Rite Aid: 04/23/2011

Today I went to Rite Aid with the intention of buying Air Wick Aerosol Spray, Lysol Disinfecting Wipes, and Snickers Marathon Bars.  Rite Aid has the Air Wick sprays for BOGO, and the Lysol Wipes for 2 for $5.  I have Lysol Coupons that would have made them free.  I also had a good deal on Snickers Marathon Bars.  They are $1.49 each and they are BOGO this week.  And I had a Rite Aid coupon for $1 off of 4.  So instead of $5.96 for 4 it would have only been $1.98 for 4.  But at the last minute, my husband and I decided we didn't want them.  So I was just going to get the Air Wick spray and the Lysol Wipes.


When I got there I was sad to discover that they were out of Lysol Wipes.  I asked if they had anymore in the back, but they didn't.  So I got a rain check for when they do get them back in the store, I can get the sale price of $2.50 each or 2 for $5 instead of the everyday price of $3.49 each.  Right now I only have enough coupons to get 2 for free, so I only got 2 rain checks.  But now I'm wondering if I should have gotten a rain check for more, in case I get more coupons before they come in.  Oh well, too late now.


So my entire order was just the two Air Wick sprays.


Retail Price:

• 2 Air Wick Aerosol Sprays: $1.69 each (Total $3.38)

SubTotal: $3.38

My Price:

• 2 Air Wick Aerosol Sprays: $3.38 - BOGO($1.69) = $1.69 - $1.00 Coupon = $0.69

My SubTotal: $0.69

And then of course with Tax, it came to $0.84

But if you look at the SubTotals before the tax, then $3.38 - $0.69 = $2.69

Soooo I saved $2.69.  Not too shabby.  

~*~*FREE Kiwi @ Price Chopper*~*~

Price Chopper has been advertising a FREE kiwi!  All you have to do is go to a Price Chopper that has a pharmacy in it, grab a coupon and a kiwi, head to the register and check-out with your free kiwi.

Unfortunately, my Price Chopper location does not have a pharmacy in it, so I have been unable to get the free kiwi coupon.  And I didn't really think a free kiwi was worth it to drive all the way to another location that does have a pharmacy in it...Unless I happened to be in the area.

This morning as I was leaving my doctor's appointment, I realized I was right across the street from a different Price Chopper.  So I decided to stop in quick and see if it had a pharmacy.   And it did!  So I ran in quickly to grab a few free kiwi coupons.  I started to leave, when I began to wonder if my pharmacy-less Price Chopper might not honor the coupon.  I would assume that any Price Chopper, pharmacy or not, should honor the coupon...But I do not know that for sure.

There was a stand of kiwis conveniently located right near the coupons.  The sign said that the kiwis were two for $1...But I think that you can only use one coupon per transaction.  So I just grabbed one kiwi and ran to the register without any other items.  And I got my one free kiwi.
I  have a few more coupons that I might try to bring to my location and see if they'll honor it or not.  If not, then at least I got my one free kiwi! :)

And that made my day!  Haha


Today's Price Chopper Trip:

• 1 Kiwi - $0.50 

Total: $0.50


My Cost: $0.00

Savings: $0.50

I LOVE WHEN MY TOTAL IS FREE! :)

^^My FREE Kiwi^^

~*~*FREE $35 COUPON BOOK*~*~

Click Here to sign up to have a FREE Coupon Book with $35 worth of coupons in it mailed to your house!!  :)


The book should include coupons for Cascade, Dawn, Febreze, Home Made Simple, Mr. Clean, & Swiffer products!  :)

~*~*COUPON FOR FREE REAM OF PAPER AT STAPLES*~*~

This is the THIRD free ream of paper that I have noticed that Staples has offered in the last 2 weeks.  I missed the first one I mentioned...And I never even posted about the second one, but I missed that too.  Staples is not really all that close to me, so I keep missing it.  But I don't want anyone else to miss out on it, so please go ahead and Click Here for the coupon!!  :)


Valid through 4/23/11 in Staples US stores only. 

~*~*Groupon - 4/21/2011: $20 for a $40 General Mills Sampler Pack, Coupon Book*~*~

Today's Groupon deal is for a General Mills Sampler Pack & Coupon Book...Supposedly a $40 value...For only $20 (Including the cost of shipping it all to your house).

According to the site:

"Today's sampler pack arrives at the doorstep stuffed with the following delectable edibles:

• 12.8 ounce Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal
• 13 ounce Reese's Puffs cereal
• 12 ounce Kix cereal
• 12.8 ounce Cascadian Farms Organic cereal
• 5.8 ounce Fiber One 90-Calorie Chewy Bars
• 5.8 ounce Hamburger Helper
• 11 ounce Green Giant Corn Niblets
• 9.5 ounce Old El Paso Tortilla Stuffers
• 5 ounce Fruit Roll-Ups
• 10.5 ounce Chex Mix Muddy Buddies snack mix
• 17.5 ounce Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix
• 13.7 ounce Wanchai Ferry Orange Chicken dinner kit"

And then of course you get coupons too.  

It seems like a tempting deal.   But I am still trying to stick with only using free coupons for now.  Granted, I don't know how much longer I will be sticking with that rule.  But for now, I will probably pass on this offer.  But I definitely thought it was worth sharing with others! :)

If you want to buy it, you need to hurry because it says that there is a limited quantity and over 2,000 were already sold!  Also, there is only 16 hours left to purchase it!  Soooooo tempting!!

Full Details Here

I broke it down to try to justify the cost...

So you are getting 12 sample-sized items...That are probably the sizes of normal free samples.  But say you are just paying the $20 for those 12 items.  So $20/12 = ~ $1.67 an item.  So if you want to look at it like you're paying $1.67 for each sample size item, and then all of the money saving coupons you get (I don't know how much they add up to) are FREE...Then you use your free coupons to save money off of future grocery purchases.

The other way to look at is that you are purchasing the coupons for $20...In the hopes that you use every single one and it saves you OVER $20 on future grocery bills...And then all of the sample sized items are FREE!


If I knew how many coupons you were getting I could add that to the 12 items and divide again to see the cost...But oh well.  I guess you get the idea.  Presumably the items you are getting samples of is my guess as to what coupons they are sending you...So I guess if you know that you plan on purchasing those items in the future, of if your store frequently has them on sale, then I'd say go for it.  But I think I am going to hold off for now.




EDIT:  The more I thought about it, the more I'm thinking that maybe these are full sized items that they are sending you, NOT sample-sized.  I really didn't pay attention to the sizes listed above earlier...So if these are the normal sized items, then getting them for around $1.67 each is probably worth it, PLUS the coupons you will get to save on future purchases.  It is a give and take though...For example a single Fiber 1 cereal bar is probably less than $1.67, but a single package of Wanchai Ferry is probably more than $1.67.  So it probably does even out.

It might not be worth it for me, because those really aren't items I purchase.  If they were, then getting them at a discounted rate and mailed to your door, does seem like a good deal.  Plus the coupons off of future purchases of (presumably) those items.

So to reiterate...Those might be regular sized items and NOT sample sizes...And if those are items you frequently buy, you probably should take them up on this offer.
I am probably going to pass on it, but it is ABSOLUTELY TEMPTING!!



EDIT #2:  It has been confirmed what coupons are included in the coupon book:

• $1 off 2 Nature Valley Granola Bars
• $1 off 2 Chex Mix Snack Mix
• $1 off 1 Bisquick
• $1 off 2 Betty Crocker Supreme Brownies or Bars
• $1 off 3 Pillsbury Refrigerated Baked Goods
• $1 off 2 Pillsbury Frozen Baked Goods (ex-Savorings)
• $1 off 2 Suddenly Salad
• $1 off 2 Old El Paso
• $1 off 3 Hamburger Helper
• $1 off 8 Yoplait Yogurt Cups
• $1 off 2 GoGurt, Trix or Splitz Yogurt
• $1 off 2 Cheerios
• $1 off 2 Adult Cereals
• $1 off 2 Kids Cereals
• $1 off 1 Kix Cereal

EDIT #3:  I just went to the website to check on how many were sold and how much time is left...And the deal is SOLD OUT!!  So I hope that everyone who wanted one got one!  :)

All You Magazine...To Subscribe or Not To Subscribe?

Every Couponing Blog I read constantly mentions how wonderful the magazine All You Magazine is.  I had never heard of it before.  But apparently each month it has a TON of coupons in it.  So many that the magazine pays for itself.  I have been hesitant on ordering it, since I am trying to stick with only using coupons that I get for free.

But when you subscribe for the full year, it comes to $1.66 or $1.67 an issue...Or even $1.42 an issue when you buy 2 full years. And if you are going to use the coupons each month to save over $2, then the magazine kind of pays for itself.  I presume you would save way over $2/Month with these coupons at least.

So while contemplating whether or not I want to order this magazine, I had an idea.  I have been collecting the points off of the caps of Coke products for years on My Coke Rewards.  And I normally never know what to cash the points in for, so I usually always just use them to get subscriptions to magazines.  Now note the fact that most of these Coke points are never from anything I buy, they are usually ones I take from friends who have purchased a Coke product but are not collecting the rewards points for themselves.  Thus resulting in whatever I cash them in for to be absolutely free to me.

Which brings us to the wonderful idea I had.  What if I could cash them in for a subscription to All You Magazine?  I have enough points to even subscribe to the magazine twice, and get double the amount of coupons for FREE!

Sadly, I just checked MCR's site, and that magazine is not one of the options.  :(

I am really disappointed.  Because I got really excited thinking about at least getting one year of that magazine and all of the coupons for free.


So the other thing I am wondering is, how much does this magazine cost per issue from a store?  Because a lot of websites list the coupons that each month's issues have in it.  So I am wondering if I just wait until the list comes out, see if there are any coupons I need, and then go to the store and pay per issue.  That way I won't be paying for issues that might not have any coupons in it that I need.  But it also depends on how much the magazine will cost.  If it seems that there are always good coupons in it, and I end up buying it monthly at the store anyway, then it is probably cheaper in the long run to just order a subscription.


I guess I need to think about this some more...

~*~*FREE STARBUCKS COFFEE: April 22, 2011*~*~

In honor of Earth Day on Friday, Starbucks is offering FREE coffee!

Here are the important details:

"On April 22 we’re inviting everyone to bring in a reusable mug or tumbler and get a free brewed coffee or tea. Your choice of brew, hot or iced – it is spring after all! This is happening at participating stores in the United States and Canada."


"If you don’t have a tumbler or travel mug, they will be available for 20% off on Earth Day, April 22. Just so you know, anytime you bring in your own tumbler or travel mug to a participating Starbucks, you get 10 cents off your drink every day."






Unfortunately my closest Starbucks is over an hour away, so I will not be partaking in this event.  However, I hate to see a good deal go to waste.  So I am trying to tell everyone about it, so that someone will be able to take them up on this nice offer! :)


Here are the full details

Price Chopper: 04/16/2011

I think I still have a lot to learn.  I have only been doing this really for a week.  But I know I have a lot to learn still.  Especially because I have now been making multiple grocery trips.  We used to only go once a week, and the occasional during the week for emergency items.  But now I seem to make a couple "couponing trips" and then another trip for whatever other items we need for the week that weren't part of my coupon/sale items.  I need to absolutely figure out how to incorporate that all into one trip.  I need to sit down and make a list of everything we need and try to find coupons for those items.  Like I said, I still have a lot to learn...


I had my Price Chopper trip for today all mapped out. (Which was good, because the cashier didn't ring up one of my $1off coupons, and I might not have noticed it if I hadn't already done the math and saw that the total was $1 more than it should have been.  By coincidence a manager was walking by, told him he didn't ring up a coupon, he insisted he did, but then I insisted he didn't because I knew what the total was supposed to be.  So then he took the $1 off.)
Originally there were two sale items that I was excited about going to buy.  But then as I saw what else I needed to buy, my total grew larger than I wanted it to, so I nixed those two things.  One was that Price Chopper had Marzetti Salad Dressings BOGO.  So at $3.99 each it would normally cost $7.98 for two, but would just be $3.99 for two and I had a $1 off coupon.  So it would have only been $2.99 for two...But since I usually make my own salad dressing, I decided against getting them to save money.

The other item I was originally excited about getting was Land O'Lakes Margarine.  It is normally $2.49 a pack but Price Chopper was doing a BOGO on that and I had a $1 off coupon.  So instead of $4.98 for two boxes I would have gotten two boxes for $1.49.  But I talked myself out of that deal too.


So here is what I did get:



Actual Prices:

• 2 Bags of Dole Lettuce: $3.99 each (Total: $7.98)
• 2 Boxes of Ronzoni Quick Cook Pasta: $1.49 each (Total: $2.98)
• 2 Boxes of Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta: $1.59 each (Total: $3.18)
• 2 Packages of Texas Toast Croutons: $1.99 each (Total: $3.98)
• 2 Packages of Marzetti Croutons: $1.99 each (Total: $3.98)
• 4 Cans of Hunt's Crushed Tomatoes: $1.99 each (Total: $7.96)
• 1 Container of Almond Breeze Milk: $3.49
• 3 Cans of Price Chopper Brand Diced Beets: $0.69 each (Total $2.07) 

Total: $35.62

My Prices:

• 2 Bags of Dole Lettuce: $7.98 - BOGO($3.99) = $3.99
• 2 Boxes of Ronzoni Quick Cook Pasta: $2.98 - BOGO($1.49) = $1.49 - $1 Coupon = $0.49
• 2 Boxes of Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta: $3.18 - BOGO($1.59) = $1.59 - $1 Coupon = $0.59
• 2 Packages of Texas Toast Croutons: $3.98 - BOGO($1.99) = $1.99
• 2 Packages of Marzetti Croutons: $3.98 - BOGO($1.99) = $1.99
• 4 Cans of Hunt's Crushed Tomatoes: $7.96 - BOGO($1.99) = $5.97 - BOGO(1.99) = $3.98 - $1 Coupon = $2.98
• 1 Container of Almond Breeze Milk: $3.49 - $0.49 Sale = $3.00 - $0.55 Coupon = $2.45
• 3 Cans of Price Chopper Brand Diced Beets: $2.07 - $0.50 Coupon = $1.57

My Total: $16.05

So I was kind of mad at myself...Because spending almost $20 just doesn't seem like I did something right.  Especially when everything was either on sale, or Buy One Get One Free, or I had a coupon.

But when you look at the fact that I DID save $19.57, I guess that's not too bad.

Oh, but one thing that sucks...When I got home I found a $1 off coupon for the Almond Breeze Milk that I could have stacked with the $0.55 coupon.  So my milk could have cost me $1.45 instead of $2.45.  Kinda pissed about it, but what can you do about it now?  

Unfortunately, I am sure that for the next few hours I will be repeating to myself that I could have spent only $15.05 and saved $20.57...

Rite Aid: 04/16/2011

I haven't done any Extreme Couponing at Ride Aid yet.  But Rite Aid had the Air Wick Scented Oil Units on sale, and I had a coupon.  So I decided to check it out.


Outcome:

• 1 Air Wick Scented Oil Unit - $0.99 

It became $0.88 with your Rewards Card.  And I had a coupon for $1 off. 

So it was FREE!  

I have coupons for the re-fills, but since they wren't on sale I decided to wait and see if I can use my coupons somewhere that might have them on sale.  

So yes, obviously my unit is useless right now without and refills, but I couldn't pass up FREE! :)

Subway: 04/16/2011

A lot of grocery stores or fast food restaurants have a code on the receipt that tell you to call a number or go online to take a survey to enter to win a contest or get a free item.  For example, Subway's receipts tell you to go online to take a survey and get a free cookie.  I always ignore it.  But for some reason a few weeks ago I decided to see how long the survey was.  It turns out that it was less than a minute and now I get a free cookie on my next visit.

Speaking of Subway, I have had today's date marked on my calendar for at least a month now.  Because today Subway is doing a Buy One Foot Long, Get One Foot Long Free!

So I went to Subway to do that today.  I knew it would be crowded, but when I got there it was crazy!  Granted, going at 12:30pm was a poor decision.  But still, there was no spots in the parking lot, and a line out the door.  But I wasn't angry because I had anticipated it.

So after about a 30-45 minute wait, here was my outcome:

• 2 Foot Long Subs: $6.00 each, Total: $12.00
• 1 Cookie: $0.49

Total Before Tax: $12.49

MY TOTAL Before Tax: $6.00 

Yay!  I saved $6.49 :)

Sorry, I didn't take a picture...But everyone knows what a sub and a cookie look like, so I didn't think it was necessary.  

Price Chopper: 04/15/2011

Today's Price Chopper Trip:


Actual Prices:

• 3 6.4oz Tubes of Colgate Toothpaste: $3.29 each (Total: $9.87)
• 2 Boxes of Ronzoni Quick Cook Pasta: $1.49 each (Total: $2.98)
• 2 Boxes of Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta: $1.59 each (Total: $3.18)
• 2 Packages of Ball Park Franks: $3.99 each (Total: $7.98)
• 1 Package of Hillshire Farms CheddarWurst: $3.99 
• 1 24oz Price Chopper Brand Ketchup: $1.59

SUBTOTAL: $29.59

My Prices: 

• 3 6.4oz Tubes of Colgate Toothpaste: $9.87 - BOG2($6.58)  = $3.29 - $1 Coupon = $2.29
• 2 Boxes of Ronzoni Quick Cook Pasta: $2.98 - BOGO($1.49) = $1.49 - $1 Coupon = $0.49
• 2 Boxes of Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta: $3.18 - BOGO($1.59) = $1.59 - $1 Coupon = $0.59
• 2 Packages of Ball Park Franks: $7.98 - BOGO(3.99) = $3.99 - $1 Coupon = $2.99 - $1 Coupon = $1.99
• 1 Package of Hillshire Farms CheddarWurst: $3.99 - $2 Coupon = $1.99
• 1 24oz Price Chopper Brand Ketchup: $1.59 - $0.59off Sale = $1 - $0.50 Coupon = $0.50

SUBTOTAL: $7.85

But for some reason my receipt shows that I gave another $1 off coupon...Which I have no recollection of having...Or even any other items that it could have been taken off of.  But hey, that works out in my favor for all of the other times Price Chopper screwed me over.  And I was so busy making sure that all of the BOGOs and coupons worked correctly, that I HONESTLY didn't realize the extra dollar off until later.

So my actual SubTotal came to: $6.85


Plus 8.750% Sales Tax of $0.29 = GRAND TOTAL: $7.14






$29.59 - $6.85 = A Savings of $22.74

I put a lot of time, thought, and of course MATH into this trip.  So I am pleased overall.  

Always Double-Check!

On Sunday my Husband and I were shopping for a few groceries that I did not have coupons for and thus did not buy on my Friday and Saturday trips.  Among the necessary non-sale/non-coupon items was toothpaste.  Our tube of toothpaste was just about empty, so it was something we needed no matter what.  My Husband is very particular about the kind of Colgate he likes.  So imagine our surprise when we went to the Colgate section of Walmart we found that someone (who I have affectionately named the "Coupon Gods") had left us TWO coupons for $1 off any Colgate.  It was the kind you cut out of the newspaper inserts...A.K.A. the kind of coupon I do not have since I only have the Print-For-Free-From-The-Internet-Kind.  So I was really excited that there was randomly a coupon, that I did not have, for a product we needed right that second!  My Husband took one for the one box of toothpaste we were buying, and left the other coupon.  Greedy me decided to take both coupons.  Yes, I should have been nice and left the second coupon for the next person who might need it.  But the fact is, I have become coupon crazy.  Thus I took it.

Now fast-forward to Wednesday when I was searching the on-sale items at Price Chopper, with items I could find coupons for.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Price Chopper is doing a Buy One Colgate Get TWO of the same kinds of Colgate for FREE!  Now mix that with my other $1 off 1 Colgate...And you got yourself 3 Colgates for less than the price of one!  Needless to say, I was ecstatic!  I know it's extremely sad, but one of the only things I have been able to think about since Wednesday is what a great deal I am going to get on not just any toothpaste, but in fact the exact one my husband loves!

Yesterday when I was on my 'check the every day price of items trip', Colgate was one of the items I checked.  I saw that the kind my husband likes came in two sizes: 7.8oz for $4.29 and 6oz for $3.99.  I know that bigger isn't always the cheaper option.  And in this case you would be paying $0.30 more for 1.8oz more.  But since you would be getting 3 tubes, I decided that at $0.10 more each, the bigger size seemed worth it.  While I was in the Colgate section, I noticed that only some of the types of Colgate had a "BOG2" sign next to them.  I didn't notice any restrictions on kinds in the circular, so I went to Customer Service and asked if there were any restrictions on the BOG2 toothpastes.  The guy's answer: "I think so, but I don't know what." He then fumbled through the circular and said "Oh I guess there aren't any restrictions."  So I took that to mean I could get the big size on the particular kind, despite there not being a "BOG2" in front of it.

Again, it is sad to admit, but all I thought about all last night and today was getting that toothpaste, and how upset I will be if I can't get the discount on the particular kind.  So when I went to Price Chopper today, I got out the circular again to double-check that I wasn't missing any restrictions.  And THAT'S when I noticed, the add said the BOG2's were only on any 6.4oz size.  Now for some strange reason, the particular Colgate my husband prefers just doesn't come in 6.4oz.  And the closer I looked in the aisle, I noticed that the only kinds that did have a "BOG2" signs in front of them were the kinds that came in 6.4oz.  So I could have grabbed the 6oz and would have most likely had an issue at the register, and would have had to call a manager over and then would have tried to argue my way into getting it.  Or I could have just said "forget it" and not get any toothpaste at all.  And then kept my $1 off coupon in the hopes that I can find a store with a sale on that particular toothpaste by next week when the coupon expires.  I decided that my chances of that were rather slim.  So I called up my husband to ask him what other kinds of Colgates he likes...He didn't know.  And I couldn't remember a time we used any other kind, so I didn't know either.  So I just picked out a different type of Colgate that is hopefully fine, and that was 6.4oz @ 3.29, got 2 more identical ones (you had to get 3 of the same) and used my $1 off coupon.

So instead of paying $9.87 for 3 tubes of toothpaste, I got all 3 for just $2.29!  I think that is a pretty good deal.  I am still a little angry that the preferred kind didn't come in 6.4oz, or that Price Chopper only allowed you to get the 6.4oz kind.  But all in all, saving $7.58 on toothpaste...And having it come to actually like $0.76 a tube...Seemed like a pretty good deal.  And now we're set on toothpaste for a while.  So hopefully I'll find another great deal by the time we're almost out! I think if you want to be thrifty, you can't be too particular on your brands and such.  At least in this case it was still Colgate, just a different kind.

In conclusion, this just goes to prove

Quickie Trip: 04/14/2011

Yesterday I decided to search through the Price Chopper circular specifically for any items that were BOGO (Buy One, Get One Free).  I then searched for coupons for only those items.  It also occurred to me, that maybe I should go to Price Chopper every day for the sole purpose of getting my Daily Random Free Coupon Print-Outs at the store...Since they are good for a week.  I don't know if that is worth it to drive there just for coupons, but it is absolutely tempting.

So today I decided that I would run to the store on my lunch break and price out everything I was thinking of buying tomorrow or Saturday...Everything that was on the list I made of BOGO items with coupons.  I figured I would write down all of the every day costs of each of the items, then figure out the math later to see how much I would save.  This way I would know before I started my shopping trip exactly how much everything would cost me, and what might not even be worth buying.  I thought this might make it a little bit easier than all the math I was doing on the fly on last week's trips.

While there, I would also get my Daily Coupon Print-Outs.  

I eat a salad every day for lunch, and while I was finishing up my salad today before I ran to the store, it reminded me that I am out of salad for tomorrow's lunch.  I checked on Price Chopper's site, and they had a printable coupon for $0.99 off of a 12oz bag of Fresh Dole Classic Iceberg Salad (normally $1.99).  So I printed that out and headed to the store.

When I got there I found a few more BOGO signs than what was advertised on their website.  They had all 12oz Fresh Blend bags of salad for BOGO.  They are normally $3.99 each, so for $3.99 you'd get two bags.  Not a great deal, but decent.  Especially considering I go through 4-5 bags of salad  a week.  And even if I wasn't out for tomorrow, I would need to be buying some this weekend anyway.  And that's the kind I always buy, with or without a coupon or a sale.

I tried to just get the Iceberg for $1.99 with the $0.99 off coupon, and bag of Dole for $3.99 for the BOGO.  But that didn't work, and I had to get another $3.99 Dole bag to complete the BOGO.  I was tempted to forget the BOGO altogether and just get the one bag for $1, but I figured since I would need to be buying it anyway, I might as well get one for free.  I was a little angry, but maybe it's because I am sick of Iceberg and try to go with Romaine nowadays.  So I could have skipped the Iceberg altogether, but it just seemed like a good deal, so I got all 3.


So in addition to spotting a few other BOGO items, getting a print out of coupons (undetermined at this point if I will be using them), and getting a listing of all of the prices I wanted, I also got the following:

• 1 Bag of Dole Classic Iceberg Lettuce - $1.99 
• 1 Bag of Dole Baby Spinach - $3.99
• 1 Bag of Dole Very Veggie - $3.99

Why yes, I did take a picture of my lettuce at work just so I could upload it to my blog.  ;)

Subtotal: $9.97

My Price: $4.99

TOTAL SAVINGS: $4.98

Not the best, but still better than paying full price, right?

~*~*COUPON FOR FREE REAM OF PAPER AT STAPLES*~*~

I haven't actually made it over to Staples yet to try this out, but I plan on it!

If you click here it will bring you to a printable coupon that you bring to Staples...And then they will give you the rebate for the HP Multipurpose Paper Ream.  I don't know how much the paper should cost, but supposedly after the rebate it will be absolutely free.  




Note: *Valid 4/13/11-4/16/11 in Staples US stores only.


Which means, we need to get to Staples by Saturday to try this out!

Two More Trips: 04/09/2011

As I said in my last post, I had every intention of going back to the same Price Chopper again the following day. But as I was planning my day, I realized I had to go to the mall for a few things.  With that addition to my trip, I decided I might as well go to the Price Chopper that was across from the mall too.  The Price Chopper I usually go to is only about 6 minutes from my house.  The other one is more like 15 minutes.  I wasn't going to go to the further one, but figured since I was going to the mall and I would be right there anyway, I might as well take advantage of those awesome coupons.  There actually were other Price Choppers in that radius that I could have hit up, but I didn't bother.

Now, I could have planned my two Price Chopper trips for that the day as buying the exact same items as the prior day to total about $0.30 for everything.  But I decided that I should buy more items that we needed.  For example, with those sales and great coupons, we figured we should stock up on more boxes of pasta.   I knew this would mean that the totals would be more than a dime, but it would also be worth it.  It would also mean that I would have to make sure to only stick to 10 items total.

When planning my trip, I had called my Mother to see if she wanted me to show her how well I am doing at this couponing thing and I would print her some of those awesome coupons and have her take a trip with me.  She said she was too busy running errands but would come along on one of these trips with me another day.

So I set off for my day at about 11am. I had so much to do.  I had to go to the Post Office, a ton of stores to buy various things and return other things, and then my day would end with my two Price Chopper trips.  (I didn't get home until after 7pm, but it was all worth it).

While walking around at the Price Chopper that was not my usual location, I learned what I think is a valuable lesson for couponing.  I discovered that their normal price of Price Chopper brand pasta at this store was $1.09 (my location has them at $1.19).  AND I learned that the types of pasta that were on sale for $1 at this location is NOT the same as the types of pasta that were on sale for $1 at my location.

Also, my only good coupon from my Daily Rewards print-out that day was for $.50 off a Price Chopper brand Orange Juice...I decided I would use this as one of my 10 items, because we usually buy the store brand of Orange Juice at whatever store we happened to be shopping at that week.  I didn't luck out again with a coupon off of canned vegetables.
However, as luck would have it, as I was walking around the store trying to figure out what else to buy, and I ran into my Mother!  She had her sheet of Daily Rewards print out coupons, and said she wasn't going to use any of them, so she gave them to me.  And she had the canned vegetable coupon as well as a frozen vegetable coupon.  Which I thought was awesome, because I had already had some frozen vegetables in my cart.

So what I ended up with on that trip was the following:

• 1 Price Chopper Brand Box of Cereal - $2.00
• 1 Box of Price Chopper Brand Pasta - $1.00
• 2 Boxes of Price Chopper Brand Pasta - $1.09 each (Yes, as careful as I was, I STILL managed to get two boxes that weren't on sale!  I was very mad at myself for the rest of the night.)
• 3 Cans of Price Chopper Brand Vegetables - $0.59 each
• 1 Package of Price Chopper Brand Frozen Vegetables - $1.19 
• 1 Package of Price Chopper Brand Frozen Vegetables - $1.99 (on sale for $1.59)
• 1 Package of Price Chopper Brand Frozen Vegetables - $1.99 (on sale for ($1.69)

SubTotal: $12.21 (The one box of pasta that was $1, rang up as $1.09 so I complained and they gave me a dime...So they gave me a penny too much back.)  

So $12.21 - $0.70 On Sale Rewards = $11.51 - $8.25 in coupons = $3.26 - $0.10 (the dime they handed me) = TOTAL SAVINGS: $8.95

My Grand Total: $3.16

                                                                                                                                                                 

My second Price Chopper trip of the day was to include Orange Juice and some shredded cheddar cheese that we needed...And some more pasta.  So I knew that this trip would be pricer than the others. 

This trip included:  

• 7 Boxes of Price Chopper Brand Pasta - $1.00 each (Yes I got every kind that was on sale for $1)
• 1 8oz package of Price Chopper brand cheddar cheese - $2.99 (On sale for $2.00)
• 1 Box of Price Chopper Brand Cereal - $2.00
• 1 Carton of Price Chopper Brand Orange Juice - $2.99 
• 1 Yoplait Yogurt - $0.69 (I had a coupon for a free Yoplait Yogurt!)

They kept messing up with the pasta, despite that the manager even knew it was on sale.  Finally she had to ring one of the boxes up as a "General Merchandise" item for $1.00 just so that the pasta wouldn't should up as $1.19...However, that caused the register to charge me sales tax of $0.09 since it didn't know that the 'general merchandise' was food....Which made me actually pay $1.09 for the pasta that should have only been $1.00.  I didn't end up complaining about that because they had an issue with my Yoplait yogurt coupon and ended up having to just hand me the $0.69...So since they had to get a manager over to override the price of the pasta that was on sale, I didn't know how to complain about the sales tax issue.  

Subtotal: $15.67 + $0.09(for the stupid sales tax) = $15.76 - $0.99 On Sale Rewards = $14.77 - $7.50 worth of coupons = $7.27 - $0.69 (they handed me since my coupon didn't work) = $6.58

TOTAL SAVINGS: $9.18

So my grand total should have been $6.49 but because of the stupid tax that should have never been charged, MY GRAND TOTAL: $6.58

This picture is of the two trips combined: 

So combined my two trips would have cost $27.88 but I paid only $9.74 for a savings of $18.14.

And if you combine those two trips with my trip from the day before, it would have cost $35.48, but I only paid $9.84...For a savings of: $25.64.

I know I probably made some mistakes that veteran Extreme Couponers would frown upon...But for my first weekend of Extreme Couponing, I'd say I did pretty well.  Again, keeping in mind that these were all items we need and will absolutely use.

And it makes me wonder how many other times in my life the stores have ripped me off because of on-sale items not ringing up on sale, or because coupons didn't actually come off, or because they charge you tax when they shouldn't. 

My First Extreme Couponing Trip! 04/08/2011

I discovered that a lot of people sign up for some paid coupon clipping services...Or get coupon books from various sources.  Most of those sources include your weekend newspaper that we all know contains your grocery store's weekly circulars and TONS OF COUPONS!  However, we do not sign up for any of those things, so I rely all of my coupon gathering on just any free printable coupons I can find online.

Last week I decided that I had done enough research and gathered enough coupons to try out my first Extreme Couponing Trip.  I think that I picked a heck of week to try this out!  In my research I found that last week Price Chopper had a coupon for $5 off when you buy 10 Price Chopper brand items.  So as long as you stick to items that are around $.50 each,  you will end up with them for free or for dirt cheap.  There was also a coupon for a free Price Chopper brand box of cereal valued at $2.  With those two coupons in hand I went to the store.

When I got there, I scanned my Rewards Card into the coupon machine.  Every day (I have checked, you can only do it once a day no matter how many different Price Chopper locations you go to that day) that you go in to Price Chopper, you scan your Rewards Card and it prints you a random sheet of coupons.  In the past I always check the coupons but it has rarely been for anything I was going in to the store for.  This time happened to be my lucky day!  Out printed a coupon for $.50 off of 3 Price Chopper brand canned vegetables...Which I had already planned on buying at least 3 cans of Price Chopper brand vegetables to complete my 10 items.  So now with the additional unexpected $.50 coupon, I was able to buy 11 items and did not need to count the box of cereal as one of my 10 items. I walked up and down the aisles with my phone's calculator, a pen, and a piece of paper.  I guarantee that I was talking out-loud to myself and other customers probably thought I was insane.

The math I had done had assured me that my purchase was going to be so dirt cheap that I actually kind of wanted an audience.  But after walking around the store for over an hour, I did not want to wait in the long check-out lines.  So I went to one of the self-check-outs since there was no line.

FYI, Earlier in the week before I found those coupons, I planned on going in to the store with the intention of ONLY buying 1 box of Price Chopper brand pasta that was on sale for $1, to make for dinner that night.
What I walked out of the store was with the following:

• 1 Box Price Chopper Brand Cereal - $2.00
• 2 Cans of Price Chopper Brand canned Vegetables - $0.49 each
• 2 Cans of Price Chopper Brand canned Vegetables - $0.59 each
• 5 Price Chopper Brand Yogurts - $0.45 each
• 1 Box of Price Chopper Brand Pasta - $1.19 (Yes I messed up and accidentally got the one that wasn't on sale for $1)

Subtotal: $7.60 

My Price after $7.50 worth of coupons came off: $0.10

Had I realized I grabbed the wrong box of pasta, my total would have either been free or they would have owed me 9cents.  I am not sure if they actually pay you or not. 

Either way, I was so ecstatic about all of those groceries only costing me a dime that I didn't even notice my pasta mistake until later that night.  I found myself standing at the check-out counter grinning like an idiot, kind of looking around to see if anyone happened to see my wonderful purchase.  No one had.  Oh well, I had and I couldn't wait to tell the world about it!

I think one of the best things about the trip was that we needed all of those items.  None of them were going to be wasted.  Those were pretty much all items we would have been buying anyway.

I also found that I was on a bit of a 'high' from the excitement.  It lasted my car ride home, the whole time cooking dinner, to probably a few hours into the night.  I even told my husband I wanted to frame the receipt!  (Don't worry, I'm not really going to do that...But I haven't thrown it out yet either...)

I was so impressed with my purchase that I decided I had to go back to Price Chopper again the following day, because the Free Box of Cereal Coupon and the $5/10 PC items Coupons were going to expire the following day...And I just couldn't let them go to waste.

I was now begging to understand the 'rush' that all of those people on "Extreme Couponers" felt.  

Introduction

Thanks to my Mother, we have always been a family who uses coupons.  Sometimes it would cause us to buy things we did not originally plan on buying had we not had a coupon.  When I moved out of my parent's house and got married in August, I took on the responsibility of trying to use coupons for the groceries for my new family.

Sometimes I would still find myself purchasing "unnecessary food items" because I had a coupon for them.  My husband considers that a waste of money.  His view is that you are not saving money if you are spending more to buy something, just because you have a coupon for it.  My view is that it might be something I would have bought but it was too pricey, and now I can afford it thanks to the coupon.

I am a frequenter to Start Sampling and I have been using that site for years.  It is a legit way to get free samples.  I do consider myself the Free Sample Queen.  A lot of times I get free samples just because they are free.  Other times, I really use the free samples to decide if I want to purchase the item in the future or not.  Another great thing about that site is that they usually send you coupons with your free samples.  Other times you might just get coupons instead of a free sample.  Either way, I have always stocked up on coupons even if I am not going to buy the product.  But I like knowing that I have a coupon in case I do decide I want the product (obviously before the coupon expires).  In conclusion, I highly recommended that everyone join Start Sampling  (and add my username 'c00achica' as a referral, so I get a bonus haha)

With all that being said, I always thought that I knew how to use a coupon.  I figured it always worked best if you happened to have a coupon for an item you were going to buy regardless of if you had a coupon or not. I thought that was pretty much the only way to save money.  It seemed straight forward enough.  You were intending on going to the store to buy Product A for $2.99, you happened to find a coupon for $1 off Product A, and now you have bought it for $1.99 and saved $1! Yay!  Besides the times that some stores double or triple coupons, I never thought there was any other way to use a coupon.

My friend would frequently tell a story of how when her (now) Mother-In-Law was raising her (now) husband and his ELEVEN siblings, she would be so good with coupons that she would manage to get $1000 grocery bills down to just a few bucks.  I thought for sure that she had to be exaggerating with this story.  Aren't there restrictions on coupons?  Aren't there policies to stop things like this from happening?  After all, the grocery stores don't want you to win.  I know from experience how many times my legit coupons 'accidentally' didn't go through the register, or the on-sale item rang up at full price.  And I had to be "That Girl" who had to complain (albeit politely) because they over charged her by 10 cents.  Hey, every little bit helps!

When TLC started airing their new show "Extreme Couponing"  I did not really have any interest in watching it, but one day caught it because there was nothing else on that I wanted to watch.  I stared at the people on this show in disbelief!  They were just like my friend's Mother-In-Law in the story, buying over $1000 worth of groceries and paying only mere dollars for all of it!  I admit, most of these people I believe need to be on TLC's "Hoarders".  They seem to be addicted to getting as much stuff as possible.  A lot of them seem greedy and to me they seem to lack some common sense.  For example, one lady bought over 50 bottles of mustard, for her family who does not even like mustard!  Don't get me wrong, I love getting a great deal, but I don't think I need 50 of everything!  I feel like I hoard enough useless crap, that I don't need to be hoarding unnecessary groceries as well.  I was happy to see that one gentlemen on the show actually donated a multitude of his great couponing rewards (around 1000 boxes of cereal) to a soup kitchen.  That to me just seemed wonderful, and completely worth all the time and effort it took him to do his research and clip his coupons.

The next time "Extreme Couponing" aired, I found myself watching yet again due to the fact that nothing else was on.  I didn't even know that the second time I was watching it was only the second time it had even aired.  The more I watched, the more I still thought some of them were greedy shelf-clearers with a hoarding issue...But I also began to be EXTREMELY impressed with their grocery trips.  I found myself enamoured in wondering if I could figure out how to beat the store at its own game and use the coupons like they do.

couponer".  I could not believe how many forums and websites are devoted to helping people get amazing deals on necessary items!

I told my husband that I wanted to try to be an Impressive Couponer.  I said I didn't need to be Extreme, because I did not need a huge stock pile like most of them have...But I wanted to see what I could get for free or nearly free.  We agreed that I wouldn't get items we wouldn't need or use.  And we agreed that I wouldn't get huge amounts of each item.

And with that I did some more research, and began my (semi)addiction to couponing...