A little Canadian couponing:)

I couldn't resist a little couponing while on vacation in Canada.  My sister in law gave me a great store coupon, and I just had to use it for something for Upward Bound House.  The coupon was for $10 off when you spend $40 in store.  I was shopping for some basics for the kids, and decided to use the $10 coupon to buy these onesies to donate.  They were already a great price - only $3 each - and were on sale 20% off, making them only $2.40.  I bought 4, so they rang up just under $10.  I added these to my order so that my total was enough to use the coupon, and that made them all totally free.  Thank you Auntie T!!

91% savings on Visine!

I stopped in at Walgreens just to get this great deal on Visine.  The retail price is $5.29. Walgreens has it on sale for $4.99 and buy one get one free. I bought 4, so my total before coupons was $9.98.  I had a $2 off coupon for each one, so $8 off.  My total before tax was only $1.98, or $.49 each!  A great addition to the stockpile this week:)

Sometimes you gotta spend money to make money!

I am back from Canada, and was so excited to hit the stores today!  I was not excited about shopping without rewards, however.  I used up all my rewards that would expire before I got back, so I really needed my shopping trip today to put some money back in my pocket so that next week I can get the high percentage savings I am used to!!

I ended up spending only $21.94 before tax, and I earned $30 in rewards for the purchases.  Here is how it worked out:

5 Stayfree - these were on sale at CVS for $2 and I had 5 $2/1 coupons, so they were all free.
2 Finesse shampoo - these were on sale at CVS for $2.99 each.  I used my only remaining rewards ($3) on these, so they cost just under $3, and I made $4 in rewards.
2 Venus razors - these cost $8.49 at CVS.  I used 2 $4/1 coupons, so they were only $4.49, and each one gave me back $5 in rewards.
4 Crest mouthwash.  These were on sale at Rite Aid for $4.99 each.  I bought 2 of the big ones and had 2 coupons to get the small ones free when you buy big ones.  The great thing is that each one of them generated $4 in rewards.  So I spent $10 to buy all 4, and I got back $16 in rewards!  Amazing!

I also bought some stuff I need for my own household, like diapers, and earned another $18 in rewards.  If you can wait for the promotions to come around, you can get rewards back to buy almost anything.  So I am going into next week with $48 in store rewards to score some freebies for Upward Bound House:)

$1.35 Before Tax - Amazing Haul Today!!

I am leaving for Canada tomorrow, so I needed to get out and use up my rewards that would expire while I am gone.  I got all this great stuff; here are the details!

Rite Aid:
Slow cooker was on clearance 75% off - $4.48
ReNu contact lens solution was on sale for $8.54.  I used $3 in ad coupon and $2 printed coupon, so $3.54.
Bic pens were on sale for $.99.  I bought 2 and used a $1/2 coupon, so $.98 total.
TRANSACTION TOTAL - $9.01, USED $9 IN REWARDS, SO $.01 BEFORE TAX!

Colgate Pro Relief was $4.99.  I used a $4 in ad coupon and a $1 coupon (that I found in the Target parking lot), so it was free.
Colgate Max Fresh $2.99.  I used a $2 in ad coupon and $.75 printed coupon, so $.25
Herbal Essences was on sale 2/$5.  I bought 6 and used 3 $3/2 coupons, so $6 total.
TRANSACTION TOTAL - $6.23, USED $6 IN REWARDS, SO $.23 BEFORE TAX!

CVS:

3 Maybelline mascara, on sale for $5 each.  Used 3 $1/1 coupons and one $5/$15 beauty purchase from the coupon machine, so $7.
Dove shampoo was 2/$6.  I used a $3/2 coupon, so $3.
TRANSACTION TOTAL: $10, USED $10 IN REWARDS (GOT $5 BEAUTY CLUB REWARDS TODAY), SO $0 BEFORE TAX! ALSO MADE $3 IN REWARDS FROM THE MASCARA:)

Bic razors were on sale for $4.19, and buy one get one half price.  I bought 4 and used 4 $3/1 coupons.  So these were $.58 for all 4 (my cashier did allow for the overage to be applied from the second packs, which were only $2.10)
Herbal Essences was on sale 2/$5.97.  I used one $3/2 and one $1/2 from the coupon machine, so they were $1.97 total.
Suave deodorant was $1.39, and I bought 4 and used 4 $.75/1 coupons.  They were $2.56 for all 4.
TRANSACTION TOTAL: $5.11, USED $4 IN REWARDS, SO $1.11

GRAND TOTAL: $1.35 BEFORE TAX.

This was possible because I used up my store rewards instead of trying to roll them into earning more rewards.  The down side is when I start shopping again after my trip I will only have $3 in CVS rewards from my purchase today (they don't expire until Sept).  So my out of pocket cost that first week back might be a bit higher.  But, we are well on our way to our retail goal and way under on our out of pocket, so it should work out ok:)

Vons groceries for $.50!

Check out this awesome grocery deal. I combined store sales with coupons to get all this for only $.50!

Vons is offering great deals on fruit snacks and granola bars when you buy 4 participating items. The sale prices were:

$1 for the fruit snacks
$1.50 for the cereal bars
$2 for the granola bars

I had $.50 coupons for all of these products (I bought 8). So my total was $7.50. I added 3 packs of spaghetti that were half price - only $.99 each - to get my total over $10. I then used a $10 off coupon from Vons. They often run a promotion where you get this coupon when you spend $75. I love to see what I can get for that $10!

Free Kotex liners at Vons!

I spotted this clearance deal while shopping today. Kotex liners are $.99 and I had 4 $1/1 coupons. They had to adjust the coupon down but I ended up with 4 free. Vons only takes 3 like coupons per transaction so I had to do 2 to get all 4.

Upward Bound House drop off

I was so happy to meet some of the Upward Bound House team yesterday and tour the building.  What an amazing organization!  I was also happy to see that they accept gently used items - I have so much baby and kids stuff to donate:)

Ready to donate:)

I have everything all packed up and ready to go to Upward Bound House on Tuesday.  I am so excited to make our first donation.  We ended up with 115 items that have a retail value of over $500, and spent less than $40 including all of the sales tax (which you pay even if the item is free).

I am leaving for Canada at the end of this week, so after I get through this week (Week 5) I will be off for 2 weeks, and will resume August 28th.  But please save those coupons for me - I will be back at the stores as soon as I can!

Week 4 Totals - $6.54 before tax!

Here is the summary for Week 4. It was the biggest week yet!

9 oral care items
2 packs of diapers
5 deodorants
12 face and body care items
4 feminine care products
2 cosmetic items
6 miscellaneous items

WEEK 4 RETAIL COST: $173.20
WEEK 4 BEFORE TAX: $6.54
WEEK 4 AFTER TAX: $15.32

TOTAL AFTER 4 WEEKS OF SHOPPING:
RETAIL COST: $505.82
BEFORE TAX: $14.87
AFTER TAX: $39.59

FREE Huggies at Walgreens!

I don't usually shop at Walgreens because I find the coupon policy a bit restrictive.  You are allowed to stack store coupons and manufacturer coupons, but you cannot also use rewards.  Basically, rewards are counted as a coupon, and you need to have the same number of items as the number of "coupons" you are using.  

This week, however, I couldn't pass up these free Huggies.  Walgreens had rewards deals for 2 items I need to buy anyway.  I never buy these items without getting rewards for them:)  First, Tidy Cats was $5 and if you spent $20 you got $5 in rewards.  I had $1/1 coupons for that.  Also, All laundry detergent was $3.99, and if you spent $10 you got $3 rewards.  I had $1 coupons for these too.  So I bought what I needed (using my own stash of coupons, of course) and ended up with $8 in rewards.

Huggies were on sale for $9.50.  The Walgreens coupon book for August had a $4 off Huggies coupon.  You can use one Walgreens coupon and it will apply to multiple quantity, so I got $4 off each pack. I then stacked a $2 off coupon for each pack, so they were $3.50 each, or $7 for both.  I wanted to use my 2 rewards, but because of the policy I needed 2 more items, and I also needed to bring up the total to use the full amount on the rewards.  I chose these mini highlighters for $.50 each.  My total was $8, and I used the $8 in rewards making them free.  If you wait for a store deal you can almost always earn rewards for household items like paper products.  You just need to stock up each sale period to get you through to the next deal:)

A few freebies at Target

I got these 8 items for $.28 today.  The Carefree is only $.96 and I had 4 $1/1 coupons from the Target flyer in the Sunday paper.  I also had 4 $1/1 coupons for any Reach floss, and these ones were priced at $1.07.

Thanks to Wendy for donating the floss coupons:)

2 Freebies from the CVS coupon machine

I love that coupon machine!  It printed out a coupon for a free Honey Bunches of Oats single cup, and $5 off $25 baby purchase. I was buying baby formula anyway, so I threw these outlet covers in to get the total to $25 and they were free (plus I saved a few bucks on the formula too!)

Rite Aid only $.72!!

All those $3 Up Rewards from the Crest toothpaste came in handy for this purchase!

The Dove hair was 2/$7, and I had 2 $3/2 coupons, plus one $2/2 Rite Aid coupon (so they were $1.50 each).
The Suave was $1.99 and I used a $.75 coupon.
The Aquafresh was $1.99 and I used $1 manufacturers coupon and $1 Rite Aid coupon, so it was free.
The Revlon eye tools were buy one get one 50% off, and priced at $3 (so $2.25 each).  I also used a $2 Rite Aid coupon for the beauty tools.

I used $9 in Rewards from the last purchase I posted about.  My total was $.72 before tax!

But the best part was I earned another $9 in Rewards!  The Dove and Suave purchase earned $5 (for having spent $15), and the Revlon tools earned $4 for buying 2 items.  So I came out pretty even, and still have $6 more from the last transaction:)

CVS Moneymaker on Olay!

The CVS coupon machine coupons came in very handy this week!  Here is how I will actually make money buying all 8 of these Olay items:

The face wipes were on sale for $3.74.  I used 4 coupons from the paper to buy one face cleansing product get one body wash or bar soap free.  So all 4 body washes were free.  I then had 2 CVS coupons.  The first was $2 off any $8 or more body wash or soap purchase.  The second was $4 off any $20 Olay (or a few other brands) purchase.  I also had $4 in Extra Bucks from last week.

My total before tax was $4.96.  I can now submit a mail in rebate for Olay products.  The promotion is get $10 back when you buy $30 worth of product.  Amazing!