Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The House!

Welcome to Chez Frugalsuz! This is the lovely house that DBF and I bought.  It has three bedrooms, two full baths, a huge driveway, 0.70 acres of land and a killer view.  And best of all, its ours!  If we want to change something, we can.  If we want to hang pictures at 2 am, we can.  If we want to stomp and shout, we can. I just love it!
Our property extends all the way to those trees.  When we first looked at the house in the summer, I barely noticed those houses because of the tree cover.  The bare spots on the grass are where the previous owners had a deck.  They tore it down before we moved in, even without asking them to.   We were going to knock it down anyway so that was just one less thing to worry about.
Love that view! 
The kitchen is so nice. Cabinets galore, fairly new appliances and plenty more counter space than I'm used to.  That curtain is covering a huge window that opens from the bottom up.  We figure it must have been a door that they converted to a window.  
Right beside the kitchen is the dining room, complete with beautiful sliding glass doors.  The inspector for our loan required that the doors be boarded up from the outside AND the inside.  It was the stupidest thing we'd ever heard and the boards came right down once the house was ours.
Interesting color choice huh? Not only are the walls pink, but the carpet is too!  One of the bedrooms sports an even brighter pink carpet.  Oy.  The chandelier is pretty, but not really our style and hangs down too low for our liking.
After two coats of primer and two coats of paint, we finally got the room to where we wanted it.  Da boyfriend stepped off the step ladder right into the paint tray on day one!  Luckily, the carpet was getting tossed, so that wasn't a big deal.  

Here's the final product!  We chose a happy, light yellow for the walls, a multi-colored brown/tan carpet, changed out the light fixture and put up some rustic looking wood moulding.  I love how it came out.  Da boyfriend is going to build a dining room table and chairs soon, so we'll have somewhere to sit and eat (love that handyman!).  We have curtains for the sliding glass doors to put up so the whole world can't see into the house.  During the day, this room gets tons of sunlight and has such a nice, cheery feel to it.  I'll have to snap some pictures during the day.
Shadow loves the sliding glass doors!  Gigi has been more hesitant to explore the house, although she's getting better  I'm sure it will be difficult to get her attention away from the doors soon enough.
Since we were without a deck, DBF constructed a set of stairs off the sliding glass doors.  Shadow loved being able to keep an eye on him while he worked.  

They came out so well!  He's going to build something more permanent in the spring when the ground is softer. 
Most of the rooms aren't finished yet, but let's take a look at some of them anyway.  The previous owners left this sturdy metal shelving unit in the basement.  Since its right by the washer/dryer, I loaded it up with laundry items.  Its nice having everything right at my fingertips.  In the right hand corner of the picture, you can see a rolling metal cart.  I used to have this in my kitchen at the apartment but its handy down here to put laundry baskets on, fold clothes, etc.
We changed out these curtains from a deep, dark red to this white.  So many places in the house are dark, so I've been trying to brighten things up.  Love the slop sink! 
Here's a sneak peek of my stockpile room.  I had a lot more of it organized, but when it flooded a bit, I moved a lot of the stuff to higher ground.  Its been dry ever since, so I think I'm ok to start putting everything where it needs to be.  Maybe I can tackle that project this weekend.  Its driving me crazy not knowing where everything is and stepping over boxes left and right.  


DBF's mom gifted us the rolling metal shelf in the middle of the room.  Its huge!  And its the perfect height to put against the far wall.  There's a shelf running around the border of the room and I can put this shelf right against the wall without losing that extra shelf space.  See that blue tote in front of the Ziploc tower?  That's all my Black Friday shopping.  I shopped, dumped all the goodies into the tote in the car, then used the same reusable bag in store #2.  It really helped keep everything from rolling all around the car.


Notice that wood paneling in the background?  Its everywhere in the house!  Its in two of the bedrooms (although that paneling is white), this room, the room next to it, the hallway and the entryway of the house.  In time, we're going to pull it down.  But for now, we have so many other projects that its going to stay put for a while.  Plus we're not really sure what's behind it and how much of a project it will be to repair any damage.
This is where I'm typing this up right now!  We made one of the bedrooms into our office.  I've got to get this room organized.  We have receipts and paperwork and boxes and cords and books everywhere.  We decided not to move my old desk, so we're going to use a rolling set of shelves as desk drawers.  For whatever reason, the carpet in this room doesn't fully extend to the back wall.  Its just one of the many oddities of this old house.


I've had this table for years.  Its a cheapo table from Ikea and although I knew it had leaves in the middle, I'd never used them.  We decided to put them in and its enormous!  Since they've never seen sunlight, the two leaves in the center are about five shades lighter than the rest of the table.  Looking at the picture closely, I see that Shadow wanted her Kong to be photographed.  She leaves that thing everywhere!


Thanks for visiting!  I'll be posting more pictures as we get more unpacked and settled.

Back in Business




Ahh, that feels so good!  The cable guy came to the house yesterday, but of course there was some issue and I had no internet last night.  What a tease.  But now we're back up and running.  The house is still quite a mess, so for now, we'll use my dryer as a backdrop.  (I have a dryer!  WOOT!)


Rite Aid

  • Duracell 9 volt Batteries $5.74, used $1 coupon (11/27 P&G), got back $1 UP (Limit 1) = $3.74

Bought a second pack of 9 volt batteries at a second store on a separate card.  Now I'll submit both of these receipts for a $2.50 rebate (WYB 2, SCR #3).  I find its easy to get deals on AA and AAA batteries, but 9 volt is tricky so I don't mind spending a little more.  All in all, I spent $4.98 or $2.49 each.  And I used UP's to pay of course.  The batteries count towards the Season of Savings program for the week, but I'm not going after that.


I also picked up three cases of Diet Pepsi for $10.98 with a $2 UP reward back (got the Santa candy for $0.50 so I could use a $10 UP and a $1 UP).  I drank my last can of soda today so these were definitely needed. 


ShopRite

  • 4 Pantene Sham/Conds $3.99 each, used two $3 off 2 coupons (11/27 P&G) and got back $10 catalina = FREE/$0.04 profit
  • Total was $11.26 with tax

12/4 - 12/10

CVS
  • American Greeting Cards buy three $0.99 cards, use $2 off 3 coupon and get back $3 EB (Limit 1) = $2.03 profit *American Greeting Cards are a regional item
  • Candy Canes (10 ct) $1.27, get back $1.27 EB (Limit 1) = FREE *Might be a regional deal so check your circulars before buying
  • Revlon Cosmetics and/or Beauty Tools - buy two and get back $6 EB (Limit 1).  Nail clippers and emery boards are usually the cheapest items, then use two $1 coupons (10/30 SS) for FREE or moneymaker items
  • Lots of food items for the spend $30, get $10 gift card deal.  Includes Jif PB, Smuckers jelly and General Mills cereals - if you have rainchecks for any of these items from the past couple weeks, now's the time to use them.
  • iTunes Gift Cards - spend $50, get back $10 EB (Limit 1)
  • DSW, Golfsmith, $14.95 Tech Support for Dummies or The Limited Gift Cards - spend $50, get back $10 EB (Limit 1)
Rite Aid
  • Sucrets $2.99, use $1 coupon (11/20 SS) and get back $2 UP (Limit 1) = FREE/$0.01 profit *Also part of Season of Savings Program for this week
  • Fragrance Sets $15.99 and up, use $5 coupon (valid on Beyonce, Halle Berry, Faith Hill, Celene Dion, Tim McGraw or David Beckham) and get back $5 UP (Limit 2) = $5.99 *If you have 10% ($14.39) or 20% discount ($12.79), your final out of pocket will be $4.39 or $2.79
Walgreens
  • Buy any gift card, get a gift card tin for FREE ($1.99 value) - might be cute if you're planning on giving gift cards for the holidays
  • Dozen eggs $0.99 - since I bought some eggs at ShopRite last weekend and forgot to take them out of the car (yeeesh) I'll be grabbing up some cheap eggs
Printable Rebate Offers
Hangtag/Peelie/Tearpad Rebates to Look For - please let me know what you find as well! 

  • Dickinson's Original Witch Hazel Hangtag TMF Exp. 3/1/12 
  • Kedem Sparkling Juices Hangtag $1.50 rebate per bottle, up to 6 bottles/$9 per 12 month period, no expiration date - found at Acme  
  • Nexcare Bandages - Active Waterproof, Soft n’ Flex and Waterproof. Peelie TMF for one, two or all three varieties, up to $3.99 per box. Exp. 12/31/11

Monday, November 28, 2011

The end is near

The cable guy is coming to the house tomorrow.  Do you know what that means dear friends?  INTERNET!  And cable tv!  Its been so long since I've had a working computer at home that I've almost forgotten what it feels like.  I'm very excited to show you all pictures of the house and to get back to blogging like I used to.  Its just not the same to talk about what I bought, I wanna show you too!

What a weekend this has been.  The electrician came to the house on Wednesday to upgrade our electric service.  While he was there, he found oodles of other issues which turned into a second day of work.  I have always disliked having strangers in my space, and having them cutting holes through sheet rock, pulling wires through various rooms, moving appliances and such was making me downright antsy.  But thankfully that's all done now and the lights don't flicker when I run the washer. 

We've had a multitude of water issues over the past couple days.  It started when the electrician was over on Wednesday and I moved some boxes into the stockpile room to get them out of his way.  To my surprise, the floor was wet.  It was a rainy, overcast day and with no power, it was hard to see where the water was coming from.  I moved a lot of things out of the room and found that pretty much the whole floor was wet.  Some stuff was ruined - flour and sugar I had in bags on the floor, a couple of packages of toilet paper and random bags of stuff that had yet to be put away.  We think the water was coming in because of a backup in a nearby drainage pipe outside.  Da boyfriend cleaned that all out and rigged up a new pipe, so hopefully that's ok now.  We'll keep a close eye on that room the next time we get a storm.  Thankfully most of the items in the stockpile room were already on shelves or still in plastic tote boxes so they were fine.

Once the electrician was done with day #2, I set about getting the house back in order and threw in a load of laundry.  I heard a weird dripping noise while we were upstairs and when we went downstairs to check, we found a ton of water on the floor.  The washer drains to a sump pump and there was some issue with the new outlet it had been plugged into.  So all the soapy water was overflowing out of the pump and onto the floor (at least it smelled nice!).  We cleaned the water up with a shop vac and the next day, the electrician came back out and fixed the outlet.  Then the new dishwasher started leaking all over the kitchen floor.  Again, DBF to the rescue.  One of the connecting pipes was loose, so that should be ok now.  

All of this combined with trying to get things unpacked, cleaned and organized was a wee bit overwhelming.  I'll be very happy when everything is where it should be and put away. 

I snuck in quite a bit of Black Friday shopping at the drugstores on Thursday before heading over to my aunt's for a delicious Thanksgiving feast.  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday as well!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

11/27 - 12/3

I'm going to be away from a computer for the rest of the weekend.  Gotta get the last of my junk moved into the house and then of course, I'll be busy shopping!  I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and of course, a happy Black Friday!

CVS
  • Complete Multi-Purpose Solution (12 oz) $8.99, get back $8.99 EB (Limit 1) = FREE
Rite Aid
  • Oral-B CrossAction Power or 3D White Action Power Toothbrush $5.99, use $3 coupon (coming in Sunday's paper) and get back $2.99 (SCR #?) = FREE/$0.01 profit 
  • St. Joseph Aspirin $4.99, use $1 coupon (9/11 SS) and get back $4 UP (Limit 1) = FREE/$0.01 profit
Walgreens
  • Softlips Pearl $2, get back $2 RR = FREE
  • Walgreens Cold Sore Treatment $7.99, get back $7.99 RR = FREE
  • Mission Muscle Relief $5.99, get back $5.99 RR = FREE
  • Mission Rehab Foot Cream $5.99, get back $5.99 RR = FREE
Printable Rebate Offers
Hangtag/Peelie/Tearpad Rebates to Look For - please let me know what you find as well! 

  • Dickinson's Original Witch Hazel Hangtag TMF Exp. 3/1/12 
  • Ensure 4 pack Tearpad TMF Min. purchase $6.97, rebate valid up to $10 Exp. 11/30/11 $2 coupon in 5/1 SS (Exp. 8/7) - spotted at Rite Aid
  • Kedem Sparkling Juices Hangtag $1.50 rebate per bottle, up to 6 bottles/$9 per 12 month period, no expiration date - found at Acme  
  • Nexcare Bandages - Active Waterproof, Soft n’ Flex and Waterproof. Peelie TMF for one, two or all three varieties, up to $3.99 per box. Exp. 12/31/11

Monday, November 21, 2011

Excedrin Substitute

This may have been posted other places already but it was news to me.  I wanted to buy the double pack of Excedrin that's free after EB's at CVS today and tomorrow (plus yesterday too) but the store didn't have any.  They allowed me to substitute the 8 pack of the Excedrin Extra Strength and the EB's printed automatically!

CVS
  • Excedrin Extra Strength (8 pk) $0.99, got back $0.99 EB (Limit 1) = FREE
  • 3 Hallmark Cards $0.99 each, got back $3 EB (WYB 3, Limit 1) = FREE/$0.03 profit
  • Used $3 EB, total was $1.17
Tonight I'm going to hit up Acme for the gift card - spend $100, get back a $20 catalina.  I'm really low on soda, so I'm going to use the catalina right away for five packs of Coke ($13), a box of clementines ($3.99) and some other goodies.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

11/20 - 11/26 & Black Friday!

CVS
  • Sun - Wed ONLY: Excedrin Bonus Pack Extra Strength (8 ct) or PM (8 ct) $0.99, get back $0.99 EB (Limit 1) = FREE
  • Sun - Wed ONLY: Hallmark or American Greetings Cards - buy three and get back $3 EB (Limit 1) *If includes $0.99 cards = FREE
  • Ricola Cough Drops $1.50, buy two and use two $1 coupons (10/30 SS) and get back $1 EB (WYB 2, Limit 1) = FREE
  • iTunes Gift Cards - spend $75, get back $15 EB (Limit 1)
Rite Aid 
  • Samy Hair Color $8.99 ($7.99 with 20% discount), use $3 coupon (10/9 RP), $2 RA coupon (Oct Video Values) and get back $5 UP (Limit 2) = $2 profit - $1 profit
  • Scunchi or Conair Hair Accessories - spend $10, get back $5 UP (Limit 2).  Double dip with Black Friday sale (Scunchi elastics $1.99 elastics, $1.99 UP, Limit 2).  Buy two of those plus $6.02 of other goodies and use the $1 RA coupon (Nov. Video Values) = all for FREE
  • Conair Dryers, Curling Irons, Straighteners, Rollers and Haircut Kits - spend $30, get back $10 UP (Limit 1).  If double dips with Black Friday sale (Conair Trimmer, 5 Position Trimmer, 2 in 1 Trimmer, 1875 Dryer, Straightener or Haircut Kit $9.99, get back $5 UP, Limit 2), could be free or very cheap.
Walgreens
  • Nozin Nasal Sanitizer (10 ct., prefilled ampules) $7.99, get back $8 RR = FREE/$0.01 profit
And now for the main event, Black Friday!

CVS
  • Breathe Right Nasal Strips + Bonus Size 10+2 ct $5.99, use $1.50 CVS coupon and $1.50 coupon (10/16 RP) and get back $5.99 EB (Limit 1) = $3 profit
  • Benefiber Sticks (trial size, 3 ct) $1.49, use $2 coupon (adjusted down, 10/16 SS) and get back $1.49 EB (Limit 1) = $1.49 profit
  • Theraflu Caplets (8 ct) $1.87, buy two and use $3 coupon (9/25 SS) and get back $1.87 EB (Limit 1) = $1.13 profit
  • Colgate MaxClean SmartFoam, MaxWhite, MaxFresh (6 oz), Total Gum Defense, Advanced or Enamel Strength Toothpaste (4 oz) $2.87, use $1 coupon (11/13 SS, Diabetes & You magazine found at WAG, Reinventing Beauty magazine found at CVS) and get back $2.87 EB (Limit 2) = $1 profit 
  •  LA Looks Styling Gel (20 oz) $2.49, use $1 coupon (10/9 RP) and get back $2.49 EB (Limit 1) = $1 profit
  • Finish Quantum (10 ct) $2.99, use $1 coupon (10/23 SS) and get back $2.99 EB (Limit 1) = $1 profit
  • Cepacol Lozenges (16 ct) $4.99, use $1 coupon and get back $4.99 EB (Limit 1) = $1 profit
  • Theraflu Daytime or Multi-Symptom (travel size, 1 packet) $0.99, buy two and use $3 coupon (adjusted down, 9/25 SS) and get back $0.99 EB (Limit 1) =  $0.99 profit *Or buy along with other Theraflu item - coupon won't need to be adjusted down
  • Listerine Pocketpaks (72 ct) $2.99, use $0.50 coupon (1/9 SS, 4/17 SS or 10/11 RP) and get back $2.99 EB (Limit 2) = $0.50 profit
  • Mars Chocolate Singles (1.08 - 2.15 oz) $0.75, get back $0.75 EB (Limit 4) = FREE *B2G1 tearpad found in many stores - $0.75 profit for three bars
  • Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownies (6 ct) $3.99, use $0.75 coupon or $0.40 coupon (10/2 GM) and get back $3.99 EB (Limit 1) = $0.75 - $0.40 profit
  • Carmex (select varieties, 0.15 - 0.35 oz) $1, use $0.30 coupon (10/30 RP) and get back $1 EB (Limit 1) = $0.30 profit
  • Irish Spring Deodorant (2.7 - 3 oz) $2.77, use $1 coupon (Reinventing Beauty magazine found in stores) and get back $2 EB (Limit 4) = $0.23 profit
  • Excedrin Bonus Pack: Extra Strength (8 ct) + PM (8 ct) $0.99, get back $0.99 EB (Limit 1) = FREE
  • Advil PM (4 ct) $0.99, get back $0.99 EB (Limit 1) = FREE
  • Advil (10 ct) $2.99, get back $2.99 EB (Limit 1) = FREE
  • Starbucks Double Shot (6.5 oz, single can) $1.69, get back $1.69 EB (Limit 1) = FREE
  • Balance Bar (1.76 oz) $1.69, get back $1.69 EB (Limit 1) = FREE
  • Hershey's King Size (2.1 - 2.86 oz) $0.99, get back $0.99 EB (Limit 2) = FREE
  • CVS Dental Flossers (90 ct) $1.99, get back $1.99 EB (Limit 1) = FREE
  • G-U-M Super or Micro Tip Soft Toothbrush (2 ct) $2.99, get back $2.99 EB (Limit 2) = FREE
  • Pepto-Bismol (4 oz) $2.99, get back $2.99 EB (Limit 1) = FREE
  • Sheets Energy Strips (10 ct) $3.99, get back $3.99 EB (Limit 1) = FREE
  • Be Koool from Fever Discomfort Gel Sheets for Kids (4 ct) $4.49, get back $4.49 EB (Limit 1) = FREE
  • iChill Relaxation Shot Dietary Supplement (2 pk) $5.29, get back $5.29 EB (Limit 1) = FREE
  • Softlips Single Pack (0.07 oz) $2, get back $2 EB (Limit 1) = FREE
  • Kleenex Cool Touch Tissues (50 ct) $1.50, get back $1.50 EB (Limit 1) = FREE
  • CVS Alkaline Batteries $3.99, get back $3.99 EB (Limit 1) = FREE
  • Philips or Magnavox Universal Remote $6.99, get back $6.99 EB (Limit 1) = FREE
  • Bayer Advanced Aspirin (20 ct) $0.99, use $2 coupon (9/11 RP) or $1 coupon (9/11 RP) = FREE
  • General Mills Chex, Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Total Cereal (10.6 - 14 oz) $2.87, use $1 off 2 Cinn Toast Crunch coupon and get back $2 EB (Limit 2) = $0.74 for two boxes **Limit 2 in some areas, Limit 1 in others so be sure to check your circular
Rite Aid
  • Home Improvement gift card $50, get back $10 UP (Limit 2) = $10 profit
  • Revlon Nail Enamel $2.99, use $2 RA coupon for Top Speed Nail Enamel (Nov Video Values) or $1 RA coupon (Oct Video Values) and get back $2 UP (Limit 2) = $1.01 - $0.01 profit
  • Gillette Satin Care Shave Gel $1.99, use $1 coupon (10/16 P&G) and get back $1 UP (Limit 4) = FREE/$0.01 profit
  • Venus Razors $5.49, use $2 coupon (10/16 P&G) and get back $2.50 UP (Limit 4) = FREE/$0.01 profit 
  •  Scunchi Elastics $1.99, get back $1.99 UP (Limit 2) = FREE
  • Philips 3 Device Remote Control or Earbuds in Case $5, get back $5 UP (Limit 4) = FREE
  • RA 100 Count Mini Light Sets $2.97, get back $1 UP (Limit 4) = $1.97
  • Conair Trimmer, 5 Position Trimmer, 2 in 1 Trimmer, 1875 Dryer, Straightener or Haircut Kit $9.99, get back $5 UP (Limit 2) = $4.99

Walgreens
  • Preparation H Totables Hemorrhoidal Wipes (10 pk) $2.75, use $2 coupon and get back $2.75 RR = $2 profit
  • Colgate ProClinical, Total Advanced or Gum Defense Toothpaste (4 oz) $3, use $1 coupon (Diabetes & You magazine found in stores) and get back $3 RR = $1 profit
  • Crest 3D White Vivid Toothpaste (4 oz) $2.50, use $1 coupon (10/16 P&G) and get back $2.50 RR = $1 profit
  • Dentek Floss Picks (75/90 pk) $2, use $1 coupon or $0.75 coupon (10/23 SS) and get back $2 RR = $1 - $0.75 profit
  • Cortaid Maximum Strength Anti Itch Cream (0.5 oz) $2.99, get back $3 RR = FREE/$0.01 profit
  • Advil PM Pain Relief (4 ct) $0.99, get back $0.99 RR = FREE
  • Culturelle Probiotic Digestive Health (30 ct) $9.50, get back $9.50 RR = FREE 
  • GUM Deep Clean Toothbrushes (2 pk) $2, get back $2 RR = FREE
  • Nutralife Same Mood, Joint & Liver Health (30 ct) $10, get back $10 RR = FREE
  • Oral B Indicator Toothbrush $1.50, get back $1.50 RR = FREE
  • Renew Life Ultimate Chialife Seeds (16 oz) $10, get back $10 RR = FREE
  • Scunci No Damage Hair Elastics (18 pk) $1.50, get back $3 RR (WYB 2) = FREE
  • Sheets Energy Strips (10 ct) $3.99, get back $3.99 RR = FREE
  • Thermacare Neck, Wrist & Shoulder or Menstrual Heatwrap $2.49, get back $2.49 RR = FREE
  • Walgreens Naproxen Sodium Liquidgels (20 ct) $2, get back $2 RR = FREE
  • Gillette Venus ProSkin 2 in 1 or Breeze Razor System $8.24, get back $5.25 RR *Check your stash - reports of $3 coupons floating around that would make these free 
Printable Rebate Offers

Hangtag/Peelie/Tearpad Rebates to Look For - please let me know what you find as well! 

  • Dickinson's Original Witch Hazel Hangtag TMF Exp. 3/1/12 
  • Ensure 4 pack Tearpad TMF Min. purchase $6.97, rebate valid up to $10 Exp. 11/30/11 $2 coupon in 5/1 SS (Exp. 8/7) - spotted at Rite Aid
  • Kedem Sparkling Juices Hangtag $1.50 rebate per bottle, up to 6 bottles/$9 per 12 month period, no expiration date - found at Acme  
  • Nexcare Bandages - Active Waterproof, Soft n’ Flex and Waterproof. Peelie TMF for one, two or all three varieties, up to $3.99 per box. Exp. 12/31/11

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Crazy Lady

Yesterday was one of those days where I ran around from store to store to store, grabbing up goodies.  Luckily, they're all on my way home so I didn't burn any extra gas.  Here's what I got:

Stop & Shop 
  • 2 $100 Lowes Gift Cards (bought separately), got back $10 catalina for each = $20 profit
Acme is having a similar deal starting on 11/18, but you get back a $20 catalina for every $100 gift card.  I'll definitely be picking up some more Lowes cards there (and then free groceries!).  

Rite Aid
  • Crest Whitening Plus Scope Outlast Toothpaste (4 oz) $2.99, used $1 coupon (10/30 P&G) and will get back $2.99 (SCR # 34) = $1 profit
  • LA Looks $2.99, used $1 coupon (10/9 RP) and got back $2 UP (Limit 1) = FREE/$0.01 profit
  • Culturelle Probiotic or Digestive Aid (30 ct) and Estroven Max Strength $15 each, got back two $15 UP's (Limit 1 for each) = FREE
  • 3 Orbit Gums (14 ct) $1 each, got back three $1 UP's (Limit 3) = FREE 
  • Used $5/$25 coupon (from entertainment book - friend gave this to me) and two $3.50 UP's, total was around $20 something
Wouldn't normally have gone for all the freebies, but I'm trying to increase the points total on DBF's card.  Gotta get to 1000 to keep the 20% discount for next year.

CVS - went for the Skippy PB deal.  I'm down to my last jar and DBF is a big PB eater so these will all get eaten.  Bought these at a bunch of different stores:
  • 18 jars Skippy Peanut Butter $1.66/7 each, got back $10 gift card (for spending $30) = $1.11 each

Monday, November 14, 2011

Feeling Good

Every muscle in my body is aching, but I feel great.  We got a ton of work done on the house this weekend.  The stockpile is almost completely moved up to the house and we got the last of the boxes out of my apartment.  Now its just odds and ends and the small amount of furniture I'm keeping.  Most of my furniture is from Ikea and after six years, its pretty shot.  We're moving a dresser, two ladder bookshelves, a dining room table that we're going to use as a makeshift desk, two night stands, my desk chair, another shorter bookshelf and an armchair.  The couch, bed, mattress, desk and entertainment center are all going in the dumpster.  And I can't forget to move Gigi!  I imagine she'll be a little stressed out so I'm going to bring her up only when I'm ready to stay at the house full-time.

My hunny was busy all weekend with a huge list of projects - sawing off a ton of branches that were too close to the house, hauling them down to the street (I helped with that - branches are heavy!), changing thermostats and fixing a million little things.  I got the kitchen 99% cleaned (one cabinet to go) and organized.  Its nice to have clean silverware and dishes to eat off of.  Something's up with our dishwasher though.  It runs for about a half hour (the cycle should be more like an hour and a half) and then says its done.  The dishes are wet, but not clean.  We have to figure out what's going on.  Our mattress came on Saturday and I've never felt anything so comfortable.  I slept like a log all night.

We brought Shadow up for the weekend and she got to met her friendly canine neighbor.  I swear, she must have run up and down the stairs a thousand times.  She'd run in the kitchen to check on me, then rush off to find da boyfriend, then back to me.  The kitchen has a window that opens from the floor up (kinda odd) but she loves it.  She can lay down on the floor, nose to the screen, sniffing whatever's outside.  I'm sure I'm going to have to pry Gigi away from that window too.

And I heard a new Zac Brown Band song on the radio over the weekend.  Life is good.  :)

Friday, November 11, 2011

Upping my Points

mb left me a comment the other day asking how many points I'm up to on my RiteAid cards.  You have to reach 1000 before the end of the year to earn/maintain your 20% Wellness discount for the upcoming year.  I'm good on my card, but DBF's card is only at 740 something.  Thanks for the reminder mb!  Ever feel like your brain is so chock full of stuff its gonna 'splode?  Anyway, I decided to get some freebies that otherwise I would have passed on:

Store 1:
  • Colgate Advanced Toothpaste (5.8 oz) $3.50, got back $3.50 UP (Limit 4) = FREE
  • Arm & Hammer Simply Saline Baby Nasal Wipes $5.19 ($6.49 reg price, 20% discount), will submit for TMF rebate (found on package) = FREE
  • Hartz Cat Litter Scooper $1.83 ($2.29 reg price, 20% discount), will get back $1.25 (SCR #49 - WYB any pet accessory) = $0.58
  • Used $6 UP, total was $4.90
I didn't have any Colgate coupons on me for this trip, I really just wanted to see where my points were.  I stopped home, got my Colgate coupons and headed out to another store for a rinse and repeat:
  • 3 Colgate Advanced Toothpastes (5.8 oz) $3.50 each, used three $1 coupons (*these beeped, Diabetes & You magazine found at WAG, Fall 2011 edition) and got back three $3.50 UP's (Limit 4) = $3 profit
  • Arm & Hammer Simply Saline Baby Nasal Wipes $4.79 ($5.99 reg price, 20% discount), will submit for TMF rebate (found on package) = FREE
  • Hartz Cat Litter Scooper $1.83 ($2.29 reg price, 20% discount), will get back $1.25 (SCR #49 - WYB any pet accessory) = $0.58
  • Used $3.50 UP, total was $11.49
I've been on the hunt for Keri lotion all week, but its been really hard to find. 

Then off to Walgreens:
  • Healthifeet Foot Cream (4 oz) $10, used $2 coupon and will send away for Walgreens $10 rebate (plus 10% bonus when I select a WAG gift card as the format, Limit 2) = $3 profit
  • 2 Clabber Girl Baking Powders $0.50 with in-circular coupon, used two $0.50 coupons = FREE
  • Nice Baking Soda $0.50 with in-circular coupon
  • Used $2 RR, total was $7.20
I had a hard time finding the baking powder in stores.  I finally found some on an endcap with other baking items, but many stores in my area didn't have any.  One Asst. Manager I spoke with said they'd be getting more in soon and that it would likely go on sale again for $0.50 during the holiday season.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

11/13 - 11/19

CVS
  • Skippy PB $1.66 - part of a spend $30, get $10 gift card promo (Limit 5)
Rite Aid
  • Multi-Pack Gift Cards - buy any and get back $2 UP (Limit 1) = $2 profit
  • Crest Whitening Plus Scope Outlast Toothpaste (4 oz) $2.99, use $1 coupon (10/30 P&G) and get back $2.99 (SCR # 34) = $1 profit
  • LA Looks $2.99, use $1 coupon (10/9 RP) and get back $2 UP (Limit 1) = FREE/$0.01 profit
  • Culturelle Probiotic or Digestive Aid (30 ct) or Estroven Max Strength $15, get back $15 UP (Limit 1 for each) = FREE
  •  Wrigley's Big Red, Juicy Fruit, Double Mint Gum (15 ct) or Orbit Gum (14 ct) $1, get back $1 UP (Limit 3) = FREE *$0.25 Video Values coupon for Orbit from November
  • Skippy Peanut Butter $2 - part of spend $25, get $10 UP deal (Limit 2).  If you just bought pb (13 jars - obviously would have to spread this out over many stores), price is $1.23 per jar
Walgreens
  • Azo Itch Relief Cream M/S (1 oz) $4.99, get back $4.99 RR = FREE
  • Estroven E/Strength Caplets (28 ct) $9.99. get back $9.99 RR = FREE
  • Duck Bubble Wrap (12" x 30 ft) $1.99, use $1 coupon (coming in Sunday's paper) = $0.99
 Printable Rebate Offers

Hangtag/Peelie/Tearpad Rebates to Look For - please let me know what you find as well! 
  • Dickinson's Original Witch Hazel Hangtag TMF Exp. 3/1/12 
  • Ensure 4 pack Tearpad TMF Min. purchase $6.97, rebate valid up to $10 Exp. 11/30/11 $2 coupon in 5/1 SS (Exp. 8/7) - spotted at Rite Aid
  • Kedem Sparkling Juices Hangtag $1.50 rebate per bottle, up to 6 bottles/$9 per 12 month period, no expiration date - found at Acme  
  • Nexcare Bandages - Active Waterproof, Soft n’ Flex and Waterproof. Peelie TMF for one, two or all three varieties, up to $3.99 per box. Exp. 12/31/11

It Just Keeps Getting Better

I went up to my house last night (wow, that sounds good! "my" house!) to give my sister a tour and to bring up some more stuff.  After we grabbed some grub, I hit up the local CVS and Rite Aid for some freebies.  Imagine my surprise when I found beer rebates in the RA!  I'd looked around in other stores in the area and hadn't found any rebates, so I just figured they weren't in that part of the state.  I was wrong!  I found a Coors rebate for $5/$25 of gift cards.  I'm so excited to be able to grab these forms in the store instead of buying them off ebay.  Here's what I got:

Rite Aid
  • Keri Lotion (15 oz) $6.79 ($8.49 reg price, 20% Wellness discount), used $2 coupon (10/16 SS) and got back $6 UP (Limit 1) = $1.21 profit
CVS
  • 3 Hallmark Greeting Cards $0.99 each, got back $3 EB (Limit 1) = FREE/$0.03 profit
  • 2 Smuckers Strawberry Preserves $2.50 each, used $1 off 2 coupon (11/6 RP) and got back $3 EB (Limit 1, WYB 2) = $1 or $0.50 each
Didn't have any EB's to use as payment, so forked over the cash.  My sister bought some stuff too, so I'm not sure what the total for just these too was.  Still have to figure out how NY charges sales tax.

I went to a different CVS earlier in the day that was out of the Smuckers, so I picked up a raincheck.  CVS rainchecks never expire, so I can hold onto it for as long as I want or until I run out of jelly.