Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween!! to all my family and friends out there. May all you gouls and gobblins have a good time and stay safe!!!

Much love,
Stella

West Fest 2010 - Montgomery, TX

On Friday night, we went to the annual West Fest that is put on by the Lonestar Cowboy Church of Montgomery, TX. This annual festival is completely FREE! Free food, music, activities for kids, like rock climbing and jump houses, and a free local rodeo. We had a great time!!

Great Food!!! Wouldn't be Texas BBQ without sausage on a stick!!

How about some S'mores from our local Boy Scout Troop? Yummy!!!

Rock Climbing...some friendly sibling competition.

Visiting the Discount Tires Race Car.

Our local fire department and their new truck!

All in all, we had a very good time! We had hay rides, played games, visited various community booths, ate excellent BBQ, saw demonstrations from our local fire, police, SWAT and US Coast Guard; plus, the kids were able to participate in their "trunk or treat"!!  And the best part was... the rodeo, where there was calf roping and even, mounted shooting competitions. We will definitely return next year!!



Popeye's Chicken - Great Deal on Tuesdays!!

I know that going out to eat has been far and few between due to the economy but, Popeye's has a great weekly deal that makes it affordable to eat out. On Tuesdays, you can get a thigh and a leg for just $0.99 cents!! I am always on the lookout for ways to feed my family of six for under or around $10. We buy our chicken from Popeye's and make our sides at home. Here's how this one breaks down...

(6) 2 pieces @ $0.99 = $6.00 (12 pieces of chicken, 2 per person)

(1) Can of Pilsbury biscuits (10 biscuits) = $1.25 (reg. price, better if bought with a coupon)

(2) Cans of corn (found on sale at $0.33 ea.) = $0.66

(1) Box of Instant mashed potatoes (on sale) = $1

(1) Packet of McCormick Brown Gravy = $0.55 (reg. price)

Total = $9.46

That's less than $2 per person!!

Walgreens Deals - 10/24/10

Here are this week's deals...

I got $27.94 worth of products for $3.04 after sale and coupons!!

Transaction#1
(1) Colgate Sesitive Toothpaste $3.49
(2) Alka Seltzer Plus Fast Action $3.99 x2 ($7.98)
(2) Student Portfolio $0.25 x2 ($0.50)
Subtotal = $11.97

 -$1 Colgate Sensitive Toothpaste MQ
- (2) $3 Alka Seltzer Plus Fast Action MQs
- $2 RR (from last weeks transaction)
Total OOP = $2.97
Received $3 RR for Alka Seltzer & $3.50 RR for Colgate

Transaction #2
(1) Wags 9pk. Toilet Paper $3.49
(1) Finesse Conditioner $1.99
(1) Finesse Hairspray $1.99
Portfolio $0.25 x4 ($1)
Pencil $0.10
Subtotal = $8.57

-(2) $1 Finesse Hair Care Product MQ
-$3RR (from Transaction #1)
-$3.50 RR (from Transaction #1)
Total OOP = $0.07

Great Freebie From Green Mountain Coffee!!!

Green Mountain Coffee is giving away this sample every Monday in October. Only about 2,500 per week and they sure do go fast. I was one of the lucky ones. Tommorow is the last time, so if you get a chance, check back at 9am (EST) http://www.facebook.com/GreenMountainCoffee  This is a great freebie for those of us who LOVE coffee and Green Mountain Coffee is nothing but the best!! Everyone Enjoy!!

Walgreens Deals - 10/17/10

Here are this week's deals...

I got $46.58 worth of products for $7.14 after sale and coupons!

Transaction #1

(1) Nivea Body Wash for men

(1) Nivea Body Wash for women 2/$5

(1) Bufferin Low Dose 130ct. $5.99

(2) Riccola Cough Drops 24ct. $1

(2) Whiskers Cat Treats $1

(1) Blistex Medicated Lip Care $2.59

Subtotal = $17.58

- $3 Nivea Body Wash for men MQ

- $1 Nivea Body Wash MQ

- $3 Bufferin MQ

- $3 Wags Bufferin Low Dose 130ct Q (found in Monthly booklet)

- $1/2 Riccola Cough Drops MQ

- $0.50 Wags Riccola Q x 2 (Wags monthly)

- $1/2 Whiskers MQ

Total OOP = $4.58

Received $2.60 RR for Blistex

Transaction #2

(1) Pert Plus Shampoo $1.99

(1) Sure Deodrant $1.99

(1) Children's Smart Rinse $2.99

(1) Crest Scope Toothbrush $2.99

(2) Pencils (fillers) $0.10

Subtotal = $10.16

- $1 Pert Plus MQ

- $1 Sure Deodrant MQ

- $1 Smart Rinse MQ

- $1 Crest Scope Toothpaste

- $1 RR (from previous shopping trip)

- $2.60 RR (from Transaction #1)

Total OOP = $2.56

Received $1 RR for Crest  and $1 RR for Smart Rinse

Texas Renaissance Festival

We all like free...but, this is a lucky freebie!! My daughter came home with free passes for the Texas Renaissance Festival. We are so thrilled!! As you all know finding something to do that's cheap for 6 people is hard enough but, this is takes the cake. She earned these passes for good grades and excellent behavior. The TX Ren Fest runs from October through Thanksgiving weekend. We will definitely use these! Thanks DD---we're very proud of you!!

10/12/10 - Walgreens Deals

Here are my deals for this week... $36.61 worth of products for only $1.56

3 Transactions

Transaction #1
(4) Old Spice Body Wash (reg. $5.99) on sale 3/$10 = 13.33
- (2) BOGO Old Spice Body Wash  MQ (-$6.66)
- $6 RR (from previous trips)
Total OOP = $0.67
Received $3 RR

Transaction #2
(2) Halls Refresh Cough Drops @ $1.00 ea. = $2
(1) Oral-B Advantage Toothbrush @ $2.49
(2) 1" Poly Binders @ $0.22 = $0.44 (My DDs took off with these before I could take a pic. LoL!)
Total = $4.93
- $1/2 Halls Cough Drop MQ
- $0.75 Crest/Oral B Toothbrush MQ
- $3 RR (from Transaction #1)
Total OOP = $0.18
Received $1 RR for Halls Cough Drops & $1.50 RR for OralB Toothbrush

Transaction #3
(1) Herbal Essence Conditioner @ $2.99
(1) 1" Poly Binder @ $0.22 (Used as a Filler from the clearance aisle)
Total = $3.29
- $1 Herbal Essences Shampoo/Conditioner MQ
-$1.50 RR (from Transaction #2)
Total OOP = $0.71

Here Are Some Savvy Shopping Guidelines...

First, here are some common lingo translations...

Wags: Walgreens
OOP: Out Of Pocket
RR: Register Rewards ("Walgreens Money")
ECB: Extra Care Bucks ("CVS Money")
MQ: Manufacturer Coupon
BOGO: Buy One Get One Free

Handy Tips:
A BOGO Sale combined with a BOGO coupon equals 2 items for FREE.
Shopper's Cards are your friend, especially for CVS and Kroger.

Walgreens Tips
Walgreens offers Register Rewards when you buy certain products. Register Rewards have a monetary value that can only be used at Walgreens. Treat them like cash and you will be on your way to greal deals! RR's are only printed once per transaction. For example, if a product is 2/$5 and receive a $2 RR and you have 4 products you must split your purchase into 2 transactions to receive both $2 RRs. Combining Manufacterer Q's with RRs make for great products for pennies. Wags does have a coupon to bar code ratio. So, if you have 3Q's and 2 RRs but only 4 products, you need to find a small inexpensive filler for like 10 cents or so. Wags does have their own in-ad q's and a monthly coupon booklet that CAN be combined with MQ's. The trick to this is that you need to hand over your MQ's first and then your Wags Q's so that the transaction will go through. Wags can be a deal mecca once you get the hang of it. Remember, have fun while you're learning.

CVS Tips
CVS has a Shopper's Card that one has to sign up for but well worth it. They have Extra Care Bucks that you can earn on certain products. ECBs can be stacked but, they also good for only a month so keep that in mind when shopping. CVS is my favorite store and the easiest to begin with. Look for products that offer ECBs that you have coupons for and along with ECBs can make for many free products.

Kroger Tips
Sign up for Kroger's Shopping Card and along with Manufacterer Q's you can cut your grocery bill almost in half. Check your local Kroger for double coupons. My Kroger doubles up to and $0.50.

The key to shopping thrifty, is only buy what you use and being picky needs to be thrown out the window. Though there are some products that are my favorite that I can't live without in which, unfortunately I do pay full price for. But, I save so much in other ways, that buying my favorite brand of coffee creamer or Hellman's mayo doesn't bother me at all.

I hope you find my tips helpful and you're on your way to happy couponing!!

An Awesome Toys R' Us Deal!!!

Have an unexpected birthday party come up or looking for early Christmas gifts? I am always on the lookout for such deals because I never know when one of my darling kids will come home with a birthday invitation. This one was right up my alley. A few weeks ago, Toys R' Us was having a great sale on Hasbro board games. Not only were they $7.99 but they were Buy 2, get the 3rd one free. I was able to score $68.00 worth of games for $4.00!

(3) Scrabble Board Games reg. $16.99 each = $50.97
(1) Sorry Board Game reg. $16.99
Total before sale and Q's = $67.96

On sale for $7.99 = $31.96
Buy 2, Get 3rd Free = $23.97
- (4) $5 off Hasbro Q's
Total OOP = $3.97 + tax = $4.32

WoW!! $1.08 a piece!! Can't beat that!!

10/09/10 - Walgreens Deals

I was able to snag $28.00 worth of cold medicine for $4.00. This was a GREAT deal and just in time for cold & flu season. Here's how I did it...

Nyquil Sinex 20ct. Liquid Caps reg. $6.99 

On sale 2/$10

Get back $5 RR (Register Rewards for future shopping trip)

I did this transaction twice..

2 Nyquil Sinex 20ct Liquid Caps = $10

- (2) Manufacter Q's $4 off (-$8)

   Total OOP = $2

Got back $10 in RR

So, for a total of $4 cash, I received 4 boxes of NyQuil and $10 of "Walgreens Money" which I will use in a future shopping trip.



10/09/10 - Dollar General & CVS Deals

Dollar General - 2 Gain Dish Washing Liquid @ $1 each = $2

                            - (2) Manufacter Q's for $1 off = (-$2)

                                    Total OOP = 0.00 FREE

CVS - 2 Clean & Clear Trial Sized Facial Scrub @ $1 each = $2

            -(2) Manufacter Q's for $1 off = (-$2)

                       Total OOP = 0.00 FREE

I love FREE!!!

FREE SODA!!!

Yesterday evening I made a quick trip to Wal-mart and ended up coming home with 2 free 12 pks of the new Sierra Mist Natural. Wal-mart was giving out a free can to everyone and as my son and I received our free can of soda, the lady told me that I can have a free case when I was done with my shopping if they were still available. Needless to say, that was my fastest Wal-mart trip. She ended up give us one each. Gee, that was a time I wished I had all 4 kids with me, LOL!

Welcome To My Rockin' Deals!

Welcome everyone!! Friends, Family and Fellow Deal Seekers!! So many people out there always ask me where and how do I find such great deals. Well, now I will share my secrets and show off my "Rockin' Deals" In this tough economy everyone should be couponing and I'm here to help you. Feeding and maintaining a family of 6 is a tough job but I have happily learned how to stretch a buck. I never pay full price for anything anymore, not if I can help it. I have been furiously couponing since January of this year and love it! I have even taught my children the value of a dollar and they have turned to be great deal seekers as well. I love to shop as much as the next person but just can't afford to the way I want (If only I would win the lottery! Don't we all wish!) but, this way I'm not just shopping, I'm paying pennies. So, sit back and enjoy my blog and you just might learn a little something.