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