Target
Philadelphia cream cheese $1.19 each.
Print this $1/2 manufacturer coupon
Print this $.50/2 Target coupon
Buy two packages, use both coupons (a.k.a "stacking), and pay $.44 each!
Hasbro Hungry Hungry Hippo travel game---$4.99
Print this $5/1 and get it free!
For lots more Target deals, check this out!
Meijer
Yoplait yogurt--$.40
Print this twice ($.40/4). This doubles to $.80 at my Meijer
Buy 8 and get them for $.15 each. (Or just buy 4 and only use one coupon)
Land 'o Lakes buttery spread--$.99
Print this $.50/1 twice (this will double to $1)
Print this $1/2 Meijer coupon once
Buy two, stack coupons and get them free, with overage!
For lots more Meijer deals, check this out!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Don't Miss Out on These Deals!
Little Mister had Science Sleuths today, which gave me an hour-and-a-half to kill--and you could say I made a "killing" at Walgreens and Meijer! Um, yeah, that was dumb. So anyway, I even had the company of my wonderful hubby, which was fun (and the reason we ended up with Peet's coffee--not on my list--in the cart). :) He's been drinking Peet's since LONG before many of us ever knew it existed, since the original Peet's coffee place is near where he grew up.
But I digress. Let me get back to the point. You don't mind, do you? :)
Let me just mention some of the BEST deals you can get at Meijer this week.
Keep in mind that you can use one manufacturer coupon AND one Meijer coupon for each item (or number of items indicated on coupon).
I had an extra sweet deal because I had a $7 off shopping trip catalina from last week. :)
Check out the ad and see what great savings you can come up with!
But I digress. Let me get back to the point. You don't mind, do you? :)
Let me just mention some of the BEST deals you can get at Meijer this week.
- Skippy peanut butter for $.17. Yes, I said 17 cents! (regularly $2.29) And this includes their Natural pb, which we like a lot. Here's how to get that deal. They are on sale for $1.67. Buy two, and use two $.50/1 coupons from the paper yesterday (this only works if you get at least 2 papers). These will double at our Meijer. Then go to the Meijer Mealbox and go to "specials" for coupons you can stack with manufacturer coupons. There is a $1/2 Skippy pb coupon. So you're getting $1.50 off each, and thus paying $.17. Even if you don't have manufacturer coupons for this deal, print off the Meijer one, buy 2, and you're still getting them for $1.17 each--not a bad deal, either! :)
- Hellman's mayo (or "Best Foods," depending on where you live) for $.75-1.00 (reg. $3.58 each). They are on sale for $2.50. Yesterday's paper had $.50/1 coupon (these will double)--use two of these. Then go here and print two $.75/1 coupons. Then go here to print out two Meijer coupons for $1.50/2. Buy 4 jars (might as well stock up at price like this!), paying $.75 each for 2 of them and $1.00 each for the other two.
- International Delight flavored creamers for $.45 each. They are on sale for $1.50. Go here and print out two $.55/1 coupons. Then go here to print a Meijer coupon for $1/2. Buy 2, pay $.45 each!
- Nabisco snack crackers for $1.50 each. Not the best deal in the world but great considering they're regularly $3.27 each! On sale for $2. Use the $1/2 coupon from yesterday's paper.
- Nestle chocolate chips for $1.49 (reg. $2.67). On sale for $1.99. Go here for a $.50/2 coupon, which will double. Again, I've paid less, but this is a pretty good deal. Get the mini-ones, which are good in muffins and other baked goods, including, of course, cookies.
- Renuzits are on sale for $.89, so if you got in on the Facebook $1/1 coupons, this is a great time to redeem them, getting the Renuzits for free, plus overage.
- Milk is $2
- 3-lb bags of apples are $2.50
Keep in mind that you can use one manufacturer coupon AND one Meijer coupon for each item (or number of items indicated on coupon).
I had an extra sweet deal because I had a $7 off shopping trip catalina from last week. :)
Check out the ad and see what great savings you can come up with!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Easy Coupon Organization
There are many ways to organize coupons, but here is a little video Little Mister and I made, explaining the method that works best so far for me. Sorry--I'm fighting either really bad allergies or a cold, so it's hard to breathe, let alone talk! Hopefully you can hear it okay. :)
Look, too, below for links to other coupon organizing ideas.
Other Ideas:
http://tipnut.com/coupon-organizer-system/
http://www.stay-a-stay-at-home-mom.com/grocery-coupon-organizer.html
Look, too, below for links to other coupon organizing ideas.
Other Ideas:
http://tipnut.com/coupon-organizer-system/
http://www.stay-a-stay-at-home-mom.com/grocery-coupon-organizer.html
Monday, November 1, 2010
Super Savings!
Look what I got at Meijer today for $2.25 (saving $23.17!).
It would have been the same total with 2 half-gallons of Smart Balance milk as well (with a savings of over $27) had they not been sold out of it. But I can check again another time this week and if they're still out, I'll get a raincheck and use it with my coupons to get them for free later.
Here are the deals I took advantage of today at Meijer.
Coffeemate creamers (16 oz) are $1.50. Print this $1.50/1 twice and get two of them for free!
Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese is $1.25. Print this $5/5, buy 5 packages and get them for $.25 each! (the ones I bought today don't expire until the end of January and cream cheese can be used for all kinds of recipes for holiday gatherings!
Frank's hot sauce--$.99. Use the $.50/1 coupon from the Smart Source 10/3/10 newspaper insert, or print a $.50/1 coupon here. Our Meijer doubles coupons up to $.50, so this was free!
Mrs.T's Pierogies--$1.68. Buy 3 and get one Mrs. T's Spinach/Feta Pierogies. Print this and this twice and get $1 off each one, making them $.25 each!
Other Meijer deals this week:
Meijer milk--$2/gallon
Grapes--$.97/lb
Apples--$2/ 3 lb bag
Asparagus--$1.99/lb
Pineapple--$2.99 each
Meijer boneless, skinless chicken breast--$1.89/lb
Hungry Man frozen dinners--$2. $2/1 here = free!
Meijer pastas--$.69 each
Check out the Meijer ad from your Sunday paper or online for more deals.
Kroger
Don't miss the General Mills cereal deal going on at Kroger through Wednesday! Brand name cereals for under $1 a box! Here's how it works:
If you buy 4 of the selected varieties of cereals (look carefully at the shelf labels to make sure you're getting ones that are included), they are $1.49 each. Then use some of the coupons below to lower the price to under $1!
Look for 3 GM coupons here and print each one twice.
Kroger e-coupons (they don't stack e-coupons anymore, but it's better than nothing!)
More Kroger deals:
Lay's potato chips--$1.99
Kroger medium eggs--$.50
Ball Park franks--$1.28
Kroger buns and bread--$.88
Check out their website for more deals.
It would have been the same total with 2 half-gallons of Smart Balance milk as well (with a savings of over $27) had they not been sold out of it. But I can check again another time this week and if they're still out, I'll get a raincheck and use it with my coupons to get them for free later.
Here are the deals I took advantage of today at Meijer.
Coffeemate creamers (16 oz) are $1.50. Print this $1.50/1 twice and get two of them for free!
Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese is $1.25. Print this $5/5, buy 5 packages and get them for $.25 each! (the ones I bought today don't expire until the end of January and cream cheese can be used for all kinds of recipes for holiday gatherings!
Frank's hot sauce--$.99. Use the $.50/1 coupon from the Smart Source 10/3/10 newspaper insert, or print a $.50/1 coupon here. Our Meijer doubles coupons up to $.50, so this was free!
Mrs.T's Pierogies--$1.68. Buy 3 and get one Mrs. T's Spinach/Feta Pierogies. Print this and this twice and get $1 off each one, making them $.25 each!
Other Meijer deals this week:
Meijer milk--$2/gallon
Grapes--$.97/lb
Apples--$2/ 3 lb bag
Asparagus--$1.99/lb
Pineapple--$2.99 each
Meijer boneless, skinless chicken breast--$1.89/lb
Hungry Man frozen dinners--$2. $2/1 here = free!
Meijer pastas--$.69 each
Check out the Meijer ad from your Sunday paper or online for more deals.
Kroger
Don't miss the General Mills cereal deal going on at Kroger through Wednesday! Brand name cereals for under $1 a box! Here's how it works:
If you buy 4 of the selected varieties of cereals (look carefully at the shelf labels to make sure you're getting ones that are included), they are $1.49 each. Then use some of the coupons below to lower the price to under $1!
Look for 3 GM coupons here and print each one twice.
Kroger e-coupons (they don't stack e-coupons anymore, but it's better than nothing!)
More Kroger deals:
Lay's potato chips--$1.99
Kroger medium eggs--$.50
Ball Park franks--$1.28
Kroger buns and bread--$.88
Check out their website for more deals.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Best Store Deals 10/24/10
Walgreens
Pay for your items that have Register Rewards first, then use the Register Rewards to buy whatever else you need! Just remember you can't have more coupons/catalinas than the number of items you have, so you may have to add a cheap little item or two to your order, but you'll still be saving big bucks! :)
Other good Walgreens deals this week:
Trident Layers gum--$.99 with in-ad coupon. Print this twice and get 2 packs for $.24 each!
Royal gelatin--5/$1 with in-ad coupon (think upcoming holiday recipes!)
Various carpet cleaning products--buy one get one free!
Rolls of Scotch tape--$.49 with in-store coupon (stock up for Christmas!)
Many other deals--look online for the ad if you didn't get a Sunday paper.
Meijer
Check out their online ad or check your Sunday paper for more deals!
Kroger (Wednesday is the last day to take advantage of these savings!)
Many items are $1!
Kroger bagels, cream cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream, bread, hot dog and hamburger buns, Del Monte fruit, Manwich, Betty Crocker cake mixes, 2 liter Pepsi products, avocados, Bumble Bee tuna and Dawn dish detergent, to name a few!
Plus, they're having a frozen food Mega Event where, if you buy 10 of the included items, already at sale prices, you save an extra $5.00. Check out their ad, but you can get 2 Hungry Man "TV dinner" type things for free if you print this coupon twice. Tombstone pizzas are $1.99. Print this coupon and get Jose Ole appetizers for $1.49. Eggo waffles--$1.49. 10-28 oz Birds Eye or Freshlike veggies are $1.49.
Other good Kroger deals:
Idahoan potatoes are $1. Print this $1/1 coupon and get them free!
Post cereals $1.88
Gala apples (our fave!) $3.99 for a 5-lb bag.
Fresh raspberries $2/6 oz
- Colgate Sensitive Toothpaste--$3.49, with a $3.49 Register Reward. =Free!
- Contac Cold & Flu--$6, with a $6 Register Reward. =Free!
Pay for your items that have Register Rewards first, then use the Register Rewards to buy whatever else you need! Just remember you can't have more coupons/catalinas than the number of items you have, so you may have to add a cheap little item or two to your order, but you'll still be saving big bucks! :)
Other good Walgreens deals this week:
Trident Layers gum--$.99 with in-ad coupon. Print this twice and get 2 packs for $.24 each!
Royal gelatin--5/$1 with in-ad coupon (think upcoming holiday recipes!)
Various carpet cleaning products--buy one get one free!
Rolls of Scotch tape--$.49 with in-store coupon (stock up for Christmas!)
Many other deals--look online for the ad if you didn't get a Sunday paper.
Meijer
- Wheat Thins or Triscuits--2/$5. Go here for a $1/2 coupon = 2/$4. This isn't the best deal ever, but we were in need of some healthy-ish crackers, and I think it's a savings of over $1/box.
- Tyson boneless, skinless chicken breast--$1.99/lb
- Kraft cheeses--$1.88. Get a $5/5 coupon here, and get them for $.88 each (if you buy 5).
- Nestle cookie dough--$2. Print of two of these and get two for $1 each!
- Meijer milk--$2
- Quaker cereals and granola bars--$1.99. Buy 5 and get a gallon of Meijer milk free!
- Apple cider--$2.99/gallon
Check out their online ad or check your Sunday paper for more deals!
Kroger (Wednesday is the last day to take advantage of these savings!)
Many items are $1!
Kroger bagels, cream cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream, bread, hot dog and hamburger buns, Del Monte fruit, Manwich, Betty Crocker cake mixes, 2 liter Pepsi products, avocados, Bumble Bee tuna and Dawn dish detergent, to name a few!
Plus, they're having a frozen food Mega Event where, if you buy 10 of the included items, already at sale prices, you save an extra $5.00. Check out their ad, but you can get 2 Hungry Man "TV dinner" type things for free if you print this coupon twice. Tombstone pizzas are $1.99. Print this coupon and get Jose Ole appetizers for $1.49. Eggo waffles--$1.49. 10-28 oz Birds Eye or Freshlike veggies are $1.49.
Other good Kroger deals:
Idahoan potatoes are $1. Print this $1/1 coupon and get them free!
Post cereals $1.88
Gala apples (our fave!) $3.99 for a 5-lb bag.
Fresh raspberries $2/6 oz
Monday, October 18, 2010
A Few Good Deals for You! :)
I got some great deals today! It's not my normal shopping week, but I couldn't resist stocking up on some of these things for future use. I went by myself, was finished quickly and, as usual, met up unexpectedly with a couple friends to visit with for awhile. I can't go to Meijer without seeing people I know. It's a great time to catch up with people! :)
Walmart (they took my coupons lickity-split this time--yea!!!)
I spent less than $1.50 total on 2 boxes Quaker instant oatmeal and 2 Post-it super sticky note pads. Here's how:
Quaker instant oatmeal is $2.66 each. Click here for $2/1 coupon and print it twice. Buy two at $.66 each!
Post-it super sticky notes--$1 each. Click here for $1/1 coupon, and get them free!
Walgreens
Blistex is $2.59, with a $2.60 Register Reward. I paid for that first by itself and used the RR on my next transaction. Free!
Scotch padded mailers are on sale (with a coupon from their ad), 3/$1. You can't beat that, when the smallest size is regularly $.99 and you can get the bigger sizes with this deal, too--see coupon for the range of sizes. Limit 6. I bought six--will have things to mail at Christmas time! $.33-.34 each!
Ricola throat drops are on sale for $1. There is a $.50/1 coupon in Walgreens' October book of coupons at the front of the store. If you clip coupons from the paper, I've heard there was also a Ricola coupon you could stack with the Walgreens one, but I did not get that coupon in my paper. $.50 or free!
Meijer:
Here are some of the highlights of deals you can get at Meijer right now:
There are many other deals at all three of these stores! Check out their ads online and other money-saving blogs for more details!
Walmart (they took my coupons lickity-split this time--yea!!!)
I spent less than $1.50 total on 2 boxes Quaker instant oatmeal and 2 Post-it super sticky note pads. Here's how:
Quaker instant oatmeal is $2.66 each. Click here for $2/1 coupon and print it twice. Buy two at $.66 each!
Post-it super sticky notes--$1 each. Click here for $1/1 coupon, and get them free!
Walgreens
Blistex is $2.59, with a $2.60 Register Reward. I paid for that first by itself and used the RR on my next transaction. Free!
Scotch padded mailers are on sale (with a coupon from their ad), 3/$1. You can't beat that, when the smallest size is regularly $.99 and you can get the bigger sizes with this deal, too--see coupon for the range of sizes. Limit 6. I bought six--will have things to mail at Christmas time! $.33-.34 each!
Ricola throat drops are on sale for $1. There is a $.50/1 coupon in Walgreens' October book of coupons at the front of the store. If you clip coupons from the paper, I've heard there was also a Ricola coupon you could stack with the Walgreens one, but I did not get that coupon in my paper. $.50 or free!
Meijer:
Here are some of the highlights of deals you can get at Meijer right now:
- Free Ronzoni pasta! They're on sale for $.99. Click here for a $.50/1 coupon, which will double at my Meijer. Print it twice and get 2 for free!
- Free Jello! I was thinking about holiday recipes when I scored this free Jello. :) It's on sale for $.50 per box. If you clipped coupons from the paper yesterday, there was a $.50/2 coupon, which will double at some Meijer stores, giving you 2 free!
- Del Monte canned veggies--on sale for $.79. Click here for a Meijer coupon for $1/5, making each $.59!
- Del Monte canned fruit--$1. Click here for a Meijer coupon for $1/5, making them $.80 each!
- Classico pasta sauce--$1.67. Click here for a Meijer coupon for $1/2, making them $1.17 each. Click here for $1/1 and get them for $.17!!!
- Peppridge Farm Milano cookies--BOGO Free!. Click here for $1/1--print it twice and pay $.70 for a treat that regularly costs $3.39!
- Nestle chocolate chips--stock up for holiday baking! On sale--$2. Click here for $.50/2 coupon. If your Meijer doubles, that will be $1.50 each! (I was disappointed b/c I thought I'd be paying $1 each. I thought I could stack a catalina coupon I had received with the manufacturer coupon, but it turned out the catalina was actually a manufacturer coupon with the Meijer name on it and, of course, you can't stack 2 manufacturer coupons!)
There are many other deals at all three of these stores! Check out their ads online and other money-saving blogs for more details!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Blissful (Walmart-less) Shopping, Great Deals! :)
So, yeah, I drove my coupons right past Walmart yesterday and went directly to Walgreens and then Meijer. I can't say I particularly missed all the hassle over coupons at Walmart. I did write to them to let them know why I was taking my coupon business elsewhere. I was polite, but firm. I haven't yet heard back. Not even a "We've received your e-mail and we'll get back to you asap" form letter. Hmmm . . . we'll see what happens. I wrote to the local store and to corporate. I know many people have something to say to Walmart. I hear about it all the time. If you're one of those people, go here and click on "e-mail customer service." Then you're given some options. If you click on the one about store policies, you have the option of sending it to corporate.
Now, let's get down to business! Great deals this week. I L-O-V-E when I save more than I spend! I saved a total of $76.86 at Meijer, over $30 of which was in coupons alone. You should have SEEN my stack of coupons! lol It was great! The guy behind me in line just kept watching the cashier scan coupon after coupon, his eyes widening with each one. It was comical. Except that I think he was a little annoyed because he had only one little frilly dress ???? he was waiting to pay for. But, hey, he didn't get in line until well after my order was underway. ;)
Oh, and I also received $12.50 in catalinas to use on future purchases!! Love it, love it.
Anyway, it was great because I was able to use a bunch of coupons, that were ready to expire, on products that were on sale. A perfect scenario. And I took full advantage of it. ;)
I'll share with you some of the best deals!
Chex Mix, normally $2.69/bag
Sale Price: 2/$3
Coupon: $.50/1 Chex Mix
Our Meijer doubles coupons up to $.50
Final Price: $.50 each!
Meijer has a deal right now where you buy $15 of Kraft products and receive a catalina for $5 off your next shopping trip. You can do two of these in one transaction. Plus, their cheeses, snack crackers, OM hot dogs, etc. are on sale. I bought a little over $30 of Kraft products, so I got $10 back, though the catalina didn't spit out my 2nd one and I had to go to customer service to get it. Anyway, not only did I get that $10 returned to me, but I also didn't pay $30 for those products because of all the coupons I had. I probably paid $10 or less on that stuff. Not bad!
Yogurt:
They have DanActive 4-packs on sale, 2/$4. If you buy four 4-packs, you get an instant $2 off. Use coupons here and here, plus these from Meijer Mealbox (to stack), and pay well under $1 per 4-pack.
Now, I'm not a huge fan of Hamburger Helper and things of that nature, but they have these new brands, like Macaroni Grill, Wanchai Ferry and Good Earth Meals, where you add chicken and a few staple ingredients you likely have (like oil). I thought I'd give them a try, to have them on hand for extra busy days, especially since I was able to get them for $.99 each (regularly $4.49 each)! If you've been clipping coupons, you probably have various ones you can stack with these $1/1 Meijer Mealbox coupons, to get them for $.99, plus the cost of chicken.
Coffeemate creamers:
2/$3
$.75/1 coupon here
Pay $.75
There are soooo many more deals. Check out the Meijer ad for your area (available online), clip coupons, look up online coupon sites and print them off. Then make sure to check Meijer Mealbox to see if there are some coupons you can stack with manufacturer coupons. Remember one manufacturer coupon and one Meijer coupon per item (or however many items are indicated on coupon).
WALGREENS
Check out the Walgreens ad for items you can receive FREE this week, when they give you back Register Rewards for the same amount you paid. Then use those register rewards for other things you need (and don't forget to use coupons!). That's how I spent $13.27 on $40.71 worth of products! I spent waaay under half of what I saved. You can do it, too! :)
Now, let's get down to business! Great deals this week. I L-O-V-E when I save more than I spend! I saved a total of $76.86 at Meijer, over $30 of which was in coupons alone. You should have SEEN my stack of coupons! lol It was great! The guy behind me in line just kept watching the cashier scan coupon after coupon, his eyes widening with each one. It was comical. Except that I think he was a little annoyed because he had only one little frilly dress ???? he was waiting to pay for. But, hey, he didn't get in line until well after my order was underway. ;)
Oh, and I also received $12.50 in catalinas to use on future purchases!! Love it, love it.
Anyway, it was great because I was able to use a bunch of coupons, that were ready to expire, on products that were on sale. A perfect scenario. And I took full advantage of it. ;)
I'll share with you some of the best deals!
Chex Mix, normally $2.69/bag
Sale Price: 2/$3
Coupon: $.50/1 Chex Mix
Our Meijer doubles coupons up to $.50
Final Price: $.50 each!
Meijer has a deal right now where you buy $15 of Kraft products and receive a catalina for $5 off your next shopping trip. You can do two of these in one transaction. Plus, their cheeses, snack crackers, OM hot dogs, etc. are on sale. I bought a little over $30 of Kraft products, so I got $10 back, though the catalina didn't spit out my 2nd one and I had to go to customer service to get it. Anyway, not only did I get that $10 returned to me, but I also didn't pay $30 for those products because of all the coupons I had. I probably paid $10 or less on that stuff. Not bad!
Yogurt:
They have DanActive 4-packs on sale, 2/$4. If you buy four 4-packs, you get an instant $2 off. Use coupons here and here, plus these from Meijer Mealbox (to stack), and pay well under $1 per 4-pack.
Now, I'm not a huge fan of Hamburger Helper and things of that nature, but they have these new brands, like Macaroni Grill, Wanchai Ferry and Good Earth Meals, where you add chicken and a few staple ingredients you likely have (like oil). I thought I'd give them a try, to have them on hand for extra busy days, especially since I was able to get them for $.99 each (regularly $4.49 each)! If you've been clipping coupons, you probably have various ones you can stack with these $1/1 Meijer Mealbox coupons, to get them for $.99, plus the cost of chicken.
Coffeemate creamers:
2/$3
$.75/1 coupon here
Pay $.75
There are soooo many more deals. Check out the Meijer ad for your area (available online), clip coupons, look up online coupon sites and print them off. Then make sure to check Meijer Mealbox to see if there are some coupons you can stack with manufacturer coupons. Remember one manufacturer coupon and one Meijer coupon per item (or however many items are indicated on coupon).
WALGREENS
Check out the Walgreens ad for items you can receive FREE this week, when they give you back Register Rewards for the same amount you paid. Then use those register rewards for other things you need (and don't forget to use coupons!). That's how I spent $13.27 on $40.71 worth of products! I spent waaay under half of what I saved. You can do it, too! :)
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
A Few Good Deals Today--But Not So Much at Walmart! :)
Made a quick stop at Meijer today to stock up on a few things they had on sale. I spent $6.68 and SAVED $11.92. Gotta love that! Here are a few of the deals you can get if you live near a Meijer (there are more deals than this, but these are the ones I used today):
Hunts ketchup (our new ketchup of choice--pretty much as tasty as Heinz, but none of that nasty high fructose corn syrup):
They are on sale for $1.
Go here for a $1/5 coupon. $.80 each, and you don't have to buy ketchup again for a long, long time!
Skippy peanut butter (including the natural):
They are on sale for $1.67
Go here for $.50/1 Skippy natural pb (print 2--the limit--while you're at it!)
Our Meijer doubles $.50 coupons, so I got 2 jars for $.67 each.
PLUS, if you buy 2 jars of any Skippy pb, you get a free 18 oz grape jelly or jam. Not my fave, but I think Little Mister will like it. :)
Yo-plus yogurt:
The 4-packs are on sale for $1.67.
Go here for a $.50/1 4-pack.
With the double coupons, I got 2 packs for $.67 each.
You can do the above deal with the Fiber One yogurt as well.
Now, for those of you on Facebook, you may have seen my status about boycotting Walmart. I'm not sure how I feel about that now that I've had time to clear my head. I really don't want to deal with them anymore when it comes to coupons. But if I just stop going there without letting them know why, it's not going to do any good. So, if I can figure out who to address it to, I plan to write to the company. I'm not sure I can make a difference on my own, but if any of you who have had the same troubles would be willing to say something, too, maybe we can make a difference together. I have this gut feeling that they really don't care, but I don't like to be pessimistic and assume the worst either. We'll see how it plays out. :)
Happy saving!! :)
Hunts ketchup (our new ketchup of choice--pretty much as tasty as Heinz, but none of that nasty high fructose corn syrup):
They are on sale for $1.
Go here for a $1/5 coupon. $.80 each, and you don't have to buy ketchup again for a long, long time!
Skippy peanut butter (including the natural):
They are on sale for $1.67
Go here for $.50/1 Skippy natural pb (print 2--the limit--while you're at it!)
Our Meijer doubles $.50 coupons, so I got 2 jars for $.67 each.
PLUS, if you buy 2 jars of any Skippy pb, you get a free 18 oz grape jelly or jam. Not my fave, but I think Little Mister will like it. :)
Yo-plus yogurt:
The 4-packs are on sale for $1.67.
Go here for a $.50/1 4-pack.
With the double coupons, I got 2 packs for $.67 each.
You can do the above deal with the Fiber One yogurt as well.
Now, for those of you on Facebook, you may have seen my status about boycotting Walmart. I'm not sure how I feel about that now that I've had time to clear my head. I really don't want to deal with them anymore when it comes to coupons. But if I just stop going there without letting them know why, it's not going to do any good. So, if I can figure out who to address it to, I plan to write to the company. I'm not sure I can make a difference on my own, but if any of you who have had the same troubles would be willing to say something, too, maybe we can make a difference together. I have this gut feeling that they really don't care, but I don't like to be pessimistic and assume the worst either. We'll see how it plays out. :)
Happy saving!! :)
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Great Deals Today! :)
Little Mister and I "braved" the rainy day and went grocery shopping this morning. Besides the fact that we looked like drowned rats (LM makes a very cute drowned rat, though, I must say!), we had a good time together. He was a big help and it was a great opportunity to take all those math facts he's been learning in the books and put them to use in real life. Not to mention he's just great company! :)
I bought Kraft cheeses for 17 cents each, Wheat Thins and Triscuits for 62 cents each, Manwich for 50 cents each and got Old El Paso fajita seasoning for free! Just to name a few of my best bargains. ;) I shopped at Meijer, and here's how I got those deals.
First of all, let me explain that Meijer is having a Catalina deal where, when you buy $15 worth of certain Kraft products (including cheese, Wheat Thins, Triscuits, 100 Calorie snacks, mayo, Miracle Whip and several others), you receive a $5 catalina to use on your next purchase. You can do two of these deals in one transaction.
The Kraft 8oz bricks of cheese are on sale for $1.67 (3/$5). To make this work, you have to buy 10. But then you don't have to buy cheese again for a long time! The date on it was December something, and it can always be frozen. So . . . .
10 Kraft cheese at $1.67 = $16.70
Print a $5/5 coupon here (actually, print 2, which is the limit).
So, when you take off the $10 from the coupons, you're down to $6.70 for 10 bricks of cheese.
Then you'll get a $5 catalina to use on your next shopping trip, which brings your grand total down to $1.70, or $.17 each, for 10 bricks of cheese!
Wheat Thins and Triscuits are on sale for $1.99 and are also part of the Kraft deal.
I bought 8 boxes--4 of each. $15.92
If you "like" Wheat Thins on Facebook, you can print up to two $1/1 coupons for Wheat Thins. Even if you "liked" them a long time ago and printed out coupons, try again. They seem to have reset the coupon.
With my two coupons, the total came down to $13.92.
I got the $5 catalina from Kraft, since the items totaled more than $15. Down to $8.92 for 8 boxes.
THEN, the catalina machine spit out an extra $4 off coupon for my next shopping trip! Fun surprise! That brought the cost down to $.62 per box of crackers!
I paid for my groceries in two separate transactions. I did all the Kraft products--the cheese and crackers--first, then used the catalinas from that when I paid for the remainder of my groceries. The one thing I didn't know, though, was that you can only use one of the Kraft $5 catalinas per transaction. If I had known that, I may have divided my remaining groceries into 2 transactions. Or maybe not! I have it to use for next time, which is just as good to me.
A couple other deals I can think of are the Manwich I got for $.50 a can (I totally forgot to look at the label until I got home and, unfortunately, it is sweetened with High Fructose Corn Syrup--yuck!). But that doesn't bother everyone, so if you want a good deal on Manwich, go to the Meijer Mealbox, to "specials" and there you will find all kinds of coupons, including one for $1 off 2 Manwich. They are on sale for $1 so, with the coupon, they are $.50 each, if you buy two. And I think you can print off as many Meijer coupons as you wish.
I went here for a $.50/1 Old El Paso coupon. I needed fajita mix, which was $.89. My Meijer doubles coupons up to $.50, so they took off the extra $.39 and I got it for free!
Lots of beautiful produce at great prices and other deals that might work well for your household. Worth a look! :)
I bought Kraft cheeses for 17 cents each, Wheat Thins and Triscuits for 62 cents each, Manwich for 50 cents each and got Old El Paso fajita seasoning for free! Just to name a few of my best bargains. ;) I shopped at Meijer, and here's how I got those deals.
First of all, let me explain that Meijer is having a Catalina deal where, when you buy $15 worth of certain Kraft products (including cheese, Wheat Thins, Triscuits, 100 Calorie snacks, mayo, Miracle Whip and several others), you receive a $5 catalina to use on your next purchase. You can do two of these deals in one transaction.
The Kraft 8oz bricks of cheese are on sale for $1.67 (3/$5). To make this work, you have to buy 10. But then you don't have to buy cheese again for a long time! The date on it was December something, and it can always be frozen. So . . . .
10 Kraft cheese at $1.67 = $16.70
Print a $5/5 coupon here (actually, print 2, which is the limit).
So, when you take off the $10 from the coupons, you're down to $6.70 for 10 bricks of cheese.
Then you'll get a $5 catalina to use on your next shopping trip, which brings your grand total down to $1.70, or $.17 each, for 10 bricks of cheese!
Wheat Thins and Triscuits are on sale for $1.99 and are also part of the Kraft deal.
I bought 8 boxes--4 of each. $15.92
If you "like" Wheat Thins on Facebook, you can print up to two $1/1 coupons for Wheat Thins. Even if you "liked" them a long time ago and printed out coupons, try again. They seem to have reset the coupon.
With my two coupons, the total came down to $13.92.
I got the $5 catalina from Kraft, since the items totaled more than $15. Down to $8.92 for 8 boxes.
THEN, the catalina machine spit out an extra $4 off coupon for my next shopping trip! Fun surprise! That brought the cost down to $.62 per box of crackers!
I paid for my groceries in two separate transactions. I did all the Kraft products--the cheese and crackers--first, then used the catalinas from that when I paid for the remainder of my groceries. The one thing I didn't know, though, was that you can only use one of the Kraft $5 catalinas per transaction. If I had known that, I may have divided my remaining groceries into 2 transactions. Or maybe not! I have it to use for next time, which is just as good to me.
A couple other deals I can think of are the Manwich I got for $.50 a can (I totally forgot to look at the label until I got home and, unfortunately, it is sweetened with High Fructose Corn Syrup--yuck!). But that doesn't bother everyone, so if you want a good deal on Manwich, go to the Meijer Mealbox, to "specials" and there you will find all kinds of coupons, including one for $1 off 2 Manwich. They are on sale for $1 so, with the coupon, they are $.50 each, if you buy two. And I think you can print off as many Meijer coupons as you wish.
I went here for a $.50/1 Old El Paso coupon. I needed fajita mix, which was $.89. My Meijer doubles coupons up to $.50, so they took off the extra $.39 and I got it for free!
Lots of beautiful produce at great prices and other deals that might work well for your household. Worth a look! :)
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
My Best Deal Yet--97% Savings!!!
Today at CVS I spent $.95 (yes, that's ninety-five cents!), and saved $32.96! Not to mention the $2 Extra Bucks I have for next time, plus a $5 off a $15 purchase coupon that I may be able to use to my advantage before it expires on Friday.
Today I had the blessing of the company of my mom and two of my sisters--Amy from Arizona and Mary from Ohio! :) Amy wanted to go to Walgreens anyway, so we started out there. Mom even had some coupons to try out the Walgreens thang. :) Before I tell you about my CVS deal, here's what I did at Walgreens today:
I spent $2.37 and saved $10.50 on these items. I was getting low on face powder and Cover Girl had their products at Buy One Get One 50% off. They were $6 each or, with the sale, $9 for both. Plus I had a $1/1 coupon for each one and my $5 Register Reward from yesterday, so I paid $1 per item. The only problem was that, since I had 3 coupons, I needed to have at least 3 items in my order--thus the spearmint leaves, which were on sale for $.39.
Now, here's the CVS deal for today:
$33.95 worth of merchandise for $.95!
The olives are normally $2.50. Awhile back they were on sale for $1 but I had to get a raincheck by the time I made it to the store. I used that today, along with two $1/2 coupons, making them 50 cents each. The Gillette deodorants were $3.99, with a $1 Extra Buck reward each, and the body washes were $3 each. I used two "Buy 1 Gillette deodorant, get 1 body wash free" coupons, plus a $2 off deodorant coupon. The hairspray was on sale for $2.97 and I used a $2 off coupon. All those coupons with my $8 Extra Bucks from last week brought my total to $.95 plus tax!
Clip coupons! Clip coupons! Clip coupons! Clip coupons! Clip coupons! Clip coupons! Clip Coupons!
Today I had the blessing of the company of my mom and two of my sisters--Amy from Arizona and Mary from Ohio! :) Amy wanted to go to Walgreens anyway, so we started out there. Mom even had some coupons to try out the Walgreens thang. :) Before I tell you about my CVS deal, here's what I did at Walgreens today:
Now, here's the CVS deal for today:
The olives are normally $2.50. Awhile back they were on sale for $1 but I had to get a raincheck by the time I made it to the store. I used that today, along with two $1/2 coupons, making them 50 cents each. The Gillette deodorants were $3.99, with a $1 Extra Buck reward each, and the body washes were $3 each. I used two "Buy 1 Gillette deodorant, get 1 body wash free" coupons, plus a $2 off deodorant coupon. The hairspray was on sale for $2.97 and I used a $2 off coupon. All those coupons with my $8 Extra Bucks from last week brought my total to $.95 plus tax!
Clip coupons! Clip coupons! Clip coupons! Clip coupons! Clip coupons! Clip coupons! Clip Coupons!
Monday, June 7, 2010
All This--For Less Than the Price of a Razor!! :)
See the razor on the far left side of this photo? It's a Gillette Fusion ProGlide I bought for my hubby. The sale price is $9.89. Guess what? I bought everything in this photo for LESS than the sale price of that razor, AND walked away with $5 to spend next time, plus another $7.50 in various Catalina coupons I wasn't expecting. Not bad!
Now, two things went wrong from the get-go, which lessened my savings and my fun, but I made a choice to try not to let them get me down (for very long) and did just fine! First of all, my sister from Arizona, Amy, who got me into all this money-saving stuff in the first place, and is visiting this week, was maybe going to accompany me today for some money-saving merriment, but that didn't work out after all. It's always fun to have someone else to banter with, jokingly insulting each other about how "cool" you look with your coupon binder open in the cart. Oh, well! Wasn't meant to be. I'm used to going to Walgreens alone . . . even my own loyal husband and son prefer to do almost anything other than endure a lengthy trip to Walgreens!
So, with a smile and hugs and kisses all around, I said goodbye to my "boys" and headed out alone, armed with a very well-planned-out list and my coupon binder. Alas, the very first thing on my list was something they didn't have! Can you imagine? It was pictured in the ad, too! Anyway, I was disappointed because, as impossible as it may sound, if I had purchased those items, I would have have received them for free, plus made a little profit. Another strike against me!
Plan B worked out pretty well, though! Here's how it worked.
If you're not clipping coupons, you're missing out!
- Pampers baby wipes (these are useful for so many things, long after diaper days!): 2/$5. I bought 2 and had two $2 off coupons, making them $.50 each!
- Kashi cereals: 2/$5, with a $2 Register Reward
- Dawn dish washing liquid: $.99 with coupon from ad. I had a $1 off coupon, making it free! (Make sure to give manufacturer coupons before ad coupons to avoid the register beeping at you and not accepting the manufacturer coupon).
- Bayer aspirin: $.99 each. I bought 3, and had three $1 off coupons, making them free! We don't normally use aspirin, but it was free and I'm sure someone I know can use it!
- Heath bars: I think they were 2/$1.59. I needed them for the dessert recipe I'm making for a family gathering tonight and they made good "fillers." (You can't have more coupons than items, so sometimes you have to get a cheap clearance item or piece of candy or something to make up the difference--still saving soooo much money!)
- Johnson&Johnson cotton swabs (500 ct.): $1.99 with coupon in ad. I had a $1 off coupon, making it $.99.
- Canned fruit: $.79 each, with coupon from ad.
Besides the coupons mentioned above, I had $8 Register Rewards from 2 weeks ago, so this transaction came to a total of $2.91, plus tax. I received the $2 RR from the Kashi cereal to use toward my next transaction.
- Fusion ProGlide razor: on sale for $9.89, with a $5 Register Reward. I had a $4 off coupon. If you include the RR in the price, it's like getting it for $.89! But I paid, out of pocket, $5.88 and will use the $5 RR next time.
- The scissors were $1.99, but I had the $2 RR from Transaction #1, so I got them for free. I bought them to replaced the huge honkin' pair of scissors I've had in my coupon binder. Ha ha--speaking of scissors--ask my sister Amy what happens when you pack your coupon binder, complete with a pair of scissors you forgot were in there, in your carry-on bag and go through security. lol :)
Anyway, to sum it up, I got $48.95 worth of merchandise for $8.79, a total savings of 82%. Plus I have my $5 RR and $7.50 in other Catalina coupons for next time.
And I'll see Amy tonight, when I can rub it in a little! lol :) Just kidding--she wouldn't have wanted to pack up all that loot to get it back to AZ anyway. :)
Monday, May 31, 2010
Cheap Snacks for the Road :)
I didn't need many groceries for my household this week, but when I saw these deals, I thought immediately of our upcoming, very long (and fun!) road trip. Everybody knows how ridiculously-priced snacks are at gas stations, so I thought I might as well stock up on items like this while I can get them for a song. I paid just over $9 for the above items, and saved just under $19, all at Meijer. Here's how:
The Nature Valley granola bars, Sweet & Salty bars, and Fiber One bars are on sale for $1.99 a box this week. Go here and print out $.40 and $.50 coupons (you can print 2 for each brand). Meijer doubles coupons that are $.50 or less, so each box is $.99-$1.19.
Pringles are 3/$4 this week. I had a manufacturer coupon--$1 off 3. So, of course, that made them $1 each**
Chex mix is $1.25. Go here and print off two $.50 coupons, each of which will be doubled, and you pay $.25 each!!!!
**Plus, I had a $3 catalina toward my purchase, which I received with last week's Kraft salad dressing deal, so it was basically like getting the 3 cans of Pringles for free!
Go here to see all of the deals Meijer is having this week, and don't forget to check and see here if Meijer is offering coupons you can stack with the manufacture coupons you have! Leave comments here if you have any great deals you want to share. I'm pretty sure you can even comment anonymously if you don't have a Google account. :)
Friday, May 28, 2010
Deals
I really have wanted to get on here and blog about some great savings this week, but I've just been swamped with so many things going on! If you see this in time, though, you might still have another day to take advantage of these deals.
I'll start with Walgreens and CVS, since most people have those around (I think) in the US. Meijer and Kroger are having some deals as well, so I will include those at the end.
Walgreens
I paid a total of $37.27 for the above items. That probably seems like a lot for that number of items, but 2 of them would normally be $40 each. I saved a total of $77.46. Not my very best deal ever, but it worked out okay. Plus I have $8 in Register Rewards to spend next time.
Once again, I did the multiple transaction thing, and it worked out okay. I started with the Complete contact solution, which is $7.99, with an $8 Register Reward. Also in that transaction, I purchased an "ourchless" headband, that was $2.99, with a $3.00 Register Reward. I had a $1 off coupon from the box of Contact solution and my $4.50 Register Rewards from last week.
Second Transaction included the two bottles of Osteo, 1 pkg of Carefree ($.99 with coupon from ad) and a box of first-aid gauzy things I got from the clearance aisle because I thought I was going to need an extra cheap item to balance the number of coupons I was using. My *aging* hubby (ha ha--I get to tease him now and then 'cuz he's 4 years older than I) likes to take, as part of his vitamin regimen, Osteo Flex or whatever it's called (or other brands of the same thing). Walgreens had them Buy-One-Get-One Free. These bottles would have been $40 each, but with the BOGO, and two $5 off coupons I had, AND the $8 Register Reward from my first transaction, I got both bottles for more like $22 (or $11 each).
Transaction #3: I bought another Complete contact solution and 2 Oscar Meyer deli meats. The OM meats were on sale for 2/$5.00, plus I had a $1 off 2 coupon, and I used the $3 Register Reward from my first transaction. I received another $8 RR from the Complete, and I will use that next week.
CVS
This picture isn't especially clear--sorry! For these items, I paid $20.27, which is less than the regular price of the cooler alone. I saved $37.63, and received $8 in Extra Care Bucks for next time.
I did this in 2 transactions:
The Garnier Nutritioniste products weren't on sale, but if you bought $20 worth, you got $10 back. It was right when I was looking for facial products with SPF, so it was perfect timing for me. Plus, I had $2 off coupon for one of the products. The toothpaste was $2.99 with a $1 Extra Care Buck, plus I had a $1 off coupon for that. I also used my $12 ECBucks from last week.
For my second transaction, I took the ECBs from the 1st transaction and used them toward this cooler, which was already on sale for $14.99. We're taking a long road trip this summer and I was thinking about all the bottles of water we could fit in that thing! :) The men's body wash was a money-maker. They were on sale for $4.00 each, with an ECB return of $4.00 (limit: 2 of these deals per household). I also had a coupon for $4 off 2. So, I bought 2 and ended up making $4.00 (not including the ECBs). And now I have $8 ECBs for next time.
Meijer
Here are just some of the deals I got at Meijer this week!
The Kraft salad dressings are $2 each, and if you buy 2, you get a $1 catalina coupon toward your next shopping trip. Buy 3 and you'll get $2, buy 4 and you'll get $3. Plus go here to print off $.55 off 1 coupons and here to print Meijer coupons, $1.00 off 1, which you can stack with the $.55 ones. I bought 4 bottles, $2 each, had $4 off in Meijer coupons, and $1.65 in manufacturer coupons. With the $3 catalina I received back, it's like getting them for free, plus a little overage.
The Hellman's mayo is on sale for $2.50. I bought 2. Here, I got a $1.50 off 2 coupon from Meijer, which I stacked with two $.75 off 1 coupons, making each jar $1. I'm sorry, but the $.75 coupons appear to be gone now!
Country Time and other drink mixes are $1 this week.
The Bertolli pasta sauce is $1.67 this week. Here, you can get $1 off 2 coupons. I also used $1.50 off 2 coupons that appear to be no longer available! You can do some searching on your own and see if you can track down something I'm missing, if you wish. :) But, anyway, I paid $.22 for each.
The Raisin Bran I got for $.69 (a giant box!), using the $2 coupon they wouldn't take at Walmart. :)
Not pictured: Ball Park Franks are $.89 this week.
Skippy Peanut Butter is $1.67. Coupons here and here make them about $1 each.
Kroger:
Kroger has Nestle bottled water on sale--3 for $10 (24 packs). If you buy 3, you receive $3 back. I bought 6 cases (stocking up for summer and our trip!) and used coupons, making the price $2 per case, or about 8 cents per bottle. Sure beats paying $1 or more at gas stations! :)
This is all I've got time for right now, but I'll bet there are tons more deals out there. If you know of some, post them in the comments section for others to see! :)
I'll start with Walgreens and CVS, since most people have those around (I think) in the US. Meijer and Kroger are having some deals as well, so I will include those at the end.
Walgreens
I paid a total of $37.27 for the above items. That probably seems like a lot for that number of items, but 2 of them would normally be $40 each. I saved a total of $77.46. Not my very best deal ever, but it worked out okay. Plus I have $8 in Register Rewards to spend next time.
Once again, I did the multiple transaction thing, and it worked out okay. I started with the Complete contact solution, which is $7.99, with an $8 Register Reward. Also in that transaction, I purchased an "ourchless" headband, that was $2.99, with a $3.00 Register Reward. I had a $1 off coupon from the box of Contact solution and my $4.50 Register Rewards from last week.
Second Transaction included the two bottles of Osteo, 1 pkg of Carefree ($.99 with coupon from ad) and a box of first-aid gauzy things I got from the clearance aisle because I thought I was going to need an extra cheap item to balance the number of coupons I was using. My *aging* hubby (ha ha--I get to tease him now and then 'cuz he's 4 years older than I) likes to take, as part of his vitamin regimen, Osteo Flex or whatever it's called (or other brands of the same thing). Walgreens had them Buy-One-Get-One Free. These bottles would have been $40 each, but with the BOGO, and two $5 off coupons I had, AND the $8 Register Reward from my first transaction, I got both bottles for more like $22 (or $11 each).
Transaction #3: I bought another Complete contact solution and 2 Oscar Meyer deli meats. The OM meats were on sale for 2/$5.00, plus I had a $1 off 2 coupon, and I used the $3 Register Reward from my first transaction. I received another $8 RR from the Complete, and I will use that next week.
CVS
I did this in 2 transactions:
The Garnier Nutritioniste products weren't on sale, but if you bought $20 worth, you got $10 back. It was right when I was looking for facial products with SPF, so it was perfect timing for me. Plus, I had $2 off coupon for one of the products. The toothpaste was $2.99 with a $1 Extra Care Buck, plus I had a $1 off coupon for that. I also used my $12 ECBucks from last week.
Meijer
The Kraft salad dressings are $2 each, and if you buy 2, you get a $1 catalina coupon toward your next shopping trip. Buy 3 and you'll get $2, buy 4 and you'll get $3. Plus go here to print off $.55 off 1 coupons and here to print Meijer coupons, $1.00 off 1, which you can stack with the $.55 ones. I bought 4 bottles, $2 each, had $4 off in Meijer coupons, and $1.65 in manufacturer coupons. With the $3 catalina I received back, it's like getting them for free, plus a little overage.
The Hellman's mayo is on sale for $2.50. I bought 2. Here, I got a $1.50 off 2 coupon from Meijer, which I stacked with two $.75 off 1 coupons, making each jar $1. I'm sorry, but the $.75 coupons appear to be gone now!
Country Time and other drink mixes are $1 this week.
The Bertolli pasta sauce is $1.67 this week. Here, you can get $1 off 2 coupons. I also used $1.50 off 2 coupons that appear to be no longer available! You can do some searching on your own and see if you can track down something I'm missing, if you wish. :) But, anyway, I paid $.22 for each.
The Raisin Bran I got for $.69 (a giant box!), using the $2 coupon they wouldn't take at Walmart. :)
Not pictured: Ball Park Franks are $.89 this week.
Skippy Peanut Butter is $1.67. Coupons here and here make them about $1 each.
Kroger:
Kroger has Nestle bottled water on sale--3 for $10 (24 packs). If you buy 3, you receive $3 back. I bought 6 cases (stocking up for summer and our trip!) and used coupons, making the price $2 per case, or about 8 cents per bottle. Sure beats paying $1 or more at gas stations! :)
This is all I've got time for right now, but I'll bet there are tons more deals out there. If you know of some, post them in the comments section for others to see! :)
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Top Five "DON'Ts" of Saving Money
So far on this little amateur blog of mine, I have mostly talked about some of the ways I know of to save money. Today I'm going to focus on some of the things to avoid in the process.
1. Don't buy things you won't use or don't need. It can be tempting to waver in this area when you see how inexpensively you can pick up, oh, let's say, a case of sardines. "Oh! Fifty cents for a whole case of sardines," you might say to yourself. But does anyone in your household eat, or even like, sardines? "Just in case" isn't always a good justification. Fifty cents might not seem like much to waste, but it's still money that could be spent on something more useful, or it could be used to make you more money on a different purchase. Also, once you start down that "just in case" path, it's easy to spiral out of control until you have no room to store all those items no one is using. Also, be careful not to buy certain brands that no one in your house likes (on cereal, for instance) just because it's on sale. You don't necessarily have to sacrifice quality to save money! :)
2. Don't stoop to cheating or abusing the system in order to gain more for yourself. Don't purposely try to use expired coupons or the wrong coupon for the wrong item. One of the worst deceptions I've seen on other blogs is people buying an item that has a money-back guarantee, with the intention of keeping/using the product and getting their money back. It's one thing to buy a product and really not be satisfied with it after the fact, and then take the company up on their guarantee. It's a completely different matter to buy a product, knowing the only reason you're paying for it is because you plan to receive a refund.
3. Don't forget to send in any rebate forms you're counting on for extra savings! Rebates are different from refunds. The company, in order to entice you to buy their products, offers to give you some or all of your money back. I'm guessing they're counting on some people forgetting to send in their rebate forms. Don't give them the satisfaction! ha ha
4. Don't be a "vulture!" Now, this one is probably based more on my personal opinion and past frustrating situations than on any moral obligation. Remember as kids, when we waited in line at the drinking fountain, and that one kid held everyone up by drinking more water than ten normal people could ever need? We would say, "Save some for the fish!" When you're shopping at stores with lower quantities of stock (like Walgreens or CVS), it wouldn't hurt to think of others that might want to benefit from that sale after you. I'm not saying it's wrong to buy the last Intuition razor because someone else might want it. I'm just suggesting we be mindful of what, and how many, we really need for our household, or for giving away . . . which brings me to my next "don't."
5. Don't forget those in need! It's fine to do some stockpiling for our own households, but let's be careful not to go overboard! Yesterday at Walgreens, I ended up with 4 men's body washes for free (plus I made $1.50 on the deal!). When I went to put them away, I realized that, though my hubby does shower every day, :) we really don't need any more stored away for now. Food banks, missions, shelters, etc. always need hygiene items as well as food. There's no magic number that works for every family, as far as how much is too much to store for the future. But don't ignore any impressions the Lord may be laying on your heart to share your surplus with people who truly need it!
Happy $avings!! :)
1. Don't buy things you won't use or don't need. It can be tempting to waver in this area when you see how inexpensively you can pick up, oh, let's say, a case of sardines. "Oh! Fifty cents for a whole case of sardines," you might say to yourself. But does anyone in your household eat, or even like, sardines? "Just in case" isn't always a good justification. Fifty cents might not seem like much to waste, but it's still money that could be spent on something more useful, or it could be used to make you more money on a different purchase. Also, once you start down that "just in case" path, it's easy to spiral out of control until you have no room to store all those items no one is using. Also, be careful not to buy certain brands that no one in your house likes (on cereal, for instance) just because it's on sale. You don't necessarily have to sacrifice quality to save money! :)
2. Don't stoop to cheating or abusing the system in order to gain more for yourself. Don't purposely try to use expired coupons or the wrong coupon for the wrong item. One of the worst deceptions I've seen on other blogs is people buying an item that has a money-back guarantee, with the intention of keeping/using the product and getting their money back. It's one thing to buy a product and really not be satisfied with it after the fact, and then take the company up on their guarantee. It's a completely different matter to buy a product, knowing the only reason you're paying for it is because you plan to receive a refund.
3. Don't forget to send in any rebate forms you're counting on for extra savings! Rebates are different from refunds. The company, in order to entice you to buy their products, offers to give you some or all of your money back. I'm guessing they're counting on some people forgetting to send in their rebate forms. Don't give them the satisfaction! ha ha
4. Don't be a "vulture!" Now, this one is probably based more on my personal opinion and past frustrating situations than on any moral obligation. Remember as kids, when we waited in line at the drinking fountain, and that one kid held everyone up by drinking more water than ten normal people could ever need? We would say, "Save some for the fish!" When you're shopping at stores with lower quantities of stock (like Walgreens or CVS), it wouldn't hurt to think of others that might want to benefit from that sale after you. I'm not saying it's wrong to buy the last Intuition razor because someone else might want it. I'm just suggesting we be mindful of what, and how many, we really need for our household, or for giving away . . . which brings me to my next "don't."
5. Don't forget those in need! It's fine to do some stockpiling for our own households, but let's be careful not to go overboard! Yesterday at Walgreens, I ended up with 4 men's body washes for free (plus I made $1.50 on the deal!). When I went to put them away, I realized that, though my hubby does shower every day, :) we really don't need any more stored away for now. Food banks, missions, shelters, etc. always need hygiene items as well as food. There's no magic number that works for every family, as far as how much is too much to store for the future. But don't ignore any impressions the Lord may be laying on your heart to share your surplus with people who truly need it!
Happy $avings!! :)
Monday, May 17, 2010
Quite a Savings at Walgreens Today!! :)
For the above Walgreens items, I paid $12.39, saved $53.92, and earned $5.50 in Register Rewards toward my next purchase. Here's how it worked:
My sister Amy, who lives in AZ, and I challenged each other today to try saving money at Walgreens by making multiple transactions in one visit, a money-saving tip neither of us had tried. I haven't heard yet from her how it went down there in her corner of the country, but here in the Midwest it was flawless! I walked into the store with my list, my coupons and my Register Rewards from last week, all ready to execute my plan! ;)
First of all, they actually had in stock every item on my list! Love it when that happens! Going on a Monday was helpful, I'm sure, because the ad just came out yesterday.
I'll start out by telling you the general deals I used to my advantage, and then I'll list how I put them together. By the way, I'll be mentioning "Register Rewards" (RR) quite often--these are coupon-like things that are used just like cash toward your next purchase.
Gillette or Old Spice Body Wash (men's): Their price is $4.49, but if you buy one, you get a $4.50 Register Reward. Also, I had a Buy-One-Get-One-Free coupon for the Gillette and another one for the Old Spice
OFF Clip-On Mosquito Protection (have been wanting to try these): Sale price: $8.99, plus a $2 off instant value coupon (from the Walgreens coupon book at the front of the store). Plus, I had a Buy-One-Get-One-Free coupon and a $2 off coupon.
OFF Clip-on refill: Sale price: $4.99, plus $1 instant value coupon, plus I had a manufacturer coupon for $1 off.
Kotex: Sale price: 2/$6; Register Rewards: $2 (when you buy 2--different varieties available), plus I had a $1.50 off 2 coupon.
Lysol toilet bowl cleaner: Buy one at $2.99, get one free. Plus I had two $.50 off coupons
Stride Shift gum: Sale price--2/$2. Instant Value Coupon: $1 off 2.
Royal gelatin: $.19 each. I mostly used these as "fillers," which I'll explain in a minute.
Oscar Mayer Lunchables, with in-ad coupon: $1.99. I had a $1 off coupon. This is not something I normally buy, as I think they are a total waste of money. But Little Mister has had them before and thinks it's a special treat (???). :) This was an okay price for a "special" treat. :)
Now, for the particulars!
Transaction #1
2 Old Spice Body Wash
2 OFF clip-on mosquito repellents
1 OFF refill
3 Royal gelatins*
This would have cost $37.97, but I paid $8.99. Using the store sales and coupons mentioned above, PLUS using the $4 in RR I had from last week, I saved $28.98 on this transaction. Also, I received a $4.50 RR (from one of the body washes) to use on my next transaction. Unexpectedly, the Catalina machine also spit out 2 coupons, both for Gillette body washes, which would help me on my third transaction.
Transaction #2
2 Lysol toilet bowl cleaners
2 Kotex
2 Stride gum
1 OM Lunchable
This transaction would have been $19.93 but, using the sales and coupons mentioned above, PLUS ADDING THE $4.50 RR from Transaction #1, I paid $3.98! And the Kotex deal gave me a $2 RR to use on Transaction #3.
Transaction #3
2 Gillette body washes
2 Royal gelatins
Without sales or planning ahead, I would have paid $10.36, but I used my BOGO on the body washes, plus the unexpected $1.50 off 1 body wash coupon from Transaction #1, and my $2 RR from Transaction #2, and I paid a total of $1.37.
When I combine all the transactions, I saved 77% by buying the things I needed on sale, using coupons and Register Rewards. And, after Transaction #3, I have $5.50 in Register Rewards to use next time I shop.
*The gelatins I used as "fillers." See, at Walgreens you have to have at least as many items that you're buying as you do coupons/RR. For Transaction #1, without the gelatins, I had 5 items, but was using 8 coupons. The three gelatins were $.19 cents each and brought my total items up to 8, which matched my number of coupons. I still saved tons of money! And the gelatin comes in handy every once in awhile! :)
Another thing to keep in mind is that you can't use a Register Reward that names a company to purchase an item from that same company. Some RR just say something like "Thank you for shopping with us," while others are sponsored by a certain company. For instance, I couldn't use the Kotex RR I received today to purchase another Kotex product.
For more general details on Walgreens shopping, see this post. :)
Thursday, May 6, 2010
CVS Shopping--An Unexpected Treasure of Savings!
Yesterday, I got these items for one quarter of one dollar (yes, that's 25 cents!) AND received $12 to spend next time. You, too, can get great deals like this, if you know the basics of CVS shopping, and do a little planning!
The regular prices at CVS and Walgreens are not so great on most things, so I didn't know until, beginning my money-saving quest, I learned from others all the money there is to be saved/made at these stores. I certainly can't keep information like this to myself!
Let's start with the "basics" of saving money at CVS. If you've read my Walgreens post, some of this will sound familiar.
CVS has what they call "Extra Bucks," which work very similarly to Walgreens Register Rewards, except they are valid for a month (the lady at my CVS says they'll take them even after the month is up) and you have to have a CVS Extra Care card to get the Extra Bucks. Either go to your CVS store to get one, or to this link to find out more and fill out a form.
Once you have your card, it will work the same as Walgreens Register Rewards. Your Extra Bucks will print up at the bottom of your receipt. I haven't heard of CVS having the restrictions that Walgreens has, with needing as many items as coupons and not being able to use the Extra Bucks on the same brand.
In the CVS ad, found in the Sunday paper, you will notice some items indicate that you will receive "Extra Bucks" if you purchase them. On page 5 of this week's ad, for instance, you can see that if you buy one of the Crest 3-D White products, for $3.99, you will receive $2.00 back in Extra Bucks, good toward your next purchase. So, it's "like" paying $1.99. If you had a $1.00 manufacturer coupon besides, it would be "like" paying $.99.
I'll give you the details of my purchase this week in a moment, but first I want to emphasize the importance, when figuring out your total savings, of not counting your Extra Bucks twice. When you get that $2.00 back, either think of it as "Today it was like I bought that mouthwash for $1.99," OR "I paid $3.99 (or $2.99 if you had a $1.00 coupon) for that mouthwash today, and I have $2.00 to subtract from my total next week." I prefer to focus on what I'm paying out of pocket each week. I don't figure in any Extra Bucks until I'm actually using them to purchase products the following week.
So, here's my CVS purchase from this week, minus the snack my son had to have because he was "starving" and we still had to go to the library! ;) Here's the photo again:
Now, here's how it worked (ignore the highlighted parts until you see them again toward the bottom):
The two Listerines (p.5) were on sale for $3.99 each, and each had $2 in Extra Bucks.
The Colgate (p.5) was $2.99, with $2.00 Extra Bucks
The Venus Embrace razor (p.11) was $9.79, with $6.00 Extra Bucks
So, the total of the four items above (rounded up) was $21. BUT I had a $.75 manufacturer coupon for the Colgate (total now: $20.25) and a $2 coupon for the razor (total now: $18.25) and $18 Extra Bucks from last week. Grand total: $.25 plus tax! :)
After I paid, at the bottom of my receipt, there was a $4 Extra Bucks (for the 2 Listerines), a $6 Extra Bucks (for the razor) and a $2 Extra Bucks (for the Colgate), for a total of $12 Extra Bucks. I will cut them off my receipt and use them the next time I shop at CVS (probably next week).
Do you see how I made money? I only paid $.25, but received $12 to use next time. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. :)
The regular prices at CVS and Walgreens are not so great on most things, so I didn't know until, beginning my money-saving quest, I learned from others all the money there is to be saved/made at these stores. I certainly can't keep information like this to myself!
Let's start with the "basics" of saving money at CVS. If you've read my Walgreens post, some of this will sound familiar.
CVS has what they call "Extra Bucks," which work very similarly to Walgreens Register Rewards, except they are valid for a month (the lady at my CVS says they'll take them even after the month is up) and you have to have a CVS Extra Care card to get the Extra Bucks. Either go to your CVS store to get one, or to this link to find out more and fill out a form.
Once you have your card, it will work the same as Walgreens Register Rewards. Your Extra Bucks will print up at the bottom of your receipt. I haven't heard of CVS having the restrictions that Walgreens has, with needing as many items as coupons and not being able to use the Extra Bucks on the same brand.
In the CVS ad, found in the Sunday paper, you will notice some items indicate that you will receive "Extra Bucks" if you purchase them. On page 5 of this week's ad, for instance, you can see that if you buy one of the Crest 3-D White products, for $3.99, you will receive $2.00 back in Extra Bucks, good toward your next purchase. So, it's "like" paying $1.99. If you had a $1.00 manufacturer coupon besides, it would be "like" paying $.99.
I'll give you the details of my purchase this week in a moment, but first I want to emphasize the importance, when figuring out your total savings, of not counting your Extra Bucks twice. When you get that $2.00 back, either think of it as "Today it was like I bought that mouthwash for $1.99," OR "I paid $3.99 (or $2.99 if you had a $1.00 coupon) for that mouthwash today, and I have $2.00 to subtract from my total next week." I prefer to focus on what I'm paying out of pocket each week. I don't figure in any Extra Bucks until I'm actually using them to purchase products the following week.
So, here's my CVS purchase from this week, minus the snack my son had to have because he was "starving" and we still had to go to the library! ;) Here's the photo again:
The two Listerines (p.5) were on sale for $3.99 each, and each had $2 in Extra Bucks.
The Colgate (p.5) was $2.99, with $2.00 Extra Bucks
The Venus Embrace razor (p.11) was $9.79, with $6.00 Extra Bucks
So, the total of the four items above (rounded up) was $21. BUT I had a $.75 manufacturer coupon for the Colgate (total now: $20.25) and a $2 coupon for the razor (total now: $18.25) and $18 Extra Bucks from last week. Grand total: $.25 plus tax! :)
After I paid, at the bottom of my receipt, there was a $4 Extra Bucks (for the 2 Listerines), a $6 Extra Bucks (for the razor) and a $2 Extra Bucks (for the Colgate), for a total of $12 Extra Bucks. I will cut them off my receipt and use them the next time I shop at CVS (probably next week).
Do you see how I made money? I only paid $.25, but received $12 to use next time. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. :)
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Walgreens Shopping: You Won't Believe it 'til You Try It! :)
Tons o' coupons in the paper this week! Of course, since we've ended one month and begun another, I had to clear out all the ones I didn't use that expired April 30, in order to make room for scads of new, hopefully-usable coupons. One thing I learned right away when I started clipping coupons is that Proctor & Gamble owns almost every company imaginable, it seems. Crazy! :)
I decided to talk about Walgreens and CVS separately, since they work a little bit differently, and because I'm too short on time to cover both tonight. There is a lot of money to be saved at Walgreens, if you plan correctly and remember the guidelines they have in place. Walgreens is a bit more complicated than CVS because Walgreens has a few more rules. But, if you can figure out Walgreens (and you CAN!), CVS will be a cinch!!
WALGREENS SAVINGS
If you look at the Sunday ad, you'll see some products that are on sale, and if you buy a designated amount, they will give you "Resister Rewards" to use on a subsequent purchase. The Register Rewards are printed on coupon-sized paper (they're called "Catalinas") and usually expire 2 weeks after the issue date. The way to get the most bang for your buck is to use manufacturer coupons on these deals as well.
For example:
On the back page of the ad for this week, you will see they have Kellogg's* cereals on sale, 2/$5. At the bottom of that purple box, there is a smaller box labeled "Register Rewards." This tells you that if you buy 2 boxes for $5, they will give you $2 in Register Rewards, so it's like getting them 2/$3.** Better yet, if you go here, and print a coupon ($1 off 2 boxes), it will be like getting them 2/$2, or $1 per box of cereal.
Once you start collecting the Register Rewards, you're likely to have some to use each week.
Another option is to do more than one transaction at a time (divide your items, on a single visit, into several groups, to use the RRs from one transaction on the next, and so on). I've never done this b/c it seems more complicated (to me) than I care to get, though I may try it sometime if it seems worth it to me for a particular item. You can pay for some items, get the RR back and use them for your next group of items and so on.
Also, you can use 1 Walgreens coupon AND 1 manufacturer coupon per item. Sometimes Walgreens will have coupons in their ads and they also have a monthly coupon book that you can get from the front of the store.
A couple things to remember:
*I used these cereals as an easy example, but I don't actually recommend or buy most Kellogg's products because they haven't gotten with the program and removed the high fructose corn syrup from many of their products.
**Be careful, as you collect Register Rewards, not to count them twice when you're figuring out what you're saving. It's easy to think, the day you get the rewards, "Oh, I got these boxes of cereals for the same as $1 each," thinking in your mind about the $2 RR. Then, next week, as you're figuring out what to buy and you put the $2 toward your purchase, you're likely to count that $2 as part of your savings then as well. I prefer to just use what I have for the purchase I'm making now to figure out what my savings are. For instance, I might buy $12 worth of their sale items, have $3 in manufacturer coupons, $7 RR from last week that I'm applying to this order, and only pay $2 out of my pocket. If I receive $5 RR from this transaction, I don't, in my mind, apply that $5 to this transaction and think to myself that I made a $3 profit. I keep that $5 RR out of my mind until I'm figuring out my next purchase and apply it toward that. You CAN make a profit on certain items sometimes, if you plan right. But avoid the temptation to count your RR twice when you're figuring out your actual savings! :)
I decided to talk about Walgreens and CVS separately, since they work a little bit differently, and because I'm too short on time to cover both tonight. There is a lot of money to be saved at Walgreens, if you plan correctly and remember the guidelines they have in place. Walgreens is a bit more complicated than CVS because Walgreens has a few more rules. But, if you can figure out Walgreens (and you CAN!), CVS will be a cinch!!
WALGREENS SAVINGS
If you look at the Sunday ad, you'll see some products that are on sale, and if you buy a designated amount, they will give you "Resister Rewards" to use on a subsequent purchase. The Register Rewards are printed on coupon-sized paper (they're called "Catalinas") and usually expire 2 weeks after the issue date. The way to get the most bang for your buck is to use manufacturer coupons on these deals as well.
For example:
On the back page of the ad for this week, you will see they have Kellogg's* cereals on sale, 2/$5. At the bottom of that purple box, there is a smaller box labeled "Register Rewards." This tells you that if you buy 2 boxes for $5, they will give you $2 in Register Rewards, so it's like getting them 2/$3.** Better yet, if you go here, and print a coupon ($1 off 2 boxes), it will be like getting them 2/$2, or $1 per box of cereal.
Once you start collecting the Register Rewards, you're likely to have some to use each week.
Another option is to do more than one transaction at a time (divide your items, on a single visit, into several groups, to use the RRs from one transaction on the next, and so on). I've never done this b/c it seems more complicated (to me) than I care to get, though I may try it sometime if it seems worth it to me for a particular item. You can pay for some items, get the RR back and use them for your next group of items and so on.
Also, you can use 1 Walgreens coupon AND 1 manufacturer coupon per item. Sometimes Walgreens will have coupons in their ads and they also have a monthly coupon book that you can get from the front of the store.
A couple things to remember:
- You can't use a Register Reward issued by a certain company on an item from the same company (i.e. If you have a RR that says "Schick" on the front, you can't use it to purchase another "Schick" item). This is what I've always been told. Just this past week, though, the lady at Walgreens told me you CAN use it on a product from the same company, but if the product is supposed to issue a Register Rewards coupon, you won't get it. I guess it's kind of like "six of one, half-dozen of the other."
- You have to have at least as many items in your order as you do coupons and RRs. So, if I'm using 7 coupons and I only have 5 items that I'm paying for, I'd have to add a couple cheap items (a couple pieces of candy, pencils--things that will be used and not cost too much) to have 7 items. This is kind of dumb, in my opinion, but it's still going to save a lot of money if the "extra" items are inexpexpensive. Sometimes they have really cheap clearance items.
*I used these cereals as an easy example, but I don't actually recommend or buy most Kellogg's products because they haven't gotten with the program and removed the high fructose corn syrup from many of their products.
**Be careful, as you collect Register Rewards, not to count them twice when you're figuring out what you're saving. It's easy to think, the day you get the rewards, "Oh, I got these boxes of cereals for the same as $1 each," thinking in your mind about the $2 RR. Then, next week, as you're figuring out what to buy and you put the $2 toward your purchase, you're likely to count that $2 as part of your savings then as well. I prefer to just use what I have for the purchase I'm making now to figure out what my savings are. For instance, I might buy $12 worth of their sale items, have $3 in manufacturer coupons, $7 RR from last week that I'm applying to this order, and only pay $2 out of my pocket. If I receive $5 RR from this transaction, I don't, in my mind, apply that $5 to this transaction and think to myself that I made a $3 profit. I keep that $5 RR out of my mind until I'm figuring out my next purchase and apply it toward that. You CAN make a profit on certain items sometimes, if you plan right. But avoid the temptation to count your RR twice when you're figuring out your actual savings! :)
Sunday, April 25, 2010
A New Week of Savings
Okay, everybody--did you get your Sunday paper? Have you had a chance to clip the coupons and look over the ads a bit?** I got mine this morning, when I normally would be at church, except I have two sickies here at home today, neither of which was fit to look after the other. So, I put the minimum acceptable amount of effort into hair and makeup, drove to the nearest gas station (I'm SO not a gas station shopper--I felt totally out of my element--but it was convenient for my needs this morning) and picked up a paper (never grab the top paper--someone may have stolen the coupons out of it! lol) and stocked up on more Gatorade (so as to keep the 2 sickies' electrolytes in check) and quickly made my exit.
Back home, I made sure the sickies were adequately hydrated and resting, and then retreated to the living room floor, where there's plenty of room to separate the ads and cut coupons. One thing I would love to know is who thinks of all those crazy products they use, seemingly anyway, as "filler" for the coupon inserts? Wow, no one should ever have to feel an ache or pain if they buy these products. Some of them are hilarious-looking!
Well, okay, I suppose I should get down to business. Before I give an example of an actual purchase, let me say a little more about coupons in general.
Please don't purposely try to use an expired coupon! Probably everyone has accidentally done that, or might in the future, but let's be above-board and not give each other a bad name by trying to be sneaky. I have actually seen money-saving blogs where the blogger purposely buys a product with the intention of taking advantage of a money-back guarantee refund. Then he or she has the product to use AND the refund. I've seen all kinds of justifications, including filling in the complaint box with "It was too expensive for what I got." So, try exercising some self-control and don't buy the product if it's too expensive! Please! I'm a reasonably tolerant person, but I don't have ANY tolerance for such shady tactics! We need to think about our every move in light of what is honoring to the Lord--He's the one we will answer to after all is said and done!
Don't disregard Catalinas! What's a Catalina, you might ask. I must laugh when I remember the first time I heard my sister Amy, who recently moved to Arizona, use that term. It was Catalina this and Catalina that. "Um, Amy? Isn't Catalina a salad dressing?" Apparently, according to Amy, a Catalina is a coupon you receive with your receipt at a store like Meijer. It took my observant husband to find out why it's called that (Amy didn't know why but, as the new girl in town, went along with the seasoned southern Arizona shoppers). One fateful day, I had no time to redeem some Register Rewards from Walgreens on the day they were to expire, so I made a detailed list, explaining how to use said Register Rewards and sent them with my brave husband, who was willing (not thrilled, but willingly willing) to go to Walgreens for me that day. While waiting for the cashier to take care of whatever detail I had forgotten to write down, Kevin noticed the machine beside the cash register had the name "Catalina" on it, as the brand name. Then, when my "Catalinas" came out of that machine, the mystery was solved. I was a little proud to tell my sister that I knew why they were called Catalinas before she did. All that to say you should always look over those Catalinas before just tossing them to the bottom of your purse. I have saved a great deal of money with some of those things! :)
More sources of coupons:
Red Plum
Smart Source
Valu Pak
Coupon Surfer
Store websites
Now, I haven't yet figured out many awesome grocery deals for this week, between making Gatorade popsicles for Little Mister and making sure everyone has a clean wastebasket nearby in case a bathroom is too far away, but one that jumped out at me right away as a good example is this:
At Meijer, they have 16 oz. Coffee Mate on sale. It's kinda weird that it caught my eye, since I don't even drink coffee, but I'm going to take advantage of this one because I know people who do drink plenty of coffee (and I like the coconut creme flavor in my chai tea from time to time). Anyway, their sale price is $.99. That may or may not be a good deal on its own. I'm not the person to ask. But I can tell you how to get 4 of them for free, plus make a dollar profit! This, of course, will only work if you're buying more than just the creamer. They aren't going to hand you a dollar, but if you're doing your weekly shopping, you can save an extra buck!
Go here, and print out two $1.50 off 2 coupons. Then go to the Meijer Mealbox (go to the box at the right and click on the "specials" tab. This is where you find Meijer coupons) and print two of the $1.00 of 2 coupons.
Most stores will allow you to use 1 manufacturer coupon AND 1 of their store's coupons for each item. Also, most coupons can only be printed 2 times per computer. For this scenario, each manufacturer coupon and each Meijer coupon is to be used on 2 items. If you want to print them the max of 2 times each, you will be able to use them on 4 bottles of Coffee Mate.
4 bottles, $.99 each = $3.96
subtract $3.00 (2 coupons of $1.50 each) = $.96
subtract $2.00 (2 Meijer coupons, $1 each) = free, + $1.04 profit!
Or, here's another really simple scenario (again, it's really weird that I would notice this one--Mentos is not one of my fave brands, ever since the incident where I thought I was buying candy for my 2-year-old nephew who wasn't allowed to have gum and, not really being current on the Mentos changeover to gum, corrupted him with his first piece of gum). At Kroger this week, they have many items priced at 10/$10. One thing to remember about these sales is that you don't have to buy 10 items to get that price, unless it states that somewhere in the ad. Anyway, Mentos gum is on sale for $1 and I remember seeing a coupon in today's paper for $.55 off 1 Mentos. If you're a gum-chewer, you can get gum for $.45! :)
These two specific examples will not apply to everyone. Different parts of the country have different stores and maybe even different coupons. Maybe, like me, you're not even likely to buy Coffee Mate or Mentos. But the idea is the same. Look for the best ways to use your coupons on items that are already on sale. Research your own favorite grocery stores.
I REALLY want to tell you about Walgreens and CVS, but I simply must end this now and make my shopping list for tomorrow. I will do my best to get as much money-saving info on this blog in the most timely manner I'm capable of managing! :)
**If you didn't have a chance to read my post from yesterday, Coupons and Ads 101, click here! :)
Happy Savings!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Coupons and Ads 101
Let's talk about two of the most basic components of saving money in stores: Coupons and Ads. For the longest time, I didn't clip coupons or pay much attention to store ads, mainly because I thought if I used coupons, I would end up buying things I wouldn't ordinarily buy and just end up spending more money. I was actually right on the first count--I do buy brands I didn't buy before, but I'm getting good brand names for less money than I was paying for the store brands. The trick is to use the coupons in the best possible way!
COUPONS
First of all, where can you find coupons? If you're willing to put in a little time (or, I must admit, quite a bit of time sometimes!), you can find many, many coupons. The easiest, handiest way to collect coupons is to buy your Sunday newspaper. I began this process in January, and so far there has never been a Sunday paper without coupons, though some weeks are more slim than others. But I've always been able to save far more than the $1.50 cost of the paper. (I've heard rumors that some "dollar stores" sell the Sunday paper for $1, but I don't know if that's true around here.)
Find the coupons and clip them all! Even if you think you'd never use it, you might know someone who will! Well, okay, I have thrown away coupons before--true confessions! :) I shouldn't advertise that, though. I might start getting hate mail. But, I'm sure I'm supposed to tell you to never skip over a coupon! :)
Another awesome source of coupons is the internet. Just Google "online coupons" or something like that, and you will find many options. Make sure "Manufacturer Coupon" is printed somewhere on the coupon or it may not be legit. I had an embarrassing incident involving a faux coupon, and I would NOT want to repeat a humiliating experience like that again!
You can sign up with different websites to receive e-mail notifications of new coupons or deals. One of the main ones I use is Coupon Surfer.
"All You" is a magazine that I've heard has tons of coupons, though I haven't tried that one yet.
I will give you the links to some of my favorite sites in future posts.
What should you do with all those coupons, once you have them? That's another thing you can Google for different ideas, but I'll share with you what I do. I created a coupon organizer using just a plain old 3-ring binder I had already (though I'm tempted to buy something prettier--pretty things are just more fun!), tabbed dividers and my son's extra pages from his sports card binder. This way I can see each coupon individually. Sometimes I have to fold the coupon in strange shapes to make it fit, but I like this system.
My sister and her friends in her part of the country :) use page protectors, instead of the sports card holders. You can use as many tab dividers and categories as you wish. Also, in the front pocket of the binder (or you could use a 3-ring pencil holder thingy), I have a pen, scissors, and some other things I'll talk about in another post. A highlighter is good to have when you're looking at ads.
Now, I must admit that when I first started all this, I was too embarrassed to take my coupon organizer with me into stores. Can you imagine? I was actually self-conscious about that! I would just plan everything out and bring only the coupons I knew I would use. My sister kept exclaiming, "You DON'T take your coupon binder into the stores?!!!!" It was foolish of me, of course, because when there were unadvertised specials, I couldn't take advantage of extra savings. A couple months into my money-saving venture, I decided to bite the bullet and I walked with my head held high into Meijer, planted my organizer down in its rightful place at the front of the cart, and was able to save more money than I planned! Only once did I notice anyone looking at me "funny," but when I was closer to the woman, I noticed she had scads of coupons in her hands and I just KNEW she wished she had a groovy coupon organizer, too! :)
Now, here's the secret to using coupons: Don't use them unless the item is already on sale!! I mean, if you absolutely HAVE to have something and it HAS to be that brand, and you HAVE to have it right now for some reason, then, yes, at least you get to save a little bit. But if it's not something you NEED right now, or if you can get by just as well with a store brand, DON'T DO IT!!! You won't believe the deals you can get if you just wait for the right time to use that coupon!
Another hint is to check out the store's website to see if they either have printable store coupons (Meijer, Kroger, Target) or e-coupons (Kroger). I don't have much experience with the e-coupons yet, but most stores will allow you to use 1 of their store coupons for a particular product AND a manufacturer coupon for the same item. If the item is on sale AND you have the use of two coupons, you can save a bundle.
Here is an example:
I look at the Meijer ad and see that a box of Cheerios is on sale for $1.99. I have a $.50 off coupon for Cheerios AND I print a $.50 off coupon from the Meijer website (the coupon will have the Meijer logo on it and I can only use it on Cheerios AT Meijer). The Meijer coupons usually can't be doubled but they will double manufacturer coupons up to 50 cents. So, my $.50 manufacturer coupon is now worth a dollar and I can also use the $.50 Meijer coupon, saving $1.50 off the already-reduced sale price of $1.99, making the final price $.49 for a box of Cheerios. That's far less than you can get the Aldi brand!
ADS
Also enclosed in the Sunday paper are many, many store ads. These ads, or the stores' websites, are essential in planning how to make the most of your coupons and cash. Don't get rid of them until you have made your purchases and are satisfied that you got the deal they promised.
I think this is enough to chew on for now. I have much more to say about ads and other ways to save lots of money, but let's just leave it at this, and hopefully tomorrow, when the ads come out, I can give you some real-life scenarios of how this works before we go on to some of my favorite stores to talk about--Walgreens and CVS! :)
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Introduction to Lovin' the $avings
I've been on a quest, since the beginning of this year, to learn all I can about how to save money and to share that information with anyone who wants to know. I've learned many great secrets to paying very little for a lot! After people asked me for information, I began a blog at another blog site, but have decided to switch over to blogspot because of the garbage my readers and I were subjected to--totally beyond my control!
Would you like to know how to pay 12 cents out of pocket for this much merchandise at CVS?
How about $4.44 for these items at Walgreens?
Hubby loves Snickers and sometimes we take one along with us when we're out and about, just in case it takes longer than we expect and somebody gets hungry. We split one between the three of us (isn't it sweet of my wonderful husband to share one of his favorite treats?) and it tides us over until we get home to our healthier food! :) All the toothbrushes? No, we don't need that many, but it's nice to have extras around and we also can give things like that to the food bank. In fact, when you're "stockpiling" all these free or inexpensive, non-perishable and hygiene items, it's a good thing to think of those who may be in need and can benefit from your surplus!
I've learned to save money on food items, too, though I rarely think to take photos of those. I have purchased name-brand cereal for 19 cents or 39 cents a box, and usually don't pay any more than $1.10 per box. If you buy cereal, you know how expensive it can be! I will eventually share with you the best way to use coupons.
Anyway, that's what this site is all about. Saving money takes some effort and time, and it's beneficial for us all to help each other! In the coming days, weeks and months, I will share with you what I know, and if you have ideas or tips, please feel free to offer them! :)
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