No coupons this week!

Holiday weekends, there are no coupon inserts.

No papers to buy :)

What I'm buying this week: Giant and CVS.

Have you started getting your coupons? If you have, there are some good deals to be had.

At Giant I'll be buying:
3 Packages of Italian sausage and brats.
4 packages of Huggies baby wipes
5 packages of Dixie plates and cups
1 spiral sliced ham
12 packages of Capri Sun drinks
1 kraft bbq sauce

I will use:
3 Buy 3 get 1 free Capri sun coupons. (got these two weeks ago, Express Times)
2 ($1) off 2 Baby wipes from Today's Express.
1- get an extra 30 cents off per gallon when you spend $50 from this weeks Giant circular.

I will receive: $1.10 off per gallon of gas, $7 Instant savings for the Capri Suns, so my total should be just over $50 for all of the above, plus $30 in gas. I would do this more than once if things weren't so up in the air right now...more on that later.

Also worth noting: Giant has pretty decent looking asparagus and strawberries for reasonable prices right now: The asparagus is $1.99 a lb, and the strawberries are bogo for $3.99, making them about two bucks a container. These are my "treat" prices- meaning, it's not cheap enough to go buy a ton, but if there's some wiggle room in the grocery budget MissAngelTween and I will have some roasted asparagus. No one else likes it.


CVS has some good freebies as well:
Allegra allergy medicine is $6.49. Some papers got a $7 off one, but the Express didn't. I haven't looked at the Star Ledger yet, but if you got this coupon, that's a no brainer. Free Allergy medicine? Yes, please.

L'oreal skin/haircare has a deal this week, when you buy $25 you get $10 extrabucks. These are $25 after sale prices, but BEFORE coupons. It's only certain items, so make sure you are certain before you make your selections. I like to get the Go 360's when this sale comes around, they are MissAngelTween's fave. I still have about a dozen from the last two sales, so I won't be partaking, but you can do this deal if you've got the coupons:

Buy 6- Go360Clean face washes with the little scrublet.
Use 6- $1 off 1 L'oreal cleanser coupons from the Express Times 3/04.
Total Pre coupon: $26.34
Total after coupons: $20.34
Get $10 in store credit. (Extra buck coupon) in the coupon world they'd say that you spent $10 on 6, but remember, you really actually did spend $20. It's important to actually keep track of the cash you are spending, because it's super easy to overspend when you are getting items 70% to 90% off.

I probably am going to grab some of the tums freshers: they are on sale for $3.99, with a $1.75 off one coupon in today's Express, and a $1 extrabuck reward.

Also worth noting: Free contact solution! Buy one Complete multipurpose contact solution at $8.99, get $8.99 in store credit.

What I would do this week if I was stocking up:

$1- Buy the contact solution. Get the extrabucks.

#2- Get 6 of the L'oreal cleansers. Use the $8.99 Extra bucks to bring my out of pocket down to $11.35. Get $10 in Extra bucks.

#4- Go back through the store and select Easter Candy items, plus the tums freshers, and use coupons that are available for those. There are a lot of coupon databases available, as usual, I like to use livingrichwithcoupons.com or forthemommas.com to get an idea of what's available before I head out. Or, I may take the $10 EBs and get 4 cases of coke.

If you prefer Revlon products, there's a pretty sweet deal on those as well: Buy $15, get $7 back. I used my $1 off Revlon coupons ages ago, but if you've got them, there's some interesting deals floating around out there.

Keep in mind, these are just the deals that I'm doing this week. I encourage you to check out for the mommas for more detailed ideas- I'm NOT filling up my stock pile right now, so my grocery shopping is pretty minimal.

Now I have to go hug my youngest. I made her get off my lap long enough to type this and I think she now needs epic amounts of therapy.

Couponing; Step 1- get coupons

Okay, uber-success! Day 2 or 3 or 4 or something and I'm posting again. Well, I've actually started several posts, but getting them all the way done without having a meltdown is kind of an issue.

So, this is one of those deal getting posts aimed at all the t-mobile people about to be either jobless, or surprisingly on an almost impromptu road trip to the land of enchantment. (more on that later)

The first part of couponing is obviously, well, having coupons. As in, more than one. Of each. I like three to four papers a week. This gives me enough to complete most drug store deals and most gas deals that I like. Locally, I buy one Star Ledger, Two Express Times, and then I bum one paper's worth of coupons off a friend or relative if I need more. (Love all of you. :D)

I find this is a good ratio for me. Other options including buying clipped coupons on the web, which is, of course, not legal, but it is done quite often. It is almost always necessary to have more than one of a coupon to get the cheapest price per item.

A printer is also kind of a good thing to have. Coupon deals have been done for ages without one and will continue to be done without them, but some of the best coupons show up online, so you are at a disadvantage if you don't print. Remember to shut off your color and print in black and white for the cheapest printables.

You will also need to sort your coupons: I keep a basket of hefty gallon sized bags labelled by date next to the couch, but I'm currently working on something a little less dumpster chic. I do NOT cut coupons until I need them. Waste of time and not nearly as easy to find.

So that's step one. Get some coupons. Up tomorrow: Where to find out what coupons are going to show up in your paper.

This week's crazy coupon shopping results!

Coupon shopping can be a real, well, pain the ass. (pardon the language)

Last night I went to Shoprite with a stack of about 80 coupons, waited patiently in line, 80 items, 80 coupons, and watched the cashier sort the coupons, scan half the coupons, and put the other half in his drawer without scanning them. I told him quietly of his mistake, he denied it, and rather than argue the point, I let him finish and then went to the shiftleader on that I knew used coupons. It took twenty minutes to correct his error, but I got back over $15.

Today went better. Much, much better.

Last night and this morning, I hit CVS to do the following transactions:

12 boxes of Nabisco crackers @ $2.50 each.

Used:

$3 on 3 coupons
$10 CVS cash card from last week
$5 Extra bucks:

Total: $0 (That's not a couponing world zero, that's a legitimate zero).
Received $10 Cash Card

Went back today and got:
3 boxes of Nabisco crackers @2.59
3 boxes of Glade Sense and Spray $5.00 each
2 Nivea lip balm Buy one, get one half off

Used-
3-$3 off one Glade Sense and Spray
$3 off two Glade products CVS coupon
$3 off 3 Crackers,
$3 off 2 Nivea lib
$10 cash card

total- $0.00
received- $4 extra bucks

Rite aid:
Got 1 kid's Crest toothpase, $2.77
1 Oral B floss picks $2.77
1 NYC lip gloss to try out the Midtown Mulberry shade for Influenster $2.49
1 Schick trimstyle razor $8.99

Used-
$1 off Crest,
$1 off Oral B
$3 off Trimstyle
$11 up rewards

Paid $1.09, got $5 in rewards

Walgreens:

Got:
1 Diet supplement $10
Used: $2 register rewards from last week

Paid:
$8
got $10 register rewards

Got:
1 South beach bar $5.99
2 packages of Alka seltzer cold medicine $10
2 clearance cookies (filler)

Used:
$1 off South Beach
2- $2 off Alka seltzer
$10 rr

Paid- $1.59
Got $11 in RR

In the coupon world, they'd say I made money today!
Here's a picture, keep in mind twelve boxes of crackers got put away last night!

Now I just have to find a place to put all this stuff!

OMG. My poor blog!

This summer is going by in a major whirlwind, people. The past couple of days the kids have been sick, rotating some rare disease through the ranks with lightning speed. Okay, it's just a virus, but it's whipped all three of my usually vivacious children in rapid succession.

I've been amassing free school supplies and cheap printer paper. The school actually sent me out a list prior to the beginning of school this year, which I hope is due to my multiple emails complaining about the practice of sending a list home somewhere in the first week of school, after the sales were over. We also had a large party here for the second (!!!!) birthday of my baby girl and have begun flirting with the process of potty training, weaning, and evicting the young one from my bed. All at the same time.

I'm hoping tomorrow they all feel better. I have to go and do the prep for dinner for thirty or so to celebrate the July birthdays at my in laws, as well as topping off my coupon shopping for the week and getting my trip ready for Sunday morning.

I have to say the couponing is well worth the effort, but I'm afraid to stop acquiring free shampoo because I don't know when it (or if!!) it cycles out of sale. I'm limiting myself to a bottle or two a week though. It's really been rewarding. I've been able to go into my basement and fill bags with treats for neighbors who are having a hard time making ends meet rather than sitting there idly wishing there was SOMETHING I could do to help them. Our money is really too tight to be able to help every person that I know needs help, but I can always give away a sack of freebies.

It's a good feeling. Good enough that it helps me maintain my calm when I am confronted with bitchy, evil cashier badness. Like the kind I got at Shoprite on Wednesday. My shoprite transactions have settled into a nice routine. I make my list, get my items, check my coupons, mark the ones that shouldn't provide overage, go to my favorite sweet cashier, and check out. I'll even let people with one or two items go ahead of me and warn people about the length of my transaction.

Debbie (my personal cashier) did not work Wednesday. We went to the dentist, who is close to my Shoprite, and I decided to save the gas and take the trip then. It WAS a huge trip- Over $300 whittled down to $100 after my deals, instant savings, and coupons. My cart was loaded with meat, fruit, organic veggies, juices, etc. They also gave me a $25 gas card and $7 off my next order. I was pretty pleased with myself.

Except DURING the checkout, when the cashier in question kept saying, loudly, and with a LONG DRAWL, "TOO MANY COUPONS! TOO MANY COUPONS!!! TOO MANY COUPONS!!!!"

I wish I was kidding.

Now, I have NOT written the company to complain,largely because it's bad server Karma. I will complain, and the restaurant world will crash down around me. I know better. Some poor women got behind me in line and he yelled, "NO! She's got too many coupons!" The lady reached into her purse, pulled out an envelope that looked suspiciously like the one I had handed him at the beginning of my transaction, and waggled it under his nose.

I almost hugged her.

He muttered his 'too many coupons' mantra until I FINALLY reminded him he got the same hourly rate no matter how I paid my bill. At that point, the manager came over to swipe because my savings percentage was too high for the register (SQUEE!!!) and he said, "oh, you earned your gas gard."

Damn strait I earned my gas card.

I had a problem with Rite Aid, as well, this week. They had a special on clean and clear and I have a child turning 12. I bought two items, and some notebooks, and went to the register. I had some store credit to pay with- two rite aid coupons and two manufacturers coupons, One up reward and five items.

The fifth coupon beeped, and the cashier gave ME a hard time- said I had too many coupons. I quoted her corporate policy for her word for word and she said, "Well, the computer says no."
And I said, "Well, then you call your manager for an override."

I mean, seriously, what the heck? The MANAGER had no problem with the coupon or the override. Blasted cashiers. I understand your frustration. I do. But I go in with my best smile, my most professional attitude, and my well organized basket, and you give me crap. I don't understand this, because everyone is supposed to LOVE Heather.

It's a rule. Right?

Tampon Rockets and why you should be nice to the couponer in front of you.

8) She's employing more people than you are with her transaction. That's right, when you whip out your cash, you're only giving the cashier a job. Coupons take many more people to process. Woohoo! for the economy.

8) $150 in coupons stimulates the economy just the same way $150 in cash does, and takes just as much work to produce. Chances are the lady in front of you worked for several hours on her transaction- no different than you going to work and receiving cash. Those are jobs for people.

7) She's not running to the grocery store when there's a storm. When everyone else has to take off running to the local megamart to stock up on bread and milk, SuperCouponer whips open her freezer door.

6) Chances are, if you need to borrow a cup of sugar, flour, pound of pasta, bar of soap, razor, dish detergent, or an arm, your friendly neighborhood couponer can come to your rescue. You're welcome.

5) It's very likely that she's not just cheap. Food is expensive, gas prices are intense, and the kids are home for the summer, and they are BORED. Couponing is a great way to have it all, sans taxpayer-funded assistance. Would you rather wait behind a SuperCouponer with a stack of discounts, or pay her electric bill via Uncle Sam? It's up to you.

4) It's a lot of work to make a hundred and fifty dollar order come down to forty. Instead of rolling your eyes, how about watching in awe and learning a thing or two?

3) She's probably just as frustrated by how long this takes as you are. Most of us don't live for the moments when our checkouts take longer than the actual shopping. I know I don't. It takes every bit of my REALLY LONG FUSE to be patient with a slow cashier, especially when I've laid things out as simply as possible. Today's cashier called the manager THREE TIMES even though the manager had come to approve my coupons as soon as I got into line. So frustrating, and yet, having watched Extreme Couponers (for free on the internet, of course) I understand why. Stop committing fraud, people.

2) She actually does NEED all twelve boxes of tampons. You see, tampons make kick ass rockets for any child who manages five minutes unsupervised in the bathroom. These are far better than any toy in any department store. You see fourteen tubes of free toothpaste and are disgusted: SuperCouponer's children see free fingerpaint for all the walls in the bathroom. You wouldn't want to disappoint the kids, would you?

1) The Zombie Apocalypse is on its way. Be nice to the SuperCouponer and maybe she'll share her stock of personal hygiene products, first aid supplies, and medicines with you when the world is crumbling and no one is producing shampoo anymore and you smell like dead animal. Oh, yeah, and she's probably got chocolate.



Please note: the term Super Couponer replaces extreme couponer. Super Couponers are ethical, follow store rules, are polite, don't clear shelves, and don't do fourteen transactions in one sitting while holding up a line of people.

Cashiers with bad manners and good deals at Shoprite.

First off, thanks for the well wishes. The jackhammer in my head has subsided to a dull thump, so I think the antibiotics may be doing their job.

My results today at Shoprite were pretty darn fabulous, even if I do say so myself, and I'm done shopping for at least TWO WHOLE DAYS. Two days which will probably be spent preparing for Sunday's haul, cleaning, and splashing in the kiddie pool. Life is good.

But I digress. I woke up at six AM to complete two shopping trips prior to my husband's journey to work, One to Weis, and one to Shoprite, along with a quick visit to my dads.

What I got at Weis:
Two packages of Bounty Napkins. (2 for 5)- $1 coupon
Two bottles of tide stain releaser: $5.99 each- $6 (2-$3 coupons)
total: $11 and change. Got back a five bucks off your next order coupon, which I used promptly.
Second transaction
Two bunches of asparagus
two sacks of red grapes
three boxes of pierogies
tub of ice cream
Also $11 and change.



What I got at Shoprite:
Two packages of Turkey bacon
two packages of cooked chicken slices
12 La Yogurt
1 tub Organic salad mix
4 packages of hot dogs
2 pumps Mentadent tooth paste
1 bottle of spicy brown mustard (which feels like heaven since I never used to buy mustard just for me)
1 bottle of hot sauce

Spent out of pocket: $8.72 Savings $35.02
I would have done my little happy hop after my transaction, except I had the WORST. CASHIER. EVER. You know the one. They all look the same after a while, MEAN. I make it a point to be EXTRA SUPER NICE AND PROFESSIONAL. Anyone who knows me knows I do extra super nice and professional like it's my job. I greeted said cashier warmly- she said nothing. I informed her promptly (and perkily, I might add) that I had internet coupons. She glared.

Okay, I'm going to digress for a minute, and remind the world at large that couponing robs NO ONE, and harms NO ONE. My coupons are organized carefully, the items on the belt in the same order as I hand the coupons to the cashier, grouped by deal. I may have paid with sixteen dollars worth of coupons, but that's still sixteen dollars I'm contributing to the store's bottom line.

Back to evil cashier.

Either she doesn't like her job, or she doesn't like me, I'm not sure which. She questions my one deal, and I tell her why I think it's within the store policy, and she doesn't reply. (This is a trend, I see.)

She picks up the phone, and mutters into it.

Help arrives, in the form of a manager/shift/leader/someone with a key who also does not greet me. I say, "I've got evil internet coupons, I'm sorry," to which he laughs and says no big deal.

Then he looks at my coupons, pronouncing them fine, and starts to walk away, when she pulls him aside facing away from me, and whispers about my deal, I guess, because she's pointing at my coupons. Every once in a while they pause to look over at me. It's fun. I love bad manners.

At this point my husband is aggravated because the manager is giving me dirty looks. My day is going well. The manager says no, so I tell him that's totally cool, I don't want two of the items, and he leaves with out another word. Nothing.

At this point, protective husband gets slightly annoyed. It was all so very pleasant and relaxing!

But it was cheap. So it's okay, I guess.

No, it's not really all that okay. I drove almost fifteen miles to give that store my business because of the deals that were available, and they really acted like I was trying to rob them at knife point.

*it was a robbery I tell you! a robbery by coupon! the sentence should be death by coupon!*

Seriously. I'm giving you business. The store is getting the money. I'm not evil, I'm sweet. Why can't you be nice back, cashier people? *sighs* First time that ever happened to me at Shoprite. The one lady there is so nice and sweet and always claps for me and my coupons. I didn't see her today.

Oh, well. I know who to avoid now in line.

Ronzoni $1/1 Coupon

If you like them on facebook. It's a bricks coupon: It will print twice.

And the day of bargaining comes to an end.

I'm tired.

Late night last night, early morning this morning, and a long day of battling with multiple cashiers has left me tired, frustrated, and a little concerned with the education system in America. I literally had to argue, with a human, in each store, to receive the deals advertised in the paper.

Whether it be an incorrectly marked items included in a sale (Target) or a missed case of soda that the cashier somehow managed to miss after she specifically ASKED me not to put it on the counter, which almost DOUBLED my bill (Weis), or the customer service guy at Weis who was, well, a little taken aback at the numbers coming out of my mouth, to the lady at Shoprite who regarded my internet coupons as if I'd conjured them in a cauldron rather than printing them off of coupons.com. Or maybe we want to talk about Walgreens, who deliberately manufactured a lesser discount than the one the coupon I handed her offered.

Ugh. At the end of the day, though, I spent a little over fifty dollars out of pocket and got ridiculous deals. At Target, I took my Cafemom gift cards, which totaled $125, and got 12 rolls of paper towels, 24 rolls of toilet paper, three boxes of tampons, a bottle of shampoo, a bottle of conditioner,bottle of baby shampoo, two pounds of deli turkey, four sticks of deodorant,6 bottles of high heat Pam, a dress, three shirts, two of those razors my husband likes, two bottles of nail polish, three garden hoses, two large bags of Iron Man, Spidermanand truck toys for the kids- roughly three hundred and fifty dollars worth of items, for only $20 out of our bank. It looked like this:

At Walgreens, I completed the deal I mentioned the other day...(small stack on the right)

The stack on the left, was $13 at Shoprite, and included, 1 pack of coffee, five boxes of tissues, a bottle of baby shampoo and a bottle of baby body wash, two boxes of pasta, a pound of cheese, and a box of bagel pizzas, (refrigerated items not shown). I got two dollars back on my next order. According to the receipt, this order was $30.

Finally, and this is a much less impressive picture and a much more impressive deal-

I spent $8 at Weis, and after breaking the customer service guy and two trips back out to the car in the pouring rain, they actually CHARGED me $8. I brought home five cases of soda, two boxes of veggie pasta, and two bags of chips. I have to say, though, the manager over there is fabulous, very friendly, very sweet, very helpful. The signage, not so much.

Oh, and one more deal I'm happy with....

Our gas bill for the week. I'm officially taking 24 hours off couponing before I get ready to do it again next week.

Did you get a Sunday Paper?

If you didn't get one this week, I urge you to run out and get one. This weeks has a Pepsi/Tostitos insert, and several stores are doing yummy promotions to tie in. I'll post my deals later on in the week, but you can't get the deals if you don't have the coupons!

If you want me to follow you back/return a visit, leave a comment. I have a comment love system that I use. If you type, come see me! Or some such form like nonsense, I'll return the same favor. If it appears you actually read something I wrote, I poke around and leave extra love.
I have a strong dislike for form like, self promoting comments. I don't know why. It could be because I actually put work into this thing, and I know you do, as well.

Have a great week!

My house has been cursed with a plague.

It's evil. I don't know what I've done too the universe to deserve this, but I'm STILL going from ill child to ill child to run down mommy. Watching online clips of TLC's Extreme Couponing has given me self doubt about my money management skills, and I've stepped up my effort to lower our already minuscule grocery bill.

This is now taking up about 8 hours a week. The other catch is, I really need to get used to buying things I don't need for the week. I spent thirty dollars this morning- and for that I received two bottles of salad dressing, three cans of pineapple, two containers of coffee creamer that I love but never buy, two bottles of alfredo sauce, two containers of sour cream, a big bottle of body wash, 3 containers of Crystal Light, 3 mangoes, 2 boxes of simply gogurt (no hfcs, also no Scooby on the label. This produced a meltdown)1 box of triscuits pepper crackers, 2 pounds of sausage. Not a bad haul. The totals prior to all the discounts came to $95. Triscuit dollar of one coupon is on their facebook page.

I learned that if I want any of the Freebies from CVS I probably need to go at 8 am Sunday morning, and that Tuesday is NOT the day for me to go to Weis. Weis evidently offers a senior discount of 5% on groceries for the above 55 set- the place was jam packed, wall to wall, with people with multiple carts of groceries. I had forgotten the option to bring a grandparent...it appears that many people did not, however. I wonder about the ethics of this. Is it unethical to take your mom shopping so you can snag her sweet 5 percent off?

I don't think I'll be partaking in this trend.

CVS was out of two out of three things I'd gone in for, and I was slightly aggravated because I spent probably three post-childcare hours matching coupon to deal. Oh well, my fault for being lazy and taking all THREE hours I got of sleep Sunday morning. I know better now!

Better luck next week!