Great Walgreens Trip Today! :)

I haven't been doing much shopping lately.  I really haven't needed much.  That's one nice thing about stocking up when you can get great deals--you go through times when there's just not much you need to buy, so you can take a break!

There are some things I was beginning to run low on, though, like body washes, dish washing soap and disinfecting wipes.  Right now Walgreens is paying people to take Almay products off the shelves (combining coupons and Register Rewards), so I used that to my advantage and managed to pay under $15 for all of this:

This is about $57 worth of products, all of which I was needing (not in those quantities, but, goodness, if they're going to give them to me like that, I may as well stock up for later and give some away!  Oh, and of course the Snickers bars weren't a need, but Kevin was with me and had the "perfect" suggestion when I mentioned I needed some filler items! lol).

Anyway, many of the Almay products are 30% off, plus they will give you $5 in Register Rewards (RR) when you purchase one.  AND I had some $2/1 coupons AND there is a $2/1 coupon in the Spring Beauty Book, found at the cosmetics counter (you can stack the manufacturer coupon with the Walgreens one, don't forget!).  One of the Almay products I bought was $6.99 and the other was $5 and some change, so those were some nice money-makers!

The bags of 90 flossers (Little Mister uses these) were $2 each, with a $2 RR, making them free!

The Suave body washes were $2 each, with a $3 RR if you buy $10 worth.  I also had two Suave body wash coupons, Buy 2 Get 1 Free, so I bought 6 altogether, for about $.83 each.  These are great, too, instead of the liquid soap, to use for making your own foaming hand soap!

The 75-count disinfecting wipes are Walgreens brand, which I haven't tried before.  As long as they kill germs when I'm disinfecting the bathroom and don't fall apart, I'm willing to give them a chance. ;)

Palmolive dish washing liquid is on sale for $1 and if you buy 5, you get $1 back.  Not the best deal ever, but I paid for all but the tax with a RR from one of my Almay products. :)

I arranged this deal in 5 transactions to pay the least out of pocket, and I paid at the cosmetics counter, where no one had to wait in line behind me. :)  If you want to try to get some of these deals, remember the "rules" for Walgreens shopping, plan ahead, and have fun saving! :)

Best Store Deals 10/24/10

Walgreens

• 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

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:

• 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!

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! :)