Don't say that a penny doesn't buy you anything!

I always seem to see pennies lying on the ground, and if I didn’t worry about what kind of germs they might be harboring I might just pick them up because now I know a penny really can buy you something! Head to Staples this week to buy school glue for just a penny. Each customer is allowed to buy two bottles at a time. While we were there we picked up some other deals that were just a quarter and we’ll be donating it all to local school supply drives. Have fun!

Posted under Charitable Giving, Good Deals

February was a great month for charity items– especially baby food! I managed to buy $71.58 worth of items for just $8.81 out of pocket. Most of this went to a local mission, but the baby food items are heading to Haiti. Here’s what I was able to buy:

10 2-packs of organic baby food

2 4-packs of baby food mashups

2 bottles of Glass Plus

2 bottles of mustard

4 boxes of pasta

1 bottle of Lysol

30 jars of Beech Nut baby food

2 packets of Knorr sides

2 Right Guard deodorants

2 packages of floss

Posted under Charitable Giving, Good Deals

I scored a bag full of baby food for pennies at Publix. Beech-Nut Stage 2 baby food is on sale, buy one get one free bringing the price down to just $.26 a jar. But I also used these coupons:

* $2/20 printable

* My husband and I both signed up for the Beech-Nut e-newsletter so we could get $1/3 Beech-Nut coupons. They show up in your inbox after you sign up. We each were able to print two.

The coupons we received for signing up for the e-newsletter actually made this a money-maker, but it was such a good price I wanted to take the opportunity to buy more for charity. So I ended up getting 32 jars for $2.32, which equals about $.07 a jar on baby food that would have cost $16.96 had it not been on sale. That’s a savings of about 84%!

Posted under Charitable Giving, Good Deals, coupons

My charity purchases for January were down because for half the month my husband and I committed to not spending any money. We called it the Two-Week No Spending Challenge. But before that I managed to pick up a few great deals to donate to a local shelter. I only bought $11.46 worth of items, but I actually earned $1.10 buying it! Here’s what I got at Publix:

2 Bags of Halls Cough Drops: -$.17 each

1 Pack of Dentek Mint Picks: $0

2 2-Packs of Lightbulbs: -$.55 each

1 Box of Whole Wheat Linguine: $.34

Posted under Charitable Giving, Freebies, Good Deals

Baby Food from Babies "R" Us

Last week I told you how to get free baby food from Babies “R” Us by becoming their fan on Facebook. I was able to get three $5 e-gift certificates through this offer. This weekend I took them in to our local Babies “R” Us and I was able to get a lot of baby food for less than $2. All of this will be sent to Haiti through a donation drive that my church organized. The Gerber two-packs were on sale for $1 each when you buy ten, regularly $1.29 to $1.69. The Revolution Mashups were buy one, get one half off. My total came to $16.73 which meant I only owed $1.73 after my e-gift certificates. Regular price, this baby food would have cost $23.58.

Posted under Uncategorized

This Formula Would Only Cost You $2

My church is currently collecting items to send to Haiti for earthquake relief efforts. A member of my church has an aunt and uncle who run the Jean Cadet Restavek Foundation which has worked for years to end child slavery in Haiti. They are now setting up a clinic and working to keep the children safe after the earthquake destroyed so many buildings and lives. To aid this foundation’s efforts we are collecting items like blankets, non-perishable food, baby food and baby formula. The items can be dropped of at the Christian publishing house Ambassador International from now until February 5. The offices are located at 427 Wade Hampton Blvd. in Greenville. You can stop by Monday through Friday from 9-5 and Saturday from 10-2.

Today only if you become a fan of Babies R Us on Facebook, you’ll receive a free $5 e-gift card that can also be used in the store. The coupon will be sent to your email inbox after you sign up. It’s good until 2/20, but why not go ahead and use it now to pick up some free baby food or discounted formula to send to Haiti? According to what’s available online you’ll be able to score lots of free food or an 8-pack of formula for just $2 after you use your coupon. It won’t cost you much– or anything at all– and you’ll be helping a great cause!

Posted under Charitable Giving, Church, Good Deals, Shop for a Cause, coupons

I ended the year by purchasing $41.51 worth of products for just $1.03 out of pocket. That’s a savings of 97.6%! Here is a list of what I was able to purchase in December:

Mach 3 Razor

5 Boxes of Instant Potatoes

3 Boxes of Pasta

2 Gillette Deodorants

1 Bottle of Bleach

1 Bottle of Nivea Body Wash

1 Package of Nail Files

3 Nail Clippers (I made $1 each time I “bought” these which helped my totals!)

1 Box of Hot Cocoa

2 Bottles of Carpet Fresh

Since I started keeping track of my food, toiletry and cleaning donations back in April I have been able to give $665.03 worth of items while paying just $29.97 out of pocket for it. That’s a savings of about 95%! I hope to continue this hobby in 2010 while giving even more through the use of coupons.

Posted under Charitable Giving, Good Deals

My charitable grocery donations for the month of November were a bit higher. I bought $77.03 worth of items for an out of pocket expense of just $9.60. This does not include four diabetes monitors I made money on. The monitors are worth $260 and after I receive my rebates I will have made $80 on them. Here’s what I was able to donate for the month of November:

4 Tubs of Frosting

3 Cans of Soup

9 Boxes of Instant Potatoes

5 Boxes of Pasta

2 Bottles of Glass Cleaner

2 Jars of Peanut Butter

5 Cans of Tomato Sauce

1 Jar of Applesauce

1 Box of Brownie Mix

1 Bottle of Mean Green Cleaner

1 Bag of Ricola Cough Drops

2 Holiday Pencils

1 Container of Baking Powder

6 Cans of Vegetables

1 Muffin Mix

4 Cans of Gravy

1 Bag of Cat Treats

3 Boxes of Rice

1 Stick of Deodorant

As always, I do not share my charitable donations to boast. I share them so that others will see how couponing can be used to help others. My church is currently collecting food for Miracle Hill, a shelter in my area so all of my food last month went to them.

Posted under Charitable Giving

I came across Ali’s blog, My God Given Mission Field. Ali and her family are trying to adopt which can cost thousands of dollars. They’ve come up with all kinds of creative ways to fund this adoption, one of which is by selling puzzle pieces for $5 each. When you sponsor a puzzle piece, they’ll put your name on it. Once the puzzle is complete the adoption will be funded. They plan to frame the puzzle and hang it in their new baby’s nursery so she/he will always have a reminder of the people that helped them find their forever home. You can support Ali and her family too– just make a donation through PayPal and play a part in this great story!

Posted under Charitable Giving, Shop for a Cause

Last night I held my first coupon class at my church, LifePoint. About 20 people turned out to learn how to save more and give more than they’ve ever done before. My main goal was to encourage and inspire people to turn something as seemingly routine as grocery shopping into a task that can bless others and serve God. I’ve been thinking about teaching a class for a while now. But it wasn’t until my church recently brought in two big bins for us to fill up with food to give Miracle Hill Ministries that I realized that now would be a great time to teach others about couponing. Our local food banks are dangerously low so my desire would be that even in this tough economic time people would use couponing as a way to continue to give– and give big!

Posted under Charitable Giving, Church, News, coupons