Yard Sales and Moving

Many of you know, but our family is getting ready to move from NC to NJ. Yes, I said we are moving TO New Jersey, for my job but also to be near family in the South Jersey area. This is the reason my blog has been silent lately, so I apologize to you and to myself for being a less than savvy shopper...when my HT receipt the other day only said I saved $14 I was quite sad! I'm hoping to pick it up again in a couple months once we are settled up there - though I'm sure I'll be blogging about Wegman's and Shoprite instead of HT...

Anyway, we are having a yard sale next week and we are pricing out trucks and storage containers and things of that nature. Anyone have any comments about having a yard sale? Any savings tips for moving? We are packing ourselves and renting our own truck since our furniture will not be coming with us for the time being. Love your thoughts!

Super Doubles at Harris Teeter TOMORROW!

Just a heads up!

LOFT - 60% sale stuff!

Go online and check it out! 60% is the most I've seen off the sale stuff at LOFT lately - they do the 40 and 50% off sales kind of regularly.

Free Photo Books! Snapfish and Walgreens

You can get a free 8x10 hardcover photo book via Snapfish.com with the code YAYFREEBOOK. You can also try the code SOAPBOOK to get another one, but I think that deal ends today. You still have to pay shipping, but these books are usually $30 PLUS 6.99 shipping. With this deal, you just pay the 6.99 (+tax) Great present for Valentine's Day!

At Walgreens.com, you can get a free purse-sized photo book with the code "PURSE" - same rules about shipping apply.

Target Coupon and some HT deals

Just wanted to remind everyone - there's a $5 off $50 or more worth of groceries at Target coupon that was mailed out earlier in the week (if you're on their mailing list). That could be great if you shop at Target for groceries, OR you can use that coupon at Harris Teeter since they take competitor coupons that are for an amount off your total order. You may need to remind the checkout person of this policy if they tell you they don't take those coupons, and typically the manager has to come override, but, hey, it's 5 bucks!

Also, for anyone interested in making Fatacurritos - HT flour tortillas, dice tomatoes with chiles (canned), Kraft shredded chedar, McCormick chili/taco seasoning, and black beans are all on sale this week. Combine with last weeks ground turkey deal and you could make some great chili OR some great Fatacurritos. Your call. Another option is to combine some of these thing with this week's Meal Deal - free eggs with purchase of Simply Hashbrowns, HT bacon, and a frying pan - add beans, tomatoes, and tortillas and you've got Huevos Rancheros or a breakfast burrito. Lots of options!

I'll let you know how my trip goes later. :-)

HT This Week and Fatacurritos

Still behind with the blogging - but I saved $95 this week (spent $156). I think we're definitely stocked up on meat! It's a good week for those deals. Most of my deals were sale-related this week - I used a bunch of coupons but it was mostly for things we needed that were not on sale. I had several personalized eVIC specials this week (one that allowed me to get free Kraft Singles cheese with coupon for 75cents off) but I didn't include those since others won't be able to get them. Don't forget to sign up for eVIC specials and coupons so you get your own personal deals! Match them with coupons from Sue Stock's database or with printable coupons from the manufacturer's website or coupons.com. Couponing101.com is a great place to find printables, not just for groceries!

Meat deals:

Chuck roast, London Broil, and Top Round are all BOGO
93% lean ground turkey

Recipe: Loveli-Mom's Fatacurritos

Ground turkey great for tacos or "fatacurritos" which were created in our house when we had some ingredients for fajitas, tacos, and burritos, but couldn't decide on just one. Use large flour tortillas, black beans, rice, ground turkey taco meat, sauteed bell peppers and onions, lettuce, tomato, salsa, sour cream. Feel free to experiment.

Other deals:

Goldfish Crackers are 10 for $10 - the only time these are ever cheaper is for the Kroger 88 cents sale, and I haven't seen that in a while.

Coke 12 packs were 1.88 eVIC special on Saturday only (sorry I didn't give you the heads up) - I think the sale price is 3 for $11 tho.

HT beans are only 50 cents a can. Good time to stock up (or make the above recipe)

Mission Tortilla Chips are BOGO

Gold Bond Hand Lotion with sanitizer - orig. 9.99, sale 6.99 plus $1 off cpn = 5.99

All La Brea Bread is 50% off

Nature's Path Organic Flax Waffles (K loves these) are usually 3.45 per box but on sale 3 for $5

Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches are usually 5.85 (what??) and were on sale for 3.99.

Sargento Shredded cheese usually 3.39, on sale for $2

Horizon half gallon organic milk with DHA - orig. 4.19, sale 3.99 - cpn from Horizon's website for 55 cents x2 = 2.89

Thomases English Muffins were BOGO

Back on the Wagon - HT Super Doubles! 1/8/11

I'm finally back on the wagon after lots of travel for the holidays - $166 spent, $126 saved! And $40 worth of that savings was from coupons. Here were some of the deals:

Super Doubles:

Special K Deal - Special K Cereals and Cereal bars and crackers are on sale 2 for $5 - if you buy 4 items you get the 5th one free. Plus there were $1 off coupons this past Sunday for those that double. So in total you can get 5 items for $6.

Mueller's pasta - several are $1 each and there was a $1 off 2 cpn this past Sunday that doubles to make them free.

Regina Red Wine Vinegar - printable cpn for $1 off x2 makes it 35 cents

Campbells Healthy Request soups are 2 for $3 - cpns for $1 off 2 (printable) make them 50 cents each

Mrs. Butterworth syrup - orig. 3.35, sale 2.99 - printable cpn for $1 x2 - 99 cents

Johnson and Johnson baby wash - orig. 4.29, sale 2 for $6, printable cpns for $1 off x2 = $1

La Brea Bread baguettes- orig. 2.99, BOGO - printable $1 off 2 doubled makes them 50 cents each

Weight Watchers snack cakes and cookies - orig. 3.99 - sale BOGO - printable $1 off 2 doubled makes them $1 each

Tyson frozen Chicken Nuggets (bag) - orig. 6.55, sale 5.55 -$1 off peelie cpn (x2) from the penguin in the frozen food section makes them $3.55 each

Jello Pudding cups - orig. 3.29 , sale BOGO, printable cpn for $1 off 2 doubled makes them 65 cents each

Horizon Milk (1/2 gallon with DHA) orig. 4.19, sale 3.99, printable cpns for $1 off on Horizon website (x2) = 1.99 per half gallon

Other good deals:

Hormel Black Label bacon - BOGO
HT chicken breast - Buy 1 get 2 free
Old Orchard Juice buy 2 get 3 free

Super Double Coupons at HT this week!

Ok, I've been out of the game for a while and need to get back in! So here's my first post of 2011. Super Doubles at HT this week! You may be able to use some of those peelies from the penguin in the frozen food section. Enjoy!

Black Friday Tips 2010

I'm in the process of planning for Black Friday this year, so I decided to turn back the clock and find my Black Friday Tips from last year and repost! I'll let you know more as soon as I have time to check out the ads.

• Have a list of what you want to buy and where you want to buy it. Prioritize by most important items and most likely to sell out items. Plan which store you will go to first based on your list.
  
• Be okay with not getting an item - lots of stores will have limited quantities of the most popular or deeply discounted items.
• Go with a team or at least a friend. There a limits on the number of certain items you can buy per person, so if you need two of a certain digital camera and the store will only let you purchase one per person, your buddy can get your second one. You can also split up to get the most desired items once you hit the store. Have a charged cell phone handy. Plus, waiting in line is more fun if you have someone to talk to.
  
• Just park. Don't drive around looking for a great spot. Wear sneakers and suck it up. This is retail war, people.
  
• Keep your gift receipts and regular receipts in a special envelope so you don't lose them. Don't leave them in the bag in case things get stolen. Keep your car locked and your purchases stashed away for the same reason.
  
• Don't wear bulky stuff or bring bulky purses, just bring your wallet in a zip pocket in your coat or a purse you can strap across your body. Despite what some random emails you might get from people say, you can not get decapitated by your purse strap if someone tries to snag it. You may get dragged a little, but I think we all expect that on Black Friday. http://www.snopes.com/horrors/robbery/purse.asp
• Bring a big bag to store all your little bags
• Bring your own coffee for waiting in outside lines and a few granola bars - you probably won't have time to stop to eat stuff. After you've finished your shopping, you can always stop at Starbucks or for some lunch to tell war stories and enjoy the spoils. (side note: realize that if you bring and drink coffee you might find yourself waiting in a completely different line...for the restroom)
  
• Have a sense of humor and be patient and forgiving - as Sue Stock said, the gift of giving does not come with bail money - don't be that woman on the evening news attacking someone over a sweater. This is Thanksgiving, not Slapsgiving.

Plus Lessons Learned from Last Year:

• Keep a close eye on your cart. I got the last two digital picture frames and you wouldn't believe how many sneaky folks were ready to pounce on them if I turned my back for a second.
  
• Be polite when attempting to cross through the check out line to get to another part of the store. If people think you are cutting in line, they might take you DOWN.
  
• Bring coupons. I didn't know there was a Kohl's 15% off coupon out there, which was surprising to me since I usually know where all the coupons are. Kohl's is the one store for which I'm not actually on their mailing list for special deals (ok, there's probably more than one store). I now have a separate gmail account just for stores and special deals. Playskool also had a bunch of printable toy coupons on coupons.com, and there was one for $5 off a Star Wars toy floating around out there. Keep in mind, some items might be excluded from your store coupon use, but the manufacturer's ones should work.
• Use hand sanitizer. Nuf said. Ew.
• I might consider bringing my own stroller next year to use as a cart even though I didn't bring my kid. It was a pain waiting for a cart.
  
• Remember where you parked. People will stalk you for your spot even if it's out in East Jibib, so walking up and down the parking aisles looking for your car can be annoying when 3 SUVs are following you at a creeping pace.
  
• Go with a budget in mind and give yourself a few dollars leeway. It is so easy to get carried away and want to buy things for yourself! I'm not saying you shouldn't, but remember the purpose here is to save money. If you blow your budget, you may have some cute stuff, but you won't be saving as much as you'd like.
  
• Keep the ENDING times in mind - you may not get there at 4am, but keep in mind that certain doorbuster/early bird prices are only good until noon or 1pm. After that, the deals may be gone.
  
• You can really only go to two to four different stores during the early bird time period, so choose wisely. Remember that you will spend time finding your item, fighting tooth and nail for it, and then waiting in line while attempting to scare off any cutters (no backsies!) - the waiting in line and driving between stores alone could take you an hour.
• Bring water and a snack and keep it in the car. You'll need it!
• Plan your driving route carefully - 15-501 was a mess last year. Take back roads if you think it will be crowded.
• Have fun! When else do you get to go on this kind of shopping spree and be home in time for leftover turkey and stuffing?

Super Doubles this week! Plus e-coupons

Sorry all - I completely fell down on the job this week with Super Doubles but it is still going on until Wednesday!

Also, Harris Teeter is starting to roll out it's e-coupon program - you can load them directly onto your card. The bummer? The coupons don't double, and you can't use a printed coupon in addition to the e-coupon. But, could be a good option for an item you don't otherwise have a coupon for!

Big LOFT sale

Free Shipping on everything - no code needed, 30% off new styles with code FIRSTLOOK, and 50% off all sale styles. This is a great sale people! I'm not sure if the 30% and 50% are also "in store" or just online.

Halloween Costumes - best way to save?

I've been trolling the web for the best deal I can find on a Tinkerbell Costume because my toddler wants to be her for Halloween. I am totally amazed at the number of options there are and the variety of price points. The Disney Store is doing a 40% off costumes sale which is great if all you buy is the costume with no accessories (light up wings, light up shoes, light up wand, and...purse? I wasn't aware fairies carried purses but apparently they keep all their pixie dust in there...) I find myself getting caught up in the hype - it has to have a Tinkerbell Cameo on it, it has to be from the Disney Store, I have to have the SHOES! Meanwhile, I know my little tinker fairy at home could care less as long as wings and a tutu are involved.

This got me thinking, what are YOUR best ways to save on Halloween costumes? My husband says all costumes should be made of cardboard, acrylic paint, and found things around the house (well, as a tinker fairy Tinkerbell would at least approve of the DIY nature of creating your own costume). Other options? Ebay? Craig's List? Coupons/coupon codes? Sew it yourself?

Not much to report...HT this week

So, I didn't buy a ton of stuff grocery shopping today (that's what we do this for, right??) so I only saved about $40 and spent $62. A couple of deals worth mentioning from Harris Teeter:

Honey Nut Cheerios is $2 per box. Pair with $1 off 2 coupons from 10-3-10 and it is $1.50 per box. Plus if you buy a certain # of General Mills products you get $ off OYNO I think. This brings it down closer to that goal of $1 per box if you buy enough.

Dannon Coolisions yogurt is $2 - $1 off cpn makes it $1

Heinz Ketchup - long term vic $1.84 - cpn 75 cents x2 = 34 cents per bottle. You can probably get this cheaper or free during Triples though

Sparkle paper towels are on sale 6.99 for the 8 pack. cpn for $1 off 2 = 6.49 - not as great as the Bounty deal last week, but the cpn expires really soon

Huggies Diapers Jumbo Pack on sale for 8.99 plus $2 cpn from today = 6.99

Amazing Savings at Old Navy!

During an amazing sale this morning, I spent $100 for $355 worth of stuff at Old Navy. Best part of the deal today - if you use your Old Navy, Gap, or Banana Republic card between now and 10/21 (this Thursday), for each adult item you buy, you get one kid item FREE (of equal or lesser value). Plus you get 10% off your purchase if you open a card plus an additional 10% on each future purchase you make at Old Navy, GAP, and Banana Republic (one discount for each store). I may not need to hit this store on Black Friday!

HT Deals this week PLUS others

FREE Mac n Cheese! Sorry, that was one highlight of this week I wanted to share right away. I spent $116 and saved $80 today. It was a combo of rain checks, coupons, and sales. I also qualified for the P&G pink cookware set - you qualify when you spend $25 on P&G products like Bounty, Pampers, Cascade, Charmin, etc. The catalina printer will print out a mail in form at the check out. There are a whole bunch of P&G coupons out there - if you have the P&G year of savings coupons there are some good ones like $1 off Charmin. If not, you can still get some coupons from the P&G brand saver last Sunday. Also there's a P&G rebate out there so I can get a bunch of $ back.

Don't have time to list all the deals but here are some good ones:

Kraft shredded cheese with Philly Cream Cheese in it - new product that is on sale for BOGO free. I got a BOGO coupon in the mail from HT today too, plus there is a Kraft $1 off two coupon. You have to buy 3, but essentially I got 3 bags of shredded cheese for $2.29 (orig. 3.29 each)

Charmin 12 roll was on sale 5.99 minus $1 off in P&G Year of Saving coupons = 4.99

Bounty 6 big roll on sale 5.77 (eVIC) - cpn for 25 cents off doubles in P&G saver last week - 5.27 (warning, my HT was out of these)

Born Free Eggs are BOGO and cpn for 35 cents off on 9/12 will double

Kraft Mac & Cheese - great sale at 4 for $2, plus you can get an printable coupon if you play the roulette game on the Kraft website. Mine was 55 cents off two which doubled to make my Mac FREE

HT Tissues are 99 cents per box

Grapes are 99 cents a pound as are the Eastern Grown apples

Chicken quarters are 49cents per pound

and, of course, remember the $10 off $50 cpn from Thursday's N&O


OTHER deals:

Great candy deal at Target - Buy two jumbo bags of Mars candy and get a $5 Target gift card. Given that I already had a $5 gift card to Target to use, plus the $1 off two bags of candy in last weeks paper, I essentially got the two big bags for $9.

At CVS, the Oral B Vitality electronic toothbrush, normally $30, is on sale for $23 plus you get $13 extra bucks back. There is also a $10 coupon from the P&G saver last week which makes this toothbrush FREE. One problem, they were totally out when I went to get mine today, so I had to get a raincheck. Hopefully they'll get some back in before my coupon expires - I've always wanted an electric toothbrush. :-)

At Kohls - there was a $10 Gift Cert for Big and Tall clothes this past weekend. Because Big and Tall T-Shirts are on sale for $9.99 - I got a t-shirt for free for D (he wears Large/Tall).

NC State Fair - Deep Fried Savings 2010

As I started this post, I realized that I am coming up on my first "Blogiversary" on October 2nd. One whole year of blogging about savings! Maybe I should add up all my "I saved" posts to see where I'm at! What tipped me off to this momentous occasion, though, was that I posted last October about saving at the state fair with the same title - "Deep Fried Savings". I can't wait to try the latest creations. Maybe a deep fried Klondike bar?? And then there's the life size butter sculpture, the pig races (complete with Texas Pete's hot sauce hats), slightly famous country singers and former American Idol contestants, corn on the cob dipped in a trash can full of butter, and, of course, the demolition derby.

So, how do you save at the state fair? Well, last year I went on "canned food day" using Food Lion cans of beans that were 55 cents each. Essentially got me in for about half price. This year there is an early bird special in which you can get free tickets if you spend a certain amount of money on tickets. Early Bird Special only lasts until Sept 29th though so hurry up if you're buying a large number of tickets.

Of course, advance sale tickets are $6 instead of $8 at the gate for adults, and $2 instead of $3 for children 6 to 12. Advance sale ride tickets are $10 for a sheet of 18 instead of $1 per ticket. Advanced prices are good until Oct 14th.

New way to get a free PSL - Pumpkin Spice Latte

One word - Swagbucks. Can't believe I didn't think of this before, but I checked the Swag store and a $10 Starbucks Gift Card is 1,300 Swagbucks. I am not a huge swagbucks user since I find that their search engine is not that great, but even so I have almost 1200 in my account right now! I'm about to get motivated to search more so I can get myself the equivalent of 2 free Pumpkin Spice Lattes :-)

http://swagbucks.com

great Smuckers cpn for super doubles!

Check out today's Coupon Month coupon from Red Plum - $1.50 off 1 Smuckers - that could be $3 off if doubled at HT!

www.redplum.com/dash

HT Super Doubles #1

Spent $26, saved $47 during super doubles - all coupons below were doubled. Remember you get 20 cpns per day. I bought some things other than coupon deals today, but this will get ya started.

FREE Stuff:

Oikos Greek Yogurt - orig. 1.89 - $1 off 1 peelie cpns from the Penguin

Quaker Oats - orig. 2.65, sale 1.50 - $1 off 1 newspaper cpn

Gain Dish Liquid (30oz) - orig. 2.39, sale 1.99 - $1 off 1 newspaper cpn (P&G saver - save this for the P&G rebate)

Bestlife Buttery Spray - orig. 2.35, sale 1.17 - $1 off 1 newspaper cpn

Danimals Coolisons yogurt - orig. 2.75, sale 2.00 - $1 off 1 newspaper cpn

Wholly Guacamole - orig. 1.99 - $1 off 1 printable cpn

Barilla Whole Grain spaghetti or linguini - 1.00 - newspaper cpn, $1 off 2

Colgate toothpaste - orig. 2.29, clearance sale 1.99 - $1 off 1 newspaper cpn, $1 off 1


Cheap stuff:

Progresso Panko Bread crumbs - 2.99 - printable cpn, $1 off 1 = 99 cents

Barilla Piccolini Pasta - 1.50 - printable cpn, $1 off 2 = 50 cents each box

Polly O string cheese - orig. 4.39, sale 3.99 - $1 off 1 = 1.99

Hillshire Farms lunch meat tubs - orig. 3.99, sale 3.50, printable cpn $1 off 1 = 1.50

Nature's Pride Bread - orig. 3.49, sale BOGO ($1.75) - ACME cpn for $1 off 2 = about 75 cents per loaf

Super Doubles starts Wednesday 9/15!

Here it comes folks! See the links to the left, especially Taking Stock, Savvy Dollar, and Hot Coupon World, for deals lists. Super doubles means that coupons up to $1.99 will double (for up to $3.98 off your item)!

Remember, super doubles is only a good deal if the item you are using the coupon for is on sale or you know the usual sale on that item is typically less than $1 off the original price. If you know that item goes on sale for BOGO relatively frequently, you can probably get a better deal by using your coupon during that sale, rather than off the original price during super doubles. Good luck!