A Surprise for Ella

My beautiful little girl turned 4 years old on August 15th. I can't believe it! Doesn't seem possible it's been 4 years. Daddy & I decided we wanted to get her an outdoor playset for her birthday. We searched and searched and finally found an affordable set that fits our yard perfectly. Keith worked Friday (8th) and Sunday afternoon (9th) putting it together while I distracted Ella to make sure she didn't see what was happening. Amazingly we pulled it off! Normally she would have been going outside to find her Daddy, but she never even tried...not even once.

Sunday afternoon (9th), Mammaw & Pappaw and Grammy & Poppa came to visit (they blessed us by going in with us on the swingset) and we gave Ella her big surprise. It was lots of fun playing and eating pizza with them all.

So, Happy Birthday my sweet girl. I love you sooooo much!!

Here are some of the pics...

Super Doubles = Super Savings

So, here it is...

my Super Double finals. I've finally found the time to sit down and post my results from Super Doubles at Harris Teeter. By the end of the week my brain hurt a bit, but I am soooo excited about the results of my effort - 76% savings : )

Harris Teeter Super Double Results:

Original Cost - $337.00

Savings - $249.00 / 76%

Total OOP - $77.00

(I have rounded to even dollars for the sake of simplicity.)

Check out what I brought home for $77.00 -

(2) Boxes Frosted Mini Wheats

(4) Quaker Cereal Bars

(2) Grande Tortilla Chips

(1) Ocean Spray Cranberry Grape Juice

(4) Mayfield Ice Cream - half gallon - FREE

(2) Blue Bunny Champs Cones - FREE

(1) Deerpark Bottled Water - 24 count

(2) Cheeze its - whole grain

(3) Grands Jr. Buttermilk Biscuits

(3) Activia Yogurt - 4 pack

(6) Yoplait individual Yogurts

(3) Buitinni Pasta - Fettucini, Linguini, & Angel Hair

(4) Philidelphia Cream Cheese (8 oz)

(10) Lysol Disinfecting Wipes - 35 count

(3) Huggies Sensitive Wipes

(2) Johnson's Baby Bar Soap

(3) Dawn Dishwashing Detergents

(3) Lever 2000 Bar Soap (2 pack)

(3) Secret Deodorants

(2) Skintimate Shaving Gels

(3) Hot Shot Ultra Wasp & Hornet Killers

(3) Kotex Maxi Pads - 22 count

(1) Kotex Panti Liner - 22 count

(1) Crest Children's toothpaste

(1) Fresh Extends Ziplock Bags (gallon)
(2) Ziploc Freezer Bags (quart)
(2) Hefty Ziploc Bags (quart)
(1) Oral B - Children's Toothpaste
(4) Rubbermaid Containers - Small
(1) Wet Ones Antibacterial Wipes
(2) Borden Cheese - Sliced/Ind. wrapped - (8 count)
(2) Kelloggs Shredded Bite Size Mini Wheats
(4) Pringles
(1) Alexia Waffle Fries Snacks
(2) Cascade Dishwashing Detergent
(1) New England Coffee (1 lb)
(1) Kikkoman Teriyakki Sauce
(2) Rib Eye Steaks (3/4 lb ea)
(2) Ground Beef (2lbs ea)
(1) T. Marzetti Supreme Caesar Salad Dressing

All in all a GREAT week of shopping. I'm looking forward to the Triple Coupons I here are coming soon!!

CVSing Rocks!

Okay, so it's been a few weeks since I have posted. Busy time for the Devine's, but I have to say I've been hard at work figuring out this couponing thing. A couple weeks ago I finally got brave enough to start taking advantage of the CVS Extra Care Bucks program. While it seemed intimidating at first, it has definitely paid off and I am a loyal CVS customer now. I have also continued to get some awesome grocery store deals since my last post.

Today, I reviewed the CVS weekly deals and game plan for this week on southernsavers.com (my absolute favorite site for couponing - to date : ) . Southernsavers.com breaks down the CVS plan and makes it easy to grasp. They also detail out the deals and give you a game plan scenerio of how to go about getting the deals for very little OOP (out of pocket).

Here are my savings from today:

I purchased $60.03 worth of merchandise for $13.36 OOP & left with $3.00 in ECB's and a $3 off $15 coupon in hand. (Lots of great school supplies this week.)

That's a 78% savings...INCREDIBLE!!

Here's what I purchased:

(2) Packs college ruled filler paper (150 count)
(2) 1" Binders

(2) 24 count boxes of #2 pencils

(2) memo pads (100 sheets)

(1) Colgate MaxWhite Toothpaste

(1) 2 pack of Oral B Toothbrushes

(1) CVS Brand Panty Liners 22 count

(1) Speed Stick Pro Men's Deodorant

(2) 10 count Paper Mate Pens

(2) CVS Brand 5 subject notebooks (180 sheet)

(1) Pack 2 count Reeses Cups

This week they are also offering a Kodak picture movie DVD for $9.99 and you get $9.99 back in ECB's. I'll be going to get mine before the weeks out! That will leave me $9.99 to start next week with which will mean much less OOP for me next week. YAY!!!

If you're not CVSing, YOU SHOULD GIVE IT A TRY!!

Next...

Super Double Coupons at Harris Teeter starting tomorrow. They will double coupons up to $1.98. Looking forward to lots of free deals : )

Check back later this week to find out how I did!

Forever a Clipper

Our family has some new expenses coming this fall, Ella's Preschool tuition and more, so I have been inspired to find new ways to cut costs and find money to cover them. I have never really been a coupon clipper - I've tried, but never really followed through. The amount of planning and time investment didn't seem to be worth it to me.

Well, when backed into a corner, we all tend to come out kicking. And kicking I am, with great determination, to reduce our grocery bill in half (OR BETTER). We'll know for sure in a couple months or so how it's going, but so far I'm feeling pretty good about it.

My new mantra...Clip, Clip, Clip, then Clip some more!! I'M SOLD : )

I figure it's easier to show and tell. (If you're like me, visuals always help.) So, check out the picture above and let me share this weekends deals with you.

Shopped at Harris Teeter (triple coupons this week)...I don't frequent Harris Teeter normally, because I feel their prices are a bit higher on average. However, they double coupons everyday and offer triple coupons from time to time. So, you have to do the math and compare with your regular store and decide what's best for you. There are so many items you can get for free with doubling and tripling of coupons, that it is important to make sure you take advantage of those deals. I've learned that stockpiling is a good idea. If I do this thing right, I should rarely have to buy anything at full price. With a stockpile, I should be able to be selective and only buy when something is on sale &/or I have a coupon. In just one month, I am well on my way to a great stockpile (just need somewhere to put it all : ) . So, back to my trip to Harris Teeter :

Total of purchases $166.89

Saved $109.97

Total Out Of Pocket (OOP) $ 56.92

I purchased the following:

Item Qty Price

Tabasco Pepper Sauce (2) FREE

Hunts Manwich Sauce (4) .37ea

Fritos 100 Calorie Packs (2) .64 ea

Frosted Flakes (2) BOGO

Frenches Yellow Mustard (1) FREE

Frenches Honey Mustard (1) .44

Frenches Worchestershire Sauce (1) FREE

Frenches Fried Onions (2) .25ea

Domino Light Brown Sugar (2) .09ea

Swanson Canned Prem. Chunck Wht Chkn(4) 1.88ea

Crisco Puritan Canola Oil w/ Omega 3 (1) 1.54

CBRD ABC/123 (2) .97ea

Spray & Wash Resolve Power (2) 1.65ea

Land O' Lakes Spreadable Butter (1) .60

Daisy Sour Cream (16 oz) (1) .69

Lunchables (full size w/ juice pouch) (4) 1.00 ea

Bandaid (40ct Clear) (2) 1.00 ea

Hefty Easy Grip Plastic Cups (20ct) (1) .34

Dial Basics Soap (3pk) (1) .14

Kraft Salad Dressing (1) .45

Archway Cookies (2) 1.50ea

Ragu Spaghetti Sauce (1) .45

Snickers Bars (4) .50 ea

Off Repellent (1) 1.24

MC Black Pepper (4oz) (1) .25

Hodgson Whole Wheat Spaghetti (1) 1.59

Hodgson Whole Wheat Fettuccini (1) 3.19

Wet Ones Wipes (40ct) (2) .74 ea

Snyders Pretzel Pieces (1) .25

Kettle Salt & Cracked Pepper Chips (1) 2.50

Skintimate Shave Gel (2) FREE

Aged Cube Steak (~1.5lbs) (2) 6.45 total

Marzetti Ceasar Dressing (1) 3.79

Barcardi Daiquiri Mixers (Frozen) (2) 1.25ea

I've made a few mistakes along the way - got a great deal, but a couple of items could have been handled differently for a better savings. All in all I've done pretty good so far!

I've definitely been bitten by the bug and will be clipping away for years to come : )

Beautiful Snow & Lots of Fun

Finally, a good snow in NC...it's been a long time. It is beautiful and Ella had a blast playing in it today. It's been a good day! Sunday night - Snow cream, Monday - Playing in the snow, built Frosty and his 3 little baby snowkids : )