Helping Others

Happy end of Hump day! I cannot express how ready I am for Friday to be here, work is yucky, hehe. Anyways, I have mentioned about helping others with couponing.

The first opportunity that is absolutely no cost to you and very little effort is I need your expired coupons please! There is a girl scout group in Florida that is organizing coupons up to 2 months old. These coupons are sent to our wonderful soldiers overseas where they can use them on their base. This is much more productive than throwing them away. I will be mailing them off at least once a month at the end, but probably twice if many of you give yours to me. They cannot take internet printed coupons and they cannot take any that have a store logo on them.

If you would rather mail them yourself, send them to:

Girl Scout Troop 4713

c/o Amber Abendschein
220 Goldie Street
Leesburg, FL 34748

Please put coupons to troops on the envelope, or in the envelope






Another opportunity to give back to your community is a program called Change the World with Change. One blog, Saving Addiction, will list the weekly suggestions of things that are relatively cheap to buy. I will post a weekly list of things you can buy. A few dollars a week may not seem like a lot, but it will make quite an impact to someone who doesn't have much. I was talking to my awesome Aunt Michelle ;) tonight, and she said that one nursing home didn't have any toothpaste when she spoke with them.

I will get you a list of places to donate soon, and I am happy to drop anything off for you. With Saving Addiction's permission, here is her list:

Rite Aid
StayFree Pads $1.99
-$2/1 Coupon (from the 3/28 RP)
=FREE

Aveeno Sun, Body, Face and Bath Care $2 Off (w/ in-ad coupon)
SCR: $5 wyb 3; $3 wyb 2 ; $1 wyb1
-$1/1 Coupon (from the 4/25 SS)
Deal Idea: (do this 3 times!)
Aveeno Moisturizing Bar $3.29
-$1/1 Coupon
-$2/1 RA in-ad Coupon
=$0.29
Get back a $5 SCR for buying 3
=$4.13 Money Maker

Ban Deodorant BOGO 50% Off
SCR: $10 wyb 4
-$1/1 Coupon (from the 4/18 SS)
=FREE plus Money Maker!

Colgate ProClinical Toothpaste $2.99
-$1/1 Coupon (from the 4/11 RP)
-$1/1 Rite Aid in-ad Coupon
=$0.99

Speedstick $2.99
$0.50/1 Coupon (from the 4/25 SS)
-$2/1 Rite Aid in-ad Coupon
=$0.49

Pert Hair Care BOGO FREE
-$1.50/1 Mens Coupon (use 2 )
=$0.50 each

Walgreens:

StayFree Pads $2.99
Get back a $3 RR
-$2/1 Coupon (from the 3/28 RP)
=Free plus $2 Money Maker!

Plackers Dental Flossers $2
Get back a $2 RR
-$0.50/1 Coupon (from the 4/18 RP)
=Free plus $0.50 Money Maker!

Skintimtate Shaving Cream $2.99
Get a $3 RR
=FREE

Clio Beautytrim Personal Hair Trimmer $4.99
Get back a $5 RR
=FREE

Sudafed, Bendaryl, Zyrtec, and Tylenol (select Varities) $4.99
Get a $5 RR wyb 2
-$5/2 Coupon (from the 4/11 RP)
=FREE

Infusium Leave-in Hair Treatment $4.99
-$3/1 Coupon (from the ALL YOU Mag May Issue) or $2/1 Coupon (from the 3/28 SS)
-$2/1 Walgreens May Coupon Booklet
=FREE

Reach Total Care Toothbrush and Floss ($2 Off w/ in-ad Coupon)
Deal Idea:
(2) Toothbrushes around $3.99 each
- Buy 1 Get 1 Free coupon (from the 1/3 RP)
- $1/1 Reach Toothbrush coupon ( from the 1/3 RP or 3/7 RP)
-$2/1 in ad-coupon (will deduct $4)
= FREE plus $1 moneymaker!

Tone Body Wash
Get back a $3 RR
=FREE

Sunlight Dish Soap $0.99 (w/ in-ad coupon)
-$0.25/1 Coupon (from the 2/28 SS)
=$0.74

Help!

Ok blog readers, I have a few questions for you.

First of all, I am looking for new and quick things to make for us to take for lunch at work. Any ideas? We are tired of sandwiches.

Second, I am looking for mission places to give extra items I am buying. Do you know of good places to contact?

Just call me the Coupon Queen!

What an amazing week this has been. Jonathan and I spent Saturday with some Life Connection people to finish roofing the house. I truly understand the verse that all things are possible with Christ. I am not a physical laborer, but trusting God allowed me and 5 others to work from 6:30 that morning till 7:30 that night after being on the roof all day in the sun. 6 people were able to roof this house in a day. And praise God it wasn't too hot and not rainy. Yours truly was on that roof walking around like a pro learning how to shingle and use a nail gun...so don't mess with me...I know how to use that weapon :) It was a blessing to really see how being a servant makes an impact on people.

Saturday left me barely able to move but enthusiastic about serving more. I am starting to use a few bucks a week to purchase some things to donate for missions. If you are interested in receiving a list of ideas to purchase, please let me know.

Ok, on to the coupon queen part.....My Publix trip tonight was by far the BEST SAVINGS EVER! Look at this picture...

Counting last night's Publix trip (those items not pictured here) and tonight's trip I got $188 worth of groceries for $27 before taxes and $35 after taxes. I must say that I think I have outdone myself. If I actually use all of this cleaning supplies I have bought over the past few weeks, we will have the cleanest house in the whole Birmingham area, haha.

Here is the end of the receipt to prove the savings

And just to think that a few months ago, I hated grocery shopping. Now, I crave for Wednesday to come faster for that penny item. Since I have severly been stockpiling over the past few weeks, I must share how full and loved our pantry and freezer are:

This is nowhere near the stockpiling some people do, but I am running out of room. I have a cleaning supply store under our guest bathroom sink, so things are just getting stored where ever I find a place.

I hope everyone is having a great week; count your blessings! I'm counting all $150 dollars I saved in the past few days. Isn't God great! Enrich yourself further and serve others in some way over the next week.

Coupon Class

Today I taught my first coupon class for a great group of ladies at Protective. I definitely have some things to change for future ones, but not too bad! We went tonight to work some more on the house for Metro Changers. Kristen, Danny and I finished finally picking up all of the shingles! I wasn't sure we would ever finish. The guys got started on the roof, and we will finish Saturday morning. Guess who may get on the roof and learn to shingle? Me!!! I have to say that our Life Connection class rocks!

Thank God there is just one more day in the work week. Happy almost Friday!

What a weekend

This has been a very busy weekend. Friday night was spent visiting with our cousin from Oregon, so we definitely had a blast till about 10 pm when it was time to go home. Our Life Connection class was participating in Metro Changers this weekend to re-roof her house. We were only able to work about 6 hours, but that was definitely some hard work. The guys were removing the 4 layers of shingles while the girls had to clean all of that up. Between all the shoveling, emptying the wheel barrow, throwing shingles in the wheelbarrow and on my knees shoveling the stuff for others, my body is hating me right now. It doesn't matter what I move...pain.

We had to leave early from that to my company event of the Birmingham Barron's baseball game which was awesome except we lost :( The fireworks show at the end was amazing though. This morning, we went to Barber's Motorsports for the Indy race. We spent the time hanging out with one of our cool aunt and uncle. We left early to come back home. This weekend has been fun but where does it leave me?.... in pain on the couch.

I have not updated for a while on my coupon trips, but I am really starting to get the hang of this. Check out my 68% savings where I got a buggy full of $117 worth of groceries for the low low price of $38!

Here is the picture...

Now for the highlights:

5 boxes of Augratin potatoes for about $1 from $1.69 a box

Penny item of Publix bleach

Soft Scrub Kitchen cleaner was $3.79 a bottle but on sale for 2 for $5. I had 2 BOGO coupons and then 2 $2 off coupons. I forgot to use my Target $1 off coupon so they would have been free, but not bad $1 for 4 bottles

Voila skillet meals were $4.99 but bogo and then $1 off 2.

Thomas bagels were $3.99 and then bogo plus $1 off for the final of $1

Golden Grahams bogo plus $1 off 2

Green Giant frozen vegetables were $1.66 a box down to $1. I had several $.40 off that doubled so around $1 for 4 boxes

Pam spray was $3.39, then bogo and I had $.35 off that doubled for a final around $1

My favorite deal: Stouffer's family entree lasagna was $6.99 marked down to $3.99. I had 2 $2.50 off coupons for a final of $1.49 each! I can't get the meat that cheap.

The weekend has almost come to an end, so I'm going to continue to lay on this couch and hope to gain more use of my back. I hope everyone had a great weekend and have a great week.