This week can be easily summed up as cereal week for me. I was able to get some great deals on cereal and replenish our supply that has diminished since March. I ended up with 19 boxes of cereal! To some of you this may seem excessive, however my family goes through cereal rather quickly. The boys usually have it for breakfast and a before bed snack (sometimes I join them). Daphne loves trying out her new teeth by eating dry cereal.
This week again reminded me how much I enjoy couponing and being able to save my family money. Our basement storage area is getting so full that we will need to add another set of shelves. I realize how fortunate we are to need more space for food storage, there are families out there that can barely get anything to eat. The food pantry at our church needed donations. It felt wonderful to be able to go into my basement and fill bags of food and personal items to donate. I am trying to be very mindful of when the amount of an item is getting out of control and then donate some of what I have purchased. Most of the items I donate were free or less than $1 so it is very little out of pocket for me but can make a huge difference for someone else.
This month I mostly donated meal kits, cereal, pasta, and deodorant. When I first started couponing I was able to get at least 20 bars of deodorant in the first few weeks. There is no way we would use all of that. I also accumulated a nice stockpile of cereal and pasta. All of the pasta was free and the cereal was fairly inexpensive. After shopping this week the storage area is looking full and in a few weeks will be ready for another round of donations. I am going to try to donate to the food pantry once a month.
Liam and Evan love to help me bring all my purchases down to the basement for storage. Liam is old enough now that he can go down to the "store" and pick what he wants. He always goes down and asks if anyone else wants something.
The only difficult part of having such a great supply of food is that I seem to be the only one that knows what is down there. I think if everyone in the family knew what we had, we would be enjoying the fruits of my labor much more. Anyone have tips for how to spread the word?
I made it to Meijer, Walgreens, Kroger, CVS and Target this week. Giant Eagle always throws me off since their ads run Thursday to Wednesday. It did make it nice since I didn't have to stop by there yesterday. I can easily run to Giant Eagle during lunch next week to pick up the few things that I need.
This week I spent $126.93 on all of our home, grocery and personal care needs. I saved $204.20. Summaries, spending breakdown by store, and what I purchased can by found below in my earlier posts.
Showing posts with label Walgreens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Walgreens. Show all posts
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Coupon Savings Week of 3/21 - Walgreens
I had a good week at Walgreens. I did learn that you can only use two Register Rewards (RR) per order. I would have had my orders for close to free this week if I had been able to use all of the $30 I earned last week. I was able to stock up on diapers at a reasonable price, earn more Register Rewards and keep the remaining rewards to use next week. The rewards I earned last week expire on 3/31 so I need to be sure I use them or I am pretty much throwing away cash! The rewards I earned today don't expire until 4/8 so I have time to hold onto them.
In order to take advantage of the maximum amount of register rewards, I had two separate orders this week. Huggies diapers were $8.99 and you received $5 in RR with the purchase of 3. Planters Trail Mix was 2 for $3 and I had 3 $1.50 coupons and one $1 coupon.
Order Quick View:
Spent: $22.98
(20 diapers per pack)
1 pack Huggies size 3 diapers
(36 diapers per pack)
2 packs Huggies size 4 diapers
(31 diapers per pack)
4 bags of Planters Trail Mix
On the first order I used 3 coupons for $3 off one pack of Huggies. This made each pack $5.99 (total $17.97). Once the RR rewards of $5 are factored in, I was able to purchase the 3 packs of diapers for $12.97 out of pocket or $4.32 per pack. This is a pretty good price for diapers. I now have a nice stockpile of them since I also bought them at Giant Eagle two weeks ago.
Since I could only use two RR per order I still have $12 in RR earned last week. My total RR left to spend is $22.
In order to take advantage of the maximum amount of register rewards, I had two separate orders this week. Huggies diapers were $8.99 and you received $5 in RR with the purchase of 3. Planters Trail Mix was 2 for $3 and I had 3 $1.50 coupons and one $1 coupon.
Order Quick View:
Spent: $22.98
Total Savings: $48.38
Earned: $10 in Register Rewards
Purchased:3 packs Huggies size 6 diapers (20 diapers per pack)1 pack Huggies size 3 diapers
(36 diapers per pack)2 packs Huggies size 4 diapers
(31 diapers per pack)4 bags of Planters Trail Mix
On the first order I used 3 coupons for $3 off one pack of Huggies. This made each pack $5.99 (total $17.97). Once the RR rewards of $5 are factored in, I was able to purchase the 3 packs of diapers for $12.97 out of pocket or $4.32 per pack. This is a pretty good price for diapers. I now have a nice stockpile of them since I also bought them at Giant Eagle two weeks ago.
Since I could only use two RR per order I still have $12 in RR earned last week. My total RR left to spend is $22.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Coupon Savings Week of 3/14 - Walgreens
Order Quick View:
Spent: $31.14
3 tubes Colgate toothpaste
3 Sudafed cold medicine
1 Sudafed nasal spray
2 Tylenol cold
6 padded mailers
2 5 lb. bags Gold Medal flour
3 Reese's peanut butter cups
1 Revlon Colorsilk hair color
1 Neosporin
2 boxes Band-Aids
I split my purchase into 3 orders to maximize the register rewards.
There were 2 orders with 1 Colgate and 2 Sudafeds each. Both of these orders were $9.95 out of pocket. I earned $9 in register rewards for each so the total amount spent was $0.95 for each order. The Colgate as $3.99, I had $1 off and received $4.00 in register rewards (I received this for each order). The Sudafed was $4.99 a box, I had a $2 coupon for each box, this made the boxes $2.99 each. I then received $5 in register rewards for the purchase. No more running out to the store when one of us gets a stuffy nose and paying $5+ for cold medicine.
On the final order I used $10 register rewards earned last week and spent $11.24 out of pocket. I earned $12 in register rewards on this order, with this I technically made $0.76. This order included 1 Colgate and I received the same deal on Tylenol cold as I did on the Sudafed. I also purchased 2 5 lb bags of Gold Medal flour. Walgreens had a coupon in the ad that made these 2 for $3. I had 2 $0.75 off coupons, Walgreens doesn't double coupons so the final price was $0.75 each. Still a decent price for flour. I learned that you can freeze the flour and then store properly. Once that is done it will not expire.
I was able to gain more register rewards with the purchase of Neosporin and Band Aids. The padded mailers were 3 for $1 using a Walgreens coupon from the weekly ad. The Reese cups were on sale for $0.89 each and I had a $0.55 coupon. The hair color was $1.99 using a Walgreens coupon, I also had a $1 manufacturer coupon which made it $0.99.
With $30 in register rewards, I am confident I will spend very little out of pocket over the next 2 weeks. I noticed that they expire quickly (03/31), however if I keep checking the weekly ads and making purchases with my register rewards that yield more register rewards I should be able to keep my expenses very low.
Spent: $31.14
Total Savings: $63.89
Earned: $30 in Register Rewards
Purchased:3 tubes Colgate toothpaste
3 Sudafed cold medicine
1 Sudafed nasal spray
2 Tylenol cold
6 padded mailers
2 5 lb. bags Gold Medal flour
3 Reese's peanut butter cups
1 Revlon Colorsilk hair color
1 Neosporin
2 boxes Band-Aids
I split my purchase into 3 orders to maximize the register rewards.
There were 2 orders with 1 Colgate and 2 Sudafeds each. Both of these orders were $9.95 out of pocket. I earned $9 in register rewards for each so the total amount spent was $0.95 for each order. The Colgate as $3.99, I had $1 off and received $4.00 in register rewards (I received this for each order). The Sudafed was $4.99 a box, I had a $2 coupon for each box, this made the boxes $2.99 each. I then received $5 in register rewards for the purchase. No more running out to the store when one of us gets a stuffy nose and paying $5+ for cold medicine.
On the final order I used $10 register rewards earned last week and spent $11.24 out of pocket. I earned $12 in register rewards on this order, with this I technically made $0.76. This order included 1 Colgate and I received the same deal on Tylenol cold as I did on the Sudafed. I also purchased 2 5 lb bags of Gold Medal flour. Walgreens had a coupon in the ad that made these 2 for $3. I had 2 $0.75 off coupons, Walgreens doesn't double coupons so the final price was $0.75 each. Still a decent price for flour. I learned that you can freeze the flour and then store properly. Once that is done it will not expire.
I was able to gain more register rewards with the purchase of Neosporin and Band Aids. The padded mailers were 3 for $1 using a Walgreens coupon from the weekly ad. The Reese cups were on sale for $0.89 each and I had a $0.55 coupon. The hair color was $1.99 using a Walgreens coupon, I also had a $1 manufacturer coupon which made it $0.99.
With $30 in register rewards, I am confident I will spend very little out of pocket over the next 2 weeks. I noticed that they expire quickly (03/31), however if I keep checking the weekly ads and making purchases with my register rewards that yield more register rewards I should be able to keep my expenses very low.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Coupon Savings Week of 3/7 (Part 2)
I finished my grocery shopping for the week with stops at Meijer, Giant Eagle and Walgreens today. I think the grocery gods were against me in terms of time, however they were on my side when it comes to savings. Seems that every store I went to had issues with barcodes on products, scanning coupons, registers out of ink or tape, and slow cashiers. On the plus side, I even impressed the cashier when my total at Meijer was $5.28.
Walgreens was a decent trip as I was able to stock up on cold medicine which I am confident we will use without any problem.
I spent more than I would have liked to at Giant Eagle this week, but I stocked up on diapers, paper towels and toilet paper. Hopefully, my savings at the other stops this week make up for the extra expense. I used my Kroger method at Giant Eagle and had three separate orders to maximize the money toward my next order. This week at Giant Eagle if you spend $30 in certain baby products you get $6 toward your next order. This combined with their sale on diapers and coupons gave me an opportunity to stock up.
I did really well at Meijer this week. I purchased one item that I didn’t have a coupon for and that was a 2 lb. bag of baby carrots for $2.50. Since my final total was $5.28, it means I spent $2.78 for everything detailed below (except for the carrots).
Meijer:
What I spent: $5.28
Total Savings: $26.81
What I purchased:
7 Johnson’s Bath Buddies kid soap
8 Ocsar Meyer lunchable sub kits (no drink)
1 bag of Snyder pretzels
2 Dial foaming hand soap
2 jugs Clorox bleach
1 2lb. bag of carrots
Walgreens:
What I spent: $21.28
Total Savings: $34.97
Received $10 register rewards for my next purchase. Including this $10 I spent $11.28.
What I purchased:
4 NyQuil Liquid Caps
1 DayQuil Liquid Caps
1 box puffs tissues
3 bottles Dawn dishwashing liquid
3 bottles Listerine
6 full size Nestle Crunch bars
I had three orders at Giant Eagle because I wanted to get $6.00 back in diapers purchases on each order.
Giant Eagle Summary:
Spent: $121.36
Received $18.00 toward my next order, which makes my total at Giant Eagle for this week $103.36.
Order 1:
What I spent: $40.20
Total Savings: $39.05
Received $6.00 toward my next order.
What I purchased:
5 boxes Fiber One cereal
4 boxes Betty Crocker cake mix
3 tubs Betty Crocker frosting
1 Endust Free
1 Angel Soft mega pack of toilet paper
1 box of Luvs diapers
2 jumbo packs of Huggies diapers
Order 2:
What I spent: $48.21
Total Savings: $31.63
Received $6.00 toward my next order.
What I purchased:
6 cans Campbell’s Tomato soup
3 packs of Keebler cookies
6 Right Guard deodorants
1 pack of Sparkle paper towels
1 Angel Soft mega pack of toilet paper
1 box of Luvs diapers
2 jumbo packs of Huggies diapers
Order 3:
What I spent: $32.95
Total Savings: $26.61
Received $6.00 toward my next order.
What I purchased:
1 pack of Pampers diapers
2 Philly Cream Cheese minis
4 sticks Right Guard deodorant
2 jumbo packs of Huggies diapers
2 packs of Keebler cookies
1 Angel Soft mega pack of toilet paper
Walgreens was a decent trip as I was able to stock up on cold medicine which I am confident we will use without any problem.
I spent more than I would have liked to at Giant Eagle this week, but I stocked up on diapers, paper towels and toilet paper. Hopefully, my savings at the other stops this week make up for the extra expense. I used my Kroger method at Giant Eagle and had three separate orders to maximize the money toward my next order. This week at Giant Eagle if you spend $30 in certain baby products you get $6 toward your next order. This combined with their sale on diapers and coupons gave me an opportunity to stock up.
I did really well at Meijer this week. I purchased one item that I didn’t have a coupon for and that was a 2 lb. bag of baby carrots for $2.50. Since my final total was $5.28, it means I spent $2.78 for everything detailed below (except for the carrots).
Meijer:
What I spent: $5.28
Total Savings: $26.81
What I purchased:
7 Johnson’s Bath Buddies kid soap
8 Ocsar Meyer lunchable sub kits (no drink)
1 bag of Snyder pretzels
2 Dial foaming hand soap
2 jugs Clorox bleach
1 2lb. bag of carrots
Walgreens:
What I spent: $21.28
Total Savings: $34.97
Received $10 register rewards for my next purchase. Including this $10 I spent $11.28.
What I purchased:
4 NyQuil Liquid Caps
1 DayQuil Liquid Caps
1 box puffs tissues
3 bottles Dawn dishwashing liquid
3 bottles Listerine
6 full size Nestle Crunch bars
I had three orders at Giant Eagle because I wanted to get $6.00 back in diapers purchases on each order.
Giant Eagle Summary:
Spent: $121.36
Received $18.00 toward my next order, which makes my total at Giant Eagle for this week $103.36.
Order 1:
What I spent: $40.20
Total Savings: $39.05
Received $6.00 toward my next order.
What I purchased:
5 boxes Fiber One cereal
4 boxes Betty Crocker cake mix
3 tubs Betty Crocker frosting
1 Endust Free
1 Angel Soft mega pack of toilet paper
1 box of Luvs diapers
2 jumbo packs of Huggies diapers
Order 2:
What I spent: $48.21
Total Savings: $31.63
Received $6.00 toward my next order.
What I purchased:
6 cans Campbell’s Tomato soup
3 packs of Keebler cookies
6 Right Guard deodorants
1 pack of Sparkle paper towels
1 Angel Soft mega pack of toilet paper
1 box of Luvs diapers
2 jumbo packs of Huggies diapers
Order 3:
What I spent: $32.95
Total Savings: $26.61
Received $6.00 toward my next order.
What I purchased:
1 pack of Pampers diapers
2 Philly Cream Cheese minis
4 sticks Right Guard deodorant
2 jumbo packs of Huggies diapers
2 packs of Keebler cookies
1 Angel Soft mega pack of toilet paper
Coupon Savings Week of 2/28 (Part 2)
I finished my shopping today. I think I figured out the trick at Kroger but should have planned better for Walgreens. Meijer was okay, the number is a little higher than I would like it to be but I also purchased some clearance clothes for the kids.
My trick at Kroger was figuring out how many of a certain item I had to buy to get money toward my next order. Once I figured that out, I broke my order into 3 separate transactions to maximize the savings. All of this planning was done at home, prior to going to the store. I had my list for each order and was able to get out of the store in about a half hour (maybe less).
In total I spent $50.79 at Kroger, but I received $20 toward my next shopping trip so the actual money spent was $30.79 for all three Kroger orders detailed below.
At Walgreens, I purchased Starbucks drinks that were 4 for $5. I only printed 2 $1 off coupons so I got 4 for $3. In hindsight, I should have printed two more coupons so I would have received 4 for $1.
Kroger - Order Number 1:
Spent: $17.81
Total Savings: $36.83
Received $6.50 for my next order
What I purchased:
1 box Kroger Chewy Granola Bars
5 boxes Nature Valley Granola Bars
5 boxes Fiber One Bars
4 bags of Chex Mix
Kroger - Order Number 2:
Spent: $13.99
Total Savings: $32.08
Received $6.50 for my next order
What I purchased:
2 bags of Chex Mix
5 boxes of Fiber One Bars
2 Betty Crocker Warm Delights
2 Betty Crocker Mashed Potato packets
4 boxes of Nature Valley Granola Bars
Kroger - Order Number 3:
Spent: $18.99
Total Savings: $31.15
Received $7.00 for my next order
What I purchased:
5 boxes of Fiber One Bars
1 bag of Green Giant Steamed Vegetables
2 bags of Chex Mix
2 Betty Crocker Warm Delights
6 boxes of Fruit Snacks
Total Items for All Three Kroger Orders:
1 box Kroger Chewy Granola Bars
9 boxes Nature Valley Granola Bars
15 boxes Fiber One Bars
8 bags of Chex Mix
4 Betty Crocker Warm Delights
2 Betty Crocker Mashed Potato packets
1 bag of Green Giant Steamed Vegetables
6 boxes of Fruit Snacks
Walgreens:
Spent: $8.94
Total Savings: $34.50
What I purchased:
4 Starbucks drinks
12 Right Guard Deodorants
Meijer:
Spent: $47.75
Total Savings: $141.54 (this includes non-coupon savings of $125.04)
Received $4.00 off my next order of $60 or more. I used the same coupon for the order today, just use it FIRST. As long as the register total is $60 you get the $4.00 off. I was then able to have him apply the $4.00 I received toward my next order from last week as well as the manufacturer coupons.
What I purchased:
2 pairs of pants for Daphne
1 pair of jeans for Daphne
1 pull over fleece for Liam
2 long sleeve tees for Liam
1 fleece outfit by Carters for Daphne
1 Gallon 2% Milk
3 boxes Quaker Instant Oatmeal
3 I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Sprays
1 Sure Deodorant
6 bottles of Dynamo Laundry Detergent
My trick at Kroger was figuring out how many of a certain item I had to buy to get money toward my next order. Once I figured that out, I broke my order into 3 separate transactions to maximize the savings. All of this planning was done at home, prior to going to the store. I had my list for each order and was able to get out of the store in about a half hour (maybe less).
In total I spent $50.79 at Kroger, but I received $20 toward my next shopping trip so the actual money spent was $30.79 for all three Kroger orders detailed below.
At Walgreens, I purchased Starbucks drinks that were 4 for $5. I only printed 2 $1 off coupons so I got 4 for $3. In hindsight, I should have printed two more coupons so I would have received 4 for $1.
Kroger - Order Number 1:
Spent: $17.81
Total Savings: $36.83
Received $6.50 for my next order
What I purchased:
1 box Kroger Chewy Granola Bars
5 boxes Nature Valley Granola Bars
5 boxes Fiber One Bars
4 bags of Chex Mix
Kroger - Order Number 2:
Spent: $13.99
Total Savings: $32.08
Received $6.50 for my next order
What I purchased:
2 bags of Chex Mix
5 boxes of Fiber One Bars
2 Betty Crocker Warm Delights
2 Betty Crocker Mashed Potato packets
4 boxes of Nature Valley Granola Bars
Kroger - Order Number 3:
Spent: $18.99
Total Savings: $31.15
Received $7.00 for my next order
What I purchased:
5 boxes of Fiber One Bars
1 bag of Green Giant Steamed Vegetables
2 bags of Chex Mix
2 Betty Crocker Warm Delights
6 boxes of Fruit Snacks
Total Items for All Three Kroger Orders:
1 box Kroger Chewy Granola Bars
9 boxes Nature Valley Granola Bars
15 boxes Fiber One Bars
8 bags of Chex Mix
4 Betty Crocker Warm Delights
2 Betty Crocker Mashed Potato packets
1 bag of Green Giant Steamed Vegetables
6 boxes of Fruit Snacks
Walgreens:
Spent: $8.94
Total Savings: $34.50
What I purchased:
4 Starbucks drinks
12 Right Guard Deodorants
Meijer:
Spent: $47.75
Total Savings: $141.54 (this includes non-coupon savings of $125.04)
Received $4.00 off my next order of $60 or more. I used the same coupon for the order today, just use it FIRST. As long as the register total is $60 you get the $4.00 off. I was then able to have him apply the $4.00 I received toward my next order from last week as well as the manufacturer coupons.
What I purchased:
2 pairs of pants for Daphne
1 pair of jeans for Daphne
1 pull over fleece for Liam
2 long sleeve tees for Liam
1 fleece outfit by Carters for Daphne
1 Gallon 2% Milk
3 boxes Quaker Instant Oatmeal
3 I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Sprays
1 Sure Deodorant
6 bottles of Dynamo Laundry Detergent
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