Memorial Day Savings!!

JoAnn's is having an extended savings event today! The savings continue at up to 50% off. Have a project you've been wanting to get started? Well, now's the time! Plus use the online code TTF148 and receive 50% off one regular-priced item.




PacSun (Pacific Sun) is also offering some great deals! I'm lovin' their tanks at $9.99 and the boy's board shorts priced at $19.99! Plus, when you spend $40 or more, you receive $20 in PacLoot to be used later. Can't beat these deals!!




Get up to 50% Off at the shopadidas.com Outlet!
Order today and receive FREE shipping on orders of $49 or more. Simply enter the code FREE49 at checkout.

Don't Miss this Deal!!!

Get All You magazine for only $.75/issue!!

Have you been debating whether it's worth purchasing this 2-year subscription to All You for $17.95? Well, it's decision time! This deal will only continue through tomorrow, April 27th. Find out how you can get All You for only $.75/issue HERE. This is a fabulous deal thanks to Carmella at Southern Living who is offering it.

I love getting this magazine in the mail. It's full of coupons, practical money saving tips, and yummy recipes. Honestly, it's probably my favorite magazine ever! How's that for a plug?! No, really, it's right up there with Family Fun and other practical magazines for everyday living.

Amazon $10 off $59 + FREE Shipping on these products...

Olay, Pantene, Secret, Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Aussie, Natural Instinct, Infusium 23, Nice n' Easy, and more!

Click HERE to receive $10 off your purchase of $59 or more. Simply use the code APR9PGSK at checkout.

Looking for more great values at Amazon.com? Check out the right side bar of this site for easy searching! Plus, whenever you order anything through Amazon by using this site, you're helping to support the Coupon Saving Game! And with your support, I am able to offer you more great deals!

Thank you!!

Buy.com Deal of the Day!

Check out Buy.com's Deal of the Day!

This FoodSaver is normally priced at $139.99 and is discounted to $59.99 including FREE shipping! This is a great way to help you better stockpile your meat when you hit that great sale!

Weight Loss Help Sites!

Looking to lose weight? Check out my giveaway HERE!

Also, visit these sites below to help you on your way to your goal!

50% off Entertainment Books!

If you're looking to save a little on your dining out and more, check out this great offer from Entertainment Book! With 50% off, you'll be sure to make up the cost of buying it in no time!

FREE $10 Gift Card from Restaurant.com!!

For a limited time through 3/23, Restaurant.com is offering 60% off every order of Dinner of the Month Club purchase and you'll receive a FREE $10 Certificate. Use the code GREEN thru 3/23/09.

If Dinner of the Month is not your thing, how about 60% Off with every order of $25 Gift Certificates and you'll receive a FREE $10 Certificate . Use code GREEN and pay $4 thru 3/23/09.

Mega Buck Swagbucks!! Today Only!

If you're not familiar with Swagbucks, you can get familiar HERE. Every Friday they give the opportunity to win up to 1,000 Swagbucks, but today only, they are giving out 2,000 Swagbucks! Better hurry on over and start searching your way to winning!!

Click HERE to get started!

Good luck!

BeCentsable on Good Morning America!!

The Coupon Game has been highlighted on BeCentsAble's Grocery Gathering recently, and I just love that their mission is much like my own. It's fun to see sites that I am familiar with and love appear on television! This morning, GMA highlighted BeCentsAble! In case you missed it, I wanted to be sure that you all could see a few video links from it. Chrissy and Kristen rocked in their presentation and I thought GMA did a great job of getting the word out about coupon shopping.

Here are a couple of links for you to check it out:

Coupon Parties Big on Fun and Savings

More on BeCentsAble

There are commercials before each segment, so wait through it and you'll see the video.

I admit I'm crazy for Stacy!!!

I know, I know, I already have so much, but I couldn't resist this fabulous deal! I found these 10-oz Stacy's Pita Chips at my Walmart on sale for $2.50/bag. Well, paired with the recent 1/25 SS $1.50/1 Q, I couldn't resist getting them at $1/bag!!

These will go great with the hummus I bought at Publix today. Plus, we'll be stocked up on healthy pita snacks for weeks to come!!

Really, I can't think of a better week to have bought multiple copies of Sunday's paper! With spending only $1.25/paper, I've saved 3 times that much with the savings through coupons. Just proof that it's worth grabbing a Sunday paper for the coupons, I guess!

Say "NO" to Sam's Club Prices!!!

I went to Sam's Club yesterday to price out some items that I want to start using a lot of. I found a great recipe for Chewy Raisin Granola Bars, and I thought perhaps they might have better prices on some of the ingredients. The result: not really... The only items that might've been a better price was honey and raisins. I still have yet to price these items out at Walmart. And I've heard of a local honey maker in town that I might go with as well.

So, as I scanned the store, and being much more aware of the prices I can get (w/coupons) for most of the items I purchase, I found most items to be quite overpriced! Don't get me wrong, there are definite deals to be had at Sam's Club, but do some research before you go. Just because you're getting a lot of one item doesn't mean it is less expensive than buying it in smaller quantities. It can be a little deceptive. However, I do have to agree that their chicken has a fabulous price sticker at only $1.97/lb!! AND, it claims to be All Natural and minimally processed. Since I'm still pretty stocked with chicken from a few weeks back, I didn't purchase any, but it's a definite possibility for future.

I went to check out and couldn't believe what I saw in the lady's basket in front of me... She was "buying" toothbrushes!! If you've been following The Coupon Game for any length of time, you'll know that you don't have to spend a penny for toothbrushes. I saw those same 6-8 pack of Colgate 360 toothbrushes in her cart for around $13! How I wished the world knew how much money they could be saving with just a little clipping and scanning of weekly ads...

Can you tell I'm passionate about saving money?! Funny thing is, I wouldn't have batted an eyelash over that purchase a year ago! If I needed something, I would buy it regardless of the price.

If you shop at Sam's Club, please share the great deals that you've found! I know there's more than just chicken, right?! I'd love to share the deals here!!

Want to earn some extra money?!

These are some easy ways of leisurely earning money when you have the time. Sign up for any of them by clicking on the links below. I'm all about saving a buck! I'm not encouraging the quick money lifestyle, but if you have the time to take a few surveys, click a few mouse clicks, etc, then check out the sites below:

***UPDATED***

Take a Survey - Earn a Buck! So easy!!



Swagbucks has got to be the easiest way to earn points! All you do is sign up for FREE and search through their site whenever you would normally do a "Google" or "Yahoo!" search and they pay you in points for your searches.
I LOVE it!



If you've got the time to take occasional surveys, then ZoomPanel is a great site to check out! They pay you for your opinion. Who doesn't love to give their opinion?!
Maybe too many of us... :)



SendEarnings.com and InboxDollars work very similar. You sign up and click on emails and earn money. If you want to go the extra mile, you can check out some of their offers or take surveys, and even shop online. It's a simple way of making a little extra money for a dinner out or other special occasion.

Inexpensive Thoughtful Christmas Gifts

Tis' the season! I love giving baked goods as Christmas gifts, and they can be inexpensive if you shop the deals, however I've been wracking my mind to think of other thoughtful gifts to give this Christmas...

I love the post HERE and HERE from Gayle at The Grocery Cart Challenge. And now, it's got me thinking that I'd love to come up with some thrifty gift-giving ideas.

I've a got a few ideas, but I'd love to hear if you have great gift ideas of your own. Please share them in the comments.
I know there's got to be creative people out there! :)

Some Products are better bought than made...

This is an update to my Money Saving "Make At Home" Products:

I am not at all impressed with the make-at-home dishwasher detergent. I tried washing my dishes with it twice with different amounts and using the vinegar and they turned out immediately with a white soapy film on them. I may use the mixture I've made for laundry detergent when I'm running low, but I've heard that you might find a white film on your washing machine with this as well.

Therefore, I've decided (for myself - feel free to try it as it might work better for you) that I am sticking to buying the pre-made soap for my dishes!

For those of you who may have already tried it, I'm curious what the outcome was?

$25 Gift Cards for $2 at Restaurant.com!

For a limited time you can purchase gift cards for 80% off Restaurant.com's prices. This ends up being a fabulous deal!!

80% off Savings on $25 Gift Certificates. $2 when you use code TREATS.Valid only 10/27/08 thru 10/31/08.


I've learned a little about how this works. When you visit the site, it will show their original prices, however, when you use the code TREATS at checkout, the new 80% off price will be reflected.

There are some rules in how to use these gift cards:

1. The gift card will print out of your printer. It is not an actual "card".
   
2. You must purchase a certain amount above the amount of your gift card. So think of it as $2 for a $25 gift card, then adding some $ out of pocket. Each restaurant's gift card may have a different stipulation. See if it's worth it for you!
   
3. Only 1 gift card is allowed per dining table. If you're out with friends and they also want to use a gift card, only 1 will be allowed.
   

Money Saving "Make at Home" Products

I love to hear how people stretch their dollars! Recently, I have been in need of a couple of items that I do not have on hand.

For instance, I was in need of brown sugar for a recipe I needed to make for an outing. Unfortunately, I had used up all the brown sugar the day before for another baked good. Fortunately, I remembered a post I had come across online HERE and was able to make my own! No running out to the store for my need of 2 Tbsp of brown sugar. I just so happened to have molasses and granulated sugar in my pantry and the recipe worked wonderfully!

Today, I have the need for dishwasher detergent, and let me tell you, I value the use of my dishwasher! So, although I could hand wash every dish in my sink and on the counters, I'd much rather find a way to make my own dishwasher detergent. Come to find out, it's really quite simple! I found this recipe HERE and will be purchasing the ingredients on my shopping run today. Hopefully, this will become a tried and true way and I won't be buying the expensive detergent any longer.

What money saving techniques do you use?! I'd love to hear about them! You can leave a comment or post on your blog with a link back to here.

Saved an Additional $110 in September!!

The savings keep coming! I'm so excited to share and hopefully encourage all of you new coupon gamers out there that the savings will come. I absolutely believe that it is a process that does not happen overnight. We had been paying over $600/month on groceries and now are at $320/month for our family of five.

In August we saved over $250 in our groceries and toiletries spending. This month we saved an additional $110 making it a savings of $360 more than what we were spending before coupons. On top of that, our debt is decreasing substantially. We still have a little ways to go, but pray and believe that God will bring us to the goal of being debt-free again. (Yes, we were debt-free at one point...)

For those of you who don't know me real well, I'll just share a little bit about a blessing in my life... My husband and I have 2 beautiful biological daughters and adopted our beautiful son from Guatemala 1 1/2 years ago. God has blessed us with 3 amazing children, and I can't imagine my life without them.

Due to the expenses of adopting internationally, and us starting out our adoption process with merely $3,000 in our savings account, God showed us his complete provision to bring in over $34,000 (I tear up just thinking about it...) in order to bring our son home. We scrounged for every penny during the journey to bring him home, never went out to eat, spent minimally on gifts, and held many garage sales to help save money. Of course, throughout our adoption all extra money went toward our adoption expenses, which didn't leave any extra for non-scheduled expenses.

Well, in the midst of adopting we ended up needing a new air conditioner, termite control, and some car repairs. This all ended up going on the credit card. So, here we are over a year later trying to pay it off. And once again God is providing through The Coupon Game.

Everything we have belongs to Him. If we lose all that we have, let it be for His sake. As Randy Alcorn states in his book, The Treasure Principle, "God owns everything. I'm His money manager."

Saved over $250 in August!!!

I am thrilled to share with all y'all that God has helped us to save $250 in our grocery budget in the month of August. Unfortunately, due to other expenses, it was probably all spent in other necessary ways. Still, I look at it as God providing for those other expenses instead of us going into debt over them.

I just can't believe that we saved this much money with The Coupon Game. I tell anyone who asks about The Coupon Game, that it's not just about coupons, but it's also about a new way of thinking. What do we really need?? Must we have the most expensive olive oil or coffee or cereal? (Surprisingly, with coupons you can get them!). My point is this: Are we being good stewards of our money? Everything we have belongs to God. How would He have us use it?

If you're just starting out and want to share your financial successes, please leave me a comment! How much have you saved since you began the coupon game?!

Other Ways to Save...

I couldn't resist this picture...

Coupons are wonderful, and coupon gaming is so much fun to me! I love the challenge of saving more than I'm spending on any given purchase. God has blessed our family this past month through all of the information I've learned and all of you bloggers who have taught me so much about how to be a good steward of our money.

Our family's goal is just that. We've been tremendously blessed financially in almost every spectrum of our lives together. To be able to do the same for someone else would be an even greater blessing to us.

So, in an attempt to cut costs wherever we can, several weeks ago, I challenged myself to only fill up the gas tank every 2 weeks. Surprisingly, I've kept pretty close to that for about 6 weeks now. The only exception is if we decide to go on a day trip, which we did a couple of weekends ago, but otherwise, it feels good to save and stay home (at least close to home) most days.

What are some ways that allow you to save money these days? Please share in a comment below!