Rainy Day $20 Gift Card Give Away

Good Morning, Friends!

I woke this morning at 6am to find it still raining. It looks to clear tomorrow, but for now, it does not make the body feel much like being up and about, ready to take on the new day. I don't care for dreary days. So, I said to myself, "Self, we are going to need to do something special today."

I got a little excited about the Shaw's possibilities starting today, and organizing my sale strategy for that helped brighten my mood a bit, but then I thought... how about a contest???? There truly is more happiness in giving than receiving. I would love to give every reader an extra $20 to use for their shopping needs, but that would not be realistic. So, the next best thing is this:

I am entering every "follower" (aka Member) of this blog into a contest to win your choice of one $20 gift card to either Shaw's, Hannaford, Rite Aid, or Walgreen's.
To enter the contest, all you must do is this:

1. Simply scroll down and watch the right hand side to find the "Members" list. Click the "sign in" link and complete the easy sign in instructions. If you are already a member, no worries: no need to sign up, go on to step 2.

2. Once you are a "member", comment your choice of which gift card you would prefer to win in the comments section of this blog.

3. To gain a second chance to win, comment your gift card choice on our facebook post, also.

For complete contest rules, Please visit HERE.

Have a Happy Day, Everyone!
Sonja ♥

FREE M&M's at Swan Lake Grocery

Swan Lake Grocery has M&Ms on sale for
2/$1.00. Use (2) $1.50/3 M&Ms from Sunday Insert to get Six Bags for FREE!

Yummy Little Freebie!

Sonja ♥

Oops! I reviewed my coupon just as I was at the checkout to discover that the offer was for $1.25/3. Final Cost for 6 bags of M&Ms .50¢ for all. Still, not a bad deal, but not free. Sorry.

Old Spice, New Spice, Delicious Spice...

WALGREEN'S This Week:

Old Spice Bodywash $4.49

Old Spice Deodorant $4.99

Use (1) Buy One Bodywash, Get One Deodorant Free Coupon from PG insert

Use (1) $1/2 Any Old Spice Products from PG insert

Match with Walgreen’s sale Buy One, Get One 50% Off

Final Cost: $1.25 for both or .63¢ each

I also took advantage of the sale on spices for .59¢ each.

New Contest!

Hi Friends,
I am sponsoring a drawing beginning on March 15th for the prize package shown below:

Retail Value: More than $75.00, the Prize Includes:

(1) Gillette Venus Pro Skin Moisturizing Razor (3ct)

(1) Dove Cool Moisture Shampoo (12 oz)

(1) Dove Cool Moisture Conditioner (12 oz)

(1) Dove VisibleCare Softening Body Wash (10.1 oz)

(1) Degree Deodorant Invisible Solid (2.6oz)

(1) Colgate Total Advanced Toothpaste (4 oz)

(1) Colgate 360 Toothbrush (medium full)

(1) Veripur Hand Sanitizer Moisturizer (3 oz)

(1) Motrin PM (20 ct)

(1) Motrin (24 ct)

(1) Maalox Advanced Maximum Strength (90 ct)

(1) Coldcalm Homeopathic Medicine (60 tabs)

(1) Children’s Coldcalm (160 pellets)

(1) Ricola Cough Drops (19 ct)

(1) Facial Tissues (65 ct)

(4) Single Ply Bathroom Tissue Rolls (1000 sheets)

(1) Always Maxi Leak Guard PLUS (20 ct)

(1) Ajax with Bleach Powder Cleanser (14 oz)

(1) Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Soap (20 loads)

(1) Bowl Fresh Toilet Bowl Cleaner (4 weeks)

Check out the contest page to the right for all the details! ♥

                                                         ----------->

And, if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comment section below.
Hugs,
Sonja ♥

Walgreen's Mega Shopping Trip Today

19 Motrin PM (20 ct)

10 Colgate Toothpastes

3 Baby Magic Lotions

3 Baby Magic Shampoo/Body Washes

16 single Bars of soap (necessary fillers)

3 Gillette Venus Pro Razors

2 Cover Girl Naturals Foundation

2 CG Naturals Lipstick

1 CG Pressed Powder

1 CG Concealer

1 Old Spice Deodorant

1 Old Spice Body Wash

4 Gallons Water

1 Clorox Beach

Total Retail Price- $269.12

Out of Pocket- $20.13

Register Rewards Earned- $15

      (plus $18 in Motrin coupons)

Total Net Cost $5.13,

      not considering the Catalina coupons

Over all, I was really pleased with my trip to Walgreen’s today. Since I had ordered what I wanted to purchase, in advance, I had no trouble buying exactly what I wanted to for my family. And, the ever friendly Assistant Manager helped me perform 32 separate transactions.

That’s right.Thirty-Two… with a smile… and much patience. She even, pointed out ways to save more out of pocket money. (She discovered the soaps on clearance.)

I am happy with my adventure shopping, but as I reviewed my receipt, there was some room for improvement on my part.

For instance, I was trying to figure out the best way to use the Cover Girl buy one, get one ½ off sale, with a $1.00 manufacturer’s coupon, and a coupon for a FREE CG Natural lip stick (retail $7.49), when you buy a CG Natural foundation (retail $12.99). Complicated.

1st attempt:

CG foundation ($12.99 less $1/1 coupon),

CG lipstick ($7.49, Free w/coupon)

Concealer ($7.99, less $4.00 from 50% off sale)

Less $4.00 rr from Venus Razors= $11.99+ tax

2^nd attempt:

CG foundation ($12.99 less $1/1 coupon),

CG lipstick ($7.49, Free w/coupon)

CG Powder ($5.99, less $3.00 from 50% off sale)

Less $4.00 rr from Venus Razors= $10.99+ tax

This was not the result I was looking for, either. It was good- nearly 1/2 off, but I was certain I could do better.

So, I stopped into Rite Aid on my way home from work, just to see if they had a better sale happening. I thought I had found it. Rite Aid had, what I thought was the same buy one, get one 50% off sale. Unfortunately, it was only on face and eye products, so my purchases did not qualify- which I discovered after I paid at the register. I should have taken my own sage (and modest) advice and just returned the items and saved the coupons, but I like the cashiers and managers at that particular store so much, that I didn’t. That was a mistake.

3^rd attempt:

CG foundation ($13.99 less $1/1 coupon)

CG lipstick ($7.49, Free w/coupon)

Price $12.99 + tax

A costly reminder of a rule I know full well: Do not purchase something for more than you were planning on spending. A return is not the worst offense in the world. For couponing to work and be useful to your family, you cannot buy things you don’t need for a price that is not best price you can get. I should have just returned the items, collected my coupons and walked away, knowing that I had already purchased these things for $3 less earlier in the day, and gotten more! Lesson learned.

But, I am determined, if nothing else. I knew Walgreens had the sale I was looking for. I just had to figure out the best way to use it. So, when I picked up my daughter from work, I revisited my Belfast Walgreens store.

4^th attempt:

CG foundation ($12.99 less $1/1 coupon),

CG lipstick ($7.49, Free w/coupon)

Clearance bar of Soap (.37 cents- filler)

Less $3.75 from 50% off sale)

Less $3.00 rr from Baby Magic= $5.63+ tax

 Cha Ching!!! This was the sale I was looking for! I have one more set of coupons and may repeat this transaction once again. I realize, I have already bought 4 foundations, 4 lipsticks, 1 concealer, & 1 powder, but there is a difference between buying unneeded items and stocking up on items you will use when they are at their lowest price. There are 3 girlies in my home who will use this. I will pay $5.63 now, instead of $20.48 later and save my husband's wallet 75%.

Sonja ♥

My Trial Walgreen's Trip (before my BIG trip on Thursday)

After work today, I decided to try my hand on a pre-sale run to Walgreens just to see if my plan will work before I attempt it in a larger scale on Thursday. When you are planning to spend nearly no money out of pocket, and are, in fact, planning on walking out of the store with nearly $40 in profit, it pays to be cautious and make sure everything is in order. It is easier on you and the cashier if you have your buying plan worked out and well organized, in advance.
 My 1st transaction was two bottles of Motrin PM, on sale for $3.00 each.
I used one $6/2 coupon. Total due .30 cents.
I received $3 RR

My 2nd transaction was one bottle of Baby Magic lotion, on sale for $3.00 each.
I used the $3 RR from the Motrin PM. Total due .15 cents.
I received $3 RR

My 3rd transaction was one Colgate toothpaste, on sale for $3.00 each. Since I was planning on using a $1/1 coupon (which would bring the balance due to $1.99 and I need it to be $3 before tax) I needed some filler items to total as close to $1.01 as I could find. I added one gallon of water, on sale for .69 cents and one bottle of peroxide, on sale for .33 cents. I used the $3 RR from the Baby Magic. Total due .17 cents.

I repeated all the transactions a 2nd time, substituting Clorox bleach, on sale for 1.29 cents instead of the water and peroxide for my last transaction. I wanted to split the fillers up a little because, seriously, how much peroxide can one person use?

In the end, I purchased 2 Colgate Toothpastes, 4 Motrin PM, 2 Baby Magic products, 1 gallon Water, 1 bottle Peroxide, and 1 bottle of Clorox bleach. I spent $1.36 out of my pocket and I received two $3.00 RRs. Profit $4.64

Also, when I purchased the two Motrin PMs, it triggered a catalina coupon for $2/1 Motrin PM (15 count or more). So, even if you don't have the $6/2 coupon, this is a money maker. You need to buy at least two of the products on sale for $3 with the $3 reward for this to work. The scenario:

T1: Buy two Motrin, spend $6.30, get $2 coupon and $3 RR
T2: Buy Baby Magic, use $3 RR, spend .15 cents
T3: Buy Motrin, use $2/1 coupon & Colgate, use $1/1 coupon, spend .30, receive two $3 RRs.
Total out of pocket $6.75, earn $6 RRs = cost .75 (tax)

 At this point, you can go back and forth as much as you want, just paying the tax. Just be sure not to pay for the product with its own RR or a new one will not print.


Happy shopping!