Sunday, April 27, 2008

My Couponing Start

I am so super super proud of my self right now. I'm actually quite amused that I'm so happy (as in smiling from ear to ear happy) about my first real couponing trip. A few months back I started clipping coupons. I've used a few of them here and there, but hadn't really gotten into it like I had wanted/hoped to. I have quite a few coupons that I've divided into categories using small photo albums. Unfortunately I've had to throw a lot of them away due to procrastination (on my part) and expiration (on the coupons part). Until today I'd also only bought 2 or 3 newspapers to clip from. So, basically, I haven't jumped on the whole coupon horse fully.

This is something that I'm going to make a point of getting good at over the summer. I've seen pictures on couponing websites of people's "stockpiles" and honestly I'm in complete awe over them. And these aren't stockpiles that cost a fortune either. These people are serious couponers and get incredibly great deals on the items that they are buying. I would absolutely love to be able to help myself and my family with learning the ins and outs of couponing and actually putting them into practice!! And trust me, this is no easy task. It sounds easy enough, clip a few coupons and save some money. But this is not the case. What I'm talking about is researching, saving coupons, finding store deals and combining them with coupons. It's harder than it sounds. But after tonight I've realized that it is so fulfilling in the end!! And I also want to add that for some hardcore couponers out there I actually spent too much on my stuff!! That's how good they are!

Anyways, let's get to my first couponing expedition. On my way home from church today I decided to go ahead and get the Sunday paper and clip the coupons out of it (this is something that I haven't done in at least 6 weeks or so). So I did that and started off by looking through the weekly store ads. The one that caught my the most was the Walgreens ad. They have a lot of great specials all of the time. I found the Walgreens specials/coupons that interested me the most and jotted them down. On top off the specials there was a '$3 off of a $10 purchase' coupon in there good only at the Walgreens by my house since they just moved into a new building!! Jackpot! Anyways here is how my trip breaks down:

~2 Sunlight Dish Soap (reg. $1.79 each) - B1G1F coupon - total $1.79
~6 Jello packets (reg. $.89 each or 5/$4) - $.39 each coupon limit 6 - total $2.34
~2 Lady Speed Stick Deodorants (reg. $2.99 each) - $.99 each coupon limit 3 PLUS $.75 off 2 coupon - total $1.23
~2 Morton Salt (reg. $.89 each) - 2/$1 coupon - total $1
~4 cans Butterball Chicken Broth (on sale for $.99 each) - 4/$2 coupon - total $2
~6 packs 2 sheet Hallmark Gift Wrap (reg. $.69 each or 2/$1) - 3/$1 coupon - total $2
~$3 off of a $10 purchase coupon

My total savings with all of my specials and coupons was $12.78!!
I paid (out of pocket) a total of $7.43 for all of that stuff!!!

Here's a picture of all of my loot!!



YAY! GO ME! Do you see why I'm so happy right now?! I think I did pretty darn good for my first couponing trip!! May this be the first of many to come!

Friday, April 18, 2008

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Next President!!

Gotta love some Barack!!

My Little Amel DeMarcos

Last week my little princess turned two years old. I can't believe that this past year came and went so quick. We had her birthday party last Saturday (I'll be posting a blog about that soon), and let me tell you, that girl made out in the gift department!! She got 4 dvds, books, a potty cake (basically a diaper cake that's geared toward potty training), a pile of clothes, a swimsuit, a hat, a cover up, sunglasses, lots of toys, and 5 (yes 5) pairs of shoes. This girl is SOOO spoiled, er I mean blessed. Here's a pic of all of her shoes:



We got her the pink Converse (I've been eying them for quite awhile). And you can't tell in the picture, but the Disney Princess sandals light up when she walks, and the peep toed shoes with the pink bows are actually wedges (yes wedges for a two year old) and they are super cute!! I swear my daughter is the next Amel DeMarcos!! This child LOVES her some shoes. She is constantly putting on different pairs of shoes just to wear around the house, even when she's only wearing pajamas! At Christmas we were at my parents and everyone took off their shoes and put them inside the front door, what did Audrey do for half an hour? If you guessed put on, walked around in and then took off EVERY pair of shoes, then you hit the nail on the head. My current count of her shoes is at least 13 pair (and these are just the ones that fit her, not the oodles of pairs that she's already grown out of!). Lord help her Daddy as she ages and wants to pay more than $10 for a pair of shoes!!!