Small Target trip

I headed out to Target, with a stack of coupons in hand.  I left having used only a few of those coupons, but I still consider it a decent trip.

Spent: $1.29
2x Up & Up Ibuprofen, 24 count ($1.09 each)
Used 2x $1/1 Up &Up pain reliever from HERE = .09 cents each
Travel sized toothpaste ($1.07)
Used $1/1 from HERE (.07 cents after coupon)
Soft Soap $1.04
(No coupon!  There is .35/1 floating around, but I don't have it)

OK, ummmm.  I just realized I made a mistake (as is the norm, right?).  The coupon I used was for Aquafresh Extreme clean.  It specified no restrictions,  so I was good to get the trial size.  Which I needed (my toothpaste stockpile is in storage, apparently.)   I thought, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I had grabbed the Aquafresh Extreme Clean.  Apparently, I had grabbed the Arm and Hammer.  And somehow, the cashier also didn't notice, and pushed the coupon through...whoops!  If you do this deal, be sure you actually get the correct item, unlike me. 

Sadly, I was unable to do the other planned deals.  The target I went to is in the middle of a Fresh Grocery remodel, so they did not have the Ore-Ida Easy Fries for .99 cents, and although I found several Mossimo shirts on clearance for $3.74, none of them were items I would ever wear.  I saw lots of super cute clearance shirts at higher prices, so I will check back and see if they get marked down any further.  ( if you have no idea what I am talking about, there is a $3/1 Mossimo apparel item coupon at target.com, and if you use it with a clearance item, you can get it super cheap.  There are some items marked to $3.74, making them .74 cents after coupon!)   

All in all, Target is not really my favorite place to coupon right now, but I feel pretty OK about the deals I got today.

My Weekly Grocery trip

I decided to start posting my weekly grocery trips, in addition to coupon trips.  The truth is that I am not an "extreme couponer" and I do need to do supplemental shopping trips for my groceries.  How much can a single girl on a budget get for her buck?  I tried to keep this trip under $20.  I do have some groceries on hand from my Doubler Trip to Albertsons, and a few things from my weekly trip last week, as well as things in my stockpile from the last year.

This was mostly Fred Meyer and a little Trader Joe's.  Total Spent $19.44.  Yes!  Just under the wire.

Foster Farms Whole Chicken (Sale .99 cents/lb - $4.07)
Ground Pepper from Bulk Spices (.84 cents)
Organic Broccoli ($1.29/lb - $1.84)
Organic Baby Carrots ($1.50)
Organic Fresh Herbs Poultry Mix ( Clearance .99 cents)
Fuji Apples (.99cents/lb - $1.81)
Lemon (.59 cents)
Garlic (.34 cents)
Bell Pepper ($1.79)
Fred Meyer English Muffins ($1.39)
Total - $15.16
( A note about the organic stuff.  I love to buy organic, but often can't afford it.  I will buy it if it is the same or cheaper than conventional - which does happen sometimes.  In this case, Fred Meyer only had organic available in the broccoli, carrots, and herbs.)

Trader Joe's Pizza Dough ($1.29)
Charles Shaw Pinot Grigio ($2.99)
Total: $4.28

Yes, there were a few splurges here.  The herbs were not on my list, but I grabbed them since I was going to roast the chicken, and they were marked down, so it was kismet.  The bell pepper was also a "splurge".  Yeah.  It's fun when you are so broke that a $1.79 bell pepper is considered a splurge.

Obviously the wine is a splurge.  See above.

What am I going to do with this?  Well, as I type I am roasting that little chicken, which will be my late dinner tonight.  Since I am only feeding myself, I can usually get about 3 meals out of one of those babies (Sometimes 4!).  So, I plan to make a stir fry one night and a BBQ chicken pizza another.  I will post my meals another time, maybe.  I also made myself a nice little appetizer:

I have a confession.  I love happy hour.  After a long day at work, I love a good nosh and a nice glass of wine.  Plus, happy hour prices are usually pretty good.  However, happy hour is another rare indulgence since I became broke girl.  I present to you...homemade happy hour!  Quick, easy, and only about $2.25.  Wine - $2.99 for the bottle, so about .75 cents a glass.  Apples .99 cents a lb, so that particular apple cost about .50 cents.  The goat cheese I bought on Friday when I was feeling rich ( payday, the only day I feel like I have money to burn).  It was about $4.99 (Yikes!) so about $1 an ounce. This same setup would have probably cost me $10-$14 bucks at a wine bar.  Granted, the wine probably wouldn't have been 2 Buck Chuck, but.... still, not too shabby.  You gotta treat yourself right, even when you think you can't afford it.

Rite Aid 5/15

$5.87 OOP - This is more than I normally spend on a drug store trip, but I didn't have any +Up rewards.
Transaction #1
Rimmel Products Priced BOGO
Used 4x $2/1 Rimmel Products ( From coupons.com NLA and Facebook)
Purex Laundry Detergent ( Sale $1.97)
Used $1/1 Purex from 5/1 RP
Used $3/$15 purchase from doing a Rite Aid Survey
Paid $5.13
Got back $5 +UP reward for spending $15 on Rimmel ( Before coupons)

Transaction #2
2x Ziploc Storage bags 2/$4
1 20 oz Diet Coke $1.69 ( I needed a filler and also I needed a coke :)
Total $5.74
Used $5 UP rewards from Rimmel
Paid .74 cents OOP
Got back a $1 UP reward for Ziploc

There was also a coupon for Ziploc but I didn't have it.  Still, I needed baggies, so I got them.  I normally won't do a deal if I have to pay more than a few dollars out of pocket, but I've let my drug store game slip and I decided to spend since I was going to have to anyway.  Now I have some free makeup, and I would have spent a few bucks on baggies anyway.  Plus I have a $1 UP reward for next week.

Fun with doublers

I decided I missed the rush of the coupon game, it's been awhile since I had a good doubler run.  Although it took me FOREVER to plan this trip, I have no idea why.  Well, it's partially because my coupons are in complete disarray.  I plan to organize them soon and will post about that fiasco, I'm sure.  But, on to the savings. 

I did this in two transactions:
Transaction #1
Jello Temptations x2 (Sale 2/$5)
Morning Star Farms ($3.50)
Used 2 x $1/1 Jello Temptations from Facebook
Used $1/1 Tearpad from the store ( language on coupon stated one coupon per visit)
Doubled all three:
$1.50 OOP
(Should have been $2.50, but I just noticed on my receipt that the cashier somehow gave me an extra dollar off)

Transaction #2
Yoplait Greek 4-pack x2 ( Sale $2.99 each)
Morning star Farms ( $3.50)
Used $1/1 Yoplait Greek 4-Pack from 3/27 SS
Used $1/1 Morning Star Farms Printable
Doubled all three
Total: $3.48

Grand Total: $4.98!
Saved $17.16!

PS - can I tell you how happy I am to have the mini corn dogs back??  Thanks Morningstar Farms!

Also thanks to The Krazy Coupon Lady, Coupon Connections NW, and Happy Money Saver for helping me get my own shopping list together!

10 Pack of Duracell Batteries for $2.24 at Rite Aid!

I saw this on Hip2Save earlier, so stopped by Rite Aid to check for myself.  Yep!  The 10-packs of Duracell batteries are ringing up $2.24!

  They are marked at the regular price which is $8.99.  I used the $1/1 Duracell 8-pack or larger from the P&G Everyday savings booklet that I requested on Facebook a few months ago. 

So I paid $1.24 for a 10 pack!  Sweet!

Thanks, Hip2Save!

Cool Freebies I've been getting

Sometimes, you just have an awesome mail day.  Or mail week, in this case.  I've been getting something cool almost every day!  It really is worth it to sign up for those freebies when you see them.  You won't get them all, but you can still end up with some really cool stuff!

Brew Over Ice Tumbler (From Facebook, No Longer Available)
Coupon for FREE International Delight Coffee House Creamer from Vocalpoint (Arrived in the cutest coffee cup package - I suggest you join Vocalpoint asap!  They send out great free coupons)

2x Secret Natural Mineral  Antiperspirant/Deodorant .5 oz ( From Secret's Facebook Freebie Friday - I have absolutely no idea how I got 2.  They came a day apart, and I don't know if I somehow requested 2 or it was a company glitch?  Either way, I'll take it :)
Physicians Formula Eye Booster 2 in 1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner + Serum (No Longer Available)

Wow!  These are awesome freebies, the Physicians Formula is a full sized product.  It's true that these particular freebies are no longer available.  But don't get discouraged!  When you see a posting for a freebie, and you have time to request it, do it!  You will soon see fun presents in the mail on a regular basis.  You won't be able to get every freebie, and that's OK.  But I find that these little things brighten my day!  Plus, you never know when you are going to find a product or a company that you never knew you loved.

For example - my Brew Over Ice cup arrived damaged.  I was so excited, and then so bummed out.  I decided to write a short message to the company on their facebook page ( it was the only way to contact them, since I had requested the freebie on facebook and no other contact info was included in the package).  I wrote a message thanking them for the awesome freebie, and letting them know that it had arrived damaged.  I also was sure to reiterate how much I appreciated this awesome freebie!  ( I REALLY hate those people that think they are entitled to a freebie.  You aren't entitled.  Get over it)  Anyway, they were so nice, and contacted me within about 24 hours to let me know that they were sending me a replacement cup!  How nice is that?  Sometimes, when you are broke and things are hard, it's the little things that make your day :) 

Target Easter 75% off

I actually got this stuff on Friday, so chances are there is even less Easter stuff at Target, and it may have moved to 90% off, if there is any left.  When I went on Friday the candy was 50% off and the other Easter stuff was 75% off.

Easter Socks (2pk) - $1.25
Fuzzy Easter socks ($1.25)
Easter M&M's ($1.44)
Reeses and Snickers eggs ( .24 cents each - I plan on eating the candy and saving the empty eggs for next year!)
Adorable Spatula ( .99 cents!)

Sweet Score on Murad!

I love Murad products, but wow, they are expensive.  I was lucky enough to stumble upon an awesome sale at Trade Secret this weekend.  They are discontinuing their Murad products, and so they were a part of their Buy 1 get 2 FREE sale!  I was able to score $142.50 worth of products for $50.50!  Now, keep in mind that the 6.75 oz cleanser alone sells for $26.  I was able to get 5 - 2oz bottles of cleanser (10 oz), 2 - 1oz bottles of perfecting lotion (2oz - the 1.7oz bottle sells for $33), 2 - .5 oz bottles of Hydroquinona Lightening gel ( 1 oz - the 1 oz bottle sells for $60) And a 2 oz Pomegranate Moisturizer (Sells for $33).  Actually, if I had purchased all of these full sized products at Sephora I would have spent $152.00!

OK, so here is the catch.  When I got home and opened my products, almost all of them were expired.  Some not by much, some by ALOT ( like 2 years).  I have been really busy since then, but plan on dealing with that tomorrow.  I'm not sure if it will be made right or not, but I will be contacting both Murad and Trade Secret.  So, I would recomment you check out the Trade Secret Clearance Sale, because there are good deals to be had!  BUT I will advise you to check your expiration dates BEFORE you leave the store!  I'll write an update on this when I have more info.  Also, the girl at Trade Secret told me the sale had been going on awhile, and they had no idea when it would end.  So if you are interested, don't wait!

FREE Mothers Day Card from Tiny Prints!

Sweet!  You can head over to Tiny Prints and make your Mama a card for FREE!  Just because you are broke doesn't mean you can't show your Mom some love!  Use code MDLOVE at checkout to make it free!  If you have it shipped to yourself, it will be totally free, if you have it sent straight to the recipient it will cost you .44 cents - the cost of a stamp!

Thanks Wild for Wags!

Target Clearance Finds

I found myself in a small town this morning with some time to kill, so I made my way over to the local Target were I found some great clearance deals!

Fresh Step Cat Litter - Clearance $4.74 (regular $9.49) ( This was the only box, or I would have bought a few).
Assets Panty Hose - Clearance $3.75 ( Regular $15.00!) These are the best things ever, made by the creator of Spanx!  I found another pair clearanced at $3.00 at my local Target, but they seem to be sparse.

Suction hooks - .62 cents ( just needed them!)

I also found some Michael Graves cleaning supplies on clearance, and I tried to buy a microfiber mop replacement, but the mobile coupon wouldn't work on it :(  The cashier said it was probably because it was on clearance, but who knows.  Bummer, I was excited about getting a good deal on that.

P.S.  Why was I in a random small town this morning?  Well, let me just say, do as I say, not as I do.  And if you were wondering how NOT to save money, the answer is get a speeding ticket.  (don't do it).

Fresh Foods at Fred's!

OK, so people are always saying that you can't buy healthy foods when you coupon.  It's true that often there are great deals on junk food.  I have been struggling with my food budget lately, and although I have some things stockpiled ( Like pasta and spaghetti sauce) I don't have things like meat, fruits, veggies and cheese.  (Of course, I COULD live without cheese, I guess, but what kind of a life would it be??).

It's true that you will rarely find coupons for fruits, veggies and meat.  But couponing has taught me how to watch the sales, and when to recognize a "stock up" price.  Instead of blindly buying things no matter the cost, I often will wait for a good sale and then buy as many as I can to get me by. 

This week Fred Meyer had some great deals, and so I decided to hit them up.

The whole chicken was only .88 cents/lb, which seems to be a pretty good deal.  I actually have never bought a whole chicken before!  So, trying something new.  There were also peelies on the chicken for $1.50 off chicken wyb Philly cooking creme.  The cooking creme was $2.50 and there was a tear pad there for $1.50 off - combined they made the cooking creme free and took an additional .50 cents off the chicken.

Foster Farms Whole Chicken - $4.49
Philly Cooking Creme - $2.50
- $1.50 off chicken wyb Philly
-$1.50 off Philly cooking creme tear pad
=Free cooking creme and chicken for $3.99!

4x Tillamook Shredded cheese - $1 each with in ad coupon
This is a rock bottom price, and the cheese is good until June or July unopened!

Strawberries - $1.50
Lemon - .59 cents
Celery - .26 cents
Broccoli - .73 cents
2 onions - .49 cents ( they were very small)
Carrots - .25 cents

Total - $11.77
Coupon savings: $9.50
Fred Meyer doesn't tell you what you saved on sale prices : /

I should be able to get a few meals out of that chicken - I'm off to search for recipes!

.49 cents cat food at Freddy's!

Fred Meyer is quickly becoming one of my favorite stores to shop.  It's already in my blood, since I grew up in Alaska and although we didn't have Target, K-Mart or Wal-Mart ( at the time), we DID have Fred Meyer.  Now there are a million Fred Meyer's near where I live, so I find myself there several times a week.

Last weekend while picking up a few groceries there was a lady doing a demo of the new Purina One Beyond cat and dog food.  Now, you should know that I am kind of a pet food snob.  Since first getting my cat Pepper, I have always tried to feed my cats the best food.  I believe that it is an important part of being a pet owner and taking good care of your animals.  I currently feed my cats Wellness, which they seem to like and keeps them healthy.  But, as you all know, I'm on a budget ( if you can call being perpetually broke a budget).  And Wellness is not cheap.

The lady was giving out $2/1 Manufacturer Coupons, and the 16oz boxes were on sale for  $2.49 - making them only .49 cents after coupon.  I decided to have a box on hand just in case I ran out of their regular food and was unable to get more right away.  I took it home and put it on their food shelf.  And, for some reason, they were obsessed with it.  It must smell good, because later they kept getting up there and trying to get into it, even though their bowl was full of their regular food.  I even found it on the floor with little bite marks on it!  I finally gave them some, and they wolfed it down like it was the best thing they had ever eaten.  Hmmm.  Probably because it was different. but most cats turn their noses up at a new food.  I decided that since I am on such a tight budget, I would try this food out for awhile, so I went back to Fred's and stocked up on a few more boxes. ( The demo lady let me take a bunch of extra coupons!).

5 boxes of food (16oz each) - $2.45 at Fred Meyer!  I also understand there was a $3/1 coupon in last week's paper, 3/13. ( I didn't get it).
I also found a $2/1 Target Coupon HERE that could be a combined with an MQ for even better savings if you are interested in trying it out.  I don't know what the regular price is at Target, but chances are it's on sale, so I would imagine you could get a pretty good deal.

*UPDATE:  Not sure if this is going to work out.  Sebastian, our mascot, barfed right after eating today.  Hmm.  This is abnormal, so I will be keeping my eye on him and if it keeps happening I will need to switch him back.  Somethings are worth paying more for!

Broke Kitchen: Holiday Edition

I love holidays.  Growing up, my mom always made every holiday special, and that is something I have carried on into my adult life.  Since I recently moved into a new house, I decided to have a dinner party for St. Patrick's day.  Normally my mother would make a nice Irish stew for St. Patty's, and I was planning on doing the same.  But hosting a dinner party on a budget is no easy task.  Luckily, if there is one thing the Irish know how to do, it's feed a crowd on a shoestring.  While at the store, I noticed how cheap corned beef and cabbage were!  Partially it was because they were on sale for the holiday, but it was still a better bargain than buying all the ingredients for stew.  So, corned beef and cabbage it was.  Although I AM a good Irish girl, I have actually never made, or maybe even eaten corned beef and cabbage.  Weird, right?  Well, Wikipedia told me that corned beef and cabbage is a distinctly Irish-American dish, so I guess my Irish-American family missed out on that memo, who knows?

Anyway, I had to go searching for a recipe, and I found one that sounded pretty good HERE.  Later I realized that I probably hadn't gotten enough meat, so I ran back to the store to pick up some more.  I decided to make the dish both ways, traditional and non traditional.  Traditional is basically simmering the roast for 2 hours, then boiling the cabbage in the same water.  However, everyone agreed that the non-traditional way was more delicious, hands down. 

Stick about 12 cloves into the meat, then slather with hot honey mustard and sprinkle with brown sugar.  Wrap in foil and bake at 350 for about 2 hours.   Take off the foil and broil for about 15 minutes so that the roast gets nice and brown on top.

Chop up the cabbage into strips and then heat up some olive oil with chopped garlic and onions.  Throw in the cabbage and saute it until it gets nice and brown.  Waaay better than boiled.

Total for this meal:

Corned Beef - $5.47

Cabbage: $1.08

Sweet Honey Mustard: $1.50

Cloves: .10 cents ( bulk spices are your friends!)

Olive oil, onions and garlic from stockpile

Total meal cost under $10!  Not bad for a dinner party! :)

Now dessert was a different story...but that's another post.

Happy St. Patty's everyone!

Take a break from aftertaste with a FREE sample.

Add nothing but taste to your morning cup of coffee with a FREE pint of Breve Crème coffee creamer, brought to you by your friends at Vocalpoint.

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Broke Kitchen

A few months ago, I thought I was as broke as I would ever get.  But I was wrong, my friends.  Dead wrong.   How did this happen?  Don't ask me.

  Ok, I'll tell you.  See, I moved to the big city, and now I have to drive further, pay more for the same stuff, and get paid the same, or maybe slightly less?  So, yes, a new job and perhaps a small bank robbery are in order.  But in the meantime, a girls gotta eat.

I have gotten amazingly good at making something from nothing, or at least something from whatever I have in the cupboards.  I recently received my coupon for a FREE tub of the new Philadelphia cooking creme that I got from Kraft First Taste.  (PS - if you haven't joined Kraft First Taste yet, I suggest you do.  I have gotten quite a few freebies from them!)

I decided I could use this to whip up something edible from my stockpile, and so I did. 
I used:
1 Box of Ronzoni Smart Taste Penne (Free at Albies awhile back)
1 Bell Pepper ( $1 at Fred Meyer last week)
2 lbs of chicken breast ($1.88 lb at Albies last week)
1 tub of Philadelphia Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Creme ( FREE)

(I would have really liked to add some broccoli or spinach to this, but I didn't have any.)

I cut up the chicken into small pieces and seared it in a pan with olive oil ( At this point I would suggest you season the chicken, at the very least with salt and pepper.  I didn't, and I wish I had)  I also cut the bell pepper into strips and added it to the pan when the chicken was mostly cooked.  Waiting until then allowed the bell pepper to remain a bit crunchy but gave it a nice sweet flavor.

I cooked the noodles, drained them, then threw everything in the pot with the cheese.  Stir it up and done!  Easy Peasy.

This made about 5-6 good sized servings.  This dish in particular cost me about .90 cents per serving!  Not too shabby.

Notes for next time:  As I said, I would for sure season the chicken, I think it would make a big difference.  Also, I think this would be good with a few more veggies.  The sauce was pretty good, but you could probably fancy it up by adding addition cheese, milk or cream, maybe some more seasonings.

Free Secret!

Hurry over HERE to score a free sample of secret deodorant!  They are only giving away 3000, so they will go fast!

FREE Target beauty bag!

This is a fun freebie!  Go HERE to sign up for a FREE beauty bag from Target with samples and coupons!

Thanks Hip2Save!

Walgreens wants to talk...

OK, so I told Walgreens how I really felt.  And they want to talk.  I went ahead and sent in a copy of my blog post.  They should know how their rewards system is affecting their customer base, right?  Well, Friday night I noticed I had a voicemail, and it was Walgreens.  A LOCAL Walgreens person.  Sounded like a manager, I think his name was Craig.  Or Chuck.  Anyway, he left me a message about my "cute little poem"?  And he wants me to call back to talk about it.  I haven't called back yet.  I don't know, Wags, we've been through so much...
I haven't decided if I'm going to call back or not.  Maybe if I have time Monday....

I'm breaking up with Walgreens

Dear Walgreens,

I'm sorry to tell you that I'm breaking up with you.  It's not me, it's you.  Back in the day, before I was a couponer, I never shopped at Walgreens.  Why would I when I could just go to Target?  But then, I discovered the wonders of couponing, and more importantly, register rewards.  Register Rewards are a broke girl's best friend.  You can earn them one week, and then use them the next week to score tons of free stuff!  Keep doing it every week, and eventually you have a closet full of toothpaste, razors and shaving cream that you paid pennies for out of pocket.

I heard some grumblings about "test markets"...certain cities where Wags was testing out a new reward system.  I noticed because one of the cities was not too far from me, but honestly this new reward system was way to complicated for me to understand, so I just ignored it and kept doing my weekly Wags shopping.  Oh, Wags, how I loved you.

Then, something changed.  I moved to a "test market" city.  Now I live in a city where my beloved Wags offers a complicated and obnoxious "reward" system ( I hesitate to call it a reward, because it is more like a homework project followed by a slap in the face).  I get to hear about all the great deals that are being offered to Wags shoppers in other towns...but not in mine.  Want FREE Motrin after RR?  No, sorry Ms. Broke, you can't.  But, you can PAY 3 bucks for Motrin, and then get 15x points!!!!!  What the hell do I want with 15x points?

I would try to explain the reward system, but honestly, I think I would fall asleep before I finished.  The gist is: you get points for every dollar that you spend.  Like 10 points per dollar.  And then you can use those points for rewards.  2000 gets you a $5 Walgreens rewards certificate.  10 points per dollar  means you need to spend $200 to earn that gift certificate.  BUT WHAT ABOUT THE 15x points?????  OK, so you spend $3 bucks on Motrin ( WHY?  I don't know).  So you normally would earn...30 points.  Wow.  But with the amazing 15x points, you earn....450 points.  That would mean you are a quarter ( almost!) of the way to earning $5 bucks!  Instead of instantly earning a $3 RR like everyone else.  No thanks.  This "Rewards System"  requires too much math, and isn't very rewarding at all.

Sorry Wags.  We had a good run, it was fun while it lasted.  Call me when you get your rewards system worked out.  I'll be at Rite-Aid.

She's back...

I just moved to a new city ( yay!) and have been checking out my new digs.  The sad thing is that I have been so preoccupied with my move and other life stuff that couponing has needed to take the back burner for awhile.  I can't even TELL you the deals I missed.  It hurts too much to think about it.  But, I had bigger fish to fry.

Now that the dust has started to settle, I ventured out to find my nearest couponing spots.  My nearest Albertsons has a Rite aid RIGHT NEXT to it!  How convenient is that?  The Albertsons is tiny, but the Rite Aid is HUGE!  In fact, I'm pretty sure that the Albies and the Rite Aid are about the same size.  Kind of funny.

The only thing I scored at Rite Aid was some cheap wine.  I intended to get some cheap Jif Peanut Butter, but I got there and realized I had forgotten my coupon ( Yes, my brain is still addled from the stress of my recent life).  They even had some in stock!  On a Thursday!  Hopefully when I return tomorrow with my coupon in hand, they will still have some.  Also - I had a problem with a WINE shelf clearer.  WTF?  There was a nice sale on some decent wine, and ALL the Pinot Grigio was gone.  In multiple brands!  Hello?  Leave some for the rest of us girls, don't be greedy.

Anyway, FINALLY I was able to score some deals at Albertsons.  Check out all the REAL FOOD!

Paid: $15.30
SAVED: $23.63


Really good considering how much meat I got.  As I said, I just moved, so I need to stock up on the fresh foods.  Especially protein!

2 Bottom Round Steaks ( $3.63 BOGO)

Pork Sausage ( $3.49)
 -$2 Store Coupon = $1.49

1 Salmon Filet ( $1.00)

1 Tilapia Filet ( $1.00)

2x Albertsons Brand Frozen Peas ( $1.00 Each Sale)
-$1/2 Albertsons Frozen Veggies ( From Heart Healthy Coupon book in store)
= .50 cents each!

Athenos Hummus  ($1.99)
-$1/1 Coupon from HERE
DOUBLED = FREE!

Stouffers Frozen Lasagna ($2.00)
-$1/1 from HERE
DOUBLED = FREE!

2x Orville Popcorn ( $3.29 EACH)
1x 7-Up ($1.25)
1x A&W Root Beer 9 $1.25)
Used in Store coupon for Buy 1 Get 1 Free Popcorn PLUS 2x Free 2 -Liters ( 7-up or A&W)
AND Used .40/1 Orville Popcorn ( In store blinkie)
DOUBLED
Paid $2.49 for one popcorn and the rest FREE!

Garlic ( .69 cents)
Ginger Root ( .12 cents)

Thai Kitchen Panang Simmer Sauce ( $3.79)
( No coupon, I just needed dinner!)

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!