Shaving off the Costs...

Shaving off the Costs....

Recently I have noticed when I shop people staring at my cart. "Yes that's right," I think to myself..."I am saving money!"

I'm pretty sure that's not what's going through their heads, but hey I have to "shave" off costs somewhere. Right?

Tonight I was in Target. I picked a line that was empty becasue I was going to do 2 transactions, nothing huge but 2 different transactions. I noticed as the cashier rang up my first batch of razors the lady behind me grew impatient and started to fidget and complain to her husband. *Note to people - if you're going whisper just to be rude and mean maybe you should look-up what a "Whisper" is) I'm just saying...

As the cashier rang up my numerous gift cards from the promo that was going on she continued to look like she was sitting on a very uncomfortable stick. Yeah I said that. I could hear her husband "trying" to reassure her that they would be next soon and even defended me for saving money in these tight economic times.

When it came time for my next transaction (like 3 minutes later) she started to huff and puff at me, I think to get a rise out of me. Her husband then jabbed her with his elbow...I almost laughed out loud.

As the coupons beeped and I gave the cashier my gift cards from the previous charge...the total started to go down...and down... she huffed a little less....looked confused...and then bewildered.

My moment of glory.... (besides my saving $124 and making $10 in gift cards)

Her husband told her "See? She just saved enough to buy 3 pairs of your dumb shoes and I think she made money!"

Yes! I will do almost anything to shave off the costs of items I can not eat or feed my family with! So take that and take me to the bank! :)

Sharing with Shutterfly

I am an avid believer in using Shutterfly...why? It's just been the best way to share photos with my friends and family. Did you know you they also paired up with the soccer organization AYSO and help create team websites? I'm only saying because my kids had one this year and it was great being able to share information and photos that I took effortlessly with the other team parents.

You should check it out! I get photos printed and mailed right to me, or if I want have them printed and sent to the grandparents. One less step for me to do. We always get our holiday cards from them too. Shutterfly is always sending me discounts and codes for items and sometimes even FREE stuff! Yes I said FREE!

Check out our holiday card for this year. Me & my hubby .

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Help! Now What?

Extreme Couponing, we've all heard about it by now. Baskets full of sports drinks, soda bottles reaching the ceilings in some basement; if you're lucky enough to have a basement. Don't you wish you could do that? Well you can! I've been learning and helping friends and family learn. Some of them have even been helping me with other stores that I am not used to shopping.  I'm not a professional, you won't see me on TV and I don't get paid to do this. (yet wink wink) I've been doing this for 5 months now and have saved over $4500 on food and non-food items. If I can help teach you to save $10 on a shopping trip or cut your grocery bill in half , then I'm happy to help! So here goes.

#1 Keep it simple!

This means don't think you're going to save 80% right off the bat and don't go buying everything in sight just because it was a good deal.  Buy what you're family needs, period.  Pick 1-2 items your family needs that is a regular staple in the house, toothpaste, deodorant, body wash, soaps. You'd be surprised just who fast this stuff eats up your grocery budget.

#2 Be Organized

I can't stress enough about this. There's nothing like being unorganized and missing out on a good deal because you threw away a pile of coupons or lost them. Just today, I'm behind organizing my coupons from last weekends 6 inserts in the paper. I got 4 extra papers so I had 30 inserts to clip and organize. I had them clipped but in envelopes, I went to pull an envelope out in the store and "FLOP!" they all fell all over the isle! 

I suggest a zip binder like the one above. Here's one from Amazon: Case-It 2-Inch O-Ring Zipper Binder with Removable Tab File  of course use what you have on hand. I started with one of my kids old binders until I saved up for a zippered one. 

Baseball card sleeves (usually 9 pockets) works best for me. I found mine on Amazon.com but I also know stores like Target, Walmart carry them too. I only got mine online because I needed to have 100 pages. You can start with 25 or so depending on how you want to make your categories.  The Krazy Coupon Lady has a good site for start-up information. That's where I started, but I found I had to tweek things here and there. For instance I did not like her categories as it didn't work for how I shop, but you'll get the idea.

#3Clipping and keeping coupons

This is probably the hardest for me becasuse it does take time to organize and clip everything. I am a total insomniac so staying up late catching up on my taped TV shows while I clip works for me. Find time to do a little at a time. If you're going to go Gung Ho you're going to have to dedicate a certain amount of time each week like a part-time job. You job is saving your family money!  I keep every coupon, yes I know that's a bit extreme, but if it saves me money on a different Brand I otherwise would have said "Too expensive" but is now cheaper than the store or bargain brand, then YES I want to save and get the name brands.

#4 Stockpiling

When people see me coming with my coupon binder they usually accuse me of "Hoarding" food and other items. I can see how it can be easy to do so. Just remember to get what your family can use from 1-6 months depending on what the item is. If it's laundry soap, yeah I'm going to grab enough for a year if I can afford it after coupons! So figure out what is good for your family. Ask yourself, "How much cereal do we go through in a month?" Do we really eat the same kind all the time? If so maybe cereal should be a stockpile item. Just remember to check expiration dates on the box. A lot of cereal is good for 1 yr on a shelf!

#5 Store Policies & Coupon lingo

Know your stores coupon policies. Through trial and lots of error I have learned the hard way! Most store post them online, or you can email or write to companies asking for a copy. This will save you a big headache later. Nothing like arguing a point and finding out your wrong! 

Target Policy

Albertson's Grocery Store Policy

Von's policy

H-E-B coupon policy

Read your coupons! They usually will say what the item is good for and how many etc.

Common wording:

BOGO free = Buy One Get One Free

Limit 1 per purchase = this means you can use 1 coupon per item you buy. Buying 4 bottles? you'll need 4 coupons. Warning! Some checkers think it means you can only buy 1 item total. This is not the case. Manufacturers don't care how much you buy of their product, they want you to buy a lot, just not use 3-4 coupons to get 1 item paid for.  So buying 4 toothpastes? you'll need 4 coupons. Higher value coupons will give you a limit (see below)

Limit 4 like coupons in a transaction - this one means you can only use 4 of the same kinds of coupons in a single transaction. 

If you still need help The Krazy Coupon Lady has info that you can use. It helped me start, but I like my site because it's more personal and I've made new friends who are in the same boat as me. Needing to save more in a bad economy.  There's nothing like being able to feed your family and provide fun things at a fraction of the cost. We recently took 2 of our kids to see The Lion King in 3D for only $11.50! In the past before I started couponing it would have cost us $60.50 for 4 people. Yikes! I'll stick to my binder :-)

As always...ask questions on my Facebook Fan page: Super Saver Stacy...if I can't help you I'll find someone who can!

Thanks for reading! Happy Clipping my Couponistas!

Make-up: The Silent Killer

is for Make-up

Yes I said it, make-up is the silent killer. It's a silent killer of your wallet. I am a total nerd when it comes to make-up and never really wore any in my past years. Now that I do I have realized just how much money I have wasted on buying make-up. It's so temporary; only wearing it for the day and yet we pay full price for these items. NO MORE I say! With October off to a great start on 4-6 inserts in our Sunday paper I am finding some great deals on make-up. Here are a few to get you started!

Revlon Age Defying Cream Make-up $9.99 (weekly ad Oct 2-8, 2011)

use $5 off any Revlon Age Defying Make-up from Smart Source (SS) 9/25 insert

Final Price = $4.99 

or if you have the $5 manufacturer use it at CVS to pay $7.49 and with your CVS Reward card you'll get - $4 Extra Bucks Reward (good on next shopping trip) = Final price $3.49!

Target: Maybelline Color Sensational High Shine Lip $5.49 (price varies from region to region)

use $2 printable coupon from Target.com + $2 off manufacturer coupon from last months inserts

Final Cost = as low as $1.49 a tube of lipstick!

This week you can save on make-up at Walgreens. Check your local store for prices.

Weekly Ad : Loreal, Maybelline and Almay various make up is BOGO 50% off plus us any coupon you have to maximize your savings.

So there you have it....with a little work you can find great deals on make-up and not break the bank!

Happy Clipping! 

Visit my Facebook Fan Page: Super Saver Stacy 

for daily deals and adventures in couponing

Your Favorite Couponista,

A Couponista's Cupboard

Sometimes I feel like "Alice in Wonderland" searching for what ever supply I need. Grabbing a ladder to "Grow Tall" in a hallway shelf or "Growing Small" by crouching down to the lower shelves, either way it's a back breaker sometimes.

I've had tons of people ask me all the time, "What do your shelves look like with all the couponing you do?" Well here's a look into a Couponista's cupboards!

Customize your own free slideshow

Garage: Capri Suns, Apple Juice, I have snack foods & chips in 2 bins (no critters), lower shelfs house laundry soap and shampoo/conditioner

Hall closet: Toilet paper, air fresheners, other various bathroom items
By the way, the photo of my hallway shelf on the left - yes that's a bin full of tubes of toothpaste!

The hallway closet shelf is now home to my cereal, which I trade now and then with my neighbors for their stack of coupons, and I forgot to take a photo but I have 2 huge bins that holds everything from shavers, deodorant, body wash, shaving cream, make-up and lotions. A pink bin for all the girls stuff and a blue bin for the boys stuff. I ran out of space ;-) On the top of each lid is a check list. when they take something from the bin they just mark it out of stock. That way I know how many I have left in my stockpile.

My cupboard & pantry house canned items mostly, some boxed crackers and bottled items like salad dressing

Other hall closet: I cleared off a shelf of old board games the kids grew out of to make room for all my cereal. didn't want it in the garage for fear of "critters" getting into it.

Garage freezer: the door holds frozen hot dogs, lunch meats and a few whole chickens while the rest holds bread and flats of meat.

Garage mini-shelf: this used to hold all my laundry soap until I started couponing...now it just holds the Woolite, Shout & fabric softeners

Above the washer: a few more bottles of laundry soap

Bathroom shelf: holds some of my yrs worth of hair color

Bathroom towel shelf: cleared a shelf for more air/room fresheners (Yes...my house smells great!)

Last but not least, under my kitchen sink: holds all the dish soap and most of the dishwasher soap tablets. Few bottles of Pine-sol and Windex.
*The dish soap I use to re-fill the automatic soap dispenser (those things are $4 each!) especially since we use it for both dishes and hand washing.

And that's it! You've just seen the "Cupboards of a Couponista!"

Happy Clipping and remember start your stock pile slow, a little at a time - STAY IN BUDGET!

Holiday Tip #1

Holidays are around the corner and if you're like me you desperately need an organizer for all your lists. It has always been difficult for me to keep track of the things the kids need as well as the toys they want for their birthdays and the holidays. 

Well I found a really great way to keep it organized this year. Target's website has a feature of having wedding and baby registries, but you need a list. They have lists too! You have to create an account at Target.com and select create a list. Once you do that you can browse through Target's website by yourself or with your kids adding things to a list. 

Click here to go to Target.com List page

For example, I have my kids each make a list for their birthday and one for Christmas. They just browse the website for the things they would like to have and then click "Add to List" You can label each list to customize it. Target also provides a link you can share so when friends and family ask you "What does little Suzie want for Christmas?" now you have a list you can share!  This is really helpful to me because I'm a more of a visual person and let's face it, keeping track of a wish list for a year is not going to happen in my messy house! 

Happy Couponing my Couponistas!

Be sure to check out my Facebook Fan Page for Daily deals.

Facebook: Super Saver Stacy

Follow me on Twitter: @SuperSaverStacy

REWARD yourself!

This is what $74.41 worth of school supplies from Staples looks like. 

I have totally underestimated Reward card programs from different stores. In the past I have signed up and religiously scanned my card before a purchase, but what was I gaining by doing this? Not much apparently. I haven't been reading my "Rewards" card guides. 


There are a lot of stores out there offering REWARDS cards with benefits, but just what are the benefits? Lets take a look at one.


Staples Office Store offers Staples Rewards. It's free to sign up and you get things like 
10% back in Staples Rewards on all ink & toner purchases
10% back in Staples Rewards on all case & ream paper purchases
10% back in Staples Rewards on all Copy & Print purchases

Another benefit is incentives for recycling ink cartridges. We go through a lot of ink becasue of all the homework the kids have to print out. So this benefits our family.

Ink Recycling 

Recycle any ink or toner cartridge, up to 10 per calendar month, and get $2 back in Staples Rewards per cartridge. Ink Recycling Rewards are issued monthly, separately from your other benefits.

At the end of each quarter they mail or email you your voucher which you can spend in the store or online to make a purchase.

I had earned a $20 voucher from recycling my ink cartridges and just buying simple things like reams of paper throughout the months, and because I am a REWARDS member they emailed me a printable coupon for $5 off a $25 purchase or more. Remember the photo above of the $71.41 worth of school supplies? After applying my REWARDS voucher and coupon and waiting until they had what they call "Dollar days" sale I only paid tax, $0.63 cents! If I had bought all those items not on sale at regular price I would of had to pay $71.41. Yikes! I think I'll stick to using my REWARDS card. 

Here are a few other stores including grocery stores offering reward cards and benefits:

Albertson's : Preferred Savings Car

Ralph's Grocery Store: Ralph's Rewards

Von's Grocery Club Card

Walgreen's Rewards card

Starbucks: Rewards  (Yes one of my favorites!) A trick to earning FREE drinks faster; purchase each drink separately using your registered re-loadable gift card!) 

CVS Pharmacy: Extra Care rewards card

Barnes & Noble Kids Club Card

Don't want to carry all those cards? Most places you can just type in your phone number you used to register a card or try out the new Apple Iphone App "Key Ring Reward cards" You can use it to hold membership cards too like 24 hour fitness.