Organics...

Saving on Organic Foods

During a coupon class I taught recently, a question was asked about saving on organic foods.  I never considered how difficult it might be to save on a line of foods that are known to be priced higher than their non-organic counter-parts.  

I thought about this dilemma all the way home and decided to see if I could find a way to save on organic foods.  Whole Foods is usually the standard to which all other organic retailers are held.  So, that is where I will begin my savings quest.

When I sat down at my computer this evening, I saw the "Extreme Couponing" had a new show airing tonight.  As I watched it, I noticed that they were shopping at Whole Foods!  I could not believe it.  I will watch it again to see if I can glean any hints about the how the star of that segment was able to save 90% off their shopping bill.

The first step I always take is to register on the retailer's website.  The second step is to make a list of the organic items that I normally buy.  The third step is to search for matching store and manufacturers' coupons online.  

You can find organic product coupons by searching online, calling the company, and finally, by writing the company and asking for them.  It is not uncommon for coupons for organic foods to be featured in the Sunday newspaper inserts.  Take a trip to your favorite organic food retailer; make a list of those items; and then, contact the retailers

Whole Foods Deals (*must register)

• Money Saving Queen Whole Foods Deals
• Krazy Coupon Lady Whole Foods 101 - Coupon Deals - Coupon Policy
• Faithful Provisions Whole Foods Deals
• Organic Deals & Coupons
• Hip 2 Save Whole Foods Deals
• Coupon Mom Whole Foods Deals*
• Coupon Mom Whole Foods Printable Coupons* (scroll down & select)
• Surviving the Stores Whole Foods Deals & Printable Coupons

 Here's the link for Whole Foods coupons.  Don't forget to register.

Happy Couponing!

ShaRon, The Bizzy Coupon Bee

Grocery Shopping...

The Rules of Grocery Shopping

The cardinal rules of grocery shopping include the following:

• Eat before you shop.
• Always make a shopping list.
• Only shop the sales.
• Match the sales with coupons.
• When you find a great deal, buy 3 months worth.
• Don’t buy what you don’t normally eat.
• ALWAYS check your receipt for mistakes before leaving the store.
• NEVER argue over a coupon. 
• NEVER clear the shelves. 
• If a product doesn’t meet your expectations, “complain gently”.
• If a product exceeds your expectations, “praise profusely”.

To help organize my shopping trips, I created a document that prints a shopping list on an envelope.  The name of the store, sale date, and a column to check whether or not you have a coupon for it are printed on the envelope.  The coupons that I will use on that shopping trip are then enclosed in the envelope.  After shopping, I put the receipts in the envelope for that store.

If you would like the document, just drop me an email redbeelips@gmail.com.  The document is a word doc set up for 12 envelopes with 11 stores and one blank.   Below are two examples of the printed envelopes.

 

Walgreen’s November Coupon Book

Source: Couponing101.com

Walgreen’s November Coupon Book

The new November coupon books are out in Walgreens stores now! You should be able to find them right by the weekly ads. All the coupons in the book are Walgreens Instant Value Coupons (IVCs) and can be combined with manufacturer coupons. All the coupons are good through December 1, 2012.

Note: Although the source blog states that these coupons can be stacked with manufacturers' coupons, some of the coupons in the book may be manufacturers'.  If this is the case, you will not be able to stack the coupons that state that they are manufacturers' coupons. 

Here are all the coupons in the book:

Grocery

50¢/1 Florida’s Natural (33.8 oz)
$1/1 Gevalia Coffee (12 oz)
45¢/3 Hershey’s Candy Holiday Candy (1.2 or 1.55 oz)
$1/2 Hershey’s Candy Canes (12 pk)
$2/2 Hershey’s Bliss (8.6 or 9.6 oz)
$1/1 Hershey’s Pot of Gold (7.2 – 10.2 oz)
$2/4 Hershey’s or Cadbury Holiday Candy (7.8 – 8.5 oz)
$1/2 Ice Breakers Mints (1.2 or 1.5 oz)
$1/2 Nabisco Crackers (6 – 16 oz)
$1/2 Odwalla Smoothies (12 oz)
$1/4 SoBe Lifewater (20 oz)
$1/2 Toblerone Candy Bar (3.52 oz)
$1/2 Welch’s Sparkling Juice (25.4 oz)
$1/1 Whitman’s Candy (7 – 12 oz)

Household

$10/1 Classic Leather Photo Book
$2/1 Giant Amaryllis Blooming Kit
$1/2 Glade – Several Items
$5/1 Kidde Carbon Monoxide or Smoke Alarm
$1/1 Kleenex (4 pk)
$2/1 Kodak FunSaver Cameras (2 pk)
50¢/1 Living Solutions Super Glue (6 pk)
$1/1 Ortho Home Defense Mouse Trap (2 pk) or Raid Max
$2/1 Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush with Caddy or One Step kit
$1/1 Sony T-120 Videocassette 6 Hour Recording (3 pk)
$1/1 Sony DVC Camcorder Tape (60 min) 2 pk
$1/1 Sony Recordable – Several
$1/1 Viva Paper Towels (6 roll)

Beauty and Personal Care

$1/1 Andrea or Ardell Eyelashes
50¢/1 Aqua Net Hair Spray
$2/1 Boston Solution for Contacts (1 or 3.5 oz)
$2/1 Clear Eyes (.5 oz)
$2/1 ClearCare (2 pk) or OptiFree (2 pk)
$1/1 Colgate Total Advanced (5.8 oz) Toothpaste
$3/1 Fragrance Gift Sets
$5/1 K-Y Yours & Mine Kissable or Intrigue Premium Lubricant
$1/1 L’Oreal Face and Eye Cosmetics
$2/1 L’Oreal Youth Code (.5 to 8 oz) or Kit
$2/1 Poise
$2/2 Right Guard Total Defense or Dry Idea Advanced Dry
$1/1 Sally Hansen Gem Crush or Lustre Shine Nail Color
$2/1 Sensationail Gel Polish

Baby

$2/1 Huggies Night-Time Pull-Ups Training Pants (21 or 24 pk)
$2.50/1 Huggies Little Movers or Snug & Dry Big Pack (52 to 86 pk), Slip Ons or Pull-Ups (42 – 56 pk)
$2/1 Huggies Baby Wipes (168 – 400 pk)
$2/1 OCuSoft Baby Eyelid & Eyelash Cleanser (20 pk)

Health Care

$1/1 Advil Day/Night Combo Pack (100 ct and 20 ct PM)
$1/1 Airborne (10 or 32 ct) Tabs, Hot Soothing Mix (10 pk) or Energy Powder (9 pk)
$3/1 At Home Drug Test
$2/1 Breathe Right (10 pk)
$2/1 Contact Cold+Flu (28 ct)
$2/1 Coricidin Cold Relief (16 to 24 ct)or Afrin No Drip (.5 oz)
$1/1 Diabeti-Derm (4 oz)
$1/1 Diabetic Tussin (4 oz)
$10/1 Digital Breath Alcohol Tester
$3/1 Dulcolax Laxative For Women (90 ct)
$2/1 Extenze lubricant (3.9 or 4.8 oz)
$1/1 Glucerna Shake (6 pk) 8 oz or Hunger Smart Shake (4 pk)
$2/1 Hyland’s Defend Cold & Cough Syrup (8 oz)
$25/1 iBG Star Blood Glucose Monitoring System
$2/1 Multi-betic (60 ct)
$1/1 Nature Made Sleep (30 ct)
$3/1 NeiiMed NasaMist All In One (6 oz)
$50/1 OneTouch Verio IQ
$3/1 Orajel Cold Sore Treatment (2 pk)
$2/1 Percogesic pain reliever (60 or 90 ct)
$3/2 Preparation H
$5/1 Renew Life Ultimate Flora Probiotic Plus Fiber (30 ct)
$1/1 RicoIa drops (45 or 50 ct)
$2/1 Senokot (10 or 20 ct)
$2/1 Simply Saline Baby Nasal Gel (1 oz), Mist (3 oz) or Swabs (12 pk)
$2/1 Super Colon Cleanse (120 ct)
$5/1 Touch & Know Drug Test
$1/2 Tums (50 – 150 ct)
$2/1 Universal Medical Acne Free Skin Care
$2/1 Visine Eye Relief (.5 or 1 oz) or Wipes (30 pk)

Walgreens Products

$3/1 W Whitening Trays (14 pk)
$10/1 Wahl Heat Therapy or Deep Massager
$2/1 Wal-dryl Children’s Allergy (8 oz)
$5/1 Wai-Fex 24 Hour (60 ct)
$1/1 Wai-Flu Warming Relief liquid (8.3 oz)
$2/1 Walc Mucil Fiber (240 or 320 ct)
$1/1 Walgreens Advanced Travel Lancets (25 pk)
$1/1 Walgreens Glucose Tablets (50 ct)
$10/1 Walgreens lDT Phone Card (350 minutes)
$2/1 Walgreens Lancets (210 pk)
$1/1 Walgreens Menstrual (40 ct) or Backache Relief (24 ct)
$10/1 Walgreens Nerve Pain Relief (.17 oz)
$1/2 Walgreens Nutritional Shakes
$4/1 Walgreens Probiotic (60 ct)
$3/1 Walgreens Probiotic Colon Support (60 ct)
$1/1 Walgreens Sore Throat Lozenges (18 ct)
$4/1 Walgreens Stool Softener (400 ct)
$5/1 Walgreens Super Probiotic (60 ct)
$10/1 Walgreens Digital Forehead Thermometer
$10/1 Walgreens Digital Temple Thermometer
$10/1 Walgreens Instant Ear Thermometer
$2/1 Walgreens Quick Read Digital Thermomter
$3/1 Walgreens TRUEtrack
$5/1 Walgreens TRUEtrack Test Strips (25 pk)
$3/1 Zantac (65 ct) 150 mg or (80 ct) 75 mg
$8/1 Zegerid OTC (42 ct)
$4/1 Zostrix Cream (2 oz)

Source: Couponing101.com

Stewardship Couponing...

"The Storehouse"

I started couponing nearly 60 years ago with my grandmother, Ada.  Grandma collected S&H Green Stamps and Plaid Stamps.  They were collectively known as "trading stamps".   The more she shopped, the more stamps she got.  I remember licking stamps for those stamp books until my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth.  The glue was not very tasty but I kept on lickin' because I knew that we were trying to get a reward.  Pots, dishes, utensils, a television or whatever I saw in the catalog, I just knew that one more lick could mean the difference between a coffeepot and a radio.  Ironically, I can't remember any of the items that we received from the boxes of trading stamp books we redeemed.

I, like many of you, saw the show, "Extreme Couponing" in the winter of 2010.  I watched with my mouth wide open for the entire show.  I was hooked! At the same time, I said to myself, "Oh, oh! The stores are not going to be happy with this revelation."  And they weren't.  Couponing is not like it used to be back when it was underground.  But, you don't have to be an extreme couponer to save tons of money on your groceries, cars, clothes, homes, etc.  Take what you learn from me and others like me and use it to change your shopping lifestyle and you will save money.

After grocery shopping, I love standing at the register watching the bottom line shrink.  When I scan my loyalty card, my store coupons, then my manufacturers coupons, AND then get more coupons with my receipt, I love it!!!

            My goal is to help you begin to reap the rewards of couponing along your journey to stewardship!  Join me as I introduce you to the stewardship of couponing.  Proverbs 6:6-8:  “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.”

Like the ant, learn how to “stockpile” for the winter weather and times of hardship.  Learn how to shop the sales and save30%- 70% (and more) percent every single time you shop at the grocery store and pharmacy.  Apply couponing strategies you learn to all areas of your finances.  The stewardship of couponing will help you become the master of your finances instead of your finances being the master of your life and that of your family.

"The Storehouse" - Malachi 3:10

Is it hoarding?  We do not buy what we do not eat.  We give of the “storehouse” freely to our family, neighbors, and our church’s homeless ministry.  We do not gather for the sake of “having it on hand”.  We enjoy the feeling of being prepared to help ourselves and others when needed.

Freedom from want will free you up spiritually and usher you into a spiritual state of charity.  You will have “stores” to donate to the homeless, hungry, and those in financial crisis.  We call our stockpile “the storehouse”. 

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple.  If you do," says the LORD of Heaven's Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!” Malachi 3:10 - New Living Translation