A place for Maine's Frugalistas to Share Information on Matching Coupons with Upcoming Sales to Maximize Savings to Your Budget. Welcome, Friends ♥

Friday, April 15, 2011

Walgreens 4/17 through 4/30

For me, Walgreens is going to be a treasure trove of sales starting Sunday and continuing next week. I am excited!

Walgreens 4/17-4/23

Freebies:

Goodie Hair Accessories, Sale $3, earn $3 RR= FREE


Colgate Total, 2/$6
Use (2) $1.50/1= 2/$3, earn $4rr= $1 profit


Always Leak Guard Plus, 2/$6
Use (2) $1/1 mfr coupon
Earn $4 rr= Free


Reach Total Care, $2.99
Check for upcoming coupon in Sunday paper
Earn $2rr= ??? I suspect this will either be Free or Profit


NasoGel Drip Free Gel Spray, Sale $4.99, earn $4.99rr= FREE

And Great Deals:

Nivea or Nivea for Men Body Wash, Sale $3.79
Use $3/1 mfr coupon from Sunday papers= .79 cents


Mars or Dove Candy Bars, Sale .39 cents w/in ad coupon, limit 6


Domino Sugar (4 lb) $2.49 in ad coupon
Use mfr coupon .75/1, limit 3


Gold Medal Flour (5 lb) 2/$3 w/in ad coupon, limit 4


Betty Crocker Cake Mix .89 cents w/in ad coupon, limit 3


Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie Mix .89 cents w/in ad coupon, limit 3


Domino Light Brown or Confectioner’s Sugar .89 cents w/in ad coupon, limit 3


Nestle Toll House Morsels (12oz) $1.79 w/in ad coupon, limit 3


Green Giant Can Veggies (14.5oz) .49 cents w/in ad coupon, limit 3


Dove Personal Care, 4/$15, earn $5 rr= 4/$10
Use (4) $1/1 Body wash= 4/$6
Used (4) $1/1 Deodorant= 4/$6
Or combination


Soft Soap Body Wash $4.49, B1G1 Free= 2/$4.49
Use (2) $1/1 mfr coupon= 2/$2.49


Irish Spring Body Wash $4.49, B1G1 Free= 2/$4.49
Use (2) $1/1 mfr coupon= 2/$2.49


No Nonsense Essential Basic Girls Tights, Sale $.99 cents


No Nonsense Essential Basic Tights, Sale $1.99

Walgreens April 24-April 30
Freebies:

Stayfree maxi pads (14, 16, 24 pk) Sale $2.99, earn $3 RR
Use $1/1 mfr coupon (3/27 RP insert)= $1 profit
Use .50/1 peelie coupon= .50 cent profit

I plan on "buying" the Goodie Hair Bands, Colgate Total, and Always. Initially, I thought I would buy the Colgate 1st, since that is my money maker item, but then after closer inspection, I changed my mind. I will buy 1 Goodie Hair band, earning my $3RR. Then, I will buy the 2 Colgate Toothpastes, using the 2 coupons to bring the total down to $3.00, plus tax. I will pay only the tax, and earn a $4 rr. I will then buy the Always. Using my coupons, it will also, only cost the tax. I will repeat this rotation until I use my coupons. I will buy everything else on my list with my unused RRs to mitigate those expenses. I will post y'all as soon as I can with what actually happened. A great “filler” this week are the Spring pencils at 8/$1.... Just in case.


What is your shopping strategy for the week???
Sonja ♥

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Rite Aid: John Freida, L'Oreal, Gillette, and Old Spice

Today's shopping trip to Rite Aid cost me a net total of Zero Dollars spent. I love that!
$53.00 in Products for a cost of NOTHING, except tax. Gotta Love That!
I purchased:
2 John Frieda Shampoo & Conditioners $6.99
1 L'Oreal Shampoo & Conditioner $4.99
2 Gillette Body Wash $3.99
2 Old Spice Body Wash $3.99
Total~ $53.90 Regular Retail
Transaction #1: I purchased 4 bottles of John Frieda shampoos and conditioners on sale for 4/$20 with a $10 +up reward. I used four $2/1 coupons, which made my transaction 4/$12. I paid $12 and earned a $10 +up reward. Net transaction= $2 for four bottles.

Transaction #2: I purchased 2 bottles of Old Spice Men's Body Wash on sale for $2.99 with a $2 +up reward on each. I used one (1) Buy one, Get one coupon from April's PG insert and one (1) $1/2 coupon from the same insert, which made my transaction $1.99 for 2 and I earned (2) two $2 +up rewards. Net transaction= $2.01 profit

Transaction #3: I purchased 1 bottle of L'Oreal Pro Vive Shampoo and Conditioner on sale for two for $5.00 with a $2 +up reward when you purchase two. I used two (2) $1/1 coupons from the 4/3 Sunday insert, which made the transaction 2/$3. I paid $3 and earned $2 +up reward. Net transaction= $1 for two.

Last Transaction: I purchased 2 bottles of Gillette Men's Body Wash on sale for $2.99 with a $2 +up reward on each. I used one (1) Buy one, Get one coupon from April's PG insert, which made my transaction $2.99 for 2 and I earned (2) two $2 +up rewards. Net transaction= $1.01 profit

Total net transaction= .02 cent profit. Of course, this does not include the tax I paid, but only paying the tax on $53 in merchandise is worth it to me.

Tomorrow, I am planning on shopping at Walgreens. I have my eye on several of the sales I posted last week. I will keep you all posted.

What sales will you take advantage of this week?
Sonja ♥

Money Saving Chicks!

 Here in rural Maine, we have some advantages to compensate for the long drives to reach, well, just about anywhere we want to go~ the ability to keep family farms.

Sean and I rescued 8 "battery hens" last year. In the mix we got 2 Black Rocks, 1 Buff Orpington, and 5 Rhode Island Reds. When we got the girls, they had been living, 80 hens, completely indoors in a small room without windows. They looked like they were nearly ready for the stew pot, plucked and bleeding. It was awful. We weren't sure they would still lay eggs, but we knew that even if they only kept the slugs and bugs down, it would be worth the price of feeding them. So, we took them home.
It took some work to tame them, as you can imagine, but by the end of last summer, they would come when we called and allow us to pet them.


Of course, chickens will not lay eggs indefinately. Our girls are producing some extra large eggs, which means that they will be slowing and stopping sooner than later. So, we planned on getting 6 more younger gals to add to our flock. On the way home from visiting friends in the Rockland congregation last Sunday, Sean and I stopped by a neighbor's house because of the sign outside that read: chicks $2. We had to see them.
Wyandotte chick 3 weeks old

 The chicks were housed in a barn, inside a wooden box with an incubation light to keep them toasty warm and healthy. As we looked around, older chickens were happily walking around, doing their chicken thing. So, of course... we bought 6. The "peepers" have begun getting feathers and ventured outside with us these past two days to enjoy real sun. It won't be very long before they join the older ladies.
The bounty from the last 3 days.
How much do you spend on organic, farm fresh, free range eggs? Around here, you can easily expect to pay $2.50-$3.00 each dozen. I sell mine for $2.50. The young ones should start laying before fall. Our family uses between one and two dozen eggs each week, the rest, I sell to neighbors, family, and friends. It makes only a small profit in terms of the money, but I don't have to buy eggs, and we all enjoy watching the antics of the ladies hanging about the yard.

Sonja ♥



Saturday, April 9, 2011

How many cereals can one family eat????

I wonder what is excessive when it comes to staples, like cereal, fresh fruit, milk, etc. These things may or may not be considered "staples" in your family as they are not all non perishable. But, when I think of "staple" items for our home, I think of those things which we use so frequently that is makes sense to me to buy them in a larger quantity when I find them on sale. Tonight, Sean and I wanted to take advantage- for the last time this cycle- of the catalinas printing for FREE Milk. Living in Maine, the dairy laws are so strict that these don't come around all that often.
$1.59 Total Cost

We chanced into a better deal than we had planned, (though Sean will tell you that we did not do as well as we could have since I was loathe to return cereals in our first transaction when all the catalinas we were expecting for them failed to print.) The unexpected surprise we found were; peelies for $1.00 off ANY fresh fruit purchase when you buy two qualifying boxes of kellogg's cereal on the boxes. So we walked to the produce section and bagged up some fruit. I hadn't planned on buying fruit and didn't want to add to what I had planned on spending. So, I considered the price per pound of the fruits and bagged just over the weight I needed to achieve the $1.00 mark. Here's what we did:

Transaction 1:
3 Boxes Kellogg's Frosted Flakes $2.50 ea
3 Boxes Kellogg's Raisin Bran $2.50 ea
1 Box Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats $2.50
2 pounds bananas $1.24
1 lemon .49 cents
1 lime .69 cents
2 granny smith apples $1.24
Total before coupons= $21.16

I used these coupons:
(3) $1/1 fresh fruit peelie coupons,
(3) $1/2 Any Kellogg's cereal mfr coupons,
(1) .70/1 Kellogg's cereal mfr coupon,
(1) $1/1 catalina from my Hannaford's Rewards Card

Which made my balance $13.46 less the $3.59 catalina for milk= net transaction of $9.87 for 7 boxes of cereal, 3 pounds of fresh fruit, and 1 gallon of milk.

We were expecting 3 Free milk catalina's to print, but only one did. Since the expiration date for the free milk was April 23, 2011 and we had many more coupons to use, AND we were scoring free fruit, too, we decided it was worth it to us to make four more transactions.

Transaction 2:
3 Boxes Kellogg's cereal $7.50
1 Lime .69 cents
1 Lemon .49 cents
Total $8.68
Less (1) $1/2 Kellogg's cereals, (1) .70/1 Kellogg's cereals, (1) $1/1 Fresh Fruit= $5.98
Less (1) $3.59 Catalina Free Milk= $2.39 Net Transaction

Transaction 3:
3 Boxes Kellogg's cereal $7.50
3 Red Plums $1.21
Total $8.71
Less (1) $1/2 Kellogg's cereals, (1) .70/1 Kellogg's cereals, (1) $1/1 Fresh Fruit= $6.01
Less (1) $3.59 Catalina Free Milk= $2.42 Net Transaction

Transaction 4:
3 Boxes Kellogg's cereal $7.50
2 Granny Smith Apples $1.24
Total $8.74
Less (1) $1/2 Kellogg's cereals, (1) .70/1 Kellogg's cereals,
(1) $1/1 Fresh Fruit= $6.04
Less (1) $3.59 Catalina Free Milk= $2.45 Net Transaction

Transaction 5:
3 Boxes Kellogg's cereal $7.50
2 MacIntosh Apples $1.30
Total $8.80
Less (1) $1/2 Kellogg's cereals, (1) .70/1 Kellogg's cereals, (1) $1/1 Fresh Fruit= $6.10
Less (1) $3.59 Catalina Free Milk= $2.51 Net Transaction

Transaction 6:
1 Gallon Milk $3.94
Less Catalina coupon $3.59
Total due .35 cents


$19.99 for 19 boxes Kellogg's cereals, 7lbs Fresh Fruit, 5 Gal Milk

Total Out of Pocket: $34.35, plus 4 Free milk @ $3.59 still waiting to be used= Net Transaction $19.99.

Happy Shopping!
Sonja ♥

Monday, April 4, 2011

Walgreens: Purex, Cadbury Eggs, Colgate Max White Toothpaste, and more! April 3, 2011

3 Boxes Kellogg's Cereals, 3 Boxes Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, 3 Purex Laundry Detergent, 3 Cans Bumblebee Tuna Fish, 8 Cadbury Eggs, 4 Colgate Max White Toothpaste

Transaction 1-4: 1 tube Colgate Max White Toothpaste.
Pay $2.99, earn $3RR each
Total= FREE

Transaction 5: Everything else pictured above. Kellogg's cereals on sale for $1.88 ea. I used three $1/2 Kellogg's cereals coupons, Purex laundry soap $1.99 with in ad coupon. I used three $1/1 Purex coupons. 8 Cadbury eggs on sale .39 cents. Bumble Bee tuna .59 cents with in ad coupon. My order came to over $34.00. I handed the RRs first, the manufacturer's coupons next. The cashier wanted to scan the Walgreen's coupons before the manufacturer's coupons, but I explained that I would prefer to use those last. In the end, I paid $2.47 out of pocket. It actually DOES matter what order the coupons are scanned, especially at Walgreens. When you use coupons in this order, it usually solves the issue for the machine beeping because it had more coupons to use than number of items purchased. Additionally, had I tendered the coupons in reverse, I would not have been able to use one of the $3 RRs.

Today, I wanted to try alternating Colgate toothpaste and Aussie hair care. I began by buying one tube of Colgate Max White Toothpaste. I spent $2.99 and earned $3 RR. My 2nd transaction was to buy one Aussie Shampoo/Conditioner on sale for 2/$7 sale. I used one $3 RR and one B1G1 coupon (value $3.50). My cost .85 cents with tax. I bought another Colgate Max Toothpaste. I used the $2 rr from the Shampoos and my cost was $1.15. Last, I bought another set of Aussie shampoo and conditioner for .85 cents and earned $2RR. Total cost for everything: $5.84 and I still have $2 RR.
Net Transaction: $3.

I was hoping to earn two Free Milk catalinas, but it didn't happen. Still, I can't complain. Remember, the catalinas are only printing until April 9th!

♥ Sonja

My Sale Match Ups: Rite Aid~ April 3

This was a quiet week for me at Rite Aid. I needed to roll two $5 RRs I earned buying AXE. So, I decided to "buy" (with RRs, of course) the Neti Pot docking station, since my Mother-In-Law swears by hers and I thought she might enjoy it as a gift. I also picked up the Scunci hair bands. With four girls in the house, we can always use more of those. I still need to buy 60 cans of Friskies Cat Food. They weren't marked on sale and I was in a bit of a hurry when I was there on Sunday, so I will have to grab them later this week. No biggie.
Transaction 1:  NeilMed Neti Dock $6.00 and 2 Scuni Hairbands $1.99 ea
Total $9.98. I paid with $5RR and $4.98 in cash. I earned one $6 RR and two $1.99 RRs.
Net Transaction= FREE items and $9.98 RRs for next week.

Transaction 2:  NeilMed Neti Dock $6.00 and 2 Scuni Hairbands $1.99 ea
Total $9.98. Sean paid with $5RR and $4.98 in cash. He earned one $6 RR and two $1.99 RRs.
Net Transaction= FREE items and $9.98 RRs for next week.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Free Milk @ Hannaford!!!

Here is the Deal:
From now until April 10th, when you purchase Any (3) thress boxes (12 oz or larger) of Kellogg's Cereals, a Catalina Coupon will print that looks like this:
Hannaford has Kellogg's Cereals on sale for 2/$5.
I tried out this deal today. I purchased 4 boxes of cereal, used (2) $1/2 coupons (Sunday insert)= $8.00 out of pocket. I scanned my Hannaford tag and received: (1) $5 off $50 order or more and (1) Catalina for Free milk up to 3.59.

Final Cost $8.00 for 4 boxes of Cereal & 1 Gallon of Milk. Not bad, but there may be a better deal.

Looking ahead at coming sales, my mind has been working on lots of possible scenerios. Walgreen's has Kellogg's cereals on sale beginning tomorrow, (4/3/11) for $1.88 each.

If the Catalina prints there, this will be my plan:
Buy four (4) boxes= $7.52
Use (2) $1/2 coupons= $5.52 (1.38 ea)
Receive 1 Free Milk Catalina
Net Transaction=
$5.52- $3.58=$1.93 (.48 cents ea)

After sorting through all the postings nationally about this deal, this is what I think it will be for our area:

Purchase 3 boxes= 1 Free Milk (works!)
Purchase 5 boxes= 2 Free Milk
Purchase 7 boxes= 3 Free Milk
Remember, Your Mileage May Vary. These are posted nationally and don't always include us.

I need to discuss with my husband first, but I may also try this:
Buy five (5) boxes= $9.40
Use: (1) $1/2 (Sunday insert) and
(1) $1/3 (Sunday insert)= $7.40 ($1.48 ea)
It looks like .10 cents more, BUT...
Receive 2 Free Milk Catalinas ($3.59ea)
Net Transaction:
$7.40- $3.59 (2)= .22 cents (.04 cents ea)

I will update this post if I try the "2 Milk" Catalina offer to let you know if it works or not.

What deals are you excited about this week?
Sonja ♥

Friday, April 1, 2011

Walgreens Sale/Coupon Match Ups April 2- April 16

Walgreens Freebies (April 3- April 9)

Colgate MaxFresh, MaxWhite, or MaxClean toothpaste 6 oz $2.99, Get $3 RR= FREE

Free Redbox Rental, wyb any (2) Pepsi product 2 liters and 1 bag of Tostitos, Lays or Rold Gold chips.

And Deals:
Hershey’s or Cadbury’s Easter Candy .39 cents, limit 8

Hershey’s Candy .39 cents, limit 6

Scott Bathroom Tissue, (12 count), Sale $6.99
Use $1/1 coupon (Sunday insert)= $5.99

Bumble Bee Chunk Light Tuna (5oz), Sale .59cents
Use in ad coupon, limit 3

Spring Fruit Scented Pens/Pencils with Erasers,
Sale 4/$1 Use in ad coupon, Limit 8

Pantene, Aussie or Herbal Essences Hair Care,
Sale 2/$7 Aussie: Use (1) B1G1 coupon
(Sunday insert)= 2/$3.50
Buy 2, Pay $3.50, Earn $2RR= .75 cents each

Gillette Venus ProSkin Razor System, Sale 7.99
Earn $4 RR= $3.99
Look for coupon in Sunday paper

Gillette Fusion ProGlide Razor System, Sale 9.99
Earn $4RR= $5.99
Look for coupon in Sunday paper

Ricola Drops (19-24 count), Sale 1.29
Use $1/2 coupon (Sunday insert)= .79 cents
Buy 2, Pay $1.58/2

Kellogg’s Cereals or Pop Tarts (10oz or larger),
Sale $1.88
Cereal: Use $1/2 coupon (Sunday insert)= $1.38 ea.
Buy 2, Pay $2.76/2

Pop Tarts: Use $1/3 coupon (Sunday insert)= $1.55
Buy 3, Pay $4.65/3

Purex Laundry Detergent (32 loads), Sale $1.99
Use $1/1 coupon (Sunday insert)= .99 cents
Limit 3

Walgreens (April 10-April 16)

Russell Stover Chocolate Eggs, Sale .29cents
Limit 6

Progresso Soup, Sale 4/$5
Use $1/4 coupon (Sunday insert)= 4/$4
Limit 4

Quaker Chewy Granola Bars (10 pk), Sale $1.99
Use $1/2 coupon (Sunday insert)= $1.49 ea
Buy 2, Pay $3.00/2

Royal Gelatin: Regular or Sugar Free, Sale 5/$1.00
Use in ad coupon, Limit 5
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (7.25oz), Sale .69 cents
Use in ad coupon, Limit 3

Betty Crocker Cornbread & Muffin Mix (6.5oz), Sale .29 cents
Use in ad coupon, Limit 3

Heinz White Vinegar (32 oz), Sale .99 cents
Use in ad coupon, Limit 3

Morton Iodized Salt or Baking Soda, Sale 2/$1
Use in ad coupon, Limit 4

Hefty One Zip Bags, Sale B1G1 $3.29
Use (2) $1/1 coupon (Sunday insert)= $1.29/2
Use Walgreens in ad coupon= .65 cents ea.

Ajax Dish Liquid, Sale .79 cents
Use in ad coupons, Limit 3

Potting Soil (8 lbs), Sale .99 cents
Use in ad coupon, Limit 3

Easter & Spring Pencils, Sale 8/$1
Use in ad coupon, Limit 16

Playtex Tampons: Sport (16 pk), Sale $2.99
Use $2.50/2 coupon (Sunday insert)=$3.48/2
Final cost $1.74 each

Carefree Pantiliners (20-22 ct), Sale $.99 cents
Use .50/1 coupon= .49 cents
Pay .49 cents, earn .99 cent RR= .50 cent Profit

Blue Diamond Almonds (6 oz), Sale $3.49/2
Use .75/2 coupon= $2.74/2
Final Cost $1.37 each

Arizona Tea/Drink (16oz), Sale 2/$1
Use in ad coupon, Limit 4

Walgreen’s Paper Towel, Toilet Paper, Sale 2/$1
Use in ad coupon, Limit 4

Rite Aid Sales/Coupon Match Ups April 2- April 16

Rite Aid Freebies (April 3-April 9)

Scunci Elastic Hair Bands (18 ct) $1.99,
Get $1.99 +up, Limit 2

Neilmed Nasadock Plus Drying Stand $6,
Get $6 +up, Limit 1

Tena /Serenity Ultra Thin Pads (32-42 ct) $9.99,
Get $9.99 SCR #37, Limit 2

And Deals:

Friskies Wet Can Cat Food 10/$4, earn 1+up,
Buy 30, Use $1/15 Friskies Cans coupon (Sunday insert)
Pay $9/30 cans, earn (3) $1RR= .20 cents can

Zyrtec (24 count) Sale $18.99
Buy 4, Use (4) $4/1 Zyrtec coupon
(Sunday insert)= $14.99 bottle
Pay $59.96, earn (4) $2RR & (1) $20RR &
(1) $5RR= $26.96
Total cost $26.96/4 or $6.74/bottle
Savings of $49.00 or 64%
See riteaid.com/allergy for more details

Halls Cough Drops (20-25ct) Sale 2/$3
Use $1/2 coupon (Sunday insert)
Pay $2 for two, earn $1RR= 2/$1 or .50 cents each

KY Intense, Yours & Mine, etc. Sale $ ???
Use $5/1 coupon (facebook.com) or
Use $4/1 coupon (Sunday insert) and
Use $3/1 in ad coupon, plus earn $5 RR
Final Cost: varies

Carefree To Go Pantiliners, Sale 4/$5
Use (4) .50/1 coupons (Sunday insert)= 4/$3
Pay $3/4, earn $1RR/4= $.50 cents each

Adult T-shirts 5/$10.00, Limited to Stock on Hand
$2 each

Rite Aid Freebies (April 10-April 17)

John Frieda Products, Sale 4/$20
Use (4) $2/1 Any Full Size John Frieda
Product coupon (Sunday insert)= 4/$12
Buy 4, earn $10 RR= $2/4 or .50 cents each

L’Oreal Vive Pro Hair Care, Sale 2/$5.00
Use (2) $1/1 coupons (Sunday insert)= 2/$3.00
Buy 2, Pay $3.00, earn $2RR= 2/$1.00

Gillette or Old Spice Body Wash, Sale $2.99
Use B1G1 coupon (P&G 4/3 insert)= $2.99/2
Earn (2) $2RR= 1.01 profit
or use $1/1 Old Spice (P&G 4/3)=$1.99
Earn (1) $2RR= .01 cent profit

Soft Scrub Cleanser, Sale 2/$5.00
Use (2) $1/1 coupons (Sunday insert)= 2/$3
Pay $3, Earn $1 RR= 2/$2 or $1 each

Woolite Laundry Detergent, Sale 2/$14
Use (2) $1/1 coupons (Sunday insert)= 2/$12
Pay $12, earn $4RR= 2/$8

VO5 Shampoo or Conditioner, Sale .79 cents

Depends, Sale $12.99
Use $1/1 coupon (Sunday insert)= $11.99
Pay $11.99, earn $3RR= 8.99