Why I do it...

I do sometimes get some flack for my obsession with couponing and deal hunting, but I've had two very satisfying experiences this weekend that affirm to me why I do what I do in the savings department.

This backpack is packed to overflowing with things I picked up at Staples. Our church works with DSS and fills backpacks for foster kids. There's nothing more satisfying than knowing that those of us who have been exceptionally blessed can bless someone else. It was also a teaching moment when I took Abby with me to the store to get the things and then filled the bag and said, "Baby, there are little boys and girls who don't have a backpack, and we're going to give one little boy or girl this one so that they'll have one." She looked up at me with those big eyes that said, "You're kidding, no backpack, crazy!" There's no time like now to learn to think outside ourselves.


And for all of you who mocked me about the Stayfree pads I picked up several weeks ago, God knew why I needed them. I put all this stuff in a bag and gave it to a lady at our church who really needed it. There's not enough money in the world to buy the feeling of humility I felt when she told me thank you. Were I buying this stuff at full retail, I NEVER would have given it away, nor would I have a stockpile of it the other room, but since God has blessed, I can bless.

And let's not forget that I also do it for these two sweet babies who call me Mommy and for the fella that calls me Honey. Proverbs 31 says that a wife of noble character is worth far more than rubies and that "Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value" and that "she sees that her trading is profitable" and her children "arise and call her blessed." (v 10, 18, 28). That is my goal and why I do what I do.

How I do it

I was asked on my previous post where I get my coupons from, so I thought maybe I would share how I get the deals I get. Some of you already know this stuff, so feel free to tune me out, but before I share the technical stuff, I wanted to let you know about another awesome shopping trip, this time to Publix.

I've always thought that Publix was too far from my house to shop at, and I've bought into the thinking that Publix, like CVS, is just too expense; I mean, their generic stuff looks gourmet to me, but I'm wrong. Take note, because I don't admit to being wrong often. I much prefer to be right, but this time, I've made a mistake. Publix is only about 15 minutes down the road from me, and for the awesome savings that they offer, they're not too far away.

So here's what I got:

That's 2 half gallons of Smart Balance milk, 2 Soft Scrub Scrubby Pads, 2 big boxes of Chex, and 2 bags of Chock-ful-o-nuts coffee.
I paid $11.47, saved $15.47 and used $8.50 in coupons.
The Secret Clinical was a sample of deodorant that I got in the mail today. Yesterday I got a sample of Purina dog food.

So here are a few things that I do when couponing:

First, I have store cards for my 3 favorite stores, CVS, Ingles and Bi-Lo. Publix and Walgreens do not require store cards, so that's really nice.

I use two websites to help me find the best deals: Southern Savers and Hip2Save. Southern Savers lists mainly grocery store deals and occasionally great internet deals, and Hip2Save posts mainly freebies and internet/store deals. They serve two different functions for me.

I always buy TWO Sunday papers just for the inserts. Now, I do love to catch up on the news, but I buy the Sunday paper only for the coupons, no other reason, coupons only. I pull the inserts out (sometimes I stand in line and look through the papers quickly to make sure that they actually have the inserts in them) and put the date on them in marker - big marks on the front of the insert. That way when Southern Savers references the insert, I know which one I'm looking at.

I keep my inserts in a pocket folder divided into SmartSource, Red Plum, PGBrandSaver, internet coupons, and other coupons, and before I go to the store, I go through the inserts and match the coupons with the things that I want to buy. Never, ever, ever go to the store without a list. You will spend way more money than you intended to and you won't get great deals. Keep in mind that not all inserts have the same coupons, so Southern Savers may have a coupon listed in an insert that doesn't actually show up in yours.

I know that some people clip all their coupons and put them in binders in baseball card holders, but I have two small children who constantly cry for my attention, so I don't do that. Sometimes my mom will call me and let me know of a deal, and I'll take advantage of that. I also know the products that usually have coupons on them, so if I see one on clearance, I may come home and try to find a coupon to match it with. That's the extent of that.

I also love refunding. If I see that I can submit a refund for something, I do! I've gotten $39 in rebates just in the past two weeks. Y'all, that's $40 in money that I can deposit into my checking or savings account for things that I would have bought anyway. ChaChing!

One last note, whenever I go into CVS, I go directly to the magic coupon machine (in Pickens it's right inside the door, a big red machine) and scan my EC card to see what coupons shoot out. Usually there are some good ones for things that if they're not on sale already, they will be in the next few weeks. Sometimes you even get lucky with money off a purchase. Remember, these are store coupons and can be used with a manufacter's coupon in most stores.

I've saved a lot of money doing these kinds of deals, and let me warn you, it's addictive.

Feel free to post questions/comments below.

What a Deal!

You've got to take advantage of this deal if you have a baby or if you brush your teeth!

My mom called me and told me that Walgreens has Pampers wipes on sale for $2.49 and that there is a $2 off coupon in the July 6 Proctor and Gamble BrandSaver.

I had seen the deal on Southern Savers, but I hadn't thought much about it because I don't really shop at Walgreens all that much. I couldn't, however, pass up $.49 wipes. I mean, I wipe a lot of bottoms in my house.

I was worried that when I got to the store that they would all be gone, but the Walgreens in Pickens had a nice stock. I also grabbed Colgate toothpaste for $3.49 with a $1 coupon and $3.50 in RegisterRewards.

Here's what I got:

The Snickers are just filler so that I could use the RegisterRewards.

I paid $7.80, saved $16.01 and still have $3.50 in RR.

You seriously need to go to Walgreens and cash in on this. Wipes are a great baby gift!

The Checkups!

Yesterday was the big day - Abby had her 3 year checkup and Jake his 6 month. Now I know that Jake is almost 7 months now, but I wanted their checkups together, so I did what I had to do. Being the brilliant parent that I am, I of course scheduled said checkups right in the middle of naptime and with a doctor that I don't particularly like, but you know me, ever thoughtful!

I could have choked on my lunch when the nurse came around the corner holding a clear cup asking if Abby could give a specimen. I mean, sure, we just learned to peepee in the potty, peeing in a cup should be no problem at all. Luckily, she took one look at Abby and said, "she probably won't go in a cup, huh?" I replied, "uh, no."

Abby did, however, stand on the scale like a big girl and even let the nurse take her height measurement. She's 28lbs (6th percentile, woohoo) and 35 3/4 inches tall (28th percentile). She going to be tall and lean - yeah right! ;-)
One thing we couldn't get out of her was her blood pressure. Even though she's very practiced at taking our bp with the little cuff out of her doctor's bag (thanks, Lena) she wouldn't let the nurse near her with the real thing.

She also struggled against the gown that she had to wear. We convinced her to put it on with the promise of a prize and the observation that her gown matched Jake's diaper. Go figure. Three year olds.

The doctor asked if Abby was talking, and I swear if Jake had been able to say words, he probably would have said, "She never stops talking." I didn't know there were any three year olds who didn't talk, but I guess it happens. Abby and the doctor then had a great chat about colors and body parts. All the while, Abby clung to my neck like it was a life raft.

When it was Jake's turn, he weighed a whopping 13lbs even (1st percentile) and was 25 3/4 inches long (13th percentile). I don't know why my babies are longer than they are fat, but that's okay.

The one concern with Jake was his persistent hives. About 3 weeks ago he broke out with unexplained hives all over his body. They come and go, but the doctor said that now we get to go to a pediatric allergist to see if we can figure out what's going on. Fun days, huh? That means sticks and blood work.

Overall, it was a good checkup. They gave Jake a bazzillion (and that's not an exaggeration at all) shots. I had promised Abby NO SHOTS when we went, and they said that she could get two boosters if I wanted to. Now what parent WANTS their child to get shots? I asked if we could put it off since I promised, and I guess we'll do the boosters when we get her flu shot. I'm already dreading it.

And that's the update.

A Quick Rant

Now this picture may not look like anything to you, but it's a washing machine full of wet, unwashed clothes. I went to my laundry room this morning to finish washing Jake's diapers when I noticed that the covers were exceptionally wet. I just assumed because of the way that I have to wash his diapers that the spin cycle hadn't worked very well. Mistake!

What actually happened was our washing machine decided to go to the big laundromat in the sky.

Silly me, since I thought it was just the spin cycle, put another load in the machine to wash and then noticed that it sounded a little sick, opened the washer to find that the agitator wasn't working. Luckily, the water would still drain out the machine, so I wasn't left with a drum full of water and dirty clothes. That would have been fantastic.

While I was trying to figure out what I was going to do until we could get the clothes washed, I walked in to get Jake when I found him lying in a puddle.


This is our first overnight mishap. It would happen when I don't have a washing machine. No, Jake hasn't been raptured; I shot the picture after I stripped him and ran him to his room to be cleaned up.


And this, my bloggerville friends, is my third cup of coffee. It's definitely been a full-pot kind of day already.

Grocery Shopping for $50

I went to Bi-Lo and CVS last night to get the things we'll need for the week. I did pretty well.

I spent $42.88, saved $59.76, have a $10 rebate to submit and still have 5ECB.

You'll notice that I put that I shopped for $50 because I still have to buy 2 gallons of milk at Walgreens which will be about $6, so that will put me at $50. I've got some meat in the freezer that I'm cooking for dinner this week.

Overall, I think that's a pretty good haul!

One Up; One Down

Most of you have realized by now that I'm becoming fairly obsessed with finding good deals, and one of the best things I've discovered (come on, humor me here) is that companies will send you samples of their products FOR FREE! It's been fun to go out to the mailbox and find little packages with samples of things in them. It's also nice to try out products before you sink a fortune into them.

That being said, I tried two new things today, and one of them was fantastic, the other left something lacking.


The first was Garnier Nutriste Triple Protection shampoo and conditioner. The conditioner was thin and the shampoo too heavy. When I dried my hair it left them a strange texture. Now that my hair's been dry a while, the texture is back to normal, but initially it was coarse and hard to brush. **And just as a side note, opening those pesky packages while your fingers are wet is super duper frustrating. I think I may need to ask forgiveness for my anger.**

Now, the second Biore's Skin Preservation Dual Fusion mosturizer with SPF 30. I normally HATE any kind of lotion that has SPF because it smells and is thick and ultimately burns my fair skin, but THIS was FANTASTIC! It was light and smelled nice and I almost can't tell that it's on. It also did the job of mostrurizing my skin. The package wasn't the easiest to open, but at least my hands were dry.

So to sum it up, Biore = two thumbs up and Garnier = one thumb up and one thumb down.

What products have you tried that you love or hate?

Jakesaurous!

I think it's time to give the Jakester some love on the ole blog.

Abby had her birthday last weekend, as I'm sure you've noticed in the previous post, so sweet Jake has missed out on a lot of blog time.

He's growing, growing and he really wants to be a big boy and sit up and crawl and such, but he's just not.


Yesterday his first tooth popped through on the bottom. There's another trying to come in right beside it. I found it while he was chewing on my hand. Those suckers are sharp!

He's also learned to roll over and he loves to coo and chew on the cool teethers we bought him.

We lugged out the exersaucer this weekend, and that's a huge hit too! I think it's because he can sit up and see everything and it makes him feel like a big kid.

He naps in the morning and the afternoon and he's not a fan of rice cereal or solid foods, but we're working on it.

His six month checkup is next week, so I'll give you stats then.

Christmas Shopping in July!

Last year I was a little obsessive about getting my Christmas shopping and wrapping done early because I was certain (and right I might add) that Jake would be born right at Christmastime. This year I don't have a good excuse for my obsession except that we're watching our pennies and dollars and I'm trying to make every dollar stretch as far as it will.

That being said, I use one website in particular to help alert me to great internet buys. I probably shouldn't even tell you my source because you'll probably start using it too and all the great clearance items will be snatched away even faster, but I'm too generous not to share, so here it is - Hip2Save.

The author, Colin, is my age, the mother of 3 young children, and she shares awesome deals with her readers.

I'll tell you, I've already bought Christmas presents/birthday presents (depending on when I need to use them) for Abby and Jake, my nephews, my sister-in-law and my sister. I can't tell you what I got my sister-in-law or my sister because they occasionally look at this site, and I'd hate to ruin the surprise, but for my nephews I got a sweet deal on t-shirts at American Eagle (each shirt was $5 and there was free shipping) and for the Abster and Jakester, I got a few things at Disney.com and some cute, cute leggings for Abby in the fall.

All in all, I've spent about $50 for these presents. Not to bad if you think about it, AND there's some shopping over with and I didn't even have to drag my two monster...I mean angels...out with me to do it!

Yay for Christmas in July. You won't hear that much, so you better enjoy it now!

The Weekly Trip to CVS

This was a really great week of shopping at CVS because I was able to get some things that I really need - to answer the unasked question, no, we didn't NEED all the candy, but it does make great bribes for potty training, so I pick them up when I can.

I did need laundry detergent, toilet paper and most importantly makeup, so the trip was a success.

I spent $18.46 and saved $57.66. I still have 4ECB for next week, so I'd call that good shopping.

Oh, I should probably note here (since I got a few comments about it) I plan to donate about half of the Stayfree pads that I got a few weeks ago to a local women's shelter. They're not all for me! ;-)

How did you do this week.

Three!

At 1:14 a.m. on July 3, 2007, everything changed. Abby Elizabeth Looper came screaming into the world 6 weeks early at 2lbs 15oz. She was whisked away to the NICU where she stayed for 10 days, but she stole her mommy and daddy's hearts the first time they looked into her sweet, blue eyes, and now she's THREE!

What a difference 3 years makes.


I love you, baby girl.

Jason's Week Off

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that we had quite the week last week while Jason was on vacation. I'll dedicate this post to Abby since she was the one with the biggest experience, but you'll also see another post with sweet Jake.

First, we went to the dentist where Abby got her teeth "tickled" and "glitter" put on them for her birthday this weekend. I must say she was great. She wouldn't let us finish applying the flouride at the end, but I was just impressed she got them cleaned and let the dentist actually look in her mouth. I guess everything's better when you're sitting on Daddy's lap.


Next we went to the zoo.

Here's a picture of our zoo trip right after Abby turned 1:

And here's one from this trip:


I look back at these and can't believe how much she's changed in two years. I was thinking yesterday that I no longer parent a toddler. Now she's a preschooler.

Let me mention here that it was HOT at the zoo that day. Of course, it seems that it's been HOT around here for the past month!

On Wednesday we made a stop at Clemson to eat lunch with Aunt Heidi and of course to see the stadium. We convinced Abby to have her picture made with the tiger statue. I don't know that she's actually convinced.

Lastly, we got Abby's hair cut. She's had it cut before, but this was the first time she actually got any significant length cut off, and it looks pretty good. It's kind of funny because this was more traumatic than the dentist! You'll notice, she's on Jason's lap again - see what I mean - better.




There is one final accomplishment that I should probably mention. I think we're finally POTTY TRAINED! This didn't happen last week; it actually has been ongoing for the past month, but Abby seems to have gotten it, and that's a relief. She's still in diapers at night and naptime, and occasionally when we're on a long car ride or if we're going to be, I don't know, say, at the ZOO where the bathrooms are disgusting, but other than that she understands the concept.

So that's our stay-cation. It was a fun one.