Save $5 off $30 at CVS - July 26th ONLY

Here's the coupon from CVS :)

http://cvs.p.delivery.net/m/p/cvs/off/offerprocess.asp?mid=1753139647&cid=13995912538&p=FLW_5off30_49915

Free Gum plus profit

Yay for FREE!!!

Ok, here is the link http://kmart.shoplocal.com/kmart/Default.aspx?action=browsepagelarge&storeid=2421357&rapid=565713&pagenumber=19 to print off a coupon for buy one get on free Trident gum (scroll down!!!). Use these coupies at CVS where the gum is already B1G1 free and you get both packs for free!

*At CVS, for every two packs you "buy" :), you get $1 in ECB's.

Sunday morning I bought 10 packages for $0.00 (yippee) - actually I picked up 3 papers and used a $3 off of $15 and got all 10 packages of gum and the three newspapers for $0.00!
-I think the tech team and band enjoyed their little surprise treat! And I enjoyed the $5 in ECB's!!!

Happy shopping!!!

Printable Coupons

Hey Gals,

Here is a website full of links for all printable coupons. Watch the dates, some of them may be for this weekend only! Happy Saving!
http://www.couponcabin.com/printable-coupons/index.htm

BOGO at Andiamo's July 1st-31st

Hey ladies - Do you love Andiamo's??? Here's a coupon for BOGO at Andiamo's for the entire month of July! Enjoy!

http://www.andiamoitalia.com/bogo_july.htm

Free Cereal

Here is a link to a $3 off coupon for Live Active Cereal. It is on sale this week at Meijer for $3 a box. I got 7 boxes yesterday for free!!! I tried it last night and it was good...one serving has 8 grams of fiber. I love free food. I'm not sure when the coupon expires so check it out soon.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/liveactivefoods/whatsNew/index.aspx

Have you seen this?

One of my (several) CVS's have this machine inside. Wave your Extra Care card in front of it and it spits out coupons for the store... I did it twice- it was so much fun!

NO COUPONS THIS WEEKEND!

FYI: Buying papers this weekend would be a waste of money! No coupies will be inside!

$5

http://www.walgreens.com/hotbuys/default.jsp?ec=hn540p_getcoupons

Spend $20... get $5 free!

Hanging baskets...

http://pages.preview.exacttarget.com/page.aspx?QS=5c591a8916642e7372b4ee5e5e23ffe3c7e54fd3695d9964&k=MAGDALAPAYNE@YAHOO.COM&j=600211&s=42853291&cm_mmc=hd_email-_-050908_GC_SP4-_-gcsp_4_050908-_-Coupon-1+Hanging+Basket

Happy Home Depoting.... you should use your $10 off $25 Lowes coupie in conjunction with this coupie... MAJOR DEAL!!!!

Free, free, free

Thanks to Kaye at Mrs Nespy's World for sharing this! As indicated on Page 137 of the June issue of Glamour Magazine, Glamour is giving away a black tote filled with summer essentials to shoppers who purchase at least one item from a list of beauty products.
Simply purchase one of the products listed below (handpicked by Glamour Lifestyle Merchandising Director Karen Feller) from CVS, and you’ll receive this lovely black tote pictured above, filled with summer beauty essentials (an $86 value)!
Here is the list of products:24.7 Minerals Mineral Makeup
Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strips
Biore Pore Unclogging Scrub
Curel Life Stages Youth-Defense Moisture Lotion
Essence of Beauty Soy Lotion Candle
Essence of Beauty Retractable Kabuki Brush
Jergens Natural Glow Express Body Moisturizer
John Frieda Weather Works Haircare
Skin Effects Sun Effects Continuous Spray SPF 45
Send your CVSreceipt to:
Lauren Plateroti
c/o Glamour
4 Times Square,16th Floor
NYC, NY 10036

New CVS coupies....

Here is the link...

noreply@blogger.com

Attention Scrapbookers

I am sure you would have never expected those words to come out of my mouth! The Dollar Tree located in South Lyon (in the Big Boy complex) sells scrapbooking supplies. 3m double sided tape, stamps, paper, stickers, decal, and more. Sometimes the stock changes, so shop often. I really enjoy the supplies for card making.

Happy Crafting!

I Heart Susie's Kroger

(Susie, you are SO famous!)

Sunday after church, as I eluded to before, I went to Susie's Kroger.

I Heart double coupies!

I spent $81 and saved $181.
I have $6 coming back in a MIR.
I received $6.50 in Kroger Bucks on my Catalina.

As for CVSing...

I spent less that $1 and saved $28.
I earned $6 in ECB's

So really...
I spent $82 and saved $209

But...
With my MIR, K-Bucks and ECB's
I spent $63.50
and saved $227.50

Not too shabby!

To be honest Ladies, I would LOVE to have a once a month lunch after church with a "Book Study" type conversation, followed by a trip to Susie's Kroger together. What do you think?

Recklessly Generous Church

We picked up a need from the "tree" today. It is for a Youth Shelter. They need Kleenex, napkins, paper towels, and shower gel. I thought I'd extend the offer to all of you in case you had any of these items in excess around your house. I'll probably collect the stuff over the next week or so and then deliver it. Let me know if you have anything that you'd like to contribute.

Get Your Roll On!

Attention Garlic Lovers--an unprinted SALE!!! This week at Larry's, our favorite rolls--Rhode's are on sale for only $1.99!! This is a savings on $3.36, so stock up!

CVS Coupies :)

I've decided that I really like your made up word, Laura. Coupies is very cute!!!

Here are some coupies for CVS that I got in my email:

Save $1 on Sally Hansen, Cristophe, Jergens, John Frieda or Nexxus:

Get $4 off any $20 beauty purchase (includes cosmetics, skin care and hair care):


Enjoy!!!

Anybody Game?

Hi Ladies,
Bo and I have decided to grocery shop at "Susie's Kroger" on Sunday. Would any of you like to join us? We could go out for lunch following church and then enjoy bumping into (*not literally) each other as we double our 'up to $1" coupies! (I have decided to call coupons coupies... doesn't it sound SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute?)

I will also be going to Trader Joe's on Friday to pick up special detergent for Bo's diapers... and they sell insulated reusable grocery bags for either $1 or $2 each. I will be getting some - would you like me to get any for you ladies? We shouldn't let our "spoils" get spoiled right?

Email me if you'd like a bag or two!

I Do Believe...

I do believe in the Coupon Fairy... here is proof that (s)he exists!

I Heart M & M's

Ok, so I purchased 18 medium sized bags of M & M's and my local CVS (and I swoon!) on Saturday... for $2.61. When's our next party? I'll bring some chocolate!
YUMM-O!

Bath & Body Works coupons

Here's a coupon for a Free Signature Collection with purchase of $15 or more

Click here for coupon

You can also get Free Shipping with $65 purchase by using this code - SENDFREE65

Enjoy!

Kroger - Howell

Hi Ladies. I see Alissa already beat me to the punch... I did check and verify that the Howell Kroger does double coupons up to $1 ALL THE TIME. They also sell the Detroit Free Press on Sundays for $1 (In case you're ever in the area... or maybe your local Kroger does the same)!

BTW- I went to Larry's on Wednesday night after cell group and attempted to use two $1 off coupons for two of the same product and they told me that they will only double one coupon if you have more than one identical coupon... just thought I'd let you know if you didn't already.

I LOVE IT!!

Kroger Double Dollar Coupons

I called around this morning to the area Kroger Stores. The store in Howell (Susie's Kroger) always doubles coupons up to a dollar.

Kroger
108 W. Highland
Howell MI 48843
Store Phone: (517) 552-0126
Pharmacy Phone: (517) 552-0205

http://services.kroger.com/mapquest/storedetails.aspx?recordId=01800720

sites to share

www.afullcup.com

www.freecycle.com - get and share free stuff with people in your area :)

Nearly Free @ Victoria's Secret!

Look around in the clearance items on Victorias Secret... there's a lot of items for just over $5. If you find something you like, you can use these two codes to get it for nearly free:

SP810573 ($5 off purchase, exp 4-23)
TRYVS - (free shipping exp 4-18)

You have to have over $5 in your cart before the first code will work, but $5.99 is good enough! If there's more than one thing you want, just do each item in a separate transaction and use the codes each time. I got two pairs of slippers for a dollar - slippers - going to give one pair to mom as part of her mother's day present. :)

Dining Room table & China Cabinet

I've got a friend I work with who has a nice dining room table/chairs and matching china cabinet that needs a new home. She says it's all in VERY good condition, but they're moving and won't have room for it. She's not asking for any sort of payment - it would be totally free. If you want it, you'd need to pick up in Novi. Is anyone interested?

FREE $10 on a $25

Here is a Lowes coupon for $10 off of a $25 purchase. You must use a visa card to pay!

Happy Shopping!



http://www.loweswinners.com/lifetakesvisa/textEmailPrint.aspx?data=O7LYYU5BOFOEPP4A

Find Coupon Codes - online shopping

I was just watching on the Today Show this morning about how to find coupon codes to use if you are purchasing something online. Here's a link to the full story:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24109383/

It mentions a few websites (and I added a couple I found) to use to find these codes (below) and you can also try googling "Best Buy coupon codes" or whatever store you are purchasing from. Great deals!!!

http://www.bradsdeals.com/

http://www.currentcodes.com/

http://www.retailmenot.com/

http://www.keycode.com/?s1=101023

Free Stuff @ CVS!

Mostly baby stuff for Laura - but I like the lavender scented baby wash and lotion for myself too. :-p

http://www.afullcup.com/upload/cmps_index.php?page=cvs_steals

Free Makeup @ CVS

If any of you have any of those Buy One Get One Free Covergirl coupons left from a week or so ago, you can use them at CVS this week to buy the covergirl stuff they have one sale for buy one get one free - and get them both for free! I bought it for my mom Sunday since I've already gotten enough free stuff to last me for quite a while. :)

Walgreens & Free Press...woohoo!

Today was definitely a blog-worthy day!!! The story goes a little something like this...

Sara & I went to the Spring Home & Garden show at the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi and not only did I get the tickets free (courtesy of Quicken Loans), I also ended up getting a great deal on a subscription of the Detroit Free Press....3 month subscription (daily) for ONLY $1!!! They were running a special for $26 and a couple of reps were selling it and giving you a $20 Home Depot card for subscribing...making the cost of the subscription $6. And can you believe it...I wasn't going to do it. Then as I was walking away the girl offered it to me for $1!!!...I paid $26 and she gave me $5 in cash and a $20 gift card to Home Depot. SCORE!!!

Then, after the show I headed to Walgreens to get some fabulous deals. Little did I know that the great deals pictured above would only cost me $.01....that's ONE PENNY!!! Yippee!!! The cashier commented that she had never seen a total that low before :)

Here's what I got:

• 100 tealights
• 3 boxes of Kleenex
• drain cleaner
• 2 Sunlight dish soaps
• 2 Aquafresh toothpastes
• toothbrush
• 2 candle holders

It should have cost $30.85, but with Walgreen's sale prices, Walgreens & manufacturers coupons ($10.69) and register rewards ($14) it only cost $.01!!!

Donate Extra Items

Hey girls - Check out this link for great ideas to donate extra items that you get great deals on:

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/2008/04/donating-extras-share-your-ideas.html

Here's one I thought was really cool...donate items to soldiers serving our country (link below). We could even send a box of items together maybe every month or something. What do you think?

http://www.anysoldier.com/WhatToSend.cfm

Walgreens Coupon

$5 off $20 purchase at Walgreens April 11th only. http://www.walgreens.com/hotbuys/default.jsp

$8 off science diet pet food

If anyone feeds their pets science diet, get an $8 off coupon here: http://www.feedingisbelieving.com/believe/coupon-form.do You do need UPC codes from your last bag...if you don't have them handy, you can use these:

Enter UPC code 5274255340 for CAT COUPON.
Enter UPC code 5274281820 for DOG COUPON.

I Heart Shopping

OK, Ok... so did I mention that I got OVER $200 in CVS goodies for nothing last week? (Thanks to coupons, ECB's, $ off of $ printables and gift cards?)

Anybody else missing the $5 off of $15 purchases?

So far this week:

Sunday: 6 boxes of cereal, 5 tubes of Aveeno baby products and baby SPF 50 (yikes) sunscreen

Should have cost: $65
My cost $.71


Tuesday: 20 shoebox size plastic storage boxes (hurry, they are 75% off and heading out of the store quickly...) and 4 sets of Sunsilk shampoo and conditioners (use the BOGO coup from Sunday's paper).

Should have cost: $48
My cost $.96 (only used printables, ECB's and coupons... no gift card!)

CVS summary so for this week: $113 for $1.67
Oh YES!!!

Watch out Meijer, Kroger and Larry's (Thanks Sara!) here I come... coupon box in tow!!!

Buy one get one free - Coke 2-liters

at Dollar General. http://www.saveatdollargeneral.com/pdf/DG_040708_BOGO.pdf good through 4/13/08. print off several and stock up! :)

More ECB's?

I signed up for this... we'll see if it works~

Become a CVS Advisor; Earn ECB's

For those of you who are blessed to have a CVS nearby, click below to sign up to be on the CVS advisor panel and earn up to $50 in Extra Care Bucks per survey!

The purpose of the CVS Advisor Panel is to solicit your input about CVS stores and products. They will send you invitations to participate in online surveys and will in turn credit your ExtraCare account with ExtraBucks. You must have an ExtraCare Account to sign-up!

https://surveys.researchresults.com/mrIWeb/mrIWeb.dll?I.Project=SCREENERCVS

Printable Grocery Coupons

These are updated weekly. :) http://coupons.smartsource.com/

Cost Plus World Market - going out of business!

Hey gals - I just went to Cost Plus World Market at Fountain Walk in Novi and found out that they are going out of business. They are closing sometime in April (they were unsure of the date), but everything is on sale. They had a ton of kitchen stuff, wine and other stuff for your home. There was a lot of stuff already cleared out, but it might be worth checking out if you like their stuff :)

Sizzling Summer Deals

Yahoo!! Did I hit the jackpot today! Now, I must admit that I went to two stores and like a super-hero, I did maximize my couponing abilities, but the deals were incredible. Here is the break down:

Kroger--This week Kroger is running an awesome deal if you have not already seen the add. After you buy ten items, you get $5 back in your pocket. How cool is that. The goodies from Kroger include:
2- Large Bags of Cheetos
2-Boxes of Cheese-Its
4-Bags of Gold Fish
2-Tubs of Philly Cream Cheese (one of them being the Whipped Version)
2-Tubes of Crescent Rolls
2-Marie Callender Pot-pies
2-HD Ice Creams
2-Lipton Rice Bags
1-Pillsbury Pizza Crust
1-Pillsbury Dinner Rolls

The total cost should have been: $43.01
However the bargain shopper only paid: $15.00
(**Note--Think ahead, summer is quickly approaching. I usually do not buy these items on a regular basis, but with summer BBQ's and trips up to the cottages, these items will come in handy!!)

Now here is the real winner: Larry's Foodland
2- Lawry's Marinades (each priced at $3.19)
1-Danactive Drinkable yogurt (priced at $2.50)

The total cost should have been: $8.88
However, the bargain shopper only paid: $0.50---YES, only 50 cents!!

If you know me, I am near and dear to Larry's. The double ALL manufactures coupons up to $1.00 every day. This week the Lawry's Marinades (retail at $3.19 a piece) are on sale 10--for--$10. Now if you are a thrifty gal like me, you found the coupon in this weeks Sunday Paper for 50--cents of Lawry's Marinades, and once it is doubled, the marinade is actually FREE!! You can't get better than that.

So, as a total recap, 23 items, which should have cost $51.89, I got for $15.50--I think I need a nap from all of the great deals!

I hope your deals are just as great! Happy Shopping!!

Interesting

Food for thought from www.thesimpledollar.com

A reader wrote in with this quite interesting situation:

Last week I had a good shopping experience when buying cat food, but I’m still a little uncertain as to whether or not I maximized the possibilities. I got a coupon in the mail for $5 off a bag of a particular high-end brand of cat food. (I prefer to good brands that the vet recommends because I adore my cats and want them to be healthy, so I shell out for the more expensive stuff.) When I got to the store, I saw that there was a range of bag sizes. Normally, I always buy the biggest bag because that gives me the best unit price. But my choices were these:

4# for 7.99 ($2.00/#)
8# for 14.99 ($1.87/#)
20# for 26.99 ($1.35/#)

I suddenly wasn’t sure what the best thing to do was. If I applied the $5 coupon to the smallest bag, the unit price went down to 75 cents per pound, but I’d only go home with 4 pounds of kibble. If I got the biggest bag, I’d pay a higher unit price ($1.10/#), but I’d be applying my discount to a larger amount of catfood. I ended up getting the big bag, just because I figured it was a good savings and I could make it longer without running to the petfood store again.

But the question nags at me. Would buying the smaller bag and getting the best unit price have been the more frugal option? What do you think?

Any time you think of using a coupon, ask yourself would I be buying this item without the coupon? That is the key question in any purchasing decision.

If the answer is no, then the decision is easy - use the coupon on whichever version of the item becomes cheapest per unit. In this case, you would buy the smallest bag because, after the coupon, it’s the cheapest per unit. Then, with future purchases, you should go back to buying your regular brand.

However, if the answer is yes and you do buy the item regularly, the answer can completely change.

First of all, is this coupon one you can acquire with some regularity? Usually it isn’t, but for some items (Pampers diapers, for example), it’s trivially easy to get a never-ending series of $2 coupons. In that event, you should always use that coupon on whichever version is the cheapest per unit after the coupon because you can just keep repeating that purchase over and over again with your supply of coupons. For our diapers, we wound up finding that most of the time, we were actually better off applying the coupon to the medium-sized package of diapers, so we kept buying that package.

If this is a special one-time coupon, though, you need to step back and look at the wider picture. I recommend estimating how much of the item you’d buy over a long period - say, six months. Let’s say you would buy 40 pounds of this food over the next six months. That would come in some combination of 4 pound bags ($7.99), 8 pound bags ($14.99), and 20 pound bags ($26.99).

If you use it on the four pound bag, you reduce the price of four pounds of the food to $0.75 a pound, but then the rest of the food costs $1.35 a pound, giving you an average cost of $1.29 a pound or a total cost of $51.60 for six months of food. Not bad.

If you use it on the eight pound bag, you reduce the price of eight pounds of the food to $1.24 a pound, but then the rest of the food costs $1.35 a pound, giving you an average cost of $1.33 a pound or a total cost of $53.20 for six months of food. This is an atrociously bad deal.

If you use it on the twenty pound bag, you reduce the price of twenty pounds of the food to $1.10 a pound, but then the rest of the food costs $1.35 a pound, giving you an average cost of $1.22 a pound or a total cost of $49.00 for six months of food. This is the best deal.

If you’re bothered by the math, here’s a rule of thumb: if you use an item regularly and the coupon is a one-time deal, then use the coupon on the item that’s the best deal normally - usually the bulk one. If you don’t use it regularly or you can keep getting coupons, use the coupon on the item that’s the cheapest after the coupon - usually the tiniest package, but not always.

Tipster

Hi Ladies,
I just picked up a rain check (no expiration date) for the shower cleaner by Scrubbing Bubbles at Walgreens. Usually $25, on Sale for $20 with a $5 mail in rebate. I planned on using the $10 coupon from the paper... but they were all out.

My rain check is for $15, so I'll get to skip the mail in rebate and just get the sale price when they are back in stock... no needing to have the store take my money and then give it back!

Cool huh?

Donate used textbooks to Asia

Ok so this doesn't really have anything to do with saving money, but it is something small you can do to help others.

As I was packing up my belongings to move to my new house, I came across about a dozen textbooks from college that the bookstore wouldn't buy back so I was stuck with them. So there they were on my bookshelf collecting dust and they hadn't been used in years...if they were ever used at all (depending on the class) :) I thought about donating them to a few local libraries, but then I found that they don't take used textbooks...BUMMER!

So I found this website...all you have to do is pay shipping to send them to the donation center (approx. $19 per 50 lbs) The shipping and the value of the books that are donated are tax deductible AND you can put your old textbooks to good use.

Check it out...

http://www.bridge.org/books.html

Another way to save - Kroger

I heard another money saving tip on the news this morning. :) There's a site - www.shortcuts.com. They've got a bunch of coupons on there and you can link your account to your Kroger card. You choose as many coupons as you want, and they get put onto your Kroger card so that when you check out, all you need to do is scan your card - you don't need to bring all the coupons in! Pretty awesome! I'm wondering if we could use this system PLUS bring in coupons for the same items and save even more money...maybe I'll test it out this weekend. If I do, I'll let everyone know!

Let's Go Krogering...

Job well done.

I purchased $84 in groceries for $28.
I saved 66% (or $56)
I like saving money!
(I just thought you'd like to know!)

Dove special offers & free samples

Hey ladies - check this out if you want to receive special offers and free samples of Dove products:

http://www.dove.us/your_dove/newmember.asp

Help Yourself & Others

Now through Monday, April 7th, Elder-Beerman Department Store (located in Howell on Grand River & Latson) is accepting clothing donations for Goodwill. In return, for each piece of clothing donated, you will receive a 20% coupon. Yes...10 donated items = 10 20% off coupons. And yes, the coupons can be used on regular and sale priced items! You can find more information on thier website:
http://catalog.elder-beerman.com/
The sale only lasts through Monday so start making room in your closet!

Free Ink Refill!

I just heard on the news that Walgreens is refilling one inkjet cartridge per customer for free! It normally costs $10 for a black one and $15 for a color one. This deal is today only

I Heart CVS!!

Getting stuff for nearly free never gets old...WOOHOO! or HOT DOG!!! as some may say :)

For everyone else that loves CVS, check out this blog that Laura told us about if you haven't already. There's tons of coupons and tips!

http://iheartcvs.com/

Here are the deals pictured above:

Visit #1
3 Softsoap Spa Radiant body wash

-$4.50 in coupons
-$5/$15 CVS coupon
-$5 ECBs

OOP = $0.77
ECBs earned = $14.97

Visit #2
2 Softsoap Spa Radiant body wash
Palmolive dish soap 11oz
Scrubbing bubbles foam cleaner 16oz
2 Shout laundry cleaner 22oz
2 Windex 26oz

-$5.80 in coupons
-$4/$20 CVS coupon
-$14.97 ECBs

OOP = $1.57
ECBs earned = $14.98

my first time CVS-ing

This is my first CVS-ing experience and I love it!! I broke these items into two different visits...

First Visit:

2 Softsoaps

2 Friz Eaze Dream Curls

1 Friz Eaze Serum

2 Neutragena Wave replaceable pads (I got the wave for free from another promotion)

$19 in coupons

$28.93 OOP

$19.98 ECB earned

Second Visit:

4 Lady Speed Stick Deoderants

4 Colgate Toothpastes

2 Different L'Oreal Eyeshadows

1 Covergirl Foundation

1 Covergirl Lipgloss

$19.25 in coupons

$19.98 ECB Spent

$9.79 OOP

$15 ECB earned

Becky - Yankee Candle Coupon!

Becky, this is especially for you! :) I had a buy 2, get one Yankee candle coupon that I was going to give you, but it expired. :( But here's a $10 off an order of $25+ for you and anyone else who wants it! http://www.yankeecandle.com/yc/html/retail/Email_HTML/registerForCouponsWebNEW.html You can print it out and use it in a store or use it online. It expires April 26.

WOWZERS!

Mrs. Dave Webber strikes again!

Last night, as my $5 off a $15 purchase coupons were on the verge of expiring, I decided that I needed one last 'Hurrah Moment' (*sigh*) shopping with them! Headed out to 2 CVS's to score as much ALL Small and Mighty as I could. Funny, I ended up buying ALL they had!

I purchased 6 bottles at one CVS and 5 at the next. I decided to stock up so I would not need to buy laundry detergent for the next year (or more)! Yippee! I already LOVE doing laundry (a weird quirk to my personality, I know) but now I will have a little bit more to smile about with every load!

This picture entails:
11 bottles of ALL Small and Mighty =$0.00
$4 off of $20
$5 off of $15
pharmacy gift card

5 (24 count) packages of CVS pain reliever =$0.00
$4 off of $20
$15 in ECB
$1.06 on gift card

THEN... I went to Rite Aid, as I have a $30 gift card for getting my prescription filled there.

*NOTE: to be honest, the store is HORRIBLY laid out, some aisles are way too narrow to use a cart, AND... the worst part, there were boxes of unpacked merchandise blocking nearly every aisle, stuff was EVERYWHERE... it was awful! (Not to mention that the store just seemed dirty!)

But I was determined to get good use of my gift card. In their sale paper, they were offering items for free with an online rebate system. I had nothing to lose, I was already spending their money (gift card reward), not fronting my own... bring on the deals and freebies!

So, on the left of this picture, I have my Rite Aid items.
Should have cost: $21.00ish
On sale for $13.00ish
I used $1.00 coupon
I spent $12.00ish (on gift card)
I will receive back $13.00ish

For the love of free stuff, I hope Rite Aid pans out. I'll keep you posted!

See a Penny

See a penny pick it up,
all day long you'll have good luck!

Before I became pregnant, I always stooped over to pick up lost coins- I have a jar dedicated to my "pennies from Heaven" that I have found. I also collect lost nickel's, dimes, quarters and paper money as well. Last year alone I found $130 in paper money!

When my ever expanding belly became just too large for me to easily (or gracefully) bend to retrieve my treasure, I gave up collecting. It's not that I don't hunt for lost coins, I just share the wealth and hope some cute little kid finds it and will be just as excited as I always am!

Anyway, today I found this penny, and yes... I did pick it up. I figure, YIKES, I could need this for when I pay (if I actually do pay) for my next purchase at CVS. I'm getting low in the coins section of my wallet- I seem to be using all of my pocket change to pay for my mega-purchases these days.

PS: This penny was found in the parking lot of my local CVS, no lie. I didn't need to use it today!

Beans, Beans, The Magical Fruit

Did you know that beans are an actually a veggie, but beside the point they can save you a ton of money. Recently I had the opportunity to play a little "Rachel Ray" in the kitchen and try a new creation. In the latest endeavor to make navy bean soup, it came down to about $5.00 out of pocket, a little creativity, and 4 meals completely ready to go. I purchased a store brand bag of navy beans ($2.39) and 48-oz carton of chicken stock (on sale of course for $2.29) and the rest of the ingredients were in the kitchen pantry. Soups can actually be a great time and money saver. Many of us "Thrifty Gals" own crock-pots so lets put them to good use. All a good soup really takes is three basic ingredients: stock (a liquid form of some kind), spices, and veggies. Meat can be optional for all of our vegetarian friends. Be creative as you let the slow cooker do the work.

Sorry, no pictures, the hubby ate the evidence!!

My First Blog....Ever

I never thought I'd be a blogger, but here I am. I always knew it would have to be something spectacular to get me to blog. I guess saving money broke my anti-blog mentality. So as you may know I had been a coupon user...but this CVS thing is great. I started my CVS experience last week with a $30 gift card for a transferred prescription and it has been nonstop since!!! Tonight I wanted to get one last use out of the $5 off $15 purchase so I braved the rain and headed out to CVS to get the SoftSoap that's free with ECB this week.

Here's what I got.
Order #1:
5 Lip Balms
1 gallon milk

Total (before discounts): $19.04
I used $5/$15
$0.55 coupon (milk)
$11 ECB
Out of Pocket: $1.59 and got $14.95 ECB Back

Order #2
5 Softsoaps
Total: $26.45
I used $4/$20
$3.50 in coupons off the Softsoap
$14.95 ECB
Out of Pocket: $2.86 and got $24.95 ECB Back


So basically I spent $4.45 out of pocket and received $39.90 to spend on another shopping trip!! This is great. Thanks to Laura for sharing her expertise.

Tresemme, Tresemme ooo la la

So I've been "CVSing" for about a week...and I must say I am obsessed. How can you not be...getting tons of great stuff for just pennies! It's truly AWESOME! It does take some planning before you head to the store, but it's totally worth every second when you get great deals like this.

Ok, here's the super deals:

- 3 bottles of Tresemme shampoo (32 oz - a.k.a. "giant" bottles)
- 2 bottles of Tresemme conditioner (32 oz)
- 1 Tresemme Hairspray
- 1 Tresemme travel size hairspray
- 2 Glade spray air fresheners
- 1 Oral-B cross action toothbrush

Should have cost: $40.10

Coupons/ECBs used:

-$4/$20 CVS coupon ($4 off a $20 purchase)
-$5/$15 CVS coupon
-$24.95 ECBs (extra care bucks)
-Glade BOGO coupon

OOP: $4.83
ECBs earned: $15.99

So basically, CVS paid me $11.16 to take all of this stuff off their hands! One word for you...AMAZING!

Expired Coupons

I came across this online - these are addresses to send expired coupons to so that military families can use them. Maybe we can do a monthly mailing as a group to save on postage?

Base 1: Thomas Leugers USAG-UD
CMR 419 box 1467
apo ae 09102

Base 2: Tara Whitmore
CMR 447 Box 123
APO, AE 09154

Base 3:
Volunteer/Outreach Coordinator
ACS-10th ASG
Unit 35115
APO AP 96376-5115

Base 4:
USO Europe Unit
29623 Box 8100
APO AE 09096

Ode to Carissa...

... sorry, NOT CVS!

Yay for saving money!! :-D

I don't have pictures of the things I got for free or really cheap, but I went grocery shopping Saturday AND Sunday at Meijer and saved a total of $121 Saturday and $156 Sunday between in store sales and coupons ($90 - some dollars of it was pure coupons)!! I researched ahead of time and planned menus for the next couple of weeks around what was on sale and what I had coupons for and I stocked up on some things that we use often. We shouldn't have to buy anything other than milk and produce for several weeks!! :-D Oh, and I have a $5.99 rebate - from bic razors - that I put in the mail today that I will be getting back so that can be added into the savings also.

CVSing

This is my third week "CVSing". I'm starting to feel like a professional!
I love this new found art to shopping.
I am amazed at what there is to learn on the Internet!

Here are my "purchases" - more like free items!
3 full size sprayers of Shout
2 bottles (32 loads) of All Small and Mighty
1 bottle Palmolive Oxy clean dish soap
2 (25ct) packages of Windex mirror wipes
2 bottles of Softsoap body wash
2 sticks of Lady Speed Stick deodorant
2 tubes of Colgate toothpaste
2 Colgate 360 toothbrushes
1 trial size can of Fusion shaving cream
3 packages of Extra gum
1 pacifier (it has a cover that flips closed if pacifier is dropped... I couldn't resist!!!)

Should have cost:$79.89
Spent $26 in ECB (Extra Care Bucks)
Earned $24 in ECB
PLUS $6 worth of "future use" coupons
Total spent OOP (Out Of Pocket) $.93


*Note: I began CVSing using a $25 CVS pharmacy gift card. I began purchasing with their money, and I continue to spend their money... it's wonderful!

Score at Target

I have a love/hate relationship with Target.

I love clearance, cute stuff and free stuff.

I hate the return policy and the lack of pharmacy gift cards for transferring prescriptions.

Today I had a love experience...

90% off Easter clearance. Boaz is going to have a kickin' egg hunt with his cousins next year- I kind of went a little bit crazy, there- I admit it!
* I'm not counting Easter clearance into today's savings.

OK, on to the real savings:

7 trial size Huggies baby wipes
8 trial size boxes of personal items
3 J & J trial baby shampoo
2 J & J trial size 24 hour baby lotion
1 trial size Jergans hand cream
2 trial size Dove deodorant
1 travel size antibacterial wipes :)
1 trial size Tylenol

Should have cost: $19.49
Did cost: -.65 (added into awesome Easter sale items)

*Coupons are cool!

*If a coupon doesn't state that it excludes trial sizes... go ahead and get the trial size and try it for free!

Learning Curves

I LOVE my Cell Group! I love spending time and being real with each of these women. Sunday mornings are so hectic at church for real development of friendships- and so Wednesday evening is the venue for me to really connect on a deeper level. We need the support and encouragement of one another to live the lives that God desires for us.

All of us, being in our mid-late 20's, are looking for ways to steer clear of debt, be able to give, to save and to have some recreational spending money as well. Let's face it... we are female and LOVE to shop! We love a good deal. We love to brag *with as much humility as is humanly possible!* about it!

So here we are, embarking on this, the Maiden Post for Thrifty Gals.

Maiden because:
1. We are ladies.
2. This is the beginning of our adventure together!

Let the thrill seeking, skill seeking, deal seeking adventure begin!

And remember, friends don't let friends pay full retail!