Freebie Friday

This week was THE week for razors and shaving cream deals it seems. My favorite deal this week was at CVS and all of this was free after Extra Care Bucks. Here's how I did it.

Herbal Essences on sale 2/$4.97 used 2, $1 off coupons = $2.97
Skintimate Shave Cream $2.19 each, bought 2, used 2, $1.50 off printables = $1.38
Schick Hydro 5 Razor and blades, $7.99 each, used $4 off the razor and $2 off the blades coupon = $9.98

Pair all that with a $5 off $25 coupon I received from scanning my card brought my total to $9.91 for all this.

What I got back was $10 Extra Care Bucks because of the promotion this week -- if you spend $20 on Skintimate, Edge or Schick you receive $10 for your next purchase.

All FREE! Yeah!

When to Stock Up?

I always question whether or not to stock up on certain items but there are some thing I just can't STAND playing full price for now that I coupon faithfully. One of these items is shaving cream.

This week I stocked up thanks to a super sale at Walgreens. With an in-ad coupon the Pure Silk shaving cream, regularly priced $2.49, were $.99. Pair that with an $.80 off coupon (that was in the 7/10 RedPlum) and I walked out of the store paying $.81 for 4 cans of shaving cream which was the coupon limit.

I liked this sale so much that I went back the next day, bought 4 more using the rest of my coupons and also bought 3 packs of  Trident Vitality Gum (also on sale for $.79 each, and I used a $2/3 coupon from the 7/24 paper). Walked out of Walgreens with a $1.18 bill.

2 trips. 8 shaving creams. 3 packs of gum = $1.99

Freebie Friday

Have I mentioned I like shopping for free? I actually didn't do a whole lot of shopping this week just stopped at Target and Shaws (took advantage of their $1 doublers!) Here is what I managed to get free:

Target
2 Papermate Pens used $1 off coupon printed from Target.com. These were on sale for $1 = FREE
2 Scotch tape used $.50 off coupon printed from Target.com. These were on sale for $.50 = FREE
Revlon Emery Boards $1.28 (I think), I used a CAT coupon for $2 off Revlon nail purchase = FREE
Jif to Go, used a coupon for a free 8 pack which I received in the mail = FREE

Shaws
Teddy Grahams, used $1 off any Nabisco product wyb 1 gallon of milk. These were 10/$10= FREE
Grain Berry crackers on price cut $2/4, use $1 off any Grain Berry product and $1 doubler = FREE

And the rest of the week I spent organizing my kitchen. I finally got a shelf for the basement. Yay!

A Few Days Late - Freebies

Better late than never, right? I was away this weekend so I didn't get to post my Friday Freebie but last week I got all this free. My car really needed to be washed and thanks to my Dad I got my car washed FREE with the coupon.

The second picture was a giveaway from Right@Home (a giveaway) and a Pandora bracelet which I got from filling in a survey.

The last picture is from a quick shopping trip to Whole Foods and Rite Aid. All free.

Maine versus Mass

This past weekend I tried to get in a little R&R up in Maine (which is why my Friday Freebie post didn't end up going up), but while I was up there I decided to do a little experiment with coupon inserts.

I bought two papers in Maine -- Seacost Online which publishes on Saturday and the Maine Telegram on Sunday -- and my hunch was right.  Between those two papers AND my Boston Globe subscription I got so many coupons that were the same, but few were different. The one thing I noticed that was different was the values of the coupons in the paper. We could get in the Boston paper $1 off 2 whereas Maine would get $.40 off one. I took a picture before I sliced and diced the paper just to show the difference.

It looks like every time I head to another state, I'll be sure to grab a paper and start to look for coupons for different values via eBay or a clipping service.

Close to $100 in FREE in less than 3 hours ....

So last week, I got over $50 worth of free stuff in under two hours - this weekend I gave myself a goal of getting $75 for free. (Now this was just what I got today - I am not including the $50 of free stuff I got during the week.)

Here is what I got:

6 Vitamin Waters
2 Honest Teas
7 Boxes of Nexcare Band-aids
3 Nexcare Band-aids travel sizes
5 Marcal 4-packs of toilet paper
11 Marcal Paper Towels
1 Bisquick pancake mix
3 2-Liter Diet Dr. Pepper
8 Gudlens Mustard
6 Raydovac Batteries
1 Muffin Mix
1 Pillsbury Cake Mix
3 Nature Bounty Vitamins
9 Sensodyne ProNamel
2 Pampers
4 Cans of Tuna
1 Pantene Smoothly Creme
1 Hersheys Air Delight

Total $96.48 ... whoo hoo! My biggest score was getting diapers for free - that was something I had to prove to my husband that I could do. lol

Under $4 at Staples

While I was out killing time the other night I decided to take a quick trip to Staples and pick up a few things that I wanted to buy to make my wedding planning easier. The end result all this is going to cost me $3.83 and I didn't use a coupon! (because I left my coupons on the printer at work...egads!)

Here's how I did it:
Staples paper $5.99 - $5.74  mail in rebate = end result $.25
Bic pencils $.25 (bought 2)
Gluesticks $1
Stickies $.25 (bought 2)
Staples glue $.01
Sharpies $1

Total regular retail would have been $22.76. A 87% savings. Whoo hoo!

$20 = 4 gallons of gas ... or an overflowing carriage?

After getting the paper this morning, I stopped to get gas in the Benz - which of course only can take premium. Since I was on "E" - I just put $20 in, to get where I needed this morning, so I can use my Stopy gas points this afternoon. $20 got me 4 gallons of gas ... UNREAL!

I got to my "happy place" aka Rite-Aid, just to get my free Noxzema razors, and as I walked by the clearance section, I almost fell over. They had 4-packs of Angel Soft toilet paper marked down to $1.19. This is the one item, my mother is brand loyal on...It is rarely on sale, and I never see coupons for it. Sooo, being the great daughter I am, I stocked up for them.

Here is what I got:

• 14 packages of Angel Soft (total 56 rolls of tp)
• 2 boxes of Puffs (also on clearance for $.89)
• 6 Noxzema razors (all free with coupons)
• 1 Carefree liners ($.50 w/coupon & rain check)

Total bill = $20.09

Happy saving!!!!

Over $50 FREE in just a little over an hour ....

I went to three stores this morning ... Stopy, Market Basket and Rite-Aid and the attached picture is what I got free during my 90 minutes of shopping this morning....

• 4 packages of toilet paper (16 rolls)
• 5 rolls of paper towels
• 6 packages of Noxzema razor (26 individual razors in total
• 4 Bisquick pancake mix
• 10 McCormick seasoning packets
• 3 ears of corn
• 6 Nexcare bandaids
• 1 Natures Bounty Fish Oil

What I should have paid $50.93 ... whoo hoo!

Happy Saving!!!!

Clearance at RiteAid

One way I save money is by frequenting the clearance racks. Every store I go in, that's usually the first place I go.

On the way home from my niece's birthday party I stopped to see my dad. The RiteAid near his place is fabulous, even if some of the cashiers are a bit grumpy. I knew that this RiteAid was pretty good having been there before. The store must have recently cleared their makeup section because I found so much stuff I could hardly believe it. Since I'm building a backup makeup kit to keep at work all of this will come in super handy. I left the store paying $2.62.

Here's how I did it:

• Covergirl Lashblast Mascara on clearance $4.50, used $1 off coupon = $3.50
• Dove body wash $1.39, used $1 Rite Aid VideoValues coupon = $.39
• Sally Hansen nailpolish on sale 75% off at $1.55, used $1 off coupon = $.55
• 2 CoverGirl Pressed powders on clearance $3.79 ea, total $7.58, used $2.50 off 2 coupon = $5.08
• Maybelline ColorStay Lipcolor on clearance $2 and Great Lash mascara $2 (they rang up cheaper than the price marked), total $4, used a $3 off 2 Maybelline products = $1

I also used one $3 off $15 purchase coupon from doing a survey from my last visit and my $5 in +UPs that were expiring this week.

There were tons more in the clearance box which I almost took off the shelf. I wanted to sit down on the floor to go through it but I was in a rush to get my car washed for free (I also used a coupon!!)!

Freebie Friday - Again

This week I stopped at CVS, Shaw's, Market Basket, Stop & Shop and a local store Johnnie's Foodmaster  (they also double coupons under $1! and I was driving right by the store after a doctor's appointment) and got all the following free just by using coupons. This was the first week in a while that I haven't gone to Rite Aid just because nothing caught my eye. You think I was running around like crazy but I had a few days off and took the time to shop when I felt like it. Plus it was hotter than heck out and the stores are air conditioned! My haul this week included:

Stop & Shop:
3 boxes of Pillsbury Brownie mix
Silver Palate Oatmeal
4 Luna bars

CVS:
2 Hershey Bars free from the Magic Coupon Machine

Shaws's:
La Victoria roasted green peppers
Skinny Cow candy bar

Market Basket:
Teddy Grahams

and last but not least Johnnie's Foodmaster:
Bounty Towels (I used a great $5 off Bounty coupon that I got from Facebook)
The Chore Boy sponges weren't free but they ended up costing $1.19 and I used a $.55 off coupon that doubled so they ended up costing me $.09 each

A great week indeed!

10 things I refuse to pay more than $1 for

So, one of the many things that I learned while couponing, that there are just some things that you don't need to pay for ... and hey, why should we?

1. Condiments .... ketchup, mustard, relish, bbq sauce - during the summer these are always on sale, combine that with double coupons, and stock up!
   
2. Paper towels .... shop around on these, paper products go on sale a few times a year. Since these never spoil, get as many as you can get your hands on for the cheapest price.
3. Gum ... really, when did gum begin to cost more than $1. Rite-Aid always has gum on sale, and by watching their videos, there has been at least one gum coupon each month.
4. Pickles .... my husband goes through a jar of pickles a week. When they are on sale for 2 for $4. and I use two $.75 coupons, that double ... so I can get two for $1.00, I am one happy camper.
   
5. Tuna .... this always goes on sale, but there is rarely coupons - when this is 10 for $10, or less than a $1, I buy LOTS. Tuna is always great to have on hand.
6. Bleach .... bleach is bleach, really lets face it. I use it once a week for my whites. Once upon a time I was brand loyal, now, I have been using those $1 off Hannaford's brand item for Hannaford's bleach.
7. Seasoning .... when the Weber and McCormick coupons come out, why would you use them towards a larger size, when you can use them towards the packets. When these go on sale, they are a $1 or less...another free product.
8. Brownie mix .... another item the goes on sale, alot. Especially with the summer and the holidays. When these are $1, if you can get your hands on coupons, this makes it an even better score ... can you say el cheapo? (I got 36 Pillsbury brownies mixes this week for $5)
9. Dips .... Hellva good dip goes on sale a lot too - I try to get my hands on $.75/1 or $1.00/1 coupons. Over the last few weeks, I have been getting a bunch, average price $.50 a piece.
10. Toothpaste ... I wish toothpaste had more use, I have probably 40+ tubes of toothpaste in the bunker that I got for free.
    

Happy stockpiling!

There is a way to save on gas ....

With all the changes in the coupon policies and soaring gas prices, it is nice to see that Stopy offers their "Gas Rewards" program. Over the last 4 weeks, I have banked 1579 in gas reward points, that translate into $1.579 off each gallon of gas ... and when one of your vehicles can only take premium gas, these rewards can definitely come in handy.

The items each week that qualify, match up nicely with items that there have been recent coupons for.

So...there might not be coupons for gas...but Stopy's program is saving me money on gas for buying groceries that I would have bought anyway. The only caveat with this program, is your points are only good for 30 days .. so make sure to use them!

Happy saving!!!!

Freebie Friday

Each week I'm going to try to post things I got free either from samples, rebates or using coupons.This week I got all this free!

The Poland Spring I picked up at Shaw's. On sale 10/$10 used $1 off coupon off 2 and used their dollar doublers. I'm so glad I took advantage of that!

The Tide was a sample.

Bandaids I picked up at Stopy which were $.99 used $1 off coupon.

Lastly, the got2b dry shampoo was something I scored at RiteAid, free after rebate.

If only I could do this for wedding stuff *brain thinking*...