Way To Go Staples !!!!

The photo you see above is from Stacy. She emailed this to me along with a letter she is sending to Staples. I thought I'd share with you because not only did she score some great deals BUT she also makes a very good point. So often we choose to dwell on the negative instead of looking to the positive. We think things like "I can't believe they refused my coupon" instead of "I'm so thankful for all the awesome savings I've received this year". Thanks for the reminder Stacy!


"So often we hear the complaints about stores with our bargain-hunting, I thought I would share what a great job Staples has been doing.
I'm emailing this to Staples customer service, but thought I would share it as well with you.

Well it started in December with the amazing battery deals! Because of the illness that struck our family we were only able to do the deal 3 times - 6 packages of batteries!!! That's amazing in itself. Every time I checked out the cashier was so nice! We were fully prepared on Christmas morning for all those electronic gifts!

Then my rebate checks arrive faithfully; never any problems at all! Just as my printer ran out of ink - off to spend my rebates :)

Then, January - 4 free binders. Just what my boys needed to keep all their baseball cards, and my youngest in collecting her Sunday school lessons!

Boom, my photocopier went out! For a homeschool mom and Sunday school teacher, this was not good!
Went to Staples and purchased a new one, and received $150 rebate!!!! Too cool!
Staples recycled my old copier, and did a free tune-up on my laptop! Yippee! No pressure to buy more services. Had a wonderful chat with the service tech who gave me lots of free advice on wireless hook-ups, computer movie downloads, etc...

After getting excellent service in the copy center (earning more rewards), I did a little shopping. Spent $78, and will receive all of it back after filling out my simple, online form.
Good job, Staples"

Reader Show & Tell - This week's CVS Deals ~

Julie sent me the picture above. She scored all these products at CVS this week for only $4.74. If you'd like to see how she did it, check out the following posts:

CVS Pantene Deal

CVS Dawn Hand Renewal Deal

CVS Free Ivory Soap Deal

What great scenarios have you created this week? I'd love to hear about them!

Show & Tell ~

I know it's not Tuesday, but I'm a little behind in everything this week so we'll just pretend it's Tuesday...maybe this will give me extra time to catch up? Hmmm....somehow I'm thinking that isn't going to work.

This is my good friend Lynn's Homeland trip:



Here's the break down:
Campbells soup $0.79 (used .30 off 3)
Hunts tomatoes $0.99 (used .45 off 3)
Delmonte veggies $0.99 (used 1.00 off 5)
Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls $0.95 (used IP 1.00 off 2)
Grande Chips $2.88 (used 1.00 off 1)
Playtex gloves 1.89 (used 1.00 off 1)
coffee filters $1.39 (Lynn didn't have a coupon for these BUT she did have a $1.00 off Discover coupon from September inserts)

If you do the math, Lynn's out of pocket expense (before tax) should have been approximately $21, however, her TOTAL out of pocket expense was only $7.92 !

And the thing I love about Lynn...she never does things halfway! Notice the beautiful back drop for her photo!!

Show & Tell ~

Christy was kind enough to share her shopping trips at CVS and Walgreens with us this week. I love seeing these pictures and scenarios. They often give me ideas for completing my own scenarios and also provide encouragement from knowing that others are benefiting from the savings posted here!

Here's her CVS trip:
(1) Halloween treat bag $.99
(2) Pumpkin carving tool $1.99 x2
(3) Northern Quilted TP 12 pk double roll $ 6.99 x3
(3) Schick 2-count disposable razors $1.29 x3
(1) Coke Zero 20 oz $1.49

Subtotal: $31.30
Coupons used: -$12.49
Extrabucks used: -$18.00
Total paid out of pocket: $2.18
Earned $7.97 in Extrabucks!

Coupons used included:
- $5 off $30 purchase
- $2 off 2 packs Northern TP
- $1 off 1 pack Northern TP
- $1 off any disposable Schick (x3)
- $1.49 free 20oz Coke (my first Coke Rewards coupon!)

And here's the Walgreens trip:

Transaction 1:
(1) Huggies Diapers jumbo pack $9
(1) Huggies Pullups jumbo pack $9
(1) Hydrogen peroxide 16oz $0.29
(4) Halloween plastic cups $0.17 x4
Used...
- $2 off Huggies diapers
- $2 off Huggies pullups
- coupon from the weekly ad for the Halloween cups (one coupon is scanned and it adjusts the price of however many cups you buy)
- $7 Register Reward I earned last week
- $3 Register Reward I earned last week
- $3 Register Reward I earned last week
- $1 Register Reward I earned last week

Total out of pocket: $2.65
Earned $4 Register Reward for buying 2 packs of Huggies

Transaction 2:
(8) Ragu pasta sauce $1.67 x8
(4) Halloween plastic cups $0.17 x4
Used...
- $1 off 2 Ragu (x4)
- coupon from the weekly ad for the Halloween cups (The cashier was kind enough to use the same coupon from the first transaction.)
- $4 Register Reward earned from first transaction
- $3 Register Reward earned last week
- $1 Register Reward earned last week

Total out of pocket: $3.26
Earned $8 Register Reward for buying 8 Ragu.

Great job Christy!

Show & Tell ~

I am loving all these stock up deals!

My goal during this time of year is to stock up on regular products I buy for our family so that during the holiday season I can concentrate on the extra and special items I need to buy. My husband cringes every time I bring another can of veggies, box of granola bars or bottle of BBQ sauce into the house. But as the holidays get closer, I won't have to buy any of this stuff.

Because of my stock up strategy, for the last couple of years, I haven't spent much more out of pocket for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners not to mention all the festivities surrounding the season than I normally would. Last year was an exception as we had seven guests in our home eating three meals a day with us. I did end up asking John for a little extra money then.

Here are my favorite deals from Homeland this week: I plan on making fish tacos for dinner one night this week so I used the in-ad bagged salad coupon on slaw mix instead of regular salad mix. I also happened to find Top Sirloin marked down...a little over a pound for $3.XX.

I found Kraft tearpads for $2 off ground beef when you buy (3) participating products. So I purchased three cans of Taco Bell Refried Bean ($1 ea) and then used the $2 coupon on a pound of 93/7 lean ground beef. We go through refried beans pretty quickly around here so this was not an unreasonable extra.

Of course the Keebler cookies, the Coffee-Mate liquid creamer, the bulk rice and the Hormel Compleat were ALL FREE!

And I couldn't turn down Quaker Chewy Granola Bars for $0.66 ea., Wholly Guacamole for $0.29 and Starbucks Frappuccino for my hubby for $ 0.49.

I've been stocking up on canned veggies for when I have company at Thanksgiving and Christmas. You can check out all the Homeland deals here.

As reported on some other blogs, Target has the Glade Fragrance Collection multi-wick candles marked down to $4.49. Use the $3.00/1 SS 10/4 and pay only $1.49 ea. Then submit the SC Johnson $5 rebate and break even after you pay for a stamp. Remember, you can do this rebate up to THREE times.

Target also has Snuggle Exhilarations liquid and sheets on sale for $3.99. Use the $3.00/1 RP 10/4 and pay only $.99. This deal, by itself, is enough to warrant a parking lot jig.

And don't forget the Mott's deal. Pay $8.75 OOP when you buy 5 specified products and get a $5 Gift Card.

Check out more Target deals here.

CVS was quick and easy this week, as always. They had everything I went in for.

The Purex 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets were free with a coupon I received as a Purex Insider so I ended up paying $5.06 OOP (I used $11.50 ECBs from previous transactions)and earned $8 more ECBs. My hubby was happy to have ice cream stocked back up!

Check out this week's CVS deals here.

Walgreens was a little more difficult...do we expect otherwise? But I have been enjoying all their great monthly Register Reward deals lately so I'll not complain any longer.

I purchased all the Dove deodorants for Coupons for Christ, paid $11.43 and received a $10 Register Reward that I haven't spent yet. The rest was done in three different transactions.

They were out of some of the things I went in for (namely the Purell and Chapstick) so I had to regroup once I got there. But I still made out pretty well. I started with $11.50 in Register Rewards, I paid out of pocket $16.88 plus tax and still have $40.50 to roll into other deals.

I was very excited to find the Patriot Candle and flower seeds on clearance to add to Baskets of Hope (Christmas Gift Baskets for Single Moms).

You can check out all the Walgreens deals here.

How was your shopping week? Did you find any great unadvertised or clearance deals? I'd love to hear about it!

Happy Birthday to Me ~

Hubby and I usually pick out our own birthday gifts. We both know what we want so we discuss it before hand and then go buy our own present.

My birthday has come and gone but here's what I picked out...When I first started using a coupon binder, I bought a really cheap binder. Not a very wise choice as it didn't take long to wear out. After a few bad choices (read cheap binders) I finally cracked down and spent about $7 on a heavy duty PVC binder. I used that for over a year and it held up fine.

But this year while shopping for school supplies, I saw this binder at Walgreens for $17.99. I kept an eye on it for quite awhile and told my husband, this is what I want for my birthday. So a week after my birthday, I went to Walgreens and splurged on their last gray/pink one.

I love it! It holds all my coupons, has a zippered compartment inside to keep my lists w/ coupon matchups and it also has a handy dandy accordian file that is accessible from inside of out.I also bought a larger hanging file holder. This one is twice the size of my old one plus it's easier to transport for shopping trips (no, I don't carry this into the store, but I do keep it in the van just in case)or coupon classes. It also has a compartment in the top for carrying an extra pair of scissors, sharpie or other loose items.I found this at Walmart for $9.99.

To read more about the coupon binder or "no clip" methods for coupon organization, click here and here.

Show & Tell ~

It's been awhile since we've had show and tell.

Today I'm sharing Stacy's Walgreens haul.

The cool thing about Stacy is that she contacted me by email several months ago (before I created the blog) and asked me if I had any advice for her sister who is also an avid couponer and wanted to start teaching coupon classes for her church.

I emailed back and then emailed again when I started the blog. Stacy started reading, absorbed and now look at her go!

Here's what she got:

Her out of pocket was $27 and she received $15 RRs to spend on her next transaction.

Ok, I don't regularly buy electric toothbrushes so I don't know what they run but I'm thinking this transaction, without coupons, would have been minimum (probably more) about $75 worth of stuff.

And Stacy spent roughly $12 after RRs.

Way to go!

Stacy wrote to me when she shared her photo:

"Thanks again for your guidance and blog. I have been able to bless my mom (who never lets me help her out), my sis (who lives on a limited minister's salary), my neighbors who are receiving lots of baked goods (thanks to homeland) and my 2 charities. Amanda, your work is being multiplied into blessings for numerous people!"

To God be the Glory! It is His ALONE!!

Reader Success!!!

We haven't had a show and tell in awhile so I thought we'd flex the schedule a little.

Kelli, a Simple Saving Savvy reader, shared her AWESOME shopping trip with me. She took advantage of the Kashi deals at Target and some great clearance deals at Walmart.

Here's what she got:


Her total was $23.62 for everything!!

2 boxes of Kashi Ceral (target on sale with coupons)
2 boxes of Kashi Bars (target on sale with coupons)
2 boxes of Kashi Crackers (target on sale with coupons)
2 boxes of Kashi Waffels (target on sale with coupons)
3 bags of frozen green beans (walmart on sale)
4 bags of frozen peas (walmart on sale)
6 bottles of flavored water (walmart on sale with coupon FREE)
1 bag of pistachios (walmart on clerance)
5 boxes of organic rotini (walmart on clerance)
3 boxes of organic penne (walmart on clerance)
3 boxes of suddenly pasta salad(walmart on clerance)
2 boxes of organic crackers (walmart on clerance)
3 ice cube trays-I use to make my own baby food
12 jars of baby food (walmart on clerance)
3 bags of tortellini classic 4 cheese (walmart on clerance)

By the way, Kelli also does catering for corporate events, weddings, wedding showers, baby showers and birthday parties. Check out her website and the next time you're in need of a caterer, consider giving her a call:

Catering by Kelli
www.CateringbyKelli.com
(405) 596-8525

Thanks for sharing Kelli!

Show & Tell ~ Target Haul

Christy has been at it again.


She used a total of $38 in coupons and paid $12.34 OOP. This is EXCELLENT considering the Crystal Light alone was $9.90.

Here are some of the deals she got:

Crystal Light 3pk @ $0.99 x2
Used $2.00/2 Printable = FREE

Glade Sense & Spray starter for $5.99
Used $4.00/1 SS 5/10 = $1.99

Airwick i-motion for $4.99
Used $4.00/1 SS 4/26 & 5/17 = $.99

Johnson's Buddies $.97 x3 = $2.91
Use $3.00/3 Printable = $0.09 overage

Thanks for sharing Christy! Have a shopping trip you'd like to share? Email me!

Show & Tell

Christy, another friend of mine and one of my coupon class graduates sent me this photo and email last week. It was for a shopping trip during the week that Homeland was running all the AMAZING Kraft deals.

"I finally got out last week (she has been recovering from major surgery) to pick up a couple of items and I couldn't resist all the good deals in the Homeland ad. Here is what I got".

In the first transaction, her total was
$26.16 OOP
$23.29 coupon savings
$17.28 doubled coupons
$30.06 One card savings

*not counting the one card savings, this is a savings of 61%!

In the second transaction, Christy's total was
$2.23 OOP
$4.90 coupon savings
$4.89 doubled coupons
$6.62 one card savings

*savings percentage was 77%!!


"The manager actually rang me up and told me how amazed he was at the money I had just saved.

As I was leaving the store, a lady stopped me and asked if she could look at my coupon binder. She said, I've noticed you in here several times and have always wanted to see how you organize your coupons.

Anyway, I was so excited because I was able to share half of the groceries with my mom (who is always cooking for us) so it made me feel good to bless her...."

Thanks for sharing Christy and I'm glad you're feeling better!

Quick Study ~

It is so encouraging to me when readers share their shopping successes.

Stacy attended a Simple Saving Savvy coupon class less than a couple of weeks ago and she hit the ground running. Here's what she got this week at Homeland:



Stacy says she spent $37 even with two coupon mistakes and buying a few things that were a little more costly, but a good deal for things her family uses (bottled water, pudding instead of gelatin, fruit snacks).

"I even have a donation box started," she says.

I love it!

Have you done the happy dance or skipped through the parking lot recently after a particularly "cheap" shopping trip?

I'd love to share your story with my readers. Email me your photo and trip description for a future Show and Tell.

CVS ~ Getting the hang of it...

Candice shared her CVS shopping trip with me this week. She writes (my comments added):

"I'm very new to CVS and the ecb system. I am so upset with myself because prior to a couple of months ago - I would get ecb's, didn't know what they were for, and never used them!!! (horror of horrors!!) I didn't know what they were and didn't bother checking!!!! (double horror!) But, now I have fun trying to get the best deals there." (Thatta girl...turnin' over a new leaf!)

This week, Candice swiped her card at the price scanner/coupon kiosk before shopping (good girl) and received (2) $5 off $25 coupons before she started her trip so she had to move to plan B, which mind you was not thought of until this point. She decided to quickly divide her items into two transactions.

1st transaction
(1) Similac formula
(1) Skippy peanut butter
(1) Bayer

subtotal: $26.66
-4.00 ecb's from last week
-5.00 cvs q for 5 off 25
-2.40 mfg q's

Total OOP: 15.26+1.48tax = 16.74
Earned $2 ECBs

2nd transaction
(2) Ragu sauce
(1) Hellman's Mayo
(1) Lipton tea bags
(1) Mother's Day card
(1) Schick razor
(2) Ziplock bags

subtotal: $25.91
-5.00 cvs q for 5 off 25
-5.60 mfg q's
-2.00 ecb from bayer (1st trans)

Total OOP: 13.31+1.58 tax = 14.89
Earned $7 ECBs ($3 Unilever, $4 Schick)

Candice said, "The awesome thing is that I spent 31.63 oop, but the Similac is usually $20-22 alone, so I got the rest of the stuff for under $10.....and I have $7 ECBs to use next week!"

There's also a rebate offer on the Similac from Smart Source 4/26,(buy 2 and receive $5 off your next purchase) so Candice can use this purchase towards the rebate and make this shopping trip summary a little sweeter.

Great job Candice and thanks for sharing!

I love hearing from you all...email me your shopping trip...I'd love to share it as a help and encouragement to others!

Homeland Haul

It was a great week for shopping at Homeland. They had lots of deals going on and great coupon matchups!


The groceries you see above cost $30.34 out of pocket, tax included:

(2) Froot Loops 27 oz
(2) Apple Jacks 27 oz
(2) Frosted Flakes 27 oz
(2) Raisin Bran Crunch 16 oz
(2) Frosted Mini-wheats 16 oz
(2) Pringles
(2) jars Bertolli sauce
(2) pouches Bertolli premium sauce
(2) Wholly Guacamole
(2) Colgate MaxWhite toothbrushes
(1) tortillas 10 count
(1) Daisy sour cream
(1) Deli-Creations sandwich
(4) Healthy Choice frozen dinners (not shown)

Purchases were made in two transactions with coupons totaling $21.45 and doubled for another discount of $21.45. That's $42.90 in savings and a savings percentage of approximately 60%!

Here's the BEST part.....

This IS NOT my shopping trip!

Christy, a Simple Saving Savvy reader, shared HER shopping trip with me as well as a short testimonial:

"I would never have thought I'd be able to catch on to the whole "coupon thing" to the point where I really saved a lot of money. But now I can't believe how much money I'm saving. My husband thinks my "new hobby," as he calls it, is simply hilarious because I've never been much of a shopper. Shopping had always seemed like a chore to me. But now shopping is so much fun. Planning my shopping list is like a game."

I love hearing success stories and I love sharing them so that we are all blessed and encouraged!

So if you are reading this post, take a moment to ask a prayer of blessing upon all of the Simple Saving Savvy readers, women who are striving to be wise stewards of God's resources.

And if you are new to the coupon game, hang in there...it can be a little overwhelming at first but then it all starts clicking and you realize you have the hang of it! And pretty soon you'll be sending me a success story of your own!

I would love to hear from you! Email me your money-saving testimonial or successful shopping trip!

Blessings to you all and....