fabulously frugal mommy

Sorry I have been away!  I was on vacation so I haven’t been blogging.  But, I am back by popular demand! 

I hear Kroger is having a MEGA SALE.  I do not have all the details on this yet but will try to post all the details tomorrow.  Don’t forget to load all your electronic coupons from PGandEsaver, cellfire, and freeflys.  Get your binders all cleaned out and ready to go!!!! 

And on another note for all you back to schoolers…check out dealoz.com for the best deals on your textbooks.  Order through ebates to sweeten the deals!  I saved almost 80% off my schools bookstore’s prices!!!!

Check back tomorrow!

Attention Kroger Shoppers:

Before you begin shopping at Kroger you need to do a few things:
First you need a Kroger Savings Card, you can get this by going to Customer Service and requesting one. They are free to you and save you tons of money, you don’t get the sales prices without it.

Next you need to register your Kroger Card with the following sites. They allow you to load coupons directly to you Kroger Card, and can be used in combination with a paper mfg q and/or a store q. Which gives you even greater savings.

Shortcuts
PG eSaver
Cellfire

I also believe that Tom Thumb and other stores that offer loyalty cards may use these programs.  Check the websites to see what stores are involved.  You can combine your cut coupons with these electronic coupons so the savings are amazing!!!

Aw ebates…what would I do without you?  Online stores pay ebates commissions (think of it like a finder’s fee) and they pass on some of the money back to you.  Each store pays slightly different commission amounts so the amount you save varies from store to store.  The site is very user friendly and tells you the percentage of cash back you will receive next to each of the online stores in their directory.  Ebates is great even for the occasional online shopper…if you are making the online purchase anyway…why not begin your journey at ebates????  You can still use your promo codes, coupons, etc. …the only difference?  You get a certain percentage cash back and many times have an exclusive coupon code for the purchase you are about to make! 

Some of the stores available to shop through ebates include: 

• walmart.com
• sears.com
• aeropostale.com
• apple itunes
• babbies r us
• disney shopping.com
• victorias secret

I could go on all day because there are literally hundreds of stores and probably any store you would be making a purchase from is listed you would get 3-10% cash back.  This can really add up over time.  And to sweeten the deal ebates is currently offering a free $10 gift card to sephora, itunes, or target for all new members!!!  How awesome is that?!!!

So sign up for an ebates account today!!  Ebates

So I know we have been covering couponing and I promised more info on that but I have decided we are going to take a little break from that.  We have already gone over A LOT of information in a very short amount of time and I wanted to let my readers know about a great deal that is going on right now.

If you haven’t discovered shutterfly.com yet it is an excellent website for all of your photo needs.  Just check out the site and you will see what I mean.  Right now they have a promo going on that if you create a FREE photo sharing site they will give you 30 free 4×6 prints…you simply pay shipping.  On top of that, for every week you add pics to your site they will add 10 more free 4×6’s prints.  How fabulous is that?!  That is a ton of free pics and a great way to share pics of your kids with friends and family.  This is the basic email I received explaining the details:

Share your memories, get free prints.   This season, get rewarded for sharing. Get 10 free 4×6 prints for every week you add pictures to your Share site.  If you also create a new site for your family, friends or activity groups, you’ll get 30 free 4×6 prints.*

This promotion ends February 2, 2009.

Sounds great to me!  Needless to say I created my share site today…it took me all of 5 minutes.  I did already have a shutterfly account but that too is relatively painless and does not take long to set up.  I will start earning free prints and I am all about saving money and great freebies!!!!  And I am addicted to photos of my babies!  And to sweeten this deal, anytime you place an order for shutterfly go through ebates.com.  We haven’t covered ebates yet…..that sounds like a good topic for tomorrows blog.  Tune in tomorrow to learn all about ebates if you do not already have an ebates account!

http://www.today.com/ctr.cgi?idx_mem=10561&mode=vip

Here is some basic information to get you started on your couponing journey.  Start saving those Sunday papers and getting yourself organized!!!

q=coupon

Albertson’s
· Will Accept 4 Like Coupons
· Will Double / Triple up to 4 Like Coupons
· Will Double Up to and including $.39
· Will Triple Up to and including $.50
· They Double and Triple everyday, no sales dated needed
· It has been my experience to get overage, if you have fillers to consume it

Krogers
· Will Accept Unlimited Like Coupons
· Will Double / Triple up to 3 Like Coupons, After they are taken a face value
· Will Double Up to and including $.39
· Will Triple Up to and including $.50
· They Double and Triple everyday, no sales dated needed
· It has been my experience to get overage, if you have fillers to consume it

Brookshires
· Will Accept Unlimited Like Coupons
· Will Double / Triple 1 Like Coupon, After they are taken a face value
· Will Double Up to and including $.39
· Will Triple Up to and including $.50
· They Double and Triple everyday, no sales dated needed
· I do not know if the allow overage

Tom Thumb
· Will Accept Unlimited Like Coupons
· Will Double / Triple 1 Like Coupon, After they are taken a face value
· Will Double Up to and including $.39
· Will Triple Up to and including $.50
· They Double and Triple everyday, no sales dated needed
· I do not know if the allow overage

*Please note that at all of these store you can combine a manufacture q with a store q to maximize savings.
For example, last week Albertson’s has a coupon for a 24 pk of soda for $3.99 with additional purchase. I was able to purchase the 24 pk of Diet Coke and use the $3.99 Albertson’s coupon along with my $1 off 24 pk of Diet Coke peelie coupon.
So I paid $2.99 for a 24 pk of Diet Coke.

okay.  I know so many ways to save money that it is hard to know where to start.  After organizing my thoughts a little bit I have decided to blog first about coupons!  Believe it or not, a few short months ago I could say that I had never clipped a coupon in my life.  Sure I’d used the occasional diaper coupon that the company mailed me or that was inside the last pack I bought…when I remembered that I had it…but I honestly did not see the point.  I attended a “coupon party” a few months back and was absolutely amazed to say the least!  And I began seeing the savings immediately!  I have already more than cut my grocery bill in half!  …that’s right…in half!  …and I am buying name brand products and more of them.  So, let’s get started.

My main source of coupons is the Sunday paper.  I usually buy 2 (my area has a double Sunday pack available) but I know many people that buy more.  I clip almost every coupon.  My rule of thumb: If I can get it for Free, would I want it?…then clip the coupon.  I have a 3 inch binder that I purchased baseball card inserts for.  I have my binder divided into sections with tab dividers:refrigerated, frozen, dry grocery, cleaning products, paper goods, baby products, misc.  As I go down each aisle in the store I open my binder to the section of the store I am in and match the products to the coupons that I have.  When I first got started I did not have that many coupons but now that I have been saving coupons for a few months I am just amazed.  I also collect coupons from the blinkie machines on the grocery store aisles and save them for future trips when the items go on sale.

One more important tip: I shop at stores that double and triple coupons.  In my area Kroger and Albertsons triple coupons up to .39 and double .40 to .50.  So each week I bust out my sales ads and match the ads up with my coupons.  Many times they have 10 for $10 sales…you do not have to buy 10 items to get the item for a dollar.  Let’s say you have a coupon for .35 off an item that’s in that sale…that coupon triples becoming $1.05 and that item is on sale for a dollar.  The store is actually going to pay you .05 to tote it out of the store for them.  That when buying multiple papers comes in handy!

This is a lot of information to take in but its a start.  I will blog more about coupons and store policies tomorrow.

Welcome to my blog…I am so glad you found me!  I am absolutely addicted to couponing and have decided to blog all about it.  I am in the process of making living frugal my hobby.  Everyone has something that they enjoy, and finding great deals, saving money, using coupons, and finding freebies is mine.  In my blog I will be sharing all the fabulous deals I find and look forward to hearing my readers feedback.  And always feel free to share any fabulous deals you find yourself!!!   Each day I plan on publishing a new post.  We will start with the basics and go from there.  This is going to be so much fun!!!

 My first rule when grocery shopping:  If you aren’t getting it for less than 50% retail price…DON’T BUY IT!

I will post more tomorrow!  Have a fabulous day!!!