So-So Sunday Deals...

Went to Bi-Lo Sunday for the 99 cents chicken breast sale. Below is what I left with...

















Yep. No chicken.

They were sold out of the sale chicken --- ALWAYS HAPPENS WHEN IT'S 99 CENTS --- so, I decided to make the most of the trip and get a few other items.

All in all, I spent about $40, and saved about $31. Not too bad. I got a few FREE items - the Dial dish soap was on sale for $1 and I had a coupon for $1 off, and the Southern Home brands for cheese, beans and tomatoes with chiles were all BUY THEIRS, GET OURS FREE. So by buying the brand name items for these products, I was able to get the store brand for free. All 6 of those items cost me about $5.58. That's less than $1 each! Awesome deal when it include two bags of shredded cheese that retail for about $3.50 each.

I also made a stop at Rite Aid because I had 3 Rite Aid gift cards that I earned with previous purchases to spend. So I picked up the items in the photo below amd used coupons for JUST $2.30 OUT OF POCKET!!!! It was a savings of more than $30.



So, until next time - HAPPY SAVING!

Shannon

More deals & trying out Dollar General

Made two trips today (Publix & Dollar General).

I only spent a total of $22.18 and I got:


Publix -

1 box of 40 Glad trash bags (on sale for $5.49/used $1 IP coupon)

2 packages of Glad storage containers (6 bowls and lids) (priced at $2.99 each - however, one was FREE with purchase of Glad trash bags - coupon in Yellow Publix flyer, the other was $1.99 because I used a $1/2 Glad storage containers coupon from the paper)

2 boxes Mueller's spaghetti noodles (on BOGO sale for 2/$1.25. I got them both for $.25 total/used $1/2 IP coupon from their email list)

1 can Muir Glen tomato sauce ($.14/used $.75 IP coupon from coupons.com)

1 pack of two Minute Rice pilaf bowls ($.97/used $.50 IP coupon from coupons.com that doubled to $1 off)


Dollar General - My first coupon visit here.. only used one but found some other sale deals!!

2 long sleeve t-shirts for my oldest nephew (originally priced at $6, but rang up suprisingly to me for $4 each!)

7 Americana signs ($.15 or $.20 each!!)

2 melamine serving bowls ($.30 each!!)

2 Glade candles ($2.50/used BOGO coupon from the paper)


Altogether, I saved $23.50, which is more than 50% in savings today!

The best deals of the day were the Americana signs and bowls which I found on the Dollar General summer clearance section -- 90% off!!!

Until next time, happy saving!

Shannon

Eye Care Deals - $1 OOP

My contacts require a certain type of peroxide cleanser and case, so I get very excited when I find a deal for it!

This week, there are two of them! One at CVS and another at Rite Aid!

At CVS, the 2 pack of Clear Care is on sale for $14.99, and you get $3 ECB back with purchase. I used a $5 off/two-pack coupon from Sunday's paper (10/17) and $2 ECB (that I got last week for using my Green Bag Tag and for scanning my card in the machine at the front of the store). I paid with my prescription gift card so I actually paid NOTHING OUT OF POCKET!!

At Rite Aid, the single Clear Care is on sale for $9.49 and you get $2 Up Rewards back with purchase. I used $2 off single pack coupon from Sunday's paper (10/17) so my out of pocket total was $6.01.

I spent a total of $6.01 out of pocket, I received $5 in ECB/UR to spend next time so in total, I spent $1.01 for 3 bottles of Clear Care Contact Solution with cases that retail for about $10 each!

WOO HOO!!


The hand sanitzer was FREE as well. CVS was giving away a free hand sanitizer pen to those who signed up for the offer on their website: www.cvs.com and printed the coupon. The location I visited was out of the pens, so they substituted the bottles of equal or lesser value instead!

Until next time - happy saving!

Shannon

Getting back in the game.... Kroger trip!

Like I posted a few weeks ago, I haven't really needed to shop, so I havent been posting anything. However, I made an "ok" visit to Kroger this weekend. Here's what I got:

*Note - I spent about $13 on items that had no coupon, so my "couponing" total was about $33.



WHAT I BOUGHT & COUPONS USED
Crest Toothpaste - FREE (on sale for $1/used two $.50 coupons)
Athenos Hummus - FREE (on sale for $1/used $1 off coupon)
Minute Rice ($1.29 each) - used 2 $.50 coupons that doubled to $1 each.
7 Up - $1.25 for one, the other free (used BOGO coupon)
Totinos Pizzas ($1 each/used $.50 off/3 coupon that doubled to $1)
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese - 5 boxes for $.89 each (on sale for $1.89/used $5/5 Kraft products coupon)
Kraft Mac & Cheese - 4 boxes for $1.39 each/used $1/2 coupon
Dial Soap - $.30 (on sale for $1/used $.35 coupon that doubled to $.70)
Toothbrush $.45 (on sale for $1/used $.55 Kroger coupon)
Jr Grand Biscuits - 6 small containers ($.60 each/used three $.40/2 coupons that doubled to $.80 -- and I received $1 Kroger catalina for every 3 Pillsbury purchased)
Cinnamon Rolls -- 1 was FREE (used 1 $.50 off coupon that doubled), other two were about $.60 each (on sale for $1, used $.40/2 that doubled)
Tomato Soup - $1.10 each (on sale for $1.50 each/used $.40/2 coupon)
**No coupon items --- Kroger Kool Aid ($2.19 each), Downy Wrinkle Release ($3.89).
All detergent - $.99 (on sale for $4.99/used $1 coupon/used $3 Kroger catalina coupon from first purchase- Pillsbury items)

Total spent $46, total saved $36.73. If I subtract out the no coupon items, I really spent $33 and saved about $35.00!

All of the coupons used today came from the paper over the last few weeks, not including this past Sunday (10/17). (Except toothbrush coupon, I found that on the shelf at the store!) Kroger doubles $.50 and less.

I was supposed to have a $3 credit on my Kroger card for a mistake back in the summer from P&G, but it didn't. That was frustrating and I am finally at the point where I am not going to fight it anymore because I deleted the original email where they said they would credit my card. Note to you - SAVE THOSE EMAILS FOR BACKUP in case of a problem!!

Until next time, happy saving!!

Shannon

Blank CDs on Sale at Target!

I know it's been a while since I posted, but I can tell you because I have stocked up SOOOOOOO much, that I haven't really needed to shop for anything other than necessities like (bread, milk and meat!)

So yesterday, while shopping for the office last night I found this great deal: 100 pack of Blank CDs on sale at Target for only $12.49.



So until next time... happy saving and stocking up!!!

Shannon

Haven't really needed to shop

I haven't really needed to shop over the last week... I am pretty well stocked up. So I ran to Walgreen's late Tuesday night to use up $2 in RR that were expiring and to look for the canned tiny shrimp that were on special (2/$3 - regular price $3.29 EACH!). I use these in a dip with cream cheese that is soooooooooo good, so I like to stop up. Most of you know how often I like to plan tailgates and parties. Usually for the excuse of sharing good food with friends and family!

Anyway - they only had 2 cans so I bought them. Spent only $1 out of pocket since they were $3 total and I had $2 RR. WOO HOO! My total savings $5.58! I'm gonna stop by another location on my way home from work today and see if they have anymore and I have Kim checking when she goes today too. Remember - the key is STOCKING up when you have a good deal!!





So, until next time - Happy Saving!!

Shannon

I guess I love Tomatoes!

Went to Publix Saturday night... got a few great deals: 38 cents for diced tomatoes, 42 cents for 6 Pepsi Max 2-liters, and free instant mashed potatoes. I got a few "ok" deals - 14 cents for tomato paste, $1.80 for each SmartOnes and 34 cents for Lysol cleaning spray.

I spent $33.57 and saved only $18 in coupons, but a bit more in BOGO sales. So it wasn't my best trip ever, but I needed the frozen meals for lunch and I added the mandarin oranges for that too. So feeding myself lunch for a week for $10 is pretty good!

The balasmic vinegar was not on sale and I didn't have a coupon, but it is the best deal on that product at Publix ($3.29 for a 16 oz bottle).

I know this really isn't one to brag about, but I did shop with Kim and together our total sounds better than my invididual total. ( I don't have a combined photo..)

Together we spent: $75.95, saved $91.51 and qualified for a $2.75 rebate.

My point is, you are not going to save mucho dinero EVERY TIME, but as long as you are shopping sales and using coupons.... you are helping the bottom line.

Until next time... happy saving!

Shannon

Rocked it at Target today

Ok, SouthernSavers.com gave some great tips for some FREE items at Target and since I was going by there anyway, I decided to try them out.

I left with more than $32 worth of stuff, for just $5.87 out of pocket.



WHAT I BOUGHT:

5 travel packs of Band Aids (97 cents each)
4 Johnson & Johnson travel size First Aid Kits (97 cents each)
3 travel size Clean & Clear face cleansers
6 packs of BIC pens (99 cents each)
1 can mini Ravioli (84 cents)
2 travel packs of Tide detergent (97 cents each)
2 boxes Nature's Valley granola bars with yogurt ($2.39 each)
1 pocket calculator ($1)

Total - $27
Coupons Used:
(3) $3 off Johnson Johnson/Band Aid coupons
(3) $1 off any Clean & Clear product
(3) $1/2 BIC product
(2) $1/2 Target BIC product
(1) $1 off Chef Boyardee (84 cents)
(2) $1 off any Tide product
(1) $.75/2 boxes Nature Valley granola bars
(1) $1 off Target Nature Valley granola bars

TOTAL OOP: $5.87 (which actually is a Flex-spending eligible total because of the band aids/first aid kit, so I will submit that to my FSA plan). And I am submitting 3 Band Aid UPC codes for a FREE Toy Story 3 book!

Not a bad little tip to learn to use a coupon that is elibigle for ANY product on a brand that offers TRAVEL SIZES!!!!


I also made a quick stop in CVS because I had a $4 off $20 purchase email coupon that expired today. So I grabbed 4 cans of Pledge multi-surface cleaners ($5.79 each) and used 2 B1G1 Free coupons on it (the max value on those was $4.99), so here's how this breaks down:

BOUGHT:
4 cans Pledge multi-surface cleaner ($5.79 each)
Total: $23.16
Coupons used:
$4 off $20 purchase
2 B1G1 free Pledge M-S cleaner (-$9.98)
$5 ECB
Total OOP: $4.18 plus tax. (I paid using a Rx gift card, so I paid nothing out of pocket!)

And when I asked for a raincheck for the Blink Tears eye drops that were on sale for $7.99 and gave $7.99 back in ECB (making them FREE!), they told me they had one bottle behind the counter. So my second transaction looked like this:

Bought:
Blink Tears 0.5 oz. ($7.99)
Total: $7.99 + tax
Coupon used: $1.50 off Blink Tears
Total: $6.49 + tax (again, I paid with a Rx gift card.. so it cost me NOTHING! And I can submit this to FSA as well.)
ECB Received: $7.99




Summary - I paid nothing in cash out of pocket, spent $5 in ECB, got back $7.99 in ECB and left with 4 bottles of Pledge and a bottle of Blink Tears. NOT BAD!!


I have some Walgreen's RR I have to burn this week because they are expiring Wednesday, though looking briefly at the ad, nothing really jumps out at me. Might look at what I can stock up on...

Until then, happy saving!

Shannon

Coupon Swap

I mentioned to a few of you on Facebook a few weeks ago about swapping coupons... so until I can figure out a better way, I am going to use this blog entry page as a coupon swapping site.

Please feel free to post here coupons that you have that you do not need and want to trade for something you do need (for example, I don't need dog food coupons, so I would make a post here saying that I had XXX dog food coupons and ask if anyone wanted them and if so, suggest something I would want in return, like Kellogg's cereal). Or post here if you are looking for something and then you can work out your trade if someone responds to you (i.e. Sam posts that she is looking for baby food and diapers. Mel reads this and sends Sam an email and says she has tons of baby coupons that she does not need and then tells Sam that she is looking for pasta and soup coupons. So Sam agrees to send Mel pasta and soup coupons in exchange for the baby coupons. Everyone is happy and saving money!!) When you post your email address in the comment box, write it in this format: username @ provider (dot) com (so mine would be gamecockshan @ gmail (dot) com). (Obviously, when you send the email, you will write it out properly. This keeps spammers from getting your email address.)

I hope this works for you guys for now. I plan to host a coupon swap night in September, I will let you know when I work that out! Until then... happy swapping & saving!

Shannon

Rocked some deals tonight

I got all of this for $18.

Seriously. I spent $18.84 at Publix and NOTHING (no cash) out of pocket at CVS.
I should have spent 99 more cents at Publix, and then applied for a $5 Publix gift card, but they were out of a cereal I was looking for, so I have to go back tomorrow. That would bring my out of pocket in the end to $14.83 for $105.48 worth of groceries and a few personal items!! A savings of 86.6%!!

Here's how it went down:



PUBLIX -
4 boxes of Eggo products ($2 each)
4 Boxes of Aunt Jemima ($1.34 each)
3 can Muir Glen Organic Tomato Sauce (89 cents each)
4 Jars Prego spaghetti sauce ($1.25/$1.24 each)
2 Cans Publix diced tomatoes (75 cents each)
1 can Green Giant sweet corn (79 cents)
1 8 oz. Daisy sour cream (99 cents)
4 boxes Ronzoni pasta (69/70 cents each)
TOTAL: $27.09
Coupons: $8.25
Total OOP: $18.84



CVS -
Transaction #1:
10 Vitamin Waters (10 for $12.50)
1 Lysol Hand soap touchless starter kit ($9.99)
1 12 oz. Clear Care contact solution ($8.99)
2 Cans Progresso Soup (B1G1 - $3.19/$2.99)
TOTAL: $34.67
Coupons: $5.50
ECB: $5
Gift cards (received when I took new Rx took CVS pharmacy): $25.50
Total OOP: NOTHING!!
ECB back: $12 ($5 for Vitamin Water, $5 for Lysol, $2 for Clear Care)

Transaction #2:
2 boxes Cheerios ($2.50 each)
TOTAL: $5
ECB: $5
Total OOP: NOTHING!!

Transaction #3:
2 2 liter Coke Zeros ($1.50 each)
TOTAL: $3
Coupons: $1
ECB: $2
Total OOP: NOTHING!!

So I paid NOTHING at CVS and I left with the amount of ECB - $5 - that I went in with!!

Until next time - happy spending!

Shannon

FREE ICE CREAM!

Who doesn't love ice cream.... and especially when it is FREE?!?

I found this lovely little MAYFIELD ICE CREAM rebate tonight for 1 of 2 things:
1 - you can submit for 4 $1.00 off coupons.
OR
2 - To be reimbursed for the cost of your 1.5 gallon container of ice cream.

Here's a $1 off coupon: http://www.mayfieldfree.com/

I would pick #2... Here's the REBATE FORM http://www.mayfieldfree.com/Mayfield_Rebate.pdf

Offer expires and must be postmarked by 9/30/10.

Yummy! (so much for giving up ice cream, huh!?!?)

Some of the Sites I Use for Tips & Coupons:

Anabelle asked me to share some of the other sites I use besides www.SouthernSavers.com, so I am listing them below. Also, note - so many of these sites link to other sites that are new to me, so I will try to keep adding them to this page as I find them useful.

(P.S. I also follow many of these for updates on Facebook and email subscriptions.)

SITES I LIKE:
The Saving Sisters
The Frugal Map
Instructions on how to use BOGO coupons
Wild for Wags (short for Walgreen's)
Smart Couponing
Kroger Blog
Living Rich with Coupons
The Kingdom First Mom: CVS $5 Challenge
Frugal, Freebies and Deals
The Coupon Clippers - a site to purchase coupons

Give CVS a try and Earn $7.99 ECB!

If you are looking to start "CVSing", then Saturday (July 31st) could be a VERY good day to start. It's the final

day of this week's sales and there are a few deals that will cost you little out of pocket (OOP), and will leave you with ECB (Extra Care Bucks...a.k.a. CVS's version of "FREE MONEY") for next time! This could be an example of "why should I buy this item when I don't really NEED it?" Well, it's going to help you get to something we all need - FREE MONEY! So, here are the ones that I find worthy of noting, and they all pay you back in full value ECB:

2 oz. BioTrue Contact Lens Solution - $2.99 --- and will give you $2.99 ECB
1 box Kotex U - $4.99 --- and will give you $4.99 ECB
1 6x8 Photo Book - $7.99 --- and will give you back $7.99 ECB

*note --- the BioTrue and the Kotex each have coupons (click the name to take you to the page to print them), which will help you save and bank even more money.

Here's what I recommend you do:
Transaction #1 -
1 bottle Biotrue - $2.99
Use $2.00 off coupon
Total Owed: $0.99 plus tax
ECB Earned: $2.99 (you "made" $2 on this deal)

Transaction #2 -
1 box Kotex U - $4.99
Use $1.00 off coupon
Total: $3.99
Use $2.99 ECB from Transaction #1
Total Owed: $1.00 plus tax
ECB Earned: $4.99 (you "made" $3.99 on this deal)

Transaction #3 -
1 6x8 photo book - $7.99
Total: $7.99
Use $4.99 ECB from Transaction #2
Total Owed: $3.00 plus tax
ECB Earned: $7.99 (You "made $4.99 on this deal)

So -- total OOP for this trip to CVS will be: $4.99 plus tax, and you will walk away with $7.99 to spend on the next trip... so you really cleared $3.00 with these purchases!!

This sale ends Saturday, so why not make a quick trip to the store and try it out!

Good luck! I would love to hear how your experience goes!

Until next time.. Happy Saving!

Shannon

Just for fun... Do you remember these?

I can tell how old you are by how well you remember these songs... ;o) ***This could be the start of a TSA Girls Spring Breaks 1991-1994 Soundtrack, something I have always wanted to put together!***

This was my favorite song of 1992:



And how about these?
















Enjoy!!!

BIG DEALS at Publix today!!

I knew there were some good deals at Publix this week with the BOGOs and there were some awesome coupon matchups to go with them!

Today I bought all of the items you see pictured above and I only paid $20.36 for it all! And that is a savings of more than $65!!!

I also learned that Publix accepts Food Lion coupons. (Thanks to www.iheartpublix.com for those coupons links!) So I saved an extra $3 today using FLIPs (Food Lion Internet Printable coupons)! WOO HOO!

This includes:
4 bottles of Softsoap
6 boxes of 18 ct. Tampax Gentle Glide tampons
3 boxes of GoGurt yogurt
2 Bottles Hunt's ketchup
4 boxes PopTarts
1 Bottle Suave Conditioner
1 Bag Tyson breaded Chicken Tenders
1 Stouffer's Lasange
1 Green Works Laundry Detergent
1 Green Works dish detergent
~~~~~~~~
Coupons used: (*note - my receipt is in Kim's van so I am going from memory on prices!)
2 Softsoap - 50 cents (double to $1, making them free)
2 Softsoap - 70 cents (which made them 30 cents each)
3 Tampax Gentle Glide - $2.50/2 (which made them about $1.25 each box)
2 GoGurts - $1 off (IP, which made them about 34 cents a box)
1 GoGurt - 85 cents off (IP, which made it about 50 cents)
1 Hunt's Ketchup - $1/2 (Food Lion, which made them about 25 cents each)
2 Poptarts - $1/2 (which made them about 50 cents a box)
1 Suave - Try me free ($2.19 off, but the cashier couldn't get it to enter properly - so he gave me $3 off)
2 Tyson = $1 off + $1 FLIP (which made it $2.99)
2 Stouffer's = $2 off Internet printable + $2 off FLIP (which made me 1 penny)
1 Green Works Dish Detergent - $1 off (which made it $1.24 for value size)
1 Green Works Laundry Detergent - $3 off (which made it $2.99)

They were out of the Playtex Sport which were BOGO and I had 4 $1 off coupons, so they would have been about $1.50 a box. I was buying these for Kim, so I got her a raincheck and gave her the coupons. That's not bad when you pay $3 for 36 tampons and you normally pay almost $5 for Target brand in same quantity.

And speaking of Kim (my sister, for those who aren't familiar with my family), SHE taught me something tonight. We went to Bi-Lo to pick up a meal deal (which is ANOTHER AWESOME offer this week!, and she was redeeming a raincheck we got last week and she asked if they would honor a Target coupon. They told her that they would ONLY if it had an address on it. (Meaning, that they would accept it as a competitor if you could prove it came from a nearby, a.k.a. competing store. The catalinas (coupons that print at checkout) have the store address on there. So she was able to use her $1.50 off Cottonelle toilet paper, in conjunction with her $4.99 raincheck to pay $3.49 for 12 double rolls. Retail price at Bi-Lo for same item is $8.99. She saved $5.50! I am soo proud of her!! She is learning! She even said to me last night "I went in Walmart today and I didn't have any coupons to use and it made me mad!" YAY for her saying that, BOO for her shopping at Walmart!!!!! (Jenny from SouthernSavers says don't shop there because they will never double a coupon and you will get heck of a lot better deals in the regular grocery stores with their sales and your (doubled) coupons!

Until next time.. HAPPY SAVING!

Shannon

I'm starting to "heart" Kroger... sortof...

Ok, let me go ahead and get the bad news out of the way. Today I was jipped $2.50 at Kroger when two of my e-coupons did not work. But never fear, my mission to get that back is already in motion. After an unsuccessful trip to Customer Service, after waiting 10 minutes only to be told that the manager said there was nothing that could be done at the store level and for me to call the 1-800 # for Kroger on the back of my Plus Card, I began my drive home. I was on hold for more than 14 minutes only to be told that I needed to call another number for the Digital Coupon Department. So I did. And finally, I spoke to someone who was "nice." However, she said I would have to fax a copy of the receipt in to them because from their end, they could only see that my e-coupons were no longer available, which to them meant they were redeemed, but since it took 24 hours for their system to update, she could not tell for sure and she needed to see the receipt. I am still, however, skeptical because when she told me to read my receipt to her, she said it sounded like I got the discount. I informed her that I got 1 discount, and the other 2 items were not printed in the same format as the others, and I knew what my total should have been and it was over by $2.50. Soooooooooooooooooooooo.... I will fax my receipt in the morning and follow up tomorrow afternoon. WISH ME LUCK! I WILL get my $$$ back!! ;o)

NOW, on to the GOOD NEWS!!! I got a lot of stuff for FREE and/or cheap today.

10 for $10 items:
4 Crest Toothpaste - 3 FREE, 1 was 25 cents
2 Ivory Soap Body Wash - FREE
2 Ivory Soap 3ct Bars - FREE
2 Oral B Indicator Toothbrushes - FREE

Mega Event Items: (prices indicate $4 off for buying 4 items)
1 pack Tide Stain Release ($9.99)
1 bottle Downy Free & Clear ($4.99)
1 Secret Deodorant ($2.99)
1 2pk Bounty Paper Towels ($1.99)

Kroger Large Eggs: 88 Cents
Kroger 1 gal, milk: $2.48

TOTAL: $31.32 + tax
ECOUPONS USED: $3 off TIDE ((**Missing $2.50 here)
Manufacturer Coupons USED: about $13 worth, most of them doubled because there were 25 and 50 cents.
KROGER $ USED: $5.00 (from last week's Kraft Cheese purchase incentive)
SWIFFER REBATE GIFT CARD: $10.00 (this is from a manu. rebate submitted for purchasing so much in Swiffer products last month)
TOTAL DUE OUT OF POCKET: $3.31 (of which, I will be getting back $2.50)... so my out of pocket total is really 81 cents!!!

WOOO HOOO!! Lesson learned with all of this "free stuff"... look for items that are $1 or less and find coupons that are 50 cents. If you do this, then it's free! If you can pair an ecoupon with a $1 item and you have a paper coupon, then you can MAKE money. Once they refund my missed coupon money, I will actually have made 50 cents on one of the Ivory soaps!

Now, I am on a mission to find more coupons before they expire. Kim sure was excited tonight to shop at "Shannon's"! She came over for dinner and went home with soap, laundry detergent and toothpaste too!

Shopping in the Pantry

One of the first things Jenny teaches you at SouthernSavers class is to SHOP THE SALES, and COOK FROM YOUR PANTRY!!! (excluding of course, the milk/bread/veggies that have to be bought as needed - though I still look for deals and sales on those!)

This is my goal this week. I have been eating cereal bars for breakfast (bought at CVS on sale with ECB back), and tuna for lunch (got 2 cans for free at Food Lion with sale and coupon), and then for dinner - I have evaluated my freezer and pantry and have come up with a few meal options for the week:

Tonight we had BBQ from a pork loin (I cooked it over night last night in the crock pot), pasta salad, green beans, garlic mashed potatoes, shrimp dip for appetizer and fresh tomatoes (which were the only item I had to buy today).

Tomorrow I am cooking a ground beef/diced tomatoes/corn mix over rice.

And Thursday looks like it will be pineapple-lime chicken with rice and black beans.

All of these I have the ingredients for in my pantry and freezer. I start with the freezer first. I determine what meat I have and then I go from there. I then look for veggies and side dishes in the pantry. I have stocked up on green beans, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, artichokes, Kraft Mac & Cheese, instant mashed potatoes, rice, flavored rice, pasta, and canned fruits when I have found a B1G1 sale, coupon(s), or low prices at Aldi that beat a sale at Bi Lo or Publix. So once the meat or main dish is decided upon, I then choose the side items to complement or rice/pasta to serve over.

I probably currently have enough food to make about 20 meals (some without meat) using just what I have at home. Now will this stop me from going to the store this week if I find really good deals on other items? No way -- it just means I will continue to stockpile items that can be stored. And since I have recently taken mental stock of what I have, I know that I will probably pay attention to other options so I don't have too much of the same thing. However, if it's on sale and I have a coupon - I will probably buy it anyway!

I went Krogering!

ALL OF THIS FOR $42!

So, I had kinda heard about the Kroger Mega Sale, but didn't really know what the difference in it and regular

weekly/monthly sales, I decided to go check it out for myself. So, today via Facebook and SouthernSavers.com, I created my list, downloaded my Kroger e-coupons, printed off my internet coupons, cut out my newspaper coupons (more on my coupon organizing later!), recruited my oldest nephew to be my "helper" and off we went!

We don't have a Kroger in Lexington, but there is one across the Lake Murray Dam in Irmo - which is about 14 miles from my house.

From what I understood - the Mega Sale is basically a $5 off event when you bought 10 items in the list of Mega Sale items. So for example, if Spaghetti O's are on sale this week for $.99, but they are in the Mega Sale list, then they will be an extra $.50 off each if you bought 10 of them - or mix and match to make 10 total items in the Mega list. And I think it's just one Mega Sale per 10 items, so I rang up 2 separate transactions.

There is also the famous 10 for $10 sale going on this week -- but you don't have to buy 10 items for this. Each item will ring up $1.

What's an e-coupon, you ask? Well, if you go to www.kroger.com and register your "Shopper Card" (the key tag card you sign up for and that they scan at checkout - like a Bonus Card at Bi-Lo and MVP at Food Lion).

You can then view a list of items that you can "load" a coupon for onto your card, so that when you check out and they scan your crd, it applies the coupons to your order without you having to print anything! I saved an extra $6.00 tonight by doing this!

Also note that Kroger doubles coupons $.50 and less. And I had quite a few that were doubled tonight!

(e-coupons do NOT double!)

P.S. I also got a few great tips about the sales at Kroger and coupons to use from www.stockpilingmoms.com.

You might want to check them out on Facebook.

Here's the synopsis of my order, and then details of what I bought and coupons used:
Total Spent Out of Pocket:
Transaction #1 - $25.11
Transaction #2 - $16.82
TOTAL - $41.93

Total Saved:
Transaction #1 - $44.39
Transaction #2 - $27.53
TOTAL - $71.92 (total is actually HIGHER because original prices on some items were not counted on the receipt. i.e. Toothpaste is originally $2.69, today only $1. So I said I saved $1 when I used a double 50 cents coupon. But I really saved $2.69!)

(plus $5 coupon to save on next trip)
TOTAL SAVINGS - $76.92!!

That's almost $119 in groceries and household/personal products for $37...a savings of more than 66%!

WHAT I BOUGHT:
Transaction #1 -
6 cans Campbell's Spaghetti (49 cents each - Mega Event (ME))
2 cans Spaghetti O's (49 cents each - ME)
1 - 22oz. Captain Crunch (this is the BIG box - $2.19 - ME)
1 - big bottle Miracle Whip ($1.63 - ME)
1 - Downy Fabric Softener ($6.99)
1 - Bag of Cascade Action Pacs ($4.69)
1 - 8pk. boxes of Juicy Juice Grape ($1.98)
1 - Teen Spirit Deodorant (88 cents)
2 - Oral B Toothbrushes ($1 each - 10/$10 sale!)
2 - Crest Toothpaste ($1 each - 10/10)
1 - 20 ct. box Tampax Pearl tampons ($4.39)
2 - Bottles of Febreeze ($4.99 each)
1 - Bottle of Ivory Bodywash ($1 -- 10/10)
1 - Bottle of Olay Total Effects Body wash (5.99)
1 - pint Grape Tomatoes (on clearance in produce - 75 cents)
1 - Hoss avacado (88 cents)
1 - small bottle Dawn dish detergent ($1.49)
TOTAL BEFORE COUPONS --- $50.76

E-Coupons:
50 cents off Dawn
$2 off Downy
50 cents of Cascade
$1 off Febreeze
$2 off Tampax Pearl
$1.50 off Olay Total Effects
$.50 off Ivory

Printed/Manufacturer's Coupons:
25 cents off Dawn (doubled to 50 cents) (from Home Made simple booklet)
$2 off Tampax Pearl (which made the Tampons 39 cents for a box!!) (from P&G 6/6, I think)
$4.99 for BOGO Febreeze (so I got both bottles for $3.99 total)
$1 off Juicy Juice (made it 98 cents - internet printable (IP)
50 cents off Captain Crunch (doubled to $1, made the box $1.19 - from 5/16 RP or SS, I think)
50 cents off toothbrush (doubled to $1, which made it free! P&G 6/6?)
75 cents off toothbrush (which made it 25 cents! - 6/6?)
75 cents off toothpaste (which made it 25 cents! 6/6?)
50 cents off toothpaste (doubled to $1, which made it free! 6/6?)
$4 off Olay Total Effects (which made it $1.99) (P&G 6/6)
BOGO Olay, Get Free Ivory - so that made the Ivory Free! ($1 value) - **With the other e-coupons above, I

actually MADE $1 on this (P&G 6/6)
50 cents off 2 cans of Spaghetti O's (doubled to $1, making them both free with 2 cents overage! - IP)
75 cents off Teen Spirit (which made it 13 cents! - IP)
25 cents of Cascade (doubled to 50 cents - from Home Made Simple)
$1 off Downy (from a free sample in the mail)

Total Coupons - $25.24
Total doubles - $2.75
Store Coupons & Kroger Plus Savings - $16.40


Transaction #2 -
5 Packs Dixie Ultra Plates ($1.49 each - ME)
2 bottles Softsoap kitchen soap ($1.00 each - ME)
5 Packs of shredded Kraft Cheese ($1.88 each - ME)
1 Tombstone pizza ($2.49 - ME)
1 block Philadelphia Cream Cheese (99 cents - ME)
TOTAL BEFORE COUPONS: $22.33

Coupons Used:
(2) $1/2 Dixie Plates (makes each pack $.99 - IP)
50 cents off Dixie Plates (doubled to $1, makes it 49 cents - one of the newspapers since 5/16)
$2 off Tombstone (Facebook coupon - made the pizza 49 cents!)
$1 off Philadelphia cream cheese (made it free! - IP)
$1 off Softsoap (found this on the shelf at the store!! from a Kroger mailer - made it FREE!))
50 cents off Softsoap (doubled to $1 - made it FREE! IP)
Total Coupons: $7
Doubling: $1
Store coupons & Kroger Plus Card savings: $19.53
And... I got a $5 catalina (a coupon that prints at check out) for buying 5 Kraft products to use on my next

purchase!! That basically made the cheese 88 cents each pack -- which retails around $3 each normally!

So - all in all, I would say it was a successful night! I would encourage everyone who is near a Kroger to get over there before the sale ends. You should be able to find all details on their site: www.kroger.com.

Thanks and happy saving!!

Shannon

Missing out on deals??

Hey hey!

I haven't really been shopping lately (due to vacation, returning to a busy work schedule, and no time to plan a route for savings!), but I did make a few quick trips this week to burn some ECB at CVS & RR at Walgreen's.

At CVS, I did 2 small transactions:
1. 1 bottle of contact solution ($7.99)
1 pack of sponges
Used: $8 ECB (from a few week's ago)
$1 ECB (converted to $.99 by cashier, received from scanning my card in the kiosk when I entered the store!!)
Owed: $0.56
Received: $7.99 ECB (from contact solution), $1.00 (for my 4th bag tag use)
TOTAL SAVED: $10.99

2. Value 2-pack of Clear Care contact solution (this is the kind I really use!) ($14.99)
Used: $7.99 and $1 ECB from first purchase
Owed: $6.98
Received: $3 ECB
TOTAL SAVED: $10.99



Next trip - Walgreen's
1 Transaction:
Neutrogena Clinical Night Creams - $34.99
2 Cans Baby Shrimp - $3.29 each
2 Cans Crab MEat - $3.29 each
4 Reeces Cups (got suckered for sick kids donation at register - MADE ME REAL MAD) - $2.00
Used: $5 off Neutrogrena SKin Care
Ad coupon for shimp & crab to make then 2 for $3.00
$10 & $1 RR (from a few weeks ago)
Owed: $29.40
Will submit for $34.99 rebate from Neutrogena.
Will MAKE: $5.00!

CHAMPIONing Bargains!

So my posts this week have been few & far between. It's partly due to the fact that Sunday's State paper did not have some of the coupons that I was looking for, and partly due to the fact that I was preoccupied with my GAMECOCKS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP in baseball!! I know some people are tired of hearing about it (esp. on my Facebook!), while others can't ever get enough!!

Anyway - I made one trip to CVS earlier this week to pick up 2 more prescriptions (thanks to a muscle spasm in my back last week!) and I happened to find 2 more $25 Rite Aid coupons for gift cards, so I spent $45 in co-pays for the prescriptions (and submitted $30 for a manufacturer's rebate), and got back $50 in gift cards.

If I haven't posted this tip yet - then read up! Always scan your CVS card upon entering the store (only one scan per day). The machine will spit out 2 store coupons. This visit I got a $2 off Bounty paper towels. It just so happened that Bounty was on sale at CVS for $5.97, so I used my $2 off coupon and paid just $3.97 for 8 rolls. And I paid for it with one of my gift cards -- so I actually got them for FREE!!!!

Tonight, I went to Walgreen's to buy a few items (even though I was missing $3.75 in coupons that were missing from Sunday's paper). I had a few Register Rewards from last week (or was it the week before?!?) that needed to be used. Below is my transaction. And I even got a SUPRISE Register Reward of $1 for buying the Reach toothbrushes (which were already FREE after my coupon, so I MADE $1 on them!)



4 boxes of 36 ct Playtex tampons ($27.96)
1 Wet Wipes canister ($1.99)
2 Reach toothbrushes ($3.18)
3 packs plastic forks ($2.97)
1 pack Cottonelle wipes ($3.49)
TOTAL BEFORE COUPONS: $37.60
Coupons Used:
(4) $1.50 off Playtex coupons (catalina coupons from Walgreen's)
$2/2 Reach Toothbrushes
$0.50 off Cottonelle wipes
New Total: $29.10
Store Coupons Scanned from ad:
$1.20 off Reach Toothbrushes
$.98 off forks
$1.50 off Cottonelle
New Total: $25.42
RR used: $12
FINAL TOTAL $13.41 + tax
CASH OUT OF POCKET: $15.92
REGISTER REWARDS RECEIVED: $11
FINAL TOTAL: $4.92

Total Savings --- $33.18



*Lesson learned... being prepared & not rushing is KEY. For some reason (and I am looking into this with a Walgreen's shopping "expert", I had 10 items and 10 "coupons" (6 manu. and 4 RR), yet I had to purchase 1 more filler item to make it accept my last RR. And because I just grabbed a filler without paying attention, I grabbed an item that was on sale as a "two for" and singles are rung up at regular price. So I plan to take back one pack of forks and repurchase 2 bags, since I paid $.99 for one and the sale is 2 for $1.

Learned something new about Old Navy

I logged onto to OldNavy.com yesterday to look for a dress that I have and love in another color (this is my favorite way to shop -- when I find something I like and that fits well, I buy it in every color!!). So after lots of searching (their website is NOT user friendly), I found what I wanted and it was on super clearance + 30% off sale. So it was only going to be about $5.50. However, shipping was $7, so I went about searching the website for other great deals to add into my cart and justify my high shipping cost. Well, in the meantime, my internet locked up and I closed the window thinking since I had been logged into my account, and because I had the item in my cart that I would close the browser, open it again and continue shopping. NO SUCH LUCK. My item was not only NOT in my cart when I got back in, but it also was SOLD OUT. Sooo, I called Customer Service to see if they could help me, but they said all they could do was log on to the website as well. BIG HELP, huh? HOWEVER, the agent told me he could search for the dress in store inventory by style number (found on the tag of the one I currently own) and let me know if there was another in a location near me. He put me on a brief hold, then came back on the line and told me he found one in the Bronx, NY. I was like.. HELL-O, I just told you I lived in South Carolina (Columbia). He said - oh, well we can do a direct ship from the store. I was like, WHAT? He said, yea, you can call the store and order the item from them and have it shipped to you from them. AWESOME! What a great thing to offer.

So, he connected me with another location in Utah that had more in inventory than the Bronx and 20 mins later, I was all set to go. I ordered the dress I wanted, and another one I had been looking for online as well.

So, friends - file this away that if you can't find something online with OldNavy.com, to call Customer Service, have them locate what you want and then call that store and order straight from them. And one of the best parts? Shipping from the store is only $5, not $7! And I got the 30% off discount too!!
(*Oh, and I assume that since Gap & Banana Republic is part of the Old Navy family of stores, that they probably offer the same service.)

Please note - the Customer Service reps really can only help you with this if you have a style number. So make sure you find that online or in the item (if you already own it)!

Thanks and until next time!

Big sales at the Outlets

Kim, the boys & I went to Charleston this weekend for a quick beach stay and of course, we had to go to the outlets. Last night, we went to make a return at Old Navy (sunglasses I bought Monday were broken) and Kim to exchange soap at Bath & Body Works. Mission accomplished on both -- but I also found a casual navy knit skirt on sale (everything in the store was an additional 30% off all weekend) and a denim skirt on clearance + the sale! My total was $21.44 for both!!

Well, today Kim wanted to "run in" to get a black tank top at Gap Outlet. Well once we were in the door - we were sucked in. Everything in the store was on sale, and then most everything was an additional 40% off that. So we started piling up clothes and 5 TRIPS to the dressing room to drop off clothes later, we were kneedeep in favorite khakis, skirts and tops! We got 6 skirts, a dress, a pair of white capris, a button up shirt, a long cotton cardigan, a yellow top, a flowery tshirt, 2 tank tops and a tshirt for Bryson - all for $109!! Our savings with the sales, clearance and AAA 10% discount was more than $116. While I was checking out, the lady said - wow - you got some great deals, you have all of this and are barely at $100. I said - well do you see a black tank top in this pile? She said no - and I said EXACTLY, that's what we came in here for and of all things, Kim changed her mind and got all of this other stuff instead! HAHA. Typical Kim.

Now at Coach, I picked out a white leather wristlet last night. But I couldn't decided if I wanted that or a summer purse instead. But because I couldn't find a purse I loved, I decided I didn't really need anything and we left. Well after almost 24 hours of thinking about that cute little wristlet (a Coach item I don't have yet!) and since we were there anyway AND it was on sale for $49 PLUS everything in the store was an extra 30% off, I got it! It's super cute and I paid only $37 for it and I can't wait to use it tomorrow at the Rascal Flatts concert!

Oh, and we got 50% GAMECOCKS t-shirts at Cracker Barrell. Using a $10 gift card from mom, Kim, Bryson and I all got a new black CAROLINA tshirt - total OOP $18.49! Bryson's is so cute - it says "GO CAROLINA OR GO HOME!" HAHA!! Love it!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO COCKS!!!!

Rockin a deal at the CVS Pharmacy!

I had read online in a few other couponer blogs that some CVS pharmacies would accept competitor coupons for gift cards with prescriptions, even if you had a new one and the coupon read transfer. (You know those "transfer your prescription to us and get $20 or $25 gift card" coupons? That's what I mean.)

So, after a trip to the dermatologist last week, I left with two new prescriptions, so I went digging through my coupon inserts from the paper and found what I was looking for - two $25 gift card coupons for Rite Aid transfers. I called a local CVS and asked if they would take them on new Rx's even though the coupon read on transfers only. The pharmacist told me YES they would! Today I took the coupons, along with the Prescription Savings card that the dermatologist gave me and I received one medicine for FREE (with the Rx savings card!), and the other medicine, while at the top tier in my insurance plan, cost me $35 on my Flex Spending card (pre tax dollars!!), AND I got 2 $25 gift cards to spend at CVS on anything else I want! (And I want a new beach chair to take with me to Isle of Palms later this week! Yay!)

So - my lesson learned is ALWAYS ASK. You never know if someone will take a competitor coupon, honor an expired gift certificate (believe me, I am famous for letting some of the online bought gift certificates expire before I get a chance to use them! so I am also good at asking for an extension from the manager!) or whatever you might question. If they say no, you are not really any worse off than you were when you first started, right?

Today's totals:
CVS 6/22/10 -

Total Spent out of pocket: $35 (would have been about $55-70 without Rx savings card!)
Total Gift Cards given in return: $50


P.S. I am LOVING hearing from all of you who are reading this and getting "inspired" to save on your own. Please keep the emails/comments coming!!

Unexpected trip for a Money Maker

There's quite a few websites that SELL coupons. Why would you pay for a coupon you ask? Well, for one thing if it is a high value coupon (usually $3 or more), it's worth it to pay 10 to 50 cents each to buy from someone or a company. For example, my newspaper, The State, did not have a $5 off Schick Hydro razors last weekend. BUT, other newspapers did. And people who get these newspapers often personally sell coupons they do not use, or they sell to a company, who in return sells them on their website. Well this week, I made my first purchase from www.thecouponclippers.com. I bought 3 Schick Hydro $5 off coupons (1 each for me, mom and Kim) BECAUSE Schick is offering a full price rebate for these razors, and with the coupon, the razor becomes a money maker. Meaning, I will be sent a rebate for the original price of the razor ($7.99) and since I used a $5 coupon on the razor, I will make the difference ($2.99).

I spent a total of $4.04 with The Coupon Clippers. I bought 3 Schick razor coupons, and 8 Taco Bell Limeade Sparkler coupons - with a value of $30.92. Each order includes a handling fee and admin fee. So if you order, make sure to find as many as you can in one trip. They mail from Florida, so it only took 2 days to get here.

So after all this, I made a trip to Walgreen's and Rite Aid tonight after work. Here's what I got:

WALGREEN's 6/18/10 -
Transaction #1:
3 Pepsi product 12-packs (3 for $11 -- Get $3 RR)
4 Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (in ad coupon for $.69 each - regular price $1.29)
8x10 Photo Collage I ordered online ($3.99)
1 Schick Hydro Razor ($7.99 -- Get $4 RR)
USE: (2) $.55/2 Mac & Cheese (internet printable)
USE: Promo code for 8x10 collage (makes it FREE)
USE: $5.00 off Schick razor (Bought from CouponClippers.com)
TOTAL DUE: $15.65
USE: $10 RR (received from Neutrogena purchase earlier in the week)
TOTAL DUE OUT OF POCKET: $6.35

Transaction #2:
3 Pepsi product 12-packs (3 for $11 -- Get $3 RR)
2 Reach Toothbrushes (in ad coupon for $3 off reg. price of $4.49)
1 Schick Hydro Razor ($7.99 -- Get $4 RR)
USE: $2/2 Reach Toothbrush (internet printable)
USE: $5.00 off Schick razor (Bought from CouponClippers.com)
TOTAL DUE: $15.85
USE: $10 RR (received from Neutrogena purchase earlier in the week)
TOTAL DUE OUT OF POCKET: $5.85

RITE AID 6/18/10 -
1 Schick Hydro Razor (on sale for $6.99)
USE: $5.00 off Schick razor (Bought from CouponClippers.com)
USE: $1 off Schick Hydro razor (internet printable on riteaid.com for watching a video)
TOTAL DUE: $1.48

Total Spent out of pocket: $13.68
Total Savings: $70.43
Total Rebates to be submitted (1 each for me, mom & Kim): $22.97
Total Money "Made": $9.29
Total Register Rewards received: $12
Total "Made": $21.29

Adding Up Totals for the month - saved 49.5%

Ok - so tomorrow marks the one-month anniversary since Kelli and I took the Southern Savers Coupon Class and in that one month, I have spent $390.50, and saved $576.13 and after cash back rebates, I will have spent out of pocket: $291.11 (which is a savings of 45.5%!) This includes groceries as well as personal & household items. Yes, it seems like a lot of money for one month, but I have enough of some items to last me a year or two.

Now, looking back at what I got -- I probably do not need as much of many items that I bought, but because they helped me get other items that I do need at a reduced price or even FREE, how could I turn that down? Also, it makes for a good stockpile of gift basket fillers (for example: If I need to give a housewarming gift, I can fill basket with cleaning supplies.)

So far, I have stocked up on:
Toothbrushes
Cleaning Supplies (bathroom & Swiffer stuff)
Candles
Hand soap
Lotion
Deodorant
Mouthwash
Tampons
Paper Towels
Nabisco Crackers (will be handy for all the summer cookouts and parties)
Cereal

Next month, I will be looking for items other than these, but if an item like these makes me money or saves me money on other items, I will buying more again!

I appreciate everyone who has been reading my blog so far, and I hope I am helping you save money as well. I am going to try posting links to coupons and offers on here as well. So be sure to bookmark the page, sign up to follow me or look for the posts on Facebook!

Until next time - HAPPY SAVING!

Shannon

FINALLY! Saved 87% at Target!

Today I went to Target and I saved 87% off my total bill with extreme couponing!! I saved $36.01 and I spent only $12.75, and am submitting for a $6.00 + tax rebate!! So I will have only spent about $6.50 for all of this:




I had a lot of STACKABLES today and I saved a lot of money!! (Stackables = stacking is when you use a store coupon AND a manufacture's coupon on the same item. Target.com has a lot of really good coupons, and I coupled them with internet printables or newspaper coupons, and I made out pretty well today.)

Transaction:
Clean & Clear Foaming cleanser - regular price: $3.69. Price match from Big Lots: $3.00
Clean & Clean exfoliating cleanser - regular price: $5.49. Price match from Big Lots: $3.00
All Mighty detergent - regular price: $4.99. Price match from Big Lots: $2.50
John Frieda Root Awakening Shampoo: $5.04
John Fried Root Awakening Condtioner: $5.04
Sobe Water: $1.02 (THIS WAS A BAD PURCHASE SINCE I LOST MY COUPON AND DIDN'T REALIZE THAT UNTIL AFTER I PAID.)
Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel - $3.94
Scrubbing Bubbles Power Sprayer - $6.99
Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet wand refills - $3.94
Armor All Cleaning Wipes - $4.24
Armor All Wheel Cleaner - $6.00 (on sale from $7.99)
Total due: $44.71 + tax
Use:
(2) $2.00 manu. coupon - Clean & Clear (internet printable)
$5.00 manu. coupon - Scrubbing Bubbles Sprayer (internet printable)
$3.00 Target coupon - Scrubbing Bubbles Sprayer (internet printable)
$1.00 All manu. coupon - (internet printable)
(2) $3 off manu. John Frieda Root Awakening Product (PG 6/6)
$3.00/2 John Frieda products (Target Coupon)
Free Refill with purchase of Toilet Gel (Target Coupon)
(2) $2 off manu. coupon - Armor All product (facebook printable)
$3.00/2 Armor All Target coupon (internet printable)
TOTAL OUT OF POCKET DUE: $12.75
Rebate submitted for Armor All purchase: $6.00
Final Paid: about $6.50

SWEET DEALS!!!

Different Deals Monday

On Monday, I hit up some "outside of the Extreme Coupon" regular stores, to get some necessities for the house and groceries.

I made a quick run across town to go to the mall to get some Anti-Bacterial Soap at Bath & Body Works, and while I was there I saw some bubble bath I like on sale for Buy-2-Get-2. So I got two bottles of that and 2 Free tubes of my favorite hand lotion. I got suckered by a travel anti-bac holder and 2 fun nail files -- AND I bought the reusable bag that saved me 10% off my whole order, paying for itself and additional $2.50. Oh, and I got my 6 anti-bac soaps for the kitchen! Total spent - $48.14. Regular price - more than $86. (Savings of $37.99)

Then it was on to Lowe's for an air filter for the house and to pick up my free Kobalt Utility knife (which I won in an online contest Lowe's was having last month). I found a $2 off Filtrete filter coupon in Sunday's paper, then when I got to the store they were offering a $4 rebate on a 2-pack. So I got a 2-pack of filters, normally priced $19.97, with $2 coupon, then $4 rebate - final cost = $13.97. Not bad when one normally costs $10.97! Oh, and my knife was valued at $8.98. So my out of pocket total at Lowe's was $19.23 (savings of - $14.98).

And lastly for the afternoon, I made a quick stop at WalMart for a few items and picked up milk (no discount other than the cheaper than Publix pricing!), Welch's grape juice and Muir Glen tomato paste. I used $2.00 off Welch's and $1.00 off Muir Glen. Total - $4.46 (savings $3.00).

Then, later Monday night I needed to return a Red Box movie, so I ran in Publix for a few items. I did "OK." I spent more than I saved, which is never the goal at grocery stores and drug stores, but I had a few items on the list tonight that I needed and wanted but did not have coupons for, so that's what I get! However, most of the items I did buy were on BOGO sale!




List:
BOGO -
2 Stouffer's French Bread Pizzas ($1.55 each, 2 in each box)
1 Ronzoni Spaghetti ($.70)
1 Aunt Jeminma Syrup ($1.75)
1 Blueberry Bagels ($2.00)
1 Aunt Jemima Pancakes ($1.35)
1 Nabisco Family Size Wheat Thins ($2.25)
1 Craisins ($1.15)

4 Snapple Tea ($.99 each)
2 Bananas ($.47)
1 Smuckers Blueberry Syrup ($2.99 - NOT ON SALE, But I LOVE THIS STUFF!)
1 Hunts Spaghetti Sauce ($1.00)
1 Dentyne Ice Gum ($1.19)
1 Dentyne Pure Gum ($1.29)
1 Lunchable Turkey/Ham combo ($2.50)
1 Publix Cream Cheese ($1.69)
1 lb Hamburger Meat ($3.29)

Coupons:
$1.00 off Wheat Thins (internet printable)
$1.00 off Dentyne (6/13)
$1.00 off Dentyne (6/13)
$1.00 off Lunchable (newspaper a few weeks ago)
(2) Snapp BOGO (internet printables)

Total - $24.69
Savings - $18.66

***Oh and I milked some other freebies today -- Lunch with a free pizza buffet & drink coupon (from a previous "problem" on a visit at Cici's), a free Taco Bell Fruitista Freeze Margarita (from 6/6 newspaper) and dinner was a free Chick-fil-A sandwich from a survey reward on a receipt from a previous visit. Only thing I paid for was for the waffle fries!

Starting to get the hang of it

Ok, so I am starting to get the hang of all this extreme couponing with the CVS ECB and Walgreen's RR! I made a few trips to Walgreen's today and one to CVS and came out ahead at both of them! Even made a quick stop at Wal-Mart for a few items and saved more than 51% there!

I read online about a $10 rebate for Listerine Whitening products, and paired with a stacking of $3 off Listerine product Walgreeen's store coupon and $2 off printable coupon, this is a potential money maker. I paid $1.20 out of pocket, and if I get the $10 back - I will have made $8.80 on this deal! Soooo.. I bought 2 more (though I only had one more $2 off coupon) and plan to send in the other rebate offers in mom and Kim's names! I am a little leery of this because there is no printable form for it, so I have sent an email to corporate Listerine.com and am awaiting a reply. Also, gonna go look for the magazine that supposedly has the "offer in it." Will be a great deal if it is legit!



Here's my summary for the day:
Spent out of pocket: $23.35
Savings w/ coupons, ECB, RR & sales: $39.99 (spent $4 ECB, $6 RR)
ECB earned: $8
RR earned: $10
Rebates to be submitted: $30
If I get the rebates, then in the end, I "made": $24.65 in cash and store rewards $

WALGREEN'S 6/13/10 -

Transaction #1:
Listerine Whitening Restoring - $5.99
Use: $2/1 Listerine Whitening (internet coupon)
Use: $3/1 Listerine/Reach - in ad coupon
Total due: $1.20

Transaction #2:
Repeat Transaction #1

Transaction #3:
2 Neutrogena Lip Balm ($5.78)
1 Neutrogena Facial Soap ($2.24)
Use: (2) $1 Neutrogena Facial Cleanser coupon - RP 6/13
Use: (3) $2 RR from Swiffer last week
Total Due: $1.75
Get: $10 RR

Transaction #4:
2 Neutrogena Lip Balm ($5.78)
1 Neutrogena Facial Soap ($2.24)
1 Listerine Whitening Restoring ($5.99)
Use: $3/1 in-ad coupon
Total Due: $11.78
Get: $10 RR


CVS 6/13/10 -

2 Gillette Men's Body Wash ($8.00
Use: B1G1 Gillette Men's Body Wash - PG 6/6
Total Due: $4.52
Use: $4 ECB
Get: $8 ECB


WALMART 6/13/10 -
2 Sobe Life Water ($2.00)
1 box Macaroni & Cheese 3 cheese shells dinner ($1.12)
1 KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce ($1.42)
2 100-Calorie Cheese Snacks ($4.32)
1 DiGiorno Pizza ($4.98)
Use: B1G1 Sobe (internet printable)
Use: Free Mac & Cheese (received from Kraft for a problem I had on Kraft.com)
Use: $1.00 KC Masterpiece
Use: $1.50 100-cal cheese (internet printable)
Use: $1.00 100-cal cheese (a Sunday paper insert --- not sure what date but sometime between 5/16 - 6/6)
Use: $1.50 DiGiorno
Total: $6.86

P.S. Obviously, I do not need the men's Gillette body wash, so if you or someone you know uses it, let me know! I can make you a deal on a bottle!

Finishing Weekly Deals..

Well, got lucky Friday after work and found all of the items I needed to finish out what was missing from my Thursday night shopping trips.

I also got Kim a few items as well, and we made an unexpected trip to Target after dinner and I was able to get a Scrubbing Bubbles toilet gel, with a Free toilet brush starter set - both for $2.94 + tax!

Here's my goodies for the day (Friday) - (the pricing can be found in the previous post.. except for the FREE Reach toothbrushes I added last minute with a good internet coupon I found Friday morning!)



I am too tired to do too much more and will look at the ads tomorrow and see what deals are out there this week. I have $4 in ECB to start the deals at CVS and $6 in RR at Walgreen's. I have pretty much stocked up on cleaning supplies and shampoo this week! I guess now I have no excuse for a messy house or bad hair. HAHA!

P.S. I bought the $0.99 Green Bag Tag at CVS last week. (You attach it to a resuable bag and have it scanned every time you shop at CVS. When you use it 4 times, you will get $1.00 in ECB. So after 4 visits, it pays for itself.) I would suggest buying this if you are going to be a couponer at CVS!

Causing CODE 80 at Walgreen's, and a good trip to CVS

Well, I found out tonight that Walgreen's calls a Raincheck request a CODE 80...very loudly. They were out of the Swiffer starter kit that I needed to buy so I asked the nice cashier lady for a raincheck. Apparently only managers can write rainchecks, so she called for a CODE 80 over the store's intercom. Another employee came rushing over as if the CODE 80 was secret for "crazy lady at checkout" or something like that. She then looked at me and said, well "He has to do that." And "he" a very Guy Fieri-looking manager came over to take my request and issue the raincheck. He was nice, it was just funny how it all went down.

Anyway - I did "OK" tonight at Walgreen's ... better at CVS, but I needed to finish out the Swiffer refill deal at Walgreen's so I could qualify for the $10 rebate.

Walgreen's 6/10/10

Transaction #1 -(was ruined because they didn't have the Swiffer starter kit), so I moved on to Transaction #2 without getting the RR like I planned.
(Note - it was going to be: 1 Swiffer Starter Kit ($8.99), 1 Refill ($4.11), 1 box Magic Eraser ($1.94). Then I was going to use 1 B1 Starter, G1 refill (-$4.11), and $2 off starter kit (-2.00) and $.75 of ME. Total: $8.18 + tax..and this refill would have been my final rebate qualifer when coupled with Transaction #3 and it would have given $2 RR.)

Transaction #2 -
3 John Frieda Sheer Blonde products ($15.00)
Use: (2) $2.00 off JF products - PG 6/6
Use: (1) $2.50/1 JF product - internet printable
Total due: $9.55
(NOTE - I tried to use my $2 RR from the Swiffer purchase last night, but I forgot that at Walgreen's the # of coupons cannot exceed the # of items, and their system considers the Register Rewards to be "coupons." Looking back, I could have bought a "filler" item - something cheap and useful then I could have used the RR. NEXT TIME I WILL KNOW BETTER!!)
Get: $5 RR

Transaction #3 -
3 Swiffer Refills ($4.11 each)
Use: $5 RR from transaction #2
Total Due: $8.19
Get: $2 RR

Total paid out of pocket: $17.74
Total Savings: $20.71
Total RR for future purchase: $2
(Will have to buy one more Swiffer refill tomorrow for the $10 rebate...)

CVS 6/10/10
Definitely got a few great deals here tonight! And it took a lot of planning! Just starting to get frustrated with the items I am looking for not being in stock! (With so many people looking for the same deals, it is going to be an on-going problem! However,
the good thing about CVS's "CODE 80" is that when you need a raincheck, and you receive one, you also get a raincheck for the value of the ECB if applicable when you find your item in stock again! Rite Aid is similar to this, but Walgreen's is not.)

Transaction #1 -
2 bottles of Coppertone sunscreen spray ($10.49 each - Note: I had to buy the baby kind because all the adults were out of stock, but I am going
to take them back in a week or so and exchange them for the kind I like when it's re-stocked.)
1 Dawn with Olay dish detergent ($0.97)
Use: (2) $1.00 Coppertone (internet printable)
Use: $1.00 off Dawn (Home Made Simple booklet. Note: the cash register automatically changed the coupon from $1.00 off to $0.97 to make it FREE!)
Total Due: $$18.98 + tax
Use: $5 ECB (from Glade deal Monday)
Use: $5 ECB (from Kellogg's last night)
Use: $3 ECB (from John Frieda last night)
Total out of pocket due: $7.52
Get: $10 ECB
(So I "made" $2.48 on this deal!)

Transaction #2 -
2 Cover Girl Lash Blast Fusion Mascara ($16)
Use: (2) $2 off GC LB Fusion Mascara - PG 6/6
Total due: $12 + tax
Use: $10 ECB from Transaction #1
Total out of pocket due: $3.12
Get: $5 ECB
(And I "made" $1.88)

Transaction #3 -
3 Glade Candles ($7.50)
Use: $2/3 Glade candles (internet printable)
Total Due: $5.50 + tax
Use: $5 ECB from Transaction #2
Total out of pocket due: $1.03
(**Note - This deal needed a can of Scrubbing Bubbles shower cleaner to qualify for it's $5 ECB. However, they were
out of stock at this location, so I am going to try another location or 2-3 tomorrow til I find it. When I do, I will pay $2.50
for the shower cleaner and use a $0.75 off coupon that I received inside another Scrubbing Bubbles package. I will then
use that ECB on the next transaction which is listed below (they were out of Rolaids tonight as well).
(**Note 2 - These 3 Glade now qualify for a $5 rebate from Glade.)
After Rebate - I will have "made" $3.97 on this offer

Transaction #4 (which I am buying on Friday) -
2 Rolaids softchews ($7.98)
3 Skinny Cow cups ($1.00 each)
1 Reinventing Beauty Magazine ($.99)
Use: $4/2 Rolaids - RP 6/6
Use: (3) $1.00 off Skinny Cow
Total due: $4.97 + tax
Use: $5 ECB from Transaction #3
Total due out of pocket - ONLY TAX!!
Get: $4 ECB
("Made" on this offer - about $4)

So tonight's (and now tomorrow's) CVS totals are -
TOTAL OUT OF POCKET: $11.67
Rebate to submit to Glade: $5
FINAL OUT OF POCKET: $6.67

Quizno's $2.99 Sandwich Combo

This is a GREAT DEAL! Totally blows the Subway $5 or $6 six-inch sub combos out of the water!



Quizno's (with this coupon through June 17th), is offering a small sub, chips & a drink for $2.99!

I'm heading to get mine tomorrow for lunch!

Enjoy!

Shannon

Today's Quick Shopping Trips

Here's my summary -
Total Spent out of pocket: $35.69
Total Saved in coupons/sales: $52.63
Total ECB/RR to use on future purchases: $10
Total rebate cash coming back to me: $15.99
Final cash out of pocket: $19.70
Value of cash with ECB/RR mixed in = $9.70 (meaning after I use the $10 to buy more things at the store, I will have only spent $9.70 out of pocket to pay for all of these items.)

What I bought and where:

BI-LO 6/9/10:
(All items below are on sale this week a B1G1, so they are priced at half off regular)
1 Box Mystic Mini Pizzas - 2 Pack ($1.89)
1 16 oz bottle Wishbone Salad dressing ($1.34)
4 rolls Bounty Basic Paper Towels ($0.66 each)
1 30 oz. Arm & Hammer Odor Eliminator ($1.11)
Used: $1.50 off Mystic Pizza - internet coupon (makes it $0.39)
Used: $.50/1 Wishbone Dressing - internet coupon (coupon DOUBLED per Bi Lo policy - makes it $0.34)
Used: (4) $0.25 Bounty - PG 6/6 (COUPONS SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOUBLED, MISTAKE ON BI-LO PART?) (makes it $.42 each)
Used: $.50/1 Arm & Hammer Odor Eliminator - internet coupon (coupon DOUBLED - makes it $0.11)
Total Due: $2.71
(I am going to call the store manager tomorrow to ask about the $1.00 I am owed in extra coupon value from the $.25 not being doubled.)
Total Spent: $2.71
Total saved: $7.05 on Bonus Card, $3.50 in coupons, $1.00 in doubles
Total Savings: $11.05


CVS - 6/9/10
3 boxes Nutrigrain Bars ($10)
2 John Frieda Hair Spray cans ($10)
Used: $5/$15 (printed on receipt on Monday)
Used: $2 off bonus coupon that printed on receipt of my first order tonight which was voided due to wrong product under sale sign that I decided not to purchase,
but sweet cashier gave me the coupon anyway!
Used: $7 ECB from Monday's raincheck razor purchase
Used: $1 ECB from Monday's raincheck razor purchase
Total Due: $1.22
Total spent out of pocket: $1.22
Total saved: $24.44
ECB to spend later: $8.00 ($5 for Nutrigrain purchase & $3 for John F. purchase)


RITE AID 6/9/10
Transaction #1 -
1 Gillette ProFusion Razor ($9.99)
Used: $4.00 Gillette razor 6/6 SS
Total Due: $6.69
SCR Rebate submitted: $5 for Razor (in Kim's name because the limit is 1 per person and I did mine on Monday.)
Final out of pocket cost: $1.69

Transaction #2 -
1 Blink Tears 0.5 oz ($7.99)
1 Cascade Action Packs - 15 ct (Raincheck item from May - $2.99)
1 Seabreeze Facial Cleanser ($4.99)
Used: $2 Blink Tears - internet coupon
Used: $.25 off Cascade
Used: $1 off Sea Breeze
Total Due: $13.84
SCR Rebates Submitted: $7.99 for Blink Tears (which means I will make $2 on this bottle!), $3 for Seabreeze

Total Spent: $20.53
Total saved: $7.25 in coupons
Total rebate submitted: $15.99
Final out of pocket cost: $4.54

WALGREEN'S 6/9/10
1 Swiffer 2-in-1 Starter Kit ($8.99)
1 Swiffer Wet Refills ($4.11)
1 box Magic Eraser ($1.94)
Used: B1 Swiffer Starter Kit, G1 Refill (worth $4.11) - Home Made Simple Booklet
Used: $.75 off Magic Eraser - Home Made Simple Booklet
Total Due: $11.23
Total Saved: $9.89 (coupons + 25% off sale)
Get: $2 Register Rewards to spend on future purchase (by 6/23/10)
Final out of pocket on this transaction: $9.23
Mail in Rebate: $10 MIR when you buy $20 in Swiffer refills. Going to go back to finish this deal tomorrow.

Sharing the Wealth

I have decided that a blog is possibly the best way to share with you, my friends & family, the super duper deals I am finding with my new-found love of extreme couponing!

So far, I have taken a few mini-trips to CVS, Walgreen's, Publix, Bi-Lo and Rite Aid. All have resulted in some sort of savings and some returned HUGE savings. Now, you might ask yourself - why would I want to buy 10 rolls of paper towels, 6 deodorants and 6 cleaning products. Well the answer is.. because they are NEARLY FREE! And who doesn't love free?!?

My dear friend Kelli & I had been casual followers of Southern Savers via Facebook and their website. I learned of it from a girl I knew from Thomas Sumter (my middle/high school) who told me about it on FB. Kelli suggested we go take the Southern Savers' couponing workshop. I figured why not? I could always stand to save a couple of bucks and it would be fun to hang out with Kelli for a few hours. Expecting about 8-12 people there, Kelli and I arrive just as they were starting and we had to sit in the last seats available on the back wall... there had to be more than 180 people in this church gym! It was CRAZY!! But after we spent 2 1/2 hours listening to Jenny (the founder, and a fellow Lexington County resident), we were HOOKED. Immediately the next day I was following all of the instructions she gave in her class. And immediately, I started saving money!!

While I have yet to add up my complete total since I began this new shopping lifestyle, I would guess to say that I have spent about $175 and saved about $500. This includes groceries, cleaning supplies, and personal items (razors, feminine products, etc.)

A big key part is to GET something at the end of every purchase. For example, CVS does a "give back" program called Extra Care Bucks. And certain items are indicated in the weekly sales paper as ECB eligible. And that means when you buy that item(s), then you will get a coupon, an ECB, to spend on a future purchase. So that means your dollars go longer and farther at CVS. For example - This week, a Gillette ProGlide men's razor is on sale for $9.97 and it is eligible for a $5 ECB. And, on top of that, Sunday's paper offered a coupon for $4 off Gillette razors. So, use the $4 off coupon when you buy the $9.97 razor and you will only pay $6.97 plus tax. Once you pay (and your CVS customer card is scanned), then an ECB for $5 will print out. Then on your next purchase, you can choose another item or items that are ECB eligible, but pay with your $5 ECB and most of the time, you will come out even or ahead. For example - if you purchased $10 worth of Kellogg's products this week, you will get a $5 ECB. So, you can pay for those $10 of Kellogg's products with your previously earned $5 ECB, plus $5 in cash. And you will get ANOTHER ECB at the end of the purchase! It's that simple!! So you just turned a transaction that you would have normally paid $10 CASH for into only $5 CASH and $5 future purchase ECB.

The other big key idea is to buy something when it is at its lowest price, use a coupon and pay with ECB (or simliar store reward, like Walgreen's Register Rewards or Rite Aid's Single Check Rebates). Or in the case of grocery stores, you don't have cash register reward systems - but you can utilize the low prices of Buy-1-Get-1s (where most stores allow you to get 1 item at 50% off too), store rewards cards and double/triple coupon stores.

This is just a little information behind all of this rapidly spreading trend of "EXTREME COUPONING" - so if you want tips of what to get and where and what you will pay, ideas I have collected, etc. - come on back to my new MOTLEY CREW-PONING Blog and see what I am up to now!

Until then - HAPPY SPENDING AND SAVING!

Shannon