One of the best ways to round up higher dollar coupons is to subscribe to newsletters.  There are some that, honestly, I unsubscribe to right away….but others that are useful IN ADDITION to the coupons!  Right at Home from SCJohnson is one of those.  You get newsletters with tips and recipes as well as printable coupons.  Every so often they come out with an offer to receive a sample pack by mail as well and you will always get notices of those if you are subscribed.

You can subscribe HERE for the Right at Home newsletter today so you don’t miss a thing!

With all of this shopping….don’t forget to keep up on coupons!!  Here are a few good printables you might want to get yourself to help with holiday cooking and baking:

$1/1 Reynold’s Aluminum Foil or Parchment Paper (Thanks, Free Snatcher)

$1/2 Hershey’s Kisses

$1/1 Hidden Valley Salad Kits

$1/2 Ghiradelli Seasonal Items

$10/1 Tub of Greenies Dog Dental Chews

$1/1 Cooking Light Magazine

$2/1 Purina Dog Food

$1/1 Target Energizer Battery Coupon (Stack with $1/1 Man. Q from 10-03 or 11-21 Smart Source)

$0.75/1 TAZO Tea

$0.75/1  Target Kleenex Multipack

$1/1  Target Glad Trash Bags (Stack with $0.75/1 Man. Q from 10-31 P & G)

$0.50/2  Target Kraft Jet Puffed Marshmallows

In the midst of all the Cyber Monday shopping …. don’t forget to print coupons before the month is over!

Target put out over 60 new coupons this week… including one for $1/1 Boca meatless products and $0.75/1 Tazo Tea.

Coupons.com has $1/2 Fruit of the Loom Socks and $10/1 Tub of Greenies Pet Treats

I just spent about an hour and a half (okay, maybe two… but I blame 1/2 hour of that on someone else…) at the grocery store alone. It has been a long time since I’ve shopped at night. I forgot how relaxing the quiet is.

I spent all of that time, I saved 65% on my grocery bill. I managed to stay within budget and stockpile a few items.

The important thing to note about tonight’s trip is that I witnessed the fabled “Missouri Couple”. I’ve heard checkers tell tales. I will never doubt again. These people came in and methodically cleaned out the store. It took them a full hour to check out (this, I blame my extra half hour on).

They had coupons, they had so.many.coupons. I, who pride myself on my ability to shop with the big kids…. was baffled.

Legend has it they come in every week from Missouri and clean out the aisles like they did tonight. It is rumored that they head back to Missouri and resale what they get here for next to nothing.

Whatever the case, it’s not mine to judge. I will, however, no longer feel like a pain in the rear when I show up with MY coupons.

Time to check out the coupons for this weekend’s papers!  There will be two inserts…Smart Source and Red Plum.  There are lots of good coupons including one for Adult Zyrtec … $6 off/1.  Why is this so great? Its  part of a $10 RR deal at Walgreen’s!

This Sunday’s paper will hold two new inserts just chalk full of coupons for you!  Check it out now so you can plan how many inserts you’ll need.  Me?  As a standard rule I get 4 but I may go up to 6 this weekend.  High dollar Silk Soy and Almond Milk coupons, BOGO Ziplock, High Dollar Nivea and Listerine coupons all look interesting to me…and so many more!  If you shop CVS or Walgreen’s those Nivea and Listerine coupons are good to have around as they are often money makers or FREE items

This is a receipt from one of my actual shopping trips!

If you live in the general vicinity of Lawrence, KS and you are interested in saving some money for your family…this might just be for you!

I have been teaching coupon classes in Lawrence and the surrounding areas for over six months now, sharing my knowledge and tricks to help people get the most out of their coupons and their hard earned money!

Here is the information you need if you are interested in having me teach a class for you:

Where are the classes?  Occasionally I will teach a “public” class that is scheduled and open to anyone.  These are few and far between because people seem to find the “home classes” more appealing.  I will schedule the class and take pre-registration via this website.

A “home class” is much like the home parties we all attend where we SPEND tons of money on cute trinkets, yummy food or good smelling candles.  You provide the location and at least 4 attendees and I will come and do the class at your home, church or office space.

How Much Do These Classes Cost?  The public classes are $35/person and the home parties are $25/person with a 4 person minimum.  All classes are pre-paid via paypal.

What Do I Get for My Money?  Good question!  You get a 2 hour class where I teach  you the ins and outs of how coupons work, how to match them with sales and how to stretch your dollar as far as you possibly can.  There is a take home booklet and complete access to me after the class for asking questions and getting help on your individual shopping trips.  Who am I to think I can ask you to pay me to teach  you?  I’m a blogger, a mom, and a conscious shopper.  I’ve been couponing and saving money for my family for 2 years now.  I write for our local paper each week and share deals with them and on FaceBook as well.  I’ve reduced my family’s budget from $900/mo for a family of four to $300/mo for a family of five.

Why Would I PAY Money to SAVE Money?  Another good question.  This class will give you information that will make what you find on the Internet more helpful.  If your weekly shopping trips are $100 or higher you will most likely SAVE the cost of the class in your first trip, if you use what I’ve taught you.  That’s just the first week!

If you are interested in booking one of these classes, or you want to be put on a list to contact when a public class is scheduled please feel free to EMAIL ME.

I look forward to sharing with you!

I have been clipping coupons, shopping deals and blogging it for over a year now.  I have reduced my family’s grocery/supply budget from a whopping $900/mo to $300/mo.  We currently have enough food storage on hand to hold us over for at least a month if for some reason our budget was restricted.  In addition to blogging about my frugal ways I am co-founder of the Wii Mommies, a virtual fitness support blog and forum and I write a weekly blog for the Lawrence Journal World: Shop Talk with Jenn and Julie.

It’s a new month which means a whole new batch of coupons to print! Among them are a some $0.75/1 Ball Park Hot Dogs and more $1/1 Fast Fixin’ Products…cereal and yogurt as well as magazines and movies!

It’s Friday and time again to find out what your Sunday paper has in store!!  Visit the Sunday Coupon Preview to see what you can expect this week…and do a little planning ahead!  There are 3 inserts this weekend…2 Smart Source and 1 Red Plum.  Several of high dollar cereal coupons peeked my interest…they will match nicely with CellFire or Shortcuts.

Sunday - Leftovers (Our fridge is full of them!)
Monday - Roast, red potatoes, carrots, homemade dinner rolls
-Roast was on the menu last week and we didn’t make it so we’ll give it a run this week. I have venison in the freezer, red potatoes I bought last week (Get a coupon HERE for B1G1 green giant red potatoes), as well as carrots. I’m really pleased with the Clover Dinner Rolls I tried from The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook and I have those basic ingredients on hand.

Tuesday - Ravioli Lasagna, Homemade French Bread

- This is a new recipe for me I got from the February Issue of All You magazine.  I’m going to state out front that I am NOT loving the 22g of fat in this recipe so I’m going to make some adjustments…I’m not sure just what yet.  I will need to buy the ravioli but I have spinach frozen from our garden last year as well as marinara sauce (if I’m adventurous enough I’ll make some homemade with canned tomatoes) and the ingredients for French Bread (another $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook recipe!)
Wednesday - French Dip Sandwiches, Broccoli and Cheese

- Leftover roast from Monday and homemade hamburger buns will make a great use of what we have on hand.  I have frozen broccoli/cheese mix on hand from the recent sale on Green Giant Steamers at Dillon’s.

Thursday - Chicken Tetrazzini, Asparagus

- I’ve got spaghetti on hand and chicken from a sale at Target a couple of months back.  I’ve got whipping cream left from a Tres Leche cake I made last week for a friend’s birthday.  I will need to buy some mushrooms and asparagus.
Friday - Fish Stick Tacos, Chips, Guacamole

-Gorton’s Fish Sticks are on sale at Dillon’s for $3.99/30 pieces and I have a $0.60/1 from February All You. Doubled this makes them $2.99.  I have to purchase Tortilla’s which I will also use for quesadillas one day for lunch.  I have a Mission coupon from 3-07 Smart Source.  I will also purchase cole slaw mix and adobo peppers.  Chips and guacamole will be a splurge for us but I have a $1/1 printable coupon for Wholly Guacamole.  This runs $2.50/box at HyVee and is excellent guacamole when you aren’t up for making your own.
Saturday - DATE NIGHT!  My husband and I haven’t had a date night in a looong time so I’m taking us out on the town.  Okay…maybe just to Wa…or Marisco’s…. but we’ll be out.  The kids will get leftovers…or sandwhiches…and they’ll love it.

My essentials grocery list looks like this:

Asparagus
Cole Slaw mix
Mushrooms
Apples (I’m going to make Apple Crisp!)
Tortillas
Chips
Guacamole
Rice Milk
Ravioli
Fish Sticks
Adobo Peppers
Rice Milk
Orange Juice

We have a few more splurges this week than normal…but I was well under budget on last week’s shopping.  I will stock up on cheese (the Kraft Catalina combined with the Kroger March Madness sale), French Fries (on sale at HyVee matched with B2G1 and $1.50/2 coupons), canned tomatoes and some cleaning products.

What are you eating this week? Want to share your menus?  I’m adding a Mister Linky this week in hopes that everyone will share…I would love to get some new ideas for my family as well!!

There will be 2 inserts, Red Plum and Smart Source.  Check out the coupons that will be available in Sunday’s paper so that you can plan ahead on some of your shopping!!

Time to take a peek at this week’s coupons!  You will find 2 inserts this weekend, Red Plum and Smart Source.  I always like to know what I’m in for so I can plan ahead.  Remember that just because you aren’t using a coupon THIS week….you may be able to pair it up with a great sale in the weeks to come.

With the largest ever P & G brandSaver appearing in your Sunday Paper this weekend and a great CartBuster Sale at Dillon’s…now is the perfect time to take advantage of the P & G Thank You Mom campaign.  When you spend $50 on P & G products between February 1 – April 15, 2010 you can submit your receipts for a $100 coupon booklet from P & G.  There are a wide variety of product coupons…several of some of the best ones…and of course there are a few B1G1 coupons thrown in just to make you happy.

Here is what you do:

Spend $50 on P & G products between February 1 and April 15, 2010. (Purchases do NOT need to be all on one receipt)

Download the Savings Form and print it off.

Fill out the form, circle the purchases on your original receipts and submit the form by April 30, 2010 (postmarked by this date) to get your coupon book chalk full of goodies.

Be sure to visit ThankYouMom.com to see a full list of the coupons that will be available to you in the booklet.

You will definitely want to plan ahead this week for collecting your Sunday inserts!  See the Coupon Preview to get a look at what is in store!  This week you will find the Biggest P&G insert EVER.  Over $162 in savings!  P&G is using this month’s insert as a chance to donate to the Children’s Safe Drinking Water program through PUR.  Please take a minute to read more about this. Interested in collecting a large number of inserts this weekend but not really wanting to spend loads of money?  Here are some ideas to help you round up your weekend fix of coupons!

Because you just can’t have enough ways to gather coupons!! Now at Target.com you can sign up for coupons delivered straight to your cell phone once a month for FREE (you will be charged as you would for any text message).  Sign Up Here and within two weeks you will get your first set of coupons.

I got mine the other day and they are GREAT coupons including:

$1/1 Kraft Cheese

$3/1 The Fragrence Collection by Glade

$0.75/1 M&Ms

$1/1 Planters Food Product

$0.75/1 Crest Toothpaste or Oral B Manual Toothbrush

You can use each of these coupons once by having the cashier scan the barcode on your phone at checkout.  The “balance” or unused coupons remain active until you use them or the expiration date… you do NOT have to use them all at one time!  It appears to me that these are TARGET coupons and therefore STACKABLE which makes them even better!  I haven’t used mine yet but a friend did and assured me that they work great.

What do you think? Have you used them yet?  Leave a comment and let us know!

Friday night Eric and I ordered out Chinese food.  This was the first time in a month that we ordered out, and truth be told I never really made it to the grocery store this week.  I made a quick trip for green onions and milk..so I didn’t feel like we were stepping out of our budget lines by ordering out.

Know what?  It didn’t taste very good, and I got an upset stomach about an hour later.  That is not saying it wasn’t good food…I usually LOVE the place we ordered from… what it IS saying…is that I now remember what happens when I stick to my menu planning and cook for my family.  My taste buds return.  I’m more discerning about what I eat and I’m more sensitive to fats/oils/salt in restaurant food.

Let’s not pretend this will make me stop wanting to eat out.  It does, however, reinforce my resolve to cook for my family at home.

Sunday – Sloppy Joes, French Fries, carrot sticks

Venison burger from our freezer and manwhich from a can.  I purchased some on sale at Dillon’s about two weeks ago.  I have french fries in the freezer that I bought on deep discount, with a coupon.  I have enough to last us for like 4 months I think.  I will need to buy hamburger buns.

Monday – Skillet Ziti with Chicken and Broccoli

I keep different kinds of pasta on hand, I buy it up whenever I get a good coupon/sale so I have some penne in the pantry I’ll use for this.  Chicken was purchased at Target last week.  Normally I would use fresh broccoli but as I’m buying a larger amount of fresh produce this week I may use frozen… I’ll see how my grocery bill looks.  I have Roasted Red Peppers in the pantry as well.  I will need to buy some cream.

Tuesday- Tilapia w/dill, baked red potatoes, asparagus

I have Tilapia left in the freezer from a purchase at Aldi about a month ago that I’ll use for this.  Dill is dried from our garden this past summer.  I will buy red potatoes and asparagus this week.

Wednesday – Marinated Chicken Breasts, fried rice w/vegetables

As simple as tossing some chicken breasts in Italian dressing for a couple of hours then cooking on the stove.  I got the dressing as part of a “buy 10″ sale deal at Dillon’s several weeks ago and I stocked up on Chicken at Target last week.  Fried Rice is a Weight Watchers recipe that we really like and I always keep rice on hand!

Thursday – Leftovers

Friday - Sticky Chicken, homemade biscuits, green beans

- Yes, I’m STILL using whole chickens that I bought at Target this summer at rock bottom prices.  I only have a few left, I’m going to have to keep an eye out for more!  Homemade biscuits are made with staples we keep around the house and I will buy some fresh green beans this week if they look good.

Saturday – Homemade Pizza

- Leftover Sticky chicken cut up will be a great addition to the pizza, I’ve got turkey pepperoni from the LAST pizza we made (its a favorite around here), I will need to buy some cheese, olives, artichokes, green pepper and mushrooms.  This one is going to be a doozie!

So what does my shopping list look like?

Asparagus

Green Beans

Red Potatoes

Bananas

Cuties

Hamburger Buns

Bread

Rice Milk

Artichokes

Green Pepper

Mushrooms

Black Olives

Half and Half

I’m all about sending my wonderful husband out to pick up my paper’s on Sunday mornings.  It helps to know what coupons will be there so I can plan how many papers to ask him to pick up!  Check out the Sunday Coupon Preview so you can do a little pre-planning as well!

To win a coupon binder with dividers and inserts I ask that you subscribe to my RSS feed and remain a subscriber through at least the duration of the contest… I will try to be interesting so that you don’t want to leave me when the contest is over!! LOL  You can click on the SuperFeed button to the right.  Leave me a comment below letting me know that you subscribed.  That’s it!

However… this is by far my MOST POPULAR giveaway.  If you want MORE chances to win you may do any/all of the following to earn yourself additional entries.  Please leave a separate comment for each entry:

*Follow me on Twitter. Leave me a comment with your Twitter @ so I can say howdy when I follow you back

* Blog this giveaway and link back to me. Leave me a comment with a link to your post…I’ll be sure to visit!

* Tweet this giveaway. Please don’t spam twitter, one tweet a day will be accepted. Leave me a comment with a link to your tweet.

* Follow SuperJenn on Facebook (Networked Blogs)

*Post this giveaway on Facebook. Again, one post per day will be accepted. Leave me a comment with a link to your Facebook post.

That is FIVE additional ways to enter to win this binder!! (More if you tweet every day!!)

The winner will be drawn using random.org from the list of comments on this post. Please make sure that I can contact you through your comment. Only comments/entries left on THIS POST will be accepted as valid entries into the giveaway.

This contest will be open from Sunday, February 21, 2010 until Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 11:59 CST.  You must be 18 to enter and it is open only to US residents (Sorry!).

Thanks and Good Luck!!

I always like to know what to expect out of my Sunday inserts.  Check out the coupons for this weekend and plan ahead!

I always like to plan ahead so I know how many extra papers I want to grab….check out the preview and see what’s in store for you this weekend!

]]> http://www.superjenn.com/sunday-coupon-preview-4/feed/ 1 http://www.superjenn.com/sunday-coupon-preview-3/ http://www.superjenn.com/sunday-coupon-preview-3/#comments Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:00:43 +0000 Jenn http://www.superjenn.com/?p=1255

Be sure to check out what coupons you will be seeing this weekend!

Its Friday again and that means it is Mega SwagBucks Day!  Not sure what this means for you?  SwagBucks is a chance for you to earn “Bucks” that convert into prizes and giftcards…just by surfing the web like you do every day!  On MegaSwagBucks Days they randomly award bucks in denominations of $10, $20, $50, $100 and $500 SwagBucks.

The search engine is powered by Google and Ask.com so you won’t be missing anything in your searches.  You can download the SwagBucks toolbar to make for easy searching and keeping track of your SwagBucks.  I’m saving mine along with eBates to get myself a Kindle!!  Sign up for SwagBucks and start earning today!

Since it is the beginning of the month this is a particularly good time to print yourself some coupons!  They have been restocked… you can find some high dollar grocery and toy coupons that will just add to your holiday savings. 

Its 10:00 am on Black Friday and I am snuggly set in my bed searching the web for the best deals I can find…while Julie is out braving the crowds and shopping to her heart’s content.  You can find a TwitterFeed on the LJWorld homepage of all of the deals we find using the hashtag #ksblackfriday … but I thought I’d share some of my favorites with you so far this morning.
First of all…if you are doing ANY shopping online there are two services you should be signed up with:

Ebates: If you sign up with Ebates you can get cash back for nearly all of your online purchases.  Who can turn down free money?  Today they have DOUBLE cash back at a large number of their online retailers.  How does it work?  Just go to Ebates.com and search for the store you will be purchasing from…you will get a list of their online coupon codes and a link to the store..then you just shop and earn your cash back.

SwagBucks: By using the SwagBucks toolbar, powered by Google and Ask.com, to complete your online searches, you can earn “swagbucks” that you can turn around and use to purchase gift cards to some of your favorite retailers.  On Fridays you can earn MegaSwagBucks… they randomly award 5, 10, 20 and 100 SwagBucks.  More free money…sign up today!

Here is a list of the deals I’ve posted so far today:

Baby Signing Time DVDs, CDs and Flashcards 50% off

Flip Mino HD $49

80% off Restaurant.com Gift Cards

Buy 1 Get 1 Half Off Crocs + Free Shipping

Disney Digital Blue Kids’ Headphones $5.99

Stay tuned..I’ll have more as the day goes on!!

With all of the ruckus over Black Friday … let’s not forget that a whole new batch of coupons will be out this weekend! Click on the ad above to see what’s in store!

Shopping deals isn’t easy…it takes a lot of work and planning…and concentration. I like to tout that I got something “free” when that is not exactly true..the time and energy I put into figuring out what makes a deal great, dragging my kids around with me from store to store or shopping in the middle of the night so I can go alone…all are a price I pay for my “freebies”.

I’ve made no qualms about my feelings towards Walgreen’s and their customer service. I find most of the time it is simply not worth the trouble to shop there. Then there are weeks like this one…lots of RR and money to be “made”… so I decide to give it a try again.

SuperBaby has been having a rough time at night…last night was no exception. He cried for what ended up being 12 hours…unless he was in the sling…so I decided to strap him on and go shopping! New sales week started at midnight…so did I. I had a plan…I had a mission…I knew exactly what I was buying and in what order…and I didn’t even take my other coupons with me so I wouldn’t be tempted to shop around.

First of all…they were out of all but two of the Gillette MVP razors. Imagine that. Next…I went to check out at the pharmacy and was told that the new sales hadn’t uploaded to the computer and usually didn’t until around 3am. The pharmacist was SO FRIENDLY and really helpful…called the manager up to see if there was anything they could do. Guess what? I got the standard spiel from the manager:
*Register Rewards won’t print if you use coupons. (Yes, yes they will I told him.)
*RR USED to print with coupons but they changed that about a month ago. (Standard answer EVERY month..I told him I didn’t think that was true.)
*You can’t use a Register Reward to pay for another item and still get a Register Reward on that item..even if it is for different products. (Yes, yes you can I tell him again.)
*Walgreen’s doesn’t get reimbursed by the companies…they are losing money by people using coupons and shopping the deals. (Yes, yes you do I tell him…and no, no you aren’t.)
*An item less than $1 doesn’t count as a full purchase item when using/counting items (Yes, yes it does I tell him.)

Let me just say that the pharmacist did a price reduction on the sales items for me to match the weekly flier and all of the Register Rewards printed with no problems…even though I used coupons…and even though I used other Register Rewards to purchase items…and even though I used a $0.13 Halloween pencil as a filler. Everything worked out JUST FINE…and I’m pretty sure that all of those Register Rewards with “Manufacturer’s Coupon” printed on the top will be reimbursed by the sponsoring company.

I did get told by the Manager that “Coupons are nothing but trouble for us.” …I told him they were wonderful for me and for my family. I also told him “You think this is bad…you should see what I do to Dillon’s”…my friend chimed in “Oh…and TARGET..we get them good.”

The pharmacist giggled when the manager left and applauded our efforts and great shopping…she said “You should teach a class!” I said…”Well actually, I DO!” and handed her a SuperJenn card.

We hit the second Walgreen’s to find, yet again, they were not stocked on Gillette Razors which made myself a little irritated…but I grabbed the items and headed to the checkout, prepared to argue my way through another purchase….lo and behold…. I had the FRIENDLIEST cashier! He was so nice and not at all confrontational! All of the prices had been updated…all of the sales tags were hung…and there were absolutely no problems with the register. He told us it shouldn’t be a problem and that the computer updates at midnight. LOL Such consistency.

I guess my point in all of this rambling is to state that I had a good experience overall shopping at Walgreen’s last night. While the one Manager was slightly crabby…he didn’t really fight me so much as whine…and I proved myself knowledgeable enough to get him to leave me alone.  Friendly cashiers at BOTH Lawrence stores.

I guess I thought it was only fair that if I rant about how much they rot… I should post about the good service as well!

Next Friday evening from 6 -8:30pm the Overland Park, KS Whole Foods will be offering a class on how to stretch your buck and your food’s nutritional value! $5 for this class will be well worth it to learn some more great tips!

Check it out online and maybe we will see you there!!

I’ve had so many people ask me about how I coupon…how I make it work for me…and how to do it while still feeding my family a healthy, well balanced diet.  I’ve taken requests to take people shopping… I started a blog!!  It doesn’t seem to be enough.  At long last…I will be hosting my very first coupon class next week!  Although I do not have the location solidified yet… I will start the sign up and let everyone know the locale soon.

Here are the details!

When: Tuesday, August 18, 2009  7 -9pm

How Much:  $35  via PayPal before to reserve your spot

There will be 10 spots available for this class.  I don’t want it to get too big so that everyone gets a chance to ask questions and get the information they are looking for.

What you will learn from this class:

• How to search out and find the best deals both online and in real life
• How to file and organize coupons to make them most effective…and to make sure you use them!
• How to use the principle of buying in bulk when things are on sale to reduce your monthly grocery budget.
• How coupons are accepted in the different major markets around the Lawrence/KC/Topeka area.  For example: Different coupon policies between CVS, Walgreen’s, Dillon’s, HyVee, etc.
• How to “stack” coupons and match coupons with deals to get items you use every day for FREE.

You will receive printed materials to take with you that outline what is covered in the class.  I highly suggest if you have a laptop that you bring it along with you.  This will make it much easier to understand and apply some of what I intend to show you.  After the class has concluded I will continue to be available via email or my blog to support you in your shopping adventures.

Because this is my FIRST class…I am running a special.  If you are a TwitterFriend of mine AND you subscribe to my BlogFeed…you will get this class for $25.

In addition… I will be donating $10 from each registration fee to my “5 Plus 10″ Challenge benefiting the Lawrence Food Pantries.

If you would like to sign up for this class please fill out this form and you will be entered into my spreadsheet.  You will receive confirmation from me via email and a PayPal request for the class fee.  All of your information will be kept private, it will be entered into my spreadsheet and not visible to anyone else.  I will not use your email address for anything other than correspondence regarding the class you are registering for.

I have been clipping coupons, shopping deals and blogging it for over a year now.  I have reduced my family’s grocery/supply budget from a whopping $900/mo to $300/mo.  We currently have enough food storage on hand to hold us over for at least a month if for some reason our budget was restricted.  In addition to blogging about my frugal ways I am co-founder of the Wii Mommies, a virtual fitness support blog and forum.  I am a contributing writer at MomSpark and a member of the Momeo 21.

]]> http://www.superjenn.com/lawrence-coupon-class/feed/ 4 http://www.superjenn.com/75-savingswhat/ http://www.superjenn.com/75-savingswhat/#comments Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:59:51 +0000 Jenn http://www.superjenn.com/?p=900 The past couple of weeks I’ve managed to get both my menu planning AND my grocery shopping done by Sunday. This has made a huge difference in my weekly activity with the kids….as I’m moving less and less as the weeks go on (32 and counting!) the pre-planning is an added bonus.

My shopping trip to Dillon’s today ended in me paying $55 and saving $135. That is a 75% savings!! I get asked quite often what I buy..how I make these deals work. First it takes practice…I’ve been couponing for over a year now…and it takes patience…I spend about 3 or 4 hours a week searching deals and cutting coupons…and third it takes persistence!

I also hear all the time how the coupons in the paper are for “junk I don’t buy” … or that a $0.50/1 coupon “Isn’t worth my time”. I used to think that too..until I cut our family of 4 ‘s grocery bill from $900/mo to $300. $0.50 at a time adds up!! We actually have MORE groceries and food storage than we used to.

I plan my menus for the week around what I have…and I buy at the grocery store based on what the deals are.

I’m not going to share my shopping trip purchase for purchase with coupon match ups….I used to do that and it takes WAY too much of my time!! I WILL share with you what I bought…and what our menu looks like this week. You can SEE that my family eats a healthy, balanced diet on this super budget!

Today I purchased:

Grapes, Apples, Bananas, Green Onions

Sandwich bread and deli meat

Quorn Chicken Tenders (soy/meat alternative)**

Amy’s frozen soy mac and cheese**

Keebler Cookies **

Artichokes, pizza sauce

Toilet Paper

Tide Stain Booster, Cascade Dishwasher Soap

Oil of Olay face wipes

baby wipes

cereal, milk, half and half

baking powder

fish sticks

**These items were “splurges”

So what does our meal plan look like?

Weekly Menu

Tilapia w/ mustard cream sauce, green beans from garden, dinner rolls

Homemade pizza (artichokes, tomatoes (garden), soy crumbles, olives, mushrooms)

General Tsao’s Chicken w/brown rice (quorn chick/soy alternative, veggies), cooked carrots

Hot Dogs/Veggie Dogs in a blanket, home fries (Hubby’s request for “comfort food” LOL), tomato/cucumber salad from garden

Pork or Venison Roast (wild pig or deer harvested by my husband), red potatoes, bisquits, corn (frozen from last years garden)

Chicken Enchiladas, green beans from the garden

Leftovers

We have fruit for snacks…and snack treats around the house. We do sandwiches, leftovers, quesidillas, fish sticks or chicken nuggets (once a week)…for our lunches.

Want ideas on how to get started with coupons? You can read The Frugal Mindset, The Coup of Coupon Gathering, and So You Have Some Coupons…Now What?

This post is included in Real Life’s: Your Life, Your Blog.

Tricia (@trica on Twitter) jumped on the coupon wagon only a few short weeks ago and she is already doing a GREAT JOB! It just takes a little concentration to make it work for you, too!

Check out Tricia’s post on what deals she got and what coupons she used…then make it work for you!