My Freebies for the Week

I went yesterday to do my weekly big 3 shopping. Yep each week I hit Rite-Aid, Walgreens, and CVS to get the weekly deals.

First Stop- Rite-Aid:
1 Crest Whitening w/ Scope [$3.19] -75 cent coupon

Total- $2.65 w/ tax
I'm getting $3.19 back with rebate so free and made a 54 cent profit!

Second Stop- Walgreens:
Cheerios [$1.99] -$1 coupon (printable)
Pert Plus [$3.79] -$2 coupon

Total- $3.00 w/ tax
I'm getting $3.79 back from Walgreens FAR so I made a $2.00 profit. If you have that TMF rebate you can get even more. I already did one.

Final Stop- CVS:
2 Glade Air Fresheners [$1.76] -88 cents BOGO coupon
2 Puff Tissues [$1.76] -50 cent coupons (2x 25cent)
4 Crest Whitening Toothpaste [$7.96] -$4 ECB & -$2 coupons (2x $1)
Dove SkinVitalizer [$9.99] -$3 ECB & -$3.50 coupon
6 L'Oreal Vive Shampoo [$20] -$9.99 x3 BOGO coupons -$6 coupons (6x $1)
Colossal Express Mascara [$4.99] -$2 ECB -$1 coupon
Infusium Family Size Shampoo [$5.99] -$3 coupon
2 Intuition Razors [$7.98 ($3.99 raincheck)] -$6 coupons ($3x 2)

Total- $14.65 w/ tax
I also had a $5/30 CVS receipt coupon I used. None of the items were free but they were very cheap after coupons and ECB's. I used all my ECB's this trip since I wanted the lowest out of pocket cost.

Today's Shopping Trip

I went shopping today to grab all the deals for this week. I first went to Rite-Aid and bought the Garnier Shine and had a $1 off coupon. So total was $3.25 and I am getting back $3.99 with rebate.

Then I went to Walgreens and bought the Airwick Flameless Candle and Glade Scent Candle. I paid $6.46 with tax and I'm getting back $4 in rebates so total is $2.46 for both items. That was 99 cents each. I also bought 3 Glade refill candles for $2.45 after rebate and coupon. They had 2 of them on clearance for $1 and I got one free with that coupon. I like to give the Trio candles as presents to the lady that delivers my mail and such.

I went to CVS and got the following:
2 Trident gum
2 Colgate Total toothpaste
4 Herbal Essence Shampoos (they have one that I can't get anywhere else)
2 Bic Soleil Razors
1 Schick Intuition Razor (have rain check from last sale)

I used $15.74 in coupons and 9.79 in ECB's so grand total was $6.42! I spent $16.13 total on everything and I'm getting $7.99 back in rebates for a grand grand total of $8.14 for all of it! The razors are going to be part of those Christmas gift bags. I also had to do some Wal-Mart shopping and bought 5 Skintimate Shaving creams that were $1.47 each and after $1 coupons I got them for $2.54 with tax. Those will also go in the gift bags. I missed that sale when they were $1.74 each and I think that was Walgreens. I don't know how I missed it, but this is still good. My nieces love the smaller ones to use when they sleep at a friend's house.

Rite-Aid Rebates

I must say that I love doing the Rite-Aid rebates. My only real disappointment is that my store rarely has the advertised items in stock so I can't always get the free items. I did get my check for July today and I requested it the last week of July. It was shipped on the 4th of this month so that is very fast processing. I wished Walgreens would implement an online rebate redemption system like RA. My check was for $29.32! I spent $32.xx this past week on the great FAR items. I have $27.95 pending already for the month. I saved an extra $12 in coupons. I got a free can of Old Spice shaving cream since the razors had a peelie. That was a nice freebie I wasn't expecting.

Thanks to 1stopmom for letting me know that I can now enter my receipts online to Walgreens. I knew there were testing this, in select areas, but no clue it was open for everyone. I was able to put in one yesterday and saved it. I will report back when I'm ready to fully submit it. Thanks again my readers. You guys rock!

TMR Frugal Living Tip #5

Today's TMR tip is to clip coupons. I know some people don't have time or I don't use that brand. If you really want to save on brands that you already use then you should be clipping. Even organic coupons are more available than in the past. I admit I don't use a lot of coupons for food but where I really save is on our health/beauty items and OTC meds. I already wrote an article about it and rebates so copy/paste the link if interested.


http://www.thriftymommaramblings.com/2008/06/rebate-coupon-chat.html

Picture Of My CVS Deals

Here is a picture of all the stuff I got for $15. I forgot to take one and I had it all lined up for hubby to see when he got home. He was impressed how little I paid for all of it. Over half of it was for stuff to put in my gift baskets.

First Week of July- Great Shopping Day!

I already know I've had a post titled I love CVS but I really do love that store! I did most of the monthly deals and some of the weekly ones today. I saved a lot of money and am keeping a few items to put in my gift baskets I make for Christmas. I still need to get the Bic Soliel Razors monthly deal but my coupons haven't come in yet. They are well stocked at the moment so hoping that lasts. I also got some stuff at Rite-Aid today. I did 3 transactions at CVS.

Rite-Aid
1 Degree Clinical Deodorant- $6.99
2 RA boxes of Dryer Sheets (B1G1F) $3.19
1 Pert Plus (25% more bottle)- $2.50
1 Pert Plus Botanical- $2.50
1 Gum- 99 cents
1 Softsoap- $2.99

Coupons:
$1 Softsoap
$2 Pert Plus
$3 Pert Plus
$2 Degree
Total $8 in coupons

Grand Total with tax- $12.79 and I'm getting back $6 in Rebates from RA and $2.50 TMF Pert Plus Rebate so then grand total is $4.29! Not too shabby and I really needed dryer sheets and these were the huge 100 count ones! I would have bought more but these were the last 2 in the store. They were also out of the Dove Clinical and Oxy Freebies. Oh well.

Then I headed to CVS for the deals. I won't post them like above since it's too many to list but I will say I got the Free Liners, Tampons, 6 of the Sure Deodorants, 8 Softsoap bottles (B1G1F), 2 Coppertone Baby Sticks, Swiffer Duster and Refill, Right Guard Clinical Deo, and Vaseline Lotion. I got all of these items for $15! I am getting back a $2.89 rebate for the Sure. The total after the rebate for $12.11 and I have almost $23.49 in ECB's. I still need the Bic razors/refills and the CVS brand Face Wipes which I have a $2 beauty coupon to print. The coupon is too huge so I need to work on that later today. Once I get my rebates back then I spent less than $20 for all this stuff. I mostly spent money on the Softsoap body washes but these make great additions to my gift baskets. I spend around $5 per person and I give 6 of these away each year. I usually donate the extras to either the women's shelter or my Church.

I could have gotten my $12 total down to under $2 if I had used another $10 ECB but I wasn't thinking. I am still proud of how I did even with the extra $10 upfront. I still have it but just in the form on an ECB but I really like rolling the old ones into new ones. Share your totals and deals. I would love to hear about them.

I LOVE CVS!

This is by far one of my favorite stores to shop, and I also get a lot of great deals. I went on Sunday and got the freebies for the month of June plus a couple of deals for the week. Here is what I got:

5 packs of CVS Q-Tips (500 count)
2 packs of CVS Band-Aids
2 Listerine Smart Rinse Mouth Wash
3 Dove Deodorants
3 Colgate Brand Spongebob Toothbrushes
1 Colgate Advanced Whitening Toothpaste
1 Colgate Max Fresh Toothpaste
2 packs of Basic Paper Towels
2 packs of Duracell Batteries

I also did several transactions. I could have saved another $8 but I haven't gotten any of those $4/20 or $5/25 coupons in months. I had a $3/10 CVS brand purchase plus got $10 ECB for the Q-tips and band-aids were free after ECB. I had $1 off coupons for the Dove, $1.50 for the toothpaste, 75 cents for the toothbrushes, $1 for the mouth wash, and $1 for the batteries. I paid a grand total of $18.67 in 4 transactions for everything. I also have a $3.49 Rebate for the Listerine plus $22.00 in ECB's for the next trip. Once I get my rebate then I paid a little over $15 for almost $90 worth of items! I'm still very proud of my totals and most of them were $2 or cheaper. I also try to go in first thing in the morning so it's pretty empty and I don't have a huge line behind. The cashiers are so friendly and always shocked to see how well I do. One of them even asks for me tips. This is one of the many ways I help to stretch our dollars.

A Rebate & Coupon Chat

Another way I use to S-T-R-E-T-C-H my dollars is using coupons and rebates. Now granted buying store brand or using an alternative is cheaper, but there are many times I can get name brand for either Free or much cheaper than the store brands. If you can then why not. Another really great tip is not to be brand loyal. I do have certain brands I like more than others, but trying new brands can help save money. There are times that I liked the other brand more than my usual fave. I don't buy too much convienance food or condiments. They aren't healthy and it's usually cheaper to make your own scratch version. This is just something I do, and I don't have access to really great supermarkets like Kroger's, Albertson's, Save-A-Center, and many more. I have 3 local family owned stores and a Super Wal-Mart. So not a lot of choice but I still manage to do pretty well, but no double coupons except for Fred's Dollar Store. They are only up to 65 cents and 1 coupon per item. I find I save more with CVS and Walgreens.

So where do I get all these coupons other than the Sunday paper? I buy certain coupons off ebay, I post on coupon forums, and other coupon clipping sites where you pay for their time to clip them. You can also trade them on these coupon/rebate sites. There are lots of sites but I have a few sites that I like to frequent and get coupon previews so I know if I should bother buying the paper or save my money. I also get coupon inserts from the paper recycling bin. It's easy access (no digging in dumpsters or climbing) and free for anyone. I take a couple which are usually right on top when I'm dropping off my papers already. It's right down the road from my house. I can't always count on it, but I usually get extras each week. Some stores will even give you the coupon inserts on old papers if you ask. This will depend on the store and area.

I don't save hundreds of dollars off a single shopping trip, but I do save enough to make it worthwhile. To save the most is to combine a rebate with a coupon. Walgreens and CVS will allow you to use one manufacturer coupon along with one store coupon per item. I also shop at Rite-Aid and do their rebates each month. It's a great way to earn some free stuff which I also use as presents or donate the extras. Listed below are some great websites and just copy/paste the links into your browser. Enjoy!

http://www.mycoupons.com/boards/

http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/index.php

http://www.fatwallet.com/

*This is a great coupon clipping service. They are fast and have a great variety.

http://thecouponclippers.com/

*This is an online site or you can also join to get a paper subscription but I am a member of the online only. Lots of great deals/info posted here.

http://www.refundcents.com/