I have been a clipping and organizing fool for Harris Teeters and WAlgreens this week!!!

TRIP #1 ABOVE

I will start off by saying I was doing the Army wife pee pee dance when they did Triples on a pay day week on the 15th. We have extra cash but I LOVE it when they do triples or super doubles at Harris Teeter on a pay day week and I don't have to do my big trip to the Commissary until the next week during Wacky Wednesday. Now, that being said, Kharma may have bit my booty because it is also the Case Lot Sale at the North Post Commissary this week :)  My first trip to Harris Teeter this morning was very successful.  I purchased the following:  Milo dog treats (2), Ortega Refried Beans (2), Texas Hot Pete (2), Bags of Chicken Breast (2), Motts Apple Sauce (2), Pampers Wipes (2), Speed Stick (2), Lady Speed Stick (2), Lunchables (2), Ball Park Buns 1 Hot dog 1 Hamburger buns, 1 Extra Gum, Dove Chocolate Bar (2), Haribo Gummy Bears (2), Mrs. Holmes Canned Spinach (2) TOTAL OOP:  $10.47

 TRIP #2 ABOVE

During this trip I went to a different Harris Teeter on my way home and used my daughter's EVIC card because she is now a married woman, full time student and on a STRICT budget. Because she has school all day and works until later in the evenings and cannot go I made a deal with her that I would shop for her .  Included in this transaction was the following items:   Cofee Mate refrigerated Creamers (2),  Gold Peak tea (2), Barrilla Pastas (6), Kraft Fresh Take (2), Helluva Dips (3), Schick Shave Cream (3), Jello Temptations (2), Quaker Medley Oatmeal (1)  TOTAL OUT OF POCKET .67 CENTS!!!! SAVINGS 99% :) 

I am not done with HT this week, I have several more trips to make including a couple of training trips with my daughter if she can swing it so that she can learn how to do this on her lunch breaks at school with non perishables. Her new husband happens to be one of my biggest fans coupon wise, probably not so much Mother in law wise but that's alright, I'll take what I can get :)  

Also, at the Commissary today they are offering a whale of a deal on BBQ sauce and Koolaid.  If you purchase 2 Kraft BBQ sauce for .75 each you can get 2.00 off Koolaid. This is where it gets GOOD and I mean GOOD :)  The KoolAid is on sale for $1.50!!! So, you spend 1.50 for two sauces, 1.50 for Koolaid and then you take 2.00 off the total of those three items b/c YOU CAN :)  So that leaves 1.00 for all three products which equals .33, .33, and .34 respectfully. When is the last time you got three high value items like that for under 1.00 for ALL THREE!!! :)  

I will be back tomorrow, until then my coupon friends, Happy Shopping!!!!

NEW COMMISSARY POLICY CHANGE PLEASE READ!!!

EFFECTIVE MAY 1, 2012

KEY POLICY CHANGES INCLUDE:

GIFT CARDS WILL BE ISSUED IN CONJUNCTION WITH CASH WHENEVER $25.00 OR MORE IS OWED TO THE CUSTOMER DUE TO COUPON "OVERAGES" (WHEN THE FACE VALUE OF THE COUPON EXCEEDS THE SELLING PRICE OF THE ITEM PURCHASED AND THE TRANSACTION RESULTS IN A NEGATIVE BALANCE)

GIFT CARDS WILL BE ISSUED IN CONJUNCTION WITH CASH FOR REFUNDS OF $25.00 OR MORE WHEN A RECEIPT IS PRESENTED SHOWING THE MERCHANDISE WAS ORIGINALLY PURCHASED WITH GIFT CARDS

GIFT CARDS WILL BE ISSUED, IN CONJUNCTION WITH CASH, FOR REFUNDS OF $25.00 OR MORE WHEN A RECEIPT IS NOT PRESENTED

CLARIFICATION OF DOT SCAN BARCODE REQUIREMENTS AND PIN REQUIRMENTS FOR UNIQUE NUMBERING, THAT PHOTOCOPIES AND COUNTERFEIT COUPONS ARE NOT ACCEPTED, AND THAT COUPONS MUST BE PRINTED IN ENGLISH.

***** I REWROTE THIS WORD FOR WORD FROM THE ADDENDUM THAT I RECEIVED FROM THE FORT BRAGG NORTH POST COMMISSARY ON FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2012.

Ready, Set, DOUBLES!!!!

Here we go ladies, this is what I've been teaching for!!! Harris Teeters has their Super Double this week. What this means is that HT will double up to 20 coupons each day for you that are 1.99 or lower...meaning, 1.75 will double to 3.50.etc. GREAT time to use some of these awesome printable that we have been having lately :) Get your binder stocked, print print print because come Wednesday morning I will be in a different place loading my stockpile again. :) I CANNOT wait to see the preview soon !!!!! I am dying to get my hands on a paper preview.

Also, don't forget Military Tuesday at Walgreens, ask for your discount BEFORE they start ringing you up!!!!! Topped with great sales this week and coupons I can't wait to hear of your shopping trip.

Until next time! Happy Shopping!

Oh Harris Teeter how I love THEE!

I can shop like no other at the Commissaries however, right now I have a new love affair with Harris Teeter. I tried HT's last year a few times, was not impressed. They never have stock when you go in, even two hours after the first of a Super Doubles Sale. It was ridiculous to say the least. Then Triples came in March and I had to try it again. I did better but I went back four times to get what I wanted and still left disappointed. THEN, I went 30 min away to a different store and JACKPOT. Tonight I went again and I am loving every second of it. Not only can you get free items, which I did tonight, you can get a ton of things that you normally wouldn't be able to next to nothing with the right sale match ups and coupons. For example, the Gatorade was 10/10 and I had 1.00 off any Gatorade. FREE! Then diaper wipes were 3.29 each and I had .75 cent coupons that doubled to 1.50 then I had an EVIC coupon (HT store electronic coupon) that was. 50. My final cost for Pampers wipes ended up being 1.29 for the LARGE pack. I am up to 20 Wipes now I believe for my neice, Stephanie's stash. (**Disclaimer, I have a Great niece due in August and this Auntie is STOKED as we have had NO babies for 15 years!!) I have gotten them cheaper at the Commissary but not very often and to be able to use all of them, yes, I was happy. Right now, cereal is varying with EVICs from 60 cents a box to around 80 cents and I mean for Cheerios and Trix!!!! The good stuff. So all of that being said, think about Harris Teeter next time you are wanting to do match ups. I have a new blog I have been following and she's pretty right on. Her name is http://moolasavingmom.com/ and I happen to heart her. There are some other local ones I follow too but for now, I am loving me some moolasavingmom! Tonight by the way at HT I spent OOP $23.86 however I saved 47.93 which is a savings of 67%! Not too shabby for a night's work. :)

It's been Forever !!!

Hello everyone from Fort Bragg, North Carolina!! It has been a few months since I have been active enough to blog and follow through with this hobby of mine called couponing. Now, don't get me wrong, I was couponing, however not like I did pre October. My world got turned upside down the third week of October and not because my husband came home from Afghanistan. That was a plus and he has sure been helpful. The third week of October or so, I got very sick again and was diagnosed with bronchial pneumonia. I was immediately put on antibiotics however they just would not work. After three rounds of a Z pack and multiple breathing treatments I felt somewhat better but I always felt winded and tired. I became very worried. Then, in mid November, we left on a whirlwind 30 day around the world (kind of literally) tour on block leave. We went to Charleston, South Carolina, and left for a cruise to the Bahamas. After Day 2 on this boat I felt Amazingly better!!! Thank you Jesus is what I was thinking. Perhaps rest and relaxation is exactly what the doctor ordered! On the way to our next destinations we stopped in Indiana to see my sisters and brothers .Next we went to Kansas City and Springfield, Missouri to visit family. I started getting sick again for a day or two after Indiana but thought nothing of it! I cleared up. Then we went home to North Carolina at the beginning of December and immediately within days was full fledged sick again to the point of a 104 constant fever for a week with horrible cough. The doctor at our clinic would not order X rays and said it was the flu. I knew better so I went back again and demanded x rays. I had pneumonia AGAIN. And I filed a formal complaint with the Fort Bragg Medical Department for lack of care. Three weeks later I got to see a Physican's Assistant (who is credited with saving my life LITERALLY). Immediately she saw me and said that she knew I had pneumonia AGAIN by listening to me and that she was ordering a CT Scan STAT b/c the X ray she ran that morning had shown a spot on my right lung. I was scared to death. Long story short, in the meantime they got me into an allergist in Fayetteville on a STAT referral and had me tested. I had to be off all antihistimines for five days and that was the WORST part. During the testing, my whelps were coming up so quickly that the nurse doing them went and got the actual doctor. Apparently I am allergic to MOTHER EARTH in general. And the kicker of it all, the top four things I am allergic to in order of severiety are DOGS, CATS, COCKROACHES and PINE TREES . HELLO! I LIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA HOME OF THE TWELVE INCH COCKROACH AND PINE TREES GALORE. (I HAVE A 4 STORY ONE IN MY SIDE YARDThere are MANY other things I am allergic to but those are my worst triggers. Did I tell you guys that I have two red mini dauschaunds that are my world and I refuse to get rid of? I have had them since they were babies and they are brothers and I will make sacrifices but they are not one of them. I have to keep them out of my bedroom now which is a huge challenge for me if you know me. They are bed cuddlers. :) Anyhow, they started me on new meds to clear up the Allergic Pneumonia and I have since began my regimen of two shots every seven days. I am on meds for the rest of my life and now have to carry two epi pens with me wherever I go. I go on February 28th for the food allergies portion and I am quite nervous about that one. Now that you know why I have been gone, don't hold it against me. I love couponing and had GREAT intentions but my health came first. It was one thing after another and I could not get well. I had to step back and get better because I need to teach some money saving tips to ya all!!!! In the interim of being sick, I have developed a new power point system that I will begin using for my new classes and I am also doing a new binder system you all will LOVE. It has helped me tremendously with staying organized during these months that my husband has been grocery shopping with the QS. He is a fan, oh yes he is!!! He challenges me!!! Little stinker thinks he can save as much money as me at the store. I think not!!! (Not yet anyway, he is quite smart so I am a bit nervous) :) Anyhow, my new class schedules will be up soon, I won't be doing them as often as I was but for Military Spouses I will do them for free on Fort Bragg. I am sticking with the KISS method I do for teaching my high school students as well. Keep It Simple Silly! To unindate someone with so much info that their head is swimming is crazy. You want to save money, not feel overwhelmed at the thought of it. Until my next post (I promise it won't be so long), Happy Shopping Ya All!!!

It's Christmas Time Already!

Where oh where has the time gone blog world? I am so sorry I have neglected you! The past four months have been a blur in my household. I began my Masters Degree in Education, was the FRG Leader for our deployed Army Unit, co planned a very large homecoming celebration, my ONLY (sniff sniff) daughter got married, my husband came home from a year long deployment in October and then we have been traveling for the past four weeks.

Man, if that isn't enough to stave off the frustration, sorry. I am pooped. :) However, I am back and I am back with a vengeance. I have alot of new ideas that I am going to continue with here at Fort Bragg to help fellow couponers learn how to do this trade and let our dollars stretch as far as we can get them to. My theory in life is everyone needs to stretch a dollar and everyone wants to save.

There are a few changes that I have done to Bragg About Savings. One of the largest changes you will see is that I no longer charge for classes. I have been doing this for a long time. I have taught on and off for about four years. I have taught large church groups, in schools, to individuals, in a home setting and via the internet on Skype. However, something hit me about six months ago that I really struggled with. I felt like that I was supposed to " be a blessing" and teach this skill and not profit from it. I never made money really because it does cost to travel and to use my paper and make copies. However, I have found ways around that now that I am comfortable with. Now, that being said, I will not travel outside of Fort Bragg without being compensated a flat fee for gas depending on where it is; however I do not charge for the class. I can always get a meeting space here on Fort Bragg and if you would want to come here there would not be a charge ever for the class itself.

Anyway, about the Christmas season. Man, alive! There are deals to be had. Just today I spent only $21.00 on NINE high end cosmetic foundations, five French's fried onions, two mascaras and an eyeshadow for stocking stuffers. I also got a $5.00 coupon off $30.00 PRE COUPON for next week at Walgreens. Then I got online and got a free $10.00 gift card from Victoria's Secret (WHO DOESN"T LOVE FREE!!!) Next, I went to Target and ended up walking out of there with two $5 coupons off my next $50.00 purchase.

The key to all of this is watching the ads and the blogs. Keep up on clipping because during Christmas you will get bogged down with all of the goods and if you let it go a few days you will not be able to recover and miss a great deal because of it. Even if it is something you may not use who is to say that you do not want to use it and put it in a basket for someone else at Christmas time or say even Valentines Day (yes I am always thinking ahead!) Also, this is the time of the year when Food Banks are asking for the most donations because of the need to feed so many families during the holiday season. So, just because you cannot or do not want to use a product if it is FREE pass it on to someone that can.

That is all for now, but tomorrow there will be more. And the next day and the next day :)

Be A Blessing and Happy Shopping!!!

Been gone too long!

I am so sorry for the non existent blog in the past thirty days. I have been extremely busy teaching classes and doing FRG preparations for my soldier's homecoming later this fall. I am an FRG Leader and I committed to that first so I have to take it on as it comes to me :) However, I have been spending this weekend gettting caught up on so many deals and I have to tell you: SHOPPING AND SAVING SEASON IS HERE!!! I have said from day one in my classes that the fall is my FAVORITE time to stockpile. And you can do it for nearly free with all of the great qs that are out and about right now. I am so excited and later this afternoon when I return home I will be sharing with you several great deals that I have found this weekend. Let me just say, it has been worth the wait. I have also done a complete Commissary Match ups and AAFES match ups so please return this evening to see what is happening with Bragg About Savings.

Be a Blessing and Happy Shopping :)
Tammy