My Kid's Piggy Bank Blog

If you are looking for money saving tips and fun ideas for your family check out my new blog, My Kid's Piggy Bank.  I post ideas for things to do (both at home and when you need to get out!), and of course have lots of couponing tips too!  Check it out:)

mykidspiggybank.blogspot.com

Update - Learning to Give

I have been busy working through the details of the Learning to Give program, and testing it out at my son's school.  So far, we have had a lot of success with the donations, which are themed each month.  Our first drive was for school supplies, and last month we did baby items.  This month we are collecting kids' party supplies.  It is nice to have different themes, and we always try to pick themes that allow people to donate inexpensive or used items so there is not a lot of pressure to spend money.

I am hoping to market the idea to other schools in the LA area next month.  If you think your school might be interested let me know!

Holidays gift baskets for One Voice

Here is a picture of the holiday gift baskets I made for 4 families through the One Voice organization.  I used items from my own stockpile to customize these baskets for each family.  In total, the value of the baskets was about $800.  They included items like shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, razors, feminine hygiene items, and diapers.  It was awesome to deliver these baskets, along with an amazing $500 cash and $500 Target card to each family, courtesy of the amazing people at my husband's office.  What a great holiday tradition!  I now remind myself to coupon for everything, because I know there is always someone that can use it!

New Project - Learning to Give

I hope everyone had a great holiday!  I was so busy, but I still made time to coupon, of course!  I have a new project to announce, and I am really excited about it.

I am going to be launching a new organization called Learning to Give.  This organization will partner with local schools to organize monthly donation drives that will benefit Upward Bound House.  Each month of the school year will have a theme (i.e. back to school), and students and families will be encouraged to bring items to school to donate.  The focus will be to teach children the benefit of charity within the community.  Parents will be given a list of suggested donation items, and all themes will have items with a cost as low as $1.  

I will be testing this new project at my son's school, and putting together info to send to other schools with the hope that they will choose to adopt the program starting in September.  

With all of this going on I will not be able to continue this blog - though of course I will still coupon and donate the excess:)  Maintaining the records for this project is very time consuming!  I am hoping to start a new blog that will highlight the best deals of the week for those of you that would like to start couponing on your own.  I would love to have a blog that is geared toward fun, inexpensive family fun, and also has helpful info about how to save on the things you need.  All of this should be coming in the next couple of weeks.  

I have so enjoyed couponing for UBH, and I look forward to launching this new project to help get even more much needed product delivered to UBH!

More Free Deodorant

Seems like I am posting about deodorant more than anything lately! I scored some more at CVS today.

Right Guard was on sale for $2.99, and generating a $1 reward. I bought 2 and used a $3/2 coupon, so I paid $3 and got $2 back. Of course I still have lots of Black Friday rewards, so I only paid tax.

Dollar Tree Freebies!

I just happened on a Dollar Tree store, and I was so excited to have a new spot to coupon!

I picked up these 4 deodorants for $1 (of course) and used $1 coupons, so they were free! Yay!

I also found Fiber One Chewy bars, which my son loves,  for only $.75 after coupons. These are usually over $4!

Free Razors at CVS!

<p>This week I combined a ton of coupons to get these 4 packs of razors for free!</p>
<p>They retail for $8.29, and there is a promotion this week to get $10 in rewards when you spend $30. I bought 4, and used the following: 20% off, $4 off $20 purchase, and 2 buy one get one free coupons. That came to just over $9 for all 4 packs!  Sweet! I then used rewards to pay the balance, and earned back $10.

I also got these 2 hand creams free with a coupon from the CVS Facebook page. I love coupons for straight up free stuff- no need to wait for a sale!

I am setting aside one pack of razors and one hand cream for the One Voice project, and the rest are off to Upward Bound House:)

Hair care freebies at CVS

Last week I got 2 great coupons from the coupon machine. One was for $1 off any shampoo, conditioner or styler, and the other was for $1.50 off the same. I bought one V05 shampoo at regular price $1.19, and one conditioner on clearance for $.89. They were both free!

I'm glad I kept that coupon!

Months ago I printed a few copies of a great high value coupon for $5 off Samy hair color. I had one left over that expired today, and it was perfect to match up with the sale at Rite Aid this week! They are no longer available to print so I was glad I hung onto this one.

Samy hair color is on sale for $8.99. I used the coupon and my total was $3.99, and I earned back $5 in rewards.

I also bought 2 Right Guard deodorant. They are on sale for $2.99 each, and I had a $3/2 coupon. So my total was $2.98 and I earned back $1 each in rewards.

I used the rewards I got last week buying hair gel and laundry soap, and all three items were free. One deodorant is going to One Voice, and the others to UBH. Good week so far!

New partnership for the holidays!

This week I am dividing my coupon hauls between 2 organizations. Freebies will still benefit UBH, but I am also collecting goods for One Voice. My husband's office is sponsoring 4 poverty level families, providing supplies, toys and cash for rent. I have agreed to make bags of personal supplies from my couponing this week and next and from my personal stockpile. I'll post pictures of the bags before they go out. Each one will be personalized depending on the ages and genders of the family members.

I am so excited to work on this project and compile meaningful kits for these families!

If you have anything you would like to donate or would like more information please let me know!

56 items so far!!

I just updated my spreadsheet and I am at 56 out of 100 items toward the goal!  I have only got 5 weeks until Christmas, so I better get working:)  Looks like there will be some good freebies next week, and I am hoping with the Holidays around the corner that the stores will run great promos to get customers in the door!

The total retail price for these 56 items is $260.80.  Pretty awesome amount of freebies:)

Better than free hair gel at Rite Aid!

I have been so busy with Black Friday shopping that I just today made it to Rite Aid for this deal.

This gel was on sale for $1.99, and is a good example of double dip rewards!  It was printing a $1.99 weekly reward, and a $1 monthly reward for each one!  So I spent $1.99 and earned back $2.99.  Pretty good!  I bought these along with some laundry soap using rewards, so they were free and going in the donation pile!

Toys on sale at CVS!

I couldn't believe the toy deals at CVS this week. I was expecting they would just have cheap, overpriced stuff, but check out this one deal:
Thursday night I stood in line at Toys R Us for the doorbusters. One of the toys on my list was a walking Iron Man robot toy. My son specifically asked for a red robot. It was advertised at $9.99, which was half price. I bought 2, one for my son and one for his friend.
Later, I went to CVS and discovered they had the same toy in their buy one get one free toy sale. But, guess how much? Only $9.99!. I was also able to use rewards to pay, so I got both completely free. I will definitely be returning the 2 from Toys R Us!!
I also got this cool Hot.Wheels toy for UBH. I bought a Crayola item and got this for free too.
My black Friday shop at CVS brought home $130 worth of goods, and I only spent $.50! I also made back $19.15 in rewards. My Christmas shopping is done!!!

Brushes and floss for free!

I snagged this double toothbrush pack and 2 90 count flossers for free this week at CVS. They all generated an equal value reward (i.e. if it cost $2 you get $2 back). I used rewards to pay and got these free without lowering my reward count!

Children's Advil Moneymaker at CVS

I can't donate this to UBH, but I wanted to share the great deal I got!

The 1oz Children's Advil was on sale for $2.37 each, and generating a full value $2.37 reward.  I was excited to go in using my $1.50 facebook coupon and make money on the reward side.  When I scanned my card at the machine this week in store I also got a $3 off any Children's Advil!!  CVS would price adjust the coupons down because they don't allow overage, so I decided to buy 2.

My cost before coupons was $4.74, and I had $4.50 in coupons, so I paid $.24 for both and make back $2.37 (limit 1 on the reward).

The best part is they don't expire until 2015, so they are a great addition to my stockpile!!

CVS rocks this week!

CVS is having an amazing "free after rewards" promotion this week.  There are tons of items that are generating a full value reward, so if you can use a coupon it makes the items better than free.  A few examples are Starbucks and Coke drinks, Advil and Children's Advil, Hot Wheels, Kleenex pocket packs, and tons more.  I got a bunch of great deals, but these are the 5 items I am adding to the donation pile:

Carmex lip products are on sale for $.99 and generating a $.99 reward.  I also used a $.30 coupon.

Visine was on sale almost half price for $5.50.  I used a $4 CVS coupon and a $3 manufacturer coupon, which was price adjusted to make it free.  I also got $1.50 in rewards.

Right Guard deodorant was on sale $2.99 each.  I bought 2 and used a $2/2 coupon, so my cost was $3.98.  I also got back $2 in rewards for each one.

U by Kotex were on sale for $1.49, and I got back $1 in rewards.

I used some of my rewards from last week to cover the out of pocket on this, so everything was free and I made back about $7.50 in rewards.  I also bought one additional deodorant on another transaction to bring my total up so I could use my reward, so that makes 6 items from this trip toward the 100 item goal.

Free Dove Body Wash at Vons!

It is rare to get personal care items free at the grocery store, but this week I scored these awesome freebies!

Dove body wash was on sale for only $2.49 each when you buy 2.  I used one $2/1 internet coupon, and one $2/1 Just 4 You Vons electronic coupon, so my total was only $1.  I also had a $2 catalina coupon off my purchase, so $1 of that was applied to this purchase, making them free:)

Free Enfagrow!

Today I made a trip to Rite Aid for another free Enfagrow 4 pack.  I hope the toddler population at UBH likes these drinks - I have donated a total of 14 of these already, and they were all free:)

This week I received a coupon donation for $7 off any Enfagrow toddler drink.  Not all stores carry this item, but my local Rite Aid has them priced at $6.99.  Another great freebie!!

Baby Love Body Spray

Rite is having a great fragrance promotion this week - buy any fragrance and get $5 in rewards. These body spray were only $5.50 each, so I bought 2, used $11 in rewards and paid only tax. Also, I got back $10 in rewards.

These kinds of deals are great for rolling rewards. I had a few expiring this week, so with this purchase I was able to get something to donate and extend my rewards for 2 more weeks:)

Free Razors with BOGO coupons

At the beginning of this week I was so happy to see a deal on Schick razors at CVS because my BOGO coupons were about to expire, and I love BOGO deals!!

CVS was offering a $10 reward if you spent $25 on brands including Schick.  These razors were $9.79, so I picked up 4 and used the BOGO coupons to get 2 free.  I paid for the other 2 using some of those amazing Revlon rewards from last week, and got my $10 back too.  I did have to pay more than tax out of pocket, so the other 2 packs were not technically free.  But these 2 are going straight into the donation pile!

4 Free Dry Idea Deodorant at CVS

I got a great deal on these deodorants this week! They were on sale buy one get one free, and the price was $4.29. I bought 4 so my cost was $8.58.

I used 2 $3/2 manufacturer coupons, one $1.50/$4 or more deodorant purchase from the coupon machine, and 1 $1/1 CVS coupon printed from the website.  Luckily at CVS you can stack a manufacturer coupon and store coupon, so I got a total of $8.50 off!!

The remaining $.08 I would count as free anyway, but it was actually on my bill with some other items and I used rewards.  Awesome deal:)

4 Free Revlon Nail File 24 packs!

This was my last couponing trip for the week - 4 free 24 packs of nail files at CVS!

After the awesome deal I got this week on clippers, I was looking for stock at other stores to see if I could repeat it.  All Revlon cosmetics and tools are generating a $7 reward when you buy 2, so of course everyone was looking to buy to cheapest items for the deal, which are the clippers.  But these packs of files are priced at $3.79, so they made for a good deal too. Check it out:

I bought 4 at $3.79, so my total was $15.16.  I had a $15 from the awesome Aveeno deal from this week as well.  I spent $.16 plus tax (I am counting these as free - I pulled $.16 out of my car armrest:).  And, I made back $14 in rewards.

I also scored some great Halloween stuff this week at 50% off.  I bought a great costume for my kids' dress up bin and some candy to use for stocking stuffers.  Great week at CVS!

Free Colgate at Rite Aid

Today I picked up 3 Colgate toothpaste for the freebie pile! They were on sale for $3.50, and I used $.75 coupons. They also generated $3 each in rewards. I bought these and a razor for my hubby's Xmas stocking, and paid entirely with rewards. I will post a summary shot soon to show all the freebies toward the 100 goal this week:)

Free Advil PM at Walgreens!

You can pick up the 4 count boxes of Advil PM free this week at Walgreens!  They are on sale for $1 and there was a coupon in this past Sunday paper for $1 off any Advil PM.  Yay!  I can't donate these items, but a great time to stock up:)

That discount messed up my freebies!!

Lol, I had an interesting trip to CVS today! A surprise register discount meant I did not get all this for free, but it was still a good deal!

Aveeno lotion are generating a $15 reward when you buy 4. I bought 4 for $3.89 each and used 1 $3/2 and 2 $1/1 coupons.

I also bought 6 more Revlon tools. The 2 clippers were $3.29, and the files were $3.79. I had one $3 Revlon coupon from the CVS coupon machine. These are generating $7 in rewards when you buy 2.

I added this all up and factored in my 25% coupon. Everything was fine until that coupon didn't go through, and the cashier had to enter it manually. My total was about $30, and for whatever reason she keyed in a $15 discount!!
Even though this was an awesome discount it meant I could not use my $21 reward to make it all free! Instead I paid $16 and got back $36. At least now I have lots of rewards for some good freebies in the next few weeks!!

The Perfect Coupon Storm!!

The coupon stars truly aligned for this transaction!  I hadn't done the math on this before shopping because I was trying out a new coupon from my fellow couponer Wendy, and I wasn't sure how it would work out.  But, I ended up paying $.04 before tax (which I am going to count as free) for 6 nail clippers, and I made $21 in rewards!  Amazing!

This week at CVS Revlon cosmetics and beauty tools are generating a $7 reward when you buy 2.  I bought   6 clippers priced at $3.29.  I was able to use a 25% coupon that I got in my email, as well as Wendy's "extraordinary savings pass" coupon for another 20% off.  Normally you cannot use 2 percent off coupons, but with this special pass you can!  I also had exactly $13 in extrabucks that would expire this week, so after all of those savings my bill was $.04, and I got 3 Revlon rewards, so $21!  Gotta love that deal!

Nivea Lip Care Freebies

Last week at Rite Aid there was an awesome deal on Nivea Lip products.  The monthly (unadvertised) promotion on Nivea products was to spend $15 and get $5 back in rewards.  These lip products were on sale 2/$5, so I bought six to reach the $15.  I then used 3 $3/2 coupons, making my total only $6!

Of course I had $6 in rewards - from the Dove Body Wash and Dial hand soap earlier in the week - so these were free except for tax, and I made back $5 for next week.  Donation number is up to 26 freebies after I add the Nivea:)

Double dip rewards at Rite Aid

I am just starting to learn about double dip rewards at Rite Aid. This is when you get both a weekly and monthly deal reward for buying the same items. The 6 items I purchased below (free, of course, except for tax after using rewards!) were all participating in double rewards. Check it out:

Dial hand soap (either the white tea or Halloween variety) are $2/4 this week.  They are generating a $1 reward each weekly and a $1 reward each monthly.  This means you spend $4 and make $4 in rewards!  I also used $.35 coupons for each bottle, making this a bit of a moneymaker!

The Lip Smackers products are on a weekly deal to generate $5 when you spend $10, and a monthly deal to generate $4 when you spend $10.  I bought 4 flavored gloss for $2.29 each, and I used 2 $1/2 coupons.  I spent $9.16, and earned back $9 in rewards!

The monthly Rite Aid deals are not advertised in the circular, so I am relying on info from my favorite coupon web site to clue me into these.  What a great way to roll rewards and score more freebies!!

4 Free Dove Men's Body Wash

Another 4 freebies at Rite Aid today!

Dove Men's Care body wash is on sale this week 2/$7.  I bought 4, and used 4 $2/1 coupons.  I paid $6, and earned back $2 for each pair, so $4 total.  I used rewards to pay the $6, so my cost was only tax.

This deal makes 17 freebies so far:)

Military Care Packages

I wanted to share a web site and idea for another mission - care packages for deployed military.

A few years ago when I started couponing I sent tons of care packages to soldiers through an organization called Any Soldier (www.anysoldier.com)  Deployed military people can sign up on the site and post information about what they need.  You can browse through the posts and support groups that fit the kinds of things you have to offer.  It is so inspiring to read the posts of our troops.  I also loved that very often I would get letters back from the soldiers. It was amazing to see how much the items I sent meant to them, and even more than that how much they appreciated the support from back home.

I would love to organize more care packages, especially around the holidays.  I know that I can use coupons to purchase items at about 90% off retail, but I still need help to cover the expense of that 10% plus tax.  If anyone would like to sponsor this mission please be in touch with me.  I can use cash or store card donations.

I think it would be very cool to try and coupon for specific things that the troops are requesting.  It would be another great way to use coupons to make a difference:)

Free Olay Face Wash!

I am so glad I saved the Olay coupon I got from the magic coupon machine last week at CVS.  It was for $3 off an Olay facial product. This week I paired it up with a $2 newspaper coupon to make $5 off one product.

Lucky for me, Olay face products were on sale this week for only $4.49, so I got it completely free! I can also save the receipt to submit for the P&G rebate. When you spend $50 before December 31 you get $15 back. Hopefully I get some more good P&G deals!

Let me know if you need the link for the rebate!

4 Free Skinny Cow bars

You all know I love pretty much anything that is free, but I especially love free chocolate!!

This week at Rite Aid Skinny Cow single bars were on sale for $.99, and generating a $1 reward when you buy 2.  I used a buy one get free coupon, and $2 in rewards to get these 4 bars fee and get my $2 in rewards back for another purchase.  Sweet!!

Total freebies = 12

Free Advil Congestion

Advil is not an item that I can donate to UBH, but I wanted to share this deal anyway because I love free stuff:)

This week Advil Congestion is only $6 at Rite Aid (and I think Walgreens too).  In the Sunday paper this past weekend there was a mail in rebate form for this product up to $6.  So you get the full purchase price back by mail.

I love rebates!  I have submitted for and received over $300 in rebates in the past year.  Just always be on the lookout for the maximum refundable price, because sometimes the item will cost more than the rebate will refund.

20 free razors:)

Too bad this only counts as 2 items, though:)  I bought these 10 packs of Bic razors at Rite Aid.  They were $3.99, and on sale buy one get one half price.  The second one rang up at $1.99.  I used a buy one get one free coupon, so the register should have taken off $1.99, but it took off $3.99!  Sometimes I notice this happens if you haven't scanned your loyalty card before you hand over coupons - the items ring up full price before the card is scanned, so the coupons are processed for the full amount too.

Anyhow, I got both of these for $1.99, I used a $2 reward to pay for them, and I earned back $2 in rewards!  Now that's what I call free:)

My tax cost on this was $.52.  8 items down and still under $1 out of pocket!!

My first 6 Freebies for the new goal:)

This morning I picked up the 6 items pictured below for only $.26 out of pocket!!  I know the free Enfagrow has become commonplace, but for anyone new I will recap how I got another 4 packs for free:)

A few weeks ago Rite Aid was running a sale on the Enfagrow - they are regularly priced at $6.99 and on sale for $3.49.  I realize now I should have asked for rainchecks from every store I went to, but I did remember to get one to lock in the sale price for 30 days.  Today, with some new coupons in hand, I went back out and scored 4 more packs for free.  I did use up the quantity on this rain check, so it seems the gravy train has ended...unless I find more packs with $2 peelie coupons!!

I used a new $10/2 coupon as well as a $5/1 coupon donated by Tracie (thank you!!).  My total for 4 packs was only $13.96, so I asked the cashier if he would price adjust the coupons since they were worth more than the product.

I also had a $2 reward that was expiring today, so I picked up 2 packs of Ricola.  They were on sale 2/$3, and I used a $1/2 coupon, making them $2.  The $2 reward covered the total amount and I paid sales tax only on the Ricola (no tax on food!), so I fished $.26 in change out of my wallet.  I also made $1 in rewards for buying the Ricola!

A pretty good start!

New Mission for Upward Bound House!

Since reaching my initial goal of donating $2,000 worth of products to UBH I have been trying to come up with another mission.  I had a great new idea today that I am really excited to launch this week.

The new mission will be to donate 100 FREE items to Upward Bound House by the end of the year.  Now, just to clarify, "free" items will still cost me out of pocket, because I will be required to pay tax on the dollar amount before coupons.  But I am going to do my best to stay under $40.

There are only 11 weeks left of this year, so let's see how much free stuff I can get!

As always, coupon donations are what make this whole operation work!  I could not do what I do without having a big stash of coupons to draw from.  If you would like to get involved please see the various "Donate" tabs for more information.

Also please remember that a little cash or store credit can go a long way in the hands of a couponer!  While working on my last goal I was able to buy over $340 worth of products for a $40 cash donation.  If you have a little cash to spare, please contact me about arranging a mission for UBH!  I can track exactly what I am able to purchase with your contribution, and I promise to make it go as far as possible.

Stay tuned - I picked up 6 freebies already this morning:)

Kids Toothpaste Deal at Walgreens!

Orajel Toddler Toothpaste is super cheap this week at Walgreens!  These usually retail for $4.49 each, but you can get them both for only $1.99!

The Walgreens sale price this week is $3.99.  They are also buy one get one free.  Coupon policy at Walgreens states that you can use a coupon on an item made free by a store promotion, so you can use 2 $1/1 coupons.  That brings your total for both items to only $1.99!  You can print coupons from their website if you don't have newspaper coupons:)

For my shopping trip I also had 2 $1 store rewards.  I couldn't use these without buying "filler" items.  These items are needed because Walgreens requires that you have as many items as coupons in your order, and they count rewards as a coupon.  So, I couldn't use 4 coupons on 2 items.  I bought 2 Halloween drinking cups for $.39 each to fill in my order, and use the $2 in rewards.  My total before tax for everything was only $.77!!

$.24 Colgate at CVS

The CVS coupon machine is printing a $2 off Colgate coupon this week.  Colgate is also on sale for $2.99.  I used the store coupon, plus a $.75 newspaper coupon to get each tube for only $.24!!

I also have been noticing that my receipt at CVS has been printing with a dollars off coupon.  I always find these hard to use, because they usually expire in a few days and I have just finished my shopping when I get them!  This week I decided to buy just this one cheap item first, spend the $.50 (price with tax), and see what printed.  I got a $10 off $50 coupon.  I was planning to buy paper towels, toilet tissue and Puffs tissue with the spend $30 get $10 rewards deal.  I added on a few other things I needed to buy, like Nestle Water (on sale for $2.97 each, plus a $1/2 coupon), and got my total to $50.05 before tax (around $56 after tax).  I used the CVS coupon first (while the total was still over $50!), and a bunch of newspaper coupons, a bunch of previous rewards, plus a $10 rebate card from a purchase of Olay products a while back.  I ended up spending less than $8 for the $56 bill!

CVS deals using a 20% email coupon

Check out this deal on Revlon tools this week:

When you buy any 2 Revlon cosmetics or tools, you will receive a $5 reward.  I chose the cheapest option at my store, which was nail clippers for $2.99.  So they cost $6 and you get $5 back.  Pretty good!

But even better is if you sign up for emails with your CVS member number - I got an email for 20% off, which only applies to full price items.  These clippers apply, which means I only spent $4.80 to make $5.  Much better!

The 20% is also great to use on Physician's Formula cosmetics this week.  When you spend $10 you get $7 back in rewards.  I used my 20% off to make a $10.49 mascara $8.40, then used a $1 coupon.  I spent $7.40 to make $7.

Another good option is Edge shave cream.  I bought one for $3.19, then got the 20% off, and got $2 back.  I find it hard to score great deals on shave cream, so this was a steal.

It can be hard to find full price items that have great rewards attached to use % off coupons, but this week the options were pretty good!

Goal Reached - Over $2,000 Retail!!

I can't believe it is only October and we have reached our goal of $2,000 retail!  This is all thanks to the generous support I have received, in cash donations, coupons, and product donations.  THANK YOU to everyone who helped make this possible:)

Totals for 12 weeks of shopping:

RETAIL: $2011.35
BEFORE TAX: $92.71
AFTER TAX: $134.21, PLUS $40 IN CASH DONATION = $174.21

Total number of items donated: 397

I am amazed that I could donate over $2,000 in goods to Upward Bound House and spend only $130 out of my own pocket.  This is truly an awesome way to maximize the dollars that I am able to spare from my budget.  Having all of these personal care items means that the participants at UBH can save a bit more money that they might have otherwise spent on toothpaste and shampoo.  

So...what now?  My own stockpile is in need of a little TLC, but I absolutely plan to continue to shop for UBH and of course use all donated coupons for donation items.  The weekly hauls might be a bit smaller now that the primary goal has been reached, but I will continue to post about the amazing ways coupons and a bit of planning can save you tons of money:)

Here are the totals in a few categories to give you an idea of the amounts that were donated:

62 Shampoo and hair care items
51 Toothpaste and oral care items
28 Baby and Toddler Formula
61 Cosmetic and facial care items

Weeks 11 and 12 Summary

I have put weeks 11 and 12 together because my whole family had the flu this week and I only had time and energy for one couponing trip.  At least we were not all sick at the same time - we spaced it out with about a day between each of us:)  I never get a flu shot, but this year I am going for sure.  I saw on my receipt from Rite Aid that you get a coupon book with $100 in savings when you get the shot, so you know where I will be going!!

Week 11 and 12 Retail: $189.74
Total Before Tax: $3 (exactly!)
Total After Tax: $9.55

And the totals for the whole 12 weeks...

We have reached our goal of over $2,000 retail!!!!!  Check my next post for all the details:)

Flu considered, not too bad!

Considering the condition of my family this week I didn't do too bad with this haul from Rite Aid:)

The Enfagrow continue to be moneymaking products this week! I found 2 packs with $2 peelie coupons and combined them with my rain check price of $3.49, making each pack only $1.49. I also used a $5 product check donated to CFCLA, so made about $2 buying these!

The Dove shampoo were 2/$7. I used 2 $1/1 coupons and a $2 Rite Aid video value coupon,  so they were 2/$3 and I got $2 back.

The toothpaste was $2.99 each. I used a $.75 coupon on each, and got back a $2 reward on each.

The hair mousse was $6.49 and buy one get one free. I used a $2 video value coupon and got back a $4 reward for each one. That was a really sweet deal!

The halloween nail polish deal could have been better, but was still good. It cost 2.39 and I got back $3 in rewards. The store was also offering a buy one get one half price deal, so if they had another one I could have bought it half price and got another $3 reward. Oh well;)

This week was such a small haul that I am just going to combine it with last week for totals. I think after I process this we may have hit the $2,000 goal...I'll let you know as soon as I get the numbers input!

We all got the flu:(

I hope to make it out shopping today. We all got the flu. Everyone in my house has had a turn. If I am feeling better I know there are some great deals out there:)

Give a couponer $40...

This is so amazing - check out all of the great stuff I got for $40!  Lamoine made this cash donation to CFCLA, and I started using it in Week 9.  Here is the breakdown of what I got:

2 Deodorant
4 Blistex
4 Toothbrushes
4 Toothpaste
9 Cosmetic items, including lipstick and face powder
9 Nail polishes
6 Razors
1 Mouthwash
2 Facial Moisturizers
2 Facial Cleansers
3 Body Lotions
2 Baby Bath Products
4 Feminine Care Products
5 Dish Soaps
2 Body Wash
13 Shampoos
1 case of Baby Formula

TOTAL RETAIL: $349.78!!

A HUGE THANK YOU to Lamoine for this donation.  It is truly amazing how far $40 can go!  The best part about couponing for charity (aside from feeling good about it!) is that I am able to take advantage of deals that I might normally not do because it is for a brand I don't use or an item I have too much of:)  Couponing for UBH really allows me to take advantage of the store rewards programs, and rolling these rewards over week to week really allows me to score such big savings.

Also a big thank you to everyone who has been donating coupons - this wouldn't be possible without the coupons, and having enough coupons is key to making these deals work!

CVS $3.45 spent to make $13!

Last week's deals at CVS included a lot of good rewards.  I decided on these 4 items to maximize the rewards I already had to use.  Here is how it worked out:

Bought 2 Softsoap bodywash (my favorite kind!) for $3.50 each, and used 2 $.50/1 coupons.  Got $2 back for each bottle.

Bought 1 Almay eye make up removing sticks for $5.49.  Used a $2 off coupon and made $2 in rewards.

Bought 1 Physician's Formula lip gloss for $9.99 and used a $1/1 coupon.  Made $7 back in rewards.

I also used $17 in rewards, and just $3.45 out of pocket.  After this deal we are less than $100 from reaching the $2,000 goal!

Another Clearance Similac

I hope someone at Upward Bound House has a baby that needs soy formula!  I found another clearance pack of Similac at 75% off, so only $3.24.  I used a $3 reward, and this was only $.24 (no tax!).

Walgreens Shampoo Steals

I think shampoo is one of my favorite things to coupon for:)

This week at Walgreens I was able to put my $8 in rewards to good use.  They didn't roll into as many rewards, but I got some great savings.

I did the following transaction twice.  First I bought the Degree deodorant, and used a coupon that gave me a free Clear shampoo.  The deodorant was only $3.99, and the shampoo was $6.99, so this was a great coupon to use.  The Pert Plus was on sale for $1.99 (normally over $4), and there is a Walgreens coupon in the monthly book for $1 off each bottle.  I also used a $1.50/2 coupon on each pair.

This transaction also marked the end of Lamoine's $40!!  So, a few of the items were covered in her cash donation, and the remaining amount out of my budget was only $1.29.

I also got back $1 reward for each of the Degree, and 1,000 points for each of the Clear (which can be redeemed for $1), so I got $4 back.

I am going to do a post to show all of the amazing stuff I got with Lamoine's $40.  You won't believe how far that $40 went!!!

Amazing Haul at Rite Aid!

There were some really great deals with rewards this week at Rite Aid.  Using previous rewards, I got all of this for only $3.06 including tax!!

The Carefree was on sale for 2/$2, and generating a $1 for each pack.  I used rewards to pay for these and only paid tax on all 8.

The Chapstick was a even better deal!  They were on sale 3/$3, and producing a $2 reward when you buy 2.  I bought 12, used 6 $1/2 coupons, so I paid $6.  I earned $8 back in rewards ($2 per trio)!!!

The Right Guard was on sale for $3.99 each, and I used a $2/2.  I got lucky again with this brand because the cashier put through a $1 peelie coupon from one of the boxes.  The other box had one too but I guess she missed it:)  I didn't even know she did it until I saw the coupon in her pile.  Any way...so the retail was $5 after coupons, and I made a total of $4 in rewards for both boxes.

Last, I got a Pantene shampoo and hair gel.  They were on sale 2/$7.  I used a buy one get one free Pantene coupon, and stacked it with a $1 Rite Aid coupon for Pantene stylers.  So my total after coupons was $2.50 for both, and I got back $1 in rewards.

So, after using over $20 in rewards, I spent only $3.06 out of pocket and earned back $21 in rewards!  It was a perfect shopping trip:)

Week 10 - 36 items for $6.50

Week 10 was great!  I am still using the cash donation from Lamoine (I have about $4 left), so I was able to keep the out of pocket really low.  Also, I was able to buy clothing items, which I rarely have a chance to donate.  Here is the summary:

WEEK 10 RETAIL: $275.87
WEEK 10 BEFORE TAX: $21.70
WEEK 10 AFTER TAX: $6.50 (and after accounting for the cash donation - most expenses this week were fully covered!)

TOTAL RETAIL AFTER 10 WEEKS: $1,821.61
TOTAL OUT OF POCKET AFTER 10 WEEKS: $124.67

I am hoping for a few more money makers on formula next week if I can find the clearance prices again.  We are getting so close to our goal of $2,000!  I have a feeling we may hit it after 2 moew weeks of shopping, or even sooner if the deals this week have a high percentage of savings!  Very exciting!

8 more shampoos at Walgreens

I had $8 in rewards to use at Walgreens before I left for Chicago, so this was what I got:

Herbal Essences was on sale 2/$6.  I had 4 buy one get one free coupons, so I got them 2/$3.  I also used a $2 reward on each pair, making the set of 2 only $1.53 after tax.  I did the transaction 4 times to use all of my rewards, and spent $6.10 out of the budget.

I also earned back $2 for each pair that I bought, so I spent $6.10 after tax on the product and made $8 in rewards.  I am working on the best way to use those rewards this week.  There are a few good options!