Looks like a blah week

I don’t see any “must do” deals. A blah week is a welcome change.

I went to Superfresh yesterday and the Mott’s juice deal is ok. Not great but I haven’t been able to find a decent juice deal in a long time. After catalina works out to 1.25 a bottle. I won’t pay more than $1.50 for a bottle of juice, so it’s hardly my stock up price, but not bad. I wish the $1/1 Mott’s coupons weren’t expired, that certainly would make this a stock up deal.

I’ve seen a lot of blogs talking about Rite Aid. I never go there but maybe you want to check it out. Saw freebies and moneymakers mentioned several times.

I had to get some laminating done yesterday so I went to Rubinstein’s. They allowed me to get all the freebies with coupon, for just one $16 purchase. I didn’t have to do a separate $10 purchase for all six of the items. And each item is limit 4–so I got quite a bit of stuff for my $16 purchase. I’ll have more to do this week so I’ll take my free ream of paper coupon. Can always use a free ream of paper to go with all my ink!

In case you didn’t get enough Kellogg’s……..

Two more Kellogg’s deals I saw this week, and there were coupons in yesterday’s paper. Kmart is doing the $10 catalina when you buy 10 items and they do take mfr coupons. The $10 catalina is also still running at Superfresh. If you have enough coupons, the Superfresh deal can be a big moneymaker. Log in your Superfresh card so that you get the $1.25 off of three boxes. Then, add that to whatever Kellogg’s paper coupons you have. It’s on sale for $2 a box. Me? I’m staying away, we have waaaayyyy too much already.

Superfresh: Aug 13-19; 2 full pages of catalina deals

I really think SF is going to be my new go-to store! I have a few minutes to highlight the deals, while I’m waiting for the chicken parm in the oven–yummy!

I don’t know the shelf prices of any of these items, but remember, use shelf price to get to the $ amounts, then pay sale price minus any coupons.

Reckitt items: Buy 20, get 7
Reckitt is Lysol and Finish detergent items
Most Lysol cleaners on sale for $2, I know there were coupons in last week’s paper
Finish 12 ct is 3.99
Airwick 2 for 5

7th Generation: buy 12 get 4 deal
Everything on sale, ranging from 2.50 for dish detergent ot 5.99 for the laundry detergent

Edy’s & Skinny cow: 4/12 deal

Dannon, Danimal’s, Stonyfield: 3/12 deal

Heluva dips, heluva good cheese, almond breeze, simply smart milk: 3/15 deal

Conagra: 5/20
Conagra is manwich, kid cuisine, peter pan, snack pack, chef boyardee
I know there are lots of coupons and a rebate for this in the All You magazine available at walmart.

Spaghettios, V8, Chunky soup: 5/20 deal

Kelloggs/Keebler: 5/35 deal

Coke/Fuze/Powerade: 5/20 deal

Earthwise, Tree Ripe, La Yogurt, Ssips: 3/12 deal

Remember, in most cases, I’ve never NOT been able to do this at Superfresh–you can pay for your next order with the catalina from the previous order. Look at your SF flyer for specific items included and check the store for sale prices. I don’t have time to list them all, but looks like an awesome week for rolling catalinas, if you use this stuff!

Are you going to cut all those coupons? Seriously, how much time does this take? (more newbie advice)

There are a lot of stereotypes out there about couponers, and certainly supercouponers. I pick up my inserts (free!) on Mondays, so come to my house any Monday and you’ll see a huge stack of coupon inserts on my kitchen table. Monday is clipping day for me. After the boys go to bed, I clip. It takes me about 30 mins to get through a week’s worth of inserts. Certainly I don’t go through each insert individually, I spread them out page by page, stack them up, then clip several pages at a time.

And I’ve been doing this long enough, that I pretty much know which ones will get used and which ones won’t. The “won’t/maybe” stack gets put in the drawer, just in case of a future moneymaking deal. (Like the Keebler snack crackers! No, I won’t eat them. But if you’re going to pay me $5 to buy them, I’ll do it and donate crackers to food bank.)

I remember several years ago, on a moms board that I used to be a part of, someone posted a link about a mom whose husband was upset because she was just clipping coupons all the time–all her free time, in the car, at the dinner table, during…wait, no, she didn’t post that.

But overall, that’s a misnomer. I don’t spend all my free time doing this. I pick up my coupon inserts on Mondays and clip. Takes me 30-45 minutes, tops.

I peruse the various coupon message boards daily. 20 minutes, if I don’t do the social stuff.

Shopping–1 regular weekly trip. If it’s a good week, another trip or two to get freebies. I did my regular weekly trip at Superfresh on Friday. Yes, I had been to Giant a few times, but a rolling-catalina-freebie deal like that isn’t common. When it happens, if you use those products, you do it!

It’s a pretty slow week this week as far as deals, so my only plans are the swimming pool. I’ll clip everything I need to clip today while baby is napping and older child isn’t home from school yet. Then, other than checking message boards daily or every other, that’s it.
This is just a small part of who I am and what I do for fun. You do have to enjoy this (supercouponing) to make it work. If you view it as a chore like cleaning the bathroom, then you probably won’t be successful at it. I love the thrill of finding freebies. Of purchasing dozens of items and having the customer behind you in line drop their jaw at your final total. I love saving my family money. I love not paying for things. It’s just a part of me–I blame my Nan. And if you knew her, you knew she was the original bargain hunter.

Until you learn it, it does take more time, I won’t lie. But after a while, your brain starts to think in deals. Seriously. I can walk in to any store, and I see a deal posted, and immediately my brain goes into “How can I get this cheaper?” drive. It’s just about adjusting your thinking with your purchases. Think of it like exercising. All the health experts tell us now, that it’s not necessary to exercise for hours on end every day. It’s about the little changes here & there, that eventually become a part of your lifestyle.

Same here. Little changes here & there, that eventually become a part of your frugal lifestyle. You re-evaluate the big, fatty donut before you put it into your mouth, and choose a bagel instead. Same goes with spending–before you take a bite, think if there is a cheaper way to do it. And I’ll show you some tips along the way.

And not everyone has to become a supercouponer, nor is it my goal to change everyone into one. But simple changes can reduce your weekly shopping trip by 10% or more–for most families today easily means $50-$100 monthly in savings.

Why would you pay the grocery store an extra $100 a month if you didn’t have to?