maybefrugal

Time to re-purpose the old blog...

2011-01-25T10:39:00.000-08:00

I think I need this space back. It was great for being my deal dumping grounds while I was growing my couponing skills but now that I've got that down I'll leave it to the pros :)

Instead, I've decided to make this blog a little more personal. If you don't like it, feel free to unsubscribe or quit following. I'll probably still post my shopping trips and deals from time to time because I don't intend to become less cheap at any time in the future. I just don't want that to be my focus anymore.

In case you're wondering, current focuses and goals for myself include:

More crafting- both with and without kiddos. I grew up in a crafty household, and while I'm quick to admit that I'm not artistic by any means I can still pull out a good craft once in a while.
"Re-fashioning" myself. I have had 3 adorable kiddos in the last 4 years but that's done a number on my body and my wardrobe. One of my personal goals this year is a new style on the cheap. I'm going for modest, late 20's, "I'm a mom and it must be practical but I still want to look cute" and CHEAP.
Get in shape. Sure, I'd love to lose weight but making that a goal is a surefire way to disappoint myself. Instead I'm going to focus on getting outside more, exercising more, and eating better. I guess that means the real goal overall is a healthier me.
Continue to hone my shopping skills. I've been at the couponing thing now for 3 years and while I'm good at it, I want to focus more on cutting my OOP and stockpiling the right amounts. I think having a specific goal here will help me continue to improve. I'm currently on a "shopping break" which means nothing but dairy, bread, and produce (and the occasional needed item).
Sweeping. Not sweeping the floor sweeping, but entering sweepstakes and playing instant wins. I've been fooling around with this for a while and had small wins. In November I won my first major prize (a trip we'll be going on next month, I'll share more details when we get back). December was good to me as well. Of course, I'll be sharing some of those kinds of things here as well.

If you stick around, you can expect updates on all of those kinds of things.

Did you get a Keurig for Christmas?

2011-01-06T08:29:00.000-08:00

I did, and I'm thrilled with the ease and convenience- I sure don't feel that way about the crazy prices of some of the K-cups. Maybe you've been looking for a deal too? Have I got one for you- I just bought 101 k cups for $29.57! Want to know how?

First, you'll need to register your machine at Keurig. You should be able to find the machine's code either behind your drip tray or on the back of your machine. They'll email you a personal one-time use code for 2 free boxes when you buy 2 boxes.

Next, you can pick out 4 boxes of k cups in their shop. I added a 5 k cup sampler to my order for an extra $2.97 but you don't need to do that...I just thought it'd be fun to try a little bit of something new and since I was putting in an order now (with free shipping) I might as well try it out, right? This is replacing my Starbucks budget for the next two weeks so a little splurge won't hurt.

Head on over to view your cart. Apply the code you received in your email to make 2 of the boxes free, it will take off the lowest priced of the boxes (don't worry about having a sampler in there- it took off 2 of my 24 count boxes, not the cheaper sampler). Now, apply CHEERS11 for an extra $3 off your total (expires 1/11/11). At this point you can checkout.

Want to see how it worked out in the end? Here's my order:

Unsweetened Black Perfect Iced Tea (24) $11.80
Big Easy Bold Coffee (24) $0.00
Italian Roast X Bold Coffee (24) $0.00
Creme Caramel Coffee (24) $14.80

Chai Tea (5) $2.97
Product Sub-Total: $67.10
Discount: $37.53
*Estimated Taxes: $0.00
Shipping Charge: $0.00
Order Total: $29.57

*Final taxes are calculated upon shipment and will be reflected in your Shipping Confirmation email.

Disney Movie Rewards: do you use this?

2011-01-06T07:51:00.000-08:00

I really like this program, it's nice to earn points from something we buy anyways (although a good number of our Disney movies are bought with coupons, received as gifts, or picked up at goodwill). Even if you don't buy the movies, they give out a lot of points for free. I was recently working on updating my own account and came across a good number of codes that are currently available and FREE.

If you haven't been doing this, now is the perfect time to sign up because there are quite a few codes for you. (If you have been doing this, please double check your account before trying these codes. Putting in the same codes too many times can get your account frozen. You can fix this with a phone call but checking before hand will save you the hassle and only take a few extra seconds.)

Step 1: Register at Disney Movie Rewards
Complete your profile to earn 25 points, and then enter the following codes
REX for 25 points (new members only)
FM39V03SSW for 5 points
FPSNN83JX9 for 25 points
9FTMRYWEK for 50 points
9EKSMN38SH for 50 points
COOL for 50 points
D11M20R01NY for 50 points
CHIHUAHUA for 25 points
then fill out a survey for an additional 100 points

That's a potential 405 points absolutely free! What can you get with 405 points? Nothing super fantastic unless you're looking for 30 free photo prints, Disney mini posters, stickers or something along those lines. I tend to cash out around the 550-750 point range, they have a few older Disney dvds that are kind of fun. Of course, I'm sure there will be more free points released in the future- making it easy to earn enough for something (possibly a Christmas gift you can mark off your list for free this year?). I've got my eyes set on some of the Handy Manny dvd's at 750 points that I know my boys would love.

A HUGE thank you to the wonderful people at SD that keep the DMR thread up to date with the latest codes! While I didn't find all of these codes there, I do frequently check for new codes there and frequently benefit from their hard work :)

QFC

2010-11-09T16:17:00.001-08:00

Spent $1.95, saved $67.95 (97%)

...and that's just today's run. I've been having a blast shopping the promo this week at QFC and am excited to see that it'll be continuing into next week (although the prices could/probably will change). Part of what made today so awesome is the new $1.50/3 Campbell's cooking soups printable coupon (with 2 computers- that means all 12 cans were free for me!). Even if you don't have more than one computer, you can print it twice and that takes care of at least 6 of your 10 items.

I'm back with an Albertsons trip!

2010-11-07T09:26:00.000-08:00

I'm back! Actually, I've been back to shopping for a while- and couponing like a maniac this week. Hope you've all been taking advantage of the deals at QFC too (because they're too good to pass up- seriously! If you don't know what I'm talking about, visit Heather over at Queen Bee Coupons). I've only got my Albertsons trip for you today though:

Total Spent: $0.12 --- Total Saved: $40.88

I did the same transaction twice: 6 cans Dole Pineapple and 4 cans of green beans. I used two $1/3 Dole coupons (from a recent booklet), one $1/4 Green Giant canned veggies (from the Safeway Thanksgiving coupon book), and three doublers per transaction. Gotta love 10 canned food items for a mere $.06.

The oldest helped me to carry them in and stack them up for a photo. Then he insisted that I take his picture too (and since he usually runs from the camera, I was happy to oblige). I hope to continue getting back on track with my blog now that things are settling down and I'm getting the hang of three.

Meet our new addition!

2010-09-27T12:49:00.001-07:00

Those of you who've been following me for a while probably know we've been expecting baby #3. Well, he arrived on the 16th of this month and is keeping us plenty busy. I'm glad to have a well-stocked pantry at the moment because I'm really not up to the deal-seeking and trying to shop with 3 kiddos. Of course, I've been prompted to share some photos, so here he is:

That's baby Preston at 1 day old. Here he is again with big brother Ryan (you'll have to forgive me for the blurry photos below, the majority of which are from either my or my sister's phone...I'm behind on uploading photos from my camera).

And snuggling with big brother Trent (he adores his "wonderful Frestony Freston")

I don't usually share photos of myself, but my sister caught this big baby yawn and it's kind of cute, so here you go. New babies are so much more fun than couponing!

...and a Rite Aid trip!

2010-09-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

My money-making Johnson&Johnson trip!

With baby #3 on the way any day now, I had every intention of making my short Albies run this morning the very last of my couponing trips for a while. Then, I got wind of a great moneymaking deal on Johnson and Johnson products at Rite Aid. This was the only thing I had wanted to stock up on and had not seen an awesome deal on...plus it was at a store near my house?! It was just too much for me to resist. Here's how I did it:

I purchased 8 Johnson and Johnson products (they must be 15oz- other than that all "flavors" of bubble bath, wash, shampoo, and lotion are reportedly working) at $3.99 each
used a $5 off a $25 purchase RA coupon
used a $1 Johnson&Johnson Video Values coupon
used a variety of printable Johnson&Johnson coupons (each equal to $1 off per product, so these took off a total of $8 for me)
This brought my total down to $19.81 after taxes (I had $3 in +Up rewards at home, but I forgot them)
I got back one $10 +Up reward for buying over $30 worth of J&J products and eight $2 +Up rewards for a grand total of $26 +Up rewards!

That's more than $6 in profit after taxes on something we use daily, talk about a hard to resist deal! There are a couple of things you'll want to keep in mind if this deal interests you:

You can only get one $10 +Up reward for buying $30 worth of J&J products so you won't be able to do this more than once per Wellness card.
If you've been a super awesome RA shopper and already have the 20% discount, your J&J items will ring up slightly less. You can buy a ninth product to get you up over the $30 point or chose another participating item.
The limit on J&J $2 +Up rewards appears to be 8, so buying 9 will not net you another $2
Hurry! The word on this deal is getting out now- plus, it's a popular product and easily done with printable coupons. If you have specific items in mind, you probably won't want to wait as the store could run out. My store was well stocked this morning but it only takes a few couponers to put a dent in the store's stock when we're each buying 8 products.

Hope this helps someone out there! For more hot RA deals you'll want to check out For The Mommas (my favorite RA deal blogger).

Albertsons doublers today!

2010-09-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

Spent $3.80, Saved $55.58

(and got back a $1 catalina)

I split my things into two transactions so I could make the most of the doublers that came out today. Here's what I bought (using mostly printable coupons):

Transaction #1:

10 boxes Green Giant Veggies $1 each
2 bottles Hershey's Syrup $2 each
$5 came off instantly for the Boxtops Promo (buy 10 items)
used two $1 off 3 GG Veggie printables and one $.60 off 3 printable
used $1 off 2 Hershey's Syrup (from 8/22)
and I used three doublers to bring my total down to $2.40

Transaction #2 (in which I realized they didn't have quite a few of the things I wanted and had to improvise):

4 boxes Green Giant Veggies $1 each
4 rolls of Grands $1.50 each
2 bags Chex Mix
minus $5 for buying 10 participating Boxtop Promo items
used $.60/3 GG veggies printable
used two $1/2 Grands printables
used $1/2 Chex Mix printable
and three doublers
This brought my total down to $1.40 and I got back a $1 catalina

RA Update: My last Huggies deal got even better!

2010-09-02T06:30:00.000-07:00

I know a lot of readers out there are buying the same things I am, so I wanted to give you all a heads up on this- just in case you also took advantage of the awesome Huggies deal at Rite Aid last week. I was pretty thrilled when I was able to buy all of this:

for only $6.37 out of pocket. I also explained that without my +up rewards and SCR to help pay the cost I would have spent only $11.47 and got back $6 in +up rewards (for a "net cost" of $5.47). BUT I also have a habit of entering all of my Rite Aid receipts into their SCR system just in case. I was surprised this morning when I got an email about my status having been updated- and then excited when I realized it was this diaper purchase that qualified me for rebate #148! That's an extra $5 I'm getting back from this deal!!

I hope that if you bought the same things you can track down that receipt and enter it. Of course, if you already qualified for #148 (by buying Cottonelle or something else) you won't be able to claim another one.

I'm loving Albertsons this week!

2010-08-31T08:48:00.000-07:00

This cost me $0.90 (I saved $108.38)

I actually bought a lot more than what you're seeing here- including one box of Quaker Delights Granola Bars, a box of Ritz Crackerfuls, and 19 more bottles of salad dressing that went directly to St. Vincents. Between my mom and I, we took down 10 tubs of oatmeal and 43 bottles of salad dressing just yesterday. There are a ton of benefits to couponing, but being able to donate in large amounts is one of my favorites. Of course, being able to grab a few free things for yourself in the process is also kind of wonderful. Yes, it took us a while to collect all our coupons and go through the lines multiple times but it's certainly not a waste of time.

If you have the coupons and your stores are stocked up on salad dressing, you might consider picking up a few bottles to donate as well. A good number of Albertsons stores have barrels for the food bank somewhere inside- making this a super easy good deed to do.

More shopping: FM & Albies

2010-08-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

Fred Meyer: $12.41 spent, $3.50+ saved

I was excited to see grapes for only $.87/lb this week, along with a few other great produce prices, so I figured I do my "real" grocery shopping there. The Ronzoni was free after $1 coupons (found in various magazines about to be tossed at the doctor's office). The Swiss rolls were a treat for the husband (he likes them for lunches) @ $1 each and the donuts are a great motivator for the kiddos to help me clean during the week. The corn was also on sale for only $.25/ear and the bell pepper was $.44. Fun stuff.

Albertsons: $1.60 spent, $38.30 saved

Looks familiar, right? Except that with doublers, this deal is even better! I used two $1 off 2 and one $.55 off 1 (from today's paper) coupons on the salad dressing. I also used the $3 off 5 Quaker items coupon, a $2 survey coupon, and the $5 catalina from my last transaction. I got back another $5 catalina coupon for buying the salad dressing.

If you're just getting into this deal, the best way to start would be:

5 Kraft dressing (Ranch/Italian only) @1.34 each= $6.70
use two $1/2 coupons from the orange "Fall into good things" booklet (in store)
use one $.55 coupon (from today's paper) or one $.35 peelie
use three doubler coupons
pay $1.60-$2.00 and get back a $5 catalina

then, you could buy your Quaker items (using a $3 off 5 items) coupon and pay somewhere between nothing and $2! You could also continue to add in the Kraft dressing to "roll" your catalinas each time and maximize your savings. Hope you're all having fun with doublers today!

Safeway: apple juice & dinner

2010-08-27T19:13:00.000-07:00

Spent $19.62, saved $54.40 (73%)

(not pictured: 2 gallons of milk)

After a long day of toddler haircutting and kitchen cleaning I was kind of excited to see that the $5 Friday deal was Turkey Breast. I love turkey and not having to cook it sounded especially appealing. I decided I'd also take advantage of the Motts juice/snack deal going on this week. It is a little silly because neither of my boys drink apple juice (or any juice for that matter) but I love to have it on hand while nursing- so I took advantage of this chance to stock up for myself. My trip breaks down like this:

I bought:

12 bottles Motts Apple Juice $2.00 each (used six $2 off 2 bottles coupons from the MDA booklet- check CS) $1 each
5 boxes chewy granola bars $2.49 each (FREE as part of the juice promo) FREE
3 boxes Rice Krispie Treats $2.49 each (FREE as part of the juice promo) FREE
2 gallons milk $1.99 each
Fresh Express $1
O Organics Tea $1.19 (used $1 O Organics q) $0.19
Turkey Breast $5

I used a $3 catalina from last week to help pay. The juice promo didn't work quite right for some reason and only 4 of my participating "snacks" came off on their own so the cashier had to take off the price of the other 4 snacks manually. The limit on the deal is 12, so I'm not sure what the issue was but it's something to keep an eye on just in case you're doing a similar deal.

This is not the best deal on juice I've ever seen, but I'm starting to run out of deal shopping steam so I'm happy with my results. There are a few other deals worth mentioning at Safeway this week, so you may want to swing by Queen Bee Coupons to check them out for yourself.

Albertsons: Quaker Oats & Kraft Dressing

2010-08-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

Trans #1: $11.95 spent, $27.95 saved

...plus I got back a $5 catalina

I've really been on an oatmeal kick lately, and actually found myself paying full price for store brand oatmeal last week (crazy, right??). We're still stocked up on the instant oatmeal packets- but those just aren't working for me, so when I saw the Quaker sale this week at Albies I knew I needed to make a trip down. Here's the breakdown:

5 tubs Quaker Oatmeal $2.00 each
5 bottles Kraft Ranch Dressing $1.34 each
used $3 off wyb 5 Quaker products coupon (in-ad)
used five $.35 off Kraft dressing peelies (found attached to bottles in store)
Paid $11.95 and got back a $5 catalina (for purchasing 5 bottles of Kraft dressing)

I actually got lucky and received a $2 survey coupon at the end of my receipt PLUS we spotted a few of these hot coupon booklets on the way out (Thanks CouponConnectionsNW!). The combination of good luck was too much for me to resist, so I unloaded the cart and ran back in for a quick second transaction. I bought the exact same items at I did the first go-round (this time using two $1 off 2 Kraft dressings from the new coupon booklet and one $.35 peelie), paying only $4.35 out of pocket this time and saving $35.55! Even cooler, I scored another $2 survey coupon- talk about good luck!!

There are quite a few other good deals to be had with the $3 off 5 Quaker items coupon in the ad this week BUT I've heard very reliable rumors of doublers (both from online deal seekers and a lady in the know at one of my local stores) this Sunday. I've got some nice Quaker coupons from the instant oatmeal boxes I purchased this spring that paired with doublers will make for even better deals and possibly even some freebies, so I'll be waiting to do the rest of my shopping until later this week (these prices are good through Tuesday, 8/31).

Note: I really don't need the dressing but since it does work out to be free after the peelies and catalina (or a slight money maker after $1/2 coupons and catalina) I couldn't resist grabbing some for donation purposes. If you're planning on heading to Albies this week, you might want to consider grabbing some to donate yourself.

Rite-Aid: Shopping for cheap diapers!

2010-08-26T18:21:00.001-07:00

I spent $6.37 out-of-pocket and saved $33.49

I also got back $6 in +Up rewards to use on my next transaction! That doesn't mean my diapers were free- but they were fairly cheap (and with 1 big boy in pull-ups at night, one in diapers, and another on the way I'm happy to stock up on cheap diapers). These deals are good through Saturday.

Here's what I bought:

Huggies Pure & Natural: $8.99
Huggies Little Movers: $8.99
Huggies Pull-Ups: $8.99
Pre-coupon total: $26.97

I used these coupons:

$5 off a $25 purchase (Video Values)
$2.50 off Huggies Pure & Natural
$2 off Huggies Pull-ups (Video Values)
$2 off Huggies Pull-ups
$2 off any Huggies diapers or Pull-ups (Video Values)
$2 off any Huggies Little Snugglers
(For a grand total of $15.50 in coupons)

I paid using $2 in +Up rewards I had earned previously and a $4.99 SCR check I had from July (you can either cash these at your bank or use them like cash at RA). This brought my total down to $6.37 including the almost $2 in tax, which was paid out-of-pocket. I received $6 in +Up Rewards ($2 per pack of diapers) to use on my next transaction.

Note: For those who like to think in terms of net cost, without the additional $6.99 in payment (from the $2 +Up rewards and $4.99 SCR) I would have paid $11.47 out of pocket and still received my $6 back. Without tax that works out to a mere $1.83/pack, including tax it's $2.46/pack (after you figure in the +Up rewards earned).

As always, I recommend For The Mommas for all the hottest RA deals and up-to-date info regarding what is quickly becoming my favorite drug store.

My current sweeps

2010-08-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

Based on the amount of clickthroughs on the last post I did about sweeps/instant win games I was playing, it looks like I'm not the only one who enjoys them. Here's the latest batch I've been playing:

Cheerios- Do What you Love: Enter daily for your shot at some amazing grand prizes. Odds you'll win aren't great, but I'm not joking when I say the prizes are worth a shot. Click the different themes across the bottom (ie Sports, Family, etc.) to read about each category's prize and to enter the one you want. You can enter once a day.

Barilla- Pasta Fridays: Enter once a week and you could win a coupon for a free box of Barilla.

Bed Bath and Beyond- Home Sweet Dorm: You can play once daily and there are lots of great grand prizes in addition to one $25 giftcard winner every hour.

Dove- Win your Favorite Things: Spin daily for your chance at 1 of 4 different hair styling tools (your choice). I don't spend tons of time doing my hair, and am fairly reluctant to buy hair styling tools- so this is kind of fun for me.

Honey Nut Cheerios- Non Challenge: Play daily and you could win a years worth of Honey Nut Cheerios (in the form of 12 FREE product coupons). I won this early on!

It Pays to eat Pasta: Enter daily and you could win either a $100 check or the grand prize of "free groceries for a year" ($5200 check).

KMart- Win $20 every 10 minutes: They're giving away $20 to one lucky winner every ten minutes. I haven't won, but I'd say your odds are pretty good with this one. You can play once a day.

Kroger- Summer of Savings: Select your local Kroger chain store (Fred Meyer and QFC in the NW) and then spin the wheel to see if you win a free product. You can play daily until you win a prize. It's on round 3, so you're eligible to win another even if you won a prize earlier on during the first two rounds.

M&M's- Coupon Sweepstakes: You can enter daily, and on September 1st they'll do a drawing to select over 500,000 winners for a FREE M&M's coupon. Not a huge prize, but I'd be happy with a free bag of M&M's.

Office Depot- Go Back Smarter: An instant win game with 50 winners of $100 giftcards daily (and an additional 10 teachers winning $500 giftcards daily). You do need a code, but can have a free code emailed to you daily. I've seen lots of people winning this and I'm sure there's something you could find to spend $100 on at Office Depot.

Play-Doh- You Can Win: Spin the wheel daily for your shot at a $50 giftcard (10 winners a day) or the $5000 grand prize. You'll need a code to play- they can be found on Play-Doh packages or you can use KDN185UV9JN34 (note: you can enter this code 3 times for 3 spins a day).

Quicken Loans- A Million Thanks: You can play this instant win game daily for your shot at a variety of prizes. I was hoping for the $5 Starbucks gc, $10 Amazon gc, or $10 Target GC but won a Xeko trading card game instead that I'm sure my oldest will have fun with.

Safeway- 10% Goes Back to School: Play this instant win game for your shot at a Safeway giftcard. You can also get up to 5 bonus plays a day for reffering friends. There's also a $5000 grand prize.

Sobe- Heads or Tails: You can play daily for a chance at a prize ranging from a "buy ne get one free" printable coupon to an Ipod or a new MacBook. I have yet to win anything besides BOGO and FREE sobe coupons but other people have had great luck with this game.

WhyMilk.com- Unlock Their Potential: I never win anything milk related, but there are some fun kid related prizes in this one. You can play daily- but if you win you won't know what you're getting until it comes in the mail.

Are there any other sweeps/instant win games you're playing? Did you win something from one of the sweeps I posted? I'd love to hear from you!

My Albies trip this morning

2010-08-15T10:13:00.001-07:00

I've skipped the last few rounds of doublers at Albertsons, but this week was just too good. I spent $1.54 and saved $111.89 for everything in the picture above! That's 8 boxes of potatoes, 12 boxes of cheerios, 10 boxes of cake mix, 10 tubs of frosting, and 1 butterfinger (so I could use the $2 survey receipt I got early on this am to help pay for the cake mix/frosting deal). You can bet I'll be headed back in for more fun with doublers!

Target Trip

2010-08-10T18:27:00.000-07:00

Target: $8.76 spent, $29.52 saved

I don't usually do a ton of Target deals (although I do love shopping there) but there were some things just too good to pass up this week. Toddler hand not included...he was just really excited about the new pillow. Here's what I bought:

Bath Towel Shelf $13.49 (minus $10 Target coupon) $3.49
Pillow $2.54 (minus $1 TQ) $1.54
C9 4pack Women's Socks $5 (minus $5 TQ) FREE
Quaker Instant Oatmeal $2.50 each (minus $1 TQ and $.75 coupon) $1.50 for 2 boxes
Notebook $0.15
Bic Pens $0.99 each (minus $1/2 TQ and $1/2 printable) FREE
Scotch Tape $0.50 each (minus two $1 off 3 coupons) $1.00 for 6 rolls

I was hoping to get in on some free Post-its as well, but our Target was completely out of the $1 Post-its. Still, I think I did pretty well. All the Target coupons I used today can be printed from the website (I printed the $5 C9 coupons a while back so they might not be available anymore). Both Thrifty NW Mom and Thrifty and Thriving have some great ideas for your Target trip this week, so you may want to check them out as well.

Rite Aid: Diapers, Wipes, and Tide!

2010-08-03T20:48:00.000-07:00

Spent $11.23, Saved $29.93

got back $6.50 +UP rewards and $2 SCR

That brings my (after tax) net cost to: $3.73

I didn't exactly need more toothbrushes, styling products, or shampoo/conditioner BUT my mom was sweet enough to do the deal using her Wellness+ card and we swapped goods. So really, I ended up with a toothbrush, 2 packs of diapers, 2 bottles of Tide, and 2 boxes of wipes (all things I like to have on hand). Most of the coupons I used came from the P&G insert we got this past weekend, making it super easy to replicate.

I bought:

Pampers $8.99
Pampers Wipes $3.69
Tide $5.99
HE Conditioner $2.50
HE Mousse $2.50
Oral B Toothbrush (with free sample toothpaste) $2.49
Pre-coupon total: $26.16

These are the coupons I used:

$5 off a $25 purchase (Video Values)
$3 off Pampers (Vocal Point Home mailer)
Free Pampers Wipes wyb Pampers Diapers (took off the max of $3.50)
$0.75 off Oral B Advantage Toothbrush
$1 off Tide
Free HE Styling Product wyb Shampoo or Conditioner (took off $2.50)
$1 Wellness+ coupon I earned last week
A total of $16.75 in coupons

I paid $11.23 ($1.82 of which was tax) and got back $6.50 in +UP Rewards in addition to qualifying for a $2 SCR.

As always, I suggest swinging by For The Mommas for all the latest Rite Aid information- including the latest update to their coupon policy and this week's deals.

My Target Finds: 75% off toys!

2010-07-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

I got all this for about $40 (retail is about $160):

Our Target hit 75% off most toys yesterday, and they still had tons left when I made it in last night. I was thrilled to find more fun & educational looking games for the boys. I was also able to pick up some items that I thought would be great for gifting (and the Hello Kitty Fortune Cookie Set just looks like fun). Here are the details:

HK Fortune Cookie Set ($14.29) $3.57
Laugh&Learn Pig ($14.99) $3.74
Duck Duck 1-2-3 ($9.99) $2.48
Computer Cool School ($54.99) $13.74
Curious George Hide&Seek Zoo ($19.99) $4.98
2 FP Ice Cream games ($8.99) $2.24 each
FP Cookie Shape Matching game ($8.99) $2.24
2 Trivial Pursuit Single games ($8.99) $2.24 each

We had so much fun playing the Puppy Pals Bingo game that even though I did purchase the Duck Duck 1-2-3 game at 50% off I plan to keep it and gift the second one. While the aisle clearly marked 75% off toys had quite a selection, I had better luck wandering all the aisles and looking for items with stickers (especially with the games).

Target Toy Clearance

2010-07-29T07:32:00.001-07:00

It's that time of the year again where Target starts with the heavy markdowns on toys. My local store has not yet hit 75% off yet, but I'm hearing reports that quite a few stores in WA have. If you want to check on your store- Christy over at Thrifty and Thriving has the go-to blog for Target bargain hunters. Plus, there are frequent updates on her Facebook page by her readers (you can check there to see if anyone has reported the current discount at your local store).

Just for fun, here are a few of my recent finds (not all toys):

Cranium Puppy Pals Bingo and Duck Duck 1-2-3 (50% off $9.99) $4.98 each
ConAir Infiniti Curling iron (50% off $24.99) $12.48
Mini Rubber Football (75% off $6.99, was not marked with a clearance tag) $1.75
Schwin Bicycle Seat (75% off $24.99, husband had been eyeballing this) $6.24
Remote Controlled R2D2 (50% off $29.99, was only tagged 30% off) $14.99
Mariner's Onesie and shorts set (75% off $12.99) $3.24
Cars Card Game Set (50% off $6.99) $3.48

I did buy a few things at only 50% off, it's not something I normally do- but in most cases the item at 50% off was either the last or second to last one of it's kind. I also noted in my list a few times that the item was either not tagged, or else tagged incorrectly (at a higher price)- it's really important with this markdown that you scan and check to see. Odds are good I'll be going back to see what else my store has going on sometime soon, they were just consolidating everything to one aisle which means they're close to marking things down lower but they do sometimes like to let things sit for the weekend. I was especially excited about the Cranium games as I've been looking for fun and educational games I could play with my oldest, and these too have great reviews (the ABC one in the same line though has terrible reviews on Amazon though, so I skipped that).

EDIT: Puppy Pals Bingo is fantastic, and I'd reccomend grabbing it if you have/know a toddler (especially one who likes dogs). My 3 year old and I have been playing it off and on all morning- and the only reason we stopped was so that little brother wouldn't lose the pieces.

Major Grocery Shopping Trips

2010-07-22T16:17:00.000-07:00

Fred Meyer: $12.38 spent

I split my items up into two transactions because I don't make it over to Fred Meyer often and I wanted to use the $5 Kraft catalina (from buying cheese) on the blueberries. The 5lb box of blueberries were only $7.88 and the cans of beans were only $.50 each with in-ad coupon.

Safeway: $32.93 spent, $71.02 saved (69%)

(I also got 3 green bell peppers, 10 Sobe Lifewaters, and one BC Warm Delights but they didn't make it into the photo)

I did also find a "Try Me Free" rebate hangtag attached to the Lea&Perrins so I'll be getting some money back from that. You'll want to visit Queen Bee this week for an awesome list of matchups, but if you have questions about any deal in particular you see in my photo- let me know. I also swung by Albertsons to take advantage of the $2 off produce coupon and was able to grab celery and carrots for only $0.08.

Stock up on cheese

2010-07-20T08:26:00.000-07:00

There's a great new catalina on Kraft Cheese products running almost everywhere at the moment, and that means a great chance for you to stockpile some cheese. Here are the details of the catalina:

Buy any 5 Kraft Cheese or Dairy products (6oz+) between 7/19-8/15, get $5 OYNO

Participating items:
Kraft Singles
Kraft Parmesan Cheese
Kraft Natural Cheese Chunks, Shredded, Crumbles (5oz+), Sticks and Cubes
Kraft String ums
Kraft Cracker Cuts
Kraft Deli Deluxe Cheese slices
Philadelphia Cream Cheese
Velveeta Cheese product
Cracker Barrel Cheese (5oz+)
Cheez Whiz
Breakstone's Sour Cream (16oz+)
Breakstones Cottage cheese (16oz+)
Knudsen sour cream (16oz+)
Knudsen cottage cheese (16oz+)

This deal is currently available at Fred Meyer, Albertsons, QFC, and Safeway. Most stores are also starting to get in blinkies with coupons for $1 off 2 bags. Obviously, you'll save more with the coupons, but even without them you're still getting a great deal. Wondering where to buy your cheese? Here are the two best places to take advantage of this hot deal at the moment:

Fred Meyer (through Sat 7/24)
Kraft Cheese is currently on sale for $1.50/bag

Buying 5 @ $1.50 will cost you $7.50
You'll get back a $5 catalina, making your net cost only $2.50 ($0.50/bag)
*With the blinkie coupons, your net cost will be $0.50 for all 5 bags (or $0.10/bag)

QFC (through Tues 7/20)
Kraft Cheese is currently $1.75/bag (or $1.25/bag as part of the Mega Promo)

Buying 5 @ $1.75 will cost you $8.75
You'll get back a $5 cat, making your net cost only $3.75 ($0.75/bag)
*with two $1/2 coupons, your net cost will be only $1.75 ($0.35/bag)

However, done as part of the mega promo my scenario looks like this:
Buy 6 @ $1.25 = $7.50
Buy 4 Gatorade @ $0.49 = $1.96
use 3 $1/2 coupons (takes off $3)
Pay $6.46 and get a $5 catalina
*I've been rolling my $5 catalina, so I only pay the net cost of $1.46 each time

I also switch it up on occasion, doing this:
6 Kraft Cheese @ $1.25 = $7.50 (minus 3 $1/2 coupons)
3 Ben & Jerry's @ $1.75 = $5.25 (minus $1.50/3 catalina coupon- it prints after you buy the B&J's)
1 Gatorade @ $0.49 = $0.49
Pay $8.74 and get back a $5 catalina from Kraft and a $2 catalina from Ben&Jerry's
*Rolling the $7 in catalinas allows me to only pay the net cost of $1.74 each time

The current prices of cheese at both Safeway and Albertsons would not make this deal worth the trip, however that could change as the new sales will kick in at both stores tomorrow.

QFC: Mega 10 promo

2010-07-16T15:26:00.000-07:00

$8.72 spent, $45.28 saved (84%)

*I also got a bag of Kraft Shredded cheese, not pictured* Plus, I got back two $2 catalinas. Net cost for all that junk food? $4.72! Even better? The husband loves Ben & Jerry's and but I don't- so it'll be a fun surprise for him without being tempting to me. Everything pictured is part of the "Buy 10, save $5 Mega Event" except for the Edwards singles. Here's what I did:

6 Edwards Singles $1 ea (minus $1 coupons) FREE*
3 Tombstone Pizza $2.49 ea after promo (minus $2 printable coupons) $0.49 ea
Kraft Shredded cheese $1.25 after promo
6 Ben & Jerry's $1.75 ea after promo (minus $1/2 coupons from the Safeway Dairy booklet) $1.25 ea

I got back a $2 catalina for every 3 pints of B&J's ice cream. That makes them about $0.58/pint after you figure in the catalina savings.

Note: You can find a $1/1 printable for Edwards Singles at coupons.com

Safeway: Buy 4, Save $4 cereal promo

2010-07-14T18:24:00.001-07:00

Transaction #1:

$4.64 spent, $46.57 saved (91%)

Plus, I got back a $1.50 catalina for buying the Apple Cinnamon Cheerios (that catalina ends today). I used a combination of ecoupons and printable coupons (mostly from smartsource.com) but my total was lower than anticipated and I'm not sure why. I've had a long day so I'm not going to provide tons of details- especially since I'm still not sure how it worked out- but I will point you in the direction of the Krazy Coupon Lady. Keep in mind, you get one free box of Nature Valley Nut Clusters per 4 promo items (the Nut Clusters are part of the promo, but were not tagged as such at my store). I took my things out to the car and turned around to use my $1.50 on a second transaction...

Transaction #2:

$3.26 spent, $12.99 saved (80%)

I decided to "splurge" on some of the favorite cereals (CTC for the husband and Cheerios for the boys) plus grab another free box of granola bars (my fav!). All in all, I was able to buy 9 boxes of cereal, 5 boxes of granola bars, 4 bags of Nut Clusters, and 2 boxes of fruit snacks for $7.90 (a mere $0.37 each).

My Safeway trip: 63% savings

2010-07-13T17:51:00.000-07:00

Safeway: $21.19 spent, $33.36 saved

I haven't posted a grocery trip in a while, we've mostly been shopping for fresh ingredients here and there (I'm still using coupons of course!) but haven't done much major deal shopping. These deals are only good through the end of tonight as far as I know, with the exception of the $5 off wyb a frappucino 4pack and something worth more than $5 from the floral department. Still, here are the details:

2 gallons milk $4.78
Frappucino $3.99 w/in-ad coupon
Nilla Wafers $1.99 with in-ad coupon (used $1 off Nabisco cookies wyb milk tearpad) $0.99
Bananas $0.47 (used free bananas wyb Nilla Wafers peelie, took off full $0.55) -$0.08
Barq's $1.67 (something took off $2.39 for this?) -$0.72
Mini Roses $5.99 (minus $5 promo for buying frapps) $0.99
Cheer $4.99 (minus $2 PG Esaver eq) $2.99
2 Charmin $9.98 (minus $3 PG Esaver eq, and $0.25 coupon) $6.73
O Organics Tea $1 (minus $1 coupon) FREE

Online Sweepstakes

2010-07-12T12:06:00.000-07:00

I've recently gotten into playing online sweepstakes and instant win games. While I usually consider myself to be a person who doesn't win anything- in the last week or so I've won 5 FREE Sobe coupons, a pair of movie tickets (worth up to $30), a free 20oz coke product, $25 for Costco (and some yummy snacks), and 12 boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios! Not too bad for a few minutes of my time. Here's what I've been playing:

Barilla- Share the Table: Enter once a week for a chance at a free product coupon. This is my favorite pasta, so I've got my fingers crossed.

Bed Bath & Beyond- Home Sweet Dorm: Not only are they giving away 1 $25 BB&B giftcard every hour, that's the smallest prize on the list!

Best Foods- Wheel of Real: Spin the wheel 3 times a day for your shot at a variety of food & kitchen related prizes. There's also a link to a Best Foods mayo coupon.

Bic Soleil- 100 Days of Summer: You can play daily for the chance to win a variety of things, mostly small prizes. No luck for me yet (although I do already have tons of free razors in my stockpile thanks to coupons).

Breyer's Wheel of Delights: Spin the wheel in this Facebook instant win game up to 3 times a day for your chance at instant prizes (coupons for free boxes of ice cream). Each day you play, you're also given one entry into their grand prize drawing of $1000.

Cheerios: Enter daily for your chance to win a free box of Cheerios. If you haven't entered already, you'll also get a $1 printable coupon in your email each week for 4 weeks. It's a great way to score some free or cheap Cheerios.

Coca Cola & Wendy's Summer of Real: Another daily instant win game. Lots of prizes, most of which are 30 My Coke Rewards points redeemable for a free 20oz Coke product. There's a limit of 1 prize per person and you need a code to play (329492855844 is the reusable code found on drink cups at Wendy's).

Dole- Salad Seekers Taste Adventure: You can play up to 3 times a day for a chance to win free bags of salad. Just be sure to click the blue button in the lower left corner of your screen so you can play without a code.

Honey Nut Cheerios- Non Challenge: Lots of chances to win a years supply of Honey Nut Cheerios (in the form of 12 FREE item coupons) and you can play daily. I won this on my second try!

Kroger Summer of Savings: Another daily chance to win something from your Kroger affiliate (QFC or Fred Meyer in the NW). I won a free pack of toilet paper in round 1, the second round started on July 4th and I've yet to win a prize from this round. These prizes load directly onto your shoppers card, so when you go in to the store and "buy" the item it should discount the full purchase price.

Milano- Share your Milano moment: Share your "milano moment" on Facebook for your chance to win a case of new Strawberry Milano cookies. You'll have to "like" them to participate. While you're there, you can also print a coupon for the Strawberry Milano cookies.

Pace Hand Pick & Win: You can play this game daily, and win up to 5 times (I've had 4 wins myself). Instant win prize is a coupon good for a free Pace product worth up to $4.

Raisinets Gift Basket: You'll need to "like" Raisinets on facebook, and then enter once for your chance at a gift basket loaded with Raisinet goodies. Only one winner a day.

Sobe- Heads or Tails: Easy to play daily with lots of prizes ranging from a printable "buy one get one free" coupon to a MacBook Pro. You can only win one prize valued over $25 per household so I'd pass on the backpack or track jacket, unless you really want one of those items.

Twix "10,000 Reasons to chew it over": You can play the instant win daily for your chance at a free bag of fun-size Twix or special Twix pack AND be entered for the grand prize drawing of $10,000.

Plum District: discount movie tickets through fandango (6/29 only!)

2010-06-29T13:07:00.000-07:00

Plum District is another one of those deal a day sites, and while it's not really up and running for the Seattle area just yet- today's steal is certainly one worth buying if you're planning a trip to the movies anytime soon (and yes, it'll work at any participating theater nation-wide)!

For a limited time today only, you can buy up to 2 movie ticket codes for only $6 each- these can be used through Fandango to buy tickets (worth up to $12). I'd check with Fandango first to make sure a theater near you will work (simply look up theaters near you and click the "Fandango Ticketing Theaters" button)- I haven't seen an area yet where it doesn't but you never know. Depending on how much tickets cost in your area, you could be saving 50% on your movie ticket. The codes are good through October 31st so you'll have plenty of time to use them. Enjoy!

Fandango does charge a convenience fee, so if the cost of your ticket and the fee are more than $12- you'll have to pay a little bit extra when you do redeem your code. However, this is still a great deal (and one I'd be jumping on myself if we went to movies as often as we used to, or if we didn't already have a few free movie passes from the recent kellogg's promos). Note: Most people are receiving their codes within 10-15 minutes, so be sure to check your email spam folder just in case you don't see yours shortly after purchasing. You should also be able to find your codes on the Plum District site by clicking the "My Account" button in the upper right corner and then "My Deals" on the right side toolbar. Thanks SD!

Rite Aid (again)

2010-06-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

$8.65 spent, $72.35 saved

plus I still have $8 in +UP Rewards

I couldn't help but go back- seriously, who can resist deals like this on things we use and like to use?! In addition to the $8 in UP Rewards, I've also qualified for $4.99 in Single Check Rebates ($2.99 on the toothpaste, and $2 for the Luvs diapers) but I don't like to count those until I'm spending them (or depositing them). Without including those, my net cost is only $12.65. It's a lot like what I did earlier but here's how things worked anyways:

Transaction #1:

Crest 3D White Strips $29.99
used $5/$25 coupon
used $10 Crest White Stripes coupon
used $1/$10 Oral Health +UP Reward
used $12 +UP rewards (from earlier today)
paid $3.62, saved $39, and earned another $12 +UP reward

Transaction #2:

Luvs $15.99
Crest 3D White mouth rinse $2.59
Crest ProHealth toothpaste $2.99
Starburst $0.88
2 M&M's $0.88 (on sale bogo)
2 Stayfree $3.99 (on sale bogo)
Used $5/$25
used $2 Luvs coupon
used bogo M&M's coupon
used bogo Stayfree coupon
used $12 +UP rewards from transaction #1
paid $5.03, saved $33.35, earned $2 +UP rewards for the mouth rinse and $6 +UP rewards for the Luvs

Curious about all the $5 off $25 purchase coupons I seem to have? On Rite Aid's Video Values site, you can watch 2 separate ads for RA and each one will allow you to print a $5/$25 coupon. You can also earn points by watching other ads (each one will allow the print of a unique RA coupon) and 20 points will get you the $5/$20 coupon. The last $5/$25 I used was a welcome coupon for signing up with the Wellness program.

Rite-Aid: My first +UP Rewards trip!

2010-06-28T15:31:00.000-07:00

$16.06 spent, $51.65 saved

Plus $12 (in +UP rewards) for my next trip

Which I suppose makes my net cost $4.06 for everything pictured above. Verdict? I am in LOVE with Rite Aid! Even better, all of these coupons came in the paper from this past weekend, making it super easy for you to duplicate my deals. Please bear in mind I haven't really been doing Rite Aid deals, so there may be better deal potential here- but I'm very happy with my results. You do need a Wellness card (it's free) to get some of these prices and to get the +UP Rewards. Here's what I did:

Transaction #1:

Luvs $15.99
2 Packs Stayfree $3.99 (on sale buy one get one free)
2 bags M&M's $0.88 (on sale buy one get one free)
Used a $5 off a $20 purchase Video Values coupon
Used a $2 Luv's coupon
Used a BOGO Stayfree Coupon
Used a BOGO pretzel M&M's coupon
Used $4 in Single Check Rebates from April
Paid $6.01, saved $18.65, and earned $6 in +UP Rewards

Transaction #2

Crest 3D White Strips $29.99
Used $5 off $25 purchase coupon
Used $10 Crest 3D White Strips coupon
Used $1 off $10 Oral Care coupon (this printed on my receipt from transaction #1 with the $6 UP Rewards)
Used $6 +UP rewards
Paid $10.05, saved $33, and earned $12 in +UP Rewards for my next trip!

Yes, it feels like too many coupons for each transaction, but it isn't. You're allowed one manufacturer coupon, one store coupon, one "total purchase" coupon (these are the $5 off $20 or $25 purchase). The +UP Rewards and SCR's are treated like a form of payment. For The Mommas is an awesome resource with weekly matchups and information of how to shop Rite Aid. It's also a good idea to print a copy of the Coupon Policy, just in case!

Menu Plan Monday (and what we did this weekend!)

2010-06-28T10:17:00.000-07:00

We had one busy weekend, here's what we've been up to:

Enjoying some of the awesome produce on sale this week (we made scones)

We took the plastic off our garden after our broccoli started blooming faster than we could eat it. We have a second garden bed, but this one really took off (the tomatoes are as tall as my 3 year old!)

We snacked on the broccoli as well because it tastes better right off the plant.

And we started a new project, I'll share more once we're done!

I did quite a bit of shopping last week for groceries, so we're using a lot of things we already have on hand this week. I'm practically out of cheese, so I'm excited to see Tillamook will be on sale at Safeway starting Wednesday (I plan to stock up).

Monday: Tostadas
Tuesday: Teriyaki Chicken with Rice and Broccoli (from the garden!)
Wednesday: Crockpot Chili
Thursday: Breakfast (it's silly and a great excuse to use up those sausages I found marked down last week)
Friday: Linguini with Shrimp and Lemon Oil
Saturday: Steaks, Hashbrown casserole, veggies

Safeway: cheap goldfish!

2010-06-26T08:22:00.001-07:00

$5.95 spent, $39.18 saved (87%)

Plus, I'll submit for the Snapple Rebate for the full purchase price of $6.49! I LOVE shopping trips like this. It didn't quite turn out as anticipated but it'd be silly to complain about the way it did turn out, wouldn't it? Especially since it's all free after you figure in the rebate.

Notice the toddler hand in the bottom right corner? It's been a while since I last bought goldfish, and we've been out for months. He was super excited to see them, so I may go back this weekend and stock up a little bit more. I know they're not healthy but they are fun in small batches! (By the way, all the flavor varieties were included in the weekend $0.88 sale)

For matchups, you may want to check out Thrifty and Thriving. I'm linking you in the direction of her recent Safeway posts instead of the actual weekly deals post because you'll find the links for goldfish coupons (makes them $0.38 each) and a hot deal on blueberry juice. If you're not interested in those deals, you can see the weekly matchup here. Thanks Christy!

Locals- Red Apple's HOT produce tent sale

2010-06-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how wide spread this chain is or even if this weekend-type sale is going on anywhere else- but the prices are too awesome to pass up if you're a local. I shopped the Kitsap Way location in Bremerton today so I can verify that it's going on there. The tent sale only extends through tomorrow, so if you want to take advantage of any of the amazing produce prices- don't wait! (If you're not sure it's going on near you, you may want to give your local store a call to check it out. Good luck!).

I'm slacking today, so no photo for you, but here's what I was able to snag for about $10:

2 mini watermelons
avocado
2 onions
10lb bag of potatoes
a little over 2lbs of grapes
red bell pepper
64 oz SunnyD ($0.89 with in-ad coupon)
6oz Scharffen Berger Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (on sale for $1.50! It's usually around $10)

If that doesn't do much for you, here are a few of the AMAZING produce prices (these are off the top of my head, so I know I'm forgetting things- sorry!):

Mangos 3/$1
Red Bell Pepper 3/$1
Red & Green grapes $0.99/lb
Mini Seedless Watermelons $0.99 each
Whole Seedless watermelon $0.33/lb
Yellow Onions $.50/lb
Limes 10/$1
Lemons 3/$1
Avocadoes $0.69 each

Walgreens trip tonight

2010-06-25T19:15:00.001-07:00

$2.67 spent, $15.50 saved (85%)

The husband was bummed when he realized we were down to nothing but Smart Balance milk this morning so I figured I'd better run into Walgreens today (the only place I know of offhand with $1.99/gallon milk this week). I had $10 in RR from previous weeks so I thought I'd just use it up on cheap toilet paper so I wouldn't have to worry about heading back in before Sunday. Luckily, I spotted a few bars of Neutrogena soap in stock! Here's what I bought:

2 Gallons on milk $1.99/ea = $3.98
12 big rolls toilet paper $5 (minus $1 coupon in the monthly booklet) = $4
3 Bars Neutrogena @ 2.69 ea (used three $1.50 coupons) = $3.47
tax was only $1.12 and I paid using the $10 in RR I had
I earned $10RR for buying 3 Neutrogena products (this deal ends on Saturday!) making net cost and out-of-pocket cost the same (and not too shabby for the 2 gallons of milk we needed anyways)

My shopping trip this week

2010-06-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

Safeway & QFC: $29.19 spent, $41.00 saved (59%)

(the photo is missing a package of Johnsonville breakfast sausages- oops!)

This past week has been super busy for me. We had 2 dogs staying with us, a birthday, followed by the birthday party, and father's day- among other things. Anyways, this was the majority of my shopping for this next week. I didn't use a ton of coupons this time around because I was taking advantage of some awesome sale prices at QFC. Even without coupons, a savings of nearly 60% is pretty awesome! I am planning on heading back into Safeway this weekend for some of their Saturday/Sunday only deals and will most likely also swing by Albies this weekend if we do get doublers on Sunday.

Check out Coupon Connections NW for a great list of QFC deals this week!

Yet Another Safeway Coupon Policy Change

2010-06-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's old news but I wanted to make sure you all saw that the Safeway policy has been changed again- this new change simply means you cannot use Register Rewards from Walgreens (or catalina coupons for an amount off your next purchase with any other store's logo on it). For more details, you can check out Thrifty NW Mom's post.

You can also read (and print) the full Safeway coupon policy here.

Safeway Trip: I used RR successfully!

2010-06-17T17:51:00.000-07:00

$7.57 spent, $28.19 saved (79%)

This trip is nothing spectacular, except for the fact that I was able to use Register Rewards from Walgreens to help pay down the cost of my groceries! I had a trip earlier this week where my RR were refused (for a range of reasons, and the manager on duty didn't seem to be informed of the new policy). When I heard that another local Safeway was accepting them, I headed in again (ready with my printed copy of the new policy) and went straight to CS to find out for myself. The lady working CS initially said no because she was sure Safeway didn't take any catalinas printed by other retailers, but after reading the new policy she called for the manager. He came by, and headed back into the office for a moment to double check, but came back out and said they were accepting them until they heard otherwise (he did double check my RR to see that they qualified). It was super exciting to get the go ahead and I was thrilled to encounter a friendly and informed manager- you can bet I'll be shopping this store more often! HOORAY!! Thanks Safeway!!

Nothing I bought today was an especially awesome deal (with the exception of the O Organics Raisins for $1.50 after coupon) but we're having people over this weekend to celebrate kiddo #1's 3rd birthday and while the husband is insisting on ordering food from Azteca- I had planned to make ceviche. I did splurge some on the frappucino and doughnuts but I figured I deserved a treat for sticking with it this week and to making my RR work for groceries.

My Walgreens trip: gotta use up those RR!

2010-06-14T17:48:00.001-07:00

3 transactions: $11.20 spent, $36.60 saved

I had $10 in Register Rewards set to expire tonight, so while I was out doing my best to find silver sprinkles (would you believe the local Michael's was all out of silver cake decorating items) and mostly couponless, I swung by Walgreens to roll some RR quickly. I will be getting back the full purchase price of $7.99 for the Schick Hydro (thanks to For The Mommas for posting about the rebate this morning!). I did have some $1.50/1 Neutrogena coupons in my purse (just in case the bars of soap ever come back into stock) which made the face wash a bit of a moneymaker- here's how that works out:

Buy 3 Neutrogena facewash @$4.11 each (sale price)= $12.33
use 3 $1.50/1 coupons (from last month's Safeway book)
pay $7.83 plus tax, get back a $10 Register Reward
(If you're going to pay with RR, you'll need a filler. I used a $.25 box of lemonheads and a $4 RR. I paid $5.16 and got back the $10RR)

It's certainly not my best Walgreens trip ever, but for planning while in store- it's not terrible. After I get my rebate, the net cost of this trip will have been $2.21 and that's not bad.

2 Winners! (Safeway O Organics coupons)

2010-06-14T17:36:00.000-07:00

So, it's officially Monday night and therefore time to announce the 2 winners of O Organics coupon sets...are you ready? The winners (as selected by random.org) are:

Poster #16: Kaila who said "I would use them for fruits and veggies!"
Poster #25: Heather who said "I would use them on Tofu + Produce! Yay!"

...and then just for a little bit of extra fun, I decided why not add a third winner?

Poster #23: Annette who said "Will use them on produce, probably carrots! "

Congrats to all the winners! I'm going to do my best to get emails out to you all tonight so that I can get your address and send some coupon-y goodness your way as soon as possible (but it is almost bedtime and I'm on my own with the kiddos tonight, so you may have to wait until tomorrow for your email, sorry!). I'll be adding some random coupon goodies to your envelopes as well, just because it's a little bit more fun.

Menu Plan Monday

2010-06-14T15:05:00.001-07:00

gak! I can't believe it's Monday already, can you? We've got a busy week this week- with a birthday on Wednesday and a party this weekend. I did get out and do some shopping for produce (plus, we've got broccoli that needs to be picked...or cut...or whatever it is you do to broccoli in addition to all the lettuce). Still, I need to attempt a menu plan and it's going to look something like this:

Monday: taco night
Tuesday: I've got peppers that need to be cooked, and onion, so I'm leaning towards chicken fajitas
Wednesday: Crockpot Broccoli Beef and rice (but maybe I'll let the birthday boy pick something) followed by "chocolate cake with yellow frosting"
Thursday: Stuffed cheesy spinach manicotti (with beef) and a garden salad
Friday: Black beans and brown rice (we ended up going out last week so I'll be making it this week)
Saturday: Birthday party!

A non-deal post

2010-06-11T10:06:00.000-07:00

I am on the hunt for a delicious (from scratch) almond poppy seed muffin recipe. I've had great luck in the past googling for recipes and then picking one that sounds about right, but recently? NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT. I found something that looked delicious yesterday, but after following directions exactly- they were a fail: they looked and tasted so bad there was nothing that could be done to save them. Honestly, even the littlest one (who very recently tried to eat used coffee grounds from the trash) wouldn't touch them. That's bad.

Really, I'm not a bad baker- promise. I also don't want to spend $2.50 for a box mix (on sale) or use the (yummy) costco copycat recipes that start you off with a box of cake mix. Does anyone know of a great almond poppyseed muffin recipe? Or know of a place I should search?

The photo above is of a yummy looking lemon poppyseed muffin that is the very next recipe I'm going to attempt to modify (we're not big lemon fans). Of course, I'd still LOVE your input.

Redbox: FREE rental for Facebook fans (6/21)

2010-06-11T09:49:00.000-07:00

Become a "liker" of Redbox on Facebook on or before Monday, June 21st and you'll get a personal code good for one free rental. The code will only be valid on the 21st until 8:59 PST, which is perfect for a Monday movie night! Just be sure to return your movie the next day before 9pm to avoid getting the $1 charge for your movie.

They're a little bogged down with code requests at the moment, but should get everything sorted out before the 21st so don't worry if you don't get your code right away. Thanks Redbox!

The Limited: FREE $10 store cash

2010-06-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

Swing by The Limited anytime between now and Monday June 21st to pick up a FREE $10 in Fashion Cash. You can use this on any item price $10 or more, so there's potential for free/cheap clothing and accessories. I'm not sure you need it, but I'd be tempted to bring a copy of the email with details down to the store just in case.

The fine print reads "Fashion Cash valid through June 21, 2010 in-store only for $10 off a purchase. Minimum purchase must be equal to or greater than $10. Limit one per customer. Cannot be combined with Virtual Dollars, other coupons or redeemed for cash. Not valid on markdown prices, previous purchases, purchase of gift cards, or as payment on The Limited Card. No cash or credit will be rewarded if merchandise is returned. No reproductions will be accepted. Associates not eligible. Card must be surrendered at time of purchase to receive discount." It does say that it cannot be used on markdowns although I have heard of stores allowing it in the past so you may want to double check with your local store.

The only locations in WA state can be found at: Alderwood Mall, South Center, and the Tacoma Mall. Of course, if you're not in Washington, you can click here to find a location near you.

FREE Sweet Tea @ Popeye's 6/12

2010-06-11T09:15:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow only (June 12th) you can swing by your local Popeye's and get a 22oz Sweet Tea for FREE! I haven't tried their sweet tea before (and I do love sweet tea), but this sounds like a neat freebie. There aren't a ton of NW locations, but you can find the one nearest you here.

Don't forget that this Saturday is also the $2 Old Navy Tanktop sale!

O Organics: Coupon Giveaway!

2010-06-10T11:55:00.001-07:00

I've been getting tons of questions on and off since I began posting about these great O Organics Safeway coupons, even more so after my O Organics pick of the week post. Most of the questions are in regards to where these coupons can be found and what they look like. I've had great luck in finding them in the pharmacy area, sometimes even behind the counter where I've had to ask someone for a few. As for what they look like, take a peek:

I set these out so you can see both sides. As you can see from the stack on the left, the coupon is a tiny piece of the ad at the bottom. It's valid on all O Organics products (with the exception of fluid dairy products) and doesn't expire until 12/31/2010! They can be used at any Safeway or affiliate store.

Since I've been so lucky in finding these awesome coupons- I'd love to share some with you. Two lucky people will each win a set of 5 O Organics coupons (and a few miscellaneous coupons, to make this a little more fun). You may enter twice, once by leaving a comment on this thread with what you think you might use the coupon on. You can leave a second comment if you are a follower/email subscriber, letting me know that you follow or subscribe to me. Please be sure to leave a way for me to get ahold of you!

I'll use Random.org to select two winners on Monday night (6/14), so be sure to enter before then. Good Luck!!

Old Navy: $2 Tanks

2010-06-09T18:55:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, June 12th, Old Navy will be running another $2 tank top sale! There's a limit of 5 per person. Obviously, that's a great deal- but we can do better, right? Old Navy's current printable coupon promotional thing is Barker's Bones on Facebook. It resets every Thursday (that's tomorrow) so you'll want to check that out for your chance to save even more- and who doesn't love that?!

The trick with these one-day Old Navy sales is to try to get there early, because they do sell out of certain sizes quickly. If you get there and they don't have your size, you might consider buying whatever size they do have and going back later to exchange for the right size. Obviously, that's slightly risky but it seems like tons of people have had good luck with that.

HOT deal on Milk at Safeway

2010-06-09T16:48:00.001-07:00

Update 6/14: From most reports this deal seems to be over, hope you got in on time!

Safeway seems to be the place to be! After the exciting new changes to their coupon policy (and YES! I've already heard success stories from people using RR at Safeway- SOOO exciting!) I announced this morning- I was thrilled to find this AMAZING deal on milk.

Smart Balance Fat Free Milk $3.99

Yes, it's expensive- but see that coupon at the bottom of the photo? That's a catalina for a FREE carton of Smart Balance milk (up to $3.99), it printed when I bought my first carton along with a $2 off 2 cartons coupon. Then when I bought the second carton, I got another FREE carton catalina! Even better, it didn't stop there- each time I bought another entirely free carton, I got back another free coupon.

Sure, it's Fat Free, but I've heard from several people that the added vitamins make the fat free variety have the same consistency as 2%. That's what we normally drink, so this was perfect. I do not know how long the FREE milk catalina will be working, so I suggest RUNNING to your store to take advantage of this deal. There have been a ton of coupons for this recently, ranging from $0.75 to $2 which will help cut your out-of-pocket on your initial purchase if you have them.

One more quick note on this: I have heard but have not confirmed for myself that buying the Smart Balance Butter or Peanut Butter also produce the FREE milk catalina. If you want/need either, you may look into starting off with either of those items.

Safeway O Organics: pick of the week

2010-06-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

I hope you all have had luck in finding the $1 O Organics Safeway coupon in stores. Starting this week, I'm going to feature my favorite freebies/cheap O Organics products for those of you interested in finding the best use of your O Organics coupons! Keep in mind that the coupon will automatically adjust down if the item you purchase is on sale for less than $1- there will be no overage. Please remember that you can only use one O Organics coupon per transaction.

As in previous weeks, select jarred baby food ranges from $0.65 to $0.75 and will be free after coupon. O Organics yogurt cups are also still priced at $1.09 each, a mere $0.09 after coupon. A few other great deals are (prices shown are after $1 O Organics q):

$0.25: Whole Wheat Spaghetti - 16 Oz, Organic Whole Kernel Corn - 15 Oz, Organic Cut Green Beans - 14.5 Oz, Organic Sweet Peas - 15 Oz
$0.69: Carrots 1 Lb Prepacked (compare to bulk carrots at $1.09/lb. The 2lb bag of O Organics is only $1.19 after q)
$1.00: Baby Peeled Carrots 1 Lb Prepacked (next cheapest price on 1lb. baby carrots is $1.69)
$1.09: Vanilla/Plain Soy Beverage - 32 Fl. Oz.

I'll probably be buying the baby carrots again (such an easy snack food to have on hand for the toddler!) but I am tempted to pick up some of the canned corn&peas for only $0.25/can. What will you be using your O Organics coupons on this week?

NEW Safeway Coupon Acceptance Policy

2010-06-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

I know, I know...it seems like not that long ago they updated it, and now it's being updated again. Of course, there were some GREAT changes made that I'm excited to share with you all. You can read the full policy on Safeway's website (and you may want to print a copy). Here are a few highlights:

8. Safeway will accept valid manufacturer coupons that display another retailer’s logo or name. No more stress about the manufacturer coupon you clipped from an Albertson's ad not being accepted because it has the store logo on it? Fantastic!

9. Safeway will accept valid Catalina manufacturer coupons that are issued to a customer by another retailer. This one is really exciting for me, because now I know I can use catalina coupons from anywhere at Safeway! I'm also curious to see if RR from Walgreens will be accepted, seeing as how it is a manufacturer's coupon- can you imagine the potential here??

16. We gladly accept internet printed coupons. The same manufacturer and store coupon rules above apply to all internet printed coupons. Remember that silly rule none of use really understood about Internet coupons worth 50% of an item not being acceptable? It's GONE!

And the less exciting stuff? Well, it's there too:

28. Rainchecks can be written for a limit of no more than 3 items unless otherwise stated in the advertisement. Not great news if you're hoping to take advantage of one of Safeway's "Buy X amount, Save X amount" promos and they won't write the raincheck for enough items to get the promo price. Especially since at my stores, those are the deals that usually sell out to the point where you need a raincheck. Although that may be a case where they make an exception.

There's also a bit about not allowing the "stacking" of ecoupons with manufacturer coupons, although the policy seems to limit that rule to Hawaii. It seems odd that they would apply that rule to one state only, and even more so in light of a recent post I read at Coupon Connections NW.

If you have questions about these or any of the other changes to the Safeway policy, feel free to leave me a comment and I'll be happy to try to help you out. I'm also going to be looking into rule #9 because I would LOVE to be able to use my RR somewhere besides Walgreens (especially when they start building up). If you hear any confirmed reports of this before I do, please let me know!

Albertsons trip: Lots of LOL Butter

2010-06-08T17:06:00.001-07:00

$1.81 spent, $42.31 saved (96%)

I started out with a $5 catalina and ended with a different $5 catalina- so net cost and out-of-pocket cost are the same on this one. I did 3 transactions, the first of which was the 6 sour cream. I used 3 Buy one get one free coupons (from the paper months ago) and paid only $0.67. I did one set of 5 Land O Lakes butter with the Dan-o-nino for only $0.20 after coupons. The other set of LOL butter and the Ricotta (on markdown!) was only $0.94.

The "buy 5, get $5" catalina continues next week but the sale prices on the Land O Lakes butter will most likely change. You can find the $0.50 coupons for this in the Safeway Dairy coupon book. Heather at Queen Bee Coupons has the details on this deal.

Safeway Trip: Milk and the buy 8 promo

2010-06-07T19:06:00.000-07:00

$8.45 spent, $26.52 saved (76%)

PLUS, I got back a $3 catalina for buying 4 Kraft dressings, which is awesome because it leave me with a net cost of only $5.45 (almost $4 of which was the milk!). The buy 8 promo continues through next week, although prices may change on Wednesday. Here's what I bought (before price reflect $0.50 discount per participating buy 8 item):

4 Kraft Dressing* $1.49 (minus $0.55 q's) $0.94 each
2 bags Tostitos* $1.77 (minus $1 peelies) $0.77 each
Yoplait Gogurt* $1.99 (used FREE item q) FREE
O Organics Tofu* $0.99 (used $1 O Organics q) FREE
Milk $1.99 each wyb2
Uncle Ben's rice blend $2.45 (used FREE item q) FREE
Tostitos Salsa $2 (use FREE salsa wyb 2 bags Tostitos tearpad, took off $2.50) -$0.50
Bananas $0.67 (used $1 off produce wyb 2 Kraft Dressing tearpad) -$0.33

I also swung by Fred Meyer to grab about $2 worth of grapes and a free Sobe (found a free item q in the exchange basket).

We're back!

2010-06-07T14:57:00.000-07:00

We had a very muddy but successful camping trip with the kiddos this weekend. We actually got in yesterday and took advantage of the FREE Papa John's pizza for dinner (there's nothing like a completely free pizza). I'm back to menu planning as of today, here's what I'm working on for this week:

Monday: Hamburger with pork n beans, salad (w/lettuce from the garden!)
Tuesday: Not sure yet, both boys have a doctor's appointment so I'm waiting to see how they do with that.
Wednesday: Whole chicken with roasted veggies
Thursday: Stir Fry w/leftover chicken, broccoli, and carrots on rice
Friday: Black Beans and Brown Rice
Saturday: Another not sure here, we'll be getting a couple of dogs for the week so my "maybe plans" of trying a new dish with the shrimp I picked up a bit ago might not go through...

I'm working on my grocery list at the moment as well, we're out of milk so I may need to make a quick trip to Safeway. I'm also hoping to swing by Albertsons tomorrow for some FREE Land o' Lakes spreadable butter (or else rainchecks on that- Thanks Queen Bee!). Fred Meyer would also be nice what with their cheap grapes, yogurt, and bagels (check The Coupon Project for a great matchup!).

Hot printable coupons and a few links

2010-06-04T13:25:00.000-07:00

Today seems like a great day for high value printable coupons. Here are a few you might want to print now:

$0.70 off one Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Buy one, get one free Sobe Lifewater

$1 off Cheez-It crackers- through Facebook, you'll need to like their page to print the coupon

You can also grab a free sample of Starbucks VIA from Walmart.

I've also seen a few great reads and other things to keep an eye on:

For The Mommas has the scoop and link you'll need to load the mystery "Cinderella" coupon on cellfire at 3pm (PST) today. We don't know what it is, but it'll be good at all Kroger affiliates- in the NW that means Fred Meyer and QFC.

Heather over at Queen Bee Coupons did an amazing job with her recent post comparing Coscto to coupon deals. It's well worth a look.

The Krazy Coupon Lady outlines how you can get FREE sparkling water next week at Safeway.

Last but not least, you can swing by Coupon Connections NW and take a peek ahead at what coupons to expect in this weekend's inserts.

FREE Papa John's for those in Western WA

2010-06-03T14:41:00.000-07:00

EDIT: they've reached 750 fans and the code has been posted! Those of you in the Western WA/Seattle area might want to hop on over to the Papa John's Seattle Facebook page and become a fan. They're attempting to increase their fan base and will be offering fans a code good for a FREE large 1 topping pizza once they hit 750 "likers".

You can see which stores count as being part of the Seattle area here.

IHOP: Pancake Revolution (freebies!)

2010-06-03T08:07:00.000-07:00

How about some free breakfast food? Right now, when you sign up for IHOP's Pancake Revolution- you'll start with a coupon for a FREE Rooty Tooty Fresh'n Fruity breakfast (or item of equal or lesser value). You'll also receive coupons for free meals in the future, one for your birthday and another for your 1 year anniversary with Pancake Revolution.

Thanks SD!

Safeway Trip: FREE Tofu

2010-06-02T18:48:00.000-07:00

$5.24 spent, $21.03 saved (80%)

I decided to make a quick Safeway run tonight to take advantage of the "Buy 8, save $4" promo this week. We needed a couple more things for our upcoming camping trip and it was nice to see them included. Here's what I bought (original price listed includes $0.50 discount per item for buying as part of the promo):

Safeway hot dog buns $0.50 (not part of the buy 8 promo)
Cheerios $1.49 (minus ecoupon and half a $1/2 GM cereal) $0.44
Trix $1.49 (minus ecoupons and half the GM q) -$0.11
Cinnamon Toast Crunch $1.99 (minus ecoupon and half a GM q) $0.94
Lucky Charms $1.99 (minus ecoupon and half a GM q) $0.94
Hefty bowls $1.00
O Organics Extra Firm Tofu $0.99 (minus $1 O Organics q) FREE
Kraft Cheesy Explosion $0.75 (used FREE item q, took off the full $1.25) -$0.50
Ballpark Angus franks $2.49 (minus $0.55 q) $1.94

The cereal didn't work out to be as cheap as I like, but they're some of the husband's favorites and will give him a nice break from the massive amounts of Post brand cereal he's been eating. Likewise, the hotdogs weren't super cheap but it's the brand I like and the husband really wanted some for the trip. The $1/2 General Mills cereal coupons came from the recent Shrek booklet (no longer in stores). Even if you don't buy it as part of the 8, the Tofu is only $1.49 or $0.49 after the O Organics coupon. This is not something I usually buy (I'm planning ahead for my vegan sister's visit in a few months) but it seems like a great price, especially since it's usually $2.49. That alone nets you an 80% savings!

One important thing to keep in mind when planning your trip is that you don't need to buy in sets of 8. As long as you have 8 or more items in one transaction, you'll get the $0.50 discount per item. Frugal Living NW has a really great matchup posted for this deal. Likewise, the Krazy Coupon Lady has an easy scenario using a combination of ecoupons and printable coupons that will net you 8 items for less than $5! Even if you don't follow that plan exactly, it's a great starting point for an easy deal.

Online sweeps worth playing

2010-06-02T07:08:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't been doing TONS of posts lately, but we've been a little busier than usual around here. Today, I wanted to share a few online instant win games that are pretty win-able (is that a word?). You'll want to check them out, and if you win something, I'd love to hear about it!

Pace: FREE jar (up to $4): With 1 in 20 odds, and the ability to win up to 5 times- this is a good one to play daily. You can use it on any of their products, it's not just for salsa. It does require a code, but they have free code available as well so don't let that deter you. (I've won 3 times already)

BIC Soleil: 100 Days of Sunshine: It has some silly prizes (and some really nice ones), but almost everything comes as a pair so you can share with a friend.

Safeway Dairy Adventure: You have a chance to win gift cards (always awesome) or fun summer items. You don't actually have to play the weird dairy dunk game, there's a "skip game" button to watch for.

Dove Glee for All: You can spin the wheel 3 times daily for a chance to win free haircare products or Glee related prizes. I won a haircare product after trying for about a week.

Are there any other instant win games you're playing? I'd love to hear about them!

My Albies doubler trip

2010-05-31T14:47:00.000-07:00

$9.62 spent, $79.26 saved (90%)

We've needed ranch dressing for a while, so I was super excited to see the deal on that. I also loaded up on graham crackers (we go through these fast) and Yakisoba (easy work lunches for the husband). I did do the smores deal twice as we're planning a camping trip soon. The Mission chips were not the best deal ever ($0.75/bag) BUT the $1.50/2 coupon expires today and I was so busy doing Albertsons and Walgreens that a trip to FM/QFC seemed like too much...

Back to Walgreens: more moneymaker deals!

2010-05-30T17:31:00.001-07:00

Spent $4.36, saved $26.98

You also might remember me mentioning how I ended with $14 in Register Rewards after my transactions this morning. I'm currently up to $26! I did two different transactions (at two different stores, because neither had a big stock of Neutrogena soap) using coupons from the May Safeway booklet (found in the health and beauty aisles). Here's how I did it:

Transaction #1:

2 Wags AA Batteries $3.49 (on sale Buy one, get one FREE) $3.49
Ecotrin $2 (minus $2 coupon) FREE
3 Bars Neutrogena $2.69 ea (minus three $1.50 Neutrogena coupons) $1.19 ea
I paid using $5RR and $3.23 in cash
I got back $10RR from Neutrogena and $2RR from Ecotrin

Transaction #2:

3 Bars Neutrogena $2.99 ea (minus three $1.50 coupons) $1.49 ea
KitKat bar (not pictured) $0.89
Paid using $5RR and $1.13 in cash
Got back $10RR

The Neutrogena deal (buy 3, get $10 RR) is good all month so don't feel like you need to run out and do this right away. It may even work out better as all Neutrogena products will go on sale later this month for 25% off. However, the coupon booklets at Safeway may not be up much longer so you'll want to head out and get some of those now.

Walgreens this week

2010-05-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

My trip: $2.07 spent, $28.09 saved

I had $13.50 in RR about to expire today, so I knew I had to make a quick run to Walgreens this morning. I did two transactions, one with just the Luster 7 toothpaste and the other was a bit more complicated. I ended today with $14 in RR, making the net cost for all the items pictured a mere $1.57. Here was my more complicated transaction:

Luster 7 Toothpaste $5
3 cans Lindsay Olives $0.99 each with in ad coupon (minus two $0.55 coupons) $1.87
Walgreens A-Z Select vitamins $2
Ecotrin $2 (minus $1.50 peelie) $0.50
I paid with $9 in register rewards making my total $1.14
I received back $5RR from Luster, $2 from the Walgreens vitamins, and $2 from Ecotrin- for a total of $9 in RR!

Note: If you want to pick up the Ecotrin, I'd suggest hitting the stores early on this week. Between the $2 coupons and the $1.50 peelies, this is an easy moneymaker on a handy product (aspirin). I don't imagine they'll be in-stock for very long. For more hot deals at Walgreens this week, you can see a great matchup at The Coupon Project!

More FREE stuff in the mail

2010-05-29T10:49:00.000-07:00

I am seriously LOVING all the freebies in my mail! Here's what I got in the second half of this past week (before I forget!).

Earthbound Farms grocery tote
Meet The Robinsons BluRay (Disney Movie Rewards birthday freebie, I did have to pay $2.95 for shipping)
Dove Deodorant sample from Walmart
coupon for FREE Butterfinger bar (up to $0.99)
coupon for FREE Chavrie goat cheese (up to $5.50)
P&G Sampler pack: 3pack Huggies, Cascade Action Pacs, Pantene shampoo/conditioner, Metamucil Pink Lemonade

Shopping today

2010-05-29T10:22:00.000-07:00

We headed out early this morning so the husband could get a haircut and I could grab another $2 watermelon at Fred Meyers before the sale ends (tomorrow). Unfortunately, the barber shop he likes was closed for the holiday weekend so we decided to run around and get some things for camping (we're planning to head out next weekend). I also wanted to get some more Hunts tomato sauce ($0.25 each at walgreens through today) because I found a handy $1 off 5 coupon. I did get lucky and found some mark downs at Safeway that'll work well for our camping menu.

Here's what I bought: $19.39 spent, $16.94 saved Everything except for the melon and tomato sauce are from Safeway:

O Organics tea $1 (minus $1 O Organics q) FREE
2 packages chuck steak $8.22 (50% off) $4.10
Top round steak $5.99 (50% off) $2.99
Salmon $8.13 (50% off) $4.06
4pack Starbucks frappucinos $5.99

Plus, when you buy the 4pack of frappucinos, you get a coupon good for any free grande frapp at your in-store Starbucks (up to $4.75). The husband went through with this and I followed behind with a second 4pack of frappucinos and another O Organics tea (free)- a nice way to treat ourselves after running all over the place this morning.

If you're wondering about the lack of fresh foods- don't worry! We went yesterday to stock up on 4/$1 fresh corn at Safeway and I also grabbed about 2lbs of organic bananas at QFC for $0.75. I'm so excited that our store has recently started putting out "baking bananas" for $0.39/lb (both organic and regular!) because they're perfectly ripe for us most of the time. Another exciting sidenote, our garden is producing tons of delicious butter lettuce already! I've also got a pot of cilantro that's been doing great and we've had a few ripe strawberries. I've never really tried to keep a full vegetable garden before so it's fun to have one that's doing so well. Our broccoli, tomatoes, zucchini, and peas are all starting to do things as well.

FREE Loaf Silver Hills Bread

2010-05-28T07:07:00.000-07:00

Christy over at Thrifty and Thriving has the scoop on a quick survey you can take in exchange for a coupon good for a FREE loaf of Silver Hills Bread. This offer is only valid for residents of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Northern California or Montana. You might want to check to see what stores near you carry this product.

Thanks Christy!!

Freebies to sign up for

2010-05-25T12:40:00.000-07:00

My mail has certainly been fun to check recently for both myself and the kiddos, especially since we never know what to expect. Sharing my recent freebies is a good reminder for me to share what I'm signing up for with all of you- since I'm sure you don't want to miss out. There are quite a few freebies you can sign up for now! Some I signed up for myself, and others I skipped but thought I should list in case someone else is interested.

Heinz Ketchup Pin: click your region, and fill out the form...just be sure to select "pin" from the drop down menu.

Boscia Green Tea Linens: (for wiping excess oil off your face)

Sample of Ritz Cheddar Cheese & Bacon Crackerfuls: Be sure to "like" their Facebook page!

Free Samples Crystal Light: Must be a member of Vocalpoint, but signup is free and they send out awesome freebies

Coupon for FREE Genesis Juice: (thanks For The Mommas!)

Don't forget to check Walmart either, they send out great samples and coupons:

What I bought this week

2010-05-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

I was terrible at actually tracking my shopping this week, but for those of you who might be wondering- here's what I bought & where:

Fred Meyer: (deals are good through Saturday)

PUR Water Pitcher $14.99 (but you earn a $10 giftcard for buying it)
2 gallons milk $1.99 each
10lb bag russet potatoes $1.38
3 ears corn on the cob $1.20
baby watermelon $2
almond poppyseed muffin mix $2.50 (splurge)
Hunts Ketchup $0.89 (used FREE item coupon)
Oreo Cakesters $2.99 (used FREE item coupon)
Total spent $27.34 with $10 giftcard for my next trip

Safeway: (deals through today only)

1lb O Organics baby carrots $1.50 (minus $1 O Organics coupon) $0.50
4 12packs Coke and 2 Nabisco snack crackers (minus two $2 off wyb Coke and Nabisco tearpads and one $1.50 off Coke and Sprite tearpad)
I actually went through and did the coke deal a few times but can't seem to locate my receipts to post exact prices. It was a good deal on coke though!

QFC: (through today)

2 dozen eggs $0.99 each (but one was free, thanks to the personalized ecoupons email I got last week!)
total spent: $0.99 total saved: $2.59 (72%)

Just for fun, I thought I'd also share with you the freebies from my mailbox the last few days:

(Please disregard my piles of laundry!)

Stouffer's Potholder (from their Dinner Club, I don't think this is still available)
Gillette ProGlide Razor (and I was sure it had never gone through!)
Wheat thins and International Delight Coffee were from a Kraft Sampler pack (it also came with my $10 rebate on $30 of Kraft form, and two FREE item coupons- one for Oscar Mayer deli meat and one for Kraft mac&cheese)
No Nonsense Socks (from facebook last month)
Spiffy Stainless Steel thermos- still available! This is really nice and has no branding on it, however it is from Copenhagen (smokeless tobacco) and requires quite a bit of personal info to request. If you're interested, you can sign up for it here (they call it a "flask"- I didn't sign up until after seeing photos myself.)

Hot Coffee deal @Target!

2010-05-22T14:12:00.001-07:00

Target: $11.92 spent, $39.92 saved (77%)

I was excited to find these packs of Maxwell House on clearance for $4.32 each (50% off) at my Target store yesterday (especially since I've been on the lookout for good coffee deals for my mom and I). Even better, I earned a $5 giftcard for each set of 3 I bought. I'm hearing most Target stores in the area have lots of these on hand, although at this rate that may not last long! Here's how my deal worked out:

Transaction 1:

3 Maxwell House $4.32 each= $12.96
Minus one $1/1 coupon and one $1/2 coupon
used $5 giftcard from a previous deal
paid $5.96 and received another $5 giftcard

Transaction 2 was merely a repeat. I could have gotten a better deal if I'd had more $1/1 coupons but this still worked out nicely. Another option would be to use a $2 off Maxwell House when you buy Fig Newtons coupon (especially if you like these cookies). My store had these on sale for $2.79. That'd make 3 packs of coffee, 3 packs cookies, and one $5 giftcard only $15.33- that's like $3.45 for each pair of coffee and cookies you buy. Even without coupons, this deal works out to be $7.96 for each set of 3 after giftcard, and that's only $2.66 per can of coffee. (Please note: I do not know when this giftcard promo ends, so you may want to have the cashier check for you.)

VS: FREE limited edition panty (with purchase)

2010-05-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

Starting tomorrow (5/18), you'll be able to pick up a FREE limited edition panty (with purchase) at Victoria's Secret to celebrate their reaching 3 million fans on facebook. They announced this a while back, and even held a vote so fans could vote on their favorite choice. If you're interested, be sure to print your coupon and head in before your store runs out.

Of course, like any VS freebie that requires purchase, you'll be able to pick up something cheap. I tend to look for the $1.50 lollipops in store, but they also have hand sanitizer and occasional travel sized beauty items for around $3 or $4 near checkout.

Coupon Winner

2010-05-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who entered my quick little giveaway on Friday for an envelope of coupon goodness! I used Random.org to select a winner, and that winner is:

commenter #1: Rachael over at Beans&Rice (who I actually believe won my last coupon giveaway, guess my blog is lucky for you!)

I'm not sure I still have your email address, so if you could email me- I'd be happy to get that envie straight into the mail for you! (you can email me at: maybefrugal(at)hotmail(dot)com

My Walgreens haul:

2010-05-16T11:18:00.000-07:00

This is a great week to stock up on Old Spice (or Gilette) body wash for men- just keep in mind that these RR cannot be rolled into each other (Gillette and Old Spice are both P&G, and this catalina does not roll). I started today out with $14 in RR and ended with $18 in RR. Here's what I bought:

$7.65 spent, $27.47 saved

If you calculate in the RR I started and ended with, I spent about $0.52 for each bottle of body wash (a lot of that boils down to taxes). To see what other Walgreens deals are going on this week, you may want to check out MoneySavingMom.

Freebies?

2010-05-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

My mailbox has been all kinds of fun to check (for both me and the kiddos) this week! In just this past week, we've received:

Samples of: Dove body wash for men, Pantene Shampoo & Conditioner, U by Kotex pack, and Pull-ups.
2 FREE Pace coupons (I won these)
Grilled Cheese Academy tshirt
FREE Neti-pot (and it's available again, in case you missed it)
Nailpolish (from skintimate & seventeen magazine- it was a texting thing)
$10 Starbucks giftcard from MyPoints
Kandoo coupon and cd with toddler music (from Pampers)
coupon for FREE Kraft Cheesy Explosion
coupon for FREE pouch Uncle Ben's Whole Grain Medley
I also earned enough swagbucks for $10 in Amazon giftcards in the past week
and a Covergirl Bzzkit from BzzAgent (I am LOVING the lipgloss by the way)

Did you get anything neat in the mail recently? To make this post a little bit more fun than usual- let's make it a teeny giveaway! Leave me a comment with your favorite recent freebie(s) sometime before 12pm PST tomorrow and one random commenter will receive an envelope full of coupons (FREE item and fun tearpad finds) from my collection.

My shopping trips: Safeway and QFC

2010-05-13T15:49:00.001-07:00

Safeway: $5.22 spent, $22.66 saved (81%)

PLUS, I earned a $3 catalina for buying the Corn Flakes! I only had one $1 off 2 coupon for the cereal, so it worked out to be free after coupon and catalina. The tilapia and shrimp were both marked down to 50% off, and you can see I grabbed another box of free O Organics pasta. I'm not sure when the Kelloggs catalina deal ends, I've heard it might be tomorrow so I may head back in tonight for a few more boxes. We don't need the extra but it's great for donating!

QFC: $13.56 spent, $14.90 saved (52%)

Most of the cost was the meat, I spent $9.07 for two roasts (on sale buy one get one free). I also grabbed some butter ($1) and sour cream ($1.49) that we needed. The olive oil was marked down from $9.99 to $2 and I had a FREE item coupon for the Oscar Mayer turkey bacon.

Safeway Trip today

2010-05-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

Safeway: $9.91 spent, $25.64 saved (72%)

I actually purchased 4 gallons of milk but one didn't make it into the photo. These prices are only good through the end of today, so you'll have to hurry down if you want to take advantage of them:

4 gallons of milk $1.99 each (wyb 2) $7.96
Honey Nut cheerios $1.49 (minus ecoupons) $0.38
BC Molten Chocolate Cake $1.95 (minus ecoupons) -$0.05
Wesson Vegetable Oil $2.49 (minus $1/1 and ecoupons) -$0.51
Whole Wheat Linguine $0.69 (minus $1 O Organics Safeway coupon, it automatically adjusted to make pasta free) FREE
Tillamook Cheddar $3.99
Mix and Match BC baking items (buy 2, get 3 free sale): 2 bags cookie mix, 1 cake mix, 2 tubs frosting $3.38 (minus various coupons) -$1.87

I found my O Organics coupons in store about 2 weeks ago, they're good for $1 off any 1 O Organics items and don't expire until 12/31/2010 so keep an eye out for them! You can only use one per transaction- but they're good on such a wide variety of organic food products (including produce and dairy) that I'm sure you're going to want them!

Lane Bryant: FREE Panty

2010-05-11T07:11:00.000-07:00

According to Thrifty NW Mom, Lane Bryant is once again offering a FREE panty this week- there's still no purchase required and this time around you don't need a coupon either! For more details, swing on by her post.

Thanks Jen!

My Shopping Trips today: Wags & Albies

2010-05-10T17:35:00.000-07:00

I really haven't done much shopping this week, and besides a quick run for milk that went un-photographed, we really haven't needed anything. It also helps that the deals weren't super awesome this week. Of course, I did need a few things for this upcoming week's menu plans and had some Register Rewards about to expire so I made a couple of stops today. Here's what I bought:

Albertsons: $0.07 spent, $23ish saved

I also grabbed a copy of the Sunday paper since I hadn't bought one yesterday. I lost my receipt, so I'm not sure of my exact savings except that it was $23 something. I used up the $15 worth of catalinas I had earned buying water, cereal, and taco shells last week. The brown packages are about 4 lbs of boneless skinless chicken tenders (on bonus buy for $1.99/lb).

Walgreens: $5.84 spent, $18.60

I also bought a large thing of lighter fluid for the husband, because we decided to grill tonight kind of last minute. I started with $10 in RR and ended with $11 in RR. Here's the breakdown:

Transaction #1:

EOS Shave Cream $2.99
Tootsie roll $0.25
Tax $0.26
Paid with $3RR (from Schick 2 weeks ago) and $0.50 in cash, got back $3RR from EOS

Transaction #2:

EOS Shave cream $2.99
Schick 3 Razor System $7.99 (used $5 coupon from 5/9 SS)
Lighter Fluid $5.99
Tax $1.37
Paid using $7 in RR and $5.34 in cash, got back $5RR from Schick and $3RR from EOS

Rite Aid: FREE photo mousepad

2010-05-07T07:39:00.000-07:00

Rite Aid is currently offering a coupon for a FREE personalized mousepad when you watch the Fuji Film video over at their Video Values website. You will have to create and account if you haven't done so yet, but it's pretty easy to set up. You can choose to use the coupon in-store or order your mousepad online (shipping to store will make shipping free).

Note: The coupon will not print right after watching the video, you'll need to click the "My Rewards" tab in the upper right corner of your screen to claim and print your coupon.

Thanks MoneySavingMom!

FREE 8x10 from Walgreens

2010-05-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

Walgreens is currently offering a FREE 8x10 Collage print when you use code GOODTHOUGHTS through Saturday May 8th. This is something you can order online and pick up in store. (note: you may have to pay tax)

In the past, I've skipped on these thinking that I'm not big on collage photo prints and wouldn't know what to do with it- but I've heard you can actually order one larger photo as your "collage" and it works just fine. Thanks JANE4girls!

Starbucks Happy Hour (5/7-5/16)

2010-05-06T07:06:00.000-07:00

Starting tomorrow, May 7th, Starbucks will be rolling out 1/2 price frappucinos for Happy Hour from 3-5pm everyday (through the 16th). You can read more information (and RSVP via Facebook, so your friend don't miss out) right here.

I have to tell you that I'm pretty excited about this because I do like the Caramel Frappucinos (ideally with the drizzle, an extra shot of espresso, and no whip cream- of course "extra coffee" sounds good too). I'm also excited because they're doing this to promote the new changes they've made (making the whole thing customizable) because now they have VEGAN options. You can read more about that at QuarryGirl.com. Her post is slightly older, because these option are currently available everywhere now, but the comment section is great because several vegan baristas have highlighted exactly what is and is not vegan friendly. I'm not vegan, but my sister is, and I've seen what a headache it can be to have to ask all the right questions from people who may or may not know all the information you need, it's so much easier to know before hand.

FREE Can of Libby's Veggies

2010-05-04T17:34:00.001-07:00

Now through May 15th, when you "like" Libby's Table on Facebook, you'll get a chance to sign up for a coupon good for a FREE can of Libby's vegetables (any size, any variety). I'm not sure how we'll be receiving this coupon because after signing up it says "You'll receive your free coupon by email or mail within 4-6 weeks" but it's certainly not something to pass up.

What a neat Facebook freebie!

NEW Lane Bryant Freebie

2010-05-04T13:37:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for another Lane Bryant freebie? This week, you can take in this printable coupon and get yourself a FREE Cotton Shirred Cami (no purchase required). The coupon is valid at all Lane Bryant and Cacique stores. You've got until Monday May 10th to pick yours up! I sure hope they keep up with these freebies, it's a great way to get people into their stores.

If you're looking to purchase more than just a free cami, Jen over at Thrifty NW Mom has details on how to get a coupon good for 40% off any one item!

VS: FREE Beauty Rush Lipgloss with purchase

2010-05-04T11:08:00.000-07:00

Victoria's Secret has another coupon out good for a FREE Beauty Rush Lipgloss with any purchase. This offer is good through May 25th, so be sure to print your coupon before heading to the store!

PLUS, if you haven't signed up for Pink Nation already- you can do so now and print a coupon good for a FREE panty with any Pink purchase (and $10 off any $50 Pink purchase). This is only good for new members and cannot be combined with the free lipgloss offer. My favorite cheap pink item is a lollipop (around $1.50-$2 depending on your store) but I've heard you can also find tins of mints for less than $5.

Another Albies trip

2010-05-03T16:45:00.001-07:00

Spent $16.35, Saved $61.16 (79%)

(3 more cases of water are still in the car)

I started out with a $5 catalina from yesterday's water purchase, and walked away today with $12 in catalinas good for my next trip. For those keeping tabs, the net cost is $9.35, most of which is for the 4 cases of water. The torillas and water deal are outlined in my post from last night, but here's what else I did:

4 boxes of mini wheats $10

used two $2 off 2 boxes coupons
paid $6 and got back $7 in catalinas (one $3 and one $4- this probably shouldn't be working like this, but I'm not going to argue)

I also bought:

2 Dannonino Yogurts $2.19 (minus $1 coupons and 2 doublers) $0.19 each
Dannimal's Coolision $2.49 (minus $1 coupon and doubler) $0.49
Bread $0.99
Hamburger Buns $1.29

Menu Plan Monday

2010-05-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

It's been forever since I posted one of these, partly because I've been winging it (and that's not especially thrifty) but mostly because I keep forgetting to sit down and make one. So, here it is:

Monday: "Teriyaki Ginger Sesame" Pork Tenderloin with a garden salad (both purchased on markdown at FM yesterday- the salad has everything in it, including cherry tomatoes!)
Tuesday: Pulled Pork (crockpot) with green beans
Wednesday: Tacos with homemade refried beans and rice
Thursday: Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
Friday: Breakfast for dinner
Saturday: BBQ Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Corn on the Cobb

Albertsons tonight

2010-05-02T20:30:00.000-07:00

Spent $10.94, Saved $52.70 (83%)

& I earned $8 for my next trip!

Really, I bought 4 cases of Arrowhead water- but those things are heavy so only one made it into the photo (the other 3 were unloaded in the backroom by the sweet & helpful husband). Here's what I did:

4 Cases of Arrowhead Water $3.50 each

used in-ad coupon to make them $2.99 each (limit 4)
pay $11.96 and earn $5 catalina good on your next purchase when you buy 4
That works out to $1.74/case or about $0.06/bottle after catalina savings

6 Mission Tortillas $1.49 each

used in-ad coupon to make them $0.79 each
used three $1.50 off any 2 Mission products coupons
That's makes them $0.04 each

6 Old El Paso Taco Shells $1.29 each

used three $1 off any 2 Old El Paso product tearpads
used three doublers from today's paper
paid $1.74 and earned $3 off my next purchase of beef or chicken ($1.26 moneymaker)

I also used a $2 survey coupon that I had earned a couple of weeks ago to bring my total down a little bit more. The water will be really nice to have on-hand, especially during the summer when we're on the go- so I may head back in to buy more. The taco shells are not really something we use (I prefer to make my own) but they do come in handy for quick taco nights once in a while, or else they can be donated. Either way, they helped me shave a little bit off my next meat purchase and that's never a bad thing! For those of you wondering, we did buy produce and milk earlier today but didn't have time to snap a photo. I snagged a few great markdowns at Fred Meyer and spent about $9.xx there.

Shopping everywhere yesterday

2010-04-30T07:02:00.000-07:00

Total Spent: $5.73, Total Saved: $42.95 (89%)

Walgreens:

Placker's Floss, sale $2.00 (used $0.50 q) $1.50 with $2RR back

QFC:

6 Bags of Lay's chips on sale "Buy One (@ $3.99), Get One FREE"
used two "Buy 2, get 1 FREE" tearpad coupons in store
Paid $3.99 for a total of 6 bags (3 free from sale, two free from q's)
I found $1.50/2 any Mission product tearpads here too, so then we had to go to...

Albertson's

6 Mission Flour Totillas $0.79 each with in-ad coupon
used three $1.50/2 Mission q's to pay only $0.24 for all 6 bags!
Note: we actually did this 4 times and took a few bags full of tortillas down to St. Vincents- this is an awesome donation item so if you have the extra q's and a little bit of time- be sure to grab some extras!

I also swung by Safeway to take advantage of a few great prices in-store, pay too much for milk, and to use up my $1 Seattle's Best Coffee Iced Latte q's (Safeway has these on sale for $1 each this week, so FREE!). Of course, I didn't make it there til much later so those items are not pictured.

Lane Bryant- FREE panty!

2010-04-27T18:58:00.000-07:00

I just came across this offer and thought to myself that this is an awesome freebie for those ladies who generally miss out on the free panty at VS offers! Simply pop on over here and register to print your coupon good for a free Cacique panty (up to $12.50) at any Lane Bryant, Cacique, or Lane Bryant Outlet. You have through Monday May 3rd to pick up your freebie in-store. Enjoy!!

Thanks SD!

Internet Freebies: the rewards programs I love!

2010-04-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

I've been doing this whole thrifty/frugal internet thing for a while, and there are quite a few "rewards program" type things I really enjoy and have certainly taken advantage of. I thought I'd share a few of my favorites for you in case you don't participate because I know that everyone loves a good freebie! I'd love to hear what programs you currently use & enjoy!

Swagbucks: I've been using them for about a year and we do a good number of our searches for them (or, on days when I wouldn't google, I use it to find the sites I do visit- like facebook and hotmail). I've only had two really active referrals, but still have earned $75 in Amazon giftcards and another $15 in Starbucks giftcards for doing something I'd be doing anyways. It's powered through google and yahoo- so the results are generally just as good.

MyPoints: I use this program to earn points in exchange for shopping online (I simply visit mypoints and click through to the store I want to buy from- including ebay!). They also offer points in exchange for clicking ads sent to your email and surveys they send to your email. I don't do the surveys very often and I delete the email ads whenever I'm feeling too lazy to click through them. I earn about $30 in Starbucks/Target giftcards on average a year from them with very minimal participation on my part.

Disney Movie Rewards: I just recently signed up with them (maybe two/three months ago?) and have already benefited. So far, I've entered only the free point codes from Facebook, email newsletters, and the three Disney BluRays we recently purchased but I was able to redeem those point in exchange for a completly FREE Disney DVD (we picked the original Love Bug). They also allow you to pick one FREE BluRay for your birthday (you get a choice of 5, and have to pay $2.95 for shipping)- I just ordered mine today (Meet the Robinsons) and am looking forward to receiving it. Even if you're not buying Disney movies, this may be a decent way to get some free/cheap gifts for the kids in your life.

Huggies Enjoy the Ride: I have two little ones, so this is a nice rewards program/instant win game for us- but even without kids this is one worth signing up for. Most of the codes I enter come from here (freebies4mom does a great job of keeping track) and prizes from the instant win games are just plain awesome for anyone (Prepaid VISA cards, Gas giftcards, Starbucks giftcards, Kohl's giftcards- you don't need a baby to appreciate these!). I haven't won anything big (just free wipes), but I also don't try frequently. I've heard people who play late at night/early in the morning do best.

My Starbucks Rewards: Okay, so it's obvious I like coffee and I do redeem rewards on various sites for SB giftcards (it's my way of "treating" myself, plus it's free), but did you know you can also register your Starbucks card and earn rewards that way? It's super easy to sign up, you can transfer card balances to whichever card you want and load your card with whatever amount you want. Even better, I get coupons in the mail now (FREE birthday drink, and a FREE oatmeal so far) and special perks (free customization and whatnot).

Quick note: If you sign up for swagbucks through the link posted, I'll earn points when you do (up to 1000). If you're not a member of Disney Movie Rewards or MyPoints and would like to give it a try, I'd love to refer you (and earn a few extra points) but can only do so through email- if that's okay with you, just let me know and I'll be happy to email you my referral link!

My Shopping Trip: Safeway & Walgreens

2010-04-26T16:57:00.000-07:00

Spent: $4.79, Saved $65.99 (93%)

I started Walgreens today with $9 worth of RR and ended with $10 in RR. I purchased the personal trimmer, skintimate, dentek, and tootsie rolls in two transactions- with only $2.34 out of pocket. Everything else in the photos were from Safeway- I bought mostly Chive&Onion Philly Mini's because all of my local stores were out of the regular flavor (and the blinkies to go with them). I spent only $2.45 on the bagels, carrots, and ramen (I've been craving this stuff for an after bed-time snack).

Safeway trip today

2010-04-21T18:55:00.000-07:00

Total Spent: $8.10, Total Saved: $29.80 (79%)

I told you all a couple days ago that I was excited about grapes for $1.49/lb, but I actually nabbed some yesterday at QFC for $1.48/lb so I didn't get any more today. Here is what I did buy:

2 milk $3.98 ($1.99 each wyb 2)
Yuban Coffee $7.99 (minus $4 in ecoupons and $2 coupon) $1.99
Delimex Taquitos $6.99 w/in-ad coupon (minus $3 ecoupon and $2 blinkie) $1.99
Bread $0.89
Philadelphia Cream Cheese Mini's $0.49 each (after buy 5 promo*. Minus one $1 coupon and 4 $0.55 blinkies) -$0.15 each

*The "Buy 5, save $5" cheese promo is not supposed to be working on the cream cheese mini's (the ad actually states that they're not included) so try this at your own risk. There are several reports that it is working, but if it does not work for you- then you're out of luck seeing as they're not tagged and not supposed to be included. I have not seen any reports of it not working, but you never know and I'm sure once the store catches on this will get fixed. Some people are actually getting back a $0.75 catalina- although this seems to be fairly regional and is not working in my area.

Awesome thrifty day for me!

2010-04-20T14:23:00.000-07:00

Do you ever just have one of those awesome thrifty/deal/freebie days? I'm certainly having one today, and I love it! Want to know what awesome thrifty things are going my way?

Got a FREE Natural Instincts hair dye q in the mail
I won another FREE jar of Pace
I won a FREE king size Reese's (for the husband)
I won a free t-shirt from Slim Jim by playing this silly game (also going to the husband)
I also won a $10 calling card (will be giving this to someone who needs it)
and I scored a 5-lb bag of organic lollipops from Amazon for only $2.88 (Swagbucks paid for $10 of my total- this will be a fun potty training treat for the toddler- hopefully!)
I got my menu plan done for the rest of this week and all of next week. I've been slacking with the menu plan for weeks and it's nice to feel organized again!

I was also just plain excited to get grocery ads for tomorrow in the paper. The ConAgra promo at Albies looks nice, so I'm considering that one. I'm also way excited about $1.49/lb grapes and $0.99 Fresh Express at Safeway. Plus the Safeway q that makes Delimex taquitos only $6.99 (or $1.99 when you use the $3 ecoupon from shortcuts and one of the $2 blinkies that was out last month!)... and the $0.69 Pepsi/7up on the weekend (will pair nicely with the $0.55 printable 7up coupon out).

...Now if I would just get the stuff I ordered off ebay on the 9th (doesn't that feel like forever ago??) I'd be thrilled!

QFC & Fred Meyer today

2010-04-18T10:37:00.001-07:00

QFC & FM:$15.93 spent, $35.75ish saved

We stopped by QFC to grab diapers this morning (for overnight purposes). Luvs are on sale for $5.99 a pack, I used two $2.50 coupons from a home mailer and two $3 catalinas leftover from buying BC potatoes, making my total only $2.01 (more than half of which was tax). I saved $17 in that transaction.

Then we hit Fred Meyer to take advantage of a few new sales prices (all good through Saturday) and here's what I bought:

Tillamook Cheese, on sale for $3.99 (limit one)
Onion $0.54
Artichoke $1.25
Carrots $0.25
Whole Chicken $3.64
2 bottles 7up $1 after FM coupon minus $1 IP's (no longer available) FREE
3 Snuggle Fabric Softner (used $3 coupons) $0.99 each
2 packs Fiber One (on markdown for $1.09 each, minus $1 coupon) $0.09 each
Kahsi Cereal (used free item coupon) FREE

QFC: BC potatoes helped buy me milk!

2010-04-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

$2.99 spent, $38.23 saved (93% savings)

I was excited after leaving the store yesterday thinking about how I should go back today and buy some gallons of milk, knowing the $1 of overage from each set of BC potatoes would make a gallon only $1.39. Until I realized today that buying the half gallons made more sense since they're on sale for only $1.25- that's only $0.25 for 1/2 gallon of milk and 3 boxes of potatoes! There's no way I can pass up milk at $0.50 a gallon. You know I'll be headed back in before Sunday (and keeping my fingers crossed for more peelies) to do it again!

The only non-milk transaction included the sausage and veggies- each item is $1 but because I had so many ecoupons loaded for the veggies, I figured I needed to buy enough stuff to make sure my total didn't go negative. However, only one ecoupon came off making the total for that deal $1.10- a whole dollar more than expected! That's okay though, because it still worked out nicely- kind of like paying $1.50/gallon for milk that I needed anyways and I can't be bummed about that!

Queen Bee Coupon Class- May 5th in Tacoma

2010-04-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

Heather of Queen Bee Coupons (an awesome local deal site) is teaming up with The Tacoma News Tribune to offer a FREE coupon class, what fun! This is a great chance to get all the details you need to get started or improve your couponing skills, plus you'll have the opportunity to ask a serious couponer any questions you may have and be offered special subscription deals for the TNT. The class will be offered on Wednesday May 5th from 5 to 7pm. For more info or to RSVP for the class, you'll want to pop on over to Queen Bee Coupons.

I think this would be an awesome class for those you just starting out or anyone who would love to know more about couponing!

Tropicana & Fandango: Buy One Get One FREE Movie tickets!

2010-04-16T07:01:00.000-07:00

This is an awesome deal, although it seems the facebook code is only available to new Tropicana Reward Account Members and the offer is only good through today- so hurry! Tropicana Rewards is currently offering a BOGO movie ticket reward good through Fandango for only 2 points. For those of you unfamiliar with Fandango, it's a site where you can locate theaters, read movie reviews, and buy tickets before you get to the theater. Here's how to get a free movie ticket through Fandango when you buy one:

Join Tropicana Rewards, as a new member there's a 5 question survey you can take quickly and get one point.
Become a fan of Tropicana on facebook and you’ll receive a code: FBOOK-TROPI, enter this code back at the Rewards site and get another point.
Click “Explore Rewards” , search “Fandango” then redeem your two points on the “Buy One Get One Free Offer” from Fandango.
From this point you should get a unique code you can use at Fandango for a FREE movie ticket (up to $14) when you buy one. You have until June 16th to use it!

What a thrifty way to fund a night out, thanks Krazy Coupon Lady!

Some MAJOR deal shopping at QFC

2010-04-15T16:30:00.000-07:00

QFC: $0.80 spent, $75.25 saved (99%)

Not pictured: 10 more boxes BC potatoes, 2 boxes Barilla Fettuccine, a free reusable bag, and a package of Guererro Corn Tortillas. Plus, I have a $3 catalina good for my next trip, so really all of this was a $2.20 moneymaker- and that's beyond awesome because I really did need sour cream and corn tortillas! (Quick Note: the FREE bag qualifies you for a $0.03 bag credit, which can also be donated in case you're looking at a zero dollar total.) Thanks to Queen Bee Coupons for bringing this HOT deal to my attention!

What am I going to do with that many boxes of potatoes? I'll be honest- I only kept a few boxes and the rest are going straight to St. Vincents. I'd rather make my own mashed potatoes, but this was such a great deal to do for donation purposes that we couldn't pass it up.

My mom's haul: $2.19 spent, over $50 saved!Not Pictured are another 9 boxes BC potatoes, 2 doughnuts, Feta Cheese, Mission Corn Tortillas, Cottage Cheese, and Free Reusable bag. She's also got a $3 catalina for her next QFC trip.

Another quick note: If you don't have any coupons, this deal still works out to be FREE when you buy 3 boxes at a time. Your total on the first batch will be $3 with a $3 catalina printing after the transaction is complete- but you can use that same $3 coupon to buy another 3 boxes and will continue to receive a $3 catalina with each transaction.

My Safeway trip today

2010-04-14T14:26:00.000-07:00

$31.23 spent, $58.08 saved (that's 65%)

Yes, it's a little bit on the pricier side mostly because of the steaks that were priced at $15.87, but the husband got confirmation today that he got his pay raise so we're celebrating (and t-bones are a great way to do that on such a beautiful day!). Here's what I did in two transactions so I could make the most of the $1 off a produce purchase of $5 or more coupons in the new "Make a Sandwich" booklet found in stores now.

2 Nature Valley Granola Bars -0.20
BC Potatoes -0.36
2 boxes Cheerios $1.00 (we had opened our last box today)
Nature Valley Nut Clusters -0.50
Warm Delights -0.30
Sugar Cookie Mix -0.30
Frosting -0.11
Delimex Taquitos $4.99 (these are the best taquitos you can get in the freezer section of a grocery store)
4lbs. Strawberries $4.88
Baked Potato Soup $2.99 w/in ad coupon
18ct Lucerne Eggs $1.88 w/in-ad coupon
T-bone steaks $13.87 (I used this Safeway coupon)
4 Avocados $2.26
Cantaloupe $2.13

FREE Reusable bag at Fred Meyer or QFC

2010-04-14T09:24:00.000-07:00

Kroger is currently running a fun Reusable Bag Design Contest, complete with your chance to see you bag design in store and a shot at a Kroger Co. gift card worth $1000! As if that isn't awesome enough, everyone who participates gets a credit loaded to their shoppers card for a free reusable bag (worth up to $0.99). Fred Meyer and QFC are both part of the Kroger chain, so you can choose which store you'd like your free bag from. What a fun freebie- and just in time for Earth Day!

Thanks The Coupon Project!

My Walgreens Trip

2010-04-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

$6.58 spent, $33.98 saved (86%)

My $4 RR from Dove the other week was set to expire today so I formulated a quick plan on the way to the store today. I started and ended with exactly $4 in register rewards so this time around my net cost and out-of-pocket cost are the same- fun stuff! The downside was that $2.74 of my $6.58 was tax- yikes!! Here's how I did this deal:

Transaction #1:

Schick Quattro Razors $5.99 (used $4 coupon)
Schick Hydro Shave Gel $2.99
I paid using my $4 RR and $1.75 in cash
I earned $1 RR from the razors, and $3 RR from the shave gel

Transaction #2:

Biore Pore Cleansing Strips $5.99
Biore Steam Activated Cleanser $5.99 (used a buy strips, get a cleanser free coupon)
2 Tootsie Rolls $0.50 (filler items so I could use my RR to pay- RR count as manufacturer coupons and you need to have as many items as you have manu coupons)
I paid using the $4 in RR from transaction #1 and $3.52 in cash
I earned $5 RR (from buying 2 Biore products)

Transaction #3:

Schick Quattro Razors $5.99 (used $4 coupon)
Schick Hydro Shave Gel $2.99
2 Carefree $0.99 each with in-ad coupon (minus $1.59 from BOGO coupon, I got lucky in that the cashier insisted on taking off the full regular price)
Paid using $5 RR and $1.31 in cash
Earned another $1 RR from razors and $3 from the gel

One important thing to remember about Walgreens is that you cannot use a Register Reward to buy another product from the same company and earn another RR. You also cannot buy more than one of the same item at a time and get the RR for both. Dove was certainly an exception the other week, but once Walgreens caught on to the fact that it was working like that, they put a stop to it. That's why I "rolled" my RR into Biore in transaction #2- it's certainly a product we like but not one that we needed (unlike razors). I don't know why but I also got a catalina coupon for a FREE airwick warmer (up to $5.62) on my first transaction, so I'm thinking that's a random one.

Tax Day Freebies- stay tuned!

2010-04-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

Thursday, April 15th is generally an awesome day for freebies. I'm only posting a couple I know about off the top of my head right now, but will continue to update this post as I can this week. Here are a few fun freebies available this Thursday!

Starbucks: FREE brewed coffee when you bring in your own travel mug! More info here. (according to the Safeway Facebook page, this offer is also valid at Starbucks located inside Safeway stores).

Cinnabon: 2 FREE cupcake bites, while supplies last, available from 6pm-8pm. Details here.

Taco Del Mar: FREE taco (must sign up in advance, you can do that here)

Know of anything I missed? I'd love to hear about it!

Let's chat!

2010-04-08T08:15:00.001-07:00

I get a lot of questions by email related to coupons in general, so I thought I'd take a moment to ask if any of you have questions. I certainly haven't been couponing for as long as some people out there (I have been doing it seriously for a year) so I can remember how easy it is to feel confused and overwhelmed as you start out or try to find your own way. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about anything coupon/deal/store related, so fire away! If you don't feel comfortable posting it in the comment section of this post, you're welcome to email me at maybefrugal(at)hotmail(dot)com.

Also, I got a comment semi-recently and had to approve it because it was on an older post but can't seem to find it to anwser the question directly. So- Anonymous reader from Texas, I'm thrilled you've found me and enjoy my blog. I don't post Texas deals (although, you may have noticed that Randalls is Safeway and my QFC is somewhat like your Kroger) but there are a few great bloggers out there who do. A HUGE thank you to The Frugal Map for reminding me just who is from Texas! Here are a few you might check out:

Jane4girls $800 Annual Budget: I actually follow this one- if there's a hot deal at Randalls, she's all over it.
Keeping The Kingdom First: I love her $5 drugstore challenges!
Couponing 101: A great place to get started
Saving with Shellie
Surviving the Stores

Okay then, while I have you here....maybe you can help me with a question. I recently found out I have tons more frozen broccoli than I realized. It was great when I made instant rice, but now I need some ideas for it. What can I make with frozen broccoli??

Lots of shopping today

2010-04-07T18:20:00.000-07:00

Albertsons, Red Apple, and Fred Meyer:

$4.11 spent, $9.58 saved (70%)

My FREE milk catalinas were just about to expire so I knew I needed to get those redeemed at Albertsons. My total for 2 gallons was zero, plus I got a $2 survey coupon on my receipt! I hit Red Apple to take advantage of the green seedless grapes for $1.77/lb, my total there came to $3.10. I swung by Fred Meyer to use my $3 catalina from last week and paid only $1.01 for the apples, pears, and zucchini. (To the sweet cashier lady that I forgot to email last week- this is the post you'll want to read so you can do those same deals at your store!)

Safeway: $12.89 spent, $23.49 saved (65%)

This trip was kind of a bust, the store didn't have quite a few of the things I was looking for and a few of the deals I'd seen reported (free campbell's cream of x soups) were not actually happeneing. Here's what I did buy today:

Bisquick $2.19 (minus $1.50 in ecoupons) $0.69
2 Mission Tortillas $1.99 each (minus two $0.75 printable coupons- no longer available) $1.24 each
2 Green Giant Frozen Boxed Veggies $2 each (minus $2.50 in ecoupons and two $0.50 printables) $0.25 each
10 lbs. Russet Potatoes $0.99 with in-ad coupon
12 Yoplait cups $0.50 each (minus $1 in ecoupons and two $0.40/6 coupons) $0.35 each (not super cheap, but we were almost out and all the "boys" LOVE yogurt)
Crab Classics $0.99 with in-ad coupon (minus $1 printable) -$0.01
Carrots $0.55
2 Artichokes Buy One Get One FREE @ $3.49 (as far as impulse purchases go, spendy but probably a good choice!)

Safeway: Here's the Breakdown on Ben & Jerry's

2010-04-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

I got a comment on my Safeway Trip post yesterday about the Ben & Jerry's being included in the current Ice Cream Promo at Safeway and wanted to respond. Sadly, there are no printable Ben & Jerry's coupons, but that doesn't mean you still can't work out a great deal. Here's the information you'll want to know:

The promo is a "Buy 3, save $3" instant discount meaning you must buy 3 at a time. If you want more, you'll need to buy them in sets of 3. You can mix and match with Starbucks or any other ice cream variety included. I'll post scenarios below so that you can decide which deal is best for you.

Coupons for Ben & Jerry's are hard to find. I've heard reports on tearpads at stores like 7-11 but have never seen them myself. I did find some on ebay for a sale last year (that worked out to be a money maker or else I would not have ordered ice cream coupons) so you might check there if you really want to but I wouldn't imagine this sale is worth it. Obviously, if you're lucky enough to have/find some, you'll be able to snag an even better deal.

Different flavors have different prices. All of the "new" flavors are cheaper, which means you save even more except that your favorite is most likely more expensive. That's okay because you can still get a good deal.

Here are the $1.79 (after discount) flavors of Ben&Jerry's: Dulce Delish, Mud Pie, Peanut Brittle, Boston Cream Pie, Milk and Cookies, Light Phish Food. All other flavors are $2.29 after discount.
These are the "new" Starbucks flavors: Strawberries and Creme Frappucino, Vanilla Bean, Frappucino, and Hot Chocolate.

You need to load the $2/2 ecoupon to get the best deal. You can only load it once per Safeway Card, so if you need more ice cream- borrow a friend's card and load the ecoupon "for them". At this point, if you also want Starbucks Ice Cream, be sure to load that ecoupon as well, and print this $0.75 Starbucks Ice cream coupon as many times as you can (there's a limit of 2 per computer). Skipping B&J's? If you have access to 2 computers and can print 3 of the $0.75 coupons, 3 new Starbucks will cost only $1.12 (or $0.38 each) and 3 regular pints would be only $2.62 (or $0.88 each!).

Now, the math part:

3 "new" flavors of Ben and Jerrys @ $2.79 each: $8.37 (minus $3 promo and $2 in ecoupons)= $3.37 or $1.13 each
3 Ben and Jerry's @ $3.29 each: $9.87 (minus $3 promo and $2 in ecoupons)= $4.87 or $1.63 each
Mix and Match B&J's: a combination of the 3 will cost you somewhere between $3.37 and $4.87. This is still a great price for Ben & Jerry's.
3 "new" B&J's and 3 "new" Starbucks flavors @ $2.79 each= $16.74 (minus $6 promo, $4 in ecoupons, and $2.25 for 3 Starbuck's printables)= $4.49 or $0.78 each
3 B&J's and 3 Starbucks @ $3.29 each= $19.74 (minus $6 promo, $4 in ecoupons, and $2.25 for 3 Starbuck's printables)= $7.94 or $1.25 each
Mix and Match B&J's and Starbucks for a combination of 6. This will land you somewhere in the range of $0.78-$1.25 per pint. (The cheapest option would be 2 new B&J's and 4 new Starbucks, provided you could print 4 of the Starbucks coupons. You'd pay only $3.74 or $0.62/pint. Upgrading to 2 of the more expensive B&J's would only bring your total to $4.74 or $0.79/pint.)
And one scenario that seems to be popular despite not buying in threes, because it get's you the more expensive B&J's for less: 2 B&J's and 2 "new" Starbuck's= $12.16 (minus $3 promo, $4 in ecoupons, and $1.50 for 2 Starbuck's printables)= $3.66 or $0.92 each

Hopefully this will make doing the deal easier for some of you, especially with the prices all mapped out. The only thing you'll need to watch out for is that some Safeways seem to limit people to one like printable coupon per transaction.