Dollar General $5/$25 Friday

I love the $5/$25 coupons days at Dollar General!!  Today I hit two different stores.  The first I stopped at did not have the Hefty One-zip bags or Snuggle dryer sheets that I was looking for, so I had to make a second trip over to my usual DG that I knew had them, which was okay with me.  The kids did some complaining (they hate going to the store), but I didn't let it get me down.  So, without further rambling, here's the breakdowns:

Store 1:

1 - Wisk - $5.00
6 - Suave Kids Shampoo - $2.00
16 - Tic-tacs - $0.65
1 - Wrigley's 5 gum - $1.50

Total retail: $28.90
(The cashier only rang up 10 of my tic-tacs!  So, total register price before coupons was $25 (it was actually $23.50 - had to grab the Wrogley's gum to use my $5/$25).  I didn't realize the boo-boo on the tic-tacs or I would've had them scan the other 6.  That's what happens when you drag all 4 kids with you to the store!  lol)

Coupons used:

1 - $5/$25 DG coupon
1 - $2/1 Wisk
3 - BOGO suave kids ($2 each)
5 - $1/2 Tic tacs (I had 8 of them for the 16 that I bought - 3 of them didn't scan obviously but the lady kept them.  :(  I didn't realize it until I got home.)

Total coupons: $18.00

Total OOP = $7.58
Savings of 62%

Store 2:

8 - Hefty One-Zip sandwich bags - $1.00
8 - Hefty One-Zip gallon bags - $1.00
8 - Snuggle dryer sheets - $1.00
5 - French's Worchestershire - $1.00

Total Retail:  $29.00

Coupons used:

1 - $5/$25 DG coupon
8 - $1/2 any Hefty
8 - $0.75/1 Snuggle
5 - $0.75/1 French's Worchestershire

Total coupons: $22.75

Total OOP = $6.62
Savings of 78%

Total retail for both: $57.90
Total OOP for both: $14.20
Total savings for both: $43.70
Savings of 75% combined!

I had an awesome cashier at my second store (the first wasn't bad, just not awesome).  He was a younger guy, but was very friendly and was amazed by my savings and knowledge of the coupon policy (he didn't know you can't use DG store coupons with the $5/$25).  All in all a good day.  :)

Capri Sun price matching trip

We ran out of Capri Suns yesterday (gasp!)...so I grabbed as many coupons as I could find to give me overage at Walmart and my $1/3 Capri Suns peelies and headed out to Walmart.  I was able to price match the Capri Suns to Randalls for $0.99.  Woo-hoo!!  I ended up only getting 12 because I couldn't find enough of the products to go with my overage coupons and I'm trying to keep my budget as tight as possible.  Here's the breakdown of what I got:

12 - Capri Suns (reg. $1.97) PM Randalls - $0.99
        (only 11 scanned - see note below)
11 - Frigo string cheese singles - $0.33
3 - Old Spice body wash travel size - $0.97
5 - Breathe Right strips, 2 count - $0.97
7 - Crave cat treats - $1.47
1 - 20 oz Dr Pepper (I was thirsty....lol) - $1.48

Total: $35.04 (before q's and tax) (would've been $46.80 if I hadn't PM the Capri Suns)


Coupons used:
3 - $1/3 Capri Suns - the 4th one wouldn't scan - boo  :(
11 - $0.50/1 Any Frigo package
3 - $1/1 Old Spice body wash
5 - $1.50/1 Breathe Right 12 count or smaller
7 - Free Crave Cat treats

Total subtotal after coupons:  $4.76
Total OOP = $5.53  :)
90% savings!

So, I just figured out why my 4th Capri Sun coupon wouldn't work....she only scanned 11 of my Capri Suns...so I guess it worked out evenly in the end.  lol


Hopefully I can hit up another Walmart tonight and find some more of the overage items and pick up some more Capri Suns for cheap!

Target and Walmart yesterday

Yesterday at lunch a fellow couponer and co-worker ran to another Target in search of the $.02 tea, but alas, there was no tea to be found.  :(  Don't be sad though, we scored a few good deals while there.

2 - Clorox 2 stain fighter spray - $1.75 on sale ($2.49 regular price)
1 - Clorox 2 stain fighter pen - $1.75 on sale ($2.79 regular price)
2 - Maybelline lip gloss - $4.78 on sale (regularly in the $6 range - can't remember now)
2 - Neutrogena cleanser wipes - $1.99 regular price

Coupons used:
3 - $1.50/1 Clorox 2
2 - $2 Maybelline TARGET coupons
2 - $2/1 Maybelline 9/11 RP
2 - $1/1 Neutrogena TARGET coupons
2 - $1/1 Neutrogena 8/28 SS


Did two transactions because you can only use one like Target coupon per transaction, so I paid 1.97 for one transaction and 2.40 for the other...not too shabby for products with a total retail of over $30 combined.  :)

Then, we hit a Walmart on the way back to the office to see if we could score any of the Nivea lip balms before the Randalls ad ended.  We found 10!  :)  We priced matched them to Randalls for $1, and I also bought my All You magazine (face price $2.39).

10 - Nivea Lip Balms - $1/each (PM Randalls)
1 - All You magazine - $1.49 (on sale I guess - woo hoo)

Coupons used:
2 - $3/2 Nivea 10/2 RP
6 - $1/1 Nivea 10/2 RP

Paid $0.53 out of pocket!  :)

Target and CVS - Transformers toys!!

Today at lunch I ran to Target with a couple of my co-workers and fellow couponers.  We didn't find all the deals we were looking for, but I was able to grab a couple of Transformers toys for free!!  The toys are regularly $9.99!  :)  They will make great Christmas gifts.

Deal:
Transformers toy - $9.99
- $5/1 Target mobile coupon
- $5/1 Manufacturer coupon printed from Target.com
= FREE!!

I was able to get two because one of my co-workers let me use her mobile coupon for the second one.  So, thank you Kris!!  :)

Tonight I ran to CVS with my deal all worked up and ready to go, right before they closed....walked in the door at 9:45pm.  LOL.  Of course they were out of the Lipton tea, and I couldn't find the $.99 American Greetings cards.  I did however find a 1/2 transformer toy for $3.49 and one for $4.99.  :)  Here's what I got:

4 Pretzel M&Ms - 2.50 each ($10)
1 Sensodyne pro-namel - $4.49 (rang up regular price - $5.99)
1 Sensodyne iso-active - $5.99 (rang up regular price - $7.79)
1 Aquafresh Extreme Breath Pure Breath - $3.99
1 Transformer toy - $4.99
1 Transformer tor - $3.49

Coupons used:
4 - $1/1 Pretzel M&Ms
2 - $0.50/1 M&Ms CVS coupon from the red machine
1 - $1/1 Sensodyne pro-namel - printable
1 - $1/1 Sensodyne iso-active - printable
1 - $5/10 of GlaxoSmithKline products from Reinventing Beauty magazine from CVS
1 - $3/1 Aquafresh CVS coupon I received in the mail
1 - $5/purchase of $5.99 or more Transformers coupon

Total before coupons:  $36.25
Total after coupons: $16.25
ECBs used: $5, $5, and $1 ($11.00)
Total OOP: $5.37 (tax included)
Received $3 ECB (should have gotten a $5 one for the Sensodyne)

That's the good news....now the bad news...the Sensodyne toothpaste didn't ring up at the sale price, and I didn't get the $5 ECB for buying $10 worth of product.  :(  Also, I had another $1 off coupon for the Aquafresh to make it completely free, but the register wouldn't let it scan.  Really weird....whatever.  It was past closing time so I wasn't really concerned with it....I didn't realize the toothpaste had rung up wrong or that I didn't get my ECB until after I was locked out.  :(  I will be going back tomorrow to get the difference in the toothpaste back and the $1 coupon for the Aquafresh...which totals $4.30, and get my $5 ECB...so my actual OOP should have been $1.37.   Going to hit another CVS tomorrow and hopefully find the tea and greeting cards, and maybe some more transformers toys.  ;)

Results - CVS Shopping Trip

I didn't make it to CVS last night, but made it a speedy trip during my lunch break at work today.  :)  Here's what I got: 


1 - Huggies Jumbo pack diapers - $8.99
4 - Covergirl blushes - $4.99 (BOGO 50% off - so two of these were $2.49)
2 - Covergirl bronzers - $4.99 (BOGO 50% off - so one of these was $2.49)
1 - Schick Hdryo 5 razor - $8.29
1 - Swiffer sweeper starter kit - $8.99
1 - Swiffer sweeper wet mop refills - $3.99

1 - Febreeze air effects - $2.99

Total Retail (prices before sales):   $75.39

Total after sales prices:  $55.69

Coupons used:

1 - $3/1 Huggies - 9/11 SS

3 - $8/2 Covergirl - 10/2 P&G

1 - $5/1 Schick printable - no longer available

1 - $0.50/any Swiffer product

1 - Buy Swiffer starter kit, get refill free up to $7.00 (deducted 3.99)

1 - $1/1 Febreeze air effects

Total coupons: $37.49

Total sales price - coupons = $18.20

Used $13.50 in ECBs from previous week ($4 softsoap, $3.50 summer spending, $2 milk, $2 moneytrasher, and another $2 (not sure where I got that one.  lol)

Total after ECBs: 4.70

Total OOP (tax) = $5.09

Received $9 ECBS, ($5, $3 and $1)

90% savings

Plus, I will be getting a $5 ECB from the Beauty Club since the CoverGirl will put me over the $50 mark.  :)

I also have a savingstar account, and got $2 in my savingstar account from the Huggies diapers.  :)

Updated 10/4/11 with pictures.

Planned CVS trip for today

Planned out my trip for CVS today.  I have $13.50 in ECB's from last week to spend, so I'm hoping to make them go far.  This will be my first trip to CVS this week, as I am planning on making a second one later in the week for some Lipton tea - just waiting on my coupons to arrive in the mail.  :)

Here's what I'm planning on getting:

6 Covergirl blushes (BOGO 50% off) - $4.99 each = $22.47 (3 @ $4.99, 3 @ $2.50)
1 Schick Hydro razor = $8.25
1 Swiffer Sweeper starter kit = $8.99
1 Swiffer refill = $3.99
1 Febreeze Air Effects = $2.99

Total Sale Price = $46.69

Coupons I'll be using:

3 - $8/2 Covergirl 10/2 P&G
1 - $5/1 Schick Hydro (printable and no longer available)
1 - $0.50/any Swiffer
1 - Free swiffer refill when you buy swiffer started kit (up to $7.00) 10/2 P&G
1 - $1/1 Febreeze air effects

Total coupons = $34.49

Total after coupons = $12.20
Use $11.50 ECBs

Total after ECBs = $0.70
Earn $8 in ECBs  :)

I'll post my results later tonight.  Happy couponing!

I wrote an article...

So, to go with this new blog, I have starting writing articles on Hubpages.com as well.  My first article is about organizing your coupon binder.  Go check it out and let me know what you think.  :)
http://jennzie-jz.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-create-and-organize-a-great-coupon-binder

Walgreens trip today...been a busy month

Originally published on July 31, 2011.

First, its been a long month - I have made trips to the store couponing of course, but haven't had the time to post them. I made a trip to Walgreens today. I was excited about today's trip for a couple of reasons...first - they had everything I was looking for! (Well, except the Cottenelle, but I knew they were out of the right one.) And second, my cashier was super awesome and didn't mind my four transactions or my four kids running around. lol. Here's the breakdown and pic(if you want to skip the breakdowns I bolded the final totals below):

Transaction 1:
2 Oral-B toothbrushes - 2/$5
1 Complete Multi-purpose solution - $8
2 Penway spirals - $0.39 each
1 Penway folder - $0.11
Total before coupons - $13.89 (Total retail - $19.94)

Coupons used:
2 - $2/1 Oral-B
1 - $1/1 Complete MP Solution
$8 RR from last week

Total OOP: .95
Received $8 and $2 RR

Transaction 2:
4 Kelloggs Special K Red Berries - 4/$10
1 Goody Hair Clips - $2
1 Crayola Marker - $2
Total before coupons - $14.00 (Total retail - $28.64)

Coupons used:
2 - $1.50/2 Kelloggs cereal
$8 RR and $2 RR from Trans 1

Total OOP: $1.00
Received $5, $2, and $2 RR

Transaction 3:
3 Tide Stain Release liquid - $3.99
1 Keri Lotion - $6.99
1 Penway spiral - $0.39
2 Penway folders - $0.11 each
Total before coupons - $19.57 (Total retail - $24.93)

Coupons used:
3 - $3/1 Tide Stain Release
1 - $2/1 Keri Lotion
$5 RR and $2 RR from Trans 2

Total OOP: $1.68
Received $3 and $5 RR

Transaction 4:
2 Head and Shoulders Shampoo - 2/$8
1 Gillette Fusion Proglide Power Razor - $9.99
2 Penway folders - $0.11 each
Total before coupons - $18.21 (Total retail - $26.35)

Coupons used:
1 - BOGO Free Head and Shoulders
1 - $4/1 Gillette Fusion Razor
$5 RR and $3 RR from Trans 3 and $2 RR from Trans 2

Total OOP: $0.21
Received $4 and $2 RR

Total retail: $99.86
Total price after WAGS sales - $65.67 (WAGS savings of $34.19)
Total OOP - $3.84
Total savings on sales prices - $61.83
Total savings on retail prices - $96.02 or 96% savings

Very happy with my trip today. :)

Kroger and HEB

Originally published on July 9, 2011.

Went grocery shopping yesterday to stock up for the next couple of weeks. Got tons of stuff, the freezer is jammed packed, and the pantry has officially overflowed into my back-up cabinet space. lol. I'm just going to list what I got, no prices, just totals since it was so much.

KROGER
30 Gatorades
3 Ritz Crackers
3 Ritz Bits with peanut butter
19 cans of chef boyardee pasta (ravioli, spaghetti, dinos and meatballs, etc)
10 cans of fruit (peaches, pears and fruit cocktail)
1 pack of Huggies little swimmers
14 baby food snacks (puffs, yogurt puffs, apple dices)
3 bags of Cheetos puffs
4 dozen eggs
2 pillsbury grands biscuits
3 totinos pizza rolls
4 totinos pizzas
5 pepperoni pizza hot pockets
2 eggo waffles
2 loaves of bread
10 oscar mayer beef franks
5 boxes of Capri Suns

Total Retail: $221.06
Total after sales and coupons: $134.16 ($136.32 w/tax)
Total Savings: $86.90 or 40%

HEB
9 boxes of Honey Toasted O's (HEB cereal) - Free
2 boxes of Minute white rice
2 32 pack of aquafina water
2 128 ct Fisherboy fish sticks
1 package shredded hash browns - Free
2 gallons of milk
2 stouffers lasagna
4 oreida easy fries
2 HEB orange juice - Free
2 stouffers skillet meals - Free
3 coffeemate liquid creamers
2 6-packs of Sunny D
2 bags of HEB corn chips
2 Sunbird seasoning packs - Free
2 blueberry mini muffins
4 HEB apple juices
5 Del Dixie Dill relish
3 cans Kidney beans
1 crisco vegetable oil
1 HEB bean dip - Free
1 pillsbury grands biscuits - Free
4 1lb packages of ground beef
1 american cheese slices
1 wright brand bacon
2 kraft sandwich shop mayos - Free
1 package of shredded cheese
2 oscar mayer lunch meats
1 string cheese
4 packages of pork chops
1 package of beef stew meat
2 danonino yogurts - Free
1 package of white corn tortillas
1 24-pack of chips
8" chocoalte ice cream cake - FREE!

Total Retail: $232.79
Total after coupons: $143.80
Total Savings: $88.99 or %40

Total for both trips: $453.85
Total savings: $175.89
Total OOP: $277.96

Really good for the amount of things I got in my opinion! :)

CVS and Target - July 4th

Originally published July 9, 2011.

Have no pictures of the stuff I got on these trips, but here's a list of what I got:

Target
2 Schick Hydro razors - on sale for $6.49 (get $5 Target card when you buy 2)
- 2 $4/1 coupons
= $4.98 total OOP
Paid with my $5 gift card from a previous deal, and got the $5 card for buying 2 razors! Totally sweet, plus I got the last two at my Target! :)

CVS
1 bag of Skittles $2.50 (reg price $3.59)
4 3 musketeers bars $.75 ea (reg price $1.09)
3 bags of pretzel M&Ms $3.00 ea (reg price $3.79)
2 Axe deoderant $4.49 ea
1 Hershey Air Delight chocolate bar $1.19
2 Oral-B toothbrushes $3.00 ea (reg price $4.19)
2 Head & Shoulders Shampoo/Conditioner $4.99 ea (reg price $6.29)
1 Tampax pearl tampons $3.99 ea (reg price $5.29)
2 Nail sets for Kayla $4.99 ea
2 Oral B pulsar kids toothbrushes $8.29

Total Retail: $82.29
Total Sale: $70.79
Total after coupons: $32.84
ECBs used: $15.29
Total OOP: $17.55 ($19.18 w/tax)
Total savings: $64.34 or 78%
Received $12 in ECBs for next week's shopping. :)

The toothbrushes, axe deoderant and nails are birthday presents for the kiddos so I think I did pretty good. :) Yes, my kids like crazy things like that for their birthday..."anything but clothes!!" LOL

Stocked up on cereal!

Originally published on June 23, 2011.

I made one trip to HEB earlier in the week (Tuesday I think), but forgot to take pictures and lost my receipt! :( I got a bunch of stuff, mainly snacks for the kiddos, but I did pick up 8 boxes of Cheerios for dirt cheap! So, I went back today to get some more...lucky charms and wheat chex this time though. :) Also picked up some other things I needed, bread and what not. I made sure that I had enough box top items to get my $5 catalinas to print (I got 2 this trip!) The deal is buy 10 box top for education items, get a $5 catalina for your next shopping order. I bought all this in one transaction tonight - I had all the kids with me and didn't feel like trying to keep two transactions straight. Here's the pics of what I got, with a list to follow:

7 boxes Lucky Charms

1 box Chocolate Lucky Charms (Alex HAD to have a box of the chocoalte kind)
4 boxes Wheat Chex
4 boxes Fruit Roll Ups
4 boxes Fruit Gushers (fruit snacks)
2 loaves of bread
2 Ken's salad dressing
2 24 count cheese slices
2 40 oz bags of frozen chicken
1 Fast fixins breaded chicken patties
1 bag potato chips
1 Helluva good buffalo sour cream dip

Total before coupons: $83.58
Total after coupons and tax: $48.08
Total savings of $35.50 or 42%
Received $10 in catalinas

CVS Trip over the weekend

Originally published on June 21. 2011.

I needed to pick up some sodas and some milk so I headed over to CVS to pick up a few good deals while I was out. Here's the picture of what I got (the cokes (5 twelve packs), milk, and baby wash are not in the picture).
 
List of what I got:
5 - 12 packs of Coke
1 - CVS baby wash
1 - half gallon whole milk
1 - Lucky Charms
1 - Cinnamon Toast Crunch
1 - LA Looks hair gel
1 - Tylenol Precise Pain Patch
2 - Pantene shamppos
2 - Pantene conditioner
3 - Pretzel M&Ms
1 - Irish Spring deoderant (with free trial size body wash attached)
2 - Colgate Toothpastes
1 - Dove chocoalte bar

I got all this in two transactions, but decided just to put the totals for everything below. :)

Total Retail: $98.98
Total Cost after Sales Prices: $67.78
Total Cost after Coupons: $48.78
I used $26.99 in ECB's....
Total out of Pocket: $23.87
Total Savings: $75.11 or 76%

I also have $6 in ECBs left over for next time. :)

After my first transaction I noticed that I hadn't reached the limit on the Pantene ECB deal, so I did it again in my second transaction, and the receipt said I still hadn't reached my limit. So, I went out this morning and grabbed a couple more, got another $2 ECB, and I STILL haven't reached the ECB promotion limit! I'm going to do the deal one more time, and I'll be set on shampoo and conditioner for awhile, and would have gotten $8 in ECBs back. :)

I'm getting ready to make a couple of runs today (with all the kids) so we'll see how that goes. :)

More Cocoa Krispies!

Originally published June 17, 2011.

So, I returned to Randalls today to get another 10 boxes of Cocoa Krispies, 2 more pasta sauces and 2 more coffees because I found more coupons for the latter two items. :) I paid $22.01 out of pocket and now have 10 more UPCs for another mail in rebate (you can do 5 per household until the end of December) and another 10 Cars 2 codes to get the $5 gas cards. Also, I failed to mention yesterday that when you buy 5 Kelloggs cereals in one transaction you get a voucher for a free movie ticket (up to $12 value!). So, I have 4 free movie ticket vouchers, 2 $10 gas card mail in rebates, and $25 worth of $5 gas cards (its takes up to 90 days to get the gas cards, but I'm okay with the wait, because I always forget they are coming so its like Christmas in my mail box when they get here. lol). So the grand total over both days for just the cereal was $41.80. The total for all the gas cards and movie tickets I'll be receiving is $93! So, basically I made $51.20 worth of stuff! :) I'm loving it!



I also made a quick stop into Walgreens today and picked up some Soft Scrub cleaners and Renuzit air freshners (the kids LOVE these in their rooms - and need them too. lol).

The deal worked like this:
2 toliet bowl cleaners ($3.00 on sale)
2 cleanser with bleach ($3.00 on sale)
3 air freshners ($1.00 on sale)

I used 2 - Buy one toliet cleaner, get one cream cleanser free and
1 - Buy 2 get 1 free on the air freshners
Total before coupons: $15
Total after coupons above: $8
I also used 4 Register Rewards(RR) from previous trips totaling $7.99
So total out of pocket was $.01. I also received a $4 RR. :)

Results from Randalls shopping trip

Originally published on June 16, 2011.



This was all bought at Randall's. The first transaction went a little better than the second, because I forgot to scan my Randalls card first so I was able to get extra savings! :) Combining the two transactions, I spent $26.55 out of pocket for 10 boxes of Cocoa Krispies, 3 Classico Pasta Sauces, 3 Classico Alfredo sauces, and 6 Seattle's Best Iced Mocha coffee singles! Total retail - $62.98...a 58% savings. Not too shabby, but I'm not done yet. Each box of cereal has a code inside to input into a website to get $5 pre-paid debit cards. Each card requires 4 codes, so I have enough for two right now, which equals $10. I also have a mail in rebate for a $10 pre-paid debit card, which requires 10 upcs from the cocoa krispies. So I will be getting $20 worth of pre-paid debit cards!! Wa-hoo! So, if you subtract the $20 pre-paid debit cards from my total out of pocket, its $6.55! :) Hooray for coupons!!

Couponing!!

Originally published on June 16, 2011

I have been couponing for a few weeks now, and I am saving tons of money and starting to stockpile things for the family.  I'm not going to fill my whole garage with things, but getting things for dirt cheap (or free!) is awesome!!  It is time-consuming, and I think it annoys Paul sometimes that I spend a lot of time cutting and organizing my coupons and getting the match-ups together, but its worth it in the end.  lol.  Today I plan on hitting up Randalls to get some cereal (20 boxes), plus some free movie tickets and rebate codes for free gas cards.  :)  Plus I have a mail in rebate form to save even more money!!  Wa-hoo!  I saw the cereal was on sale and before I had a chance to work out a deal my friend Brooke had emailed me one she had found.  So excited!!  So thanks Brooke for taking the work out of this deal for me.  lol! 

My only problem is that I put all the Gatorade I got Tuesday up on the cereal shelf because it was empty.  lol Gonna have to re-think that...I'll post pictures later and the whole run down of the deal and how it worked for me.  :)

God bless!  <3