Composition Notebooks for $0.25 at Walmart!

I am really excited because Walmart has joined the party!  They are offering back-to-school sales on school supplies this year!  My favorite deal right now is composition books for $0.25 each.  I buy these for each of my students each year (remember the math journal staff development??) and usually buy when they are on sale for $0.50.  So I am running out to get these tomorrow!

Don't like black?  I'm not sure which colors are offered at this price, but I typically take an hour out of one of those first days of school and have my students cut out pictures from magazines to glue on the cover of their journals.  We then cover them with contact paper.  The kids love getting them out of their desks, and it doesn't matter what color is underneath! :)

School Supply Deals for the week of July 11-17

Although I am in semi-denial about this, it is time to start thinking about school supplies.  If you are like me, you not only are buying supplies for your classroom (Glue sticks dry up so quickly, don't they? And I ALWAYS run out of notebook paper and Clorox wipes by March somehow!) but for your own children as well!

Here are some great deals on school supplies this week.  If you grab the awesome deals each week, you'll be stocked up by the time school starts without breaking the bank!

Walgreens
Expo Dry Erase Markers, 4 pk., $1.99 ea

-$1 off Expo Washable Dry Erase Makers printable

Mead Poly Notebook, 1 Subject, $1.99
-$1 off Mead 1,3 or 5 Subject Notebook Walgreens July Coupon Booklet (makes it 99¢)

Crayola Markers, 10 pk, or Bic Grip Mechanical Pencils 99¢ ea

Sharpie Fine Point Markers, 12 pk.,$3.99 ea

Penway Notebooks Subject, 120 sheets, or Composition, 80 sheets, 79¢ ea

Fiskers Blunt or Pointed Scissors 99¢ ea

Elmer’s Jumbo Glue Stick, .77 oz., or School Glue, 4 oz.,99¢ ea

Penway Crayons, 24 pk., Colored Pencils, 12 pk., or Jumbo Crayons 8 pk 49¢ ea

Legal Pad 50 sheets, 5×8 or 8.5×11, 29¢ ea w/in-ad coupon

Mead Envelopes, 40-100 pk. 69¢ ea w/in-ad coupon

Index Cards, 3×5 white 100 pk., or Colored, 70 pk., 39¢ ea w/in-ad coupon

Crayola Posterboard, 22×28 in., 34¢ ea w/in-ad coupon

Hi Trails Backpacks, Duffel Bags, or Messenger Bags B1G1 at $9.99

CVS
99¢ ECB wyb Paper Mate Pens 99¢ Limit 1 (3 Day Sale — Sunday -Tuesday)

99¢ ECB wyb Caliber Scissors 5″, 99¢ Limit 1 (3 Day Sale — Sunday -Tuesday)
 
Target
Rose Art Markers or Colored Pencils — $0.50
Rose Art Glue Stick (2-packs) — $0.20

Staples
Penny Deals — available Sunday through Wednesday with a $5 purchase

Yellow #2 Pencils (8-pack) — $0.01 (Limit 2)

2-Pocket Folder with Fasteners — $0.01 (Limit 10)

Buy 1 Staples Multipurpose Paper (500-sheet ream, 96 bright) at $4.99, Get $4.98 Easy Rebate — $0.01 after Easy Rebate (Limit 2)

Dollar Deals — Limit 2

BIC Atlantis Ballpoint Pens (4-pack)

Staples Mini-Stapler

Staples Translucent Pencil Box

Staples Hype! Grip Highlighters (6-pack)

Wescott 5″ Scissors (2-pack)

Staples Glue Sticks (.26 oz., 4-pack colored)

Post-it Novelty-Shaped Notes (2-pack)

RoseArt Colored Pencils (15-pack)

Scotch Magic Tape (3/4″ x 675″)

Quartet 8/12″ x 11″ Dry-Erase Board

Staples #10 Pull & Seal Envelopes (25-pack)

Staples Photo Supreme 8.5″ x 11″ Paper (50-pack)


Office Depot
Buy 1 Mr. Sketch Markers 12-pack at $7.99 (ITEM # 203-034), Get $7.99 mail-in-savings Visa Prepaid card (Limit 1) = Free after Visa card

Buy 1 Swingline® LightTouch Reduced Effort Stapler at $15.99 (ITEM # 579-785), Get $2 instant savings and $13.99 mail-in-rebate (Limit 1) = Free after instant savings and mail-in rebate

Buy 1 Office Depot® Brand Multipurpose Paper Ream at $6.29 (ITEM # 112-860), Get $5.29 mail-in-savings Visa Prepaid card (Limit 2) = $1 after Visa card

Buy 1 Office Depot® Brand Color-Coded Heavyweight Sheet Protectors 25-pack at $7.59 (ITEM # 233-240), Get $6.59 mail-in-savings Visa card (Limit 3) = $1 after Visa card

Buy 1 Wilson Jones® 1″ Round-Ring Impact Binders at $3.99 (ITEM # 322-520), Get $2.99 Instant Savings (Limit 3) = $1 after Instant Savings

Buy 1 Pentel® Quicker Clicker™ Mechanical Pencils 2-pack at $7.49 (ITEM # 320-231), Get $6.49 mail-in-savings Visa card (Limit 3) = $1 after Visa card


If  you find any other deals, please leave a comment and I will add it to the list!

Cuties!

Alright, ladies, I know these tiny adorable oranges have been all the rage at lunch this week. So, if you love them, or if you want to try them for the first time, go here and print a coupon for them first! After your coupon prints, hit your browser's back button two times and it will print again! ***I tried to print this one and my computer said I had already printed it the number of time allowed (a bold faced lie, mind you), so let me know if you can print it!

I have seen these at Publix (and they run them on sale sometimes, too). Did someone tell me they have them at BiLo too?

So What's the Deal with Swagbucks?

A while ago, I mentioned a site called SwagBucks to you. I signed up at the beginning of January to see what all the fuss was about, and honestly I wasn't convinced "Swagbucks" were for me. Boy, was I wrong! I am loving it! Let me give you a little info about it and then I'll tell you about my Swagtastic plan. :)

What are Swagbucks?

Swagbucks.com is a search engine that rewards you for searching the internet with Swagbucks. Swagbucks are pretend "dollars" that you save up and redeem for giftcards or prizes.

How do you earn Swagbucks?

• I believe you get 3 bucks just for signing up.


• Download the toolbar after you sign up and do all of your internet searching through it. This is the main way I earn Swagbucks (average 3 per day this way). I even search sites I visit frequently just to earn SB that way.


• If you do a lot of online shopping, you can shop through Swagbucks.com and get 1 Swagbuck for every $5 you spend.


• Find Swagbucks codes on the internet (fun, but more time consuming than the first two).


• Refer friends to Swagbucks.com (like I am doing now!)

What kind of prizes and giftcards are offered?

Swagbucks.com has a WIDE variety of things you can redeem your Swagbucks for. Some of my personal favorites:

• $5 Amazon giftcard = 45 Swagbucks


• $25 Restaurant.com giftcard = 40 Swagbucks (Restaurant.com now offers gift certificates to The Melting Pot fondue restaurant in Chattanooga!)


• $20 Target giftcard = 235 Swagbucks


• extra Nintendo Wii controller (you know you need one) = 176 Swagbucks

My goal has been to earn a minimum of 50 Swagbucks per month. I currently have 102 (by the way, the toolbar I downloaded keeps track of all that for me). I don't think Swagbucks will change my life financially or anything, but my goal for this year is to use the Amazon giftcards I earn to buy all of my nieces' and nephews' (I have 8) Christmas gifts. That will go a long way toward my larger goal of never going into debt at Christmastime again!

If you would like to try Swagbucks, go here and sign up!

"But don't coupons just save you money on Junk Food??"

I'm sure if you haven't actually asked this out loud, you've wondered it. I have, too! Today, I made a mini-trip to Publix and thought I would share my perspective on this very topic with you.

First, here are the healthy-ish items I bought:

• 2 pkg. Nature's Own multigrain sandwich rounds (reg. $2.49) BOGO = paid $1.24 each


• Post Shredded Wheat cereal (reg. $3.99) on sale for $2.50 - $2 coupon = paid $0.50 *I actually would've gotten 2 boxes for free had I used another $2 coupon + $1/2 Target coupon, but I got distracted...)


• 2 Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers (reg. $2.99) BOGO - (2) $1 coupons = paid $0.49 each


• Carrot chips (reg. $1.99) on sale for $1.69


• 6 kiwis (reg. $0.50 each) on sale for $0.33 each


• Simply orange juice (reg. $3.79) on sale for $3.00


• Attitude spring salad mix (reg. $2.99) on sale for $2.50


• Blue Diamond almonds (reg. $3.19) BOGO - $0.50 coupon (which doubled) = paid $0.59

TOTAL before savings: $29.91

TOTAL after savings: $13.74

I saved 54% on my healthy items just by buying what was BOGO this week! Several of my items were not BOGO, so I made up for that difference by using coupons where I could.

Okay, now the not-so-healthy items:

• 4 pkg. Simply chocolate chip cookies (reg. $3.39) on sale for $1.41 - (4) $1 coupons = paid $0.41 each
• 2 pkg. Betty Crocker cookie mix (reg. $2.67) BOGO - (2) $0.40 coupons = paid $0.53 each
• 8 boxes Betty Crocker fruit snacks (reg. $2.73) BOGO - (4) $1/2 coupons = paid $0.86 each
• 1 box Betty Crocker fruit snacks (reg. $2.73) BOGO - $0.40 coupon = paid $0.56
• Lysol All-Purpose cleaner (reg. $2.69) BOGO - $0.50 coupon (which doubled) = paid $0.34

TOTAL before savings: $46.16

TOTAL after savings: $10.48

I saved 77% on the not-so-healthy foods. But do you see how balancing what we wanted with what we needed really paid off? The boys love fruit snacks as an after-school snack, and with 10 snack packages per box, we are looking at about $0.08 per snack! Awesome! For lunch one day this week, I am sure you will see me eating a Healthy Choice meal and a kiwi, which totals less than $1! :)

So Cheap I Need a Getaway Car

Okay, I basically just robbed CVS and Walgreens. I had $10 in Register Rewards (RR) from Walgreens that expire today and $20 in Extra Care Bucks (ECB) from CVS. I guess I didn't really need any of these things today, but free stuff (that I will use eventually) just gets me so excited! :)

Walgreens

• I hit up Walgreens on Sundays to pick up the Chattanooga paper. Basketball season has completely messed up our Sunday Atlanta trips, so I have been settling with the Chattanooga coupons. They are terrible, aren't they? Oh, it just makes me so mad! Anyway, Walgreens has the Chattanooga Sunday paper for $1.00 each.


• (2) Crest Pro-health Mouthwash (reg. ?) on sale for $3.50 each - (2) -$2 coupons - $2.50 RR = paid $0.25 each!


• Purpose facial moisturizer (reg. $9.99) on clearance for $2.59!


• Fusion razor (reg. $8.99) - $4 coupon - $4 RR = paid $0.99!


• (2) Chattanooga newspapers = paid $1.00 each


• 24 pack Spring water in-ad coupon for $2.99 (not pictured)

TOTAL before coupons = $24.57

TOTAL after coupons and $10 RR = $5.57

PLUS I got $6.50 in RR to use next time!

CVS

Please don't call the cops. :) Even I was surprised at how little I spent at CVS today! My total was minus $1.50 so I had to quickly add 3 candy bars to my shopping trip to go above zero! (I had to, okay? So what if they just happen to be my favorite chocolate??)

(4) Sobe Lifewaters (reg. $1.59 each) on sale BOGO - (2) BOGO coupons = GET ALL 4 FOR FREE!

Aussie Shampoo (reg. $4.29) - on sale for $2.99 - $1 coupon (in today's paper) - $2 ECB = FREE!

Pantene styling product (reg. $5.79) - on sale for $4.99 - $1 coupon - $2 ECB = paid $1.99!

(2) Crest Pro-Health toothpaste (reg. $3.89) - on sale for $3.50 - (2) $0.75 coupons - $7.00 ECB = $1.50 moneymaker!!! ***Promise me you'll never pay for toothpaste again, okay? Pretty please?

Colgate Total toothpaste (reg. $3.89) - on sale for $2.99 - $1 coupon - $2 ECB = FREE! ***Seriously, never pay real money for this stuff again! Promise?

10-pack Gillete disposable razors (reg. $8.99) - on sale for $5.79 - $3 coupon - $2 ECB = paid $0.79!

(3) candy bars (reg. $0.89) - on sale for $0.50 (needed at the last minute to bring my total above zero!)

TOTAL before coupons = $28.44

TOTAL after coupons and $20 ECB = -$2.24! Tax made my final total $0.48!!!

PLUS I got $15 in ECB and an extra $2 coupon to use next time!

Remember: If you want to work these deals, go here to Southern Savers where Jenny will help you get organized!

This One's for Beacham

Well hello there!

Last week at lunch, Joy asked why I haven't blogged in a while! I guess I figured you all have this whole coupon thing down pat and don't need any more hand-holding :) but Joy inspired me to keep writing anyway. Thanks, Joy! :)

So....I went to Bi-Lo tonight with my precious sister, Amanda. (Have you met her yet? She is absolutely adorable.)

And we had quite a money-saving adventure! What's that? You want me to share? Okay then! ;)

First, let me tell you about a really cool site that helped me save about $45 tonight! It's House Party! If you haven't heard about House Party, it is a site that offers opportunities for people like you and me to host fun product-based parties in your home. You sign up and apply for as many parties as you are interested in. (I signed up for 3 or 4 before I got chosen for one.) Then, if you are chosen, they send you a Party Pack in the mail to help you get started. And the Party Pack is absolute heaven! I was chosen to host a DiGiorno Game Day party, and they sent me this cute little Party Pack with 6 FREE pizza coupons plus 11 $4 off coupons! Awesome! It also came with a pizza cutter, an oven mitt, several Party necklaces, etc.

Okay, so back to my shopping trip. Here's the breakdown:

• 4 pouches Betty Crocker potatoes (reg. $1.25 ea.) on sale for $0.80 - (4) 0.35 coupons (doubled) = paid $0.10 each!
  
• 1 box Quaker instant oatmeal (reg. $3.79) on sale for $2 - $1 coupon = paid $1!


• 1 bottle French's mustard (reg. $1.85) on sale for $1.39) - $0.50 coupon (doubled) = paid $0.39!


• 4 bags Chi-Chi's soft taco tortillas (reg. $1.69) on sale for $0.85 - (2) $1 off 2 coupons = paid $0.35 each!


• 2 boxes Ritz Crackerfuls (reg. $3.49) on sale for $1.75 - (2) $1 coupons = paid $0.75 each!


• 1 box Lance sandwich crackers (reg. $2.89) on sale for $2 - $1 coupon = paid $1!


• 1 6-pack Dannon Light & Fit yogurt (reg. $2.79) on sale for $2 (no coupon used)


• 1 bottle Coffeemate creamer (reg. $2.29) on sale for $1.14 (no coupon used)


• 1 gallon Southern Home milk (reg. $3.48) (not on sale ~ no coupon used)


• 2 bags Birds Eye frozen veggies (reg. $2) on sale for $1 - $0.50 coupon (doubled) = FREE!


• 3 boxes Tornados (reg. $2.50) on sale for $2 - (3) $0.50 coupons (doubled) = paid $1 each!


• 2 Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers (reg. $3.73) on sale for $1.86 - $1 off 2 coupon = paid $1.36 each!


• 1 box Philly Sorbet treats (reg. $3.18) on sale for $1.59 (no coupon used)


• 1 bag Fast Classic Country Fried Chicken (reg. $7.99) on sale for $3.99 - $1.25 coupon = paid $2.75!


• 1 pound strawberries (reg. $3.99) on sale for $2.50 (no coupon used)


• 3 pounds bananas (reg. $0.59/lb.) (not on sale ~ no coupon used)


• 1 bag bakery kaiser rolls (reg. $3) on sale for $1.50 (no coupon used)
  

Okay, THEN I had my non-grocery items:

• 2 8-pack Marcals paper towels (reg. $9.99) on sale for $4.99 - (2) $2 coupons = paid $2.99 each! *only one in photo


• 3 10 pound bags Tidy Cats cat litter (reg. $2.71) on sale for $1.35 - (3) $1 coupons = $0.35 each! *only one in photo


• 2 lint rollers (reg. $3.49) on sale for $1.74 - (2) $1 coupons = $0.74 each!


• 4 boxes Southern Home gallon-size ziploc bags **for the Haiti earthquake relief project I am doing with my students ~ I'll shoot you an email about this tomorrow...) (reg. $2.92) on sale for $1.46 (no coupon used)
  

And THEN I had my pizzas!!!

• 6 DiGiorno frozen pizzas (reg. $7.39) not on sale - (6) FREE coupons = FREE!!!!!

SO...My totals for this trip:

Total before savings: $167.49

Total after savings: $36.08!!!

I saved 79%!!!

*Lastly, if you received a coupon book in the mail a few weeks ago from Bi-Lo with $10 off $100 or $7 off $75, etc., remember to use those coupons BEFORE you use any of your other coupons. For example, today my total after my BonusCard but before coupons was a little over $100. I then gave the cashier my $10 off $100 BiLo coupon. THEN I gave her the rest of my coupons. Hooray!

So, how did you do this week? Haven't been yet? Remember, I get all of my coupon matchups from Southern Savers. Jenny is the best!