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!

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.

This is Transaction #1, which is all but 2 of the items in the photo at the top of this entry.  For these items I paid $2.91 and saved $33.06, saving about 92%.

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.

This is Transaction #2.  I spent $5.88 and saved $7.10, saving about 55%

• 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. :)

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. :)

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! :)

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!! :)

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. :)

CVS Shopping--An Unexpected Treasure of Savings!

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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. :)