Crazy Coupon Lady

So, my friend Callie turned me onto this thing called "couponing". She has a blog too and had a post about how much money she saves each time she goes grocery shopping.

Well...when I heard save and money in the same sentence, I definitely perked up. You know me...pretty very (who am I kidding?:) conservative, frugal and always looking for a great deal. Love those BOGO's! I get it from my mother, I just can't help it. Sometimes, I think it drives Brian crazy, but deep down, I know he appreciates how much money I save us! He's getting better though. He is starting to understand how to work our credit card rewards to his advantage. From everyday purchases, we were able to maximize our Discover rewards points and buy all new kitchen cabinet hardware. It was awesome!

Anyways, there's this great site/blog that Callie checks several times a day called Hip2Save. It's a great site. Young stay-at-home mom with 3 kids who posts coupons, deals, freebies and ways to save on everything. A lot of what she posts is for Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens and CVS, but she also posts restaurants, clothing stores and coupons for everywhere! Check it out if you have some spare time. It can be a little overwhelming with how much she posts, but there are some great deals hiding in there!

So, from the site I have already printed LOTS of money-saving coupons, signed up for freebies (including free subscriptions to OK! Magazine and Maxim for the hubs) and found out about some awesome deals. I haven't received any of our freebies in the mail yet, but according to Callie, she has received full-sized bottles of shampoo and lotion!

Well, my first true "couponing" experience was last Friday when I went to the grocery store to get some things for our BBQ that night. I'm not cool enough to have a coupon organizer yet, but don't worry, my time is coming Callie! So...I'm walking through the store gathering up what I needed. I had about 10 coupons for various things and they were all laid out on my reusable bags in the front part of the cart. I have to say...I felt like everyone was looking at me! Even at Wal-Mart! In my head I was like, stop looking at me and take a look in the mirror! I felt like that crazy coupon lady!

But, as I exited the register and looked at my receipt, I saved $11! And it was all for stuff I needed or was going to buy anyways. It was exhilarating! I know I sound so corny, but I'm hooked:)

So, here's another great deal I thought I would pass along for the ladies. I've been wanting to start a facial regimen for a little while now. It all sparked from a conversation with girlfriends. Gotta take care of those wrinkles before they start popping up! Well, after talking with Studer, she turned me on to trying out the Olay Professional Pro-x line. Sure enough, I checked out Hip2Save shortly after my convo with her and I find a $20 rebate form for purchasing $50 in Olay products. The 3-product AM/PM facial kit is $60 at Wal-Mart. Great deal! Here's the Rebate Form if anyone is interested, must purchase the products before May 14.

So, now that I have written a novel about couponing, I'll get back to what I should be doing:)

But remember, every penny counts! My financial adviser would be so proud:)