Extreme Couponing for Donations

On Sunday, June 5th, Family Harvest Church sponsored a Widow's Luncheon.  It was a lovely time.  The gym was decorated to look like an indoor garden, and the luncheon was lovely.  Carrot soup was served in adorable ceramic plant pots, and Linda Thompson's superb chicken salad was the lovely and light main course. The meal was concluded with strawberry ice cream and sugar cookies decorated like pastel spring flowers.

The Proverbial Shopper was allowed to share it's bounty of drug store products with the ladies at the conclusion of the meeting.  We were able to give away over $1000.00 worth of product!  Thanks to those of you who donated items or coupons!

Many of the dental products will be going to Guatemala for an upcoming missions trip, and many of the ladies were excited about sharing their coupons with us so that we can do even more.

If you are interested in sharing your coupons and you attend Family Harvest Church, you can drop off your coupon donations to the information booth.  If you're interested in helping with the shopping, please contact Kim Sullivan by commenting here or e-mailing @ morefreshstarts@aol.com.

Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Family Harvest Church and Linda Thompson for allowing us to contribute to True Religion, the widow's ministry at FHC.  Also I'd like to thank Colin at Hip2Save.com for all of her hard work making those shopping lists for all of us who follow her!

Exciting News!

Thanks to Center31, Linda Thompson and FHC for including two posts from this blog on their website Center31.  Check the posts out as well as plenty of other interesting articles!!

God Gives Seed To The Sower

So, my church, Family Harvest Church had us read a book, 40 Days To Greater Generosity, during lent.  I really thought I'd heard everything there is to hear about giving and began out of pure obedience.  Hey, I'm just being honest here!  Boy was I wrong!  First of all, I never felt as though I was much of a giver because I am constantly looking at what don't have to give rather than what I do have.  I was delighted to find that I give much more than I thought I did, and yet made me hungry to give more.  To say the least, the book got me thinking.  In fact, God had already been dealing with me about many things in the book, because as you know I changed the focus on this blog toward finding ways to give to the widow and single mom.
Not only does the daily devotional remind the reader of scriptural principles in giving, but it combines this with practical ways to look outside the box for ways to be more generous....And not just with money.
Anyway, I thought I'd let you know that thanks to Linda Thompson and generous people at FHC giving their coupons, (and a few of you donated items as well) I was able to donate over $58.00 worth of product to the pantry this week alone!  The more coupons we bring in, the more we can do! This cost me absolutely nothing but time and effort!  At this rate, (and providing we receive more coupons, we could easily increase) together we could give over $2500 in a year!  Not bad for just bringing in the coupon section that you may already just throw away!
I said all of this to say, that I was looking for ways to be generous without having to spend a dime, because that's just where we're at financially.  But God truly does provide seed for the sower.  Ask God, He will give you creative ideas to give from what you do have.  Stop fretting over what you don't have.  God does give seed to the sower!
If you're interested in helping me, just bring your coupons or non perishable items to Family Harvest Church this Sunday.  (It's best if the coupons are still together in their jackets, it's very difficult to use loose already cut coupons because of our current filing system.)

**Plus a special shout out to Colin at Hip2Save.com for doing all the leg work with all those great deals!

Shoppping List for Charity 4/3/11

Colgate Maxfresh, Maxwhite, or Maxclean toothpaste 6 oz $2.99 = $2.99 RR
Use the $0.35/1 coupon found in the 4/3 SS
Pay $2.64
Get back a $2.99 RR
Final cost FREE + a $0.35 moneymaker!

Spend $10 on Participating household items = $3 RR
(Swiffer, Tide, Febreze, Bounce, Downy, cascade)
Buy around 4 Swiffer Dust & Shines on sale for 25% off
(The online price is not listed, but I’m guessing these will be priced around $2.99)
Use 2 buy one get one free coupons found in the 4/3 PG
Pay $5.98 (IF these are priced at $2.99 each)
Get back a $3 RR
Final cost only $0.75 each!

Accu-Chek Aviva or Compact Plus blood glucose monitor $14.99 = $5 RR
Submit for the $14.99 Mail-in Rebate found on the package
Final cost FREE + a $5 Moneymaker!

Olay lotion 8.4-20.2 oz, body wash 10-23.6 oz, bar soap 2-4 pk Buy 1 get 1 50% off
Deal Scenario #1:
Buy two Olay bar soap 2 pks $2.99 each (based on online price)
Minus Buy 1 get 1 50% off sale = $4.49 for both
Use 2 $2/1 coupons found in the 4/3 PG
Final cost only $0.24 per 2-pack!

Nature Made vitamins and supplements Buy 1 get 1 Free
Deal scenario #1:
Buy 2 Nature Made Vitamin B-6 50 mg tablets (100 ct) $6.29 each (based on online price)
Minus Buy 1 get 1 Free sale = $6.29 for both
Use 2 $3/1 coupons found in the Feb and/or March issue of All You mag
Final cost Only $0.29 for both!

Almay Cosmetics 40% off
Buy One Coat Nourishing Waterproof Thickening mascara or Intense I-Color $7.99 (based on online price)
Minus 40% off sale = $4.79
Use the $2/1 coupon found in the 3/6 SS
Plus, use the $2/1 Walgreens coupon found in the Spring Beauty Guide Coupon Booklet
Final cost $0.79!

Gold Bond body wash 12.5 oz $5.88 = $3 Ecb (limit 1)
Use the $2/1 coupon found in the 4/3 SS or 3/6 SS
Pay $3.88
Get back a $3 Ecb
Final cost $0.88!

Crest or Oral-B Pro-health complete rinse 16.9 oz, Clinical gum toothpaste 4 oz or Glide Clinical Protection floss 38.2 oz $3.49 = $2.50 Ecb (limit 2)
Use the $1/1 Crest rinse coupon found in the 4/3 PG
Or use the $1/1 Glide coupon found in the 4/3 PG
Pay $2.49
Get back a $2.50 Ecb
Final cost FREE!

Spend $20 on Benefiber, Gas-X, Maalox, or Prevacid 14 ct = $10 Ecb (limit 1)
Deal Scenario #1:
Buy 4 Gas-x Prevention products $6.29 (based on online price)
Total = $25.16
Use 4 $4/1 coupons found in the 12/12 SS
Pay $9.16
Get back a $10 Ecb
Final cost FREE + Moneymaker!
**There is also a $3/1 Benefiber coupon available here.

Complete Multi-purpose solution 12 oz $8.99 = $8.99 Ecb (limit 1)
Use the $1/1 coupon found in the 4/3 SS
Pay $7.99
Get back a $8.99 Ecb
Final cost FREE + a $1 Moneymaker!

G-U-M Eez-thru flossers 75-150 ct $2 = $2 Ecb (limit 2)
Final cost FREE!

Thanks to Hip2Save for the information!  If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be able to give as much as we do!
Thanks to Linda at Together Spreading Kindness and Family Harvest Church for allowing us to do this!