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The Trials of a Busy Mom

Category: bargains–score (Page 5 of 5)

Adventures in Shopping!

January 22, 2009 / / 5 Comments

Wow. I think this was my best shopping day yet. I planned everything out, searched the sale flyer and my coupons to find coupon matches for all the best deals. I wrote everything out so I knew how many of each item I needed to buy for the specific specials. I played the game.

John was with me, but we were prepared with a game boy and a snack. He was good the whole time. I searched the store for the EXACT items to meet the sale requirements. I had to refer back to my ad several times to make sure the size was correct, as a 16 ounce box of cereal will not be on sale like the 14 ounce box of the same cereal will be. When they were out of an item on the shelf, I asked if they had any more. Yes, it’s stressful and mentally exhausting, but it can be done.

While my cart full of groceries was by no means free, it does my heart good to read my savings at the end of the receipt.

Total spent (with tax) $94.55
Preferred Savings $104.41
Mfg coupons $41.55
Store coupons $21.01

Today’s total savings $166.97 Awesome!

After the groceries were loaded into the car, John and I went to Old Navy, where I did indeed buy that red coat I’ve been coveting. My sister-in-law sent me a coupon for $10 off a $50 purchase, making the coat only $39.50 instead of nearly $50. While not a screaming deal, it was enough of a discount to justify the purchase in my mind. That and the fact that Ryan told me he would be getting 40 cents a mile from his trip down to Vegas and back. Usually they will only reimburse up to the amount of a plane ticket, but since he HAULED an entire Suburban full of equipment for the company down and back, they are cutting him a little bit of a bonus. That money goes directly into the “red coat for Paige fund, since she had to suffer without her car for a week so we could haul equipment to Vegas and back” fund.

Our third stop was to Walgreens. I asked John if he was up to one more shopping stop, and he said he was. We were organized and didn’t have much to buy, so it was a short trip. I spent $20 on soda and chips and got $10 back, and used that $10 register reward to pay for nearly all of the rest of my items. Not bad, I must say.

I tried to push it just a tiny bit further and asked John if he’d like to go with me to the paint store, since it’s RIGHT there, and we could buy paint for HIS room, but he was hungry and tired of shopping and said he wanted to go home. I can respect that decision, because I wanted to go home, too.

diet coke, please

January 16, 2009 / / 3 Comments

I’m a diet coke girl. Yes, I am. I am not exclusive in my choice of drink, though. I also enjoy a nice diet Dr. Pepper, or Fresca, Diet Root beer or even diet Shasta. If I’m at a restaurant and they say, “are pepsi products ok?” then I will of course say yes, and take a diet pepsi instead. But I would prefer diet coke.

That said, however, when there’s a screamin’ deal on Pepsi, I buy it. My husband likes the icky cherry flavored colas, and so if Pepsi is on sale, I’ll try to pick up some cherry pepsi for him. One thing Pepsi did have going for it was that they carried the vanilla diet whereas Coke no longer carries that flavor. I even talked to my sources at Coke (hi, Scotty!), and was told that they discontinued that flavor. Why? Why? Why would you discontinue the most luscious flavor? With no warning, I might add. I could have stocked up and had a nice cache of vanilla diet in my food storage.

Deep breath.
Moving on. Pepsi may or may not still carry vanilla diet. I haven’t seen it in a while, but I can still hope, right. *snif*

BUT– I was talking about the great deal on Pepsi, wasn’t I? This week if you buy five 12 packs of Pepsi at Walgreens, you get a $5 register reward, so it’s like paying $10 for your five 12 packs, which is a GOOD deal. Well, to make it an even SWEETER deal, you can buy a couple of frito lay products along with those Pepsi’s and then send in the old rebate form and get $15 in coupons back. (details here) So, it essentially makes those Pepsi’s free, right?

For free, I’ll drink diet pepsi instead of diet coke. Even though it doesn’t taste as good.

So, yesterday, I was purchasing said 12 packs of Pepsi at Walgreens, and on the way out to the car, one of the 12 packs slid off the bottom of the cart onto the ground. That’s a distance of –what would you say? — three, maybe four inches? Not enough to do any damage. So, I picked up the carton and put it inside my cart (lest it try to jump out again). When I got to my car, the carton was making a strange hissing sound and dripping. Dang! How does a fall of three inches cause a can to break? How? I pried open the carton and got out the damaged can and put it on the ground. I can’t have a dripping fizzing exploding can in my car. So, I loaded my purchases into the back of the car and got in. As I was pulling out, I thought I heard a hissing sound. (How I heard a hissing sound over the car sounds and the radio sounds, I’ll never know, but I guess I have extra special hearing powers or something.) I put in in park and got out and checked the back. Sure enough, hissing and dripping. I had to take EVERY. Single. Can. out of the carton to find not one, but two more cans that had sprung leaks!

What is up with the flimsy cans, Pepsi? This is NOT the first time I’ve had pepsi cans break or explode on me. Do they use thinner aluminum than their competitors? Is pepsi just more volatile than coke? What is up with that?

So, I ended up with a Nine pack instead of the standard twelve pack, and some pepsi drippings in the back of my vehicle. Thankfully it was diet.

And that’s why I chose Coke over Pepsi anyday.

The adventures of Dollar Store Mom!

December 16, 2008 / / 0 Comments

Last night for Family Home Evening we had told the kids we would go to the Dollar Store. Of course, by the time FHE came around, some of us were exhausted from making and decorating dozens of sugar cookies. But, they were so excited about going shopping, and I was feeling guilty about having been gone all weekend and most of last week, so I sucked up my tiredness and rounded up the kids to go to…THE DOLLAR STORE!

First we have to make sure that each kid does indeed have some money. I give them money every week if they do their chores, so I know that they have had money, but that doesn’t mean they still have it. They might have:
a-lost it
b-spent it
c-lost it
d-left it in their pockets and then put their pants through the wash, in which case, the person doing the laundry (me) might have claimed it as their own
or e-all of the above.

We did manage to find some money for all of them, so that everyone had at least a couple of dollars. But even at the dollar store, two dollars does not cover all their wants and needs.

As we were pulling up to the crowded store (a popular place on a Monday night before Christmas, I guess), a contest came on the radio, and after I dialed in a few times and it was ringing, I handed the phone to Ryan, because I have won recently on that station (remember that large prize I told you about? The one that they wouldn’t let Ryan pick up for me last week when he went to go and pick it up? Yeah, that one), and what do you know, he was the correct caller. Lucky him! I think he won a 7-11 prize pack, which my carpool should enjoy. We were just talking about that the other night…”remember when Paige had those 7-11 coupons and we went there after rehearsal every week for a month? We should do that again sometime…” Well, I guess we will get to do that again. On the phone, the DJ asked him his name, and when he said Ryan Erickson, the guy said, “Oh, yeah. We’ve had a lot of Ericksons winning lately. Are you any relation to Kyle?” Kyle (his brother) must have won something again that day–no surprise.

Anyway, I got out of the car while he was finishing up the phone call and took the kids into the store. John had plans to buy presents for his teachers, and one for his class party. Natalie needed something for her secret Santa gift for her class, and the other kids had grand plans to buy presents for each other on the cheap. I have never seen a dollar store so crowded! It was near mayhem! We wandered up and down a few aisles, and then I told the kids they might do better splitting up, since they were picking things up and saying, “I think I’ll get this for Cole,” while Cole is standing RIGHT there.

John picked out a fun play set with handcuffs, a gun, a phone and a whistle for his preschool gift exchange. I hope a boy gets that one. He also picked up a very “pretty” red fur purse for his beloved teacher, Mrs. Net (She really goes by Miss Annette, but who am I to correct him when it’s so cute. And he wouldn’t listen to me when I tried to tell him her real name. I’ve tried.), and a cute little goofy figurine. For Miss Andra, he got a pair of gloves and a little LED flashlight. I hope they’ll understand that these gifts come from John, and that he picked them out himself.

The real fun is when the kids make it up to the register to pay for their stuff. As each child was ready, I would take them up and help them pay for their purchases. They reach into their pockets and pull out the one crumpled up dollar bill, along with a handful of change and plop it onto the conveyor belt. After the poor frazzled teenaged clerk counts up all the change, they let me know how much we still need to pay, and then I either put it on the debit card or pulled out some cash of my own. Then I would take that child out to the car where dad was waiting and then go back in to try to find and help the next child. Believe me, it was quite an adventure!

When we were finally done, and the last straggler was in the car, we went to Thanksgiving Point to drive through the light exibit. My nose was running something fierce, and there was not a Kleenex to be found in the car. I searched through the glove box and my purse for a tissue, maybe an old napkin? Nothing. Finally, I remembered the 12 pack of toilet paper that was in the back of the vehicle. I called back to the back row and had Cole grab me a roll of TP. “You mean open the package?” he asked me. Um, yes, that is generally how we get a roll out. But don’t ask me, I’m just snippy because my nose won’t stop running and I’ve got nothing but my sleeve to wipe it on. He finally handed me the roll and I was able to blow my nose! Heaven in a tissue, I tell you! I was relieved and could be happy again.

John was asleep before we even got there. We tried multiple times to wake him up, but he just drifted back to sleep. Oh well. I guess sleep is more important than seeing fun Christmas things sometimes.

I finally did it!!

December 10, 2008 / / 4 Comments

I’ve been reading Money Saving Mom and a few other frugal gurus lately, trying to get the best deals I can. These people are amazing, matching sales with store coupons and manufacturer’s coupons, and rebates to get items for free, and actually make money. In the Walgreens tutorial, I learned that after I use my coupons and get my gift card from my rebates, I should “never have to spend any money at Walgreens out of pocket” or some other ambitious claim. Well, today I did it!

I don’t have time to go into my whole receipt and the specials I got, but using their mid week sale coupons, coupons I clipped and coupons I printed, and $10 in Register Rewards I got last week from their specials, I got $26 worth of “stuff” for $1.45. Then she handed me a $5 Register Reward that I turned around and used to get the rest of my items. That one came to $18.95 after the $16.89 savings using coupons and specials. I used my Walgreens giftcard, to pay that $18.95, and then they handed me another $5 to use next time I shop. So, for $1.45 out of my pocket, I got $50 plus dollars worth of groceries, candy and household items, and $5 off my next purchase! I feel like I won the lottery, or like I did something dishonest, but really, it was all on the up and up! Take that, corporate America!

Black Friday? I don’t think it’s that dark.

November 28, 2008 / / 6 Comments

Yesterday we had a fabulous day! Our plans to go and visit my brother and family in Arizona fell through, and I’m actually relieved. That means we can kick back and relax this weekend. On Thanksgiving, we had a large Coleman family gathering at my aunt’s church.

It was complete with basketball playing in the gym, driving some remote control cars around, wonderful food and sweet potatoes with the marshmallows. The turkey was wonderful and plentiful, and it was so much fun to chat with my cousins, who I don’t see nearly often enough. I made the maple pumpkin cheesecake, a pecan pie, an apple pie and a pumpkin pie. We have lots of pie leftovers in the fridge right now. I also made the green bean dish that I had thought I was going to make, and it was FANTASTIC. Really. And I never would have thought I would say that about green beans, but they really were a hit. My husband even said they were the best thing on the buffet, which I have to heartily disagree with, but I think I’ll for sure make these again, even when it’s not Thanksgiving. Want the recipe? Of course you do. Here you go.

Apple Bacon Green Beans

* 6 bacon strips, diced
* 1 small onion, diced
* 1 (16 ounce) package frozen cut green beans
* 1 large tart apple, chopped
* 3 tablespoons brown sugar
* 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
* 2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
* salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large skillet, cook bacon and onion over medium heat until bacon is crisp. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until the apple and beans are tender.

I left out the apple cider vinegar, and I think they were great without it. I also sprinkled pecans on the top. It really was yummy. Oh, and I used canned instead of frozen beans. And No, I can’t follow a recipe as written.

After dinner, there was some drama over a lost coat, but it was found, and my sister lost her daughter for a while, but found her in the nursery room, so all is well. The kids also put together a little play on the stage, which was very cute.

Since we had eaten early, we decided to drop in on Ryan’s family and visit with them, too. They had already eaten and were in the act of Pythoning. (to python (verb)–to lay around and digest after having eaten a large meal, much like a python would lay there after eating a pig. I learned this word from my South African roommate way back when at BYU, and if anyone would know about pythons, I guess it would be her.) So we joined them for some fun, some pie, and even some fruitcake. What? Fruit cake on Thanksgiving? Whatever. I told Ryan to be sure and get some of his mom’s dressing, because he likes hers better, and maybe get some leftover sweet potatoes, because he likes them without the marshmallows. But we didn’t take any leftovers home. Can you believe it? No leftovers–well, except the large amounts of pie we have in the fridge. Maybe I should trade with my neighbors for some turkey and mashed potatoes. I mean, I’ve got a turkey in the freezer, and I can cook up some potatoes, but it’s not the same.

After looking over the ads, I was thinking that I really did want to go out on the craziest shopping day of all crazy shopping days. There were some things at Walmart that were screaming deals, and I decided I wanted to at least try. I’ve never gone to a store at 5 in the morning before, and for some silly reason, I decided I was up to the challenge. I set my alarm, but I did it wrong (why does that always happen?) so I didn’t wake up at 4:25 like I planned. I woke up just a few minutes before 5, and thought, “Oh, I’m too late.” And tried to roll over and go back to sleep. But I was awake already and decided I might as well get up.

So, I got up, got dressed, did almost nothing with my hair and makeup, and got in the car. It was then that I realized that in “setting” my alarm, I had gotten my clock a bit fast, and it was just after 5 am. I drove to the Lindon Walmart, hoping that it might be less of a zoo than the bigger, newer, American Fork Walmart. When I pulled into the parking lot and it was FULL, I knew I was in for some work. I got a cart from some women who were already going to their cars, and they told me “good luck!”

In the cart there was a little map of all the black Friday items and where they were located in the store. I was after a certain item for one of my children. Let’s just call it a “glipslem”, in case my kids (or my kids’ friends) happen to read this entry. I saw that the glipslem was over in the pet isle. But there were all these people in my way. How was I even going to get over there by the pet isle? I cut back to the front of the store, went in front of all the registers to the side, and then did some fancy footwork to make my way to the pet isle. Oh, look! Cars! Put one in the cart. When I got to the general area, I asked a nice Walmart employee, “Do you know if there are any more glibslems?” Please, don’t be out. Please don’t be out.
“Um,” she said, “they were right here somewhere. Oh, it looks like there’s one up here on this shelf.” Hooray! She had to get some help from another employee to get it down off the top shelf, and said, “Is this color ok?”
At this point, I really don’t have much of a choice, so what does it matter? “That’s great!” I said, and stuck it in the cart! Feeling charged by my victory, I went off to see if I could find some of the other great steals. After being stalled by traffic jam after traffic jam, I eventually found my way to the coats and sweatshirt display, and grabbed up a bunch of items for my family. And then I got in line. It was about 5:45 am. Wow. While waiting in line, I ended up leaving for a minute to grab a few more bargains that were right there, but mostly just stayed in line.

I must apologize to the people around me. They probably thought I was a crazy stalker when I said, “I can tell the ages of your kids by looking at your cart.” I mean, it was totally obvious that they had a 4-5 year old boy who was obsessed with Cars merchandise, and a young girl who was getting that dolly, and an older kid (maybe 8-10) because there was the game “Operation” on the bottom. I really wasn’t meaning to invade your privacy, and I promise I won’t follow you home. I just can’t stand that long wait in line without at least talking to someone. If my husband had been awake, I might have thought about calling him to tell him about my big score, but A-he was NOT awake, and B-he doesn’t care. So, I ended up talking to the people in line. The guy behind me was here visiting his parents from California, and on a whim decided to do some early morning shopping. The lady next to me had been there since 2:00 am, in order to score her $88 powerwheels vehicle. Wow! That’s dedication.

Finally, it was my turn at the register. It was self check, but there was a guy there to do all the scanning for me, so it wasn’t really self check anymore. But it was almost as bad as self check. I don’t know if it was his first day, but he definitely wasn’t a seasoned employee. When my glipslem (remember? we’re using a code word?) rang up at $78 something instead of the advertised $45, I was all over it. I showed him the ad, and asked if that wasn’t the right item, and shouldn’t it be $45? Poor Mr. Newguy asked some other guy, “Hey, can we price adjust this for her?” And they guy said that yes, he could. Only Mr. Newguy didn’t know how to do a price adjust, so he had to wait for a manager to help him do that. That’s ok, I’ve got all the time in the world to wait for you, as long as you don’t make me pay full price. He did get it worked out, but there were a couple other items that didn’t ring up as they should have. The worst was a men’s jacket, that I clearly took from the sale area, and it really should have rung up at $8, not $15. But I’m not going to dicker over that amount. If you can’t adjust the price to be $8, then just take the jacket off and I won’t get that. I don’t want it enough to pay $15. It’s black Friday for heaven’s sake. We don’t pay full price on black Friday! When Mr. Newguy tried to delete the item, it kept saying something like “item was not purchased” and it wouldn’t let him change the price OR delete the item. He ended up calling his friend over again, and she tried it, but it was giving her the same problem. She ended up deleting a young men’s jacket that was also $8, and then kept the $15 jacket ON the transaction, so I ended up paying $15 for two jackets instead of $8 each. Hey, that saved me another dollar–Great. And if I decided to return the $15 jacket, that would be an even greater deal. No, I’m kidding. That would be dishonest, wouldn’t it? But the thought did cross my mind.

Anyway, I finally got all my items scanned and paid for, and made my way out through the vast expanse of parking lot to the car. I looked at my watch and it was 6:30. Hmmm. Is it too late to hit any other black Friday sales? Probably. But I wanted to check at Walgreens, because they had some “Schlebfins” on sale–buy one get one free. And you can never have too many “schlebfins”, can you? (Code again, remember?) There were only a few cars in the Walgreens parking lot, and –What?– there were people sitting in the cars. What the heck? I got out the ad, and Walgreens sale doesn’t start until 7 am. Wow! I’m EARLY. So, I waited in my car for another 5 minutes, and then decided that it wasn’t that cold. There were only two people standing in front of the door (well, one guy was sitting on a chair that he brought), and I went to join them.
“What are you here for?” asked the nice lady in front of me.
“I’m here for the schlebfins,” I said.
“Oh! Me, too!” she said. She said she hadn’t even heard of schlebfins until a few weeks ago, when her daughter got one for a birthday present. The guy sitting down joined in about then, “I’m here for the tv.” I checked the ad. Wow, a 10 inch flat screen tv for $99 wasn’t too bad, either. The rest of the people were out of their cars by now, and we ended up chatting with Miss Smoker and her friend, who said, “What’s a schlebfin?” We told her what they are and that they are a fun gift for small people, and she decided she wanted one, too. Great. More competition. But I needn’t have worried. When the guy let us in a few minutes before 7, I went to the schlebfins and got my limit of 8, and then after I had bought those and taken them out to the car, I went back in and got 6 more. What? They make great presents!? And they were 1/2 off!

By then, it was nearly 7:30, and I was done with my shopping. I took a trip through the Sonic drive through for a breakfast sandwich and then was on my way home triumphant. When I got home, the kids were up and wanting breakfast, and Ryan was still asleep. Nobody even missed me!

I took off my jeans, put my pajama pants back on, and climbed back into bed for a little nap!

Later, we dragged up a bunch of Christmas decorations, went to an indoor soccer game, picked up a friend for Cole who’s going to stay for a little while, and Ryan went to go help a friend with thier wiring and electronic gadgets. After dinner we put up and decorated the tree. And listened to Christmas music. The perfect after Thanksgiving day.

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