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Monday, March 14, 2011

The Walgreens saga continues...It appears that you all enjoyed the "new" featured store, as my little blog had over 300 views in the first 24 hours on my last post ;) Yippee!  This morning I awoke to an inbox filled with questions regarding Walgreens shopping, transactions, and the Register Rewards program.  Again, I have done my best to answer all that I could, however remember that I am learning too. If you find out new information please share as we are all learning together on this one.  This morning I decided to head out again to face the challenge.  I need to be reaaallytight with money this month, so I needed to score some great deals or free items.  I re-watched the video that I posted in the previous blog entry twice last night, and read a few more coupon blogs to hopefully make my shopping experience go smooth. You can find a copy of the Walgreen's coupon policy HERE. Well, I am happy to report that it was a perrrfect shopping day (not to mention the weather too, we even had lunch at the park).  All of the items below were purchased in M-U-L-T-I-P-L-E transactions. I must admit that the checkout process at Walgreens isvery nerve-wracking to make sure that all of the deals go off as planned...lol, I am talking like this is rocket science here.   I got this match-up from Wild for Wags (awesome website for Walgreens newbies).
**I have listed the transactions below, and a few of them were done 2 and 3 times.
MPORTANT NOTES ABOUT THESE TRANSACTIONS
-) Blue are manufacturer coupons, Red are store coupons & don’t count in your total.
-) You can’t have more MQ than items!
TRANSACTION #1 BUY
(4) Reach Crystal Clear Toothbrushes $1.59 EACH
(2) Right Guard Body Wash 13.5oz $4.49 EACH B1G1 FREE
Total = $10.85
USE
(4) -$1/1 Reach Toothbrush or Floss PRINT or – 10-10-10 RP or 01-09-11 SS 
(1) 
-FREE Right Guard Bodywash or Deodorant (up to $4.49) wyb (1) Right Guard Product, any 3-13-11 RP
Total = $2.36, (Get Back $4 Register Reward Reach)

TRANSACTION #2 BUY
(2) Irish Spring AP/Deodorant 2/$6
(1) Royal Gelatin Reg. or Sugar Free 5/$1 (w/in ad Q)
Total = $6.20
USE
(2) - $1/1 Irish Spring Deodorant PRINT or PRINT 3-13-11 SS x4/13
(1) – In ad Q for Royal Gelatin
(1) – $4 RR Reach
Total = $0.20, (Get Back $4 Register Reward Irish Spring – Colgate/Palmolive)

TRANSACTION #3 BUY
(1) Dial Nutriskin Lotion $4.99
(1) Royal Gelatin Reg. or Sugar Free 5/$1 (w/in ad Q)
Total = $5.19
USE
(1) -$1/1 Dial Nutriskin Lotion PRINT (Thanks Frugalbengal!) or 03-13-11 RP x4/30
(1) – In ad Q for Royal Gelatin
(1) – $4 RR Irish Spring
Total = $.19, (Get Back $3 Register Reward Dial)
TRANSACTION #4 BUY
(1) Purex $4.99
(1) Royal Gelatin Reg. or Sugar Free 5/$1 (w/in ad Q)
Total = $5.19
USE
(1) -$2/1 Purex any Complete Crystals Softener 03-13-11 RPx4/30
(1) – In ad Q for Royal Gelatin
(1) – $3 RR Dial 
Total = $.19, (Get Back $2 Register Reward Purex)
Transaction#5
(1) – Clearasil Daily Face Wash Sale Price $2.99
(1) – -$1/1 Clearasil Product 01-23-11 SS or 03-13-11 SS x5/13
TOTAL = $1.99, Get Back $2 Register Reward
= FREE! (I did this transaction 3 times and used the milk/taffy as my filler items).
TOTAL PAID: 10.86!!! 
(5.00 was the Milk and the rest was SALES TAX and MINOR OVERAGE ON THE MULTIPLE 
TRANSACTIONS)
Total SAVED: 85.99!!
~Has anyone tried the new Purex Crystals?  I am kind of excited they get excellent reviews!
~This is what a "Register Reward" looks like, it prints as a Catalina coupon after you pay.
I also picked this booklet up (she mentions it in the Walgreens video that I posted in the previous blog).  It was located at the fron of the store by the weekly ad.
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Target Deals Worth mentioning this week:

FREE $5 Gift Card wyb (5) Select Glade Seasonal Care Items Listed 2/$5*
Visit totallytarget.com to see the rest of the deals this week.
DEAL IDEA: Buy 5 Glade Spring Collection including 1 Room Spray = $12.50
-$1/1 Glade Premium Room Spray 9.7 oz 2-27-11 SS x4/2
= $7.50 - $5 Gift Card Back wyb 5
= $2.50 for 5 or .50 cents each after coupons and Gift Card. Even better if you still have a $1/1 Glade Target Coupon to use (no longer available)

John Frieda 8.45 oz Full Repair Shampoo $5
-$3/2 John Frieda Full Repair Hair Care ETS Target Web Coupon x4/9-
$1/1 John Frieda Full Repair Shampoo or Conditioner 3-6-11 SS x4/30
-$2/1 John Frieda Full Repair Styling Aid ETS 3-6-11 SS x4/30
-$2/1 John Frieda Product, any 3-6-11 SS x4/30
=$1.50 each after a stack with two $2/1 manufacturer’s coupons

Saturday, March 12, 2011

A lesson on Walgreens...

Per the request of my wonderful readers I am branching out my shopping to other stores ;)  Yes Target is my go to for most items, and Kroger for produce/main grocery items.  However, there are tons of great deals at the drugstores!  I also have limited my shopping to a few stores, because I was finding I overspent when I was going to multiple places.  I now stay really focused at my two stores and honestly spend less than 2 hours a week shopping.
Sunday mornings are such a great highlight of my week.  I usually am up early (before both of my kiddos) flipping through the weekly ads with a hot cup of coffee.  This week I noticed some pretty great deals at Walgreens on items that I had coupons  *just waiting to be used* in my binder.  I have previously stayed away from Walgreens because it seemed so complicated and confusing.  To be honest, it still does and I am still learning.  Here is a great video explaining the Walgreen's coupon process from the Krazy Coupon Lady.

    



Here is one of the great deals I got this week:


There was an in-ad coupon (expires 3-12-11) for $5/1 Pedia Care item.
Walgreen's in ad coupons are store coupons they can be stacked with a manufacturer coupon.  
I used (2) $2/1 Pedia Care product from HERE
Here is how it played out:
Pedia Care Allergy $6.99 
Pedia Care infant drops 5.99
Total: 12.98-10.00 (in ad coupon discount) =2.98 -$2 Manufacturer coupon = .98****
*This is where it got tricky my balance went to $.98 and I still had (1) $2 coupon to use I had to buy a FILLER item b/c Walgreens doesn't adjust coupons or allow overage.  
So the $.99 gum was my filler to make the $2 coupon go through.

Total Paid: $.23 Tax
(2) Pedia Care products and (1) Pack Orbit gum
And I got a $1.50/1 Catalina coupon to use in the future ;)

I plan on continuing to branch out my deal seeking to other stores.  A week ago Walmart updated their coupon policy to allow "overage."  So you could potentially make money with coupons.  This *might* draw me in to Walmart, although I rarely have great things to say about the store :( You can review Walmart's new coupon policy HERE.  You might want to print it and keep it in your binder, since it is "new" I am sure it will take some time for all of the employees to get up to speed.



Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Savvy Stockpiling

So if you've been following the blog or if you're new, I challenged myself and my family this month to a tight ($200) budget. I had already done some shopping earlier this week for fresh produce, milk, and bread. I knew before this shopping trip that I would have to do some major planning because there were some pretty good sales on some toiletries that we use daily and I wanted to stock up on those, but also wanted to be able to eat the rest of the month ;)  So since I "grocery" shop at Target and Kroger only, I scoured the ads this week for sales, closely watched coupon blogs, and clipped and organized the coupons carefully.



Total before Coupons: $269.10
Total SPENT: $62.10 (for both stores)
Over a 75% Reduction in costs!!


Need a few of the items... or just curious on how to save? Check out my Kroger shopping list below.  If you are new to the blog you might want to check out the "Coupon Lingo" sheet HERE.

____________________________________________________________
Target Deals this week:
Ok, this one was my favorite...
Buy 3 Select Aveeno Products and Receive a $5 gift card:
Buy 3 Aveeno Moisturizing Bars $2.89 each
Use (3) $1/1 Aveeno Item, Skin Care, Sun Care coupon HERE
Pay: $5.67, Receive $5 Giftcard
Final Price: $.22 each!!!


Satin Care Shave Cream $1.89
Use $1/1 (2/27 PG)
Final Price $.89 each (I stocked up and got 10)!

Travel Shout Wipes $0.99
Use $1/1 coupon fromHERE
Final Price: FREE

Excedrin extra strength 20ct $3.59
Use $3/1 target coupon HERE
Use $.75/1 coupon (2/27 SS)
Final Price: FREE

Uncle Ben's Ready Rice $1.29
Use $1/1 coupon (2/13 RP)
Final Price: $.29 each

Not familiar with Target Mobile Coupons?
Mobile coupons are Target Store Qs that can be sent to your phone to be used for in-store purchases. These coupons are meant to be used only once but can be stacked with MQs. The terms read “Limit one item or offer per coupon”. If you want to sign up to receive them you can do so HERE. You will need to have an internet-capable phone in order to retrieve the coupons. Keep in mind- text messaging & data charges will apply depending upon your phone’s plan  Check out TOTALLY TARGET WEB PAGE for all of the recent Target match-ups for this upcoming week.

_________________________________________________________________
You may have noticed that I "stockpiled" on a few different items:
(And NO we do not eat frozen pizza every night, they were so cheap i couldn't pass up and I know my husband will have friends over for March Madness)
  1. Shaving cream (10)
  2. Old Spice Deodorant (9)
  3. Men's body wash (4)
  4. Frozen Pizzas (9)
  5. Pizza Rolls (6)
  6. Pillsbury Rolls/Biscuits (8)
  7. Excedrin (4)
  8. Uncle Ben's Ready Rice (10)

Thinking about Stockpiling a few items you use Frequently?
~Don't expect to have a filled pantry in one or two shopping trips. Plan for your stockpile to grow over a period of time. Don't put pressure on yourself to hurry up and get a stockpile. If you do this, you will only get frustrated, and may begin to lose interest in the best money saving technique around. It's important to retrain your brain on how you shop. Stockpiling does not break the bank, or your budget..in fact quite the opposite if done right.

~In the first few weeks, plan on purchasing 3-5 items for your stockpile.
~It’s all about shopping with coupons while a product is on sale- and STOCKING UP so you don’t have to buy something when it’s not cheap or free.
**Now there is a difference between a BUY price and a STOCK-UP price.  Here is a resource to help guide you on both of those.  
                                                   
                         PRINTABLE STOCKPILE PRICE LIST HERE