Real Coupon Wife of New Jersey: July 2011

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Coupons should reset tomorrow!

Print your coupons today as many are scheduled to reset tomorrow.

Save up to $5 when you purchase Pampers!

This is a great Your Bucks coupon. You can save up to $5 on a future order when you buy Pampers. This deal starts today.

Save up to $5.00 on future purchase of Pampers®

If you shop at ShopRite, make sure you're enrolled in the Baby Bucks program so your purchase counts towards your $10 off certificate.

Earn Rewards with Pampers Gifts to Grow

Earn points toward scooters, strollers, books, magazine subscriptions, gift cards, and even charitable donations. Join now and get 100 Free Points. You will also receive periodic emails and special offers.

Skippy Peanut Butter

My local Stop and Shop has a deal on Skippy peanut butter this week. If you buy any 8 items from a certain category (look on the back of the circular to see what else qualifies) you get $3 off instantly. I don't use any of the other items, but we like Skippy. My husband won't eat any other peanut butter so I have to be brand loyal. There is a coupon in today's newspaper for $1 off 2 jars. If I combine that coupon with the deal at Stop and Shop, plus their sale for 2 jars for $4, I can get 8 jars of Skippy for $1.13 each. We eat a lot of peanut butter & it has a decent shelf life so I don't mind stocking up if I can get it at this price.

I'll be ordering my Skippy Peanut Butter coupons tonight from Coupon Dede.

Free Kirkland Diapers Sample

I just joined Costco, but was bummed to find out that they don't carry the Pampers Diapers that we use. I didn't want to buy the Kirkland brand without knowing if Baby B would fit the diapers & that they wouldn't leak. Unfortunately, there is no option of buying a small pack to try them out.

Yesterday I was looking through their site and found that they're giving away free samples of the Kirkland Signature Supreme Diapers. Click here to get your sample. I'm looking forward to getting my sample. I ordered the size Baby B is currently in Pampers. I'm not sure if the sizes are comparable or not. We'll find out!

You don't need to be a Costco member in order to receive your sample.

My big score yesterday

Last week wasn't a big stock up week for me, but I did score some staples for our house. As you may know I scan the upcoming coupons for the week to determine if it's worth me buying a newspaper or ordering coupons from a clipping service. The last few weeks I've been ordering Similac coupons. Yes, they are in Spanish & limit 1 per transaction. That doesn't stop me. Ready to feed formula is usually $5.99 per quart. My ShopRite has had it marked to $4.19 for the last few weeks. I've been ordering the $3 and $5 Similac coupons (in Spanish). I've used up the $5 ones, but still have the $3 coupons. So I've been getting the organic formula for $1.19 per quart. You factor in the cost of the clipping service for this specific coupon (fees vary by coupon) and the cost is $1.69 per quart. That's a savings of about 72% off of baby formula!

I also bought organic baby food. Unfortunately, I didn't have a coupon for these because Earth's Best limits how many coupons you can print from one PC & I've reached my max. This would have been a great deal to use with a coupon. My ShopRite had a 50% off sale on the 4 oz jars. I still have quite a selection at home so I only grabbed 24 jars. Mostly meat flavors that my son will soon be eating (probably in about a month).

I used up the rest of my Ortega Taco Shell coupons yesterday. They retail for $2.39. They were on sale for $1.99 and I had a coupon for $1 off. I got them for $.99. That's 59% off!

Overall I saved 57% on my total grocery bill yesterday. As I've said before, I am not an extreme couponer, but I think saving between 50-60% off my bill is pretty good.

It looks like I'll be using the coupon clipping service this week. I prefer to use Coupon Dede.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Join Pampers Gifts to Grow - Get 100 Bonus Points

We're now on Facebook!

We've created a page on Facebook. If you'd like to receive updates on the latest coupons, freebies, samples and tips on couponing then please "Like" us!

Free Sample Pack of Depends

Even if you don't need or use these you can always donate it to someone who can use them.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

$1 off Milk

Click here to register for your coupon for $1 off of white milk. Your coupon will arrive in about 8 weeks.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

New Cellfire Coupons

The offers below are available at Kroger and Kroger subsidiaries, Safeway subsidiaries (excluding Dominick's), D'Agostino, Harps Foods, Shop 'n Save, Lowe's Foods, and Foodtown.

Available online until 08/08/11. Redemption expiring 08/22/11.

Totinos Pizza Rolls Save $.40
Save $0.40 when you buy TWO PACKAGES any flavor/variety Totinos Rolls Snacks.

BC Fruit Snacks Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy TWO BOXES any flavor/variety Betty Crocker Fruit Shapes, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers OR Fruit Roll-Ups fruit flavored snacks.

Yoplait Cups Save $.40
Save $0.40 when you buy SIX CUPS any variety Yoplait Yogurt (Includes Original, Light, Thick & Creamy, OR Whips!)

Fiber One 90Cal Bar Save $.40
Save $0.40 when you buy ONE BOX any flavor Fiber One 90 Calorie Chewy Bars or Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownies'.

Granola Thins Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy ONE BOX any flavor/variety Nature Valley Granola Thins.

Gogurt, Trix, Splitz Save $.75
Save $0.40 when you buy TWO PACKAGES any flavor/variety Totinos Rolls Snacks.

Bisquick Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy ONE 28 OZ. OR LARGER Bisquick Baking Mix or Complete Pancake & Waffle Mix.

PB Toaster Strudel Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy TWO any flavor/variety Pillsbury Toaster Strudel OR Toaster Scrambles Pastries OR Pillsbury Pancakes.

Totinos Party Pizza Save $1
Save $1.00 when you buy FOUR any flavor/variety Totinos Crisp Crust Party Pizza Products.

PB Cookie Dough Save $1
Save $1.00 when you buy TWO PACKAGES any variety Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough.

Cheerios Cereal Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy ONE BOX Original Cheerios cereal (the one in the yellow box).

General Mills cereals Save $1
Save $1.00 when you buy any TWO BOXES General Mills cereals listed: Basic 4, Chex (any), Fiber One (any), Honey Nut Clusters, Oatmeal Crisp (any), Raisin Nut Bran, Total (any), Wheaties (any).

NV Granola Bars Save $.75
Save $0.75 when you buy TWO any Nature Valley Granola Bars (6 count or larger) OR Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters (excludes Nature Valley Granola Thins).

Chex Mix Treats Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy ONE BOX any flavor Lucky Charms Treats, Golden Grahams Treats, Chex Mix Treats, OR Milk n Cereal Bars.

Hamburger Helper Save $.80
Save $0.80 when you buy FOUR any flavor Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper OR Chicken Helper Home Cooked Skillet Meals.

Old El Paso Save $.60
Save $0.60 when you buy any THREE Old El Paso products (Excludes Old El Paso Refrigerated, Frozen OR Soup products).

Reese's Puffs Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy ONE BOX Reese's Puffs cereal.

Yoplait Frzn Smthie Save $.75
Save $0.75 when you buy ONE any flavor Yoplait Frozen Smoothie.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Monday, July 25, 2011

Sent in my coupon order

I just submitted my coupon clipping service order. For the cost of three newspapers, I was able to get coupons for things I actually need: baby formula, shaving cream (his & hers), cereal, storage bags, pasta, shampoo, italian ice, frozen fruit bars, and granola bars. There aren't huge deals this week from the three stores I look for deals at: ShopRite, Stop N Shop & Target. I made sure the coupons had expiration dates at least a month in advance so that when the items go on sale I'll be prepared.

Here is where I get my coupons:

Save up to $5 on your next order when you buy Pampers

Here is a great Catalina Coupon if you use Pampers. Save up to $5.00 on Pampers® Swaddlers or Cruisers Diapers. Click here for details.

Save up to $5.00 on Pampers Swaddlers or Cruisers Diapers

It's Christmas in July!

Tiny Prints is offering 20% off holiday cards using coupon code JULYHOL through July 28, 2011. This is a great opportunity to score a discount on personalized holiday cards. This offer excludes William Arthur designs.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Coupon clipping services

What is a coupon clipping service? Essentially it is a service for which you pay for certain coupons to be clipped and delivered to you. You are not paying for the coupons themselves, just the time & effort that the service is using to get the specific coupons to you.

You may ask "why do I need a coupon clipping service?" I first heard of this on the show "Extreme Couponing" and thought the same thing. Then I started looking into it a bit more. Many coupons are distributed regionally. What is available in Arizona may not be available in New Jersey. By using a coupon clipping service you not only have access to coupons that may not be available in your area, but you can also buy in multiples. This is how you score a good deal & stock up.

For example, I subscribe to a website that provides a preview of the Sunday coupons. One week it said that there would be coupons for $1 off of any Danimals product. I thought that was great because my son loves the smoothies. So I buy two newspapers on Sunday just to find out there aren't any Danimals coupons. It was a regional coupon. I requested a number of them from a coupon service and combined them with a sale & a bonus buy where if I bought 5 I would get an additional $3 off instantly. I scored 5 Danimals six packs that retail for $2.99 for only $.40 each! That's 87% off retail! I do the same thing with formula coupons. I use Similac and coupons are few and far between for Similac. When they are available I request them from the service. This week I scored 6 quart bottles of ready to feed organic formula which retail for $5.99 per bottle for $1.11 per bottle. That's a savings of 81%!

I also look at what coupons are going to be in the upcoming paper & see if it's worth spending my money on a few papers, or am I better off requesting the coupons from the service. This week I am going to use my money more wisely on the service. I use CouponsThingsbyDede.com. They are based in Texas so if I place my order on Sunday, it ships on Monday & I receive them by Thursday. This works for my because Thursday I get next week's circulars and I can see if I should wait on something or buy it this week. You can even accumulate points with Coupon Dede and cash them in for credit. Right now 400 points=$1. You'll be surprised as to how quickly you accumulate points.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Moving up to a coupon binder

I've been using an accordion file for my coupons for years. It was how my mom shopped. In my opinion an accordion file is a perfectly fine system for filing coupons. However, my coupon stash has gotten too big for the file. I find myself spending a lot of time looking for coupons that I know I have - especially in the heath & beauty section. So I am in the process of converting the system into a binder. It's not fancy or complex. Just a 1.5" binder, some tabbed dividers, baseball card sheets & sheet protectors for the larger coupons that won't fit into the sheet protectors. I kept my categories the same as my accordion file - that part of the system still works for me. My husband asked if I was going to bring this binder shopping with me. Of course! I am going to be "that customer". If I'm going to save on average 60-65% off of the retail cost of a grocery bill then I'm going to be "that customer".

I don't spend too much time couponing each week. I scan through two circulars, look at what is on sale, what coupons I have and what coupons will be coming out. I make my list and order any coupons I need from the coupon service I use, CouponsThingsbyDede.com. It probably takes be under two hours per week.

I spend about an hour at the grocery store. This is mostly because my list is organized. I have started using an excel sheet to calculate prices based on the sales and coupons. This reduces the sticker shock at the register and I can try to keep things in perspective (do I really need to buy four boxes of tampons just to get a Catalina coupon at the register? I don't think so.). I sort the list by the layout of my store, making the trip go quickly. Oh, and I do my best to leave the kids & hubby home. This is a solo trip for me without any distractions.

I don't have a huge stockpile in my garage or taking up space in rooms of my house. I do have a good stock of pasta, formula, baby food, granola bars and cereal. All staples that my family use regularly. If it's going to expire before we can consume it then I don't go nuts with large quantities.

I'm hoping to have my binder done by the end of the weekend. Spending time with the kids is delaying the process. I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

Friday, July 22, 2011

Let me introduce myself...

I am a WAHM of two boys. The only kind of shopping that I enjoy is grocery shopping. One reason is that I love to cook things from scratch...especially if they're not difficult to make. The other reason is that I really want to know what my family is eating. I'm the person in the grocery store reading the food labels to make sure I know what the ingredients are. We have high cholesterol in the family and I want to know that we're doing our best to keep ourselves and our kids as healthy as possible.

I would not describe myself as an "extreme couponer", but I do save a pretty penny on my groceries. I went to my grocery store yesterday and saved 62% off of the retail prices on my bill. Not my personal best, but not too shabby either. With a 7 year old & a 7 month old I am really looking to save money where I can, but still feed my family well. The baby items can really add up quick & it's not like we can do without them. As Ben gets older he can have more of "our" food and the costs won't be so bad. He's still learning to eat and hasn't quite gotten the concept of chewing yet. I also use a combination of disposable & cloth diapers. Jake is such a good eater, although sometimes it's difficult to get him to try new things. But his favorite veggie is broccoli and his favorite dish is salmon with edamame beans on the side.

I look forward to sharing what I know about couponing with you.

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