September Monthly Totals

This month I spent $329.56 on $1,424.08 of products. Over $1,000 in free products this month. That's an overall saving of about 77%!!

Walgreens RRs

So I mentioned in my last Wags post that I have $95.50 in RRs that I need to spend in the next 2 weeks. You can click on the Hot Coupon World link to the right and then go into Forums, Drug Stores, Walgreens and then you will see posts showing the ads and deals for the next couple weeks. So you can plan ahead a little. Next week looks really boring to me. The week after there is a decent price on Huggies diapers which I will try to take advantage but I didn't want to wait until the Monday of that week and go in and have to just hope that they would have enough diapers in stock that I could use up $95.50 in RRs. So I went through the Wags ad for this week and found some other deals that were worth doing to help cut down my large stack of RRs. Plus, I was able to use the $5 off of $25 Wags coupon on each of my three transactions so that cut my costs down quite a bit as well so it was worth it to go in today while I could use that store coupon. I got 4 Jumbo packs of Pampers diapers, 4 Swiffer Wet Jet refills (there is also a rebate available on these, check it out HERE), 2 Herbal Essences Shampoo & Conditioner, 16 Reese's Peanut Butter cup packs (used these as filler items) and 6 packs of Pringles. I was able to use up $45 of my RRs, got back $9 more and only spent $4.77 OOP. So my cost for all the above was about $40 which is good. I now have a much more managable stack of RRs to use up over the next 2 weeks.

16 Reeses $0.49 each with in ad coupon

2 Herbal Essence Hair Care $2.99 each

Used two $1/1 coupon from the 8/23RP (exp. 9/30)
Got back a $2 RR on each one.

Final cost FREE!

4 Swiffer Wet Jet Refills on sale for $3.99 each
Used four $.50/1 coupons
And I will be able to submit for a rebate from Swiffer.

6 Pringles on sale for $3/4 (my husband was asking for more of these)
Used three $1/2 coupons
Final cost $.83 each.

4 Jumbo Packs of Pampers diapers on sale $2/20
Used three $2/1 coupons and one $1/1 coupon.
Got back a $2.50 RR for each 2 packs.

Final cost $7 per package which isn't the best ever but we needed them and I had RRs to use.

Rite Aid 9/29

I did 2 transactions at Rite Aid today:

There is a Single Check Rebate (#5) on Aveeno Haircare, Bath or Baby or Facial products this month PLUS this week they are 20% off
Buy 2, Get a $3 Single Check Rebate
Buy 3, Get $5 SCR
Buy 4, Get $7 SCR

1st Transaction:
4 Aveeno Shampoo & Conditioners $5.99 each=$23.96
I had threw in 2 candy bar snack packs for $.88 each to get my pretax total up to $25.
Used the $5 off $25 Rite Aid coupon
Used 4 $2/1 Rite Aid coupons from here
Used 4 $2/1 coupons from here: IE or Firefox
Paid $6.41 w/ tax (used Rite Aid GiftCard so my OOP was $0)
Then I will get back a $7 Single Check Rebate
AND... I also have earned a $5 certificate from the Rite Aid Gift of Savings program!
Final cost 4 Aveeno products (plus some candy bars) for FREE + $5.59 moneymaker!

2nd Transaction:
1 Olay Regenerist Anti-Aging Eye Roller $21.99
1 Pantene Conditioner $3.33
1 Renpure Conditioner $3.50
Total $28.82
Used the $5 off $25 Rite Aid coupon from here
Used the $1/1 Pantene coupon from the 8/9RP (or 9/13RP)
Used the $2/1 Renpure coupon from here
Paid $22.79 w/ tax (Used previous rebate check of $15.48 + $4.88 on GiftCard so my OOP was only $2.43.)

I will then submit for the $20 rebate for purchasing one Olay Eye Roller and one Pantene shampoo or conditioner. You can check out the details and print the rebate form here.
I will also send in the $3 rebate on the Renpure Conditioner (check for hang tag on the item) making that item a moneymaker.

AND... I also have earned a $5 certificate from the Rite Aid Gift of Savings program!
Final cost for this transaction ---FREE + a $5.21 moneymaker!

Wags 9/28

**UPDATE: So I did end up taking the more expensive Ponds items back and so my new total after that refund was $4.22 for everything above!!

Wow so a huge week at Wags this week because there are tons of freebies and moneymakers. It actually makes things a little harder in my opinion because there are so many deals to coordinate. On the flip side though it is easier because you don't have to find cheap filler items because there are already lots of freebies without coupons out there that you can use as filler items. I went to Wags this morning and did 10 transactions and and got a lot of free stuff. I ended up paying a grand total of $17.66 for everything but $13.22 of that was tax (grrr!). I paid a little more then I was planning for some Ponds items but other then that pretty much everything was free or profitable. I won't bother giving you a breakdown of all 10 transactions but I will give you one idea. The Vaseline lotion is on sale for $6.99 with a $7 RR back. There are $1.50 IPs available. The Gillette MVP razors are on sale for $8.99 with a $6 RR back and there are $4 coupons in yesterday's P&G insert. So if you have those coupons for the razors then one good thing to do is roll these 2 back and forth.

So here's an example:
1st transaction:
Buy a lotion and one of the freebies without a coupon like the chapstick (which will work as a filler)

2nd transaction:
Buy a razor and one of the freebies without a coupon like the Robitussin (which will work as a filler) and use the $7 RR from the lotion to pay for this.

3rd transaction:
Buy another lotion and one of the freebies without a coupon like the Dentek floss (which will work as a filler) and use the $6 RR from the razor to pay down your total.

You can keep doing this back and forth. There are any number of options you can do this week but this might get you thinking. Hope that there are good deals at Wags over the next 2 weeks because I now have $95.50 in RRs to spend!

Check out Hip2Save's Walgreens posts for this weeks deals. Also, many of these freebies are on RR all month so you don't have to worry if they are picked over this week.

FYI - The Theraflu deal that Hip2Save blogged about in THIS post isn't good in our area, darn it!

Here are the deals I took advantage of. The only thing I wanted but couldn't find were the cough drops.

4 Oral-B Advantage 1-2-3 Toothbrush - $3 each (these were actually 2 packs!)
Used four $0.75/1 coupon from the 9/27PG
Got back a $3RR on each one.

Final cost FREE + a $0.75 moneymaker!

6 Dentek Dental Care: Floss 55 yards - $2 each
Got back a $2RR on each one.

Final cost FREE!

Pond’s Skincare products buy one, get one FREE
4 Pond's Dry Skin Creams $4.59 each
Minus Bogo sale=$4.59 x 2
Used four $1.50/1 coupons from here: IE or Firefox or from here
Final cost $0.80 each!

8 Chapstick Fresh Effects $2.99 each
Got back a $3 RR on each.
Final cost FREE!

8 Vaseline Sheer Infusion Lotion 6.8oz - $6.99 each
Used eight $1.50/1 coupon from here or here: IE or Firefox
Got back a $7RR on each.
Final cost FREE + a $1.50 moneymaker on each!

4 Gillette Fusion MVP Manual or Power Razor System $8.99
Used four $4/1 coupon from the 9/27PG
Got back a $6RR on each.
Final cost FREE + a $1 moneymaker on each!

6 Emergen-C Booster - $3.49 each
Got back a $3.50RR on each.
Final cost FREE!

6 Robitussin DM To Go 2 pk - $2.49 each
Got back a $2.50RR on each.
Final cost FREE!

8 Trident Gum - $1 each
Used four $1/2 IPs
Got back a $1RR on each 2.
Final cost FREE!

2 Travel Size Johnson's baby powder $1.29

Got back a $1RR on each
Final cost $0.29 each!

Mo Bettah Steaks!

Dave took me on date the other night to his new favorite restaurant. It's called Mo Bettah Steaks and it's a Hawaiian steak house. Since this blog is devoted to saving money I had to post about this place because it is super affordable not to mention it is DELICIOUS! We had the best steak, pig and teriyaki chicken that I think I have ever had. And it's only between $6.50 and $9 per person so way cheaper then getting steak at another restaurant. And they give you a ton of food! I am sure we will be going back there OFTEN! Check it out!

The one we went to was at 335 West 1830 South but there is also one in Bountiful at 273 West 500 South.

Albies Step By Step - 9/23

I thought I'd take a little time and use Albertsons sale this week as a good example of a grocery store promo that you can use to get some very inexpensive items. I will give you a step by step on what I do in hopes that it helps you get the hang of this yourselves.

1) Check out the grocery smarts planner (there is a link off to the right, towards the bottom of my Frugal Sites list).

2) Choose your store, in this case, Albertsons and shrink the planner down to show you just the 4 & 5 star deals. You do this by choosing your store from the drop down menu, click on the Start button, click on the red Stock Up Star, then click on the Shrink button. Now you should just see the 4 & 5 star deals from this weeks Albies ad.

3) Go through the good deals showing on the planner and see which items you might want to buy. In this case, I only went in for items from the Keebler/Kelloggs promo so for this tutorial I will just scroll down and focus on those items. But when you are making your list I would for sure check out which items outside of the promos you might want to get.

4) Make a list. I cut and paste the lines of items that I want to get from the planner into a word document. This is what my list looked like.

This is helpful when I get to the store because I know exactly what I need to get to hit the quotas and that can be tricky, especially if you are doing multiple promos at a time.

5) Then I went back to the planner to see what coupons are available so I could decide how many of which things to buy. This is a great promo to start with because there are a lot of internet printable coupons available. The planner will give you links to the coupons available so all you have to do is click on the link, select the coupons you want to print and print them out. Usually you can print 2 of each coupon per computer but there were some on this list that only let me print once. Once you see how many coupons you have you can decide what you want to buy. Just remember, on this type of promo you want to buy in increments of 10. Don't buy 9 items, you have to have 10 to get the $10 off instantly. Also, you don't have to seperate out your items into transactions of 10, you can buy 30 participating items all in one transaction if you want and the register will take off $30. That makes it easier. Just check your receipt before you leave the store to make sure that the right amount of money was taken off instantly.

These were the 10 items I bought.

I used $1/1 coupons on the cookies and the Cinnabon Bars and I used $.55/1 coupons (all IPs) on the crackers. In the end I paid $5.90 (plus tax) for these 10 items which works out to be $.59 each. Much better then buying them for $2.50 each.

One more piece of Albies info that might be helpful to you that live by me. The Albies on 78th & Redwood is my favorite Albies to shop at. BUT they only will let you use 2 of each type of IP in a transaction so I wouldn't have been able to do this there today because I had 6 of the cookie IPs. So I went to the store on 90th & Redwood which doesn't seem to care. Just FYI.

I usually look through Smiths and Maceys at the start of the new week (Wednesday for Grocery stores) to see who has good deals and to decide which store(s) are worth hitting that week.

Hope this helps!

Rite Aid 9/22

Well I went to Rite Aid in hopes of getting some super cheap Huggies diapers (see THIS Hip2Save post for details) but unfortunately, they were cleared out of the Pure & Natural diapers which I have to admit, wasn't surprising. But I still got some good stuff and made some money so I guess I won't complain and will just have to watch for another deal on diapers.

1st Transaction:

1 Clean & Clear cleanser on sale for $4.50
Used one $2/1 Clean & Clear coupons from here: IE or Firefox
Plus, I used one $3/1 Rite Aid Ad perks coupon
Final cost FREE + $0.50 in overage!

4 Tag Body Sprays - buy one get one 50% off
Used two buy one get one free coupons from the 8/30PG
Plus, I used two $2/1 coupon from the 8/2PG
Final cost $2 each - which I normally would still think is too much but in the end I still ended up making money so as you will see it was worth it.

I bag of Tostitos Chips ($3) - What can I say ... I was craving chips and salsa for lunch and was out of chips! :)

My total came to $27.09 so I was able to use the brand new $5 off $25 Rite Aid PDF coupon (which doesn't expire until 12/19/09!)

After all my coupons I paid $7.11 on my Rite Aid gift card so it cost me nothing OOP.

2nd Transaction (this was probably my best transaction ever!):

3 Clean & Clear cleansers on sale for $4.50
Used three $2/1 Clean & Clear coupons from here: IE or Firefox
Plus, I used three $3/1 Rite Aid Ad perks coupon
Final cost FREE + $1.50 in overage!

2 Tag Body Sprays - buy one get one 50% off
Used one buy one get one free coupons from the 8/30PG
Plus, I used one $2/1 coupon from the 8/2PG
Final cost $2.

After these items my total came to $24.05 so I threw in one $1 pack of Twix candy bars to get my total up to $25. This way I could use another $5 off $25 Rite Aid PDF coupon.

After all my coupons I paid $.06!!! on my Rite Aid gift card so it cost me nothing OOP. The thing I love about Rite Aid is that the coupons can dip into the tax where at Walgreens if you were trying to use a coupon that would bring you below the pretax amount you can't use it because it would cut into the tax you have to pay. No trouble with that at Rite Aid!

So my total spent (on my Rite Aid Gift Card) for today was $7.17 but I will submit my receipts online and get back $10 more in Gift Cards from Rite Aid through their Fall Gift of Savings program. So my total for today was a profit of $2.83!!

Wags 9/21

This week was a perfect example of a slow week where there wasn't anything that I really needed but I had Register Rewards that are expiring that I had to use up. So I went ahead and got a few new RR items, a bunch of filler items and still made a profit.

2 Oral-B indicator Toothbrushes 2/$4
Used the buy one get one free coupon from the 8/23RP
Got back a $2RR
Final cost 2 toothbrushes for FREE!
*Also, since the coupon was a B1G1 free coupon one of the toothbrushes counted as a filler item. If you were using a $1/2 coupon you wouldn't be able to use one of them as a filler item because the coupon is on 2 items. I know it's confusing but it will start to make more sense as you get more experienced at this. Just something to think about when you are dealing with Wags coupon to item ratio and you are in need of filler items.

5 Thermacare Heat Wraps (1 ct) $2.49
Used five $1/1 coupon from here
Got back a $2.50RR for each one (make sure you seperate them out, only one per transaction)
Final cost FREE + a $1 moneymaker!

I had ten $1 RRs that were expiring tomorrow that I needed to use up. It sure is easier to use higher value RRs because you have more money to pay down your total without needing as many filler items. I found a pack of pens in the clearance bins for $.25. I also used eight $.32 candies as filler items which will work out as great treats for my scout troop. Those nine, plus the one toothbrush were my 10 filler items so I could use up those expiring RRs.

In the end I spent $10 in RRs, $3.48 OOP and got back $14.50 in new RRs making my trip profitable by $1.02!!

Store Specifics - Grocery Stores

Okay, on to grocery stores. I am combining them into one post because the same basic rules apply to all the grocery stores I shop at like Albertsons, Smiths, Maceys etc.

1) As far as I know, all the grocery stores accept internet printable coupons. The Associated Foods stores such as Maceys have just changed their policy to accept these which is great!

2) Use the Grocery Smart Printable Planner to find the best deals of the week. Now, I don't shop the way normal people do. I don't write a list of what I need that week and then go out and buy it. I look at the upcoming deals and see what items have a great price (4 & 5 star deals) and stock up on those items that we need if I am out or running low on them. I do have to do some regular shopping for milk, bread and produce but I usually just do it while I am doing my stocking up shopping. You will find that as you build up a good store of items you don't NEED to buy so much in the week because you already have so many items on hand.

3) Promos are Great! Smiths & Albertsons (and occasionally the Associated Foods stores) will run promos that make it easy to get killer deals on many items. There are 2 main types of promos.

Here is an example from this weeks Albies ad of a CATALINA promo:
**Campbell's promo: Save $5 on your NEXT shopping order when you spend $15 on participating products.**
Included in this promo are their Campbells Chunky Soup. The planner will show you the sale price which is $1.25 each. The price is listed as 1.25/.84 which means that they are on sale for $1.25 each but with the promo factored in they work out to be $.84 each. So if you were to buy 12 of these (which equals $15) then after you pay a $5 catalina coupon will print out which you can use on your next order. This means you got all 12 of them for $10. The planner also shows coupons that you can use on that item. There is a $1/4 coupon in the 8/16 Smart Source so if you used 3 of these you would end up getting all 12 soups for $7 or $.59 each which is the price they show as the bottom line price in the right hand column.

Now you don't have to buy all of the same item, you can mix or match, just be sure that you get your BEFORE coupons total (using the first dollar amount listed in the planner) to $15. In this case if you were going to buy a lot of items you would want to seperate your transactions into $15 batches. If you bought $30 in one transaction only one $5 cat would print out. If you are going to go multiple transaction, do your first one, then use the cat that you got from that transaction to help pay down your out of pocket total on your next transaction and so on. It's a great way to get really great deals. Just be sure to check the dates on your catalina coupons because they do expire in 2 weeks from the date you get them.

Here is an example from this weeks Albies ad of a promo where you get a specific dollar amount off INSTANTLY:
**Nabisco promo: Save $3 instantly when you buy 4 participating items.**
Included in this promo are their Ritz Crackerfuls. The planner will show you the sale price which is $2.50 each. The price is listed as 2.50/1.75 which means that they are on sale for $2.50 each but with the promo factored in they work out to be $1.75 each. So if you were to buy 4 of these then the register will automatically take off $3 from your total. This means you got all 4 of them for $7. The planner also shows a $1/1 coupon from the 7/12 Smart Source so if you used 4 of these you would end up getting all 4 boxes of crackers for $3 or $.75 each which is the price they show as the bottom line price in the right hand column.

Again, you don't have to buy all of the same item, you can mix or match, just be sure that you buy items in increments of 4. If you are going to buy 7 items, you might as well pick up one more and get the extra discount. In this case you DO NOT have to seperate out your items. If you buy 12 participating items the register will take off $9.

Clear as Mud? Questions?

Store Specifics - Rite Aid

For those of you who are new to Rite Aid shopping, I found this helpful article (thanks SlickDeals) that should help answer some of your questions. I made some updates and adjustments to the article for our area. Before you read all this which might make your head spin let me just say that Rite Aid is great and actually quite easy. You buy items that there are rebates for that month, with a coupon when possible and end up getting back the money you spent and sometimes making a profit. Again, the bloggers will spell out the best deals for you weekly and list the coupons that can be used.

Rite Aid FAQ and General Information

Q: What is a SCR?
A: SCR stands for Single Check Rebate, Rite Aid’s monthly rewards/rebate program. Just register online and you can immediately start participating. Each month Rite Aid publishes a booklet that highlights the monthly deals—this information is also available on their website: https://riteaid.rebateplus.com/

Q: When do I submit my rebate?
A: Throughout the month as you make purchases, enter your register information on the website, or keep an envelope for mail submissions. At the end of the month, request your rebate by clicking the “request rebate” button. DO NOT request the rebate if you are planning to make any more rebate purchases that month, as you are only allowed one submission per month.

Q: I want to get two of the same item—will I get two rebates back?
A: Check the limitations for that item. Most of the SCR rebates are limited to one item per household.

Q: I submitted my receipt but I don’t see my rebates?
A: It typically takes 48 hours for a rebate to show up in your “Detailed Status” after you have submitted it, although sometimes it may be a little faster. If you have waited 48 hours and your status for that receipt still says “The following receipts are waiting for data from the store,” then something could be wrong (e.g. you bought the wrong item, or you bought it during the wrong dates). Double-check your purchase and then call the hot line for assistance: 1-888-213-9920 (8 AM - 7PM EST).

Q: An item is listed as FREE after SCR—can I use a coupon?
A: If you have a coupon for an item that is free after rebate (FAR) then definitely use it. You will get the full purchase price back, even if you used a coupon, thereby making a profit. Some items are free only AFTER SCR and a coupon, but the ad will usually be clear about this.

Q: Does Rite Aid take Internet printable coupons?
A: They used to not but recently they have changed their policy to accept them. However, sometimes they do limit how many you can use in a transaction so if I have a ton of IPs I usually try to split them up between transactions to avoid any problem.

Q: Does RA have store coupons like CVS and Walgreen's? If so, can you combine them with manufacturer’s coupons (MFC’s)?
A: RA does produce its own coupons and releases them either in the weekly flyer or in a separate pamphlet/booklet. However, they don’t necessarily work like other drugstore coupons. For example, YMMV (your mileage may vary) on combining them with MFC’s because they all typically say “manufacturer’s coupon” on them. However, in weekly ads, you may find small call-out boxes next to the RA coupon that say, “Look for additional coupons in your Sunday paper,” implying that they can be combined. It can be helpful to keep one of these examples in your coupon binder as ammunition against cashiers that want to reject your combination coupon purchase. Additionally, RA coupons almost always state, “limit 1 per customer.” Thus it is very YMMV on using two or more in a single purchase. While the register will accept them, the cashier might not. They do NOT work like a Walgreen's coupon where you only need one to get the reduced price for every item you are buying.

Q: Can I use a coupon if it is worth more than the item purchased?
A: The short answer is that, yes, you should be able to do this. The RA registers are reportedly set up to allow a manual input of the coupon amount (e.g. to enter a $1 off MFC as .99 if you're buying $1 toothpaste). However, not all cashiers are trained to do this. If you have trouble with a cashier, don't be afraid to ask for the manager because it is perfectly OK for you to use that coupon. For at least some RA's, if you have purchase balance over the coupon amount, the full amount of the coupon will scan through the register and the "overage" will come off your balance. YMMV on this, depending on the register and cashier's observational powers.

Q: There is an offer that says "Get a gift card with a $20 purchase." Is this before or after coupons?
A: Before coupon amounts are used to determine if you have met the required threshold to earn that gift card. In special circumstances, you can even use items that generate individual rebates toward that threshold AND the before rebate/before coupon price is used toward the total. For example, if there were a combined rebate for $25 back on $50 in Proctor & Gamble purchases and an individual offer for free Crest after $2.99 SCR, these MAY overlap so that you spend $1.99 on Crest after a MFC, get $2.99 back on the individual rebate, and a $2.99 credit toward the larger deal.

Q: Rite Aid has an item on sale for Buy One, Get One Free. Can I use coupons on both items? Can I use a B1G1 coupon to get both for free?
A: Another YMMV. You should be able to use two coupons with a B1G1. I have never had a problem with them accepting the B1G1 coupon on a B1G1 sale making both items free.

Q: If a rebate requires buying multiple items do you have to buy them all in one purchase (e.g. I need 3 mouthwashes and can only find 1 or 2 at each store)?
A: No, you may purchase these in separate transactions and enter each receipt separately. The website will combine them and let you know when you've purchased enough to earn the rebate.

Q: Can I combine the SCR with a manufacturer's rebate and get both?
A: Sometimes you can double/triple dip on a manufacturer's rebate if RA has one as well. You can submit online for the RA rebate and keep your receipt to submit for a manufacturer's rebate. Triple dip comes into play when there is also a coupon out for the product.

Q: Can I buy my items at anytime in the month?
A: Pay attention to the rebate dates--they are critical. Many of the rebates are valid for just a week and not the entire month. Also, the month doesn't begin and end neatly on the 1st and 30th/31st. Often a new SCR cycle straddles a couple of months.

Store Specifics - Target

I love Target. I think they are a great place to get great deals. Some people have had trouble with them but I usually don't have any problems. I would print out a copy of the Target Coupon Policy (thanks Hip2Save) and just have it with you incase they give you any problems.

I think there are 2 main problems that you might run into at Target.

1) The coupon is for more then the cost of the item and the coupon beeps. The checker should either just push it through OR adjust down the coupon to the cost of the item. If they tell you that they can't do that you can very politely but firmly tell them that you have a copy of their coorporate coupon policy which clearly states that they can.

2) The checker tells you that they can't accept the coupon for the item that you purchased because it's not specifically pictured on the coupon. The couple times they have tried this on me I politely but firmly tell them that they can't very well display a picture of everyone of that particular brand or line of items on their little coupon. Like with the cheese coupon - it says "$1 off with purchase of two Market Pantry cheese products". They tried to tell me that I couldn't use that on single cheese sticks because the picture was of the pack. But the wording doesn't say anything about it having to be the cheese stick packs. In the end, they rang my items and coupons through just fine and I didn't have to be mean about it, just stood my ground because I knew I was correct.

Target is great because they will often times do promos where you get back a $5 Target gift card with a specific purchase, like for example, "Get a $5 Target Gift Card with the Purchase of 5 Fiber One products. I did this deal and made money on Fiber One cereal. See THIS post for details. I usually have a couple gift cards and so I use those on my next trip in to pay for that trip, get back new gift cards and save them for my next trip in.

Also, you will often times be able to print of Target Store Coupons that you can use on trial size or smaller items making them free or even money makers. See THIS post and you will see I was able to do that with the J&J Soap Buddies bars.

You can check out what Target Coupons are available HERE and the great thing about them is you can print out as many as you like. If there is one that I know I will want to do a few times I usually print out a bunch and then use 5-10 of them on each trip. The coupons can disappear before their expiration date so that is the reason I often times will print out a lot of the ones I know I will want even if I am not going to use them right away.

You can always check out Hip2Save's Target posts for current deals to see if there is anything you are interested in getting. I just cut and paste the details of the deals I want to do into a Word document, print and clip the coupons I need and it makes it really easy when I get to the store.

Store Specifics - Walgreens

Continuing on with the class, I thought it might be helpful to go into store specific details on how each store works. I posted about how Walgreens works awhile back but I will repost it here. Walgreens is a great place to get great deals on health & beauty, toiletries, cleaning supplies and many other things. Much of what I have stocked our bathroom closet with has come from Walgreens (Wags for short) and much of it has been free or better then free. I will try to explain the basic idea of how Wags works and then feel free to ask me any questions that you have.

COUPONS:
Walgreens accepts 2 types of coupons. Store coupons and manufacturers coupons. Store coupons can be found in their weekly ad which comes in the Sunday paper, in the front of the store, or online at Walgreens.com. They also come out with coupon booklets occasionally which are great. Right now they have a September Coupon Booklet which you can get by the register and they also have a Healthy Savings Coupon Booklet which you can get either from the cashier or from the pharmacy. You can potentially use 2 coupons on the same product. If they have a coupon for an item in their weekly ad or their store coupon booklet you can use that as well as a manufacturers coupon on the same product!

REGISTER REWARDS:
Register rewards are manufacturers coupons that print out of a catalina machine next to the registers in all Walgreen's stores. You have probably seen these when you shop at stores like Albertsons and a coupon will print out along with your receipt. It's the same type of machine. The values vary depending upon the promotions going on at the time. Basically you save them to use like cash on your next purchase. For example if you have a $3 Register Reward and you purchase $3.75 worth of products the RR(register reward) will bring your total down to $.75! And sometimes the RRs are what makes an item better then free. For example, sometimes you will see items that are on sale for $4.50 with a $4.50 RR. But there is also a $1 off coupon for that item. So you pay $3.50 out of pocket (OOP) and get back a $4.50 RR making that item a $1 profit! HERE is a link to a typical weekly Walgreens post showing what I do.

Catalina machines are generally programmed to print one Register Reward coupon for one qualifying item. If you purchase more than one of the same qualifying items per transaction, you will only receive one Register Reward coupon. For example, if your weekly ad shows Colgate Total Toothpaste on sale for $2.50 with a $2.50 Register Reward, making it free, then you only want to by one of this item per transaction. If you bought 2 of these in the same transaction then only one $2.50RR would print out. In order to get more than one Register Reward coupon when purchasing more than one of the same qualifying items, request that the each item be rung up on a separate transaction. If you purchase different qualifying items in the same transaction you will receive one register reward for each item. So for example, if you bought two different items (like a toothpaste and a shaving cream) and both have a RR you can put those in the same transaction and you will get the RR for both of those items. You just can't do two of the same item in the same transaction to get more then one RR. Most weeks if you check the ad you will see 3 or more items that have RRs.

** One thing to remember, RR coupons expire 2 weeks after they are issued so make sure you spend them before they expire. I usually use the RRs I get one week on the next weeks RR items which is often called "Rolling" your RRs.

Maximize Your Savings:
The best scenario for maximizing your savings is to purchase sale items with a store coupon and a manufacturer's coupons plus a Register Reward. However, Walgreens' registers do not accept more MANUFACTURERS coupons than items. For example, if you buy 4 items and have 4 manufacturers coupons you can't use a RR to pay the remainder on those items because you would be using more coupons then items. The register treats the RR coupon like a manufacturers coupon. The store coupons don't count in the coupon to item ratio so you don't need to worry about that. To get around this, pick up an inexpensive item so that you have more items than coupons and the transaction will be processed. Drastically reduced items and end-of-season deals can often be found on the end of the aisles at Walgreens. By combining items you find at 75 percent or more off with coupons you can maximize your savings. I like to use the clearance items as my "filler" items. I have also found that photos from the photo department make good filler items. A 4x6" photo costs about $.19 with tax so if I need some pictures I just go online, submit them all as seperate orders and then I have a handful of filler items so that I can use my RRs and get something that I need. They often have little candies on clearance, especially after a holiday that make good cheap filler items.

Confused? Too much work?
It probably seems that way now. I know I was so confused when I first started trying to figure out Wags because they do have lots of little rules but after you have done it a few times, and messed up a few times :) you will see that it is worth it and that you can really get some killer deals. There are so many things that you can get for free or very cheap and once you figure out the system, you will be amazed at how much you can get for very little!

I find it's much easier for me when I plan out my Walgreens trip before I go. Now of course, they don't always have everything I want in stock, especially when it's a free item but if I have a plan then I can get in and out much quicker and I know what to expect and find I get better deals. Many of the blogs in my blog list in the right hand column will post the upcoming weeks Walgreens deals. Hip2Save is as always, my favorite frugal blog. You can go to her blog, click on the Walgreens link in the right hand column and all the Walgreens posts will come up showing clearance items found, RR deals both advertised and unadvertised and the weekly deals. I plan using that and then know what I am looking for when I get to the store. It does get much easier, I promise and it is SO WORTH IT! This is our bathroom closet which is chuck full of every health and beauty item we could possibly need and I got most of it for free or super cheap!

One last piece of advice is to just try it out and find a checker that is coupon friendly that you like and try to go to that checker as often as you can. I find it so much easier when I don't have to worry about getting a checker who is going to look at me like I just pointed a gun at their head for pulling out coupons. :) The staff at the 104th and Redwood store is WONDERFUL and they like couponers!

Questions? Feel free to ask!

Newspaper Deals and Other Coupon Options

Well we certainly didn't have enough time at the coupon class to answer all the questions you all had so I thought I would start posting some info that might be helpful to you as you get started with coupons. First and foremost, I have had a lot of people say to me "I guess we need to start getting the paper." I want to make sure that you all get the best deal on the paper so I went onto Pinching Your Pennies and here is the latest info they have posted about newspaper deals in our area.

Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune
Call: 1-866-755-NEWS (toll free #) ask for the Sunday only special

SLC Tribune Call: 801-204-6100
26 weeks for $26 (Fri-Sun print editions, Mon-Thur e-Edition)
Ask for discount code 26/26 (or 26/26J)

52 weeks for $39 (Fri-Sun print editions, Mon-Thur e-Edition)
Ask for discount code 52/39 (or code 52/39J)

This offer is only valid for a subscriber whose household has not subscribed to The Salt Lake Tribune during the past 60 days.

I get 2 papers, one Deseret News and one Tribune. I then get 2 additional sets of coupon inserts from neighbors. You can decide how many papers work for you. Remember that a lot of coupons are internet coupons so you don't have to get the paper, I just like to have both options.

My sister-in-law Alisa (bless her heart) who got me started doing this DOES NOT get the paper. She does pick up preview papers when she feels like there are coupons she would like to have. Preview papers are Sunday papers that are available to buy on Saturday and you can get them at Harmons, Walmart and other stores. The cost $2 for 2 papers and so that is a good way to get multiple coupons for an item that you want to stock up on. The bloggers will put out a coupon preview a few days in advance listing what coupons are going to be in the upcoming Sunday paper. HERE is a link to Hip2Save's coupon insert preview for this week. Keep in mind, here in the Salt Lake area we get the RedPlum insert in Tuesday's mail so it won't be in the paper.

Now there is another way to get ahold of multiple coupons when you really want to stock up on an item. You can buy coupons off of eBay or other coupon clipping services. Technically, coupons have no resale value so these coupon clipping services are only charging you for the time it takes to them clip the coupons and for the postage. I have only done this a few times, once for batteries, once for peanut butter and once for Breyers Ice Cream coupons. My sister-in-law, my sister and I ordered 50 Breyers coupons off of eBay awhile back and split them and ended up with freezers full of yummy ice cream for pennies on the dollar. HERE and HERE are links to those posts so you can see how they came in handy. It's usually super cheap to buy coupons and so it might be something to consider if there is a great sale coming up on something that you use a lot of. Another good example of this is Target often times has their packs of Rayovak batteries in their dollar bins at the front of the store. A few months ago a $1/1 coupon came out for any Rayovak battery pack. I ordered 20 of these coupons from a clipping service and I think it cost me about $3. With these 20 coupons I was then able to get 20 packs of batteries for free. With three little boys and all their noisy battery operated toys these come in really handy. The nice thing is that the bloggers usually will include a link to the eBay page where you can get the coupons when there is a great deal out there and coupons you can purchase. They really take a lot of the work out of this!!

Relief Society Coupon Class

I taught a coupon class tonight at Enrichment. It was super fun. Thanks for everyone who came. I know our time was short and there is lots more to talk about. Feel free to email me with any questions that you have.

Albies Doublers

I didn't even think to look in the paper yesterday for doublers because I figured we were done getting them here in Utah with Albies going away. Good thing I checked out PYP and found that there were some. They are on page A4 in the Trib and A6 in the Des News.

I went to Albies on my way back from Rite Aid this afternoon and used 2 sets of doublers.

I was able to get 8 boxes of Quaker Chewy Granola Bars for $.67 each and 8 Yoplait Yogurts for $.12 each.

Check out THIS PYP thread for doubler ideas.

Rite Aid 9/14

I don't go to Rite Aid all that often but I am really glad I went today!

All this cost me $10.73 OOP (it actually cost me nothing because I used my rebate checks and gift card from last month) and I will get back a $15 rebate for buying 10 J&J products. So I made $4.27 for buying these items!

Plus Rite Aid has a new program called the Fall Gift of Savings. Check out the details on Hip2Save's post HERE. This will get me back an additional $10 in gift cards making my profit $14.27!!

10 J&J Baby Care Items - $2.99 each
Used $10 in J&J coupons - check out Hip2Save's post HERE for coupon links
And I will get back a $15 rebate for buying 10 J&J items.

6 Covergirl makeup items on a B1G1 Free sale
Used three buy Foundation get any CoverGirl Face Product FREE from the 8/30PG
Plus, used three $1 coupon from the 8/30PG
Final cost all FREE + $3 in overage!

I did 2 transactions so I used the $5 off $25 coupon from here twice.

Wags 9/14

This should've cost me $113.08. Final Cost $0 with a PROFIT of $8.74!!

4 True North Nut Crisps or Clusters 4.5-5.5 oz - $3 each
Used four $1/1 coupon from here (will print immediately)
Got back a $3 RR.
Final cost FREE + a $1 moneymaker!

2 Triaminic Night Time Cold and Cough Syrup $5 each=$10
Used the $2/1 coupon from the Walgreens Healthy Savings coupon booklet (Will deduct $4 since you're purchasing two)
Paid $6 (I used two $3 cats from the True North Snacks)
Got back TWO $5 Register Rewards
Final cost 2 for FREE + a $4 moneymaker!
**I did this 5 times. On two of the transaction I had $1.50 IP coupons that I used making those 2 transactions each a $7 moneymaker. I also did one transaction with the Day Time Triaminic because I wanted to have some of that as well. That type only spits out one $5 cat so keep that in mind.
In the end I got 10 Children's Triaminics (just in time for winter colds) and made $21 on them!!

Ghirardelli Luxe chocolate bars are on clearance for just $0.65.
Plus, when you purchase them you can use $1/2 coupon from the September coupon booklet! Final cost as $0.15 per bar! (for the first 2)
BUT, after purchasing these bars a $0.75/2 Ghirardelli Catalina manufacturer coupon will print out. You can then go purchase 2 more bars and use the $0.75/2 manufacturer coupon and combine with the $1/2 Walgreens coupon from the September coupon booklet.
Final cost 2 bars for FREE + $0.45 in overage to go toward other items.
**You can keep "rolling" this deal because a new $0.75/2 Ghirardelli coupon will print out with each purchase!
In the end I got 6 Ghirardelli Luxe chocolate bars and made $.60 on them!!

Thanks to Hip2Save for the heads up on these deals. She is the BEST!

Target 9/10

Today was my first time to do the new Target price matching thing. I wish that they did it like Walmart does where they just change the price as you are checking out at the register but they do it as a refund at customer service after. It is a little more time but it worked just fine. The lady was wonderful (a real Jedi). It was her first time doing the price adjust as well and at first she wasn't sure if it would work because the receipt showed the Cherrios at $1.69 because of the $1/1 Target coupon. But she was willing to give it a try and the register calculated the adjustment just fine giving me back $.70 plus tax for each box.

Here is what I got today for only $3.38!!

6 BIG boxes of Cheerios - $2.69 each

Used three $1/2 manufacturers coupons
Plus, I used 6 $1/1 Target General Mills Cereal coupons
Then after I checked out I went to the Customer Service desk and they price adjusted to match the $1.99 price from the Walgreens ad from this week. This gave me back $5.04.
Final cost $.49 each!

5 boxes of Fiber One Cereal $2.50 each
Total=$12.50
Used five $0.75/1 coupons from here or here (You'll need to login or register to access the coupon)
Plus, I used 5 $1/1 Target General Mills Cereal coupons
Paid $3.75
Got back a $5 Target gift card
Final cost 5 boxes for FREE + a $1.25 moneymaker!

2 Rimmel Mascara (select varieties) $2.24
Used two $2 coupon from here or from the 8/23RP
Final cost $0.24 each!

18 Market Pantry Single String Cheese $0.40 each
Used nine $1/2 Target coupons from here (the register adjusted these coupons down to $.80/2 so there was no overage.)
Final cost 18 Cheese Sticks for FREE!

4 Clean & Clear Morning Burst Facial Scrub (1 oz) $.97 (in the travel size section)
Used four $1/1 coupons from the 8/2SS
Final cost FREE plus overage!

1 Glade Scented Oil Candle tin on sale for $1.66 each.
Used the $1.50/1 coupons found inside the tins.
Plus, I bought an additional refill pack and used the buy a Glade Scented Oil Candle Holder get a refill pack FREE coupon from HERE. (If you don't see the coupon, try zip code 90210. There is also one in the 8/23SS.)
Final cost both for just $.16!

Wags 9/8

I was able to score a lot of free and moneymaking candles at Wags today.

4 Reese's Peanut Butter Candy Bars for $1 each
Used 2 B1G1 coupons from the 8/23SS
When you buy 2 you get back a $1RR.
Final cost FREE!

10 Glade Scented Oil Tins for $2/4
Used ten $1.50/1 coupons found inside the tins

I seperated these out into seperate transactions so I only had 2 per transaction.
When you buy 2 you get back a $1RR.

Final cost FREE!

4 Glade 2 oz. Candles for $2 each
Used 2 $3/1 coupons from here (use zip code 90210)
Had to throw in some filler items to absorb the $2 in overage
Paid nothing but the tax
When you buy 2 you get back a $1RR.
Final cost FREE + $1 back and $2 in coupon overage!

**Make sure you don't buy these types of candles along with the Scented Oil Tins because both RRs won't spit out since they are the same company and the same $RR amount.

8 Glade 2 oz. Candles for $2 each
Used the $3/2 coupon from the 8/9SS or from here
Pay $1 (I actually threw in some extra filler items, things I found good deals on and things we needed so that I could pay less and use up some of my RRs from last week.)
When you buy 2 you get back a $1RR.
Final cost FREE!

Thomas Nelson Book Review - Fearless

I really like Max Lucado’s books. I especially like his children’s books: “If Only I Had A Green Nose” and “You Are Special”. So I was looking forward to reading an adult book from him and I liked it. It was a good, upbeat book written to remind you that although there are things worth fearing in this world, that God is ultimately in charge and that there really is no need to be crippled by fear. I found his writing to be very witty, not written like a lot of self help books that sound really clinical, like they were written by a “Doctor”. It was a quick easy read that touched on key points Christ made during his ministry that are recorded in the bible. I found myself at different points in the book thinking of people that I know that I really felt could benefit from the book or that particular section specifically. I would recommend this book as a worthwhile read, especially if you are feeling a bit down and discouraged by all the troubles we find in the world around us. Max Lucado’s insights can really help you see the world from a different perspective, as a place that you don’t need to fear.

Target 9/3 - MONEYMAKER Trip!

I guess you could say I am becoming a bit of a Target junkie. Since afternoon nap time is a thing of the past sometimes it's nice to get out of the house and do something. I ended up at Target this afternoon and got some great deals.

4 boxes of Kellogg's Special K crackers - $2.39 each
Total=$9.56
Used three $1/1 coupons from here
(Coupons.com is only letting you print this once per computer so I was only able to print out 3)Plus I used four $0.50/1 Target coupons
Paid $4.56
Get back a $5 Target gift card
Final cost 4 boxes for FREE + a $.44 moneymaker!

5 Johnson’s Soap Buddies Bars $0.97 each
Used five $1 Target coupons
Final cost FREE!

1 Tide Bounce Dryer Bar $3.74
Used the $2.50 coupon from Vocalpoint
Plus, I used the $1.50 Target coupon from the 8/23RP
Final cost as low as FREE + overage!

1 Glade Scented Oil Candle tin on sale for $1.66 each.
Use the $1.50/1 coupons found inside the tins. (I really wish people wouldn't take coupons out of the items that they aren't going to buy. That is just selfish!)
Plus, I bought an additional refill pack and used the buy a Glade Scented Oil Candle Holder get a refill pack FREE coupon from HERE. (If you don't see the coupon, try zip code 90210. There is also one in the 8/23SS.)
Final cost both for just $.16!

20 Market Pantry Single String Cheese $0.40 each
Used ten $1/2 Target coupon from here
Final cost 20 String Cheeses for FREE
** I got a bit of a Nazi checker and she tried to tell me that I couldn't use this coupon on the single cheese sticks because the picture showed the bagged kind. I politely stood my ground and told her that the coupon said "Any Market Pantry Cheese Product" and that they can't very well picture everyone of their products on the coupon. She realized I wasn't going to give in and took them although she did adjust the coupons down to $.80/2 so there was no overage which is fine. I am off on a tangent here but my sister in Montana went to Target yesterday and there was a lady that had been in before them who threw a fit at the checker because they wanted to adjust down the cheese coupon and wouldn't let her have the overage. Overage is nice and a great bonus but it is there right to adjust the coupon down so don't expect to get the overage and then when you do it's just a nice bonus.

In the end I spent $4.73 OOP ($34.67 in savings) but got back a $5 GiftCard from the Special K crackers so I ended up making money! Yeah ... I love Target!