weekend drugstore dash.

i’m a chronic overscheduler. between the job and the blog and friends and other related and non-related nonsense, i don’t have a ton of free time for things like couponing. which is kind of ridiculous and stupid, because i write a blog about couponing, which probably means i’m not doing a very good job. but anyway, i finally managed to steal a pocket of time this week to filter the expired crap out of my coupon folder and see what i had going on that i might not want to waste (like i usually do- see copious incidences of me being a coupon asshole below). shit, is my rite aid allergy rewards check already expiring on the 15th? i feel like the last one they sent me stayed fresh for way longer. too bad there’s not really anything amazing worth blowing $20 on this week at rite aid, and of course i’m hitting the stores on SATURDAY after everything good has probably already been cleaned off the shelves… but i didn’t buy $75 worth of allergy medication just to throw my rebate away. and well, a girl has to make do:

28 count prilosec that i require for life (and also because i’m an asshole who missed the 42 count sale last week), $18.99 with $3/1 coupon from the most recent P&G insert, and $4 SCR= $11.99.

2 boxes of kotex U tampons (you know, the hipster tampons with the crazy colors and wacky commercials) for $7/2 with 2 $1/1 coupons (they’re everywhere these days, especially if you got any of the rampant free samples), and $3/SCR= $1 each. according to the lady behind the counter, stacking is no longer an option at rite aid. you get as many coupons as you have items. to prove said theory- 3rd rite aid video values coupon was rejected. boo-urns 😦

speaking of video values, i rarely actually pay attention to the commercials you have to watch, but was totally intrigued by the tresemme dry shampoo. as a girl who often oversleeps on work days and ends up poorly camouflaging her dirty hair in pony tails, this seems like a pretty interesting option. even if it can just take the edge off the dirt, it will still be an improvement. review forthcoming. tresemme products on sale for $3.29/1, and i used my $2/1 rite aid video values coupon= $1.29.

i needed a few more filler items to make sure i got my $20 worth, so i grabbed a nivea bodywash for $5.39 (again, i missed it when it was free last week- fuck me), and used that $4/1 coupon that everyone was so excited about= $1.39. i also grabbed a box of puffs plus for $.99, and used a $1/1 coupon that i got from vocalpoint (i also have 3 $.50/1 coupons i’m hoarding until they got on sale at shaw’s and i can get more freebies).

i’m too tired/lazy to do the math, but somehow i got $.80 back in change after the $20 gift certificate, and $5/$25 that i got for activating my wellness card. btw, you should totally get one of those. and don’t forget, i’ll also be getting $7 back in single check rebates. AND there was a sweet $1/1 NYC cosmetics tearpad that i pillaged. i did leave a few behind though, so if you’re in the sketchy east end rite aid area (follow the trail of empty high gravity beer cans), go and grab them!

as it turned out, cvs was having some incredible deals this week, and since i never go there anymore, they’re presently trying to win me back with $/$$ coupons. this week i got $3/$15, which is good- because it’s a no pressure kind of amount.

crest pro-health toothpaste for $3.50 with $3.50 back in extrabucks! i had one coupon for $1/1, but the limit was 2, so i went for it anyway= $1 moneymaker.

again with the hipster feminine hygiene! this time $4.99 for a box of neon pantiliners- with $4.99 back in extrabucks and a $1/1 coupon= $1 moneymaker.

right guard something or other with the number 5 on it was on sale for $2.69 each with $2 in extrabucks. the limit was 2, and i also had a $3/2 coupon from coupons.com, and ended up yet another $1.62 richer.

probably my most impressive find (since is wasn’t mentioned on the majority of the coupon blogs) was a use for my stash of $2/1 pantene coupons from vocalpoint. on sale for $6.97/2 (random!) with $3 back in extrabucks, i again made $.03 on the deal.

with the $3/$15 and $9.50 in extrabucks, i paid $5.75 oop, and got a whopping $19 back in ecbs, hot damn!

with the exception of 15 very unfortunate minutes spent dressing room wrestling with a cheap lauren conrad for kohls zipper that made me bleed in not one but 2 places (and almost required that i call for help to get me free from its clutches), these are the kind of days that help me remember why i started this crazy blog in the first place. paying retail (or paying at all) is for suckers. i made money buying things today and there isn’t a side eye in the world that could make me stop.

emergencia!

cvs has sucked out loud so much the last few weeks, all those extrabucks i worked so hard to earn (after i lost the $14 during the burlesque) are now already about to expire. and of course, this is the worst cvs week ever. crap!! i’ve got $10 ECBs to unload, and literally nothing to buy! i think that the crave-nx deal is over too. (anybody know if it runs all month?!).

here’s my master plot:

crest & oral b multi-packs starting @ $4.99 with 3 extrabucks back… i have a couple of crest and oral b $1/1 coupons- but will they work for multi-packs?

blistex DCT has a $.50 clipfree coupon, and i have a $1/2 coupon… not sure how much that will cost- but i like lip stuff…

kotex pads & liners also have a $1/1 clipfree coupon this week, and i have a $1.50/2 coupon that could work. i think the liners are $3.49, so i could get 2 boxes for $1.25 each. meh!

dawn dish detergent @ $.96 each. i have a couple of coupons from $.20/1 to $1/1 depending on the varieties available. could be good?

wow. that’s really not very much, and there is a great deal of uncertainty. maybe i’ll just fuck it and blow it all on snack cakes and trashy magazines. this is garbage cvs! garbage!

going for gold.

i actually completely forgot that the olympics were coming until i saw this week’s rite aid flier. how tuned out am i? i do love me some figure skating though. how can you not love a sport where people fall on their ass a lot? plus hello, johnny weir?! but other than my unnatural love for sequins and career-ruining face plants, i’m not really all that into the olympics (all those lugers look exactly the same in their little unitards!). but rite aid knows how make things a little more appealing. the “grab the gold” promotion started this week, and it’s looking pretty hot:

buy $25 worth of select (although the list seems pretty extensive) proctor & gamble products, get $5, buy $50 get $15, and buy $100 get $35 (on a visa gift card). this totally puts the “gift of savings” program to shame. it’s more money- AND you can spend it anywhere, not just at rite aid. it will probably take me about 2 weeks, but i’m going for the full $100. luckily, there is much to get me started this week:

crest toothpaste is on sale for $2.99 with a $1.25 SCR & a $1/1 coupon from the 12/27 p&g brandsaver= $.74

36-49 count tampax pearl @ $6.99 with a $2 SCR and a $2/1 coupon that i’m pretty sure i got from a free sample last year= $2.99. if i can really work it, i will use the bogo coupon from the 12/27 p&g brandsaver to get a free 18-20 count box to boot.

42 count prilosec OTC @ $24.99 with a $6 SCR and a $3/1 coupon from the 12/27 or 1/17 p&g brandsaver= $15.99

pantene hair care @ 2 for $6 with a $3/2 coupon from the 12/27 p&g brandsaver= $1.50 each

duracell batteries (selected varieties) @ $11.99 with a $3/1 in-ad coupon, $3 SCR, and $1/1 from the 1/17 p&g brandsaver= $4.99

olay skin care is buy one get one 50% off, and i have a bogo hand/body lotion coupon from a marie claire past + a $1/1 coupon. not sure what the total will be, but hopefully not too bad.

there’s also a decent deal on nyquil (which i don’t need), but it looks like you can get it (after SCRs & coupons) for $.99

in addition to all of this olympic sized goodness, there is also a sweet deal on wet ones moist towlettes. they’re on sale for $1.99 each, and if you managed to get those $1.50/1 printables (for taking some kind of cleanliness pledge), you can get them for $.49 each.

mix it up with this new $5/$25 coupon that ‘s on the loose, and make it even better.

big meat hammer.

wow. a whole lotta meat in this week’s shaw’s flier. almost an entire page top to bottom (save for a little cheese filler here and there). other than the meat parade, there isn’t a whole lot going on this week. i think they’re taking a little break from super hot deals after 2 weeks of catalinas, but there’s still a few decent situations packed into the cracks between the meat:

kelloggs cereals @ $1.88. i have a $.50/1 from coupons.com for raisin bran (not there anymore) that will hopefully double and get me $.88 cereal.

wolfgang puck soup @ $2.49. i have a $1/1 from the 1/10 smartsource, and a $1/2 catalina i’ve been holding for a while. looks like $1 corn chowder is coming my way.

$.99 zatarain’s rice. i don’t have any coupons, but i do love their cheesy jambalaya.

bogo riceworks. got a really nice $1/1 in the 1/10 smarsource. don’t know how much they cost ($2.49 or less is my hope, but at shaw’s that’s probably a pipe dream), but it could be pretty sweet.

halls cough drops @ $1 each. $.50/1 from the 1/10 smart source- could double making for free coughdrops?

then there’s dollar days! which don’t seem that exciting (mostly shit that i can’t/don’t/won’t eat), but a couple of decent finds:

quaker rice snacks @ $1 each. supposedly there was a $.75/1 coupon in the 1/10 redplum, but i can’t find it. either i’m getting  sloppy in my clipping, or maine didn’t get it (like the ever-elusive revlon coupons!).

softsoap hand soap @ $1 each. according to hot coupon world, there’s a $.40/1 printable lurking on the interweb somewhere (coming soon!). hopefully it will surface soon, because i could definitely use some $.20 hand soap (i like the one that smells like grapefruit).

the siren call.

no secret that i haven’t been giving the love up to cvs lately. it’s the fucking mult-pack madness. they’ll devote whole pages to “over $100 in extrabucks”, but it will all be for multipacks of things that aren’t a good deal- even after ECBs.  i can get $2 a box granola bars any old day. if i wait for a shaws deal- i can probably get them a lot cheaper. color me NOT IMPRESSED. and despite the incredibly lengthy list of ECB deals this week, there are NO FREEBIES (nary a blood sugar monitor!)- and nothing is even close to cheap enough for me to bother hauling my fat ass half a mile in the 5 degree weather (yeah, it’s real cold right now).

so what does cvs do to make it up to me? well, they send me free money.  a mere two days ago, i was asked to do yet another survey for the CVS advisor panel. woot! this time the survey took all of 2 minutes, and i got another $5 free ECBs for my trouble. the disclaimer says that you get about 2 offers a year, and this is my 2nd in the last 3 months. a trend? or are they blowing their load on me early, only to ignore me for the rest of the year? whatevs, i got $5 worth of effortless ECBs to line my pockets right now.

to bring it all home, CVS decided to reiterate their love for me with a $4/$20 coupon in my email this morning (which i find to be the most useful of the regular $/$$s). it doesn’t expire until monday, so i’m hoping to find something happening this weekend that tickles my fancy. although i’ve already checked out the preview (which sometimes differs from my local flier),  and nothin doin.

i am however strongly considering the crave-nx diet spray that is apparently for free this month. it’s probably gross and awful, and will probably give me tongue rot or oozing mouth sores… but skinny jeans are cruelly still in style, and i need some help!

the definition of disenchantment.

yeah, i’m talking to you rite aid-  sure, you puff up your pages with in-ad coupons and sweepstakes seduction, but the truth is that you have fuck all to offer. i want to participate in the game of life god dammit! and this is all i got:

rite aid:

post cereal @ $1.99 per box. use the $1/2 from the 12/6 smartsource- $1.50 a box is reasonable.

zest, ivory, or safeguard multi-pack @ $1.99 with a $1/1 coupon from the 12/27 p&g brandsaver= $.99 soap. meh.

with the $1/1 in-ad coupon and the $2/1 lubriderm from the 1/10 smartsource, some cheapish lotion is sure to be found.

cottonelle moist wipes $.50/1 in-ad coupon + a $.50/1 coupon i have from god knows where… $.99 is actually pretty good- but the grand scheme is still pretty lame.

ge soft white lightbulbs are free at least after single check rebate…

i don’t even think i want $25 worth of stuff, so much for this MAINE-CENTRIC $5/$25 rite aid coupon 😦

seriously, this is as ultimately frustrating and unsatisfying and jr. high dry humping. balls! now i’ll never win the game of life!

the fury.

the norovirus unleashed. well, at least i lost 4 lbs. although it’s probably temporary because now that i have my appetite back, i just ate half a box of cinnamon toast crunch. i can really blame it all on a surprise trip to shaws. as it turns out, i also got my appetite back for shopping.

this week there’s a number of pretty good deals going on:

pick 4 prepackaged veggies for $7.99. (that’s $1.99ish each for the non-math inclined). unfortunately, the only decent coupons available are the $1/2 for the fresh express (from a recent-ish newspaper- can’t remember which one)… and 4 bags of salad might be a mistake (especially if they’re already trying to unload them).

sargento shredded cheese is 2 for $4. if you use the $1/2 from the 11/15 smartsource, that’s $1.50 each for pretty good cheese.

ken’s salad dressing is 10/$10. $1/2 in this week’s smartsource = all the salad dressing you can use for $.50/ea.

but the real story is on the back page. buy $20 in participating general mills products (way more is included than is shown on the flier), and get a $5 catalina toward your next purchase. the boyfriend and i decided to stop in today to cash in on the $2.22 cereal (he finally worked his way through the backstock), and actually didn’t think we would get enough to get the cat- but the cereal was so cheap, it didn’t really matter. here’s how it went down (various coupons printed from coupons.com, redplum, & smartsource over the last few weeks- sorry no links!):

1 cocoa puffs with $.55/1 coupon doubled= $1.12

1 cocoa puffs with $.75/1 coupon doubled= $.72

1 cinnamon toast crunch with $.75/1 coupon doubled= $.72

1 original cheerios with $1/1 coupon= $1.22

1 honey nut cheerios with $.75/1 coupon doubled= $.72

5 boxes of cereal for $5.72 is pretty good, but i also had some bogo fiber one yogurt coupons (cut out of the backs of a bunch of fiber one granola bars i bought a while back)- and @ $1.99 each, it seemed like a good idea. still, before coupons it was only supposed to equal $15.08 in participating products.

LOOPHOLE!

the checker scanned all the products in before he scanned in the shaws card (the boyfriend was fumbling trying to get it out of his wallet and the checker got impatient), and the cat printed out before the shaw’s savings were taken off.  apparently the non-shaw’s-card price for the products was over $20- so we got all the products listed above, plus a newspaper ($1.75) and $3.59 gallon of skim milk for $11.43 with $5 back. that’s $6.43 bitches. a surprisingly good day.

*UPDATE* apparently (according to 2 of my more seasoned commenters- thanks , chris & winnie!),  shaw’s catalina deals are ALWAYS done on the pre-sale prices. woot!!!

if only they would stop using the word “cantastic”.

i feel like i’ve been out of the grocery store loop for a while since i’ve been so busy. essentially, i’ve been completely ignoring the weekly flier deals, just shopping wherever is convenient, and using whatever coupons happen to be within close reach. not a great plan for a tight budget…

but 2010, that’s another story. i’ve entrenched myself in baking day(s), and my freezer is full (or it will be tonight). now is the time for me to start scanning my weekly ads for miracles, and quietly stockpiling for future baking days of doom.

this week at shaws this week, the biggest deal going down is the proctor & gamble $10 catalina (toward your next purchase) when you buy $25 worth of participating products. mavin of savin has a really thorough run down of the whole mess (including lots of scenarios), and apparently there are products not listed on the flier that are part of the deal. woot!

i haven’t quite worked out my own situation yet, but my yet untouched  home made simple coupon book and the last p&g brandsaver will definitely be coming in handy. mr clean magic erasers, here i come!

they are also running their stupidly named “cantastic savings” promotion again this week. basically, certain stuff in cans is cheap. pretty straightforward. considering i used like 4 cans of corn yesterday, i’m eying this special with more interest that usual. some possibilities:

goya canned black beans @ $.59 each.  i’ve been meaning to make some quinoa & black bean salad- now is the time! if i want to buy 6, there’s a $1.25/6 coupon from the 11/8 red plum- that’s $.38 cents a can!

progresso bread crumbs @ $.99. $1/2 on any progresso product= $.50 each.

hunts tomato sauce @ $.69. $1/3 hunts products= $.36 each!

ace of diamonds mandarin oranges @ $.69.

no grand coupon-match ups, but fairly priced. is it just me or, did you notice that the entire bottom row is $.69? do they have a 14 year old working in their layout department or something (or am i the 14 year old for even noticing)!?

some other good lookin deals:

thomas english muffins- buy one get TWO free. no coupon, but yow (assuming that the package that you have to buy doesn’t cost like $17)!

morningstar farms @ $3.49 with a $1/1 coupon= decent deal.

$.99 mangoes!

lightlife smart deli slices @ $2.29. veg stuff in general is usually way expensive, and this is an excellent deal. an even excellenter deal if you have a coupons (which i don’t, but there are a few out there).

post cereals @ $1.5o when you buy 4. apparently there were some pretty decent coupons for post in the 12/6 smartsource. too bad i either lost them or maine didn’t get them. balls!

p.s. yes, that is an octopus made out of canned goods.

ho ho hopeless.

i’m pretty sure that rite aid is mad at me this week… admittedly, i have been fooling around with cvs pretty overtly… but not a single thing for me to get this week- NOT ONE? since i can’t talk about the things i will be getting, here’s a short list of things that i definitely DON’T WANT:

1. scary baby doll. i don’t care if it’s 50% off. there are not enough percents off in the universe to make this not terrifying.

2. um, i think it’s supposed to be a reindeer, but am i the only one whe immediately thought xmas turd with feet?

3. need i reiterate the crushing shame and disappointment of the faux-pod?

4. these truly shiteous holiday pillows. it’s rare that you can really feel the synthetic fibers through a photograph, but rite aid photographers made it work!

5. um, prunes.

6. at what point does one say “light up rock! PERFECT!”? how are these still being made?

7. will rite aid ever be done flogging the sunggie? criminal!

8. it’s got not to be applebees. or chilis, or omaha steaks. seriously, they couldn’t even find an olive garden gift card to photograph?

the rite stuff.

wow. rite aiding is hard sometimes. i think over the past month or so i was only remembering the sexy parts of deal mongering, not so much the part where (despite the fact that her nametag says “shift manager”) the checkout lady admits that she’s only been there for 6 days, and needs to call the manager over for every single one of your 5 coupons while the line piles up behind you… but it’s over now. i can’t say it was the grand success that i had planned (after all, the prell was long cleaned out after i got there), but passable for a bumpy re-entry for sure.

store #1 (topsham rite aid with trainee cashier)

1 42 count box of omeprazole: $19.99  minus a $5/1 in-ad coupon= $14.99
1 chapstick fresh effects: $2.99 with $2.99 SCR= 0
1 la looks gel: $.99 with $1/1 coupon= $.01 profit
2 nivea lip care: $2.99 each with a bogo coupon and a $2 SCR= 2 for $.99
sadly now expired $5/$25

TOTAL: after SCRs & coupons= $10.97

trip #2 (my neighborhood rite aid in portland)

1 42 count box of omeprazole: $19.99  minus a $5/1 in-ad coupon= $14.99
1 la looks gel: $.99 with $1/1 coupon= $.01 profit
1 scotch tape pop up hand dispenser (in hot pink!): $3.29 with $3.29 SCR
1 small container goldfish crackers (i was having soup for dinner): $.99
again, the now expired $5/$25

TOTAL: after SCRs & coupons= $10.97

GRAND TOTAL FOR THE WHOLE MESS: $21.94

not to mention the fact that this will put me over the edge on my “holiday gift of savings“, which gets me another $20 rebate. woot!

p.s. apparently there is a rite aid rewards card that i didn’t know about! what? apparently i get 10% off all rite aid brand products (that aren’t on sale), and 20% on the first tuesday of every month. not actually that exciting, but i’ll take whatever i can get.

p.p.s. according to my online research, this program has been in “test mode” for years and is not available in all markets. also, there does not appear to be any sort of set-in-stone policy regarding what the discount actually is (not even mentioned on their website). weird right? anybody else have one of these and know how it works?

*UPDATE* damn it, i was supposed to buy 2 of the scotch tape guys to get the rebate. balls!