Summer Couponing

It has been a really long time since I have posted anything here. So, what have I been up to? For one, I've been concentrating on my Disney blog (http://www.affordingthemouse.blogspot.com/) lately. Trying to post at least a couple of times weekly there has eaten up a lot of my free time (well, almost free--the time when Presley naps and Reagan watches TV). Mostly, we've been busy with summer. With both girls home, I have my hands full.

My new favorite hobby is couponing. Kind of lame hobby, I know, but it keeps me busy and it saves me money. So...a much better hobby that simply shopping, wouldn't you say? Most of the time, I can save as much on a grocery shopping excursion as I spend--in other words, I'm getting my groceries (including health & beauty items) for 50% or more off regular prices. I wish I had kept track of how much I was spending BEFORE couponing, so I could compare it to what I spend now. Then I could add up all that savings and see what my "salary" for a year of couponing would be. :-) For now, I'll just brag by showing you what I got at Target today for $5.47 (it would have been $4.47 but one coupon site would only let me print 4 coupons instead of the 5 I needed). Still, pretty good when you consider the retail value of this is around $27. Have a look:

Items:

• 10 Sobe Lifewater (retail $1.39 each; I got them all for $1, or $.10 each!)
• 3 Eggo Bake Shop (retail $2.29 each; I got them for $.50 each)
• Tide travel size (retail $.97; Target actually paid me $.03 to buy this)
• Nexcare Bandaids (retail $.99; I paid $.44--a splurge, but these are great)
• 2 RoseArt washable markers (retail $1.99; I paid $.50 each)
• 12-pk. Bic Pens (not sure of retail, but I spent $.50)

On the Sobe, I combined a sale (10 for $10) with coupons (Buy 1, Get 1, or BOGO) and also a special promotion (Buy 10, get a $5 Target Gift Card). Again, they would have been free if I had enough coupons. Still, not a bad deal!

Tomorrow, I'm heading to Kroger to do a Kellogg's promotion. If you buy 10 Kellogg's or Keebler items (and a few specified others), you get a $10 rebate. Kroger is also doing a deal where you save $5 when you purchase 10 qualifying items from their list. Some of the Kellogg's items are on the Kroger list, so...with coupons and combining these deals, I plan to come home with a couple of sacks full of groceries for maybe a couple of dollars. Oh, and Kellogg's is also offering a $70 coupon for Dell with this deal, which will come in handy when I purchase a new laptop. See why I get excited about coupons?