Wow! Time Flies!

I haven't been good about posting, logging, or even couponing for awhile.  Here and there doing ok.

That being said, I have saved $305.78 year to date, and I actually had my biggest single transaction savings in September!  At CVS, I used a combination of Extra Care coupons and manufacturer's coupons to save $38.44!  That was 48% of the total of my purchase.  $10 was a manufacturers coupon from a newspaper flyer for my allergy meds. 

So, I am going to try to get my head back in the game and use my coupons.  My stock pile is getting pretty low after the summer, so it's time to really work the coupons and sales again.

Two new things I have just started to explore more are Target Cartwheel and the new Walmart Savings Catcher program.  I have used the Target Red Card for awhile, and it seems to be adding up ok, but the Walmart card I just started.  I have $1.78 on the card for buying a couple of single serving bottles of tea that were on a pretty good sale elsewhere.  I really hate going to Walmart, but I had the good trip when I bought a bunch of sale items, so I might even do  better if I work it with sales,  coupons and the competitors.

So, it's time to really work at it and see if I can't really see some great savings.

I will do my best to start posting more again as well!

Happy savings!  Dee

CVS quarterly rewards and 20% off coupon

Happy April!  Spring is on it's way.  April 1st brings CVS quarterly bucks based on your spending for January through March.  I earned $6.50.  I also had extra bucks of $5.00 from my 10 prescriptions.  Unfortunately, I didn't have much of a list at CVS.  So, I had a coupon for Secret antiperspirant.  $1.50 off...gotta love that!  I also needed some Aveeno lotion.  Between the extra bucks and the coupon, I got both for $1.81.  The lotion alone was over $9.00, so I was pretty happy with that.  The down side, my 20% off coupon from the mail was only good for .47 cents.  But hey, that's still money in my pocket.  I'll try and plan a little better next time this rolls around.  Still learning all this, but that's ok.

At Albertson's, I used 6 manufacturer's coupons on lunchmeat for hubby's sandwiches and block cheese.  And of course the .25 cent Charmin coupon.  Really wish theirs were a little better, because this is one of those things that I don't shop by what is cheapest.  Toilet paper and coffee...the two things I HAVE to have my brand!

So, an acceptable weekend for coupons.  Year to date, I have saved $161.67!

Sheet rockers have the first coat of mud on and the basement is starting to look like home again.  Found carpet I LOVE, and paint also.  Hopefully next weekend we will be painting.  Sherwin Williams is having a 40% off sale next weekend, so hoping to get our paint at a really good price!

Double ear infection (part two)

So here I am again!  So like I said in last post, went to doc and have ear infection in both ears.  He says I need meds so of course I have him send it to CVS!  Even when I don't feel good, I still feel ok enough to stop at the kiosk and scan my card. 
Glad I did!  I had a $5.00 Extra bucks coupon from Beauty Club!  So my $10 prescription was $5.00!  I also picked up some Ibuprofen, which was buy one get one for 1/2 price, so I saved another $2.50 there.  Pretty good for a sickie!

So, that brings my total for coupons for 2014 to $140.60!

I'll take it!

Double ear infections! Not what I was planning for this week...(part 1)

So haven't been feeling good the last week or so, really run down, constantly tired.  Was having a sore throat, so went to walkin clinic.  It took me longer to check in than it did to wait or see the doc.  He looked in left ear...WHOA!  he says, then looks in the other ear and says, WOW...way too red!  Looks in my throat...not so bad, worse because of your two ear infections!  Great.  So, on the antibiotics.  You always just think it will go away.  Work full time, no time to go to doc.  Not this time.  So, anyway, on to couponing, which is what this page is about...

Saturday I did ok.  Went to CVS, and I love CVS of course, but one thing I don't like...they don't put signs up for all of their sales, or maybe they take them down on the last day.  Either way, it is kind of a pain to have to take your ad with you to try and get your deals, because you aren't sure if they are on sale or not.  The other thing I don't like is that my CVS doesn't stock much of the sale items.  I went to get t.p. and of course there was none on the shelves.  But, I did have a $5 off $25 coupon to my card.  Then I was looking for Allegra for my allergies, and walk by a floor display and what do I see?  A coupon pad for $3.00 off!  So, I grab one.  One.  And it just occurs to me know, that I could have taken two maybe.  In my excitement that I was getting $3.00 off for no work, I took the one I needed for my purchase that day.  Well, the next 100 people that see that rack will be thankful I wasn't greedy.  I also got $3.00 my disposable razors for myself and my spoiled daughter, and I bought Colgate, which spit out a $1.00 extra bucks for next time.  So total at CVS for Saturday was $11.00 plus one extra bucks that will count when I actually use it.  I also went to ALB, but was in a hurry, so used 1 coupon for t.p. (they had it in stock thanks Albertsons!) and so I saved $0.25 there.  For a Saturday total of:  $11.25!

This post is getting long, so more in a bit...

My love/hate relationship with Walmart.

Last Saturday I decided to try and get back to my couponing, and part of that is printing coupons online.  I usually start out my coupon search by going to the Fabulessly Frugal.com site.  It tells what new coupons are out there, and how to get the best deals at various stores.  They had a link to some wonderful Kraft coupons.  So, I clicked the link and it took me to coupons.com, which has great coupons.  So, I saw all the Kraft coupons, and clicked them for printing.  Then I saw in the corner that they were 'redeemable at Walmart'.  GGGRRR!!!  I hate going to Walmart...especially the grocery side.  Don't get me wrong...I actually LOVE Walmarts products, but I hate the parking lot and having to stand in long lines.

So, I just kept the coupons, until today.  I decided just to go in and get the things I had coupons for...and milk.  So, I ended up with 9 coupon items (see picture!) and I saved a total of $6.50!  I used coupons for items that I will use in the next month, and they are items that I regularly buy.

So, I hate Walmarts parking lot and lines, but I LOVE using the coupons and saving money!

CVS is my friend!

We are in the middle of a construction zone at my house.  Our basement is down to the sheetrock, and finding anything is next to impossible.

So, thank you to CVS for offering a 20% off my total order coupon in my inbox.  It is great, because you can send the coupon right to your Extra Care card, so when you go to CVS and they scan your card, it automatically asks if you want to use it (which is nice when you forget!)

Only picked up a few things, so my 20% off saved me $3.55 this week.  That's $3.55 I have to spend on something else!  (Like paint or sheetrock!)

This week I didn't use as many coupons as I normally do, because my house is torn up and I can't find some of them.  (Actually I found them today, but I went shopping yesterday!)  This week I got an e-mail from CVS for $5 off a $25 purchase.  I needed to get a prescription filled, and get more Allegra allergy medicine.  The Allegra was only $21, so I figured I wouldn't be able to use the $5 off.  When they rang up my purchase, they asked if I wanted to use it.  Hooray!  I also had a $5 extra bucks coupon from last week, so I was able to get $10 total off my meds!

I did you one manufacturer's coupon for Gain detergent, so got .50 off.  So my total for Saturday was $10.50.  My year to date so far is $93.33 saved with coupon deals!  I'll take it!

Once we get this basement thing figured out, I will be back on my game.

Saturday trip to CVS

This doesn't look like much of a trip, but we had a little mishap at our house yesterday.  We have had below zero weather for the last week, and we had a pipe burst in our basement and the entire basement filled with water.  So, I am really not in the shopping and couponing mood.

I did have to go out, because the flooding shorted out my blow dryer.  So, I went to CVS with my handy coupon from the mailing for 25% off!  I also had a $5 extra bucks coupon from last Saturday's trip.  So, I bought my face wipes and the blow dryer for a total of $29.28.  I saved $5.25 with my 25% off plus the additional $5.00 off , out of pocket was $19.03 for a total savings of $10.25

Believe me...that $10.25 is going to come in handy!

 
 


Time to dig out the CVS coupon you got in the mail a couple weeks ago if you are signed up with a CVS card.

This is good for 25% off your entire purchase!  I have mine ready to go, so will post my savings after I shop this weekend!

Saturday shop day

Saturday was another shopping day.  I went to CVS and Albertsons.  Got new Procter & Gamble coupons, so was able to get more toilet paper and paper towels and dishwasher tabs.  I am lucky to get coupons from my Mom also.  She takes what she uses and then gives the rest to me.  So I can use mine early in the month (when I'm out of things) and then use hers later in the month (when my daughter raids my stash).  It seems they have the better deals at the end of the month shortly before the coupons expire, but after everyone has already used their coupons for a good deal, but not AS good early.  Clear as mud?  I thought so.

So, on to my totals!  CVS was kind enough to email me a $5.00 off $25 purchase this past week.  I chose the 'send to card' option, which uploads it to my CVS Extra Care card...I love that thing!  At CVS I purchased Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner...they had a 2 for $7.00 deal, and my coupon was a buy one get one free!!!  Also purchased Old Spice Deodorant coupon buy 2 get $1.00 off.  Cascade dishwasher tabs coupon was $0.50 off.  Charmin Basic t.p. was $0.25 off.  For a grand total of $9.75 and plus I received a $5.00 extrabucks to use next time!  LOVE CVS!

At Albertsons, the first thing I found was some cookies with a peelie coupon right on the package for $0.50 off.  Thank you for giving me money!  I got Bounty papertowels with $0.25 coupon.  Ball Park had hot dogs and frozen burger patty coupons.  Also, Albertsons was doing a buy one get one free promo, so got $1.00 plus the free hotdogs for a total saved of $4.99!  OH...and another $1.00 for the hamburgers.  Oscar Meyer coldcuts for hubby's lunch was $0.75 off.  Hungry Jack hashbrowns.  I have never tried these, but had a $0.50 off coupon, so thought I would try them for a breakfast sometime.  And then there is the weird one...I ended up with a coupon that was $0.38.  I think it was for an Essential Everyday item...one of Albertson's store brands.  I have to remind our cashiers at Albertsons every week not to forget to ring in my coupons.  I think she tried to scan this coupon, and for some reason it wouldn't read it and she hit a typo that should have been 50 cents, and ended up 38.  I didn't notice until I got home because I was busy rescanning my card.  Oh well, I still did good in my opinion!

So, Saturday's totals were:  CVS:  $9.75 plus $5.00 for next time; ALB: 8.37. 

My total saved with coupons for 2014 so far is:  $82.83.  So coupons STILL make a big difference!

Where did you go?

So, I kind of started strong and then fell off the face of the earth!  Not sure anyone was reading anyway, but still...

So I have still been couponing, but not like I should have over the holidays.  The new year started, and 2014 has been a little better.

For 2014, I decided to start a spreadsheet to keep track of how much I am saving in coupons.

This is what it looks like:

	2014 Coupons used/money saved	coupon amount	total saved on this trip	total saved to date
1/1/2014	Frozen meatball coup 1/1/14	$1.00	$1.00	$1.00
1/4/2014	CVS extra bucks (3) 1/4/14	$14.00
	Albertsons manuf coupons (4) 1/4/14	2.75
	ALB hamburger coupon (2)	$20.00	$36.75	$37.75
1/17/2014	Glucosamine tabs for Jaxson	$2.50	$2.50	$40.25
1/18/2014	Tide coupon	$3.00
	Allegra	$4.00
	Quilted Northern	$1.00
	CVS coupon	$4.00
	20% off card coupon	$5.66	17.66	57.91
1/18/2014	manufacturer coupons	$6.80	$6.80	64.71

So I am off to a good start.  Saturday is a new month, so I will be doing another 'Stock up Saturday'.  Stayed tuned!