FYI

Just wanted to let you all know I totally ROCKED the grocery store today!  I didn't buy much, but I still did pretty well!

All of this (plus a bunch of Scallions that I forgot to put in the photo)...

for just $5.43!  One box of the Kashi cereal alone retails for $4.59 so.... I was pretty psyched with my purchases.

I don't normally shop at Stop and Shop, but I looked at the circular that came in yesterday's mail to find that they were offering (4) Dollar Doubler Coupons.  I hate to leave FREE MONEY on the table so I searched my coupon stash and cross checked it with the sales being offered and... here's how I did it.

Kashi Cereal (regular prices $4.59 and $3.99 per box) on Sale 2/$6.  I had TWO printable $1 off one Kashi Cereal coupons and used 2 Dollar Doubler coupons:

     2/$6 SALE

- (2) $1 coupons

- (2) Dollar Doubler coupons

=  2/$2!!

Finish Quantum Powerball 10ct. (regular price $4.99) on Sale for $3.99

   $3.99 SALE

-  $1 off one Finish Quantum Powerball 10 or 12ct.

-  (1) Dollar Doubler coupon

= $1.99

Shoestring French Fries on Sale $1

Salad Dressing on Sale $1

Scallions $.99

(Upon further investigation of my receipt, it seems as though the cashier may have hand entered an extra $1 coupon...oh, and I had $.55 worth of bottle return receipts to use too)

Total:  $5.43

Total Savings:  $8.58

Not quite Extreme Couponer, but I was pretty impressed with myself.  :)

Aaaannnddd... I also saved $94.78 at Target today too!  It was a good day of savings for this cheapskate.

Guess How Much?

It’s time to play every cheapskate’s favorite game…. ‘Guess How Much?’  Personally I love this game.  If you’re sick of it, please let me know and I’ll stop. 

Incidentally, this post will be a little bit about me bragging about my good deals but more about offering some little tips on how to get good deals at CVS.

So--- on with it!

Guess How Much?  FYI--all of these items were purchased at CVS (in case you didn't get that from the above reference)

OK—I’m going to make you wait a bit to actually find out because each item purchased needs a little explaining.

First on my list was the Herbal Essences Shampoo and Conditioner. 

It was on sale 2/$4.97 (regular retail price $4.79 ea.) PLUS purchasing this deal this week also got me $1 extra care bucks (I’ll explain those in a minute), AND I had a manufacturers coupon for $1.00 off any Herbal Essences shampoo or conditioner product.  So, if you’re playing along that means technically I got both of these for  $2.97 (or $1.49 ea)  Good deal!

I love the name of these—  Hilarious!

Next deal:

Skintimate Shave Gel on sale for $1.99 (original price $3.49).  You guessed it—I had a coupon for $1.00 off one.  Total:  $.99

And I must've been in quite the mood yesterday because not only did I buy matching shampoo/conditioner and shave gel, but this one also sounds a little sassy!

did you know mangos could be flirty?  This was news to me.

Now for the biggie.

Schick Hydro 5 Razor: 

On sale for $8.49 (from $9.99) AND receive $5 in extra care bucks (wait for it).  I had 2 coupons for this one—one that was $3.00 off and one that was $2.00 off.  I wasn’t sure which one would work so I handed the cashier both.  Usually when a coupon doesn’t work, when the cashier scans it, it gives him/her a message and they say—‘this coupon isn’t working’ and they’ll tell me why.  I kinda let them do the work for me—it only takes an extra second for them and I don’t have to think too hard.

TIP:  it’s ok to play be dumb sometimes—it may just work to your advantage!

Yep—they BOTH worked!!  So if you’re counting here’s where we’re at with the Schick razor purchase:

On sale $8.49-- Get $5 extra care bucks  = $3.49  + $3.00 off = $.49 + $2.00 off = +$1.51.  Yeah—I totally made money on this one!

In the end, I paid $8.98 at the register BUT I got $7.00 in extra care bucks back (almost time...) so TECHNICALLY, all of this loot only cost me $1.98.

One more thing before I reveal my CVS secrets- just so you don't think I spend every waking hour scouring stores for deals...  Every Sunday I quickly review the CVS circular to see if there are any AMAZING deals that stand out or anything that’s already on my list that I need where CVS might be the best price that week.  Then I kinda sit back and let my favorite couponing sites (mentioned here) let me know if there are any “harder to find” amazing deals—then I head to the store.  Not time consuming at all—I’m a lazy couponer if I’m nothing.

OK-- Let me explain a few CVS secrets:

First the Extra Care Card:

It’s the free store card (just like any other store rewards card)—you just sign up for it at the register.    I still haven’t learned all the tricks of the card, BUT I did learn that if you scan your extracare card at the ‘check your price here’ machine (often times referred to as the ‘magic coupon machine’) it will print out unadvertised CVS store coupons.

TIP—scan it twice because many times it will print out more than one coupon!

Sometimes the coupons are AWESOME—like for free chocolate bars (hello!—FREE chocolate!) and sometimes not so much.  I got 4 coupons on this trip—none of which I will use before they expire—you usually only have a week or so—but all it took was a few seconds of my time so…

(oh and p.s.—TIP  new coupons print out every day so if you have to go more to CVS more than once in a week—check the machine again!)

         

extrabucks:

A lot of times CVS offers deals that include extrabucks.  These “gift certificate coupons” (as I call them) print out on the end of the receipt.  They are good on your next purchase at CVS.  On ANYTHING.  Basically the next time I go in to CVS I have $7 free dollars to spend.

Most of the time, I don’t get sucked into these—because you still have to put more money out up front—and usually for me that’s a deal breaker.  BUT because I KNOW I’ll be back at CVS in the near future, I went ahead with these.  (FYI—RiteAid has a similar program, but there isn’t a RiteAid that is convenient to me, so I don’t ever make a special trip there for this type of deal)

Just be sure if you’re going to take advantage of a deal like this, that you’ll actually have the opportunity to use the “gift certificate coupons” before they expire—usually only a few weeks later-- otherwise you haven't saved much.

And the Green Bag Tag:

I only learned of this because one of the first coupons that printed for me on the ‘magic coupon machine’ was a ‘Get a Free Green Bag Tag’—so… I asked.  If it doesn’t print for you from the ‘magic coupon machine’, I THINK it’s like $1.99 to purchase.    (Usually it comes with a little toggle thingy on the end so that you can attach it to a reusable bag, but since I always use a different bag, I took it off of mine and keep in in my wallet with my CVS extracare card.)   Every time you bring your own bag—have them scan the card.  After 4 visits with the card, $1.00 extra care buck prints on the bottom of your receipt.  Apparently this was my 4th visit - thus making my total extra care bucks for this trip $7 (instead of the $6 I specifically laid out before)

So… there are a few secrets that I’ve learned over the past few months of shopping with coupons and the store cards at CVS.  I hope they might also help you. 

Holy wordy post—sorry.

Target + Coupons = Love

I swear I'm not a CRAZY extreme couponer.  I don't have binders full of coupons- I have one (reasonably sized) coupon wallet.  I don't have shelves of "just-because-I-got-it-on-sale-stuff"- (I do however have a "gift closet" for small last minute gifts and we have enough LEGO gifts to last FOREVER).  I don't spend a ton of time on couponing-- I use other sites that do the work for me, like Thrifty and Thriving, The Krazy Coupon Lady and Mojo Savings.  

In the last couple of weeks, the question has come up a couple of times-- "but do you NEED or USE all of these things that you buy?"  The short answer is that I've made a pact with myself to only buy things that I have a plan for, no matter how good the deal.  If you ever see me posting about things that I bought - "just because they were on sale", please immediately hold an intervention.

Having said all that, check out my latest loot from Target:

Guess how much?  (this is my favorite game to play after a couponing trip to Target)

No.  Not $14.48.  That's how much I SAVED.  Look a little higher.  Total Payment:  $1.81!  WHAT???!!  Even I was shocked!

Here's a closer look at the stuff that I got for $1.81. (and yes-- I had to use my debit card-- I didn't have cash on me (not even $1.81).

First were the back to school (or office) supplies:

• 10 packs of Paper Mate ball point pens:  $1.02 each.  (2) $1.00 Target coupons = 2 packs for $.04
• Scotch Magic Tape:  $1.00 each.  (2) $1.00 Target coupons = 2 rolls for FREE
• 2 packs of Sharpie Markers:  marked $1.54 ea. (rang up $1.00 ea.) (2) $1.00 Target coupons = 4 sharpie markers for FREE

I must add that Ultra Fine Point Sharpie markers are my FAVORITE pens ever! (And I think we all know that I have a love affair with stationary type products).   I don't use ball point pens all that often though, so my plan for these is to donate them to a back to school drive for children in need. 

Food:

• Danimals 6 pk Smoothies $2.74.  (1) $1.00 Target coupon = $1.74

(and my favorite coupon that I use all the time - we use it alot)

• Ortega Taco Seasoning Mix $.69 each.  (1) $1.00 off TWO Ortega products = $.19 each

Health and Beauty Products:

• I had a FREE Suave Naturals Body Wash coupon (that I got from a Facebook promotion) so the body wash was FREE.
• Up & Up Nail Polish Remover:  $.99.  (1) $.50 off Target coupon = $.49

Again, we don't use body wash all that often, but I think this is a good thing to keep in the guest shower (for those who prefer body wash to bar soap). 

Toys:

• Hot Wheels Single Cars:  $1.07 each.  (2) $1.00 off ANY Hot Wheels Product = $.07 each 

So if you're following along with your calculator you're now confused (as was I when my total came up), but upon further review of my receipt I saw this:

A Manufacturer's coupon for $2.85.  

Here's what I'm guessing happened.  I bet the coupon for the FREE Suave bodywash said "up to a value of $2.85" and the cashier just put in the maximum value and not the Target price (which was $1.94) so TECHNICALLY, I made money on this one (and I wasn't even trying).  The difference of $.91 easily covers the cost of the ball point pens, taco seasoning and nail polish remover.

So there you have it.  All this:

for less than $2.00!

Have you gotten any really good deals lately?  

I get lots of good deals at Target.

Yesterday at Target I got all of this:

for $1.47!

Don't believe me?  Need proof?

 

I'm hardly an extreme couponer, but I can see how it can be addicting.  

 Just for fun, here's how I did it:

Shout wipes (travel section) $.97.
   Coupon for $1.00 off any ONE Shout item. = +$.03
Taco Seasonings $.69 ea.
   Coupon for $1.00 off any TWO Ortega products. = $.38 for two (or $.19ea)
Nail polishes $2.49 ea.
   Manufacturers coupon $1.00 off Sally Hansen Nail Color
   +
  Target printable coupon $1.00 Sally Hansen Nail Color = $.49 ea
Sally Hansen Hard As Nails  $2.04
   $2.00 off any Sally Hansen Nail Treatment with purchase of any Nail Color = $.04
Suave Conditioner  $.84
   Target printable coupon $.75 off Suave Hair Care Product - $.09


Total:  $1.47!!   SWEET!  (yep-- I said "sweet"- and I meant it!)

I can't take credit for most of these deals though-- most of them I found at my favorite "couponing" website Thrifty and Thriving-- but I did find the Sally Hansen Nail Treatment deal on my own :)

Anyone else get any really good deals lately?!

I'm a bit unconventional at times

I debated whether or not this was too weird to divulge or not, but.... I'm putting it out there.  I know you won't judge!  :)

Especially when you see that I got this great pullover sweatshirt for $1.98!

In case you are not aware, Target has a place on it's website where you can print Target store coupons.

AND {tip} you can use Target store coupons in conjunction with manufacturers coupons for extra savings.

From time to time they also post apparel and accessory coupons as well.  I ALWAYS print these.  They don't last too long on the site as I've heard that they will only allow a certain number of these to be printed, so when you see them-- act fast.

The other day I printed a coupon for $3 off a certain brand of clothing at Target-- hold on-- I'll tell you what brand in a minute.  I thought on the crazy off chance that something from this brand really caught my eye, I'd try it on and see what it looked like.

I don't know what happened to this photo-- it's so fuzzy and weird looking.

Wouldn't you know -- in the clearance rack was this sweatshirt - marked down to $4.98.

I don't usually wear much purple, but this was cute and at less than $5 for a sweatshirt I thought I'd give it a try.  It looked like it was about right size too -- it would be roomy, but I kinda like my sweatshirts to be roomy.

Upon further investigation the tag revealed this:

Yep-- maternity wear.  And guess what my $3 off coupon was for?  Yep- Liz Lange maternity item.  So I HAD to try it on and see for myself. 

It's actually pretty cute!  And if there are ever any more children in our future, I've got one less piece of clothing to buy! 

I know the following pose doesn't help, but I wanted to show you the side details.  What do you think?  Does it look maternity to you?

Nevermind that it totally doesn't match my pants, I just put it on for photo purposes.

And-- just for the record.  No, I am not pregnant.  :)

Sometimes you gotta' act fast!

Ok moms and dads out there (or grandparents or Aunts and Uncles or anyone really)!  For 3 days only you can get a FREE photo brag book at Walgreens!  And if you have it shipped directly to your closest Walgreens location you don't have to pay for shipping either!  TOTALLY free! 

I'm just trying to decide if I want to make one for myself or to use as a gift...

Thanks for the heads up Gina!

I love Target.

So, thanks to tips from my new favorite website,  Thrifty and Thriving, a few weeks ago I did some amazing cheapskate shopping at Target.  

I bought a t-shirt, a bottle of Sally Hansen nail polish and 2 Reese's Peanut Butter cups (for the hubs).  Can you guess how much I spent?

 If this helps, the shirt was on clearance-- marked down to from $14.99 to $3.74.

And.... I used coupons.

What if I told you I only spent $1.57!  Yes-- one dollar and fifty seven cents.    Here's how I did it.

For those of you who don't know-- Target has a place on their website where you can download and print Target store coupons.   For the shirt, I used a $3 off women's apparel item coupon so the shirt only ended up costing me $.74.

Another fact-- Target will allow you to use a store coupon in conjunction with a manufacturer's coupon on an item.

So.... the Reese's Peanut Butter cups-- were $.74 each.  I had a Buy One Get One Free printable Target coupon and a $.50 off Reese's Peanut Butter Cup manufacturer's coupon--after both coupons, total for both-- $.24.

As for the the Sally Hansen nail polish was $1.49 BUT I also had a $1.00 manufacturer's coupon-- so make that $.49.

$.74 shirt + $.24 for two Reese's Peanut Butter cups + $.49 nail polish = $1.57 (after tax).

I'm not THAT good at couponing yet, but Christy at Thrifty and Thriving lays it all out for you-- it's so easy!  Check it out-- get one good deal like this and you'll be hooked.  Getting a good deal is such a thrill.

Let me know if you get any good deals!

I'm in love with another blogger!

O.M.G. you guys-- check out Thrifty and Thriving!  It takes ALL the guess work out of finding some amazing deals. 

It's helped me get a bunch of FREE things and most recently-- FREE shipping on my $2 order at Kohl's  (not the usual $75 minimum for Free shipping).

Thank you Christy!  I love you! ;)  Seriously-- check it out-- you'll love her too