Secrets to Happy Couponing #3

This is the third in a four part series. You will find the first two posts here and here.



• Buy ahead. Most stores have a 6 to 8 wk cycle when items will come up on sale again. Figure out how much you will need to keep you for that amount of time.
• Plan your menus according to the sales and what you have in your pantry. You can look at the following websites for menu ideas for the items you have. All of them have a feature where you can input the ingredients you have and it will generate a list of recipes that use those ingredients. http://www.allrecipes.com/ , http://www.supercook.com/ , http://www.recipematcher.com/ .
• Wait to use your coupons when items are at their lowest prices. Here are some good places to get coupons: Coupons dot com (this is my link-when you go here, I receive a tiny renumeration for every coupon you print), http://www.smartsource.com/, http://www.redplum.com/. If you are looking for specific manufacturer coupons that are not printable, you can order them from The Coupon Clippers (link is at the bottom of this page. I am an affiliate with them, so any purchase you make going through my link gives me a renumeration as well. Every little bit helps!) or on http://www.ebay.com/.

I hope this series is helping you to save more on your everyday needs! Please leave a comment if you have a site to share, or any tips to share. Thanks!

Publix

Week of August 31 (or Sept. 1^st) to Sept. 6th (or Sept. 7^th )

Reminders:

• You may use one manufacturer and one store or competitor coupon.
• You may use two coupons for Buy One Get One deals.
• Each Publix has their own list of competitor coupons they will accept .
• You can print most printable coupons twice, by hitting the back arrow 3 to 4 times.

Here are the best deals I see at Publix this week:

BOGO Buy One Get One Deals

With printable coupons:
Newman’s Own Pasta Sauce 15 to 24 oz., BOGO $2.69

-$1/2 Newman’s Own printable

 Mueller’s Pasta 12 to 16 oz. BOGO $1.47

-$.55 Mueller’s printable (register)

All Ultra 2X Laundry Detergent 32 to 50  oz, BOGO $5.99

-$.50 All printable (zip 32312)

French’s Mustard 14 oz. BOGO $1.47

-$.30 French’s printable

V8 Splash 64 oz. BOGO $2.99

-$1/2 V8 printable

-$1/2 V8 printable

Uncle Ben’s 14-15.8 oz. BOGO $2.29

-$1/2 Uncle Ben’s printable (Facebook)

-$1/2 Uncle Ben’s printable

Smart Balance Spread 7.5 to 8 oz. BOGO $2.59

-$.75 Smart Balance printable

GM Cheerios 10 to 14 oz. Box BOGO $3.99

$1/2 Cheerios printable

Cheez-It Baked Snack Crackers or Party Mix or Snack Mix 9.75 to 14 oz. BOGO $3.29

$1/2 Cheez-It printable

Breyer’s Ice Cream 48 oz. BOGO $5.99

$.50 Breyer’s Blast printable

Hungry Man Entrees 13 to 16 oz. $3.69

$1/2 Hungry Man  printable

Glass Plus Glass & Multi-Surface Cleaner BOGO $2.49

$.50 Glass Plus printable

Other BOGOs I like without printable coupons:

Hellman’s Mayonnaise  30 oz. BOGO $4.73

Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce, 18 oz, BOGO $2.49

Gatorade Thirst Quencher 64 oz, BOGO $2.50

Kraft Barbecue Sauce 16.25 to 18 oz, BOGO $1.33

Kraft Dressing 14 to 16 oz, BOGO $3.39

Lay’s Potato Chips 10 to 10.5 oz, BOGO $4.29

Snyder’s of Hanover Pretzels 10 oz, BOGO $2.99

Mt. Olive Pickles 16 oz to 46 oz, or Pickle Pak 4 pk, BOGO $2.79

Lawry’s 30 Minute Marinade 12 oz, BOGO $3.15

Publix Sour Cream 16 oz, BOGO $1.45

Betty Crocker Cookie Mix, 17.5 or 17.9 oz pouch, BOGO $2.79

Planters Peanuts, 16 oz jar or can, BOGO $3.39

Arnold Sandwich Thins, 8 or 16 ct, 12 oz pkg, BOGO $3.69General Mills Chex Mix, 8.75 oz or Gardettos, 8.6 oz bag or Bugles, 6 or 7.5 oz bag, BOGO $2.59

Ball Park Beef Franks, Regular, Bun Size, Fat Free, Grillmaster, or Jumbo, 14 to 16 oz, (excluding Angus and Deli), BOGO $4.49

Publix Deli Tea Gallon, BOGO $2.59

Sabra Hummus, 4 pk or 10 oz tub, BOGO $3.99 Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps, 7.2 oz (excluding Chocolate and White Chocolate), BOGO $3.39

Publix Deli Southern Style Potato Salad, 16 oz, BOGO $2.69

Cool Whip Topping 8 oz, BOGO $1.67

Mrs. Paul’s Fish Sticks or Clams 8 to 11.4 oz, BOGO $4.49

TGI Friday’s Appetizers 7.6 to 11 oz, BOGO $3.35

Kellogg’s Eggo Pancakes or French Toaster Sticks or Mini Muffin Tops or Cinnabon Pancakes, 12.7 to 16.4 oz, BOGO $2.79

Dixie Plates or Bowls, 20 – 48 ct, BOGO $2.65

Bic Multi-Purpose Lighter 1 ct or 5 ct Lighter, BOGO $3.49

Other good deals with printable coupons:

Chobani Greek Yogurt 6 oz, 10/$10

-$.30 Chobani printable

International Delight Coffee Creamer 32 oz, 2/$5

-$.55 International Delight printable

Pillsbury Ready to Bake Cookies, 16 oz, 2/$5

-$.50 Pillsbury printable

-$.50 Pillsbury printable
Kraft Yellow or White American or Sharp Cheddar Singles, 12 oz, 2/$5

-$1 on Publix Bread WY Kraft Singles printable

Jolly Time Popcorn, 4.8 to 9 oz, 10/$10

-$1/2 Jolly Time printable

Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper 4.4 to 7.5 oz, 10/$10

-$.80/4 Betty Crocker printable

-$.80/4 printable

Knorr Sides 3.8 to 6.4 oz, 10/$10

-$1/2 Knorr printable

Stouffer’s Entrees (including Bistro and Farmer’s Harvest), 4/$10

-$ Stouffer’s printable

Banquet Meal 6.75 to 10.25 oz, $.99

-$.50/2 printable (code 63829897)

Viva Paper Towels 4 to 8 pk, $6.99

-$1/2 Viva printable  (Facebook)

Hillshire Farm Deli Select Lunch Meats, Ultra Thin, Low Sodium, or Hearty Slices, 8 to 9 oz, 3/$10

-$.55 Hillshire Farm printable  (Facebook)

Other good deals without coupons:

Birds Eye Vegetables 9 to 16 oz, 50% off

Heinz Tomato Ketchup 32 to 36 oz, 2/$4

Bush’s Best Baked Beans, 21 to 28 oz, 3/$5

Reynold’s Wrap Aluminum Foil  37.5 , 2/$5

Pork Spareribs, $1.99/lb

Boneless Ribeye Steaks, $6.99/lb

Publix Premium Semi-Boneless Ham Half, $1.99/lb

Ground Chuck, $2.99/lb

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, $2.99/lb

Sweet Corn, 10/$3

Red or White Seedless Grapes, $1.69/lb

Publix Baby Cut Carrots, 16 oz, 4/$5

Tomatoes on the Vine, $1.69/lb

Red Seedless Watermelon, $4.99

Florida Avocados, $1.49

Broccoli or Cauliflower, 2/$4

Barlett Pears, 10 lbs/$10

Secrets to Happy Couponing #2

This is the second in several posts. Yesterday's post started this series on Secrets to Happy Couponing. You can find it here.

• Don't be brand loyal. The biggest mistake we make is sticking with one brand. Since I started couponing, I have tried many new brands and items that I would not have tried without the coupons. I now have a greater list of brands I like because I ventured off my regular path.
• Look for clearance items (figure out where the store you shop in puts their clearance items). Hint: My Publix has a little kiosk, Walgreens has an aisle and sometimes on the end caps, CVS puts carts near the registers and Target sets theirs in the perimeter...all outside endcaps. I try to carry my coupons with me, if I can match a coupon with a clearance item that is usually a bonus.
• Find a few blogs to follow. There are many bloggers doing all the research for you. Find a couple that you like. I will soon give you a list of some of my favorite blogs.

I hope this series will be helpful to you. These are some of the things that have helped me cut my grocery bill in half. Happy Shopping!

Walgreens for Next Week

Coupons.com has a printable coupon available now that will get you free deodorant (after coupon and RRs) starting on September 4th at Walgreens. It is the end of the month and we do not know if this coupon will be available again in September. So go print it now, so you do not miss out on this deal next week! See link below.

Here is what the deal will be:

Buy Mitchum or Lady Mitchum 1.5 or 2.7 oz. $2.99 get $2 RR
use $1 printable

Pay $1.99 + tax OOP
Get $2.00 RRs

Free Chick-Fil-A Breakfast

From September 6th- Sept 10th you can get a Free Chick-Fil-A breakfast entree.

You must put in your reservation TODAY by 8 PM!!!
Breakfast is served from 6:30 AM to 10:30 AM.
One per person and you must RSVP.

Go here to reserve your spot.

CVS

Week of August 28 to September 3, 2011

• Don't forget to bring your CVS card. It is the key to all things CVS
• You may use one manufacturer and one store coupon per item.

Need more information on shopping at CVS, go here.

We are participating in Kingdom First Mom's $5 Challenge

I don’t see a whole lot to get excited about this week at CVS. But here is what I came up with:

Buy St. Joseph Enteric Coated Aspirin 81 mg 36 ct.. $2 get $2 ECBs limit 1 (if you don’t need this, donate it)

Buy Oral B Super Floss 50ct. , Ultra Floss, Satin Floss 55 yds or Satin Tape 27 yds $1.99 get $1 ECB limit 2

Pay $3.99 + tax

Get $3 ECBs

One other deal that could be good:

Visine is BOGO prices start at $2.43

-$3  w/ hydroblend printable

-$3 tired eye printable

-$2 Summer spectrum printable

-$2  off 1/2 oz or larger product or wipes printable  (use 32312 zip code)



Walgreens

Week of August 28 to September 3, 2011

Reminders:

• You may use one manufacturer coupon and one store coupon combined to purchase an item.
• Register Rewards are considered manufacturer coupons.
• You will not get a RR if you use a RR you received to purchase the same product again. Use it for something else that yields you RRs.
• You must have the same number of items as coupons you are using.  Use inexpensive filler items to make this work.

Go here if you want to learn more about shopping at Walgreens.

We are participating in Kingdom First Mom’s $5 challenge

Scenario

Transaction #1

Buy Buy Carmex Lime Twist or Vanilla Lip Balm $1.50

Use $1 RR from above transaction

Pay $1.50 + tax

Get $1.50 RR

Transaction #2

Buy  1 Playtex Gentle Glide or Sport Tampons $3.99 get $1 RR

One Filler item (see below for ideas)

Use -$1 Gentle Glide printable or

-$1 Sport printable

 And $1.50 RR from above.

Pay $1.49 + cost of filler+ tax

Get $1 RR to use for next week.

Some good filler items this week are:

Ajax cleanser $.59 with in ad coupon

Penway Highlighter $.09

Penway Wooden Ruler  $.19

Geisha Mushrooms or Madam Mandarin Oranges $.50 with in-ad coupon

Wexford or Corner Office Legal pads, Rose Art Glue Sticks 3 ct or Jumbo 1 ct.  $.49 with in-ad coupon

Wexford 2 pocket folder with prongs 6/$1 (buy one for $.17) with in-ad coupon.

Secrets to Happy Couponing

Today I am starting a new series. I am calling it Secrets to Happy Couponing.

I will start off with a few easy things you can do to keep your grocery bill down. When I talk about groceries, I mean food, paper products, and toiletries.

• Plan, plan, and plan.
• Begin by making a budget or plan for how you will spend your money. I know that college students typically do not like to plan. This is a very important step, do not skip it!
• Use cash when you go shopping. This will help you to not go over your alloted amount. Did you know that when people use debit cards, they spend more than when they pay with cash?
• Shop more than one store. By this, I do not mean run all over town to every discount store you can find. Schedule going to different stores. You need at least one grocery store that you frequent. But you definitely need to add a drugstore into your shopping (Walgreens, CVS or Rite Aid). Shopping the sales at the drugstores is how I actually get many things for free or nearly free! I am attempting to keep you up to date with the best sales at Walgreens and CVS to get started.

Come back tomorrow for more Secrets to Happy Couponing!

Walgreens

Use this Colgate Coupon at Walgreens this week!

Walgreens has Colgate Gum Defense Toothpaste 2/$6 with $4 RR

Use 2 of these:

$1.50 off Printable

Pay $3 OOP

 with $4 RR back

CVS

Week of August 7, 2011 to August 13, 2011

See the Weekly Ad here 

This is a good week for purchasing shampoo or shave cream:

Garnier Fructis 3/$10

Spend $10 and get $3 ECBs

Use 3- $1 Printable 

or $1 Printable

or $1 Printable 

OOP $7 + tax (for three bottles)

Get $3 ECBs

You can use your ECBs to purchase some of these:

Skintimate Shave Gel or Cream $1.99

Use $1.50 Printable

OOP $ .49 each

Walgreens

Week of August 7, 2011 to August 13, 2011

See the Weekly Ad here 

I am participating in Kingdom First Mom's $5 Challenge

#1 Buy 1 Keri Lotion, $5.99


Use 
1 $2 Printable 


OOP $3.99 + tax


Get  $5 RR

# 2 Buy 1 Crayola Crayons 24 ct. $1 get $1 RR

  

and 2 Printworks Multipurpose Paper  400 sheets $1.99 with in-ad coupon

(This can help with all the coupons you will be printing)

and a filler 

use your $5 RR  to pay

OOP price of the filler + tax and 

Get $1 RR to use next week or for something else you need this week.

Some great school supplies and fillers this week:

Penway or Wexford #2 Pencils 10 pk $.19

Penway Mechanical Pencils 10 pk $.39

Index cards (100), Penway or Wexford Erasers, Sheet Protector, Poly Portfolio or Binder, 5 tap divider $.39 each

It’s Academic Scissors, Elmers 2 pack glue sticks, Elmers glue 4 oz $.29 with in ad coupon

 

Publix

Week of 8/3/2011 or 8/4/20011 to 8/9/2011 or 8/10/2011

I am trying to include items in my list that offer printable coupons for you.

Printable coupons run out of prints. It is best to print them as soon as you can.

BOGO

Totino’s Pizza Rolls, 40 ct. $3.99

-.40/2 Printable 
-.50/2 Printable

Gorton’s Grilled Tilapia Fillets, or Salmon, 6.3 oz, $4.49
-$1/2 Printable 

Marie Callender’s Pot Pie, 40 oz, $7.49

-$1/2 Printable  make a purchase and enter code
Lance Crackers, Cookies or Captain’s Wafers, 6-14 oz, $2.79
-$1 Printable if cracker creations are included.

Nabisco Munch Packs, Variety or Single Serve Tray, or Kraft Handi-Snacks, 12-15 ct., $5.99

Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil, Heavy Duty, 18 in. 75 sq ft., $5.99
-.75 Printable

Publix Salad Blends, 5-12 oz, $2.50

Fresh Broccoli, $2 ea.

Beefsteak Tomatoes, $1.49 lb

Perdue Fit & Easy Boneless Chicken Breast, $2.99 lb

Publix Thin-Sliced Lunch Meats, 16 oz, $4

Ball Park Beef Franks, 14-16 oz, $3 does not include: Angus & Deli Style

Oscar Mayer Basic Lunchables, 3.7-4.5 oz., $1.50

Yoplait Yogurt, 4-6 oz cup, 60¢
-.40/6  Printable
-.60/8 Printable

Publix Large Eggs, 18 ct., $2

Pillsbury Ready To Bake! Cookies, 16 or 16.5 oz, $2.50
-$1.10/2 Printable 

-.50/1 Printable

Kellogg’s Fiber Plus Bars, 6.3 oz, $2.50
-$1/2 Printable register

Dole Fruit Fruit in Gel, or Parfait, 4 pk, 4 or 4.3 oz cup, $2
-.50/1 Printable If dole fruit bowls are also included?

Nabisco Crackers, Ritz Crackerfuls or Wheat Thins Stix, 5.5-10 oz, $2.50
-.75 Printable  (in Spanish, Imprimir means print)
-.75/1 Printable FACEBOOK

Campbell’s Condensed Soup, 10.5-11.5 oz, $1
excl. Won Ton, Cream of Shrimp, and Oyster Stew
-$1/5 Printable

Dove Hair Care Products, 4-12 oz, $2.79
-$1.50/2 Printable
Aleve Pain Reliever, 50 ct., $4.49
Look for 30% more free packages
-$2 Printable

ChapStick Lip Moisturizer, Lip Balm or Refill Pack, .15 oz, $1

Publix Paper Plates, 24-55 ct., or Paper Bowls, 20 oz 25 ct., $2

Bic Mechanical Pencils, 10 ct, $1
-$1/2 Printable

$35 Procter & Gamble Coupon booklet available now.

 You may go here to request your booklet full of coupons for

cleaning products by Procter & Gamble.

 You can sign up for these every 30 days!

$1/2 Bic Stationery Coupon

I found a coupon for pens in a most unusual location.

You will find a $1/2 coupon for Bic pens at the Campbell's site.

No telling how long it will be available.

Don't forget to save the coupon for a sale.

There are a few other good coupons there too!

JC Penney

JC Penney Coupon Available

There is a printable coupon for $10/$25 at this link.

It is good from Aug. 3-6, 2011.

CVS

Week of July 31, 2011 to August 6, 2011

Buy 2 Skinny Cow Candy Singles $.99 each get $.99 ECBs
Use B1G1 printable coupon  (like them on Facebook)
OOP = $.99 + tax
ECBs earned $.99

Some other good deals if you have coupons from the newspaper.

Revlon Super Lustrous Moon Drops, Color Burst Lip or Top Speed Nail (excludes clearance) $5.79 get $3 ECB Limit 6
Buy 2 above
Use $1/1 SS 07/17/2011
and/or $3 off $10 beauty item coupon, prints out at kiosk (when you scan your CVS card)
OOP $8.58 + tax
ECBs earned $6

Gillette Fusion Proglide $9.99 get $5 ECBs
Use $4 PG 07/31/2011
OOP = $5.99
ECBs earned $5

Bic Soleil Shimmer Razor Starter Kit or Cartridge, 4ct. $5.99 get 3 ECBs
Use $3 SS 07/10/2011
OOP = $2.99
ECBs earned $3

Buy 4 Coke Products get $3 ECBs (12 pk, 12 oz cans)
makes it $2.50 per pk.  

Blockbuster Codes

 

Here are some codes

 for Blockbuster Kiosk .

46SVEM9

 38TGAF7

 23BCRD3

 75JGMM3

 38BRAB5

All these codes expire on 08/05/2011.

Soul Surfer is out on DVD today.
We have not seen this yet, so guess what we will be doing tonight?
However, these codes will not work for new releases!

Learning CVS

Learning CVS

Another well hidden secret is CVS’s Extra Bucks program. For this program you need a card. You may go into CVS and request a card. Once you get your card you should go online and register it here  .Then every time you go to CVS you will want to scan your card at the special kiosk. When you scan your card one or more coupons will print out. These coupons are for use at CVS only. Sometimes it is dollars off a certain amount in purchases, at other times it is cents off a purchase of a specific product. You can combine these coupons with your manufacturer coupons for added savings.

CVS runs similar sales and promotions to Walgreens. However, they have a limit on how many deals you may get. Usually only one or two per card. Your card keeps track of your deals. Instead of receiving a separate catalina (or monopoly money) at CVS your Extra Bucks or ECBs print at the bottom of your receipt. Often, an additional money saving coupon might print. The good thing about ECBs is that they don’t expire as quickly as RRs.

If CVS is out of the item you are purchasing they will give you a raincheck to include the ECBs. CVS also has a little plastic leaf card that you can add to your keychain. This must be purchased. This gives you $1 in ECBs every third swipe. They will swipe this every time you bring your own bag to bag your items in.

So for CVS shopping you will need the Weekly Ad, your card and your coupons.