Coupon Obsessed

Since I'm coupon obsessed, I'm trying to recruit as many of you as I can to come over to the binder side with me LOL..I found this really AWESOME site today (yes while I was supposed to be cleaning sssshhhh) and I think you all should check it out. It's called We Use Coupons and it's at the top of my page. Big green box. You can't miss it. Or if you click on the pink link at the top of this post that says coupon Obsessed, it will take you directlty to this great site.

On it I found a list that is important for every newbie to know so I wanted to share it with you all. I know you're so excited you can hardly contain yourself :::giggles::: Seriously, go check this site out. Also, if y you like it and decideto sign up for it, it's free BTW, PLEASE put this name down (Kurt James) as a referral :) TY



Commonly Used Coupon Slang, Acronyms & Abbreviations

AR - After Rebate
AYOR - At Your Own Risk
B1G1 or BOGO - Buy One Get One Free
B5G1 - Buy FIVE Get One Free
BC/AC – Before/After Coupons
BIL - Brother-in-law
Blinkie - SmartSource machine with a red blinking light on it. Coupons are thus referred to as ‘ Blinkies’
BTFE - Box Tops for Education
BTW - By the way
CAT - Coupon that prints from a Catalina machine at the register.
CC - Concealed Cash
CH - Clearing House
CLFE - Campbell's Labels For Education
C/O - Cents Off
CRT - Cash register tape (receipt)
CYE - Check your email
DB - The WeUseCoupons.com coupon database
DD - Darling daughter
DEAD - Refers to a dead deal, or that the offer is no longer valid
DH - Darling husband
DND - Do Not Double
DS - Darling son
DW - Darling Wife
ECB - Extra Care Buck (earned at CVS)
ENVIE - Envelope
ES - Easy Saver, seen at Walgreens rebate booklet
ETS - Excludes Trial Sizes
EX or X. - Expires on
FAR - Free after rebate
FC - First class postage stamps
FIL - Father in law
FL - Could refer to Food Lion, or to a site Forum Leader
FS - Forever Stamp
FS - Free Shipping
FSOT - For Sale or Trade
FWIW - For what it's worth
GC - Gift Card
GDA - Good Deal Alert
GM - General Mills Insert, a booklet of coupons that appears in newspapers every month or two.
HBA - Health & Beauty Section in the store
HTH - hope that helps
IDSO - in desperate search of
INSERTS – Coupon booklets found in the Sunday paper
IMHO - in my humble opinion (there are variations of this, but that's the most common!)
IMO - In My Opinion
IP – Internet Printable coupon
IRL - In Real Life
ISO - In Search Of (basically you need it)
IVC - Instant value coupons - seen in Walgreens rebate booklet
IVDSO - In very desperate search of
KWIM - Know What I Mean
LMK – Let Me Know
LOL - Laugh/Laughing Out Loud
MFR - Manufacturer
MIL - Mother in law
MIR - Mail In Rebate
MOD - Site Moder
MQ - Manufacturer coupon
MRP - Manufacturer's retail price
NAZ - Name, address, zip code
NAZP# - Name, address, zip code, phone number
NED - No Expiration Date
NFN - No Form Needed
NIB - New in Box
NIP - New in Package
NP - No problem
NT WT - Net Weight
OAS - A Coupon that is good on one Purchase, Any Size
OASN – On A Side Note
OOP - Out Of Pocket
OOS - Out of Stock
OP - Original poster or original post (person who started the thread)
OT - Off Topic
OYNO -On Your Next Order
P&G - Proctor & Gamble (Sunday Booklet Coupons)
Peelie - Coupon found attached to a product. You have to peel it off.
PITA - Pain in the *** (we use abbreviations for a reason!)
PLMK - Please Let Me Know
PM - Private Message
POP - Proof of purchase
PP - PayPal
PSA - Prices Starting At
Q - Coupon
QQ - Coupon Queen
RAOK - random act of kindness (means you will give the coupons away free)
RC - Rain-check
ROFLMAO - Rolling on the floor laughing my *** off (found in the mood tab)
RP - Red Plum (Sunday Booklet Coupons) (formerly Valassis)
RR - Register Reward from Walgreens - use as a $ off coupon on your next purchase
SAHM - Stay At Home Mom
SAHW - Say At Home Wife
SASE - Self addressed stamped envelope
SCR - Rite Aid Single Check Rebate
SIL - Sister or son in law
SMP - Specially marked package
SO - Significant other
SRP - Suggested retail price
SS - Smart Source (Sunday Booklet Coupons)
STACKING - Often stores will allow the use of more than one coupon per item, IF the coupon itself does not restrict such usage. (Usually store Q + mfr Q)
SUPER DOUBLES or DOUBLES - coupons that are doubled $1 + in value (IE, a $1 coupon - $2, etc)
TEARPAD - A pad of forms/coupons found hanging from a store shelf or display
TIA - Thanks in Advance
TMF - Try Me Free - mail in rebate for full amount of product
TMI - Too much information
TRIPLE COUPON - A coupon that a grocery store triples in value
TRU - Toys R Us
TYVM - Thank You Very Much
UPC - Universal Product Code, barcode on the product
WAGS - Walgreens
WL - Wish list
WM - Walmart
WSL - While supplies last
WUC - We Use Coupons (refers to the site)
WUCkie - Member of WUC
WYB - When You Buy
YGEM - You've got an email
YGPM - You've got a private message!
YMMV - Your Mileage May Vary ("Worked for me, may not work for you")
YVW - You’re very welcome

Hmmmm

Well, I believe when I posted this morning I had a list of goals to accomplish. Did I get anything done?? Sure didn't. Things were going good, I had a plan and then my 2 year old decided to poop in the tub. Things just kind of went down hill from there. Kinda ruins your motivation to do a whole lot of anything LOL. It's 3:30 and I'm still in my PJ's. Or and my friend Donnas son Lance calls them "jamammas" LOL BTW HAPPY BIRTHDAY DONNA!!!! LOVE YOU!!!! Seriously, you know you're my secret lover LOL. I did manage to get the living room and dining room cleaned up. I set the timer and told my 4 yr old we were going to play a game and beat the clock. He immediately collapsed on the couch and said he was weak and need to rest. Weak?? YOU'RE 4!!! Don't start pulling that on me already son!!

So he finally got up and started dashing around like a mad man. He was such a good little helper. Now we, (I always like to say WE even though I'm sitting here typing away ) are looking for the wet wipe box. It's either that or the sippies that are always MIA. Drives me insane. It's like there's gremlins or something taking my stuff and hiding it. I despise searching for those things because it's several times a day, EVERY SINGLE DAY. For those of you who know me personally, see, this is just one of the small things that have me on the edge of insanity LOL

Oh gee, the husband will be home soon. Guess I should probably make myself presentable. Yeah ok, that's funny. He's used to seeing me in my PJ's with my hair up on top of my head with a dust mop. If I was any other way he would probably think he walked in the wrong house.

I did find a few more good sites today and I added them. So check them out as well as the google adds (HINT HINT) LOL. The purse badge at the top of the page is good and there's a coupon one towards the middle of the page. Hopefully once I can figure this out more I can add links and pages and all kinds of cool stuff. Hopefully. So Be patient and I'll see what I can do :)

UGH, the 14 yr old just walked in the door from school. Good Times!!! NOT!!!!! LOL Please pray for me, light a candle or something LOL

Recall List

Remember to check this link for new recalls

http://www.cpsc.gov/

Happy Hump Day, Yeah Ok, Whatever LOL

I have been so busy this morning. Doing what you ask, sitting here looking at blogs LOL. My goal today was to do the laundry, tag some yard sale stuff and to go get a few things from the store. It's only 10:15 so I guess I still have time. We shall see though LOL. Last night my other friend we shall call him "Man Whore Mike" (MUAH LOL ) sent me an Amazon gift card. I was SO EXCITED!!! 2 gift cards in one day. First was from Chris for the kick ass cupcakes and then one from Mike so I could buy books. I was on line when I got the email from Amazon so I went straight there and got two books. WOO HOO!!! One of them was on couponing. LOL HUSH!!!!! The other one was the 5th book in this series I started reading last winter. I hate it when you get sucked into books and then they make you wait a year for the next one. LOSERS!!!! This one is from the Vampire Academy Series. LOVE IT!!!! I also ordered my next Tru Blood book the other night but it wont be here till sometime in May. I'm so impatient, I hate to wait on anything LOL


Oh I have some good deals to pass along today for my local friends.

Shortcuts.com now welcomes Giant Eagle to their electronic coupon service. Just register your GE card at Shortcuts.com, choose the coupons you want to use and you're all set. I'm ALL excited about this because the new add there is in effect starting tomorrow. YAY!!! TY Chris for passing along this info :)


Well, that is my useless info for today. Have a good one :)

Time is flying today

Today is just going to fast for me so far. I'm exhausted for one thing. My 4 year old decided to sleep with us last bight. That normally would've been no problem but the 2 year old was in there as well. Then my 4 yearold decides he wantes to sleep at the end of the bed and I should come with him so we can snuggle. I should get the mother of the year award, seriously LOL. Needless to say I got very little sleep and that won't be happening again anytime soon.

For the past hour I've been trying to find a new dentist to take the kids to. The one I dearly love changed location and I jsut don't have the extra time anymore to drive out there. He wasn't even in my network but that's how awesome he was. So after hours of searching I finally find one about 10 minutes away, they're in my network and they're accepting new patients. They'll call me back though, Yeah, I'm going to sit here and wait around all day @@.

On a good note, I got a gift certificatein the mail from my friend Chris for Carolines Cupcakes. OMG these are teh BEST cupcakes in the world. Well, I think so at least LOL. If you haven't had one yet or even heard about them then go to their website and check out their flavors. AMAZING!!
I'm also excited today because I got new coupons in the mail. WOO HOO!!! I have such an exciting life I can hardly contain myself. I'm easily amused and easily entertained LOL.

Well, I suppose I should do some housework. Try not to miss me. I'll be back with some more coupon goodies and freebie links later. In the meantime, check out some of the other awesome blogs at the bottom of my page.

Rain, Rain Go Away!!!

What is up with this Ohio weather??? TOTALLY despise it. It'll be 80 one day and 30 the next. Totally ridiculous. The kids were supposed to have a playgroup this morning- A Stroller Stroll & Tyke Hike but of course it got rained out. That's ok, it's supposed to start in 20 minutes and the 4 yr old is STILL asleep. Besides, it'll give me time to work with my new lover my coupon binder and get the house straightened up. I despise Mondays. Everyone is home on the weekends and they just toss stuff everywhere and I think they've forgotten how to pick stuff up and carry dishes to the kitchen. I love my family to death but come on, a little help please. I told my husband last night that if he didn't get his butt in gear then I was going to pack my stuff and go down the road and stay at the Hampton Inn. I will too and he knows it. I'm not playing around. Ok, that's my daily vent for now so lets get onto more fun things such as COUPONS!!!!!!

For those of you who LOVE Walgreens like I do, here is a really good site:

http://www.iheartwags.com Make sure you check it out. Another good one is for Target: http://totallytarget.com

There is just so much out there and so many ways you can save. I'll give you some more tips later. After all, I want you to keep coming back LOL

A little about couponing

As I told you all recently, it has became my obsession. I'm into week 3 almost and I'm just now starting to get really organized. Getting organized is the key especially if you're like me and you use the binder to keep your coupons in. The coupons are kept inside of baseball card holders. These can be found by the baseball/pokemon cards and such. I don't suggest you use one of those tiny little accordian like coupon holders. I mean seriously, those are to small and hard to find anything in. Personally I think the big binder with the labeled tabs is the way to go. I use the zip up Caseit brand. It has a nice strap and a handle. I know you're thinking OMG she's insane. Well that's besides the point LOL. I'm tellin you that I LOVE this binder. I got it at Target for under $20. You can also purchase them at Office Max. Plenty of room for your scissors, calculator, extra adds, all sorts of stuff.

Like I said, you use baseball card inserts to hold your coupons and you divide your binder into sections to help you locate your coupons. For example I have meat, dairy, snacks, cleaning supplies, health and beauty, cereal. You get the idea.

Most people get their coupons from the sunday paper. Yes, that's a good place to start but actually, I learned at a recent class that you shouldn't use your coupons as soons as they come out. Most items cycle and chances are if you hold onto your coupon you can get a better deal later.

Yes, I clip away on Sundays and do my price comparing but I also buy coupons from a site know as a Coupon Clipper. The one I use is www.couponsthingsbydede.com I LOVE THIS SITE!!!! So far I have ordered 3 times, spent next to nothing and have gotten my coupons in 3 days. Jsut TRY the binder method and I swear you will love it.

I do suggest though that you have a plan going into the store. Make a list, stick with it and know what coupons you have to go with your list. It's also easiest for me if I go to the store of an early morning or after 8 at night. There's less traffic in the isles and if I need to I can stand there and browse through my coupons to see if there's anything else I may need. Also you can totally score if you have a store that doubles coupons. I go to Giant Eagle. They double up to 99 cents. So say if I have a coupon for 99 cents off of an item, they double it and I now get $1.98 off of that product. Isn't that cool??

Well, that's enough excitement for now. I'll enlighten you more later. can't wait huh?? LOL

Good Morning

Here is how coupon obsessed I am. I got up this morning at the crack of dawn, ran down the stairs, and out the front door to get my newspapaper. I mean after all, the sunday paper rocks!!! It's where all the good coupons are. I was waiting on Walgreens new add. I LOVE shopping at Walgreens. I never thought I would enjoy a drugstore this much and honestly until recently I never went there unless it was to pick up my prescriptions. Well, I attended a coupon class a few weeks ago and I learned SO MUCH!!!! So, I suggest you give Walgreens a try. You can use their coupons, along with Manufacturers Coupons to get an even better deal. Sometimes you even get stuff from free. Last week in their flyer they had a coupon for $3 off Bayer. Well, the Bayer only cost $2.99 so I got it for free. How awesome is that??? I don't even use Bayer but it was free so why not?? LOL

Just yesterday I had a coupon for a Johnson & Johnson product. It was save $1 off of any baby product. Well, I bought those little soaps with the mesh coverings so they don't slip out of the kids hands. They were only .97 so I got them for free also. I am learning so much about couponing. I love to talk about it and share what I know also. It's like I'm obsessed LOL. So if you ever have any questions, just ask me, please LOL. I'll be more than happy to tell you what I have learned and what are good sites to get freebies and get the best coupon deals. Well, I'm off here to have my 2nd cup of coffee and to scour the net for more deals. Have a good one :)

Happy Anniversary to Me LOL

Nothing exciting going on here. Just another Saturday. I've been scouring the internet so far this morning looking for good deals to share and I think I've found a few. Also just wanted to give you all a little reminder to please click on the adds for me. That's what helps keep my site up and running so PLEASE Click, Click, Click on them. I would really appreciate it. Also I've been adding those little square buttons, badges, whatever you want to call them. Those are some of my favorite sites so feel free to check then out as well. Last night C and I went to the Store around 10 and we took my big binder full of coupons. I'm telling you this thing is HUGE. We totally scored and I LOVE getting good deals. I'm learning to love being frugal. I just to get such a high on just going shopping. Now it's even better when I can look at my receipt and see how much money I have saved. It's great!!! I used to spend $150/week just on food. Now I'm spending close to $60 and that's including H&B items, cleaning supplies, cat food, and food for the family. AWESOME I'm telling you!! If anyone is interested in any tips or anything, just keep checking back because I'll be posting more stuff soon. Like I said, this is a work in progress. With 4 kids and a husband I call "manbaby" (ty Olenka for the term LOL) I have to delegate my time.

Another Day

Well, while I've been sitting here at the computer looking for deals and stuff to do for the 2 groups that I organize, my 2 year old who is 3 feet away decided he would dump out his toy box. Good Times!!!!! I'm still trying to get the hang of blogging. Organizing events for croups on a calendar seems so much easier LOL.

Eventually once I'm up and running, I want this Blog to be a place where I can share tips and ideas with others. I want to share tips on everything. So, please hang in there and be patient with me. Eventually, I'll get this LOL

The Beginning

All about me:

I'm Cara, I live in NE Ohio and I'm a SAHM to 4 kids ranging in ages from 14-2. I also have a 21 year old son and a fabulous husband. I wanted to start this blog because I want to try and help others learn things that I've recenlty been learning plus I just need a place to vent and ramble on sometimes.

I run a Childrens Playgroup, and I also just started up a Frugal Living Group. The playgroup is full of awesome parents and kids. The Frugal Living Group is off to a good start as well. Right now my main thing is Freebies, Product Reviews, and my new passion is Couponing. I love doing coupons and I love to save money. I even have a HUGE Binder with 2 sets of 3 rings and tons of pockets. It is awesome for helping be be thrifty.

Well, that's all for my first post but trust me, there will be lots more to come.