Thank Goodness it's 6/30

I started my day at the gym with a personal trainer (I feel cool saying that). It was rainy all day today. The kids did not want to leave the house. I was so proud of myself for going! Then I took the kids shopping. The cashier at the store called me his "favorite shopper", made me feel special. He called another employee over to look at the bill before and after coupons. I spent $2.66 (total before coupons was $43.xx). I bought things like Always pads, Lever 2000 soap, Band-Aids, etc. Then we walked over to Winn-Dixie and bought 4 packs of chinet napkins and 1 large pack of chinet plates for a whopping .96. I took the kids home for a nap. We colored for a little bit, but they were really tired for some reason. Maybe the weekend caught up with them or the rain may have done it. While they were napping I organized my coupons and took out the expired ones for the troops. When Joe got home I went shopping, because a lot of coupons were due to expire today. I was actually relieved that today was the end of the month. I bought a lot of stuff at Publix. Some items included pickles, bbq sauce, mustard, land o' lakes butter, post cereal, snack mix, organic juice boxes, whole fruit sorbet. I spent $8.80 after coupons. I am giving the snack mix to my Mom to serve at my Dad's poker game. I also gave her some Glad bags. For some reason I cannot stop buying those things? I love their snack size bags. Tomorrow we are going to the movies with Grandma P. I packed their snacks, so they are ready to go. J is going to see Transformers with Uncle "Po Po" tomorrow, he will be using the free movie tickets from Kmart.

Generally a Dollar

J asked me if I needed to do anything before family day this morning. I jumped at the chance, since I have a lot of coupons expiring on Tuesday. I had a few hours so I went over to a new store for me to use coupons at. I bought over 40 items and only paid $4.73. The total was only .90 before tax. Everything went smoothly and the store is close to my house. I also stopped by Publix to buy 2 gallons of iced tea, 2 french breads and 1 other item because I had to use a coupon lol. My total was still under $8. We went to our friend's house to have a shrimp/craw fish bake. We went swimming and hung out. We had such a nice family day today.

Not 5th Avenue

I went shopping yesterday with my Husbands' Aunt. We had a nice day together, just the two of us. We went to lunch at Olive Garden and then shopped at the Avenue. I had printed some coupons for $5 chino's with any purchase, so that is what I tried on first. I bought some bermuda shorts and a 4 pack perfume sampler, all for $7.45 including tax! I am waiting for their bathing suits to go on clearance. I have found some really nice suits there for a quarter of the price. Plus I use my 40% coupon from the Entertainment book. When Aunt J found a shirt that she liked, I had plans on buying it for her because she is going to watch the kids for us when we go out of town. She ended up buying it. Now I know what to look for at the outlets though. We also went to a few more stores and then headed home. What a nice day!

Inquiring minds want to know.

Since some of you are asking about the "issue" with the manager at Target. I will share the story. I went in there and wanted to purchase a few items that were on sale for $1.97, well I had a few $2 manufacturer's coupons that I wanted to use. The supervisor told me since the computer refused it, they could not take the coupons. I told her that I had a copy of the store's coupon policy from their Corporate office at home and I would bring it back the next day, since I was going by there anyway. I brought it to the store manager this time but he still refused to sell the items to me. He specifically said he would not give me these items for free. I advised him of the policy and politely told him he was contradicting what I had in writing. I showed him the letter and everything. He said if the register refuses the coupon than he will not override it (I know this can be done by the cashier). Since I shop at that Super Target a lot, I wanted to follow through with the issue. I have not been back since, but when I do go back I will call corporate on the spot with any problems.

Deal Stalkers.

I have 2 followers!! You know who you are :O). Thank you for being that interested in my life. I really appreciate it. I have a lot going on. I have had a few people contact me about doing classes. I am really working hard to get my name out there. I am working on a letter to my friend Oprah right now. I went shopping tonight at Walmart. I spent $4.92 and saved over $50. I got a lot of stuff. Too much to list. I posted some good Publix deals to my "students." I hope they are finding the posts useful. I am going to create a "wanted" section in the classifieds. This way people can post what they are looking for and we can all help each other save money. I am on the hunt for a particular toothpaste my friend L uses. I think I found it tonight! Tomorrow night I think I am going to make my dh a nice dinner and we will just spend time together. I am taking the kids out to our play group in the morning. I may have a class next week, we'll see. It really seems like everything is coming together.

Transformers

I went to Kmart on Sat. to buy my Dad's gift and there was a register reward for the free Transformer movie tickets sitting at the register. The cashier handed it to me with my $14 RR from the diaper deal. J really wants to see the movie too! I entered the code and printed the certificate for Regal cinemas (used A LOT of ink). But totally worth it because it has a $14 value and up to 2 admissions!!

I hit the bulls eye at Target.

I spoke with the corporate office at Target today and they said I was correct about the coupon policy. They said the manager was misinformed and they would make sure he knew the coupon policy and enforces it the right way. Corporate asked me to call them if I have any problems the next time I shop at Target. They asked me to call them from the store, so they can address the issue on the spot. I am going to give the Super Target by me a little rest. There is nothing I need from there right now. I always stand my ground when I know what I am saying is true.

Nervous

I am very nervous about my big debut tomorrow. I am more nervous about the actual show, than I was taping it. I sure hope they ask me to come back to tape another show. I hope the show helps generate more classes. I cannot wait to see M and C faces when they see their Mommy on the big screen. We are taping the show in both rooms.

Successful Class

I had a great time at the class tonight. Lori hosted the class and we had a nice turnout. I had 8 people attend. All of them seemed to have learned a lot. I even saw a few jaws drop when I told them certain tricks to saving money while shopping. The class lasted a little over 2 hours. It was so much fun to tell stories about different shopping experiences. There were a lot of knowledgeable people there. Everyone was sharing their own tips about how they use coupon. I added everyone to my coupon class group. I am still learning how to use that thing. I gave away a lot of prizes. We played "guess that price." Whoever came closest to the price I paid, got the item. I let Lori pick 2 items from my stockpile for hosting the class. She picked the glad containers and the teddy grahams. The other Lori said her bunco group wants to have a class. I cannot wait to hear some of the success stories.

Target vs Kmart

Not a great shopping day at Super Target today. I bought 16 big boxes of fresh shield ziploc bags, 2 pounds of strawberries, 1 box of Hefty one zips, 1 bottle of stir fry sauce (almost $4 and no coupon), 1 box of panko bread crumbs, 1 pound of bananas, and a head of lettuce. I paid a little over $18, 3 of which was tax. For 23 items, I paid .78 each including tax. I then went over to Kmart and had a wonderful experience. I bought a $50 gift card because they are doing the $10 promotional gift card right now. I also used a $5 coupon I printed last night. There were 4 coupons that printed at the register. One was for $5 off $25. If I use that with all of my other coupons, I will be golden. I used my $14 catalina coupon to buy my Dad's shirt and a few other things. I ended up paying .74 on the gift card. I also bought diapers that I am going to post for sale.

Couponers Unite...

This is what happens when "couponers unite." I put out a call for help to my fellow couponers and this is what they came up with. I am sure 90% of these items were free. I am so impressed! We are going to donate these to the triplet family in need. All of these donations came from a small group of us. I cannot wait to hear what our club has to say about this. It feels so nice to give, especially when we can stretch the dollar and give so much more. I don't think this family is going to need toilet paper and toothpaste for the next year.

Super Stacker at Target.

I stopped by Target on the way to the CP tonight and I bought 2 packs of all beef Ball Park hot dogs, Sara Lee buns, 2 pounds of strawberries, 2 pounds of bananas, four 4 packs of Ziploc containers, a 54 pack of Dixie plates, 4 bags of Ramen noodles, and some special Hefty bags that are supposed to keep produce fresh. My total was $5.57. I had some other things on there, but I had some "coupon drama" at checkout, so I had them void the items. I will go back and get them when I have time. My best use of coupons tonight was when I triple stacked the ball parks and the Hefty bags. I cannot reveal my secrets on my blog or no one will take my class :o).

Humane Society Donations.

We are planning a trip to the local Humane Society with some of the Moms from my group. As soon as I saw the post about the Humane Society tour, I got some coupons and found an old rain check for bogo cat food. I got 10 bags for the price of tax about $2.40. My goal was to get enough cat food for each family to be able to donate one bag. I ended up with 8 bags to donate to the HS and the other bags are for a different shelter. A little over a month ago I took the kids to a local shelter to show them that donating pet food was a good thing. I had each of them carry in a bag of food and hand it to the volunteer at the shelter. The shelter was supposed to be closed that day, but she stayed to let the kids play in the "kitten room." The kids were thrilled. We also donated treats and some wet food for the cats. I had some dog food and treats that I got for free using coupons and sales, so they promised to get that to the right place. I did give a few boxes of dog bones to friends too. There was a long list of items the shelter is in need of. Some of the items were cleaning supplies, paper towels, plastic gloves. I am going to work on getting some of those items for free with my coupons. After we donated the food, I praised the kids and gave them each a surprise. They told everyone all about it.

Success Story

I met up with my friend A today. She took my first class. I asked her how she was doing with her savings and she said she saved $60 on her last shopping trip. That is a huge success story!! She went from not using coupons at all to saving $60. WOW. I also found a place to hold my classes. I am so relieved. I went to my Moms' meeting last night and I could not believe how happy and supportive everyone is. They are really looking forward to the class in October after our GM. This will be perfect timing for all of the Holiday food shopping.

The coupon class was rescheduled.

Everyone was busy, so we decided to reschedule for next Monday. I am having a hard time finding a date to work with the MNM calendar. I know people are interested, it is just finding a date that works. I was invited, however, to do a class at an over 55 community. I think I am going to do that class. I have been wanting to get together with T for a month or so and I know we can work well together. I will keep you posted. On another note...A called me yesterday to tell me that she saved around $25 at the grocery store! I was so proud of her since she used to save $3-$4. That new coupon organizer I gave her is really helping lol. She can use the money she saved on her vacation next week.

Publix

I did OK at Publix today. My original bill was $55 and I paid $30 (well, I paid $15 and I had a promotional gift card for $15). I bought a lot of produce, some meat, rice, yogurt and other items we needed. I bought 8 boxes of Ronzoni pasta for .68. I also had a lot of cold cuts in there. So, not too bad for the essentials. I stopped by Super Target on the way and I bought some lotion, baggies, crystal light on the go, vitamin water, and a few other things all for $4.21 (most of which was tax). I came home and made a huge Cuban sandwich and we sat down as a family for lunch.

Attention all Kmart Shoppers!

What a day! I shopped with CA and T today at 2 different Kmart's. We started at 9:45 in the morning and didn't stop until after 4. We shopped at the closest Kmart first. I bought 5 packs of diapers and some other things that CA threw in my cart lol. Then we headed over to another Kmart. That is where the drama occurred. I was trying to buy 5 packs of diapers to donate to a needy family with triplets and my coupon wouldn't print. The store manager was very nice and he helped me get everything squared away. I bought my husband a tackle box that was on clearance from $40 to $15, what a deal! CA and T put some more things in my cart while I was at the customer service desk. I was very pleased with all of my goodies. After they dropped me off, I went into the Kmart we started at and got some more Huggies. I spent around $30 today and got 10 packs of diapers, lotion, lots of deodorant, a tackle box, candy, glad bags, cat treats and I am not even sure what else. The great thing is, I have more coupons to use the next time I go shopping there. Pictured above are only some of the items I purchased today.

Receipts

I went shopping the other night and had 2 of my longest receipts ever! On both receipts the totals were over $100. One total came to $2.55 and the other was $5.13. Items I purchased included, South Beach Diet Bars, Kid Cuisine, Soap, First Aid kits, and the list goes on. I left Publix and Walmart with such a high!

Sharing my passion.

I am happy to share my passion with so many people. I want to turn my love of coupons into a business. I have started to teach coupon classes. My first class was 6/5 at my house. My "students" learned a lot and they were thrilled to go home and tell their husbands all about it. My next class will be at my house again, this Sunday. I am going to have a class in Brandon in July. One of my friends has offered to host the class. I have another friend that offered to host a coupon class for her fellow preschool Moms. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for my new venture.

Are you ready for your close-up?

YES!! Today I went to the news station (WFLA) to tape the Daytime show. I was introduced as the "Coupon Queen". I truly felt like a celebrity. Everyone was extremely excited to hear how I save so much money. I had some props to show the viewers. My props included, Taco Bell Dinner kits, Crystal Light, toothpaste, Fusion razor, diapers, wipes and lipstick. The interview went by so quickly, my head is still spinning. Maybe this will help get the "Coupon Movement" started. The show is going to air on Tuesday, June 23 at 10. Channel 7 here we come.