Welcome back! Don't miss the top deals this week at  CVS,  Walgreens,  Target,  Publix,  Kroger,  Wal-Mart or Amazon, and be sure to enjoy a few penny-pinched recipes.  And always feel free to leave a comment . . . I love hearing from you!

Did you join us last week in donating a few items for Couponing for Community? Kaley from Cha-Ching on a Shoestring (who coordinates this effort), has put together a fantastic slideshow sharing tons of photos of how people gave throughout the week, and it was so fun to see the abundance we’re able to give when we all work together! (Not to mention, how funny it is that we all have oodles of Suave, Colgate, and Carefree to give!)  Head on over HERE to check it out.

If you weren’t able to give during Couponing to Community, don’t forget that there’s ALWAYS a need, and you can donate a few of your coupon deals anytime, all throughout the year!  If you’re looking for a place to give, start with your local churches, food pantry, or homeless shelter, and always feel free to contact me at contact@ passionate penny pincher .com if you’re looking for a local mission to donate to.

I stumbled across an old post from last March on how to handle the high price of gas, and thought you might be interested in reading a few tips on how to lower your gas costs as our prices per gallon seem to keep rising upwards each year.

I’m curious, what area are you in, and what are you paying right now per gallon?  (I just checked out Gas Buddy and the lowest price in our area is $3.49/gallon . . . I’d love to hear what you’re paying in your hometown, as well as any tips you have on how to limit those gas expenses!)

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Were you able to clean out a few items from your pantry this week to give to those in need?  If so, don’t forget that TODAY you can leave them in your mailbox and your mailman will pick them up for you!

Learn more HERE, and don’t forget to also leave your totals at Couponing for Community.  I’d love to hear how you’re giving this year!

It’s been a crazy week at our house (and I’m betting yours too!) With the end of the school year right around the corner, we’ve had class parties and brunches and ceremonies and awards and . . . can I just say I need a nap?

So, my grocery and donation deals are not much to show this week. I did grab a few freebies earlier this week at CVS, and went to Aldi’s to grab everything in  the photo above for under $10, but that’s the extent of my penny pinching right now. We did clear our our pantry and have a bunch of items to donate this week for Couponing for Commmunity, and while it’s not much, at least it’s something!

If you have any organizing to do in your pantry, tonight would be a great time to do a little clearing out so that you can give too, and if you happen to take a picture I’d love to share it with a few fellow penny pinchers! I’d also love to hear how your grocery trip went this week, and if you were able to purchase an item or two to give please take a minute to share that too.

New to couponing? Start out by checking out all Publix matchups over HERE, and also take a minute to visit this week’s top Kroger deals and Drug Store Deals.  You can also check out my beginners series over HERE.

Don’t forget to take a minute and add your donation totals to the Couponing for Community Facebook page. . . I can’t wait to see how everyone is giving this year! 

I’ve got one of those crazy busy, momma-running-round-like-a-chicken-with-her-head-cut-off kind of days ahead of me, so I thought I’d re-post this sharing a few crazy things I’ve done to snag a penny-pinched deal.  I’d LOVE to hear what nutty things you’ve done for a deal, because while I’ve definitely mellowed out a bit in my deal hunting, I still do get a wee bit of an adrenaline rush when I walk in the grocery store with my coupons! So, here are a few things I’ve done for a bargain . . . I’d love to hear your silly stories too!

I have done some crazy things to snag a deal these last few years. Just a few weeks ago, I went to Walgreens only to buy 12 Snickers Nutcrackers and 6 Scotch brand mailers. (Who goes anywhere in the cold with a three year old only to buy Snickers Nutcrackers???) After we survived the checkout lane, I realized I was missing those mailer coupons. Did I simply pay the $2? Of course not! I shoved the cart as close to my car as possible (safely but without unbuckling little Miss Reagan) and listened to her scream “Momma, Momma, MAAAAMMMMMAAA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAA” in the parking lot while I rummaged through my car to hunt down those coupons!

But that’s only a tiny smidgen of the ridiculous things I’ve done for a deal. I’ve purchased twelve packages of Preparation H Wipes because the overage on the wipes would pay for diapers. I’ve sweetly asked helpless Publix stock boys where the Phazyme is because I needed it (for a deal of course . . . Phazyme happens to be an anti-gas medication. . . I truly had no idea when I asked those poor kids.) I’ve purchased at least four Bayer Contour Diabetes Monitors although no one in our family is diabetic, simply to earn a few more Register Rewards (but I was able to donate diapers with the overage, as well as those Contour Meters!) I’ve found myself in the bottom of a newspaper bin late on a Sunday night trying to grab that one coupon stuck tightly in between the bottom rungs of the rack (only to find the coupons expired two years before I got there.) The CVS managers who work in a western Kentucky CVS on Thanksgiving know me by name because I’ve spent one too many Thanksgiving mornings hanging out with them instead of in the kitchen cooking turkey with my mother-in-law. And I’ve even found myself stalking the poor Frito-Lay, Coca-Cola, and Coors Beer distributors in hopes of winning a blessed tearpad. (Those of you who know me know that I’ve never had a beer in my entire life, which makes it that much more pitiful!!!)

Some days it goes even further than that. I have stopped naive, innocent shoppers to let them know they shouldn’t buy any of the Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough in their buggy because they’ll be BOGO starting in the next ad. I’ve gone up to brand new couponers and asked them where their Kotex coupons are (because of course I knew those Kotex coupons could score them a deal!) And the poor customer service desk at Publix cringes when I walk through the door (well, maybe not, but some days I wonder!!!)

So, there you have it . . . the truth!!! Please let me know I’m not alone in this! What’s the silliest thing you’ve ever done to grab a deal? I know some of you out there have a story to tell, because surely you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t passionate about a little penny pichin’ too! So go ahead, ‘fess up, it’ll be fun and make me feel so much better!!!

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Here’s what I grabbed at Publix this week for $25.90 plus tax. . . I was pretty pleased with all my goodies! I grabbed way too many cookies so that we could donate the extras because I had quite a few coupons, however as soon as my husband saw them, he asked if I could please not donate too many of them so that he could have them for lunch! I figure if it saves him from eating out at lunch time each day, it’s worth the sacrifice.

Here’s what I purchased:

How did you do at the grocery store this week?  Take a minute and leave a comment to share, and if you were able to purchase an item or two to give I’d love to hear that too! See how other folks are saving at Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom,Weekly Totals at I Heart Publix, and Friday Finals at Southern Savers.

New to couponing? Start out by checking out all Publix matchups over HERE, and also take a minute to visit this week’s top Kroger deals and Drug Store Deals. You can also check out my beginners series over HERE.

If you’ve read Passionate Penny Pincher for any length of time, I hope you’ve seen that we’re pretty passionate about saving money around here (soooooo much fun!), but even more passionate about saving money so that we can give abundantly to those in need.  May 6th – 12th several coupon bloggers are getting together to see just how much we can give when we gather together to Coupon for Community.  For our family (and I’m betting many of your families too!) giving goes hand in hand with coupons . . . when we get loads of great deals for just pennies on the dollar, why not share a few bargains with those in need?

So what does this mean for you?  Well, as you’re shopping or cleaning out your pantry, try to think of a few groups that you’d like to support.  Here locally, most of my donations go to Asbury’s Food Pantry, however there are places to give everywhere! Here are just a few ideas:

• Your children’s school (antibacterial wipes, tissues, snacks, hand sanitizer)
• A local food pantry (any canned or boxed foods, cleaners, paper products, toiletries)
• Local homeless shelter (toiletries, food items, paper products, cleaners)
• Medical mission teams or Free Health Clinics  (medicine, i.e. Advil, Aleve, Tylenol, Motrin, Bayer, etc.)
• Animal Shelters (dog or cat food, kitty litter, treats)

The goal of Couponing for Community this year is to donate 30,000 items between May 6th and May 12th (which I think is totally possible . . . I’m betting we’ll completely pass those numbers!)  On May 12th, the USPS is again hosting their Stamp Out Hunger day, so if you’re not sure where to give in your community, you can just leave your donations in your mailbox (love that!) You can also join the Couponing for Community Facebook page to see how other couponers are saving and giving.

Where are your favorite places to give in your hometown?   Have you grabbed any great deals to donate?  I LOVE getting a good deal, but it’s so much more fun to get a deal and share with those in need!

If you take any pictures of your great deals to donate, I’d LOVE for you to email them to me so I can share!  Send me an email at contact@passionate penny pincher.com (leave out spaces) . . . I can’t wait to see how you’re giving.