Dollar Deals at Culvers have begun!

Culvers is by far my favorite fast food restaurant.  If anything, I feel bad even including it in the fast food category, it's tastes too good for that label!

So, of course I just love it when they run sales there!  Every summer they have "Dollar Deals" where for a week at a time a different item on their menu will be only $1!  I just got an email that right now you can get a single scoop waffle cone for only $1. 

This is a nice treat, but the Dollar Deal that I look forward to is when their famous Butter Burgers go on sale for only $1.  I'll be keeping a lookout for that one!

- Mister Deals

PS Check out the full email below:

Less than $5 = More Great Target Savings

Target is quickly becoming my favorite place to shop. Especially now that I have been going there for a few weeks, I feel like I know the store - I can find items easily, and when I can't I can always find a friendly "Target Team Member" to help me out. This makes my shopping trips quick and easy - like today. My fiancee helped me put these deals together last night, and today after work I just popped in, grabbed all the items, and only checked out once - I separated my items on the belt and asked them to bag it together but ring it up separately. The cashier was happy to do so, and it saved me a lot of time from having to wait in line again, or worse - go and reshop to get the items for the second transaction.

Here's the breakdown:
Transaction 1

• (1) Kraft Salad Dressing -$0.11
        sale price 1.89 minus (2) stacked $1/1 coupons
  
• (1) Kashi Waffles $0.29
        sale price $1.79 minus (1) $1.50/1 coupon
  
• (1) Degree Deodorant $0.47
        sale price 1.97 minus (1) $1.50/1 coupon
  
• (2) A1 Steak Sauce $0.99 each
        regular price 2.99 minus (2) $2/1 coupons
  

Total = $2.63 + tax (a whopping 3 cents)

OOP = $0.00 ! (thanks to the Target gift card I got last time)

Transaction 2

• (1) Kraft Miracle Whip $0.14
        regular price 2.14 minus (2) stacked $1/1 coupons
  
• (1) Degree Deodorant $0.47
        sale price 1.97 minus (1) $1.50/1 coupon
  
• (2) A1 Steak Sauce $0.99 each
        regular price 2.99 minus (2) $2/1 coupon
  

Total = $1.59 + tax

OOP = $0.00 *used gift card again :)


So, for less than $5 I'd say I did pretty good. The deodorants will get donated, possibly to our service men & women overseas, or to the usual food pantry. The A1, dressing, and Miracle Whip will be used for our bachelor/bachelorette party. And the waffles? Those are breakfast! My fiancee and I just love them - not sure what we'll do when they aren't 29 cents any more. I guess it will be time to invest in a waffle iron :)

- Mister Deals

General Mills Cereal Brands on Sale at Copps 5/$10

Once again Copps grocery store has General Mills cereal on sale, this time the sale price is even better: 5 / $10 (last time it was 4 / $10), but note that it is limited to 5 per transaction. I stopped in to see which varieties are actually on sale at my Copps, and what they are regularly priced at:

• Reese's Puffs 13oz ($3.69)
  
• Wheaties 10.9oz ($3.35)
• Chocolate Lucky Charms 12oz ($3.39)
• Oatmeal Crisp Almond 17oz ($3.85)
• Oatmeal Crisp Raisin 18oz ($3.85)
• Multi-Grain Cheerios 9oz ($3.39)
• Cinnamon Toast Crunch 12.8oz ($3.19)

As you can see, these are an ok deal at $2 per box. On the other hand, if you have some good coupons for any of these varieties and can double them, then it could be a great deal! Personally, I am going to pass on this deal, as I don't have any matching coupons. Of course, it is much easier to pass up considering I just got so much cereal a few weeks ago for 50 cents per box or less.

Hope this post is helpful to my fellow Copps shoppers :)

- Mister Deals

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

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 :)

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)

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

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

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.

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 ;)

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.