Monday, September 26, 2011

Time to get vitamins!


Head on over to Nature's Bounty Facebook page to get your $2 off coupon.  It's great timing for me.  I need to stock up on fish oil and vitamin D!


Look what I got in the mail!

I've been signing up for free samples and coupons lately.  Look what was in my mailbox today:

The Fiber One is from the Walmart free samples website.  It's a good site to bookmark.  They usually have a new sample every day or every other day.  The Michelina's coupons were sent to me because I contacted them about a product suggestion.  The Coke coupon was from My Coke Rewards.

I also stopped by Shaw's today and took advantage of their Skippy Peanut Butter sale (2 for $3).  With my coupons it was $0.88 each, plus I got a couple jars of Old El Paso salsa for $0.69 each, and a couple boxes of the Better Oats oatmeal that was on sale at 10/ for $10 and free with a $0.55 coupon.  No picture tonight of that.  It's late and I have to get to work on my business.

Free Sandwich at Arby's with drink purchase



Head on over to the Arby's website and sign up for their email list to get your free sandwich coupons.  They come in an email and can be printed out numerous times - limit 1 per person per visit per day.  Enjoy!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Maine's Daily Deal

Have you noticed the Bangor Daily News has a new featured called Maine's Daily Deal?  Basically you buy $20 for $10 or $50 for $25 of a service online from local businesses.  I've seen ones for Deane's Car Care, hotels, beauty salons, etc.  Today's offer is $20 for $10 miniature golf at The Sports Arena.  I keep it bookmarked and check it every day.

Do you like free water?


Head on over to the Poland Spring Facebook page to get your $1 coupon.  When it goes on sale for $1, you'll be able to get it for free.

Today's shopping trip to Rite Aid

All this for $4.40.  I had 2 coupons each for the Softsoap body wash and the Gain dish liquid and 1 coupon for the Duracell batteries.   I got 5 boxes of Fla-Vor-Ice popsicles that were on sale for $0.37 each, marked down 75% for clearance.  Got back $4 in Up rewards.

Last week's Walmart trip

I've really been focusing on trying to get things as inexpensively or free if possible.  This is what I got for $3.20:


I had 2 coupons for $1.50 off Smucker's jam and $0.30 off the gummi bears.  The carrots were free (take the quiz at Earthbound Foods online (No longer available), and the Tucks Takealongs were free with coupons.

Only a few days left to use those Powerade coupons



Last time I was at the WalMart in Bangor, there were hundreds of tear pad coupons in the beverage aisle at the back of the store good for $0.75 off 2 bottles of Powerade.  They expire on 9/30 so only a few days left to use them. 

Did you get your free burger at Burger King?

Last week I took my son out to lunch at Wendy's.  We had 2 coupons for a free burger with purchase of fries and a drink.  I got the coupons from the Wendy's Facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/wendys?sk=app_219086724811766  Not sure if it's still available as I can't access it anymore.  We got small fries and drinks, and we saved over $8!  The burgers were good too.


How I stay organized

Everyone has their own way to keep their coupons organized.  Of course I have my big binder full of coupons:


I also have an accordion folder full of inserts filed by type (P&G, RP, SS) and date:


I only clip coupons for items I am positive I will be using, like brands I always buy or something I know we need at the store that week.  What's left of the coupon inserts are filed for future reference.  When I see something go on sale later, I can look in my accordion folder for that insert and find the coupon quickly.

I'm not one to lug around a huge binder when I go shopping (though sometimes I wish I did).  On most shopping trips I only take my handy dandy little clipboard:


On my clipboard I keep my shopping list plus an envelope of coupons for each store I'll be shopping at that day.  This is all I take into the store with me.

Using 1 envelope for each store makes it easier for me to keep the coupons organized.  Once I start shopping, I don't have to hunt for coupons.  I just follow my list and use the coupons in the envelope.  Before my shopping trip, I file all the coupons I find in the envelopes according to what I'll be buying where.  Any coupons I don't use get put back in the envelope, and I sort them out when I get home and put them back in the binder to  use next time.

Welcome to Maine Couponing

Hi and welcome to my couponing blog.  My name is Michelle.  I have 2 sons, a dog, my own small business, plus I work a full-time job.  It's getting tough to make ends meet, so I've turned to coupons to help my sons and I get by.  I'll be blogging some great weekly deals coming up in the stores around Hampden and Bangor, Maine, plus I'll share coupon links and the great deals I've been able to find.

I am not a shelf-clearer, and I'm not a hoarder, but I am a huge fan of getting things cheap or free.  I follow the rules and try to leave product on the shelves for other people.  I hope you'll do the same.  We're all struggling through this difficult economic time together, so let's help each other out.