Shopping Trip - 10/16/11

This week was probably one of my lowest out-of-pocket shopping trips. I have mostly Rite Aid to thank for that. I love when I can turn my rewards back into REAL MONEY! This week I bought a lot of makeup and a lot of health care items. One thing I didn’t buy a lot of—candy! Thank goodness. 

Click on the picture for a larger view. I purchased 52 items for $2.11 + tax out-of-pocket with $21.50 in rewards remaining for next week. Yep, that’s right! $2.11. My out-of-pocket including tax was $16.36. I paid $14.25 in tax today. That's about 7 times as much as my subtotal. Even with my ridiculous tax rate, I saved 91%. If you include the $10 Procter & Gamble mail-in rebate I'm now qualified for thanks to CoverGirl, I only paid $6.36 (including tax) for all these items. That's crazy good! The total retail for these 52 items was $166.29 + tax. That means I saved $164.18. Awesome! 

Purchased items include 2 boxes 24-ct Theraflu caplets, 2 bottles Theraflu warming syrup, 1 St. Joseph's low-dose aspirin 120-ct, 1 Zarbee's Nighttime Cold & Cough drink 6-pk, 1 NeilMed NasaDrops Saline on the Go, 1 bag Organix cough drops, 2 packs Saline Soothers nose wipes, 1 Duract cold medicine, 1 Similasan Cold Relief medicine, 1 Sinus Buster nasal spray, 2 Thermacare knee and elbow heat wraps 2-ct, 1 Blistex Cold and Allergy lip soother, 1 pack Walgreens ultrathin maxis, 2 Schick Hydro for Men razors, 1 Reach Total Care toothbrush, 1 Lysol Healthy Touch hand soap system, 2 bottles Welch's grape juice, 1 Popcorn Indiana cinnamon sugar kettlecorn, 2 Dawn Plus dish liquids, 1 Revlon tweezers, 1 CoverGirl Aquasmoothers foundation, 1 CoverGirl concealer, 1 CoverGirl blush trio, 1 CoverGirl single blush, 4 CoverGirl single eye shadows, 1 Almay eye shadow trio, 3 Halloween coloring books, 4 Halloween Peeps, 8 Halloween pencils, and a Knoxville newspaper (not pictured.) 

Here's a breakdown of each store. 

Rite Aid

I had $7 UPs to start with. I planned on doing 4 transactions because I wanted to keep my out-of-pocket low. The cashiers there are great, and I asked her if she’d mind if I did 4 transactions when I first arrived. She said no problem. 

 

Transaction # 1

These items were part of a P&G promotion—buy $30 in participating items, receive $10 UPs. CoverGirl cosmetics were Buy One Get One 50% off. 

CoverGirl Aqua Smoothers foundation $9.39
CoverGirl Instant Cheekbones blush trio $2.84 (regularly $5.69 – 50% off)
CoverGirl Invisible Concealer $5.59
CoverGirl Cheekers blush $2.19 (regularly $4.39 – 50% off)
2 CoverGirl Eye Enhancers eye shadow singles @ $3.39 = $6.78
2 CoverGirl Eye Enhancers eye shadow singles @ $1.69 = $3.38 (regularly $3.39 each – 50% off)
Used (2) -$8.00/2 CoverGirl face products coupons
Used (4) -$1.00 CoverGirl product coupons
Cost: $10.17, get $10 UPs (making these $0.17 or about $0.02 each!)

Transaction # 1 Total before coupons: $30.17 + tax = $33.04
-$20.00 coupons
-$7.00 UPs from last week
My OOP: $3.17 + tax = $6.04, earned $10.00 UPs

One great thing about this purchase was that it qualified me for the Procter & Gamble Pink Rebate—get $10 back by mail when you buy $50 of participating products. I combined this with my CoverGirl and Pantene purchases from a couple of weeks ago, and voila! I probably didn’t even spend $10 total out-of-pocket thanks to coupons and UP rewards, but I’ll get a $10.00 rebate check anyway. Awesome!

Another great thing about this purchase was that it gave me 8 codes to enter for the Rite Aid Taylor Swift promotion. It earned me two free t-shirts and keychains. This is in addition to the one free t-shirt and keychain I earned two weeks ago. 

Transaction # 2

Sinus Buster 20 ml nasal spray $8.00 (regularly $13.99)
Used -$2.00 mfr coupon
Cost: $6.00, earned $8.00 UPs (making this FREE + $2.00 profit)

Revlon Tweezers $1.80 (regularly $3.00 – 40% off)
Used -$1.00 mfr coupon
Cost: $0.80, earned $2.00 UPs (making this FREE + $1.20 profit)

Blistex Cold and Allergy Soothers lip balm $1.49 (regularly $2.79)
Cost: $1.49, earned $1.39 UPs (making this FREE)

St. Joseph’s 81 mg low-dose aspirin 120-ct $4.99 (regularly $6.49)
Cost: $4.99, earned $4.00 UPs (making this $0.99)

Transaction # 2 Total before coupons: $16.28 + tax = $17.83
-$3.00 coupons
-$10.00 UPs from Transaction # 1
My OOP: $3.28 + tax = $4.83, earned $15.49 UPs

Transaction # 3

NeilMed Nasa Drops Saline $7.00 (regularly $10.29)
Cost: $7.00, earned $7.00 UPs (making this FREE)

Duract Cold Relief tablets 12-ct $6.00 (regularly $8.99)
Cost: $6.00, earned $6.00 UPs (making this FREE)

Organix cough drops 21-ct $1.50 (regularly $2.19)
Cost: $1.50, earned $1.50 UPs (making this FREE)

Saline Soothers wipes 15-ct $1.00 (regularly $1.99)
Cost: $1.00, submit for $1.00 SCR (making this FREE)

Conair Color Vibes brush $2.99 (not pictured)
Used -$1.00 VV coupon
Cost: $1.99 (I thought I would receive $2.00 UPs, but I didn’t. I returned this in a later transaction.)

Transaction # 3 Total before coupons: $18.49 + tax = $20.25
-$1.00 coupon
-$15.49 UPs
My OOP: $2.00 + tax = $3.76, earned $14.50 UPs and $1.00 SCR

Transaction # 4

2 Welch’s grape juice 64 oz @ $3.00 = $6.00 (regularly $5.39 each)
Used -$1.00 and -$0.75 mfr coupons
Used (2) -$0.10 VV coupons
Cost: $4.05, received $1.00 UP (making these $3.05 or $1.53 each)

Similasan Cold Relief for Children medicine $3.99  (regularly $8.29)
Used -$1.00 mfr coupon
Cost: $2.99, submit for $3.00 SCR (making this FREE + $0.01 profit)

Zarbees Cold & Cough Drink 6-pk $6.99 (regularly $8.99)
Used -$1.00 mfr coupon
Cost: $5.99, submit for $6.99 SCR (making this FREE + $1.00 profit)

Saline Soothers wipes 15-ct $1.00
Used -$0.50 mfr coupon
Cost: $0.50 (limit one SCR—used in Transaction # 3)

Transaction # 4 Total before coupons: $17.98 + tax = $19.60
-$4.45 coupons
-$13.00 UPs from Transaction # 3
My OOP: $0.53 + tax = $2.15, earned $1.00 UP and submit $9.99 SCR

Transaction # 5

Returned Conair brush because the UPs didn’t print.

-$2.99 + tax = -$3.27 back on card

Rite Aid Total before coupons: $79.93 + tax = $87.45
Today’s OOP: $5.99 + tax = $13.51
-$10.99 SCR
Total OOP: -$5.00 + tax = $2.52, with $2.50 UPs remaining
Savings: $84.93, 97%

CVS

I started with $16 ECBs from last week--$11 from purchases and $5 for reaching $50 on Beauty Club.

Transaction # 1

Almay Intense i-Color shadow kit for hazel eyes $5.99 (regularly $8.79)
Used -$1.00 mfr coupon
Cost: $4.99, earned $4.00 ECBs (making this $0.99)

Transaction # 1 Total before coupons: $5.99 + tax = $6.57
-$1.00 coupon
-$4.00 ECBs from previous purchase
My OOP: $0.99 + tax = $1.57, earned $4.00 ECBs

Transaction # 2

Lysol Healthy Touch hand soap system $11.99 (regularly $12.79)
Used -$0.75 mfr coupon
Cost: $11.24, earned $8 ECBs (making this $3.24)

2 Dawn Plus dish liquid @ $0.97 = $1.94 (regularly $1.67 each)
Used (2) -$0.50 mfr coupons
Cost: $0.94 (making these $0.47 each)

Transaction # 2 Total before coupons: $13.93 + tax = $14.70
-$1.75 coupons
-$12.00 ECBs from previous purchase
My OOP: $0.18 + tax = $0.95, earned $8.00 ECBs

CVS Total before coupons: $19.92 + tax = $21.27
My OOP: $1.17 + tax = $2.52, with $12.00 ECBs remaining
Savings: $18.75, 88%

Walgreens

I started with $7 Register Rewards. I shopped at two different stores today. (Note: Kitty not included with purchases. She was nosy and wanted to be in the picture.)

Transaction # 1

4 Halloween peeps 8-pks @ $0.75 = $3.00
Used -$1.00 Walgreens in-ad coupon
Used (2) -$0.50/2 mfr coupons
Cost: $1.00 (making these $0.25 each)

3 Halloween coloring books @ $0.50 = $1.50
Used -$0.50 Walgreens in-ad coupon
Cost: $1.00 (making these $0.33 each)

Schick Hydro 5 men’s razor $8.49
Used -$5.00 mfr coupon
Cost: $3.49, earned $4.50 RRs (making this FREE + $1.01 profit)

2 Theraflu warming syrups @ $5.00 = $10.00
Used (2) -$2.00 mfr coupons
Cost: $6.00, earned $5.00 RRs (making these $1.00 or $0.50 each)

Transaction # 1 Total before coupons: $22.99 + tax = $24.75
-$3.00 off $10.00 purchase coupon
-$11.50 coupons
-$7.00 Register Rewards from previous purchase
My OOP: $1.49 + tax = $3.25, earned $9.50 RRs

Transaction # 2

Walgreens Ultrathin Maxi $2.00
Cost: $2.00, earned $2.00 RRs (making this FREE)

Schick Hydro 5 men’s razor $8.49
Used -$5.00 mfr coupon
Cost: $3.49, earned $4.50 RRs (making this FREE + $1.01 profit)

Popcorn Indiana cinnamon sugar kettle corn $1.99
Used -$1.00 mfr coupon
Cost: $0.99

Transaction # 2 Total before coupons: $12.48 + tax = $13.67
-$6.00 coupons
-$5.00 RRs from Transaction # 1
My OOP: $1.48 + tax = $2.67, earned $6.50 RRs

Transaction # 3

Reach Total Care toothbrush $2.99
Used -$2.00 mfr coupon
Cost: $0.99, earned $2.00 RRs (making this FREE + $1.01 profit)

2 Theraflu 24-ct caplets @ $5.00 = $10.00
Used -$3.00/2 mfr coupon
Cost: $7.00, earned $5.00 RRs (making these $2.00 or $1.00 each)

Knoxville News-Sentinel newspaper $2.00

8 Halloween pencils @ $0.25 = $2.00
Used -$1.00 Walgreens in-ad coupon
Cost: $1.00 (making these $0.125 each)

2 Thermacare knee/elbow heat wraps 2-ct @ $6.99 = $13.98
Used (2) -$1.00 Walgreens coupons
Used (2) -$3.00 mfr coupons
-$3.00 Buy One Get One 50% off promotion (I guess I didn’t get the $3.49 off because of my coupons)
Cost: $2.98 (making these $1.49 each)

Transaction # 3 Total before coupons: $30.97 + tax = $33.40
-$3.00 BOGO sale
-$14.00 coupons
-$11.00 RRs
My OOP: $2.97 + tax = $5.40, earned $7.00 RRs

Walgreens Total before coupons: $66.44 + tax = $71.82
My OOP: $5.94 + tax = $11.32, with $7.00 RRs remaining
Savings: $60.50, 84%

Here's a picture of my leftover rewards. I earned $12 ExtraBucks from CVS, $7 Register Rewards from Walgreens, and $2.50 +UP rewards from Rite Aid. I love using my rewards to pay from week to week! I'll have to get creative with Rite Aid next week since I have so little to start with, but I'll make it work somehow.