I hit the jackpot at Walgreens today! I should disclaim that I have made multiple separate trips to two different Walgreens stores in the area. These were not all done on one transaction, but I have totaled my receipts here as though it were just one order. Today I bought:
four Gum Eez-Thru flossers (1 90 ct. and three 90 ct + 20% more bonus for 110 ct.) @ 2.25 each
four 4 ounce tubes of Crest 3D Vivid white toothpaste @ 2.99 each
four packs of Scunci hair elastics @ 1.99 each
two Oral B Indicator toothbrushes @ 2.25 each
four cans of Nivea for Men shave gel @ 2.99 each
three boxes of Robitussin 2 Go @ 2.49 each
a bottle of Secret body spray in lavender @ 3.49
a tube of Gillette Pro skincare @ 5.49
two boxes of Advil PM @ .99 each
three 1 count boxes of ThermaCare @ 2.49
one Walgreens vanilla caramel candy @ $.33
and a 2-liter bottle of Hawaiian Punch @ .99
and not pictured is 1 Gum flosser, 1 Thermacare, one Advil PM, 1 Scunci hair elastic and 1 Robitussin 2 Go.
Before the sale prices my total was $114.85.

After using $10 in Register Rewards and two $1 off Crest coupons, my out of pocket total was $21.89.
I received a total of $27.74 back in Register Rewards for a profit of $5.85.

Kroger 11/20/10

I feel like I go to the grocery store every single day! I never bring all of my coupons because feel like I don't really have time to organize them into my binder right now (yet I have time to go to the store every day...*sigh*), so it seems like every time I stop, I find all of these great deals for things I know I have a coupon at home for. I end up going back the next day. Today I purchased two 2 liters of my favorite caffeine free diet Pepsi, one Chi-Chi's 90 second meal, a can of Bush's Grillin' Beans, two snack packs of Chi-Chi's nacho cheese cups and one snack pack of Chi-Chi's salsa and a reusable bag. My total after sales & coupons was $1.84, plus $0.20 for the lovely Michigan bottle deposit. I'm happy as heck that I got the soda for $1.84, let alone everything else!

Kroger 11/19/10

I got some good deals at Kroger today. I purchased a reusable bag (not pictured), two Chi-Chi's 90 second meals, two boxes of Betty Crocker instant potatoes and two packages of Morton's Sea Salt for a grand total of $0.04.  Both Kroger stores I went to were out of half of what I had wanted to buy. I did, however, discover the cellfire $1 off a $1 purchase. That will go very nicely with my $1 off your next order catalina coupon and my mfg. coupons. Helloooo free toilet paper! (Or free Aussie products). I need to go back to Kroger on or before 11/21 before the cellfire coupon expires. Hopefully they will have what I want in stock this time!

Today's trip to Walgreens

I had what I would consider an amazing trip to Walgreens today. I purchased three 100 count boxes of Puffs tissues, two 4.5 ounce boxes of Cheez-its, a 4.5 ounce box of Keebler Club crackers, two packages of NyQuil Sinex and four 12.6 ounce bags of M&Ms. My total was $39.28. I used at in-ad Walgreens coupon for $1.80 and a 10/31 P&G $1 off three on the Puffs, two $4 off Sinex coupons from the 10/10 P&G, two $1 off any M&M/Mars holiday candy, one $1 off two M&M/Mars holiday candy, combined with the advertised sales. After coupons, my total was $14.50. I paid with $12 in Register Rewards and $2.50 out of pocket. I received $10 back in Register Rewards. I didn't necessarily need anything I purchased today, but I have been craving chocolate for a few weeks and the Register Rewards I had paid with expired today. What a deal! If nothing else, I have extended the life of my Register Rewards and got some goodies to put into my charity bin - except the M&Ms, those are mine, all mine!

Kroger 11/14/10

I feel like I've hit the jackpot these last few weeks at Kroger. I stopped in for a head of lettuce (which I forgot yesterday) and luckily I had my coupon binder with me! During today's trip, I purchased: three tubes of Colgate toothpaste (retail $2.50 each), a Colgate Wave toothbrush (retail $2.30), a Colgate Professional toothbrush (retail $2.30), eight cans of Campbell's Chunky Sirloin Burger soup (retail $1.65 each), four cans of Campbell's Mexican Style Chicken Tortilla soup (retail $3.19 each), a bottle of Welch's Essentials White Grape Peach Mango juice (retail $3.29), a carton of Welch's Healthy Start Mango Twist juice (retail $1.99), a head of lettuce (retail: $0.99), four packages of Nestle Toll House cookies: Ultimate Chocolate Lovers, Chunk Chocolate Chip, Ultimate Peanut Butter Cups & Chunky Chocolate Chip and Filled Chocolate Chip & Chocolate filling (retail $2.50 each) and a 24 count bottle of Advil (retail: $3.99). My total was $58.32. After using my Plus Card for the sale items, all of my coupons and the Mega Event discount I only paid $1.57 out of pocket, savings of 97.3 percent! Since was is only $0.58 more than I was planning on spending and I was able to purchase 22 more items for that $0.58, I will call this trip a big win!

My charity bin is filling up nicely with toothpaste, toothbrushes, tampons, soup (not pictured), bottled juice (not pictured), body wash and more. I am so happy that I will be soon be able to contribute a large number of items at very little or no cost to myself (other than the cost of the newspapers; I do feel that I have more than made up for it) and help someone in need. Pay it forward, you never know when you or someone you love will be the one in need!

Kroger 11/13/10

I have gotten some great deals today. My first stop was Walgreens, where I purchased a two 2-packs of contact solution for $3.99 each and 4 sticks of deodorant on sale 2/$5, which I needed anyway. I received $12 in Register Rewards.  Not the best savings, but heck, I needed to buy it so why not! Maybe I didn't need to buy all of it, but my deodorant rarely goes on sale and I refuse to switch brands.  In any case, I can add it to my stockpile and watch it grow (and next time I run out, I won't be paying $3.99 for deodorant - I won't run out!)

Then, I hit up Kroger. I just love Kroger sometimes. I purchased a Colgate toothbrush, five cans of Del Monte tomatoes, two cans of Nestle Carnation condensed milk, two boxes of Krusteaze cookie mix and a pack of Starburst, for good measure. I had only brought along the coupons for items except Starburst, so my total was -$0.27. The cashier actually tried to give me 27 cents to take groceries home. I didn't take it, but I didn't pay anything for my basket of groceries either. I am so excited about free groceries. A few months ago, I wouldn't have believed that was possible! I had a 100% savings off of what would normally cost $19.27.

Meijer was next on my list. I purchased four boxes of my favorite Reeses' Puffs cereal, which was on sale for $2 each (normally $2.75) and a frozen Wanchai Ferry dinner for 2, on sale for $5.99 (normally $6.88) and a reusable bag for $0.99. After using my mperks, catalina coupon and mfg coupons, I paid $6.49.

 Without sales & coupons, my total would have been $61.09. All in all, after register rewards, store & manufacturer coupons and working the sales fliers, my shopping trip today came out to $12.47, a 79.5% savings and I have added several items to my charity bin!

11/1-11/7 Shopping

Total cost: $0.34. Meijer had some great deals this week! Smart Balance 1/2 gallons were $1.99 each, Wolf Brand Chili was $1.00 each and Dial soap was $1 each. I had a $2 mfg. Smart Balance coupon, two $1 off 1 Wolf coupons and a $.35 off Dial coupon (which was doubled to $0.70.) I paid $.30 plus tax for the soap and everything else was free. The soap will be great stuff for my donation bin!

Kroger's deals this week were killer! Since my last post, I stopped at Kroger again. Using the $5 off 10 items for the Mega Sale, I purchased 4 cans of Campbell's Select Harvest soups, two boxes StoveTop Stuffing, two cans of Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup, two cans of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup and a 64 oz. bottle of Welch's Essentials juice. Since my total for the canned goods and StoveTop after coupons was actually -$1.79, and I had a $1 off mfg. coupon (doubled to $2) I threw in the juice for good measure. My grand total was $0.21. Seriously? $0.21? I noticed on the bottom of my receipt that I had a 99% savings. I have never been so amazed buying groceries than I am this week. I love eating for very nearly free. I mean, I have at least 4 lunches plus half of two dinners and something to drink besides water for the week for only twenty-one cents? Even if I just counted the soups, its five cents a meal. I have never eaten for only five cents a meal. If I would have been smart and remembered to bring my own bags, my total would have been $0.11. I will never forget my own bags again! I am going to be able to save up for a house way faster than I had ever thought possible.

I love Kroger's Mega Events. Today I was able to purchase six jars of Heinz HomeStyle gravy, six cans of Campbell's Chunky soups (only 2 pictured; TJ was in a hurry to put stuff away), a 24 count bottle of Advil, two tubes of Colgate toothpaste, three Colgate toothbrushes, two 4-packs if Dannon Activia Dessert yogurts, and two 2-liters of soda, My total was a little under $35 at regular price. The actual price I paid was $3.32. If I would not have purchased soda, I would have paid under $0.62.
I tried to do this yesterday, but my normal Kroger was out of almost all of the sale items. I went to the Kroger in the next town over and I was completely blown away. The store is super clean, very well merchandised (the one item I saw out of place was being attended to by an employee!), the employees are helpful and seem like they actually want to be there, there were only two carts in the parking lot AND they had everything on my list! Even though it takes 15 minutes longer to get to this store, I will be shopping there from now on. I am ecstatic today!

Savings Trip 10/17/10

My haul from today is pictured above! I have strep throat, so I haven't done my research as thoroughly as I normally would have. I don't think I did half bad for being half conscious during my shopping trip.

Today, I stopped in to Walgreen's and purchased two Nivea Men's shower gels, two packs of cherry Ricola cough drops, three boxes of Puffs tissues, two bottles of Dawn dish soap, some little candy corn shaped marshmallow treats (not pictured), Blistex lip ointment and two pumpkin shaped Reese's peanut butter cups (random purchase at the register because I didn't calculate everything correctly with tax...grrr...sometimes I hate Register Rewards!). After using $8 in Register Rewards, my total was $1.24. I received $2.60 in Register Rewards, so I actually made a total of $1.36 (in Register Rewards).

TJ and I also made a trip to Menards, so he could buy some man-things. Poor guy, I bet he didn't know Menards has the best prices around for cleaning products! To be fair, I did have a rebate from some Physique shampoo from a while ago, which went toward my purchases. I bought a 32 oz. bottle of Fantastik, a bottle of Windex Multi-surface cleaner, Fantastik window cleaner, two cans of Pledge Multi-surface, a container of Damp-Rid, a 21 oz. canister of Bar Keeper's Friend, two cans of regular Scrubbin Bubbles, a can of Scrubbin Bubbles Mega Shower foamer, a bottle of 409, two boxes of Mr. Clean Magic Erasers and an 85 watt Energy Star light bulb (not pictured). I won't have to buy much in the way of cleaning supplies for the next few months!

After coupons, rebates and Register Rewards, my grand total from both stores was $2.16. I used my P&G gift card (Meijer had a promotion a while back, spend $40 on P&G items, get a $10 prepaid MasterCard), so it didn't cost me a dime out-of-pocket.

My charity bin is slowly growing. I know it isn't much, but so far I have: a tube of Colgate toothpaste, three boxes of 18 ct. Playtex tampons, various lip balms, two bottles of shower gel, a stick of men's Right Guard deodorant, two bottles of Gain dish soap, and a Schick razor. The best part? I have gotten all of these items at no cost, only paying the sales tax. This will keep growing until Christmastime, when I'm hoping to have my storage bin full of personal care items to donate to the church pantry, although I am debating waiting until the end of January. It seems like everyone gives during the holidays, but the donations drop off sharply after.

I am only posting this, and will continue to do so, because I know there are a lot of people of there who feel can't afford to give. I am one of them. I can't donate money, I live within a budget and every just about extra dollar is a dollar that goes toward a bill or something completely un-fun, including saving up for a house. I do, however, have a few bucks a week where I can and am willing to use coupons and get items paying only the sales tax. Over the last month, I have purchased several items at very little cost to myself that will go a long way in my community. If there were twenty other church members who did this, the pantry would be stocked regularly. Helping isn't just throwing money at a problem...

Coupon Savings starting 10/10/10

I never thought I'd be one of those crazy coupon shoppers, with the five inch 3 ring binder, coupons organized in baseball card holders in order by aisle. Turns out, they're not crazy, they are really, really smart. And I want to be like them! My boyfriend, TJ, says that watching me clip coupons makes him feel more normal. Apparently, I get a crazy, afflicted look in my eyes with scissors in hand.



Today TJ and I made a quick trip to our local Kroger. The only reason I go is because they double coupons up to $1.00. My other option, Meijer, only doubles up to $.50. I'd rather be shopping at Meijer, but Kroger has better deals most of the time. I've always hated my Kroger store. Nothing seems to be in any intuitive order, it smells funny and the employees are generally rude and unhelpful. Last week, when I pulled out my coupons, the cashier actually rolled her eyes at me. Maybe it wasn't anything personal, maybe it was because my coupon 'organization' looks like a chaotic mess compared to the coupon veterans out there - I have an old Ziploc baggie, which I am sure I paid full price for somewhere along the line. I didn't buy a lot of items today, so I didn't have to deal with Ms. Attitude at the checkout. I LOVE the self-scan registers.

This week, Kroger has Hamburger Helper on sale 10 for $10, Playtex Gentle Glide tampons (18 ct.) for $2.50, Colgate toothpaste for $1.88 and jarred Heinz Gravy 4 for $5. All of the items like decent prices in their own right; 61 cents off a box of Hamburger Helper, $1.87 off tampons, $.61 off Colgate toothpaste (and 3 cents off the gravy, which is a negligible savings). I bought 9 boxes of Hamburger Helper, 2 boxes of 18 c. tampons, 1 tube of Colgate and 3 jars or Heinz Gravy.  Regular price was $19.48. Using coupons, my 15 items came to a grand total of $6.74. This isn't as good as getting $200 worth of groceries for 67 cents like a lot of people out there, but I will  take it. I may have done a little dance in the parking lot.

Last week's trip to Kroger was more amazing to me. I bought: three boxes of PopTarts, two packs of Kraft singles, two packs of Philadelphia cream cheese, three boxes of those new Pillsbury Savorings things (I made a box of the cheese & spinach last week. They are delish!),  four 1 pound boxes of Ritz crackers, 3 4-pack Yoplait yogurts, 3 Stouffers Corner Bistro meals, two 30 oz. jars of Kraft mayo, 1 box of Mueller whole grain pasta and 12 cans of Progresso soup. My pretax total was $71.21. I paid $22.15 after tax and coupons.

After I finished dancing in the parking lot and putting my cart back in the corral, we jumped in the car (I jumped in, TJ  begrudgingly dropped into his seat) and headed to Walgreens. I bought some Biore nose strips and a bottle of Biore facial cleanser, two 20 count packages of Halls cough drops, and 6 Renuzit air fresheners for a total $22.98. After my coupons, the total was $4.71. I received six dollars in Register Rewards, so depending on how you look it, I actually made $1.29 just for taking some of their merchandise home with me.

Last week at Walgreens, I bought Vick's DayQuil & NyQuil, three Nivea lip balms, a Venus embrace razor, two Schick 5 blade razors (TJ tells me 5 blades is very important), and a new pair of latex gloves for $27.36. I received 18 dollars in Register Rewards, for a total of $9.36. That's less than the cough syrup I needed to buy anyway!

I know I will not use some of the items I buy at super-cheap prices. For instance, in the last month, I have gotten two tubes of Colgate for free, using the sale price and coupon at Kroger. I am, however, very picky about my toothpaste and only use Crest. I have a Rubbermaid tote left from my college days which I am putting these items in. Whenever it's full or whenever I feel up to it, I will take these items to my parent's church for donations. It really gets me thinking, if everyone in town who doesn't use Colgate purchased a tube with a coupon and just donated it to some organization, I wonder how many more families would be able to brush their teeth...