A Week's Worth of Savings

Boy! What a week this one has been!

It's been fast and furious...canning tomatoes, freezer jam, youth spaghetti supper at church, more soccer camp for the oldest (2 states away this time so the Head of My Household went with her), two therapy sessions, a weekend with Granny for the youngest, and a much needed and enjoyed weekend with my middle daughter, including the new Twilight movie, Eclipse.

 The middle daughter and I took stock of our smart shopping for the week and feel pretty good about what we were able to accomplish at Office Depot, Walgreens and CVS.

Here are my freebies (after rebates) from Office Depot this week:

When I brought these items home earlier this week, my youngest immediately confiscated the blue file crate.  I guess it won't be a file crate after all since she's already organized some of her toys in there :)

Did I mention that the items in the above picture were FREE?

Who doesn't love FREE?

Then, on to Walgreens.

My middle daughter and I did this transaction on Friday.

Smooth as silk.

The highlighter 5 packs were a $.49 Walgreen's special.

I couldn't pass those up.

The Colgate toothpaste was free, and I even made a dollar on the deal (on sale for $3.49 - $3.49 RR - $1 manufacturer coupon = me ahead by a dollar).

My toothpaste coupon paid for 2 of my highlighter packs :)

The 6 pack of Expo washable markers was on sale for $5.99 - $1 mfr coupon - $3 Walgreens coupon = Expo markers for $1.99.

The Chex Mix was on sale for $1.50 each - $.55 mfr coupon = $.95 per bag.

I rewarded myself by buying a $1.99 calculator to add up all the $$ I'm saving :):)

Then, on to CVS...

The first thing I want to tell you about this purchase is that it cost me $4.98.

Oh, yes it did.

Between sale prices, coupons, $2 each made on the Celsius product and the Biotrue, a B1G1 promotion, and some fo the ECB's earned from last week's CVS trip, I was giggling when the cashier gave me the final price.

AND, I earned $7.99, $2.99, and $2 in ECB's for future purposes :):):)

Please explain to me why everyone doesn't use coupons??

I think I helped convert one fella when I ran back into CVS before my middle daughter and I went to the movie.

I needed some of this.

Now, there's no need in me going into all the reasons that I needed this product and needed it right then.

Suffice to say that my almost 42 year old stomach has decided after a lifetime of happy memories, including purple onions, x-tra hot salsa, and greasy hamburgers from Sonic, that it does not wish to be my friend anymore.

The best part of this story, however, is that even though I was in a rush...ahem...

I knew I had a coupon for Pepto!

My binder was right there in the back seat so I flipped right to the coupon and took it inside with me.

The Pepto was $6.49 - $1 mfr. coupon - $5 ECB's from a previous purchase = me getting relief so I could enjoy the movie with my kid for $1.27

As I was leaving I heard the nice man who was behind me in line asking what in the world I had just done to get the Pepto for that price.

He didn't even know about the beautiful red CVS card!!!

The last thing we did before returning home tonight was hit two more Walgreens.

Does it give you any indication of the "rurality" of the town I live in to find out that in order to go to the movies, we have to take a 25 minute drive to the nearest large town?

Anyhoo, more Chex, more highlighters and Expo markers.

Do you see the big highlighters???

$.09 each.

Can you tell that I'm a teacher?

Two more tubes of free toothpaste, Ziploc bags for which I had a Walgreens and mfr coupon and Dawn dishwashing liquid bc honestly I just get distracted by the cute little seal on the bottle.

I'm a pushover for that kind of stuff.

;)

Walgreens, CVS and Kroger...OH MY!

OH BOY did I have fun today!!

After a marathon week, I took a marathon drive to my alma mater to drop my firstborn off at soccer camp last night and drove all the way back home.

Needless to say, I slept in this morning.

While I was drinking my coffee, I realized that today was my last chance to get those Suave deoderants for $.65 each I promised myself.

Dangit, I decided to let the laundry go and make a plan.

1st Stop Walgreens:

I have to tell you; I was a little nervous about Walgreens...when I walked in the door, I halfway expected BonQuiQui to be waiting on me waving toothbrushes in my face :(

But...

She wasn't there.
WHEW!

$60.17 worth of products for $23.37 and $8 of RR in my pocket :)

Tee Hee Hee!

Walgreens had some incredible deals on school supplies this week...so incredible that several of the little items I wanted as fillers were sold out.  Next week promises to have more though...so I'm already scheming.

Despite this incredible haul...I did have a couple of hiccups.

Because it was Saturday, the Walgreens staff was already changing the price tags to show next week's sale prices.

It was a little confusing.

And, I was more than a little nervous that I would have difficulty at the register.

Thankfully, the sale prices from last week were still current in the registers so my extra stress was for nothing in that case...

BUT...

$5 of my RR were supposed to come from the ProGlide razor.

The catalina machine did not print out my RR.

There were 6 people in line behind me.

Why is that always the way it is??

Anyhoo, the nice lady at the register became a little stressed...1st she tried to convince me that my RR probably didn't print out bc I had also used a manufacturer's coupon for the razor.

I calmly replied that it shouldn't make any difference and that I had carefully counted out the number of items compared to the number of "coupons" I was using.

She then said she would have to call the manager while I tried to recover from Dejavu.

The manager sent someone else to the front.

The someone else the manager sent to the front then called the manager to the front.

The manager, a very intelligent nice young woman who had just returned from vacation, tried to return the razor and re-ring it to see if the RR would print.

It didn't work.

Then, she simply "returned" the razor again somehow and gave me the $5 IN CASH + $.35 in tax the register automatically figured.

Awwwwwwwwwww.....

Then, she gave me a copy of next week sales paper, a day early...

AWWWWWWWWWWWW....

Walgreens is redeemed :)

Next top, CVS:

This purchase was a little more OOP...

$118.00 worth of products for $62.85...

BUT...(here's the best part)...$31.00 in ECB for next time :):)

I have not been lucky enough yet nor brave enough yet to roll my ECB's and get back in line so there's not so much OOP...guess I need that to be my next goal.

I don't mind it so much though bc next time, I'll get more FREE.

Tee Hee Hee!

Speaking of FREE...that's exactly what this little baby was...

Both my oldest daughters wear contacts...

$7.99 and $7.99 ECB = FREE :)

Whoo Hoo!!

The sales staff at CVS had already changed of lot of sales tags as well though, and it was so confusing that I will not go back again on Saturday if I can help it.  I even messed up on my Suave ECB because the price on the tag was different than last week's sale.  :(

I'm an English major, remember, so it doesn't take much to confuse me with numbers.

Then, on to Kroger:

All of these babies were on Kroger's Mega Summer Sale this week. 

Those Gatorades were $.49 each!!!!

For every 10 of these particular items, I also received $5 right back off of my total.

 

These items were regular Kroger sales with my doubled coupons.

I heart Kroger.

My total won't mean much because I spent my regular grocery $ for the week today as well, but for whatever it's worth, I purchased the items in the 2 pictures above + 10 other items = $131.25 but I only paid $73.28.

Have I mentioned that I heart Kroger?

My last stop of the day was Office Depot.

I wanted to look at a desk, but I'd also heard about these two products:

The stapler was $13.99 and the markers were $7.99 for a total of $23.52 after tax.

The greatest thing about both of these items, however, is that both items include a rebate for the total cost of each!

Tee Hee Hee!!!

2 more FREEBIES!!!

The greatest part of this day though was that my middle daughter helped me get organized this morning, has joined in the search for hard to find coupons, and wanted to shop WITH me today.

We really had a fun time and she was really impressed with the bargains we found!

She and I have a difficult time finding things that we like to do together; if couponing and hunting sales becomes something for us to do together, the amount of time we spend, the amount of clipping, etc. will be more than worth it.

:):)

What a GREAT day!!

CVS is still my favorite...but I'm gonna give Walgreens another chance...

I was very upset with Walgreens...

And maybe not so much Walgreens...

 But the lack of understanding of simple concepts of the young people I ran into that day. 

That will have to be a blog for another day because I just don't have the strength tonight. 

I've been working all week on a report culminating three years of grant work.

The report was 2 weeks late already, and it was just past time to put everything aside and get it done...

Along with teaching my classes, face to face and online, taking care of my family, going away last weekend for a schmoozing weekend with the trustees of our school, getting a stomach virus and finally finishing that dang report, it was nice today to come home a little early, take a nap, take a swim with my youngest and clip my coupons :)

I really missed my "little" binder.

My middle child really got into clipping coupons...I will certainly be taking advantage of her enthusiasm... as long as it lasts.

I'm still sticking with my goal of only buying things I would normally buy...that way even if I don't get the greatest deal, I'm still doing well and saving a little money in the process.

These are the items I scored from CVS and Walgreens my first trip (before I got so upset about Walgreens)...

I did not pay full price for any of these items...I don't have specific numbers for you because of the Walgreens showdown a few days later, but I can tell you that I skipped to my car.

My dream is to stockpile toilet paper...as you can see this package of paper towels and toilet paper didn't even make it to the pantry.  Oy!

My happiest day ever, however, was the day I scored these items for FREE!

No, not from Walgreens!

CVS!!!!!!

CVS is not as picky about how you use your ECB's as Walgreens is about how you use your RR's.

Between coupons, sales, and ECB's from previous purchases, my OOP was nada.

How do you like my coupon lingo?  Don't I sound professional??

I am going to Walgreens either tomorrow or Saturday.

I have my eye on some Suave deoderants...with my coupons and RR's they should only cost me .65 each.

I will have my deoderant for .65 cents!

Just watch me.

;)

I Have a Bone to Pick with Walgreens

After two hour long therapy sessions with my daughters today, I stopped by Walgreens.
I had been studying my weekly circular, had found a deal for a great toothbrush for free and was anxious to practice my extreme couponing.

If only I knew then what I know now...

Please hang on to your hats as I try to explain this transaction as only a Liberal Arts/English major can.

I had a $2 coupon for an Oral B toothbrush from a recent Sunday coupon insert.

This particular toothbrush was on sale for $4.99 with $2.00 in Register Rewards.

After my coupon, the toothbrush should ring up at $2.99. 

Because I had scored some Register Rewards from a previous purchase, I was also planning to use those to cover my out of pocket for the day.

Then, with the earned $2 more in Register Rewards, the toothbrush actually should only have cost me $.99.

Toothbrush regular price = $5.99

Toothbrush sale price = $4.99

$4.99 - MFR Coupon ($2) = $2.99

$2.99 - $2 earned in Register Rewards = $.99

Paid for with another Register Reward from a previous purchase = FREE toothbrush.

I entered Walgreens and went straight to the toothbrush aisle. 

I found said "yellow ticket" that marks the sale items, checked and rechecked to make sure I had the correct product, took one toothbrush off the shelf and took it to the check-out counter.

I handed the clerk the toothbrush and my coupon.

The only way I know to describe what happened next is to give you the play by play:

Clerk: That's $6.01

Me: as I'm swiping my debit card like a do-do bird...What?

Clerk: 6 dollars and 1 cent.

Me: as I'm typing in my PIN...How can it be $6.01?  It's on sale for $4.99 and I have a coupon for $2 off?

Clerk: It didn't ring up on sale; it rang up for $7.49

Me: Huh?

Clerk: It rang up for $7.49

Me: assuming I had somehow miscalculated something somewhere...Ok, well I'll just use some of my Register Rewards to pay for it.  I pulled out a $5 and $1 Register Reward.

The clerk scanned my Register Rewards and the register would not take either one of them.

Clerk: You won't be able to use these.

Me: Why?

Clerk: Because you didn't buy enough stuff. 

Now, I know your Register Rewards can't equal more than your total...I was already digging for the penny I thought I needed to complete this transaction.

Clerk: You have to buy something else if you want to use these.

Me: stunned that the clerk assumed I was just going to pay $6.01 for a TOOTHBRUSH!  Well, then, I need to swap this toothbrush for the one that is on sale; then I won't need to use my Register Rewards.

Clerk: looking at me like I have just asked her to rearrange the entire toothbrush section in every Walgreens store in the Southeastern region of the United States.
I'll have to call a manager.

Me: after realizing the clerk really would rather not call the manager; she'd rather I just buy the dang toothbrush for $6.01
Please call the manager.

Clerk: shouting into the microphone...I need a manager at the front register!
Please add a heavy sigh and eye rolling to the visual you have so far.
I really try my best to keep my patience with young clerks who I know are just trying to make a buck...but I swear, all I could think of at this point was Bon Qui Qui

Clerk: literally shooing me to the register directly across from her...He's gonna probably take you over there...Who's next??

A nice young assistant manager makes his way to the front

Asst Mgr: Do you need a refund?

Clerk: Yeah, over there, the lady with the toothbrush
I swear her eyes rolled again.

Asst Mgr: Yes, Ma'am?

I explained the whole scenario to the nice young assistant manager. 

Asst Mgr: No problem; let's just go check real quick and make sure this is the right toothbrush.

I walked with the nice young assistant manager to the toothbrush section, pointed out the yellow tag and showed him where I got the toothbrush.  Sure enough; I had the correct toothbrush.  Neither I nor the nice young assistant manager had any idea why the heck the toothbrush was ringing up $7.49.

The nice young assistant manager and I returned to the register; he punched a bunch of buttons on the cash register, handed me $.54, scanned a random box of crackers and gave me $2 in Register Rewards. 

Asst Mgr: Sorry for all your trouble.

Me: Huh??

Let's review the math, shall we?
My debit card has been debited $6.01.  I've been handed $.54 to make it all better.  That means my free toothbrush just cost me $5.45
Even with the $2 in Register Rewards, my toothbrush was still $3.45
And he wouldn't give me my coupon back because it had been used!!!!
Now with the loss of my $2 coupon, my free toothbrush was costing me $5.45.

Like I said, HUH??

Asst Mgr: I adjusted the price you paid to reflect the difference between the the price that came up and the actual price...the difference after tax is $.54

Me: remembering that I'm an English major and this nice young assistant manager must be a math major...he probably knows something I don't know.
Uh, oh, ok...thanks

I took my toothbrush in my little Walgreens bag and headed to my car.
I could not, however, shake this nagging feeling.
I sat in my car and looked at my receipt.
Then, I wanted to kick myself.
I came by to pick up a free toothbrush and I was leaving with a $5 toothbrush;
For the record, I have NEVER paid $5 for a toothbrush.

I turned the engine off and went back inside.

You should have seen the look on Bon Qui Qui the sales clerk's face when I re-entered the store.

Me: May I please speak to that same assistant manager again?

Clerk: I guess...yelling into the microphone again...I need a manager up front again!
Then to me, I don't even know that guy's name, so maybe somebody will show up.

At this point the nice young assistant manager comes from the back with a coke and a bag of chips in his hands.  Great, he's either on a break or getting ready to go on a break.  This ought to earn me some points...not.

Me: I'm sorry; I know you love us coupon ladies...but could you please just look at this again and help me understand?

Asst Mgr: with an unbelieving look on his face...O...K...

The nice young assistant manager tries to explain to me one more time why the $.54 refund should make me happy.
I tried then to explain to him why I still wasn't happy.
Neither of us budged.

Me:  Listen, I think what would be best is if I just return this toothbrush, the cracker Register Rewards, and the $.54.  Then, you can credit my $6.01 back to my debit card, give me my coupon back and I'll be out of your hair.

Asst Mgr: Well, ok...if that's what you want to do.

At this point we go back to the original register...my coupon is in that drawer.  The nice young assistant manager begins punching buttons again with my receipt. 

Me: I will need a receipt that shows my credit please.

Asst Mgr: I'm just going to cancel out the transaction like it never happened.

Me: But, I will get a receipt, right?

Asst Mgr: I'll have to do it as a return in order to get a receipt, so I'll just do it that way.

Me: Thanks.

While the nice young assistant manager is punching in more buttons, I swear to you by all that is right in this world that Bon Qui Qui the sales clerk is standing within hearing distance at the corner of the counter explaining to another clerk about the "toothbrush lady."

: /

Please bear with me just a few more minutes folks, cause it ain't over yet.

The nice young assistant manager handed me a credit receipt and my coupon.  The receipt said $-8.01

Me: Wait, now it's credited me too much!

Asst Mgr: No, it credited you the original amount of the toothbrush which is what you paid.

Me: That would be the original amount of the toothbrush ($7.49) + tax, which would equal $8.01...are you just going to keep my coupon for the $2 difference.

Asst Mgr: No, you paid $8.01 so I'm crediting you back $8.01

I promise you...the nice young assistant manager was holding both of my receipts in his hand.  One was for a debit of $6.01 and the other was a credit for $8.01...

I am 100% positive that I was wrong about one thing today...the nice young assistant manager is definitely NOT a math major.

After 2 hours of therapy and 45 minutes arguing over a toothbrush at Walgreens, I was spent...I had nothing more to give.
I tucked my tail and left Walgreens without my toothbrush but having somehow made $2.

I would rather have my toothbrush.

Have I mentioned what a fan I'm becoming of CVS??

Super Saving at Kroger

I used to be a heavy duty coupon clipper in my younger days.  I had an accordian file and the whole deal.  I carried my little folder with me to the grocery store and would take hours going through my folder to see what I had coupons for and what I didn't.  There's nothing more gratifying than being able to buy a product that you normally buy and not having to pay full price.  In our leaner years coupons were lifesavers...and many times enabled me to buy products that I would not necessarily be able to buy.

I was so proud of myself.

All the time I spent on organizing, clipping and shopping came to a screeching halt when I had two children 16 months apart.  For 3 years of my life I was tied to my offspring.  I was either pregnant, nursing or giving birth for those long years that are really a blur to me now, and we were over 6 hours away from our nearest relative.

Coupons were the least of my worries.

Over the years the Head of My Household and I have been blessed with well paying jobs.  The cost of food (while always a concern...especially in today's economy) is not a "worry" per say for us today. 

However, being good stewards of what we have been given and caring about the rest of the world as much as we care about ourselves has become a major worry.  I have also become majorly concerned about the quality of the food my family eats.  We, like many other busy families, spend way too much time in a drive thru...eating preservatives, chemicals and added sugars that have made our country (specifically our children) the fattest and sickest ever.  These concerns have led me to pay very close attention to the ingredients in the food we eat and to try and prepare healthier fresher food at home.

Ahem.

Have you ever compared the price of fresh food to processed food?  Processed food, which is unhealthy, is scads cheaper than fresh food.

WHAT??

Does

that

make

any

sense

to

you?

Me either.

I'm not sure right this minute that we as a country are being good stewards of what we've been given...and it's going to eventually catch up with us.  But, that's for another post :(

Melanie at Coupon Goddess was the first to get me thinking about coupons again and how they could help me on my quest to buy the best food for my family while spending wiser and being able to give back more.  The time and organization it takes to efficiently use coupons was a little  overwhelming to think about when I first began mulling over how to add couponing to my already overflowing cup of daily tasks.

Could I really sacrifice any more time from my days and nights?

One day Melanie posted about how through couponing she was able to give back to U.S. soldiers sent overseas.  Please read this post and look at the pictures of all the stuff Melanie has been able to pick up at little to no cost.  She sends this stuff in care packages to our soldiers so far away from home.

This post stopped me in my tracks.

Once I picked my jaw up off the ground I made the final decision.  If a little extra time and organization on my part could help my own family as well as my fellow man, the decision was a no-brainer.

I've signed up for several coupon newsletters and blogs that I've read through and watched for a while now.  Several of them even post regularly to tell you where the sales are and which coupons you can use to double up and get things for free...and even make a little sometimes!!  I have been stunned at how much time these ladies spend putting all this info together for the rest of us.  My favorites so far are Coupon Goddess (of course), Southern Savers and Frugal Girls.  I've registered at Kroger and Coupon.com.  I can load coupons directly onto my Kroger Super Savers card from the Kroger site and print manufacturers coupons straight off the Coupons.com site.

I ventured to town yesterday to pick up a prescription at CVS and stopped in to see what was happening at Kroger.  I really didn't have time for a major shopping trip, but we needed a few staples like milk, OJ and fresh fruit.  My coupons just happened to be in my purse, unorganized of course, and I figured if I saw something I knew I had a coupon for I would grab it on my way out.

Even on this quick trip through the store, I was able to save $20.18 by using coupons on top of the Kroger Super Saver prices that were good this week. Here's a picture of the things I picked up in my drive by Kroger stop:

  

Of the items in the picture I was especially proud of these purchases:

Newman's Own Ranch dressing is one of our family favorites; it is all natural and all the proceeds go to charity.  Another no-brainer for me.  The Kroger Super Saver price was $2.99 (regular $3.49), and I had three .50 cent off coupons.  My beloved Kroger DOUBLES coupons, which means each of these three bottles of our favorite dressing only cost $1.99.

Yoplait yogurt is also a staple at my house.  Kroger Super Saver price yesterday was $3.00 for 6, and I had another .50 cent coupon for buying 6.  With doubled coupons, these 6 containers of yogurt cost a total of $2.00 or about .31 cents each.

Tidy Cat was Super Saver price $1.99, and I had yet another .50 cent coupon to make this bag .99 cents.  Uh-Oh and Beneigt will be so happy :)

The major deal of the night was Cheerios.  I had .55 cent coupons for these, and they were Super Saver priced at $2.00 per box.  With doubled coupons these 3 boxes of Cheerios were only .90 cents each!

Now, this might be chicken feed to the lifelong couponer, but a girl's gotta start somewhere.  I go to the grocery store at least twice each week, and if I can save at least $20 each trip, that's $40 per week, $160 per month...almost $2000 per year!!!!  When you think about it like that, every penny counts!!

I'm also going to put 2 of the boxes of Cheerios in our food pantry at church this Sunday and try to make stocking the pantry a weekly habit of mine, if not twice weekly :)  2 items per week is 104 items added to our community food pantry each year (and that's a minimum).  I'm going to let my daughters help me with this project as well.

Thanks, Melanie and all you other smart ladies for paving the way for the rest of us to make our world a better place for everybody and to teach our daughters how to be smart with their money.