Saturday, March 19, 2011

Back in the saddle...

..and it's like I never left!  Our little girl Aria made it home from the hospital this week after 63 days in the NICU.  She has plenty of problems, and in the short term her life will not be easy, but we are so glad to finally have her home.

Now, I get to continue my favorite hobby!  Here's my plan for Walgreens next week (3/20-3/26)

Transaction 1

4 Reach toothbrushes (3 at .99 with in-ad coupon, 1 at reg. price of 1.79) = $4.76
Always Pads   $2.99
Stride Gum (with in-ad coupon)  $0.79

Total before mfr. coupons = $8.54 + $0.60 tax
-4 $1 Reach coupons
  - $0.50 Always coupon
- $4.00 from Irish Spring last week
= $0.64 out-of-pocket, get $4 RR (Reach) and $2 RR (Always)

Transaction 2
Plackers Floss Picks  $2.00
- $2.00 RR (Always)

= Tax only OOP = $0.14, get $2 RR

Transaction 3
Always Pads $2.99
Almay Eye Liner ($7.99 at 30% off this week) = $5.24
2 Kraft Mac n Cheese @ 0.69 ea. = $1.38

Total before coupons = $9.61 + $0.67 tax

- $1 Almay coupon
- $0.50 Always coupon from 2/27 P&G
- $4 RR (Reach) from Trans 1
- $4 RR (Reach) from last week

= $0.78 OOP, get $5 RR (Almay) and $2 RR (Always)

Transaction 4

Always Liners $2.99
4 Reach Floss $4.76 (same as Reach toothbrush in Trans. 1, except I have only 2 $1 coupons)
= $7.75 + 0.37 tax

- 2 $1 Reach coupons
- $0.50 Always coupon (2/27 P&G)
- $5 RR (Almay) from Trans. #3
= $0.62 OOP, get $4 RR (Reach) and $2 RR (Always)

Transaction 5

Always Liners $2.99 + $0.21 tax = $3.20
- $0.50 coupon (2/27 P&G ad)
- $2.00 RR (Plackers) from Trans. #2

= $0.70 OOP, get $2 RR (Always)

Summary of Total Plan
End with $10 RR (started with $8 RR)
Total cost OOP = $2.88
Get $30.89 worth of stuff
Leverage factor = 30.89 / 2.88 = 10.7 !!!!!

NINJA!!!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Walgreens trip 3/15

Irish Spring deodorant is on sale for 2/$6 with a $4 RR, and there are $1 internet coupons.  Free deodorant!  Plus, Right Guard deodorant is BOGO at Walgreens, and if you couple it with the BOGO coupon from the 3/13 Red Plum, you'll get 2 for free! (Well, not counting tax).  Finally, I got 4 Reach toothbrushes for $1.79 each, a $1.00 coupon off each, and a $4 RR back!  A great week!

4 Irish Spring deodorant
4 Reach toothbrushes
2 Right Guard deodorant
4 filler Royal Jello (.20 apiece--remember that you can't use more coupons than items at Walgreens)

Total paid = $2.28 for over $25 worth of items!  A great trip for charity!

My trips this week...

At CVS, we needed diapers, and there was a good deal this week, because I had the good fortune to get a $5 off $25 email!

Buy $25 in baby supplies, get 10 ECB ($20 for a Mega Box of Pampers and $5 for some Gerber snacks)

- $2 Pampers coupon from 2/27 P&G ad
- $5 off $25

= $18

- $17.57 ECB from before

= $0.43 + tax, get $10 ECB

Then, I bought 2 Crest toothpaste (3.49 each, get $2.50 back in ECB), an Irish Spring bodywash ($2.99 get $2 back), and 3 Starburst (okay, this was for me, but they were buy 2 get 1 free).

Crest = $6.98
Irish Spring = $2.99
Starburst = $1.98

= $11.95

- (2) $0.75 Crest coupons from 2/27 P&G ad
- $10 ECB from first transaction

= $0.45 + tax

Lots of stuff for me and to donate to charity in this trip, and very low out of pocket cost!  Plus, I got $7 ECB for the next time ($5 from Crest, and $2 from Irish Spring)!  Ninja!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Shampoo/Conditioner at Menards free after rebate!

Menards is once again selling Physique Shampoo for $6, with a $6 mail-in rebate.  The limit is 4.  As long as you have things you can buy at Menards in the future, this is a great way to get some items to donate!

Walgreens 3/13-3/19

This week at Walgreens has some good deodorant deals!  In this Sunday's Red Plum (3/13), there's a coupon for buy one Right Guard deodorant/bodywash get one free.  Walgreens has the same deal in store, so combining the store BOGO with the coupon BOGO means you'll get both free (just pay tax)!  There is also a deal on Irish Spring deodorant--buy 2 for $6, get $4 Register Rewards.  There are $1 internet printable coupons available, so if you have them, pay $4 for 2 and get $4 RR back!  Free after RR!

These make great donation items!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Menards 3/6-3/12

Folks, this is the week to get ready to paint indoors!  Menards has some great rebate deals!

Designer's image paint has an $11 per gallon rebate, making the flat paint free after rebate (semi-gloss is $3 after rebate and satin is $2 after rebate).  The ad only lists white colors, and there is a limit of 5 gallons, but still a great deal if you have a room or two to paint!

They have 2-piece brush sets for $4 with a $4 rebate (limit 2) and roller tray/roller brush/roller combos for $7 with a $7 rebate (limit 2).  They've also got edgers for $2 with $2 rebate (limit 4).

Caulk tools are $5 with a $5 rebate (limit 2), there's a clamp that's free after rebate ($4), and there are garbage bags free after rebate ($2).  Who knows, I might spring for the 9 cent (after rebate) lint rollers!

Overall, an excellent week at Menards!  I'm excited, because I know I can use all the rebate dollars on my garden later!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

CVS 2/27-3/5...

I like this week's promotions at CVS--you don't even need coupons to benefit!

First, they have Crest toothpaste at $3.29 with $3.29 ECB--the limit is 2, and that goes a long way.  In the P&G coupon insert this week, there is a $1.00 coupon and a $0.75 coupon you can use.  Then, there's travel-size contact solution (Revitalens brand) for $5.99 with a $5.99 ECB.  Finally, if you want a power toothbrush and have the P&G, you can get an Oral-B power toothbrush for $3.00 ($6 - $3 coupon) with a $3.00 ECB.

Then, I got a $4 off $20 in my email this week, so I knew what I was going to do right away!

2 Crest toothpaste = $6.58
Revitalens =               $5.99
Oral B toothbrush     $6.00
Softsoap bodywash   $2.99

Subtotal before coupons : $21.57
Tax                                       $ 1.51
- $1.00 toothpaste coupon  (1.00)
- $0.75 toothpaste coupon (0.75)
- $3.00 toothbrush coupon (3.00)
- $4.00 off $20.00              (4.00)
- $10.99 in prior ECB       (10.99)

= OOP of $3.34!  Also, I got $17.57 in new ECB ($6.58 Crest, $3 Oral-B, $5.99 Revitalens, $2 Softsoap)

Not bad!  If you don't have coupons, I'd buy them in smaller transactions (Oral B, using the $3 ECB you'll get on it to buy Crest, using Crest's $3.29 ECB to buy another Crest, and then using the last one to buy Revitalens).  That minimizes what you'll pay out of pocket, but it also minimizes the ECB you'll have at the end.