My first dumpster dive...

Not too much this week.  I swung by Walgreen's again to repeat the Crest mouthwash (I almost typed Crisco mouthwash... can you imagine? eww) and Mitchum deoderant.   I also grabbed a few new freebies at Target.
I discovered a new area of town this weekend.  I wound up working until really late on Friday so one of my cohorts and I went to grab dinner while we waited for the computer system to finish updating.  If we didn't get the information entered, eight new associates wouldn't get a paycheck next week!  Anyway, she took me to this huge area where there was a mall (including a JC Penney!) (omg!), all kinds of restaurants, all kinds of other stores, another CVS I didn't know about and ..... a KMart!!! Really excited about that one, did you know that Kmart doubles coupons every day?  It's been years since I lived near a KMart.  I'm going to have to do some research and figure out their system.
After dinner, we went back to the office and yay! the computer had finished it's job so I was able to key in the times for the associates that were in orientation that day so they get paid on Thursday.

Saturday, I went back to explore some more and do my shopping.  Here are the fruits of my labor -

Target - Spent $10.08 on $45.38 worth of product for 78% savings

This is Target.
On Target's website you can get coupons for $1 off an Up & Up Cleaning product.
The toilet brush is $1.19 so 19 cents after coupon.  The scrubbing sponges are 99 cents so FREE after Q.
You can also get, on Target's website a coupon for $1 off any Up & Up pain reliever product.
The 24 (I think it's 24 count) Ibuprofen is 99 cents so is FREE after Q.

The Hershey's was a repeat from last week.  A couple of weeks ago, there was a $2 off Hershey's Simple Pleasures in the paper.  Target also has a $1 off this product Q on their website.  Stack the two and it's FREE!
The Dr Scholl's products were a killer deal.  This link takes you to a $3 off mannyQ.  Stack it with the $2 off Target Q from their website and you have $5 off a Dr Scholl's for Her product.  The insoles were $7.99 so about $3 after stack, the gel arch supports were $5.49 so 49 cents after stack.
The soup is still on sale for $1.44 so were 44 cents each after Qs.  I also found some more cans with the peelie $1 off Q on them, you may be able to find some in your store.

The Airwick was still on clearance for $4.24 and I had another $2 off one mannyQ.  I redeemed another 500 kicks from my Shopkick phone ap for another $2 Target mobile giftcard that I intended to use on this to make it 24 cents.
I made a mistake though.  Here is what I learned:
If you get a mobile giftcard from Shopkick, delete it from your screen right after you use it.  I didn't last week.  When I got the one yesterday, I couldn't tell which was which.  To prevent a snafu at the register, I deleted the one I *thought* was the old, used one.  So I lost 500 kicks, a $2 mobile giftcard and it cost me an extra $2 at the register.  Dagnabbit.

 This is Walgreen's.
I did repeats of the Crest and Mitchum from last week on Saturday.  Crest was 49 cents after Register Reward and mannyQ, Mitchum was 25 cents each after Register Reward and mannyQ.

The Barilla was on sale for $1.99 and I found 2 more $1 off one Qs so I couldn't pass that up.

The Sharpie was 25 cents.  I got it because I needed a filler to even out my item/coupon ratio.

As of today, Walgreen's has Dawn on sale for 99 cents.  I had two 75 cents off one and two 50 cents off one Qs.  Total for this transaction was $1.50 (plus tax).

All Walgreen's trips cost $6.68 for $32.50 worth of product for a 79% savings.

I also stopped by Dollar Tree again.  I had three more of the coupons for $1 off two True Lemon, making these 50 cents each.
Still have two more, so getting more next weekend.  These are pretty good, and nice to keep in my Bottomless-Bag-O-Crap that I carry around.  Plus, they are compact enough that I can slip one in my wallet for when I don't want to carry the BBoC around (i.e. 90% of the time).

Oh....
I suppose you want to know about the dumpster dive.
Well, it wasn't so much a dumpster dive as a Recycling Bin Romp.  The other day, I saw that someone in the apartments where I live had discarded several newspapers in the recycling bin.  My curiosity kicked in and I started to root around.  I found about a dozen coupon inserts from the past month, completely untouched and begging to be used.
And that's how I got the Mitchum, the Crest, the True Lemon, the Barilla, some of the Dawn, the Hershey's and the Airwick.
I think it was worth it!

Til next time...

Liberal, Kansas and the Ikea 6

So... I'm moved.  Sorta.  My family is still in Arizona for a bit, well until I find housing etc here.  It's been a rough month and what I know now is that I am never moving again.  This is it.  I'm done.  Fini.  Though I've always wanted to see Maine....
lol

My dad in Payson, Arizona

The trip across the country was interesting.  We spent the first night with my dad in northern Arizona where there are trees!  He spends his summers up north fishing and I can see why he likes the area, it's quite beautiful and was a pleasant surprise because when I think of Arizona, I think of hot dirt.

From there we drove to Liberal, Kansas where we spent two days because I got sick.  I got no pictures of Liberal, however it was kind a neat town.  They have statues of Dorothy and others from the Wizard of Oz all over town.  The even have a Wizard of Oz museum, which I didn't see either.

After two days in Liberal, I felt a little better and did a little couponing at Walgreens.  I got the free Lanacane First Aid spray and the free Carmex Healing Lotion. No photos, sorry.

After we left Liberal we headed to Des Moines, Iowa where we intended on finding a motel.  However, apparently Des Moines hides itself from the freeway, because we passed it without knowing it and wound up at a Motel 6 outside of town.  This was the weirdest Motel 6 I have ever been in.  I think they arranged for Ikea to decorate it.  It was all press-board furniture and fake wood flooring that was slick as oil when your feet are wet.  Couple that with napkin size towels, low-flow shower heads and sheets that felt like burlap.  A good time was not had by all.  btw, I heard the other day that Ikea is planning on opening up hotels.  No, really.

The last day we drove from the Ikea 6  to Milwaukee.  I am usually quite the planner, but somewhere I failed to find out that the state fair was in town and all the hotel rooms were full.  We finally got a room in.... Oak Creek, the day after the shooting at the Sikh temple.  Just for the record... Oak Creek is a beautiful town with loads of terrific and peaceful looking neighborhoods.  Such a shame.

I wound up finding a room to rent temporarily in Waukesha.  The Taj Mahal it aint but it'll do until I find a home for us.  So now that I'm settled-ish, I began couponing again.  This was my first big coupon trip weekend since I moved, although I had gotten a few things here and there including my freebies in Kansas (which I repeated in Illinois). 

 First stop was Target.  I pretty much had a day to burn on Saturday so I was in no rush.  It's a little unsettling how friendly everyone is here! lol I was moseying through Target just looking at stuff and was asked a zillion times if I needed help.  Impressed!

I got the light bulbs for $1.19 after stacking a manufacturer coupon and a Target coupon.  I had a $1 Q for the Barilla, a 35 cent Q for the soap and I forget the coupon I used for the Miracle Whip but it was $1.39 each after sale and Qs.

The Hershey's was free with a stack of a mannyQ and a Target Q.

The Nivea was 84 cents after stacking a $2 mannyQ with a $2 Target Q. 

The Dr Pepper was $2.16 each with another manny/Target Q stack.

 These two photos are from my Walgreen's trip. 

I saw the ad for this week a few days ago and even though the water was supposed to be $1.99 starting today, I bought 4 yesterday because I haven't been able to trust the pricing 100% locally.  They were still on sale and I got them for $2.49 each.  2 for me, 2 for work.
The Visine was on sale Buy One @$4.98 get one Free.  I also had two $2 off one mannyQs, so I got them for basically 49 cents each.

The Crest mouthwash was on sale through yesterday for $3.99.  When you buy it, you get a $3 register reward.  I also used a 50 cent mannyQ from a couple weeks ago so this mouthwash cost me 49 cents.

The Mitchum was on sale through yesterday for 2 for $6.  When you buy two you get a $4 register reward making them 2/$2.  I had and used a $1.50 off two coupon and got these for 25 cents each.



 Starting today, Chex Mix, Gardettos and Bugles are 3/$3 at Wags.  There are also 60 and 50 cent coupons floating around out there (I think it's coupons.com that has the 50 cent).  Also, if you buy three, you get a $1 register reward.  So that makes them 50 cents for 3 with three of those 50 cent coupons.  I was able to do this deal first thing this morning to pick up three bags for work.  When I went back to get three more for home... there was a snafu.  The register reward didn't print.  Apparantly, the deal is supposed to start tomorrow, not today.  I'm debating whether or not to call their corporate office and complain.
I didn't get a photo of the Chex Mix before I dropped it off at the office.  And I'm just too lazy to dig the three I bought for home out of the drawer and take a picture.
I also bought 2 more 24 packs of water today because they were (surprise!) on sale for $1.99 which is just too awesome to pass up.

Let it be known that I am vehemently against bottled water, but sometimes you don't have the facilities necessary to fill a reusable bottle every day and that is where I am at right now.  When I have a real home, I wont buy this stuff anymore.

CVS stinks this week.  No freebies.  Not any really great sales.
The ZzzQuil was a last week sale of $4.99 and I had a $3 mannyQ sent to me from the manufacturer plus last week they had a buy one get $2 extracare bux so I got it for FREE. I haven't needed any help sleeping lately (knock on wood) but when our store opens I will be overnight for a year so....
The Olay was a necessity buy and I paid $2.98 after using a $1 mannyQ.  This really shows you just why to stock up when there are great sales.  Ordinarily there is no way I would have paid this much for this.  But thanks to Hugh Midity, I have been fielding calls from major oil companies wanting to install an oil derrick on my face.
btw... I am currently prepping a post on that formidable foe, Hugh Midity.  Coming soon!

 This was my Pick n Save trip.  I can't find out if Pick n Save is owned by Kroger for sure or not, but I will say a lot of the sales seem to be the same as those I find for Kroger.
I have been hanging on to some $1 off the Campbell's coupons for a while just chomping at the bit for a sale.  Well, they were on sale for 3 for $5 ($1.66 each) so I got six of them for 66 cents each.
The frosting flavor thing was free as a prize from Pick n Save's monopoly game thingy.  My daughter has been wanting to try these.
The Club crackers were $1.49 each after sale and $1 off 2 mannyQ.  Cookies were also $1.49 after sale and mannyQ.

This was my Walmart trip.
I got the shirt for work, from blue to green! 
Stayfree were free after ad-matching to CVS and using the $2 coupon from a couple weeks ago.  Hormel meals were between $1 and $1.50 after an assortment of Qs.  I ad-matched the soup to the Pick n Save price to get three more for 66 cents each.  Tyson meat was $1.50 after Q.  Chapstick was 48 cents each after the $1 off 2 coupon from last week.  (interesting coupon.  it was for Chapstick or Preparation H.  one coupon had the potential to cover either end.  ba-da-dum)
Irritating.... I had to buy BBQ sauce.  Why is that irritating?  Because in my stockpile... in Arizona... sit 37 bottles of BBQ sauce from my free Koolaid when you buy Kraft bbq sauce days.  :-/

Anywho... in all I spent $99.85 and saved $110.05 for a 62% savings.  Not too shabby.

til next time....
which should be soon...
Hugh Midity
dun dun dunnnnn

With regards to the people of the
Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin

Goodbye, Yuma

I was treated to this scene the other day.  I'm very glad this is my parting shot of Yuma.  I will really miss the friends I have made here and this photo instantly makes me think of the ones I am leaving in a very good way.

This will be my last post from the state of Arizona.  I did make a couple last couponing trips.  I got Ragu at CVS.  It is 3 for $5 and if you buy $10 worth of a few items, of which the Ragu is one, you get $3 Extrabux back.  I bought 6, used 2 50 cents off 2 coupons and wound up paying $1 for each jar.

Staples has these packs of pencils for 25 cents each.  In Sunday's paper there were coupons for $1 off 2 Bic Stationery products.  they can also be printed at bricks.coupons.com .

Take that coupon to Staples, grab 4 packs of pencils and all you'll pay is the tax which for me was 9 cents on each transaction.  I think the coupon is one per customer so my daughter did one transaction.  The cashier allowed the people behind me to use three coupons in one transaction, though.

Walgreen's has Kellogg's and a couple other items for 4 for $10.  I used the 70 cents off one coupon from about a month ago.  When you buy 4, you get a Register Reward for $3

Between coupons and Register Rewards I paid $1.05 a box for these.

I was in the process of removing this mani when I remembered to take a pic.

I picked up one of the new Wet & Wild crackles, in turquoise of course (lol) at Walmart.  I wanted to see if I could make my gemstone thing work.

I think it was a better effect than the gold crackle over blue.  This will by my last manicure for a bit, I had to cut all my nails because they are breaking while I am packing.   :(

On the upside, I tried these new things by Revlon called Crazy Shine.  They are pretty awesome and will indeed give you a "Crazy Shine" on your nails should you need/want some laquer-free time.  Here's a link, check them out
http://www.amazon.com/Revlon-Crazy-Shine-to-Go/dp/B007823TH4/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1343691629&sr=8-6&keywords=revlon+crazy+shine

I originally had purchased the large one, but when the dogs ate it (well, chewed up into a million microscopic pieces anyway)  I picked up the smaller ones and actually like them a lot better because they are a bit easier to manipulate.

And to round out this post, here's a few pix of my fur kids.

Thumper and Printz.  The best of friends.  Printz used to be smaller than Thump until a couple weeks ago.

I found them napping like this.  Thump only opened his eyes when he heard the camera.

This is Christian's cat Simon.  He always naps in these goofy positions.  Here he is in the top of the cat post, on his back, legs sticking straight out off the top.

 And here he is about an hour later, sleeping on the desk chair, stretched out, head lolling over the edge.

Goofy cat!

 Christian took this one when we were out the other day.  All the dogs.  Knik in the window, I'm glad I got her at least partially shaved down before this photo.  Sparky and Pilot with Thumper on top in the chair.  Pilot and Sparky sit together a lot they don't let Thump sit with them often.  They must have felt bad for him since his mommy was was out shopping.  lol

Notice the little hole in the arm of the chair.  lol


Just a couple of days 'til I leave.
Nervous as heck.

Til next time...

Coupon Shopping with Mom

So my time here in Yuma is coming to a close.  This time next week, I will be staging the boxes, suitcases, etc that I will be loading in the car next Friday morning.  I am super nervous about this move.  Primarily, it is that I have no place to stay yet when I get there, I am worried about something going wrong along the way, I don't want to be by myself, without my family, without my pets, etc.  For those of you reading this, please do me a favor...
Please think of me, please send me some positive thoughts as I make this journey.  I'd appreciate it and I'll do the same for you if you ever need it, okay?

My mom came for a couple days and went coupon shopping with me.  I got her CVS card set up on the CVS Beauty Club and showed her how to scan her card multiple times to get all the coupons at the Red Machine.  I found out, well I knew but finally tried it, that you can print your CVS Red Machine coupons at home on your computer so KEWL!  No more after work trips only to scan my card now!

This was my mother's coupon purchases.  I did Harbor Freight for the first time.  I had seen their Free Item coupons in their ads but I had never taken them up on it before.  This time I saw that there was a free flashlight to be had and I want one for my trip so off we went.  Mom got a flag (on sale for $6) and a free flashlight and the Candy was all from Walgreen's.  Milky Ways were 9 cents with the coupon from coupons.com.

This is my Walgreen's purchase from that day.  The tuna is on sale for 79 cents with an in-ad coupon.  I almost bought the 88 cent tuna last week at CVS so I'm glad I saw this sale on iheartwags.com and waited.
I had $1 off Wonderful pistachio coupons so with their sale these were $1.99 each.  The Right Guard were all free with $1 off coupons from coupons.com and Register Rewards.  ZzzQuil was $1.99 after Register Reward and coupon.  Milky Ways (16 of them) were 9 cents each with $1/2 coupon from coupons.com (wish I'd have waited for CVS this week as they are 2/$1).  The body wash I have been waiting for a sale, I love the scent and didn't have a coupon.  The Coke were 3/$10.  My receipts disappeared somewhere, I think my son threw them away, but I spent about $22 for all of this.

This was my first (yeah "first") trip to CVS.  Starbuck's Refreshers are FREE this week after ECB.  The Crest cost me 24 cents each after ECB and coupons.  The Revlon was 99 cents after ECB and coupon.

This is my purchases from Harbor Freight.  My daughter did the first transaction and bought the screwdrivers and safety glasses.  Total cost?  86 cents.  We used a coupon they have in their ad for the screwdrivers for free and one for the glasses for 79 cents.
I bought the electrical tape and flashlight.  Flashlight was free with coupon and I used a 20% off any regularly priced item on the electrical tape.  My total was 44 cents.
Altogether, all of this was $1.30 which is less than the glasses are regularly!

I went to CVS 3 times this week.  The Milky Way coupon kept resetting, so I kept printing out more.  It was 75 cents off 2 instead of a dollar but still a great deal.  Also, the Red Machine gods are bestowing their love upon us this week in the form of multiple $1 off 2 Mars candy bar coupons making them FREE!

My freezer is full of candy.  I know my kids though, they will get sick of them and there will be a ton left that they wind up moving to Wisconsin.  Which since they will (hopefully) be there right before Halloween, could come in handy. 

Arizona drinks are $1 for 2 this week.

One of my CVS trips missed its' photo op.  :(

 These two photos are from Walmart.

There is a coupon for these Dial SpeedFoam body washes on target.com for $1 off.
Oddly, they are on clearance at Walmart right now for $1.50.  Strange, because they are fairly new.  With my $1 off coupon, I paid 50 cents each.

The Stayfree were free after ad-matching Walgreen's $1.99 and the $2 coupon from the paper a couple weeks ago.

My cosmetics Department Manager got more of my Almay in so I picked up 12 more.  I told him I was wiping him out again and he said "I don't care.  I have 18 more coming!"  LOLOL
With my $1 off coupons they were 14 cents each.

I also got a coupon from ecotools.com for $1 off any product.  If you go to their website and sign up for their newletter/club thing they will email you a coupon within about 24 hours.  Three of us did this and I was able to print the coupons twice each.  The eco-tools bath poufs are 87 cents each so that made all six of them 13 cent moneymakers!!
This entire transaction was 61 cents!!!

Next up is my absolute favorite of the week, though.  I am super stoked about this one!!!

I found some great coupons at target.com this week!  First, they have Buy One Get One Free coupons for Glade twin pack oil warmer refills.  Stacking this with my BOGO manufacturer coupons netted me 2 free twin packs in each of three Target trips this week.

The Covergirl eyeshadow was a great deal also.  The blue one was on clearance for  $2.18 so with one of my $2 off coupons I paid 18 cents for it.

 The other two Covergirl were I think 64 cents after using a $2 off 2 mobile Target coupon and a $3 off 2 manufacturer's coupon.

For those of you that don't know, you can get Target coupons sent to you via text on your smartphone.  Just text OFFERS to 827438 and they will begin sending you the text at a time of your choosing.  Occasionally, there are other offers as well.  This week you could text "dragon", "honey" or "teamusa" to the same number to get Pepsi or Coke and other coupons.  The cashier just scans the bar code on your phone.

I also found, on target.com , $1 off Papermate pen coupons.  These are on sale for $1 this week so FREE!!!

I also found an ap for my phone this week called Shopkick.  There are several stores on Shopkick and Target is one of them.  If you turn on the ap in some of these stores you can earn points.  You can also earn points for scanning certain items in the stores.  "What's the point?" you may be asking.

Well, the really awesome part is that Shopkick also has coupons for some of these stores, of which Target is one.  The Market Pantry Strawberries up there... I used a $1.50 off coupon from Shopkick on those.  Just like the Target mobile coupons, the cashier just scans the barcode from Shopkick off of your phone.  But that's not even the best part.  Those points I was talking about... you can trade them in for gift cards!  In two trips to Target I had over 500 points.  They weren't hard to get and didn't take much time and those 500 points are worth $2.  Which doesn't sound like a lot but money is money, right?
You can even donate your Shopkicks points, which are called "kicks" by the way, to charities like Feeding America.

That wraps up this week.  I'm not doing a lot next week except some Olay that's on sale.

Til next time...

We tried to fry an egg on the sidewalk.  It didn't "fry" so much as "congeal".

Free toy!!! ..... sorta

 This was our main shopping yesterday.  This is Albertson's.  No big deals, just some sales.  The GoGurt was on clearance though for $2 and I had $1 coupons off two making them $1.50.  I don't normally buy these but my son likes them so if I find a good deal, they're a nice thing to get.

This is my Walmart trip.  The Top Ramen were ad-matched to Food City at 6 for $1.  Barilla were 50 to 73 cents each after ad matching Family Dollar and coupons.  Glade Expressions were all free.  Silk was $1.20 after coupon.   Glade oil warmers were 38 cents each after the $1 coupons that were in last Sunday's paper.

 The Renuzit were 75 cents each with my Buy One Get One coupon and they were on clearance for $1.50 each.  The Ocean Spray fruit snacks were $1.50 after coupons.

All this was $60.28 and saved $33.22!

Missing from the photo is the 5 quart moror oil.  It was still in the car.

 These two photos are Target.
The bread was free with a coupon found in a mailer they sent out to announce their new local Target grocery section.  Grapes were $2.34 with a HWHGN! coupon for $1 off. 

The Speed stick were on clearance for $1.50 and I had $1 coupons making them 50 cents each.

 The Jolly Ranchers were on sale for $1.50 each.  I had $1 off 2 coupons from the paper a couple weeks ago, so that made them $1 each.  Werthers were also on sale for $1.50 and I had a 75 cent coupon making them 75 cents.

Right before this transaction, I bought two Fresh Step cat litters.  Right now if you buy 2 at $10.99 each, you get a $5 gift card.  I did that then used the gift card to buy the rest of this and only paid $17 oop.

Here's my Walgreens trip.  Olay is 2/$7 again so I got the ones I couldn't a couple weeks ago.  I also had the rest of my $3 off 2 coupons making them $2 each which is a great price for these, particularly since I can't use anything else.
The Revlon is my fave topcoat.  They were Buy One Get One 50% off.  I also used the $1 coupon in the Walgreen's book as well as my $1 coupons from the paper a couple weeks ago to snag these for $2.49 each which is great since the lowest price I ever see for these is $4.99!

This is from CVS.  The Fuze were 5 for $5 and you got a $1 Extrabux.  The Arizona teas were 2/$1 and one is missing from the photo.  The weekly freebie is an Unreal candy bar.  You buy one for 75 cents and you get a 75 cent Extrabux.  Let's just say I'm glad it was free.  I got the Peanut Butter Cup one and... it wasn't Reese's that's for sure.
The Colgate is currently 2/$5 and you get $3 if you buy 2, which I did twice.  I used a 50 cent coupon so I got each of these for 50 cents each.
I now have $7.75 in Extrabux to spend next week.  I think I am buying more cereal as there is a pretty good sale going on.

I also went to Fry's yesterday.  The SD card I am using has been having problems for a while and I really should change it out, but haven't.  It ate the picture I took.
I did find some great deals.  Right now they are having another Buy 10 save $5 sale so I got more Welch's juice which should have been $1.79 - 75 cent coupon = $1.04 each but I got a huge surprise!  They were doing another "every coupon is $1" sale so the Welch's wound up being 79 cents each!!!
The only other thing I picked up worth mentioning is milk which was 3 for $5.  More to freeze!

One last TERRIFIC deal to post.

We are trying to get my car ready to go on this 2000 mile trip that I will be making alone.  We picked up spark plugs (in the Walmart photos) and oil (should have been in Walmart photos but wasn't) and we needed to get a socket for the plugs.  Well, Harbor Freight had them on sale and in their circular was a 20% off any item coupon.  Also, in their flyer was a coupon for a free toy.... see photo below....

yep, I got a brand new 25' Pittsburgh tape measure for FREEFREEFREE!!! I already used it once to measure a mirror I need to pack.  **love**
I'm easily amused, I guess!

Til next time....

Glade Moneymaker!!

 Last Sunday, there were some fabulous coupons for Glade in the coupon inserts.  The one I **love** is the $2 off any Glade expressions product.  These spray dealies are on clearance in two scents at Walmart.  The refills are $1.50 and the sprayer unit with scent can are $2.  With a $2 coupie that makes them FREEFREEFREE!!!
I got one a paper on Sunday so bought the one you see above with that coupon - a 50 cent money maker.  There was also a 55 cent off one Starkist tuna pouch and since those are $1.12 with the coupon they were 57 cents.
6 more of my Almay at 14 cents each, the $1.47 crate, and the pectin was a 3 cent money maker with a $1 coupon I found in June's Albertson's big ad.

A couple days later, my internet ordered coupon inserts arrived so I bought 4 more of each.  This transaction cost about one dollar.

At this point, I ordered 10 more of the Glade coupons.  Next post will have this week's shopping trips.

Til next time...

Lemon Lime Nails & Free Pens

I have purchased several new Sally Hansen nail colors at Walgreen's in the last couple weeks for $1 each.  This is two of them in a lemon-lime theme with limes stamped on top.

The pens were free, on sale at Staples for $1 which I ad-matched at Walmart.  There was a $2 coupon (it's gone now) at coupons.allyou.com (run by coupons.com but they have some Allyou exclusives) so that made them FREE!!

Til next time...

The World's Most Expensive Light Bulb

$261 for a light bulb??!!

LOL

The electric company gave away free light bulbs when you paid your bill today.

How It Started

As I post more and more of the great deals I hunt down, I am hearing from people that are interested in couponing and getting those same kinds of great deals.  I am more than happy to share the information I have learned, to send people in the direction of the same resources I use and to know that there is one more person out there going to battle for the same rewards.

Many times I have been faced with a comment about the show on cable tv that features couponers at their best - - and worst.  While I love watching the show, it isn't realistic and a short few minutes spent google-ing the fraud involved with that show will garner you a vast variety of information and lead you to see where the issues are.
In the last couple of weeks, I have come to find that at least three of the people we have seen on the show used fraudulent coupons, used coupons for which there were no matching items and committed other crimes because let's fact facts here, it is a criminal offense to knowingly abuse coupons.  Not only is there the criminal factor, but every time a coupon is abused, it makes it more difficult for you or me to use coupons to provide for our families or donate to worthy causes.  That being said, if you have learned anything from me, please take care to use your coupons the right way, on the right product and before they expire (unless your store takes expired coupies.  Yep, some do).
I'm not saying that the things you see on the show are unobtainable, because they can be, within reason.  If you are writing out a grocery list that looks like this:

 - you aren't going to get a great deal on everything on your list.

To be an extreme couponer and get the really GREAT deals, you save every coupon you can get your hands on.  Then you peruse every circular in your area to find items on sale that match up to the coupons you have.
Sales all run in a cycle of usually about 8-12 weeks.  There are also certain items each month that go on sale, for instance June is Dairy Month.
Your goal is to figure out how much of the particular item you need to get through until the next cycle.  Maybe you go through a bottle of ketchup a month.  Let's say you find a great deal on ketchup in late June, right before Independence Day.  Ketchup will probably be on sale again right around Labor Day, roughly 2 months away, so you need at least 2 bottles, right?  (But at Labor Day if you find a sale you may want to pick up more to last until after the holidays.  Ketchup doesn't go well with turkey, so don't count on it being on sale for a bit.)
Back to the show.  If you watch, what you should have noticed is that the shoppers have many, many, many of each coupon and they wind up purchasing many, many, many of each item, right?  Did you see the kid that was buying something like 60 Campbell's soups?  That's because he had that many coupons for the soup.  And sure, he had a total that was super high and he paid around nearly nothing for it, but he only purchased a few different products.

Here's an example.  Let's say I go on that show (which is *never* going to happen).  I obtain 100 coupons each of the $1 off Almay Eye Makeup Remover, the $1 off Heinz Vinegar, the $3 off Bayer, the $1 off 2 Milky Way and the $.50 off French's mustard.
I go to Walmart and I purchase:
100 Almay Eye Makeup Remover @ $1.14 = $114 - (100 $1 Qs) = $14
100 Heinz White Vinegar @  $1.14 = $114 - (100 $1 Qs) = $14
100 Bayer Low-dose Aspirin @ 2.22 = $222 - (100 $3 Qs) = overage of $78
200 Milky Way (ad-matched to next week's Walgreen's sale of 59 cents)
                         $118 - (100 $1 Qs) = $18
100 French's Brown mustard (let's say we matched the Target price)
                         $87 - (100 $.50 Qs) = $37
My total before coupons would be $655
After all my coupons I would pay $5.  *before tax, but that wouldn't even be $10
Yep, Five freakin' dollars for 600 items.  It can be done... but not for your everyday grocery list.

My point here is that you can't go into it expecting that your typical weekly shopping list will net you a nearly zero dollar grocery receipt.  It takes time, you have to stockpile if that's what you want to do.  You have to learn what the maximum price you will pay for items is.  For example, if you asked me a month ago what I will pay for cereal, I would have said $1.48 is my max price.  But as my stockpile grew, my price went down and now I will only buy if it is under $1.20 a box.  Look at my blog.  My first couple of trips were really expensive but they've gone down.  In fact, even with trying to stockpile my family to be okay during my absence, we have hardly had to buy "groceries" at all.

I have been trying to make sure that the people I talk to about all this know that I haven't been doing it for long.  Really, I am only about 2 1/2 months into it.  What started it all was Complete Contact Solution.  Back at the beginning of May, I just happened to see a Walgreen's circular on which they advertised Complete for $7.99 and then said it was free after a $7.99 Register Reward.
Say huh?  I've been wearing contacts for 25 years and regularly pay through the nose for solution and they were giving it to me for FREE??!!  Not to mention a brand that I like and not the Equate that I usually settle for!
I bought 2 and had I known then what I know now, I would have bought 6.

The next couple weeks, I was diligent about checking the Walgreen's and CVS circulars.  Then I noticed that both the Walgreen's and CVS circulars routinely put by an item being advertised "$x.xx after coupon in most Sunday papers".  So I started buying two papers every week for the coupons and it backfired.
Why did it backfire?  Well it's like this: while you will find the same basic coupons all across the nation in the RedPlum, SmartSource and Proctor&Gamble inserts, the quantity of coupons included is determined by your area.  I live in a small city on the Mexico border.  The coupons in our paper... what's the word?... oh yes... suck.  We hardly get anything and what we do get sometimes, well a lot of times, has a significantly smaller price on it.  SuperCaliFragiSucky, right?
Then I discovered that I could print out coupons online.  But those weren't always reliable either; different products, different prices, etc - not that they weren't useful because they were and are, I still use them.  Then I found out that I could order coupon inserts online and a Crazed Couponer was born.

It was during this time that I found the aforementioned cable show.  Man was I jealous!  I wanted those deals!  I even started to follow a couple of those shopper's blogs, only to have my heart broken later when I learned that what you see on the show isn't exactly on the up-and-up.  I still follow a couple of them, but more on that in a bit.  You just have to take their words and directions with a grain of salt.

When I was sitting down to write this, I remembered something.  In late October of 2009 (I'm taking you way back, lol), I found this deal for a movie at CVS:  (top middle)

My son wanted the movie.  I had a serious Coke habit.  Mars was on sale.  It was a win-win-win, right?  I think we bought 3 cases of Coke and four of the Snickers and Milky Way.  I found this deal online somehow and whomever had posted it even had a link to Mars coupons on SmartSource. 
This was my first big deal and I wish I had looked more.  Look at the Revlon!  There are *always* coupons for Revlon.  Look at the Honey Bunches cereal!  I was paying full price for Malt O'Meal and Great Value brand back then! Hold on a second, I need to go back in time and kick myself.  BRB.

Actually, I beat myself up all the time about not having done this years ago.  When I think about all the money I have spent.... ugh!  It took me 2 1/2 years to wake up and see this.  UGH!  I am an intelligent person, how did I miss this?

Enough of that...
Because I have been asked countless times for the resources I use, and I always want to share, here are the sites I use for coupons and information along with a brief description.  Please use them.  Please join our Merry Band O'Bargain Seekers.  Please share what you find.  Please teach others what you have learned. 

Go forth, be frugal and provide for your family and friends with the fantastic deals you find!

• krazycouponlady.com    ...Click on the blog for the most up-to-date information.  This site is run by two ladies who were college roommates, have been through their own financial struggles and are very trustworthy.  They have a book also, which is great for newbies but entertaining as well "Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey".  One of the ladies was on the cable show we all know.  She was the brunette climbing into the recycle bin for coupons.
• cuckooforcoupondeals.com  ...Run by Deidre a wife and mother of three.  She constantly updates her site, like several times a day.  She posts weekly RiteAid, CVS and Walgreen's deals, weekly baby and pet care deals, upcoming coupons, etc.  Terrific resource!
• hip2save.com  ...Run by Collin a wife and mother with her sister and mother and sometimes her grandmother.  She also updates constantly.  Check her site several times a day for up to the minute information.
• wildforwags.com     wildforcvs.com   ...Run by Christie who focuses nearly exclusively on the two drugstore chains.  She has a terrific following and will pass on information from her readers.  The best source for unadvertised deals and CVS ExtraCare bux and Walgreen's Register Reward offers.
• iheartwags.com   iheartcvs.com   ...She doesn't post often, but what I like about her site is that she somehow obtains scans of upcoming circulars and posts them weeks in advance.  This really helps with planning and you can easily figure out which coupons to hold onto.
• iheartthemart.com   ...Run by Paul a stay-at-home Dad of 7.  He lives at Walmart, spending hours there just about every day and shares any deals he finds.  He also does coupon match-ups and tells you about items to ad-match.  Not a lot of killer deals, but a ton of information.
• Online coupon resources - coupons.com     couponnetwork.com    target.com  smartsource.com   redplum.com  (the last two are the companies that put the coupons in the paper.  some coupons are the same as in the paper, a lot are different though so even if you get a paper, check them out)
• wholecouponinserts.com    Just like the name says, this is where I order my inserts.  She usually posts the upcoming inserts on Thursday afternoons.  Great service.
• mycouponhunter.com    Use them for single coupons you may want more of.  Remember Mr Roger's when the postman was like "Speedy Delivery"?  That's them.  I usually get my Qs two days after I order, a lot of times they ship the same day I order.
• I also really like sarandipitysaves.com   Sara has a youtube series as well and she is really funny but at the time I am writing this she is taking a break following some negative interactions with the most controversial person I mention below and a few bad store experiences.

Ok, these next ones are... different.  Both of these ladies have been on the show.
This first one is probably the most controversial of the two.  I'm not going to post the information here but if you are curious to find out why she is not exactly respected in the coupon community, do a search on youtube, google or bing for her.
couponshoppinwitjane.com   ...I've gotten sommmme information from her, but grain of salt people, grain of salt.

And this one is, well she doesn't post often and she focuses a lot on her video series which is mostly (of late) about her cosmetic surgery. There is something, however, that I find entertaining about this couple.
clipcutsave.com

Well, that's it for now.  I know this was realllly long.  I'm sure there are other sites out there and maybe you will find one that better suits your needs, but these are the ones I trust (the top list anyway) and use.

Til next time....

You know you're obsessed with coupons when...

You know you are obsessed with coupons when...

You get bored at midnight and make a run to Walgreen's to use your bathroom tissue coupons.

Yep.  That was me.  Last night.  I'm sure the overnight (musta been manager cuz he was wearing a tie) cashier-person must have thought we were druggies.  Going in to buy 3 packs of Cottonelle, a bag of popcorn, 12 candy bars and a cheese danish.  Me in my glasses with my hair up wearing a t-shirt and pajama shorts.  Coupons are my crack and no paraphernalia required!

Here is the photo from that trip.  Cottonelle is still $5 at Walgreen's, the $1 coupon in the book is good all month and I got lucky and found $1 coupons for Cottonelle online somewhere (can't remember) so $3 each on those.
The Candy bars are still 3/$2. I got $1.25 off 3 coupons at Nestle's Facebook page.  You have to play a game to get them.  If they are still available, play the computer and click the button at 6 seconds.  Anyway, that made them 25 cents each!  Aussum Possum!! 
I forgot to take a picture of the popcorn and the cheese danish was gone before we made it home.

you can see my pink coupon binder on the left.  also, i'm happy to report that the laundry detergent finally has a home.

 This was a Walgreen's run from the other night after I got off of work.  I used the Cottonelle Qs from my inserts from last Sunday (I buy 4 sets) and paid $3.50 each.  The Tucks was $1.49 after a $2 Q also from the inserts and $1 off Q in the Walgreen's book.  These things are great for bug bites and other itchies.  I used my four 75 cents off 2 for the Girl Scout candy bars on top of the 3/$2 sale.  The Haribo was 49 cents each.  The J&J baby shampoo on sale B1G1 for 50% off but wasn't much of a deal.  My daughter needs it for an allergy rash thing she has right now and the Apple scent one is for bathing the dogs.

 This is Target.  All the prices are guesstimates because I can't find my receipt and I'm too lazy to look right now.  The Hydrogen Peroxide was 89 cents but after a 75 cent off any First Aid item Target coupon, they were 14 cents each.  The cotton pads were 84 cents but after a 50 cent off any Cotton item Target coupon they were 34 cents each.  (The sucky thing is I had just paid full price for some the other day when I ran out).  The make-up brushes and eyelash curler were $1 each and that is regular price!!  They are all ELF brand. 
The Mac&Cheese cost 9 cents each!  Because this Target just went through a remodel to include grocery, they are throwing coupons at you as you walk in the door.  One of the coupons is for $1 off any 2 Market Pantry items which took 50 cents each off my Mac&Cheese. 
The Salad was 49(something like that) cents after another Hey-We-Have-Groceries-Now! coupon for $1 off any bagged salad.  The Apples were $2.34 after another HWHGN! $1 coupon.  My fave from this trip?  The mustard!  I have been hanging on to these 50 cent off any French's coupon wondering when it would be worth my while to use them.  Ironically, I figured that would have been at the beginning of the month, y'know around the 4th?  Cookouts?  That would have made sense, but ummm... no.  Anywho, the mustard is 87 cents right now and 50 cents off is 37 so KEWL!  
Oh one other great find... the St Ives little travel size facial cleansers.  You can just make them out next to the nail polish in front of the salad.  I had two $1 off St Ives facial coupons with no size restrictions!  Travel section here I come!  FREEFREEFREE!!!  They were 97 cents each but Target doesn't do overage so the cashier has to key in the value. 
And one last thing about Target before we move on:
I have been reading a lot lately about people having issues at Target with cashiers not wanting to take their coupons.  If you have read my posts, you know that I have also been challenged, denied and disappointed at Target because of coupons. 
I have found the most awesomest cashier at the store here and her name is Sarah.  To my Yuma friends who may go there with Qs, find out who she is and get in her line because it is worth it.  She takes her time, she makes sure to match the item with the coupon but she takes care of you without running to the manager or treating you like a thief. 
Anyway, in all I paid under $25 at Target.  It was a great trip... wish I knew where that receipt was.

 This was Fry's yesterday.  Milk was $1.50 if you spent $25 (before coupons).  They were also having their "Buy ten save $5" sale.  I paid $19.85 for all this and saved $37.38.  More milk to freeze.  Yes, I am freezing milk.  Again, I want my family to not have to do a lot of shopping for the near two months they will be here after I leave. 
Milk freezes fine.  Take a little out so the jug doesn't break and put it in the freezer.  When you take it out, you will have about a week to use it.

 This is a combination of a couple Walmart trips.  Barilla pasta $1.29 each minus $1 off 2 coupon is 79 cents each.  Precious Ricotta cheese $2.99 - $1q = $1.99.  Face wash clothes and sliced mozzerella regular price.  And more of my Almay Eye Makeup Remover for 14 cents each.

And this is CVS.  Coke 12 packs were 3 for $8.  All of the candy was 4 for $2 and I used the coupons from last Sunday for 50 cents off 2.  This made each one 25 cents.  The Olay was $6.29 each but on sale BOGO plus I used a $3 off any 2 Olay facial Q so they were $1.65 each.  The Loreal is on a deal for "Buy $15 and get $5 Extracare Bux".  I also had $5 from the Beauty Club and a coupon for $3 so all the makeup was originally $24 but I paid around $11 but got some things I had wanted.

Because I am now able to pick up some things I wouldn't have ordinarilly purchased (Loreal LipBalm, Olay Facial Cleansing Cloths) I am thinking about doing reviews in addition to what I normally post. 

I'm also thinking about making a quick video sometime before I leave town showing my stockpile.  We'll see.  I have a lot to do between now and then.

Til next time...