Saturday, August 29, 2009

What is overage?

This is a word we extreme couponers love. Overage.

Overage is when you have a coupon (or coupons) for an item that are worth more than the item itself. The overage is the extra leftover. Some stores will allow you to have that extra to use toward other items in your transaction, others will reduce the value of the coupon to the amount of the item.

Opinions vary on this topic, but in my humble opinion, you should get the full value of the coupon used, because the retailer will be reimbursed full value no matter how much the item purchased costs.

There are several ways to get overage. The best way is to find a store that has a very good coupon policy, like Publix. Because the more types of coupons a store accepts, the more opportunity there will be for overage.
1) An item is on sale and you have a coupon for a larger value than the item.
i.e. Cheerios are on sale for $1.00 a box. You have a coupon for $1.50 off one box. What happens to the $.50? Overage, if your store allows.
2) You have a manufacturer coupon and a store coupon for the same item. When used together at a store that allows stacking, it adds up to more than the value of the item.
i.e. Cheerios are $1.00. You have a manufacturer coupon for $1 off one and a store coupon for $.50 off one box. When used together, you have $.50 overage.

I believe that overage should be given for any items you purchase that the item is less than the coupon. Unless the coupon states "minimum purchase", then the manufacturer knows what they are doing when they put out their coupons. Sometimes I think people think the manufacturers are just oblivious. They're not. When they do not "exclude trial sizes" on their coupons, they understand people can use them on trial sizes. And often, that is their plan. They want you to try their product for free so that you will then like it so much, you'll purchase it full-size and full-price. They are not stupid!

As I said, opinions vary, but since this is my blog, and mine is the only one that really counts (heh) Overage should be given on all coupons that do not disallow it.

A good example is the $6 pork coupon. This coupon states that you can save $6 off of any "the other white meat" when you buy Kingsford Charcoal and another {participating item}. There is no minimum requirement. If this coupon stated "Save up to $6 on the other white meat, value of coupon not to exceed item value" then I would say absolutely not. No overage should be given. But it doesn't. So I am happy to use this coupon at a store which allows overage.

The thing we have to remember is that the average shopper does not use coupons. The occasional shopper uses a few coupons (probably saving up to ten dollars per transaction). It is a very rare shopper that does what we do. So at the end of the month, when the retailer turns in their coupons to the clearinghouse for reimbursement, there is plenty of pork sold to cover everyone. The $20+ of overage I am getting is way outweighed by the hundreds or thousands of dollars in pork sold by the retailer in the month.

Regional coupons and What exactly is out there?

It is amazing to me the variation on coupons.

I don't post where my coupons come from, so I understand that sometimes that can be a little confusing. Our papers often have very different coupons from what is available elsewhere.

It also seems that Publix is the King/Queen of coupon booklets and there are SO many different ones! LOL! The Toss For Cash is a good example. There are two very different versions, but around the blog-osphere, they are referred to as the same, so you never really know which one you're looking for.

Peelies/hangtags/winetags/blinkies also seem to vary be region and store even. Finding coupons that look the same but have different wording. For example, I once found blinkies for a Lotion that said "excludes trial size" at Publix. Then I went to Food Lion and they had the same blinkies, but did NOT exclude trial size. I know there are Johnson&Johnson product coupons that have been similar.

Basically, what I have learned since couponing for over a year now, is to read your coupons carefully. Make sure you are purchasing the correct items as described on the coupon. Then, go crazy trading and buying for ones not in your region. I have gotten some great coupons by trading on HCW. I have made some friends in other regions and we trade booklets and regional q's. It has helped my couponing and allowed me to get the crazy deals shown in my blog!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

It's all about the timing, part 2

I decided to head back to Publix today (even though it's an hour away) because those darn Method products I saw on clearance yesterday were weighing on my mind.


I had $2/1 mq's and $1/1 Whole Foods q's to give overage on each one. I made my list and hoped that they would still be there. My kids were up early this morning, so we loaded up and headed to Publix. Lo and behold- a whole shelf of them! YAY! I wanted them for gift baskets anyway. . . 14 total items. I took both my kids and they were very well-behaved (ok, I bribed my four-year old with Moe's, I admit it) and enjoyed their balloons. I also saw the store manager and we talked for a while, along with two other managers. It was good to have a few minutes to talk with them when the store was kind of quiet. The only cashier at the time was one that I've had trouble with before on overage (one of the very few at this store) so I waited a little to see if anyone else would clock in, and then the line backed way up, so I asked the managers if there were other cashiers and two of the managers jumped on register, one of them checking me out. :) Makes it so much easier.

I did forget to include my $1/1 Guiding Stars FLip, which would have made my total $.33. Rats.

***Note: I have mentioned before, but will say again, I had a raincheck that was issued while the $3/1 FLip was valid (it has since expired). Store management at this store will allow me to use the expired q's on the products from during the raincheck cycle since I was unable to purchase the items when I had the valid coupons. It never hurts to ask if your store will allow this.
***The Glad Fire Up the Grill coupon was from a Keith Urban flyer I picked up at my store a month-ish ago which expires 9/30/09. (This was a four page brochure that was black and red, there are also $3/1 Charcoal q's, $1/1 KC Masterpiece q's and $1/1 Hidden Valley Ranch q's in this brochure)
***The Pam coupons were hangtags I traded for that had a picture of the Pam Grilling Spray but said any Pam cooking spray (I double checked to make sure I was getting the right thing). The Grilling Spray was actually cheaper at my store $3.19 I think? But I wanted the Olive Oil one.

14 Method Baby & Kid $2.00 {clearance}
-$2/1 mq + $1/1 Whole Foodsq = -$1/ea
2 Mrs Pauls fish filets $3.99/ea
-$3/1 mq + $1/1 Publixq = -$.01/ea
1 6-pack Yuengling $5.79
-no q's
1 5lb bag Russet potatoes $1.99
-no q's
2 Tide Free 100oz $11.99/ea
-$1/1 mq + $1/1 Targetq = $9.99/ea
1 Swiffer Wet Jet pads $6.49
-$.50/1 mq= $5.49
6 Kingsford Matchlight Charcoal $7.99/ea (raincheck)
-$3/1 mq + $3/1 FLip = $1.99/ea
6 Glad Snack bags $1.59/ea
-$1/1 mq + $1/1 FLip= -$.41/ea
6 Pam Olive Oil Cooking Spray $3.39/ea
-Free mq wyb Charcoal= Free
6 pork items totaling: $10.89
-$6/1 mq= -$25.11
6 beef items totaling: $12.60
-$2/1 wyb charcoal Food Lion q= $.60
-$5/$20 meat purchase FLip= -$5.00
Used $5/25 comp. q
Used $3.50 oyno Kroger cat
Total food tax: $3.74
Total non-food tax: $4.89
Total oop: $1.33
Total Savings: $265.70 (99.5%)

Then I went to CVS, but a lot of the things i wanted were already out of stock, so I had to get rainchecks. I NEEDED more Robitussin and Thermacare patches, so I didn't get a GREAT deal, but I got a good deal. But the BEST deal I snagged was due to the 75% clearanced summer items. I happened to go in when they marked down the patio furniture. There was a nice glass-tempered table/chairs set regularly priced $129.99, that was 75% off. Plus I had $10ecbs. So I got the set for $25.50!! This is less than what we bought our plastic chairs/table for.
I can't wait to put it together and take a picture so you all can see it!

Transaction 1
1 Robitussin 7.00
-$2/1 mq
1 Thermacare 6.99
-$3/1 mq
1 Chapstick Shimmers 2.99
1 Junior Swim Goggles 1.25 {75% clearance}
1 Bobble-head Sprinkler $2.49 {75% clearance}
Used $15.72 ecbs
Total oop: $1.92 (all tax)
Total saved: $35.95
earned $5 ecb

Transaction 2
1 Tempered Glass Table/Chair set $32.49 {75% clearance}
Used $10ecb
Total tax: $3.01
Total oop: $25.50
Total saved: $107.50

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Anyone spare some Chef Michaels coupons?

So does anyone have any $3/1 Chef Michaels coupons from last week's insert they won't be using and can spare for my doggies?

My doggies thank you.
:D

It's all about the timing

Had a great trip today. Z had a well-baby appointment and we were actually early- so early that I decided to shop before his appointment instead of after, like I usually do. So we went in and zoomed through. Of course by the time we left, we were then late, but hey, what are you gonna do? I also was rushing and forgot several things, so I went back after the appointment to get a few more items. This time, I scored HUGE on Covergirl clearance. The first time we were in the clearance section was sparsely populated with a few random decorations. When I went back in it was slam-packed with Method items, rechargable Duracell batteries (still kicking myself for not getting those) and...Covergirl! Marked to $2.00 so great for the coupons out.
After our second trip to Publix, I ran over to Target to get dog food (free) since unfortunately Publix is not yet carrying the smaller bags of dry Chef Michaels.

Trip 1
I purchased ice to go in my cooler, and I thught I had a large bag, but when I got to the car, realized it was a small bag. When I went back for trip #2, I had them reimburse me for the difference- $1.72. With that $ back, this transaction came out -$.76. In addition, I needed the Spot Shot, and I found one with a Try Me Free tag, so I will get reimbursed $5.49 for that rebate.
**I think there were at least three coupons that got missed, but since I was already in the negative, I didn't worry about double checking to have it corrected. In the long run, when it comes to a coupon here and a coupon there, I figure it evens out. I occasionally accidentally give them one for something I didn't get (by accident! Never on purpose!) and occasionally they will miss scanning one or two. Unless it really affects my total (either way, my fault or theirs) I don't worry about it.
1 Purina Friskies 3.00
-$3/1 Publixq + $3.50/1 mq ip = -$3.50
2 Mrs Paul's Fish filets 3.99/ea
-$3.00 mq ip + $1/1 Publixq= -$.01
9 Ritz Crackers $3.79 bogo
-$1/1 mq ip, $1/2 mq = $.90-$1.40/ea
9 Ritz Crackerfuls $2.69
-Free mq wyb Ritz= Free
2 Egglands Eggs $2.00
-$.35/1 mq = $1.30/ea
2 Tombstone pizzas $5.79 bogo (raincheck)
-$1/2 mq= $4.79/2
2lb bananas $1.32
-$.50/1 Target q = $.82
2 Hunt's Crushed Tomatoes $1.50/ea
-no q's
2 Lysol Neutra-Air $3.59 bogo
-$1.50/1 mq = $.59/2
1 Spot Shot trigget $5.49
-$2/1 mq = $3.49
2 Gerber Fruit Puffs $2.19/ea
-$.55/1 mq + $1/2 Target q = $2.28/2
8 Velveeta & cheese cups $1.19/ea
-$1.50/2 mq ip + Bogo mq = $.52/ea
3 Ritz Toasted Chips $3.39 bogo
-$1/1 mq = $.69/ea
22 Cereal cups $1/ea
-$1/1 Targetq + $1/2 mq = -$11.00
4 Honey Nut Cheerios cups $1/ea
-$1/1 Targetq + $.55/1 mq = -$2.20
6 McCormick Grinders $1.99 bogo
-$1/1 mq= Free
2.85lb onions $3.68
-no q's
18 Sundown Vitamins $3.59-$3.99/ea
-$5/2 mq + $6/2 Publixq= -$28.28
1 Celery $1.29
-no q's
1 bag ice $3.29
-no q's
1 Reese's Whips bar $.89{to get positive total}
-no q's
Used $5/25 comp q
Total food tax: $9.81
Total non-food tax: $4.05
Total oop: $.96
Total savings: $253.43 (99.6%)

After rebate, this transaction will be a $6.25 profit.

Trip #2
Transaction 1
2 Publix Hot Dog buns $1.17/ea
-no q's
2 Doritos $3.99 bogo
-no q's
2 Orville Redenbacher Simply Salted $2.99 bogo
-$1/1 mq= $.99/2
6 Kotex $2.77 bogo (raincheck)
-$1/1 mq + $2/1 Target q= -$9.69 {I think one of my comp. q's didn't get entered though...}
2 Daisy Sour Cream $1.50/ea {in-store special}
-no q's
5 Black Beans $.83/ea
-no q's
1 Fresh Express Salad $2.50
-no q's
Used $5/$25
Used $2 +$4 rr's
Total food tax: $1.11
Total non-food tax: $.21
Total oop: $.99
Total savings: $38.13 (97%)

Transaction #2
8 Covergirl make-up items {clearance} $2/ea
-$2/1 Publixq + $2.50/2 mq = -$10.00
2 Fresh Express Salad $2.50/ea
-no q's
1 8th Continent Soy Milk $2.50
-Free mq = Free
1 Bolthouse Farms Mocha Frappuchino $3.00 {In-store special}
-no q's
1.35lb Green Bell Peppers $2.28
-no q's
2 Nasoyah Silken tofu $2.99 bogo {In store special}
-no q's
1 Minced garlic $1.99
-no q's
1 Cascade Rinse Aid $3.49
-Free mq= Free
1 Milky Way $1.39 {to get positive total}
-no q's
Used $5/$25 comp. q
Used $4 rr
Total food tax: $.67
Total non-food tax: $1.94
Total oop: $.26
Total savings: $76.06 (99.7%)

Grand Total: $.49
Total Savings: $367.62 (99.9%)


Then I went to Target to get the dog food. I also had some things to exchange. I had two Kashi cereal cups I purchased that were expired when I bought them, and a box of Special K red berries that, when I opened the box, the plastic was already open. (!) I wanted to do an even exchange for those items. The CS associate rang it all up and said, I can just give you cash back if you want. Um, ok. Since I am stocked up to me eyebrows in cereal, I figured cash back was good.
So I started my trip with -$4.62

Target
4 5lb bags Chef Michaels dry dog food $4.49/ea
-$3/1 mq + $1.50/1 Targetq = -$.04
4 cans Chef Michaels dog food $.89/ea
-$bogo mq + $bogo Targetq= Free
2 Progresso Minestrone soup $.98/ea {clearance}
-no q's
Total tax: $1.42
Total oop: $3.34
Total savings: $21.56 (85%)

Grand Total: -$1.28

p.s. My dogs LOVE the Chef Michaels food.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Crazy Publix deals and a whirl through Walgreens

My plan this morning was to go to Nashville and take N to visit Grandma, she was going to spend the night and Grandma was going to take her to a small fair that her employer was holding. N started coughing yesterday and last night it got pretty bad. I had some Robitussin (the only thing that really works) but only a few teaspoons. Out of all the medicines and stockpile I have- not a single bottle of Robitussin. So I had to get some this morning. I would have waited until I got to Publix to get some, but she was coughing pretty hard, so I decided to go to Walgreens and try to throw in some other items to get to $25 to get an additional $5 back. So here's what I did

Walgreens
1 Sensodyne Iso-Active $5.99 {$2 rr back}
-(1) $1/1 mq = $4.99
1 Softsoap Nutriserums $3.99 {$4 rr back}
2 Tylenol Extra Strength $4.49 bogo
-(2) $2/1 mq = $.49/2
1 Glade 2 oz Soy Candle $3.29
-Free mq= Free
1 Halls Cough Drops $1.99
1 Children's Robitussin $5.99
Total oop: $19.61
RR's back: $2 + $4 + $5

Once at Publix, we had a blast! It was a great shopping trip. :) I had Z with me and I asked my grandmother to tag along to help entertain him and push the second cart (which I knew I would need). At the end of the whole trip, we had two carts overflowing- top and botton. I was heading up the aisle toward the checkout and one of the grocery managers saw me and asked if I needed a second cart. LOL. I pointed behind me and said "They're coming". He started laughing and said- "oh, you already have two!" I said, "yep, hope I don't need more than that." The line I got in was a new cashier- well, one that just transferred to that store. The manager helped her check me out and thanked me for training her cashiers properly. Heh. She said, "this is the second week in a row you've had a new cashier and it's great! Often they'll go weeks without seeing a particular type of coupon, but you show them all in one transaction." I laughed and said, "well, I'm glad to help- I certainly use all kinds! I'll break 'em in for ya".

Transaction 1
8 Yoplait Yoplus $2.50 bogo
-$1/1 mq = $.25/ea
2 Fiber One yogurt $2.50 bogo
-$1.25/1 mq = Free
1 Snyder's Pretzels $1.50
-$.75/1 mq + $1/1 Publixq = -$.25
10 Morningstar $3.79 bogo
-$2/1 mq = -$.10/ea
3 Halibut filets $23.97
-no q's
8 Publix sugar $.85
-$1/1 wyb Kool-Aid Food Lionq= -$.15/ea
3 Apple&Eve juice boxes $1.39
-$1/1 Publixq + $.50/1 mq = -$.61/ea
2 red delicious apples $1.83
-$1/1 apples Target q = $.83
2.33lb bananas $1.37
-$.50 Targetq= $.87
2 Tombstone Pizzas $5.79 bogo
-$1/2 mq = $4.79/2
1 Greenwise gallon organic milk $4.99
-$1/1 FLip + Free milk mq = -$.01
3 Kleenex Cottonelle Ultra $3.99
-$.50/1 mq = $2.99
3 Starkist pouch $1.25
-$.50/1 mq + $1/3 Targetq = -$.25/3
5 Beggin Strips $3.49 bogo
-$2.50/1 Publixq + $1.50/1 mq, $1/1 mq= -$9.78
8 Kotex pads $2.77 bogo
-$2/1 Targetq + $1/1 mq = -$12.92
40 Kool-Aid $.20/ea
-no q's
5 Back to Nature Cookies $2.87 bogo
-$1/1 mq + $1/1 Whole Foods mq= -$2.83/5
7 Back to Nature Granola $3.59 bogo
-$1/1 mq + $1/1 Whole Foods mq= -$1.44/7
7 Taco Bell Home Originals Dinner Kits $2.69 bogo
-$.75/1 mq, $1/1 mq = $3.92/7
1 King Oscar Anchovies $1.69
-no q's
3 Motts Applesauce 3/$5
-$1/1 mq + $1/1 FLip = -$1.00
10 Cereal Cups; Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch $1.00
-$1/1 Target mq + $1/2 mq= -$5.00
4 Shout spray $2.99 bogo
-$.55/1 mq + $1/1 Publix q + BOGO mq = $.43/4
Total oop: $3.53
Total savings: $306.25 (99%)

Transaction 2
8 Kingsford Charcoal $6.99
-$4/1 mq = $2.99/ea
6 Glad Sandwich bags $1.59
-$1/1 mq + $1/1 FLip = -$.41/ea
2 Hidden Valley Ranch $3.19
-$1/1 mq + $1/2 FLip = $1.69/ea
8 pork items (total) $13.13
-$6/1 mq = -$34.87
5 Morningstar $3.79 bogo
-$2/1 mq = -$.10/ea
5 Morningstar $3.79 bogo
-$2/1 wyb charcoal = -$.11/ea
1 6pk Amberbock $5.79
-no q's
1 Greenwise Organic gallon milk $4.99
-$1/1 FLip + $Free milk mq = -$.01
10 Kotex $2.77 bogo
-$2/1 Target q + $1/1 mq (2) = -$8.15/10
3 Honey Nut Cheerios Cereal Cups $1.00
-$1/1 mq + $1/1 Targetq = -$3.00
2 CoverGirl Sponges $2.49
-$2.50/2 mq + $2/1 Publixq = -$1.52/2
25 Kool-Aid $.20/ea
-no q's
5 Publix sugar $.85
-$1/1 wyb Kool-Aid = -$.15/ea
1 Iams Mini-Dog Chunks Dog Food $11.49
-$1/1 mq= $10.49
Total oop: $.44
Total savings: $234.45 (99.8%)

Then, After I left my grandmother's house, dropped her off and left my cold stuff in her fridge/freezer, I went to go visit a friend. She lives near the Belle Meade store so I stopped in there (she sat in my car with my sleeping son while I went in to do a quick trip). I also had to exchange one of my Kotex b/c I bought a wrong one, and have a price adjusted (one of my Taco Bell kits had to be manually entered b/c the register didn't recognize it and it was entered at full price). Anyway, I was stoked because I found SUNDOWN! I also found a clearanced Covergirl mascara (just the one), so I tossed that in as well. Also found out one of the managers from MF transferred to that store- we chatted for a minute.

Here's the score:
3 Publix frozen broccoli florets $1.79/ea
-no q's
4 Cascadian Farms frozen vegetables $2.49/ea
-$1/1 mq = $1.49/ea
2 Publix salad mix $2.50/ea
-no q's
1 organic carrots $1.99
-no q's
5 CoverGirl items $2.49/ea
1 CoverGirl Mascara $1.25
-$2.50/2 mq + $2/1 Publixq = -$5.80/6
2 YoPlait Fiber One Yogurt $2.50 bogo
-$1.25 mq = Free
1 Abita Purple Haze $8.29
-no q's
16 Sundown Vitamins $2.99-$3.99/ea
- $5/2 mq + $6/2 Publixq = -$26.36
Total oop: $4.61 (I could've done this better, but as this isn't my normal store, I didn't want to push it. LOL)
Total savings: $118.23 (96%)

Grand Total
Total oop: $8.58
Total savings: $658.93 (99%)

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Super-great deal on Huggies Wipes (Could be free!)

For those of you out there who need baby wipes, it might be time to swing by a Walgreens. They have coupon books by the doors, well, they're more like pamphlets. Orange, and have back to school savings on the front.

There are coupons in this thing and one is for $2/1 Huggies wipes 64-216 count. These are regularly priced at $2.99 at my store, so stack this with a $.50 or $.75 (depending on what you have from your paper or mailers) and it makes these $.24-$.49/ea.

If you have LOTS of coupons, and your store is well stocked, you can do this (if you shop by Saturday)

Buy:
9 Huggies wipes 64 count 2.99
-Total 26.91

Use
9 $.50/1 mq = -$4.50
Wags $2/1 q (you only need one, it is unlimited and the register will automatically multiply by the quantity purchased) = -$18.00
-$22.50

Total oop: $4.41 plus tax (less if you have $.75/1 mq's)

get back $5 rr for spending $25 (special through Saturday) !!

Walgreens and Kroger

I wanted to make one more run to Kroger for some free things. :) Unfortunately some of my e-coupons didn't come off, so I will send out some emails to get them to credit my account- to the tune of $4.

Then I HAD to go to Walgreens- They paid me! Today through Saturday when you purchase $25, you get a $5 rr back. $25 in anything. pre-coupon!! So- buy free things and get money back.

(On a side note- I'd like to say that I finally found the area where I can adjust size and color of text on my posts. YAY!)

Kroger

3 Betty Crocker Fruit Shapes
1 Betty Crocker Fruit by the Foot
1 Betty Crocker Fruit Stickers
2 Fiber One yogurt
4 Sobe Lifewater {Their blasted bogo coupons worked. I'M ADDICTED! - See...the marketing does pay!}
2 Betty Crocker Warm Delights
2 Nature Valley Nut Clusters
2 Betty Crocker Cookie Mix
1 Nature Valley Trail mix Bars
1 2 liter Mug Root Beer
1 Yo-Plus Yoplait yogurt
total tax: 2.06
total oop: $8.98 (should have been $4.98)
Total saved: $49.10 (90%)

*received $3.50 oyno cat
--Total $1.48 - total savings 97%

Walgreens

Transaction 1
24 Bic highlighter 5-packs $.39/ea
-$1/2 mq = -$.22/per two
1 Softsoap Nutri-serums $3.99
-no q's
4 Glade 2 oz Soy candles $3.29/ea
-Free q = Free
Total tax: $2.52
Total oop: $3.87
Total saved: $87.56 (96%)

**Received $5 rr back + $4 rr for softsoap

Transaction 2

8 Glade 2 oz Soy candles $3.29/ea
-Free q = Free
Total tax: $2.50
Total oop: $2.50
Total saved: $26.32 (91%)
**Received $5 rr back


Walgreens Grand Total: $6.37
Total Saved: $113.88 (96%)

Remaining rr's: $14
Profit: $7.63

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Charcoal: A new strategy.

Since the demand for charcoal has gone up at my store, and the peek for next week has the charcoal on sale again, I have developed a new strategy! LOL!

I need the overage and not the rainchecks right now, so I placed a call to the store and spoke with one of my favorite managers. I told her I saw a peek of the ad for next week and noticed it was going to be on sale and recommended they place a large order as I KNOW it will sell. She said she knew the last time there were several people looking for it, and asked me how many I thought they should get. I said "Well, I know that I for sure will buy 8 if you have them" and she said "Ok, so 8 times 5 is 40, so I'll leave a note for the grocery manager to order at least that". I said yep- I know it will sell!

Since i live in Clarksville and can't just run by when a truck gets there, I have to hope it's in stock, so...hopefully by the time I get there they will still have some left. :)

Monday, August 17, 2009

Kroger triples, CVS and Publix

I am pretty excited about my deals today. :)

I was towing around a poor sick baby so I finally gave up and called it a day even though I wanted to go back to the Belle Meade Kroger one more time (they were very well-stocked, the other store ...not so much).

Kroger (trip one)
Did two transactions here, to make sure I made full value of my ecoupons and mega event. I did just realize, however that two of my coupons did not ring up properly- it was the ones that were $.50/2 or whatever. It only doubled to the price of one. Grr. That amounted to around $3 total. Dangit. I'll be sure to pay better attention next time for that issue. I'm sorry, I can't list out every coupon for this- it's way too complicated and I'll be here all day. But hey, You GET PICTURES!! :)

(not pictured: 1 Aquafresh, 1 Chex Mix Bar)
Transaction 1
1 Total cereal
2 Old El Paso taco shells
1 Old El Paso Seasoning
3 Tuna Helper
1 Trix Cereal
1 Chex Mix Bar
1 Nature Valley Oats/Honey Granola Bars
1 Quaker Oatmeal
1 Starbucks Frappucino 4-pack
2 Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mix
1 Betty Crocker Cookie Mix
1 Betty Crocker Warm Delights
1 Fiber One Yoplait Yogurt
2 Pillsbury Sweet Rolls
2 Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Total tax: $1.35
Total oop: $1.60
Total saved: $55.96 (97%)


Transaction 2
1 Knudsens Mean Green Juice/Tea
3 Tuna Helper
2 Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mix
4 Pillsbury Grands Biscuits
2 Aqua Fresh toothpaste
2 Motts Applesauce
1 Amy's Wrap
5 Texas Petes Hot Sauce
1 Chex Mix Bar
3 Total cereal
2 Trix Cereal
1 Starbucks Frappucino 4-pack
4 Sobe Lifewater
1 Spagheti Squash
Total tax: $1.77
Total oop: $4.50
Total saved: $70.22 (94%)


Then to CVS. I promised my grandmother I'd pick up her Converter box for her tv (raincheck) Who knew that the "coupon" was actually a gift card? Once I bought all my items, and used my ecb's, my math was off, and the total was under $39. The card was for $40. So it covered everything including the tax. Sweet!

(not pictured: converter box)
4 Mt Dew 12-packs
1 Converter Box
2 Papermate pen 10packs
2 College Rule Filler paper packs
8 First Aid Kits
Used $18.99 ecbs
Used $4/20 Coupon
Total oop: $0
Total ecb's earned: $15.96


After Z's doctor's appointment (viral, no big deal) we went to the Brentwood Kroger. Wow. They really were cleaned out. I did get the Lightlife items I wanted so it wasn't a waste, but a lot of the moneymakers were gone. :( I wanted to go back to the Belle Meade store later, but I didn't make it there.
Kroger

Transaction 1
1 Nature Valley Nut Clusters
2 Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mix
1 Nature Valley Oats/Honey Granola Bars
6 Cascadian Farms Granola Bars
5 Lightlife "turkey" slices
Total tax: $1.03
Total oop: $2.18
Total savings: $57.92 (96%)

Transaction 2
1 Nature Valley Nut Clusters
2 Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mix
1 Nature Valley Oats/Honey Granola Bars
6 Cascadian Farms Granola Bars
4 Lightlife "turkey" slices
Total tax: $.97
Total oop: $2.12
Total savings: $55.03 (96%)


Publix

(not pictured: Eggbeaters, Tylenol, Tea)
2 Teddy Grahams bogo 2.99
-$1/2 mq = $1.99
2 Princess Teddy Grahams bogo 2.99
-$1/2 mq = $1.99
2 Ritz Bitz Crackers bogo 2.99
-$1/1 mq = $.99
1 Tylenol Infant 5.99
-$2/1 mq= $3.99
1 Sure for Men Deodorant 2.39
-$1.50/1 mq + $1/1 Publixq = -$.11
1 Huggies soft pack bogo 1.99
-$1/1 mq + $.50 Flip = -$.50
2 EggBeaters Garden 3/$5.00
-$1/1 mq = $.67/ea
1/2 Gallon Publix tea $1.49
-penny item/$1.48 = $.01
2 Sundown Fish oil $4.99/ea
-$5/2 mq + $6/2 Publixq = -$1.02
4 Sundown Biotin $4.49/ea
-$5/2 mq + $6/2 Publixq = -$4.04
Total tax: $3.89
Total oop: $2.44
Total savings: $63.95 (96%)

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Seriously Yum.


I found a new vegetarian product and it is SOOOO good. Expensive though. I emailed the company and told them how much I loved the one I tried and they sent me a bunch of $1/1 q's and a "Free" q.

It's called Gardein and it's not all-soy based, which is nice. You can go HERE to read more about it and print a coupon. I think meat-eaters would not be able to tell a difference between this and the real thing. Seriously. It's that great of a texture. I have tried the chicken, but I am going to get the bbq skewers next. This is by far and away the best vegetarian "fake meat" product I have ever eaten in my life. So far I have only found it at Kroger, but I haven't looked at Whole Foods or Harris Teeter yet.

My only complaint is that it is really super-expensive. Luckily Kroger has them on sale right now.

What is gardein™?
Gardein™ is a savory blend of nutritious vegetable and grain ingredients, including soy, wheat, peas, beets and carrots, slow-cooked to have the authentic taste, texture and nutrition of premium, lean meat.

Free bacon at Kroger

Kroger has Smithfield bacon on sale for $2.99 (some areas have this on sale for $4.99 for two).

Go to Smithfield's website and register HERE

After you register, you will be redirected to a page with a link to a printable coupon for $3 off one Smithfield Naturally Smoked Bacon. (be patient, it takes a second)

Depending on price, you could get this free, or possibly overage. This is on sale this week (ending today) but may not be next week, so if you're headed out, stop by Kroger.

Free Schwan's

Free Food delivered to your door! Go HERE. Schwan's is offering a free item up to $10 delivered to your home. I just purchased a 2 lb bag of cheese tortellini for $.08.

yum.

*it doesn't take $10 off your order. It gives you a free item under $10. I picked a $9.99 item. :) So be sure to choose something under $10. (the $.08 I paid was tax)

Friday, August 14, 2009

Publix

I wasn't too excited about this week at Publix. Mainly the dog food, because I needed it. And then I get home and find a Target $2/1 printable. Drat! I could've made that deal even better! (Since I didn't have the $3.50 printable, I've used those up, so I was using a $3/1 printable from HERE). I did find 4 bags of charcoal, so I used a raincheck on that to get some things we needed.

Did two transactions and was able to use two $5/$25 comp. q's on the second since it was way over $50. :) They didn't make me break it all up into separate transactions. I already had the one figured out so I left it and used a $4/40 Food Lion Cat.

Transaction 1
4 Ritz Bitz Sandwich Crackers $2.99 bogo
-$1/1 mq ip= $.50/ea
1 20oz Mt Dew $1.00
-no q's
10 Huggies 40 ct Wipes $1.99 bogo
-$1/1 mq + $.50 FLip = -$.50/ea {these q's were expired, I ran across them and CS said I could use them}
2 Planters DayBreak trail mix $2.99 bogo
-$1/2 mq = $1.99/2
2 Activia $2.00/ea
-$1/1 mq= $1.00/ea
2 Purina Beneful $5.49 bogo
-$3/1 mq ip = -$.51/2
2 Covergirl sponges $2.49/ea
-$2.50/2 mq + $2/1 Pxq = -$1.51
Used $4/$40 Food Lion cat
Total food tax: $.70
Total non-food tax: $1.52
Total oop: $.11
Total savings: $61.79 (99.8%)


Transaction 2
4 Kingsford Charcoal $7.99 (raincheck)
-$4/1 mq + $3/1 FLip = $.99/ea
1 12pk Amberbock $10.49
-no q's
4 Activia $2.00/ea
-$1/1 mq= $1.00/ea
1 Publix Gallon milk $2.25
-Free mq ip ($4.00) = -$1.75
1 Publix half gallon chocolate milk $2.49
-Free mq ip ($3.75) = -$1.26
2 Knorr sides $1.59 bogo
-$.45/1 mq ip= -$.21
4 KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce $1.99
-$Free wyb Charcoal + $1/2 FLip = -$2.00
2 Kotex pads $2.77/ea
-$2/1 Target q + $2/2 mq ip = -$.46
1 8th Continent Soy Milk $2.50
-Free mq= Free
2 Cascade Rinse Agent $3.49/ea
-Free mq = Free
15 Kool-Aid $.20/ea
-no q's
3 Publix brown sugar $.85/ea
-$1/1 wyb Kool-Aid FOod Lionq= -$.15/ea
2 Glade Plug-in $1.99/ea
-Free mq = Free
1 Beech-Nut jar food $.50
-Free Save-A-Lot comp. q = Free
4 Pork items (total) $6.66
-$6/q pork wyb charcoal = -$17.34
3 beef items $5.00
-$2/1 beef wyb charcoal (Food Lion)= -$1.00
2 EggBeaters Garden Vegetable $1.67/ea
-$1/1 mq= $.67/ea
1 Iams Mini-Chunks $11.49
-$1/1 mq = $10.49
Total food tax: $1.96
Total non-food tax: $5.04
Total oop: $.16
Total savings: $127.98 (99.9%)

Kroger Triples- My first :)

I finally made my way to Kroger's triples. I ended up doing two transactions at Nipper's Corners and one at the Brentwood store. (I had some drama- upon leaving the Nippers store, I left my little box of q's in the cart!!) I got to Brentwood, realized it was missing and went back. Thank goodness someone found it and turned it in. *whew* It was only my q's specifically for Kroger, but there were some "free" coupons in there. Like my "free Rice Krispies" Vocalpoint coupon. Man, I was so happy.

Anyway, I found some pretty good deals! I can't wait to see exactly what next week's mega-event has going on b/c there might be some really awesome deals with the Megas, triples AND e-coupons!!

Transaction 1
4 Welch's Grape jelly $1.99/ea
-$.75/1 ip = Free
4 Organic Valley Milk carton $2.19/ea (sale)
-$.75/1 any milk wyb Welch's grape = -$.06 (got overage b/c mgr had to manually enter these)
4 Country Crock $2.14
-$.75/1 mq (from old Publix Adv Buy flyer exp 8/31)= Free
2 Taster's Choice 6-pack coffee sticks $1.45
-$.75/1 mq ip = Free
2 Duracell Batteries 4pk $3.14 (sale)
-$.75/1 mq = $.89/ea
2 Franks Hot Sauce $1.15
-$.50/1 mq ip = Free
Total tax: $1.25
Total oop: $.56
Total savings: $43.75 (99%)


Transaction 2
1 Edge Shave Gel $2.00 (sale)
-$.75 mq = Free
1 Tabasco $1.75
-$.75/1 mq (tearpad) = Free
1 Mott's Applesaucs $1.85
-$.50/1 mq ip = $.35
2 Mahatma Brown Rice $2.49/ea
-$.75/1 mq ip = $.24/ea
2 Mission tortilla $2.69/ea
-$.75/1 mq (blinkies) = $.44/ea
Total tax: $.53
Total oop: $2.24
Total savings: $14.67 (85%)

Transaction 3
1 Kelloggs Rice Krispies $2.50/ea
-Free Rice Krispies coupon(Vocalpoint)+ Kelloggs $4/4= -$1.00
2 Kelloggs Rice Krispies $2.50/ea
-$1/1(Vocalpoint)+ Kelloggs $4/4= $.50/ea
2 Kelloggs Cinnabon $1.99/ea
-$.75/1 (tearpad)= Free
5 Yogos $2.50/ea
-$.50/1 ip mq + Kelloggs $4/4= Free
2 Duracell Batteries 4pk $3.14 (sale)
-$.75/1 mq = $.89/ea
6 LaraBar $1.25/ea (sale)
-$.75/2 mq (peelie)= $.25/2
1 Knudsen juice $2.07 (sale)
-$.75/1 mq = Free
2 Lightlife veggie slices $2.00 (sale)
-$.75/1 peelie mq= Free
3 Bumblebee tuna pouches $1.50/ea
-$.55/1 mq (blinkie)= Free
2 Kroger Wheat Bread $.78/ea
-$2/1 wyb yogos mq = -$1.22/ea
1 ICE $3.89
-no q's
Total tax: $2.17
Total oop: $7.15
Total savings: $64.25 (89%)

**not including the ice, which I had to have for my cooler, savings were (95%)

I qill be able to submit the Kellogg's receipt for the Fuel For School, getting back $10. This makes my total Kroger trip a Profit of $.05 :D

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

My apologies to Kroger

I take it back. I am no longer mad at you for your false advertising of the P&G sale.

I LOVE that you are tripling in Nashville to compete with HT. HT's rules are ridiculous and hard to keep up with. I would much rather spend my money and my coupons at your store.

Thank you- and I'll see you soon.

Wal-Mart and Food Lion

I've been doing a bunch of little Food Lion shops, but not posting them since they're basically the same thing each time- free tissues, cheap produce, cheap frozen pizzas. LOL.

But here's a sample, from today:
Food Lion
3 Smart options Frozen cheese pizzas .50/ea
-$1/3 smart options items
1 Home360 Tissues w/Lotion .95
-$1/1 Home360 item
2.28lb bananas 1.30
-$1/1 Guiding Stars item
total food tax: $.10
total non-food tax: $.04
Total oop: $.89

Wal-Mart
We needed Poison Ivy Round-Up weed killer. While I was there, decided to check out a bunch of free after coupon things, looked at some prices of things, found some, didn't find others. When I go back, I'll get some more of those things.
2 Nestle 6-pack Flavor water $1.00 (these rang up $2.18, but the shelf was marked $1, so I got them for $1)
-$1/1 mq ip= Free
5 O-Celo sponge packs $.92/ea
-$1/1 mq (from Summertime Savings booklet) = -$.08/ea
1 Gerber fruit puffs $2.18
-no q's
2 Blue Bunny ice cream sandwiches $1/ea
-$1/1 mq ip= Free
4 Adams Flea Collar $.97/ea
-$3/1 mq= -$2.03/ea
1 Round Up Weed Killer $6.88
-no q's
Total food tax: $.39
Total non-food tax: $1.46
Total oop: $2.43

Items to be on the lookout for:
Bengay single pack patches, $1.50 (-$2/1 mq= Free+)
Colgate toothpaste/toothbrush, cheap ($3/2- one of each= Free+)
Tide travel size $.97 (-$1/1 mq= Free+)
Head and Shoulders travel size $.97 (-$1/1 mq= free+)
Scotch Lint Rollers $.97/$1.00 -($1/1 mq from Summertime Savings= Free+) [I haven't been able to locate the small sizes of these, but I'm still looking]

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Are you kidding me?!

I went to get my mail today and here's what I find:






I love how they stamped it "Insufficient Address". Gee, You THINK??? What, was the cancel machine hungry that day???

Now what???

I put a call into the Kraft number- hopefully they'll still accept this and assume that I bought the appropriate items. ARGH!!!

Rite Aid deals

I decided at the last minute (8:30 Saturday night) to go pick up a few things at Rite Aid and I came out pretty well. I also want to get the Zyrtec deal this week, but I am hoping my gift cards will show up so I don't have to pay out of pocket for them.

Saturday's transaction
1 Natrol Probiotic 8.99
-$3/1 Natrol ip
1 Zantac 4.99
-$3/1 Zantac ip
1 Doctors Nightguard Classic 12.49 (clearance from 24.99)
Used $5/25 q
Total tax: $2.51
Total oop: $17.98

SCR's Earned:
$14.99 Dr's Nightguard SCR {This also qualifies for the Oral care SCR#501, so if I spend another 2.49 I will get the coupon booklet for purchasing oral care items}
$8.99 Natrol SCR
$4.99 Zantac SCR

Will submit for $5 Zantac MIR HERE

Total Profit: $15.99

Then my plan for this week is the Zyrtec deal.
Transaction 1
45 ct Zyrtec 29.99
-$4/1 mq + $3/1 RA in-ad-q
-$5/25 RA q
Total oop: $17.99 + tax

Transaction 2
45 ct Zyrtec 29.99
-$4/1 mq + $3/1 RA in-ad-q
-$5/25 RA q
Total oop: $17.99 + tax (approximately $20.49)

Earn:
$25 for purchasing participating products: SCR#97
$10 gift card- Zyrtec reward program, for purchasing $50 of Zyrtec

Then, submit HERE for $10 MIR

Total profit: $4.02

Monday, August 10, 2009

Checked out the new antioch Publix

It's allright. It's very pretty. :) I made a point to stop by and ask who they consider competitors as far as coupons are concerned. She said, oh, all the grocery stores, we take the Food Lion coupons, Kroger, Target, Walgreens, that sort of thing. I said, oh, you take Walgreens? She said "as long as it says manufacturer coupon on it". Oh good grief. I said, so you don't take Walgreens coupons, you take manufacturer coupons that might have the Walgreens logo on it. She said, oh yeah, I guess you're right. Then she said, and you can print some coupons off the internet (you think?) and we take those up to $5. That is when I said "I have a coupon that is for $6 off one pork[...blah..blah..] This particular coupon has been approved by your district manager so can I use it?" She said no. I said, well, may I speak to one of your managers please?. A Mgr came over and she told him the coupon (they never looked at it) and he said oh yes, that's fine then (when I brought up the district manager).

I didn't have a very good feeling so I browsed around. No cheap vitamins, and only 2 Covergirl products under $4. I did get those two, and some other things, then thought I'd get 2 bags of charcoal and do the deal that way (I didn't want to push my luck. LOL). Got to the register and the cashier started entering q's, got to the pork one, opened her mouth to speak and I interrupted with "Eric [the manager] approved those coupons. I know they're over $5." She said ok, and had to have a manager come over and enter them. Oddly enough when they scanned, they beeped. I had plenty of items to cover my q's, and nowhere near $50, so I wonder if their registers are set to beep for coupons over $6? Weird.
Did alright, but my total seemed a bit high. I got to the car and realized she only entered one of my Publix Covergirl q's. So I will take that back to my Publix and hopefully they'll adjust it for me. :)
I don't think I'll go back to this store- it was pretty far out of my way and they didn't have that much that my store doesn't have.

2 Kingsford Charcoal $7.99
-$3/1 FLip + $4/1 mq= $.99
2 pork $1.33/ea
-$6/1 pork= -$10.67
2 KC Masterpiece bbq sauce $1.99/ea
-Free wyb Charcoal mq+ $1/2 FLip= -$1.00
2 Covergirl make-up pad removers $2.49/ea
-$2.50/2 mq + $2/1 Publixq = [should have been] -$1.51
1 Crisco Olive Oil $6.49 bogo
-$1/1 mq= $2.25
1 Publix brown sugar $.85
-$1/1 wyb 5 Kool-Aid Food Lionq= -$.15
5 Kool-Aid $.20/ea
-no q's
1 Publix Cheese Pizza $4.69 [Penny item- WOOHOO!]
-penny item q= $.01
2 bags Fresh Express lettuce mix $2.50/ea
-$1/1 FLip= $1.50/ea
2 dozen 4Grain eggs 2/$4
-no q's
Total food tax: $.91
Total non-food tax: $1.94
Total oop: $5.08 [should have been $3.08]
Total saved: $58.76 [should have been $60.76] 95%



I also went to Maryland Farms to see if they had any charcoal in. I did talk to Eric when I got there, he was standing inside the front. We chatted for a minute and he thanked me for letting him know about the charcoal. He said, "I ordered a bunch of the charcoal and we got a ton in yesterday!" He said, "I haven't walked over there today, but I know there was some this morning". He also said, "one guy came in and bought ten bags yesterday!" I told him, "I told you there was a good deal on it." :)

So I walked over there and ... no charcoal.

At least I got a raincheck. And my grandmother bought a few things, and I got a few free after coupon things I had in my binder so I could get the penny pizza. :D Awesome penny item. A few of the cashiers and baggers were teasing me for only having two measly little bags of things. LOL. I always come in and buy a cart full of stuff for pennies, so they thought it was funny I bought so little. ;)

I suspected the Nippers Corners store would also be out, so I dropped in on my drive by and sure enough- no charcoal. So I got a raincheck there too.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Good printable q's for the Pork deal

(Thank you Bethany!)

Go HERE to print coupons for Free KC Masterpiece wyb Charcoal and some other good q's for this deal. The timing for this is perfect because I am on my last three Free KC coupons! :D

Couponing and Giving

There are a lot of great benefits to "extreme couponing". Free food. Trying new products and being able to give things to others.
I am routinely giving away food now. Every shopping trip to Publix results in me giving food to family members. And Friday I was able to go to the Food Bank and donate 6 bags full of food- all kinds of things, from rice and baby food to cartons of organic milk (not requiring refrigeration) and of course some bbq sauce. ;)

We do not have a lot of disposable income right now. Ok, we have hardly ANY disposable income, and the fact that we are able to donate to others, despite hardly being able to make ends meet ourselves is an amazing thing indeed- and it feels really good.

I also FINALLY found a place to donate all the Bayer meters I had. I had 51 of them and I took them into my midwives group. They have a clinic where a large percentage of the clientele is hispanic, with no insurance, many of them developing gestational diabetes while pregnant. They were very, very grateful to get these meters to share with the women there, and I was very happy to move them out of my house and into a place that will be able to make good use of them.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Finally! Up and running. (Thank you Hubby~)

My stepdad gave me a network card and Hub installed it this morning (while I took a nap- hey, what are you gonna do?) So I am back on my computer!! But I gotta tell ya, not having MY computer to get my Publix things together really screwed up my numbers, I could have done much better with better planning, but one not so great week in a string of awesome weeks is ok by me.

So I hit Publix on Friday with my poor sleepy son in tow. Turns out they have a new Assistant CS Mgr (who was not too keen on my coupons) that transferred from Bellevue store. Boo to him. He did not want to accept my Food Lion competitor Starbucks coupon on the ice cream (even though I had done it when I used the other half of my raincheck, and also at Food Lion). I told him he could just go ask the CS Mgr or the store manager (and called them by name) and they would approve it. We waited. She approved it. LOL. He should have just listened to me and saved himself some time. Not 5 minutes prior, the same CS Mgr was loving on my son. :)

I did not get over to the Antioch store, but I really do want to check it out, so I am planning on running by there on Monday. We'll see how it goes. I'm making another small list and seeing what I really need. I'm also looking at the other "qualifying" items on the $6 pork coupon since I am almost out of free wyb charcoal KC Masterpiece q's. :) Darnit all.

Without further ado- here's my trip, in gory detail.

Transaction 1:

ok, so this transaction was pretty high for me. Two reasons: 1) No yogos. I bought the fruit snacks instead and that put me over instantly by $10 since i didn't have coupons for the fruit snacks, but had them for the yogos. 2) I wanted to see what would happen if I used one of those 10% off Rite Aid q's. I was hoping they would take the 10% off my total before coupons ($13xx) and then the other coupons. Instead, they took the 10% after coupons ($2xx), so that was an additional $11. $22 more than I had planned. Had I known about the 10% coupon ahead of time, I would have changed around my orders a little because one of my transactions ended up being waaaaay negative! (I have no idea what happened!) They gave me back a bunch of q's. Which kind of sucked b/c I could have gotten more free stuff! LOL! Live and Learn.

10 Kellogg Fruit Snacks $2.95 bogo {will submit for Fuel for School rebate}
-no q's
5 Publix wheat bread $1.69/ea
-$2/store brand bread wyb 2 Kelloggs fruit snacks= -$.31/ea
3 2 liter Mt Dew $1.69/ea [was hoping for the B2G1, but it is not in our area]
-B2G1 Adv Buy flyer q
4 KC Masterpiece bbq sauce $1.99/ea
-$free wyb charcoal = free
3 beef items totaling $5.97
-$2 beef wyb charcoal Food Lion q= $-.03
4 Kingsford Charcoal $7.99/ea
-$4/1 mq + $3/1 FLip = $.99/ea
4 pork items totaling $6.77
-$6/pork wyb... = -$17.23
10 Earths Best Baby food $.99/ea bogo
-$1/10 mq= $.40/ea
4 Morningstar sausage $3.79/ea
-$2/1 wyb charcoal + $2/2 Targetq= $.79/ea
1 6pk Yuengling beer
-no q's
1 Gallon Greenwise Organic Milk $5.79
-$Free ($4) gallon milk + $1/1 Publixq = $.79
1/2 Gallon Chocolate Milk $2.49
-$Free ($3.75) wyb milk = -$1.26
1 12-pk Cottonelle $5.99
-$1/1 mq= $4.99
Used 10% Rite Aid coupon (-$2.60)
Total food tax: $2.98
Total non-food tax: $5.41
Total oop: $22.69 *gasp* lol.

Total saved: $142.91 (85%)
Transaction 2:

2 Kingsford Charcoal $7.99
-$4/1 mq + $3/1 FLip = $.99/ea
2 Pork items totaling $3.03
-$6/pork wyb... = -$8.97
2 KC Masterpiece bbq sauce $1.99/ea
-$free wyb charcoal = free
2 Crisco EVOO $6.49 bogo
-$1/1 mq= $4.49
2 Morningstar bacon $3.79/ea
-$2/1 wyb charcoal + $2/2 Targetq= $.79/ea
1 12-pk Cottonelle $5.99
-$1/1 mq= $4.99
1 Skittles $.85 [threw in to make total positive]
Used $5/$25 competitor coupon
Total food tax: $1.21
Total non-food tax: $1.49
Total oop: $.62
Total saved: $62.09 (99%)

Transaction 3:
1 5lb bag baking potatoes $2.50
-no q's
1 dozen 4 Grain Eggs $2.00
-no q's
1 Scotch mailer $.69
-$.50/1 mq= -$.31
2 Glade Plug-ins $1.99/ea
-$free mq= Free
6 Crest toothpaste $1.89/ea
-$.50/1 mq + $1/1 Publixq= -$.11/ea
5 McCormick Grinders $1.99 nogo (raincheck)
-$1/1 mq= free
Used $5/25 mq
Total tax: $.93
Total oop: $.44
Total saved: $36.72 (99%)

Transaction 4:
This one was way negative. I don't know what I did wrong in my numbers. Oh well. :)
2 Honey Bunches of Oats Pecan $3.99/bogo
-$2/1 mq ip= Free
10 Earth's Best baby food $.99/bogo
-$1/10 mq= $.40/ea
2 lb red delicious apples $3.28
-$1/1 Targetq + $1/1 produce wyb chips= -$.72
3 Lays chips $3.99 bogo
-$.50/1 mq, $1/1 mq, B3G1 Lays tearpad mq (found at gas station) = $1.99
10 Kraft shredded cheese 3/$5.00
-$1/1 mq= $6.70
12 Starbucks Ice Cream $3.79 bogo (raincheck)
-$2/1 mq, $1/1 mq, $1.50/1 mq + $2/1 FLip= Free +
1 Skittles $.85
-no q's (needed for negative balance)
Total food Tax: $2.47
Total non-food tax: $.08
Total oop: $.62
Total Saved: $86.45 (99.3%)

Grand Total OOP: $24.37
Total saved: $328.17 (93%)

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Free Barnes N Noble gift card

This is a Super deal! Buy participating organic products and get a Barnes and Noble Gift Card back.

Go HERE for more info and the downloadable form.

Te fine print:
Buy: A combination of any participating products* totaling $15 or more.
Send: This completed redemption form and original register receipt(s) with UPC and purchase price circled.
Receive: $5 gift card for $15 in receipts
$10 gift card for $25 in receipts

*Valid on Garden of Eatin’® snacks, WestSoy® non-dairy beverages, MaraNatha® nut butters, Health Valley® cereals and snack bars and Earth’s Best® Sesame Street®, Tots, Kidz and Frozen Foods. (Not valid on Earth’s Best jarred or other infant foods.)

Fuel for School $10 rebate...mutliple times

I recently found out that the Fuel For School rebate that is currently underway (buy ten Kelloggs items in one transaction and get $10 back) can be done more than once. If you look at the different forms that are available, they have different addresses you mail them in to. You can submit a rebate to each address (p.o. box, etc).

So far, I've found three, but I have heard there are several more. There was one in KMart's flyer a few weeks ago. There is one available to print online, and I have one from a flyer picked up in-store with Kellogg's coupons in it (Thanks Mel!)

If you catch these items on sale, this is a moneymaker. I did the Pop-tarts last week, and will get the Yogos this week. If cereal goes on sale again and there are some decent q's out, that might be another one. Or Eggo waffles, that might be a good one too.

Good Luck finding these!

My Publix list

Ok, ok :)

Here is my list as it stands right now (I had to retype all this, so it's not perfect, but maybe will help those of you shopping today or tomorrow before I post)

For each transactin that has something "healthy", I'm throwing in a $1/1 Guiding Stars FLip (since Food Lion will let me do different transactions in one visit, and you can use one per transaction there).

2 Kingsford charcoal 7.99/ea
-$3 FLip
-$4 mq (thank you MEL!!!)
2 KC Masterpiece $1.99/ea
-Free wyb charcoal mq
-$1/2 FLip
2 pork $1/ea
-$6 pork mq
-$1/1 Guiding Stars FLip (only one- beacuse really, I could throw a ton of these in, but that's not fair since FL will only take one per transaction)
2 beef $5 (total)
-$2/beef wyb charcoal (tearpad found at Food Lion)
-$1/5 FLip
2 Morningstar $3.79/ea
-$2/Mornginstar wyb Charcoal
-$2/2 Target q

This transaction should make a profit of $7.xx each time I do it (depending on how many bags of charcoal they have)

Then here are the other things

Crest 1.89
-$1/1 Publixq from Living Well flyer
-$.50/1 mq 8/2 insert
Kraft shredded cheese $1.67/ea
-$1/1 ip mq from Cookingwithkraft.com
Starbucks Ice Cream 3.79 bogo (raincheck)
-$2/1 mq
-$2/1 FLip (expired, they ran out of my flavor when I bought the others last week, so I will be able to use it with the remainder of the raincheck)
Cottonelle tp $5.99
-$1/1 mq
Florida shrimp $6.99/lb
-no q's
Crisco Olive Oil $6.49 bogo
-$1/1 mq
Kellogg's Yogos [I am buying ten and sending in for Fuel for School Rebate]
-$.50/1 ipq from Redplum.com
bread $1.xx
-$2/bread wyb Kelloggs Yogos mq (Thanks Mel!!)
Lays Chips $3.99 bogo
-$.50/1 mq (someone sent this to me, I have no idea where it came from)
-B2G1 tearpad mq (found at gas station)
watermelon
-$1/produce wyb chips tearpad (thanks Mel!)
apples
-$1/produce wyb chips tearpad
-$1/1 targetq
Fresh Express salad mix
-$1/produce wyb chips tearpad mq
-$1/1 FLip
Honey Bunches of Oats Pecans $3.99 bogo
-$2/1 mq ip
{-$.75/1 Upromise "coupon"}
Earth's Best Baby Food $.99 bogo
-$1/10 mq ip
1 Gallon Publix Greenwise Milk $4.99
-$4/Free milk wyb 100 groceries
-$1/1 Publix Greenwise milk Publix coupon
1 Half Gallon chocolate Milk
-$3.75/Free chocolate milk wyb white milk

Then I will be on the lookout for Sundown Vitamins and Covergirl items for moneymakers for a few other things we need. Since these are the moneymakers, I may not be able to find them. There's suddenly an influx of couponers at my store and these are hard to come by (not to mention I haven't seen the Vtamin D $2.99 in stock at my store in ages, even when the Publix coupon wasn't available). I may *gasp* have to shop at another store to get these things.

$10 off $10 purchase at JC Pennys online

Use coupon code GET4BTS at checkout to get $10 off of a $10 or more purchase at JC Penny.com.

Plus, go to EBates and register (immediately get $5 for signing up) and get 5% for shopping through EBates.

So if you make a small purchase, and shop through EBAtes, you save $10, get $5 plus 5% back. :)


Thanks ThriftyMama!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Free tissues at Food Lion

Thank goodness! I have enough aluminum foil to bake my entire house.

The Home360 tissues are on bestbuy until 8/25 for $.95 (from $1.49-$1.65) so the Home360 FLip will work on this with no beeps. Buy this and a pack of travel wipes together for a grand total of $.07 plus tax.

Making my list and checking it twice (or 47 times?)

I am working on my Publix list and so far, here are some things that are on it ... (forgive me, my posts are going to be random b/c my computer is on the blink and I'm using the laptop which has NONE of my things on it). argh.

-10 Kellogg's yogos (use $.50/1 Redplum ipq) and send in for Fuel for School $10 rebate; then use the $2/bread wyb yogos for free bread
-Charcoal Deals! (I am hoping my store got smart and ordered lots of charcoal for the deal this week, I could get a raincheck, but there are things I want this week that are on sale)
-Post Honey Bunches Pecans (Free after coupon from Post site)
-Crest toothpaste (overage after $.50 8/2 PG coupon stacked with $1/1 Living Well NED q)
-earth's best baby food (because it's the only kind my son likes) with a $1/10 q and the bogo sale
-Cottonelle (use $.50/1 ipq and a $1/1 mq from All You) - we're running low on tp. I can't keep it stockpiled.
-Lay's chips. Because...they're on sale. And I have a coupon for $1/produce wyb Lays chips. :D (thank you mel!!)

I am wondering if the Baked Lays will be included this time. Anyone know?

It just keeps getting better!

The pork deal that is. Now there's a FLip for $1/2 KC Masterpiece bbq sauce/marinades. If you add that to your total of q's, and do two deals using the KC masterpiece as the qualifying item, you'll add another $1 off to your total. Go HERE for the FLips.

Milk q winners!

I'm sorry it took me so long to post this! The weather here has been awful and my power's been flickering. I can't get my computer to connect to the internet at all, and I'm on our laptop (mostly used by my hubby), which I don't care for because it can't keep up with my speed of typing!!

Anyway: Winners, randomly selected are:
Sabrina: bradnbrina@yahoo.com
Margery: mnhilburn@yahoo

I will be emailing you shortly for mailing addresses!

Thanks everyone! It is really exciting to see that people are really interested in what I'm putting out there. I hope it helps you guys get some good deals, or inspire you to keep your eyes out for other deals!

Monday, August 3, 2009

Great Kashi coupons!

Some new great Kashi coupons available at coupons.com (see my link box to the left to get there to print them). There are still unexpired Target printables for these to stack with. Perhaps another Kashi deal is around the corner?

Mmmm Kashi.

There are also a whole bunch of printables for General Mills products and Betty Crocker. Word on the street is that these will be in a big upcoming mega-event at Kroger, so go ahead and print the good ones before they're gone!

The charcoal deal improves...

Not only is there a $3 FLip available right now, but next week's sale ad says the charcoal is on sale for $7.99. Stack that FLip with the $3 mq for a bag of charcoal that costs $1.99. If you're lucky enough to have the $4 off q, you can get that charcoal for $.99!!

Don't forget, if they're all out of charcoal (likely, especially at my store! LOL!) Get a RAINCHECK!! Many stores will allow you to use expired q's with your raincheck if the q's were valid when the raincheck was issued. It certainly doesn't hurt to ask.

So it looks like this:
Buy:
1 Kingsford Charcoal $7.99
1 pork $1xx
1 beef $2xx
1 KC Masterpiece $1.99
Total: $12.98

Coupons:
$3/1 mq + $3/1 FLip
$6/1 pork wyb Charcoal and participating product (KC Masterpiece here)
$2/1 beef wyb charcoal Food Lion tearpad
$free KC Masterpiece wyb Charcoal
-Total: $15.99

Profit: $3.02

If you have other conjunction q's, you can throw those in too, like the reynolds wrap wyb charcoal, or $2/1 pork ribs wyb KC Masterpiece Food Lion tearpad, etc.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Cheap Lipton tea

There are several Lipton coupons out right now, one for $1/1 (found in the Raise your Hand for Savings booklet) and $.50/1 found in several inserts. In TN, our Publix stores double, both these are worth $1 off one any size Lipton. Lipton 16ct boxes are priced at $1.09 at Publix, making these $.09 each. A great price if you drink a lot of tea. Take your $1 off q's to Target for the same price.

Finally got to Publix this week

Have I mentioned how much I love Publix? At least, my Publix? They are so awesome! I wasn't able to get down there on Thursday, as planned, and Friday was a wash, so I went in today with a whole slew of q's that expired at the end of the month. Manufacturer q's and Publix q's. They took them all, no problem. Unfortunately a few items I wanted were out of stock, so I had to get rainchecks and it threw off my numbers (also throwing me off was the change in price of a few things with the new Adv. Buy flyer...oh well.)

I'm doing this a little differently this time, maybe to help reduce the confusion. :) I am listing these by transaction so you can see exactly what I did (with a grand total at the bottom). Had two oops transactions go negative. Manager opened up the drawer and handed me cash back. (I really try not to do that!)

I also threw in one $1/1 Guiding Stars FLip per transaction since my Food Lion will let me use them that way. (Although I did have to explain what this FLip meant- the "Guiding Stars")

Transaction 1
2 Scotch Bubble Mailers $.59/ea
-$.50/1 mq = -$.41/ea
2 Quaker Oatmeal $3.89 bogo
-$1/1 Guiding Stars FLip= $2.89
6 Kashi Heart to Heart cereal cups $1/ea
-$1/1 Target q= Free
3 Band-Aid Travel kit $.79/ea
-$1/1 mq + $5/3 Publix q= -$5.63
6 Kleenex $1.50/ea
-$.50/2 mq + $1/3 Targetq = $.67/ea
2 Hunt's Ketchup $1.75 bogo
-$1/2 mq= $.38/ea
1 Silk Soymilk $2.99 {I need to price check this, I thought I saw them 2/$5}
-$1.50/1 mq + $1/1
Used $5/25 competitor q
Total food tax: $-.13 {if anyone can explain this to me, I'm open...}
Total non-food tax: $.42
Total oop: -$3.85
Total savings: $39.64


Transaction 2
3 Jello Puddings $1.09/ea {qualifies for Kraft rebate}
-$1/3 mq ip= $.76/ea
2 Dole Pineapple $.89/ea
-$.50/1 mq ip + $1/1 Guiding Stars FLip= -$1.11
3 First Aid Travel Kits $1.47/ea
-$1/1 mq + $5/3 Publixq= -$3.59
3 Band-Aid Travel Kits $.79/ea
-$1/1 mq + $5/3 Publixq= -$5.63
1 Reach Floss $1.49
-$1/1 mq ip + $1/1 Publix q= -$.51
11 Bertolli Pasta Sauce $2.93 bogo
-$1/1 mq = $.42/ea
10 Kool-Aid $.20/ea
-no q's = $2.00
1 brown sugar $.85
-$2/1 mq + $1/1 Food Lion q= -$2.15
5 Kraft Deluxe Mac/Cheese $1.99 bogo {qualifies for Kraft rebate}
-$1/1 mq ip= Free
Used $5/$25 Competitor q
Total food tax: $1.16
Total non-food tax: $.81
Total oop: $.24
Total savings: $61.51


Transaction 3

11 Kellogg Pop-Tarts $2.39 bogo {qualifies for Kellogg's rebate}
-$.55/1 mq + $.75/1 Targetq = -$.11/ea
20 Kool-Aid $.20/ea
-no q's= $4.00
2 sugar $.85/ea
-$2/1 mq + $1/1 Food Lion q= -$4.30
2 Apple & Eve juice $1.39
-$.50/1 mq + $1/1 Publixq = -$.61/ea
12 Dole Fruit Bowls $2.29 bogo
-$1/2 mq + $1/1 Guiding Stars FLip= $.58/ea
Used $5/$25 competitor coupon
Total food tax: $1.35
Total non-food tax: $0
Total oop: $1.12
Total savings: $62.37


Transaction 4

4 Ensure 6 pack $7.89/ea
-$3/1 mq + B3G1 mq + $1/1 Guiding Stars FLip= $2.64/ea
6 Starbucks Ice cream $3.79 bogo (raincheck) {qualifies for Kraft rebate}
-$2/1 mq + $2/1 FLip = -$2.11/ea
2 Chef Michael's dog food $.89/ea
-$Free mq + BOGO Targetq= -$.89
2 100 Calorie Snack Packs $3.19 bogo
-$1/1 mq ip = $.60/ea
1 Scotch Bubble Mailer $.59
-$.50/1 mq= -$.41
1 Budweiser American Ale 6-pack 6.49
-no q's
Use $5/$25 competitor coupon
Total food tax: $1.33
Total non-food tax: $.74
Total oop: -$.51
Total savings: $60.74


Transaction 5
10 Kashi entrees $3.79 bogo (raincheck)
-$2/1 mq + $.50/1 Target q= -$12.05
3 Ritz Crackers $3.79 bogo
-$1/1 mq= $.90/ea
3 Wheat Thins $2.69/ea
-Free wyb Ritz= Free
3 Coca Cola 12-packs $4.39/ea
-$2 wyb 2 Nabisco Crackers= $2.39/ea
4 Apple & Eve juice $1.39/ea
-$.50/1 mq + $1/1 Publix q= -$.61/ea
1 Bag Ice $1.89
-no q's
2 Publix whole subs $5.59/ea
1 Publix black bean dip $1.89
1 Publix Spin Dip $1.85
-$2/$5 deli Publixq wyb coke + $3/$10 FLip= $5.92 for all deli items
Used $5/$25 Competitor coupon
Total food tax: $2.78
Total non-food tax: $1.03
Total oop: $5.79
Total savings: $73.88


I will also submit the Kellogg's Fuel For School Rebate with the Pop-Tarts, which will be a $10 rebate check, and the $10 gift card rebates from Kraft/Publix as well, making This almost a $40 moneymaking trip out.

Grand Total
Total food tax: $6.99
Total non-food tax: $3.00
Total OOP: $2.79
Total savings: $298.14 (99.1%)

Total Gift Cards earned: $30
Total Rebates earned: $10

My first giveaway!


Get your Free Milk here!

I have no idea how many people actually read my blog, so I will be curious to see if anyone is interested in this. :)

I am lucky enough to have several friends and family that will print coupons for me, and since we do not drink a lot of milk, I have several of the Free Milk and Free Chocolate Milk printable coupons.

I will give away 2 sets of these, each set will contain three coupons: 2) "Free Gallon Milk (with $100 grocery purchase)" coupons and 1) "Free chocolate Milk wyb a gallon of white milk" coupons.

If you're interested, please comment below. Tell me the best/favorite bargain find that you have stumbled across. Don't forget to include your email address so I can contact you.

These q's expire 8/13, so I want to get them to someone who can use them before expiration! I will choose a winner on Tuesday, Aug. 4 at 9pm CST.

{These are original printed coupons that will scan at the register with no problems.}