Quality Markets finally has a deal I can use....

I live in a really small town, and our local grocery store has a monopoly. The next nearest grocery is about 40 minutes away. It is really easy to end up paying $50 for a half a cart of stuff. They have never been a great place for deals. Really I sort of go there if there is no other choice. Well, since I have been complaining about their prices for years I figured I should give credit where credit is due. They have been doing much better lately, at least with their sale prices. This past week they had a deal so good even I had to give it a shot. There were coupons in the flyer that made it possible to double 4 manufacturers coupons up to $3.00 each. It required a $25.00 purchase before coupons and was limited to 4 doubles per "wild card". That is their version of a customer loyalty card. That's right, if you had 4 coupons worth 3 bucks each you could save $24 dollars! I did not have 4 $3.00 off coupons, but I think I made out okay anyhow. Here is how it worked:

2 bags Diamond walnuts on sale for $2.99 each
used $3.00 off 2 coupon doubled= both FREE
2 pot pies $1.00 each on sale
2 kids cuisine meals on sale $2.00 each
3 Lean Cuisine meals on sale 3 for $6.00
used $2.00 off 3 coupon doubled= 66 cents each
1 chocolate milk on sale $1.00
1 cookies and cream milk on sale $1.05
1 gallon milk $2.09
1 butter on sale w/ store coupon 99 cents
3 mashed potato pouches on sale 3 for $3.00
1 sugar on sale w/ store coupon $1.39
2 Mt. Dew 2 liters on sale 88 cents each
1 Pepsi 2 liter on sale 88 cents
1 flour on sale w/ store coupon 99 cents
1 Starbucks ground coffee on sale $7.99
used $1.50 off coupon doubled= $4.99
1 24 pk. Marcal toilette paper on sale $4.99
used $2 off coupon doubled= 99 cents
according to my receipt my savings were as follows:
manufacturer coupons: $8.50
wild card and store coupons {including double} $32.78
total savings: $41.28
Total paid: $25.55
that's $66.83 worth of groceries for $25.55 I can live with that...
Go Quality! Keep it up!

K-mart super doubles for charity!

...and some super doubles for me too.
This is how it started... I went to K-mart to specifically to buy cereal. I had a free box of rice crispies and a bunch of dollar off 1 box of rice crispies coupons that I got in the mail from vocal point. I also had some dollar off 2 coupons for some other Kellogs cereals. I was trying to put together a deal for a rebate from our Sunday paper. The rebate states that if you buy 10 boxes of select Kellogs cereals in one order you can get a $10 dollar rebate and a $70 dollar coupon for dell computers. I need a new monitor, and with 4 kids in the house, I also need cereal. This is how transaction 1 went...

{The cereal was all on sale 4 for $9.00}

2 boxes frosted flakes $4.50
used $1 off 2 mq doubled
{this made them $1.50 for both}

4 boxes rice crispies $9.00
used 1 box free mq
used 3 $1 off 1 mq doubled
{this made them 75 cents for 4 boxes}

2 boxes pops $4.50
used $1 off 2 mq doubled
{this made them $1.50 for both}

1 box sugar smacks $2.25
1 box frosted flakes gold $2.25
used $1 off 2 mq doubled
{this made them $1.50 for both}

That's $22.50 worth of cereal
- $10.25 worth of coupons
I paid $12.25. I will get back $10 from the rebate and my $70 coupon!
I gave my sister 3 boxes and 1 to my mom. Me and the kids are going to make rice crispie treats this week for snacks. I won on this deal in so many ways.
Thanks K-mart!

Now for the charity part...
There was recently flooding in some near by areas which essentially devastated 2 entire towns. Many people lost everything and local agencies are collecting for those flood victims. There is a particular need for personal care items for those in temporary housing.

I sent each of my girls through the line with 4 Dove visibly smooth deodorants. Which I love by the way... I gave them each 4 $2 off 1 coupons and a dollar. The coupons were doubled. Since the price was only $3.99 each they were all free. They girls each paid 48 cents in tax. I also gave 2 of the coupons to mom so she got 2 free also. That is 10 deodorants for $1.20 cents. One for mom, one each for me and my daughter, and 7 for the flood victims. I will add those to some things I am donating from my current stockpile. I know it is only deodorant and stuff, but it's something I can do to help in some small way, and it feels great.
So thanks again K-mart!

I decided to do a second transaction since I still had needed items on my grocery list and high value coupons. This is it...

One TRIO building set $19.99
- $5.00 K-mart sale
used $5.00 printable coupon {thanks coupon clippin' mama}
$9.99
sharpie highlighters $2.69
used $1.00 printable coupon {thanks deal seeking mom} doubled
$0.69
Tag deodorant $3.50 on sale
used $2 on 1 mq doubled
FREE
2 suave kids shampoo $2.49 each
used $1 off 2 mq doubled
$3.00 for both
Band aids $3.99
used $1 off 1 mq doubled
$1.99
2 trident gum $1.00 each
used $1 off 2 mq doubled
BOTH FREE
That's $15.67 plus tax.

Not too bad considering that Mom and I had 5 kids with us.
Then we went to the mall for school clothes where we were no nearly so fortunate...lol

If any of you live in the western NY area consider donating stockpile items to the flood victims. There is a great need and most local charities can tell you how to get your items to those most affected.

This stuff is great!

I have officially found a new deodorant. Recently Dove sent me a full size sample of their new visibly smooth deodorant. Dove says that it minimizes the appearance of underarm hair over time. You know what? They are absolutely right. It seems rare that a product does what it says it will. This one does that and more. I have not had a single shaving bump since I started using it. Also in the past I have had trouble finding a deodorant that would actually last through out the day. Dove visibly smooth lasts ALL day with out needing to reapply. As an added bonus it smells great! Dove also sent me a big bundle of coupons and I have had a great time giving them out. All the friends who have used their coupons to try the product have reported back to me with similar wonderful results. Long story short... Thanks Dove!

Foster Care Month

May is national Foster Care month. As a foster parent, I would like to get the message out. There are hundreds of thousands of youth in foster care at any given time in the US. Many of them in need of permanent homes, and others just in need of a safe haven at a difficult time. Please consider supporting these kids. If you are unable to provide a home, there are still many opportunities to help. Foster kids need mentors, agencies need financial support, communities need education. I urge you to contact your local county or private foster/ adoptive agency. Find out how you can make a difference in the lives of children and youth.


I am including a link {I hope it works...} to Foster Club an online community for the support of youth in care and adults who want to help. They are featuring outstanding youth this month. Kids who have been in the system and have over come adversity and used it to help others. Take the time to read some of their stories. They are truly inspirational.
http://www.fosterclub.com/article/message-grownups

5/2/09 Last Minaute Trip

Ok So I hadn't been to all the drug stores in a while. Walgreens had what looked like some killer deals this week, so I decided to make a last min. run yesterday before the sales changed again. I had a list of things I needed that were not on sale. I figured I could get a few things for free and use the register rewards to buy what I needed. My total should have been about 6 dollars after coupons and register rewards. As it was my total was about 28 dollars. That really isn't too bad though considering that I got $71.00 worth of merchandise. Here is how my Walgreens trip went...

Transaction 1:

2 Got 2 Be stylers @ 2 for $10.00

used 2 printable $2/1 Got 2 Be MQ

total $6.78 with tax
recieved $5.00 RR

Transaction 2:

Rembrant tooth paste $5.99
vitamin water $1.39
vitamin water $1.39
Vitamin water $1.22
{these were supose to be on sale according to the sign. I just noticed that they didn't ring up}

used 3 $1.00/1 vitamin water MQ
$5.00 RR from transaction 1

total $2.76
received $6.00 RR

Transaction 3:

2 Got 2 be stylers @ 2/$10.00
single subject notebook $1.29

Used 2 printable $2/1 Got 2 Be MQ
$6.00 RR from transaction 2

Total: $2.16
received $5.00 RR

Transaction 3:

Gilette shave gel $3.29
Visine A/C $4.79
Old Spice aftershave $8.99
Hot Shot ant spray $4.59
Walgreens Freezer bags $1.79
filler paper $1.79

Used: 80 cent in ad visine coupon
$3.00 visine MQ
$1.00 Gilette MQ
$1.50 Hot Shot MQ
$5.00 RR from transaction 3

Total $15.52

I was really disappointed. They were out of the Bayer glucose monitors that had the $5 RR. I was going to use those RR to buy everything else and donate the monitors to the legion. Also, the manager would not let me use my ecotrin coupons because the coupon was for more than the sale price of the item. I suggested he could adjust it down, but he kept insisting he could not. I would have gotten $6 more dollars in RRs for that as well as $15.00 in RRs for the monitors. He seemed rather annoyed with the whole coupon thing, and I couldn't find quite a few of the things I had planned to buy. All in all it makes me think maybe Walgreens isn't worth it. CVS is much more coupon friendly. So... here is how I did at CVS...

CVS transaction 1:

6 3m hooks. on sale 2/$5

USED:
4 $1.50/1 3m coupons
2 $2.50/1 3m coupons

Total: $5.16
received $5.00 ECBs
$1.50 ECBs

Transaction 2:

2 All laundry soap B1/G1 $7.49
1 4ct. Drumstick ice cream on sale $3.00

USED:
2 $1.00/1 All MQ
$1.00 ECB {from a couple weeks ago}
$1.50 ECB {from previous transaction}
$5.00 ECB {from prvious transaction}

Total: 99 cents

Rite Aid

2 electrosol dishwasher soap $4.49 each on sale

USED:
2 $2.50/1 MQ

Total: $4.68

submitted for ESR $1.50 each rebate
I will get $3.00 back making the total $1.68 for 2

Rite Aid April 2, 2009

Ok, so I tried to go to Rite Aid to get some free razors and use my $5 off $25 printable coupons from Deal Seeking Mom as well as that $10 gift card. {I got this for picking up free glucose monitors with coupons and donating them to charity} Well one of my coupons was expired and I didn't realize it so that threw me off. The cashier didn't understand the whole coupon thing, and there was a line behind me. In my attempt to salvage the trip and get out of peoples way, I forgot to use my gift card. I figure I spent about $15 to $20 dollars more OOP than I should have. I was really annoyed with myself, but the trip wasn't a total loss, so here is how it turned out...

1 Tums dual action $9.99
2 Bayer glucose meters $29.99 each
2 No nonsense knee highs $2.49 B1G1
2 No nonsense 3 pk sox $4.49 B1G1
2 Jane make up $5.99 B1G1 {foundation and bronzer}
2 Milky Way minis $3.79 B1G1
1 eyeliner 99 cents {clearance}
1 pk. index cards $1.29
1 crayola color pencils $7.99 B1G1 50% off
1 crayola pipsqueeks markers $2.74
1 crayola washable marker $5.29 B1G1 50% off
1 crayola washable marker $2.64

Total $107.67
______________________________________________________
COUPONS USED:
2 $30.00 Bayer monitor coupons from Sunday paper
$3.00 Tums coupon from All You
$3.00 Tums in ad coupon
4 $1.00 no nonsense coupons
$1.00/2 milky way coupon from Sunday paper
$5.00/$25.00 Rite Aid print-able

Total coupon savings $76.00

I should have gotten another $10.00 off for my gift card {but I can use that next time} As well as another $5 to $10 dollars in $5 off $25 dollar print-ables depending on how I split it up. Oh well. Better luck tomorrow...

I also submitted for $3.00 and $5.00 single check rebates for the Tums and the Crayola.

Friday trip to Wal Mart...

I can't seem to find my receipt at the moment so I am going to try to write this from memory...

Friday I needed to go to Wal Mart because it was my youngest son's 7th birthday. I also had that coupon for the free mascara at Wal mart from the ALL YOU magazine. {They were out of that though...darn it...} This is what I got...

$0.97 each /5 bars Johnson's buddies soap {my kids love these and we were almost out}
$3.92 each/ 6 boxes Glucerna cereal
$5.00/ All Dogs Go To Heaven DVD
$5.00/ Cheaper By The Dozen DVD
$5.00/ Sandlot DVD
$18.92/ Kota Pals triceratops toy
$5.92/ vent cover for furnace vent
$6.00/ Maxwell house coffee
_____________________________________________________________________________________
$74.33 plus tax sub total

I used:
$3.00 off 3 MQ Johnson's buddies
$2.00 off 2 MQ " "
$10.00 off 2 MQ Glucerna
$10.00 off 2 MQ " "
$5.00 off 1 MQ Glucerna
$5.00 off 1 MQ " "
{all printable coupons courtesy of Deal Seeking Mom}
$3.00 off MQ All Dogs Go To Heaven DVD
$3.00 off MQ Cheaper By The Dozen DVD
$3.00 off MQ Sandlot DVD
{print-ables found on coupons.com ...I think...}
____________________________________________________________________________________
$30.33 OOP. after coupons. plus tax
That is a savings of $44.00. Not bad at all...