Extreme Sporting....

I just read an article on yahoo that kind of had me chuckling because it was "Why Extreme Couponing Won't Work"--but the whole article laid out why it would work. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Why-Extreme-Couponing-Wont-investopedia-503187681.html?x=0&.v=1 The bottom line disclaimer admits: "If you are organized, have free time, have the room for storage, want to save money or feel compelled to donate offerings to food pantries, then extreme couponing may work well for you." To this I just want to add a hearty AMEN! She listed every reason I shop the way that I do except for the adrenalin rush that I get every time I walk out of the store knowing that I got a GrEaT deal! I love the mini-high that makes me giddy and eager to find the next sale.

Tonight, for example--I just bought the better part of a year's supply of Tide laundry detergent (HE/hypo-allergenic, to boot) and a host of other products, for a meager $5.59. The author of the article is right, I'm going to have to be organized enough to store it efficiently near or in my laundry room, as not to forget that I already have the upcoming products that I need. But who, in their right [and left brain, for that matter] would question whether my extreme sporting wasn't worth the work? Each bottle of Tide was originally $9.99 a bottle--on sale this week for $6. That is a 40% reduction in pricing right there...but they had an additional promotion that included these sale items. The promo at the local Rite Aid store earned a $10 Up-Reward when you purchased $30 purchase of selected items. Tide, Bounce, Downy and a variety of paper products were included; all of which were on sale and had coupons available in circulation.

Up-Rewards can be used in future transactions on anything in the store--on sale or not, with or without coupons. The only trick that you have to be aware of--you can't take an Up-Reward from one product and buy another exact product and still generate an additional Up-Reward. You could buy it--but there won't be another redemption reward printed at the time of purchase. So sometimes staggering the Up-Rewards is the KEY to keeping the register spitting out future savings.

Back to my purchases tonight, I saw this deal on Tide in the Sunday ads and immediately ordered my coupons from www.ebay.com; the coupons were going to save me $1.50 per bottle--and arrived in the mail Thursday. I was very eager to get to the nearest Rite Aid to cash in on my find today. I was going to use my previous Up-Rewards to pay for my detergent and household items. But there was a bonus--I was also going home with more Up-Rewards.

**And going back to the article that got me spewing here--what the article didn't explain, was how the stores have rewards/incentive programs that allow you to roll additional savings onto the products by applying the "register rewards", or in this case--the "Up-Rewards" to the grand total for supreme savings, as well as adding manufacturer's coupons.

So in my first transaction tonight, I used a $40 Up-Reward that was generated last week through my purchases of Nivea products. I still had $8 in additional Up-Rewards from prior Crest and Stayfree purchases (free with coupons last week) that I applied to the grand total. So for the record, I got 6 bottles of Tide (32 loads), 2 tubes of Crest toothpaste, 2 bottles of Windex, and 2 bottles of Fantastik all-purpose cleaner-- for $5.59--which was the sales' tax for the total transaction. I paid with the Up-Rewards and I also received $16 back in Up-Rewards, to be used on future purchases. It was a night of extreme sport--but the savings throughout the year will be exponentially apparent when I won't have to shell out $10 for a bottle of detergent and $4 for a tube of toothpaste--which will literally go down the drain!

And as I have the space to store my haul--I anticipate that my "stockpile" will pay for itself over the next few months. The best money saved is the money I didn't have to spend in the first place. I got to control how much I put out for staples, rather than need and expediency dictating my purchase price and quantities. Extreme couponing doesn't have to be about hoarding, mass accumulation of limited and bizarre products, or unnecessary goods. It's about buying what you need to get you through until the next extreme sale. If it's only 1-2 items a week that you are able to eliminate from your grocery list for the next 3-6 months--your savings should be seen over the next 3-6 months!

And if you don't get around to using it in the adherence to use by dates--donate it to the food pantries or local shelters! They are in need of anything and everything that you buy at the store. And the beauty of your generosity comes back to you in the form of a receipt that can be submitted on an itemized tax filing for tax write-offs. This is called the Law of Reciprocity. So it's good to save on the home front--but it's great to also be a source of goodwill and charity in the community. This is the BeSt sport I've ever played ;)

Stock it Up!

There's always something in a new ad that is worthy of paying attention to for a small stockpile till better prices come along. I found a couple in the Albertsons' ad this morning...

Ronzoni Pasta is on sale for 88cents. If you use the 50cents off 1 coupons from June inserts--that would be 38cents a box. $3-4 would go a long way on this sale. There are a few websites that you can go to, to get higher value coupons. But Albertsons' has a policy that you aren't able to use more than what the product is for on a coupon. Make sense? OK. If you have a $1 off one coupon and the product is on sale for 88cents--they will only take 88cents off your total now. Too many "extreme" shoppers have inspired the casual coupon users into thinking that coupons are going to pay for all of there groceries. Not true...at least anymore. But make sure to line your great finds up with their corresponding coupons for stock-up potential.

Albertsons' is also running a pretty sweet deal on the back page of selected items. When you buy $30 in products, you get a $15 I-Tunes card. I know--for a lot of people without I-Pods, this is no big deal. But if you have kids that are sucking you dry for new apps, games, music...this is a deal! I went to ebay and ordered a lot of coupons for some of the items in the ad. I'm going to break my transactions up to $30 each and collect one $15 card for each sale. I may have to put the cards in hiding till Christmas--because what fabulous little stocking stuffers (hint, hint).

I don't know if there will be doublers in the Albertsons' ad for next week...but if there are--this promotion just got sweeter! You are able to double up to 3 coupons per transaction. So a $1 off coupon becomes $2 off. This deal could get particularly interesting on the Cover Girl cosmetics, which are also included in the promotion, but are going on sale for 20% off. Add some coupons and the out of pocket expense with coupons will be stellar--and you still get your $15 I-Tunes card!

And if you still have rug rats in diapers--it might be a great time to stock up on some Pampers--because if you layer your coupons just right and add a small myriad of other products from the promotion--you'll be getting a great deal! There are lots of options in the combinations of products with available coupons. And don't forget the things like Pringles--they have coupons available on them as well!

Don't forget the Kelloggs' deal either. I still have coupons for $1 off Fruit for every 2 boxes of cereal I buy. Kelloggs' has a deal going where you can submit 10 upcs from their designated cereals and receive a $10 gift card for FUEL! And you are allowed to submit up to 5 times per address. How's that for a deal! You can get free gas and free fruit all from buying a little cereal. For greater savings, don't forget the actual cereal coupons :)

Fab Fred Meyer Finds

I was out on an impromptu date this afternoon with my man. He chose Fred Meyer for a quick stop to get some new sunglasses. But what's better than a quick stroll through the store to enjoy the "silence"--right? And look what I found!



Cute Cricut cartridges on sale for $29.99! But that wasn't the best part! Unlike JoAnn's or Michael's, the coupons that were attached to the end cap were for all Arts and Crafts supplies for an additional 20% off--and there were no exclusions for the Cricut products. And the coupon states that it may be combined with other store discount coupons!


The orange coupon took $6 off the purchase, and then the store coupon found in the weekly ad took off another 10% ($2.40)...making the cartridge $21.60. That's a GrEaT deal for a very CUTE Cricut cartridge! I've found some great deals on the Internet before, but you have to pay shipping, etc. So this was a stellar find. And the prices are good for another 3 weeks...so quite a few more chances to take advantage of the sales' price in conjunction with great store coupons.

**We also took advantage of the 70% off Clearance sale and bought Skecher and Nike tennis shoes for the kids' Back to School needs to $10-12 a pair! It was Fabulous!! I felt buzzes going through my fingers as I swiped my debit card today--because I knew that I just big-time scored! I got three pairs of shoes for less than half of what one pair would have cost. Yeah!!

Choose the Rite...

Last week was a GrEaT week at Rite-Aid. I stocked up on lots of stuff I didn't particularly need--but it was near free. But the real bonus was all the Up-Rewards. I LOVE them!! They are the first thing that I look for in the ad because they are an aMaZiNg way to save loads of cash.

So last week Nivea was on sale. When you buy $100 in Nivea products, you got a $40 Up-Reward back. That's 40% off. So I immediately went to ebay and ordered the coupons for $2 off each product. The catch in the sale was that for every two products purchased, you received the third one free. But you are allowed to use a coupon for each item purchased, so that meant I could use a coupon even on the free items. So in conjunction with all my awesome Nivea products, I purchased lots of packs of Stayfree with Buy One, Get One Free coupons and received $2 Up-Rewards for every two purchased, and got my Crest toothpaste for free.

I spent $49 in 4 transactions using coupons, and went home with $48 in Up-Rewards. Ahhh... It may not seem so impressive having to shell out some greenbacks--but I made my money back, almost to the dollar, and I have LOADS of fabulous Rite-Aid bags with very expensive products just waiting to be put away.

I wasn't overly impressed with this week's ad, but they have a $10 Up-Reward on Tide detergent and Bounce dryer sheets for every $30 spent. Now if I add a few other items (like $18 worth to be exact), I could pay for it all with my current Up-Rewards and not be out any money, and I would still get a new $10 Up-Reward to use on another purchase later. This is called rolling in coupon lingo. You use the previous register coupons to pay for new transactions like cash. AND--I could get even more products on my sale if I were to use any coupons for the Tide, Bounce, and other products included in the promo!

Extreme Savings!

I had to chuckle when I got home from Albertsons' last night to find my kids glued to TLC's Extreme Couponing on TV. I told them to come help me carry the groceries in and I'd show them what I got for only $1.10! They jumped right off the couch to see what I got.

I wandered around the store last night waiting to be inspired on what I wanted to make for dinner this week. I had two $20 Catalinas. The fine print stated that they could not be used in the same transaction, so I did 2 transactions.

The first transaction came up to 79cents...and included 1 celery, a can of olives, 2 boxes of Barilla pasta, 11 packages of Clorox wipes, a pack of Orbit chewing gum, 2 bottles of Parmesan Cheese, and 3 American Greetings cards.

I handed over my coupons and then the Catalina--only to come up to a negative total. The store never gives you money back...so I threw a pack of gum onto the register and finally ended up owing 79cents. I handed over the $1 bill, only to receive my change and a $5 my next shopping trip! Yeah!! But I didn't use it, because my next transaction of 1 bag Santitas Corn chips, 2 two-liter bottles of Coca-Cola, 2 packages frozen cheese tortellini, a #1 bag of carrots, 1 bunch of celery, 8 1/2 pounds of cantaloupe, and 2 frozen bags of peas only came up to 31 cents! So I'll be using that $5 sometime in the next couple of weeks instead.

I love it! On one of the Extreme Couponing blips, the husband of one of the featured shoppers said that his wife shopped for her "high" and "fix"....and I know exactly what he is talking about. It's knowing that I didn't do just a "good job" at saving the greenbacks, better spent on other things--but as I fondly put it--a stellar job. It's bragging rights to share with my kids!

Now for full disclosure about why and how I got these extreme deals: Albertsons' is running a deal through this coming Tuesday (6/21) of when you can buy $100 in your choice of gift cards for over 100 different restaurants, stores, and airlines--you get a $20 Catalina back to spend on anything in the store. I did a couple of these type of purchases to get the $20 back. I bought a couple of gift cards to our favorite restaurants that I would be using for Father's Day and an gift card that I bought as a true gift for our favorite high school graduate. I don't know if I would have bought the gift cards to pay for the dinner, normally--but knowing that there was $20 coming back for groceries--I did it this way instead. I've also purchased airfare for Southwest Airlines at Albertsons' in the past for get the rewards at the store, rather than just booking the tickets online. There are no charges to purchase the airfare this way, and I get the points and kick-backs from the grocery store. So I was very happy with my haul this weekend, because I benefited from every single purchase :)

Summer Movie Deals are Back!

Every summer there are deals to be had in the theater and movie industry. Spokane is no exception. Regal, in Spokane Valley, is starting their selections on 6/21-6/23 with a choice between Chronicles of Narnia and The Tale of Despereaux. In the past the movies have always been free; but it looks like the economy has caught up with them, because movies are now $1. There is always a choice between a PG and a G movie and multiple days they show--so you could feasibly do both of the selections in one week. Check out: www.regmovies.com/summermovieexpress/ for dates and movie selections.

One thing about the Regal program is that it is national. So when you are traveling or visiting grandparents in other parts of the country or state, here's a great inexpensive activity that can be used as a time filler. Movies are always so expensive to take the whole family to, so you'll be scoring points for being so "generous" when you offer to take the whole crew and pay ;)

On the north side of Spokane, the Village Theater at Wandermere has a bundle price of $5 for nine movie passes. I love this deal because all of the movies are current or recent, with a surprise movie at the end. 55cents a movie is a great price for this mom, even though I loved the sound of "free". Check out: http://www.spokanemovies.com/ for selections. (I have to admit--I was going to take the kids to see Mr Popper's Penguins, but when I saw that it would be in the summer line-up, who wants to pay $7 a ticket X 7...when I can take the whole family for less than $5 if I wait till July 25th! Frugal Moms really put their children through tests of patience!!)

If you really appreciate that word "free"--the Garland Theater has a weekly free kids throughout the summer. It's a little earlier than most, with the movie starting at 9:30am, but does feature my favorite "f" word. You just have to start your day a little earlier to get seats and situated before the curtains are drawn back. Just beware of raggedy seats and sticky floors. Something about "free" means no updates, air-conditioning or large staff to clean and maintain. But did I mention that the movie was free.

BaBy PrOmOs at Albertsons'

Albertsons' is having a Baby Promotion sale starting tomorrow--$10 off $30 purchases of any of the listed products from the ad. Nice...since Pampers and Huggies are both included in this deal. If you get a hold of the $3/1 coupons for cases and packages, you can combine the savings on this sale to add up big if you layer the coupons on qualifying products! No babies here--but I can smell a diaper deal a mile away still!! Go to http://www.albertsons.com/ to check out the products included in the promo.

There's also an Instant Spotlight Savings deal going on. You get $5 off your purchase of selected items (back page of the ad) when you buy any combination of 10 items. Coupons are available on most of the products featured. I love the Ortega green chilies and there as a coupon for $1 off 2 Ortega products. Make sure to do your research before you create a mini stockpile of your favorite items. I've found that some stores, like Winco or Wal-Mart, will carry the these pantry essentials for a lower base price everyday than what some of the larger grocery chains have the item go on sale for. If that's the case--as in the green chilies--always place your coupon on the lowest priced item for the greatest savings. For example--the chilies are going to be on sale at Albertsons' for $1.29 if purchased within a set of 10 featured items. The coupon would reduce the price to 79 cents per can when purchased in sets of two. It's a "fair" price, but I don't know if that's the "best" price. If the regular price for the chilies are 99cents a can at Wal-Mart--placing the coupon that would add up to the "best" savings at 49cents a can. **Trick of the trade--know what is a great price before you use your valuable coupons.

I couldn't find any Dole coupons for canned fruit on ebay--so 79cents a can for mandarin oranges and pineapple seem only a fair deal...but the oranges are normally $2+ a can when not on sale. It's a temptation to buy a few, but I don't stock up on these kind of items unless I can see a 80% or greater price difference.

Safeway has some of my favorite pantry items on sale this week--Barilla pasta (10/$10), Ragu spaghetti sauce (4/$5), and Betty Crocker potatoes/Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (4/$5). I just have THREE words about what to do with those prices...USE A COUPON!! There's no guarantee that there will be a coupon available for items when they go on sale, but always check online to see if this is going to be a "stock up" sale. Coupons make all the difference. Fifty cents per item adds up to a lot before you know it.

Good luck on your hunt and your stocking up!!

PS...it took me awhile, and since yesterday was the last day on the coupon for the free milk from the last Kelloggs' cereal sale...I got the last 8 gallons of free milk. I got 30 coupons for free milk from that amazing sale. I had to stagger the purchases so that it didn't all expire at once and also--couldn't fit that many milks in the extra fridge. So thank you to those of you that took a few off my hands. I felt like the "Milk Fairy" delivering milk to several families last week. I know...it was so random and unexpected. Ever had anyone offer you free milk? Weird, huh? But it really helped me out--so THANKS!