Cutting back on couponing this past week

I recently found out that I will be moving in a few weeks, so I have had to cut back on my spending and stockpiling until after the move. The less I have to move, and the more money that I have in my pocket for the move the better at this point. I have picked up a few items this week worth mentioning. I've stocked up on 4ct. Advil PM's from Walgreens, that were free after $1 manufacturer coupon. I had several I got last weekend, and got more coupons for co-workers, so I went back and got some more. Rite-Aid also had a fantastic deal on Jergen's body lotion, which was $0.22 each after coupons and URs. I took full advantage and got 8 of those (since the Up Rewards had a limit of 4).

Since this afternoon was wet and dreary, I decided to make my way to Target in Factoria to see what kind of goodies I could come up with, since I just printed off a bunch of new Target store coupons from online.

The Suave was a good deal. $2.77 each for the hair shampoo and dry shampoo. I had a coupon for $2 off the styler, $1.50 off the shampoo, and a Buy 2 get a free body wash, so they came out to less than $0.25 each. The Beggin Strips were $2.99, and I had a 5% cartwheel, $1 off any Purina treat (a peelie from another package I had), and target had a $0.75 off coupon, making it just over a dollar. Then the beneful treats were completely out of stock, so I asked them to give me a raincheck for 4, which they did, since they are on sale for $3 each, which end today. But I was able to find 2 thrown about in another part of the store and I took them because I had a BOGOF coupon, as well as a $1/2 Target Q. I should have paid $2 for both, but the register automatically took off $4.29 from the BOGOF coupon (which was the limit that the coupon allowed) and the lady at the register was like, "oh well", so I essentially made money on them. Once they come back into stock later this week, I will buy 4 more. I just need to print 2 more of those Target coupons.

The Loreal haircolor I got at Rite Aid in Factoria. I was going to color my hair black, but decided to just wait it out and recolor the highlights. I will probably be returning this tomorrow. I used $6 in UR, a $2 MF Q, a $1 in-ad Q and paid $1.76 out of pocket, so I am not sure how my refund will be returned to me, or if I will just lose my Up Rewards. I haven't had to return any items I've purchased yet, so it will be interesting to see how that goes tomorrow.

Until next time, happy clipping!

My first venture into Walgreens

I've had several negative experience at local Rite Aid's lately, so this weekend, I decided to venture into Walgreens to get items for my stockpile. One thing that I love about Walgreens are register rewards. If you buy participating items, you get a catalina-like coupon that prints out with the receipt that is good for a specific amount off of your next purchase. These register rewards do expire  2 weeks after issuance. They also can not be used to pay for items that you are going to EARN new register rewards on. Essentially, if you have $7 in register rewards to use, and you are going to purchase 2 Crest Mouthwashes that produce an additional $4 RR, you will not earn that register reward. So, you have to be smart about what you buy, how you organize your transactions, and how you spend your RR's to maximize your savings. I spent $12.82 on all of the items above before tax, in which the retail cost was $64.46 at the Walgreens in Mercer Island, WA. I strategically planned my transactions to maximize my out of pocket.

Transaction #1
I purchased 2 Advil PM's, which were $1.00 on sale, and I used 2 Q's, so they were free, and the Bruise Remedy was on sale for $7, with a $7 register reward, which made it free.

Transaction #2
I got 4 Right Guard deodorants, which were BOGOF. The total was $4.98 for 4 after discounts and 2 MF Q's for $2/2. I purchased the spiral notebook for $0.50 on clearance, and since the total was only $5.48 and I wanted to use my $7 RR from transaction #1, I added a "filler" item of the carmex which was $1.69 and BOGOF. I was then able to use my RR and pay just tax.

Transaction #3
I purchased 2 Crest mouthwashes which were $3.59 on sale, and I used 2 $1.50/1 Qs. There was also a RR for $4, so I paid $0.09 each out of pocket for each after the RR. Thats a pretty sweet deal!

Transaction #4
I got the Purex for my stockpile, which is BOG2F (buy one, get 2 free), at Rite Aid and Walgreens this week. I bought one at $5.99, and got 2 free, and I applied the $4 RR from Transaction #3 to make it $2 out of pocket.

I was quite thrilled with my overall experience with Register Rewards because you don't have to wait until the next day to get your rewards dollars. You can use them in the next transaction if you do multiple transactions, similar to Target and their gift card redemptions. Customer service at Walgreens was also top notch. There was an issue with my $4 Crest RR not printing, and a manager was called and she quickly corrected the issue and printed me a RR. I have not yet began to shop using Walgreens Balance Rewards, but I will cross that bridge when I get there. Another thing I likes about Walgreens was their monthly savings book filled with tons of coupons that you can stack with manufacturer coupons already in your stash for even bigger savings. Unfortunately, you can only use one per transaction. Some good deals nonetheless.

 I also ventured to my local Rite Aid, despite my better judgement. But I had $5 UR's to use. So I got a few decent deals there too! The Wet and Wild eyeliner was a $0.30 money maker with a $1/1 Q, the hairspray was $3.99 each, and I had 2 Q's for $2/1. This items also had a $1 UR (limit 2). So they were $0.99 each. The Garnier was on sale for $2/6. I had 2 $1/1 MF Q's and $2/2 Rite Aid Ad Perk Q, so they were $1 each. The Jergens was a steal! Regular $4.29 each, and on sale for BOGO1/2off. I used 2 $1.50/1 MF Q's and got $3 UR, which made them $0.43 for both! Less than $0.25 each! I would have bought more, because this UR limits you to 4, however, they had NO MORE left. I will try another Rite Aid tomorrow. Using existing URs, I paid $4.11 out of pocket before tax, and got $5 in new UR's. More UR's to go get more Jergens tomorrow if I can find it!! I will be on a HUNT!

I think thats what I love best about couponing. Its such a hunt to find a great deal. I used to shop for clearance items because I thought 50% off, thats a great deal (and sometimes it can be). But now I am seeing so clearly that earning UR's, Register Rewards, using coupons for all sources (in store, online, manufacturer) are such a better way to go. It is time consuming. I spend probably 15 hours a week right now doing couponing. The majority of that time is spent searching for great match-ups, looking at couponing blogs, and writing my own blog. I spend on average 2-3 hours clipping and organizing them, and I usually have been doing that on Sunday but I have recently learned that the Red Plum and Smart Source coupons that come out in the Sunday papers are available in a local paper of mine that comes out on Friday. Best of all it is a FREE publication. The problem is finding them. I went to 7 places that carry this local paper the day after it was published and it was GONE everywhere. I was able to scrounge around and find 2 copies of the Red Plum. In Kirkland, I scored and found a stand that had several, but the local paper in Kirkland only had the Smart Source coupons. But hey, I'm not going to turn down free coupons. :)