Get Your Roll On (and I don't mean deodorant)

Pre-Event Dining

You gotta feed your couponing machine! Husband and I had a nice dinner out last night, we used my $20 Applebee's gift card from mother's day and only spent $15 (including tip)... I can't believe they charge so much for drinks! Our waitress appeared to be pretty young and was kinda dorky which my hubby thought was awesome. She was nice so we made sure to tip very well. The stuffed meatballs was really yummy if you're looking to try something new.

Event Planning

Next it was on to shopping, but first I had to come home and sort out the coupons and lists. It took me longer than I expected so we barely made it before midnight, and they were out of everything on my list and there was a HUGE line. No big deal, wasn't anything I couldn't live without so I started gathering the new weeks items and much to my disbelief they were already out of many of those as well. How could that be? The sale just started 5 minutes ago.... well turns out part of that huge line was people who got there early waiting for midnight. More great news, the store's order day got switched to Tuesday so they wont get more paper towels or Crackerfuls until then (so much for the 2 day sale, good job Walgreen's).

The Main Event

Turns out the register was having an issue and not printing the reward for the Crackerfuls, so while we all waited for that to sort itself out I met one of the other couponers "The Harrah's Lady", who turned out to be kinda new to couponing and really a sweet gal! We ran all over the store looking for some of the RR items that seemed to be non-existent and our popcorn filler items. Somewhere in there I managed to find more of the Crackerfuls, yay! I had so much fun talking to her about coupons and finding deals, and our husbands. My hubby always tries to help in his own way, but he is just not into the couponing thing and it was awesome to speak with a live human being about it who actually understood what I was saying. I also sort of met the one I call "Disappearing Lady", she seemed a little cranky (I was getting there myself after waiting so long for the registers to act right and fighting all the drunkies coming in from the casino for Pringles). She would be waiting at the register with us, then suddenly gone for 20 minutes, then magically reappear... she must be related to Houdini.

The Harrah's Lady and I spent about an hour searching for things in the store, gabbing, and waiting for the register to stop being stupid. Finally it started printing the rewards and thus began the longest checkout ever. The other 2 ladies had crackers (and other things) to return and repurchase and I had 9 separate transactions to get through. Did I mention the store was the busiest I have ever seen it in the middle of the night on a Saturday? I've been midnight shopping for a while now and I was shocked by the constant stream of people in the store. It took over an hour to complete my purchases, and my poor hubby was waiting the whole time, completely exhausted and wanting to go to bed. I bought him a candy bar as a little apology/thanks.

I do not think any of us would have made it out alive if it hadn't been for the awesome cashier, Katie! She is so incredibly patient and flexible which helps me keep my cool with all the craziness going on in the store. I wish she worked every Saturday overnight, but she certainly deserves her Saturdays off!

The Nitty Gritty

Its another great time to stock up on paper towels folks... if you can find them. We spent a total of $9.31 and "saved" $82.28. Not too shabby! Since they ran out of Crackerfuls I ended up leaving with a $0.99 RR, which if I can find the darn crackers I will be using on them with my $1 coupon to get them free (and they come with a $2 RR)!

Check out the photo and shopping list I used to score all these great deals! I like to figure out a couple of transactions of things I want or need and any potential money makers and then I roll them until Im out of coupons. Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions and hopefully my list will help inspire you to get your roll on too!

Shopping List

A big thanks to Clippin with Carie for all the hard work doing the match-up!

Great Deals at CVS This Week

Quick update. I ran by CVS over the weekend with my $17 in leftover ECB and scored 6 nail polish, 6 Sobe, 8 2L of soda, 3 bags of Tostitos, 2 bags Doritos, and 3 Tostitos dips for about $10 and I got a $10 gas card for FREE!

There are lots of sweet deals, and maybe even a couple money makers at CVS this week. Check out the deals on Clippin' with Carie.

I Buy In Bulk, Therefore I Post In Bulk

Since I am a little behind in sharing my recent trips, I thought it would be a good idea to post in bulk.

I finally got my Target shopping done last weekend... on the last day my coupons were good through, despite being told I couldn't use my coupons one day and then being accused of coupon fraud the next day. Third (and fourth) time's the charm, right?

Target: Trip # 1 - I purchased the items shown below in addition to 4 Degree mens and 2 Secret travel size deodorant that I gave to my mother and two baby socks I gave to my coworker... for $0.02! (Not a typo, two cents.)

Trip # 2 - My total was $61.53, I used $20 GC from the STLPost subscription promotion for a total OOP of $41.35 and my total savings was $66.73. (Not shown: 4 Sobe Lifewater that I drank already.)

Walgreens: Transaction # 1 - Gillette Razor Paid $5.36 and received a $4 RR. Transaction # 2 - 6 light bulbs and 2 plates (cant find receipt), spent approx $3 using the $4 RR for the balance.

CVS: Transaction # 1 just before midnight - purchased the diapers and pringles, used $5 CVS coupon, $9 in ECB, & two $3 pampers coupons - paid $23.69, saved $33.61 and received $10 ECB. Transaction #2 just after midnight - purchased 4 Airwick, 1 candy egg, and 1 newspaper, used $10 ECB,  two $2 and two $4 airwick coupons - paid $2.42, saved $49.29, and received $10, $1 (GBT), and $0.74 ECB (used the $1.74 to buy hubby some candy that he ate so its not shown).

The Airwick deal is still going on this week, if you can find them in the stores. (If not, make sure you get a rain check and I always like to keep a copy of the ad with my rain checks for clarity.) Print four of the $4 Air Wick Freshmatic Ultra Starter Kit coupons (you will need two computers) from coupons.com, then purchase four of them for $8 and get a $10 ECB for a $2 money maker deal!

Sticking It To The Budget

Last week and so far this week have been pretty good for deal hunting and I think I've done pretty darn good keeping it within budget. In fact I might even have leftover budget! Sorry husband, that does not mean you can buy Duke Nukem or whatever other video game you are drooling over today.

Thursday's score at CVS:
1 Facial Buff, 4 Purex 3-in-1, 2 Gain Dish Liquid, 2 Coke 2L, and 3 Coke 12pk (not shown). I spent $9.47 after coupons and ECB's, and received $5 ECB for next time. Apparently I saved $50.07, and $25.58 of that was coupons/ECB!


I also scored a $6 Physician's Formula coupon from the kiosk!

After that, I ran to Walgreen's to grab 4 Irish Spring deodorant that was free after coupons and RR for my brother-in-law-in-law, then I used the RR to buy 3 Kraft Deluxe that was on sale, and a bunch of Easter Candy. I think I spent $9. Why, oh why, does the candy have such a hold on me?

---

Saturday's Shopping Trip: Target deals for last week weren't very thrilling, but I had a small list and huge stack of expiring soon coupons so I just wandered around the store with husband in tow.

We got 2 Mountain Dew 12pks, 2 Tostitos Chips, 1 Dip, 1 Sierra Mist 2L, 1 Jug Apple Cider (clearance!), 2 TGIF Appetizers, 2 Up&Up ibuprofen, 2 Up&Up dryer sheets, 2 Dentyne Pure 3pks, 1 Shout Wipes Travel Size, 2 Scrubbing Bubbles cleaners, and 1 Clorox 2. This time I handed over my coupons one by one and made sure each one scanned.

Our total was $31.94 and the receipt says we saved $31.78, and since their receipts are completely illogically organized... lets just go with that - nearly 50% savings!

---

After we got home from Target I wanted to go back to CVS and exchange my highly overpriced, ill-thought-out purchase of Coke 12pks from earlier this week. I put together a quick list from the new ad and grabbed some coupons for some Midnight Shopping!

When I arrived and scanned my card I was pleasantly surprised with a $5 ECB from the magic coupon kiosk for my winter beauty spending, woohoo!

First I bought the Renu contact solution with a $5 coupon from coupons.com, and paid $8.58 on my FSA card and got $3 ECB. Since I plan ahead for contact supplies on my FSA card I don't count this as an out-of-pocket expense.

I'm proud of my next purchase because I mostly figured this deal out all by myself! I bought 12 Cottonelle Fresh Wipes on sale 3 for $4 and used 6 $1 off 2 printable coupons (or here for Firefox users). These are part of an ECB deal when you spend $15 on various household products you get a $5 ECB. I get confused sometimes and didn't think of using the $5 ECB I got from the kiosk! My total spent was $5.37, I saved $39.68, and got a $5 ECB.

If you don't have extra ECB to use, you can still print 6 of the coupons (you will need access to 3 computers) and get them for $0.83 each after coupons or $0.42 each after coupons and ECB!

My final transaction was for 2 Ritz Crackers, 2 Wheat Thins, 7 Coke 2L, 1 Dawn dish soap, 1 24pk Nestle Pure Life water, and 1 Physicians Formula eye shadow. I used the rest of my ECB's from the previous week, plus the $5 ECB from the last transaction, the $6 off Physicians Formula coupon I got Thursday, and a $5 off $25 coupon I got in my email. I didn't have enough to also use the $5 ECB from the kiosk so I just held onto it. I'm always shopping at CVS so it wont go to waste. My total spent was $3.09 and total savings of $42.28 plus I got a $5 ECB.

Grand total for CVS ended up being $8.46, saved $81.96, and walked out with $10 ECB.

Diaper-palooza!

Much to my disbelief my sister-in-law finally decided to come shopping with me. It was lots of fun to have her along, but I'm not sure her wallet agrees! 

First she wasn't buying anything, then it was maybe some knee-highs, then it was oh sure Ill get some lady products, then she wanted peeps but also had to get a nummy for her hubby and came back with no peeps and some weird egg laying chicken thing... and then while we were in the checkout line she spotted some popcorn that she had to run off and get.

That was the most ADD shopping I have ever seen in my life, very entertaining though.

I was a tiny bit more organized with my shopping trip. First, I bought the diapers in two separate transactions, spent $12.89 each (saved $8 each), so I could get two $3 Register Rewards.

Then I bought everything else, with coupons and my $6 in Register Rewards... and due to some last minute additions, forgetting a coupon, and a slight miscalculation I did spend $3.77 out of pocket... but still saved $32.20!
The Dawn smell in yellow is pretty yummy too, pineapple something!

What I Got
4 Jumbo Pack Pampers
4 Aquafresh Extreme Clean Toothpaste
1 Dawn Dish Soap
3 PediaCare Children's Pain Reliever/Fever Reducer
4 Knee-Highs
1 Pack Scrubby Sponge Things

What deals have you scored at Walgreen's recently?

The Art of a Deal

Early this morning husband and I went to CVS to score some Coke products before the sale ends tonight. We spent a total of $40.65, "saved" $73.80, and I have $5 in Extra Care Bucks (ECB) left to spend another day. I thought since most of the time I only share how much I spent and saved on my shopping trips, today I would tell you how I saved what I saved.

I started with buying a bottle of Complete Multi-Purpose contact solution using my FSA card, so no direct out of pocket expense, and I received a $3 ECB.

My next purchase didn't work out quite like I expected since they were out of the Ragu, so I improvised and bought a lot of peanut butter... anyone know where I can find a ton of peanut butter recipes?

Items Purchased	Sale Price	Coupons Used	ECB Received
8 Skippy Peanut Butter 1 Ragu Pasta Sauce	$13.33 $1.67	3 x $0.50 -	$5.00
2 M&M Bags	$5.00	$1.50	$1.00
2 Reese's Mini Cups King Size	$1.98	B1G1 Free	-
5 Coke 12 packs	$15.00	$3 ECB	$5.00

I also applied a $5 off $30 purchase coupon I received in my email for a total spent of $26.06. This total would have been $2.50 less if they had more Ragu in stock so I could use my Ragu coupons.

Next Purchase

Items Purchased	Sale Price	Coupons Used	ECB Received
5 Coke 12 packs	$15.00	$5, $5, & $1 ECB	$5.00

Total Paid: $4.17

Final Purchase

Items Purchased	Sale Price	Coupons Used	ECB Received
5 Coke 12 packs	$15.00	$5 ECB	$5.00

Total Paid: $10.42

Its Like Winning At Roulette

Walgreens FTW! So far I have 25 transactions planned for my Walgreens adventure this week, so Im thinking I may need to split it between stores so they don't hate me! The plan is to purchase the following for around $20-25, and yes I do have magical powers.

3 Thermacare Wraps
1 Advil
11 Arnicare Pain Relief Gel (I may have to donate some of this...)
5 Blink Tears/Gel Tears
4 Dove Deodorant
1 Package O-Cel-O Sponges
4 Gillette Fusion Proglide Razors
4 Four Packs Duracell Batteries
3 Puffs Tissues
Various Valentine Things (cups, pencils, stickers... fun stuff!)
1 Box Turtles Candy
Misc Candy Items

The Pièce de résistance....

A Sobakawa Cloud Pillow, which is basically FREE after all my Register Rewards.

Consolidation Nation

Before I fall asleep at my computer, I wanted to share the rest of my shopping adventures of the weekend so you get the consolidated boring version. Yay!

Walgreens
1 Thermacare Single
2 Pantene
3 Maalox
4 Gax X Prevention
2 Butterfinger Heart Candy
4 Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
4 Kit Kat
5 Vicks Cough Drops
4 Dove Visible Care Body Wash
1 Listerine Zero 1L
2 Doritos
4 Newspapers

Total Spent $19.34
Total Savings $87.40 ($62.46 coupons\register rewards)
Remaining Register Rewards $0.00

CVS
7 Coke Brand 12-pack
4 Xtra 28-load Laundry Detergent
16 Vitamin Water

Total Spent $21.90
Total Savings $52.97 ($30 coupons\extra care bucks)
Remaining Extra Care Bucks $5

"Midnight" Shopping

I don't know about the rest of you avid couponers, but I've noticed that if you don't JUMP on those really hot deals you will never get them. Some helpful hints for this problem:

1. Plan ahead! Stores like Walgreens and CVS post their ads for the next week around Thursday so you can start looking and see what you might want.
2. Check the coupon blogs since a lot of them do the work for you and match up the upcoming ads with coupons (Links to my favorite blogs are on the side bar)
3. Shop early
4. If something is out of stock that has a reward - find out when the next shipment is due in and ask the manager if they can place a special order and hold it for you
5. And when all else fails institute "Midnight" shopping

Generally if you can get yourself together and arrive at your destination just prior to midnight on the eve of a new sale day that is the best case scenario, but hey when that's not possible just go at 3:00 am. Yes you read that correctly, I said THREE AM so load up on Red Bull and get your booty out there!