Posts made in July 2009

I know yesterday I had mentioned that I went to Publix and got some amazing deals. Well, once again, I wanted to share them with you all and break down what coupons I used so you can see how I got all of this loot for so little! I spent $8.58 and saved $119.08!!! You can do this too, I promise. It just takes a little bit of time and practice from your busy schedule. I know that you all are busy just like me, but it is SO worth the time that I spend to see how little we spend on groceries, household items, and HBA items!

Here is the breakdown on my Publix trip:

5 assorted Kashi Whole Grain Pizzas- $2.99 each minus 5 $3 off coupons = FREE plus overage!!

2 boxes of Kashi Whole Grain Waffles- $1.39 each minus 2 $1.50 off coupons = FREE plus overage!!

6 boxes of Mueller’s whole grain pasta-BOGO @ $1.37 minus 3 $1/2 coupons = $1.11

2 cans of Raid Ant/Roach Killer-$3.89 each minus 2 $2 manuf. coupons and 2 $2 Publix coupons from a Publix flier = FREE plus overage!!

1 box of Lorea’l Frost and Glow Hair Color-$7.99 minus $5.00 Publix coupon from the Back to School Advantage Flier (found in the turnstile) and $3.00 manufacturer coupon = FREE plus .01 overage!!

2 cartons of Smart Balance Butter- BOGO @ 2.89 (no coupons, but you will see why I got these in a minute!)

2 half gallons of Smart Balance milk-$3.00 each minus 2  FREE manufacturer coupons for FREE Smart Balance Milk when you buy one Smart Balance Butter = FREE!! Since the butter is BOGO, I met the requirements for 2 FREE milks!!

2 bottles of A-1 Marinade-BOGO @ $2.89 minus 2 $2.00 coupons = FREE plus Overage!!

2 boxes of Huggies Bath Washcloths-BOGO @$3.29 minus 1 $1.25 coupon and 1 $1.00 coupon = $1.04

1 bottle of Listerine Tooth Defense mouthwash- $3.79 minus $2.00 manufacturer coupon and 1 $2.00 off coupon from the Publix Back to School Advantage flier (found in the turnstile) = FREE with overage!!

4 boxes of assorted Klondike Ice cream bars- BOGO @ $3.95 minus 4 $1.25 off coupons = $2.90
1 ½ pounds of bananas- $1.17 (no coupons)

4 packages of Apple and Eve Organic Apple Juice Boxes- $1.59 each minus 4 $1.00 Publix coupons (found in the Summertime Savings flier in the turnstile) minus 4 .50 coupons from the Publix Greenwise magazine = .36 for 12 Organic Juice boxes!!

2 bottles of Blueberry Pomegranete water-$1.00 each minus 2 $1.00 off manufacturer coupons = $1! I splurged since the lady doing the demo was so persistent about me buying some! LOL! It was pretty tasty too! 😉

2 packages of Rosetto Ravioli-BOGO @ $4.19 minus $1.50/2 Internet coupon= $2.69

Not pictured, but I got Drew a package of Ritz mini crackers too since he was so good at the store! .50

Minus $3 off $30 purchase or more Publix coupon! All this for $8.58!!! Pretty good haul if I do say so myself! Have you ever tried the Kashi pizzas? They are so tasty and good for you as well! We love them so I a stocking my little freezer up! 😉

Now, I know many of you are probably wondering where is the beef, right? I do go to Sam’s Club once a month and stock up on chicken breasts and ground turkey. I also buy the big bags of Frozen broccoli and mixed veggies there as it is cheaper in the long run for our family. I usually spend $65 a month at Sams on meat and veggies. Our total grocery bill per MONTH is around $125!!! I also have a lot of food stockpiled, so we just don’t need that much on a weekly basis. It does pay to stockpile!! 😉

I would love to hear from you and see the pics of your sweet grocery trips! I would also love to hear your great deals for the week! Happy shopping and saving money!

I hope that everyone is off to a wonderful weekend. I just wanted to pass along a few Freebies and other sweet finds to help you save some moolah!

Today, Friday July 10, is Annual Cow Appreciation Day at Chick Fil A. If you dress up like a cow you will receive a FREE Combo meal. If you wear a Cow Accessory you will receive a FREE entrée item. Sounds like a good time with the family to me!!! Check out more details here: www.chickfila.com

Here is another great family freebie for tomorrow, Saturday, July 11 (7-11)! Take the family to your local 7-11 store for FREE Slurpees of your choice! Read the sweet details here:
www.7eleven.com/NewsRoom/FreeSlurpeeDrinksLiveMusicToTheirEars/tabid/319/Default.aspx

The Rainforest Café is offering a $10/$25 coupon when you sign up on their website for the Safari Club. It is free and easy! The coupon comes right to your inbox. When you get to the Rainforest Café site, click on Ollie the Monkey and it will take you to the page where you sign up! This would be a great dining experience out the entire family would love and a sweet savings off your bill as well! Check it out here: www.rainforestcafe.com

Lastly, Arby’s is offering a FREE BBQ Bacon Cheddar RoastBurger with the purchase of any soft drink. This sweet coupon expires Monday, July 13, so go out and have an almost FREE date with your honey or take the kids out for an inexpensive meal! Check it out here: www.arbys.com/coupon/?cid=e_extras070909

Are there other Fabulous Freebies and Food finds that you would like to share? Go ahead and send me a comment! I love to hear your deals too! Have a wonderful summer weekend with you family!

Now that you know how to use the Extra Care program at CVS, I thought it would be helpful if I explained how to use the Register Rewards system at Walgreens. While it is very different from CVS, you can still save money and get items for FREE at Walgreens as well! It takes a little more thought and practice with Walgreens, but as with CVS, you can gain many FREE or almost FREE items. It is also possible to keep your Register Rewards rolling to use for your next purchase(s). Here are a few basics that you should first understand about using and obtaining Register Rewards at Walgreens:

First, it is important to understand that there is no card and no program to sign up for!

Secondly, a RR (Register Reward) is a manufacturer’s coupon that prints at the cash register from a Catalina (coupon) machine when you have made a qualifying purchase. Check your weekly sales ad to see what items are producing RR that week. Many times if you have a manufacturer’s coupon to go along with it, you can end up with a really great deal!

RR’s are like cash and can be used on most anything at Walgreens (as with CVS, there is fine print so make sure that you read that carefully-RR’s cannot be used for prescriptions, gift cards, etc…) You should always make it your goal to spend as little money OOP (out of pocket) as possible! This is more challenging at Walgreens, but it can be done! You too can do it! 😉

RR’s have a 2 week expiration date. This does make it a little more challenging since you have a month to use those ECB’s at CVS! Once again though if you find that you can’t roll your RR, just buy things that you know your family can use. I will usually buy laundry detergent or trash bags as we can always use those! 😉

You may only receive one printed RR per transaction for that particular offer. This can also be a little bit challenging, so let me explain with a scenario. Let’s say that you want to take advantage of the Keebler/Cheez-It deal 2 times this week (Buy 4 for $10 and receive $5 RR). You would have to do the deal in 2 separate transactions in order to receive 2 $5 RR’s. The Catalina machine will not be able to print out 2 RR in one transaction.

You may use more than one RR when paying for items. Now, this may actually be a YMMV (your mileage may vary) situation; however, it may be done. I have successfully used up to 5 RR at one Walgreens, while the one down the street will only let me use 1 RR. Because of this, I always try to have my purchases separated in case I have to do multiple transactions. This can be a pain, but it is worth it, if you are getting FREE or nearly FREE items!

Lastly, you cannot have more coupons than items you are purchasing at Walgreens. The RR counts toward your coupon total since it is technically a coupon as well. When you have more coupons than items, you will need to add an inexpensive filler item(s) For example, if I have 4 packages of Keebler cookies from this week’s RR deal and 5 coupons, I would have to throw in another item so that the ratio of coupons to items that I am purchasing is equal. Once again, a lot of people don’t realize this and it can be a pain! Another tip that I have found helpful when searching for an inexpensive filler item, is to search the clearance section (usually found in the back of the store) I have found numerous filler items for .10 or less! Then, there is always the good ol’ .25 a pack Ramen noodle soup! I have used that one many times! 😉 Just remember, you can’t have more coupons than items you are purchasing!

Now that you know the basics of the RR system, go grab your weekly sales ad and your coupon binder and let’s get shopping for some sweet deals! I don’t see many exciting deals this week, but let me give you a couple of scenarios to help you get started.

-4 packages of Keebler Fudge Stripe cookies @ $10
Minus 2 $1/2 IP coupons from www.coupons.com $8
Minus $2 RR from a previous purchase-brings my total to $6 plus tax

I have 4 packages of cookies and I am using 3 copons, so I do not need a filler item this time! I will pay $6 and tax for my 4 packages of cookies, AND I will receive a $5 RR to use the next time I purchase something! Yes, I spent $6 OOP (my own money) but I received back $5 in RR to use for next time!

Here is one more scenario using the $5 RR that I just earned from the Keebler deal, so you can see how I keep it rolling, rolling, rolling! 😉 Once again, the deals are not very exciting this week, but I want you to see what can be done. Let’s do the Dental products deal (Buy $10 of participating dental products and receive $3 in RR). Part of the deal is for Crest toothpaste 2 for $5.

4 tubes Crest toothpaste 2 for $5 = $10
Minus 4 $1.00 manufacturer coupons $6
Minus $5 RR from the Keebler deal -brings my final to $1 plus our filler item and tax

Now, take a look at how many coupons that I have. I have 4 manufacturer coupons and 1 RR. 5 coupons and 4 items- what do I need to add when this happens? You got it! A small filler item! Let’s add a package of Ramen soup for .25-now our ratio of coupons to items is equal! In the end, we will have a total OOP expense of about $2 AND we will get back $3 RR to use for next time. We also have 4 tubes of toothpaste to use for the 4 packages of Keebler cookies that we just got! 😉 We will need it!

I hope that this will help you to better understand the RR system at Walgreens. You too can get some sweet deals if you just put some thought and practice into it. Do you have some sweet Walgreens deals that you would like to share with me? I love to hear about all of your deals, ideas, and tips!

Back when I started couponing and bargain-hunting, I would hear other couponers mention the CVS Extra Care Program, but I had no idea what they were talking about! Now that I know all the details and money that you can save with this program, I am hooked! This year alone I have saved $1618.57!!! Along with all that money I have saved, I have accumulated lots of FREE toothpaste, body wash, deodorant, OTC medicines, bandaids, diapers/training pants, cereal, paper products, laundry detergents, and so much more! I know that this may seem too good to be true, but once you understand the basics, you too will be getting items for FREE and nearly FREE! Let me go ahead and share with you the 411 on how to use this program!

-First of all, you may be wondering what this program is all about. You should start by getting your Extra Care Card. This is a card that you will carry with you in your wallet or on your key ring. You will take it with you each time you shop at CVS. If you don’t have an Extra Care card, you can pick up one from the cashier at your local CVS. You can use the card the same day that you get it to start saving! I would recommend registering your card online as well so CVS can send you coupons in your mail and by email!

-Secondly, let me explain to you how you are rewarded. Rewards at CVS are called Extra Care Bucks. These ECB’s, (as couponers often refer to them) are just like cash and can be used on most anything at CVS. Each purchase that you make online and in store allows you to earn 2% back in Extra Care Bucks every 3 months! You will also earn $1 ECB for every 2 prescriptions that you have filled online or in store at CVS! The ECB’s will print on your store receipt along with other money-saving store coupons! The ECB’s usually have a month-long expiration date, so you should have plenty of time to use them!

-Thirdly, you should understand that there are other ways to save with your Extra Care Card as well. You can get instant savings on items featured in weekly and monthly store ads just by using your Extra Care Card! Your ECB’s will print on your receipt immediately after you have made a qualifying purchase!

-Lastly, you should realize that using your Extra Care card offers other benefits as well:
Additional special offers will print on your receipt throughout the year
Sign up for email offers and you will receive money-saving coupons sent right to you email!
You can turn your every day purchases into College Savings for your children with Upromise!
The more you shop and use your card at CVS, the more Rewards you will earn!

Now that you know the basics of the Extra Care Program, let’s go shopping for some sweet deals! You should sit down with your CVS weekly ad, your manufacturer’s coupons, and your notepad. Browse through the ad to see if there are any items that week which will earn you ECB’s with your purchase. Do you have manufacturer’s coupons to go along with the ECB items? Let me give you a few scenarios so that you can see how this is done! Just remember, when you shop at CVS to ALWAYS make it your goal to spend as little money out of your own pocket as possible!

Let me now give you a scenario that will show you how to use the Extra Care program and actually make money while doing it! This week does not look too good as far as the ECB’s go, so let me just make up a scenario that I have done in the past when it has been a good week!

1 Crest Pro Health Toothpaste (2.49-get back $2.00 in ECB with purchase)
1 Lady Speed Stick Deoderant (2.99-get back $2.99 in ECB with purchase-this is actually a FREE item after ECB’S!)
1 Garnier Shampoo (2.99-get back $2.99 in ECB with purchase-this is another FREE item after ECB’s!)

Now, check to see if you have manufacturer’s coupons to pair with the items that you are buying. We have $1.00/1 coupon for the toothpaste, .75/1 coupon for the deodorant, and $1.00/1 coupon for the shampoo. Our total before coupons would be: $8.47—after our coupons have been applied, we would pay out of our pocket $4.72, but you are getting back $7.98 in ECB’s !!! ($2 ECB for the toothpaste, $2.99 ECB for the Deoderant, and $2.99 for the shampoo!) Now, you have $7.98 in ECB for your next trip! You actually made money on this trip to CVS!!! To sweeten the deal even more, if you had ECB’s from a previous purchase, you could have used those as well for even lower OOP. (Out of Pocket) Remember, that is the goal! To have as little money coming from out of your own pocket as possible.

Now, lastly let me explain to you about “rolling” ECB’s. For those of you die-hard couponers out there, you probably already know what I mean by this, but let me explain. Rolling simply means taking an ECB and buying something else with it that will give you ECB’s back. For example, let’s say that we take that $7.98 ECB from our above mentioned trip to CVS and buy Revlon lip color that is on sale the next week for $9.99 with $9.99 in ECB back (FREE after ECB) plus we have $1 manufacturer’s coupon to go along with our $7.98 ECB. Yep, you guessed it, we would only have to pay around $1 OOP, you would have a nice lip color, and we would get back a $9.99 ECB for your next CVS trip! Make it your goal to keep rolling those ECB’s as much as you possibly can! I will tell you that there will be times when you will just have to spend the ECB’s. They could be expiring, or there is just nothing that week to “roll” them on. In times like these, I stock up on thinks like Laundry detergent or paper products.

I know that this has been a lot of information, but I really wanted to explain in depth the Extra Care program as I have had numerous people ask me about it lately. If I missed something or you still don’t understand the program, please contact me and I will be glad to help you out! Next up will be the 411 on the Register Rewards program at Walgreens! Stay tuned!!