Nifty-Frugal-You

Clearance Find at Wal Mart

2009-02-13T13:20:00.000-08:00

The Fisher Price Rainforest Open-Top Cradle Swing is on clearance at my Wal Mart for $60. These are regular $110 to $130, so this is an awesome deal! It will swing the traditional way or side-to-side like a cradle. It also has music, a bright colored mobile, and best of all, it plugs into the wall. No more buying batteries, though it will take them if you prefer! We bought one and my little one loves it.

Baby Freebies & Coupons

2009-01-24T01:38:00.000-08:00

If you are pregnant or have a child, I definitely recommend signing up for every freebie you can! Some I have signed up for and been very pleased with are

Start Healthy Stay Healthy
This is a wonderful website. It is powered by Gerber. So far, I have gotten 2 $11 formula checks and 2 $1 formula checks for Nestle Good Start. At Walgreen's, this makes some cans $1.49. They also have a Money Back Guarantee if you aren't satisfied. Just today, they sent me a package with $12 worth of formula checks, a book on baby at 1 month, and coupons for nursing pads, pacifiers, and bottles.

Strong Moms powered by Similac Sign up here to receive formula checks and samples of Similac. I think we ended up with 5 cans of Similac samples. They are a pretty good size and lasted a while, since we are just supplementing with formula. We have found that Similac doesn't sit well with Bryson's stomach, so I have a few of these to give away. They definitely do come in handy if you are using this brand formula though.

Enfamil Sign up here to receive Enfamil samples and checks. We have received (so far) $20 worth of checks, booklets on feeding, and two cans of formula. If you combine these checks with the BOGO coupons from Walgreen's, you end up with two cans of formula for about $3.50.

Pampers Village I have gotten coupons from signing up here. On top of the $1 coupons you find in Sunday papers, they send higher amounts every so often. I have received up to $3 coupons. Also, make sure you join their Gifts to Grow program. Their are codes on Pampers products you can enter and redeem for gift cards, books, and coupons among other things.

Huggies Baby Network Sign up to receive a welcome pack with coupons and samples.

Juicy Juice Register with Juicy Juice and choose between a guide to your child's nutrition or a sippy cup as your free gift. My mom did this one for me and the sippy cup came in this week. It is the cutest thing!

Parent's Choice Receive a sample of either Milk Based or Gentle Baby formula.

Playtex Receive a bottle, drop-ins, and a $1 coupon.

Printable Baby Coupons
Remember, if you hit the back button (3) times, you can print most of these twice.
$1 off any Johnson's Bedtime Product
$1 off any Johnson's Shampoo
$1 off Johnson's Soothing Vapor
$1 off Johnson's Head to Toe Baby Wash
$1 off any Johnson's Baby Oil or Baby Oil Gel
$1 off 1 Johnson's Buddies
$2 of 2 Johnson's Buddies
$1 off 1 Johnson's Take Along Gift Pack

$1 off Desitin
$1 off Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Diaper Rash Cream
Sign up here and they will e-mail you coupons for Beechnut baby food.

Freebie Friday

2009-01-23T13:10:00.000-08:00

What did you get in the mail today?

Click on the links to get your own!

I received a box of free samples of NutraSweet, a splenda sample with coupon, and some coupons for Starkist Tuna Pouches from Vocal Point. If you haven't signed up with Vocal Point, you should! I have gotten coupons for free toothpaste, free fruit cups, a calendar, and more.

Getting Started

2009-01-17T15:19:00.000-08:00

Getting Started

Buy a Sunday paper. Locally, the best ones I've found are the Chattanooga Free Press and the Gadsden Times. If you know of others that carry inserts locally, let me know and I will post those.
Take out the coupon inserts. Sometimes there are as many as 5, but sometimes there are none. You can go here or here for previews of the coupons coming out each week. Previews are usually posted by Friday or Saturday, so you'll know how many papers (if any) you want to get that week.
Get your sale papers out and put them together. I usually get a Walgreen's and a Rite Aid paper. If you do not have these, you can check them online at Walgreen's website and Rite Aid's website. Sales are Sunday through Saturday, but sometimes Walgreen's will have a 2 or 3 day sale also.
Visit both websites. Sign up for Rite Aid's Single Check Rebates and Walgreen's Easy Saver Rebates.
Another website that is very helpful is Hot Coupon World. This is where I started learning. Do not, I repeat, do not try to jump in and learn everything over night. You will become overwhelmed and give up.

The stores I frequent and will post about are Walgreen's, K-Mart, WalMart, Rite Aid, Fred's, Dollar General, Lucky's, and Foodland. These are the stores we have near by. So, please don't expect Target or Kroger deals. I wish we had those here, but for now, we have what we have.

Last, I'm not an expert at anything. I do the best I can to save a buck and my blogging skills are really not that great either, so we are in this together.

Questions? E-mail me at whitneys.deals@yahoo.com.

Budget // Walgreen's

2009-01-10T20:04:00.000-08:00

Walgreen's

Transaction 1

(4) Progresso Soup
(4) Russel Stover Sugar Free Candy
(2) Electrasol
(2) Quaker Instant Oatmeal
(17) Reynold's Foil
(1) Angel Soft 4 Pack Toilet Paper
(9) Garnier Shampoo/Conditioner

Total: $17.09 on WAG giftcard, no OOP
Total Overall Savings: $88.18
Total Coupon Savings: $53.19
Rebate: $1.50

I forgot to give her $2 in coupons, but I definitely think it's still a good deal.

Transaction 2

(1) 20oz Dr. Pepper
(2) Electrasol

Total: $3.93 on WAG giftcard, no OOP
Total Overall Savings: $10.00
Total Coupon Savings: $5.00
Rebate: $1.50

Our monthly budgets haven't changed, because I spent no money out of pocket for these trips.

Monthly Grocery Budget $250

Total Spent: $22.94
Total Left: $227.06

Monthly "Deal" Budget

Total Spent: $9.77

Week One

2009-01-05T19:59:00.000-08:00

Foodland
(2) Sausage
(4) Bell Pepper
(1) Eggs

Total: $12.51

Walgreen's

Transaction 1

(2) Glade Refills

Total: $2.90
Total Overall Savings: $4.48
Total Coupon Savings: $2.50
Rebate: $2.00

Transaction 2

(6) Palmolive
(4)Softsoap
(2) Glade Refills
(10) Garnier
(2) Theraflu

Total: $6.87
RR Used: $10.00
Total Overall Savings: $72.06
Total Coupon Savings: $57.50
RR Recieved: $5.00

Transaction 3

(4) Kellogg's Cereal
Total: $6.80
Total Overall Savings: $10.00
Total Coupon Savings: $4.00
RR Received: $3.00

Transaction 4

(4) Kellogg's Cereal
(13) Quaker Instant Oatmeal
(4) Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream Pint
(4) Mayfield Gallon Milk

Total: $30.78
RR Used: $25.00
Total Overall Savings: $82.80
Total Coupon Savings: $64.00
RR Recieved: $3.00

I get out of the store and realize that there is no was I should have paid that much! I realize the store coupon for the Quaker Oatmeal didn't scan, which I believe I just didn't give it to her. So, I go back in and the manager fixes it for me, and hands me $28.22, meaning I only paid $2.56 for my groceries.

Foodland

(1) Dole Salad Mix

Total: $1.07

Monthly Grocery Budget $250

Total Spent: $22.94
Total Left: $227.06

Monthly "Deal" Budget

Total Spent: $9.77