Tuesday's Topic: Set Your Own Grocery Store Prices

How would you like to set your own prices at the grocery stores? No, really, obviously within reason, but a VERY flexible ‘within reason’. How would you like to determine how much you are willing to spend on that bag of chips? What is your price on a bag of shredded cheese, or a pound of chicken breasts?

Guess what....? You CAN do this, you can set your own prices and what you are willing to pay for certain products in the grocery store. I wish I could manage to get away with purchasing everything to FREE, and there is quite a lot of items out there that I have purchased FREE over the course of my couponing experience. And I do my darndest to make sure that I stay within my price point.

What is a price point you ask? Well, it can vary from person to person, and family to family. It goes back to what your needs are, your budget, and the brands or types of items you purchase. The more open you are to other products and trying out new items you may find you have a lower monthly out of pocket grocery budget. If you are a bit more fussy regarding the items/brands you purchase you may have a slightly higher out of pocket budget. But it is all possible to spend as very little out of pocket as possible.

Price points are what you, personally, set on each and every product you purchase. It is setting your own prices for grocery store products, and couponing with sales makes it possible for each of us to do this.

I have to admit that I have two price points for most products, one is a Needs price point (how much am I willing to spend on an item that I do not have in my stockpile, and need right now?). My other price point, which is the one I tend to stick as closely to as possible, is my Stockpile price (what is my stockpile price for certain items?).

Here’s a quick guide of my price points both on a Needs & Stockpile price point:

Item	Stockpile	Needs
Boneless Chicken Brsts	$1.89lb or less	up to $2.00lb
Cereal	$.50 or less	up to $1.50
Canned Tomatoes	$.25 or less	up to $.50
Apples	$.99lb or less	up to $1.50lb
Toothpaste	$.25 or less	up to $.50
Body Wash	$.50 or less	up to $1.00

I do not have any of these numbers really written down anywhere but I have learned over time and with experience the best prices on items, and what I  know I can get at the best prices. Here’s the best part when you have stockpiled enough you really shouldn’t have much of a Needs list or Needs Pricing. I am usually stocked up enough on meat that I rarely if ever spend over $1.89lb for chicken breasts. Toothpaste and Body Wash, to be honest I have not paid for Body Wash in over a year. Toothpaste I might grab one or two tubes around $.25 or less, but otherwise, I don’t pay for that item either.

Because of using coupons effectively and efficiently I can now set my OWN prices at the store, I am not governed by the grocery stores telling me what I must pay for the items my family wants/needs/uses.

Coupons & Stockpiling are freeing, they allow you to set your own grocery budget, and still allow you to buy the items you want.

Tuesday's Topic: Personal Resolutions/Goals for 2011

It’s the first Tuesday of 2011 – not sure if that is really that exciting or not, but thought it was worth mentioning J.

As you will see throughout this week all of the Daily Topics are devoted to New Year Resolutions and/or Goals for 2011. Yesterday on CentsAble Budget Report, I went over my financial goals, which if you missed you can GO HERE to read all about it.

Today on Tuesday’s Topic, I am going over all my more personal goals I have set for 2011. In some ways this seems a bit overwhelming as there is going to seem like quite a few, however, I have them broken down into different areas of my life, so it’s not as bad as it may seem (let’s hope not anyways).

I have set one of the more popular resolutions this year – to lose weight! I have to say though that I am not doing this because it’s a New Year, but it just happens to be a New Year and I feel ready to start accomplishing this goal in my life – that I seem to put off.  So, I am holding myself responsible by making ‘the world’ my accountability partner – lol! I am approaching this from a much different angle, it’s not about losing weight, as much as just getting in better health, if I lose great. If I don’t – and I’m continuing to make healthier lifestyle choices, than I will consider that the biggest accomplishment yet.

My second goal is to get in a better cleaning routine with my house. I plan to make a daily list of chores for not only my three little people but for myself and my husband. Just to make house cleaning a bit more manageable and less overwhelming then it seems on most days.

 I haven’t spoken to my loving hubby yet about this but if I can accomplishment my 2011 goals, I would like to be able to have someone come clean my house once a month starting in 2012. Which is another great motivator for me.

I also plan to finish up my last two or three graduate classes so I can get my masters degree!

Finally some of my goals and ideas for CentsAble Stewardship for 2011. I have quite a bit up my sleeve when it comes to the site. Over the course of 2011 you will find new features that will make this site more user friendly for all of my readers, which I hope you will all appreciate and enjoy. 

You will begin seeing the Daily Topics on a regular basis, every week. Plus I plan to introduce some new topics such as weekly questions from you, my wonderful readers! Every Monday I will submit a reminder for all of you with questions regarding coupons, saving, budgeting, and anything else related to

What are your personal resolutions or goals for 2011??

Tuesday's Topic: Guest Post - Simply CVS

I am VERY excited to introduce you to our guest post, Cheryl from Simply CVS. She is what I would consider an expert Couponer/Saver at CVS. She has managed to Saved well over $2000 this year alone at CVS, while spending less then $50 out of pocket. I know - AMAZING right?

Cheryl has graciously accepted my offer to write a wonderful guest post on how to shop, coupon, and save at CVS:

"I want to thank Holly for inviting me to Centsable Stewardship for Tuesday’s Topic.  It was no surprise to her that my topic would be CVS.  But first let me introduce myself. I am Cheryl, from Simply CVS.  I am married to my high school sweetheart, a retired home-school  teacher,  mother of two adult daughters, and I have two main interests that keep me busy, besides my family,—my church and CVS (including Simply CVS).

I found out a few years ago that by shopping at CVS/pharmacy I could save hundreds of dollars monthly on my family’s budget.  It also provided an additional way for me to be able to donate to some of my favorite organizations, and to ones I had not even heard of until I had free items from CVS that I couldn’t use and needed to find someone who could.  I have saved so much money shopping at CVS over the years (over $3000 in 2009) that I was always trying to teach others how to do it.  I was encouraged to start blogging about it and so, Simply CVS was born;  a place for me teach others how to save hundreds of dollars each month at CVS by providing lessons and tips along with current and future CVS deals.

I wanted to introduce you today to the basics that make it possible to save money while shopping at CVS.

1.       Sign up for a CVS Extra Care Card.  The card is necessary to receive sale prices and to participate in the CVS extra care buck program.  You can either do this online at CVS.com and they will mail the card within two weeks, or you can pick up a form and a card at any CVS store and start saving the same day.

a.       As soon as you get the card register it online with an email address and you will receive a $4 off a total purchase of $20 or more coupon in your email.  You will then receive emails throughout the year, often with coupons.

Extra Care Bucks, or commonly known as extra bucks, are the basis for the large savings possible for shopping at CVS.  Extra bucks are coupons received at the end of the receipt and are like extra “bucks” when shopping at CVS (they must be used with the card they were issued for).  There are a few restrictions for what they can be used on:  stamps, alcohol, prescriptions, tax and tobacco all the ones I know of.   Extra bucks can be used on other extra buck deals and even on the same deal if the limit is more than one.   Extra bucks are earned in three different ways and usually expire within 30 days.

a.       Quarterly extra bucks are issued four times a year and are calculated on the shopper’s spending.  Two percent of the amount spent on most items is earned in extra bucks (some restrictions apply).  This is after coupon price—the total paid on the receipt.  They are also issued in 50 cent increments so the shopper must spend $25 to get any quarterly extra bucks and then it increases in $25 spending increments or $.50 in extra bucks.

b.      Quarterly extra bucks are earned for prescriptions filled.  Along with the 2% quarterly extra bucks, shoppers receive $1 for every two prescriptions filled.

c.       Weekly deal extra bucks are issued immediately when a shopper buys an advertised “extra buck” item.  These range from “free after extra buck items” like “buy Toothpaste @ $2.99 get $2.99 extra bucks back” to “buy $15 worth of products listed and receive $5 extra bucks back.”  There are limits, usually one or two, for weekly extra buck deals.

3.       Manufacturer coupons and CVS coupons can be combined.  CVS accepts manufacturer coupons (including internet printables if they will scan) as well as issues their own coupons.  CVS coupons are emailed, sent in the mail, found in various publications or tear pads, issued at the Kiosk where shoppers can scan their cards, and printed at the end of receipts.  You can use one CVS coupon and one manufacturer coupon per product.  Extra bucks do not count as coupons so can be used on top of these.  It is actually possible to “make money” shopping at CVS by using CVS and manufacturer coupons to pay for an item that will issue more extra bucks back than cash used to pay for the product.  CVS also often issues total order coupons such as $5 off a total order of $30—the $30 is pre-coupon price.

4.       Numerous transactions are helpful in spending the least out of pocket cash.  Using extra bucks on other extra buck earning deals is commonly referred to as “rolling extra bucks.”  The beauty of rolling extra bucks is it helps you spend less out of pocket cash.  You can check out numerous times each week, using the extra bucks earned from transaction #1 on transaction #2 and so on. This is also the way to keep the expense down from week to week.  As you continue to shop at CVS your extra bucks will slowly build up and you will be able to virtually keep spending the same extra bucks over and over again, because each time you use them on new extra buck deals you receive more with a later expiration date.

5.       CVS issues rain checks for most advertised deals.  If an advertised item is out of stock, and the ad does not state no rain checks issued, CVS will issue a rain check for the sale price AND the extra buck amount, if one is included, to be used by the customer when the store is restocked.

a.       CVS rain checks never expire.

b.      The Extra Bucks will be printed manually by the cashier after the purchase is made.

c.       Rain Checks are great to save for when a great coupon comes out for the product, you have extra bucks expiring and there is no current sale that interests you or to have when you get a $5/30 to help you get up to the $30 total needed to use the coupon.

Shopping at CVS has also provided an additional way for me to be able to donate to some of my favorite organizations, and to ones I had not even heard of until I had free items from CVS that I couldn’t use and needed to find someone who could. 

If you’d like to see the results of these steps and how they come together in one of my weekly shopping trips you can see many of this year’s in My Shopping Trip series.  My savings year to date are $3123.73 and from May 1, 2010 thru November 15, 2010 I have paid $48.45 (almost tax only) and saved $2302.12.  If you decide to start shopping at CVS you are welcome to stop by Simply CVS and ask any questions you have."

I hope you have all learned something new from this great post from Cheryl. Please stop by and say HI to her at Simply CVS, where you can continue to receive up to date information on CVS and how to save BIG!

Thanks, again, Cheryl

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Tuesday's Topic: New Online Way to Make Purchases - eBillme

Welcome to Tuesday’s Topic, where any topic regarding savings, couponing, stockpiling, and whatever else is up for grabs. Today I want to introduce you to a new online savings group called eBillme.

I don’t know if any of you are farmiliar with this product but the company recently emailed me asking me to become an affiliate, to help market their product. Since starting this blog I have had a few offers like this make its way into my inbox and most of the time I usually already farmiliar with the company and/or product. This one was new to me.

So, I did some research. I am not about to market something just market something. I believe in being honest and upfront with all my readers, I want this to be a place/blog that you can come to with the utmost confidence and never feel like you are being scammed. My goal on this blog is offer you the best advice, services, sales, and discounts available to all of us. If it is not something I would ever use I would never recommend it to you.

But I have to say I think this is awesome. eBillme is a way to pay for online shopping purchases without using a credit card or debit card. You can pay with cash, essentially. Here’s what I really like about it, it’s a another great way to get away from credit card and still be able to pay for your purchases in the 21^st century.  

Here are some FAQs taken directly from eBillme’s website:

1.  What Are You?:

          -‘A secure way to pay cash online, helps keep you safe, and in control every step of the way.’

          -‘If your wallet isn’t handy all you need to know is your email address. So, if your’e up late shopping in your hot pink pajamas, forget running down to get your purse, just check out with eBillme instead.

            -‘To pay a bill you log in directly to you own online bank. Your personal finance info is kept ceompletely private by your own bank, hidden from the prying eyes of hackers and id theeves and best of all you purchase is covered by an iron-clad Buyer Protection Program

            -‘Stay in Control of your finances – with no fees, no interest charges eBillme helps you stay out of debt and in control of your own money. You can also save money with hot deals in the Debt Free Shopping Section or qualify for exclusive rebates.

2. How Does Online Cash Payment Work?

               -‘ Now you can pay cash securely when you’re shopping online . It is easy to use, fast and convenient. At checkout, select eBillme as your payment option.

A copy of your bill will be displayed on the screen and emailed to you for your records. Log in to your bank’s website and go to the bill pay section. Follow the instructions found in your bill to add eBillme as a payee and then pay for your order - the same way you pay your other bills through online banking.

If you need help please call us toll free at 1-888-899-6633 and a customer service representative will be happy to assist you. Our customer service representatives are available Monday through Friday 9 a.m.-9 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (Eastern).’

eBillme also offers Rewards and Rebate offers which makes this site that much better. You can earn at least 1% cash back whenever you make a purchase through eBillme. There are limited time offers where you can earn even more.

Right now if you purchase a $100 Home Depot Gift Card on eBillme you will earn 10% cash back.  You can also purchase a $100 Dell Gift Card and send for a $15 Mail In Rebate (MIR).  There is also a $100 JcPenny Gift Card for only $85. Plus money other great gift card deals.

They have over 800 merchants and growing, and I bet this becomes a pretty popular way of purchasing items online as more and more families are looking for ways to save and be frugal.

Check them out and let me know what you think!

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Tuesday's Topic: TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE DEALS

I know we hear this all the time and I think as we get older it just seems to get worse, but I can’t believe it’s already Tuesday. For that matter I can’t believe it’s November 2010. I swear we JUST did the holidays a couple weeks ago, didn’t we?

I guess since it’s holiday time again, that means it is time to really get serious about Christmas shopping, huh? Come on now, don’t flinch and go running, or trying to deny it, it won’t stop the inevitable, it really won’t. Christmas is coming. I have to admit that I don’t fear it (well not like I use to). I LOVE the holidays. I LOVE Thanksgiving and I LOVE Christmas. They really are my favorite times of the year. I love being able to get together with family and sharing in the time during both holidays. Enjoying great homemade food (lots of it, probably to a fault) and watching my children enjoy the magic that Christmas always seems to have in store for them.

So, what has us all freaked out?! Yep – the financial aspect, huh? I know, I know – I really do! I have been there a million times over. My husband and I have had our fair share of financial difficulties over the 10 years of our marriage. I just think part of it has been due to being unlucky living in the kind of economy we seem to have inherited. And, being truthful, another part was our own doing. However, this year I am not dreading Christmas, any part of it. Why?

Let’s just say this year I have started planning since July. Yep, I have and this has taken a LOT of pressure, financially, off our shoulders. I have been purchasing items on sale from great daily deal sites or in stores. I need to go through all my receipts but after a rough estimate I have purchased well over $400 worth of Christmas presents this year – BUT I have only spent around $120-$130 out of pocket.

I have said this over and over again, and will continue to say this over and over again. The items I have purchased are high quality items from brand names we all know and trust, but with some frugal ways, conscience shopping, and a little extra bargain shopping on my part I have managed to save 68% on my Christmas shopping thus far.

I have still have plenty to buy, mostly for my kids. The past several Christmas’ we have had to limit who we can buy for, and usually it is pretty mutual from all family members, so no guilt ever involved, but this Christmas our family will be able to give a little something to everyone.

So, how did I do this? It’s a bit easier than you might think, three simple things you can do to SAVE big time during Christmas:  

- Follow Along: You will constantly find me posting about great ways to buy presents at bargain on this site. Be sure to check in at least once a day and read through the blogs I have posted. They are usually short and to the point, and should only take a little bit of time out of your evening to do so. If you think about it this way,  just by taking an hour at most out of your evening you can save yourself hundreds of dollars just by finding all the great deals on this site, essentially you are making money (at least keeping it in your wallet) by reading and clicking through a few sites.

- Join Daily Deal Sites: there are several daily deal sites that I post on here, nearly daily. A lot of these sites offer incentives just for joining, and for referring your friends. These incentives are in the form of credits, or money that can be used towards your first purchase on their site. These sites offer HUGE discounts on brand name products everything from kitchenware, to clothing, to jewelry, and everything in between. You can easily save up to 90% or more on brand name products, so join them. I don’t post these because I like to ‘listen’ to myself write, I do this because I have saved BIG TIME and want you to take advantage of the exact same deals as I do.  I have a list of them at the bottom of my blog called “$7 Dollar Date with My Hubby”.

-Read Sales Ads: get in the habit of reading through all the sales ads in the Sunday paper. When you are in the habit of printing coupons, as often as you should be, which should be almost daily, you’ll start keeping a database in your head of coupons you have seen. While reading through the ads you’ll find items on sale and realize you remember seeing a coupon at one point for that item. Take advantage of gift card deals if they are worth it. I consider GC deals worth it when you can save at least half or more for items after getting the gift card. NOT all GC deals are worth purchasing, but quite a few are. These can then be used on future purchases, and rolled on to other great deals.

That’s it. I do most of the work for you by trying to keep you as up-to-date as possible on all the amazing bargain deals there are out there. And I would like to think I am not wasting my time, that I am helping all of you out by giving you the best deals possible. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE DEALS J You’ll save, I promise!

What’s holding you back from not jumping on the deals? Tell me I want to hear from all of you. If you don’t let me know your questions or concerns I can’t help, and that is why I have created this site. To help all of you to Spend Less - Save Abundantly - & Have More. 

Tuesday's Topic: Overage & Money Maker Items

Today's Tuesday's Topic concerns items that will provide overage or make you money (Money Makers - MM). 


You might be surprised to learn that you can make money on many of your favorite products, or find products that will provide overage. I'm sure your next question is What is a Money Maker or Overage?


Here are my definitions of Money Makers (MM) and Overage Items:

Money Maker (MM): Items that will give you more money back then what you paid Out Of Pocket (OOP). 
Overage Items: Items that after sales & coupons are not only FREE (you pay nothing OOP) but they end up having a negative balance after sales & coupons. These items you don't receive money back, but the negative balance that they will provide spill over into the rest of your grocery bill, helping to pay for other items. 


Now the next question is how can I find items that are MM or provide Overage? It really just depends on stores' sales and the coupons that are available. 


MM usually take place at the Drugstores (CVS, Walgreens, or Rite Aid). Each drugstore has their own reward system when shopping with them that will give you 'money' back in the form of a RR or ECB or +Up Reward, that can only be used in that drugstore at a later purchase.


For Example: last week Walgreens had their NyQuil Sinex product on sale for 2/$10, after purchasing the items you would receive a Regiseter Reward (RR) for $5 back. On top of the store's sale there was a high value coupon for -$4/1 NyQuil Sinex. This is where we would be able to Make Money (get paid to shop).


You would use (2) -$4/1 Qs to pay for (2) NyQuil Sinexes on sale for 2/$10. After the Qs you would pay OOP only $2 - And a RR for $5 would print out. That's a $3 MM! You just got paid to shop. You can then use the $5 RR for most anything (restrictions do apply) in Walgreens for further purchases.


You won't get rich on MM - but they are great to come across and to stretch your dollars further than you ever thought possible. 


Overage items are fairly similar in concept, only you won't receive money back. Overage items end up being FREE and then any extra from coupons and sales would be applied to the rest of your transaction.


For Example: Publix had a coupon for -$6/2 Sundown Vitamins, there was/is a coupon for -$3/1 Sundown MFQ available. Some Sundown vitamins are priced around $2.99ea. If I were to buy (2) Sundown vitamins priced at $2.99ea, use (1) -$6/2 Publix Q & (2) -$3/2 MFQs I would not only receive the (2) vitamins for FREE but I would then have an Overage of -$6.02. I would not receive the -$6.02 back but that negative balance would be applied to the rest of my transaction, essentially paying for other items in my grocery cart. 


These are two very important reasons why I tell people NOT to toss out coupons they believe they would never use. I did this in the beginning of couponing and ended up regretting it later. Even if they are not items I would ever use, I will still 'purchase' them to pay for other items or to make money - and stretch my dollars further. If I do not have any use for the product I just give it to someone that might. I'm not buying the product because i need or want it I am purchasing it so that it will help me purchase items that I do Need or Want. 


Hold on to your coupons, you will be surprised where you will find use for coupons you never thought you would.

Tuesday's Topic: The Grocery Bill Diet - Brand Loyalty (Or Not)

I'm introducing a new feature called Tuesday's Topic, where I will talk about how to coupon and stockpile efficiently and effectively.

Today's Tuesday Topic is on  The Grocery Diet: Brand Loyalty.

I have several brands that I love and am quite loyal too, all for different reasons and some for obvious reasons.

I Love brands such as Tide, Downey, Cascade, and Hellmann's, to name a few. I have always been loyal in my buying power with these brand names. Mostly because I believe they work the best, compared to their competitors (or taste the best when it comes to food).

However, I slowly learned that when I was trying to build my stockpile and lower my grocery bill, I took in some wisdom from other pro-couponers, that it's not always good to be brand loyal. I think it's especially not necessary or good to be brand loyal when you are first starting out in your couponing adventure.

I say this because when you continue to stay loyal to certain brands you are going to find that you are having difficulty building a stockpile and keeping your costs down. I like to think of this as a "Grocery Bill Diet". Just like in a regular diet we have to give up some of the stuff we really enjoy, mostly because its not good for your body, and you are trying to purge the excess weight. With the Grocery Bill Diet, we, in essence are trying to do the same.

We need to purge the excess money drainers from our grocery bills. We need to cut back on things that aren't good for the overall bill, in order to slim the bill down to where we want it for our monthly budget.

I am not saying you have to NEVER buy your Tide again. What I am simply saying is that you may need to venture out and buy washing detergent brands that do a really good job, but with sales and coupons cost a fraction of the price you might have to pay for a bottle of Tide.

Don't get discouraged! Because there is light at the end of the tunnel, I promise. 


So, here is the good news. Once you have stockpiled and have skimmed your monthly bill down to where you want it for your household budget, you can once again begin 'splurging' on those Brand Loyalty items that you LOVE and believe work or taste the best.

For the first 9 months of couponing and stockpiling, I mostly bought ALL laundry detergent, because I found it to work really well and I was able to get a whole bunch of it for only $.99 a bottle a lot of the times. Do I love it like I love my Tide, not really. But it's not a far second, either. I know it does well getting my clothes clean. Now that our budget is down to around $300 month - I have started to add Tide back on to my list for stockpiling. I don't suspect I will ever find a bottle of Tide for around $.99 a bottle (though I am sure miracles still do happen). I do know that if I can find a 100oz bottle of tide priced around $6.99 a bottle (which is normally closer to $15) - I will purchase a few bottles at that price. Though it's not $.99 a bottle, I know have room in my budget to add this in on occasions and can stock up when I find it priced around $6.99 or less for a 100oz bottle.

This goes for all the more expensive brand items out there. I do believe that certain brands work better than others. And that quality is greatly important. But with any diet you have to give up some things (or strictly moderate them) in order to purge. It's not always what we want in life, but if your ultimate goal is to get your grocery budget down, then you may need to make some sacrifices, at least for awhile.

What are your favorites brands, what ones are you completely loyal to? Are there competitor brands that might make a good substitution for awhile, that you and your family can live with?