Shop Til You Drop Week Long Extravaganza!

So I have to say, I have shopped WAY too much this week and I am now exhausted...but I do have tons of great goodies for free-close to free!


Rite Aid:



~14 Physician's Formula Makeups
~14 Old Spice Body Washes
~12 Old Spice Deodorants
~1 Old Spice Body Spray
~1 20-oz Cherry Coke
~2 "fun bands" or "silly bands"(for my babies)
~4 Jelly beans(markdown filler)
~2 Lubriderm Lotions
~3 Aveeno Sun Care 70 SPF
~1 Neutrogena Sun Care 45 SPF
~1 Coppertone SunScreen Stick
~2 Banana Boat SunScreen Stick
~1 Neutrogena SunScreen Stick
~1 Banana Boat After Sun Aloe Lotion
~1 Quilted Northern 4-count Double Roll Toilet Paper
~1 pack of Peanut Butter M&Ms
~2 pairs of StyleScience Kids Sunglasses

Total OOP(including tax of: 17.65) 19.87
NO UP+ Rewards printed, even though I should have gotten 7 $4 UP+ Rewards printed(which would have dropped my OOP by $8 more at least today) and silly me keeps forgetting to use the about $4 left on my Rite Aid Gift Card to pay on my balances. DUH! By doing this today I qualified for a $10 SCR back on the kids sunglasses, the $25+ $5 bonus Rite Aid Giftcards(Skin Care Rebate) and maybe the Men's Neutrogena rebate(I believe the sunscreen I bought qualifies also)....so essentially I made:
20.13!!!! And if they fix the UP+ Rewards like they're supposed to, that's $28 more and I will have two of my transactions adjusted for less OOP this week





Harris Teeter:

(no picture, just great savings!)

~1 Celentanos Cheese Ravioli
~1 Gina Lina's Meatballs(BIG bag!)
~1 Diet Mtn Dew 2-liter
~1 NY Texas Toast Garlic Bread
~1 Newman's Own Pasta Sauce
~2 Edy's Ice Cream
~1 Cottonelle Kids Wipes Tub
~2 boxes Nabisco Crackerfuls
~4 bags of Simply Potatoes Hashbrowns
~1 bag Shoestring Fries
~2 bags King Size M&Ms

Total OOP: 19.00 EVEN
VIC Savings: 27.39
Coupon Savings: 9.25


Walgreens:



~9 various Bic Razors(@0.49 each)

Total OOP:
6.08(2.16 in tax)

CVS:(my last $3/$15!)



~2 Glade Sense and Sprays(rainchecked @ 2/$10)
~1 Gallon Milk
~2 Skinny Cow Ice Cream Cups
~1 Got2B Smooth Operator Product(WOOT!)

Total OOP: 4.01(1.02 in tax)
No ECBs Spent, $3 back

I can't even begin to tell you what all was spent and made in this pic, but I got all this on Friday, I'll try to get all the receipts together for a total cost later on:

Rite Aid, the Addiction Trip 6/10/2010

How can one resist the lure of free makeup and free diapers? I can't, I know that for sure! I went last night and today(had to have last night's receipt adjusted for coupons forgotten). I got a couple more packs of diapers for us today and some diapers for my brother's and his kind of GF's new baby and some baby wash/lotion also.

The kids and I got:

~6 packs of Huggies(three marked down, three not)
~15 bottles of various Johnson and Johnson baby products
~2 Johnson's and Johnson's Adult Lotions
~1 gallon Milk
~1 Dove candy bar(on clearance)
~8 Physician's Formula makeups
~1 Aveeno Lotion
~2 large diecast metal cars(my kids were perfect angels, this is where the 11.99 UP+ reward went basically)

Total Out Of Pocket: 7.33(TAX: 7.61)
UP+ Rewards Earned: 23.98
UP+ Rewards Used: 15.99(a 4UP+ from Old Spice and 1 11.99 from the huggies last night)
Total Savings: 305.50(diaper savings ROCK!)

My Rite Aid Trips 6/8

I had quite a bad experience with a Rite Aid Shift Manager/Customer Service Manager(either way not the store manager, but someone who had the power to do an override, whatever the title may be at Rite Aid), but I spoke with the store manager this morning and I feel a lot better about it today! I still had great trips and am too tired to break it all down into what coupon I used where, so here's the big list and a picture!



~8 Gillette Body Washes
~8 Gillette Deodorants
~1 pack of Little Swimmers
~6 Old Spice Body Washes
~10 Old Spice Deodorants(4 Deodorants Sticks @ 1.39 each on the clearance shelf)
~2 Old Spice Body Sprays
~11 Gillette Shampoos(marked down from 5.99 to 2.99!)
~2 Colgate Toothpastes
~1 Got2B Hair Care Product
~1 Seabreeze Product
~19 Physician's Formula Makeups
~1 Baby Ruth
~1 pack of Huggies Wipes
~2 Rite Aid Sunscreens on Keychains
~1 Johnson's Body Lotion

Total OOP: 28.07(tax being 23.80 of that)
**I just noticed on my second receipt that some of my makeup didn't ring up on sale, so they're gonna fix it when I'm in there again, which is really very nice of them considering how little I paid for all of it)

According to my receipts I saved:
182.57(thanks to the wellness savings, yay Rite aid!) and 325.92 in coupons

CVS Clearance Splurge! 6/8/2010

So I ran in to get another ProGlide Razor and some more detangler and found a ton of great clearance! So of course, I splurged my extracare bucks and picked it up!

I got:

~6 transfomers Promo Snickers @ 0.09 each
~3 Single Pair L'Eggs Knee Highs@ 0.09 each
~1 box of L'Eggs Ankle Highs @0.64
~17 boxes of Bayer Crystals(4 Count) @ 0.29 each
~2 boxes of L'Oreal Hairdye @0.99 each
~1 ProGlide Fusion Razor @9.97
~2 bottles John Freida Detangler @5.00 each
~1 Wii Steering Wheel Accessory @ 0.50
~4 bags of Penny Candy(in the gold and clear bags, cute stuff!) @0.20 each

Total Out Of Pocket: 2.57(tax was 2.34 of that)
ECBs spent: 17.00
ECBS earned: 8.00

The Knee Highs and Ankle Highs are for my mom, she wears these EVERYDAY and they are $ when you wear holes and runs in them almost weekly. She's active and hardworking and I am most happy to be able to take her something to help! I *thought* the Bayer was something my uncle could take since his surgery but I guess I remembered it backwards, but that's okay, I know I can find others to help by giving them away or donating them to the ministries.

Target BooBoo 6/7/2010

Well I bought swimmers...and now I regret it, apparently they would have been MUCH cheaper at Rite Aid....*sigh* guess I am going back tomorrow! I am debating whether it's worth returning these...

~1 bonus pack Huggies Swimmers
~2 Nivea Men's Shave Gels
~2 Eggos(in my freezer, not in my picture)
~1 pack of Ruffies Trash Bags
~10 Arm and Hammer Travel toothpastes
~2 Kotex Liners

Total out of pocket: 11.74
Coupons Saved: 22.90

Oh Holy Up+ Rewards!!!!

I went to Rite Aid tonight and made out like a bandit, thank you Up+ rewards!!!

~8 Old Spice Body Washes
~8 Full Size Old Spice Deodorants
~1 Trial Size Old Spice Deodorant(attached to a full size one, woo!)
~4 Old Size Body Sprays
~4 Gillette Body Washes
~4 Double pack Gillette Deodorant Deodorants
~3 Keychain Rite Aid Sunscreens
~1 20oz Diet Dew
~1 pack Extra Gum
~2 Got2B Smooth Operator Products

Total OOP before all coupons and sales: 169.02
After coupons and sales: 4.92!!!!!
AND I have a $4.00 UP+ reward to use, so it's actually like spending a whopping 0.92!

**$20 of the savings was them adjusting down the double packs of deodorant, apparently they are not part of the 2/8.00 sale BUT they had a tag and it was correctly labeled, so they adjusted them for me, I have a GREAT Rite Aid that cares very much about their customers!**

Our *I Love* Harris Teeter Trip! 6/7

My kids and I took a trip today with our best friend and her boys to do a little shopping(can you tell that's a hobby of mine?) and we went to Harris Teeter to take advantage of some awesome deals! They had an great meal deal that was buy 2 Digiorno Pizzas and get a thing of ice cream, garlic bread, coke 2 liter, and TGI Friday's appetizer for FREE! We did this and the buy $20 of lysol products and get $5 off deal as well. So in total we got(all prices in () are BEFORE sales or coupons!):

~2 Digiorno Pizzas(13.58)
~2 Lysol Kitchen Cleaners(6.78)
~2 Lysol Toilet Cleaners(5.78)
~1 Lysol Toilet Cling(3.29)
~4 cans of Lysol Wipes(13.96)
~9 boxes of Frosted Flakes(28.71)
~1 Coke 2-liter(1.79)
~2 bottles of L'Oreal Everpure Shampoo(Markdown @ 3.00 from 6.99! so 6.00/2)
~1 pack OB Mixed Pack of Tampons(Markdown to 1.53 from 4.49!)
~1 box Eggo Waffles(2.45)
~1 TGI Friday Onion Rings(3.79)
~1 loaf Harris Teeter Garlic Bread(2.49)
~1 Gifford Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Ice Cream(4.25--also not pictured because it was dessert!)
~3 Danimals 6-packs of smoothies
~1 Carton of Tropicana Orange Juice(3.39)*not in picure, apparently this bag which also had the filters got left at the register, so I have to pick these up tonight!*
~1 pack of Pur Pitcher Water Filters(Markdown to 3.00 from ?.??..these are about $14 at wal-mart)*see above*

Total out of pocket BEFORE coupons and sales: 137.21 + 2.54 in tax=139.75
Total After Harris Teeter sales price and before coupons: 63.17(cut the bill OVER HALF!)
After Coupons: 32.67, which WITH tax equals out to about 0.99 an item!

Shopping with the Whole Family! 6/5/2010

So normally when I go to several places in one trip, my husband keeps our little ones at home and I go, just because of the stress of getting them in and out at so many places. Last night my kids wanted to go so badly that I caved and said "come on!", but to my surprise they were WONDERFUL! Because they were so awesome, they got a treat out of the Target snackbar, which is a splurge!

So we got:

FOOD LION:

~7 Vitamin Waters
~1 Steakhouse Bread(Son loves this!)
~1 gallon milk

Total Out of Pocket: 8.84
Coupons Saved: 1.00
MVP Savings: 7.41
*I actually spent 1.00 more than the above as we bought another Children's Miracle Network donation balloon, I think their organization is wonderful and I purchase one of every fund raiser item they have at our local Food Lion*


TARGET:

~2 Lean Cuisine Meals(1.97*2=3.94)
~26 Arm and Hammer Travel TPs(0.97*26=25.22)
~2 Kleenex Handtowels(2.99*2=5.98)
~1 Crayola 8CT Crayons(0.79)
~2 John Freida Detanglers(5.04*2=10.08)
~2 Armor All products(2.49*2=5.98)
~2 packs BIC pens(0.99*2=1.98)
~1 Black Ink Cartridge(13.09 BEFORE taxes alone)
~3 Scotch Fur Fighters(markdown to 2.48!)
~1 Finish Quantum Starter Kit(5.00 TPC)

Total BEFORE Coupons: 83.66
Tax: 5.16(of the 83.66)
Total After Coupons: 13.37



CVS:

Transactions 1:
~2 johnson's baby oils(1.32 each)

Total Out Of Pocket: 0.84
Coupons Savings: 2.00
CVS Savings: 7.94!!
No ECB back

Transaction 2:
~1 ban deo

Total Out Of Pocket: 0.23
Coupon Savings: 1.00
CVS savings: cannot read that line, blurred...but I think's it's 0.50 off this week
$2 ECB in, $2 ECB back

Transaction 3: (using the 5/15 that printed the first time!)
~2 packs Huggies
~2 packs Reese Cups
~3 Caramels

Total Out of Pocket: 1.29(BUT 1.21 on a money card from a VERY botched transaction earlier this week, it was basically I think $2 ECBs on there to say sorry?) so 0.08 out of pocket!!!
Coupons saved: 6.00
CVS Savings: 31.98
No ECB in, no ECB out

*this was a beautiful transaction because I mentioned to the manager on duty that those were 75% off everywhere else and asked why they weren't there and he said if I wanted them for 75% off to grab them and he'd be most happy to mark them down for me....YYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY for awesome managers!!!!!!!!!!!!*


RITE AID:

~1 20oz Mtn Dew(had overage to eat up, 1.59)
~1 Clearasil Daily Face Wash(5.29)
~2 Colgate Toothpastes(markdown to 0.99 each)
~1 Ben Gay(5.49)
~1 Veet Shave Gel(6.49)
~1 Got2B Smoothing Lotion(6.49)
~2 Physician's Formula Makeups(11.00/2)

Total Out of Pocket: 1.09(paid on a previously earned RA giftcard)
Tax: 2.52(got overage, YAY!)

Rite Aid Savings: 4.75
Coupon Savings: 39.00-WOO!


DOLLAR GENERAL:

~1 pack Kiss Artificial Nails

Total Out of Pocket: 0.16
Coupon Savings: 2.00

Freebies for Today! 6/3/2010

Click each link and follow the instruction on those pages to grab one of each of these freebies for yourself today!



Starbucks VIA read brew



Purina One SmartBlend *You can choose dog or cat sample here*



Cottonelle Ultra Toilet Paper and Cottonelle Moist Wipes
*They've offered this before and an entire roll of toilet paper came along with a travel size pack of the moist wipes*



Playtex Gentle Glide
*these almost always come with $1.00/1 coupons!*



Zantac




Sharklove is offering an awesome free sticker to anyone who requests one. I love their message, I am a big fan of sharks and I fully believe this site is on the right track with the respect we should give these animals. If you'd like more information on their cause or to request a free sticker, check them out HERE

How Do You Do It? Couponing-Part 2

Now how I started seriously couponing at home.....I decided to go whole hog into this and bought about 8 papers for the first 3-4 months I couponed, which I have to say was WAY too much at once! I wanted in on the deals and I wanted in on them fast and I got it and it was almost so much to handle that I turned away. Thanks to many kind cashiers and new found friends at the above sites I was able to pear it down to 1-3 papers a week until I got the hang of it.

One of my first decisions was to move from an accordion coupon sorted(which has several pockets in one plastic holder with tabs at the top of each and usually has a bungee type string to close it off). It was very convenient in that it fit in my purse very easily but when I got to the store, if I needed a coupon I didn't have out already it took tons of time finding it in all my coupons.

From there I went to the binder method. At first I couldn't see the point in paying money for one of those binders with zippers. I simply used an old hardback one I had from way back in high school. I added some 9-count Baseball Collector's Card holders, a few index pages to separate them and went about my business. After having my coupons fall out again and again and again, I finally saw the light and bought my first Mead 5-Star Case-It Binder. My first binder was a fluke and fell apart within two weeks causing me to return it and search for a better option.

I finally settled on:










I bought it from Amazon.com HERE and splurged about $25 on it, shipping and all.
It was WELL WORTH IT! I've had this binder for months now with no problems from it whatsoever! I've added another pack of 9-Count Baseball Card holders into it to accommodate my growing coupon amounts and this binder has been tossed, jumped on(remember my kids? LOL) and just generally beat on and it looks just as good as it did when I got it! The two pencil pouch type separators(red and gray in the above pictures) came with the binder, as did the carrying strap(VERY useful!), I added the blue pouch for pre-planned trips(0.10 at CVS on clearance).

Just remember what works for each person is incredibly different. There are lots of ways to tote your coupons around and this is just what happens to work best for me.

~Part 3 Tomorrow~

Couponing, how do you do it?--Part 1!

So, if you've read through any of the posts I had over the last week, you see the word coupon come up over and over again. That's because 90% of my shopping is done with coupons. I've had neighbors and friends ask, how I do that, so I'm going to share!

I have always used a few coupons here and there, but really got into this about a year or so ago when things were VERY difficult for us. My husband works VERY hard and I am SAHM with two children in the toddler/preschool range, but making ends meet was beyond difficult. I started by browsing lots and lots of sites claiming to help you save money. I have a list of favorites that even after a year I still visit almost daily for a peek at what they have listed in their good deals.

We Use Coupons.com
I actually help out in the Harris Teeter forum there and there are lots of great people that are VERY coupon knowledgable and friendly to boot, they are where I finally got the shove into the kind of couponing I do now and have been featured on local stations in the site owner's home state and nationwide on ABC.

SouthernSavers
She ALWAYS has a great deal or freebie and an awesome coupon resource. The insert previews there are the best! For those who don't know what an insert it, it's what most couponers call the papers that come each sunday that are just strictly coupons, like the P&G Insert, the Smartsource Insert, and the Redplum Insert.

Free Stuff Times
Chris has one of the best lists of freebies on the web by far and his site is constantly updating with new deals!

Until I was ready to post and put myself out there(and possibly embarass myself) I simply lurked on these sites copying the deals that other people posted. And this worked! It worked for quite a while until I started noticing I was still not saving enough on what I needed to and I had some serious questions I needed answers for. I finally caved and started posting on the Forum boards for these places and commenting on the feeds for the deals on the blogs. I had been so wrong about being embarassed!! People went out of their way to help me understand and get better deals on what I needed. If I didn't have a coupon, there was always someone willing to send me one to help, if I was confused, there was always a reassuring word as they helped spell out the deal for me.

It took a LONG time, but now I consider myself to be a pretty proficient couponer and I have those folks above to thank for it. I only hope to be as much help to others as they were to me.

~Part 2 to come tomorrow!~

Target Run, Forgot the Giftcards *GASP* 6/2/2010

So while my friend and I were out yesterday we stopped at Target to do a quick run, by then our kiddos were basically shopped out, so we hustled and I only picked a few things up.

~6 Arm and Hammer Travel Toothpaste
~2 Shout Sprays
~2 Scrubbing Bubbles Extend Sprays
~2 Oil of Olay Toners
~1 Bonus Pack SatinCare Shave Gels

Total OOP: 7.77 with a 5.00 GC back

I only gave the girl two of my three Arm and Hammer TP coupons, so I'm returning two of those and then I realized as I walked to pay all my GCs were at home, so I couldn't roll the deal, but I was already there, so I went ahead and forked out the cash.

CVS Markdown, Tiny Run, Big Savings! 6/3/2010

So I ran to my local CVS this morning in the hopes of finding some more diapers(apparently the coupons I printed for the ones I got yesterday had reset!) and ended up just getting a couple of things that were also clearanced, but still great finds!

I got:

~1 Johnson and Johnson's Bedtime Baby Bath marked to 1.74
~1 Aveeno Baby Shampoo marked to 1.42

Total OOP: 1.64 and I have to go back and have a 1.00/1 q adjusted, so it will be just 0.64 OOP for both!

CVS and Diapers Diapers Diapers OH MY! 6/2/2010

A friend and I got wind of the 75% off Huggies at CVS and we met up to shop and were off and running!! Here's what I got, what I spent and what I made!

I got:

~2 Mega packs Huggies, size 5
~2 Mega packs Huggies, size 6
~3 CVS Thin Diapers, size 5
~1 20oz Diet Pepsi(CVS hopping is thirsty work!)

Total OOP: 8.33(2.55 on a CVS Money Card, so 5.78 actual OOP)
ECBs Spent: 6.97
ECBs Made: 6.00
Coupons Saved: 13.00
CVS Savings: 75.36

I am just in AWE at all the great diaper deals lately!! I was buying these when they were 50% off last week thinking to myself "WOW 8.99 minus my $3/1 Huggies coupons and some ECBs, what a deal!!" and just look at that above....7 packs for the price of one!

In case you're wondering, the CVS Thin Diapers are 75% off this week as well and putting out a $2.00 ECB!(Limit 1) SO the deal looks like this:

1 pack CVS Thin Diapers-2.37 + NC tax= 2.55
Get back a $2.00 ECB(which you could roll into the Ban Deodorant in this week's ad and get a stick of deodorant for 0.99 with $2.00 ECBs back from that...or make it better, use a $1.00/1 Insert coupon for the Ban and get it better than free!)

Incoming!! 6/2/2010

Also I didn't get to share yesterday's mail with you!! I got my campaign packet for the BzzAgent Got2B Campaign! It included: 4 double pack samples with 1.00/1 coupons, 1 completely free product coupon, 4 2.50/1 coupons, and a letter and booklet with instructions on how to pass out information and what to do afterwards.

I also received the newest issue of Savour, a few credit card offers(hahaha, getting out of debt by getting more...I don't think so!), the local store papers, a Lane Bryant home mailer and an insurance ad. My kids got the latest PawSox Home mailer, which tickled them pink!

Incoming!! Email 6/3/2010

So apparently I got NO mail at all today, but I did get some great email!!! I am on the CVS Advisor Survey Panel and from time to time they offer you ECBs(different amounts for each survey and sometimes it varies person to person) for doing surveys they send out. I got one today, got rejected after entering my zip code(no clue why?) but was still given $2 in ECBs!!! This helps me completely recoup from the 75% off Huggies they had this week that I could not resist!

Buy 1 OFF! PowerPad Lamp, Get 1 Free High Value Coupon!

SC Johnson has a great high value coupon available right now for BOGO OFF! PowerPad Lamps(up to 10.00)Get in on this one fast before they're all gone!!

Buy 1 OFF! PowerPad Lamp, Get 1 FREE!(up to 10.00 value)

they also still have the BOGO OFF! Clip On Starter Kit(Maxium value:3.99) still; print it from HERE.