WOW, what a slacker. My Apologies! No, I have not totally stopped couponing and No I have not given up on this blog! Something happened around these parts, and its a wonderful thing called summer! Summer in Maine is short, and therefore prized for every waking moment, therefore I have not been wanting to sit in front of this ol' desktop for any amount of time that isn't necessary, meaning that although I have not stoppped couponing I have been doing less of it this summer because those of you who have done it know it takes a great amount of time. I had some stockpiles and was able to take some time away from my couponing and blogging, I promise I'll try to do better next summer, but that's a promise to try, not a promise to provide. Thank you to all you followers who keep checking back....sorry I've kept you in the dark so long!
So off to CVS I go yesterday as I had cleaned out my purse and found $9 in extracare bucks I knew I had somewhere that expired today, I wasn't going to let them go to waste. I purchase this:
Full Retail price at CVS over $74. My out of pocket: $21.95
I took the $9 I had in ECB and put it towards the first purchase which was everything but the soda. Taking advantage of the sale prices and using a puffs and bounty coupon from the 7/31 P&G coupon insert (there is a charmin one available too but its for off 2), a skittle/starburst coupons from coupons.com (I should have printed two and spent a $1 less!) and a skittles/starburst that pritned at the CVS coupon printer in the store. I paid $20.09 out of pocket and earned $10 in ECB for purchasing over $25 of the charmin, bounty and puffs and another $1 ECB for I don't even know what as I used it right up in my next transaction!
The soda 12 pks were on sale for 4/$10, used the $11 I just learned from previous transaction and paid $1.86 out of pocket.
My CVS receipts says I've saved $472.35 so far this year! :)
Happy Saving!
Several weeks ago moneysavingmadness.com mentioned contacting companies directly for coupons. She provided links to several companies to request coupons for and I did this several days, I didn't even contact every company she mentioned because I either didn't use that product or didn't have the time, and I have received TONS of coupons in the mail.
There are products that she didn't mention that I use so I decided to do some contacting myself. While I'm cooking breakfast if I see a item in the cupboard I reguarly use but have never seen a coupon for (ie hershey syrup) I called the company. Turns out hershey syrup didn't have any coupons for me but I tried.
One product I use on an almost daily basis is my Oregon Chai.
Well anyone who reads this blog that knows we well knows that I am never ever on time for anything and never for any particular reason. I am also one of the world's biggest procrastinators. Why do today what I can put off until tomorrow? I actually purchased a bumper sticker that said "sorry I'm late but f***in off takes time" but have procrastinated putting in on my car! So yes I did shop at Rite Aid on Sunday and yes I have procrastinated on blogging about it, my apologies, I have no good excuse! So I will not make you wait a moment longer:
Introducing the motherload:
Believe it or not I fit all this and a 4 year old in my Rite Aid shopping cart, which are tiny and have no bottom rack! I think the cashier knew what he was up for when he saw me rounding the corner to the checkout!
I broke this up into four transactions to take advantage of +up rewards and be able to use them on the next immediate purchase.
Huggies were on sale for $10 and if you spent $20 you got $5 in +up rewards. I purchased two in my first transaction using two $3.50 off coupons and a $3 off your purchase of $15 or more from doing an online survey which printed on a previous receipt, and would up paying $10.85 AND got $5 +up rewards. If you take the $5 into account its like paying less than $3 per package of diapers that reguarly are $11.99.
I did two huggies again in transaction #2 using two $3 off coupons and the $5 +up rewards from previous transaction paying $10.
I ran into some issues with transaction #3 as two of my +up rewards didn't print! I did the huggies again using one huggies and one pull ups, thinking they were part of the +up reward deal since they were on sale for $10 as well but the reward didn't print. There was also an add for $5 +up rewards when you spend $15 on select products which included bandaids, neosporin and aveeno products. I purchased some of all three but the reward didn't print. I'm not certain the lotion was part of the reward and think it may have only been aveeno first aid products, but the circular wasn't clear and the cashier didn't know. Now at CVS if a register reward doesn't print they go right into their system and print you one, this cashier told me they couldn't do this at Rite Aid and I'd have to call 1-800-rite-aid. He did agree the huggies reward should have printed and agreed to take $5 off my next transaction. This third transaction wasn't a good one for me and probably why I have delayed in entering this post. I was so excited to get some great deals on this trip and ended up spending a lot of money still, as I type this I still haven't even computed my total savings but will by the end of this post and maybe, just maybe I'll feel better once I see the true savings......
So transaction #3 consisted of one diapers, the pull ups, neosproin, bandaids, 2 aveeno lotions and dial soap and cost me $30.95 BUT without the coupons I had for the diapers ($2) and pull ups ($1.50) and bandaids and neosporin ($1.50 & $1 Rite Aid Video Values), and use of my extra care bucks it would have cost me $47.54, so I still saved over $16, but should have gotten $10 in +up rewards that I didn't. I did get a $1 +up reward for the dial soap.
I wasn't all that satisfied with the last transaction either which consisted of all the detergent, finish dishwashing products and 5 12pks of soda. I paid $20.38 before tax. I printed some finish coupons online and had (2) $1 off, (3) 75cent off, (1) 50cent off, (1) $1 rite aid video values, (2) $2 off pepsi, (2) $1 off general purchase rite aid video values and $1 +up reward from previous dial purchase, and the cashier agreed to take $5 off this purchase for the +up reward not printing on my previous transaction.
I'm not sure why I was down on this purchase because after adding up those items for what they reguarly retail at Rite Aid it totals $83.86, I saved 75%. I'm not sure why this still doesn't really seem good enough for me, probably because I have been watching extreme couponing episodes and watching people get something for practically nothing, literally cents. But purchasing something at 75% savings is a good accomplishment considering these are items that I am likely to buy whether they are on sale or I have a coupon, and since both were the case, I stocked up now, and its money spent now, but big savings in the future. This is the way I have to look at my couponing.
In total I spent $73.20 which I was not very happy about at all, ouch. BUT I saved $106.16, a savings of almost 60%. Retail these products would have cost me $179.36. AND I got a surprise $2 +up reward at the end of this transaction for my next purchase.
AND today I called 1-80-rite-aid to see why my reward didn't print and if I was entitled to them, there was no questions asked other than what did I think I should get, some information from my receipt and a promise of two $5 rewards on their way via mail. So even though I spent $73 I still have $12 to spend on my next purchase, really $15 because I also did another survey for a $3 coupon.
AND I have previously stated that I'm not going to have to buy dishwasher detergent for a long time, well now its a very very very very long time! I run my dishwasher once a day and a box of the power lasts FOREVER!
Happy Saving!
Got some great deals at Rite Aid last night. Although moneysavingmadness.com spoke of a $5 off Tylenol Precise in a recent smartsource coupon book I was not able to locate it in my copy, and this is not the first time this has happened, apparently coupons are regional and sometimes can differ from where this blogger calls home. However, she was kind enough to provide the link for a printable, of which I was able to print two, I was hoping to score BIG but two is better than nothing.
The Tylenol Precise is on sale this week at Rite Aid for $5 and the coupons were for $5 off 1, making them FREE. (I never get tired of seeing, typing or saying that word...who would?) I also clipped 3 carefree pantiliner coupons from a previous smartsource and scored 3 pkgs of those for free. I was thinking that since this sale started Sunday and these items work out to be free that the shelves would be empty as is the usual case, but it was not, the carefree liners were well stocked and the Precise was very well stocked. The Rite Aid flyer even mentioned the $5 coupon in their flyer showing this item would be free but I have to assume that since the shelf was full that probably everyone else ran into the same issue as I did and just didn't have that coupon in their smartsource this week.
FREE FREE FREE
But the deals don't end there! I also purchased Crest White Strips for only $10 as they are reguarly $29.99 were on sale for $19.99 and I had a $10 coupon. I was actually hesitant to spend so much money on something for myself but decided it was worth it considering I have been wanting to whitten my teeth for years now but last I checked it was still over $150 at the dentist, and the dentist himself told me the whitestrips do work quite well, they just don't reach the back teeth so if you have a wide smile (which I do not) its going to be noticable on the back teeth. Excited to try these out and see if they really work!
I also purchased a prescription and other items I needed that I didn't have a coupon for, a grill brush, some mints and gum, and in total saved over $40. I decided to cash out at the pharmacy with my prescription and the pharmacist rung me up, it was an older man I'd never seen there before and he joked and asked if I was testing him with my coupons admitting he is not the greatest cash register operator. He had my stuff rung up first before he entered my rite aid rewards card and was impressed by how much entering the card saved me, then once he scanned my coupons he kept saying wow that's a $10 coupon, wow that's a $5 coupon! He looked at my prescription to call me by name and said "wow Lynn, that is great, you just saved over $40, that's awesome, that's incredible, I want you to teach me your ways, I think you should write a manual for this!" I then told him that was not really a big shopping trip for me and he was even more amazed. I thanked him for his excitement, finally I got a cashier that was just as excited as I was (I think he was even more excited than me!) and it was the pharmacist, go figure, didn't expect that!
That's about all I have to report on deals this week, wasn't impressed with any deals go on at other stores, and yeah there are items I could get for 49 cents or free, but they're items I don't use, and who needs their basement full of stuff they'll never use? My basement already has enough junk in it!
Happy Saving!
Two posts in ONE day! Wow I'm going all out today. Rewards could very well refer to register rewards, which I speak of often but this post is about rewards of another kind. It is rewarding to be a couponer, the rush of the deal, the savings, and hope for the future of being better with every transaction, but there is even more rewards, passing on the savings.
I've taken two friends shopping with me and shared coupons and ideas but I've also passed information on in this blog, and with the help of facebook made mention of this blog. A close friend and my nephew's wife have both taken off on their own coupon madness campaign, and I'm not so sure that either aren't in total competition with me, which I LOVE. Because both have scored some fantastic deals and been excited to share them with me. I love facebook messages and texts from either so excited to share their deals, and now I have others who I know share in my madness so I know I can totally tell them about a deal I just got and they won't think I'm totally nuts, they'll ask me how when and where and go get it themselves! :)
It is most rewarding to see others save with me and know that if my quest to save and create this blog I've inspired others too, and I think they just may well be better than me at it, and that's perfectly okay! Couponing is time consuming and not only are these two each mothers of two themselves like me, they both work as well! So they have even less time than me so to see them coupon better than me when they have less time than me is inspiring to me, so the inspiration has come around full circle, pretty neat. Keep saving girls, and don't forget to share your deals! :)
Most of you aren't thinking of the same kind of 12 pack I am today, because today's post is referring to toilet paper! I made a little shopping trip in town the other night and between two stops purchased 6 12 pks of toilet paper, and I think before the week is out I'll be back to get another 2.
I started at Walgreen's to see if they were stocked back up on the previous mentioned Cottonelle deal. Moneysavingmadness.com has mentioned this sale a while back so I stocked up on all available coupons and was able to print 6 total 50cent off one coupons. I used four of those on this trip. In my first transaction I purchased 2 12pks of cottonelle on sale for $5 with an in store coupon (in the Walgreens May coupon book available at the front of the store with the flyers, but the cashiers usually have them at the checkout as well) for $1 off each, and using my maufact coupons I printed off I paid $7.50 for the two and received $3 back in Walgreens rewards for my next purchase. I repeated this transaction again thinking I'm going to use the $3 I just got towards this purchase, but was advised of something from the cashier that I had heard about before. Walgreens does their rewards a little different than CVS or Rite Aid. At CVS and Rite Aid your rewards print on the bottom of your receipt. At Walgreens they print off a seperate machine, say manufacturers coupon on them and have a remit address (because of this you can also use them at Wal-Mart according to their new coupon policy) this type of rewards is known as a catalina coupon. Because the reward or in this case "coupon" for the $3 comes from Cottonelle themselves if you use it towards the purchase its going to cancel out the reward being printed because it would be considered a double coupon. I don't like this, but it is what it is, I saved the $3 for my next purchase and paid $7.50 again getting $3 back again.
I wasn't planning on running out on a shopping trip Sunday since it was my husband and I's 7th wedding anniversary, but we ending up dropping the kids off a little bit before dinner and had the first chance ever to take my husband on a coupon adventure with me!
I was excited to hit Walgreen's and get the cottonelle deal, but CVS is on the way so we stopped there first. I had seen a decent toilet paper deal there as well with Charmin, and well considering we have two bathrooms and only one roll of paper left Sunday morning I figure it wans't a bad thing to take advantage of two toilet paper deals.
