I did it....

I can't believe I've waited this long in my couponing career to finally figure this out... What was I thinking?

Many of you know that some grocery stores around give gas points.  I've never paid much attention to the promotion because there aren't any within 20 miles of my home and I've never known  anyone to do them.  UNTIL NOW!!!  I'm hooked.  It did take me a couple of weeks of reading peoples experiences, shopping trips and asking lots of questions, but I've figured it out and I CAN'T BE STOPPED!!!

This week Giant is running 2 gas promotions where you buy x number of products and get x of gas.  Without too many details, here is how I got

• 12 Ziploc Bags
• 16 Campbell Soup
• 2 PopTarts
• 8 Boxes of Pasta
• 24 Propel Fitness Waters
• 20 Pack of Diet Coke
• 3 Bottles of Windex
• 1 Bag of Chips
• 5 Scrubbing Bubbles Cleaners
• 8 Boxes of Frosted Mini Wheats
• and a bag of Bananas

FOR $1.19

It says I paid $0.02 but I really didn't.

WHAT - I know what you are thinking.

I did a total of 11 deals for a up to $3.70 off per gallon.  I paid out of pocket $79.61 with very few coupons.  I then went to the gas station and filled up my Mini Van (I have twins) and then filled up my 5 gallon gas tank (that I purchased at Walmart for $16.xx) for a total of 21.608 gallons.  I could have gotten up to 30 gallons but my car wasn't completely empty.  I was shooting for 25 gallons.  Oh well.  Next week I will master this part.

I took a picture of my 2 Giant receipts and my gas station receipt to show, but you can't really see.  Here is what it says:
Shopping Trip 1: $59.60
Shopping Trip 2: $20.01
Gas Station:  You redeemed 3629 gas extra rewards points for a savings $3.63 per gallon totaling $78.42 this purchase.
Gas - Shopping Trips = $1.19



NOW ASK YOURSELF, WOULD I PAY $1.19 FOR ALL THAT?







Some other tidbits:

• This was a Giant of PA, NOT Maryland (Maryland is slightly different as you can only get up to $2.20 off per gallon)
• Yes, I am obsessed
• Here is a great site to help you learn more:  ForTheMommas, just look for Giant deals
• The closest Giant of PA is in Jennersville near the hospital
• The closest Giant Gas Station is in New London (actually Kennett Square)
• No, I did not buy needless stuff just to get free gas, these are all things my family will use
• You have to have gas to go places, why not get it for FREE or darn close to it
• Yes, I sit at home most days couponing in my head
• I actually earned an additional discounts of $5.00 from SavingsStar bringing my total to a moneymaker of $3.81.  I didn't want to complicate the story too much.
• You can do it too

Circus discount time

Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Present Built to Amaze in Baltimore from March 26th through April 6th.

AND THERE IS A COUPON:  They have Buy One Ticket, Get One Free going on.  You have to use code SUNBOGO at Ringling.com and use it before 3/22/14.  Oh and, i


We took Gemma last year in Philadelphia and got amazing seats and it was really fun.  Get there early and go down to the floor and visit with the clowns and animals.

Cheap and Easy Kelloggs Cereal Deal

At Martin's this week (Giant), if you buy 4 Kellogg cereals, you get $6.00 off instantly.  In addition to that, there is a $3.00 off your next order coupon that will print out of the Catalina machine when you buy 4 cereals.   So here is how I got 8 boxes for FREE:

My Shopping Trip from Martins and ACME - $9.18 total

Buy 4 Kellogg Frosted Mini Bites $2.50 each
$10.00 total
Get $6.00 off instantly
$4.00 total
Use $1 off 3 coupon from the 3/2 Red Plum Coupon Insert or print one out here (if you don't have this, the deal still rules as you would pay $.25 each)
Pay $3.00 
Get $3.00 coupon off your next order to use on whatever you'd like
FREE


Then use that coupon to do it again or buy things you need and were going to buy anyways like my eggs and butter above.

You don't have to get Frosted Mini Wheat, any Kellogg cereal will work, just look for the tags.  They just happened to be the least expensive.  So say you buy 4 cereals at $3.50 each with no coupons, here is how the deal would pan out:

4 Kellogg cereals $3.50 each
$14.00 total
Get $6.00 off instantly
Pay $8.00
Get $3.00 coupon off your next order
$1.25 each - Still better than full price.

There is no limit to the number of times you can do the deal, but only do one deal at a time to get the $3.00 off coupon.  Happy Cereal Shopping.

My freezer deal from Martin's

I finally made it out and got my own freezer deal at Martins this week.  Here is everything I purchased:

5 Toaster Strudels - $2.00 each - I used $2.00 worth of coupons from 1/5 SS and one from a cereal box
1 New York Texas Toast -$3.19 - I used $.80 worth of coupons from here
1 Super Pretzel - $2.00 - I used $1.00 worth of coupons from the 3/9 RP
4 Eggo French Toast -$2.00 each - I used $2.25 worth of coupons from collecting codes at Kelloggs Rewards
1 McCains Fries - $1.66
1 Lenders Bagel - $1.50

My total before coupons was $26.35, - $15.00 instant discount and my coupons = $5.10 for 13 items.  Needless to say, I'M GOING BACK FOR MORE!!!

If you are still coupon shy, you can make the same purchase and only pay $11.35 for 13 items with out any coupons.  That is still a deal.

I'm a stay at home mom, so how did I earn a paycheck?

Some of you know that I am a stay at home mom to three children.  Truly stay at home, no extra income. 

 But last week, I earned a paycheck... not an employment check, but a SHOPPING CHECK... I've said it before and I'll tell you again in hopes that you can get paid for doing something that I know you are doing.

Insert Ebates.com  Ebates is a website that allows you to earn a percentage of your total shopping purchase when you shop online at stores that they participate with.  It is super easy and does not cost anything to use.  Since I've started using Ebates in 2010, I've earned $60.00.  Now I know that doesn't sound super impressive (I don't do a lot of online shopping) but $60.00 is a huge chunk of money.  Think of it as 1 single drop of Propane (that was a joke) or half of your cable bill.

Imagine if you will... Gemma needs t-ball pants.  I'm going to buy them from Wal-Mart.  I go to Ebates.com, type in Wal-Mart.  I see that they are offering 2% back right now on purchases.  Awesome.  I click on the link, they direct you to the Wal-mart website.  Shop and check out as you normally would with any promo codes, coupons, sales, etc.  In this instance, I would ship it to the store so that I could save on shipping.  

Please select Ship to Home or Store Pickup

Cart Items	Ship to Home or Store Pickup?	Price	Quantity	Total
Wilson Sporting Goods Youth Baseball Pull-Up Pants with Full Elastic Waistband Color: GREY Size: Small Save for later | Remove	Ship to Home Arrives 3/21–3/25 with Value Shipping Select faster shipping speeds during checkout See arrival date details Store Pickup — Free Ready for pickup starting 3/26 See store details - confirm location in checkout	$9.50	Update	$9.50

In this example, I pay $9.50 to Wal-Mart.  Pick up my pants for free.  Earn 2% back through Ebates.  ($.19)  So this isn't a big spender example, but just a quick easy example of something

The savings add up until it is payday.  They automatically mail you out a check.  You'll forget all about the check until it comes and then you'll be so super duper excited that you got paid to shop.

If you sign up under my link, they'll reward me handsomely and I'll love you forever.

Martins Freezer Deal

Click here for the online version.

Like the awesome freezer deals two weeks ago at Martins (remember the ice cream???)   Here is another really simple deal that anyone can do - NO COUPONS NEEDED!

Martins is running a promotion that if you purchase $25.00 worth of select frozen food items, you can get $15.00 off instantly.  How much easier can it get?


So, here is a deal that I've put together for one of my best friends:

Buy 13 Eggo Waffles at $2.00 each
Total: $26.00
Get $15.00 off instantly
Pay $11.00 for 13 boxes of Eggo's.

That is $.84 a box.  How cool is that?

EDIT: I need to go to the store to check, I didn't read close enough, it may just be Pancakes, French Toast and Mini Muffin Tops as listed in the ad.  I will check in the store and report back.  Reporting back: one of my coupon-er friends has confirmed that the waffles are not included, but still a banging sale with French Toast.

Now that is just one example, you can mix and match with all of the items and you can do the deal as many times as you'd like.  I would do them in separate transactions to minimize confusion.  And if you're really feeling a challenge, through in a few coupons to spice it up.

EDIT:  Also, if you are looking to create your own deal using coupons, there are printable coupons here for the following items:

• Farm Rich Appetizers
• New York Texas Toast
• Weight Watchers
• El Monterey 
• Bob Evans Breakfast Foods

Check out my friend Megan's trip, where she paid $6.xx for all of this:

A Challenging Goal and My Grocery Budget for February

During the month of February, I set myself a pretty challenging goal:

 ONLY SPEND $200.00 

ON GROCERIES, TOILETRIES, DIAPERS, WIPES, CLEANERS

 AND ANYTHING YOU THINK YOU WOULD BUY AT THE STORE.  

$200.00 for a family of 5, two of which are in diapers and five of us that really like to eat.  You read that right.  Of course I used coupons and shopped the sales and became completely obsessed with reaching this goal.... Here are some pics of the grocery shopping trips - you know I like to take pics.

So, I'm sure you wanna know - Did I do it?  Well.... ALMOST.  I went over in a moment of weakness.  I put off getting somethings that I had to have in a timely manner and then I ended up picking up a few other things that I didn't really plan for and what do you know, I went over by $32.66.   BUT I SAVED OVER $800.00.  Here is the breakdown:

Date	Store	Original Price	Out of Pocket	$ Savings	% Savings
2/7/2014	ShopRite		$54.92	$68.40
2/7/2014	Weis		$5.58	$30.50	84
2/7/2014	Food Lion		$3.30	$1.87
2/8/2014	ShopRite		$10.32	$62.57
2/10/2014	CVS		2.48 GiftCard	$19.59	89
2/11/2014	Walgreens		3.88 GiftCard, .91	$7.18	60
2/11/2014	ACME	$1.79	$0.00	$1.00	100
2/11/2014	Walgreens		$2.00	$6.38	76
2/11/2014	ShopRite		$17.62	$80.14
2/11/2014	Martins		$2.00
2/12/2014	Rite Aid		13.77 GiftCard
2/14/2014	Food Lion		$4.62	$14.50
2/14/2014	Walgreens		$1.72	$13.88	91
2/15/2014	ShopRite		$17.75	$83.13
2/15/2014	Food Lion		$4.40	$16.38
2/15/2014	Martins		$2.50	$0.49
2/18/2014	Food Lion		$5.45	$13.00
2/19/2014	ShopRite		$18.29	$105.51
2/21/2014	Rite Aid		1.34 GiftCard
2/21/2014	CVS		.86 GiftCard 6.84	$19.60	74
2/21/2014	ShopRite		$10.13	$98.75
2/22/2014	ACME		$8.55	$12.90	60
2/22/2014	Martins		$32.49	$3.69
2/24/2014	Martins	$29.97	$10.92	$19.05
2/25/2014	ShopRite		$11.79	$71.16
2/25/2014	Walgreens		1.39 GiftCard
2/25/2014	Walgreens		$2.68	$9.89	75
2/26/2014	Rite Aid		5.30 GiftCard
2/27/2014	ShopRite		$3.45	$62.16
2/27/2014	Martins	$9.43	$2.18	$7.25
Date	Store	Original Price	OOP	Savings	% Savings
			$232.66	$828.97

What I've learned for March - 

• I need a slightly bigger budget.  After all, March has 31 days.  So I'm shooting for $250.00.
• I'm super thankful for ShopRite and there dollar doubles promotion.
• I go to the store a lot.  Thanks to my wonderful husband for working so hard so that I can do that.  
• Saving money is an awesome feeling.
• I think I like budgets.
• Cash is the way to go.  It is so easy to see what you have remaining when it is right in front of you. 
• I need to go buy some Diet Coke - I just drank the last one! 

There's still time for Ice Cream... Hurry

Martins is running the freezer deal through today.  Here is a deal for you:

Buy 8 Ice Creams at $2.50 each
Total - $20.00
Get $10.00 off instantly, no coupons, just use your bonus card.
Pay $10.00 for 8 Cartons of Ice Cream - only $1.25 each