Retail Therapy: My Walgreens Run, 7/23

Things have been very depressing around here. I might post more about it later, I might not, but let's just say that in the past 2 months we've had some major turnover in the staff in our children's ministry. I know that God is sovereign and that He is holding us all in His big ol' hands, but it is still hard.

So..........

Today I decided I needed some retail therapy. I know that most husbands would get scared to hear that expression from their wives, but Scott doesn't worry. My version of retail therapy is going couponing to see what kind of deals I can get!

I was going to go to Staples, but after a Facebook post from Mandy, I decided that Walgreens was the place to go this week. With two young boys, I can't justify going from store to store in the summertime in Texas--it's just too hot. So I have to choose just one store to hit.

Here's what I got at Walgreens today. I spent $2.03 and got $9 back in register rewards.


















Bic highlighters: FREE ($.49 for a 5 pack, plus used a $1 off 2 Bic items coupon)

Excedrin: $4.99 OOP*, or FREE after RR (B1G1 at $6.99, used 2 $1/1 coupons, got $5RR)

Tylenol: $3.99 OOP, or $.99 after RR (on sale for $4.99, used $1/1 coupon and got $3 RR back)

Pilot G2 pens: $1 OOP, or FREE after RR (buy a 2-pack at $1, get $1 RR)

Kleenex: $.73 each (on sale for $.89, buy 3 and use the $.50 off 3 coupon)

Scotch tape: $.39 each

Pencils: $.29 for a 10-pack

Papermate pens: $.19 for a 10-pack

As I've explained before, the beauty of Walgreens is the RRs. You end up getting so many RRs that you rarely end up spending "real" money. For this trip, I used $3 in RRs that I already had, plus a $3 off coupon they sent me in the mail (I got lucky--a new Walgreens opened up right down the street, so they sent out some coupons), and a giftcard I had $6.22 left on from some rebates. So, I ended up only $2.03 OOP. If I didn't have the RR, Walgreens coupon, and giftcard, my total would have been about $11.53. I got $9 in RRs back, so I was happy with that.

Don't forget that RRs don't really expire, so don't freak out at the expiration date when you get them. I have had no problems using "expired" RRs.

*OOP = out-of-pocket

Sunday: A Good Time Was Had by All

Sunday morning
We managed to all get to church without too much bickering. I have a personal belief that Satan attacks Christians with extra vigor on Sunday mornings. It seems like he tries to do everything he can to stop folks from making it to church. He makes the bed extra comfy so you want to snooze longer, makes the kids want to sleep in just on that day of the week and no other day of the week, makes your coffee taste extra good so you forget what time it is, then gets you all in a rush so that you are on edge and start snipping at your family.

Well, okay. Maybe all of that only happens to me. :)

But anyway, we all got to church relatively well on Sunday morning. I was running late and my coffee did taste extra good, but we didn't bicker, and the kids even behaved pretty well while we were getting ready. I got to church and soon welcomed in a little over 20 third grade girls to my classroom. It was "Story Sunday," which we do once per month in the summer. Someone from the church comes to talk to the kids and shares his or her testimony. This week, a wonderful lady named Francie came and spoke. She made a couple of points that I thought were just fabulous.

She talked about how when she grew up, she was in a church that didn't really encourage personal Bible study. She knew a lot about God, but she didn't really know God. To give an analogy, she asked the kids, "How many of you know who George Washington is?" They all raised their hands. "Okay, but how many of you know George Washington?" Of course the point is that we can study a person and learn a lot about him, but still not really have a personal relationship with him. God doesn't want that! He invites us to know Him personally.


Sunday afternoon
We came home, ate lunch, and got the kids ready for a nap. I put Caleb in bed, and while Scott sat down to rock Isaac to sleep, I grabbed my coupons and reusable bags and headed to Kroger. Oh, the joy of bargain shopping without kids! :)

Kroger has their Mega Deal event going on here in North Texas through Tuesday. If you buy 10 participating items, you get $5 back. So basically you get an extra $.50 off per item. Combine that with coupons, and you have some good deals! Even without coupons, there were some good deals. I got 70 items yesterday and spent $75.21. I saved $106.32. I could have saved a larger percentage, but I did get some splurge items: $4.99 for a big bag of organic raisins, $7.99 for Huggies, $2.99 for organic yogurt, etc. But here are some highlights:

Smart Balance butter (tubs or sticks) $.94
(on sale for $1.99, buy 10 and get it for $1.49, use a coupon for $.55 off that is actually IN the store right next to the butter)

Simply Potatoes $.99
(combine a bag of the potato and onion Simply Potatoes with some eggs and cheese, and you have an easy, quick weeknight meal!)

Chex Mix $.49
(on sale for $1.99, buy 10 and get it for $1.49, use a coupon for $.50 off one which Kroger doubles to $1 off)

Irish Spring soap 3-pack $.99

Quaker Snack Cakes $.49

Listerine Mouthwash $.49
(on sale for $2.99, buy 10 and get it for $2.49, use a coupon for $2 off--no longer available online)

Kleenex $.83
(on sale for $1.49, buy 10 and get it for $.99, use a coupon for $.50 off 3)

Kraft cheese $1.49
(not the best price ever for cheese, but good for the cubes and snack packs that are also included in the sale)

I also splurged on some VitaminWater. I really like this stuff! They are regularly about $1.25 or more, but you can get them for $.50 each during this sale.

One note on these mega-deals: make sure you count your items! You have to get them in exact multiples of 10 to make the most of the deals. I got 60 participating items, and I triple-counted them all before I got to the checkout. I'm sure I looked pretty funny, standing in the toothpaste aisle shuffling all the stuff around in my cart and muttering "1...2...3...." to myself. ;)

I see from some bloggers that Kroger is running another very similar mega-deal next week, so many of these deals may continue through next Tuesday.

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When I got home from Kroger, I expected Caleb to be up (he rarely naps) and I was going to pick him up and take him with me on a run to Market Street for a few more grocery deals. But when I got home, it was a picture out of The Napping House--everyone was asleep. Caleb had actually fallen asleep, and Scott had dozed off while rocking Isaac in his chair.

So I let them sleep for awhile as I put away the groceries. At 5:00, I woke everyone up. They all decided to go to Market Street with me, so we made a family evening of it. We haven't been to Market Street in several months, but this week they had a few good deals in their ad, and they sent me a $5 off a $25 purchase coupon.

They have a little eatery area there, so we decided to eat there as a treat and then shop. It was good stuff! Scott had a yummy panini with fruit, I had a chicken Caesar salad (with fat-free dressing), and Caleb had a piece of pizza (part of a $1.99 kids' meal). I had brought along an avocado and some snacks for Isaac, so we were all set.

After we ate, we set out shopping. Market Street is not a place I'd shop every day--their prices are just too high, in general--but it's fun to visit now and then. It's cheap, air-conditioned entertainment for the kids as they point out all the different items. They have "little carts" for the kids, which Caleb adores. They sell flax seed and steel-cut oats in bulk at a good price, too.

We spent $24 and got a good bit of stuff. Then we came home, I bathed the boys, and it was bedtime. All in all, a good day!

Making Walgreens Work for You

I got a comment from my friend Kristen on a previous post asking about Walgreens' Register Rewards. I started to answer her in an email, but I thought my answer might benefit others, too, so I'm posting it here. Here's the original comment:

Hey, so I got my first set of Register Rewards at Walgreens, and I'm confused about something. If I apply the RR to my current purchase (for example, a St. Ives body wash for 2.99, get a 2.99 RR = FREE), then I can't also then apply that FREE-ness to the item I bought later with my RR (toilet paper, for example).

Most of the websites consider the item producing the RR for free, but then they also talk about how they got free stuff *with* their RRs.

They can't *both* be considered free. Does that make sense?

What she's referring to is the blogs like Money Saving Mom and Southern Savers that put together a list each week of all the "free" stuff and deals you can get at Walgreens and other stores. Walgreens often has specials where you buy an item at x price and get x dollars in Register Rewards, which means that the item is basically free. But my friend is exactly right--you can’t really get the item for free unless you already have a RR in your hand.

What ends up happening is that the first time you go to Walgreens, you spend real money. I spent something like $50 the first time I went to Walgreens and got lots of stuff, but I messed up on some purchases. (Read that post to see what I did wrong--hopefully it will keep you from making the same mistakes!) I did end up getting about $25 back, which I was able to use on subsequent visits.

The way to “work” Walgreens is to use those RRs to buy stuff that produces more RRs. That way you rarely pay any real money. For example, here's an ideal situation:

Today you go to Walgreens and get item A for $3 with a $3 reward and item B for $5 with a $5 reward. You spend $8 in real money (plus tax!), but you get $8 in RRs back. Total spent: $8 out-of-pocket (OOP).

Next week you go to Walgreens and get items C and D that are $4 each and produce two $4 RRs. You use your $8 in RRs from the previous week, and get an additional $8 in RRs. Woo hoo! Now you're in business! Total spent: $0 (or just the tax on the items, if applicable), plus $8 in RR to use on your next purchase!

Of course, that's an ideal world. Usually what ends up happening to me is that I have a $3 RR and a $5 RR, and the only thing I want to buy in the store is a $4 item that produces a RR. In that situation, I can either use the $3 RR and pay $1 out of pocket, or I can find a "filler" item for a dollar or more, and use the $5 RR. I can't use a $5 RR to pay for a $4 item.

There are a few things you have to keep in mind when "working Walgreens":

• You can stretch those RRs even farther by using store and manufacturer coupons. For instance, if I want to buy some M&Ms for $2 that produce a $2 RR, I can also use a coupon forM&Ms and turn it into a money-maker.
  
• You can't have more coupons than you have items. If you have a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon for one item, you have to find another "filler" item to purchase so that you have 2 coupons and 2 items. RRs are considered coupons.
  
• Try to only buy things that produce RRs, and stockpile them! When there is a really good deal on something, I hit one or more Walgreens throughout the week and stock up.
• You can't use a RR to produce the same RR. For example, if you buy those M&Ms and get the RR for it, you can't use that RR to buy another package of M&Ms. It won't print out a RR.
• I've used expired RRs at two Walgreens and had no problems. So don't panic if your RRs are expiring! Wait for a good deal, or use them to buy a newspaper.
  

I have shopped at CVS a couple of times now, and I have to say that I like Walgreens better. Here's why:

• At Walgreens, you don't have to use a shopper card that tracks your purchases. When there is a CVS deal on toothpaste that costs $2 and gives you a $2 reward, you can only get the deal once per shopper card. I like that with Walgreens, I can do as many transactions at as many sotres as I want and keep getting the same deal.
  
• At least in my area, if I don't hit CVS on Sunday night, the deals are all gone. I have yet to get any good deals at any CVS around here because the shelves are scraped clean when I get there. At Walgreens, the good deals are usually still there on Tuesdays or even later in the week.
  

Anyway, back to Kristen's question, the first trip to Walgreens is really the most confusing. Once you get some RRs in your hand, you really CAN get stuff for free and shell out very little money. On my last trip I spent only $.26 and got some high priced items, plus more RRs back. But you don't really get anything for FREE until you use the RRs you have. If you get the RRs and then don't go back to Walgreens, you didn't get a good deal at all. Walgreens has these RR programs to keep you coming back in the store.

Whenever I tally up how much I spent at a store, I calculate how much was actually out of pocket, and I note how much I got back in rewards or gift cards that I can use next time.

I hope that helps a little. It definitely is a confusing thing to write about!

Night Time, Walgreens, and a Disgruntled Potato

On most days, all I want to do after I put the kids to bed is slip into my jammies, put my glasses on, pour myself a cup of coffee (the tenth one of the day or so--but at least it's 1/2 caff), and curl up on my bed with a blanket and my laptop. I want to write and share the adventures of my day.

A lot of times this plan comes crashing down. Isaac has been a real booger lately when it comes to sleeping in his own room at night. Either we can't get him down to sleep at all in his room (thankfully this doesn't happen too often), or he'll wake up after an hour or two screaming, and we're both too tired to deal with trying to get him back to sleep in his room (this happens a lot). So every night he spends at least a portion of his night in our bed.

But right now it's 8:35, and Isaac went to sleep successfully in his own room at 8:00, and I have high hopes that he'll stay there at least long enough for me to write a little and maybe finish a book. We'll see. ;)

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There are two things I definitely wanted to share today. Neither is earth-shattering, folks, but it's news in my world.

The first is that Walgreens is finally really working for me. Two weeks ago, I went in and spent $5 out-of-pocket and got $9 in Register Rewards back. Today, I went in with those RRs and got a few things.

My plan was to just get stuff that gives RRs back. I knew it was a long shot, though--I had gone to the Walgreens by our church on Tuesday, and all the RR items were already gone. The sales start on Sunday, and I guess there are several couponers like me who read up and shop Walgreens strategically and had cleared the shelves of the freebie items. But I had these RRs burning a hole in my pocket, so I decided on a whim to stop by a different Walgreens on my way to Whole Foods today. Here's what I ended up getting:



If I'd gone in there with no coupons, my total would have been about $16. I spent $.26! And I got $6 in RR back!

I knew I wanted to get these items:

• Dry Idea Clinical Strength deodorant ($5.99, get $5 RR back)
• Skintimate shave gel ($1.99, get $1 RR back)

I had a $2 coupon for Dry Idea, and I had 2 RRs for $4.50 each. You can't get more items than you have coupons (RRs are counted as coupons), so I had to get at least 3 things. Then I saw in the ad that they have Mitchum deodorant on sale for $1.99 if you use the in-ad coupon, so I decided to get that (that's the kind of deodorant I usually use, for those who just need to know). But I still had more coupons than items--4 coupons and 3 items. So I went in search of a filler. I found that stainless steel ice cream scoop marked down on clearance for $.50. I figured I could use it for scooping cookie dough, so I got it. I went up to the register with those 4 items and my 4 coupons. The lady at the register (I always say "the lady who was checking me out" but Scott says I shouldn't say that) scanned my items, then she looked up at me and said some beautiful words: "Your coupons exceed your total. You have to get something else!" She reached for some kind of designer tea sitting next to her at a display. "You like tea?" I hastily looked around at the stuff at the front counter (there were 3 people behind me in line) and found that little bottle of Listerine for $.75. That would have to do! My new total was $.26, plus the $6 in RR back. Woo hoo!

Then I went to Whole Foods and spent $50. Hmph.

****************************
I was cooking dinner tonight (one of my favorite comfort foods--a scramble of potatoes, onions, eggs, and cheese cooked in the skillet), listening to the sounds of the kids playing with Scott in the living room and my radio talk show (the Scott Wilder Show) on in the kitchen. I reached over to grab a potato, and I noticed that it looked funny. I mean, it was an organic potato, and often organic produce looks a little different than conventional stuff. But this? You be the judge.



Mr. Potato Head didn't look very happy tonight.

My Target Purchase, May 18

Raisin Bran--$.99 per box
(on sale at $1.99, plus $1 off from coupons.com, no longer available)

Special K--$1.50 per box
(on sale at $2.50, plus $1 off from coupons.com, no longer available)

Kix--$1.75 per box
(on sale at $2.50, plus $.75 off from coupons.com, no longer available)

Huggies Wipes--$1.24 and $1.49 each
(on sale for $1.99, plus coupons from Huggies mailer)

Always 32 & 28 count--$4.99 each PLUS got a $5 gift card back!
(on sale at $8.99 each, plus $4 off coupon from paper, plus special Target promotion when you buy 2)

Kraft salad dressing--$.49 each
($1 off 2 printable, $1 off 1 printable)

Kashi TLC bars--$2.13 each
(on sale for $2.88, plus $1.50 off 2 printable--not sure if it's still available)

Quaker Fiber granola bars--$1.92 each
(on sale for $2.42, plus $1 off 2 printable--not sure if it's still available)

Hershey's Bliss candy bar--FREE
($.99, plus $1 off printable)
(not pictured...um...I ate it already...)

And, okay, I bought a bunch of other stuff, too, but these are the best deals I got! For more on Target deals, go to Stretching a Buck's site. To print out a bunch of Target coupons, go to A Full Cup.

$50 in Kraft Coupons

If you haven't signed up for the Kraft Community, go here to learn more. As of today, they are giving away $50 in coupons to those signed up. I just printed mine--coupons for stuff like cheese, mayo, mustard, salad dressing, Ritz, Wheat Thins, etc. Combine these coupons with sales, and you'll be able to get a bunch of free stuff!

Do this quickly before the coupons are all claimed!

My First Real Foray into Walgreens

I promise this won't turn into a blog all about couponing, and there will be posts soon with pictures of my cute boys and our recent adventures, but this is what's on my mind at the moment and therefore it's what gets posted! :)

***********************************

I went to Walgreens once last Tuesday, but I only purchased one thing (and made 50 cents). This time I decided to go for it and use the advice from Southern Savers to get some major deals.

I went through the aisles, trying to carefully match up the items in the ad to the items in store. As you'll see below, this is extremely important! Walgreens has really high prices on some things, so if you don't get the one on sale, you are paying WAY more than you need to!

Here's what I got:

• Cottonelle Fresh Wipes, 42 pack
• Wal-itin Allergy 10 mg 10-pack
• Visine
  
• Physician's Formula Organic Mascara
• 4 bags of Hershey's candy
• Tylenol Sinus
• Wal-itin Allergy 10 mg 30-pack
• Colgate Total toothpaste

I went to the check out and used my gazillion coupons like a good little shopper. The total came out to be a staggering $50.86. WHOA! I reassured myself, though, that the first time you shop at Walgreens, you have to pay out real money (and I got mostly medicines, after all). After your first big purchase, you end up with so many Register Rewards and rebates that you end up using that on your next trip instead of real money.

So I took Isaac and my bags and went out to the car. Once I was safely in our Explorer, I started looking through my receipt and looking for my Register Rewards. There weren't any! I should have gotten $3.49 in RR from my toothpaste, and $3 from my Visine and Tylenol purchase. Sighing, I unbuckled Isaac from his carseat, grabbed my bags, and headed back inside to talk to a manager.

At the counter, I told the manager I was missing two RR and I was trying to figure out why I didn't get them. I quickly figured out that I got the wrong size on my toothpaste, so I went to exchange that while he looked at the other problem. There was a deal where you buy two qualifying items and you get $3 in Register Rewards. I bought Visine and Tylenol Sinus. He looked at the items, looked at the ad, looked at the items some more, and shrugged.

He returned the Tylenol and the Visine, then rang it up again. Still no RR printed out. Finally he just rang it up as a $3 discount and gave me $3 cash. That was nice. And once I got the right toothpaste, I got my RR for that, too. So I left the store for the second time (with 3 receipts) feeling pretty good.

But now that I am home and looking through my receipts again, I am so frustrated. I made two big boo-boos.

#1: I bought some Cottonelle Fresh Wipes (hey, I have a potty trainer at home!) which, if I had thought to use the in-store coupon, would have been $1.49 after coupling it with the manufacturer's coupon. But no, I forgot I had to tear the coupon out of the ad, so I ended up spending a whopping $3.19 for those suckers. Aaaaaaaaah!! SAVINGS LOST: $1.70.

#2: I tried to buy Visine at $3.49 and Tylenol Sinus at $4.99. Well, evidently I bought the wrong items. My Visine rang up at $6.99 and my Tylenol rang up at $7.49. What?!?? I just checked the ad AGAIN and evidently I got the wrong size Visine and I should have gotten "Rapid Release" Tylenol. Oh, the details. (And that would be why the RR didn't print!!) I did get the $3 back, but I lost out on savings. And my receipts are totally messed up, indicating I returned those items and got discounts on them, so I don't think I could return them without a major hassle. SAVINGS LOST: (deep breath) $6.00.

I used $14 in coupons. These are the rebates and RR I have coming from these purchases:

• $10 from PF organic mascara purchase (through Walgreens esavers rebates)
  
• $9.95 from PF organic mascara purchase (through PF) (YUP! Since the mascara was only $9.95, that means I made $10!)
  
• $3.50 RR from the toothpaste
• $5 from the candy (esaver rebate)
• $6.99 from the Wal-itin (esaver rebate)

That totals $34.14 ($21.99 from ebates, which actually gives me an additional 10% back for putting it on a gift card, so add $2.20; $3.50 RR, $9.95 mail-in rebate) that I'll get back from the purchases. Not bad, but I can do much better--and I will next time!

If you are going to Walgreens, I definitely recommend the PF organic makeup deal--that's a money maker. The toothpaste comes out free (actually you can make a dollar if you use a coupon), and the candy comes out to 87 cents per bag if you use the $1.50 coupon that was in the paper a few weeks ago.

If you have questions about any of these deals, check out the Southern Saver post for Walgreens this week.

Target; Walgreens; Donating Stuff

Well, after I learned my lesson from my last grocery store trips, I waited to do my major coupon shopping until Caleb was in preschool. Shopping with only one kiddo is infinitely easier.

So today I went to Target and spent $66.26. A big chunk of that was some summer clothes for Isaac and Caleb--I bought 5 pairs of cute shorts at $4 each (good deal!). I also splurged on some new cups for Caleb, since he's chewed on the tops of his other cups (that he's had for a couple of years), and he still needs sippies for his preschool lunches, car trips, etc. But here are the highlights of the other things I got:

• Mega pack (184 count) of Huggies wipes--$.49
• 8 Johnson's Buddies soaps--FREE
• Pledge multi-surface spray--$.74
• Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner--$1.75
• 2 Barilla Whole Grain pasta--$.74 each
  
• 2 Musselman applesauce 4-packs--$1.00 each
  
• Jello pudding 6-pack--$1.44
• Diet Dr. Pepper 2-liter--FREE
• 2 Steamfresh Veggies--$.65 each

All in all, I saved $20.99 just from coupons. If you shop at Target, go here to print out coupons before you go. These are store coupons, so you can combine them with manufacturer coupons if you have them!

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I also stopped by Walgreens today for my first foray into couponing there. It was actually a bit intimidating! You have to really know what you are looking for. I ended up getting only one item: Skintimate shaving cream. I paid $2.49 and I got $3 in Register Rewards, which I can use as a credit on my next purchase. The plan is to keep using those Register Rewards to buy more stuff, get more Register Rewards, etc. In the end, Walgreens should be paying me to shop there. We'll see. I'm starting small!

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Now, some of the stuff that I get from couponing is stuff that I don't normally use. My plan with couponing is to use it as a tool to not only help my budget, but to help others as well. I took the boys with me a couple of weeks ago to donate some food to our city's Family Services Center. I expected to just drop off some stuff and go, but I actually had a man strike up a conversation with me while I was there. He wanted to thank me for donating items, and he told me his story of how he got there. Just a few months ago, he was employed and making over $80K per year. But then he got laid off--out of the blue--and he didn't have much savings to fall back on. So now he's gone from living comfortably to depending on the generosity of others to make it. He has two children.

This really made an impact on me. All I had donated that day was some baby food jars that we'd had left from Caleb (that stuff has a really long shelf life!!), some disposable diapers that Isaac was too big to wear, and some other miscellaneous stuff like that. Nothing huge. And I thought, "How can I do more?"

So while I research all this couponing stuff, I keep that man in my mind. Every time I see a coupon for something that I don't think I'll use, I think, "Could the food bank use that product?" If the answer is yes, then I go ahead and clip the coupon. If I come across a deal where I can get it for free or dirt cheap, I'll pick it up so I can donate it.

Yes, it takes extra time. Yes, it actually ends up costing me a little money (although I do get tax benefits from the donations). But I feel that it's the right thing for me to do.

All that said, if you see weird stuff on my shopping trip posts and start wondering why I would buy that, more than likely it's because I'm going to donate it.

And yes, this hits on another subject that is dear to me: the environment. I always feel a tinge of guilt when I buy things that are in small packages just to get a deal, or when I buy cleaning supplies at a great price when normally I wouldn't allow them in my home (many of those cleaning supplies are just toxic, and we try to use all natural stuff here). But ultimately I had to decide that people come first, and if I can help people, then I will do that before I help the environment. That's just my conviction right now. Of course, I do try to limit my purchases of those types of things anyway.

I'm just a walking conundrum, I know. But who isn't?

Couponing: Lesson Learned!

I posted last week about how I'm trying to use coupons to cut back on our grocery expenses. I have learned that there is a whole science behind organizing coupons, saving them to match them up with sales and/or store coupons, finding internet coupons, and knowing the coupon policies of the stores in your area.

I still have a lot to learn.

But I did learn one valuable lesson during the past week: if you really want to maximize your savings, don't shop with a preschooler and a toddler!

I went to WalMart a few days ago to take advantage of a few deals and to get a few things. I had coupons to get all of this for free:




That's two boxes of Artisan Wheat Thins, 2 packs of gum, and 6 bars of Johnson's Buddies soap. For the Wheat Thins, they were actually on sale for $2 each, and I had 2 BOGO coupons from the Sunday paper (so I guess they technically were $1 a box). I got the gum for free because there were coupons in the paper for free gum. And Johnson's has coupons for $1 off these Buddies soaps, and they are priced at $.97 at WalMart! I've copied the links for those coupons below.

• $1/1 Johnson’s Buddies (IE) (Firefox)
• $2/2 Johnson’s Buddies (IE) (Firefox)
• $2/2 Johnson’s Shampoo, Conditioner or Buddies (IE) (Firefox)
• $3/3 Johnson’s Products (IE) (Firefox)

Ok, so I should have gotten all of that stuff for free, but somehow, I didn't! I got to the car and looked over my receipt and noticed that I ended up spending $3 for those 6 buddies soaps. My $2 off coupon and $1 off coupon didn't go through! Why didn't I notice this at the register, you ask? Why wasn't I watching the cashier to make sure everything scanned appropriately? Because I had a little 3-year-old who was choosing to be very restless and disruptive, and a toddler who was tired of being the cart but wanted to squirm all over the place when I held him.

I had a similar issue at Kroger yesterday. I have been taking great advantage of their Mega Deals where you buy 10 participating items and get $5 off. I brought my list of items to get, and I had more coupons so I could get the following, among other things:

• Irish Spring 3-pack $.09
• Soft Soap pump FREE
• Stayfree packages $.99 each
• Colgate toothbrush $.24

Well, you have to be really careful that you get exactly 10 participating items, or in multiples of 10. I messed up and ended up with only 19, so I missed out on $5!! I was so upset. I figured out what I did wrong, though--something I thought was a participating item ended up not being a participating item. Pbbbbt. If I hadn't been distracted by my squabbling kids sitting side-by-side in the car-shaped cart, this probably wouldn't have happened. So, it is now my resolve to do my coupon shopping while Caleb is at preschool so I can concentrate a little better!!

If you are interested in couponing or want to see more on how to get free stuff, take the time to check out Money Saving Mom.

Another tip: I have gotten lots of coupons by telling companies what I think of their products (both good things and bad). Like my complaints to Palmolive about their terrible Eco+ stuff scored me a slew of coupons for Colgate, Soft Soap, Irish Spring, and other stuff that has come in handy at Kroger lately!

Taking Stock; Couponing

Periodically I like to take stock of how things are going in my life and what I can do to make myself better. It's similar to when I worked full-time and we would have quarterly reviews. Am I on track to achieve the goals I set? What areas can I change? Where am I doing well?

There are many facets of my life, of course, which can easily be broken down into roles: Christian, wife, mother, teacher, home manager, daughter, sister, granddaughter, friend, etc. If I think through each of those roles, I can identify places where I can improve myself.

One of the facets I am currently focusing on is my role as home manager. I know that kinda sounds silly, but as a stay-at-home mom it is my job to manage the home. That means I take care of the bills, the groceries, the meals, the house cleaning, the doctor visits, etc. (Of course, like any good manager, I do delegate tasks to my wonderful husband, who helps SO much! :) )

I am responsible for managing our finances, and this is the specific area I've been working on. In this economy, we have to be extra diligent about not spending more than we need to. You never know when life will throw you a curve ball (my brother, for example, just lost his job), and you need to be prepared. So I am looking through our expenses and seeing where we can trim.

I posted a few weeks ago about a terrific blog I found called Money Saving Mom. I have learned so much from there! She shows you how to make coupons really work for you. I don't think I ever even thought about combining store coupons with manufacturer coupons. But those two things plus a sale mean big, big savings!

I've been educating myself from her blog and others (like Life as Mom), and I was ready to take the next step. Last night after the kids went to bed, I worked on this:




This is my new coupon binder! It's kind of a first start and may morph into something better, but for now it seems to work. It's a floppy 1" binder (I repurposed one that Scott had used at kids' camp last year) with sports card pages in it to hold my coupons. Each sports card page has 9 little pockets, perfect for holding coupons so that you can see what you have! I took the idea from Laura Williams' blog. I just cut up index cards to make the tabs, and I have sections like baby, baking, bread, candy, canned, cereal, etc. In the front of my binder is a zipper pouch with a pen and sticky notes. I plan on putting a little calculator in there, too. (Right now I use the one on my phone, but it's a bit cumbersome.)

I used the binder yesterday at Kroger, and I must say it worked out quite well! Kroger had their Mega Deals going--if you buy 10 participating items, you get $5 off. So here's what I bought yesterday:



I spent $34.63. Here is what I got:

• 2 Irish Spring 3-packs of soap FREE
  
• 1 box of Fiber One bars $.99
• 2 Buttoni whole wheat tortellinis $1.99 each
  
• 7 Lean Cuisine meals $1.49 each
• 1 Soft Soap hand soap $.19
• 1 Soft Soap body wash $1.74
• 3 Classico pasta sauces $1.79 each
• 2 Colgate toothpastes $.24 each
• 4 boxes Raisin Bran $1.95 each plus coupon back for $1.50 off next purchase
• 1 box Nature Valley bars $1.99
• 1 gallon skim milk $1.99

Not too shabby! I have a lot to learn, but it's a good start! (And hey, to those of you I know in real life, if you have coupons you don't want, send them my way!) :)