Deals and Steals; week of 8/1

After scoping out the ads for this week and the copuns I am super excited, I feel my stockpile will be growing this week.  I hope you got a paper, if not go now and find one. 

CVS: The deals are ok at CVS this week, here is my transaction:
-3 Ragu Sauces at 3/$5
-3 Skippy Peanut Butter at 3/$5 ($3 ECB wyb $10 of Ragu, Skippy, Hellmann's  or Lipton Tea)
-Thermacare Heat Wraps 2/ $12.98 ($6 ECB wyb 2)
-Band Aid Products startring at $2.49 ($5 ECB wyb $10 worth) I will try to get 2 $3.99 products and 1 $2.49 product, the deal won't work if your total is $9.97.
Gillete Fusion Razor $9.97 ($5 ECB)
Conair styling product $4.99 ($5 ECB)
Colgate toothpaste $2.99 ($2 ECB)
= $51.40
Use:
$10 off $50 from Kiosk
$1.25 of 3 Ragu from 8/1
(3) $0.40 off Skippy from 8/1
(2) $3 off Therma Care printable 
$3 of 3 Band aid products for 8/1
$4 off Gillette Fusion from 8/1
.75 off Colgate printable
= $25.20
Get back $26 in ECB's making your entire trip FREE!!!!!!

Rite-Aid - If you don't shop at Rite Aid this would be a great week to start!
Transaction #1

Tide at $5.99 ($1 UP)
4 Crest Pro Health Mouth Rinses at 4 for $20 ($10 SCR wyb 4)
=$25.99
Use$5 off $25 purchase coupon
$1 off Tide from 8/1
(4) $2 off Crest ProHealth
= $11.99
Get back $1 UP and $10 in SCR PLUS qualify $20 for the oral care SCR (Spend $25 get $15, Spend $15 get $5 gift card on any oral care purchase of any brand from 7/25 - 9/25.  I got 2 $3 toothpastes last week so I am set to get my $15. If you need $5 more buy 2 Crest Toothpastes this week $2.49 - $1.50 UP - $0.75 coupon = $0.50 for both)

#2
Gillete Fusion Pro glide $9.99 ($5 SCR)
2 Old Spice Deo. at 2/$9 ($3 SCR + $1 UP)
1 Secret Flawless at $4.99
1 Crest 3-D White toothpaste a $2.49 ($1.50 UP)
=$26.47
Use: $5 off $25 purchase coupon
$4 Off Gillette from 8/1
B2 OS Deo Get 1 Secret free from 8/1
$0.75 off Crest from 8/1
= $11.73
Get back $8 SCR, $2.50 UP
= total oop $1.23

#3
Profoot Insoles $3 for $15 ($10 SCR on 3 + $2 UP on 3)
Venus Embrace at $7.99 ($4 UP)
LA Looks Gel $1.99 ($1 SCR)
.50 filler item
= $25.47
use:
$5 off $25 purchase coupon
(3) $2 off printable  Profoot Aero TM3 Air Cell Insoles, Any (Manf. Website - SmartSource Coupons)
$2 off Venus Embrace from 8/1
$1 off LA Looks from 8/1
= $11.47
Get back $11 SCR and $6 Up
= you make $5.53!!

Also Note: There is a PG Rebate, Buy $30 worth of Pantene, Venus Embrace, Secret, Olay Body wash or Pore scrub, Cover Girl Lash Blast between 6/30 - 9/15 and get $10 rebate. The Secret from #2 and Venus from #3 would count! Here is more info :http://www.rougemag.com/content/offers-contests/Olay-Offer-Rebate-Form.pdf
After coupon and Up the Venus Embrace are only $1.99 this week so I'll probably snag a couple more throughout the week to help get me to $30.  Keep in mind that UP Rewards are 1 per transaction so do multiple ones : )

and Transaction #4 for my moms with diaper clad kids
1 Pampers Diapers at $8.99 ($2 SCR, $2 UP)
Pampers wipes 72 count +, estimate at $2.99
=$11.98
Use : $1.50 off Pampers from 8/1
free wipes wyb diapers from 8/1
=$7.49
Get back $2 SCR, $2Up
= $3.49 or $1.75 each!

CVS and first 3 RA Transactions =  $129.33 worth of products. Total OOP for all 4 transactions = -$4.11 + your $15 Rite Aid Gift Card = You MAKE $19.11 PROFIT!!!! and well on your way to the $10 PG rebate!

Please see southernsavers.com for more complete deals and Walgreens deals, I don't shop at Walgreens because it isn't convenient for me but maybe for you : )

Deals and Steals: $1 lunch box!

Nothing gets my blood pumping like find a good deal! Today a trip to Rite Aid turned into a big deal, as in $1 lunch boxes.  This deal ends Saturday, so hurry in.  All lunch boxes are 50% off and then a $2 up reward, the prices start at $5.99 and go up to $19.99.  The $5.99 ones seemed more than adequate for my kids so I scooped up two, $5.99 at half off = $2.99 - $2 up reward = $1!! Woohoo!
The still had a great selection at my Rite-Aid, I snagged a pink one with cupcakes and a black one with pink hearts. 
Good luck!

Family Fun: Make your own cookbook

Last week I used some leftover marinara sauce to make a baked ziti, which turned out pretty yummy.  As we were cleaning up my oldest daughter, Quinn, looked at me with her most serious face and asked, "Mom, when I get bigger will you give me this recipe?"  The fact that she thought a simple dinner required a detailed recipe only added to the swell of pride I felt in that moment. Later when my girls were all tucked in I started searching the internet for a make-your-own family cookbook.

Somehow I ran accross Muffins and Mayhem, from what I gather, a mother who had learned she had cancer wanted to preserve family recipes for her young kids if something should happen.  It became part cookbook, part memior.  Several years later and cancer free, a published cookbook and website were under her belt. 

So, this is where we come in, the website Muffins and Mayhem allows you to creat your own cookbook for free. Yes, I said free! This great site allows you to create your own family cookbook adding recipes, stories, pictures, the whole nine yards.  You can even create a cover.  After your cookbook is complete you can print it at home or take it to Kinko's or any of the office copy stores to have it printed professionally and even bounded. 

What a great idea! I can't wait to get my recipes together and uploaded.  What a special gift to be able to give your children! And since it is free you know it fit's my budget!!

Raise your hand if you like free toothpaste!

I used to cringe when I asked my hubby if he needed anything from the store and he responded, "Probably just some razor blades."  In fact,  I had a mental list of things I dreaded buying: razors, razor blades, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, body wash, shampoo... I could go on but you get the picture.  Add a few of  those items in and I was sure to add $20-$35 to our Wal-Mart bill.  Then my friend introduced me to couponing and The Drugstore Game, to say it has changed my life may be an understatement.   I haven't paid more than $1 for any of those items in months and most of the times get them free, and now I have built a stockpile so I never have to pay full price again!

This was after a trip to Rite-Aid, $28 worth of stuff for $2.67 and $17 back in Rewards and SCR!

I get excited about couponing, ok, excited may be an understatement, I get estatic.  About the only thing that gets me more excited than free toiletries is helping someone else learn how to get free toiletries and save serious coin on other things!

Couponing Do’s

• Shop at stores that double your coupons: Kroger, Lowe's, Bloom, Harris Teeter, Giant, check your local stores.  Some stores even triple!

• Keep an eye out for special store coupons that may be used in combination with manufacturer's coupons.  Rite Aid, Walgreens and Target do this frequently.  Rite Aid occasionally even has in-ad and online video value coupons.

• Pay attention to the unit cost of an item. Large sizes usually mean better value than buying small sizes, however sometimes using multiple coupons to purchase multiple smaller sizes can actually be much cheaper. Tide, diapers and  Dawn are a few good examples. 

• Start a stockpile!  Set aside $5 - $20 of your grocery budget each week, whatever works for you, use that amount to buy items that are at a great price that week.  If there isn’t anything that is a great price save your stockpile money for next week. 

• Look for combination bargains. Check if you can get an item for a reduced price by using a coupon and also sending in for a refund/rebate on that item. Refunds and rebates are actually where much of the savings can be found. Couponing blogs (more on those next week) are a great place to find rebates as well as Googling the product or brand.

• Do comparison shopping! Who knew that these sneaky retailers changes prices so drastically between stores (Target and Wal-Mart are two of the worst offenders), make sure to always check the competition too. Amazon.com has really stepped up as a player too, with their fast shipping and reasonable rates if you can wait a few days for an item it may be worth considering.

• ·Do keep your coupons organized. There are many coupon organizers on the market but you don;t need to spend a lot, I use a 13 tab organizer that I bought at Wal-Mart for 4 bucks.  Separate your coupons by categories that work for you. Twice monthly, sort through them and pull out those that will be expiring soon, so that they can be used, if possible, before they expire.

• Find others who coupon and trade with them; they can be on the lookout for coupons you can use, and vice versa.

• Be willing to switch brands to take advantage of lower prices and/or coupon offers.

 

Couponing Don’ts

•  Don’t buy items you normally would not just because you have a coupon for it. I make an exception if the item will be free or a money maker.

• Don’t buy brand name items if the store/house brand is cheaper unless you have both coupons and rebates for the brand name item to justify the higher initial cost.

More next week!