Shopping Trip - 11/20/11

I’m keeping this super short so I can back to Black Friday planning! 

I bought 22 items for a total of $7.38 plus tax. The total retail of these items with sale prices was $49.38 plus tax. I had to pay $4.25 in tax this week. Even with tax included, I saved $42.00. That’s 78%! I think most stores were holding out their good sales until Thanksgiving, so I feel I did pretty well. I also have $24 in rewards to use for future purchases—that’s not even including the $13 leftover from last week. Should make for a happy start during Thanksgiving sales!

 

Purchased items include 2 boxes Turtles candies, 2 boxes Kudos granola bars, 3 American Greetings Christmas cards, 6 Christmas coloring/activity books, 1 can Mandarin oranges, 1 box Nozin nasal sanitizer 10-ct, 2 bags Christmas candy, 2 Nivea lip gloss, 2 Samy Fat Foam hair color, and 1 Marc Anthony hair straightening cream. 

Here’s a breakdown of each store. 

CVS

2 Kudos 10-pack granola bars @ 2/$4.00 (regularly $3.79 each)
Used (2) -$1.00 CVS coupons
Cost: $2.00 (making these $1.00 each)

2 boxes Turtles candy 6.4 oz @ $1.99 = $3.98 (regularly $4.99 each)
Used (2) -$1.00 mfr coupons
Cost: $1.98 (making these $0.99 each)

3 American Greetings Christmas cards @ $0.99 = $2.97
Used -$0.60 CVS 20% off coupon
Cost: $2.37, earned $3 EBs (making these FREE + $0.61 profit)

CVS Total before coupons: $10.95 + tax = $11.73
-$5.00 EBs from previous purchase
-$4.60 coupons
My OOP: $1.35 + tax = $2.13, with $3 EBs remaining (plus $10 EBs from last week)
Savings: $9.60, 82%

 

Walgreens

6 Christmas coloring and activity books @ $0.50 = $3.00
Used -$1.00 in-ad coupon
Cost: $2.00 (making these $0.33 each)

Mandarin oranges $1.49
Used -$0.90 in-ad coupon
Cost: $0.59

Nozin nasal sanitizer 10ct $7.99 (regularly $8.99)
Cost: $7.99, earned $8.00 RR (making this FREE + $0.01 profit)

Walgreens Total before coupons: $12.48 + tax = $13.80
­-$5.00 RR from last week
-$1.90 coupons
My OOP: $5.58 + tax = $6.58, with $8.00 RR remaining
Savings: $6.90, 50%

 

Rite Aid

 

2 Nivea lip gloss @ $0.99 = $1.98 (clearance—regularly $3.99 each)
Used (2) -$1.00 mfr coupons
Cost: -$0.02 (making these FREE + $0.02 profit)

2 bags Palmer Christmas candy @ $1.00 = $2.00
Cost: $2.00, earned $1.00 UP (making these $0.50 each)

Marc Anthony hair straightening cream $3.99 (regularly $7.99)
Used -$3.00 Video Value coupon
Cost: $0.99, earned $2 UPs (making this FREE + $1.01 profit)

2 Samy Fat Foam hair color @ $8.99 = $17.98 (regularly $9.99 each)
Used (2) -$3.00 mfr coupons
Used -$2.00 Video Value coupon
Cost: $9.98, earned $10 UPs (making these FREE + $0.02 profit)

Rite Aid Total before coupons: $25.95 + tax = $28.42
-$13 coupons
-$12.50 UPs from previous purchase
My OOP: $0.45 + tax = $2.92, with $13 UPs remaining (plus $3 UPs from last week)
Savings: $25.50, 90%

 

I didn’t take a picture of my rewards, but I earned $24 this week. Plus, I have $13 leftover from previous purchases. That means I have $37 to start my Thanksgiving shopping with. I can’t wait!

Shopping Trip - 11/13/11

I'm still finding the time to coupon, but finding the time to blog each week is becoming difficult. Better late than never, right? This is a mini shopping trip compared to some of my others.  

I bought these 17 items for $2.70 + tax. Considering $2.00 of that was the price of my newspaper, I think I did pretty well! Regular retail for these items was $63.25 + tax. I had to pay $4.68 in tax today. Not too bad. Even with tax included, I saved $60.55. That’s 89%! I even have $23 in rewards remaining (plus $12.50 leftover from last week.) 

Purchased items include 1 Oral B Vitality electric toothbrush, 3 Suave body washes, 1 Dial Nutriskin lotion, 1 Suave deodorant, 2 Suave hair sprays, 1 Gillette Fusion shaving cream, 2 Bayer Advanced aspirins, 1 AZO cream, 1 Knoxville newspaper, 1 Crest toothpaste, and 3 packs of gum. Much less than recent trips, but not too bad for what I paid.  

Here’s what I bought at each store. 

CVS

I used mom’s card for one of the transactions. I love those $4 off $20 coupons!

Transaction # 1 (mom’s card)

Oral B Vitality Toothbrush $24.99 (regularly $32.99)
Used -$10.00 mfr coupon
Cost: $14.99, earned $10.00 EBs

Transaction # 1 total before coupons: $24.99 + tax = $26.74
-$10.00 mfr coupon
-$4.00/$20.00 CVS email coupon
-$3.00 birthday EBs
-$6.00 EBs from a previous purchase
My OOP: $1.99 + tax = $3.74, earned $10.00 EBs

Transaction # 2 (my card)

Suave promotion – get $3 EBs when you buy $10

2 Suave Professionals hair spray @ $1.67 = $3.34 (regularly $3.19 each)
Used (2) FREE product coupons -$3.34
Cost: FREE

3 Suave body wash @ $2.00 = $6.00 (regularly $2.77 each)
Used B2G1 free mfr coupon -$2.00
Cost: $4.00 (making these $1.33 each)

Suave deodorant $1.00 (regularly $1.37)
Used -$0.75 mfr coupon
Cost: $0.25

(Suave total before coupons was $10.34. I used $6.09 in coupons and earned $3 EBs.)

Dial Nutriskin lotion $3.99 (regularly $6.89)
Used FREE product coupon -$3.99
Cost: FREE

Gillette Fusion shave gel $2.37
Used -$1.00 mfr coupon
Cost: $1.37, earned $2.00 EBs (making this FREE + $0.61)

2 Bayer Advanced aspirin 20-ct @ $8.58
-$2.15 BOGO 50% off sale
Used (2) FREE product coupons -$8.58 (Cashier took off whole product amount instead of 50% off the second one—not sure why.)
Cost: -$2.15 (making these FREE + $2.15 profit)

Transaction # 2 Total before coupons: $25.28 + tax = $27.15
-$2.15 BOGO 50% sale
-$4.00/$20.00 CVS email coupon
-$19.66 coupons
My OOP:- $0.53 + tax = $1.34, earned $5 EBs

CVS Total before coupons: $50.27 + tax = $53.89
My OOP: $1.46 + tax = $5.08, with $15 EBs remaining
Savings: $48.81, 91%

Walgreens

Not much that I wanted this week.

AZO cream $4.99
Cost: $4.99, earned $5.00 RR (making this free + $0.01 profit)

Knoxville newspaper $2.00

Walgreens Total before coupons: $6.99 + tax = $7.48
-$4.00 RRs from a previous purchase
My OOP: $2.99 + tax = $3.48, with $5.00 RRs remaining
Savings: $4.00, 53%

 

Rite Aid

It was a slow week at Rite Aid, too.

Crest toothpaste $2.99 (regularly $3.99)
Used -$1.00 mfr coupon
Cost: $1.99, submit for $2.99 Single Check Rebate (making this FREE + $1.00 profit)

3 packs of gum @ $1.00 = $3.00 (regularly $1.29 each)
Used -$0.25 Video Values coupon
Cost: $2.75, earned $3.00 UP rewards (making these FREE + $0.25 profit)

Rite Aid Total before coupons: $5.99 + tax = $6.56
-$1.25 coupons
-$3.50 UPs from a previous purchase
Today’s OOP: $1.24 + tax = $1.81, with $3.00 UPs remaining
-$2.99 SCR
Total OOP: -$1.75 + tax = -$1.18, with $3.00 UPs remaining
Savings: $7.74, 118%

No pictures of rewards this time, but I have $15 ExtraBucks, $5 Register Rewards, and $3.00 UP rewards remaining. This is in addition to the $12.50 UPs I had leftover from last week. That means I have $35.50 to start with next week. Yay! I may even wait and save them for the Thanksgiving sales. They look fabulous!

Mail Call -- Weeks of 10/31 - 11/12

These weeks were pretty slow so I decided to combine them!

I didn't get very much, but what I did get was pretty nifty. I got a P&G Everyday Solutions coupon book with over $70 in coupons, a Revlon Age Defying liquid foundation sampler with $2 off coupon, Crest Whitestrips and toothpaste samples and coupons, Aquafresh Extreme Clean toothpaste sample, a $10 debit card from the P&G rebate I submitted from my Cover Girl purchases in October, a Cottonelle toilet paper roll cover, and a full-size Neilmed Neti pot w/ two packets.  

I was super excited about my rebate and P&G coupons--good stuff! The toilet paper roll cover is pretty funny. I'm not sure that it will ever go in my bathroom, but it can be used to store other things. Chad tried the Neti pot. He wasn't a fan. I thought it might help all his sinus problems. I think he was just too grossed out by it to fully appreciate it.

That's my mail for the past two weeks!

Classroom party on a budget

I'm really excited to be back in the classroom! I'm teaching second grade, a grade I absolutely adore. I'm filling in while a teacher is out on medical leave through Christmas break. My first day was on October 19th. I didn't know it was going to be a long-term gig until October 26th. 

I also didn't know that I had to plan a Halloween party. The old teacher had sent home a notice that the party would be on October 31st. I hadn't heard from any parents to say they were coming or sending any food. I knew I had to get something together for those sweet kiddos, so I put my frugalness to work. 

Luckily, the class is small--only 13 students. I didn't have to spend too much out-of-pocket. I wanted to get them some snacks and make them a small goody bag. Here's what I came up with. 

All of this cost around $20ish. That includes the content of the goody bags and all items shown. 

The goody bags were from Dollar Tree. I think you could get 15 for $1.00. The pencils were from Walgreens when they were on sale 8/$1.00. I already had the Skittles, Starburst, and Kit Kats on hand from previous couponing trips. I'd say those three bags cost less than $3.00 total. (Probably FREE if you count the Register Rewards I used to pay.) The paddle ball and slide puzzle were from Oriental Trading. They were SUPER cheap--like $1.00 for a set of 24 or 48. They were part of the "less-than-perfect" clearance section after Halloween last year. 

I got this little jar from Dollar Tree. It held one entire bag and about 3 individual packs of Starburst--128 in all! The big bag cost less than $1.00 and the individual packs (including the one shown) were free at CVS a few weeks ago. I showed students the jar and they estimated how many Starburst were inside. The student with the closest estimate got the package of Starburst. (I originally thought I'd give them the jar filled with Starburst, but that was before I knew it would hold 128 pieces!) 

The jack-o-lantern and rubber band ball (shown in the first picture) were used as a pumpkin toss game. Students took turns throwing the ball in the pumpkin. (Hey, I didn't have much time to be creative!) The jack-o-lantern was $1 at Walmart. The rubber band ball was 50 cents on clearance at Walmart. 

Now time for the food! I first wanted to bake cupcakes. I even had the cake mix, frosting, cupcake liners, and everything else I'd need. But I had a family party to go to the night before, so I just ran out of time. Instead mom picked up these Lofthouse sugar cookies from Ingles the day before. I probably wouldn't have purchased them myself--that little tub was $4! 

I bought a bag of pretzels at Walmart for $1.48. They're considered a "healthy" food--plus I had enough of them leftover to give the class snack the rest of the week. The Kool-Aid was from Walmart. I think it was $1.00 per 6-pack. The napkins were 97 cents at Walmart and the plates were from Dollar Tree. 

My favorite thing--the popcorn! I used some Pop Secret that I bought at Ingles a couple of months ago. It was really cheap--maybe 50 cents per box. I bought a pack of food preparation gloves (just plastic--not latex) at Dollar Tree. The rings and ribbon were $1 each at Walmart. And the candy corn (bag not pictured) was FREE at CVS a couple of weeks ago.

Put it all together and what do you have? Spooky popcorn fingers! The kids loved these! 

It turned out that some parents sent a few items--like those iced sugar cookies that are SO good, chocolate covered pretzels, and candy. The students had a lot of fun and they had plenty to eat. I was used to having my class room mothers plan the parties so this was foreign territory for me, but I think I did pretty well for a last-minute celebration!
 

Shopping Trip - 11/6/11

I’m back in the groove! I think I did pretty well on this week’s drug store shopping trips. I was able to get several moneymaker and free items this week, as well as take advantage of a few special promotions. Plus, I was able to buy a few food items that AREN’T candy or junk! Who says you can’t work full-time and coupon? 

 

I bought these 85 items for a grand total of $20.06 plus tax! (That’s less than the cost of my Schick Intuition refill cartridges!) If you break it down, that’s an average of $0.24 per item. Regular retail with sale prices for these items would’ve been $148.40 plus tax.  I still have $26 in rewards leftover for next week. Should make for an awesome start! I had to pay $12.43 in tax today. Bummer. Even with tax included, I saved $128.34. That’s an 80% savings!

Purchased items include 2 boxes Kashi cereal, 2 boxes Kashi granola bars, 1 box Kashi crackers, 4 boxes Kellogg’s poptarts, 6 boxes Jell-O, 2 Clabber Girl baking powders, 6 bottles Smartwater, 2 bottles Fuze, 2 jars Smuckers strawberry preserves, 2 Reese’s cups, 3 packs Betty Crocker cornbread muffin mix, 3 bags Walgreens candy, 2 bags Werther’s Originals, 2 packs Orbit gum, 1 Schick Intuition razor, Schick Intuition 6-pack cartridges, 2 bottles Softsoap liquid hand soap, 1 All Small and Mighty laundry detergent, 1 Lysol disinfecting wipes, 4 Colgate toothpastes, 1 Crest toothpaste, 1 Blistex lip ointment, 3 Renuzit air fresheners, 3 American Greetings greeting cards, 2 Arrid deodorants, 1 Keri lotion, 3 Edge shave gels, 2 Skintimate shave gels, and 20 holiday gift bags. 

Here’s a breakdown of each store. 

Rite Aid

 

I started with $9 UP rewards leftover from a previous purchase. 

Transaction # 1

4 Colgate Advanced whitening toothpastes 5.8 oz @ $3.50 = $14.00 (regularly $4.49 each)
Used (2) -$1.00 mfr coupons and (2) -$0.75 mfr coupons
Cost: $10.50, earned $14.00 UPs (making these FREE + $3.50 profit)

Transaction # 1 Total before coupons: $14.00 + tax = $15.33
-$3.50 coupons
-$9.00 UPs from a previous purchase
My OOP: $1.50 + tax = $2.83, earned $14.00 UPs

Transaction # 2

Keri lotion $6.99 (regularly $8.49 each)
Used -$2.00 mfr coupon
Cost: $4.99, earned $6.00 UPs (making this FREE + $1.01 profit)

2 Arrid deodorants @ $2.00 = $4.00 (regularly $3.59 each)
Used (2) -$1.00 mfr coupons
Cost: $2.00, earned $3.00 UPs (making these FREE + $1.00 profit)

2 Reese’s cups @ $0.99 = $1.98
-$0.99 BOGO sale
Used -$1.10 mfr coupon
Cost: -$0.11 (making this FREE + $0.11 profit—coupon should’ve been adjusted down to $0.99 by cashier)

2 bags Werther’s Original candies @ $1.50 = $3.00 (regularly $2.49 each)
Used -$1.00/2 mfr coupon
Cost: $2.00 (making these $1.00 each)

Transaction # 2 Total before coupons and BOGO sale: $15.97 + tax = $17.39
-$6.10 coupons
-$7.00 UPs from Transaction # 1
My OOP: $1.88 + tax = $3.30, earned $9.00 UP rewards

Rite Aid total before coupons: $29.97 + tax = $32.72
My OOP: $3.38 + tax = $6.13, with $16 UPs remaining
Savings: $26.59, 81%

Walgreens

 

I had $5 Register Rewards leftover from last week. I just realized there was a Walgreens Jello-O coupon in today’s paper that could’ve saved me an extra $1.20--$0.60 off 3. Oh well! I had to revise my plan a little bit because they didn’t have the Suave products I wanted for the buy $10 get $3 RR deal. My OOP on Transaction # 2 was a little higher than I wanted, but I still did pretty well.

Transaction # 1

10 holiday gift sacks @ $0.25 = $2.50
Used -$1.50 in-ad coupon
Cost: $1.00 (making these $0.10 each)

3 Jell-O gelatins @ $1.49 = $4.47
Used - $2.70 in-ad coupon
Used -$1.25/3 mfr coupon
Cost: $0.52 (making these $0.17 each)

Crest toothpaste 6.4 oz $1.99
Used -$1.00 mfr coupon
Cost: $0.99, earned $1.00 RR (making this FREE + $0.01 profit)

Blistex Revive and Restore lip ointment $1.99
Cost: $1.99, earned $2.00 RR (making this FREE + $0.01 profit)

3 Smartwater 1-liters @ $1.00 = $3.00
Cost: $3.00, earned $2.00 RR (making these $1.00 or $0.33 each)

2 Clabber Girl 4 oz. baking powder @ $0.99 = $1.98
Used -$0.98 in-ad coupon
Used (2) -$0.50 mfr coupons
Cost: FREE

Transaction # 1 Total before coupons: $15.93 + tax = $16.90
-$8.43 coupons
-$5.00 RRs from a previous purchase
My OOP: $2.50 + tax = $3.47, earned $5 RRs

Transaction # 2

3 Smartwater 1-liters @ $1.00 = $3.00
Cost: $3.00, earned $2.00 RRs (making these $1.00 or $0.33 each)

3 Betty Crocker cornbread muffin mixes @ 3/$2.00
Used -$1.00 in-ad coupon
Cost: $1.00 (making these $0.33 each)

3 Jell-O gelatins @ $1.49 = $4.47
-$2.70 in-ad coupon
-$1.25/3 mfr coupon
Cost: $0.52 (making these $0.17 each)

3 Renuzit adjustable holiday air fresheners @ 3/$2.54
Used -$0.55/3 mfr coupon
Cost: $1.99 (making these $0.67 each)

3 bags Walgreens candy @ $0.99 = $2.97
-$0.90 in-ad coupon
Cost: $2.07 (making these $0.69 each)

10 holiday gift sacks @ $0.25 = $2.50
-$1.50 in-ad coupon
Cost: $1.00 (making these $0.10 each)

Transaction # 2 Total before coupons: $17.48 + tax = $18.51
-$7.90 coupons
-$3.00 RRs from Transaction # 1 (couldn’t use Smart Water RR since I was buying more)
My OOP: $6.58 + tax = $7.61, earned $2 RRs

Walgreens Total before coupons: $33.41 + tax = $35.41
My OOP: $9.08 + tax = $11.08, with $4 RRs remaining
Savings: $24.33, 69%

CVS

 

I started with $9 ECBs from previous purchases. I used both cards today—my mom’s and my own. I was trying for another gift card deal today. It worked! Pretty happy with what I got. I was also excited to use my $10 P&G rebate card I received in the mail yesterday. I love free money!

Transaction # 1 (my card)

All of these items were part of the get $10 ECBs when you buy $20 worth of participating Schick products.

3 Edge shave gels @ $2.19 = $6.57 (regularly $2.99 each)
Used (2) -$0.75 mfr coupons and -$0.55 mfr coupon
Cost: $4.52 

2 Skintimate shave gels @ $2.19 = $4.38 (regularly $3.69 each)
Used (2) -$0.75 mfr coupons
Cost: $2.88

Schick Intuition razor $10.99
Used -$3.00 mfr coupon
Cost: $7.99

(Total before coupons was $21.94. I used -$6.55 coupons and got $10 ECBs, so the total cost for all 6 items was $5.39.)

Transaction # 1 Total before coupons: $21.94 + tax = $24.08
-$6.55 coupons
-$7.00 ECBs from previous purchase
My OOP: $8.39 + tax = $10.53
-$10.00 P&G rebate card
Total OOP: -$1.61 + tax = $0.53, earned $10 ECBs from Schick and $1 ECB from my Green bag tag

Transaction # 2 (my card)

All these items were part of the get a $10 gift card when you buy $30 in specially marked merchandise promotion.

4 Kellogg’s poptarts 8-ct @ 3/$5.00 = $6.67 (regularly $2.19 each)
Used (2) -$1.00/2 mfr coupons
Cost: $4.67 (making these $1.17 each)

2 boxes Kashi cereal @ $3.00 = $6.00 (regularly $5.29 each)
Used (2) -$2.00 mfr coupons
Cost: $2.00 (making these $1.00 each)

2 boxes Kashi granola bars @ $3.00 = $6.00  (regularly $5.29 each)
Used (2) -$2.00 mfr coupons
Cost: $2.00 (making these $1.00 each)

1 box Kashi crackers $3.00 (regularly $4.39)
Used -$1.50 mfr coupon
Cost: $1.50

Lysol disinfecting wipes $2.50 (regularly $4.39)
Used -$1.00 mfr coupon
Cost: $1.50

All Small and Mighty laundry detergent $3.99 (regularly $7.49)
Used -$1.00 mfr coupon
Cost: $2.99

2 packs Orbit gum @ $0.99 = $1.98 (regularly $1.57 each)
Used -$1.37 BOGO coupon from CVS machine
Cost: $0.61 (making these $0.30 each)

(With coupons and gift card, it was like paying $5.27 for all these items!)

Transaction # 2 Total before coupons: $30.14 + tax = $32.67
-$14.87 coupons
-$11.00 ECBs from Transaction # 1
My OOP: $4.27 + tax = $6.80, earned $10.00 gift card (I chose a CVS gift card so I could use it on my next purchase!)

Transaction # 3 (mom’s card)

Schick Intuition razor cartridges 6-ct $20.99
Used -$5.00 mfr coupon
Cost: $15.99, earned $10 ECBs

Transaction # 3 Total before coupons: $20.99 + tax = $22.94
-$5.00 coupon
-$2.00 ECBs from previous purchase
-$10.00 gift card
My OOP: $3.99 + tax = $5.94, earned $10 ECBs

Transaction # 4 (mom’s card)

2 Smucker’s strawberry preserves @ $2.50 = $5.00 (regularly $4.19 each)
Used -$1.00/2 mfr coupon
Cost: $4.00, earned $3.00 ECBs (making these $0.50 each)

3 American Greetings cards @ $0.99 = $2.97
Cost: $2.97, earned $3.00 ECBs (making these FREE + $0.03 profit)

2 Softsoap liquid hand soaps 8.5 oz @ $0.99 = $1.98 (regularly $3.79 each)

2 Fuze drinks @ $1.00 = $2.00 (regularly $1.69 each)

Transaction # 4 Total before coupons: $11.95 + tax = $13.01
-$1.00 coupon
-$10.00 ECBs
My OOP: $0.95 + tax = $2.01, earned $6 ECBs

CVS Total before coupons: $85.02 + tax = $92.70
My OOP: $7.60 + tax = $15.28, with $6.00 ECBs remaining
Savings: $77.42, 84%

Here’s a picture of my leftover rewards--$6 ECBs from CVS, $4 RRs from Walgreens, and $16 UPs from Rite Aid. That’s a total of $26 to start with next week. Yay!