March New Years Resolution Review

In March, I gave more,

• turned in 44 box tops to my local schools.  How many did you turn in?  Its the simplest way to help your schools.  Add in a little smart shopping and the use of coupons and the box top products end up cheaper than the store brands.  My kids got to eat yogurt to their hearts content, we dined on cinnamon rolls every Sunday morning, I experimented with new recipes for crescent rolls and used the best of the best toilet paper for our bums, all while giving back to the schools.  Everyone wins.

recycled more,

• recycled 7, yes S-E-V-E-N, plastic shopping bags FULL of other plastic shopping bags.   I guess you could also say I went green this month as well.  Although truthfully, I always do recycle them.  I was just extra cautious about not throwing any of them away just to forever lay in our landfills.

and donated more,

• donated three times as much as usual to Scouting for Food due to my couponing.  Heck, most of the stuff I donated was free or less than 50 cents!

• donated two large bags of gently used stuffed animals to the hospital.

But most proudly this month I completed an unofficial challenge bestowed upon me by my mother in law.

Around Christmastime, my mother in law became involved in a local charity called the Beach House.  Its a non-profit charity that helps place homeless men- women- families back into homes, jobs, society.  You can read more about it here.  As she read about my frustration this Christmas at the ever growing epidemic of the season meaning "bring me, give me, leave me, I want, I want, I want" instead of "I'm blessed, I'm fortunate, I've already got more than I deserve", she presented me with a gift- a gift of opportunity. 

She handed me a prepaid visa card with the instructions of purchasing items on the Beach House's donation list through couponing and deal searching.  It was an opportunity to help people by providing every day things that they need without having to front the money, which at the time was tight.  Diapers, baby food, formula, Christmas expenses and more makes giving as much as I would like quite impossible.  However, what did I know about couponing and finding the best deals?  Money for me wouldn't be so tight if I had a clue about such things.  So I guess I have her to thank for my new obsession hobby....  Anyways, the rest, they say, is history. 

On my mother in laws behalf,  I was able to purchase all this for the Beach House:

I'd take the time to list all the products but I've got two hours to get this blog posted to meet my Aprils New Years Resolution so I'll just hit a few of the things you may not be able to see.  Two boxes of diapers, six jumbo packages of feminine products, four airwick freshmatics with six refills, deodorants, cleaning products of all sorts, shower gels, disinfectant wipes and more. 

Guess how much I paid??  I'll give you a starting base.  If I would have paid full price, it would have come to a whopping $350.67.

Come on.....take a guess.....  How much did I end up spending?

Okay, okay, enough suspense.  I paid $184.91.   That's a savings of $165.76!  Plus I got four free Suave Professional hair styling products and a free $10 Meijer gift card.  And the best part of all this.  I did it all in 2, yes T-W-O, shopping trips.  One trip to Meijer.  One trip to Rite Aid.  Many people benefit.

So once again, to all of you who think couponing isn't worth the time, go back up and reread the numbers.  Aren't these all products you use?  Are you really paying full price for them??  I'll help you see the error of your ways and teach you the valuable resource that is using coupons.  I'll even be generous and split the savings with you.  75-25, okay?