June 7th, 2008 - Meijer, Target, Walgreens, Aldi

Meijer

• 12 Purina Lickety Sticks treats ($0.99 sale, B4G $4 cat)
• 1 Weed & Grass killer spray ($5.99 sale)
• 6 lbs ground round ($1.99 lb, (6) $1 cpns)

OOP $9.62

Target

• Father's Day gifts ($15.11)
• 6 Venus Embrace spa gift packs - 1 razor, 1 shaving gel, 1 carry bag ($9.44 sale, $4 cpn, B2G $5 gift card)
• 2 Michelin wiper blades ($15.99 ea, B2G $10 gift card by mail)

OOP $48.25, have a leftover $10 gift card (should have done my orders in a different order), & will be sending in a rebate for another $10 gift card. So in the end it was like paying $28.25 OOP - and $15 of it was gifts!

Walgreens

• 26 Satin Care shave gels ($2 sale, $1 Walgreens cpn, $0.55 mfr cpn, Buy $20 of participating P&G items, get $5 RR - makes them $0.10 ea after paying the tax)
• 1 Gillette Fusion Phenom Power ($9 sale, $4 mfr cpn, Buy $20 of participating P&G items, get $5 RR)
• $15 Subway gift card

OOP $0.00. Paid $31.28 with Walgreens gift card balances. Received $15 worth of Register Rewards to use next time.

Aldi's
I had a mystery shop to do at Aldi's so I made a stop there as well. Here's what I picked up:

• 6 boxes mac & cheese ($0.33 ea)
• 3 lb margarine spread ($1.69)
• Half turkey ham ($4.21)
• Ground Beef patties ($4.99)
• 2 bottles vegetable oil - 48 oz ea ($2.29 ea)
• White bread ($0.69)
• 100% juice concentrate ($1.09)
• Granola cereal ($1.59)

OOP $21.03 I will be reimbursed for $5 of purchases, as well as make $4 for the shop. So in the end I will end up getting this for $12.03

June 5th, 2008 - Walgreens, Target, Meijers

Stopped a few places tonight after dinner: Walgreens, Target, & Meijers

Walgreens
I stopped into Walgreens to pick up one of their monthly rebate books. I also bought a $15 Starbucks gift card (so I could get a cup of "joe" to sip on while I shopped the other stores).

Paid $15 with a Walgreens gift card. No OOP.

Target
Next stop was Target for more razors & shampoo. I left with:

• 1 bottle strawberry syrup ($1.29 sale)
• 2 travel size packs of Bourdreaux Butt Paste (aka diaper rash cream but I love that name, LOL) ($0.99 sale, used $1 off internet cpns)
• 2 Pantene shampoo bonus packs ($3.79 sale, $1.50 off cpns, Buy 3 Get $5 Target gift card)
• 2 Pantene conditioner bonus packs ($3.79 sale, $1.50 cpn, B1G1F cpn, Buy 3 Get $5 Target gift card)
• 1 Venus Embrace razor ($9.44 sale, $4 cpn, Buy2, Get $10 Target gift card)
• 1 Gillette Fusion razor ($7.99 sale, $4 cpn, Buy2, Get $10 Target gift card)

Paid $18.92 using Target gift cards. Earned $15 more in Target gift cards. No OOP.

Meijers
Last stop was Meijers. This was my biggest stop & took QUITE a while! I left with:

• 1 bra ($4.99 sale)
• 1 sidewalk chalk ($2.50 sale)
• 5 tonic water ($0.79 sale, $1 cpns)
• 4 Lickety Sticks dog treats ($0.99 sale, Buy 4, Get a $4 cat)
• 6 Armour lunchmakers ($1 sale, $0.75 cpns, 1 free w/ buy 10 get 11th free deal)
• 2.43 lb bananas ($1.22 sale, $2 cpns)
• 1 8ct tortillas ($1.29 sale)
• 3 Bagelfuls ($1.99 sale, $1 cpns)
• 3 cloves garlic ($1.20 sale, $1 cpn)
• 8 Old El Paso burrito seasoning mix ($0.60 sale, $1/2 cpns)
• 2 Old El Paso fajita seasoning mix ($0.60 sale, free item cpns)
• 2.92 lbs apricots ($2.89 sale, $2 cpns)
• 8 lbs spaghetti ($0.99 sale, 7- $0.50 cpns)
  
• 6 Cheerios snack mix ($1 sale, $1 cpns)
• 1 Dole salad mix ($1 sale, $1 cpn)
• 1 Egg bagel ($1 sale)
• 3 8oz sliced mushrooms ($1 sale, $0.50 cpns)
• 10 jars spaghetti sauce ($1.30 sale, 6-$5.00 cpns)
  
• 1 large yogurt ($2 sale)
• 1 crab rangoon ($1.67 sale, $0.75 cpn)
  
• 1 egg rolls ($1.25 clearance, $0.75 cpn)
• 1 wontons ($1.25 clearance, $0.75 cpn)

Used $4 cat from previous trip. Total OOP $9.63.

Bought 69 items - total coupon savings - $103.21!! While looking through my receipt I realized I was overcharged by $1.80 - but that's not worth the gas to drive across town to get a refund. I also had one more $5 coupon to use but they were hassling me about it - so I "let it go".

Filing system

No shopping for a few days - so thought I'd post the info about my coupon "filing" systems.

Uncut coupons - These are for my un-cut inserts. They are filed by date & insert (6/1 RP, 6/1 SS, 6/1 GM). I just go through and clip the ones that I know I will use. Then I file them so that when a sale comes around I just go back through and clip the ones I need for the sale.These are also portable - so I can pick up the crate and take it to a different room when I wanna clip. I usually will go through each insert and staple each of same pages together so I can clip "in bulk". This comes in handy when I get 20 (or more) of each insert from Dumpster Diving.

Cut & Filed coupons - These are the coupons I've actually clipped. I have them sorted into envelopes by category. The lid snaps closed on all 4 sides, in case the box gets dropped (which happens too often I'm afraid). If I have leftover coupons that I had clipped for a sale I end up filing them in here - among the ones for the items I'm always buying.

Unfiled, Uncut, & Receipts - These are the ones that I've cut (or need to cut - like IP) and need to file. The wipes box on the left is how I "file" my receipts. When I get home from shopping I stack them in here, then at the end of each month I put the receipts into an envelope. This makes it easier to go back and look for a receipt if I need it for a rebate or something.

This filing system works for me. The only time I don't like it is when I'm at the store and find something on clearance that I KNOW there's a coupon out for. With the cost of gas, it's not worth it to go home & clip the coupon and then go back out to the store.

June 3rd, 2008 - Meijers & Target

My husband got off work early because of the weather, so I had some "free" time without the kids.

I ran to Meijers to try some of the current catalina promotions, stock up 11 for $10 items while there was still stock, use up some free coupons, & use a raincheck. I also needed some more fruit in the house. I walked out with:

• 7 bags Chex Mix ($1 sale, $1 cpns or $0.50 cpns doubled)
• 3 Sprite 2 Ltrs (raincheck $0.88, $1 off winetags)
• 8 Purina Carvers dog treats ($3.25 sale, mfr coupons for free items)
• 1 tub Meow mix cat food ($0.52 sale, mfr coupon for free item)
• 8 Purina Chew-Eez lickity Sticks ($0.99 sale, cat deal - Buy 4, get $4 cat)
• 1 16oz bag Purina cat chow ($1.89 sale, mfr coupon for free item)
• 1.87 lbs bananas ($0.94 sale, $1 winetag)
• 1 cucumber ($0.67 sale, $1 winetag)
• 1.03 lbs apricots ($1.02 sale, $1 winetag)
• 1.23 lbs nectarines ($1.40 sale, $1 winetag)
• 1.38 lbs peaches ($1.57 sale, $1 winetag)
• 4 lbs strawberries ($2 sale each, $1 winetag each)

I had some other items but they didn't accept my coupons for them - so I returned them. After netting my shopping receipt with the receipt for the return THEY PAID ME $0.55!!!

I stopped at Target on the way home to get some more razors & try the Pantene gift card deal. I got:

• 1 Venus Embrace razor ($9.44 sale, $4 mfr cpn, $2 Target cpn, B2G $10 gift card deal)
• 1 Gillette Fusion Power razor ($7.99 sale, $4 mfr cpn, B2G $10 gift card deal)
• 2 Pantene shampoo bonus packs - 16 oz shampoo w/ 2 trial sizes attached ($3.79 sale, $1.50 mfr cpn, B3G $5 gift card deal)
• 1 Pantene conditioner bonus pack - 16 oz shampoo w/ 2 trial sizes attached ($3.79 sale, $1.50 mfr cpn, B3G $5 gift card deal)

I paid $15.19 using my card gift earned yesterday. And I just earned $15 more in gift cards from this order.

I had a frustrating experience with a manager (2 actually) at Meijer - but in the end today's trip worked out in my favor anyway!

June 2nd, 2008 - Target

I went to Target to try out a few of their gift card promos that are active this week.




I got:

• 6 bags Dove chocolate (sale $2.50, used (3) B1G1F cpns, (3) $1.50/1 cpns)
• 4 bags Hershey's Bliss chocolate (sale $2.50, used (2) B1G1F cpns, (2) $1.00 cpns)
• 1 Spiderman pop-up clothes hamper (B-day gift, clearaned for $4.88)
• 2 Gillette Fusion power razors ($7.99 sale, (2) $4 cpns, Buy 2 get a $10 Target gift card)
• 2 Gillette Fusion Power razors BONUS packs w/ shave gel ($6.78 clearanced, (2) $4 cpns, Buy 2 get a $10 Target gift card)
• 2 Venus Embrace razors ($9.44 sale, (2) $4 mfr cpns, (2) $2 Target cpns, Buy 2 get a $10 Target gift card)

I spent $23 OOP and left with $20 in gift cards (I used 1 of the $10 gift cards to pay for my candy). So in the end it was like paying $3 for everything.

June 1st, 2008 - Jewel

The coupons I ordered arrived yesterday, so I made a trip to Jewel to use them up.


Here's what I got:

5 Jewel napkins (sale $1, cpn $1 off store brand napkins WYB 2 Solo products)
12 Solo plates (44 pk) (sale $2.50, cpn $2.00, $4 cat WYB 4 pkgs)
16 Solo bowls (22 pk) (sale $2.50, cpn $2.00, $4 cat WYB 4 pkgs)
12 Solo cups (24 pk) (sale $2.50, cpn $2.00, $4 cat WYB 4 pkgs)
2 local newspapers ($1.75)
4 Doritos (sale $3.79, B1G1F)
3 gallons milk (sale $2.28)
4 Coffee mate creamer (sale $2.50, $1 cpn)
15 bags marshmallows (sale $1, $3 cat WYB 3 bags)
1 Raid Ant killer (2pk, sale $5.99)
1 Weed & Grass Killer Spray ($3.34 sale)
1 pr sunglasses ($19.99 sale)
1 single serving peanuts ($0.50)


I paid $13.65 OOP. I would have paid less, but forgot to pick up "fillers" in order to get my cost over $4 so I couldn't use my $4 coupons. And I have (8) of the $4 cats leftover to use on future purchases.

May 28th, 2008 - Jewel

We wanted some chips - so I made a quick trip to Jewel.




I got:
1 Jewel tortilla chips (sale $2.00)
1 family size Doritos (sale $4.89)
6 marshmallows (sale $1, Buy 3, get $3 cat)
1 Nestle Crunch bar ($0.44 sale)

I paid $0.45 OOP.