Not a coupon site

I started this site to share the deals and ways I save money for my family. I do it in many different ways. And I'll share them all but this won't be current. It's not a coupons site that will tell you of current deals so you can go out and get them.

The deals I post should give you ideas on how to do something for your families. It should give you a lead on ways to make those small changes in our budget. 

But here are a few coupon site I do follow along that giver me current deals so I can snag things when they are limited. 

Www.hip2save.com

This site is ran by a lady and a few of her friends who share deals on groceries, on line deals, toy deals, internet specials, etc. I look on this site so much that I downloaded her app so I can look a few times a day for any updated deals I need to act quick on. 

www.freestufffinder.com

This site is ran by a lady who is all about finding free things and how to work the system to ensure you get free stuff. About 50% of her deals I don't act on. But it's nice to see what coupons I can stack together so I can get free groceries or beauty items. 

www.freebies2deals.com

This lady use to post groceries deals, toy deals, etc but now her income has increases and has less time she post more ways on how to save with internet deals. Like Amazon. But she does post travel deals, designer clothes for cheap, so not the everyday things I'm looking for but I'm still interested in. 

These sites are only a few of 1,000's. So look around and see what you might like. There's site that are exclusive Target, Walmart,etc. Sites for military commissaries. And these sites help get my brain thinking of ways to save beyond their post. So get looking,thinking, and saving. 

Gift Closets

Having a gift closet is the best investment to have in my home.

What is a Gift Closet?

It's a few shelves in my home where I have tons of gifts on stand-by for birthday parties, Christmas, weddings, anniversaries, baby shower, etc. Anything that involves gift giving.
Through out the year I will find deals that are so cheap that I can't pass them up. So I'll stock up on a few items and put them away for later. So when the time comes for my kids going to a birthday party I don't have to rush to Target and dish out $20. I just unlock my closet and let them pick something from there.

So here's a few things I've picked up for my closet.

Minion Tiny Chef @ Toys R Us.
Regular price $17.98. Marked down to 98 cents!

Doc McStuffin Puzzle bag @ Toys R Us. 

Regular price $9.99. Marked down to 98 cents!

Darn Yarn Infinity Scarf Kit @ Target.
Regular $14.99. Marked down $4.48!

Crayola Chalks @ Toys R Us.

Regular $2.99. Marked down to 48 cents. Plus they were included on a promo where I BOGO 40%. So one set was 48 cents and the other 28 cents. 

Melissa and Doug: My First sidewalk chalk set @ Toys R Us.
Regular $3.99. Marked down 98 cents!

 It's My Biz: Bead Boutique @ Toys R Us.
Regular $24.99. Marked down $4.90!

So if I would have gone to these stores and paid retail price I would have spent $77.92! Yikes!

But since I'm a savvy shopper I only spent $13.08! And I know there's a few birthdays coming up soon so I'll be ready and stocked up. 

Target Game Sale

Sales like this is the time I stock up for my gift closet and add a new game for my family.

Target has a sale Buy 2 board games Get 1 Free!

For my deal above I price matched the Hedbanz games with Target.com. In store the price was $20.99. Target.com it was $11.99!

Rummikub was regular $19.99. I price matched with Amazon for $9.74.

2 Hedbanz @11.99

1 rummikub @9.74

With the buy2 get 1 free sale Rummikub was free.
 My total was $23.98.

(Then minus a coupon from coupons.com )

-$8 off 2 Hedbanz games

it made my total $15.98! 

I price matched the Rummikub game so I could use the coupon since I couldn't use the coupon on a free item. I could have picked any game under $11.99 but most the games at my Target were out of stock or games we already have. 

My total out of pocket was only a few dollars since I had gift cards but $15.98 is still a great price since just one of these games cost more than that. So now I have two games for my family and 1 for my gift closet.

The Habit and Chick-Fil-A

So many resturants have "clubs" that anyone can join. Just sign up on-line with your name, birthday   ( so you can get your free birthday surprise) and email.

I did this with The Habit and joined their Char Club. 

When I signed up I got an email with a coupon for a Free Char Burger! No purchase needed. All I had to do was walk in and show the cashier the email. 

I did this and snagged myself a $3.15 burger for Free! Yummy! 

I also signed up for Chil-fil-a calendar card. At the beginning of the year Chik-A-Fila sell calendars that include a card where I can get 1 free item each month. A friend of mine was selling these calendars a for her son's baseball  team so we paid $10 for the calendar. But in the 3 months of the year so far it's paid for itself. This month I got a large coke! Value of $2.15! 

A small tip is to ask for no ice so my entire cup is filled with soda. I hate how I'll take 5 sips and my drink is then empty. All the sodas are cold already from being in the machine so I end up with more pop.

To use my card I just drive up and ask for calendar deal. The cashier swipes my card and I go about my day. 

So today's lunch was Free!! 

Instagram

I started an Instagram account so look me up @ couponer_thankfulsavings

Follow all my money saving deals! 

22 Baby items for $10

Baby showers can be overwhelming. To look at a registry and find something that is within my budget can be hard. So I use my brain and coupons and think outside the box. 

I remember being a first time mom.When I registered for him I asked for everything I could think of but forgot to ask for things that I would need when he grew older than 3 months. So I had tons of clothes from Newborn- 3 months. I had newborn diapers, wipes, bottles, newborn pacifiers, etc. You get the point :) So when I get together my baby shower gifts I try to think further than 3 months. I get the things that parents might not think of right now but will be thankful for later on. 

I've been giving these type of gifts for years now and each time I get thanked over and over again. So in my book they have been a big hit!

This week my friend from high school (thanks to Facebook) is having a baby with her wife. They are having a little boy and I love shopping for baby showers. For 2 reason.....

1st. I get an excuse to shop in the baby section. My baby is 6 years old. 

2nd. I love going to baby showers. The look of bliss that parents have on their face is priceless. 

So here's what I'm giving my friend with the breakdown:

First my coupon and Ibotta offers. 

Seventh Generation diapers, size 2. These diapers were on sale at Target.

$8.99 -$4 coupon I got from Target's baby registry = $4.99 then submitted the $2.25 Ibotta offer that was for Any brand diapers and for this size of Seventh Generation diapers. 

Out of Pocket $2.74! 

Next bottles from Walgreens. $6.79 each - $2 coupon from coupons.com - $2 walgreens coupon from their March booklet= $2.79 then I submitted for the $3 Ibotta. So making them FREE! 

My ibotta gave me the bottle offer again so I went back to Walgreens and got another bottle for free.

Free's the best price for me!

Boudreaux's Butt Paste at Target. $4.39 - $2 coupon= $2.39 then submitted the $1.50 Ibotta making each one 89 cents!

My Ibotta gave me the deal again so I went back to Target and grabbed another butt paste. I only repeat deals if Ibotta gave me the offer again. Remember I'm all about saving money so $2.39 is still too much for me.

Boudreaux's Rash Preventor at Target $4.39 - $3 coupon = $1.39 then sumbitted $1.50 Ibotta offer so this was FREE!!

Then the sippy cups I picked up from Walgreens. Each was $5.49 - $2 coupon from coupons.com - $2 coupon from Walgreens monthly coupon booklet = $1.49 each. Then submitted for the $2 Ibotta making each sippy coupon FREE!! 

Here's all my Ibotta and coupon deals. And that's not all!

Next my Smith's Food and Drug was having an amazing sale so I picked up a few things. 

1 Simply Truth baby wipes. Normally $3. On sale $1.79 - $1 digital coupon that I uploaded onto my card from HERE so final cost 79 cents

1 Beech Nut jar of baby food $1 each but rang up 50 cents each so it must have been an unmarked sale item. Then minus a Buy One Get One Free coupon from coupons.com making 2 jars for 50 cents!

2 Plum baby food pouches. These were marked down to 50 cents each. Of course I checked the date to see if they were expired but they are good until next year. So this will give their baby boy plenty of time to eat these. So I had a coupon for Buy One Get One Free from coupons.com so 2 pouches for 50 cents!

My store had a close out price on the big bottles of Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo. Normally these were $5.69 but were on a close out for $2.56. I also had a $1.50 coupon off any Johnson & Johnson item from coupons.com making these big bottles only $1.06 each!!

My last item were these Lil' Bits cereal with blueberry. Normally $3.50 on sale for $1.50 plus I had $1 any Gerber cereal from coupons.com so each cereal was 50 cents! 

So for the 22 items I would have paid $85.10. But with coupon and Ibotta I only paid $11.74. But to make this deal even better  Ibotta had a bonus where if I redeem the Boudreaux more than once I got an extra $1. That bringing my total out of pocket to 

$10.74!!!
Great baby shower gift and totally within my budget. Now to find a box big enough for all this! :)

Thred Up

Thred Up is one of my favorite websites. This site sells Like-New condition clothes from brands from Target, Michael Khors, BEBE, etc. Most my closet is from this site. Something about shopping on-line in the midnight of the night always suits me best.

photo source

I want to share a couple tips I've learned on how to find the best and cheapest pieces for my wardrobe.

When I start my search I put in:
-My sizes (Large/ Extra Large, size 9 shoe, size 14 pants)
-Brand. I'm bias to J.Crew and Old Navy (tops and dresses)
-Color. If I'm looking for a new white tee since my 6 year old left her PB&J on the couch and I sat on it. :)
-Price. I always select Under $25

Then I click on the last arrow. It will be on Newest First but I'm more interested in the price. So I click on Price: Low to High. So everything I selected will now be from cheapest to highest priced.

If you click on my link and sign up  for the first time you'll get $10 FREE! As you can see from above there are LOTS and LOTS of items items that are under that $10 price. It took me 23 pages to finally get to the prices that cost more than the $10. So that's leaves lots of cute stuff that you can purchase without going over the free $10. 

Shipping cost flat fee of $5.99 or it's free if you spend more than $70. 

I've found a shirt from H&M for $4.99 and a pencil shirt from Forever 21 for $4.99. So my total was $9.98. With my $10 credit I only paid shipping so it was like paying $2.99 for each item! That's a steal! 

So look around and snag some great and cute clothes on the cheap! Remember to use my code HERE to get your free $10!

Walmart Clearance

Walmart is one of my places I will only go at night. When my kids are asleep and I have lots of time to spare. Walmart is always filled with hidden clearance treasure. And 80% of them are  not marked or mismarked.

So last night I went to my local 24 hour Walmart for a few things with full intention on being
in-n-out. But then I seen those yellow clearance balloons everywhere and just went to look. I'm glad I did.

I found these boots for my 14 year old son. He's already 6 foot tall, size 13 shoes, and wearing bigger clothes than my husband. So he can be a hard one to shop for. So when I seen these boots I got really excited and put them in my cart.

Original $59.97 marked down to $13! See what I mean about not being marked correctly. On-line they are full price.

Then I seen these slippers  in my sons size. Original $5.43 marked down to $3! Good price for new slippers.

So here is why I'm at Walmart for hours. Walmart does not properly mark down their clearance. I'm sure they try their best but things get missed, items are moved, or whatever the reason might be clearance is not priced correctly. 

So I'll spend hours scanning everything! These slippers scanned in at $2! Not the $3 marked.

During my trip I  found a pair of sneakers in my size. Originally $14.93. Marked down to $5 but scanned in at $3! I love canvas shoes. These are my go-to shoes for everything from dressing down a pencil shirt to short/jeans.

 Glade candles originally $2.98 (not marked but had a Christmas tree on them) marked down to 75 cents. Hair accessories for my daughters marked down at $5 but scanned at 50 cents! 

And it's not just clothing that does thing but EVERYTHING! I've found in the past Lego sets regularly $99, marked down to $70, but scanned in at $20!

The way I know how to find these hidden items is Instagram!

I know each store is different but for the most part items/prices will be the same. So when I get the my empty Walmart at 11pm I look up the #walmartclearance.

There's people who dedicate their days posting hidden items. I'm very thankful for their hard work since it helps me find that exact Frozen bag that isn't marked and has a tag for $5 then it scans at 50 cents. 

And sure sometimes prices will vary. I seen a shirt on Instagram that several people posted was $1. But at my Walmart it was full price. So sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. ( and no Walmart will not price match Instagrams)

But after 4 hours of walking, scanning, searching, and more scanning I found my son those 2 boots, the slippers, a pair of dress shoes, 1 shirt for me that I plan to refashion,  the pair of sneakers, a few toys for my gift closet, free baby food for an upcoming baby shower, frozen burritos, a gallon of chocolate milk (I was thirsty), groceries, and some nice smelling candles. Retail I would had paid close to $300! But I spent $75! 

Schoola

Schoola is another used clothing website that I look to around to see if I can find any great deals.
The difference from Thred UP is that Schoola donates 40% of your purchase to schools across the USA. Way to help kids out!

photo source

To start my search I click on the "SHOP TO HELP"

Schoola sells kids, Juniors, Men's, and Women's clothes. All items are used in either Like-New, Good, or Blemished conditions. Blemished means that there might be a tony hole or fading. These items are usually really, really cheap.

I will admit I usually don't buy my clothes from this site. I do have a few items from this site but the sizing can be difficult. I've ordered clothes under the "Women's" section to only find out when I open the package that it's a Girls Large. So I've missed out on some really cute Roxy dresses that where suppose to be women's large but were actually kids large. However Schoola does have great customer service and they have refunded my money back on those items. I do include a photo attachment in my email to that the customer service rep knows I'm not taking advantage of them.

But on occasion I will find something that I really like.

Like always I put in my size and start my search with lowest priced items first. Prices usually start around $3 and go up.
But this time I'm looking for the men in my life. Girls clothes are hard to tell sizes with the type of photos Schoola takes. But the menswear is pretty easy to tell size, structure, and condition. My guys don't care about the fit of their shirts. So long as the clothes are baggy; they are pleased. And jeans are pretty easy as well to find here too. My husband is brand devoted but my son on the other hand; he's hard on his clothes so I refuse to pay full price for his stuff.

As pictured above I found him a dress shirt for church. Another tee. A pair of jeans ( these will be baggy on him but the kid is growing like a weed so they will fit him soon) And this time I found a man/woman Chicago Bears shirts. I'm grew up in Chicago so this is my home team. So now my husband and I can show our love and be matchie/matchie!

2 things about Schoola.

1st- Occasionally they run a Free Shipping Promo. Right now they promo is happening so this is when I make my purchases. I try my hardest to only buy when they offer free shipping. But sometimes my husband has just got to grab those Sean John jeans that are $8! So the shipping cost is fine with me.

2nd- Sign up through my link HERE and you'll get $20 FREE! So with $20 bucks that can go a long way on this site. Plus with the Free Shipping you'll be able to snag all your items for FREE!! This is a great time to stock up for next season. Replace that dress with a snag. Or treat someone with something pretty.

So sign up HERE and start free shopping.

Hometown Value

This booklet is a money savings miracle!


Every month it's delivered in the mail at the beginning of the month. I'm not sure if this is regional or based on states but it might be something to look it.

Inside there's coupons from tons of local businesses. Most of them I won't use. Like plumbing or heating.

But there are some coupons that I'm so excited about. Like the ones for date night, restaurants, or oil changes.

With these coupons I can plan date nights with my husband. Kid dates so I can spend one-on-one time with each one of my kids. Like this Moe's coupon. Kids eat Free all day Wednesday so if I go out with my younger aged kids I can use this coupon. Or if I go out with my teenager I can use the Buy 1 entree and Large Drink then the 2nd entree is free. So I can add drinking water to my meal to keep my total under $10! Plus it makes for a special memory with my kids. 

So I'll ripe out all the coupons I want. (like I did above) and put them in an accordion envelope. I keep it in my car or purse so as I'm running errands and remember as I'm driving home from Target that I  need to get an oil change I can grab a coupon for 50% off oil change and not kick myself for forgetting my "wallet" at home.