This week's steals and deals....so far :)

I have so many requests from you all about how to do "the coupon-ing stuff". I will tell you my biggest secret....RESEARCH! Every good thing takes time, patience and diligence. It is the same for savings. I seriously do this as my one hobby!! In the beginning, it took a lot (A LOT) of time to sit down, research the internet, go through the coupons, match them with the sales, run around to different stores, etc. Now, it is much easier, quicker and less running around. It has only taken about 2 months and I now can say it was worth the effort. I can very easily pick put deals now while I am actually in the stores and find them on my own! I still read through blogs (like the ones I listed to the left) to get a quick list for the grocery store and the "hidden" deals at drugstores, but I am also able to pick up some "on-the-fly" deals and freebies all on my own now! Like last night, on my way home, I stopped at Walgreens to quickly go in and get some of my "planned" deals. I ALWAYS go straight to the clearance section and look. I found some M&M Premiums for $1.00 and I knew I had a $1.00 Q with me....even better was that EACH M&M I bought produced a $1.00 Walgreens Register Reward!! So, I got 5 boxes (that's all the coupons I had) for FREE and MADE $1.00 off each one!! I found that all on my own! So, with some patience, researching the internet and organization, you can all save money and start your own stockpile! For those of you in a small area, there are still GREAT deals to be had, you just have to look for them. A good website to go to for grocery lists and coupon matchups for Winn Dixie and Wal-Mart are here. Sarah does a great job at listing them for you. One last thing I have forgot to mention (which is ACTUALLY the biggest part) YOU HAVE TO GET YOUR SUNDAY PAPER!! Get several if you want to be able to get several deals. I hear sooooo many people say "I got the paper and I don't see any good coupons for any of the sales". Well, MOST of the time, you will not use the coupons the week you get them. Usually the deals will come later and you have to be ready with your coupons! I diligently get my paper every Sunday and put them in a new, marked, dated plastic file. There are many methods people use for coupon organization, you will have to pick which one works best for you. You can find the various ones by searching for coupon binders or searching some of the great blogs I have on here. Again, I will say it IS work and takes patience, but it will pay off if you stick with it and take the time to do it!!
Here are my deals since Sunday.....
The totals listed are BEFORE tax...in TN, you have to pay tax on the value of the coupon, some states you don't have to, wish TN was one!! So, my totals are before taxes or what I paid for the products.

CVS (not much here this week)

4-PAAS egg dying kits
2- Aveeno anti-itch creams
1- Softsoap Ensembles base
1-Softsaop Ensembles refill base
2-Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom Cleaner (not in picture)
Total = $2.44
Savings = $35.46

PUBLIX (I did this last night and even shocked myself with the cost!!)

1-1 pound Boars Head deli turkey meat
1-Enfamil Formula (Emmie is going to start this next week...YAY)
6-Knox Gelatin
2-Coffee Mate Creamer
1-Publix Brand Salad Dressing
5-Gerber (Twin Packs) Baby Food
Total = $0.06...That's right, 6 CENTS..LOL
Savings = $37.94

WALGREENS


5-M&M Premium Chocolates
6-Shimmer Chapsticks
5-Softsoap Body Washes
4-Glade Soy Candles (these smell so good)
4-Oust Sprays
5-Edge Shaving Gel
2-Skintimate Shaving Gels
16-Mentos Gum
Total = $0.72
Savings = $106.83

Target (don't have a picture)
1-Pledge Multi Surface Duster Starter Kit
2-Pledge Multi Surface Duster Refills
4-Pledge Extra Hydrating Dust Spray
2-Intuition Razors
Total = $1.23
Savings = $34.25

Total Paid = $3.80
Savings = $214.48
98% SAVINGS

Sometimes, seeing IS believing, so I thought I would post my actual PUBLIX receipt from last nights trip. I would post some Walgreens, but I do so many transactions and have too many receipts to list.

Lastly, another FIRST for Emmie last night....she got to ride in the shopping cart at PUBLIX!! Since she is sitting up now, I thought I'd try her sitting in the cart and she absolutely LOVED it! She smiled, coo-ed and laughed the WHOLE, entire time we were in there. It took me twice as long because EVERYBODY had to stop and talk to her and she just had herself the best time!! It was so funny and cute, I wish I had a video camera with me because she was just so HAPPY to be riding in the cart. I took a picture with my cell phone to post....

I wish I were that happy to go into the grocery store! :)

I also wanted to say to Christy & Matt...I am so proud of them for joining in on the fun (they BOTH have been doing the coupons with me and are really starting to rack up on the deals too!!) She NEEDS to post about hers...LOL

Emmie's New Highchair

This weekend Emmie got her own highchair from MeMe!! She loves it and I LOVE it too!! Emmie is starting to eat like a "big girl" from her highchair and loves it. She has been eating food for about a month now and loves, loves, loves food! We actually have to limit how much we feed her because she will eat and eat until we stop and then she won't take any milk! She was waking up at night again to eat the last couple of weeks and we figured out it was because she was simply thirsty from not drinking enough during the day. She was eating a jar of fruit AND veggie for lunch AND dinner and oatmeal and banana for breakfast!! After eating all that, she wouldn't take much milk, so we have cut back to only feeding her half jar of fruit and veggie for dinner and only milk for lunch!! That has worked and she is now doing better about sleeping through the night without wanting to eat!
AND this week she has learned to sit up by herself!!! It is amazing how fast she learned to do it! Just this week she started sitting up for a few seconds and then would fall over. By this weekend she started sitting up by herself AND playing with toys in front of her!! Just amazing how fast she is growing, I know she will be crawling/walking before long!! Here are pictures from her new highchair enjoy!!

Savings Update

Before I get into the savings, I wanted to post this picture of Miss Emmie for her Grandaddy and Grandmother....she's going to be next in line (after Ellie, of course :) for their little cowgirl-in-training (the shirt says "Cowgirl in charge")!!


"(GASP) Mr. Horsey!? You can't get ALL my sweet kisses and hugs! We have to save some for Miss Shonna!!" LOL


So, I now have everyone emailing me all the time asking how my "coupon-ing" is going. So, over the weekend I decided to get out my receipts and do a total. I have only started saving my receipts over the last month and a half, so my "actual" savings is probably 1.5 times this total! I didn't even realize how unbelievable I had been doing with my shopping, but the numbers speak for themselves!! Plus, I have sent out many receipts for rebates, so those haven't been calculated in either. So, grand total since (about) February 1......
Spent OOP (out of pocket) = $378.90
Saved = $2,216.41
85% Savings!!!!
So, just an FYI, this is literally EVERYTHING I have bought over the last month and a half, INCLUDING ALL groceries!!! I used to spend at least $100 per WEEK on groceries alone!! Not including Diapers, wipes, etc. With Emmie, it was easily $150/week!!! Now, I have spent less than half that, but in addition, I have LITERALLY stocked my entire house with EVERYTHING and stocked my sisters house, my moms house and sent my brother stockpiles!! No one and I MEAN NO ONE in my family will have to buy toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, toothbrushes, mouthwash, lotion, all kinds of household cleaners (and tons of other things) for MONTHS and even upwards of a year!!! So, NOW that everyone is "stocked" up, I will REALLY be saving the money because I won't have to buy this stuff for a very long time!!
And you may be thinking, "Well, all that stuff is probably junk or no-name brand stuff".......My sister didn't believe me when I first started telling her all the INSANE deals and free things I was getting on GREAT products (Everything is brand name like Dove, Garnier, Loreal, Crest, Irish Spring, Caress, Gillette Shampoos/Conditioners/Body Wash, Axe, Schick Razors, Tide, Dawn, Vaseline, Huggies, Clorox, Lysol, etc.) UNTIL I sent the first stockpile home with my mom a few weeks ago. She is a very, very skeptical person when it comes to coupons and how much you really save and how much stuff you get that you really would have bought anyway. But, let me tell you, she is a FIRM believer now!! LOL She almost fell out when she saw everything!!

After saying all that, I HAVE to tell you about my absolute FAVORITE shopping deal YET!! 2 weeks ago, Walgreens had a great deal on Huggies jumbo packs of diapers and jumbo packs of wipes. You buy $25 worth and get $10 Walgreens Register Rewards back (money to spend on ANYTHING in any Walgreens store). There were some amazing Huggies Coupons out that I had from myself, Nikki, momma, Paul and Linda (my neighbor) printed from the Internet to have tons of them! Well, the bottom line on this deal.....I spent $57.70 TOTAL OOP and got BACK $70 in Walgreens Register Rewards PLUS $19 cash (a rebate check)!! Here's what I got:
16 - Jumbo packs of Huggies Diapers
8 - Jumbo Packs Walgreens brand diapers
5 - Jumbo Packs Huggies wipes (5 refill packets each)
Yes, I MADE $31.03 plus walked away with about 5-6 Months supply of diapers and about a years worth of wipes!!! Can we say C-R-A-Z-Y!!!! I even bought a few size 3 diapers because I was afraid Emmie may not even USE all these before she moves into a size 3, so I have a good stash started for that size already!
Here is the diaper stockpile (ONLY a mother could say this about diapers, but I am so proud of it!!) LOL BTW, when I took this picture this morning, I have already opened some of the Huggies and sent some to daycare, so there was even more than pictured!!

And here is ONE of FIVE stockpile closets at MY house (this doesn't even BEGIN to touch how much I have sent back home!)

Don't think it can get any better....I have started a UPROMISE account and have ALREADY gotten $30 in it for Emmie's College. If I average this out (and continue on this course), I will have saved $4,320 of FREE money for Emmie's college fund just for buying my regular groceries and toilettries!! If you don't have one of these for your kids, you should definitely look into it!! It is a great way to save for college and you don't have to do ANYTHING except your normal shopping!!
So, with all this being said (this one took a while!! :).....the next time you are in a shopping line behind someone with coupons and maybe it takes a little bit longer to check out...don't huff and be so impatient, smile and know they are doing a good thing for their family and probably others also!!

Just a cute little slideshow!

I took some more pictures of Miss Emmie this morning and came up with the funniest little captions for it!! You HAVE to read the captions with the pictures, they are too cute!! If only we could hear what babies are thinking........LOL
Hope it puts a smile on your face like it did mine (Who am I kidding, Emmie ALWAYS puts a smile on my face!!)

Emmie

Here are some recent pictures (this morning!) of Emmie Nicole. I woke up sleeping beauty to do a quick photo shoot before we started our day. She is such a sweet baby and is such a sweet morning person! I just LOVE seeing her beautiful, smiling face in the morning. Many of you know, I am BY FAR, NOT a morning person, but Emmie is starting to change that! I look forward to seeing her every morning (even when she keeps me up all night!! LOL) Enjoy!

6 Months old!!

So, sorry I haven't posted lately, been busy busy!! Emmie turned 6 months old on Monday!! Time is flying by! She is eating her feet, hands, toes and anything else she can get to her mouth!! She is smiling, laughing, playing and melting my heart each and every day. I think she is starting to get into "I want mommy" stage. Sometimes when Paul or anyone else is playing/holding her and she gets fussy, I will go get her and like magic, she is all better! She is starting to "reach" for me/Paul when we go up to her or when I walk in the door at daycare, she just goes nuts smiling and giggling and reaching until I come pick her up. She looks when you call her name and is really starting to grab and play with toys. She started eating some fruits and veggies, but still mostly nurses from me. When I'm around, she will NOT eat food, but when I'm not around (at daycare, etc) she barely takes her bottle now?! So, I am going to try and start weaning her to a bottle/food only over the next few weeks. I look forward to not having to be so restricted on going out and about to hurry and get back before her feeding schedule, but I will admit, I am kinda sad to "let go" of that special bonding time she and I have together when she nurses. After work, I enjoy just talking to her and having some quiet time after a long, hard day at work.
Anyway, we went to the doctor today and she is just growing perfectly and is a healthy little baby. Still small for her age in the weight, but her height is GREAT. Here are her measurements:
Head - 41 cm (12%)
Weight - 13 lbs. 2 oz. (6%)
Height - 25.5 in (40%)
She is just amazing and I fall more and more in love with her every single day! I haven't been doing a great job of taking pictures lately, but I will take some over the weekend and post them early next week!! Hope you all have a great weekend!