It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...

Apologies for my being so scarce lately.  Toothless had a birthday last week, and Husband was on vacation, which meant no time for computering.  School starts next week for Toothless, and I start my externship, so I might not be around too much then.  There has been couponing, and the back to school sales have been great.  If you're a Walgreen's shopper, they have the 24ct boxes of Crayola crayons for $1, and you get a $1 Register Reward back!  A Register Reward (RR from here on out) is basically a coupon for X amount on your next shopping trip.  One tip:  if you get a RR from buying crayons, do not use it to buy another box of crayons because the RR for the box you are purchasing will not print!  The same goes for store coupons from other places as well.  The next time I'm here, I will show you our school supply list & what I spent!

I've also been knitting a little.  I picked up Vampire Knits: Projects to Keep You Knitting from Twilight to Dawn at Borders, and I'm knitting Lore Hoodie for Dangergirl.  It's an adult pattern knit with bulky yarn, so I'm using the smallest size numbers with Patons Classic in Chestnut Brown, which is a worsted weight.  So far it's coming out at a 2-3T size, and I love it.  It's not too interesting to look at now since it's just 2 sleeves and a jumbled mess of brown wool, but I'll be sure to get some pictures up when it actually looks like something. 

Until next time, here's a picture of (newly) Toothless!

Get (And Stay!) Organized

There are generally 2 camps when it comes to coupon organizing: the filers and the binders.  Filers will keep an insert intact, put it in a filing container of some kind, and sort by date, clipping only what they plan to take to the store with them that day.  Binders carry all of their coupons, all the time.  I started out as a binder, did a brief (and very disorganized) stint as a filer, and I'm back on Team Binder.  You'll want to invest in one or the other before your dining room table is covered in stacks of coupons.  Ask me how I know.  I have a binder much like the one pictured, but mine is without the handle.  I found it on clearance for $2.99.  Back to school sales are starting this week, so you'll be able to find something fairly inexpensively.  I do see myself upgrading here in the near future, mostly because carrying a binder, my wallet, and managing 2 kids is ridiculous.  Also a necessity: TOP-LOADING pages.  The ones that hold postcards and come 4 to a page, 6 to a page, and 9 to a page are common coupon sizes.  Why top-loading?  Take a binder, load it to the brim with side-loading pages, jam 9000 coupons in there, and hand it to your 5 year old.  I promise you, every last coupon is going to slide right out, and into a nice pile on the floor.  Your almost-2 year old will dance in it.  I promise.  There may have been tears.  You should also find a stapler, and a nice pair of scissors.  I've got a mini-stapler that fits in the front pocket of my binder, and the Fiskars Blunt Scissors.  Even though these are designed for preschool kids, I've still been known to cut myself.  Once you have your organizational tools of choice, you'll want to print out every store's coupon policy.  To make it easier for you, I've linked all of the stores in my area.  These policies are effective as of 07/08/11.  If your store isn't listed, and you can't find it online, you should be able to visit the customer service counter for a printout. 

• Meijer
• Giant Eagle
• Rite Aid
• Walgreens
• Target
• Walmart
• Walmart's Ad Match Guarantee
• Kroger doesn't have a coupon policy on their site, but Toledo stores will double 3 like coupons up to .50, and the Perrysburg store will go up to .99

Step 1: Know Your Prices!

I'm not going to sugar-coat things when I tell you I spend a LOT of time on my matchups.  Scouring sale ads rom several stores, clicking around a dozen different blogs, flipping through hundreds of coupons, searching manufacturer websites for coupons, it all takes time.  A massive time-saver that you should familiarize yourself with is the Grocery Circular Roundup from AllYou.com, which is also a great site to find freebies and coupons.  This doesn't always list all of the sale items, so you're still going to be searching the ads.  If you don't already subscribe to All You, I highly recommend it.  The coupons alone are worth it.  Want to get cash back on your subscription?  Go to Ebates and check the sites that offer magazines.  There are usually a few that have 40% cash back!  Don't need any magazines?  Shop just about anywhere using Ebates, and you'll get a check in the mail quarterly.  I've saved over a hundred dollars in the last 6 months using Ebates.  They're also giving a $5 bonus if you sign up now.  You'll get it with your first quarterly check.  Now.  Know your prices.  Stores can vary wildly on the price of the same item, sometimes as much as $5.  This week, Aquafina is 3 for $10 at Giant Eagle, which is $3.33/each.  The same thing is 2 for $9 at Kmart, making them $4.50/each.  You'll spend $1.17/each more, which is one you would've been able to spend elsewhere.  Know your prices.  I can't say it enough.  Saving money is hard, there's no need to make it even harder by paying more for the same product because you didn't do your homework.  In the next few days, I'm going to break down prices a little bit more.  I'll even go so far as to tell you target prices on staples, health & beauty, cleaning products, and just about everything else in the store.  Before you clip one coupon, you need to make a trip to every store you plan on shopping at.  Wander the aisles, write down regular prices and note any sale prices.  Most grocery items run on about a 12 week cycle.  Writing down the prices is a very important step, as seen with the Aquafina example.  You want to save every last penny possible, and to do this, you need to first know what the items cost.  Grocery stores rely on people seeing a flashy sign on an endcap & assuming the item is on sale.  Soon we'll dive into steps 2 & 3, and I'll explain a little more about the endcap trap.

Must-Prints

Coupons.com has some really great baby coupons again this month.  To get them, all you need to do is click the banner at the top of my page.  I would advise you to print now because they'll go quick, but hold on to these until we see if Giant Eagle is continuing with Super Doubles.

Also available are Eagle Condensed Milk ($0.55/1), Greased Lightning ($1/1), Joy Ice Cream Cones ($0.55/1), and Sargento Natural Blends ($0.75/1).  Walmart has the ice cream cones for $1, which will make them $0.45 after the coupon.  Kroger has the Natural Blends for $1.99, making them $0.49 after coupon.  There's a $3/1 AmeriGas Cylinder Exchange or Purchase.  That one will come in handy with all of the weekend grilling coming up!

Helllllllllo!

My primary focus of this blog will be couponing and knitting, but I warn you now that my thoughts are random at times.  First off, this space on the web will be used to alert you to all the best deals around.  Coupons, grocery/drug store matchups, free samples, bargains, surveys, anything to help you save a buck-or ten!  More to come on that soon.

I'll also be posting a lot of knitting-related content.  Since this is Summer of Socks '11, today I purchased Cookie A's Sock Innovation.  As soon as this one hits my doorstep, I'm going to cast on Kai-Mei.  I've been lusting after this pattern since the first teaser shots from the book came out.  I haven't knit an entire pair of socks in over a year, and these look like they might get me back into the swing.  Lately I've been on a sweater kick, finishing 2 in less than a week.  I'll get some pictures up as soon as they've had a wash & the buttons are attached.  I've got a secret project on the needles for my sister's birthday.  She doesn't read here, so I'll be posting pictures as soon as it's finished!