Walgreen's Make-up deals!

Walgreen’s 11.23


Rimmel Eye Products 50%

Lash Extender Mascara - $7.29 – 50% off = $3.65

$2/1 Rimmel Eye Product- November All You Mag = $1.65

Rimmel Eye Shadow- $4.49 – 50% 0ff= $2.25

COVERGIRL DEAL

Covergirl TruBlends Foundation – clearance shade $4.79

Covergirl TruBlends Micro Minerals Blush- $11.49

Used: Covergirl Buy 1 foundation Get one face product FREE From 11.1.09 insert

$2.50/2 Covergirl products from 11.1 insert

= $2.29 for BOTH products!

Mars Candy - $0.69

4 bags of M&Ms

2 Snickers bars

$0.49 each with in-ad coupon

(5) Buy 1 Get 1 Free coupons from 11.8 insert = $0.08 each!

Total: $12.37 – used RR

I saved $42.89 just with coupons, plus the $12 in RR!

OOP = $0

(Note: I had Nexxus Mousse on my original receipt but it was suppose to be taken off and wasn’t, so I went and returned it and received cash back more than I paid for the tax on my card, which led to me paying $0 out of pocket and taking total advantage of RR)

After finding this out- while it may not be the best practices, it was an unintentional was around paying OOP- if you buy an item that is about the same as you’d pay OOP for tax after coupons and RR, and return it you’ll get your OOP back! After the return of the mousse the cashier didn’t take off my bill it was a savings of 100% plus!

Rite Aid 11.22-11.28

Rite Aid




Not a lot of fabulous Rite Aid deals

Wonderful Pistachios 2 for $5 -

(2) $1/1 Manufacture’s Coupon from 11.15 insert = $1.50 each.

Domino sugar $0.99 for 2lb package –

$0.50/2 MQ from 11.15 insert = $0.75 each

Puffs facial tissue $0.99 sale –

$.25/1 MQ from 11.1 = $.75

Ocean Spray & V8 cranberry juice 2 for $4-

(Ocean Spray) $1/1 IP or peelie or $1/1 V8 IP Savings Center = $1 each

NyQuil Sale $3.99 –

$1.50/1 MQ from 11.8 = $2.50

Infusium Shampoo and Conditioner $3.99 –

$2/1 MQ from 11.22 = $1.99 each


Rite Aid just started a new Single Check Rebate for the Holidays as well:

Offer #549


VALID ONLY ON PRODUCTS PURCHASED 11/22/09 - 12/24/09

Up to $20 Rite Aid Gift Certificate
Spend $25.00-$50.00 for a $5.00 Rite Aid Gift Certificate OR


Spend $50.01-$100.00 for a $10.00 Rite Aid Gift Certificate OR


Spend $100.01 or more for a $20.00 Rite Aid Gift Certificate


Please let me know if you found any other great deals this week at Rite Aid!

happy hugging!



-danielle

Walgreens 11.22-11.28

Walgreens November 22nd-November 28th


Kleenex - $0.89 with in-ad coupon – use $1/1 from Healthy Savings booklet = FREE Kleenex, add $0.50/3 from insert for a $0.50 overage!

Sunkist 4/$10 – use(4) $1/1 Manufacture’s coupon from 11.15 insert = 4/$6 ($1.50 each)


Nabisco crackers 5 for $10 (use $1/1 or $1/2 internet printables) get $3 in Register Rewards, you can do this twice and submit for the $10 rebate from Nabisco when you buy 10 boxes of Nabisco crackers, as low as FREE after coupons RR and rebate!

Coffee Mate- B1 @ $2.49, get one free- use $1/2 coupon = $0.75 each.

Select Kellog’s cereal 2 for $5 – printable $1.50/2, $1/1 and more found at Coupons.com or Redplum, plus $1 RR, so as low as $1.00 each after RR and coupons.

DeMet’s Turtles candy 3 for $4, use $1/1 (says 7 oz, but I’ve had Walgreen’s accept coupons on different sized products from time to time) from 11.15 insert = 3 for $1

Starbucks Ice Cream 2 for $5- use $1/1 Internet printable = $1.50 each

Mars Candy $0.49 with in-ad coupon – use B1G1 from 11.15 insert- two for $0.49 each, or if you have several coupons they will let you stack them on the free, so in my case I’ll get 4 for the price of one!

Enfamil Formula is a weekly register rewards- $2RR, if you have a $5 Manufacture's coupon, or printable IP you could get as much as $7 off = $15 a can.

Ricola Cough Drops are on sale for $1- and $1 in RR = Free

There are some great fillers this week too like: 8 Christmas tumblers for $1, 10 gift sacks for $1, and household gloves $0.39

As weeks before the $4/1 Nexxus coupon is still in the store coupon booklets, you can get a free can of hair mousse 2 oz.

Huggies Diapers are on sale for $8.99 pair with a internet printable $2/1

Huggies Wipes are 2 for $5, use the $2/1 diaper product (IP no longer available)= $0.50 each

Revlon Beauty Tools and select make up- B1G1, use $1/1 from 11.15 as low as $2.99 for 2

Rimmel Eye cosmetics- 50% off – use $2/1 Rimmel Mascara from November All You Magazine = as low as $2.00

Loreal Cosmetics B1G1 @ 50% off – use $1-$3 coupons found in All You Magazine and 11.15 inserts

Loreal Revitalift $2-$5 off sale, plus $1/1 from 11.15 insert

Hydrogren Peroxide is also 4 for $1 this week!
 
Please share any other spectacular Walgreens deals you may find!
 
happy hugging!
 
-danielle

Road Trip on a Budget (Part 1)

The deals in the stores this week aren't that fantastic, I will be posting some; however, I wanted to do a 'traveling on a budget' series this week since the holidays are approaching. As if the holidays aren't tight enough for most of us with gift-giving, big dinners, etc. we all have to travel a lot, whether to a a few different houses in the neighborhood, or if you're like us - different states! Were military and currently stationed in Fort Knox, KY, but we make several trips a year to see my family in Wisconsin (an 8 hour drive) and to New Jersey to see my in-laws (about 14 hours).

Tip #1- Gas: We normally earn points with our Kroger card to save $0.10 off a gallon with fill-ups, but it's not feasible to thinkg we'll find Kroger fill stations all the way to New Jersey! I posted earlier about some giftcards I had received for free- and I'm so glad we planned ahead and held onto them! I got $50 in gas cards for $1! Check out my post FREE MONEY to find out how! The offer also came with $40 in rebates on Gas, they won't come into effect until after January- but we'll have them when the time comes! Anyways, We will save $50 on gas by using those cards, which is about 25% off of what we would normally spend in the round trip. (We also had my in-laws sign up for the deal, and paid them the $1, told them we could take care of cancelling so we could get another $50 in free gas!)

Another option would be to get a credit card that gives you rewards, X amount off per gallon, or cash back on gas, but ONLY use it for gas and make sure to budget so you can pay it off as soon as you get home, or it will defeat the purpose! Don't forget to take the most fuel efficient vehicle you have as well!

Tip #2- Vehicle: We have an almost 5 month old baby girl, and traveling with a baby, as I'm sure many of you know, is not great for vehicles that lack cargo space. So if you're like us - you'll rent a minivan or other larger vehicle to travel. We both have SUVs, but we just can't fit us all and the baby's things in one car. It's easier to travel to WI because my sister has young children and my grandmother has a daycare, so we can travel with less baby gear. Anyways, the Entertainment Books have excellent coupons for car rental services, such as free days, free weekends, up to gas cards with your purchase! We get a military discount which saves us about $50, but I know there's a coupon in the book that is comparable.

Ask the employees for their expertise. We really need the space of a minivan, but we both own SUVs so we didn't consider there was something in-between. The woman I spoke with offered up the idea of making a reservation for an 8 passenger SUV, like a Chevy Traverse- not only would it have the cargo space we need, but it would save us $250 and we would get UNLIMITED miles, which you cannot get with the Minivan. She also said they are so busy with the holidays, that if they happened to have that unavailable the evening we come for our vehicle, we would get a minivan for the same price! I definitely suggest calling, rather than making reservations online as well. Online they can't apply discounts as well, or talk you and help you get the best deal. Consider fuel efficiency as well, our cars are 6 and 3 years old, where as the models the car rental place has are much newer and better serviced, we got excellent gas mileage on a minivan rental we had last year- better than my SUV and I have one of the best fuel efficiency rated SUVs!

Tip #3- Lodging: It's common sense to stay with a relative for most people. I have some severe allergies to my in-law's house, and we have a hard time fitting the four of us into the small bedroom that was once my husband's, but we make it work. When you think about the comfort vs. savings it makes sense in the end. When you're visiting, you're rarely spending time in your hotel, especially around the holidays- there are always plenty of things to do and see, so you're paying for a few extra square feet, definitely take the room offered, no matter your relationship or space constrictions, I promise, once you realize how much $$ you're saving, it'll be worth it!

If you HAVE to stay at a hotel, check out the Entertainment book for coupons for specific hotels, or extra discounts at websites such as Priceline, Orbitz, Expedia, etc. Fortunately we have our miltiary discount when and if we need to stop and stay on the road, but sometimes the coupons in the book are better.

Tip #4- Food: This is by far the biggest expense when traveling, and so many people TRY to cut costs, but we're going to DO IT this time. Traveling and eating is never incredibly healthy, but we're going to try our best! I think the biggest thing is planning ahead, just as you would with meals during the week, it's even more important with traveling.
Here's an overview of what we'll be taking in the car:

Chex Mix (we got about 10 free bags over the recent weeks, but we'll only be packing a few)
Cheez-it cracker- small boxes ($0.50 each @ Wags last week)
Sandies cookies ($0.50 each @ Wags last week)

I'll be making my Breakfast Cookies - only a little easier version- with packages of oatmeal cookie mix I got for $0.40 each, I'll add in some flax seed and dried fruit - each pacakges makes about 2 dozen cookies that's less than 2 cents a cookie!

We'll be taking a cooler with carrot sticks, string cheese, sandwiches, and yogurt and fruit.

and the Entertainment Book will come in handy yet again- IF decide to stop for some fast food we have coupons in the books for Free burgers and B1G1 meals at some places.

Hopefully these tips will help you when traveling over the holidays!

I'll be posting more abou the budget we set, and how the trip goes this week as we'll leaving tomorrow night. I'll also be posting how well we stick to our strict budget for the trip!


happy hugging!

-danielle

Krogering and other nonsense

Kroger

I decided to use up my ecoupons this trip!

(6)I can’t believe it’s not butter baking sticks – Catalina deal – buy 2, get $2 off next order

($2.16 at my store- some stores have them priced down- and they are actually a money-maker at Meijer, but I just won’t make it there before Saturday)

(6) $1/1 Manufacture’s coupon- printable- and insert 11.15.09

Total for each set= $2.32, got $2 OYNO

I split the transactions up as well because I wasn’t sure if it would print multiple Catalina’s- and I used all the Cats on the rest of my groceries

Johnson & Johnson Baby oil $1.89 (Buy one, get $1 OYNO cat)

$1/1 Manufacture’s coupon from baby booklets, but you can also go to Johnson and johnson’s site and print one

Total= $0.11 profit

Dole Salad Mix- (Italian blend on special 2 for $5) –

$1/1 MQ =$2 each

Riceworks - $3.99 - sale 2 for $5 (organic rice snacks)- how i LOVE organic product coupons!

$1/1 blinkie right by product
= $1.50 each-

Betty Crocker Cookie Mix 2 for $4

(4)$0.40/1 MQ (doubled) 11/15/09 insert

(2)$0.40/1 Cellfire & Shortcuts

= (2 of them were $0.40 each, the other two were $.80 each)

Betty Crocker Frosting

(2)$0.50/1 MQ (doubled)

(2)$0.50/1 Cellfire & Shortcuts

= $.40 each

Yoplait yogurt 10 for $6

$.50/6 IP (doubled)
$.50/6 Cellfire
= $0.35 each.

Betty Crocker Warm Delights $1.99

(2) $.50/1 IP (doubled)
(2) $.50/1 cellfire & shortcuts
= $.50 each

Contonelle (I purchased 2 but they didn’t both show up) $3.69 each.

(2)$.50/1 IP @ manufacture’s website (doubled)

(2)$.25/1 Cellfire & shortcuts

=$2.44 each.

McCormick Grinders 10 for $10

5 @ $1.00

$1/1 MQ from 11.1 insert and IP = FREE

McCormick Gravy packets some 4 for $5, others 2 for $1

(3) $0.50/2 MQs 11.1 insert (doubled)

= as low as FREE!

Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough 2 for $4

$1/1 IP

$1/1 MQ from November All You Magazine

$0.55/1 Shortcuts

= $0.73 each

Target

There is a new coupon policy in effect with their new coupons coming out, so I took advantage of using the multiples I could print while the last

I picked up 9 packages of wipes for $3.18!

K-Mart

Viva 2 pack of paper towels – on sale 2 for $8

(2) $2/1 IP

=$4 plus tax

It’s hard to believe I had all the success I did today with two kids in tow, I can’t WAIT until my husband is home and I can hunt down some deals with a little less stress!

happy hugging!



-danielle

Walgreens 11.18.09

Holy Hair Care!


Walgreens

Aussie shampoo, conditioner, and some styling products (I found my Walgreens was lazy- they only had some of them marked on sale when in fact when I got to the other store there were far more on sale, so if you see something you want just double check because it may not be marked.) Anyways…

Aussie Hair Care- on sale for $2.99 (buy one, get $2 Register Rewards – weekly)

$1/1 Manufacture’s Coupon (an insert from October)

So after coupon and register rewards its FREE!

(I actually went online and purchased a bunch of these for only $1.99 so I could take advantage of this sale)

Mixed Berry Ricola cough drops

$1.99, on sale for $1.00 (Buy one, get $1 RR- weekly)

$0.50/1 Healthy Savings coupon booklet

Now- if you’ve shopped at Walgreens before you know you can only do one RR per transaction for the same promotion—so as you can guess this took me 19 transactions- thankfully the store was dead, and I had an ANGEL of a cashier

Each transaction was $2.73 and I received $3.00 in RR. In the end I only paid tax, and ended up making $9 off the Ricola RR this week thus far!

On one transaction I added in 2 Nexxus mousse cans- FREE with $4/1

Puffs tissues $0.89 with in-ad coupon

$0.25/1 Manufacture’s coupon from 11.1.09

= $0.64 each!

I picked up some Nursery water as well with my combo coupons, and used the $0.50 Sandies and Crackers as fillers- as well as the bobby pins and hair ties which were clearance for $0.25 each!



Now I’ll touch on the “buying” of coupons, you can check out sites like www.hotcouponworld.com, www.afullcup.com, and Ebay and Coupon Masters. Sites like these you can trade coupons for ones you need, or pay for the clipping and shipment of coupons to you. It is illegal to sell or barter coupons, but you can pay for their time and shipping. It’s not something I would recommend on a regular basis, but for freebies or to stock up on something you use a lot for the future it can be a great idea.

This week I got 19 free things of shampoo/conditioner/styling products and 18 free bags of cough drops- and the best part is the HUGE stack of RR I have to use on some great deals next week! In a case like this you are investing a little bit, for instance I took out $20 cash in addition to what I had in register rewards- but I still came out making a profit after tax, and it really is a great cycle of just reusing your money!

happy hugging!

-danielle

Go Green!

This week is National Green Week!

So take a minute to think about a few things you could do to lessen your impact on our earth.

If you're in a neighborhood like ours it isn't easy! If we wanted recycling to be picked up at the curb we had to pay an extra $30 a month in addition to our trash pick-up to have it done, and that's not feasible in our budget- so instead we have to make weekly trips to the recycling collection trailer in the nearest town which is about a 15 minute drive. Hopefully you can just set yours out at the curb! :)

However we do a lot of things around here for the planet, beginning with cloth diapers- you can largely decrease the amount of things you attribute to a landfill by cloth diapering your baby, disposable diapers are the third largest single consumer item in landfills, and represent about 4% of solid waste, and no one knows how long it really takes for a disposable diaper to decompose, but it is estimated to be about 250-500 years. Not only are they great for the environment, but they save a TON of money and they're SUPER cute. (Ok, so if you're like me and many of the mom's I know who CD you get sucked in to how cute they are) however, you can reuse them for more than one child. In the end, you'll still save money and do a huge part in not attributing to the $300 million spent annually just to dispose of disposable diapers. You can always sell them if you don't need them for more than one child, yes, people will buy your gently used cloth diapers!

Many other benefits include the lack of diaper rash, and lack of harmful chemicals on your baby's bottom.


Check out some great ways to try cloth diapers:
Try Cloth at Jillian's Drawers for $10
http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/products/clothdiapers/tryclothfor10
Or check out some other great cloth diapers retailers:
http://www.cottonbabies.com/
http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/
http://www.bumgenius.com/
http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/
http://www.fuzzibunz.com/
http://www.drybees.com/
http://www.hyenacart.com/

I could go on and on...

A lot of people are worried about the laundry but it really isn't bad, it's an extra load maybe every 2 or 3 days, and our water bill hasn't risen at all. If you use disposables before you've had experience with blow outs and washing messy clothes- and we have yet to have a blow out in cloth diapers.

If cloth doesn't seem like your thing, perhaps a more "green" version of a disposable diaper sounds like it's something you would want to try Seventh Generation makes a more green version as well as G-diapers- it's more of a hybrid version of the two. Target also carries a "natural" version of a disposable diaper in some stores.


You can consider making your own baby food as well, - even better if it is from your own garden!

A lot of people seem to think 'going green' is a trend, and is costly, more more often than not it will SAVE you money. You can get tax credits for efficient appliances, save money on your energy bills, and often find coupons for new 'green' products that are put on the market.

Another thing we are big on is cleaners- I find Vinegar, or other natural cleaning products clean just as well, and smell even fresher!

Hang your laundry out on the line, turn the lights off when you're not in the room, we never have lights on in the house during the day, such simple things can make a huge difference.

This year our big GREEN purchase is going to be a "fake fireplace" heater, we aren't sure which we're going to go with yet, but a friend of the family had one last year and said they didn't even need to turn their heat on all winter and that it cut their electric bill dramatically- and that was in Wisconsin! I'll keep you posted as to which we go with and how it works out.

There were coupons recently in the Sunday newspaper for Marcal paper products, even for a FREE roll of toilet paper, napkins, etc. I wish I could get some to review, but they don't have them in any of our area stores. :(

Things can be very basic as well, sort your garbage, recycle, reuse wipe containers for storage boxes, buy refill bags instead of tubs, send toliet paper and paper towel rolls, kleenex boxes, empty milk jugs to your children's school or local elementary school for crafts. Consider sending all your child's 102 McDonald's toys as well! Recently we went through my scrapbooking stuff, my daughter's small 'happy meal' toys and everything that would be "trash" to us was sent to the school as little trinkets for their 'prize' boxes in the classroom. A lot of classrooms have wishlists- and rather than go out and spend money on items or donate cash be resourceful, everyone understands that budgets are tight, especially this time of year, and to be able to reuse on top of fulfill their needs is win-win situation!

We do a TON of coupon clipping in this house and before the old ads and paper scraps get recycled they are first put in a scrap box for my daughter, she paints, cuts, uses what she wants, and then her left overs are recycled- it beats paying $1.98 a pack for construction paper- and I think it stretches her imagination further!

Take a minute to think about a few simple things you can do to make your household a little greener.

happy hugging!

-danielle

Misled yet again!- but still a great price on stocking stuffers!

I am crazy about money-saving blogs, love them, love the tips, and generally enjoy reading them (OBVIOUSLY- or why would I have my own!) However, I am really starting to get fed up in the 'saving for the masses' blogs that send you out there with your coupons and a budget and think you're going to get this great deal and then you either spend more than you planned because the information was incorrect, or you end up with nothing.

Case in point:

Hasbro Card Game Deal @ Kroger this week Buy 1, Get 1 Free.
In this weekend's edition of USA Weekend there was a coupon for Buy 1, Get 1 Free.
SO MANY blogs have raved about this deal and getting 4 games for FREE- but that is most certainly NOT the case.

With your Kroger Plus card the games come out to $2.99 each for the sale, and the cashier has to enter in the price for the free manufacture's coupon = $2.99 off your order- so in the end for two games you would pay $2.99 plus tax, or for four games $5.98. Considering they are usually $5.99-$6.99 each, it's still a great deal, but I wanted to post the CORRECT information!

(I DID take this to the manager of the store regarding the regular price at $5.99 so that is what the coupon should be discounted for- and we have a generally generous Kroger in regards to their coupon policy, etc. and they did not budge- because the coupons states you MUST PURCHASE on item to get another free)

Now, I would have accepted 4 games for the price one one- awesome deal for stocking stuffers- but in our recently decreased budget $6 is a big deal when you shop the way we do. I would just prefer some more honesty- or perhaps first-hand experience. When shopping with a cash-envelope system and you expect to pay so much hand over your coupons, etc. and your total comes out to much more, not only can it be irritating and time consuming but you can potentially lose out on a deal, or perhaps not be getting the best deal possible.

I hope all of you are finding these tips HONEST and HELPFUL! :)

happy hugging

-danielle

Free Newborn Portrait!

New Baby Portrait Special Offer

"Print out this coupon and to receive One 8 x 10, Two 5 x 7s, and 8 Wallet Portraits absolutely Free! A beautiful portrait package from Olan Mills - America's Premier Portrait Studio"

http://www.olanmills.com/coupons/11freecoupon.asp

You can search for locations on the website, but they are found at stores like Kmart and Meijer.

They are good for any baby 3 months and under, pictures can be pricey so this is a great way to capture some of those first moments for free! They also have some other great package prices and printable coupons for your older children or family portraits!

happy hugging!

danielle

Swagbucks & Alice.com

If you haven't signed up for Swagbucks you need to! I've earned some great prizes in a short amount of time!

Go here to sign up, search the web and earn free stuff for doing what you already do!
http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/danielleyg




They now have a prize- well I just noticed it for Alice.com it's for a $5 e-gift card at Alice.com. I just opened a new account with Alice, and it was on a promotion where after spending $40 you get $10 free. However, I noticed this great deal on Swagbucks- it only takes 12 swagbucks to get $5 for Alice.com- and it says it's only valid on a new membership, however if it won't allow me to use the code in my account, I can just open a new code for my husband. This is spectacular because it takes 45 Swagbucks to get $5 at Amazon.com and I am collecting those to save up for something for the house. Whereas $4 at Alice can be used towards things we really use and need, for instance yesterday I got 2 packages of Kotex panty liners for $0.041 each, Dawn dish soap for $0.84, and paper towel for $0.59 a roll. So it may not be a lot but it is definitely more practical and much easier to obtain!

Don't forget about the black Friday event at Swagbucks coming up! Search your little hearts out so you can get even more for you free money!

happy hugging

-danielle

Walgreen's Money Maker $$$

This week the Accu-Check Aviva monitor is on sale at Walgreens- I saw it for $29.99 when I was there today, but it's advertised in the paper for $14.99. There is a mail-in-rebate(MIR) in the package for $14.99 so even if you just do that it's FREE. However, when combined with the $10/1 coupon from the 11-8-09 insert you can potentially make a profit of $10 off the monitor!

I've read about people using these as money makers all the time, I guess my question for those of you who do that- WHAT do you do with the monitors? The tree hugger part of me has a hard time throwing it away, but one would think it's not safe to open, send in for the MIR and then resell... unless you know someone who has diabetes... ? I would love to donate it- but again, if it's opened due to needing the info for MIR who would take it?

I'm interested to hear though IF you've taken advantage of these deals before what you do with the meters/monitors.

happy hugging!


-danielle

Superb Sunday Savings

Superb Sunday Savings- I've never looked forward to the end of the weekend so much before!

(well they’re good all week) :)

Walgreen’s ad is out today but I tried to go right away so I would have first-hand deals to share!

I picked up 4 gallons of Nursery Water 2 for $3, $1/2 Walgreens coupons (deducts $2) and $1 off 4 Nursery Water website coupon (sign up and you can receive 2 coupons each quarter- 8 coupons a year! Plus they e-mailed me 2 extras! = $0.75 each!

Welch’s Sparkling Grape Juice - $2/7 - $2/5 with in-ad coupon, plus $2/1 internet printables = $0.50 each! We aren't having holidays here this year but it'll make an excellent addition to some wine we'll be taking to the in-laws or for that price- throw it in a gift basket!

Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers meals on sale $2/5 plus (2) $2/1 Internet printables from the Healthy Choice website = $0.50 each!
They had a very limited selection of what they carry but the sweet sesame with a little hot chili sauce is great!

Goldfish Crackers – 2/$3 – used (2) $0.75/1 printable coupons from Pepperidge farms website = $0.75 each!

Nexxus Mousse - $2.99 or 2 for $5 – Walgreen’s Coupon $4/1 = up to three FREE in one transaction

Almay foundation $9.99 ($10 in register rewards – monthly) = FREE

Breathe Right nasal strips $5.99 - adult 10 pack $2/1 Internet printable @ website = $3.99 (get $4 in Register Rewards - monthly) = FREE

Ricola Mixed Berry Cough drops $1 – (get $1 Register Rewards- weekly) = FREE
To make it even sweeter use the $0.50/1 coupon in the Healthy Savings Booklet (it is the booklet that was handed out during Flu vaccine clinics- but ask the manager- our Walgreens had extras) In this case not only are they free, you get $0.50 extra back!

I picked up a few on sale items without coupons as well as fillers Cheez-it crackers and Sandies are $0.50 (we’re leaving on a trip for Thanksgiving and I couldn’t pass up snacks for the car for $0.50!

Thankfully I had a new cashier who was very patient, I split up my transactions into 5 different ones and I made about $2.50 off the cough drops!

If you’re planning on taking advantage of the monthly Almay register rewards, cough drops, or Welch’s, I suggest you go early in the week. They didn’t have the Welch’s out yet, so I just asked if they could bring a case out, and the cough drops were already half way gone! I also got the last foundation, so never underestimate the other savvy shoppers out there, I’ve learned my lesson after I got my 6 free boxes of Kleenex last week and went to get 6 more and the 3 stores I went to were sold out!

I won’t break down every transaction, and all the Nursery water is missing from the picture as well as a few other items but TOTAL I saved $76.19 and I paid $11.10 out of pocket- AND I got $14 in register rewards from my purchases- now that’s what this is all about!

Walgreen’s is NOT a single-mom friendly store- my husband is at training in Georgia for the week and I thought it would be easy peasy – not so much, between carts that don’t fit a baby carseat, and a baby in a sling grabbing at everything- I worked up a sweat in the store and I was a hot mess, I think I’ll be saving my shopping trips for when the oldest is at school and I’m COMPLETELY organized!

i hope you're all having fabulous weekends, happy hugging!

-danielle

Just a thought....

Today is a break from deal posting...

If I would have thought I'd have one complaint about couponing I probably would have guessed it would be the time, but I've really come to enjoy it, and while I am still trying to figure out how to make it less time consuming I think that learning that is part of the "art."

I have however come to really dislike misleading information. I read A LOT of other blogs about couponing, sales, financial management, etc. I will be the first to admit that I often look to them before my shopping trips and to make my savings even sweeter, but I was REALLY misled this past weekend and it wasn't fun.

I know a lot of blogs post about sales all over the country, etc. but they've been doing them for a long time and they don't actually go take advantage of the sales, so I think my approach is definitely going to be more first-hand. I was just so disappointed to think I was going to get a spectacular deal because someone posted THEY had gotten it, but anyway you put it- it didn't come out that sweet (this comes after I held up the line for about 10 min making sure it was exactly as they posted with the exact coupons.) Grr! I guess that's the downside of people trying to save a lot of people a lot of money.

After saving at least 65% on every purchase I've made (including dining out) over the past 4 weeks, I'm happy to say things are going well!

We've even got a stock pile started- after the Target web coupon on wipes we have about 40 packages of wipes in our garage on a shelf- all of which were either free or under $0.50! My husband thought it was too cool to be able to walk out to the garage when we were out of Nursery water and see 8 gallons sitting on a storage shelf in the garage.

Today was another freebies day, 6 more boxes of free Kleenex, 2 free bottles of Cranberry juice, more free Nexxus hair care, free Jell-O, free baking powder and salt, free Covergirl lip color and more! (And I still have $20 in Register Rewards left over from Wal-Greens)

My FAVORITE deal of the day was the $5.99 issue of Vanity Fair with Robert Pattinson on the cover (i know- i'm THAT lady) I purchased two- (one for my best friend in Germany) only rang up $1.99 each! That was my full-price splurge for the week.

With my husband out of town for the next week I'm going to cut down my shopping trips, but thankfully while I was at Kroger today they had a Saturday Night Special and I got 3 packages of bone-in Pork chops- normally $21 each, for $5.00!

There are some more fantastic coupons coming out tomorrow, don't forget to grab your paper!

Oh! Christmas is almost here and if you have little ones you ALWAYS need batteries- Kroger has 4-packs of Duracell batteries for only $1.88 (normally $3.49) and there were $0.75/1 coupons in the 11.01.09 inserts- we stocked up!

have a fabulous weekend!

happy hugging!

-danielle

FREEBIE FRIDAY!

FREEBIE FRIDAY!

Everything in the picture above I got for FREE

Today I figured it was time to challenge myself and see what I could come up with.

MEIJER

The Meijer nearby was doubling coupons, which isn’t something they do often and paired with sales made for some excellent freebies!

Chex Mix Sale $0.99
$0.50/1 IP (http://www.coupons.com/, http://www.coolsavings.com/, http://www.smartsource.com/) Doubled= FREE

Betty Crocker Frosting (12-16 oz) $1.49

(4) $0.50/1 Printable at www.Coupons.com, www.SmartSource.com, www.CoolSavings.com (doubled up to two of the same)

$1/4 via Meijer Mealbox CouponNet Price $.25 each - $1 off order Catalina = FREE

(2) Dozen Eggs - $1.99
(2) Free Eggs Catalina from Frosting Purchase & Brownie Mix

Gallon of Milk - $2.99
Free Milk Catalina from purchase of cereal = FREE


WALGREENS:

Nexxus Volumizing Mouse 2 oz. $2.99 each
$4/1 Walgreen’s coupon booklet = FREE

Kleenex $1.99 - $1.09 (with Walgreen’s in-ad sale)
$0.50/3 MQ 11-01-09 insert, $1 off Walgreen’s Healthy Savings Booklet = FREE plus overage!

TARGET

Toddler Wipes $0.97
$1/1 Target Printable Coupon = FREE

Added up it's approx. $45 worth of FREE STUFF!

Happy Friday!

Don't forget to take advantage of these sales/coupons before they're over tomorrow!

happy hugging!

-danielle

FREE MONEY!

Want to get $100 in gift cards and $40 cash back for only $2? I did!

Sign-up for trial memberships with Complete Home https://www.completehome.com/secure/Promo.aspx#form (Lowe’s giftcards), and Auto Advantage https://www.autovantage.com/secure/Promo.aspx ($50 in Mobil gift cards and $40 in rebates) for only $1 for the first month! Sign up, wait for your confirmation e-mails, then fill in your membership information at these links:

Lowe’s Cards- Complete Home Membership – click the link: http://www.ecustservice.com/premiums/completehome/50lwe/ and type in your information with membership number from confirmation e-mail and submit. Right now the current offer is $20 back on your utility bill, but this link will get you the $50 in giftcards.

Mobil Cards- Auto Advantage Membership & $40 in gas rebates – click the link (or paste it in your browser): http://www.ecustservice.com/premiums/autoadv/avgold/50exx/ and type in your information with membership number from confirmation e-mail and submit. Then they’ll also e-mail you a gas rebate form, use as directions say and you can also get another $40 back on gas over the next 6 months!

I cancelled my memberships immediately after I received the gift cards- which took less than than 12 days!

The most spectacular things besides these offers beyond free money- you can do them EVERY 6 MONTHS!

I’m also waiting on a $20 target gift card I got for FREE! As soon as it arrives I’ll be posting the link!

Thanks to Free Sample Freak for the tip!

happy hugging!

-danielle

Walgreens & Register Rewards

Prior to today, I've never really taken advantage of the Register Rewards programs, maybe $1 here or there, but now that my coupon stash is growing, I figured it was about time to research some deals and go for it!



Walgreen's Weekly ad- if you buy $20 in specific products (Benedryl, Sudafed PE, & Tylenol Cold, and Zyrtec) in the weekly ad, get $10 in register rewards)


(3) Tylenol products--$4.99 each
(1) Sudafed PE 24-count--$5.99
1 - $3/2 Tylenol Cold coupon (ABC’s coupon booklet (I found one at K-Mart at the register and another at Walgreens by the cold medicine, both stores have different coupons but they are all for cold/flu OTC meds.)
2 - $2/1 Printable Tylenol Coupon
1- $1.50/1 Tylenol – ABC’s booklet
1- $2/1 Sudafed PE coupon ABC’s booklet

- it ends up being approx. $12 for the bundle and you get $10 in Register Rewards

(2) NyQuil liquid bottles – sale 2 for $12 (buy 2 get $5 in register rewards)
2- $1.50/1 11.01.09 Insert

(3) Kleenex @ $1.99
1 - Walgreen’s Weekly ad making it $0.99
1- $0.50/3 11-01-09 PG insert
$1/1 Healthy Savings coupons booklet (found in Walgreens by the Pharmacy counter, or up front by weekly ads) – will deduct $3
3 FREE boxes of Kleenex, PLUS an overage!

(3) Glade Sprays – use in-ad coupon $0.99 ea.
Use $0.75/2 coupon from the 11-01-09 SmartSource insert
$1/2 from Walgreens November Coupon Booklet
$0.24 ea.
(You could potentially make a $14 off this purchase- SC Johnson has a rebate for $15 when you buy any 3 products (one of the specific products are Glade) – minus shipping you can come out with a nice profit!)

$1.99 chocolate bar (filler- i was at $25 WITH tax)

$5 off $25 purchase coupon- Weekly ad

Total OOP: $21.47 - and $15 in register rewards
Savings- $29.83

$4 worth of coupons printed off as well, not bad for $7!
I get caught up sometimes buying things “just because” they’re on sale, or I have a great coupon, but if you need to buy items at the store anyways why not get stock up on some things you’ll use anyway for FREE! I needed to make a trip for a few consmetics this week and I knew I'd be spending money there, so it really goes to show with a little planning you can save a TON!

Of course I was doing exactly that- STOCKING UP, only to come home and come down with what my 5 year old has been fighting, perfect timing, HELLO NYQUIL!

hapy hugging!

-danielle

Baby Wipes Galore

Time to stock up on baby & toddler wipes!

Target has an awesome web coupon; I got mine at an organic grocery website, but you can Google “Target Coupon Generator” and print as many as you want! (Some stores may be picky about letting you use more than one per transaction, but I didn’t have any problems at mine.

Here’s the tally:

(3 ) toddler wipes @ $0.97
$1/1 Target Web Coupon = FREE

(5) refill wipes packages @ $1.47
$1/1 Target Web Coupon = $0.47 ea.

(6) boxes of wipes @ $1.54
$1/1 Target Web Coupon= $0.54 ea. (Some Targets have these on price cut for $1.22 right now, so you can potentially pay half of what I did!)

(2) Renu travel size solution- Lens Refresh @ $1.47
$2/1 Manufacture coupon (found on product website) = FREE

(2) GE Reveal light bulbs @ $2.14 each
$2/2 Target Web Coupon
$1/2 Manufacture’s Coupon

(2) GE Energy Smart, Energy Star Bulbs @ $2.39 each
$2/2 Target Web Coupon
$1/2 Manufacture’s Coupon

Total OOP= $8.10 plus tax.


If you can find ALL travel size detergent you can print a $2/1 Manufacture’s coupon online at their website, and get it for FREE.

If you have a super Target nearby you can save EVEN MORE!


Archer Farms has a $1/1 Bakery item coupon (printable on coupon generator like the wipes) and items such as brownie bites, cookies, etc. are on price cut for $0.99 – that’s FREE bakery items! (again most places you get do this unlimited, but you may run have to split up transactions)
For even more great savings at a Super Target check out the coupon generator, they have some great coupons right now for cheese, lunch meat, and more!


I've mentioned before we're using cloth diapers, and someone who is concerned about the environment I usually wouldn't advise stocking up on 6 plastic tubs of wipes, HOWEVER- you can't say no to FREE and almost free, and we still use wipes so much when we're out, traveling and for our oldest daughter now and then. They are fantastic to have on-the-go, and there is SO much you can do with the tubs, I think come the holiday season when I have a break from school I'll do a "tree hugger" projects series.

I've been thinking a lot about how to incorporate an environmentally-friendly side into the blog because I really am passionate about it. For now I'll just offer up some suggestions on ways to reduce your carbon footprint even when making bulk purchases. For instance, the wipes containers make awesome storage containers for craft items, crayons, pencils, stamps, we have a "sticker" tub- or they would make an excellent photo box, rather than spend $5 on one. Don't forge to check out the "needs/wants" list for your child's school, or if they're too little/old, the local elementary school- they LOVE things like that for use in class projects!

Or they could make excellent COUPON organizers! ;)

happy hugging!
-danielle

Entertainment Books

I'm pretty sure the 2010 Entertainment books were our in October, but don't miss a chance to save extra $ on them!

You can order online and save $5 using the link at http://www.coupons.com/ and you can get free shipping! So in the end they are about $30. HOWEVER- I picked mine up at Staples for $35 and got a $10 EZrebate, so it was only $25- and we've already used a $5 off coupon!

I'm sure many of you have used them in the past, or maybe you've never heard of it before. Some schools do them for sports fundraisers, regardless they're a fantastic deal!

It's been a while since I've purchased one, and they have so much more in them now, then again they go buy area so make sure to check out what is unique to your area when browsing the book! One great feature is all the extra printable coupons you get online with your membership!

A lot of B1G1 cQ's, a TON of excellent deals at restaurants, my personal favorite was the Melting Pot coupon, even if it isn't a very saving-friendly place, it will make celebrating that much more fun when we do when we can save so much! Another favorite of mine is the travel discounts, being a military family and traveling so much for holidays, etc. it was nice to see so many discounts on rental cars, hotels, etc. It'll make our budget stretch even further with the B1G1 entrees at most restaurants, not to mention it should keep our dining-out evening exciting trying new places in the book!

happy hugging!

-danielle

Kodak Deals - Holiday Cards for FREE!

I just ordered our Holiday cards- I got 40 cards (including envelopes) for under $10!

I know there are a lot of great deals out there for greeting cards right now, but I wanted them personalized with pictures and the other deals I checked out just didn't have many options. There were countless at the Kodak Gallery!

And how to get them at such a great price?

Check out the Kodak Gallery Homepage- sign up as a new user, and you'll be sent a giftcode for $15 off your order. (Don't miss out, they've only got 1 million gifts to give and they go fast!)

And if you want some extra savings sign up for Ebates! It's a great site where you can earn cash back on your purchases, if you sign up and make your first purchase THAT day you get a $10 Target giftcard! AND you get a certain percentage back on your purchase! I got almost $1 back on my order at Kodak, and the $10 Target giftcard, so I got my money back!

Ebates also has a coupon for 40% off your order- so if you're going to spend more that may be the better deal- either way you can save one code or another for another order! They have great prices for regular prints as well- as low as 9 cents a print! I signed up for a gift code for my husband's e-mail as well, so I'll be ordering some free prints in the future, and they have some fabulous photo books I intend to get one made for E because I definitely slacked in the scrap book department for her!

Happy Hugging!

-danielle

Keep checking back this week- I got New Moon tickets for my birthday this week :) and in honor of New Moon coming out soon I'll be giving away a code for a free song on iTunes off the New Moon soundtrack!

My trip for Target Baby items

I made a trip to target and took advantage of the baby coupon booklet!
(and of course the glade candle money maker promotion!)
Kids Boost Essentials $11.00
$5/1 IP & $2/1 Target Q = $4
Huggies Wipes (large pack) $5.99
$2/1 IP & $1.50/ Target Q
Huggies plastic container $1.99
$2/1 IP = FREE
Avent 9oz Bottle $9.99
$2/1 Target Q
Target Brand Wipes $1.84
$1/1 Target Q = $0.84!
Earth's best baby's 1st food (10) $0.57 ea.
$1/10 IP $1/10 Manufacture's Q
Earth's Best baby's 2nd food (12) $0.77 each.
$1/10IP & $1/12 Manufacturer's Q
Johsnon & Johnson baby wash $3.14
$1/1 IP & $1/1 Target Q
Gerber Baby's 1st Foods (3) 2-packs @ $0.94 ea.
$1/3 IP & $1/3 Target Q = $0.82!
Glade Scented Oil Holiday Candles $2.50 ea.
(5) $1.50/1 + (5) Buy a candle holder get a refill pack FREE
AND $5 off $25 baby coupon!
Total out of pocket= $31.50 (Savings of $59.67)
and $10 in Target Gift Cards!
I got a little jumbled with my coupons and got ahead of myself in my head I was jumping ahead and combining coupons I couldn't - Note to self: MAKE A BETTER LIST NEXT TIME! So I could have done a little better- but we'll definitely go through everything I bought and you still can't beat saving $60!!!!
Happy Hugging!
-danielle

For Starter's (coupon resource list)

Once I figure this out a little more I promise to provide a better way to get to certain resources, but here's a start of a list of where I find the majority of my coupons and savings.

The Sunday Paper, I am sadly one of those people who relies on TV for news, but for savings I LOVES me the paper! Our local Sunday paper recently had an amazing deal for 52 weeks of the Sunday paper only $26, plus a $10 Wal-Mart Giftcard, I made sure to take advantage. The downside- I could only get that deal for one paper a week, so I still have to make the trip to Wal-Mart for the other 4 I usually get. You can always take a peak and see if it's worth getting more for one week, some weeks you may only want one, others you may want 10!

As long as the paper has Red Plum, Smart Source, and PG&E inserts, it's worth it! Sign up at PG&E's website, and several others will give you a preview of the Sunday inserts, so you can know when you'll really wanna snag the paper, like this past July- one insert from PG&E had over $200 in savings!

You may get lucky, some discount stores, or Dollar Trees carry the Sunday paper the days following, but I know ours doesn't. There's also the brave endeavour of dumpster diving- Hot Coupon World has a resourceful - and humorous - post about how to go about doing that coupons others discard!


Online Resources for printable coupons (IPs):

http://www.coupons.com/
http://www.pennypinchergazette.com/
http://www.smartsource.com/
http://www.afullcup.com/

There's also websites like http://www.hotcouponworld.com/ - it's like a social networking site for coupon enthusiasts! You can keep track of your coupons, trade with others, find deals and other save-a-holics in your area, get tips on how to maximize the latest coupons and sale events and so much more, it's an excellent resource!

If your store has a saver card like my Kroger does- make sure to check out http://www.cellfire.com/ and http://www.shortcuts.com/ they allow you to enter your card number and you can load coupons DIRECTLY to your saver's card! It saves tons of paper, and allows you to print a shopping list, when you check out the coupons you loaded to your card come off just like your store savings, and most of the time it will come off the item and if you have a paper coupon you can use both!

And in the case you can't find coupons for things normally on your list- spend a few minutes before a shopping trip just googling printable coupons, special offers, etc. and you'll be surprised what you'll come across!

Hopefully that helps as a starter resource.

Happy Hugging!

-danielle

Veteran's Day Deals

For those of you who are military don't forget to take advantage of Veteran's Day savings!

At Dollar General get 10% with your military ID on Veteran's day- their insert in the 11-01-09 paper had this coupon, they have great prices, combined with insert coupons and Veteran's Day savings there could be some fabulous deals!

And April, a friend on Facebook brought to my attention that Active Duty military eat FREE @ Applebee's on Veteran's Day!

I know most of us on a budget limit eating out- nothing's better than a FREEBIE, especially when you consider portion sizes, we always split a meal, taking a family of 4 out for the price of a kid's meal - can't beat that!

Don't forget to check out your other local establishments, especially if you're active duty many of the places around installations are much more willing to have discounts for veterans!

If you know of any other Veteran's Day deals, leave a comment and I'll add it to the list!

Target Baby Coupons- only 1 week left!

If you got the Target Baby coupon booklet- don't forget it expires on November 12th!

And most importantly don't forget to combine Target coupons with manufacture's coupons!

Some of the printables I'll be combining with the booklet are:

I apologize I haven't figured out how to post links yet, but I'm working on it! ;)


$5/1 Boost Kid Essentials Priobiotic Drink - Printable @ Kid Essentials website
$2/1 Target Baby Coupon Booklet for Kid Essentials

$1/1 Johnson & Johnson Baby Item coupon- Several home mailers, or printable online as well
$1/1 Target baby Coupon Booklet for Johnson and Johnson

$2.00/1 Huggies Diaper Product - Printable
$1.50/1 Target Baby Coupon Booklet- Huggies Wipes
(We are using cloth diapers, but from what I've read the "diaper product" coupons are good on wipes as well- and those are always perfect for outings, and after coupons they're FREE) :)

$1.00/3 (2-packs) - Gerber baby's 1st or 2nd foods - Internet Printable
$1.00/3 Target baby booklet- Gerber 3 (2-packs)

$1.00/2 Earth's best Toddler Cookies - IP
+ Target Baby Coupon booklet

$0.50/1 Pamper's wipes - 11-01-09 PG Insert
$0.75 - Target Baby Coupon Booklet

I definitely plan on stocking up on some baby items!


For those who are FF- there were some Similac and Enfamil coupons in the booklet, which can be combined with your $5 coupons from home mailers - $7 off- plus the $5 off $25 - you can't beat that!

There were also some Gerber layette and other coupons in the booklet and I found over $10 in Gerber coupons online that can be combined, but we won't be needing any clothes any time soon thanks to my marvelous mother :)


Stay tuned for next week- I'm still waiting for them to arrive in the mail to post a success- but I'll be posting how to get $120 in giftcards for $2!
Thanks to the instructions from the links posted by Jamie @ I'm a Money Magnet!


happy hugging!
-danielle

Target Glade Candle Deal

11 Holiday Glade Scented Oil Tins
11 Scented oil refill packs
2 boxes of Frosted Mini Wheats
2 Boxes of Fruit loops

Total OOP: $16.47 - The original total was over $80!!!

(Cereal was B3G1 at Target - used 3 $1/1 Target Q's on the cereal plus $1.50/2 and 2-$1/1 MQ)

All Glade Holiday Scented oil @ Target - buy 5 @ $2.50 and get a $5 Gift Card- my Target didn't have the scented oil Holiday refills :( so I missed out on a $10 GC - but you can't beat free items to add to some great holiday gift baskets!

I also have 3- $5 SCJohnson Rebates for the Glade purchases to send in = $15







I saw this deal posted in a few places, but Thanks to Jamie @ I'm a Money Magnet for the tip ;)

Nivea lip product and lotion deal!

This week I got a couple Sunday papers, and I definitely took advantage of the extra coupons!

Each paper had a buy one, get one free Nivea Lip balm, and a buy 3 lip care products, get a 13.5 oz. lotion free. And Walgreens was issuing $1 register rewards for each of the bottles of lotion purchased.

So I used 2 B1G1 on the lip balm and 1 B3G1 on the lotion - my total was $7.12, and I got a $1 register rewards.

I did this twice. I saved overr $27 and got $2 back in register rewards that I used on some other great deals they had this week!

They'll make some great additions to the Glade Holiday Candles (that I stocked up on for FREE using coupons at Target) for Christmas gifts!

P.S. I broke out of of the Nivea Kiss of Moisture lip balms this afternoon- it was FABULOUS! I may have end up keeping a few in a stash for myself! :)

I thought I'd give it a shot

These were my steals at Kroger today- the Mega Event continues, I had some coupons left, a free item, etc. including 40 jars of Beech Nut baby food for our beautiful princess who is soon going to be starting cereal and fruit!

Before savings it was $79.34 and I paid $20.19! -
I'm still a novice at couponing, but I think I'm getting better!

I've been reading blogs forever, and never thought it was for me, but lately I'm so into saving money, clipping coupons, and I've successfully converted many friends to cloth diapers, I figured I might as well just create a resource of my own to have to reference.