Extreme Shutterfly Savings!!

There are just a few things I use coupons for: diapers, wipes, formula, cleaning supplies, and Shutterfly products. I am a picture-holic, so it is smart for me to use Shutterfly coupons. These things are kind of a luxury. I know that I don't HAVE to have them, but I sure do enjoy having memories preserved in a book format.

Last month, I was looking through our iPhoto library on our computer. I needed to delete about 2,000 photos because our memory on our computer is almost completely full (did I mention I am a picture-holic?) I had recently read an article in Ladies Home Journal on the best back-up plan for photos that are saved onto the computer. After reading the article, I decided to put my trust in Shutterfly. They are completely free, will never delete your photos, and offer unlimited storage. I went through our photos, edited them, and uploaded them to Shutterfly.

I then decided to go ahead and make a book. I have made several books in the past: Ava's First Year, The Best Father In The World, and Ava's Disney Extravaganza. This was going to be the MOTHER of all books because I took about 2,000 pictures on our last vacation before we had Ava. I had to carefully decide which pictures would make it into the book and decide how many pages I needed. It took me about a month and a half to design, but I finally finished it!

How I Paid For This Gigantic Book

With a debit card...duh! :) haha! No really, this book was going to cost $216. There was no way that Jeremy would ever let me order something like this for that much money. I had to get fancy with my couponing techniques. So this is what I did:

• I had over 4,000 Pampers points saved up. I cashed in 3,000 of those points for a FREE 12X12 hard cover Shutterfly book (a $54.99 value)
• I ordered the book when a sale was going on (30% off all books) Although I got the book free, I added a storytelling design to it ($4.99 extra) and added 90 extra pages ($1.50 for each extra page)  The sale brought the price of each page down to $1.05 each.
• I used a promotional code (SHIP30) to get free shipping and handling on my order (because it was over $30)
• Last but not least, I had a 10% off coupon for my entire order.

I paid $98 for the book and saved $118!! WooHoo! It was still an expensive book, but the only way I could have beat those savings was if I had waited until the books went on sale for 50% off. Since I did not know when that would be, and I had coupons that would expire, I had to settle for the 30% off sale. But, I am really proud of my 110 page jewel! I gave it to Jeremy last night as a "Just Because I Love You" gift. He was really excited to see all the pictures from our amazing vacation!

Latest Couponing Venture

It has been a while since I used a coupon! Since Greta is formula fed, I am now having to get back into the swing of couponing for formula. It wasn't a great trip, but it helped me remember how to stack and match:

I matched the $5.00 manufacturer coupon with the $4.00 Publix coupon and bought a 16 pack of the On-the-go 4 oz. formula packs. The pack was $10.99, so I got it for $1.99! I love these little packs because they are so easy to pack in Greta's diaper bag.

I then matched the other $5.00 manufacturer coupon with the $7.00 Target coupon (Publix accepts competitor coupons) and got $12.00 off of the refill 2 pack. The 2 pack was $36, so I paid $24! I thought that was a great deal since one 33.2 oz tub costs $26.

I planned on using the $1.50 competitor coupon for one more 16 pack, but I decided against it. I am going to wait until I have another coupon match so I can save more money. I also had the $2.00 store coupon for the A&D ointment and the $1.00 coupon for the A&D ointment. I didn't realize until I was in Publix that both coupons were store coupons! I couldn't use them together, so I will wait for manufacturer coupons for both.

My total bill was $58, and I saved $21! Yay! That wasn't a whole lot, but I was able to use the $21 that I saved to buy my new (unborn) niece three outfits on the clearance rack at Target!!

30 Days Of Thankfulness: Day 16

I am so thankful for couponing! I was introduced to couponing in January 2011, when a friend of mine (Maggie) invited me to a class taught by Tara Whitaker. I was very skeptical of coupons because of the pitfall of buying stuff you don't really need just because there is a coupon. I have fallen into that pitfall a few times, but I try really hard to only buy stuff we NEED. I always ask myself, "Self, do you need this?" If the answer is, "but I really might use it," OR, "I could learn how to bake," then I don't buy it. Chances are, if I don't already have it, I probably will not use it. And I hate baking, why would I buy 10 cake mixes? The only thing I like about baking is licking the spoon and eating the cake!

Anyway, I am thankful for couponing because it came at a time in my life when Jeremy and I really needed it. I was planning to breastfeed Ava for the first year of her life and then my milk supply did not come in (I was producing only 2 oz a day!) Jeremy and I were not prepared for the extra cost of formula. During Ava's first two months of life, she consumed $700 worth of formula. I know that sounds unimaginable, but it really did cost that much. When Tara taught me how to coupon, I saw that amount decrease to about $100 a month. Couponing was worth it just to help with formula and diapers!

With all that being said, I want to post my latest couponing adventure at CVS:

 My first transaction was all the above items. Regardless of what you might think, I did need the candles! I am a candle fanatic! I have to have candles burning in the house on most days. They are my one luxury item that Jeremy allows me to have! Anyway, I got $4 Extra Care Bucks for buying $12 worth of Glade brand (2 candles, 2 oil refills, and Windex) I also got $1 ECB for buying the Arm & Hammer Laundry Detergent. I had a coupon for $2 off of 2 Glade candles and a $1 off of 2 Glade refills. 

 In addition to saving $3 on some of my items, all the items I bought were on sale. With sales and coupons, I saved a total of $13.45. I spent $16.61.

 This was my 2nd transaction. I also had a Manufacturer coupon for $2 off of Pampers.

 This box of diapers was on sale for $19.99 (which is much higher than buying at Wal-Mart or Publix, but with coupons and Extra Care Bucks, it was too good of a deal to pass up!) When my diapers rang up, I handed over my $2 coupon as well as my $5 in ECB that I had earned from my first transaction. I also had another $5 is ECB that I had earned when Jeremy bought his elbow brace last week. That took $12 off the price!! I saved a total of $14.50 on this box of diapers because I bought it on sale and used coupons. I spent $9.79. I also earned back $4 in ECB when I bought this box of diapers!

 My 3rd transaction. Neither of these items were on sale, and neither had any rewards, but we NEEDED both desperately! I used my $4 in ECB that I earned from my Pampers purchase and only paid $5.46! I basically got the Bounce for free. :)

In all, I spent $31.86. But, I saved $31.95! I was very pleased with my purchases and my savings!

When I got home, my husband was skeptical (as he always is!) His complaint with my couponing is that CVS and Publix jack up the price of items that could be purchased a lot cheaper at Wal-Mart. I decided that instead of debating him, I would look it up for myself. Here is what I found:

• Box of Pampers @ Wal-Mart: $19.77 ($17.77 since I had a $2 off coupon)
• 26 oz bottle of Windex @ Wal-Mart: $2.49
• 32 loads of A&H detergent @ Wal-Mart: $4.99
• 2 Glade candles @ Wal-Mart: $6 ($4 since I had a $2 off coupon)
• 2 Glade refills @ Wal-Mart: $6 ($5 since I had a $1 off coupon)
• Bounce @ Wal-Mart:  $4.24
• Generic paper towels @ Wal-Mart: $3.17

The total cost of all the above items at Wal-Mart would have been: $41.66 

That is $9.80 higher than I paid. 

Also remember that Wal-Mart does not have the coupon rewards that CVS has. Yes, it takes some strategy and skill to save at CVS, but it is completely worth it to shop at CVS and not have to fight the crowd and cashiers at Wal-Mart! I can get in and out of CVS in 20 minutes. I wait that long in the line at Wal-Mart!!

Toiletries & Coupons & CVS (Oh, My!)

Tonight after our little dinner date, we stopped at CVS for a few toiletry items that we were running dangerously low on. I needed deodorant and shower gel, and Jeremy needed more deodorant/anti-persperant. I had no coupons because I did not buy a newspaper this morning, so I knew that we were about to dish out some dough. CVS is more expensive than Wal-Mart and I am not cheap. I like my $8 Oil of Olay body wash. Yes, we could have drove the extra three miles to Wal-Mart, but I absolutely despise shopping there! I hate waiting in the stupid lines, I can't stand hearing people scream profanities at their children, and Wal-Mart's coupon policy stinks!

Jeremy reluctantly handed over the debit card and reminded me to only get what I needed. He waited in the car with Ava and I went inside to face the bill. I scanned my Extra Care card and was DELIGHTED to get a $1 off of Irish Springs Deodorant/Anti-Persperant! Yay! That was a start! I scanned this weeks add and was pretty happy to see that my body wash was on sale for $6 (instead of $8) AND I could get $2 ECB back with its purchase! I looked even further in the add to see that Lady Speed Stick was on sale 2/$5.50 with $4 ECB!! YAY! I had gone into CVS with NO coupons and somehow managed to make it work for us!!

Here is what I did:

 I scanned my card and got my print-out of coupons. I was able to use the $1 off of deodorant, but not the $5 off of $20 facial products. I did not take my camera into the store with me, so I did not get a picture of the coupon. :)

 I checked the add and found Lady Speed Stick on sale

 and Oil of Olay was on sale

 I bought 2 deodorants for $5.50 (a savings of $1.48 in itself)

 I paid $6 total BUT I got back $4 for my purchases!

 I then did another transaction for my $8 body wash.

 It was on sale for $6 (a savings of $1.99) I then used my $4 ECB from my previous purchase to reduce this to $2.54! AND I still got back $2 ECB for this purchase!

 My third and final transaction was for Jeremy's deodorant.

It was full price ($3.89), but I had the $1 off coupon that I paired with the $2 ECB! The cost of this deodorant was $1.24!!

On this trip, I was expecting to pay around $17 with tax included. I had no coupons, no add, and no idea what was on sale. This only took about 10 minutes to figure out, and I saved $10.48. I spent a total of $9.78. If I had bought a newspaper this morning, I probably could have found coupons for the body wash and my deodorant. I could have saved even more! I was super excited about these purchases and my savings (which equalled more than I spent!)

Couponing For Cosmetics

I am way behind on blogging! I am certainly not going to beat myself up about it, though! We have been super busy this month with visits to Tennessee and Texas! We wanted to visit both families this month because sometimes we only see them once or twice a year. Hopefully, we will see them again during this holiday season!

About two weeks ago, I made a CVS trip for my eyeliner. When I first started wearing make-up, I wore Clinique. My mom bought it for me because it was the only thing she had ever worn. When I became an adult and got on a budget, I realized that it was no longer frugal to wear it. I now wear L'Oreal foundation, and Maybelline for everything else (unless there is an awesome sale on a different product) I was in luck! All Maybelline products were on sale for B1G1 50% off! I also had CVS Extra Care Bucks for $2.50 off of a purchase and a coupon for $3 off of any cosmetics purchase of $10 or more! I bought my usual Brownish Black eyeliner and a Dark Blonde eyebrow pencil for a steal!!

 The eyeliner rang up at full price ($7.79) and the eyebrow pencil rang up for half off ($3.14) I then used my coupons to get $5.50 off the ticket! I was super excited about this bargain!

New make-up makes me feel like a human being again!!

Publix Baby Food Coupon Trip

I was running very low on baby food and formula today, so I had to make a trip to Publix. I had to pay full price for the Enfamil Infant formula :( It made me a little sad to pay full price for formula that I am accustomed to getting at about 40% off. But, I had to have it. That is just how it works sometimes. I was able to save quite a bit on baby food, though:

 Publix had Beech-Nut Stage 2, 4 oz. jars on sale for Buy 10 for $4 (savings of $1.50) I also had a manufacturer coupon for $2 off of 20 jars. I bought 20 jars and paid $0. Huh? That doesn't add up! Yeah, I know. The computer scanned it incorrectly and so I got all this for FREE! I didn't expect that. I thought that the cashier would just re-scan my items. She didn't. She just handed me my money and said, "That's the Publix promise." Well, I promise to go back to Publix!

I have never tried the Sprout brand, but it is organic and has some very unique flavors that I want Ava to try. Sprout pouches were on sale this week as well. 6 pouches for $5. That seemed good enough, but I also had two coupons for Buy 3 Get 1 Free. I bought 8 pouches and only paid $5. I was pleased with that (that makes it a unit price of $0.63, a savings of $0.37 each)

CVS Coupon Trip

This is a short coupon post:

Pedigree Dog Food Retail: $6.29

I paid: $0.86

I had $6 Extra Care Bucks from CVS from my quarterly earnings. I also had a $2 manufacturer coupon that I ended up not using. I will save the coupon for another time and place! :) Do you like the time posted in the background? :)

Publix Baby Coupon Trip

I said in an earlier couponing post that I am not the best couponer in the world. I still stand by that statement :) I do my very best, though, to save my family money on the things that we use. Today's trip to Publix served the purpose of stocking up on diapers, wipes, and baby toiletries. I pretty much have enough diapers for Ava's first year, however, I think she will be in a size 3 longer than I anticipated.

Here is my loot from today's shopping adventure:

 A&D Ointment retail: $4.99

I had a manufacturer coupon for $3 off and 2 different type store coupons for $2 off.

I got one tube for FREE and paid $2.99 for the other. I saved $7

 Johnson & Johnson 15 oz Baby Lotion Retail: $3.89

I had 2 manufacturer coupons for $1 off each plus a Publix $3 off of 2.

I paid $1.30 for each bottle.

 Johnson's H2T wash retail: $3.89, and Johnson's baby shampoo retail: $4.89

Shampoo on sale for $3.89. Manufacturer coupons for each item $1 off and a store coupon for $3 off of 2 items.

I paid $1.30 for each item.

 Johnson's Natural retail: $4.79

On sale for $3.79 plus a store coupon for $1 off and a manufacturer coupon for $1 off.

I paid $1.79.

 Gerber Pear Juice retail: $2.15

I had a store coupon for $1 off

I paid $1.15.

 Pampers Cruisers retail: $10.99. Wipes retail: $2.99

I had a manufacturer coupon for $1.50 off of diapers. I had another manufacturer coupon for free wipes with the purchase of diapers. Diapers were on sale for $9.49.

I paid $7.99 for the diapers and received the wipes for FREE!

 Publix Unscented baby wipes retail: $2.29

I had two Publix Baby Club coupons for BOGO free.

I paid $2.29 for two of the wipes packages and received the other 2 FREE!

Huggies diapers retail: $10.99

I had 2 Publix coupons for $2 off any Huggies plus a manufacturer coupon for each for $1.50 off.

I paid $7.49 for each package of diapers.

I consider my couponing trips to be successful if my savings and cost are close to the same amount. After store savings, vendor coupon savings, and store coupon savings, todays trip saved me $42.07. I spent $42.43!!

I learn something new on every trip. Here is what I learned today:

• The Publix Green Advantage Buy does not contain store coupons. Even though the coupon says PUBLIX, it does not count as a store coupon. I have always been able to use those coupons with a manufacturer coupon, but the cashier would not allow me to use them together today. 
• I also learned which cashier to not go to!! She was a very sweet woman, but she took forever. My shopping trip lasted about an hour. It took me about 30 minutes to pick out all my items and match my coupons. I only stayed on one isle. It took her about 30 minutes to check me out! I was calm, but I made a mental note! :)
• I also learned never to go to Walgreens! I had two great coupons for Huggies wipes that I thought would reduce the cost significantly. I was wrong!! I found the same wipes at Publix for a whole dollar cheaper! 

I know that I will never be one of those people who walks out of Publix with a shopping cart full of free stuff. But, if I am able to save 50% of my bill like today, it is well worth the effort!!

Publix Couponing

I am not the best couponer in the world, but I have managed to save our family quite a bit of money on certain items. I am not an extreme couponer and I only buy the stuff that my family will use. I rarely use coupons for food because I can hardly ever find coupons for what we eat (lots of meat and vegetables, no junk food) Occasionally, I will find a really good coupon for bacon or sausage, but that is about it.

I mainly use coupons for diapers, formula, baby wash, and toiletries. Tonight, Jeremy and I went to Publix to buy some things for Ava. I was about out of formula and also needed some green peas for Ava's lunch tomorrow. Like I said, I am not the best, but I was proud of my purchases and the amount that was saved:

I was able to buy:

• a 16 pack of Enfamil on-the-go formula (reg. $9.79)
• 6 double packs of Gerber 3.5 oz baby food (reg. $1.29 each)

I had a store coupon ($4 off) for the Enfamil that I stacked with a manufacturer coupon ($3 off) The total price for the Enfamil was $2.79.

Publix had a sale on select double packs of Gerber. So the double packs were $1 each. I then had a store coupon for Buy 5, Get 1 Free (that is 12 packs of 3.5 oz) The total price for the Gerber baby food was $5 

If I had gone to Publix when Gerber* was not on sale and without coupons, I would have spent approximately $17.53. Instead, I only spent $7.79. I was super happy about that!

*I usually do not buy Gerber, but I am not going to pass up a sale! :) I also could have saved even more if I had a manufacturer coupon for Gerber. 

For more information on couponing strategies, visit Tara Whitaker's blog at :

http://www.southernsavingsanddeals.blogspot.com

Best Buy $35 Coupon

Last week, Jeremy and I received a $35 Best Buy coupon. We purchased a television in May and the coupon was one of our incentives. (Yes, I know, I know. We had to purchase a television to get the coupon, but a coupon is a coupon!) Here is what we got for FREE:

We could have spent it better if I had stuck to the $4.99 barrel, but there was a new release that I really wanted!