Black Friday Success!!

Well, I was pretty proud of my Black Friday deals.  I actually did go out to the mall to get a new (much-needed) wallet.  The best part of this wallet is the integrated coupon organizer (awesome!)...oh, and the price.  =D  Here's what I got at JC Penney:

'Big Spender' tab clutch $13.99 (60% off)

-$10/10+ purchase JC Penney coupon (mailed a month ago)

Total: $4.23

Saved: $33.93, or 89%!!


Of course, I had to go to CVS because there were so many great ExtraBuck deals!  I used the money makers to pay for peanuts, Advil, and a few small gifts.  I'll be spending the rest of my "profit" this week on super cheap necessities.  I went Friday afternoon and it wasn't too busy at all (I guess most people went Thursday).  I got most of what I wanted and picked up rain checks for the rest of the items on my list (so I'll have  few freebies later!).  Here's what I got:

Transaction #1:

(2) M&M packages $1.50 (I haven't bought baking chips in a year--I just use free candy =D)
(1) Zantac 30 tab $8.99
-$5/1 Zantac manu. q, -$5/1 Zantac CVS q (both registered at face value)
(2) Colgate Toothpaste $5.74
-(2) $1/1 Colgate manu. q's, -(1) $1/1 CVS q
(1) Pepto Bismol $2.99
(1) Kleenex Cool Touch $1.50
-$0.40/1 Kleenex cool touch
(1) Finish Quantum $2.99
-$1/1 Finish
(1) Breathe Right Strips $5.99
-$1.50/1 Manu. q, -$1.50/1 CVS q
(1) Cepacol losenge $4.99
-$1/1 Cepacol
(2) CVS Ibuprofen $2.99 (BOGO)
(1) Carmex lip balm $1
-$0.30/1 Carmex
-$6/$30 Health care purchase
-$5/25 purchase (the computer didn't like this...oops)
-9 ECBs (from last week)

Total: $0.61 (negative subtotal)

ECBs received: 1 (greenbag tag), 1.50, 2, 5.94, 2.99, 1.50, 2.99, 5.99, 4.99, 1 (28.90 total)


Transaction #2:
(2) Planter's Peanuts $6
(2) Listerine Pocket Paks $5.98
(1) Irish Spring Deodorant $2.77
-$1/1 Irish Spring
(3) Revlon nail polish $14.97
-(3) $1/1 Revlon nail polish
(1) CVS flosser package $1.99
(2) GUM 2 pk. toothbrushes $5.98
(-$1/2 into my saving star account)
(1) York king size bar $0.99
-$5/25 coupon
-28.90 in ECBs

Total: $1.66 (all tax)

ECBs received: 3, 5.98, 2, 12, 1.99, 5.98, 0.99 (31.94 total)


Transaction #3:
(2) M&Ms $1.50
(1) CVS AAA batteries $3.65
(1) Essence of Beauty Spa set $9.88
(3) Revlon nail polish $14.97
-(3) $1/1 Revlon
(1) York King size $0.99
(1) Matchbox car $0.50
-28.94 in ECBs

Total: $2.29 ($0.35)

ECBs received: 1.50, 3.99, 5, 12, 0.99

So I started with 9 extrabucks, got $150 in products, and ended with 26.48 in extrabucks!  Including the $5 I spent in tax, I made 12.92!  That's a savings of 109%!!  Woohoo!  All told, I earned $8.69 getting nearly $200 of products on Black Friday!  Very nice.  How did y'all make out this weekend?

My Lunch: Stove Top Mac-N-Cheese

If you feel like you're betraying your inner food snob when you eat Velveeta, try this recipe from my all-time favorite TV chef: AB's stove top mac-n-cheese.  The egg makes it sticky--definitely more like Velveeta than your blue-box mac.  Your inner child will be happy and you can still show your face at the country club.  =D

My First Coupon Teaching Trip

People often say they want to shop with me sometime.  Seeing as no one actually has shopped with me, I figured they were just saying that.  Well today, one of my MOPS friends and her husband actually went to CVS with me!  I was so excited because they had a number of things they needed that were actually a good sale this week!  They got 2 bottles of laundry detergent, a large package of toilet paper, and a large package of paper towels for $16 (retail value $36!).  Saving 56% on paper products your first time out is great, guys!  Way to go!  As a bonus, I was able to make some money with my purchases!  Here's what I got:

Transaction #1:

(2) Aveeno trail size lotions $1.49 ea.
(2) Smucker's preserves $2.50 ea.

-$1/2 Smucker's preserves
-7 ECBs

Total: $0.18 (only tax!)
ECBs received: 7 (for Aveeno--raincheck), 3 (for Smucker's)

Transaction #2:

(1) Holloween glowsticks $0.49 (Jesse likes to keep these in the car)
(3) Hallmark cards $0.99 ea.

-3 ECBs

Total: $0.67 (I used the rest of my giftcard)
ECBs recieved: 3 (for Hallmark)

Transaction #3 (now I know why I usually keep it to 2 transactions...)

(2) Schick Quattro 3 ct. $10.99 ea.

-BOGO Schick disposable razor ($10.99)
-10 ECBs

Total: $1.89
ECBs recieved: 10

Alright!  I paid $2.05 in cash and have 3 more bucks to spend next week--it's like they paid me $1 to take $40 in merchandise off their hands!!  Sounds like a good deal to me!


Oh, and I MUST brag about my shoe purchase today!  I wear a size 12, so finding any shoes--much less a deal--is a miracle.  6pm.com is having an 11eleven11 sale for the day and had thousands of pairs marked down to $11 each with free shipping!  They even had a solid 2 dozen pairs that were my size!!! So, I got a new pair of dress shoes and a pair of "eco" sneakers for $22 shipped!!  I was EXstatic for a good two hours over this deal!  I do have to pay for return shipping if they don't fit.  Since that would probably cost $11+, they're basically non-refundable.  But for that price, I'll take the chance for shoes I really love!

I got a little carried away...

I went to Weis last week to get a great deal on Charmin--$10 on your next order when you buy 3-18 ct. packages at $10.99 each.  Combining that deal with the $10 mail in rebate when you spend $35, I could get 3 pkgs. of toilet paper for $4 each.  Unfortunately, they didn't have the 18 ct. size (we think it was a special promotion size), so I got a raincheck.  I asked about the catalina coupon when I got the raincheck, and the associate said that they would just give me a gift card. 

After MOPS yesterday, I went to redeem my raincheck, but they said I wasn't supposed to get any $10 giftcard.  Since they had promised it, they honored the promotion  "just this once."  Good to know that I never want rainchecks from Weis in the future.  So, here's what I got:
  

(1) Charmin Ultra Soft 18 ct. double rolls $10.99

(2) Charmin Ultra Strong 16 ct. double rolls (they still didn't have 18 cts. and figured they wouldn't get more, so this worked for me) $10.99 ea.

(1) Pampers wipe $2.79

-$1/2 Charmin, -$0.50/1 Pampers wipe (doubled)

Total: $35.91

$10 giftcard for my next order

$10 mail in rebate when you buy $35 in P&G products

Total after rebates: $15.91 (70% off paper products!!)

Well, I got a little carried away with all the saving and maybe got too many boxes of cake mix (9...for the 2 of us).  Hey, we all make mistakes...

Here's what I got (final price listed):
1 gal milk $3.49
(2) Mott's apple sauce $2 ea.
(2) ToBe Healthy Pasta sauce $0.30 ea.
(6) Delverde Pasta $0.50 ea. (just the sale!)
(1) Eggland's Best eggs $0.89
(2) Sargento cheese $0.90 ea.
(2) Land'O'Lakes butter $3.50 ea.
(3) Beech-Nut baby cereal $0.59 ea.
(2) Ocean Spray cranberry juice $2 ea.
(2) Tyson chicken strips $2.49 ea.
(6) Orville R. popcorn 3 pks. $1.03 ea.

(and here's where I flubbed...they gave me $0.30 off gas if I bought 10 items...)

(1) Smucker's Preserves $1
(2) Pillsbury brownie mixes $0.55 ea.
(7) Pillsbury cake mixes $1 ea.

Total retail value: $161.95
Spent: $82.72
Got: $20 in rebates, $0.50 off per gallon of gas

After rebates, it's like I spent $62.72, or 61% off retail!  Yay!!  Now I have to figure out what to do with all this cake mix...I'd feel wierd donating it because of the whole Marie Antionette thing...I just pushed them up above my cupboard beside my emergency water supply...maybe I'll forget about them...

Back on Track!

Ahh!  I'm back on track with a 55% savings at Food Lion yesterday (which is no small feat for that store).  They almost rejected my high value Schick coupons (printable).  This is why couponers don't shop at Food Lion...they aren't at all "coupon friendly."  I hope to go back to my new flame--Martin's--soon.  They never even blink at my coupon stack.  =D  I didn't get a pic of my trip, but I did get a pic of my awesome CVS trips!  Here's what I got:

(2) Jif Peanut Butter $1.67 ea.
(1) Thermacare 1 ct. (rain check) $3.69
(1) Schick Quattro Women's refill $8.99

-$5/1 Schick razor/refill
-(2) $0.55/1 Jif printable
-4.99 Extrabucks

Total: $5.57 (on gift card)
ECBs: 4 (for Thermacare), 1 (green bag tag), 4 (for Schick)


Trip #2:

(2) Thermacare 2 ct. $5.99 ea.
(1) Listerine $3.99
-$2/1 Listerine
-$2/1 Thermacare (peelie--an extra from a while back)
-$1/1 Thermacare (inside an old package)
-9 ECBs
Total: $2.14 (on gift card)
ECBs: 5 (for Thermacare), 2 (for Listerine)


All told, I paid $0 out of pocket for $45.64 in products!  I only have $0.64 left on my gift card, so I'm gonna have to pay cash next week =(  Oh well, time to contribute to society, I guess.  =)  Have a great weekend, y'all!