Monday, September 28, 2009

CVS 9/27



This week I stumbled upon a blog with a great feature! Southern Savers has a CVS post for this week and you can actually make your shopping list by check off the boxes next to the items.

Anyway, I used their scenarios this week to get everything you see above for $12 plus I received 10 Extra Care Bucks (ECB) back. Now I only had 1 ECB to start with so I could have done a lot better if I had more. Also there was an issue with my Cover Girl BOGO so I believe I over paid because my "free" item for the BOGO should have been the more expensive face item. Instead it took off the foundation (buy foundation get a free face item is what it said) which was cheaper.

I do love my CVS so I didn't want to make a big deal out of $1.xx because it wasn't worth arguing.

Anyway, I'm going back this week to have them price match a few items. I can then use my 10 ECBs to pay for them and get more ECBs in return.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Holiday Shopping Reminders :)

Yes it is September and I am talking about the holidays. My buddy Sara over on Steals and Deals posted recently about the holidays and I wanted to make sure I touched on a few things as well for my readers.

As Sara suggests, make a list. Definitely figure out exactly how many gifts you need and start getting some ideas. As of now I have about half of my shopping, maybe more, done. I should have more done, but I've been very selective :).

Buy things that are practical and match sales and coupons just like you would for grocery shopping. Don't buy a bunch of junk simply because it's cheap. Then the item may not get used, etc. It's kind of a waste. Part of the reason I haven't finished my shopping is because I know there will be some great sales on Amazon and other sites. I may want to buy an extra item off of there since I have gift cards.

Amazon does have GREAT holiday deals! So make sure you are using Swag Bucks for all your "google" searches and turn your bucks into Amazon gift cards. I have $25 right now and hope to have double that buy the time Nov rolls around. I got a $65 item for $40 last year that was a pretty hot toy from Amazon.

Toys R Us also has B2G1 free sales pretty much from now until Nov or so. There are coupons that go with this! I have seen $5/$25 purchase TRU and BRU coupons and coupons from manufactures. Leap Frog and Fisher Price are the two brands I see the most.

Also do not over pay for the hot items!! Be careful on sites like Amazon because they have "sellers" who can charge whatever price for an item they want. I often see hot toys at 3x's the retail price by sellers and people sometimes buy an item because it's on someone's wish list.

So if you want that hot item you can either wait it out or be persistent at the retail stores. If that doesn't seem reasonable, then go to ebay and stalk auctions. However realize the reason you can't find the hot toys in stores is because these sellers on ebay and amazon have bought them all with the intention of making money off of you.

In some instances I will pay $1 or $2 more with shipping for their hassle of going to the store for me :) However, I do not buy from sellers who are trying to take advantage of people. Of course this is my own personal opinion or motto. I prefer to take what I need and leave the rest for other mommas so we can all have a great holiday experience.

As a mom I know how much I want my kids to enjoy the holidays. I realize gifts aren't all that matters! I do not want my kids to think it's all about the presents, but spending time with family and enjoying life. I also want to make sure I find something for my girls to donate. I have a few "extra" presents I got super cheap that are high quality we will be donating. Teaching my girls to give even a little if you can.

I am hoping to get further insight from my other blog mommas :) Last year I had only just begun my thrifty journey! I am looking forward linking up other bloggers suggestions and tips to help us all save on the holidays.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Toys R Us Deals, including Leap Frog!



There are a lot of things "Buy 2 get 1 Free" this week at TRU (through 9/26). One thing that caught my eye is the Leap Frog toys and books. The books are $13.99 each and there are coupons out there.

I did do well at Target (getting the older Tag reader for $2.48) and Kmart (getting a few books for $.80) but Kmart didn't have many titles. This is a great sale to pick up the fun titles!

I do have a $5 off of $25 purchase as well. Others can be found including any Babies R Us coupons floating around.

So if you buy 3 books:
-$5/$25 TRU/BRU purchase
-2 or 3 (not sure if you can use the 3rd) $4 off Leap Frog books (found on Leap Frog site HERE)
____________
$27.98 for 2 books, 3rd free
-$5 total purchase coupon
-------
$22.98
-$8 or $12 (depending on how many coupons they will allow)
________________
Total= $10.98 to $14.98 for 3 books!

You could also use it on the toys:

Many toys are around $21.99

$43.98 for 2 toys, get the 3rd free
-$5/$25 total purchase coupon
-$8 or $12 (again depends), $4 off Leap Frog toys (select toys) on the Leap Frog site
______________
$26.98-$30.98 for 3 toys!

The cheapest I've seen those toys (the new ones they just launched) is $16.99 each. 3 would run you $50.97!!

Also you could use this on the Leap Frog Tag readers, which have $10 off Q's on Leap Frogs site! And poof, you'd been done Christmas shopping for all the little ones in your life ;)

Another great deal is to get the Tag reader cards. They have $7.99 animal cards (only saw 2 types online) which you could grab those and another item.


And FINALLY, since my daughters bday is in Nov I remember that TRU has LOTS of these buy 2 get 1 free coming over the next month or so. I remember getting lots of Fisher Price stuff last year. Just remember to print any Qs you see now for toys that may become handy in the next month.

Old Navy Clearance additional 50% off!!



I know Old Navy can vary on their Clearance sales, but it's totally worth checking it out!! I went on Saturday and got over $100 worth of stuff regular price for $7. I did have gift cards, but still great prices! Khakis for $5 for me! It was a ME trip :) I had $14 in gift cards for that trip, but got a lot!

Above is a picture of my trip today. My husband had a gift card for his birthday so I did have to spend a majority on him ;). I tried to total the regular price and it seems it was well over $300, and I paid $11 after gift card ($30 gc)!!

Even at $41 (w/o the gc) it was a killer deal! I got 4 pairs of jeans (3 for me :), they only had 1 pair in his size I swear!), 2 pairs of other pants, 1 pair of yoga capris, 1 shirt for me, 2 sweatery shirts for him, 1 t-shirt for him, 1 pair of shorts for him, 2 t-shirts for my baby, 1 hat for my baby....I think that's it.

I really didn't even look through the women's pants much. I bought myself 2 pairs of men's jeans and they are awesome! Of course the 1 pair of women's I bought are not as great, but for $3.49 I'll deal!

I also used a $10 off of $50 I found on old navy weekly to make this deal even better.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Target and Shaws trip 9/15



I would have taken a pic of my haul but I got home about an hour after I expected and needed to feed people. Also I did get hassled at the Target I went to. They did not want to take coupons for a few items I had where the coupon did not specify a size. As in I could get any size. Well I bought the travel sized item, again the coupon did not say "excludes trial size" like they normally do when they, well exclude trial size!

They also refused a coupon for Healthy Choice meals, for no reason. It beeped so they would not take it. Also the "supervisor" who decided to rummage through my coupons actually asked me if I photocopied my coupons. I only had 4 of 1 coupon, which really isn't a lot. They took the first 3, but the 4th beeped so they wouldn't take it.

I'm assuming this Target was recently reprimanded about coupons? I honestly do not shop this one very often since they are slightly higher priced than other Targets in our area. I was just at another one yesterday and they pushed through coupons that beeped as long as it was the correct item (which I am diligent about!).

Anywho, here are my receipts and 2 hangtags I found at Target.

The Coupon Clippin' Mama reported that she saw these hangtags at her Target. One is for Natures Source:

Natures Source $2.49
-$1/1 Target hangtag
-$1/1 peelies or coupon from the paper
= $.49!!

The other is for Glade fabric and air:

Buy 2 Glade Fabric and Air at $2.99 each
-2 $2 off Target hangtags
-BOGO from the paper
= $FREE

I also got $.16 Glade Fragrance Tins!

Sale price $1.66
-$3/1 Any Glade Fragrance Collection item (buy 2 to keep it from beeping)
-$3/2 (buy 2) Any 2 Glade Fragrance Collection
-$1.50/1 found in the tins themselves

As a bonus if you use the $3/1 and buy 2 tins you can also use the BOGO refill coupon that is out there!

In totally I got 17 items for $12.35, saved $34.07 and received a $5 gift card back. $7.50 of that was clothes!! I did leave a little bummed because they did not honor some coupons. But I will go to my regular store next time.

Ok so now Shaws:

Oikos yogurt 2/$3
-$1/1 Whole Foods Coupon (in the newsletter)
-$.75/2 HERE
=$.50-FREE

Yo Baby 3-in-1 meal $1
-$1 HERE (not sure how long it will be available!)
=FREE

Keebler Crackers (the peanut butter and club cheddar sandwich type) $2.50
-$.55 ($1.10 doubled) HERE
=$1.40

I also got $.35 loaves of Shaws bread (3 loaves) and 8 Hamburger rolls $.35 too, 4 pizza shells for $2, BOGO Turkey burger, and a reduced Angus Steak. Oh and I also bought a $4.44 pizza for dinner because I was so late getting home.

I spent $22.38, saved $23.57, bought 21 items. I do like to keep it around $1 an item

That wasn't the best shaws deal this week but they were out of several things. It also seems if you buy 10 Vitamin Waters you get a $3 OYNP (saw the lady in front of me do this and also use $.40 off the Select soups that are part of the catalina deal this week, lucky duck she is!)

Monday, September 14, 2009

$5 LUVS coupon available 9/15



Tomorrow you can get a $5 off Luvs coupon!! That will make for cheap diapers at...well Target or Walmart :) I swear I don't work for Target.

Go HERE to grab yours! I'd do it early since everyone is chatting about this!!

Target deals this week!! Hot place to be!



Check out Stretching a Buck for most of the good deals at Target this week. I say that because there are so many deals this week it's hard to keep up. I think most of the blogs I have listed to the right have a Target post and each has something different. Coupon Clippin' Mama keeps updating her blog with deals she is finding too.

The Thrifty Mama brought up a great point today (one of her readers actually). Target will price match advertised prices that are not dependent upon a savings card or membership (ex: CVS deals that require you to use your CVS card). Walgreens has Kashi cereal listed as 2/$5. Target has it for $2.88 a box. You can use that to get an even better deal this week!! They will even do a price adjustment for up to 7 days after purchase. Too bad I didn't know that yesterday and tossed my receipt!

Dollar Tree sells Sunday papers?



That's what I'm hearing! Coupon Clippin' Mama got her Sunday paper there this weekend. I will have to check it out myself this weekend, but wouldn't that be fantastic? I know the one near me sells papers, but if you live around here you know some Sunday papers really stink. Half of the time the smaller papers only have 1 insert when the big paper has 3. So at the very least it may not be a bad place to go and get a an extra insert.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

CVS deal week of 9/13



Check out The Thrifty Mamas CVS post. I am particularly excited about the Dove/Degree deodorant deal.

Coupon Clippin' Mama also posted some deals too.

Target week of 9/13, get on the Gift Card train!



There are a few deals this week at Target. I'm waiting for someone to repost the details, but here is what I saw.

Buy 5 Kashi items (select items) and receive a $5 Target Gift Card.

Items are $2.88 x 5= $14.40
-$1.50 off of Honey Sunshine cereal HERE
-$1/2 TLC bars HERE
-$1.50/2 Any Kashi cereal HERE

Scenario:

Buy 5 Honey Sunshine cereal @$2.88 x 5= $14.40
-5 $1.50 off Honey Sunshine cereal - $7.50
= $6.90 after coupons
-$5 gift card from last week (if you have one)

5 boxes of cereal for $1.90 and I'd receive another $5 gift card.

**LOOK for peelies on the Go Lean cereal for $1/1 cereal, $1/1 frozen Kashi, $1/1 crackers or cookies.

Now you may be thinking, WHOA 5 boxes??!! But I will tell you we go through cereal fast and having a great stockpile is how you save money. Now I don't have to run out and buy cereal at full price.

Also I could buy 3 boxes of cereal and 2 boxes of bars and still only pay $3.90 and get a $5 gc!

**********************

I'm also going to check out this deal for Ritz Crackers that Coupon Gal posted. IF Ritz Crackers are $2.50 you can use the buy a box of Ritz and get a box of Ritz crackerfuls free. That works out to $1.25 a box.

Learning Curve Deal still going!!



Cheap toys people! Thomas the train and others! HERE was my original post and try code WELCOME20 (may still be working) to try to get $20 off a $40 purchase for new customers. They have a lot of toys and other stuff you can get a great deal on! Clearance starting at $1.99!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Chicco Giveaway...

Go to Stretching a Buck and check out a giveaway for a new Chicco toy! It seems pretty cool and what a great gift that would make!

High Value Kid Essential Coupons!!

Normally I wouldn't buy these because they are expensive and really drinks are no replacement for food. Perhaps as a boost when your little one has a cold or as a treat ;)

So HERE are 2 coupons!

One is a BOGO and the other is $5 off a multipack!

Not bad!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Mambo Sprouts



If you haven't yet, you should check out Mambo Sprouts. Sign up and receive the coupon booklet 3 or 4 times a year. They are filled with Organic coupons! I love them! It appears there is going to be a Pirates Booty coupon, which is one of my favorite snacks! They also have some great giveaways, printable coupons, and recipes!

The current contest is HERE. It includes Keen products, which I also love!

While you are there don't forget to print some coupons!

Stop & Shop and Shaws deals 9/11-9/17

Honestly I don't see many deals for this week at Stop & Shop. I'm sure as the week goes on I will find something to add. I usually do once I go there and use the scan gun. Here is what I have so far:

White Seedless Grapes $.99/lb

Broccoli bunches or crowns $.88/lb

PopTarts 8ct or Raisin Bran $2
-You should be able to use THIS for $.55/1 (should double)for PopTarts.
= $.90 a box!

There is also a $1/2 Poptart and Rainsin Bran from the Fuel for School insert.

33% off of Arnold breads
-$1/1 in Sept All You magazine (should still be on sale for a few more days).
= could be a good deal.

Shaws is having a catalina deal this week Sara has all the details HERE. The deal is listed on the back of your circular. You should also check out
Hot Coupon World Shaws Forum. They usually post deals and coupon match ups for each week.

Other deals:

Oikos yogurt 2/$3
-$.75/2 HERE($1.50 when doubled)
-$1/1 Whole Foods coupon
= $.75 each or Free!

UPDATE: 5 inserts this week?



Well a few blogs are posting there will be 5 inserts in the paper this weekend! Woohoo! Not all areas may get all 5 inserts, so as always look in the paper before buying it. Check out the list Coupon Clippin' Mama posted.

$10/$25 Macy's Sept 11th & 12th



Go HERE for a $10 off $25 coupon! Thanks Coupon Clippin' Mama!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Ok playing around here...

I am trying out some new templates here. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, lol, but I'm trying! I am working on the tool bar under the banner. So please don't worry if something isn't working 100% for the next few days :)

Stop & Shop Cheap Natures Source Products and Booty!




For The Mommas posted a deal for Stop & Shop/Giant customers. Click on the link to get all the details.

Here is a brief version:

UPDATED: The original deal I found doesn't seem to be in this area, booo! But they do have an decent deal if you need cleaner. Here is the one I saw today (remember sales change tomorrow):

Buy 2 Natures Source products for $5.98 ($2.99 each)
Use 2 $.55/1 coupons $-.2.20
_____________________________

Total=$3.78 Plus get $2 OYNP!

I have bought 2 Skippy Naturals earlier this week and got a $1 OYNP catalina I could use towards this, making it $2.78 OOP for me, plus $2 OYNP. They do have $1 peelies on some items.

I saw this deal yesterday at Stop & Shop. Looks like I need to print some coupons and go back!



Another GREAT deal at Stop & Shop this week is the Pirates Booty! Yes, I said Pirates Booty! It's a fantastic snack food found in the organic isle. You should have $1/2 coupon from a while back. Well use the Stop & Shop scan gun and see if you have the offer for BOGO for Pirates Booty!

So here is the break down:

Buy 2 Pirates Booty 2/$5 this week $5
BOGO in the gun -$2.50
$1/2 coupon -$1.00
____________________________

Total= $1.50 for 2 bags of Pirates Booty!!

Yum! I love this stuff. It's great as a diet snack and my kids love it too!

Baby Deals...

Baby Earth has a great clearance deal they do daily. If you go to their homepage, all you have to do is click on the clearance tab to see the daily deal. It's during the weekdays, pretty much office hours. Basically they put an item up and keep marking it down until it sells out. Then they put another item up. It's a great way to grab some cheap baby stuff.

There is also a great deal coming up 9/20 at Rite Aid on diapers. I am trying to find the post, so I'll update when I do find it. I know Huggies will be 3/$11 and there will be a $10 SCR (Single Check Rebate). You can use 3 of the $3 Huggies Naturals AND there is a $2 Rite Aid Huggies coupon! The deal should come to be under $2 a pack from what I read. I'll keep looking!

Coupon Preview!!

For The Mommas

I LOVE this blog I recently found! Thanks to The Thrifty Mama who has button on her blog!

So here is the coupon preview for the paper this week. Take a look and decide how many papers you want to get. Love this! Click HERE and a HUGE thanks to For The Mommas for posting this!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Ugg sale!- UPDATE!!

Ok so Uggs are more than just the boots. Did you know that? I honestly had no idea how many shoes they made! Anyway over at 6pm.com they are going to be 80% off msrp starting today (9/8-?). Ok so I was able to snag a pair for $24! Great since I have no winter boots and sneakers only get you so far with 2 little kids :). There are some left, different sizes and shapes. I just found a pair of mens slipper looking shoes in my size (I'm not getting them, but you get the idea!).

Hope some of us are lucky enough to snag some!

Target deals: Updated!



There is a great Fiber One gift card deal you can roll! Check at the details HERE at Coupon Clippin' Mama. Buy 5 of the products get a $5 gift card. There are Target General Mills coupons that work with this AND manufacture coupons. I was able to spend less than $5 and get my $5 gift card!

It seems you may be able to get Free or cheap Cocoa Puffs at Target this week. For the Mommas has the info on the deal. If they are on sale for $1.99, use the coupons in the link to get them free. Just an FYI- They were $2.94 at my store. Sometimes that happens with Target. Oh well!

There are also a few coupons for Nutragrain bars. One is a Target coupon and one is a manufacture coupon (was in the paper about a month ago). If you buy 2 boxes you'll get $2 off. You can find the Target coupon HERE. You can print as many as you'd like. Some stores will only allow you to use one target coupon per transaction, but many of them will let you use more rather than do multiple transactions.


There are several other coupons listed there that will stack nicely with manufacture coupons. In some cases (for instance with deodorant) you may find the item on clearance, score!

If you find yourself at the store and forgot your target coupons, you can print them at the gift registry. They have Target.com available at the registry computer and you can access them on their site.

Another great giveaway...

Feed Your Stash Friday: September 4-11, 2009


Feed Your Stash Friday is a great weekly giveaway! Check it out! It's cloth diapering products. I enter every week. Even if you don't cloth diaper now, it would be a great way to try it or a great shower gift.

Woot Laptop deal today!!



Ok The Thrifty Mama has posted THIS deal from WOOT. Keep in mind it's Linux Operating System, that may not be for everyone. It is a netbook so for the most part it is for...well surfing the net! Not a bad Christmas deal for someone!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Another great giveaway!!

The best giveaway so far!! Check out Thrifty and Chic Mom for a great stroller giveaway!!!

Looks like a fantastic stroller! Some of these bloggers are lucky ducks to have companies asking them to test great products :) I'll keep taking advantage of their giveaways though!

Freebies from a new fav blog!



So I just mentioned before the blog Confessions of A Thrifty Mama. Well I was looking at her site further and she has some great freebies I haven't seen anywhere else.

First, if I've told you once, I've told you 1000 times...JOIN VocalPoint!!! Follow that link to join and get a free full sized Secret Clinical Strenth deodorant. Normally they email you or send you coupons/samples in the mail. Always great coupons!

Second check out Walmarts sample of Kotex items HERE.

I also like this blog because she is featuring Stop & Shop. It's hard to find the great deals there some weeks. I have been doing pretty well there and will start posting any deals I see. I'll also be checking the blog I am raving about here for her deals.

Give Away!!

Check out Confession of a Thrifty Mama here for a Giveaway for a Stop & Shop gift card ending shortly! I love finding new blogs!

I have won 1 contest from a blog, lol! So you can win sometimes! :)

Rite Aid Diaper deal coming up!

I believe this says it starts 9/20. Here is the scoop from another great site I found via The Thrifty Mama. It's called For The Mommas. Follow that link to find out the great Huggies deal coming up at Rite Aid!! I cloth diaper but I do like to have disposables on hand for baby sitters or if we get backed up with laundry.

My Target/Kmart loot!




I got all of this for $13.64, retail value $207!! Merry Christmas to my kids! :)

Not included in this is the Kung Fu Panda book Sara found for me at another Kmart! I do owe her $.80 and my gratitude for that ;)

Check the Clearance time!!!



Here is one trip to the mall I had last week. I got a bunch of OP clothes for my girls and one pair of shorts for a special little boy I know. I also got 2 pairs of Victoria Secret undies and an VS eyeshadow. I spent under $10 on all of this. I love runs like this because I can start to fill their closets with clothes for next year! That way I'm buying very little, if anything full price when summer comes. One of the shirts my oldest can where year round with sweatshirts or a long sleeve shirt under it.

There are so many ways to be thrifty!!

Leap Frog Tag system $2.48 at Target!

Ok so pay attention here! SOME of the Leap Frog Tag systems are on clearance for $12.48 at Target. They are the ones that do not have "Cat in the Hat" in the box. Apparently they don't hold as many books as the new "Cat in the Hat" ones, but they are still $49 everywhere else. There is a $10 off coupon HERE making them $2.48 after coupon!!! I was lucky enough to find 3 for the little ones in my life. Now make sure you scan the ones you find. Some people are reporting the new ones rang up as $12.48 and others (like myself) found the older ones behind the new ones with no tag showing they've been marked down!!

As if that isn't great enough, Kmart has some of the books marked down to $4.80. Use THIS $4 off Tag book coupon and make them $.80!!

Now they aren't discontinuing the product, just launched some new books and a larger MB device, so no worries ;)

With both stores don't be discouraged if they do not have a clearance price tag! SCAN them!!!

The Coupon Clippin Mama posted this deal a few days ago and I needed to check it out for myself!