My vanity sunk my savings

Once again, the ladies at www.thefrugalgirls.com have turned me on to some great savings. This week, I got a Sunday paper and clipped, clipped, clipped the coupons. Then, I waited somewhat impatiently for The Frugal Girls to do the math for me. Here's how I made out this week....

Excedrin Extra Strength Express Gels (20 count)- Regularly priced $3.59

Used $3/1 Target coupon

plus $1/1 Excedrin mftr coupon

Total- Free!!! Plus, I snagged a bottle that included a free 8ct. sample of Excedrin PM!!!

Secret Clinical strength (travel size)- Regularly priced $2.49

Used $2/1 mftr coupon

Total- $0.49

Lean Cuisine Entrees- Regularly priced $2.49 each

Sale $1.80 each

Used $1.10/2 mftr coupon

Total- $2.40 for 2, which is $1.20 each

Nice & Easy Foam hair color - Regularly priced $9.99

Used $1/1 Target coupon

Plus $3/1 mftr coupon

Total- $5.99

Now, the hair color was not something found at the Frugal Girls, but I wanted it and I had 2 coupons so... come on! It was still a good buy. All said, I spent just $8.45 for everything pictured above, and since I used a gift card, it was free to me.

Total percentage of savings- 62%

If my Vanity had not gotten the better of me- 74%

Cash in your attic

Once a year, Dahubby and I like to purge our home of all the "stuff" that we have accumulated. We are always surprised when we open our cabinet and closet doors. We launch into a frenzy. "We don't watch this DVD anymore." "I never wore this shirt so-and-so gave me and it still has the tags on." "These electronics are out-dated compared to our new stuff." Our possessions start flying out of storage and into the living room to be sold, donated, or trashed.

I don't know if you've ever sold anything on Ebay, but it's pretty easy. Video games and DVDs can be listed by punching in a UPC code that enters pictures and descriptions for you, making the process even easier. The biggest thing to consider is simply what of your stuff other people might want to buy and what they might pay.

So, open those closets, cabinets, and storage bins. Do a little research (you can look at completed listings on Ebay for your exact items when you provide a UPC.) And, get to listing! You might just have a little cash hidden in the corners of your home. If not, there's always money in the banana stand. ;) Here's our total sales to encourage you......

Selling totals

Current Listed 2 Will sell 1 Bids 1 Amount $9.99 Sold (last 31 days) Listed 62 Sold 62 Amount $647.08 Payments (last 31 days) Received $575.08 Not received $72.00 Total sales: $657.07

All jacked up on coffee and coupons!!!

So, yesterday Dan and I watched a show called Extreme Couponing. People were getting hundreds of dollars of groceries for just a few dollars. While I am not willing to have this take over my life the way many of the people featured did, it did encourage me to be better about finding deals and taking advantage of them.

Today I made my first foray into the world of extreme couponing.... I went to Target and got $50.68 worth of groceries for a mere $19.15. That's a 62% savings!!! And, since I had a gift card, it was completely free!!...Plus I walked away with $1.50 in new coupons...so really I made money!

Since I am new to this, I went to the experts at www.thefrugalgirls.com to see the current Target deals and make my plan of attack. I got all jacked up on 2 cups of coffee and the excitement of savings, and executed my shopping in 10 short minutes. Unfortunately, there were a couple of $5 coupons listed on The Frugal Girls website that I didn't get. I was hoping to earn them at the register, and that would have taken my savings up to 81%. Sadly, they were not available in the Bakersfield region. :(

For those of you who are curious, here's what I bought....

7 Tony's Crisp Crust Pizzas, sale price $5/5 (or $1/ea) plus mfr coupon $1off/2 = $0.86/ea

1 Alexia Sweet potato fries, sale price $3.49, mfr coupon $1 off/1 = $2.49/ea

10 Weight Watchers Smart One's Entrees, sale price $1.80/ea, Target coupon $5 off/10, mfr coupon $3 off/10 = $1.00/ea

Plus, Target gave me a freezer tote worth $3.99 for purchasing 6 frozen entrees = free!!

That's 17 meals, a side dish and a freezer tote for under $20!!!!!

Hope you find some great deals like these too.