June Monthly Totals

I think I did pretty well this month. I stayed pretty close to my budgeted amount, and got some pretty great deals.

General Shopping:
Merchandise Total: $408.11
Coupons Used: $228.25
Total: $192.20 - $110.23 used in Rewards/Gift cards = $81.97 OOP
Avg. Percent Saved: 57.47%
Rewards Earned: $22
Rebates: $61.61
# Items: 164
# Free Items: 95

CVS Totals:
Merchandise Total: $662.07
Coupons Used: $171.43
Total: $494.76 - $236.32 in ECB/Gift Cards used = $258.44 OOP (that includes $200 in Amex gift cards I bought)
ECB Earned: $210.93
Rebates: $81.56
# Items: 165
# Free Items: 97
YTD Savings my card: $1554.18, DBF's card: $380.10

Lots of Food Today

My closets are full of cat food, makeup, lotion, shampoo, etc., but I was actually getting a little low on food! Not anymore! I can't believe all the deals I got today. Let's get started:

Walgreens

• Honey Bunches of Oats cereal 2/$5 - coupon for free box (from MIR) and cashier took off $3.79 instead of $2.50! = $1.21 and got back $2 RR = $0.79 profit!

ShopRite...take a deep breath...here we go!

• 9 loaves of bread/packages of hot dog/hamburger buns - these were 3 for $3! $1 for a loaf of bread or 12 buns! Are you serious??
• 2 bags Dole lettuce $0.99 each
• Blueberries $2.99
• Strawberries $2.50
• Carrots $0.99
• 3 Pert Plus $1.99 each - 3 $2 coupons from 6/29 SS - FREE -I was shocked they had any left
• Blue Bunny itsy bitsy ice cream - $0.99 - $1 coupon = FREE
• 8 packages Kool Aid mix $0.20 each
• Kraft salad dressing $3.39 - coupon for free bottle (up to $3.09) from Kraft magazine = $0.30
• 3 packages Kraft singles cheese - ALL FREE! Used coupons from 6/22 Parade insert in paper (free 12 oz. package WYB 3 certain products including Kraft & Kool Aid)
• 3 bags Purina Healthful Life cat food - used free coupon 6/8 RP = FREE
• Sorrento string cheese $3.49 - $2 catalina - $0.75 (doubled) coupon another hound sent me = FREE
• Glade car air freshner refill - free coupon they sent me = FREE
• Got $0.10 bag discount and used $5 catalina from a couple weeks back
• Total was $14.32 - not bad for all this huh? :)

Great Upcoming Deal at CVS 7/13 - 7/19

During the week of 7/13 - 7/19, you can get a free (after ECB's) Kodak photobook. I love scrapbooking and these are right up my alley. Plus they'll make really cute gifts. There were coupons for these books in the 5/4 and 6/8 SS insert making them moneymakers - my favorite kinda deal!

4 X 6 10 Page hardcover photo books ($3.99), Free after extra bucks, LIMIT 1
6 x 8 10 Page hardcover photo books ($7.99), Free after extra bucks, LIMIT 2

You can read more about the deal from the wonderful HCW folks here -- there are some helpful tips on how to actually make these books. I've never done one before in the store, so I'm a little anxious to see how it works. Now to organize up my pics and see what I want to make...

Hounds This Weekend

Here's what I got this weekend:

Old Navy on Saturday - flip flops were $1 each, got a pair for DBF too

Walgreens - Saturday

• 2 Air Wick freshmatics $5.99 each - $3 July rebate on each - $4 coupon on each
• Total was $4.82 and I'll get back $6 + 10% with the rebate so $1.78 profit

CVS - Saturday

• 3 Colgate Total advanced toothpastes $2.99 each - $1.50 coupons - give back $2 ECB - $0.51 profit on each
• Oral B Cross Action toothbrush twin pack $6.99 - $6.99 ECB (monthly deal)
• Bag of chips for drive in $0.99
• Coupons used: three $1.50 Colgate coupons (June All You magazine) and $10 ECB
• Total was $2.87 and got back $6 ECB for Colgate and $6.99 ECB for Oral B

CVS - Sunday - my card

• 24 pack Gold Emblem bottled water $2.99 (Sunday & Monday only) - $1.00 coupon from scanner
• Physician's formula mascara $7.99 - $7.99 ECB - $1 coupon (3/16 SS, 4/20 SS or 6/1 SS) = $1 profit
• Excedrin back & body 24 count $4.29 - $2 Excedrin coupon - $1.50 CVS coupon for any pain reliever = $0.79 and I'll submit for the $4.29 rebate (sorry, I'm not sure which insert this was in) = $3.50 profit
• EDIT - the coupon was in the 5/4 SS and the rebate is in the 6/8 SS.
• Coupons used: $1 CVS water, $1 Physician's Formula, $2 Excedrin, $1.50 CVS pain reliever, $10 ECB
• Total was $1.27 and got back $7.99 ECB for Physician's Formula
• Realized after I left the store that the cashier didn't ring up the $1.50 coupon. Went back and they gave me $1.50 cash.

CVS - Sunday - DBF's card

• Gold Emblem 24 pack water $2.99 (Sunday & Monday only) - $1.00 coupon from scanner
• Bic Soleil razor & 4 count cartridges $6.99 each - 2 $4 coupons (6/22 SS) - $5 ECB
• Physician's Formula mascara $7.99 - get back $7.99 ECB - $1 coupon
• 2 papers $4
• Milk $2.59
• Coupons used: $1 off water, $1 Physician's Formula, two $4 Bic coupons, $5 off $20 (emailed to DBF), $6 ECB and $6.99 ECB
• Total was $3.77 and got back $5 ECB for Bic and $7.99 for Physician's Formula

Drive In

DBF and I went to see Wall E this weekend...at a drive in theater! We've gone once before and its so much fun. You can relax in your own seats, adjust the volume and get lots of goodies. We had such a great time! It cost us $8 a person (that's gone up since last year), but its such a fun experience. If you're in the NJ/NY/PA area, its definitely worth checking out: http://webusers.warwick.net/~u1006131/driveinmovie/playing.htm

I Can't Stop Laughing

Ok folks, I have a new favorite show. It seems wrong to laugh at people falling down and getting hit with weird stuff, but oh man, I just can't help it! Have you heard of the new ABC show "Wipe Out"? My sister told me about it and I was skeptical at first, but it is SO funny! Here's a small taste for you, or you can view the first episode here. I can't decide whether I like the screams or the commentary better. Check it out!

Moneymaker at Walgreens - Today & Saturday Only

I picked up these four Air Wick Freshmatics (they actually work really well!) at Walgreens today. They are on sale for $5.99 and there is a $4 coupon here. You can also print 2 more coupons here. The July rebates start today and there is a $3 rebate (#32) for each of these you buy (limit 4). My total was $9.64 and I'll get back $13.20 ($12 plus 10% bonus) as a rebate = $3.56 profit!

End of Week Deal at Walgreens

Air Wick Freshmatic Ultra sprays are on sale this week at Walgreens for $5.99. You can print 2 $4 coupons here (hit back or "Back to Coupons" to print the second one). There is a $3 rebate in the July book (starts 6/27) and the limit is 4! So you can buy one for $5.99 - $4 coupon = $1.99 and get back $3. I'm going to be hittin' up my Walgreens tomorrow for this moneymaker.

Thanks bugsi!

Thanks to bugsi033, I had 4 more $1 Benadryl coupons to use. I bought 4 boxes of Benadryl at RiteAid. They are on sale this week for 2 for $9 = $18 - $4 in Benadryl coupons - $12 in RiteAid Benadryl coupons = $2 and I'll get back $4 in rebates = $2 moneymaker!

I also picked up another bottle of Dawn detergent for $1 at A&P. I used my $1 coupon from the A&P coupon booklet, so it was free.

Freebies at A&P

Dawn is 10 for $10 this week at A&P. There are $0.20 coupons in the 6/1 P&G and there were $1 coupons in the A&P Coupon Booklet from a couple weeks back. Hmm, me wonders - can I use both? I thought I'd give it a try, and honestly, I'm really not sure if it worked out. Here's what I got:

2 Dawns $1 each
A&P Strawberry Jelly $2.39...but rang up as $2.59 so I got this for free - yay!
Glade Car air freshner refill - I did the TMF rebate a while back and Glade just sent me a letter saying they calculated the rebate incorrectly (I'm pretty sure they didn't) and gave me a coupon for a free one! My DBF got one too since I did the rebate in his name as well.


Now here's where it gets confusing. I did the self-scan and used my two $0.20 coupons. Both doubled and went through fine. That's $0.80 off the total of $2 for the Dawn. Then I tried the A&P coupon for $1. No problem - down $1.80 off $2. I scanned the second $1 coupon and it beeped. I gave it to the cashier who mans the self-scan area. He wasn't overly friendly (young guy - looked bored to tears) and he did something to the computer. He then had to handle the coupon for the free Glade. I paid my total of $3.07 and left the store. As I'm walking out, I realize the jelly should have been $2.39 and also that he didn't scan my second $1 coupon. I head back into Customer Service. She checks the price on the jelly and gives me back $2.59 for that. Then we start on the Dawn coupon mess.

She has to go over to the register and get all my coupons (I was on my lunch and by now, I've been in the store a little too long). We realize it won't accept the second $1 coupon because there would be overage. That's ok with me and I asked if I could use both $1 coupons instead of the two $0.20 coupons, since that makes the Dawns both free. I really don't know what happened next, but she gave me back $0.20 (making the Dawns free) and gave me back my $1 coupon! I can now get another Dawn for free.

I'm so confused by this whole transaction, but after all was said and done, I paid $0.28 - which amounts to just the tax on all this stuff. Not too shabby.

Phew, I'm Exhausted!

I think I went a little overboard today - I'm sure you'll agree after reading all the stuff I bought. I got extra Charmin coupons yesterday from dancinmama (thanks again!) and couldn't wait to use them! Here's how it all went down:






CVS - 5, yes, 5 transactions - phew! Thank goodness for patient cashiers! This was cool - I went in the store with a $10 ECB, came out with a $10 ECB plus 5 packages of batteries, 5 candy bars and 20 Soy Joy bars. Here's how I did it:


Transaction 1: On DBF's card

• Duracell batteries $4.49 - $1 coupon (5/18 SS)
• 9 Soy Joy bars $9 ($1 each) - three B2G1F coupons (4/6 or 5/11 SS)
• 1 Reeses candy bar (needed filler b/c Duracell was only $4.49 - I had planned for it to be $5.29)
• Coupons used: $1 Duracell, 3 B2G1F Soy Joys, $10 ECB
• Total was $0.56 - I just realized cashier only rang 2 of my Soy Joy coupons, but the total was so low I'm not worried about it
• Earned $8 for Soy Joy (deal is that you earn $4 ECB for every 4 bars you buy - limit 5 deals - so 20 bars total)

Transaction 2: DBF's card

• 6 Soy Joys $6 - 2 B2G1F coupons
• 1 Duracell $4.49 - $1 coupon
• 2 candy bars (filler again)
• Coupons used: $1 Duracell, 2 Soy Joy coupons, $8 ECB from Tran. 1
• Total was $0.40 and got back $4 ECB for Soy Joy

Transaction 3: DBF's card

• 5 Soy Joys
• Coupons used: $1 off 4 Soy Joys (printed from soyjoy.com) and $4 ECB from Trans. 2
• Total was $0.00! Got back $8 ECB from Soy Joy

Transaction 4: DBF's card

• 2 Duracells
• 2 candy bars
• Coupons used: 2 $1 Duracell coupons and $8 ECB from Trans. 3
• Total was $0.68

Transaction 5: DBF's card

• 1 more Duracell - if I'd planned on these being $4.49 each, I could have incorporated this into another transaction instead of buying all that candy. Oh well, candy's yummy! :)
• Coupons used: $1 Duracell
• Total was $3.80 and got back $10 for spending $20 worth of Duracell

Phew - did you follow all that?!? I'm tired from just explaining it! :)

CVS - different store and on my card

• Charmin Basic tp $6.99 - $0.25 coupon
• 5 Soy Joys - $1 off 4 coupon
• Coupons used: $0.25 Charmin, $1 Soy Joy and $4 ECB
• Total was $6.74 and got back $4 ECB for Soy Joy and $10 for doing the Charmin deal. I got the manager's approval on Sunday to buy this tp because they didn't have the sale kind in stock. They gave me cash.

CVS - totally different store, my card again

I debated whether or not to do this. Since the manager at the other store gave me permission to buy another type of Charmin for the sale, my Extra Care card still showed I could do the Charmin deal. I figured if I bought the correct sale tp, it wouldn't be any different than if I got another CVS card and bought it, so I went ahead and did this again. Now I'm set on tp for ages!

• 4 Charmin Ultra 12 packs $5.99 each
• Coupons used: 4 $0.25 Charmin coupons, $8 ECB from Soy Joy and $10 from Charmin above
• Total was $4.96 and got back $10 ECB for Charmin

Walgreens

• Whiskas Lickin cat treats 4 for $5, bought 8
• Used 2 BOGO (4/27 SS) coupons and 2 $1.50 off 2 coupons (6/8 RP)
• Total was $5.02 - paid with WAG gift card

Sigh, I'm glad that's all over with! :)

Here's $899.39 For Ya!

Do you ever wonder if there's something you could do with your expired coupons? Well there is - you can send them to our troops! They are able to use them for six months past the expiration date. I have a box I throw my expired coupons into and I just went through the April and May P&G inserts (those coupons are usually only good for a month). I'm sure I have tons more expired coupons in my inserts, but I just don't have the energy to comb through each one. I finally got to sort these and I ended up with $211.26 worth of food and $688.13 worth of everything else. That really adds up!

Head's Up

There will be double Coke Rewards points on June 25 for all cases of soda. Each case is worth 10 points normally, so that's 20 points for each case!

Toothpaste Moneymaker

Thanks to a tip from Mississippi PT over on the WIR boards, I bought this toothpaste at RiteAid. They are $2.99 each and there was a $1 coupon in the June 1 P&G insert. That makes them $1.99 and you can submit for a $2.99 rebate through RiteAid - $1 profit! I did this once in my name and a second time in DBF's name. Thanks Mississippi!

Fun Weekend

My DBF and I had a blast this weekend. We went to a carnival on Friday night with both of my sisters. There were rides, plenty of yummy food and fireworks. We rode the scrambler twice and I swear they were running it at warp speed. As the fireworks started, a thunderstorm came rolling in. The fireworks would go off and then you'd see lightening in the distance - kind of like a dueling match or something!



Saturday night was my sister's college graduation party. I can't believe she's done with school already! I also had an eye doctor appointment and got my hair done - what a busy weekend! Well, on to the most important part of the weekend...the hounds! lol

RiteAid:

• 2 Finesse mousses 2 for $6 - $5 SCR = $1 for both
• 2 packages 24 ct. Benadryl 2 for $9 - $2 rebate WYB 2 - 2 $1 coupons (3/16 RP or 6/22 RP) - 2 $3 RiteAid Benadryl coupons from Allergy booklet (see previous post for picture) = $1 for 2 boxes plus after the rebate, I'll make $1.

You can do this rebate three times so you better believe that's what I did! I'm going to do the deal again in my DBF's name when more coupons another hound was kind enough to send me come in.

CVS:

Transaction 1:

• 4 Colgate Total Advanced Clean $2.99 each - $1.50 coupons = $1.49 and got back $2 ECB each = $0.51 profit!
• Listerine Smart Rinse $3.49 - $1 coupon (4/27 RP) - Duh! I'd already reached my limit on these! Generates $3.49 ECB as a monthly deal.
• Charmin toilet paper $6.99 - $1 coupon (6/1 P&G)
• Coupons used: 4 $1.50 Colgate, $1 Listerine, $1 Charmin, $10 ECB and $3.49 ECB
• Total was $1.09 and got back $8 for Colgate

*Note - the toilet paper I bought is not part of the buy $20, get $10 ECB deal this week. My store didn't have any of the sale tp in the store, so the manager let me buy this similar version. When I reach $20, they'll give me my $10 - cool huh?

Transaction 2:

• 9 Soy Joy bars - $1 each, used 3 B2G1F coupons (4/6 or 5/11 SS cashier took $1.29 off for each!) = $5.13 and got back $8 ECB = $2.87 profit!
• Charmin - $6.99 - $1 Charmin coupon (6/1 P&G)
• Coupons used: 3 B2G1F Soy Joys, $1 Charmin, $8 ECB from Colgate in Trans. 1
• Total was $3.12 and got back $8 for Soy Joy

Transaction 3:

• 6 Soy Joy bars $1 each - used 2 B2G1F coupons (4/6 or 5/11 SS cashier took $1.29 off for each!) = $3.42 and got back $4 ECB = $0.58 profit and will get $4 ECB when I buy another 2
• 2 newspapers $2 each
• Reeses pb cups (way gone by now) as filler - $0.79
• Total was $10.79 - $2.58 Soy Joy coupons - $8 ECB from Soy Joy = $0.27 and got back $4 ECB for Soy Joy

My Goofball

My cat Mousse is a hound-in-training:
All those coupons make him jump for joy!

What a Beautiful Thing

I finally bit the bullet and organized up my closet. I had a lot of my stockpiled goodies all over my apartment, and decided it was time to show this closet who's boss 'round these parts. Phew, isn't it perty??

Freebies at Target

My sisters and I have a weekly ritual of running to Target on Friday nights. We get to spend some time together and it used to be my main time to do grocery shopping. Since I've started hounding, I've been amazed at how little I'm spending at Target now. I used to spend $30-$40 a week there, now its down to well under $10. What a feeling! Here's what I got:

• 5 bags of Purina Healthful Life cat food $1.99 each - free bag coupon (6/8 RP) = FREE
• Oscar Mayer turkey $2 - $0.75 coupon = $1.25
• 3 packages Yoplait yogurt $2.59 - 3 $1 coupons (6/1 SS) plus she scanned one coupon twice = $3.77 plus there is a MBG here
• Total was $5.86 with I paid for using the AMEX gift card I got a couple weeks back at CVS

*Just wanted to note that the cashier was fully aware she scanned the last Yoplait coupon twice and said "oh well!". She's actually my fav cashier at this store - always in a good mood and very coupon-friendly. I wish they all could be like her!

Hopefully My Last CVS Run for the Week

I have to admit, I'm getting a little sick of CVS this week (GASP!) with all the times I've been in so hopefully this will be my last run. I really love the Garnier stuff, so it was worth it to me to maximize this deal. I had to stop in anyway to have them fix my ECB's from last night's purchase (computers were down and didn't "remember" that I'd bought one Garnier earlier this week, so it didn't print my $10 ECB). The manager couldn't give it to me on a gift card (the system was still down), so he just gave me $10 cash. Fine by me.

1st Transaction: on my card

• 2 Garnier face scrubs $5.99 each - $1 coupons (4/20 or 5/11 RP) -- $10 ECB WYB 2 --$0.02 profit
• Herbal Essence mousse $3.34 - my hair was in desperate need! I have a bottle I got FAR from RiteAid, but the stuff is horrible!
• Coupons used: $3 off $15, 2 $1 Garnier coupons (4/20 or 5/11 RP), $4 ECB and $5 ECB
• Total was $1.55 and got back $10 ECB for Garnier

2nd Transaction: on DBF's card

• 2 Garnier scrubs $5.99 each
• Nature Valley granola bars $3.34 - filler
• Coupons used: $3 off $15, 2 $1 Garnier coupons, $0.65 Nature Valley coupon, $3 ECB
• Total was $7.09 (paid for with cash from the manager) and got back $10 ECB

Got a free bag of Purina cat food in the mail...from ShopRite! That was a surprise -- I've never received samples from them before and have no idea how I got on a mailing list but its fine by me.

Frugal Living

In the past couple years, my mindset regarding money and finances has changed dramatically. It used to be that I bought almost anything I wanted and I had the bills to prove it! I got my first credit card when I was 18, and I remember working in the mall and spending almost my entire paycheck on clothes. Then I headed off to college and charged away. I didn’t work while in school until my junior year, so I’d built up some pretty heavy duty balances by that point. Then off to grad school (more debt and more student loans!). When all was said and done, I graduated school with about $80,000 in student loans and around $13,000 in credit card bills. Yikes!! I also had a car payment of $265 a month (around $14,000 total). When those student loan repayments kicked in, money was very, very tight. I remember charging groceries and frequently going up to the limit on my credit cards – wham! Overlimit fee! I had no wiggle room in my budget and in fact, I didn’t even have enough money coming in every month to pay all my bills. I relied on doing supplemental work (that I hated!) to make ends meet. It was a horrible feeling and I vowed to never feel that way again.

I started reading everything I could get my hands on about finances, budgets and saving money. I discovered the Women in Red Message Boards and have learned so much valuable information from the posters there. I watched Big Spender and the Suze Orman Show. Three years later, I’m nowhere near to being out of debt, but I have a much better handle on everything and have firm goals set. My student loans haven’t really gone down at all because I’ve been focusing my attention on paying off credit cards and my car. I’m now down to about $3000 on a credit card (at 2.9 %) and my car has just about the same to go (also at 2.9 %). I’m expecting an inheritance check that will wipe out about 75% of the remaining credit card balance and then I plan to throw every extra penny I have towards that. Then the goal is to make extra payments towards my car and pay that off early. Then, student loans – watch out!

With that in mind, here are some of my tips/ideas for frugal living:
· Emergency funds and savings are crucial! Without having a cushion in the bank, I’d have to charge auto repairs, unexpected bills, etc. to my credit cards and pay back with interest. I keep $1000 in an emergency fund and $500 for short term expenses that pop up.
· It’s also so important to save for the future – whatever your goals may be. If you never save any money, you’ll always be in the same position you are in now.
· Before I buy something, I try to consider whether or not I really need it and can use it – or is this something that’s just going to take up space and get dusty? In a year, am I going to love this item as much as I do now? Can I make do with something else I already have? I sometimes look around and realize just how much “stuff” I have. There are a lot of things I definitely don’t need. Separating needs from wants has gone a long way towards saving me money. The same mindset goes for replacing things that have broken. My DVD player broke a couple months ago and I held off buying a new one until I had earned enough reward points on my credit card to get it for free.
· I charge all my gas and auto repairs to my Discover card. I also pay certain monthly bills with my card to get even more rewards. *Note – this only works if you pay off the credit card in full every month! They give me back 5% for anything gas/auto related and 2% for everything else. This really adds up for me and I’ve used the rewards to get gift certificates to CVS, Target and Applebees. And when you get a bonus on certain gift cards – CVS $40 gift card becomes $45.
· No more mindless spending! I work hard for my money and I definitely don’t want to spend it on things I don’t want, don’t need or worse, don’t like. Try writing down every penny you spend in a day/week and see where your money really goes.
· The flipside of this is smart spending, aka hounding – my favorite pastime! It used to be that I’d run out of something, run out to a store and buy it at full price because I “needed” it. Now I have a stockpile of paper towels, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, makeup, vitamins, razors, shaving cream, cat food, soda, pasta, crackers, chips, etc. When I need something, I “shop” in my stockpile instead of running to the store. This saves time, gas and money, since when I bought the item – I either: got a great price, paid nothing or maybe even made a profit.
· Look for discounts everywhere! Use restaurant coupons, see movies in the afternoon when they’re cheaper, look for promotions, etc. I can’t stand to pay full price if I don’t have to.
· Take a hard look at your monthly budget. Can you cut down cable services you don’t watch? Phone services you don’t use? Downgrade to a slower but still great internet speed? I think it’s easy to get into the mindset that phone/cable/internet monthly bills are fixed and can’t be changed. Are you paying for services you no longer use? Cut, cut, cut! And then transfer the extra money to debt repayment or savings.

Trip Back to the 80's...

I'm not sure who started it (Jennysmom - are YOU the culprit?), but the topic of the day over on the Grocery Challenge thread somehow became all things 80's. In that vein, here are some of my favorite 80's songs & movies:

• My favorite 80's song and maybe of all time - I swear when this song starts all I can think about is driving with the windows down and the breeze blowing on a gorgeous summer day
• Remember Goonies? HEY YOU GUYS! And who can forget the Truffle Shuffle?
• Gotta go Back to the Future
• I love me some Prince -- and you could still call him Prince - not that stupid symbol! Let's go Crazy, Kiss, Little Red Corvette - these may actually be 90's...close enough!
• Janet Jackson hadn't had any "wardrobe malfunctions" yet and was still abiding by the Pleasure Principle
• Her bro Michael was still cool
• Starship was buildin' a city
• My fav Indy movie came out - love this part, and this part, and this part..well, you get the idea
• Who You Gonna Call? Ghostbusters!

Phew, I think that's enough travelin' down memory lane for now!

Quick CVS Trip

Here's what I got:

• Listerine Smart Rinse $3.49 -- get back $3.49 ECB's so FREE
• Garnier Nutritioniste lotion $12.99 ($10 ECB WYB $20 worth)
• CVS brand cotton swabs 500 count $2.69 -- get back $2 ECB so $0.69
• Coupons used $3 off $15, $1 Garnier (found in magazine), $10 ECB and $3.49 ECB
• Total was $1.11 and got back $2 ECB for cotton swabs and $3.49 for Listerine

Will go back later this week to get another Garnier for the $20 deal

Weekend of Hounding!

Its been the dreaded triple H this weekend - hazy, hot and humid. With temps reaching into the mid 90's and crazy humidity, it wasn't fun getting in and out of the car to go hounding - but I wasn't about to let that stop me! DBF and I were sticky all weekend, but look at all we've got to show for it! Here we go:

Target

• 2 All trial size detergents $1 each - used $1 All coupons here = FREE
• Total was $0.14

Kmart (went in for the BOGO Max Factor sale...and the store didn't have any Max Factor at all! Not even a spot for it in the makeup aisle! Grr)

• Tidy Cats litter pellets $5.59
• Tidy Cats litter pads $3.69
• Used two $2 coupons I printed from coupons.com ages ago (they aren't there anymore unfortunately)
• Total was $5.93 with tax
• I LOVE this litter box by the way! With 2 cats, there used to be tracked litter all over my apartment. Not anymore! Love it!

A&P - triple coupons this week!

• 3 Viva paper towel rolls $2.29 each - used $0.75 coupons (4/27 SS) = $0.04 each
• 2 Sunsweet dried fruits (yum!) $2.99 each - used $0.75 coupons (5/18 SS) = $0.74 each
• 4 Lysol Healthy Touch Gentle foam $0.99 each (had a raincheck from last month) - used 3 $0.75 coupons (4/13 SS) and 1 $1 coupon (5/18 SS) = -$3.79 overage
• Total was -$2.04 so I picked up 2 packs of gum at $1.19 each = $0.51

Found Mentos Gum at another A&P - marked as $1.19 (rang up as $1.49) so with the $0.55 coupons (5/18 SS) they were -$0.46 each. Noticed when I got home the second transaction with 1 gum that the coupon only doubled, not tripled. Oh well, it was still a steal.

Walgreens

• 2 packs Walgreens water for DBF's mom - 2 for $5 with in-circular coupon
• 2 bags WAG shredded cheeses $2.59 each
• Milk $2.19
• 1 paper $1
• Total was $13.37 - paid with rebate gift card

CVS

• 4 packs Diet Coke for DBF (this is all he drinks - I swear!) 4 for $11
• 3 papers $2 each
• Used $4.69 ECB, $5 ECB and $6 ECB
• Total was $1.31 and got back $3 ECB for Coke

Stop & Shop

1st Transaction

• 5 Breakstone Cottage Doubles $1 each
• Coupons used: $1 off 3 Breakstones coupon (5/18 SS) and $0.05 bag discount
• Total was $3.95 and got back $5 catalina (buy 5 of certain products - get $5) - $1.05 profit

2nd Transaction

• 3 Breakstone Cottage doubles $1 each
• 2 Jell-o Dark Chocolates $3 each
• Coupons used: $1 off 3 Breakstone (5/18 SS), 2 $1 Jell-o Coupons (6/1 SS), $0.05 bag discount (she gave it to me again!) and $5 catalina from 1st transaction
• Total was $0.95 and got another $5 catalina - $4.05 profit!

RiteAid

• Monistat Soothing Care $4.99
• Coupons used: $2 Monistat coupon, $2 RiteAid Monistat Coupon
• Total was $1.34 and I'll get back $4.99 for the RA rebate - $3.65 profit!

Lots of Goodies

Its been a long day. I tried to use an ECB at CVS this morning and it wouldn't scan because...(drumroll please) it wasn't for my card! Thinking back, the day I earned that ECB I had a brand new cashier who was having oodles of problems ringing me up and I wonder if she scanned a generic or manager's card or something. I have to call CVS's 1-800 # to sort this out.

Anyway, here's what I got today:
CVS

• 2 bags Chex Mix $1 each - free after coupons
• Listerine Smart Rinse $3.49
• 2 bags CVS candy (yes, there's only one in the picture - did I mention its been a long day? A girl's gotta have somethin' to snack on!)
• Charmin 9 pack toilet paper $4.99
• 3 Bounty 8 packs paper towels $5.99 each
• Coupons used: $4 off $20, 2 $1 Chex Mix coupons, $1 CVS coupon for $1 off 2 bags CVS candy (got from scanner in store), 3 $1 Bounty coupons (June P&G), $1 Charmin coupon (June P&G), $1 Listerine coupon (4/27 RP or here) and $15 ECB's
• Total was $3.43 and earned $3.49 ECB for Listerine and $10 for Charmin/Bounty deal ($10 WYB $20 worth). I'll also submit for the $3.49 Listerine rebate (found the forms in my CVS store a while back).

Walgreens

• 3 Gilette Satin Care shaving creams $2 - free after coupons
• Multi Betic vitamins $9.99
• Coupons used: $1 Gilette coupon in June Easy Saver catalog (takes $1 off each can), 3 $1 Gilette coupons (June P&G) and $2 Multi Betic coupon
• Total was $8.41 - paid with WAG gift card and will get back $9.99 (plus 10%) as WAG rebate for Multi Betic

Free bag of Flat Earth chips from Subway with this coupon - sorry, the link seems to be broken(and yes, I only went in for the chips!)

Target

• 6 cans Sheba cat food $1.19 each
• Coupons used: 3 $0.50 Target coupons (get from target.com or in HCW's Coupon Generator) and 3 BOGO Sheba coupons
• Total was $2.54

Photography

I'm definitely no Pioneer Woman, but I love taking pictures, especially nature/landscape photos. Here are some of my favs:

Sedona, AZ:

Botanical Garden in AZ:

Coast of Maine

Lincolnville, Maine

Massachusetts

Elizabeth Rose Garden, Connecticut

And finally, a local pic! This is a pic I snapped of a tractor/farm equipment/thingamabob at a local zoo. Cool huh?

I love to travel (but really HATE to fly) so I jump at the chance to take road trips when I can (I did fly to AZ though - can you imagine how long it would take to drive from NJ to AZ?!?). There's something so peaceful about all this open space and beauty. Its sometimes hard to find wide, open spaces in Jersey and someday I'd love to move somewhere with a little more breathing room.

Some HCW Tips

HCW can be very confusing, so here are the tips/tricks I’ve learned from poking around there:

1. Sign up for a free membership. Its very worth it and there are some features you can only access as a member. You can sign up here.
2. Once you've signed up, you may need to post once or twice before you can access the Coupon Database. Once that's done, you'll see a toolbar across the top of your screen once you login. The options are: User CP, Blogs, FAQ, Members List, Coupon Resources, New Posts, Search, Quick Links and Log Out.
3. Click on Coupon Resources and you'll see a link for Coupon Database. This is where you can search for any coupons you want. Type in the name of the product you're looking for in the "Description" tab (ie. Barilla or Pampers) and click on Search. It will tell you which paper the coupon was in or give you the link if its an online coupon.
4. Forums - when you first login to HCW, scroll down to the second boxed area called "Swingin' Deals". This is where you'll find forums for popular stores. If you want to see what's going on in CVS land, you'd click on Drug Stores and then CVS. If you want a supermarket, you'd click on Grocery Stores and then your store. Circulars are often posted ahead of time and folks will post with ideas on how to make the deals even better.
5. Subscriptions - Overwhelmend by going through all the forums? Join the club! You can "subscribe" to a forum and have all new posts emailed to you. This is nice since you don't have to keep going to HCW for updates. Once you're in a forum (ie. Swingin Deals, Drug Stores, CVS), you'll see a link called "Forum Tools". Click on this and then "Subscribe to Forum". You can choose how often you'd like to get email updates.
6. New Posts - this link gives you all new posts, in all forums. I click on this every so often and scroll through and look at the ones of interest to me. On the right-hand side, it will tell you which forum the post is in (ie. CVS, Auctions, Jokes & Humor, etc.) so you don't waste time trying to read everything.

I'm sure there's tons more to do on HCW, but I'm a busy lady and this is the extent that I use HCW.