I Love Saving 80%

Often times going to the store and sticking to a list is a good thing. I do tend to go off my list but at a recent trip to Shaw's and while I went into the store for a few items. After spending under $9 on all of this, I don't think I did half bad.

Here's a breakdown of my savings:
Dr. Oketer pizza $4.99 on sale b1g1 free, I used one free pizza coupon from being a BzzAgent (both were free!)
Reach floss on sale 10/$10, I had $1/1 coupons on all 5. All were free!
Luna Bar, I received a Catalina coupon for a free bar on my last trip. Yeah free!
Mom's Better Oats Oatmeal on sale 10/$10, I had a $.55/2 coupon which doubled making two boxes $.90
Sherwoods's Tikki Masala sauce $4.99 on sale b1g1 free. I used a $1/1 coupon. $3.99 for two.
Marzetti Blue cheese dressing wasn't on sale (EEKS!) and I used a $1/1coupon making this $2.69

Total savings $33.77 for a savings of 80% and only $8.72 out of pocket. Cha-ching!

Retail vs. Sale

Yesterday I saved $194.73 on my lunch hour with a quick trip to CVS. I took full advantage of some super deals on clearance items. Here's what the items would retail for:

Crest White Strips, full price $41.49, on clearance for $20.74, used a $5 off white strips coupons
Purex detergent pods, full price $6.49, on sale for $2.49, used $1/1 coupon
PopChips, full price $2.99, on sale 2/$4, used a $1/1 coupon

Craig MP3 players retail $87.99 on super duper clearance for $9.99 and got 2 $10 CVS money cards (yes they were FREE!! Yeah!)

A fun little way to spend my lunch hour, wouldn't you say?

Pizza

I admit it. I love pizza. It's in my blood but when I got the chance to try Ristorante Pizza by Dr. Oetker's as part of a Bzz Campaign, I jumped at the chance. I finally was able to use my coupons and pick one up for dinner -- and it was delicious. Since I love mushroom pizza I picked up the Funghi pizza which has mushrooms, mozzarella, tomato sauce, parsley and oregano. I added a little extra cheese and 12 minutes later it was done. It was delicious! I couldn't believe a pizza so crispy came out of my oven.

Here's a shot of a slice on my plate.

As you can tell. We absolutely hated it. Ha!

$1.65

It's hard to believe I paid $1.65 for all this -- but I did. Thank you coupons!

Price of being brand loyal?

Are you brand loyal? I am to some extent, but only on certain items. Since I started using coupons religiously, I'm not so brand loyal. Take a look at my receipt from one trip to Rite Aid today. Out of pocket I paid $.41.

So...$3.59 for one vs $.41 for two items?

Brand loyalty? What's that?

Couponing and Clearance Items

The past two weeks have been great weeks to shop the clearance aisles...between the clearance and using coupons I managed to stock up on a quite a few things. In case you hadn't figured it out, it's a great time to buy vitamins. I've seen lots of buy 1 get one free sales this.

Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture but I remember a lot of it so I figured I'd share a few items.

Fruitopia shampoo and conditioner on clearance at CVS for $1.75, which because of a CVS coupon that rang up $2, I got 4 bottles of this for FREE
Hershey kisses $1.75, used a $1/1 coupon at CVS (my work buddies appreciate these)
Burt's Bees natural shampoo $3.99 on clearance at CVS
Neutrogena deep conditioner $2.38 (I think)
Organix hair protector on clearance at Walgreens for $1.79
Paul Mitchell hairspray on clearance at Walgreens for $3.49
CHI heat hair protector spray on clearance at Walgreens for $3.49
CHI frizz control on clearance at Walgreens for $3.49
Loreal curl gel on clearance at Walgreens for $1.29 (I had a $1 off coupon and ended up paying $.29)
Pantene heat hair protector spray at Walgreens on clearance for $1.79 (Used a $1 off coupon)
Tabasco at Walgreens on clearance $.49
Three ring binders at Walgreens on clearance $.49
Five pack of highlighters at Walgreens on clearance $.74
Revlon Colorstay eyeshadow under $2 on clearance at Walgreens
Revlon lipstick under $2 on clearance at Walgreens
Ziploc holiday containers (all they have is a red top) on clearance for $1.49 at Shaw's and used $1/2 coupon
Lots of $1 bin finds at Target for $.50 thanks to the after Christmas 50% off sale (perfect for my upcoming yarn secret pal swap!!)
Mrs. Meyers natural hand soap for $2.48 used $1/1 coupon, $1.48 each at Target
Softsoap holiday scents $1.29 also used coupons at Target
Seattle's Best Coffee $5.53 used $1.50/1 making this $3 and some change at Target

I know I bought a few other things but wanted to share what I remembered off the top of my head. As you are out and about, don't forget to hit those clearance racks!

Have You Started Your Holiday Shopping Yet?

I admit, I already started and am mostly done, except a bunch of gift cards. I'm waiting for a deal to pop up to give me extra bonueses before I buy them but as I was out shopping this weekend (albeit it for something for me!), I managed to get this deal.

Thank you LOFT!