Monster Dog

Ah, the joy of having my own blog.  Although I do try to stick to the Family & Consumer side of things, occasionally I think, 'I bet my readers would love to hear about my personal life!'

Okay, maybe I don't REALLY think that, but sometimes when I'm brainstorming about what to write for you all, personal stuff keeps popping into my head.  For example:  I want new towels in the bathroom, I should buy hooks for the broom and mop and make my broom closet more organized (yeah, I guess that would kind of fit in under F&CS huh?  Maybe another day...), would anybody like a free kitten because there are still 2 looking for a good home?  And then....then it happened.  I decided to write about

MONSTER DOG


Now, when I say monster dog you have to understand that I'm not referring to anything from Pet Sematary.  Also, nothing comparable to the show It's Me or the Dog.  Monster dog is Jagger.

I love Jagger!  He's one of the sweetest puppies I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.  Mind you, I'm not really what you would call a dog  person.  No, in fact, I am definitely a cat person.  I understand cats better, and it's almost like they understand me (and use that knowledge to terrorize me)!  Something just happened when our eyes met Jagger's that day in the pet store.  Okay, in all honesty, something happened when I saw my boyfriend's eyes meet Jagger's.  It's like he was meant to be OUR dog! He's always so happy and so excited to see us, he wraps his lead around landscape timbers JUST so we will come spend MORE time with him.  We trained him to sit, shake and heel in a matter of days and he's extremely protective of the boys, my boyfriend and me.

So, why monster dog you ask?  Maybe because he's only 4 months old and weighs a whopping 34 lbs, maybe because his paw is bigger than the palm of my hand, or it could even be the fact that he's a pro at shredding...EVERYTHING! Regardless, he's one of those monster's like Sully on Monster's Inc.  He may look (and think) like he's big and bad but he's just a giant love bug!

Oh, and for those of you still hung up on the "...free kitten because there are still 2 looking for a good home?" that wasn't a joke.  I have a black "Ninja" and a smoky "Grey" kitten available! :-) **Hint...Hint...Hint**

The Magic of Coupons

Okay, okay...so I didn't get around to posting my blog about coupons yesterday.  That's because I didn't actually go shopping like I had intended.  I DID, however, go shopping this morning...so, let me enlighten you on the magic of coupons!

See all of this stuff....?

The retail price of all of this stuff was $118.84!!! It's no wonder America is in the middle of a depression...er, recession...I MEAN we are out of the recession....*raises eyebrows*  Would you be interested in knowing how much I paid for this selection?  In 2 stores and 4 transactions I paid $62.36.  For those of you who aren't that great at math (don't feel bad, I spent 15 minutes figuring this out AND am looking at my notes as I type) that means that I SAVED $56.48 or roughly 48%.

I'm actually a little aggravated because I bought a 20 lb bag of dog food (NOT pictured) at full price so that messed up my savings a little bit.  BUT, the massive puppy (4 months, 34 lbs!) has got to eat, too.

Life isn't like the Extreme Couponing shows that you see on television.  TRUST me, there are limits and people who use coupons despise people who clear the shelves.  Coupons are one of those things though that can really help to stretch your budget and do NOT involve that much time.  I will admit that the first week I organized my coupon binder and went through all of the "deals" in the Sunday ads I spent quite a bit of time on it.  Now, it's second nature. Sure I ONLY saved $56.48 today, but if you can learn to save like that every time you go grocery shopping you will be saving at least $100.00 each month.  *If you only go grocery shopping once a month then you obviously don't have children...*

And now, for all of you who keep scrolling up and squinting at the picture I will give you a breakdown.  If you don't want the breakdown, then you should PROBABLY stop reading right about.....here!

Kroger Transaction #1


5 cans Swanson Beef Broth
5 cans Swanson Chicken Broth

Used 2 "$0.50 off 5 cans" coupons (which doubles to $1.00 at Kroger)
+ Kroger's $5 off 10 participating items EVENT

Retail: $12.63   Paid: $3.03


Kroger Transaction #2


6 Boxes Kleenex Tissue
2 Boxes Annie's All Natural Mac & Cheese
2 cans Hormel Chili with Beans (I won't eat that but I know the kiddos and boyfriend will!)

Used 2 "$0.50 off 3 boxes Kleenex" (each doubled to $1.00), 1 "$0.75 off 2 Mac & Cheese", and 1 "$0.55 off 2 cans Hormel Chili"

Retail: $21.28  Paid: $5.67


Kroger Transaction #3


2 boxes Cascadian Farm Organic Cereal
4 bottles of Dawn Dish Detergent
2 bottles of Suave Kids Shampoo
5 cans of Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup
5 cans of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 gallon of milk

I used 2 "$0.75 of 1 Cascadian Farm", 4 "$0.50 off one Dawn", 1 "$0.75 off 2 Suave", and 2 "$1.00 off 5 cans"

Retail:  $35.36  Paid: $17.66  (no coupon for the milk :-(  )

Walmart Transaction #1 (and only)


1 box saltine crackers (no coupon :-( )
20 lbs Iams Puppy Chow (no coupon :-( )
4 Halloween Card Kits (reg. $0.97...I paid $0.24 ea)
1 Red Bull Energy drink

Couponed items begin here:
3 Carefree Pantiliners
6 cans Dole Pineapple
3 Hormel ComplEATs
6 Colgate Toothpaste
5 Colgate KIDS toothpaste

Retail:  $49.57  Paid:  $36.00


Used 3 "$0.50 off any Carefree", 3 "$0.50 off any 2 Dole", 3 "$0.55 off one ComplEAT", 6 "$0.50 off any Colgate"  and 5 "$0.50 off any KIDS Colgate"

Whew...that made my head hurt to type it all out like that!  Anyway, if I get some positive feedback on this post I will continue to keep you all informed of my future couponing endeavors.

Until next time....