How Do They Know??

The scene at our house last week upon returning home from grocery shopping-

Yes, mini Dingo bones were on sale, and yes, I picked some up. It seems Gizmo knew they were in that Rite Aid bag as soon as we walked through the door.

He then gave me the look. The look says, "I'm not stupid Mom, I know what's in that bag. What's more, I know that you know that I know what's in that bag."

Inevitably, he's got to bark at that bag. I imagine he's growling, "Get. In. My. BELLY!".

Time to bring in the big guns. He's recruited his brother to stare at the bag as well. I was planning on giving them a bone after dinner that night, but unfortunately, I was persuaded to give them their bones. Right then.

I heart Chihuahuas :)

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Why I Coupon

Combos, Playtex Tampons, Brawny Paper Towels, Finesse Shampoo and Conditioner, Lady SpeedStick, Sally Hansen Insta-Dry and Complete Salon Manicure, M&M's, Reese's Mini's, Softsoap Hand Soap, Irish Spring Body Wash, Softsoap Body Wash.

I thought instead of the usual weekly breakdown on my haul, I would use this opportunity to talk about why I still coupon. Some people I encounter give me that "Girl, you crazy" look when I tell them I coupon. There was a time when the hubby and I had to coupon. When we first moved to Kentucky, we had some serious budgetary issues and money had to be saved. Now that the hubby has a great job, I think people assumed I would stop couponing. Nope.

I had some minor complications with my haul this weekend, and I was seriously bent out of shape. First of all, I was seriously disorganized. I hadn't cleaned out my binders or cut up my coupons from last week. I put my list together hastily. At Rite Aid, my coupons had expired the day before. At CVS, I made a math error when putting my list together. I tend to be one of those people who gets seriously bothered when things don't go perfectly. Which is often in life. So after the drug stores, I was feeling crummy and inadequate. I was still feeling bummed about my haul until this morning, when I sat down to crunch some numbers on the haul.

For this week's haul, I paid $27.73. The total value of the products was $78.29, which means the total percentage of savings on my haul was 65%. That's really not that bad, and not an unrealistic percentage of savings. Unbeknownst to you all, I buy a lot more when I shop than what I picture. What I picture are items that I bought with coupons. It's rare to get coupons for fresh veggies and fresh meat, and veggies are the bulk of what I buy at the grocery store. Another fact that I don't talk about- my weekly maximum budget is $100. I almost always try to spend less than that, because any money leftover in my budget goes into the coupon savings account. I also transfer any money saved from coupons and/or sales into my coupon savings account. Most stores will list on their receipt how much money you saved with sales and coupons. So, as an example, I spent $83.16 last week. I got to transfer $16.84 plus the $69.70 that I saved with coupons/sales into my savings account. For a crummy week, that's still a good amount of money. It all adds up.

To put all this in perspective, let's go back in time about 7 years. I was working crazy hours, I was at work more than I was home. I didn't do any kind of sales planning. I just made a quick list of meals I would make for the week, and then buy what I needed. Willy nilly. Most weeks, I spent $150-$175 on groceries. For 2 people! I want to bawl like a baby sometimes, when I think about all the money I threw away. And that didn't even include my personal items for the month (shampoo, conditioner, makeup, etc.). If you add up all that money over a year- that's about $7200 in groceries. Not to mention, another probably $100 a month for cosmetics ($1200 a year!). That's $8400. Yowsa. If you took what I spent this week (and said I spent that every week) that would be $3,991.68. That's a serious, serious difference. A $4,408.32 difference, to be exact. So, it really wasn't that bad of a week after all.

The hubby and I have benefitted greatly from couponing. Since starting a savings account to keep track of our savings last year, we were able to make such a large down payment on our brand new appliances that we are making our last payment on those next month! We've also been able to build our couponing account back up to over $2000 already. We are hoping to pay cash to fence in our backyard next summer, and I think that goal is completely do-able.

So for me, the whole couponing thing is not about getting a lot of junk for free. It's not even about being a cheapskate. It all comes down to good common sense. I used to fork over that $4,408.32 that I now save to stores. These days, I keep it for myself.

August's First Haul

St. Ives Apricot Scrub, Vaseline Spray & Go, Bounty Paper Towels, Downy, Skittles, Starburst, Revlon Nail Polish, Scuunci Elastics, Colgate Toothbrushes.

I've been bad lately when it comes to couponing. I've been keeping up (but barely), and I haven't been super-excited by the sales all summer, so my hauls have been very small. And uninspiring, as you can tell from the frequency of which I've been posting about them. I was in dire need of fabric softener this week however, so that motivated me to find other sales. You know, since I would be at the store anyway. In the end, I'm glad I sucked it up, and schlepped out to the store. My find of the day that had me very excited? Free Skittles and Starburst at Kroger! I love me some freebies :) Here's the breakdown for the week:

CVS:

Colgate Toothbrushes, 2 for $5.98 (Buy 2, Receive $2 in ECB's)

-used (2) $1 off any Colgate toothbrush coupons

Revlon Nail Polish, $4.99 (Buy 1, Receive $3 in ECB's)

-used (2) $1 off any Revlon Color Cosmetic coupons

-Used $4.50 in ECB's, paid $7.46 out of pocket, and made $8 in ECB's.

Rite Aid:

Scuunci Hair Elastics, $2.99 (Buy 1, Receive $2 in UP's)

St. Ives Apricot Scrub, $4.49 (Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off and Buy 2, Receive $2 in UP's)

-used (2) $0.75 off St. Ives Apricot Scrub

Vaseline Spray and Go Moisturizer, $5.99 (Buy 1, Receive $2 in UP's)

-used a $1 off Vaseline Spray and Go Moisturizer coupon

-Used $4 in UP's, paid $9.21 out of pocket, and made $6 in UP's.

Kroger:

Starburst and Skittles, 2 for $1

-used (4) $0.50 off 2 Starburst or Skittle packs (doubled to $1- free!)

Bounty Paper Towels, $5.99

-used a $1 off Bounty DuraTowels coupon

Downy Fabric Softener, $3.99

-used a $3 off 3 Downy products coupon, and a $1 off Downy Kroger e-coupon.

-Paid $12.96

Total Spent- $29.63 on 82.40 worth of product. Savings of 64%.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! :)

A Long Weekend, a Stomach Virus, and a Coupon Haul

Downy Fabric Softener, Puff's, Bounty Basic, Secret Clinical Deodorant, SoftSoap Body Wash, Crest Toothpaste, Covergirl Jumbo Pencil Lip Balm, Dawn Dish Soap

Oh, goodness. It's been a hell of a last couple of days. On Friday (of our long 4th of July weekend) the hubby came down with a stomach virus. He was better by Monday, however, the evilness hit me on Sunday night. I was in the middle of making dinner, when I got very, very light-headed. I went to lay down, and within 2 hours, I was throwing up. Among other things... Here it is Wednesday, and I've woken up extremely disappointed that I'm still sick, and seemed to have developed a sore throat. Argh. The debilitating part of this virus is that's taxing to be on your feet for more than a couple of minutes without getting light-headed. I'm super annoyed, I've got lots to do around here. I haven't cooked or baked at all this week, the blog has been neglected,  the house needs to be vacuumed, muscles need to be worked out, etc.

Luckily, I was able to complete the grocery shopping and couponing for the week on Sunday before I got sick. Unfortunately, I just haven't had the energy to open my computer and use those little click-y, buttons to type actual English words. I've got a small list of goals to try and accomplish today, blogging being numero uno on that list. I actually had a good haul this week. My stockpile was running perilously low on fabric softener, dish soap, those little kleenex boxes for the bathroom, and paper towels. So, as you can see, this was a much needed haul. Here's the breakdown for this week:

CVS

*All items purchased under "Buy $30, Receive $10 in ECB's" promotional event.*

Dawn Dishsoap, $0.97
-used (4) $0.25 off any Dawn product
SoftSoap Body Wash, $2.99
-used a $2 off SoftSoap Body Wash CVS store coupon
Covergirl Jumbo Lip Balm Pencils, $9.29 (Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off)
-used a $4 off 2 Covergirl Lip Products coupon
Secret Clinical Deodorant, $9.99 (Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off)
-used a $5 off 2 Secret Clinical Deodorants coupons, and a $2.50 off a $12 Deodorant Purchase CVS store coupon

*Also used my $5 Beauty Bucks reward, and $2 Spring Spending Reward*

-used $10 in ECB's from last week, paid $4.28 out of pocket, and made $10 in ECB's.

Rite Aid

*All items purchased under "Buy $30, Receive $10 in UP's" promotional event.*

Bounty Basic, $0.99
-used (4) $0.25 off any Bounty product coupons
Puffs, $0.99
-used (2) $0.25 off 3 Puff's small boxes coupons
Downy, $3.99
-used a $3 off 3 Downy products coupon
Crest, $5.79 (Buy 1, Get 1 50% off)
-used (2) $0.75 off any Crest toothpaste coupon

-used $5 in UP's from last week, paid $20.54 out of pocket, and made $10 in UP's.

Total Spent- $24.82 on $102.23 worth of product. Savings of 76%.

Happy Hump-Day Everyone!

Couponing Haul: 6/16/13

All Laundry Detergent, Colgate Mouthwash, Maybelline Nail Polish, Covergirl Eyeshadow Pencil and Nail Polish, Dentyne Gum. Sorry, you can tell the sun was super bright that day on the one side of my picture!

The hubby was in desperate need of Powerade, so we took advantage of the low(er) price at Kroger.

Hillshire Farm's Smoked Sausage for $0.68 at Kroger! Smoked sausage is nice to have on hand for cookouts, soups, breakfasts, etc. We don't eat a lot of it (not so healthy), so these should last me quite a while.

 I'm back with a couponing update! It's been awhile since the hubby and I have done a couponing haul. We had about a month there where all of our extra dollars (down to the last penny) were being spent on the yard. C'est la vie. Plus, the sales have sucked the last couple of weeks. Now that my stockpile is built up, I'm not going to pay just anything for certain products. I wait until the sale is really good, then I pounce. My stockpile is low on dishwasher soap, fabric softener, canned tomatoes, canned green beans and corn, and canned beans. I keep watching for a sale on any of these items, but to no avail the last couple of weeks. I'll be there, lurking in the shadows, waiting for my prey... Ok, I know I'm a weirdo, so here's the breakdown for the week:

CVS

Colgate Mouthwash, $5.79 (Spend $10 on Colgate, Receive $5 in ECB's)
-used (2) $2 off Colgate Mouthwash coupons
Covergirl Nail Polish, $6.29
Covergirl Eyeshadow Pencil, $7.79 (Spend $10 on Covergirl, Receive $3 in ECB's)
-used a $3 off 2 Covergirl products coupon
Maybelline Nail Polish, $4.19
-used (2) $1 off Maybelline Nail Polish coupons, a $2 off Maybelline Cosmetics CVS store coupon, and a $1 off Maybelline Cosmetics CVS store coupon.

*Used a $5 off a $30 purchase CVS store coupon

-Used $14 in ECB's from last week, paid $3.04 out of pocket, and made $8 in ECB's.

Rite Aid

Colgate Mouthwash, $5.99 (Buy 1, Receive $3 in UP's)
-used a $2 off Colgate Mouthwash coupon
Dentyne Gum, 2 for $2 (Buy 2, Receive $1 in UP's)
-used (3) Buy 2, Get $1 off Dentyne Gum coupons

-used $4 in UP's from last week, paid $2.79 out of pocket, and made $6 in UP's.

Kroger

Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage, $1.68
-used (3) $1 off Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage coupons
Powerade, $0.79
All Laundry Detergent, $2.99
-used (3) $1 off All coupons

-Paid $23.81

Total Spent- $29.64 on $103.35 worth of product. Savings of 71%.

A good week, if I do say so myself. Happy Hump Day everyone!

Coupon Haul: 5/12/13

Pantene Shampoo, Kashi Go Lean Cereal, Crest Toothpaste, Pantene Conditioner, Venus Razors,  Mentos UP2U Gum, Physician's Formula Eyeliner and Lipgloss, Revlon PhotoReady Primer.

I've been busy, busy, busy. Not with anything particularly important, its just that the hubby had the last 4 days off. We had a very lazy weekend, watched movies, ate indulgently, and drank even more indulgently. To say I'm feeling sluggish today would be an understatement. Ugh.

I did have a very good weekend couponing. I got some expensive product for very little dinero. I don't know if Kroger has changed their coupon policy lately, but I'm noticing e-coupons go through even when I have a manufacturer coupon. It's very strange, it means I got a few things for free! I went with it. I also completely ran out of my primer, I was so lucky to find a good deal on it. Here's my breakdown for the week:

CVS-

Revlon PhotoReady Primer, $13.29 (Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off)
-used (2) $2 off Revlon Face Products manufacturer coupon, a $3 off any $10 Revlon purchase CVS store coupon, and a $3 off any $12 makeup purchase CVS store coupon.
Mentos UP2U gum, $1.57

-used $10 in ECB's from last week, paid $1.50 out of pocket, and received $5 in ECB's from the Magic Coupon Machine.

Rite Aid-

*Physician's Formula Cosmetics- Spend $15, Receive $10 in UP's*

Physician's Formula pH balanced lip gloss, $6.96
Physician's Forumla Felt-Tip Marker eyeliner, $9.95

-used $10 in UP's from last week, paid $6.91 out of pocket, and made $10 in UP's.

Kroger-

Venus Disposable Razors, $5.99
-used a Buy 1, Get 1 Free Venus disposable razors coupon
Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner, $2.59
-used a $3 off 2 Pantene manufacturer coupon, and a $3 off 2 Pantene e-coupon (free!)
Crest Toothpaste, $1.99
-used a $1 off Crest manufacturer coupon, and a $1 off Crest e-coupon (free!)

-paid $5.99

Total Spent- $14.40 on $75.20 worth of product. Savings of 81%.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Weekend Wrap-Up: Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is one of my most favorite holidays. Mexican food is beloved by me, I look for any excuse to make it, eat it, drink it... Margaritas= amazing! My plan to make chicken enchiladas was derailed last night (by Kroger, those rat finks), but I made Mexican-inspired rice, as well as a Mexican-inspired salad. I will be making enchiladas in the near future however, now that I've got enchiladas on the brain.

The hubby worked quite hard in the yard this weekend. He put in underground pipes to funnel water away from the house. This turned out to be quite a laborious task as he had to rent a trencher, dig trenches for the pipes, and then shovel dirt on top of the trenches. Mission accomplished on the pipes! He was also able to sprinkle grass seed on the side yard, and cover it with straw. We are on our way to having a mud-free yard!

Gizmo watched intently from his watch post, whining every so often because he could see the hubby right in front of him, he just couldn't get to him.

Reunited at last!

I did some small, indulgent couponing deals this week. I picked this up at CVS for a grand total of $3.99. Pretty good for a $30 product! It's going straight to the top of my "testing" pile :)

I got a ton of nail polish at Rite Aid for a total out-of-pocket expense of... $2.74. I really love these Covergirl nail polishes right now. The brush is easy to use, the formulas are easy to use, they have a wide variety of colors, and the polish is pretty chip-resistent. I can't wait to try the glittery taupe I bought!

These Sally Hansens' were also included in my Rite Aid haul. I'm excited to try all the shades.

So, how did Kroger ruin my Cinco de Mayo dinner? Their rotisserie chickens (I was going to shred the meat, and put it in my enchiladas) looked like crap. Total crap. I couldn't bring myself to pay for what looked like tiny, roasted hamsters. I was steamed. I picked up a fresh chicken, and decided to try my hand again at roasting a chicken.

I finally got it right. 4th time. Phew. The hubby said it was by far the best chicken I'd ever cooked. Anyways, by the time the chicken was done roasting, it was too late to go through the whole dog-and-pony show of making enchilada sauce, making the filling, stuffing tortillas, and baking the whole she-bang.

But, at least the chicken was stellar :)

It made for some delicious-smelling homemade chicken broth.

Starting Monday off on the right note. The hubby is out of town all week in Nashville, so Mama is cooking for 1. Started off the day with an egg white scramble with peppers and onions, a smidge of mozzarella cheese, and a smattering of salsa. With strawberries on the side, of course. So good!

I'm off to do some cleaning, laundry, and then make big batches of Quinoa Taco Salad (lunches this week) and Vegetable Soup with Pasta and Kale (dinners this week).

I hope everyone had a fantastic Cinco de Mayo!

Open Season For... Razors?!

Garnier Moisture Rescue Gel, Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Nail Polish, Quaker Oatmeal Squares, Crest Toothpaste, Bounty Basic Paper Towels, Peanut Butter M&M's, Venus Razors.

Being a woman in summer means upping your stakes in the battle against basically any kind of body hair. This also means razors are coming and going a lot faster than they would at any other time of the year, and they are freakin' expensive! I found an amazing deal at Rite Aid this weekend, though. 3-packs of Venus razors normally retail for $11.99. They were on sale for $7.49, and part of a promotion where if you spend $30, you get back $10. I also had in my hot, little hands a "Buy 1, Get 1 Free" coupon for Venus razors. I ended up getting 4 packs of razors- plus 1 roll of Bounty Paper Towels- for $9.92 (I also had $6 in rewards from last week). 4 packs of razors for less than the price of 1? Yes, please! Here's the breakdown for the rest of the haul:

CVS

Peanut Butter M&M's, $0.99
-used a $0.99 Mars candy CVS store coupon
Garnier Moisture Rescue Gel, $8.99 (Buy $15 in Garnier, Receive $5 in ECB's)
-used a $5 off 2 Garnier moisturizers coupon
Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Nail Polish, $5.79 (Spend $10 in Sally Hansen, Receive $5 in ECB's)
-used a Buy 1, Get 1 Free Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Nail Polish coupon
Crest, $3.49 (Buy 1, Receive $1 in ECB's)
-used a $1 off Crest toothpaste coupon

-Used $17 in ECB's from last week, paid $6.05 out of pocket, and made $11 in ECB's for next week.

Rite Aid

*Purchases part of "Spend $30 on Select P&G Products, Receive $10 in UP's" promotion*

Venus Razors, $7.49
-used (2) Buy 1, Get 1 Free Venus Razors coupon
Bounty Basic Paper Towels, $0.99
-used a $0.25 Bounty Paper Towels coupon

-Used $6 in UP's from last week, spent $9.92 out of pocket, and made $10 in UP's for next week.

Kroger

Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal, $1.88
-used (2) $0.75 off Quaker cereal coupons

-Spent $2.26

Total Spent- $18.23 on $92.77 worth of product. Savings of 80%.

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend!

2/3/13: Coupon Haul

Cottonelle Toilet Paper, Palmolive Dish Soap, Scott Toilet Paper, Kleenex, Sally Hansen Gel Polish Strips, Mr Clean Magic Erasers, RevitaLens Contact Solution, Rapid Sleep PM, Clear Shampoo and Conditioner, Lady Speedstick Deodorant.

This may look like a small haul, but the retail value of it is surprisingly high. I really hit it hard with the coupons this week, and my hard work paid off. I had a coupon for almost every item in this picture (except the sleep aid, which was free at CVS). I couldn't believe, after crunching numbers on my receipts, that the retail on this haul would have been $107.68! The contact solution is normally ~$11, the Cottonelle is normally $13, and the gel-color nail strips are normally $15. You'll have to finish reading this post to see how much I paid out of pocket :) Here's the breakdown:

CVS-

*Note: The Cottonelle, Scott, Kleenex, Palmolive, and Magic Eraser's were part of CVS's promotion of "Spend $30 on Select Products, Get $10 Back"*

Cottonelle, $10
-used a $0.25 off Cottonelle coupon
Scott Toilet Paper, $7.49
-used a $1 off Scott Toilet Paper coupon
Kleenex, $0.99
-used (2) $0.50 off 3 boxes of Kleenex manufacturer coupon, and a $1.50 off a $5 Kleenex purchase CVS store coupon
Palmolive, $0.99
-used (4) $0.25 off Palmolive coupons
Lady Speedstick Deodorant, $1.99
-used (2) $0.50 off Speedstick manufacturer coupon, and a $2 off any 2 deodorants CVS store coupon
Sally Hansen Gel-Color strips, $14.99 (Buy $10 in Sally Hansen products, Get $3 in ECB's)
-used a $5 off Sally Hansen gel strips coupon, and a $3 off a $10 Sally Hansen purchase CVS store coupon
Rapid Sleep PM, $1.99 (Buy 1, Get $1.99 in ECB's)

*Used a $10 off a $50 purchase CVS store coupon, and (2) $4 off a $20 purchase CVS store coupons

-Used $12 in ECB's from last week, paid $5.59 out of pocket, and made $15.99 in ECB's for next week.

Rite Aid-

RevitaLens Contact Solution, $8.49 (Buy 1, Get $1 in UP's back)
-used (2) $4 off RevitaLens contact solution coupons
Clear Shampoo and Conditioner, $4.99 (Buy 1, Get $2 in UP's back)
-used a Buy 1, Get 1 Free Clear Shampoo and Conditioner coupon

-used $8 in UP's from last week, paid $5.97 out of pocket, and made $6 in UP's for next week.

-Total Spent- $11.56 on $107.68 worth of product. Savings of 89%. Yowza!

The First Haul of 2013: 1/6/13

Red Gold diced tomatoes, Kashi Go Lean cereal, Finish dishwashing gel pacs, Barilla Whole Grain Pasta, All laundry detergent, Herbal Essence shampoo and conditioner, Good-N-Natural protein bars, Nivea lip balm, Nivea body lotion, Lysol toilet bowl cleaners.

This is actually my first big haul since September of last year! It's crazy to think that I was out of the game for so long. I must say though, the deals just weren't there at the end of last year, and coupons (especially good ones!) were few and far between. I cleaned out my binders after New Year's, and I feel like I shipped out 75% of what was in them! I was feeling very, very coupon deprived until the new inserts came out yesterday. There were 5 inserts in each paper, and I got 5 papers! That's 25 inserts! So many coupons came out yesterday, my head is spinning. Definitely dreading cutting those babies up. Anyways, we had a very good haul yesterday, and so much healthy food! Kashi cereal, protein bars, whole grain pasta, Greek yogurt, etc. Whoever tells you you can't buy healthy food with coupons, don't even listen to them. You absolutely can. Here's the breakdown for yesterday's haul:
CVS-
~Everything I bought at CVS was part of their "Spend $30 on Selected Products, Get $10 in ECB's Back"~
Finish Dishwashing Gelpacs, 2 for $8
-used (2) $2.15 off Finish Dishwashing Gelpacs coupons
All Laundry Detergent, 2 for $8
-used (2) $2 off 2 All products coupon
Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner, 2 for $6
-used a $0.50 off 2 Lysol Cleaners coupon

-used $9.50 in ECB's from last week, paid $11.70 out of pocket, and received $10 in ECB's for next week.

Rite Aid-
Nivea Lip Balm, 2 for $5 (Spend $15 on Nivea products, Receive $8 in UP rewards)
-used (2) $3 off 2 Nivea Lip Balm products coupon
Nivea Body Lotion, $5.99
-used a $2 off any Nivea Body Lotion coupon

-used $8 in UP's from last week, paid $1.99 out of pocket, and received $8 in UP rewards for next week.

Kroger-
Barilla Pasta, 4 for $5
-used (1) $1 off 3 Barilla pastas coupon
Kashi Cereal, $1.99
Yoplait Greek Yogurt, $1
-used (2) $1 off 2 Yoplait Greek yogurt coupons
Good-N-Natural Bars, $1
-used (5) free Good-N-Natural bar coupons
Red Gold diced tomatoes, $0.59
Herbal Essence Shampoo and Conditioner, $1.74
-used (3) $1 off 1 Herbal Essence product coupons

-paid $18.84 out of pocket.

Total Spent- $32.53 on $121.55 worth of product. Savings of 73%.

What a good start to the year, and a good start to my coupon savings account :) Have a happy week everyone!

Labor Day Couponing

LA Looks hair gel, ReNu contact solution, Wisk laundry detergent,  Nivea lotion, Skintimate shave gel, Glade candles, Dial handsoap

Who coupons on Labor Day? Me! It looks like a small haul, but I didn't include 30 Gatorades and (4) 24 packs of Diet Pepsi. Those were the mainstay's of my haul that I decided not to include in my couponing picture. Other than that, I saved a lot on the rest. Here's this week's breakdown:
CVS
Glade Candles, 2 for $6; Spend $12 on Glade products, receive $4 in ECB's
-used (2) $2 off 2 Glade candles, received $4 ECB's
Wisk, $4.99
-used (2) $2 off Wisk coupons
Nivea Lotion, $6; Spend $10 on Nivea, receive $3 in ECB's
-used (2) $2 off Nivea lotion

-used $20 in ECB's from last week, paid $1.98, and received $7 in ECB's.

Rite Aid
LA Looks Gel, $2.99; Buy 1, Receive $2 in UP's
-used a $1 off LA Looks coupon, received $2 in UP's
ReNu Contact Solution, $7.99; Buy 1, Receive $7 in UP's
-used a $2 off ReNu coupon, received $7 in UP's
Skintimate Shave Gel, Buy 1, Get 1 50% off; Buy 2, Receive $2 in UP's
-used (2) $0.55 off Skintimate, received $2 in UP's

-used $7 in UP's from last week, paid $5.11, and received $10 in UP's.

Kroger
Dial Handsoap, $0.88
-used (4) $0.35 off coupons (doubled to $0.70 off)

-paid $0.72

Total Spent- $7.81 on $79.08 worth of product. Savings of 91%.

Mid-Week Beauty Finds

I am not usually out shopping in the middle of the week. Mainly because the hubby and I are sharing a car, and of course he works during the week. However, the hubby's aunt was going out to do some shopping yesterday so I tagged along, as did my mother-in-law. I'm glad I did, I found some good buys, and new products to review!

The first stop was Rite Aid. Rite Aid had select Revlon makeup on clearance for 75% off. I couldn't pass that one up.

I ended up with New Complexion foundation, normally $11.99, on sale for $2.99. The Age Defying Spa concealer, normally $10.99, I got for $2.74. And the lipstick? Normally $8.99, I got it for $2.24. I ended up with $31.97 worth of makeup for $7.97. I was pretty psyched about this :)

Later we stopped by Sally Beauty Supply. Or rather, I stopped by Sally while the hubby's aunt went into the Scrubs store (yeah, that didn't sound like fun to me either). I found a couple of things-

Cina Nail Art Decals were Buy 1, Get 1 Free. That totally excited me, and I just had to get some new decals to try. I can't wait to re-do my toes. You can almost bet that's what I will be doing tomorrow :)

My hair has felt like straw lately, very dry and brittle. I was looking for a deep conditioner that wasn't too expensive. This was on sale for $6.99, normally $12.49. I decided to give it a shot. Upon bringing the product home and googling it, I'm pretty sure this is for African-American hair. That's what I get for knowing nothing about a product line, right? This didn't stop me from sampling the product, and I glad it didn't. I've only used it once, but my hair feels much softer. It doesn't feel greasy or weighed down either, which is always my concern with a product designed for a different type of hair. This one's a keeper though, hopefully it will bring my hair back to the softer side.

Good things do come to people who venture out in the middle of the week. Of course, the hubby's aunt and I had a cocktail in the afternoon upon returning from shopping, that led to a lot more cocktail drinking later in the day. But hey, that's a tale for another day :)

Robbed The Store... And Then Some!

Propel Fitness water, Hunt's diced tomatoes and tomato paste, Finesse hairspray, Kleenex, Nature's Bounty vitamins, Finish dish soap, Tide Stain Release Boosters, Pledge multi-surface spray, Goldfish, Combos, Revlon nail files, Blistex, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, and Mentos gum.

Today's haul was so good, I just couldn't resist devoting a blog entry to it! I had an amazing day of couponing! Here's the breakdown:
CVS- Great week for CVS! They had some great BOGO's that I couldn't resist. Both the Combos and the vitamins were Buy 1, Get 1. I also had a $1 off of 2 coupon for the Combos and I had 2 $1 off coupons for the vitamins. The Pledge was an amazing deal. They were on sale 2 for $6. I had a CVS store coupon for $2 off 2 and a manufacturer coupon for $2 off 2, making each bottle of Pledge $1. That stuff retails for $6.49 a can! Additional purchases at CVS included Kleenex, the Revlon nail files, and the Blistex.    Thanks to $13 in ECB's from last week, I paid $12.68 out of pocket and earned $10 in ECB's.
Rite Aid: Gum was on sale again this week and this time it was a moneymaker! It was on sale 3 for $3, plus they were offering a $1 UP reward. I used 3 $1 off coupons for the gum, making them free and I made that $1. The Finish dish soap was BOGO, plus I had a $2.15 off coupon (Rite Aid doesn't let you use a coupon on the free item item in a BOGO transaction, which is too bad because I could have gotten another $2.15 off with another coupon). I also picked up the Finesse hairspray on sale 2 for $6. I had 2 $1 off coupons as well. I ended up paying $7.27 out of pocket (I had $2 in UP's from last week) and making $4 in UP rewards.
Kroger: Kroger was amazing this week! They had Hunt's tomatoes on sale for $0.49 plus I had a $0.45 off 3 coupon, which doubled to $0.90. Which means I ended up getting those cans for $0.19 a piece. The Propel flavored water was also on sale for $0.49. The Tide boosters were on sale for $5.99 and with an e-coupon for $2 off, I got that for $3.99. The Goldfish were on sale for $0.99 (I love Goldfish!). Lastly, the butter was on sale for $1.79 and I had a 2 $1 off coupons. You can't beat paying $0.79 for pricey butter spread. I ended up spending $12.01 at Kroger.

There you have it! I paid $31.96 for $119.45 worth of product, for savings of 73%. This was my biggest haul to date and some of my best savings! I will be on cloud 9 for the rest of the day if you need me :)