CVS Trip 2/23

This was an awesome trip.  I had a small disappointment with the cashier, which I have already sent an email to CVS for clarification.  Basically what started my trip to CVS was for the travel size lint rollers.  I have 4 coupons for $1 off ANY Scotch Brand Lint Roller.  Well CVS had travel sized ones for $.99.  (I know you fellow couponers are feeling a slight high right now as you read this!!)

This will be a completely free item!  I put my items in the cart and began to look around for some other great deals.  I get quite a bit in the cart and am very happy with my choices.  I am taking advise from Hip2Save on my choices.  The one thing I always have in my mind is that I have a coupon for the item I should get the biggest one since I am getting a decent deal.  In reality if I get a smaller product and can get it close to free, then that is the better choice.  Just something to think about.

Here is what I got:

I got all of this for $1.61.  How did I do that?  Easy!  I had a total of $15.99 in ECB's with my from previous trips that were getting ready to expire.  The cereal's were 10 for $10.  I have 3/$1 off coupons with the purchase of 3 GM cereals ANY SIZE.  So I paid $.70 each for the cereals.  I had 1/$2 off ANY Right Guard product.  Well these travel sizes were listed at $1.39 each.  So I paid $.39 each!  The dish soaps were on sale for $.99 each, but I didn't  have any coupons for those.  The Johnson&Johnson was on sale for $3.99 but last CVS Trip I had a coupon printed for $1 off J&J products.  The Gillette Shaving cream is also a travel size listed at $1.39 and I had a $1 off coupon.

Now for the tough part.  What happened to those 4 lint rollers?  Well when I got up to the register and had everything scanned, I turned over my coupons like I always do.  When the cashier got to the Lint Rollers coupon, she hesitated.  Then she told me she wasn't going to honor the coupon.  I asked why and she said it wouldn't be "fair".  I then asked her what she meant..."well you will be getting the items for free".  Well I say...:"can you adjust the coupon down to $.99".  "NO".  Why not I say....."Cause my register won't allow me".  "okay" I say....she then wants to know if I still want the items.  I say "no".  She then proceeds to get huffy because she has to cancel out my whole order and re-ring everything up.  By the time I used all my other coupons and my ECB's I paid $1.61 total out of pocket.

I left CVS feeling frustrated but elated at the same time that I am finally getting this coupon "thing".  I immediately sent an email to CVS to see what their policy says about adjusting coupons.  I couldn't find anything specific about coupon adjustment.  But to me this is a moot point.  I can understand if the lint was the only thing I was purchasing, but it wasn't.  What the cashier fails to realize is that CVS is making money off this deal.  They are charging me $.99 cents but they are submitting a coupon to the manufacturer for $1 and they are going to get that $1 plus .08 cents back.

I will keep you posted on what CVS's response will be.

Fresh and Easy Coupons for Las Vegas

Yeah!!

Here's the link to print

Walgreens Deals 2/22

Had fun at Walgreens tonight.  I was there AGAIN due to continued illness.  I got a new prescription for my lingering bronchitis (and now I have sore bones?) and some Ibuprofen for my sore bones.  So while I was waiting for my prescription to be filled I decided to thumb through the weekly and compare it to my coupons.

The only thing that stood out right away was the $.49 movie theater candy boxes and the Mentos.

I got:
8 boxes of Theater Candy
6 packs of Mento's gum (on sale for $.99 each, plus had $.55 cent off coupons! Score)
1 Box Oreo Cakesters
1 Coffee Mate

Prior to my coupons my total was $17 bucks. With my coupons and the $4 RR I ended up paying $7.04 out of pocket!  That's only $.43 per item!

Walgreens trip 2/20

I also had a good Walgreens night!  I am still learning the whole register rewards thing.

I took advantage of the Fusion Razor that still had the register rewards linked to it.  I had a $6 RR from a previous trip that I used and purchased some Dots.  That transaction was $4.69.  I paid $2.99 for the razor and earned $4 in RR back.  So technically for the Razor and candy I paid $.69 out of pocket!

My second transaction was all screwed up as the line behind me was building up and I wasn't paying attention to what was ringing up.  I purchased another Everpure shampoo because the tag on the isle said it was $4.99, but it rang up $6.99.  I had a $2 off MFR Coupon, what I failed to realize is the $4.99 price was associated with the coupon in the WAGs flyer.  I did the same with the Johnson&Johnson soap I bought.  I didn't want to go back to the store as it was late and started raining.  And with it being the last day of the weekly special, I am just chalking this one up to another lesson learned.  Don't let the people behind me frazzle me....I am a paying customer too!

I only spent $13 out of pocket and I picked up a 6 pack spool of Singer Thread ( it was 2 bucks!), 2 bottles of Johnson&Johnson body soap, another big bottle of Purex laundry detergent and 1 bottle of EverPure Shampoo.  I still saved 50% off the bill, but it would have been alot cheaper if I would have not given in to the "lack of customer patience behind me".

CVS Trip 2/20

Had a great CVS trip last night!  I made two transactions and spent a total of $16.33 out of pocket.

1st Transaction was for these 2 Glade products on sale for $6 each.  I used $3 off coupons from Glade and spent a total of $6.97 out of pocket and earned $4 in ECB's , plus a $5 off $15 ECB!  That was the first time I ever scored one of those!

 

2nd Transaction I purchased another 2 Glade products $6 each w/ $3 off coupons.  

Purex Buy 1/Get 1 for a penny

2 Bar Buddies (my Johnson&Johnson coupon wouldn't work for those, they would have been $.39 each!)

2 Boxes Club Crackers on sale for 2/$4 and I had $1 off coupons, so I paid $1 each.

The Purex was priced at $8.99 and the coupon stated would only cover to a max of $7.00.  So I was responsible for the remaining $1.99.  For the 2 items I paid $1 each after the coupon!  Great Deal!

Total Transaction $9.36 and earned $4 in ECB's for the Glade purchases

CVS $25 Gift Card for Transferred Prescriptions!!

IT's BACK!!!!

At least for Nevada Residents!  I was so excited when I got this in the mail today!  I didn't take advantage of this last time as I didn't have anything to transfer.  BUT OH BOY!  I am going to have fun with this!

It won't allow you to print off multiple copies from the internet.  I am hoping this Sunday's paper have plenty of them.  I usually only get 5 papers, but I might get a few more then normal!

This is basically FREE MONEY!!

Walgreens March Coupon Book Preview

Thanks iheartwags for this preview of the March Walgreens Coupon Book - looks like there are going to be some great deals!

Bath & Body Anti-Bacterial Soap Deal!

Great news!  I took advantage of this a while back and still have some soaps remaining.  This is a great time to stock up if you love smelly soaps! Click here to see all the options!

 To make these soaps last a little longer as well, a good idea is to only put these out when you have company over.  I know that sounds "cheezy" or you may even be thinking "tight-wad" , but really when you think about it, you can save a ton of money this way!  Put the cheap stuff out for the everyday use.  Save the fancy stuff for later!

Sears Family and Friends Event!

 

This weekend kicks on the Sears Family and Friends Event! This is a good time to start building up your winter wardrobe for the kids or yourself.  Their clearance section for winter items is CHEAP!!  Click here for more details!

Loving Target!!

My dilemma last night with Target was resolved today!  It was much easier then I thought. 

I spoke with the store manager and explained what happened last night with the coupons.  She was very nice and explained that they couldn't refund the coupons to me as they get sent with the register tally to the accounting group.  Of course my main concern was that I either wanted my coupons back or I was going to return the merchandise. 

The store manager was great to give me a quick resolution.  She asked me how much my coupons were, I responded "$9".  She then proceeded to had me three $3 coupons that don't expire!  So all in all I got the better end of the deal.  I always shop Target anyway, but this was such a nice treatl.  I had prepared myself for a battle, had my armor on, but didn't even get to withdraw my sword!

Coupon Frustration

I had to fill 4 prescriptions tonight so I decided to fill it at Target to take advantage of the $10 gift card deal.  Overall I had a great shopping trip.  BUT - as I looked at my receipt when I got home I noticed about $9.00 worth of coupons that weren't taken off my bill!

I called Target immediately and after being transferred around several times, the floor manager told me I would have to come back and of course they were closing and I had dinner to make, so I told them I would come back tomorrow.  The floor manager said that would be fine.

I am frustrated at myself for not totaling my coupons prior to checking out to make sure that my coupons were credited correctly.

I am also worried that the store will not give me the discount for my items and now I have lost some great high priced coupons.  I am going to check the Target website to see what can be done.

The first person I spoke with at Target said they would have to pull the camera from the transaction to see how my coupons were processed.

The checker was a young man, very friendly and sweet.  He was in a rush and when I went to place one of my bags into the cart I looked back and noticed that he had dropped some of the coupons and quickly picked them back up and started scanning them again.  He had to use the restroom really bad, and I think this was part of the issue. (duh)

I will keep you posted on this and just learn from my lesson! 

Rule #1 Tally up your coupons before you check out!

Give a Day, Get a Disney Day!

I know you have all seen the commercials for Disney's " Give a Day" deal going on for 2010.  I checked into this and found there are some great family volunteering opportunities locally in the Las Vegas area.  I co-homeschool my children with Grandma and am constantly looking for educational opportunities for the kids.  Just click the link below and enter your information to see what opportunities are in your area!

www.GiveADayGetADisneyDay.com

New Moon Now Available for Pre-Order through Amazon!!

 

This is a great opportunity to get the movie at a cheap price!  I am a huge Stephanie Meyers fan and this second movie was awesome!  Order yours here - TODAY!!

Slow Cooker Recipes

Here is a great site that I could spend hours on!  Check it out when you get a moment!

Slow Cooker - Click HERE

Kellogg's Offers

On certain Kellogg's Cereal boxes there is $5 worth of coupons inside!  Be on the look out for these deals at a store near you!  Check out their website for additional printable coupons here.

CVS Savings

Got some great deals at CVS today.  I am still pretty sick but I needed to get a newspaper and of course I always bring my coupon binder with me!

I ended up doing these in 3 transactions to take full advantage of my ECB's:

I was trying to purchase my $12 in Glade products to get my $4 in ECB's, but for some reason I only received $3.  When I got home and looked at my receipt I received $3 in ECB's for the bottle of Glade fabric and air freshener, which I find hilarious as I didn't even know there was an ECB to earn on that.  There was even a sticker on the front saying so.  This is how sick I am...not paying any attention! This purchase Out of Pocket was $10.03 and I earned $3 in ECB's.  The great news is that I now have enough products to qualify for the SC Johnson Rebate, click here to see offer.

My second purchase was my big ECB maker for me as I knew my last transaction was going to be large.

 

 I earned $2 in ECB's on the Shampoo and $2 in ECB's on the Razors.  The Razors had a double bonus since they had $10 in coupons inside!  Sweet!!  And I earned $7 in ECB's on the toothpaste.  So this purchase cost me $11.06 Out of Pocket and I used my $3 in ECB's from the previous purchase.

My last purchase to me was the best deal to me anyway.

The pizza's were on sale for $6.99 and you get the second one for $.01! Plus I had $1 off coupons for 1 pizza.  The Ice Cream's were on sale for $2.99 each and I had $1 off coupons for each one so I got those for only $1.99 each! Whoo hoo! The Shampoo was on sale for $2.88 and I had a $1 off coupon. The Hair Dye was on sale for $5.99 each and I had a coupon for $5.00 off the purchase of 2.  So I got those for $3 something a piece (not to bad!).  My bill was over $40 before I used my ECB's and coupons.  Out of pocket for these purchases was $23.01.

Games at Target

On my recent trip to Target I was able to score some pretty good deals.  I initially went there for some push pins and bread.

1 loaf of Archer Farms Bread $2.03 - $1 off Coupon = $1.03
3 Cans of Right Guard $3.00 each - $.35 off each can making these $2.65 each! (pretty cool) = $7.95
2 pack Covergirl Mascara $4.74 - $1 off Coupon = $3.74 (making these $1.87 each!)
2 Pictura Games $5.99 each, totaling $11.98 - $10 off Coupons = $1.98
3 Sorry Slider Games $5.99 each, totaling $17.97 - $15 off Coupons = $2.97

Total Out of Pocket $17.67

The other great thing is the Games had $5 coupons inside each one for a future game purchase and these don't expire until 2012!

Over all it was good.

I didn't go for the Olay deal as the items to me were too expensive and not something I needed at this time.  Even for the rebate submittable it wasn't worth it to me so I left my coupons on the shelf's for someone else to use.

Avenue Coupons!!

Here's a great deal for Avenue (for my fabulously figured ladies!)

The other day I posted a blog on Home Made Tomato Sauce.

This is a recipe we use when I have spaghetti sauce coming out of my ears and we are tired of noodles and spaghetti.  Click here to view the Spaghetti Sauce Recipe.

Home Made Meatball Subs

Ingredients


4 -6 Hoagies ( I personally enjoy French Bread, what ever is on sale)
1 Jar/Freezer Bad of Home Made Spaghetti Sauce - recipe
1 Bag Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 Frozen Bag Turkey Meatballs- Already cooked (whatever you prefer, you could make them home made)

Unthaw spaghetti sauce and place in a sauce pan on low heat.  Add in bag of meatballs (figure about 4 meatballs per person) and let these simmer together about 15 - 20 minutes.  Prepare Hoagies or Loaf of bread by slicing in half (but not all the way through!).  Add some shredded Mozzarella onto the roll and add about 4 meatballs with a little sauce.  Add some more cheese on top and serve.  One variation I will do is to pop these into the broiler for a few seconds to crust the bread up a little and get the cheese really melted.

There you have it.

These are super simple and filling.

Home Made Spaghetti Sauce

What to do with those Tomato's before they go bad??

Have you ever thought of making homemade spaghetti sauce?

One thing I always do in the Summer time with my left over garden tomato's is make home made spaghetti sauce.  It's so easy and simple!

I usually make roughly about 2-3 Gallons of sauce at one time.  But you can make these in smaller batches if you don't have the same freezing capabilities.  I have a large freeze that I am able to use (besides my stand by in the kitchen).

There are a couple of variations.  You can use regular whole sized canned tomato's if you don't have a fresh garden, fresh tomato's from the farmers market or even tomato's purchased at the regular grocery store (on sale of course!).

I find sometimes when I have run out of garden tomato's that going to Costo to purchase the Large (I think it's 50 oz) can of whole tomato's works just as well.  At my Costo this can of tomato's only costs me about $3 and it makes enough spaghetti sauce for 3 meals.

I will break down the 2 different ways to make the sauce.  If you have fresh tomato's this process will take slightly longer, canned tomato's (obviously) not as long.

Home Made Spaghetti Sauce with Garden veggies

Ingredients:

10-12 large tomato's
1 stalk of celery - diced (celery leaves if you can - they have the best flavor!)
1/2 bag of carrots - diced
8-10 leaves fresh basil - julienned
Oregano = optional
1-2 Bay leaves
1 cup of good white wine ( you can use cooking wine as well)
1 large white onion - diced
6 garlic cloves (chopped) - if you are using already minced garlic this would be about 1-2 tablespoons
1-2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

The biggest stock pot you can find!

Now this is the basic sauce - you are more then welcome to add any other veggies.  Depending on what's available in the garden I sometimes use zucchini, bell peppers, yellow squash.  Use whatever veggie you like.

First you want to get a big pot of boiling water going (big enough to fit the tomato's submerged into water).  Once the water is boiling, add a little salt.  Place the tomato's (whole) into the boiling water.  Watch for a few minutes until you notice the skin on the tomato's starts to split or breakaway. Once this happens remove the tomato's immediately and run under cold water.  This will help pull the rest of the skin from the tomato's.  Set them aside.

In the large stock pot get your olive oil going (med heat).  Add the Carrots first, then onions and celery (or other veggies) last.  Once those have cooked for a couple of minutes add the chopped garlic.  I know that sounds backwards, but I hate burnt garlic.  Since I want a stronger garlic flavor in my sauce, I don't add the garlic until I am ready to add the wine.  Add in the Basil and continue to cook for a few minutes.  Add about a 1/2 cup of the wine first to "deglaze" the pan.  You can add as little or more as you like.  I find for 2 gallons of sauce that 1 cup is good.  You then let the wine cook completely out.  Reduce the temperature to simmer or low.

With the tomato's from earlier you are going to want to put them into a blender or (my favorite) a hand held blender.  If using the regular blender add the tomato's in with a pinch or two of salt and pepper.  You want to chop but not liquefy the tomato's.  You want to get the big chunks out.  As it simmers it will break down additionally.  If you have a hand blender, then you can add the tomato's right to the simmering veggies and then just break down each tomato.  Either way is fine.

Stir everything together to combine - give a small taste test to adjust your flavors.  Like adding more salt, pepper or fresh Basil or even fresh Oregano.  Grab a couple of Bay leaves and throw it into the sauce, add a lid and walk away!  Periodically check every 20 minutes to make sure it's not burning.  You want slow bubbles, but not boiling.  After about an hour your sauce may have reduced slightly.  THIS IS NORMAL!  It's just concentrating the flavors and making it extra yummy!

After your sauce it done cooking.  Let it cool completely!  I like to save a few older spaghetti jars and lids and I will fill up these jars and then place these in the freezer and a couple in the fridge.  The ones in the fridge have lasted me a couple of weeks (meatless) and the ones in the freezer in the jars will last about 1-2 months.  To get the longest storage and if you are restricted by space, then the best thing is to use your gallon size freezer bags.  I will use a cookie sheet and add about 4 cups of sauce to each bag and lay them flat with as much air as possible pushed out of them.  Laying them flat to freeze the first time will help with storing them later as you can then stack them however you like since they will be so flat!  Oh!  And place a piece of wax paper in between the stacks so they will come apart better after they are frozen.  By freezing them this way, you can get the sauce to last about 3-4 months!

You can use this same recipe above for the whole canned tomato's as well, you would just skip the "skin peeling" step.

I hope this was useful information!

Stay tunned for idea's on what other recipes we can make out of Home Made Spaghetti Sauce!

Rebate Offer on SC Johnson Products

Listen to this!

Just purchase (3) SC Johnson products and you can get $5 back!  Click here for details and to get your rebate form.  Plus - you can submit this rebate up to 3 times before 7/15/2010!  Check the rebate form for the details.

Also - if you haven't already...sign up for a membership!  I just signed up and was able to print some great coupons for free Glade products.  Also while supplies last you can register for this:

Cheerios Coupon!!

 

Here is a great coupon print for Cheerios I received in my email tonight.  Thought I would share.  Go here to print this great coupon.  You may even be able to hit the previous screen button to see if the coupon will print twice.

Fresh and Easy Printable Coupon!!

Here is another awesome coupon print from Fresh and Easy this week.  Snatch them up while you can!  Just click Here to take advantage of this great coupon.

New Blog Site!

Since I have started blogging so much about coupons - I figured it makes more sense to have a seperate blog just for my coupon items.  Family and Friends enjoy catching up on our life and sometimes don't care so much about my ECB's or Register Rewards!!

So this site will be dedicated just for couponing and my adventures in deals I get.

I am not going to be putting out Mass coupon deal like you see at many other sites.  I don't have alot of time to commit to this as I work full-time.  I mostly wanted to start this blog to show other women (or guys) that work full time that it is possible to save some money for your family by attacking that grocery bill!

So stay tuned for some more posts!