Happy Leap Day! McDonalds deal.

Happy Leap Day Everyone!

Here is a great deal going on today only at our local McDonalds. Buy one get one free Big Mac and Quarter Pounder with cheese.

Sorry about the lack of a picture. I'm posting from my tablet and wasn't able to get the picture from the website.

Week 9 Saved Over $80!

I lost my receipt for this week darn it. Totals may be a few pennies off but for the most part I remember what I paid. :)

Angel Soft Toilet Paper. Reg $5.97
Used FREE coupon from Angel Soft -received in the mail
Total Saved $5.97

(3) NERF Vortex Praxis Guns Reg $24.95

Clearance for $10

 Used $5 Coupon from Hasbro 

Paid $5 Each ($15 total)

Total Saved $59.85

(2) Ky Reg $2.84
Used coupon for $3 www.coupons.com
Saved $6 (total of $0.32 Money Maker!)

(3)American Greeting Cards Reg $0.47
Used Buy 2 Get One Free 
Paid $0.94 or $0.31 each ~Great Price for Birthday Cards!
Saved $0.47

(8) Hormel Dinners- These are great for hubby for lunches and for care packages because they don't need refrigerated  , which by the way seems odd to me..
Reg. $1.72
Used $1 off coupon
Paid $0.72 each
Total Saved $8

(2) Country Crock Butter ~my favorite :) Reg. $1.68
Used $1 off coupon
Paid $0.68~ great price for butter)
Saved $2

TOTALS: 

Price BEFORE coupons: $105.03

Paid Out Of Pocket: $22.74

Saved $82.29

Total Saved This Year:  $383.70

Nerf For Almost Nothin'

My Boys insisted on being in the picture! :)

Remember those Hasbro coupons I told you to print?? Did you?? I hope so because there is one AWESOME deal right now!

Nerf Vortex Praxis is on clearance at Walmart, up by the front of the store, for $10! These are marked down from $24.96 (upwards of around $30 at Christmas if I remember right).

There was a $5 off Hasbro Nerf Vortex Praxis coupon available to print back in January.

Combine the clearance sale with the coupon and these high dollar and high fun toys are only $5! My boys LOVE Nerf! I bought one for all three of them. (my 2 sons and one for my husband)

Details:

Nerf Vortex Praxis Reg. $24.95
Clearance Price: $10
- $5 coupon
=$5 Each! 

Let's just say these were in the boxes long enough for me to snap a couple pictures. When my husband arrived home it was all out Nerf War! lol

Week 8 Only spent $0.75

The last few weeks have just been crazy busy for me. I have had zero time to shop. Thankfully I have my stockpile to keep me going, but I have to get back to couponing soon!

I only got 2 different items this week with coupons..

Tylenol Pain Patches Reg $5.47
Used $5 coupon from Sunday paper
Paid $0.47

(2) Tasters Choice Coffee Reg $1.28
First one came in the mail as a free sample (6 total)
Second set I bought using the coupon that was with the samples for $1 off
Paid $0.28

Total before coupons: $8.03
Total paid: $0.75

Savings $7.28
Savings This Year: $303.41

FREE Haircuts!

One way we save a lot of money is by doing the boys haircuts at home. This all started several years ago after many bad haircuts my husband insisted we buy a set of hair clippers and I do it. First let's understand that he is very picky. Second lets understand that I knew NOTHING about cutting hair. Still he was very much more confident about my abilities than I. Of course he did make me practice on our son first! :)

So now I cut my husband and both our boys hair. I can't tell you how much money I have saved with just one pair of clippers. Especially back when we were foster parents! The clippers I have are Wahl. They come with several attachments for different lengths. Watch for coupons for whichever brand you like best. I paid around $30 for my set. Depending on what you buy and the cost of haircuts in your area you can get your money back after just one haircut!

You don't have to be a hair expert or even know much of anything about hair cutting. It comes with insturctions and if you want more hair cutting tips, check out you tube for some great videos.

I always cut the boys hair pretty short, although this time I did cut it a little shorter than normal. It's hard to cut a wiggly 2 year old so when we cut it, we really cut it. lol It is buzzed pretty short, but you can even do long haircuts.

Here is my little man excited about his hair cut!

FREE Lego Magazine

A big thanks to Andrea for posting about this deal on my comments. My kids LOVE Lego's and somehow I never knew about this!!

FREE 2 Year Subscription to Lego or Lego Jr Magazine! My kids love getting magazines in the mail and what better than Lego's!! Just sign up HERE. Kids 7 and under receive Lego Club Jr while kids over 7 receive normal Lego Club!

FREE Magazines from Missouri Conservation Dept

The Missouri Conservation Dept produces two magazines free to the public each month. These are great magazines filled with neat articles and beautiful pictures throughout.

The first of their magazines is the classic Missouri Conservationist magazine. Like I said it is FREE. Just fill out the form online or it is also available to download online. You can even go back and look through and read different issues back to 1995. CLICK HERE

The second magazine has only been out a couple years and my kids just LOVE it! It is called Xplor Magazine. It is a kids version of the Missouri Conservationist. It is also 100% FREE. Their website also has some neat interactive activities, pictures, videos and more for kids.CLICK HERE for XPLOR

Have more than one child or even adults who want their own? Sign up each of your kids for the Missouri Conservationist and Xplor magazines. They will love having their own copy to read and this way when they are done they can cut out pictures and stuff without the other children getting mad. We had several copies arriving at our house when we were foster parents. It really makes the kids feel special to get them.

Week 7 Results Saved $62.98!

With school, scouts, work, church, and all the other misc activities we have had going on my couponing has been taking a hit. However I still have managed to score some great deals on everyday stuff..

In my first picture I got:

(2) Pull-Ups Reg $9.47
Used $2 off coupon from www.pull-ups.com
Saved $4

(4)Pull Ups Flushable Wipes Reg $1.72
Used $1 off coupon from www.pull-ups.com
Saved $4

Splenda Packets
FREE in the Mail
Savings Approx $0.50

Idaho Spuds Reg $1.98
FREE Mail in Rebate on Box
Total Saved $1.98

So my total for this was $28.30 of which I paid $17.82 Saving me $10.48

Next Stop Cheddar's! LOVE Cheddar's!
Our Total was right at $45
Which we used a gift card from Christmas
Making it.. FREE for us!
 Gift card had about $5 left on it and my sweet husband went over to the table across from us who had a small child around the age of our son and handed it to them. He's such a great guy. :) 

By the way I still have another gift card from my brother to use, but am waiting until after my weight loss challenge is over! lol :)

Another restaurant deal I scored this week was at SubWay. Where I used a B1G1 6 inch sub.

Total Savings $3.50

The reason we went to Springfield and ate at Cheddar's is because we needed to go to Hobby Lobby to get some items for my son's Pinewood Derby Car. There I used a 40% off coupon.
Total Savings $4.00

This just goes to show that even if you can't go out and do "coupon shopping" you can still save a great amount of money just by using coupons with everyday things you are already buying!

Total Savings this week: $62.98!

Total Saved this year: 296.13

The Best Coupon Ever!

My Son made me this coupon for Valentines Day. It's for Free Love from Connor Kelley. He even included Never Expires and a barcode! How Cute!

Sweetheart Deals

Looking to enjoy Valentines Day for less this year? Here are some sweet deals for you and your sweetheart to enjoy.

• Free American Greetings Card w/ purchase of 2 cards www.coupons.com Also seen these coupons in the Card aisle at Walmart.
• Free Printable Valentines Day Coupons from American Greeting choose from Naughty, Valentines or Romantic. American Greetings
• $3 Off Select Blue Ray DVD's: Romeo & Juliet, Just Wright, Legally Blond, When Harry Met Sally, Mulin Rouge www.coupons.com
• FREE Movie Rental from Redbox for Valentines Day! Redbox Facebook Page
• $3 off KY Jelly www.coupons.com
• $5 in Coupons for Trojan Condoms www.trojancondoms.com

Have A Happy Valentines Day!

Week 6 Results $21.65 worh of stuff for $4.79

This week was a busy week for me so I didn't get much shopping done. There were lots of great bargains out there I was just too busy to get most of them. That's the good thing about couponing though. It's not a big deal if I don't get all the deals each and every week. We have more than enough stuff to supply us. So, don't worry if you have an off week.

Here's what I got and how I got it..

Brany paper towels Reg $1.77
Used $1 coupon from Sunday Paper
Paid: $0.77
Saved $1

(2) Protein Shakes Reg $2.68
Used FREE coupon from Facebook Page No longer available to print
Paid: $0
Saved $5.36

(2) Herbal Essence Shampoo/Conditioner Reg $0.97
Used 1 $1 off Coupon from Sunday paper and Received one as a free Sample in the mail
Paid $0 ($0.03 MONEYMAKER)
Save $1.94

Bounce Dryer Bar Reg $4.36 ( I LOVE These!)
Used $2 off coupon from P & G booklet
Paid $2.36
Saved $2

(2) Dental Floss reg $0.97
Used $0.75 Coupon from P & G Booklets
Paid  $0.22 each
Saved $1.50

Gum Reg $1.28
Used $1 coupon from Sunday Paper
Paid $0.28
Saved $1

Maybelline Lip StickReg $2.97
Used $2 coupon www.Redplum.com
Paid $0.97
Saved $2

(2) Crest Whitestrips Samples Reg $0.97 ? Just a guess since you can't buy the samples
Received sample by mail
Paid $0
Saved $1.94

Totals:
Total Before Coupons: $21.56
Paid: $4.79
Total Saved:  $16.77

Did pretty well. I got all of my stuff for around the price of just the dryer bar. I try to spend less than $5 on all my couponing stuff each week (meaning anything that isn't something I need right then)


TOTAL SAVED SO FAR THIS YEAR: $233.15

Tasty Tuesday

If there is one night to eat out in this small town it's Tuesday! Several restaurant/fast food places have great deals on Tuesday nights. Tuesday nights are Cub Scout nights for us so sometimes we are in the mood for something cheap and fast.

Here is the local Tasty Tuesday Deals..

• Taco Bell: Taco Tuesday! All Tacos $0.50
• Sonic Drive-in: 5 burgers for $5.99- I believe this is from 5pm-close but may just be from 5-8pm
• McDonald's Tuesday Family Night: All Happy Meals $1.99 (5pm-8pm)
• Pizza Hut Kids Eat Free. One child buffet per adult buffet 5pm-8pm

The More You Know, The More You Save! 

Reward's for A's FREE stuff for kids!

With progress reports just coming out I thought now would be a great time to share with you some great rewards for your school age children. Here are a few rewards your child can receive with their report cards.

• McDonald's- Free hamburger per A (up to 5) Some stores give free Happy Meals for straight A's but the Mtn.Grove store gives free hamburgers per A. Check with your local store. 
• Krispy Kreme- Free doughnut per A(up to 6) per child. 
• Incredible Pizza- Straight A's = $6 in Free Game Play. A's & B's = $4 in Free Game Play. Improved Grades  = $3 in Free Game Play
• Chuck E Cheese- Earn up to 15 tokens
• Justice Stores (Limited Too)- $5 off total purchase
• Baskin-Robbin's- Free scoop of ice cream

Week 5 Results (3 picture)

I've been REALLY busy again this week. I didn't think I had gotten that many deals. I guess they just added up over the week.

Here is my first picture. I got this early in the week. No coupons used here. Just price matching. Chocolate Milk and Lunchables were both on sale for $1 at Countrymart. I had to take the picture before my son got home from school because I knew they wouldn't last long!

Lunchables reg $1.99 on sale for $1
Saved: $4.95
Chocolate Milk Reg $1.19 on sale $1
Saved: $0.95
Total Saved this picture: $5.90

My second picture is of a great photo deal I got at Walmart. I received an e-mail for 25 FREE 4x6 prints from Walmart. All you had to do was upload them and pick them up. Once my order was complete I received a second e-mail with a bonus coupon for 2 5x7's. So I got all of this for FREE

25 4x6 Photo's reg $5.09
FREE
2 5x7 Photo's Reg $3.15
FREE
Total Saved this picture $8.24

The last one is pretty much of everything else. I won't list each item but I will give you an idea of a few things.

A few of my Big purchases were.
Pull Ups. Reg $9.47
Used $1 off coupon
Paid $8.47 Saved $1

Chicken Reg. $20.97 ($6.99 each)
.Price Comp $14.97
Saved $6

Sugar Reg $6.18 ($3.09 each)
On sale $1.99
Saved $3.98


 Totals for this picture:
Total Retail $81.07
Total after comps and copons $42.30
Total Saved $38.77

My price comp stuff ended up being most of my total. All the other things I got with coupons and were pretty cheap or free.

GRAND TOTAL THIS WEEK:
Retail Total: $105.91
Total I paid $52.77
Total SAVED: $53.14

TOTAL SAVED THIS YEAR: $216.38

Teaching Our Children To Save

My son Connor (10yo) was so excited when I picked him up from school today. He had been the big winner in the class's spelling game today and as a reward he received a COUPON for FREE Cheesy Bread from Domino's. I called it in and ordered it while we were at Walmart (coupon shopping of course).

When we went to pick it up I said "Okay, Go in and use your coupon." He looked at me half excited and half scared to death and said "What do I say?" We went over what he should do and he excitedly jumped out of the car, Giving me a big "thumbs up" as he got out. lol.

He did great. I of course was sitting directly in front of the store and could see him at ALL times. He got his cheesy bread and headed out. He got in the car and said. "Look I did it. I'm so proud of myself!" lol. He is easily amused, but honestly how many times do we just do things for our children when we should be teaching them and giving them opportunities to go out on their own. I didn't care a bit to go in and get it for him, but I felt it was his reward and he should be able to see it through.

Teach them now to save money on the things they want and you will be thankful later! By the way he ate almost the entire box by himself!

Coupon Fraud

Let's look at the ugly side of couponing for a moment, coupon FRAUD. TLC's show Extreme Couponing has recently been under some fire for allowing coupon fraud. Remember kids, not everything you see on T.V is real or LEGAL! HERE is a great link explaining just one of the show's contestants using coupons fraudulently. There are several different ways to commit coupon fraud. I'm going to go over a few of these and how to avoid it.

What is coupon fraud? Here are some Examples:

• Using coupons on the wrong size of products. For Example: You have a $1 off coupon for Crest toothpaste that excludes trial sizes and you use that coupon for the $0.97 trial size tube. THIS IS FRAUD!
• Using coupons after their expiration date. Note unless your store policy accepts this. Many military bases allow expired coupons.
• Using coupons for the wrong product. For example you have a $0.50 coupon for Diet Pepsi and you use it on Pepsi Max.. THIS IS FRAUD! 
• Photo Copy coupons. You can not copy coupons. Many websites limit printable coupons to (2) per customer. If you photocopy coupons..THIS IS FRAUD! 
• If you PURCHASE coupons. Most all coupons say "Void if reproduced, sold or transferred" Now while you will not get in trouble for handing out coupons to your friends you can get in trouble if you SELL them! THIS IS FRAUD! 
• Decoding bar codes. This is a BIG one! At least one of the ladies on TLC's Extreme Couponing is in some hot water for this one! For Example using a high value coupon such as $7 off Crest White Strips for Tide. THIS IS FRAUD! 

So what's the penalty for coupon fraud?


Penalties for those convicted of coupon fraud related crimes vary by each case and the number of laws violated.

As of this date,
Longest prison sentence: 17 years
Highest financial penalty: $5 million
Prison sentences of three to five years are not uncommon. Financial penalties generally vary, but have often been in excess of $200,000.

 It's not worth saving $0.50! Don't commit coupon fraud. At The Cozy Coupon I will never intentionally post an ill legit deal. If I for some reason post something that isn't valid please let me know and I will correct it.

Happy Shopping!