Kid In Mind

I am a big fan of Kim Komando. She is the genius behind all things tech related: websites, e-mail, software, gadgets, you name it – she has covered it. So in today’s newsletter she covers a free site that is peaked my interest. We are fans of movies and enjoy streaming things on Netflix. Yes, I am THAT mother, the one that swore I would never let a TV babysit my kids. GAH! While I am not one that allows my kids to watch TV 24/7, still there is the occasional time that the good ole boob tube is a much needed distraction. Examples: waiting in line at a restaurant or the dread grocery store trip.

In regard to streaming, or watching a movie in general, there are the obvious choices that you know are for the adult audience and that the kids are not allowed to watch, but then there are some movies/shows that are either questionable or that you might possibly be on the fence about. Kim has introduced me to a site that goes beyond the generalization of the move rating system. The site I am referring to is Kids In Mind. This site enables me to make an informed decision about a movie choice based on criteria that matters most to me. I like Kids In Mind  because I can find out about movie content and decide if it is a family friendly movie with ease.

The criteria for a good family movie that matters most to me may not rank that high in importance to others. That is where this site comes in handy. For example, my son is 5yo and is quite impressionable when it comes to destruction. He does not quite pick up on any of the verbiage during a film being more interested in the action. After seeing only two episodes of the TV series The Dukes of Hazard (it may not be nudity, but it sure is on the raunchy side) it became quite clear that jumping over bridges in cars was not for him. In a matter of only a few days he has managed to destroy more than a dozen Hot Wheels metal diecast cars and dinged up the paint on at least half of the cars/trucks in his ginormous stash. We have since talked about fantasy vs. reality, but he is only five so time will tell. Back to the movie rating, we now look for movies with less violence since this is a trait of which we wish to steer clear.

Okay, that is certainly enough from me on the subject of movies.

Target Dollar Bin Win

So I scored big on the cool mom scale and guess what? It didn’t cost a fortune. We are a frugal, coupon savvy family, so I am always in search of a bargain. One of my favorite bargain jaunts is Target. Okay, they have been in the news a LOT recently b/c of the Missoni exclusive. The site crashed a few times b/c of the popularity of this partnership. I would say Target and Missoni both made a great decision to work together. For me, I am all about the bargain. Isabelle and I went to Target to pick up a couple of the cube shelf organizers that were on sale.

(note: we bought a white one)

Our first stop of course was to hit the dollar spot. We were a smidge disappointed that there was not yet any Halloween stuff available, but we’ll check back in a few days. I was completely surprised to find that some of the $1 items were on sale for 50% off. WOW! Fifty cents for a puzzle. You cannot beat that with a stick! Especially when it is a shiny, sparkly puzzle that comes with a little mini poster for my little Tinkerbell fanatic.

The Tinkerbell box was a little dinged up. Since we don’t keep the original boxes it was definitely not a deal breaker. I managed to find a puzzle for Joshua as well. I also snagged two coloring books, two 6 packs of chipboard magnets (which I plan to alter), and also a Tinkerbell composition book for Isabelle. In all, there were seven goodies from the dollar bin and I only spent $3.50! SCORE!!

I do want to add that in the past we have had minor issues with the cheaper puzzles. Sometimes the pieces won’t stay connected as well as if it were a more expensive puzzle. On occasion, the puzzle doesn’t quite match the preview. For the reduced price we usually take the risk. Puzzles cost anywhere from $3.00 and go up from there. I have seen some of the kids’ puzzles marked at nearly $10.00. That is too much for our entertainment budget when you consider that we could purchase ten puzzles for that price.

REMINDER: World's Largest Sprinkler at Discovery Green

The World's Largest Sprinkler Event at Discovery Green is this weekend, June 24th, 2011 and it is FREE! Check here for details!

** Image from Discovery Green.

World's Largest Sprinkler at Discovery Green

Mark your calendar's for some Texas sized fun provided by Target. The World's Largest Sprinkler Event at Discovery Green is this weekend, June 24th, 2011 and it is FREE! Check here for details!

** Image from Discovery Green.

The Knack

Just wanted to share something fun for the kids.
On the second and fourth Saturday's of each month (dates vary due to holidays and other events) we usually attend the Build and Grow Clinic at Lowes. The kids love it because it is fun! We love it because it is free and educational at the same time! WIN! WIN!
This weekend we are doing something a little different. Michael's offers a craft event for children ages 3 and up. In the past we have not attended for various reasons. This weekend will be our first visit and wouldn't ya know it is just in time for a sweet Father's Day gift. Mark your calendar's they have a slew of ongoing events for children as well as adults. The children's events are referred to as The Knack so feel free to visit the June Calendar for a list of events.

So mark your calendar and get out there and have some family fun!

6/14 Randalls

Alan made a quick trip to grab .69 powerades! WOOT!

Register rang to $22.41. Alan paid $9.60   A 44% savings!!

Randalls and Grand Market

Alan and I decided to divide and concur. All though the division was not fair. I had the larger shopping list AND both kids. ACK!!!! DOUBLE ACK!!!! I swore I would not do this again.

Grands Market is one of my favorite places right now. They are doubling and tripling coupons and have some wonderful sales! So here is the haul!
Alan's trip at Grands could have gone better. There was some confusion over some $1.00 off waters and confusion about the quantity items included on a 10 for $10 deal. Oh well, it was still a great haul overall!
Register total was $9.81 and the total out of pocket was $3.72
62% Savings

My haul... an exasperating one. Two littles in tow. The trip started with Lil  J whining for a truck that he saw on a shelf when we walked in. He whined for the truck for at least half of the time. The trip ended with Princess I arguing with me about riding on the Flinstone ride near the exit. GAH!
I was soooo flustered that I missed a few coupons that were not available and decided it was not even worth it to stand in line at the courtesy desk for the rain checks that I needed.
Register rang to $48.29 Paid $18.88 OOP   A 61% savings
WOOT!
Highlights -
* Two FREE Seattles best coffees!
* Two 6 packs of nestle bottled water for .99 each!
Low points -
* The previously mentioned children in tow! BAH!
* Missed two coupons that didn't triple ($1.20 in loss of savings) BOO!
* Discovered at home that I grabbed orange water instead of plain! ACK!

June 12th - Randalls

This one is no big deal but still an okay savings.

Purchases rang up to $29.95. I paid $20.01 out of pocket! 34% savings
Highlights - Snagged some bogo sausage with a coupon.

Notes: Shopping on the fly and with two littles in tow is a NO NO! I had things in my cart that I wasn't planning on getting and the coupon box was at home. ACK! It killed me to pay retail for some candy knowing there were coupons at home.

First Post

This is our blog about couponing. More to come

Saturday Family Savings

June 11th!
The family that saves together - saves together!! haha
We started the day at Lowe's. The kids were thrilled to build mini golf sets. FREE! We left Lowe's had lunch at Spring Creek - sans coupon - GASP! Alan could not stomach another trip to Double Dave's Pizza Works even though we have been getting great deals there, so instead went to eat BBQ without any savings.

Next we went to GreatClips for the boys to get much needed haircuts. We got lucky and were able to receive money off of our purchases by texting to GreatClips! Cheap haircuts x 2 - SCORE!

After we finished at GreatClips we went next door to GameStop to use a coupon for a free video game for Lil J. He was like a kid in a candy store roaming the store looking for games. We managed to get 3 video games for $19.46 and also recieved reward points towards another free game.

Next stop was Staples. The intent was to purchase paper towels for $3.00 with a $3.00 off coupon. At this point Princess I is asleep in the car seat, so Alan goes it alone. He returns with a ream of paper that was $5.99, and with $3.00 off was able to purchase the ream for $3.24 OOP! Plus an online rebate of $3.00 for purchasing paper! In the end it will have cost .24 for a ream of paper. WOOT! Almost FREE PAPER! Now we have added to our paper stash for coupon printing!

Finally we went to Sports Authority with a coupon for $10 off a $50 purchase and Alan was in desperate need of a new pair. His current pair squeaks when he walks. I have been teasing him about the shoe with a blowout! hahaha
So we snagged the shoes, looked for socks - none to be found. Finally went to the checkout and realized that the $10 off was for a later purchase. Rookie mistake. ACK! Oh well, we will go back later this month and grab shoes for one of the kids. Retail price of shoes was $62.00. We paid $54.11 OOP. Plus a $10 coupon for another visit.
Fun day! itired!

Our First Big Haul

May 30th - Randalls

2 Transactions

Alan's ticket rang up to $9.27 and paid $4.50 out of pocket!
51% savings

Trista's ticket rang up to $85.45 and paid $41.82 out of pocket!
51% savings

That is a total of $48.40 saved for the day! We were pleased!

This is How it all Began

Sort of. It actually began long ago for both of us.
This is a more current version of how we found our way back to couponing.

We have been couponing for a long time. To see how we got our start you can read more on our profile page. Basically we are an average family that appreciates the value of a hard earned dollar and work hard to make that dollar go as far as we can. We started out very simple. First just coupons for free meals at our favorite restaurants. Then we expanded our horizons to include coupons for percentages off to craft stores and home goods stores.
We have always clipped coupons from the Sunday paper but generally speaking only for specific things that we would use immediately. Since watching the Extreme Couponing show on TLC we have taken our couponing to the next level. With the economy in the condition that it is currently in, and gas prices through the roof, we felt something needed to happen.
Now I will admit that I have been very sceptical about the Extreme Couponers. We do have a wonderful walk in pantry and are able to have a large stockpile without taking over the entire house, and not become hoarders. I was really not a fan of those that would purchase 1000 tubes of toothpaste just because they were free. I have since changed my way of thinking and am more open to purchasing large quantities of an item that is free with the intent of donating what our family and friends cannot use.
So this blog is going to be a record of our journey into hard core couponing - Texas style.