frugalsuz
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Post by frugalsuz on Jul 9, 2012 14:34:03 GMT -5
Rite Aid deal - looks like there's a monthly UP deal on gift cards that just got uncovered. Buy a $20 Home Improvement gift card and you'll get a $5 UP (Limit 2). Easy money!
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emhalf
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Post by emhalf on Jul 9, 2012 15:18:17 GMT -5
Dancin Staples ads go from Sunday till Saturday. So they should have it all week. It is a easy rebate though. So I had to pay the 2.99 plus tax and then when I came home I applied online for my easy rebate. truthfully I normally get them back in about three weeks. They are about as painless as a rebate can get. The $5/$30 is online www.livingrichwithcoupons.com/2012/07/staples-coupon-5-off-30-purchase.html and it is on the bottom of my ad this week also. If you won't get there till later in the week I would print if off. They also won't give you a rain check for rebates if they run out. Most of the time they still have those items since they always have a limit on the number of rebates, but they do sometimes run out. So I always try and get there early in the week. I am pretty addicted to my free, or almost free, after rebate copy paper. ;D beachbum: Thanks. I think I'll make the loop this morning. I want to burn my UPs at RA because I don't see anything I want/need in the ad previews before they expire. Then I'll go to Staples. I don't mind the rebates at Staples. If you don't need office supplies, there's paper products and items that an office might need to buy for their kitchenette. I think the staples easy rebates are great in comparison with the staples rewards rebates (although those can be useful too). They are quick and easy, they don't subtract value if you use rewards or coupons on your purchases, and the last few rebates I've done have offered an option to get my money back via paypal, so I don't even have to wait for a check. Staples also takes manufacturer coupons, and they have lots of cleaning and paper products if you don't need office supplies. I ran across a deal last year that got me a 48 roll pack of marcal TP for 8.49, then I used a coupon+rewards to pay and it cost me almost nothing for 9-10 month supply of TP and a handful of other household items.
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emhalf
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Post by emhalf on Jul 9, 2012 15:39:47 GMT -5
Hello everyone - I'm a newbie to couponing and would like to gain some knowledge and start learning how to use coupons effectively. I've read the first page of this thread and thought I'd jump in since that's what is suggested. My situation: We are not on a tight budget so I've never tried to coupon much. And I'm bad at it - as in I'd find a coupon bring to store, buy item, then forget to get it out and give to cashier. This year we've made changes in our diet to start living a healthier lifestyle because of some chronic health issues and just to be healthier over all. These changes include: Using only non-toxic cleaning and body products Buying organic meats (right now just doing chicken) Buying only organic fruits/veggies Very limited box/processed foods I'm gluten free (dh is not) As you can imagine this has made our grocery bill go up which is why I'm here. I was averaging about 400 a month for groceries including all toiletries and pet supplies and now I'm just over 500. It's just dh, me, cat, dog. I grocery shop at hy-vee (local chain) and sometimes target. A lot of the non-toxic house and body products I get online or at local health food store. None of our grocery stores do double/triple coupons (I've asked) and our sunday ads are terrible for coupons. Hyvee has an add but it rarely involves coupons and if it does it's only a couple. I have a CVS card but to be honest - never went online to set up an account so I've never received any rewards. I have a mental note to do this now. A lot of times when I have a coupon it's for like 50 cents off toilet paper but then I find another brand is cheaper over all anyway so why get the one with the coupon? It seems like an impossible task to make it work well but I know many of you do it successfully. I'm open to any suggestions you have for how to start lowering our bill and couponing! Welcome to the GC I think you've hit on one of the problems that lots of people find with coupons. An important place to start, if you haven't already, is not necessarily with coupons but with comparison shopping. Note the prices of the things you buy most often, and make a price book if you can. The idea is to find the rock bottom price for the things that you need, and stock up at that time. That way you're not in a situation where you have a coupon for one product, but buying it at regular price won't be much of savings for you. A lot of items you might buy, especially meats and produce, will rarely have coupons available but you can still save money. Be as flexible as you can. If you intended to buy apples but you see that grapes are on sale, consider picking up the cheaper alternative. Check for markdowns. Maybe you intended to buy whole chickens at the store, but a manager's discount on chicken thighs makes them a cheaper option. As far as coupons go, it may take a little while to be able to amass a collection of coupons and use them effectively. Most people on this board will get at least one of each coupon insert every week (often multiple inserts), but may not use them until several weeks later, when that rock bottom price rolls around. Consider brands that you are possibly unfamiliar with, or even that you think might not work for you. For example, if you have a coupon for clorox cleaning products, they make a more earth-friendly product called greenworks(?) that might suit your needs and you could still use the coupon on it. Same with laundry detergent. Most brands now make a "free and clear" option, and you can use your coupons on those as well as the traditional products. Does Hy-vee have a loyalty card, and if so, do you use it? Do they take competitor coupons? You may be able to register your card online for additional savings. Lots of stores send out coupons for specific products, even their own store brands, by home mailer or through printable coupons on their website. That might also be a good way to save on some of your meat/produce/etc, since coupons for $1/$5 fruit or $3/$10 deli purchase can be used on any product. If you have more specific questions or are looking for any specific coupons, feel free to ask here. There are not as many people around as there used to be, but we are happy to help.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jul 9, 2012 15:40:04 GMT -5
Hello everyone - I'm a newbie to couponing and would like to gain some knowledge and start learning how to use coupons effectively. I've read the first page of this thread and thought I'd jump in since that's what is suggested. My situation: We are not on a tight budget so I've never tried to coupon much. And I'm bad at it - as in I'd find a coupon bring to store, buy item, then forget to get it out and give to cashier. This year we've made changes in our diet to start living a healthier lifestyle because of some chronic health issues and just to be healthier over all. These changes include: Using only non-toxic cleaning and body products Buying organic meats (right now just doing chicken) Buying only organic fruits/veggies Very limited box/processed foods I'm gluten free (dh is not) As you can imagine this has made our grocery bill go up which is why I'm here. I was averaging about 400 a month for groceries including all toiletries and pet supplies and now I'm just over 500. It's just dh, me, cat, dog. I grocery shop at hy-vee (local chain) and sometimes target. A lot of the non-toxic house and body products I get online or at local health food store. None of our grocery stores do double/triple coupons (I've asked) and our sunday ads are terrible for coupons. Hyvee has an add but it rarely involves coupons and if it does it's only a couple. I have a CVS card but to be honest - never went online to set up an account so I've never received any rewards. I have a mental note to do this now. A lot of times when I have a coupon it's for like 50 cents off toilet paper but then I find another brand is cheaper over all anyway so why get the one with the coupon? It seems like an impossible task to make it work well but I know many of you do it successfully. I'm open to any suggestions you have for how to start lowering our bill and couponing! rljrdn: WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME to the Grocery Challenge from me - dancinmama!! We are so happy to have you join us. I'm going to be completely honest with you. The more restrictive you are regarding what you are willing to buy and use, the less you will be able to save. A lot of us save A LOT of money because we are willing to use almost any brand of deodorant or shampoo or toilet paper or laundry soap, etc. (you get the idea). It is not that you will not be able to save money by using coupons, but you will not get the kinds of savings that most of us get here. That said, I would suggest that you start a price book for the items and brands that you buy. This means that when they go on sale, you write down the size and price until you get an idea of the rock bottom prices (the lowest sale price offered) for the items that you buy regularly. At the same time, try to get a good feel for how often those items are usually added to your grocery list. Then wait for the products you use regularly to be on sale at their rock bottom price and buy enough to last you through the expiration date on the product. If you have a coupon for said product, even better. I have several Tom's of Maine coupons that I could send to you. Other major brands go on sale much more frequently and can be had for absolutely free from time to time, but I think Tom's is one of the few brands that is considered by many to be 100% natural. $2.50/1 any Tom's New Naturally Dry antiperspirant $1/1 any Tom's deodorant $1/1 any Tom's bar soap $1/1 any Tom's toothpaste $1/1 any Tom's mouthwash $1/1 any Tom's floss I have a half dozen of each coupon. They do not expire until 8/11/12. If you are interested just PM me with your address and I'll get them in the mail to you. Oh, which by the way, is another benefit of hanging out here. We have a no-obligation coupon exchange here on the Grocery Challenge. I'll send you the Tom's and you're under no obligation to send me anything. ;D
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jul 9, 2012 15:42:08 GMT -5
emhalf: We were typing at the same time.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jul 9, 2012 15:53:11 GMT -5
Rite Aid deal - looks like there's a monthly UP deal on gift cards that just got uncovered. Buy a $20 Home Improvement gift card and you'll get a $5 UP (Limit 2). Easy money! I just came from Rite Aid and purposely used up all my UPs. This is not as good as the last deal (glitch) that they had, but it still is a good one if you are going to spend money at the home improvement stores anyway. If my "cool" cashier is there, she'll let me do it on all of my cards. If ANYONE does this deal, would you please post when the UPs expire. I'm going to be leaving on vacation and will take a pass if they expire before or while I'm gone. If this is a monthly deal, I'm thinking the expiration would be in mid-August which would work quite well for me.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jul 9, 2012 16:08:13 GMT -5
beachbum: Thanks. I think I'll make the loop this morning. I want to burn my UPs at RA because I don't see anything I want/need in the ad previews before they expire. Then I'll go to Staples. I don't mind the rebates at Staples. If you don't need office supplies, there's paper products and items that an office might need to buy for their kitchenette. I think the staples easy rebates are great in comparison with the staples rewards rebates (although those can be useful too). They are quick and easy, they don't subtract value if you use rewards or coupons on your purchases, and the last few rebates I've done have offered an option to get my money back via paypal, so I don't even have to wait for a check. Staples also takes manufacturer coupons, and they have lots of cleaning and paper products if you don't need office supplies. I ran across a deal last year that got me a 48 roll pack of marcal TP for 8.49, then I used a coupon+rewards to pay and it cost me almost nothing for 9-10 month supply of TP and a handful of other household items. Ya, I was thinking this is a reward, but it's a rebate. Even better!! ;D Note: The Super Glue is actually (4) very small tubes. I think DH will love that. He always keeps a tube in his tackle box and one in his guitar case (in case he cuts his finger so that he can glue the skin together and keep playing ).
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jul 9, 2012 16:13:36 GMT -5
Some CVS EB cards are giving a $5/$15 at the bottom of your receipt only (not from the red machine). I had a $1 bag tag EB, so I combined that with the $.75/2 Girl Scout candy coupon to get (2) free candy bars in the hopes that I'd get a $5/$15 and sure nuf, I did. I have a rain check for Oral-B replacement brush heads and there's always the deal on the Venus this week that several people are doing.
HTH
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Epiphany
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Post by Epiphany on Jul 9, 2012 16:31:50 GMT -5
Thank you for the words of advice and welcome! I really understand that since I'm selective on many products that I can't save as much with coupons/sales in those areas. DH still uses normal deodorant and shampoo and I'd like to do better with paper products (toilet paper, paper towels, paper plates, etc) because I do see coupons on those. It took me about a month to actually find natural/non-toxic products that I actually liked, weren't outrageously priced, and worked (three tries on deodorant!). I actually have a spread sheet with those products and prices already started so I'll start to note prices on other normal purchases as well.
Being flexible on food items is another good tip. I'm also trying to meal plan better along with this but found I spend MORE when I meal plan because it's on the list so I'm getting it no matter the price (like your apples vs. grapes scenario).
I think I'm going to start with the following goals for myself: - Increase spread sheet to include regularly purchased items and their prices - Sign up for CVS online so I can get the rewards I've been accumulating - Look online for coupons - I love the site someone listed for organics, what other coupon sites are recommended that are free and won't flood me with spam? - Start an envelop for coupons - Hy-vee doesn't have a loyalty program and I'm not sure on accepting competitors coupons. I don't think they do but I'll check their website for info and coupons.
I'd love the Tom's coupons! I'll PM you my address. I'm excited about getting this started. DH likes being healthy but has complained that it's costing us more. If I can cut back on some things it will help that balance out. I'm in IL/IA if it helps out (live in IL but work in IA)
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jul 9, 2012 19:08:30 GMT -5
Thank you for the words of advice and welcome! I really understand that since I'm selective on many products that I can't save as much with coupons/sales in those areas. DH still uses normal deodorant and shampoo and I'd like to do better with paper products (toilet paper, paper towels, paper plates, etc) because I do see coupons on those. It took me about a month to actually find natural/non-toxic products that I actually liked, weren't outrageously priced, and worked (three tries on deodorant!). I actually have a spread sheet with those products and prices already started so I'll start to note prices on other normal purchases as well. Being flexible on food items is another good tip. I'm also trying to meal plan better along with this but found I spend MORE when I meal plan because it's on the list so I'm getting it no matter the price (like your apples vs. grapes scenario). I think I'm going to start with the following goals for myself: - Increase spread sheet to include regularly purchased items and their prices - Sign up for CVS online so I can get the rewards I've been accumulating - Look online for coupons - I love the site someone listed for organics, what other coupon sites are recommended that are free and won't flood me with spam? - Start an envelop for coupons - Hy-vee doesn't have a loyalty program and I'm not sure on accepting competitors coupons. I don't think they do but I'll check their website for info and coupons. I'd love the Tom's coupons! I'll PM you my address. I'm excited about getting this started. DH likes being healthy but has complained that it's costing us more. If I can cut back on some things it will help that balance out. I'm in IL/IA if it helps out (live in IL but work in IA) A lot of us do our meal planning based on what we have on hand, supplementing with items that are on sale in that particular week. I don't know how that works out when you're buying mostly organics, but I know it helps me a lot. Paper products are REALLY tough these days, and boy are they expensive!! Because I can NEVER get them for free just with a sale and coupons, I use excess rewards or overage from CRTs at CVS to buy them for free or for really cheap. Last week the $2/1 shampoo CRTs at CVS were giving $1.21 overage when you used one to buy a bottle of VO5 for $.79. That means when I bought (5) VO5, I had $6.05 extra that I could use for ANYTHING in the store, so here's what I did: $3.95 (5) VO5 Shampoo (sale @ $.79 ea.) $6.00 (2) Bayer Advanced (sale @ $3.00 ea.) $10.98 (2) CVS 12-pk Bath Tissue (sale @ $5.49 ea.) $20.93 $ 1.73 Sales Tax $22.66 Subtotal - 5.00 $5/$20 CVS CRT ($5 off of $20 in products purchased) - 10.00 (5) $2/1 any shampoo CVS CRTs- 6.00 (2) $3/1 Bayer MCs (from the Sunday coupon inserts) 1.66 OOP (all sales tax) In the example above, you can see that CVS gave me $15 in coupons and I used $6 in Bayer coupons which covered the entire cost of my products. All I had to do was pay some sales tax and I got some VO5 that we will use instead of liquid hand soap and 2 large packages of toilet paper. The aspirin will be donated. It gets kind of tricky, but it can be done more often than you'd think. ETA: Your coupons are on their way. Enjoy!!
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missourimommy
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Post by missourimommy on Jul 9, 2012 19:56:41 GMT -5
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missourimommy
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Post by missourimommy on Jul 9, 2012 20:23:09 GMT -5
NAg:
Any of you bakers ever made smore' with Kit Kat bars instead of plain Hershey's chocolate? I found a bag of Kit Kats in my freezer and need to take brownies to work on Wednesday and thought I'd use what I have instead of buying something else....just didn't know if it would work?
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constanz22
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Post by constanz22 on Jul 9, 2012 20:29:02 GMT -5
NAg: Any of you bakers ever made smore' with Kit Kat bars instead of plain Hershey's chocolate? I found a bag of Kit Kats in my freezer and need to take brownies to work on Wednesday and thought I'd use what I have instead of buying something else....just didn't know if it would work? I say, DO IT! I've seen s'mores made out of all kinds of things! The most recent one I saw that I HAVE to try is with Reese's cups!
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missourimommy
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Post by missourimommy on Jul 9, 2012 20:31:39 GMT -5
Thanks! I found a really EASY recipe that starts with a box brownie mix--mix it according to package directions....bake for 15-minutes. While those are baking, crumble 8 graham saltines and some chocolate bars (the first time I used a whole bag of small Hershey bars) and 2 cups mini marshmallows. When the 15-minutes are up, pour the smore' topping on top and bake another 15. YUM!!!!! Marshmallows are just browned.... I just realized I don't have any graham saltines! EDIT::: FOUND SOME!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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frugalsuz
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Post by frugalsuz on Jul 9, 2012 20:38:57 GMT -5
Rite Aid deal - looks like there's a monthly UP deal on gift cards that just got uncovered. Buy a $20 Home Improvement gift card and you'll get a $5 UP (Limit 2). Easy money! I just came from Rite Aid and purposely used up all my UPs. This is not as good as the last deal (glitch) that they had, but it still is a good one if you are going to spend money at the home improvement stores anyway. If my "cool" cashier is there, she'll let me do it on all of my cards. If ANYONE does this deal, would you please post when the UPs expire. I'm going to be leaving on vacation and will take a pass if they expire before or while I'm gone. If this is a monthly deal, I'm thinking the expiration would be in mid-August which would work quite well for me. Just bought two of the cards and the UP's are good until 8/15.
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constanz22
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Post by constanz22 on Jul 9, 2012 20:40:22 GMT -5
Thanks! I found a really EASY recipe that starts with a box brownie mix--mix it according to package directions....bake for 15-minutes. While those are baking, crumble 8 graham saltines and some chocolate bars (the first time I used a whole bag of small Hershey bars) and 2 cups mini marshmallows. When the 15-minutes are up, pour the smore' topping on top and bake another 15. YUM!!!!! Marshmallows are just browned.... I just realized I don't have any graham saltines! EDIT::: FOUND SOME!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Sounds yummy, will have to make it sometime! I think almost ANY chocolate candy would work...be creative! Do you have any cookies you could crumble up in place of the Graham c r a c k ers?
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missourimommy
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Post by missourimommy on Jul 9, 2012 21:00:51 GMT -5
Just found a whole BOX of graham saltines! ;D EDIT: Also found 2 bags of Hershey's Kisses in my freezer! Did I mention I REALLY need someone to come get me organized...especially my freezer?
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jul 9, 2012 21:24:11 GMT -5
I just came from Rite Aid and purposely used up all my UPs. This is not as good as the last deal (glitch) that they had, but it still is a good one if you are going to spend money at the home improvement stores anyway. If my "cool" cashier is there, she'll let me do it on all of my cards. If ANYONE does this deal, would you please post when the UPs expire. I'm going to be leaving on vacation and will take a pass if they expire before or while I'm gone. If this is a monthly deal, I'm thinking the expiration would be in mid-August which would work quite well for me. Just bought two of the cards and the UP's are good until 8/15. frugalsuz: Okie dokie. I guess I'm not THAT out of it after all. It looks like I'll be buying more Home Improvement cards. Did you load $20 on the $20-$200 card?
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jul 9, 2012 21:46:40 GMT -5
Okay, so I went to CVS to use my $5/$15. I also got a 25% off on the same card at the same time and DH has been bugging me to get some more toothpicks (we're not completely out), but since I would have overage to use up, I decided that toothpicks would be my filler.
$9.99 Venus Olay razor $5.99 Oral-B replacement brush heads 2-pk. (rain check) $ .67 Twix bar (substitute for free after EB Hershey) $6.76 (4) CVS round toothpicks (800 count) $23.41 - 5.00 $5/$25 - 4.00 Venus MC - 14.00 EBs - .35 (25% off coupon - every little bit counts) .06 .33 (tax - I lucked out as he scanned before asking for my card) .39 OOP --> $5EB (Oral B) / $4EB (Venus) / $1EB (candy/forced)
I ASKED the AM on duty how it would work if I used the $5/$15 and the 25% off at the same time and it didn't work out like she said it would. I originally had (5) pkgs. of toothpicks, but I had to have him take one off at the end. It's odd because I had $15 before non-sale items, so both the AM and I thought I'd get the 25% off on all of the toothpicks/but.....no. It's all good.
So today I was able to knock out two items that DH has been asking me to get. I found Krazy Glue on clearance at Rite Aid for $1 (down from $3.99) and I got the free Super Glue at Staples. I also got a small box of toothpicks at Rite Aid to put in his camping box and just got another 3200 toothpicks at CVS.
Oh, BTW if you hadn't noticed....the Venus Olay razor is a handle and ONE cartridge, not two. I didn't notice that until I got home. I will be doing an even exchange on that one for a Venus Embrace. $10 for one cartridge and a handle is ridiculous. Good job P&G....NOT!!
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constanz22
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Post by constanz22 on Jul 10, 2012 6:16:41 GMT -5
Dang! I wish I hadn't sent all my Excedrin back for the voluntary recall...GMA is reporting that people are paying over $100/bottle for it online! LOL!
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frugalsuz
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Post by frugalsuz on Jul 10, 2012 7:00:51 GMT -5
Just bought two of the cards and the UP's are good until 8/15. frugalsuz: Okie dokie. I guess I'm not THAT out of it after all. It looks like I'll be buying more Home Improvement cards. Did you load $20 on the $20-$200 card? Yup, that's the one! I think the only other kind in the store is for $50.
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frugalsuz
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Post by frugalsuz on Jul 10, 2012 7:02:39 GMT -5
Dang! I wish I hadn't sent all my Excedrin back for the voluntary recall...GMA is reporting that people are paying over $100/bottle for it online! LOL! Oh my goodness, you're right! Just saw an auction on ebay for 100 pills of Excedrin Extra Strength. 15 bids so far....for $100! That's nuts! I don't know that I've paid much attention, but aren't stores still selling Excedrin? Or is everything gone from the shelves?
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constanz22
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Post by constanz22 on Jul 10, 2012 7:13:26 GMT -5
Dang! I wish I hadn't sent all my Excedrin back for the voluntary recall...GMA is reporting that people are paying over $100/bottle for it online! LOL! Oh my goodness, you're right! Just saw an auction on ebay for 100 pills of Excedrin Extra Strength. 15 bids so far....for $100! That's nuts! I don't know that I've paid much attention, but aren't stores still selling Excedrin? Or is everything gone from the shelves? No, you can not buy it in the store. It was completely pulled for the recall and the news this morning said they are having "production issues" and aren't sure when it will be available again...
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frugalsuz
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Post by frugalsuz on Jul 10, 2012 7:19:34 GMT -5
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marvholly
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Post by marvholly on Jul 10, 2012 7:37:02 GMT -5
I accomplished all my planned errands for Mon and then some. I did an Aldi stock up run stockpiling some of the things I believe will become MUCH more $$ with this summer drought. Of course, as soon as I came home I added another couple items to my list.
Today my stock up shopping is my 2 local bread outlet stores plus my regular stops at the 2 independent grocers near my Dad. So far I have avoided listing or putting the bakery treats outlet store on my stock up list. NOT a need.
Rljrdn There is a blogger in metro Chicago who is also gluten free and MUCH a scratch cook. She posts many on-line deals for GF items-mostly Amazon: mashupmom.com
Another blogger has posted MANY home made recipes for cleaning products made from things like vinegar, borax, washing soda….: moneysavingmom.com
Don't know of any blogger for downstate IL/IA. You might want to check your specific stores on a site like Hot Coupon World or A Full Cup.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jul 10, 2012 7:40:38 GMT -5
Oh my goodness, you're right! Just saw an auction on ebay for 100 pills of Excedrin Extra Strength. 15 bids so far....for $100! That's nuts! I don't know that I've paid much attention, but aren't stores still selling Excedrin? Or is everything gone from the shelves? No, you can not buy it in the store. It was completely pulled for the recall and the news this morning said they are having "production issues" and aren't sure when it will be available again... Why was it recalled? I hadn't even heard that it had been and we use the product.
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Epiphany
Established Member
meowzers!
Joined: Dec 21, 2010 9:54:10 GMT -5
Posts: 476
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Post by Epiphany on Jul 10, 2012 7:47:34 GMT -5
A lot of us do our meal planning based on what we have on hand, supplementing with items that are on sale in that particular week. I don't know how that works out when you're buying mostly organics, but I know it helps me a lot. Paper products are REALLY tough these days, and boy are they expensive!! Because I can NEVER get them for free just with a sale and coupons, I use excess rewards or overage from CRTs at CVS to buy them for free or for really cheap. Last week the $2/1 shampoo CRTs at CVS were giving $1.21 overage when you used one to buy a bottle of VO5 for $.79. That means when I bought (5) VO5, I had $6.05 extra that I could use for ANYTHING in the store, so here's what I did: $3.95 (5) VO5 Shampoo (sale @ $.79 ea.) $6.00 (2) Bayer Advanced (sale @ $3.00 ea.) $10.98 (2) CVS 12-pk Bath Tissue (sale @ $5.49 ea.) $20.93 $ 1.73 Sales Tax $22.66 Subtotal - 5.00 $5/$20 CVS CRT ($5 off of $20 in products purchased) - 10.00 (5) $2/1 any shampoo CVS CRTs- 6.00 (2) $3/1 Bayer MCs (from the Sunday coupon inserts) 1.66 OOP (all sales tax) In the example above, you can see that CVS gave me $15 in coupons and I used $6 in Bayer coupons which covered the entire cost of my products. All I had to do was pay some sales tax and I got some VO5 that we will use instead of liquid hand soap and 2 large packages of toilet paper. The aspirin will be donated. It gets kind of tricky, but it can be done more often than you'd think. ETA: Your coupons are on their way. Enjoy!! I'm going to have to ask about all the abbreviations and lingo Overage? CRT? MC (manufacturer's coupon?) UPs is for Riteaid? (we don't have one locally) I've seen and used the 5/20 on the bottom of CVS coupons so I got that Any other common ones that you use? Thanks for the blogger tips - I'll check them out. I'm buying a lot of the natural products through amazon anyway I didn't know excedrin was recalled either. We use it, though not often, and it is the best. I'm going to have to check if ours was part of the recall.
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973beachbum
Senior Associate
Politics Admin
Joined: Dec 17, 2010 16:12:13 GMT -5
Posts: 10,501
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Post by 973beachbum on Jul 10, 2012 7:53:20 GMT -5
"I ASKED the AM on duty how it would work if I used the $5/$15 and the 25% off at the same time and it didn't work out like she said it would. I originally had (5) pkgs. of toothpicks, but I had to have him take one off at the end. It's odd because I had $15 before non-sale items, so both the AM and I thought I'd get the 25% off on all of the toothpicks/but.....no. It's all good." I think they are trying to fix the registers so that CVS coupons don't overlap. I have heard of people who when the coupons ring they scan the % off before the CVS coupons like the $/$$ and CVS CRTs. The register will actually add back some of the % it took off because it recalculated after scanning the other CVS discounts for lack of a better word. I think Mfr coupons and programs are still working the way your and the AM thought it would. The number of CVS coupons and discounts has just increased so much lately. The way those work is much more confusing to me than a man coupon. It was still a GREAT trans! My standard filler is womens shaving cream. My DD goes through that stuff like water. I know I should just be thankful for what I can save on but man is that stuff expensive. Have a great day all!
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973beachbum
Senior Associate
Politics Admin
Joined: Dec 17, 2010 16:12:13 GMT -5
Posts: 10,501
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Post by 973beachbum on Jul 10, 2012 8:00:26 GMT -5
I'm going to have to ask about all the abbreviations and lingo Overage? CRT? MC (manufacturer's coupon?) UPs is for Riteaid? (we don't have one locally) I've seen and used the 5/20 on the bottom of CVS coupons so I got that Any other common ones that you use?
I will do my best. Overage is when your trans will have a coupon for say $5 off something and it is on sale for $4.50, so you will have 0.50 cents overage. Some places will let you use that to lower your OOP, out of pocket, cost some places won't. We normally say YMMV, your milage may vary. In this case I think Dancin meant the money from the CVS coupons like the $/$$ and CRTs.
CRT are the coupons on the bottom of yor receipts from CVS. Sometimes you can get great coupons from them. I have also seen it used to describe CVS big red machine coupons.
MC is a manufactorer coupon abv. I have also seen Q used instead. UP is a rite version of an ECB or rite aid on your next order coupon. That is all I can think of for now. I HTH! which is short for I hope that helps. ;D
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dancinmama
Senior Associate
LIVIN' THE DREAM!!
Joined: Dec 18, 2010 20:49:45 GMT -5
Posts: 10,659
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Post by dancinmama on Jul 10, 2012 8:01:02 GMT -5
A lot of us do our meal planning based on what we have on hand, supplementing with items that are on sale in that particular week. I don't know how that works out when you're buying mostly organics, but I know it helps me a lot. Paper products are REALLY tough these days, and boy are they expensive!! Because I can NEVER get them for free just with a sale and coupons, I use excess rewards or overage from CRTs at CVS to buy them for free or for really cheap. Last week the $2/1 shampoo CRTs at CVS were giving $1.21 overage when you used one to buy a bottle of VO5 for $.79. That means when I bought (5) VO5, I had $6.05 extra that I could use for ANYTHING in the store, so here's what I did: $3.95 (5) VO5 Shampoo (sale @ $.79 ea.) $6.00 (2) Bayer Advanced (sale @ $3.00 ea.) $10.98 (2) CVS 12-pk Bath Tissue (sale @ $5.49 ea.) $20.93 $ 1.73 Sales Tax $22.66 Subtotal - 5.00 $5/$20 CVS CRT ($5 off of $20 in products purchased) - 10.00 (5) $2/1 any shampoo CVS CRTs- 6.00 (2) $3/1 Bayer MCs (from the Sunday coupon inserts) 1.66 OOP (all sales tax) In the example above, you can see that CVS gave me $15 in coupons and I used $6 in Bayer coupons which covered the entire cost of my products. All I had to do was pay some sales tax and I got some VO5 that we will use instead of liquid hand soap and 2 large packages of toilet paper. The aspirin will be donated. It gets kind of tricky, but it can be done more often than you'd think. ETA: Your coupons are on their way. Enjoy!! I'm going to have to ask about all the abbreviations and lingo Overage? CRT? MC (manufacturer's coupon?) UPs is for Riteaid? (we don't have one locally) I've seen and used the 5/20 on the bottom of CVS coupons so I got that Any other common ones that you use? Thanks for the blogger tips - I'll check them out. I'm buying a lot of the natural products through amazon anyway I didn't know excedrin was recalled either. We use it, though not often, and it is the best. I'm going to have to check if ours was part of the recall. Oops, sorry about that. CRT stand for cash register tape coupon at CVS, but we also use it to refer to the coupons that come out of the red scanning machine that is in the store. Overage is "extra money" that you get by using a coupon because the coupon value is worth more than the product. In my case, I used a CVS CRT that had a value of $2 off ANY shampoo. I matched it up with the VO5 that was on sale for $.79 so each $2/1 shampoo CRT was giving me overage of $1.21 that could be applied to anything else in my transaction. If you go to www.frugalsuz.blogspot.com , she give a list of all the acronyms that we use here. In no time at all it will become like a second language to you.
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