new car = panic time (or not!)

Well, since my last update.. I am now a proud owner a new(er) 2009 Metallic Blue Toyota Corolla, and boy do I LOVE her (Yes, it is a her and her name is Coley.. the Corolla.. get it?). My first payment (besides my initial down payment) is coming up in a week. I've cut down my spending tremendously... until I discovered that Target was having a HUGE clearance sale on makeup... oh the dreaded makeup. Its my weakness.
I'd like to think my one vice in life is expensive makeup. I do not bat an eye at $40 + foundation , $30 mascara, and $21 Tarte lipgloss. But I do own 'drugstore' makeup, and quite a bit. A few of the deals I've scored recently:

• Sonia Kashuk luxury lip color (bought two)
• (Reg $8.99 - Clearance $1.34) - These were oddly 85% off?
• Pixi by Petra Smokey Eye Primer
• (Reg $18.00 - Clearance $5.40)  
• Neutrogena loose power foundation
• (Reg $11.99 - Clearance $5.98) - $3/1 MQ = $2.98 
• Almay Colorstay concealer 
• (Reg $7.74 - Clearance $3.87) - $3/1 TQ = $0.87
• Covergirl Lash blast volume double pack (Bullseye Bodega) 
• (Reg $9.99 - Clearance $2.98) - $1/1 MQ = $1.98 or $.99 each
• I own over 15 mascara's, so I'm giving one to a friend, who actually gave me the coupon. I forgot mine in the car. woops.
• Say YES! to Blueberry travel wipes
• (Reg $2.99 - Clearance $0.44) 

These are just to name a few. These were a few of the best! Keeping up with my excel worksheet, so far this year, my savings are $524! 

1 Year Coupon Anniversary

I'm unsure of the exact date of when I started couponing but I know it was the end of February, early March. I've learned and saved so much over the past year, it is insane. I wish I would of kept track of exactly how much I saved last year. This year, I came across an Excel spreadsheet, to keep track. I can't wait to see how much I saved, come December! So far this year, with only a few trips under my belt, I saved $264! 


One major thing I learned this year was how supportive my boyfriend was. At first, he was skeptical and embarrassed when I started pulling out my coupons. We took MUCH longer at the grocery store and at times, stopped everything we were doing to go to the store to score a deal. Now he gets excited (or is an fantastic actor) when I tell him how much I saved. Now, he pulls out his phone/calculator and is ready to add & subtract the prices I am yelling at him. He is good for about the first 30 minutes, then I lose him to him strolling away and watching videos on his phone. But he is still a good sport. 


I'm in the process of buying a car over the next week or two. I'm stressed and frantic on finding the 'right' one for me, not the one the dealer wants me in! With monthly car and insurance payments in my close future, looks like I'll be couponing and stockpiling like crazy. Should be a fun few weeks a head of us

$40 toothbrushes ... $0.04 each!

 So you could imagine my surprise when I found these Sonicare Electric toothbrushes on clearance at Target for $10.04. They have been sitting at $33 for weeks, and I've been patiently waiting for one more markdown to around $23 ... paired with my $10 off coupon and my rebate (shown below), these would turn into free, with just $10 OOP! 


Well, they went from $33 straight down to $10! I picked up two (one for my boyfriend and I). Luckily, I brought two coupons with me that day! There were about 4 left after I picked up my two. I wanted others to score the deal also! (My couponing protege picked one up as well!). $.08 for a what should of cost $80!!!!! One of my best finds... ever!

I'm not to sure if my rebate will work, since I only ended up paying $0.04, this would turn into a $9.96 moneymaker! But hey, for the price of a $.45 stamp, its worth a shot! I am happy to report that my teeth have NEVER felt so clean before, and my whitestrips take to them so much better now! 

For some reason my photos are turning up a bit sideways. Hopefully I can get this little bug fixed! 

what's better than free cookies?

A few weeks ago, I signed up to receive a 'sample' of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix (I believe on Facebook?). Anyhow, little did I know, they would actually send a FULL SIZE bag of sugar cookie mix!! I squealed in excitement. A added bonus? The recipe only calls for a stick of butter and one egg!


The cookies are baking as I type. Thanks Betty! (& the wonderful boyfriend for modeling the bag).


Well, I finished my first semester of school. My couponing went straight into the ground. We lived off of our stockpile mostly while I was in school. Since winter break has started, I picked couponing back up. I'll definitely be making more time for it this semester. I got an itch that needs be to scratched!


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I'm all out of ink!

The time has come where my printer has been exhausted and I ran out of ink, both color and black. I've been couponing long enough to know that coupons for ink (especially for my already cheap Kodak ink) hardly ever come around. So it got me thinking... what are some of the few things that I LOVE and still buy, even without a coupon.

• Ink (duh!)
• the usual clothing basics: socks and underwear (unless its a free pair from VS, which I ALWAYS take advantage of. Find out more by signing up for Pink Nation! )
• my oh-so-expensive-i-love-it mineral makeup (bare escentuals)
• lettuce
• meat 

So to buy these things, I coupon for other things, and look for overages at Walmart for the meat and lettuce! And I try to score giftcard deals at Target for the ink. It's all a cycle and once you learn it and practice it... you'll get it! 

phew! I'm exhausted!

Okay, folks. I know it has been quite a while since I've blogged. I started classes last week and I'm still trying to get used to my new schedule. I've been out of school for 3 LONG years and I'm trying to remember how I sat in a classroom for so long! I had a HUGE haul at Target, the or so before school, but I had no time to post about it. I did take pictures, but now I forget how much I saved and misplace the receipt!  I know I spent a grand total of around $17 though. My cashier was in SHOCK and I even shared a few coupons with her, so she could score some of the same deals!

I was shopping mainly for back to school stuff. I got (4) 5 Star notebooks ($.50 a piece!), a TON of razors.. some were $1, some were about $.14!. Most of the pens, pencils and post-its were free or just a few pennies. Even on my clearance ( the Nicole nail polish, pasta and the taco sauce still had coupons!). I think I did pretty good! I used a coupon on EVERYTHING but the cotton rounds. I just wish I could find the receipt. Things have been nuts around here!


I have a lot of down time in between classes, and I found a Rite-Aid, just steps from campus. I'm catching up on the Rite-Aid coupon policy and will couponing there soon between classes. I don't believe I've ever couponed there, so this should be a fun and exciting experience!

John Frieda - saved $36!

I've been waiting and waiting for these sets of John Frieda Full repair items to go on clearance. They have been hanging out at 30% off for weeks! The $2/1 off ANY John Frieda product Q's I've been holding onto expired on 7/31, so I missed out on using those. On Thursday, I squeeled like a little girl when I found these FINALLY marked down to 75% off!! They are originally $11.99 for the set (if each item is bought separately, they would sell for $14.98 as a set The shampoo & conditioner sell for $5.99 and the others sell for $8.99). Anyways, they were marked down to $2.98! I bought three with the shampoo and frizz control serum, and one of the conditioner and deep conditioning something! I spent $11.92, and saved a whopping $36.04!!! If I bought each item separate, I would of spent $59.92! 


In my mailbox today, August 7th:
In the picture above is a booklet I received today titled "The art of the Summer Striptease". Not sure how I got this, but it has AMAZING coupons inside!!! Here is what I received:

• $4.00/1 Schick Quattro for Women refillable or disposable razor
• FREE (up to $3) Skintimate shave gel
• FREE (up to $5) box of Playtex Gentle Glide tampons (18 ct or larger)
• FREE (up to $5) box of Playtex sport Tampons (14ct or larger)
• $1/1 Hawaiian Tropic Sun Care product (4oz or larger, excludes lip balm)

They all expire 9/30. Looks like I'll be doing some price checks while at Target this weekend!