Kindle Deals

Did your spot on the good list get you a new Kindle this year? If yes, you need to check out Pixel of Ink and Pixel of Ink - Young Edition! You can sign up for daily emails or follow them on Facebook! Each day they list amazing deals on Kindle books, often many free books are listed!! Santa brought me a Kindle on for Christmas and I have already downloaded several great FREE titles. When you see a book you are interested in, make sure to travel over to Amazon and check out right away. Make sure the book is listed as $0.00 before you check out, the deals do not last forever!

Your local library is a great resource as well, log in to your digital library, for example Great River Regional Digital Library. You are able to download free titles as they come available to read on your Kindle or listen to on your iPod!

Happy Reading!
Jodi

GREAT deal on shoes

The oldest of my two fabulous step children insists on continuing to grow. This week, it was right out of her tennis shoes. With money tight (as always) we were a little nervous about the trip to buy new shoes. No need to worry though - I found this coupon for Payless - 20% off of your entire purchase. To top it off we found a great pair of shoes marked down from $36 to $12!!! We walked out only paying $9.60 :)

Vistaprint FAN!

I'm sure I have already shared my love of Vistaprint, but I seriously love this company. If you need business cards, address labels, stamps, t-shirts, anything for a home business or just your home you need to check them out. I have yet to pay for any items from their company - I only pay shipping and I have been able to get banners for the wedding and school, magnets for the cars for the wedding, business cards (for the wedding and my Avon business), brochures, fliers, t-shirts....it's been awesome!! Definitely sign up for the emails so you can score the best deals!

Free Pictures

Check out this great Walgreen's Deal, you can get 25 4x6 prints for FREE and a FREE photo calendar. I am getting ready to scapbook our wedding soon so I am taking advantage of this right away! Walgreen's has great deals on pics all the time, definitely worth signing up for their daily emails so that you don't miss a deal!

Penny Pincher :)

Wahoo-the Penny Pincher is here and I am ready to get back in my money saving ways and blog again. I was a little busy with that wedding business!

I'm planning a trip to Coborn's on Friday - great deals not only for my family but I will also be able to help out our school food drive with some of the great deals!

My favorite deals:
Country Hearth Bread - coupon allows for 2, I love getting this at a great price, it goes right in the freezer!
Kemps Ice Cream - $1.77! Hoping to find a manufacturer coupon for this one and bread - to really pump up my savings!
Prego Pasta Sauce $1.33 AND I have a coupon for 75 cents off of 2! I get to use both discounts for super great deals!!

I'll be sharing my actual savings on Saturday! Happy Saving!

SUPERCUTS

I have to admit I wasn't sure if I should post this but it was a GREAT deal and it all turned out good so here we go. I got my hair cut at Supercuts today. Seriously the only thing that bothers me is the name because the 90s kid in me immediately thinks of Wayne and Garth saying Supercuts, more like SuperSucks! But I was able to get past that silliness and check them out on Sunday when I needed to take Drew somewhere for a haircut. They did a great job with her, seemed very nice and professional so I decided to check them out myself! I walked in today and announced I needed them to give me a new 'do and I was ready to go back to bangs! I know, GASP! They did an amazing job, love my new locks and have some great ideas for wedding hair. All this fabulous for only $22 and that is including a $5 tip!!! Now that is what this girl calls a deal!

Ebates

Do you shop online? Every good couponer knows the best way to have more money is to get paid for doing what you already do! Check out Ebates whenever you are planning to shop online. Enter the store you want to shop at, if it is in Ebates database, you will get a percentage of your purchase back in a check four times a year! Plus they often have special deals that you get in addition to your % back!
For example when I need to buy books, I often go to Barnes and Noble (have to use my teacher discount of course). First I visit Ebates and type in Barnes & Noble into the search field. Not only does Barnes and Noble appear on their site, but they also give coupon codes for special discounts. I click on Shop Now and away I go. Ebates tracks my activity on Barnes & Noble and adds a percentage of my total to my Ebates account! I've earned a total of $11.50 from Ebates, for this girl that is a ton of $$!!

Cute shirt and today's best deal

I was just checking my email and saw this from Tanga: Check Me Out shirt. For only $5.99 I kinda think I need to have it for shopping trips :-P

I also needed to post again today to tell you about my favorite deal!! In the P&G Brand Saver for September there was a $1.00 off any Cascade product. With no limit on size you can use these on the trial size packages that are sold at Target for only 97 cents! I had two coupons with me so I was able to get two packages for FREE! I have one more coupon that I haven't yet clipped that I will be using this week when I visit Target again :)

I'm back!

Okay, I had to take a break from blogging as I was so busy with the start of the school year and wedding planning, but I am back and ready to share some deals with you!! Today's deal has the disclaimer that I am an Avon rep (great way to get the products I for free and make money for my family). Right now in the Avon Outlet section of the website their are great deals on makeup, fragrance, bath and body, hair care, fashion, children and jewelry! Check it out at Jodi's Avon Site!

For those of you who live near St. Cloud you can have your order sent directly to me, you do not have to pay shipping that way :)

Picked up an extra paper yesterday - only 2 of my three landed on my doorstep - now to get all the coupons clipped and organized!! This might take two nights - back to school tomorrow and I need my sleep!!

P&G insert!

It looks like this weekend the P&G insert will be out!! Make sure to get a few papers so you can stock up on these great coupons!

Another Double Coupon Success!

This week was such a good example of why it pays (literally) to clip, organize and save your coupons for a good sale. Last week General Mills had a coupon insert out, this usually comes out once a month. This week, Coborn's had a special General Mills sale where they marked down the price on many products AND offered a $5 coupon off of the purchase of 10 products. Not only is this a good deal in and of its self, but I was able to match many of my own coupons with the products offered in this deal. I waited until double coupon Saturday and really cashed in! For example:
Fiber One bars were reduced to $2.49 (normally close to $4)
With Coborn's $5 coupon 50 cents was taken off that price so they were $1.99
Then I used a 75 cent manufacturer coupon that was doubled to $1.50 and I only paid 49 cents for a box of Fiber One bars!
Total before coupon deals was $44, I only spent $26!!! Great deal day :-)

Who wants to win 21 coupon inserts????

Check out this blogger's post, vote and post to her post that you voted and you could win 21 coupon inserts!!!!
Who wants to win 21 coupon inserts????

Sunday Funday of Savings!

I stopped at Office Max today to mail some items and cash in on their composition notebooks that were 25 cents and folders that were only 1 cent each! There is a limit on both of these items....but I might stop by each day this week to get 5 comp. notebooks as I love to give these to my students every year for journals! I signed up for their teacher rewards program and ended up saving $7 total on my mailing, folders and notebooks!

Next stop was Once Upon a Child to drop off toys from AJ's room cleaning extravaganza last week. When I came back to check on my items I was given $15! I then found about $37 in clothes for the kids, with my $15 credit and a previous $7 credit I only had to pay $15 for 9 like-new items for back to school!

I then "had" to swing through Crafts Direct to get a few things for a project I wanted to do at home and pick up the two things I needed to finish wedding projects. Everything I bought was on sale and I ended up earning a $10 credit for my next trip there! Right now everything in their outlet store is 30% off - check it out, especially if you like jewelry - I found some fun things for my bridesmaids bouquets!

Double Coupon Success

Successful couponing day at Coborn's! It was double coupon Saturday and their Penny Pincher book came out this week.
My favorite deal was the Country Heath bread.
Coborn's coupon for $1.74 and manufacturer coupon for $.55 that was doubled to $1.10! I was able to get that deal on both loaves of bread!!
Second favorite deal was the chicken. On sale for $8.99, coupon for $1.00 that was doubled to $2.00!

Have a few penny pinchers I have not used yet, waiting to see if there are any manufacturer match ups in tomorrow's newspaper!

Thomas Trains

Do you have a Thomas fan? I found a bunch of trains in AJ's donate pile of toys. Here's a list of what is available. Message me here or on facebook if you are interested. First come, first serve. Posting whatever is left on Monday to eBay :) All trains are made of wood (unless listed as die-cast) with magnets on their ends to connect trains together.

Molly's Tender - $3
James' Tender - $3
Rocky's Front Car - $3
Rocky's Front Car - $4
Holiday Caboose - $4 (die-cast) snow flocked
Thomas - $5 (die-cast)
James - $5 (die-cast)
Winter Thomas - $5 (die-cast) flocked in snow
Musical Caboose - $4
Alfie - $5
Chinese Dragon $5
Percy - $5
Lady - die-cast/battery operated $6
Purple & black passenger car - no name - $3.00
Yellow & black passenger car - no name - $3.00

Will sell the set for $45

Photo Book Deal

I wanted to put together a small photo book fro Drew that included pictures from her Harry Potter birthday party. I went to Walgreens last night to put together the book and then started looking for a deal. I get weekly emails from Walgreens that include special online deals so my first stop was gmail. In checking my email I see that Walgreens is having a special on photo prices all week! Each day there is a new deal so I decided to wait out the week to see if the photo books would be on sale. This morning they were 60% off! Wahoo, I was able to put together super cute book for her and only paid $2.99 plus shipping :-) Check out the deal, today only, by entering BRAGABOUT at checkout!

How I bought $20 of school supplies for only $5!!

Oh the poor kid working late at Wags who was so kind to actually be patient with my three transactions this night and extreme excitement over how much I saved in the end. I made sure to go late at night (this is easy when no one is home for me) so I wouldn't hold anyone up in line.

Transaction 1
Gillette Fusion Razor (yes, I have many of these now)
on sale for $9.99, used $4.00 coupon and received $4.00 in Register Rewards

Transaction 2
1 Purex Laundry Detergent (on sale $1.99, had $1.00 coupon!)
2 Crayola Paint sets (2 for $3.00 with Wags coupon)
1 Cool School Box ($0.59!)
total spent $4.99, total saved $10.28!

Transaction 3
6 folders (wags coupon - 6/$1.00)
2 bookcovers (wags coupon - 69 cents ea)
3 pencil Sharpeners (wags coupon - 39 cents ea)
1 Sharpie Highlighter Pack (99 cents)
2 packs of pencils ($.45 ea on sale)
1 pack of crayons ($.79 on sale)
2 rulers ($.19 ea on sale)
4 expo marker packs (sale price 99 cents + 2 coupons for $1.00 off with purchase of 2)
Used $4.00 Register Reward

total spent $3.45, total saved with sales, coupons and rewards $34.42!!!!!!!

Add in one of the crayola paint sets I was able to get for $1.50 and I only spent $4.95!! I will be dropping off the supplies at TruStone Financial in St. Cloud. They are giving away free tickets to the new aquarium at MOA for donations :)

I gotta say - I am pretty excited with what I was able to accomplish! I seriously love Walgreens!

Unique at a Great Price

My friend Kelli has her own online jewelery boutique! Check it out before September 5th to take advantage of her back to school special on all jewelry!

Kelli's Unique Boutique <---- Click Here, Kelli's site has also been added to my favorites ---->

A challenge for you!

I was looking at the kid's school supply lists and realized that I am done getting them ready for the new school year. But there are still so many great deals and I am a big nerd who loves shopping for school supplies. So....I thought of a challenge and I am hoping to encourage some of you to participate.

Here it is, take $5 and see how many school supplies you can get with only that $5 (it's okay if tax takes it a little over). If your kids (like mine) already have their supplies, donate the school supplies you buy to any of the many local organizations that are doing school supply drives!! I will post my list here and encourage you to do the same! Let's see how far $5 can go to make a difference!

My Binder

Ahh...my coupon binder! I recently reorganized my binder and love the new system!!

The first thing I did was go to The Krazy Coupon Lady website and downloaded her binder pages. When you visit her page, scroll down and look on the right hand side for downloads. I printed the file in black and white to save on ink. Each page of the binder is put in a protective sleeve, with a table of contents at the front. This also includes my name and number in case I ever GASP left my baby behind :)
The last four sections are reserved for the stores I shop the most; Target, Walgreens, Cash Wise and Coborn's. All of these stores have their coupons either online or in newspaper inserts so it is nice to have a separate area for these coupons.

Each section of my binder is separated by a sheet listing what is in that section. I combined some together since I knew I would not have tons of coupons for those categories each week.

Behind each section label is a baseball card holder for the coupons that match up with that category! This makes it so easy to quickly find coupons that match up with sales in various stores!

For the four main stores I shop at, I also have separate dividers and baseball card holders. When I am planning a trip to one of these stores, I put my shopping list with coupons I plan to use in the sheet protector. Then if I find other great sales, I still have my binder there where I can quickly look and find other coupons to add to the list that day!

Finally I have the coupon policies printed for Cash Wise, Coborn's Walgreens, Target and WalMart. I have only had a problem at WalMart, and did not even have to pull out the policy for it to be resolved but I feel better having it on hand when I go shop. The more extreme I get, the more I know I will want to have those policies with me!

It took me about 3 hours to organize my binder in this new system last week. I had to transfer all my coupons from my previous system and put everything in page protectors. This week I could not believe how easy it was to clip and organize my coupons!! Now when I get a chance I will scan the ads, pick out the coupons I want and get shopping!

How do you organize your coupons?

Inserts and Subscriptions

One great way to save is stock up on the coupon inserts that arrive in your weekly Sunday paper. Now you could just buy the paper each week at your local gas station or supermarket, I've done this several times especially when the P&G inserts are out - I usually buy 3 papers that week :)

However, to be a true penny pincher you will want to get subscription to one or more papers. This allows you to get the paper at a discounted price and it is delivered right to your door! I have had a subscription the St. Cloud Times for about a year and have been very happy with the coupons I get every week. On the first Sunday of each month I go to the store and buy and extra copy and usually the Star Tribune so I can really stack up on the coupons.

I've been looking for a great deal so that I could get additional newspaper subsciptions. I lucked out at the Benton County Fair today! The St. Cloud Times was there and I was able to add a second subscription at the same deal price I already had through them AND I was able to get an excellent deal on 26 weeks of the Star Tribune!!

Starting next week I will have three subscriptions delivered right to my door! Woot! Bring on the coupons baby!!!

How many newspapers do you get every week?

Tanga Contest

Alng with great deals, Tanga has many contests. There latest is for a $250 spa finder gift card!! Check it out by clicking here

Walgreens, Cash Wise and Coborn's - oh my!

I did a quick 90 minute power shopping trip to three stores today. Added some stuff to my stockpile and loaded up on tons of groceries for our family!

Walgreens-Two Transactions

1 Proglide Razor, on sale for $9.99 - had coupon for $4.00 off
1 Aveeno Naturals Lotion, 25% off - had coupon for $2.00 off
Received $4 Register Reward (I was hoping the Aveeno qualified for a $5 RR but I read the ad wrong:-P)
total spent $25.01, total saved $9.00 plus $4.00 register reward for second transaction

2 Gillette Men's Body Wash (B1G1 50% off) - had (2) $2.00 coupons
3 Dawn Dish Soap - on sale for $0.99 had (3) $0.50 coupons
2 Kotex Tampons - on sale for 2/$7.00, had one $2.00 and one $1.00 coupon
1 Birthday Card
1 Birthday Bag
used $4.00 Register Reward
total spent $15.87, total saved $21.98!!

Coborn's Double Coupon Days and Meat Sale!!
Bought 5 packages of chicken, roast and hamburger for $25
And used coupons (all were doubled!) on chicken, qTips, toothpaste, Cheez Its and General Mills cereal!
total spent $37.82, total saved $17.28!

Cash Wise Coupon Book Sale!
I used the advertised discounts in the Cash Wise coupon book and was able to match up the store coupons with a few manufacturer coupons!
2 boxes of spaghetti
2 jars of spaghetti sauce
5 boxes of Little Debbie snacks
1 Gallon of Chocolate Milk
1 Gallon of Skim Milk
3 pounds of hamburger
1 box of Waffles
3 boxes of Kleenex
2 Jars of Jelly
3 Jars of Peanut Butter
2 Gallons of Grape Juice
1 Fruit Juice pouches
I listed my items here because I think the amount of food I was able to get for my family for only $47.85 was awesome!!

total spent $47.85, total saved $18.39

Today's Stats: Spent - $126.54 and saved $66.65. Considering that is at least a tank and half of gas in my car....I'm pleased with the results. We were also able to stock up on a bunch of protein at great prices which means many meals are covered for the next few weeks!

Planning

To be a successful couponer, you need to work in some planning time. Honestly, I spend anywhere from 2-4 hours a week going through ads, cutting coupons and organizing shopping trips. For the amount I save, it is worth it for me and my family and our budget! I've never been able to sit still and watch TV anyway so I usually do my couponing while watching TV or while the kids are busy with the Wii or other activities.

Tonight I have spent about an hour planning for three trips tomorrow: Cash Wise, Coborn's and Walgreens.
I received a special coupon book from Cash Wise so I cut out the ones I will use and since these are store coupons, I went on a search for any manufacturer coupons that I could match up.
Coborn's has double coupon days on Saturday (they will match any coupon up to $1.00) I'm excited that I have a few $1.00 coupons that I will be able to double to $2.00. To maximize my savings I am using coupons that can be doubled and only on items that are already on sale! F

Finally we needed some floss for the kids...so I am planning a trip to Walgreens. Since I bought three papers this week I have many duplicate coupons that I used on Sunday (see 7/31/11 post) so I will be cashing in on these deals and getting enough back in Register Rewards to get the floss (that sadly do not have a coupon for) for FREE.

Of course I will post my savings success tomorrow on my blog! Do you spend time planning, clipping and plotting? Share your stories here....I can't be the only one...can I?

Friday Fun!

Often when we think of saving we often think of coupons and grocery stores. However there are deals everywhere, and with a little planning you will never pay full price for anything!
Today we stopped at Dunham's Sports in Waite Park to pick up bike helmets and wrist guards (those of you who know me well, know why I need the wrist guards..lol)

I have previously signed up for Dunham's email list so I receive weekly 20% off coupons.
Tip: Set up an email just for your coupons and special offers, this way it won't overload your regular mail box and you can access deals when you need them.
We were able to find bike helmets for both Adam and I, wrist guards for me and a few bike accessories for Adam. With my 20% discount coupon I purchased my helmet which was reduced from $24.99 to $19.99. With my coupon is was only $15.99!

Since we could only use the coupon on one item, Adam did a separate transaction and used his hospital discount to buy the other helmet, wrist guards, bike pedals, repair kit, and water bottle. With 10% off each item we saved $5.00 more dollars.

Not the biggest savings I have seen but every little bit counts when you are determined to never pay full price for anything :-) Make sure to see if your employer offers discounts to area businesses. We are able to get discounts at movies, restaurants and even our wedding reception venue just because Adam works at the hospital. Many employers have this programs - take advantage of the savings!! They add up!!!! Our family has easily saved at least $200+ this year and that is money we can certainly use for other essentials.

Ooh Pretty!

I really needed (well, okay wanted) a manicure and pedicure today. Although I can do this myself, I always wreck one of my nails within minutes. After a not so fabulous $30 pedicure at one of the local salons a few weeks ago I decided to go the cheaper route. I figure if it was going to chip I should spend much less money.
I decided to go to Regency Beauty Institute in Waite Park. I was treated to a wonderful mani/pedi from a lovely lady who did an amazing job!! Not only did it only cost $27 total, they send you home with a full bottle of the OPI Nail Polish used on fingers AND toes. Many of you girls know that these bottles are $8 a piece so this was most definitely a GREAT deal. Even better? I love how pretty my fingers and toes look :-)
Next time you need a day of pretty, check them out!

More Inspiration

I recently finished reading a great book by Joanie Demer and Heather Wheeler called Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey ! I've followed the Krazy Coupon Lady on Facebook for the last few months. Much like Pocket Your Dollars which I mentioned in a previous post, The Krazy Coupon Lady lists deals, coupons on tips for saving money. For those just getting started in couponing, to those who want to become extreme, this book is an excellent resource. I was able to get the first copy from our local library and devoured the book in a few days. After reading the book, I have reorganized my coupon binder (I <3 my coupon binder) and will be taking a slightly different approach to weekly shopping trips. I promise to keep sharing my successes with you! Head to your local library, or favorite bookstore to pick up your copy today!

Free Sample

Check out this free Kashi sample: Click Here
get yours while they are still available!

Inspiration

I did not become a deal-getter extrodinare over night. I had some inspiration from various websites and people!! My number one help/inspiration has been Carrie Rocha who runs the Pocket Your Dollars blog. She does a great job of listing amazing deals in Minnesota and each weeks matches up sales at local stores with recent newspaper and online coupons. Additionally her site offers great advice on how to get out of debt and STAY out of debt. Check her out and make sure to "like" her facebook page as she does an excellent job of posting daily deals!

Enjoy! I'll share more tomorrow :) Thank you to everyone who has visited so far, feel free to leave comments, ask questions or tell me I'm awesome ;)

Online Deal

No shopping today - I am at the Education Minnesota Summer Seminar having a wonderful time getting excited for the new school year.
Although I did not shop today I scored a GREAT online deal last night. Tanga is one of my favorite sites because they have totally random cheap products. Those of you have seen my Save the Earth - It's Where They Keep The Chocolate shirt....that is thanks to Tanga. If you sign up for the emails you will get one daily email (usually around 10:00pm) with six deals. Last night I couldn't resist this shirt. It was only $5.99 plus $1.99 for shipping! I also purchased a stock market board game a few weeks ago which should be here any day now. It was FREE with $4.99 shipping - again, not bad.
What were your deals today?

A Great Day of Sunday Savings!

First Stop - Office Max to get my free tote bag and 20% of coupon for being a teacher. Since I was one of the first 150 I also received a planner and some extra supplies!
Using my discount and advertised deals - I walked away with all of this for only $15.39!
2 packages of Expo Chisel markers for my classroom
2 packages of Expo Fine Black markers for the kids (both were FREE)
2 Rulers (1 cent each)
2 packs of crayons (1 cent each)
Some travel size supplies that were on clearance that I could also use my 20% discount on:
Wisp Coolmint 2 pack
2 Herbal Essences Shampoo
2 Herbal Essences Conditioner
2 Satin Care Shave Gel

Spent $15.39, Saved $14.89 and I received a $5 off coupon for Payless!

Second Stop: Walgreens my favorite place to save $$!
To save the most money possible, I did two transactions

First Transaction:
Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner - 2 for $7.00
used $1.00 off coupon from P&G insert
Crayola Markers - $2.00
Crayola Thin Makers - $2.00
Gillette Pro Fusion Razor - $9.99
used $4.00 off coupon from P&G insert
Total spent after coupons $17.54, total saved $16.46 and recieved $8.00 in Register Rewards

Second Transaction:
2 StarTrib Sunday Papers $4.00
1 St. Cloud Times $1.50
Highlighters $0.39
10 Pack Pencils $0.39
6 - 2 Pocket Folders $0.66
Colored Pencils $0.59
Fiskar Kid Scissors $1.57
used Walgreens ad coupon
Dawn Dish Detergent $0.99
used $0.50 off coupon from P&G insert
6 2pk Erasers $1.74
used Walgreens ad coupon
Gillette Body Wash $9.98
used 2 $2.00 off coupons from P&G insert AND B1G1 50% off from Walgreens

Used $8.00 in Register Rewards from first transaction
Spent $8.74, saved $31.29!!!!

Third trip - even though I am not a big fan...WalMart
4 trail size Cascade Gel Pacs - $0.97 each
used 4 $1.00 off Cascade Gel Pac Coupons from P&G insert - no size specified!
Ranch Dressing - $3.84 (I splurged on Adam's favorite)
Croutons $1.36
Bakery Treat $1.36 (hey, I'm working hard here!)

Spent $6.53, Saved $4.00!

Last Stop: Gas Station
Used 5 cent off per gallon coupon saved $0.12
Earned a discounted car wash saved $3.00
Bought 3 PowerAde 32oz drinks - FREE with coupons from RiverBats

Spent $23.62, Saved (approx) $7.62

Overall today I spent $71.82 and saved $74.26
In my opinion - a wonderful way to "spend" the day! The deals are out there my friends!!
Go out and get them!

Three trips planned

Office Max to take advantage of teacher discount on GREAT school supply prices. Then Walgreens to take advantage of some great coupons and deals. The a quick swing through Wal-Mart to get some free dishwasher detergent!

Get the paper today!

Today is the beginning of the month which means P&G coupons - these are always a great deal plus Target and Walgreens usually have the items on sale that are featured in the coupon inserts! I'm off to buy three more papers so I can stock up on great deals for the rest of the month! I will fill you in on today's finds later today!

A great big deal day!

Ahh...the lovely Saturday with nothing to do but get out and save some money.

Today started at Crafts Direct in Waite Park. I needed to get a few more things for the wedding and this happens to be my favorite store. Today they just became my SUPER favorite store. Crafts Direct happens to have an excellent Passport to Savings program where members earn points for every dollar spent. Once you accumulate 100 points you get $10 to spend in the store....let's just say I have earned my fair share of $10 bonuses. Today however they decided to roll out their teacher passport program and it came with a 20% off coupon! Wanting to make sure the coupon was good off everything (like the flowers, glue gun and ribbon I needed) I went to customer service before I began my shopping. (wise savers always ask first to save headaches at checkout). I happily found out that not only could I use the 20% off coupon on anything I needed but the teacher passport program was FREE (no yearly fee like the regular passport program) and I would get bonus points for transferring my current passport! Sign me up!! I saved $40 on wedding project supplies and a gift for Adam's parents. I also earned another $10 bonus for the next time I shop!

Four hours left until Adam gets home and I needed to get some serious shopping done! We were leaving for a wedding as soon as he could get home from work!

AJ (youngest future stepchild) needed something nice and cool to wear for the wedding (we were warned no air conditioning). As was on the lookout for a lightweight polo shirt and khaki shorts. First step was Once Upon a Child. SUCCESS! Not only did I quickly find some perfect shorts and shirts....they were able to look up the credit (I had lost my receipt) from previous items sold there...and I had $17 to spend! Which means, AJ's clothes were free!

Next, shoes for me! Ran next door to Clothes Mentor - walked out 10 minutes later with adorable black wedge heels for only $7!! Not only were they cute, they didn't hurt my feet =)

Today was the last day to score some great deals on copy paper (which is on the school supply list for both kids) so off I drove to Office Max to pick up to reams for a total of $13 - the great thing....I am getting $11 of that back in MaxPerks that I can use in the store in September! Perfect timing for buying ink for our printer!! Next off to Office Depot to cash in on their deal of 2 reams for the same amount. Great deal there is that I will send in for TWO rebates and get back two visa gift cards in the amount of what I spent there today (minus 2 pennies). So when all is said in done I spent $2.02 on four reams of copy paper today!

Last stop was Cash Wise to take advantage of some expiring coupons. A few times a year Cash Wise sends out magnets that have weekly coupon deals. I had a coupon for every item purchased and a $1.00 off coupon when I purchased 10 food club items. I was able to match up many coupons with already reduced items in the store! When all was said and done I took home $79 worth of groceries for only $50!!

A successful day for sure - it is late and I'm finally getting tired but I promise to share more and with more details and tips in the upcoming weeks. Happy Saving my Friends!

So What is the Big Deal?

Saving money - that's what is the BIG deal! Over the past year I have developed a deep, dare I say, love for couponing and deal hunting. I have to say there are days when I seriously rock at finding great deals for my family. I often get so excited about what I have saved that I want to share with others. So I am jumping on the deal sharing blog bandwagon...say that five times fast. Now I am not going to go all extreme couponer on you :) Although, I think some of those ladies are amazing and I will be linking to their sites often. But I am going to share with you the deals I find in central Minnesota. I will share tips on how to stretch your dollar far and save $$ for your family. I am no expert but I think I have some helpful tips you may enjoy!