OK. I need to learn how to get more organized about using coupons.

How do you folks out there organize yours? What's your system for making lists, cross-referencing with store deals and so forth?

Edited to add I just read flash's recent post and will also go look at the grocery coupon site for help.

As it is, I had a decent trip to the store today. The original total was $107.31; I got out of the store for $68.40. Some of that was club card savings and some was from coupons. I managed to use some coupons on things that were also on special, and it felt good to combine the savings in that manner.

I spent $4.05 today mailing on the coupon train and saved $21.88 using coupons, for a net savings of $17.83 this time around. Might be interesting to track that sort of thing.

I filed a complaint today with the BBB, as I have never been paid, and I have tried twice to contact them, with no reply.

BBB contact info:
BBB of Metropolitan New York
257 Park Avenue South
New York,NY - 10010 7384
www.newyork.bbb.org

You'd think they'd send a lousy $6.84 and be done with me. I even mentioned in my last note that I was considering contacting the BBB.

A small check came today, so that's another dollar to add to this month's challenge total. There are some good rebates this month at Rite Aid that I want to take advantage of, including one or two free after rebates for things I would actually use.

Using gift cards I spent a grand 63 cents at Lowe's today, and when I came home there was a $25 gc in the mail. Oh well. It'll get put to good use sooner or later. I also got a $10 Joann's card this week, for spending a certain amount with that credit card. They're discontinuing the rewards program in July, so I'll be cancelling that card. But I did get $20 or $30 in gc's from it, so it was good while it lasted.

For May:
$5 gift card (received)
$20 gas rebate (received)
$8.48 Rite Aid rebate (received)
Lowe's $20 gc (received - net $19)
Gas $20 gc (received - net $19)
Lowe's $25 gc
Joann $10 gc
$1 Longs rebate
DVD: $9.88
Current total for May: $117.36

Pending:
Rite Aid rebate ($4.99) (waiting)
Survey $5 (waiting)
Survey $2 (waiting)
AdSense ($10+ ...figure out 6/1/06)
Interest (find out 6/1/06)

I sold a DVD today for $10.75. Once I've mailed it I'll add in my net profits to my running May total for my challenge.

For May:
$5 gift card (received)
$20 gas rebate (received)
$8.48 Rite Aid rebate (received)
Lowe's $20 gc (received - net $19)
Gas $20 gc (received - net $19)
total - $71.48

DVD sale ($10.75)
Longs rebate ($2?) (waiting)
Rite Aid rebate ($4.99) (waiting)
Survey $5 (waiting)
Survey $2 (waiting)
AdSense ($10+ ...figure out 6/1/06)
Interest (find out 6/1/06)

My $20 in Exxon Mobil gas cards arrived today, so I'll add that to my challenge total. I also received some coupons from Cascadian Farms after emailing them - I think I got five 50 cent off coupons.

I spent most of the day outside today, doing yardwork and gardening. I have a dwarf patio lemon tree that I thought was completely dead, but it shows signs of life! I dumped in a whole bunch of compost and some more potting soil, watered it and am hoping for the best. DD and I got our green bean and sugar snap pea seedlings transplanted and dressed them with some compost as well for good measure. I don't do much to my compost pile at all, so it is somewhat slow to breakdown, but there is incredibly awesome compost at the bottom of the pile. Absolutely great.

For May:
$5 gift card (received)
$20 gas rebate (received)
$8.48 Rite Aid rebate (received)
Lowe's $20 gc (received - net $19)
Gas $20 gc (received - net $19)
total - $71.48

Longs rebate ($2?) (waiting)
Rite Aid rebate ($4.99) (waiting)
Survey $5 (waiting)
Survey $2 (waiting)
AdSense ($10+ ...figure out 6/1/06)
Interest (find out 6/1/06)

I took some old gift cards with me when I went to Lowe's tonight, figuring they must have had something left on them if we were saving them. I wasn't expecting more than a few cents or dollars, but it turns out the one of them had over $22 on it! So I was able to pay for everything and still have money left over, plus three more cards worth $20+.

I qualified for another survey today: $2. I don't know what the minimum is for a payout however - I'll need to look into that.

Not much else to report - no book sales, no online tutoring, no rebates, no gift cards...

I'm waiting for the net market and auto vantage credits to show up on my credit card, and I'm still waiting for customer service to get back to me from esticker. I have a phone number now, so if I don't hear back tonight via email I'll call tomorrow. That's $14.99. I cancelled on 4/26 and received a shipment today. Grrr...... I'll get it worked out. I was willingto pay $3 to get the trial shipment and check it all out, but $15 for a bunch of stickers? it isn't close to being worth it.

For May:
$5 gift card (received)
$20 gas rebate (received)
$8.48 Rite Aid rebate (received)
Lowe's $20 gc (received - net $19)
total - $52.48

Longs rebate ($2?) (waiting)
Rite Aid rebate ($4.99) (waiting)
Gas $20 gc (waiting)
Survey $5 (waiting)
Survey $2 (waiting)
AdSense (figure out 6/1/06)
Interest (find out 6/1/06)

A long time ago I started making a price book, but it's been a while since I've looked at it, let alone used it. I started a new one in an Excel file this morning. I'm not going to try and list every single thing I might possibly buy, but rather am starting with some of the most common things I buy and going from there. The theme of my life's growth - it doesn't have to be all or nothing. Shades of gray are acceptable. Comparing some prices is a good start, even if I don't list every single thing I buy in a given shopping trip.

I had to follow up on a third charge for a membership that should have been cancelled. Very, very irritating. I'm still trying to get esticker to reverse a charge, to little avail. I may have to initiate a chargeback with my credit card instead.

Our seedlings continue to grow, and I continue to battle the snails. Much as I hate to do it, I may need to put out some Sluggo. I don't want to compete with snails for food. The strawberries look great when snails aren't getting to them first.

I took a huge pile of coupons to the natural food store today. I think that may have been a first for the cashier there. She asked me how I managed to get so many - I told her I still had a huge pile I wasn't using today. The store had a coupon too for basically 10% off your total purchase, so it was a good trip. I spent a decent amount of money for really healthy food that I can feel good about.

I signed up for a couple of newsletters today from Organic Valley and Seventh Generation - hoping for some good offers from both of those companies.

I had enough points accrued at the old credit card to cash out for a gift card, so I took care of that today. I have to keep the credit card open if we're going to use the hotel or car vouchers that I have, but other than that I'm not using that card anymore.

I took advantage of a free shipping offer at drugstore.com and got points for my shopping there through mypoints at the same time. I needed more of one of my supplements, and then they had Luna bars on sale so I bought a box of them. At less than a dollar a bar it was cheaper than the grocery store.

I have to drive to DD's school twice today - I drove this morning for the carpool, an then I have to go back again this evening for a parents meeting. Thank goodness for carpooling - it has really helped with time and money this year.

We took our neighbors out to dinner last night, to thank them for the times they've done pet-sitting for us. It's nice to have good neighbors to rely on.

Wow - what a great set of coupons! These guys get a thumbs up from me.

Out of curiosity, I called our locally owned health food/grocery to see if they accept coupons (thinking they didn't) and THEY DO! Woo hoo! One simple phone call and now I know.

Thank you flash for the tip about this coupon offer.

I am having to follow up on two memberships that I cancelled but still got billed to my credit card to the tune of $34.97. I've taken care of one account and should see two of the three charges reversed on my credit card. Waiting to get the third charge resolved. Be vigilant and don't let the charges slip through! Cancelling means it's cancelled and they have no right to try and charge you anyway.

I finally qualified for a $5 survey today. It will take 4-6 weeks to post to my account, according to the site, but I'll add it in as a possible source of money for the challenge.

For May:
$5 gift card (received)
$20 gas rebate (received)
$8.48 Rite Aid rebate (received)
Lowe's $20 gc (received - net $19)
total - $52.48

Longs rebate (waiting)
Rite Aid rebate ($4.99) (waiting)
Gas $20 gc (waiting)
Survey $5 (waiting)
AdSense (figure out 6/1/06)
Interest (find out 6/1/06)

My $20 in Lowe's gift cards arrived today, so I have that to add to my challenge. I had been adding the full amount, but since I'm technically netting $19, that's what I'll actually add this time around.

I also signed up for a $20 gas card today.

For May:
$5 gift card (received)
$20 gas rebate (received)
$8.48 Rite Aid rebate (received)
Lowe's $20 gc (received - net $19)
total - $52.48

Longs rebate (waiting)
Rite Aid rebate ($4.99) (waiting)
Gas $20 gc (waiting)
AdSense (figure out 6/1/06)
Interest (find out 6/1/06)

Inspired by flash and her seemingly infinite supply of coupons and know-how, I have been emailing companies I like and inquiring about coupons. The latest set of coupons to arrive in the mail came from Nature Made. I signed up for their 'club' and saw that they have printable coupons. I emailed them and let them know that the store I typically buy from does not accept printed coupons. In turn, they mailed me three $1 off coupons. Nice.

As my mom often says, it doesn't hurt to ask. The worst they can say is no.

My $8.48 Rite Aid rebate arrived today, so that will get added to my challenge total at month's end.

For May:
$5 gift card (received)
$20 gas rebate (received)
$8.48 Rite Aid rebate (received)
Longs rebate (waiting)
Rite Aid rebate ($4.99) (waiting)
Lowe's $20 gc (waiting)
AdSense (figure out 6/1/06)
Interest (find out 6/1/06)

I sent off another complimentary email to a company whose cereal I love, asking to see if they publish coupons. We'll see what the response is. I have gotten favorable and pleasant replies from everyone except Newman's Own Organics.

No big plans for the day. I'm taking DD shopping after school for gifts for her grandmothers and for DH for his birthday. I have $20 in Bed Bath and Beyond gc's to use, so we'll go there and see if anything strikes our fancy for the grandmas. I think they sometimes publish percent off coupons as well - I'll look through the paper and see if I see one. Anyone know about that?

No word back from the tutoring student. Think he thought I was a free service?? Oh well.

I haven't bought a paper yet - how were the inserts today?

Never mind - I went out and got one.

I may have a new distance tutoring student. we've exchanged a few emails and it looks I can help, so now I'm waiting for payment. I suggested 30 minutes to start, just to make sure it would work out for both of us. Hopefully the PayPal payment will come through today. Any online tutoring I do gets added to my challenge money.

DD and I got our seeds planted - basil, chives, sugar snap peas, green beans, chamomile and spearmint. Hopefully we'll start seeing some seedlings in the next 7-10 days for most of them.

I need to do something about our snails. They're eating the peppers, bell peppers and basil. They also eat my strawberries, I've learned.

5 of my 6 tomatoes are looking pretty good, and the raspberries continue to look healthy too. No berries yet, but hopefully sooner than later...

Now I need to make sure I water regularly and get these transplanted when the time comes so that we can have some nearly free food later this spring/summer.

Oh and the watermelon? My dog decided to play with the plastic pot it came in....with the seedling still in it. Oh well.

I submitted two ten dollar rebates for AutoVantage (after I'd cancelled my membership). Got a $20 check in the mail today! So, I'll go ahead and try it again during the next two quarters and see what happens.

A pleasant surprise.

For May:
$5 gift card (received)
$20 gas rebate (received)
Longs rebate (waiting)
Rite Aid rebates ($8.48 and $4.99) (waiting)
AdSense (figure out 6/1/06)
Interest (find out 6/1/06)

I took advantage of a couple of rebates at Rite Aid today and will have $3.99 coming back to me. I also took advantage of a few BOGos but am not counting that towards my challenge - I'll just accept a little extra room in the budget instead.

I'm heading to the grocery store (with coupons!) today, along with a list of what I need for three new recipes I want to try. Since I hate Vons, I've decided to try and get as much as I can for as little money as possible there, reserving the rest of my shopping for Trader Joe's and a local health food store.

New recipes:
Vegetable Stew with Herb Dumplings
Slow Cooker Cuban Black Beans and Rice
Lentil Vegetable Soup

I also need to get more food from the vet for our kitty who's on a special diet now. Speaking of kitties - I have one purring on my lap and one stretched out next to my laptop. Life is good.

Aside from paying a bunch of bills yesterday, I didn't spend any money. I'm not planning on spending any unnecessarily today, either - just groceries and cat food.

1 book: $5.06
1 DVD: $6.69
$30 in gift cards
$2 Rite-Aid rebate
AdSense: 16.26
Interest: 0.67
Total to add: $60.68

This brings my challenge total to $282.89.

I still have a couple of rebates outstanding, as well as possible gas vouchers and some gift cards.

For May:
$5 gift card