Sales for January 8th-12th

Walgreen's
I found a few interesting items for Walgreen's this week. Some of these are not yet combined with its coupon match up, (if I can find a coupon for them), but it is a start...

I am planning another stock up for both Bugles and Chex Mix. These are on sale for 4/$6 with an in store coupon for $1 off 4. 4/$5=$1.25 each. There is a $1/2 coupon in this week's everyday saver coupon insert. Using two of them brings the price to 4/$3 or .75¢/bag.  I found a coupon HERE at coupons.com for .50/2 Chex Mix, bringing the cost to $1/bag. You can print these twice. Bugles are $1.25 each bag.

Eclipse and Orbit gum is on sale for .79¢ with an in ad coupon on page 4. Limit 4.

Butterball Chicken Broth 14.5 oz cans are on sale for 2/$1 with in ad coupon, also on page 4. Limit 4.

Domino Sugar 4 lb bags are on sale for $2.49/bag with in ad coupon on page 5. Limit 5.

Reach Total Care Floss 30 yards on sale for $2.99. Print a $1/1 off any coupon HERE to bring the cost to $1.99 and earn a $2 RR on your next order. You can print two times. Two FREE Reach Total Care Floss Yards.

Kids Omega Smart Ultimate Fish Oils 60 ct with DHA on sale for $10 with a $10 register reward, which makes it like getting it for FREE. Limit 1 per transaction.

Blistex Lip Balm on sale for .99¢ with in ad coupon. There is a $1/2 off any Blistex Lip Care Products coupon that expires on 1/31/12. This brings the price to .49¢ each.

Tom's of Maine Unscented Deodorant, Cool Mountain Mint Mouthwash, and Toothpaste are each on sale for $3.99 with a $3 RR for use on your next purchase for a cost of .99¢ each.

Syntha-6 Meal Replacement Bar on sale for $1.89 with a $1.89 RR for use on your next purchase making this like getting it FREE.

Rite Aid:

Kellogg's Raisin Bran is on sale with a Buy One, Get One Free. I printed two copies of the .70¢/1 from coupons.com last week. These can be combined to get $1.40/2. The price of these is not listed, so I will have to check that before I decide to buy at this price. The ad mentions there being a $1/3 coupon in Sunday's paper, but I didn't see it. I will have to look more thoroughly.

ThermaCare Heat Wrap on sale for $3.00 with a $3.00 RR for your next purchase makes this FREE. Limit one per card.

Shaw's:

Land O Lakes Margarine or Spread is on sale for $1.69. Use the .75/1 coupon from 11/13/11 Smartsource, which doubles to $1.50, making each only .19¢. Our family prefers butter, but it would be good to have some of these in the freezer for cooking or to have on hand in a pinch when the butter prices are higher.

Wet Ones Wipe is on sale for $2.49. There were links to coupons.com for a .75/1 printable coupon, but I could not find it when I checked today. If you already printed the coupon, this would double to $1.50, bringing the cost to .99¢ each.

Coffee Mate Flavored Creamers are on sale for $1.99. Use the .75¢/2 printable coupon HERE to make the sale price $1.24 each.

Pennsylvania Dutch Noodles on sale for $1.00 are perfect for stews and soups to warm my family's bellies on cold, winter nights. Print your facebook coupon HERE for $1/2. Final cost $1.00 for 2 bags.

CVS:

Suave Invisible Solid is on sale for $1. You can use the .75¢/1 coupon from this week's Red Plum insert to make these .25¢ each.

According to a post by BargainBrianna today, All laundry detergent is on sale for $2, not $4. You can use the $1/1 coupons in last week's paper to make them only $1 each!!! You may be able to download a printable $1/1 coupon HERE. They will go fast, though. Great price, right? Additionally, it qualifies for the $10 CVS Gift Card when you spend $30 special this week. Gotta love that!

More to come as I scan through Walmart, Target, and Hannaford sales for the week. So, check back again.

Goodnight, Friends.
Sonja ♥

Free Organic Cold Medicines at Rite Aid this week



(3) Duract Cough Quick Melt Tabs, (3) Organix Defense Cough Drops, (3) Blistex Cold & Flu Lip Balm, (3) Sucrets, (1) Similasan Kids Cold & Mucus Relief, (3) St. Joseph's 81mg aspirin, (1) Saline Soothers, (3) Fun Size Candies (These were "fillers" and sadly, they suffered some casualties on the drive home.) ALL for a total cost of $6.06.

So many people I know are interested in using all natural, organic foods and medicines for their families. The complaint I hear often, though, is that these items are more expensive, there are not coupons for them, and they rarely go on sale. These things are not true. At least, not entirely. I will admit that coupons for organic foods and medicines are more rare to come across than their counterparts, they are not entirely lacking. I was pleased to see that Rite Aid is carrying a larger selection of these items AND are offering them on sale, with RRs, and with Single Check Rebates (SCR). Because of the limits imposed on this sale, I called in some family and friends and with 3 wellness cards in hand, consider me ready.

My shopping trip today, as usual, took many transactions to complete. I was glad to be in Bucksport. The crew there is just wonderful. I hate to inconvenience other shoppers, so I try to give some advance notice to the store about my check out needs. When I let the manager know that I was going to check out in nine multiple transactions, she opened a register herself to assist me. This is the way they do at Bucksport's Rite Aid, every time.

I began with $2.50 on RRs from last week. In order to use as little of my out of pocket money, I started with purchasing (1) Organix Defense Cough Drop and (1) Blistex Cold & Flu Lip Balm for $2.99. I paid with $2.50rr and .64¢ cash. I received $1.49rr and $1.50rr. Next, I bought (1) Sucrets for $2.99. I paid with $1.49rr and $1.50rr and .15¢ cash (for the tax) and I earned $2rr. Then, I purchased (1) St. Joseph's 81mg aspirin for $4.99. I used $1/1 coupon from Sunday insert, $2rr and $2.24 cash and I received $4rr. Finally, I purchased (1) Duract Cough Quick Melt Tabs for $6.00. I paid with $4rr and $2.30 cash and I received $6rr. Total out of Pocket equalled $5.33 and I ended with $6rr, which gave me a net profit of .67¢. So far, so good.

At this point, I switched to a second card. Because I now had $6rr to work with, I did not need to make as many small transactions. For my first exchange, I purchased (1) Sucrets for $2.99, (1) Blistex Cold & Flu Lip Balm for $1.49 and (1) St. Joseph's Aspirin for $4.99. I used a $1/1 coupon for the aspirin, the $6rr, and $2.95 in cash. And, I received back $4rr, $2rr, and $1.49rr. Lastly, I used those RRs to purchase (1) Organix Cough Drops and (1) Duract Cough Quick Melt Tabs. I paid .39¢ cash and I received $1.49rr and $6rr. Total out of Pocket for this set of transactions totaled $3.34 and I now had $7.49rr. One last card to use to complete my shopping.

On the third card, I began with purchasing Sucrets, St. Joseph's Aspirin, and Organix Cough Drops. I flipped the $6rr and $1.49rr from my last purchase, a $1/1 coupon for the St. Joe's and added $1.46 cash from my wallet. I received $2rr, $4rr, and $1.50rr. This is where I needed a filler item. The last two items I planned on purchasing were going to cost me $7.49, so I would either use more money out of pocket and keep some RRs, or bring my total .01¢ over the RRs I had available to spend. The Twix were on sale for $1. This was not the cheapest option available, but Twix are absolutely, addictively, delicious, and that is what I opted to buy. I purchased (1) Duract and (1) Blistex Cold & Flu Lip Balm and (1) Twix "fun size" candy for $1.52 cash and my earned RRs. I received $6rr and $1.49rr back. The net total for this set of transactions was $2.98 cash and I finished with $7.49rr.

My RR shopping complete, all I had left to buy were items that would be free after the Single Check Rebate. In planning my shopping trip today, I had intended to buy (1) Zarbee's Natraflu Nighttime Cough & Sleep Drink ($6.99), but the store was out of stock on them. I was offered a rain check, which normally, I would accept, but I did not need this medicine immediately and I will be near another Rite Aid tomorrow, so I will check there first. I did buy the $1 Saline Soothers Moisturizing Nose Wipes and Similisan Cold Relief for Children for $3.99. The Saline Soothers was a complete freebie and I had a $1.75/1 Similisan coupon which made this item a .76¢ money maker.

I love SCR. It is a great way to turn coupons and RRs back into cash. Rite aid mails me a check each month for my rebates. I only use the single check rebate program on items I am getting free. Additionally, I use any left over RRs to pay for the cost to purchase the items and because I have also used a coupon when making the original purchase, most of the time, these become better than FREE. I just happily deposit the money into my checking account each month. Gotta love that!

I am waiting for the first sign of scratchy throat complaints to use the Organix Defense Cough Drops. They are sugar fee, gluten free and all organic. I am tempted to try the New Mint Chocolate flavored ones now- cold or no cold. Maybe, I better just have a mini Twix and call it a night instead.

Good night, all.

Sonja ♥

Rite Aid: Free Cold and Flu Medicines

Rite Aid has been very kind to me lately. Last week, it was the awesome deal on Dove line hair care products. Read about that HERE. This week it is the place to go for cold and flu medicine, sore throat spray, cough drops, chapstick and hand sanitizer. And, most of it is FREE.

My husband, Sean and I, are a team when it comes to couponing, finding sales and saving money. When it comes to the actual shopping, though, it is usually me at the register figuring out in what order to buy things and how to group my transactions to use the least amount of cash possible. I don't mind that because it can get confusing when more than one mind is trying to put things on the counter and keeping track of RRs. But, yesterday, I challenged Sean to go to the Bucksport Rite Aid solo and come home with the best deal he could find. He did GREAT! With no coupons to use and no RRs to start with, he brought home this: (4) bottles of Hand Sanitizer, (1) Burt's Bees Cough Drops, and (1) box Cepacol Sore Throat Drops. He spent $2.85 and brought home $3.50 in RRs for a PROFIT of .65¢. I'd say he successfully completed that challenge!

Transaction #1:
He bought (2) Hand Sanitizers for $1.00 each, with tax, cost out of pocket= $2.10. He paid with cash and earned (2) $1 RRs. Total cost .10¢.

Transaction #2:
He repeated this purchase exactly, except he paid with $2 RRs. Cost out of pocket= .10¢ and he earned (2) $1 RRs. Net cost. $1.90 money maker.

Transaction #3:
He purchased the Burt's Bees Cough Drops for $1.49, with tax= $1.56. He paid with $1RR and .56¢ out of pocket and earned $1.49 RR. Net cost= .93¢ money maker.

Transaction #4:
Sean bought the Cepacol Sore Throat Drops for $2.50. He paid with $1 RR, $1.49 RR, and .09¢ out of pocket and earned a $2.50 RR. Net cost= $2.41 money maker.

He paid a total of $2.85 out of pocket and left with $2.50 RR and $1.00 RR, so he made a profit of  .65¢ buying his items. I will gladly admit it: he did better than me! I spent money on my shopping trip, but I am still pleased with the overall results.

I purchased (6) bottles of Hand Sanitizer, (2) Chloraseptic Sore Throat Spray, (2) Defend (liquid) Cold & Cough Relief, (3) Comtrex: Cold & Cough, Severe Cold & Sinus, and Cold & Sinus, (3) Burt's Bees Cough Drops, (3) Cepacol Sore Throat Drops, (3) Blistex Medicated Lip Ointment, and (1) Zarbees all-natural Children's Cough Syrup.

When I reviewed the flyer online, I knew that I was going to want to stock up and that my friends and family may need some of these products in preparation for winter's cold season. Most of these items had a limit of one, except the Hand Sanitizer (which had a limit of 4 per reward card) This meant that I needed to call on my friends and family to see if I could use their reward cards. This saved them from having to shop and allowed me to stock up on more than the limit allowed. With four reward cards in hand, I was ready to visit the Broadway, Bangor Right Aid. I was going to have to be very careful to keep track of which cards and items I used together.

I started with a $5 RR (from Dove last week). My shopping was broken into seven transactions that went like this:

Transaction #1
I purchased one Defend Cold & Cough Relief for $5.99. I paid using my $5RR and $1.30 in cash. I earned a $5 RR. Total cost out of pocket $1.30.

Transaction #2
I purchased one Chloraseptic Throat Spray for $3.99 and one box Comtrex Severe Cold/Sinus  for $3.99. I paid with $5RR and $3.38 out of pocket and I earned (2) $3 RRs.

Transaction #3
I bought three Hand Sanitizers at $1 each, one Blistex Lip Ointment for $1.49, one box Cepacol Sore Throat Drops for $2.50, and one bag Burt's Bees Cough Drops for $1.49. I paid with (2) $3RRs and $2.91 out of pocket and I earned: (3) $1RR, (2) $1.49 RR, $2.50RR. (Total RRs $8.49.)

Transaction #4
I bought one Chloraseptic Throat Spray for $3.99 and one Defend Cold & Cough Relief for $5.99. I paid with the $8.49 RRs from the previous sale and $1.98 cash out of pocket. I received $5 RR and $3RR.

Transaction #5
I purchased one Comtrex Cold & Cough for $3.99, one Blistex Lip Ointment for $1.49, one Cepacol Sore Throat Drops for $2.50, and one Burt's Bees Cough Drops for $1.49. I paid with $5RR and $3RR and $1.95 out of pocket. I received $3RR, (2) $1.49RR, $2.50RR.

Transaction #6
I repeated transaction 5 for items purchased. I paid with $3RR, (2) $1.49RR, $2.50RR and $1.47 in cash and I earned $3RR, (2) $1.49RR, $2.50RR again.

Transaction #7
I purchased three Hand Sanitizers for $1 each. I paid with $3RR and .15¢ out of pocket. I earned (3) $1RR.

When I had completed my purchases, I had spent a total of  $12.68 out of pocket. I left the store with (3) $1RRs, (2) $1.49RRs, & $2.50RR =$8.48 RRs total. My net cost was $4.20 for everything I purchased.

These are the items which cost me NOTHING to purchase, I only had to pay the tax on them.

I also bought a Zarbees all-natural Children's Cough Syrup for $5.99. This item has a Single Check Rebate of $5.99, so it was free, too.

We are all stocked and ready to go for cold season. I sincerely hope that we avoid the flu again this year, but if we become ill with a sore throat or a cold/cold & sinus thing, we will have the medicine on hand to combat it.


One additional thought that I wanted to share. I had seven transactions to complete. I was not the only Customer in Rite Aid shopping. When another Customer was ready to check out their selections, I paused and moved aside and waited for them to complete their purchase. Did I have to do that? Wasn't I a Customer, too, and in line first? Well, yes, you could reason that way. But, I consider this to be in a similar vein to NEVER clearing a shelf at the store. Read more about it HERE.  It is just good manners and it is the right things to do. Most Customers are coming in for a couple of items and need to get on their way. I, too, don't want to be in the store longer than necessary, but I also choose to save money by breaking things into smaller transactions, so I can roll my RRs and use them to the best advantage. Please, readers, be considerate to others.

One additional perk to kind behavior: in my experience, the cashiers really appreciate it and I cannot repeat this enough, you WANT them on your TEAM.

Sonja ♥