New 10 point Pampers Gifts to Grow code

If you are a Pampers Gifts to Grow Rewards member, here is a new code worth 10 points:

pampers4momjfm1

Thanks Hip 2 Save!

Go here to join Pampers Gifts to Grow if you are not yet a member- it's a great rewards program where you can get gift certificates and rewards.

Check out the previous Gifts to Grow codes I've posted here.

New Huggies Enjoy the Ride Rewards code

Here is another new Huggies Enjoy the Ride code:

bkjzhtrkcndppgb- 5 points

Go to Enjoy the Ride Rewards to register and enter codes. Make sure to check your videos and polls- you earn points for watching videos and taking polls too!

Thanks Couponing to Disney!

If you are just now joining Huggies Enjoy the Ride Rewards, check out all the previous codes I've posted here to get lots more points! Also, make sure to check and see if you have any new videos or polls to earn more points.

It's Mega Swag Bucks Day!

It's Mega Swag Bucks Day today! This means more Swag Bucks for your same everyday searching. Make sure to check special offers (you don't have to sign up for anything, just browse through them), answer the daily poll and check for surveys each day for one point each- 3 extra points each day do add up!

Another great way to earn points is by printing and redeeming their coupons! I have started using Swagbucks to print all my Coupons.com coupons and I just earned my first 20 points for using coupons yesterday! Each coupon redeemed at the store will get you 10 Swagbucks- this will take some time to show on your account, but they really do show up! I'm impressed!

Swagbucks is a great way to get free gift cards and rewards for everyday internet surfing! My favorite reward is a $5 Amazon gift card for only 450 Swag Bucks.

I don't have the toolbar and still earn tons of points (I don't want any more programs running on my computer). I just keep signed into Swag Bucks all the time and use them to find the websites I'm visiting. Are you signed up for Swag Bucks yet? Do you have any questions for me about it? I was very hesitant at first, but but I've earned almost $200 in Amazon gift cards in the past year!

Sunday Coupon Preview

Head on over to For the Mommas to see what coupons will be in this Sunday's paper- it looks like we can expect a new P&G, Smartsource and 2 Red Plum inserts! It's definitely a good weekend to buy extra papers!

Remember- the coupons can vary by region- the Detroit Free Press usually has better coupons than the Kalamazoo Gazette- always check to make sure your inserts are in the paper before you buy it because nothing is more disappointing than paying for a newspaper with no coupons in it!

42 point Pampers Gifts to Grow code!

If you are a Pampers Gifts to Grow Rewards member, here is a new code worth 42 points:

VMF776C7HMXXT4A

Thanks Hip 2 Save!

Go here to join Pampers Gifts to Grow if you are not yet a member- it's a great rewards program where you can get gift certificates and rewards.

Check out the previous Gifts to Grow codes I've posted here.

DOUBLE points for My Coke Rewards- one day only!

If you have a pile of My Coke Rewards codes left enter online, today is the day. My Coke Rewards is offering DOUBLE points today only, 1/25! I have a whole bag of codes to enter and I thought about doing it last night-- I'm glad I waited!

Earn an $11 Amazon Gift Card from Viewpoints!

If you like Amazon gift cards, here's another way to earn one-- writing reviews at Viewpoints!

- The reviews must be at least 900 characters (NOT words- characters- and there is a character counter so you know how many you have written- it's not as bad as it sounds)
- Must be written between January 20th and January 31st, 2011
- Fall within these categories: Home & Garden, Family & Pets, Health & Beauty, Kitchen (excluding food and beverages), Computers and Electronics.
- Be about real products; inappropriate, copied or bogus content will be removed

Go here to read all the details about the promotion. I had not posted these before because I was hesitant, but I did one of these promotions in December and did receive my $10 Amazon gift card for that one- so these really do come if you follow the directions! The gift card will be emailed to you within a month of the promotion completion.

I have found that cleaning products and baby products were the easiest for me to write reviews about. It really doesn't take very long to do these- I managed to get all 11 done for this promo in a little over 30 minutes...

Thanks Hip 2 Save!

More cooking!

I did a bit more freezer cooking today! I made some Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti for dinner tonight and made enough to have another pan to freeze.

Yummy!

Meijer Shopping!

I stopped at Meijer yesterday to grab some plastic envelopes for my purse and some almost free Mccormick seasoning and stumbled across a great clearance find. Check out the planter I found on clearance for only $3.24! This is perfect for all the balls that are everywhere in my house! I found this in the seasonal department at the Meijer on Westnedge if you're interested- they still had about 8 left!

I can't find my receipts right now to tell you the exact price of all of this, but I think it was around $8 for everything and I have one $2.50 Catalina still to use! I also got 6 different plastic envelopes that were on sale to put in my purse for organizing coupons for each store (Meijer, Target, Rite Aid, Walgreens). I still love my coupon binder, but I often like to just grab the coupons I plan to use on each trip and put them in something. I had too many plastic ziploc baggies floating around in my purse...

If you're interested in the Mccormick seasoning deal, check out the deal at Spectacular Savings.

It's Mega Swag Bucks Day!

It's Mega Swag Bucks Day today! This means more Swag Bucks for your same everyday searching. Make sure to check special offers (you don't have to sign up for anything, just browse through them), answer the daily poll and check for surveys each day for one point each- 3 extra points each day do add up!

It's a great way to get free gift cards and rewards for everyday internet surfing! My favorite reward is a $5 Amazon gift card for only 450 Swag Bucks.

I don't have the toolbar and still earn tons of points (I don't want any more programs running on my computer). I just keep signed into Swag Bucks all the time and use them to find the websites I'm visiting. Are you signed up for Swag Bucks yet? Do you have any questions for me about it? I was very hesitant at first, but but I've earned almost $200 in Amazon gift cards in the past year!

Rite Aid

I had to go out this morning to go to the post office so I figured as long as we were out and about we might as well go to Rite Aid and see if they had anything left.

Mitchum Deodorant- $2.49 (clearance!)
-$.75 off from 1/9 SS
-$2.00 off in-ad coupon
** $.26 money maker! **

4- Dayquil/ Nyquil Sinex- $4.97 (spend $30 in select P&G products get $10 +Up Reward
4- $4.00 off coupons from 12/26 P&G
** $.97 each- $3.88 for all 4 **

2- Bounty paper towels- 8 roll- $6.97 (spend $30 in select P&G products get $10 +Up Reward)
2- $1.00 off coupons from 12/26 P&G
** $5.97 each! **

2- Halls cough drops- $1.50 (get $1 +Up when you buy 2)
2- $1.00 off printable previously available (or $1.00 off 2 from 1/2 SS)
2- $.50 off Rite Aid video values coupons from December & January
** FREE!! Plus $1.00 +Up Reward!! **

2- Soft Scrub- BOGO ($3.99)
2- $.50 off from 1/9 RP
** $2.99 for 2 **

Maalox- $4.39 ($5.49 w/o Wellness Plus discount)- (PLUS $2.00 SCR)
-$5.00 off coupon from 1/9 SS
** $.61 money maker PLUS $2.00 SCR! **

$79.92 before Wellness Plus savings, sales and coupons
-$30.09 Wellness Plus savings and sales
-$1.00 off $1.00 Video Values coupons
-$29.75 coupons
-$16.00 previously earned +Up Rewards
=========================================
$3.08 OOP
-$1.26 left on gift card from transferring prescription
=========================================
** $1.82 OOP!! PLUS $2.00 SCR AND $11.00 in +Up Rewards earned!

I really do NOT need any more Sinex, but I knew that by adding that to my order I could stock up more on paper towel and get the $10 +Up Reward. I also grabbed another Maalox so my mom could get that rebate... It never fails that each time I go to Rite Aid expecting them to be out of everything, they have everything I'm looking for-- this trip went as planned- which is pretty rare at Rite Aid!

New Pampers Gifts to Grow code

If you are a Pampers Gifts to Grow Rewards member, here is a new code worth 10 points:

4WJDHKU4RPP6PT2


Thanks For the Mommas!

Go here to join Pampers Gifts to Grow if you are not yet a member- it's a great rewards program where you can get gift certificates and rewards.

Check out the previous Gifts to Grow codes I've posted here.

Saving time and money!

Today I decided to do some freezer cooking. A couple other blogs I follow are into freezer cooking/ meal swaps and I figured it was time I gave it a try. I have one recipe for stuffed shells that I've used before that makes one pan to eat and the other to freeze so I figured I'd try that and one chicken recipe I haven't made in a LONG time.

This could have been planned better around sales and such but I wanted to get this done today. I made a quick trip to Meijer and to the meat store and got started... it took me less than an hour and I have a big pan of shells for dinner tonight, two more pans for two more nights, teriyaki chicken for this week and a bag of teriyaki chicken to freeze for another night. PLUS, I had some extra meat/cheese filling from the shells so I made some more noodles (I ran out of shells) and put the filling on the noodles and some sauce to freeze for another meal! That's a total of 6 meals made ahead!

It was great! I did this all before noon- the kids were great- since it was early in the day they stayed busy playing with their toys and I got all this cooking done. This is definitely the way to go-- my kids are usually terrible when I'm getting dinner ready- they're usually hungry and it's the end of the day- but this-- cooking dinner at and before/during lunch- was perfect!

Check out Heather from Spectacular Savings and her freezer cooking/ meal swap tips. You can also check out Once a Month Cooking for freezer cooking tips and menus. I just used recipes I already had... let me know if you want me to post the recipes.

Have you tried freezer cooking yet?

Ebates PAYS you money to do your online shopping!

Ebates is a free rewards program that pays you cash rewards for shopping online. There are TONS of available stores and as long as you sign up for Ebates and use their site to get to the site you are shopping on, you earn a percentage back for each purchase! Some of my favorites are Shutterfly (10% back), Old Navy (4%), Target (3%) and Diapers.com (1-4%). There are tons of stores, so before shopping, definitely check this site because there are WAY too many to mention.

The only thing you have to do different when shopping is going through the Ebates site to get to the site where you are shopping. Each quarter you earn rewards, and after $5 in earnings each quarter you get a check in the mail (the pay schedule is listed on their site). If you don’t earn $5 in a particular quarter you don’t lose your earnings, they just don’t pay out until you hit the $5 mark… Go here to sign up and start earning!

It's a great, simple program that pays you money for normal online shopping. I've been a member since last February and I earned over $20 in rewards ($5 of that was my free $5 for joining) on my first check. When you sign up, you get $5 added to your account, but in order to get paid out you still have to earn $5 in rewards. If you have questions, email me or leave a comment... it's really easy and it's another great way to get paid for something really easy!

Walmart Cookies deal

I got an email from a friend in Battle Creek today who was shopping at Walmart... he wanted to give us all the heads up about a clearance find!

Here's what he had to say:
When I was at Wal-Mart this morning, I was looking at their clearance section, and they had a lot of Pepperidge Farm cookies clearanced. they were holiday sugar cookies, gingerbread men, and some of their regular cookies, just in holiday bags. They were all marked down to $1.00. If you get on the Pepperidge Farm web site, you can print a coupon for $1.00 off any cookies (twice). I got 3 bags of cookies, and one box of gingerbread men this morning for free.

Thanks Jody!

Has anyone else checked out the Walmart clearance yet? I went to Target today and struck out in the clearance there... maybe I need to make a wine run to Walmart this weekend! They sell Blue Heron the cheapest- $4.96 a bottle!

Printable Coupons

I just wanted to let you know I haven't been posting as many printable coupons as I used to (and like to) post. Lately the coupons seem to be out of prints very quickly and by the time I get them posted, they are gone or gone shortly after. Like the one earlier for $3.00 off trash bags... gone already!

I'll try to be better about posting them immediately after I see them, but just know that the good coupons seem to be here and gone quickly right now so if you happen to see one, get all your prints while you can.

$3.00 off Glad Force Flex trash bags!

Go here to print a coupon for $3.00 off any one Glad Force Flex trash bags.

There had been a $2.00 off coupon for these a few weeks ago and I was able to get some of these trash bags really cheap (close to free) at Rite Aid... so this is definitely one worth printing!

Thanks Totally Target!

Bob Harper DVD 24-36 hour update...

I do consider myself to be fairly in shape- especially considering that I am carrying around a few extra pounds and I run 10-12 miles a week-- however, that Bob Harper workout really did kick my butt the other night. Last night (about 24 hours post workout) my husband was having a great time teasing me for the way I was walking around the house- my legs are so sore!! This morning, before I even got out of bed I could feel the tightness and pain in my left and butt...

Now I do like some pain after a good workout to know the workout did something, but when I have to wait to workout again until the pain subsides, that starts to irritate me. I'm hoping I feel at least a little better to get a run in tonight, but I'm just not too sure yet! Then, once I'm back to 100% I'll try the DVD again!

It's Mega Swag Bucks Day!

It's Mega Swag Bucks Day today! This means more Swag Bucks for your same everyday searching. Make sure to check special offers (you don't have to sign up for anything, just browse through them), answer the daily poll and check for surveys each day for one point each- 3 extra points each day do add up!

It's a great way to get free gift cards and rewards for everyday internet surfing! My favorite reward is a $5 Amazon gift card for only 450 Swag Bucks.

I don't have the toolbar and still earn tons of points (I don't want any more programs running on my computer). I just keep signed into Swag Bucks all the time and use them to find the websites I'm visiting. Are you signed up for Swag Bucks yet? Do you have any questions for me about it? I was very hesitant at first, but but I've earned almost $200 in Amazon gift cards in the past year!

Sunday Coupon Preview

Head on over to the Sunday Coupon Preview to see what coupons will be in this Sunday's paper- it looks like we can expect at least Procter & Gamble insert. I have also read that there is a possible Smart Source insert as well. I usually do get several copies of each P&G insert since I can often get their items FREE at Rite Aid.

Remember- the coupons can vary by region- the Detroit Free Press usually has better coupons than the Kalamazoo Gazette- although you have to double check because the Free Press is starting to eliminate the Redplum insert in some areas outside of Detroit.

Bob Harper

One of the areas I'm focusing on this year is working out more often and getting ready to do some 5K (hopefully longer) runs this year. Now that my youngest is sleeping better (by better I mean maybe 50% of nights) I have a little more energy and I am really trying to get a good workout in on most days. I ran 3 nights in a row and tonight I was not really in the mood to run so I figured I'd try out the new Bob Harper Cardio Conditioning DVD. Wow- I haven't yet decided if I'm happy I did it or not.

I have to admit, I was afraid to try the DVD. After buying the DVD, I read more reviews on it and everyone said how they thought they were pretty in shape and they couldn't make it through the entire DVD the first time. Well, I don't like to wimp out on things like this, so I was determined that I was going to do the whole thing. Let me just tell you that 64 minutes with Bob Harper is a LONG time- BUT I did it!! The reviews also said how they always thought Jillian was the tough one but now they think Bob really is the tough one- I would agree that I now feel that way too!

I'm not sure where I was going with this posting... I do have to say though it was a great workout and I burned over 700 calories and my heart rate stayed up the entire time (I always work out with my heart rate monitor). I'm glad I got this DVD but it will not be one that I do every day like I can with the Jillian workouts. The people in the video were pretty bad though- their form was bad, they were always doing their own thing and they guy looked like he was ready to pass out and couldn't keep up. I'm not sure if that was done on purpose (to motivate you) or if they were just lazy and didn't want to film again to get better footage... I am pretty sure though that even as a first timer I had better form and stamina than two of the people on the DVD.

Oh... and the DVD went on sale this week at Target so I'll be going back in to get my price adjustment! They are great about adjusting prices when items you buy go on sale right away- just bring in your receipt and they will give you the difference!

And another Walgreens trip

You really can get good deals at Walgreens, but I don't like Walgreens like I like shopping at Rite Aid. It's just trickier- Rite Aid involves more math & logic (coming up with deals and scenarios- which I'm good at) and Walgreens is just plain tricky. I feel like I'm doing something shady having to hand over certain coupons before others and I don't like having to add filler items if you have lots or Register Rewards.

Here's what I'm talking about- their in-ad coupon takes off the coupon for as many items as you purchase. It says limit 3, but I know it works for at least 4 because that's what I bought today. You want to give your in-ad coupon last, otherwise your coupons might beep, and you can get overage from using in-ad coupons as long as you give them last and the cashier takes them in that order. Yesterday, I had a cashier that did the in-ad coupons first, so I decided not to buy the items since it wasn't as good of a deal. Today, I got a cashier that let me give her the coupons in my order to make sure they scanned right. I still screwed up my transaction a little, but I ended up with a lot for very little!

4- Stayfree Maxi- $6.79 each
$3.00 in-ad coupon
2- BOGO coupon from 1/9 SS
2- $1.00 off printable coupons

$27.16- 4 @ $6.79 each
-$6.79 BOGO
-$6.79 BOGO
-$2.00 (2- $1.00 off coupons)
-$12.00 in-ad coupon (HAVE to hand this over last and have a good cashier so they take the full price off for the BOGO coupons)
** $.42 overage! **

2- Reach Total Care Plus Whitening Toothbrushes- $4.79
BOGO coupon from 10/10 RP
$2.00 in-ad coupon

$9.58- 2 @ $4.79
-$4.79 BOGO coupon
-$4.00 in-ad coupon (HAVE to hand this over last and have a good cashier so they take the full price off for the BOGO coupons)
** $.79 for both **
I could have done better on this one. I planned on buying 4 toothbrushes, and they only had 3 in the store. I only grabbed 2, so I couldn't use the $2.00 off 2 printable coupon I planned to use. I had a stack of $1.00 off Reach toothbrush coupons in my car- not in the store- and I could have used one of those to make it $.21 overage.

2- Reach Dental Floss- $3.99
-$2.00 coupons from 10/10 RP
-$2.00 in-ad coupon

$7.98- 4 @ $3.99
-$4.00 coupons
-$4.00 in-ad coupon
** $.02 overage **

Cottonnelle TP- $5.00

$51.50 before coupons and discounts
-$20.00 in-ad coupons
-$23.57 coupons
-$5.00 Register Reward redeemed
===========================
$2.93 OOP ($1.78 of this was tax!)

If I would have had that extra toothbrush coupon, I would have had overage so that's why I threw in the TP at full price. As long as you have other items at Walgreens to offset the overage, you can get the overage... either way I still ended up with a great trip- I mean- $2.93 for $51.50 in products?? I use to pay more than $2.93 for just the TP!

Um.. yes, another Rite Aid trip

Yes, I did go back to Rite Aid for a third time this week. I wanted more granola bars since I have over $40 in +Up Rewards to spend... so I went to the other store in town (Cork St.) and they had plenty!

6- Quaker Chewy Granola bars- 2 for $5.00 (get $2.00 +Up Reward)
** $15.00 OOP PLUS $6.00 +Up Rewards earned! **

Maalox Advance Tablets 35 ct- $3.59 ($4.49- I get 20% discount) (PLUS $2.00 SCR)
-$5.00 off from 1/9 SS
** $1.41 money maker (my cashier didn't adjust this down PLUS $2.00 SCR!! **

$27.37 before coupons and discounts
-$8.64 Wellness Plus savings and sales
-$5.00 coupon
-$1.00 off $1.00 purchase coupon
-$12.00 previously earned +Up Rewards
======================================
$.73
-$.73 gift card for transferring prescription
======================================
** FREE!! PLUS $6.00 in +Up Rewards earned AND $2.00 SCR!! **

And a little Walgreens shopping too...

I also made it to Walgreens on Tuesday. I didn't get everything I wanted, but I earned a $5.00 Register Reward so I'll try another store another day. That is one nice thing about Walgreens- there are several stores really close so if one doesn't have something another probably will.

Bic Triumph Pens- $1.99 sale
-$2.00 off coupon previously available here
** FREE!! **

Children's Go-Kids Gummy Vitamins- $5.00 (get $5.00 Register Reward)

$12.10 before discounts and coupons
-$4.99 sales
-$1.99 coupon
==================
$5.12 OOP PLUS $5.00 Register Reward Earned!

Another Rite Aid trip!

I did end up going back to Rite Aid this morning... they had said they had a truck coming in yesterday and I figured I'd give it a try. The only thing I looked for that they had back in stock was Special K, so I figured I'd buy even more-- the expiration date isn't until this fall so I figure we have plenty of time to eat them!

2- Special K Original- $4.79 BOGO sale (PLUS $1.00 +Up Reward for EACH box!!)
2- Special K Red Berries
-2- BOGO printable coupons
** $.30 for each 2 boxes since coupon maximum is $4.49! $.60 OOP for all 4 boxes PLUS 4- $1.00 +Up Rewards earned!! **


$17.96 before coupons and discounts
-$9.58 Wellness Plus savings and sales
-$8.98 BOGO coupons
========================
$.60 OOP
-$.60 Rite Aid gift card from previous promotion
========================
*** FREE!!! PLUS $4.00 in +UP Rewards earned!! ***

A free but a bit disappinting Rite Aid trip

I went to Rite Aid Monday to pick up some things... and the only thing they had that was on my list was 2 boxes of granola bars. They were out of everything else- and these were the last 2 boxes of granola bars. They were suppose to get a truck yesterday (Monday) so I may stop back in today... we'll see.

2 Quaker Granola Bars- 2 for $5 (get $2 +Up Reward when you buy 2)
** $5.00 OOP PLUS $2.00 +UP Reward **

$7.58 before coupons and sales (apparently their regular price is $3.79)
-$2.58 Wellness Plus savings and sales
-$1.00 off $1.00 Video Values coupon
-$4.00 previously earned +Up Rewards
=====================================
*** $0 OOP PLUS $2.00 in +Up Rewards earned!! ***

And another Rite Aid trip...

So, I got my printer back up and running so I was able to get a couple more prints of the Special K BOGO coupon. I had a bunch of +Up Rewards, and figured I'd check out the selection at the other Rite Aid in town. They also had a good supply of Special K so I figured I'd get more... I don't want to be greedy and clear any shelves (which I didn't- there are tons left), but I also figure I might as well stock up on cereal while I can. With 2 little guys and a dog who likes to clean up after (or steal from while) they eat, I hate spending lots of money for cereal or snacky foods-- so much gets wasted! I also wanted to finish up my Resolution Rewards this week because I knew it would be easy with the sales and all their +Up Rewards...

Transaction #1

4- Special K Cereal- $4.79 regular price- $3.83 with my 20% Wellness Plus discount (PLUS get $1.00 +UP Reward for each one PLUS $5.00 +Up Reward for buying 4!)
2- BOGO printable coupon
$1.00 off 2 coupon from 01/02 RP
** $6.66 for 4 boxes PLUS $9.00 in +UP Rewards!! **
~~~ when I did this yesterday, the $5.00 +UP Reward didn't generate- it seems to be specific to which type of cereal you buy- today I bought 2 regular Special K and 2 Special K red berries and it worked... buying granola seems to not work (or at least didn't for me yesterday) ~~~

Coke- 12 pk cans- $5.29 regular price, $4.23 with 20% discount
FREE product coupon from My Coke Rewards
** $1.20 OOP (deposit) **
Plus this item counts towards the Rite Aid Resolution Rewards!

$25.65 before coupons and discounts
-$4.90 Wellness Plus savings and sales
-$4.00 off $20.00 Video Values coupon
-$12.89 coupons
-$3.00 previously earned +Up Rewards
==================================
$.86 OOP
-$.86 gift card from transferring prescription
==================================
*** FREE!! *** PLUS $9.00 in +Up Rewards earned **

Transaction #2

Huggies Little Movers- $19.99 regular price- $15.99 with my Wellness Plus 20% discount (PLUS $2.00 +Up Reward)
-$1.00 off coupon on box
-$2.00 off Video Values coupon
** $12.99 OOP PLUS $2.00 +UP Reward **

12 rolls of Christmas wrapping paper- 75% off
4 @ $.49
4 @ $.99
4 @ $1.49
** $11.88 for 12 rolls of Christmas wrapping paper! **
(my son kept "helping" me put this into my cart so I didn't pay too much attention to what I was getting)

$69.42 before coupons and discounts
-$40.00 Wellness Plus savings and sales
-$3.00 coupons
-$1.00 off $1.00 Video Values coupons
-$18.00 +Up Rewards redeemed
=================================
$7.42 OOP
-$7.42 gift card from transferring prescription
=================================
*** $0 OOP!! PLUS $2.00 +Up Reward for the diapers AND $20.00 from Resolution Rewards! **


Total for everything pictured:
$95.07 before coupons and discounts
-$44.90 Wellness Plus savings and sales
-$5.00 Video Values coupons ($4 off $20 & $1 off $1)
-$15.89 coupons
-$21.00 +Up Rewards redeemed
==================================
$8.28 OOP
-$8.28 gift card from transferring prescription
=================================
**** $0 OOP!! PLUS $2.00 +Up Reward AND $20.00 +Up Reward (Resolution Reward)!! ***
I love shopping at Rite Aid!

After all the Christmas wrapping this year my wrapping paper was getting pretty low. I usually stock up at Target, but my store was out right away this year, and when I walked into Rite Aid today (the Cork St. store) they had a ton on clearance! The patterns were pretty good and so I figured I'd stock up-- it was all +Up Rewards and my prescription transfer gift card- nothing out of pocket.

Now I'm done for the week... no more shopping for me-- I need to stop and eat some cereal!

Walgreens Shopping

I wanted to get my Register Rewards used up because I just don't like them... so I stopped at Walgreens today.

$17.29 before sales, coupons and RR's
-$7.99 sales and in-store coupons
-$7.50 Register Rewards redeemed
===============================
$1.80 OOP!

Not too bad for 2 Jif peanut butters and Tidy Cats litter!

It's MEGA Swag Bucks Day!

It's Mega Swag Bucks Day today! This means more Swag Bucks for your same everyday searching. Make sure to check special offers (you don't have to sign up for anything, just browse through them), answer the daily poll and check for surveys each day for one point each- 3 extra points each day do add up!

It's a great way to get free gift cards and rewards for everyday internet surfing! My favorite reward is a $5 Amazon gift card for only 450 Swag Bucks.

I don't have the toolbar and still earn tons of points (I don't want any more programs running on my computer). I just keep signed into Swag Bucks all the time and use them to find the websites I'm visiting.

Meijer Shopping

I was going through printable coupon withdrawal... my printer ran out of ink a couple days ago and I had a ton of stuff I had sent to the printer that I couldn't print. So, I called a couple stores for prices on ink cartridges for my printer today- I ended up just getting it at Meijer- it was the same price as everywhere else but I got a $10 Gift Card for spending over $29 on HP ink! Thanks Heather at Spectacular Savings for posting that one! I was planning on going to Meijer anyways so this worked just fine..

I did 2 transactions so I could get my gift card and use it towards my groceries.

Here are my totals from everything pictured...

$145.30 before coupons and discounts
-$27.11 sales
-$19.86 coupons
================
$98.33
-$20.00 Gift card from Christmas
-$10.00 Gift card from buying HP ink
===============
$68.33 OOP! Not too shabby for $145.30 worth of groceries AND an ink cartridge!

If you want to see matchups for this week, follow the links on the top left corner of the blog... most of what I bought was on sale, there were a few items that were not on sale that I had coupons for, and a couple things I had to pay full price on (stick butter & butter spread). PLUS, if you consider that $35.97 of my total was the ink cartridge, I got a lot of groceries for really cheap!

Plus, now that there's ink in my printer I could print all my coupons that were pending for the printer!

Show me your deals!

I think I'm not the only one off to such a great couponing start in 2011... does anyone have any deals you would like to share? Do you have a super shopping trip picture? Please email it to me so I can post it-- sarahspendsless@gmail.com

I'll be posting ANOTHER deal picture later today-- I did some Meijer shopping today and I was prepared with a list and coupons! I've been so bad about couponing at Meijer lately, but I'm back on track now!

Target shopping too!!

I saw this deal on Give Me Neither and had to try it for myself... I love my Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred but figured I could mix it up a little and see what Bob Harper has to offer...

3- Quaker Instant Oatmeal (pretty big tubs)- $2.04 price cut (normally $3.64!)
3- $1.00 off coupon from 01/02 RP
3- $1.00 off Target printable
** $.04 each!! **

Bob Harper Fitness DVD- $12.99 (there were 2 on sale for $10 but of course the one I wanted- Cardio Conditioning- wasn't on sale!)
$5.00 off Bob Harper Fitness DVD when you buy 3 Quaker breakfast items- Target coupon
** $7.99 **

$24.39 before coupons and discounts
-$4.80 price cuts
-$11.00 coupons
======================
$8.59 out of pocket! Not too shabby for 3 big tubs of oatmeal and a workout DVD!

More Rite Aid Shopping!

I couldn't pass up going back to Rite Aid.. they were just so well stocked and I had coupons that I just couldn't wait to use.

Here's what I did:

4- Special K Cereal- $4.79 regular price- $3.83 with my 20% Wellness Plus discount (PLUS get $1.00 +UP Reward for each one PLUS $5.00 +Up Reward for buying 4!)
2- BOGO printable coupon
$1.00 off 2 coupon from 01/02 RP
** $6.66 for 4 boxes PLUS $9.00 in +UP Rewards!! **
~~~ when I did this yesterday, the $5.00 +UP Reward didn't generate- it seems to be specific to which type of cereal you buy- today I bought 2 regular Special K and 2 Special K red berries and it worked... buying granola seems to not work (or at least didn't for me yesterday) ~~~

Coke- 12 pk cans- $5.29 regular price, $4.23 with 20% discount
FREE product coupon from My Coke Rewards
** $1.20 OOP (deposit ** Plus this item counts towards the Rite Aid Resolution Rewards!

$25.65 before coupons and discounts
-$4.90 Wellness Plus savings and sales
-$4.00 off $20.00 Video Values coupon
-$12.89 coupons
-$3.00 previously earned +Up Rewards
==================================
$.86 OOP
-$.86 gift card from transferring prescription
==================================
*** FREE!! *** PLUS $9.00 in +Up Rewards earned AND now I've "spent" $66.18 towards the $20.00 Resolution Rewards!

Continuing on with my great start in 2011- Rite Aid was stocked!

I'm very excited to start this new year with lots of energy for couponing (and many other things!). I stopped at Rite Aid this morning to see what I could find... I was hoping I could get some Special K with some BOGO coupons I printed. I went into the store and didn't get a cart- expecting to walk back and see empty shelves-- and was I ever wrong! I could barely walk through the aisle because it was full of boxes full of cereal- I had to go back and get a cart. They were stocking the cereal and had plenty for me to get and leave plenty for others!

Here's what I ended up doing...

First Transaction:

4- Special K Cereal- $4.79 regular price- $3.83 with my 20% Wellness Plus discount (PLUS get $1.00 +UP Reward for each one)
2- BOGO printable coupon
** $7.66 for 4 boxes PLUS $4.00 in +UP Rewards **

2- Kelloggs Frosted Mini-Wheats- 2 for $5.00 (PLUS $1.00 +Up Reward when you buy 2)
-$1.50 off Frosted Mini-Wheats printable previously available
-$1.00 off Frosted Mini-Wheats printable previously on coupons.com
** $2.50 for 2 boxes PLUS $1.00 +Up Reward!**

$28.74 before coupons and discounts
-$8.42 Wellness Plus savings and sales
-$3.00 off $20.00 Video Values coupon from December
-$5.00 previously earned +Up Reward
-$10.16 coupons
============================
$2.16 OOP
-$2.16 GIFT CARD from prescription transfer last week
============================
*** $0 OOP!! PLUS 5- $1.00 +Up Rewards earned!! ***
Plus, as I was checking my +UP Rewards and my list, I saw that I didn't get a $5.00 +Up Reward I was expecting for buying $15 in Special K cereal-- I mentioned it to the cashier and she said she wasn't surprised so she gave me a $5 gift card as we were searching through the ad... we didn't see that $5 I was expecting but we did see where other Special K products (shakes, etc.) generated a $5 +Up Reward. She went ahead and gave me the gift card anyways though!

Second Transaction:

Huggies Little Movers- $19.99 regular price- $15.99 with my Wellness Plus 20% discount (PLUS $2.00 +Up Reward)
-$2.50 off coupon from homemailer
-$2.00 off Video Values coupon
** $11.49 OOP PLUS $2.00 +UP Reward **

4- Special K Cereal- $4.79 regular price- $3.83 with my 20% Wellness Plus discount (PLUS get $1.00 +UP Reward for each one)
2- BOGO printable coupon
** $7.66 for 4 boxes PLUS $4.00 in +UP Rewards **

$40.11 before coupons and discounts
-$7.84 Wellness Plus savings and sales
-$5.00 previously earned +Up Rewards
-$12.16 coupons
==============================
$15.11
-$5.00 gift card from previous transaction
-$10.11 prescription transfer gift card
==============================
*** $0 OOP again!! PLUS $6.00 MORE in +UP Rewards to use! **

Total for both transactions:
$68.85 before sales and coupons
-$16.26 Wellness Plus savings and sales
-$3.00 Video Values coupon
-$10.00 +Up Rewards
-$22.32 coupons
=========================
$17.27 OOP
-$17.27 Rite Aid gift cards
=========================
*** $0 OOP!! *** PLUS $6.00 more in +Up Rewards to use!

PLUS Rite Aid is doing a Resolution Reward when you spend $100 (before coupons) in certain advertised products and after these two transactions I have $46.63 towards that! Rite Aid shopping is so much fun! I'm so excited that they were well stocked and I got some great deals!

On a couple blogs I saw the Special K deal being done using the BOGO coupons and $1.00 off 2 coupons-- the cashier refused to let me use both since the $1.00 off coupon was off 2 items- this is one that is going to depend on your cashier.

Starting the year off with some Walgreens deals!

Here's what I did at Walgreens today... I normally avoid Walgreens deals because I think their Register Rewards are a bit more tricky than Rite Aid +Up Rewards, but I couldn't pass up a great opportunity to stock up on dishwasher detergent!

Electrasol Finish Gel-packs or Powerball tabs (20 ct)- $3.49 (PLUS get $1.50 Register Reward)
-$2.25 coupon from 01/02 SS insert (not in all papers)
** $1.24 OOP PLUS $1.50 Register Reward!! **

$5.70 before sales and coupons
-$2.00 sale (the regular price of these is $5.49!)
-$2.25 coupon
=====================
$1.45 OOP PLUS $1.50 Register Reward earned!

I did this FIVE times!! The store I was at was well stocked, I had the coupons and there wasn't anyone in line behind me so I did five separate transactions to total:

$28.50 before sales and coupons
-$10.00 sales
-$11.25 coupons
===========================
$7.25 OOP PLUS $7.50 in Register Rewards earned!! This should definitely keep me stocked for a little while on dishwasher detergent!

I watched the Extreme Couponing show on TLC last week and although it was a bit exaggerated, it definitely inspired me to get a bit better about stockpiling when I can get items for free or close to free. I'm getting back on track for 2011!

2010...

I know I keep making excuses why I have not been blogging as much... but the past 2 months have been just plain crazy! Here's a summary of what we have been up to the since Mid-November...

November- my birthday, my hubby's birthday (2 days apart), Thanksgiving
December- quick trip to Washington DC, my oldest son's birthday, my youngest son had surgery (tubes in ears/ adenoids removed), 2 birthday parties for my son, my graduation (Master's degree!), 4 Christmas parties, Christmas, a new niece... I think that's about it!

Now, it's January and I feel like we're off to a great start. My hubby and I spent the weekend cleaning and organizing our house. Last year we actually had to hire someone to help us organize and clean (which was WELL worth the price!) but this time we're doing it on our own- and we made a lot of progress.

Next, it's time to get back into couponing full strength! I'm working on a major purge and reorganization of my coupons- yes, I am sad to admit that I never cleaned out my binder the end of November. So not only do I have to get rid of all my expired November coupons but I also have to get rid of all my December coupons. Oh well... it was a crazy busy time so I have to just move forward and get back to spending less!

Tracking all your savings...

Last January I wanted to find a way to track my savings from coupons and sales... I found a GREAT savings tracker that Angela at The Coupon Project created. I had been using it all year, until the craziness of the past month caught up with me. I still have to locate all my receipts from the past 6 weeks or so and enter them. I would highly recommend downloading it and using it-- it's also a great place to track rebates. I always keep a copy of submitted rebates but I like to keep it on the spreadsheet also and keep track of which ones are still outstanding.

As of the last time I entered my receipts, I was at an average of 63.2% savings for the year-- my goal was 60%. Hopefully with the rest of my November and December receipts I didn't blow that-- there's a chance I did since I have not been real good about grocery shopping with coupons lately.

Rite Aid Shopping- 12/31

I had a prescription at Target to refill, and I had another coupon to get a $25 gift card for transferring a prescription to Rite Aid. I figured I'd avoid paying my annual prescription deductable right off at the start of January so I transferred the prescription to Rite Aid and figured I'd make $25 for filling a prescription I already was planning on filling. And, since I was going to Rite Aid, I should probably just go ahead and spend $25 on something because I still have a couple $5 off $25 Redplum coupons that expired 12/31. I needed paper towels, and had my $20 Gift of Savings Reward... so here's what I did.

2- Bounty Paper Towels- 15 pack- $12.97 (spend over $20, get a $5 +Up Reward)
2- $1.00 off Bounty Paper Towels from 12/26 P&G
** $11.97 each PLUS $5.00 +Up Reward for buying 2 **

Now, I'm not sure how this totally worked because all my coupons excluded prescriptions but since I bought the paper towels in the same transaction as my prescription, but I actually got some money off my prescription AND made money!

$63.63 before coupons and discounts (includes a $25.00 prescription)
-$12.04 Wellness Plus savings and sales
- $5.00 off $25.00 coupon
- $2.00 manufacturer coupons
- $20.00 Gift of Savings Reward
===================================
** $24.59 OOP for my prescription- somehow this took the coupons off my prescription total-- making a $.41 money maker for the paper towels!! **
*** PLUS I got a $5.00 +UP Reward AND I have a $25.00 gift card to spend!! I love Rite Aid!! ***

No, I didn't get the cat at Rite Aid... the fat cat is mine- that's Rocky and he would NOT get out of the way for this picture!

Pampers Gifts to Grow Code

If you are a Pampers Gifts to Grow Rewards member, here is a new code worth 10 points:

F9779FYAHFJRYCN

Thanks Hip 2 Save!

Go here to join Pampers Gifts to Grow if you are not yet a member- it's a great rewards program where you can get gift certificates and rewards.

Check out the previous Gifts to Grow codes I've posted here.

December Rite Aid Summary

Not the best month for me at Rite Aid... but I'm still happy with it. I had a couple bigger out of pocket things- the Pillow Pet and the humidifier alone were close to $40 OOP- plus my razor refills... and a big battery stockup. Still a good month, but not what I've been doing the past couple months at Rite Aid. The month really got away from me because you can see I only have 4 pictures to post for the month-- that's not very much for me!

$277.72 before coupons and sales
-$82.09 Wellness Plus discounts and sales
-$33.00 $5 off $25 coupons/ $1 off $1 coupons/ $3 off $15 coupons/ $4 off $20
-$52.50 coupons
-$31.00 previously earned +Up Rewards
=====================================
$79.13 out of pocket

$10.00 SCR earned= $69.13 after rebates!

PLUS I'll got a Holiday Gift of Savings Reward to use! I definitely would like to get back to another month of making money for the month shopping at Rite Aid in January... we'll see what I can do!