Coupons For Dummies

So, I have always been a fan of a good deal, but recently I have become completely addicted to couponing. And no, that is not a typo. Couponing is a verb, and a very active one at that. It all started because Justin's half-brother's ex-wife's husband (phew!) Henry, whom we enjoy hanging out with very much, asked me if I had ever been on Hip2save.com. When I said I had not, he told me all the great deals they have gotten because of it, so I decided to give it a look over. That was all it took.

Hip2save is a fantastic website run by a stay at home mom with a knack for coupon shopping. She and other shopping mom contributors post the amazing coupons, deals and freebies they find and tell you how to get them. She even has a full explanation of how to accomplish the deals as a Newbie and gives several tips to help you in your hunting.

On Monday, Justin and I did some serious power shopping at Waterford Lakes in Orlando. We drove over after I got off work so we only had 1 hour and I had some very specific things we were going to get. We began at Ulta because I needed shampoo and I had a $5 off any purchase of $10 or more, so I scored my bottle of Redken Clear Moisture for $13 along with a Christmas double pack of Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer for $26 (normally $18 each or 2 for $36). From there, we went to Petsmart, where I had a coupon for a free individually wrapped Greenies treat for Gordo. On top of that I had another coupon for buy one get one free on the individually wrapped Greenies and a coupon for $10 off a tub of 27 Greenies, normally $35 but on sale for $30. After that, I headed to Bath and Body Works for their semi-annual sale where I scored 7 full sized moisturizing soaps at 50% off, a scent pod and 2 refills for $6, and a small lotion for 50% off. Then we ran to Old Navy because they had adult jeans on sale for $15 per pair! I got 2 pairs and a sweet pair of bright green comfy yoga pants for $8.

Combined savings for our Monday night venture: $108.57

The next day, I went all out on my grocery shopping. I had a folder full of coupons organized according to the store sections (food, health & beauty, home sanitation, etc.) and a detailed list of what to get at each store with my coupons already paper clipped together for each place. I went to 4 stores (Walgreens, Publix, Target and Walmart - in that order), and it took me 4 hours in all, but I came home with a carload of food all bought at sweet deals. Publix was where I saved the most with a total savings of $48.81 just there.

Combined savings for my Tuesday night grocery shopping: $102.25

In among my shopping adventures, I had several items that I got completely free with my coupons. For example, I received a bottle of Excedrin Migraine and Excedrin Extra Strength completely free. Just go to this link, fill out your info, and they mail you a coupon for each that you request. Mine arrived in about 2 weeks, which is really quick. I didn't get it on my shopping trip, but I also received a completely free bag of Purina One Beyond Dog Food and they shipped it to me for free :) I'm also excited about my biggest conquest that I haven't gotten yet. I won a one month supply of Pillsbury Toaster Strudel for free! That's 4 coupons for a free box of Toaster Strudel that are on their way to my mailbox as we speak. Everyone can win this by clicking the above link and playing the instant win game. If you win, it says it will take 4-6 weeks for delivery of your coupons, but there are women on hip2save that say they got theirs in 2 weeks. I was incredibly excited about that one because I never win anything when it comes to the luck of the draw, so that made it even better :)

Anyway, if you want to see the source of my insanity, head over to hip2save and give it a look-see. Even my sister has become an addict and she got 5 small jar Yankee Candles for $20 shipped to her door because of this site. Since most of my friends are in the same boat as me financially, I hope that this will help you out in the coming year, as I know it already has helped me.

A Christmas Movie Worth Watching :)

Last year, I bought Mickey's Christmas Carol as it was always a favorite Christmas film of mine growing up. I was surprised to find that the dvd not only had Mickey's Christmas Carol, but also 3 other short Disney Christmas films. My favorite of these was The Small One.

It was nice to see a kid's movie (not made by a church) that has centers around Christ, the true meaning of CHRISTmas. Now, I look forward to watching it each year, especially when I have kids :)

Sorry I couldn't find it all in one clip, but I guess it was just too long. It's only about 25 minutes, so watch each one in succession. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do :)

Gordo Meets Elly

So, Shannon's birthday present this year was a papillon puppy. Back at the end of September (when her actual birthday occurs), we had trouble finding anyone around with them. Luckily, some friends/relatives of Justin's had a papillon so I asked them where they got theirs. When I looked at the website they sent me, we discovered that the breeder had just had a litter of 2 puppies, a boy and a girl. The girl is now Shannon's dog, and her name is Elly. She is quite the rambunctious ball of fuzz, and while Gordo was hesitant and confused at first, he warmed up to her. These videos were taken about 20 minutes after Elly came into our house.

There is another video, but blogspot seems to hate it for some reason, as I have tried 5 times to upload it, only to find out there is some kind of error. Hopefully these videos give you an idea of what our few hours of watching her were like :)

When Shannon came to pick her up with my mom and Marisa, Marisa decided to have some fun with Gordo's latest wardrobe acquisition.






I love this one. It's like a dog crime scene :) This was after she was too tired to play anymore.