Best Drugstore Trip EVER!

 Alright, I don't know why, but I totally love trying new lotions, body wash, gum, deodorant, etc. I know it seems silly to get excited about such products, but I do! I love my weekend drugstore trips and the fact that I pretty much come away spending basically nothing, makes me love it even more! I went to a couple different stores today. I actually went shopping twice today, once this morning with my mom (CVS, Walgreens, & RiteAid) and then I went back out after seeing some of the deals in person and hit some up with Shannon and the kids.  I needed a few things at Walmart & Target this week too, so I tried Target out for the first time, and then tried out Walmart's "new" coupon policy. Here's how I fared:

CVS (2 Dove Deodorant/2 Axe Body Wash) 
Subtotal= 22.68 Savings/Coupons=21.56 Total Spent w/tax= 1.12
Received 5.00 in ECB for buying!
RiteAid (2 StayFree) 
Subtotal=8.33 Savings/Coupons=7.40 Total Spent w/tax=0.84
Received 1.40 in UP+ for buying!
Walgreens (Aveeno, Snickers, Colgate, caramels) 
Subtotal=85.89 Savings/Coupons=79.17 Total Spent w/tax=6.72
Received 14.00 in RR for buying!

Walmart (4 Gain Fabric Softener & 1 filler item not pictured)
Subtotal= 13.86 Savings/Coupons=12.00 Total Spent w/tax= 1.86

RiteAid-2nd Trip 
Subtotal= 73.00 Savings/Coupons=65.75 Total Spent w/tax= 7.25
Received 1.49, 5.00, and 4.00 UP+ for buying!

CVS-2nd Trip
Subtotal= 12.40 Savings/Coupons=10.99 Total Spent w/tax= 1.41

Target
Subtotal= 18.92 Savings/Coupons=11.68 Total Spent w/tax= 7.24
Received a $5.00 Gift Card for buying!

Okay, Walmart officially sucks. Even with their new policy, they are NOT coupon friendly at all. The lady was extremely rude and fought with me over these coupons. First, she tried to tell me I could only use one in one transaction. I showed her ON THE COUPON where it stated "limit of one per item purchased" & "limit of 4 per transaction". She scowled at me. I smiled sweetly. Then, she totally freaked out when they rang up for 1.87 and my coupon was for 3.00 off each. She told me she couldn't do that. I very firmly explained Walmart's overage policy and explained that was the reason for my "filler item" to cover the overage. She got super pissed off with me and started taking it out on the cash register, but regardless, I got my stuff for free +tax! She was not a happy camper. I almost wish I had about 20 more of these coupons to go back to her 5 times in a row and make her pay me cash out of her register to "buy" them! LOL :D  

But, Target was fun! I had no beeping and the cashier was very friendly! I think I could occasionally hit them up for their deals! 

Totals for the whole shopping trip today:

Subtotal with Tax=235.08

Savings/Coupons=208.64

Total Spent with Tax=26.44

Savings of 89%!

NEW "Store Currency" Totals: 

Extra Care Bucks 8.00

Register Rewards 34.00

UP+ 10.49

Target Gift Card 5.00

*Also, I just realized that I bought 2 items at RiteAid that qualify for $2.00 in SCR (single check rebates). I've never done it before, but it seems easy enough. I enter the receipt info online at the website and supposedly in a few weeks I will get my check. Hmmmm......

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My Shopping Week...Dog Food & Almay!

Okay, first of all I have to say, I have very sensitive (and weird) skin. Almost everything breaks me out. I thought acne was supposed to go away when you were an adult. Well, apparently someone LIED to me. I suffer from pretty bad acne even now at almost 29 years old. It's embarrassing and aggravating. It makes me feel bad about myself. Alright, now that we have that out of the way, I can explain to you that I don't wear much makeup. I know that seems backwards, most people would cover it up with the makeup, but I have found that it just makes it worse. I almost always have a huge breakout after wearing makeup, even after properly taking it off. It's maddening. But, about a year ago I spontaneously visited a Bare Minerals (Escentuals?) store. And, I've been in love ever since. I can't say to you that I never break out after wearing it, but I can say that it only happens once in a while and then it is never a full breakout, just a few pop up. So, I can't say that I'm a huge drugstore makeup fan even if its free. So, this week the basically free Almay deal at Walgreens did not excite me. Not at least until I read that you got 5 Register Rewards back for buying the almost free Almay. Then, I got excited. And, I've been super excited about my crazy cheap Pedigree dog food and dog treats from Publix and BiLo this week too! And, I of course went back to CVS to fix the candy deal I messed up. Here's the breakdown:

Publix & Bilo
Subtotal=235.92
Savings & Coupons=136.72
Total Spent= 99.20
Not as well as usual, but a lot of stuff was things we were out of and I didn't have coupons for it. Just the sandwich stuff alone cost $30 (breads, mayo, lunch meat, tomato). Still not too bad though. Savings of 58%.

Publix & Bilo (continued)

Publix & Bilo- Just Dog Food & Treats! I had to do this seperate...I was super pleased with all of this! 4 bags of Pedigree dog treats, 6 (4.4lb) bags of Pedigree dog food and then 1 (20lb) bag of Pedigree dog food for a total of 46.4 lbs of dog food.
Subtotal=57.89
Savings & Coupons=47.57
Total Spent=10.32
Savings of 82%! I feel like I stole the dog food! LOL

CVS Spring Beauty Almay Deal...I actually went back one more time and got 2 more of the eye makeup remover towelttes, so I actually have 32 RR just from this deal! WOW!

What I bought to fix the deal I messed up. I actually only need 3 to complete it, but I had a CVS coupon in my mailbox to take 2.00 off when I bought 10, so I bought 10, which only cost me 3.00 and I (finally) got my 3.00 ECB for it. It also printed a bunch of other coupons for me, not really sure why.

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House Parties, Free Samples, Earn $$$$, etc Websites

Okay, I'm new to this, but so far I've found these to be great sites to get really good free samples and do house party type things.

*Crowdtap-Seems to be a great site! I've only been a member for 18 days now, but I already qualified for a sample share of Playtex Sport wipes and apparently not too long ago they had one with Old Navy for FREE jeans! (wishing I would've got in on that one lol!) I have also earned 5.00 already and it seems that you earn money for a fav charity as well. Can't go wrong there! Here's a link to get to it:
www.crowdtap.com


*HouseParty-Another really cool site! If you search house party on my blog or use the tags, you will find the Philadelphia one that I hosted. It was awesome with TONS of really good freebies for both me and my guests! My mom just got picked for the Kraft Sandwich one, so hopefully I will have another "review" of their "services" in the next couple of weeks. There are tons of parties to apply to, so get to it!
www.houseparty.com


*Partique-Just signed up...Will update you as soon as I know more about the site. Seems to be similar to HouseParty but not nearly as busy.
www.partique.com


*MomSelect-Just signed up; No clue. Website is kinda vague.
www.momselect.com

*RecycleBank-Do things "green" to earn points that can be redeemed for rewards like high dollar coupons. Pretty cool site.
www.recyclebank.com

*MyCokeRewards- Okay, I'm sure most people know about this site, but I'm super excited about using my reward points to get awesome coupons for Coke products that I can use at the drugstores to get their "currency"! :D
www.mycokerewards.com

*e-Rewards- Kinda a normal survey site. It's okay for a basic survey site. I've done tons of these sites and been disappointed with about all of them, so I have to say that this one is decent in the fact that I have earned quite a few rewards through them. But, surveys are time consuming and this is no different, so it depends on whether you think it is worth your time or not. I think the only way to get a membership is from one of their sponsors sending you an email though. I believe I got in through my blockbuster online membership. (Which reminds me, I need to cancel- no sense paying for it when I get all the free movie codes at the kiosks!) You can check it out though here:
www.e-rewards.com

*The Pink Panel- just joined so not really sure, but it is supposed to be to provide insight on new beauty products. Looking forward to this one, I love trying new makeup, skincare, and haircare! This one seems to use Facebook as its homepage and it doesn't look like it does stuff regularly- only about 4x times a year, but
it looks like they might do giveaways more often.
http://www.facebook.com/thePinkPanel

*Vocalpoint-great way to score high value coupons and great samples. I've requested a couple from them, haven't gotten them yet, but other bloggers seem to find it trustworthy.
www.vocalpoint.com

*SheSpeaks-Another opinion site about different products.  Basically trying it for free and then sharing about it! Looking forward to it!
www.shespeaks.com

*BzzAgent-Another opinion based site! Again, not sure about it, but it has good feedback!
www.bzzagent.com

*KraftFirstTaste-another way to score high value coupons and great samples! I've already gotten quite a few from this website! Very nice!
http://www.kraftfirsttaste.com/

I'm sure there are some more good ones out there...Will update as I find them. LOLPin It

Facebook Coupons Today! And more....

There seems to be a lot going on with Facebook! Here's the ones I know about...

$1/1 Minute Maid OJ
http://www.facebook.com/MinuteMaid#!/MinuteMaid?sk=app_138849632841458

$3/1 Schick Intuition
http://www.facebook.com/#!/schickintuition?sk=app_119120141496712

$1/1 Multipack or 15.1 fl oz or larger Dove Ice Cream
http://www.facebook.com/DoveIceCream?sk=app_146895162040343

Also, Suave Beauty is going to have a giveaway sometime next week!
http://www.facebook.com/SuaveBeauty?ref=ts

And here is just some non-Facebook stuff:

Right@Home has a 0.50/1 Ziploc (Thanks SouthernSavers!)
https://www.rightathome.com/offers/Pages/2011-03-ziploc.aspx

Coupons.com has some for salt that if doubled could mean free or at very cheap! (Thanks Hip2Save!)
$0.50/1 Diamond Crystal Sea Salt
$0.30/1 Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
(I used used 29073 as my zip)

Finally, KIDS EAT FREE at Chili's today ONLY! (Thanks SouthernSavers!)
http://chilis.zuberance.com/offersV2/index/22747381

There is a lot of good freebies and coupons out there today! These are just a small sampling!Pin It

Weekend Drugstore Trip= Savings of 82% Even with Mistakes!

Well, because I didn't get to go last weekend, I had to go this weekend as I had some store "money" that was expiring. All in all, I had a good trip, but a few little mistakes happened.

WALGREENS
I went to Walgreens first. As I know someone that can use them, I bought the Tena pads that were supposed to be on sale for 10 dollars, used a 2.50 coupon, and then I had the intentions of using a $3 and a $2 Register Reward, so I bought two pieces of caramel at 33 cents a piece. At the end, I would receive a $10 Register Reward. I was planning on paying around 3.00 out of pocket. But, for some reason the pads rang up for 6.49, so instead, I paid 1.22 (with tax) and still have a $2 RR. Hey, I'm not complaining! LOL  I also did the deal with the Chex Mix and Bugles that were on sale for 1.25 each and I had the $4/4 coupon. Since, I had two coupons, I got all 8 and spent only 2.00! So, fairly decent at this store, but the only aggravating part is that I still had a $2 RR that I need to use because it expires. I should have used it on the Bugles/Chex Mix deal, but I had done that one first! Mistakes Mistakes! I ended up going back in and getting the Always pads (and a caramel as the filler item to use the RR) on Monday at the 2.99 sale price each and using a $2 coupon on each with my $2 RR and getting back a $2 RR. If I would've bought them separate, I could've gotten a $2 RR for each of them, but I wanted to use my $2 RR to buy them so I wouldn't be paying for anything but tax.

CVS
Then, I went to CVS where I proceeded to mess up as well. LOL I got the Allegra deal (6.99-2.00 coupon and get back 6.99 ECB). I also had a $6 store coupon off of Physicians makeup, so I got a liquid eyeliner and some concealer. Since, my hubby was with me, I grabbed him a pack of Mentos gum (yikes, no coupon!) and used my 10 ECB from before. But, I was still short 1.80, so I lost 1.80 on the ECB. I got back a 6.99 one. And then, I had a huge stack of 50 cents off of 2 Cadbury eggs or the Reese's eggs and since they were on sale this week for 50 cents and then buy $10 worth and get $3 ECB, I thought I would stock up for my kids' Easter baskets. Well, I got 12 Reese's and 5 reg Cadbury and 5 caramel Cadbury. Coupons worked fine on all of them, but I failed to realize the caramel ones were NOT on sale and they were not included in the deal. So, I ended up paying a little more than expected and I still have to buy another 1.50 worth to get my ECB. Pooey. Messed up again!

RITE AID
Finally, I went to Rite Aid. And, here's where I really got messed up. I had a 2 UP and a 1 UP. I wanted to do the Old Spice deal where you buy 2/$7 and you get 1 UP. I had a coupon for buy one deodorant get one body wash free and I had a 1.00 off coupon. So, I should have been getting a deodorant and a body wash for 2.50 before UPs. I was doing this twice. Then, I was also doing the VEET deal where you use the store coupon for $3 off and a manufacturer coupon for $3 off and get 1 UP back. The particular VEET product I wanted was 6.49 so I was planning to pay 0.49. Okay, so I get to the register and I ask if I buy all the Old Spice together, will it print out both UP rewards for each one? The cashier doesn't know. Well, I would like to know, so I told her to just do it all in one transaction. As it turns out, this was actually a blessing in disguise or I wouldn't have gotten any UP rewards from the Old Spice. See, apparently, even though I'm 100% positive it should have been included, the body wash was not part of the deal. It rang up for 4.99 each. And my coupon maxed out at 3.99. So, I ended up paying $5 in deodorant, $2 in body wash, and 0.49 in the Veet after regular coupons and after UP rewards, it was right at $6 with tax. Phooey. Messed it all up again! But, to be honest, I think it might have been a store mess up...I think they were supposed to be on sale as that was the only Red Zone body wash in the whole store. GRRRRR! I walked away with only 1 UP from the Old Spice deal and 1 UP from the Veet. :(

SUMMARY (Tax included)

Walgreens  42.09 Subtotal-36.10 Savings= 5.99 Total Spent    12 RR
CVS          43.46 Subtotal-35.61 Savings= 7.85 Total Spent      6.99 ECB
Rite Aid     27.09 Subtotal-20.96 Savings= 6.13 Total Spent      2 UP
TOTAL  112.64 Subtotal-92.67Savings=19.97 Total Spent   
20.99 Total Store "Currency"
Saved 82% Total

Not too bad, I wish I wouldn't have messed up at CVS though. It should have been another 3 in ECB plus my total spent should have been about 1.00 cheaper. Instead I have to go back and spend another 1.50 to get the ECB. And I don't know what the heck happened at Rite Aid. I suppose I could go back and complain to a manager about it. Not sure if its worth all that though.Pin It

Coupons, Freebies, Sweepstakes of the Day!

I haven't really seen a lot of new coupons today, but these sweepstakes and giveaways are awesome!

Also, here is a free movie code for tonight at the Blockbuster Express:
MONDAY

BOGOF Any Old Orchard Frozen Juice Concentrate (Facebook-limited-HURRY!)
http://www.facebook.com/OldOrchard
(Click the Coupon tab on the left hand side)

FREE MiO Sample (Facebook-limited-Hurry!)
http://www.facebook.com/MiO
(Click the Meet MiO tab on the left hand side)

Enter to win a years supply of AllWhites or Better n' Eggs
http://www.mysavings.com/offer/all-whites-better-n-eggs.asp?pid=407&sid=

Southern Savers is doing a bunch of giveaways right now (some other blogs are doing it too, so enter all of them!):
http://www.southernsavers.com/2011/03/spring-clean-giveaway-bash-foflor-review/

http://www.southernsavers.com/2011/03/spring-clean-giveaway-bash-gelpro-mats/

http://www.southernsavers.com/2011/03/spring-bash-giveaway-carolina-pad/
 
http://www.southernsavers.com/2011/03/spring-clean-bash-giveaway-dave-ramsey-package/Pin It

Coupons of the Day and some Freebies!

 Don't forget, you can almost always hit your back button to print 2 of each! Also, a great idea for beginners, is to make sure you create a new email address just for these samples and coupons so you don't get flooded with email everyday. I check my "couponing" address usually twice a day for new coupons and offers.


$2/1 & $0.75/1 Silk Soy Milk Coupon
http://switchtosilk.com/
(Top right corner, click it to get the 75 cent one and then take the 10-day challenge and fill out some stuff to get the 2 dollar one! You will need to create a new account to get the 2 dollar one. Thanks Hip2Save!)

Free Shout Color Catcher Sample & Coupon (Facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/shoutlaundry?v=app_6009294086&sk=app_6009294086

Dove Men+Care Sample & $1/1 Coupon (Walmart)
http://see.walmart.com/dovemencare/
(Sample and coupon are two different links on the page. Thanks Hip2Save!)Pin It

More Freebies and Some Coupons!

Some of my favorite deals and coupons for today!


Save $2 on Maybelline Dream Foundation
http://pub.vitrue.com/Re7

Free SoyJoy Sample (Facebook)
http://apps.facebook.com/soyjoydare/

Save $4 on 4 Bugles, Chex Mix, Gardetto's or Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks
http://www.savingsforsmartshoppers.com/coupons.html
(this looks like a store q, but it is a manufacturer, thanks Hip2Save!)

Save $0.75 on Dove Men+Care Deodorant & $0.75 on Dove Men+Care Body Wash
Prints Both from the Dove Website
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Some of my favorite FREEBIES from today!

FREE sample of Playtex Sport Body Wipes...brought to you from Crowdtap.
http://bit.ly/g4UVZG


Add nothing but taste to your morning cup of coffee with a FREE pint of Breve Crème coffee creamer, brought to you by your friends at Vocalpoint.
http://gotaf.socialtwist.com/redirect?l=jyxq


And of course, more freebies and coupons are at southernsavers! I HIGHLY recommend receiving her email updates to make sure you get the full list of current coupons and of course, her coupon database is simply awesome!Pin It

Philly Dinnertime Dilemma House Party!

Hosted this tonight! I'm a member of a website called House Party. House Party is a company that throws thousands of parties across the country on the same day, all hosted by people like you and in the comfort of your own home. Each event is sponsored by a leading brand, hosts get their own party website and a FREE party pack chock full of goodies to share with friends. If you're selected to host a House Party, you can use their website to invite your friends and family, share your pictures and videos and explore the thousands of other parties. I apply for almost every party that interests me, and I was picked for the Philly Dinnertime Dilemma House Party. 
I received a really nice saute pan from Green Pan that I'm totally loving! I also got some other cool items for the host (Philadelphia pot holder, etc) and lots of cool things for my guests. I decided to put all my guests' goodies into a pot holder instead of a bag because I like for things to be cute AND functional! Unfortunately, I was expecting about 5 more guests to the party, but they had to cancel last minute due to a stomach bug that seemed to have hit everyone and their kids. :(  So, I doubled up the guests gift "pot holders" instead of having a bunch of leftovers. So, every guest got a pot holder, 2 magnets, 2 notepads, 2 1.00 off coupons for the Philadelphia Cooking Creme, a recipe booklet, 2 wooden spoons, a box of Jelly Belly candy, and some other coupon items. I also made the Paper Clutch Menu Planner that I posted about the other day for each one of my guests. They turned out really super cute, but I think they need to be laminated with some contact paper. Oh well, I will do that next time! We had 9 people attend the party total, so it turned out pretty well! I also had the recipes we made from the party printed out on cute little paper for my guests to take home. And then, because I had gotten the Cooking Creme on sale for 50 cents a tub, I bought a tub of it for each one of my guests to take home to try cooking it for themselves!

To sum it all up, we liked all the recipes but the Chicken Florentine (Italian Cooking Creme) and the Sausage & Vegetable Calzones (Savory Garlic Cooking Creme) were by far the favorites! Thank you Philadelphia and House Party for picking me as a host! We had a blast and I had a lot of fun planning and getting together with my friends. We all cooked these together, so it was different to have a party where everyone could get involved like that!

Todd English's Santa Fe Nachos

These didn't turn out very pretty...The cheese was very hard to spread. But, they were well liked regardless!

Cooking the filling for the Sausage & Vegetable Calzones in the Greenpan!

Chicken Florentine Casserole....Everyone's Favorite! Some people skipped dessert to get more of this, and we had the little bit that was left get taken home by one of the guests!

Nachos almost gone!

Tomato Basil Pizza was good, although it really seemed to need a little more to it. Maybe some grilled chicken on top? Also, my store's fresh basil was slimy looking so we had to sub out for dried basil and I'm pretty sure it would have been better with the fresh!

Calzones out of the oven!

Close ups of the Calzones...They were another HUGE hit! Delicious!

All the women sitting and talking while the men hid in the other room!

Gift "bags" aka pot holders and off to the side was my Paper Clutchs!

Dessert was also from the Philadelphia website, Creme Caramel Squares. I changed the crust though to vanilla creme cookies crushed (you know, vanilla oreos!) and it turned out delicious! There was barely any left!

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81% Saved

 

No surprises this week, I hit Publix and BiLo like usual. 

191.18 Subtotal - 154.64 Savings/Coupons = 36.54 Total Spent! Saved 81%!

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DIY Paper Clutch Menu Planner

Totally loving this! I can't wait to get back from class tonight and make one! I'm thinking I might make a few for gifts for my Philly Cream Cheese House Party tomorrow night too!

*Just wanted to say, that these turned out awesome, but her directions are a little vague. I did finally figure it out, but it was a little more complicated than first imagined. Also, could not find brads anywhere, so we looped some grosgrain ribbon and tied a pretty bow along the spine of the booklet part. Very cute! Though, I think next time I will use contact paper around the outside to make these more durable. I can see this getting demolished in my purse!

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Publix + BiLo = 88.64

 

Publix and Bilo: I had to buy a few things again this week that I normally wouldn't get, but all of this for under a 100 dollars made me happy! I had a rain check for the Philly Cooking Creme, so I got each one for only 50 cents EACH! And I made my hubby happy with all the gum...He was out, and since he pretty much refuses to chew any other kind, I was ecstatic to find it on sale at BOTH stores and had plenty of coupons for it. I know that we use tons of this, so as soon as I see a coupon for it, I scour eBay and buy 20 count lots of them for about 2.00 total. I figure it works out in the end; I got the big packs for 1.50 each and the little packs for 67 cents each. The big packs come out cheaper, but I have q's for both, and we will use both, so I buy BOTH. Totals:  258.13 Subtotal-169.49 Savings/Coupons =88.64 TOTAL Spent. I saved 66% this week!

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Why? Part 1: Grocery Store Shopping

I thought I might be able to explain a lot of Jenny's ideas shorthand here. I've had a lot of people question about how this works, how much time, how to start, why certain stores, isn't it cheaper to just Wal-mart, etc. So, I'm going to try to break it down as best as I can, but I truly believe in order for anyone to completly understand what and how this works, you really really really need to go to one of Jenny's workshops. Feel free to ask me any questions, but again, I can't stress enough how much I learned at the workshop....And to be honest, I wish I had time to hit up another one. Abbreviations can be found here. But, here goes!

The first thing you must do is stop shopping your "list". This was hard for me at first. And it will probably take you 6-8 weeks unless you are already stocked up. The basic concept is that EVERYTHING you use will eventually go on sale AT A ROCK BOTTOM price. You don't stock up until that price hits. In other words, if your family eats 2 boxes of cereal a week, and you don't expect to buy cereal again for 4 weeks, you need to buy 8 boxes max. (Not 25, lol, we are not stocking for the apocalypse!) For example, cereal may be on sale this week for 2.50 a box, but next week it went on sale for BOGO at 3.50 a box. So, you saved 75 cents by buying at the BOGO sale. And then if you had coupons for 50 cents off a box, you use TWO coupons if you buy two, even if they are BOGO. So, now you are paying 2.50 for 2 boxes. And then, don't forget the grocery stores that double manufacturer coupons! So, if you are shopping Publix (double up to 50 cents) or BiLo (double up to 60 cents), you now are getting TWO boxes of cereal for 1.50 or 75 CENTS per box! And then, comes the fun part...You can use a MANUFACTURER coupon WITH a STORE coupon! So, if Publix has the BOGO sale for 3.50, you use (2) manufacturer coupons that double to take off a total of 2.00, and then Publix has a store coupon for $1 off 2 boxes, you now are paying 50 CENTS for TWO boxes, or 25 CENTS per box. Another good thing to remember is that Publix takes competitor's coupons to certain stores. In our area, usually just BiLo, Food Lion, Piggly Wiggly, etc. Bilo is also taking competitor store coupons and they are including drugstore coupons as of right now as well as Target. So, remember Bilo and Publix will take BOTH a manufacturer coupon and a store coupon on one item!

Another good concept that completely boggled my mind was OVERAGES. For instance, when I first started this, Maalox gave a manufacturer coupon for $5 off 1 bottle. Well, it was only $4 dollars at some stores. So, they were actually giving me a dollar off of something else to buy it! I've had this work quite a few times and it just totally throws me! LOL My favorites here lately have been the $1 off Mueller's pasta coupon. Publix had Mueller's pasta on sale BOGO for 1.35. So, you use 1 coupon on EACH box, making it FREE plus, for every 2 boxes, you would get 65 CENTS off of something else! I had some really cheap groceries that week!

The next question I get, is how time consuming is it. Well, it depends on how much you want to put into it. I'm full time mommy, full time nursing student, full time wife and caretaker! Plus, I have a million other things on my list (don't all moms?). I choose NOT to clip my coupons. Jenny recommended an accordian file folder and each week when I buy my newspapers, I stick the whole inserts into a file and then I print the weekly inserts list. I keep it with the inserts so, I can refer back to it to see what we received in our inserts (every newspaper varies). Then, I use Jenny's sales list (example of Publix one is here) and simply check every item that we either need or is a good stock up price (the little acorns next to the check box mean to stock up!) and then I head to the next page where I delete all the coupon matchups that I don't have (some magazines, mailers, etc take a while to get or you miss). Then, I can take a good long look at what my actual price is and so forth. Then, I go and collect all the coupons together and put them in an envelope, print the list, and hit the store.

This was pretty vague compared to what I learned, but its a good starting point. Another good thing to remember is that you don't have to buy TWO at BOGO sales with grocery stores. These stores are set up to ring each item half off of its price regardless. Again, though, your best bet is to at least read through Jenny's tutorials and spend some time on her blog.Pin It

I ❤ My Walgreens!

So, earlier this week, I did a deal at Walgreens that where you purchased $15 dollars of certain items and you would get $15 in coupons printed out. Well, since we are going on a weekend getaway this next weekend, I thought it would be in my best interest to have plenty of snacks and sodas to bring...Especially MY Coke Zero! (Disclaimer: I'm addicted to Coke Zero...I used to be a regular Coca Cola addict, you can ask anyone, I NEED the stuff. Without it, I become "a not-so-nice person" and that's being polite! I don't like diet soda, so when they came out with Zero, I was skeptical...But, now I'm hooked! No sugar and great Coke taste! Plus, my drug of choice, CAFFEINE!) So, when I realized one of the coupons was for 2 bucks off a pack of Coke Zero and it would attach to EVERY pack of Coke bought, I said, ummm yeah, how do I get those coupons?! I ended up getting the Hersheys Drops/Pieces bags (6 total) and used coupons on them to make the 15 dollar total actually only cost 5 dollars. Then, I got my coupons for Coke Zero and a bunch of other GREAT products! Stay with me......

Before today (Sunday), Walgreens had Coke products on sale 3/$13, so I figured with the $2 off coupon, it was going to cost me $7 to buy 3 packs of Coke Zero. Plus, I was planning to buy some peanuts to add to it in order to get the coupons yet AGAIN! So, I went Saturday to get them. But, they were completely out of Coke Zero. The guy helping me told me to get a raincheck, but when I got to the front, the cashier talked to the manager, and he said he would have 4 packs waiting on me Sunday (4 b/c the sale was changing to 4/$14), if I wanted to come back in the morning. Well, since I knew I would be coming back anyway (and it made for an even BETTER deal), I told them that would be fine. Fast forward.....

I get to Walgreens this morning, only to look around and still see NO Coke Zero products. Well, I went and got the few other items I was there to get, and then, went and asked the cashier. He called the (same) manager who came up and told me that he "was sooo sorry but the truck did not come in BUT he sent one of his other cashier's to another store to pick up 4 packs of Coke Zero for ME!" Lots of  ❤! And sure enough, a few minutes later, the poor rain soaked girl came in the store carrying MY 4 cases...SOOOO, I got all 4 cases after coupons for 6 DOLLARS! Did I tell you, I ❤ My Walgreens!

That being said, let me tell you about my sales. First of all, you should know, I originally had NO plan to hit the stores this weekend b/c I didn't need anything that was going to be at that "stock up price". But, then I remembered that I won't be shopping (OMG withdrawals!) next weekend because we will be in the mountains with some other couples (looking forward to it!). And sure enough, my UPs from RiteAid and my RR from Walgreens were going to expire before I even got back. GRRRR! So, I came up with some lame scenarios to get the few things I wanted and still come out with a little bit of store currency. Here's what I got:

Okay, my mom wanted to hit all 3 stores again...So, since I knew I only need to scan my green tag at CVS one more time to get a dollar ECB, I bought my newspapers there and scanned it. So, no real savings to post but, my new ECB Total is 13.58 now! Then, on to, RiteAid. I had 5 in UPs that was expiring, here's how I used it:

Lysol Healthy Touch Hand Soap Dispenser        7.49 (reg 14.99)
Manufacturer Coupon                                       -3.00
Aquafina 24pk 16.9 fl oz bottles                         3.99
UPs Coupons                                                   -5.00
Total (before tax)                                               3.48
UPs coupons received                                        3.00 (1 for water/2 for soap)
Total Savings                                                     16.50

Next, Walgreens! ❤ :) LOL! Well, you already know about my coke deal, but here is the whole transaction:

4 Cases of Coke Zero (3.50 each)                 14.00
Store Coupon (2.00 off each pack)                -8.00
2 Bounce Dryer Bars (3.99 each)                    7.98
Manufacturer Coupon (0.50 each)                 -1.00
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser 2 Pk                          2.50
Manufacturer Coupon                                   -0.75
Planters Cashews Can                                    3.00
Planters Mixed Nuts Can                                3.00
RR Coupons                                                 -9.00
Total (before tax)                                          11.73
RR Received                                                  3.00 (Plus more $15 coupons!)
Total Savings                                                 33.78

I was not overly impressed with my "haul" this week, but I guess it was still decent all things considering. Really wish I wouldn't have been dealing with expireds! 

Subtotal 65.49

Saved 50.28

Actual Cost (pre-tax) 15.21

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Grocery Shopping from Wednesday

Wednesday was a long day for me, and today was not much better. I'm so happy I don't have school for over a week...Spring Break, baby! That being said, I really really really needed a breather. Everything just seemed to crash down on me this week and on top of all of it, I had a test every day. *sigh* I'm just relieved I have a break!

But to get back to the subject at hand, I hit Publix and BiLo this week for my groceries. I can honestly say it wasn't my best shopping experiences, but we had a few things that our household needed and just simply wanted that might not have been "the rock bottom price" that Jenny on Southern Savers would've bought it at. For instance, we use taco sauce in our tacos and we've been out of it for a month now. I've had the taco shells and the seasoning and all the fixins and meat, but no sauce. So, I closed my eyes at the price tag and stuck two large bottles in my buggy. LOL Here's the breakdown for each store, but since Shannon had a procedure that had to be done that afternoon, I had 10 minutes to get my groceries put up before I had to leave again to pick him up from dialysis and take him to the surgery center. So, no pics! Everything in red I didn't have coupons for...I hate buying with no coupons! :( 

Publix
3 Reusable Shopping Bags (I've become a reusable bag addict, and they had 3 new designs! LOL)
4 Stouffer's Easy Express Skillet Meals
2 packs (24-8fl oz bottles) Nestle Pure Life Water
8 boxes Tai Pei Frozen Meals
4 boxes of Aunt Jemima frozen waffles
2 lbs Sirloin Tri Tip Roast
1 carton Pure Silk Vanilla Almond Milk
1 bag Halls cough drops
2 loaves Nature's Own bread
2 jars of Old El Paso Taco Sauce
4 cans of frozen Old Orchard juice
2 boxes Quaker Oatmeal (the Dino kind was on sale, Gavin was pleased!)
4 Bob Evans Refrigerated Sides
2 bags of Hush Puppies
4 boxes of Ritz Crackers
2 Cartons of Strawberries

Wonka Kazoozles (Gavin hit me up for being good on this and the next 2 items!)

Topps Push Pop

22 oz Deli Drink

Subtotal Before Savings=149.53

My Savings=89.54

Subtotal after Savings=59.99

Saved About 60% 


BiLo
8 boxes Gushers*
6 boxes Fruit Roll-ups*
2 boxes Jolly Time popcorn
2 Welch's squeezable Jelly
3 boxes Crunch N Munch
2 Sesame Seed hamburger rolls
1 Pampers Clean N Go 60 ct wipes
3 Pillsbury Cream Cheese Cooking Creme (to try some of the recipes out before my Philly party!)
1 Simply Apple Juice
1 Daisy Sour Cream
2 Earthbound salad mixes
4lb Oranges
1 tomato
1 snack size bag of Wise Cheez Doodles (My son gets treats for being patient with me!)

Subtotal Before Savings= 89.79

My Savings=46.96

Subtotal after Savings=42.83

Saved About 52%

(*Note: I bought the Fruit Roll-ups and Gushers in two transactions...The first in a group of 8 and got a Catalina print out for 3.00 off next purchase. Then, I went back and bought the second 6 boxes and used my regular coupons plus the Catalina, making 6 boxes $6.00 TOTAL! Plus, I have another 3.00 of coupon for my next grocery trip!)

All in all, I'm decently happy with the results, especially for end of the month shopping and buying those few things at regular price!

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