Rainy Day Blog

It's been quite rainy here lately and by the looks of this weather map, we're not out of the woods yet:

I did get a little wet when I went out coupon hunting this morning, and I blame the weather for why I could only find a few extra inserts this week - apparently people don't go to Starbucks to read the Sunday paper when it's pouring outside!

Other than that, this was a pretty good week, and I did some nice rolling at Walgreens:

Transaction 1:

(8) Jiffy Peanut Butter on sale 2/$4 = $16 (+get $10 RR)
Used:

• (4) $0.75/2 coupons = $3 off total

OOP = $13

and received $10 RR for buying 8 Jiffy's

Transaction 2:

(1) 10 pack of #2 Pencils = 19 cents

(1) Gum Toothbrush = $3.49 (+3.50 RR)

(1) Walgreen's Children's Activity Book = 99 cents

(1) Vitamin Shampoo = $3.99 (+4 RR)

(4) Crest Expressions Toothpaste 4/$10 = $10 (+$5 RR)

Tax = 1.03

Used:

• (4) $0.75/1 coupons = $3 off total
• $10 RR from Transaction 1

OOP = 6.69

and received a total of $12.50 RR

Transaction 3 (a repeat of transaction 1 plus some fillers)

(8) Jiffy Peanut Butter on sale 2/$4 = $16 (+get $10 RR)
(4) 10 pack of #2 Pencils 19 cents each = $0.76

Used:

• (4) $0.75/2 coupons = $3 off total
• $12.50 RR

OOP = $1.30

and received $10 RR (again!) for buying 8 Jiffy's

Walgreen's Total OOP for the week = $20.99

Plus, we have a $10 RR to use this week!

The only other shopping I did this week was a very small trip to Copps:

(1) bunch of bananas $0.49/lb = 1.24

(2) Quaker Quick Oats on sale $1.28 ea = 2.56

OOP = $3.80

Total OOP for the Week = 24.79

(plus we have 1 remaining $10 RR)

We were hoping to stay more under budget, like $20 instead of $25, because we know we need to stock up on some kitchen basics, but it didn't happen this week. Last week, we did stay under $20, so that extra $5 savings will be used this coming week to give us a $30 budget. Mrs. Deals is already working on some deals to see just how far she can make that go... until then, stay dry! :)

- Mister Deals

Walgreens Deals I'm excited about

So, after looking through the ads for today (I found 12 Redplums, 12 Smartsources) I can see a few great deals that we will stop and do while shopping this week.

This week MARS candy bars are .49 with in ad coupon, paired with the $1/2 in today's Redplum this makes for FREE candy. For Wisconsin readers: this coupon is found in the Milwaukee paper, but not in the Wisconsin State Journal.

The trick to taking advantage of this coupon is presenting the manufacturer coupon first, then the in-ad coupon. For me this will equal 10 free candy bars.

The other great deal I noticed is Scotch brand shipping products--envelopes on sale for .39 cents. Paired with today's Redplum coupon for .50 off any Scotch packaging supply this equals a free product. Since I have 12 coupons and I want to avoid the register beeping, I plan on buying 4 envelopes and using 3 coupons for each 4 purchased. This would break down to .06 for all 4 envelopes, but make my transaction run a little smoother and in total I will walk away with 16 envelopes for .24, which will come in handy for shipping items I am selling on ebay.

Happy Couponing!

Mister Deals

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)

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

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 ;)

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.