Serious Shaws Savings...

Do you all think I am completely obsessed with all this couponing talk yet??  Well, I might be just a little!  I will say this new obsession is pretty lucrative though...I am certainly saving a bundle.  I don't have tons of time to post all the details of my latest Shaws trip last night but I want to give you the highlights.

Powerade...oh my goodness!  I got 14, 32 ounce bottles of Powerade for $1!!  I had two $1 off coupons (on five) plus there were coupons at the display giving me buy 5 get 2 free.  The Powerades are on sale now for just $.50 each so this is an amazing deal.  The printable coupons are no longer available but your store may have the tear sheets at the display for the buy 5 get 2 free which is worth the trip!



I found some "peelies"( those coupons stuck on tops of products) on packages of Keebler cookies which were already on sale.  I snagged a couple of these to put in my snack stash.  I also grabbed two more packs of the Frootee Freeze Pops we have been enjoying on these hot days.  They are priced at $1.99 at Shaws and have a $2.00 rebate from inside.  I love free freeze pops.  We have so many that the boys gave some to some grateful construction workers yesterday!

I found some fabulous coupon matchups by looking at one of my favorite sites, We Use Coupons.  If you have not checked out this free site yet you really should.  It is filled with forums bursting with couponing ideas and savings from real people for every store you can imagine.  I always look to this site before hitting the stores.  You can check out their grocery store forums by clicking HERE.  By looking to this site I was able to find coupon matchups for snacks, condiments and dairy products in one easy place.  Who doesn't love one stop shopping.

I had a coupon for buy one get one free on a box of Frosted Mini Wheats which was sent to me by Vocal Point.


I also, of course, hit the BOGO deals on ice cream and blueberries.  I also got a $.16 cucumber from the reduced produce area.  It was perfectly fine.  If you don't look in this area you should.  If you are using the produce within a couple of days it is often a great buy.  Look for bananas just perfect for baking here!


My bottom line this week?  My grocery bill was $60.72 (less $4 in rebates!) and my savings was $86.01!!!  By making just a few smarter changes I am saving a bundle.  I hope you are finding some savings too and some helpful tips here on RBM.  Please be sure to check back often for lots of coupons and great deals as well as my usual fun giveaways and reviews.  Happy savings!

Skinny Cow Coupons = Free Candy!

Yesterday I was at Shaws picking up some gift cards so I could take advantage of their great promo...buy $100 in gift cards and get $20 off your next Shaws trip!  I have done this one twice...I have a wedding gift taken care of, father's day gift purchased plus gift cards to Amazon for Christmas shopping stashed away along with $40 in grocery store savings!  Anyway, while I was at Shaws I passed a great deal.  There was a display with Skinny Cow candy which was on sale for $.69 per candy bar or package of chocolates.  On the display there was a $.75 off 2 Skinny Cow Candy Packs which Shaws doubled!  You know what this means...FREE CANDY!  I was a little dubious about how lower calorie candy would taste but it was YUMMY!  Only 110 calories and free??  That is what I call guilt free!  Be on the lookout for the displays at your grocer (mine was over by  the dairy products....random!).  Let me know if you find this deal too.

Home Depot...for Paper Towels!!

By now you all know I am cuckoo for couponing, right??  In any case my quest to save money brought me to Home Depot yesterday.  I was not looking for tools or gardening supplies.  Nope, I was buying paper towels!  Being frugal and clipping coupons has had me thinking outside the box and with the help of some super fab websites (I heart you www.moneysavingmaineac.com!) I have found some great deals.  Check out my trip to Home Depot...

Bounty Basic Paper Towels $.70 per roll
$1 off 2 Bounty Paper Towels Coupon (found in the 6/4 Proctor & Gamble insert)
ONLY $.20 per roll!!!


I don't know about you all but we go through a lot of paper towels here so this was a great deal for us.  I grabbed 6 rolls and will be ready when the kids decide to spill their milk (again...and again....and again!).  If you have those coupons from last week (you ARE saving those and/or using those, right??) be sure to snag this deal at the Depot.  The lesson today?  Think outside the box when it comes to shopping.  I never would have thought to scan HD for things like paper towels but there are deals to be had everywhere my friends!

Hannaford Deal!

I am typically a Shaws girl when it comes to grocery shopping but I occasionally stray when I see a really great deal.  Yesterday I went to Hannaford because of a GREAT deal they are running this week.  If you buy 2 multi packs of Dannon yogurt you get a free 1/2 gallon of milk (up to $2.25) FREE!!  If you got the paper  yesterday there was a $1 off Dannon coupon  you can use as well!  I have my family members save me their unused coupon inserts so I actually have a few more Dannon coupons in my stash.  I am planning on stocking up because we fly through both yogurt and milk in our house.  Don't miss out on this one!!

When I left Hannaford yesterday I spent under $10 and left with the following...

1 Package of Cube Steak (had a .75 peelie on it)
1 Jar of Gravy
1 Pack of Dannon Squeezable Yogurt (used $1 off Dannnon coupon in 6/5 paper)
1 6 Pack of Dannon Yogurt (used $1 off Dannon coupon found in 6/5 paper
1 Bunch of Bananas (visit Hannaford.com to print off a $1 off produce coupon)
5 Apples
1/2 Gallon of Milk

The moral of the story?  Don't be afraid to step out on your favorite grocery store!  Hey....a deals a deal.  If you have a Hannaford near you don't miss this great dairy deal.  You will probably run into me there!

More Coupons!!

OK....I am going a little coupon crazy this morning!  If you click HERE you will also find coupons for .$40 off 6 Yoplait Yogurts, HERE for $.75 off TWO Yoplait products (including squeezable yogurts which my kids LOVE) and HERE for $1 off 2 General Mills cereals!

Suddenly Salad Deal & Coupon!!

Hey Shoppers!

If you click HERE you can get a coupon for $.50 off Suddenly Salad mixes. My kids LOVE this pasta salad mix and it makes for a quick lunch option when you add some cheese. Right now these are part of Shaws 10 for $10 deals. As you probably know, Shaws doubles coupons so you can get these for .$50 each!!!  I know I will be printing these off and making a shopping trip.  Don't miss this deal!

Grocery Shopping Success!

As you know from my recent post, I am really enjoying couponing and the money it is already saving my family.  On Sunday night I headed out for my grocery shopping trip and I felt like it was a big success.  Prior to shopping I had scanned the local ad, organized my coupons and also searched for coupons online.  I basically purchased what was on sale and what I had coupons for.  I planned meals and snacks for the week around this and off I went. 

I have been going after the kids are settled down for the night and going solo makes my trips much easier and, dare I say, kind of fun!  It is sort of empowering to work on saving for my family.  When I got to the checkout I was more than a little excited to see my $184 bill whittle down to $86.  In that $86 I had not only all my food for the week (except for milk which we go through at a staggering pace!) but extras to squirrel away for later.  I am not sure I like the term stockpile but I am definitely working on a little stash.  My hope is, by stashing away extras, I can eliminate one whole shopping trip per week.  More money saved!  Here is a little bit of what I picked up on my shopping trip...

2 boxes of Raisin Bran- .59 each!! (on sale plus used coupons)
2 boxes of Frosted Flakes-.99 each!! (on sale plus used coupons)
4 boxes Ronzoni Garden Pasta- FREE (on sale plus used coupons)
2 boxes of Ritz Crackers-FREE (on sale plus used coupons)
2 boxes of blueberries-$4.99 (buy one get one free)
2 loaves of bread-$3.89 (buy one get one free)
2 1/2 gallons of Swiss Iced Tea-.29 each (on sale plus coupons)

Buy 4 of Edys, Skinny Cow, Haagen Das or Nestle Ice Cream get $4 off your next order!  I did this one twice!!  I had a ton of coupons for these brands and Edy's was buy one get one free so I could not pass up this deal.  When all was said and done I had 3 cartons of ice cream and 5 boxes of ice cream novelties for just under $20 plus I got $8 off my next trip!  So, in a nutshell, this was $12 for enough ice cream to last us the better part of the summer.


My grocery store also had a Kraft deal going on that gave me an automatic $5 off when I spent $20 in Kraft purchases.  I was easily able to meet the $20 here with things I normally buy plus I had coupons for the items.

I think you can see where I am going with this!  My family will easily go through those things in the next month or so and by the time I run out, these items (or similar ones) will be on sale.  A little extra time really pays off. 

Some tips that have worked for me?  I shop at Shaws which doubles coupons...this really pays off when you use coupons and definitely makes them the cheapest shopping in my area.  I also shop solo which helps me to concentrate on the deals and eliminate at least some impulse buys.  USE COUPONS!

Here are a few gems I found this week that paid off for me.  I hope you can use them too!

Like Ronzoni on Facebook for a $1 off coupon
Sign up for the Kellogs Newsletter (this is where I got my great cereal deals!!) for montly printable coupons 
Like Nestle Drumsticks on Facebook for a $1 off coupon
Like Aunt Jemima on Facebook for a printable coupon

There are many, many more and I will share with you what I find when time allows.  For me it is all about shopping the sales and matching up the coupons.  I am really enjoying your tips as well so please keep them coming too!  Also, if you have any questions about exactly how I am matching up for deals etc...please ask away.

Stay tuned for my CVS trek later this week...

A New Hobby (obsession, job, passion....you decide!)...

Ok...I have to come clean...I have gotten a little (a lot) obsessed with  couponing.  Like many families we here at RBM are on a budget and every penny saved counts.  I like to think I have always been a smart shopper but I recently reevaluated my spending particularly at places like the grocery store,Wal-Mart and Target.  I was horrified.  I had stopped using coupons and gotten in the habit of rushing through the shopping often with all three kids in tow which resulted in impulse buys and forgotten items (leading to more quick and spendy trips later).  Something had to change. 

I started off slowly and began to use a few coupons here and there.  I then stopped bringing the kids (hello party time...sad to say how blissful solo grocery shopping can be!).  Finally, I started to match my coupons up to what was on sale.  My savings has been staggering.  I won't bore you with the details right now (trust me, I really want to but laundry is beckoning!) but last week my total grocery bill was whittled down by $90.25 by smart shopping and coupons. Imagine saving almost $100 every week...that is pretty remarkable. 

I have begun scouring the internet for deals and will share them here with you when I can.  I hope we can all manage to keep a few (or hundreds of!!) extra dollars in our own pockets.  I know many of you readers are frugal and thrifty as well so feel free to share tips or ideas....let's all save up for a dream vacation shall we?  You can always comment here or feel free to e-mail me at reviewedbymom@hotmail.com.  Meanwhile, stay tuned as I try and coupon my kids to a college education!