Free $5.00 Kohls coupon

Go to www.Kohls.com and in the bottom right hand corner is a link that says "give us your e-mail adress for a free coupon". Sign up and they will e-mail you a $5.00 off any purchase to print. There is no minimum purchase to use it so you can go get a shirt on clearance, pair of earrings etc. for almost nothing. (You can also buy these coupons on e-bay for cheap if your a regular Kohls shopper.

Free Chocolate

Now here is a deal that no one can pass up! Mars is giving away free bags of M& M's now through September 25th. Each Friday morning at 9 a.m. the first 250,000 to log on to the website www.RealChocolate.com will be able to print a coupon for a free bag of M& M's

My Spending Diary

Do you ever find yourself asking "Where did all that money go?". Well I have a great solution that will not only answer your question but hopefully save some money as well.

Back at the beginning of July I started a "Spending Diary". I write down every single dime that Cecil and I spend and keep track of it daily. Cecil hates having to come home and "Report" his spending but it has really helped us to cut out some of our wasteful spending. When you can see where all your money is going it will help you focus on the areas that may need improving. This is an example of what mine looked like:

Friday July 17, 2009
$7.00 gas for lawnmower
$6.00 Cigarettes for Cecil
$25.00 gas in mustang
$2.17 Jack in the Box

Saturday July 18, 2009
$18.00 gas in truck
$12.00 Brookshires- groceries
$6.00 Cecil Cigarettes

Sunday July 19, 2009
$5.40 Taco bell
$300.00 Bills
$3.00 Newspaper
$10.00 CVS - cokes, water, diapers

I say try it for a week or even a few days. It will really open your eyes to how fast things like eating out, buying from the gas station, etc can add up quickly.

Krogers Double $1 day

If I look at one more coupon today I am going to scream although I'm sure the feeling will pass very quickly. I was up half the night but I think I am ready for Saturday. The coupons are scattered all over the pool table. Which reminds me, I should thank my husband for the beautiful couponing desk he bought. haha. I should be able to get About $120.00 worth of groceries for around $15.00. Good Luck to Suzanne and Vicki! It will be exciting to see how everyone does.

I also wanted to mention a little observation I made the other day. If you want to get good deals at Home Depot.....do not take your husband! I went twice in one day. Once with Cecil once without. The first time I bought three things which I was able to get all of them marked down. You should have seen me telling the guy that no one else was going to buy this last thing of sand paper because #1. It was in the old packaging and #2 It was the last one and who else would need just one but me. Hey, don't laugh it worked! Then about 2 hours later I return with Cecil to get a couple more things....had to pay full price for everything. Ridiculous!

Kroger 8/15

Thank you Tiffany (my best friend and fellow bargainaholic) for waking me up this morning with some good news! Next Saturday August 15th the Kroger stores in Texas will be doubling coupons up to $1.00. My husband has been making fun of me all day because of how excited I am about this, but whatever! For those of us who coupon this is a huge deal and there should be a ton of free groceries to get.

Old Navy Coupons

I'm still recovering from the 6 hour shopping trip to Target last Thursday where I was able to get most of my kids Christmas shopping done for about $120.00. (Over $500.00 in toys and electronics) I was really excited to get Jaxton games for his Leapster for $1.22 after 75% off sale and coupon I printed on the internet. They were originally $24.98. I'm done toy shopping for awhile or at least until January when they do the 75% off sale again.

A great website to check out is Oldnavyweekly.com. Each thursday night at 10:00pm they reload the site with great printable coupons. You can even get so much as $75 off $100 purchase! It is an interactive website that you have to click around on to find what "triggers" a coupon. For example this week you have to drag a shirt from the pile and put it on the little boy or click on the logo on the mans shirt. Each week is something different with different coupons.

Toy Clearance

Twice a year Target has a huge toy clearance. Once in late January when they're getting rid of all the remaining X-mas stock ad one in late July. For the past few weeks tons of the toys have been marked down 30-50% but tomorrow they will go to 75%. This is a great time to stock up on birthday and Christmas presents. Last January I got an entire buggy full of toys (that now take up the entire top of my closet) for $40.00.

Lets get down to business!

So my plan is to each day blog about what deals are out there to be had. Whether it be at a grocery store, drug store, hardware store etc. So here is my first deal!

What: Amp Energy Drinks
Price: Free
Where: Kroger Grocery Stores
How: Amp Energy drinks are on sale 10 for $10.00. Buy 10 of the energy drinks and a voucher will print on your receipt for a $10.00 Kroger Gift Card. Just take your receipt to the service desk and you will be given your gift card. There is no limit to how many times you can do this.
Dates Deal is Good: Today is the last day they are on sale 7/28/09.

Remember if you ever don't have time to go to the store and actually do the entire purchase just run up to the service desk and ask for a rain check that way you can go back when you have time later and do it. Rain checks are great!

A little about me

My love for bargain shopping didn't come to me overnight. I remember being a little girl watching QVC and thinking to myself, "man this stuff is overpriced". To being in Junior High and wanting to go school clothes shopping at Ross and TJMaxx instead of the mall because I knew I could get way more for my money. I learned at a very young age that I could put together a perfectly stylish outfit, all bought at Goodwill. People would stop me and say, "wow that outfit is really cute." It is only with age that I learned to no longer lie and make up some expensive store that it came from but rather to say with complete confidence, " Girl I paid $6.00 for this entire outfit at Goodwill".

You will learn that I have no shame. To be a bargain shopper, sometimes you have to put your pride aside and not be afraid/ embarrassed. Whether it be to shop at a thrift store or ask a manager for a discount because the item your wanting is in a busted box. It is all worth it in the name of saving a dollar.

My New Blog

So I've never really considered myself an expert or to have a wide range of knowledge on any one thing in particular except for maybe one thing. Shopping! Of course Shopping! It didn't really hit me that maybe this was actually somewhat useful knowledge until I began getting phone calls from a friend asking advise on how she should go about buying laundry detergent ( Go Rebecca for price comparing in the middle of the store isle) or when another called to find out where and when the best time would be to buy outdoor patio furniture ( Target, Mid July the day everything goes to 75% off or Home Depot Late August/September they are a little slower getting to the 75% off but it also includes grills). So I decided I would put some of this stored up information I have on paper, or keyboard rather and hope that it saves someone else a few dollars.

Now this isn't about cutting back because like I said "I'm a shopper!". I don't have the first clue about cutting back. I just know how to get all those shopping bags full of stuff cheap...if not free.