Lost track of time.

Last night I went to Kmart for "doubles." I totally lost track of time. I left the house around 7 and J called me around 8:30 to see where I was at. I was supposed to go grocery shopping too. I still had to check out at Kmart, which is the longest part of my trip. I had 3 $5 off $50 coupons with me, so I separated the orders. I could have done 3 orders, but I stuck to 2. My first check out did not go smoothly, luckily it was the smaller order. The computer froze, so I went to another register while the computer rebooted. I was surprised that no one was shopping there last night. A few people ran in and out, but no other "couponers" were there.

Here is how my shopping escapade went...I got all of my coupons ready yesterday while the kids were napping. I know where everything is at in the store now, so I started with the things that I needed, like 1 Gain fabric softener, 8 containers of crystal light, and 4 boxes of 100 calorie packs. Then I went over to the fun stuff aka "the things I don't need." I bought 4 cans of purina one, 6 cans of indoor cat food selects, 6 cans of fancy feast, 6 cans of cesar dog food, 3 packages of dog treats (my neighbor was thrilled when I gave him 1 bag of purina dog food, treats and a few small cans of food for his dog), 2 big bottles of dawn dish soap, 1 20 pack of cascade pellets, 3 packs of batteries, 2 Scott paper towels, candy bars and 10 boxes of ziploc freezer bags. My total before coupons was $173.xx ($66.xx and 107.xx) and my total after was $6.92 and $7.83!! I would have paid that for the crystal light, alone.

A lot of my good coupons are going to expire today. I cannot wait to either use them at Publix or get rid of them. I went through my coupon box yesterday and kept 4 of each coupon and got rid of the rest. I am going to take a break on "Carrie's Pantry" after the garage sale this weekend. I want to clear everything out before the Holidays so I can have the room. The kids were so excited to decorate for Halloween. I just had a few hand towels, a sponge, and kitchen towels to set out. I also have a plastic candy jar with witches on it. We put the Halloween pez dispensers in it. We were invited to a Pumpkin carving party at our neighbor's house. The invitation was very cute, at the bottom it said "BYOP" for bring your own pumpkin. Too bad I don't have a pumpkin coupon.

$9.25

Yes, that is the amount I spent last night on groceries. I had to take a picture of my receipt because I think it is the longest I have ever had. I could hardly fit it in the picture. I had a lot of "free item" coupons plus I bought 12 Dr. Peppers using the buy 2 get 1 free deal, manufacturer's coupons and store coupons. We won't need Dr. Pepper for a while. I also bought some candles, neosporin to go, band-aids, boneless skinless chicken breasts, glade oil refills, rice, canned vegetables, organic tomato paste, Hungry jack syrup, pancake batter, and weight watchers desserts. I could not believe the total, neither could the manager and the cashier.

Where shopping is a pleasure.

I have had the best two shopping trips in the last few days. I went to Publix on Wednesday to take advantage of the sales before they changed. I ended up spending $26 and I bought Friday's appetizers, soy candles, apples, mushrooms, onions, radishes, grapes, bananas, carrots, cucumber, grape tomatoes (can you tell I didn't have time to go to the produce stand this week?) milk, toilet paper, smoked salmon, wine, juice, blue cheese burgers, cubed steak and a hormel marinated pork loin.

Today we had a great day! We went to Chucke Cheese with friends. We didn't spend a penny. I gave the kids a big breakfast and then we headed over the "the big rat." I packed their special cups that we bought for .99 a long time ago, we can get free pop every time we go there. I had tokens that I purchased with a coupon. The coupon was for 100 tokens for only $10. I also had Birthday coupons for free tokens. They let my friend use an expired coupon for the 100 tokens. They had a bunch of new games and we won more tickets than ever before.

After that we went to Publix to buy some boneless, skinless chicken breasts and some more soy candles. Well, we walked out of there with a cartload of items for $16. I saved $146! I bought 6 bounty paper towels, soy candles (medium and large), 4 glade oil refills, 2 glade air fresheners, 2 Pur water filter refills, fruit snacks, 3 packs of chicken breasts, 6 boxes of weight watchers smart ones dessert cups, and 2 adorable Publix recyclable Halloween bags (they have a pumpkin on them). I was on such a high when I left the store today. I did have to "prep" my coupons last night for the shop today because I knew the kids wouldn't be very patient. I was pleasantly surprised because they were so good and patient. Their "reward" was playing outside with their new bikes.

When we got home we played outside with the neighbors for an hour or so. We came inside, had some dinner and relaxed. The kids were exhausted, so they went to bed without any trouble.

Tomorrow we are going to the Y for their special event. It is 2 hours long and it looks like it will be a lot of fun! I am also going for the $10 coupon, good towards any dance or gymnastics class. I already used the Citrus Park $10 coupon for their gymnastics, so I will use this coupon for M's dance class, when the schedule comes out.

Walgreens

I went shopping at Walgreens before my meeting last night. I purchased 1 bag of true north nuts, 2 sets of 8 corn holders, 8 plastic tablecloths with clips, and a small gift for a friend. I only spent $2.75. The nuts were $3 alone. I used the register rewards from the nuts to pay for the other items. I am going to use the 2 red tablecloths for Christmas brunch with J's family.

Then I went to Olive Garden for my board meeting. I had extra coupons for my friends. The nice thing about their coupons is that you can use them for $2 off each meal if you are dining alone or on separate checks. I had a $10 gift card from a survey that I did. My meal with the added gratuity was $9.05. Nothing out of pocket for me. The waitress even offered me a box for my last portion of the endless pasta. I brought it home for the kids to eat for lunch with a few bread sticks.

TuesdaY

I am meeting with the director at the Y on Tuesday. She said we are going to discuss marketing and scheduling for the classes I will have there. I have already attracted a lot of attention because I cut my coupons while I am on the machines. A few people have come up to me to ask questions about "couponing." The number one question is "do you really save a lot of money using coupons?" You know my answer :o).

I left a message for the representative at the Library. I cannot wait to hear back from her. I really want to see a copy of the offer page she sent to the other branches.

My friend said she is going to ask her Bunco group when they are available to take a class. I also have a few people I am planning on following up with. The last big place I have to contact asked me to call them in October, I have it on my calendar. I need to get an organizer/calendar to put all of my appointments in. A wall calendar can only go so far.

Not such a great Publix shop.

I went shopping the other night and spent more than I thought I would. My original bill was $101 and I spent $46.xx out of pocket. I bought a book of stamps, 1 big steak, 2 stuffed burgers, 4 Pur water filters, milk, corn, 2 frozen pizzas, hot dogs, veggies, and I am sure I am forgetting something. The water filters would have been $36 alone, if I did not have coupons. I did help my friend find a pretty good deal on Crest whitestrips.

After exercising today, we went to get the free string cheese at Target. I gave a coupon to a woman who was buying blocks of cheese. I paid .99 cents for a head of lettuce and a bunch of string cheese.

We also stopped by CVS and bought 4 bats with balls attached, 2 boat sets for the tub, a 3 ring pool, 1 big purse like basket to hold beach toys, 1 bag of circus peanuts and 1 beach bag with a zipper and change purse all for .53! I used $7 in extra care dollars. I still have over $20 to use before the end of this month. The last place we went was Walgreens to pick up our free picture collage. It turned out so cute.

Shopping Around

This week is double coupons at Kmart, so I have been a little busy. I went to Kmart the other night with a friend and we both got some really good deals. Her original balance was $125 and she ended up paying $58. Some of her items included 6 packs of pampers, 1 $18 Olay product, 3 or 4 sticks of deodorant, 2 reach toothbrushes, 2 big bags of teddy grahams, chinet dessert plates, and 3 green works cleaners. The diapers alone were $60, then she received a coupon for $3 off her next purchase of $3 or more. My transaction was $50 before coupons and $3.80 after coupons. Some of my items included 1 package of pampers overnights, nail file with a case, fun size packs of oreos, chinet lunch plates, a big bag of dog food, and 12 cans of dog food. Not too bad for my first "run" this week.

I was already on a total "high" from my Target shop right before going to Kmart! I bought 6 bonus packs of schick titanium razor refills, some bananas and skittles, all for $3.18! Each pack of cartridges were $8.94 because they were on sale for 10% off, I had a $4 Target coupon and a $4 manufacturer's coupon for each box. PLUS I had a $5 off $50 at Target that I received in the mail. I was just thinking the other day about the razors and I wished the refills would go on sale. I have a few friends from my coupon group that will be sending me more coupons, I am grateful for that.

I went to Kmart and Target with another friend today, my total was $110 before coupons and $15.07 after coupons. This time was a little different because I planned on using a $10 off $100 coupon that ended up not being accepted by the computer. They had taken the whole display of coupons down. I went to check out and my total came to $110 with about $5 tax. The cashier tried to use the $10 off $100 coupon first and it didn't go through (this was before she tried ANY of my manufacturer's coupons). Well, at the end, she tried it again. She said it wouldn't go through, so I asked for a manager. First, the supervisor came over (very nice, plus she usually rings me up and manually puts coupons in if they don't go through). She couldn't even get it to go through. Then I asked for a manager, only because $10 is a lot of money! She said that the coupon wouldn't go through because in the fine print it says "not valid with any other coupons." I tried explaining to her that the computer didn't take it in the first place even before ANY other coupons were scanned. I also told her I used the $5 one the other night and it went through just fine. I ended up paying the $15.07 and I may follow up with the district manager to find out the true policy. I also received 2 different $5 coupons. One was for $5 off my next purchase of $5 or more and the other was for $5 off any purchase of books, movies or magazines. Last time I bought M and C dry erase books to teach them how to write their letters.

At Target I bought 5 glade candle tins, 5 bonus candle refill packs and 12 small bags of skittles all for $3. I am getting ready to open up Carrie's pantry at the Westchase garage sale in October. I have to stock up.