dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Apr 2, 2011 23:54:29 GMT -5
Oh, I want to add one more thing about this comment you made: I have yet to come across free TP, Paper Towels, detergent (high OOP items for me).
I find that bargain items come at different times. Right now, these past few weeks and going into this week, I'm finding it's "free makeup season" in my world. I stocked up on free Almay the prior week at Wags, and tomorrow I'll be stocking up on free Physicians Formula from RA. Around the holidays and continuing into January it was free Shampoo, Conditioner & Bodywash. Leanne: Good point. Also, some freebies/MMs come and go. My mom said that she used to be able to get free trash bags all the time (like huge 32 gallon ones) with coupons and/or rebates. This makes a lot of sense. There used to be a time when many of us constantly made money by the Gillette Fusion razors. They were $8 at WAGs, we had $5 coupons, and you got an $8RR. Now we are LUCKY to get them for $8, pay with a $4 coupon and get a $4 reward making them free AFTER reward (except for sales tax). I think a lot of what we do is gut instinct, but it's hard to get it right 100% of the time. For example, I NEVER thought that I'd get the kind of deal on toilet paper that mawmaw outlinted for us at CVS. At the time, I already had a decent stockpile of toilet paper that I had purchased with RRs at WAGs. I did not "pay" much for the RRs, so it's not like I spent a lot in OOP to get the toilet paper, but basically I could have used all those RRs to stockpile other things. Now I have the WAGs stockpile and the CVS stockpile, in addition to a recent RA stockpile (again the ones from RA were TOTALLY free) - but hey - that's the way the coupon crumbles. And I'm not entirely bummed because TP and paper towels are VERY EXPENSIVE, I have the storage space, and there is no doubt in my mind that it will all get used .....eventually. Hopefully sometime soon you will be able to combine a great detergent coupon (like a $2/1) with a great sale at WAGs and pay using RRs. I have built many a stockpile that way. It's really amazing because my (3) go to items that I would always try to buy when I had RRs to burn were TP, paper towels, or laundry detergent!!
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Post by picghaw on Apr 2, 2011 23:59:19 GMT -5
Picghaw, I got tired just reading your posts - lol! (ETA - Must have been exhausting to write it all up! LOL!) I suppose everyone has a different system -or perhaps no system - so I can't say that what works for me will work for you. I probably don't roll as much as other people. I tend to roll, roll, buy. Or even roll, buy. Leanna : Not really exhausting since I've been mulling over this for over 8 weeks now and wasn't 100% sure of the answer. It did take me a long time to write it, but I knew the answer at the end of it so I guess it wasn't wasted effort after all. At least I know I was right and not making some newbie mistake even though I feel silly. What I was trying to say is that I have not seen any prices lower than what I used to pay pre-GC & couponing, so I've been rolling & waiting. If I'm not missing anything then it looks like those prices are rock bottom prices BUT there are not at Wags & Jewel which I am forced to shop at due to the RRs. Until this challenge, I never stepped foot in Wags, CVS, Jewel & Dominick's(Safeway) unless I KNEW of a sale of a particular item. Without sales plus RRs/ECBs plus coupons, those stores can't compete to where I used to shop hence my inner struggle. So the answer is that the cost of having these amazing free MM RRs is that I will pay more for food at Jewel and more or the same price as pre-GC after coupons at Wags if there a sale....... and that's okay because my end goal of $0 for food groceries in the month of March was accomplished but unfortunately I can't extend it to April. Time for TP & Paper Towels as RRs expire on 4/9 so no time to wait for a Wags sale.
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leanna
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Post by leanna on Apr 3, 2011 0:08:48 GMT -5
and that's okay because my end goal of $0 for food groceries in the month of March was accomplished but unfortunately I can't extend it to April. Wow! That is VERY impressive!!! It sounds like you know what you're doing, so don't get crazy 2nd guessing yourself. We all have different prices and different deals depending on where we live. Now go have fun shopping!
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leanna
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Joined: Feb 28, 2011 16:33:40 GMT -5
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Post by leanna on Apr 3, 2011 0:10:46 GMT -5
Oh, I want to add one more thing about this comment you made: I have yet to come across free TP, Paper Towels, detergent (high OOP items for me).
I find that bargain items come at different times. Right now, these past few weeks and going into this week, I'm finding it's "free makeup season" in my world. I stocked up on free Almay the prior week at Wags, and tomorrow I'll be stocking up on free Physicians Formula from RA. Around the holidays and continuing into January it was free Shampoo, Conditioner & Bodywash. Leanne: Good point. Also, some freebies/MMs come and go. My mom said that she used to be able to get free trash bags all the time (like huge 32 gallon ones) with coupons and/or rebates. This makes a lot of sense. There used to be a time when many of us constantly made money by the Gillette Fusion razors. They were $8 at WAGs, we had $5 coupons, and you got an $8RR. Now we are LUCKY to get them for $8, pay with a $4 coupon and get a $4 reward making them free AFTER reward (except for sales tax). I think a lot of what we do is gut instinct, but it's hard to get it right 100% of the time. For example, I NEVER thought that I'd get the kind of deal on toilet paper that mawmaw outlinted for us at CVS. At the time, I already had a decent stockpile of toilet paper that I had purchased with RRs at WAGs. I did not "pay" much for the RRs, so it's not like I spent a lot in OOP to get the toilet paper, but basically I could have used all those RRs to stockpile other things. Now I have the WAGs stockpile and the CVS stockpile, in addition to a recent RA stockpile (again the ones from RA were TOTALLY free) - but hey - that's the way the coupon crumbles. And I'm not entirely bummed because TP and paper towels are VERY EXPENSIVE, I have the storage space, and there is no doubt in my mind that it will all get used .....eventually. Hopefully sometime soon you will be able to combine a great detergent coupon (like a $2/1) with a great sale at WAGs and pay using RRs. I have built many a stockpile that way. We would have to have a crystal ball to get it right all the time - so we just make the best decision we can with the information we have available. We all know one thing and that is this: if something is FREE it's always a good time to stock up.
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Post by picghaw on Apr 3, 2011 1:02:47 GMT -5
picghaw: For the most part, I think you've answered your own questions and have found a system that works for you. You have even realized the price you pay to roll RRs - especially if you are rolling into something that you will not use. And yes, the deals like the Motrin, Almay, and Reach are the best kinds of RR deals that you can do. The best thing to do is to "get in" when these deals come around. Then only roll into things that are going to yield yet another LARGE profit in RRs or into something that you want to stockpile. If there is no such animal, then spend them and "get out". Before that great TP deal that mawmaw posted for Cottonelle at CVS, the only way that I could get FREE TP or paper towels was to buy them using coupons and "free" RRs, but I could not use my RRs anywhere else so there ya go. And it all depends on your budget. Like you said, you'd rather use the RRs to supplement the money that you'd have to spend on groceries anyway rather than build a 2-year stockpile of something. Since I have never had the opportunity to experiment with using RRs elsewhere, I can't really speak to that. I'm sure there would have been times when it would have come in really handy and I would have opted to spend them on groceries rather than TP or paper towels. If you have found a system that you are comfortable with and that seems to work for you (and it seems that you have), I'd stick with it. Just be very sensitive to what the true cost of the RRs are (the sales tax and fillers, to say nothing about time and gas) and whether you're really saving that much by having to use them on groceries at a grocery store where the prices are higher than what you would otherwise pay in cash elsewhere. HTH Hey Dancimama. Yes, I did answer my own ? <smacks head> but as always confirmation from you ladies does help. I know it was long, but I think it made things clearer than my initial post. I do have to "get out" now <sniff>, it was a nice ride though. I'm not talking about $50 in RRs as you can see from my post, its a whole lot more than that, so I have quite a bit of shopping to do. I could very well end up with 1 years worth of TP & Paper Towels after all. I already have a years worth of Always, quite a few toothpaste and BW. I need to make a list, would love to spend minimal OOP in April if possible. So far the system has been working ...... Wags just doesn't have another MM deal for me to keep on rolling with profit right now. I wonder if I could suggest they extend their expiration dates......or space out these MM RRs I mean Almay, Tena & Reach all in the same week( I still technically had Motrin & Neuragen) and then nothing for the next 3 weeks..... not fair at all The real kink in my system is the lack of a freezer. That was the plan...... use RRs to cut the biggest expense in my budget....FOOD. If I had one there wouldn't even been a discussion. I would have gone to town on meat, milk, cheese, bread and even yogurt(if defrosting wouldn't make it runny). If there was painless way to defrost fresh fruits easily for use in salads/yogurts/cereals, then RRs would be LONG gone by now. I see your posts on all that meat purchase and I shed a tear . I think its too early to go out and make such a huge investment, yes? I will pay closer attention to whether non-perishable groceries are a better fit than perishable. You know I haven't looked at my Valli's/Fiesta/ShopnSave/Caputo Market ads is so long, I miss them! (had to stop looking into order to be able to pay Jewel prices) Chicago ladies : What are the sale cycles on household items in our area? For the longest time, I noticed Jan was cereal(GM Fiber One in particular) & TP month and I normally bought for 4 - 6 months. Never noticed a trend for detergent just bought it at Walmart.
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Post by picghaw on Apr 3, 2011 1:22:23 GMT -5
Leanne: Good point. Also, some freebies/MMs come and go. My mom said that she used to be able to get free trash bags all the time (like huge 32 gallon ones) with coupons and/or rebates. This makes a lot of sense. There used to be a time when many of us constantly made money by the Gillette Fusion razors. They were $8 at WAGs, we had $5 coupons, and you got an $8RR. Now we are LUCKY to get them for $8, pay with a $4 coupon and get a $4 reward making them free AFTER reward (except for sales tax). I think a lot of what we do is gut instinct, but it's hard to get it right 100% of the time. For example, I NEVER thought that I'd get the kind of deal on toilet paper that mawmaw outlinted for us at CVS. At the time, I already had a decent stockpile of toilet paper that I had purchased with RRs at WAGs. I did not "pay" much for the RRs, so it's not like I spent a lot in OOP to get the toilet paper, but basically I could have used all those RRs to stockpile other things. Now I have the WAGs stockpile and the CVS stockpile, in addition to a recent RA stockpile (again the ones from RA were TOTALLY free) - but hey - that's the way the coupon crumbles. And I'm not entirely bummed because TP and paper towels are VERY EXPENSIVE, I have the storage space, and there is no doubt in my mind that it will all get used .....eventually. Hopefully sometime soon you will be able to combine a great detergent coupon (like a $2/1) with a great sale at WAGs and pay using RRs. I have built many a stockpile that way. It's really amazing because my (3) go to items that I would always try to buy when I had RRs to burn were TP, paper towels, or laundry detergent!! You know, I'm glad I posted cos I think I misunderstood the whole "I got X for free" phrase. Yes, you can get an item for free after Q's & RRs/ECBs but if you got a bunch of RRs(like Reach....paid 50cents for $4RR) for pennies and do not roll but use it buy TP, you essentially got the TP for free as well. Correct? I was missing that connection ergo my preference to use RRs for food. Its much clearer now. Hey, that means I can buy my expensive Tide again!.....what? Its technically free, no? I'm going thru withdrawals here(15 years), don't judge me ;D
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Post by picghaw on Apr 3, 2011 1:36:14 GMT -5
and that's okay because my end goal of $0 for food groceries in the month of March was accomplished but unfortunately I can't extend it to April. Wow! That is VERY impressive!!! It sounds like you know what you're doing, so don't get crazy 2nd guessing yourself. We all have different prices and different deals depending on where we live. Now go have fun shopping! I still paid taxes and sometimes the subtotal was not an even summation of the RRs by $1 or so, but yes Food budget was next to nothing. Speaking of driving myself self, when I I food-grocery shop I add up the total as I go so that I can use all RRs and no OOP Its hard to pre-calculate the fruits/veggies by the pound so that I hit a certain mark, but I pulled it off. ;D And yeah, I've only been in Jewel & Wags & CVS all month, so household items budget was supposed to be 0 until I noticed my credit bill was higher than expected.......ergo the realization that HIGH taxes on these free items is costing me OOP even though I get it back via RRs..... that small bill has to be paid. Still a good Feb & March month.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Apr 3, 2011 1:58:59 GMT -5
Leanne: Good point. Also, some freebies/MMs come and go. My mom said that she used to be able to get free trash bags all the time (like huge 32 gallon ones) with coupons and/or rebates. This makes a lot of sense. There used to be a time when many of us constantly made money by the Gillette Fusion razors. They were $8 at WAGs, we had $5 coupons, and you got an $8RR. Now we are LUCKY to get them for $8, pay with a $4 coupon and get a $4 reward making them free AFTER reward (except for sales tax). I think a lot of what we do is gut instinct, but it's hard to get it right 100% of the time. For example, I NEVER thought that I'd get the kind of deal on toilet paper that mawmaw outlinted for us at CVS. At the time, I already had a decent stockpile of toilet paper that I had purchased with RRs at WAGs. I did not "pay" much for the RRs, so it's not like I spent a lot in OOP to get the toilet paper, but basically I could have used all those RRs to stockpile other things. Now I have the WAGs stockpile and the CVS stockpile, in addition to a recent RA stockpile (again the ones from RA were TOTALLY free) - but hey - that's the way the coupon crumbles. And I'm not entirely bummed because TP and paper towels are VERY EXPENSIVE, I have the storage space, and there is no doubt in my mind that it will all get used .....eventually. Hopefully sometime soon you will be able to combine a great detergent coupon (like a $2/1) with a great sale at WAGs and pay using RRs. I have built many a stockpile that way. It's really amazing because my (3) go to items that I would always try to buy when I had RRs to burn were TP, paper towels, or laundry detergent!! You know, I'm glad I posted cos I think I misunderstood the whole "I got X for free" phrase. Yes, you can get an item for free after Q's & RRs/ECBs but if you got a bunch of RRs(like Reach....paid 50cents for $4RR) for pennies and do not roll but use it buy TP, you essentially got the TP for free as well. Correct? I was missing that connection ergo my preference to use RRs for food. Its much clearer now. Hey, that means I can buy my expensive Tide again!.....what? Its technically free, no? I'm going thru withdrawals here(15 years), don't judge me ;D picghaw: Yes, but I try to stretch them as far as they will go. I paid $1.11 OOP (sales tax) for $12 in Reach RRs. I could have done anything that I wanted to with them and not felt a twinge of guilt, but I opted to use them to get the Neuragen rebate. I got another $8 in Reach RRs for $1.74 in OOP (different WAGs and had to buy a filler with each transaction). I used those to buy (4) cans of Maxwell House coffee. Total OOP for the coffee was the original $1.74 that I spent on the RRs and an additional $.36 ($.09 ea.) for the cans of coffee. Total OOP for (4) cans was $2.10 and the sale price was $2.59 for ONE can, so I thought it was a pretty good way to spend my RR $$. And actually, all of my OOP is paid with WAGs GCs that I was able to get back in the day paid for with RRs. It is no longer allowed at my store, but for a few months there a year or two ago, they allowed it so instead of stockpiling product, I stockpiled WAGs GCs.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Apr 3, 2011 2:07:48 GMT -5
and that's okay because my end goal of $0 for food groceries in the month of March was accomplished but unfortunately I can't extend it to April. Wow! That is VERY impressive!!! It sounds like you know what you're doing, so don't get crazy 2nd guessing yourself. We all have different prices and different deals depending on where we live. Now go have fun shopping! I still paid taxes and sometimes the subtotal was not an even summation of the RRs by $1 or so, but yes Food budget was next to nothing. Speaking of driving myself self, when I I food-grocery shop I add up the total as I go so that I can use all RRs and no OOP Its hard to pre-calculate the fruits/veggies by the pound so that I hit a certain mark, but I pulled it off. ;D And yeah, I've only been in Jewel & Wags & CVS all month, so household items budget was supposed to be 0 until I noticed my credit bill was higher than expected.......ergo the realization that HIGH taxes on these free items is costing me OOP even though I get it back via RRs..... that small bill has to be paid. Still a good Feb & March month. That's when doing a rebate from time to time helps out. You can recover your OOP from your sales tax and fillers. I still do that even though my OOP is paid for on GCs. I really should take all of my WAGs rebates and churn them back into GCs just to see how long I can keep the "no OOP" cycle going.
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p8nt
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Post by p8nt on Apr 3, 2011 5:21:53 GMT -5
Dancinmama - How do you turn your RRs into GCs?
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dogmom
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Post by dogmom on Apr 3, 2011 5:49:11 GMT -5
Random thoughts...Did anyone do the .99 Johnsonville sausages at Dominicks/Safeway this week? It was on the Just 4U at $1.99, use the IP from Smartsource coupons2.smartsource.com/smartsource/index.jsp?Link=BI67ELR5OJYE2 and get them for .99. I think they are still on sale... I also read there is a month long sale on Chinet plates at Wags. B1G1 at $2.99. Club Chinet has a $1.00 off IP on any Chinet item, (print 2) making them 2 for .99 www.mychinet.com/club
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Post by jennysmom on Apr 3, 2011 8:09:54 GMT -5
*MIA* But here I am back on the Pound. I'm still busy with the new home I bought last November, and then my son-- "Grocery Boy" (alumni hounds will remember him)--flew up from "Pebble Town" 3/21- 3/24 for a visit. Magical to see him again, and we had a short road trip, and I took him out to eat about 5 times in four days. I talked to locals for the last month, and they gave me some a great list of favs. We found a Mexican restaurant--very authentic and all made from scratch--even the tortillas. Also found a place that was featured on Food Network's "Drive Ins and Dives"--that was our lunch before GB caught an early evening flight back home. I saved up and only used cash, so it was just outright fun. Jenny returns home from Rome on July 1. It will be 18 months since I've seen her, so I'm counting the days. She's taken trips to Greece, Spain (Barcelona and Madrid) and still wants to go to Paris. "Grocery Boy" just got his passport and will fly over there in March. It will be fun for them to go to Paris together, and then he wants to go to Switzerland. *Chuckle* I'm not much of a traveler, but I love seeing their awesome pics on Facebook where they travel! Yep, we certainly save in Grocery Land but other places too. For you proscrastinators on taxes, did you know you could find a "Senior Center" in your town and have your taxes done for free? It's sponsored by AARP, and the volunteers all go through rigorous training. There are supervisors that really know the tax code and the returns are checked by at least one other person for accuracy. I did this last year back in CA, and had no problems either. They also were more than happy to do my daughter, Jenny's return. I saved at least $300-$400 because I had to send in Federal, Idaho and CA. Jenny saved about $50 as she just had to do Federal and CA. I e-filed (altho' I have to send in CA by mail), and will receive a refund of $998! Jenny will receive about $175 back. I may save the money, but "Grocery Boy" bought a sweet Pentax camera back in 2008, and he let me use it on our road trip and taking pictures of my kitty, Grocery Hound kitty. He just bought a zoom lens for it so it was much fun. I'm searching now for where to buy it. So far, Amazon wins with the lowest price as I can trade in Swagbucks.($30). I was planning to use Discover for cash back bonus, but Amazon isn't listed, but I did notice Walgreens (WAGS) is on the list, with a 5% cash back bonus. So if you pay your credit card balances in full every month, that's a nice bonus. Next up? Some of my recent highlights from Grocery Land...
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constanz22
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Post by constanz22 on Apr 3, 2011 8:21:47 GMT -5
picghaw Wow, you must live in an urban area. I'm lucky to be able to do a MM RR deal at Wags 2-3 times in the same week due to stock. I only have 2 Wags...
I don't remember if you have CVS or not, but, if you have excess EB's (from the PF last week, maybe?) I think NEXT week I saw All is BOGO. Now, it's usually around 8.49 here regular price, but after the $2/1 MC from the 3/6 inserts, you'd pay a little over $2 a bottle. If I needed detergent and had the MM EB's, I'd probably get a couple, although I don't consider it a "stock up" price.
I think what dancin meant about converting RR's to GC's is to buy one of the free or MM MIR's and then take that check and buy a GC with it. SOME people, frugalsuz comes to mind, is able to "buy" gift cards with RR's. I have before, as well. It says it's not allowed with the RR's, but it's YMMV. If I'm buying other things in my order, the RR's don't "attach" to the gift card, so, I've been able to do it. I tend to do it around Christmas time, but haven't tried it recently. Not sure if frugalsuz has done it recently, but maybe she'll post here.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Apr 3, 2011 8:31:21 GMT -5
Random thoughts...Did anyone do the .99 Johnsonville sausages at Dominicks/Safeway this week? It was on the Just 4U at $1.99, use the IP from Smartsource coupons2.smartsource.com/smartsource/index.jsp?Link=BI67ELR5OJYE2 and get them for .99. I think they are still on sale... I also read there is a month long sale on Chinet plates at Wags. B1G1 at $2.99. Club Chinet has a $1.00 off IP on any Chinet item, (print 2) making them 2 for .99 www.mychinet.com/club dogmom: I decided that the Just4You program wasn't Just4Me, so I don't get or do any of those deals.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2011 8:34:43 GMT -5
*MIA* But here I am back on the Pound. I'm still busy with the new home I bought last November, and then my son-- "Grocery Boy" (alumni hounds will remember him)--flew up from "Pebble Town" 3/21- 3/24 for a visit. Magical to see him again, and we had a short road trip, and I took him out to eat about 5 times in four days. I talked to locals for the last month, and they gave me some a great list of favs. We found a Mexican restaurant--very authentic and all made from scratch--even the tortillas. Also found a place that was featured on Food Network's "Drive Ins and Dives"--that was our lunch before GB caught an early evening flight back home. I saved up and only used cash, so it was just outright fun. Jenny returns home from Rome on July 1. It will be 18 months since I've seen her, so I'm counting the days. She's taken trips to Greece, Spain (Barcelona and Madrid) and still wants to go to Paris. "Grocery Boy" just got his passport and will fly over there in March. It will be fun for them to go to Paris together, and then he wants to go to Switzerland. *Chuckle* I'm not much of a traveler, but I love seeing their awesome pics on Facebook where they travel! Yep, we certainly save in Grocery Land but other places too. For you proscrastinators on taxes, did you know you could find a "Senior Center" in your town and have your taxes done for free? It's sponsored by AARP, and the volunteers all go through rigorous training. There are supervisors that really know the tax code and the returns are checked by at least one other person for accuracy. I did this last year back in CA, and had no problems either. They also were more than happy to do my daughter, Jenny's return. I saved at least $300-$400 because I had to send in Federal, Idaho and CA. Jenny saved about $50 as she just had to do Federal and CA. I e-filed (altho' I have to send in CA by mail), and will receive a refund of $998! Jenny will receive about $175 back. I may save the money, but "Grocery Boy" bought a sweet Pentax camera back in 2008, and he let me use it on our road trip and taking pictures of my kitty, Grocery Hound kitty. He just bought a zoom lens for it so it was much fun. I'm searching now for where to buy it. So far, Amazon wins with the lowest price as I can trade in Swagbucks.($30). I was planning to use Discover for cash back bonus, but Amazon isn't listed, but I did notice Walgreens (WAGS) is on the list, with a 5% cash back bonus. So if you pay your credit card balances in full every month, that's a nice bonus. Next up? Some of my recent highlights from Grocery Land... Nice to see you again "Jenny's mom", how are you in potato land? I have discover and turn in $45 for $50 worth of a cvs gift card. I rarely pay out of pocket between discover and mypoints. Lets start you off with for me. Happy to see you again.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Apr 3, 2011 8:35:22 GMT -5
Dancinmama - How do you turn your RRs into GCs? p8nt: I can't do it any more, but Constanz is right - back in the day I could use RR to BUY WAGs GCs. The register will allow it (it even counts the GC as "an item" in coupons vs items), but when the WAGs coupon policy came out in print, the party ended for me.
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Post by jennysmom on Apr 3, 2011 8:48:19 GMT -5
Jmo's Recent Receipts: Cat's Pride Cat Litter (14#) (Reg. $7.99) Sale: $4.99 (38% Savings) ( I also have 2 rain checks for 7 more). I just have to use them within 60 days @ Fred Meyers ("Freddy's') which is owned by Kroger. Kozy Tapioca Pudding (16oz) (Reg. $3.99) Sale: $2.00 (50% Savings) Foster Farms Whole Chickens (Reg. $1.59/lb) Sale: 88 cents/lb. Bought two at the beginning of the week, and 3 more to freeze. Rock-bottom price here. Organic Minneola Tangelos (Reg. $1.49/lb) Sale: $ .98/lb. Dave's "Killer" Whole Grain Bread (Reg. $4.88) Sale: $3.88 (20% Savings) Emergen Vitamin C (Reg. $14.98/30 envelopes) Sale: $7.98 (47% Savings) Kettle NY Cheddar Chips (14oz) (Reg. $4.29) Sale: $2.00 (51% Savings) *Rock-Bottom Price* Never seen this price for 14oz size* Brown Cow Yogurt (6oz) (Reg. 99 cents each) Sale: 60 cents each (With store coupon - Limit 5) (61% Savings) Organic Valley 1% Milk (Reg $3.99) Sale: $2.50 (With store coupon) (37% Savings) Talenti Belgium Double Chocolate Gelato (Reg. $4.49) Sale: $3.00 (33% Savings) *If you can find this stuff, it's more than delish!* (There are about 5 flavors, including Tahitian Vanilla Bean & Raspberry) Riverhouse Honey Dijon Dressing (Reg. $4.49) Sale: $3.00 (33% Savings) Private Selection Natural Wild Maine Blueberry Preserves (Reg. $3.99) Sale: $2.50 (37% Savings) Yeah, you'll notice no mfr. coupons , but the Boise local newspaper (Idaho Statesman) isn't much and costs $2.00/Sunday. Since the majority of my purchases are natural/organic, I don't see many of those included. Now that I'm settled, I think I'll just call the manufacturers directly and ask for them to send coupons of my favs.
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dancinmama
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LIVIN' THE DREAM!!
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Post by dancinmama on Apr 3, 2011 8:53:16 GMT -5
suzi: I have been investigating why you got the $2 extra UPs on the Scunci and this morning I found the answer in the MONTHLY SCR thread on HCW. This week's UPs deal overlaps with a monthly deal ($2 UP for each Scunci). I am looking forward to finding them this morning.
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Post by jennysmom on Apr 3, 2011 9:15:02 GMT -5
PHOTO HOUND ALERT! @ WAGS (TODAY ONLY! Expires at 11:59 PM Tonight) WOOF![/b]
FREE 8"x10" Photo! Order online. Reg. $2.99 each. May have to pay sales tax but the order I just did online shows an OOP of $0.00. The most I will pay is 19 cents sales tax (6% here in ID). The coupon code to put at checkout: DEAL8X10 (No spaces).
Be sure to click link of "Update Order" to make sure deal goes through. You then have an option of using a cc or can pick up at store and pay. My free 8"x10" will be ready in less than an hour! (And I'm already picking up photos from Grocery Boy's recent visit that were 40% off yesterday).
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mizbear
Senior Member
Stand back. I have a budget, and I know how to use it.
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Post by mizbear on Apr 3, 2011 12:47:41 GMT -5
leanna- Only one $1q in the stash- but I don't know what is in today's papers yet. Is there anything else you are looking for? PM me your addy and a list.
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Post by jennysmom on Apr 3, 2011 13:06:46 GMT -5
The WAGS FREE 8"x10" photo today only (see my previous message this morning) was no tax when I just picked it up! OOP: $0.00! Like Suzi says: "There's nothing better than free!"
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Sam_2.0
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Post by Sam_2.0 on Apr 3, 2011 13:37:57 GMT -5
Ok ladies, I have a question for those who do rebates. I figured I would ask it here since this is a nice place (I am sure AFC or HCW would just delete it!). I really am just curious - I am NOT planning on doing this!
At Target, you can make a return without your receipt, as long as you have the card/check you purchased the items with. So what is to keep someone from buying items at Target, sending in their receipt for a rebate, and then just returning the items to get the money back that way? Is there a way they somehow get back to the stores so they know the items on that particular receipt were from a rebate?
I know its random, I was just really curious. Thanks!
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dancinmama
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LIVIN' THE DREAM!!
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Post by dancinmama on Apr 3, 2011 13:47:55 GMT -5
Ok ladies, I have a question for those who do rebates. I figured I would ask it here since this is a nice place (I am sure AFC or HCW would just delete it!). I really am just curious - I am NOT planning on doing this! At Target, you can make a return without your receipt, as long as you have the card/check you purchased the items with. So what is to keep someone from buying items at Target, sending in their receipt for a rebate, and then just returning the items to get the money back that way? Is there a way they somehow get back to the stores so they know the items on that particular receipt were from a rebate? I know its random, I was just really curious. Thanks! Most rebates require you to submit the UPC label off the product.
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Sam_2.0
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Post by Sam_2.0 on Apr 3, 2011 13:53:29 GMT -5
Most you do, but the recent Olay deals you didn't have to. I was just wondering how they would prevent people from doing that. Although I guess their AP would catch on if you frequently did returns, and they do have your CC so its clearly tied to you.
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leanna
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Post by leanna on Apr 3, 2011 14:24:04 GMT -5
suzi: I have been investigating why you got the $2 extra UPs on the Scunci and this morning I found the answer in the MONTHLY SCR thread on HCW. This week's UPs deal overlaps with a monthly deal ($2 UP for each Scunci). I am looking forward to finding them this morning. I believe that deal is DEAD and it only worked for the Californian's, who get to start the ad early.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Apr 3, 2011 14:30:19 GMT -5
RITE AID SHOPPERS: BEWARE!! Both the Polygrip and the Tena were rejected by the register at my store. Luckily the cashier knows me well and pushed them through. SCUNCI $2 EXTRA UP (MONTHLY DEAL) IS NOT PRINTING. RITE AID IS GETTING SMARTER. Also, I hate to be a couponing Debbie Downer, but I had problems AGAIN not only with the MCs (pdfs), but also with the register rejecting some of my UPs used. During the transaction, the register gladly took them, but then at the END of the transaction added their value back onto my total saying that they were "not accepted". It happened on one transaction with one of the $3/$15s and on another transaction with the a $2UP. My cashier bent over backwards to help me and voided out the order and rerang, but then of course the register said that the UP had already been used. She pushed them through, but had I tried to use them with another cashier at another time it would have been a no-go. In the end, I bought the EXACT same thing trying to use the EXACT same coupons in two transactions (2 Tena, one Neil Med, 2 Polygrip,and 2 Scunci). On the first transaction I was charged $.55 in sales tax so I could not use my last $2.50 Tena coupon and I paid $1.99 in OOP. On the second transaction I was charged $3.14 in sales tax so it allowed me to use my last Tena coupon and my OOP was $2.08. On the third transaction I bought (2) Tena and (2) Polygrip (for my mom). I was charged $.83 in sales tax. It would not allow me to use a $2UP that I had (at the end of the transaction it said that it was "disallowed", but my OOP was $2.79 so based on past experience, I should have been able to use it. My strategy at Rite Aid has always been to wait for an item that is FREE after coupon AND giving UPs and to rinse and repeat as many times as possible based on the stock available and the limits. Then to take those UPs and roll them into other deals that will give me a profit in UPs until I can spend UPs on SCR items. If I cannot calculate my OOP in advance, however, I cannot be assured when I walk in the door what I will pay and that just doesn't work for me. Today I paid $6.86 in OOP (it should have been around $2.42). It's okay because I spent it to get SCRs so it will still be a HUGE MM for me, BUT if it had happened two weeks ago when I rolled UPs into the Doctors Nightguard, it would have been a HUGE loss. That is waaaaay to much in OOP to pay for products that I may not need.
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Post by picghaw on Apr 3, 2011 14:31:18 GMT -5
picghaw: Yes, but I try to stretch them as far as they will go. I paid $1.11 OOP (sales tax) for $12 in Reach RRs. I could have done anything that I wanted to with them and not felt a twinge of guilt, but I opted to use them to get the Neuragen rebate. I got another $8 in Reach RRs for $1.74 in OOP (different WAGs and had to buy a filler with each transaction). I used those to buy (4) cans of Maxwell House coffee. Total OOP for the coffee was the original $1.74 that I spent on the RRs and an additional $.36 ($.09 ea.) for the cans of coffee. Total OOP for (4) cans was $2.10 and the sale price was $2.59 for ONE can, so I thought it was a pretty good way to spend my RR $$. And actually, all of my OOP is paid with WAGs GCs that I was able to get back in the day paid for with RRs. It is no longer allowed at my store, but for a few months there a year or two ago, they allowed it so instead of stockpiling product, I stockpiled WAGs GCs. dancinmama : I'm going to stretch them as far as it can go for this week. If I had planned better, I would buy and/or hound Q's to stretch more but time is against me. TP and Paper Towels are 1st on the list, then whatever else that can be gotten for cheaper or with Q's (facial products like Olay). I had inquired about using RRs for Jewel GCs an while back, that's a no go but it would have been sweet. It seems like things were much easier a few years ago (converting RRs to Wags GC etc), so I have to adjust my expectations a bit to be realistic to today's climate and my area. Thanks again for you feedback.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Apr 3, 2011 14:38:03 GMT -5
suzi: I have been investigating why you got the $2 extra UPs on the Scunci and this morning I found the answer in the MONTHLY SCR thread on HCW. This week's UPs deal overlaps with a monthly deal ($2 UP for each Scunci). I am looking forward to finding them this morning. I believe that deal is DEAD and it only worked for the Californian's, who get to start the ad early. leanna: I think that RA has gotten smart on the "double dipping" of getting weekly AND monthly UPs at the same time. The $2UP on Scunci is reported to be a monthly deal, so I "assume" that the $2UPs will print on these again starting next week.
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Post by picghaw on Apr 3, 2011 15:10:43 GMT -5
picghaw Wow, you must live in an urban area. I'm lucky to be able to do a MM RR deal at Wags 2-3 times in the same week due to stock. I only have 2 Wags... I don't remember if you have CVS or not, but, if you have excess EB's (from the PF last week, maybe?) I think NEXT week I saw All is BOGO. Now, it's usually around 8.49 here regular price, but after the $2/1 MC from the 3/6 inserts, you'd pay a little over $2 a bottle. If I needed detergent and had the MM EB's, I'd probably get a couple, although I don't consider it a "stock up" price. I think what dancin meant about converting RR's to GC's is to buy one of the free or MM MIR's and then take that check and buy a GC with it. SOME people, frugalsuz comes to mind, is able to "buy" gift cards with RR's. I have before, as well. It says it's not allowed with the RR's, but it's YMMV. If I'm buying other things in my order, the RR's don't "attach" to the gift card, so, I've been able to do it. I tend to do it around Christmas time, but haven't tried it recently. Not sure if frugalsuz has done it recently, but maybe she'll post here. Yes, urban area. I can take different routes to work and on one route (now my fav ), I pass 4 Wags. There is a Wags that is very coupon-friendly that a bit further from me, so I really head out there since they seem to always have things in stock, will take into consideration what RR deals are coming in the weeks to come and order accordingly, are willing to right rain-checks, know what a Rebate Receipt is.......etc I found them via a local blogger. I do think the climate has changed since Jan and a lot of people have started couponing since the stores seem to be running out a lot more lately. I've been trying go out of my way to "run" into a Store Managers if I see one in the store and strike up conversation about coupon policy, RRs....then lead it into "wondering how the ordering process goes and if they can look ahead 2-3wks and order items accordingly" . I would be nice to get more of them to do that. See I think $2 for detergent is stock-up price, but then again I was a Tide user($6). Aside from pairing up a BOGO store sale with 2 high-valued coupons (like $2/1), wouldn't it be hard to get close to Free detergent? Has there ever been a BOGO Mfr for detergent? I wonder if this is more of a question for NW Chicago Suburbs Ladies. So you have not been able to "attach" RRs to a GC in your order, yes? I heard about that, but haven't tried it though. Thanks.
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rubyslippers
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Post by rubyslippers on Apr 3, 2011 15:49:20 GMT -5
[quote author=dancinmama board=wir thread=5836 post That's when doing a rebate from time to time helps out. You can recover your OOP from your sales tax and fillers. I still do that even though my OOP is paid for on GCs. I really should take all of my WAGs rebates and churn them back into GCs just to see how long I can keep the "no OOP" cycle going. [/quote] Dancin: That's what I've been doing with my SCR from Rite Aid. I used to deposit all the rebate into one of my accounts. Now I take part of it and add it to my giftcard. This year I've spent a total of $22.74 at Rite Aid, but got back $121.45 in rebates, so I'm ahead $98.71. I have over $10.00 left on my giftcard so will have to try to stretch it out until the next check arrives. It makes it easier to shop too when you don't have to keep digging for money when doing multiple transactions. I keep a tiny Post-it attached with what I have left on my card. The last time I paid cash at Rite Aid was early in February. When I get the Neuragen rebate back, I'm going to put half of it on a WAGS card for when they have a really, really good deal. Most of my WAGs purchases are for little OOP and then I use up the RR on things we use regularly, like canned mushrooms or TP. I have a giftcard at CVS too that I'm trying to see how far it will stretch. I don't find too many rebates there, but did do the PF rebates, so maybe I'll take half of that money and add to my giftcard.
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