Bath and Body Works!

Paid $24.11
All Regular Price would have been $65.50!
Saved $41.39!

OK, so we never buy stuff regular price at BBW, but even so, this was a good deal.  It would have been sweeter if I had brought one of the coupons floating around out there, but it was an unplanned trip so I didn't.  This was the last day of the "Hello Yellow" Sale, and everything here was 50-75% off!  Woot!

Rite-Aid 1/16

Paid: $3.47
Saved: $52.83

OK, I couldn't resist the tacky white tree.  It was 90% off, which made it only $1.99.  I had this vision of putting pink lights and ornaments on it next year, and I just couldn't resist the tacky awesomeness.  Just wait.  I'll post a picture of it in all it's glory in December.  You'll see.

White 6-Foot Noble Fir Tree ( Sale $1.99, reg $19.99)

2x Rite-Aid Single Roll TP ( Sale $1 each, reg $1.19)
-Get +UP rewards $1 each, making them FREE

Nature Made Women's Multi-Vitamin ($11.49)
Nature Made Fish Oil ( $10.99)
These were BOGO so the fish oil rang up FREE
Used 2x $5/1 Nature Made Printable ( No Longer Available)
Used $3/1 Nature Made Fish Oil Video Values Coupon from HERE ( Rite-Aid store coupon)
FREE plus $1.51 in overage!

Dixie Paper plates ( $3.99)
Dixie Paper Bowls ($3.99)
Rang up BOGO so plates were FREE
Used $3/2 Video Values from HERE ( Rite Aid store coupon)
.99 cents for both or .49 cents each!

My OOP would have been lower, but I FORGOT to use my $2 in +Up rewards I earned last week!  Ooops!  If I had used them my OOP would have only been $1.47.  Oh well, I will have to use them all next week!  I'm still a Rite-Aid Newbie, so it happens.

Walgreens 1/16

Paid: $2.97
Saved: $73.55!
Used $9 RR
Earned $12.50 RR
=
.53 cent money maker!

Do you like how I bought an appetite suppressant AND buttered popcorn and candy?  Yeah, I like to send mixed messages.  Actually, I just bought the Full Fast to Roll my RR.  I have no idea what to do with it.  It's not like you really want to donate something like that, which is usually what I do with my unwanted money makers.

I did this in 3 Transactions:

#1
Joint Juice (Sale $10.00)
Use $1/1 Coupon from HERE
Act II Microwave popcorn ( B1G1 for .99 cents each)
Used $9 in RRs from last week
Paid $1.98
Got $10 RR

#2
Full Fast Appetite Control Spray (Sale $10.00)
Used $10 RR from Joint Juice
Paid 0.00
Got $10 RR

#3
Joint Juice for $10
Use $1/1 Coupon from HERE
ThermaCare Heat Wrap Neck, Shoulder and wrist $2.50
Use $1/1 Thermacare found HERE
Snickers Peanut Butter Square ( .49 cents with in ad coupon)

Total: $10.99
Use $10 R from Full Fast
pay .99 cents
Got $10 RR from Joint Juice and 2.50 RR from Termacare!

Target Hit and Miss

I did a Target run today, something I haven't done in awhile.  As usual, it was hit and miss.  I had 4 things on my list, and I got 3 of them, although one of those things was a higher price than I anticipated. 

$3.13 @ Target
Saved $14.28

Hartz Crunch and Clean cat treats ( Sale $1.49)
Used $1.50/1 from 1/9 SS
FREE!

Wisker Lickin's Cat treats ( Reg price $1.07 each)
Used $2/2 from 11/14 RP
.07 cents each!

GE Reveal Light bulb 4 pack ( Sale $4.00)
-Used (2) $1/1 GE from 1/9 SS
-Used (2) $1.50/1 GE from Target.com
$1.50 each

That was the main miss - the blogs were reporting that these were regular price for $2.54.  This may be regional, but I couldn't find them in my store.  I thought about returning them, but I decided that $1.50 was still a pretty decent price, so decided to keep them.  The other miss is that I wanted to get some cheap cheese ( go HERE to see that deal) but my store doesn't carry the Kraft with a touch of Philadelphia. 

Whatever.  My cats were happy about the treats.

Thanks to The Krazy Coupon Lady and Totally Target!

Rite-Aid Adventure

I normally don't shop at Rite-Aid.  The main reason is that when I first started couponing, I decided to focus on only a few stores, so that I didn't overwhelm myself.  I picked Walgreens over Rite Aid, because at the time Walgreens had Register Rewards (which keeps my OOP low) and Rite aid had a rebate program.  So instead of instantly getting back a coupon you could use in the store, once a month you were mailed a rebate for whatever select items you had purchased.  However, Rite-Aid revamped their rewards system, and they now offer what is called Up rewards - which are very similar to Register Rewards.  I guess the only difference is that you can "roll" them - which means that you can use an Up reward to buy the same item again, and another Up reward will print - unlike an RR.  Also, multiple Up rewards will print.  So if you buy 2 of the same item in the same transaction, they will both produce an Up reward.  Again, unlike the RR.  Those are both positive differences.   Hmmm... I'm intrigued.  I decided to swing in there tonight. 

I got...

2x Special K ( regularly $4.79 each, on sale B1G1)
-Used B1G1 Special K from HERE ( Took off $4.49, maximum allowed)
Paid .30 cents for both boxes!
(also I got the LAST TWO BOXES!  Wooo!  The coupon gods were smiling on me)

Organix Shampoo and Conditioner ( Reg $6.99 each, Sale B1G1)
These were also specially marked "extra 50% free!"  So I basically got two 1.5 sized bottles for the price of one regular sized bottle ( this brand never has coupons, so this is a good deal!)

Paid $7.29
Got $2 in Up Rewards.  It must have been from the Special K, because it said it was from food and snacks.
A pretty good way to start my Rite-Aid shopping!

80% off Clearance at Old Navy! 1/14-1/17

Woo!  I bet you can find something cute for almost free!  But go as soon as you can, you know the good stuff is going to go first.  I guess it is actually 40% off clearance prices, not 80% off the clearance price, but the 40% plus the clearance price makes it up to 80% off.  Still good!

Great deal on Coffee-Mate

Today I decided to go to a different Albertsons than I normally do since I was over in a different part of town.  It's a slightly more affluent area, so I figured there was a better chance that they had not been wiped out by crazy couponers like myself.  Although they were also sold out of the elusive Finish Dishwashing detergent, I did score a great deal on some Coffee-Mate.

The regular flavored 16 oz. coffee-mate was on sale for $2.29, and I was planning on using the $1/1 Coffee-Mate from Facebook (not sure if it is available still), then doubling them, to get them for .29 cents each.  That was going to be a pretty decent deal already.  But then I discovered that there were some holiday flavored ones on bonus buy - the Large size ( 29 oz, I think?) were $2.19, and the small sizes were $1.29.  I had 2 $1/1 coupons and a .55/1 from  11/14/10 RP.  I doubled all of those and got each bottle for .19 cents!  Pretty Sweet!  Keep an eye out for those bonus buys.  Even if your store doesn't have them, you can still get the regular flavors in the 16 oz size for .29 cents with doublers.

High Value Glad Coupon!

Go HERE to print this $3/1 coupon for Glad Force Flex Trash Bags!  This should help get you a good deal, especially because it is on any count! 


Thanks Hip2Save!

God, I hate WalMart

I hate Walmart as much as the next liberal, educated, self-respecting 20-something, but broke ass bitches can't be choosers.  Especially when I just found out that I can no longer use my HSA to buy over the counter medicine.  Dang it!  I still have an HSA (Health Savings Account) left over from my days of having a real job with a real salary, and it has saved me more than once when I needed Advil or cold medicine and I only had 4 cents.  So, time for me to start stockpiling medicine!  I have a ton of Nyquil and Dayquil, since they go on RR sales all the time at Walgreens.  Advil is my painkiller of choice, and I was just thinking that I would need to keep an eye out for good deals when I saw that Motrin was only .78 cents after coupon at Walmart.  Fine, I'll go to Walmart.  I need sponges anyway, and there was a deal on those as well. 

I had 2 coupons for $6/2 Motrin and 2 coupons for $1/2 scotchbrite sponges so I grabbed 4 of each.  My first mistake was that I didn't cashier profile.  I'm bad at that anyway.  As soon as I handed my coupons to the cashier, I knew there was a problem.  She stared at them intently, reading all the fine print over and over.  I almost said "Um, they're real, I promise".  Then she says "OK, this says 'Zyrtec 25 count or larger, Pepcid, Motrin, Motrin PM, Precise cream or patch from the makers of Tylenol'.  So it has to be 25 count, this is only 24 count."  I told her that it said Zyrtec 25 count or larger, so that applied to the Zyrtec, not the other medicines.  If it applied to all the medicines, it would say 25 count or larger after all of them.  She told me she would call her manager over.  We waited FOREVER, and the line was building behind me.  She said she would scan it just to see, and the register accepted it, which totally stumped her.  She decided to wait for her manager before she went any further.

I offered to step aside while I waited so she could ring other people up, but she declined.  After about a year, the manager came over and read the coupon, and said yes, she could take it, but she could only take ONE since the coupon says "One coupon per purchase"  Now, we couponers know that this means ONE coupon per item purchased, so that people don't try to use more than one of the same coupon on the same item.  But at this point, I wasn't arguing with these ladies, as I could see it would get me nowhere.  So I told them just to do one coupon, and I would take the other one back.  The manager also read the sponge coupons, and said she could use both of those since there was no language on that stating only one per purchase.  The manager left, then the cashier scanned my sponge coupons and the register beeped.  "OK..." she said, reaching for the phone.  "You know what?  Why don't you just forget the sponges."  So, I left the store not so triumphantly with 2 bottles of Motrin for $1.54.

In these situations I find it is best to be polite, firm, but not argue too much.  If they aren't getting it, they aren't getting it.  There are plenty of other stores that have deals, and you can bring them your coupons and money.  And remember, that coupons are currency.  The stores get reimbursed for these by the manufacturer.  They will still get the $6.00 dollars that I gave them in coupon form, it will just come from Motrin instead of me.

I'll save my coupons for a sale somewhere else, they have long expiration dates.  I got sponges for FREE last year at Albertsons with doubles, which is better than the .34 cents I was going to pay at Walmart anyway.  I imagine there could possibly be a BOGO sale on Motrin somewhere that would allow me to get a good deal with my $6/2 coupon.  So don't despair fellow couponers, when you run into a roadblock.  There is always another deal around the corner.
PS - if you want to get your paws on those coupons, go HERE (Gone) for the motrin and HERE for the sponges.

Print this coupon now for a Money Maker at Wags starting 1/16!

Next week at Wags Joint Juice will be FREE after Register Reward.  To turn this into a money maker, print this $1/1 coupon HERE.  I plan to use it next week to turn my $9 RRs into a $10 RR :)

My plan for next week is this:
Get 1 Joint Juice for $10
Use $1/1 Coupon
Will need 2 fillers since I have RRs ( Hopefully can find some cheap fillers!)
Get $10 RR

Roll that to buy Full Fast Appetite Control Spray $10
Get $10 RR ( Note:  This is strictly to roll my RR.  I'm not interested in a spray that controls my appetite.)

Buy another Joint Juice for $10
Use $1/1 Coupon
Buy ThermaCare Heat Wrap Neck, Shoulder and wrist $2.50
Use $1/1 Thermacare found HERE
Total: $10.50
Use $10 R from Full Fast
pay .50 cents
Get $10 RR from Joint Juice and 2.50 RR from Termacare!

So as long as I can find some cheap fillers for my first transaction, this should be a money making week, turning my $9 RRs into $12.50 in RRs!

Cute shoes for $1.98?? SCORE!

OK, I totally got lucky on this one.  My good friend Jen ( Hey Jen!!) texted me today that she had a $10 DSW rewards certificate expiring today, and I could have it if I came and got it.  Sweet!  So I dashed over there and then dashed to DSW, making a beeline for the clearance section.  After some perusing, I found some adorable Madden Girl heels marked down to $39.98 with an additional 70% off!  So only $11.98!  After the $10 rewards certificate it was only $1.98 oop.  That's about as close to shoe heaven a you can get!!  Thanks Jen!

$2.00 at Albertsons!

Yay!  Doublers are back!  And I scored a bunch of free pasta!

Ronzoni Healthy Harvest and Smart Taste Pastas  ( Sale $10 for $10)
Used $1/2 from Here and Here
Used doublers for all
FREE!

Better Oats Instant Oatmeal ( Sale 5 for $5)
Used  2x B1G1from HERE
.50 cents each!

Get your holiday decor el cheapo!

Just because we're broke doesn't mean we can't have cute stuff!  I scored some awesome deals at Cost Plus World Market the other day.  Their Christmas stuff is still mostly 50% off, I'm waiting for it to go at least 75% since there is nothing there that I am super excited about.  BUT, they still have some fall/harvest stuff left, and it just went 90%!  Practically free, I tell you.  I scored $80.00 for $8 bucks!  My family is planning a big Thanksgiving next year, so these will work perfectly!  I kind of am in love with the kitschy little turkey candles, but I wasn't willing to pay $4 and $6 bucks a pop for them.  Instead I got 10 little ones for $4.00 ( the original price of 1!) and 3 big ones for $1.80 (originally $5.99 each).  I also got a few pumpkin candles and a cute little turkey serving dish.

Keep your eyes peeled for dome great deals on holiday decor!  You may not be thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas right now, but next year when you unpack your holiday boxes you will be so glad you did!

Walgreens 1/9

Pretty good trip to Wags, although there was a confusing snafu with the Reach Toothbrushes.  After I studied the receipt for awhile, I think I figured out what happened.  First, I got 4 toothbrushes, and they rang up all different prices - 2.99, 3.99 and 2 at 4.49 ( the price they were all marked at).  Now, normally an unexpected price reduction would be exciting, but in this case it sort of threw a wrench in things.  It may have been different if I had known that some of them were 2.99, and I could have gotten all 4 of them at that price.  But in this case, my B1G1 coupons applied to the lower priced toothbrushes, so it went like this:
2 @ 4.49
1 @ 3.99
- B1G1
1 @ 2.99
-B1G1
After B1G1 =
$8.98
-$2/2 Reach = $6.98
Wags In ad coupon SHOULD have taken off $8, but it only took off $4 - I'm guessing that those lower prices toothbrushes were the culprits.  So, I paid $2.98 instead of getting a money maker :(  I know, $2.98 for 4 toothbrushes is still not bad.  But I was expecting a money maker, so I'm sort of disappointed.  I'm still trying to figure out if and how to remedy this situation.

But, moving on to the good.  I started out this trip with a $10 RR.

Paid: $3.42 ( darn toothbrushes!)
Saved: $69.83!
Used $10 RR
Got back $9 RR

Ok, I already explained the toothbrush situation, but I also got:
2 x Colgate Total Care toothpaste ( Reg 4.49, Wags Sale B1G1)
Used 2x $1/1 Colgate Wags Q from Winter Diabetes and You Magazine ( available in the pharmacy)
Used 2x $1/1 Colgate Manufacturer Q from Winter Diabetes and You
Total: .29 cents for both, or .15 cents each!

2x Stayfree Maxipads (reg $6.49 each)
Used B1G1 Free from 1/9 SS (-$6.49)
$1/1 Stayfree from HERE
WAGS in ad coupon for $3 off Stayfree ( took off $6)
FREE plus .51 cent moneymaker!

2 x Bic Triumph Pens 2 pack (Sale $1.99)
Used 2x  $2/1 Printable ( NLA, but there was also one in 1/9 SS)
FREE!

EOS Shave Cream (Sale $2.99)
Plus had a free Bic Soleil Razor attached!
Got back $2 RR, making this .99 cents!
(also a good filler, since there were no coupons for this)

Go! Kid's Multi-vitamin Gummies ( Sale $5.00)
Got back $5 RR so FREE!
( Note: I don't have kids, I just got this as a filler/way to roll my RRs.  This is going in my donation bag)

2x Special K ( Sale 2 for $5)
Used B1G1 from HERE
Got back $2 RR
Total: .25 cents each!

Overall, I'm pretty happy despite the toothbrush fiasco.  Plus I have $9 RRs to use next week!