Another Alice.com order!

I was so impressed with Alice.com that I've decided to do another order with them. The first order came on the third business day, and everything was just how it should be. Not to mention all item but one had a coupon, yay!

This time I branched out a little more. I got bleach, diapers, toothpaste, dishwashing liquid, some snacks for Gracie, air freshener, and a couple other things. All told, I ordered nine items, and saved only $2.05 in coupons. But the regular prices seem to be pretty good, too. The Luvs diapers were a full dollar cheaper than the dollar store, without a coupon! My total order was $27.85, and the shipping was still free. PLUS there was a note with the order that there will be free samples included, yay!

So I'm working my way to that first $50, at which I'll get a $10 discount. So that takes an extra 20% off everything I've ordered to that point. When you sign up through the referral program, both the referred person gets the discount. The referrer also gets a little cash, so that's nice, too!

Alice.com is great for those of us that have a long drive to the store, for minimizing trips and saving gas to just pick up a few items. Not having to clip coupons is also nice, but I generally don't mind that. It's nice that they have so many products with coupons right on the site!

     

Saving money and time with Alice.com

Well I made my first order with Alice.com today, and felt I made out with quite a deal! Alice.com applies manufacturer coupons automatically, no more clipping! Plus if you have a minimum order of six items, the shipping is free. They estimate two to three business days, so hopefully by Wednesday I'll be updating again. Yay!

My order consisted of Degree men's deodorant, Kashi granola bars with coconut and dark chocolate, Suave coconut shampoo and conditioner, Dove's women's deodorant, Bic disposable razors, and Softsoap moisturizing hand soap. Total before coupons was $14.76. There were coupons on all but the hand soap, and total after coupons was $10.08. So I saved $5.25 total, plus free shipping! Yippee!

One thing I've noticed with Alice.com is that their selection is improving, and you can sort your view with lowest price first, or best value first, which helps bargain hunting tremendously. The prices before coupons are pretty reasonable, as well. Plus, if you sign up through this link when you accumulate $50 in orders, you automatically save $10, too. 

All in all, I'm pretty impressed with Alice.com. I've heard other people say the shipping is super quick, so I'm looking forward to that, too. I think this website will be invaluable to stay at home moms trying to save a little money! 

Alice.com, a new way to shop and save!

Wow, I recently stumbled upon a new website that can really change the way we save and use coupons. Alice.com scours the internet for sales and coupons and automatically applies those savings to everyday products. They have a section for best bargains, and some of those prices are unbelievably good! Plus, they ship free!

If you sign up with this link, you will save $10 off your first $50, and it doens't have to be in one transaction, it can accumulate to that amount. They have a good selection of dry goods and non-perishable foods, and it seems to be growing every day.

One more feature I really like, you can set your own "pantry" where you list the things that you regularly use. They will let you know when they have sales you may be interested in, or you can set it for them to let you know when you should order more before running out. 

The coupon potential on this site is great! Granted, they don't double or triple coupons, but for a busy stay at home mom who doesn't like to actually clip coupons this is a great option. I recently saw deoderant for .58 cents apiece there! I'm really excited about this opportunity, I think this will be a great way to save money on groceries. The prices are so low, it might take a while to hit that first $50!  

Maximizing coupon potential

Today I'm brushing up on my coupon skills as this step of my journey to become a stay at home mom. I recently stumbled upon a penny pinchers section of my favorite online community and have spent the morning learning a ton of new ideas! I already have a Kroger card, so I signed up with Kroger's website and you can load coupons straight onto your card. They also link to a few other companies who will also load them directly to the Kroger card. So much easier than printing coupons off the computer or clipping the old fashioned way! I have done this before with a few items, and it really did come off the total at the register. I match my shopping list with the sale flyer found either in the Sunday newspaper, or on their website.

Another discount card I'm checking out is the CVS card. I had one a few years ago when I lived right by a CVS and used it from time to time. I do remember when I did that it saved a lot of money. With CVS Extra Care Bucks coupled with coupon use and sale prices, the potential for savings is astronomical! Think of the ECB is a bonus or rebate, you get them for the next trip, so that first trip is almost like an investment. After that, it's like they pay you to shop there. I love this idea! Checking their weekly sale flyer can easily be done online, as with most stores, and it even shows what items are eligible for Extra Care Bucks and how many you get for each purchase. Match these with the coupons you have available and use your card and watch the savings really start adding up.

This is a huge step in my journey to become a stay at home mom. My grocery budget was out of control, and I cringe when I think of how much money I wasted throughout the years by not shopping wisely. I've already reduced my grocery budget by about half, and haven't even implemented the more aggressive approaches at saving money just yet. I'm so excited about the possibilities with this!

Coupon Mania!

Getting the budget under control has been one of the most difficult tasks in becoming a stay at home mom. Trimming the grocery budget hasn't been easy, but not that difficult, either. There's many ways to accomplish this, coupons being the easiest and fastest. Changing the way you shop also helps. Keep up on store sales to maximize the power of your coupons, matching them to store ads. Coupons can also be found online at various websites, and even can be bought in bulk on sites such as Ebay.

Many websites offer manufacturers coupons, plus they can usually be found in local newspapers. Call around and find out which stores offer double or triple coupons, and if there's certain days. Keep this info on a chart, so that you can plan your grocery shopping around these days. Coupled with store sales, this can amount to substantial savings! Stockpile what you can when you find a terrific deal, things such as dry goods or frozen food will keep, and you won't be shopping for those items for a while, which saves money in the long run. I allow about $20 extra in my grocery budget to stockpile needed items. There have been weeks all I've needed to get from the grocery store is milk and diapers, everything else was stocked up!

Learning to perimeter shop can help trim the budget as well. The theory is the vast majority of your shopping should occur on the outer walls of the store, fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, and dairy. Making dinner from scratch is not only satisfying for most stay at home moms, but nutritionally superior and cost effective. Watch the prices for produce, a good sale in frozen veggies can end up cheaper in the long run. Plus steaming from frozen produces quality similar to fresh.

When you have enough coupons, shop on a double coupon day, and use it for products on sale already for things you usually use, you can save a huge amount of money in the long run. It can be a little tricky to get started, but the payoff is unbelievable overall.