Plant Markers "Storage"

This is not really a "saving" tip, but just something I did today while cleaning up the garage.  I planted some shrubs about a month ago and kept the markers because come next spring, I will have NO idea what they are called.  Normally plant markers get thrown away or "filed" where I can never find them again...so problem solved!  I was just going to nail these little guys to the garage wall but since Pinterest always has me trying to be more creative, I thought how can I make this Pintrest worthy?

There is no glass on the frame I bought at a garage sale for $0.50.  The back portion is just scrapbook paper and spray adhesive on the frame "backing" and I used wood glue to adhere the clothes pins to the paper.  I wanted to be able to change out the markers because either I or the Wyoming winter will most likely kill these plants :(  If you have a green thumb, I'm sure you'll need more than the 3 clothes pins I used!!

Personalized Coat Hooks

This is not that much of an original idea, not sure if I've seen the exact same thing but there are a lot of cute ideas out there, this is what I made.  I bought 2 $3 frames from Walmart, 2 hat/coat hooks, cute scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby (luckily it was 50% off) and scrapbook letter stickers (also 50% off).  I hung the hooks lower to the ground so my 3year old daughter could hang up her own coat and backpack.  This was super easy to do, hardest part was hanging the hooks but I just made that difficult myself :)  Total project was about $12.

Dry your washed sandwich baggies

So I admit it, I wash my sandwich baggies out (as long as no raw meat was in them).  Why not wash and reuse?  These little guys are used all the time in my house, I would spend $10 a month if I trashed every single one.  And I recycle my plastic grocery bags (everyone forgets to bring their reusable shopping bags every once in awhile) so why not try to reduce the number of sandwich baggies in the landfill and save money at the same time!  Previously I could only dry one at a time on my sink faucet but that got old.  So the lightbulb went off, it's not a high watt one ;)  and I now use my bottle drying rack.  Problem solved and saving money continues.

Framed Family Monograms

Late on Christmas night, I was feeling crafty after spending about 2 hours on Pinterest....I'm soooo addicted!!!  I bought some picture frames from my cousin and originally painted some lines in the color I want to decorate my living space with.  It looked very amateur, I am an amateur painter so there's no surprise there!  For this project I re-purposed the frames, found some scrapbook paper I had on hand and used some stencils.  Instead of painting, I used the actual stencils.  Our last name has a different paper than our firsts.  My husband and I have the same first initial so I doubled ours in one frame and each of our children have their own.  This was super easy, sooo much better than my "paintings" and gave me a great sense of accomplishment!  Woo-Hoo, my first home decor :)  Hope you like the idea!

Expanding Focus

I'm going to expand my blog's focus.  I'm not getting a lot of feedback that others share my interest in couponing and finding great deals so I want to expand to money saving projects.  More or less this is for me to track what I've accomplished and it gives me the links I'll need to post on Pinterest.  In no way am I expecting to be "copied" but it will make it easier to share my projects with friends and family.  I still enjoy couponing and sharing the deals I find but I've been reposting finds via Facebook.  Posting to my blog got to be a lot.  So I hope if you come across this you will gain something out of it :)  Happy Saving!!

$10 P&G Coupon Booklet

Fill out your info HERE and get $10 in P&G coupons!

Thanks Frugal Gals for the tip!

Mega Bloks Coupons!

Click HERE to get $20 in Mega Bloks coupons just by signing up for their newsletter!  These are GREAT gifts for kids!  Think beyond Christmas too.  If you have a couple on hand you won't have to do a dash to Walmart to pick up a gift for a birthday party!  

Thanks to Wisconsin Coupon Clippers for this deal!

Target Match-Up: Week of 9/18/11

Here are the coupon match-up's for Target this week.  There are good deals on granola bars and hand soap refills.  Not a lot this week but this is only based off their ad.  Hopefully you can find some great stuff on their clearance end caps!

Thanks to KCL for the list!

Walgreens Match-up: Week of 9/18/11

Here are this week's coupon deals at Walgreens!  There is a pretty good deal on Aussie or Herbal Essence hair care product, only $1!!!  There are some other hair care products at a good price, kotex items, tummy issue medicine, kids' cold and cough, blistex, glade products are all a great deal too!
Start thinking of Christmas.  If you could get an assortment of beauty products together, you could give friends and family a beauty basket!  What woman wouldn't want hair products, nail polish, lip balm, hair spray....throw a bag of candy in there are you are ready!  Also watch for home scents.  I picked up some Febreeze plug in's for free at Walmart.  When the scents go on sale I'll have a great addition to the baskets!  All for around $10 per person!

Big thank you to KCL for all their hard work!!!

Free Blockbuster Express Kiosk Rental codes

These codes are good thru Sept 12th and are good for one night rentals and not on Hot List Movies.

75TTDR3

34PGAR272KRVF5
38RMAQ4
89AGSF7
83TPLD4
76DMNP2
29SPNF9
68MMKC2

Thanks to KCL for the tip!

Walgreens Match-up: Week of 9/11/11

Here are this upcoming week coupon match up with the weekly flyer.

It's a good week to start stocking up on facial tissues, sadly cold season is approaching us.

Also some good prices on hair color, Huggies slip on diapers, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shave cream, Platex, Dayquil pills, Nyquil liquid, Dawn and Chex Mix (remember the coupons I told you print?), 

If this is your first time looking at the match ups please stop by last week's post for an explanation.

Babies R Us Huggies diapers $5 Friday and Sat only!

Today and tomorrow only, get the Huggies Little Movers Jean Diapers for only $5 at Babies R Us.  If you have the $2 off any Huggies diapers from the 8/14 Smart Source insert you can get them for only $3!!  Remember that Walmart price matches if you have a Babies R Us in your area.  Bring their ad!!  FYI - Walmart had these marked down about a month ago so not sure they will have any left!

Huggies Jean Diapers Jumbo Pack $5.00Use $1.50/1 Huggies Diapers from SS 8/14 (exp 9/10)
Or use $2.00/1 Huggies Diapers from SS 8/14 (exp 9/10)
Final Price: as low as $3.00

Thanks to KCL for the heads up and the break down!

Walgreens Rundown II

Quick Rundown of Shopping at Walgreen's.  Attached below is a link for more details.  Thought I would put this out for you guys so if you have any questions we can go a little more in detail if you like.  And it's 11pm ;)

RR = Register Rewards  These are manufacturer coupons printed from a separate printer and are to be used on your next shopping trip.  Certain products offer RR.  See your local flyer found in the front of the store or at the register for what products have RR that week.

1. Only 1 RR per offer printed per transaction
ex: $1.00 RR wyb (when you buy) 1 shampoo.  You can not buy 3 shampoo's in one transaction and get 3 $1 RR.  You will need to buy one at a time.

2. You can NOT pay for an item that offers a RR with the RR you just got from that same item on the previous transaction
ex: you gain $1 RR from the purchase of a shampoo.  If you use that RR to pay for a 2nd shampoo on your next transaction the system will not print a RR.

3. Remember, RR are manuf coupons.  Wags (Walgreen's) coupon policy states the coupon to items purchase have to be the same.  If you buy 3 items and have 3 coupons the register will not allow you to pay with a RR since it is considered a manuf coupon.  To get around this, you need a "filler" item.  A "filler" is an inexpensive item to get your coupon to item ratio the same.  Look for their weekly deals on the front of their flyers.  $0.09 hilighters, $0.11 folders...  If I see something on mark down like baby food or something else I know I need I usually get that. *catch* Your $1/2 items does not count as a 1 coupon to 2 items ratio.  The coupon is "attached" to both items thru the bar code.  *bouns* the coupons in their weekly flyer do not count as a coupon against your ratio so this will make for better "filler" options!

4. Look at your RR.  If it says issued by P&G you will not be able to pay with it and get a RR from another P&G item offering a RR
ex: You buy shampoo made by P&G and it gives you a $1 RR issued by P&G.  Now a toothpaste made by P&G is offering a RR wyb 1.  If you use the shampoo RR it will not print another.  Even though it's a completely different item, it's determined by who issues it.

5. You may stack a Wag's coupon with a manuf coupon.  Look at their beauty counter and by the front door for coupon booklets.

Here is KCL's Walgreen's 101 shopping advice. (click on the Walgreen's 101 "tab" a couple of banner's down.  Also watch the video, it helps a lot!!)  I hope all of this helps, it can be confusing.  Don't hesitate to ask questions, it's how I learned and it's how we'll teach others!

Walmart Match-Ups: Week of 9/11/11

Here are the coupon match up's to the weekly ad for Walmart.  

There's not any amazing deals this week so I'm not linking this to FB but thought I would blog it for those of you who look here too :)

Thanks to TheKrazyCouponLady (KCL), they do all the hard work for us!

Walmart: $0.17 each wyb 4

Walmart sells their Meow Mix single cups for $0.42 each at regular price.  If you have the $1/4 Meow Mix Single cups coupon you can get each cup for $0.17 wyb (when you buy) 4. 

Thanks to KCL here's the breakdown:

Meow Mix Cups $0.42, Regular PriceUse $1.00/4 Meow Mix Single Cat Food Cups from RP 8/28
Final Price: $0.17 each when you buy 4

Dollar General: Save $5 off $25

This Saturday 9/10 only, you can save $5 off a purchase of $25 or more.  Click here to print the coupon!

Thanks to RegularMom.com for the info!

Macy's: Save $10 off $25

Save $10 off a purchase of $25 at Macy's!  This is vaild 9/9 and 9/10.

Thanks FrugalGals.net

Top 10 Grocery Store Mark-Ups

Found this link on TLC about the top 10 marked up items at the Grocery Store.  The one I avoid the most is #1, pre-cut veggies.  I find the whole mushrooms and cut them myself.  I found red peppers on sale for $0.99 a piece, bought 5 and sliced them at home and froze them in separate baggies.  Whenever I want to add them to a meal they are ready at 60 seconds or so in the skillet.  Also watch out for frozen chcicken vs. fresh.  Very often you can find the fresh cheaper than frozen.  You're paying for convenience.  Hand-trimmed chicken vs regular chicken can be over a $1 difference per pound.  It all adds up.  Don't believe me?  Bring a calculator to the grocery store and write down some prices, the proof is on the wall.

Want to know more about BOGO?

This is an awesome explanation of BOGO coupons!  Even if you think you know all there is about a BOGO, read this anyway!  I'm sure you'll find something new to you.  There's even visual explanation.  Huge thank you to the ladies at KrazyCouponLady.com   80% of what I have learned from the internet has been from these ladies and the questions/answers from their blog fans.

CVS 101 - by KCL

If you have a CVS close by you'll want to do a little research.  They have an awesome rain check policy and just like Walgreens, they have a lot of money making/free items.  The ladies at KCL have done their homework and have put together a CVS 101 rundown and a some videos (these help A LOT).  Click HERE to check out their CVS site.  Let me know if you do any shopping there and if you learned anything new!