CVS Shopping Trip 3/18/12

Periodically I will try to post examples of my coupon shopping trips so that you can see exactly how this couponing thing works! This week there are some really good deals on things my family uses often, so I ended up going to CVS, Rite Aid, Vons, and Trader Joe's. And it was raining. It was quite an exhausting afternoon, but getting the best deals usually means more work.

Note: SS = Smart Source Insert, RP = Red Plum Insert

CVS Shopping Trip

Transaction #1
• 2 Bags M&Ms Easter Candy - 2 for $6 and $1 ECB when you buy 2
  Used $1 off 2 M&Ms coupon from RP 3/18
• 1 Colgate Optic White Toothpaste - $3.49 and $2 ECB
  Used $1 Off Optic White coupon from SS 3/11
• Total: $10.31
  Used $5 ECB from Beauty Extra Bucks that I got on my last shopping trip
• Paid: $5.31 and got $7 back in Extra Bucks

Transaction #2
• OB Tampons - 2 for $9
  Used .75 off coupon from SS 3/18
• Carefree Pantyliners - $1
  Used $1 off Carefree product coupon from SS 3/18
• 2 Suave Deodorants - $1 each
  Used .75 off coupon from SS 3/18 (I only had 1 coupon but I bought another deodorant anyway)
• 1 Ziploc Gallon Freezer Bag - $4.59 (not on sale but we needed them)
  Used .50 off coupon from SS 1/15
• Total: $14.88
  Used $5 in ECB from Transaction #1
• Paid: $9.88

In total, I paid $15.19 vs. $47.86 at full price. That is a $32 savings, or 68%! Not too bad.

As a side note, when you watch "Extreme Couponing" and you see people getting a 100% savings or close to it, it's because they are buying only items that they can get for free with coupon match-ups. They are not picky about what type of items they buy - they just buy whatever is on sale, usually for around $1 since that's the value of most coupons. For me, there are certain items that I buy brand-specific for my family (such as deodorant and facial products), and other items that I buy based on the best deals (e.g. toothpaste and soap). I also buy things I can get for free regardless of the brand, and then I donate them!

My Albertson's Shopping Trip 1/15/12

I thought I would give my readers (the few of you there are!) an idea of what I buy on a typical shopping trip. I usually shop at Albertson's for most of my coupon shopping because it is just around the corner from my house, and Vons is about 10 minutes away (although Vons doubles coupons, so if there is a great deal, I'll go there too). I also shop at Trader Joe's every week to buy anything I can't buy with coupons at another store. Sometimes things are still cheaper at TJ's than another store even with a coupon, so I always comparison shop. TJ's DOES take coupons, although it's rare to find a coupon that you can use there because most of the products are their own TJ brand.

Here's what I bought at Albertson's this week:

• 2 boxes Multigrain Peanut Butter Cheerios (on sale $2.50 each, used a $1 off 2 coupon). Cost = $2 per box
• 1 box Dulce de Leche Cheerios (on sale $2.50, used a .75 off coupon) Cost = $1.75 per box
• 3 boxes Barilla Pasta (on sale B2G1 free, used a $1 off 2 coupon) Cost = .66 per box
• 2 Classico pasta sauces (on sale 2/$4 - no coupon but still cheaper than the ones I had coupons for) Cost = $2 each
• 2 Ken's Italian salad dressing (on sale $2 each, used 2 $1 off coupons) Cost = $1 per bottle
• 2 Sun Bird Asian seasoning packets (on sale $1 each, used BOGO Free coupon) Cost = .50 per packet
• 2 boxes Skinny Cow Candy (on sale 2/$7. No coupons for this, so it was a splurge, but at least it was on sale!) Cost = $7 for 2
• 2 Yoplait Greek Yogurts (used $1 off 2 coupon) Cost = $1.20 each
• 2 boxes Boca Frozen Chik'n Patties (on sale 2/$7, used $1 off 2 coupon) Cost = $3 per box
• 1 Large pack of blueberries (on sale $2.99) Cost = $2.99
• 1 Aveeno Baby Wash (on sale $5.99, used $1 off coupon) Cost = $4.99

I also used one Albertson's Doubler Coupon which deducted $1 from my total (you can only use one per transaction).

Total Paid: $37.22
Total Coupon Savings: $8.50
Total Store Sale Savings: $26.84
Total Savings: $35.34 or 49%

I paid a little more than half the full price value of these items! On "Extreme Couponing," they often have over a 90% savings. Keep in mind though that most of the stores they visit have more lax coupon policies, including doubling every coupon no matter the value. Stores in California rarely do this. And the "extreme couponers" are buying the cheapest things in the store, no matter what they are. I'll write another post about the myths and facts of Extreme Couponing later! But hopefully this gives you an idea of how I do my "moderately extreme" coupon shopping!

Frugal Mama Deals: Printable Coupons for Moms 1/8/11

Here are some of the great printable coupons available online this week:

Coupons.com:

• Save $1 on 2 Big G Cereals (Cheerios, etc)
• Save $1 on Pediacare products
• $1 off Similac
• Save $1.10 on 4 Beech-nut baby food jars
• Save $5 on an Evenflow exersaucer

Smart Source:

• $1 off Johnson's Baby or Johnson's Natural product
• $1 off Aveeno Baby product
• 75 cents off 2 Yoplait Kids yogurts

Deal Alert: Skinny Cow Candy - 2 for $1.50 at CVS!

Right now at CVS, Skinny Cow Candy is on sale BOGO Free (Buy one, get one free). There is a printable coupon available for BOGO Free for this item, so the two deals together should get you two free! The catch is that the price at the local CVS is $4.99 each, and the printable coupon says "maximum value $3.48". Still, $1.50 for 2 boxes of candy is a great deal! And if you're trying to start the new year eating healthier like I am, this is a good item to satisfy your sweet tooth without the guilt.

Printable BOGO Skinny Cow Coupon - click on "Get Nestle Coupons" in the upper right hand corner.

I just bought these, and I had $5 extra bucks expiring today so I paid just $1.50 for 4 boxes! AND I got $8.50 in extra bucks back for my Fall quarter spending. So my net for this purchase was a $7 moneymaker! This is couponing at its best, and I left the store with a great feeling!

Thanks to Southern Cali Saver for the info on this deal!

frugal mama deals: great printable coupons for moms this week!

There are some great printable coupons available this week. Here are some the coupons available on coupons.com right now:

• $5 off Enfamil Powdered Newborn Formula
• $5 off Enfagrow Toddler Formula
• Several coupons for Kashi products (GoLean cereals & Chewy bars)
• $1 off any A&D product (for diaper rash)
• $1 off 2 Cheerios Cereals
• $1 off any Pediacare product

And lots more! These coupons change every so often (I think it's once a week, but I'm not sure), so print them ASAP!

Tips + Tricks #1: Coupon Match-Ups 101

The basic idea of "extreme" couponing is matching up coupons with in-store sales to get the best prices possible.

How does one do this?

1. Get coupons.
Where does one find coupons?

• The Sunday Paper (the LA Times has the best coupons - you can subscribe to the Sunday edition or just buy them weekly)The coupon inserts are usually "smartsource" or "red plum", and occasionally there are additional inserts.


• In your mail on Tuesdays.


• In the "free sample" of the SB News-Press left on your driveway once a week.


• ONLINE. There are so many coupons available to print online. I check the following websites weekly:
  We Use Coupons Online Database
  Coupons.com
  Smartsource
  Red Plum

2. Research store sales to find the best match-ups with existing coupons
There are tons of blogs out there that make this easy. You can use these blogs to find the best match-up deals (some will even let you print out a shopping list of the best match-ups on their blog), or do the research yourself by looking at the store circulars that come in your mail and in the newspaper.

I usually do both. I look at my usual blogs for the best deals that they've found, and then I also browse the store circulars to see if my local store is offering any additional sales or if there are certain items on sale that I need. If you don't want to look through paper circulars, you can go to your store's website and browse the circulars online.

My favorite coupon match-up blogs:
Southern Cali Saver
Save at Home Mommy
Krazy Koupon Lady