Free Movies at the Drive-In Tomorrow!

Sounds like a fun free outing to the drive-in!  Too bad my kids are in school...



Visit the West Wind website HERE for more information.

September = National Preparedness Month

Did you know September is National Preparedness Month?  Now you do! 

There is a great article HERE (from Meridian Magazine entitled "Prepare Now for the Next Irene") with daily ideas for the month of September to help prepare our families and homes for the unexpected.

Check it out!  There are some great and simple ideas.  We're already a few days into September, so play catch-up and get prepared.  I printed out a copy of the article and we're going to give it a go!

(Thanks for passing on the article, Gail N.!)

Groupon: $15 for $30 at Flirty Aprons!

It's been a while since I've bought a Groupon, but I just couldn't pass this one up!
 
$15.00 for $30.00 at Flirty Aprons. This is showing up in Southern Georgia, but it's a national deal to use online, so you can purchase it no matter where you live. I think I might use mine to purchase a gift!

To get in on this deal just head on over to GROUPON!

Save Mart (8/31-9/6)

There are some pretty good deals at Savemart this week.  You can find the entire match-ups HERE and HERE.  But I thought I'd highlight some of my favorite deals.

*****4-day Sale (Fri.-Mon.)*****
Sweet White Corn - $0.14 each

Lean Ground Beef - $1.99/lb

Heinz Ketchup, 40 oz.- $0.99 with in-ad coupon
$0.50 from 8/21 RP
Final Price: $0.49

Kingsford Charcoal,  16 lbs. - $4.99 with in-ad coupon
$3.00 from Safeway MDA booklet
Final price:  $1.99

*****Regular Sale*****
Old Orchard Juice - $2.00
$2.00 printable coupon (Facebook)
Final price:  FREE

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, $1.99/lb.
(Not advertised but that's what it was priced when I was there Fri.)

Kimberly Clark Promo. - Spend $40.00 in qualifying items, Get $10.00 Catalina
Deal idea:
Buy 3 Cottonelle Toilet Paper, 12 ct. - $6.99 each ($20.97)
Buy 2 Viva Paper Towels, 6 ct. - $6.99 each ($13.98)
Buy 2 Kotex, variety - $2.99 each ($5.98)
=$40.93 before coupons

Use (3) $1.00/1 Cottonelle from Safeway booklet in 08/28 paper
Use (2) $1.00/1 Viva from Safeway booklet in 08/28 paper
Use (1) $4.00/2 Kotex from Safeway booklet in 08/28 paper
=$31.93 OOP, get $10.00 coupon back

My stock-up price is usually $0.25/roll for t.p. and $0.50/roll for paper towels.  This deal puts them a little bit higher than that BUT I haven't been able to stock up on good-quality papergoods for quite awhile.  Maybe my stock-up prices are changing with rising prices?! 

With this deal I figure it's like paying the following prices when all is said and done:
$4.39 per 12-pack toilet paper ($0.37/roll)
$4.39 per 6-pack paper towels ($0.73/roll)
FREE Kotex

(Thanks, The Frugal Find and My Frugal Adventures!)

Safeway Coupon Booklet: $16 in Kimberly Clark Manufacturer Coupons

We got little coupon booklets in the 8/28 Sunday paper from Safeway.  These have some GREAT manufacturer coupons inside:

$1.00/1 U by Kotex
$4.00/2 Kotex pads, lightdays, or tampons
$1.00/1 Cottonelle Ultra 12-pack
$1.00/2 Kleenex 75-90 ct. or 200 ct. +
$1.00/1 Viva Towels 6-pack
$2.00/1 Huggies Wipes 320 ct. +
$3.00/1 Huggies Diapers, Box 48-96 ct.
$3.00/1 Pull-Ups or Goodnites

I used some at Raley's last week and some this week at Savemart.  Let us know if you see any other good deals that match up to these coupons!

Scolari's: C&H Sugar $0.37/lb.

We've got some SWEET stock-up prices on sugar this week at Scolari's.  This week (8/31-9/7) the 4-lb. bags of sugar are on sale for $2.99.  Use the $0.75 coupon from the 8/28 RP (taking off $1.50 when doubled) and pay just $1.49 for four pounds of sugar, or $0.37/lb.

C&H Sugar, 4 lb. - $2.99
$0.75 from 8/28 RP
Final price:  $1.49 (or $0.37/lb.)

Below are other stores' prices for comparison so you can see that this is a GREAT price.

LDS Cannery, 25 lbs. - $21.15 (or $0.85/lb.)
Costco, 50 lbs. - $30.49 ($0.61/lb.)
Smith's Case Lot April 2011, 40 lbs.- $18.90 ($0.47/lb.)

Planter's Peanut Butter - $0.73 a jar!

There are stock-up prices on Planter's Peanut Butter this week at Walgreen's (8/29-9/3) or Sak n Save (8/31-9/6). 

Walgreens
Planters Peanut Butter, 16.3 oz. - 2/$3.00
(2) $0.75 from 8/21 SS
Final Price:  $0.75 each WYB 2

Sak N Save
Planters Peanut Butter, 16.3 oz. - $1.48
$0.75 from 8/21 SS
Final Price:  $0.73

Comparison pricing of Skippy at Costco:
Costco, 96 oz. - $8.39 (or $1.42/16.3 oz.)

The stock might be running low at these stores, so don't forget you can price match either of these ads at Walmart and get the same deals.  Happy PB&J's!

August Savings

Well, I completed my challenge for the month of August.  I tracked how much I spent and saved on household items for the entire month.  It was actually kind of fun and I realized just exactly how much I truly do save by using coupons and shopping the sales.

Total spent in August:  $229.38
Retail Value:  $668.15
Total saved in August:  $438.77, or 76% saved

These numbers seem right to me.  Before I was couponing, I spent between $100.00 - $200.00 a week on household items (food, toiletries, diapers, cleaning supplies, etc.)  Since couponing, I figured I spent about $75.00 a week on household items, but I wasn't completely sure because I never really kept track.  Now I know and I am excited that I did so well this past month!

I learned a lot by doing this.  Keeping track of my spending and savings made me very aware of how much I was spending and in turn I wanted to spend as little as possible.  It really made me think before I purchased something.

I am going to continue keeping track of my spending/savings because I think my spending will vary from month to month, depending on what I am stocking up on and what I already have stockpiled.  For example, I didn't buy diapers at all this month because I had already stocked up months ago.  This month I stocked up on wipes so that won't be an expense in months to come.  I'm curious to see how it fluctuates.

My mom emailed me her tracking spreadsheet for the month and she saved about 50%  even after including a meal for 50 at a family reunion!  Want to join the challenge and keep track of how much you save?  Feel free to download the spreadsheet I am using HERE.  (The formula is set up so you just have to enter how much you spent and how much you saved and it will calculate the retail amount automatically.)