Today's savings - 3/21/2009

Well, today was a very good day for shopping! I went to my favorite local store to get some lunch supplies and purchase some good deals. I spent $58.87 but I SAVED $73.81 and still have $2.49 coming back to me on a rebate! YIPPEE!

Here’s what I purchased and how I did it:

2 Lender’s Bagels – BOGO (Buy one, get one free) - $1.99

4 No Yolks Noodles – sale for $1.59, less manufacturer coupons: 1-$1.00, 3-$0.50 for a total of $3.86 ($0.96 per bag)

2 Light & Fluffy Egg Noodles – sale for $1.50 less manufacturer coupons: 2-$0.50 for a total of $2.00 ($1.00 per bag)

8 Knorr Pasta sides – BOGO for $1.59, less manufacturer coupons: 4-$0.75 off 2 for a total of $3.36 (0.42 per package)

1 Strawberries – on sale for $1.67, less store coupon for $1 - $0.67

1 Store brand cream cheese – $2.29 – no sale but cheaper than name brand even with coupons

8 Smart Balance Buttery Spread – BOGO for $3.09, less manufacturer coupons: 4-$1.00 off 2 for a total of $8.36 ($1.045 each)

4 Smart Balance ½ gallon milk – FREE!!! Used for manufacturer coupons that gave the milk free when you purchase Smart Balance Buttery Spread.

1 Over the Moon ½ gallon chocolate milk - $3.49, less manufacturer coupon of $1.00. Also have a rebate for the remaining $2.49, so this was also FREE

6 South Beach Living Granola Bars/100 Cal bars – on sale for $3.00 each, less manufacturer coupons: 6-$1.50 off ($1.50 each)

1 Mini seedless watermelon – on sale for $2.99 less $1 store coupon

1 French’s Worcestershire sauce – on sale for $1.50, less manufacturer coupon: $0.50 - $1 total

2 Sweet Onions – no sale but $1 store coupon - $0.69 total

1 Folger’s Decaf singles - $4.49 – no coupon or sale but hubby was desperate! J

1 Canteloupe – sale for $1.50

4 Campbells soup – sale for 4 for $5, less manufacturer coupon: 2-$0.40/2 – total of $4.20 ($1.05 per can)

1 lb lunch meat - $6.05

1 package fresh green beans

Total before sales & coupons: $132.18
After: $58.87

56% savings

Not bad for an area with no double coupons!

Saving on Phone bills

When was the last time you checked with your phone company to be sure you were getting the best deals? We have our service combined with cell phone and internet service for one of the bundling discounts. However, it just seemed like we were paying so much! I called to find out what they could do to help reduce the costs. With their new "packages" I was able to lower my phone bill by $8 a month and get faster internet service and completely free long distance. They won't contact you to let you know about new plans though. You have to call them every few months and see what they are offering.

Free to join, Free to advertise, and GET PAID!!

Have you heard about Zenzuu? Zenzuu is an amazing new site that is a social networking site similar to MySpace or Facebook. BUT, instead of the site owners keeping all the advertising revenues for themselves, they are going to pay 80% of it to their ACTIVE members! What does Active mean? It's simple...just sign up and then login to your account at least 30 times per calendar month. That's it. Want to make more? GREAT! Tell others about it and once you have at least 2 active people you've referred to the site, they'll pay you for their activity also - down to 9 levels deep (with a potential for a bonus match on the 10th level! It's a phenomenal compensation structure and I'm very excited about the potential for this company.

And, it's 100% FREE to join - will never cost you anything. Have a home based business? Terrific! As a member you can advertise it for free on the local, national or global directory. Take advantage of their VIP Travel Club for free as well! Tons of benefits with nothing to lose. It only takes a few minutes to set up, and a minute per login.

Go to www.zenzuu.com/renitaperrone and click on "sign up under me" and get started today!

Energy Saving Tips

What energy saving tips can you share with our group?

What ever you have please share even if it seems obvious, sometimes we need to be reminded of the basics.

Grocery Store Savings

I am not going to say a great deal about this subject on my blog because I am currently in the process of writing a book on it, and I'd rather you buy my book! :) But, I wanted to share the highlights of my shopping spree today!

My local grocery store has Nature Valley Granola Bars on sale BOGO (buy one, get one free). I grabbed six boxes. I had five coupons for $1 off one box. The regular price is $2.89. So, after the sale and coupons, I spent $3.67 for all 6 boxes, or $0.61 each! PLUS I also had coupons for a free box of Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks when you purchase 2 boxes of Nature Valley Granola Bar. But that's not all. Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks were also on sale for BOGO. I had 3 coupons for the free box, so I picked up 6 boxes of fruit snacks. The coupons were good for a value of up to $2.60 and the fruit snacks cost $2.75, so I did pay $0.45 for all 6 boxes, or less than 8 cents per box. That's a deal you can't pass up!

There were quite a few other sales and deals as well. My grand total before coupons and sales would have been $118.65 but I only spent $51.26. I had a store coupon for $5 off $50 and a couple of other good store coupons. And, this was a mystery shop so I'll get $17 back from that, making my out of pocket total only $34.26

Now...does that make you want to learn more? If so, I will be posting on here when my book is available.

Saving on Electricity

• Call your electric company to see if they offer any programs to help you save. Ours has an "on call" program that saves us about $5 a month. Your mileage may vary depending on how many appliances can be added to the program. Some companies offer programs to help you get your home better insulated, more efficient, etc.
• Turn down the temperature on your water heater. If you have young children you should do this anyway so your children can't accidently scald themselves. (see my post on Water Heaters for additional tips).
• Turn off lights when you're not in the room
• Turn off ceiling fans when you are not in the room
• Turn your computer off when not in use (this is a big one!)
• Unplug appliances not in use that use "phantom power" - such as your TV. Even though your TV is off, there is a little bit of current there that is waiting for you to use your remote
• Turn off printers, speakers, monitors, scanners, etc. You can purchase a electrical strip called a "Smart Strip" that will recognize when your computer shuts off and will automatically cut power to all peripheral equipment.

Grocery Savings with Meal Planning

Before grocery shopping, get the sales flyer and plan your week's meals around whatever meat is on sale. Create a recipe/box file and sort the recipes by main ingredient. So, the next time that variety of meat is on sale, you can go to your recipe box and pull several recipes that can be made around that variety of meat. Obviously you'll want to keep adding to that file so you don't get bored with the same thing all the time, but at least it gives you a place to start. I also keep a handy "shopping list" of regularly used ingredients so I can watch for sales on those items and stock up when they go on sale. If you have freezer space available, you may want to consider buying large quantities of meat - like purchasing 1/2 a beef - and you can save money that way. Unfortunately that is not an option for me, but I do remember my parents doing that when I was growing up.