Friday, September 26, 2008

Walgreens Coupon and Double-dipping

Woo Hoo, Woo Hoo!! This is the weekend --- it is double dipping weekend (that magical 2 day period when it is still September and at the same time, already October in Walgreen-land) AND there is a $off$$ coupon --- this time it is a $5 off $20 (much easier to use than the usual $10 off $40) In other words, this is the weekend that I really truly love Walgreens.

Go here if you haven't already gotten a copy of the Walgreens coupon --- you'll need it. And remember -- your total has to be $20 AFTER all of the coupons and deals come together (but not the Register Rewards or rebates)

First off, if you haven't gotten the free after rebate items, check that list first. You automatically make money with this weekend (and this is without the double-dipping scenarios!). You buy $20 worth of free-after-rebate products. You use the $5 OFF $20, which reduces your total to $15. Then you file for your rebate - and take the rebate as a Walgreens gift card (with a 10% bonus) and your rebate becomes $22.00. You're ahead of the game by $7.00 and you have all that stuff (there is some pretty good free-after-rebate stuff this month)

I picked up most of the free-after-rebate items during the last $ off $$ sale a few weeks ago. So for this one I used the two remaining items to fill in and get my total up to $20 (the store was out of them when I did the sale the last time) Go here to see how I did the free-after-rebate items already.

So for today, I used the double-dipping items for most of my $20. These are items that are in one monthly Easy Saver booklet as a coupon discount and in the other monthly Easy Saver booklet as a rebate. For these two days, you can use both the coupon discount AND file for the rebate. When you can combine that with a manufacturer's coupon it can become a really good deal --- and then layer the $5 off $20 on top of that.

For instance:
Garnier shampoo and conditioner $6.99 each (the big bottles for this one).
Buy 3 = $20.97 (can't use the $5 off $20 yet, because we're throwing all kinds of coupons at it)
- $9.00 -- from the $3.00 October EasySaver coupon (x3 for the 3 bottles)
- $3.00 --- manufacturer's coupons on Garnier from a tear off pad a while back
$8.97 oop
But -- there is a $10 rebate when you buy $20 worth of Garnier from the September EasySaver booklet --- so I'm ahead by just over $1.00 on this one

Pert Shampoo (I hate this stuff -- but this deal is so good, I'll do it and put the bottle in the donation bag for the food pantry)
its on sale right now for $4.29 (the big bottle again)
-$2.50 October EasySaver coupon
-$2.00 coupon from 9/7 SS
= FREE
But -- there is a $4.29 rebate in the September EasySaver booklet -- so I'm ahead of the game by $4.50 on this one. (which is why I'm buying shampoo I don't like!)

You can string together some excellent deals this way. Here was my first stab ---
3 Garnier
1 Pert
2 Glade Oil refills (I am addicted to that stuff now)
used the $1.00 coupon from the September EasySaver and the BOGO coupon from the 8/24 SS
2 Reach toothbrushes (used the $1.00 coupon fromt he 6/8 RP)
1 Adidas antiperspirant $1.99 with the in-ad coupon and I used the $1.00 from the 9/7 RP

I barely made it over the $20.00 mark after all the coupons --- so I paid out about $16.00 and I'll get $16.00 back in rebates (plus 10% for putting it on my Walgreens gift card!!) And I got $5.00 Register Rewards right away for the Reach toothbrushes.

You can really make some money with this whole deal. See what I mean:
$5 two Reach toothbrushes
$4.49 Crest Rinse Mouth Wash
$16.49 Loreal Revitalift Antiwrinkle Serum
$3.79 Pert Plus Shampoo=$29.77

-2 two Reach coupons from 6/8
-3 one Loreal Revitalift coupon from 7/20
-2 Pert Manufacturer coupon (I don't have the date of the coupon, but it was within the last month)
-2.50 Pert October Easy Saver coupon (coupon deal for October -- see!)

=20.27
-5 $5 off $20 purchase Walgreens coupon
=15.27 out of pocket

But wait ----- you get back
$5 RR for Reach products,
$4.49 RR for the Mouthwash
and $20.28 in Rebates for the Loreal Serum and Pert
so you're ahead of the game by $14.50. Can't beat that.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

RedBox Movie Rentals

Well, I did it. I actually went and tried the RedBox for a movie rental --- it was painless, easy really. Now, those of you who know me, know I'm not likely to be doing it again really soon. Not because of the RedBox experience, just because sitting and watching a movie just isn't something we do around here. It just takes up too much time.
But the whole RedBox thing --- that was a snap.
For those of you who are scratching your heads right now --- RedBox is the chain of DVD rental kiosks in grocery stores. Around here they're in Stop and Shop (I haven't seen them other places, but then again, I haven't been looking either)
They charge about $1/day, which seemed rather reasonable to me --- our local video store gets more than that --- Which brings us to the caveat: you MUST return the RedBox video before 9 PM. I guess that's how they keep the price so cheap??
But it gets even better. You can rent movies for free — (and I just learned this part --- obviously, this isn't personal experience yet!) over and over and over again. Yep, you read that right.... apparently, Redbox offer promo codes for free one-night rentals, and you can keep on using the same promo code over and over again.
Here's how to get started:
1. Find your local Redbox. Check out the local Stop and Shop or click on over to their website for the kiosk finder (look here)
2. Go to the Redbox location, and select "Rent with a Promo Code"
3. Enter the code "Breakroom" and choose your movie
4. Swipe your credit/debit card (they're not stupid. They want to know how to find you and how to charge you if you don't return the DVD when you're supposed to. Remember return by 9 PM the next day or they WILL charge you!!) and get the movie

I also just learned that you can get the free Monday RedBox codes sent right to your cell phone --- I always just check a few of the blogs that regularly post the codes (something I probably should start doing here)
And -- the bonus ---it seems that every state with RedBoxes has some promo codes that can be used whenever you want (not just Mondays) This site will give you the codes for your state and will help you keep track of which ones you've already used (most of them won't work more than once with the same credit card (although if you ahve multiple cards, you can repeat codes fairly easily) Go to http://www.insideredbox.com/ for the codes for your state.
Have fun

Rite Aid: Week of Sept 21

At first, I wasn't to excited about Rite Aid for this week. But then I looked again --- and for the really new newbies who only have about 2-3 weeks of coupons collected -- its looking pretty good. Here's how to save at Rite Aid this week:

Suave Lotion or Body Wash--$1.99
Use $0.75/1 lotion from 09/21 RedPlum
Get $1 Single Check Rebate (#14, limit 1)
it comes out to about $0.24 after coupon and rebate

Suave Antiperspirant/Deodorant--$1.99
Use $0.75/1 from 09/21 RedPlum insert
Get $1 Single Check Rebate (#35, limit 2)
this one comes out to about $0.24 after coupon and rebate

Dawn Dish Soap--$.99 (I usually hold out for free Dawn, but this isn't a bad price, especially if you're new at this -- and you need dish soap!)
Use $0.50/1 from 08/31 P&G insert
$0.49 after coupon (no rebate on this one!!)

Garnier Shampoo, Conditioner or Stylers--2/$6.00
Buy 3 and use 3 $1/1 coupons from 09/14 RedPlum insert
Get $5 Single Check Rebate for buying 3
$0.33 each after coupons and rebate

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

CVS Week of 9/21

I'm a little irked with CVS right now --- I had my plan all set for how to maximize the $11.99 ECB on the L'Oreal Revitalift 2 day sale. Let's just say that 8 different CVS stores in 3 different states over the course of the two days had exactly ZERO of the product. And the best that anyone could do was offer me a raincheck for free Revitalift ---- How do I politely say "I really don't want the product --- its the ECB deal that I'm really after" ---
Anyway - here's what else I'm thinking for this week:
Transaction 1

L'oreal bare naturale I'm getting the eyeliner, cuz I actually really like this stuff - $7.99
Nivea for Men - $4.99
Adidas - $5.29
3 Johnson and Johnson buddies soaps $.99 each
Total: $21.24

Coupons Used:
$4/$20 CVS
$1 L'oreal coupon from 7/20
$1 Nivea coupon (don't know where I got this one)
$1 Adidas coupon
$3 Johnson Soaps coupon

$11.24 to be paid with ECB of course

Earn: 3 ECB, 4.99 ECB, and 4 ECB for a total of $11.99 ECB --- a tiny bit of profit -- not bad.

Transaction 2

Soyjoy bars 10/ $5.00 (my family loves these -- don't ask)
Schick Quattro refills BOGO
$3.00 off Soyjoy coupon 9/7
$4.00 Quatto coupon

You Can't Febreeze the Dog!!



Well, you CAN, but it doesn't work.


We had a crazy weekend around here. Several rooms in our house had an odd, funky kind of an odor. We went crazy cleaning --- stripping beds, mopping floors, pouring vinegar down drains -- the whole jazz. I went out to Walgreens and bought a boatload of cleaning products (mostly with Register Rewards and rebates on them). It didn't seem to matter what I did, the smell still lingered. I still caught a whiff of it every once in a while.


Finally, we were getting ready to leave to visit my mom --- and my husband put the dog in the cab of the pickup truck and seat-belted her in... He quickly returned with a question that only a bargain hunting husband will ever ask "With all the free cleaning stuff that Walgreen's gave us, is there anything that will clean the dog?" Needless to say, he had found the source of the funky odor!!


We scanned the pile of cleaning products and decided to try the Febreeze --- we sprayed the poor pooch down with a coating of Febreeze (she wasn't thrilled) and piled into the truck and hoped for the best.


It was a stinky ride to moms! And of course, the dog wanted to snuggle --- yech! At mom's we borrowed some Dawn dishsoap and washed the dog in the driveway so we could stand her for the ride home. --- Dawn works far better than Febreeze -- believe me.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Walgreens Coupon for 9/13 and 9/14

Walgreens is offering a coupon again --- another one of the $10 off of a $40 purchase. As usual with Walgreens, the $40 refers to the total after all coupons etc have been deducted ---

But --- that means its a terrific time to stock up on all of the free after rebate products (you automatically make 25% this way) and fill in with any clearance items.

So here's my plan for Walgreens today (I'm planning on hitting two different Walgreens because I'm hoping against hope for my number 1 item)

1. Magic Bullet -- this baby is normally around $50 (even at Walgreens) but there are reports all over the web that many Walgreens have them on clearance now for around $15 (much more to my budget's liking!!) I went to one Walgreens last week but they had none (not even in the regular price "as seen on TV" aisle). But let me tell you, if I find one of these at that kind of a price, I WILL be buying it ON THE SPOT (even without the $10 off $40 coupon in my hot little hand)

Now for my free after rebate items:
2. Vacuum bags -- these are on the free after rebate list at Walgreens. I didn't think I wanted them, but I've been convinced. All those summer clothes I'm getting ready to pack away will take up much less space in these babies --- and since in an old, old house, I'm pretty much limited to some attic storage and under the bed storage -- every inch counts. I'm planning on getting two of these (different sizes) because they both qualify for the rebate. Woo hoo.
3. Pert Plus -- I think I've still got one coupon from the 8/3 insert (which will make this even more of a moneymaker). We're not fond of Pert at our house, but it makes a terrific donation for our food pantry or for the battered women's shelter.
4. Excedrin Express Gels -- we go through Excedrin like candy -- (hmmm what does that say about my household, anyway??). I have some coupons from an earlier online printout that will make this an even better deal.
5. Nivea body wash for men -- I still have the coupon from 7/13 and hubby loves this stuff. free after rebate and the value of the coupon as a bonus..... good deal for me.
6. Crest Pro Health toothpaste --- there were coupons in the PG from Labor Day weekend -- plus free after rebate.
7. Revlon nail polish -- I don't really need this -- it will go to the battered women's shelter most likely -- but I still have the coupons from both 7/20 and 8/24, so good deal.

All of that will easily add up to $40 to let me use that $10 off $40.

I'll probably do a transaction buying Register Rewards products this week too --- (if I do that first, I can use the RR to pay for all of this stuff.... good plan!) Here are the ones I'm considering (I'm passing on the cough syrup deal for one)

Crest 500ml Pro-Health Rinse $4.49 get $4.49 rebate item plus RR on top of that!!
Buy 2, get $2, Buy4 get $5, buy 7 get $10

-$2.49 Shout Spray or Wipes
use the coupon from 8/10
Fantastic $2.49Windex Spray or Wipes $2.49
coupons from SS 7/20
Scrubbing Bubbles Wipes $2.49 or 16oz Foaming Spray-$2.49 on 2, bogo Scrubbing Bubbles Wipes
coupon 7/20-
Pledge Spray or Wipes $3.29
coupon from 7/20
Scrubbing Bubbles Shower Foamer $3.79
coupon 8/24
Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush MAX Starter Kit $3.79free Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush refill w/ purchase of Starter Kit and coupon from 7/20
Scrubbing Bubbles Action Scrubber $3.79-$2.75 off action scrubber
Drano Gel $3.49
Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner $19.99 get $10 RR-$5 Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner Starter Kit -$5
Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner Starter Kit coupon 7/20
Buy 2 or more Listerine Products $11/2 get $6 RR
coupon from 7/27
Oral B or Crest $8/3 get $3 RR
coupon P&G 8/31
Buy 2 or more Delsym or Mucinex Products get $5 RR
Tylenol Allergy, Cold or Sinus Relief $4.99
Benedryl $3.99
coupon 7/27
Buy 2 get $5, buy 3 get $10 RR
Advil PM $6.99
coupon 8/17/08

Monday, September 1, 2008

CVS Part II 9/1/08

I know you're waiting with bated breath to use those Pantene coupons, but hold on a minute --- we're going to do a different deal first ---- a little slick, but you'll be agog.

Go to CVS --- and find the Accu-Check Diabetes Monitoring Kit. It will be in the back of the store by the pharmacy counter (which is where all of the diabetic supplies are located) It is on sale for $9.99.
Take it to the counter, along with something incredibly cheap (like a package of M&Ms) to get your total over the $10 mark.
Give the clerk your CVS card, and let the ring up go --- your total will be about $10.50 or so....
Give the clerk the $2/10 coupon that we clipped from the magazine the other day. Now, your total will be about $8.50. Use your ECB from the Covergirl transaction to pay. Your receipt will print out $9.99 ecbs. You're ahead of the game another $1.50.
Take the glucose monitor home and check it carefully --- they very often have a rebate for the full purchase price. If your box has a rebate form --- you want to use it and get the $9.99 back from the company.
Finally --- if a blood glucose monitor is not something you normally use, donate it to the Humane Society (they use them with diabetic cats), a Senior center, a local social services agency etc. There are many, many people who DO use a blood glucose monitor, for whom getting one is a major problem. You'll be a hero!!!

Beginners' CVS 9/1/08

Okay, newbies (we have a raft of really NEW newbies this week --- they'll only have the 8/31 PG coupons for sure!)

First Trip to CVS:
Remember to swipe your CVS card at the magic red coupon machine!!

Buy:
  • Covergirl Outlast All Day Lipcolor B1G1Free - Use the B1G1Free coupon from the Sunday insert (8/31 PG). This makes BOTH of them FREE!! Woo Hoo
  • Covergirl Wetslicks $5.99 Use the B1G1Free coupon from the Sunday insert (8/31 PG) You'll still be paying out of pocket for the first one. (older newbies, use your ExtraBucks from last week!!) Now, also use the $1/1 coupon from this Sunday's insert (8/31 PG) to make a $1 profit! At the bottom of your receipt - $5.99 ECBs. In effect you just got this makeup for free too!!
  • 2 tubes of Colgate Toothpaste $2.99 - $2 ecbs = 99¢ (limit 2) Go here to print $1.50/1 IP coupon. This will make this end up as a moneymaker!!

Ready? Here we go!

Hand the clerk your CVS card. Let the clerk ring up all of your purchases and come up what what s/he thinks is your total. S/he will say something like: $24.00. Try not to giggle. Then, let the fun begin!!

Give the clerk your $4/20 coupon (remember we saved them from your receipts last week? -- New newbies, cross your fingers and try the magic red coupon machine)

Give the clerk your manufacturer's coupons ---- Your total should come down to about $8.00. Use your ECB from last week (or pay with cash, new newbies). And then wait patiently for your receipt --- it will take a minute or two to print out this week. You'll get $4.00 ECB for the toothpaste, and $5.99 ECB for the Covergirl Wetslicks. You're ahead of the game by about $1.00 already --- and the week is young!!

After you've successfully done this deal, come back and we'll put the Pantene coupons from this week's insert to very, very good use.

Why God Made Moms

This came in a forwarded email today (you know the kind) but I thought it was adorable and appropriate for a holiday weekend.... if you know who originated this, I'd be delighted to give credit.


Subject: WHY GOD MADE MOMS
Answers given by 2nd grade school children
Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.
How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.
What ingredients are mothers made of ?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.
Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.
What kind of little girl was your mom?
1. My Mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.
What did Mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?
Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.
Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.
What's the difference between moms & dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power because that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.
What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.
What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.
If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.