I Love a Good Contest!

Hello Couponing Friends! I must say I am super excited to add my two cents worth to Anna and Chris' site! First, let me say, I am by no means an extreme couponer. However, my mother informed today that I am becoming one! I simply try to find the best deals with one salary. I will say that I have gotten in quiet a routine of shopping now, and when I do a "big" shop every 3 weeks I save no less that $95. So I am working out the kinks and finding out what works for my family, but I am having a blast doing it! With that said my next BIG shopping is a good week or so away, but I am excited with my CVS and Target adventures today.

CVS: Spent $12.89; Saved $25.81....What did I buy?

(2) Bottles of Nivea Body Wash on sale for $3.88 (had 2 $3.00 off coupons). Paid $1.76 for both

(2) Bottles of Head and Shoulders on sale for $4.99 (had a BOGO coupon). Paid $4.99 for both

(1) 3 Pack of Listerin Breath Freshner Strips on sale for $1.00 (5 for 5) (had a .50 coupon). Paid .50 for them.

(1) 6 Pack of Scott Mega Papertowels on sale for $4.98 (Reg. 7.39) (had a $1.00 coupon). Paid $3.98 for the 6 pack!

****Got $2.00 in extra care bucks *****

So at CVS was a hit.....have a few other coupons to go back and try to stock up on some goodies tomorrow....

Target: Spent .56 (YES .56!); Saved $5.36.....

(2) Bottles of Heinz Ketchup (Facebook had a coupon today...First 50,000 people got a $2.00 off coupon) The ketchup was on sale for $1.71 (had (2) $2.00 off coupons)....Target had to pay me!

(2) Easter Eggs filled with M & M's priced at .99 a piece (had $1.00 off coupon for 2)

This my friends is just the beginning. Am going to hit up another CVS tomorrow...

Rite-Aid vs. CVS! And the Winner Is...

Woot!  This morning I got up extra early (for a Sunday) and got dressed, then headed to the drug stores before church, leaving everyone still asleep in their beds. Chris is so good to me...I appreciate his willingness to get up with the kids and get them dressed and ready for church so I could go do my drug store shopping early in the morning.  He's awesome. :)

So anyway, I got up and left the house @ 7:45 am and headed out to Rite-Aid.  Armed with my +UP rewards, Rite-Aid coupons, and matching manufacturer coupons, I was ready to save some cash!  Here's what I bought:

4 Glade Candles (to be used as gifts): $2.50 each
2 Glade Aerosol Air Fresheners: $2.50 each
1 Febreze Set & Refresh Air Freshener: $2.50
1 Febreze Air Effects Air Freshener: $2.50
2 bottles of Windex: $2.50 each
2 packs of Dixie paper plates: $3.99 (B1G1 free)
1 box of Ziploc Slider bags: $2.50
Total before coupons: $31.49

I had $5 +UP rewards from my last visit, and I had $15 in coupons (both Rite-Aid coupons, from the adperk website, AND manufacturer coupons -- I matched them up with the help of Jenny from Southern Savers, of course!), so my grand total (including tax) was $13.68.  (That's like saying I paid $1.06 for each item!)  I got $10 +UP rewards for spending $30 (before coupons) on household items, so its kinda like I got all that stuff for only $3.68.

Oh!  And on the bottom of my receipt, there's a code to go the the Rite-Aid website, take a survey about their customer service, and get $3 off my next purchase of $15 or more.  SWEET.  I am *so* doing that.

After leaving Rite-Aid, I stopped at my favorite little gas station (the only one I know of that carries my beloved double coupon edition of the paper) and picked one up.  Today the regular paper has double coupons, so the double coupon paper has FOUR inserts!  WOOHOO!!

Ok, so after that little stop, I headed on down to CVS.  I didn't do as well as I had hoped at CVS today because one of my coupons (a $5 off $40 purchase) didn't scan...It came up that it had already been used, which was weird.  Turned out, it was actually expired.  Grrr. I hate when that happens.  So anyway, I had piled all my stuff into one big transaction so I could use the $5 off a $40 purchase coupon and then didn't get to use it.  Oh well.  Anyway, I think I still did okay. Here's what I got at CVS:

2 tubes of Maybelline mascara: $5.89 each
1 bag of Easter basket grass: $0.99
1 PAAS Easter egg decorating kit: $1.99
1 CVS Green bag tag: $0.99
1 GE Energy Smart light bulb: $2.99
18 rolls of Cottonelle TP: $8.99
CVS Training Pants: $10.99
Total before ECB and coupons: $38.63

I had $10 ECB from last week, and I had $10.50 in coupons, so my grand total with sales tax was $19.40. That's really not too bad, considering nearly $11 of that was training pants that were not on sale!  I also got back $16 worth of ECB, so its kind of like I paid $3.40 for all of this.  Not too shabby, eh?

*I know you see Dr. Pepper and Sprite in that picture.  Here's what happened.  I was running low on time...I had planned to take advantage of the Coke products deal...Apparently it didn't include Dr. P or Sprite.  I paid $4.99 for each of those 12-packs!  No way is that gonna happen.  Those bad boys are going back to the store this afternoon and I'm getting my $20 bucks back!

So...what do you think?  Which store won today -- Rite-Aid or CVS?  Where did I get the better deals?  Let me know if you got some good deals somewhere else!  I always love hearing other peoples' success stories, so please share! :)

ETA: I returned the Dr. Pepper & Sprite, so I got my $20 back, and I went ahead and got the Coke products.  I got 4 12-packs for $13.  I used ECB to pay for them, so I ended up only paying $0.27 for them.  Woohoo!  I also got $3  ECB in return, so I now have $6 ECB for next week.  Nice. :)

Back from a Break!

I'm baaaack! :)  Since I am *not* an extreme couponer, I did not do my usual Sunday drugstore deals last week.  I took a week off because, frankly, we didn't really need anything and the deals weren't so amazing that I just had to get out there and take advantage of them.  So there!  See?  I am not an "organized hoarder" like the crazy people on TLC.

This week, however, I am totally back in the game.  I am planning to hit up the CVS and Rite-Aid tomorrow.  CVS is gonna be good because I have $10 ECB to start with, and Rite-Aid is just having some awesome freebie deals and those deals, combined with my $5 +UP rewards from a couple of weeks ago, will make for a really good shopping trip.

First, you should really check out this week's CVS deals and Rite-Aid deals from my favorite couponing source...Southern Savers!

Now, here's my plan for CVS:  I'm going to pick up some Easter basket grass, a PAAS egg decorating kit, a Green bag tag, a GE Energy Smart light bulb, (3) 12-packs of Coke products, 2 tubes of Maybelline Mascara, 18 rolls of Cottonelle TP, and a pack of Pull-Ups.  My total (before coupons and tax) would be $46.77...but with the $10 ECB and coupons I have, I will pay only $24.27 plus tax and get back $13.97 ECB for next week (so its kinda like paying only $10.30 for all of it).  Nice!

Rite-Aid will be even better!  They are having a sale where if you buy $30 worth of certain household items you will earn $10 +UP rewards.  I am planning to take advantage of this and buy a can of Lysol Neutra Air, 2 bottles of Windex, some Purex 3-in-1 laundry sheets, 2 cans of Febreze Air Effects, some Lysol toilet bowl cleaner, a box of Ziploc bags, 2 cans of Glade aerosol, and 2 Glade candles.  My total for all of this (before coupons or tax) would be $31.47...but with my $5 +UP rewards and my Rite-Aid coupons (through the adperk website) matched with manufacturer coupons, I will pay only $8.72 plus tax AND I will get $10 +UP rewards back (so its kinda like they're paying me $1.28 to take it out of the store)!!!

Of course, by the time I get there after church...who knows what will be there and what will happen.  Of course I will post an update, but this is why I have learned to take ALL my coupons with me, not just the ones I plan to use.  :)  For example, I have a ton of extra coupons cut out for the Rite-Aid products, just in case the items I plan to buy are sold out.  There were a ton of other items I could buy to reach the $30 limit and if I can use coupons to buy those items, I will.

Anyone else planning to hit the drug stores tomorrow??  Let me know if you have a strategy that works for you!

TLC's Extreme Couponing...my thoughts

I've heard and read a lot about TLC's show Extreme Couponing and, after watching several episodes, I feel like I can now write a fair and balanced review. (Just call me Fox News, y'all!)

So, here goes.  First of all, there is *no way* these stores would allow someone to stand in line and separate their purchases in up to 18 separate transactions.  18??  And its pretty obvious that these stores are blatantly breaking their own coupon policies in order to be shown on TV.  This is so misleading because you know there are going to be those people who try to emulate these crazy ladies and get out there trying to use a thousand different coupons and they're gonna be mad when they can't.

I am NOT an "extreme couponer."  I do love a good deal.  I stock up on items we use or will use in the near future when they are on sale (things like TP, paper towels, kleenex, diapers, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, etc) but I don't have a stockpile or anything.  I read several couponing blogs and this article by Traci (Southern Coupon Belle) hit the nail on the head for me.  I totally agree with her about the "Golden Rule of Couponing."  I *never* take the last item on the shelf.  I rarely ever take more than two of anything.  (Those women on the show who took 65 bottles of mustard or 54 bottles of Maalox??  That's just rude and selfish!)  You really should just go read that article.  She says it much better than I do. :)

Anyway...enough of that.  Happy couponing!  And remember:  Use coupons unto others as you would have them use coupons unto you!

More Drug Store Deals!

Today I had to go out to get my hair cut  so I decided to get some coupons together and stop by Walgreens & Rite-Aid to pick up some last-minute deals before the new sales start on Sunday!*  No, I'm not addicted...I just can't resist a good deal. :)


First I went to Walgreens.  According to their ad, Walgreens was giving back $2 RR (Register Rewards) when you bought any 2 Herbal Essences, Aussie, or Pantene products, which were on sale for $3.50 each.  I already had some Herbal Essences conditioner at home, so I picked up some shampoo and mousse.  I had a coupon that made it B1G1 free, so I ended up paying $3.94 for the shampoo and mousse.  I then got the $2 RR after my receipt printed.

Now, for my second transaction.  With all my spring cleaning this week, I was actually starting to use up some cleaning supplies.  I decided to take advantage of the advertised deal that stated that if I bought $10 worth of cleaning products I would get $3 RR back.  I bought 2 bottles of Mr. Clean All-Purpose cleaner, and two 2-packs of Magic Erasers.  (I love those things!)  My subtotal for these items was $10.83.  I used three coupons:  $1 off any 2 Mr. Clean products, $0.75 Magic Eraser, and $0.75 off Mr. Clean floor cleaner.  Since I had four items, I was also able to use the $2 RR I earned from the first transaction, so that brought my total down to $6.45, and I got $3 RR back after my receipt printed.  All in all, I spent $10.39 and I already have $3 to put toward my next purchase.

After I left Walgreens, I headed over to Rite-Aid.  I was just there a couple of days ago but they'd been restocked, so I was able to get a couple of things I'd missed out on earlier, which was cool. 

First, I picked up the hairbands.  These were on sale for $1.99 w/the +wellness card and when you bought them, you'd get $1.99 +UP rewards, which kinda makes them FREE! :)  I bought them first, so that cost me $2.14, then I got $1.99 +UP back.

For my second transaction, I bought a bottle of Garnier shampoo.  On my Garnier transaction from a couple of days ago, I hadn't realized that the products were BIGI 50% off, so my total hadn't actually been $15, so I had not gotten the $5 +UP back.  I was only $1.99 off from reaching it, though, so I bought the bottle of shampoo (which was $3.99), used a $1 off coupon and the $1.99 +UP  rewards, which made my total $1.28.  Now that the computer detected that I had spent $15 on Garnier products within the week, I got my $5 +UP rewards.  Nice!

On my third transaction, I decided to go for the advertised Burt's Bees deal.  If you spent $15 on Burt's Bees products, you would get $5 +UP rewards back.  Well, if you remember...Rite-Aid has this awesome website where you can watch these short advertisement videos and get store coupons.  If you can match these with manufacturer coupons, you can save even more!  I watched several of these videos and got Rite-Aid coupons for Burt's Bees Lip Products and Lotions and a $2 off $10 Burt's Bees purchase.  After using a $2 off lotion, $1 off lip item, the $2 off $10 purchase coupon, and the $5 +UP rewards from my 2nd transaction, my total was $8.17, and I got back $5 +UP rewards to use next time I go.  Not too bad!  All in all, I paid $11.59 for the above pictured items and got $5 back in store credit. :)

*Thursday night is when Jenny at Southern Savers publishes the upcoming deals for the drugstores, so keep your eyes open and check her site tonight!  I will be at a girls' sleepover at my church tonight so I will be going through withdrawal, but you'd better believe I will be scouring the deals and developing my plan for Sunday as soon as I get home on Friday!  (Well, after I get some rest, that is...)

Rockin' It At Rite-Aid!

Today I made a trip out to Rite-Aid!  I know, I know...I should have gone on Sunday, since that's when the good deals begin and that's when I could have made sure to get the stuff I really wanted before it got cleaned out, but oh well.  I think I still came away with some really good deals.

Here's a picture of what I left with:

Had I not had coupons or a store loyalty card (the +wellness card), I would have spent $5.49 for the Listerine, $6.49 for the Garnier face cleansing towelettes, $4.49 each for the Garnier Anti-humidity smoothing milk and $1.49 each for the 4 packs of Carefree pantyliners.  That's a total of $26.92.

You surely know me better by now, though!  Of course I have the Rite-Aid card, and carry coupons with me everywhere.  I especially like to visit their website: http://www.riteaid.adperk.com and watch the ad videos there to earn extra store coupons to match with manufacturer coupons, and save even more!  This time, I had a Rite-Aid coupon to match with a manufacturer coupon for the Listerine, making it super cheap.  I saved more than 50% today with my coupons and store card, and this is how it happened:

Transaction #1:
Listerine.................................$3.99 w/+wellness card
-$1.00 store coupon (from watching videos on adperk site)
-$1.00 manufacturer coupon (printable)
Carefree pantyliners.......4 for $5.00 w/+wellness card
-$1.00 off Carefree product
-$0.50 off Carefree product
-$0.50 off Carefree product
-$0.50 off carefree product
Grand Total after coupons (including tax):  $5.18
Received $2 +UP  ($1 for buying the Listerine, $1 for buying the pantyliners)

Transaction #2:
Garnier Face Cleanser (Towelettes).........$6.49
-$2.00 off Garnier Cleanser
(2) Garnier Anti-Humidity Hair Smoothing Milk.........$4.49 each
-$1.00 off Garnier hair stylant
-$1.00 off Garnier hair stylant
-$2.00 off $10 Rite-Aid beauty purchase
-$2 +UP rewards (from transaction #1)
Grand Total (including tax): $6.83
Received $5 +UP (for spending $15 on Garnier products)

So, as you see...by using my coupons and +wellness card, I saved about 55% today at Rite-Aid!  $12.01 out-of-pocket is a much better deal than $26.92!  I hope this helps!  Let me know if you have any questions!

A Word About Walgreens...

I had a question about shopping at Walgreens yeaterday, and I wanted to address it.  First of all, YES you can get great deals at Walgreens just like you can at CVS and Rite-Aid.  At Walgreens, you don't have to have a store loyalty card, either, so don't worry about having to add yet another of those little cards to your already massive key chain. :)  The Register Rewards (that's what they call them) print up automatically after your purchase of select items, just like Extra Care Bucks (ECB) print up at the bottom of your receipt at CVS.  Nice!

However.

I'm not sure if this is a nationwide Walgreens policy, but at least at every Walgreens I've been to here in my area here in Georgia, they require that you have an equal number of items that you're purchasing and coupons or RR (Register Rewards).  This is very different than CVS' policy. 

At CVS, I can go (like I did yesterday) and buy 4 items (a pack of diapers, two packs of TP, and a bottle of dish soap), and use 7 coupons (3 ECB credits, a $5 off coupon, a $3 diaper coupon, a $0.25 off TP coupon, and a $1 off dish soap coupon) with no problem.  This would not be allowed at Walgreens.  At Walgreens, I would have to buy 3 extra small "filler" items in order to be able to use the three extra coupons.  I'd probably pick up maybe the cheapest gum or candy I could find, but still...Its just a kink in the system that you have to get used to.

Walgreens is not as close to my house as the other stores (CVS and Rite-Aid), but since I know it is more convenient for many of you who are reading this, I am going to make a point to get out there sometime this week so I can get together an example of how I used the RR (Register Rewards) and coupons to save some cash!  I'll do the same for Rite-Aid as well, so stay tuned. Already working on those coupons...

CVS Sunday!

OK, so if you read my post from yesterday (no, not Chris' Publix post...my CVS post!), you may remember my plan.  If not, click on that link and you'll see what I planned to do/buy/save.  Well, the thing about plans are that they don't always come through.  See, my local paper didn't have the Charmin coupon that was posted on Southern Savers, so I couldn't use that, and CVS was already cleaned out of the GUM-eez flossers by the time I got there after church.  Not that I necessarily needed or wanted flossers, but I was excited to get the $4 ECB that I would have gotten from buying them for 50 cents (after coupons)  and use them towards buying the diapers and toilet paper that I *did* want and need, but whatevs...

Here's what actually did end up happening on today's trip:

Transaction 1:
(2) Oral-B Advantage toothbrushes.....$2.99 each
(2)  M&M-filled Easter eggs................$0.99 each
Coupons: B1G1 Oral-B toothbrush...-$2.99
               $2 off Oral-B toothbrush....-$2.00
               $2 off two Mars candies.....-$2.00
Grand total (including tax):.............$1.47
ECB received: $1.98 ($0.99 per toothbrush)

Transaction #2:
Pampers (70-count)......................$18.99
(2) Charmin TP (9 rolls)................$5.49 each
Dawn Hand Renewal dish soap.....$0.99
Coupons: $5 off $25 purchase.....-$5.00
                ECB...........................-$3.50
                ECB...........................-$5.00
                $0.25 off Charmin......-$0.25
                $1.00 off Dawn..........-$1.00
                $3.00 off Pampers......-$3.00
Grand total: (including tax):.....$12.81
ECB received: $10 (for buying $30 worth of participating products--the Pampers, Charmin, & Dawn)

All in all, I think a grand total of $14.28 out-of-pocket is a really good deal for 2 toothbrushes, 70 Pampers diapers, 18 rolls of TP, 1 bottle of dish soap, and 2 Easter eggs. :)  Plus, I got $10 of store credit for next time, so that makes the deal even sweeter.  Let me know if you have any questions!

P.S. -- I got myself another double coupon edition of the Sunday paper today!  Chris and I are gonna cancel our newspaper subscription and just go get this double coupon edition, I do believe!

Party at Publix!

As you know, Anna does her couponing at CVS...She saves us tons of money on things like medicine and health & beauty supplies. Well, I go once a week to our local Publix and do our grocery shopping. The Coupon Competition title of this blog is misleading because there really is no competition between me and Anna. Her savings at CVS blow my savings at Publix away!

That being said, through www.southernsavers.com we have been able to reduce our grocery bill to less than half of what it used to be by shopping at both Publix and CVS. We also have stocked up on several items, so if you are in need of paper towels, toothpaste, instant mashed potatoes, or bleach let us know...We can definitely make a gift basket for you! Our pantry and freezer are both full and we have been blessed by doing this coupon thing.

So anyhow, Publix....I am sure one day Anna (who is more into the details) will give you guys a step-by-step approach on how to save a ton at money at Publix. I am a simple man so I will tell you what I do each week and hopefully that will help you guys out.

What I do every week before I go to Publix is go to Southern Savers and get my grocery list ready for my trip. Click on the Publix tab at the top of the page and find their weekly ad. I think most Publix ads begin on Thursdays like mine does here. Look at each deal (especially the buy one get one free deals!) and click on what you want and/or need. The Southern Savers Lady (her name is Jenny! -- Anna) puts an acorn icon besides what she thinks is an outstanding deal. Go thru the list, click on each item that you want, and at the end you can print your grocery list.

When you print your grocery list, you will find that you can print coupons from your list. Print out all your coupons and/or go find any coupons you might have on file that you got thru the RP (Red Plum) or SS (Smart Source) inserts in the Sunday newspapers. Once you get your coupons together (this is the short, short version) put them in order of the store layout. For example, I put any coupons I have for deli (which are rare) and dry goods first. I put medicines and dairy last because they are at the other end of the store. This saves time and headaches of going thru all your coupons.

One other thing I would recommend is not doing too much at the beginning. I tried to do it all at once and I just got a big headache. My first time doing this, I wasn't very organized and I literally stopped in the middle of the dry goods aisle for 15 minutes and got even more confused. I am surprised that Publix did not call security to take me away.

It takes time and it takes preparation. At first, you will likely still need to buy your staples at the Great Satan (Walmart) or Target, which actually has some good deals (Yes it does!  See my post here! -- Anna). But, after about 6-8 weeks of keeping it simple, your grocery list will shrink dramatically and you will never have to go to Walmart again. Thank you, Lord! So, start off small...Keep it simple and (I can't believe I am saying this), organization is the key.

That is just a few tips to start you off at Publix. This week I bought $86.80 of groceries for $33.13 which is a 62% savings! Not a bad week at all, but I still can't compete with God's gift to couponing (Anna, aka Mrs. CVS!)..But, I did get several items free or at a steep discount.  Here are some of those items:

10 Packs of Kool-Aid (free)

Theraflu 24 pack Warming Relief Caplets (free with a rebate)

Transformers, Spongebob, and Spiderman fruit snacks- 79 cents each

Club Crackers- $1.44

Weight Watchers Ice Cream Bars- $1.49

Lysol Disinfecting Wipes 80 count (the big ones) $1.99

Kettle Chips - $1.45

A lot of snacks and junk last week (see pic below), but still overall a very good week. There are great deals like this every week. Hope this gets you started.....Happy shopping!

Chris

Sunday's on the way!

Woohoo! Its almost Sunday!

I look forward to Sunday for two major reasons...First, because I absolutely l-o-v-e my church.  The small group is just fantastic, and the worship is amazing.  God is truly in that place.  Secondly, because Sunday is the day the drugstores start their sales!  Heehee! :)

Thursday night is when Jenny at Southern Savers gets the preview for the upcoming sales at CVS, Walgreens & Rite-Aid, so I usually get online after the kids go to bed and look at the deals to see if its worth going.  This week, I decided it would be worth a trip to CVS!  Here's a link to the CVS deals for this week if you're interested in checking it out!

Here's what I'm planning to get and how I'm planning to do it:

I'm starting with $5 in Extra Care Bucks (from my last visit), and because I am a Facebook fan of CVS, I got an email with an extra coupon for $5 off a $25 purchase (which is perfect for this week's deal) AND an extra $3.50 ECB that will print off at the coupon center at CVS or at the bottom of your receipt.  (I am planning to print them from the coupon center as soon as I get there, since I plan to use them on my first transaction.)

Transaction 1:
(2) Oral-B toothbrushes                       $2.99 each
(2) GUM-eez flossers 75-150 count     $2.00 each
Total (before coupons):                     $9.98 (tax not included)
Coupons:  B1G1 Oral-B (from 3/13)        -2.99
                 $2 off Oral-B toothbrush         -2.00
(2) 0.75 off GUM-eez flossers (printable) -1.50
                   ECB (from email)                  -3.50
GRAND TOTAL:  Well...If I didn't have to pay sales tax, they would actually owe me a penny. :)  Since I will have to pay tax on this stuff, though, I'll end up paying something like $0.46.  Crazy, huh? Oh, and after only paying 46 cents, I will also get back $5.98 in ECB for buying these specific items.  So its kinda like I'm getting paid to take this stuff out of their store.

Now, for my next transaction...
Transaction #2 is going to be based on a deal that requires you to buy $30 worth of certain items in order to get $10 of ECB back.  (This is where the $5 coupon that I got through email will really come in handy!)  I have a little one who is still in diapers, so I am totally going for the Pampers.  Here's what I'm planning to do:

Pampers (48-76 count)   $18.99
(2) Charmin TP               $ 5.49 each
Dawn dish soap              $  0.99
Total (before coupons):   $30.96 (tax not included)
Coupons:  $3 off Pampers (4/3)   -3.00
                $1/2 Charmin TP         -1.00
                $1 off Dawn                -1.00
                $5 off $25 purchase     -5.00
                ECB (from trans#1)     -5.98
                ECB (prior visit)          -5.00
GRAND TOTAL: $9.98 (plus tax)!!  (Oh, and I will also get the $10 ECB for spending $30 --before coupons and ECB--on these products!)  That $10 ECB will serve me well on future trips to CVS. :)

I hope this helps a bit...Let me know if you're out there hoping to make a trip and have a bit of success yourself!