Some Amazon Deals!

Here are some great Amazon deals I've found:

Sumersault Polka Dots Sheet - $0.69

This product is NOT polka dots and is a blue stripe. However, at that price, it could have an elephant on it and I don't care. What a great price!

Aloe Vesta Protective Ointment- 8 oz tube - Single Tube - $1.99

Original price of $21.99 and has a 5-star rating out of 11 reviews. It is hypoallergenic too!

Sumersault Claudia Crib Sheet - $3.99

Original price of $19.99. This is a very good price for a crib sheet.

Munchkin Dora Rolling Wheel Teether - $0.97

Have a baby that is teething? Sick of paying for overpriced teethers? Buy this for a buck and you won't look back!!

Phew! Those were just a few of the deals I've found looking around quickly. If I find anything else, I'll be sure and post it.

New Year Resolutions

So, we have been perfecting the art of living frugally over the last year, and there are a LOT of other ways that we could continue to pinch pennies even further.

With the two kids, we have found a wonderful balance to provide for OUR needs, and THEIR needs. Our biggest expense our diapers.

My youngest B is just ready to start potty training soon, and so, he will have been in diapers for two years next month. Brennan has worn every diaper brand out there.

Pampers were the first brand that Brennan wore and he loved them. He wore them until the summer when we switched to the Target up&up brand.

These diapers are amazing! Sure, they don't have the cute designs that Pampers and Huggies diapers have, but they are a cute green polka dot. They are just as absorbent as a branded diapers. I have been using them for over a year, and most of the time, throughout my son's diarrhea bouts... they have lasted!

Now, when I am shopping at Rite Aid and there is a good diaper deal, I will hold off on using up&up diapers and will instead use Huggies.

For example, my favorite diaper deal is when the jumbo packs go on sale for $8.99 at Rite Aid and you get a $2 +UP reward. The deal works VERY well like this-

3x Huggie's Jumbo Packs ($8.99 each)
Total: $26.97

Use - $5/$25 coupon
Subtotal: $21.97
3- $2.00 Little Snuggler coupons, or 3- $3.00 Pure & Natural coupons
(Can sweeten this deal if there is a Rite Aid video value coupon available)

Pay Out of Pocket: $15.97 for Little Snugglers, or $12.97 for Pure & Natural diapers.
You then get 3- $2+UP rewards, which means...

$6.97 for Pure & Natural, or $9.97 for Little Snuggler's! This deal makes me so excited, but alas, I have not seen it for nearly a month at Rite Aid, so I am eagerly awaiting my chance to buy more cheap diapers!

Even without the UP rewards, you are paying $15.97 for 108 diapers. At Target, 84 diapers is $19.99, so you can see that this deal saves you quite a bit of money!!

Holiday Cheer

Wow! Time sure is flying. I keep meaning to update this site, but I keep forgetting. Addie is growing like a weed- the NB diapers are finally starting to get a bit snug. But, I must say, she is the most calm baby. She is not needy, and she doesn't cry barely at all. She is an absolutely wonderful baby & it makes me SO happy to be her Momma! Already I am wondering where my "little" baby girl has gone!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!! :)

Planning for Next Week

Well, Matt is officially working third shift starting tonight, so that means some big changes for the month of December. It works out well with the holidays because third shift is usually slower than 1st or 2nd shift,and he can work from home on the holidays (Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Years Eve!)

And then in January he switches to 13.5 hour shifts & goes back to get his masters so he has class two days a week. AYIEE. I am so tired of everything changing.

I need to sit down and plan my shopping trips, but honestly, I am crunched for time and everything just gets MESSY! I am at a loss at how to keep everything organized & stay on top of everything. I follow the Hip2Save blog (www.hip2save.com) and they update so often, it is hard to keep track of all their updates.

Right now Colin (from Hip2Save) and 11 other bloggers are doing a big giveaway event. I started my entries today into the EIGHTEEN giveaways... but I only got 1 and a half done.I have 16 1/2 more to do in two days! UGH.

I really need a cheap, efficient way to keep track of coupons. I tried a binder, but I can't afford the dividers. OY.

Every Sunday, I end up clipping coupons, sorting coupons and throwing out the expired ones. Then I dig through the circulars and figure out what the best deals are. Then I go to Afullcup.com and see what other people have posted.

I'd like to get into coupon buying but I would have to have my coupons ordered a head of time for this weeks sales, and I am struggling with THIS week.... not even able to think about NEXT week yet.

Oh well, had an awesome impromptu trip to Rite Aid today. I was planning a Revlon scenario and needed to check out some prices (will share scenario later!!) . DF grabbed a couple clearance picture frames, and we paid $12.71 (in error) for three. when we went back to get it fixed, we got a refund of $12.70. Yeah, we got three frames for $0.01. Not sure how that works, but hey- now I can afford to go back and buy more! :)

There is not too much I need to get at RA- I just need to make sure none of my +UP Rewards expire soon. I did see that some Revlon items were 75% off at my Rite Aid.

Easy scenario might be:

Buy
2 foundation/blush originally at 13.99 at 75% off= $6.99/2
2 Revlon Lip care at b1g1 50% off (price is between $4.99-$8.99) = 13.46/2
Revlon nail enamel (price guess @ $4.99) = $4.99
Subtotal: $25.44

Use
1- $5/$25 purchase
2- $5 off Revlon lip care (RA)
1- $3/1 Revlon nail enamel (RA)
= $18 off!

OOP: $7.44 (If you have/use +UP rewards, this could be lower!)

Not bad considering you get five products for less than the price of 1 foundation. Not as good as it could be, but not bad considering it's 1:30am. I don't even know if there are any manfacturers q's for Revlon. Hmmm... Night internets

$0.07 OOP - My Trip At Target

I had a great trip to Target today! I got a bunch of little things that I needed!

I purchased:

1- 2-pack GE Reveal light bulbs on sale for $3.27
1- Travel sized Eucerin lotion at $0.97
1- NYC Nail polish at $0.94
1- REACH floss at $0.97
1- Ajax dish soap at $0.97 (I think-- lost my damn receipt)

Total: $7.12

I used:
1- $2.00 off GE Reveal Catalina (Manufacturers coupon--the cashier had it!)
1- $1.50 off GE Reveal Target coupon
1- $1.00 off any sized Eucerin
1- $1.00 off any NYC Nail Polish
1- $1.00 off any REACH floss
1- $0.55 off any Ajax (hangtag!)

Total coupons used: $7.05

OOP: $0.07!! :) What a great trip!

I've a New Hobby!

I started couponing about a month ago, and it's been taking up all my free time, so I will share with you some highlights!

• Addison is now 11 weeks old (she will be 3months on 12/6). Breastfeeding is going great. At 8 weeks, she weighed 8lbs and was 21.75 inches long! Her next appointment is in January.
• Brennan is now 22 months old (will be 23 months on 12/19). I can't believe this is going to be his 2nd Christmas!! :)
  
• We got our Christmas photos done & ordered our Christmas card (see card in post below!) I got 62 cards for 20% off for cyber week sale, with free shipping on orders over $25, and then my friend Lisa gave me a code for an extra 20% off. For posting the card below, I got a $25 gift card! So... that's like paying less than $2 for 62 Christmas cards SHIPPED! :) I'm super excited.
  
• I attended the baptism class for Addison & Brennan and we are planning their baptism for Spring.
  
• Matt and I are going to be starting the pre-marriage counseling. We had an appointment with Father Gotwalt, but we had to cancel it when I got sick a couple weeks ago. We are just waiting to reschedule.
  
• Matt has decided he's going back to MSM for his Master's, and we are both very excited for him to finish this degree. He has 2 semesters left of coursework, and then he can take some time to work on his oral and thesis. :)
  
• I am going to be taking some more courses at HACC in the Spring & Summer to finish up some basic math, science, and English requirements. Then I will be speaking with an online school about enrollment to see if I can go for my Bachelor's in Environmental Science. Hopefully, with an online program, I can finish my *bachelors* in the same time it'd take me to finish my *associates* at HACC. :)
  
• I have begun looking for a job & day care provider for my two children. Oh boo. :(
  

That's about everything that is going on here now. Now, onto the coupon talk....

It's pretty basic to start out with, depending on how much time you can devote to price shopping & coupon cutting. When I first started out, I did this:

1. Buy the Sunday paper
2. Look at the circular
3. Save money by buying sale items!
   

Then, I added a fourth step- cut coupons. When I started, I went for an item I needed & used a coupon. This saved a little bit of money, but not too much.

When you really save money is when you combine the store sale AND a coupon. As you start to shop with coupons more you become a LOT more aware of how much different items cost. For example, buying an item NOT on sale at CVS/RiteAid will cost $2-3 *MORE* than buying it at Wal-Mart or Target. However, buying an item on *SALE* at these stores is typically MUCH cheaper than either of those stores.

Also, make sure you price shop your local grocery store. When I compared cleaner prices (Pledge multi-surface) between wal-mart and Giant, I found that Giant had the lower price. When Giant had a sale, I used a coupon, and saved $2 on Pledge! :)

Now, what I am doing is "making money" by shopping at Rite-Aid- and I LOVE it. It is so easy to do.

1- Watch Rite Aid video values every month (watch EVERY video you can- but do not print it until you need item)
2- Watch store sales
3- Combine RA coupons w/ Manufacturers coupons
4- Apply all of these with +UP rewards && MAKE MONEY!

One simple scenario that I did this week was:

Buy:
2 Foamies Crafts at $2.29 each. On sale Buy 1 Get 1 50% off.
2 Clorox Wipes 35-ct. On sale 2 for $4. (Get 1$ +UP reward wyb 2)

Total: $7.43

Use:
1 RA Video Value December coupon - $5 off Foamies
1 RA Video Value November coupon - $0.50 off Clorox
2 Manufacturer coupons - $0.75 off Clorox wipes
Total coupons: $7.00

Paid OOP: $0.43
Get back 1$ +UP Reward from Clorox....so I made $0.57 on this purchase! :)

I will post my RA shopping trip list soon! :)

card uno

Picture Joy Christmas

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