Cheapskate Kim

Last post

2010-10-02T01:32:00.002-04:00

I'm closing up shop here soon because well, I haven't been updating this blog....

for great deals, I highly recommend going to thecouponhigh.net
She does a great job!

Later- I'm on to the next adventure

Great deal

2010-04-23T15:53:00.000-04:00

I've been slacking with posts-- but shopping a lot.

Here is a decent shopping trip (some spects were good, others not as good)

Here is a trip from last night. I got everything on the right at Target and everything on the left from Walgreens.

At Target, my excellent deal was the Crest 3D white strips. I got both for $9.98. They retail at $24.99 each ($49.98 for both).
I had a $10 off coupon that was good at Target only AND a $10 off coupon for Crest 3D strips that was a mfr coupon. Taret will accept 1 mfr coupon PLUS 1 Target only coupon. (Coupon stacking rocks!)
The other deal I did was pretty good too- actually great... The Scrubbing Bubbles were all around $2.50 - I think the Spray was less than that. I had $0.75 off coupons for each and then also a $5 gift card coupon WYB 3 any scrubbing bubbles. The gift card coupon took $5 off my purchase instead of giving me a gift card- so I actually made $0.60 on just buying them. THEN on top of that- there is a MIR for $5 WYB 3 SC Johnson items. So, I'll have made $5.60 on just purchasing those and paying attention to other deals out there too. I'll have to find the link for the rebate and post it later.

I also made up 6 gift baskets with things that I bought for cheap or free over the last few months and gave them out as anniversary gifts for a mulit-couple anniversary party that we had a few weeks ago for family. Here's how those turned out:

They were a hit. I was relieved. We don't have a lot of money being down to one income and buying for so many couples gets really pricey. I think each basket cost less than $10 out of pocket. I was buying things for cheap and free for months and collecting it up for them. I didn't make a huge dent in my "stash" either. (but I did free up for a little room for new stuff)

CVS Trip

2010-03-02T18:03:00.000-05:00

CVS: Paid out of pocket: $0.62

Valentine's stuff: 90% off. (2 more cookies not pictured)

Diet Pepsi- sale and buy 3, get $1 EB (I've bought 2 so far)

Ensure: Sale: $4.99 - $3 coupon ($1.99)

I used $3.50 worth of EB's. Paid $0.62 ($0.52 merch + $0.10 tax)

If I use my "Green bag tag" once more, I'll get $1 EB back. If I buy one more 2 liter, I'll get another $1 EB back.

Aside from the Ensure, which is just on sale (no EBs) - there isn't anything else from the CVS near me that I want this week.

CVS Trip 02/09/10 $1.69

2010-02-09T16:26:00.001-05:00

Started with $10 EB's from last week.

Gillette Shower gel $4 each -$2 coupon
Deal: Buy $15 Gillette, get $5 EBs back (I need to spend $3 to get the EBs)

Nivea $2.99 lip care - BOGO coupon
Deal: Buy $10 Nivea, get $5 EBs back (only one counted, so I still need to spend $7 to get the deal to print)

CVS Lotion: $1.49 had a $1 off any CVS skincare coupon
Magazine: $0.99 (filler to get me above $10, plus there are some good coupons inside it)

Gillette: $6; Nivea: $3; Lotion: $0.49; Magazine: $0.99 (about $10.50 total merch)
The other dollar and change was for tax. $1.69 was my total out of pocket spent.

Target Deals

2010-02-04T22:15:00.001-05:00

Cat Food Deal: Target- new Iams cat food is $6.99 for the small bag and there is a $5 coupon, making it only $1.99 for a bag of premium cat food.

The other day, I saw "blinkies" (coupons that are hanging on aisles that come out of a feeder) for the Johnson & Johnson first aid series ($1 off any coupon) I believe I picked up 3 of them at Giant Eagle.... Target has the small first aid kits for $0.97 each - so they end up being FREE. (CVS carries them for $0.99 each, and Walgreens carries them for some crazy high price like $2.19 each)

I also saw on the clearance section at the end of the aisles the Electrasol dishwasher tabs (20 ct) marked down to $3.09. I still have several $2.50 coupons for those- but I didn't have them on me- so I'll go back and pick up a couple for $0.59 each.

We really needed batteries- we bought some off brand before and they would die so fast- that I would take 5 pictures and load them on the computer and the batteries would be DEAD. Ridiculous. So we ended up going with Duracell this time- we used a $2 off Target only coupon and a $1.50 coupon from the Sunday paper (Target allows coupons stacking) so we got 24 batteries for $9.50. Not incredibly awesome- but cheaper than paying $3 for 4 batteries.

We also went to Once Upon A Child for a couple of things for my son. He needed swimming trunks and some casual shoes. It was slightly cheaper than going to look at the stores- but it was mostly convenient that it was all in one spot so I could grab and go pretty quickly, well as quickly as you can go with 2 guys in haul at a clothing store anyways.

I saved 57% today- so-so. It HAS to be over 50% or I get upset with myself for overpaying. 57% doesn't include the consignment shopping, just the retail shopping trips.

Giant Eagle deals for Feb 4-10

2010-02-03T21:17:00.002-05:00

Giant Eagle continues to do the Catalina's this week and there are a few good deals out there.
If you need to stock up on frozen Bird's Eye veggies or Toothpaste- this is the week to do so!

Frozen Foods:

Edy's ice cream 1.5 qt Sale Price: $3.34 each
Coupon: $1.00 Final price: $2.34 each (good price for 1-1/2 gallons)

Bird's Eye Steamfresh veggies Sale Price: $1.00
Coupon: $0.50/1 Final Price: Free!!

Gorton's fish fillets tenders sticks or popcorn shrimp Sale Price: $3.50 each
Coupon: $0.55/1 01-24-10 SS
Final Price: $2.40

Weight watchers Smart Ones Classic favs or desserts Sale Price: $2
no coupons available

Aunt Jemima waffles or breakfast entrees Sale Price: BOGO ($1.14 each)
no coupons available

Dairy/fridge section:

Daisy Sour Cream Sale Price: $1.50
Coupon: $0.50
Final Price: $0.50 each

Yoplait Greek yougurt cups Sale Price: $1
no coupons available

Imperial 1lb quarters Sale Price: $1
no coupons available

Sargento Shredded Cheese 7-8 oz Sale Price: $2
Coupon: $0.40/2
Final Price: $1.60 each (WYB2)

Minute Maid OJ Sale Price: $2
no coupons available

Yoplait yoplus or Fiber one yogurts Sale Price: $1.66
Coupon: $0.50/1 01-24-10 SS
Final Price: $0.66 each

Land o lakes tubs (select varieties) Sale Price: $1
Coupon: old one for $0.40/1
If you have that coupon, it will be $0.20 each (GE takes expired coupons)

Grocery:

Pace salsa or Picante sauce Sale Price: $2
Coupon: $0.60/2 01-31-10 SS
Final Price: $1.40 each (WYB2)

Ortega Seasoning, salsa, dinner kits, shells Sale Price: $2
Coupon: $0.75/2
Final Price: $1.25 each (WYB2)

Tabasco sauce Sale Price: $1
Coupon: $0.75/1 Final Price: Free!!

Meat:

Butterball sausage, turkey bacon or shaved lunchmeat Sale Price: $3
Coupon: $0.75/1
Final Price $1.50 each

Health and Beauty Catalina:

Colgate Toothpaste deal-
"buy $10 worth of X items and get $3 off your next purchase"
Colgate Sale Price: $1.66 each (3 for $5)
Buy 6 ($10 worth)
Use $0.75/1 coupon (6 of them)
get them for $0.96 + tax and get $3 Catalina.

January 2010 Spending/Savings Recap

2010-01-31T21:00:00.000-05:00

Here's what I spent at my 4 major places:

Giant Eagle, CVS, Walgreen's, and Rite Aid.

I didn't include all the "extra bucks" I received or future purchase off coupons- they end up being included in the savings on future purchases- so I didn't bother breaking it down that far.

CVS:
Spent $22.83 ($3.20 was tax)
Saved $99.67    77%

Walgreen's:
Spent $52.94 ($5.82 was tax)
Saved $173.40   69%

Giant Eagle:
Spent $102.95 ($3.62 was tax)
Saved $150.43   59.3%

Rite Aid:
Spent $1.44 ($0.77 was tax)
Saved $24.50     94%

Totals:
Spent $180.16
Saved $448.00 59.7%

My numbers do NOT include any of Paul's trips - I don't have his receipts. He buys the produce and meats most of the time. He probably spends another $100 a month on that kind of stuff.

What do you do with all that stuff???

2010-01-30T14:20:00.000-05:00

I get questions from time to time on "what do I do with all that stuff I buy?"

Um, use it!!

For instance, I bought 40 cans of broth in December. My husband has an addiction to making and eating lots of soup. 6 weeks later , I have 8 cans left. That's what 5+ cans per week? The stuff I get isn't sitting there collecting dust. It's stuff I would normally purchase, but found a cheaper way to get months worth of it now and save money overall for the year.

The broth deal's one from GE where if you bought 20 cans they were only 50 cents each-- then I had a $1 off of 2 cans coupon (or many of them) so if I bought less than 20 I'd have to pay for them- when I hit 20 cans they were free. I wouldn't normally buy 20-- or 40-- but for free I did and we use them quickly. So good deal. Plus, Paul's made tons of soup and just had to buy meat at BJs on sale every few weeks- but he had all the rest of the ingedients he uses on hand.

SOME STUFF I GIVE AWAY. I make bags of products from time to time for people with the stuff I have gotten for cheap/free. They love getting razors and shampoo that they use and soaps and all that kind of stuff and now their next trip the store will be slightly cheaper for them (I ask ahead of time what brands they like and keep an eye out for those) My recipients now are my side of the family.

Paul's family has a tradition of celebrating each persons wedding anniversary every year. "Happy 14th anniversary!" We all get together and give gifts to the couple... well guess what people are getting this year? Yep, that's right gift baskets of items that I got for little money. The next party is in April, it's for 5 couples. Yeah, FIVE.... so those razors I got the other day (4 pks) for free will be part of the gift baskets for sure. It'll all be name brand stuff and filled to the rim-- now to just keep getting stuff in time for the party. Right now I only have some makeup, razors, bar soaps and cleaning supplies. Depending on whats free over the next few weeks will determine what else goes in the gift baskets.

I bought my cousin TONS of baby shower stuff and on the things like diapers and all the non-clothing items, I spent $5. My sister didn't have money for a gift at the time of the shower, so I got her a bunch of stuff too (included in the $5) Then I went to Kmart and got clothes on clearance too- the result was 2 huge gift bags of stuff for maybe $15 total. It looked like way more money- but thats all I spent out of pocket.

I had gift cards from places like Rite Aid for switching prescriptions ($75) and used coupons and sales on top of it too... If I had spent cash on all of the items at full price, it would've been around $300. 95% savings.

I'm not a hoarder, I'm a sharer/giver/user of the items I get.

Giant Eagle Deals (Week of 01/27/10)

2010-01-27T20:06:00.001-05:00

I got my RedPlum coupons in the mail and at the same time my Giant Eagle ad for the week. This was one of those rare weeks where the ad and the coupons had many matchups.

Here are the ones that I found (of course there are many more for older coupons)

Page 3:
Super Pretzel Sale Price: 4 for $7
Coupon: $0.50/1
Final Price: $0.75

Knorr receipe mix Sale Price: $1.50
Coupon: $0.50/1
Final Price: $0.50 each

Page 5:
Catalina Deal: "Buy $20 worth and get $5 off YNT" (bottom part of the ad)

Knorr Side Dishes (rice and pastas) Sale Price: $1
Coupon: $1/3
Final Price: $0.66 each (WYB 3)

Ragu pasta sauce Sale Price: 4 for $5 ($1.25 each)
Coupon: $1.25/3
Final Price: 3 for $2.50 ($0.84 each!!) Best price I have seen in a LONG time.

Promise Spread Sale Price: $2
Coupon: $1/1
Final Price: $1 each

"I Can't believe its not butter" spray, spread or quarters Sale Price: $2
Coupon: $0.60/2
Final Price: $0.90 each (WYB2)

Wish Bone salad dressing 7-16 oz Sale Price: $1.50 each
Coupon: $1.25/2
Final Price: $1.75 for 2 ($0.88 each)

Skippy Peanut butter 15 or 16.5 oz Sale Price $2.50 each
Coupon: $0.40
Final Price: $1.70 each

Hellman's Mayo Sale Price: $2.50
Coupon: $0.50/1
Final Price: $1.50 each

THEN, Make sure you purchase "$20 worth" of items (before coupons, in one transaction) and you'll get a $5 Catalina that will print to use on your next order! :) If you want to post in comments your ideas for the deal, please share.

Page 6:
Hillshire Farms Cocktails 16 oz Sale Price: $3
Coupon: $1/2
Final Price: $2.50 each (WYB 2)

Page 8:
Mrs. T Pierogies 12-16.9 oz Sale Price: $2
Coupon: $1/2
Final Price: $1.50 each WYB 2

Hot Pockets Sale Price: $2
There is a coupon for a new type of Hot Pocket that I am not sure if its included in the sale or not...
If it is, then the final price is $0.50 ($0.75/1 coupon)

Giant Eagle catalinas this week

2010-01-25T18:29:00.000-05:00

Catalina= printed coupons at the register (usually off your next order)

I found a few good combos for free items this week.

The box on the upper left has nothing of use for me.
The box on the upper right has almost no coupons out there right now.
The bottom though, is quite interesting....

I signed up at P&G Brandsaver and received a bunch of coupons from them in the mail. There were lots of $0.75/1 in there. I bought Mr. Clean pourable, Mr. Clean spray, and 2 Febreze sprays (net cost $4 for all 4) and got back $5 in Catalina's. I also had Catalinas from last week- so I used those to pay for these and made an extra buck on the deal for future use! :)

I love the Catalina deals that GE is starting to do- I hope they continue to have 3 or 4 deals a week for a while. They really help in getting FREE grocery items.

Free stuff --week of Sunday 01/24/10-- disappointing week

2010-01-23T18:17:00.000-05:00

CVS:
Ivory Soap $0.99 Use $1 coupon from 12/27/09 paper FREE

CVS and Walgreen's are still running the Pepsico promos - buy $20 in Pepsi stuff and get $10 back -- then there is also a MIR for Pepsi too WYB Coors beer. Rebate form here
You'll end up buying beer out of pocket and all the Pepsi money will be refunded through store coupons and cash back. :)

I guess we get a week off of awesome deals- because next week is going to be a big week of freebies-- this week- not so much. Soap and Pepsi... whoop-dee-doo.

Giant Eagle Deals for the week of 1/21/10

2010-01-20T18:58:00.000-05:00

Sale Items: (Not the most impressive ad I've seen)
I'll add to the list as I find more coupons/deals

Newman's Own Pasta sauce 24 oz, $2.50 Coupon here $0.50/1 Final Price: $1.50
Barilla Pasta: Sale Price 10 for $10 ($1 each) Coupon: $1/2 Final Price $0.50 each

Catalina's (coupons that print out at the register):

"Buy 6 Pillsbury Grands Jr., Golden Layers, Grands or Cinnamon Rolls 5 ct, get $4 off your next purchase"
Sale Price: 6 for $6 ($1 each) Coupons: $0.30/2, $0.40/2, $1.00/2 etc
Final Price- will vary depending on which coupons you use.
Pretty good deal even without coupons if you use these. You can spend about $4 for them and get $4 back!

"$2 off your next trip when you buy $10 of the following in one transaction:"
(remember $10 is before coupons):

Pop Tarts $2
Capri Sun $2
Kool Aid Jammers $2
Kellogg's fruit snacks $2
Kraft Shapes, Easy Mac or Velveeta cups $1
Campbell's canned pasts w/meat $1
Trix or Gogurt $2 Coupon: $1/2 here ($1.50 each)
Nestle refrigerated cookie dough $2.50

**Coupons for these items are hard to find- most of the valid ones are tear off pad coupons that I don't have.**

"$5 off your next shopping trip when you buy 4 of the following:"
Dawn Dish Liquid 19 or 24 oz $2.50 Coupon: $0.25/1 12-27-09 Proctor & Gamble insert ($2)
Mr. Clean Pourables 40 oz $2.50 Coupon: $0.75/1 from Home Made Simple mailer ($1)
Mr. Clean Sprays 32 oz $2.50 Coupon: $0.75/1 from HMS mailer ($1)
Febreze Air Effects $2.50 Coupon: $0.50/1 12-27-10 P&G insert ($1.50)
Cascade Action Packs 16 or 20 ct $4.00 Coupon: $0.50/1 12-27-09 P&G insert ($3)
Cascade Gel or Powder 75 oz $4.00 Coupon: $0.50/1 P&G insert ($3)
Swiffer refills 12 or 16 ct. $4.00 Coupon: $1/1 inside packages ($3)

If you haven't already gone online and filled out to be on the mailing list for Home Made Simple, do it now, so you can save for the next time these go on sale again (they seem to go on sale every 8 weeks or so)

Idea: Buy 2 pourable cleaners and 2 sprays - pay $4 after coupons, get $5 Catalina back (make $1 on the deal)

Rite Aid Printable coupon $5/25

2010-01-18T00:27:00.000-05:00

Printable coupon for Rite Aid found here.

A good deal at Rite Aid this week:

Bayer Aspirin $1.99 sale price
You can watch the Rite Aid video values and get a printable coupon for $2 off (final price Free)

For a complete listing of Rite Aid deals, go here to iheartriteaid.com
Use the coupon plus other coupons you may have to try to get your out of pocket down to $0.

Rite Aid, CVS, and Walgreen's all have different shopping strategies. It makes it a little difficult to quickly get deals together when you're focusing on 3 stores with such different shopping styles to save money.

Rite Aid has Mail in rebates mostly - but will also have a $5 off XX almost always. They allow coupon stacking. The mail in rebates process is very simple. There are limits to how many mail in rebates you can do per address. Without coupons and mail in rebates, their prices are very high.

CVS tracks everything through the CVS Extra Bucks card. This makes it easier to save money because you can split up purchases into several trips to maximize coupons. The downside is they track your spending so you have limits on what you can purchase of a certain deal. Using a printable $5 off coupon also helps alot. They almost always have these available somewhere.

Walgreen's has unlimited amounts of deals you can do. Sounds great- but you can't use a coupon for the deal you just did to pay for the same deal (it won't print out another RR coupon if you do). It gets tricky to try to remember which coupon was spit out from what deal. They also do not have $5 off coupons- but they do allow coupon stacking.

Out of the 3 stores, I think the easiest is CVS with regards to tracking and using coupons. I like the 24 hour store, but prefer the store near my house- the cashier is very nice and always takes my coupons without any hassles.

Walgreens near me also has a 24 hour store and the guys that work there are pretty nice to deal with. They seem really bored so they don't mind taking time to ring eveyrthing up (what else are they going to do?). The service at Walgreens has been pretty good most of the time.

Rite Aid is the store that begs me to be their friend. They, by far, have the best service of the 3 stores. I've NEVER had a bad experience with a Rite aid store. The only issue I have with them is price. I hate their prices. Without really figuring out a good deal and having rebates etc they are by far the most expensive.

Deals this week (CVS and Wags) Jan. 17, 2010

2010-01-17T20:16:00.006-05:00

PRINT a $5/20 coupon and use those every time you go shopping at CVS-- you'll save a huge amount by doing this.

Here is a link for this week (make sure you cut the coupon out... if they see "Fresno, California" on it, they may not accept it.

Deals:

Buy $20 of Pepsi, get $10 EB back

One of the great things about CVS is the Extra bucks card. You can buy the Pepsi in several shots instead of in one trip if you want and they keep track of it for you.
There is also a MIR for the Pepsi ($15 back WYB $30 worth of Pepsi)

Combine these deals and end up paying $5 for $30 worth of Pepsi products (I drink lots of Diet Pepsi, so this is a good deal to me)

Oust surface and air sanitizer or Glade fabric refresher $3.99 each, $3 EB ($0.99 each)
There's a B1G1F coupon for the Oust - so you can get 2 for 99 cents.

Glade and Oust have home mailers out there for $1 off- if you have those then they will be free.

Limit 3 per household.

Loreal Makeup 75% select items

I have $1, $2 and $3 off coupons for these (I had a stack of them, but I might have used them all by now)

Read the coupons because most say its for the item pictured, but then it also says "or on any makeup..." I've bought tons of makeup and spent less than $10 on all of it combined (hundreds of dollars worth if it was regular retail prices) Final Prices: varies- but many for Free

Boost 6 pk nutritional drinks $7.29 each ($1.50 coupon)
Buy 3, get $6 EB back

I split these up into several receipts... I use my $1.50 coupon + the $5/20 to help cover the cost of the Boost and after 3 times, I'll get $6 EB back.

SoyJoy 6 pks $6.00, get $6 EB back (free)
no coupons found for these for additional savings.

These were found at the side aisle on an end-cap, not where the rest of the nutritional bars were.

These are the items I'll be buying at CVS- post and that you think are good deals too!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deal: "Buy $20 or more of Dayquil/Nyquil, get $10 Register rewards back"

Price: $5 each

Buy 4- Spend $20- use $2 off coupons from paper.

$12 out of pocket and get $10 back (or if you have register rewards from before, use those for less or no out of pocket costs to you.

Net cost - $0.50 each.

Deal: "Buy one Theraflu and one Lipton Product and get $4 RR"

Theraflu: $3.99 Use $1.50 coupon or print a $2 off coupon here

Lipton tea 40 pk $2.99 (no Lipton coupons found)

Spend: $5.49 out of pocket, get back $4 RR (use RR from other purchases to cover the $1.49)

Wet Ones wipes Sale Price 2/$4 ($2 each) Buy 2, get $1 RR back

Printable coupons here $1.50 off (use 2 coupons)

Final Price Pay $1 for 2, get $1 RR back = Free

Nivea Shower Gel (same deal as last week)

$4.99 - $2.00 coupon ($2.99) get back $2 RR Final price: 99 cents

Accu-Chek Aviva Blood glucose monitor Sale Price $9.99

Coupon: $10 off Accu-Chek Final Price: Free

Neosporin Antibiotic or Lip health Sale 2/$8

Coupon here: $3 off (print 2)

RR: $3.00 Final Price: make $1 on deal in RR

Note on the coupon: It will error out unless you pick "Other" for the question on who you use for your current lip care. It will kick you out for every other option you pick.

Alka Seltzer Cold or Sinus meds Sale $4.99 each

Deal: Buy 3 or more, get $6 RR back"

Buy 3 ($14.97) Use $1.00 off each coupon ($11.97) get $6 back net cost: $5.97 for 3 boxes.

Recall notice-- many Tylenol products have been recalled-- DO NOT purchase them at this time even if it's a great deal and they are on the shelf... don't take a chance on it.

CVS Quick Trip before work ($0.16)

2010-01-17T15:19:00.001-05:00

I looked online at iheartcvs.com (she posts previews of ads) and I checked out the EB's on there. I had $13 of EB and she also posted a new $5/20 coupon that I used. (So, I was starting out with $18/20)

Here's what I bought:
2 Plain Dealer Newspapers $4.00
Loreal HIP eye makeup $2.99 (75% off)
    -$3 Loreal makeup coupon
Soy Joy 6 pk $6.00
     "Get $6 EB when you buy Soy Joy"
Boost High Protein 6 Pk $7.29
    -$1.50 coupon
    "Get $6 EB WYB 3 Boost" (they keep track of how many I buy)
CVS cupholder wipes $0.99 (filler item, but I needed them)
2 liter of Diet Pepsi (for work) $1.25
    "Spend $20 on Pepsi, Get $10 EB"
     also, there is a rebate out there when you buy $30 of Pepsi, you get $15 MIR back

I used $13 EB
$5/20
$3 Loreal
$1.50 Boost

Spent: $0.02 + $0.14 tax ($0.16 total)
Received: $6 EB for future spending
Am on my way to earning $16 more EB

Ya win some and ya lose some....

2010-01-15T16:40:00.000-05:00

1/14/10 Shopping Trips.

CVS: Top middle stuff (coloring book, makeup, Thermacare, shampoo, lightbulb, Powerade)

Giant Eagle: all the rest of it- plus 2 candy bars, 20 oz Diet Pepsi, $2.99 Mario cards, 6 pk pop (not pictured, but included in prices)

I had one of the worst CVS trips ever. I had Evan with me and we were taking our time shopping (until he said he had to go-- ) the kids stocking the shelves were nice and making small talk with Evan. They took time out to look around for a special item I had seen once before but it was gone. Then I went to check out. I had coupons on each item. The cashier first off said she couldn't take all the coupons. I asked "why not?" and she said because "that was a lot of coupons". "Yeah, so?" She challenged EVERY coupon individually. They were all 100% legit. A line was now forming behind me and the kid is yelling that he's gotta pee.

I asked for a manager- he came over and quickly said "its fine, just take it" to each coupon barely looking at each one. It was probably mostly because of the line forming.

I also had told her in the beginning that I had 2 rainchecks to which she yelped back "I need to ring that up FIRST" "Yeah, that's why I'm telling you now." I tried to stay nice.

I guess it all worked out ok though because the rainchecks spit out too much in CVS extra bucks- so I made out on the deal a bit for future purchases. I spent $8 out of pocket and get $15 back. Whenever I get back more than I spent, its a good thing. I got Evan a very pricey coloring book ($4!!) but being so cheap with other items allows us to have "splurge items" every now and then without breaking the budget.

I also got him another pack of Mario cards for $2.99- I need to look at ebay and see if I can get those cheaper- this $3 a pack stuff is killing me.

We get to GE and hit the restroom-- which at this particular one is waaaay in the back of the store. Then we had to go to the front and get a special "car cart" so he could drive around and occupy his time while I shopped. I let him get out and pick out certain items for me and he liked that- but then he wanted to pick out lots and lots of other items too. I had to say no over and over.

Finally we were done and heading out. The cashier at GE rejected one of my coupons (which was a legit one but I was too beat down at that point to argue over $1.00)

I needed a stiff drink (Diet Pepsi) and a candy bar, which I scarfed down in 2 seconds in the car. It helped.

When I got home, Paul was overwhelmed. He has storage bins that aren't fitting in the area we have them in (its too large for the room its currently in) so I helped clear off and organize stuff and we got things to fit- we have plenty of room for stuff now. I had some old bags full of junk that he didn't know what to do with so I went through them and sorted etc. I found my first cheapskate receipt that started it all-- I threw it out. No need to hang on to it. I am keeping my 2010 receipts for now though for 2 reasons. 1. in case there is a rebate on something that I happen to buy (which happens from time to time) 2. to track my savings. I'll only hang on to the receipts for a while though after I key them in and check for rebates, then I'll toss them all.

I still have to put together the details of all the GE savings this week- they have more than normal Catalinas (receipts that print out at the registers)

Rite Aid + CVS Shopping Trips (01/13/10)

2010-01-13T19:56:00.003-05:00

Rite Aid is one of the stores that you should never walk into without printing a $5 off of XX coupon. They are on their websites all the time too- I have a prescription there- so I went in and bought a few things.

Total in picture: $8.14 Out of pocket

Rite Aid:
Cottonelle Fresh Wipes tub $1.99
Cottonelle Fresh Wipes tub $1.99
Cottonelle Fresh Wipes tub $1.99
Benevia Pineapple health drink $8.99 - but overrode to $4.50 (it was BOGO but they only had 1- got a raincheck)
Loreal eyeshadow 75% off $1.12
Loreal Lipstick 75% off $2.23
Loreal Lipstick 75% off $2.23
Loreal Makeup 75% off $4.24

Coupons:
-$5/20 video rewards (on their site)
-$4.50 Benevia (was adjusted to $4.50 from $5- would not do coupon overage)
-$2 Loreal Makeup
-$1 Loreal Lipstick
-$1 Loreal Lipstick
-$1 Loreal eyeshadow
-$0.50 Cottonelle
-$0.50 Cottonelle
-$0.50 Cottonelle
-$0.50 Cottonelle in ad coupon
-$0.50 Cottonelle in ad coupon
-$0.50 Cottonelle in ad coupon

Coupon Total: $17.50

Total paid after coupons:
$2.79 + $0.83 tax = $3.62

Yet again, if I had a calculator with me, I'd have spent way less. This time around though- I didn't know how they were going to handle the Benevia. She ended up giving the one they had on the shelf to me for free- and I got a raincheck on the BOGO for when they come back in stock.

I'd have skipped one of the lipsticks and paid $2.23 less if I had planned it out better.
But, not too bad of a shopping trip.

I also received eight "Game of Life" tickets. The cashier also said "that's how you roll" to me. She was older, and white- so it sounded really funny. Loved it.

.CVS Trip:
Candy canes $0.25 (was told they were $0.10, oh well)
Loreal Clearance lipstick $2.12 (75% off)
Loreal Clearance lipstick $2.12 (75% off)
Loreal Clearance lipstick $2.12 (75% off)
Loreal Clearance lipstick $2.25 (75% off)
Loreal Clearance lipstick $2.25 (75% off)
Loreal Clearance eyeshadow $1.99 (75% off)
Loreal Clearance eyeshadow $1.99 (75% off)
Aussie Spray $2.88
Aussie styler $2.88
Diet Pepsi $1.59

Coupons:
-$5.00 off of $20 printable coupon
- $1.00 Loreal Lipstick
- $1.00 Loreal Lipstick
- $1.00 Loreal Lipstick
- $1.00 Loreal Lipstick
- $1.00 Loreal Lipstick
- $1.00 Loreal eyeshadow
- $1.00 Loreal eyeshadow
-$1.00 Aussie
-$1.00 Aussie
-$3.00 EB
-$5.00 EB

I was hoping still that the Loreal discounted makeup would count towards the "buy $15 Loreal makeup and get $5 EB back", but it didn't. :(
I was $0.60 cents away from having my $5 EB print for the Aussie deal. I'll need to buy one more bottle of shampoo to get $5 back.

I spent $4.52 total with tax at CVS. ($3.44 + $1.08 tax)

According to the receipt, I saved $68.55 at CVS. I find that laughable- who's spend over $70 on that? Not me!!

.

Coupon links

2010-01-12T17:19:00.000-05:00

Giant Eagle:

Boston Market $1 printable coupon (use at Giant Eagle- Market dinners are on sale for $2 each)
Final price: $1 each with coupon here

Hopefully this link is working... it wasn't from work-- but it did at home the other day....
Lunchables on sale BOGO - $1.24 each
Printable here for $0.55 off
Final Price: $0.14 each

A few steals I found

2010-01-12T03:02:00.003-05:00

I feel pretty good about tonight's shopping trips. I started out at Walgreen's and got everything (except the Edge shave gel) that you see on the bottom row.

I had $8 worth of Register Rewards and a coupon for pretty much each item.

GE was on a whim- I threw that deal together in the parking lot quickly after Paul said we needed some cat food to hold my cat over til I can buy a great deal on it.

Here's how it all shakes down:

Walgreen's:
$5 RR and $3 RR from last week's purchases.

Transaction 1:

$0.25 Knee High's
$4.99 Nivea Shower Gel
$2.49 Therma Care heat wrap
$0.99 Household gloves
Merchandise Total: $8.72

Coupons:
-$0.60 Household gloves (in ad coupon)
-$2.00 Nivea
-$1.00 Printable Therma Care
-$5.00 Register Rewards from last week
Coupon Total: $8.60

$8.72 - $8.60 = $0.12 + $0.51 tax = $0.63 total out of pocket
Received $4.50 in RR back
-----------------------------------------------------

Transaction 2

$1.39 Kleenex
$2.99 Colgate Max Fresh
Merchandise Total: $4.38

Coupons:
-$0.60 Kleenex in ad coupon
-$0.75 Colgate
-$3.00 Register Rewards from last week
Coupon Total: $4.35

$4.38 - $4.35 = $0.03 + $0.24 tax = $0.27 out of pocket

Transaction 1 + 2 = $0.99 out of pocket

Used $8 RR and received $6.50 RR back.

My goal is to keep it at about $10 RR all the time- if I buy more of the Thermacare's, I'll be above the $10 mark again.

---------------------------------------------------------

I had coupons for Lunchable's $0.55/1 that doubled to $1.10 off and they were on sale for $1.24 each- I paid $0.14 for that. I'll be searching to see if I can find more of those coupons.

I also used a Target logo coupon that started with a "5" meaning it's a mfr coupon that was $1 off Boston Market frozen dinners which are on sale at GE for $2 each- so I got it for $1. :) I love those! Again, I'll be looking for more of those coupons to print. I'd like to stock up on those 2 items for packing my lunch at work.

The bacon was BOGO and I had 75/1 coupons and they doubled and I had a $2 off your next meat order too-- so I paid $1 for both of the "center cut" bacons. Last time I was there, they ran out of the bacon because it was a really good deal.

The plates were on sale for $2.50 - $2 coupons. ($0.50 each) I had a $3 off coupon from the other day so I applied that to the pop in my head (it was $3.67, so $0.67)

The soup at hand was a quarter. The candy canes a dime (They are at 90% off now and they had 2 cases left at my GE)

Of course the Steamfresh were free. The cat food was $1 for the 4.

I'll post the printables if I can find them (they don't seem to stay up on websites too long)

.

Tip of the Day

2010-01-11T18:56:00.000-05:00

Tip: Pick up those store coupons! (booklets, blinkies, any of them that you might use in the future)

Sometimes the coupons found in booklets with the store logo on them can be used in other stores. If the coupon starts with a "5" then it's a manufacturer coupon and can technically be accepted anywhere.

Stores that set out their own booklets of coupons will accept ONE of their store coupons PLUS one of the mfr coupons on top of it. This is coupon stacking. Coupon stacking is the greatest thing ever.

My shopping trips 01/10/10

2010-01-11T02:29:00.001-05:00

$3.60 Total OOP

CVS: $2.00 (mostly tax)
Rite Aid: $1.60 (mostly tax)

Not pictured: $0.25 Xmas candy on clearance

I made a list before going to the store and used my calculator- which REALLY helped a lot!! I spend way less OOP when I use add it all up and get my coupons together BEFORE going into the store.

I'll get $9.99 back in MIR from Rite Aid.
I spent $11 EB at CVS, and got back $5 and am on my way to earning more bucks. A trick I learned from someone else is that at CVS, you can split up the deals into multiple orders- they keep track of it, whereas at Wag's and R.A. they don't. I have $6 more to spend on Cover girl items (Herbal Essence, Aussie count towards it) and will get $5 EB back.

I was HOPING the lipsticks would've counted towards the "buy ANY Loreal makeup and get EB back when you hit $15", but they didn't. The makeup was marked 75% off and I had $1 coupon for the eyeshadow and $2 coupons for the lipsticks (they ended up costing 25 cents each)

I've never tried Olay soap before- so this is where I can try something new. It was on sale at R.A. for $1.99 and I used the $1 off coupons on those. I'll end up giving some away to family also- I'm not a hoarder, I'm a sharer.

Happy Shopping trips!!

.

Shopping Deals for this week (01/10/10 - 01/16/10)

2010-01-10T23:20:00.001-05:00

Rite Aid:

*Soap on sale for $1.99 each - Safeguard, Olay, Zest various sizes and varieties
Coupon: $1/1
Pay: $0.99 each

*Loreal Vive Pro Shampoo $2.99
Coupon: $1/1
Pay: $1.99

*GE Soft White Lightbulbs $2.00
Coupon: $1/1
Pay: $1, get $2 MIR back from riteaid.com/scr LIMIT ONE
(Make $1 on deal)

*Contac Cold and Flu med $4.99
Coupon: $2.00 (01/03/10 paper)
Pay: $2.99, get $4.99 MIR back from riteaid.com/scr LIMIT ONE
(Make $2.00 on deal)

*Theraflu medicine $4.99
Coupon: $1.50 and $2 out there ($1.50 is hanging under the product)
Pay: $3.49 or $2.99, get $3.00 MIR back from riteaid.com/scr LIMIT ONE
(End cost after rebate: $0.49 or free)

Printable coupon: $5/25
Watch 20 videos (commercials) on Riteaid.com and get a coupon for $5/20
Suggestion: Buy some of the items that will give you rebates back and use coupons to purchase them as well, they will be free or money makers. They take about 4-6 weeks for you to receive your check.

Deal Idea: Go watch the videos and earn the $5/20 coupon
Purchase Contac $2.99 OOP after $2 coupon
Purchase Theraflu $3.49 OOP after $1.50 coupon
Purchase GE Soft White bulbs $1.00 OOP after $1.00 coupon

Counts as $11.98 towards your $20 to get the $5 off coupon.

Pick out $8 worth of items in the ad (preferably all with coupons)
Soap $0.99 OOP after $1.00 coupon
Always, Tampax BOG coupon $5.99/2 after coupon
Need a few more cents to get past $20. (look in the clearance bins for something cheap - like $0.25)
Total merch - $20.21 + tax
Use coupons totaling: $16.49.

Pay out of pocket of about $3.72 + tax. You will also receive $9.99 in Mail in Rebates back (Make $6.27 on deal)

I only bought one paper today... good thing.

2010-01-10T16:25:00.001-05:00

I don't see any super exciting coupons in today's paper.

Here are the coupon matchups with the current GE sales though:

Bird's Eye Steamfresh Sale Price: $1 (I have a freezer full of this, so not as exciting to me right now, but I'll still pick up for as many coupons as I have for them.)
Coupon: $0.50/1 FREE

Butterball Turkey Bacon Sale Price BOGO ($3.18/2)
Coupon $1/2 Final Price: $2.18/2 ($1.09 each) I had $0.55/1 coupons that made them cheaper though- check for those first before using this one. Still not a bad deal, just there are Better out there.

Edge Gel coupon for $0.75 off - will double to $1.50 off- check and see if you can pick that up for cheap at GE.

Dannon Yogurt's on sale and there are coupons as well, but no awesome deals- so I'll skip them.

$0.75/1 coupons to collect for FUTURE use when they are on sale:
*Cream of Wheat
*Energizer Batteries or Flashlight
*Colgate Sensitive Toothpaste
*Edge Shave gel (I think these run around $2 each and occasionally go on sale for cheaper)
*Scrubbing Bubbles fantastic all purpose cleaner (wait for sale)
*Scrubbing Bubbles all purpose cleaner (wait for sale)
*Wolfgang Puck soups, stocks and broths (Last time I checked these they were PRICEY)

Shopping trips 1/09/10

2010-01-09T23:26:00.005-05:00

I went to GE and Wag's tonight- nothing too impressive. I dragged the guys (son and hubby) with me and that always seems to make me spend a little more with them...

Walgreens's:

*Neosporin Lip healing balm 2/$8
    - $3 coupon (printed off their website)
    - $3 coupon (printed off their website)
"Buy 2 Neosporin, get $3 back"
(Spent $2, got $3 back)

*Hair dye Marked down to $1.29

*Rimmel Lip gloss marked down to $1.59

*Post Honey Combs (sm box) $1.00
*Post Honey Combs (sm box) $1.00
*Post Honey Combs (sm box) $1.00
*Post Honey Combs (sm box) $1.00
   -$1/2 post coupon
     -$1/2 post coupon
($0.50 each- they are SMALL, 4.25 oz- not full size)

*Ensure 6 ct Strawberry $6.99
*Ensure 6 ct Strawberry $6.99
*Ensure 6 ct Vanilla $6.99
   -$3 coupon
     -$3 coupon
     -$3 coupon
"Buy $20 of Ensure, Get $5 RR back"

Total Merchandise: $14.85
Tax: $0.68
Total Spent: $15.53
+Received $8 Register Rewards back for future spending

Coupon savings: $21.00 (including $4 RR)
WAG Advertised savings: $12.88
Total saved: $33.88

Giant Eagle:

No super deals to report- but here are the highlights:

*Green Giant Steamers
"Buy 4, get $2 off your next meat purchase coupon"
-$0.40/1 coupon. I had one that was $0.55/1 that I had printed before
$1.20 *3 (3.60) + $0.90 for the other one
Paid: $4.50/4
Received a coupon or $2 off next meat order.

Paul likes these as a snack- so for him it was a good deal.

*Butterball Turkey Bacon BOGO sale $3.18/2 (or $1.59 each)
-$0.55/1 coupons - so I got them for 49 cents each.

*Healthy Choice Soup bowls (the microwaveable kind) Sale Price: 3/$5 ($1.66)
"Buy $10 HC and get a $3 off next trip coupon"
I bought 6 of them to hit the $10 mark--
then used 3 $0.75/2 coupons (took off $4.50)
Paid: $5.50 for 6 bowls of soup and received a $3 for my next purchase coupon.

*Trial Size Playtex tampons $0.99
- $0.50 coupon
Paid: Free (I got 5 4 cts- so 20 for free)

*J&J Band Aid (Diego 10 ct) $0.99
- $1 off coupon (she had to override the coupon to 99 cents)
Paid: Free

*V-8 Splash sale price: $1.99
- $1/2 coupon
Paid: $2.98/2 ($1.49 each)

I also bought Evan another pack of Mario cards ($3 each!!)
and a 6 pk of Diet Pepsi for me $3.67
plus some cat food and deodorant

Total Spent: $25.45 for 26 items
Saved: $28.54 (53%)
Received coupons for $5 off next purchases

Total for the night:
Spent: $40.98
Saved: $62.42

Total Saved: 60.3%
$13 back in coupons for future purchases

I have to admit that I was MAD at my total spending at Wag's being so high!! Paul was saying "You're kidding" to me when I said that...no, I wasn't. Stupid Ensure is crazy expensive- I spent $15 and got $8 back-- so net spent $7 on 3 pks of Ensure and other stuff. Spent $41, got back $13 (net spending of $28)

Well, I will have to use my coupons for next purchases off carefully and plan it out a little better so I spend less out of pocket.

I know it seems weird to buy trial size pks of tampons- but they're 100% free and I had 5 of the coupons- so that's like a reg size box for free- and they aren't cheap. ($5.99 a box, etc)

There are BOGO meat deals- so I will make sure I use my meat coupon this week to take advantage of that. I think it can be combined with regular mfr coupons too.

Not a super-awesome Giant Eagle week... but here are a few small deals

2010-01-07T20:54:00.000-05:00

Playtex 99 cents TRIAL size 4 pk
.50/1 coupon = free

J&J Bandages various prices (but the Diego 10pk is 99 cents)
$1/1 coupon = free

Small Steps Tissues $1.25
$1/1 coupon =25 cents

***I also got word that at MARC'S they have the Small Steps TP for 99 cents and the $1 off coupon makes it free. Caution: the Marc's in Mentor on the lake REFUSES to do coupons for over the value of the product price. Also, the coupon says 'limit one per customer'-- but a friend was able to do 13 for free in Euclid.

I'll add more as I find them. :)