Weekly Deals 4-17: Part Two

I made two more trips to CVS so far, another trip to Walgreens, and a trip to Kohls.

I made one trip to CVS, then got home to discover that the new one they've been working on in town has opened, and they sent me a bunch of good coupons that are only good at that location. One of them was a $10 off $20 purchase! These are my purchases combined: 4 boxes of Cinnamon Cheerios, 2 boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios, a box of Huggies, a 2-liter of Pepsi, 2 water bottles and a 2-pack of small sports bottles (for Easter baskets), 2 bottles of Marvel gummy vitamins, John Freida heat protection spray and shine spray, 2 packages of Thermacare back/hip pads, a notebook (for my bloggy endeavors), a bottle of CVS hair detangler, a bag of CVS caramel cremes, a Physician's Formula mascara and blush, a bottle of Advil, a package of birthday candles, and 2 packages of Orbit gum. I also got two more mascaras for a friend of mine who lives overseas. The gum, detangler, caramels and Pepsi were all free with the coupons from the new store.

I paid $56.04 for all of the above, which CVS says was worth $172.42, which means I saved about 68%. I still have $3 ECB left, too, as well as a coupon for free photo prints.

I received a $10 off coupon from Kohls, which is always exciting! There is no minimum purchase requirement, so you can get a $10 item for free! These shirts are for Super Girl's birthday this week. They were on sale, 50% off $18.99, making them about $4 each after the coupon.

My second Walgreens trip was this morning, since I needed more frosting for Super Girl's cake. I picked up 2 more packages of King's Hawaiian rolls, 3 boxes of Betty Crocker brownies and a box of cake mix, 2 tubes of Aquafresh training toothpaste, 2 boxes of Always Infinity pads, 2 packages of Yes To Cucumbers face towellettes, 2 Yes To Carrots lip balms, a Wet 'N' Wild nail polish, and a tub of Betty Crocker frosting.

I got my total down to $20.94 from $54.24, a savings of 62%.

I also made a trip to my local grocery store, and was able to save about 60% there, too.

Do you play the "drugstore game"? I get all my deals from two places: Hip2Save (she has a great customizable, printable list), and MoneySavingMom. These two gals save me a LOT of time! You can go there to check out this week's deals. I hope I inspired you to save some money!

Weekly Deals 4-17: Part One

This is only part one, because there were some deals I need to go back for. After I got to CVS, I realized the new cinnamon Cheerios are included in this week's sale, for which I have a bunch of 75¢ coupons. With the sale and coupons, they will be only $1.25 a box! I also intend to get a few more of the Physician's Formula products (with the $5 coupon I have, it makes the ORGANIC mascara 88¢ each after the sale!), and I'd forgotten my Arizona Tea coupons. This is the reason I really should bring my coupon binder with me every time - something I already know, but have gotten lazy about!

First up, CVS:

From CVS, I ended up with: 4 boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios, 2 boxes of Chocolate Cheerios, a gallon of whole and a gallon of 2% milk, a bag of paper Easter grass, 4 bottles of kids gummy vitamins, a bottle of Osteo Bi-Flex (for my momma!**), a can of Edge shave gel, 2 tubes of Aquafresh kids toothpaste (for my Operation Christmas Child stash), a Schick Intuition razor, a package of Ivory soap (also for Operation Christmas Child), 2 Reach flosses, and 2 Physician's Formula organic mascaras.

I paid $35.08 for $127.87 worth of goods - 73% savings.

Next up, my bigger challenge, Walgreens:

From Walgreens, I brought home: 2 packages of King's Hawaiian rolls, 2 tubes of Luster toothpaste, 3 rolls of Scotch tape, 2 packages of Yes To Cucumbers towelettes, 1 Betty Crocker cake mix, 1 tub of Betty Crocker frosting, 2 Reach flosses, a tube of Colgate, 1 Colgate toothbrush, 2 Yes To Carrots lip balms, and 5 Wet 'N' Wild nail polishes (fillers). There were several more things I wanted, but I was working with the cash in my wallet and ran out. I'm sure someone else would have been able to get a lot more with the cash and coupons I had, but I did the best I could! I'm hoping that when I go back, they'll have more of the rolls - we like these a lot, and I freeze them when I find them for a good price. I also forgot a few coupons, again - ANOTHER reminder to bring my binder!!!

I ended up spending $14.98 for $67.13 worth of merchandise - 78% savings. Much better than last week!

**I mentioned last week that I got the Flex-A-Min for my mom, and I picked up Osteo Bi-Flex for her this week. My mom has Rheumatoid Arthritis, and takes joint support products to help with it. She does not have a spending plan with her health insurance, and since these products are over-the-counter, they are not covered. If I can help her out by getting these products (which normally run about $20 a bottle) for $5 or less, I'm happy to do it! My parents have helped us out plenty, and a little here and there is not going to hurt us at all. There are often products like this that can be gotten for very little compared to the regular price, or even the generic - when you use a coupon combined with a sale. Do you know someone who would benefit from the gift of herbal supplements or over-the-counter medicines? I encourage you to go ahead and help them out! Whether or not you want them to reimburse you - that's up to you to work out, but I bet you could find a few dollars in your budget for it!

Do you play the "drugstore game"? I get all my deals from two places: Hip2Save (she has a great customizable, printable list), and MoneySavingMom. These two gals save me a LOT of time! You can go there to check out this week's deals. I hope I inspired you to save some money!

The Drugstore Game

Welcome! If you are here from the Ultimate Blog Party, you can find my party post here!


I haven't posted about drugstore deals in a long time, but here's my haul for this week!

First stop, CVS:

I ended up with two boxes of Crispix cereal, two bottles of Crest Pro Health mouth rinse, two Oral-B tooth brushes (for my Operation Christmas Child stash), a bottle of Complete contact solution, a bottle of got2b flat iron spray, two packages of GUM flossers, a Physician's Formula mascara (on raincheck from last week), six bags of Robin Eggs candy, and two bags of M&Ms. I was pretty excited about all of this - the mouth rinse and flossers are for my kids (they actually USE them!!!), the cereal is for making puppy chow and also for this rebate, and I will be seeing if our pastor's wife wants some of the candy.

After all my coupons and ECBs, I spent a total of $7.95 for $86.28 worth of merchandise! And, I still have $5 of ECB left! On a sad note, I have discovered that there are NO CVS stores in our future hometown! The nearest one is an hour away, in the town my parents live in, ironically! So, I guess I will only be doing CVS deals when I happen to go down there for a visit, probably about once a month. This pains me, because I STRONGLY prefer CVS over Walgreens!

Speaking of Walgreens...:

I got two boxes of Rice Krispies (also for the cereal rebate above), a package of shredded cheese, a bottle of bbq sauce, two bottles of Coke (yes, one is missing), three bottles of Purex laundry soap, three tubes of Luster tooth paste, two packages of Always pads, two tubes of Colgate tooth paste, two packages of Olay bar soap, two bags of Brach's jelly beans, two Wonka chocolate bars, four pads of stickers (not pictured), and three bags of Planters almonds. The cheese and bbq sauce was for dinner. The Colgate and Olay are also going in my Operation Christmas Child stash, and the stickers were for a friend. I got the Cokes and Planters nuts because of a coupon I actually picked up at CVS, but used at Walgreens because the nuts were on sale, and since it was a manufacturer's coupon, I didn't have to use it at CVS. I think I can say that with the candy I've picked up in the past few weeks, along with what I got this week, that my kids will have PLENTY of candy on Easter!

I didn't do as well at Walgreens, as far as what I spent. But, then, I rarely feel like I do as well at Walgreens. My total, after coupons and RRs, was $26.83 for $94.53 worth of goodies. I didn't end up with any RRs left over.

Do you play the "drugstore game"? I get all my deals from two places: Hip2Save (she has a great customizable, printable list), and MoneySavingMom. These two gals save me a LOT of time! You can go there to check out this week's deals. I hope I inspired you to save some money!

Here For The Party!

Have you heard of the Ultimate Blog Party? I've checked it out in the past, but quickly got sidetracked, overwhelmed, what-have-you. Since I am trying to grow my readership and be more productive on my blog, I thought I would really give it a go this year! Woo hoo - a party without the mess!

For those of you checking in via the UBP, welcome! I am Jen. I am a 32 year old wife and mother of 3. There may or may not be more children in the future. I have been homeschooling my children for almost 4 years now. I am interested in all things to do with the home, the more natural the better. I am learning to sew, I like to garden and can, baking and cooking are fun, and I really don't mind cleaning, especially if I can use natural products. My baby usually wears home-made cloth diapers, and I am nursing for the first time. I try to be a good steward of what I have been blessed with by re-using things, and I love buying second-hand. I enjoy the thrill of couponing and walking out of the store having spent very little while getting a lot!

Most importantly, I believe God. I don't just believe IN Him. I believe the promises He's given us in His word, and I am striving to trust in Him more every day. Some days are easy. I love being home with my family. Others are harder. My husband has been unemployed since February 1st. However, I know that in all situations, my Savior loves me, has the best plan for me, and will provide all I need and more. I think patience is the hardest part of the equation!

So, thanks for stopping by, and please let me know you were here! I hope you'll come back soon!

A Handful of Blogs

I have waaaaaay too many blogs on my Google Reader. Especially since I haven't been using the thing for a while! However, I wanted to share a few that I really enjoy.

1. Pioneer Woman. Ree rocks! I want to be her when I grow up, just a little bit. Her posts are always entertaining, and often educational. She covers a variety of subjects - homeschooling, photography, cooking, life on a ranch in general.

2. Hip2Save. Collin is a young, enthusiastic mother of 3 and military wife. She really enjoys the thrill of saving, and always has something awesome to share! She has links to freebies, sales, coupons, etc., and posts weekly coupon/sales match-ups for CVS, Walgreens, and Rite-Aid. Thanks to her blog, I've gotten hundreds of dollars worth of products for free over the past year.

3. Money Saving Mom. Crystal's blog has some things in common with Hip2Save, but she also has posts showing how to cook from your pantry and from scratch. She is a Christian, and I enjoy that she seems to be more about helping her family save money and stretching their budget, rather than focusing on what she can get for free or little money. She is sort of a combination of Pioneer Woman and Hip2Save, with posts about freebies and such, but also about cooking and homeschooling preschoolers.

4. Wardrobe Refashion. This is a blog written by a group of people who have pledged to not buy any new clothing for a certain amount of time, but rather to remake (refashion) second-hand clothing and other pieces of fabric into new clothing for themselves. One member was making a silk wedding dress out of curtains she found at a thrift store! I find this blog very inspirational, and hope to take the pledge in the future.

5. Cake Wrecks. This is solely a guilty pleasure! Jen's readers submit photos of "professionally" decorated cakes-gone-wrong, to which she adds humorous captions. I have often laughed until I cried at some of these creations! Others just leave me wondering, "What on Earth were they thinking?!?!?" This blog is always good for a pick-me-up!

New Hobby, New Feature

I have recently gotten very into couponing and freebies. I spent a total of $70 last week on $200 worth of merchandise at SuperK during their double coupon promotion. I have also been stocking up on free body wash, 50 cent hair gel, and $1 toothpaste at Walgreens this week. At CVS, I got 2 bags of cashews and a mens deodorant for a grand total of 35 cents. I started a notebook to track the freebies I've requested, and I'm already up to 2 full pages of stuff. I got my first one a few days ago - 3 Huggies Pure & Natural diapers. I'm hooked!

That said, I've decided that I want to share some of these opportunities with the (admittedly few) people that read my blog. I have decided to focus on natural/organic items and items for children. I hope that this will help some of you to save a little here and there, too.

Super Savings at Super Kmart!

So, I've been frequenting this blog called Money Saving Mom. She gives links to awesome printable coupons and free samples, but also does things like pantry/no shopping challenges and such. Well, Super Kmart is running a double coupon special right now. In my area, it's only coupons up to $2 (so it would be $4 off), but in other places they are TRIPLING 75 cent coupons, and doubling up to $4 (so $8 off!). My store did not have it in this week's flyer, but they are still doing it. There is also a $5 off $50 grocery coupon on the sale paper.

On Money Saving Mom, she has links to 3 different blogs with lists for things you can get free or for very little with this special. I spent last night going through the coupons I have and printing out additional ones. I am planning to keep going until I run out of good coupons (you can only use 25 at a time). I have been twice today. Here is what I scored:

2 bottles of Suave lotion (will donate or give away) - 50 cents each
2 bottles of Clean & Clear facial wash - 50 cents each
1 Ban deodorant - FREE
5 boxes of Kotex panty liners (for after baby) - FREE
2 packages of Kotex pads (for after baby) - $1.98 each
1 tube of Aquafresh toothpaste - $1.49
2 bags of Halls cough drops - FREE
2 bottles of Listerine - 59 cents each
1 bottle of Aveeno baby wash - 79 cents
1 tube of Aveeno baby lotion - 79 cents
2 Sure deodorants - 29 cents each
3 small packages of Huggies wipes - FREE
2 large tubs of Huggies wipes - one FREE, one 50 cents (cashier selected wrong item for different coupon)
6 bags of Hersheys Bliss chocolates - $1 each (this was a splurge, but still an awesome price!)
3 bottles of Faygo soda (for Super Girl's birthday party) - 49 cents each
1 box of Cocoa Puffs - 50 cents
1 box of Multi-grain Cheerios - 50 cents
2 boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios - FREE
4 boxes of Post Trail Mix cereal - 3 FREE, 1 was $1
3 packages of pudding Snack Packs - 33 cents each
1 jar of Peter Pan peanut butter - 79 cents
4 cans of Campbells "cream of ..." soups - 2 were 39 cents each, 2 were 59 cents each
1 box of Banquet chicken nuggets - $1.29
2 bottles of Coffee Mate creamer - 29 cents each
1 tub of Daisy sour cream - 49 cents
1# Butterball ground turkey - 99 cents

I also got 3 20 oz bottles of soda (on sale but no coupon) and a package of lunchmeat (no sale/coupon). So far I have spent $29.90. I did much better on my second trip (food items) than on my first (health and beauty). I'm excited to see how I do tonight! Oh, and I've had two 50 cent iced coffees from Dunkin Donuts today!