Couponing Score 8/12/10

Okay, I just had to share this! 

This week, I got all these groceries (10 boxes of cereal, 5 boxes of granola bars, 1 bag of granola, laundry detergent, and stain release) at Safeway for $16.01! Plus, I got a coupon back for $3.50 off my next order, so its like I got it for $12.51!

I did it using the Krazy Coupon Lady’s scenarios here.

For those of you skeptical about couponing, you just can’t beat that! Who doesn’t eat cereal & wash their clothes? lol

(You have until Tuesday to get these same deals.)

Post edit:  I just remembered- I also got some of the new Pilsbury Sweet Moments refrigerated treats for free at the same shopping trip. Just forgot to include them in the pic.

good stuff: Couponing

$2.63 for all of this!!!  my first couponing score

There are a few good things I want to let you know about that have made my life easier/fun/smarter lately.  The first is Couponing.

I didn’t know what I was getting into when I went to a Relief Society class about saving money with coupons last week.  My friend, Jara, taught us all amazing and wonderful things.  My life was changed.  lol  Okay, that’s exagerating a bit, but my shopping was definitely changed!

I used to be a coupon clipper.  It was years ago, before the kids were born.  I’d go through every Sunday paper and clip any and all coupons I might ever use.  Then I’d go shopping and leaf through my coupon organizer to try to match coupons with good prices to get the best deal possible.  It took a lot of time.

That is not the way to coupon shop anymore!!  I won’t go into all the details that Jara taught here, because Karrie, at Fistful of Coupons, already has the info on her blog.  Just click on her Start Here tab.  I follow her system.

My favorite changes to couponing are:

1. You don’t clip all the coupons from the paper.  You take the insert out of the paper, write the date on it, and file it away in a file folder.  That’s it!  You will clip the coupons when you’re ready to use them.  How will you know to use them?  That brings me to my next favorite change:
2. There are lots of blogs that other people run that match up the sale prices with all the coupons available.  They update weekly (when the sale ads come out) and tell you exactly what coupons to match up with each store’s sales.  Most of the time, they’ll give you an estimated final price for each item.
3. Because you are maximizing your coupons and sales, you save a lot of money!!  In a week, I have already gotten several items literally for FREE!  And, this happens each week. Other items, you can get for super cheap.

Here are my favorite couponing blogs:

• fistfulofcoupons.com (I already mentioned.  I really like the way her site looks, and the way its organized.  Scroll down a little and on the right side is a section with icons from the major stores.  When you click on them, it will take you to the latest updates for those stores.  Also, this lady has lots of great tips for each store.  Some places have funny quirks and if you read her tips, your couponing will go easier.)
• thekrazycouponlady.com (I like her layout, too.  Click on her “beginners” tab for great tips, including 10-steps on becoming a krazy coupon lady.)
• dealseekingmom.com (I’ve seen posts specifically for pet or organic couponers, as well as normal posts.)

Couponing is like a game.  Its fun to check the blogs and find all the great deals.  Just remember- just because its cheap, doesn’t mean you should get it.  Only get what you will actually use.

If you have any questions about couponing, feel free to ask!

Another Nine Months: a review

So, my belly is growing.  And its gotten to the point that there was 1 pair of jeans that I was wearing almost every day.  I have some maternity capris, but I won’t be wearing those yet.

So, this week I hit a couple of my favorite thrift stores: Deseret Industries on Auburn and Thrift Town on Stockton Blvd.  I found a few more nice shirts, but no pants that I liked.  And the real maternity stores are a little out of my price range right now.

So of course I got online.  On Yelp, I discovered Another Nine Months, a maternity resale store.  I just wonder why I haven’t heard of it before!  The store is on Broadway, in the Tahoe Park area.  That’s right around where I lived and hung out for years. 

I went there today, and I really like it!

Here is the review I posted on Yelp:

I went to Another Nine Months for the first time today.  I’d shopped at 2 thrift stores for some extra maternity clothes this week and didn’t find any pants that I liked.  I found this store here on Yelp.

I bought a pair of GAP jeans, and Liz Lange pants for $16.95 each.  That seemed to be the average price for their pants.  Its 3-4 times the price you’d pay at a thrift store, but as I mentioned, thrift stores have very limited maternity sections.  All the prices were about 1/3 of what you’d pay new.  

Important things I liked:
-The store was very clean.  There was no “thrift store” smell (and I shop thrift stores, so I know that smell  lol).  The clothes felt and looked clean.  
-It was well-organized.  Each rack held a different type of garment (pants, shirts, skirts, capris, etc).  Then on the racks, they were organized first by size, then by color.  It was very easy to find what I was looking for.  
-The prices are labeled clearly.  
-The clothes were all in good condition.  You don’t have to worry about bad seams, stains, or missing buttons.
-There is a wide selection to choose from.

Other things I liked:
-the pretty wood floors throughout the store
-the nice dressing rooms with framed mirrors, and floor to ceiling curtains (had a nice feel)
-kid area in the back with toys and books (the owner’s son was also there and played very nicely with my son while I shopped)
-the owner was friendly and attentive, even though it was lunchtime and she was feeding her 2 little kids in her office
-I was the only one there at the time, so I had the whole place to myself  :)

I really enjoyed shopping there and will go back again.

Read the other reviews on Yelp for Another Nine months here.