Week of 4/26 - Walgreens Plan!

My oh my...

this is the type of week at Walgreens that I can get a little obsessed with.... FREE stuff!!!!

Register Rewards (RR) are a really addictive thing for me. ESPECIALLY when it's one where you buy an item and the register kicks out a coupon for the same amount that you just bought the item for... making it FREE!!!!!!! Of course, it's in the form of a coupon which you would use at Walgreens to buy something else... BUT there is always something else I NEED... like milk, or a newspaper OR, as is the case with my Publix... regular groceries! Publix will take my Walgreens register rewards since they are actually a form of a manufacturer coupon and Publix gets reimbursed for that. YAY Publix and YAY Walgreens!!!!! (and YAY that they are right across the street from each other!!)

SO... here are the freebies this week (items that you get RR equal to the cost of the item).

There are 4-5 of those this week. And 3 of them are even MONEY MAKERS!!!!! (A money maker is when you actually end up making money in the transaction.)

The first 2, I'm not doing. I don't have the coupons and don't need the items, so I'm skipping them.... but someone else might want this info, so I'm listing it anyways.

$5 RR wyb Bayer Breeze 2 or Contour Meter at $14.99
-$30 off Bayer Breeze2 or Contour Meter, SS 3/22 or RP 10/26/08, 2/01 (make $5 profit)
This would be a SWEET money-maker (info on this below) if I had the coupon. An example of why keeping every coupon is important! I didn't think I'd have any reason to keep this OR to use the item... but it's something that could be donated to people who need it, so I really should have kept the coupon (and might still get and donate, even if it's not a money-maker... I'll see how the time-schedule goes this week)

Money Maker - So... how do you make money buying something??? (some of you who are non-coupon-y folks might not know, so I'm explaining it. Skip this if you know). You're paying $0 in this transaction because you have a coupon for the item making it free AND you're getting back a coupon for $5 off your next purchase. Voila! $5 profit.

$2 RR wyb Ecotrin 45 ct tablets at $2
-$2.25 off Ecotrin product, printable (make $2 profit)

These are the deals I AM doing this week...

$5.99 RR when you buy (wyb) Rembrandt toothpaste 2.6 -3.2 oz or mouthwash 16 oz at $5.99
I don't have a coupon for this one... but it's FREE after the RR and I love good whitening toothpaste. I've used Rembrandt before and it's great stuff. I haven't been able to afford the whitening toothpaste from Brite Smile that I was using in the past... so this is going to be my substitute.

$2.49 RR wyb Bayer quick release crystals 4pk at $2.49
-$1 off Bayer Aspirin Product, 24ct+ SS 3/22 (make $1 profit)
I only have one of these coupons... I TOSSED the others thinking "oh, I never use Bayer!" THIS is why I should always save coupons for everything... even if I don't use them!!!

UPDATE!!! They had a little stack of $1 off Bayer Quick Release Crystals RIGHT ON TOP of the product at my Walgreens yesterday! WOO HOO!!!! They were made of card-stock... not on a tear-pad... just laying there. Weird! (but good!)


$2.00 RR wyb Ecotrin Aspirin at $2.00
There is a printable coupon out there for Ecotrin, but it's for 2.25. It doesn't specify a certain size, so you MIGHT be able to use it on this.... or it might make your cashier get flustered. Your call.


$4.99 RR wyb Nivea body wash 16.9 oz at $4.99
-$1 off Nivea Body Wash, RP 4/19 OR pick up $1 off coupon in display at CVS - a little booklet that has 2 coupons... one for $1 off one and another for $3 off of 2. It's a booklet and kind of hidden in a slot in the display... took me a minute to figure it out, BUT it's a money-maker coupon and maybe a $3/2 coupon to use another week too. Worth the hunt. Some people have a "tear-pad" in front of their Nivea with the coupons... a little more straight-forward. Hopefully yours is easy to find!

The $1 is the only one that will work for this deal. With a $1 off coupon, you make $1 profit!!!! (thank you Honey at SouthernSavers!)

The other great deal I'm taking advantage of, even though it's not a freebie is

$4 RR wyb $10 of Bandaid ($3)/Benadryl ($3) or Neosporin ($4) products.

At first I didn't even look at this deal, but another reader, Cristina at SouthernSavers.com left a comment telling about a GREAT coupon that's available at Publix. It takes making a stop at Publix (no biggie for me), but there is a $3 off any 2 Johnson and Johnson products. That includes Bandaids!! Which makes this deal SWEET in that you get 4 boxes of bandaids for $12 then subtract the $6 in coupons and $4 RR... that makes it $2 for 4 boxes of bandaids!!! It's almost summer and we tend to go through a lot of bandaids during those months.


So now it's just a matter of figuring out what order to do these deals in, so as to not pay much out of pocket intially (even though I'll have the money back at the end of the transaction... the less I have to put out initially, the better)

So far I have done this...

Transaction 1

Bought Rembrandt $5.99
$5.99 OOP (used $3 RR from a prior week and Gift Card from March rebates to pay this) and got $6 RR back.

Transaction 2
Bought 4 boxes of bandaids at $3 each = $12.00
Bought 1 clearance easter candy (peeps) 12 cents. Total $12.12
Used 2 - $3 off J&J coupons (see above) and $6 RR from Transaction 1 = 12 cents plus tax OOP
(used GC from March) got $4 RR back

Transaction 3
Bought Nivea Body Wash at $4.99
Bought 1 clearance easter candy (peeps) 12 cents. Total $5.11
Used 1 - $1 off Nivea coupon (see above) and $4 from Transaction 2 = 11 cents plus tax OOP
(used GC) got $5 RR back

I actually did all 3 transactions one after another. I am a little more comfortable doing this now... especially since I'm getting to know the cashiers at my store. I just tell them in advance that I have 3 different transactions. I have everything organized ahead of time and separate my coupons so that it goes quick and easily (see below for some tips on this)

If you are new to Walgreens RR, there are a few hurdles you have to jump through to get the deals. Jenny explains this in great detail at her site SouthernSavers.com Guide to Walgreens
but the quickie info is this...

1. You can't use RR from a manufacturer on the same manufacturer's products. This is what would prohibit you from taking the Nivea reward and going back and buying another Nivea Body wash immediately. The coupon that prints has "Retailer" Beiersdorf" in fine print under the word Walgreens above the bar-code is for Nivea. SO... you can't use this on ANY products that they make (for instance Nivea lotion would be a no-go... or using a Listerine RR on any Listerine product. Make sense?)... the register won't take the coupon....AND if you bought another Nivea body-wash with it... it wouldn't print out another RR.... so that would be a waste!!! Use a RR from one manufacturer on ANOTHER manufacturer's product that has a RR and you're being a smart shopper!!

2. You can't have more coupons than you have items. This includes RRs. This is why I had to buy the peeps in the above scenarios. Even if my total had been more than $4 in the Nivea transaction... if I only had one item... I could only use 1 coupon and would lose out on the money-making deal. SO... buy something tiny like a piece of candy and the register will be happy and you'll have smooth sailing! (In the band-aid deal above, I didn't have to buy an extra item because I only used 3 coupons/RRs and had 4 items).

3. Every Walgreens seems to be a bit different in how many RRs they will let you use per transaction. The ones here in Atlanta that I have gone to will let me use 2 RRs to pay for something (for instance... I might do the Bayer asprin deal ($2.50) and the Ecotrin deal ($2.00) and use them both towards the Rembrandt purchase. I just learned that you CAN'T use 2 of the same RRs on the same transaction... so I couldn't have used 2 of the $2.50 RRs from Bayer. Does this make sense?)

4. There is a certain order of giving coupons that works best. It doesn't really apply to my transactions above because there are no "store coupons" from a sale ad included. You can use both a store coupon AND a manufacturer's coupon together BUT it's a bit trickier. Again, you have to have at least the same # of items as coupons AND you should present them in the following order: RRs, Manufacturers coupons and THEN walgreens in-ad/store coupons. Do it this way and the register won't beep and reject any of them. When I have a deal like this, I hand them the RR and the manufacturers coupons and let them enter them THEN hand them the store coupon. Because all my coupons are valid and I'm playing by the rules, everything is hunky dory. woo hoo!!!!!

5. Be nice to your cashier. Be patient with your cashier. And try to go when things aren't busy so that other customers aren't ticked off (because they take it out on the cashier NOT you). I am getting to know the girls that work at the Walgreens I go to and always make sure to ask how their weekend went... This goes a LONG way. My transactions take a little more time, so I want to make sure they're happy to see me rather than rolling their eyes at the crazy coupon lady who comes in 3 times a week!


SO... how to best "rinse and repeat" my deals above this week...that is my next challenge. I'd like to pay as little out of pocket as possible, so I'm trying to figure out how to do this in the best order. I'm not really sure if I'm going to do the Bayer deal more than once. I really don't use that (but I am thinking about the fact that I could donate it). I also don't need a lot of bandaids, and that one isn't free or a money-maker, so I won't be repeating it more than twice. It's a good deal only if you NEED the items (or they're free)!

But free body-wash... free toothpaste... those I'll be repeating as many times as I can find a way to this week. If I have left over RRs at the end of the week... I'll take them to Publix and use for my groceries. Lucky for me, my Publix takes them. I've heard of others that don't.


SO... I'll let you know the results on Sunday or Monday. I just wanted to share ahead of time what I'm planning in case it helps someone else!

Restaurant.com - WOWZA!

It's another WOWZA deal...

this time for eating OUT!!!! The reason I started couponing in the first place was because we were eating at home... BUT at these prices... we're going to eat out some too!!

Restaurant.com sells discounted gift certificates for restaurants all over town (in Atlanta and far away from Atlanta). A $25 g.c. sells for $10. That's already a pretty good deal (even though there are some restrictions that say you have to spend a certain amount over the gift certificate)

WELL...

there is a discount code "LUCKY" that you can enter and get...

wait for it.....

80% off your entire order!!!!!!!!!!

HOLY MOLY!!!!! That's HUGE!!!!!

I just bought $450 in gift certificates for $38!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've got gifts covered for several people, as well as some nice family dinners and last-minute dinners for the kids and me.

I made sure to pick places that didn't require spending more than $10 over the g.c. amount. That way our meal would be around $12 for the 3 of us to eat!!!! That's cheaper than fast food!!! Even with a generous tip!

SO... this was my find of the week, thanks to Jenny from Southern Savers who posted it on her website.

and I'm heading to dinner!!!!! Not cooking tonight!!!!

Week of 4/19/09 - The Big Wrap Up

This was a bit of a wacky week.

LOTS of bargains, but one big time bust at Publix that's going to ruin my over-all savings percentages.

(and just in case I dare forget... I will repeat once more... I will not take my kids shopping!!!!)

I skipped Walgreens and Rite Aid this week.... nothing free that I couldn't live without and nothing spectacular that caught my eye in either ad.

So... here's the rundown for the week. CVS, Publix and Kroger

We'll start with CVS...

I went to CVS hoping to find the Dove Skin Revitalizer that was supposed to be $4.00, since I had a $3.50 off coupon. Unfortunately... none of the stores I visited (and I went to several) had them in stock. Oh well...

What I DID find was deodorant... on SALE big-time!

Addidas Deodorant. One particular fragrance is being discontinued, so it was marked down to $2.50. I had a $1 off coupon AND there were ECB (extra care bucks)! That was a surprise. Had I known, I would have done the deal a little differently, but here's what I bought...

4 - Addidas deodorants @ $2.50 (hoping that Thing 1 or Thing 2 likes this... if not...then these are for charity)

used 4 - $1/off coupons. Total out of pocket $6.00 - received $6 ECB ($2 ECB for each deodorant... limit of 3. Had I know about the ECB, I would have split the purchase into 2 different ones so that I'd get all the ECBs possible)

Savings $10.00 = 100%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Publix

3 – Crystal Light Drink Mix
4 – Quaker Chewy Granola Bars
2 – Betty Crocker Potatoes
2 – Ken’s Steak House Marinade
1 – Pam Cooking Spray
1 – Burt’s Bees Chapstick (oy!)
1 – Oberto Beef Jerky (oy!!!!)
1 – Gum (aaaaaahhhh!)
1 – Mad Magazine (I am SUCH a pushover!!!)
3 – Sub Sandwiches - I shouldn't include this since it was an "out to eat" dinner, but I'm going to because I DID buy it with the groceries.

(had to get a rain check for the Fast Fixins Roasted Chicken)

Total OOP = $42.50

Savings = $26.50 - 38%
(that's funny... I was beating myself up for spending too much on this trip, and I saved 38% even WITH including an "out to eat" meal!!) .... but I STILL won't take Thing 1 and Thing 2 shopping again!!!!

and my big WOO HOO of the week....

Kroger

5 – Capri Sun $1.79
4 – Pillsbury Brownies $1.00
4 – Pasta Roni Fettucini Alfredo $1.00 (2 - charity)
4 – Quaker Rice Cake Snacks $1.00 (charity)
6 – Barilla Pasta $1.00 (3 - charity)
4 – Angel Soft 4 pack toilet paper $1.00
7 – Brut Deodorant $1.00 (charity)
4 – Lawry’s Marinade $1.00
3 – Soft Soap Hand Soap $1.00
8 – Suave Shampoo $.88 (charity)
4 – McCormick Grill Seasonings $1.00
4 – Green Giant Frozen Vegetables $1.00
1 – Huggies Wipes (no gossip necessary… these make great rubber stamp cleaners!)
1 – Bertolli Meat Lasagna $4.98
1 – Always $2.93
2 – No-Nonsense Socks – 3pack $2.00 (woo hoo! Cheap socks!! Not on the list, but on sale AND I had coupons!)
1 – gallon 2% milk $1.99

$30.28 total OOP
$100.06 savings - 76% WOO HOO!!!! AND was a phenomenal week for deals that I can share.


Grand total for the week...

$72.78

Savings $136.56 - 69% WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!

Big time THANK YOU to Jenny from SouthernSavers.com who does all the hard work so that I can save the big bucks!

Publix Update - I will not take my children to shop with me

Say it together with me three times...

I will not take my children to shop with me...

I will not take my children to shop with me...

I will not take my children to shop with me...


I had my plan. I had my coupons. I had my children. The third item is in complete conflict with the first 2.

My kids attitude is "oooh! look how much you saved... let's buy OTHER stuff!!!!!"


I left Publix having spent $50. My plan was to spend $15. Granted, some of that was dinner. We decided to have sub sandwiches for dinner... so that was a chunk of that extra money. But so was chapstick and gum and beef jerky!!! AAAAAAAAAAAH! Chapstick???? Why did I say yes to chapstick???? I got FREE chapstick at Wallgreens last week!!!!!!! But of course, my child, Thing-2 didn't like that brand. oy!

So I guess I need to think a little more like Thing-1... "just think we would have spent a WHOLE lot more than that if you didn't have the coupons!!!"

(I think my plan of just not taking them would have been better!!! My Kroger run was a lot more successful because I had NO kids in tow.)


So, say it together with me three times... this time with feeling...

I will not take my children to shop with me...

I will not take my children to shop with me...

I will not take my children to shop with me...

Week of 4/19 - The Big Plan

It looks like a week of grocery store shopping and very little drug-store shopping.

I think this is the first week that I haven't seen anything I need from Wallgreens! We've been stocking up, so drug-store trips won't be as necessary I guess!! (unless it's FREE stuff)

SO... we'll start out with the free(ish) Drugstore trip to CVS.


CVS

Dove Skin Revitalizer (sort of an exfolliator thingie) is on sale for $4.00 and I have a coupon for $3.50 which makes it.... 50 cents! - I might have a coupon for $3.75 off... maybe

AND I have a $2 ECB coupon, so I'll wait for Saturday on this one and get a Sunday paper and the 50 cent skin revitalizer!


Rite Aid looks like my bigger drug-store trip (possibly). A lot of them are rebate items, so I have to decide if I want to mess around with that. We'll see.

Rite Aid

2 - Right Guard Xtreme – BOGO ($4.50ish)
$1/1 coupon makes it $1.25? ?

Dove Conditioner $3 ea
-$2 SCR #75 wyb (2) Dove products (limit 2)
- $1.50/1 Dove Conditioner RP 3/15
Total = Buy 2, use 2 coupons makes it .50¢ ea

Bengay Ultra Strength Patches 4-5 ct $6.99 ea
-$3 SCR #21 (limit 1)
-$3 bonus SCR #221 (limit 1)
-$1 off any Bengay product SS 3/22
Total = .01 profit or .99¢ ea without coupon

Compound W Freeze Off Kit $9.99
-$10 SCR #11 rebate wyb (1) (limit 2)
Total = FREE

Those last 2 items are to get my total to $25 so that I can use the $5 off coupon... although either of those items can be necessary at our house.

$27.49 before coupons. - $11 coupons = $16.49 OOP and rebates of $18 ($2 profit)



Kroger - this looks like my big stop this week.


4 - Angel Soft 4pk $1 ea (ongoing price)
-.50/1 Angel Soft 4pk or larger (makes it FREE)

4 - Lawry’s 12oz Marinades $1 ea – 50 cents each
-$1/2 Lawry’s Marinades RP 4/05

3 - Huggies Baby Wipes 40ct $1 ea (keep 1 donate 2) - FREE
-$1 off Huggies Bath and Body product SS 4/19

4 - Rice or Pasta Roni $1 ea - maybe
-$1/4 Pasta or Rice a Roni RP 3/08

2 - Idahoan Potatoes $1 ea (not sure about this one... we'll see... 75 cents each)
-.75/3 Idahoan Potatoes printable

4 - Pillsbury Brownies $1 ea - woo hoo! 30 cent brownies!!!
-.35/1 Pillsbury Brownies RP 3/29

2 - Green Giant Vegetables $1 ea
-.50/1 off any Green Giant product printable (makes it FREE)

4 - Quaker Rice Cakes $1 ea
-$1 off any Quaker Rice Snack Product RP 3/29 (makes it FREE)

5 - Brut Deodorant , $1 ea (if Thing 1 doesn't like, then give to Charity)
-.55/1 off Brut Deodorant SS 4/05 (makes it .45¢ ea)

Kroger Sandwich or Hot Dog Buns $1 ea
Avacados $1 ea
Mangoes $1 ea
Kroger Cream Cheese or Bagels $1 ea

2 - Softsoap Hand Soap $1 ea
I have a coupon for this, but can't remember if it's 75 cents or $1... but it's cheap enough to buy no matter what.

3 or 6 Barilla Pasta .75 cents ea (is piccolini included???)
-.50/1 Barilla Whole Grain Pasta SS 3/29 (makes it FREE)
-$1/1 picollini pasta if that's included

?? - Carolina Pride Entire Line B1G1 Free - depends how much these are to begin with
-$1.50/2 Carolina Pride Sausage or Smokies SS 4/19, 2/22

3 - Capri-sun Juices $1.79 ea (we are FLYING through these lately!)
-$1 off Capri Sun Sunrise Juice SS 4/19

4 - Suave Shampoo or Conditioner .88¢ ea - need to double check...might do these at Publix
-$1/2 Suave Shampoo or Conditioner RP 3/01, 3/29

Fresh Boneless Pork Loin, 3-5 lb avg, $1.99 lb
Rotisserie Chicken $4.88 ea
Strawberries 16oz $1.65 ea

Total would be around $35 before I add other produce, which I will.



Publix


3- Crystal Light Drink or On the Go Mix, 10-12 qt or 10-14- ct box, save up to $3.99
Buy 2 Get 1 Free Crystal Light SS 3/29 (Buy 3, makes it $1.33 ea)

4 - Quaker Chewy Granola Bars save up to $2.99
-$1/2 Quaker Chewy Bars printable (makes it $1 ea)

2 - Betty Crocker Potatoes save up to $1.59
-.40/1 Betty Crocker Potatoes printable print limit reached (makes it FREE)

2 - Ken’s Steak House Marinade or Buffalo Wing Sauce, 16-oz bot. save up to $2.79
-$1 off Ken’s Dressing or Marinade SS 3/08 (makes it .40¢ ea)

1 - Pam Cooking Spray 5 or 6-oz can, save up $3.39 - I need the olive oil one if it's incl.
-.55/1 off Pam store coupon Yellow Advantage Buy Flyer
-.35/1 Pam
(stack store and manufacturer coupons makes 50¢ ea)

2 - Fast Classics Flame Roasted Chicken Breast save up to $7.99
-.30/1 any Fast Classics or Fast Fixins product printable
(makes it $3.29 ea)

Publix total before deli and produce (which I need) is around $15


All these deals are thanks to Jenny from www.SouthernSavers.com

Week of 4/12 - Wrap Up

It was not a big grocery week AT ALL because I'd done such great stocking-up the prior weeks. The sale at Publix extended through this Wednesday, so there are a few buy-one/get-one things that I want to pick up before it's over, but for the most part, we were set for this week.

We did eat out twice due to much pleading by 2 kids that had to take standardized tests last week (a big big deal if you don't have kids in the Georgia school system... they scare these poor kids to death about the tests... but I digress) ANYWAYS, we went out for pizza the night before the test because that's what my 2 hard-working boys wanted. :)

My only shopping excursions last week were at Walgreens and Publix.


Publix

4 - Fresh Express bagged lettuce ($2.50 each w/ $1 off each coupon) = $6
1/2 lb - Boar's Head deli turkey = $4.50 ish
1/2 lb - Publix deli ham = $3.50ish
1 - Publix Bleach .01 (penny item of the week)

Estimated Total $14.01

33% savings (this is an estimate, but probably pretty close)

that was it. Told you.... nothing too exciting. I don't even have my receipt with me, so I can't tell you how much I saved.... but the ham and turkey were not on sale.... only the Penny Bleach and the Fresh Express, which was on sale AND had a Publix in-ad coupon.


Wallgreens

Wallgreens was a completely different story. I saved a TON at Wallgreens this week, but only on a couple items.

A week ago Saturday I was in Wallgreens picking up some things from that week's sale and I saw that they already had items from this past week's sale posted. I had planned to buy pony-tail holders (something I LOSE a lot of... how, I have no clue, but I go through a lot of them!) on sale last week, but saw that the Register Rewards bonus sign was already posted. The sale was if you spent $2 on the pony-tail holders, you got a $2 Register Reward back... making them free (as long as you plan a future purchase at Wallgreens.)

WELL... this time they were TOTALLY free! Here's what happened. I asked the girl working in the cosmetics department (this was my regular Wallgreens, so I'm slowly getting to know all the cashiers there...which is a good thing!) if the sale had already started and if the computers were already printing the Register Rewards even though it was Saturday and the sale didn't start till Sunday.

She called the manager over to ask and the manger asked what I was planning to buy. I said "pony-tail holders that have a $2 Register Reward, but I can wait to buy them next week if they're not printing up yet". She said "how much is the Register Reward?" and I said "$2" she then asked me how many I was planning to buy I said that i'd probably purchase 2 in 2 different transactions.... "but it's not a big deal, I can wait till next week." She said "no, let me just ring them in... ok... here you go... they're free!" I was stunned. I KNOW this was not normal. I should have at LEAST had to pay sales-tax.... but I was happy to get some free pony-tail holders!!!

SO... this week's Wallgreens deal went like this....

2 - Scunci Pony Tail Holder (28 count)

Total Out of Pocket $0 (value of items $5)

Total Savings 100%


I have a little more shopping to do this week than I did last week. I still need to get a lot of fresh ingredients, similar to the salad fixings I had last week. I need more fruits/veggies/deli stuff this week, so I'm not expecting huge savings... but hoping for a few freebies!!!

I'll try to post my plan later after I've formulated it!

Week of 4/09 - The Big Wrap Up - WOWZA!!!!

So... here's the skinny for the whole week.

I did pretty good! AND didn't buy any oreos (did anyone notice that???)

Total spent out of pocket $73.83

Total Saved $155.88 = 68% (I am reading this in disbelief!!)

(AND I have a coupon left for $2 off my next CVS visit)


I'm working on the plan for this week, but it should be a fairly light one...unless there are lots of free things... and I'm not adverse to FREE! I've stocked up on lots of pantry items and staples, as well as replacing things that I lost when my frig went ka-put, but I do need fresh items this week that aren't usually coupon-y... deli meat, veggies and fruit, so it won't be a zero week, but HOPEFULLY will be a lot lighter than the past few weeks.

I'll post the plan later after I've perused Jenny's site!

Thank you Jenny from Southernsavers.com for all these wonderful savings!!!!!

Week of 4/09 - CVS Wrap Up

CVS


3 - Huggies Diapers - (PLEASE NOTE: diapers were for baby shower gifts!!!)
3 - Coke 12 packs
8 - Pringles
2 - CVS Batteries
1 - ColgateMax White Toothpaste (which I blew it by not giving coupon for!!)

$23.02 Out of Pocket

Savings $67.40 = 75%

another WOWZA! I think that was mostly from the baby gift savings.

I also have a $2 ECB coupon off my next purchase left.



I'm still getting the hang of being organized w/ my coupons and I'm re-working some of my current systems. I blew it twice with my CVS transactions this week. FIRST because I couldn't use my $4 off $20 since I didn't bring it with me when I bought the shower gift & cokes. The next time I came back, my total was under $20. I could have planned better for that. I blew it because I didn't hand the cashier the coupon for the toothpaste and didn't notice it until I was back in my car. I know i COULD have returned the item and bought it again... I just haven't gotten to the point where i'm totally comfortable with that (silly, huh?) I DID go back and get a refund when I was over-charged at Publix though...because that was their fault not mine.

Week of 04/09 - Wallgreens Wrap Up

It was a weird week for me at Wallgreens... I spent more than I should have because of Easter.

(I did that at Target too... that was a total NON saving event that we won't even go into here! I guess that's why I needed to save at some of these other places!)

Here's the low-down....

Wallgreens

6 - Hershey’s Candy 8-10oz 4 for $10 - should have bought 4...thought the rebate said 6 :(

1 - Soft Soap Body Wash (free from last week's coupon)

1 - Betty Crocker Frosting

5 - 12 packs of Coca-Cola (no Big K for us for the next 2 months!!!!)

Total Out of Pocket - $22.40

Savings (including $5 rebate) $25.49 = 54%

Week of 4/09 - Rite Aid Wrap Up

Not a very exciting week for me at Rite Aid. Just needed some pepcid. Hoped to take advantage of the sale, but glad I didn't go whole-hog. They changed the formula of the stuff i take and it's YUCK now. (glad I didn't return the Kroger version... it tastes much better even if it's hard and crumbly!)

Rite Aid

Pepcid 25 count - $9.99 (had planned on buying 4... only bought ONE!)

Out of pocket $4.99

Saved $6.00 = 55%

Week of 4/09 - Publix Wrap Up

Publix

1 - Duncan Hines Cake Mix
2 - Kraft Miracle Whip Dressing
4 - Kraft Salad Dressing (gotta love FREE!!)2.75
1 - Breyers Ice Cream
1 - Loaf White Bread (.01 deal of the week) 1.29
6 - Ziploc Freezer Bags (couldn't believe these were 45 cents each... wish I'd had more coupons for these... I could use them for my bead biz too!) (3.29)
1 - Breakstones Sour Cream 1.50
4 - Nestle Refrigerated Cookie Dough


Total Out of Pocket $15.32

Savings $49.26 = 76% (WOWZA!!!!)

Week of 4/09 - Kroger Wrap Up

Here's the wrap up from last week....


Kroger - was just a quickie stop... in and out. I impressed the cashier though by saving 1/2 on my ticket!

2 - Capri Sun 10 packs
1 - Gallon of Kroger Milk
1 -Cocoa Puffs
1 - Nature Valley Granola Bars
1 - Fiber One Granola Bars

Total Out of Pocket $8.10

Savings $7.73 = 49%


(giving credit where credit is due...all ideas from Jenny's site www.southernsavers.com)

Week of 4/5 - The Big Plan

I don't have kids at home this week and did a LOT of stocking up last week, so I don't plan to do a whole lot of shopping this week. I do have a gift to buy and some odds and ends to pick up. There are some good deals that I want to take advantage of (stocking up for Thing1 and Thing2), but nothing like last week.

Here's the plan... (all ideas from Jenny's site www.southernsavers.com)

Kroger - just a quick stop. Luckily it's right across the street from Publix and Wallgreens!

2 - Capri Sun 10 packs ($1.79)
1 - Gallon of Kroger Milk (free - see below)
3 - Boxes of General Mills Cereal $2.49 each (Milk is free w/ 3 General Mills cereal purchases)

Cinnamon Toast Crunch - 55 cents off - printable coupon for Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Cocoa Puffs - 75 cents off - printable coupon for Cocoa Puffs
Honey Nut Cheerios - 55 cents off - printable coupon for Honey Nut Cheerios
- 55 cents off - cellfire e-coupon (see their site for explanation)

As of the Saturday, the e-coupons AND the paper coupon both work on the same item (so in the above example I'll save $1.10), but I've heard that might be changing and you don't get the e-coupon if you use a paper one as well.

If all those above work then I'll have 3 boxes of cereal and a gallon of milk for $5.07 AND I'll have a box of cereal for each of us! Thing1 loves Cheerios, Thing2 likes stuff like Cocoa Puffs and I'm a Cinnamon Toast Crunch girl.

If there are any other 25 cent pasta deals, I'll add a couple of bags for Thing1 and Thing2 who would eat chicken and noodles every day if I'd let them! (I've got a 50 cent coupon, so when it's doubled to $1.00, as long as the pasta is still marked around $1.25ish, that's a GREAT deal worth stocking up on)


Publix

----Buy One Get One Free (BOGO) deals-----

1 - Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Cake Mix (BOGO of 1.63 makes one box 82 cents less 35 cent coupon doubled = 12 cent cake!!!) Too bad I only have one coupon!

2 - Kraft Miracle Whip Dressing, 32 oz jar, at $ 3.99
-$1/2 Kraft or Miracle Whip Mayo coupon from 3/29 paper makes it $3 for 2

4 - Kraft or Seven Seas Dressing 16 oz bottle, or Good Seasons, 14 oz bottle, at $ 2.75
-$1.50 off any Kraft Dressing 3/29 (makes it FREE plus .13¢ overage)

1 - Breyers Ice Cream, 48 oz carton, at $4.99 (BOGO makes price for one $2.50)

--- other good deals----

1 - Loaf White Bread (.01 deal of the week)

6 - Ziploc Freezer Bags $1.25 ea
- .40 off ziploc bags 3/15 (makes it 45 cents each)

3 - Kellogg’s Cereal (Rice Krispies) at $ 3.99
-$1 off any Kellogg’s Cereal 4/05 paper (makes it .99¢ ea)
This will be the end of my cereal purchases for a while!!! (or until Thing1 turns 14 in a couple of months)

Kraft Chunk Cheese 8oz $1.66 ea - may or may not purchase... not sure if I need this.
-.55/1 any Kraft Cheese, Cheese booklet at Publix (found near Spray can cheese)
-$1/3 Kraft Cheese products printable (Food Lion Printable coupon) (use 3 manuf and 1 Competitor makes it .78¢ ea)

Breakstones Sour Cream 16oz .99¢ ea
-$1/2 Breakstones Sour Cream 3/29

Philadelphia Cream cheese $1 ea
-.55/1 off any Philadelphia product, Cheese booklet at Publix (supposedly found near Spray can cheese.... hope so!)

4 - Nestle Refrigerated Cookie Dough $2.50 ea
-$1 off Nestle Cookie Dough 3/29 or printable


Rite Aid

Pepcid 25 count - $9.99 (need 4)
-$3 off in-ad Rite-Aid coupon
-$2 off manufacturer's coupon 4/05 (use both store and manufacturer coupon for $4.99 pepcid)

Wonka Jelly Beans 2/$3.00
-$1/2 manufacturer coupon (not sure where I got it!)


Wallgreens

Hershey’s Candy 8-10oz 4 for $10 (for easter baskets)
-$5 Easy Saver Rebate with (4) Hershey’s Bagged Candies (a rebate mailed at the end of the month by Wallgreens - enter receipts online. Accept a gift card and get additional 10%)
-$1.50/3 Hershey’s Candy 3/15
(Buy 4, use coupon, makes it .87¢ ea after rebate) - There is a Cadbury candy on sale that makes it even less.... just depends if it's something that looks good for Easter eggs.

Coca Cola 12 packs - 5/$13.00 ($2.60 each) - should keep us from having to drink Big K cola!

CVS

Transaction 1
3/$30 Huggies Diapers - (PLEASE NOTE: diapers are for baby shower gifts!!!)
- $5 manufacturer coupon (use 3)
- $4 off of $20 coupon
$11 out of pocket (OOP) get $10 extra care bucks (ECB) coupon for future purchase

Transaction 2
3/$11 Coke 12 packs (bought these before I knew about the Wallgreens sale)
Use $10 ECB from transaction #1
$1 out of pocket - get $3 extra care bucks rebate after purchase

Transaction 3
88 cents Pringles (have $1/2 coupon) - buy 8
use 4= $1 off coupons and $3 ECB
$.04 OOP

(spent $12 at CVS and got all of the above!!!)


Total For the Week (if I don't buy anything else... like Oreos... which I guess I'll go ahead and figure in at $3)

$86.00 with a rebate coming of $5.50... AND I got shower gift included!!!

It's kind of funny to see that, aside from the $5 shower gift (that would have cost me over $40 if I got it regular price and would have been my normal amount spent on a gift), my big money purchases are the Pepcid, Oreos and Cookie Dough!! :)

Week of 3/29 - Kroger Wrap Up

Kroger was my big-kahuna shopping trip this week. Our refrigerator/freezer broke back in the winter and I threw out basically everything we'd stocked up... meats/condiments/frozen dinners/veggies EVERYTHING had to go.

So, I've had to replace a lot of that and hopefully, after this week, there won't be quite as much stock-up going on. I did wait for Kroger to have some great chicken prices to stock up on that. Hopefully I won't be having any more of these big bills, but I did save a TON and anything extra I bought that I might not normally have (like the spices) were free. Gotta love FREE!

Here's the list....

2 - Big K Soda 2 Liter bottles (there was no coke on sale and we were TRYING to adapt... we'll stick w/ Coke and stock up when it's on sale from now on)
2 – Breakstone Sour Cream
1 – Oberto Beef jerkey (5.99 – don’t let kids go w/ you to the store!!!)
6 – Dr. Pepper 2 liter
12 – Yoplait Yogurt
4 – Pillsbury Biscuits/Sweet Rolls
3 - Herbal Essence Shampoo/Conditioner
4 – Suave Deodorant (charity purchase were 16 cents each)
2 - Soft Soap Hand Soap
1 – Kroger Antacid (yuck… returning this one…must stay w/ brand-name)
12 pack Big K Cola
1 – Oreos (my full price splurge)
3 Venus Disposable Razors
2 Gallons Milk
Tortillas
Hot Dog Buns
5 lb Boneless Chicken Breasts
2 lb Ground Turkey
Plastic spoons
2 - Dannon Yogurt drink
Kroger Freezer bag
Renuzit Air Freshener
Franks Red Hot Sauce
3 - Dole Fruit cups
Kroger Peanut Butter
2 - Life Cereal
2 – Quaker Snack bars
Pilsbury Crescent Rolls
3 lbs green grapes
2 – smoked Sausage
1 – Hummus
1 – Mustard
1 – Heinz Ketchup
4 - No Yolks Noodles (WOW! 4 cents each!!)
3 - Cake Mixes (WOW 30 cents each!)
3 – Mustard (WOW 25 cents each!!)
4 – 24oz blocks Cheese
1 – Avocado
3 – Sargento Salad Finishers
4 – Bertoli Frozen Meals
5 – McCormick Grill Mates Spices (FREE FREE FREE!!)
2 – Sunday Papers

Total Out of Pocket $156.17
after sales and coupons I saved 51% - $166.38

Week of 3/29 - Wallgreens Wrap Up

I'm still getting the hang of the Wallgreens Register Rewards thing. I think it's a bit of a pain because you have to make multiple purchases, BUT CVS limits how many times you can get a sale price by tracking your Extra Care card... Wallgreens doesn't. So you can get the sale as many times as you like... as long as you're willing to go BACK to Wallgreens multiple times.

Here's what I found this week... and it was nothing stellar, so don't get your hopes up. :)

2 – Nestle Easter Eggs
5 – Soft Soap Body Wash
2 – Pringles
2 – Quaker Granola Bars
2 – Cottonelle Fresh Wipes
1 – Bic Disposable
1 – Chapstick
1 – Halls Cough Drops
4 – Cottonelle 4 packs

Paid $17.25 OOP

Savings of $52.69 after sales and coupons – 76%

I think it's important to note that I needed to buy the Cottonelle items and Easter Basket fillers. Those alone would have cost me $22.00. CRAZY!

Week of 3/29 - CVS Wrap Up

This was a quickie week at CVS. There wasn't much I wanted that they had on sale and probably wouldn't have gone even for the free mascara if I hadn't been right next to it at Starbucks.

Here's what I bought...

2 - Rimmel Mascaras
2 - Sally Hansen Nail Polish
3 - bags of Easter M&Ms
2 - 99 cent Magazines

$7 OOP

saved $28 with sales and coupons = 80%

Week of 3/29 - Rite-Aid recap

This week for me at Rite-aid was really just about one thing... Allergy Medicine.

My family needs Zyrtec. It used to be prescription only with a $20 co-pay for us. When Zyrtec went on sale over-the-counter, it didn't really help financially. What had been a $20 co-pay for 1 month, became $25. Now that zyrtec has an over-the-counter generic equivalent... it's going to be a LOT easier to afford allergy medicine for the 3 people in my house (Thing-1 & Thing-2 also take it). And was even MORE affordable due to some savvy shopping and coupon-chic!

Here was my deal of the week with Rite-aid.

Rite-aid's generic Zyrtec was on sale Buy One/Get One Free (BOGO) for the 120 count at a price of $32.99. They ALSO have a rebate of $20 for selected medication purchases over $50, which included Zyrtec OR the generic equivalent. I had coupons for $5 off of a $25 purchase at Rite aid, so here's how things went...


Purchase 1

$32.99 for 120 tablets
$0.00 for 120 tablets (BOGO)

Total $32.99
Less $5.00 coupon
$27.99 plus tax for 150 tablets*


Purchase 2 (I broke it into 2 transactions so that I could use 2 of my $5 off of $25 coupons)

$32.99 for 120 tablets
$0.00 for 120 tablets (BOGO)

Total $32.99
Less $5.00 coupon
$27.99 plus tax for 150 tablets*

REBATE of $25.00 for purchasing $50 or more of allergy products

Total after rebate $30.98

For about $4 more than I would have paid for 30 tablets of brand name Zyrtec, I was able to get 600 tablets*!!!!!!!!!! Enough for the 3 of us for over a year and a half

* they were sold out of the 120 pkgs, so rather than giving me a rain-check, they substituted 2 boxes of 60 count... which happened to have a bonus of 15 tablets in each box making my 4 - 120 count boxes turn into 600 tablets! )

Week of 3/29 - Publix Recap

Time for a shopping week-in-review. Most of my real grocery shopping was done at Kroger this week, but there were some good BOGOs (buy one get one free) at Publix and a few good deals at drug-stores too.

I'm still tabulating Kroger and the drug-stores, but here's the Publix summary of the week.

Publix Savings for week of 3/29/09

Here's what I bought...

1 - Lysol Cleaner
2 - Newmans Own Cereal (I've never tried it, but for less than $1... I'll give it a go)
2 – Muffin Mix
1 – Chocolate Cake mix (1.65)
1 – Chocolate Frosting (1.35)
2 - Publix Salad Dressing (penny item of the week)
2 - Baking Cups
1 - Eggs
1 lb apples
1 - Pam
2 - Fiber Plus Granola Bars
1 pint - Blueberries (5.00)
1 - Nesquick (6.00)
Bubble Yum (1.19)

$28.22 OOP (out of pocket) after sales and coupons

saved $22.97 = 45% savings

Note: I spent 15.19 on non-sale splurge items for Thing One who was with me... he needed some treats (like the blueberries, gum and Nesquik...and I needed to make cupcakes... should have waited a week for that...cake stuff is all on sale this week!) BOY did those extras effect my bottom line savings!!! I guess we save, so that we can splurge! :)

It's a new blog... and a new purpose!

This blog is to share my wonderful finds and deals du jour.

I've been saving SO much money lately... and that's even considering we're hardly eating out anymore! I've bought my kids more snacks than ever (because we seem to be feeding lots of friends these days) and I'm STILL spending less per week than I would have prior to this system.

And that's not even mentioning all the freebie or near-freebie things I'm getting from the drugstores!!! I might be the girl in line ahead of you that you're rolling your eyes at due to the stack of coupons she has.... but I'm also the girl who just paid $1.25 for a basket full of stuff!

I couldn't do it without Jenny from Southernsavers.com who provides most of this info. All I do is put her plans into motion with my own tweaking. I'll share my plans/successes/failures here and hopefully my shopping strategies will help someone as much as Jenny has helped me!

I'll share my plans later... will leave you in suspense for now....