Monthly Totals and a Financial Milestone

This month I had a very important financial milestone - I paid off my last credit card! I'm finally free! My credit card balance is zero, zip, zilch, nada! About four years ago, I was carrying almost $14,000 on my credit cards, and they were close to all being maxed out. I remember going through a cycle of paying the minimum balances, getting hit with the monthly finance charges which then brought me over my credit limit and wammy! Over-limit fees! One day I woke up and said enough, I want outta this. I started reading everything and anything I could get my hands on that dealt with finances. I went to a credit union and was able to negotiate a personal loan to consolidate my debt and bring down the interest rate. After about a year, I transferred the loan balance back to a credit card at a low interest rate and shuffled it whenever possible to stay at the lowest rate possible. Now, four years later, I've accomplished my goal and I couldn't be happier. It feels so good! Here are some of the things I've done over the past several years that helped me reach my goal:

• Worked extra hours/jobs whenever possible and put every extra penny towards the debt.
• Sold a lot of personal items online, ie. books, CD's and movies (wish I'd never bought many of these in the first place!)
• Hounding (of course!) - you didn't think I'd leave this off the list, did you?? I really only started smart shopping this year, but its made such a difference.
• And most importantly, I changed my whole way of thinking about money. I was determined to pay off this debt and reevaluated what I bought and paid for in terms of this goal. For me, it was the little day-to-day purchases that got me into all this cc debt, so I figured closely monitoring these purchases could be my way out as well.

My car will be paid off next May and I still have a mountain of student loan debt to tackle. But for now, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders knowing I don't owe the CC companies anything, especially considering the economy at the moment. I will still use my cc's to purchase gas and pay some of my monthly bills, but just for the rewards I get on my cc. I get 5% back on gas and automotive purchases/repairs and with an hour commute (each way), that adds up pretty fast. But the difference is that my balances will be paid off each month in full. My next goal is to build up my savings, which is pitifully small at the moment. I plan to put my monthly cc payment plus all of the money I get back from rebates directly into savings. My first goal is $500 in a short-term savings account. Here we go!

Without further delay, here are my monthly totals for September:

CVS - my lightest CVS month yet

• Merchandise Total: $174.52
• Value of Coupons Used: $80
• ECB's/Gift Cards Used: $97.45, ECB's Earned: $71.95
• Profit: $15.07
• # Items: 62, # Free Items: 30

All Other Stores:

• Merchandise Total: $719.64
• Value of Coupons Used: $415.67
• Rewards/Gift Cards Used: $85.20, Rewards Earned: $134.50, Rebates: $110.12
• Total OOP: $86.24, Profit: $54.61
• # Items: 328, # Free Items: 149

WAG RR's Head's Up

Just a quick post to let you know that if you bought the Crest Pro Health rinse last week at Walgreens and were planning to use the $4.50 RR on the Oral B toothbrushes this week, the Oral B RR's won't print. Supposedly, the UPC code on the Crest RR is the same as the Oral B RR, so the system won't print the new one.

Holy Air Freshners!

EDIT - if you also bought the 3m lint rollers and aren't satisfied with them, you can submit for this Satisfaction Guarantee (up to $4.99).
EDIT - there is another BOGO coupon for the Glade gel warmers on coupons.com - thanks Tosha!


Walmart

• 3 bags Tidy Cats litter ($6.73 ea) & 3 bags of the litter pads ($4.32 ea) - its getting harder and harder to find this stuff so when I see it, I've been grabbing multiple packages. I used one $1 Tidy Cats coupon that my houndfriend dancinmama sent me (wish I had more to use but they weren't in my inserts)
• 6 boxes Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta $1.50, used six $1 coupons (8/24 SS) = $0.50 each
• Total was $37.47 but at least I'm set on litter for a while

CVS

• 6 Scotch Brite lint rollers $2.50 each, used six $1 coupons = $1.50 each
• Used $3 off $15 and $3 ECB, total was $3.63 and got back $5 ECB (for buying $15 worth of Scotch Brite)

Ok, now here's where the fun starts. Thanks to an awesome tip from a fellow hound called saphira, I was able to pick up all these Glade air freshners at Stop & Shop.

Transaction One:

• 2 Glade Wisp Flameless Candles $9.99 each, used BOGO coupon and got back two $3 catalinas plus I'll submit for Try Me Free rebate $9.99 (9/7 SS) = $6 profit

Transactions Two & Three:

• 22 Glade Gel Warmers $1.79 each, used a combination of BOGO coupons (or 9/14 SS) and $0.55 coupons (also print when you print the BOGO coupons) and got back $2 catalina for each warmer I bought
• So here's the run down: I paid $21.51 OOP for the warmers and I got back $44 in catalinas! That's a $22.49 profit!

Well, I just had to put all those catalinas to good use! All in all, I had $64 to spend (including catalinas I'd earned today and a couple days back). Back to S&S DBF and I went:

So, as far as I understand it, here's the deal with S&S catalinas. They are manufacturer's coupons (as opposed to S&S coupons), so you can only use one per item. Also, if you have a $2 catalina, your item must cost at least $2. So the name of the game was finding as many $2 and $3 items as possible. Here's what I got:

• 5 papers $2 each, used five $2 cats = FREE
• Arnold bread $2.50, used $2 cat = $0.50
• Tortilla chips $2.89, used $2 cat = $0.89
• Rold Gold pretzels $2, used $2 cat = FREE
• Thomas mini bagels $2.50, used $2 cat = $0.50
• 2 Milks $2.29 ea, used two $2 cats = $0.58
• Land O Lakes half sticks butter $4.29, used $3 cat and will submit for Try Me Free rebate = $1.29 paid, $4.29 back = $3 profit
• Yoplait yogurt $2.29, used $2 cat = $0.29
• 4 S&S shredded cheeses $2.50 each, used four $2 cats = $2
• S&S brick cheese $2.50, used $2 cat = $0.50
• 2 S&S cream cheese $2 each, used two $2 cats = FREE
• Sargento swiss cheese $3, used $3 cat = FREE
• Tropicana OJ $3, used $3 cat = FREE
• 2 Healthy Ones cold cuts $3 each, used $3 and $2 cat = $1
• McCain fries $2, used $2 cat = FREE
• Perdue ground turkey $3.06, used $2 cat = $1.06
• 1 pound strawberries $2, used $2 cat = FREE
• Apples $4.41, used $2 cat = $2.21
• Total was $10.52 and I still have a couple $2 catalinas still to use

Even if you don't have any Q's for the Glade gel warmers, at $1.79 each, you make $0.21 for every $2 catalina you get back. The $0.55 coupons are actually a better deal than the BOGO coupons. $1.79 + $1.79 - $1.10 - $1.10 ($0.55 Q doubled) = $1.38 for two (versus $1.79 with the BOGO Q).

Hidden Deals at Walgreens!

Thanks again saphira for another awesome tip! She discovered that Walgreens is repeating two of their September rebates during October: #45 is Nivea for Men body wash $4.99 (free after rebate) and #46 Lypsyl Honey Berry lip gloss $1.99 rebate (price is listed as $3.99). You can use the $1 Nivea coupon from the 7/20 SS and the $1 Nivea coupon in the October Easy Saver book to make a $2 profit on the Nivea. Thanks again houndfriend!

EDIT - the Easy Saver coupon for Nivea is only good for products up to 5 oz. The body was is 16 oz. so it won't work. Still a $1 moneymaker though!

NEW EDIT - these two rebates are no longer listed on Walgreen's website so I don't think they're valid for October anymore. :(

Gotta Love those Double Dip Days!

Today and tomorrow are fabulous days in Walgreens land! Why, you might ask? Well, because you can still buy September rebate items, but you can also buy October rebate items! If you can find any (more likely, you'll have to ask for them), you can use the new coupons available in the October Easy Saver book. There is also a $5 off $20 coupon available. I probably could've worked this into my deals today, but I feel a cold coming on and my brain's a little fuzzy. Good thing I got some cough drops! :) Here goes:

Transaction 1 - was looking for more Reach toothbrushes, no luck

• 2 packages Nabisco cookies $5, get back $3 RR
• Small package of Oreos (filler) $1
• Pert Plus shampoo $3.49, used $2.50 coupon from Oct. Easy Saver book and $2 coupon (8/3 SS) and I'll submit for Sept. ESR #43 for $3.49 = $4.50 profit *This deal is only good 9/26 or 9/27
• Glade Fabric and Air Freshner $4.29*, used $1 coupon from Sept. Easy Saver book and $1.50 coupon (or 8/24 SS) and will get back $1 rebate Oct. ESR #28 = $0.79
• Used $4.50 RR and total was $2.83

*I thought this was going to be $2.99, so its not quite the moneymaker deal I had planned on, but I think its still a pretty good deal. $0.79 isn't bad for a product that I use very often. Melissa, another great hound, has confirmed that the Easy Saver coupon will come off multiple times for this item, even though it says Limit One. She used one coupon and the discount came off 10 times, so buy away!

Transaction 2 - I also do rebates in my boyfriend's name so these will be submitted under his name

• 2 bags Halls cough drops $1 each with in-circular coupon = $2
• WAG brand Brita filter $6.99, will get back $6.99 Sept. ESR #9 = FREE
• Pert Plus shampoo $3.49, used $2.50 coupon from Oct. Easy Saver book and $2 coupon (8/3 SS) and I'll submit for Sept. ESR #43 for $3.49 = $4.50 profit *This deal is only good 9/26 or 9/27
• Crest Pro Health rinse $4.49, used $1 coupon (8/31 P&G) and got back $4.50 RR = $1 profit
• Used $3 RR from cookies, total was $9.50

This was an awesome Walgreens month for me. I shopped more at Walgreens than I did at CVS, and that's really saying something (for me at least!). I've earned roughly $65 on my gift card and the same on my boyfriend's gift card, with a profit of roughly $20 on each. WAG gift cards never expire, and you can use this money to buy more rebate items in months to come (or of course, anything else in the store you want to buy). I love it because I don't have to include this money in my grocery budget and it helps me save some of my cash. October looks pretty slow for me, at least in terms of rebate items, so I'm sure I can stretch this money very far.

My Name is frugalsuz and I am a Pasta-holic

ShopRite

• 6 boxes Ziploc EZ zipper bags $1.79 each, used six $0.75 coupons (9/14 SS) = $0.29 each (bought 4 in one transaction, two in another - SR only doubles 4 of the same coupon in a transaction)
• 10 boxes Ronzoni pasta $0.55 each
• 2 Cabot cheddar cheeses (yum!) two for $5
• 2 Friendship sour creams two for $3, used $1 off 2 coupon (9/21 paper) = $2
• Thomas toasting bread $1.99
• Total was $16.91 after $0.15 bag discount

Stop n Shop

saphira (one of the fellow Jersey gals from the pound) clued me in to this awesome deal - thanks houndfriend!

• 2 L'Oreal Vive shampoos $3.99 each, BOGO sale and used BOGO coupon and $1 coupon = $1 profit
• 2 Glade Wisp Flameless Candles $9.99 each, used BOGO coupon and got back two $3 catalinas plus I'll submit for Try Me Free rebate $9.99 (9/7 SS) = $6 profit
• 4 Glade Gel Warmers $1.79 each, used two BOGO coupons (or 9/14 SS) and got back $2 catalina for each ($8 total) = $4.42 profit

The deal on the gel warmers is supposed to be good until 10/2 and if you use the self-checkout, the BOGO coupons scan by themselves and you don't need the cashiers to enter in the price manually. If you have a Kroger by you, its supposed to work at this store as well.

Gettin' Ready for Next Week 9/28 - 10/4

As always, my deals all come from the wonderful folks at HCW, Slick Deals (starting to try them out) and Erica at iheartcvs.com, iheartriteaid.com and iheartwags.com (and once in a blue moon, from my very own noggin'!). If you ever want to actually see the circulars, Erica's websites have scanned copies available. If I've missed anything, please let me know! You can post a comment or email me at frugalsuz@hotmail.com. Here we go...


CVS - there is a new $3 off $15 coupon available on iheartcvs.com under Coupon Links (also a $2 off $10 if that works better for you)
EDIT - if you also bought the 3m lint rollers and aren't satisfied with them, you can submit for this Satisfaction Guarantee (up to $4.99).

• Covergirl Clean Make Up $5.49, use $1 coupon (8/31, 9/14 or 9/28 P&G) and get back $5.49 ECB = $1 profit or FREE if no Q's (Limit 1). You could also use the BOGO Q to get a free makeup item. You'd still only get back $5.49 ECB, but you'd get 2 items for free.
• Colgate Total Maxfresh toothpaste or 360 or Active Angle Toothbrush two for $5, use $1 toothpaste or brush coupon (or 9/7 SS) or $1 toothpaste/brush coupon or $1.50 paste coupon (All You magazine, Issue 9 Sept. 26) and get back $2 ECB (Limit 2) = $0.50 - $1 depending on coupons. *I got $1 scanner Q's for the toothpaste & brush making this a $1 moneymaker.
• 3M Products Spend $15, get $5 ECB (Limit 1): Includes $2.50 Post It Notes, Flags or Page Markers ($3 off 2 Q), $2.50 Command Hooks ($1 Q), $2.50 Lint Brush or Roller ($1 Q) - I've been out of lint rollers for ages and with two shed-happy kitties, I've been eagerly waiting for a good deal - yay!
• Nestle Candy Spend $15, get back $5 ECB (Limit 1) - might be a good deal if you're stocking up for Halloween. Erica has a list of all the items included and available coupons for the deal here.

Rite Aid - another light week! I haven't been to RA in over two weeks, but I'll probably stop in for the Kotex.

• Diabeti-Derm Heel and Toe Cream $6.99 and get back $6.99 (SCR #33) = FREE
• Gillette Fusion Razor (Power or Manual) $9, use $4 Q (in upcoming paper) and get back $5 (SCR #148) = FREE
• Crest Pro-Health Whitening Toothpaste (4.2 oz) $2.69, use $1 coupon (8/31 or 9/28 P&G) and get back $2.69 (SCR #168) = $1 profit
• Kotex liners $0.99, use $1 coupon from All You magazine = FREE

Walgreens - must be oral health care month! Reach toothbrushes this week, Crest Pro Health Rinse all month, and next week, its Oral B...

• Oral B Cross Action Toothbrush $4.49, use $0.75 coupon (9/28 P&G) and get back $4.49 RR = $0.75 profit
• Softsoap Body Wash $3.49, buy 5 and get $10 RR, use five $1 coupons or 9/14 SS, and use $1 coupon from October ESR book and get back $10 RR = $1.45 for five bottles (I'm assuming here that the ESR coupon will only come off once - it may take off more than $1 even though it says limit one.)
• Snacks: two for $5 and get back $2 RR (6 or 8 pack Nutri-Grain Bars, 8 pack Rice Krispie Treats, 6 pack Special K Bars, Sandies Pecan Shortbread Cookies or 16 oz. Club Crackers), use various $1 coupons from 8/3 GM insert ($1 off 2 Nutri Grain, $1 off 2 Nabisco cookies, $1 off 2 Rice Krispies) - total would be $2 per box

REMINDER - Rebate deals for 9/26 and 9/27 ONLY from iheartwags.com:

• Garnier Fructis Shampoo or Conditioner (25.4oz - probably family size) or Deep Conditioner (10.2 oz) $6.99 (buy 3), use three $3 coupons from October Easy Saver book AND three $1 coupons (6/22 RP, 7/20 SS, 8/24 RP or 9/24 RP) = $8.97 and get back $10 rebate (Sept. ESR #12) = $1.03 profit *The WAG Q is Limit 1 per item so you may have to buy these separately.
• Pert Plus $4.29, use $2 coupon (8/3 SS or $1.50 Q 9/7 SS) AND $2.50 coupon from October Easy Saver book AND get back $4.29 rebate (Sept. ESR #43) = $4.50 profit
• Glade Fabric & Air Odor Eliminator $2.99, use $1.50 coupon or 8/24 SS AND $1 coupon from Sept. Easy Saver book AND get back $1 rebate (Oct. ESR #28) = $0.51 profit Limit 10!!

Hidden Monthly Deal: Crest Pro Health rinse (500 ml) $4.49 and get back $4.50 RR = FREE

September Rebate Deals: 8/29 - 9/27

• Nivea for Men Body Wash $4.99, use $1 coupon (7/20 SS) and get back $4.99 rebate (Sept. ESR #2) = $1 profit
• Revlon Nail Color or Nail Care $4.79, use $2 coupons (7/20 or 8/3 SS) and get back $4.79(Sept. ESR #7) = $2 profit
• Loreal Advanced Revitalift Antiwrinkle Concentrate $16.49, use $3 coupon (7/20 SS) and get back $16.49 (Sept. ESR #3) = $3 profit
• Crest Pro-Health toothpaste $3.79, $3.79 ESR = FREE
• Chemistry shampoo/conditioner $7.99, $7.99 ESR = FREE
• Lypsyl lip gloss $1.99, $1.99 ESR = FREE
• WAG acid controller complete (25 chewable tablets) $7.99, $7.99 ESR = FREE
• Walgreens brand Brita filter $6.99, $6.99 ESR = FREE

October Rebate Deals: 9/26 - 10/25

• Extreme Energy 6-Hour Shot 2 pack, 2 oz. each $3.99, $3.99 ESR #1 = FREE
• L'Oreal Cleansers (Age Perfect or Revitalift Cream 5 oz, Skin Genesis Gel 8 oz or Towelettes 25-30 pack) $7.99 (says $6.99 in 9/28 circular), use $1 coupon (7/20 SS) and get back $7.99 ESR #2 = $1 profit
• Rimmel Lasting Finish Mineral Enriched Foundation 1 oz $7.49, use $1 coupon (9/14 RP) and get back $7.49 ESR #3 = $1 profit

Don't forget that if you get your WAG rebate back on a gift card instead of check, you'll get an extra 10% bonus on each item.