Saturday, August 27, 2011

Crystal's Crazy Coupons-Trip 4



Trip 4 wasn't so 'special' but I couldn't pass up 4 cent Turkey slices, right?

Exactly- so I went.

I only had 1 coupon but imagine what I could've done if I had 10!

I went to Safeway tonight with
the intention to buy only 5 items.
1. 2 packages of lunchmeat 4 cents each
2. 1 package of Glade scented oil refills, 50 cents (is what I thought I read somewhere)
3. 1 big tub of country crock butter, $1.49
4. 1 package of store brand shredded cheese, $1.99
5. 1 bag of kitty cat treats, 75 cents.


Well, Even though my $5 trip multiplied quickly as I arrived, I still managed to get $28 worth of stuff for just $13.

Check it out:

1. Lunch Meat
2. no refills- my brain couldn't rap my head around it, or maybe I just couldn't find it. (so I got Bleach instead)
3. 1 small tub of country crock butter, (damn fine print!)
4. 1 package of store brand shredded cheese
5. 1 bag of kitty cat treats
and then for the add on 'excuses'

I saw the clearance items: Dole juice and Yoplait kids yogurt- 50% off!
The personal sized watermelons, just $1.49 and because I couldn't get my BIG tub of butter- I got the sticks instead. Not on sale, but still under $2. (I plan to do a lot of baking soon so I know these will come in handy)

Here is my total. :o) are you ready?


Yup, only $12.78- saving almost as much as I was spending.

And even tho that's only 50% savings, my goal is to one day see that 50 number climb to 80 or even 90% savings!!!

It's gonna take time, it's gonna be a lot of work. But I think I can do it! :o)

Crystal's Crazy Coupons-Trip 3



For Trip 3, I'm gonna give this one to Jim. He surprised me today when he took the kids to K-Mart today (instead of the intended McDonald's.) He wanted to buy Brooklyn a new pair of shoes.

Of course, buying his little girl a pair of shoes DOES come along with some obvious repercussions... such as: "but daddy, that's not tink

-a-bell suez!" and then Matt saying, "I want dis daddy" and "I want dat daddy". Once 2 pairs of shoes were picked out and a toy for the boy, Dad couldn't help but check out the mens clothes for himself- he could see CLEARANCE marked every which way he turned. Couple of outfits later, he found himself in the women's section- hoping to surprise his wife for an outfit as well...

You get the idea.
As I cringe to the sounds of bags approaching me when they arrived home- I found myself asking "how much did you spend?!!"

"Here, let me show you everything 1st."

I was for certain after I saw the 2 pair of little girl shoes, Lightning McQueen foam puzzle set, a pair of men's shorts, men's pants and a shirt, then add on my 'cute' outfit (pink shirt and blue capri's) and not to mention the licensed character socks for each toddler, and a My Little Pony doll... I KNEW the total was well over $100.

But surprisingly enough, he SAVED more than he spent! Check it out!

Now if only I can convince him to take a coupon with him when he goes, he'll be trained! ;o)








Friday, August 26, 2011

Crystal's Crazy Coupons-Trip 2



Next day, went to Fry's-
with $41 in my pocket. Hoping I would 'stay-on-task'. But truth be told, they had a lot of GREAT DEALS, and hey- we haven't b
een able to go grocery shopping in WEEKS. With the fridge being out and the money being tight, it was time to get the essentials again.

Here's how I did on Trip 2.


My total was just a little bit over $60- but I saved $36.72.

Here's a glimpse of my receipt.


I'm not as proud as an EXTREME COUPONER would be, but I'm proud to start. I'm proud to be on the look-out for great deals. My years of practice to 'stick-to-a-budget' have prepared me for this decision to start using coupons and combined with my anal retentive ways, I'm sure I'll be a success!

Crystal's Crazy Coupons-Trip 1



Ok, yes- I'm one of those millions of 'suckers' who watched TLC's Extreme Couponing and thought "I can do this too!" But it's taken many months for me to build the confidence and willingness to LEARN. My husband finally gave me the "I think you'd be good at it" support talk that I needed and BAM, I'm off and running.

My budget today, is $100. I know, that's a lot o
f money in the Extreme Couponing world- but I'm not quite there yet. I need to save, gather, stack and collect my coupons for SEVERAL MONTHS before I rush off and get 90% savings on my total grocery bill.

For today, I hope to save at least 50% at Albertson's.

Let's do the math and see how I do...

Wow, not bad!

I could have spent $102.60 but managed to leave the store spending just $54.36. Not the most IMPRESSIVE grocery bill- and something I would LOVE to work on to get better- but that's a 51% savings! Cha-ching! :o)


Saturday, August 6, 2011

Struggle


I struggle with finding some happiness
In this 'so-called: LIFE' you provide
I struggle to find some compassion
I've lost all my confidence and pride

I struggle to find my emotion
As I wonder if LOVE is still there
I struggle to find my composure
These feelings I won't longer bare.

I struggle with the loss of my husband
and coming to terms with the 'boss' I now have
I struggle with the loss of my family
I'm still trying to not see you as Dad.

I struggle to find a soft balance
Between what I want and I what I need
I struggle to gain my own strength back
Leaving you is on my mind in deed.

I struggle to resist the temptation
To take drugs or should I learn how to deal
I struggle to not call up a doctor
at lease SHE would understand how I feel

I struggle to put it all in prospective
Should I go, struggle then or just stay?
I struggle with the whole realization
No matter what- my struggles won't go away.