I read on the news that there were more shoppers out in the malls and stores this week end than last year, BUT they spent a lot less.
The only shopping I did this weekend was to buy some security lights from Home Depot and Monday to use up my coupons that expired Nov 30th. Which brought me to thinking that we all are in the same boat more or less. I felt pretty good returning from the store only paying a couple dollars more than half of what the bill would have been if I hadn't had the coupons. It made it even better that I picked this week to get certain things, things that usually aren't on sale were so it was even more savings.
I made a great savings on things that we use all the time, was able to use up my coupons before they expired and not have to worry about buying these things at top price!
I thought I would share how I do this with my readers as I'm sure we all could use to save a bit and if you save even more, then you can buy more art supplies with less guilt! :)
A few years ago we were not doing so well and I had to buckle down in many areas to get things straightened out. I subscribed to the local newspaper for the Sunday edition (the coupon edition), but found that I could use few of the coupons offered. I don't eat a lot of prepackaged foods because of their poor health quality, or that they aren't gluten free. So I am limited and can't take advantage of all these. I found I was barely able to cover the cost of the newspaper with the coupons I could use and looked for a better way, I turned to the internet.
That was when I discovered that you can actually buy coupons specific to what you need! Instead of buying the coupons that come in the local paper, and maybe not even being able to use them, I found a place you buy only what you can use, exactly what you can use for only pennies! And it is a charitable organization so everyone wins!
This great saving place is called
The Coupon Clippers - Saving together! From their site:
We are the nation’s largest online Grocery Coupon clipping service, offering more than a million national-brand coupons at any given time in our warehouse and shipping center. Browse our huge selection and start saving $$$ today!
You can look through all their coupons, shop by alphabetical order, or for special needs like Baby, specific store coupons like Publix and also there is a section (at the top) to look for Gluten free items which I love! There is some limits on certain coupons but only if they are limited in the amount they have, fair enough. You do have to buy a certain amount but at .05c - .25c per coupon with the ability to save dollars it is worth it.
I'll give you an example of a couple of great deals I just made with my coupons. I usually always buy Egglands eggs and they always seem to have coupons for them, I save between, .70c and $1.00 off each dozen, not bad, better eggs for about the same price as the lesser quality eggs. This week I used coupons for organic sugar that I bought from the Coupon Clippers for 5c a piece for a .40c coupon. Took this to the store which sells it for $2.09 and it was on sale for $1.89. My store doubles coupons up to $1 so I got .80c off each bag (I had 5 coupons the required amount to buy), so I saved $4.00 with my coupons I only paid .25c for, not to mention the $1.00 from the sale on the sugar. Pretty cool, huh?
It's easy to sign up, order and they are fast on delivery and very accurate, I've ordered from them many times and never had a problem. You can even put money in your account to order from whenever you want. You can even check on previous orders, or check our order status. They even have a counter that tells you from when you order when your order will go out. Usually the same day. Give It a try, you've got nothing to loose, unless you buy them and don't use them, but much to gain.
Here's a couple of other sites I've found you might want to look into, this one gives you lots of coupons you can print out yourself, just check off what you want and print! ( You may have to download their software)
Printable Brand Name Coupons.
They are associated with this site
Budget 101, Digging yourself out of debt. And don't forget to check out
their forums where you will see daily the free offers available. They also have a forum there for chain store specials, which includes Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Staples, etc.
So if you spent too much on Black Friday/Cyber Monday or just need to cut back somewhere check out these cool savings sites! And then take a bit of your savings and treat yourself for being so thrifty!
Oh, still keeping your Sunday paper subscription for the circulars? Cancel your subscription and
go here to look at all the major circulars online for free! Save money and less paper to be recycled!
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My table by the window also makes a great place to have breakfast. This morning called for something hot and 'stick to your ribs' so I made some hot and tasty cereal from Bob's Red Mill. Now this is formulated for people who can't have gluten but is tasty for those who can. I add some cinnamon, allspice, a pinch of cardamon, pure maple syrup a pinch of sea salt, raisins and some chopped nuts and cook for 10 minutes. Then I Top off my bowl with a dab of organic butter and edge the rim with cream! Smells great and helps to warm you up and get you going! (Especially in other areas too because it is full of fiber!)
