Roll With it Baby!!

I went to CVS tonight. I rolled some ECB's from last week. I am so excited!

Did I mention? I am so excited!

Here is what I got:

My 1st Transactions

4 Softsoap Spas $4.99each

My Coupons

2-$1.50 off

2- $1 off

$3 off $15 purchase

$5 off $15 purchase

TOTAL ECB's used from last week=$6

TOTAL OOP= $1.26

TOTAL ECBs back= $19.96

2nd Transaction

3-6 packs of Dove Soap on sale for $5.99each

My coupons

3-$1 coupons

$3 off $15 purchase

$5 off $15 purchase

TOTAL ECB's used from last week= $4.99

TOTAL OOP= $2.23

TOTAL ECB's back=$5

TOTAL ECB's AVAILABLE FOR NEXT WEEK $27.95 I think I am having heart palpatations.

Let me explain. ECB's have to be used for the amount on each one printed. When I walked into the store I had a $6, $2.99 and a $4.99 ECB's available. My 1st total was only $1.26 and my smallest ECB was $2.99 I did not want to waste $1.73 ECB so I put the cash out. This is also true for the 2nd transaction. I could have paid nothing out of pocket but I would have lost some ECB money. I chose to put money out of pocket and save my ECB for next week.

Load Up the Kroger Card.

I wanted to let you know about this site. www.shortcuts.com This site works with your Kroger card. It works like the P & G Savers site where you enter your Kroger card number and then you can add online coupons to your card. Here is the link for the P & G Savers site. http://www.softcoin.com/Sites/PG_eSAVER/Page/HomePage/
To use the shortcuts site you will need to have an AIM or AOL username. If you do not have one go to www.aim.com for a free AIM username. When you get to this website put your cursor over the arrow on the aim.com tab and it will open a menu and the 1st thing you will see is usernames. Click there.
Once you have an AIM or AOL username go to www.shortcuts.com. Sign in and add coupons to your Kroger card.
The great thing about these coupons and the P & G Saver coupons is that you can use your paper coupons and these online coupons in one transaction. They will be applied to your transaction automatically when you use your Kroger card.

Picture of Wal-Mart and Kroger loot

Here is a picture of everything I bought.

TOTAL FOR ALL

$3.25

Our 1st Stop Wal-Mart

My friend and I decided to go to Wal-Mart and Kroger last night. We met at the store around 9p.m. and went on the hunt for good deals. I was really there to see if my Post It coupons would work. Sherri, my friend, is the queen of smelly things, she knows all the brands: Oust, Glade, Frabreeze etc.... she was rattling off the deals and brands and my head was swirling-possibly from all the smelly things she was having me smell, I don't know. She was so kind and even shared her coupons with me.

Here is what I got:

4 Clean team flushable wipes .20 with tax after coupons.

8 packs of Post It page markers .97 each I had a coupon for $3 off 2 so I actually got $1 overage on every 2 that I bought.

2 Glade plug ins

2 packs of teeth flossers $2.44 each. I bought these to cover the overage.

TOTAL out of pocket paid- $1.35

Late Night

My friend and I decided to go to Kroger after Wal-Mart last night. She is goooood at sniffing out the deals. We got to the store around 9:45pm and really had a good time. Here is how I did at Kroger.

I really did'nt need anything we just went for some free or almost free stuff.

1 Glade plug in scented oil with warmer FREE after coupon

1 Bam oven cleaner on closeout and had .75 off coupon

TOTAL after coupons $1.90

Sorry for the Error

I was in error when I said that the grogery game did not put out a list this week. They did put out a list that was smaller than usual. I think the market works this way though. We did not get coupon inserts Easter weekend. I used a list for Kroger but everything was on sale and I only had $2 in coupons.

Roboform

I have been applying for all kinds of free samples, as you all know. It gets a bit tiresome typing the same thing in over and over and over again. I found on the Money Saving Mom website that you can get Roboform. This is one of the coolest programs I've seen. Its free to download and what it does is allow you to fill out forms online with just a click of the button. I was entering all of my information everytime I wanted a free sample and now I just click the button and it puts all the info. right into the correct spots. I can add or not add as much info into the program as I want. I have used it 3 times already, LOVE IT!! What makes it even better is that it is a Spysweeper program so I trust it. Here is the link http://www.download.com/RoboForm/3000-12768_4-10037672.html?part=dl-10037672&subj=dl&tag=button&cdlpid=10476591

I went to Wal-Mart again today

First I will give a shout out to Sherri for the tip on the CleanTeam flushable wipes. I like to have small packs of wipes for the car and my purse especially in the summer time. I loaded up today on them and I still have a few more coupons to use.

I got 6 packs of cleanteam wipes and 1 calculator. I bought the calculator to have in my coupon case so when I am at the store I can do some quick calculating.

The total for all of it was $2.38.

The calculator cost $1. With coupons I got the wipes for .21 each including tax.

Kroger Today

I went to Kroger today because we needed some veggies. The grocery game did not have a list this week so I was on my own. Friday is my Sams Club trip but we needed tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers. I only had $2.20 in coupons.

I spent $32.32 this week.

Almost everything I bought was on sale

2 cucumbers $1 each

Kroger fried chicken (for dinner) $5.99

1 duck cookie cutter $1.49

1 celery

1.95lbs of grapes $1.50 a lb

1 French spicy brown mustard $1.75 and then I had a .30 coupon.

2 packs of grape tomatoes $2 each

leaf lettuce $1.99

Kroger oreo cookies$2.29

4- 1.73lbs of Shady Brook ground turkey 2/$5

City Services

I know you think I am crazy for posting all of this but I LOVE a good deal. The city in which I live has great services. They give all kinds of stuff away to the residents. We get free mulch, you just have to have a truck to pick it up.
Back in October I noticed that the city had planted some trees down the street from me on city property. The next day I called and asked if I could get some trees out in front of my house on city property. They said they would come and see if there was enough room. A few weeks later I came home to trees in the front. Also since they are one city property they will mulch and trim them. Here is a pick of my free trees.
I saw some city workers pulling plants last Spring (April time). They were thinning out the city flower beds along the road. I stopped and asked if I could have some. They did not let me have any but they did tell me of the annual flower give away that our city has.
I got an email yesterday about a community garden project. They are tilling ground and giving the residents a plot to plant a garden. I called the city to see if there is one closer to my home and there is. I am debating if I will grow a garden this year or not.

Dont be Shy, Ask for it!

When trying to get good deals, don't be shy. I repeat DONT BE SHY. Many times if you ask for a discount you will get it. Alot of times when I get to the register I will ask the cashier what kind of discounts they are offering. I will also say, "How can I get this cheaper?" I will ask for a discount if I take the floor model. If I find something has a stain or mark on it or a button is missing, such as clothes, I definately ask for a discount. Many times if you get something that is missing a button there is usually a little bag attached to the garmet with a matching button.
Example: yesterday I went to Toys-R-Us to by a childs bike. I grabbed the ticket and went to the cashier to check out. Now the unassembled bike was $49.99 while the assembled bike was $59.99 so you can guess, I was going with the unassembled one. When I got to the cashier she scanned the ticket and then asked if I had brought the bike up, I told her no because I wanted an unassembled one. She told me all they had was the assembled one that was back by the bikes and it would cost $59.99. I told her, in a nice way, I didnt want to pay $59.99 I wanted to pay $49.99. The cashier gave it to me for $49.99. I was going to open an instant credit card and get 10% off but decided not to in the end.
Example: My husband bought me a jewelry chest, the kind that stands on the floor, for Christmas. I needed to exchange it for the correct finish. My husband paid $100 on sale for it. I took it back and there were two left, both did not have a box. I asked the lady if I took one would she give me a discount. She said yes, so I got one for $79 instead of $100. Remember it was on sale for $100 the original price was $150. I think I got a pretty good deal.

Starting to Love Rebates

I am really starting to get into rebates and free samples. I apply for just about every free sample I see. It seems silly but these things add up and can really save some money.
I sent all of my rebates off yesterday. Now I'm just waiting for the $$$ to flow.
REBATE DEALS
1st Rebate Lysol- if you buy 2 different Lysol products from 1-1-08 throught 3-31-08 and then take your child to a pediatric visit before 3-31-08 Lysol will send you $5. I had bought the Lysol in January and then my child had a routine check-up yesterday.
2nd Rebate Wal-greens I will get back $14.99. This was from my March 17th trip
3rd Rebate Smart Rinse kids mouth wash. I bought 2 of them at CVS for $2.99 had a coupon for $1 off each, plus I got $5.98 back in ECB's. Then on the display there was a Mail in Rebate for up to $3.89 back. I should get $5.98 back from that.

Easter Savings at Wal-Mart

I went to

Wal-Mart yesterday and they had all of their Easter stuff on sale for .50 each. I loaded up and spent $18.21. A couple of things on the bill were not Easter things but most of it was.

Below is the list of items bought for .50 each

9 egg dying kits (we use these all year round as craft projects. 2 of the dyes are the glitter kind

2 packs of Easter plates

2 packs of napkins that match the plates

1 plastic table cloth

2 Little People figurines one was a little girl the other had a little boy and a bunny. (yes .50)

3 packs of plastic eggs

4 plastic bowls

1 large plastic bucket

1 dozen pre-filled religious plastic eggs

1 Hot Wheels car

I also bought 4 bags of Easter grass for .25 each

The things I bought that were not on sale were 1 six pack of plastic cups for $1.97 and 1 To-Go cup of Nutter Butters for $1

Feeling Inspired?

I know some of you have been watching my blog to see what kinds of deals I am getting. If you have felt inspired and have found your own deals please share. I would love for you to leave a comment and to hear some of the deals you have gotten.

FREE STUFF

I have been online applying for free samples and they are starting to roll in. Here lately there has been something in the mail just about every day. I have found 3m post it flags to Tampax to Hamburger Helper. I love getting free samples. All of the small shampoos and lotions are great for taking on vacation. Instead of having a large bottle of shampoo I can take a few small sample bottles, plus their FREE. Did I mention to say that their FREE!

I have starting keeping a list of the free stuff coming in the mail. I will update the list whenever I get something.

Scotts Toilet Paper Buy

I went to Walgreens today because they had Scotts toilet paper on sale, I have to say that I wiped them out as well.

The toilet paper is on sale for 2/$5. I had 7- $1 coupons for a 4 pack or larger. I ended up buying 7-4 packs. In other words 28 rolls.

Before I left for church this morning I checked Sams Club website to check their price since this is where I buy our TP. If was $19.13 or .64 a roll. The deal from Walgreens was $1.50 a 4 pack or .38 per roll. I am so excited I beat Sams Club by .26 a roll. I consider this a huge savings.

I paid a total of $11.38

HAPPY EASTER!

DEBT PAID!

I Tried CVS this week

I tried CVS today. I have stayed away because I did not want to deal with the ECB's and figuring up the deals. Every week I decide to try CVS but every week I talk myself out of it.

I have found that some of the stuff is out when I get to the store and I do not have the brain power to or time to work a new deal in the store. It all seemed more of a hassle than a money saver. Anyway today I went, mostly because my hubby needed something and was on me to go. I went with coupons and list in hand to try and work some deals. I did pretty good but I feel like I did terrible. Here is what I got.

1st Transaction

2 bottles of Citracal (needed) B1G1 50% off. The 1st one was $12.99 the 2nd one $6.50 Then I had 2 $1 off coupons.

1 bottle of Listerine Smart rinse for kids $2.99 I had $1 coupon

2 Aquafresh trial size whitening toothpaste free with coupons

I also had a $3 off of $15 purchase

My 2nd transaction

1 Soleil razor they are $5.99. I had a coupon for $2 off

1 Soleil cartridge refills $5.99 I had $2 coupon

1 Nivea shave gel $4.99 I had $2 coupon

1 CVS brand spray hand sanitizer free with CVS coupon

1 Listerine Smart Rinse for kids $2.99 I had 1-$1 coupon

I had one $3 off of $15 purchase

I had one free hand sanitizer with a $10 purchase coupon

I had 2 transactions and one was $18 and the other was $7. I put my receipts into the mail without copying for my rebates so I don't have the exact info.

Total out of pocket was $24

ECB's back $11.98

Mail In Rebates (MIR) $5.98 (Listerine rebates are $2.99 each)

So really I got $17.96 back from the $24

Kroger at Night AWESOME!!

I did something different this week. I went grocery shopping at 9:30 p.m. this evening. What a great time to shop, there was no one in the store, I could get help easily and best of all there were no lines.

Before coupons my total was $59.29 and after coupons $44.27 a savings of $15.02.

I had to get some supplies for an Easter party. They cost about $12. If I had not had to get that I would have been right around $30 for the week. I was able to get the supplies on sale though.

I bought 3 bags of Kroger cubed cheese at $2.49 each

3 boxes of Capri-Sun at $2.50 a box. When you buy 3 boxes they give you a coupon for $1.50 off of next purchase. I will be using it next week.

Let me say again I bought everything on sale.

4 bottles of Kraft salad dressing on sale for 3/$5 I had 2- .75/2 coupons

5 bags of steamfresh veggies on sale for $1 a bag I had 2 coupons one was for $1/2 the other was $1/3 I got 5 bags of veggies for $3

3 bags of corn on sale for $1 a bag

2 Betty Crocker frostings on sale $1.50 each I had 2- .50 off coupons final price .50 each

2 organic mangoes on sale .99lb

3 pears on sale $1lb

1 Kroger veggie oil on sale $1.79

2 boxes 40 oz of Bisquick on sale for $2.79 I had 2 $1 coupons.

2 Kroger coconut flakes on sale for $1 each

6 cans of Campbells cream of chicken soup on sale for 5/$4 I had coupons for .40/2 they were .40 each

5 tubs of I Cant Believe Its Not Butter on sale for $1 I had 5 coupons for.40 the final price was .20 a tub. The expiration date is June plenty long enough for us to use it all.

1-8 oz Daisy Sour cream on sale for $1.19 I had $1 off coupon so they were .19 each

I also bought a Diet Coke and Snickers which made my bill a little higher. I did not have any coupons and they were not on sale :(

Redeemed on Sunday

I went back on Sunday to get a couple of things without having to use the rebate system, Thank God.
I got 5-12 packs of Diet Coke for $11 ($2.20each)
2 boxes of Raisin Brand cereal that was on sale for $1.99 and I had coupons for $1 off, final price .99 each.

I will try Walgreens rebates again but I will be more prepared next time.

Better Late than Never

I bet you are all wondering how my Walgreen trip went. It makes my head spin I still dont understand what happened. I ended up paying more than I should have I think. Here it is

I bought

4-12 pack of Diet Coke $11

2 bags of Dove Easter eggs

2 Oust Surface and Air sanitizers

1 Skin renew from Garnier $12.99

2 Trident packs $1.19 for both

I spent $30.01

The Dove I had a B1G1 coupon so I got them for .75 a bag

Oust I had a B1G1 coupon and then I was suppose to use a $2 coupon but I had the wrong one so ended up paying $2.50 OOP instead of .50

Trident I had a B1G1 & another coupon I believe they were free.

Rebates

I will be getting $2 back for the Oust and $12.99 back for the skin lotion.

After all is said and done I will have gotten everything for $16.00.

I Have put my savings into spreadsheet form

I put my savings into spread sheet form for all of you who like to see black and white.

My Kroger Trip was pretty good

I went to Kroger yesterday for my weekly shopping trip. I feel like I hardly got anything but I did save money. I think because things were smaller and I did'nt have all the bags as I normally have. Here is the breakdown:

4 packs of chicken drums on sale for $.99 a lb.

2 T. Marzetti Salad dressing $1.50 each

3 bags of Hershey easter candy $1.49 each

2 bags of Starburst jellybeans $1.00 each

4 Kleenex 120 ct. $.60 each

(You are probably thinking, how much Kleenex do you need? I bought these because the coupons were getting ready to expire)

4 Oral-B toothbrushes $1.50 each

6 Colgate toothbrushes $.25 each

4 Betty Crocker frostings $.50 each

1 bottle of chewable Maalox $2.99

1 pack of Kroger plates

My Total before coupons $57.43

My Total after coupons $38.92

Savings from coupons $18.51

FRUSTRATED!!

I am so frustrated! I went to Kroger yesterday and was getting all my stuff and then I went to get my free stuff from the list. I was going to get Franks hot sauce and the Sundown Vitamins. I had all my coupons pulled. I get to the Franks hot sauce and its on sale like the grocery game said and then I look at my coupons and they are not the same as what the grocery game said. I had .50 off not $1.79 off. I still could have gotten them for .79 each but I was only getting them because they were free. I stockpiled a few weeks ago so was not needing this item. So we just did'nt get the coupon for $1.79 in this part of the country. Then I went over to get my vitamins that were suppose to be marked $3.89 B1G1. When I got there they had marked them up to $7.29 B1G1 which would not have made them free. The deal was suppose to be get two for $3.89 because of the B1G1 and then use 2-$2 coupons which would have given me .11 overage.

Then when I got to the check out I had picked up Duncan Hines frosting instead of the Betty Crocker so I had to run back down the isle and get the right thing while the cashier voided out the Duncan Hines.

I had planned on going to Walgreens after Kroger and getting my deals. I had even pulled into the parking lot and decided not to go. If I would have had one more disappointment I would have lost it. So instead I came home.

Military Families

I think that I have mentioned in one of my blogs that myself and two other friends are sharing coupons and let me tell you we are being blessed with many, many, many coupons. One of my friends has discovered that military families can use expired coupons for up to 6 months after expiration date. Here is the link if you would like to check it out http://www.ocpnet.org/ here is another link to check http://couponing.about.com/od/seasonalsavingszone/a/militaryexpcou3.htm

REBATES THIS WEEK

I have found a couple of good rebates this week and want to share. The first one is from Lysol. If you have bought two different items of Lysol from 1-1-08 until 3-31-08 and then you take your child to the pediatrician for their check up you can get $5 back. You will need to send in your Lysol receipts and your pediatrician receipt for the rebate. For more information go to www.lysol.com

The second is the 101 Dalmation dvd, see post Krogering this week from Thurs. March 6th, which I bought last week. If you buy the dvd and then 3 items of Meow Mix or Milk Bone Dog biscuits you can send in receipts and get $5 back. This would make my deal from last week that much sweeter.

Walgreens and Rebates

I have been staying away from Walgreens deals when I have to send in for the rebates and wait for my money. You can only send your rebate stuff in once a month, which means you have to save everything to send in at once. I am not good about keeping up with alot of papers and rebates, it all seems like a big hassle to me. Well this week there are alot of the rebate deals and most of them have overage. I am going to try my hand at it since I will be getting extra money back. The funny thing is I dont really use any of the stuff that is on the rebate list, but some of the overages go as high as $1.50. If they are willing to send me an extra $1.50 over and above what I will pay then I am going to get it. These things will be donated to friends or charity I'm sure.

I will post my outcome when it happens.

Krogering this week

I had been out of town until last night so I needed to go shopping today. I went to Sams Club first and spent $116. If you minus the $10 for 2 baby outfits and $35 for renewal I spent $71 on food items that we needed.

Later in the day I went to Kroger to see what I could do there. I saw on the grocery game they had some free stuff when you bought a 101 Dalmation DVD. So I bought it and will put it in an Easter basket.

My total before coupons and free stuff was $99, after free stuff and coupons $59.33. Now I think this is pretty close to the highest that I've spent at Kroger but I did buy a DVD.

2 boxes of Post cereal on sale for $1.99 had a $1 coupon off 2

2 Veg. oil on sale 2/$5

2 Kroger fruit snacks on sale $1 each

3-15oz I cant believe its not butter on sale for $2.10 had 1 $.50 coupon and 2 $.40 coupons

2 aquafresh kids toothpaste $1 each

5.19 lbs grapes $1 per pound

1 cucumber 1.99 (needed)

2 containers of strawberries $2.50 each

romaine lettuce $1.99 (needed)

2 renuzit kits $5.99 had a $5 off coupon final was $.99 each. I have never used these before but for $.99 I will try them. They have 3 scents and they change scents every 45 minutes (cool)

When you bought the $19.99 101 Dalmations you got all this for free-

1 rotisserie chicken (we had it for dinner, no cooking- added bonus!)

1L of Dasani water

1 6oz 7 lettuce salad mix(had part for dinner)

1-6pk of sunMaid vanilla yogurt raisins

1-3.75oz of Sunkist almond accents (had some on salad for dinner)

2 bags of sunflower seeds (had some on salad for dinner)

Yes all was free. There was a problem though the ad said that I would get a 6oz bag of pistachios for free but Kroger was out of them. So instead I got 2 large bags of sunflower seeds to compensate for the one small bag of pistachios.

Bigger bags of sunflower seeds than pistachios and 2 bags instead of one? Yeah, I had a hard time agreeing to take the sunflower seeds-NOT!

I was checking out and for some reason it was busy today and the lady behind me said, "I would like to see you check out for free have you ever seen those girls do that?" I said, "yes, I did it at Food Lion a couple of weeks ago." She was shocked and the people behind her even gasped. The lady was so involved in my transaction and talking to me that she forgot to give her card to the cashier, he had to ask for it. She then apoligized to him and said that she was so busy looking at my stuff she lost her head.

LOVE IT!!

Ballerina takes her bow- Tah-Dah!!