Starting Out with a Bang (for your Buck that is!)

So I've been contemplating starting a blog lately.  I love to write and sadly (and perhaps pathetically) miss having outlets such as papers for class in which to express myself with the written word.

Gary and I have been talking about the blog off and on lately and all of a sudden it hit Gary this weekend what I should write about in my blog.....one of my loves---couponing!

Now....I'm not as extreme as those people on that Extreme Couponing show, but I do have a love for saving a buck or $.50 or $.10 here and there.  It all adds up in the end, as I was taught from the day I could understand money from my lovely mother!

Being an accountant, might have something to do with it, too.  When it comes to money, I'm completely anal! Despite working with millions of dollars at work, I still will spend an hour looking for a penny on my spreadsheets to make sure I tie out exactly.  I know, I know....there are places out there for people like me, but thus far Gary's stuck with me and we've saved quite a bit on items!

That all being said, I thought I might share my best deal for the week and other ways that I've found to save a couple bucks here and there.  Because, as I now use as a mantra for meditation thanks to my mother: it all adds up in the end!

So this week/weekend was quite the deal-saving weekend!  I thought I'd start off this blog with a bang and share my four great deals from this week/weekend:

Earth Fare....my new favorite spot for deal findings!
This health foods store just opened in Louisville, and I've been meaning to get up there to check it out.  A friend of mine went and told me about the free whole chickens they were giving away!  I couldn't believe it.  All you have to do is go online, sign up for their free rewards program, and you get a coupon for a free whole chicken or box of veggie burgers with a $10 purchase!  Unbelievable!  Not only that, but you also get 500 of their "tomato points" which meant I was able to save another $5.00 on top of that.  So, as you can see, we got some groceries and cleaning products and a whole chicken (which we put in the crockpot today and ate tonight and was super yummy!) for $11!!  If we bought this outright it would have cost us $29.25!  If you have these stores by you, I would recommend signing up for their free savings program.  We couldn't afford to shop there any other way!  [More savings to come from Earth Fare later in the post!]

Hallmark...if you get the right cashier and they let you use multiple coupons (thanks Mom for the heads up!), you can really clean up.

According to the coupon code on the receipt, this particular store in the mall must be closing. The Shoebox cards (the really funny and dry sense of humor card line that Hallmark has) were 40% off!  So that and a "buy 2 get 1 free" coupon I got in the mail from being part of their Crown Rewards card club and what would have cost me  $11.16 was only $5.14!

Not a super great deal, but a deal nonetheless.  Old Navy Super Cash!

We had made some purchases earlier in the month that led to the "buy $25 worth, save $10" super cash coupon.
To get the best bang for our buck, we purchased items on sale already, so a normally $30 pair of jeans was on sale for $15.99 and then reduced by the super cash even further!  I got 2 shirts for about $4 each too!  So in total based on the sale prices, what would have cost $27 was only $17.

Last but not least....

Thought I'd end on a great note....back to Earth Fare again!
In addition to the free chicken and the $5.00 off, they also sent two more coupons.  We decided to use the one that was 5 items for $1 each.  Crazy unbelievable savings!
Eating organic tends to be rather pricey, but if we can afford it, I would choose it.  Who knows if items labeled organic are any better for you, but somewhere deep inside that word organic is rather comforting.  I am a firm believer that the pesticides and other such chemicals that get near our food and are part of the "processed food" market are what have caused some of the problems that we face today, i.e. obesity, the rise in mental health complications, behavior changes in children, etc.
So on that note, when the coupon came through for one of each of 5 organic items for $1 each, we jumped on it.  So some of the staples and a treat in the mix....peanut butter, jelly, applesauce, crackers, and cookies!  A certain someone was giving me a hard time about shopping, etc, but wasn't complaining so much when we got to the car with the cheap cookies! :)
In total, buying these items outright would have cost $16.44, but we paid only $5!


It was quite the deal week for our household!
As we sit and watch the Super Bowl, my eyes are peeled for the next deal to come our way!