Coupon Saturday

First we stopped at Food Basket twice this week and took advantage of the free 4 lb sugar coupon.. I love their free items every week and am very thankful to my friend Pam who always gives me hers, then my friend Diane does when she remembers. It really helps us out.
Tonight after church which was amazing- Rick Warren's music leader came and led worship tonight, pretty awesome, anyway we stopped at Kroger.
I had 4 coupons for Star Kist Tuna packets- at $1 and the sale of $1 all 4 were free
Carefree liners were also $1 and again I had a coupon for $1 so it was free
They had their Kelloggs/Keebler sale of 4 for $10 I had 1 coupon for Townhouse crackers $2/2
Then 2 coupons for $1/1 on another cracker they sale- so my $10 now becomes $6 and I got two free gallons of milk with the deal which rang up at $2.38 each. I felt really good about that. I will do it again on Tuesday - but with Kelloggs cereal instead
I also took advantage of the Prego Heart Smart 2 for $4, then a coupon for $1 each, so made them $1 each.

My Closeout Items were in the Female aisle
I was excited to have brought in my household binder-it is for soap, toothpaste etc.. I almost didn't because it was not on my list.
I got 8 various Kotex/Stayfree items. I had coupons for all of them and a thing of Monistat on clearance $10.79 with a $3 coupon...all for about $15- I was pretty excited, a couple of the bags of Kotex were on clearance for $1.97 and I had a $1 off for both of them. I wiped out all my coupons on the page with the closeouts they were having.

Another good find was Chewable Vitamin C, they were BOGO, I had 2 $1 off coupons, so for two bottles I paid $4
With the 10 for $10 I also had coupons for Knorr Pasta so I got 4 of those
A bottle of Ketchup for 1.59- I now have 4 so that will get us through a whole year stockpile wise.
I allowed each of the kids to get a pint of BlueBell Icecream since they were 10/$10
and I bought myself a Newspaper and a bottle of my favorite juice- Strawberry Cranberry- which only Kroger seems to make anymore.
Oh and we had to make an unexpected by of posterboard thankfully it was only. 52cents
I felt I did pretty good. With the Mega Sale find on female items a while ago, I think I am not set for a year, as long as our daughter does not start anytime soon.

So the real breakdown...
MFG CPN 25.70
Kroger Plus Savings 28.24
Total coming to 53.94
Then I spent 51.45.. I was pretty excited but 1.45 over what I wanted- granted the kids were not supposed to get the icecream- that was a DAD approved expense.

Puppies

Tonight we went to my friend Pam's house. We picked up three puppies from her. The intent was one, which by the end of a phone call turned into two, then my husband going with me and seeing them. Then by the time we left it was three, almost four puppies. So now we need to play with them all weekend and then decide which TWO we are keeping. It will be a hard decision. At least for tonight they are washed and sitting all quietly in a container . That won't last very long in a few days I am sure they will figure out how to climb out.
Fun Fun

Kroger Deals for this week

There are not as many deals that I will use this week at Kroger this week, maybe it is more that we don't typically buy as many of the items on sale this week. There is one that I am very excited about. The StarKist Tuna packages. These are great for my daughters lunch, sometimes the boys take them. I found a way to print 4 coupons for $1 off then I just ordered 10 of the $1/2 from My Coupon Hunter. She is super quick at turning around orders so I will get them in plenty of time to shop before Tuesday when the sale is over. I will make two trips this week to ensure I get my free Tuna and Free Green Giant Veggies. Kelloggs Deal buy any 4 for $10 and get 2 free Gallon of milk, I will do this at least once but maybe twice, we easily go through 4 gallons of milk in a week.

Starkist Tuna Pouch from there site here 10/$10
Coupon from My Coupon Hunter Here
Green Giant Veggies 10/$10
Blistex 35 cents off 1 from My Coupon Hunter Here
BlueBell Pint IceCream 10/$10
Louisianna Fish Fry also from My Coupon Hunter- will be in this weeks paper in SS
Kelloggs Items- Coupons.com, ss various weeks, also this week they have some kind of snack in the ss, and I got some free from the store from their SS box
Redplum also has one you can print here
(this included 2 dif cereal coupons, Keebler cracker coupon and a Kelloggs snack coupon- all in the 4/$10 sale)

I might purchase some Totinos Pizzas, Pace Salsa, Pepperridge Farm Garlic Bread and Prego Spaghetti Sauce, it depends I have coupons for everything but the Pizza, but we only have $50 to work with this week. Just depends on how well my other savings are I guess.

Happy Shopping and Deals.. Really do give My Coupon Hunter a look - esp if you are specific to your items. Depending on the coupon savings depends on the handling fee of the coupon, then it is just 45 cents to ship first class. I spent less then $2 this week and got at least $12 in savings (off sale prices)

What Am I Learning Friday

I am learning that my body is starting to get a little old this week. I have had some minor trouble doing small tasks like opening a bottle of milk. This bothered me a little bit. On top of that I have been super tired and not sleeping well. My mom suffers from various medical issues so it got me thinking. I need to exercise. My husband has been trying to get me to take walks etc however to be honest the weather is too cold and it makes me ache so bad. We talked about getting bikes for outdoors but either it is too hot or too cold here for most months, so I talked him into an exerciser. One that is a step/bike thing. We have a workout bench but it hurts me to use it, so this will be a great way for me to work out while the kids are in school and still be safe. We dont live in the best area so I can't go walking during the day alone for sure. Eventually I might need to do more than just this bike/step machine but for now it is a great start.
Another thing I am learning is that I can mail coupons that have expired to a military base. I follow Stockpiling Moms alot, she gave out some info for where we can donate them within the U.S. Most other blogs I saw it is all out of the U.S. and then you have to deal with APO addresses and such, it is rather difficult to do all that. I wanted somewhere that just took a stamp and not all the paperwork to go with it. I do appreciate all that the military does and if I am going to buy 3+ papers most weeks I want the ones I dont use for sure to go to someone else.
Here is the info from her Blog, you may also read her post here.
Stockpiling Moms donates all of our expired coupons to our local American Legion Auxiliary. If you are interested in joining us and supporting our efforts please mail your coupons to:

American Legion Auxiliary Unit 450
450 Victor Stier Dr.
Milford, OH 45150

Walgreens Photo

This morning I took advantage of another Walgreen's Deal, you just load your photo to your account online, in this case my photo was already on my page. Then you select an 8 by 10 print and enter the code for the Free Photo. I selected the Walgreen's near me and will get this one photo for free.
With the loss of our dog recently I chose an 8 by 10 photo that both my husband and daughter love, it is the two of them and then our 4 dogs at the time. Since then our family life has changed a great deal. I asked my husband to pick it up on the way home. I am sure I can find a cheap 8 by 10 frame at the dollar store or Walmart next time I am in town. Free is so nice.

Thankful Thursday

You know I have so much to be thankful for this week, as normal. We did very well on coupons. Getting many bottles of Purex using the BOGO coupons, in addition to the previous weeks sale where I had coupons for so much off, and then the sale with Kroger for $2.49. We do a lot of laundry around here, sometimes I feel like i have six or seven kids because they go through so many clothes and towels. Of course living in a mud pit does not help. I will be thankful when we can get some crushed concrete.
This past summer we "purchased" a truck from my husbands brother in law, it was $6000. We were able to pay half of it and we were supposed to pay $100 a month until the rest was paid off, or until our tax return. Well I lost my job in October and we could not even begin to make a payment. I really do not like owing people money, esp family. I am so thankful that our Tax Return came this past Friday. We were able to write the check for the remaining $3000.
I was also thankful to have the IRS money because we had to do the unthinkable, put the property taxes for the 21.5 acres that Paul owns on the credit card. Just a few days later the truck needed repairs and that went on the credit card. We were both just dumbfounded as we had worked so hard to pay those off. Well that money had been provided also.
I am praying for some weather that contains NO RAIN! Our 2 acres that we live on is a SWAMP! the worst part is the overflowing septic system. I don't even think it works anymore. It just flows into the yard. The entire side yard is now septic water, from the foundation of the house to the fence line and it is now going under the gate and out into the front yard.
I see the poor dogs bellies and know they are getting parasites from them. I worry about the conditions of the floor and encourage the kids to wear socks- thankfully it is cold so that is an easy battle. I know we are tracking all these yucky germs in the house too. EEEWWW gross.
In order to get it fixed though, it has to dry out so that we can even dig it up, so that someone can come drain it. What a pain. The dumbest thing of it is they placed this right outside the back door. Why on earth would you do that. UGH!
I am thankful though that eventually it will be taken care of. I am also thankful that the snow did not last long. I am not a big fan. It makes me ache. I have hurt all day today from the weather yesterday. Being out in it, probably was not the best idea.
We have much to be thankful for, as sales have been good, coupons continue to work and we now finally have a stockpile of food to fall back on because the lean months approach us. I am thankful to pay attention and adjust what we normally would eat so that we will have enough food. I am not a fan of all this processed stuff but at this point to be able to eat felt more important. I am very excited about some coupons for this week, like four for Free Tuna packages that my daughter uses for school lunches. Also 2 free Green Giant Veggie Coupons too. I am almost kicking myself for using 10 of them this week at a local store, should have held out till this week, but I was so afraid of them expiring. Those 10 could have all been free...but then I don't want to get greedy either. :-)
The Lord is so good, I am ever thankful for his Provision.
Please pray for my friend Tracey and her family- her husbands dad passed away. Also pray for a mom of our kids school, her name is Lori, her mother lost her battle to breast cancer day before yesterday. I see so much loss lately. Another reason to be thankful to know the Lord as my personal savior because I am secure in the faith that this is not the end, it is only the beginning.

Catpults

So sometimes Paul can take a simple project and turn it into a giant one. This catapult was for science club this past week. Paul had to work on Saturday so Sunday morning we reviewed a few online. I had to leave to go get Mekenzei during part of the construction so I was surprised to see its size when I got back home. He did a great job. I did find that two bungee cords would have been ideal as it actually broke after testing the third item. I think more because we had already tested it a few times at home. The kids were very disappointed. This coming month we have to create a balloon powered boat. Fun Fun... they will also have to make their own as they just fought way to much the last two months.
I enjoy Science Club, it is interesting to see all the different ideas children/and their parents, bring forth. Also it is just once a month so it is not a bad way to get involved at the school. This is my third year helping. Jakob has pitched in this year because it allows him one hour of PALS credit- which is a Peer Assistance Leadership Service for his jr. high. The school loves having his help, esp Mrs Wilky who is in charge of the Science Club.

Tackle it Tuesday

This morning started very early. I had such a hard time sleeping last night- female issues and headaches, then this morning was up at 5:15..I don't like mornings like that.. On a positive note I got a cute potholder set finished for a friend and also put a bag of two dif color towels and some sample fabrics for a teacher who wants a set of towels and 2 sets of potholders. I am hoping we can finalize this "deal". It would give some milk and bread money for next week.
Paul did a Tackle it Tuesday for me this morning on the way to work.
His didn't go so well. Of course he has only been with me a few times with coupons and even though I explained everything, wrote it down, he simply forgot...
Scenario
3 BOGO Purex coupons- Daytona Price 2.49 each- should ring the second one at $4.12 that's what it did the other day.= 6 Purex
2 boxes of Cheerios- Had a $1 off coupon with the price right around $2.49
1 bag of Frito's- Sale Price ( no coupon)
Here is the mix up. I had a coupon for Kraft Mac n cheese- it says 5 boxes. There is a sale on 5 boxes- however the manager decided that he would not allow this coupon with the prepackaged 5 boxes. Since it was on the way to work my husband didn't argue simply said he didn't want the Mac N Cheese then, and wanted the coupon back.
Normally this might be okay except he forgot the key- as to why I said he needed the Mac N Cheese. You have to buy 10 items to get the lower cost, so now he paid higher on everyone of those items! I had to grin, because he has gone with me and I count and recount and often will throw in one extra item to not miss that 10 item discount, because it is $3, sometimes more.
Oh well, it was still only around $14 for 6 bottles of Purex, 2 boxes of Cheerios and a bag of Frito's, really that isn't too bad, but he should have gotten it for 4.74 plus maybe tax. He was actually very upset over his messup. I was just so thankful he made the trip. No matter how you look at it I got 3 bottles of Purex for free. :-)

Catalina Issues

I sure get a lot of Catalina Issues...Krogers twice now has not printed out the reward stuff for Purex. Then tonight I could not use RR at Walgreen's for a purchase of 2 Tylenol cold, and a pack of trident gum. He said I had to many coupons or something. I had one coupon for 2 ty cold and then the one for the trident gum. I was bummed it would have brought it down to $5
Then I purchased 2 Excedrin and a trident gum- and the $2 RR did not print. I had done it on a previous day so I know it happens. It is rather frustrating. Silly at the same time to be upset over not getting these little RR things..
I am hoping that Kroger restocks the Purex since I have 6 BOGO coupons. It is such a good deal. They give you the second at the 4.12 price not the sale price of $2.49, so with the 10 participating items at $3 off deal, I could just about pay for my 5 pack of mac n cheese and 3 boxes of Cheerios.
My husband said he would look for me before work. I have to be to the school at 9:30 so I might just go first thing also. Have to cut some fabric for some handprints that the kids in Zekaryah's class will be doing.
I am still trying to sort through all this coupon stuff. I really want to get the best deal I can. We will have no money at all for food during the month of March, and possibly April so I am just praying that my last trip this month is a good one. I am also praying I sell a few towels or quilts in those two months just so we can get the normal like milk and eggs. Otherwise I will be getting very creative. I trust the Lord to provide though, he always does, something I am ever grateful for.

Menu Monday

First I want to say that I didn't find Walgreens to work out so well for me with stacking of coupons. I was pretty disappointed really. Their beginning prices were a lot higher than Walmart and then to get to the register and not get the items for the price it should have been wow what a pain. So not sure if I will try it again. It did give me a $2 RR for the Excedrin that I bought, which was nice. I think I was most upset over the Listerine and crest. On either item they would only accept the Walgreens coupon. Anyway lesson learned...
I just find I do better at Kroger, or go to Walmart for my household items. I got 2 purex with a BOGO this weekend, 6 Campbell's soup with a $1/3 printable, 2 Country Crock butter with a 30 cent coupon (triples to 60 cents) plus was part of the buy 10/$3 off Kroger sale, 1 soft soap body with $1 off, 1 bottle of soft soap hand soap with $1.00 off, sale price this week was 88 cents. The total came to $9 and some change. The Purex was the best deal, next to the free soap. I got the BOGO free price at $4.12 and the sale was for $2.49 a bottle. That made it just about $1 for both bottles. I must admit I can't make soap that cheap. I have some more of those coupons on the way. I am praying they get here before Tue night when the sale is over.

Now to my Menu Monday, we will be using alot of bagged and boxed foods that I have gotten on sale lately. This week Gortons fish was $2.49 a bag after my coupons.

Monday
Fish Sticks/ Fish Filets and Betty Crocker Augrautin Potatoes, can of corn, can of green beans

Tuesday
Frito Pies- Jakob on his own

Wednesday
Homemade Chicken Tenders (from chicken my cousin gave us) and homemade fries, okra

Thursday
Blueberry Waffles and Bacon (bacon free from Food Basket last week)

Friday
Homemade Pizza per request of Zekaryah

Saturday
Spaghetti and Garlic Bread, Broccoli
Sunday
On Your Own