Have you ever spent an hour or over an hour just checking your different email, facebook, and twitter accounts? You may not respond to any of them, but you have to log in, click on certain ones, hit delete, log out, go to the next, yadda, yadda, yadda…

How about a tool that helps you look at all of those on the same widget or page? Geek Adonis (for those that don’t know him, that’s my husband) turned me onto Digsby.com . I am able to scan all of my email, facebook, and twitter accounts in just minutes. Plus, have all of my aim, yahoo, gtalk, and facebook chat contacts up there so when they come online I can chat (I am a girl, right?).

The chatting option really is good for me as a sahm. I would miss people all of the time on facebook or gtalk because I had just signed off or walked away and my status would go to unavailable. Now, I can leave that option open and turn the volume up on my computer and hear the lovely chime when someone contacts me via chat. Funny enough, I was upstairs putting my daughter down for nap, when I heard the chime. I know you may find me silly, but there are times when you are home all week long without any adult stimulation, a digsby chime can make your day.

Instant Messaging + Email Notifications + Social Networking = Digsby

I love love Nutella, it reminds me of my first trip overseas to Turkey. Then, later of my honeymoon to Ireland. This weeks Sunday paper, 8/29 had a $1.00 off of Nutella coupon, if you possibly missed that one, then head over to Redplum.com to print some off. (hint – it will only let you print two per computer)

I have so enjoyed starting my couponing experience. It has been such a fun challenge to see what I can find for my family and the great deals on stocking up on certain items. I must admit that in the beginning I got a little overzealous and clipped coupons that never got used. This is something you will quickly get used to over a few weeks or months and then you will know pretty much what you are going to need for your family.

Coupons and grocery sales are very cyclical. You will be soon realize that every 4 – 6 weeks that certain coupons or deals are going to crop up again and that is when you try to buy in bulk. There are a few different ways to get your coupons. My current favorites are the Sunday newspaper, (which includes coupon inserts from Redplum, P&G, and SmartSource), coupon.com , and redplum.com . Also, in your Sunday paper there will be coupons in your USA Weekend insert, for instance I found a great BOGO (buy one, get one) for card games last weekend. Occasionally, there will be restaurant coupons in your Sunday paper and craft store coupons (Hobby Lobby and Micheal’s). I also have several blogs that I refer to on sales, and which coupons to use with those sales so that I get the best deals.

Some of these blogs are:
Southern Savers
Smart Couponing
Free Coupon Alerts
Wild for Wags
KCL

There is one other place to get coupons, but I do not personally use them very often. I think it is only worth the money if you have a large family (5 or more) and plan on buying 7 to 10 Sunday papers a week. This site is, Whole Coupon Inserts . They sell you just the inserts for the papers for that week. The catch is you have to pay shipping. If you only buy one or two inserts then with shipping you are spending more than you would if you went down to your local five and dime or Walgreen’s and bought three papers. Although, if you buy 10 inserts with shipping then you are still saving more than buying those ten papers.

Before you jump into the couponing process, I recommend you either take a coupon class or do research by talking to other people and searching the web. I personally did my research for about 2 months before I started and then I lucked up on a small coupon class at our homeschool convention. I also recommend starting small. If you live in an area that has 2 – 4 larger grocery stores, such as; Publix, Kroger, Bi-Lo, Target, Harris Teeter, Food Lion, and Winn Dixie, do not try and do them all at once. Pick one grocery store and one drugstore (Walgreen’s, Rite-Aid, or CVS) to start with, then as you get more experienced or in my case braver; then add more stores.

Good Luck everyone and remember it is so worth it to coupon. I regularly save half or more than half on my grocery bill each month. If you are not convinced that this could be something for you, then try it just for a month and if it does not work for you, then at least you know you tried.

P.S. – This week I will also try to post on the different ways to catalog your coupons.

I am so excited. Four of my closest gal pals and I are heading out on Wednesday night. We are going to Sips and Strokes to take a painting class. I am without a doubt most likely the worst painter ever, but its not about a masterpiece, it is all about a night out with the ladies.

I will try and document the process and let everyone know about the experience with the permission of my cohorts.

Charlotte Russe on sale today and tomorrow. With this promo code BASICTEE you can get them for $1.99. Once you get to the Charlotte Russe website, click on promotions tab, then tab for select tees – $2.99. This will take you to the tees that you can use the promo code on.

I already bought mine today, so what are you waiting for? I will warn you they are going fast and are already out of a few of the colors.

This offer expires 8/26/2010.

Warning…Warning….Warning…There is a woman in desperate need of a night out. She may be tempted to show up at random peoples houses with a ski mask and abduct people. She could be in a panicked, hormonal and pregnant state. So, please be careful and watch out. She was quoted saying, “This is my last month of freedom for many moons and I will do whatever it takes before I am restricted to my barn”.

Only 6 – 8 weeks left ya’ll till this lovely little one enters this world.

At Office Depot you can get an awesome deal on a really great Brother Laser printer! This is available online or in stores. Price is effective till 8/28/2010.

When I first started printing out coupons, I was using a regular color inkjet printer. I felt like I was spending more money on ink and paper than I was on saving on groceries. Adonis (husband) found me a good laser printer for my coupons and I use it for other cheap printing items (homeschool worksheets, recipes, etc.). It is well worth the investment of getting a black/white laser if you are planning on printing a lot of coupons from home. Saving on paper is the easy part… watch the sales and get a ton for FREE!

Walgreen’s had some really great deals this week. My grand total before coupons was $86.51, after coupons and a few register rewards I was able to get my total down to $28.86.

Here is a list of the items I was able to get:
2 jumbo packs of (size 6) Pampers baby dry diapers
2 packs of 72 count Pamper wipes
2 kids Oral – B toothbrushes
2 adult Oral – B toothbrushes
2 Crest toothpaste tubes
3 Scotch tape rolls
2 Listerine Zero mouthwashes
1 Walgreen’s brand Baby Gas Relief drops
3 Sunday Newspapers

The deals this week run through 8/28, look at Southern Savers, to find all of the great deals at Walgreen’s this week. It will show you what is on sale, what coupons you need, and what type of rewards are available. Just remember with Walgreen’s you cannot use more coupons than items. On Southern Savers, she will normally post scenarios of what to buy and how to go about buying it correctly to get your deal. She will mention really cheap items to add to your list just in case you have a really good coupon or RR (register reward), but not enough items.

Today or later this week, I plan on having a post on honorable mentions of the ladies of the web that have excellent resource pages for coupons. So, stay tuned.

How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statues. With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth.
I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

Psalm 119:9 -16

Groupon
Have you heard of Groupon? I heard about it a few months ago and thought I would pass it along to you. Sign up (for free) and receive one email each day containing a coupon for a local restaurant, attraction, zoo, museum, sporting event and more. I signed up and have never received a single piece of spam. If I don’t need the coupon I delete and move on. Groupon is a great way to find local deals and save some money.

Today, they have a deal for Gap. $25 for $50 Worth of Apparel at Gap, which is not bad if you ask me. Its really easy to sign up, just head on over to Groupon.com and sign up for their email list.