Latest Coupon Spreadsheet

I haven't posted this in a while but it is updated with June 6th and June 13th coupons from the Santa Cruz Sentinel. I think the week before that there weren't any so this is up to date.

Coupons as of 6/13/10

Going to CVS tonight - hopefully, I'll have time to publish my savings! But there are some great deals listed on My Frugal Adventures.

Safeway savings today

I know it's been a while since I blogged. I'm slowing down a bit anyway but I got some great deals at Safeway today with their buy 8 save $4 deal. I also got a few freebies with the Kraft first taste program and a Butterfinger coupon I got recently. Anyway, here's the rundown:

Regular price for everything: $29
Price I actually paid: 5.69
Savings: 23.31 or 82%

Details:
Buy 8 Save $4

• 2 Rolaids - 1.49 with save $4 deal + $4/2 coupon from last Sunday's paper made this a $1.02 money maker - best deal of the day!
• Kraft Mac and Cheese - .49 with save $4 + .55 coupon from a kraftbrands.com game made this a .06 money maker
• Betty Crocker frosting - $1.19 with save $4 + .50 coupon from coupons.com made it .69.
• Cheerios - $1.49 with save $4 + .55 coupon from coupons.com and a .55 ecoupon from Shortcuts.com made this .39
• 2 Fruit Rollups - 1.49 each with save $4 + .50/2 ecoupon from Shortcuts.com made these 2.48 for both
• Chex Mix - 1.49 with save $4 +.50 from coupons.com + .50 from cellfire.com made this .49

Note: Cellfire and Shortcuts.com put the ecoupons on your Safeway card

Freebies:
Butterfinger - coupon for free from some online special
Kool Aid Fun Fizz - coupon for free from Kraft first taste

Other deal:
Kraft Deli cheddar slices - on sale for 3.49 + a $1 coupon right next to it on the aisle = 2.49


By the way, there are a lot more good deals to be had with the buy 8 save $4 deal. Check out Bargain Blessings' rundown. I think her numbers are a bit off on some things but they're still great deals.

My CVS savings this week

I didn't have much hope for CVS, this week but it turned out really good - it did take some thinking and searching, though. The rule of thumb for today is - gather and collect all the coupons you can from every possible source because they can all come in handy!

Overall, the regular price of everything I bought would have been $33.50, on sale it was 22.34 but with all my coupons and Extra Bucks from the register, I got it down to 5.05 for a savings of 85%!

I used coupons from several sources, but wierdly, none from online, go figure. Anyway, here's the rundown of what I got:

• Zone Perfect bar - on sale for $1, + coupon for .55/1 from last Sunday's paper made this .45 - a savings of 72% off the original price of $1.59
• Dawn dish detergent - on sale for .83 + a coupon for .50 from the 5/2 Sunday Paper, the P&G pullout, made this .33 for a savings of 83% off the 1.99 original price
• 2 Dawn dish detergents - on sale for .83 + (2) .25/1 coupons (1 from the same 5/2 paper and on e from a P&G coupon book I got for a rebate offer *see below). So, these ended up being .58 each for a savings of 71%.
• 1 Aussie Shampoo plus 1 Aussie mousse - on sale for 2.99 each with a $2 ECB back at the register, plus a $2/2 coupon from this last Sunday's paper + a $1 coupon from the CVS card scanner made these .50 each - saving me 90% off the regular price of $4.99 for the mousse and 88% off the 4.29 cost of the shampoo
• Herbal Essences Conditioner - on sale for 2.99 with a $2 ECB back at the register, plus a $1 coupon from Sunday's paper made this one FREE!
• Cascade Action packs 16ct - on sale for 3.99 + a .50 coupon from the 5/2 Sunday P&G pullout. So, this was 3.49 for a savings of 54% off the 6.49 regular price (my least best deal but very useful)
• Speed Stick with stainguard - on sale for 2.99 with a $2 ECB back at the register + a .50 coupon I got from a recent paper - just don't know which one - made this .49 for a savings of 88% off the regular price of 3.99
• Finally, I had a $5 off of a $30 order that I got by email this week from the Care Card account!
  

I also just got a kitchen sponge which figures into the mix but there was no deal on that one. So, all in all a really good day - I used about $8.50 in ECBs that I got on previous trips so even though my bill was about 11.05, I only gave the cashier $2.55 in cash.

So, it pays to keep every coupon you get, just in case and find all the sources you can - online, papers, club cards, scanning at the CVS scanner in the store and going for the ECBs!

All these deals are good through tomorrow - Saturday so hurry in if you like any of them.

*P&G coupon book rebate offer - The P&G pullout often has a mail-in form to send away for a coupon book. None of the coupons are all that great but they could be useful and , hey - I did use one, today. This time, from the 5/2 paper, they want you to purchase $50 worth of P&G products by 5/31/10, send in the receipts with the form and they'll send you the coupon book. That may sound like a big deal just for some coupons - and frankly that is true. Last time, I went through my receipts - as I'm keeping all of them for rebates in general - and sure enough, I had plenty of P&G products naturally, so I didn't buy anything extra. I will do the same this time and if I have enough, great - I'll send in for it - but if not - no big loss.

My Walgreens trip this week

I actually made 2 trips to Walgreens - one for extreme savings, and one to get pet supplies for our foster kittie Coco. I actually did pretty well on that trip, too - not my goal of 80% but I had to get some litter and cat food.

So, here's the rundown on my first trip

• Post Grape Nuts - on sale for 1.75, plus a coupon for $2/1 coupon from postnatural.com (coupon is good for Raisin Bran and Shredded Wheat, also) - .25 credit toward the rest of my order!
• Oscar Mayer Deli Creations - 1.99 with Wags coupon from circular plus a $1 Q from Sunday's paper made this only .99 for a savings of 70%
• 3 Reach flosses - 90yds - on sale for $4 each but Wags' circular coupon made these 6.99 for all 3 plus a coupon for $3/3 from the 4/11 Sunday paper made these only 3.99 for all 3 for a savings of 83% off the regular price of $7.99 each
• 2 Stride Shift flavor gum - on sale for $1 each plus a $1 off Q from the Wags May booklet made these about .50 each - which saved me 61% (sorry, we didn't really like the gum, though)

So, in total, this order would've cost me 34.63 and I paid 4.85 for it - a savings of 86%! Very cool.

On my pet supply run, I only got 2 things. The interesting thing about couponing is when you need a particular item and you need to search the stores and coupons to save as much as possible right now. You can't usually get huge savings but at least you're not paying full price for anything. That's what I did here and with a little planning and searching my coupons that I've saved, here's how I did:

• Tidy Cat litter 14 lb - on sale for $5 plus a coupon for $1 off made it $4. Regularly, this is 6.99 so I saved 43%
• Friskies 50.4 oz dry food - on sale for 4.99 plus a coupon for $1 off made this 3.99, a savings of 33% off the normal 5.99 price.

So, for this trip, I saved 38% - not bad for a spur of the moment coupon trip.

Let me know how you're doing in your couponing. What great deals are you finding? Am I helping with my blog at all or should I spend more time on my knitting?? Let me know!

Safeway and Nob Hill deals this week

Check out My Frugal Adventures for this week's deals at SW and NH. I'm not seeing much that strikes my fancy but maybe it's all stuff you need!

Safeway
Nob Hill

Wags and CVS for week of 5/16

Don't have a lot of time right now to write up my savings at Walgreens last night but for now, here are the links to my sources for all the great deals there and at CVS. Just remember, sometimes their Sunday coupons aren't the same as ours.

My Frugal Adventures:
CVS
Walgreens

Bargain Blessings
Walgreens

Going to CVS maybe today. Not real excited about any of the deals there this week. But, I'll write more about Walgreens tonight!

Safeway Savings this week

Sorry, I didn't post sooner. But, you still have time to take advantage of some of these deals through tomorrow:

Select cereals and breakfast bars - buy 4 save $4. Here's how I got some for free:

• 2 Kellogg's Corn Flakes - $1 with the 4 save $4 deal plus a $1 of Q from coupons.com makes these .50 each.
• 1 each of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes and Apple Jacks (or others) were 1.50 each with the 4 save $4 deal plus the same Q from coupons.com for $1 off of 2 makes these $1 each - that's $3 total
• Plus, there was a catalina deal through the 14th (may be over now) which gave you $3 off of 4 Kellogg's cereals - making these free! Even without the catalina deal, you save 80%!
• Classico pasta sauce - on sale for 2 for $4 plus you get 2 free Safeway pastas. There's also a $1.50 off of 2 Q at coupons.com which makes this deal 2.50 for both sauces and pastas - that's a savings of 74%
• Homel pepperoni is BOGO free at Safeway, plus there's a .55 Q at coupons.com, making this 4.24 for both or 2.12 each. That's a savings of 56%.
• Nabisco 100 calorie packs - On sale for 2/$5 + a BOGO free Q at coupons.com plus there was another catalina deal for $1 coupon back at the register for your next order, (this was probably over on the 16th). This makes these 1.50 for both or .75 each. Off of their regular price, this is a 80% savings - even without the cat, it's a 66% savings
• Activia yogurt - on sale for 1.99 with the flyer coupon + a $1 Q from the May 2nd Sunday paper, makes this .99 or 60% off the regular price.

Tonight I'm going to Nob Hill where I think I can get S'mores fixings for free. There's a .99 coupon for all 3 needed items on Raleys.com (Honey Maid grahams, Hershey's chocolate and Kraft Marshmallows). Plus there was a coupon in yesterday's paper for $1 all these same items!
There's also a $1 coupon on the Raleys.com site and a $1 Q from the 4/25 Sunday paper.

If you want to check out more deals for this week's Safeway and Nob Hill check out the My Frugal Adventures website for both.

Happy Shopping!

Latest spreadsheet

I don't know if I posted this last week. But, here is the latest spreadsheet of coupons that we got in the SC Sentinel, including the last 3 weeks together.

I know this has been great for me to easily find if I have a coupon to match a sale. Hopefully it helps you too!

Spreadsheet as of 5.16.10

There's also been some great deals at Safeway this week. Hopefully, you've gotten some. I'll post the ones I've gotten tomorrow.

Great deals at CVS this week

My Frugal Adventures has a good rundown on the deals at CVS this week. Be careful and check your coupons, though because ours are different sometimes than hers.

But, I found some great deals along with hers. Here's how I did today at CVS:

Original non-coupon total - $45.61
Total after all coupons, sales and Extra Bucks - $4.80
Savings of $40.81 or 89%!!

Here's the rundown on the deals:

• Carefree pads - originally 1.69, on sale 10/$10, + coupon for $1 off from the Sunday paper from 4/25 - final price - FREE!
• CVS Sheer bandaids - originally 2.59, on sale for 10/$10 + CVS coupon (from card scanner in the store) for $1 off 2 CVS first aid products - final price .50 - savings of 81%
• CVS Adhesive tape - originally 2.99, on sale for 10/$10 + CVS coupon (from card scanner in the store) for $1 off 2 CVS first aid products - final price .50 - savings of 83%
• 2 Right Guard Total Defense 5s - originally priced 4.49 each, on sale for 2.99 + $3 off of 2 coupon from coupons.com (it was under zip code 49417 but I don't see it, anymore. But, there is a $1 off of 1 coupon, still so print 2) + CVS is offering a $4 Extra bucks when you buy 2 so this is a money-maker, even with the smaller coupons.
• Cottonelle bath tissue - originally 12.49, on sale for 4.99 (even this is a good deal) + a .50 coupon from the 4/18 Sunday paper, I think, final cost 4.50 for a savings of 64%
• Crest Pro-Health toothpaste, originally 3.89, on sale for 3.50, with a coupon for .75 from thed 5/1 Sunday's paper + a CVS Extra bucks for 3.50 making this a .75c money-maker!
• Sudafed Triple Action (this was the main reason I went to begin with)- originally 7.99, on sale for 6.99 with a $2 coupon from the Sudafed.com website, making this only 4.99
• Visine - originally 4.99 + a coupon for $1 off from the Visine.com website
• PLUS - I got a $5 off coupon for the Sudafed and Visine from the 4/11 Sunday Paper (the one with all the allergy medicines in it) Which means I got one of these for free! So, at $5 for both, that's a savings of 61%!

This was a good run to CVS and most of these deals you can get, too. Check out the MFA blog for more CVS deals, too. If you search for CVS in the field on the right, you can get them all at once.

Happy Couponing!

Wags and CVS for week of 5/9

Check out the posts about the deals coming up next week for Wags and CVS.


I'll let you know what I like soon.

Safeway and Nob Hill's deals this week

Here's the latest blog posts for deals this week at Safeway and Nob Hill's.

Bargain Blessings has them for Safeway

My Frugal Adventures did Raley's/Nob Hill

I'll give you my take in the next day or so. Happy couponing!!

CVS and Walgreens deals

Here are links to My Frugal Adventures' posts on this week's deals on CVS and Walgreens! I did only one or two at CVS yesterday but am going to get a bunch at Wags, today. I'll let you know how I do.

Check these out for the full details though:

CVS for week of 5/2 - 5/8
Wags for week of 5/2 - 5/8

I'm finding that her Sunday coupons are not always the same as ours - so check my handy dandy spreadsheet in the last post to see if the coupons she references for RP (Red Plum), SS (SmartSource) or P&G are actually in our paper.

Let me know if you come across any other deals. Safeway and Nob Hill coming soon!

Sunday Coupons - Spreadsheet Style!

I saw this on one of my fave coupon blogs, Bargain Blessings. She uploads a spreadsheet of all the Sunday coupons for easy searches and comparisons. So, I thought I'd give it a try. I know it will help me search for Qs that I want to stack with the sales. I get so tired of flipping through the Q sections of the paper.

And, I also thought it might be worth sharing - maybe some of you can get a use out of it, too. Let me know if it's helpful!

Here's my spreadsheet for 5.1.10. I can't decide if I want to keep each week separated or put them all on one sheet. Let me know what you think.

Have a great week! I'll let you know what's up at our local SV stores soon!

79% Savings at Safeway!!

My fun week continued today as I took advantage of some great deals at Safeway. I was already planning on a few and then My Frugal Adventures reminded me that the buy 5 save $5 deal on dairy products was still going on. I tried to get this deal last week but didn't have enough coupons to make my 80% goal with it. But, with the help of a couple more Qs that MFA led me to, I was able to incorporate it with my savings, today.

Overall the total I would've spent - 32.62
Total I did spend - 6.86 -plus I'll be getting $2.50 back in a rebate - so 4.36!
Total saved - 25.76 or 79%!

Here are the specifics on what I got -
For the save $5 on 5:

• Philadelphia cream cheese minis - normally 2.49, on sale for 1.49, but .49 with the 5 on 5 deal plus my Q for.50 off from the 4/18 Sunday paper makes it FREE!
• Kraft singles - normally 4.49, on sale for $3, but $2 with the 5 on 5 deal plus my $1 Q that came from a Safeway booklet of Qs I got along with a reusable bag when donating a few bucks to a cause makes it $1 for a savings of 78%.
  
• 2 Kraft 100 calorie packs - normally $3.99, on sale for $2.50, but 1.50 with the 5 on 5 deal plus my Qs for $1 off each that I got from kraftrecipes.com makes these .49 each - saving 88%!
  
• Knudson sour cream - normally 2.59, on sale for 1.99, but .99 with the 5 on 5 deal plus my .60 Q I got from this link from the MFA blog makes this .40 or a savings of 85%!

My other deals:

• Sargento shredded cheese, normally 3.49 but 1.69 with the Q from the Safeway circular and with my $1 Q from coupons.com (there's now just a .75 Q here but I'm still going to get this deal again! try using zip codes 20770 or 53221) makes it .69 - saving 80%!
  
• 6 Yoplait yogurts, normally .70, on sale for .50 and with my .50 Q from coupons.com (may not be there any more), they were just .42 each and a savings of 60%.
• Red Baron pizza by the slice - normally $3, on sale for 2.50 and with my Q for $1 off from Sunday's paper, it's just 1.50 - BUT, there's also a rebate form in the paper for the full price back so I'll be getting $2.50 back in the mail so this is a $1 money maker!
• Mission soft taco shells - normally 2.39 on sale for .99 and with my .75 Q they are only .24 saving 90%!
• Avocado - normally 1.99, on sale for only .33c each saving 83%
  

Loving this week in coupons! Hope it helps you find some good deals, too!

Wags and CVS savings fun!

I've had quite a fun adventure the last couple of days trying to keep my goal of saving 80% on my couponing (except on items I need - must clarify that.) Here's my overall savings from 3 trips to Wags and 1 to CVS:

Would have spent (full-price cost) - 98.59
Total actually spent - 27.61
Total saved - 70.98
Percentage saved - 72%! Quite Excellent in my estimation!

Here's a highlight of some of the excellent deals I got - and that you can get, too!

Walgreens -

• Stayfree maxi pads - Free with 2.99 register rewards (RR) and if you have the $1Q from Sunday's paper - it's a $1 money maker!
• Hallmark cards - buy 8 and get a $5 RR, this goes for the .99 cards too so get them for .37 each
• Campbell's Chick. Noodle and Tomato soups - on sale for .69 each with Wags circular Q and then use the $1 off Q from Campbell's Kitchen and they're .18 each!
• Tone Body Wash - Free with $2.99 RR

CVS

• Irish Spring Body wash - .99 with $2 extra buck (EB) and with the .50 Q from Sunday's paper it's only .49
• Schick Women's Quattro Razor (not disposable) or refill - 4.99 with $4EB and with the $4 Q from Sunday's paper, that makes it .99! This deal is also out there for the Schick Intuition razor or refill but, because there were 2 Qs in the paper, one for the Quattro and one for the Intuition and they didn't cross over, alas I couldn't get a pack of refills for my razor.

If you're REALLY interested, here's all my deals and exactly how I got them:

Walgreens, trip 1 (remember, I learned that the RR will only print one per visit so I split my deals up into 3 visits - am I going overboard? :-))

• Tone body wash - normally 2.99, free with 2.99 RR
• Nature's Bounty B Complex vitamins - BOGO free, normally 9.99 plus I had a $1Q from a recent paper, I think so I paid 8.99 for both or 4.49 each - savings of 60% but I'm almost out of my B complex so I needed them.
• Off Clip-on mosquito repellent - normally 9.99, on sale for 8.99 but I had a BOGO free coupon from Offcliponsavings.com and I had a $2 Q from Sunday's paper. So I paid 6.99 for both or 3.49 each - a savings of 61% but I definitely need these for our trip to Asia this summer!
• Viactiv calcium chews - normally 9.99 and I had a Q for $3 making it 6.99 or 30% savings but I've been out of these for a while and I need my calcium!
  

Total full-price - 61.34 (incl. tax)
Total actually paid - $21.56 (including the RR I got for the Tone and tax)
Savings of - 39.78 or 65%

Wags, trip 2

• cans of Campbell's soup - one tomato and one chick. noodle - normally .99 and 1.59, I used .69 each Q from the Wags circular and the $1 off of 2 Q from Campbell's Kitchen so they were .18 each for a savings of 82% and 87%!
• Scotch packaging tape - normally 3.99 but .99 with Wags circular Q and I got a $1 off Q from offtherollcontest.com so it was free! Unfortunately, that coupon is not there anymore :-( so I'm sorry I can't recommend this deal to you.

Total full price - 6.57 (incl. tax)
Total actually paid - .46 (incl. tax)
Savings of 6.11 or 93% - best trip ever!

Wags trip 3

• Halmark cards - 8 at normal price of .99 with a RR of $5 so it cost 3.00 for all 8 or .37 each for a savings of 63% - the only actual violation of my rule but I can use all of these.
  
• Stayfree maxi pads - normally 3.99, on sale for 2.99 with a 2.99 RR plus a Q for $1 from Sunday's paper for a total of $1 money maker! (Here's where I was surprised that I got both RRs. A few trips ago, I only got one out of 3 RRs so this is a hit and miss thing.)
• Scotch packaging tape - normally 3.99 but .99 with Wags circular Q and the $1 off Q made it free

Total full price - 15.70 (incl. tax)
Total actually paid - $3 (incl. tax and RRs)
Savings of 12.70 or 80%

CVS

• Schick Women's Quattro (not disposable) or refill - normally 9.99, on sale for 8.99 with $4 EB and with the $4 Q from Sunday's paper, that makes it .99! That's a savings of 90%
• Irish Spring body wash - normally 4.99, on sale for 2.99 with a $2 EB and a .50Q made this .49

Total full price - 16.09 (incl. tax)
Total actually paid - 2.59 (incl. tax and EBs)
Savings of 12.39 or 83%

To see all of the deals for Walgreens and CVS, check out My Frugal Adventure's blog posts.

I'll be looking at Safeway and Nob Hill soon.

Walgreens sneak peek

So, if you didn't already know, a great way to get ahead on the deals at Walgreens is to sign up for their weekly sneak peek of next weeks deals. Sign up at Wallgreens.com under the local weekly ad. Then, each Friday, you'll get an email with a link to the sneak peek that doesn't come up when you go straight to the website.

So, here's a peek at the sneak peek for next week at Walgreens:

• Revlon ColorSilk hair color- $1.99 coupon in the circular, plus a $1 coupon from the 4/11 Sunday paper (SP), making it only .99!
• Osteo Bi-Flex for joints is BOGO free and with the coupon for $5 off from the 4/11 SP, the normally 29.99 product can be 2 for 24.99 or 12.49 each.
• Nestle candy bars are .39 each, limit 3
• Neutrogena cosmetics are BOGO 50% off. Normally, I don't like this deal but in the 4/18 SP there were 2 coupons for Neutrogena - $2 off face makeup and $1 off lip or eye makeup which might make this worth it.
• Orbit, Stride or Trident gum 3-packs are 1.99 with the coupon from the circular
• Smart Balance butter spread is BOGO free at 3.29 for 2
• Listerine Coolmint, Vanilla mint, freshburst (1 liter) or whitening rince (16 oz) are $2 off with circular coupon, plus there were coupons in the 4/11 SP for .50 off the mouthwashes and $1 off the whitening rinse. So, the normally 4.79 mouthwashes will be $2.29 and the whitening, normally 5.49 will be 2.49
• Children's Zyrtec - 12 count chewable tablets or liquid 10 - $2 off coupon in circular and in the 4/11 SP there is a $2 coupon making this 10.99 product only 6.99
• Children's Benadryl - 18 or 10 ct or 4 oz liq. $2 off Q in circular and a $1 Q in 4/11 SP makes these 6.99 products only 3.99!
• AND - if you buy 2 of either of the 2 allergy products above, or one of each the 4/11 SP had a great $5 Q! That's like getting the zyrtec for 3.59 and the Benadryl for 1.49!
  

That's all I have time for right now. I'll try to add to this list later tonight if I have time!

My new goal

So a few days ago, Vienna and I were talking about my couponing and it came out that I am actually spending more per month in my grocery bill than I was before I was couponing. I think that I have been so excited about it and it's so addicting that I may have been going a bit overboard.

So, I've set a new goal for my couponing. Unless I need an item, say within the next couple of weeks or so, I won't buy something on coupons, unless I can save 80%. That's a pretty stiff goal and so far, I'm falling a bit short but it's worth striving for. I have enough cereal, deodorant and shampoo to last a few months.

So, how'd I do? Well let's see how I did at CVS, today:

• 3 cans of tuna at .49 - no coupon. (Ok, that's not near 80% but it's way hard to get tuna below this price - that's my story and I'm sticking to it.)
• 2 NYC blushes - on sale for BOGO free at 2.99 and I had a $1 coupon so I paid $1.99 for both or .99 each which makes it a 67% savings. (still not there, huh? Well, I needed one blush anyway to replace my brown so I'm cool with this one)
• ok, how about the 2 Rimmel eyeliners - 3.99 BOGO free and I had 2 $1 coupons so I paid 1.99 for both or .99 each - that's a 73% savings. (a bit closer!)
• 1 Lady Speed Stick - 3.49 with a $2 extra buck at the register and I had a .75 coupon so I paid .74 for it - that's a 79% savings (I'm counting that!)
• Finally, I got a CVS green bag tag - .99 with a .99 extra buck so it was free! Yay!

So, I'm learning and progressing. But, I'll tell you I passed up a lot of 50 and 60% savings deals - and it was tough!! I think I went through some withdrawals. But, I gotta get used to this new goal and keep trying. I'll let you know how I do.

NOTE: if you haven't gotten one of the CVS green bag tags, this week's your week! They are free with the extra buck coming back at the register and then every 4th time you bring it and either use a reusable bag or your own bag - or no bag- they will give you a $1 extra buck! So, you basically get .25 each time you shop there - now that's a deal! Keep an eye out for free reusable bag deals for earth day, too so you can take full advantage of this deal.

For more CVS deals this week, check out this My Frugal Adventures blog. Tomorrow, I check out Safeway and Nob Hill deals.

Lesson Learned

AAHH! I hate it when I mess up on my coupons and pay more than I should have! Today I re-learned a valuable lesson that I should have learned from My Frugal Adventure's blog on basic Walgreen's policies for coupons.

The main one I ignored was that Walgreens will only give you one register reward per visit. But, I also forgot that the register won't let you use more manufacturer coupons than you have items. Blerg!!

So, instead of getting 80% off my order with 7.00 in register rewards, I only got 51% and even had to pay full price for one item! Argh!

So, be careful out there. The Walgreens deals this week have several with register rewards so don't get caught and plan carefully.

Boy, it was a Monday.

Nob Hill this week

My Frugal Adventures has a good rundown on Nob Hill this week. Check them out for the details.

I just went, myself on the way home from my short day at work :-) and here are the deals I got:

• Dannon Activa yogurt 4-pack - on sale for 2.48 and I had a $1 coupon from Sunday's paper, making it 1.48
• DiGiorno pizza and breadsticks - on sale for 5.99 and I had a coupon for $3 off. Not sure where I got that one.
• Tropicana Trop 50 on sale for 2/$6 and I had a BOGO free coupon from a one-day deal at Tropicana Juicy Rewards a while back. (got it from My Frugal Adventures sending me alerts on my FB wall.)
• Annie's mac and cheese are on sale for $1.50 each - no coupon for this.
• Crystal Geyser sparkling water on sale for .88. no coupons here, either.

Even with no coupons for the last two items, I saved 51% under the original prices.

When I got home, I had gotten 2 free samples in the mail - a South Beach bar and a pack of Stride mystery flavor gum (I tasted it and the flavor is still a mystery!). Plus, I got back an Olay rebate of $15 I put in for weeks ago - so it's been a good couponing day!

And, I just read this last great tip from My Frugal Adventures. You can call companies and request coupons! It even provides a list of companies that will send them to you.

My Safeway deals yesterday - get in on them!!

Yesterday, I thought I did pretty well at Safeway with their Buy 5 save $5 and the Get $10 off coupon with $25 P& G purchase- but it was tricky.

Starting with the 5 for $5, these are all breakfast foods and I was pretty stocked up on cereal already but I got 2 more boxes, plus some things I needed:

• 2 NutriGrain cereal bars - no coupons anywhere that I could find but my hubby eats these for b-fast so I needed them ($2 after the 5 for $5)
• 2 GM cereals - with a $1 Q for 2 from Coupons.com or SmartSource.com ($1.50 each after 5 for $5 and and $1 after my Q)
• 1 Nut clusters - I had a $1 coupon ($1.50 after 5 for $5 and .50 after my Q!)

So, I spent a total of $4.50 for all 5 items - not bad! You could probably do something different but be careful because only the items with the 5 for $5 tag count in this deal - e.g. regular Cheerios but not Honey Nut Cheerios.

On the $10 coupon off $25 purchase of P&G products, it was also tricky because only those items with the tags counted so I had to be really careful to match up my ecoupons from the P&G esaver site with those items. And, I'm picky - only wanting to get what I can use. (Remember the P&G esaver works with your Safeway card and they come off automatically. You can also stack paper coupons with them for more savings)

Here's how I managed:

• Tide detergent with Febreeze- 6.99 sale price + an eQ for $1 from the P&G site for a final price of 5.99
• Gain detergent - 9.99 sale price and I had a $1 eQ for a final price of 8.99
• Cascade Action Pac s - 4.49 sale price and I had the $3.99 Safeway coupon from this week's circular and a .50 eQ so my final price on it was 2.49
• Duracel AA batteries - pack of 8 - 5.99 sale price and I had a $1 eQ for a final price of 4.99

So, my total for the $10 promo (pre-Qs) was $27.46 but I actually paid only $22.46 and still got the $10. BUT! the coupon didn't print at the register so I had to go to the CS desk. But, because I was so careful and made sure I got all items that had the $10 tags, they gave me a gift card for next time.

All in all for this promo, I paid 12.46 for all the items - pretty good, considering their non-sale price total would have been - $32.96 - that's a savings of- 62%!

Finally, I did the promotion I heard about at My Frugal Adventures for the Scrubbing Bubbles new extend-a-clean offer.

The starter kit was on sale for 6.99 and refills for 3.50. There are coupons in last Sunday's paper for $5 off of the starter kit and $1 off of the refill. So, I got both for $4.49 and got the $2 coupon off my next order at the register, bringing that total down to 2.49 for both. That's an 82% savings off of the non-sale prices of 8.99 and 4.99. Not too bad -

BUT! I just now realized that I was supposed to get the coupon for the free refill first! I thought it was a rebate but if I had gotten this, the whole thing would've been free and I would've gotten $1 off the rest of my order, too! So, if you do this deal - don't forget that!

But, I am going to do the SC Johson rebate offer and still get $5 back! I need to add one more item because it's for 3 but luckily I keep all my receipts from these deals and have a few of the other items already purchased.

All of these deals go through this week so hurry over to the P&G site for your Qs and then on to Safeway!

Walgreens this week

My Frugal Adventures has a great synopsis of the deals you can find at Walgreens this week.

Note: When it says "RP" that means the Red Plum insert in Sunday's paper and it gives the date
When it says "SS" that's the SmartSource insert in Sunday's paper.

I would add:

• There is a 1.50 coupon off of 2 Kellogg's cereals at Redplum.com - also a $1 off 3 Kellogg's and $1 off of 2 Kellogg's - check to make sure they are cereals you want - each coupon is for a different set.

• Wags has Osteo Bi-Flex joint shield at BOGO free and there is a $5 off coupon as well at Coupons.com. These start at 20.99 and go up to 39.99.
• Prevacid is on sale for 19.99 and there's a $6 Q in Sunday's paper, making it 13.99.
• Visine is on sale dor 3.99 and there was a $2 coupon in Sunday's paper, making it 1.99. (I'm gonna get that deal!)
• Glade candles are on sale 2/$5 and there is a coupon in Sunday's paper for $2/2 or .75/1. So, you can get 2 for $3 or 1.50 each

But, check out My Frugal Adventures, because they have all the rest of the great deals. And, stay tuned because I am working on a post on all my resources so you can start doing research, too!

My Awesome Resources

It's been a couple of weeks since I started the blog and it's been a lot of fun! And, since the first post, I've been wanting to share my valuable resources with you all but haven't had a spare post to do that. So, today's the day! I have linked to several of these resources already so you may already be familiar with them but I wanted to give you more detail so you can do your own research for your own couponing needs.

Let's start with the coupon sites:

• Coupons.com - has by far the most printable coupons out there. It's easy to use and intuitive. The only thing to remember about this and the others is that you need to have your printer hooked up and ready before you hit print because they don't give you a print pop-up - they just go straight to the printer.
• Smartsource.com - has fewer coupons but still a good number. Some are the same as above but this gives you more opportunity for printing multiples. Usually, each site will let you print a coupon 2-3 times. You can get around that by using different browsers and computers, though so you really should be able to print off several of the ones you want.
• Redplum.com - has significantly fewer coupons but I always check there as well.
• Grocerysmarts.com - kindof is a one-stop shop for most online coupons. It has 4 "groups", the first three are just the above 3 websites. But, the last group is an alphabetic list of coupons that are out there on the web - much more comprehensive than any one of the other sites. I use this one to look for specific coupons or to be able to see most coupons on the web in one place.
• Proctor and Gamble - Has a lot of ecoupons that can be used on your Safeway card. Just register your card there and then click on the coupons you want and they automatically get added to you card and then deducted from your grocery bill. But, you'll want to print out the list of coupons you checked so you don't forget what you have when you go to the store.
• Shortcuts.com and Celffire.com- two other ecoupon sites - work just like the P&G site. But, some of these others will let you register other cards, like Raley's/Nob Hill. But, Nob Hill doesn't really have a card, unless you get one of the Quality of Life education/scrip cards, either from your PTA or by calling 1-800-925-9989. I am trying the number but if any of you know a PTA that is using this card, let me know! Be sure to print off your shopping lists after choosing your coupons. You don't want to forget the coupons that are on your card.
  
• UPromise.com - this one does not give you direct savings in money, but puts your coupon savings into an account that you can use for college for yourself or someone else. I like this one because they have tons of online stores that give you money in your account if you buy through upromise - of course not Amazon, which is where I do most of my shopping. So, I've done a couple of purchases where I compared the price to Amazon and then used a store on Upromise anyway because the price was better and I got money in my account.
• General Mills - boxtops for education. Focuses on GM products and donates money to education through their long-time boxtops program.
  

And, now for the blogs - the fun stuff

Mari's Musings - This is my best friend and coupon mentor's blog. She taught me everything I know! She shares deals she finds as well as spreadsheets on how she saves up to 80% on her shopping sprees.

My Frugal Adventures - A great blog on the west coast and she gives tons of deals and insight on how to coupon well. Here are some highlights:

• Become a fan of the FB page and get deals several times a day. These are ones I share often on my FB page
• Check out her "Where to Begin" page to start learning the basics.
• She has a great Acronyms page to help you learn the lingo
• Her drugstores 101 page will really help you with the CVS and Walgreens stores so you can take full advantage of their deals.
  

Bargain Blessings - my second favorite blog. It has a lot of the same deals and even has a spiritual theme, as well which I love. Highlights from BB:

• Become a fan of the FB page and get deals several times a day. I share these a lot, too.
  
• An intro page - telling how best to use the site
• Another Acronyms page similar to MFA
• Pages on several individual stores
• Posts on basic couponing - Couponing 101
  

If you know of others that focus on our area of the country - write a comment below!

Other resources:

The Scotts Valley store circulars online:

• Walgreens: get a sneak peek every week if you sign up.
• CVS
• Safeway
• Nob Hill

Restaurants.com - I love this one - they are always offering 60-80% off of their already cheap restaurant coupons. If you like to eat out, this is a great place. Just put in your zip code and search through the restaurants that participate. Normally, the gift certs are $10 for a $25 cert but if they offer the 80% off, then they're just $2! NOTE - just be careful and understand the restrictions. Usually only weekdays, dinner, sometimes food only or certain number of entrees.

Resources I need to research more:
These are ones that I have heard about but haven't researched a lot. Take a look and if you use any of them, let me know how you like them:

• Swagbucks - earn points toward free gift cards - learn more at MFA
• Huggies Enjoy the Ride program - I don't think I like this one - buy huggies and earn other prizes. I'd rather earn better deals on huggies - but check it out for yourself.
• The Coupon Clippers and My Coupon Hunter - sites where you can buy coupons for just a few pennies - haven't tried it but might be worth it if you know of a good deal.
• All You magazine - a mag just for couponers - with coupons, of course! I haven't subscribed my my mentor Mary loves it.
• Right at Home - has some special offers
• Vocalpoint - just got started but it's supposed to send me free samples so I can review products.

There are definitely more out there so let me know if you have a great resource to share with me and others - any way we can save money in this economy is a good thing so let's share!

This Week's best deals

I've been a bit out of commission the last couple of days so I'm going to give you all the deals I can find, today from the local stores. Hope you can get some of these great deals!

KMart - Double Coupon week!!
Here are some awesome deals using double coupons and the Kmart flyer this week:

• Kellogg's cereal - 2/$5 and with a coupon for $1.50 off of 2 (doubled) that you get at Redplum.com, you can get 2 for $2 or $1 each!
• Money Back! Right Guard deodorant - 2 for $5 (2.50 ea) and with the coupon for $1.50 off 1 (doubled) that you get from Coupons.com or Smartsource.com, you get a .50 credit! Wow!
• Windex is 2/$6 and with a coupon from Coupons.com for $1 off (doubled), then you get them for $1 each.
• Betty Crocker Au Gratin potatoes are 3/$5 or $1.67 each and with a coupon from Coupons.com or Smartsource.com for .40 off (doubled), you get one for .87!

Of course with double coupons, you can get a great deal on lots of things this week at Kmart through April 10th.

Safeway:

• Saturday and Sunday only - SW frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts are 1.67/lb for a 4lb bag or $6.68 each
• Huggies jumbo pack diapers are 7.99 with the coupon and your SW card. Plus, there is a $3 off coupon at Coupons.com which makes them 4.99.
• FREE: Crab Classic crab meat .99 each with coupon from SW flyer. Plus, a coupon at Smart Source for $1 off of 1 means it's free!
• FREE: Campbell's condensed soups are .50 each and with a coupon from campbellskitchen.com for $1 off of 2 - that makes them free!!
• Campbell's Chunky soup - 1.25 each and with a coupon from campbellskitchen.com for $1 off of 3, that will give you 3 for 2.75 or .92 ea!
• Yoplait yogurt on sale for 10/$5 (.50 ea). Add a coupon from Coupons.com which is .50/6 and you get them 6/2.50 or .42 ea.
• Iceburg lettuce is .48 each

Nob Hill:

• Ziploc bags or containers for 1.99 each with the circular's coupon. Good deal- and then I got coupons in the ones I bought (14 oz round ones) for $1.50 off. (Only one worked, though I had 2) so today I got one for .49!
• Pepperidge Farm cookies BOGO free so 3.89 for 2, plus a coupon at My Frugal Adventures for $1off which makes them 2/$2.89 or 1.44 each - again only one coupon worked but you might get lucky if you bring 2.
• Crystal Geyser sparkling water - .88 each for 1.25 liter.
• Some Kellogg's cereals are 2.49 each. With the coupon from Redplum.com for 1.50 off of 2, you get these for 2/3.48 or 1.74 each!
• Milton Bread is 2.49 plus a coupon from Coupons.com for $1 off, makes it $1.49
  

BTW, if anyone still has coupons from Sunday they don't need, I'd love them. My SC Sentinel subscription starts this Sunday but I missed the P&G pullout. Check those coupons against the sales and you're sure to find some more great deals!

My 81% savings at Wags, Tonight

I was quite excited to get some great deals at Walgreens tonight. Here's how it went:

• Quaker oats - on sale for $1.50 and I had a $1 coupon - total .50
• Pilot gel pens - bought 2 at sale price of $1.19 with a $1 Q for each so total of .19 ea.
• Pilot highlighter - sale price of $1.19 with a $1 Q so total of .19
• Tuf kitchen garbage bags - price 4.29 with a $1.30 Q so total of 3.00
• 2 boxes of 50 sandwich bags - sale price of 2/$3 with a 1.02 Q so total of 2.02 or 1.01 ea
• Kotex U pads - sale price of 3.49 with a $1 Q so total of 2.49

All of these coupons were either in the weekly circular or the April coupon book at the front of the store.

Total of 8.58 and I got a $2.50 Register Reward which brings it down to 6.08. Against the non-sale price of everything total (29.29) that's a savings of $22.71 or 81%!! WooHoo!

Plus! The pilot pens have a rebate of $4.50 because I bought 3. That makes the total around $1.58 for everything! See the rebate on the back of the highlighters. That's a good shopping day.

The New CVS Circular

The latest CVS circular just came out and here are some of the great deals you can find there (along with some coupons you can use with them).

• All General Mills cereals are BOGO free. Smart Source has a coupon for $1 off of 2.
• Speed Stick or Lady Speed Stick is BOGO free. Last Sunday there was a .50 Q in the paper. A later page promises a $2 Extra Bucks reward at the register (EB) for your next visit, too!
• The photo area has 4X6 prints on sale for 9c each. Make sure to use the hourly service.
• You can get $15 off the new Chipmunks movie with the purchase of $20 in P&G products. And if you got the Sunday paper, P&G had their booklet of coupons there.
• Select grocery items are $1, including Del Monte Ketchup, Powerade and a small thing of Cheerios
• Spend $25 total, including an Aveeno product listed and get a $5 EB reward for your next visit.
• Olay Regenerist 18.99 gives you a $6 EB reward.
• Colgate Total for 2.99 and you get a $2 EB reward making it only .99.
• Schick Hydro for 8.97 and you get a $6 EB reward making it only 2.97
• CVS diapers are $6.99
• 2/$1 Gold Emblem vegetables
• Planter's nuts BOGO free
• Complete Multi-Purpose contact lens solution - 8.99 with an 8.99 EB reward - so it's free!

For more on how to get the most of your CVS experience, check out this My Frugal Adventures post.


My first OOOPS!!
Ok, this is embarrassing but I guess we all make mistakes and I'm still new to this. Saturday, I reported on all the great Walgreens deals that you could use with P&G coupons from their website. Well, the coupons or P&G Savers are e-coupons that only work on the store cards for Safeway. So I apologize for misleading you! But, I'll let you know if any Safeway deals will work with them!

The Newest Walgreens Ad

The newest Walgreens ad is out and deals start tomorrow. One of my favorite resources, My Frugal Adventures has a rundown on the best deals there.

Great deal on Campbell's Chunky at CVS!

I just stopped by CVS to pick up a prescription and picked up a great deal at the same time!

I saw that they had Chunky Soup on sale for BOGO free and I remembered that I just got a coupon for $1 off of 3 Chunky soups at: http://www.campbellskitchen.com/Coupon.aspx.

So, I got 4 cans of Chunky soup (normally $3.19) for a total of $5.38 or $1.35 each! That's a savings of 58% - WooHoo!

Happy Friday everyone!!

My Easter Recommendations

It's crunch time for Easter and here are my recommendations for a yummy and money-saving holiday!

For the basket -
If you only want to make one stop for the basket goodies, I would go to CVS. But hurry because they've already run out of Cadbury eggs and they looked really busy last night when I went. Here are some of the deals you can get there:
.99 chocolate bunnies for the kids
3.00 Dove, Lindor and Ferrero Roche chocolates for the adults. :-))
.99 Peeps - gotta have Peeps!
2/$1 Reese's and Russell Stover eggs.
2.00 bags of Gimbal's, Starburst jelly beans, Jolly Rancher, Sour Patch or SweeTarts
.99 plastic eggs
.77 generic jelly beans
1.29 baskets

If you gotta have the Cadbury eggs or don't mind going to Walgreens as well, here are their deals:
Cadbury eggs - 4 pack/$2.50
Dove and Hershey Bliss bags of minis 3.50 each
.39 Whitman's or Russell Stover eggs (with coupon from circular)
.39 Mars, Palmer, Easter Faire, Wonka or Nestle individual candies (with coupon from circular)
1.50 Peeps
2.00 bags of candy - Starburst jelly beans, Whoppers Eggs, Brach's jelly beans, etc.
.79 baskets (with coupon from circular)

For Dinner:

Meat:
Ham - I recommend the Safeway Smoked Whole or Shank half ham at .97/lb
Beef - If you have a lot to feed, go for the 2.97 tri-tip at SW. But, if you have fewer people then the 2.99/lb Cross Rib roast at Nob Hill will work. (SW's is 3.49/lb)
Pork - Get the Shoulder blade roast at SW for 1.79/lb
Poultry - SW has fresh turkeys for 1.29/lb or frozen for.99/lb

Veggies:
5lb bag of Sierra Gold potatoes are 2.47 at NH
Bulk Red, yellow or Russet potatoes are .79 at SW
Asparagus is 1.97/lb at NH
Yams are .79 at NH
Red radishes and green onions are .50/bunch at both NH and SW
Bags of salad greens are 1.97 at SW (2.50 at NH)

I would go for the 5lb bag of potatoes at NH (more for your $) and then be right there for the yams and asparagus. But, if you're already at SW for the ham deal, then grab just enough of the .79/lb red potatoes and one of their salad bags for 1.97.


Dessert:
If you like to bake with the kids, grab the .88 Betty Crocker brownie mix while you're at CVS.
Walgreens has cake mix and frosting for $1 each (update - coupon for .50 off when you buy both Betty Crocker cake mix and frosting - http://www.coupons.com)

If you want less work or just something different, try one of the frozen desserts at NH- 5.99 for Claim Jumper or Sarah Lee pies, (update - coupon for $1 off Sara Lee pies at http://www.everydaydesserts.com/promotions) and 3.29 for Pepperage Farm cakes.

Not many dessert deals at SW. 1.69 for Betty Crocker cookie mix or $2.50/1.5qt ice cream.

If you're really into saving the money - get the brownie mix. If Easter is a splurge day for you, then I'd get one of those Claim Jumper chocolate cream pies! Still save some money and they're yummy!

I hope you find this helpful to plan your Easter shopping. Happy Easter everyone!!

KMART Doubles Coupons next week!

Get ready because starting Sunday, Kmart is doubling your manufacturer coupons for a week! I have called our SV location and they are definitely participating.

One of my valuable resources is the blog "My Frugal Adventures". They are awesome and I am a fan of their page on FB and get all of their updates - several a day. Here they talk about one great coupon deal that will happen during Kmart's double days:

Right Guard: Free at Kmart

Keep an eye on "My Frugal Adventures" and I will also send you more on Kmart's double coupons.

Meat this week

While there are regrettably very few coupons for fresh meat, it's good to compare the store's sales before you go, especially when you have Easter dinner coming up. Here's the rundown on the meat specials at NH and SW this week:

Ham
Safeway - basic smoked whole or shank half ham .97/lb.
Spiral sliced 1.67/lb.
Nob Hill has the spiral sliced for 1.57/lb
Raley's Ham Boneless whole or half - 3.99
NH Trading Co. fire glazed ham bone-in (local) 9lb ham for 39.99

Beef
Safeway - Whole tri-tip roast for 2.97/lb
Ribeye or NY steak 6.99/lb
Beef tenderloin roast - 9.99/lb
Boneless top sirloin steak - 5.49/lb
Cross rib or bottom round roast - 3.49/lb
London Broil - 3.99/lb
93% lean ground beef - 3.99/lb
Nob Hill - Beef rib eye roast - 4.47/lb
Rib eye steak or roast - 4.97/lb
Beef sutter sirloin steak or roast - 2.99/lb
Cross rib steak or roast - 2.99/lb
Filet mingnon - 12.99/lb

Pork
Safeway - Pork loin back ribs - 2.99/lb
Pork loin center cut rib roast - 2.99/lb
Pork shoulder blade roast - 1.79/lb
Nob Hill - smoked slow cooked ribs w/bbq sauce - 7.99 for 1lb,10oz pkg
Pork spareribs - 1.99/lb
Pork loin chops or roast - 2.99/lb

Poultry
Safeway - boneless/skinless chicken breast - 4.99/lb
Chicken thighs, drumsticks or leg quarters - 1.59/lb
Nob Hill - Fresh hen turkey - 1.49/lb
Chicken boneless/skinless breasts and thighs - 2.49/lb

Lamb
Safeway - Whole semi-boneless leg of lamb 3.99/lb
Nob Hill - Whole semi-boneless leg of lamb 2.99/lb

Fish/Seafood
Safeway - Fresh medium oysters - 3.99/jar
Extra jumbo cooked shrimp - 7.99/2 lb bag
Medium raw shrimp - 5.99/1 lb bag
Fresh sole fillets - 5.99/lb
Encrusted or marinated cod or sockeye salmon 7.99/12oz pkg
Colossal sea scallops - 9.99/lb
Nob Hill - Cooked shrimp - 9.99/lb
Salmon fillets - 7.99/lb (if you get 2lbs or more)
Halibut fillets - 11.99/lb
Cooked shrimp meat salad sized - 2.99/lb

Stay tuned tomorrow for my recommendations for your whole Easter dinner.

Wags and Sunday Q's

I stopped at Walgreens on the way home from work and took advantage of some great coupons it had in their weekly circular. Here are some great deals you can get:

You can get just one or up to the limit on the Q. of each of these and they expire Saturday.

.39 Whitman's or Russell Stover chocolate eggs for Easter
2/$1 baking soda or Morton Salt
2/$1 small cans of Geisha mushrooms or Madam mandarin oranges
2/$1 spices - 2.12 oz (I stocked up my garlic powder!)
.69 Bumblebee tuna - but this pales in comparison to last week's .44 BB tuna at CVS that I missed - blerg!
.69 Swanson chicken broth
2/$1 Comet
.59 aluminum foil - 20 sq. feet (stocked up!)
1.99 Ziploc bags - 15-25 pack freezer or storage or 100 pack of sandwich (they were out of the sandwich ones but the truck comes in Friday morning so I'm hoping to stock up on Saturday)
.99 Tic Tacs or Altoids
3/$1 Bubbles - for the Easter baskets!
2.99 Softsoap body wash - stack this with a .75 Q from the Sunday paper and you're paying 2.24
.99 Arrid XX or Arm/Hammer deodorant
5.00 OFF of Claritin - stack this with 4.00 Sunday Q. and this normally 21.99 product is 12.99.
.99 Halls Drops - 20-30 count
4.99 Blue diamond almonds - 19.2 oz - normally 7.99

Then, I got home and checked out the Sunday coupons. I don't have a subscription to the SC Sentinel, yet but if this works out, I'll be sure to get one. I got these from someone at work.

I think the coupon companies and the drug stores are in cahoots - to save us money!! Most of the Sunday Qs matched up with health/beauty sales and store coupons so that is great for us, if we plan right! Here are the deals you can get by clipping those Sunday Qs (SQs) and taking them to CVS or Wags:

Clean and Clear Products -
CVS has a deal to give you a $5 "Extra Buck" at the register if you spend $15 total (before Qs) and buy a C&C product (starting at 4.99) Stack this with the SQ for 1.00 off and you're making money! 4.99-1.00-5.00 = $1.00 in your pocket!

Gold Bond skin products -
CVS has the GB lotion or powder on sale for 7.99. With the SQ for $1 off, that's 6.99
Wags has a BOGO 50% off (products starting at 5.99 for comfort body powder) with the SQ you could possibly get 2 for $8.97-1=8 or about $4 each The most expensive item is 9.99 so that works like this: get 2 for 14.97-1=13.97 or about $7 each

Bic Disposable razors
Wags has them for 4.99 with an in-store coupon for $1 off and with the SQ for $2 that makes them 1.99!
CVS has some for 3.79 but with 25% off or 2.81 so with the SQ for $2 - that's .81 - even better!

Softsoap body wash
I mentioned this one for Wags, above: 2.99 and stack with a .75 SQ and you're paying 2.24
CVS has these for BOGO free (normally 4.99-5.29). At 5.29 it would go like this: 2/5.29-.75 for the SQ=4.54 for 2 which is 2.27 each - very close to Wags.

Colgate
CVS has it on sale for 2/$5 or 2.50 each and there's a SQ for .75 making it 1.75.

Prevacid heartburn relief
Both stores have it on sale for 25.99 and there's a $10 SQ making it only 15.99. Plus, there's a Q at Redplum.com for $2 which you can use making it 13.99!

Zantac heartburn relief - very similar deals at both
CVS - Sale price 19.99 with a $5 register Q and the SQ is $1 =14.99
Wags - Sale price 18.99 with a $4 register Q and the SQ is $1=14.99

Claritin allergy relief- 30 count
Wags (above, too) - 5.00 off Q from circular with 4 SQ. and this normally 21.99 product is 12.99
CVS - 19.99 with card with $5 register Q and $4 SQ making this total 10.99!! Clear winner!

Infusium 23 hair care
Wags sale price 4.99 with SQ for $2 and it's 2.99

Neutrogena cosmetics
Both stores have BOGO 50% off and there are SQs - $2 for face makeup and $1 for lip and eye makeup.
CVS' prices range from 3.49 - 14.49
Wags prices are unsure but online I saw 6.99 - 14.79

So, no matter what store you're going to this week, you can find some great deals. Plan ahead and have your Q's ready and organized and you can have lots of fun saving money!

First post of deals

Here are a few deals that I was able to find on my lunchbreak, today. I'll try and find some more later. Hope these work for you!

Go to these websites to print off coupons - TIP: have your printer already hooked up and ready before you hit print. You should be able to print each coupon 2, maybe 3 times.

Smartsource.com

Coupon for .75/1 Farmer John breakfast sausage. Safeway (SW) now has a sale on FJ sausage links for .99 for an 8 oz pkg. That means you can get a half lb. of sausage for .24!

Redplum.com

Coupon for 1.50 off of 2 Kellogg’s cereals. CVS has Raisin Bran, Corn Flakes, Corn Pops, Rice Kirspies, Apple Jacks and Froot Loops on sale for 2/$4. So you can get 2 boxes of cereal for 2.50 or 1.25 each!

Coupons.com

Coupon for 3.00 off of one pkg of Huggies diapers. CVS has the Jumbo pack or Pull-ups on sale (w/a CVS card and excludes Overnites) for 2/17.98 AND with a 5.00 Extra Bucks reward (catalina coupon at the register). So, that’s like getting 2 pkgs of Huggies for 7.98 or 3.99 each! It's been a while but I think that's a pretty great deal for all you lucky mommies out there.

Coupon for .50 off of 1 Betty Crocker Warm Delights. CVS has them on sale for 1.00 each so they end up being .50!

Coupon for 1.00 off of Windex. CVS has them on sale for 2.50 which makes them 1.50, total.

So, at least the next time you plan to go to CVS, this week, print off a few coupons before you go!

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Valley Church adventure results!

Ok, I'm not crazy. I realized that I only had one thing to get at Walgreens and 2 things at Nob Hill - and one of those deals wouldn't start until tomorrow. So, I consolidated my trips to just CVS and Safeway which really cut down my time. Here's the final rundown on what I got:

At CVS:
Skippy peanut butter - 1.67 - saved 1.62 with sale
Kellogg's raisin bran - 2.00 - saved 2.49
Martinelli's - 1.88 - saved 1.11
Canned Ham - 1 lb - 1.77 - saved 2.72 (best deal of the day - I got one for myself, too!)
Bumblebee solid white albacore - .88 - saved .81
Betty Crocker fudge brownies - .88 - saved 1.61
generic spaghetti - 1lb - .88 - saved .31
1 Oral B toothbrush - 2.99 - saved .80
Aim toothpaste - .99
Campbell's chicken noodle - 1.19
Campbell's chicken noodle - 1.19
Subtotal - 16.32
Coupon for soup - 1.00 for 2

Total - 15.32
Plus, I got a 2.00 register coupon for my next visit from CVS' deal on the toothbrush.
Grand total - 13.32 (I always count these register coupons with the original order.)

That's a savings of 52% from the original before sale prices! Not too shabby. CVS is proving to really be a great place to find great deals - more about them another time.

Safeway:
Kraft mac and cheese - 1.09
Safeway peaches - 1.00
Safeway pears - 1.oo
Safeway grape jam - 2.49 (same price as NH tomorrow)
Del Monte Corn - 1.00 - saved .49
Del Monte Peas - 1.00 - saved .49
Jell-O cookies and cream pudding - 1.79 - saved .54
Safeway toothbrushes - 2pack for 1.99 (so .99 each)
Subtotal - 10.82
coupon for veggies - .51
coupon for veggies - .51

Total - 9.80

For a savings of 21%

So, the total savings was 42% on the whole shebang and I spent a total of $23.12. Not quite my goal of $20 but still much better than if I'd bought everything off the shelf without thinking.

I think this was a pretty successful experiment. Normally, you can get higher percentages of savings if you are concentrating on getting just coupon stacking deals. Since I was trying to get specific items (which is what we tend to do) the percentage was a bit lower, I think.

Now the hard part- I have to take my bag of goodies to the SV Chamber of Commerce site on King's Village road between 10 and 3 tomorrow. It's always a challenge for me to do things during the day but I'll make it happen. Oh, and they also ask for a check for $15 so the family can buy fresh food - totally worth it.

If you would like to help a family this Easter by getting a bag of groceries, just stop by the Safeway and pick up a bag. They're outside near the door by Coffee Cat. Use some or all of my money saving tips and feel good that you helped someone and saved a bit of money at the same time.

Giving on a tight budget

For my very first entry, I thought I would combine two of my passions - saving money and helping others. I noticed the other day, in front of the Safeway, paper bags to fill with groceries for the Valley United Churches. I usually try to do this and since I've been getting into couponing lately, I thought I'd see how well I could do at getting this bag filled with as little money as possible. Ok, maybe that's not the main idea of the bags, but I figure this allows more people to give, if it doesn't cost so much.

So, I checked out the list on the bag:

1 canned ham or other canned meat
2 cans of fruit
2 cans of veggies
1 box of pasta or rice
2 cans of soup
1 dessert
1 box of cereal
1 sparkling cider
1 macaroni and cheese
1 peanut butter and one jelly
1 tuna
1 jello or pudding
1 toothpaste and 1 toothbrush

Well, right away I remembered that I saw an ad somewhere for a canned ham for $1.77 so I knew I was on the right track!

So, I scoured the new ads from the local stores - Safeway (SW), Nob Hill (NH), Walgreens (Wags), and CVS as well as all the coupons I've gotten recently. By the way, I don't normally shop at the SV Market at the other end of SV Dr. I've just never been impressed with their variety and prices.

Now, the secret that I've learned recently from my good friend Mary in Florida is that you have to "stack" coupons with the sales. Meaning you find coupons that match sale items - and you can use store coupons and manufacturer's coupons - and you can also combine these with what they call "catalina" coupons, which are those ones that spit out at the register after you've paid. I'll go into more on this on a later blog.

Here are the sales I found in the circulars that match the items I need:

Canned ham - 1.77 CVS
Martinellis - 1.88 CVS
canned fruit - 1.00 SW
Del Monte canned veggies - .49 SW - with coupon from circular
box of pasta - .88 CVS
Campbell's soup - .88 CVS
brownie mix - (dessert) .69 SW
Kellogg's cereal - 2.00 CVS
peanut butter - 2.00 SW
jelly - 2.49 NH
tuna - .88 CVS
toothpaste/toothbrush .99 each CVS

You can see these circulars at their websites:

Safeway
Nob Hill
Walgreens
CVS

Note - the NH deal isn't good until tomorrow, the 31st.

Ok, now it's time to find some coupons!

I thought that the 2.00 cereal deal at CVS was ok and I knew I had a coupon for $1.50 off of two boxes of Kellogg's mini wheats but once you buy 2 and take off the coupon, you're still spending more. So, I checked the NH circular more closely and found that they have General Mills Cereal on sale for 2.49. And, I looked more closely at all my coupon sites and found a coupon for .75 off of Chex cereal that I at GrocerySmarts in the singles section. This took me to either Betty Crocker, Pillsbury or the school boxtops site to get it. That makes it $1.74! That's a lot better.

Walgreens has a coupon for .69 tuna in its circular this week. That's better than the .88 at CVS so I'm going for that one.

There's an online coupon for Betty Crocker Warm Delights at Coupons.com for .50 off of 1. CVS has these on sale for 1.00 each which I originally passed up for the .88 brownie mix. That would make my dessert only .50. Of course, you have to balance this with how many brownies you can get from one brownie mix. I may get the .88 mix anyway just so I'm not short-changing the family because I'm so cheap!

I found a coupon for $1.00/2 Campbell's soups at GrocerySmarts in the singles section. This took me to the Campbell's website. Stack this with the sale at CVS and I'm only going to pay .76 for both cans!

So, I'm going to go shopping after work and will update this blog tonight with what actually happens.

This may seem like a lot of work to save a few pennies - and yes, it is time-consuming. But, I have found it really fun to find all these deals so it's been well worth it. Also, because we have 4 stores within a block of each other, going to each one for a few things isn't as cumbersome as if they were spread apart. I still think I spend less time than going to Costco and I can make small runs after work on my way home if there's a really good deal I want to take advantage of.

And of course, YOU don't have to do all that work. From now on, you can subscribe to my blog and I can do the work for you! I will go through the ads, check out the coupons and catalina coupons and let you know all the best deals in town!

I would bookmark the coupon and grocery store sites though to make it easier if you want to start doing your own searching.

Check back this evening!