Can You Coupon?

Of course you can coupon. Anyone can clip coupons and take them to the grocery store and hand them to the cashier.

Do you have to spend 40, 50, or 60 hours a week to save money?

Um, no.  Sometimes I find it hard to carve out 2 hours, much less 60.

As my kids are getting older and needing more and more of my time, money, and attention (and gas), I find it hard to keep up with my coupons. So in this busy season, I am keeping it simple.

Can You Coupon? 4 Simple Steps for Busy Moms

1. Shop at the stores with the best prices. For me and my shopping habits, this includes loading my Randalls card with my Just4U savings, combining that with a trip to Trader Joe’s, and a swing through HEB or Foodarama or Food Town to balance out the rest.  There is no way I’m going to get to all of the stores that we have, so I need to focus my attention on the stores that have the best prices that week.  By looking at the ads, checking my pantry, and utilizing digital coupons, I can still save a lot of money.

2.  Printable coupons vs insert coupons.  I’m not always the biggest fan of printable coupons, but I have a handy dandy laser printer at home and I’m not spending a whole lot on ink.  So instead of stressing about all the coupons I haven’t clipped, I can print the ones I need.  Here’s a link to Coupons.com, Redplum.com, and CouponNetwork.com.

3.  Planning.  I’m going to try to plan our meals a little further out so that I can take advantage of really good sales and start stockpiling again.  My kids were aghast to learn we didn’t have 8 bags of french fries in the deep freeze.  Hopefully, the time I save by planning and stockpiling will leave me more time to clip coupons and chase deals.

4.  Letting it go.  I do not have time to chase every deal.  Between my full time job, my part time job, and my kids, something has got to give.  And these days more often than not, it’s the deal chasing that goes first.

So, that’s my blueprint for May, June and July.  I need to take it a little easier on myself and remember why I love couponing so much in the first place.

Kristin

Kristin Holt Duncan

About the Author: Kristin Holt Duncan is a Houston area extreme couponer. She enjoys saving money on the foods that her family actually likes so that she can spend more money on things like Nutella. And Danskos. And Coach purses. You can find her elsewhere on the web, below.

   

Get some new Target coupons!

Text picnic to 827438 to receive a link for:

• $1/1 Fresh Vegetable Purchase
• $1/1 Fresh Fruit Purchase
• $1/2 Market Pantry Frozen Fruit or Smoothie
• $1/2 Market Pantry Pasta Sauce or Dry Pasta
• $1/2 Honey Maid Graham Crackers
• $.75/2 Ziploc Storage Items
• $.50/1 Best Foods OR Hellman’s Mayonnaise
• $1/1 Bounty Paper Towels (6 pack) or Charmin Bath Tissue (9 pack)
• $.50/1 Clorox Disinfecting Wipes (35 count or larger)
• $1/1 Windex Touch-Up Bathroom or Kitchen Cleaner
• $1/1 Glade Air Care Item
• $.75/1 Shout Laundry Care Item
• $1/1 Tide Laundry Care Item
• $1/2 Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene or Aussie
• $1.50/2 Always Radiant or Tampax Feminine Care Items

That should make quite a few smaller items free. A couple apples here, a few bananas there… What’s not to like about free healthy food? Plus, pasta is regularly $1, so you could get a box for $.50. Don’t forget to check box sizes, since some varieties are 12 oz and others are 16 oz.

Plus, you can combine the manufacturer’s coupons with these text mobile coupons for even more savings.  Here’s some coupons to match up with these awesome text coupons:

Ziploc Slider Bags – $1/3 (5/5 SS)
(There’s also another Target coupon here for $.50/1, so you could use the text coupon, the paper Target coupon, and 1 insert coupon to maximize your savings)

Hellmann’s Real Whipped Tangy Dressing – $1.50/1 – 4/28 RP

Bounty Paper Towels – $1/2 – 4/28 PG

Charmin Bath Tissue – $.25 – 4/28 PG (am I the only one insulted by that coupon?)

Clorox Disinfecting Wipes – $.50/1 here (spin to win)

Windex Touch-up Bathroom or Kitchen Cleaner – $1/1 – 4/14 RP

Glade Air Care Item – $.75/1 5/5 SS

Shout Laundry Care – $.75/2 from here

Head & Shoulders – $1/1 from here

Herbal Essences – $2/1 hair color product – 4/28 PG

Pantene – $2/2 here

Aussie – *check your home mailers*

Always Radiant or Tampax – $1/2 – 4/28 PG and I have some $1/1 blinkies, but I don’t remember where I got them.

Kristin

Kristin Holt Duncan

About the Author: Kristin Holt Duncan is a Houston area extreme couponer. She enjoys saving money on the foods that her family actually likes so that she can spend more money on things like Nutella. And Danskos. And Coach purses. You can find her elsewhere on the web, below.

   

Welcome!

Lots and lots of new people have found their way here after my appearance on Fox26, so I just wanted to welcome everyone. Thank you for visiting my blog.

What you’ll find here:

Every week, I cover several of the Houston Grocery Stores. These include Sprouts Farmers Market, Food Town, H-E-B, Sellers Bros, Joe V’s Smart Shop, Kroger, Randalls, Arlan’s Market, Fiesta, Foodarama and Food Fair plus any other random deal I feel is good enough to share.  On Thursdays, I try to post a round up of all the grocery deals so that you can click on the stores you’re interested in.

I also try to post our menu plan on Mondays, even though I didn’t make it yesterday. I was a little busy. Gonna try to get that knocked out pretty quick.

Hot printable coupons.  I post all of the newest ones here, so if you see something, print it quick because it may not be available when you find a match up for it.  You have to click on that link because there are so many, I keep losing the grocery posts in between. 

What you won’t find here:

Target, Wal-mart, CVS, or Walgreens deals on a regular basis.  As you can see from the list above, I have my hands full with just the grocery stores. Now, if I see a hot deal, I’ll try to post it, but keep in mind that this is a one woman show.

I also talk about my 4 year old son, Jamey who is autistic and speech delayed. He is on a dye-free, preservative free diet, and our meal plans reflect that.

If you ever have a question, please feel free to drop me a line.  My email address is kristin at couponkristin.com, and I try to respond as quickly as I can.  You can always leave a comment here, as well.

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you find something that helps you save your family money.

Kristin

Kristin Holt Duncan

About the Author: Kristin Holt Duncan is a Houston area extreme couponer. She enjoys saving money on the foods that her family actually likes so that she can spend more money on things like Nutella. And Danskos. And Coach purses. You can find her elsewhere on the web, below.

   

For years, I have done my own taxes.  Usually, I’ve used an online service, input my information, and gleefully spent my money. And now I’m regretting some of that.  Now that I’m a grown up (stop laughing), I’m starting to think about the other ways I need to be saving my money.  I am working on my blog as a business, and need advice on where to spend my time, money, and energy.  An online service can only take you from point A to point B.  They can’t always see all of the possible combinations involved.  Only a human can do that, and you need a human that knows what he’s talking about.

Enter Wagner Grams and Relax4Tax.

This dude is pretty awesome.  He’s laid back, wears Hawaiian shirts, and decorates his office with palm trees.

Wait, what?

Yes.

I drove to Wagner’s office in Cypress on a Friday.  In 45 minutes, he had redone my taxes from 2012 and found me over $2000 in money I had missed.  He answered all of my questions in easy to understand terms.  No legalese here, folks.

I was amazed.  I consider myself a pretty intelligent person (maybe that was my first mistake) and Wagner told me so many things that I didn’t know about taxes.

I cannot say enough about how confident I am in in Relax4Tax.  For 10 years, I have used an online service.  No more.  From now on, I’m using someone who knows what he’s talking about.

Give Relax4Tax a chance to save you money, too!

CONTACT
Wagner Grams
832- 232-3914
9405 Huffmeister Road, Suite 110B
Cypress, TX  77095
Office Hours:  9 – 6pm M – F

*Disclosure:  I received a free consultation.  But the tax scenario?  All mine.  And that $2k?  MINE TOO! 

Kristin

Kristin Holt Duncan

About the Author: Kristin Holt Duncan is a Houston area extreme couponer. She enjoys saving money on the foods that her family actually likes so that she can spend more money on things like Nutella. And Danskos. And Coach purses. You can find her elsewhere on the web, below.

   

Kristin

Kristin Holt Duncan

About the Author: Kristin Holt Duncan is a Houston area extreme couponer. She enjoys saving money on the foods that her family actually likes so that she can spend more money on things like Nutella. And Danskos. And Coach purses. You can find her elsewhere on the web, below.

   

Listerine 21 Day Challenge

I am the cautionary tale of oral care.

And since y’all know I keep it real, I’m just going to say it.  I am deeply ashamed of my mouth. Despite good brushing habits, I just have bad teeth. It may be genetic, or it may be another lovely side effect of having kids too young.

When The Motherhood and Listerine offered me a chance to join their 21 Day Challenge, I jumped on. I need some help here, y’all.

I don’t want my kids to have to suffer with mouth pain. I want them to learn good habits NOW before their teeth start degrading.

According to Listerine, brushing misses 75% of your mouth. Which makes sense. You’ve got cheeks, gums, and tongue to worry about in there.  By using Listerine mouthwash twice a day for 30 seconds, you can clean virtually 100% of your mouth, giving you up to 5 times healthier gums in 2 weeks and up to 9 times healthier in 4 weeks. And they have a money back guarantee. I like that.

So, now everyone has a bright and shiny new toothbrush and we’re going to work to build better habits.  As a family.  Jamey is super excited about his brand new and shiny Phineas and Ferb brush. Jordan rolled her eyes when I showed her the Barbie one, but she’s stuck with it.  Just kidding.  She needs an adult sized toothbrush, so the Barbie one will go to a good home.  Christopher rolled his eyes and accepted his new toothbrush with good grace.  Twenty one days of brushing twice a day, flossing after meals, and using Listerine mouthwash twice a day.

This is 21 days to a better mouth.

And I’m in.

You can get in too. Join the challenge here on Facebook. For every person who signs up for the challenge on Facebook, the LISTERINE® Brand will make a contribution to help Oral Health America’s Smiles Across America® program toward their goal of connecting up to 210,000 children with needed oral health services in 2013, with a max of $64000.  Let’s help them meet that goal, shall we?

Kristin

Disclosure: I received products from Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc. and The Motherhood as part of my participation in the LISTERINE® 21 Day Challenge. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Kristin Holt Duncan

About the Author: Kristin Holt Duncan is a Houston area extreme couponer. She enjoys saving money on the foods that her family actually likes so that she can spend more money on things like Nutella. And Danskos. And Coach purses. You can find her elsewhere on the web, below.

   

And speaking of picky eaters…

CiCi’s is one buffet where I really feel like we get our money’s worth. And on Saturday, Feb 2, you can eat for less! The Kirkwood Market Center location (11978-B Westheimer Road) is going to be having buffets all day for only $2.99! Neighbors should be on the look out for wallets placed in the neighborhood with free coupons AND the first $100 people to buy an adult buffet get a free buffet each month for a year.

This is only valid at this location, but keep an eye out for more deals like this!

Every CiCi’s restaurant makes each pizza by hand, using freshly prepared and stretched dough, sauce made in small batches with special herbs and seasonings, freshly grated cheese and crisp vegetables. CiCi’s will also make custom pizzas upon request and deliver them piping hot from the oven to the table. All pizzas are also available to go and you can currently get two large, one-topping pizzas for just $10.

“We’ve had such a warm welcome to the Kirkwood Market Center that we wanted to set aside a special day to say thank you for the support,” said Vice President of Operations Tony Eisermann. “We encourage our new friends and neighbors to head out to CiCi’s on Saturday, Feb. 2 for a great deal on our pizza buffet and for a chance to win free pizza for a year.”

Hours of operation for dine-in and carryout are Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Kristin

Kristin Holt Duncan

About the Author: Kristin Holt Duncan is a Houston area extreme couponer. She enjoys saving money on the foods that her family actually likes so that she can spend more money on things like Nutella. And Danskos. And Coach purses. You can find her elsewhere on the web, below.

   

What’s on your list this week?

Kristin

Kristin Holt Duncan

About the Author: Kristin Holt Duncan is a Houston area extreme couponer. She enjoys saving money on the foods that her family actually likes so that she can spend more money on things like Nutella. And Danskos. And Coach purses. You can find her elsewhere on the web, below.

   

Using Your Food Stockpile

While I love and adore the blogger known as The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, her “eating from the pantry” episode this weekend on the Food Network threw me for a curve. She showed shopping her full pantry and fridge and freezer, because she couldn’t get to the grocery store.  She still had butter, and bread, and all kinds of goodies.

Oh no.

if I can’t get to the store, there’s a good chance I’m out of something by Sunday, since I shop on Wednesdays and Saturdays most weeks.  And I try to shop the pantry, fridge and freezer EVERY week, so that I’m not doubling up on some things, and I’m using what I’ve already bought.  And I’m jealous of her pantry.  Really.

Moving right along.  I’ve improved leaps and bounds since then.

Let’s talk real stockpiling, and how to use your stockpiled food the most effectively – in your weekly meal plan.Here’s how I prepare my weekly meal plan, using my food stockpile.

1. I check the kitchen, including the fridge, freezer, pantry and extra shelves. I’m looking for odds and ends that need to be used up. I’m trying to get an idea of what we already have. I’m crossing off things on my regular grocery list.

2.  I check the budget.  How much money do I have in my grocery budget?  Can I try some new recipes or do I need to use up what I have?

3.  I check the sales, my coupons, and my Randalls Just4U account.  Do I have any freebies?  Are there any good sales?  There is nothing more aggravating than finding a great deal…  as soon as you get back home.  Or finding one in store…  while your coupons are home.

These three steps help me out a ton when I’m planning my meals and grocery trips.  Even though I post my meal plan on Monday, usually I know what we’re going to eat by Saturday since that’s when I go shopping.  I hate hearing “MOM, WHAT’S FOR SUPPER!” so having a meal plan works for us.

Kristin

Kristin Holt Duncan

About the Author: Kristin Holt Duncan is a Houston area extreme couponer. She enjoys saving money on the foods that her family actually likes so that she can spend more money on things like Nutella. And Danskos. And Coach purses. You can find her elsewhere on the web, below.