Freebies of the Week 11/30 - 12/9

Rite Aid Freebies – week of 11/30 to 12/6

· GE 24-hour Timer of 6 Outlet Surge Protector ~ FREE after $5 Rite Aid Mail In Rebate

· Gillette Fusion or Fusion Power Razor ~ FREE after $4 Newspaper Coupon and $5 Rite Aid Mail In Rebate

· Philips Ear Buds with Hard Case ~ FREE after $4.99 Rite Aid Mail In Rebate

Walgreens Freebies – week of 11/30 – 12/6

· Bald Guyz Moisture Gel or Head Wipes ~ FREE after Easy Saver Mail In Rebate

· FreeStyle Blood Glucose Monitor ~ FREE after Main In Rebate in Box

CVS Freebies – week of 11/30 – 12/6

· Extreme Energy Drink ~ FREE after $4.99 Extra Bucks

BiLo Freebies ~ week of 12/3 – 12/9

· FREE (1) Pepperidge Farm Garlic Bread

· FREE (1) Pepperidge Farm Cake

· FREE (1) Kraft Salad Dressing

· FREE (1) Lipton Tea

With Purchase of (2) DiGiorno Pizza’s

*I looked for coupons for this items, but couldn’t find any - not printed or online – but it’s still a really good deal, and I plan to take advantage of it.

Limit 1 Deal per Shopping Trip

It Pays To Know - Target's Coupon Policy

· Target accepts two kinds of coupons: Target-issued coupons and manufacturer-issued coupons.

· Target will accept one Target coupon and one manufacturer coupon for the same item, unless either coupon prohibits it.

· Target can't give cash back if the face value of a coupon is greater than the purchase value of the item; in that case, Target will adjust the value of the coupon to equal the price of the item.

· Target doesn’t accept competitor’s coupons from other retailers, or coupons for products not carried in their stores.

· All valid coupons should be presented to the cashier at the time of sale.

Have questions or want more information about using coupons at Target? Check with a Guest Services Team Leader at your Target store. You can also give Target a call at (800) 440-0680, or visit them on Target.com.

Also, Target doesn't price match with other competitor stores. Target prices can vary between stores and the Target website because of the market value of the item.

Walgreens - A Shopping Bust!

I received a Walgreens coupon via email the other day. It was good for $5 off $25, Monday 12/1 and Tuesday 12/2. I sat down with the Walgreens flier and planned my shopping. I was going to buy (1) Bald Guys conditioning lotion, (2) Glade Wisp candles, (2) Scotch Magic Tapes, (3) Soft Soaps, and (1) Gillette Shave Cream. Subtotal before coupons - $25.32. Subtotal after coupons - $7.44.

So armed with shopping list and coupons I made my way through the drugstore aisles. At the air fresheners section I was thrilled to find a sign that said that there was a $2 rebate on the Glade Wisp's. I did a quick calculation and determined that after coupons and rebates, my shopping subtotal would be (-)$1.51. Fantastic!

The cashier rang up all my purchases, and before deducting any of my coupons, informed me that I would not be able to use the $5 off $25.

What? My purchases came to over $25!!!

It seems that the small print on the coupon read "Purchase amount of $25 or more must be before taxes and after all manufacturer and Walgreens coupons and discounts."

I was quite surprised because I've never seen that on a coupon before. Well, I wasn't prepared to buy more stuff so I told the cashier to void everything but the Glade Wisp candles - we're talking $3.99 each, $2.00 rebates each, and $3.00 off coupons each. I left with considerably less than what I had originally intended, but the $2.02 profit I was going to make on the candles almost made up for it.

That was until I got home and looked at the Easy Saver catalog...

Despite what the sign in the store said, the Glade Wisp candles were NOT included on the December list of rebates! So, my trip to Walgreens was a complete bust. (I know, .99¢ for a Glade Wisp candle is a good price, but I would not have made a trip to any store just for that.)

Now I'm not telling you all of this to bash Walgreens, although in the past couple of months they have gone from being one of my favorite stores to being my absolute least favorite store. No, I'm telling you this to remind you how important it is to read the terms of the coupons, and to double-check store promotions with the corporate fliers. Otherwise you could end up at the register with coupons you can't use, or buying things that don't qualify for rebates.

It's all in the small print!

Be Green - and Save Green - By Bottling Your Own Water

Love your bottled water but feel a little wasteful every time you toss that empty bottle in the trash or recycle bin?

Use water filters instead. Home faucet-mounted and pitcher filters, like Brita and PUR, cost about $120 a year per person to use. Bottled water or home bottle water services cost nearly $400 in the same time frame!

The home water filters are also the best way to ensure a clean supply of drinking water. They get rid of the contaminants normally found in tap water, such as chlorine, benzene, lead, and pesticide runoff. (Tap water might contain contaminants, but bottled water isn’t always cleaner. About 40% of all bottle water comes directly from city water systems, just like yours.)

Filling your own water bottle at home and carrying it with you also helps to reduce the 1.5 million tons of plastic generated each year from bottled water alone.

Go to www.waterfiltercomparisons.com to the compare cost and performance of the top ten drinking water filters.

Personally speaking, I picked up a Brita-like pitcher and two filters for free at Walgreens a few months ago. I love it! The water tastes so much better than the water straight out of the tap that I drink almost nothing but water now. It's had the duel benefits of reducing my beverage expenses and my waistline. (Yeah!) And my doctor is happy with me because water is definitely much better for me than all the carbonated beverages I used to consume.

Publix Savings - Part 2

At first glance, my trip to Publix today didn’t appear to have netted me a good savings:

• (2) Oral B Advantage toothbrushes - $2.00

Reg. $3.69/ea., Sale $2.00/ea., (2) Coupons $1.00/ea.

• (8) Knorr Side Dishes - $2.60

Reg. $1.35/ea., Sale 2@$1.35, (4) Coupons .60¢/ea.

• (6) Crystal Light drink mixes - $14.07

Reg. 4.69/ea, Sale BOGO Free

• (1) Publix pinto beans - .73¢
• (1) Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn - .23¢

Reg. $2.45, Sale $1.23, Coupon $1.00

• (1) Lindsay sliced black olives - $1.29
• (2) McCormick chili mix - $1.39

Reg. $1.39/ea., Sale BOGO Free

• NY Strip - $6.71

Reg. $11.99 lb., Sale $6.99 lb., Savings $4.14

• (1) McCormick chili powder - $2.09

Price $2.59, Coupon .25¢ (doubled)

• (1) Hills Brothers instant cappuccino - $3.59
• (1) Publix milk - $2.49
• (1) Maxwell House coffee - .01¢

Price $3.51, Mystery Coupon $3.50

Publix Coupon - $5.00 off $35.00

My Total Savings:

Regular Price $76.52

Store Coupons* $8.75

Manufacturer’s Coupons $5.65

Advertised Specials $29.52

*Store Coupons include the doubled amount of manufacturer’s coupons

Total Savings $43.92

Order Total $32.60

But after reviewing the numbers, I determined that I did save a total of 57.4% off regular retail prices. About two-thirds of that savings was through store specials and the rest was in coupons.

My 2-day totals - $132.61 in groceries for $50.78! That’s a savings of $81.83, and I only went over my budget by .78¢. I bought a few items that I needed to add to the food that I already have in order to feed me and my roommate for the week, and I stockpiled several things so that I won’t have to buy more of them until they are on sale again.

Where Do You Get Your Coupons?

"Where do you get your coupons?" is a question that I am frequently asked by people when they first hear about my super savings with coupons. They seem to think that there is some secret coupon clearing house that only I am privy to.

The truth is I get most of my coupons from the Sunday paper, just like everyone else.

I do get some coupons with the free samples that show up in my mailbox most days, and they're usually pretty good coupons in that they normally don't expire as quickly as the ones in the paper do. I also get some coupons online, but really, these are only a small percentage of the coupons that I use every week to save big at the grocery and drug stores.

I buy two copies of the Sunday paper every week. Yes, it costs me an extra $1.50 to that, but by doubling the amount of coupons I have I double my savings. And the extra savings from those extra coupons more than makes up for the extra expense.

Another source of coupons that is available to everyone, at no cost, are the store fliers.

Walgreens puts coupons in their Easy Saver Catalog every month, and it's not uncommon to be able to combine these store coupons with manufacturer's coupons to get something for free.

Publix publishes several fliers that contain store coupons: Publix Health & Beauty circular, Greenwise magazine, a seasonal Family Savings circular, Fresh Flavorful Frozen & More, a seasonal Traditions flier, and Family Style Magazine. All of these publications are available in the stores, however you must subscribe to the Family Style Magazine to get the version with coupons. (The subscription is free.)

All of these sources are great for picking up some additional coupons to create savings that I might not otherwise get, but again, they only make up a small portion of my overall savings.

The real "secret" of my super savings is not in where I get my coupon, but rather in how I use them.

Publix Savings - November 30, 2008

I went to Publix today to grocery shop. I only needed a few items for this week’s meals, so I was able to stockpile several items without blowing my budget:

• (1) 5 lb. bag Red Delicious apples - $1.99

Reg. $5.99, Sale $3.99, Coupon $2.00

• (2) Gatorade drink mixes - $1.49

Reg. 2@$6.97, Sale 2@3.49, (2) Coupons $1.00/ea

• (2) Crystal Light drink mixes - $4.69

Reg. 4.69/ea, Sale BOGO Free

• (1) Old El Paso taco mix - .91¢
• (1) Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn - .23¢

Reg. $2.45, Sale $1.23, Coupon $1.00

• (2) Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn - .85¢

Reg. $2.45/ea, Sale BOGO Free, (2) Coupons .40¢/ea.(Doubled)

• (1) Tomato - .41¢

Reg. $2.99 lb., Sale $1.79 lb., Savings .27¢

• (2) Fresh Express salad blends - $3.50

Reg. $3.49/ea., Sale 2@$5.00, (2) Coupons .75¢/ea.

• Chicken breast cutlets - $3.63

Reg. $5.49 lb., Sale $3.99 lb., Savings $1.36

• (1) Yoplait Fiber One - $2.09

Price $3.09, Coupon $1.00

• Eggland Best large eggs - $1.79

Price $2.49, Coupon .35¢ (doubled)

• Taco Bell taco sauce - $1.59
• Publix supreme pizza - .01¢

Price $4.69, Mystery Coupon $4.68

Bonus Publix Coupon - $5.00 off $35.00

My Total Savings:

Regular Price $56.09

Store Coupons* $12.83

Manufacturer’s Coupons $6.65

Advertised Specials $14.95

In-Store Specials $3.48

*Store Coupons include the doubled amount of manufacturer’s coupons

Total Savings $37.91

Order Total $18.18

I have another “Mystery Coupon” and “$5.00 off $35 Coupon”, so I will be making a 2^nd trip to Publix tomorrow to buy additional groceries in order to take use them. I will be primarily buying “stockpile” items, so check back for my savings posting on that visit.