CouponAddict's Personal Blog

Yesterday was a no spending day. I went to work, went home and that was pretty much it. On the way home my DS asked if we were going to go to CVS. I said NOPE, we will go on Saturday.

I am planning to do one more trip on Saturday, thinking my DH could watch our DS so it would be fast and easy, but I forgot DH has to work this weekend. I want to pick up some fiber CVS has on sale with ECB's plus I have coupons. I may try to get the trip done today on the way home so I can save gas money since it is on the way home.

My Coupon Train should come in today. I should ask DH to bring it with when he comes to drop DS off before heading to work. That way I could swing by Wal-Mart before the weekend when it gets crazy. Plus it is on the way home so 'saving gas'.

For the summer, we are trying to minimize our daycare usage if at all possible. Since I am done with work at 4:30 and DH does not start until 5:00 (at the same building complex), DH drops him off at my office, and DH then goes to work. I am hoping this arrangement will work this fall after school starts also. I guess that will all depend on if my DH gets the out of state position.

Man I really do not want my DH to be gone for 12 months to 15 months which is the length of time for this position. Because of the location we will not be able to see him at all for that time. So I would basically become a single parent for that time. I am not a liberty to say where the job location is.

Everything has a positive outcome you just got to look for it. I had the opportunity to get some training done in March of this year, but did not go because I did not want it to look like I was EXPECTING to get the next promotion at work. That was so dumb of me.

I could have started making $378.80 more per month ($268.80 taxed & $111.00 untaxed) on the 9th of April, but because I am not qualified in the job until I complete training, no raise. I was scheduled to complete the course on the 1st of August of this year. That is a loss of $1401.56 up to that point due to my desire not to look overly confident.

The promotion/ new job position has additional training requirements but the one that affects my pay is the 27 day course, the sad thing is I may have to cancel my registration so I can go to one of the other training courses required for the job because it is only going to be offered during that time. I will find out for sure hopefully by Friday afternoon. If I can’t go to the first course (that affects my promotion), I may not be able to attend that class until 2009. At $378.80 each additional month, not wanting to look overly confident is really biting my pocketbook.

I am praying I can re-schedule the course before the 1st of the year because if I can’t than there is a possibility that DS will have to go to a family member for the entire 27 days I am gone. Lord, please don’t let my DH be placed on the out of state job for the next year. Now that I think of it I think my DH has a training scheduled in August.

That is the bad news, the good news.

Well I was going to be gone for 27 days in Arizona in July and August; I would have been sweating my butt off!!! Well the sweating away of the butt would not have been too bad. The new training is only for 13 days.
The old training was going to bump into another training course I have; back to back so I would have been out of town for 36 days in a row. Because of this reduced course length we will not need to hire evening daycare for four days so my DH can go to work, I can watch my DS since I will be home.
During the time of my original course my DH also had a course and we would have had to leave our DS with a relative for 15 days. Now if nothing changes with DH’s schedule which we are thinking it may, we will only need to leave him with a relative for 24hours everyday for 8 days. That is a true blessing because our DS gets really sad when we have to leave him somewhere for a day or more.

Now If I could get word that my DH’s course on the 11th of July through the 26th was canceled life would be great. I hate the thought of DS having to spend anytime at a relatives’ house. PS these relatives I am referring to are not our parents, our parents are all divorced and either living out of state or are not capable of fitting our DS into their schedule. This fact has been a constant source of distress for me. I often wonder if I should just find another job and sell our home. We would have to rent an apartment if I did not have the job I have. The problem is our yard is not finished and our basement is only half insolated & maybe one fourth sheet-rocked. So it is not nearly in shape to put on the market. Sorry I am trying to see the bright side of this.

Everything will turn out. Lord, let thy will be done!!

Last night I went to Wal-Mart and stocked up on FREE travel products. I love these little sizes for sleepovers, in my purse or beach bag. It seems like every time there is a sleep over, etc some toiletry item gets left behind so for FREE and/or small size it is either all used up or no big deal, when it is left behind at the motel or friends house.


From the trial and travel items I got:

4 cans of Gillette shave gel (men’s) for FREE plus overage $.03. I used the $1.00 off Gillette coupon that expires 5/31/08. They had cans for $.97. These are great for when my DH works away from home-he always forgets to bring back some of the stuff.

I also got 3 FREE tubes of kid’s toothpaste. They had a Colgate kid’s toothpaste with SpongeBob on it and it was for $.50. I had three $.50 of any kids Colgate toothpaste coupons that expire on 5/24/2008.

I got two Soft lotion from Johnson's they were marked $1.23 each and I used the Johnson's $1. off on-line printable. That is a cost of $.23 each. (But for $.23 these are going to come in handy for traveling/purse for this summer, :0). It has been said that some stores in the lotion aisle, have some 2oz tubes for $.97 but I did not see any in the lotion aisle, at this particular store.

My Wal-Mart had a ton of different types of toothpaste in the travel area for $.50. I think there are some crest toothpastes coupons out there that expire 5/31/08 that are $.50 off that do not have a size limit.

They had a huge selection, they had some single serving tide for $.97, I think there was a coupon in the newspaper for $1.00 off that did not have a size limit (but I did not have any).

I plan to make a list of the items they carry and the price so when I find coupons I can check my list and know if I can get an item to put away in my small size/travel toiletry totes for traveling and purse. ***We travel for work allot***

CVS has a possible deal going on this week, but it requires combing the store to check if they have a very small product hanging on a wire clip hanger somewhere in their store. Not all stores have the product and if they do; there is no guarantee they will place it in the same spot.

Last night I dreamt I was at CVS looking for the item.


Also Lately I am catching myself checking the moneysavingmommy.com blog multiple times a day. It is not like I am going to be able to stop what I am doing and run into town. Luckily I have gotten a chance to preview next weeks CVS ad and I do not find one thing of interest. I may have a no CVS week coming up. Also my DS has gotten really attached to his video game, so if I ask if he wants to go to (any store) he says no. So dragging him out to the store deters me.

At first when I started CVS'ing my DH really did not get it, but after showing him the receipts and the bags, he is starting to be supportive. He jokes to his friends I can go to CVS spend $.75 and walk out with half the store. LOL I am not that good! The joke around the house is if I am not home, and he calls my cell I will be at CVS. I think I may have a problem. I am starting to really look forward to my courses this summer, since I will have NO chance to shop.

I think I suffer from ocd (obsessive cvs disorder). Is there a support group for others like myself?

I am now at a $354.36 balance in my $20 Challenge.

May 12th CVS
I received FREE
1 Multi-vitamin Chews Wal-Mart Value $1.
1 Calcium Chews Wal-Mart Value $1.
$2.00

Bargain:
I received FREE
1 Color ink cartridge. It is the kind we use at home, it had an install by date of over a year ago, so the red/pink is dried up or blocked. But it is better than the one we had which was out of everything but red/pink. Because It is not 100% working I am going to reduce the value to $10.

Coupon Train:
I mailed it out this morning, I used four stamps. I bought them before the price increase, and am using them after the price increase. That is a $.04 savings. (The coupons pulled from the train made the postage cost a bargain, but the $.04 is a smart savings)


Prior balance $354.36
+$2.00
+$10.00
+$.04
= $366.40

I am now at a $327.17 balance in my $20 Challenge.

May 11th CVS
Trip #1 was a $2.32 profit
I received FREE
2 toothpastes Wal-Mart Value $2 each
2 Calcium Wal-Mart Value $2.00
$8.32

Trip #2
I received FREE
2 toothpastes Wal-Mart Value $2 each
1 Calcium Wal-Mart Value $1.00
$5.00

Trip #3 was an overall savings of $13.87 plus tax
$13.87

Prior balance
$327.17
+$8.32
+$5.00
+$13.87
= $354.36

Sunday 11 May 2008
CVS trip #1
2 Colgate Total Advanced 4oz toothpaste $2.99 each (earns $2 ECB each)
2 Viactive Calcium 60ct $5.49 each (earns $3 ECB each)
Total $16.96 plus tax.
Used
1- coupon $3 on a $15 purchase
2- $1.50 off Colgate Total coupons
2- $2.00 off Viactive coupons
Paid out of Pocket $5.68. & $2.00 in ECB's
Earned $10.00 ECB for a $2.32 profit

CVS trip #2
2 Colgate Total Advanced 4oz toothpaste $2.99 each (earns $2 ECB each)
1 Viactive Multi-vitamin 50ct $5.49 (earns $3 ECB )
1 Reach access flosser $1.99
1 CVS Clearance box of Rasp cookies 12 oz $.50
1 Elmers School Glue (UPromise) $1.79
Total 15.75 plus tax
Used
1- coupon $3 on a $15 purchase
2- $1.50 off Colgate Total coupons
1- $2.00 off Viactive coupons
1- $.50 CVS Cookie coupon Was $1.00 off but they reduced it down.
Paid out of Pocket $1.60 & $6.00 in ECB's
Earned $7.00 ECB, & a Upromise purchase for a overall cost of $.60

CVS trip #3
HP Color Printer cartridge Clearance $18.00 (Wal-mart price $28.87)
Used
1- coupon $3 on a $15 purchase
Paid out of Pocket $4.24 & $11.00 in ECB's
For a overall savings of $13.87 plus tax

Monday 6 May 2008
I do not have exact amounts because I left my receipt somewhere (home, office, hidden in purse).

I bought the rolling collapsible cooler it is on sale this week, regular price $24.99 sale $19.99.

I have been looking for this exact item for a while, I am glad to have found it, I would have paid the regular price but getting it on sale, because I noticed on iheartcvs.com that it was going to go on sale, was an extra perk.

I bought
$19.99 Cooler
$.88 Dawn soap (filler)
Total $20.87 plus tax
Used
$3 off $15 purchase CVS coupon from ewashington post
$.25 off Dawn

$17.62 Total plus tax
Used
$9.38 ECB from Tums Quickpak
$7.98 ECB from Colgate 360
Total .26 plus .10 tax

I used the Dawn as filler because I wanted to use my two largest ECB’s. I find it hard to make a big order after coupons, so I like generate small ECB’s whenever I shop if possible.

I will be editing this post as I get more CVS trips in. I need to stock up on Dawn and I have a few other items I want to buy. Also I intend to post a picture.
-----------------------------------
Thursday May 8th,2008

CVS

Venus Razor 9.99 Earns $5 ECB
CVS toothbrush 2.99 Earns $2 ECB
8ct Pencils (putting away for DS for school) 1.00
Gift Bag 1.00
Snickers Bar (for DH) .79
Total 15.77 plus tax
Minus
$3 off $15 purchase coupon
$4 off Venus Manu coupon
$2.99 ECB
$4.99 ECB
Total .79 plus .29 tax Total 1.08
Could have been a 0 OOP transaction but DH really wanted the candy

Spent $7.98 ECB's Earned $7 so everything cost $.98

CVS Trip #2
10 sobe life waters $10 (buy 2 earn $1 ECB?)
B2G1 CVS paper towels $1.98
3 johnson's buddies 2.97
nail cliper 1.49
Total 16.44 plus tax
Minus
$3 off $15 purchase
1.00 Buddies coupon
2.00 Buddies coupon marked down to 1.98
$5 ECB
$4.99 ECB
Subtotal .47 plus .21 tax .68 OOP
*NOTE* I should have recieved $5 in ECB's for the lifewaters, but they did not print was sent to the front counter, then told to call the # on the back of my card, the person answering that number said it would take 48 hours to post, and she would follow up on Monday. Will I ever see the ECB's?? Because of the $3/$15 coupon the Sobes are currently $.70 a bottle (an OKAY price), IF I get the ECB's then they are $.20 a bottle. This is my first problem with ECB's if this does not turn out well next time I will not be as trusting and will just plan to return whatever doesn't print the ecb's if it is not worth it without the ECB's. In this case $.70 is an okay sale price, and it is a chance to learn how to handle the problem of when no ECB's print.

KOHL's

* I had an additional 15% off card, I bought a lot of stuff but I am just going to list the awesome finds.
I got a columbia winter hat for DS for 2.50- 15% =$2.12
I got three sets of pj bottoms they were part of a 3 piece set but the top was gone so the set of pants & shorts were marked 2.24 but when they were keyed in they came to 1.63-15% =1.38 (that is .69 per piece)
I also got a Lego's Tshirt for 5.60 - 15%= $4.76

JcPenny's

* I got my $10 off any purchase of $10 or more coupon in the mail.
Of course it was for mothers day, and like all mothers I spent it on my DS instead of myself. LOL
I found a $26.99 pair of jeans marked down to $11.99.
& kids a T'shirts on sale reg price 13.99 marked down to 7.99
This would normally have been a good deal, A pair of jeans after coupon for $1.99 and another Lego's shirt for my DS.
But when the order was rang up, the jeans were $4.99, so after coupon and tax the two items cost $3.14

THANK YOU JCPENNY!!!

-----------------------------------
Saturday May 10th,2008
Wal-mart
50% savings on my register receipt after coupons!! The big deals were;
FREE toliet scrubber $4.54
FREE Zantac 8ct $5.00 ($1.02 overage)
Grillin Beans $.25
2 boxes Post Liveactive cereal $.12 a box
1 FREE box Chocolate Honey Bunches of oats $1.98($.02 overage)

TARGET
I got my DH's bodywash on Clearance for 2.97 the bottle is regularly $4.50 but this box also came with a mini spray and a mini travel bottle. I grabbed two!
I also got two FREE travel size ALL 2 dose laundry soap. These are going to come in handy this summer while I am at my courses!

PS this is a sample of what came in my mailbox this week for FREE!!

Well I was all excited, got that letter from the IRS saying we were going to get a stimulus check. Well checked the direct deposit today and $900. I am like WTF? Where the _____ is the other $600? Well I hop on the saving advice forum, check the stimulus thread and find the "Where's my refund" link. After I enter in the first SSN, select the type of return and type in the # of dependancts, I get this lovely message.

Your total Stimulus payment was calculated as $900.00 and consists of the following:

Basic Amount: $600.00.
Qualifying Child Amount: $300.00 (Based on 1 qualifying children).
Your payment of $900.00 is scheduled to be deposited to your bank on May 9, 2008. If you do not receive the credit by May 14, 2008, check with your bank to find out if it has been received. Please wait until May 14, 2008 before you contact us again because we are unable to take any action until then.

Your Stimulus payment was reduced based on your 2007 qualifying income, or it was limited to the amount of your 2007 Net Income Tax Liability.
Please note this was not bolded on the site so I had to do the process again so I could figure out why our amount was reduced.

Helpful Information:
You should keep a copy of the IRS notice you received listing the amount of your payment. In the event you do qualify for the full amount next year, you will need to have the notice as a record of the amount you previously received.
**Does this mean there maybe stimulus payments next year?

I feel like cussing!!! I wanted the full amount, I just get the feeling that whoever processed our payment messed up because our tax returns are a nightmere. But I will calm down, $900 is better than nothing. I just really was looking forward to FREE money.

I am now at $327.02 balance in my $20 Challenge account.

Prior balance
302.02
+$25.00 (ING Orange bonus posted)
= 327.02

I also received deposits from ING to verify the linked account, of $.09 and $.04 into my checking account, so those deposits will go to the challenge.

$327.02
+ $.15
= $327.17

PS my ticker will be updated when I transfer the money over to savings. I do not want to be transfering small amounts, I am thinking weekly amounts would be a good goal.

I went to CVS; please see my CVS deals post for extended details.

I earned $9.56 after deducting my Out of Pocket expenses and ECB’s from prior purchases.

I received FREE
2 toothbrushes Wal-Mart Value $2 each
1 Toothpaste Wal-Mart Value $2.00
1 deodorant Wal-Mart Value $4.00

I also went to Wal-mart, used a $1 off coupon to pickup a FREE lotion. $1 value.

Total to add to Challenge
$9.56
+$4.00
+2.00
+$4.00
=$20.55
+ $281.47 Prior Challenge Balance
= 302.02 NEW Challenge Amount

I went to CVS again to get any new MAY Deals because I hear the earlier you get in, the more likely you will get the products in the ad. The down side is other bloggers have not gotten a chance to tell you how they are creating money makers so you may use up a deal and not realize it.

My purchase:
Aqua Fresh Advanced 6oz 2.99 (FREE after ECB)
Colgate 360 Toothbrush 3.99 (FREE after ECB)
Colgate 360 Toothbrush 3.99 (FREE after ECB)
Adidas Action3 Anti-perspirant 2.8oz 4.99 (FREE after ECB)
Total $15.96 plus tax

Used
$3 of $15 coupon (e washington post ad)
$1 off Aqua Fresh Advanced (Manu Expires 5/3/08)
$1 off Colgate 360 (Manu coupon)
Free Adidas Action3 Anti-perspirant not to exceed 4.99 coupon (ALL YOU magazine –in stores now- Got from my coupon train)
$5.97 ECB from prior purchases (it was a 5.98 but it had to be reduced down because the pretax total after coupons was $5.97
Total $00 plus $.42 tax

Spent $5.98 ECB, $.42 Out of pocket ($6.40)
Earned
$2.99 ECB from Aqua Fresh
$4.99 ECB from Adidas Action3
$7.98 ECB from Colgate 360
For a $9.56 profit/overage/store credit once subtracting prior ECB's and OOP.


I also went to Wal-Mart and did some shopping, I used my $1 off Suave lotion that Expires today to get my 3.2 oz container for $.01 Overage.

My DH called me last night on my way home from picking up DS from daycare. He saw on the news that there is a settlement in process for a train derailment that we were affected by. He said everyone was getting mailed $1,300 per person, within the next few weeks. I told him not to get too excited and asked him "how will they be able to find us" since we have moved 6 times since the location we were at the time of the derailment.

I asked him to research it a little bit; he said he would not have time, so I did a little digging myself. Hay if we are suppose to get $2,600 it is in my interest to make sure that they mail it to the correct address and not get returned to sender.

We had just gotten a work estimate for what it would cost to have someone finish the sheetrock in our basement, I was not happy with the amount and told my DH we would continue to do it our selves, but when my DH heard about the money he wanted to spend it on the estimate. NOOOOO the $2,600 would go far to paying for the tape and texture (Which I think is way too much).

It seems that if you signed a release prior to the 18th of Feb 2002, you can submit a claim to have the settlement amount received reduced by any money amount you received originally. But the claims had to be submitted by Nov 2007, too late now. My DH and I moved away from the area in 2003. I have submitted a few different settlement claims for different things over the last few years that I lose track of what I have filed.

So I called the settlement people and asked if my DH & I submitted a claim. They said they had not record of a claim being submitted by us. So that is that, no more money for us. At least I know we are not getting the money, so my DH can’t try to spend it.

If you are interested in hearing about the derailment, I have copied some facts from the website of one of the lead lawyers. The web link is listed. (I hope this is enough reference to my source so I can’t be hounded for plagiarism.

A posting from
http://www.zimmreed.com/minot-train-derailment.htm
**On January 18, 2002, Canadian Pacific Railway caused the largest release of anhydrous ammonia in U.S. History when its train derailed in Minot, N.D. After a thorough investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that CP’s ineffective training and maintenance procedures caused the derailment. The derailment was caused by a broken joint bar, which holds two pieces of rail together. The joint was considered “temporary,” meaning that it should have been in place for no more than 30-50 days. Instead, this “temporary” joint was in place for nearly 22 months.

In the Minnesota state court litigation, the railroad admitted liability for the derailment on the eve of trial last January. ***

I went to CVS; please see my CVS deals post for extended details.

I earned $10.43 after deducting my Out of Pocket expenses and ECB’s from prior purchases.

I received FREE
2 tubes of toothpaste Wal-Mart Value $2 each
1 deodorant Wal-Mart Value $4
I also got two boxes of Tums quiktabs; My DH has bad heartburn due to medication he is on so I got these for him. I would not have purchased them if they were not free and just stuck with the Zantac but because they were free I grabbed them. So I am not counting them in my challenge, see second key point in my Challenge rules.

Total to add to Challenge
$16.43
+ $265.04
= 281.47

I went to CVS to get the new Deals for the month,
They have a lot of FREE items in the May flyer.

My purchase:
Aqua Fresh Extreme 5.6oz 2.99 (FREE after ECB)
Aqua Fresh Extreme 5.6oz 2.99 (FREE after ECB)
Tums Quickpak 24ct 4.69 (FREE after ECB)
Tums Quickpak 24ct 4.69 (FREE after ECB)
Adidas Action3 Anti-perspirant 2.8oz 4.99 (FREE after ECB)
Total $20.35 plus tax

Used
$4 of $20 coupon (email update)
$1 off Aqua Fresh Extreme (online)
$1 off Aqua Fresh Extreme (online)
Free Adidas Action3 Anti-perspirant not to exceed 4.99 coupon (ALL YOU magazine –in store now)
$7 ECB from prior purchases
Total $2.36 plus $.56 tax

Spent $7 ECB, $2.92 Out of pocket ($9.92)
Earned
$5.98 ECB from Aqua Fresh
$4.99 ECB from Adidas Action3
$9.38 ECB from Tums Quickpak
For a $10.43 profit/overage/store credit once subtracting prior ECB's and OOP.

I realize that with the challenge you are suppose to have a $20 start of fund, kind of like a grant to start up a business, and you are suppose to use this $20 to create money. I need to do things a little different.

1st My startup $20 in not going to be a free-be, I feel I have to have earned it or at least be entitled to it. Thus my reason for taking ¼ of what I would have gotten as MAD MONEY had I not just left the money in savings to be used for whatever. I feel ¼ of what my DH has gotten so far this year is fair because I am a saver not a spender so this money is going to get very large very quickly. Also about 3 days after my DH gets his money it is spent because he has to buy the latest and greatest. So I feel guilty having money unless I can show it was mine far and square, thus the ¼ MAD MONEY start up.

2nd I use coupons regularly, but like others this is often to allow me to buy a better product. Example store brand Hamburger/Tuna/Chicken Helper is $.99 a box but very limited in flavors. The name brand is $1.25-$1.50 with my coupon I can get it for store brand price but get a bigger variety of flavors. So that is not a savings in my mind that is an improvement. That coupon amount would not go to the challenge.

Mostly free coupons will be used to increase my challenge account. I say most because not all free are going in. Example I buy a lot of Johnsons Buddy’s soaps when I have a $1 off coupon because it makes it free. If I did not have the coupon I would not buy them, I would buy the 3pack of Johnson’s KIDS soaps for $1.50, so if I bought 3 Johnson’s Buddies for FREE technically I could only take $1.50 to put toward my challenge, because of complicated math I probably will not do that.

CVS FREE & Overage:
CVS tends to overprice their items then put it on sell to prices comparable to Wal-Mart’s regular prices, so whenever I get a free item at CVS I will be calculating a VALUE based on what I would have spent at Wal-Mart. Then placing that calculated amount into my Challenge. Overage at CVS is when you use a coupon on an item that is free after they give you the store credit (Extra Care Bucks) to use on your next trip. You have reduced you original out of pocket amount because you have to pay for these free items then use the store credit to buy something else, but when all is done and you used the ECB’s you have made a store credit by the amount of the coupon. I plan on applying all my overage to the $20 challenge because I use overage to buy items that are really on sale. Such as the dawn soap that CVS puts on sale every 3 months or so at $.88. It is regularly $.99 at Wal-Mart, but I hardly ever see it on sale at Wal-Mart. My DH is Brand loyal when it comes to dish soap so it is a waste to buy anything else.

Key points:
• My $20 startup needs to be earned not a freebee
• My savings will be calculated for FREE items for products I would normally have purchased
• I will calculate savings on free CVS products based on product value at Wal-Mart
• I will place Overage (store credit) amounts in my challenge

Well for a while I have been reading about the challenge and now I am ready.

$20 to start, well I guess I can do that.

My DH gets $200 per month Mad Money, up to this point I have NEVER taken any mad money. He just received his $100 (paid on the first and the 15th). So year to date he has received nine payments or $900.

So if I go back to January first and gave myself $25 twice a month for a total of $50 monthly, That is 1/4 of what my DH gets, I am frugal so that should be fair. I would have $225, which is my startup and another $205.

I want $250 so I could open an ING Orange account and get a $25 bonus and a very easy way of watching my $20 challenge.

Here comes in the CVS savings. I bought 4 FREE after ECB tubes of Toothpaste and used $2.00 in coupons on them, that is profit of $2.00 and 4 tubes of toothpaste would have cost $2 each at Wal-mart. That is $10.

Total
$235

One FREE after ECB toothbrush which would have cost me $2 at Wal-Mart after me subtracting from the cost any coupon I would have used. One FREE after ECB Deodorant $4 would have been spent buying my DH's normal brand. The three Free boxes of Chocolate honey bunches of Oats from Wal-Mart on April 17, 2008 because of my $2 off coupons = $6. Alavert I got 60ct for $1.96 it would have cost close to $20 after taking off the coupon at Wal-Mart, so that is $18.04.

Total
+$2
+$4
+$6
+$18.04
= 265.04 That amount I will start my ING Account with.

I the way home from work yesterday I ran into my local Wal-mart. It takes so much less time if DS is not with. Plus DS is acting very anti-shopping lately.

I noticed on the Money Saving Mom blog that Scrubbing Bubbles Shower Cleaner machines were suppose to be on sale at Wal-mart for $12.00. I actually had three coupons for $10 off that I clipped from the newspaper. When I got there they actually did have machines for $12.00, the difference from the full sized $19.99 boxes is they only have one bottle of cleaner in them instead of two, and the more expensive box had a sample wipe and coupons inside. So I got three machines @ $2 after coupon, which is less than the cost of a refill. I now have one for every shower in my home and a spare (birthday/Christmas present).

Also I had a $1 off coupon for any suave lotion. They have a 3.2 oz size that is not a trial size for $.97, so I got that for free. I love that size for in my desk drawer at work.

I had a $3 off 2 Huggies clean team products and they have refills for $1.64 so after the coupon I got two for $.14 each. I wish I could get more of those coupons, or even the $1 off ones because $.64 is still a good price.

I had two Buy One Get One Free cough drops coupons, so I got two bags FREE, or four for 50% off if you want to look at it like that.

I also price checked a bunch of things to make sure that the CVS sale price was better than the Wal-mart regular price.

All in all not bad for a trip to Wal-mart. The cashier was very nice and you could tell she was shocked at how well I did. I bought other things everything but one item had a coupon (need to write the company and tell them how much I love their product and ask if they ever have coupons available). I walked away with three bags plus the three Scrubbing bubbles Machines and the total was a little over $20.

Due to me having to work this weekend, today over lunch we ran over and, bought the doors so we could get the sale price. We were planning to buy all the doors for the basement. When we were there Saturday we were told all the doors were on sale until the 5th of May. But when we got there today the closet doors were not on sale. They were about $79 more expensive than I expected and in my head I was thinking a closet was $110 per closet but really it is two sets per closet so instead of $220 for closet doors the total would have been $756. We will be checking out Home Depot & rechecking what Menards has.

The doors are
Not prefinished :0(
Solid 6 panel oak doors, in the frame.

Seven doors later my CC now has another $861.78 in charges. I am using my CC for all the house finish expenses (earning .5% cash back) then when the CC bill comes due making the CC payment out of our MMA that is set up for this project.

I want solid doors, the hollow core doors with the filler inside are practically the same price so we went with solid. These doors are going in our basement and the family room (TV, stereo, Xbox) is down there. My DH is hard of hearing so he needs to MAX the volume, so to reduce the noise transferring into the bedrooms I decided solid was worth the cost.

We did learn that we need to make the closet openings smaller, which mean my DH is going to have to redo the sheet rock in that area. Luckily he only got the one closet done so he only has to install a piece of wood and redo the sheetrock on the one. He had a heck of a time finishing the first closet and now he has to redo it to reduce the opening. My DH is going to be in a lovely mood this week. I am going to have to hear about how the framer should have made the opening the right size and not gone by the floor plan.

Live and learn...Lesson #1. When you finish a basement, doors are expensive do not include them in your trim/ molding/finishing budget, they need their own category. Because of this miscalculation/oversight on my part my trim/molding budget only has 276.44 left and we still need to buy the door knobs and stain for the doors. Looks like I am either going to have to steal from another category or figure a way to increase saving by approx 1K.

It is only Tuesday, but Sunday was a big CVS day for me. If I make another trip to CVS this week I will either have to update this or start another post.

April 27 Order #1
6 bottles (bonus size) BOGO Lorelle Pro vive shamp & cond $4.99 each
3 rolls CVS Big Roll Paper towels B2G0 $.99 each

Used one save $3 on a $15 order from ewashigtonpost AD
$6 in manu coupons for the shampoo

Saved 15.96 in BOGO special.
Paid out of Pocket $.31 & used $8.00 ECB

April 27 Order #2
4 bottles (bonus size) BOGO Lorelle Pro vive shamp & cond $4.99 each
2 post its flags $2.50 each
1 Bic Soleil Razor $5.99 each
1 Bic Soleil Razor Blade refills $5.99 each
Used one save $3 on a $15 order from ewashigtonpost AD
$3 in manu coupons for the shampoo
$3 in manu coupons for the post its
$4 in manu coupons for the razor/blades

Saved 9.98 in BOGO shampoo special.
Paid out of Pocket $15.40 (Earned $6.00 in ECB's & 1/3 of the way to my Post it $5 ECB's reward)

April 27 Order #3
2 post its flags $2.50 each
1 Bic Soleil Razor $5.99 each
1 Bic Soleil Razor Blade refills $5.99 each
Used one save $3 on a $15 order from ewashigtonpost AD
$3 in manu coupons for the post its
$4 in manu coupons for the razor/blades

Paid out of Pocket $1.46 & $6 ECB (Earned $6.00 in ECB's & now 2/3 of the way to my Post it $5 ECB's reward

April 27 Order #4
6 packages CVS brand 18ct (female product)B2G0 $2.49 each
1 CVS 2pack cookie .59

Used one CVS coupon $3 on a $10 CVS products
Saved 4.98 in BOGO special.
Paid out of Pocket $1.61 & $6.00 in ECB's

TOTALS
Out of Pocket 18.78
ECB's from Prior 8.00
$5 Post it purchase away from $5 ECB's earned

Bought:
10 bonus size Shampoo & conditioner (1.35 each)
3 big roll Papertowel (.66 each)
4 packs Post-its flags (1.00 each)
2 Bic Soleil razors (.99 each)
2 Bic 4pk Soleil razor blades (.99 each)
6 18ct Female products (1.48 each)
1 CVS 2pk cookie (.59)

*Overall I think I did great, the price was way under what I could have gotten the items at Wal-Mart, plus my next post it purchase will be free after ECB or a $2 money maker if I can find a store that has flag's instock and I needed to buy the items above in preparation for my courses this summer! Also I love to buy the Lorelle Pro Vive Shampoo & Conditioner whenever I can get it for the same price as my generic shampoo..It is my personal splurg- so caulk the shampoo & conditioner up to my Mother's Day gift!

Well I checked my blog stats today well to be truthful for the fourth time today.

It is pretty amazing!! I am having more and more 'Unique Visitors' everyday. This was my stats as of the last time I checked.

Date: UV
2008-04-28 52
2008-04-27 17
2008-04-26 14
2008-04-25 45
2008-04-24 73
2008-04-23 13
2008-04-22 8
2008-04-21 5
2008-04-20 12
2008-04-19 15

I am really surprised!! Are other blog'ers surprized that people actually checkout their blog? I do not tell people I know about my site, I don't want them coming back and saying "how could you write about me? I know I am Mrs. X from the blog entry on the 24th." Does that make me a closet blog'er? Is there another word for people who do not share their online blog identity with their family and friends.

Now I guess I know what it is like to be on the other side. Wondering if what I am writing is something someone else can relate to or atleast finds entertaining.

Sincerely,
CouponAddict

As I get closer to my (extended work courses), the more stressed I become.

Whenever I go to a course I feel the need to buy new undergarments; it is not like anyone will see them but there is always the increased risk of injury and I always think in my head of that saying, if you’re in a car accident I hope you put on clean underwear. Hello if you are in a horrible accident the first thing that is going to happen is you are going to lose control of your bowel. So then no one is going to know you started with clean/new underwear.

Because of my NEED to have new undergarments it is added shopping I need to do between now and then. One positive side of this is that I normally wear clothes until they are rags so when I have a course come up I am forced to go out to the thrift stores and replenish my clothing.

I have three courses, one for the first 2 weeks of June. Followed by a two week break at home (but still working) then; I will be at a course out in the middle of no where so I need to take enough supplies with me for 29 days. Then I will fly home and leave for another course.

I will not be shopping after the 30th of May except for maybe the two weeks I am home between course one and two; so I am in the process to getting rid of all my coupons that will expire before the 30th of August (sending extra to my fellow train members & using them up).

Since my DH & DS will be home during this time I am trying my hardest to make sure that I buy anything they will need before hand so that they do not have to shop, except for maybe bread and milk. I know how a 30 minute trip can turn into 3 times that when shopping with DS and I am hoping to keep from having DH order out for pizza every night or buying toilet paper at the gas station because it would be easy.

I need to make a list of all the things I need to buy between now and the 28th of May, I will not shop the last few days before I leave. Then once I am done with all the stockpiling, I must stop looking at my favorite blogs for the deals going on around me or I am going to be sad about missing the bargains.

My bargain summer is going to start by stocking up by May 28th then having many no spend days until the 10th of August.

Do other people find that the stores in their area are out of half of what they want to buy to make the deals, so you end up making the deals at the store? It makes we wonder how some people do so well, but they probably just post there scores and not the things that they really wanted but did not get.

Sunday April 20th, 2008
Bought
5 20oz Sobe waters @ 5/5 = $5.00
1 Mennen Speed Stick 2.72 oz = $3.99 (free after ECB)
1 CVS trail pack cookie .59
2 CVS (female product) @ 4.99 each = $9.98
1 Johnsons Buddies .99
Total $20.55
USED:
$4 off order of $20 or more coupon
$3 off $10 worth of CVS products coupon
$1 off Speed Stick coupon
$1 off Johnsons buddies (reduced down to .99)
Total after coupons $11.56
Used $10, and $1 ECB
.56 plus tax = .68 Out Of Pocket
Received $3.99 ECB for next time.
* the Buddies soap was free, female products after the CVS & Total purchase coupons was one free & one $1.50 less than the price at Wal-mart. the Speed Stick was a money maker, Sobe- taking the extra from the Speed Stick coupon they are .80 each- these are being saved for this summer for when I want the kids to hydrate when we are camping/fishing; sometimes water doesn't cut it and they need some flavor to stay hydrated.*


Wednesday April 23rd, 2008
I bought:
2 Alavert 12ct for $6.99 each = 13.98

Used:
2 $4 off manu coupons = 5.98
$5 ECB = .98 before tax, plus .54 tax??
paid 1.52 Out Of Pocket

Received $4 ECB per box = $8 ECB for a profit/credit of $1.48

Thursday April 24th 2008 (Trip one):
I bought:
alavert 18ct (50% more free) $6.99
2 Lum Firm .34 oz Lotion $1.99 each

subtotal $10.97

used coupons:
-$2 alavert (manu coupon)
= $8.97 plus .18 tax
(used $8 in ecb, $1.15 cash)

received:
$4 ecb for alavart (hidden April deal)
$4 ecb for Lumien ($2 each item)
*1 18ct box Alavart for $1.15-good deal

Thursday April 24th 2008 (trip two):
I bought:
2-alavert 18ct (50% more free) $13.98
1 CVS Candy .88

subtotal $14.86

used coupons:
-$2 alavert (manu coupon)
= $12.86 plus .17 tax
(used $11.99 in ecb, $.87 cash)

Received:
$8 ecb for alavart (hidden April deal)
Summary:

* this could have been a no Out of Pocket but my DS wanted the 2.99 box of red fish, he settled for the .88 CVS fish and the treat lasted through ALL my nightly errands!

I normally am a one/two trip to CVS weekly girl, but the alavert deal I did not notice until midweek and my DH's allergies just kicked into high gear, so I grabbed my limit (one without coupon even)

Well I am very thankful for the opportunity to save money. Often CVS freebees can overflow the bathroom if not kept in check. How do I keep it my HOBBY in check? Yes getting deals is a Hobby for me.

First I only have one card, some CVS shoppers have many cards so they can get multiple deals, for me I am lucky if the store has enough in stock for me to get the max on one card.

Second, I do not buy things I will not use (example the Diabetes tester that was a money maker after coupon from newspaper last month). I do however collect toiletry items to place in care packages, & to donate to charity. PS I do not claim these items (they are free for me so I do not take a tax credit for the donation)

I am actually very excited, I have given myself a goal for some of the very nice freebees that I get this year. I am going to create a large toiletry gift basket. My grandmother does not drive, she does not get to the store often and often will just buy the cheapest thing available at the Grocery Store (price ouch). Well I want to make her a huge toiletry gift basket. I am not sure if I should use a laundry basket and put some towels in the bottom, use a storage tote, or wrap up a cardboard box. I do not want to use a wooden basket because it would not really be something she could use later. She could use all the other options.

Friday April 18th 2008 my DH ate some of the Chocolate Honey Bunches of Oats cereal I got Thursday Apr 17th at Wal-mart for FREE. He liked them!

I had a coupon for Zantac, I had to decide, if I want to get one box for FREE, and hope to get more $5 coupons. Or to use the $5 coupon to buy a bigger box (they had a bonus box with free extras). I also have a bunch of $1 off coupons. My DH has daily heartburn because of a medication he is on, but does not want to use a product like Prilosec OTC, because he thinks a pill product like Prilosec OTC is medicine and the others are not. ??? I bought the middle size box, because in the long run it is better to have a supply at home than one small box of free.

Two days until the new CVS specials come to the store. I cant wait. I better go check out iheartcvs to see if I can figure out what items I need to be on the look out for next week. I have a $10 ECB, a $5 ECB and a $1 ECB in my purchse just waiting to be used to make FREE items appear in my closet.

I have only been shopping once this week.

Today I had to pickup fruit to make a fruit salad for work tomorrow. We are BBQ'ing so that is what I signed up to bring. I love leftover/extra fruit rather than tons of extra potato salad for leftovers at home.

I went to Walmart and the big deal of the day was they rolled back the price on the chocolate honey bunches of oats. They are now $1.98 a box, I purchased three boxes with three $2 off coupons, I LOVE FREE. I was able to find two coupons online and then I received the third a non-internet one from a coupon trading buddy.

I bought other stuff also but that was the best deal of the day for me at Wal-mart. my DH was there because he needed a birthday card to a party tonight and put the card on the counter and jokingly said sorry could not find a coupon for the card. After the lady finished ringing up my purchases she said those were some good coupons. I love good coupons, I love when the cashier gets excited about my deals!

**Edit Friday 18 April 2008 Add**
My DH called me at work he said he had a bowl of the chocolate Honey Bunches of Oats. I said to him that they are good aren't they. He said "yeah, but I could not find an open box so I had to open a new one". We were talking about it and how I actually made 6 cents off buying it, and he said, "Are groceries FREE now?" LOL I had to explain that was why the cashier said "Those were some good coupons". Slowly but surely my DH is realizing a person (ME) can shop using coupons and take a huge chunk out of the cost of eatting.
**End edit**

CVS was not very exciting this week because I already bought all the FREE/Moneymaker April deals, except I still have three of the $1.99 Lumene Body Aktive Skin Care tubes to keep a look out for. I am really looking forward to the sale the last week of april/first week of May.

So this week I bought the buy two stomach remedies get $10 extra bucks.

My order
1 Gas-x 18 ct Chewable 5.69
1 Gas-x 18 ct thin strips 5.69
1 clearance item 1.00

Total 12.38 plus tax
minus $1 off Gas-x product
minus $1 off Gas-x product
minus $10 CVS bucks from last trip
Subtotal $.38 with tax $.52 Out of Pocket
Because I used the two $1 off coupons I actually made the Gas-x only cost $9.38 so with the $10 Extra bucks I made $.62.

I want to post a picture of the $1 clearance item, but that may have to wait. We have our basement in boxes due to the sheetrocking and do not know what I did with the cable for my camera. The $1 clearance item which after subtracting the $.62 really only cost me $.38 was a paperdoll dressed in hair scrunchees, barrettes, and clips. The regular price was $1.99, I thought it would be a great item to add to my rubbermaid tote filled with gifts. I think that paired with another little something is going to work great for my DS godmother's daughters birthday.

They had some V05 shampoo on sale for $.66 so I could have gotten it for $.04 out of pocket but I have alot of shampoo and I really like the paperdoll it is so cute.

This morning started off with me tossing and turning. Normally I would have just laid there and tried to go back to sleep; not this morning, after a half hour of tossing and turning, I got up and turned off my alarm.

My DH asked why I was getting up so early. I told him I could not sleep. Technically it was only 30 minutes early but since I normally hit the snooze for 15 minutes. It was a 45 minute jump on the day.

I unloaded the dishwasher, reloaded the dishwasher, scrubbed down the counter, scrubbed down the sink, swept the floor, picked up the living room, took out the garbage, (DS came out of his room) long snuggles with DS :0) Then helped a very sleepy DS get dressed. Went took my shower, got dressed, then unloaded the dishwasher, reloaded the dishwasher, moped the floor, helped DS brush his teeth and then left for work.

I wish it had been a little warmer outside this morning, I would have loved to use this early start on the day to turn the sprinklers on, but it was chilly so it had to wait until after work.

After work I picked up DS from daycare. When I got home from work I started the sprinklers, reheated leftovers from last night, reviewed bible verses with DS, turned off sprinklers and then hand watered any areas missed by sprinklers and dropped DS off at church.

I went shopping at CVS, met DH at Menards to pay for the Sheetrock, went to Wal-Mart, picked DS up from church, and then came home.

I have one hour left until DS goes to bed; I hope to get the clean laundry folded, put away and two loads of laundry washed before then.

I am still playing catch up from this weekend. Normally I spend part of my weekends doing the house stuff but last week I spent every evening & this weekend putting insulation up in our basement, so DH and one of my co-workers spend Saturday putting up some of the sheetrock. This Sunday we had a birthday party we had to attend.

I can’t believe when we were living in an apartment that I thought having more room and a washer and dryer available 24/7 was going to reduce my work load.

I received an invite to a baby shower recently; it is over a hundred miles away. I do not want to go. That weekend is the only one my DH and I have off together in May, so I really would like to use the weekend to work on our house goals. The baby shower is for my husband cousin, I don't know her well but I was invited because it is family. I think I may have met her once for a few hours one Christmas. The invite was addressed to only me, so that would mean me driving myself the 200 miles round trip. My DH will not go, he thought sitting through our DS baby shower was hard enough, but wants me to go!

One of the hostess lives in the town seven miles from our home, so I plan on wrapping up a gift and taking it to the hostess house. By taking it to the hostess's home I am thinking I could save $ over mailing it, plus I can use it as a motivation to visit a family member who lives a few blocks away. I would mail it to the person having the baby, but we do not have her address.

I need to check my gift stash; I have a few Rubbermaid totes full of little things I find year round that would make great gifts. I know I have a few GREAT Hallmark brand yellow baby albums. I found them on clearance at BIGLOTS. I think I paid $5 each. I can’t decide if I should include something else or because the value of the album is $30 just consider it good.

This is the first invite I have gotten for someone I do not know real well. Can you tell that I am having a hard time convincing myself it will not matter to anyone if I do not attend?

Well it is the 15th of April....Yep tax day! I have a coworker who just asked if I was doing a run to the post office today because he needed to have his tax return envelopes postmarked. (I am on my lunch hour, but since I do not need to run to the store or the post office, I am eating at my desk and creating my blog) I usually get a refund, and I want my money right away, so I do not wait until the last day. I suppose it is smart to wait until the last day or closer to deadline if you have to pay in.

I did my taxes back in March. I used to be one of those people who did it the 2nd of Febuary or as soon as I was sure I got all my W2's. But the last two years I have learned to wait an extra month. You may be wondering why, even if you are not wondering I am going to tell you! I would think I had all my forms and then another would come in. The year before last I had the file an amendment twice. I am surprised I have not been called by the IRS. But each time it was for something that generated a larger refund, so they are probubly thinking why dont they want all their money?

Funny thing or at least I find it a funny, today our state refund was deposited.

I need to request a copy of our tax return from last year. I thought my w-2 was incorrect but I just thought that I was out of luck or that I was wrong. I was paid money that I was not suppose to be paid and so I paid the money back but it never came off my paystub as earned income. I found out when I was getting the w-2's to complete this years taxes I had a corrected w-2 from last year; I made about 600 less last year than I claimed to have made, and because at the time I was claiming Married but withholding at the higher single rate, I should get a little refund from both the state and federal government. Well worth the time it takes to complete the tax return.

My goal is to get my tax return from 2006 amendend before the middle of June.

Time for me to get back to work!!

This is my first ever blog entry!!

I am a married mother of one, stepmother of two. I love shopping for a great deal. I recently have started CVSing. I plan to post my many great CVS deals on this site.