A lot of the printable coupons I've printed aren't that great of a deal. But, I scored this weekend!

I had printed a ton of the Target $.50 tuna coupons. I had 1 tuna coupon from the paper. We got one 7oz pack free and then bought a bunch of $.62 cans for $.12! We are getting more this weekend.

I had two $2 Bertolli meals and went ahead and bought two of these from Target.

I had a $1 off Nature Valley Granola Bars Target coupon x 2 and $1 off purchase of two boxes manufacturer's coupon. Plus they were on sale 2/$4. So, we got 2 boxes for $.50.

I used the Target $1 off Oscar Myer Turkey at Target.

I also had a printable mustard coupon, for $.50 off. So, I went ahead and used it before it expired.

I had a printable coupon for $.50 off 2lb of bananas, which left them at $.27/lb.

I also got $.50 off something else, but can't remember at this time what it was.

I never knew how much could be saved with printable coupons! I'm definitely going to keep printing!!

I forgot! Over the weekend we purchased our Entertainment Book. We got it for $20, which is $5 less than the online price for our city.

Also, I called Ingles yesterday and the manager actually answered the phone! I asked what I needed to do to complain about some bad produce we purchased. He said he'll replace the avocados and also reimburse us! So, next week when we go in, we'll get $8 back and 4 avocados! YAY for great customer service!!

Today, I got a card from my parents. It had a check for enough money to cover dinner on Saturday night. So, now I don't feel so bad about the amount we spent!

So, I looked at my credit card rewards and I'm up to a little over $300. My DH had $130 worth, but we used that towards a car repair he had done. I'm really trying not to use the rewards on something we need. I really want to use them for something fun. I'm thinking we'll keep saving them up. I'm thinking we might use them for a Bose sound system, a flat panel TV (small one), a fancy digital camera, or towards our Cruise in December. The cruise would be practical, but would allow us to do more while we are on the boat. We'll see.

My mother used to buy these books every year when my sisters sold them for marching band. She'd use them probably enough to make her money back, but wasn't too faithful at using it.

I've been debating for a while now if it'd really be worth it.

I did some research and I found out that Entertainment.com has printable coupons that you get free with your registered entertainment card. I did the trial and got 3 coupons which we'll probably use this weekend for my birthday.

After a little more research, I found the following sites, which have the same printable coupons:

3 Free coupons per year per registered email address
http://www.saversguide.com/custom/hotels/default/jsp/content/pages/login.epi

4 Free coupons per month
http://www.saversguide.com/custom/demoprint/default/jsp/content/pages/splash.epi

It didn't even appear you had to register for the second link!

So, now I have access to all the printable coupons I could need. So, that is no longer a selling point for the Entertainment book.

I did notice that the online coupons don't really have any of the national chain stores that the actual book has. To me, these would be the most valuable. I know the Atlanta book has the following coupons that I would find very useful:

Kroger - $5 off $75 purchase (one for each month)
Target - free 4x6 photos
New York & Company - $25 off $75 OR $50 off $150

In my research I also heard about the new

Maxcard. It seems like a pretty interesting idea. It is also $14.99 more than the Entertainment book. I didn't see any coupons there that would make it worth the extra cost. I couldn't find out if it included Kroger discounts or Target. I did notice it had a 10% discount for Kauffman Tires, which is where I get all my car maintenance done. But, I already get a discount there because we are valued customers.

So, I think I've decided to go ahead and get the 2008 Entertainment book. I really think, in the end I'm going to save more than I end up spending. Plus, I'm going to see if some of the high school students I know are selling them this year. That way, I'll be helping them out as well.

So, do you buy the Entertainment book? Do you find it worth the money? Are there any tips or tricks to getting the most out of it?

I tried a Google search and didn't come up with much.

This week's Rite-Aid ad has some Manufacturer's coupons in it. I know normally you can use only one manufacturer's coupon per item. But, the Rite-Aid coupons say they are only valid at Rite-Aid. Does anyone know if I can use both the Rite-Aid coupon and one from the Sunday paper?

I found one place online saying you could, but it hadn't been tested yet.

Ok, over the weekend was my first try at couponing and buying the sales. I think we did pretty good.

Basically, we spent $81.08 and saved $34.43 ($23.93 card savings, $10.50 coupon savings). That is 30%. Not too bad for our first try. Our purchase did include 4 frozen pizzas ($16 worth) that were barely on sale and I didn't have a coupon for. DH insisted on having them.

I think our best deal was Johnsonville Premium Pork Sausage. Our grocery store had it marked 1/2 off at $1.50 and I had a $1 off coupon. So, we only paid $.50. Plus, the packaging had another $1 off coupon, which we'll use when it goes on sale again.

Today, I'm heading to Walgreens. I've been wanting to get some candles & plugins for our apartment, but have been putting it off because the cost can add up real quick. Well, Walgreens is having a pretty good deal on a bunch of different brands/styles, and of course I have coupons. So, I'm going to stock up on a few things. Best of all, I have a giftcard, so it'll be no cost to me!

I don't know much about how Walgreen's rebates work. I have a couple questions:

1. Is there any way I can submit more than one rebate? If so, do I need to do separate purchases?
2. Do I send the rebate in at the end of the month?
3. What is this I've read about the giftcard 10% option? Anyone have any details?
4. Lastly, anyone have any tips or tricks regarding Walgreen's rebates?

Thanks!

Ok. I've decided to start couponing and I'm ready to get started!

I stopped by my mom's house yesterday and picked up all the coupons she had. This morning I started clipping all the ones that haven't expired.

I read online about shipping expired coupons overseas to military families. I think this is a great idea. Anyone ever do this? If so, anything I should know?

My mom gets the coupons mailed to her for free. So, I looked into the mailer she gets and found more information about it. Apparently the Atlanta paper puts together a REACH Jacket which has local coupons on it. Then, inside they put some Sunday paper ads and the Sunday coupons. They mail it out on Mondays & Tuesdays for free. I'm not sure how to get on the mailing list though. I've emailed customer service and hope to receive a response. It'd be great if I could get the coupons free too! Then, I'll have two packs of coupons every week for free.

I'm super excited and how that all works out with the Atlanta paper and I can get added to the list!