Plan it right the next time.

Arrrg!! I missed out on a deal today because I did not plan it right. Boo hoo! I could have saved 12+, imagine that.

Okay so I went to Shoprite to do the GM deal, Buy 25 get $10 catalina. I was also shopping for other deals. First off, I was sooooo overwhelmed with my coupons even though I've split them to GM coupons and regular shopping coupons. The result, I miscalculated the total by $1.38 so the Catalina did not print! Not only that I used the wrong shoprite card, so my cellfire coupons did not load (of course!), I could have saved $2-3 more. Arrrrrgggg!!!!!!!!!

Lessons Learned:
1. I thought I was prepared but apparently I was all over the place.
2. Staple the darn coupons so I don't have to sort them out. Oh, I had the couponizer but my coupons are still in a mess.
3. Don't forget to pick up the right shoprite card!!!! Since I have two separate cards, one for each car key, I better load the CellFire coupons on both cards.
4. If I'm doing a buy xx get xx deal, I better calculate my total first! Next time bring pen and paper. I don't know what happened to me tonight, I thought I had it all calculated all along I had imagined getting another item that made me miscalculate.

I am charging this to experience, I am too exausted to return the items. Next time, more planning please....

Total OOP for this trip: 43.42
Total w/out coupons: 77.67
Saved 55% off my groceries bill

Under my planned total of $50 per week but I still need to buy 4 gallons of organic milk so I'll be over by $5-10. See? If I only planned it right, then I would have been within budget. Haaaayyyy! I'm still new at this so I am quite overwhelmed.

Random Post

I haven't been doing a lot of deals lately, I am still using coupons but I've gotten lazy plus the deals aren't that great for the past few weeks.

I did deals at Walgreens this week my 2nd time to do so, and I must say I will never go back to Walgreens EVER again.

First off, the Walgreens near me is soo small, almost half the size of the CVS that I frequent to. It's difficult to find the items that I needed to buy because the products are in complete disarray and not only is their rewards system complicated, their cashiers are not knowledgeable. I went there listing out deals and I only got 3 out of the 10 deals I listed, not only that the cashier won't allow me to use more than 1 Register Rewards. I'm planning to return an item there tonight, blow off my remaining register rewards towards the purchase of sodas and juice and never step foot on any Walgreens ever (I mean it!).

In contrast, I've never had a problem with CVS and only once with Rite Aid (cashier would not take my rite aid rewards Q + mfr Q). Love love CVS if only their deals weren't so-so.

This week is double $ coupon time from Stop & Shop, I am allowed to double four $1 Q, I have an extra 4 because Stop & Shop also mails me their circular aside from the usual Thursday mail. I'm gonna try to use 8 of them and see if it will go through, if not I'm splitting my transaction. What I like about my nearby stop & shop is that they have a self-checkout counter, less hassle for me to argue with a cashier. My head is swimming with possibilities on what I can get for free or on the cheap.

On top of my list are:
1. Ajax dishawashing liquid - it's 1.99, so it will be free after doubler.
2. Yobaby youghurt - 3.99, will be 1.98 after doubler not really free but I'll take it, my crazy toddler loves these.
3. Kraft Bagelful - on sale 2 for $4, Free after doubler - we love love this super yummy!

..I haven't fully scanned my circular yet, need to think of more freebies. lol!

Shoprite - I am liking this store, I've found out that it's better to go on Friday night or Wednesday after 9:00 PM it's quieter that way. They have better deals than Stop & Shop, wished they have dollar doubles though. They only double up to 0.75 (Stop and Shop also automatically doubles up to 0.75). I am seeing that they are selling lysol products on the cheap again, with my 0.75 Q, I will be getting Lysol products for 0.33 (perfect timing I'm running out of these).

I've been jumping with glee every Thursday, twice now I have received the local county paper, inside the paper is a circular for Shoprite, 2-3 circular from other shops and and and one SmartSource insert! Woohoo. This must be the reason why I don't see Smartsource on my regulay sunday paper but will look at other publisher if they have smartsource inserts on them.

Toodles for now, I know I'm babbling nonsense just want to fight my sleepiness off.

Grocery 9/20

Yesterday was a fun shopping trip but darn it I lost my coupon album!!!! Arg! It must have fallen off while I was shopping, I hope someone gave them to the customer service this is the 2nd time that I've lost my coupon stash and I'm still mourning from my first one. Good thing, the other stash doesn't have that much coupon. Due to that, I cave in and finally bought the couponizer to help me get organize! I lost my nabisco/keebler home mailer book I know it's at home but where o where is it! I must get organize..and stash the coupon in one place!

Ok, I lost my receipt so this is just what I can remember on top of my head. I paid $44++ for my weekly grocery from Shoprite and $4++ from Stop & Shop. I don't know how I much I saved but I did get

- 3 Titanium Shaver FREE
- 1 tub of Huggies Wipes FREE (Will be back for more :P)
- 1 30 tabs of Schiff's B-12 Vitamins FREE
- two Healthy Choice meal for 0.50 each

I think I saved $24 on my groceries from Shoprite and $5 from Stop & Shop, not bad indeed. I went crazy with the orange juice LOL! and I still want to get some more! They were at a crazy prize of 1.84 per half galloon and that is a VERY good deal, I bought four already. Since they won't expire until Nov I'm thinking of buying some more, if only I have space! Yiek chugs them down as if they were water and can easily swipe out 1-2 half galloons in a week.

This tuesday, I'm coming back to do deals again.

- 2 Uncle Ben's rice they are having a Catalina deal, buy 2 get 0.75 OYNO and they were on sale for 1.99 each. I need brown rice in my effort to diet. Will use $1/2 Q. Not really a good deal but hey, I need brown rice!
- Compleats, I couldn't find these last time no idea what aisle they are. Will ask customer service this time.
- Huggies Diaper wipes
- Organic Milk ( I 2 kids who need their milk *guffaws*)
- Sundown Vitamins (if I can find coupons) - also a catalina deal, I have 1 $1.25 that the machine spitted out, if only I can find another one.

Walgreens plan for week of 9/13-9/19

I've never done deals at Walgreens as I find their Registry Rewards (RR) restricting but there are so many good deals this week that it would be crazy of me not to give in to the "Deal Craving" lol! I'm planning to do this tomorrow as I am like a zoombie today, no sleep.

Ok first off, I hope that I can get their Healthy Savings coupon book to make my deals sweeter. NJ Walgreens Ad have $3 off 10 Q so whoopedoo!

Below are my planned Deals:

Transaction 1:
- True North Nut Crisps or Clusters @ $3 - 1/1 Q = $2 + tax
(Get back $3 RR)
- 3 One a day Women's O2 (two pack) @ $0.99 = $2.97, reportedly on travel section
(Get back 5 RR)

OOP: 4.97 (get back $8 RR)

Transaction 2:
- Triaminic Cough & Cold (Use $2 Walgreens Coupon if Available) 2/$10 UPC 300436344045
- Carefree PantyShield @ $1.99 - 1/1 Q = 0.99
- Ghirardelli Duet chocolates reportedly clearanced at 0.55-1 (Get Duet and Hazelnut variety) Also, use Walgreens Q from monthly book and will spit out 0.75/2.
- Hershey's Extra Large Symphony Creamy Milk Chocolate (reportedly clearance at $0.50) Buy 2 get 1 RR

OOP: 0 or Tax with 8RR from Trans 1 + 3 off 10 Q NJ only is used (if chocos and 2 off triaminic Q not factored)

Get back $10 RR, a nifty deal indeed.

Now, if only all of the items I listed are available gaaah!Wish me luck? Also, I'll look in my ads if there is a limit per customer on the nuts. I want those nuts to make me nuttier. LOL!

Nifty Magazine Deal

I was browsing through Amazon, deciding if I should get the couponizer or not when I saw their list of Best Selling Magazine Subscription for less than $10. I saw that Good HouseKeeping was priced at $7.97, "hmm...this is a good deal" so I put it on my cart. Yiek joked that I will never be a good housekeeper, whatever!



Lo and behold, Amazon took 50% off my already discounted magazine subscription, making it $3.98/year, it's like paying 0.33 per magazine. A nifty deal indeed.

Somebody stop me from this addiction called online shopping. Help!!!!

Before I start working, let me post about my CVS run last night. I have less than 24 hours to get my Free 12 ECB so armed with a GPS I went to another CVS Store.

This store was bigger that my nearby CVS and their coupon machine is working. The machine spitted out my 12 ECB, $2 off Renu Contact Lens Solution and another coupon which is going to the trash bin. I was excited about the 2nd coupon (oh yeah my life is so babaw) because I'm almost out of contact lens solution. These eyes of mine is expensive! First off I'm almost blind as a bat if I don't wear contacts, I hate wearing glasses and beats me how my grade progressed from 150 to 400 in 3 years! Buying a box of contact lens for $26 every 2 months is not fun at all from a thrifty gal like me.

Ok, back to my CVS run. I really, really wanted to do this deal because I found out that I am so hiyang with the shampoo after trying out the sample that they sent to me. At last I've finally found THE shampoo/conditioner for me. When I was in Pinas, I was hiyang with Lux but sadly that product is no longer avaible. I've tried Herbal Essense, L'oreal, Vibe, Pantene and Suave here but it all made my hair blah. I still have stocks of those at home, but I'm going to ship it off as pasalubong. I'm never going to buy another brand of shampoo again period.

Here is my loot:


- 1 Aveeno Shampoo $6 each
- 3 Aveeno COnditioner (returning back the 3rd and exchanging it for shampoo this sat)
- 1 Aveeno Moisturing Lotion $3.49 (Used 5 $2 Q for all Aveeno items)
- 2 Reese Peanut Butter Cup 2 for $1 (Used 2 $0.55 Q)
- 1 Carefree Pantyshield $3.49 (Used $1 Q)
- 1 Mini stapler $1

Total before coupon (an estimate): $36.47
Total after mfr coupons, 5 off 25 Q and $12 ECB = $5.08 and I got $13.49 ECB back.

They were out of some deals that I wanted to make but nonetheless, I don't need those anyway. I just really wanted the Accucheck Sugar thingy because my Lola is diabetic but I'm sure they'll get them on stock later (forgot to take a raincheck).

Funny thing was the $5 off 25 didn't scanned at first saying I already used the coupon (which I really did), I was just testing the waters if it would scan and I told the guy cashier, "I have another one of that, can you check if it works?", he scanned and it went through woohoo! I was sneaky all right, I brought 2 each printed from different PCs, my plan all along was to show the other printout if the other didn't work. Heh!

Nifty Deals at ShopRite and RiteAid

As promised, I will post my nifty deals today. First off I went to RiteAid (a CVS competitor) an hour before closing at that

I got 3 30-count Zyrtec Allergy meds. Initially, I thought they were out of them but I found out they were placed elsewhere without the sale price tag (clever clever store associates). I don't like going to RiteAid because they are rebate-based which means you spend more on the day you shop and wait at least 30 days to get your rebate. But since this is really a good deal, I went on and did it. I come from a family with severe Allergic Rhinitis and this medicine is a staple on our home in Cebu, too bad I'm immune to them because I've been taking the darn medicines since I was still a virgin highschooler! It would be crazy for me not to do this deal, my Mom bought two bottles of these when she was here to bring to Cebu because they were a lot cheaper.

Total before coupons: 56.97
Used 3 $4 Zyrtec Mfr coupons, 1 $5 Zyrtec RiteAid coupon and 1 5 off 25 Rite Aid coupon
Total after coupons: 34.97 and I will get $25 rebate which brings the total to 9.97.

Now if RiteAid will accept my receipt for Zyrtec rewards (I read that you need to spend $50 worth of Zyrtec tabs AFTER coupons), I will get another $10 making them totally free. But still 9.97 for 3 bottles is a nifty deal.

Then I went to Shoprite (grocery shop) and bought the items below

- 2 loaves of Wheat Bread on sale for 1.50
- 2 velvetta mac & cheese (used B1G1 Q)
- 2 beechnut cereal (used 1 off 2 Q)
- 1 Caffeine Free Classic Coke (because Yiek keeps on pestering me if I bought them)

Total before Coupons: 11.74
Total after coupons: 4.45 (used 5 Catalina that I earned from previous grocery trip) plus I got $1 Coupon/catalina to spend on my next shopping trip. I could not wait for a good deal on the cereal and coke so I got those, I could have saved more if they were on sale.

I then went to CVS, but they were out of Carefree pantyshield and Glade sense & spray, so I walked home empty handed. I might go tomorrow lunch at a store near my office.

My Nifty Diaper Deal

Today, I went to Babies 'R Us to get diapers for my toddler, I have worked out a deal that I was pretty excited to try out.


Before coupons price of 2 Extra Large Baby Dry Diaper (40.99 each) and one 360 count Clean and Go box of wipes(11.49) is 93.47.

Coupons used:
- 2 $1 off Pampers manufacturer's coupon
- 1 $0.20 off wipes
- $7 off when you purchase 1 Value Box of Pampers and one 360-480 count wipes
- $15 Gift Card when you purchase 2 Value Box of Pampers.

Total after coupons: 84.27 if I count in the Gift Card the total is 69.27!

The cheapest I've paid for a box of diaper. It's like paying 34.64 for each box of diapers and getting a box of wipes for free. Now, I wasn't sure if this deal would work because there is a fine print on the $7 coupon that it was not to be combined with other " 'R Us" coupons but but I also read the fine print on the $15 gift card and there was no mention of that limitation. I was very nervous when I was checking out, in fact the cashier told me that it can't be combined. I persisted and pointed out that I don't see it in the fine print, she called her manager and he said it was fine. Yipee!!!! What a nifty nifty deal!

CVS - 7/26

I'm going to make this entry quick since I have to wash the dishes, clean a little of the kitchen and check on my sick (again!) toddler. I wasn't planning on making a deal this week but CVS sent me a $4 off 20 coupon which would expire today so what was I to do but listen to the beckon of the coupon. Lol!

Q = coupon
- 2 herbal essences shampoo and conditioner (Used B1G1 coupon and 1 off Q)
- 1 palmolive dish liquid (used 0.25 Q)
- 1 Caliber Sticky Note (Free after ECB)
- 1 Colgate 360 toothbrush (used 1 off Q, got back 2 ECB)
- 2 Neutrogena Moisture Shine Gloss (B1G1, used 2 and 3 off Q)
- Ardell Brow Shaper (not on sale but I'm out of these and a girl gotta have clean brows right?)

Total cost before coupon: 23.71
Total after coupons and $10 off ECB from last deal: $0.85 and I got back 3.99 ECB

CVS - 7/22

I don't have pictures for this deal since this was done last Tuesday and I've already used the items. We went to my Mom's nursing classmate last Tuesday, had an impromptu dinner at Bbq Pit (A filipino-owned restaurant/turo2). Caleb was such a handful that night super!

I figured since I'm already out, I might as well go to CVS and get the ALLI deal I've been wanting to do. Yiek was so sure that he knew were the CVS was but it turned out to be the wrong store (Walgreens - a competitor) to top if off our GPS was not working so I had to use my handy dandy IPhone to map the nearest CVS store. When I was about to go inside the store, I found out that I have lost my other sandal! I don't trust Yiek to do the deals so I had to go to the store wearing his shoes. I felt like Ronald McDonald because he is size 10 1/2 men and I am a 7. Immediately, I went to the flippers section and chose the cheapest blue slippers that I can find. I had a hard time making this deal because I picked out the wrong pill count, so I had to complain to their dear manager and it took a long time for the deal to push through!

For this deal I got
- 1 90-count ALLI starter kit (49.99) an FDA approved diet pill ... yes I am desperate!
- Two SOBE flavored water (Buy 1 Get 1 - B1G1)
- one flippers (2.99)

I used the ff. coupons:
- 10 off ALLI pills
- B1G1 SOBE - so the SOBE water was free!
- 10 off 50 purchase (a CVS coupon)
- 3.89 from previous ECB

I paid : 28.50 and got back $10 ECB (an estimate since I lost my receipt). To date this is my biggest OOP since I started couponing but the ALLI deal was such a steal and I really need to lose weight anyway.

Free Coffee at McCafe

I got this coupon book from McCafe last Sunday, along with my Smartsource coupon book.
Inside were two coupons for free coffee, love it! I am a sucker for free items especially if it's for my favorite drink in the world COFFEE.
I'm planning to use the coupons this weekend. Yuumm!

Hello!

Hello world. I am new to couponing. I started last week of May when I saw a video feature of the website Coupon Mom on one of our local channel. In the feature they went to a grocery and got $100+ worth of items for pennies, well a quarter to be exact. If she can do it then why can't I! I've always been aware of coupons when a Filipino mom introduced me to them but I just never saw how big the potential could be. Oh, I'd use coupons here and there but I was lazy to organize my coupons.

It was only when I saw the feature that I had an "a-ha" moment. I wasn't aware that there are multiple blogs out there listing out the sales per store, I was always searching for deals but never stumbled on such blogs. I realized that I was using the wrong search words when I did use the correct words, it gave me numerous blogs to subscribe to. So subscribe I did. The next thing I did was subscribe to our local newspaper, I could buy them every sunday but I rather like the convenience of waking up and just getting the newspaper ready to be demolished by me of course and the little one who always manage to sneak up on me and tear some of the ads. Now, it has become part of my daily routine to read thrifty blogs and visualize deals I can do. To date, I have save 100++ on my purchases and it's amazing how many items you can get for pennies or best, FREE!

I'm still learning the ropes and still have a lot to learn. I however realized that there are coupons everywhere I have just not been paying attention to them, you can find them in magazines, boxes, sites that you can subscribe to, auction sites like ebay, grocery stores and even at the doctor's office (I got $12 worth of Enfamil coupons there because some kind soul left it for others to use them).