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

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

Even though I may have thought of myself as a Bargain Hunting Expert it feels good to have someone else call me that. I was interviewed for an article with Digital Trends, a technology news site with 50 million unique views a month. Reporter Nick Mokey asked me questions about how to find great bargains in retail stores– especially when it comes to gadgets and tech items. Take a look at the article and let me know what you think!

And since I am now officially a bargain hunting expert, consider coming to my free coupon class on Monday, November 16 from 7-8pm at LifePoint Church in Greenville. LifePoint is located at 25 Woods Lake in the Green Gate Office Park in unit 8. It’s something that God laid on my heart a while ago as a way to help others give more, help more, and, of course, do more with their money! I’m really excited about this opportunity to encourage and teach others about something I’ve got a passion for. It’s hard to believe that you can serve God with coupons, but you really can! So come to the one hour class and you’ll leave feeling that grocery shopping is not a chore– it’s an opportunity to bless others.

Posted under Church, News, coupons

In October I was able to purchase $52.78 worth of products for a whopping $1.20 (not counting tax.) While my giving overall was down a little bit I’m happy with that rate of savings. Here’s what I was able to donate to local food pantries and shelters:

Four containers of cat food

One package of coffee

Four boxes of instant potatoes

One box of Cheerios

Two boxes of pasta

Five boxes of instant rice

One box of Zantac

One bottle of Pert Plus

One bottle of witch hazel

One package of floss sticks

One bottle of lotion

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

Sears and Land’s End are doing a really cool promotion this season called Big Warm Up. Turn in your gently used winter coat to the Land’s End department at Sears and you’ll receive 20% off your purchase of a coat. Check out this inspirational video.

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