Friday, August 26, 2011

Weekly Shopping Wrap-up

Ran into Walgreens Tuesday afternoon and took advantage of the glitch on the Dove RR. Did two identical transactions of 3 single Dove soap bars, on sale for 99¢ with in-ad coupon. Each transaction was $3.15 after tax and produced a $6 RR. Tried it again on Wednesday morning, but no RR printed. I'm very glad I was able to get in on it.
Working on the Hormel Compleats stockpile... Went to Park Avenue Kroger & Southside Kroger this evening and got 8 Hormel Compleats at each one. Since I haven't shopped a whole lot lately I also picked up quite a bit of other stuff while I was out. One of the best buys for the stockpile was Clean & Clear PersaGel 10, $3.49 Mega Sale price, used a $3.00 printable coupon from Clean & Clear's website. This is a great deal since two of us in this house have to fight acne! I also found a couple packages of meat on Manager's Markdown. Got the Minute Maid frozen lemonade & cherry limeade on sale for $1.00 with a 50¢ coupon which should have doubled. However, it wouldn't scan so they had to key it in manually which meant they would have had to double it manually and they didn't know if it was one that was supposed to double. Aaagghh!!! Oh well, 50¢ each isn't a bad deal - just not as good as free! LOL

I got quite a bit of stuff, not lots of free or almost-free, just things we'll eat that were on sale for decent prices. Not a particularly "frugal" evening, but I've not been doing lots of shopping lately so I spent more than normal tonight. But I stayed within my budget, so it's all good. :)

Also ran into Food Giant tonight. Got the hubby some chocolate pies he really likes. I usually get them at Dollar General but they've not had them the last few weeks. Grabbed a bottle of Era, on sale for $3.58 and used a 50¢ coupon which doubled to $1.00. Also, used one of my BOGO Sundrop coupons. They expire the 31st and Food Giant is the best place I've found to use them since RC products are 88¢, making them 44¢ each after the BOGO coupon. I also picked up a couple boxes of Nabisco Premium saltines, another product where I tend to be brand-loyal. On sale for $1.88 each, and I used a 75¢ off 2 Nabisco cookies or crackers coupon. Checked on my favorite hot dogs while I was there (Field Classic - 10 in the pkg) because very few places have them anymore. I was happy to find them on sale for $1.25 so I picked up a couple of packages.

Tomorrow, I need to hit Big John's in Metropolis. I printed several extra Hunt's ketchup coupons at the library today so I can stock up. Then need to run to the bad store (aka Walmart) for a few things. And maybe a quick trip to Kohl's since I have a 20% off and a $10 off $10 that both expire tomorrow.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

CVS Again

I did make a second trip to CVS this week. My mother asked if anyone had Cokes on sale because she was almost out of Vanilla Cokes. No one did, but I had a rain check to get Coke 12-packs 5/$13 at CVS so I hit the store most likely to have that many Vanilla Cokes. Somewhere along the way I realized that I needed foundation, and since I'm brand-loyal and CVS had L'oreal on sale, I decided to see what I could come up with to use a $10 off $50 coupon I had.

5 Bottles Smartwater, $1.00 each
2 bags Hershey's Air Delight Kisses, 2/$7
1 Revlon Nail Polish, $4.99
1 bag M&Ms, 50¢
5 12-packs Vanilla Cokes, $2.60 each (raincheck)
1 L'oreal True Match Naturale Foundation, $12.79
1 L'oreal Eye Shadow Single, $4.79
1 CVS brand Body Wash, $2.27

-(1) $10 off $50 CVS coupon, printed in-store
-(5) 75¢ Smartwater coupons, truckstop tearpad
-(1) BOGO Air Delights Kisses, grocery store tearpad, max value $3.00
-(1) $1.00 Revlon q, 8/14 SS
-(1) $2.00 L'oreal Face Product q, 7/24 RP
-(1) $2.00 L'oreal Eye Product q, 7/24 RP
-(2) $1.00 CVS Hershey Air Delights Kisses, printed in-store
-(1) Free Body Wash, CVS MinuteClinic email coupons, rang in at $3.00
-$3.00 ECB

Total OOP (including $2.02 tax) = $22.61
Got back $1 EB for Smartwater, $5 ECB for L'oreal & $3 ECB for Revlon

CVS - Paper Towel Stock-up 2011

There really wasn't a whole lot I wanted from CVS this week; however, we were running low on paper towels and since we like the Scott paper towels, I decided to use some ECB and replenish the stockpile. So here's what I got:

(6) 6-roll packages Scott paper towels, $5.00 each
-$5 off $25 CVS email coupon
-(4) $1.00 coupons, 8/14 SS (I think is was SS, but it could have been RP. I used all of mine so I can't look. LOL)
-$8 ECB

Total OOP (including $1.50 tax)= $14.50

Got back $10 gas card! Sometimes the deals are just too easy!

Saturday, August 13, 2011

This Week's Shopping....

I haven't done much shopping this week, which is good since that means less money spent! I was able to run in Kroger on Tuesday morning and got a beef roast and a pork roast out of the Manager's Specials. I was pretty happy about that because I've been wanting roast but wouldn't buy it because the sales hadn't been really good lately.

Thursday night I stopped in Waglreens and was able to get in on the Degree Deal before it quit working.
4 travel/trial size deodorants, 99¢ each
used (4) 75¢ coupons from the 7/31 RP
Total OOP (inlcuding 24¢ tax) = $1.20
Got back $4 RR

I don't think there's much we need right now, except milk & bread and a few things hubby needs for the truck when he hits the road Monday morning. So I'll make a grocery run sometime today or tomorrow between church.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Enter this Kroger Gift Card Giveaway - Ends Today 8/10/11

Mandy over at Mandy's Frugal Journey is teaming with My Blog Spark to giveaway a $25 Kroger Gift Card. Pair this with a great sale (such as the current CartBuster Sale) for some awesome deals! Head over here to enter. Good Luck!!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

From SuperValu's FB page tonight!



Tomorrow is DOUBLE COUPONS at SuperValu!!! EVERY Wednesday we double coupons up to 50¢. There is NOT a limit on how many coupons we will double in each transaction. We'd love to see you tomorrow!!!

I'm not seeing much in the ad that excites me to go with this. However, since this is a Charmin Sensitive household, I'll probably break out a couple of 25¢ Charmin coupons to pair with the $6.49 sale. That's actually a pretty good price for the Sensitive kind & I'm trying to stock up a little.

The exciting part for me is that they've now announced that they actually double EVERY Wednesday and NO LIMIT to the number they'll double per transaction. I'm sure there will be weeks when there will be very good deals to be had!

Friday, August 5, 2011

New Scotch Brite Botanicals Coupon

Go here or here to print 50¢ off one Scotch-Brite Botanicals Disinfecting Wipes. As with most Scotch Brand coupons, these are PDF so you can print more than one! The second link also has a Buy 3, Get 1 of Them Free Mail-in Rebate. If your Walmart has them priced at $1.62, this could make for a pretty good deal. Of course, if Kroger would have them for a good price the coupons would double... So here's hoping! There's also a coupon on coupons.com. Thanks Who Said Nothing in Life is Free!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Why I'm No Longer Extreme...

First, I just want to say I'm not trying to bash "extreme" couponers. I think most extreme couponers are doing what I used to do (and am working towards doing again). I used to like to be called an extreme couponer; however, since the show came out it has taken on such a negative connotation with so many people that I'm not sure it's how I want to be perceived. You walk in the store with your coupon binder and get "the look". The "Oh no, here comes another one of them" look.

Don't get me wrong, I still walk into the store with my coupon binder. I don't see that changing anytime soon; it's the most effective coupon organization method for me. I'm just tired of being lumped in the with the ones who discover that they can't just buy a paper & a binder this morning and walk into the store this afternoon and get everything free. I know the majority of couponers are not this way - even the ones who've just started because of the show. But it only takes a couple to get rude with a good cashier, and suddenly they're suspicious of us all. The good cashiers are getting burned and it's up to the rest of us - the "normal" couponers to make sure we're doing it right. That we're using coupons correctly, that we're following the stores' coupon policies, that no matter how horribly wrong the shopping trip goes, we are not rude to the store personnel. Even when they're wrong!

I'm not saying you shouldn't stand your ground when you're following the rules, but stand it nicely. And know that sometimes, you may have to walk away from a deal because a cashier or even a manager may just not understand the policies. Just remember to make sure that YOU know the policies, and if you get caught trying to do something wrong because you didn't know better - apologize! Then thank them for explaining the policy to you so you'll know better next time. And once you find those wonderful coupon-friendly cashiers, make sure you go online and email the company, mentioning them by name. It's no more than you would do if you encountered a really rude cashier, so why not put as much effort into praising the good ones.

If we make it a point to follow the rules, and to play nicely, maybe we can make them smile again so when they see us coming in with our binders we will get a different look. A look like I used to get from cashiers; a look of excitement when they see how much we're saving & they realize that they can do it too.

So if I'm choosing to no longer be referred to as extreme, I mean no offense to anyone who still fights for that label to remain a positive thing. Meanwhile I'm toying with the term "effective couponer". I'm sure I'm not the first to use it, I just have no idea where I've heard it :) Effective... Here's Merriam-Webster's definition: 1a : producing a decided, decisive, or desired effect 1b : impressive, striking. Hmmm... Yup, I have a decided, desired effect I want to produce, I want to get stuff free and/or cheap. And I would like it to be impressive. LOL

Well, those are my random, sleep-deprived thoughts for the night. I'm sure there will be more at a later date! :)

Yes, I do love CVS!

Since the Office Depot post was so long, let's just jump right in! LOL

4 cans Axe Body Spray, sale price $4.49 each
Used (2) BOGO coupons, 7/31 RP
Used $1 EB & $5 EB
Total OOP (including $1.08 tax) $2.56
Got back $3 EB

5 bottles Smartwater, sale price $1.00 each
Used (5) 75¢ coupons, truck stop tearpad (gotta love my hubby)
Total OOP $1.25
Got back $1 EB

2 boxes Efferdent, clearance price $1.47 each
Used (2) 75¢ coupons, 7/31 SS
Used $1 EB
Total OOP (including 18¢ tax) 62¢
Got back $2 EB because the clearance boxes triggered the weekly EB deal on Efferdent. Gotta love those moneymakers!

Office Depot - Well They Were Almost Free

So the hubby & I were in Office Depot last weekend and I stumbled across a great clearance deal. Lysol Clean-Flip Sweeper Starter Kits (Swiffer type thing LOL) were $2.00 and the dry cloth refill 16 ct boxes were $1.00. Since I've been wanting to replace my slightly beaten-up Swiffer, I was very pleased. They had 3 of the Clean-Flip starter sets so I made a couple of calls and discovered that my mom & my best friend were both interested for that price :) They had 8 boxes of the dry cloths so I promptly snagged all of them as well. (No I don't usually advocate shelf-clearing; however, when purchasing for three people, this was not a huge quantity. And clearance has it own set of rules anyway IMO.) Then hubby noticed a Quickie broom/dust pan set on clearance for $2.00... They only had one left so we quickly put it in the shopping cart as well.

As we were looking at other items, I mentioned that I thought I had a couple of coupons for the Clean-Flip starter kits but the face value was probably more than $2.00. I had also never attempted to use a manufacturer's coupon at Office Depot so I had no idea how well it would work. I have noticed on other blogs that Office Depot seems to definitely be a YMMV (your mileage may vary) kind of place. But I just couldn't not check, so I ran out to the car, flipped through my binder, and there they were - 2 printables for $3.00 off. So now I have printables for more than the cost of the item; I'm a little nervous. So when we checked out my hubby asked the very nice cashier (trainee) and she said "Yes, we take coupons". She then tried to scan it, but it wouldn't scan. I don't know if they're like Lowe's and their systems just don't scan coupons, or if it was just this coupon, or if it was because of the price vs. coupon amount, but it just wouldn't work. Hmmm...


So, she called for a manager, who came over and told her she would have to adjust the purchase price, but that won't work since the coupon is more than the price and the register won't let them adjust to zero. So now I'm about ready to just pay the $2.00 which is a good price anyway...

2 pkg plastic spoons, 50¢ each (friend's little girl starts kindergarten next week & I'm sure she NEEDED these cause they're cute!)

8 boxes Lysol Clean-Flip dry cloth refills, $1.00 each

3 Lysol Clean-Flip starter kits, 1¢ each (adjusted all 3 of them down to allow for the face value of the 2 coupons)

Total OOP (including 66¢ sales tax) = $11.69

I don't know if all our Office Depot employees are this coupon-friendly, but the ones we had were great!