Welcome to Centsable Savings Stories and Struggles! Each week, a different person shares the story of how she (or he) became a frugal shopper, complete with triumphs and struggles. In sharing these stories, I hope that you find encouragement and motivation to keep on finding those deals and cutting costs. This week, Renae fromMadame Dealsis sharing her story. Renae was inspired to start extreme couponing at a little store named CVS. I wonder how many others out there became hooked on savings thanks to CVS? If you’d like to share your story, I’d love to hear from you. Please email me at centsable.katherine[at]gmail.com. More details are at the end of this post.
My Family
I am a mom to two boys; my oldest is almost three and my youngest just turned one. I am a native Californian but married and east coast man. When we decided to have children, we settled on moving back east for the more affordable living. I want to spend as much time as possible with my boys. I knew that living in California would not give me the opportunity to work part time. Thus, Virginia is where we landed. I do work part time as a Registered Dental Hygienist. The balance is quite nice as I get to spend a majority of my time with my boys but I also get the adult interaction I need.
How My Savings Story Began
I have always been a coupon user. While growing up, I can remember using coupons or bargain hunting with my mom. I was taught to never pay full price and to shop at consignment shops. Garage sales were a favorite past time for my mom and me. The tradition has been carried on with my boys. When I met Amee, the co-author of our blog, I discovered the world of designer clothes. I never thought I would be one to wear designer clothes. Who buys jeans for $150? Well, now I am wearing those $150 jeans that I bought for $4.00. It turns out that Goodwill is an amazing place to find your designer clothes. And when you have a personal shopper like Amee, your closet fills up fast for a fraction of the price!
It wasn’t until a year ago that I started “extreme couponing” as I call it. So why did I start extreme couponing? Well, a CVS opened a few miles from my house. I heard some friends from my mom’s group talking about how they were making money by buying items at CVS. I am never one to miss a bargain, so I looked into it. What a whole new world for me! It took me awhile to learn the ropes. I also had to realize that not all extra care buck generating items are a good deal. You have to know your prices, save all of your coupons and develop a strategy to use those money off coupons.
About the time I discovered CVS, my husband’s job had slowed down a bit. He installs and refinishes hardwood floors. I decided to see how we could cut our budget to prepare for the slow down. It took me some time, but I have now cut our weekly spending to under $100. Now, that figure accounts for all of our household needs, food, two kids in diapers, toiletries, makeup, etc. Some weeks I don’t even spend the $100. For my grocery bill, I usually save anywhere from 50-80%. I have become good at stockpiling and figuring out the rock bottom deal for an item. I am at the point now that I don’t always get the free toothpaste. It can be overwhelming to stock upon every free or cheap product. So, my new rule is to keep only a six month supply or donate the items.
The Beginning of Bargain Blogging
In April, Amee approached me about starting a blog. I had wanted to do one for some time but I felt that I didn’t have the time to invest to make it successful. We decided that a partnership would help us both. Madame Deals was born mid April and we have been full speed since then. We have held two successful coupon workshops, and we have several more in the works. We have also been busy developing our coupon organizer system which will be available online very soon.
My current struggles with being a coupon shopper, a mommy, a blogger, a wife, and a dental hygienist is actually cutting my coupons! Yes, it is very ironic; I am teaching people how to get organized and then I fail to do it myself! There are just not enough hours in the day to do it all!
Each week I feature a different shopper’s story. Centsable Savings Stories are the stories of people just like you who are working toward reducing their budgets, bargain hunting, living a more frugal lifestyle and constantly learning along the way. If you are interested in sharing your family’s successes and struggles, please contact me at centsable.katherine[at]gmail [dot]com. Bloggers and non-bloggers are both welcome to participate. Click here to read the stories of shoppers featured in the past.
Just a quick reminder to enter the TJ Maxx and Marshalls giveaway here for your chance to win a $25 gift card to TJ Maxx or Marshalls. Head over to this post and leave a comment. That’s all you have to do to enter! The contest closes tonight. I’ve heard that some people are having trouble leaving a comment. I’m not sure why that is, but please make sure your comment posts before clicking away.
A huge thanks to Lisa from Treasures of Savings for volunteering to help me round up the best deals at Hen House each week! Click here to see the online circular for Hen House.
It’s Friday which means that you can request a coupon for free chocolate! Every Friday through September starting at 9:00 am and ending at 11:59 pm, Mars is giving away free chocolate when you fill out the registration form. The form takes less than a minute to fill out, and they are giving away 250, 000 coupons each Friday for a free single serving package of M&Ms, Milky Way, Snickers, 3 Musketeers, Twix or Dove. You can request up to four coupons per household over the course of this promotion. You can’t beat free chocolate!
Walgreens has released a new coupon that is good for 15% off eligible store items and 20% off Walgreens and W Brand products. It is valid one day only, Friday, July 31, 2009, and it states that it needs to be used at the photo or cosmetics registers only. Go here to print yours.
To see what’s on sale this week at Walgreens, go here.
First of all I want to say a huge thank you to all our wonderful Grocery Gathering contributors who work very hard to bring you the best deals with coupon matches at stores across the country!
The Grocery Gathering is constantly growing, and I add new contributors weekly. Each month I also add at least one new store the Grocery Gathering. This past month I added 18 news stores, bringing the total number of stores added in the last two months up to 43! That’s more stores than were included in the entire Gathering back in October of last year. In addition to all the new stores, I’ve also added over 110 new contributors. The Grocery Gathering is definitely growing!
I love watching the Grocery Gathering grow because I know that its growth provides more people with the tools needed to save on their grocery and household bills. Please visit the Grocery Gatheringto see all the stores and contributors marked as *NEW*.
I especially appreciate those bloggers who have responded to the requests for specific stores, including the bloggers who are covering Food Town, Food 4 Less, Ralph’s, Stater Brothers, Trader Joe’s and VG’s. Please check them out and thank them for stepping up to the plate and providing coupon match ups and deals!
The 18 new stores added to the Grocery Gathering within the past month are:
Bigg’s
Buy for Less
City Market
Econo
Food 4 Less
Food Pyramid
Food Town
Garden Fresh Market
Liborio Markets
Macey’s Associated Foods
Minyard
Pueblo
Roche Brothers
Stater Brothers
Town & Country
Trader Joe’s
VG’s
Wegmans
If you would like me to add a link to the Grocery Gathering for the stores you cover on your blog, please read the guidelines here and email me at centsable.katherine[at]gmail[dot]com.No grocery store is too small to be listed in the Grocery Gathering, and I am always willing to consider new contributors for any store. Also, if there are any stores in particular that you would like to see covered, please contact me.
Even given the growth of the Grocery Gathering, there are several local grocery stores that are not covered. Readers have sent me requests for the following list of stores. Please email me if you would be willing to cover any of these stores or if you know of any bloggers who are already covering them. There is at least one reader ready and waiting to benefit from those posts!
A&P
Bristol Farms
Buy Low
Crest (Oklahoma)
D&W Fresh Market
Family Dollar
Family Fare
Felpausch Food Center
Gelson’s
Glen’s Markets (Michigan)
Howe’s Market
Lowe’s (Texas)
Lucky
Patricia’s (Grain Valley, Missouri)
Smart and Final
United Markets/Market Street
Valu Plus
Check out the Grocery Gathering to find all the best bargains at a store near you!
There are plenty of deals at Walmart this week. A huge thanks to Heather from NWA Deals for her help in compiling this list. Click here to see a list of inexpensive school supplies available this week.
Please keep in mind that Walmart prices vary from region to region and store to store so the prices at your local store may not match the prices in this list. This may be especially true of the price of school supplies in your local store. Deal Seeking Mom maintains a complete list of all deals available at Walmart.
Going green can be overwhelming. There is so much information out there about potential health hazards and disastrous environmental effects caused by the manufacturing, distribution, use and waste of everyday products. Making the switch to products that are more eco-friendly and better for the body may seem like a great idea, but the process of choosing an alternate product is time-consuming and sometimes expensive.
Another problem I have with switching products is that I typically don’t like to be the first to try something new. I’d much rather stick with the tried-and-true than make a switch to a new product that may or may not work. I like to hear the opinions of others before I buy, and typically this isn’t possible when I’m considering choosing unconventional products.
In my research about going green, I have found the following two websites to be especially helpful in making the switch.
The Environmental Working Group website is packed with information, so much so that you could spend a week reading it and still have plenty left to peruse. The feature that I found to be most helpful are the databases in the right hand column. There is a 2009 sunscreen guide and also a cosmetic safety database. Using this landmine of information makes it so much easier to pick products that are safe to use. There is plenty of information on the EWG website about the potential risks in the unregulated health and beauty products most Americans use every day. For example, the EWG found that of the 1,620 sunscreens they tested 3 out of 5 sunscreens either contained hazardous chemicals or don’t sufficiently protect skin from sun damage. I’m grateful this website makes it easy to find products that do work without causing harm.
SafeMama is a blog written by a mom with the help of a team of several mothers who put time and effort into researching and reviewing products. On the sidebar of the website they have several Cheat Sheets that list eco-friendly, healthy alternatives for sunscreen, BPA free bottles, sippy cups and storage options, safer bug repellents and many others. I always check SafeMama after reading about a product on the EWG website because SafeMama may mention information the EWG leaves out, like how pleasant a particular bug spray smells or how easy a certain sunscreen is to apply. SafeMama also hosts giveaways regularly like the current Seventh Generation giveaway. If you are looking for some help going green, I recommend regularly reading SafeMama blog.
There are several new Cellfire coupons available including a brand new one for $1 off Honey Nut Cheerios. Like Upromise, Cellfire coupons are e-coupons. That means there’s nothing to print. You simply need to sign up for a Cellfire account, register your grocery store savings card and pick the coupons you would like to load onto it. When you purchase a product for which you have a Cellfire coupon, the coupon amount is automatically deducted from your total.
You do need to register a phone number with Cellfire in order to initially set up your account, but the grocery store coupons do not require you to use your cell phone at all. Cellfire e-coupons are redeemable at participating grocery stores including Kroger chain stores, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Carrs, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, Pavillions, Safeway and Vons.
Visit the Cellfire website to see if your local grocery store is included in the list of participating stores and to download your coupons. Then check out the Grocery Gathering for coupon and deal match ups to all the participating stores.
These coupons are available to load onto your card for the next two weeks, but they don’t expire until two weeks after that. I recommend loading all available coupons.
Hamburger Helper® Save $.75 Save $.75 when you buy THREE any flavor Hamburger Helper® Tuna Helper® OR Chicken Helper® Home Cooked Skillet Meals.
Betty Crocker® Fruit Snacks Save $.50 Save $.50 when you buy TWO BOXES any flavor Betty Crocker® Fruit by the Foot® Fruit Gushers® Fruit Roll-Ups® OR Fruit Roll-Ups® Fruit Stickerz ® Fruit
Nature Valley Granola Bars Save $.40 Save $.40 when you buy ONE BOX any flavor/variety Nature Valley® Granola Bars.
Fiber One® Bars Save $.40 Save $.40 when you buy ONE BOX any flavor Fiber One® Chewy Bars.
Betty Crocker Cookie Mix Save $.40 Save $.40 when you buy any flavor 17.5 OZ. OR LARGER Betty Crocker® Cookie Mix.
Betty Crocker® Supreme Brownie Save $.75 Save $.75 when you buy TWO any flavor Betty Crocker® Box Supreme Brownie Mixes.
Trix® Cereal Save $.55 Save $.55 when you buy Trix® cereal.
Honey Nut Cheerios® Save $1 Save $1.00 when you buy Honey Nut Cheerios® cereal.
Chex Mix® Save $.50 Save $.50 when you buy any flavor 4.5 OZ. OR LARGER Chex Mix® OR Chex® 100 Calorie Snack.
Betty Crocker Cake and Frosting Save $.50 Save $.50 when you buy BOTH Betty Crocker® Cake Mix AND Betty Crocker® Frosting (any flavors/varieties).
Yoplait Kids Zone Save $.80 Save $.80 when you buy TWO any flavor Yoplait® products listed – Yoplait® Go-GURT® Yogurt – Yoplait® Trix® Multipack Yogurt.
Betty Crcoker Fruit Flavored Shapes Save $.40 Save $.40 when you buy ONE BOX any variety Betty Crocker® Fruit Flavored Shapes.
Yoplait Cups Save $.50 Save $.50 when you buy SIX any variety Yoplait® Yogurt cups OR any flavor Yoplait® Original OR Light Smoothies.
Betty Crocker® Warm Delights Save $.50 Save $.50 when you buy ONE any flavor Betty Crocker® Warm Delights® Bowls OR Betty Crocker® Warm Delights® Minis Bowls.
Chex Mix® Flavors Save $1 Save $1.00 when you buy any 4.5 OZ. OR LARGER Barbecue OR Sour Cream & Onion Chex Mix®
Yoplait® Fiber One® Save $1 Save $1.00 when you buy any flavor Yoplait® Fiber One® Yogurt Multipacks.
Chex Mix® Bars Save $.60 Save $.60 when you buy ONE BOX any flavor Chex Mix® Bars.
Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters Save $1 Save $1.00 when you buy ONE BAG any flavor Nature Valley® Granola Nut Clusters.
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Welcome to Centsable Savings Stories and Struggles! Each week, a different person shares the story of how she (or he) became a frugal shopper, complete with triumphs and struggles. In sharing these stories, I hope that you find encouragement and motivation to keep on finding those deals and cutting costs. This week, Renae from Madame Deals is sharing her story. Renae was inspired to start extreme couponing at a little store named CVS. I wonder how many others out there became hooked on savings thanks to CVS? 
