My CVS trip today:

Dove shampoo $4.00 (-1.50 coupon)
Dove conditioner $4.00 (-1.50 coupon)
Dove Lotion $7.00 (-1.50 coupon)
Egg Dye Kit $2.99
Candy Bar $.89
Candy Bar $.89

SubTotal $19.77
Less $5.00 coupon (buy $15, get $5 off – printed on my receipt the other day)
Less $4.99 ECB from last purchase
Less $5.00 ECB from last purchase
Less the Dove coupons above ($4.50)

Subtotal $.28
Tax $.23
TOTAL = $.51 Yes, that’s all I spent out of pocket.
Not only that, I got $5.00 ECB’s back for next time for purchasing $15.00 worth of Dove products.

Just wanted to let you all know that it CAN work to your advantage!

Today at Stater Bros. I spent $41.84 and saved $39.88. Not bad. Even better was spending 39.96 at Ralphs and saving $55.42. Whoo hoo! I even got register coupons back for about $3.50 AND will get cash back from Ralphs for about $6.50 just on todays transactions. I’ll be off to Target later to get a few very cheap and/or free items.

A few of the sites helping me are:

• www.thegrocerygame.com
• www.hotcouponworld.com
• www.momsneedtoknow.com

Yeah, the couponing takes extra time, but since I’m a stay at home mom, I MAKE the time.  Cutting costs are part of my job.

Also, in these hard times many stores are accepting expired coupons.  My husband found a coupon for Harbor Freight that expired yesterday, and he called and spoke to the manager who said he would accept it as long as he brought it in.  (20% makes a difference!)  Also, many restaurants are doing the same (Pat & Oscars to name just one), so it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Anyone else want to share their ideas?

Took the kids to Huntington Beach yesterday with a friend of mine and her kiddos. We had a great time! Grant LOVED the water and cried the entire way back to the car. Katie made sand angels! It was a good 80 degrees out and the beach was pretty much deserted on a Tuesday winter’s afternoon. Great for us!

What is better than going to Target and picking up a double stroller for $39.00 (regular price $139.99)? 

Getting THIS

for $5.04!  Brand new in box… clearance… normally $89.99!  Whoo hoooooooooooooooo!

We are definitely counting our blessings this evening!

Just went grocery shopping… 

• Staters subtotal was $118.85, paid $64.31 (46%)
• Ralphs subtotal was $123.32, paid $51.19 (59%)

I even got a few freebies!

If you sign up, use my email as a referral:  jenefur at yahoo dot com

Also, another bloggy mom friend of mine has a lot of stores from back east on her blog, as well as CVS, Rite Aid & Walgreens where she breaks down the weekly savings & freebies.  Her site is http://www.momsneedtoknow.com/

That’s all – just trying to share the love when we all could use an extra few bucks in our checkbooks.

We put up our tree a few days ago… though I prefer a real one, we can’t afford one (AND I get all rashy if I touch a real one!)  We got this one 90% off at Target’s after Christmas clearance last year.  Whoo hoo! 

I didn’t buy one thing yesterday… not even from online.  This year’s Christmas will be slim pickings for us, but the kids will certainly not be at a loss for anything with all of the Grandparents around!  (Can you say Disney pass?) I’ll hit a few sales, but will mostly be making things this year.  A few years ago I posted about the fudge recipe I’ve been making for Christmas… it’s so easy!

Did any of you hit any sales yesterday?  What did you get?  Also did you hear about the poor WalMart worker who got trampled by the crowds and died as he tried to open the doors yesterday morning?  Despicable and very very sad.

Today’s Loot: $16.50

• 45 Children’s Video Cassettes $5
• 10 Hardback Hans Christian Anderson books & 10 Left Behind books $3
• Wig, Tutu, Butterfly Wings (New) $3
• Dora Scooter $3
• …and the find of the day:  Double Stroller $2.50

Not bad, eh?

I came up with my own crock pot concoction yesterday and it was GREAT! 

I had some stew meat which I browned with some onion salt, then threw in the CP.  Then I chopped up a few carrots, celery and potatoes and added them in with a can of beef broth and a can of tomato sauce, some oregano, thyme and pepper.  After it cooked for a few hours, I boiled some barley and added that in as well.  It ended up being REALLY thick after the barley sucked up most of the juice, so I added one more can of beef broth.  Since we went out to eat with the family last night, we didn’t get a chance to eat it, but I had some for breakfast alright, and it was SO tasty!  Even Andrew approved when he had some for lunch.  I guess I’d call it Beef Barley Stew, as it was still pretty thick and not soupy at all.  I could probably have added another can of tomato sauce or beef broth, but the final product was too good to mess with.  I can’t wait to make it again.  It was about $6.00 for all of the ingredients.

If I remember, I’ll take a picture before it’s eaten up, and post the actual recipe so it’s easier to read.

So, of course a few months back I gave away ALL of my maternity clothes!  And now I’m prego again.  I certainly don’t have it in my budget to buy all new clothes!  I was lucky enought the second time around to get a huge bag from a friend of mine. 

This time, I found someone on craigslist.com who wanted to sell some of her clothes for $75.  We emailed back and forth and I asked if maybe I could do it in trade (scrapbooking/stamping items), since I was low on funds.   She ended up just giving them to me.  Whoo hoo! They are moving cross country this week and we made the switch yesterday.  I offered to make her a scrapbook album for her kids and she said not to worry, that she’d rather see the clothes go to someone who needs them than have someone buy them for cheap and re-sell them (apparently someone offered her only $30 and was going to re-sell on ebay).  She also said maybe if I have the time, I could make her a book and she would pay me.  Awesome. 

The Big Guy Upstairs is clearly looking out for us.

ps… Major tip of the day for parents on a budget… if you have a service to offer in lieu of money, it doesn’t hurt to ask to buy something in trade!

When you’re poor like me, you find any way to get some money.  I’ve spent the better part of this morning filling out rebate forms that I never got around to.  This should bring in a $30 for a tool the hubby bought a few months ago, a $10 gas card (for getting my oil changed at Jiffy Lube) and $68 in unclaimed property (from my old auto insurance).  I had heard on the news last year about the unclaimed property thing and just forgot about it after the baby/move/etc.  But it is MUCH needed now and glad I can tap into it!

Here is a link for the California site for unclaimed property.  To look up a different state, do a search for your state’s controller and UCP or Unclaimed Property.  Good luck!!

Also, if you have an unforgotten rebate, call the company.  Ours was in Iowa, and even though the rebate period ended over a month ago, the rep was nice enough to resend me a form and give me an address & contact person to send it to.