Friday, May 22, 2009

Walgreens 5/17-5/23

So this week I started fresh without any built up Register Rewards, but came out with some pretty good deals.  

I didn't have a very clear cut plan with my rolls this week, mostly due to running into missing items from my planned rolls and an unexpected coupon for $5 off of a $25 purchase becoming available.  Since I needed to have a high out of pocket for this transaction, I grabbed a few empty ink cartridges and took those in for refills.  Luckily I had also gotten back my first gift card from the Easy Saver program, which allowed me to pay a little less out of pocket. 

In the end I had a fairly high out of pocket of: $37.99.  

However my Register Rewards total for future use is: $13.50

So the final cost is: $24.49

And my personal final cost is $18.49 (after subtracting $6 for things I bought for the in-laws)

Considering I was paying $20 for the ink refills alone, I think I did pretty good. 

My take-away:

(5) Edge Shaving Gels (1 missing from photo, hey I needed to shave and it was handy) ($1.99 - .75 cent coupon, got back $1 RR)
(2) Mitchum Deodorants ($1.99 with in-ad coupon) 
(1) Dry Idea Clinical Strength ($5.99 -$2.00 coupon, got back $5 RR)
(4) Right Guard Clinical Strength ($5.99 - .75 coupon, got back $5 RR)
(6) Colgate Visible White Toothpaste ($4.50 - $1.00 coupon, got back $4.50 RR)
(1) Pencil (filler) ($0.10)
(1) Bayer Quick Release (2.49 - $1.50/1 coupon)
(2) Black ink refills ($20)
(5) Ramen Noodles ($0.29 cents each)
(1) Red Candle ($0.49 cents)
(1) Crackers ($0.59 cents)
(8) Kraft Mac & Cheese) ($0.52 cents each after in-ad coupon & B3G1F coupon)
(2) Aveeno Lotions + (1) Aveeno Suncare ($6.82 after using 3 $2/1 coupons)
(1) Aveeno Travel Kit (FREE)

How far can $50 go?

This week there was a great sale on Kelloggs cereal, and I thought it would be a great chance to use up the various $1/1 Kelloggs coupons I had. We had a lot of coupons, so my fiancee and I decided we would go all out. We set a budget of $50, and worked out a series of 8 transactions. We couldn't believe our eyes at the results:


That's what 54 boxes of cereal look like.
Most of the cereals were on sale 4/$10, some were on clearance for only $1.89. With doubled $1/1 coupons, and some $1.50/1 coupons (Mini Wheats on box coupon), plus $5 off next purchase for every $20 of qualifying items (Kellogs Cereals (52), Huggies (2), Hellmanns Mayo (2)), resulted in final costs of $0.25 - $0.50 per box.

On top of the cereal we also got:

(16) Smuckers Toppings (10 Free, and 6 for $0.50 each)
(6) Colgate Toothpaste ($0.11 Money Maker: 89 cents - $1 coupon)
(2) Cascade Rinse (Free after coupon)
(2) Hellmanns Mayonaise ($2 after $1 off coupon)
(2) Ritz Crackers ($1.75)
(2) Wheat Thins (Free w/ purchase of Ritz)
(2) Huggies Bath Products ($1.50 with $1 off coupon)

Not Pictured:
(12) Steamfresh Frozen Vegetables ($1 each, plus $1/3 coupon)
(1) Bagelfuls ($2.19 plus $1 coupon)
(1) 3 lb bag Fuji Apples (99 cents w/ rain check)
(1) bunch Bananas ($0.49 / lb)
(2) Digiorno Flatbread Melts ($3.19 each, plus $1.50/1 coupon)
(2) gallons Milk ($2.69)

and:

The coke was on sale 4/$8.88, we picked them up for my soon-to-be in-laws, as well as a few other items (the Hellmanns and half of the Smuckers).

Our total out of pocket was = $49.76
The items for my in-laws = $25

Our Personal Total = $24.76

In case you are wondering how 2 people could ever eat this much cereal, or where we could even store it, we actually are only keeping 10 boxes of cereal for ourselves. We are giving the other 44 to a local food pantry, along with the Huggies baby products and the 6 toothpastes. It amazes me that giving to others can come from such a low final cost, with time being the real investment in taking advantage of these deals.

I know a lot of other couponers out there are very giving, and I would like to hear other ways that you are giving in your community. Please share your stories by leaving a comment below, so I can gain inspiration from your ideas.

- Mister Deals

Diapers and WalMart

So, this week I left my camera with my fiancee, thus I also left with her the pictures of last weekends deals.  

So, here is a delayed post about deals we got at Walmart:

(12) Boxes of Mini-Wheats ($.50 each after on-box coupon & Walmart's $2 sale)
(4) Kraft BBQ Sauces (FREE after $1/1 coupons)
(3) Kraft Dressings ($0.09-$0.59 after $1/1 or $1.50/1 coupons) 
(1) Dole Pineapple Canned Fruit ($0.22 after coupon)

Total cost: $7.69

After Walmart we stopped quick at the local Walgreens to pick up some diapers, which were on a B1G1F(buy one get one free) sale.  Using a Walgreens coupon, we picked up both packs for $4.00 total.  These are going straight to donation, but it felt like something worth picking up at such a low price.  


Overall the deals went by very quick, we knew what we were looking for and were in and out of stores fairly quickly.

Till next time,

-Mister Deals

Sunday, May 17, 2009

General Mills and Kellogg's Cereal on Sale at Copps: 4 for $10

I don't know about you, but I have gotten my hopes a few times when a grocery store puts "selected varieties" of cereal on sale, only to have them dashed when I get there and none of my coupons match up. So, tonight when I passed by our local Copps, I decided to stop in and jot down all the cereals that are on the 4 / $10 sale. Here is the list:

General Mills
Cheerios 14oz
MultiGrain Cheerios 12.8oz
Cinnamon Toast Crunch 17oz
Cocoa Puffs 16.8oz
Golden Grahams 16oz
Total Cinnamon Crunch
Trix 14.8oz

Kellogg's **may also give you $5 Catalina when you buy 8**
Apple Jacks 17oz
Corn Flakes 12oz
Frosted Flakes 23oz
Fruit Loops 17oz
Pops 17.2oz
Raisin Bran 20oz
Raisin Bran Crunch 18.2oz
Raisin Bran Extra 14oz
Rice Krispies 18oz
Frosted Mini Wheats:
looked like all of the flavors, here are the specific ones I saw:
Blueberry, Strawberry, Cinnamon Streusel, Maple Brown Sugar,
Bite Size,Honey Nut, Chocolate

Cascadian Farms
All varieties (as far as I could tell)

Post
Trail Mix Crunch - Raisin & Almond

I hope this is helpful for some - please leave a comment to let me know if I missed any, or just to say hello :)

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Amazing Target Savings!! (5/14)

25 Items for less than $4!!

After work today, I stopped at Target and did 4 transactions. This was probably my favorite trip to Target yet, for several reasons, but the highlight was meeting a fellow Couponer! We were both in the Salad Dressing aisle, checking out the deals on the Kraft Dressing and Mayo. She was very friendly. We chatted about the deals we were getting, and ran into each other several times while we were shopping. During one of our meetings, I mentioned how I was having trouble finding the Wheat Thins Toasted Chips, so she gave me 2 of her coupons (a clipped BOGO & a Target printable coupon) so I could get 2 boxes of regular Wheat Thins on a great deal. What a kind gesture!

Each of my transactions were pretty similar, all together I got:
(8) Kraft Salad Dressing
(6) Kraft Mayonaise
(4) Nabisco 100 Cal Chocolate Pretzels
(4) Hershey Bliss Bar
(2) Wheat Thins
(1) Kashi Waffles

The out of pocket costs were:
Transaction 1: $2.94
Transaction 2: $0.99
Transaction 3: $0.02
Transaction 4: $0.00

Total out of pocket = $3.95

I used a combination of coupons on almost every item, making most of them free, the items I actually paid a little for were the Kashi Waffles and Wheat Thins (both on transaction 1).

Copps 5/13 Double Days!

My Copps trip this week really did not turn out as planned... but it was awesome!
As you can see, I didn't get any cereal. It turned out that I didn't have enough coupons for the cereals that were actually on the 4/$10 deal. So, I scrapped that plan, and just got some free BBQ Sauce and Kraft Dressing in the morning. Later, my fiancee and I came up with 2 new transactions for Wednesday night. Here are the results...

Items Purchased:

(13) Kraft BBQ Sauce (Free, plus some were -$0.16)
(13) Kraft Salad Dressing (Free)
(11) Creamette Pasta ($1 each)
(2) Dreamfields Low Carb Pasta (-$1.51)
(2) Edy's Ice Cream (2/$5)
(2) Windex Antibacterial Sprays (-$0.80 each after M.I.R.)
(4) V-8 Tomato Juice ($0.80 each)
2 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast ($3.69)
(1) Strawberries ($1.50)
(2) Dawn Dish Soap (Small size $0.25 each)

This was the total haul from all 3 transactions (including my morning trip on the way to work, which is when we discovered the secret money making flavor of Kraft BBQ Sauce.

My totals were:

Transaction One was: $0.00!! (was briefly Negative 16 cents)

Transaction Two was: $15.19

Transaction Three was: $8.45

The great thing about these deals are the extremely low out of pocket when I take into account $10 of the cost are items for my soon-to-be mother-in-law (I'll deliver her groceries to her this weekend) which makes my out of pocket $13.64.

Tomorrow I will be sending in two mail-in-rebates for the Windex, which will be a savings of $6.58.

When this is accounted for my final cost is: $7.06!!

The coupons I used are as follows: (Doubled Coupons marked with *)

*(2) $0.40 Windex
*(4) $1 V-8 Tomato Juice
*(2) $1 Dreamfields Pasta
*(2) $0.50 Dawn Dish Soap
(13) $1 Kraft BBQ Sauce
(13) $1 Kraft Salad Dressing
(2) $2 Catalina Coupon (from Kraft)

Kraft BBQ Sauce-For an even lower price!

I had some awesome transactions yesterday at Copps (I didn't get any cereal, but came up with something new), but I will post more about that later.

I just wanted to give a heads up that at Copps (any maybe elsewhere, can't confirm) a new flavor of Kraft BBQ Sauce is ringing up at .84 cents! This is much lower than the $1 sale price advertised and it might be on a special promotional deal elsewhere too.

The flavor to look out for is: Teriyaki Sesame Ginger, it'll have a "New Flavor" tab around the top.

If you have the 75 cent coupon from the 5/3 insert, this could be a perfect use. But, if you print the $1 off coupons from kraft.com, it makes it Free or possibly a $0.16 Money Maker!




The way I discovered this was during a small checkout at Copps yesterday morning, my total rang up as -$0.16 (yes, NEGATIVE 16 cents). The cashier didn't know what to do, so she called over a manager to take care of it. She changed my last $1 coupon to only take $0.84 off, so I ended up with a total of $0.00, and I literally paid nothing out of pocket for the 8 items (BBQ sauce and dressing) I was buying. When I told my fiancee about it, she was able to figure out which item it was that gave me the extra discount, so when I did the rest of my transactions, I got as many of them as possible, and because I was buying other items, I did not lose the overage this time.

I recommend checking out Target or Walmart to get this BBQ sauce with your coupons, as the Copps deal may have already ended.

If you don't have the $1 printable coupons, check out this post from Money Saving Mom.

Hope this helps!

Mr. Deals


Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Copps Wednesday Double-Day Deal Plan

It's that time of the week again.  The grocery store I shop at, Copps, has double coupon day every Wednesday, so naturally I only shop there on Wednesdays (except for the occasional gallon milk on a Sunday morning).  If you are not a Copps shopper, let me explain their rules for double day:
  • You have to ring up at least $25 (before coupons, tax, etc)
  • Only your first 5 coupons are doubled
  • They only double coupons up to $1, and only up to the full amount of the item.
Now that you know that, here are the deals I have planned out for tomorrow

Transcation 1
(8) General Mills Cereals (on sale for $2.50)
+ 8 GM Cereal coupons (5 of them will double) for a total of $11.25 in coupon savings
+ plus you get a $4 off next order coupon when you buy 8
(3) Kraft BBQ Sauce (on sale for $1, free after $1 printable coupon from KraftFoods.com
(2) Kraft Salad Dressing (on sale for $1, free after $1 printable coupon from KraftFoods.com)

OOP = ~$9 + tax
Receive = $4 off next check out
Final Cost = $5 + tax

Transaction 2
(2) Post TrailMix Crunch Cereals (on sale for $2.25)
+ $2 off 1 internet printable from SS
+ Doubled $1 off 1 clipped from previous sunday paper
= only 50 cents plus tax for 2 boxes of cereal!!
(10) Creamette Pasta (on sale $1 each)
(2) Kraft BBQ Sauce (on sale for $1, free after $1 printable coupon from KraftFoods.com
(3) Kraft Salad Dressing (on sale for $1, free after $1 printable coupon from KraftFoods.com
(1) Windex Antibacterial Spray 
+ free with MIB rebate from 5/10 SS
+ $0.80 money maker with doubled 40 cents off 1 coupon in same ad (5/10 SS)
(2) Dawn Dishsoap (on sale for $1, plus 2x $0.50/1 from P&G "Home Made Simple" booklet)

Total: $13.49 + tax
Use $4 from first transaction, now
OOP = $9.49 + tax
Mail in Rebate = $3.29
Final Cost = $6.20 + tax

Transaction 3
(1) Gallon of Milk
(1) Strawberries (on sale $1.50 per carton)
(1) 3 lb bag of Apples ($0.99 with coupon clipped from this week's Copps ad)
(1) bunch of Bananas
(2) Edy's Ice Cream (on sale 2/$5)
(1) 2 lbs boneless, skinless Chicken Breast (on sale $1.89/lb)
(2) Dreamfields Low Carb Pasta (BOGO plus doubled $1 off internet printable coupon)
(1) Windex Antibacterial Spray 
+ free with MIB rebate from 5/10 SS
$0.80 money maker with doubled 40 cents off 1 coupon in same ad (5/10 SS)


I am leaving this last transaction open ended, as I may or may not work in a few more items:
  • more Kraft BBQ Sauce & Salad Dressing (Free with printable coupons)
  • 4 Sally Hansen Nail Polish - I want to get these for my fiancee (because I have a bunch of $1 off coupons from the K-mart Spring Savings booklets), but I will have to see if they are a good deal or not when I get to the store.
My plan is to do the first 2 transactions in the morning before work (I'm glad Copps opens at 6am!) and then do the 3rd one on my way home.  I'll be sure to update my blog tomorrow night so you know how things turned out :)

- Mister Deals



Wednesday, May 6, 2009

At Target: 35 items for under $9 OOP!!

Today I took a break from work and headed over to Target.  I completed 4 transactions and got a bunch of great deals.  Pictured below is most of my loot; however, I accidentally left a few bags at work (I took in a few bags which contained yogurt & forgot them  several hours later when I headed home).  


My 35 items purchased:

(6) Easy Macs (Free)
(3) Bliss Bars (Free)
(2) Planters Nuts ($3 each)
(2) Quaker Bars (50 cents each)
(7) Kraft BBQ Sauce (.24 each)
(3) Chex Mix (Free)
(2) Fiber One Cereals (Part of Promotion)
(2) Fiber One Mocha Bars (Part of Promotion)
(1) Fiber One Toaster Pastry (Part of Promotion)
(7) Fiber One Yogurt 4-pack (Part of Promotion)

I started with a $5 gift card from the previous Special K promotion and ended with money still on another gift card.

Coupons I used (LONG LIST):
(3) Buy One Get One Free for Easy Mac (Manufacturer) 
(3) $1/2 Easy Mac (Target Coupon)
(3) $1 off Bliss Candy (Target Coupon)
(2) $1 off Planter's Nuts (Target Coupon)
(2) $1 off Quaker Products (Target Coupon)
(1) $1 off True Delight Bars (Manufacturer) 
(1) $1 off Omega Three Bars (Manufacturer)
(7) 75 cents off Kraft BBQ Sauce (Manufacturer from 5/3 SS)
(3) $1 off Chex Mix (Target Coupon)
(2) 75 cents off Fiber One Cereal (Manufacturer)
(2) $1.35 off Fiber One Mocha Bar (Manufacturer)
(1) 50 cents off Fiber One Toaster Pastry (Manufacturer)
(1) 50 cents off Fiber One 4-pack Yogurt (Manufacturer)
(3) $1 off Fiber One 4-pack Yogurt (Manufacturer)
(2) Buy One Get One Free Fiber One 4-pack Yogurt (Off of Fiber One Cereal's box) ($2.28 value)

Total Value of Coupons Tendered:  $35.68
With store sales, total savings:  $45.79

Paid with 3 $5 gift cards (one from Special K promotion, 2 from Fiber One promotion) and $8.94 out of pocket. (If I would have been a little more organized, I could have used up one more $5 gift card and had $3.94 out of pocket).  

If you consider the 3 new $5 gift cards as savings the true savings value is:  $60.79.

Most of this out of pocket reflects the cost of the two planter's products ($6), which I bought one for my use and one for my future father-in-law.  I'd call this a pretty sweet deal!

I also did my weekly grocery store trip tonight (double night) where I had planned on getting yogurt, but after realizing the great deal on the Fiber One products I ended up cutting that one off my list.  You can't beat the price of free!




Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Free KFC Grilled Chicken - Thanks Oprah!

I've been trying to avoid fast food - for the sake of my budget, and my weight - but KFC's new promotion has caught my eye:



Thanks to Oprah, you can print a coupon online for a free two-piece Kentucky Grilled Chicken Meal.



Print the coupon here right away before they run out! After the coupon has printed, you can close the window, come back here and follow the link again 4 times for a total of 4 free meals!


For more info, check out the Oprah blog.

- Mister Deals

Monday, May 4, 2009

Free Samples-Reasons to Take Advantage

Many different brands offer free samples either through a store (ex. Walmart) or through their own website. These are valuable in the fact you get to sample new products, but also for the coupons that may come with the free sample.

One easy way to find these deals is to bookmark Walmart's free sample site (click here to go there). There is a new sample of Cottonelle toilet paper, so make sure to take advantage!

Just this week I received a free sample of Total cereal (Cranberry Almond) and a sample size Dove Deodorant in the mail. The Total came with a coupon, which I plan on using at some point! So, not only did they give me a product for free, I now know I like it and when I find a good sale I can pick up some more at a near-free price!
Another positive: The coupons that come with the samples often have far off expiration dates! While most coupons usually have a 1-3 month range period, the coupons in samples are usually good for over a year. This insures that I can really take advantage of a good deal when it comes along.

And if you are ever on the fence about whether to sign up for a deal or not, remember you can always donate the item if you decide when it arrives that it really isn't something you are interested in. Since the stockpile of deodorant is quite high already for both my fiancee and I, I plan on just tossing the sample in with the bag for donations.

Hope this is helpful!

-Mister Deals

Less than $5 Out of Pocket for 24 items @ Walgreens

On my way to work this morning I stopped at Walgreens again for 2 quick transactions.
Transaction 1
(20) Assorted ConAgra Products ($0.50)
(1) Colgate Sensitive Toothpaste ($4.50)

Used:
(1) $6 RR from Magic Erasers
(4) $1 off of 4 cans (Hunts / Pork & Beans)
(1) $1 off Colgate Sensitive Toothpaste

Out of Pocket = $3.99 (including tax)

Received:
$4.50 RR from Colgate
$3.00 RR from ConAgra

If you consider that the Colgate was $3.50 (with coupon), and I got a $4.50 Register Reward, it was a "Money Maker." Meaning, I literally got paid $1 to buy it today.

The remaining out of pocket: $3.99 - $3.50 =49 cents

So, for 49 cents (including tax) I got 20 cans of ConAgra products (Tomato Sauce, Pork & Beans, and some Chicken Broth), a 95% savings!


Transaction 2
(2) Swiffer dry refills ($4)
(1) Swiffer wet refills ($4)

Used:
(1) $4.50 RR from Colgate
(1) $4.50 RR from Listerine
(1) $3.00 RR from ConAgra

Which made the total, before tax = $0.00 !

All there was for me to pay was the tax, 66 cents.

On top of that, I received:
$2 RR

... and I just sent off my mail-in-rebate for a $5 debit card from Swiffer.

My out of pocket for the day was less than $5, and I now have $7 to use towards future purchases.

Important note though: "If you don't mail your rebate, your deal won't be as sweet!" What works for me is putting the rebate together as soon as I get home from the store. It's too easy to lose a receipt or forget to send it in after you have put it off for a few days.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

My Walgreens Deals May 3rd, 2009

After gathering all of my coupons this morning, and checking out some of the coupon blogs, my fiancée and I planned out some deals for the week, and then I headed off to Walgreens.

So far I have done 3 transactions, and I am planning on doing 1 or 2 more.

Transaction 1
(5) Febreze Noticeables Starter Kits ($6)
(20) Assorted ConAgra Products ($0.50)
(2) Pert Plus Shampoo ($2.50)

Coupons Used:
(5) $4 off Febreeze Noticeables Kits (From today's P&G)
(2) $1 off Pert Plus (Internet Coupon)
$7.50 Register Rewards remaining from last week

Out of Pocket = $17.43

Received:
$11 RR
$1 off 4 Hunt's Tomato Sauce
$0.75 off 3 Pork & Beans


Transaction 2
(1) Right Guard Deodorant
(20) Assorted ConAgra Products ($0.50)

Used:
(1) $0.75 off 3 cans Pork and Beans
(1) $1 off 4 Hunts Tomato Sauce
(1) $1 off Right Guard Deodorant
$8 RR from Transaction 1

Out of Pocket = $2.40

Received:
$5 RR (plus $3 still remaining from trans 1 = $8 RR)
$1 off 4 Pork & Beans
$1 off 4 Hunts Tomato Sauce


Transaction 3
(10) Mr Clean Magic Erasers ($2.50)
(2) Listerine Total Care Mouthwash ($4.50)
(5) Assorted ConAgra canned goods ($0.50)

Used:
(5) Buy 1 Get 1 Free Mr Clean Magic Erasers
(2) $2 off Listerine
$8 RR

Out of Pocket = $13.87

Received:
$10.50 RR
$1 off 4 Pork & Beans
$0.75 off 2 Hunts Tomato Sauce


Total out of pocket for all 3 transactions = $33.70
Remaining RR = $10.50

Final Cost = $23.20

$23.20 / $129.20

Total Savings = 82 %



Total Haul:
(10) Mr Clean Magic Erasers
(5) Febreze Noticeables Starter Kits
(2) Pert Plus Shampoo
(2) Listerine Total Care Mouthwash
(1) Right Guard Deodorant
(25) Hunts Tomato Sauce (ConAgra)
(12) Pork & Beans (ConAgra)
(8) Butterball Chicken Broth (ConAgra)

One more note: I figured out that with the remaining coupons I have for Hunt's Tomato Sauce and the Pork & Beans, I can go back for 20 more cans, pay $6 in RR and only 28 cents out of pocket (including tax!). My soon-to-be Mother-in-law said she could use some Chicken Broth, so for the 6 cans unclaimed by coupons, I know what I'll be getting ;)

Sunday Morning - Stock up on Coupons!

I have a new Sunday Morning routine: Coupon Hunting

I started off the day at Metcalf's Sentry Foods - a grocery store that will give you a free Sunday paper when you spend $5 or more. I needed a gallon of milk, so after that I just had to find another item for about $2. I now had my first paper, which meant my first 3 coupon inserts for this week: Red Plum, Smart Source, and Proctor & Gamble.

Next, I stopped at as many coffee shops and diners I could find.


You can't be shy - several times I interrupted people who were reading their newspapers to politely ask if they were planning to keep the coupon inserts. For the most part, the people I ran into were happy to hand over all of the ads, which they viewed as "junk." If only they knew ;) But, 2 guys did surprise me. They were sitting on the curb outside of a Perkins, and each had a Sunday Paper. I asked them if they were "Coupon Clippers," and they both answered that indeed it was the only reason they bought the paper!

In total, I managed to find:
8 P&G
7 SmartSource
4 RedPlum


Now, it's time to plan some deals!

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Quick Target Trip

Today my fiancée had her Wedding dress fitting appointment. I drove her there, but of course I could not go in with her, so I popped next door to Target to pick up a few deals I had heard about.

I got:
(3) Special K cereals
(2) Special K cereal bars
(2) Kashi Waffles
(2) V8 Fusions
(1) Dry Idea Deodorant

I had printed coupons for everything except the cereal bars, but they were on sale and helped me to get the $5 Target gift card (free with 5 Special K items).

Out of Pocket = $12.72
Target Gift Card = $5

Final Cost = $7.72



While paying only $7.72 is a good deal, it could have been even sweeter if I had a few more Special K coupons.

But, I wanted to share this because it's an example of just how quick and easy it can be to save a lot money with a few coupons. I printed the coupons online, and only spent about 15 minutes in the store grabbing these items and checking out.

If you are not a coupon user yet, don't be intimidated. True, you can spend a lot time surfing for the best deals and clipping coupons from the Sunday paper, and you will be able to save a lot more, but that's not necessary - especially if you are just getting your feet wet.

By just printing a few coupons per week for items you are going to buy anyway you will start to see the savings add up. And, if you're anything like me, you will get hooked and soon be seeking out all of the can't miss deals week after week!

-Mister Deals

Rollin' at Walgreens - a first timer

This past week was an exciting and new experience for me: I went "Rolling" at Walgreens for the first time. If you don't know what Rolling is, I recommend checking out www.moneysavingmom.com or any of the other great coupon blogs around the net. It's basically a way to buy a lot of items for almost no money by splitting your purchase into a bunch of small transactions, and "rolling" the rewards you get from one to pay for the next.


Here are the results from my week of rolling:

I alternated between these 2 transactions:
Transaction 1
2 Ecotrin Aspirin ($2)
1 Rembrandt Toothpaste or Mouthwash ($6)
2 Cheap Fillers (ie Ramen Noodles or random clearance items)

Out of Pocket cost = $1.51 per transaction

Transaction 2
1 Nivea Body Wash ($5)
1 Bayer QuickRealease ($2.50)
2 Fillers (Ramen Noodles or Wrapping Paper)

Out of Pocket cost = $0.47 - $0.71 per transaction

On top of the 2 basic transactions, I also got 2 Ink Cartridge Refills which each came with a $7.50 EasySaver Rebate, and a bunch of "filler" items not pictured.

Total Haul:

(2) Ink Refills ($10)
(13) Nivea Body Wash ($5) **regular price $6.49**
(1) Rembrandt Mouthwash ($6) **regular price $7.49**
(12) Rembrandt Toothpastes ($6)**regular price $7.49**
(13) Bayer Quick Release ($2.50)
(30) Ramen Noodles (Great for a quick guy lunch) (4/$1)
(2) Hallmark Gift Tissues (.39 cents) **regular price .99 cents**
(16) Low Dose Ecotrin (45 count) ($2) **regular price $3.49**
(4) Extra Strength Ecotrin (75 count) ($2.19)**regular price $8.49**
(17) Hallmark Gift Wraps (.39 cents) **regular price .99 cents**
(3) Breath Mint drops (.15 cents) **regular price .50 cents**
(1) Hannah Montana Bubble Gum Kit (.25 cents) **regular price $1.29**
(1) Yogurt Raisins ($1)
(1) Deodorant clearanced (25 cents!)
(2) Highlighters (.15 cents) **regular price .50 cents**

Total Cost before coupons and rebates: $253.42

Full Retail Price at Walgreens: $355.39

Actual Total Out Of Pocket = $43.40
Remaining Registry Rewards = $7.50
Rebates for 2 Ink Refills = $16.50 ($15 + 10% bonus on gift card)

Final Cost = $19.40

$19.40/$355.39

Total savings: 94.5%

I think I can be proud of this for a first week of rolling!

On a side note, I don't have plans to keep all of these goodies to myself. We will be passing on some of these items to my fiancées family and while I do plan on keeping a few of each (especially the ramen!) the rest will be passed on to a local food bank who are always in need of toiletries.

Also, it's worth mentioning that I visited 6 separate stores throughout the week to get all of these. At 5 out of the 6 stores, I had great experiences with helpful staff, a few even encouraged me to roll a few more times! The only bad experience was at the second store when an employee interrupted my cashier mid-transaction, and told me not to "try that again" at her store. Needless to say, I won't be returning to that location again.