She Shops... She Scores!

2010 Christmas Cards Done!! Thanks to Shutterfly!

2010-11-30T19:39:00.008-05:00

Seasonal Chic Noir Christmas Card

Get custom photo Christmas cards online at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

I finished up our 2010 Christmas card!! What a relief!

I was so impressed by all the choices at Shutterfly.com. They turned out great! Here's all the cool features I was really impressed by:

1) Tons of designs, sizes, colors, and more. I really wanted to try out the cardstock photo card, so that's what I went with. I wanted to keep it simple, but they even have cards that you can turn into a "Storycard" and add details about the year and so on! Very cool.

2) Editing! I was able to crop, reduce red eye and add color choices, like black & white, sepia, and so on! I love having these options, because you never know when you might need them, or when you just want to add a cool effect to your card.

3) Again, I loved the ability to be able to have Shutterfly.com stamp and mail the cards for me, if I needed that. I didn't do it, this time, but what an awesome service.

I love how my card turned out and I really appreciate the offer to get 50 for free! What a deal! I hope you take some time to check them out too! You will be amazed!

Black Friday with Rite Aid!!

2010-11-27T20:10:00.006-05:00

I know that title sounds weird, and definitely not the first place you would think of going on this busy shopping day! But to me, it was! Rite Aid has replaced my love of CVS. They are doing a similar program to Extra Bucks, called +UP Rewards, AND they have online coupons and money off ($/$$) coupons, so they have won my heart. Sorry CVS, it was fun while it lasted.

I almost went to Rite Aid on Thanksgiving (11/25) but decided I would wait because the Holiday Gift of Savings didn’t start until 11/26. So I exercised some shopping patience, and it paid off! (The Holiday Gift of Savings is where you spend so much at Rite Aid, and in return you get a gift certificate for up to $20!)

I made 3 stops at 3 different Rite Aid, all within a 5 or so mile radius. I prefer to go to a couple different stores, than do multiple transactions and wear out my welcome at one store. Since they are relatively close, that’s the way I like it.

My first transaction, I decided to get only UP+ reward items, with the least out of pocket.

*3 box of Kleenex $1.88 each, Get 1 UP each. Used 2 $1 on 3 (Oct/Nov) Video Value Q’s, 1 $0.50 coupon. $3.14 for 3, Get back 3 UP.
*2 boxes of Cottenelle wipes $1.88 each, Get 1 UP (didn’t get Ups—didn’t realize it was a limit of 3) Used $1 off 2 VV Q, minus $0.50/2 manu. Q. $2.26 for 2. (If I would have realized it was a limit, I may not have gotten them, but my mom said she wanted some to send in a care package, so I'll pass them onto her.)
*1 Conair Hair Dryer $9.99, Get 5 UP. Minus $1 from my 10% off Rite Aid coupon, minus $5 coupon from the Clip and Save booklet. $4.99 Get 5 UP.
*4 Dial Hand Soaps $0.99 each. Minus 4 $1 Clip & Save coupons. Free.
*2 Colgate toothbrushes $1.77 each, Get 1 UP each. Minus 2 $1 VV Q’s. $0.77 each, Get $1 UP each.
*2 bags of Halls cough drops. $0.99 each. Used 2 $0.50 VV Q’s, minus $1/2 man. Q. Free.
*1 box of Sinex $4.99, Get 2 UP. Minus $4 man. Q. $0.99 Get 2 UP.

I also used a $4 off a $20 purchase VV Q, plus 2 $1 UP coupons I already had. Without coupons, my total was $32.86. After coupons, my new total was $5.86! Plus I got back $12 in UP rewards to use at my next stop…

I then used my $12 UP’s to get more stuff, and earn more UP’s, and so on and so on!! I rolled them at Store #2:

*4 boxes of Fruit Loops $1.99 each, get $1 UP each. Used 2 $1/2 coupons. $5.96, Get 4 UP.
*2 candy bars 2/$1, Get 1 UP.
*Conair Hair Dryer $9.99 Used $5 Q. Paid $4.99 Get 5 UP.
*Ducolax $7.99, used $8 off coupon. Free.
*1 Vaseline Lotion $2.99, used $1 coupon. $1.99, Get 2 UP.

Total before: $29.93. No $/$$ coupons. Minus Q’s and 12 UP’s. Paid $0.93. Got 12 more UP!

Off to my last store… (I stopped at the library to get a $5/$25 coupon.)

*2 candy bars. $1/2, Get 1 UP.
*2 Conair dryers. $9.99, used 2 $5 coupons. Paid $9.98, Get 10 UP.
*1 Philips in-ear headphones. $4.99, Get $4.99 Rebate.
*1 Got 2 Be hairspray $4.99, minus $2 coupon. Paid $3.99, Get $4.99 Rebate.

Total before $30.96, minus $5 off and other coupons, and $12 UP. Paid $0.96, got 11 UP.

Decided to run back in and get some pop.

*3 packs of Coke products. 3 for $9.99, Get 2 UP.
*4 candy bars. 2/$1, get 1 UP. Paid $2, Get 2 UP.

Total before $11.99, Used my $11 UP, paid $0.99. Got 4 UP.

ALL IN ALL, I bought $105.74 of product. After coupons and +UP rewards (I only started with 2 +UP) I ended up paying $8.74! I saved $97!! What??

THE BEST PART of it all, since I spent over $100, I GET A $20 GIFT CERTIFICATE from the Holiday Gift of Savings program! That totally rocks!

AND EVEN BETTER… I’ll get (2) $4.99 rebates (a $9.98 check in the mail) for the two items I got on rebate! Now that's a load of good Black Friday deals!

It's time to check out Shutterfly.com!

2010-11-22T14:25:00.009-05:00

I’ve been selected, as a blogger, to get 50 Free Shutterfly Holiday cards! In order to receive the cards, I am going to share some of my favorites from their website!

First off, I’m so excited!! For the past 3 Christmases I’ve had a wonderful and exhausting time putting together a Christmas card with my son Cooper in it. I enjoy getting the picture. (Although it seems like after the age of 2, it gets harder!) The hard part is figuring out a format or design to put the picture in for the card.

Shutterfly has made it SO easy!

1) The selection is endless! Shutterfly has stationary photo cards on cardstock, folded photo greeting cards, matte or glossy photo paper greeting cards and NEW photo stationary cards--all with the most amazing and creative designs. Much better than my brain could ever come up with!

2) Envelopes are included! I don’t know why that’s such a big deal to me, but it seems like every year I’m scrounging around the stores looking for the correct sized envelopes to go with the cards I’ve made. I don’t need that, especially with all the other holiday activities going on.

3) Shutterfly will even ADDRESS, STAMP AND MAIL my invitations to everyone on my list! What? The website says they can stamp and mail any quantity of individual cards directly to your recipients for an additional $0.99 (domestic) or $1.49 (international) per card. What a great service, especially if you are in a time crunch!!

I’ve decided I’m going with the 5x7 stationary photo cards on cardstock. I have only done photo paper cards in the past, so I think this will be a cool look. Plus I prefer the flat card that can be hung on the refrigerator easily. My relatives seem to like the cute picture on their fridges too.

I don't know how to show you the card I particularly like (though it may change) but if you click HERE you can see it. It's very simple and elegant. I like the colors a lot and the design with the 3 pictures is great to show off Cooper. :)

So, needless to say, you HAVE to check out all the possibilities on Shutterfly for your holiday cards! Go HERE to find the perfect one for your family!

Just for signing up at Shutterfly.com, you automatically receive a credit for 50 free 4x6 prints! You can’t beat that!

P.S. Don’t forget to check out the other awesome photo gifts Shutterfly has to offer. Last year, my dad absolutely LOVED his photo mug I got him with Cooper all over it. He said he didn’t want to use it, because he was afraid he’d break it. :) I had to promise him I’d him another one if that happened. What a great grandpa!

Free Product Coupons ROCK!

2010-11-12T13:44:00.004-05:00

Rite Aid 11-12-10

I've devised a new plan to get cheap stuff lately at Rite Aid. Awhile back in the paper there was an ad in the coupon section for "Try It Free" Ducolax Balance laxative. I KNOW, I KNOW. Not a pretty thing to be stocking up on. But it's free and it's worth $8. So when I am able to find 2 at Rite Aid (that's almost $16 worth of product) and then I can add at least $4 more worth of something I need (TP, paper towels, laundry detergent). Plus if I have any other coupons for the products, I can them and use my $4 off a $20 purchase coupon I earned at riteaid.com through their Video Values and I have pretty close to FREE stuff! Just pay tax, basically. I haven't had a lot of luck with free TP or paper towels lately, so I stocked up on Bounty, Scott and Brauny this week.

The Dulcolax coupon is HERE: http://www.dulcolaxusa.com/freeoffer/ and you can print 2 per computer. We don't have internet at home right now, but these coupons are through SmartSource and I can actually print them at the library without being blocked. And since the library has multiple computers, I can usually print two off each visit. I'll take it! I just need to earn some more $4 off $20 coupons! :)

Kroger: Cereal Sale 10-28-10

2010-11-02T14:28:00.000-04:00

Oh, Kroger. You sweetheart.

I hit Kroger to try the cereal deal going on. (Buy 4 participating General Mills cereals, get $6 off your order.) It was heavenly. I only had 4 coupons, so it was a quick trip. But, don’t you worry, I’ll be back (after I print lots of coupons at my parents house tonight…) Here’s what I did:

3 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch. $2.99 each, minus 4 $0.55 coupons, doubled. $1.99 ea
1 box of Cheerios. $2.99, minus $1 coupon. $1.99.

Minus $6 off for the promotion.
Minus 3 $0.55 Cellfire/Shortcuts coupons (loaded online to my Kroger Plus card)
Was: $11.96, New Total: $0.31!! for 4 boxes of Cereal!
Plus they each have Box Tops ($0.40 for his school) on them for Cooper’s school to use. Love it.

Kroger Frozen Food Sale 10-24-10

2010-11-02T14:25:00.001-04:00

(Sorry I'm a little slow to posting this one.)

Our freezer has been empty for awhile now.  So I was determined to get to Kroger tonight to hit the Frozen Food (Buy 10, Get $5 off) Sale they have going on through the 31st. Cooper went with me and rode in the race car cart. Love those things. We were in and out really fast, since I took some time during naptime to get my coupons organized and ready. Sometimes I feel like I’m in the store for an eternity when I spend a lot of time rifling through my coupon binder. Sometimes I enjoy it, if it’s just me. But I can’t afford to do that with a 3 year old in tow (and only 1 snack). He was really good, though. But, I’m sure you know, if you have kids (or have witnessed them in stores) that things can go downhill pretty quickly.  Here’s how we did:

3 Freshetta Pizzas. $4.48 each, minus 3 $1 coupons.
2 boxes of Gorton’s Fishsticks. $3.49 each, minus 2 $0.50 coupons, doubled.
5 Marie Calendar meals. $2.18 each, minus 1 $1.50/4 coupon, and one $0.50/1 coupon.
2 Hungry Man meals. $2.28 each, minus 2 $2 off coupons.
7 Healthy Choices meals. 4 @ $1.89 and 3 @ $2.18, minus 2 $1 off 2 coupons, 2 $0.50/1 coupons, doubled, and 1 Buy 5, Get 1 Free coupon.
1 Banquet Family meal. $2.28, minus $1 off coupon.

After the 2 $5 off promotions and my coupons, my new total was $22.69! Nice. And now our freezer is jam packed for awhile. What I bought is basically 6 dinners for the whole family and 14 individual lunches!

I told myself on the way home to snap a picture, but then I got home and started putting things away before I remembered. I didn’t have the energy to take everything out again for a picture.

Swagbucks is Simple!

2010-10-27T14:46:00.007-04:00

Swagbucks is a search engine website that rewards you for using it. There are many ways to earn Swagbucks. Once you get started, take some time to explore.

Here’s my advice for making Swagbucks work for you, without much effort!

1. SIGN UP! Have you joined Swagbucks yet? If not, check it out… (Do me a favor though, and sign up HERE (www.swagbucks.com/refer/ssssbecky) so I get some referral Swagbucks. I’ll explain later.) You get 30 Swagbucks just for signing up!

2. REMIND YOURSELF! Once you sign up, add Swagbucks to your homepage, toolbar or Favorites. This will remind you to use it. Once you get into the habit of using Swagbucks, you’ll be able to earn more quickly. Swagbucks has its own “Toolbar” that you can download. It’ll show up at the top of your internet window. Sometimes you earn a Swagbuck just for using it.

3. DO WHAT YOU ALWAYS DO! Now, instead of going to Google or Yahoo or where ever you go to search online, go to “Swagbucks” and start there instead. You will randomly earn Swagbucks as you search. Usually 6-10 at a time. Once I got 49, for some reason, all just for typing in a website name and clicking “Search!” Depending on how much you are online, you can get them multiple times in the day.

So even if I know what internet address I want to go to (like yahoo.com to check my email) I type it in Swagbucks and then click the link through them. It's a small extra step, but you could earn Swagbucks by doing it. It’s as easy as that!

4. SHARE! To me, this is the best way to earn!! Once you sign up for Swagbucks, tell friends about it! Give them your referral link—you’ll find this under you account information. It’s usually something like “swagbucks.com/refer/yourswagbucksname”. They will get 30 Swagbucks for signing up, and then once they start earning, you get the Swagbucks too! Just because you referred them! The first 1,000 Swagbucks they earn from searching, YOU EARN TOO! That’s awesome!!

Other (More Complicated) Ways to Earn, IF you have the time:

Swagbucks offers other “Ways to Earn” if you want to put more time and effort into accumulating Swagbucks faster. Most of these are found under the “Ways to Earn” at the top of the Swagbucks homepage.

• Daily Poll: Taking the Daily Poll will earn you 1 Swagbuck. Pretty easy.

• Swagbucks TV: When you watch the offered videos, you can randomly earn Swagbucks. This takes time (but you can start the video and open a new window—so you don’t have to just sit and watch.) When I have done this, I have randomly earned 5 Swagbucks a couple of times. This is a new feature (and I’m not particularly impressed with it.)

• Surveys: Answer questions on varying survey topics. You do not automatically qualify, even if a survey is listed on your page. This takes time, usually 10-20 minutes, but some surveys are worth up to 150 Swagbucks if you qualify.

• Special Offers: Special offers vary in levels of participation and reward. Some are simple and just involve giving out your name and email address. Some are more complicated, requiring credit card information, purchasing a product, downloading an application, etc. I have only done the ones that just want my name and an email address, which usually give 10-40 Swagbucks. I use a “junk” email address where I don’t mind getting lots of extra emails.
**Disclaimer: To me, Special Offers is the least dependable way to earn Swagbucks, but it is getting better. When I first started, the Swagbucks would not always be credited to my account. Now with most of the offers, you can check your status and file an inquiry if you did not receive your Swagbucks. Also, pay attention to the wording of the offer. They have gotten better about being specific on exactly what you have to do to earn the reward.

• Codes: Swagbucks will also randomly give out “Swag Codes.” Swagbucks has a page on Facebook which is a good way to keep track of new codes. You enter them into the “Gimme” spot on the Swagbucks homepage, and they award you the Swagbucks. There is also a “Widget” you can add to your blog to see if there is a code available. Codes expire quickly, and I seem to find them just a couple minutes too late, so I don’t put much effort into finding them. I like it when I do, though.

AND MORE--Browse through the "Earn" tab up at the top of the Swagbucks page. They recently added coupons, so when you print them and use them, you can Swagbucks. Cool.

Moral of the Story: Even if you only use Swagbucks to search or go to websites, it would be easy to earn enough to get a $5 gift card a month. Then you’d have $50-60 in amazon.com gift cards (or whatever you want to spend your Swagbucks on) in a year. Hey, google.com doesn’t give me anything to Google, so I might as well use Swagbucks and get something back!

Remember: Use this link: www.swagbucks.com/refer/ssssbecky to get started!! You’ll get 30 Swagbucks for signing up! I hope that helps! Thanks!!

CVS Trip 10-5-10

2010-10-07T13:16:00.002-04:00

I wanted to get to CVS today to use my $7 off a $15 Revlon CRT (abbreviation for Cash Register Tape) that printed from the Coupon Center at CVS last week. Last week there was a deal on Revlon too but I chose to wait until this week because… it was a moneymaker!! Last week, I would have used my $5 Extra Care Bucks (ECB) and gotten 6 back. This week, I almost doubled my ECBs! Here’s what I did:

**5 Revlon nail polishes $3.99 each. Used my $7/$15, minus 5 $1 off any Revlon product coupons (I found these at CVS in the beauty section. So what was $19.95, became $7.95. Then I received 3 ECBs for each polish! 3x5= 15 ECBs!
**1 Glade Air Freshener $1.69. Minus a $1.50 off any Glade product CRT. $0.19.
**2 pairs of “Halloween” socks. (I chose the striped ones with Halloween colors, without any Halloween pictures.) 2/$5. Minus a $5 off any Halloween costume, accessory or decoration. Free!

My total was $26.64. Minus all my coupons, it came to $8.14! I had a $7.50 in ECBs, so my new total was $0.64!! Oh, yeah. And I got back 15 ECBs for the future. I haven’t had a good ECB return in awhile so I was pumped. The male cashier was excited for me too, so that was nice.

Bonus: I will probably use the nail polish and the fuzzy socks for stocking stuffers for Christmas, so that’s a nice small extra gift that didn’t cost me much at all! (I know it’s only Oct. 5th, but it’s not too soon to think about Christmas shopping, especially when you need to be thrifty about it!)

Rite Aid Trip 10-4-10

2010-10-07T13:09:00.003-04:00

Today I hit Rite Aid after I picked Cooper up from school. Target was not kind to me, so I went to Rite Aid for the affirmation I was looking for. :P

Cooper was armed with a snack and was a very pleasant shopping buddy! Always a good thing!

Huggies were on sale for $7.99, plus coupons, and I wanted to pick up a package for a baby shower. I also wanted to grab some other things to make my total at least $25 so I could use my $5 off a $25 purchase coupon. Rite Aid has had some kickin’ deals lately so it was easy to do! Here’s how it went down:

**1 pack of Huggies Size 1 diapers. $7.99, minus a $2 manufacturer’s coupon, minus a $2 Rite Aid Video Value coupon. New price: $3.99.
**1 Schick Hydro Razor. $5.99, minus a $4 man. Coupon, minus a $2 VV coupon. New price: Free. 1 Bounce Dryer Bar. $3.99, minus $0.75 coupon. $3.24, get back $1 UP reward coupon.
**2 packs of Dixie Paper Plates. 2/$4. Minus 2 $1 Rite Aid Clip & Save coupons. Final price: 2/$2, plus earn a $1 UP reward.
**2 York Peppermint Patties 2/$1, minus $0.50/2 VV coupon. Final price 2/$0.50.
**1 Oral B Toothbrush. $2.69. Minus $0.75 man. Coupon, minus $1 Clip & Save coupon. Final price: $0.94, plus earn a $2.69 Up reward.

The total was around $29. With all my coupons and the $5/$25 coupon, I paid around $8-$9, which includes tax!! Plus I got back $4.69 in UP Rewards, which is like cash to use on my next purchase! I was very pleased. That’s about the regular price for the pack of diapers!! So the rest was just a bonus. Rite Aid is in the running to be my new CVS!!

A Strike Against Target 10-4-10

2010-10-07T13:05:00.002-04:00

No, I’m not going on a Target strike (although I have gone on several store strikes in my lifetime). But I do want to complain about them.

Yesterday I was in Target. We needed trashbags and I had a $1 off an Up&Up (that’s the Target brand name) product coupon. Plus I saw in the ad that the Shark Portable (Handheld) Steamer was advertised for $99, and get a $20 gift card. I’ve been wanting to get one, and when I bought my Shark Steam Mop, they did the same $20 gift card deal, so I knew that it would come back. I just had a feeling! Well, voila, here it was. Also, I decided to do a “Price Match” on the Bounce Dryer Bars that are on sale at Rite Aid, because I had a manufacturer’s coupon AND a Target coupon, so I thought I’d get a better deal this way. I was wrong.

Target recently has advertised that they will “Price Match” exact items from competitor’s ads for the same week. So after my regular check out, I took my Bounce Bar up to the Customer Service (they can’t do it at the regular check out for some reason—boo.) :P The lady came to help me. The only problem was that Rite Aid wasn’t listed as a competitor, even though CVS and Walgreens were both on the list. So this prompted the nice and willing cashier to have to ask her supervisor. Who was very rude from the get-go. Boo. The first cashier asked “Would they be a competitor?” “I wouldn’t think so” said the second, in a rude voice. Then she didn’t believe me that the price or product was correct. I read her the ad. She looked and looked at it (trying to find some reason NOT to let me have the deal.) She finally said that because I have to use my “Wellness Card” at Rite Aid, and it was a special “Wellness Card” deal, that Target couldn’t give that price. Bull-ogna. (Like bologna, but with my bull!)

So, the moral of the story, TARGET—don’t offer this great “Price Matching” if you can’t handle it! Because someone out there will blog out it! And someone else, may just start a Target strike. (It could have possibly been me, but I have a $20 Target gift card I need to use!)

I'm Bringin' Thrifty Back

2010-10-07T12:44:00.003-04:00

Ok, it’s time to get my thrifty back on!! I don’t know where I’ve been, other than everywhere. And all the time. I’ve been going non-stop since June, but now I feel like I can and WANT to get back to blogging. I love deal shopping and I love writing about it (for some reason??) so here I am again.

I scored some Mega sales over the summer, many dealing with diapers! Score! Back in May, I guess, I scored with many packs of Huggies. They switched the packaging and they went to 75% off at CVS. Remember that?? Plus there was a $3 coupon, or something like that out, so they were basically $1.49 or less!! Depending if you had any CVS coupons for Huggies. It was awesome. And I was mildly obsessed with it. J I shopped until I ran out of coupons.

Then, in August, Amazon.com did the Diaper Deal of the Century! 95% off of their boxes of Pampers diapers!! Again, I become obsessed. For the deal to fly, I had to round up orange insert cards from the August or September issues of Parents or Parenting magazines. Which resulted in the Great Library Tour of 2010. I hit up almost all the Dayton Metro Library libraries, plus a couple more. I ended up buying… wait for it… wait for the crazy… 19 boxes of diapers. Yes, 19. With the coupons (you could use 3 different amazon.com coupons, plus Pampers had a $1-2 coupon on amazon.com) the boxes were between $2.50-$4.19. And this is the LARGE box of diapers. Regularly priced around $35-$40. Can you believe that?? I got Cooper 6 boxes I believe. I got 3 boxes for my preggo BFF (a box of Huggies Size 1, 2 and 3). The rest that I bought, I sold! I was going to keep some, but we needed the dough, so I sold them for a nice profit. I roughly estimate that I spent about $60 for all 19 boxes. The ones I sold brought me in about $230.

Ok, so anyway, I’m going to be better about posting my deals. Because I love it. The clipping, the sorting, the shopping, the saving, the bragging about it. :P Just kidding. But it’s something I like, a hobby, and a major blessing, all in one. And if I can help anyone find blessings, I’m happy to do it!

Almost 2 months!

2010-02-21T00:09:00.003-05:00

Well, I promise you, it hasn't been 2 months since my last deal. :) I've just had some serious computer problems and so on, so I've been a little behind in posting. But, we now have High Speed internet (I know, welcome to the 21st century) and I will now be able to download pictures, again, too!

I've had two great diaper scores in the last week or so. For some reason, I get a little stressed when I'm running low on diapers. I guess it's the fear that I may have to pay $8-10 for a pack of diapers. NOOOO! :)

Last week, Rite Aid had Huggies on sale for $8.99. I had been saving my Holiday Gift of Savings check ($20) for awhile now, waiting for the right price and time. I picked up 4 packs. I had (4) $2 off Huggies manufacturer's coupons, plus (2) $1 off Rite Aid Video Values Huggies coupons, and also a Video Values $5/$20 purchase coupon. My total before coupons was $37+. After my $20 rebate check, my $8 in manu Q's, $5 off, and $2 RA coupons, I paid $1.77! NOT BAD! I also will enter my receipt and get $3 back for the Huggies Single Check Rebate award. I will take it! What a blessing!

Then yesterday, I was reading Money Saving Mom's post about a good deal on Pampers from diapers.com. I tweeked it a little bit for my own benefit, and ended up paying $32 for 179 diapers, plus I'll get a $15 rebate back! Here's how it all happened:

I was reading the post, which gives a code (SAVEMOM) for $10 off your order. But I remembered that I received an email awhile back from diapers.com that said something like "Buy Pampers, and take $10 off your order, plus get 500 Pampers Gift to Grow points." I had never ordered from diapers.com so I thought, "Well, both the deals give me $10 off, but why not take the 500 points while I'm at it." IN ADDITION, I checked out my Pampers Gift to Grow points, which I had added to recently, and I was around 1100 points. I searched through the awards catalog, and for 1000 points, you could buy a $10 gift certificate to diapers.com. I made sure that I could use both the promo code (10PAMPERS) AND the gift certificate, buying looking in the Help section at diapers.com and the answer was YES!

So here's what I did: I put a Extra Large Case of Pampers "Baby Dry" in my cart, and also clicked that I wanted to use the $1.50 off "ecoupon". I then added a jumbo pack of Huggies "Little Movers" which also had an ecoupon for $2 off (even though I usually buy the Snug and Dry because you get more in a pack--but I wanted to be able to use the $2 off coupon.) My total was around $52. Minus the Promo Code, Minus the Gift Certificate (the code for the GC showed up on the screen at pampers.com once I "bought" it). My new total was around $32. I printed out the rebate form, which I have 4 weeks to turn in) and so I'll get $14.97 from that!!

I probably wouldn't have paid $32 for 179 diapers, unless I got the rebate. I'm just so spoiled from getting my diapers by using Extra Bucks at CVS or other deals, like my Rite Aid ones. But with the $15 back, it will be only about $17 for the equivalent of about 6 packs of diapers. So that's worth it. And it will ease my diaper-stash stress. :)

Oh, and as soon as I checked out on diapers.com, my 500 Gift to Grow code popped up on the screen! So now I have 600 something points. Not to bad. I do not know if anyone can use the 10PAMPERS code, or if you can only use it if you got the specific email. ??? In the email, it said "Click here" for the deal and then the diapers.com page popped up, along with the message about "Order now and earn your 500 points" thing. But maybe you got the email too. Or I could forward you mine!! That might work. :)

Happy diaper shopping to you!! :) Hope you find some great deals this week!

Lots of Free Huggies!! :)

2009-12-22T21:08:00.002-05:00

I have been waiting for Huggies to go on sale at Rite Aid. I had a $20 Fall Gift of Savings certificate I have been wanting to use, but just couldn't stand to pay full price for Huggies. :) Here's what I did:

* 4 packs of Huggies Jumbo packs $8.99 each. Minus 4 $2 off coupons, minus 4 $1 off Rite Aid Video Values coupons. $5.99 each.
* 3 boxes of 24 count Tylenol Muscle/Pain $2.99, minus 3 $2 off coupons. $0.99 each.
* 1 bag of Sun Chips $0.99 (hubby's request)
* 1 GE lightbulb (sign said $0.99, but it rang up $6+) WHAT!! Will definitely be going to get my money back. I did use a $1 off coupon, so it was supposed to be free.
*1 box of Kleenex (280 count) $1.99, minus $0.75 coupon. $1.24.

My total was like $57. (which goes toward my Holiday Gift of Savings certificate that I can get up to $20 back for. I'm up to a $10 gift certifcate right now.)

I used a $5 off a $25 purchase coupon. Used my $20 Fall certificate and $7 I had left on my Rite Aid gift card. My total after all of that was $4.xx. Awesome! Had I caught the lightbulb slip up, I wouldn't have had to use all of my gift card--but believe me, I will take care of that asap.

Plus, I will get a voucher for a FREE pack of Huggies from Rite Aid. And I have a BIG pile of receipts I need to mail into the Caregivers Marketplace to get $0.75 back per pack of Huggies that I've purchased. It should be a pretty nice check I think. Maybe $30? I've been saving them up from all year... That would be nice. I don't know--I'll have to count it up and get back with you. :)

So, obviously, I was very happy when I walked out of the Rite Aid door, even paying $4, I thought that was awesome. Now knowing I get $6 back, I'm even happier! I could get another pack of diapers!

Happy holiday shopping! I hope you've had some time to get some good deals with all the hustle and bustle. Merry Christmas!!

Target: Price Matching 12-03

2009-12-03T23:03:00.002-05:00

Well, I decided to try out some "price matching" today for the first time. I have heard that Target has started doing this, so I was going to go for it. Target has their own "Target coupons" that can be combined with manufacturer's coupons, so I thought this would be a great way to save even more. It worked! It took a little extra time, but I was very happy with it. I wish I had a picture of my loot, but my computer is still not cooperating in that area. Use you imagination, I guess.

Upon gathering all my treasures, I headed to the check-out counter. The cashier was unsure of how to do this and a manager told me I had to go to customer service to do price matching. (I imagine since it's new, the cashiers are pretty oblivious about it still) The cashier at Customer Service was very nice, very friendly. A "Trainer" according to her name tag. She was repeatedly super-excited about my deals and savings. It was refreshing. :) Here's what I did:

3 boxes of Ritz crackers (I need these for a cookie exchange I'm doing--they are one ingredient) Target has them on sale for $2.49. BUT Kroger has them on sale for $1.99, so she adjusted the price. Then I had 2 $1 off Target coupons. 1 $1 off manufacturer's coupon, and 1 $1/2 manu. coupon. 4 boxes $1.97 total!

4 Glade Holiday scented oil candle tins and 1 scebed oil candle refill. Target has these for $2.50 each. PLUS if you buy 5, you get a $5 gift card. BUT Walmart has them in their ad for $2.25. And I used 5 $1.50 off manufacturer's coupons. $0.75 each ($3.75 total). Received a $5 Target gift card. (I am using these for gifts for teachers/etc. I've collected quite a few, cause I've been rolling these gift cards, so you may get one too.) :)

2 12 packs (Pepsi products). On sale for $3 each. This was about the best price around this week, that I saw, so I didn't do price matching for this. But I had 2 $1 off Target coupons. $2 each.

2 bags of M&M's (for upcoming gingerbread house making). On sale at Target for $2.49. BUT on sale at Walgreens for 2/$4. Also used a $1/2 manufacturer coupon making them 2/$3.

1 box of Wheatables. On sale for $1.99. Used $1.50 off coupon. $0.49.

1 pack of holiday pencils from the Dollar Spot. $1.00.

4 refill packs of Up & Up (Target brand) baby wipes. $0.97 each. Used 4 $1 off Target coupons (took $0.97 off each.) F-r-e-e.

I think that's it. My total before price matching and coupons would have been $37.85 or more.

After coupons, my total was $15, even. Plus I got a $5 gift card for next time! Sweet!

The cashier was astouded! It was kind of funny. She said she wanted to hang out with me shopping and kept telling the cashier next to her about it. I have had some semi-miserable experiences coupon shopping at Target, so this was nice.

Also, SC Johnson has a rebate going on right now that I can get a $5 rebate for purchased 3 SC Johnson products (GLADE!). And I can do the rebate 3 times! So, if I roll my gift card one more time.... let me add that up... carry the one... that $15 back in rebates. Very sweet. So, I will have to do just that.

Happy Shopping!

CVS: Huggies! 11/25 Trip

2009-11-25T16:44:00.002-05:00

We headed to CVS today after our appointments, and I came out with 3 packs of Huggies for under $3!! Total! Oh yeah.

They had a Huggies buy $20 worth, get $5 extra bucks. Not the best deal, at all, especially cause they were 2/$18.99, which is not quite $20! They get you every time! So I had to buy 3 packs, which we needed, but that means I have to spend more. :P But I had a $5/$30 coupon, plus 3 great Huggies home mailer coupons, (two $3's and a $2), so that helped. I had a $2/2 Gold Emblem snacks, so I used that to pump my total up over $30. After coupons, my total was around $17! I used $15 in Extra Bucks, so I only paid $2 something out of pocket! Nice. Plus I still hadn't used my "Holiday Spend $20, get $4 extra bucks" card, so I got a $5 ECB and a $4 ECB back, which helped lessen the blow of losing lots of Extra Bucks.

I feel like I'll do alright with the After Thanksgiving Sale at CVS, so I'll get my extra bucks up to a nice stash. Hopefully. There are a lot of free (after extra buck) items, plus I still have 2 $5/$30 coupons that I can use, so that will help also.

Side note: A friend and I are going to hit the Midnight Sale at the Jeffersonville outlets on midnight after Thanksgiving. We are both night owls and the thought of staying up late, rather than getting up at 4am, sounded like a great idea to us. So I will let you know if I score any good deals there. It'll be fun, either way. It sounds like it may be a cold one, though. Brrr.

Happy Shopping! AND Happy Thanksgiving!!

Target: Glade Holiday Collection Gift Card Deal

2009-11-16T18:12:00.003-05:00

I posted about my deals at Target in my last post, but I forgot to mention that it is STILL going on! In fact, the tags said it should be going on until 12/26! Wow! So there's lots of time to stock up on teacher gifts, stocking stuffers, etc. There are the Glade candles, scented oil tins, refills, etc. as long as they are part of the "Holiday collection."

The deal is Buy 5, get a $5 gift card. I'm pretty sure the items are priced at $2.50, unless that was a one week only price. There are lots of coupons (glade.com website, rightathome.com website, inside the scented oil tins, etc.) I found a Glade display at Walmart, in the center aisle, close to the frozen foods, and when you open the scented oil tins up, the coupons just fall out. I found several just floating around on the floor. The coupons in the tins are $1.50 off any scented oil holder or refill!

So if you buy 5 @ $2.50 each--$12.50, minus 5 $1.50 off coupons, that makes it $5.00 even, plus tax. Then you can keep rolling the deal as far as your coupons will take you. I really like the lighter green scented oil candles. They smell great. And the glass scented oil holders are very cute--they have presents on them, and will make great Christmas gift additions! Good luck!

Oh, if you are unsure about the deal, make sure it ring the item up at the price scanner. They should ring up $2.50 AND the scanner will actually say "Free $5 gift card" or something like that on the screen to the side, if it is a gift card deal item! That's a good tip to know for other gift card items too--I hate to buy something that I "think" is part of the sale, and then it doesn't ring up that way. It just makes checking out much more frustrating!

Happy Shopping!

Deals Around Town

2009-11-13T20:02:00.002-05:00

Did some quick shopping trips the last couple of days. Here's some highlights:

Target: The Glade "Holiday Collection" deal is going on--Buy 5 Glade Holiday items, get a $5 gift card. I've done it twice so far. You spend about $5 after coupons, for the first time. Then you get the $5 gift card, and keep rolling it. I'm piling up some nice stocking stuffers/teacher present sort of gifts, so that's cool.

Meijer: Chex Mix is $0.99, and there are a lot of $0.50/1 coupons out there, which makes it free. Ziploc containers and bags are under $2 this week, so if you have any of the $0.55/1 coupons or $0.50/1 coupons, they are under $1. I bought some of the Christmas containers to use to hold cookies for gifts. The girls in my family do a cookie making day and so I want to try and use my cookies for gifts to pass out to teachers, therapists, etc. for Cooper's school/doctor's appts.

Walmart: Hit the 90% off Halloween costumes rack! Just in time. I got a ninja costume, army man costume, 2 pirate shirts, and 2 cowboy shirts for about $4. The shirts are kind of like the "tuxedo t-shirt" type thing. They're cute and they all came with a bandana that matched. They were $0.50 each, so I got 2 in 3T and 2 in 4T. Might as well, even if it's for dress up. The ninja costume was $1, and the army man costume was $1.40, plus it came with a canteen and an army hat.

I think that's about it. It's nice to shop and not spend too much money. But feel like you got something worthwhile, even if it is for down the road. I love that.

Oh, plus I did the www.kodakgallery.com free $15 gift code. I used a couple emails and got a $2.99 total porcelain ornament with Cooper's picture on it, (for my mom) and a $5.99 total coffee mug, with several pictures on it (for my dad). They will like them a lot, and all I had to pay was shipping. So check that out, if you haven't. $2.99 for a personalized ornament is hard to beat, I think.

Hope you found some deals around town this week! Happy Shopping!

Rite Aid: 48 rolls of TP for $0.08!!

2009-11-12T10:40:00.002-05:00

Oh my. I'm still reeling from my Super TP Stock-Up '09. :) Rite Aid has Scott Toilet Paper 12 packs on sale for $6.99 this week. That's a great deal, since they are regularly $12.99. I almost bought them at that price last week (stupidly) cause we were running out and I had my $20 gift certificate to use. I didn't have the right coupons with me, so I resisted and boy, am I glad I did!!! Here's what I did:

4 12 pack rolls of Scott TP $6.99 each, minus 2 $1 off Scott Rite Aid coupons, minus 3 $1 off printable manu Q's, minus 1 $0.75 manu coupon (from the little coupon machine). $5.55 each.
4 pencils. 4/$1.
1 bag of clearanced Halloween candy for a filler, $0.64.

Total was $22+, but when she scanned my Fall Gift of Savings $20 gift certificate, it came up that she owed me $0.56! So that's why I threw in the candy at $0.64. Then I owed her $0.08!!!!

Nice. That TP will last us a LONG time. One roll of Scott TP lasts forever. 48 rolls, may last us a year! We'll see. Maybe not so long once Cooper is potty training. :)

So I didn't use my certificate on diapers, but this was very worthwhile to me. I do have one more, that my mom received at her house. So I am going to patiently wait on a good diaper sale and then pounce! :) Hope you had a good week! Happy Shopping!

A Happy Halloween from Rite Aid

2009-10-31T15:05:00.002-04:00

I didn't manage to do much of any shopping this week. I think I made two small quick trips to Kroger. One was $9+, one was $3+. So not much to brag about, other than I didn't spend much. But I got out of the house today, alone, ran some errands, and stopped at Rite Aid. I hadn't gotten the Huggies deal, which gives you a $3 rebate, so I knew I really wanted to do that before it was too late. I also wanted to use my $3 off a $15 purchase coupon, that was on coupons.com. I knew if I bought the Huggies for $9.99, I wouldn't have to spend too much to get that extra $3 off, so here's what I got:

1 pack of Huggies $9.99, minus $3 off Huggies mailer coupon, AND $2 off Rite Aid Video values coupon (I had printed them off when they were still available and never got to use them, so I was glad they didn't expire until today!) $4.99.
1 Glade plug-in. $1.79. Used a "Free Glade Plug-In" coupon, I found at Meijer by the weekly flyers (in a SC Johnson booklet). Free.
2 packs of GE Lightbulbs $2 for 2. $2.
2 Nestle Crisp bars for a filler. $0.88 each, minus $1 on 2 coupon (found at the Speedway gas station).

My total before coupons was around $16. Used my $3/15 coupon, and all other coupons.
New total: $4.75, plus tax!

I will get a $3 rebate back for the diapers, plus a $2 rebate for the lightbulbs, totalling $5! So I did pretty darn good!!

Plus I have a whole stack of Huggies diapers receipts that I am going to try and turn into that "Caregivers Market." I've never done it and am kind of leary of it, but I have a friend that does it and says it's easy, so may as well try. They give back $0.75 per pack of diapers that you buy. So I may end up being a millionaire. :) But really, I hope it works, cause I love when money comes in the mail!!

Happy Halloween! I hope you found some nice "treats" at the store this week!

Meijer Trip 10/23

2009-10-23T22:30:00.003-04:00

I spent WAY too much time at Meijer tonight. :P But I was alone and was hoping to fill up the cart for not too much money, so I spent my time shopping and searching for deals. I am trying, pretty successfully, to keep our weekly grocery budget down to $40. This doesn't include diapers, but I get my diapers at CVS mainly, or other drug stores where I can get them close to free, or earn my money back through gift cards and rebates. Like last week (or the week before maybe) I did two Rite Aid transactions to get two boxes of Pampers. I spent about $30 total for the 2 boxes, but I will get a $10 Rite Aid gift card for buying the Pampers, and then a $20 Rite Aid gift certificate. Which, in almost 100% certainty, I will use those two things to get... more diapers. :) So they really don't eat into our budget much at all. So anyways, here's what I got tonight at Meijer.

* 3 boxes of Valu-Time Mac-n-cheese (never tried it so we will see) $0.30 each.
* 1 Gerber 2pack of prunes with apples. (a must for my son's diet) :P $0.87.
* 2 cans of Valu-Time mushrooms $0.55 each
* 6 Weight Watcher yogarts, $0.55 each, minus 2 $0.55 off 2 coupons, doubled. (they wouldn't take my Buy 2 get 1 free coupon, even though I think they should have... am I right?) $1.30 for 6, which is not too bad, I guess.
* 1 bag of baby carrots, $1.29
* 2 20 oz bottles of Crush/Diet Crush $1.48 each, minus 2 $0.55 off 1 coupons, doubled. $0.48 each. (My new favorite place to find coupons is at the GAS STATION! I've found some nice, relatively high value coupons on drinks and snacks!)
* 1 pack Healthy Ones lunch meat $1.67, minus 1 $0.55 coupon, doubled. $0.67.
* 2 bags of Malt-O-Meal cereal, $1.99 each, minus 2 $0.55 coupons, doubled. $0.99 each.
* 2 packs of Weight Watcher ice cream cups, (2 per pack) $2.39 each, minus 2 $1 off coupons, minus 1 $1/2 Meijer Mealbox coupon. $0.89 each!! I love ice cream.
* 1 pack of Meijer brand Diet Cherry Soda $2.48.
* 1 box of Weight Watchers choc chip cookies $3.19, minus $1.50 off coupon. $1.69 (probably too much to spend, but sometimes I need a cookie.) :)
* 2 boxes of Barilla pasta $0.89 each, my coupon didn't work, but I had a $1/2 coupon. :P
* 12 boxes of Jello. $0.50 each, minus 4 $1.25 off of 3 coupons, (found these awhile back at Kmart) minus 2 $1 off 5 Meijer Mealbox coupons. Overage of $1. (My grandma uses a lot of Jello, so I'm going to help her make a stockpile.) :)
* 1 6 pack of Ramen noodles $1.09 (My husband always requests these, for some reason)
* 6 jars of Heinz gravy (doesn't expire til 2011) $1.29 each, minus 2 $1/3 coupons, minus 2 $1/3 Meijer Mealbox coupons. $3.74 for 6 jars. $0.62 each. I've never used it before, but I thought I'd try it for that price.
* 4 Kraft Natural chunk cheese $1.97 each, minus 2 $1/2 coupons. $5.88 for 4. $1.47 each. (With this deal, I was supposed to get a box of Nabisco snack crackers free... but I didn't!)
* 2 gallons of Vitamin D milk $1.59 each.
* 2 loaves of Aunt Millie's bread $1.00 each.
* 1/2 pack of apples $2.29.
* 1 box of Ritz crackers. $2.49, supposed to be FREE! I will get my money back, probably tomorrow while I'm out. I may return the pasta too, since I already have enough, and really only bought it because the coupon was making it cheap.
* 1 box of Ritz Crackerfuls, $2.49. I had a Buy a box of Ritz, get the Crackerfuls free, so they actually were free.
* 2 containers of John Morell Off the Bone lunch meat $2.69, minus 2 $0.75 coupons, doubled (found those at Kroger awhile back), $1.69 each.
* 1 frozen DiGiorno pizza $4.99, minus $1.50 coupon. $3.49.

My total after coupons was $43.65. My receipt says I saved $47.67. I will get my money back for the Ritz (-$2.49) so my new total will be $41.16. I only spent $17.00 on groceries last week, so I am not technically over budget.

Cool. I was talking with a friend, a stubborn friend who refuses to coupon shop and only goes to Walmart for her food purchases, but anyways, she was talking about how money was tight and how groceries add up so quickly. She says they spend $100 a week on groceries--for her, her husband and their 1 year old. Geesh. If only she would listen, and not make fun of, my coupon advice and efforts.

Oh well. I wouldn't do it any other way. :) I love my coupons, and I'm not ashamed. :)

Hope you had a great week and found some great buys! Happy Shopping!

More diapers, is always a good thing.

2009-10-14T00:40:00.002-04:00

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted a trip!

I've been busy trying to get the Rite Aid "Fall into Savings" receipts for I can get the $20 gift certificate. It is nice that you get credit for all that you purchase, even if you use coupons. I gathered several free product coupons that helped earn me some savings. Along with the $5/$25 coupon, I've been trying to use.

I decided to go for the Pampers "Buy $30, get $10 Rite Aid gift card" deal. I bought 2 boxes of Pampers $19.99 each. I split it into 2 transactions (different stores) and added free or almost free after coupon stuff (this week the Airwick's are almost free after coupons). So I spent about $15 each trip for the Pampers box and the other fillers. I'll add that to my Fall into Savings total, to earn the $20 gift certificate and then get the $10 gift card, so I should come out pretty close to even with what I spent to what I get back.

I also did the razor deal (I forget the brand--Magnum/M5?) Buy the razor at $6.99, get the 4 refill cartridge free. I used the $3 off razor coupon and the $3 refill coupon, so it was $0.99 for both! I did that twice. I'm hoping to make a trip to my parents to print off 2 more of each, so I can do it two more times! My hubby loves the nice razor/refills like that. You can't beat $0.99 for 1 razor and 5 total cartridges! Plus there's a $2 Rebate on them, I think, which I can do once. Hey, it's something. $2 is $2. :)

Well, that is all for now. I'm feeling good about replinishing my diaper pile. I HATE when I get down to just one pack left. It makes me uneasy. :) Like I'm scared that I'll have to pay full price, like in the olden days. :) But I can always fall back on my CVS Extra Bucks, I guess.

Hope you are finding good deals too! Happy Shopping!

Meijer: 1 Trip, 4 Transactions!

2009-09-18T21:57:00.002-04:00

I took a picture, but my computer is not cooperating. Sorry. I was all excited to show my picture, too. :( I'll work on it...

I hit Meijer this afternoon--and BOY, did I hit it! I was out by myself and I wanted to do the "Buy 5, Get $5 off" deal. BUT there's only a limit 1! So I just had to go crazy and do 3-4 trips. First, I went in and decided to get 5 things that could sit in the car, while I went and got more. :) Plus some other stuff.

**2 Kraft Dressings $1.58, minus 2 $1.50 coupons. $0.08 each.
**8 Kraft Mac-N-Cheese Singles, minus 2 $2/4 Meijer Mealbox coupons. $4 for 8.
**1 loaf of Meijer wheat bread $0.98.
**1 3lb bag of apples $1.29.
**5 boxes of 100 Calorie Snacks (Nabisco) $2.79 each, minus 5 $1 off Meijer Mealbox coupons, minus 2 $1/2 manu. coupons. MINUS $5 off 5 deal! $1.95!
**2 Healthy Choice Mixers 2/$5, minus 2 $2 off coupons. $0.50 each.

Total after coupons: $10.05
Saved $29.12.

I took that stuff out to the car and turned right back around. :) I had one more trip of things that didn't need refrigerated, so I went for it. I also needed some pop, so I did the Buy 2, Get 3 free deal.

**5 boxes of Kool-Aid Jammers $1.69, minus 2 $1/2 Meijer coupons (only 1 went through, though). $7.45 MINUS $5 off 5. $2.45.
**5 packs of pop (7-Up/Diet Rite brand) $3.98 each. Buy 2, get 3 free. $7.96 for 5 packs.

Total after coupons: $11.14.
Saved: $17.94.

I took all the drinks out to the car. I only wanted to make one more trip so I decided to do a back-to-back transition, cause I still had two $5 off transactions I wanted to do. Thankfully the Fast Lane was open and the check out guy was not mean about doing two transactions.

**1 pack of Weight Watchers ice cream cups $2.50, minus $0.55 off coupon, doubled. $1.50.
**1 box of Nabisco 100 calorie pack snacks $2.79, minus $1 off MMB coupon. MINUS $1 off, from the Buy 5, get $5 off. $0.79!
**2 packs of Kraft singles 2/$4, minus $1/2 manu coupon, minus $1/2 Meijer coupon. MINUS $2 off from the deal. FREE!
**2 Lunchables 2/$4, minus 2 $1 off coupon, minus $1/2 coupon (I don't think this worked). MINUS $2 off for the deal. Free.
**1 package of Healthy Ones lunch meat $1.67, minus $0.55 coupon, doubled. $0.67.

Total after coupons: $2.96.
Saved: $15.50.

Similar transaction, with the 2 Kraft singles, 2 Lunchables, but 1 Kool-Aid jammer instead of 100 cal packs. Singles: Free, Lunchables, Free, Jammers $0.69 after the $5 off/5 items.

Total with tax: $0.74.
Saved: $12.38.

And then I was done! I felt a little crazy doing 4 transactions, but it was my only chance. I knew if I attempted to do ANYTHING like that with my son, I've have no hair left and he'd have no voice left from screaming non-stop for an hour. :)

Totals for the day:
Spent $24.98 for all of the above.
Saved $74.94 on all of the above!

PLUS, GET THIS!!!!!!!!!!! I haven't done the Kraft Rebate deal! So I will save these receipts, plus make a quick trip tomorrow to get some more... 100 calorie packs, probably, cause I can print off some more $1 off Meijer Mealbox coupons, plus I have several more $1/2 manufacturer coupons I can use--from the Kraft coupon/calendar booklet I got in the mail. I should spend another $1.95 for 5 boxes. AND THEN! I'll send in for the $20 REBATE CHECK!! That will be AWESOME! If I added it up right, I spent about $10 on the items needed for the Rebate to work. So that's some major profit!

** You have to buy 10 Nabisco cookies or crackers (the 100 Calorie Packs count), plus 5 beverages (the Kool-Aid Jammers count), and 5 Easy Mac Single Cups to get the $20 rebate. So for 10 100 Calorie Packs it will be $3.90, plus $2.45 for the Jammers, plus $2.50 for the 5 Easy Mac cups. That's $8.85!! Wow! And I will get back a $20 check! What a deal. I'm so EXCITED! Plus the fact that I love the 100 Calorie Packs, my hubby loves the Kool-Aid, and my son loves the Mac-n-Cheese! What an awesome deal. I may just do 4 transactions again tomorrow! :) Maybe not. :)

Loaded up on J&J Baby Stuff!!!

2009-09-17T15:20:00.002-04:00

I decided to do the Johnson & Johnson "Buy... Get..." deal. I don't know exactly how it goes, but I bought 10 Johnson & Johnson Baby products, and I'll get $15 towards my Sept. Rebate! I got lucky and found most of the packs (Baby Wash, Head-to-Toe Wash, Baby Lotion, Baby Oil, etc) all had a smaller version of a J&J baby product attached, so I got some nice travel sized bottles (a little bigger though) along with the deal.

I bought 10 items, all $2.99 each for $29.90. Used the latest $5/$25 coupon, which took it down to $24.90. Used 10 $1 off J&J product coupons--mostly all from the J&J website. Which took my total down to $14.90! I will enter my receipts and get a $15 check back!

I still had $17.90 left of my $25 (Huggies deal) gift card, so I think I only paid like $0.50 with tax and everything. I don't have any baby showers coming up, but those would be nice gifts! But if not, we'll use them here, eventually, right?

Happy Shopping to you!

Loving Cheap Diapers!!

2009-09-12T14:55:00.002-04:00

I got out of the house today alone. My excuse was to go to the bank, which I did. But then I quickly visited CVS and Rite Aid! I got a Jumbo pack of Huggies at CVS for $1.16 out of pocket! And at Rite Aid I got a Mega pack for $7.10 off my gift card! Yippee! I'll break it down for you:

CVS Trip 9/12
**1 jumbo pack of Huggies $8.97, minus $2 off CRT, minus $1.50 coupon. $5.47.
**1 Life Lock trial kit $2.99. Get 2.99 ECBs back
**2 Crest with Scope toothpastes. $3.49 each, minus 2 $1 off coupons. $2.49 each, get back $2.50 ECBs for each one.
**1 Purell trial size hand sanitizer $1.49, minus $1 off CRT (filler to get over $20). $0.49.

Used $4/20 coupon, plus others. Total was around $11. Used a 10 ECBs, plus $1.16 out of pocket (tax). Got back $7.99 in ECBs! I forgot about the Life Lock ECBs, so I thought I was just getting back the $5 from the toothpaste. Pleasantly surprised. Great deal!!

Rite Aid Trip 9/12
**1 Mega pack of Huggies $14.99, minus $3 off coupon and $1 off Rite Aid coupon. $10.99.
**1 Accu-Check meter $9.99, minus $9.99 coupon. Free. (used this to get up to $25 so I could use my $5/$25 coupon.)
**1 Dawn dish liquid. $0.99, minus $1 off coupon. Free.

Used the $5/$25 coupon, plus other coupons. Total after tax $7.10. Will get $2 back in Rite Aid rebate check. Total came off my $25 gift card I received from the Huggies deal a couple months ago!! Yay! I'm hoping to get some of my money back in rebates or other gift card deals, so that will be awesome if I can.

So, it was a great day! My son hates going in CVS and Rite Aid (especially CVS) so I was glad to get the opportunity to run in without him fighting me. :) He does better with Meijer and Kroger, so we may tackle those sometime soon. Happy Shopping!

CVS Trip--8/30

2009-08-30T16:33:00.002-04:00

I made a run to CVS today. I went to one across town because I haven't been there lately, and they usually have Beauty Book coupons sitting out for anyone to take. Bummer, they didn't today, but I did hit some 75% off summer clearance. I don't usually go crazy with it until it's 90% off, so I just got a couple things I really wanted. Here it is:

** Glade Fragrance Collection reed difuser thing $6.99, minus $3 off coupon. $3.99, get back 6.99 in ECBs.
** 2 Bounce dryer bars $3.99 each, minus 2 $1.50 coupons. $2.49 each, get back 1ECB each.
** 2 "Beverage Totes" (will use to hold books in my son's room) Reg. $3.99 each, 75% off. $1.49 each.
** 1 Nemo kite (we're decorating my son's room in Nemo, so this will be cool hanging in the corner, I think.) Reg. $3.99, 75% off. $0.99.
** 2 Ice Packs (for the cooler, etc.) Reg. $1.99, 75% off. $0.49 each.
** 1 tub of Huggies wipes $3.49, minus $2 off CRT, $1 off coupon. $0.49.
** 1 $0.33 caramel to get my total over $25

Total was a little over $25, plus tax (stupid ECBs don't work on tax now.) :(
Used my last $5/$25 purchase (from quiz) plus other coupons.
New total $11 something, plus tax.
Used about $11 in ECBs, plus $1 something out of pocket (I need a new gift card!)
Got back 6.99 ECBs for Glade, 2 ECBs for Bounce.

Loss of 2 ECBs and $1 something out of pocket. But I'm excited to use the Bounce bars and see if they work. Plus, I'm really happy with my clearance items. The "beverage totes" match my son's room really well and I think he'll like Nemo in the corner. Good luck with your CVS deals this week!

A good Kmart trip--Doubles!

2009-08-22T23:53:00.002-04:00

I actually had a positive experience for Kmart Double coupons this week. I put off going until Friday. I wasn't even sure if I'd go, but Friday morning I rounded up some coupons and was excited to go. We really needed toilet paper, so that was my top priority. Here's what I got:

**12 pack of Charmin Basic toilet paper $6.50, minus $1 off coupon, doubled. $4.50.
**4 pack of Scott natural toilet paper $3.99, minus $1 off coupon, doubled. $1.99.
**2 jars of Welch's grape jelly 2/$4, minus 2 $0.75 off coupons, doubled. 2/$1.
**2 Irish Spring men's bodywash $3.99 each, minus 2 $2 off coupons, doubled. Free.
**2 boxes of Hartz dog biscuits $3.59 each, minus 2 $2 off coupons, doubled. Free.
**1 pack of Mott's singles applesauce $2.50, minus $1 off coupon, doubled. $0.50.
**2 roll pack of Bounty paper towel $2.79, minus $1 off coupon, doubled. $0.79.

Total before coupons was about $35.
After doubled coupons: $10.05!

I had a $5/$50 coupon, but I just didn't want to spend that much money, especially since I was only allowed 10 coupons total. (I hate that.) But for what I got, I was happy with the $10. I really like Scott toilet paper (one roll last forever!) and I thought I had another coupon for it, but oh well. I was very happy with my cashier. He was nice and took his time. (It helped that they had more than one lane open--which they don't always do.) I hope you had a good Kmart experience too! Happy shopping!

CVS Trip 8/16

2009-08-16T19:33:00.002-04:00

Cooper and I had to get out first thing Sunday to get to CVS to get some deals. Mainly, because I have a $23.97 ECB that expired today (8/16) and I REALLY needed to roll it before it was too late. That would be devastating to lose almost $24 in ECBs! I do know of a CVS that takes expired ones, if that would have happened, but I was glad I could get out today.

I wanted to get the 3-day sale items and be one of the first ones there to get them, so they 'd actually be there! I was the first ECBer that I noticed, but at least 2 more rolled it after me, not long after 10am when they opened.

First stop, I scanned my card at the coupon machine. Low and behold, a 10 ECB popped out! I forget that I took a CVS Advisory Panel survey (yay me!) and was awarded 10 ECBs for taking it! So that printed out today. Along with that I got one of the strangest $/$$ off coupons ever--$7 off a $49 or more purchase! Just weird. But I'll take it and see if I can make it work for me. :) So here's what I got:

** 2 PaperMate packs of black pens $0.99 each x 2, both gave back $0.99 each in ECBs.
** 2 packs of CVS filler paper $0.99 each x 2, both gave back $0.99 each in ECBs.
** 2 recycled plastic pencil boxes (? weird to me) $1.99 each, got back in $1.99 each in ECBs.
(couldn't find the mini-compositioin books, darn)
** 1 Phillips headphones $6.99, get back 6.99 in ECBs.
** 1 L'Oreal 24 hours, something or other, wrinkle/eye cream. $14.99, minus $5 off coupon. $9.99.
** 1 L'Oreal pore minimizing cleanser $5.99 minus $1 coupon. Got back $10 ECBs for buying the 2 L'Oreal items.
** 2 Johnson & Johnson First Aid kits, travel size. $0.99 each, got back 2ECBs for buying 2.

My total was $40+, I don't quite remember. I used my $5 off a $25 purchase from taking the www.cvs.com survey! And I used a $4 off a $20 facial care coupon, since I bought over $20 of the L'Oreal stuff. Minus the other coupons. The cashier adjusted my 23.97 ECB to 23.74 (I think) and I paid $0.42 total!!! Yay! Plus I got back $26.93 in ECBs--and this time they are a bunch of small ones and not one huge one! So it was a good trip. A small rise in ECBs, but if you include the 10 ECBs I got for the survey, it was an AWESOME gain! I love boosts in ECBs like that. I hope they ask if I'll take some more surveys, cuase that rocks! Hope you have a good CVS week too! Happy Shopping!

My Poetry Won a COUPON!!! To Old Navy!

2009-08-16T00:56:00.002-04:00

Last week, I was visiting www.swaggrabber.com (this is the site I use for deals, of course, but also I like to hang out in the chat room during Old Navy coupon nights). Well, I stopped by last week, and saw there was a contest to win a $50 off a $100 Old Navy coupon. You had to submit a poem to win, so I got my creative juices flowing. I seriously just typed in up in a matter of a minute or two (I am a notorious silly poem writer, from way back in my high school days). Here's what I came up with...

Oh Old Navy,
The one we love to hate.
We just want coupons,
But you make us wait.
3am, 4am, 5am and more.
Even when I’m there on time,
I don’t ever score
The coveted $70 off coupon.
To me it’s just a dream.
Old Navy you are so evil,
You make me want to scream.

Well, low and behold, I won one of the coupons! It turned out I was out of town visiting a friend (a fellow Old Navy fan.) We had gone out to dinner, while our husbands generously watched the kids. We ran in Old Navy and I thought "Hey, let me check and see if I won that coupon and then we could use it!" She has email on her phone and there it was. My "You Won" email! So we went in Old Navy. Quickly decided, yeah, let's go home and print it off, cause there will not be a problem finding things we need!

Because I have dial-up, I have never gotten any of the good coupons on my own. Earlier this summer (maybe early June?) I was trying for the coupon, couldn't get it, and a gal in the chat room sent me a $50/$100 that she wasn't going to use. So I had already bought myself some nice summer clothes that I desperately needed. So I was really hoping my friend would get some good use out of it. She is the best friend in the world, and anything I can do to help her, I would love to do. So, I was happy that she wanted to use the coupon. She used the majority of it and got lots of stuff for her two little girls for back to school clothes. Jeans, dresses, shirts, etc, etc. Cute stuff. She spent about $44 of the $56 we spent in total.

I got 8 pairs of Old Navy size 2T/3T socks for my little boy. They were 8 pair for $10. I really like their socks with the skid-free soles. I also found a great deal of a pair of nice cargo pants for my hubby. They were on clearance for $7.99. I wanted to get a pair of swim trunks for my son for next year, but there wasn't much in his size. My friend talked me into getting the one pair I did find. I wasn't in love with them, (like I was with the white pair with the fish on them) but they were $4.99 and with the half off coupon, it'd be like $2.50, so she talked me into them. I think I could probably find some cheaper at Target once all their summer stuff goes on clearance. (And who am I kidding, I'll probably get more than one pair anyways, cause I'm just like that when I find things for $1-2.) But I paid about $12 for the 8 pair of socks, 1 pair of Men's Cargo shorts, and 1 pair of 3T swim trunks. The socks themselves were on sale, so I probably would have spent $10 on them anyways, since I needed them. So it's kind of like I got the cargo shorts and swim trunks for $1 each.

So I was happy with my finds. And even more happy to be able to share some savings with a dear friend. :) Thanks again Swaggrabber for the coupon!

A Great Deal Day

2009-08-10T23:58:00.003-04:00

Today, somehow, I'm not sure, but today I hit 3 stores and got some great deals.

First stop was Kroger. I wanted to get some snack food for a mini-trip we are going on to visit friends. I had a wonderful cashier that was so nice and talked about how she loves internet coupons too. I will definitely keep my eyes open for her whenever I'm at that Kroger. Cooper was with me and enjoyed the racecar cart. That's about the only way to get through Kroger. Hopefully the excitement lasts awhile. Here's what I got:

** 3 packs of Oscar Mayer beef hotdogs 2/$5. I have a Kroger mailer for a free pack! Plus 2 $1 off coupons. The 3 packs were $3 total. I thought that was great.
** Buy 4/$10 get two gallons of milk deal: I got Cheeze-Its, Rice Krispies, and 2 packs of Keebler cookies. I have coupons for each, so it brought the total down to $6, plus the 2 gallons of milk for free.
** 4 cups of Kraft Mac-n-Cheese. $1 each, minus 2 coupons doubled for $1 off. So 4 cups for $2. Nice for traveling.
** 3 boxes of Weight Watchers Fudge pops. Yum. They are on sale for 2/$6 til mid-August. I've picked up a couple $0.55/1 coupons at Weight Watchers, so I got the 3 boxes for $2 each.
** 1 box of Cinnamon breakfast bars--I can't recall the actual brand. (Cinnabon?) Something new. $1.99, minus $1 off coupon. $0.99. For breakfast away from home.
** 1 bag of marshmellows. $1. (to go with the Rice Krispies for RK treats)
** 2 multi-pack bags of Ramen noodles. $0.99 each. My hubby eats these up like mad. I don't know why.

My receipt says I saved: $34.67 (62%)
Total after coupons: $20.97.

Later in the evening, I got away from the house by myself. I HAD to hit up CVS and get the Huggies deal, especially since I got 2 CRT's for $2 off Huggies and $2 off Pull-ups, both I had manu. coupons for. I also got my free mouthwash (August free gift item--was hoping for the chocolate, though.) I got two packs of highlighters and 2 York Peppermint Patties, cause I had to get my total up to $4, cause that was the smallest amount of ECBs that I had.

My original total was about $25. Used a $4/$20 coupon from the pharmacy booklet. Total before ECBs was about 5! Used $4 ECBs and 1.18 OOP. Got back 4 ECBs. Not bad. My pre-tax total was $0.04!!! Nice. Receipt says "Total Savings of $34.69."

Last stop was Meijer. I found some of the Dannimals coupons, and wanted to get two of those, since there's also a Meijer Mealbox coupon to go with the manu. coupon to make them FREE! Picked up some lunchmeat (Healthy Ones?) $2, plus I had a $0.55 coupon, doubled to make it $1. The frozen pretzels are half off again and I had coupons from last time that I wanted to use, so they were $1.36, minus $1 each after the coupon doubled. My hubby also loves those. I got two boxes (I hate that Meijer only will double 2 of the same coupon, by the way. That makes me mad.) Then I walked past a Rice Krispie Treat display and all the boxes had $2/2 packs coupons. They were $1.88 on sale, plus if you bought $10 worth, you'd get $10 off a backpack.

Now, in my head, I was thinking "If I get a backpack that's less than $10, will it take the whole $10 off?" I was hopeful, but NO it doesn't work that way. I got a $5 one and it only took $5 off. I gave it a try. :) But 6 boxes of the RKT's were $11.28, minus 3 $2/2 coupons, made them $5.28 for 6 boxes, plus the free backpack. So it was alright. They will be good to take travelling and I love them. My Meijer total was $7.00, after coupons. My receipt says I saved "$29.17."

So for about $100 worth of stuff, I paid about $30. About 70% off. Not bad. Not awesome, but I'll take it. We have plenty of snacks for our mini-trip and to share with friends when we get there. The $0.04 diapers were the highlight of the day. :) (And I got another pharmacy coupon booklet from a different pharmacist tonight at CVS. I'm loving this! I won't take them all, I promise.) Happy Shopping!

A Couple CVS Things

2009-08-08T14:52:00.002-04:00

Well, after over 7 months, I've finally used up my $50 gift card my hubby got me for Christmas last year. I was hoping to spread it out all year, but from 12-25-08 to 8-8-09 is pretty good! Plus I was managing 3 cards most of this year, so it was spread out pretty thin. I did decide to just stick to one card and I like it a lot better. I think I can get the maximum out of my deals with just one card and it's a lot less hassle. And now that my 2 year old despises CVS and even pulling in the parking lot, it's just as well. :)

Anyways, we were gone the first part of the week on vacation so I missed all the school supplies. (Which none of us are in school so I don't know exactly why I'm getting them, but it's just a CVS thing, you know.) But I went in yesterday just to take a look around and saw that Pampers were 2 for $20, with 5 ECBs back. Not the best deal, but I had some coupons and was able to snag a Readyfill prescription coupon booklet with the $4/$20 coupons in it! Yay!! So I thought I'd try it out. I like Pampers, and they never have good deals, so I thought I'd just have a loss in ECBs in order to get some Pampers. Here's how it went:

**2 Jumbo packs of Size 5 Pampers (still 30 count) 2/$20. Minus 1 $3 off coupon, minus 1 $2 off coupon. 2/$15. Get back $5 ECBs.
**1 Blink Tears eyedrops $7.99, minus $1.50 coupon. Get back $7.99 ECBs. (used the coupon profit to lower the diaper price.)

Total before coupons: $27.99.
Also used my $4 off a $20 purchase coupon.
Total after coupons: $17.49 plus tax.
Used $16.92 in ECBs, $1.05 off gift card and $0.32 out of my change purse.
Received: $12.99 in ECBs back. Loss of about 4 ECBs. But for 2 packs of diapers, that's fine with me. Especially now that there are some $/$$ off coupons to help, hopefully, build a little profit the next couple weeks.

I will definitely be doing the Huggies deal next week (2/$18, get 4ECBs) because I got 2 CRT's to use. $2 off Huggies and $2 off Pull-ups, along with my $4/$20 and my manufacturer's coupons, it should be pretty good. My son's not in Pulll-ups yet, but I imagine it will eventually happen, right. :)

Happy Shopping!

Going back to get my gift card: Kroger

2009-07-26T23:27:00.002-04:00

Since I was lucky and actually got my catalina for buying the AMP energy drinks last Kroger trip, I decided to go back and pick it up. I also had some more Sobe and Vitamin Water coupons to use up, and since I get them free plus $5 off, the time was now! :) Cooper loves riding in the carts with the racecar on the front, so Kroger is currently my favorite place to shop when I have him. :) He likes to sit back and prop his feet up on the steering wheel. It's cute and he likes it, so it's all good. Here's what I got after I picked up my gift card:

**6 Sobe Life Waters $0.99 each. Used 6 $0.50 off coupons, which doubled to make them free. In addition, I got an additional $0.50 off my order for each one because of the Mega Sale (Buy 10 items, get $5 off). So that put me at -$3.00.
**3 Vitamin Waters $1 each. Minus 3 $0.50 off coupons, doubled. Same deal--That made another $1.50 off.
**1 Softsoap hand soap. I think these were $1.50, but I had a $1 off coupon and then the additional $0.50 came off, so it made it free. (I ran out of all my drink coupons, so this was my 10th item backup.)
**3 boxes of Weight Watchers frozen treats. Yum. These are regularly over $4--more like $4.50 or $4.99, but they were on sale for 2/$6 and I needed something in the house to snack on. Total $9, minus 1 $0.55 off coupon, doubled. $8.00. (I think the sign said these are on sale til 8/16 or soemthing like that!! I need to get more of those $0.55 off coupons!! For sure.)
**2 half gallons of Vitamin D milk. $0.79 each! $1.58 total.

After the $5 came off, I owed $5.49, I think. Used my gift card from the AMP deal! Still have about $4.50 for next trip. So if I hadn't gotten anything but the WW icecream and the milk, it was a good deal. If I didn't have such a sweet tooth, it would have been better. :)

AMP deal

2009-07-23T00:29:00.002-04:00

Well, I was really reluctant to try it for some reason. Maybe because we don't even drink it... But also the coupons I wanted to use have the words "CVS" on them, although they were manufacturer's coupons. THANKFULLY, I asked the cashier before checking out if I was able to use them, explaining they were manufacturer coupons, not CVS coupons. She was very nice and said "As long as they scan, I'll take them." SO YAY!! I was pumped. You never know what kind of cashier you'll get--reasonable/friendly or mean/irrational. I like the 1st set the best. :)

So, here's what I got:

5 Sobe Life Waters $0.99, minus 5 $0.50 coupon, doubled. Free, plus an additiona $0.50 off my order for the "Buy 10, get $5 off" deal. So a total of minus $2.50 for those 5 Sobes.
5 Vitamin waters $1.00, minus 4 (she missed one, but I appreciated her kindness and let it go) $0.50 coupons, doubled. Paid $1 for 5, plus got $2.50 off with the deal.
10 AMP energy drinks $1.69, minus 6 $0.40 off coupons, doubled. Minus $5 off for buying 10. $7.10 total for all 10.
2 bags of Dole lettuce. $0.98 each, minus $1.50/2 coupon. $0.46.
4-5 pounds of cherries. Yum. $0.99 a pound. Total about $4.50.

Total around $8.00 plus tax. Paid $9.03? I think. Receive a catalina for a $10 gift card for buying the AMP drinks!! yay! I was also worried about doing this deal and then not getting the catalina. I hate when that happens. But it did, no problem.

All the drinks, didn't really need. My husband will drink the Sobe and Vitamin waters, though. Needed the salad and love the cherries, so I thought it was worth it. I was going to try and get my total lower, but I love cherries and you can't beat $0.99 a pound! I've paid up to $3.49 a pound for them past years (sadly).

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you found some great deals this week.

Let's Go Krogering...

2009-07-20T18:04:00.003-04:00

I hit up Kroger today during "naptime." And when I say "naptime" it's not just my son. My hubby always encourages me to go run some errands during naptime. Why? So he can join in on the nap!! :) Yes, there's more productive things he could be doing, but I get out of the house, so I don't complain. Usually, at least.

Anyhoo, I went to Kroger. I had an evnelope full of coupons to use for the Mega Sale--"Buy 10 participating items, get $5 off your order." I had some coupons I printed at my house and last night I was able to print some off at my parents house, so I was set. I did pretty good. I chickened out on doing the Amp energy drink deal. I may change my mind, but 1) we don't drink them and 2) the only coupons I have for them say CVS on them. They are manufacturer's coupons, but sometimes I get a lot of slack because they say CVS on them and I hate fighting with them about it. Ugg. We'll see, if I get the gumption to "just do it." I also have several Vitamin Water and Sobe Life Water coupons from CVS that would make them free, but again, is the hassle worth it. Kind of. Especially, cause I'd like the gift card.

Here's what I got:

**2 bags of Purina Dog Chow $4.99, minus 2 $3.50 off coupons. $1.49 each, plus the extra $0.50 off from promotion--really $0.99 each.
**4 sticks of Speed Stick deodorant $1.50 each. Minus 4 $1.50 off coupons. Free. Plus an extra $0.50 will come off because of promotion.
**1 bag of Chex Mix, minus $0.50 coupon doubled. I think it came out to be $0.49? I was supposed to get an e-coupon for Chex Mix taken off, but I couldn't find one. uurrr.
**2 Sobe Life waters $0.99, minus $0.50 coupon, doubled. Free. Plus the extra $0.50 x 2.
**1 Vitamin water $1.00, minus $0.50 coupon, doubled. Free. Plus the extra $0.50 off.
**1 Digorno (sp?) flatbread melt $.319, minus FREE coupon. Free.
**1 box of Hefty trashbags, on close out $3.21, minus $0.55 coupon, didn't double. $2.66.

I had $5 taken off my order for buying the 10 participating items (everything but the flatbread and trashbags were participating items.)

Total before tax: $1.64
Tax: $1.45
Gramd Total: $3.09

Items I really needed: Dog food, trashbags. Totally worth the $3, even though I didn't need the deodorant at all. Sometimes, in crazy coupon lady land, you buy things you don't need, to get the other things for free. :) But if you are reading this, you probably know that.

Verizon Wireless---you stink! Ppppppppppp!

2009-07-19T16:20:00.003-04:00

Last month we decided to switch to Verizon wireless. Many of our friends and family have Verizon, so we made the switch. We were happy to find a plan that cost about the same as our old T-Mobile bill and I thought we were all set. When the bill came, instead of $60, it was $140!!! What??? I was so mad. After talking to several representatives, with no help, then contacting them through their website, they are basically saying "We're really sorry that no one told you about the fees, BUT we can't do anything abou it." You know, sorry just isn't good enough. I would understand if there were start up fees, BUT as the consumer, I SHOULD KNOW ABOUT IT UP FRONT!!!! There's no excuse these days for hidden fees from a company as big as Verizon Wireless.

So I let them know that I would make sure to spread the word about the horrible customer service and total lack of communication with their new clients. Ugg. I'm so mad. We were with T-Mobile for 7 years and never had this kind of problem. They were even extra willing to delete charges that we received once because of a miscommunication. Change isn't always good, I guess. Arrrrr.

I did it! A pretty good Huggies deal.

2009-07-19T00:28:00.002-04:00

I wasn't quite sure about the Rite Aid Huggies deal, but I think I did alright. Last week, I had a baby shower to go to and I wanted to get a pack of Pampers Swaddlers (awww) for the mommy-to-be & baby, cause I love them--they are so soft. I had a $5/$25 purchase coupon, so I went ahead and bought a Mega pack of Huggies @ $17.99. I came to realize they would be on sale for $14.99 this week (ugg) but I had two gift cards that still had money on them, so I ended up only paying $6.64 for both packs of diapers. Plus I will get $2 each back from Single Check rebates and the $17.99 went towards the "Buy $50 of Kimberly Clark products, get a $25 gift card."

So today was the last day to get more Mega packs for $14.99, so we went in and it went very smoothly. I got:

**2 Mega packs of size 5 Huggies, $14.99 each. Plus I had a $3 off coupon and a $1.50 off coupon to use! :)
**2 boxes of 200 count Kleenex. On sale BOGO. $2.49 total, plus a $0.50/2 coupon.

I used another $5 off a $25 order coupon, plus my other coupons and got my total down to $24.74 after tax and everything.

So in total I spent $31.38 for 3 mega packs of Huggies for me, 1 baby shower gift pack of Pampers and 2 large boxes of Kleenex. PLUS I will receive $4 in rebates and a $25 gift card.

$31.38, Plus $29 BACK! is a pretty great deal! I only come out about $2 in the hole for all those diapers! Yay! I'm glad I went ahead and did it. Hopefully there will be more great diaper deals in the future and I can stretch out my $25 gift card for awhile. :)

Ok, hope that made sense. It's late and I'm tired, but I wanted to jot my thoughts down. Happy Shopping!

OUT OF THE LOOP! What's wrong with me??

2009-07-18T16:07:00.002-04:00

Oh my. I haven't posted my deals in a month! I can't believe that. I do believe it, cause I keep thinking about it, but I just haven't gotten around to it. We had birthday party planning and celebrating going on, so that took some of my time up. We were out of town last weekend, so that was fun. But here I am and I'm going to at least share in words my most recent deal at CVS.

I received a $10 off a $50 purchase out of the coupon machine, so I NEEDED :) to use it. I could have done a little more with it, but I had a $2 off Huggies coupon, plus a $1.50 manufacturer's coupon, and they were on sale, so I encorporated a pack of diapers into my deal. Here's what I got:

**3 Kodak Photo books $7.99 each, no coupons. Received $7.99 each back in ECBs.
**3 Tylenol Muscle Ache. $3.99. Paid $3.99, got back $3 ECBs each. (My printer has been acting up, so I wasn't able to print off the $1 off coupons. :( Sad. But it's up and running again.)
**2 packs of Kotex products 2/$6, used 2 $1.50 coupons. Paid $3, got back 2 ECBs.
**1 bar of Ambi soap. $1.99, used $2 off CRT for any Ambi product. Free.
**1 pack of Huggies. $8.99. Used $2 off CRT, $1.50 off coupon. $5.49.
**1 Honey Nut Cheerios cup $1.00, used $1 off coupon. Free.
**a couple snack fillers to bring up my total (I had a $20 ECB and a $15.98 ECB, so I had to add a couple things to get it up that high.)

Used my $10/$50 coupons, plus other coupons. Paid with my $35.98 in ECBs and some change (I think $0.71 off my gift card--that's still going after almost 7 months of use!!) Received about $35 in ECBs back!!! A loss of $1 ECB, but a gain of a pack of diapers! Good trade off. :)

Plus 3 Photo books that are AWESOME gifts!! I'm so glad the limit was 5 and not just 1. I got really lucky when making these, cause the cashier was giving me a little bit of a hard time saying "limit 1 per household." And I told her that I had previously gotten 2 and my limit wasn't reached. I told her about the cardboard sign that people had seen that says Limit 5. She reached over to the photo counter, picked up the exact sign I was talking about and it said Limit 5! That was a relief, cause I hate when they treat you like you are being bad. :P

Well, that's it for now. I will try and be better about my deals. I think I'm going to do the Rite Aid "Buy $50 of Kimberly Clark stuff, get a $25 gift card." It seems like a good deal, if I can work it out. Happy Shopping!

Back to Kmart

2009-06-13T23:47:00.002-04:00

I shouldn't have gone back, but I did. I found some of the Glade candle tins last time I was there. They were marked $3.49 and inside was a $1.50 off coupon. So doubled, it would have been $3 off AND Glade was part of the Buy More, Save More deal. So I thought if I got 4 of those and 2 packs of diapers, I would have about $35 to get the $7 off coupon. I also got a new $1 Cheerios coupon in my e-mail, so I was hoping to get more Cheerios. All in all, the trip was fine, except one of my $1.50 coupons got skipped. Ugg. I hate that. You would think with the --10 COUPON LIMIT-- it wouldn't be that hard to scan 10 coupons correctly. Then if I go in and try and fix it, I'm a "pain" and it takes forever to get fixed. So I lost out on the $3. Here's what I got...

** 2 packs of Huggies diapers $10.49 each, minus 2 $1.50 coupons, doubled. $7.49 each.
** 1 pack of Huggies wipes $2.89, minus $1 coupon doubled. $0.89.
** 2 boxes of Cheerios $2 each, minus 2 $1 coupons, doubled. Free.
** 4 Glade tin candles, rang up $3.29 each, minus 3 (should have been 4) $1.50 coupons, doubled. Would have been $0.29 each, but paid full price for one. So $4.16 for 4. ($1.04 each--going to use as gifts--they are cute, so I guess $1 for a small gift is alright.)
** 1 pack of Diet Coke. $4! minus $1 coupon, doubled. $2.00.

Total was around $47.00, I think.
Used my $14 off coupon I got last trip.
Minus all other coupons ($23 worth)
New total was around $9. (should have been $6, like I had calculated in my head--I should have stopped right there and asked him to recheck my coupons, but there was a long line and only 2 check-out lanes open, so I sucked it up.)
Received a $7 off my next order coupon, like I planned.

WEIRDNESS: Both times I was at Kmart this week (Trotwood) my $$ off coupon didn't print at the coupon machine at the lane I checked out in. It printed on the machine NEXT to the lane I checked out in. ?? Totally doesn't make sense. And both times, I had to say "I should have gotten a coupon from the machine" and they went "next-door" and got them for me. Weirdness.

My Love/Hate Relationship with Old Navy

2009-06-13T00:10:00.004-04:00

Oh Old Navy. You booger.

Well, Old Navy has been having weekly internet coupon days for several weeks now, maybe months. I've been trying to get the coupons for the last three weeks. The thing is, you may know what day the coupons will load, but you have no idea WHEN on that day they will load. And all the good coupons (And I mean GOOD--there's a $75 off a $100 purchase coupon!) go really fast, of course. So you basically have to stay close by the computer if you can. I found a chat room where a bunch of people hang out and wait for the coupons. It helps the time go by and it's fun to chat with strangers about whatever is on someone's mind. I have no idea who they are, but they feel like friends. :)

Well, week 1 of me trying, the coupon was supposed to load on a Sunday. So we hung out in the chat room starting around midnight on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Nothing happened until midnight the next day! When it actually loaded, I couldn't get my computer to load the page, so I sat there for 10 minutes trying to figure it out, and missed all the good coupons. :P

So Week 2, I thought, well now I'm a pro, I can do this. Again, it was a Sunday, so we started watching around midnight Saturday night/Sunday morning. WELL, they didn't load until MONDAY AT 8AM!!! Oh, I was mad. I stayed up til about 3am, laid by the computer til 5am in a half-sleep, but I couldn't stay up any longer and went to bed. When I got up and Cooper and I came downstairs, coincidentally, it was 8am, and again and I came right in time for the load. BUT again, my computer wouldn't cooperate and I didn't figure it out until about 15 minutes late. Too late. Nothing for me.

So this past week, Thursday was the day. Again, we started watching and waiting around midnight Wed/Thursday morning. I think I went to bed around 2am, the first night. I thought I'd be up longer, but I couldn't stay awake. I also had a feeling it wouldn't load the first night. So I wasn't as crazy about it this time, but I kept the computer on all day on Thursday and sat & chatted when I had some time. So evening came, we were having a good time, chatting about kids, Jon & Kate Plus 8, movies, etc. Midnight passed, but I had a feeling it wouldn't be long. For some reason I thought 1am would be it. Well, it turned out to be 1am! Wow! But, of course, something else went wrong with my lovely dial-up computer and I missed the good coupons. I seriously thought I knew what to do this time, but it got me again. HOWEVER, someone in the chat room offered her $50 off a $100 purchase coupon to someone, cause she wouldn't be able to use it. Of course, I said I'd love it and she actually picked ME to have it!!! It was wonderful. I felt very blessed. Especially since I hadn't gotten the chance to actually get one for myself because of the stupid computer. So she forwarded the coupon to me and VOILA I was ready to hit Old Navy! I got the coupon on Thursday night/Friday morning at 1am, and I was at Old Navy shopping on Friday by 4pm! I was excited! Ok, long story short, here's what I was able to get:

** 1 pair of comfy black pants (workout/lounge type pants) $19.50 on sale for 50% off. $9.75.
** 1 lightweight sweater/jacket, regular price $19.50, but was on clearance for $8.99. BUT I just looked at the receipt and it is not on the receipt. I guess it was free. oops.
** 2 "Perfect Tanks" $8.50 each, on sale for 2/$15. 2/$15.
** 2 Stretch Tanks $10.50 regular priced, on sale for $6 each. $12 total.
** 1 "Flutter Sleeve" shirt $14.50. Paid $14.50.
** 1 "Braided Tank" $12.50, on sale for $10.
** 1 "Crochet Keyhole" tank $14.50, on sale for $10.
** 2 "Smock Hensley" short sleeve shirts $15 each.

Total Before Sales: $148.50
Total After Sales: $101.25
Used $50 off a $100 purchase coupon!!!
New Total: $51.25 plus tax. Nice.
With tax it was almost $55, but well worth it. I actually sold some of my Creative Memories stuff on craigslist a week or so ago, and I told myself if I could get a good Old Navy coupon, I would use some of it to get some clothes. So, yay me! I'm very excited. Wearing the same 4-5 shirts constantly was getting old. I probably have more around here that I could wear, but I seemed to have gotten in a rut with the same old clothes.

I really wanted some new jeans, but just didn't find any worth buying at Old Navy. I like the dark denim and the wide leg jeans and those are hard to find. I found some at Avenue that I liked AND they had a deal that if you bring in an old pair of jeans, they would give you $5 off a new pair. PLUS a lot of their jeans were $20 or less this week, so I went home, washed my old cruddy jeans and exchanged them for the new pair. AND The Avenue sent out an email coupon for $1 Tank Tops (limit 2) so I snatched those up as well.

So after a couple dinners out and all my new clothes, I think I spent my craigslist cash wisely. It's always good to leave the bank account alone and buy some things you've been wanting with extra cash. I will probably keep trying to get the coveted $75 off coupon (and if, miracle of all miracles, I get it, I'll use it to buy someone else other than me clothes--oops).

K-mart Double Coupons are Back, with a twist!

2009-06-13T00:03:00.002-04:00

Tonight I had some time on my own and wanted to try out the “Buy More, Save More” deal at Kmart. It includes Kimberly Clark, Unilever and SC Johnson products. Well, Kimbery Clark makes Huggies, so I was definitely going to check it out. The deal is 1) Buy $20 worth of products, get $3 off coupon on your next order 2) Buy $35 worth of products, get $7 off your next order coupon 3) Buy $50 worth of products, get $14 coupon off your next order. $14 is a big ol’ coupon! That sounded promising. Especially since Kmart is having their Super Double Coupon week (up to and including $2 off coupons).

I stewed over my coupons for awhile, during Cooper’s naptime, and got a small pile ready to go. Ralph took Cooper to his parents to visit, after naptime, so I was out the door. I was really surprised when I got there that there was SO MUCH on the list of items that qualified for the deal. My main goal was diapers, but I looked around at the other stuff. I was going to go straight diapers/wipes, but then saw the Off Clip-On was on sale, so I went diapers and that, because I really want to try it out. So here’s what I got:

** 2 packs of Huggies diapers (I found some of the old packs of size 5’s that still have 30 in them, instead of 26) $10.49 each, minus 2 $2 off coupons, doubled. $6.49 each.
** 1 pack of Huggies Pull-Ups (no Cooper’s not in Pull-Ups yet, but I had a $5 off coupon that I got in the mail, so I thought I’d buy a pack for the future, if we go that route.) $10.79, minus $5 off coupon. $5.79.
** 1 pack of Huggies Little Swimmers diapers $7.89, minus $1.50 coupon, doubled. $4.89.
** 1 Off Clip-On $7.49, minus $2 off coupon, doubled. $3.49.
** 1 pack of Off Clip-On Refills $3, minus coupon for Free Refill when you Buy the Clip-On. Free.
(That was all included in the Buy $50, get $14 coupon off your next order deal.)
I also grabbed:
** 2 boxes of Cheerios $2 each, minus 2 $1 off coupons, doubled. Free.
** 1 jar of Peter Pan peanut butter $2.29, minus home mailer $1 off coupon, doubled. $0.29.
** 1 box of Band Aids $2.50, minus $1 coupon, doubled. $0.50.

Total was $60+ before coupons. ($58.94 plus tax, if I added it up right)
Used a $5 off a $50 or more purchase.
Used $31 in coupons.
New Total: $22.94 plus tax. I think it was about $26 total.
The cashier, again, was quick to scan my coupons, so I missed $1 in coupon savings, cause he hit the wrong button when choosing which coupon goes with which product. Hate when that happens!
Received my $14 off coupon! Yay! It’s not free, but I’m going to go back and I can use my $14 coupon to buy more diapers and get a new coupon for $$ off my next purchase. Depending on how much I want to do this, I can keep rolling them. I may do a $35 purchase and get 2-3 more packs and then get a $7 coupon and get 1 more pack and be done. By then, the double coupons will be over and I will be stocked up a little better on diapers. (I think I have 11-12 packs right now.)

Funny story, when I left Kmart, it started to rain. By the time I got home, it was pouring. Ralph and Cooper weren’t home yet, so I sat and waited it out a little. Not much letting up, so I just went for it. Well, I get inside and realize I’m missing stuff. I run to the car to see if it was there and I forgot a whole bag. BUT I drop 2-3 things out of the bag and they go floating down the river that is forming by the curb where I parked. I had to go chasing my Huggies Little swimmers and my Off-Clip down the river floating down the road. I must have been a riot to watch if any of the neighbors saw me. I was drenched, but it was a good laugh.

I'll let you know if I go back. Happy shopping!

Meijer Trip 6-04

2009-06-06T15:49:00.003-04:00

Cooper and I hit up Meijer this week. We had a big grocery trip last week (nothing too exciting to post about, but I did use coupons, of course) so this wasn't too big of a trip. Mainly wanted to get some things that I had manufacturer coupons AND Meijer Mealbox coupons for, so I'd get them cheap/free. And I had a couple Free product coupons (both from home mailers I think--I'm loving those home mailers!) Here it is:

** 2 Diet Pepsi 20 oz. $1.39 each, minus 2 $0.50 Q doubled. $0.39 each. (I was thirsty and I had 2 Pepsi 20 oz coupons I scooped up at CVS--the were manufacturer's, so I tried them and they worked! I don't know why I was suprised, but there's nothing like a cold Diet Pepsi 20 oz.) :)

** 1 Hunt's Ketchup $1.49, minus Free Hunt's coupon. Free.

** 1 Kraft dressing $.158, minus $1 Q and $1 MMB coupon. Free plus $0.42 overage.

** 2 Country Crock margarines $1.99 each, minus $0.45 Q doubled, minus $1/2 MMB Q. (Totally thought I was getting these almost free, but my brain wasn't working.) $2.08.

** 1 Oscar Mayer hotdogs $3.58, minus Free hotdog coupon. Free.

** 1 Chex Mix $1.00, minus $0.50 Q doubled. Free.

** 2 bags of Dole lettuce $0.98 each, minus $1.50/2 Dole coupon. $0.48 for two.

** 1 gallon milk. $1.98.

** 3 boxes of Bisquick $1.99 each, minus 3 $0.50 Q's doubled. $0.99 each!! Great deal!

** 1 Daisy sourcream $1.50, minus $0.50 Q doubled. $0.50.

** 2 cans Dole fruit $1 each, minus 2 $0.50 Q's doubled. Free.

** 3 Nabisco 100 Calorie Snacks $2.50 each, minus 3 $1 Q's, minus 3 $1 MMB Q's. $0.50 each! Yum.

** 2 boxes of Ritz crackers $2.50 each, minus 2 $1 Q's, minus 2 $1 MMB Q's. $0.50 each.

** 12 pack Charmin TP $5.49, minus $1 Q (from P&G booklet). $4.49.

** 1 bag Meijer shredded cheese. $1.50.

** 3 boxes of Chex bars 3/$7, minus 3 $0.50 coupons doubled. $1.33 each.

** 2 Digorno Flatbread Pizzas 2/$10, minus 1 $1.50 Q, minus 1 $1.25 Q, minus 2 $1 MMB Q's. $5.25 for two.

With sales, promotions and coupons, SAVED $53.27! (according to receipt)

Paid $24.75! I thought that was pretty good, with milk, toilet paper, pizzas and the Bisquick. The self scan cashier that helped me (coupons never work that great on those lanes, but they are always OPEN so I do it anyways) was impressed with my savings.

Memorial Day at CVS

2009-05-25T18:22:00.005-04:00

Oops. I thought I already posted this, but it was in my "draft" section. A little late, but still a good one...

This $5 off a $30 purchase coupon has been BURNING a hole in my pocket!!! So today I was just waiting and waiting to have some time to use it, because of the Sun/Mon Only deals. I hardly EVER get to CVS on Sunday, since they close a 6pm and I usually hit CVS in the evenings when I do go. So I didn't make it yesterday. And I don't think the Sun/Mon Only deals start early on Saturday like the other stuff. We went to my parents early for Memorial Day/Ralph's b-day lunch and I was hoping to sneak out when Cooper took a nap, BUT he refused to take a nap. He jumped around in their crib and sang and did somersaults and basically played for an hour. So I decided to just take him home to nap. And by this time, he was entering cranky mode. Despite my mommy guilt, and since I knew exactly what I wanted to get before it ran out, we snuck to CVS before we went home and did pretty good. I was armed with biter biscuits and he did fine until my receipt was printing and then he just lost it. Poor kid. He pretty much zonked out as soon as I put him in his crib. Silly boy. So here's how I did with my $5/$30.

** 1 Revlon Nail Polish $3.99, no coupon. $3.99. Get 3 ECBs.

** 1 Colgate Total $2.99, minus $1 coupon. $1.99. Get 2 ECBs.

** 1 Playtex Sport $3.99, minus $1 coupon. $2.99. Get 3 ECBs.

** 2 boxes of Bandaids $2.29 each, minus 2 $1 coupons, minus $1 CRT for Bandaids. $1.58 for 2 boxes. Get 4 ECBs. (2 ECBs per box)

** 1 Clearasil Face Wash $3.99, no coupon. $3.99. Get 3.99 ECBs.

** 2 Sobe Life Waters, on sale BOGO, minus 2 $0.50 coupons. $0.49 for 2.

** 2 Speed Stick Pro deodorants $3.99 each, minus BOGO coupon, minus $0.75 coupon. $3.24. Get 7.98 ECBs. (3.99 ECBs for each)

** Candy filler to bring total to $30. (I thought the price of the other Sobe would count toward my total, but I don't think it did, so I had to grab a filler. And I think I forgot that the Bandaids were $2.29, not $2.99 like the iheartcvs ad had posted, but I was psyched that they were $2.29!)

Total: Around $30.00.

Used $5/$30 coupon.

Minus all other coupons, New Total: Around $15-16 with tax.

Used $14 in ECBS, plus $1.25 from my gift card ($0.64 was tax.)

Received about $24 ECBs!

Yay! I needed that! My ECBs have really been lacking, so this is the perfect boost to my ECBs stash! I am so happy I made it today and everything I went in for was there! Now, here's hoping there will be some other good deal weeks like this one through the summer!

CVS Trip 5-20

2009-05-20T17:56:00.004-04:00

This week was pretty much a huge bummer at CVS to me. I do, however, use Dry Idea deodorant and it gave back ECBs this week, so I went in for it. I also had a Sally Hanson CRT (from the coupon printer) coupon that expired today and I wanted to use it. Here's how I did:

** 2 Dry Idea deodorants 2/$5, minus 2 $2 off coupons. $1 for 2.

** 4 Sally Hanson fingernail polishes, clearance to 50% off, $1.39, minus 4 $1 off coupons, minus $2 off a Sally Hanson $5 purchase. Free plus $0.44 overage.

** 1 Palmer's stretch mark lotion, clearance 75% off, $1.70, minus $1 coupon. $0.70.** 1 set of Bic Dry Erase markers, clearance 75% off, $1.15 (would have been much better if I had the $1 off any Bic coupon, but I didn't have it with me. I've been needing these though.) $1.15.

Total: $13.41 Minus coupons: $2.41 plus tax

Used $2 ECB and $1.07 out of pocket. ($0.66 was tax) Received 2 ECBs for deodorant. If I didn't get the lotion or markers, it would have been better. But I'm going to add the lotion to the baby gift basket, I do use that brand of deodorant (even though I have plenty) and like I said, I did need the markers, so I'm alright with it. I had enough change in my change purse, so I didn't have to use my debit card or my CVS gift card, which is always nice.

BTW: I'm trying to stretch out my CVS gift card. I got it for Christmas from my hubby. $50!!! He knew I could make it last and so far I still have money on it. I've gone though it faster than I thought I would. Mainly because every now and then something in a transaction gets screwed up and I pay more out of pocket than I planned on. (Like $8 or something! What? At CVS??) I usually find the mistake, but not til after I've paid. They give me cash back or whatever, and we all know, cash doesn't stick around as long as a CVS gift card. :P So I will let you know when my gift card has swiped it's last swipe. Hopefully it won't be anytime soon. :)

Big CVS News...

2009-05-20T00:19:00.002-04:00

I got a $5 off a $30 purchase CRT today at CVS!!! I'm excited! It doesn't expire until 5/26, so I am DEFINITELY waiting until next week to use it. The deals look good and there are several of them that are free after coupons or moneymakers! Wish me luck!!! I'll let you know how I do.

Meijer Cheese Trip

2009-05-19T23:44:00.003-04:00

We hit up Meijer last week for the cheese deal. And crackers among other things. I was happy with my turn out. I thought I got a lot of good stuff for less than $20. Plus Cooper was with me, and I took longer than I wanted. I think we went through 4 of those biter biscuits thingys. They keep him pretty occupied, and messy. :) Here's what I came out with:

** 2 boxes of Ritz Crackers $2.50, minus 2 $1 coupon, minus 2 $1 Meijer Meal Box coupon. $0.50 each.
** 1 box Ritz Bitz Crackers $2.50, minus $1 coupon, minus $1 MMB coupon. $0.50.
** 2 boxes of Wheat Thins $2.50, minus Buy Ritz, get Wheat Thins free coupon, minus $1 coupon. $1.50 for two. (And I got back the Free Crystal Light coupon for buying 2 Wheat Thins.)
** 1 box of 100 calorie snacks $2.50, minus $1 coupon, minus $1 MMB coupon. $0.50.
** 3 chunks of Kraft cheese $1 each, wyb 2 Nabisco crackers, minus $1/2 coupon. $2 for 3.
** 2 Kraft Miracle Whips $2 each, minus 2 $1 coupon, minus 2 $1 MMB coupon. 2 for Free.
** 1 Kraft Salad Dressing. $1.58, minus $1 coupon, minus $1 MMB coupon. Free plus overage.
** 8 Kraft Mac n Cheeses $0.50 each. Used 2 Buy 3 Get 1 Free coupons. 8 boxes for $3. $0.38 each.
** Meijer Cheese slices. $2.00.
** Budding Lunch Meat. $2.50.
** Bottle of Meijer Lite Syrup. $2.00.
** Bottle of Heinz Ketchup. $2.00.
** Bag of Meijer Mini Marshmellows. $1.24.
** 4+ lbs. of bananas $0.27/lb. $1.12.
** 1 box Fruit Loops $1.80, minus $1 coupon. $0.80.

Total before coupons: About $43
(Receipt says that I saved $37.60 from sales, coupons and promotions.)
After coupons: $19.74.

I thought it was a good haul. I picked up things we needed that I didn't have coupons for, and it was still under $20. Oh, plus I got a $2 off your next order coupon from the Mac-n-Cheese, I think. I thought I might have gotten one from buying 5 Nabisco products (read that somewhere) but I didn't. I was ready to leave, Cooper was ready to leave and the cashier was patient with me already, so I just didn't go there. :) I think it may have been cause I bought Ritz Bits for my 5th cracker purchase and not just the regular crackers that may have not qualified. Not a big deal.

I do have a picture, but I'm just going to post this for now and maybe get a picture up later. (I think I've said that before and haven't done it. We'll see.)

More Gift Card Action!

2009-05-19T23:33:00.002-04:00

You know me, gotta roll those gift cards! I LOVE it!

Well, this week it was a Swiffer deal. Buy 2 Swiffer products, get a $5 gift card. The refills were $4.04 and they qualified! Cool. Saturday evenings aren't the best for Huber Target. They take all their sale signs/gift card sale signs down, so I'm always leary of my purchase. Sometimes the price checker will read that the item is part of a Gift Card deal, but not always. Oh well.

** 1 Swiffer Wet refill, $4.04, minus $0.50 off coupon. $3.54.
** 1 Swiffer Dry refill, $4.04, minus $1 off Target home mailer coupon. $3.04.

Total: $6.58.
Used $5 gift card from last gift card deal.
Total: $1.58 plus tax (I think it was $1.70 something.)
Received new $5 gift card! Sweet! And two products that I use (but need to use more often.) :P

A CVS Trip Across Town

2009-05-14T15:43:00.006-04:00

I feel like we are ALWAYS at the Children's Hospital. I seriously would like to get an employee parking pass cause we're always there. The thrifty in me HATES to pay $2 everytime we are there. Ugg. And I haven't convinced my husband to park across the street in the neighborhood and just walk to Children's. Oh well.

Anyways, this week, I politely asked my hubby if after my son's therapy appointment, if we could hit up a CVS that's kind of out of the way, but closer to downtown than our house. My bloggy friend Jenny at Momminitup told me that this particular one is very coupon friendly AND they take competitor coupons, along with $/$$ off coupons, and expired CVS coupons up to 30 days. Ok, I'm thinking about moving! :) Just kidding, but occasionally I like to make the trek down there to roll my ECBs, especially if it's not a great week and I need the $/$$ coupon for a boost.

So that's what we did this week, and thankfully my hubby was very considerate with my crazy idea, and very helpful with my son who now instantly freaks out whenever I pull into CVS. Not so much any other store, just CVS. He used to not mind at all, where ever I took him shopping, now that he's nearing 2, he's starting to develop some opinions of shopping, especially when it comes to CVS. I botched that up somehow. Oops.

We did pretty good. I was able to be relatively focused. I had $12 ECBs that expired on that day, so I did my best to get some back. I walked out with $9 ECBs so that's not too bad. The best part was that I didn't just get more razors/medicine/toothpaste, like normal. I actually walked out with a lot of FOOD! Here's what I got: (no picture, right now, sorry)

** 3 Skippy Peanut Butters, 3/$5, minus 1 $0.30 coupon. $4.70. I wish I had more! :(
** 3 Ragu Spaghetti Sauces, 3/$5, minus 1 $0.40 coupon. $4.60. " "
** 1 Schick Quattro Razor, $8.99, minus $4 coupon. $4.99.
** 2 boxes of Rice Krispies, 2/$4, minus 2 $1 coupons. $1 each.
** 2 bags of Gold Emblem nuts (chocolate covered Bridge mix--yum) $0.99 each, minus $2 off any 2 Gold Emblem nuts--coupon took off $1.98. Free
** 2 Johnson's Cucumber Melon Baby Lotions, $1.12 clearance price. Minus 2 $1 off coupons. $0.12 each.
** Bayer 4 ct. Crystals, $2, no coupon. $2.

Total: $29.21, minus $5 off $25 purchase from Rite Aid. $24.21.
Minus all other coupons, New Total: $13.53.
Used $12.47 in ECBs, paid $0.56 out of pocket!
Received 3 ECBs for Skippy/Ragu, 4 ECBs for Quattro razor, 2 ECBs for Bayer Crystals. 9 ECBs total.

The sweet check-out lady was nice and complimented me on my purchase. She said "Now, do you take a class on how to get such good deals?" Looking at the next person in line, she said "She only paid $0.56 for all of that!" :) The person politely acted impressed, but just wanted to check out. :) When someone asks me that, I usually always direct them to Money Saving Mom, cause that's where I got started and it's easy to remember. :) moneysavingmom.com

Long story short, I used about $12 ECBs, got 9 back. If not for that $5/$25 coupon, it would have been kind of a downer week, so I was glad we made it there.

CVS News

2009-05-14T14:46:00.004-04:00

I have decided to consolidate my CVS shopping. What?? Ok, maybe not the actual shopping, but the use of more than one card. I know, I probably should just only have 1 card, so that's where I'm going. I started with just one CVS card for myself, when my awesome friend Suzanne introduced me to her great deals. After a couple months, I registered my hubby for one, and then my mom started letting me use hers. I hadn't planned on using hers, but something she bought gave her $10 ECBs, so she gave them to me, but I had to use her card to use them, so the cycle began. :) Since my ECBs have been dwindling anyways, along with the fact that it's torture to get Cooper to even go to CVS anymore, (not so much any other store, but he hates CVS and instantly starts crying when we pull into the parking lot. Yikes.) I've decided to stop using my hubby's card and my mom's. Even though, CVS doesn't limit how many cards you have per person/household, some people get pretty uptight about it, so it will alleviate that issue. I originally wanted additional cards for baby/diaper deals, when there was just a Limit 1 on sales. But now I'm just going to use up their few ECBs and focus on my one card. Maybe I'll be able to grow them more if I concentrate on just one... Hopefully. I MAY use their cards IF there is something that I can get free and get ECBs, but we'll see. That doesn't happen too often. And I'll just turn around and use the ECBs right away on necessities.

Ok, on to the CVS deal news, if you haven't been looking, check out all the baby aisle stuff. LOTS of things are going 75% off lately. Some of them not marked--Huggies Natural Care wipes refill (2 refills) are ringing up $1.62. Playskool wipes have been marked down to $0.82 cause they are redoing the packaging. Some of the Huggies Clean Team wipes are 75% off (not sure of price). Some Johnson's Baby stuff is going to 75% off. Many of the Playskool baby items (bottles, toys, etc.) are being marked down. Some of the Gentle Naturals items are on clearance because they are redoing the packaging. Palmer's Stretch mark lotion I just found 75% off in the baby section. Some nursing pads (Lansinoh) I saw on 75% off. ALL great additions to a baby gift basket!!! And don't forget to use coupons to make the deals even better!!!

Here are some of the great clearance deals I have gotten lately:

** 2 Johnson's Cucumber Melon Baby Lotion, $1.12 each, minus 2 $1 coupons for the Johnson's baby site. $0.12 each! Great for a baby gift basket.
** Gentle Naturals Cradle Cap lotion, $2.25, minus $2 off coupon. $0.25!
** 2 packs of the Huggies Natural refills (2 ct.), $1.62 each, minus a $2 off any Huggies tub or refill coupon from the coupon machine, minus 2 $0.50 off manufacturer coupons! $0.24 total!

I am hopefully going to go back and get some of the Palmer's lotion for my gift basket that I'm making (I think it was $1.72 and I have $1 off coupon.) If I can find a Lansinoh coupon, I may get some of those for the basket too (I think they were around $2.)

If your store has a price scanner, load up your cart and check things out! There could be more that I don't know about (do tell, if you find something). I love when companies change packaging. Score!

Something to Talk About

2009-05-07T13:10:00.009-04:00

It's been a little while since I posted. There hasn't been much to get excited about. The grocery store deals the last couple weeks have been blah. CVS is less than exciting lately.

I did do the 3M "metal" hook deal--buy $15 worth and get 5 ECBs. They were $2.50 each. So you had to buy 6 in order to reach the $15 mark. Well, 3M (along with Scotch) always has great coupons out on their website. AND they always put them in pdf format, so you can print as many as you want. So they had $2.50 coupons for the "metal" 3M hooks. HOW CONVENIENT! So I printed off 6 of them and got them all FREE, plus the 5 ECBs. So that was the latest good deal at CVS. It would have been even nicer if you could do it more than once per card, but they have been really strict about that, so it was a Limit 1.

Anyways, I do have something to talk about today. Yesterday I had a 2 hour time frame to get out of the house. I needed the me time, but I also had 12 ECBs expiring, so it was a necessity in more way than one. :)

I got all of the items in the following pictures for LESS THAN ONE DOLLAR! Sweet.

Here's how I did it:

First stop: Kmart. (Loot in the middle of the picture.) I remember Kmart was doing doubles up to $0.75 and last time I went (when they were doubled up to $2) I found a big box of the Scotch Pop-Up tape dispensers for $0.99. I had coupons for them, but didn't have them in my stash at the time. This time, I did!

**4 Pop Up tape dispensers $0.99 each, minus 4 $0.75 coupons, doubled. Free.

**2 Halls cough drops $1.34 each, minus 2 $0.73 coupons, doubled. Free.

Paid only $0.32 of tax out of pocket.

Next stop: Target. (loot pictured to the right) I wanted to do the Fiber One gift card deal, with my previous gift card from the Special K deal.

**2 boxes of Fiber One bars $2.39 each, minus 2 $1.35 coupons. $1.04 each.

**1 box of Fiber One toaster pastries $1.79, no coupon, but wanted to try them. $1.79.

**1 box of Fiber One Honey Clusters cereal $2.39, minus $1 off coupon. $1.39.

**1 small bag of Chex Mix $0.99, minus Target $1 off Chex Mix coupon. (No size stated, but it beeped. Cashier pushed it through.) Free, plus $0.01 overage.

**1 Dove chocolate bar, minus Target $1 off Dove candy coupon. (No size/type stated, but it beeped. Cashier pushed it through.) Free, plus $0.01 overage. (not pictured, eaten. yum.)

**4 trial size containers of Band Aids. $0.97 each, minus 4 $1 off ANY Band Aid coupons. (Coupon beeped, but cashier pushed them through.) Free, plus $0.03 overage each--total $0.12 overage.

Total came to $5.25 after tax. Paid with $5 gift card from Special K deal. Paid $0.25 out of pocket AND got a new $5 gift card!

Last stop: CVS. (loot pictured to the left) Like I said, I had $12 ECBs expiring and wanted to make the most of them. I had cereal coupons and the Colgate coupons, so that's what I decided to do.

**3 boxes of Frosted Mini Wheats, 3/$10, minus 3 $1 coupons. 3/$7.

**1 Colgate Max White toothpaste, $2.99, minus $1 coupon. $1.99.

**1 Colgate Max White toothbrush, $2.99, minus $1 coupon. $1.99.

**2 Russell Stover Private Reserve chocolate bars, (add to Mother's day gifts) clearanced $0.50 each. $1.00.

**1 Gentle Naturals Cradle Cap Care lotion (add to baby shower gift), clearanced from $8.99 to $2.25, used $2 off coupon. $0.25.

Total: $12.23. Used $12 ECBs and $0.23 out of pocket. Got back 5 ECBs for cereal and 4 ECBs for Colgate products.

So all in all, $0.32 + $0.25 + $0.23 = $0.80 for all of that in the picture. I was excited to come home and drag all my bags in and say "I got all of this for about $1." :) Almost everything will go in my stash/stockpile. The gifts will be put in their places. But the Fiber One bars will stay out (yum--oats & caramel) and my hubby already had some Chex Mix. So even if I just wanted the Fiber One bars to have around for snacks, I could never get two boxes for just $0.80 total. I love deals. Love 'em!

Target Paid Me for Candles!

2009-04-23T22:54:00.004-04:00

Several weeks ago, I did a deal at Target that gave me a $5 gift card (Buy 2 packs of Schick Quattro for Women razors, get a $5 gift card). I had $4 off coupons, so it made for a decent deal. Then a week or so later, I did a new deal that gave me a $5 gift card, (Buy a Gillette Fuzion and a Gillette shave gel, get a $5 gift card). Again, I had coupons and BUT this time I used the first $5 gift card to pay for the new deal. So I've started this cycle of paying with a gift card to get a gift card! AND...I'M...HOOKED.

So when I read about the NEWEST gift card deal (Buy 2 Glade Fragrance collection candles, get a $5 gift card) I was determined to do it again. This was the best by far. The small candles were $5.99 each. $5.99 x 2 = $11.98. Of course, I wasn't going to pay $11.98 for candles! (even though they really do smell good) I had 2 $4 off coupons, so it was $11.98 -$8 = $3.98! AND I GOT A $5 gift card back!!! Can you believe it??? They paid me to take their candles! Ok, Target, you don't have to twist my arm, I'll gladly take them. Thank you.

I also picked up two packs of Kraft Easy Mac meals to see if the Target coupon would work. The coupon said "$1 off two Kraft Easy Mac Meals." But the picture was a 4 pack of meals. It beeped and said "Item not purchased" or something like that. ??? I said that I thought the Target coupon wording always seemed pretty vague. She said "We have to go by the picture." Like that makes sense. But she let me do it this time, so they were $0.77 each, minus the $1 coupon. In total, I owed $4.94, paid with my previous $5 gift card, and she handed me a new $5 gift card. Good deals are so much fun.

So, get out and do this deal, people. If you haven't heard about it yet, Money Saving Mom gives all the details here and gives the link for the printable coupons (hopefully they are still available for you.) When good deals come along, those printable coupons can go quick! Don't tell my mom or mother-in-law, but they are getting candles for Mother's Day. :) And hopefully some other good deals to go along with them.

Kmart Super Double Sale, Part 2.

2009-04-23T15:50:00.003-04:00

I didn't use all my coupons from my first Kmart trip, so Monday I went out and tried out another local Kmart. This Kmart had tons of the new Spring Beauty coupon booklet out for people to take! Yay! And I found a huge clearance section of products that I used coupons on! I love clearance sections and have never seen a Kmart with one that included Health and Beauty products. I will remember that, believe me. I didn't see as many couponers this time, but I did run into a nice Mother/Daughter combo and we chatted a little. They graciously gave me some Huggies coupons, which was super nice and I told them to make sure and grab some of the Spring coupon booklets. They also mentioned CVS was a great place to get diapers and I told them I LOVE CVS too. We bonded. :)

So here's what I got on my second trip:

**Softsoap Body Wash $2.24 on clearance, minus $1 coupon, doubled. $0.24.

**2 Veet Lotions on clearance $3.50 each, minus 2 $2 coupons, doubled. Free.

**Dial Body Wash $2.24 on clearnace, minus $1 coupon, doubled. $0.24.

**Clean and Clear toner $4.49, minus $2 coupon, doubled. $0.49.

**4 Aveeno lotions $3.15 each, minus $2 coupons, doubled. Free.

**2 Dry Idea deodorants $3.49 each, minus 2 $2 coupons, doubled. Free.

**Samy Mouse $2.99 on clearnace, minus $2.25 coupon, (forgot this wouldn't be doubled--oops.) $0.74.

**2 All Small and Might detergents $4.19 each, minus 2 $2 coupons, doubled. $0.19 each.

**Oust Air Sanitizer $4.19, $2 coupon was skipped and so I returned this, which much annoyance by the rude cashier. $4.19.

**Diet Pepsi 20oz. $1.49. $0.50 coupon also skipped, also returned, still annoyed. $1.49.

**Milk $2.49
**Hormel Compleat meal, was supposed to be $2, rang up $2.79, she said I had to buy 3 because they were 3/$6. Ugg. I got it because I was afraid I would be under by $50 limit, to use the $5/$50 coupon. Used $0.75 coupon, doubled. $1.29.

Total: $57.88 (around $61 with tax)

Minus $5 off a $50 purchase, Minus all other coupons: $6.59

Tax: $2.07

Total before returns: $8.66

Minus $6.08 in returns.

Total after annoying return, including tax: $2.58

The customer service lady was SO rude. If any of you know me, I am not mean or loud or rude and just politely told her the situation. She grabbed my receipt and basically told me there was nothing she could do. She spent 10-15 minutes going through the coupons I used (all the while Cooper has been a gem the whole time, thankfully.) She comes back with more excuses and I say I just want to return them. She huffs and puffs and bangs things around loudly, hands me my money and receipt and says nothing. Ugg. People like that! I just don't get it. Yes, I understand Super Double coupon week may be extra stressful. I get that. But I did nothing to deserve that treatment. I had 18 items and 17 coupons (no coupon for the milk) and so I knew that coupons weren't taken off. Oh well, I got my money back and her attitude is not my problem. Of all the stuff, I really needed the milk, which was $2.49 and so I paid just a couple extra cents for the rest of the stuff.

Kmart Super Double Coupons, I'm lovin' it!

2009-04-20T17:21:00.005-04:00

On Sunday, I hit up Kmart for their Super Double Coupon event. And this is not your typical double coupon situation. They were doubling up to and including $2 coupons! Wow. I was excited. I love the thrill of conquering a great sale. I made it out about 1pm. I didn't have any problem with a lack of inventory, which is great. I did run in to quite a few other groups of people with their coupon stashes doing the same thing. I also made sure to sign up for and print off my $5 off a $50 Kmart purchase coupon you can get for registering at kmart.com, I believe, so I was hoping I could use that too.

I luckily made the trip by myself so I had all of my brain and attention to use towards getting some great deals. An interesting thing is that Kmart sets up their computer system that the coupon will double, but will not give you more money off than the actual price of the item. The cash register does all the work. However, occasionally the cashier will have to push a button to pick which item the coupon is for. My cashier wasn't into precision, but mainly tried to do things quickly. So she did miss one coupon (which I ended up returning that item) and she did somehow give me overage for one item, just because she quickly pressed a button without looking at what she was pressing. Here's what I found:

**1 St. Ives lotion $1.79, minus $1 coupon, doubled. Free.

**3 Aveeno lotions $3.15 each, minus 3 $2 coupons, doubled. Free.

**3 Bic Soleil razors $2.50 each, minus 3 $2 coupons, dobled. Free.

**1 Garnier hairspray $3.99, minus $2 coupon, doubled. Free.

**3 Lysol toilet bowl cleaners $2.79 each, minus $1 coupons, doubled. $0.79 each.

**1 Scrubbing Bubbles toilet bowl cleaner $3.50, minus $1 coupon, doubled. $1.50.

**1 Cascade Rinse Agent $3.49. Coupon for free rinse agent, minus $3.49. Free.

**1 Dawn dish liquid $2.39, minus $1.50 coupon that cashier doubled to $3 off. $0.61 overage.

**1 Febreeze air freshener $2.79, minus $1.50 coupon, doubled. Free.

**3 Pledge multi-surface wipes, minus 2 $2 coupons, doubled. (She missed the 3rd one) Paid $3.89!!! (I will be taking the 3rd pack back.)

**2 Carvers dog treats $3.19 each, minus $1.50 coupons, doubled. $0.19 each.

**4 Hormel complete dinners $2 each, minus $0.75 coupons, doubled. $0.50 each.

Total for all products: $69.77

Minus $5 on a $50 purchase coupon: $64.77

Minus all other coupons: $4.53

Tax: $2.50.

Total: $7.03.

Minus cost of returning Pledge wipes: -$4.17

Actual Total Cost, including tax: $2.86 JACKPOT!

Now, when relaying this trip to my Dad, he said "Did you really need all the stuff you got?" Always rational, my dad. But the answer is "No." I really didn't need it all, but it is all stuff that I will either eventually use, pass on to friends or family, or donate. But of the things I did need and was currently out of (4 Compleat Meals, 2 Pledge Wipes, 4 Toilet Bowl cleaners) I would not have been able to get those for $2.86 total anywhere if I just ran and picked them up on the spur of the moment. So the other things I scored were all just bonuses to me and my stockpile.

$0.00 Laundry Detergent! I'll take it!

2009-04-18T00:48:00.002-04:00

I hit CVS a couple times this week. Free Sobe Water was nice (it was BOGO and there's a BOGO coupon). I also got the free after ECB's Colgate toothpaste and Softsoap Body wash, of course. I had coupons for those, so I made more ECBs than I used. :) :)

But Thursday was the best trip of the week. Money Saving Mom posted about a BOGO Purex detergent coupon on coupons.com. What was EXTRA SUPER SWEET was that CVS had this detergent on BOGO sale also this week. BOGO sale, plus BOGO coupon=F-R-E-E. Free! The printable coupons usually let you print two of each coupon, per computer, so that's what I did. I was even going to print some off at my parents, but the coupon reached it's limit FAST and was gone either the same day or next day. Oh well, Four detergents will last awhile (along with the 3 I already have in my stockpile.)

My cashier (a very nice one that is always friendly) wasn't sure if I could use the BOGO coupon. I didn't want to be a problem, and I told her that I thought it would, but if not it's fine. She asked the manager (a new guy--I'll be so happy if the old guys leaves--he so reminds me of a used car salesman, I can't stand it.) Anyways. The new guy read the coupons and said it should be fine. Technically (I didn't tell him this, but this is how it works, and CVS coupon policy states that you can use a BOGO coupon with a BOGO sale--but the workers don't always know that), but technically, CVS is offering the BOGO sale, however they do that in conjunction with the manufacturer, and then Purex is offering the coupon (which CVS will be reimbursed for), so there's really no reason why they shouldn't but sometimes they get all crazy about it. If they wouldn't have let me, I would have bought them at a different CVS. Earlier in the week, I did the same sort of thing with the Sobe Life Water deal and it wasn't a problem.

Again, I don't have a picture, but I'll let you use your imagination to visual 4 bottles of Purex detergent. :) I also grabbed two Sobe waters. I had CVS coupons for $0.50 off these, used 2 of them and so they were about $0.49 total. With tax and everything, my total was $1.58. Strangely enough, I had an ECB for $1.58. I didn't think I could use it, but this particular cashier will take it and just adjust it however she needs to. So I ended up paying $0.00 out of pocket! And I actually got back a Surprise $1 ECB from the Softsoap that printed the wrong ECB earlier this week and I called and they fixed it.

I love when $0.00 happens. It doesn't happen often, but you get that A-Team feeling when it does... "I love it when a plan comes together."

Meijer Trip 4-16. Lost without my Camera. :( And lots of :P :P :P

2009-04-17T17:36:00.009-04:00

I really needed to do a major grocery trip this week. I just couldn't get it to happen, so I had to settle with taking my wee one with me. I like shopping with him almost always, but when it comes to a big trip, it's just not usually fun. I have a big stash of coupons, he has the patience of a 21 month old. And we pull into the parking lot and I realize I only have one biscuit cookie for him to gnaw on. Bad planning. So we tried. I could have saved about $5 more dollars, at least, I'm estimating if I was alone. A couple things rang up wrong and a couple coupons didn't come off. It's just close to impossible to catch that kind of stuff with a cranky wee one with you. Oh, well. We did pretty good regardless.

Another bummer for this post is I don't have pictures. (left my camera at my parents on Easter--hope to get it this weekend.) I did snap some with my camera phone. BUT I don't really know how to get them from my phone to here, so we'll see. Maybe I'll figure it out. But I'm pretty sure I'd have to pay for sending them. And that's not thrifty, so we may just go without.

Meijer had a 10 for $10 sale this week. Not a ton of stuff to choose from, but with coupons I like the 10/10 sales. I also did several deals with manufacturer's coupons plus Meijer Mealbox coupons. You can only use 1 MMB coupon per item, but you can use a manu. coupon with a MMB coupon. It states "cannot be combined with another Meijer manufacturer coupon" and so I wasn't doing that, and they worked. I do not really like how they work, because when they ring up, it says "Promotion" or something like that and say "$0.00" which always confuses me. But on the receipt, the savings comes off underneath each particular item and not at the end like the manufacturer coupons. Here's what I got for $31.39.

**9 jars of Nature's Goodness baby food (apricots)--clearanced to $0.22 each, charged for 10, though. :P
**4 Mint Zone bars 4 x $1.15, minus 3 free with coupon, total $1.15
**2 8 oz Daisy sour creams $1.18, minus 2 $0.50 coupons, doubled--only one was taken off. :P again.
**1 Kraft Dressing $1.98, used $1.50 coupon
**1 Green Giant Frozen broccoli Steamer that rang up $2.19, but was in the 10/10 section. :P again!!! Used $0.50 off coupon, doubled.
**1 McCormick minced garlic $2.49, used MMB $1 off coupon
**1 Liquid plumber $4.35. Had a "Free or your money back sticker" which I'm going to send in for, cause I still have a clog. :P :P
**2 Oscar Mayer Deli Creation sandwichs, 2 for $5, used $1 off coupon. I have some more of these coupons, but probably will wait to see if they go 2 for $4. They aren't that big, but my husband liked them.
**2 Dole bags of salad. Supposed to be in the 10/10 sale, but rang up $0.98. So that put me off with the Buy 10/10, get 1 free. :P
**2 Green Giant boxed veggies $1 each, used $0.50/2, doubled, $0.50 each
**2 Green Giant Steamers $1, used 2 $0.50/1 coupons, doubled. Free.
**2 Softsoap pumps, $1 each (not in the 10/10 sale, why?) used 2 $0.50/1 coupons, doubled. Free
**2 containers of organic fresh mushrooms. Yum, in salads! $1 each.
**2 Motts jars of applesauce. $1.69 each, used 2 $0.55/1 coupons, doubled. Plus $1 off 2 MMB coupons. $0.19 each.
**1 Arnolds wheat bread. $1.69, used $1 off MMB coupon. $0.69.
**1 Minute Rice, price cut $2.15, used $0.50/1 coupon, doubled. $1.15. I've been buying the bagged rice cause it's cheaper, but it comes out so sticky. Hopefully I'll have better luck with this. **3 boxes of Kleenex with lotion 3/$4. Used $0.50/3 coupon, doubled. $1 each.
**3 cans of Hormel chicken breast (never tried it?) 3/$6. $1 off MMB coupon. 3/$5.
**2 Snuggle Creme liquid fabric softeners. 2/$7, used 2 $2 off coupons. 2/$3
**1 Oncor Salisbury Steak dinner $2
**6 Smart Ones, Buy 6/$12, get $2 off instantly, plus $1/5 coupon. 6/$9
Used a $5 off a $50 purchase coupon on the back of a ticket stub.

It was like $65 something. I gave the cashier my coupons and she said "Let's see if we can get it down to $50." :) She was nice. But I though, Oh yeah, lady, it's getting under $50!

With just coupons, it was like $43. Not bad. But then I whipped out the AWESOME $25 Meijer giftcard that my DAD gave me...He said he just doesn't shop there and so I could have it. What? I think he was just being super nice and helpful, like usual. But THANK YOU! It came out to $18.48 after the gift card. WOW, that's great! Total savings: (not including gift card) $48.28! Nice.

So you can see with all the :P's, I could have done better, but that's that. I don't know if it's worth it to return the couple things that didn't come out right? I'll have to think about it. BUT I did get home and realize I didn't buy the 10 for $10 Ground Turkey they had on sale, that we needed! So today, when I was out on my own (to hit up a couple garage sales), I stopped at Meijer for the Ground Turkey. I also got the following:

**7 lbs Ground Turkey $1/lb. $7 total
**4 bags Aunt Millies hot dog buns/hamburger buns $1
**1 box Kleenex $1.33, minus $0.40 coupon**, doubled. $0.53.
**1 6 pack Danimals yogurt $2, minus $1 coupon, minus $1 MMB coupon. Free. (forgot to get this last night, even though I handed the lady the coupons for it. I hate when that happens.)
**2 packs of Bar S franks $1 each
**1 Cascade dish detergent $3.09, minus $3 off coupon**, $0.09.

**Here's the funny thing, at my garage sales, I didn't hit any great finds, BUT the best garage sale deal I got: At one of the garage sales, the seller gave me a little baggy of coupons. She said she picked a bunch up at her Day Care and so she handed me one. Yum... coupons. I was thrilled. I opened it up (I managed to wait til I got to the car) there were a bunch of coupons!!! Kleenex coupons, (plus samples), Kimberly Clark product coupon booklet (hence the Cascade coupon). It rocked! It made the relatively dismal garage sale finds ALL worth it. :)

But anyways, the total was $12.91, after the coupons and the $1 item off for the 10/$10 get 1 free sale. Total Savings of $20.79! Awesome again!!!

Total spent: $31.39
Total Savings: $69.07
That's about 70%! Nice work. Even without pictures and a bunch of :P's.

Easter Basket goodies

2009-04-10T01:23:00.008-04:00

I wanted to share my Easter basket deals that I have put together. Cooper's not old enough to get Easter candy yet, but I've managed to pick up a nice assortment of Easter gifts for his basket this year--well, actually last year. You see, I am a big fan of stocking up for holidays, after the holidays. It sounds weird, but if you have the room (even just one plastic storage tub) you can grab wonderful holiday deals (75-90% off) after the holidays and save them for the following year, and even years to come. Here's Cooper's basket. I didn't even have to buy him an Easter basket, actually! For a shower gift, before he was born, someone gave me a beautiful basket, filled with diapers. I seriously think it may have been an Easter basket and they used it for a shower gift--what a great idea! So if you are needing a shower gift anytime soon, definitely scout out some cute Easter baskets that you see and grab them up after Easter when they go on clearance. I saw a super cute round sturdy one at CVS that I am hoping will still be there when it hits 75% off. I may consider 50% off , but probably not. I just usually think 50% off is that great a deal. I know, I'm crazy.

For the fillers, I picked up cute things throughout the year--mainly on 75% off--and store them down in the basement. Then when a holiday comes around, I have a selection of toys to choose from. Easter is a good holiday for little gifts (things that will fit in a basket, of course) so I found the Pluto stuffed toy ($1.48--Target after Christmas clearance), this Tonka Truck no-spill bubble cup (Kmart, 75% off summer clearance $1.25), and a set of cute Mickey Mouse Clubhouse race cars (Kroger, 75% off toy clearance--Kroger has really great toy clearances randomly. This was $2.49.)

I filled the basket with CVS free after Extra Buck Easter grass, from this year, and some Easter themed gifts that I grabbed up last year after Easter. Either 75-90% off. Cute stuffed Easter bunny, and two little hop-around Easter toys, which Cooper can play with for a couple weeks, and then I'll put them back in the Easter bin for next year. A perfect little basket!
Also, as the year goes on, I gather books up with bunny/Easter themes. My mom is a big book giver, which I love, and some of the books are from her from last year. I don't have them out all year, just for the holiday. That way they seem new every year. And they actually stay new-looking, too. I did get these out about a week prior to Easter, so Cooper could look at them longer. As soon as I plopped them down in his book pile, he picked the new ones out and looked and looked at them.
As far as Easter eggs, I have several bags of different Easter eggs that I picked up either on clearance (some at Big Lots, CVS, Walmart, etc.) and a bag or two at a garage sale. All either 75-90% off, or garage sale priced at around $0.50. If you find some ones you really like keep a mental note of it and then check back a couple days to a week after Easter. I thought the little carrot ones were adorable so I waited to get them on clearance at Big Lots last year and I also got a pack of the glow in the dark ones after Easter, that Cooper will probably be into for next year--that will be fun!) More than likely, you'll find some that you really like, that your kids will love, even if it is next year, or down the road. I found the large eggs at a garage sale--perfect for 1 year old hands to pick up. I also found a bag of dinosaur Easter eggs at a garage sale. When he hits the dino stage, which I'm assuming most boys do, he'll love them.

So, I hope I inspired you to save a little money on Easter. It just takes a little planning and a place to store some extra goodies. I think my Easter basket is so much better than those pre-packaged ones with cheap toys and loads of candy that I see all over the place. But I am a little biased to my own good deals. :) But really, I like the personal feel and the fact that I put it all together myself, all while saving some money. You don't have to sacrifice quality even when you are on a budget.

$15 off of a $75 purchase CRT! Whoa Nelly!

2009-04-06T15:37:00.004-04:00

Sunday I went into CVS with the intentions of getting my 3 packs of Huggies, use my 3 $5 off coupons, and a $4 off of $20 coupon that I hadn't use yet, but when I scanned my card at the coupon machine, it spit out a $15 off a $75 purchase. Now, I know $4/$20 and $15/$75 still equals 20% off. I get that. But there's something about that $15 off that I COULDN'T resist. So I saved my coupons, browsed the store a little bit (there's lots of things being marked down, some that I have my eye on) and then left.

Later that night, after everyone was in bed asleep, I opened up my CVS ads and grabbed my stacks of coupons and went to work. Now, I'm sure you know if you shop at CVS, you never can count on them having everything you want to buy, especially if it's on sale with Extra Bucks. So I had a long list of things I really wanted and then some extras that would work.

Here's what I came up with:

**3 packs of Huggies $10 each, minus 3 $5 coupons, get 10 ECBs back = $5

**2 Easter baskets, $1.99, get 1.99 back each (free)

**2 Easter bags of Easter grasss, $0.79 each, get 0.79 ECBs back each (free)

**1 Skintimate Shave Gel, $3.49, get 3.49 ECBs back (free)

**1 Stayfree pads, $3.99, minus $2 off CRT coupon, get 2 ECB back (free)

**2 Carefree liners $4.19, minus 2 $1.50 coupons, get 2 ECBs back each = $0.69 each

**1 Colgate MaxWhite toothpaste $2.99, minus $1 coupon, get 2 ECBs back (free)

**2 Glade Air fresheners $0.99 each, BOGO coupon, $1 off CRT (free)

**2 Excedrin Migraine $1.99 each, 2 $2 off coupons (free)

**1 Dawn dish liquid $0.99, minus $1 coupon (free)

**1 Gerber Graduates snack $3.29, minus $3 coupon = $0.29

**2 cans of Pringles $0.88 each, minus $1/2 coupon = $0.76

**2 Nature Made vitamins $5.99 each, BOGO sale, minus $2 CRT, minus 2 $1 coupons = $1.99/2

Total before coupons: around $76, with tax it was around $82

Minus $15/75, Total after coupons: around $24

Used $20.49 in ECBs, Subtotal: $0.95, plus tax for grand total of $2.84. (from my gift card)

Received around $27 in ECBs.

I wish I could have grown my ECBs more, but I used all that I had. :( I would have done the Natural Dentist mouthwash, but I just didn't have enough ECBs to buy it and I really didn't want to use up more of my gift card balance. But I'm happy with it. Hopefully there will be some moneymaker deals coming up that will help me out. :) The moral of the story: It helps to PLAN. And for some reason, I really enjoy plotting out my next great deal. It's like searching for treasure! :)

A Couple More Finds: CVS & Garage Sales

2009-04-04T00:19:00.007-04:00

I am really exciting for garage sale season. I seriously am up to my ears in clothes for this summer (thanks to previous garage sales, clearance racks, a friend who passes down her son's clothes, etc.) But I still love to go, and especially since I'm not in a panic to get stuff for now, I can go, shop, find great prices and really be kind of picky about what I get.

So right now, I've been shopping for 2T, 3T and maybe some 4T if I find them. My little guy is 21 months old, so this summer he'll be on the verge of 24 month clothes and 2T clothes. And the nice thing is that with shorts, you don't have to worry so much about the length.

It feels early to be out at garage sales, but I did find a nice one this week. Before Cooper was born, I found a FABULOUS garage sale in Union, where the mom was just trying to get rid of her stuff. Stride Rite shoes for $0.50, I think it was. Clothes for $0.50. Socks, towels, etc for like $0.05! I walked away with 6 bags I think. And I still have shoes from her that I'm using! So I saw the ad, and it was the same street, about the same location, so I was HOPING it would be the same lady. I didn't see her, and it wasn't the same house (although it seemed to be about 4-5 moms putting the sale on), but there were great prices. Just not much of the sizes I was looking for. I found a couple 4T things at good prices, so I bought them up.

The 1st outfit is winter fleece pj's with polar bears and penguins. Cute. And $0.50. The 2nd outfit says Nike Football. It was a little more expensive than I usually go, but it was name brand so I splurged and spend $1.50. The 3rd outfit is also pj's, Cherokee brand, soft flannel with cars on the shirt and pin-striped pj pants. $0.50. So $2.50 for the 3 outfits. And good quality outfits.

My husband just a day or two earlier said "If you see some tennis shoes on sale for a good price, I need some." He was referring to the store, but I found some at the garage sale. :) $0.50!

They are Asics and they are in good condition. He has a couple pair of tennis shoes, but he needed some more comfortable ones to play basketball. So far so good. Until I find some more for 50 cents. :)

My last find was a splurge at CVS. Some things are going on clearance (it seems like of like extra Christmas type presents maybe) and I noticed one of the managers telling someone about some of the toys that were marked down. So I looked around. Nothing was really marked more than 25% or 50% off, but I thought I'd price check some things. Low and behold, I found a cute light up fish aquarium (not marked on clearance at all, but up on the top shelf where the rest of the clearance things were) so I price checked it. I bought Cooper one of these last year for $1 at a garage sale, but sadly it didn't light up, like the one at the Children's Hospital does, that was always make a special trip to go see. He loves it.

Anyways, the regular price was $9.99. Not bad. But it did ring up 75% off! $2.49! It was something special that I had been wanting to get, so I used some Extra Bucks to splurge and get it. He loves it. It lights up and has some Nemo fish on it. Cute cute cute. So worth it. :)

So those are my hot buys for the week. :) I'm excited for the coming week and getting some Huggies at CVS with my $5 coupons and Extra Bucks! And the Easter freebies too.

A great Walgreens trip---I don't know if I've ever said that!

2009-03-30T15:57:00.008-04:00

Today we were out and about and I'm so happy for the wonderful weather--the grass is GREEN! Really green! Yay! We stopped at CVS and Walgreens to celebrate. :)

At CVS I picked up:
* 2 Sally Hensen nail polishes (BOGO) and use by $3/2 CVS coupon, to make them free
* 2 Scrubbing Bubbles Action Scrubbers. They were $2.99, and I had 2 $2.75 off coupons, so they were about $0.50 for the two--and definitely something I'll use.
* 1 AccuCheck meter (9.99, get 9.99) --to donate
* 2 of the PAAS Easter egg coloring kits (1.99, get 1.99).
* 1 bag of Jelly Beans (not pictured, on sale for $0.50--I thought I needed a filler, but am not sure if I really did. The jelly beans were not good--I tried them. And I'm not particularly picky on my sweets.)

All in all, I used $13.99 ECBs, plus $0.75 out of pocket (off of gift card) and got back $13.97 in ECBs. (3.98 for the 2 Paas, 9.99 for Accu-Check)

The BIG STORY is that we hit Walgreens afterwards. Cooper was nearing the end of his tolerance for shopping at this point, but I armed him with a biscuit to gnaw on (and an emergency sucker in my pocket) and he was good to go. We picked up:

* 2 rolls of Reynolds Wrap foil ($0.89 with in-ad Q, plus $1 off manufacturer coupon=free plus $0.22 overage)
*2 Glade Fragrance Collection Soy Candles ($5.99 each, minus $4 off with Wags coupon, minus 2 4 off manu. coupon= free) These will be nice Mother's Day gift additions.
*2 Cherry Cokes and 2 Hershey bars (BOGO Walgreens coupon from Coke Rewards, plus 2 free
Hershey bars from buying the Cokes=1.19 after coupons)
*2 bags of Halls cough drops (used Wags in-ad Q for the $1.39 price, BOGO coupon found at
Kmart took off $2.29, $1 off manu. Q made $0.51 overage)
*3 Easter mini-sticker book (used 3/$1 in-ad coupon because I needed more items to match my
number of coupons.)

So all in all I paid $1.28 before tax, making a total of $2.66 with tax. The cashier, Krystal, was SO nice and SO helpful. She didn't say anything rude, which has sadly been typical Wags behavior. She didn't throw any of my coupons back at me and say "I'm not taking this". She was just NICE. And if a coupon wouldn't have worked, that would have been fine, but I just appreciated her willingness to do her job and have great customer service. Very refreshing. I will definitely fill out my survey on the receipt and leave high marks for her, and even send an additional nice email to walgreens.com about her. Thank you Krystal, you made my day. And all the loot for $2.66 helped. :)

Meijer: March 27th, 3 free milks!!!

2009-03-27T21:46:00.003-04:00

We hit up Meijer today, because I wanted to do the Kellogg's deal. Buy 3 Kellogg's cereals, get 1 free milk, Buy 5, get 2 free gallons, Buy 7, get 3 free gallons. I had 2 $0.70/1 coupons, so I was going to use them on the 5/$10 Kellogg's cereals that were on sale, making them just $1 each. I had kind of wished in my head that someone would leave some extra coupons behind by the cereals--you know how nice people do that, when they know they won't use them. I love that. Well, praise the Lord, someone left 3, 3!!! extra $0.70/1 coupons there! So that gave me 5 total, so that I could be 5 boxes for $5 total, and then get the coupons for two free milks!!! How awesome! I'm going to try and do that (leave extra coupons) more often, because it really made my day.

I also grabbed a loaf of $1.29 wheat bread and decided to do the Nabisco deal, where you buy 2 Nabisco products listed (most were 2 for $4) and get a gallon of milk free instantly. Milk is only $1.77 this week, but still, I'll take it for free. We needed milk (my main reason for going to Meijer) and so this would let me get the milk now, and not have to turn around and go get the milk to use my coupons--cause you are supposed to use the coupons on your next order. So I paid around $10 for 5 boxes of cereals, 2 boxes of Nabisco crackers, 1 loaf of break and 1 gallon of milk. I thought that was good. AND I got two coupons for 2 more free milks to use later!

For all the great Meijer deals, I like to check out Bargain Briana and Cincinnati Cents. Check them out!

CVS: March 27th

2009-03-27T21:28:00.003-04:00

A couple days ago, while browsing CVS, and picking up some Crest $3.49, get $3.49 toothpaste, I scanned my card at the coupon/price checker machine. To my disbelief, a $5 off $30 purchase printed off. That rarely happens to me, so I was excited! So I went home and plotted my $30 purchase, in hopes of gaining ECBs. Well, it didn't totally work out with much of a gain, but I did pretty good. Everything did not quite make it to the picture, but I'll list it out.

First, for half my total of $30, I got the Bayer Contour Meter, which I had a coupon for. It was $14.99, and the coupon is good up to $30, so it took off all $14.99. I bought the Diet Pepsi 3/$11, with the Buy 2 Get 1 free coupon, so it took $3.67 off, and I got 2 ECBs back for that. I got my 2nd Crest toothpaste (limit was changed to 2), with a $0.50 off coupon, and got the $3.49 ECBs back. I got the Schick Intuition razor (my personal favorite razor ever! You'll even shave every day through the winter with this razor ladies!) It was $8.99, minus a $4 coupon, and I got 3 ECBs back for it. I had a coupon for a free Diet Dr. Pepper ($1.49-$1.49= free), a coupon scanner coupon for $2 off any Ambi product--the bar soaps are only $1.99, so free again. And a scanner coupon for $1 off 2 Gold Emblem snacks. The chocolate covered raisens were $0.99 a bag--I got two, so it was $0.98 for two bags. They are yummy. With all of that, my total was around $34. Which let me be able to use my $5 off coupon! Yay!

So after coupons, I basically paid for two 12 packs ($7.34), the Crest ($3.49-$0.50 coupon=$2.99), and the $0.98 raisens. I used $12 in Extra Bucks, $0.54 in change and got $8.49 back in Extra Bucks. A loss in ECBs but I am a big diet pop drinker and I love the razors, so it was worth it.

Birthday Party Savings: Thinking Ahead

2009-03-20T23:54:00.008-04:00

Well, I don't really know why I started thinking about it already. I don't want my son to turn 2 any faster than he has to. :( But something triggered my brain this week to think about preparing for his birthday--which is the end of June and seems so far away. I guess we were at Kmart browsing, like we often do (because Kmart is really good about leaving out coupons for their shoppers, and I like to be part of that scavenger hunt.) Anyways, we strolled by the party decorations/favors/plates section and we were checking out the newest additions. My son is a fan of a couple cartoons, which of course, he watches in moderation, but he really likes Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, (1st birthday theme), Handy Manny and The Backyardigans. And Sesame Street too, mainly Elmo. So those are my options.. He had really become a tool man, just like his grandpa, and carries his plastic screwdriver all over the house "fixing" things non-stop, all day. Cute! Kmart did not have Handy Manny, though, but I noticed that Kmart has added The Backyardigans to their decoration mix, so that was a thought. Well, I guess I forgot about it a little, and then my mom stopped by today and it triggered me to think about it again, because I asked her what she thought for a theme. She agreed that Handy Manny would be cute, because he's so into it.

Later in the evening, Cooper and I decided to get out of the house a little bit, mainly because my husband was tired (he's dealing with 3rd shift issues right now) and we wanted to be quiet for him to rest. It was time...to head to...Party City...and check things out. :)

Right away, I stopped at the clearance bins they have at the front. I naturally go to all the clearance spots, regardless of what I'm looking for. It's just instinct. :) Low and behold, there were several Backyardigans clearance items. Party favors, mainly, but it was something. So this sent me to the other clearance spot and, to my amazement, more Backyardigans stuff! Invitations and Thank You notes, even!!! A couple more party favor things, but not much. The thing is, the price sticker was not on the Invitation/Thank you note spot, just the regular price ($3.79 or something.) So I grabbed a stack, and some other items and kept looking around the store. Out of the party favor stuff I picked up, the little magnetic picture frames said $2, coloring pads $2, temporary tatoos $0.50. So I figured the packs of Invitation/Thank You's would be $2 also. NO WAY! I had the cashier price check them and ... a pack of 8 invites with 8 postcard thank you notes ... $0.50!!!! I was sold. And since there was no Handy Manny anything, I knew this was a good decision. I also price checked the other stuff and the picture frames were actually $1 for a 4 pack (yes!) and I decided no on the coloring pads (they were some sort of water color thingy--not worth $2 to me.) I did buy 2 of the $0.50 temporary tatoo tapes--thought the kids might like to get a tribal tatoo of the Backyardigans on their arms. :)

There was a section of regular priced Backyardigans stuff too. Not outrageous prices, but nothing like clearance prices. I will definitely get either napkins or plates (I usually do a solid plate with a print napkin, or vise versa, instead of two prints--to save money of course.) The 16 packs of lunch napkins were only around $2, so I thought that was great. I want to price check Kmart to compare, but I imagine they aren't cheaper than that. I will also check out Big Lots for the solid plates--a lot of times they will have packs of solid color plates (not just white) so hopefully they'll have something that matches. And they always have huge bags of plastic utensils for around a buck.

So for my trip to Party City, in my way advanced preparation, I got 6 packs of 8 Invitations/8 Thank You notes ($0.50 each), 5 packs of 4 magnetic photo frames ($1 each), and 2 rolls of temporary tatoos ($0.50 each). Total of $9 plus tax. I really like the postcard Thank You notes, but may do something different with the invites. Since they all came in the same pack together, it was a win/win, even if I only use the front picture and not the inside or something. 8 Backyardigan Thank You notes for $0.50 is a great deal!!!

I also am going to check out the Nick Jr. website, because sometimes they will have party ideas and stuff. I know Disney does (www.playhousedisney.com/celebrationcenter, which I used for my son's 1 year birthday and the Mickey Mouse clubhouse theme.)

So, the moral of the story: Sometimes it pays to think and shop ahead. I really don't think I could find pre-made invitations and thank you notes that cheap, even if I made them and printed them off myself. And it saves me the brain power (which I am sometimes lacking) and the time. So I was happy with my pre-birthday planning. Now I can enjoy the next couple months even more before my baby turns two.

Deal: Kroger Milk

2009-03-16T00:51:00.003-04:00

I ran into Kroger today to use up some Buddies coupons that were expiring. They only had 2 Buddies, so I grabbed a pack of the Johnson's baby q-tips, so it was about $0.67 for the three things, with the $3 off any Johnson's coupon. Anyway, I had a Kroger home mailer coupon for $1 off a 1/2 gallon of OJ, so I went back to grab it, and realized it was only $0.88 this week. Overage for me! But the milk 1/2 gallons are all only $0.88 too. So I grabbed a couple, cause that's hard to beat. $1.76 for a whole gallon worth. It's rarely under $2 so I thought I'd share. I do try and combine my milk buying with my CVS trips, but I thought this was a good deal, and I'd lay off of my Extra Bucks for a couple days.

Oh, I don't know if this is common knowlegde, speaking of coupons that are expiring, but does anyone else use coupons past the expiration date? I've never had a problem with them beeping as long as they are not more than a month over the expiration date. I don't know if they just do this so you have some wiggle room, but I've tested it a lot and unless I'm not buying the right product or size, they don't beep. If you are feeling gutsy, try it. Why wouldn't they beep if they are expired?

CVS & Target: March 13th

2009-03-13T19:04:00.005-04:00

CVS wasn't too hot this week. :( But we needed some Cheerios around here, so I thought I'd do the "Buy $10 General Mills products, Get $5" deal, so we headed that way. Also, I just like to get out of the house when possible. It's a nice day here in SW Ohio, so off we went. I also had a $2 off Playskool wipes CRT (printed from the price checker/coupon scanner), a FREE Diet Dr. Pepper coupon (from http://www.freedietdrpepper.com/ --great deal, can sign up each email account you have), and a coupon for a Free Suave product (home mailer). So I bought 3 boxes of Cheerios (3/$10) and the other 3 products. I didn't have any appropriate Cheerios coupons (used them all already), so I had a 10 ECB (Extra Care Bucks--cvs $ coupon) to pay for all of the above. The Suave coupon took off $3, instead of the $2.69 price, so that helped take some tax off my order. My total was $9.98, I had the $10 ECB adjusted down, and paid $0.00 out of my pocket! I love the $0.00 total. It's the best! I did receive my 5 ECBs back. Hopefully next week there will be some better deals so I can get at least the total amount of ECBs I spent back. That's always my goal, but lately hasn't been happening as much.

(I do know that Dry Idea deodorant will be $2.99 next week, giving out $2 ECBs. There is a $2 Dry Idea coupon on coupons.com, so that's a moneymaker! So go and print that off right away! And I actually only use that kind of deodorant, so that's extra good.)

We made a stop at Target on the way home. I wanted to get some more Motts applesauce and some goldfish crackers. Motts are $1.67 at my Target. Target has store coupons at http://www.afullcup.com/ and there is a $1 off Motts coupon, so I printed that off to use. I also printed a manufacturer's coupon for $0.55 off the Motts, but the cashier wouldn't take it. :P The goldfish crackers were $1.74 and there was also a Target coupon for $1 off those. Then I grabbed some Zone bars because of the awesome Buy 1 Get 3 free coupon that you get when you sign up and log into your Zone Perfect account. The cashier rang it up wrong, and somehow I think I got them all free. She was already annoyed with me, so I didn't fight her and my total was $1.41. Basically the $0.67 of the Motts plus the $0.74 of the Goldfish crackers.

I've been having a lot of problems with cashiers not ringing up the Zone coupon right. Once, they only gave me B1G1 free, and I didn't catch it, but usually they give me more off than I should get. ??? What do you do--do you correct them if they add wrong?

So my total for the day was $1.41 for all of the loot in the picture. I do need to run out and get some milk, (we ran out faster than I thought) so I'll probably have one more CVS trip today, but probably won't make anything from it.

Welcome!

2009-03-13T18:07:00.000-04:00

I've been blogging for a little while now, but mainly about my little one. I really wanted to start a blog about the great deals I find day by day and week by week. I've been a clearance section shopper as far back as I can remember. I really became a big fan of Goodwill when I hit the penny pinching college years. I've long been a garage sale shopper, but it really picked up once we had a little one on the way. I was introduced to shopping at CVS over a year ago and can't believe how much I've saved at CVS. It's a main shopping addiction right now, since I can just shop with Extra Care Bucks, and not much money out of my pocket. I occasionally hit Walgreens, but seem to always come out with a bad experience. I've done a few Rite Aid deals, but again, just when they are really hot. Meijer and Kroger are the main grocery stops for me. I usually don't do groceries at Walmart, but if it's free or close to free, I'll be there.

I imagine it will take me a little while to get into a blogger groove, especially on how to layout my posts and stuff. But stick around and we'll see how it goes. I hope my shopping obsession can save you some money too.