closely takes too much mental energy!

Then again, I don't have a five year old wanting Oreo's and milk.

Pretty good day, other than not getting home in time to be online. So much to read, so little time!

Did indeed receive $21 check back from Novartis for the Lamisil I didn't like. They really seem to be a good company.

Meat, well...we have a $10 off $10 or more meat, Safeway, when purchase 5 Oral B items. I found the coupon in the pharmacy aisle, displayed with all the $10 - $20 packs of Oral-B and other products. Found the $1 each floss, bought 5 and a $14 back of meat reduced to $10.

Now, there is a rebate, $15 back with purchase of $20 meat, charcoal, and BBQ sauce.

Charcoal is half price this week, $3.99 a bag, have a $2 coupon, and a $2 rebate. But the rebate requires the receipt. So, that's a complete loop ($4 for product minus coupon minus rebate is free, but receipt is used).

Also have a buy charcoal, get free BBQ, and since charcoal is half price, that's pretty good, and fits the meat deal. And the $14 of meat receipt would count towards the meat purchase.

But we still have that $25 on $75 on meat, which I was so positive we would never use...purchase $75 in MEAT?????

But then Jeffrey asked me to show people how to cut costs shopping, so I did a free ham deal and a free chicken deal, and so much more, so now I have all these receipts, I probably have purchased that much meat! Yikes!

I have all you to thank for that, or DH does. He loves meat. Protein.

Of course, now we are having a bit of a disagreement...what to do with so much charcoal. Three years ago we were BBQing all the time, and bought up a bunch. DH left it under the BBQ cover over three winters of snow and ice, and three summers of heat and rain. So, *I* say it won't light, and we need to pitch (recycle). DH says it is still perfectly fine. We'll see...

In the meantime, he has been inspired to take the cover off, remove the wasp nests and what nots, and is scrubbing off the rust to refurbish and repaint. YEAH! BBQ! We've had POURING rain for two days, 7 inches in the last 24 hours, I think they said. I know it was 5 yesterday.

I spent the rest of the time in the store looking for the elusive Oreo coupon. A nice find, I posted, buy any two Oreos, any size, get $3.99 free milk. I didn't pick extra's up, because we don't eat oreos or milk, except when the kids are in. Turns out they are a hot item, and no one else seems to have them. So many requests.

The rest of the evening...chasing down coupon trains that have gone MIA.

Anyway, $75 to add to grocery challenge, and $26 dollars (haven't added in last one) to the $20 challenge.

Current savings:\\
2006 $20 challenge: $4802
2006 grocery savings: $6629

Okay, I'm a bit excited. I did a bit of spontaneous shopping to conclude the "article", and found some great savings. Shopping sales, using coupons, rebates, and relying on my own "store" of a.k.a. the stockpile, to suplement my purchases, I was able to purchase $600 of groceries for almost nothing.

Photos and receipts, and details are in the article, which Jeffrey has posted on www.grocerycouponguide.com, at

Success Story!

No brags, but I do hope that it's a bit inspiring. Those of you on our coupon trains know I don't cherry pick and keep the best coupons for myself, and I didn't "cheat" with free product coupons.

Lot of assistance from DH, who made sure we only purchased items WE can use (I think it's cheating to show great savings that you can't use yourself! Nothing wrong with giving away, but I want to show REAL LIFE savings).

For someone like me, who was spending $400 or more a week last year, no coupons or sales in sight, it's nice to see I can get back to the saving mindset.

And, turns out I'm SPENDING much less than I thought! I've been tracking the savings, but the spending is MUCH less than it was.

Hope you find it enlightening and inspiring!

I am getting better at reporting problems. I purchased 4 bags of salad greens at the store, only to find ONE expired that day. We were in a hurry, and I forgot to check.

I emailed Fresh Express. Even though I never received an email, today I received FOUR coupons for FREE product.

I hate complaining about things. I hate wasting money more. It's a huge leap for me to take the time to contact companies, but the rewards are definitely there.

I do enjoy contacting companies to tell them I love their products, and am so glad they are available. But, it still takes time, which is valuable in it's own right.

So far, I'm just accumulating the coupons and letters. DH will NEVER contact a company, no matter how much food we've thrown out or money we've wasted. But, he's budged a bit, to at least writing down package info if there's a problem. Hopefully after awhile I will have enough "rewards" accumulated for him to see that it does make a difference in our grocery budget. Or, maybe at the end, I'll see it's a wash. At the very least, I'll have a bit more discipline in focusing my produce choices BEFORE we spend the money.

A quick trip to the store, and a VERY grouchy clerk. I did redeem one of my Coke coupons, with MUCH ado from the staff. If I have time, I will contact Coke and let them know what a pain it is to redeem these!

Found a great sale, chicken, ham, dog food...spent under $9, and the receipt was $66 to start. Not bad!

I finally emailed the great savings day article to Jeffrey...it's long, with all the details. Hopefully it won't crash his computer! Or yours...although I am sure he will clean up any data overloads before he loads it onto the site.

So, I did indeed do my "standard savings", and documented it all with photos, receipts, and spreadsheets. Ick! But, it was good, too. Haven't allowed myself to shop in awhile.

So, now we are TRULY overstocked in our stockpile! Back to USE IT OR LOSE IT.

DH...well, we won't be taking any pictures of the stockpiles now! He's past embarrassed!

But tonight...tonight is SUSHI. Someone else is fixing, and I am taking some down time.

Been working on contacting manufacturers, good, bad, happy, sad...and most are sending coupons. Another big boo to THAT COMPANY...but YEAHS to so many more.

Nothing like getting a coupon for a FREE PRODUCT from a great brand.

Can you hear the article being written?

Now, just need to get the word processing worked out...

Well, given our trains desire for all things Pampers, as opposed to the other brands, I decided to look into the Pampers membership program (coupons and special offers). Hmmm...you need to have a baby, fair enough, and you need to provide the babies personal information. Why? Coupons and Other Special Offers and promotions are, according to Proctor and Gamble, timed to your babies specific needs. And, very limited. One coupon every few months. Contacting them, I was informed that coupons are available in the local papers, and privately issued coupons are available through the Pampers program as determined by the information you provide.

Hmmm...

And onto the other P&G products, Tide, Covergirl, Clairol, Dawn, Olay, Mr. Clean...I was informed that coupons are available in the PG saver newspaper inserts, and through special programs such as VocalPoint and individual clubs. Eligibility for coupons is at the discretion of Proctor and Gamble.

Which gets to my previous post...



http://flash.savingadvice.com/2006/06/13/proctor-and-gamble-coupons-at-will_10023/

While I'm becoming more aware of the black market for coupons, I am also seeing, perhaps, a bit of the "need" for the black market coupons. I do understand that you should have a baby to receive baby coupons...but why does MY AGE, or my marital status, or even my standards for being a "good wife" (i.e., obedient to my husband) determine my eligibility to receive coupons and special offers.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Proctor and Gamble manufacturers, well, a bit of everything, and probably something in everyone's household. Secret Deodorant, Pantene, Dawn, Clairol, Tide...and recently Gillette...etc.

I recently took two surveys, proportedly by P&G, signing up to receive promotions for products from two of their web sites.

Seemed simple enough...name, address, email, age...information required so that they can direct the "appropriate" offers to you. But I wonder, both asked for a rating on whether or not, and how strongly I felt, that married women should COMPLETELY OBEY their husbands.

An interesting question, and one that is frequently debated. Myself, well, being raised in a Mennonite community provides strong feelings, as does regularly counseling and supporting battered and abused women and children. I am intimately familiar with the many facets involved in this question.

But what does this have to do with P&G directing coupons or offers my way?

I was pondering this with a friend, who noted their new VocalPoint program. To quote from their site:

Vocalpoint is a unique marketing brand powered by the Procter & Gamble Company that helps companies do a better job developing products and services that moms care about and want to talk about.

We work with this influential group of moms to help companies in industries that include entertainment, fashion, music, food and beauty. We collect feedback and generate valuable knowledge and insight for our clients through surveys, product sampling and previews of products and services.

Procter & Gamble have offered a variety of freebies to people who enroll in VocalPoint. There is the potential to participate in future programs for new products. Members are promised new products to evaluate, free samples.

What they don't tell you, before you attempt to register, is that they are looking for female moms with chidren living at home between the ages of 5 and 19. Officially. Unofficially, my friend with son, younger than one, was accepted immediately, while another friend, with child age 6, but herself 45, was not.

I checked it out...and confirmed, it accepted a signup for identical information, children, etc., except for the age...seems to be a cutoff around 35 - 40.

So, are offers and coupons not "appropriate" for older Moms? Why are only Moms, not Dad's, included? And, why don't they indicate this before enticing you to provide your personal information?

Granted, they want actual information, not skewed to fit the requirements to get the freebies.

And what are the freebies? No one I know received the free samples, bundle of products or coupons. So far, a dozen flyers to pass out about a new tv show, a dozen recipe cards to pass out advertising a Blender. Product test? No. Coupons? Nope. Free samples? None I've heard of.

P&G indicates this program is to have Moms help with marketing of things Moms like. It appears that it has more to do with P&G marketing what they want to Moms.

I ask again, what does that have to do with receiving special offers? Special offers are, in fact, equivalent to coupons at will: as in "employee at will", there is no LEGAL requirement for ANYONE to receive offers. P&G is within their rights to single out whomever they want. They can provide offers, or they can deny them. At will. In whatever manner they deem reasonable.

Misleading, yes. Reasonable...I have my doubts.

Finally, few takers from our trains, so I traded them all for things on people's wish lists. Interesting pile of coupons I've never seen! Some that I have, of course, but many interesting ones. Trading for a POTLUCK, means the other person provides whatever they want to put together, and I've loved the surprises.

Now, what to do with things that aren't on wish lists...going to take time to update my haves list.

Pacific Train should go out tomorrow...

As I explore the possibilities of contacting manufacturers about their products, I am amazed at the graciousness and genorosity of some manufacturers, and the jadeness of others. The large companies are the worst, simply because they receive so many requests.

Purina, however, has always been good to me. Very suppotive, lots of answers to lots of questions. So...I asked them, giving my Corgi's love of CHEWING, how many busy bones he can eat. Dad here is feeding him TWO a day, which I think is a bit much, as the kibble bowl is all but discarded. However, the Corgi still prefers raw asparagus, spinach, carrots, and anything else from around my skirts as I cook. No accounting for taste.

And, the Corgi is almost full grown now. Not a year yet, but, well, he's stopped the pound a week growth spurt.

Purina responded that they are happy that he likes the treats but each one contains OVER 300 CALORIES and ADULT DOGS should not have more than ONE OR TWO a WEEK!!!

Hmmmm...

So, I was equally surprised when I posed a similar question to Nylabone, makers of Healthy Edibles. They have, in fact, designed their products to be digestible, and can be used to supplement kibble for the little chewing monster. They sent me the nutrition info, breakdown info, calorie info, information to check with my vet...and are sending a full supply of samples to help us out through the chewing monster's chewing.

I read the info. They ARE healthy, actually a bit better than the dog chow...hmmm...

Jeffrey got my husband's article up before he (Jeffrey) left for the US...

Grocery stockpiling, and savings, from my husbands perspective!

My DH's Guide to Stockpiling


Before you view the pictures...they were taken BEFORE yesterday's shopping and AFTER I have seriously been trying to use the stockpile up. And I do have other stashes that aren't getting photographed...like under the bathroom sink!

I needed a challenge today. Having a down day, and wanted a tangible success. And, I needed something interesting to blog about. The question was asked about how I shop/save/spend...so, I gave myself a challenge.

My challenge: get a months worth of stuff, or at least grocery products across the board (hey, I've already got a HUGE stockpile - one more tube of toothpaste and I'll be in the dog house with DH, and the freezer is PACKED), for as little as possible. Keeping it real.

Realism, well, I did NOT want to use any FREE PRODUCT coupons, or do anything that every one else can't do fairly painlessly, and routinely, once they have built up their savings muscles (good analogy, Baselle!) It's not real to save up all your super show stopper coupons and dump them down in one fell swoop and then claim the wonders of couponing.

Well, I do plan to do that for an article, but as a different challenge. Today was just, well, rather spontaneous.

So...here's what I brought back, for $27:



Yep, that's crab-stuffed fresh salmon, fresh organic beef, four pounds of premium bacon, fresh asparagus, corn, portabella mushrooms...peanuts for my dear squirrels, dog food, drinks, CheerFree, Dole...an array of what WE needed to balance our STOCKPILE.

Part of our three month plan.

How? It started this morning, got today's ad, nothing at all exciting, but I made a list, cross referenced against coupons and our stockpile/needs, and went out shopping, with DH in tow, of course.

The details, well, Jeffrey has requested an article, and it shall be coming once he is back and running. Stay tuned!

Back to the savings challenge:

Totals before savings, $310. So, saved $283.

Also received the Mopar rebate from the car...great and surprising find! $40

Current savings:\\
2006 $20 challenge: $4668
2006 grocery savings: $6370

Well, not quite, but even better.

My DH can only use Biotene mouthwash since his radiation treatments. It hasn't been easy to find locally, so I've been ordering from drugstore.com.

It's $7.29 a bottle. He uses 3 - 4 bottles a week.

I found it locally in limited quantity last week, at $7 a bottle. No shipping. But, alas, no coupons yet.

I contacted Biotene, and told them of my plight. Drugstore.com is a preferred vendor, linked and highlighted on their website. In my email to Biotene, I noted that I had purchased over 100 bottles from drugstore.com to date, and asked if they had samples or coupons available.

In their GREAT kindness, they are sending a free travel kit with all their products. Very nice.

Even better, and more surprising, Biotene responded that I could find their mouthwash much cheaper at Target.

It's around $5 there!

That's a minimum of $120 savings each year. That's BETTER than a one time coupon! And since I have contacted several other companies (crest, colgate, etc.) to see if their products would be suitable, and they aren't, it's a small miracle for us.

Of course, I received 3 travel kits for Tom's of Maine, valued at $10 each, which I have no use for. Stocking stuffers maybe? Hmmm...

One email, $120 a year.

Who knew!?!

Yesterday I received a pile of good coupons from a store, which I posted. $2 on any Huggies, including the wipes, which are on sale for $2 or so. No response from this site, or the trains...I know there is a huge preference between Pampers users and Huggies users, but hey, soap, bath mits...doggie wipes...

However, from another forum, I've been swamped! Requests for 50 - 100. Evidently they are selling on eBay hot and heavy.

Innocent me, I've never been a coupon trader, no experience, but my trains can always use good coupons if someone wants to trade...or just send a stamp to cover postage.

So, I've been getting IM popups faster than I can read my mail, look at a forum. Barely managed to log in. Amazing. I think my email has around 200 messages in it! When I ask, everyone says they personally use that many wipes in their stockpile, they aren't planning on selling them.

But it's been wild. I've started telling people I can only to 10 to a person, which sounds good, $20 in savings, right?

Most people are okay with it, some want MORE!

So, my random act of kindness to share what I can't use is, well, stressful. Serious coupon traders put wall street and minute traders to shame.

I'm still waiting to see if any member of our trains needs any before I donate them all to others and go back to having a normal life

One of my personal challenges this year is to stop just throwing out products that I try and can't use. It easy to just move on and take the financial loss, but much harder to live with the financial loss.

A few weeks ago, I received a free sample of a Dove facial cleanser. I liked it. It went on sale, I had a coupon...but the store didn't have it in stock. They did have a similar Dove product on sale, and that my coupon worked for, so I purchased it. But, when I used the cleansing pillow, it scratched my skin, and I promptly broke out in a rash.

I put it aside for a few days. But, I do have this commitment, and this blog to keep me committed (or to have me committed?). So, I emailed Dove about the problem.

Even I don't know everything that goes on in the marketplace. Turns out that Dove had a major recall of one of it's facial cleansers a few months ago. Completely unrelated, but...

I received via overnight express:

1. post-paid mailing address to return the product

2. full refund of the retail price, even though I had noted I used coupons and sales

3. four coupons for free full sized Dove products, retail over $20

4. a self-addressed envelope to send a note from my doctor in, should I wish any medical costs be reimbursed.

Hmmmm...

so I emailed P&G about the expired coupon they sent me. HOW RUDE OF THEM! They responded that it was in fact supposed to be a coupon for a free product, and they would send not only that free product coupon, but additional ones.

Piping up is paying off!

I won't add the $ to the challenge; I will be donating the coupons to the coupon trains.

I will be renewing my commit to contact the manufacturers when things don't work out. I don't plan to continue to MAKE money this way, but I don't plan on wasting as much, either.

It has been quite a week. I've just sent out another 10 welcome packets with free coupons to our two new trains. Now to get the trains going.

I've received several "requests", or rather DEMANDS, to join trains this week. Two actually thought the coupon trains were simply a package of free grocery coupons that go around. Wait. That IS what it is.

Except that you have to have coupons to replace the ones that you take out.

Flash is NOT a freebie!

I am a hopefully nice person with many coupons, who knows how to get coupons easily. Not printables, but good solid manufacturers coupons. Coupons for free products. Rebates for free products. Coupons for significant savings on your groceries. Refunds.

Coupons are just fertilizer for the budget, though. They aren't magic beans that grow savings while you aren't looking. Significant savings, consistently reaching 50-100% off your grocery bill, requires getting coupons, teaming them with sales and rebates, and stockpiling the great deals so you don't waste money down the road, after the sale or coupon has expired.

We have a site to teach you how to do this. Step by step.

www.GroceryCouponGuide.com


This is where the details on HOW and WHERE to get coupons, how to maximize your savings, how this whole system WORKS is located.

Me, I'm just a person. I just sent out 10 envelopes of coupons, at $10.77 of my money, to start two more trains. I'll be sending out the trains next week. I am HOPING that they are of great benefit to those that receive and use them.

I'm also hoping that everyone will use the grocerycouponguide.com site, and learn how to get great coupons specific to their needs for themselves.

My goal is not to feed you coupons for a day, but to teach you to fish for your own, and save for a lifetime.

So, join a train. But also use all the other techniques we are teaching you on the site. Otherwise, I'm just wasting web space.

Have you ever contacted a company, only to find that they claimed they didn't sell the product you were complaining about?

In all the merging and licensing, brands have gotten a bit confused!

For example, www.pillsbury.com is part of the Betty Crocker family, and includes offers for Pillsbury refrigerated and frozen products. Call to ask about their flour or baked goods, they will tell you it's not their product. No further advice given...Pillsbury Baking is a major competitor!

www.pillsburybaking.com is owned by J.M. Smuckers! They have their own site, their own newsletter, and their own offers.

Similarly, while Plaxtex continues to manufacturer personal and baby products, Plaxtex BRAS, including that 18 hour bra, is owned by...Sara Lee! As is WonderBra. (If the pound cake doesn't put the pounds on, the bra will?)

This creates a challenge in contacting manufacturers for compliments, complaints, requesting assistance, or even getting signed up for the right newsletter and offers!

To help out, we've compiled a list of major manufacturers, along with their brands, newsletters, and the contact pages for the main manufacturer as well as the individual brands. While Jeffrey is still compiling information into the site, the basics are up, and more are getting added regularly!

Find a Brand or Contact

I hope this helps

No, I'm not talking about decoupage or collages out of coupons...although those would be quite interesting...

...but with a bit of creativity, you can decorate your home from almost any grocers, for little to no money.

Almost every store, from your local convenience market, to the super market, to the super stores, have a range of office and home supplies. They are typically more expensive than at other stores, and a smaller selection, because they are available as a convenience. It's easier to pay $10 for a stapler while you pick up milk than to drive across down to the office supply discount store.

Enter the coupon. Catalina coupons, $5 -10 off on your next purchase at the store. Promotions, $10 off of a $20 purchase. Gift cards, $25 when you transfer a prescription. Wine tags frequently offer $5 off stationery supplies. And the seasonal back to school specials and promotions.

Instincts may tell you that you can't let that free money go to waste...and encouage you to SPEND $50 on something to use up that $5 coupon. This may be appropriate for you. But, if you are looking to decorate your walls, consider a few alternatives:


A coupon for a free 8 x 10 photo enlargement, with a frame on sale, and a $2 coupon..provide a free accent to any setting.





A photo taken from a $1 sale book; the store was also running a co-promotion with a craft store, $5 off any purchase, so the frame was...$2.




Calendars, 12 coordinated perfect photos, on clearance for $1. Mounted in frames from the store, $1 each.




Last, but a personal favorite...wallpaper border taken from a sample book. Sample books are given away free as new books come, and are loaded with beautiful pictures and coordinated sets. They can be easily mounted in that $1 frame, for a charming kitchen setting.




The mats in each of these pictures were less than 50 cents EACH; craft stores generally book the entire mat cost into custom frames, and sell the center cut as remnant for 10 cents or so, depending on the quality of the material. If you are willing to cut your own mats, this is a great savings!

DH needed to go into to town, to the bank, today, so I decided to tag along and check out the sales and new in store coupons.

Quite a few BBQ items are on sale for the holiday weekend. BOGO for Ball Park hot dogs, Hebrew National, and Hillshire farms. Coupons from Sunday's inserts, and a $10 rebate on $20 from sara lee (the manufacturer of all).

Rebates are separate from sales, and BOGO already puts everything half off. So the $10 on $20 of product is free in the end. But...DH and I were pretty tired from all that mulching, and in the end, we purchased $40 worth, which is $20 BOGO, but...

I have another rebate, $25 on $75 of meat, over a three month period. Rib Eye was also more than half off, and I had wine tags, courtesy of a friend at DAGG, for $ off any meat. So, we treated ourselves, well, DH. I'm not a huge meat eater.

Our total bill for the store was $123, but $42 after sales and coupons. I'm stocked on meat, but at $62 for this trip, a bit more over the next month, and I could get the $25 rebate. But, then I use up the receipt and rebate for Sara Lee. Hmmm...

I handed this one off to DH to figure out. FINDING deals, I'm good at, but CHOOSING, that's tough. Especially with MEAT, since deals, coupons, and rebates aren't that common.

Anyway for the grocery challenge, that's $81 saved (before rebates).

And, for this store, the years savings shows at the bottom of the receipt...over $1000 at this store. Last November when I started focusing on saving, sales, and coupons, the total for the year was less than $300.

Does shopping sales, using coupons, and stockpiling help with costs? Does for us!

YEAH

Current savings:\\
2006 $20 challenge: $4351
2006 grocery savings: $6096

Today in the mail, the free Trial Size of White and Shine, with a $1 coupon...goes nicely with the TRY ME FREE rebate they put out. I'm stockpiled on toothpaste right now, but the coupon is good until 12/31, and the rebate is good until '08. So, a deal for another day.

If you are signing up for freebies, don't forget to look for the coupons that may be included with the freebie. Manufacturers want you to try it...but they also want you to remember to BUY it next time you are in the store. The coupon is a walk-in reminder that you bring with you, so it's a great promotion for the manufacturer, and can be a great deal for you.

Well, Breyers has fully rolled out their summer line...with a $1 Smart Source in store (blinkie) coupon.

The fruit swirl bars are currently on sale for $3 or more each; I still have that rain check for 10/$10. When the 75 cents coupon came out in inserts, I said I was waiting for the $1 coupons..and now it's here!

It's rude to hover over a coupon machine, but, well, I did! I rarely do this, but it's one product that we treat ourselves to every night.

I didn't purchase them, though. Not yet. The rain check doesn't expire for a year, the coupons are good through the end of July, and I've got a full freezer right now.

But patience, diligence, and watching the trends have paid off!

I still have 3 coupon for FREE $6 ice packages from Breyers, just for emailing them. Not going to waste FREE product coupons on products that are ALREADY free!

Got to know when to hold 'em...know when to fold 'em...know when to walk away...

I eat yogurt almost every day, and this week I had one coupon for Activia and one for Yoplait. So, I bought both. They both have active cultures, both yogurt, healthy immune system stuff, right?

Evidently the two cultures don't like each other and have declared war in me. AGH.

Guess one time when brand loyalty would have paid off.

I have been trying to use up part of my stockpile. But, the purpose of stockpiling is to stock up when prices are at their lowest, then ride out the high priced days without spending. So...I did break down and SHOP some of the seasons sales.

The first store had some good sales...Oust for $3, but I had $2 coupons, so $1 each. Wishbone, not my favorite salad dressing, but a few flavors are okay, and BOGO plus a $1 coupon came to FREE (it actually printed that on my receipt, since the price was less than 0). Lipton sides, 10 for $10 means $1 each, and doubling a 50 cent coupon...FREE.

And so it went.

Total before savings: $87
Total AFTER sales/coupons: $17

AND...$7 catalinas good on next purchase of anything at the store.



Second store, well, I did go back to Safeway with my coupons to see if they had restocked the clearance items...and they had! $72 of spices, $8. Okay, I bought 2 apple fritters too...$9 total.

Total before: $72
Total after: $9

Total Savings: $159 for $26, $133 saved. I sense another article coming out of this...

Current savings:\\
2006 $20 challenge: $4351
2006 grocery savings: $6015

It's summer kickoff weekend, and while the coupons and sales may not be quite as dramatic as in the coming weeks, there are still deals to be found.

This weeks inserts feature savings on hot dogs, sausages, etc. Also, a hidden rebate!

Go to

http://www.saraleefoods.com/pdf/10_rebate_form.pdf

$10 rebate on $20 of Sara Lee, Hillshire Farms, Ball Park Franks, and Bryan.

Note that this rebate is good until July...so wait for the deals you want. But don't forget the rebates!

Well, I signed up for the healthy newsletter with Simple Green, and they are emailing me once a week with info and printable coupons...if I can't print, they will mail!

Claritin, DH uses, signed up for their weekly forecast, and every Thursday it comes with a printable for $3 off.

The list goes on....and so I've compiled a list of some of the major newsletters and their sign up url's.

Combo Newsletters

Quite a few individual products have their own newsletters and contacts, so I'm compiling that, too. Last December, it took me over AN HOUR to get past the Pepsi Virtual Assistance to get an email/phone contact info...so that will be posted soon...but as you can imagine, there are quite a few sites to get through first.

And, for those of you who want to know more about all those in-store coupon sources I find, an article with GRAPHICS (thanks Jeffrey!!!) on what to look for...

In Store Coupons

I hope this is helping you find GREAT coupons and deals.

We've been trying to live off of the stockpile, but there are some things, well...the point of stockpiling is to keep a stockpile at the best price possible.

So, today, we took the sale circular, made a list, coordinated it with the coupons, a $10 g/c from Club Mom points, and...

Total before savings: $95
Total after sale/coupon/gc: $24

Savings: $71

And, several of the items have coupons on the boxes for future savings!

Current savings:\\
2006 $20 challenge: $4346
2006 grocery savings: $5896