Fight Burrito Boredom

Qdoba is running a deal right now were you can build your own burrito (or something else - but I hear burritos have the best coupons) and end up with high value coupons at the end. You can play every day for 6 weeks. The coupons are only good for 2 days, so you can't really stock up. But yesterday and today I won "free entree with purchase of a drink" coupons. So Geof and I have free dinner tonight =)

http://www.foodloversfightingburritoboredom.com/

Give it a shot - and let me know how you do!

GREAT deal on paper at Staples

Through Saturday, HP General use paper is on sale for $4.99 with a $3.99 rebate. There's a limit of 2 per household.

There's also a coupon on their website for 15% off all in-store purchases (excluding computers). Use that with the paper and get the 2, 500 sheet reams for $8.48.

Submit the rebate and get a check for $7.98.

Total of two reams of paper for $.50!!!!

There's a deal on HP Photo Paper as well. $9.99 with and $8.99 rebate. After the 15% coupon, you would pay $8.49... for a PROFIT of $.50!

Uninsured and taking prescription medications?

That's the boat I've found myself in. Sure, you can pay $30 a year to Walgreens and get their overpriced drugs brought town to just slightly more than everywhere else.

Or I can give you another reason to join Swagbucks.

I take a brand-name thyroid medication. I can't take generics on this medication for multiple reasons, so the $4 generics at the major chains won't work for me. We are currently uninsured, so I've been eating the whole cost of this medication - ranging from $18-23 a month depending on where you fill it. I've been filling it at Wal-Mart (and, coincidentally, I paid $23 one month and $18 the next without changing a thing). This month, through tomorrow, there was a coupon at coupons.com for a free $25 gift card to Rite Aid if you transferred a prescription to them that you have never filled at Rite Aid before. So I decided to give it a go if the price was similar to Wal-Mart. It's quite a drive out to Rite Aid for me - about 40 minutes - but I was going to be in that area today anyway.

Their cost was $19.99 for 30 pills. I brought in this printout from the Swagbucks HealthAdvantage Program. I'm gonna be honest here: I figured for something that was free on the internet, it probably wouldn't be worth all that much. But in today's economy, every penny counts - I'll give it a shot.

I brought my prescription, my coupon, and my print out. I said, "I've never used this before - I don't know if it will even do anything for this prescription, but if you'd try, I'd really appreciate it." They said no problem - they had never seen it before, but they'll try running it at check-out.

It saved me $8.37!

I almost fell over when I saw that! I figured it might knock off $.50 - maybe a buck. But over $8 was HUGE to us. In the end, I got my $20 prescription for $11.62 - and got a $25 gift card!

I don't know if you even have to sign up for Swagbucks to use the discount card. I don't think you do. But I don't understand why you wouldn't want to. I have never paid them a cent of money, and in return for doing my internet searching through them, I've received $130 in Amazon gift certificates - and I'm not that far off from another $5 certificate.

I'll be really honest - I don't know if I'll keep going out to Rite Aid for this prescription or not. I went for the $25 gift card to get more supplies for our container garden (and spoil my kids a little). But with as great of a discount as I got there for this HealthAdvantage Program card, I just might go back if the discounts aren't as great at other stores. Where can you use it? It says it's is accepted at over 50,000 pharmacies nationwide. Here are a few of the "most recognizable" stores they list:

Albertsons
Bi-Lo
Costco
CVS
Duane Reade
Eckerd
Fred’s Stores
Giant Eagle
HY-Vee
Kerr
Kmart
Kroger
Longs
Meijer
Osco
Pamida
Publix
Rite Aid
Safeway
Sav-on
Schnucks
Supervalu
Target
Tops
Walgreens
Walmart
Wegmans

So get out there, save some money through Swagbucks and their HealthAdvantage Program. I'm not sponsored by Swagbucks or anything - this is just a really happy user and fan spreading the word about a great free service offered by Swagbucks.com.

Hooked On Phonics

HOP is having a sale on a lot of their materials right now, and some of their older stuff is in "overstock" for really cheap. On top of that, they have a code out that works on most sale stuff - HOP50 - that will take 50% off your order. I'm about to place an order for their older HOP K-2 program (audio CDs rather than the new one with DVDs) that will be $39.98 (before tax and shipping) rather than $199.95! The two friends I know that have used the program have used this version and love it.

Thanks to Dealnews.com for this info bit!

Yeah... it's slow here

So, we moved. It's been crazy. We came here to find housing - then went back to Oregon, packed a house, and drove back here... in 13 days. Then came Christmas, New Years, and trying to get a routine of some sort down. And let's not forget UNpacking. Otherwise all the "fun" of packing would be lost, right?

I was worried about making the transition to new stores, new area for finding bargains. I'm WAY behind on cutting out my coupons - they're all stacked up in a bag. But I've found a few great deals, so I'm encouraged. I was able to get 2 gallons of organic skim milk for $1.09 total (including tax - something I keep forgetting to figure in after living in sales tax-free Oregon). Our local Safeway has one section where they put all the sell-by clearance foods (other than meat) rather than having to hunt them down. I've done some price matching in our local Wal-Mart. And today I hit the 75% off clearance stuff at Target in Parker and got some really great stuff for next winter for the kids - including a winter coat for M (regular $35 - I got it for under $9), a **beautiful** Christmas dress that will fit her for the next 2 years for under $5, and 3 really nice sweaters for R for about $3.50 each. Sweats for $.98 a piece, a long-sleeved turtle neck black shirt for M - there were many more things I could have picked up, but we're trying really hard to watch our budget and pay off some bills. For myself, I used a birthday gift card from G's wonderful sister and got some "fur" lined suede mittens that were 50% off. I'm SO excited!

I've taken a gluten-free tour at our King Soopers (that's Kroger here) and scored a bunch of coupons there. Our natural foods store (Vitamin Cottage) has amazing prices on their bulk supplies, many of which are GF as well, AND they accept coupons (that's where I scored the milk deal!). I've even found some local bloggers to help the process along. We're blessed.

So, while we're not really in that much of a better financial place than when we were in Oregon (G's call is part-time and the search for additional employment hasn't been fruitful), we're going to make it. And it's wonderful to have a happy husband again because he's back doing what he loves... and freeing me up to do my job at home (wife and mom) which I love as well.

I can't promise this blog will be bustling with activity again soon, but I'll be sure to post if something incredible comes up. After sending out our *slightly* late Christmas cards. But hey, they were all free... and we're waiting on our free change of address cards. So it's worth being a little late in my book to save that chunk of change.

Happy 2010!

Great Safeway trip

We went to Safeway tonight to get in on the last day of their sale on Healthy Choice Dinners. We do NOT get frozen dinners normally - even on sale they're way to expensive for our budget. But they were running a sale for $2.99 each - buy 5 and save $5 (or $1.99 each). Healthy Choice also has been running a $2 off one meal coupon on their website - printable twice per computer. We have three coupon-printable computers... 6, $2 off one coupons. (They also have coupons for their fresh mixers there, which Geof picked up at Wal-Mart the other day for $2.74 or $.74 each after coupon - but that's another story because even that didn't work out "normally"). We had some issue with three of the dinners not ringing up at the right price and having to go back in to talk to my fave cashier to get it straightened out. But in the end, this was our grocery receipt:

5 Healthy Choice dinners ($2.99 ea) $14.95
2 Budget Frozen dinners ($.99 ea) $1.98 <--kid's dinner tonight - they were thrilled! They've never had a frozen meal before
1 Smithfield bacon $5.49
Total: $22.42

Safeway card savings -$5.90 ($5 for the 5 dinners, $.20 off each kiddo dinner, $.50 off the bacon)
Total: $16.52

Coupons: -$13.00 (5@$2/1 for the dinners, 1@$3 off the bacon)

TOTAL: $3.52! That's an 85.5% savings! YAY!!!

Do you shop in the Sears Junior's section?

THIS COUPON is good for $10 off any Junior's apparel at Sears - no minimum purchase. It's a .pdf, so you can print as many copies as you want (can only use one per purchase - but you can bring multiple shoppers or make multiple trips), and it's good until November 14th.

If you can make a purchase right at $10, it will be free. Slightly over, and it will be rather inexpensive. It would be great for things like Angel Tree if you have one in your community - they're always looking for things like warm socks, underwear, hats, gloves - or use it toward Christmas gift purchases you plan to make. Or refill your kids' sock drawers =)

EDIT - THIS ENDED UP BEING CONSIDERED A SCAM - SEARS STORES ARE NOT ACCEPTING THESE COUPONS. YOU MAY HAVE SOME LUCK WITH THEM ONLINE.

Great deal on Kraft Singles

Safeway has their Kraft Singles (16 oz, 24 slice packs) on sale for $1.99 - regular price $4.99. Right in the dairy section, there are free "Add Dairy to your backyard adventure" booklets with coupons on the back... including one for $.50 off Kraft singles. Since Safeway doubles coupons up to $.50 (use the little coupon in the add) - you can get these for $.99.

We've been getting 2 each time we go. We usually get the 72 slice boxes at Winco for between $6-7. At this price, 72 slices are $2.97!

I don't know if these other stores double their coupons like Safeway, but Safeway's sister stores are: Vons, Dominick's, Genuardi's, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Pavillions, and Carrs|Safeway. According to the coupon booklet, it is available at all these stores. There are also coupons for $.50 off Kraft Natural Shredded Cheese, $.55 off Daisy sour cream and $.50 off 2 1.75 liter Simply Orange Juice. All but the sour cream are elligiible for doubling.

Another great trip at Wags

We were out of garbage bags and I had a raincheck for diapers, so I headed to Wags Wednesday. They were unloading from the truck and it was mass confusion... and the two things I needed just weren't out yet. No prob - I'll come back tomorrow.

So when I went today, I did GREAT!!!
Size 4 Wags diapers - $4.50
Size 4 Wags diapers - $4.50
TUF 36 count drawstring trash bags $3.50
TUF 36 count drawstring trash bags $3.50
Sambucol $11.99
Sambucol $11.99
$39.98

-$10 IVC Sambucol
-$10 IVC Sambucol
-$4 internet Sambucol
-$4 internet Sambucol
$10 RR from the Dove deal

$1.98 oop

ESR $3(.30) when you buy 2 TUF trash bags.

net -$1.32 =)

I need to print out a few more coupons for Sambucol and go back and get the other 2 packs of diaper for which I still have the raincheck. WOO HOO!!!

4 orders and organization

That's how many separate receipts I had at Wags today. The Huggies deal was just TOO good to pass up, and I had to do separate trips for the Garnier, anyway. I don't have my receipts in front of me, so bear with me, please...

I was planning to do 3 size 4 Huggies Natural Fits, but they only had 2 (there have GOT to be a TON of babies in this town that are M's size - no matter what brand of diapers they are, the size 4s are almost always gone on day one of a sale at Walgreens or Rite Aid here!) So I got 2 4's and a pack of pull-ups. Here's the whole order:

Size 4 $10
Size 4 $10
Pull-ups $10
GF Curl shaping spray $2.99
Colgate Total TP $3.49
Dry Idea Unscented Gel Deodorant $1.69
$38.17

Qs
Huggies Naturals -$3.00
HN -$3.00
Pull-ups -$2.00
GF -$1.00
Colgate -$1.50

$27.67 (I'm thinking that I paid $30.67... I'm wondering if one of my HN Qs didn't go through...)

Received
$2 RR for the Dry Idea
$10 RR for Huggies over $25

Did you notice anything? Yeah, I was chatting away with my favorite cashier and we both forgot the ESR IVC coupons. She called the manager over, though, we returned a couple things and added them onto my next order where they took the coupons off... see below.

Huggies Supreme Newborn diapers $10.00
HS size 1 diapers $10.00
HS size 2 diapers $10.00
clearance highlighter (ch) $.10
ch $.10
ch $.10
$30.30

Coupons
HS -$5.00
HS -$5.00
HS -$5.00
Garnier IVC -$2.00
Colgate IVC -$2.50
RR -$2.00
RR -$2.00
RR -$2.00

$4.80

Received
$10 RR for Huggies over $25

I brought those out to the car. Then I went back in and did:

HS Newborn diapers $10.00
HS size 1 diapers $10.00
HS size 2 diapers $10.00
Garnier Hydra-Curls shampoo $2.99
$32.99

Coupons
HS -$5.00
HS -$5.00
HS -$5.00
GF -$1.00
Garnier IVC -$2.00

$14.99

Received:
$10 RR

I fully intended that to be my last trip to Walgreens. I brought my things out to the car and walked over to redbox for free-movie Monday. I already knew what I wanted, and it was a good thing. It was COLD for us today, and I was standing in line behind a guy who must have read every. single. summary. there was in that box. I picked up my movies, punched in the freebie code for the guy behind me... and went back to Walgreens. I know... I know...

HS size 1 diapers $10.00
HS size 2 diapers $10.00
HS size 2 diapers $10.00
Garnier Hydra-Curls shampoo $2.99
$32.99

Coupons
HS -$5.00
HS -$5.00
HS -$5.00
GF -$1.00
Garnier IVC -$2.00

$14.99

Received:
$10 RR

So, I now have $40 is Wags-bucks to spend in the next 2 weeks. That won't be a problem. I have a rain check for M's Wags diapers that will eat up $18 of that. I can also pick up the rest of the FARs for this month... and maybe something fun for the kids. I figure it's REALLY rare to find Huggies for $5 a bag (or even $7 for M's current size), so it was worth it to me.

As far as organization - I decided that we needed to do something to keep track of the free things and great deals we've purchased this year. We have them stored and stashed all over the house, and often my husband will ask where something is and we have to try a few spots to find it - or he'll ask if we have something and I just don't know.

So I put together a workbook of spreadsheets for us. I've divided the worksheets into:
Cosmetics
Toothpaste (and brushes)
Bath, shower & smell good
Family planning & feminine
Medications & pain relief
(I plan to add a kids worksheet and household cleaners worksheet, too)

Then I went though our different storage places, emptied them, sorted them, and put them in the database. I've put it on our family file-share so that my husband and I have the information at our fingertips whenever we need it. I still have to go through our medication shelf and the things in our garage pantry and laundry room cabinets. But the majority of our "stash" has now been taken care of. I'm SUPER excited about this. It will be helpful in preventing us from buying things we already have, as well as being able to locate things we need MUCH quicker than in the past. It is my hope to eventually do this with our food pantry as well - to know at all times what we have on stock and how much - so that we know what we can use for recipes and what needs to be restocked on our next big shopping trip. I think that's totally doable, too.

Sambucol and This week at Wags

I have been having an awesome time shopping Walgreens last week - and this week appears to be the same way... but better!

Last week, I went after the Sambucol deal. It didn't appear that anyone else in town had been doing it. The first time I picked up two of them along with diapers and a few things on clearance. My Walgreens had it on sale for $11.99 - so after both coupons, I received a $2.01 overage.

The next time I went back later in the week, I got 4 boxes of Sambucol (there were 5 left after my first trip - so I still left one on the shelf), a 6 pack of Ensure (on sale for $6.99, I had a $3/1 coupon, and a "try me free" full-price rebate), and a bottle of the Axe shampoo that's in this month's ESRs as a FAR deal. I paid $1.76 (I think - from memory, but I know under $2) and I'm getting $13.58 in rebates. I was hoping to hit the Dove RR deal, but they were out of the soap. I did pick up a rain check as this is a deal all month.

However, after getting home I realized that I forgot to pick up a rain check for the Walgreen's diapers. So after the kids were in bed, I headed back and picked up the last box of Sambucol and 4 boxes of the plastic storage bags that were on sale for $.99... for one more hour. I paid $1.95.

The best part... the Sambucol deal is on ALL MONTH LONG. Though, if I know my Wags, they will change the rules on that one, too, like they did the freebies this week...

Today started the great week of freebies at Walgreens. Garnier Fructis shampoo is on sale for $2.99. There's a $2/1 ESR coupon, and there have been an abundance of $1/1 coupons lately. Combine them - and a filler - and you have some free shampoo! There's also Colgate Total toothpaste on sale for $3.49, $2.50 ESR, and $1/1 and $1.50/1 internet coupons abound (the $1.50/1 are .pdf coupons that can be printed as often as you'd like - like the Sambucol coupon).

I had 5 coupons for shampoo and 2 for styling products. I had all 7 (different kinds) in my cart - the shelves were still VERY full. I also had 3 boxes of Total and a Dry Idea deodorant (more later). One of my friendly cashiers saw me and told me to go put it back before I got up to the register - they had been told to refuse to sell more than one Garnier or toothpaste per person per trip - not just transaction - because "that's what the coupon says." But, that's not what the coupon says. The coupon says limit one item per coupon. So I should be able to collect 5 booklets with 5 (total) coupons and buy 5 bottles of shampoo... but no dice. This store has been big on changing coupon rules lately (which is why I think the Sambucol deal will be going down). So another one of my friendly cashiers let me do 2 transactions... and I promised to be back many times this week. Here's what I got:

GF Shampoo $2.99
Colgate TP $3.49
Dry Idea Gel deodorant $1.69 (on clearance)

IVCs (that's the coupons in the ESR catalog):
GF -$2.00
Colgate -$2.50

Coupons:
GF -$1.00
Colgate -$1.50

Paid $1.17 off my gift card

Received $2 RR for the Dry Idea. There's a $2 register reward when you buy the Dry Idea and (I think) Rite Guard deodorants this week at $2.99 - but these were on clearance. There was still one left, so I'll do that again tomorrow if it's still there).

Lather, rinse, repeat for a second order (this time with GF smoothing milk instead of the shampoo) =)

$0 oop and $4 in RR!

There's also a GREAT deal going on Huggies diapers and wipes this week, but only in the smaller sizes. I have pregnant friends, so I may get in on that deal as well. More info on that is available HERE with thanks to Money Saving Mom.

I have a few other surprising deals from last week to share, but I'll have to do that another night as my body is screaming for sleep. I wanted to get these up here now, though, as these sales are still going. So if they're helpful to you... have at it!

Free Sambucol

This isn't something that I've used, but I know that a friend highly recommends it. This week you can get it free at Walgreens.

It's priced around $12.99 at Walgreens.
There's a $10/1 coupon in the front of the easy saver catalog at your store.
There's a $4/1 coupon HERE.

Now's the time to stock up for those springtime colds!

Thanks Money Saving Mom

3 free meals tomorrow

I was joking with my husband about this, but the fact is that you really could eat three free meals tomorrow (Tuesday, February 23). He asked if I really wanted to go to the city for this tomorrow... and I had to remind him that I have celiac disease and couldn't eat any of it.

However, to all you normal people...

Tomorrow is National Free Pancake Day - so everyone can get a free short stack of pancakes at IHOP from 7 AM to 10 PM. A donation to Children's Miracle Network is requested, but not required.

Then there's Two Free Tacos at Jack in the Box for their (I'm sorry... exceedingly lame) hangintherejack.com campaign. Click HERE for that coupon.

And Quiznos is giving away a free sub to the first 1,000,000 people to sign up. It appears that you can sign up each adult in your household. I just signed up for me and for my husband, and they're only up to the mid one hundred thousands... and we did get our coupons already.

So, head on over HERE and sign up for a free sandwich!

Fill a big jug with water and grab a few cups - and go have a day on the town with your family. Bring some fruit and/or veggies along with you, too. Antacids might be a nice dessert =)

Great deal on some great products!

This week, Walgreens has all Yes To Carrots products on sale 25% off. Yes To Carrots is an AWESOME line of beauty products, from skin care to hair care an assorted others. Here's a little blurb from their website:

All of our Yes To products combine the fresh, unadulterated goodness of organic fruits and vegetables with the purifying and moisturizing properties of 26 minerals harvested from the ancient world's most renowned spa- the Dead Sea.

I first tried their products back after Thanksgiving when Walgreens had the body butters on sale for $1.99 and I had a few BOGO coupons. I now use the Yes To Carrots body butter on my 2 year old daughter after every bath and shower. She has extremely sensitive skin and this not only agrees with her, but it leaves her skin so soft without a perfume-overload smell.

Well, Walgreens is at it again! All Y2C products are 25% off this week. This is a great time to take advantage of the BOGO coupons you get when you sign up for the carrot club (free of charge).

While we're at the Y2C website, how about some free lip balm this week? On the main page you'll notice a link for a $2 off coupon. Go ahead and print that! Then go over to Walgreens' site and print the coupon for $1 off the lip balms. Your mileage may vary (YMMV) with this one, as the coupon is marked something like "not in conjunction with any other offer" - but it was accepted for me. The lip balm is on sale this week for $2.76. After those two coupons, you have free lip balm and $.24 overage (reminder that Wags will not pay you overage - so go find something for a quarter in their clearance section - all Valentine's Day stuff is currently 50%, too =) ).

I got, of course, the carrot =) I like it a lot!

I just won $20!

Safeway has their Kellogg's fruit snacks on sale this week for $1. I had 3 $1/2 coupons. So the kids and I hit the store today to get treats. Only, the shelves were bare except for Yogos Sours.

Thankfully, they like these and they fit the coupon - so we picked up 6 boxes for $3. I had heard that some boxes were marked with a chance to win a gift card inside - $5, $10, $20 or $100. Odds varied by denomination, but the overall odds of winning were 1:50.

First box had nothing. Second box had nothing. Third box had a $10 gift card! Fourth had nothing. Fifth and sixth each had $5 gift cards! They're Discover gift cards, so they're usable anywhere that accepts Discover Card!

My husband and I were joking that we should go back for the last 2 on the shelf and pay the whole $1 for them... since OUR odds of winning were 1:2 =)

Cheap Triaminic

Walgreens had the Triaminic Thin Strips on sale 2 for $10. I printed out some $1.50 off each coupons, bringing the total for those down to $7.00. There's a rebate this month for $6 off two Triminic or Theraflu products ($6.60 with 10% gift card bonus).

I just got two box of Triminic thin strips for $.40 =)

How I saved $239.97 and earned $10

I wish I would have seen this earlier than 2 hours ago because I would have posted it for others. The Bayer Contour Blood Sugar Monitors were on sale at Rite Aid for $14.99. I had 3 coupons from a few weeks back for up to $30 off each monitor, limit one per person per transaction... so I brought my kids with me for the other purchases (though she let me use all three). Then Rite Aid has a rebate this month where you purchase 3 of any of a handful of heart-protecting products and you get a $10 Rite Aid gift card in the mail. You got it - this monitor was on the list.

So, the monitors retail for $79.99 each ($239.97). They were on sale under the coupon limit - so I paid nothing out of pocket. And I'm submitting my receipt for the $10 gift card.

To make the deal sweeter, I'll be donating these monitors to some organization that needs them - a homeless shelter, woman's shelter, food pantry, etc - which will be a tax break for us next year =)

Incoming mail

RA Jan - 16.98
Chevron $5 gas card
G - $50 unclaimed assets from MO
free kidvantage (boost for kids) coupon
3 coupons from kraft (free Planters nuts, free cheese and free Nabisco crackers)
2 coupon books
sample soyjoy apple bar (and coupon)
sample quaker natural granola bar
sample bare naked granola
Touch of Gray $8
Amazon/Coinstar $10
Baby Orajel - $1.5
Sucrets - $2

1/13
Safeway: Store Sale $2.47

Target: Store Sale (clearance and repackage) $8.45

Winco: Coupons $4.84
Bag Discount $.09

1/14
Perfect Look: Coupon $1.50

Grocery Outlet: Store Sale $7.00

1/16
Safeway: Bottle Deposit Return $4.25
Coupon $2.85 *free tall Starbucks tea beverage coupons - in store ad through 1/20!

Joann: Store Sale $5.10
Coupons $8.00

Rite Aid: Store Sale $6.00
Coupons $29.00 (!!!)

(Rite Aid has a sale on Huggies diapers right now. Coupled with wipes, coupons from Sunday and additional rebates and coupons, you end up with 2 packs of diaper and 2 tubs of wipes for $3.96! More details HERE - but my wipes were $3.49, not $3.69)

Wal-Mart (1/8): Coupons $1.50

Fred Meyer (1/8):Bag Credit $.05
Store Sale: (2 $1 lettuce bags - find receipt for regular price)

Rite Aid (1/9): Store Sale $8.90
Coupons $3.00
(OOP $2 with $5 ECR!)

Safeway (1/10): Bag credit $.03

Target (1/10): Store Sale $22.19
Coupons: $7.50

Wal-Mart (1/10): Store Sale $1.20

Walgreens (1/10): Store Sale $3.00

Safeway (1/11) Store Sale: $8.72
Bag Credit $.03
Coupons $2.00

Walgreens (1/11)
(Check regular price on Mt. Dew 12 pk - sale 7x$3.00=$21 plus $4.20 deposit)
[received $10 RR exp 1/23]