CVS, Albertsons, VONS & Target Trip

I went out last night to take advantage of some deals before some of my coupons expired. Here is what I did!!!

**CVS**

$2.79 - Sally Hansen Nail Polish
$2.79 - Sally Hansen Nail Polish
-2.79 - Buy one get one Sally Hansen
-3.00 - CVS Q from a booklet exp. 3/31 (Both FREE!)

$2.79 - Sally Hansen Nail Polish
$2.79 - Sally Hansen Nail Polish
-2.79 - Buy one get one Sally Hansen
-3.00 - CVS Q from a booklet exp. 3/31 (Both FREE!)**was tempted to do more!**

$0.25 - Filler Notebook clearanced

$0.25 - Filler Shopping list for the fridge

$5.99 - Glade Lasting Impressions (get $1 back in ecbs)
-1.00 - CVS Q from coupon machine
-4.00 - Manufacture's Q from 3/29 insert

$2.99 - Action Scrubbing Bubbles starter kit (FREE)
-2.75 - Internet Printable
-1.00 - CVS Q from coupon machine

$1.99 - Paas Easter Egg coloring kit (get $1.99 ecb back)

$3.99 - Soft Soap refill (buy 2, get $4 ecb's)
-2.00 - Manu. Q from a couple weeks ago
$3.99 - Soft Soap refill
-2.00 - Manu. Q from insert

$5.49 - Veet Shaving Gel (buy $10, get $5 ecb's back)
-2.00 - Veet IP
$5.49 - Veet Shaving Gel
-2.00 - Veet IP

$2.38 - J&J Buddies Soap
-2.00 - 2 $1/1 expired 3/31

-5.00 - $5 off $30 purchase from coupon machine
-9.49 - Ecb's from prior purchases

-0.85 subtotal
$1.70 tax

$0.85 OOP!

Got back $11.99 ecb's!
Saved $51.82

***********Albertsons*************

$8.00 - 8 Barilla Pastas (10 for $10)
-1.00 - Free pasta ~ Not sure where this came from, but makes me happy!
-4.00 - 8 $0.50/1 inserts from LA Times 3/29

$3.00 OOP

Saved $14.52

**************VONS****************

1st transaction:

$14.00 - Kraft Dressings $2 ea (when you buy 10, goes to $1.50)
- 10.50 - Kraft Dressings from 3/29 insert (Ended up being FREE)
$ 4.00 - Aqua Pods water
+ 0.80 - CRV
-1.00 - $1/2 catalina for water
-5.00 - instant savings
$1.25 - cake mix (goes to $0.75 w/ sale)
-0.70 - $0.35/1 doubled (ended up costing me $0.05!
$2.85 OOP, got $2 catalina for next purchase (SAVINGS $36.11!! 93%)


2nd transaction:
$20.00 - 10 aqua pods
$4.00 - CRV
- 5.00 - Instant Savings
- 5.75 - in q's
$12.75 OOP, got $10 in cats (Savings $23.15, 64%)

*************Target**************

we needed some diapers and I wanted to use the $3/1 Huggies Natural Care Products! The smaller jumbo packs were the better deal per diaper!

$9.99 - Huggies Diapers
-3.00 - IP Natural Care
$9.99 - Huggies Diapers
-3.00 - IP Natural Care

$5.49 - Huggies Natural Care refill
-3.00 - Huggies IP Natural Care

$2.00 - Gillette Men's Body Wash (FREE)
-2.00 - P&G insert $2/1 expired today

$0.97 - J&J Buddies Soap (FREE)
-1.00 - J& J Q

$2.20 tax
$18.64 OOP

Saved $13.10!

FREE @ CVS! **UPDATE** No go for Veet..still free Sally!

I found a beauty booklet (basically 2 pages w/ CVS Coupons) There are the old ones that expire tomorrow 3/31 and the new booklet...expiring in a couple of months!

In the Old Book...expiring 3/31 there is a CVS coupon for $3.00 off any 2 Sally Hansen Nails
CVS has a couple of options...the one count is $2.79 and there was a tag for $2.99 w/ an empty shelf. Basically...get 2 products under $3 and get them both for free plus overage! So make sure you get a little something to absorb the overage!

PLUS: There is a money maker deal on the VEET! The new booklet has $2 off any Veet product. You canNOT stack (it is a manfucturers Q) that with an interent printable to come out ahead. ECB deal is buy $10, get $5 ECB's back. However, you can use 2 from the booklet to get 2 for $2.83 after ecb's! Here is what the scenario looks like:

$5.49 Veet product
$5.49 Veet product (to get over $10)
-2.00 Veet IP (here thanks coupon cravings!)
-2.00 Veet IP or From the Beauty Book insert
+0.85 tax
$7.83 OOP, get $5 back in ECB's

If you have any ECBs onhand..use them!!!!

Ralphs' Trip ~ Spent 98 cents, saved $61.82!

So, we had an impressive Ralph's trip today. Here's what happened (I was possibly expecting a $1.50 from esaver to come off...but 6 did = $9...so crazy!) Here's the breakdown:

$10.00 - 1 box Quaker life, 2 boxes Quaker sq.s cereal, one box Quaker delights
- 6.00 - Quaker promo
- 4.00 - $1/1 from Quaker instant oats from last month (box is labeled "savings inside")
= FREE!

$10.00 - 8 Tubes of Crest Toothpaste
- 9.75 - 6 $1/1 crest, 1 $0.75/1 doubled to $1, and one $0.75 no double
- 9.00 - esaver (i have never had it pull like that before! 6 X 1.50)
= FREE

$3.00 - 3 Renuzit's 10 for $10
-1.00 - $0.55/3 doubled..thought this would catch the overage if it did pull once
= Ideally Free!

$8.00 - Mentos gum 10 for $10
-8.00 - $1/1 mentos gum (the daughter was happy!)
= FREE

$1.73 tax

$6.98 OOP!

Then I realized that the Crest didn't pull off the $6. The promo was buy 4 @ $2.50 get $6 off to make them 4 for $4!

So I just asked him if it took of the $6 for the crest. It didn't. (I wasn't going to even complain that it didn't pull twice as it should've. I'm okay with getting out of there for $1 for everything! So he refunded me $6 cash!

$6.98 card
-6.00 cash back
$0.98

Receipt says $61.82 Savings!

The woman behind me was so sweet and didn't mind that it was taking all day! I am going to say an extra prayer of blessing for her!

Ralphs Deals this week!

1 offer per household on the following:
4 for $4
Quaker Cereal or Chewy Granola Bars
Quaker Fiber or True delights
(selected varieties)

Use four of any $1/1 and get all 4 for FREE!
3/1 RP for $1/1 True Delights
$1/1 Quaker Life inside box of oatmeal
3/8 RP $1/1 Chew Granola Bars
$1/1 True Delights IP (here)*
*thanks Hotcouponworld.com

$1 off coupon for Maple & Brown Sugar Life (here)**
**Thanks to JENJUNUM!

3 offers per household for the following:
4 for $4
Crest Toothpaste
Oral B Indicator Toothbrush
Indicator Floss

Use 4 of any of the below and get them FREE (times 3!):
$1/1 Any Crest paste or gel from 3/15 PG
$1/1 Any Crest from 3/1 PG


Other Deals:
Fresh Express Salads or Slaws ~ $0.99 ea
Strawberries 16 oz ~ $0.99 ea
Ralphs 18 count eggs ~ $2.49

Rumored that Mentos Gum is 10 for $10
if you have the $1/1 = FREE
the $0.50/1 will double = FREE

Trips to K-mart & Wal-mart Last night!

2nd trip to k-mart

$8.78 ~ 2 Gillette Fusion Shaving Gel (hubby is picky)
-4.00 ~ 2 $1/1 doubled (Final Price $2.39 ea)

$5.18 ~ 2 Degree Deodorants (hubby...once again. =)
-4.00 ~ 2 $1/1 doubled (Final Price $0.59 ea)

$2.69 ~ 1 Degree Deodorant (diff than above)
-2.00 ~ 1 $1/1 doubled (Final Price $0.69 ea)

$1.59 ~ 1 J&J baby cotton swabs
-1.59 ~ 1 $1/1 doubled (Final Price FREE)

$7.50 ~ 3 Natures Source Cleaners
-6.00 ~ 3 $1/1 doubled (Final Price $0.50 ea)

$14.95 ~ 5 Huggies one tub wipes
-10.00 ~ 5 $1/1 doubled (Final price $1 ea)

$7.00 ~ 2 Pledge Multi Surface (used my friends to get my total over $50)
-7.00 ~ 2 $2/1 IP's doubled (Final price FREE)

$2.50 - 2 Pop tarts clearance to $1.25 ea
-2.00 - $1/2 doubled (Final price $0.25 ea)

$2.49 - 1 box of Pop tarts
-2.00 - $1/1 right now peelie doubled (Final Price $0.50 ea)

$2.21 in tax

$15.20 OOP *** $40.82 in Savings!

*****************************************************************************

Walmart Run to get some things before the Q's expire on 3/31!

$8.32 ~ 4 Aunt Jemima Syrups @ $2.08 ea
-2.00 ~ 2 $1/2 Q's (final price $1.58 ea)

$2.25 ~ 1 Dawn Direct Foam
-1.50 ~ $1.50/1 homemailer (final price $0.75 ea)

$16.00 ~ 4 Snuggle Cremes Fabric Softner @ $4 ea
- 6.00 ~ 2 $2/1 internet ip (here) and 2 $1/1 from insert (final price $2.50 ea for 50 loads ea.!!)

$1.00 ~ 100 straws (I'm so a straw girl!)

$5.00 - 2 Glade Candle Holders @ $2.50
-2.50 - BOGO Q from insert (final price $1.25 ea)

$2.97 ~ 1 Kashi Chewy Bars (raised their prices, were $2.50)
-2.00 ~ 1 $2/1 Chewy Kashi bars IP (not sure where I got it)

$1.88 tax

$23.42 OOP ***** Saved $15 in Coupons!

***********************************************
$38.62 Total from both stores (32 items)
$55.82 Total Savings!
***********************************************

Coupon Giveaway @ Sweeties Sweeps***I WON!

Update: I won the giveaway. I'm excited to get my coupons. =)

This is going to be a weekly giveaway, so make sure you check it out every week!

*********************************************************************************
Ends Wednesday, the 25th of March....Check it out!!

As Wendy would say...

Life in the free world means stacking coupons, signing up for freebies, never paying for magazines again, dining out for free, downloading music for free, and even driving your next vehicle absolutely free!

My words...GOTTA LOVE IT! Good luck!

CVS & Walgreens 3/23

CVS trip was great...I got a $5/30 purchase...there weren't enough good deals this week...so I think I'll wait to use it next week (expires 3/30). Here is what I did on a whim...

$3.49 Crest Toothpaste (Get $3.49 ecbs)
-1.00 Crest Q (P&G insert)
$1.99 Playschool wipes
-2.00 Any Playschool product from scanner
$1.79 Palmolive Dishsoap (sign said $1.49 get $1 !?! Dunno what happened)
$1.79 Palmolive Dishsoap (I was oblivious I guess)
-6.00 ecb's
$0.08 tax
$0.14 OOP! Oh yes, you read that right! (got 5.49 in ecb's back)

********************************************************************************

Walgreens trip was just ho hum. Nothing too appealing except a Foogo Thermos on clearance for $4.37. Used a $4 RR on it and paid $0.71 OOP. (says I saved $17.12!!) Crazy!

Over $70 in savings @ Kmart!

I love it! I saved $73.78 on 25 items. I paid a whopping $7.55 OOP and $3.18 was tax alone!

Here is what I got:

2 Pledge Multi Surface Sprays
$3.50 ea - $2.00 IP doubled
Final price for 2 = FREE

3 Gillette Body Washes for my man
$4.49 ea - $2.00 doubled = $0.49 ea
Final price for 3 ~ $1.47

1 Marcal Paper towel (3 pk)
$3.50 ea - $2.00 doubled
Final price = FREE

1 Gillette Shaving cream (hubby needed)
$2.69 ea - $1.00 Q that didn't take!
Final price = $2.69 (I bit it!)

1 Celestial Tea Bag Sampler (20 bags)
$2.00 ea - $1.00 doubled
Final price = FREE

4 Oral B Toothbrushes
$3.69 ea - $2.00 doubled
Final price for 4= FREE

2 Carefree Liners
$3.69 ea - $1.50 IP doubled = $0.69 ea
Final price for 2 = $1.38

3 Kotex Liners
$1.29 ea - $0.75 doubled
Final price for 3= FREE

2 BandAids Assorted packs (40 in ea. box)
$2.49 ea - $1.00 doubled = $0.49 ea
Final price for 2 = $0.98

1 J&J Cloth tape (thought this was cheaper...I was slacking)
$2.99 ea - $1.00 doubled = $0.99 ea
Final price of 1= $0.99 (should've not gotten it!!)

1 Mens Vaseline Lotion
$3.49 ea - $1.25 doubled =$0.99
Final price doe 1 = $0.99

3 Loreal Single Eye Shadows
$4.29 ea - $2.00 doubled = $0.29 ea
Final price for 3= $0.87

1 J&J Baby Ear Swabs
$1.59 ea - $1.00 doubled
Final price = FREE

Minus $5/$50 purchase

= $7.55 OOP!!!!

$73.78 total savings (90% SAVINGS!)

Bring On the SAVINGS!

I have been trying to keep my receipts to someday add up all the savings. I throw them into a plastic bin (drawer) and finally sorted them. I know this isn't all of them, I do have some stragglers and lingerers that I find randomly...but here are my savings from the reciepts I did find (includes Walmart, Target, Kmart Super Doubles, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Ralphs & Albertsons). I have just added up all the "Your verified savings, Today's Total Savings, etc" (does not include Costco)

Here are the totals!!!

$115.01 ~ August (when I first began my major couponing!)

$304.57 ~ September 2008

$377.40 ~ October 2008

$598.62 ~ November 2008

$635.72 ~ December 2008

$415.38 ~ January 2009 (we had visitors for the month and they bought some goods!)

$523.90 ~ February 2009

$177.48 ~ March so far....we have been using our stockpile. =) Time to stock up again!

$3,148.08 TOTAL SAVINGS in 8 months!

I am just amazed...also b/c I know this is not all the receipts! Plus, March is not over! So, no one can say that coupons are not worth your time....they do save you big!

Free Cereal @ Walgreens...maybe more stores!

Frugal, Freebies and Deals (here) has the link to get a $5/1 Glucerna cereal. Make sure you press the back button to get two coupons!

I think I saw it posted that Walgreens has this cereal for $4.99! So 2 free! I haven't checked out any other stores! But this would be a great filler item...if you had or get a $5 off $25 store Q! So you might want to hang onto it for a little bit...doesn't expire until 4/20!

Kmart Super Doubles!

So, I have my Q's clipped in preparation for the Super Doubles! It's Hip to Save (here) has a list of the products you can get for free or close to it! So gather them up and save save save!

(here) are the goods from my last trip!!!

CVS last week!

I didn't post this last week...it really wasn't any weekly deals or steals...just used up some ecb's to get some pull-ups and Similac. The breakdown:

$22.99 Similac on sale (couldn't find the $1 Q!)
$ 8.99 Pullups (nighttime backup)
- 2.00 pullups Q
-19.99 in ecb's
$9.99 total OOP!

Savings $26.99!

Year to date Savings ~ $198.43!! I just can't believe it!

Walgreens this week!

I had to stop by and get some diapers from the amazing diaper deal this week. You print out 4-$5 or 4-$3 Q's(deal seeking mom has the printable links - here). So diapers are $10, but if you buy $25 worth you get $10 in register rewards! I wanted to get a pack for myself & a pack for a shower gift. (us moms know that diapers are always a great gift!)

Here is what I did...

#1 transaction:
$10.00 Huggies (smaller size)
- 5.00 printable Q (only for size N-2!)
$10.00 Huggies (bigger size)
- 3.00 printable Q
$ 3.00 Kotex (needed them instead of more smaller diapers)
$ 3.00 Kotex (I didn't have my Q's w/ me! sigh! Bummer.)
$ 2.02 tax
-$10.99 on gift card
$10.03 OOP & got $10 in RR!

#2 transaction:
$4.37 Sippy cup on clearance..bpa free!
$8.99 Gillette Gamer (hubby likes!)
-4.00 Gillette Q
$1.00 2 Easter sticker books for daughter
$1.11 tax
-10.00 RR from #1 transaction
$1.47 OOP & got $4 RR for next trip!

SUMMARY:

Total OOP $11.50
Gain $4 in RR for next trip!

$14.56 savings trans. #1
$28.12 savings trans. #2
$42.68 Total savings!!

I WON! ~ a bangalla bag ~

I loved the designs & idea behind the bag...so I entered to win. Above is a picture of the bag I liked (it's super bright, more vibrant than the picture above shows!). It's a reusable grocery bag. I used it to hold my coupon binder yesterday when I went out! Loved it. It's lightweight...here are the extra additions from www.bangalla.com (here to check it out!)

• Fashionable and creative designs & colors
• 25 designs to choose from
• patent pending design
• super strong (holds over 35lbs)
• made from 100% rip-stop fabric
• ideal 19" X 16" inches in size
• extra long handles with a huge carry area
• streamlined slip-in pockets for small items
• tucks back into attached storage pouch
• reusable and eco-friendly
• washable

I actually love it! It's super cute! They also offer many other reusable eco-friendly bags. I would encourage you to check out the site. (the bag above retails for $7.95)

Dinner Solutions ~ Chicken

We started doing this to save a ton of money on buying chicken. I saw this article (here) @ $5 Dinners. We have been buying the Foster Farms split chicken breasts and just splitting them and freezing them. I read the article and am super excited to have more of a variety in getting the most out of the chicken.

For example: We paid $4.26 for 4.39 pounds of Split chicken breasts w/ ribs. (like what she talks about in the article). This will get us at least 2 meals, if not more. Since it is Foster Farms, there are no hormones, no added salt or preservatives and grown in California.

I am so encouraged to make a monthly schedule (I usually do weekly) as she has pictured, but here's what I plan to do with the chicken I am thawing. I will split it and probably will make homemade broth as she suggests! So much cheaper and better than store bought (again, as she states). Since each breast is so big, I will use half of it to make Chicken Marsala this week (my aunt is coming to town tomorrow!) and the other half for another meal this week, to be decided.

I have been cooking 2-3 chicken breasts in the crockpot to have shredded chicken on-hand for chicken quesadillas, chicken salad, chicken pot pie cassarole bake or anything else that would take shredded chicken. I have been tempted to freeze it, but it tends to get used before I get a chance to do so.

To sum it up, if I can do it, SO CAN YOU! I, once a chicken breast only snob lol, have been transformed into a frugal cook. =) Now if I could get the hang of beef cuts! Sigh. One lesson at a time.

Feb. 2009 Drugstore Deals!

CVS:

Total OOP: $2.99

Total savings: $104.50

Items Bought:
2 Glade Oil Refills
2 Glade Candle Refills
1 KY Yours & Mine
1 CVS Dry Skin Lotion
2 Colgate Toothpastes
2 Gillette Fusion Razor
8 CVS makeup remover pads
1 CVS Adult Asprin
1 CVS lens wipes
1 Dawn Hand Renewal Hand Soap
1 J&J Buddies Soap
2 Neutragena Face Soaps
1 Candy Bar for Daughter
2 TriScents plug ins
2 Child wipes
1 bag of Viva paper towels
1 Suave Kid's shampoo

Walgreens:

OOP: ZERO!

Savings: Probably over 6 bucks!

3 Free Reynolds Wrappers

***As you can see...I didn't quite get into Wags this month! Lack of time!! Plus, CVS has the instant reward program. I do have last month's rebates on my giftcard ready to spend in March!