Shake Your Money Maker

I have been waiting ALL weekend to post about my latest shopping trip.  I will have to blog about Thanksgiving, too, but I was so excited about my drugstore stops this week!  CVS and Rite Aid were BIG into the Black Friday event, so big that the sales actually started on Thursday!  So my Thanksgiving morning started with a stop at Eucharistic Adoration then the drugstores.  :)

Let's start with Rite Aid.

Here's what I got:

2 4-pack Cottonelle double roll toilet paper

2 Multi-grain Pringles

2 packages Hershey's kisses

3 Dove candy bars

1 bottle Got2b Hairspray

Total spent: 1.18

Honestly, on this one, I'm not even worried about figuring out the percentage saved.  I paid a buck eighteen.  Who cares about percentages?  I was so happy.  And the crazy thing is, the hairspray was supposed to be free, but I'm pretty sure I still ended up "paying" full price for it.  I accomplished this by having manufacturer's coupons for all of the items, plus a store coupon for the Hershey's kisses.  I added onto that a save 4 off 20 Rite Aid q and 9 dollars worth of +Up Rewards.  I'm thinking about taking my receipt back to see what happened with the hairspray, but not sure that I will have time to make it over there.  Plus, I didn't go to the Rite Aid I normally shop at.  This one seems to be a little rougher when it comes to coupon policies.  But if they do happen to give me my SCR (which I think stands for scanned credit at register, but not sure) then that means this was actually a money making deal.  Plus I earned another 5 bucks in +Up Rewards!!!

Now, we get to the big one...the CVS trip.

Here's what I got:

2 boxes Froster Mini Wheats (the last two that I saw in the store!)

5 King size candy bars

3 Reese's bars

1 Herbal Essence conditioner

1 Gillette deodorant

1 Organic conditioner

1 Eucerin lotion

1 Organic hair gel

Grand Total: 4.26

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL FOLKS...  Look really closely at the Organic conditioner and hair gel and you will see the money maker!!!

That's right, both the conditioner and the gel have mail-in rebates.  That means we'll be getting back 9.98 once I get the rebate together!  AND I also have 19 bucks worth of CVS Rewards to use on my next purchase.  Needless to say, I was pretty excited on Thursday.

I think the best part for me was getting home, setting everything out on the table, having Josh guess how much I spent, and then seeing his reaction.  We were both definitely surprised that I made money off the CVS purchase, but I think the magnitude of his reaction was much greater than mine.  He's even been telling his friends, and we shared all this with family over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Now if I can only make enough off CVS and Rite Aid to actually pay for all the true Black Friday shopping that I did....

My Confession

I have a confession to make, folks.  It's taken me a while to build up the courage to actually admit to it, especially since I was raised Catholic, but here it goes.

I am a big fan of the commercialization of Christmas.  I love going into stores, looking at all the ornaments, lights, trees, big blow-up Penguins and Polar bears, and simply feeling like I am in a Winter Wonderland.  I love watching all kinds of Christmas videos and listening to Christmas carols, even before Thanksgiving.  Not constantly, though, but just a smattering here and there.  Heck, I'll even listen to Christmas songs in March or August. 

Please don't take this the wrong way.  There are things I do NOT like about Christmas being commercialized.  It's a little disheartening to go into a store looking for Christmas cards with a nice nativity on them to only find cards with Santa stuck in a chimney.  I do not like Christmas becoming all about money.  I especially hate commercials that imply you should be spending a bunch of dough or else it's not really Christmas. (Lexus commercials, I'm talking about you...who finds bows and boxes that big anyway?)

But I think there are a lot of good things that come from Christmas being such a "commercial" phenomenon.  It teaches giving and thinking about others.  Rarely, if ever, is there another time during the year that consumers are so willing to throw caution to the wind to find that perfect gift for someone who they love.  Think about that the next time you are in a crowded store, aggravated with the long lines.  Think about the motivation the other people have to be in that line.  It's all about giving and showing someone else that they care.  And no one was better at that than Christ.  Granted, Jesus wasn't in Macy's maxing out credit cards, but when we give a gift we are fulfilling a Christian precept.  The Three Kings gave gifts to baby Jesus.  Jesus gave the ultimate gift of his life.  A lot of us will not be called to give our lives, so we can emmulate Jesus by giving small things of ourselves, including Christmas gifts.  Even the people who would prefer to celebrate "Winter Solstice Day," if they are giving a gift they are learning about what it means to be Christ-like.

I also think, in a round-about way maybe, it teaches people to slow down and enjoy life's gifts.  There's so much hustle and bustle around the Christmas season, but when the day comes, it's a time to simply sit back and enjoy all the hard work put into finding those perfect gifts.  It's time to be a kid at heart and find joy in the small things in life.  Even if it's for the smallest moment, we experience that on Christmas day, even those who don't celebrate it for "religious" reasons.  Everyone is off work.  Family and friends become the true center of the day, as everyday should be. 

I hope that I can continue to enjoy all the hype that Christmas receives.  I also hope that while enjoying that aspect of the season, I never forget the true meaning behind the celebrations.  It's to remember the day when the Savior came into this world as a baby, the same way all of us did, but in much more humble circumstances.  It's to reflect on what that small baby would do for the salvation of the world in just 30 some-odd years.  It's to be grateful that we have a God who loves us so much that he would give us a human Savior to whom we can all relate.  It's really another Thanksgiving, and I want to be thankful that this holiday (HOLY-DAY) is celebrated by so many!

**A note on the Catholic comment up top...this Sunday starts the season of advent, which is a season of preparation.  It's a little bit of a somber time, time for reflection and prayer before the big event.  Catholic churches aren't decorated until the week of Christmas and then stay decorated until the celebration of the Baptism of Jesus on January 12th.  (The end used to be the Epiphany on January 8th, but that changed recently.)  So the pomp and circumstance of the season has usually started a little later on in December for me.  I love my Catholic faith, and you better believe any decorations we put up will stay up until January 12th.  And baby Jesus won't be in the manger until the evening of  December 24th.  :)

PIE!

We have a ton of blueberries in our freezer, and we had some apples leftover from earlier last week.  What to do with all this fruit???  Make pie!

I did a quick recipe search on-line and found an apple and blueberry pie.  Yummy!  I love the pies that have designs cut into them so that you can see all the goodies inside.  I attempted to cut leaves out, not sure it worked.  Kinda looks more like tulip buds.  But overall, I think Paula Deen would be proud, especially since I used her cookware (wedding present from Ms. Gayheart).  

I also have a picture of a piece of pie, but blogspot apparently doesn't want to upload that one.  Let's just say it was really very good.  Still one piece left.  :)

The Highs and Lows of Coupons

I promise that I got this blog for more than just talking about coupons...promise, really! Although, coupons will be a big part of the blog.  And in that vein, I did my latest shopping trip tonight.

 Here in Montgomery we have two major grocery stores, Winn Dixie and Publix.  I stopped at both.  Great shopping at Publix, not quite so much at Winn Dixie.  So we'll start with the bad one first.

Winn Dixie

 We're carnivores, so it was about time that I actually bought some meat.  Winn Dixie was having a pretty good sale on a number of things, so I went ahead and got them.  This is what really hurt the overall savings, but we've gotta eat something other than popcorn!

What I got

2 packages Boneless chicken breasts (BOGO)

1 Bottom Round Roast

1 Package Beef Cubed Steak

Total: 42.23

Total Winn Dixie Card Savings: 16.66

Saved: 39%

I also picked up a few other items, and had to get my first rain check.  I have the chance to get 12 sticks of butter for 2.00, but they were completely out of Parkay sticks.  Those are very needed for Christmas baking!  Hopefully I'll be able to pick those up later this week.  I think what I got is pretty self-explanatory on this one.

Price before coupons: 13.83

Price after coupons and card savings: 6.28

Saved: 55%

Didn't realize I had done that well honestly.  I was very happy with the brown sugar.  It's 32 ounces for 1.00!  We ran out of vanilla recently.  Winn Dixie brand was BOGO, but it will never live up to Raleigh.  :)  I also ended up with a $5 off $55 purchase.  We'll see if I can use that, but I did find out something at Publix that made me excited...

Publix

Ah, Publix.  If I must live without Kroger, I'm so happy there is a Publix!  They have all kinds of store coupons, and they accept competitors coupons.  Starting just this week they not only accept Winn Dixie or Target coupons, but they accept CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid qs too!!!  And that 5 off 55 coupon I got...that would work at Publix.  I'm just thrilled, really and truly.  But to the groceries, I had coupons for everything I bought, and for some things I stacked coupons, one store and one manufacturer.  All the items were also on sale, except for the White Chicken Chili beans.  

What I Got:

2 cans Planters cashew halves

2 boxes Swiss Miss Cocoa Mix (with marshmallows)

2 packages of Pillsbury Pie crusts

3 bags Steamfresh mixed veggies

2 7-oz packages Kraft cheese (mozza and colby)

2 jars Ragu sauce (alfredo and parm)

2 packages Mueller's pasta (Angel hair and fettuccini)

1 package Wheat Thins sticks

1 package Triscuits

1 can Hormel White Chicken Chili

Price before coupons/sales: 49.40

Price after coupons/sales: 17.38

Tax: 2.48

Saved: 65%

Ahh, over 50% saved on groceries.  I love it!  Hopefully soon, we'll have a good enough stock pile of most items that I'll be able to start saving even more.  I've been told that the most expensive part is getting that stock pile together.  After that, you just keep the stockpile up and only buy when you have the best coupons and the best sale.

The other reason we'll start saving more money soon...we no longer have any space.  These last few shopping trips have been a little too much for our apartment.  My goal next week is to only eat from what we have.  I think we can do it, especially since we have Thanksgiving coming up.

Funny side note.  As I was walking into Publix, a lady in the parking lot said, "Are you Mary."  I have never ever seen this woman before in my life.  But I said, "Yes, that's me."  She knew me because she's friends with Josh on facebook and thought that I looked like the his new bride from his profile picture.  We went on to talk about Jamaica, Hawaii, and the Bahamas.  A little weird.  People are always stopping Josh while we grocery shop, but they never really talk to me.  In hindsight I maybe shouldn't have talked to her.  She was wearing an Auburn jacket.  ;)

CVS and Rite Aid

Pictures are forthcoming, I promise.  I was just very excited about my purchases from the drug store last night and wanted to go ahead and get the information up.

CVS

Here's what I got: 

Aussie gel

Fiber One bars

Oral B electric tootbrush

Total before coupons: 29.98

Total after coupons: 8.48

Tax: 2.90

Total percent saved: 71.8%

I also left the store with 18 dollars worth of Extra Care Bucks to use on my next purchase.  Plus, I received a coupon for 4 dollars off my next purchase of 20 bucks or more.  So if I go in there needing 22 bucks worth of stuff next time, it should all be free...except for sales tax.  That 10% will get ya here in Montgomery County.  To me, this was a very fun trip.  Even though we didn't really NEED an electric toothbrush, I know that Josh likes those, and honestly, when else are you gonna find one of those for 3 bucks?

Rite Aid

Here's what I got:

12-Pack Charmin

4 12-Packs of Diet Mountain Dew

2 Betty Crocker mashed potato mixes

1 Nivea body lotion

1 Herbal Essence gel

1 Colgate Total toothpaste

1 Colgate 360 tootbrush

1 4-pack Colgate wisps

Total before coupons: 40.96

Total after coupons: 25.46

Tax: 4.00

Total percent saved: 38%

I'm not gonna lie.  This one disappointed me a little.  I really did think I was going to be saving a lot more than I did.  I realized once I got home, I bought the wrong kind of Charmin bath tissue.  It should have been 4.99 on sale, but instead I paid 9.99.  I'm going to try to take it back and get that 5 bucks.  That would bump up my total savings to 51%.   (I'm calculating the total saved before taxes...you have to pay taxes on the full amount before coupons.)  I also got 9 bucks in +Up Rewards to use on my next purchase there.  And once I buy the correct toilet paper I should get a few more.

Josh is still adjusting to me going out and buying stuff like this, and he's doing a wonderful job of keeping me grounded.  I will not be buying any shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toothpaste, or toothbrushes again any time soon.  We have so much of it now! 

Couponing has become another reason I am really excited about getting a house.  We'll actually have some cabinet space so I will have a place to put all the stockpiled food!  Ah, what a glorious day that will be!  As long as I can keep from driving my hubby crazy with all the stuff.  :)

Josh + Mary = The Johnsons!

Hi everyone!

I'm brand new to this blogging endeavor and very excited.  I mainly wanted to start this blog to stay in extra contact with family and friends.  Facebook is great, but I feel like this can be a little more personal and in depth.  I also feel like this is a great way to start sharing more about the things Josh and I are passionate about: sports, faith, and family.  And for me, I want to share more about my crazy couponing ways.  :)

To start off, Josh and I got married on August 28, 2010 back in my hometown.  The wedding was at St. Luke church, and the reception was hosted by my parents at their farm.  I could not have scripted a more perfect day or a more perfect groom to have by my side.  It was everything that I hoped it would be!

We enjoyed a honeymoon at an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica.  Upon our return, we were both pretty bummed that we had to pay for things like food and drinks.  Since then, we've been living in an apartment trying to find someway to merge all of our stuff together into 700 sq ft. of space.

And that brings us to our latest news...we're house shopping!   We are going to look at some houses with a realtor on Saturday and have made sure that we can be approved for loans.  If you have any house shopping advice, please feel free to share.

I think this is a good first post.  Look for a few posts later about my shopping trips to Rite Aid and CVS (yup, I'm becoming addicted).