See CVS This Week

This week (and last) milk is only $2.69 (after an extrabuck reward for your next purchase). I can always trust Garelick Farms to hold the Farmers' Pledge:  "No Artificial Growth Hormones."  Though I can purchase milk at other places cheaply, they do not always offer such  "whole"some milk. 

Stride gum is free (after a 99 cents reward coupon for your next purchase).  And Revlon nail polish is only 99 cents after a $4 extrabuck reward coupon.  With my toddler running around the store, reaching out for the sunglasses and candy bars, I completely forgot to use my $2 Revlon coupon, which could have made my nail polish completely free (with an extra dollar on the side).  If I had only clipped my coupons together (they were just stuffed in my designated CVS coupon envelope), I would not have forgotten about it. 

And finally, this week Lipton tea bags were on sale for what I thought was a good deal already -- 2/$5.  If you buy $10 worth of certain products, you get $3 in rewards coupons back.  I just bought four boxes of tea, which we drink every day-- 10 mg theanine and 175 mg flavanoids naturally per serving.  I applied a $1 coupon from this Sunday's insert, making the tea boxes $6 for four, after deducting the rewards coupon and regular coupon. Now that's my cup of tea!

An Aside: My Shopping Exercise

My family members never fail to taunt my aversion to exercise. Of course, our natures are quite a contrast.   Even in the rain, my husband had no problem taking a three mile run this morning.  Two of my black belt children are accustomed to hours of warm-ups, stretches, calisthenics, running, sparring, and practicing techniques.  And of course, my little one is constantly on the move when he is not napping.

Which brings me to my typical retort:  Grocery Shopping (in addition to household chores, raking leaves, vaccuming, running after my toddler, etc) is my exercise.  Most days of the week I go early in the morning after dropping off my kids to school and then go again in the evening (two or three times a week) while waiting for karate classes to finish.  My youngest knows the routine.  We park far away from the entrance, so that he can have a nice little walk in the parking lot.  We recyle cans and bottles, clean up a car buggy for him to sit in after pushing it half-way through the store (that's when my walking pace picks up), and we "Go, Go, Go, Go, on an adventure," like the Cat in the Hat, passing every aisle, saying hello to the friendly people, deliberately sqatting down to put groceries in the bottom basket rack, checking out the deals, and then checking out. 

Granted, my endorphins come not from the rigor of intense movement, but more from saving money using coupons, but all in all, I am burning calories and making the most of my muscle use while walking around.  Where shopping use to be a task for me, I now feel so much more invigorated having a revised outlook on the activity.  So if you don't already, consider having a work out at your local grocery store.

Free Foil

At first I completely disregarded this rebate, since my family doesn't even have a grill.  But now I highly recommend my readers to be on the look out for "Try Me Free" mail in rebate slips at the grocery store.  The only catch is that in addition to purchasing the new "Grill" product, you must also buy any other Reynolds Wrap foil product, excluding 20, 25, 30, sq ft and wrappers sheets.  I went ahead with this, despite the fact that the deal wasn't exactly free.  In addition to the free with rebate Grill foil, I bought a 75 sq ft non-stick foil box, normally priced at Stop and Shop at $6.99, but on sale this week for $4.99.  Plus, I used two one dollar coupons from the Sunday paper, therefore shelling out only $2.99, which is something I would have done anyway for three flimsy separate 25 sq ft foil boxes at the dollar store... so, essentially it did come out to a good deal (with a free "Grill" product as an extra bonus).  Now I just have to figure out what exactly I will use this extra sturdy foil for.

Coupon Alert

Quick reminder to keep your eyes out for coupons.  There are $1 coupons nearby potato chips and nachos racks at the Stop and Shops and Price Choppers I visited recently.  I took a couple of each to keep for a really good sale.  I like to wait for ones which include a free jar of salsa with a purchase of two bags of nachos, for example. 

Pound Cake at Stop and Shop

Wonderful special at Stop and Shop this week -- The pound cake is buy one get one free.  Near the the sign you might be able to find a coupon for Free Cool Whip if you purchase the pound cake and a container of strawberries.  These happen to be on sale for only $1.50 a pound.  So for $7.49, I was able to buy two boxes of Entemann's pound cake, two pounds of strawberries, and two 8 ounce containers of Cool Whip; not all free, but delicious!

Check out the Clearances

I used to be so embarrased looking at the reduced price racks at the grocery stores.  I would prod quickly around the items if there was no one else around the area.  My mentality back then was, buying clothes on clearance was acceptable and even exciting, but food?

Now, I make a point of checking out those racks, generally located in the back of the stores, each time I shop.  I even sometimes buy vegetables that are reduced in price -- eggplant, red and green peppers, tomatoes, as long as there is no sign of mold growth.  I have bought gallons of organic milk for only $2 in the past.  With four kids in the house, consuming it within a two or three day expiration date is no problem.  I have even once purchased an armful of clearanced store brand baby wipes which came out to sixty cents a pack.

The clearance I stumbled upon today was in the dairy department -- Dannon Greek Yogurt, usually too pricey for me to buy.  But with the expiration date of May 19th approaching, they reduced the price to $1 each and added onto each container a fifty cents coupon.  I would have been happy with 50 cents Greek yogurt, but then remembered I had $1 coupon off 2 in my purse (I had cut it out just in case of an event like this).  As I strolled down the dairy aisle I saw a little coupon machine for the exact same product -- Danon Greek yogurt, 75 cents off the purchase of 3.  Applying both of these coupons and the orange discount ones on the containers themselves, my six honey and strawberry Greek containers only cost 21 cents each.  Opa!

Run Like a Champion

For my older three children, I used to buy all their shoes from Walmart, thinking that I was saving money that way.  It was always such a hectic mess in their shoe departments, and a task I disliked so much that I was happy whenever my younger ones could reuse my older one's old shoes. 

My youngest has been wearing a nice pair of shoes/boots that I found at an "upscale thrift store" (that's how they advertise themselves as).  It was a great deal for $4 and looked practically new.  But, soon he will be growing out of them and needing summer shoes.

Today I indulged in Payless' BOGO sale.  It was not the best type of BOGO (buy one get one FREE), but the other kind -- buy one get one half off.  The sneakers which he desperately needed were on sale for $10 (originally priced at $19.99).  So, I purchased two, one size seven and one size eight, for whenever he grows out of them.  It came out to $7.50 a pair -- brand new, name brand sneakers.  Best of all, the service was wonderful.  I went to the store off Route 20 in Charlton where the salesperson dedicated so much time to us, measuring my son's feet, finding some extra pairs from the back storage room that we could select from, chatting with him, and even giving him a sticker.... Making Payless my now favorite place to shop for frugal shoe deals (good-bye Walmart).

Tomorrow's the last Hallmark special day

Stop and Shop's special coupon for $5 off a purchase of 3 Hallmark cards will be ending May 12th.  If you haven't had a chance to buy some nice cards, you still have until then.  I purchased three more today and 2 Gerber Pre-K snack containers (apple wagon wheels).  The snacks cost $2.19 each, but if you purchased 2, a thank-you coupon for $1.50 would print out.  The register total was for $7.35, I applied a $5 coupon from a previous card purchase and ended up paying $2.35, with a $1.50 coupon back for my next purchase, my real total was 85 cents for otherwise expensive finger food, which is great for teething toddlers.  (There is also a deal that if you purchase 5 of these Gerber snacks, you get one for free, but I didn't have any coupons to match it, so only bought 2).

Concerning the register coupons, I always check and confirm that I received the coupon among the receipt and other items printed out.  Today it happened that I did not receive the $1.50, so I needed to go up to customer service and ask them for it.  Generally when this happens, I receive cash.  My husband would be utterly embarrassed to see me have to do this, but it was something I was counting on and I otherwise would not have bought the baby snacks at that price.

Egg-citing

Quick blog today.  I was passing by the Aldi's in across from Worcester's Lincoln Plaza and saw in huge letters -- Eggs 69 cents.  I wanted to take a photograph, but there was a car behind me waiting for me to turn right on red.  If you get a chance, check it out if you are in the vicinity.

At last, the Sunday paper

I have been patiently waiting for a couple months to pass so that I could re-subscribe to the Sunday Telegram.  I was looking for a good subscription deal and the status of new customer (I had to wait a certain amount of time to be able to receive a deal). 

There's nothing like drinking tea on a quiet Sunday morning reading the newspaper and searching for sales.  The Telegram is actually cheaper than the Boston Globe, which I used to subscribe to, plus it has more local news.  The deal which I subscribed to was $79.82 for 52 weeks -- code 'WSPR11' (800-922-8200 in case you are local and interested).  I chose Sunday delivery only, but it also includes Thursday, Friday, and Saturday deliveries.  I end up paying $1.54 a week for four days.  The extra special I was waiting for was a free $20 Dunkin Donuts gift card.  What a deal!

For the past weeks I have been looking on the internet to see what the specials were for CVS and Walgreens, and printing out coupons off websites.  I have not yet resorted to what "extreme couponists" do, such as purchase additional Sunday papers or go through recycling centers for extra copies of the coupon inserts.  This week, finally, I can just flip through the pages with my fingers -- Free ultimate Flora Probiotic vegetable capsules and SunBurnt Therapeutic After Sun Relief products after rebate at Walgreens.  Check-it out if you are passing by one this week. 

Send out those Rebates

Not the best of photos to capture a wonderful moment -- opening up an envelope from the mailbox with a rebate check of $10.47.  The offer from Nexcare for 1, 2, or 3 different types of bandages (fancy waterproof or soft/flexible) is good until 12/31/11 on specially marked boxes.  I used my Walgreens rewards coupons to purchase the bandages, so I never had to actually use cash, but still received a rebate for all three types!  My daughter is so happy that she doesn't have to use the dollar store brand bandages for the next few summer months.

Kellogg's Corn Flakes is also running a "Try Free After Mail-in Rebate" deal with their new "Simply Cinnamon" cereal.  Look for specially marked packages in the cereal aisle.  The sugar load is 6 grams per serving -- high, but a little better than what the kids get from eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch!



Pull out those Cereal Coupons

I was reluctant to post this sale up today:  Price Chopper is continuing for another week its special for cereal -- 4 boxes for $6 (all four must be purchased for that price).  If you happened to save any manufacturer coupons, you can apply them to the sale.  One of the grocery stores was giving away General Mills coupon books a few weeks ago on a rack by the front entrance.  It was a rare sight, but when you see something like that and there are a lot of booklets available, try to take two.  The coupon which I was able to apply to the sale was $1 off 2 boxes.  Since I had four boxes, I could use two of these coupons, making the 4 boxes only $4.  It was a frugal deal, not free and not very nutritious.  My children only care for Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  Although the box claims it has a bunch of vitamins and minerals (ranging from 2% copper to 30% thiamin and zinc and 35% vitamin B12), the sugar load is exhorbitant -- 10 grams. 

Cheerios is clearly the best deal, nutrition-wise.  Aside from 9% daily value of protein and the usual vitamins, it has an amazing 45% vitamin B6, 50% iron, and 60% folic acid.  Grams of sugar?  Only one.  Most of the boxes include a coupon for Pampers -- $1.50 off.  The popularity of it in my house, however, is zero.  My daughter asked, "Why didn't you buy the Cheerios with honey in it?"  "O" well, you can't win them all.  Till my next blog, Cheerio!