CVS 10/28 and Some Exciting News!!

Today's trip was pretty boring.  I had some ECBs expiring so I just got a couple of items - luckily the deals that I got helped me build my ECBs by $5!!  Here are today's purchases:

3 Sudafed nasal spray $7, get $10

used (3) $4 Sudafed coupons

Gillette fusion razor $8.99, get $5

used $4 Gillette coupon

used $10 ECBs

=$5.79 OOP, received $15 ECBs

I cannot stand using the nasal spray so these items will be donated to the local Ronald McDonald house.  I plan on dropping off my donations next week.  Check back for my monthly Charity Challenge!

BTW - one of the local TV stations will be interviewing me tomorrow to promote my website!  Wish me luck :)

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CVS 10/26

I made a quick run to CVS.  I wanted to get the Gillette razor before they were out of them.  I managed to find that along with the infamous "bag tag"!  I was super excited when I spotted this near the register - now I'll earn $1 ECB every four times that it's scanned!!  Here are my purchases:

Gillette Fusion razor $8.99, get $5
used $4 Gillette coupon
4 Dove deodorants $3.50 each
used (4) $2 Dove IP coupons
2 Degree deodorants $3.50 each, get $10 wyb $20
used (2) $1.50 Degree IP coupons
CVS green bag tag $.99
used $5/$25 CVS flu quiz coupon
used $10 ECBs
=$2.54 OOP, received $15 ECBs!

I guess those of us in ND lucked out - the Gillette razors are only $8.99 here this week instead of $9.99 so by using the $4 Q I made a penny by purchasing the razor :)

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Target Trip 10/26

I am going to be set for candles for quite awhile!  I am absolutely loving the Glade deal at Target right now.  So far I have done the deal 4 times and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon :)  I only hope that they get other scents in since I've only been able to buy the apple cinnamon and the bayberry spice.  I really can't complain though since I've only paid $5 for over $20 worth of candles.  These sell really well at garage sales and will make great additions to some Christmas presents this year.

2 Kashi cereal $3.04 each
used (2) $3 Kashi coupons (from Vocalpoint)
4 Herbal Essence products $2.89 each (the styling products had free travel sized products with them!)
used (2) BOGO HE coupons
used (2) $1 HE coupons
6 bags of Natural Temptations cat treats $1.74 each (will give to my aunt)
used (6) BOGO NT coupons
6 Keebler cookies $2 each (buy 2 get 1 free)
used (3) $1.50/2 Keebler cookies
used (3) $1/2 Target coupons
10 assorted Glade products $2.50 each ($5 Target GC wyb 5)
used (2) BOGO Glade coupons (peelies found on some of the candles)
used (6) $1.50 Glade coupons
used $10 Target gift cards (from previous Glade deals)
=$7.40 OOP, received $10 in Target gift cards!!

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Some Great Coupons!

There are some great coupons available up on coupons.com right now!  Click the link below to see for yourself (use zip code 90211).  Some coupons include:

$2 off Wonka candy
$2 off Nestle candy
$1/2 Old Orchard juice
$1/2 Ronzoni pasta (according to Brook you should be able to grab 2 boxes of the Healthy Harvest for only $.52!!)

Hurry and print these before they're gone!

Chex Mix, Chex Mix, Chex Mix!!

Have you got enough Chex Mix yet??  I think I have close to 25 bags of it!  Thank goodness they don't expire until May of next year :)  There are a TON of places on the web to print out the coupons from - Check out Beth's Post to find all the links to them.  I paid only a quarter per bag - what a great deal!!

Here is a picture of my most recent trip

My store finally had the Hungry Hungry Hippos travel game in stock!  I paid just $.99 for this - it will make a great stocking stuffer for Logan.

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The Children's Place

I LOVE the clothes at The Children's Place!  Unfortunately there isn't one in my town so I only get to stop at one a couple times a year.  There clothes are so reasonably priced and very, very durable.  Even though I can't enjoy this coupon I hope that you're able to.  Just click on the banner below!  Let me know what you pick up :)

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UGH!!

So yesterday I finished my Transformer Quest.  It.was.a.nightmare!  This is how it should have gone:  purchase 4 more Herbal Essence products + Transformer movie (should have spent roughly $13.99 OOP - before ECBs).  I went to the north store to purchase the first two Herbal Essence products.  My total came to $2.36 after coupons.  No problem there.  Got into the truck and looked at the receipt - the P&G deal was no longer listed on the bottom of the receipt!  Double checked to make sure I was using the correct card (I was).  Went to the south store and decided I would purchase 2 more HE products and see if the receipt counted them towards the deal.  Nope.  What the heck?  Luckily one of the nice cashiers was working - I explained to her what was going on.  She had no clue why it wasn't working.  She thought maybe it was because I had purchased more than the 3 HE products (limit is 3) - but I knew this wasn't the case since as of Monday night my receipts showed I had $13 towards the deal (4 HE products + puffs).  So she told me to purchase two other products that would add up to the $11.50 I needed to get the movie for $9.99.  I bought the Gain ($11) and Crest ($2.25) and the movie.  The movie STILL rang up at $19.99.  So she printed me out $10 in ECBs.  This would have been OK but my OOP on that transaction alone was over $35!!  Yikes!  I think I'm going to return the Gain and Crest since I didn't need them anyways and the deal still didn't work like it was supposed to after purchasing those products. 

I think if I would have gotten up to the $25 total BEFORE Tuesday everything would have worked out - I just would have had a "coupon" to get the movie for $9.99.  I'm not sure though - did anyone else do this deal?  Just wondering if there was a glitch in the system - let me know your thoughts.

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Halfway There!

My Mom & I ran to CVS tonight to continue the Transformer Quest.  I am now halfway there - I picked up some more Herbal Essence - tomorrow I hope to pick up the remaining 4 bottles needed to get to the $25.

2 Glade Sense & Spray $5 each
used (2) $4 Glade coupons
2 Herbal Essence products $3 each
used BOGO coupon
used $1 Herbal Essence coupon
Axe hair product $7.99
used Free Axe hair product CVS CRT!!
2 bottles of Izze BOGO $1.59 (filler item)
used $5/$25 CVS flu quiz coupon
=$1.30 OOP

I didn't have to use any ECBs for this purchase!!  I will also be able to mail off for the SC Johnson Rebate since I have now purchased 3 producst (Glade Sense & Spray). 

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Transformer Quest

I am on a mission this week to pick up the new Transformers movie for Mike & Logan.  I started purchasing the items today (buy $25 in P&G get movie for $9.99).  I had originally planned on buying it all in one transaction but since the Herbal Essence is a limit of 3 per purchase I have to break up the purchases.  I also found the Neosporin lip balm today.  Here is what I got today:

Glade Sense & Spray $5
used $4 Glade S&S coupon
2 Advil tablets $4.50 each
used (2) $2 Advil peelies (found on boxes!!)
2 Robitussin products $5.50 each, get $10 wyb $20 in qualifying products
used (2) $2 Robitussin IP Q
4 Neosporin lip balms $2.89 each
used (4) $3 Neosporin IP Q (no longer available) - adjusted down to $2.89
2 Herbal Essence products $3 each
used BOGO coupon
used $1 Herbal Essence coupon
CVS spray sunscreen $1.99 (clearance)
used $2 CVS CRT (adjusted down to $1.99)
Puffs tissue $1
used $5/$25 CVS flu quiz coupon
used $7 ECBs
=$4.19 OOP, received $10 ECBs

I had hoped to pick up some more of the Glade Sense & Sprays but I bought the last one.  I'll check the other store tomorrow.  Once I buy three of them I can mail off for the SC Johnson $5 rebate which means a profit of $2 :)  I need $17.50 more to qualify for the movie (not sure why it's not $18).

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Stocking Up For Cold Season!

I'm not taking any chances this year!  I am going to be ready when I get sick (I know it's inevitable)!  Tonight we had a birthday party to go to.  We left early enough to make a quick trip to CVS.  I ran in, while Mike & the boys waited in the truck.  I got some great deals.  I had a couple of $2 coupons for the Robitussin but they didn't scan.  Rather than worry about it I just used two $1 coupons.  I still had a great transaction!  I plan on doing this on Mike's card too - but I'll probably get some children's medicine.  Sorry there isn't a picture - I put the stuff away too fast!

2 Robitussin products $5.50 each
used (2) $1 Robitussin coupons
2 Advil liquid-gels $4.50 each, get $10 wyb $20 of qualifying products
used (2) $2 Advil peelies (found on boxes!!)
Glade reed diffuser $6.99, get $6.99
used $3 Glade coupon
2 Fruitopia products $3.49 each
used BOGO CVS CRT
used $2 Fruitopia coupon
used $5/$25 CVS flu quiz coupon
used $13 ECBs
=$2.89 OOP, received $16.99 ECBs

I had $1 coupons for the Advil products but when I got to the store I found some of the qualifying products with $2 peelies attached!  Score!!  This week actually looks pretty good at CVS which is a nice change!

I asked about the "bag tags" but the store didn't have them :(  They said they should get them in tomorrow.  I'll keep looking for them at the other store!

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My One Shopping Trip This Week

OOP Cost $7.62

Since the sales were so sad this week I only made one trip.  I ran to Target this morning to check out the Degree deal - it turned out even better than expected!  I profited $.46 on each Degree item purchased!!

Here is what I got:
2 Degree body mists $3.29 each
2 Degree deodorants $3.29 each
used (2) $1.50 Degree IP coupons
used (2) $.75 Degree coupons (recent insert)
used (2) $3 Target coupons
2 pkgs. Chex Mix $1.99 each
used (2) $.50 Chex Mix IP coupons
used (2) $1 Target coupons
Socks for Logan $3.99
used $.50 coupon (on package)
Socks for Noah $4.40 (clearance)
used $5 Target gift card (from last weeks Mott's deal)
=$7.62 OOP

I also found the spot where the Hungry Hungry Hippos travel game should be.  Hopefully they will get those in stock before my coupon expires - it would make a great stocking stuffer!!  While I was there I also spotted that they had the Del Monte fruit chillers on price cut for $2.01 - there are many IP coupons for $1 off so these would be a very inexpensive treat :)

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Since it's a slow week at the stores it is a great time to get those coupons in order!  There are some great new printable ones available.  Check out the link above to see which ones are available on coupons.com this month!  I've found that using the zip code 90211 will produce a lot of coupons.  Here are some other great ones that you should be able to pair up with a sale:

The Proposal DVD HERE (you should be able to snag this for around $10.99)

Degree deodorant HERE - pair this with some mannies and you should get free/really cheap deodorant

Neosporin HERE  - use this at CVS this month to get it for FREE!!

Want to see what coupons will be in this Sunday's paper?  Just click HERE and then click on October 18th.  This is a great resource to use to help you plan trips and to figure out how many papers to buy!

It's A Slow Week

Nothing looks that appealing at the stores this week.  I did take the boys to CVS on Monday - mainly because I had a $2 ECB that was expiring.  I got Logan one of the Halloween bags (they were out of the carving kits) and I bought 2 candy bars.  Next week looks much more promising.  I'm getting my coupons printed out for some great deals.  You can check out the full ad HERE.  Here are some of the great deals I plan on taking advantage of:

Glade reed diffuser or candle $6.99, get $6.99 ecbs
use $3 Glade coupon
Dimetapp $5.50
use $2 Dimetapp IP
Robitussin $5.50
use $2 Robitussin IP
get $10 ecbs wyb $20 in qualifying products (I'll probably buy 2 of each medicine)
Herbal Essence $3 (will buy 8)
use BOBO coupon
Puffs tissues $1
Transformers $9.99 wyb select P&G products

I will most likely split these deals into a couple of different transactions so I can roll some of my current ECBs.  Have you gone to CVS this week?  Did you find any good deals?  Let me know!

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October Charity Challenge

Welcome to the October Charity Challenge!  This was a great month for shopping - CVS had a lot of free after ECB deals and Kmart doubles were back too!  Here is what I dropped off last week:

Last week I dropped off my donations for the month.  Once again, I took them to the Ronald McDonald house.  Here is a breakdown of what I donated:

-14 feminine items

-5 shaving creams

-4 razors

-5 toothbrushes

-5 toothpaste

-2 lotions

-2 deodorants

-1 aspirin

-1 eye drops

-1 nose spray

-7 shampoo/conditioners

-5 Tide travel size

-2 Wet ones

-3 Air Wick roof freshener

-1 Veet

-1 Pedialyte

-1 throat coolers

I was able to donate 60 items this month (over $175 worth of merchandise)!! 

Now it's your turn - did you donate?  Leave a comment with your link.  Don't have a blog?  That's ok - just leave a comments telling us what you were able to donate.

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Goodwill Store

This past week we had a Goodwill Store open in our city.  It opened on Tuesday, on Wednesday I decided to stop to see if I could find anything good for the boys.  Logan seems to have outgrown all of his 4T pants and Noah doesn't have any warm jammies that fit correctly.  I had thought that since they were both born the same time of year (in August) that Noah would be able to wear most/all of Logan's hand-me-downs.  I was wrong.  When Logan was this age he was still wearing 12 mos. pants and 18 mos. tops.  Noah is in 18 mos. pants and 18 or 24 mos. tops.  So I stopped in to see what they had.  They didn't have a huge selection of clothing for boys (esp. the sizes I was looking for), but I still managed to find some great deals:

Santa Suit for Noah
2 pairs of jammies for Noah (fleece and henley)
Elmo sweatshirt for Noah
Dinosaur fleece romper for Noah
2 pairs of jeans for Logan (Calvin Klein and Levi's)

Any guess of what I paid for all the items?  $12.99 (tax included)!!  Each item was only $1.75!  I really hope the Santa Suit will fit Noah for pictures - now I just need to find a hat to go with it :) 

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Cash Wise Trip

This is the second shopping trip I made to Cash Wise this week.  All items in the coupon book turned out to be great deals.  I also did the $5 off General Mills items wyb 10 qualifying products.  Here is what I got:

4 bags Food Club muffin mix $.30 each
2 cans spaghetti o's $.30 each
potato chips $1.88
above items were from the coupon book
pizza crust $2.88
6 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch $2.22 each
used (4) $.55 CT Crunch coupons
used (2) $1 CT Crunch coupons
2 boxes Betty Crocker brownie mix $1.98 each
used $1/2 brownie coupon
2 boxes fruit snackes $1.94 each
used (2) $.40 Betty Crocker fruit snacks coupons
received $5 off General Mills items
=$16.97 OOP

Since we don't have any grocery stores in the area that double or triple coupons I've definitely learned to shop the sales!  This has been one of the best shopping trips to a local grocery store in quite awhile :)

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A great shopping trip to CVS!

I should have done this transaction with my other card! 

2 Tylenol cold products $6 each
used (2) $2 Tylenol Cold IP coupons
Tylenol PM $8, get $10 ECBs wyb $20 in qualifying products
used $2 Tylenol coupon
used $4/$20 CVS coupon (received in email)
used $10 ECBs
=$.96 OOP, received $10 ECBs!!

All I had to pay for was tax on this transaction - whoo hoo!!

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Last Minute Snow White Deal! HURRY!!

Here is a great deal to get a great movie!  Print out THIS $10 coupon to get the Snow White DVD for under $10 at Walmart.  HURRY though, this coupon expires tomorrow!  You can make this an even better deal by printing off/doing these two rebates:

$5 back by mail wyb Snow White and Kernel Seasonings (expires 2.28.10)

$5 back by mail wyb Snow White and Hefty products (expires 1.31.10)

Since the rebates don't expire until after Christmas I plan to wait and see if I get some good coupons to use, possibly during the next Kmart doubles event!

Thanks goes to Frugal Girls! for posting this great deal!

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Target Trips

I think this is the most that I have been to Target in a long, long time!  They had some great deals that I just could not resist!  I had to stock up on the Mott's deal that is going on right now.  Both of my boys LOVE applesauce and apple juice so this was perfect!  Last year I was able to make my own apple juice and some sauce from our apple tree but since it only produces every other year I didn't have any apples.  Here are the great deals I got:

#1:
3 bottles Mott's Juice $1.75 each
2 pkgs. Mott's applesauce $1.75 each
used $5 Target gift card
=$3.75 OOP, received $5 Target GC

#2:
4 Mott's applesauce $1.75 each
1 bottle Mott's juice $1.75
3 pkgs. Chex Mix $1.99
used (3) $1 Target Chex Mix coupons
used (3) $.50 Chex Mix coupons
2 boxes Ziploc baggies
used BOGO Ziploc coupon
2 Purina cat foods $1.27 each
used BOGO Target Purina coupon
used BOGO Purina coupon
Palmolive dish soap $2.49
used $.75 Palmolive coupon
used $5 Target GC
=$8.40 OOP, received $5 Target GC!!

I will also mail off for the Try Me Free Palmolive rebate so I should get $2.49 back for that.  So once you figure in the $5 GC and the TMF offer I only paid $.91 for everything!!  Since we don't have a cat I'll give the cans of food to my Aunt or one of my co-workers. 

I still have 9 more of the Chex Mix coupons to use.  I'll have to use those up by 10/24 since that is when the Target one expires.  We should definitely be set on Chex for awhile!!

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Couponing Mistakes

You would think since I've been an avid couponer for over a year now that I would stop making stupid mistakes - but I still do every once in awhile.  Today was one of those days.  Both of the boys were up repeatedly last night so this morning all I wanted to do was sleep in.  That was not to happen though, since Logan went to daycare this morning.  I decided to do my CVS run this morning which was a bad idea.  For some reason I thought I had to buy $25 worth of the J&J medicine products to get the $10 ECBs (only had to buy $20 worth), I bought 2 Colgate products instead of just the one item so I "lost" out on $2 ECBs and I still bought the Revlon items even though the cashier would not take the $1 coupon.  The Revlon items aren't that big of a deal since they were still a good price but the other ones were just plain dumb mistakes.  Here are the two transactions I did:

#1:

2 Children's Tylenol products $6 each

used (2) $2 Tylenol IP coupon
Colgate toothbrush $2.99, get $2
used $1 Colgate coupon
2 Revlon nail polishes $3.99, get $3
4 Carefree feminine pads $3.79, get $3.79 each (raincheck item)
used (3) $1 Carefree coupons
used $5/$25 CVS flu quiz coupon
used $17 ECBs
=$9.47 OOP, received $24 ECBs

I had been waiting over a month for CVS to get the Carefree products in.  Since the raincheck was from so long ago the cashier had to print out two separate ECBs for $8 each - so I actually made $3.63 on 3 of the packs and $.21 on the fourth one (since I didn't have another $1 coupon)!!  This was a really good transaction.  The next one is where things went horribly wrong:

#2:
2 Sudafed products $6.50 each, get $10 wyb $20 of qualifying products
used (2) $2 Sudafed coupons
Colgate toothpaste $2.99, get $2
used $1 Colgate coupon
Tone bar soap $1.88, get $1
used $1 Tone IP coupon
2 Revlon nail polishes $3.99, get $3
used $5/$25 CVS flu quiz coupon
used $14 ECBs
=$1.62 OOP, received $17 ECBs

All in all it wasn't a horrible transaction but I could have built up my ECBs even more had I not bought the extra $5 in cold products and the Colgate toothpaste. 

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Don't forget about the Charity Challenge that takes place next week!  All you have to do to participate is post (on your blog or in the comments) your latest contribution to a charity. 

Charity Challenge

It's time for the Charity Challenge.  I'm going to post it at the end of this week.  I got some great deals on items in September and I will be passing some of those great finds to the Ronald McDonald House here in town.  I'll do the official CC post at the beginning of next week.  Get your stuff together so you can show off your generosity!!

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Kmart Trips

I made two quick trips to Kmart this week.  I wanted to buy some Glade products so I could get in on the SC Johnson rebate (look at slugmama's great scenario HERE).  I also picked up some other great deals and found some shirts for Mike that were on clearance for only $2.99!!  They should be perfect for him to wear to work (short sleeved, polo-style).  Here are the transactions:

4 pkgs. Poise pads $3.69 each
used (4) $2 Poise coupons
Snuggle fabric softener $3.25
used $1 Snuggle coupon
Chester's popcorn puffs $2
8 Bliss candy bars 3/$2
used (4) BOGO Bliss coupons
4 Reese's PB cups 3/$2
2 Twix candy bars $.89 each
used (2) Free coupons
=$6.38 OOP

I had meant to use 4 Reese's coupons but when I got to the registers I was told I had to limit it to 10 coupons.  I forgot to have the cashier remove those items (and I accidentally used 11 coupons).  I guess the last time that they had the doubles someone came in with a flippin' shoebox full of coupons and used them ALL in ONE transaction!  Hmm, perhaps that's why the shelves were empty last time.

Anyway - here is my transaction from today:
Mr. Potato Head "fryer fighter" toy $7.99 (x-mas gift for Noah)
used $2 Hasbro coupon
6 polo-style shirts $2.99 each!!
b-day card $2.79
b-day card $2.79
2 pkgs. Sparkle paper towels $3.29 each
used (2) $1 Sparkle coupons
4 Glade refill candles 2/$5
used (2) $2/2 Glade coupons
2 Glade reed diffusers $4.99 each
used (2) $2 Glade coupons
2 Starbucks frap. drinks $2.39 each
used (2) $1 Starbucks coupons
Kellogg's pop-tarts $2.49
used $1 pop-tarts coupon
used $5/$50 Kmart coupon
=$32.84 OOP

I think the transaction this morning was great - I was able to get Mike some shirts for work PLUS all that other stuff.  I will also mail off for the $5 rebate!!

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September Month in Review

I didn't think it could get better than last month - but it did!  I had a total savings of 97.36%!!  That is unbelievable.


Here are the totals for September:
Value of Merchandise: $479.28
Coupon Total: $294.36
Tax Paid: $20.66
Total Cost: $205.58
ECBs Used: $171.78
Total OOP: $33.80
ECBs Earned: $192.93

I'll be starting the month of October with $72 (I built them by almost $4) in ECBs.


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