UNDER CONSTRUCTION

So the blog looks pretty messy tonight...sorry about that. I'm in the process of trying to clean it up and make it more user friendly and hopefully a little nicer looking in the process. I want this to be a HAPPY place for you to come and visit!

What I'm most excited about is that I am able to offer you printable coupons directly from the blog! How fabulous is that??? There may still be times I have to direct you to other sources for printable coupons but I'm really excited to have the opportunity to offer you easier access to money saving coupons right HERE.

As you may be able to tell I need to do some adjusting of my blog to fit it all in and it may take me a couple of days to figure it all out. So hang in there and just consider the blog "UNDER CONSTRUCTION." I believe you will still be able to print the coupons you can see from here but it may not be as easy as I hope it soon will be. I'll keep you posted on the progress so check back soon!

Coupons! Coupons! Coupons!

Congratultions!!

Congratulations to Marissa for winning the Coupon Starter Package!!!  Marissa, I'll contact you on Facebook to figure out the best time to meet up with you will be!

The following will get the  Safeway/ Albertsons/ Stayfree/ Colgate coupons.

Helen * Already confirmed email with It's Thoughtful

And once the following people confirm their emails with It's Thoughtful you will also receive the coupons!

Karen

Rhonda

Cathy

So congratulations and don't worry, I will be doing similar giveaways in the near future!!

Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog.

Later today I'll be posting some pictures and update from my FABULOUS shopping trip to Rite Aid this morning!

Don't forget....

Today is the last day to qualify for my GIVEAWAY!!

Click HERE for more details!

SICK!!

This week I had the "joy" of having a sick child and then becoming ill myself.  Fortunately the illness was was short lived but it was definitely not a fun few days.  But the good news is that being a couponer helped me get through the sickness!

*  My cupboards are full of medications and items (natural and not) to help ease all the aches and pains!  And most of it I got for FREE!

*  I had plenty of TP and tissue to get through the rough times!

* Large stock up on chicken soup, crackers, yogurt and applesauce so that those with weak stomachs had something tasty to eat without running to the store.

*  Plenty of other items in the pantry and freezer so that even though the healthy people had to fend for themselves, they had tons of things to choose from!

Grocery Deals I like.

Looking over the grocery circulars this week I found several things that made me excited.

It looks like my favorite store for  bargains this week is QFC.  Here's a breakdown of  some of the items I thought looked promising in all the circulars.

QFC:

Many of their sales prices are based on when you buy 10 qualifying items.  You can mix and match but you need to make sure you have 10 of the participating items.  Click HERE to see the items included.  

 

Mega Sale Event: Buy 10, items save $5 (make sure you buy in multiples of 10)

*Prices shown are AFTER the instant Savings

Progresso Soup .99

Visit Progresso on FB and get a $1/4 Coupon or find a $1/4 coupon in the insert from 1/2  making this final price .74 a can

Delmonte canned vegetables .49

Langers Juice $1.29

All detergent $2.49

Use $1/1 MC from 1/16 making the final price $1.49!!!!  You can bet I'll be stocking up on more of this as this is the only detergent we use.

Ken's salad dressing $1.49

use $1/1 coupon from 1/9 SS insert

Final Price: $0.49

 

Kraft American Singles $1.99

use printable coupon HERE for $1/1

Final Price: $0.99

 

 

Safeway

Doritos B1G1 Free $3.99

Use $1/2 Doritos from Safeway’s Joy of Football coupon book (did you pick one up???)

Final Price: $1.50 ea when you buy two.  Great price for Doritos!

 

 

Cheerios or Trix Cereal $1.88
$1/1  printable HERE OR

$1/2 Cheerios coupon from 1/9 SS insert
Final Price: as low as $0.88 for Cheerios

Kraft Salad Dressing $1.50
use $1/2 coupon from  1/23 SS insert

Final Price: $1 each when you buy two.

Haggens

Haggens has a bunch of coupons on the front page of their circular including

Milk sale $1.49

 

3lb bag of apples (Braeburn, Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, Jonagold or Red Delicious) for $1.79

Haggen beans 20/ $10

Haggen Pasta 2/$1

and extra lean ground beef $1 off.

Albertsons

My favorite deal this week is the Skippy peanut butter (see this post)

Sale price 2/$3

Use $1/1 from Safeway coupon book

Final price .50

Doritos $1.99

Use $1/2 from Safeway coupon book

Final price $1.49 when you buy two.

Don't forget to use the $2 off $10 in Albertsons product purchase if you are picking up things like milk, french bread or fresh vegetables that are Albertson's brand products.

 

 

What does $7.33 look like?

What does $7.33 look like in today's economy? Well, this is what it COULD look like:

For me today, $7.33 looked like 8 jars of Skippy peanutbutter, 2 boxes of Finish Quantum dishwasher tablets, 2 bottles of French's spicy mustard, 6 packages of Reach dental floss, and 2 bags of Kraft shredded cheese.

I made two stops to get these items.

First was Target

Purchased:

(2) Finish Quantum Tablets sale price $2.99 each

(2) French's Spicy Mustard sale price $1.05 each

(6) Reach dental Floss regular price  .97 each

(2) Kraft Mexican shredded cheese regular price $2.09.

Total before coupons:  $18.08

Coupons used:

(2) Target coupons for $1.50/1 Quantum Finish product

(2) $1/1 MC Quantum Finish product

(6) $1/1 any Reach floss product

(1) Target $1.25/ 2 Kraft cheese

(1) $1/2 MC Kraft cheese

(2) .75/1 MC Frenchs spicy mustard

Total Coupon Value: $14.75

$18.08 -$14.75 = $3.33 OOP

My second stop was Albertsons. 

They have Skippy peanut butter on sale for 2/$3.  The Safeway coupon book has $1/1 Skippy product.  So I bought :

(8) Skippy peanut butter for $1.50 each

Total= $12.00

Used (8) $1/1 Skippy MC coupons

$12.00-$8.00  = $4.00  OOP or .50 per jar of peanut butter!

I'm thrilled with what I was able to get for under $10!

How about a little inspiration....

Watch this video!  Wow!

How about a Giveaway?????

Hello faithful followers!  I want to give you an opportunity to win something by following me.  I'll be doing a drawing for a Coupon Start Kit to one of you LUCKY people.

Here is what you will get:

*2 pack Pilot pens

*1 Lined Writing Tablet

*1 pair of scissors

*1 mini accordion folder for your purse or diaper bag.

*1 mini tablet to keep in your purse for taking notes.

*1 calculator

*1 accordion folder to store your weekly inserts 

AND

2 each of all the inserts I have for January!!!

PLUS

I'll give you two The JOY of Football Safeway savings books, an Albertsons savings book, and the newest savings book from Albertsons that I just picked up in the store today (not pictured)!

 

 

All you have to do to be entered to win is to LIKE me on Facebook

And FOLLOW my blog (see the "follow me" link to the right).  It's that simple!!

******************

I also have a few more Safeway and Albertsons coupon books to give away so if you want a chance to win those here is another opportunity....

Just sign up on the It's Thoughtful website using the link below.  Don't worry, you don't have to buy anything at all.  It's just a fun site with different gifts ideas.

It's Thoughtful

The first 4 people that sign up (and confirm their email) will get 4 coupon books.  Two from Safeway, one of the first Albertsons and one of the new Albertsons.

PLUS I will send you TWO BOGO coupons that will get you 4 packages of  Stayfree pads for FREE AND 2 Colgate $1/1 Coupons that will make 2 Colgate toothpastes FREE at Rite Aid starting 

January 30, 2011!!

Sign up for both of these things by Saturday January 29th, 2011 to qualify.

I'll post the winners on Sunday morning and get the coupons to you ASAP.

Good luck!!

Getting ready for Sunday

Looks like Rite Aid will be the place to be this Sunday.  Here is a list of a few of the good bargains I have found that you might want to check out starting Sunday, January 30th.

There are a few things you may want to know about RiteAid.  If I type VV....this means Video Value and you can watch some short videos to earn extra coupons.  Just go to www.riteaid.com and look for the VV link.

Rite Aid is also having some good rewards programs going right now.  The first is a Heart Healthy (HH) UP, which can be up to $20 in UPs for buying certain products.  There are a few deals that could help you reach those reward this week.  For more details on this program click HERE.  You don't have to buy everything in one purchase, it can accumulate.

The other reward program they have is called Winter Rewards (Buy and Save =B&S).  Once you spend $100 in qualifying purchases you will earn a $20 UP.  Several items this week qualify towards that.  For more information click HERE.  You have until Feb. 26th to accumulate $100 in these products.

Nature Made

Nature Made will be BOGO this week.  Several items will be on both the B&S and the HH rewards program.

Look especially for the coq10 and the Fish oil as there were coupons in the 1-2-11 paper for both of these.  The coq10 had a $5 off coupon and the Fish oil had a $2 off.  On top of this, the Fish Oil has a $2 VV coupon you can pair with the MC (manufacturer coupon).  I know the Fish Oil is just over $10 in my store.  Remember, you can use a MC on BOTH bottles of supplements...even the free one AND you can also use the VV.

On top of this Nature Made has a $5 rebate offer when you buy $30 in their products.  See HERE for more details.

Yummy chocolate!!  Dove and Bliss chocolate is going to be on sale for $2.88 a bag and will apply to the B&S.  At one point there were Dove printable coupons out there and I wouldn't be surprised to see some pop up this week as we get closer to Valentines day.  There is also a VV for $1/2.  So if you can find a coupon to pair with the VV it makes this an extra sweet deal!

 

Both Coricidin and Afrin are quite the deal this week.  Both are on sale for $5.99.  There is a printable $3/1 coupon available for the Afrin and a $2/1 VV on the Coricidin and then both of these will have a $4 UP.  Making them both free and a $1 money maker on the Afrin.

Afrin: $5.99

  MC:  3.00

Total OOP:  $2.99

Get back $4 UPS

Get a Gillette Proglide razor for $.99

This deal is pretty much good on Sunday only because the big MC coupon expires that day.

Proglide is on sale for $9.99 and there is a $4/1 MC from the 12/26 insert.  Then you will get a $5 UP.

(I have a few extra of these $4 coupons if you need one.)

Dixie Paper Plates are BOGO.  The regular price for the Ultras in my store are $3.99.  There is a VV coupon for $3/2 making it .99 for 2 packages of plates.

Pepsi 12 packs will be on saler for 3/$9.99 with a $2 UP.  In the Safeway The Big Party Playbook there are $2/4  coupons.  

Edy's ice cream will be on sale for $2.99 with a $2.00 UP and if part of the B&S program.

Chex Mix will be on sale 2/$3.  There is a $1/1 coupon in the Safeway coupon book (you can use two of these!) and there is a VV coupon for .50.  So you could get 2 bags of Chex Mix for .50 total if you have two Safeway coupon book.  This is also part of the B&S.

Halls cough drops will be on sale 2/$3 and will have a $1 UP when you buy 2.  There is a .50 VV available and a $1/2 MC coupon in the 1-2-11 insert.   This will be like paying .50/2.

I'm hoping that there will be some Colgate coupons in this Sunday's inserts as all the ones I know about are expired.  If there are some coupons than Colgate Total will be a good buy.  It will be on sale for $2.99 with a $2 UP.  With a good coupon this could end up being almost free.

That's what I have for now.  I'll update as I find more good deals.

Coming soon....a little prize package to be announced!

Walgreens on Sunday

My big shopping trip this week was to Walgreens.  I won't show you all the details because this shopping trip was a lot more detailed and involved a lot more transactions than I typically like to do at one store.

Here is what I got for that $21.72:

(4) Jumbo packs of Huggies diapers

(2) 2liter bottles of Sunkist Orange Soda

(5) bottles of Crest Pro-Health mouth wash

(4) Rolls Walgreens TP

(3) boxes of Finish Dishwasher Gel Packs

(1) bottle Gold Bond body wash

 (1) Nivea Shaving Gel

(6) bags of Chex Mix snacks

(4) 4 packs of energy Efficient Spiral Max light bulbs

(1) Airhead candy

(1) Milk Duds candy

 (7) Bottles of Maalox and 

(7) boxes of Gas-X

Quite honestly I could have done a little better with my OOP but being the store was low on stock on some items I had to substitute with some other items (hence all the Maalox and Gas-X products.)  I kind of had to re-think my whole shopping trip on the fly and I don't like to have to do that.  I like it when I go in with a plan and it all works out.   I purchased a total of 46 items and my average price I paid per items was .47 (yes, even for a pack of Huggies diapers).....I  guess you could say even though I didn't feel as prepared and I used some coupons in the wrong order (which can make a difference) it still worked out pretty well.

 

Total OOP: $21.72

This shopping trip is an example of why I like to get more than one insert.  Walgreens had the digestive relief items on sale for 25% off plus if you bought $30 in items you received a $10 RR.  

Since I had coupons for these items and the stress of Dave's job does mean he uses the Maalox from time to time I figured it was a good time to stock up.  There were coupons in a previous insert for $5/1 Maalox item and $4/1 Gas-X item....but I needed 7 of each to make this deal work....and that is why I have someone I buy just the inserts from each week.  I get at least 6 and up to 10 inserts for when deals like this come along.  So here is a breakdown of how just the Maalox deal could look:

Buy (6) Maalox products - Sale price 5.09 each

Total = $30.54

Use (6) $5/1 Maalox coupon = $30 off

Total OOP = .54

Earn $10 in RR to use on your next purchase from buying $30 in Maalox products.

This might not be a stock up item for YOU but it is just an example of one of many deals that come along each week.....and I guarantee some will be stock up items for you! 

I also wanted to mention the lightbulbs....these were a nice  surprise.  I didn't have a coupon for them  but they were on sale for $1.25 a package of 4.  A good deal and definitely something we needed.  Plus I was able to roll my Maalox RR into getting some of them.

 

A tale of Success at Safeway

Once upon a time a young (haha) mother of three ventured to her local Safeway.  Upon entering the store she stuffed her adorable daughter in a shopping cart and began an adventure in savings.

Her first stop was the cracker isle to pick up TEN bags of Goldfish crackers for only .88 each.

Her second stop was to pick up about 8.5 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts for a total of $14.50.

Her third stop was to buy FOUR bags of Fresh Express Salad for .99 each.

And finally she headed to the refrigerated section to buy some Pillsbury crescent rolls for dinner.  They were on sale for 2/$4 and she had (2) .75/1 mc to use!

How exciting to leave with all of that for a mere $29.76 OOP and to have saved $38.55 or 56%.  How happy her husband will be to see the shrinking grocery bill!  He will probably be so happy he will shower her in diamonds and pearls and exotic trips around the world...oh wait....I guess she doesn't have any coupons for those items!  Perhaps this story has gotten a little off track.

But the most exciting part was not the shopping trip, but when the princess, um, I mean the young mother came home and opened ONE of the bags of Goldfish crackers to feed her beautiful children as a snack and found TWO more dollars in Peperidge Farm coupons inside!!!  Including a much coveted .35 coupon for more Goldfish crackers!!  It was all the princess young mother could do to keep herself from ripping open all the other packages to see if there were any more coupons in the other NINE bags.  I guess she'll find out soon enough and when she does she will save those coupons to use on another GREAT Goldfish sale!

The End

P.S.  If you go to Safeway look for a coupon book called The Joy of Football.  The Lake Stevens store was out when I went to look but your Safeway may have some and they are worth getting.  They have been seen near the front of the store where they put their sale displays but if you can't find them there be sure to ask at the customer service desk.

$20 gift card

Check out this site called it's thoughtful.com. It's full of fun gift ideas for all ages! And better yet, if you refer 15 people they are going to give you a FREE $20 gift card to Amazon.com. So click my link (so I can PLEASE get credit), sign up, check them out, and then start refering your own friends to earn your own $20 gift card. There is no purchase necessary so just have fun exploring the site and checking out the ideas!

USE THIS LINK

Fine Print:
* Only referrals that sign-up between January 12, 2011 and 11:59 p.m. on February 14, 2011 will be eligible.
* All referrals must confirm their email address to be eligible.
* All winners will be notified via email on February 18, 2011 and posted on itsThoughtful.com. In addition, all gift cards will be emailed to the winners on February 21, 2011.
* Giveaway rewards (gift cards) are limited to five hundred. If more than five hundred users are eligible for the prize, itsThougthful.com will randomly draw five hundred winners. If a random drawing is required, every 15 eligible referrals will count as one entry

A boring and lame Rite Aid and Walgreens preview

Looking through a preview of the upcoming ads to see if there is anything super exciting.  You'll find some potentially interesting bargains below.  I KNOW I'll come across more so as I hear of other great deals I'll let you know!  Sales will start Sunday, the 23rd.

Rite Aid

If you like Cetaphil products RA will have them for $1 off of regular price plus a $2 UPs for purchasing.  I don't typically buy Cetaphil products but I'm guessing they can get pretty pricey and I know some people are really loyal to this brand.  On top of the RA price and UPs there are also printable coupons available  at http://www.cetaphil.com/ .  Since I don't know the brand or regular price I can't tell you if it is a great deal or not but if you are brand loyal it might be one to look into.

Loreal products are on sale this week and there have been tons of coupons for Loreal products over the weeks.

There is some Loreal haircare and Studio Stylers for $2/7.  There is a $1/any product coupon  HERE.

Makeup is BOGO 1/2 off.  with lots of $2 off coupons in the previous inserts.

Also, on the Loreal products if you buy $15 (before coupons) you get a $5 UP reward.  With coupons it is very possible to get down to $6 OOP and then get $5 UP rewards.  I haven't gone in to scope out prices but I will try and do that this week and check out the possibilities.

Spray 'N Wash will be on sale $2/5 with a $2UPs when you buy 2.  On there is a coupon for .75/1.  If you can print this coupon twice it could be like getting two of them for $1.50 (after UPSs) Spray 'N Wash

Cheez-It or Goldfish crackers 10/$10

And the big sale is on GE extra soft white bulbs....$1.99, bet back $1.99 UPs.  I know there are more energy efficient  types of bulbs out there but for practically free it might be good to grab a few packages of these bulbs to have on hand as spares and emergency use or for rooms like closets that don't get used often.

Walgreens

Campbells chicken noodle or tomato soup will be .49.  There are coupons in the inserts from 1/9 for $1/4.

Huggies will be an okay price for Jumbo packs....sale $8.99 with a $2 RR.  If you stack this with a MC coupon you could have a decent price.

Jell-O is in the ad 2/$1 next week so if you need some you can grab it for $.32 or hold on to the coupon for it to be even cheaper.
-$.55/3 Jell-O Boxes of Gelatin or Pudding, any size PRINT

Okay, so that was a pretty boring and LAME list.  Usually there are way more exciting offers.  I'll be watching other blogs and as they update with any great deals I'll be sure to share them with you!

Look what I found!

Okay....so it may not be that exciting but today is Tuesday and that means the new grocery ads arrived today.  In our area the ads come on Tuesday and the sales start on Wednesday for the grocery stores.  I took a few minutes to look through them and see what kinds of deals I saw.  I happened across a few things that could be "stock" up items so I'll share them with you.    The amount you need to "stock up" depends on your family's needs but I suggest at least 6 weeks worth.   By the way....looks like a good week to stock up on boneless-skinless chicken breasts....just saying!

Safeway

Safeway has some good deals this week.  I'll definitely be stopping in to pick up a few things.

Goldfish crackers - .88      Goldfish crackers almost never have a coupon so .88 is a stock up price.  Most people consider $1 to be the stock up price so .88 definitely is a winning amount!  This sale is a 4 day sale only good until Monday the 24th.

Boneless Skinless chicken breasts and thighs are sale for $1.79 a pound.  Rarely you will be able to find them cheaper than this, but anything under $1.99 is considered a stock up price so now is the time to buy a couple extra pounds to store in your freezer.  What I don't know for sure is if you have to buy a certain amount to get this price.  It does say on the add Extreme Value Pack....I'm not exactly sure what that mean but probably it means you can't buy less then 3-5 pounds and it will be prepackaged as such.  

You can also get ground beef at $1.79 a pound (80/20)  or $2.49 (85/15.)  $1.79 is considered a stock up price by most people....or anything under $1.99 for ground beef.

Fresh Express Salads are on sale for .99.  Great price!  You may be able to find additional coupons on www.freshexpress.com.  I know I have printed some out before but when I visit the site now I don't see any.  I'm not sure if it is because I've already printed them or if it is because they are not offering them right now.  It may be worth it to check it out and see if you can find them.  You should be able to print two if they show up for you.

Albertsons

Boneless Skinless chicken - $1.99 lb

Coffee Mate flavored creamer is on sale for $1.99.  If you go to http://www.coffee-mate.com/offers/default.aspx  you can find a .75 off printable coupon.  Maybe not something you will stock up on but none the less, a good price.

Albertsons frozen or steamer veggies are 10/ $10.  But don't forget, if you can get your hands on the Savings for a Better You coupon book they have $2 off  of a $10 Albertsons products purchase making each bag only .80.   A stock up price on these is between .50-.79 a bag so this is on the high end of the stock-up price but if you like frozen veggies then it's a good time to get at least a couple extra.

Goldfish crackers $1

Mission Tortillas $1....I'm not sure if this is a stock up price or not.  I know I'm pretty happy when I can pay $1 for a package of tortillas.  Plus these freeze well so if it feels like a good deal to YOU then stock up on a few.

Progresso Soup (select varieties) is $1.  The database says there are coupons available.  There is a $/4 coupon available on their FB page http://www.facebook.com/Progresso?v=app_153218424717896#!/Progresso?v=app_137776192947510 .  It's a decent price but not quite a stock up price.

QFC

They have a nice little 3 day sale going from Friday through Sunday. 

You can find a carton of large eggs for .99.  

 Yoplait Yogurt is 3/$1.  If you still have coupons from a few weeks ago you will find a coupon in the General Mills supplement from 1/2/11 for $1/10 making them about .23 a cup.  I can't remember how much Costco sells a 24 pack of Yoplait for, but I'm pretty sure this price would be fairly competitive with the Costco price plus you can pick your own flavors....always a plus.

Soft soap is on sale for .88 and there is a coupon from the 1/2/11 inserts for .35/1 making that a stock up price. Those coupons expire on the 22nd so if you find you still have them you will want to use them by then.

Ground beef is $1.99 lb for 80/20

Haggen

Boneless Skinless chicken $1.99 lb

Haggen canned veggies 20/$10  (stock up price is .30-.50 per can)

Hunts pasta sauce .69 can. (stock up price is between .50- $1.29 a can/ jar)

Eggs  .99

Top Foods
I didn't receive an ad for Top this week but usually their sales are very similar if not identical to Haggen.

I hope this helps some of you find a couple dollars in extra savings this week!  I'd love to hear about any successes you have! 

Getting Started

 First let me thank all of you who are checking my blog from time to time.  But I want to give a BIG thank you to the two lovely people who are FOLLOWERS on my blog.  So a big THANK YOU to both of you! 

Please feel free to share my blog with others or to contact me with any comments or questions.

Since I'm not out shopping for bargains today I thought I'd take a minute to give you my advice on getting started on saving money for your family.

#1.  You need to get your hands on some coupons.  I suggest buying at least one newspaper (Sunday) but optimally you should try to get your hands on at least two sets of coupons....or more if possible.  There are a couple of reasons to get more than one set of coupons.  First, a lot of sales are buy 2 products get something free or an additional discount.  You want to have a coupon (if available) for each of those items.  Even if the store is having a BOGO sale, you can still use a coupon on the free item you are getting.  This is where you can get some of your best discounts.  The second reason for getting more than one set of coupons is because one of the points of couponing is that you need to buy enough product to get you through until the next sale. So if I see spaghetti sauce is going on a great sale I don't want to buy just 2 cans/ jars of it.  I want to be able to buy 6, or 10 or 20 jars....enough to get you through about a 3 month period or until the next good sale.   This way you are buying at rock bottom prices and not forced to buy that item at it's highest price.  You can buy more than one Sunday paper or you can just ask a few friends and neighbors to please save their coupons for you if they aren't using them.

#2.  Organize those coupons.  Go to your local Target.  Right now they have accordion files for $1 in their Dollar Spot.  Buy one or two of those.  This is all you need for organizing.  They also have the smaller coupon type organizers for $1.  You may find having a smaller one helpful to have as well.  Once you have your coupons and your accordion file all you have to do is file each insert (or group of inserts) by date.  

#3.  Finding the coupons when you need them.  It will take a few weeks of building up your coupons but eventually you are going to wonder how to find the coupons you need.  Let's say I see an add and I see that Target is going to have a big sale on Colgate toothpaste.  I want to see if there are any coupons out there that will make the sale a better price.  I'm going to go to a coupon database ( I use www.afullcup.com) and search for that product.  The database is going to tell me if a coupon exists for that product, the value of that coupon and where to find it.  So it is going to tell me there is a $1/1 ($1 off one) coupon in the 1/2 (January 2nd) RP or Red Plum insert.  Then I can go to my file and pull the insert from that date, clip the coupon(s) I need and refile the insert until I need it again.  If you visit other blogs (and I am going to try adding it to mine as well) when they post their "deals" or shopping ideas they will post where to find the coupon as well.  So having them organized this way is very helpful.  If you want you can take the time to clip and organize all your coupons by category but I'll say I think that is much more time consuming.

#4.  Find a blog or two for the stores you visit most (see my side link about my favorite stores).  Check on them once to twice a week....best to do it a few days before a sale cycle starts.  They will tell you the BEST values for that add and how to work the very best deals.   I like to write down deals I see, and then I clip my coupons and store them by store in the smaller coupon organizers.  That way on the day I go shopping I can just take my smaller organizer with me and I don't have to worry about taking all my coupons with me.  I also try and keep some paper and a pen with me and then if while I'm at the store I see a good sale I'll write it down and go home and see if I have any coupons to go with it.

#5.  Don't start too big.  Pick one grocery store and one drug store to start with.  A lot of times I find Albertsons will have a Rite Aid in the same shopping center making it an easy way to hit two stores without running all over the place.  It also seems a lot of Fred Meyers will have a Walgreens near them.  

#6.  Don't be afraid to ask questions.  I'm always willing to answer any questions you have.  I'm pretty new to all of this too so if I don't know the answer I'll do my best to find it for you. 

Bright and Early Sunday Morning

Decided to head out early this morning to make sure I got some of the items I was looking for.  Overall, it was a successful day, with about a 90.3% savings on the items I bought.

 Total OOP .92

My first stop today was RiteAid.    I really wanted to get in on the free face tissue so I went in at 8:00 this morning to get my stock up.  I was in luck!  They had plenty!  Hooray for me!  And BONUS, I found out not only were you getting the $1 UP back for each one but an additional $3 UP for buying 10.  I had only planned on buying 6 but decided to go for the 10.  When all was said and done, at RA I came out spending .92 and getting 14 UPS to use on my next purchase.  Here is a breakdown of what I got and how I ended up with a low OOP.

(9) Schick Slim razors 1.29 (these were travel size razors that I will donate)

Used (9) $2/1 MC (manufacturer coupons) meaning on each razor I had an overage of .71 to apply to the rest of my purchase.  The razor coupons I had expired today.

(4) 12 pack of Pepsi products reg. price 5.49.  I'm a soda drinker so this was a good opportunity to stock up.  The sale on these was buy 3 for $3.66 each and get a 12 pack of Pepsi Max free (in add coupon)

Used in store coupon for the free Pepsi Max.

Used $1/1 Dr. Pepper (a Pepsi product) VV (Video Value) coupon

(10) RA facial tissues reg. $1.99 sale $1

No coupon necessary

(2) Dixie Ultra Plates 3.99 sale BOGO

used $3/2 VV coupon

(3) Birthday cards .99 each

No Coupon

(2) Bags Dove chocolates regular price $4.99 sale $2.88

Used in add coupon for buy 3 birthday cards get a bag of Valentines day candy free

Used VV coupon $1/2 Dove chocolates

Used MC of $1.50/2

(2) packages of napkins BOGO sale.  I was a little bummed about this b/c there was a sign that said they were $2.50 each so I thought I was going to pay $2.50 for two packages.  When I got to the register they were $3.99 each but b/c of the BOGO I got one free.  I'm not really sure what happened with my sale price....the guy at the register suggested I couldn't get the $2.50 sale price AND the BOGO.  Not really sure though.  I still walked out with low OOP and we needed napkins so I decided to still get them.  It would have been nice to not have to use as many UPS but oh well!  Win some/ lose some.

Used 21 UPS I had from previous purchases.

My balance = .92 OOP

Plus I got 14 UPS back to use towards a future purchase.

Total savings on this purchase was 98.9%

 Total OOP $9.49

Target
Decided to pop into a different Target today without kids in tow.    Saved 81.37%.

(2) 2 pack of stretchy gloves reg $1.50  clearance $1.05  (for some reason I'm addicted to these gloves!  They had a ton so I'm waiting until they go down to 50% and hopefully will stock up for myself and my donation box)

(1) Bounce fabric softener sheets reg.$1.99
used .50/1 MC coupon

(3) Olay beauty bars (soap)
used (3) $2/1 MC coupons (overage allowed to apply to rest of purchase)

(5) Hartz cat treats reg. $1.99 sale $1.49
used (5) $1.50/1 MC (.01 overage applied to rest of purchase)

(3) Hartz dog treats reg $2.99 sale $2.49
(3) $2/1 MC

(1) Bakugan toy for Toys for Tots reg. 10.99   Clearance $2.68
(1) Bakugan toy for Toys for Tots reg $10.99   Clearance $2.74

(2) dollar spot items $1 each

My total OOP was $9.49 and a savings of 81.4% off of original  prices.

Total OOP $11.06

Walgreens
This was a much more complicated stop and admittedly I bought a lot of stuff I didn't need here.  I was kind of shopping for fun just to see how much I could save following an example off of a blog I'd recently seen. I managed to save $94.82 (probably more b/c this was based on sale prices) and  I had to do this in 4 separate transactions:

Transaction #1
(4) Vicks Sinex medications reg $7.49 sale $5.00
used (4) $4/1 MC coupon
OOP $4.00 but earned $10 in RR (register rewards) for buying $20 in Vicks products.

Transaction #2
(1) Joint Juice...unsure of regular price but sale price is $10.
Used (1) $1/1 MC

(1) Carefree panty liners sale $1.19
Used in store coupon making them .99
Used .50/1 MC

(2) Gallon size Wags ziplock storage bags reg $1.89
(1) ziplock sandwich bags reg $1.89
(1) fold and close sandwich bags reg $1.59
Used in store coupon making each box .99

Used $10 RR from previous purchase.
Total OOP 4.35
Earned $10 RR for buying the Joint Juice

Transaction #3
(1) Toms of Maine mouth wash Sale $3.99
(1) Pill Glide sale $5 (you are supposed to spray in your mouth and it makes the pill easier to swallow...sounds silly but figured it was worth having on hand for the kids if they ever need it.  Mine was grape flavor but they also had strawberry)
(1) Thermacare heat wrap sale $2.50 (good to have around for my old lady aches and pains)
Used $1/1 MC

Used $10 RR from Joint Juice previous purchase.
Total OOP .49
Got back $3 RR for buying Toms of Maine, $5 RR for Pill Glide, and $2.50 RR for buying Thermacare.

Transaction #4
Joint Juice sale $10
used $1/1 MC
(3) Schick Shaving gels $3.79
Used in store coupon making each one $1.99
Used (3) $1/1 MC coupons
and because I had more coupons then products(will be using my previous RR and they count as coupons) I had to add on 3 Airhead candy to even out my coupon to product ratio.

Thermacare.
Total OOP $2.22 and got back $10 RR to use on my next purchase....which will hopefully be something like diapers or wipes.

My total OOP for everything you've seen above for all THREE stores was $21.47.  Not too shabby!!  Especially when you consider on top of my saving I earned $24 in either UP rewards or Register Rewards to use on future purchases. 

Last stop was Albertsons.  I won't bore you with the transaction details from there but to pick up everything I needed for my weekly groceries I spent about $50.  This included a stock up on some canned veggies and beans for future weeks.

Albertsons does have a deal worth mentioning right now.  They have a free coupon book in their stores called Savings for a Better You.  Inside that is a $2 off of $10 in Albertson brand products.  So if you are new to couponing and looking to start stocking up on a few items this is a good way to save 20% right off the top.  Right now Albertsons has their canned vegetables on sale for 2/$1, canned beans (pinto, kidney, refried, etc) for .79, and canned chicken broth .59.  I bought 7 cans of beans, 6 cans of corn, and 3 cans of chicken broth to get me to $10 and used my coupon.  You can ask at customer service for the coupon book if you can't find it in the store.  They don't have a ton of other coupons in there but maybe there is something you will use.

Happy Saving!

Target + Albertsons= 73% savings

Took Trenton to karate, had lunch with Dave and on our way home made a couple of stops.  Glad I did because I saved myself an average of 73% today.

First stop was Albertsons.  I really needed milk.  They were having a sale on Kelloggs Right Bites 100 calorie snacks 2/ $5(normal price $3.69).  If you bought 6 of them you got a free gallon of milk.  Here is the best part.....they didn't just mark down the price of the milk you bought....they just take $6.00 off your total!  So even if you didn't end up buying the milk, but just bought 6 of the Right Bites they would deduct the $6.  Well, on top of that I had (3) $1/2 coupons AND Albertsons has doubler coupons today...meaning they doubled those to $2/2.   Bottom line for 6 boxes of snacks (great for lunches) and a gallon of milk for $5.59 OOP.  Total savings, 74%.

Next stop was Target.  I had been hearing that they had a bunch of Christmas toys on clearance for 75% off plus I had a few other coupons I wanted to use there.  As I expected most of the clearance had been pretty picked over but I still managed to find some good deals. Here is what I bought:

(2) Soft soap reg. price 1.49 sale $1

-Used $1/2 Target coupon

-Used (2) .35 soft soap m/c (manufacturer coupons)

Total out of pocket .15 each

(2) Reach floss coupons .97

-Used (2) $1/1 Reach floss coupons

Total OOP .06 to apply to the rest of my purchase (this is called an overage and if your coupon is more than the value of the item some stores let you apply the difference to the rest of your purchase)

(2) Kung Zhu Battle toys reg. 9.99 marked down to $2.48 each

(1) Kung Zhu Battle Dome reg 14.99 marked down to $3.24

(1) Kai-Lan stuffed plush doll reg 14.99 marked down to $3.24

(3) items from the dollar section....no discounts :-(

Total before discounts $54.88

Total with discounts and coupons $15.18

72% Savings 

The boys were happy recipients of the Kung Zhu toys (though Trenton wanted me to mention that none of the battle toys came with any armor and the Kai-lan doll will be added to the Toys for Tots donation box.

FREE pasta and planning for Sunday shopping

Was just checking out a few blogs today trying to prepare for the new sales that start at Walgreens and RiteAid on Sunday.  While on one of my favorites (www.iheartriteaid.com) I came across a deal for free pasta.  I won't post a picture since pasta is really pretty boring but here is the deal:

Barilla pasta sale price 4 for $5

When you buy 4 boxes you earn a $1 UP reward (a coupon that acts basically like cash on your next purchase)

PLUS each box of pasta is printing out an additional $1 UP. 

So, it was $5 out of pocket for 4 boxes of pasta but I get $5 in UP to spend on my next purchase.

I will probably go back to RA tomorrow and get 4 more boxes, use those $5 UPS to pay for it and have zero out of pocket...I can continue to repeat this process if I choose.

There is a chance that your RA will be out of pasta since it is towards the end of a sale cycle.  But if you eat a lot of pasta like we do it might be worth stopping in to check it out.

I haven't checked out my Albertsons or other grocery shopping for Sunday morning but I did scope out the upcoming adds for RA and Wags.  Just thought I'd share some of the deals I'm interested in getting when I visit the stores:

RiteAid:

Dixie Plates....there is a BOGO sale on these plus I know I have a VV (video value) coupon I can apply to this purchase.  I don't remember what their normal price is but if I think it will end up being about $1.50 average per package of heavy plates.  We like to have these on hand for large gatherings.

RiteAid Napkins....BOGO sale.  These are normally $2.50 each but also have a $1 UP when you buy 2 packages.  This means it will average .75 per package of napkins.

TP and facial tissue is a great bargain this week.  RA brand TP and tissue is on sale for $1 each but for each one you buy you will generate a $1 UP....pretty much making them free.  I'm not sure I will buy the TP as it is only 1 ply and my family prefers 2 ply, but I will definitely take advantage of the tissues.

There is a coupon in the weekly flyer for a free bag of Valentines day candy (up to $2.50 value) when you buy 3 American Greetings cards.  The .99 cards should apply to this deal.  I love to have extra cards on hand for birthdays and other events.  This is a great way to stock up and get something else out of it.  The great part is that you can still use a manufacturer coupon towards your free candy.

A couple other deals I saw but I don't think are quite "stock-up" items were Goldfish crackers 2/$3 woth a $1 UP when you buy 2 and Motts applesauce (24 oz) 4/$5 with a $1 UP when you buy 4.

Walgreens potential deals:

Edge shaving or Schick Hydro shaving cream is on sale for $1.99 with in store coupon.  There are coupons out there for an additional $1 off of the Schick Hydro cream making this .99 which makes this a good price.

Carefree pantyliners are on sale for .99 with in store coupon.  I found a manufacturers coupon for $1 off any carefree ultra protection product.  I'm not positive the ultra are going to be included in the .99 sale but I think they will be.  If they are, this coupon will make the product free.  If not, in last weeks coupon inserts (12/5) there were coupons for .50 off making them only .49.

ThermaCare trial size neck, shoulder and wrist heat wraps will be $2.50 and then you will get a $2.50 RR (register reward) to use on your next purchase.  There are also $1 off any ThermaCare purchase you can print out making this a money maker for you.  They also have $3 off coupons but I wasn't able to get these to print.

I'll be checking out my grocery store potentials tomorrow and let you know if I come across anything exciting!  Until then, have a great evening!