After adding in my diaper purchases for February and March here is what I’ve spent so far on diapers this year.  I will be getting additional rebates for the Rite Aid Pampers and will subtract that when I get it.

I got my rebate check from Caregivers Market Place- $12.50!   Not bad for saving my receipts for Huggies diapers and a few other products then at the end of the year I filled out the rebate form.   I will add that $12.50 back into the cost of diapers for this year, since I didn’t include that in my calculations last year.

Click HERE to see my chart in Google Documents.

I will be getting additional rebates for the Rite Aid Pampers and will subtract that when I get it.

This last week I got my rebate check from Caregivers Market Place- $12.50!   Not bad for saving my receipts for Huggies diapers and a few other products then at the end of the year I filled out the rebate form.   I will add that $12.50 back into the cost of diapers for this year, since I didn’t include that in my calculations last year.  Note:  This year 2010 Caregivers doesn’t offer the same rebates as in 2009.

If you are a Big Lots – Buzz Club member, check your inbox for 20% off your whole purchase on Sunday, February 21, 2010  from 5PM-9PM ONLY!

I just got mine, however, I will be busy that night teaching my first coupon class!  Woohhoo!

I’m a huge Big Lots fan!  I’ve mentioned this before but I’ll say it again.  I love Big Lots.  Before I got into using coupons I would go to Big Lots on a regular basis.  If you decide you don’t want to use coupons I strongly suggest shopping at Big Lots as a great way to save.

Now, I will admit my family and I went a little over board!   We were so excited to use the 20% off the entire purchase spent much more then I had planned.  It happens to the best of us.

The best part about Big Lots and their 20% coupons is they apply to EVERYTHING in the store!  So if you want to buy furniture, software, games, TVs, electronics, or diapers you can with this coupon!

My husband pointed out that one of my wishes was to buy a Cricut machine.  They are expensive!  I love scrapbooking as another hobby of mine but admit that this is a luxury and cool item!   With the coupon it came to $103!   Not bad!  I also picked up 2 cartridges for $24 each.

Here is a picture of all of the things we bought.  I will definitely consider this my weekly grocery shopping and then some.  I went a little over the $40 weekly budget.  Included we also bought some clothes, socks and a chair for my daughter.

Other good deals when using the 20% coupon.

Garbanzo beans $1.00 after coupon $.80 a can

Albacore Tuna $1.00 after coupon $.80 a can

4 – Pasta Sauce $1.50 after coupon $1.20 a jar

Men’s Polo’s $4.00 after coupon $3.20 each

Calgon Water Softener 64 oz $4.00 after coupon $3.20

Hanes 6 pk socks $4.00 after coupon $3.20

2 – 7 pack Infant Socks $4.00 after coupon $3.20 each

Note:  I buy a lot of socks!  New Moms out there make sure you buy lots of socks!  My daughter loves socks so much she carrys them around with her.  I’m not kidding!  The cool thing I learned is the “in” thing now is for girls to wear mis-matched socks!  We went to Disney and found a store that sold these type of socks for $4 a sock (not pair)!   Crazy!  Buying them at Big Lots or other discount places is the way to do it.

4 – Mr. Clean 2 pk Wiping Cloths $1.00 after coupon $.80 each package

Note: I’m crazy about these cleaning cloths!  To eliminate using as many paper towels around the kitchen I found these Mr. Clean Wiping Cloths to be the best replacement!  I found them a month ago and I’m so happy with them.  Using this coupon it costs $.40 each and they last.  It says it can be washed in the washer about 100 times?  I use it to clean the dishes and counters.  The best part it can capture crumbs with ease! Then it drys quickly unlike sponges.  I love them!   Thanks to MoneyWiseMom’s suggestion to use White Wash cloths. I use tan washcloths so after dinner we clean up the baby’s hands and mouth and then her highchair.  I usually put it in a plastic bag near the exit of the kitchen and eventually take it to the laundry room to get cleaned.

3 – Sparkling Cide $2.00 after coupon $1.60 each

2 – Fiddle Faddle $1.00 after coupon $.80 each

Corn $.65 after coupon $.52 each

2 – Huge Jars of Natural Applesauce $3.00 after coupon $2.40 each

4GB SDHC Memory Card $12.00 after coupon $9.60

Note:  This is a very good price.

A lot more food but way to much to type!

Total Discount $72.88

You might note that after all of that I spent quite a bit!

Total:  $303.98

One of the reasons I started to get into couponing was because of the cost of diapers and wipes.  I would go to Walmart, Sam’s Club, Target, Babies R Us and compare the prices and figure which store would give me the best deal and then I discovered the ‘coupon‘.  Coupons as you may or may not already know hold the key to finding some great deals.  In the last year thanks to the CVS and Rite Aid I’ve lowered my cost to diapers to about $300 a year.

This is an estimate so this year I plan on costing out how much I spend on diapers and soon training pants. My little girl isn’t a little girl anymore.  She wears size 6 and is a “big” girl!  Size 6 diapers cost a lot more than the 1 and 2 sizes and are hard to find on sale.  In some cases, I get excited about some of the deals only to find out that they don’t carry size 5 or 6.  Today, we bought her “potty” and will slowly introduce her to it.  She is 18 months old going on 19 months and thinks the “potty” is really neat.  I hope that continues!

If you find a good diaper deal or training pant deal PLEASE let me know.  Thanks!

How much have I spent on diapers in 2010?

Img Source:  Justin Newitter

I’m a huge fan of Big Lots.  I’ve written a couple posts about coupons and great deals at Big Lots.  If you haven’t been to Big Lots it is a discount store that is similar to a dollar store except it sells overstock items that they bought from other stores for less.   Before I started to use coupons I would go to Big Lots on a regular basis and buy a lot of items for a fraction of the cost.   My favorite items at Big Lots are the kitchen and housewares.  They have a great assortment of kitchen gadgets.

Sign up now for Buzz Rewards and use this 20% coupon!  I got my coupon yesterday.   The coupon expires on 10/10/09!  I plan on going this week.

Thanks to MoneywiseMoms too!

Today, Sunday, July 19, 2009, Big Lots had a coupon with 20% off your entire purchase!  It was for July 19 between 5PM-9PM.

Join the Buzz Club!  Click HERE to get the ads a couple days early and to get coupons when they come out.

We found some great bargins including the following:

Mr. Clean Auto Car Wash for $4

Similar to the one we found at Woot.  Click HERE for my previous post!

Power Inverter for $20

Beechnut Baby Food $.30 a jar

Sham-Eze (similar to Sham-Wow!) 10 pack for $10

Pool Noodle $1.01