Spending to Save...

So I'm not sure if I'm alone in this, but this week as I've continued with my bargain & coupon craze, my husband has issued a lot of "just don't go overboard on the buying" statements as he's seen me come in with bag after bag after bag (after bag after bag...) and figures I couldn't possibly have gotten THAT good of a deal on ALL of this stuff. I know ultimately he trusts me (after all, I am in charge of the household finances), but I have taken it upon myself to truly convince him of my wise spending by showing him how much I've saved & projecting the future & telling him how buying all of these items now, while they are dirt cheap will save us so much money in the long run because we won't run out & have to buy the item at full price. I think he's starting to appreciate my craziness. Here are two examples of my latest shopping trips.

First, "Christmas in July: Part 2". I made another trip to Kmart's amazing clearance on top of clearance toy sale. Once again, I combined the already low prices with additional $5 off $20 toy purchase coupons I printed from home. For about $50, I got everything pictured below. It's well over $400 worth of toys. To give you an idea, just the Baby Alive alone retailed for $59.99. I got my entire cart load for less than just that one toy retail.

Second, Albertsons. I was able to purchase everything pictured (including two gallons of milk) for $55.xx, plus received a free Redbox rental, $2 coupon off my next store purchase & purchased 10 qualifying products for the Kellogg's $10"Fuel for School" promotion featured here. Many people wonder how I am able to save 2x what I spend on groceries. My secret is using manufacturer coupons found in Sunday's paper (I only buy one...but imagine your savings if you picked up extra copies), mailbox mailers, in-store coupon machines & also printable coupons found online & combining them with store sales, store coupons & additional promos and rebates. If you are interested in some of my online coupon sources, leave me a comment & I'll do a future post about my online couponing sources.

Christmas in July!!!

So, not only am I crazy for coupons, I'm now officially addicted to finding incredible deals. In my previous post, I referred you to www.thebargainjargon.com where I spend a few minutes every day checking out ways to stretch my dollar. Well, one of the deals she highlighted was in regards to a K-Mart toy clearance sale. K-Mart periodically marks down select toys, but this week, in addition to the current clearance prices, you get to take an additional 50% off . The deal is made even sweeter if you go here and print off the $5 off a $20 purchase coupons. I printed off 5 and used them all! (Note: I had to do 5 separate transactions in order to use each coupon.) For a little less than a $100 (including tax), this is what I came away with:

• Transformer Animated Roll Out Command Optimus Prime (retail $55.99)
• PlaysKool Easy Dunk Basketball (retail $14.99)
• Vtech V.Smile Art Studio (retail $29.99)
• The Amazing Spiderman Swing N' Sling Guitar (retail $29.99)
• Mega Bloks Legends King Arthur set (retail $39.99)
• Bella Dancerella Swan Lake Home Ballet Studio (retail $29.99)
• Fisher-Price GeoTrax takes to the Skies (retail $24.99)
• Barbie Gymnastic Divas Styling Head (retail $14.99)
• Star Wars "Clone Tuber" Mr Potato Head (retail $11.99)
• Girltech Video Journal w/ Camera (retail $29.99)
• Disney Princess Enchanted Electronic Activity Magical Pal (retail $11.49)
• Milton Bradley "LuckyDucks" motorized matching game (retail $23.99)
• 2- LeapFrog I Spy Imagine That Activity Storybooks (retail $13.99 each)
• Color Screen Uno Electronic hand held game (retail $24.99)

Total Retail Value: $361.35 (pre-tax)

My total out-of-pocket: $87.50 (pre-tax)

My total out-of-pocket including tax: $95.64

Pretty Amazing! I will use some of the toys as birthday gifts & save most of them for Christmas presents for my kids.

Crazy for Coupons!

• O.K., so we all like to find good deals, & heaven knows with the economy the way it is, we certainly don't mind saving a buck or two. I used to be really good to clip coupons & use them in combination with store sales & store coupons. Lately, I've gotten lazy & haven't been as frugal as I should be. But, that all changed...
  
  Today, I recommitted myself...and have become crazy for coupons once again! Here is what $66 (give or take a few cents) got me today:
  
  

• 7 boxes of Caprisuns
• 7 boxes of cereal
• 7 boxes of PopTarts (which earned me a free movie ticket...at least a $7.50 value)
• 6 jars of Skippy Peanut butter
• 4 boxes of Cinnabon breakfast bars
• 12 full-sized Hersheys chocolate bars (for summer S'mores)
• 9 packages of Pepperidge Farms Goldfish crackers
• 3 packages of Oreos
• 4 boxes of Kraft Mac 'N Cheese
• 4 HUGE cans of Bush's baked beans
• 1 container of Crystal Light drink mix
• 1 package of Crystal Light on the Go mixes

Now I know some of you who are even crazier for coupons than I am could have bought this same amount for less because you've been stockpiling good coupons for longer, but this is what I did with this week's newspaper ads & a few online coupon sources. I thought it was pretty fantastic. I spent $66 & saved well over $100.

If you're looking for a good place to start, visit this website: http://www.thebargainjargon.com/. Scroll through some old posts. You don't have to live locally to appreciate some of these fantastic deals!