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!