Restaurant Savings

Only 4 more days left to the 30 day challenge.  I inadvertently left out the clearance finds that I mentioned in the title of my last post.  We were able to find Disney twin sheet sets for half price in the large clearance our local Walmart is currently holding.  This was a savings of $11 and we bought a set for each of our girls bringing the savings to $22. 

Clearance Savings:  $22.00

Since my last post I have also bought certificates at Restaurant.com.  This is a great sight for saving money on restaurants and one I have used many times over the  years.  You can frequently find savings of 80% off a gift certificate to a local restaurant on this site.  This was the sale the day that I purchased.  This meant that I bought $80 of dining for $6.40!  Additionally, they wee offering a choice of three coupons with purchase and I chose a $10 certificate for shutterfly, an online picture site.   

Restaurant Savings:  $73.60 + Shutterfly coupon for $10

Total Savings:  $525.37 

Clearance, Coupon Codes and tag sales

I have been busy with more savings.  The amount of ways to save amazes me!  

On Saturday the girls and I stopped at some tag sales on the way home from the Kids Fair.  The girls LOVE tag sales because they can find items that they can buy with the loose change they have for funds.  They bought a Barbie bed, a play horse, a bubble gum machine (still in the box) and a change purse, for a grand total of $1.75.  The most exciting find of the day was a fairy costume for $2.  It had $39 marked on the package. Alyssa had asked to be a fairy for Halloween this year.  Though the costume itself wouldn't fit her the wings would work and the price couldn't be beat.  It wasn't new so how does this figure into our savings totals?  I am stumped about used items and time trades for items or services.  They save money for sure but I haven't figured out how to calculate used items for the purpose of this challenge. 

Savings:  Toys and Costume Parts = ?

Last night I was able to order winter boots for my oldest daughter.  As I haven't been able to get the kids to stop growing winter outdoor clothing is a big cost item every year, winter outdoor clothing. We have a clothing give away weekly at Community Bible Chapel in Brattleboro which has been a great help to us over the years.  All the clothing there is free and in good condition.  Unfortunately, as the kids get older it is harder to find clothing for them this way.   Our oldest daughter passes clothes down which helps with our younger daughter but we don't have a hand me down source for her.  JC Penney has free shipping on shoes purchased online through December (no coupon code needed).  They currently have two coupon codes available for $10 off the purchase of $10 online.  The codes are GO4TEN and LIZ4YOU.  One code can be used per order.  If you shop through Ebates you can get 3% of your purchase back.  Just type JC Penney in the search after joining the site and click on the link.  The boots we bought were originally $50.00.  They were on sale for $34.99.  The $10 off coupon code made them $24.99. with no shipping charge due to the free shipping special.   

Savings:  Boots = $25.01 + Ebates = $.75   =  $25.76

I did our grocery shopping for this week.  I have been stocking up so didn't do much but veggies and milk.  I bought things on sale as I didn't have coupons for these items.  

Grocery Savings $17.02

My husband bought gas using the discount from our Fuel Advantage savings from grocery shopping the last few weeks as well.

Gas Savings:  $4.00

Savings From This Post:  $46.78

Total Savings:  $429.77

$1 Laundry Detergent at CVS

 A lot of people are reporting getting a $2/2 Xtra detergent store coupon at the coupon scanner at CVS. It is on sale 2/$4 this week so you will pay just $1 a bottle!   It is worth giving it a try and scanning your card!
(Thanks Couponing To Disney  and  Money Saving Madness )

$45.07 Saved At Walgreens

I went to Walgreens this morning to pick up on the freebies and good deals.  I spent $14.42 and saved $45.07.  There are great matchups to be found on www.couponingtodisney.com  This takes a lot of work out of figuring out what coupons can be stacked.  However, there are often regional differences in price, coupons or flyers so don't forget to take a look through the store flyer and your coupons as well.  

When taking advantage of sales or free items it is always best to get as many as possible.  I have been doing this and am stockpiling a lot of items, particularly personal care items such as soap, shampoo, toothpaste, razors and deodorant. This means that I am actually ending up with more items than my family can use.  We have a small home as well and can't afford to store a lot of  extras.  I know that many coupon users find great joy in donating the free items the accumulate to area shelters, food shelves or other community organizations.  Additionally, once you initially stock up you could keep an inventory of your items and only pick up things as you get low.  Whatever you may choose there are a tremendous amount of free, or almost free, items out there that can save a lot of money with some planning ahead.

Today's Savings:  $45.07

Total Savings:  $382.99

GPS

Here we are on day 11 of the 30 day challenge, almost half way there.  My husband got lost yesterday on the way to a call to bid a job and lost a lot of valuable work time.  He called and said that he feels the time has come to get a GPS.  Yikes!  I began researching online.  It was a big overwhelming at first looking at coupon codes, the rewards coupons we had from Staples, sales and auctions.  There were certain features that he wanted to be sure to have as well of course.  In the end we found a great deal at TigerDirect.com.  We found a refurbished model that had a 3 month warranty from the manufacturing company and a reasonably priced 1 year warranty as well so we could feel safe with refurbished. 

Todays Savings:  $70

Total Savings:  $337.92

We are on our way to a FREE kids fair today as well.  They have children's entertainers, inflatables, activities, puppets and a barbecue all FREE.   We love free family fun!!

Free Jewelry

I got another great gift at a great price today!  I don't want to give too many details and give away the gift to someone who may be reading but I love the format of this site.  There are four items offered free all of the time and they are up for just a few minutes.  You can order as many as you like and just pay shipping.  I'm so excited that I found this site! Click here to check it out.

Today's Savings $49.99

Total Savings: $267.92

Free Gifts

There are many free items available on Vistaprint.  I have ordered from this company from years.  I originally used them for their free business cards.  The quality has always been excellent and their orders have arrived promptly.  Some of the most meaningful gifts are personalized.  Before this challenge started I placed an order with Vistaprint for a number of personalized gifts which included:  picture calendars, photo books, tote bags, stamps, post it notes, journals and more.  My daughters had a wonderful time designing caricatures of our family for a special gift for dad for Christmas.  Our parents will be getting books with pictures of family and grandchildren.  The shipping on my large order was much less than it would have cost just for the ink to print these kind of items and many of the items were not things I could do at  home on my computer.  If you are looking for inexpensive, high quality gifts it is hard to beat VistaPrint.