Jonathan and Anne Marie’s Weblog

Ok, so I had to post this before I went to bed.  I was reading on the moneysavingmom blog that I gave you a website for in the previous message.  I had gotten buy one get one free with my CVS card for $1.39, but if you got the Sunday’s paper (which I did and I guess Im really really blind) because I some how missed the $1.00 off on 11oz Palmolive dish soap.  I could have gotten 2 for $0.39!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, Im still new at this game….how many want to bet if I go down and look at my coupon stack the $1.00 off coupon is in there. Heres the delima…do I go back and get 2 more for the $0.39 and save them for later, or do I wait for when the deal comes around next time?  Kate you may have to help me on this one.  Reason being, I dont want to fall into the “I have a coupon so Im going to buy it” rut.  Jonathan is notorious for teasing me about buying things just because it is on sale.  I think sometimes I have spent more money buying things just because they were on sale rather than waiting to buy something when I need it.  Any comments would be great.

I finally got my hands on a newspaper FULL of coupons:)  My mom called and informed me that Wal-Mart had the AJC on sale for $2.50 and it contained $150.00 worth of savings.  So Sunday I sat down and cut what I needed.  Taking my good friend Katie’s advice I took a couple of coupons with me to CVS and signed up for their Extra Care card (works like a Kroger Plus Card). I bought 2 packs of Irish Spring soap with a manufacturers coupon, Buy 1 get 1 free with your CAre card Palmolive dish soap for $1.39, and Colgate toothpaste with a manufactures coupon.  I spent $7 and some change, but saved about $6.00.  I know I am just beginning, but I was really excited about my purchase with my coupons.  It’s invigorating and before long I know I wont want to purchase much with out coupons when you can see the savings.  Now the really cool thing about the Extra Care card is when you purchase specific items from CVS with your CAre card you get 2% back on every purchase and you earn Extra CAre Bucks.  A specific item like Soliel razors may cost you $5.99, but when you use your Extra CAre card you get $3.00 in Extra CAre Bucks. So it is like purchasing the razors for $2.99, and the next time you go to use your card youg get $3.00 of free items.  I was also informed about the following website that will tell you where all the good deals are going on in a given week.  The website is www.moneysavingmom.com It also explains in more detail about the Extra CAre card from CVS.  One thing that I found important to remember is not to just buy something because I found a coupon for it.  I have decided I will clip coupons for what I need.  If I think I might need it later I will set it aside (but keep an eye on the exp. date)  My goal is to save money, not spend it just because I have a coupon for it. I also got some great coupons for toilet paper etc.  I will get on a few websites to see if I can find other coupons to double it with and look for who has the best deal on the item that I can pair my coupon with.  As I begin to learn more about coupon clipping I will update.  I never thought of this as being another good way to be a good steward, but it does free up some extra change for the offering plate.  I hope I can encourage others to check this out.  My friend Katie has really gotten me excited and encouraged me about ithis.