Free. That's right. I said free.

Here's how I got all this for free...

Step 1: Took in recycling. 2 bags of cans, and 3 bags of plastic bottles = $12. I know recycling seems like small potatoes sometimes, but when you are "extreme couponing," you only need a little bit of "seed" money to roll from week to week.

Step 2: Dug out my $5 Target Gift Card from purchasing participating products last week. (See previous post.)

Step 3: Organize coupons and make a plan of attack. (See below for what worked in Bako.)

Step 4: Earn Extra Care Bucks from buying participating products this week.

Here's what I bought...

CVS:

Irish Spring Body Wash, Sale $2.98, Used $0.50/1 coupon fm Sunday paper, Paid $0.99

Aussie Gel (7oz) and Aussie Mousse (6.8oz), Sale 2/$5.97, Used BOGO coupon fm Sunday paper, Paid $2.99

Frosted Mini Wheats, Sale $1.88/ea

Special K Red Berries, Sale $1.88/ea

Clean and Clear Body Wash, Sale $2.99, used $2/1 fm www.cleanandclear.com, Paid $0.99

Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie Mix, Sale $1.99

Total $9.51, Used $5.00 Extra Care Bucks, Received $9 Extra Care Bucks back

So, actually, I made $4.49! Plus I got several coupons from the kiosk up front.

Target:

Mitchum Deodorant, Reg $3.44, Sale $2

Up & Up Ibuprofen (24 ct), Reg $1, Used $1/1 Target coupon, Paid $0.00

Cover Girl Foundation, Reg $6.99, Used $1/1 coupon fm Sun paper, plus $1/1 coupon, Paid $4.99

One-a-day Vitamins, Sale $7, Used $1/1 coupon fm coupons.com, plus $2/1 Target coupon, Paid $4

Total $13.19, Used $5 Gift Card fm last week, Cash Paid $8.19, Taken fm recycling money, so my true total, $0.00!

77% off!!!

Here's my haul for the week and how I did it...

Albertson's (if you're not checking the clearance shelf at the back of the produce section, you're not maximizing your savings.):

Febreze Luminary- Reg Price $16.99, Clearance $1.99

Glade Plugin with refill- Reg Price $2.29, Clearance $1.09

Three packs Organic Whole Wheat Pasta- Reg Price $3.49, $3.69, & $3.69, Clearance $0.75/ea

Ghirardelli Coffee (peppermint mocha)- Reg Price$11.99, Clearance $5.99

Torani Sugar Free Pumpkin Spice coffee syrup- Reg Price $5.69, Clearance $2.75

(BTW-The total savings for my grocery shopping trip was 41%)

Target (You can use 1 Target coupon and 1 manufacturer coupon per item. stack this savings on top of in-store deals and sales for maximum results!):

75 oz Tide- Reg Priced $11.99, on sale for $9.99, used mfr coupon $0.35 off, paid $9.64

Tide Stain Release Spray- Reg Priced $4.49, used mfr coupon for buy 75 oz Tide, get this free (unfortunately the max value of the coupon was $3.99, so I paid $0.50)

C9 Cotton shorts- Reg Priced $7.99, on sale for $6, received $5 Gift Card for purchasing in conjunction with Tide, true cost $1

Coffeemate- Reg Priced $2.39, on sale for $1.79 (Good lesson here about printing coupons online. I missed the opportunity to get this for $0.79. Do your research!)

SatinCare Shave Gel- Reg Priced $2.19, On sale for $1.89, used mfr coupon for $0.55 coupon, paid $1.34)

Ponds 30 count Facial cleansing Wipes, Reg Priced $3.19, used 1 Target coupon for $1.50/1 and 1 mfr coupon for $1.50/1, paid $0.19

Received my $5 Gift Card and two $1 coupons at the register.

CVS (Sign up for an Extra Care Card and make sure the cashier scans it every time you check out. You will earn rewards that can be used like cash.):

2 Dole 4-packs of fruit cups- Reg Priced $2.99, On sale for $1.67/each, used 2 $0.50/1 mfr coupons, paid $1.17 each

2 Trident Vitality Gum packs, Reg Priced $1.29, On Sale for $1.00, Used mfr BOGO coupon, paid $0.50 each

Crest Prohealth Toothpaste- Reg Priced $5.49, On Sale for $2.74, Used mfr coupon to discount $1.29, paid $1.45

I received two $5 off/$25 purchase coupons. One at the coupon kiosk, and one at the register.

Total Value- $94.12

Total paid OOP (out of pocket)- $38.32

Value of coupons and gift cards received for qualifying purchases- $17.00

True Cost- $21.32

Savings percentage- 77%!!!!!!!!

Dallas in Wonderland

Call me a procrastinator. We just went to the first birthday party for our nephew Beckam a week and a half ago, and I realized that I never posted pictures of my sister-in-law's baby shower. /here's a quick look at Dallas in wonderland....

Invitations by one of my favorite Etsy sellers Viva la Violette. They are printed backwards so you can only see them "through the looking glass."

It's a little hard to see in this picture, but I painted cutouts of several Alice in Wonderland characters to stick around the lawn. Trees were decorated with paper lanterns.

Good food is a must..

Of course, we had to reference the movie everywhere!

Long tables were set for a Mad Hatter tea party. Centerpieces were mismatched teapots filled with silk flowers.

The Mommy-to-Be got lots of great gifts!

Favors were little jars of jam for home tea parties, you know, just in case your doormouse freaks out. :)

Dahubby and I with the Mommy-to-Be. What a fun day!

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.

Genius Summer Treat!

I always loved Jello Jigglers when I was a kid. Remember in the 80's how the cool moms would cut them with cookie cutters to go with your party theme? Of course back then, I had no aversions to sticky hands. Here's a new way to serve Jello, but you don't have to get your fingers dirty. Halve and hollow out an orange, lemon, or lime, pour in the Jiggler mix and let it set up in the fridge. Then, cut it again (wedge style) and serve. Yummy!

This fun idea brought to you by www.hostessblog.com . It's part of a posting on a super cool Retro Surf Party by I Love Parties.