$20 for ALL of this!

Walgreens

2 Comfort Premium Diapers $4.50 ea
1 Cars Coloring Book (for Little Man's Easter Basket) $1

Total: $10
Used $10 RR to pay
$0 OOP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Randall's

I know there is the great water deal going on with the Aqua Pods but we just never use bottled water. I still have bottled water here from Ike!! So I decided to pass because I'd be trading the money on my GC with no expiration for the Cats which do have an expiration. I don't go to Randall's very often so i figured it wasn't worth it for me.

4 Hunt's Spaghetti Sauce $1.25 ea
2 Crystal Light $2 ea (-$.50/2 dbl)
2 Del Monte Fruit $1.25 ea (-$1/2)
1 Hefty Plates $1.50 (-$.50/1 dbl)
1 Cheerios $2.00 (-$1/1)

Total: $15.50
(- $5 Mega Deal)
(- $4 MQ)
Grand Total (w/tax): $6.83
That was put on GC so OOP: $0
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kroger

This is where things get interesting.


5 Powerade $.99
2 A&W 2 Ltrs $1.25 (-$1/2)
2 Peanut Butter Crackers $1.67 ea
2 Welch's Aqua Juice (-Free item & $1.50/1) She input the free item as $3.39 instead of the $2.99 sale price
2 Huggies Diapers $9.99 (-$3 cellfire) & (-$3/1*2)
1 Pull Ups $9.99 (-$2 shortcuts) & (-$2/1)
1 Huggies Gentle Care Sensitive 184 ct Wipe Refill $6.59 (-$5 IP)
1 Comforts Diapers $5.99 (-$3/1)
1 Frusion 4pk Smoothies $2.49 (-$1)
1 Kroger Brand Honey $1.99
1 bottle Water $.50 (not pictured)
1 Diet Coke $1.39 (not pictured)

Total: $65.69
- $5 Mega Deal
- $5 Loadables
- $22.89 Coupons
Total w Tax: $36.67


If you did the math on that, it didn't add up correctly. The huggies diapers rang up at the wrong price!! They rang up at the regular price of $10.69 instead of the sale price on the tags of $9.99. Once I realized it I went to the service desk and was reimbursed for BOTH packages of diapers with the scan right guarantee. I assume it's because since they were two different sizes it makes them two different products? She deducted $6 worth of coupons that I used which I didn't necessarily agree with because the store will still get reimbursed for them BUT...with this lady, I wasn't arguing. I've had to deal with her in the past and she's just not worth my time. I was reimbursed a total of $16.65 which reduced my OOP to $20.02 for all that stuff up there!! YAY for free diapers, luck was on my side this time!


And yes I realize the wipes are only $5.99 at Target but since I bought a few I've yet to see them restocked & I didn't want to bother. It was only $.60 more and at least it's an extra $5 towards fuel rewards.


I don't know how long the wipes will be around but Peanut's OT is coming next Fri and she is going to be taking some of those wipes with her I hope, lol. She has a 2 year old and triplets that are about 6 months old.

Total Spent today: $20.02
Total Saved: $97.89
Don't forget I include the difference of a sale vs reg price in my savings at all 3 of these stores since it's included in the receipt savings tally.

Walgreens for $4.23!

1 - Charmin 6 Big Rolls- In ad Q making it $3.49 (-$1 MQ)
2 - Reynold's Foil - In ad Q making it $.89 (-$1 MQ reduced to $.89)
1 - Fiber Choice - clearance for $5.29 (-$3 IVC & $2 MQ)
1 - Orajel Training Toothpaste - Clearance for $1.79 (-$.55 MQ)
1 - 6pk Kids Toothbrushes $2
2 - Glade Scented Oil Refills (2/$5) ($1 ea MIR)
2 - Glade Lasting Impressions Warmers (Free Warmer WYB Refill up to $7.99) ($3 ea MIR)
1 - Excedrin $1.99 (-$1 MQ) ($1 RR)
1 - Revlon Lip Gloss $9.99 (-$2 MQ) ($9.99 MIR)

I used a $6 RR & $10.xx on GC making my OOP $4.23. If you're doing the math and it doesn't add up it's because the cashier made a mistake of $2 in my favor and I don't really know where the tax went with that. I didn't realize what had happened until it was too late. (one of the hazards of shopping with a 3yo)

I also got a $1 RR & will get $17.99 back in WAGS MIR along with a 10% bonus.

Thanks to ZM for alerting me to the Warmer Q. I didn't even think about that being a warmer! LOL! That's a better deal at $1 each than the BOGO Q's you can print from the Glade site.

And on another note: I LOVE these toothbrushes. They have the little suction thingies on the bottom so they just stick to the sink. They are the PERFECT size for Little Man and they are CHEAP, lol. The heads seem to be a tad bigger than the name brand kiddie toothbrushes which is great.

Walgreens Trip

Thanks to Erin, I realized there was something for me at Walgreens this week afterall, lol. So this morning I ran into Walgreens in hopes that they would actually have enough stock to fulfill my order (this has been a huge problem for me in the past). I live in a rural area so the nearest Wags is still almost 20 min away but we had a couple of other errands to run while down there anyway. And believe me when I say that when you live in BFE, 20 minutes one way is NOTHING.

Anyhow, here's what I got.

4 Skippy Peanut Butters
4 Ragu
3 Extra Gum (I've been using this as fillers all month to use RR since it's on mega saver and there is an IVC)

I used $7 RR, put $3.96 on GC & Paid $3.35 OOP. I also got $10RR back for buying 8 items.

Total saved (according to my receipt) is $20.55. I'm pretty sure that doesn't include the portion put on GC. I'm not doing the math right now to find out either, haha!

Kroger

I love Kroger. They truly have some of the best sales and since they double/triple coupons it really helps the savings add up. I know I'm not going to live here forever but I might have to make Kroger a necessity for the place we do eventually move to, lol.

We went tonight. Hubby was pretty nice about it even though he didn't like Little Man having to constantly go "hee hee hoo hoo hahee" (That's pretty much what it sounds like when he is telling us he has to go potty.)

NO pictures tonight. We had to come in, get 2 kids ready for & in bed and then just get the stuff put away.

Here's my part from the Mega Deal:

6 Glade Aerosols .96 (-3 MQ) = $2.76
5 Ro*Tel .90 = $4.50
3 French's Mustard $1.49 (-3 MQ) = $1.47
3 Kleenex w/lotion $ 1.59 (-2.4 MQ) = $2.37
3 Frank's Redhot Sauce $1.49 (-3.15 MQ) = $1.32
2 Tollhouse Ref Cookies $2.46(-1.5 MQ) = $3.42
1 GG Steamers $1.49 (-1 MQ) = $.49
1 Totinos 40ct Pizza Rolls $2.99 (-.50 cellfire) (-1.05 MQ) = $1.44
1 SoBe Life Water $1 (-1 MQ) = $0
1 Kraft Cheese $1.99 (-.75MQ) = $1.24
1 Goldfish Crackers $1.49
1 Glade Oil Nightlight $5.24 (-6.99 MQ) = -$1.75
1 Glade Oil Refill $2.54
1 Ken's Ranch Dressing $1.99 (-1MQ) = $.99
Total: $22.43
Minus $15.00 ($5 off 10)*3
Total OOP: $7.28 (before Tax)

The rest of the order:
2 Pkgs Huggies Supreme Diapers $19.98 (-3MQ) (-1 cellfire) = $15.98
3 12pks Coke Zero $9.00
4 Beechnut Rice Cereal $6.76 (-5.38MQ) = $1.38
1 Blueberries $.99
2 Horizon Organic Blueberry Yogurts $1 (Mgr Special .50 ea)
2 loaves Sara Lee Bread $4.58 (-B1G1 promo) = $2.29
1 Yakisoba Noodles $1 (-$1MQ) =$0
2 Kroger Brand Nutrigrain Bars $4.00
1 pkg Choc chip cookies $1.25
1 Scott Reuseable Towels - $1.11

My total OOP was $45.59 for all 49 items
According to the receipt with sales & coupons I saved $78.21 or 63%

Long Day!

Little Man's appointments in Houston have switched from Mondays & Tuesdays to only on Tuesdays. Long story short, we're hoping it's going to stretch out his allowable visits by doing it this way.

I had minimal time to get errands taken care of so I went by Target to see if toys (or anything else) had been marked down on clearance any further. No such luck but they did have the file folders back on the dollar wall I've been looking for. For a buck I can keep all of the medical related receipts, etc in one spot.

Then I went to CVS. I was only planning on getting a few things to attempt to roll my ECBs but when I scanned my card it printed a $10/$50 and since I had nearly $30 worth of ECBs that were expiring today I figured I just needed to use it. Put together more thoughtfully I could have made it stretch further and had a MUCH lower OOP. This is one of my highest OOPs there since figuring out how to play the game. Oh well. No picture but here's what I got:

2 Duracell size C 2packs. $2.99 ea
1 Duracell battery for a remote $4.19
2 Excedrin Back & Body $1.99 ($2 MQ) ea
2 Excedrin Extra Strength $1.99 ($1 MQ) ea
2 CVS Allergy stuff (like Claritin) $3.79 ea
1 Magazine for Hubby $5.99
2 Neutrogena Face Pads $8.49 ea
1 box Soy Joy Bars (ewww) $6

Total before Coupons & tax: $54.86
Total OOP: $9.43 (I used the $10 off of $50 & $29.25 in ECBs)
Total ECBs for today's purchases: $18.58

Another box of Soy Joy instead of the magazine would have been better. Only a penny more but would have had another $6 in ECBs. That's okay though, he deserves it once in a while, lol.

Total Saved: $45.43 If you include the savings of buying on sale the savings is increased to $62.94. That would be the total reflected in my savings tally since that's how it's printed on the receipt.

On the way home we stopped by Kroger to pick up a couple of things on the last day of the sale. Thanks to ZM over at Katy Couponers I found out the Act II Popcorn was only $.20 a box with coupons.

In the end I had:
3 boxes Act II popcorn $1 ($.40 MQ Dbl)
3 Horizon Organic Milk Singles $1 ($.25 MQ Trpl)
2 Deli Sandwiches $3.49 (7th one is free and one of these was the 7th one)
Smoothie $.89
Diet DP $1.39 (Free Item MQ)
Coke Zero $1.39
Kroger Brand Crackers $1.67
Bottle of Water $.50
Fried Chicken from the Deli $3.49 (was $5.99 but on Mgr Special & I knew I wasn't going to want to cook tonight!!)
Organic Baby Carrots $1

Total Before coupons & discounts: $30.07
Total OOP: $14.13

I'll take it.

2009 - With a budget!

I'm getting back into the swing of things. I sort of felt like I had December off because there were only a few very specific sales I targeted. January is here and I'm jumping back in with 2 feet. We are on a very strict cash budget for 2009 and couponing is how I plan to make that money stretch just a little (or a lot) further. We're planning on paying off the rest of 2008's medical expenses this year and paying off a few other things as well.

I was going to bore you with pictures from my Walgreens shopping trips this week but changed my mind. I see no reason to repeat all of the information that is already out there. I'm doing the same deals as everyone else and at some point it just becomes redundant. Oh I'm sure there will be more pictures, just not from this week.

I will however, keep a running total of what I spend and save. Let me clarify how I am calculating my savings. I am not including our dining out in the budget here. If you only knew what a bad habit that is that we are attempting to break. Don't get me started. So the point is that we have a separate budget for "dining out."

When I tally the savings I am including the savings for the sale price if it is automatically included in the receipt that way. I know it's inconsistent but it's just easier. Also...my theory is that if I weren't shopping sales and stocking up with coupons and I needed something immediately, that is the price I'd pay. Shoot, up until I started couponing that probably was the price I paid. I, like most Americans, bought what we needed when we needed it without giving much attention to sales, etc. My budget/savings total will include diapers, wipes & formula.

Don't be shocked when you see my first savings total here: It includes 2 glucose meters which is probably an equivalent to $180 saved since I got them both for free.

I heart HEB (formula)

I really don't like HEB. In Houston they aren't as over priced because they have competition but in many areas of this great state HEB has effectively put its competition out of business. I go there for those 'can't beat em' deals only. Their formula is one of those deals for me.

I know I've written about this before but tonight I scored big. Peanut will be 8 mo old on Christmas Day and as long as he can transition to whole milk at 12 months we might not have to buy any more formula.

I started off the night with two $5 Enfamil Formula checks and 3 coupons for Free cans of HEB brand formula. Each formula check triggers another Q for Free formula and each Free Q triggers a Q for $10 off a big can of HEB formula. I realized these coupons would all expire before I would be able to use them if I didn't just use them all tonight. Thankfully management was very patient with me, I didn't empty the shelves and I did many transactions to make sure I didn't hold up any lines.

So here is the tally: 5 cans of big formula (each big can is equivalent to 2 small cans) and 7 small cans for $32.51 OOP.

Before coupons the cost would have been $132.46. That's a savings of $99.95!!!!!

That 12 cans is equivalent of 17 cans (remember the big cans are equal to 2 small cans) which means a net cost of just under $2 per can. NOT BAD!

We now have the equivalent of 34 cans on hand plus a few cans of ready to feed formula.

Cereal Anyone?

Little Man is the only one feeling "normal" right about now. I've got a cold or something, Hubby was sick last night and this morning and Peanut has a stomach bug or something. So in light of all of that, Hubby was home from work today and I left Peanut with him to go to Little Man's therapy in town. I realized on the way home I might not be able to take Little Man to his appointment tomorrow since Peanut is sick so I stopped at Randall's on the way home.

I'd read something briefly about cereal there somewhere so I figured I'd stop and see what it was about. Boy am I glad I did.
**I went back and figured out that I must have read about the ceral over at Katy Couponers. It seems that these days I browse things and not read them all the way through...ZM I didn't even notice you had the marshmallows in there too!!! lol.

2 boxes Fruit Loops ($1/1 *2)
2 boxes Blueberry Mini Wheats ($1/1 *2)
1 box Cocoa Rice Krispies ($1/1)
1 Bag Safeway Mini Marshmallows ($1 off any marshmallows WYB Krispies)

Total OOP: $2.37
Total Saved: $16.49

Super Shopping Saturday!

Poor Hubby. He really doesn't like these days too much, lol. He appreciates the savings from couponing, just not the journey.

Since we live in BFE (the middle of nowhere) it's forced me to get organized and plan ahead. That means some Saturdays are devoted to driving to the nearest suburb (45 minutes) and getting things done. I can do some of those things on Mondays or Tuesdays when I take Little Man into the city for his therapies but some errands are just a pain when lugging around 2 small children. That category would include the "quick trips." Places that I literally need to run in and grab just a couple of things.

Of course even with all of this planning I still forget things sometimes...like my $5/$25 for CVS this weekend! I couldn't believe I forgot it. So I improvised.

Today I did well enough I need to post it. =0)
**********************
Stop 1: CVS

• 2 Pampers - used 2 $1.50 MQ & $12.95 ECB = $4.38 on GC, total OOP: $0
• Total Saved: $19.93 & have a $5 ECB for later. (I've not been too impressed with CVS deals lately so I'm not worried about having big amounts of ECBs)

Stop 2: Walgreens

• 4 Wags Diapers - used $2 Wags Q & $5 RR = $5.39 on GC, total OOP: $0
• Total Saved: $22.98

Stop 3: Petco (Yes, you're right in thinking...they don't have pets...I did this for a friend because I didn't have time to mail her the Q's before the sale ended.)

• 3 Science Diet Dog Food - used 3 $5 IP = $0
• Total Saved: $41.97

Stop 4: HEB (Just about the only place I'll buy formula)

• 2 25oz HEB Formula - used 2 $10 HEB Q = $5.98
• Total Saved: $20

Stop 5: Kroger (I did 3 transactions because of limits & Mail in Rebates)

• 10 Carnation Evaporated Milk
• 6 powerade
• 3 glade oil candle refils
• 2 glade candles
• 2 Peter Pan Peanut Butter (MIR)
• 3 3liter Ozarka (So I know how much to drink every day & WOW!)
• 1 Dial Hand Soap
• 2 Hefty One Zips
• 4 Betty Crocker boxed Potatoes
• 2 Betty Crocker Cookie Mix
• 1 Palmolive Dish Soap (MIR)
• 1 Desitin
• 1 Alka Selzer
• 1 Sour Cream
• 1 Gallon Milk
• 1 Betty Crocker Blueberry Muffin Mix
• 1 Peanut Butter Crackers

I cannot remember specifically which coupons I used but almost every single item had one plus I used the $4 CAT for the Glade on one of the transactions. After the store sale & coupons my total for all 3 transactions was $21.79 & my total Saved was $63.16. I also have MIRs worth $7.50.

That makes my daily total spent OOP: $27.77
Total Saved today: $168.04
If you include the $ put on GC instead of cash it would be $ $177.81

Not a bad haul at all!

I Heart Walgreens

Yes it's true, I love a great deal and today Walgreens is where it was at!

3 Transactions

Transaction #1

3 Garnier Shampoo used $2/1 MQ (found at DG) & $1 Aug IVC
3 Garnier Conditioner used $2/1 MQ (found at DG) & $1 Aug IVC
1 Chemistry hair Care used $1 MQ (from the Beauty adviser) & $3 Aug IVC

Total OOP: $7.50
Rebate Earned: $17.99 + 10% = $19.79
Profit after rebates: $12.29

~~~~~~~~~~~

Transaction 2



Garnier Shampoo/Conditioner used $2/1 MQ (found at DG) & $1 Aug IVC
1 Chemistry Conditioner used $1 MQ (from the Beauty adviser) & $3 Aug IVC
2 Glade Plug in's used 1 BOGO MQ
2 Plug in Refills used $1 Sept IVC & $1 MQ & BOGO MQ

I also used a $5 RR

Total OOP: 10.06
Total Rebates: $21.99 + 10% = $24.19
Profit After Rebates: $14.13

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Transaction 3 - It's a doozy. I was trying to get to $40 so I could use the $10 off $40 coupon we got in the email yesterday. I honestly cannot tell you every coupon I used because at this point I'm just not sure. However, almost every single item had a coupon, lol.

Here's what I was paid to haul away.

I know it's a bit hard to see so here is what's on the table.

4 Dawn
2 Peter Pan Peanut Butter
4 Kraft Mac n Cheese
3 Garnier Shampoo
3 Garnier Conditioner
1 Chemistry Shampoo
1 Spray n Shout
3 Glade Fabric Refreshers
2 John Frieda Shampoo
2 John Frieda Conditioner
2 Bic Soleil Razor Cartridge Refills
6 Trident Xtra Care Gum
4 Glade Plug Ins
1 Cupcakes Doll
2 Cars Die cast Car (one not pictured)
1 Nivea Mens Body Wash
1 Crest Pro Health Toothpaste
1 Snickers Bar
1 Revlon Nail Polish
1 Finesse Shampoo
1 Finesse Conditioner


Total OOP: $34.93
Savings: $116.53
RR earned: $9.00
Rebates: $37.53 (which includes the 10% bonus)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Totals for the day

Total Merchandise: $230
Total OOP: $52.49
Total Coupon Savings: $177.51
Total Rebates Earned: $90.33
Profit after Rebates: $37.84

Not a bad haul and now I don't need shampoo for like 5 years, LOL!

The Savings Continue

The last post was getting long so I'm breaking it up.

Kellogg's had their $10 MIR form come out on Sun so many places are putting Kellogg's products on sale this week. Kroger's Mega Deal, which ended Tues, produced a few great transactions for me including 10 boxes of Nutrigrain bars that were CHEAP. Not bad and at the rate with which Little Man goes through them I can never actually have too many, lol.

So tonight at Walgreens I did their Kellogg's deal. I bought 4 boxes of cereal, 4 boxes of pop tarts & 2 boxes of cheez-it crackers. I also bought a small handful of school supplies & some of the Glade scented oil candle refills along with one Glade candle.

My receipt says I spent $18.95 OOP and saved $30.11. I also got 2 $5 RR (coupons to spend on your next order) and a $10 MIR to complete along with $4.40 in WAGS rebates coming to me.

So after all the rebates I will have profited $5.45 from this transaction. I'm happy with that.
******************

I screwed up at CVS in a major way tonight. Hubby & the cashier had a good giggle at my expense. However, when I came home and did the math I didn't do nearly as poorly as I thought. Now if CVS would just stock the products they advertise we wouldn't be having this discussion at all. :)

I got about $70 worth of stuff (toothpastes & toothbrushes, detergents, dish soaps, make-up and other goodies) and paid almost $20 on gift card. I left with $6 and some change in my pocket along with $12 in ECBs and a $1.50 MIR. That's basically a break even there. I got the gift cards by transferring prescriptions. Last week there was a coupon in our flyers here for a $30 GC when you transfer a prescription. I transferred 3 so I made a profit of $60 on that.
******************

Tomorrow is going to be LOTS of fun. We aren't going to be here for Diva's birthday party since we're leaving town that day. So instead we're taking the kids to Pump It Up again and after that we'll take them to Chuck-E-Cheese to celebrate her fourth birthday. Oh I'm sure we'll have lots of pics tomorrow...if I remember to charge my camera battery tonight.............

I still Coupon

After being teased I took down the couple of blogs that dealt with my coupon obsession. However, a few folks have asked why and so I am here to tell you my obsession with couponing has not died.

Instead I will be proud that I am keeping our money in the bank instead of spending it. (Who am I kidding? You haven't seen our medical bills, lol.) I digress....I will happily allow the manufacturers to pay my grocery bills and you can too.

I have figured out the formula game. If you live in Texas and you buy your infant formula, my suggestion is HEB. I do use the Enfamil $5 formula checks for the Gentlease but if you aren't picky you can get the HEB brand for next to nothing all day long. And let's face it, most of the formula is the same because it's regulated. I'm stocking up on the HEB brand for when Peanut is a little bit older. I don't believe for a second that he'll need the Gentlease for his entire first year.

How does it work? It goes something like this.

Buy a can of HEB brand formula = $7.99 At the end of the transaction you'll receive a coupon for either $10 off the big can or a FREE small can.

Every single time you buy a can and use one of those coupons, it spits out the OTHER coupon. I've been doing this for 2 months. I'm probably going to cry the first time it doesn't work, lol.

I will also spit out coupons for Carnation Good Start Formula.

Tonight I bought 4 cans of formula: 1 Good Start, 1 Enfamil Gentlease, 1 Small can HEB, 1 Large Can HEB and paid just under $20 for all 4. I saved $30.